Ellen Keim

The Natural Wedding: Ideas and Inspiration for a Stylish and Green Celebration

gita — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

“... the average wedding can send 14.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—roughly double an individual human's carbon footprint for a year.” So writes the author Louise Moon in the introduction to her book, The Natural Wedding. As the founder of EcoMoon, which specializes in designing green weddings, Moon is uniquely qualified to guide those who aspire to be responsible stewards of our planet.

The book covers just about everything that has to do with weddings—theme, venue, dress, rings and other jewelry, accessories, invitations, menu, cake, flowers, decorations, wedding favors, table assignments, make-up and hair, clean-up and honeymoon—and shows how to avoid products and practices that are bad for the environment. She advises the bridal couple to think “seasonal,” “eco-chic,” “vintage,” and “DIY” (do-it-yourself). She also defines terms such as organic, biodynamic, free-range, fair trade, slow food and sustainable.

One of the author's suggestions is to plant your own garden specifically for the food and/or flowers you want to use in your wedding. (Obviously that takes a lot of advance planning.) Another is to use petals instead of rice or paper for confetti.

Moon gives so many suggestions that the bridal couple could be left feeling overwhelmed. How could you possibly implement all of these green solutions? The key is to pick those practices and products that appeal to you—and that you can afford. (The author's claim that a natural wedding is less expensive than a traditional one seemed a bit unrealistic given how costly some green products can be.)

Martha Stewart fans will love this book. It's full of DIY projects, from fabric corsages to bridesmaid totes and recipes. The photographs are beautiful and the illustrations are detailed. There's a wedding planner in the back of the book as well as a glossary, bibliography and list of helpful websites. The book is the size of a typical magazine, making it seem more like a coffee table book than a how-to-manual (it also has a coffee table price). That's not to say that it's not worth buying, just that it's so pretty I would hate to handle it too much for fear of spoiling its appearance.

The text is full of references that are British (such as well-known British eco-hotels or outdoor venues, laws governing getting married in Britain, and certain terms), and the author herself is British, but the book was published in the U.S. with no mention of a prior publication in Britain. However, its list of websites includes many American and Canadian venues, products, and companies, so it is still a valuable resource for North Americans.

In fact, anyone who wants their wedding to make a statement, but doesn't quite know how will find plenty of inspiration and handy information in this book. This would make a great present for someone who has just become engaged or is just starting to plan her wedding.

Written by: Ellen Keim, March 14th 2011

WTF? Women: How to Survive 101 of the Worst F*#-ing Situations With the Ladies

gita — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

By Jodi Miller, Gregory Bergman

Adams Media

The first time I flipped through this book, I felt like throwing it in the trash. The humor is crude and the tone misogynistic. But then I sat down and read it more carefully (not that it necessarily requires a careful reading). And I discovered that reading it was a lot like watching the performance of a stand-up comedian. Turns out that's not coincidental, since the creator of the WTF? series actually is a stand-up comedian out of LA, as is his co-author.

I'm not a man-hating feminist. But if I took this book seriously, I'd probably turn into one. Men aren't exactly depicted in the most flattering light. Fortunately, you don't have to take it seriously. And if you're an adolescent boy I think you would find it hilarious.

The 101 situations that are depicted in this book progress through the life cycle of a relationship: from being too shy to approach girls to what to do about sex if you're a senior citizen. After each situation is described, the reader is given several options to choose from for how to deal with it. For instance, #15 is “Dating a Virgin” and the options are: 1) embrace it; 2) run; and 3) sell her because virgins are in demand.

I think there's a lot of honesty in this book about how men do feel about women. But there's also a lot of satire, exaggeration and just plain poor taste. The vocabulary used comes right out of a porn film. If I give the authors the benefit of the doubt, I would characterize the book as a tongue-in-cheek look at male-female interactions. I would even go so far as to say that it says a lot (beneath the jokes) about how clueless and frustrated men are when it comes to the opposite sex. But for those who don't have a sense of humor, it's going to come across as a manual for how to treat women like bitches and sex objects.

