book

In Praise of Indecency: The Leading Investigative Satirist Sounds of Hypocrisy, Censorship and Free Expression

admin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:35:00 +0000

This is the first of two books Paul Krassner put out this year and, in my opinion, the better one. What makes In Praise Of Indecency better than Who's to Say What's Obscene? is that it is better organized and its sections are shorter, which seems to help Krassner focus his attention on the subject matter, allow his jokes to be funnier, and help the reader to not get lost.

My one problem with this book, however, is that while Krassner brings up a lot of what appear to be facts, he never cites anything, which caused me to doubt his credibility. This is especially true in instances where the reader is able to find blatant mistakes, such as Krassner's reference to Ashley Dupré, the sex worker who brought down Eliot Spitzer, as "Karen". This type of slip-up caused me to doubt the rest of the facts Krassner brought up to mock, and put a damper on my enjoyment of the book.

Nonetheless, In Praise Of Indecency is funny—with the exception of a shocking and unintentionally depressing section involving a website called crackwhoreconfessions.com. Here, Krassner discusses the content of the site: confessions and videos from actual "crackheads", who all just happen to be women, detailing all of the degrading things they have done for paltry sums of money simply to survive. I had hoped Krassner was joking or even outright making the site up, but after typing the URL into my web browser, I was able to find it. One needed to actually join the site to view anything, so I had to take Krassner's word for the content.

Krassner seems to find nothing in the book indecent, and by the end, I came out feeling like a prude. This is not a book for those with delicate sensibilities, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Written by: Jen Klee, October 10th 2009

Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:23:00 +0000

By Keanan Duffty, Paul Gorman

Rizzoli

I have always been interested in the fashion of subcultures. I've been stenciling my clothes, painting stuff on them, adding studs and strategic rips, sewing random things together and pillaging thrift stores since I was a freshman in high school—which is why designer Keanan Duffty's book Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style originally caught my eye. A style guide with a chick wearing chucks and fishnets on the cover seemed awesome!

Duffty himself has also been embellishing clothes since he was a child and, like most subculture fashionistas, was inspired by the music, particularly The Sex Pistols and David Bowie. His book reads like part autobiography, part look-book catalog, part intro to modern fashion history, and part helpful style guide.

I'd never heard of Duffty before, so his life was a somewhat interesting read, but I did not find myself impressed with the photos of his work included in the book. I'm not sure if it's just that the collection included is mostly from his later years, but to me his style was less "Rebel Rebel" and more mall punk, easily found at your nearest Kohl's. Duffty does include inspiration and scant ways for the reader to embellish and make their own clothing creations, though, so one could simply use his ideas as a springboard and go from there.

I also wasn't too impressed with the fashion history aspect of the book. While a lot of facts were interesting, such as the entire history of the jean pants, some facts were blatantly untrue: No, the Beats were not called the Beats as short for 'deadbeat,' and no, the hippie scene did not spring from the Carnaby Street Mod scene (it had been going on slightly earlier—and in America). There were just so many errors that even I, a somewhat average reader, picked up on that it made me question some of Duffty's more plausible bits of trivia.

Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style could be a good coffee table book, as it's rather large and, again, some of the illustrations are really nice, but I wouldn't pull it out to impress the FIT grads—or sit down and read it again.

Written by: Jen Klee, September 30th 2009

Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:26:00 +0000

By Dale E. Basye

Random House

To paraphrase Sartre, heck is other people. For Marlo and Milton Fauster, it’s each other. The Fauster siblings are polar opposites; Milton is bookish and bullied while Marlo is tough and angsty. Both are intelligent, and after their deaths, become trapped in Heck, the underworld school run by Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the demon principal. Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck is the second book in the Circles of Heck series.

Rapacia focuses on Marlo, who died at the end of the first book. In the underworld, she is met by Principal Bea “Elsa” Bubb and Assistant Principal, the Grabbitt, a large metal rabbit with a penchant for rhyming and tempting greedy children. In short order, Marlo has to deal with a malfunctioning assistant principal, an evil math teacher, mean girls, and a plot to steal diamonds made from the tears of angels. Bea “Elsa” Bubb spends her time trying to outdo Lillith Couture, the Devil’s Advocate (and girlfriend). Milton, reanimated, takes on figuring out what happened to the boy who accidentally killed him in the last book, and his newfound fame as the reanimated boy, bringing him unwanted attention from the most unlikely places. I have not even mentioned Mallvania, the great mall that functions as both a lower circle of hell and a lower circle of heaven.

I enjoyed this book immensely, much more than I thought I would. It teaches children about the pitfalls of greed, the importance of team work, and learning to love yourself for who you are. It just does it with a truly twisted sense of humor and often laugh-out-loud point of view. The concept of hell as a middle school is a wonderful twist on Dante’s circles of hell, one that reaches anyone who has ever been in school. The book thinks nothing of making a joke, like Mallvania having a “Jesus Christ Superstore” or almost lawyer named Algernon Cole giving out coleslaw instead of business cards. The book takes all of these absurd jokes and runs as far with them as possible, which is the biggest problem with the novel: its inability to end a joke, which go from funny to one step too far.

With its tendency to take things too far, it’s a bit dark for children, but definitely worth the read. I laughed, I felt for Marlo and Milton, and I anxiously await the next book.

