Book Review - The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller

I signed up for a Coursera course in Comic Books and Graphic Novels, and I have been working my way through the recommended reading list. This was in the top 3 books. Apparently it's a big deal?

OK. I liked it. I did. I can see how it's probably visionary and a masterpiece and stuff... but... I did not love it.

I'm not really into superhero comics, so that sort of put me at a disadvantage for appreciating this. It's not a typical superhero comic, so that helps. This was also my first Batman comic, so I didn't go into it knowing the history and relevance of this piece. I felt like I must have missed something upon finishing, so I poked around online to read others' reviews and learn more about the Batman arc. That's helped guide my hindsight.

The bad:

There were too many panels per page for my taste. I didn't love the art - I get that it's supposed to be dark, but I'm saying some drawings were literally so dark that my eyes couldn't decipher shapes or actions.

"WHAT IS THIS???"
jk, this isn't a real panel, but you get the idea.

A minor thing in the grand scheme, but one of the first groups of villains the book introduces -- the "Mutant Gang" -- was just... too much. I really can't decide if they are an 80s fluorescent vinyl nightmare or if I should just love and embrace the camp. Come to think of it, the same clownish look goes for all the villains, really... but I couldn't take them seriously.

The good:

Carrie Kelley as Robin is awesome. Because I'm not familiar with the Batman stories in comic form, I've only seen baby-faced young men like Chris O'Donnell and Joseph Gordon Levitt in the role of Robin. Where my ladies at, Bruce Wayne? It was cool to see a 13-year-old girl leave her neglectful family and take on this role. Since finishing the book, she is seriously everywhere -- on a hipster's shirt at the hipster coffee shop, the object of several San Diego Comic Con cosplays... I am way behind the curve.

Dat hair.

I did like the overall premise. Existential crises. Fate of humanity in the balance. Even super heroes grow old. To that effect, though, I found myself drawing comparisons to Watchmen, which I read first... and liked more.

I think it's like this: Pulp Fiction was this really groundbreaking, influential film, right? If you don't see Pulp Fiction until, say 20 years after it was released, but you've been watching other movies which were influenced by Pulp Fiction, when you finally see Pulp Fiction, it's like... "so?" Maybe that's not the normal reaction, but that was my reaction when I finally saw Pulp Fiction. My reaction was indifference and "you know, this kind of reminds me of Kill Bill..." OF COURSE IT DOES.

I give it a "meh," but it is a "meh" of great respect.

Book Review - Acacia: The War With the Mein, by David Anthony Durham

I probably don't need to tell you that the Game of Thrones TV series is a big deal. I also probably don't need to tell you that HBO's very HBOey series is an adaptation of the Song of Ice and Fire book series originally envisioned by notorious protagonist-murderer and nerd-overlord George R. R. Martin. While I cannot claim to be one of the visionaries who read the series right from the beginning (mostly because I was too busy being 9 and reading a bazillion-installment series about heroic talking rodents... whatever), after bingeing on the entire first season of the TV show, I was hooked.

The next season wasn't due out for another, like, 6 months, but... but... there are books!

So I read those until there were no more.

Then I felt empty.

Somewhere, someone on the internet recommended the Acacia series by David Anthony Durham as a sort of methadone for GRRM addiction, so I picked it up from the clinic library.

Acacia is a trilogy, the first book of which is The War With the Mein. The Akaran family has ruled the Known World (which looks, on the map illustration, suspiciously like ASOIAF's Westeros) for generations. The book focuses on the four Akaran children, who begin content and comfortable. Outside the castle, of course, there is simmering unrest, and the peasants live short and miserable lives. The reader learns pretty early on are some super shady dealings between the ruling dynasty and The League, which controls "trade" (um... kind of like the mafia provides "security") between the Known World and the Other Lands. One ethnic minority is particularly pissed off, revolution ensues, and the remaining 2/3 of the book picks up nine years later with the four Akaran children, now scattered separately throughout the Known World. Things happen - some surprising, and some predicted (the last 1/4 or so of the book is where the real action is) - and this installment closes in a time of calm on the surface... but the reader remains conflicted and a bit wary of what's to come.

