A Shades Review

HUMAN ANATOMY

K: Anastacia finds out she is six to seven weeks pregnant, and witnesses her baby’s heartbeat on an ultrasound with help from her gynecologist. She’s later attacked by her fruit n’ nut bar of an ex-boss, who kicks her in the stomach. She is rushed to the hospital as a result, though none of the doctors seem to know that an average fetus at six to seven weeks is roughly the size of a lentil.

I’m sure it’s a ridiculously bad movie and I’d rather undergo minor surgery than watch it but the snark in this part of the review is utterly unjustified. I saw Klara’s heartbeat at 5 weeks. And that was 2 years and 8 months ago. I’m sure that the technology which allowed that has only grown more sophisticated. So what? I saw it, and it was the most wonderful thing I’d ever seen because Klara was very wanted. And yes, she was very tiny at that point, so there wasn’t much beyond the heartbeat. But it was there.

Replay

What I’m worried about, folks, is that 2018 and 2020 will be a replay of 2016. And when I see Democrats nominate people involved in ancient scandals or pronounce the word “chaos” (like in “the White House is so chaotic”) as if it were something bad, I fear that they have learned nothing. And I fear that they will come to the new elections with the same old candidates and the same antideluvian ideas of what works. This is not even about losing. What if they win, and it’s the same old crap as usual?

Running Blagojevich’s buddy for governor of Illinois, you’ve got to be kidding me. The first election in my entire life that I’ll be able to vote in, and this is who I got to vote for?

I ❤️ February

February is the best month because that’s when mystery authors release their new books. A new John Lescroart! A new Lisa Gardner! A new Jonathan Kellerman! Even a new Elizabeth George!

Who needs work, anyway?

I tried reading Spanish mysteries but there is truly nothing worse. As much as I love Spanish-language literature, I can’t stand mysteries in Spanish. They are all so painfully pompous.

Successful = Good

It’s interesting that people hear “he is successful” and immediately interpret it as “he is a good human being.” Like when I was desperate to find proof that the successful academics I admire are good human beings with an admirable moral compass. It’s an effect of the neoliberal worldview that positions the source of success inside human beings. If you are not successful, tells us this ideology, that is because you are a faulty human being. something is not right with you.

Fluid Team

It’s silly that people are acting so stunned by the fluidity of Trump’s team. He’s extremely successful in business – and yes, he is, in spite of the lower-middle-class terrors around the word “bankruptcy” – and you can’t do that without being comfortable with fluidity. It’s not like letting go of people easily is any worse than holding on to all kinds of severely compromised folks like Hillary does.