Finished My Name Is Lucy Barton

It's frankly a weird little book.

There's something about contemporary fiction that just doesn't do it for me. The spare minimalism is one thing. The Elizabeth Strout book reminded me of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 (similarly spare and minimalist).

 

Strout's book is much better, thank goodness. With My Name Is Lucy Barton, I can actually recall the story, the tempo and crescendo, of the novel. There was a kind of emotional gut punch near the end there, so I can see why the book got prodigious praise. I mean really, it got a ridiculous amount of praise for such a slim novel. Indeed, its slimness seems to be one of its main virtues. I guess critics thought Strout packed an emotional wallop for such a tiny tome.

The other thing is the obligatory politically correct left-wing politics. The main character Lucy lives in New York City, after having grown up in poverty (and family household abuse) in Illinois. It's thus got the sensibility of the East Coast leftist elites, a sensibility that's just been rejected at the ballot box with Donald Trump's election in November.

But then, I found out about the book at the New York Times, so I'm only inflicting punishment on myself.

I don't want to overdo it, though.

As you know, I just love to read. The book has its moments. I just think it's popular because it checks all the right leftist boxes. It name-checks homosexuals and the AIDS crisis, making the reader get all emotional for the "toll" on the victims, as the novel's flashbacks are set in the 1980s. And there's also the au courant feminist epistemology. The book makes it cool for marriages to end in divorce. You know, the demise of these unions is all about feeding the "me" culture. Marriages aren't about struggle, emotional toil, and the hard work of making relationships work --- to say nothing of sticking it out for the children. I mean shoot, when Lucy bails on her marriage, she knowingly bails out on her children, despite the umpteen times she expresses her everlasting love for them throughout the story. Strout doesn't dwell on that (and on that inconsistency). She doesn't dwell on how Lucy might be screwing up her kids to feed her own happiness. It's a "me" thing, you see. Lucy's sad about her divorce. Sure. That's part of the emotion of the book. But there's not much internal discussion of the sanctity of the marriage commitment in terms of family and the integrity of the matrimonial vows. That would be "old fashioned," you know.

In any case, it's best to be well-rounded, which is why I read all this stuff in the first place. It certainly gives me something to blog about. And of course I can drop names with my leftist colleagues. When I do I'm usually way more well-read than my college's hipster leftist professors.

So, if you're up for a quick read, and a fairly pleasurable one, all things considered, check it out.

At Amazon, My Name Is Lucy Barton.

Kendall Jenner: American Power's Woman of the Year for 2016

I almost forgot to post my woman of the year!

And who else could it possibly be?

Kendall's been my woman of the year all year, heh.

PRETTY FUCKING fast year flew by

— Kendall (@KendallJenner) December 4, 2016

show is tonight on CBS! pic.twitter.com/2OMQIP5FsV

— Kendall (@KendallJenner) December 5, 2016

PREVIOUSLY: "Nina Agdal: American Power's Woman of the Year for 2015." (And click through there to see the previous years' winners.)

The U.S. Economy: Donald Trump's Newest Branding Effort

At LAT, "Donald Trump's newest branding endeavor: the economy":

Throughout his campaign for president, Donald Trump painted a gloomy picture of the American economy, scoffing at employment data that he said masked the truth.

“Our jobs are being stolen like candy from a baby,” the Republican said at an election-day rally in Michigan, lamenting how he saw global competitors like China outmaneuvering the U.S. economically. “They take our money. They take our jobs. They build their plants. They build their factories. We end up with unemployment and drugs.”

But his stunning election win seemed to change his —  and to some extent the public’s — outlook. The media-conscious president-elect has quickly adopted a role as the greatest cheerleader for an economy that was already on the rebound.

“The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points,” Trump crowed in a tweet this week, noting in all caps that it reached a 15-year high. He added, with characteristic immodesty: “Thanks Donald!”

Donning the mantle of economic optimist is a time-honored tradition for presidents, who are seen as perhaps the most singularly influential person over the economy. Trump’s outlook, however, is notable for the reversal from the campaign and for his promotion of the unproven assertion that he himself is having a positive influence on the economy, even before he takes office.

