Westerfeld Goes Boing!

Ok, this is how web retarded I am (dare I even admit this?)...I don't even know what this Boing Boing site is but after reading up at wikipedia, I now know that it is the #1 most visited blog (actually, Blog Guru Tanner told me that) and it used to be a zine. As a lover of all things low fi, self-published and zine-like, perhaps I will have to check this Boing Boing out more frequently as I begin to explore this world wide overwhelming web.

All this is to say that, hurrah, Boing Boing is featuring a review of Scott Westerfeld's final book of the Uglies series which recently came out in hard cover and is entitled Specials. My sister and I have been anxiously awaiting this book as we thoroughly enjoyed its predecessors, Uglies and Pretties. We enjoyed them so much that we did a little Uglies trilogy book review for the DBC which can be seen here in all its pixelated youtube glory:
The Prettification of America, Part 1, Part 2

Again, we were blown away when Scott Westerfeld plugged this meager fledgling blog on his uber blog which was thanks to some random youtube viewing of our reviews. Hellah cool, thanks Scott! Anywho, if you have not read these books, give 'em a try. Not only are they fun adventure books with hover board chases (imagine a flying skateboard - ooh yeah baby!) but they also make you think. And how many books, of the young adult variety or other, can actually claim that distinction these days?

Beauty in the flesh will continue to rule the world. ~Florenz Ziegfeld

This popular culture of ours is convoluted and out of control: both girls and boys are obsessed with their body images and their exterior shells which leads to obesity and anorexia; the cult of worship for vapid nobodies such as Paris Hilton; the mad obsession with money and all its tacky brand name bits and pieces; and this crazy race to be the most perfect physical specimen of them all with the most perfect J-lo butt, Angie's lips, Pamela Lee's boobies, Nicole's skin and Giselle's slender thighs.

I am a girly girl and I enjoy the act of playing dress up and becoming someone else for a day (like an engine room worker for instance!) but this culture scares me sometimes with its drive to transform, change and reinvent oneself into a more "perfect" creature. And one begins to wonder, what if all of our wildest desires were answered and we could be sculpted to be perfect in every way? If war, conflict and jealousy were eradicated because we made everyone equal, pretty and happy, then who would write bittersweet love songs, who would compose the dark, twisted verse, and paint the evil insides of our souls? Kiss goodbye to the Lou Reeds, Tom Waits, Schieles, Byrons and Kafkas of this world. Say hello to the wasteland of washed out pastels, empty libraries and meaningless bubbly catch phrases like, "Wow, that's hot."

A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful. ~Karl Kraus

A world without ugly is not the sort of world I want to inhabit. So perhaps one day this mad pop culture of ours will swing violently in some new, uglier direction and those of us with bad teeth, hair and skin will become the new titans and the formerly "perfect" people such as Paris, Angie and Gyweneth can find work in Bavaria digging for gold. Hot. Until that glorious day, check out the Uglies series, it will be right up your alley.

PS By the way, our albino wondercat Max is a Special. Just thought you should know in case you ever visit, as his claws are sharp and his look is deadly. Meow.