ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: November 2018

Friday

30

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for: Completionists. Although if you’re not familiar with any of the characters in the series but like mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this.

In a nutshell: A police officer (not our protagonist) is shot at an abandoned house. Had he stumbled upon a drug deal? Was the mayor involved? Or was something else going on?

Why I chose it: When I read the first in the series, I immediately bought the rest. And now I’m done. Woo!

Review:
After the new police inspector is found shot by the main character police officer Ari Thor, an investigation ensues, taking Ari Thor and his old boss, Tomas (assigned to assist the investigation) back to old possible crimes and new political ones. Throughout are excerpts from a diary of someone who had been committed to a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt. But we don’t know who is writing the diary, or when.

This book focuses a bit more on Ari Thor than I’d like. I’m just not a fan of the character, or his girlfriend, really. In fact, I’m not sure I really like any of the characters, but I still enjoyed the story as it unfolded. I’m not sure what that means about the author — that he’s good at writing less than admirable characters and great at pushing plot forward? Or that he has a talent for plot but doesn’t realize his characters are pretty unlikeable? Unclear. But I enjoyed the book nonetheless.

I see that the author has moved on to a different series, focused on a different police officer, which I’ll probably check out at some point.

Friday

30

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

30 Days of Thankful

Written by , Posted in Random

I’m thankful every day for so many things, but this month I decided to make a point of publicly recognizing something I’m thankful for every day. Below are all of those posts, in one place, including the final one: Today, I’m thankful that I found an outlet for my creativity in writing. I’ve written a book (still in search of an agent), maintain a couple of websites (How Not to Be a Jerk When, Seattle to London), and participate in the Cannonball Read, which forces me to write reviews for all the books I’ve read. Writing brings me joy, frustrates me, and just generally improves my life.

November 1: Today, I’m thankful for the partner I have in Austin. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, he wants to make the world — and himself — better. Plus, he makes me laugh every day.

November 2: Today, I’m thankful for The Good Place. Yes, the TV show. It is thoughtful, sweet, and always puts a giant smile on my face.

November 3: Today, I’m thankful that we were able to get an apartment in London with an office / guest room. We’ve hosted friends and family in it, and it serves as an excellent place for one of us to sleep when the other gets sick (feel better Austin).

November 4: Today, I’m thankful for supportive teammates and a manager willing to take extra time to help me be a better goal keeper.

November 5: Today, I’m thankful for cafes that serve delicious hot drinks and provide space for studying, writing, reading, and quiet conversation.

November 6: Today, I’m thankful that Washington state has vote by mail, and that it has a super easy way for us folks living overseas to still exercise our right to vote.

November 7: Today, I’m thankful that we took back the House.

November 8: Today, I’m thankful that, after three months, the repairs to our house in Seattle are complete, and our tenants totally just rolled with it.

November 9: Today, I’m thankful for first responders. Right now, I’m thinking about the folks who were at the shooting in Thousand Oaks and then spent the next night fighting a fire and evacuating people.

November 10: Today, I’m thankful for Cannonball Read. Being part of this community for the last six years (!) has opened me up to new genres and pushed me to read at least a book a week.

November 11: Today, I’m thankful for Jameson and Tigger. They are sweet, loving, annoying little shits and they make life better.

November 12: Today, I’m thankful for modern dentistry. Just had my fourth root canal (my teeth hate me) and while it was mildly uncomfortable near the end, it was no worse than a run-of-the-mill filling.

November 13: Today, I’m thankful for family recipes that remind me of home. Made banana bread today and it was delicious.

November 14: Today, I’m thankful for crisp and sunny fall days. This is my favorite time of year.

November 15: Today, I’m thankful for friends willing to watch our kittens when we’re away for longer stretches of time. It feels good knowing the buddies are with extended family.

November 16: Today, I’m thankful for the kind man at Primark who was able to figure out that when I said tank top I meant what is known as a vest in British English. (Also thankful for all the other British folks who are able to understand and translate my US English.)

November 17: Today, I’m thankful for long walks through fascinating cities with Austin.

November 18: Today, I’m thankful that I’ve never had to worry about having a roof over my head. As it gets colder here, I’m thinking about all the people who aren’t as lucky as I’ve been. (To support an org helping those without homes in Seattle: Aurora Commons.)

