Spotlight on Yuyi Morales -- Hispanic Heritage Month 2024

No, I am not done with the Pride Month writing. There will be more on that.

As my different reading sections are starting to overlap more (especially as I finish up the post-2016 election reading) I am trying letting the writing overlap and alternate as well. 

I don't know if I will stick with it, but there are ways in which I think it may be helpful.

Yuyi Morales seems like a good starting place. I first learned of her from a book that featured both her and Jerry Pinkney, so she connects to my Black History reading.

In trying to locate her work, I have run into some confusion. Among the books listed on Goodreads there was one, Le Costume de Malaika, by Nadia Hohn. I found one called Malaika's Costume and requested it (different language editions is nothing new), but the illustrator of that book was Irene Luxbacher. Was there a French edition illustrated by Morales? 

I went to her Wikipedia page to check. That bibliography mostly matches Goodreads, except that there is no Malaika's Costume (the French edition on Amazon shows the same artwork and lists Luxbacher). Wikipedia does show another book, Todas las Manos Buenas by F. Isabel Campoy, that Goodreads does not have.

I am trying to get a hold of that now, but tracking down books can be tricky, especially children's books. 

Maybe Yuyi is a good test case for blending and mixing things up.

Another reason that is appropriate is her own artistic style. While she can draw and paint, she will often mix in dolls and fabric and other materials. Sometimes it is blended so skillfully it is hard to be sure what was drawn and what was not.

That makes it seem appropriate that two of her books are tributes to artists: her illustrations for Amy Novesky's Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O'Keeffe Painted What She Pleased and Morales' own Viva Frida.  

Many of the books have strong senses of familial love. It may make sense that among her solo books are a counting book, an alphabet book, one featuring a game of hide and seek, and two books about a little boy imagining himself as a luchador. It would be easy to believe that those were inspired by her son Kelly as he was learning and growing:

Just a Minute! A Trickster Tale and Counting Book
Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book
Little Night
Niño Wrestles the World
Rudas: Niño's Horrendous Hermanitas

That is easy to imagine because of the love infused in Dreamers. 

In Dreamers, Morales tells the story of her and her young son coming into the United States. During a difficult adjustment they find libraries and children's books. 

In addition to the beauty and inspiration found in the story, part of the fun is seeing familiar book covers. A future reading month could launch from that, at some point. 

While the term "Dreamers" has a specific meaning now, in the book it is about a mother and child discovering what they can become. There is optimism, but also an awareness that there are dangers. This is echoed in Bright Star, and it makes Morales' participation in a book for Project Amplify, Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz, logical. 

I am glad that I learned about Todas las Manos Buenas before I read the foreword Morales wrote to Celebrating Cuentos: Promoting Latino Children's Literature and Literacy in Classrooms and Libraries. In it, she refers to Campoy, and I knew the context that Campoy's work was the first book Morales illustrated (also a friend):

My friend Isabel Campoy wrote once that there are no Latinos in Mexico. or El Salvador, or Cuba, or in any or the twenty Hispanic countries for that matter, because Latinos is actually the term used to refer to the Spanish-speaking population (and their descendents) of the United States. For the same reason, I realize now, I had to come to a foreign country to become who I am: a Latino author and illustrator. I have learned that to be labled Latino also defines such things as the shelves where my work will be displayed. I sense danger in any term that specifies ethnicity, as if being Latino, or African American, or indigenous suggests the possession of a monolingual voice and a specific vision meant to be understood only by those who are already familiar with these. I must say that I do not fear this label. In my path through schools and in visiting my readers, I have learned that children take from our work what they need the most.

Additional books illustrated by Yuyi Morales:

Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng
Sand Sister by Amanda White
My Abuelita by Tony Johnston
Floating on Mama's Song by Laura Lacámara
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes

Election 2024: Some thoughts on Biden's presidency

I mentioned earlier holding off on some plans to connect more. It would be fairly perilous in an election year. People can be so annoying. More annoying than usual, I would say, except that some of the worst people are making that their personalities now. If I have old affection for them I hope they can come around, but this may not be the time to look for it.

Anyway, one of the minor issues -- and the reason that this post is specifically about Biden rather than Harris or Trump -- relates to the pressure on him to step down, followed by the outcry from those who cried that the previously professed loyalty to Biden was clearly insincere when everyone got so happy about Harris being the new candidate.

Allow me to clarify my thoughts.

I believe Biden has done a good job as president. I think that is more important than debate performance, especially when at our current level of polarization no one is watching the debates to make up their minds. They are watching the debates to reinforce what they already believe. The people who do not find Trump's narcissism, grift, and incessant lying disqualifying aren't going to change. It's awful, but that's how it is.

I would also like to throw out something that I read early on in his presidency, about how much danger there would be of more insurrection, which required some careful treading and diplomacy. Biden has faced a lot of open obstruction, but yes, there are people who were willing to hang a vice-president if it would bring them closer to their desired dictator for life. That group quite possibly includes members of the Secret Service, who are supposed to be the protectors. And with protocol and propriety, you have to send away the dog instead of them. 

Then, that there was so much nitpicking at every minor gaffe as a sign of his age, when he has a speech impediment, he has always been kind of known for gaffes, and the competitor is Trump, who can barely string a coherent sentence together... pressuring Biden to step down seemed very misguided, except it was probably more racist.

Because we had a competent vice president right there, certainly more qualified than Vance. Except she's a Black woman. 

There were just too many reasons to think that was part of the motivation.

Look, I can sympathize with a certain amount of fear about a woman losing to Trump; the last time was devastating. I still feel pretty strongly that the solution to fighting the racist misogynists is not becoming them. For one thing, the people who specifically want terrible white men will never be satisfied by one of ours.

So I was irritated with those -- and they were pretty much rich white men -- who were pressuring Biden to step down. 

Then, when Biden stepped down endorsing Kamala Harris, guaranteeing that she was the choice going forward, it was beautiful.

First of all, Biden no longer has to bother with the debates, he can focus on governing. Good!

We did not suddenly become less progressive. Good!

It was a good move and well executed. I applaud (and only a little bit because it ticked off people who had ticked off me).

Is Biden perfect? Absolutely not. Harris won't be either. 

People are upset about Israel and Gaza, including me. However, the guy who relocated the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is not going to be better for Palestinians. Even if a third party candidate had a chance, looking at this crew, none of them should.

I would have gladly voted for Biden-Harris, and I gladly filled out by mail-in ballot Sunday night for Harris-Walz. 

It is absolutely still important to push for change. Next week I hope to write more about that. 

Pride Month: Continuity

I haven't been putting the year, like "Pride Month 2024". This is not a regular thing for me. 

Last year I was writing for Transgender Awareness Week, which was in November. We are almost there again, and with LGBT History month being now in October, or Pride being in June or July, there are lots of options for a regular rotation. 

When I finished writing about the transgender reading last year, I realized there were more books that I was going to want to get to. I planned to do that in June. That is why I have been thinking of it as Pride reading this year, but I do not know what my pattern will be. 

Here were some things that I knew after last year:

I knew that Janet Mock and Jonathan Van Ness each had another book, and I would read those, which I now have.

Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness

I can really see the value in reading things in order. 

For Van Ness, Love That Story was material that was important but did not necessarily fit into the first book. If I had read that first, I might have appreciated the greater context given in Over the Top.

