CHE BELLO’s latest read.
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Overall I rather enjoyed this whimsical book, although I think Groff could benefit from some time spent studying real relationships and human motivations. The reasons proferred for Vivienne keeping the book’s key secret (don’t want to spoil it) never felt genuine to me, nor did the relationship between she and Willie. As for escapism, this book serves its purpose well, but I would be wary of calling it great literature. It’s strength, to me, lies in the relationship between the town and the monster, as well as that between Willie and the high-school jock, both of which are given short-shrift in Groff’s plot-heavy work. The historical passages are a nice touch, but seem to devolve into rambling instead of adding anything of merit to our understanding of Willie or her history.
In short, enjoyable as entertainment, but not spectacular or particularly thought-provoking.
CHE BELLO disagrees with Jon Stewart.
Mark this day on your calendars, as I usually find every word from Jon Stewart’s mouth to be golden. But in this clip from the other night, he really does get it all wrong. Planned Parenthood provides important services, with the majority of their operating budget going to cancer screenings and contraception. Abortion services account for less than 6% of their expenditures and are all privately funded — Planned Parenthood uses none of the money gained from government contracts or funding to push a pro-choice agenda. When even the champions of rationality like Jon Stewart are maiming the public’s impression of Planned Parenthood by reinforcing this false abortion-machine image, low-income families who partake of the clinics’ services suffer. The right is already mounting a campaign to stop the federal government from contracting with Planned Parenthood, a move that would reduce their budgets by up to 35%. Planned Parenthood provides vital services and is not, as Stewart insinuates, a nefarious organization hell-bent on convincing women to abort their pregnancies. Shame on you, Jon. (But great job with the Huckabee interview from the other night! Even when I’m mad at you, I still love you.)
CHE BELLO longs for gun control.
The Washington Post’s “Around the Nation” section today details the death of an 8-year-old who was allowed to fire an Uzi sub-machine gun at a firearms exposition. He was under the supervision of an uncertified 15 year old and he discharged the weapon while his father reached for his camera. How are these people allowed to have children, and what is the uniquely American fascination with the possession of firearms? I will never understand why so many in our society feel that arming themselves is not only a good idea, but is necessary and honorable. How many more children have to die at the hands of irresponsible parents before our nation gets serious about gun control? And just who needs an Uzi anyway, for Chrissakes?
CHE BELLO’s socio-political ponderings.
There’s a news item out today about a ballot initiative allowing slot machines in Maryland. Apparently AFSCME and the Maryland State Teachers’ Association, two very lage public-sector unions, have donated or announced their support for the measure, citing gambling revenues as a way to recapture money that is currently being spent in other states and bolster the budget in the face of coming economic hardships. AFSCME donated $500,000 to a pro-slots campaign that is being criticized as an overfunded gambling-industry PR machine.
Clearly AFSCME wants to see slot gambling legalized so that budget shortfalls will be delayed or eased, protecting their jobs and salaries from the state’s chopping block. And the teachers jumped on the bandwagon because they were promised that half of the revenue would be used for education. But have either of these unions considered the social costs of gambling?
Research from the National Bureau of Economics shows that poor people bet a much larger share of their income than do the wealthy, and a study of the California lottery has shown that heavy lottery players are much more likely to be black, poorer, and less educated than the average Californian. The effects of legalizing gambling can be disastrous, with low-income families suddenly unable to provide food or clothing for their children, getting mixed up in organized crime, and sinking themselves further and further in debt to feed their addiction.
There are more responsible ways to ensure public employee job safety and educational funding than openly endorsing gambling — a destructive force often underestimated in terms of its economic and social impacts.
CHE BELLO’s victorious return!
In honor of reading Bridget Jones’ Diary instead of studying for the massive Arabic test I have coming up, I’ve decided it’s finally time to revive the blog. I needed some time off, mainly because my life got a little too painful to publicly handle for a while. But I’ve emerged on the other side into a much happier, more stable place, and am ready to share it with all of you again.
