So for another one of my research papers I've been learning a lot about the fat acceptance/fat rights movement. Of course, the main reason I'm interested in this topic is that I am fat, so this may not be interesting to anyone else, lol. But there was a really atrocious article on the MSN website called "What if no one were fat?". Not too long ago I wouldn't have thought of it problematic, but I've developed this new fat consciousness (for lack of a better and less amorphous term) that leads me to have a strong reaction to stuff like this. I won't give you the link to the original article because I don't want to generate any more hits for their site, but here's a response from a fat person that includes lots of tidbits from it:
http://ccafeteria.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-is-us-in-recession-because-of-all.html
Stuff like this is just one more reason the study of economics scares me - efficiency is god. Of course, there are lots of voices in the "marketplace of ideas," but scapegoating of any kind makes me uncomfortable. Although particularly when it's about me...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
clash of civilizations?
So for those of you who wonder what it is that I'm doing with myself when I'm not researching Mongolian death worms (see previous post), I thought I'd write a bit about the academic stuff I'm working on at the moment...
I'm writing three papers this semester that have to do (to one degree or another) with a popular political argument that you've all heard in one form or another - the "clash of civilizations," particularly the purported clash between the Secular/Christian West and the Muslim Middle East (both problematic terms but used for lack of much better ones). Samuel Huntington, an Important And Brilliant Scholar From Harvard, wrote some articles and a book in the 1990's about the "clash of civilizations." He broke up the world into eight major civilizations, mostly organized around religions, and argued that the next era of violent conflicts in the world are going to be between groups of people in different civilizations. Instead of fighting about nationalism, ideology, or other stuff that people used to fight about, Huntington says that we'll be fighting and making alliances based on cultural differences. He's particularly concerned about the Islamic civilization, which he says has "bloody borders."
His argument's pretty convincing. He IS a Harvard professor, after all. And in the last several years this clash-of-civilizations argument has been the stuff of seemingly constant headlines. But is it true...?
Based on the evidence I've been reading, it's not. Several scholars - from Yale to UCLA - have been testing Huntington's hypotheses with big data sets that have recorded violent conflicts within and between countries. None of them have been able to find evidence of increasing conflicts between groups or countries from different civilizations. If anything, they've decreased since the end of the Cold War.
So why do so many Americans and others believe that this clash-of-civilizations thing is where it's at? I guess because that's what we're told. And more ominously, is it going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy?
I'm writing three papers this semester that have to do (to one degree or another) with a popular political argument that you've all heard in one form or another - the "clash of civilizations," particularly the purported clash between the Secular/Christian West and the Muslim Middle East (both problematic terms but used for lack of much better ones). Samuel Huntington, an Important And Brilliant Scholar From Harvard, wrote some articles and a book in the 1990's about the "clash of civilizations." He broke up the world into eight major civilizations, mostly organized around religions, and argued that the next era of violent conflicts in the world are going to be between groups of people in different civilizations. Instead of fighting about nationalism, ideology, or other stuff that people used to fight about, Huntington says that we'll be fighting and making alliances based on cultural differences. He's particularly concerned about the Islamic civilization, which he says has "bloody borders."
His argument's pretty convincing. He IS a Harvard professor, after all. And in the last several years this clash-of-civilizations argument has been the stuff of seemingly constant headlines. But is it true...?
Based on the evidence I've been reading, it's not. Several scholars - from Yale to UCLA - have been testing Huntington's hypotheses with big data sets that have recorded violent conflicts within and between countries. None of them have been able to find evidence of increasing conflicts between groups or countries from different civilizations. If anything, they've decreased since the end of the Cold War.
So why do so many Americans and others believe that this clash-of-civilizations thing is where it's at? I guess because that's what we're told. And more ominously, is it going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Monday, March 17, 2008
the mongolian death worm
So I was innocently watching USA network, when I saw an ad for one of those natural wonders/adventure shows. This one was about the Mongolian Death Worm. Never heard of it? Well, me neither. So instead of working on one of my several required essays, I thought I'd go googling.
Turns out it's a cryptozoological wonder - a mystery animal on par with Nessie the Loch Ness monster and the Abominable Snowman. I found a real "gem" of a documentary on CFZTV (which is short for Centre for Fortean Zoology, "fortean" meaning paranormal):
http://www.cfztv.org/inv.htm
The next time you're bored out of your mind and/or desperately seeking distractions, check it out...
