gail collins - when everything changed: the amazing journey of american women from 1960 to the present
this was a good book. but every time i looked at the cover it made me a little mad. why the fuck is michelle obama on the cover? yes she's a smart woman. but i don't even remember what her job was. she will likely only be remembered as president obama's wife. so why did her photo make the cover of a book about how far american women have come? as a woman who is best known as a wife of a famous man, how is she a shining example of gender advancement?
there are six photos on the book:
cover: housewife lady sitting next to the washing machine, lady in the military, michelle obama at her husband's first inauguration
spine: playboy bunny, hillary clinton giving a speech
back: author herself
maybe the collins wanted a person of color on the cover. fine. but why not condoleezza rice? at one point she was unarguably the most influential woman in the united states. sure a wife influences her husband, but not nearly in the same way the secretary of state influences a president! (btw, i don't even know if condi is married so how's that for being her own woman?) but to pick two people in the political arena is a little heavy. i think maybe she should've picked a female scientist. so how about mae jemison, the first black female astronaut? she's fucking awesome! or how about jackie joyner kersee, flo-jo, wilma rudolph, or any black female athlete? there are thousands more qualified to be on the cover!
i get that this is just the book cover. but covers are be chosen with care. and since there are only five pictures you'd think collins put a damn lot of thought into who those five women were going to be. i just wish she'd been more thoughtful.
5.16.2015
5.06.2015
may 2015
alan moorehead - the fatal impact [3-19]
gail collins - when everything changed [19-15]
barbara demick - nothing to envy: real lives in north korea [5-25]
deborah feldman - unorthodox: the scandalous rejection of my hasidic roots [26-]
freakanomics (2013), side by side (2012), tinker tailor soldier spy (2011), the iron lady (2011), a year in burgundy (2013), the painting (2011), monk with a camera (2014), chef's table (season 1)
gail collins - when everything changed [19-15]
barbara demick - nothing to envy: real lives in north korea [5-25]
deborah feldman - unorthodox: the scandalous rejection of my hasidic roots [26-]
freakanomics (2013), side by side (2012), tinker tailor soldier spy (2011), the iron lady (2011), a year in burgundy (2013), the painting (2011), monk with a camera (2014), chef's table (season 1)
4.21.2015
april 2015
barbara kingsolver - animal, vegetable, miracle [2-27-10]
Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman - Sway [14-2]
alan moorehead - the fatal impact:captain cook's exploration of the south pacific - its high adventure and disastrous effects [3]
john lloyd, john mitchinson - the book of animal ignorance [11-18]
gail collins - when everything changed: the amazing journey of american women from 1960 to the present [19-]
desert runners (2013), my week with marilyn (2011), sushi: the global catch (2012), k2: siren of the himalayas (2012), design is one: lella & massimo vignelli (2012), furious 7 (2015), snitch (2013)
Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman - Sway [14-2]
alan moorehead - the fatal impact:captain cook's exploration of the south pacific - its high adventure and disastrous effects [3]
john lloyd, john mitchinson - the book of animal ignorance [11-18]
gail collins - when everything changed: the amazing journey of american women from 1960 to the present [19-]
desert runners (2013), my week with marilyn (2011), sushi: the global catch (2012), k2: siren of the himalayas (2012), design is one: lella & massimo vignelli (2012), furious 7 (2015), snitch (2013)
3.22.2015
the imitation game
did you watch the imitation game? i thought it was a pretty good movie, that is, until i read this article and found out the whole movie was basically a sack of lying shit. yeah, that's pretty harsh. but it's because i had the biggest epiphany in the last five minutes of the movie, and i ended up crying so hard i gave myself a headache. and then i found out that the thing didn't even fucking happen!!!
here's the story. not of the movie, but of the thing i'm talking about. in the movie, machine is named christopher, after turing's childhood crush / love. it's his first crush / love. and before he gets the chance to tell the other boy about his feelings, the kid unexpectedly dies. then like 15 year later, turing names his machine for him. then another like 10 years after that, he builds another machine in his house and also names that one christopher. now, none of this is a secret. but i'm terrible with names, and it was only in the last five minutes, after he tells keira knightly that he hasn't been alone this whole time, he has christopher, that i turn to reepal and ask "what was that other kid's name?" it's christo-fucking-pher. bawling ensues. i keep wailing "poor alan!!!" my damn heart nearly broke for the sad lonely guy! nothing's gone his way, ever!!
both rip and i felt some things in the movie weren't quite factual. some characters just were too smarmy, and the timing of a few things were just too perfect, so we googled it. and guess what? we were right. characters were moved around, totally eliminated, completely exaggerated, and a bunch of other gross misrepresentations that you would nearly categorize as fiction! if not for the fact that names were not made up. ...except for the fucking name of the fucking computer!!! damn thing was never named christopher! it was called victory!! which is a great name, don't get me wrong. but the whole emotional swing of the movie was completely fucking false. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY!! and that is all.
