This sweeping book chronicles four generations of Chinese women who lived in an era when history was shifting radically all around them. It’s a really interesting look at 20th century Chinese history, and specifically history as experienced by women in China. I’m always amazed by history books which totally ignore the situations women found themselves in, and when I first read this book in college, I remember being immensely pleased at gaining all of this additional perspective on China, the Cultural Revolution, and the place of women in Chinese society.

Of course, it would have been a more enjoyable reread if the neighbor’s dog hadn’t been barking constantly. At one point I almost lost it, and was tempted to wrench the door open, shout “in China, they eat dogs” and then throw a large heavy object in the general direction of said canid. It’s especially annoying because the dog belongs to one of the few neighbors I actually like. Why, oh why, must I be surrounded by assholes, children, and dogs? But I digress.

This book is packed full of all sorts of interesting little bits of information, which made it all the more compelling to read. There’s a fact or clarification about Chinese culture on almost every page, from holidays to rules of behaviour, and I think that’s pretty neat, myself.

This book can be a bit difficult to obtain, but it’s worth a read if you can track it down. I think it’s much better than Red Azalea, a much more popularized book about women in the Cultural Revolution.

Demographics:

Wild Swans, by Jung Chang. Published 1991, 524 pages. Biography.

Norma Wallace was the last madam to operate in New Orleans, and one of the longest-running as well, with an empire which lasted for over 40 years in the French Quarter. This book is a biography of Wallace, but it also provides some interesting information about the history and evolution of the French quarter. And you can’t really talk about prostitution in New Orleans without talking about corruption scandals, so there are some of those, too.

Wallace herself was a pretty interesting lady, although I suspect that most people pick up this book because they are interested in prostitution and hearing sordid stories, which Wiltz certainly delivers. But beyond that, Wallace was a free spirit, an independent thinker, and a very savvy businesswoman. She also sounds like a kind of lonely, needy, isolated person, which I imagine satisfies some widely held conceptions about prostitution and the people who engage in it.

I am not really that stoked with the writing style in this book, because it feels too vernacular. Wiltz had access to a bunch of autobiographical tapes, and I think she was trying to infuse the book with their flavor, but it came off awkward and stiff most of the time. I would have liked to see a more scholarly tone and more of an investigation into the surrounding culture of prostitution in New Orleans to contextualize Wallace a bit more for the reader.

Demographics:

The Last Madam, by Christine Wiltz. Published 2000, 237 pages. Biography.

I have to take a moment to shed a tear for Pushing Daisies, which was effectively canceled last week. ABC didn’t order any episodes beyond the initial 13, and evidence seems to strongly suggest that the show will not be coming back for a season three, which makes me incredibly sad.

This seems to keep happening to me. I get hooked on a television series, and the network cancels it. Pushing Daisies was a totally unique series. Unlike anything else airing on television right now. It was quirky, fresh, funny, and, yes, cute. I loved the concept, and I loved the production of the show, with those rich, color-saturated sets and costumes. It was, in a lot of ways, a very innocent, sweet show, with a lot of great characters and some very interesting plot lines to explore.

We still have a few episodes left in the second season, which hopefully ABC will be airing. They might as well, the episodes are already done, after all. Rumor has it that the last episode is a real cliff-hanger, which I think is rather mean. Unless ABC is testing its waters to bring on a season three…but I doubt it.

So, what killed Pushing Daisies?

Some of the scuttlebutt seems to suggest that the production costs were high. The show had a lot of special effects, for sure, and I could see how high production costs would be an issue. The costumes, sets, and everything else were highly unique, and it’s hard to get that look without expending some serious cash, not least because everything on television right now seems to be all about dark lighting, somber costumes, and gritty scenery.

Fundamentally, though, it was about ratings. Not enough people were watching the show to make it profitable. Did Pushing Daisies appeal to a limited audience? Was it airing at the wrong time? I’m not really sure, but the fate of the show makes me worried for television. It seems like endless crime dramas and procedurals will continue to draw strong ratings, but original content is struggling. Shows like Jericho, Pushing Daisies, and Eli Stone (also canceled last week) were distinctive, new, and totally different. Apparently, that doesn’t attract very many television viewers.

At least, the viewers who view on the tube. On the Internet, things might be a different story, but Internet ratings aren’t released, so I have no idea about the viewer numbers of streaming web content. It really frustrates me that the networks won’t address this, because the Internet is THE FUTURE, and we’re going to be seeing a lot more streaming/web content, so networks might as well accept that and track it. They’re certainly happy to wedge more and more ads into their streaming players, so clearly they recognize the value of web viewerships.

Is there going to be a point when we have online-only shows? Might Pushing Daisies continue to please audiences if they could access it online? I think that it would. I also think that television in general is really struggling right now, with the economy, and with the shift in the way people access and view media. If the networks don’t hop to it, they’re going to be left in the dust. This is a world in which anyone can make content, and anyone can access it, and that stiffens the competition considerably.

Look at Dr. Horrible earlier this year, which was originally released as an online-only offering. Of course, it had star power and a built-in fanbase, but it also gained some serious momentum, enough to talk about DVD and soundtrack releases. Joss Whedon may not have proved that it’s possible to offer stuff online and still make money just yet, but he definitely suggested that it could happen, with effort and the right team. Hulu also seems to suggest that someone, somewhere, is waking up to the fact that people want to watch content online, and they will, so it might as well be made available in an environment the network can control.

The television networks need to accept that new media is here, and it’s not going away.

Apparently, being Muslim in America is a crime, if the numbers of innocent people caught up in government dragnets are any indication. What is interesting about this is that a bunch of Yale students are responsible for exposing the fact that the government was basically targeting Muslims for questioning and detention.

Why watch CSI: Miami when there’s so much true crime going on in Miami already?

The TSA wants to assure you that you will be able to take pies onto commercial aircraft this holiday season. No word on cupcakes, cakes, tortes, tarts, scones, ladyfingers, or other dessert treats.

Apparently, “marijuana intoxication,” as in “getting stoned,” is in the DSM-IV. Wtf?

The future of higher education in America is at serious risk.

When publishers are, uhm, not accepting new books for publication, that is a bad sign.

If you are like a lot of Americans, tomorrow you’re roasting a big bird, and the day after that…uh…yeah. Here are some leftover ideas for ya.

The home values, they keep dropping.

President-elect Obama warns that we may actually have to engage in personal responsibility if we want to deal with the depression recession economic downturn.