Seriously?

Movin' on up

2008-08-09T18:53:00.000-05:00

Seriously, Who Says That?

I've re-located.

Oh, fantastic...

2008-08-09T16:21:00.000-05:00

38 dead after being bitten by vampire bats - CNN.com

Monsters in Montauk and now vampires. End of times or are we just now noticing? I choose to believe that the world is full of monsters which we knew about long ago, explained away, and are now realizing we were right about in the first place.

Reasons I watch the Olympics

2008-08-08T21:06:00.002-05:00

Julia Wilkinson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1. I love athletes. The human body is an amazing thing, and I am always awed by those who can almost perfect it.

2. I freely admit I cry just about every time. And if the Star Spangled Banner plays - forget it. I'm out.

3. I love the history of it. Yeah - I'm a nerd. Deal.

4. The idealist that lives deep inside of me buried underneath all of my cynicism thinks it's really romantic.

5. Click that link - she was my student. That's right - I know somebody who has a Wikipedia link.

AND - since we are talking about the famous people I know - check out my buddy and fellow blogger:

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/453575/Nuclear-Winter-Wonderland/overview

2008-08-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Anti-Capitalist

I know there is at least one other Marxist reading this...Hide no more!!

How did I not do this first?

2008-08-08T08:47:00.004-05:00



Those of you who know me will recognize that this is a combination of some of my
favorite pastimes: lauding Batman and hating the current administration.

I totally lifted this from the Blogora

2008-08-05T22:59:00.002-05:00

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Adfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Great news!!

2008-08-05T22:53:00.001-05:00

The Associated Press: Edouard now depression after drenching Texas coast

The great news is not that my home state is drowning - that's not a good thing.

But the good news is that this weather is drenching us and keeping the temp at 95 degrees or lower. Today it was 75 degrees at 6pm. That doesn't usually happen until late October or early November. We haven't had rain in a while - or so people tell me. Growing up in the wilds of west TX I have always thought rain more than once every 3 months was excessive. I think it has been about a month or something - whatever. I don't like mud. But I do like relief from the heat. And for now, I've got it.

How sad is it that 95 degrees is a relief? I live in hell.

Much ado about something

2008-08-03T22:47:00.001-05:00

Funding Opportunities - Department of Defense - Minerva Research Initiative (MRI): Chinese Military and Technology Research and Archive Programs (US Army Research Office)

This is generating some hubbub.

Like most things this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, yeah - it sort of IS important to think about and try to understand things like how groups like Al Queada recruit or what the result will be of a burgeoning Chinese economy and technology. On the other - should the government be funding university research? Researchers in the private sector all know that the source of the money makes a big difference. If there is a vested interest in a particular outcome then researchers can get pushed around a bit by money-men. Do we really want the DoD to be looking over the shoulders of people studying such important things? However, who is better to fund such projects that the DoD? I mean the results will very clearly mean a lot to them - and they've got the money to share.

Since I don't believe in numbers and continue to claim that they are simply just another rhetorical construction we use to try and make sense of complicated situations I will never have to worry about this. Nobody cares what I am researching (yet) and nobody is going to be writing any big checks for me. Which is fine- I think I want to be more of a teacher anyway. But a lot of my friends do social sciencey stuff. And I'm wondering what they might think of it all.

Another sign that I am probably going straight to hell

2008-08-02T15:42:00.002-05:00

I tried to find a video of the commercial in question, but to no avail.

It begins with a speech in which the dude says he is calling on the youth of the world to gather in Beijing in 2008 and then it cuts to a bunch of shots of training athletes and they are all texting each other saying things like "I'm ready" or "On my way." Nothing really notable.

This comes on while we are eating lunch, and hubby sort of snorts. I look at him with a questioning look and he says, "Right - because youth gatherings in Beijing have such a successful record."

I paused for a moment, then laughed outloud.

And THAT'S why I'm going to hell.

Wow.

2008-08-01T15:40:00.003-05:00

I have one more day of 203 left. Just one day of listening to speeches. Today was refreshing because I actually heard quite a few I think will be A's. That never happens.

Today, the most amazing thing happened. A student told me he really enjoyed this class - to the point that he wished he would have taken it in the fall to get the full semester experience. And this isn't a brown-noser kind of kid.

Really? REALLY? Nobody has ever said that. Ever. In the whole history of speech-teaching.

So do I feel bad for hating the class so much? A tiny bit. Bad enough to want to do it again to give myself a chance to enjoy the experience? No way in hell.

Legit news

2008-08-01T13:11:00.007-05:00

This is real news. It's on CNN (yeah - I know. But there is a difference between "real" and "important" or "legitimate source") - go check it out. We are living in a sci-fi world, and THAT improves my mood immensely.

http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/what-washed-beach-montauk-ny-help-solve-mystery-photo-jenna-hewitt

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/31/moos.montauk.monster.cnn

2008-08-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

This is one of the first things I saw this morning:

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/frustration.png

Today will be a better day.

Post script

2008-07-31T16:59:00.004-05:00

Our air conditioner is broken. I'm not even kidding. Our friggin' A/C.

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/77802?from=recentsearch

I seriously need a vacation

2008-07-31T13:29:00.004-05:00

Last night we had to drive to a little town outside of Houston called Sealy. Sealy is basically a bunch of fast food restaurants and a Catholic church all kind of near each other. We had to drop off the car we had borrowed and it had to be done that day. This ended up being about a 4-4.5 hour ordeal because we sort of got stuck there doing the family thing. Which is all well and good - except for the fact that I have work to do. Always. I got up early and pretty much finished my diss proposal so I could just do some final editing that night. Things like finish the works cited, etc. Even though we got back around 10:30 and I was just starting my work, I felt like I could be in bed by 12am, 12:30 at the latest.

But, of course, there were things I did not count on. Like the fact that my presentation for tomorrow's class had completely disappeared. I was going to have to redo the whole damned thing. Awesome. Oh - and I couldn't open any documents. ANY documents. Microsoft Word had just decided not to work AT ALL. Outstanding - I've got a dissertation to write and no word processing or office program. I'm not sure how that could be more awesome.

So around 11:15 I head to campus. Only to get all the way there to discover that because I am using different keys that normal because we keep having to switch cars I have left the keys to my office at home. So I turn around, go back home, grab my keys and head to campus again. I left my office about 1:30 am. Hubby is freaking out a bit because he knows that once every other week either a woman is sexually assualted or a foreign student is beaten about half a mile away from where my office is. Which I didn't think about when I left - just when he started begging me to be careful. But, I made it to my car. The only reason I left that soon was Hubby called to tell me I could open my documents again - so if I wanted to finish at home I could. When I got in I immediately started typing up the last bits of my proposal. At which time hubby begins telling me about all the ways in which my computer is f*&^ed up and I will need to do all kinds of things tomorrow to get it working properly. At that time I was a bit distracted and didn't hear a word of it. Eventually, around 2:30 in the morning, I got into bed.

So today I have no wireless on my own computer. I am having to resave everything in different programs to make it manageable. Neither of which are annoying at all.

Tonight I tutor, and we all know what a joy that is. I cannot believe I still have two days left of school. That doesn't sound like much - but it will be an eternity.

The positive of this: I sent on my dissertation to my committee. I'm pretty sure most of it is lucid, which at this point in the summer, I am pretty proud of. More to come on that, I am sure.

For now I am going to listen to speeches. I have already gotten an email in which a student informed me she had chosen not to. Just not going to do this assignment that is 20% of her grade. Well - I guess that's one less for me to worry about.

Life affirming

2008-07-30T10:55:00.003-05:00

As many of us know, I have been tutoring some evenings this summer. Which is a little weird because these kids are wicked smart and really don't need my help. But that's another thing.

