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Sites, 'Zines, Books, and Guides for [fierce] Women in General
Reviewed by Lisa Okey
Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays from Might
Magazine, Beverly Boulevard Books, New York
Might Magazine was born in 1993 in SF and died in 1997, much to the dismay
of its loyal following. I subscribed to this irreverent magazine that had humorous articles like "Is TV News the Scourge of God? Or Simply a
Thoroughly Misguided, Embarrassingly Vacuous and Utterly Reprehensible Abuse of the Public Trust?" Shiny Adidas is a collection of essays by Might
contributors (Zev Borow, Paula Kaman, Ted Rall, David Foster Wallace, Heidi Pollack to name a few) that take on popular culture with essays that will make you laugh out loud on the bus. In "Quit Your Job. Work is a Sham," Ted Rall breaks down our assumptions about work: 1) the work you do is somehow necessary, and 2) your work won't be fun or interesting. Rall
explains that there is no greater sin than wasting one's time and that most "9 to 5" desk jobs can be completely finished in a few hours a day. In today's post-manufacturing economy, we don't make things, we move them around, which makes our work boring and we feel utterly useless." You've only got one chance to spend your life doing something you believe in. Quit the job you hate and start over, before you're too old and too stupid and it's too late to take a chance.
In an essay titled "The Glorious Climb of the Affluent Recreating Professional," Eric Westervelt writes about a bothersome by-product of our prosperous technological revolution, boredom. Boredom and anxiety. He
compares it to late 19th century America where rapid industrial change brought so much creature-comfort that people felt disoriented and turned to
tennis, camping, biking and horseback riding in their search for "authentic
experience." They wanted to feel grounded just like we do now a century later. "The new class of well-off but spiritually restless Americans may spend their days anchored to a PC, but when the weekend comes they head straight to the slopes, the trails or the river. And of course, these days, "authentic experience comes with a price." These smug lycra-loving, accessory-laden exhibitionists a.k.a. Arpies (Affluent Recreating Professionals) can be spotted running past you on your favorite mountain trail with camel backs (and maybe even camel toes.) See, even though their stock options alone could purchase one of the San Juan Islands, they are sweating and therefore humble, and they are totally into the outdoor experience, because nature is the cure for what ails them. Mother Nature can redeem even the most materialistic among us. They are hiking to heaven's door in their Vasque boots. This is a book where you can skip around and find an essay that suits your mood. When I read these essays I feel inspired to sit down and hack out my own opinion piece on the social and cultural relevance of the barking dogs who sing Jingle Bells.
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