cynstagraphy's reviews
141 reviews

Amusing, albeit p*ssy hat basic Liberal book. Its conclusion of "Trump only won because boomers wanted to trigger us le epic style" is a lazy one and fails to address the centuries-long racism and white supremacy so tightly entangled within American, Western, colonial and postcolonial history which also benefits Bernie Bros and Hillary fangirls like Marcotte herself. The love of the far right for 45 (or, better worded, the hatred for anything he stands against) is no joke and it would have erupted eventually with or without friggen gay frogs.

In depth PhD analysis of American Anglosaxon culture. The message of troll culture emulating IRL culture is, in hindsight, a premonition of what was to come next: reality emulating online troll culture to its sociopolitical extremes. A re-edition and current revision is way overdue, and it might be good if Phillips released it before the world as we know it lulz itself to death.

And then you go and spoil it all by doing something stupid like criticising Gordon Brown for calling that bigoted woman 'bigoted'. And by saying that she made 'mild' remarks about immigration. MILD?!

While the book works at telling you the terrifying misdeeds of the conservatives in the UK (specially Thatcher and Cameron), it focuses a bit too much in white, British-born working class people. It's like immigrants or people of colour don't exist to Owen Jones. And when he made the bigoted woman look like a decent working class heroine while patronising her xenophobic remarks, it lost me completely. As a foreign woman of colour with English as a Second Language living in Britain, it was deeply offensive. People with bigoted views about us are evil, regardless of their social class. Thatcher was, Cameron is, and The Bigoted Woman is as well. Her poverty is not going to save her. I refuse to pardon her comments like 'aww poor white English lady, it's because she's broke. I'm so sorry my existence has hurt her feefees'. Life ain't easy for me either!

As soon as I read that paragraph, where Jones says she made 'mild' remarks, I rushed to the library and gave it back right away. Disgusting.

Another thing Jones forgets to mention is that 'chav' was originally intended to describe shallow fashion addicts of any class. Katie Price, Queen of Chavs, has actually always been quite wealthy. The people we see in TOWIE, Desperate Scousewives, Geordie Shore, or whatever, are quite wealthy as well. Working class people don't have enough money to get vajazzles, go on limos, and club every weekend soaked in champagne. I've known more chavs who are middle or lower-middle class than working class. It was the Daily Mail who decided to impose that word on the working class. And it is media in general who sells Jordan/TOWIE/etc. to the masses as what HAS to be achieved to succeed, but when people with lower incomes dare to try it, they consider it tacky and in bad taste. It's all a trap.

Anyway, Owen Jones: there's too much milk on your Sociology coffee.

Meditation without the things you hate about meditation. Mindfulness cares about compassion and kindness, about letting go and not forcing you to change yourself. It doesn't punish you for having "bad feelings" nor obliges you to have good ones. And above all, it's for all and none religions. It's for everyone. I will try to do it from now on with help from the teachings of this book, a mobile app and the local mindful meditation group. And if I can't, I won't punish myself.

Complete, concise and amusing guide for cycling fanatics in general, from the absolute beginner to the obsessive Olympian. Big chunks of history, advice on places to visit, and recommendations on everything from clothes and tools to surviving situations such as rain, snow, hills and punctures. For being two years old, it's hilariously outdated tho: it still talks about Lance Armstrong as an inspiration, and it even proudly presents Jimmy Saville as a cyclist on his early days. Hopefully these two infamous examples don't put you off from cycling. After all, Einstein found such joy and peace doing it.

Nice, kid-friendly and clear guide to non-binary identities and they/them pronouns. Might need more info on why non-binary people have been around for ages and it's not a "Millenial invention" (maybe talk about the muxe, hijra, two-spirit and more), and make it less about the cis ally and his feelings. But it's good as an entry level comic on the subject.

An honour to listen to Angela Davis use her expertise on today's (or the minute before today's) struggles. From early civil rights action to comprehensive feminist intersectionalism. She shows that previous generations not only can "catch up with the times", but can also move several leaps forward. I wish more intellectuals and activists from her generation could learn from her, update and expand their sense of compassion and freedom. It could do with a newer edition were she can share lectures or essays on the hellish panorama of the past couple of years. We could certainly learn from her what to do next.

I'm so proud to be her student. An in-depth, questioning work on the PRB.