In Mock's case, Redefining Realness did come first, but was missing some things that were important chronologically. Reading the things she thought of after putting the first book out in the world gave a more depth. That worked well.

I think both books are also a reminder that you can never tell a whole story. It doesn't have to be a lack of openness or anything intentional. Not only is there always more, but also sometimes things look different after more time and thought.

I knew I was going to want to spend more time on the Interface Project after suddenly not being able to get Eden Atwood out of my mind.

http://www.xysuz.com/the-interface-project 

https://www.interfaceproject.org/stories

That ended up being useful before I got to any of the books. The Olympics brought it up.

Let me be clear that I do not know that Imane Khelif is intersex; it is pretty clear that Umar Kremlev is shady. Nonetheless the topic came up and I had a source for more information on something that people really oversimplify.

Finally, while my focus was specifically on transgender people, there was also some historical reading about the larger movement. This may be another reason why this year feels more like it is related to Pride and the larger group. (I am aware that there are often inclusion issues with organized Pride activities.)

Regardless, after reading And the Band Played On, I started wondering about some of the people who were mentioned in the book, but not mentioned as having died. (It is about the early days of the AIDS crisis and there are lots of deaths.)

Two I remember looking up were Larry Kramer -- who had died, but not until 2020 -- and Cleve Jones.

Cleve Jones is still alive. He has a memoir.

When We Rise: My Life in the Movement by Cleve Jones 

First of all, it was inspiring to see that people did live. Yes, we know now that there are drugs that can fight HIV and AIDS, but for people who had it then, and saw so many of their friends and lovers die, that was not guaranteed.

In addition, just from reading Jones' book, there are at least two more movies and another book that I need to look into. It's not going to happen this year. 

I know that something will happen again at some point in 2025.

For now that's as specific as I can be.

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2023/11/transgender-awareness-reading-memoirs.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2023/12/transgender-awareness-reading-until.html

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2024/08/gender-olympics-and-dominator-culture.html

Allowing space

I have been going back and forth with a very serious decision recently: whether to get social media set up on my phone.

It would mainly be for travel. I used to have a laptop that traveled with me. Once I day I could log on and post the song of the day and any relevant blogs and wish people a happy birthday, but it died quite a while ago. 

Right now I am also posting political content daily through the election as well as trying to stay connected to people. That I might have times when there are a few days with no posting is a concern.

I never worried about using the laptop, but somehow it feels different with the phone.

I suppose this is partly because most people keep their phones on them all the time; something I never did with my laptop. 

It is also because of merging, like Instagram with Facebook, but probably more because Musk ruined Twitter and Zuckerberg is evil and even Google no longer has not being evil in their charter... do I really want to reinforce that connection?

(It is a teeny bit because being in school gave me a new Google profile besides the one that has everything else. That only adds a small level of complication, but does act as a minor deterrent.)

As it is, we have had things come up twice now preventing travel; maybe I just shouldn't be planning on going anywhere.

I am not saying things will never be different. For now, my phone remains mostly just a phone, that sometimes take photos. It's pretty handy being able to call or text from wherever.

While it is technically still a "smart" phone, that part pretty much never works. I know I could figure that out, and I would have to if I were going to maintain social media use while traveling.This decision makes that a moot point.

This means that when I am watching television, I am watching television. 

(I wish my sisters would do that. So often they are there but missing things because their faces are in their phones. I rewind a lot.)

When I am on the bus, I will be reading, or thinking, or watching and even talking to people.

That's not awful.

In church, I... okay, sometimes my mind is wandering rather than me really listening -- there is room for improvement there -- but I am not scrolling my feeds.

Yes, it would theoretically still be possible to be like that with social media on my phone, but it's even easier when the phone has nothing there.

It was also a choice to allow me to have days off from what I am doing, no matter how important it feels. Breaks are important too. 

Pride Month Movies

I feel like it ended up being a very good selection. That was mainly luck, though it is the luck that you get from putting yourself out there. 

Two of them came up when I was searching on George Takei; he narrates Who's On Top and appears in Do I Sound Gay?. The other two were in my Netflix suggestions, I think because of watching Rustin and a Hannah Gadsby special.

I am writing about these in the order in which I viewed them, not in the order they were released. 

Disclosure (2020)

This is about the portrayal of transgender people by Hollywood. 

One of the most illuminating parts was going over the reveal in The Crying Game (1992). The person finding out vomits, and then all of these other films coming after doing that too. They are mainly comic films, like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, but still, it enforces that this is the standard reaction.

That is dehumanizing, but the film is great for showing many of the humans that it hurts.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017) 

I have not found much in the way of books on Johnson, which had been part of my plans. This documentary was a good start, giving more about her life and death, just as it describes.

One of the most emotional parts is a former roommate wondering if his actions put her in more danger. 

I knew there were questions about her death, and this does a good job of laying them out.

Do I Sound Gay (2014)

Filmmaker David Thorpe starts getting very bothered by his vocal inflections; hence the title question. (It is worth noting that this happened just after a breakup, and thinking of getting back into dating may have increased insecurity.) Thorpe works with a speech coach, as well as talking to friends and actors about "sounding" gay.

I found it interesting that apparently a big part of sounding gay was ending sentences upward, as if asking a question. One of the exercises for not doing that was a phrase with a specific cadence: "I am right. I am always right." Now that's a phrase that encourages finality.

It made me wonder if part of it was a lack of confidence, and a way of being deferential to be more acceptable. If that's the case, maybe it is something to work on, but if changing the speech patterns is pursued due to self-loathing, then maybe a therapy other than speech would be better?

(Now I am doing it, but I watched a 77-minute documentary. I should not be that confident making assessments.)

Who's On Top?  (2020)

As indicated earlier, this came up on a library search for George Takei, and I impulsively requested it. I had no idea it was set locally, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Yes, the title sounds like a double entendre. The documentary is about a group of four LGBT people (and it is literally one Lesbian, one Gay man, one Bisexual woman, and one Transgender woman) preparing to climb Mt. Hood together.

I really felt for each of the individuals, learning more about them and what being "on top" would mean for them. Seeing Portland and familiar locales was great. It was even cool recognizing all of the newscasters in the clips of stories of deaths, injuries, and search and rescue efforts on Mt. Hood. 

I may have heard before, but it did not really register, that Mt. Hood is the second-most climbed mountain, with only Mt. Fuji having more annual climbers.

I cannot stress enough how little I am interested in mountain climbing. There are so many other activities you can do with less danger, that don't require going to special low-oxygen rooms to condition and starting at midnight so the sunlight doesn't melt your path. I mean, Touching the Void was pretty horrific, but they were experienced climbers so the movie focused on the unusual things that went wrong. 

These are mostly beginners, so there is more time spent on that process of just getting to where you can reasonably expect to safely make the top. It's not that I was really thinking about it before, but knowing more now, uh-uh.

That wasn't the point of the movie, but understanding it was part of getting to know the climbers. 

The movie was great. It was also the one I watched most recently, and it appears I still have some emotions about it.

Exploring my sexuality

When I am doing a series of posts, it often feels right to go in threes. 

There is a long history of people conflating gender and sexual orientation, though I think there has been progress on that. It may be less common for people to think about the difference between sexual orientation and sexuality; that's whom you're interested in and what you do with them, right?

It may be much more about how you do what you do, and not exclusive to the bedroom.

