In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is both harrowing and brave of the author to write this account of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ‘petite, blond, Harvard graduate’ lover. It is equal parts horrifying and beguiling. It’s hard to describe exactly what this book is, because memoir does not capture the experience this slightly mind-bending retelling of two young, ambitious writers whose passionate relationship sours when one begins to subject the other to emotional and, at times, physical cruelty. But that doesn’t quite capture how it haunts the grey areas of abuse, how it alters the memoir form, or how like a dream it shapeshifts. It’s literature as gaslighting, taking the reader through the often painful and complex emotional experience that the author herself goes through. It ensnares and unsettles, tantalizes and haunts, and puts us all in the experience of begin abused. I wouldn't say I understand what it is like, but this book brings you one step closer to that knowledge.

Vigil Strange I Kept On The Field One Night by Walt Whitman

Memorial Day is not so much about BBQ and the edge of summer, but rather about war and those who experience it. Thinking of Ukraine, invaded and it's citizens tortured, raped, murdered and robbed, and hoping there is a just end to it. Alt Whitman is an American poet known for such groundbreaking works as Leaves of Grass, but he also witnessed the horrors of the Civil War unfold during his lifetime. In this poem, the narrator contemplates a soldier slain by war. Vigil strange I kept on the field one night; When you my son and my comrade dropt at my side that day, One look I but gave which your dear eyes return’d with a look I shall never forget, One touch of your hand to mine O boy, reach’d up as you lay on the ground, Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle, Till late in the night reliev’d to the place at last again I made my way, Found you in death so cold dear comrade, found your body son of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,) Bared your face in the starlight, curious the scene, cool blew the moderate night-wind, Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battle-field spreading, Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night, But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh, long, long I gazed, Then on the earth partially reclining sat by your side leaning my chin in my hands, Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you dearest comrade—not a tear, not a word, Vigil of silence, love and death, vigil for you my son and my soldier, As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole, Vigil final for you brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your death, I faithfully loved you and cared for you living, I think we shall surely meet again,) Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn appear’d, My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop’d well his form, Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head and carefully under feet, And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited, Ending my vigil strange with that, vigil of night and battle-field dim, Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,) Vigil for comrade swiftly slain, vigil I never forget, how as day brighten’d, I rose from the chill ground and folded my soldier well in his blanket, And buried him where he fell.

Frankisstein by Jeannette Winterson

This book is unsettling and dazzling at the same time. It flexes between the time of Shelley and Byron and the aegis of the Frankenstein story, and a more modern interpretation of what the creation of a non-human would be like. Mary Shelley’s novel has long outgrown her humble aim of writing a frightening story to enliven a rain-soaked Swiss holiday and to fill her pocket book. This deathless artistic afterlife in the modern era is both inspiring and cautionary. It is an AI-enabled vision is of a future unconstrained by physical form, in which both human and automated consciousness transcend the messy complications of fragile, gendered bodies. For the scientist it eliminates all the messy biological constraints that the human body puts on form. The business man has different priorities. For him, technological advancement offers the opportunity to dispense with all the inconvenient moral obstacles that attend men’s innate desire for dominion over women, creating a sex bot that does it all without being anything at all. It is an unsettling look at what the not-too-distant future might hold.

Celery Gimlet

Long gone are the early days of the pandemic where the craft cocktails coming out of our home bar were both numerous and exceptional, and our only other goal in the kitchen was to perfect homemade pizza. We are a family of health care workers and there was super charged stress on offer at work. Now things have largely into the haves and the have nots, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and while COVID and long COVID are still possible, it isn't at the level it once was. Be that as it may, the occasional great cocktail can be had and this is one such cocktail. 1 small rib Celery muddled with 3/4oz simple syrup; add 3/4oz lime juice 2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin 2 dashes of celery bitters. Shake with ice and strained into cocktail glass.

The Chancellor by Kati Marton

Regardless of how you feel about her politics, Angela Merkel is a remarkable woman. Her marathon tenure as Germany’s leader has officially crossed the finish line, but her final lap of honor will take some time. There are quantifiable historic firsts: 16 years in office make her the joint longest-serving chancellor of the postwar era and she’s the first German chancellor to have the wisdom to step down of her own will, at the end of a full term. he’s the first female German head of government, the first with a scientist’s training, and the first to have grown up in a socialist command economy. She may go down in history as a once-in-a-century political adaptor, connecting two differently hardwired systems kept apart by the Berlin Wall. Yet it’s also possible that Merkel may not be remembered as a pioneer, but as the last example of an idea that feels increasingly old-fashioned in an age where more and more political tribes are built around personal identity: leadership as an exercise in ego suppression, holding high office as tantamount to covering the very traits that make you unique. I was in awe of her by the end of the book, and hope that we see many more like her, though that seems hopelessly optimistic at this very moment.

