A random collection of articles, blog posts, books, and other things I think are worth sharing.
You know what? I cannot tolerate one more story about 45 or our government, so let’s just bury our heads in the sand this week, shall we? Here are some (no less heavy) stories that have nothing to do with politics (well, maybe in a roundabout way, but…)
“As a country,” Goldberg said, “we lost our teachable moment.” She started talking about the 2012 murder of 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Goldberg said that if people had been shown the autopsy photos of the kids, the gun debate would have been transformed. “The fact that not a single one of those kids was able to be transported to a hospital, tells me that they were not just dead, but really really really really dead. Ten-year-old kids, riddled with bullets, dead as doornails.”
The Marshall Project:The Volunteer (“More than a year ago, Nevada death row prisoner Scott Dozier gave up his legal appeals and asked to be executed. He’s still waiting.”)
Extended warranties. The old adage was to never waste money on extended warranties as you almost never used them. Times have changed and I’d argue that most electronics are definitely not made to last, so if you’re investing some money in a new iPod or pricey phone, or TV, I’d strongly suggest you buy an extended warranty or opt for the product with the longer warranty. It’s saved our butt more than a couple of times lately — on a desktop pc, a laptop pc, and even our $2K sliding door with the blinds between the glass that broke (they’re sending a new panel).
My heating pad. I brought it to work for my back, but I’ve had it sitting on my lap sandwiched between two layers of the blanket I wrap around myself every day and it makes me happy…and warm.
The interspecies bromance in my house. My big cat Oliver is indifferent (and occasionally hostile) to the other cats in the house, but he likes Sam…really, really likes him. It’s pretty fun to see him try to love on Sam, who just barely tolerates it, though he seems to be enjoying more and more every day. In the photo above, the cat is resting his head on Sam’s snout as they both lay on the kitchen floor.
Things I’m not loving this week
Winter’s Boneby Daniel Woodrell. I actually enjoyed this book and ripped through it pretty quickly, despite the hillbilly dialect, but the ending was awful….how do you not reveal the one thing everyone wants to know? I don’t like it when books answer all my questions and tie things up with a neat little bow, but ….this one left one big unanswered question, which made me feel cheated.
Cold, wind rain. You don’t have to shovel it and it’s not hard to drive on, but cold, windy rain is miserable to walk or go anywhere in.
Dollar store binders. In the category of you get what you pay for….the girls needed binders for the start of a new semester at school and I thought I was smart by scoring them at the dollar store. Not so much. The pockets broke on the first day. Sigh.
A random collection of articles, blog posts, books, and other things I think are worth sharing.
Upworthy:Nobody Gave These Kids a Chance, Until One Former Inmate Followed His Dreams (There’s a disturbing trend of charging teenagers as adults for having committed “adult crimes.” People want to lock them up and throw away the key — throw the book at them — but what good does that do? By definition teens are not adults. Their brains aren’t even fully developed — this is science — they don’t have the mind of an adult, and yet, our puritan culture demands vengeance and punishment. What they do is take that child’s life.)
“Without them, I wouldn’t have a second chance,” says Brian, one of the young people in the program.
But David takes that a step further. “Most people don’t understand, it’s not their second chance. It’s their first chance — they never even had a first chance.”
“The number one is why I haven’t filed to be a citizen. That’s the biggest one, and I think it makes me the saddest out of all of them because people really don’t understand our immigration system,” Silva says. “DACA doesn’t give me a path to citizenship; it just allows me a work permit.”
“Strange Weather” by Joe Hill. The author is the son of Stephen King and he certainly inherited his father’s gift for terror and telling tall tales that captivate you. This book actually contains four short novels. All are good. The 2nd book really pissed me off because of the ending, but…you’ll have that. The last two were the kind of stories that stay with you — that you walk around thinking about all day and dream about at night. I remember King’s Night Shift doing the same thing to me. To this day, I cannot sit outside of a truck stop or enter a laundromat without thinking about that book.
#ErieOpioidProject. It feels strange to put this in “things I’m loving” because that sounds to light and happy and this project, a series of videos by the Jefferson Society with Erie residents affected by the crisis, is anything but. It is a wake-up call and what I love about it is that people are talking about it. They’re putting it in the obits as the cause of death. They’re speaking their truth. They’re sharing their stories in hopes that they can save someone else. Though, one thing that is apparent from these videos is that you can’t love the addict out of someone. If that video above doesn’t break your f#$%ing heart, you don’t have one. Open the video in YouTube and you’ll see others on the right-hand rail.