First of all, I should say that in a lot of my feminist readings over time, I have noticed that for many men sex is mostly about force; not necessarily rape, but how hard even the consensual sex is done. 

I remember one woman who had a boyfriend like that. Later her doctor thought she had been violently assaulted because of the scarring. She hadn't really enjoyed it, but she accepted that was how it should be.

Then you have men who claim women are actually incapable of orgasm; it's the only acceptible explanation for why a woman has never had one with them. There is this new trend -- and it is so ignorant I hope it is not widely spread, but can't be sure -- where there are men saying that sperm alters women's DNA so if you have children with a non-virgin, those children will have traits from other men.

No. That's not how that works.

This mindset of sex being something for dominating and changing a woman (without pleasuring her) is really the same misogyny that pays less because they refuse to consider the work equal, while at the same time demanding more household labor and emotional labor without admitting it is labor.

My point is not to bash men (and of course they are not all like that) but to point out once again that dominator culture ruins everything. (I have spent several posts demonstrating that on the Sunday blog.)

What I am more interested in is how things can be better. Some examples come to mind.

First is the segment "Getting Real" from My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen.

She starts at a beach where a recent ileostomy has made her feel worse about her body. The many Barbie-perfect bodies (the companions of wealthy men also there) around her made that worse. Then a middle-aged woman -- older, and a little heavier, but with complete confidence -- sauntered out. All of the men and many of the women stopped and looked at her.

"It was my first lesson in the difference between perfection and sexuality."

She moves on to a patient who had always been perfectly beautiful, then needed a mastectomy, and her transformation. The most important part of it was still about the first woman:

"Real sexuality heals. In its presence I could begin to reclaim my own sense of possibility and wholeness, and I am grateful to this woman for inhabiting her body in this way. Without knowing me at all, she helped me to begin to inhabit my own life."

As traumatic as a surgery that removes part of your body can be, you don't need one to be aware of your own body's lack of perfection. If we think of sexuality as sexiness and believe it requires perfection, that can mess us up pretty badly, even if not as badly as equating sex with domination.

Somehow, we need to appreciate the marvels of our bodies and of each other to get at that healing and wholeness.

Alice Wong's Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire would surely have some food for thought, but right now I am thinking more of Audre Lorde's "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power".

For her, the erotic should be a part of sex, but it was also part of creativity and strength. 

"Another important way in which the erotic connection functions is the open and fearless underlining of my capacity for joy."

Look, I have given you three options for further reading and they are all worth looking into. Our individual paths toward wholeness may look very different.

I know that I have felt called toward healing for some time. Part of that journey is my own healing, and part of that is bridging the rift with my body that started so young. There are ways in which I am already better, and areas that still require some work.

It's worth doing for yourself too.

The never-ending Pride Month (Pride 2024)

This is not about how Pride Month was officially June and I am still getting through the books I planned on reading (though that would be a completely logical guess).

It is not about how although Pride Month is officially in June but Portland celebrates it in July (because of Rose Festival and graduation and everything). I was more aware of the timing because I volunteered there this year, so it was my first year attending.

This is more about how in my other reading I kept encountering queer authors.

I thought about titling this post "Is everybody gay?", but I was concerned that it could seem derogatory. Instead, I am going to save a really corny and obvious joke for the end.

The pieces started falling into place when I was reading How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler.

It would not have been unreasonable to read it for Asian-American heritage, or even science, but it came up because a friend recommended it and I had asked friends for their favorite books because of a reading challenge.

Imbler is queer. 

I might not have even noticed that if more time had elapsed between reading How Far the Light Reaches and The Viral Underclass, whose author Steven Thrasher is also queer. 

Of course, I was also reading Ocean Vuong and Demian DineYazhi in between. 

Now, DineYazhi's work, An Infected Sunset, was inspired by the Pulse Nightclub shooting; I was reading that specifically for Pride. He nonetheless could fit comfortably into my Native American Heritage month reading, and probably will be mentioned when we get to that, just like Ocean Vuong was featured in the Asian-American reading.

The point is that the boundaries are blurring, and I think that's a good thing. 

Often when there are attempts at representation, it is not done with very much thought. So, if we get a lesbian couple where one half is Black and one is of Asian descent, without any insight into how their backgrounds go together, that might not advance us as much as we would like. It will still make some people really angry, and it may help in terms of acclimatization to something other than a white monolith, but there are probably missed opportunities. 

More people from a wide variety of experiences telling their stories and sharing their viewpoints helps in many ways. It can be more honest than even the best-intentioned white straight person checking boxes. 

Consider The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide. A gay Black man is probably going to have a more accurate perspective on that than I could. I encounter inequality in some ways, but there are ways in which privilege shelters me. I want to reach beyond that.

One interesting thing I just learned (from an e-mail from the Movement for Black Lives) is that October is LGBTQIA+ History Month. Now my writing is timely!

Sure, it seems like I should have already known that, and starting in the second half of Hispanic Heritage Month and going right to Native American Heritage Month could present some conflict, but the key is more to learn and remember, not the schedule. (Says the person who is always behind, and is now thinking that maybe October 2025 should focus on queer Latinx and Native American people, but there is a lot of indigenous overlap there anyway.)

If anyone is curious, other queer authors featured during Asian-American Heritage month were Laura Gao (Messy Roots), Trung Le Nguyen (The Magic Fish), and George Takei. 

Around that time period I also read The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson. That was more for science; I don't have a strict schedule there.

Ready for the corny joke?

Maybe the real Pride Month was the friends we made along the way. 

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/09/spotlight-on-george-takei-apahm-2024.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/09/summer-reading-challenges.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/08/graphic-novels-for-apahm-2024.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/07/spotlight-on-alice-wong.html

Exploring my sexual orientation

Don't get too excited; I'm still straight. I do still have some thoughts.

Part of that has been wondering how much was social conditioning.

I know that I started experiencing sexual attraction when I was a senior in high school. There was a definite flip of a switch.

Before that I'd had crushes, but even before that, I was always interested in boys.

When I was three, I got engaged to the boy next door. There was a boy at church I thought was cute. I knew other boys but they didn't seem to matter the same way. Why? I don't know. This was attraction, but not sexual; why some and not others?

Getting to those crushes, I definitely had types, but I am not sure where they came from. I was capable of being persuaded.

For example, in junior high I liked baby-faced basketball players. I was never attracted on my own to short guys, but I was talked into it, at least once. If other people say someone is good-looking, it must mean something, right?

Then, in college when I fell in love with someone, anyone who reminded me of him caught my attention. 

There was still a pretty specific height range (about 6'2" to 6'4"), but not quite as lean (more football player than basketball), dark hair and piercing eyes. 

The last time I fell in love, it did change my type again. Still tall, but less dramatic hair, a beard (but not a long bushy one) and usually wearing a beanie. Well, you can imagine how often I see that in Portland. It does catch my attention, though I take it in stride more than I did in my early 20s.

I skipped a step. 

I did fall in love in high school. Until writing this, I did not remember it changing the type of guy I was attracted to. I was thinking maybe there was no one else like him, but then I remembered a guy in a commercial, and another one in a movie. Yes, I was noticing similarities. The only real effect was that I have always wished Elias Koteas well in his career. (But it was really just the hair that was the same, and Elias Koteas did not keep the hair.)