November 19: Today, I’m thankful I live in a place with free museums. The ability to pop into a building and spend an hour looking at fantastic art for just a small donation is kind of unbelievable.

November 20: Today, I’m thankful for umbrellas. I know I part ways with my Seattle friends here in my insistence on using them, but screw it. I like being dry.

November 21: Today, I’m thankful for family vacations. When I was a kid, we’d travel to L.A. to visit family over Thanksgiving, with a stop at Disneyland on the day before. I have so many great memories from those trips.

November 22: Today, I’m thankful for everyone who has ever welcomed me into their home for Thanksgiving.

November 23: Today, I’m thankful for my parents. I had a great childhood, and I’ve never doubted their love for me, which I know isn’t a guarantee in life.

November 24: Today, I’m thankful for the means and opportunity to travel. A weekend in Berlin? Yes please.

November 25: Today, I’m thankful for Stephanie, a.k.a. the best sister ever. Missing you as we explore Berlin – that was such a fun trip (and shockingly long ago)!

November 26: Today, I’m thankful for the composers and lyricists who can bring out amazing emotions in a three minute song (or two hour musical).

November 27: Today I’m thankful for a new opportunity. Starting on Monday I’ll be working in higher education and I could not be more excited! Emergency management has been so good to me, but it’s time for a change.

November 28: Today, I’m thankful for my friends. Pretty generic statement, I know, but I’m lucky to have friends all over, and you’re all fantastic.

November 29: Today, I’m thankful for all the health care workers and caretakers out there. Whether they care for people or animals, I appreciate how much they add to our lives (literally and figuratively).

November 30: Today, I’m thankful that I found an outlet for my creativity in writing. Writing brings me joy, frustrates me, and just generally improves my life.

Thursday

29

November 2018

1

COMMENTS

48 Hours in Berlin

Written by , Posted in Adventures

One reason Austin and I were so excited to move to a new country was the opportunity to travel. So far we’ve been to France, Portugal, and Iceland this year (and he’s been to Malta with work). So when our friends said they were going to be in Berlin and did we want to meet up, we found some absurdly cheap flights and a great hotel deal and booked a weekend away.

I first visited Berlin the summer after high school, when my choir went on tour. I didn’t remember much when I returned 12 years later with my sister. She and I had a wonderful time exploring the city and even hopping over to Potsdam for a day trip. Since then it’s been a city I remember fondly. Now, eight years later, it’s just as lovely as I recalled.

It was also so cold. So very, very cold. Not sure if autumn is a thing in Berlin but, if so, it ended well before we arrived. A quick bus to our hotel (which was literally next door to the Tacheles, which sadly is being torn down) and we were off. We hoped some Christmas markets would be open, but they were still in set-up mode. We ended up getting dinner at a tourist-y beer hall that still had delicious food. (The service was borderline hilarious though – took like 20 minutes to order, and another 15 to find someone who would let us pay our bill when we were finished). I even drank beer, as I tend to do when I’m in Germany.

To get a respite from the cold, we wandered into the Ritter Sport factory store and holy crap. I love chocolate, but have never really picked up any of their bars. We decided to get a few samplers and became pretty obsessed with the one with Speculoos cookie bits in it. So good. And of course we found a book store with a HUGE English language section and bought books, because even on vacation we’re the same people as we are at home.

Near our hotel was a delightful cocktail bar, with high ceilings, low lighting, and (probably intentionally) distressed decor. I had an elderflower gin and tonic, which is quickly becoming my favorite cocktail. We returned with our friends the next night.

The next day was apparently Totensonntag, which is a day of mourning before all the Christmas festivities commence. Probably explains the cheap hotel room — very little was open. Austin and I decided to spend about three hours wandering Tiergarten, in the bitter cold. Our friends arrived but needed a nap, so we relaxed and warmed up at our hotel until we met up for another delicious German dinner. As a vegetarian I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find things to eat, but each of my meals was delicious.

Monday was our last day, and we finally got to see Christmas markets! We ate so much – pretzels with cheese, these bread toast thingies with toppings, gluehwein, egg nog, cocoa, waffles with nutella. I know a lot of places in the US have Christmas markets, but those to me end up feeling like Farmers Markets hopped up on sugar. German Christmas markets are just something else entirely, and need to be seen in person.

