You are what you read

Oh hai, welcome to my Best Of Sweetney BS!

See, there's a little thing called BlogHer going on this week, and honestly, my brainspace is so crammed with thoughts about OMG WHAT THE FUCK AM I GOING TO WEAR? and HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO PACK THE METRIC TON OF CRAP I NEED JUST TO SURVIVE? that I can barely form a coherent sentence at this point.

So yeah, I'm totally pussing out.

BUT! BUT! Here's the good news: you get to read some really good posts you might have missed! These are a few of my favorites from the past year (or so), in no particular order, with no particular rhyme or reason to the selection process beyond that *I* like them. Please to enjoy, and I'll be back with oven-fresh material next week. Toodles!

. . . . . . . . . .

Perhaps this will come off sounding a touch trite or banal, but I've always been of the mind that an individual's interests and tastes -- as embodied by the music they listen to, the books they read, and all the other media they personally select and consume -- collectively say far more about them than any utterance they might willingly offer to describe their own personality and who they think are. I suppose you could say that I look upon people's choices in literature, film, and music as unguarded glimpses into their identity, into what makes them tick and how their mind works -- as small but telling artifacts of the true unfiltered self, if you will.

And so with this in mind, I thought it might be interesting to have a looksee at some booty gathered from my own media buying binge this past weekend... Following the train of thinking described above, what might one presume from my selections about me, I wonder?

Exhibit A: “Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die” (Michael Largo)

Fascinated by the macabre, permanently installed on local law enforcement's “persons of interest” list
Enjoys the films of Ingmar Bergman, the works of Poe, competitive sulking
Wears black on the outside, because black is how she feels inside
Likely has serious alcohol and/or compulsive body scarification problem

Exhibit B: “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin)

Likes to watch things blow up
Likes to read about things blowing up
Likes to read about other people watching things blow up
Unquestioningly believes what those Pulitzer Prize idiots have to say
Science nerd, probably a closet Doctor Who fan
Bought book because of that gawdawful Sting song “Russians”

Exhibit C: “Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions” (Lisa Randall)

Dooooood
Does A LOT of drugs
DOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Exhibit D: Skateboard Mag

Is married to an EXTREME 12-year-old boy
Is known to partake of The Dew
Sad, pathetic, lonely
Has an overabundence of Icy Hot on hand at all times

Exhibit E: “The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks” (Susan Casey)

Despite a bounty of evidence to the contrary, does not believe it is safe to go back in the water
Confirmed Discovery Channel devotee
Sad, pathetic, lonely
Smells of chum and whiskey
Calls everyone, inexplicably, “Chief”

Exhibit F: Nick Jr. Magazine