Laura/Oppie/L'opps

stalk: sonowyouknow: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:25:55 -0800

sonowyouknow:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
christoph niemann is too clever to be just one guy.

who are christoph niemann?!

The Museum of Anti-Alcohol Posters | Антиалкогольные плакаты

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:17:15 -0800

The Museum of Anti-Alcohol Posters | Антиалкогольные плакаты:

Strange and beautiful design for these propaganda posters from the soviet era.

Mondrian Cake (via Telstar Logistics)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:14:03 -0800

Mondrian Cake (via Telstar Logistics)

theladylikes: How San Franciscans View the Bay Area - San...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:01:49 -0800

theladylikes:

How San Franciscans View the Bay Area - San Francisco News - The Snitch

Truth!

lauraglu: secondverse: FFFFOUND! | How Do Americans Get to...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:07:24 -0800

lauraglu:

secondverse:

FFFFOUND! | How Do Americans Get to Work? Transit Patterns in Major Cities » INFRASTRUCTURIST

Book #9: Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:25:06 -0800

After I posted my review of The Making of a Chef, Olivia offered to do a book trade, as she wanted to read it, too. Did you know it only costs about $3 to send a paperback book across the country? The USPS is sort of amazing.

Anyway, I came home one day to find Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World. It follows the author, Rita, as she abandons her comfortable middle class lifestyle to be a nomad, traveling around the world, meeting new people, building new communities, and shedding her previous lifestyle.

Much of the book takes place in the 1980s, and as I read it, I was struck by how different the narrative might have been today. Without email and cell phone technology, Rita was so disconnected from her previous life. Today, I can’t imagine someone traveling without one if not both of these. Obviously, the jungle is still the jungle so it isn’t like there’s wifi there, but it seems like today, she’d have a much harder time simply letting go. The strings of her previous life would be pulling her back, much too strongly.

Rita is a great story teller, and I felt jealous of her adventures and total lack of fear in the larger world. While the book isn’t really a page turner (you’ll notice my pace slowed down here), it’s a worthy read and one that will stay with me for a bit I hope.

In the meantime, I need a new book to read. Any suggestions?

"The state says it is trying to make sure consumers aren’t sickened by a drink and ensure they..."

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:45:51 -0800

“The state says it is trying to make sure consumers aren’t sickened by a drink and ensure they know what they’re swallowing. But many cocktail purveyors see a post-Prohibition law originally aimed at bad hooch rather than gourmet gimlets, with no modern purpose except ginning up fines.”

- State warns Bay Area bars not to infuse drinks

I appreciate this paragraph. Nicely done.

karlwithak: No my hummus has chickpeas & a little lemon in...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:44:08 -0800

karlwithak:

No my hummus has chickpeas & a little lemon in it too. Y’all dont know hummus.

Ew. Advertising fail. Hilarious.

via i243.photobucket.com I could watch for hours…

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:41:59 -0800

via i243.photobucket.com

I could watch for hours…

"An earlier version of this post misquoted Mr. Remnick on his comparison between the book and a New..."

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:55:24 -0800

“An earlier version of this post misquoted Mr. Remnick on his comparison between the book and a New Yorker article he had previously written. He said the book would not be a “pumped up” version of the article; he did not say that it would not be a “pimped out” version of the article.”

- Obama Biography Is Coming From New Yorker Editor - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

I love a good correction to start out the week.

Book #7 Gang Leader for a Day and Book #8 American Wife

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:58:45 -0800

I’m seven weeks into 2010 and eight books into my challenge. One week ahead of schedule!

These two books could not be more different. The first, Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader For a Day follows Venkatesh as he gets more and more intertwined with Chicago’s Black Kings gang during the 1980s in Chicago. The second, Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife provides a fictionalized account of Laura Bush’s life, from the eyes of protagonist “Alice Lindgren.”

A little background: I spent six years in Chicago, four of them on the South Side. By the time I moved to Chicago, the Robert Taylor Homes has already been closed, and the city was in the process of tearing down Cabrini Green. I was also in Chicago when Freakanomics came out, and I remember both Leavitt’s celebrity on campus, and everyone’s fascination with the chapter on why drug dealers make only minimum wage.