On the nights that I tutor a chess club of sorts meets at Barnes & Noble. And last night they were in full force. They took up half the cafe area. Which is fine - and I think some of them thought I was checking them out - I wasn't; think sterotypical chess club! - because I was watching their games while my kids wrote or took a test or whatever. The awkward thing was that when I got there I just grabbed a table - sort of in the middle away from everybody. When the chess players got there they didn't have too much of a choice but to sit at all the tables around us. We were surrounded on all sides by chess players. And I felt bad because they are trying to concentrate while I am pontificating on things like past v. present tense and the whole purpose of a concluding sentence or introductory paragraph. Yes, it was that interesting. And I know they could over hear me, but what could I do?

At any rate, tutorials ended and I was gathering my stuff to throw it away and one of the chess players stops me. He says, "Excuse me, miss..." and I'm thinking - great. He's gonna ask me to move away from them next time. But whatever - I sigh and smile brightly at the old guy. "yes, sir?" (Because I'm a Southerner and manners are ALWAYS important.)

"You are going a great job with that boy." And I sort of splutter and blush. "I wish I had had a tutor like you when I was younger. Maybe I would have learned to do something other than just copy out of the encyclopedia. I was really impressed. You've done a fantastic job."

So I said thanks and spit something out real fast - blushing and stuttering the whole time - then walked out. My husband asks what that old guy was saying, and I told him and he laughed. "I keep hearing that my wife is an amazing teacher. It must be true."

Maybe I can teach pedagogy someday? I don't know. It's just nice to know you have one thing you do well, you know?

Then again, sometimes the students are stupid

2008-07-29T11:03:00.006-05:00

Allow me to share a few anecdotes.

Yesterday was the final exam in my speech class. It was the first test I have ever given a curve for - the grades were just low. Which I feel is partially my fault - I asked about some things that were in the reading but I didn't cover very well in class. The hard-ass in me wants to say "If it was assigned you are responsible" - but the realist in me knows that of all the things my kids have to do when they are taking summer school, and often working at the same time, reading the enthralling prose of Stephen Lucas and his introduction to the art of public speaking does not rank high on the list of priorities. I'm okay with that - truth be told I just taught a full summer session never having opened a copy (because I don't have one) of the edition of the textbook I assigned. The first time I even saw a copy was when I was writing the exam. Yeah - my pedagogy rocks.

But I digress.

So let me share with you the first question on the test:

1. A good speaker will avoid ethnocentrism.

What is the meaning of the word in italics?

A) Only appealing to white people

B) Stereotyping

C) Learned behavior

D) The belief that one’s own group or culture is superior to others.

E) All of the above

You, dear reader, will know immediately that the answer is "D". How do you know? Because you are pretty damned smart and know that a few of those answers are nonsense and only one is even responsive. BUT I got a complaint that this question was entirely unfair. Now - I am all for discussing questionable test questions. On many occasions I have decided that a student had a viable argument so I gave them credit. This was not one of those instances. "Ethnocentrism" was a vocabulary word and I just copied the definition out of the book. Period. No questions. Even a cursory glance at chapter one and you would have probably noticed the highlighted words that are then defined specifically in the margins. This is not rocket science.

But still a student stayed after to complain. Apparently it is unfair for me to put the definition of the word AND possible examples or outcomes. How are they supposed to know the actual answer from the book from possible outcomes of that quality? Said student began to explain that stereotyping IS the same thing as ethnocentrism, making that question null and void. To which I responded "All Chinese people are good at math." God I would have loved a camera for that.

"What?" he says.

"I am a white person. If I announce all Chinese people are good at math, am I stereotyping?"

"Well, yes."

"In my stereotyping did I announce white people are superior?"

"No."

"So what does that tell you?" I asked. And he mumbled something about still being unfair and moved on to his next complaint. But by far my favorite moment was his proclamation that question # 50 was also unfair. The question: What is your instructor's name? And mind you, this is multiple choice.

He claims this is also unfair, because since I sign most epistles with just my initials how should he know what my actual name is? To which I responded "Did you even read the test? I only gave you five hints." Because in every question that was anecdotal or requires some application I used MY NAME. Still - clearly unfair. How on earth could a student be expected to know the name of his teacher? So much for a gimme.

Token Black Man

2008-07-29T09:20:00.003-05:00

I heard somebody on the news this morning say the thing I have been dreading:

Clearly there is no need for affirmative action programs and we can see that race relations have improved because there is a black man who might be president.

Woohoo! Racism is dead because one black guy is successful. Outstanding - I can finally rid myself of liberal WASP guilt because between Oprah and Obama - how much proof do we need that we are all on a level playing field?

Now, I am NOT saying that things aren't better now than they once were. But I do think it is very dangerous to put the exceptional on a pedestal to show the world that anything is possible. It's the same as pointing to ONE person who started out as a welfare recipient and ended up a millionaire and announcing that anybody can do it. It's a fallacy. Faulty analogy or hasty generalization - you could look at it either way. Btw, just google "welfare to millionaire" - but only if you enjoy nonsense.

Do I think Barack Obama is a great role model and symbol of the possibilities here in the US? Yes. Do I think his success means that racism is no longer institutionalized. No. Big No.

In which the city of Philadelphia does an article on a subject similar to my dissertation

2008-07-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Philadelphia Reflects On Who Is An American : NPR

Here's the difference. I think NPR is trying to do the impossible. The definition of "American" is so slippery and malleable and individualized that I don't think there will ever be a day in which we agree on it. So, you may ask, what the hell is my dissertation about?

I am approaching the question a bit more specifically. I'm not asking who or what is an American, but how we go about trying to define that publicly. I am more interested in the methods and tools we use to try and reach consensus - as opposed to the final result I am looking at the process. Which should keep me busy for quite some time.

Smart, huh?

Sometimes the students are right

2008-07-27T18:48:00.003-05:00

COMM 203 really is a joke. Students who complain that it is a useless class and doesn't teach them anything aren't whining - they are right. And we, as the grad assistant instructors, know it.

For one, there is no real effort put into teaching public speaking. You learn more at Toastmasters. This is a class in how anal-retentive some people can be about following directions. Did you say this exact sentence at this exact point in your presentation? Did you use transitions that are so obvious you can separate them out and label them? Can you give your speech w/ exactly one page of two word notes in the form of an outline?

Let's examine each of those requirements before we get on to the high brow griping. A TRULY good public speaker will never have such an exact speech that there is one time to say one thing and that's it. Because a really good speaker is flexible. A good speaker knows how to gauge an audience for things like timing and emphasis. There is no hard and fast rule about when you say "what's important" - you say it at the right time. But we don't bother teaching about figuring out what "the right time" is. We just give them a pre-formed outline and tell them they will fail if they don't fill in the blanks just as they are. That's not just stupid - it's a dis-service to our students.

The point of a transition is that it smoothly moves you from one idea to another. If they are painfully obvious then they aren't useful - they are distracting. Saying "Now that I have covered point one I'd like to discuss point two" is not transitioning - it is pointing out that you have no idea how to connect your ideas other than point out that they are different. The whole idea is to move your audience smoothly through your ideas - not bludgeon them about the head and neck with the announcement that you are moving on.

Who the crap cares about your notes? As long as you are not reading your speech and acknowledge that you have an audience, why should somebody have to go and check your notes to make sure you don't have too many words? That's not teaching - that's looking for an excuse to fail a kid. Which is, in my mind, terrible pedagogy.

We do not teach kids how to speak. We simply don't. At least, not well. We teach them how to fill in blanks in a mediocre fashion. The kids who do well in my class will never impress somebody - never persuade anyone. But speech is taught like a standardized test - it is geared toward the middle. Kids who are really good speakers will not do well in a speech class because there is no place for creativity or technique. We want everybody to sound like everybody else. How is this learning? Teaching mediocrity doesn't help. They are not learning to be impressive representatives - they are learning to sound completely un-noticeable. This is not a helpful skill set! If I were one of my students who graduated and had to go out and make a real presentation I would come back and cuss me out up one side and down the other.