“It’s clear that there’s been a bounce in sentiment since the election,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. “Now, is that because he won the election or just because people are happy the election’s over? That’s impossible to know.”

The statistics Trump touts fit well into his view of a world divided into who’s up and who’s down, winners and losers. In place of the daily trickle of state and national political polls that dominated his campaign remarks, he has turned to the Consumer Confidence Index as well as the daily stock market closings for what he sees as his successes.​​​​​​

Like he did with polls, Trump has cherry-picked economic data. The Consumer Confidence Index did not suddenly rise after Trump’s election; it has, like other indicators, trended upward since bottoming out shortly after the 2008 economic collapse. Its first major spike came shortly after the inauguration of President Obama, and saw a similar uptick after his reelection in 2012.

Additionally, it is a volatile index, subject to negative pressure from political circumstance as well — most notably a 2011 battle over raising the nation’s debt limit that pushed the country to the brink of a historic default.

And another key part of his economic message, the touting of new jobs as if he were singularly responsible for their creation, ignores that they usually resulted instead from efforts already underway. On Wednesday, he trumpeted news that telecom company Sprint and technology start-up OneWeb would hire a total of 8,000 workers in the U.S. —  calling it "very good news" for the economy.

But OneWeb, which is building a network of satellites to deliver high-speed Internet access, said nine days earlier that it expected to create nearly 3,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next four years after securing $1.2 billion in funding, mostly from Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. And the head of SoftBank, which owns Sprint, had said on Dec. 6 that the company had agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and create 50,000 jobs here...

Keep reading.

Donald Trump Says 'No Computer is Safe'

He doesn't email, but he's not quitting Twitter anytime soon.

Word is he'll send communications by courier.

At the Resurgent:

Trump Says ‘No Computer Is Safe’ And He’s Totally Right https://t.co/HwtSL5eJGs via @stevengberman

— The Resurgent (@resurgent) January 2, 2017

Keith Jackson Returns to the Rose Bowl

Jackson's last broadcast was the Rose Bowl 2006, which was the national championship game that year, Texas vs. USC. I can't forget that game. USC was so close. Arrghh!

In any case, Jackson, who called games with ABC Sports from 1986 to 2006, is attending today, the first (full) game he's attended since retiring.

At LAT:

A college football icon comes home: Keith Jackson returns to the Rose Bowl game, just not in the broadcast booth https://t.co/Vgi1Vh4P5k pic.twitter.com/ZsInNQ2n8O

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 2, 2017

David Horowitz, The Left in Power

Start the new year off right.

With David Horowtiz, at Amazon, The Left in Power: Clinton to Obama: Black Book of the American Left: Volume VII.

Emily Ratajkowski Hits 10 Million Followers in Instagram

At Maxim:

.@emrata just hit 10 million followers on Instagram, so celebrate with her sexiest shots. https://t.co/9Ymox1XigN pic.twitter.com/z4Y357eINj

— Maxim (@MaximMag) January 2, 2017

BONUS: Emily topless here.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday New Year’s Funnies."



Also at Theo's, "Cartoon Roundup."

Cartoon Credit: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Angry Duck."

Rule 5 Links

Here's a quickie.

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

Also, 90 Miles From Tyranny, "Morning Mistress."

At Theo's, "Chrissy Teigen, Bar Refaeli, Genevieve Morton & More Around the World - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit."

Also, at Hollywood Tuna, "Bella Thorne In Her Calvin’s." And WWTDD, "Bella Thorne Has Arrived.

And from the founding Rule 5 blog, the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday: Boxing Day Edition."

Gift wrapping makes me so happy 🤗 Best candles in the game compliments of @wikstudios 💪🏼🌊🌵🐚😈💀 pic.twitter.com/d1k8O3lNhj

— Devin Brugman (@devinbrugman) December 19, 2016

Elizabeth Strout, My Name Is Lucy Barton

*Bumped.* [I'm about halfway through this book.]

This book is highly recommended at that New York Times piece on 2016 books in review.

And since I finished Exodus, I thought I'd check this one out.

I like fiction, although I don't post links to novels that much.