Written by: Taylor Rhodes, September 18th 2009

Button It Up: 80 Amazing Vintage Button Projects for Necklaces, Bracelets, Embellishments, Housewares, & More

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:21:00 +0000

By Susan Beal

Taunton Press

As a child, I remember marveling at the quart jar full of old buttons at my grandmother’s house; I would pour them out onto the floor and separate out the ones that I thought were the prettiest. Twenty some years later, and I find myself wishing for that quart jar as I read Button It Up: 80 Amazing Vintage Button Projects for Necklaces, Bracelets, Embellishments, Housewares & More by Susan Beal.

The book is divided into sections by project type: two on jewelry (my favorites: the button link necklace and button cuffs), one on housewares (I’m planning on making the dinner party set for a present) and one on accessories, embellishments and gifts (the button stationery is super cute).

Though it isn’t just a how-to book; the first chapter is an interesting one on the history of buttons. Yes, I realize that it may sound unexciting, but I hadn’t before realized how much the style and design of buttons changed with the times: from the black jet beads popularized by Queen Victoria’s mourning dresses to the historical souvenir buttons of World’s Fairs and movies in the middle of the 20th century.

As a teacher of technical writing (not as boring as it sounds), I was impressed by the readability and clarity of the directions on the projects. The steps are written specifically. Unlike some craft books, this one has an image for every project on facing page. There is no searching for what the project should look like.

One downside is that many of the projects displayed have buttons that seem hard to get, so it may not be possible to replicate the design exactly. On second thought, perhaps that’s a good thing. No matter how many people have the book and make the same pattern, you’ll still come out with an original, one of a kind item.

You don’t have to have a stock of buttons or craft materials on hand before you start; there is a clear list of materials needed for each project as well as instructions on techniques at the beginning of the book. A resources section includes information on some of the best places to get buttons. While most of the brick-and-mortar stores are in New York City or California, there are plenty of online options available.

It is a book written for a more “traditional” woman; the assumption is that button necklaces and button embellished bags would be of interest. Some items seem more geared for an older generation (I’m in my twenties), but there really seems to be something for everyone. I especially liked the button toys section; I’ll be making the felted owl with button eyes and toes for my niece.

Written by: Kristin Conard, June 11th 2009

Impermanence: Embracing Change

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:44:00 +0000

By David Hodge, Ha-Jin Kang Hodge

Snow Lion Publications

It's day five of my computer's meltdown. This morning the dishwasher broke. My husband has no job leads. My doctor emailed me this afternoon, and there are no new answers to my health issues. As my husband flew out the door to another networking event, I couldn’t help a somewhat desperate whimper, "Are we destined for instability?" If we are, we are in good company. In the company of the whole world, according to Impermanence: Embracing Change by married multimedia artists David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge. Impermanence focuses on the Buddhist concept of change which teaches that instability, change, impermanence, call it what you will, is a fact of life. Accepting that sands inevitably shift is a necessary path to stability and peace of mind. Impermanence is a valuable way station on this rocky, cliff-hugging journey.

While Impermanence is packaged as a book and DVD set, it is so much more. It is an art exhibit you hold in your hand. And view on your DVD player. Its first incarnation was as part of the traveling art installation, The Missing Peace, a celebration of the Dalai Lama’s life and work. The Hodges filmed a diverse group of 108 women and men discussing impermanence. The interviews played on sixteen iPods arranged in a circle and set to play at both timed intervals and simultaneously.

Transferred to DVD, the exhibit feels like a friendly cocktail party where the host has banned superficial chitchat and commanded guests to talk only about life’s enduring matters. It starts as a mosaic of faces and a soft cacophony of voices. It is interactive. Let the film take control as it moves between mosaic and individual or click on arrows which arrange the interviews into themes such as "awareness," "message to the world," and "presence." Either way, just like that, you are launched into the exhibit as if you were there.

The interviewees each speak for several minutes about impermanence. Is it a source of dread? A harbinger of death and loss? The other shoe dropping?

Or is it proof that one is alive? Nature’s way of making us appreciate the here and now? Promise of a better tomorrow?

Yes.

Impermanence is all of this. Several interviewees also emphasize its potential to unite: we all have impermanence in common. In addition, letting go of our own little corner of status quo leaves us open to new connections.

The book adds even more depth. It is arranged into the same themes as the DVD, each introduced by an enlightening and thoughtful essay or poem. Photographs of the participants and snippets of their interviews follow.

Impermanence is uplifting and depressing, energizing and draining. In fact, it feels a lot like life. While I thought women might struggle more with change as we seem disproportionately affected by it during life events such as marriage, childbirth and divorce, this turned out not to be so. Women and men equally expressed hope and trepidation.

Impermanence would have been an even more absorbing experience had it included less philosophy and more anecdote. But its overall message of accepting impermanence without fighting it, of refusing to feel defeated by change even when it's in the wrong direction and of remembering that impermanence allows for the possibility of better times, not just worse, is invaluable. In the time since I began this review, the computer and dishwasher were fixed. And Impermanence has persuaded me to focus on what is, instead of lamenting what will surely be the continuing ebb and flow of life.

Written by: T. Tamara Weinstein, April 24th 2009