I am definitely on a quest this year, to improve my health, my life, my surroundings. I have been making some changes around the house, trying to eliminate clutter and make our environment more eco-friendly as well as aesthetically pleasing. Our home life is still in a bit of disarray — this is a months-long project — but I am hopeful that by mid-Spring I will finally get my home as I want it, which will have all sorts of great effects on our lives. […]
David, the cheater, and Goliath, the large, disabled man
At this point, I’ve read most of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, and I’ve always enjoyed reading them. So when I saw that his new one: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (2013), I got on the wait list–almost–immediately. Gladwell has a style of looking at and analyzing the world around him in a unique way, and then distilling that information for his readers. I still like his explanation of why most of Canada’s best hockey players were born in December. Unfortunately, […]
Badkittyuno’s Review #13: Candy Girl by Diablo Cody
I know, I know, it’s Diablo Cody. But listen, I am no big fan of hers. And this book occasionally contains lines like “Love is mysterious and rad, like Steve Perry from Journey”. BUT. This book was actually pretty freaking funny, and Cody (mostly) stays out of her own way with the text. At the age of 24, after moving to Minnesota for a boy, Cody decides that she wants to try out stripping. You know, for fun. In her own words: “For me, stripping was […]
Badkittyuno’s Review #12: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
“It was after Nick had left me that I learned the lesson: its when you don’t love somebody that you do notice the little things. Then you mind them. You mind them terribly.” This was a book by someone who was trying very hard to be the next Nora Ephron, and fell just short. It’s a cute book. Janzen has some witticisms and insights that made me chuckle. But Nora Ephron she is not. Rhoda Janzen returns home to her Mennonite parents after her husband […]
Badkittyuno’s Review #10: Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? by Jancee Dunn
Jancee Dunn’s first memoir, But Enough About Me, was a collection of stories about rock and roll interviews and crazy nights in the city interspersed with reminiscences about her wholesome upbringing and goofy family. In Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?, the goofy family takes center stage, which I really liked. There might not be any shocking information about your favorite celebrity in this memoir, but Dunn’s obvious love for her rather dorky parents (then again, doesn’t everyone have dorky parents) and her two sisters shines […]
Otherwise called: SeaWorld is an Evil Corporation
I watched the documentary Blackfish on Netflix last month, and it blew my mind. I couldn’t believe the kinds of atrocities that happened to orcas in captivity. I remembered when Dawn Brancheau was killed by the whale Tilikum in February of 2010 and how horrifying it was. I also remembered when David Kirby’s first came out in 2012–I’d flipped through it, but it didn’t grab my attention. This time, however, knowing a bit more about the context and situation made me really invested. Death at […]