It was such a short trip that we didn’t end up doing much else, so I know we’ll want to return. And probably when it’s a bit warmer.

Tuesday

27

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Self-Care for the Real World by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for: Someone looking for a few more tips and suggestions on how to really take care of yourself.

In a nutshell: Sisters Nadia and Katia have ideas that they’d like to share with you, ostensibly organized into six categories (but not really).

Worth quoting:
“It’s not so much about what you’re eating as how you’re eating it. Are you eating from a place of love and nourishment? Or out of punishment, or ideas of good and bad?”

Why I chose it:
It looked pretty. But I should have known it might not be the best choice given the three blurbs were from Reese Witherspoon, Kate Moss, and Sienna Miller.

Review:
This book is definitely fine. It’s not offensive, it’s not pushing absurdity or dangerousness like GOOP. But it’s not really … held together with anything.

Theoretically it is divided into five sections: Love, Hope, Peace, Joy, and Light. But honestly, any of the suggestions could have been in any section. Some sections have recipes – why weren’t those all in the same place? I guess I just am not sure how the editing process worked, and maybe this is the best it could have been, but I see more potential here.

There are some ideas in here that I think are useful, and some tips and tricks. But I’m not really sure it needs to be an entire book. Maybe a website would have been better? With different categories? Unclear, but unless you’re a big Reese Witherspoon fan and you follow her recommendations to the letter, you can probably skip this one.

Tuesday

27

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: People who enjoyed his first three books.

In a nutshell: A young woman has fallen off (or jumped? Or been pushed from?) cliffs in the north of Iceland. The twist? Her sister and mother died at those same cliffs 25 years ago. So … what happened?

Why I chose it: I clearly have found a genre I love — Icelandic mysteries. And since something like 10% of the population of Iceland will write a book at some point, my guess is once I finish with his last book (sadness), I can move on to another similar author.

Review:
Asta has decided to return to the home she lived in when she was younger, when her father managed the lighthouse. When she was seven, her mother fell from the cliffs. Or perhaps was pushed? Then soon after, Asta’s sister falls from the same cliffs at only five years old. Asta’s father ends up in psychiatric care, and she is raised by an aunt.

At the home near the lighthouse, two older folks live, having kept the house for over 40 years, since their own mother was housekeeper there. The owner is a prominent businessman who inherited it from his father. A neighbor helps out as well, and all are together when it is revealed that Asta has died.

Was it an accident? Did she jump, following in her mother’s and sister’s footsteps? Was she pushed for what she may have known? Police officer Ari Thor and his wife travel to the town just before Christmas at the request of Ari’s former boss down in Reykjavik, as he needs help, and Ari doesn’t want to leave his pregnant girlfriend behind right at the holidays.

Really the only thing I didn’t enjoy in this book was the absence of Isrun, the journalist who has featured fairly prominently in the previous two books. But even with her missing, the book was a quick and enjoyable read.

Friday

23

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – November 23, 2018

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Note: I’m out of town this weekend, so posting this early.

International News

“Airbnb said it had made the decision because settlements were “at the core” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The move, which affects 200 listings, has been widely praised by Palestinians and their supporters.” Airbnb: Israeli uproar as firm bars West Bank settlements (BBC)

“An estimated 85,000 children under the age of five may have died from acute malnutrition in three years of war in Yemen, a leading charity says. The number is equivalent to the entire under-five population in the UK’s second largest city of Birmingham, Save the Children adds. The UN warned last month that up to 14m Yemenis are on the brink of famine.” Yemen crisis: 85,000 children ‘dead from malnutrition’ (BBC)

Reproductive Rights

“A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked a Mississippi Republican law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks’ pregnancy, declaring the measure “unequivocally” unconstitutional. As a result of Tuesday’s decision, a nearly identical 15-week ban passed by Republican lawmakers in Louisiana will not go into effect. That law’s effective date depended on the outcome of the lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s 15-week ban.” Judge Blocks Mississippi’s 15-Week Abortion Ban, Rips State’s GOP Legislature (by Jessica Mason Pieklo for Rewire)

Transphobia

“HRC has tracked 128 transgender victims of fatal violence since January 2013; at least 110 of these were transgender people of color. There were 29 known victims of fatal anti-transgender violence in 2017, the highest number since HRC began tracking. Although each case is unique, the epidemic disproportionately affects trans women of color, who make up 80 percent of all anti-transgender homicides, the report notes. Many of of the victims’ identities were denied by their families, and many were misgendered by police and media. Some were chased down by authorities or killed by a partner, while some were victims of outright hate crimes.” New Report Shows the Scope of Anti-Trans Violence in the US (by Auditi Guha for Rewire)

Friday

23

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: People looking for a bit of mystery set in an interesting place.

