ASK Musings

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Daily Archive: 10/12/2017

Sunday

10

December 2017

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COMMENTS

Living and Working in Britain by David Hampshire

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: People who are moving to the UK

In a nutshell: Twenty chapters of tips broken down by broad area of interest, like finance, accommodation, transportation, and health.

Line that sticks with me: N/A

Why I chose it: My partner and I (and our two cats) are moving to London in just under a month, and I’m still looking into things.

Review: I found this book to be more helpful than the other book I picked up on the topic. Part of that may be because it is focused on moving to the UK in general (not London specifically), and so half the book was not taken up with a focus on just a few London boroughs. However, I’d still like to find a book that focuses just on tips and information in different neighborhoods. I just ordered the Not for Tourists 2018 edition for London, which should meet that need.

But back to this book. I enjoyed some of the sections a great deal, especially the part about health care. I have had so much dental work done that I’m a bit nervous about leaving my dentist, so it was good to learn a bit more about what that will look like.

A couple of parts that were frustrating – one unavoidable, one less so. The section on moving pets was not fully accurate, as we now have to pay VAT when bringing in animals. But that changed in April, so I understand that it wouldn’t make it into the book. The other part was the sport section. The bit on football (the sport I’m most familiar with, so the other sections may also have had this problem) made no mention of the women’s league. Granted, in the US I’m used to the women’s national team being VASTLY superior to the men’s national team, so I expect the women’s league to be mentioned. But come on – are we really still pretending that women aren’t professional athletes?

Sunday

10

December 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – December 10, 2017

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Sexual Harassment and Assault

“I live in Seattle. Right now I’m surrounded by good liberal men who are lining up to say how much they believe women. Who are clamoring to express their outrage at the horrific stories they are reading as so many women say #metoo. But some of these men — a lot of them — are abusers themselves. A lot of them have taken advantage, forced kisses on unsuspecting women, groped women, exposed themselves to women, tried to manipulate women into having sex with them. While they are expressing their outrage, they are secretly hoping that their name won’t show up in a woman’s story. They have an opportunity right now to start to make things right. To come clean, take responsibility, and begin the work of growth and redemption. But they opt for just playing the role of a hero instead. They collect praise for saying all of the right things while kicking aside their victims.” Dear Al Franken: I’ll Miss You, But You Can’t Matter Anymore (by Ijeoma Oluo for the Establishment)

“I have long maintained that when I was 7 years old, Woody Allen led me into an attic, away from the babysitters who had been instructed never to leave me alone with him. He then sexually assaulted me. I told the truth to the authorities then, and I have been telling it, unaltered, for more than 20 years. Why is it that Harvey Weinstein and other accused celebrities have been cast out by Hollywood, while Allen recently secured a multimillion-dollar distribution deal with Amazon, greenlit by former Amazon Studios executive Roy Price before he was suspended over sexual misconduct allegations? Allen’s latest feature, “Wonder Wheel,” was released theatrically on Dec. 1.” Dylan Farrow: Why has the #MeToo revolution spared Woody Allen? (by Dylan Farrow for the LA Times)

Media

“And of course, it would be unfair for me to make a sweeping generalization about how all media treats women based on the actions of one player. Or maybe a couple of important figures. Or maybe at least six other high level, powerful men who have been shown to have patterns of abusing the women around them, and excusing the behavior of other powerful men. Or maybe, oh shit, it’s almost like those in charge of the news are also in charge of the narrative, and they get to decide who’s a bitch or not. Even when the women being labeled bitches are actually only seen as bitches because our sexist society demands that women always behave cheerfully and friendly even in the face of our own abuse. Yay!” Hey, The Media? Hillary’s Still Waiting On That Apology You Most Definitely Owe Her (by Emily Chambers for Pajiba)

Something Good

“On Tuesday night, in the 99th episode of Fox cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the notoriously tight-lipped, emotionally guarded, and altogether badass detective played by Stephanie Beatriz revealed something significant to the ever-inquisitive Charles (Joe Lo Truglio). After he asked her why he heard a woman’s voice on the phone refer to Rosa as “babe,” she tried to throw him off the scent before finally sharing that she is dating a woman and that she is indeed bisexual. She also quickly brushed him off when he tried to be enthusiastic and supportive, only to later apologize, explaining she didn’t think it was anybody’s business and that she didn’t want anything to change. And while it felt therapeutic for the woman who has only let slip little shards of insight into her life — she owns an ax, she studied ballet before being kicked out of school for “beating the crap out of ballerinas,” her idea of a perfect date is “cheap dinner, watch basketball, bone down” — to share this part of herself, she wanted them to return to not talking about this ever again. (Request denied by Charles.)” Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz on Rosa’s revelation, what’s next (by Dan Snierson for Entertainment Weekly)