Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter

-by Randy L. Schmidt
(epub)

I grew up listening to Karen Carpenter's velvet voice wafting from our record player in the late 70s and 80s. My mom always had her records playing, so The Carpenters' music was, in many ways, the soundtrack of my youth. When I was around years old 13 years old, I remember watching the made-for-TV movie of her life. Learning about the sad girl behind the amazing voice always stuck with me. Karen life was obviously tinged with a deep sadness, with hopes unfulfilled.

While Little Girl Blue came across as somewhat cold and factual at times, it was obviously well-researched. I learned many things that I did not know previously about Karen's life.

Karen's story in Little Girl Blue is not a "pleasant" read, by any means, but it is a worthwhile one, even if you aren't a fan of the music.

The New Rules of Lifting for Women

-by Lou Schuler 
 
I was up all night last night (caffeine overload!), so I read NROLFW in its entirety. Through my own personal research, I've learned that lifting heavy is a GOOD thing for us women - Schuler's research certainly confirmed this. I am rather disappointed, though, that I won't have the opportunity to give an honest "tried and true" or "meh" opinion on this actual program anytime soon.

I truly enjoyed the author's writing style. He has a great sense of humor and the science was well presented and easy-to-understand for the most part, so I was able to take quite a lot away from it. I love the fact that he debunks the myth that more reps with light weights are optimal for women, along with low-calorie diets and excessive cardio as means to "healthy weight loss".

However, there was one thing that rubbed me the wrong way, near the end of the book. In chapter 13 entitled "YES, YOU", Schuler mentions a woman who approaches him about doing a workout, but was not prepared to enroll in a gym or purchase home gym equipment. His response was:  

"I assume she doesn't really want to do the program... There's a clear path from where they are to where they say they want to be. But there's just as clear a roadblock they've installed that prevents them from following that path." 

Perhaps I'm misreading it, but I found Schuler's tone smuggishly dismissive in this instance. Did this woman install that 'roadblock' by choice, or perhaps was it because she simply could not afford either of the options this book calls for (gym membership or home gym)? The fact that she approached the author for information clearly shows she was willing and interested in the program. And yet, he *assumes* she doesn't want to do it. For some, it is not due to lack enthusiasm, willingness, or desire to try the program... but sometimes circumstances just don't allow it. Sometimes we don't create the roadblocks - they are just there!

The program calls for at least a dumbbell set, barbell with weights (and a rack, I'm assuming), chin-up bar, stability ball, adjustable weight bench, and steps. Many of the other workouts call for more elaborate equipment. I dare say a good number of New Rules readers aren't financially able to purchase a gym membership or even gym equipment for that matter, either of which are necessary to do the program. In fact, many don't even have access to a gym in their area - I don't, living in a very small town. Granted, there are 'Body Weight' training moves that one could do without equipment, but they only make up a small part of the actual program and do not really offer the full degree of training the book advocates.

So, while I would love to put the program to the test - and am ready to give it the time and effort it deserves - I cannot because my circumstances don't allow it. Maybe someday. Guess I'll just stick to my kettlebells for now.

An Enchantment of Birds

An Enchantment of Birds: Memories from a Birder's Life
-by Richard Cannings

ISBN-10: 1553652355
ISBN-13: 978-1553652359

A flock of praise for An Enchantment of Birds

Biologist, naturalist, and bird enthusiast Richard Cannings’ celebrated oeuvre isn’t just for the birds. Whether you are a devout birdwatcher with binoculars and field book in hand, or someone who just enjoys learning more about the winged beauties that frequent the feeder outside your window, Cannings’ beautifully written compilation of memorable sightings and stories of birds native to North America will delight and divert bird aficionados of any degree.

Harmoniously and skilfully, Cannings complements a delightful menagerie of personal encounters with his fine-feathered friends, with specifications of their niches, habitats spanning the Atlantic to Pacific coasts, identifying characteristics, patterns of behaviour, remarkable details of anatomy, and function in the ecosystem.

From the Preface, where he recounts the beginnings of his fascination (“Once the spell has been cast, you forever experience the world differently, eyeing forests as if you were a woodpecker looking for nesting snags…”), to his childhood memories of early morning meadowlark songs drifting through his window, along with family hikes through woodlands and prairies, Cannings speaks candidly and affectionately about his lifetime love of birds and nature in general. “Whatever the origins of this interest, it is indeed an enchantment”, Cannings writes.

These charming anecdotes and reminisces, while comprehensive, are a refreshing contrast to a birder’s guidebook detailing every statistic in deliberate textbook fashion. Its pages offer an up-close perspective and glimpse into the lives of these enchanting creatures. In addition, beautifully rendered sketches from illustrator Donald Gunn serve as a striking and almost-poetic complement to Cannings’ expressive meditations on these wonders of wildlife.

Whether it is a rare sighting of the remarkably plumed white-headed woodpecker, the majestic bald eagle, and the flammulated owl (“one of those creatures that you do not see unless you go looking for them”), or the frequently sighted crow, bluebird and chickadee, Cannings’ lyrical scrutiny brings these marvels of creation from the page in startling familiarity and clarity. Other birds captured between the pages of Enchantment, include the pygmy nuthatch, calliope hummingbird, evening grosbeak, bohemian waxwing, white-tailed ptarmigan, tufted puffin, and northern gannet, to mention just a few.