In a nutshell: Police officer Ari Thor is stuck in his town during a quarantine situation and looking into a 50-year-old mystery, while two seemingly unrelated crimes are looked into by journalist Isrun.

Why I chose it: After I read the first, I ordered all four others in the series. No regrets.

Review:
A baby is kidnapped. A recovered substance abuser is hit by a car. A man’s wife was beaten to death. A nephew is wondering if his aunt died by suicide or was murdered. Some of these stories might be related. How we find that out is interesting.

Ari Thor is less of an ass in this one. He’s a bit of a … blowhard? At one point he’s telling a story that affects someone else’s life and he chooses to stretch out the storytelling while that person is clearly distressed. I know the readers need to learn the story, but I feel that the author could have found a different way to do this. Unless, as I do suspect, the author doesn’t particularly like his protagonist.

I was excited to see that the same journalist from the second book has a big role to play. Her background and way of being is just more interesting to me, and I appreciate how she is woven into these stories.

When the twists of this particular story were revealed, I appreciated that while I didn’t figure them out, they weren’t entirely impossible to have sorted out. I don’t read these books in the hopes that I’ll sort out what’s happened; I just like reading stories set in interesting places. So far the outcomes are never totally outside the realm of possibility, but are surprising enough to be fun.

Wednesday

21

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Black0ut by Ragnar Jónasson

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: People looking for a bit of mystery set in an interesting place.

In a nutshell: Someone has been murdered, and the police and a highly motivated journalist are both on the story.

Why I chose it: I loved the first one in this series.

Review:
Ari Thor is a police officer living in a small town in far nothern Iceland. After someone is found murdered in a nearby town, he and his boss are called in to assist, as the victim lived nearby. As news comes out, journalist Isrun leaves Reykjavik to travel north and follow the story. She claims to have a tip, but she made it up, not knowing she might not be that far from the truth.

As in the first book, there are a lot of stories going on that may or may not be related. The story is also disturbing, and while I’m not going to get into details, the book should definitely have a trigger warner for references to sexual assault.

One thing this second book has convinced me of is that the main character Ari Thor is boring and an ass. He showed a bit of this in the first book when he just up and decided to move away without talking it over with his partner. In this one, he displays his jealousy and toxic masculinity more, and it did not amuse me. Basically, he’s an asshole. I can’t entirely tell, but I think the author wants us to like Ari Thor, and that’s fine. I don’t. But he features in only maybe 20% of the book, so it’s not a big deal. He’s more like the excuse for the story to exist as opposed to the main focus of it.

It’s entirely possible I’ve read this out of order, but I don’t think so. If you check Amazon, it calls this book three, but on the author’s website, I followed the Iceland release order, and it seems to flow directly from the previous book. I offer this up as a warning in case you choose to get into this series (Dark Iceland)

Monday

19

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: Those looking for some tips to help them focus their time.

In a nutshell: Two former Google folks offer their tips for making time for what matters (I mean, it’s right there in the title, and I couldn’t figure out a better way to say it).

Worth quoting:
“Trying to cram in just one more thing is like driving a car that is running out of gas: No matter how long you keep your foot on the accelerator, if the tank is empty, you aren’t going anywhere. You to stop and refuel.”

Why I chose it:
Assuming all the paperwork and such goes through, I should be starting a new job next month. For the past year I’ve been working from home, and only part time, so I’ve been able to do things like chores and exploring my new city on my own schedule. And before that, I didn’t work on Fridays for years. But my new job has a regular work week, so I’m going to have to work harder to be more intentional about how I spend my time.

Review:
The main premise of the book is this: we should pick a highlight for our day (work or personal life) that takes about 60-90 minutes; create an environment to have laser focus; make some changes to increase energy, and then reflect on the actions we’ve taken and if they’ve helped us focus on our highlight.

