![]() ![]() ![]() Steinem observes in a related section that “A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space” which I thought was a perfect example of why women being chosen over men for a particular job or task is not ‘positive discrimination’ it’s a situation where everyone loses. Of these the section about air hostesses was the most surprising, as it wasn’t a topic I had thought much about but certainly is a key example of discrimination and sexualisation that is particularly visible to those who travel frequently. The style is conversational and some sections are simply a series of related anecdotes on a theme with a paragraph each. ![]() The book is very loosely grouped by theme rather than chronology, covering topics such as family, heritage and identity, politics, and taxis. Steinem’s life has been spent on the road, from her childhood travelling across America to her adult life as a journalist and feminist campaigner. One of her most powerful calls to action is that “Our current plight is not made inevitable by human nature”, at once building up the confidence of those who believe something better is possible and also eliminating the shadow of faux-inevitability that division along gendered lines cast across society. Steinem’s core message is one of a shared human experience, and a hope that one day we can be reunited in equality. A memoir of a life lived in pursuit of equality and social justice. ![]()
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![]() ![]() We mistakenly got up early and left the ship only to find high pressure "tour guides" waiting for us at every turn. While on a cruise our ship docked in Nassau. And if you do, book an excursion that takes you to Atlantis or away from the town. If you are going on a cruise, don't book one that stops here. He was hilarious because all he did was sing our names and "all day all night" over and over. We were drunk enough to let him and we gave him five bucks. Also, we were approached by a man in Bahamian garb with a drum who offered to sing us a song, but of course he wanted money. We just walked away from here without arguing much. She then proceeded to tell us that we needed to give five dollars per PERSON! We were shocked because she had said it was for charity. She said they were for a charity, made by children, and that we could donate. During our time walking around the town, we had a girl approach us and put shell necklaces on us. Other than this, Nassau is not worth your time whatsoever. You could barely understand him, but he was always saying "Ooh-pah!" They had great drinks and even offered us free appetizers. The owner was a really loud, outgoing Greek older man who was hysterical. We did manage to find a unique Greek restaurant near the port called Athena. Otherwise, there is nothing to see and do. If you like open markets, bartering, and pushy people selling their goods, you will like Nassau. Our excursion was cancelled, so we were forced to walk around Nassau to see the sights. Nassau was our first Port-of-Call during my cruise on the Carnival Glory. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Right in the middle of the book, Fey tells a story about Amy Poehler, her fellow performer on Saturday Night Live (and who played Hillary Clinton to her Sarah Palin). What it does have, though, when you eventually get to it, is a good old-fashioned mission statement. Fey is out of her genre, and it shows: it takes an age to get going, and it's less like prose non-fiction than a sketch comedy in book form, with a disproportionate number of one-liners, not all of which work. ![]() There's lots to enjoy, particularly if you are, as I am, a Tina Fey fan girl. ![]() There are some hugely funny bits, and some inspiring bits, and some nerdishly interesting bits, and some bits that read like essays in the New Yorker (which in fact two of the chapters were). Which isn't to say that it's unenjoyable. Worse, the comedy memoir, although Bossypants takes the interesting approach to memoir of remembering almost nothing, and providing "revelations" that might more accurately be called "concealments". It's just that why, if you're the pre-eminent female comedy writer of your generation, the genius behind 30 Rock, the woman who gave the world the other Sarah Palin, the most influential female comedian working today, would you want to throw yourself on the rocks that have smashed so many before you: the comedy book. ![]() ![]() ![]() When it is realized that a number of clocks simultaneously appear to be running fast but do not appear to be malfunctioning, the narrator decides to explore the explanation that people's brains are computing slower. The race obtains air from swappable lungs filled with pressurized air ( argon) from underground. The scientist is a member of a race of air-driven mechanical beings. The story is epistolary in nature, taking the form of a scientist's journal entry. In 2019, the story was included in the collection of short stories Exhalation: Stories. ![]() ![]() It was first published in 2008 in the anthology Eclipse 2: New Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Jonathan Strahan. "Exhalation" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ted Chiang, about the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Eclipse 2: New Science Fiction and Fantasy ![]() |