Book Review: Made in America by Bill Bryson July 27, 2009

Made in America by Bill Bryson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

 

 

As I read this book, I couldn’t help but thinking that I’d read it before. Then, I noticed his liberal quotations and references to “The People’s History of the United States.” In fact, too many references. It seemed like everything was something I’d read about before.

Which…um…is weird because this book is supposed to be about LANGUAGE. Ok, he states in the intro…he likes to digress. But all the digressions serve to be interesting tidbits as well as somehow relating back to language. But some never seem to relate. And as for the actual language discussion, he often does just list words as other reviewers have commented. Near the end, the book gets scattered as history stops moving chronologically and moves in vague theme oriented chapters.

It just seems like most of the Americanisms that he touched on were largely intuitive. As in, the age of the automobile results in new car words. The internet does too. I wanted a bit deeper analysis of the issue…or something.

And the last chapter…well that just pissed me off. Suddenly he feels the need to make some huge overarching point relevant to our everyday lives. Considering that the rest of the book didn’t argue for anything rather than presenting anecdotes and facts, this opinion section came out of left field. And he kind of sounded like a self-righteous prick spouting theories of how people should and shouldn’t use language. It could have been interesting had this been a major theme running throughout the book. I just don’t get the point of this book…at all. So it gets a 2.
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Book Review: Maximum City – Bombay Lost and Found July 27, 2009

Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

 

 

Where to begin?

I’ll give this book a solid three. It’s interesting and is a rare glimpse into the shady underworld of Bombay. However, I thought this was supposed to be a memoir. It starts off as one. And the concept is interesting. An Americanized Indian moves back to Bombay where he spent his childhood to see that the always chaotic city has changed in many ways for the worst. This storyline is one of the best. It starts out so completely negative and hateful. But what you find is the love/hate relationship many people have with their childhood homes. Only in Bombay, it seems more extreme.

However, the book quickly goes into the dark underworld as Mehta interviews gang leaders, killers on the loose, and prostitutes. It sounds exciting. However, Mehta is wordy and doesn’t always come across as reliable. Here’s a guy from America, living with his small children and wife, and flouting around with prostitutes and unstable men who could shoot him at any second. And he’s completely unphased.

And…it just drags. Especially the gang wars and Muslim riots section. In other sections, he captures the life of a city that’s quickly growing beyond all control, seemingly heading towards anarchy. He also provides a glimpse into the workings of Bollywood, and how even the movies are tied into the gang network.

Thanks to his time in America, the book usually provides extra explanation for things that would be especially foreign to Americans. The one time this is not true is with the Muslim/anti-muslim riots and the politics behind it. Some previous knowledge seems to be assumed making it a bit hard to follow. Anyways, the only book I’ve seen on the market that attempts to capture the spirit of Bombay, even though it is only partially successful.

The parts that are good are really really good. And you’ll also have to forgive him every so often as he comes up with catch phrases that are used in all seriousness but don’t quite work. If you plan on traveling to Bombay, read it. If you saw Slumdog Millionaire and are interested in life in Bombay, also read it. Personally, I found I understand the historical context as well as the slum aspects of the film make so much more sense now that I’ve read this book.

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Munich: Best City Ever? Part 1 July 27, 2009

Every now and then, I’ll be posting about cities I’ve been too.  I recently spent two months backpacking around Europe and have done some traveling before that.

Before I met up with my boyfriend, I left London, where I had worked in a pub for 4 months, and backpacked solo for 2 weeks.  Some people say this is the ONLY way to backpack.  Others are terrified of it.  I’ll go into that in another entry as I’m currently mixed on the whole thing.

Luckily for me, I had an easy transition as I flew into Munich.

The hardest thing about being in Germany is the language barrier.  Why German specifically? Well, if you haven’t taken the language you won’t be able to get by with your Latin roots…or anything.  Don’t even expect to be able to read a menu past “bratwurst” and “bier.”

Ultimately more confusing especially because many people in Germany do not speak English compared to the other major Euro countries like France and Spain or Scandinavia etc.  However, what you will find is a willingness to laugh at you all in good fun and try really hard to figure out what you want.  So don’t sweat it and remember, hand gestures.  It’s all about the hand gestures.  Oh, and Danke! Thank you always goes a long way.

I had previously been to Berlin, but that is an entity in itself.  Munich feels like Germany…or more specifically, Bavaria.  It’s also the city that made my German heritage make sense.

Now, you may wonder, what’s the big deal with Munich? It has the highest housing prices in Germany.  Every German wants to live there. And every tourist who goes there has told me it’s their favorite in all of Europe.  So what is there to do?