The book itself is well-designed. It’s a bit hefty, but it has illustrations and summarizes the four areas well. After presenting the basics behind each thesis, the authors offer tips on how to implement it. The suggestion isn’t that the reader incorporate all the suggestions, but that we try them out and reflect to see which work to help us make time for what we want to do with our days.

Some suggestions are ones I’ve heard before — deleting apps from phones that suck time but don’t add a lot to life, exercising a bit each — but the framework is different, and I like it. I’m going to try it out.

That said, a couple of reservations: this was created by two dudes. One does have children, but I would be interested in how this works for people who are primary caregivers of their children and don’t work outside the home. They do reference how some of this might be challenging to people who have newborns or other people they care for, but I could imaging being a bit skeptical. Additionally, for people who have very little control over their work schedule, some of the tips might be hard to implement, but I think it’s worth having a go.

Sunday

18

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – November 18, 2018

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

California Fires

The devastation is nearly unfathomable. If you’d like to help with the recovery, NBC has compiled a list of resources.

Corporate Greed

“Most — if not all — of that intended housing is now off the table. “The fact that massive public subsidies are helping eliminate affordable housing units is just the latest reason this bad deal needs to be torn up and thrown away,” said state Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents Long Island City. Plaxall, which owns land around the Anable Basin, was prepared to ask New York City for permission to build up to 4,995 new homes on a 14.7-acre site on the East River, 1,250 of which developers would have set aside for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. Most of that site will now be subsumed into Amazon’s office campus.” Amazon deal will disrupt plans for affordable housing on Long Island City sites (by Sally Goldenberg and Dana Rebenstein for Politico)

Gun Violence

“”Unless you’ve had someone’s heart stop beating in your hands, you don’t get to tell those of us who have what is and is not our ‘lane’,” trauma surgeon David Morris, 42, told the BBC. The National Rifle Association’s tweet on Wednesday sparked anger. It came just hours before a gunman killed 12 people in a California bar.” #ThisIsOurLane: Doctors hit back at pro-gun group NRA (BBC)

Environment

“The plague that struck Joyce’s farm in Malden, Missouri, was not a natural disaster, but a man-made weed killer called dicamba. Farmers had applied the drift-prone chemical sparingly for decades. But in the past two years, its use has grown exponentially, and now dicamba is destroying millions of acres of crops worth millions of dollars, pitting farmer against farmer and scientists against manufacturers.” Scientists warned this weed killer would destroy crops. EPA approved it anyway (by Liza Gross for Reveal)

Rape Culture

“The costs of those services add up: Women reported spending an additional $26 to $50 per month in transit costs compared to men’s $0, both when they try to avoid harassment on subways and buses, and when they assume duties that require extra trips, like dropping off and picking up school-aged kids and taking elderly dependents to appointments. For women who check both boxes (just trying to get to work without being groped, thanks, and caretaking), that could mean as much as $100 in added monthly expenses men don’t have to deal with.” Survey Shows Women Paying ‘Pink Tax’ To Avoid Sexual Harassment On The Subway (by Claire Lampen for Gothamist)

“In the trial, the defence lawyer told the jury: “You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.” The 27-year-old man was found not guilty of rape shortly afterwards. The controversy led one Irish MP to hold up a lace thong in parliament to highlight “routine victim-blaming”.” Irish outcry over teenager’s underwear used in rape trial (BBC)

Criminal Punishment System

“The American Public Health Association (APHA) on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a statement recognizing law enforcement violence as a public health issue. It was one of a dozen policy statements adopted at the organization’s annual conference, including another that opposes the separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.” Leading Health Group: Killings by Police Are a Public Health Issue (by Cynthia Greenlee & Laura Huss for Rewire)

US Elections

“On Friday afternoon, Abrams acknowledged that Kemp—the secretary of state who implemented many of these restrictions and was in charge of ensuring a fair voting process—would be certified as the winner of the election. He leads by 55,000 votes, out of nearly 4 million cast. Abrams came within 18,000 votes of forcing a runoff. The election was marred by allegations of widespread voter suppression, and the Abrams campaign says that suppression may have prevented enough votes to keep the race from going to a runoff. Other top Democrats echoed these concerns. “If she had a fair election, she already would have won,” Hillary Clinton said this week.” Brian Kemp’s Win In Georgia Is Tainted by Voter Suppression (by Ari Berman for Mother Jones)