I did it! Now that my election worries are over, I can concentrate and read novels again. I had initially hesitated in reading the Twilight series because I'm not normally a fan of vampire novels. (I'm even less of a fan of vampire movies; Interview with a Vampire nearly made me lose my dinner). I decided to try Meyer's series because I had heard so many good things about it, not the least of which was that Edward, vampire and love interest of Bella, the main (human) character, is a vegetarian. Strictly speaking, this isn't true, but he satisfies his thirst for blood by drinking animal blood rather than human blood. Even so, I have to try not to dwell on it too much or I feel queasy.
Still, the book is really good, both as a suspense novel and a romance. Bella, 17, moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her dad after her mother remarries. She isn't at all crazy about moving to one of the rainiest places in the United States, especially since she's from Phoenix, but she forces herself to do so in the interest of her mother's happiness. Bella's moving in with her father leaves her mother free to travel with her new husband.
On the first day in her new school in Forks, Bella meets Edward, whose good looks border on godlike.
Too bad he seems to take an instant dislike to her.
It isn't until later that she learns the truth about Edward. Edward is a vampire, and though he's as crazy about her as she is about him, he was trying to stay away from her because he was also having to fight the urge to suck her blood. Which I guess is as good a reason for his initial behavior as any.
Bella handles the news of Edward's true nature surprisingly well. Despite Edward's warnings that he is still dangerous to be around despite his "vegetarianism" (in case he gets too tempted), she has no intention of staying away from Edward. He finds it difficult to keep his distance from her, too, and they begin a romance, albeit a cautious one.
But hanging out with vampires is even more dangerous than either one of them realizes, and Belle soon finds herself in grave danger.
The magnetism between the two main characters and the suspenseful plot makes this book a real page turner. It appeals to teens and adults alike. I read somewhere that Edward and his vampire family set an example of sorts in that they rise above their lot in life by only hunting animals. It's not an obvious point, but I do believe it's true.
The movie is due to come out in only a couple of days! I look forward to seeing it; I only hope it's half as good as the book.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
What Would Obama Do? Eight Years of Slacker Hell
I have developed a disturbing tendency in the last few weeks. Lately when I am confronted with a difficult situation, I find myself wondering how Obama would handle it. The answer is usually something like confronting a problem directly as opposed to studious avoidance, thinking something through before acting, or (gasp!) working harder.
This new tendency unsettles me greatly as it is unprecedented. I sure as hell wasn't asking myself what Bush would do in a difficult (or any) situation, though I suppose that could be a good reverse guide. That is, if you aren't sure what to do about something, ask yourself what Bush would do, and then do just the opposite. Politicians in general haven't been people I considered worthy of emulation, even ones I liked, until now.
Those of us who were deriving a certain portion of our self-esteem from feeling superior to the president are going to have to figure something else out.
It's rather comforting to know that I am not the only one asking myself What Would Obama Do (WWOD). Julia Moulden at Huffington Post writes about how to Unleash Your Inner Obama.
As for myself, I think that's wonderful, but am feeling somewhat less energetic after weeks of obsessively following the election, and like Lisa Earle McLeod over at Huffington Post, am feeling in the need of a detox.
I can't imagine what it would take to actually run a campaign if I'm tired from just following it.
Maybe I will head over to change.gov, President-Elect Barack Obama's new website, where they are inviting people to share their stories and ideas. I could suggest that the country institute afternoon siestas. Probably won't fly, but maybe worth a shot.
On the other hand, thinking of the fact that in 71 days, Obama is going to be our president does give me a burst of energy. Woohoo!
This new tendency unsettles me greatly as it is unprecedented. I sure as hell wasn't asking myself what Bush would do in a difficult (or any) situation, though I suppose that could be a good reverse guide. That is, if you aren't sure what to do about something, ask yourself what Bush would do, and then do just the opposite. Politicians in general haven't been people I considered worthy of emulation, even ones I liked, until now.
Those of us who were deriving a certain portion of our self-esteem from feeling superior to the president are going to have to figure something else out.
It's rather comforting to know that I am not the only one asking myself What Would Obama Do (WWOD). Julia Moulden at Huffington Post writes about how to Unleash Your Inner Obama.
As for myself, I think that's wonderful, but am feeling somewhat less energetic after weeks of obsessively following the election, and like Lisa Earle McLeod over at Huffington Post, am feeling in the need of a detox.
I can't imagine what it would take to actually run a campaign if I'm tired from just following it.