I'll update once I've read a few chapters (to let you know if it's any good).

At Amazon, Elizabeth Strout, My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel.

Carnegie Deli

There's a Carnegie Deli at the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas.

I think we're going to Vegas in February. I'm not sure when, although we're celebrating my oldest son's 21st birthday.

Maybe I'll head over there for mountain-high pastrami on rye, heh.

The New York Carnegie's is now closed. Apparently lines were down the street, but mostly filled by tourists. Seems kinda weird, but apparently New York diners are choosing less expensive, and less kosher, alternatives.

At the New York Times:

As the Carnegie Deli Serves Its Last Pastrami on Rye https://t.co/uS7vFPkfFR

— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) December 30, 2016

Kendall Jenner LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

I'm posting out of order at this point, but I just love Kendall:

At Least 35 Gunned Down in Istanbul Nightclub Massacre

Turkey is a mess.

It's a jihad nightmare.

At USA Today:

UPDATE: At least 39 killed in Istanbul nightclub attack, official says. https://t.co/P6Oo3BjIg0

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 1, 2017

Gunman who attacked #Istanbul nightclub still at large. https://t.co/3Trho4gefr

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 1, 2017

Holiday Hooliganism Traced Back to the Obama Administration

From Heather Mac Donald, at City Journal, "Violence in the Halls, Disorder in the Malls":

"If Trump wants to make schools safe again, he must rescind the Obama admin’s rules regarding classroom discipline." https://t.co/vKsC3it1Hd

— City Journal (@CityJournal) January 1, 2017

Judging by video evidence, the participants in the violent mall brawls over the Christmas weekend were overwhelmingly black teens, though white teens were also involved. The media have assiduously ignored this fact, of course, as they have for previous violent flash mob episodes. That disproportion has significance for the next administration’s school-discipline policies, however. If Donald Trump wants to make schools safe again, he must rescind the Obama administration’s diktats regarding classroom discipline, which are based on a fantasy version of reality that is having serious real-world consequences.

The Obama Justice and Education Departments have strong-armed schools across the country to all but eliminate the suspension and expulsion of insubordinate students. The reason? Because black students are disciplined at higher rates than whites. According to Washington bureaucrats, such disproportionate suspensions can mean only one thing: teachers and administrators are racist. The Obama administration rejects the proposition that black students are more likely to assault teachers or fight with other students in class. The so-called “school to prison” pipeline is a function of bias, not of behavior, they say.

This week’s mall violence, which injured several police and security officers, is just the latest piece of evidence for how counterfactual that credo is.  A routine complaint in police-community meetings in minority areas is that large groups of teens are fighting on corners. Residents of the South Bronx’s 41st Precinct complained repeatedly to the precinct commander in a June 2015 meeting about such street disorder. “There’s too much fighting,” one woman said. “There was more than 100 kids the other day; they beat on a girl about 14 years old.” In April 2016, a 17-year-old girl in Coney Island, Brooklyn, Ta’Jae Warner, tried to protect her brother from a group of girls gathered outside her apartment building who were threatening to kill him; one of the group knocked her unconscious. She died four days later. At a meeting in the 23rd Precinct in East Harlem in 2015, residents asked why the police hadn’t stopped a recent stampede of youth down Third Avenue. In April 2012, a group of teens stomped a gang rival to death in a Bronx housing project.

The idea that such street behavior does not have a classroom counterpart is ludicrous. Black males between the ages of 14 and 17 commit homicide at ten times the rate of white and Hispanic males of the same age. The lack of socialization that produces such a vast disparity in murder rates, as well as less lethal street violence, inevitably will show up in classroom behavior. Teens who react to a perceived insult on social media by trying to shoot the offender are not likely to restrain themselves in the classroom if they feel “disrespected” by a teacher or fellow students. Interviews with teachers confirm the proposition that children from communities with high rates of family breakdown bring vast amounts of disruptive anger to school, especially girls.  It is no surprise that several of the Christmas riots began with fights between girls.  School officials in urban areas across the country set up security corridors manned by police officers at school dismissal times to avoid gang shootings. And yet, the Obama administration would have us believe that in the classroom, black students are no more likely to disrupt order than white students. Equally preposterous is the claim that teachers and administrators are bigots. There is no more liberal a profession than teaching; education schools are one long indoctrination in white-privilege theory. And yet when these social-justice warriors get in the classroom, according to the Obama civil rights lawyers, they start wielding invidious double standards in discipline...