The answer is…nothing really.  And it’s wonderful.  There’s history if you look for it.  And a cute compact rebuilt (after WWII bombing) historical center.  And there’s surprisingly little on the to do list.

You can visit the Glockenspiel (it sucks, but go), you can climb one of the bell towers overlooking the city, or you can just do nothing.  I did all three of these with the last one being the most enjoyable.  Oh, and eat.  You simply eat…and drink!

In hindsight, I would’ve visited Munich with a friend as it’s hard to meet locals without knowing German.  However, a must do is the NEW tours.  These tours operate in many European cities but their Berlin and Munich tours are especially good.  They are run by native English speakers who have come to live in the city for various reasons.  Many are college students studying the language, history and culture…so they know their shit!

The main tour is FREE and 3-4 hours of walking.  Do it first thing because it gives you a layout of the city center.  The Munich tour points out a lot of the Third Reich history and translates little known German language memorials to WWII events.  Tours run on tips and, don’t worry, you’ll want to tip at the end.  You don’t enter any major sites but are introduced to them to see if you want to go to them later.

Another reason these tours are great for the solo traveler is that you will immediately find someone else just as lost and alone as you. Instant English speaking friends! Yay!

Another thing I did my first day was climb one of the bell towers.  You’ll get a great view of the city.  Avoid the Glockenspiel clock tower. The other clock tower just out of that square is less crowded and only costs 1 euro! Best of all, you can stare at all the people crowded into the Glockenspiel tower.  Also, this tower offers a view out of the city.  If it’s clear enough, you can actually see the Alps!

Remember, Munich isn’t a cheap city.   But it also doesn’t operate like a tourist trap.  The center is very laid back.  Restaurants with a view of the main tourist sites are often not much more expensive than others.

Other main tourist sites include the Englischer Gardens and the markets.  The markets are ok and a quick walk from the town square.  The gardens are great but I’ll address that in Part II.  Because…what Munich really is about is beer.  I know, that’s what all the drunk Aussies tell you, but it’s true.  And Englischer Gardens is well..a garden/park…but it’s also home to giant beer gartens!

Bookmarks – Post Your Feedback!!! July 26, 2009

As mentioned before, I want to cross-stitch some bookmarks.  As you use bookmarks in…books…I want them to be amusing yet literary themed.

The thing is, unless it’s a book in the collective consciousness, then it can’t be all that funny.  I might think it’s funny but if no one know the book, then who cares?

So, post your feedback as to books that you think should be made into a bookmark.  Don’t say your favorite book if no one else has read it.

So that is the idea!

Other books which I already have in mind…

Harry Potter – since I’m all into the cuss words, my original thought was to do the Harry Potter curse of mudblood.  But that’s like…racist in potter world so I’m not  all too sure.  Muggle is a bit overdone.

Twilight – Oh yes! How we love to hate this shit!  I just watched the movie last night which immortalized one of the worst phrases in the book for all time.  ”So the lion fell in love with the lamb” Stupid lamb.  Now, while I try not to gag, let’s just all agree, if you’ve read one book of Twilights, you are destined to read them all.  Because, fuck, they are addictive.  Anyways, caption possibly as “stupid fucking lamb” with…well…stupid fucking lambs cross-stitched on.

Lord of the Rings – Hmmm, there’s so many ways this could go.  Personally, I’m leaning towards a Sam/Frodo joke.  Cause I mean, they are like oh so gay for each other.

So yeah, that’s really all I have for now.

One other possibility got books that everyone has read are the Dan Brown books.  However, I hate him…with a passion…his books are shit.  As an art history major, when I hear people spouting Dan Brown art historical bullshit as truth I cry a little inside.  So uh, let’s stay away from him…shall we?

Point is, comment!!!

New Etsy Adds July 22, 2009

So, I’ve had an adding frenzy on Etsy lately. Ahh, the perks of not having a job.

Links below the picture link to the etsy listing.

Etsy listing…

This cross-stitched ornament for asswipe was the first cross-stitch I sold.  It is now listed as a made to order item which will be shipped within a week of the order.

Etsy listing…

Etsy listing…

I have to admit, I really love my Mr. Darcy bookmark.  Eventually, I would like to make a whole line of quirky literary allusion bookmarks.

However, I’m having a major issue.  Bookmarks made out of cross-stitch stuff are stupidly expensive.  Like, say I want to cross-stitch a towel, the towel will cost $5 or less.  I can get a giant sheet of cross-stitch fabric for about $8 and get 15 projects out of it.