Here's the thing that was really important; each of those three times, it was love at first sight. It resulted in attraction, but was more like a recognition.

That's how attraction works for me. As indicated, I can talk myself into an attraction, and have, but I have always regretted it. 

Most importantly, while I cannot necessarily say that they had the same reaction to me, we were mutually drawn together. The more I got to know them, the more I liked them. We wanted to spend more time with each other. Whatever that pull I felt was, it made sense for me to listen to it.

Unfortunately, I was so sure that they would get tired of me that I tried to limit that time, even though there was nothing I wanted more than more time. 

There are two things with that.

First of all, any healing that you can do makes everything else better. I realize lots of people enter relationships loaded down with emotional baggage -- it happens -- but my particular combination of dysfunction was not well-designed for that.

Secondly, having tried various things that did not work for me, I don't have any interest in replaying that. Thinking about online dating or any other type of effort just sounds awful.

If I were to feel that pull again or could reunite with one of my previous loves, that would be a different story, but I'm not looking.

That being said, I do feel good knowing. My examined life is worth living, and I have learned from it.

And, if there is something that is weird about you, or seem impractical or ridiculous, but is actually what specifically works for you, honor that. 

Spotlight on George Takei, APAHM 2024

The downside of having this pause between the other Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month and the George Takei spotlight is that I have come up with so many more thoughts than I expected. 

Waiting was a matter of necessity. In addition to wanting to catch up on daily song posts, two of the books were only available through Inter-Library loan and it took a while for the requests to come through.

Therefore (in a big departure for me) this post may wander.

After reading his graphic novel account, They Called Us Enemy (2019), and his children's book, My Lost Freedom (2024), I started wondering what else there was:

To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu by Geoge Takei (1994)

Oh Myyy! by George Takei (2012)

Lions and Tigers and Bears: The Internet Strikes Back by George Takei (2013)

To Be Takei (2014)

Allegiance (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2016)

I don't usually include years for books, but timing is somewhat relevant here.

First of all, for the regular autobiography, To the Stars, there is a big gap between it and the other writings. 

It is such a big gap that he was not publicly out yet. It was a really entertaining book and there is so much that was interesting, but it is also weird because he is so publicly out now that you keep waiting for a mention; it just doesn't happen.

Then, at some point, he starts having a real social media presence. That inspired the two books and the documentary, which is largely about his activism and awareness raising. A lot of that is for LGBT issues, but it is also for issues of racism and remembering Japanese internment, so also the genesis of the stage play, Allegiance. 

It is after that when we get the books related to internment but geared toward younger audiences. 

That is all a logical progression. I also discovered a couple of other movies that will relate to the Pride month reading, so in fact Sulu is the bridge.

Here is where my thoughts become somewhat messy. 

First of all, the two books about internet use are not great. Part of that is simply that they are outdated; that is a thing that happens with technology. An older person figuring out the internet is likely to be more interesting to him than to almost anyone else. 

The books are not as amusing as his posts, though he does replicate many of them.

There is also one point of frustration for me.

When I first became aware of his posting, it related to a clip of a person in a store getting up from a wheelchair to get something off of a shelf, and people were mocking that person for using a wheelchair when they didn't need it.

Many people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices can stand and even walk. They may not be able to do it for extended periods without heart strain or dizziness, or perhaps they are at high risk of dislocation. There may be a lot of pain involved, but there are lots of types of disabilities and health issues. Thinking that every person in a wheelchair is totally paralyzed at least from the waist down is ignorant. Mocking that is cruel.

He got some push back. I don't think he handled it quite as badly as William Shatner, but he didn't come around either. In the books he talks about offending people. He defends humor and freedom of speech, but he got why mocking Japan after the tsunami was wrong. 

It doesn't make him different from many other celebrities. I don't think he's a bad person and I don't dislike him, but I do wish he was better in that way.

The next point of messiness is about Allegiance, though he didn't write that. 

Admittedly, I have not seen it; I have only read about it and listened to the soundtrack.

You have a very close brother and sister falling on different sides of the loyalty question, where the sister resists and marries another resister, and the brother joins the army and serves heroically, but the white woman he fell in love with is killed in a scuffle.The brother and sister are estranged for sixty years until her death.

There are a lot of things that are unrealistic with that. First of all, there was one person shot in an internment camp, and it was an old Japanese man. I don't think it makes sense to make the martyr a white woman. 

Most families seemed to stay close. There are a lot of different experiences, and I don't know them all, but that didn't seem right.

Also, they make a real person the villain, but in what seems to be an exaggerated way. That feels irresponsible and wrong.

I did find some other thoughts on that issue, from people who actually saw it and are closer to the issues, so I am going to let them comment:

https://www.nichibei.org/2015/11/a-jaclers-perspective-of-allegiance/

I'm sure some of it is for dramatic effect, but I still think there could have been a better story there. Maybe it would have better if it were based more on the Takei family.

For more about the internee experience, They Called Us Enemy really is excellent. 

I also recommend We Are Not Free by Traci Chee. She came from a large family, and maybe that made it easier for her to depict multiple different attitudes but where connections persisted.

Finally, in reading about Takei's early acting career, the same names kept popping up. This was fun in a way, because I have my own fondness for Keye Luke and Nobu McCarthy. Then it was a reminder of how much their ethnicity limited their roles, and they were relatively lucky in terms of finding work. 

That reminded me of Nancy Wang Yuen's Reel Inequality, but other things as well. 

There is still a long way to go.

Intro to Pride Month: gender identity

This is something I have had in mind to do for a long time: going through and exploring my gender identity, my sexual orientation, and my sexuality, terms that get conflated a lot.

The necessary spoiler alert is that I remain CIS, straight, and chaste. Nothing is going to be that exciting. It may still be valuable.

The seeds of the idea were planted long ago by pop culture journalist Brett White talking about connecting with his masculinity as a gay man. There were visions of masculinity that did not work, but there were others that did. Bob Newhart became an influence for him.

My underlying theme throughout all of this is going to be that we need to quit dictating how others should act. So, if a gay man wants to be understated rather than flamboyant, that should be allowed. (I mean, being gay is sexual orientation, not gender, and not personality.)

I have not been particularly feminine in many ways.

There were two frustrations (at least) for my mother when I was a child. One was that I had very thick, hard to manage hair. I also underwent a change at around 5 or 6 where I only ever wanted to wear jeans.

It was specifically my introduction to denim. Previously every pair of pants that I had was scratchy polyester, so I only wanted to wear skirts. Mom preferred skirts, so she related to this. 

Jeans felt great, and then that was all I wanted. (Variety in dress has never been a big deal for me.)

One vivid memory is Mom getting my hair cut into a pixie cut, which was much easier to comb, but between that and the jeans I was mistaken for a little boy and mortified.

I still cut my hair short many times in the future, but that was always that was always more of a practical thing. I always hated what salons did, and started cutting my own hair. When you can't really see the back... anyway, once I started it usually just ended up short. Now my hair has its own preferred length, I like wearing it in a ponytail, and that's just how it goes.

I also generally can't stand wearing makeup. I guess it's a texture thing, but I feel it on me and don't like it.

So that feels like a lot of the hallmarks of femininity are things that I ended up ignoring for various reasons, not really playing around with appearance and prettiness. There is a darker side to that.

I did completely buy that girls were supposed to be pretty and attractive; that we owed that to the world.