Kids who love Queen. And AC/DC and Van Halen and Foreigner and other great bands of the ’70s & ’80s. I heard Kelly belting out “Somebody to Love” in the shower the other day and I was, like, sing it, girl! Lauren’s a big fan of Aerosmith and Rush. They frequently raid our CD rack (yes, I kept my CDs…in fact, I still play them in my car) for oldies but goodies, which reminds me…I really need to introduce them to Def Leppard and Bon Jovi.
Swim meets. Meets are long and often hot, but I like them because I can get some reading done between events and a steamy pool deck is not a bad place to hang out in January/February. Meets are even better when your kid does well. Lauren had two great meets this weekend. She’s on the Eastside Y swim team, which is a great league (is it called a league in swimming? I don’t know). Anyway…she set PRs in both the 50 fly and 100 fly this weekend. She also came close to her PR in the 50 free, and set a P.R. and took 1st place in the 50 back, and would’ve done the same in the 100 free, but was disqualified for starting late (she was talking to the girls behind her…sigh). I sooo wish Lauren could swim for a High School team, but no pool at her school. 😦
Things I’m not loving this week
Heaven’s Gate podcast. Here’s the podcast description: “In 1997, thirty-nine people took their own lives in an apparent mass suicide. The events captivated the media and had people across the planet asking the same question…‘Why?’ 20 years later, those who lost loved ones and those who still believe – tell their story.” Sounds really interesting, right? It is, but….oh. my. God. I cannot take the podcaster anymore. I stopped listening just because I find his manner of speaking. In. Which. He Emphasizes. And. Clearly. Enunciates. Every. Single. Word. highly annoying. I stuck with it for about 7 episodes, but I just can’t anymore…
Headaches. Thankfully, I don’t get them very often. But…as a writer, it makes doing your job, almost literally impossible.
The GOP Congressmen and women defending 45. Have you no shame? Do you think your loyalty will put you in the madman’s good graces? Wrong: Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C. I could probably use the whole alphabet here, but I have better things to do. To those of you still standing standing behind that train wreck….refusing to budge or scream or do anything…..Your day of reckoning is coming. Save the date: Nov. 6!
ADDitude Magazine:The Truth about ADHD and Lying (L tells a lot of tall tales and blatant untruths and it irritates me because….Trump….but this article sheds some light on why she lies…no word on why 45 is a world-class liar — a lethal mix of arrogance & ignorance, I suspect).
“A truly aggressive intelligence effort would not just monitor what’s being said on the network. It would target the on-air talent, as well as the folks behind the scenes who make the network’s programming possible: producers, bookers, associate producers, production assistants and the like. This might range from opening friendly contacts with these employees to outright recruitment. Another avenue for exploitation: Trump reportedly calls Sean Hannity after his show. If hostile foreign services compromise Hannity’s phone (or place a listening device in the room where Hannity takes his private calls), that could provide real-time intelligence on the American president and his thoughts.”
If that doesn’t scare you enough….there’s this:
New York Times Magazine:Making China Great Again (China is stepping right in to fill our “world leader” spot as Trump retreats and retreats and retreats, giving up our seat at the head of the table. To China, Trump’s presidency is a world of opportunity. )
Listen to the author discuss this story with Terry Gross from NPR’s Fresh Air podcast.
One of my 2017 New Year’s Resolutions was to find a way to fit more books into my life, and I have to say that I’m one of the few people who actually made good on a resolution.
*pause for applause*
I started watching less TV, opting to spend that time reading; started carrying a book with me at all times (in the car, at home, etc.) so I could make use of unexpected free-time (easy with Kindle Reader on the phone); and, generally, chose to read books instead of mindlessly scrolling social media (I took Facebook off my phone and shut off all notifications). I’m also in a book club, which forces to me read things I might not otherwise pickup.
Here’s what I’ve got to show for it — a list of all the books I crammed into my little head last year:
Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter
Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
The Nest, Cynthia Sweeney
Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford
Lucky by Alice Seibold
A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds
Because We Are: a story of Haiti by Ted Oswald
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow
Kissing in America by Margo Rabb
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Sophie’s choice by William Styron
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
All we know of Heaven by Jacquelyn mitchard
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
The Underground Railroad by Colton Whitehead
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Eight Tales of Terror by Edgar Allan Poe
This is How: Surviving What You Think You Can’t by Augusten Burroughs
Night Shift by Stephen King
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Allegheny Front by Matthew Neill Null
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott
Taking Aim by Eva Shockey
I’m pretty proud of that list — averaging 2.5 books a month — and consider it a challenge for 2018. I’ve already finished two this year.