---

I will say that the story did get off to a slow start. When everything is rosy, the book doesn't hold the reader's interest as it does after the shit hits the fan. The first 1/4 of the book took me about as long to read as the last 3/4.

I couldn't help but draw comparison to ASOIAF - but that's what I wanted, wasn't it? Acacia has enough interesting twists on its own to set it apart from ASOIAF - but not by much. I loved that it followed so many of the ASOIAF conventions which make that series so compelling, but I was also a bit uncomfortable with all the similarities.

Just as in ASOIAF, the chapters jump between multiple narrative perspectives, so the reader hears what's going on in each of the major characters' corners of the world, one chapter at a time. For me, this structure kept me interested and on my toes, but I've talked to others who find it distracting and disjointed.

It's a fantasy world, but the fantastic/magical elements kind of exist alongside the action rather than dominate it. There are no dwarves or elves or outright wizards (yet?)

Even the four Akaran children and their sibling dynamics, to me, were reticent of the Stark litter. Eldest brother with a sort of hero complex. Eldest sister with a beauty complex (thankfully not as much of a doormat as Sansa... get it together, girl). Youngest brother who is coming into his own and living in the elder's shadow. Youngest sister who is... just... a complete badass.

Their relationships -- the way they think about each other, care for each other, and complement each other -- make these characters easy to root for, while just enough human flaws remain to make the reader ambivalent toward them as outright heroes.

This is my favorite. Also like ASOIAF, the story itself (and I can only speak for the first book) isn't centered around a heroic quest but instead on the familial dynamics and, more notably, political corruption and struggle - more House of Cards than Lord of the Rings. Sci-fi/fantasy at its best offers an imaginative escape with commentary on our own lives and our own world. Acacia puts issues of slavery, drug addiction, war, ethnic prejudice, and economic inequality at the forefront of the action. Compared to the "bad guys", were the "good guys" really that much better?

I will enjoy reading the rest of this series... but when GRRM finishes Winds of Winter, I'll be ready.

By the way...

"George R. R. Martin is what?..."

"...He's not our bitch."

"Sorry, Neil Gaiman."

Vegan redux

About four years ago, I decided to stop eating meat. I won't pretend I haven't eaten a scrap of meat since April 2010 or so, especially during that first year or two. My first Thanksgiving with my family was tough. My first St. Paddy's with my family was tough (corned beef and cabbage. seriously.)

I think that's OK. It's important to revisit and reassess essential beliefs, making sure they still fit in the big picture. Each time I did eat meat, it was clear that meat still didn't fit in my big picture. I now haven't eaten meat (knowingly, ugh) in about a year.

...

For all the reasons I stopped eating meat, I thought I'd try to eat vegan. I wrote a little bit about it. It started as a 60 day challenge, and think it lasted a little longer. Like... maybe 70 days? Guys, not eating cheese is hard, and I am weak. 

Regardless, I became more and more lax. But there's always the tiny little voice...

"This doesn't fit in my big picture." 

"But cheese."

My job is also a lot of lunches and events where the takeaway needs to be my cause -- which has nothing to do with animals or the environment. Even when I'm eating eggs and dairy, my eating habits easily become a distraction from the subject at hand -- a distraction I've learned to manage, but a distraction nonetheless. Awkward conversations at work are part of the package. I get it. I've had those awkward conversations with coworkers, and they've been productive. For me, however, conversations with the external stakeholders (funders, specifically) are far more challenging. Those conversations are different. I have gotten really skilled at managing this and redirecting the awkward, and I am kind of proud of myself for it (pat on the back, self.) Still, it's a glimpse into my personal life I am not comfortable allowing.

...

Fast forward another few years of tiny voice stubbornly hanging on while big cheese voice does the same. This super lovely person started work at my organization, and she is vegan. We talk about cute animals and the pig sanctuary and favorite delicious vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants. She's long since moved on to another department, but I've thought of her poignant and completely nonjudgmental insight frequently.

"This doesn't fit in my big picture."

So, once again, for all the reasons I stopped eating meat, and on as much of a whim, I'm going to try this vegan thing again. Since last Thursday (one misstep... Kraft Mac and Cheese aka orange crack. It wasn't worth it, and I repent.) Maybe I need a new self-improvement challenge? I won't pretend I'm going to be perfect... but I'm going to try.

