I wish I had been this smart as a teenager
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Sushi Time!
One of my Pinterest boards is dedicated to fancy cakes. I started it when I was practicing to make my brother’s wedding cake last fall, and it just keeps growing. When I came across this cake, topped with fondant sushi, I was inspired. But since fondant is less than delicious, it seemed like a waste … Continue reading »
Not Just a Look
If Ian Brown’s column, “Why men can’t – and shouldn’t – stop staring at women” is trolling for page views, like has been suggested to me, and is not in fact an attempt at an honest reflection about sexuality, then I’ve played right into their skeevy hands. I’ve read, and re-read, and re-read this column. I’ve been trying to identify why I found it so upsetting, why I had an immediate, physical response to the words. Why I felt creeped out and uncomfortable. Why I felt a sudden urge to wrap myself up in a blanket. Continue reading »
The Hunger Games
Like most things, I’m late to the Hunger Games bandwagon. I’m not sure why it took me so long. It’s certainly not because I thought I was too good for YA fiction, and it wasn’t because I’m not drawn to strong female characters (as vague a term as that is). I guess I didn’t think I’d find dystopia particularly appealing. I can barely handle how messed up the world is in the present, do I really want to see how bad it could potentially be?
But The Hunger Games doesn’t read as all that futuristic (hovercrafts aside). As the Globe and Mail put it, “the script borrows as liberally from Roman epics and medieval lore as it does from reality TV and apocalyptic sci-fi.” It’s human animal nature confronting modern society, with some class warfare thrown in for fun. But it is a creepy concept and it doesn’t feel as outlandish as it should.
Spoiler Alert: I’m going to discuss some details of the book, including naming a few names of characters who die (hint, it’s pretty much everyone) and some key plot points. I won’t spoil the ending. But if you don’t know anything about the plot and don’t want to know anything, don’t read on. Continue reading »
The Word is Transvaginal
Are you freaking kidding me with this shit, world? It is 2012 and you’re still trying to legislate women’s bodies. Really? REALLY? The United States has being in full-on attack mode all year. De-fund Planned Parenthood? Why not. Those poor women are clearly all sluts anyway. Veto the FDA recommendation to allow Plan B to … Continue reading »
We need to talk about We Need to Talk about Kevin
We Need to Talk about Kevin: The Movie is the story of Eva Khatchadourian, a mother with the unfortunate luck of having a sociopath for a son and an imbecile for a husband. Her son turned out to be a murderer, and the people of the town will punish her forever. It’s tragic, but not especially interesting.
The beauty of We Need to Talk About Kevin: The Book, was the nuance and the unknowns. Though I know it’s a cliché to whine about how the movie butchered the book, it’s true. What I loved about the book was that it left me with questions. Is Kevin a monster because he was destined to be a monster? Or is Kevin a monster because his mother rejected him from the beginning? Do parents actually have the power to ruin their children so completely or are our lives, the lives we’re so desperate to control, really out of our hands? The story of the murders is really secondary to the story of understanding motherhood and understanding Eva’s and Kevin’s place in the world. Continue reading »
Being Fat, Losing Weight, and Feeling Really Confused About the Emotional Consequences
Here’s the thing about losing weight. We’re always sold that a thinner body will make us happier. If only I could look like…. But the strange thing is, before I started my weight loss “journey,” I’m pretty sure I was the happiest with myself that I remember being, maybe, ever. Now, 40lbs lighter, I find myself in unexplored emotional territory. Am I happy now?
6 months ago I was 253lbs, a size 16-18, and only moderately mean to myself. Sure, I always wanted to be thinner, but I had stopped actively telling myself that there was something wrong with me. I made peace with the fact that Le Château just wasn’t a store I could shop in. It was okay. Turned out Land’s End was. I stopped thinking about my appearance so much. When I did that, it was just … easier. It was okay to be me. I didn’t need to punish myself. But then, after two fairly traumatic wardrobe malfunctions and the fear of being the “fat bridesmaid” in my cousin’s wedding pictures, I started actively trying to lose weight. Continue reading »