We don't teach the kind of speaking that we should. Most of my students will never stand in front of a group of people and try to convince them to pass a law. That's simply not in the cards for most people. But many of them will have to give a toast or say a prayer or give a testimonial. But God forbid we teach them something they might use. We don't bother with epideictic speech. Which is flatly stupid. It's the one kind of speech that some of my students ever need to know anything about.

When I grade my kids' speeches I grade for stupid stuff. Pure and simple. I gave C's to people the other day who were clearly superior speakers, but they had the audacity to adapt the organization of their speech to suit their own purposes.

I hate myself when I am teaching speech. I am a teacher for God's sake - how am I supposed to live with myself knowing that the class I am teaching is not just stupid, but most likely detrimental? And I've constantly got admin folks breathing down my neck to make sure I am checking note cards and complete sentences on the outline they don't actually use and making sure I have a bell curve that is as close to perfect as possible. It's a joke. The teachers know it. The students do, too.

I don't blame them for hating me at all.

It wasn't cool when Roosevelt tried to pack the court, either

2008-07-26T21:26:00.003-05:00

Baylor Board Votes to Increase Regent Membership to 24
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Baylor Regents today voted to modify the size of its governing body, increasing its board size from a previous goal of 16 to 24 members. The vote came as the board was concluding its annual summer retreat, which this year was held in Grapevine.

Board Chair Howard K. Batson said the increase in board size was intended to position Baylor for future success.

"Our goals are ambitious and we are going to need increased diversity of talents within our board structure to achieve the level of future success we envision," Batson said. "Our board is strong now and with this action we believe we can create an even more representative governing body that will help Baylor to reach new heights in the coming years."

Wes Bailey, chair of the Governance Review Committee of the board, explained that the recommendation came after extensive study by his committee.

"We have spent significant time over the past several months looking at governance issues and considering an array of best practices in higher education," Bailey said. "The Board determined today it would revise its plans to downsize to 16 and instead adopt a plan to transition to a steady board size of 24."

One-fourth of Baylor's regents will continue to be elected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

During the three-day retreat, Regents also received the university's annual report, noting the substantial progress on each of the 12 imperatives of Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision. The report included data and information on multiple achievements, including:

* continued increases in average SAT and GRE scores,

* undergraduates who are distinctively and strongly oriented to spirituality and community service,

* best ranking ever in the U.S.News & World Report 2007 rankings of national doctoral-granting universities,

* construction of the Paul L. Foster Success Center in the newly remodeled Sid Richardson Building housing Academic Advisement, Academic Support, Access and Learning Accommodation, Career Counseling and Career Services, and

* continued improvement in Baylor's student-faculty ratio, now 15:1, with fewer large classes and more small classes.

On a lighter note

2008-07-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow Shark Week starts!!

Check it - even the Mythbusters and that dude from "Dirty Jobs" are involved.

Clearly it was fate that we picked up some seafood the other day - big sale - to grill this weekend. The main course : Shark steaks.

Discovery Channel : Science, History, Space, Tech, Sharks, News

John Lilley's tenure at Baylor: Mission Impossible?

2008-07-26T14:27:00.001-05:00

John Lilley's tenure at Baylor: Mission Impossible?

Yeah, okay, I'm obsessive. I am interested that Lynn Tatum was trying to be so careful - Dr. Tatum was a favorite of mine - I respect him a lot. I think I annoyed him a bit, but that happens. For what it is worth he is a black belt and one day I asked that he show us he can really kick the top of the door. He did - and then informed me that he had been in the hospital the day before so if fell over in class it would definitely be my fault. Good guy.

Editorial: Back to Baylor rifts?

2008-07-26T14:20:00.001-05:00

Editorial: Back to Baylor rifts?

Check out the comments - people are pissed. And have been for a while.

One of these days ask me about my Baylor and politics experience. And bring a snack.

Gossip, cont

2008-07-26T14:10:00.001-05:00

The Forbidden Gospels Blog: Baylor Board fires university's president

I'm not ready to make official proclamations (you know I will when I can) but it seems that this is just as juicy a story as I wanted it to be. First, please read the comment on the last post - whoever anon is, she/he is right. The speculation I have heard is that Lilley was all on board with the 2012 goal of becoming a top tier university. And he had some crazy ideas about that. Things like maybe we shouldn't be granting tenure for things like ID and a really good teacher who doesn't actually do research. As I said, all speculation. But, if that is the case all of Sloan's old lackey's would be having heart - attacks. See, Bobby S. had this idea that you can be an inerrentist, base your research on the Bible, and be a highly respected academic. Now - some of my readers are inerrentists. And most of my readers are smarter than I am - am I saying you are dumb if you believe the world was created in 7 days? No. But you also have to accept that you will not be a respected biologist that way. And my readers know this. Sloan didn't. At the time I was studying English, and I just wasn't sure how I was supposed to be a good Baptist but also look at things like gender studies and postmodernism. Good thing I gave up and was a medievalist for a few years.

So, if the rumors I have heard are true, Lilley's problem was that he took Baylor's goals seriously. And if you know anything about Baylor you know that the last 15 years people have been pretty split down the middle on just that.

If I hear more or something different, rest assured I will re-visit the issue. Hell, I'm sure I will regardless.

Thanks and Gig 'em.

This is all I have right now

2008-07-24T20:58:00.001-05:00

The Baptist Standard :: The Newsmagazine of Texas Baptists - Update2: Baylor disunity leads to Lilley's firing

This is a long article, but doesn't really answer some important questions. I'm hitting the grapevine to find out more.

Once upon a time my alma mater was respectable

2008-07-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

Baylor University fires President John Lilley 1:13 PM CT | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

Yeah. Things are that bad. I would like to point one thing out: I was right. About a lot of things. See, Baylor has been headed down hill for a number of years. It started with Sloan. The only cool thing that guy ever did was allow dancing on campus. I know - heresy. There were all kinds of terrible decisions made - in an attempt to elevate Baylor's status. By the time I graduated the school was in such bad financial shape that you could have liquidated the whole place and still have been in a ton of debt. He ran that place so far into the ground that they had to borrow from a rainy day fund just to break even for a few years. And the rainy day fund had been used once since 1845 - the year that Baylor broke from the SBC, which provided a great deal of their funding.

Then there were charming ideas floated like "you can research what you want, but you won't get funding for it unless it is inline with Baptist doctrine." That one eventually got shot down - but I'm pretty sure only because of Baylor Med.

I don't know what this Lilley fellow did, but it must have been bad. I'm on a search to find out. See, they kept Sloan around for 10 years - he was sort of like George W Bush - only at the college level. Started out w/ pretty good support, then it waned when people realized he was not only an idiot but a an ideologue, until the only folks left who liked him were the ones who believe he might be Jesus. So what the crap did this Lilley guy do that was so bad? Stay tuned. I'll find out.

While I may not particularly love the school I am at right now, I will say I am more proud of the degrees I got here.

Reality bites

2008-07-24T07:55:00.000-05:00

Reality bites

See - reality TV is not only crap - it can drive you crazy.

I don't think they realize the problem...

2008-07-24T07:49:00.001-05:00

Attorney: Texas Bible decision may start a trend (OneNewsNow.com)

A course based on literature and history of the Bible CANNOT teach as the Bible as inerrent. That is, historically, nonsense.

Just a thought.

Pretentious academic

2008-07-24T07:41:00.000-05:00

Another Peek Inside the Brain of the Electorate - washingtonpost.com

This is a very common complaint amongst my colleagues. We work with young and future voters every day - and they have no idea what they are talking about. None. That being said - many of my colleagues are just as bad. There are some really smart people out there who really don't know anything - because either they find it boring or they depend on one source and get a such a ridiculous, biases report (both on the left and the right) that when they try to explain their views, a pointed question sends them running off to cry.

And it IS depressing. Maybe if we knew something about the world around us we'd be less likely to elect people who don't understand the very basics of politics. Maybe.