Speaking of Mongolia, I recently came across a TV miniseries/documentary that ran a few years ago called "The Long Way Round." It's about two actors (Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman) who ride their motorcycles around the world. Now, being a girl (1) whose mother always told her about the dangers of motorcycles and boys who ride them AND (2) who loves traveling, I absolutely loved this series. It has also made me appreciate Ewan McGregor in a way I never could have before, lol. So the reason that this is semi-relevant is that they drive through Mongolia. It's really beautiful in a barren desert kind of way. You can see clips of it on YouTube. As a result of watching all 10 episodes in quick succession TWICE, I now have the themesong permanently playing in my brain. I'm glad it's a good song. :)
Turns out it's a cryptozoological wonder - a mystery animal on par with Nessie the Loch Ness monster and the Abominable Snowman. I found a real "gem" of a documentary on CFZTV (which is short for Centre for Fortean Zoology, "fortean" meaning paranormal):
http://www.cfztv.org/inv.htm
The next time you're bored out of your mind and/or desperately seeking distractions, check it out...
Speaking of Mongolia, I recently came across a TV miniseries/documentary that ran a few years ago called "The Long Way Round." It's about two actors (Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman) who ride their motorcycles around the world. Now, being a girl (1) whose mother always told her about the dangers of motorcycles and boys who ride them AND (2) who loves traveling, I absolutely loved this series. It has also made me appreciate Ewan McGregor in a way I never could have before, lol. So the reason that this is semi-relevant is that they drive through Mongolia. It's really beautiful in a barren desert kind of way. You can see clips of it on YouTube. As a result of watching all 10 episodes in quick succession TWICE, I now have the themesong permanently playing in my brain. I'm glad it's a good song. :)
Saturday, February 9, 2008
a blast from the past, as it were
You're not going to believe this if I tell you, so I'm just going to give you the web address instead:
http://www.lemonjellos.com/
http://www.lemonjellos.com/
Friday, February 1, 2008
applying to work at the Census Bureau
So I've been exploring government jobs for a while. Last year Congress passed a law that forgives student loan balances remaining after 10 years of working for the government or non-profit organizations. I have a lot of student loans, so this seemed like something I should explore. I've worked at non-profits, and I'm not really gung-ho to go back because of the low wages and low job security. The federal government is, of course, just the opposite.
Enter usajobs.com. There are some jobs I would be qualified for but would find mind-numbing (i.e. "administrative assistant"). Then there are jobs that would be really interesting but require a top secret security clearance (i.e. political analyst for the CIA), which I really don't think I could - or want to - get at this crazy point in my life.
Turns out there aren't a whole lot of jobs in between those two poles that I'm well-qualified for. But, not to despair - there's still the Census Bureau. Turns out they are hiring lots of statisticians these days. Now I've never really thought of myself as a "statistician," per se. But it turns out I have the qualifications - 15 credit hours in stats and/or research methods. Cool, eh?
Last week the University of Michigan (Wayne State's better funded, better ranked, better organized neighbor to the west) held a career fair that included several government recruiters, including one from the Census Bureau. So I went, resumes and transcripts in hand. I even bought a businessy-looking blazer and pants for the occasion. I got there right as the fair opened and had to wait about 2 hours for the Census recruiter to get there - her connecting flight from Chicago was delayed. (FYI, don't fly through Chicago during the winter if you can help it. It's one of the more unreliable airports. Come to Detroit instead!! lol.)
While I was waiting for the Census recruiter, I talked to recruiters from the Social Security Administration, Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Sault Saint Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The DoJ guy was cool. We chatted for a while about DC. He's a Virginian. I lived in Maryland most of the time I was there. If you've never lived in DC it may not make sense when I say this, but there's a real psychological separation between VA and MD folks in the DC area. At least I experienced that. So the DoJ guy and I had a few good laughs about this phenomenon.
Anyway, just as I was ready to go the Census recruiter showed up. I actually only spoke with her for a minute or so. I had wanted to ask her lots of questions, but there were several people waiting in line to talk to her. So I just told her that I was interested in the statistician position and I had already started my application online. She wanted to interview me on campus that day, but due to U Mich policies, non-U Mich students aren't allowed to use the campus interview rooms. She was still really interested in talking to me, so she said she'd call me the next day.
I emailed her that night to thank her for her time and reiterate my interest in the position. She responded the next morning, asking me if I could come back to U Mich that afternoon for an interview. So I did. I think the interview went really well. She said that she was going to "highly recommend" me to the hiring managers at the Census (yippee!). So I have to wait until a manager of one of the sections (economic, demographic, international, etc.) is interested in me - that could take a while.
If I am hired, it's likely that it would be to the headquarters in DC. That's where the permanent positions are. I could also be hired for a term (2-year) position at one of the field offices. There's a field office in Seattle. I'd love to be there. But I'd also like to have a permanent job.
So, yeah. I'll keep you updated.
Oh, and no sequel to the Pakistan dream yet... :(
Enter usajobs.com. There are some jobs I would be qualified for but would find mind-numbing (i.e. "administrative assistant"). Then there are jobs that would be really interesting but require a top secret security clearance (i.e. political analyst for the CIA), which I really don't think I could - or want to - get at this crazy point in my life.