Learning early on that I was fat and therefore undesirable, the way I survived that was separating myself from it. Someday I would lose weight and then everything would be all right, but until then, just keep your head down. (I have used that strategy in other areas.)

Yes, I would periodically try and fail to lose weight. Yes, sometimes there would be some kind of event and I would try shopping for something nice, and those were the moments when I was most filled with despair. 

Did I get into that "I'm not like other girls" mindset? I don't think so. I knew a lot of girls who were really mean, but I also had good friends of varying levels of attractiveness. I mean, I knew we weren't a monolith, and it wasn't just me who had this problem, but it didn't quite free me from believing that as a girl I should be attractive and this was a painful failure.

Looking at all of that, it seems like I could have had some doubts about whether I even worked as a girl. The thing that saved me, though, was that I knew I was smart, and boys were so infernally stupid.

That is another gender stereotype, which I don't really approve of. It was also because boys acted in ways that were crude and cruel that was based on other gender constructs and what they were told they should be, but I found it repellent, even with some attraction to it (but that's next week).

Ultimately, I am okay with whom I am. It took letting go of a lot of perceived expectations, but it is a good place to be. 

I can't rule out that shopping for a formal gown would still be very hard on me, but that doesn't come up so much now, and I will take that.

Perhaps a better point is a lot of the ugliness and meanness in life comes from telling people how to be with very flawed ideas, much of which is based around gender.

Let people be who they are.

Daily songs, 1973 - 1970 +

I am continuing gradually working my way back through the years, though there were some unexpected twists.

It is always interesting to see that there are songs you knew, but not by name. One interesting thing was finding that I did know some Steely Dan songs. 

That encouraged me to listen to some other bands where the names were familiar but my impressions were fuzzy, just to get things clarified. I have a better idea now of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Jethro Tull now, though those are not necessarily for this time period.

Ultimately, I really like knowing stuff.

The other thing that was interesting was how songs off of the Bread album, Baby I'm-a Want You, kept showing up on the charts for 1971 and 1972, but the title track didn't. Had that not charted, but become popular later? No, it charted higher.

The song was released late in 1971. That spread its performance over the two years, keeping it out of either Top 100. In it's own time it reached the number 3 spot.

For that reason I have included it between the two years with an asterisk. 

Then, even though it was released in May, I did the same thing for The Grass Roots' "Sooner or Later", which reached number 9, but did not hold the position long enough to make the end of year lists or something.

It's not a perfect system.

After finding ten songs from 1970, I wasn't quite ready to start the next thing, but I had been to see ELO and they didn't play three of the songs that I wanted. It was a great show anyway, but I put a little section of ELO as well as an A-ha song to commemorate our whale watching excursion (check the travel blog tomorrow for that!).

Then, because we were doing a lot of cool things in September, and it's an awesome song that I think about far more than I mention, I played that too. 

It was nice having a little section reflecting my life. Perhaps in October I will have a brief section of songs reflecting firefighting, pirates, vampires, and Halloween fun.

1973 – 1970

1973

8/1 “Will It Go Round in Circles” by Billy Preston
8/2 “Little Willy” by Sweet
8/3 “Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest
8/4 “Sing” by The Carpenters
8/5 “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & the Pips
8/6 “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell
8/7 “Reelin’ in the Years” by Steely Dan
8/8 “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel 
8/9 “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple
8/10 “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder

1972

8/11 “Vincent” by Don McLean
8/12 “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan
8/13 “Last Night I Didn’t Get to Sleep At All” by The Fifth Dimension
8/14 “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green
8/15 “I Saw the Light” by Todd Rundgren
8/16 “Back Stabbers” by The O’Jays
8/17 “Doctor My Eyes” by Jackson Browne
8/18 “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers
8/19 “Precious and Few” by Climax
8/20 “Too Late to Turn Back Now” by Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose

*8/21 ”Baby I’m-a Want You” by Bread
*8/22 ”Sooner or Later” by The Grass Roots

1971

8/23 “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night
8/24 “Knock Three Times” by Tony Orlando and Dawn
8/25 “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
8/26 “Don’t Pull Your Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
8/27 “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes
8/28 “Stick-Up” by Honey Cone
8/29 “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin
8/30 “Love Her Madly” by The Doors
8/31 “I Just Want To Celebrate” by Rare Earth
9/1 “It Don’t Come Easy” by Ringo Starr

1970

9/2 “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel
9/3 “Hitchin’ A Ride” by Vanity Fare
9/4 “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse
9/5 “All Right Now” by Free
9/6 “Arizona” by Mark Lindsay
9/7 “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor
9/8 “United We Stand” by The Brotherhood of Man
9/9 “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” by Dionne Warwick
9/10 “Up the Ladder to the Roof” by The Supremes
9/11 “Yellow River” by Christie

+

9/12 “Hold On Tight” by ELO
9/13 “So Serious” by ELO
9/14 “Calling America” by ELO

9/15 “We’re Looking for the Whales” by A-ha

9/16 “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/05/back-to-70s-daily-songs-for-march-and.html 

Unplanned

As I have been reviewing this phase of my life, I keep looking for an organized plan of action for how I am going to contribute to the world: this is what I can do and I am going to do it!

It just isn't gelling.

It could be worse. I mentioned trying to organize keeping in better touch with people. I do not have a plan for that, but I keep making contacts. I see someone's birthday is coming up or a thought crosses my mind. I am probably doing pretty well at staying connected right now.

I also did have one very strong thought regarding working on things for my mother, in that it is important that I don't stop thinking about senior health care when it stops being a personal worry. Someday I will not need to worry about her anymore, but other people will be dealing with the same issues that I have dealt with. I will need to remember that and be a voice regarding that.

(Though I then had a dream where I was yelling at a legislator about children's health care, so I am not sure how broad a scope it will be.)

I am interested in a lot of different issues, and it would not be realistic to work on all of them. I had been hoping that there would be more focus. Maybe it is health care, or maybe it will be more like contacting people, where I will research things and write letters as ideas pop into my head. 

Does that even sound effective?

With days counting down until the election, it seems more important to have a plan and a timeline. If there is any possibility of me exerting a positive influence on that, I should not delay, but is that a possibility?

One thing I do know is that making a better world requires constant effort. Yes, the Democrats have considerable moral high ground over Republicans, but they still essentially adhere to capitalism and corporate interests and supporting institutional power. Not being viciously anti-social is important, but it's not enough.

Thinking about writing letters and pressuring legislators and following information is important, but it only has a chance if Harris wins, and there's a deadline on that. 

It all feels so critical, and here I am not sure what to do. 

I think my problem is that I don't know the future. It will still come. 

Dances of the day, July songs

It started with Tap.

I saw a reference to the movie and looked it up. I knew Gregory Hines was in it, but not that it also had Sammy Davis Jr. and Savion Glover. What an amazing link between generations of tap dancing!

More than I knew.

The challenge scene brings in six other dancers between the ages of 62 and 71, and they are amazing. 

There were also pictures on the walls and in the credits of classic dancers. I was sure the Nicholas Brothers were in those pictures, but did not realize that was Harold Nicholas sliding into and springing up from splits as if no time had passed. I was thinking Stormy Weather was older than it was. It was "only" from 1943.

