Amber Lea > Recent Status Updates

Is this why a lot of people hate the HRC?

I think perhaps there's this mistaken assumption that the gay rights movement is going to STOP at gay marriage. In my mind it's a tiny baby step, a foot in the door. And once we start to become more accepted in mainsteam society we can blow the door RIGHT OFF.

I actually think gay marriage is a good thing because it helps us deal with all those idiots out there who are like, "Gays are bad because the law says so." In an ideal world you could sit all those morons down and tell them they need to grow the hell up and learn to think for themselves, but this is not an ideal world.

I'm only on page four, so perhaps I should hang the eff on before I comment, but this just makes me think of my Marriage and Family Soc class where we learned about how conservatives want to solve every problem by pushing people toward marriage. Marriage is basically meant to be a cheat at actually giving a shit about women and children.

I've read 221 pages about food and debauchery.

I really appreciate that there's a chapter about the trail of tears. I used to live in Oklahoma, and it felt awkward not to know much about it when everyone else was an expert. They learned about it in school the way I learned about the gold rush.

Someone make me fresh pasta. And fish. And some mashed potatoes. I'm so hungry.

haha! She just said that there's an outlet mall 15 miles away from me that gets more visitors than the liberty bell and I'd never heard of it. I fail at discount shopping.

Duuuuude, the part on consumer psychology is so depressing. Also, I'm totally the person who buys something for half off, and can't bragging about the great deal I got because I AM AN OLD LADY.

I have to stop buying things, forever.

There are a lot of words in this book my kindle doesn't have a definition for, so I'm just left to guess...but at least he admits he's a pretentious shit. I feel like he wrote this with a thesaurus in hand and he's doing it just to be obnoxious. On the upside, I've learned at least a dozen new words.

ugh, Wal-Mart.

This is really informative. I've already learned a lot about the history of the industry. And shit, it's nice to hear that in the 1920's people weren't mocked as anti-American fringe hippies because they didn't like what chain-stores were doing to America. And in the 1930's the government protected small businesses by stopping corporations from predatory price cuts.

This reminds me of my summers as a head cook (at an amusement park) so much. Working in front of a grill with no AC when it's 120 degrees OUTSIDE. God, that job. That's where I learned to move fast because it was just two or three people, and often times just me by myself, cooking for four lines of people. And yes, the burns. So many burns. After a while you barely even notice when you get new ones.

I'm really confused because I thought this was already on my reading list. Well, I had lots of thoughts on it I don't remember now.

Also, so far it takes place in Maine and Rhode Island, the only two states I haven't been to in the area...now I'm getting all kinds of weird ideas about what it's like there.

I'm really starting to like this book. I'm learning about things I've never heard of, and I appreciate how self-deprecating he is about being a pretentious ass. And I feel a somewhat gross sense of nostalgia for the dickbags I hung out with in college.

I think I dated Anthony Bourdain in college. It was awful.

Alright, now I want to be you.

ugh, I want a new job.

Man, I will never understand what would move anyone to go on a cruise, ever.

haha, classic Bourdain. I'm already amused and annoyed at the same time.

I kind of just want to read a whole book where people complain about terrible jobs they've had.

Mixed feelings already. But so funny.

So far so good, in that it's making me hopeless depressed.

Yesss. I've been wanting to read this book forever. I hope it's everything I dreamed it could be.

man, some of these essays are boring.

Late to the party, like always.

haha, now she's talking shit on New Jersey. "Punk comes out of nowhere and what's more nowhere than there?" "Or as my guidebook puts it, the state 'has a superb interstate highway system for a reason.'"

I'm working on a book in response to this book.