Keep reading.

Shop Gold Box Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

And check out, The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series.

Also, Band of Brothers.

BONUS: James D. Hornfischer, The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945.

The Right to Disconnect

I don't ever "disconnect." I might not check my emails for a while, but I'm always available.

It's not that big of a deal to me.

But see the Washington Post, "French employees can legally ignore work emails outside of office hours":

French employees can legally ignore work emails outside of office hours https://t.co/pJA1eOGpxI

— Katie Zavadski (@katiezavadski) January 1, 2017

I've always thought that if you need to shut off when you leave the office, then you must not really like what you do. https://t.co/31QTfxGuOr

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) January 1, 2017

That 10 p.m. email from your boss? It's your right to ignore it.

That Saturday ping from a colleague with “just one quick question?” A response on Monday should suffice.

If you're in France, that is.

French workers rang in a new year at midnight — as well as a “right to disconnect” law that grants employees in the country the legal right to ignore work emails outside of typical working hours, according to the Guardian.

The new employment law requires French companies with more than 50 employees to begin drawing up policies with their workers about limiting work-related technology usage outside the office, the newspaper reported.

The motivation behind the legislation is to stem work-related stress that increasingly leaks into people's personal time — and hopefully prevent employee burnout, French officials said.

“Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash, like a dog,” Benoit Hamon, Socialist member of Parliament and former French education minister, told the BBC in May. “The texts, the messages, the emails: They colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down.”

France has had a 35-hour workweek since 2000, but the policy came under scrutiny recently given France's near-record-high unemployment rate.

The “right to disconnect” provision was packaged with new and controversial reforms introduced last year that were designed to relax some of the country's strict labor regulations. The amendment regarding ignoring work emails was included by French Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri, who reportedly was inspired by similar policies at Orange, a French telecommunications company.

“There are risks that need to be anticipated, and one of the biggest risks is the balance of a private life and professional life behind this permanent connectivity,” Orange Director General Bruno Mettling told Europe1 radio in February. “Professionals who find the right balance between private and work life perform far better in their job than those who arrive shattered.”

Well, I don't think your life's going to be "shattered" by checking your email, and as a professor, I know that a lot of the emails are from students. So I check it throughout the day. It's no big deal.

In any case, keep reading.

For the Past 37 Years, the Droz Family Has Taken a Picture in Front of a Numbered Highway Sign for Their Annual Holiday Card

Well, that takes a lot of motivation. I can't even get motivated to mail out holiday cards at all.

At WSJ, "Every Year, the Droz Family Scours America for the Best Road Sign to Make the Perfect New Year Card":

Heartwarming story to wish you a #HAPPYNEWYEAR #FlashbackFriday #Gratitude #Love #Family #2017in3words https://t.co/WxkHQL3vHB

— Ben Droz (@bendroz) December 30, 2016

Dan Droz went for a drive one day last month. He stopped near rural Carlisle, Pa., about three hours from his Pittsburgh home, at his destination.

The junction of Route 17 had been on his radar for a while. Mr. Droz wanted a picture in this particular location this year, and only this year, for his annual holiday card.

Every year for almost four decades, like millions of families around the world, the Drozes mail a holiday card to hundreds of their friends. That’s where the similarities between their card and other cards end.

Their card isn’t a Christmas card or a Hanukkah card. It isn’t even really a holiday card. They call it a New Year’s card.

It’s what’s on their card that makes it curious. The Droz clan’s New Year’s card is more than a mere family portrait. It’s a family portrait underneath a sign that represents the road junction that corresponds with the coming year—like Route 17 for 2017.

Their epic pursuit of the perfect card requires years of scouting, months of planning and hours of driving. For many years it forced them to wake up at 6 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving. It has taken the Drozes to several states, one town called Eighty Four, Pa., and a few places where they should not have been.

