Posted in Replies & Rebuttals on Apr 25th, 2012
When I was coming up we only called it “gentrification” and even then it was code. What it stood for was first described in economic terms: growing property values, higher rents, rising food costs, and increases in local tax revenues. Then in terms of safety: drops in crime rates, arrests, and even reports of suspicious [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Replies & Rebuttals on Apr 18th, 2012
There were things people forgot to tell me. The retired minister would openly critique my breasts as I brought him food. No girls wanted to serve him. (Only girls worked there.) A local realtor was fascinated by his shoe, which he often thought was his pet, and more fascinated by counting by tens very quickly. [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Replies & Rebuttals on Apr 11th, 2012
Despite what some may tell you, a hipster invasion is generally a wonderful thing. When the hipsters arrive, property values skyrocket, charcuteries and cheese shops pop up and a tattoo-parlor scene develops. The bars in the neighborhood start selling an incredible selection of boutique local beers and have burlesque shows on weekends. Cupcake stores become [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Reviews on Apr 5th, 2012
It happens everywhere: at convenience stores, the cinema, or in the queue outside of pubs. Sometimes, the exclamation is innocent, flung from the lips of the offender before she has a chance to cover her mouth, “You don’t look a day over fourteen!” More often than not, though, it comes in the form of a [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Reviews on Apr 2nd, 2012
They tell me it is shape that broken hearts and octopus traps have in common. They tell me that until 2005, when this syndrome was given a name, it did not exist. They describe my pain in the language of scientific process’ with scientific words to boot. Tako-tsubo is the Japanese word for octopus traps. [...]
Read Full Post »