The author expresses his hope that “their stories will touch you as well and perhaps begin to cast a spell that will last a lifetime.” Without a doubt, Richard Cannings’ informative, yet delicately tender, labour-of-love, An Enchantment of Birds, will be sure to do just that — not unlike the subjects of his very own musings.

05/30/2007
—Reviewed for Douglas & McIntyre Publishing

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm: A True Story of a Japanese Woman
-by Lala Okamoto
227 pages (2006)

when cultures collide

The Art of Loving is a memoir that that recounts Lala Okamoto's travels abroad and the relationships she experiences with foreigners -- some upbuilding, some devastating.As a young naïve Japanese woman, susceptible and completely enthralled with other cultures, Lala candidly recounts the details of her quixotic disaster with Rolf, a German "cassanova" who seems bent on ruining Lala's life.Throughout the chronicle, Okamoto's includes several interesting disparity between cultures she has encountered, and evaluates them to her own Japanese background. It is an interesting case study in how the collision of cultures can be constructive or destructive, and how a hastily made decision can easily lead to heartache.

02/13/2007

La Prisonniere: Twenty Years in a Desert Gaol

La Prisonniere: Twenty Years in a Desert Gaol
-by Malika Oufkir & Michele Fitoussi
392 pages (2000)

a captivating testimony of tribulation and hope

La Prisonniere is heart-rending true story about the loss of every human's right - freedom. Amidst much turmoil it is also a story of great courage and love that keeps a family going. Malika recounts her family's fate with much candor, and eloquent simplicity that captivates you immediately. The Oufkir's strong family ties saw them through some of the most inhumane treatment one can imagine. 

Born to a noble Berber family in the early 1950s, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of King Hassan II of Morocco's closest aide. At the tender age of five, young Oufkir was whisked away to another life (the royal court of Rabat) - adopted by the king himself - to serve as a companion to his youngest daughter. It is there that Oufkir grew up, locked away in her gilded cage, away from family and friends, among the royal wives and concubines. 

Her world suddenly changed in 1972, at the age of 18, when her father General Oufkir was swiftly arraigned and executed for an attempt to assassinate King Hassan II. The remainder of the Oufkirs - Malika, her mother and her 5 younger siblings - innocent of all charges, were nonetheless seized and thrown into an isolated desert jail. 

For 15 years, the Oufkirs suffered at the hands of their ruthless captors; no contact with the outside world, they lived in increasingly barbaric and inhumane environment. After a failed escape attempt - which resulted in their being recaptured after 5 days - the ensuing public outrage resulted in the family’s house arrest rather than a return to the prison. (Malika Oufkir was finally permitted to leave Morocco in 1996, to begin a new life in exile.)

Notwithstanding horrible conditions, the Oufkirs demonstrated resilience in the face of extreme deprivation. La Prisonniere is a somber read, due to its disheartening chronicle of man’s inhumanity to man - and yet it is a story that bolsters faith in the fact that love can help us endure, despite all odds.

04/18/2001

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
-by Anne Frank
304 pages (1952)

calm candor and beauty amidst attrocities

Anne Frank’s diary has moved millions around the world, past and present, with it’s honesty, depth, and poignancy. (Personally, it was Anne’s diary that motivated me to write my own journal as a young girl and I continue to write faithfully, ever since. It is one of the few books that I’ve read which has had the greatest influence on my life.) Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, along with her family, went into hiding along with her family during WWII, when Holland was annexed by the Nazis Regime. During the 4 long years of secret captivity in the building’s attic, Anne captured her hopes, loves, fears and thoughts on life in her diary, where she affectionately addressed her entries to an imaginary friend she named “Kitty”. 

Despite the horrible reality of war just outside her window, Anne was a person who could see beyond man’s inhumanity to man, and perceive true beauty and the gift of life. Tragically, nearing the war’s conclusion, the family’s hiding place is mercilessly betrayed to the Nazis…which ultimately culminates in the final chapter of this lovely young girl’s life, just prior to liberation. This is a true story…a diary of a young girl….and her voice from the past. It’s a memoir of a brilliant and deep being who wasn’t afraid to hope for something better, beyond the misery surrounding her. In my opinion, it is a book that every person should read. 

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES: It was an overcast day on Saturday, March 9, 2002. I stood just outside of Anne Frank’s final dwelling place, the “Secret Annex,” at Prinsengracht 263, Amsterdam. I was overcome with great sadness as I gazed up at the small attic window where she must have looked out…a tree-lined canal just across the way. Perhaps she watched the ducks in the water, swallows overhead, the steady sloping of the rain, or the cloud formations….day in and day out for 4 long years. I imagined what it would be like to be a young girl in confinement, yearning to enjoy life amidst the free, only to be shut up, and kept quiet for fear that an audible breath would betray my family’s whereabouts and terminate our lives. I wept at the great waste of life, the cruelty, the plundering of innocent lives, and how this amazing young woman maintained the inner strength to endure those years…and had the courage to capture it all with such delicacy, calm candor and beauty.