Not an endoresement

2008-07-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

Op-Ed Columnist - Is ‘The One’ Cocky or Commander in Chiefy? - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

You either like or hate MD. I like her all right, but not necessarily her style. Seems a bit snipish and juvenile sometimes. BUT - what caught my eye was Gen. P's comment about parties in the Army. What's that mean?

REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS

2008-07-23T12:46:00.000-05:00

ALIEN BIBLE TRANSLATED! - Top Story - Weekly World News

"I want to believe."

Rhetoric and linguistics

2008-07-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

qwantz.com - dinosaur comics - July 23 2008

Good luck, Corpus!

2008-07-23T09:09:00.001-05:00

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/upcoming_hurricanes.png

okay - so perhaps it was a bit dark

2008-07-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland

Apparently there is a Dark Knight clause: you will go a little crazy if you were involved. What will Michael Cain do?!!?

Liberal Media Alert!!

2008-07-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

Poor Economy Slams Brakes on Women’s Workplace Progress - NYTimes.com

Clearly this article is an attempt by the leftist media to ruin family values. Everyone knows all women are completely happy to stay at home and be moms. Motherhood is the most important job in the world - why would I need anything else to fulfill me?

Maybe the fact that 3 years olds just don't have a lot to say on Foucault?

SO DAMNED GOOD

2008-07-20T20:30:00.008-05:00

1. Okay - let's get the one criticism out of the way. The dialogue is a bit stilted. It sounds like it came from...well, a comic book.

2. Commissioner Gordon is the hero of the story - I think.

I cannot wait to discuss this movie in class. It deals with such fantastic issues that I can use to rock their world. Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy? What's the difference? Should be awesome. Gordon is the only one who seems to consistently fall on the same side of things - but even this is complicated by his willingness to work with cops who may not be clean. But he seems to always want to do the right thing - and is well aware that "right" is not just vague, but sometimes impossible. Batman deals with the same issues - but by virtue of being Batman he often falls on the darker side of righteousness. I think in the next one Gordon will be a fascinating character to watch.

3. Incredibly political.

The first one was pretty political in that it was all about fear. As a weapon. The ultimate weapon.

This one goes even further - the word "terrorist" is bandied about quite a bit. And there is a lot of discussion (thank you Harvey Dent!) about who should have power and when and why. This gets played out later by my favorite character:

I would love to go on and on about the wisdom of his commentary, but I don't want this to be a spoiler.

4. Provocative

We couldn't talk about the movie for quite a while after we saw it because there was so much to digest. The New Yorker apparently did not like it for that very reason - they said there was entirely too much going on. And there might have been. But it was good stuff. It really is a smorgasbord - amazing visuals and wicked action sequences, all in an effort to get you to think about some pretty important things.

5. THE ENDING

I clearly can't tell you what happens. But if you are still living in a fantasy world where heroes are good guys and villains are bad guys and you can always tell the difference - don't see this. You'll be much happier in in your constructed, blissfully ignorant reality. And there is nothing wrong with that. But the reality I recognized is a bit more complicated. And Christopher Nolan thinks so, too.

Seriously, you cannot imagine how excited I am

2008-07-20T14:10:00.002-05:00

So it's been a crappy month, but in about 2 hours it is going to be SO much better. I'm going to see The Dark Knight. I will have a full review up later, but I need you to know how big of a deal this is.

And also, just in case you still had any questions on the matter, Batman totally kicks Superman's ass. ALWAYS.

I'm so smart

2008-07-20T09:40:00.001-05:00

Search for Alien Life Gains New Impetus - washingtonpost.com

Years ago, during one of those conversations you have when you are drunk because you think you are really smart, some friends and I were discussing the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. We were all onboard with the idea that it was probably out there - but I was the crazy one. I made the comment it was stupid to only look at planets "like earth" for signs of life. To which the response was "But people and animals can't live without water and air!"

What nonsense. The people and animals we are familiar with can't life without air and water. We evolved to this planet, not the other way around. Even if you want to go biblical, the earth was before life and animals and people had to adapt to it. Why wouldn't life the same anywhere else? Who wrote the rule that life must be carbon based? The neat thing about not knowing anything about space is that we don't know anything about space. By assuming that all life is like us we are really limiting our scope.

I believe in God. And I think he is a Creator. Part of being a creator is being creative. Ask any poet or artist - you cannot create without innovation. And I am not one to limit God to the limits of my own understanding. That's just asking for trouble.

Can you SMELLLLL what Barack is cooking?!!?

2008-07-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

Baylor Proud � Baylor professor among nation’s leaders on faith-based initiatives

2008-07-16T18:20:00.000-05:00

Baylor Proud � Baylor professor among nation’s leaders on faith-based initiatives

Leave it to my effing alma mater to totally screw up that whole "separation of church and state" thing. You know - there was a time when Baptists were champions of that cause. SEE BLOG ENTRY ON THE MATTER!

Greatest spam E.V.E.R.

2008-07-16T15:46:00.001-05:00

Heya,

Fuck beer! Got sexy girl?

(Link here which I will not post)

Besought thee every day for the eighteen days occurred beforehis lecompton revolt, and the bad accounts from ross, butthen he is always and deed, if not in word, the vows bywhich you head towards thy legs and press said hat uponand forwards with the precision of machinery. Sneer to sirjohn johnson's mouth and a scowl were made within threedays early in december. Is regarded as a high duty by personsconversant salutations to thee that art brown in complexion,and last demand of the hybridizer is lightlighteternallyhis mind to throw away the gourd,when he heard rose, andbelieve me ever your affectionate brother, of his state.if aeroplanes carrying goods from that at least a fourthof the merchants of the

"The horror..."

2008-07-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Price jump worst since '91 on record gas, higher food - Jul. 16, 2008

Stocks and the market are not my issue of choice. I hate money - really, I hate it. Nothing good comes of it. That being said I recognize it is kind of important if I want to, you know, eat. And we all know how much I like to eat.

Yesterday I made the mistake of listening to all the news about Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Holy freakin' Moses. We might all die. A food crisis, a fuel crisis, the housing market is tanking, Wall Street is out of control, Iran is testing nuclear missiles, Brazil just found a gazillion barrels of oil and nobody knows how that's going to effect things, and this country is run by a bunch of bloody idiots.

As we know, July has been a bad month. My dear friend from Mosaic (see links to the side) came to pick me up and take me to work because I have no car. Bless her heart. And the first thing she says is "I've been listening to NPR - and Bush is speaking about the economy. I wasn't scared until right now. And now I'm terrified." And she was SO right.

For the last 7 years or so we have done exactly the OPPOSITE of what common sense dictates. You cannot slash taxes, especially for those who can afford it, when we are in a war. YOU CAN'T DO IT. The market will not "balance itself out" when you suck away at market resources. You do not have to have a degree in economics to understand that. And while I have any number of socialist rants about equitibility I could go on - if you lend tons of money to people who can't afford to pay them back - it is your own damned fault when you go broke. I do not see that as a comment on the quality of the borrowers - I see that as a complete and total lack of ethics on behalf of lenders determined to turn a profit regardless of who is hurt. And low and behold it bit them in the ass. Once again - these are not hard concepts.

And now our liberal-market priests are panicking because "holy shit - this didn't work out!" So what do they think the right response is - government interference. Okay - putting aside my firm belief that the liberal market is evil and largely based on immorality and greed, bringing in the government to fix a huge mistake made by the government would be comic, were it not for the fact that the whole world will suffer.

Forgive me, reader

2008-07-14T18:46:00.002-05:00

Ok - I try to keep my comments relegated to the stuff of the public sphere. I like posting about news and human interests and that sort of thing. But I feel as if the month of July has merited a personal rant.

Two weeks ago my husband was in a car accident. Thank God nobody was hurt. But it totally screwed up his car. I mean really badly. It's been in the shop all this time. We should have it back by Friday. All of this is frustrating because while we CAN survive with just one car, it is challenging. Our schedules really don't coincide.

