Reading & Watching: January 2020

Mermaid or pinniped?

Things have been super crazy busy around my household lately. Nova's soccer is back, or at least tryouts, so I got to go to La Jolla Cove this week on one evening and then got to catch up with my old pal and boss on another. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with keeping up with work because I guess I got used to the slow December. It hasn't really left me with much time to read, but lots of time to watch a lot while I work through the wee hours of the morning. I did read Maria Semple's other book, Today Will Be Different, and while I power through her writing, the resolution just did not in any way resonate with me. So I've been on the hunt for a good book. I had the audio book of The Nickel Boys, which I was really enjoying, but I just didn't get to listen to it fast enough before it was due. I like to keep a book to read and an audiobook checked out simultaneously, but sometimes it doesn't happen that way. So while I haven't read a new book in awhile, I've been kind of obsessed with the GRAMMY controversy (no, I didn't watch the broadcast) and the clapback on American Dirt. (lots of links and more after the jump.)


So now the GRAMMYs have passed, but if you missed all the drama, below are some links to catch you up.

• The Cloud Over The Grammys: Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct, Vote Rigging
• Recording Academy CEO Suspended Amid Misconduct Allegations Ahead Of Grammy Awards
• The Dugan Affair
• Mason’s Letter To Academy Members
• The Boys In The Bubble 
• More GRAMMYs/Dugan

Then there's the American Dirt controversy. I guess maybe I saw some links on Twitter, but it is a interesting and kinda fun rabbit hole to go down. I'm putting these links in the order that you should read them, because I don't really think the NYT is the voice to listen to here. And you should know that the author was supposed to have an appearance here on Monday that was canceled. Things just aren't going too well for her these days.

• Dear Media: Try Again. American Dirt Isn't Cultural Appropriation. That's Not the Issue. This is.
• Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature
• Why Everyone’s Talking About American Dirt: The controversy about Jeanine Cummins’ novel encompasses appropriation, cries of silencing, and four separate New York Times stories.
• Cummins’ Non-Mexican Crap
• The Doomed Project of American Dirt: Jeanine Cummins’s controversial new novel reveals the limits of fiction that wants readers to empathize.
• ‘American Dirt’ Latino backlash part of long publishing war
• What The Controversy Over 'American Dirt' Tells Us About Publishing And Authorship

As for an update on what we've been watching-

Medical Police/Netflix- A ridiculously absurd comedy adjacent to Children's Hospital, with a lot of the same cast.

AJ and The Queen/Netflix- An amazingly warm road trip series about a little girl befriending drag queen "Ruby Red." The series is created by and the star is played by RuPaul and the whole family was super into it, while it also sneaks in little educational bits about gender and sexuality. And I almost always hate child actors, but this little girl gives an emotional and deep performance that is completely believable.

Sex Education/Netflix- I enjoyed the first season so I'm watching the second, but sometimes it feels really wrong to be watching so much teen sex and masturbation, regardless of the actual ages of the actors. But it's English and it's funny, so maybe watch this one is small doses.

I'm sure I'm missing some, but I'll leave it there for now. In the meantime, it pains me to link to a KL article, but a lot of friends have been affected by recent moves in radio, so in case you haven't heard: Look at the San Diego radio casualty list

And lastly, I read my angry neighbors on Nextdoor and Facebook complaining about things like the new bus lanes on El Cajon Boulevard, the construction of roundabouts on Meade and other bikeway projects, and the soon-to-be-removed street parking on 30th Street. Instead of starting fights there, I'll say my bit here.
I drive. I walk. I try to bike when I'm not scared for my life. And I take the bus and trolley. If you're in a car, I hate to break it to you, but YOU ARE THE TRAFFIC. Our neighborhoods are trying to solve density, transit,  housing shortages, access inequity, climate, road safety, and a host of other issues. There have been meetings for literally years about all of these things. The hyperbole is out of control. Evolve or get left behind. Tiny changes make a massive difference when we all do them: combine tasks into one trip, leave an extra 15 minutes early, hop on transit for an adventure, slow down, let a bus merge into the lane, skip unnecessary trips during peak/busy times, slow down, slow down, SLOW DOWN.

U.S. Mayors Say Infrastructure Is a Priority. But What Kind? - CityLab