Shit I Like and Shit I Don't Like

Let's be clear, it's much easier and fun to dislike and criticize than to like and admire. But without a balance of both, people will think I'm the girl who cries wolf every time I criticize something. Oh, well, Diane is just super negative anyway, of course she thinks that's stupid. And that is actually not the case at all. There are a lot of things I'm excited about in life.

Here are a few of them:

1) A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

I'm still in the process of reading this awesome, Pulitzer prize winning book, but I love it. Music is a central theme in the story and every chapter is told from a different person's perspective, either in the first person or third person narrative. And, I don't know, it's just good and fun to read and insightful and honest. And as we all know, honesty is the hardest thing to achieve in any art form.








2) Lyndon Johnson's Three Tome Biography by Robert Caro
This biography is so exhaustive that I now know everything about Johnson's great grandfather, grandfather, father and now little Lyndon at age 7. The first tome of this biography is about 1,600 pages on my iPad, goes to age 32, and I'm only in the 200s. I also know everything you need to know about the Texas Hill Country and the environment that shaped Johnson's youth. Caro is an excellent writer, bringing in colorful anecdotes to illustrate all the points he makes. It's an understatement to say that he is clearly taking his role as the leading Johnson expert very seriously. And why shouldn't he? Johnson's 5 years in office changed the world.


3) Bill's Place in Harlem
I went to this tiny speakeasy on 133rd street called Bill's Place. It's presided by Bill Saxton, the excellent saxophone player. He walks and talks and acts like someone who was born and raised in Harlem and the music his group plays in this little apartment of a place is just awesome. It's only 20 bucks and they play their hearts out for two hours twice in the night (9pm and 11pm). You can find out more about it at this here link. Also, pre-Bill's Place, it's good to go to Sylvia's on 127th st for some soul food. It will round out the experience. The Harlem neighborhood still feels like a tight knit community unlike the rest of Manhattan's neighborhoods that are no longer held together by one ethnic group. 
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But because it's fun, here are a couple of things I like to dislike:


4) People's Facebook Party Pictures

I'm probably guilty of this too, but whatever, this is my freakin' blog. There are a couple of groups of my acquaintances who post a lot of their party pictures on FB. And every time I see said party pictures, I get a little depressed. I can't put my finger on it. For some reason, these photos make me think of my own mortality. The other thing I think of is that I so do not want to be at these parties, like oh so much, like slit my wrists kind of events. And at the same time, I know these pictures are getting posted to cause envy somehow or show me how awesome their lives are, but maybe that's just it, maybe the harder you try, the more I think your life sucks and I don't want to be a witness to it. I get a "is this it?" feeling. Maybe I should just hide these posts in my news feeds... And yet, I also get a perverse pleasure in seeing other people trying to impress me with their semi-realized lives. In any event, feel free to invite me to your parties, just not those ones, ok? Thanks.


5) Celebrities and Celebrity Culture

When I was in my teens and early 20s, I enjoyed looking at party and society pictures that included a mix of celebrities, socialites and the worst breed of all celebutantes. It was a fun activity, and I wondered what it was like to be so and so and go to so and so place. But now that I'm in my 30s, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to know about so and so and even more than that, I have so little respect for so and so that I just can't understand how anyone gives a shit about so and so. You know? These celebrity types are like overgrown children clamoring for attention, and I get that it's a business and they make money, but past a certain age, I just don't see how they can be on the cover of a magazine and not be a little disgusted with themselves. I say this not out of bitterness or pretentiousness (although it does sound totally pretentious, doesn't it!?). I never had a burning desire for fame -- except for the fact that I wanted to be a famous musician, but that's because I really really liked music -- so maybe I just don't understand the desire for fame for fame's sake past the age of 25. It just seems like such a drag. 


And in conclusion, another post will be dedicated to the expression "guilty pleasure" which I find very dumb.