That's why you should be careful who you buy this book for. It would be great as a gag gift at a bachelor's party, or as an addition to your bathroom library. But I would definitely hide it from your mother.

Written by: Ellen Keim, March 12th 2011

Death Echo

beth — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Elizabeth Lowell

William Morrow

Death Echo is categorized as a suspense novel. On that score, the book delivers, but not for the reason that the author intended: I was in suspense for the entire book trying to figure out what was going on.

Emma Cross, of the elite security consulting firm St. Kilda's, is assigned to find out if a newly commissioned yacht is the same yacht that was supposedly washed overboard on its way to being delivered. Intel says that at least one of these yachts is going to be used to destroy an American city seven days into the future.

Emma gets herself aboard the yacht while it's being sailed up the Pacific coast of Washington and Canada on the way to being delivered to its new owner. She and the transit captain, MacKenzie Durand, search the yacht but don't find anything lethal aboard. And yet they continue their journey over the better part of the week, somehow hoping that when the yacht reaches its destination they will figure out exactly how it's to be used to destroy the unknown city.

The author throws in some inter-agency bickering, perhaps to show how incompetent the covert community really is. I suppose this is to justify hiring St. Kilda's to sort out the mess. And it all hinges on Emma Cross, who you think would be dead serious about her mission instead of spending most of the book fantasizing about and bantering with Mac. After many pages of sexual innuendo, ear nibbling, and finger sucking, Emma and Mac finally consummate their relationship in a graphic sex scene.

I would have been delighted if the attraction between Emma and Mac had made the story sizzle, but it didn't. The biggest problem I had with the book is that most of it was so boring, unless you're interested in the ins and outs of yachtmanship. To be fair, I did find this esoterica interesting at first, but eventually tired of it when it took the place of plot development.

The author, whose real name is Ann Maxwell, began her writing career in 1975 with science fiction. She didn't start writing romance until 1982, under the name Elizabeth Lowell. She has said that she welcomed her foray into romance suspense novels because she “loved being able to include a relationship in [her] books, because at that time the idea of a man and a woman working together was unexpected and/or unwelcome in thrillers, mysteries, and science fiction.”

The author does succeed in her depiction of a male-female team who fit well together (in every sense of the word), but it's hard to see how they are able to develop more than a purely sexual relationship in less than a week. And yet we are led to believe that they have finally found their soul mates. The reader is given only the scantiest of back stories for Emma and Mac, so it's hard to see them as real people. The most fleshed-out character is a former Russian agent who is trying to take possession of the yacht, but since it's not clear what his motive is, it's difficult to sort out how he relates to the story.

If you can make it through all the nautical details, you'll finally be rewarded during the last forty pages. If you're a boating enthusiast, you'll be in seventh heaven. If you like your international intrigue confusing and shadowy, this is the book for you. But if you're looking for strong, well-developed character and plot development, my advice would be to look elsewhere.

Written by: Ellen Keim, November 10th 2010

Atomic Mom

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Directed by M.T. Silvia

Smartgirl Productions

I was born in 1952 and, although I don't remember public service announcements about the atom bomb like the ones M.T. Silvia includes in her feature-length documentary Atomic Mom, I do remember "bomb drills" when I was in elementary school. At least we didn't just crawl under our desks like some PSAs recommended; we went down to the sub-basement and hunkered down in the dark. I don't remember being scared, but then I don't think I had a very good idea of what the hell we were doing.

I'm not sure anyone did. One thing Atomic Mom makes clear is how little anyone really knew about the atomic bomb before and after it was dropped on Japan and effectively ended World War II. Everything associated with the bomb was top secret; there was even a United States-dictated "gag order" on the Japanese from the time the bombs were dropped until 1953. Doctors had no idea what they were dealing with, as they were not allowed to conduct research or to trade information about radiation sickness.

