Posts Tagged ‘New York Times’
“The People You Meet at McDonalds”
I came across this photo essay of sorts in the New York Times this morning: “The People You Meet at McDonalds.”
I greatly admire the intention of the photo essay and the photographs by Nolan Conway. They are so, for lack of a better verb, real. They are a true portrait of American society.
I admire the work because I think the simplicity of the photos is, in some ways, very bold. They are photographs of Americans in McDonalds. Despite the health risks and poor food quality of the chain restaurant, it is a symbol of America. McDonalds establishments see thousands of Americans every day.
I like the photograph above because it reminds me of being a small child with my grandmother. She used to treat us to Happy Meals. She always had the fish fillet and a cup of decaf coffee. I don’t long for McDonald’s, at all, but I would go back in a heartbeat if it meant another meal with her. 
Why does it have to be one or the other?
Yesterday was one of those days where I woke up excited for the moment when I could get back in bed. Never a good sign. The past month has been go, go, go and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. That being said, it’s really making me enjoy those moments I do get to just decompress.
Last night consisted of several of those moments. I couldn’t have been more content all cozied up in my over-sized Patriot’s tee with a cup of peppermint tea catching up on my favorite reads.
One of which is Verily, a great blog for any woman who is interested in style and class and enjoys thought-provoking, well written articles.
Anyway, one of the recent posts, was about Dr. Brill’s obituary in the New York Times. The post by Monica Gabriel starts out as follows:
“Alarms of sexism rang out across the twittersphere last week, as the New York Times scrambled to recover from the unexpected onslaught of furious chirping. The Times obituary on deceased rocket scientist and inventor, Dr. Yvonne Brill, began by describing Brill as a woman, a mother, a wife, and—the gravest offense—a good cook.
‘She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children…. The world’s best mom,” her son Matthew said.’
The writer, Douglas Martin, makes mention of Brill’s professional accomplishments in the third sentence:
‘But Yvonne Brill, who died on Wednesday at 88 in Princeton, N.J., was also a brilliant rocket scientist who in the early 1970s invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites from slipping out of their orbits.’
As I read past the offending two sentence lede, I wondered who was really being censured as sexist last week. Was it the male obit writer who used Brill’s femininity to reduce her professional achievements? Or was it the proverbial messenger who was silenced for telling the story of a woman who wanted to be remembered as a mother just as much as she wanted to be remembered for her professional accomplishments?”
I really like Gabriel’s questioning as to who is being sexist in this instance.
When did it become a negative thing for a woman to WANT to be a mother? To put your children and your family BEFORE your career?
This is something I personally have struggled with. It has always been incredibly important for me to become successful. It is equally as important to me that one day I get to experience the joys of being a mother. One day being the keyword. In no way shape or form am I ready to take on that role yet! Still, I have often struggled with that desire and felt guilty for wanting to be a mom just as much as I want to have a successful career.
I feel as though there is pressure in our society to not want those things. That some people think a woman who would choose family over a career is not strong or smart. When in fact, I think just the opposite. I think it takes a very strong, caring woman to put her family first.
I am all about being able to have both. I think, as a woman, you most certainly can have a successful career and be a phenomenal mother. Dr. Brill is proof of that.
Art to scream about
Do you have a favorite piece of art work?
How much would you pay for it?
DID YOU KNOW…That Edward Munch’s 1895 “Scream” painting was privately sold at an auction last May becoming the most expensive piece of art work ever sold at an auction?
The price tag?
Nearly $ 1 2 0 M I L L I O N.
The painting will be on display at the MoMA in NYC next month, according to this NYT article.
20-something blogger goes BIG
My roommate recently shared with me this explicit blog by Emma Koenig. Koenig’s blog, soon to be a book, has recently gained quite a bit of attention, and not just because of the explicit title.
While I’m envious of Emma Koenig’s blogger stardom, I’m equally as excited to see a struggling 20-somethings’ expression of what it can be like in a day of the life get some credit.
After reading some of Emma Koenig’s blog posts and laughing out loud in comical relation, I read the recent article in the New York Times that discusses Koenig’s success but also the 20-something tragedy.
I liked Ms. Koenig’s ballsiness right off the bat. I laughed out loud to some of her posts, including this one:
From Emma’s blog.
But what really won me over was this quote:
“In such a culture, Ms. Koenig said, you wonder what it means to be successful. “Is it making money?” she asked. “Is it tons of hits and fans? Is it making work I like or surviving for that week?””
Bingo. I ask myself this same question at LEAST once a day and the answer changes every time, often, with a lack of confidence and evidence to support any one of these answers. Sometimes I think we could be called the trial and error generation. A generation where nothing is certain or guaranteed and there is no recipe for success. We live by trial and error.
Other fun things I learned in this article:
- Emma Koenig’s brother, Ezra, is in a little indie band you may or may not have heard of, Vampire Weekend.
- Newsweek recently published an article about our “screwed generation” which sums the daily hardships we’ve come to know as life which is pretty depressing/interesting.
And, lastly…I am not alone in feeling a constant level of heightened anxiety…
- “If depression was the hallmark of the Gen-Xers,anxiety belongs to the Millennials.” ~Dr. Meg Jay, a psychologist who treats 20-somethings. “They are worried life isn’t going to work,” she said.
“Life is too short to be busy.”