Downton Abbey (2019)

This movie was made for people who watched the entire six seasons of Downton Abbey and were left wanting more. Those people are largely going to be happy with this sequel, and I am not sure that if you hadn't watched at least some of the series that you would even be able to assertain what exactly is going on or why it might matter. The target audience is people who enjoy a film in which well-dressed, reasonably thoughtful adults do and say grownup things. The manor house of an earl in the early 20th century is set in something resembling reality, with banquets, dances, familial intrigue, gown fittings, chaste flirtations, declarations of love, and expertly timed reaction shots of characters silently disapproving of other characters. They are firmly established royalists who host a vist from the king and queen and it is lavishly costumed and smartly scripted and altogether enjoyable in an over the top sort of way of these period films.

A Little Devil In America by Hanib Abdurraqib

This is an inspirational, loving, and wildly wide ranging collection of essays that celebrate a wide range of black performance. He is uncontroversial in his coverage of Michael Jackson, reverential in his praise of Aretha Franklin, but the book really shines best when he is reflecting on his own life as it relates to black performance, and when he is rescuing previously under appreciated black artists. His recue of these performers from the obscurity of posterity. He does this lovingly in a tribute to Merry Clayton, the singer who provided the famous backing vocals to the Rolling Stones’s 1969 hit “Gimme Shelter”. He also does this for William Henry Lane, in an essay on the history and legacy of blackface. Lane, who was born a free black man in the early 19th century, went by the stage name Master Juba and made his skin darker to perform. It is a relatively short book that can change the way you think about black talent and how to appreciate it.

Cultural Exposure and Experience

Museums play a significant role in the exposure of their communities to the art and culture from around the world. This is particularly true for those who cannot travel, either because of cost or mobility issues, and it holds double for children, who can easily step into a museum for an hour, but aren't up to the dozen hours or more it might take to get to the place something is from. This is from an exhibit on the Day of the Dead in our local museum, from a hands on part of the exhibit with an oversized alebrije to marvel at. Alebrijes are whimsical carvings depicting animals, people, objects, and imaginary creatures painted with intense colors and intricate patterns that are from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Although there are many artisanal things produced today that date back to pre-Columbian times, these distinctive cultural artifacts are a tradition of Mexican folk art that only began to appear in the 1940s. There are villages that are known for making them, and there is gendered division of labor in the production of alebrijes. Males, both men and boys, gather and carve wood, since wood gathering and carving is a long established tradition in rural Oaxaca. The sanding of the alebrijes is a monotonous job that is usually relegated to children or unskilled labor. Women typically paint the alebrijes, with the most talented painters creating the most intricate and complex patterns. The final product is an amalgamation of talent, and for me, a source of great enjoyment.

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

I loved this graphic novel aimed at a YA audience. The year is 1885 and the location is a small isolated working town. 13-year-old Mei helps her father run the kitchen at a logging camp in the Sierra Nevada. She is first generation American, her father having come on a slow boat from China in search of a better life for her. She dreams of seeing the world but isn't sure how to do so, and she begins to call upon Auntie Po, a legendary giant Chinese matriarch with a blue ox, to watch over the camp. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak along the way. Bad things happen to the best of people in this book which mixes folklore and history to explore issues of equality, equity, and identity. This is a story brimming with historical incident, and timely depictions of both bigotry and understanding. Sweet, funny, and wise without dipping in to self-pity.

Child' Eye View of John Singer Sargent

We have a family plan at the local art museum where my granddaughters live rather than where we live so that we can go to the museum with them. It has been a pandemic, so this plan has not been fully operationalized, but on our very first visit they stood in front of this portrait by John Singer Sargent of Alice Gerson Chase and one of them took in a deep breath and turned excitedly to me and said, "She looks like a princess." And there you have it, through the eyes of a four year old, the deeply satisfying allure of looking at portraits of strangers by one of my favorite portrait painters of the late 19th century. Sargent was renowned for his portraits of the wealthy and famous. Although he worked within the established style of classical portraiture he used unusual compositions, interesting color palettes, and rarely repeated the same arrangement twice. Sargents' lack of use of under painting and under drawing allowed for more spontaneous, less controlled brush strokes which gave the effect of capturing the sitter in a candid moment. At the same time, he was able to manipulate props to convey the social status of his subjects, particularly in his use of texture to detail fine fabrics. I saw a painting of his when I was just a bit older than my granddaughter is now and it struck me much the same way she saw it, which was very satisfying to behold.