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SO AMESOME

B's Book Picks

I recently finished What is the What, by Dave Eggers (author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), and would definitely recommend it. What is the What is a fictionalized, though still biographical, account of Achak Deng's early life as one of Sudan's Lost Boys. Eggers befriended Deng and wrote the novel based on Deng's story. The best part is that Eggers was at that point a best-selling author, meaning his book would presumably draw much praise (read: attention) and money. All the proceeds from this book went to Deng's foundation, which is currently building a school in his village in Sudan.

Eggers is a very unique author, mixing humor with grief in a way that can be simultaneously difficult and understandable for one who has been through a prolonged period of hard times. For anyone who has read A Heartbreaking Work, you probably understand what I mean when I say that at times I wanted to throw the book at the wall. While What is the What sometimes had that feeling (mostly in the beginning), it was easier to sink into Achak's sadness. I think this was partly because I knew the story was based on mostly true events, thus allowing me to convince myself of the importance of reading the story. Also, when beginning this book, I think I felt as though it was a repeat, albeit a fictionalized one, of Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone, which in some ways it was. I soon realized that this was not the case, and would actually recommend reading them both. Beah's account is a memoir about being a child soldier in Sierra Leone, focusing solely on his time there. The book ends just as he is arriving in America, where he would soon attend Oberlin College. Deng's story is one of a refugee, and the book goes back and forth between his time in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya and America, highlighting that this Lost Boy remains lost, even when he has been given a new lease on life in the US.
Both books are generally about war-torn Africa and the effects these various conflicts have on young people, young people who are now part of this country. Yet, it is also important to understand the variety of conflicts and reasons for them, as well as experiences had by those involved. These stories are told by very different voices, but ultimately, are told to shed light on a world that too often we consider to be farther away and more separate than it really is.

Overheard in GG Park

Daddy, Andy Warhol has weird hair

- Small child to father

Strrreaming Radio

I keep getting sick of my own music and wanting to hear something that might not necessarily come up on Pandora or Last.fm, but have only found a few good ones out there. SomaFM is an interesting one with ambient music that might be good for the background. WOBC will always have a special place in my heart and be my go-to when Car Talk comes on NPR, but when the folk shows come on, I can't really take it. Casbah Radio and Oh-la-la were recommended to me by a coworker, and are pretty great but I want more! Send me your tips, please.

Top Ten

Now that I have an hour+ commute (one-way), I spend a lot of time reading the paper and listening to my iPod.
Here's my Top Ten of what I'm listening to right now. My iTunes library is huge (especially now thanks to Al), but this is just a current list. It will probably change in about two days. It is also in no particular order.

1. Drive-By Truckers: Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife (Unca D - if you don't have this song, or this band, get it now; I guarantee you'll like it.)
2. T.I. ft. Rihanna: Live Your Life
   
3. Arrested Development: Mr. Wendal (a throw-back to when I was about 8, but still great)
4. Dolly Parton: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?
   
5. Atmosphere: The Skinny
   
6. M. Ward: Poison Cup
7. Hi-Tek: Tired
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Y Control (Obie alums!)
   
9. Ryan Adams ft. Emmylou Harris: Oh My Sweet Carolina
10. Lupe Fiasco ft. Jill Scott: Daydreamin'

Changing BMIs: Playboy v. McDonalds

My coworker, Kim, alerted me to a Wired article about the history of Playmates' changing B.M.Is. In a nutshell, the article shows how one woman plotted every Playmates' BMI against the average woman's BMI for that same year. Not surprisingly, the average woman has gotten larger while Playmates have gotten smaller. But, there is one surprise: while Playmates' BMIs have gotten smaller (including their overall chest measurement), their cup size has remained rather large. So, not only is Playboy selling an unrealistic ideal of a woman, they are promoting plastic surgery to partly obtain this ideal.
This article also made me think about the fact that the average woman is getting BIGGER (as is the average male). It seems pretty likely that we can blame this on fast food, hormones in our meat and dairy, and ridiculous dieting and surgery being promoted more than exercise and eating normally.

As Kim and I discussed, the original ideas of men like Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt were not all that dispicable. Hefner began Playboy as a response to the idea that women had to be asexual, and that sex was solely a means for reproduction - an idea that made talking about sex for pleasure as an extreme taboo, especially for women. In the beginning, Playboy was a space where that "average" secretary or nurse could be photographed in a way that showcased her unexpected sexiness and femininity. Flynt, who grew up in a poor family in smalltown Kentucky, created Hustler for similar [pornographic] reasons, but also as a response to Playboy's focus on white, upper-class men, offering articles that weren't about golf and expensive gizmos.
I have little beef with either of these magazines from that point of view - yet, they both have seemingly evolved into publications that value unrealistic and unobtainable bodies. I also have little patience for those that argue that these are men's arenas, that they should be able to just look at what they want without people nagging at the inappropriateness of it. I do realize that part of the allure is the fantasy, but does fantasy have to mean fake? Further, how much of it is actually what men want to look at, and how much of it is what they are being told is attractive?

The problem is two-fold: 40 years ago, women were, on average, smaller and presumably healthier. These days, people are fighting obesity at appalling rates for various reasons, yet to be considered attractive, women (more than men) must morph themselves into an almost impossible form. It would be nice to think we could get back to the middle ground of healthy weights and proportions as not only the ideal, but the reality.

Chris Motz, this senior at Oberlin put this picture as his fb picture. Although I would pretty much NEVER compare Ray to Obama, it's still pretty funny. Props Chris.

I love Craigslist

Last weekend B and I bought a lot of furniture from people on Craigslist and now I wish I still needed things I could find on Craigslist because I love Craigslist so much. I did find this posting, which I may or may not have seriously considered replying to. Best part of the posting, "Movie presskits are promotional items and very rare. May be of gay interest." In case it gets taken down and you can't see it, the posting title is, "PRESS KIT for the movie SLEEPOVER with SEAN FARIS Rare - $10 (downtown / civic / van ness)"