all in all, the movie is worth watching. but seriously. it's barely based on a true story. nearly all aspects have been tampered with. much more interested to read the book now tho.
here's the story. not of the movie, but of the thing i'm talking about. in the movie, machine is named christopher, after turing's childhood crush / love. it's his first crush / love. and before he gets the chance to tell the other boy about his feelings, the kid unexpectedly dies. then like 15 year later, turing names his machine for him. then another like 10 years after that, he builds another machine in his house and also names that one christopher. now, none of this is a secret. but i'm terrible with names, and it was only in the last five minutes, after he tells keira knightly that he hasn't been alone this whole time, he has christopher, that i turn to reepal and ask "what was that other kid's name?" it's christo-fucking-pher. bawling ensues. i keep wailing "poor alan!!!" my damn heart nearly broke for the sad lonely guy! nothing's gone his way, ever!!
both rip and i felt some things in the movie weren't quite factual. some characters just were too smarmy, and the timing of a few things were just too perfect, so we googled it. and guess what? we were right. characters were moved around, totally eliminated, completely exaggerated, and a bunch of other gross misrepresentations that you would nearly categorize as fiction! if not for the fact that names were not made up. ...except for the fucking name of the fucking computer!!! damn thing was never named christopher! it was called victory!! which is a great name, don't get me wrong. but the whole emotional swing of the movie was completely fucking false. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY!! and that is all.
all in all, the movie is worth watching. but seriously. it's barely based on a true story. nearly all aspects have been tampered with. much more interested to read the book now tho.
3.04.2015
march 2015
barbara kingsolver - animal, vegetable, miracle [27-]
Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman - Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior [14-]
ben mezrich - bringing down the house: the inside story of six mit students who took vegas for millions [18-26]
tons of documentaries lately! it's cause they're generally under 90 minutes.
le chef (2012), the hobbit: the battle of five armies (2012), madmoiselle c (2013), diana vreeland: the eye has to travel (2011), the imitation game (2014), advanced style (2014), it's a girl! (2012), 180° South (2010), three stars (2010), samsara (2011), the director (2013)
funny thing about the hobbit movie. rip and i watched it sorta on ff. i didn't want to watch it in theaters cause i've lost about 16 years of my life to these damn peter jackson movies. but i did want to watch it cause i'd seen the other 5 movies. rip wouldn't ff much tho. for some reason, he wanted me to sit thru some of the dialogue. i was like, just summarize the damn thing! i was hoping to cut the movie by like 80% but i think we actually watched most of it. like 75% or something. ugh.
Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman - Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior [14-]
ben mezrich - bringing down the house: the inside story of six mit students who took vegas for millions [18-26]
tons of documentaries lately! it's cause they're generally under 90 minutes.
le chef (2012), the hobbit: the battle of five armies (2012), madmoiselle c (2013), diana vreeland: the eye has to travel (2011), the imitation game (2014), advanced style (2014), it's a girl! (2012), 180° South (2010), three stars (2010), samsara (2011), the director (2013)
funny thing about the hobbit movie. rip and i watched it sorta on ff. i didn't want to watch it in theaters cause i've lost about 16 years of my life to these damn peter jackson movies. but i did want to watch it cause i'd seen the other 5 movies. rip wouldn't ff much tho. for some reason, he wanted me to sit thru some of the dialogue. i was like, just summarize the damn thing! i was hoping to cut the movie by like 80% but i think we actually watched most of it. like 75% or something. ugh.
2.02.2015
february 2015
haven't been reading much lately. am trying to slog thru a couple not interesting books. they're not bad. they just don't excite me much. have instead been watching a ton of stuff on the roku rip got me for christmas! few dates on the movies since i don't rememer when i watched them and because i think i watched most of them thru a couple sessions
suketu mehta - maximum city: bombay lost and found [22-19]
frances mayes - every day in tuscany [3-26]
barbara kingsolver - animal, vegetable, miracle [27-]
bill and ted's excellent adventure (1989) [1], se7en (1995) [2], fury (2014), mockingjay part 1 (2014), our idiot brother (2011), last night (2010), stuck in love (2012), ballerina (2009), begin again (2013) [27],
suketu mehta - maximum city: bombay lost and found [22-19]
frances mayes - every day in tuscany [3-26]
barbara kingsolver - animal, vegetable, miracle [27-]
bill and ted's excellent adventure (1989) [1], se7en (1995) [2], fury (2014), mockingjay part 1 (2014), our idiot brother (2011), last night (2010), stuck in love (2012), ballerina (2009), begin again (2013) [27],
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