Syllabus #22

I'm late! 

Ew, guys, not that kind of late.  I'm a lady, and that would be uncouth of me to speak openly about my monthly visitor.  I'm referring to the lateness of this weekly reading roundup, which I have customarily posted anywhere between Wednesday and Sunday, and now here we are on Tuesday night and I'm just getting my act together. 

The world is a very strange place.  Sometimes an 8 year old dead ass asks you what an email address is like she's never heard of it before, and sometimes you watch a 5 year old pull a ringing cellphone out of his Minecraft backpack, glance at it, say "I don't know nobody at that number" and put it back in his backpack like an ice cold killer.

I'm gonna be honest, I've been spending a lot more time reading actual books and a lot less time sucking down internet exhaust fumes the past couple weeks.  Saturday I went on a 25 mile bike ride, but I also had ice cream on Friday and pizza and beer and ice cream on Saturday.  It's a balancing act, and by that I mean trying to hold your pizza, beer, and ice cream with only two hands and consume it all before your beer gets warm and your ice cream melts requires intense concentration and coordination.

Here is my humble submission for the past week-ish:

Speaking of balancing acts, if you have a free hand when walking in the unforgiving blaze of our asshole sun, why not try a parasol?


I hate-read this article the other night and woke up with a couple burst capillaries under my eye the next morning.  The extent to which Clemson in general but especially its football team is exalted and worshipped in that part of the world is disturbing.  It goes so far beyond fandom and pride.  Living there and not drinking the Kool-Aid going "All-In" was very alienating, and felt like I would imagine one feels after leaving a cult and becoming completely estranged from your community.  Also Clemson's HR did fuck-all when I filed a sexual harassment claim after a coworker made numerous unwanted comments of a sexual nature, left porn visible on his computer in a shared workspace, and then smeared lube all over my pen, but if HR didn't wanna hear about I should probably just shut my delicate little lady mouth because why on earth would anyone else want to hear that story.


Andy, you're not allowed to ever die or leave me. 


Reading:

Where We Come From by Oscar Casares  I devoured this in about 2 days.  It's a story about a Mexican American family in Brownsville, Texas, and the different paths the generations have followed based on both circumstances beyond their control and choices they have made.  The book interweaves a bit of Spanish dialogue and explores issues of class, prejudice, family loyalty, gender roles, and immigration. 

Brain on Fire: My month of madness by Susannah Cahalan I remember hearing about this book when it came out in 2012 and I'm so glad I've finally gotten around to reading it.  The idea of suddenly  plunging into insanity, or really succumbing to any kind of mysterious and unidentifiable illness is one of my top 5 irrational fears.  The others are clowns, adult acne, being attacked by a mountain lion or bear, and accidentally eating bacon, salami, pepperoni, or scrapple while drunk and having to admit that the last 18 years of my vegetarian life have been a lie. 

Watching:

The Righteous Gemstones on HBO.  Everything Danny McBride touches turns to solid gold, but like, solid gold that has been eaten by a large and badly behaved dog and then excreted, much to everyone's relief so that the vet doesn't have to slice up the dog's intestines.  Show after show after show of horrible people doing horrible things, yet facing only minor consequences and occasionally realizing a modicum of personal growth.  For fans of It's Always Sunny and Seinfeld - if you enjoy a show with a lot of yelling and people acting on their baser impulses, this is for you.  Five out of five stars, would gleefully watch again.