Result of the 6-month shopping fast

So, I set out to save some dough and de-clutter my life in the first half of 2014.

When I started referring to our second bedroom as "the closet," I knew the problem was real. Here are my wearables purchases from January-June...

• Tank on clearance (from Target) - I had a day full of meetings around town, with one last really important one to go... but I felt smelly. Sometimes you feel smelly and need to buy a new shirt. (I acknowledge the ridiculousness of that statement)
• January
• $2
• Dr. Dog (concert) t-shirt - Dr. Dog is one of my favorite live bands at the moment. I feel like this falls more into the "souvenir" category than the "clothes" category, thus only kind of counts... but in the interest of full disclosure, it's here.
• February
• $25
• Accessory box (from Wantable) (nautical earrings, statement necklace, scarf) - This was right on the cusp of my deciding not to shop. I am a huge fan of Birchbox, so a monthly box of surprise accessories sounded like even more fun. It was... just OK.
• February
• $36
• Work shirt (from Goodwill) - I am a Target fashion connoisseur. I know exactly which "fancy" designer collaboration it came from, and in exactly which season... but even when I'm loose in the wallet, $40 is too much to spend on a top at Target. When I saw one in perfect condition at Goodwill, I went for it. I have no regrets.
• May
• $7
• Coral necklace (from Buffalo Exchange) - I have no excuse. My bestie was in town, and secondhand treasure troves are my weakness. It could have been worse?
• June
• $9

The result? Less than $100 spent, 5 items added (and about 10 paper grocery bags stuffed with items purged from my closet,) and some lessons in perspective on how my external appearance shapes (or doesn't) my internal self-perception.

I held off an entire day before I dropped in on My Sister's Closet... but that's outside the bounds of this experiment.

I'm pretty pleased with this as a self-improvement experiment.

(almost) 6 months of (almost) no shopping

It all started with a January spending freeze to recover from a brutal holiday budget hangover. The experience was super positive and empowering. In addition to being kind of astonished by how much extra dough I had at the beginning of February, it allowed me to really hone in on the categories that were my biggest money sucks.

Aside from car and food, my guiltiest pleasure apparently is shopping... specifically for clothing and accessories. I am a huge secondhand and bargain shopper, but despite that, it's death from 1,000 small cuts. $50 here and $100 there add up in no time.

No.

I also realized the extent to which I was suffering from another unfortunate side effect of this habit: the accumulation of stuff... a LOT of stuff. My historic home's tiny closet was overflowing with clothes I hadn't worn in months (or ever) because I realized I didn't like wearing them that much or they had just gotten hidden among all the other stuff. It was ridiculous.

I didn't really set out to go on a wearables shopping fast in 2014... Around mid-February, I just realized that I had stepped outside my regular routine of shopping out of boredom and decided to keep it up. I have found these tenets to be very helpful in keeping me (mostly) on track:

Don't go "window shopping." There will come a time when this is a realistic expectation and a pleasurable experience, but it took me a few months of purging the habit of shopping from my system. I have a weird pull to online browsing... and sometimes I just need to step away, slowly and calmly, from the Rue La La.

Don't get caught up in the details. OK... so, I bought stuff. More on that later. I'm still counting it a huge success.

Share the love. I've been so impressed by the support of my friends and family when I casually share that I've only bought 3 4 5 items in 2014. Everyone thinks it's great. Nobody thinks I'm weird. At least not any weirder.

Get a buddy. If anyone is crazy enough to come along for the ride, it's super helpful to have that extra level of support.



Feeling encouraged and empowered, I came across this very timely article last week from the Denver Post: "Minimalist clothing challenge spurs closet clean-outs". Maybe I'll try Project 333 next...

things I've learned as a liberal arts undergrad in an MBA program

Not too long ago, I decided I needed to stop bingeing on Netflix when I get home from work and think instead about being productive. After about a year of thinking about it (while bingeing on Netflix... multitasking), I applied to an evening MBA program, was accepted, and embarked on this adventure.

I work at a nonprofit, so I sometimes feel like a bit of an odd duck in a sea of engineers, accountants, project managers, business analysists...

