Are you the guys on the Hill who mock everything? Ewww.
Is this some sort of hip voting that I don’t understand?
I, hate the man’s sunny demeanor,
And I, I hate those kissing photos too, boo-hoo
And I don’t like a thing about the ballot, no, no
And I, I, I hate the Democrats too!
And I, hate everything about Ned!
Everything about Ned!
And I, don’t like a thing about his platform
And I, I hate Ned’s daddy’s guts too, boo-hoo
And I don’t like a thing about Ned’s pollsters, no, no
Cause I, I, I think this is overrated too
And I, I’ll be around in November
I, can’t stand to be around,
I, hate everything about Ned!
Everything about Ned, everything about Ned, everything about Ned
Some say I’m just a sore loser
But that don’t change the way I feel about Ned
And if you think this might be bringing me down,
Look again I’ll be an Indie with a frown!
Get down!
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (
Enjoyed your blog a lot. You do have a sharp mind! Can you expand your commentaries on current affairs? One book I just read may well interest you: China’s global reach: markets, multinationals, and globalization by a Chinese journalist George Gu, which offers huge views on current global affairs.