Harold Nicholas was 68 years old in Tap, 1989. I checked to see and his brother Fayard was still alive. Maybe he wasn't dancing? Well, there is a tribute to dance from 1990 that shows them dancing together, except that Harold tells Fayard to do the splits and Fayard says he won't because it hurts.

I believe him, but based on the level at which he was still moving, if you are a dancer, keep it up. Maybe even try starting now. It seems to do wonders.

Anyway, I started thinking about all of these amazing dance numbers, and decided that would be July's theme. 

There were some difficulties. I couldn't always find the clips that I wanted, of course, but also, choreography can be a tricky thing.

For example, in Stormy Weather, the choreographer is listed as Katherine Dunham. Well, that's fine; I know she choreographed at least one of the numbers and possibly two. I don't believe she choreographed "Jumpin' Jive". I suspect that was mainly the Nicholas brothers themselves, probably with some collaboration with the director and the set. 

In fact, Hines has an "improvographer" credit on Tap, because he was making up some stuff as he went along. That was definitely for himself, but maybe also for others in the Sounds of the Street sequence (for which I really wanted to find a good clip).

Also, with A Chorus Line, the movie choreographer was not the Broadway choreographer, but I have to believe there was an influence. It makes sense to adjust for having a camera; I just wonder about the process.

I wrote notes, sometimes copious, on almost every day... there is too much to say about them, except that I love dance.

Well, I love it when it's good. I was excited around 2006 when two new movies (Take the Lead and Step Up) came out, but they didn't make me want to dance or even buy the soundtracks. A little musicality, please! 

(That is one reason I have no interest in the Magic Mike franchise, though not the only one.)

When it works, it's magic.

Anyway, when a dancer or choreographer or song comes up more than once, I have underlined it. It covers such a wide time period that there aren't a lot of repeats.

Movies are mostly in chronological order, but Strictly Ballroom gave me such difficulty finding clips it ended up out of place. I hated the way the scenes on Youtube were cut, but how can you leave it out?

7/1
“Got a Feeling You're Fooling” from Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), with choreography by Dave Gould and Albertina Rasch. Performed by Robert Taylor, June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t29pGYd_X30

7/2
“You Are My Lucky Star” from Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), with choreography by Dave Gould and Albertina Rasch. Performed by Eleanor Powell, with Roger Edens on piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1G9aQEmfyQ

7/3
“Jumpin' Jive” by Cab Calloway from Stormy Weather (1943), with choreography by Katherine Dunham. Performed by the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold Nicholas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKRm6H-qOU

7/4
Audition scene featuring “Largo Al Factotum” and others from Tonight and Every Night (1945), with choreography by Jack Cole. Danced by Marc Platt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSx4fbSUWQ8

7/5
“Good Morning” from Singin' in the Rain (1952), with choreography by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Performed by Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O' Connor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyMU8O2B2Vs

7/6
“Saturday Afternoon Before the Game” from I Love Melvin (1953), with choreography by Robert Alton. Performed by Debbie Reynolds and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoqdzT95wc4

7/7
“The Barn Dance” from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), with choreography by Michael Kidd. Performed by ensemble, including Mark Platt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzJtP75NqM

7/8
“Zip” from Pal Joey (1957), with choreography by Robert Alton. Performed by Rita Hayworth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXr2rbI-qYg

7/9
“Step in Time” from Mary Poppins (1964), with choreography by Marc Breaux. Performed by Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSCdFVc6DoY

7/10
“The Laendler” from The Sound of Music (1965), with choreography by Marc Breaux. Performed by Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Duane Chase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUFBOC6lQoo

7/11
“Everything Old Is New Again” by Peter Allen from All That Jazz (1979), with choreography by Bob Fosse. Performed by Ann Reinking and Erzsebet Foldi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRVv2b-hL_0

7/12
“The First Time It Happens” from The Great Muppet Caper (1981), with choreography by Anita Mann. Performed by Miss Piggy, Kermit, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWSba6qTTGk

7/13
“Footloose” by Kenny Loggins from Footloose (1984), with choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. Performed by ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OG0EyJyV8

7/14
“I Can Do That” from A Chorus Line (1985), with choreography by Jeffrey Hornaday (presumably inspired by Michael Bennett). Performed by Charles McGowan (and Greg Burge).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nZRjGKIbfM

7/15
“One” from A Chorus Line (1985), with choreography by Jeffrey Hornaday (presumably inspired by Michael Bennett). Performed by ensemble, including Charles McGowan and Greg Burge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrLcbi68R_A

7/16
“Prove Me Wrong” by Robert Plant from White Nights (1985), with choreography by Twyla Tharp. Performed by Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImzkWZkaIIM

7/17
“Hands Off” by Maria Vidal, from Once Bitten  (1985), with choreography by Joanne DiVito. Danced by Lauren Hutton, Karen Kopins, and Jim Carrey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyPc-1QdzSE

7/18
“Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding from Pretty In Pink (1986), with choreography by Kenny Ortega. Danced by Jon Cryer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmKckJTwwzs

7/19
“(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, from Dirty Dancing (1987), with choreography by Kenny Ortega. Danced by Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo

7/20
“Challenge Scene” with stop-time piano being played by Henry LeTang from Tap (1989), with choreography from Henry LeTang and Chester A. Whitmore. Danced by Arthur Duncan (64), Bunny Briggs (67), Jimmy Slyde (62), Steve Condos (71), Harold Nicholas (68), Sandman Sims (71), Sammy Davis Jr. (64), and Gregory Hines (43).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zd6GnFCfck

7/21
“Shall We Dance” sung by Taeko Ônuki, from Shall We Dansu? (1996), with choreography by Toshio Watari. Danced by ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=487Ps-TBKN0

7/22
“Fiesta Pa'Los Rumberos” by Albita from Dance With Me (1998), with choreography by Daryl Matthews. Danced by Vanessa Williams, Chayanne, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-gMGPbPCoo

7/23
“Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” by Doris Day, from Strictly Ballroom (1992), with choreography by John “Cha Cha” O’Connell. Danced by Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzOtTXOVc9A

7/24
“Tango a Trio”, from Tango (1998), with choreography by Carlos Rivarola and Ana Maria Stekelman. Danced by Cecilia Narova, Mia Maestro, and Juan Carlos Copes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP8I8NIoAqI

7/25
Final dance, with excerpts from “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson; Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4 in A, Opus 90”; “If I Was the One” by Ruff Endz; Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty, Opus 66”; “We’re Dancing” by P.Y.T.; and “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai; from Center Stage (2000), with choreography by Susan Stroman. Danced by Amanda Schull, Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uywJ9hNa0fs

7/26
“Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai from Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Choreographed and danced by Jon Heder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiAwpYIkRmU

7/27
“You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray (2009) with choreography by Adam Shankman. Danced by ensemble including Zac Efron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZnt-0fEiT0

7/28
“You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall & Oates from 500 Days of Summer (2009), with choreography by Michael Rooney. Danced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2VGpqq2-I8

7/29
“Dirty Tap Dancing” from The Artist (2011), with choreography by Fabien Ruiz. Performed by Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC20KdIDiEY

7/30
“Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman (2017), with choreography by Ashley Wallen. Performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO28Z5_Eyls

7/31
“Rain on the Roof” from Paddington 2 (2017), with choreography by Craig Revel Horwood. Sung and danced by Hugh Grant and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reyeX6ajeUw
 

Student overachiever

I tend to impose a lot on myself; I always know that there is more that can be done, and I can think of ways to move things to a higher level.

