John Cheever- worth forgetting

To me, a writer's worth is in her or his ability to grow as a person and to scare the living daylights out of him/herself doing so. They throw a light on themselves and the world in a way that we can grow from and learn from. John Cheever is the opposite-he one of those men who was a massive homophobe and a closeted homosexual in his private life, like most of the Republican Congress. His quaint 'revelations' about the upper class that were so 'shocking' in the 60's are dated and reveal his own illusions more now, as through his daughter Susan, and now, Blake Bailey, we see the real creepy person. A man who journaled about his masturbations, about his impotence , about his objectification of women (his attempt to be manly), his narcissism, his basic cowardice as a person and how he bullied or abused other people with it. And yes, he was an alcoholic too.
The biography, which is like a porno film for the repressed, has brought Cheever attention again at a time when he seems to have fallen for years off college class lists as 'great' reading. The New York Times believes he deserves to be back up there. I don't.
I read the bio after checking it out from a local college and no one else seems to want to read it-I was the first to check it out and no one has tried to get it back there (I have had it for a month). I think he is forgotten. his creepy self hatred should be a study, rather, for psychology classes on what self delusion can be.

Manhan Trail, collapsed section

Here is a shot from one of my bike excursions down the Manhan trail in Easthampton-last year this section collapsed due to water flowing underneath it.....The Manhan Trail is one of those great joys of my area- a former rail line converted into a walking and biking/ rollerblading trail ...part of it goes right by beautiful Mount Tom.

The L Word

One of those shows I never had cable access to....Audrey and I have been watching the complete series through netflicks and I really love this show....it seemed a little soap opera/pulp fiction at first but the characters journeys have been really fascinating and I think the writing is exceptional too. Bette and Tina's complicated journey to a working trusting relationship is fascinating as was how Alice's friendship with Dana , who died from breast cancer , came full circle; Shane's inability to be intimate, the effects of a dying parent on Bette and Kitt (brilliant and real) the REAL story of how self destructive/hating it is when woman biologically change to men (Max) Jenny's morbidity drawing her to every thing horrible....we are only just starting season 4, but can't wait for Tina and Bette to work it out... and I hate fiction, so to love this show is a surprise to me. The acting is exceptional too. A favorite? I love Tina's depth as a person and her journey to stand on her own two feet and not be defined by bette or (for a while ) men and Alice is so funny and sweet. I love non fiction, but this show is a rare exception. I think Ilene Chaiken is brilliant, partly for not pandering to a gay community that wanted itself seen only in fluffy romantic, positive stereotypes. She has been willing to throw a light on issues within the community and examine just about anything you can think of (butch femme nonsense, lesbian self hatred particularly in women who chose to biologically become men-how much they identify with patriarchy, sex addiction hiding a woman's inability to be intimate, trust issues around infidelity, wealth elitism, aging, breast cancer, partner and parental death, -and also the REAL positives-how two people can work out their differences, lesbian humor, that hysterical basketball game, the beauty of friendship....

enjoyed my first bike ride of the season on Tuesday....with my new gel seat attachment, i took off for an hour- a little too long I know, and I was sore the next day in my legs, but it was nice....life is good when you can glide away from it for a while.

60% of massachusetts citizens 'happy' with mandated private health insurance and other myths

Some of you will remember my post pretty early on in my blog after reading the exceptional book, the Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout and not that the 4% of persons who are sociopaths in our culture are scary because they tend to float to leadership positions (unencumbered by conscience) but that roughly 61% of our culture will follow authority no matter what ( 35% question the world around them and can critically think for themselves). Well, along comes this imbicilic statistic from NPR (always a source of shallow facts and statistics) that 60% of Massachusetts citizens are happy with the enforced health insurance that has made the private insurers in this state more filthy rich than they were without any obigation to have made it affordable, especially for the self employed or those who have low incomes (among it's other failures- overpriced services,people who have insurance recieving poor quality care in the 15 minutes they have in an office visit, denials to claims,etc. ) -need I say more. Unquestioning Passivity is the greatest tool of fascists. One would hope that lawsuits arise finally over the illegality of demanding people pay for corrupt PRIVATE insurance rather than one payer STATE insurance-all it takes is one legal challenge and this fascist system by the state will collapse. It will come. The system was based on lies, rushed through without voter input-the average premium is 3x higher than originally claimed it would be when it promised 'affordability' (refer to the excellent recent Frontline report) and premiums are rising.
Now our legislature in Boston without regard to all the persons who have lost jobs, or had to cut back to part time or who have lost homes or are struggling in a collapsed national economy have raised the sales tax to 25%. Will the citizens of Massachusetts-those 60% of passive compliers -I follow the rules no matter what', actually protest and demand government reform instead of taxing people more? or take their purchasing across state lines, particularly to new Hampshire? Time will tell, but I think it is time for a revolution- even passive people have limits to what they will take.

The search for love is but the honest searching out of everything that interferes with love. (A Course in Miracles)

Allison Iraheta wins anyway-why American Idol trashes real talent

Why she talked back to Simon Tuesday night: “He was like, ‘Start begging’ and I was like, ‘You know what? That’s it!!!’ So, I really just felt it was the perfect time to stand up for myself and I was like, ‘alright, I’m not who you are sayin’ I am, I’m not boring first of all, and if you say I don’t talk enough, I might as well just talk.’ So I feel this is the perfect timing for me to come in, y’know?”

Audrey got me watching American Idol this year-a piece of trash I would never watch ordinarily, but being in love does strange things to you :) . American Idol, with an age limit of 28 for participants appeal to adolescents as a target audience and that is it's first failure (note in point Susan Boyle in England). It's intention is to find a person who fits the American shallowness (looks, a certain cool distance, a made up personality, a heavy beat and loudness instead of substance in music) that has replaced real talent. When Barbra Streisand rolls her eyes when asked about American Idol and notes "you must be kidding' , it is the response of someone who understands that the goal of Idol is shallow-they make money off of the sponsors (Ford commercial, off itunes that downloads their performances, off the idiots who call in or text , as often as they want (what kind of real voting is that???-it is about profit for the show, nothing else). And how about those judges?- an untalented lot of talking heads whose only purpose is to stir rating with phony arguments and nasty comments and seeming insights about 'artistry', which they are a mockery of.
Then along comes Allison Iraheta- only 17 now, genuinely talented-has grown in her performing and singing ( amazing song interpretations beyond her years) and artistry during the show without pandering to specifics from the judges (remember that goof Anoop wearing the pink shirt because one of the idiot judges thought he looked good in pink?).
Well, earlier this week, Danny-the 'pounding on my chest and pointing at you' art style contestent- (with the exception of Adam Lambert, all the male contestents are embarrassingly awkward) does a horrific version of Aerosmith's Dream On, boy band wannabe Chris does his usually terrible watered down version of a tune by the Beatles and it is Allison, who is consistently on pitch and who is confidently herself who is voted off. The show appeals to ignorant viewers whose value system is in the air hand clapping, a certain dumb ass machismo and a stupidity to see that they are being led along toward the contestent who will pull in the most money making ratings. Freed from this nonsense, I hope Allison Iraheta finds the career, the REAL career, she deserves. She was great.

mom-Thanks for all the lessons and blessing

As Mother's day approaches,Wherever you are, I thank you for the exceptional woman you were on earth and how hard you tried -I know your intention was always from a place of love and I value all the love you gave to us and strangers too-wherever you fell short, well,I am human too with flaws....and I miss your friendship and advice as I go through the rest of my life. And I appreciate the bond you have kept from places never dreamed of....

the genius of Patrick McDonnell