Six Degrees of Worse

I’ve been reading about two tragedies recently that have given me a new perspective. Pretty much everyone is aware of the first one, the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the friends and family involved in this devastating event.

The second came from reading a book, The Natashas: Inside The New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek. While woman and girls being trafficked is hardly a new tragedy, it has gone on for too long. My heart goes out to all those woman and girls being subjected to this every day.

All of our technology in the world can’t prevent horrible events like the earthquake and tsunami. But, at least, when we find out about it we come together and try to help make a difference. Whether it’s through well wishing, prayers and condolences or donations to organization like the Red Cross. On the other hand, woman and girls being held against their will and forced to be sex slaves isn’t out of our control.

The news media is quick to bring us the latest bad news.  I’m not an avid news viewer, but I watch enough that I’m aware of the events that get the most coverage. So one thing I learned from this book is not all tragedies are splashed across the news. Maybe it’s just me, but I was completely unaware of the horror these woman and girls go through everyday.

So what’s being done? There have been laws passed and politicians who have made some great speeches about putting an end to it. But unfortunately laws and politicians don’t change things. That is evident by the length of time this injustice has gone on.

To give you an idea of how long I’ve provided a few resources below:

The Coalition Against Trafficking of Women was founded in 1989. They are a non-governmental organization promoting woman’s human rights.

The Natashas: Inside The New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek, was published in 2004. This book was well written and extremely eye opening. Anyone interested in learning more information on trafficking would do well to read this book. Mr. Malarek published a sequel in 2009 entitled, The Johns: Sex For Sale and The Men Who Buy It.

And most recently, in February, I heard of Amy Seiffert, who is trying to raise awareness on trafficking by wearing the same dress for 6 months. The money she saves by not purchasing new clothes she plans to donate to help The Daughter Project, a non-profit organization started to help those who have been trafficked and help prevent it from happening in the future. 

Mrs. Seiffert got some coverage on the news in February, but the focus was on how she was wearing the same dress for 6 months. They made sure the public was aware she was planning to wash it during this time, because these are the issues that are important. I’m sure this wasn’t what she was hoping would be discussed during her few minutes of airtime.

I, myself, would have hoped for a discussion on the actual problem she was trying to raise awareness on. In addition it would have been nice to know where she was posting details of her journey. And also a place where you could get more information if you wanted to help.

So I did some searching and found her blog: http://www.amyseiffert.com/ where she is covering her journey. She is on day 118.

But there is hope. On March 7^th, CNN launched The CNN Freedom Project. According to them: “Throughout 2011, CNN’s reporting will expose the horrors of modern-day slavery, highlight the growing efforts to stop the trade and exploitation of human beings and amplify the voices of the victims.”

Who can stop this injustice if not laws and politicians? The public. As long as the public is okay with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” way this situation is being handled, it will continue to thrive. I’m not sure what to tell anyone to do. Hopefully the CNN Freedom Project will make the much-needed difference. Sometimes the first step that makes the biggest impact is just plain old awareness. So please tune in here.

I know this isn’t my normal, light-hearted, SHORT post. But unlike many I’ve written before, this one is really important. And while I’m in my 9-5 hell feeling overwhelmed, it gives a new perspective to consider. Many have heard of the whole idea that we are six people away from meeting everyone in the world. Well, I think we are also six events away from experiencing the worst things in the world. And my worst day at work is several degrees away from the two tragic events I spoke of here.

What is also true is there are plenty of situations that go in the other direction. It is important to keep a perspective on the difference in those degrees too. The whole point in life is to enjoy it, so I should keep in mind how many degrees I’m away from having the best day.

Surviving Being Burned

Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is the seventh book in the House of Night Series. I'm am continuing to enjoy this series and can't wait for the next book.

In case someone who reads this is interested in checking out the series, I don't want to put the details of what book seven is about and ruin the surprises found in books one through six. So here is what the series itself is about, as written on the House of Night website:

House of Night is a thrillingly engaging book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird, who gets “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Tulsa and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledglings like her.

It’s within the school’s walls that the heart of the action takes place as Zoey meets new friends, finds love, comes to terms with how her life will be different now and begins to realize her awesome new powers.

With that out of the way, I will say while reading Burned I thought about how life often times tries to break you. No matter if you’re a vampyre fledgling battling Darkness or a customer service rep battling Darkness (although he prefers to be called boss, well actually, he prefers President, but that is a whole different post).

More often I find it is fighting the challenge that causes a break in you rather than the experience itself. The problem is I’m among those who hate the whole idea behind the quote:

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” - Charles R. Swindoll

Actually I only hate the idea when I’m in crisis. When everything in my life is flowing, I can hear that quote and say, “Right on!”

But what good is it if you can’t think that way when you really need to put that quote into practice? Well, I don’t have an answer. At least not yet.