It is no surprise that I am doing this with school. Naturally, I think my ways of being extra make perfect sense and are quite wise.

It really comes down to three things in general (though as I make decisions on prepping for my first proctored examination, there may be some extra-ness there too).

The first thing to know that may help all of this make sense is that my degree plan consists of twelve classes, taken consecutively. (I have passed the first class, and have scheduled the final assessment for the second class for Thursday). 

My goals are basically focused around those twelve classes. Obviously I want (and need) to pass each class. In addition, for each class I am thinking of three things.

Interview one person connected with the industry (Education and Instructional Design).

Almost as soon as I announced that I was pursuing this degree, friends were letting me know contacts they had that did training. I also know many teachers, whom I believe will  have good insight.

I have interviewed one person. She was previously unknown to me, and is probably a good contact to have.

Now, is the more important part of this goal getting insights from other people or making new contacts so that I will have a network in place by the time I am a recent college graduate?

I don't know. I mean, I suppose I could add some contacts without interviewing them.

Either way, I need to make my second contact soon.

Read additional material.

From my undergraduate work, I can think of at least three textbooks where we were only assigned some of the chapters but I read all of them.

I am not saying I will do that with everything we read a portion of; that would be completely impractical. However, sometimes there are books that are referenced that seem like they could be valuable. Reading books comes very naturally to me.

For Learning Technology, it was Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. It was a bit repetitive (as philosophical works of language tend to be) but the ideas were pretty interesting.

Now, for Assessment and Learning Analytics, I have requested Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice, by Anne Meyer.

It seems like a safe bet that each class will mention at least one title that I will think is interesting. Of course, that will tend to put me further behind on my other intended reading, but I want to know that I am really getting this material, and not just scraping by.

Building a portfolio.

This was a suggestion from my first interview, so that I have a body of work demonstrating that I can do things. 

In this case, I am not planning on one per class, which I suspect will not be practical. Well, if some of the position papers will count, then maybe I will have twelve, but this is the area where my ideas are the least solid. Some of the coming classes will have projects that lend themselves very well. I will need to see as I go.

Right now my main project is cleaning my room. For the proctored exam, there is an extent to which it needs to be clear you are not trying to cheat by leaving notes and reminders around. I am almost certainly taking it to neurotic extremes.

Plus, there is this other area. I will get to that next Tuesday. 

Summer Reading Challenges!

On the same day I found summer reading challenges from both the local library (Aloha) and the local book store (Powell's). 

I have a hard time resisting a challenge. I also had lots of other things to read, but there were some of them that I could make fit.

I completed both, though a lot of the books were disappointing.

Powell's challenge was set up like a Bingo card: 25 spaces with different requirements, though the middle space was free. Well, "free" meant that that it could be any type of book, not that a blackout was really only 24 books. 

The library had three rows of four books. Combined that would have been a total of 37, but some did double duty. I also read some books that didn't fit anywhere. (There were about twenty of those, though most of them were children's books and some comics.)

They are all listed below with some notes, and I have underlined the books that did double duty.

The most important thing came up with reading a friend's favorite book. I put out an open call on Facebook, sure that I was going to get Outlander. (I did not.)

Nine friends responded. Most of them responded with multiple books, though that wasn't a surprise. 

Remember, I am trying to connect more. I picked a book (the shortest one), but it did not feel like enough. 

Anyway, my Book Sections document has a new column: Friends. 

I will get to them all. Will we then meet and discuss the book? What if I didn't like it? I don't know. I am just reading more books, knowing that they have meaning to people I know.

As always, you can find more on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1734486-gina?shelf=read

Aloha Community Library Adult Summer Reading Challenge

Read a non-fiction book: Fevered Lives: Tuberculosis in American Culture since 1870 by Katharine Ott (6/18-6/22)

This was referenced in a book from my 2017 Native American Heritage Month reading, Separate Beds by Maureen Lux. I felt like there was a lot more to know about tuberculosis, but not from this book, which meanders painfully and inconclusively.

Read a book adapted into movie or TV show: The Egg and I by Betty McDonald (7/10-7/12)

I originally got this because it was a Pacific Northwest author, and I liked Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. I kind of don't anymore, which is sad. I tried watching the movie, and it was even worse.

Read a book by an Oregon author: Before They Were Artists: Famous Illustrators As Kids by Elizabeth Haidle (8/4-8/7)

This was just luck. I am slowly working my way through the works of illustrator Jerry Pinkney. This was pretty well-done, and gave me a new illustrator to look up (Yuyi Morales), but also Haidle is based in Portland.

Read a book of poetry: Tripas Poems by Brandon Som (7/14-7/15)

Som could fit into two different heritage months, but when I needed a prize-winner for Powell's, I found him as this year's winner of the Pulitzer for Poetry.

Read a book set in another country (Denmark and Australia): The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (8/4-8/7)

This had struck my interest for a mention of grief, but it was overly precious bloviating with some really unhealthy relationships. It did show me how much easier it is to write expound on what you don't like about a book, which is a little disappointing.

Read a book with a one-word title: Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (8/5-8/8)

This is from https://images.dawn.com/news/1192543, 20 books for you to read about Palestine. I am only at 4. Feelings run deep.

Read a book by an indigenous author: Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining the Future by Patty Krawec (8/20-8/21)

This was one of my favorites from the challenge. It was one of three books that Julie got off of a list and wanted to read herself, but assumed I would too. This added extra pressure to my reading goals, but two of them met challenge requirements, and this one was good. Recommended.

Read a book translated from its original language (from German): Heidi by Johanna Spyri (8/26-8/27)

This is an old favorite, my equivalent of a "cozy" book. The other option was Jane of Lantern Hill, but that was written in English.

Read a book recommended by a friend or family member (my friend Cathy): An Italian Education by Tim Parks (7/4-7/10) 

Parks is more unaware of his sense of British superiority than I can be, which was annoying. However, it was set in places that were familiar to me, which was interesting. It had also been on my Italy reading list.

Read a book with a color in its title: Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur by Ron Christie (7/20-7/24)

This was on my Black History month reading list. I wish I could remember why I added it, because it was terrible. He starts with Maxine Waters criticizing his political choices, leaving him grievously martyred for his principles, which makes me love her more. For all the cherry picking of what to include, he should have been able to make a point that at least looked stronger.

Read a book with an unreliable narrator: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (8/9-8/10)

I could not think of anything with an unreliable narrator on my existing reading list, but an internet search brought this up. Shirley Jackson is a good writer, generally about unpleasant things. I may decide to just read everything I haven't read by her someday, maybe next October.

Read a book by a debut author: The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher (6/17-6/21)

This was mentioned in my spotlight on Alice Wong, but also really well-written with important things to know. Recommended. 

Powell's Summer Reading Challenge

Banned/Challenged: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (6/29-7/2)

This could go with my Pride reading and it was mentioned with my APAHM reading. His prose is poetic, but it is also bleak. 

Award Winner (2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry): Tripas Poems by Brandon Som (7/14-7/15)  

Also under the library challenge. I should mention it's pretty good too. In some ways it reminds me of Gloria Anzaldúa's writing.

Released in 2024: My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall (6/10-6/17)

This really enriched my Black Music Month listening and taught me a lot. Recommended.