A quick re-cap of recent events (I’ll try to fill these in with more detail in the coming weeks):
- Toward the end of the summer I ended my relationship with Patrick. In retrospect, it happened in a rather sloppy fashion, as I tottered back and forth in my mind as to whether or not it was what I really wanted. In the end, I made the choice I had to make for my own sake, although hurting him and his family was incredibly painful. By his choice, we currently aren’t speaking.
- I’ve been rehearsing for a number of weeks now in my dream role — playing Jamie in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last 5 Years. My co-star is a phenomenally talented freshman who has grown to become one of my closest friends. The show opens on November 7th, and I could not be more thrilled. A character that I’m finally starting to feel really seeping into me when I’m on-stage, music that was practically written for my voice, and a fierce belting co-star…this show is going to be absolutely amazing.
- I’ve been seeing a wonderful, adorable, sweet, gorgeous, perfect boy for about a month and a half now. His name, much to the chagrin of all of my friends who have seen me go from Patrick to Patrick and who would have liked to leave that section of the alphabet, is Philip. Alas, I think I am incapable of falling for boys that don’t live in Georgia. But oh, how I have fallen. I am very much in love with him, and don’t envision that changing anytime soon.
So now you’re at least basically caught-up on monumental occurrences. Like I said, I’ll be filling in gaps and details in the coming weeks, but I’m glad to be back, and hope all of my Internet-friends haven’t abandoned me. 
Cheers!
CHE BELLO loves Massachusetts.
Important news on the gay marriage front! The governor of Massachusetts repealed a 1913 law preventing marriage licenses from being granted to those whose home states wouldn’t recognize the marriage. This means that homosexual couples can now be married by the state of Massachusetts. Although it doesn’t ensure recognition of those marriages in their home states if those states have mini-DOMA laws, it does mean recognized marriage for those in states which do not. As Dory says in Finding Nemo, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” One day we’ll have achieved full equality under the law, and Massachusetts will be able to pride itself on taking concrete steps to have brought that achievement into being.
CHE BELLO disagrees with Democrats?
As I flipped through the channels this morning I came across C-SPAN coverage of the debate on the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill introduced 10 years ago that will update and modernize enforcement of the Equal Pay Act. With women still earning (on average) only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man in a similar occupation, it is clear that the government needs to protect the wages of women, especially in a struggling economy where wages are often the first thing on the chopping block. This should be a no-brainer, right?
And then I did a little reading on the bill. Mark on your calendars the day I wrote this, and may it be saved in the archives of the Internet for all eternity: the Democrats have this all wrong.
CHE BELLO’s sage advice.
This one goes out to all my fellow homos: when straight people have to have endoscopic procedures, stay away from them during the few hours afterwards when they discuss every aspect of how uncomfortable it was. Because, inevitably, they will ask you how you’d like it if someone shoved their finger in there and started groping around.
And you will have the urge to say “Just a finger? I hope you felt your money hit you on the back on your way out!”
CHE BELLO’s hero of the week.
In the spirit of former heroes of the week, this award is presented for overwhelming awesomeness and badassery. (Yeah, badass might be my favorite word today.) I may be a few months behind on the story, as it took place in February-March, but that doesn’t make it any less hero-of-the-week worthy.
Paul Wirth, pastor at the Relevant Church of Ybor City, Florida, issued a rather strange proclamation to his congregation. (But I’ll bet it was met with little protestation.) Married couples were instructed to have sex every day for 30 days. That’s right, as much sex as possible, every day, for 30 days. Pastor Wirth said that a lack of sexual activity was indicative of the disconnect in most modern marriages, and that he hoped to keep couples in his congregation together by having them get frisky under the sheets.
I feel we should all adopt Pastor Wirth’s challenge, and have sex with our partners every day for 30 days. But that could just be because I’m a nympho. Meh, who knows.