In the meantime I’ll band-aid my crisis by saying to myself: “I’ll survive this too.”

Those words usually pull me through until I can get back to stomaching quotes like:

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” - Wayne Dyer

Tempting To Wish For

Tempted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is the sixth book in the House of Night series. I love these books. In my opinion they are a fun read.

One of my favorite things in it is the tattoos. They appear as a way of letting you know you are on the right path. How great would that be? Not the tattoos-all-over-your-body part. The part about being told you’re on the right path.

Instead of a permanent tattoo, maybe I could just have a message appear on my arm or something. Like if I do something good, “Yeah, way to go.” Or, “Keep up the great work.” Since the messages would fade, I would need to take a pic to show my naysayers. It would be the only way to fully bask in the I-told-you-so.

But then there would be the moments when I wasn’t on the right path. I’d probably need to know about that too. Of course, anyone would prefer just not to get a message, but it wouldn’t be as effective as if I got, “Hey dumbass, what the heck were you thinking?” Or, “Duh, like, you couldn’t see that one coming?” Now lets hope those naysayers I previously was quick to show the positive too, aren’t around for these. Because, yes, they would take pics to later pull out the next time I tried something.

In case someone who reads this is interested in checking out the series, I don't want to put the details of what book six is about and ruin the surprises found in books one through five. So here is what the series itself is about, as written on the House of Night website:

House of Night is a thrillingly engaging book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird, who gets “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Tulsa and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledglings like her.

It’s within the school’s walls that the heart of the action takes place as Zoey meets new friends, finds love, comes to terms with how her life will be different now and begins to realize her awesome new powers.

The Girl With The Flaming Pants

On the cover of my copy of “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson was a quote by Entertainment Weekly, “A gripping, stay-up-all-night read.”

This would have been the case for me, if I were equipped with the ability to stay up all night and read. I cannot, however, I did stay up late. I won’t elaborate on my definition of late so as not to embarrass myself by revealing just how late it wasn’t.

I’m sure everyone has a “played with fire” story. So I’m not saying mine is unique, but I’m planning on sharing it anyway.

I was visiting my second cousin...

Note: the fact that she is my second cousin really has no barring on the story. It is only included so later in the story when I mention her mom, my first cousin, there is no confusion over why I’m calling her my cousin and not my aunt.

Okay, so I was visiting my second cousin and we were in the closet, because there is no better place than dark and confined to play with fire. Well, we weren’t really PLAYING with fire. We were utilizing it because the book said if you wanted to talk to dead people you needed a candle. And, honestly, it wasn’t doing much good unlit. Now it might not have done any good lit, but I will never know whether a spirit would have answered my call because we were interrupted when the book we were reading over the candle caught fire. Of course, we were holding it too close. It was our only source of light.

While we didn’t plan to start the fire, we were prepared. We had the foresight to bring a glass of water with us. Of course, we didn’t have the adult wisdom to realize it wouldn’t do much good. Not because the glass couldn’t sufficiently put out the fire when it first started, but because panic leads to running away instead of using the water.

Thankfully my first cousin was home. She was quick to react and put out the fire. I can’t say how she did it because the post traumatic stress of being trapped in a closet while it was on fire, even if only a tiny one, was enough to block out what happened afterwards. I suspect she stomped it out, but I like to think she used our water.

If you noticed, I used words like “we” and “our” to evenly spread the blame. I’m sure at the time of the scolding, I wasn’t so eager to use those words. The truth lies in some “imaginary box” the PTSD created in my head. I probably pointed out it was her book on fire. And only because she was a good kid, who honestly didn’t get into trouble. And while I wasn’t a bad kid, me being part of a fire in the closet wouldn’t have come as a big surprise. So I’m sure my pleas of innocence was met with the response, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

Anyway, onto stuff about the book.

While reading this book I had to wonder... what was up with all the stuff about the math? Perhaps Mr. Larsson thought Lisbeth Salander could do for math what Rockstar’s do for voting (with Rock The Vote). Even I, who needs calculator assistance with basic math, was dreaming of cracking a few formulas after the super-cool, kick-ass Salander did it. I’m so swayed by peer pressure.

Further speculation about why Mr. Larsson inserted the math stuff had me coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t just talking about an unsolvable math equation. Maybe he got down and philosophical on us to say, “Hey, sometimes we are going to come across unsolvable life problems.”

I guess I’ll never really know whether I’m right. And don’t worry, I won’t be hiding in any closets with candles trying to conjure up his ghost to ask him.

My Exclusive Advice: Read It!

A Vicky Hill Exclusive!, the first book in the series by Hannah Dennison, was a fun read. I could instantly relate to Vicky from page 2 when she knocked on her boss’ door and he yelled, “Who the hell is it?”

Except the question of who isn’t a concern of my boss. He only cares to know what you want. Thankfully he has never yelled, “What the hell do you want?” Although it is implied in the one word he does ask, “What?”