But a single bookmark?  $4.  In supplies costs, that is HUGE.  Especially because resell on bookmarks can’t be that high.  I mean, I don’t know about you.  But I won’t pay $20 for a bookmark.  So I have to price them low.

I found some $2 bookmarks.  Opened up the package and the quality was so poor that I won’t use them.

My favorite style of bookmark is the one I used for Mr. Darcy.  It came in colors!  It wasn’t covered in awful frilly lace! It was 14 count!

And…I bought it on clearance and now I can’t find them.  I think it’s time to scour the internet.

Regardless! In my theoretical world of bookmarks aplenty…I will…make another post!  For voting and feedback!

Once upon a time… July 18, 2009

I made jewelry too!

Actually, I still make jewelry.  And in my currently unemployed state, I’ll be working on some new items in the next few days.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be making jewelry like I once did.

Because, well, once upon a time, I lived in a town called Oberlin.  Oberlin has 8000 people and a lot of hippie east coast kids who go to school there.  The town has one bar, a handful of eateries and a Ben Franklin’s…who has that shit anymore?  When the breeze blows the right direction, the whole town smells of cow poop.  That aside, it’s an AWESOME place to go to school.  heh heh…

It’s also situated in the poorest county in Ohio, which is saying something.

Point is, there is one hidden treasure of a store in this town.  It’s called Bead Paradise.

I have never ever seen a larger bead store with a more varied selection.  The owner is a graduate of the college.  And now she collects beads.  This shop has everything, from Swarovski to lucite to extremely rare beads like Thai silver beads sold by the gram.  It’s amazing to just stare at some of these beads worth $100 or more.

This bead store isn’t the cheapest you’ll find but she does offer bulk discounts.  This helps a lot of people with budgets bigger than mine because people drive hours upon hours to visit this place.

Once of it’s specialties is African beads.  Personally, I’ve never been a big fan, but this place is legit.  The owner speaks at least one African language and her husband is also from Africa.  It’s not odd to hear her pick up the phone and start speaking some strange language as she negotiates a bead order.  They also often travel to large bead expos in Africa to get beads.

So as I said, not the cheapest but well worth it.

Hence my dilemma.  I do not just think of jewelry and then go buy the supplies.  I had learned basic jewelry making as a kid.  I didn’t think of it again until I walked into this store.  It made me want to make jewelry.  I’d walk through (spending hours!) picking up a few key beads as my starting point.  Without the particular bead, there was no jewelry.

Bead making has exploded in popularity since then so places like Jo-Ann’s and Michaels offer a better selection with much more interesting beads.  But they are still mass produced which means 10,000 others are picking up the same “unique” beads.

And here I am in Bloomington, sans money, sans my wonderful bead store that used to be my first stop with many paychecks.

The pair of earrings I just listed on Etsy feature some vintage glass beads found at Bead Paradise.  Unlike most of my other jewelry, I really didn’t do anything to them except attach them to earring posts.  But that’s ok, because they are awesome on their own.

Ooo Dirty Words! July 16, 2009

I love cursing.  I love stitching curse words.  But there is one word I still haven’t brought myself to stitch.  It’s the ultimate in dirty words.  I can’t bring myself to think what my mother would think if she saw this word in my Etsy shop!

And until now, I hadn’t seen anyone else using it either.

Peppermintkite is another subversive stitcher selling her wares on Etsy.  I just came across her stuff the other day.  And I thought, damn…she went for the C word!  I’ll have to admit, I’m a bit jealous that she went there first.  But I hope she feels a bit dirty inside about it now.

I mean, is it just me? Or, in the age where people spew curse words left and right, is there not something inherently worse about the word, cunt?

I don’t know really.  And I’m not going to go into some feminist rant about it’s vaginal implications.  It just sounds really really dirty and ugly and BAD.  Therefore, I don’t like to say it and haven’t even brought myself to stitch it yet.  Perhaps, peppermintkite will inspire me to go where few have dared.

So this is what my cross-stitch is about… July 16, 2009

I just listed a new cross-stitch item on etsy and it’s one of my favorites.  As a warning, it’s only for more “mature” audiences.  Though, if you are that mature, you are probably not into this stuff anyway.

 

Anyways, I say “fuck that shit!” a lot.  It applies to just about anything that is at least minorly irritating.  In my list of minorly irritating things? Teddy bears and primary colors.  I found this teddy bear in 2001 cross stitch designs which has been the main source for my recent projects.  It’s filled with 2001 designs of the horribly traditional cross-stitch kind.

You may have found that I am not the only person making these kinds of designs.  This whole craze was started by a site called Subversive Cross-Stitch   So thank you to this wonderful site for telling millions of people that it’s ok to take out your aggression through stitching and that the word “fuck” is endlessly entertaining.