Funny: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (8/22-8/23)

Maria saw this recommended and requested it for me, even though I had decided not to read it. It is well-written, and I guess it's funny in a dark way, but it makes me glad I am not trying to publish anymore, and think even worse of Yale.

BIPOC Author/Protagonist: The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher (6/17-6/21)

Also under the library challenge. Recommended.

An old favorite: Heidi by Johanna Spyri (8/26-8/27)

See under the library challenge.

Graphic Novel: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (6/22-6/23)

This came up as a suggestion under some things for Pride reading. The art is beautiful, and looking at traditional tales with their similarities and differences was interesting. I did want to slap a priest.

Non-Human Protagonist: School for Extraterrestrial Girls #1: Girl On Fire by Jeremy Whitley and Jamie Noguchi (7/26-7/27)

This was from https://bookriot.com/underrated-graphic-novels/ and really good. I may check out the rest of the series. (Although this list also recommended Cosmic Pizza Party and that was just really for kids. Sometimes when they say for kids AND adults, they are wrong.)

Disabled Author/Protagonist: Say Hello by Carly Findlay (6/23-6/27)

Findlay has ichthyosis. A lot of my reading this was remembering this girl I knew in the dorms, and realizing I had not known much about her condition. I hope she is doing well.

PNW Author: The Egg and I by Betty McDonald (7/10-7/12)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great.

Not "Your Style": Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur by Ron Christie (7/20-7/24)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Poetry: Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (8/5-8/8)

Can see under library challenge. It was good, and it is important to know more about Palestine. 

Your Choice: We Are Not Free by Traci Chee (6/22-6/24)

This came up as a suggestion looking at things related to interment of Japanese-Americans in WWII. It was really good. 

A Friend's Favorite Book (Casey): Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (8/12-8/13)

There are things I don't like about it, but it gave me another view on Steinbeck that helped clarify some things for me about other works I have read.

Set in the Summer: The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (8/4-8/7)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Written before you were born (1951): The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (7/12-8/2)        

I wanted to love this, but it was a bit too ponderous. That could be easy to blame on the ocean itself for being so vast and mysterious. There is some of the beauty of Silent Spring, but it gets weighed down.

Nonfiction/Based on true events: Fevered Lives: Tuberculosis in American Culture since 1870 by Katharine Ott (6/18-6/22)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Book with red on the cover: Clockwork Curandera #1: The Witch Owl Parliament by David Bowles, Raúl the III, Stacey Robinson (7/2-7/3)

This was from a different list of comic recommendations, https://bookriot.com/most-underrated-comics-according-to-goodreads/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us. While I am sure I will read more on the list, I thought this one sucked. Unbelievable characters and dialogue and too much telling instead of showing. For all of the steampunk/magic/alternative history, it really shouldn't be so flat.

Set in Oregon: The Enduring Legacy of Portland's Black Panthers: The Roots of Free Healthcare, Free Breakfast, and Neighborhood Control in Portland by Joe Biel (8/15-8/22)

I read an article about this and bought the book, but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. It's a little amateurish, but there were some good sources listed, including a graphic novel about the Black Panthers that I will probably read this weekend.

Mystery/Adventure: Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from  North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden (8/23-8/25)

I have had this on my APAHM reading list for quite a while, but decided to get to it before writing up this last round because of another book, A River in Darkness. That was also about an escape from North Korea. That escapee had not been in a prison, except to the extent that the entire country is a prison which it kind of is. Harden's book is pretty good but also frustrating.

Memoir/Biography: Gentle on my Mind: In Sickness and Health with Glen Campbell by Kim Campbell (8/25-8/29)

I stumbled across a music video that led to a documentary that led to this book, due to my very personal interest in dementia. An easy (and very religious) read about a hard subject.

Has magic in it: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (7/16-7/18)

This was the library's September selection for their Shameless Romance Book Club. Given that, it was pretty fun and only a little annoying. Faint praise, but praise nonetheless.

About love or friendship: Three Keys: A Front Desk Novel by Kelly Yang (7/28-7/29)

A sequel to a book that came from reading challenged books, but also fit with APAHM reading. I enjoy Yang's writing in general, and sometimes when something seems unrealistic, it turns out it really happened.

Set in a place you've never been to (Bhutan): Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth by Lisa Napoli (8/8-8/11) 

Pretty interesting, but a smidge self-satisfied, and didn't really tell me as much about Bhutan as I'd hoped when I put it on my APAHM list.

 A how-to book: The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas (8/13-8/15)

This was from the same list as Becoming Kin. The problem was that it (and the one that didn't fit, Emergent Strategy, Brown) is that it seems to be written for the Tumblr/oral history generation, where things shift back and forth and repeat and might even have a strobe effect. It makes some good points, but it probably makes them better to someone younger than me.

More aware

Over the last two weeks I have sent cards and Facebook messages and texts and made a phone call. It was more social contact than than usual, but it didn't happen in any organized manner. I kept remembering different people and things I wanted to say, then doing it.

My caring about people isn't new, but there is something that has changed. It's a culmination of a few things.

On the last weekend in July, my sisters and I went to Bend to see the Stray Cats concert. This story branches in two directions.

First of all, we loved the concert. I have always liked the band, but going to concerts was a really big deal when I was young. I went to a total of three before I turned 18. I absolutely needed to see Charlie Sexton, A-ha, and the Monkees, and was lucky they came here.

I have seen many bands from the 80s later, but they are getting older now (so have I). A few are too frail, or have developed conditions like tinnitus, or have died. When we look at different bands coming, we have to keep in mind that this may be the last chance to see them. Maybe there will be other chances, but we don't know. I had tickets to Modern English a while back, but it was canceled when one of the band members needed surgery.

One drawback with the concert was that the air was very smoky. It was getting worse, and there had been some talk of evacuations. If the concert had been a few days later, I can imagine it being canceled or at least postponed. It's not just the health of the band, but of the planet.

Nonetheless, this concert happened, and it turns out I had a friend there. We ran into each other the next morning. I realized I had not seen her in person since around 2012, when we saw the Gin Blossoms together.

I had been thinking about all of these things, and then the other thing happened.

A different friend holds a get-together at the beach every year. It was the same weekend as the concert. 

I obviously couldn't go, but if I am not going somewhere with my sisters and it's not easily accessible by Trimet, I probably can't go. Getting other rides might be possible, but it's embarrassing not driving and hard depending on other people and I just don't.

Another friend who generally does go died right before, but I found out right after. I don't know if anyone else was expecting it, but I sure wasn't. 

Two days after I learned that, a different person from school died, though not one I had known.

I remember years ago thinking that when someone my age dies it feels wrong, but there will probably come a time when it becomes more normal, and you are more aware of your own mortality. 

This might be an in-between stage. These deaths do still feel wrong, but not as shockingly wrong. I am not feeling death creeping closer to me, but there is a growing awareness that I just don't know how long I have with anyone.

It is easy to put things off anyway. I am tired all of the time, and I still have this tendency to hunker down for the difficult times to pass, and then it will be easier to reach out. 

For example, I had chatted with someone about getting together, and was going to suggest a date, but then the thing with trying to find a new PCP for Mom happened and that was really distracting me.

The problem is that the difficult times don't pass. They shift into different difficult times, but there is always going to be some reason to wait. 

My big change is a new awareness not to wait.