Maybe I will head over to change.gov, President-Elect Barack Obama's new website, where they are inviting people to share their stories and ideas. I could suggest that the country institute afternoon siestas. Probably won't fly, but maybe worth a shot.
On the other hand, thinking of the fact that in 71 days, Obama is going to be our president does give me a burst of energy. Woohoo!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Post-Election Reflections
Last night Jon Stewart was talking about how in New York City people had actually been looking him in the eye and smiling that day and how it was freaking him out. Since I don't live in the Seattle area (the part of Washington that makes it a blue state), the reaction to Obama's win here was more mixed. The people I surround myself with by choice were all happy, but a couple of the women at work were actually talking about how it should be a day of mourning. Their mood was so diametrically opposed to what I was feeling that it was quite jarring.
Now, let's see. These women work in low-paying clerical jobs in a school. I could see plenty of things wrong with them supporting McCain, even though of course it was their choice to do so, demented or not. But they kept going on about it, and I couldn't really just walk away because I had to be doing something in the front office for the moment, and I finally just said, "We are all so much better off with Obama!"
Quite possibly I was better off not saying anything. It's not like he needs the votes anymore. Maybe I should have just offered to help the one who wanted to move to Canada pack up her things. I don't think I convinced them, at least partly because I didn't get much chance before the phones started ringing and everyone got sidetracked. I'm always a little concerned about the status differential in situations like that. Not a power differential, as I am not in a position of authority over them, but a status differential. Not that they necessarily seemed to care about who it was who was disagreeing with them.
But anyway. Obama will do such an awesome job that they will come around, and if they don't, it's not my problem. (Maybe it's Canada's?) Seriously, though, I think it's the kind of thing where people who aren't convinced need to see how things will be. If they are ever going to be convinced (which may or may not happen), seeing for themselves will work much better than anything anyone could say.
This was just a small blight on an otherwise happy day though. I heard from a couple of people whose political opinions I'd not heard before, though maybe I could have guessed. A counselor told me how he'd helped put up signs in the community for Obama and Gregoire (another great win--this time our governor, who only beat Rossi by 129 votes four years ago, decisively beat Rossi and he's FINALLY accepted it and said he will not run again, for which around 53% of the state's population breathes a collective sigh of relief). We talked about the people dancing in Kenya and how awesome it all was.
Also, when I went to my tutoring job (which I got in an effort to help me pay off massive debt from graduate school), the little girl's babysitter was gussied up in a DNC T-shirt from this year and an Obama pin. We talked for a little bit about how great it was that Obama won.
It frustrates me that a lot of the divisions that are still out there seem to be based on low information or misinformation. But I think Obama will be a much more unifying president than McCain would have been (and certainly more so than Palin-God forbid--would have been). Some people are going to be upset now, and it might be awhile before they see how much better things can be.
As for our standing in the world, it's great to be an American again.
Does anyone besides me think that McCain's dissing of Letterman--even though he made up for it later--may have had something to do with Indiana's turning blue this year?
For anyone who--like me--has trouble deciding what to do now that we can be done obsessing about the election, 23/6 has a great article here on things you can do with your time now. I could always do the mountains of work that I have, but I'd REALLY rather not.
Never has two and a half months seemed so far away. In the words of the great David Letterman, "Does anyone mind if [Obama] starts a little early?"
Now, let's see. These women work in low-paying clerical jobs in a school. I could see plenty of things wrong with them supporting McCain, even though of course it was their choice to do so, demented or not. But they kept going on about it, and I couldn't really just walk away because I had to be doing something in the front office for the moment, and I finally just said, "We are all so much better off with Obama!"
Quite possibly I was better off not saying anything. It's not like he needs the votes anymore. Maybe I should have just offered to help the one who wanted to move to Canada pack up her things. I don't think I convinced them, at least partly because I didn't get much chance before the phones started ringing and everyone got sidetracked. I'm always a little concerned about the status differential in situations like that. Not a power differential, as I am not in a position of authority over them, but a status differential. Not that they necessarily seemed to care about who it was who was disagreeing with them.
But anyway. Obama will do such an awesome job that they will come around, and if they don't, it's not my problem. (Maybe it's Canada's?) Seriously, though, I think it's the kind of thing where people who aren't convinced need to see how things will be. If they are ever going to be convinced (which may or may not happen), seeing for themselves will work much better than anything anyone could say.
This was just a small blight on an otherwise happy day though. I heard from a couple of people whose political opinions I'd not heard before, though maybe I could have guessed. A counselor told me how he'd helped put up signs in the community for Obama and Gregoire (another great win--this time our governor, who only beat Rossi by 129 votes four years ago, decisively beat Rossi and he's FINALLY accepted it and said he will not run again, for which around 53% of the state's population breathes a collective sigh of relief). We talked about the people dancing in Kenya and how awesome it all was.