Their quests began in 1979, when Mr. Droz was a single father with a young daughter, Lani. He picked a spot near the intersection of Interstates 79 and 80 where signs for both roads could be in one shot. They were soon apprehended by a skeptical cop with a sensible question: Why are you stopped by this seemingly random sign on the side of the road?

“We’ve had to explain that many times,” Mr. Droz said.

It wasn’t long before there was another problem. The people on his mailing list weren’t used to receiving this type of card. They had the same question as the unsuspecting police officer: What exactly is this?

Mr. Droz, who runs his own marketing agency, made sure there was less confusion the next year. He chose a convenient intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 81 and replaced the words on the I-81 sign with “New Year” to help his friends understand why he was waving from a busy highway. “I’ve made it more vérité since then,” he said.

That card worked in ways he never could have imagined. At a holiday party, Mr. Droz happened to meet a woman named Cathy, who worked as a producer for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” He called her for dinner but never heard back. He called her again about a drink—still nothing.

And then he tried one last trick: He sent her his New Year’s card. She responded by sending back a postcard with Fred Rogers’ face.

“Nice card,” she wrote. “Let’s get together.”

They were married by the time the next card was sent.

Ms. Droz made her debut in the 1982 card. She also gave Mr. Droz a white sweater as a gift that has survived the elements—and ketchup stains—and appeared in every card since. They had three more children who have been in the New Year’s cards from the years they were born...

More.

These people are more than nerds. They're full on geeks, but obviously the lovable kind. Ben Droz, whose tweet is posted above is "a hemp lobbyist and event photographer in Washington, D.C., who also runs a hemp bolo-tie business."

See what a mean, lol?

New Year's Eve Prankster Changes Hollywood Sign Overnight to Read 'Hollyweed' (VIDEO)

Well, this state is "Cali-weed" now, so I guess it's appropriate.

At ABC 7 Los Angeles, "HOLLYWOOD SIGN ALTERED TO READ 'HOLLYWEED' IN APPARENT NEW YEAR'S DAY PRANK."

#HOLLYWOODSIGN UPDATE: Crews working to remove black tarps after vandal alters landmark to read '#Hollyweed' https://t.co/cmkNgpA1D5 pic.twitter.com/bMuWRk6j8u

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 1, 2017

Save Today: Select Amazon Kindle Books $3.99 or Less

One of the Gold Box Deals today, at Amazon, Today's Deals.

BONUS: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, and Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations.

Ugly Obama Snubs Voters in Drastic Year-End Policy Moves

An excellent editorial, at the New York Post, "Obama’s ugly bid to snub voters and tie Trump’s hands":

In his waning days in the White House, President Obama is desperately trying to make his policies as permanent as possible by tying the hands of his successor — and far more than other presidents have done on their way out.

From his dramatic and disastrous change of US policy on Israel to his executive order restricting 1.65 million acres of land from development despite local objections, Obama is trying to make it impossible for Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress to govern.

Even Thursday’s announcement of wide-ranging sanctions against Russia presents Trump with a foreign-policy crisis immediately upon taking office.

By contrast, many of Obama’s predecessors have stood back in their final days in office and refrained from any dramatic shifts, in deference to the agenda of the man voters sent to succeed them.

But Obama won’t accept the election results. As he suggested the other day, Trump’s election was a fluke — and he himself would have easily been re-elected if allowed to stand for a third term.

He believes this not just because he’s an effective campaigner, but because he thinks his “vision” and policies continue to be backed by “a majority of the American people.”

But Obama, like many Democrats, fails to understand what happened in the election: Voters were calling for real change from the status quo — from his policies. Indeed, before the vote, he himself said it was a referendum on him and his policies.

Memo to the president: You lost.

Whether it was the lackluster economy, ObamaCare, trade, the sweeping failure of his foreign policy or illegal immigration, voters sought something very different.

Trump, on the other hand, did more than just energize his base: He flipped six states that voted for Obama in 2012.

The results, as many have since come to realize, is that the Democratic Party now caters to a hard-left, elite core located on the two coasts — and has abandoned the working-class Americans in the heartland it so loudly claims to champion...

Still more.