A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life: How to Banter with Your Barista, Hug Mindfully, and Relate to Friends who Choose Kids Over Dogs

by The Uptight Seattleite

Overview

In the tradition of The Official Preppy Handbook, The Uptight Seattleite is the Stephen Colbert of left-wing satire

The author of the wildly popular Seattle Weekly advice column teaches Americans everywhere how to embrace their inner leftist. Artfully balancing the cosmic with the cosmopolitan, the Uptight Seattleite (aka Adrian) delights his loyal readers each week with snide insight on everything from fashion ("Can I pull off a Rasta beret?") to ear-bud etiquette. In A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life, he brings his savvy smugness to his widest audience yet, on topics such as the hierarchy of transportation righteousness (what to do with the clunky old Subaru after purchasing a Prius) and ethical behavior at the grocery store, including how to handle the horror forgetting to bring your reusable burlap sack.

Other day-to-day advice covers what to read on the bus (Vonnegut versus The Kite Runner versus The Economist) and feasting at the buffet of diversity, with tips for shooting a condescending smile at those who don't know how to use chopsticks. The Uptight Seattleite also helps readers navigate the big issues, such as responsible parenting (which calls for a mini-landfill kit, perfect for the backyard and ready to be stuffed with environmentally unfriendly diapers). For every insecure liberal-and those who love to make fun of them-the Uptight Seattleite offers us laughs from the pinnacle of political correctness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592405299
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/02/2010
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The Uptight Seattleite is a thinker, a writer, a seeker, and a columnist for the Seattle Weekly. His yoga practice is his laughter practice is his personal revolution. He believes in discovering beauty and weaving it into transformation. He believes in the power of active listening. Shh! Hear that? It's the sound of your own listening! He has been single for many years. He lives in Seattle.

Table of Contents

Let Me Introduce Myself Real Quick ix

Diversity: Skiing black men, sneezing Indians 1

Transportation: From A to B, conscientiously 27

The Environment: Juggling for Gaia 53

Doggies! 73

Your Kids: What do they want? 93

Relationships: Flexibility and resourcefulness 109

Manhood: Some reflections 131

Spirituality: Dilemmas in the dark 167

In Conclusion: Some final thoughts 203

Epilogue: Back to the day job 205

Thanks 209

Editorial Reviews

More than a spoof of politically correct mores, this enhanced collection of satirical advice columns from the Seattle Weekly is packed with laugh-out-loud social commentary. Each themed chapter ("Diversity," "Relationships," "Doggies!") includes a number of Q&A entries submitted by readers (and a few supposedly sourced from the author's own office). The unnamed Seattleite tramps down the eggshell-lined path of standard liberal political correctness, turning cultural sensitivity on its head at every opportunity-from finding gifts for the "differently privileged" ("your office intern who is from an at-risk youth program") to dealing with people involved in a "church-based mind-control program." He also encourages animal equanimity, suggesting dog owners take on the role of "a fellow creature who just happens to have all the food," and includes plenty of brief goodies like "Jottings from my Moleskine," sensitivity exercises ("spend the day in a post-verbal realm"), and strategies for passing on his wisdom ("artfully" help out a colleague sporting a toilet paper tail by recounting an ancient myth about Mayan lesbians). The Seattleite's dry voice and zany humor make this a wickedly addictive read for anyone sick of excessive Lefty thought-policing. 20 b&w illus.
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