Three days after said car accident he was diagnosed with shingles. That's right - shingles. Do you know who gets shingles? Apparently my relatives, my husband, and people over the age of 60. Do you know what it is? Think of the best parts of the chicken pox, herpes, and mono all rolled up into a viral cocktail. Yes, it is THAT awesome. Once again, thank God we caught it early - it cleared up pretty quickly and he was only in a minimal amount of pain. Unfortunately, in order to clear it up the doctor put him on uber-drugs. Seriously, you would not believe the number of pills he had to swallow. This included a lot of steroids. Steroids mess with your immune system. So as soon as the shingles cleared up he developed a staph infection. From what I can tell his arms are NOT going to fall off - but I won't place any bets either.

So today he takes me to work so he can run some errands. As he is headed home smoke begins to billow up from under the hood of my car. I'm not kidding - smoke. We don't know what the problem with my car is, but we're sure not going to drive it at this point. Dying in a fiery car explosion is not on my "to-do" list. So today I was stuck on campus in the pouring rain waiting for SOMEBODY to be able to pick me up. It was awesome. Really.

I have not burst into tears yet. I have not taken it out on any students or unsuspecting bystanders. I feel as if these are both big accomplishments. I am beginning to wonder if this is payback for something. Any ideas?

So, I apologize. I am sorry for the long rant about things that don't concern you. But these are the things on my mind. I'll rhetoricize the crap out of you later this week - I promise.

Self-confidence

2008-07-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

80-year-old Vegas stripper still does it ‘classy’ - Arts, books, more- msnbc.com

Is this hot or just really disturbing? Could somebody please clarify?

WebMD says: Become somebody's private porn star!

2008-07-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

If more people were having great sex more often we would all live healthier lives. I think it might also be a good first step to world peace, but I don't have any data to back that one up.

Coolest news story of the week

2008-07-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

Stolen Shakespeare Folio Retrieved - washingtonpost.com

I feel as if this is personal to me. Billy and I have been on first name basis for a few years now, and I have often worried people weren't paying enough attention to him.

Meeting of the Minds On Regulatory Revamp - washingtonpost.com

2008-07-10T21:22:00.000-05:00

Meeting of the Minds On Regulatory Revamp - washingtonpost.com

So how bad is it when the neo-con econ guys want more regulatory power?

Evil genuis...? Or just a huge prick?

2008-07-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

Rove ignores committee's subpoena, refuses to testify - CNN.com

Let's go with both.

The arrogance is overwhelming. He is claiming he has Presidential privileges so he does not have to answer to the legislature. There are many problems here. Let's discuss some of the most obvious:

1) The President is SUPPOSED to have to answer. Checks and balances are sort of a big deal. Being president does not put somebody above the law. The Executive branch is supposed to execute the law of the land - not hover above it and point and laugh at the rest of us poor schmucks.

2) K. Rove is not now, and never has been, the President. He was not voted into anything. He was a hired consultant. Period. How is Bush not bothered that Rove is claiming he has presidential privileges? Does he not get that Rove is just sort of flaunting that he has been in charge for years now?

I recognize the issue is more complicated than I have made it out to be. BUT - this is absurd. Rove is just a "regular guy" according to the law - he is not and elected official and therefore does not get the perks elected officials do. Or at least he shouldn't. And that being said, some of those perks elected officials are enjoying these days are...questionable at best.

Seriously - who the hell is this guy? More importantly, who does he THINK he is?

I can't believe I am going to say this

2008-07-09T07:45:00.000-05:00

Iraq Wants Withdrawal Timetable In U.S. Pact - washingtonpost.com

A timetable might not be in anybody's interest. In fact, pulling out immediately might not be in all party's interests. Of course, neither is staying in. When discussing Iraq it is SO hard for me not to say "I was right! I told you so!"

That being said, I actually think Richard Nixon made this particular mistake the most clear. (I know - I promise it really is me typing this!!) But Nixon's comment in a similar situation was that a timetable didn't do anything but show your cards to your opponent. Now, Nixon had one advantage in that he kind of knew who his opponent was. I don't think we can say that here. But, his point was if you tell "the enemy" when you are leaving, then all they have to do is sit back and wait. Just chill until the day you leave, then go back to your oppositional business.

Once again, let me re-state: we never should have been there. There ARE no good options - it is going to suck regardless. Thousands more people WILL die because of this madness. The question is "what will suck the least?" And I don't have an answer. I can only point at the options and say "here is the suckiness of this plan." I leave it to other people to weigh it all out.

Evil is as Evil does...

2008-07-09T07:34:00.000-05:00

Cheney's Staff Cut Testimony On Warming - washingtonpost.com

At least while the rest of us are dying of exciting forms of cancer those in the energy industry will be enjoying the warmer temperatures of the far north. And I am glad I am an American - we will probably be able to afford the serious drought and famine that is coming. Being the richest nation in the world has its perks.

Absolute nonsense

2008-07-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Burial Exposes Racial Rift in Texas - NYTimes.com

On the one hand, an article like this makes me ill. On the other it serves a useful purpose - to remind us that race still matters. We have not crossed some Utopian boundary yet and entered into the promised land where we hate each other for being bad people instead of looking "not like me." Regardless of how one views this, which side of the issue you feel has the best point, race is the central issue. There are still white cemeteries and black cemeteries. How does that even make sense? Even if you ARE a raging racist why does it matter who is near you (separated by feet of earth - and probably clay, at that) if you will never know?

Conclusion: RACE IS STILL AN ISSUE. Don't be dumb. Don't pretend it isn't.

How on earth does this serve the conservative agenda?

2008-07-02T10:42:00.001-05:00

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/07/christian_sites_ban_on_g_word.html

The moral to this story is "Don't be a dumbass in public."

In which my faith in humanity is slightly restored

2008-07-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Thanks to the good folks at Political Cotton Candy for pointing this out to us.

NOOOOO!

2008-07-01T17:24:00.000-05:00

Obama Wants to Expand Role of Religious Groups - NYTimes.com

Okay, let's establish that I do NOT have a problem with religious organizations. AND I think both Bush and Obama are right in thinking that such organizations should take center stage in addressing social ills. This in no way means that the government should fund them.

1. Separation of church and state is not just making sure that the government doesn't favor a particular religion - it is a protection for religion from the government. Note that religious organizations will be closely monitored in Obama's plan to make sure they do not use the funding to proselytize...this is a very slippery slope in my mind. When you combine government and state the danger is less that a theocracy will develop and more that the church will be limited by the government. Religious groups have the right to evangelize - regardless of whether I like them or not. It is not the place of the government to tell them they cannot.

2. Mario Cuomo made a fantastic speech years ago in which he defended his liberal leanings to his Catholic constituents. And one of the most poignant things he said was that social ills such as poverty and abortion are a failing of the church. If the church had done its job these would not be such monumental issues. Clearly that's a controversial statement. But let's consider that - if the church should be at the center of social progress, then the church should be willing and able to do so. We, as religious people, should be providing the money to take care of our fellow humans regardless of whether the government helps or not. If people want to help, then help. While I am a huge fan of social welfare programs to make them religious AND government funding seems to partially alleviate responsibility of the very groups that should be most involved. This, in my mind, is unacceptable. The people of a church, any church, should be helping those around them. Do not let the government take care of it for you. The government DOES have a responsibility to help its citizens - the church has more.

Get Involved

2008-06-28T11:34:00.002-05:00

http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

or

http://www.rtis.com/reg/bcs/pol/tamucr/

In the interest of full disclosure I should probably say that I think the College Republicans are not as evil as YCT, but I personally keep my distance. Still - get involved. And if you aren't sure what to do or who to support - I'd be glad to seduce you to the left.

I think he would appreciate this

2008-06-23T23:15:00.000-05:00

The arts

2008-06-20T10:08:00.000-05:00

index

This is just fantastic. I need to get out of small time Texas. I'd LOVE to go see "Hillary: The Musical."

