Things I read, watched, saw, and did in Q2 2018

In April, May, and June 2018, I read:

• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• Calypso by David Sedaris
• The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

I watched:

• Shameless seasons 5 and 6
• Call the Midwife seasons 5 and 6
• Orphan Black season 5
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 4 part 1
• The Handmaid's Tale season 2
• The History of Comedy (CNN) all
• Queer Eye season 1 episodes 1 and 2
• The West Wing rewatch of season 4 episodes 21-23, season 5 episodes 1-6 along with The West Wing Weekly Podcast
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show rewatch of seasons 2 and 3
• Rhoda rewatch of season 1 episodes 1-5
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Tina Fey
• Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Jim Carrey, Jimmy Fallon, Sarah Jessica Parker
• John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous
• Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here
• Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife
• Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life
• Hannah Gadsby: Nanette
• Set It Up
• The Martian

I saw:

• My Fair Lady at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (Lincoln Center)
• Hello Dolly (with Bernadette Peters) at the Shubert Theater
• Angels in America parts 1 and 2 at the Neil Simon Theater
• Boys in the Band at the Booth Theater
• Othello at the Delacorte Theater (The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park)
• Follies at Astoria Performing Arts Center
• In the Heights at the John W Engeman Theater in Northport, NY
• Peter Hujar: Speed of Life at the Morgan Library & Museum
• New York Philharmonic in Prospect Park
• Vanity's Vanities IV: Reverse Cowgirl at the Slipper Room
• James Adler in recital at the Yamaha Artist Services Piano Salon
• Choral Chameleon at the Irondale Center
• Ready Player One
• RBG
• Solo: A Star Wars Story

Also, I:

• Went on one (1) date
• Played 2 concerts with QUO and 1 with the LGBAC Symphonic Band
• Marched in 4 parades and played 2 other gigs with the LGBAC Marching Band
• Stepped down as QUO's president and became QUO's manager (which is the job I've been doing anyway)
• Wrote 2 articles for my freelance job
• Booked a trip to Paris for August and learned a very small amount of French on Duolingo
• Went to Woodstock/Saugerties with my family for Fathers Day
• Traveled to Baltimore, DC, Philly, and New Hope, PA with the band
• Was visited by friends Shay (and Quoia and their adorable son Justin), Adrienne, and Laura (with special guest Beth) in NYC
• Turned 38 and managed to get a bunch of gifts despite being 38
• Achieved the milestones of 13 years in NYC and 2 years at my job (these actually happened at the end of March but I forgot to mention them last quarter)
• Posted 18 doodles and 6 tiny sinks on Instagram, and sold a lot of stuff on my and Kathryn's redbubble store
• Won the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child lottery 0 times and lost a trillion times

The Secret History: half a book review

I am half-way through Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which I am reading on a 15-year-old recommendation. Actually, I think the recommendation was of another book of hers, The Little Friend, which had just come out at the time, but a copy of The Secret History was in the right place at the right time and so that is the one I'm reading.

The book was written in 1992, which doesn't seem like a long time ago but I must acknowledge that it was. The book has aged relatively well. It is set at a college, and although my college experience began six years later and included things like cell phones and the internet, Tartt's depiction seems very familiar.

Social norms are another hallmark of the times, and the book holds up for the most part. There is a character in the book that is misogynistic, homophobic, and either ignorant or intolerant of anything he finds to be different. Although the character is beloved by the narrator and the others in the core group, his bigotry is regarded with appropriate disgust by his peers and by Tartt. There's a lot to say about this character and the relationships surrounding him, as the story really centers on him, but suffice it to say he is seen for what he is.

There is only one stinging aspect of the book that struck me as slightly off, and that is the subtle perpetuation of the idea of gay men as sexual predators. Of course we see the problematic character described above at his homophobic worst, but there is also a hint of homophobia in the narrator, whom I believe we're intended to trust (I mean, he's a compulsive liar, but he's being very frank with the reader). The narrator openly admits (to the reader) that he is uncomfortable around gay men. Admitting it is healthy enough, I suppose, but what is the nature of this discomfort? It is unveiled for us when a friend of his ("a homosexual") makes a pass at him. All turns out well in the end, but the narrator says that he knew this moment was "inevitable." He "knew" there would come a time when his gay friend would come on to him. Why? Because the narrator is narcissistic? By all accounts, the narrator has a low opinion of himself, so I'd say no. Because there's existing sexual tension between them throughout the book? None that has been mentioned. Because the gay character is promiscuous or has a large appetite for sex? Again, not that we've seen.

I can only surmise that the narrator feels that his friend, being a gay man, is predisposed to want sex from any man. Gay men are roaming the streets looking for sex and it's only a matter of time until they get you. This is perhaps a very 1992 attitude (indeed it's a 2018 attitude in many places, and there are even maps that will show you where), when there were very few flattering, honest, or even innocuous depictions of gay men to be found. I would expect a woman to be less likely to think in this way, as they are not in the perceived line of fire and can therefore be more clear-headed about it. Tartt either bought into the stereotype, or, in writing from the perspective of a straight man, chose to shed a layer of sensitivity.

Although I harp on it, the moment was fleeting, and the book has been a great read overall. I'm looking forward to the second half.