But I'm enjoying it, meeting different people, and learning a lot through formal coursework and beyond.



1
Compound interest. Seriously, guys, this is something that, if you were a foolish awesome undergraduate English major like me, you need to get a handle on before you even think about it. Not for the sake of your Finance requirements; for your own well-being. Because it is not a cheap undertaking, and student loans are no joke.

2
Shark Tank. It's a thing. Everyone is talking about it. MBAs and aspiring MBAs love Shark Tank like middle-aged ladies love Dancing with the Stars.
By the way, it airs on ABC on Friday nights. Nerds.*
Until a few months ago, I thought everybody was talking about Shark Week. It turns out, the two are unrelated.

3
What "supply chain management" means. I sometimes wonder what this area has been previously called, and how it came to be known in its current iteration. There has to be something better to call it.
"Finance"?
Got it.
"Marketing"?
Got it.
"Supply Chain"?
Um...
The other day, I learned there's a debate over the difference between "supply chain" and "operations" management. I didn't realize that was a thing either, but it all hurts my brain.

4
"Triple bottom line" is a fancy way of saying you have retained your humanity. People, planet, profit.

5
Speak up. Be the alternative voice. Surprise: you're well-rounded and smart. But... don't get crazy. You also don't win any friends or change any minds when you try to discuss how McDonalds' sustainability efforts are a farce because it is the U.S.'s largest consumer of industrial beef, which is really bad for the environment.
Easy, tiger.

6
"Networking" and "work" can be fun if you enjoy the company you are in. It can also be miserable if you do not, but you gotta take the good with the bad, ya dig?

7
Don't talk about taxes. Unless you are talking about the injustice of them.

8
Free food. On the first day of a quarter, a free** dinner, no matter how mediocre or lukewarm, brings me life-affirming joy.



Probably to be continued...


*My latest Netflix binge is Star Trek: TNG, so there's that.

**Considering the program fees, these are really more like the most expensive meals I've ever eaten... But they just feel so right.

OGs, NBD, and Wedding in SD

This past weekend in San Diego, I had the great honor and pleasure of attending the wedding of one of my "Original Gs"... That's "Original Girlfriends," of course, from the friendship-bracelet-making, awkward elementary school years. It was an intimate, personal, so special ceremony and celebration. We don't see each other often, because our lives have made us different people than we were 20 years ago - as they should have - but despite that, we have shared some memorable events in the years since third grade.

Anyway, so the bridal shower was a few weeks ago, and another OG looks at my right knee and says (in an appropriate way; it's cool), "I can't believe you still have that scar!"

I didn't learn to ride a bike until college, really, and even then I never got confident enough to not fall off and gash my knee open to the point of needing several stitches... a few weeks before a trip to Vegas we had planned in honor of OG #2's university graduation... in May.

Blood. Loss of consciousness. Dad and brother freaking out. It was not a pretty sight.

Even after I was patched up and bandaged, I was so embarrassed by my war wound that I insisted on long pants to hide and almost bailed on the trip. I didn't, (looking back, it mustn't have been THAT bad) but it was MAY in VEGAS. So I got sick of sweltering in jeans and finally embraced my frankenleg.

Back to the bridal shower: I begin to affirm that yes, I do, and yes it was atrocious, and yes it's still pretty bad... when she says "You ROCKED those stitches!"

Um, what's that you say? Because all I remember is the shame.

--

Anyway, the moral is: Rock the stitches and the bandage and the scar that follows. It's not a big deal. Or maybe it is, but honestly who cares, let alone in six years.

Or the moral is: Teach your kids to ride bikes when they're young. Even if they're stubbornly resistant and hopelessly clumsy.

--

Ps. It should be noted that we rented and rode bikes all around Pacific/Mission Beach on Saturday. I did not crash once.

Like. A. Boss.

Pps. What an awesome couple and beautiful wedding. I'm still shining from the gratitude and joy at having been included in such a special occasion.

Are you serious with this view, cocktail hour?

"We go together like..."

D'AAAAAAW

Cute details abound.

We clean up OK.

Bonus: I managed to spend a weekend in San Diego without completely blowing my budget, so... great success.