Did we all miss a day of logic?

2008-06-18T23:00:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Arctic sea ice melt 'even faster'

In the last few years I have been involved in many discussions on global warming. And almost all of us agreed on one thing: global warming = bad. What we did not agree on was why things were getting hotter. Which made absolutely no sense to me.

I'm not a scientist but I am pretty good at basic logic. It seems to me that after a hundred years of pumping filth into the atmosphere there would be some effect. Low and behold, since we started doing that the world has gotten hotter. Now, while that in an of itself does not prove a causal relationship, it is some pretty interesting circumstantial evidence. The other part of that is that we KNEW for a fact that the things we were pumping into the air had a tendency to make things hotter. See how these things can be put together pretty easily?

Now, we know all of this. And pretty much everybody has finally acquiesced and admitted - "Okay. We fucked up. Real bad." Why it took so long for so many people to realize that is a whole 'nother rant. But just today in class we talked (okay, I talked) about how science is political. It always has been. There has never been a time when science was pure. Which is both good and bad. Bad because seriously - what can we know for certain? Good for the same reason. Science is proof positive that we are TOTALLY constructing our reality as we go. Which is cool for me, since I have sort of based my career on that premise. And indicative of a pretty postmodern way of looking at things - if we admit science is political then we must admit that all of our notions of "fact" and "progress" have also been politicized.

And the result is that the world might be ending. Seriously. The world as we know it will not exist in 50 years - it will be a completely different place. And I'm not convinced it will be better. So how do we convince people to try and do something about it? More science? Rhetoric? Performance art?

All that is to say - I'm going to be really sad to see the Polar Bears go.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Watching Colbert

2008-06-18T10:28:00.000-05:00

PC World - Zombie PCs: Silent, Growing Threat

Today I learned that my computer might be a zombie. Which means that it might be harboring and reading evil code from far-away villains and ne'er do-wells, awaiting commands to turn on me and those I love.

While this may sound like conspiracy theory I TOTALLY BUY INTO IT. Living here in the future is awesome, no doubt, but eventually the sci-fi axe will fall.

When the Revolution comes it WILL be televised. The only thing I'm unsure about is WHO will revolt first.

Division amongst the Ranks

2008-06-18T07:45:00.000-05:00

RBS Warns of Stock, Credit Market Crash: Report - Companies * Europe * News * Story - CNBC.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061702463.html?nav=rss_email/components

Let's briefly discuss this tension. The RBS is warning us that there is going to be an international stock crash over the next three months. But we are told (by the Post, albeit) that there is no need to be as depressed as we are.

I am inclined to believe the Post, but a) I am not an economist and b) I don't know much about international markets. Money is very clearly not my issue of primary concern, but I know I need to be aware of these things - as I will be entering the job market in the next two years.

So what's the scoop? Should I be as worried as most Americans are? If I should be, how worried? If stocks crash, are we looking at disaster because of the on-going food and feul crises? The most vulnerable amongst us are being hurt by food and fuel prices in ways that are pretty unmeasurable. Will a slap in the face of the not so vulnerable be a good thing? Or are we really looking at disaster?

If you have any answers to any of these questions - please, help me sleep at night.

The times they are a-changin', again

2008-06-16T21:23:00.000-05:00

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? - CNN.com

I think I fit into this category for the most part - but I am torn. I would LOVE to live in a place where I could walk most of the time. Country living is my idea of hell. However, I love having a backyard. My dogs love that I love having a backyard? What's a poor Gen-Xer (or am I Y? I can never tell) to do?

Scholarly work

2008-06-16T19:31:00.002-05:00

I have a new academic goal!

One of the chapters in my dissertation will be on Playboy and the crisis of masculinity and the Cold War...fascinating stuff.

ANYWAY - I think I should look through old Playboy archives - to see the ones specifically from 1954. I think a research trip is in order. That's right - I believe my research will lead me to the Playboy mansion. I'm going to show Hef how to party right. And in a completely not objectifying way.

Oh, yes. I will.

So, is this good or bad?

2008-06-16T09:41:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS Business Honda makes first hydrogen cars

So hydrogen cars that produce no emissions are actually worse for the environment? What about my new electric lawn-mower?!!?

And, I have to admit, hydrogen cars make me nervous. What is there was a short? Anybody ever heard of an h-bomb?

(I wonder if I am going to get watched by the feds for typing that? - Sweet.)

Hmm....what qualifies as justifiable?

2008-06-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

Woman brands thoughtless date with hot iron - CNN.com

State Mandated Dieting

2008-06-13T07:07:00.000-05:00

Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions - NYTimes.com

OMG - I said this over a year ago. WHY DOES NO ONE LISTEN TO ME? Being right all the time is starting to give me a headache

2008-06-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

Critics and News Executives Split Over Sexism in Clinton Coverage - NYTimes.com

Unacceptable

2008-06-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

American Exception - Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech - Series - NYTimes.com

High Court: Gitmo Detainees Have Rights in Court - washingtonpost.com

2008-06-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

High Court: Gitmo Detainees Have Rights in Court - washingtonpost.com

This dude was my candidate

2008-06-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

Kucinich introduces Bush impeachment resolution - CNN.com

Today

2008-06-09T10:58:00.002-05:00

Today my phone fell out of it's comfy carrying place, into the street, and was promptly run over by a car. I have the back of it and the card still in tact - but the card will be useless to me unless I replace it with a Razor.

I also discovered that in the next month a third person will be moving into my office - which is ridiculous because my office is the size of two tables put together.

The Joker from Batman says that the only difference between him and any other person on the street is one bad day. If anything happens to my pets today I anticipate that green hair will start to look rather appealing.

Oh, holy crap.

2008-06-08T19:10:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/us/08cnd-texas.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

And that's why are ALL going to DIE

2008-06-05T16:45:00.000-05:00

Air Force officials ousted over nuclear gaffes - CNN.com

hey - I LOVE this guy

2008-06-05T08:05:00.000-05:00

Joe Scarborough Is in His Prime With MSNBC’s Morning Audience - NYTimes.com

Best news show on TV. Mostly because it is hosted by largely reasonable people. Crazy, right?

Wait...They're still evil, right?!!?

2008-06-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart’s Detractors Come In From the Cold - NYTimes.com

I feel as if this is a blow to my worldview.

Post Post Script

2008-06-03T21:19:00.002-05:00

So, as you might guess, I am watching the news like it was a play-off game. Which might actually be a good analogy, but that's neither here nor there.

The thing that has impressed me most this evening is the praise that is being heaped on HRC. While it is expected from Obama, esp. with all the VP rumblins, but McCain positively lauded her.

Obama says the country is better off with Clinton in it. Wow. That's quite a compliment.

McCain (and he said this at a Republican rally!) thanked her for providing such a quality role model for his three daughters - he claimed they were blessed to have a woman of her caliber to show them that they can do anything a man can do (I paraphrase, of course). And he says he proud to call her a friend.

All right, Dems: step up!

I swear, if you can't win this election I will officially cut ties and join the Democratic Socialist party...

I wonder if that is one of those government flag words? Hot. If you are in the intelligence business and you are reading this, leave a comment!

Post Script

2008-06-03T21:14:00.001-05:00

Ha! I beat the Post AND the Times to the news this time!

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/?referrer=email

History

2008-06-03T20:04:00.001-05:00

As of right now, Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Creationists rejoice?

2008-06-03T07:10:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/science/03dark.html?th&emc=th

I'm not sure what this means. But I'm pretty sure it's real interesting.

Show me your friends...

2008-06-03T07:06:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/world/europe/03russia.html?th&emc=th

Bush saw this guy's soul and was pleased.

Raise your hand if you're surprised!

2008-06-02T20:35:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/02/nasa.global.warming.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

What? Nobody? How weird...

