Sunday, August 31, 2008
Shattering That Glass Ceiling
It certainly was clever of McCain to select a woman as a running mate. Nor is it a coincidence that she is a good-looking woman. But does he really think that any of us who supported Hillary Clinton would switch our allegiances to the Republican Party? With her anti-abortion and generally conservative record, Sarah Palin is the anti-Hillary. And please don't try to pass her off as a "working mother." I wonder just how much emotional and physical energy she currently expends on her children. And just how much will she be offering her Down syndrome-child whom she chose not to abort? As the sibling of a severely disabled sister, I have some understanding of what goes into raising such a child. Were she in public office, or any kind of office, my mother never could have done it.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thank You, Miranda July (& Zadie Smith)
As I've just begun a year off from my day job, I've decided to devote one hour a day just to reading anything I please -- excluding the myriad newspapers, magazines and Internet sites I'm addicted to. 'picked up The Book of Other People, edited by Zadie Smith and discovered the immensely talented Miranda July. I love her poignant humor and can't wait to find out more about her. http://mirandajuly.com/
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Passion for Life
I just finished reading Swimming in a Sea of Death, David Rieff's thoughtful memoir of his mom's illness. I found myself identifying throughout with his emotions -- an uneasy fusion of guilt and regret -- and with Susan Sontag's passion for life, despite her personal sorrows and frustrations. He writes, "The simple truth is that my mother could not get enough of being alive. She reveled in being; it was as straightforward as that. No one I have ever known loved life so unambivalently, and I am almost certain that had she lived to a hundred...nothing except the loss of intellect would have made her any more reconciled to extinction." I wonder about myself. Is my passion for life -- despite my personal sorrows or because of them?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Raging Against Mortality
Reading David Rieff's memoir of his mother's death, I can certainly identify with Susan Sontag's struggle against mortality. Death makes no sense. There's far too much to do. Like Susan Sontag, I am "unreconciled against mortality."
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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