As the sudden DOWN POUR really put a damper on my running yesterday afternoon…pun intended…I decided to read this Times opinion article by Tim Kreider that two of my friends in seperate social circles had shared on facebook. Then my power went out. Left unable to run or blog. #firstworldproblems
This article is SO true. Many of my friends are guilty of this “I’m too busy” claim to fame. And I’m no exception. In fact, I am totally guilty of always being too busy probably more so than many of my friends!
But am I really?
As I have started working less at the Bistro to have more time to focus on my PR and social media consulting, I have found I’m a lot less stressed. I’m still doing the same amount of work, if not more, I just have more time to get it done so I find I’m making more time for myself to read and relax a minute. AND, in turn, think I have actually been getting more affective work done and having time to CREATE more. It does wonders to clear your mind.
This is how Kreider starts out his article: “If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are.”
FACT. Everyone can admit to this.
This opinion article is amazing. This guy takes a concept, being too busy, that is most certainly plaguing our society and lays it down on the table without holding back. I love it.
Kreider’s description of himself is amazing.
“I am not busy. I am the laziest ambitious person I know. Like most writers, I feel like a reprobate who does not deserve to live on any day that I do not write, but I also feel that four or five hours is enough to earn my stay on the planet for one more day. On the best ordinary days of my life, I write in the morning, go for a long bike ride and run errands in the afternoon, and in the evening I see friends, read or watch a movie. This, it seems to me, is a sane and pleasant pace for a day. And if you call me up and ask whether I won’t maybe blow off work and check out the new American Wing at the Met or ogle girls in Central Park or just drink chilled pink minty cocktails all day long, I will say, what time?”
I want to be that at ease, and to have his job. He does go on to say, however, that his job is no longer this leisurely and he does have more work to do now, causing him to actually be busy.
Kreider hits at something we all know to be true and, many of us, guilty of. I love this article for bringing that to my attention.
From now on I’m going to try and take Kreider’s advice and live by this motto:
“Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets.”
Living his passion, and looking good!
I seriously can’t get over Michael Arenella, a truly one-of-a-kind musician from Brooklyn. Had this New York Times photo series shared with me this morning and instantly fell in love with Arenella’s cool and confident 1930′s style. He totally channels the era of his passion: the original jazz scene. I love his outfits, his interests and the way he carries himself, captured greatly by the photographer, Karsten Moran.
And the most attractive Pulitzer Prize goes to…
Jeffrey Gettleman ladies and gentlemen!
(photo courtesy of the NYT)
Gettleman won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, and from what I gather, it was well deserved! He won for his coverage of famine and conflict in East Africa. Gettleman is the New York Times East Africa bureau chief.
When majoring in journalism, I dreamed of becoming an international reporter and spending my days in Africa. So not only is this guy gorgeous, he just won the most prestigious award, doing my dream job for my dream newspaper. Safe to say, I’m a fan of Gettleman!
While the other winners aren’t as attractive, they are most certainly noteworthy. Check them out here.
I’m confused and a little perturbed as to why the Pulitzer Prize committee didn’t name a fiction or editorial writing award. Are they that pretentious that they think NO ONE is good enough to win? Quite frankly I find it to be a little snobby and very disappointing.
WHAT THE?!
Okay, one, did this REALLY pass in the SUPREME COURT of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
And, two, why isn’t everyone freaking out about how cray this is?
This is BONKERS, no?! A co-worker shared this information with me Monday night at work and I was astounded at what she was saying.
If I get pulled over for speeding…I can legally be strip-searched. For no reason.
STRIP-SEARCHED.
I could barley sit still or stomach reading this NYT article this morning. I still can’t believe this really happened. In America.
I heard a first hand account of a woman who was strip-searched and it makes me nauseous every time I recall the story and the way the woman cried when she told it.
How did this happen?
I would write more, but I’m still in a legitimate state of shock and disappointment with our government. YIKES!
Wall Street channels Mad Men
Sunday, March 25th, marks a day I’ve been eagerly awaiting for quite some time now. Season 5 of Mad Men premieres! I hardly ever watch television, but Mad Men certainly deserves tv time. I started watching back in college and was instantly hooked. Though character and plot development were slow-moving at times, it was well worth it. The show gets me lifted and I feel myself connecting with different aspects of each character every time I watch it. Not to mention the spot on 60s style is fascinating and oh-so-cool.
One of my favorite episodes was in season 4 when the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency lost their biggest client, Lucky Strike tobacco. With the agency facing the loss of their major financial backing, Don, ever so coolly, as is traditional Don Draper style, busts out a pretty chancy PR move with a letter to the New York Times stating why they are dropping tobacco all together.
Apparently this put-it-all-on-the-line call to morality stunt is a trendy thing. A recent Forbes article linked former London-based Goldman Sach’s employee, Greg Smith, resigning in a similar fashion.
I think it’s hilarious and awesome, though a little sad, that a television show can have so much clout and appeal as to influence today’s men of Wall Street.
Smith’s letter surely left an impact as well. Not only in the eyes of Mad Men lovers everywhere, but also in the stock market.
According to this Washington Post article:
“Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saw $2.15 billion of its market value wiped out after an employee assailed Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein’s management and the firm’s treatment of clients, sparking debate across Wall Street.
The shares dropped 3.4 percent in New York trading yesterday, the third-biggest decline in the 81-company Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index, after London-based Greg Smith made the accusations in a New York Times op-ed piece.”