While reading this book, my inner voice developed an accent. I’ve never traveled abroad nor do I know anything about the different dialects spoken in Europe. I just know two things: 1) they exist and 2) my inner accent is probably not even close.

I read during my lunch so when I report back, my accent is hard at work. This is fun for me, except when my mouth decides it wants in on it. One of my favorite words in the book is “Blast!,” which comes up a lot with all the trouble that is trying to make Vicky its BFF.

Once I actually yelled, “Blast!,” which I guess was better than either of the four letter words I prefer. But my accent was so horrible my favorite coworker didn’t understand me. It really does all work out for the best sometimes.

Maybe it should have been a lesson not to read it during lunch, but I couldn’t resist. And the next time I came back from lunch it just so happened someone with a real accent called me. I’m not sure where he was from, but his accent was the soul mate to my accent. And when we hung up I couldn’t help but wonder if he actually called me “luv” or if it was my imagination.

I love coming across a good mystery and this book had it. You can count on me checking out the second in the series, Scoop!

And because there are better people in the world suited to sum up and review, I chose fictondb to give it to you:

The debut of a new series set in the sleepy English town of Gipping-on-Plym, featuring ambitious but bumbling investigative journalist Vicky Hill, who'll do anything to get that front- page story...

Vicky Hill has two goals: escape the never-ending boredom of funeral reporting and find the right man. Then a tip leads to what might be the scoop of a lifetime. There is a bizarre connection between three grisly chicken corpses and the unusual death of local hedge-jumping enthusiast Sir Hugh Trewallyn. Suddenly, it seems that this quiet market town harbors more than its fair share of secrets. Vicky's hoping it might be hiding some available men as well. But as she opens Gipping's Pandora's box, her own secrets come back to haunt her--even as her rival at the paper, sexy, unscrupulous Annabel Lake, tries to block her at every turn. Can Vicky rise to stardom before someone writes her obituary?

An Object Worth Reading

Steve Martin’s latest book, An Object of Beauty, wooed me with its art world setting. I often romanticize the art experience when I think of going to an art museum, which this book inspired me to do, but which I refrained from because I know how it would turn out.

When I envision a trip to the art museum, it plays like a movie montage through my head. I see myself marveling at all the great paintings. But two things actually happen:

1) I never “get it,” because there is no osmosis at work there. Being in the presence of these great works and the people who could appreciate them don’t help me.

2) Similar to the five minutes or so it takes to watch a movie montage, I can get through a section of the museum and I’m ready to go. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate art. I just don’t have the patience for it.

So if it wasn’t the paintings the book talked about and the astronomical amount of money people paid for them that drew me in, what was it about the book I like? It was the people and the functions these paintings gathered. I would love to experience it, although, I fear I might be romanticizing this as much as I do the art museum.

Thankfully there is no prerequisite to read this book, well you might think literacy would be one, but where I see you point... I tell you there were also pictures in it. They were of the paintings referenced in the book, so maybe it wouldn’t be a contribution to someone not reading the text.

But getting back to my gratitude of not having to know art to enjoy the book. I’m sure maybe someone who does know a thing or two about paintings might enjoy this book more than I, but I don’t know those people so I can’t confirm.

Perhaps I’m just doing it wrong, and I say this because Steve Martin said this in a Los Angeles Times interview about the first painting he ever bought:

“I found that it wasn’t until I spent time alone with it that I had any kind of communion with it.”

Okay, if you know where I’m going here then you’ll know it only leads to jail. Because even if I bring a printed copy of that article to the art museum, I don’t see them finding me wanting to spend alone time with their paintings as anything other than illegal.

Anyway, I’ve provided a real review written by Publisher Weekly below. I couldn’t in good conscious only leave you with my recommendation which would go something lame like: if you love art or love the idea of art, maybe you should read it.

Publisher Weekly Review:

Martin compresses the wild and crazy end of the millennium and finds in this piercing novel a sardonic morality tale. Lacey Yeager is an ambitious young art dealer who uses everything at her disposal to advance in the world of the high-end art trade in New York City. After cutting her teeth at Sotheby's, she manipulates her way up through Barton Talley's gallery of "Very Expensive Paintings," sleeping with patrons, and dodging and indulging in questionable deals, possible felonies, and general skeeviness until she opens her own gallery in Chelsea. Narrated by Lacey's journalist friend, Daniel Franks, whose droll voice is a remarkable stand-in for Martin's own, the world is ordered and knowable, blindly barreling onward until 9/11. And while Lacey and the art she peddles survive, the wealth and prestige garnered by greed do not. Martin (an art collector himself) is an astute miniaturist as he exposes the sound and fury of the rarified Manhattan art world. If Shopgirl was about the absence of purpose, this book is about the absence of a moral compass, not just in the life of an adventuress but for an entire era.