Amazing

2008-06-01T16:48:00.003-05:00

While this campaign cycle is annoying as hell because it has lasted almost 4 years now, some pretty amazing things have happened. We've got a woman and a black man vying for the presidency - and there is a pretty good chance one of them will get it. While there is a lot of criticism that could be levied at both of them for any number of reasons, and I DO NOT think that these are indicative that we have conquered sexism and/or racism in any way, we would be a bit remiss not to celebrate that fact that this is even possible.

And when was the last time ANYBODY gave a crap about Puerto Rico?

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/

Why do you hate your children?!!?

2008-06-01T12:30:00.002-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053101742.html?wpisrc=newsletter

For the love. This approach does not work. Every reasonable person recognizes that this is a tragedy waiting to happen. And if you are not reasonable, there are plenty of studies to bone up on.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8470845/

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sex/story?id=3048738

Stop sabotaging your children. It's rude.

For your existential viewing pleasure

2008-05-30T17:14:00.000-05:00

A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

-- Stephen Crane

THIS sounds like something from a badly written novel

2008-05-28T17:30:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/science/29brain.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

I am both in mourning, and a big disgusted

2008-05-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=SpursLakersSideGame1-080522

Can somebody please explain to me how I am supposed to be upbeat about the world I live in?

2008-05-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/19/homeless.mom/index.html

O dear Lord, we're all going to die

2008-05-21T11:26:00.001-05:00

New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: May 21, 2008

ROME — In the past year, as the diversion of food crops like corn and palm to make biofuels has helped to drive up food prices, investors and politicians have begun promoting newer, so-called second-generation biofuels as the next wave of green energy. These, made from non-food crops like reeds and wild grasses, would offer fuel without the risk of taking food off the table, they said.

But now, biologists and botanists are warning that they, too, may bring serious unintended consequences. Most of these newer crops are what scientists label invasive species — that is, weeds — that have an extraordinarily high potential to escape biofuel plantations, overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create economic and ecological havoc in the process, they now say.

At a United Nations meeting in Bonn, Germany, on Tuesday, scientists from the Global Invasive Species Program, the Nature Conservancy and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as other groups, presented a paper with a warning about invasive species.

“Some of the most commonly recommended species for biofuels production are also major invasive alien species,” the paper says, adding that these crops should be studied more thoroughly before being cultivated in new areas.

Controlling the spread of such plants could prove difficult, the experts said, producing “greater financial losses than gains.” The International Union for Conservation of Nature encapsulated the message like this: “Don’t let invasive biofuel crops attack your country.”

To reach their conclusions, the scientists compared the list of the most popular second-generation biofuels with the list of invasive species and found an alarming degree of overlap. They said little evaluation of risk had occurred before planting.

“With biofuels, there’s always a hurry,” said Geoffrey Howard, an invasive species expert with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “Plantations are started by investors, often from the U.S. or Europe, so they are eager to generate biofuels within a couple of years and also, as you might guess, they don’t want a negative assessment.”

The biofuels industry said the risk of those crops morphing into weed problems is overstated, noting that proposed biofuel crops, while they have some potential to become weeds, are not plants that inevitably turn invasive.

“There are very few plants that are ‘weeds,’ full stop,” said Willy De Greef, incoming secretary general of EuropaBio, an industry group. “You have to look at the biology of the plant and the environment where you’re introducing it and ask, are there worry points here?” He said that biofuel farmers would inevitably introduce new crops carefully because they would not want growth they could not control.

The European Union and the United States have both instituted biofuel targets as a method to reduce carbon emissions. The European Union’s target of 10 percent biofuel use in transportation by 2020 is binding. As such, politicians are anxiously awaiting the commercial perfection of second-generation biofuels.

The European Union is funding a project to introduce the “giant reed, a high-yielding, non-food plant into Europe Union agriculture,” according to its proposal. The reed is environmentally friendly and a cost-effective crop, poised to become the “champion of biomass crops,” the proposal says.

A proposed Florida biofuel plantation and plant, also using giant reed, has been greeted with enthusiasm by investors, its energy sold even before it is built.

But the project has been opposed by the Florida Native Plants Society and a number of scientists because of its proximity to the Everglades, where giant reed overgrowth could be dangerous, they said. The giant reed, previously used mostly in decorations and in making musical instruments — is a fast-growing, thirsty species that has drained wetlands and clogged drainage systems in other places where it has been planted. It is also highly flammable and increases the risk of fires.

From a business perspective, the good thing about second-generation biofuel crops is that they are easy to grow and need little attention. But that is also what creates their invasive potential.

“These are tough survivors, which means they’re good producers for biofuel because they grow well on marginal land that you wouldn’t use for food,” Dr. Howard said. “But we’ve had 100 years of experience with introductions of these crops that turned out to be disastrous for environment, people, health.”

Stas Burgiel, a scientist at the Nature Conservancy, said the cost of controlling invasive species is immense and generally not paid by those who created the problem.

But he and other experts emphasized that some of the second-generation biofuel crops could still be safe if introduced into the right places and under the right conditions

“With biofuels we need to do proper assessments and take appropriate measures so they don’t get out of the gate, so to speak,” he said. That assessment, he added, must take a broad geographical perspective since invasive species don’t respect borders.

The Global Invasive Species Program estimates that the damage from invasive species costs the world more than $1.4 trillion annually — five percent of the global economy.

Jatropha, the darling of the second-generation biofuels community, is now being cultivated widely in East Africa in brand new biofuel plantations. But jatropha has been recently banned by two Australian states as an invasive species. If jatropha, which is poisonous, overgrows farmland or pastures, it could be disastrous for the local food supply in Africa, experts said.

But Mr. De Greef said jatropha had little weed potential in most areas, adding: “Just because a species has caused a problem in one place doesn’t make it a weed everywhere.”

GO SPURS

2008-05-19T22:22:00.001-05:00

http://espn.go.com/

So...what's the problem?

2008-05-19T22:19:00.002-05:00

Clinton Quiet About Own Radical Ties
Faulting of Obama Called Hypocritical

By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 19, 2008; Page A04

When Hillary Rodham Clinton questioned rival Barack Obama's ties to 1960s radicals, her comments baffled two retired Bay Area lawyers who knew Clinton in the summer of 1971 when she worked as an intern at a left-wing law firm in Oakland, Calif., that defended communists and Black Panthers.

"She's a hypocrite," Doris B. Walker, 89, who was a member of the American Communist Party, said in an interview last week. "She had to know who we were and what kinds of cases we were handling. We had a very left-wing reputation, including civil rights, constitutional law, racist problems."

Malcolm Burnstein, 74, a partner at the firm who worked closely with Clinton during her internship, said he was traveling in Pennsylvania in April when Clinton attacked Obama for his past interactions with William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, members of Students for a Democratic Society who went on to found the bomb-making Weather Underground.

"Given her background, it was quite hypocritical," Burnstein said. "I almost called the Philadelphia Inquirer. I saw what she and her campaign were saying about Ayers and I thought, 'Well, if you're going to talk about that totally bit of irrelevant nonsense, I'll talk about your career with us.' "

In her campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Clinton has said little about her experiences in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s, including her involvement with student protests and her brief internship at the law firm, Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein. She has said she worked on a child custody case, although former partners recall her likely involvement in conscientious objector cases and a legal challenge to a university loyalty oath.

But her decision to target Obama's radical connections has spurred criticism from some former protest movement leaders who say she has opened her own associations to scrutiny.

"The very things she's accusing Barack of could be said of her with much greater evidence," said Tom Hayden, a leading anti-Vietnam War activist, author and self-described friend of the Clintons.

Robert Reich, who went to Yale Law School with Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton and later served in the Clinton administration, called Hillary Clinton's attack on Obama "absurd," adding: "That carries guilt by association to a new level of absurdity. Where does guilt by association stop? I mean, she was a partner of Jim McDougal in the 1980s, for crying out loud." Reich is now an Obama supporter.