Unfortunately, for those who’ve been cross-stitching awhile, the designs can be fairly simple.  I wanted to branch off into something a bit more detailed.  I also had my own favorite phrases to immortalize in cross-stitch.

I’ve been cross-stitching since I was 10.  I was one of those people that picked something horribly large and complicated and never actually finished any pieces.  After all, cross-stitch is addictive but I was never that focused on the finished piece.  I mean, who wants this shit actually hanging in their house? OK…don’t answer that.  People do.  People I do not know.

Anyways, shameless self-plug! All these beautiful designs that you’ll see me post are for sale in my Etsy shop!  If you are interested, I go by ThePurpleHippo.  Mention you found me from my blog when you order and receive 10% off!  Everyone needs some subversive cross-stitch in their lives.  Oh psst, I do custom orders too!

My dream pet! July 12, 2009

Sigh, I have no cable tv in my apartment.  I really want it.  But it costs money AND kills brain cells.  Still, I’m very sad that I missed the one hour documentary on Jessica the hippo.

Hippos are my favorite animals.  They are cute, cuddly, and ferocious.  But who knew you could raise one as your own and completely domesticate it!

This hippo was found during a flood when she was only a day old.  This couple took her in and raised her as their own.  Sometimes, it goes down the river and chills with other hippos but it always comes back.  At night, she sleeps with a pillow and blankie.  It’s so fucking adorable I can’t take it.

But anyways, check out
this video.

Jessica is now seven and going through puberty.  This video is cute and a bit horrifying as you are sure that she’s going to accidentally eat the puppies that she is mothering.  Check out that puppies face.  He’s scared absolutely shitless by being in her presence.

Perhaps I should move to South Africa and find an orphaned hippo for my very own.

Oh no, not another indie craft random blog July 10, 2009

Now let’s see if I can stick with this thing.

I suppose I should introduce myself a little and explain what this blog is all about.

Well, I’m 23 years old.  I’m a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio.  I majored in art history, history, and English.  It should not be a surprise that I am currently unemployed.

I’ve attempted to blog before but I kept running off places.  In my junior year, I ran off to Denmark.  While I went to some pretty awesome countries during those 4 months abroad, Denmark was not one of them. Oh well.

Then I graduated. Then the economy crashed. I applied to a couple decent jobs. Got rejected. Tried for semi-decent jobs. Guess I seemed over qualified.  And settled into being a barista at Starbucks in Target.  I don’t even like coffee.  But that was okay, because I saved up money for a few months and went to London.

If you are going to have a shit minimum wage job, do it in another country.

I spent 4 months working in two pubs in the London area, having adventures and drinking enough beer to probably permanently damage my liver.

Then, I left the country.  I wandered around Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. I didn’t know a word of the language or what I was doing but I am rather good at hand gestures.

Finally, I met up with my friend/now boyfriend.  We went to Scotland. Then we took a train all around Italy.

And now, a month after 6 solid months of adventure, I find myself again uprooted from my hometown of Akron, Ohio.

My boyfriend and I have moved to Bloomington, Indiana for the forseeable future.  We basically moved without ever having visited. The reason for this is one of the best/only decent rare books librarianship programs in the country.  I like books.  I really like old books. As my bachelor’s degree left me qualified to make a mean caramel macchiatto, I knew my life was not meant to be spent creating overly sugary versions of coffee.  Best to go into further debt, move to another small town in the Midwest and hope for the best.

And here we are.  I think we are pretty damn close to killing each other.  Why? Well, we don’t know anyone.  Hell, we still don’t really know how to get to anywhere or even know where we are trying to get to.

This seemed like the perfect time to start up some new hobbies in between filling out all those awful job applications.

So sometimes I’ll blog about library stuff, sometimes I’ll blog about current events.  Sometimes I’ll post book reviews. Sometimes I’ll post about random shit that I think everyone should (but probably won’t) find interesting.

I also manage an etsy store.  I’ve recently restarted it.  And people are actually buying my shit!  Craaaazy.  But hey, I may blog about that too.  I cross-stitch.  I love cross-stitching.  It’s addictive but it also has a reputation for being ungodly stupid and ugly.  I am changing that…one stitch at a time.  Oh god, that was cheesy.

Anyways, I’ll share some designs every so often.  I’ll also share some awesome crafts way beyond my skill level as I often find amazing stuff on etsy which I feel the need to share to the whole world.

So uh yeah, this is my blog.  Read it.  Comment on it. Make me happy. The End.