24
Jul 10

Write, eat, read

First up, my Frisky piece from last month, “I’m Competitive,” is now on CNN Living.  Thanks to my pals for telling me!

The range of comments is interesting.  I can’t help but wonder how people would feel if I were a man.

In other news, I’ve just closed in on week one of Vanquishing My High LDL.  All I have to say is thank God for dark chocolate and its cholesterol-lowering abilities.  It saved me twice when I was craving something sweet.  Also, I’ve been drinking tons of tea – green, chai, ginger, rooibus.  No milk or sugar of course, which isn’t hard for me since I’ve always had plain tea.

If I go to the gym today, then I’ve met my workout goals for the week – hard cardio four times a week, at least a 20 minute walk the balance of the days, and some kind of weight training twice a week.  I did yoga for the first time in a month earlier this week, and it KILLED me.  My shoulders and upper back so sore I could barely dress myself.  By yesterday though, I was fine.

I finally finished Gone with the Wind.  Wow, that took me almost a month to read.  While I’m not sure it was a great book – some parts are great, but the last third is sort of all over the place – I will say it was fascinating.

I knew that it was racist, but I didn’t know how racist.  It’s one thing to portray the perceptions of the time in a knowing way, but it’s another for the author to believe those perceptions.  For instance, that blacks were actually happy to be slaves, and that those who liked their freedom were “uppity” and “trashy.”  That blacks were like animals and children, and needed white people to take care of them.  I kept waiting for the other side of it, the human description to balance out all the descriptions comparing blacks to dogs, horses, apes, and elephants.  But it never came.

Margaret Mitchell’s portrayal of women, on the other hand, is very well-rounded and fair.  There are all types of women in the book, and not one is better than the other.  There’s fierce and independent Scarlett, who pays a price for her independence.  There’s seemingly timid and quiet Melanie, who shows surprising strength.  No one is perfect (except maybe Melanie) and no one is a pure villain, not even the Yankees.

The book is also surprisingly anti-war.  “A rich man’s war fought by poor men.”  Sounds familiar.

Needing a break from romance, I’m now reading John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things.  Eerie and sad so far.