Even those who studied the effects of radiation didn't know exactly why they were doing it or what would be done with the information they collected. M.T. Silvia's mother, Pauline Silvia, was one of those researchers. She was assigned to the Navy Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco during her stint in the Navy from 1952-53, where she conducted research on the effects of radiation on mice and thermal injury on dogs. She was also on site to witness five of the eleven detonations that took place in Nevada during Operation Upshot-Knothole in 1953.

Pauline Silvia compartmentalized her experiences and refused to associate her research with the development of the atomic bomb for forty years. When M.T. herself became involved in the anti-nuclear movement when she was older, her mother became furious and asked her to stop. They didn't talk about the issue for almost fifteen years. Atomic Mom is about Pauline Silvia's journey from denial to acceptance—and ultimately forgiveness.

Interwoven throughout Pauline Silvia's story is the story of Emiko Okada, a survivor of the atom bomb that obliterated Hiroshima. While Pauline Silvia was fifteen at the time and only thought of the bomb in terms of it ending the war, Emiko Okada was only five and lived through its horrendous effects. (Her twelve-year-old sister was never found and her mother died soon after.) Today, she is a peace activist.

M.T. Silvia was introduced to Okada when she was sent to Japan for her "day job" (Manager of Media Sytems for Pixar Animation Studios). Her interviews with Okada and her daughter add depth to the film by contrasting the experiences of the two "atomic moms."

Atomic Mom is about many things: the excesses and irrationality of war, the peace movement, and the legacies that one generation leaves another. But most of all, it is about reconciliation, not only between former enemies, but between mother and daughter. It is obvious that the film is more than an intellectual exercise; it was meant to be a way for M.T. Silvia to learn more about her mother. In the process, they became closer and the world became a little smaller.

Written by: Ellen Keim, August 12th 2010

Taking Women in New Directions: Stories from the Second Wave of the Women's Movement

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Paula Kassell

Hudson House

Paula Kassell's Taking Women in New Directions is not what it sounds like. Rather than being stories about the women's movement in the '70s and '80s, it is primarily a collection of articles that Kassell wrote for the feminist newspaper, New Directions for Women (which she also co-founded and ran out of her own home for seven years). The newspaper was published from 1972-1993, and at its peak had a circulation of 65,000.

The articles themselves are in the form of newspaper clippings, one every page or two (for a total of sixty), and are accompanied by family and personal photos, all of which makes the ninety-seven-page book seem more like a scrapbook than a text. Other than the clippings and photos, there is an eight-page history of the newspaper, also written by Kassell; a couple of pieces about Kassell written by others, Kassell's feminist curriculum vita; and some correspondence between Kassell and an editor. The result is an odd mix of self-promotion and social history.

This doesn't mean that the book is without value. It functions well as a primary source of second wave feminist writing. Kassell always documented her sources and was careful to provide detailed information about the books and organizations she referred to. The articles, editorials, book reviews, and columns, which are presented chronologically, cover a wide range of feminist issues, from equal pay to reproductive rights. One thing that was interesting about reading the book was seeing how many of the issues Kassell wrote about are still not resolved today.

The publisher, Hudson House is a “vanity” press. I give Kassell credit for putting forth the effort to compile the contents, have the book published, and undertake book signings at the age of ninety-one. (The book was published in 2008.) The impression I got is that Kassell wanted to leave behind a testimonial to her work in the feminist movement, primarily, but not solely, in terms of her contributions to New Directions for Women. For example, one of the her accomplishments was to help persuade the New York Times to begin using the honorific “Ms.” (It was one of the last major newspapers to do so.) And she is justifiably proud of all the organizations she joined or helped to found over the years.

The strength of this book is that it shows how the personal life of one woman can contribute to the impact of an entire movement. It is a good answer to those who say that the feminist movement is no longer necessary because all of its goals have been met. And yet the things that have changed have been through the efforts of women like Paula Kassell.

Written by: Ellen Keim, June 1st 2010