Also, when I went to my tutoring job (which I got in an effort to help me pay off massive debt from graduate school), the little girl's babysitter was gussied up in a DNC T-shirt from this year and an Obama pin. We talked for a little bit about how great it was that Obama won.
It frustrates me that a lot of the divisions that are still out there seem to be based on low information or misinformation. But I think Obama will be a much more unifying president than McCain would have been (and certainly more so than Palin-God forbid--would have been). Some people are going to be upset now, and it might be awhile before they see how much better things can be.
As for our standing in the world, it's great to be an American again.
Does anyone besides me think that McCain's dissing of Letterman--even though he made up for it later--may have had something to do with Indiana's turning blue this year?
For anyone who--like me--has trouble deciding what to do now that we can be done obsessing about the election, 23/6 has a great article here on things you can do with your time now. I could always do the mountains of work that I have, but I'd REALLY rather not.
Never has two and a half months seemed so far away. In the words of the great David Letterman, "Does anyone mind if [Obama] starts a little early?"
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
President-Elect Barack Obama
What an awesome day! Living in Washington State, I knew that Obama had won a couple minutes after eight in the evening. Well, actually, I knew before that even, because after they called Ohio for Obama, there was really no way for McCain to win. I loved how the whole West Coast turned blue about two seconds after the polls had closed. I had not expected things to be so "easy", despite how good things were looking in the polls. I was expecting to be up late, more states being too close to call, legal challenges, fistfights at CNN--okay, maybe not that last one. I guess after the last two presidential elections it just didn't seem possible that this one could go so relatively smoothly, though that's not to say there weren't issues with voting problems and all that.
John McCain made such a classy concession speech, though some members of the crowd weren't classy. Obama's speech was awesome and inspiring. I wish his grandmother could have lived to see him win. His campaign has been so amazing. Whenever I was worried about something (election tampering, people not understanding this or that, low-information voters defecting to the other side because of Palin, Bill Ayers, whatever), the campaign always had it covered. Of course the external event of the economy cratering helped the Democrats in general, but still, the campaign had an amazing ground game. If Obama's administration is as effective as his campaign, things will be really great. YES WE CAN!
John McCain made such a classy concession speech, though some members of the crowd weren't classy. Obama's speech was awesome and inspiring. I wish his grandmother could have lived to see him win. His campaign has been so amazing. Whenever I was worried about something (election tampering, people not understanding this or that, low-information voters defecting to the other side because of Palin, Bill Ayers, whatever), the campaign always had it covered. Of course the external event of the economy cratering helped the Democrats in general, but still, the campaign had an amazing ground game. If Obama's administration is as effective as his campaign, things will be really great. YES WE CAN!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
The Secret Life of Bees and Election 2008
These days the election never leaves my thoughts. I never watch any TV other than CNN and MSNBC (Oh, and Saturday Night Live). I read political articles on my computer at my desk at lunchtime. I listen to NPR in the car. I am for the most part taking a a break from my voracious reading of novels as I can't concentrate on them. Work makes a valiant effort for my attention, and I don't understand why I should be forced to go to work as if it were an ordinary day when an epic battle between good and evil is being fought.
Even when I do something relatively escapist, such as go to a movie, I view it through the lens of the 2008 election. Such was the case with The Secret Life of Bees.
Dakota Fanning plays Lily, who is 14 years old and growing up in South Carolina (red state) in 1964. She lives with her father. Her mother was killed in an accident with a gun ten years earlier, when she was trying to leave Lily's abusive father. They started fighting, and her mother got out a gun, but then dropped it in the struggle with her husband. Four-year-old Lily tried to hand it to her and it went off.
So Lily of course feels incredible guilt over this, even though it was an accident and she was only four. And of course now she's being raised by her abusive father, though really most of the raising was being done by their black housekeeper, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson, whose recent family tragedy with her mother, brother, and nephew being killed was the little bit of news unrelated to the election that I actually took in).
Anyway, the story really begins when Rosaleen and Lily go into town so that Rosalie can register to vote. Rosalie is accosted and beaten by three white men before she gets the chance. Then SHE is arrested for causing trouble, though she is also taken to the hospital to get treated for her injuries.
