Photo Credit: William Klein, 1959

Here goes.

Summers are always odd times, or at least they have been for me. I get a chance to work and do things I couldn't do in the year. That's always good. But there's also a sense of intertia I get when I don't have a purpose. If I'm not busy trying to do a million things, I get a little antsy and crabby.

This year, however, I am not working retail (yay!) or as a barista (double yay!), so I don't think I'll have to worry about that this year. Hurrah! Stimulation all year round.

Ahem.

Anyhoo, the summer looks bright and cheery and full of music, friends, poems, and of course, les blogues. So, keep on truckin'.

The next few might be about food and music, as they go together ever so well.

Okay fank you.

Female pt. 2

Men, women ... who cares? Oh, Christina!

I am a big magazine fan. Huge. So much so that when I gave them up for Lent (I know, right?), I probably ended up saving about fifty dollars. Because of having to brave the swamp of academia in which we might have to read hefty, often dryish texts, the glossy pages of a magazine are the sweetest brain candy.

Plus, I cut all the pretty pictures out and make things from them. Hee hee.

Anyway, I'm pretty familiar with the landscape of women's magazines. My usual reading roster consists of two versions of Glamour, a Vanity Fair, and of course, Bust.

This month, I was compelled to pick up an Esquire. Okay, so this was mostly because of Christina Hendricks. My Mad Men obsession has officially reached the level of addiction. She graces the cover in all her sexy, redheaded glory, and this one issue happens to be the "Women Issue". Interesting, no?

It was kind of refreshing to see the same efforts made in magazines geared toward both genders. There were a lot of "how to make her happy" kind of articles. Even a map for how to give the perfect back rub, how to buy lingerie (my advice: leave it to us. You'll mess it up unless you really, really know what you're doing), how to slow dance, and *sigh* how to act patient.

What I really liked about this magazine was the bits of it that were unrelated to women. For instance, in the letters to the editor section, they ran a tally for a man who wrote far too many letters. There were columns dedicated to answering any and all questions, including one about diving into a pool of jell-o.

Article-wise, there was a piece on Hillary Clinton that I thought was quite interesting. There was one on Paris Hilton which was written so as to let her own words speak for her. I want to smush her face even more now. I was also really impressed with the piece on Lady GaGa by Brendan Sullivan.

Overall, I was impressed. There were moments when I was reading and I noticed some comments that were sexist, but it made me think: in an equivalent magazine for women, there are similar comments. So, the men are talking about our breast size and if our bums are droopy or not, but women are talking about beer bellies and thinning hair.

Esquire, you've impressed me. I'll look through future issues to see if this one was better because of the theme, but I really did like it. Any friend of Christina Hendricks is a friend of mine!

Employee Picks

So, this is basically a "what I'm into these days kinda post". I'm giving these the G Wax Seal of Approval. And I thought I'd mix it up with the rest of the stuff I'm going to be posting soon.

MUSIC:

She & Him - Volume Two

Rating: Three pairs of big blue eyes out of Four

This one is kind of a no-brainer. Anything that involves really sweet and catchy lyrics with a sometimes bass-driven darker instrumentation ("In the Sun") makes me very happy indeed. This album sounds like eating dark chocolate in a sundress. Plus, the reference to the Orpheus myth in "Don't Look Back" tickled me. Ms. Deschanel has a really cute country-esque lilt to her voice that I really like. I'd put this on if I was babysitting.

Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM

Rating: Four brain scans out of Four

I might be biased because I got to interview her (!!), but I really liked this. I'd heard a lot of Serge Gainsbourg thanks to my slightly off-kilter grade eight social studies teacher. Apparantly, dirty French pop is good study music for thirteen year-olds! Anyway, I really liked how everything was arranged on the album, and you can really hear Beck (both literally and a little less directly) in the production. When it translated live, it surprised me that it worked so well. It was really good to hear something different than the recording.

Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much

Rating: Two cartoon solar systems our of Four

Okay, so I'll probably need to give this another few go-rounds, but I wasn't blown away. Life in Cartoon Motion was a hard act to follow. It became my go-to cooking/cleaning/working out soundtrack for months, and I couldn't wait for his next one. The anticipation gave me huge expectations. The CD comes with a disk of live tracks, which do sound quite good.

BOOKS:

The Beautiful Miscellaneous by Dominic Smith

Rating: Four accidental geniuses out of Four

So, this is something I'm re-reading, so it qualifies as current AND I am also able to review it. The premise is that Nathan Nelson, a seventeen year-old who has so far not been able to live up to his parents' expectations, is in an accident that results in his ability to recall pretty much anything. He becomes a living encyclopedia. What I liked was that the book addressed the intelect and human virtuosity in any field by showing its utility and its beauty. It's just good.

TV/FILM:

Mad Men

Rating: Four chain smoking men in suits out of Four

This. Show. Is. Amazing. What I love is that it is so quiet. According to script analysis, which we've just studied, there are few events in this show. Characters tend to go through their own personal plotlines, but there are few things that completely change the world of the show. I adore the women of the show, and I actually like the sexism. The show doesn't hold back or make nice with how people were, and though we still have a long way to go, we've made major progress as a society. Don Draper is probably the best written character I've seen on television, perhaps ever. I think we need a break from getting dazzled by flash and action and look at people. This show does this the best of much of what I've seen or read recently.