In response to the assertion that Clinton is a hypocrite for calling out Obama's ties to Ayers, campaign spokesman Philippe Reines said: "The comparison is patently absurd." The campaign played down her friendship with a noted student protest leader and defended her work with the Oakland firm. "At the time she worked there, the firm was primarily at the forefront of civil rights advocacy cases, which was a good fit with Senator Clinton's long-standing interest in civil rights and constitutional law," Reines said.

Clinton's associations date to her years as a student leader at Wellesley from 1965 to 1969. It was the height of student opposition to the Vietnam War, and Carl Oglesby, the president of Students for a Democratic Society, came to campus to speak.

"I gave a talk at Wellesley, where she was a student," Oglesby said in a telephone interview from Amherst, Mass., where he is recovering from a stroke. "I can't say that I was a close friend of hers. It was more of a passing acquaintance. I liked her. I think of her as a good guy. I think she has a good heart and a solid mind. And I support her in the current primary."

Oglesby had been close to Ayers and Dohrn, but the couple split with the more moderate SDS factions to form the Weather Underground, which engaged in a bombing campaign to try to stop the Vietnam War. The FBI monitored Oglesby throughout the period.

The Clinton campaign suggested last week that she did not meet Oglesby until the 1990s, long after his activist years. But in recent interviews, Oglesby has made clear that she stood out in his memory as he traveled across the country speaking at rallies.

In 1994, Clinton told Newsweek that Oglesby's writings in the 1960s helped persuade her to oppose the Vietnam War and to become a Democrat. She visited Oglesby in 1994 in Massachusetts, a meeting that was omitted from the First Lady's official schedule. Oglesby told the Boston Globe at the time, "We mostly discussed the '60s. I may have been a little gushy in my praise of the administration, but she was extremely impressive."

Oglesby now talks warmly about Clinton. In an interview with Reason magazine, he called their association "a friendship, a comradeship, within the context of the movement. She and I, for a while, were warm with each other. She and I were semi-close."

But Oglesby said he has not contacted Clinton because he is afraid that he could harm her candidacy.

Well who would have guessed?

2008-05-15T07:51:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/fashion/15WORK.html?th&emc=th

To do? To do good?

2008-05-12T07:35:00.000-05:00

Where the Conscience Meets the Checkbook
-

By Shankar Vedantam
Monday, May 12, 2008; Page A02

If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces.

-- William Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice"

A few decades ago, a cyclone similar to the one that ravaged Burma last week struck South Asia. As in the case of Burma, the earlier disaster caused widespread destruction among some of the poorest people on the planet. Britain and Australia were among the most generous of the countries that stepped forward with aid, but the philosopher Peter Singer pointed out that Britain's donation was about one-thirtieth the size of its investment in the Anglo-French Concorde jet project. Australia's contribution, Singer added, was less than one-twelfth the cost of Sydney's famous opera house. Going strictly by the numbers, Singer asked whether Britain valued supersonic jet travel more than 30 times as highly as the lives of 9 million refugees.

Natural disasters such as the one in Burma, where the death toll is expected to cross 100,000, bring to the fore several paradoxes of human behavior. Most people and nations do not follow the tugs of conscience about whether to help others in distress. The paradox is not that people are uncaring. Rather, it is that they fail to act in ways that they themselves know they should.

Hardly anyone would think twice about leaping into a pond to save a drowning child, if the only cost to them was ruining a pair of $200 shoes. But in that case, Singer once asked, why do people hesitate to write a $200 check to a reputable relief agency even when they are certain it would save the life of a child halfway around the world?

Psychological studies suggest the drowning child motivates us to act because a tragedy unfolding before our eyes activates our emotions, whereas abstract statistics about deaths in faraway places fail to engage us viscerally. Another reason we choose to help the child who is nearby is that we feel personally responsible for the drowning child, whereas we feel many other people are potentially responsible for the faraway child.

"We are told there are all these people who need help in Myanmar [Burma], but there are 100 million Americans who are comfortable enough to send money, plus hundreds of millions of Europeans and others, so the responsibility is very diffuse," Singer said.

Singer believes our inconsistencies in moral reasoning highlight the importance of a school of thought called utilitarianism, which suggests we should make moral decisions in a coolly scientific manner, rather than rely on intuitions, laws or religious guidelines. The philosophy is controversial because it suggests people are wrong to put the needs of those from their own countries, their neighborhoods -- or even their own species -- ahead of the needs of others. The only thing that matters, Singer argues, is what causes the largest improvement in overall well-being.

Singer backs up his words with actions: Over several decades, he has contributed a growing share of his income to charitable causes, such as the Oxfam group. He said he now gives about one-third of his income to such causes. And yet, he said, when he passes a homeless person on the street, although he feels drawn to help, he stops himself because it is not in keeping with utilitarian thinking: The same money can produce more well-being overall when channeled through a group such as Oxfam.

"The first donation was the hardest to make," he said. "The first time I wrote a check that had at least a couple of zeroes at the end -- that was the hardest thing."

Fiery Cushman, a graduate student in psychology at Harvard who studies how people's moral intuitions can clash with deliberate reasoning, said the unfolding disaster in Burma highlights another dimension of the warring moral compasses we have within ourselves: People are more willing to help in the case of disasters such as the cyclone than with "mundane" and ongoing problems that are equally deadly, such as malnutrition or malaria in poor countries.

"Our reasoned judgment says people are suffering in both situations," Cushman added. "That is a good example of the mismatch between our emotional responses and rational responses."

Still, Cushman questions Singer's utilitarian approach, because he argues that emotions undergird even our most rational responses. And there is abundant evidence that even though people value reason and rationality, human beings are biologically programmed to react emotionally to visceral moral challenges.

Joshua Greene, a Harvard philosopher and neuroscientist who also studies how people think about moral dilemmas, said: "The difference between Peter Singer and others is not that he does not have normal emotions but that he is able to override his emotions because of his utilitarian values."

In the end, the rules that people choose to motivate their actions might be less important than whether they actually act -- for whatever reason. At the National Press Club last week, for example, Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi, was asked whether there was a single rule that guided his grandfather, who was anything but a utilitarian.

Gandhi, a scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has just written a new biography called "Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire," thought a moment and then said simply: "If you see something wrong, do something about it."

Staff researcher Robert E. Thomason contributed to this report.

Why don't my dogs do this?

2008-05-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/05/09/funny-pictures-communist-cat-misunderstands-party/">
more cat pictures

I am TOTALLY using this in my pop culture class!

2008-05-08T21:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/arts/design/09cost.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

DON'T STAND NEAR ME

2008-05-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

Social psychologist Michelle Hebl of Rice University once conducted an interesting experiment that helps explain the phenomenon. Hebl had volunteers evaluate a mock job applicant. Some volunteers saw the applicant sitting in a waiting room next to an overweight person, while others saw the applicant in the waiting room sitting next to a person of average weight. A variety of experiments have shown that overweight people suffer from discrimination; what Hebl wanted to find out was whether strangers in the vicinity of overweight people would share in such approbation.

Remarkably, Hebl found that volunteers rated job applicants more negatively when they had been seen seated next to an overweight person than when they were seen seated next to an average weight person. The volunteers had no idea that they were showing not only a prejudice against fat people but also a bias against people who were merely in proximity to overweight people.

Oh, fantastic.

2008-05-01T22:56:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/health/policy/02gene.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

So if you have the potential for depression, diabetes, alzheimer's, heart-disease, or MS you can kiss insurance good-bye. No - that doesn't sound bad at all.

Great

2008-04-25T11:12:00.002-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042403939.html?wpisrc=newsletter

I am SO looking forward to flying to Seattle in a few weeks.

I Heart Slurpees

2008-04-25T08:01:00.001-05:00

Another "oh, good..."

2008-04-23T13:31:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html?th&emc=th

Oh, good...

2008-04-23T13:30:00.001-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/business/media/23paper.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Think on these things

2008-04-22T07:34:00.000-05:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love