I haven't heard of anyone today getting beaten for trying to register to vote. However, I've certainly heard of HUGE problems with voter suppression--thousands of eligible voters potentially being dropped from the rolls in some states because of slight variations in the name or address, attempts to intimidate students by saying if they vote in their college towns their parents can't claim them as dependents on their income taxes (misinformation), to name just a couple of problems--how far have we come since 1964, people? It's pretty embarrassing that we hold ourselves up as an example of democracy when we can't even hold fair elections ourselves. And don't even get me started about the Diebold machines. Ask for a paper ballot if possible.
The incident causes Lily and her father to get into a huge fight, and Lily runs away. She packs a bag and leaves a note for her father, then sneaks into the hospital where Roaleen is staying and basically helps her become a fugitive.
They end up at the home of the Boatwright sisters in a nearby town. Queen Latifah is August, a successful beekeeper whose famous jars of honey have a black Madonna on the label. It was the label in a stash of her mother's things that had led Lily there. August lives in a beautiful (though violently pink) house with her two sisters, May (Sophie Okonedo), constantly sad and troubled since losing her twin sister years ago, and June (Alicia Keys, an earnest (though at times humorless) civil rights activist.
Lily learns about harvesting the honey, while Rosaleen helps out in the house. Staying in the Boatwright house is a healing experience for both of them, and Lily learns some secrets of her mother's past.
It's a heartwarming if at times a bit implausible tale. When I can read regular books again, I'll have to check out the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
Oh, and Rosaleen does end up getting registered to vote. She tells Lily she will be casting her vote for Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey.
The Democrats ended up winning the White House by a landslide in 1964. Please, God, let the same thing happen in 2008. Let everyone who hasn't voted yet be just as excited and determined to do so as Rosaleen.
Just think how excited Rosaleen would have been to vote for an African American candidate, especially as visionary a candidate as Obama.
Even when I do something relatively escapist, such as go to a movie, I view it through the lens of the 2008 election. Such was the case with The Secret Life of Bees.
Dakota Fanning plays Lily, who is 14 years old and growing up in South Carolina (red state) in 1964. She lives with her father. Her mother was killed in an accident with a gun ten years earlier, when she was trying to leave Lily's abusive father. They started fighting, and her mother got out a gun, but then dropped it in the struggle with her husband. Four-year-old Lily tried to hand it to her and it went off.
So Lily of course feels incredible guilt over this, even though it was an accident and she was only four. And of course now she's being raised by her abusive father, though really most of the raising was being done by their black housekeeper, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson, whose recent family tragedy with her mother, brother, and nephew being killed was the little bit of news unrelated to the election that I actually took in).
Anyway, the story really begins when Rosaleen and Lily go into town so that Rosalie can register to vote. Rosalie is accosted and beaten by three white men before she gets the chance. Then SHE is arrested for causing trouble, though she is also taken to the hospital to get treated for her injuries.
I haven't heard of anyone today getting beaten for trying to register to vote. However, I've certainly heard of HUGE problems with voter suppression--thousands of eligible voters potentially being dropped from the rolls in some states because of slight variations in the name or address, attempts to intimidate students by saying if they vote in their college towns their parents can't claim them as dependents on their income taxes (misinformation), to name just a couple of problems--how far have we come since 1964, people? It's pretty embarrassing that we hold ourselves up as an example of democracy when we can't even hold fair elections ourselves. And don't even get me started about the Diebold machines. Ask for a paper ballot if possible.
The incident causes Lily and her father to get into a huge fight, and Lily runs away. She packs a bag and leaves a note for her father, then sneaks into the hospital where Roaleen is staying and basically helps her become a fugitive.
They end up at the home of the Boatwright sisters in a nearby town. Queen Latifah is August, a successful beekeeper whose famous jars of honey have a black Madonna on the label. It was the label in a stash of her mother's things that had led Lily there. August lives in a beautiful (though violently pink) house with her two sisters, May (Sophie Okonedo), constantly sad and troubled since losing her twin sister years ago, and June (Alicia Keys, an earnest (though at times humorless) civil rights activist.
Lily learns about harvesting the honey, while Rosaleen helps out in the house. Staying in the Boatwright house is a healing experience for both of them, and Lily learns some secrets of her mother's past.
It's a heartwarming if at times a bit implausible tale. When I can read regular books again, I'll have to check out the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
Oh, and Rosaleen does end up getting registered to vote. She tells Lily she will be casting her vote for Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey.
The Democrats ended up winning the White House by a landslide in 1964. Please, God, let the same thing happen in 2008. Let everyone who hasn't voted yet be just as excited and determined to do so as Rosaleen.
Just think how excited Rosaleen would have been to vote for an African American candidate, especially as visionary a candidate as Obama.
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