Venkatesh’s work is fascinating — he calls it sociology, but I’d suggest it’s more anthropological in that’s it’s an intensive study of a civilization. That civilization happens to be public housing residents. He’s an adept story teller, and in many ways I felt like this book taught me more about urban poverty than anything I read in my African American studies classes in school.

On to American Wife. I’ve read Sittenfeld’s two previous books. Both of them — Prep and The Man of My Dreams — left me with a sort of melancholy feeling; this one was no different. I was worried when I picked it up, after reading the reviews on Amazon. Many were scathing. I think, for the most part, they must have come from Republicans, as I found the book fairly complimentary to Laura Bush.

The protagonist, Alice, is simply madly in love with her husband, Charlie. And because of this love, she’s able to accommodate his lesser qualities… his interest in his legacy; initially, his drinking; later, his born again beliefs; expectations of her, etc.

Reading it, I enjoyed the first few sections more than the latter. By the time they arrived at the white house, I’d lost my interest a little. I think it may be that the White House section is where it becomes less fictional seeming. There’s a 9/11, a Cindy Sheehan-esque character, etc. Sittenfeld is a deft storyteller though, and regardless of whether or not you like the Bush family, it’s a compelling read, at least for the first 400 (!) pages.

brit: I’ve been wishing for something like this. I don’t care...

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:07:35 -0800

brit:

I’ve been wishing for something like this. I don’t care how stupid it looks - no one likes cold arms in bed. (And there’s even finger openings so that you can use your iPhone or iPad.)

Happiness In Bed

Blanka || Supersize Amazing modern art posters for TV shows.

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:52:37 -0800

Blanka || Supersize

Amazing modern art posters for TV shows.

P020510PS-0231 (via The White House)

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:28:57 -0800

P020510PS-0231 (via The White House)

It’s time.

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:38:52 -0800

It’s time.

via www.montereybayequestrian.com For Valentine’s Day this...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:17:45 -0800

via www.montereybayequestrian.com

For Valentine’s Day this year, I would like a Pygmy Goat.

Will You Be My F—-ing Valentine? - Gop - Jezebel I know this is...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:19:23 -0800

Will You Be My F—-ing Valentine? - Gop - Jezebel

I know this is paid for by the RNC, but I think it’s hilarious. I would love to get one of these valentines…

"As anybody who lives in a big city knows, there are times when space-commadeering is acceptable, and..."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:17:55 -0800

“As anybody who lives in a big city knows, there are times when space-commadeering is acceptable, and there are times when it is unacceptable. There are no hard and fast rules, but like porn, you know unacceptability when you see it. For example, in the subway scenario, a shoulder brush is sometimes unavoidable but a crotch-fondle is never warranted. Similarly, a car entering the bike lane to get around a garbage truck or to parallel park might be the equivalent of a shoulder brush. But sitting in an expensive car and having a cellphone conversation in the middle of a bike lane during the evening rush is just a full-on ball grab.”

- Bike Snob NYC: Soft Options: Day-Tripping to Danger

Trying to explain the difference between Gang Leader for a Day and Lucky (by Alice Sebold)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:26:38 -0800

me: no no, it's like a freakanomics protege who spends like 10 years at the Robert Taylor Homes
me: learning about the economics of urban gangs. It's sad but not like "i was raped in a tunnel" sad.
me: Chronically sad as opposed to personally sad
Olivia: ha
Olivia: sad but not 'i was raped in a tunnel'"
Olivia: quote of the day

As it turns out, starting my weekend with Alice Sebold’s Lucky (first chapter details her rape...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:22:03 -0800

As it turns out, starting my weekend with Alice Sebold’s Lucky (first chapter details her rape as a college freshman), wasn’t such a good idea.

I need to learn how to red books that aren’t just about horribly sad, depressing things. Does Daily Puppy have a blog to book deal yet?