Turns out there aren't a whole lot of jobs in between those two poles that I'm well-qualified for. But, not to despair - there's still the Census Bureau. Turns out they are hiring lots of statisticians these days. Now I've never really thought of myself as a "statistician," per se. But it turns out I have the qualifications - 15 credit hours in stats and/or research methods. Cool, eh?
Last week the University of Michigan (Wayne State's better funded, better ranked, better organized neighbor to the west) held a career fair that included several government recruiters, including one from the Census Bureau. So I went, resumes and transcripts in hand. I even bought a businessy-looking blazer and pants for the occasion. I got there right as the fair opened and had to wait about 2 hours for the Census recruiter to get there - her connecting flight from Chicago was delayed. (FYI, don't fly through Chicago during the winter if you can help it. It's one of the more unreliable airports. Come to Detroit instead!! lol.)
While I was waiting for the Census recruiter, I talked to recruiters from the Social Security Administration, Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Sault Saint Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The DoJ guy was cool. We chatted for a while about DC. He's a Virginian. I lived in Maryland most of the time I was there. If you've never lived in DC it may not make sense when I say this, but there's a real psychological separation between VA and MD folks in the DC area. At least I experienced that. So the DoJ guy and I had a few good laughs about this phenomenon.
Anyway, just as I was ready to go the Census recruiter showed up. I actually only spoke with her for a minute or so. I had wanted to ask her lots of questions, but there were several people waiting in line to talk to her. So I just told her that I was interested in the statistician position and I had already started my application online. She wanted to interview me on campus that day, but due to U Mich policies, non-U Mich students aren't allowed to use the campus interview rooms. She was still really interested in talking to me, so she said she'd call me the next day.
I emailed her that night to thank her for her time and reiterate my interest in the position. She responded the next morning, asking me if I could come back to U Mich that afternoon for an interview. So I did. I think the interview went really well. She said that she was going to "highly recommend" me to the hiring managers at the Census (yippee!). So I have to wait until a manager of one of the sections (economic, demographic, international, etc.) is interested in me - that could take a while.
If I am hired, it's likely that it would be to the headquarters in DC. That's where the permanent positions are. I could also be hired for a term (2-year) position at one of the field offices. There's a field office in Seattle. I'd love to be there. But I'd also like to have a permanent job.
So, yeah. I'll keep you updated.
Oh, and no sequel to the Pakistan dream yet... :(
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
you've GOT to hear this one...
I had a really crazy dream last night. First, I should tell you that I was listening to Loreena McKennitt's "Book of Secrets" as I fell asleep. It has a bit of a Central Asian sound, I guess...
So I'm on a group tour with a bunch of Americans and Russians in Pakistan. (A few things are strange here: (1) me on a group tour, (2) Americans and Russians together on a tour, and (3) Pakistan as a popular tourist destination for Americans and Russians.) We're walking around the mountains enjoying the scenery and listening to a tour guide tell us about the history of the country and how stable Pakistan's political situation has become over the past decade.
That's when we hear the fighter jets. Our jolly guide disappears, so I take it upon myself to continue the tour. In Steve Irwin style, no less. ("Now what we've got here is a cluster bomb. You can tell by the size of the dust cloud it raises. You don't want to get too close to one of these big guys!")
After a few minutes of nonchalance - after all, the bombs were being dropped a good 5 miles away - the Russians all simultaneously go into "commando mode" and decide that, since the stupid Americans aren't doing anything, they'll have to get us out of this mess...
There was more, but I've forgotten already. Maybe there will be a sequel tonight, lol.
So I'm on a group tour with a bunch of Americans and Russians in Pakistan. (A few things are strange here: (1) me on a group tour, (2) Americans and Russians together on a tour, and (3) Pakistan as a popular tourist destination for Americans and Russians.) We're walking around the mountains enjoying the scenery and listening to a tour guide tell us about the history of the country and how stable Pakistan's political situation has become over the past decade.
That's when we hear the fighter jets. Our jolly guide disappears, so I take it upon myself to continue the tour. In Steve Irwin style, no less. ("Now what we've got here is a cluster bomb. You can tell by the size of the dust cloud it raises. You don't want to get too close to one of these big guys!")
After a few minutes of nonchalance - after all, the bombs were being dropped a good 5 miles away - the Russians all simultaneously go into "commando mode" and decide that, since the stupid Americans aren't doing anything, they'll have to get us out of this mess...
There was more, but I've forgotten already. Maybe there will be a sequel tonight, lol.
Monday, January 14, 2008
ze gazpacho
By popular demand (from the two people who read my blog!), here's my salsa/gazpacho recipe as I remember it. That is to say, I never really had a recipe, but, y'know...
~10 roma tomatoes
1 small bunch of green onions
1 yellow or orange bell pepper
~1/4 cup cilantro
~1 piece of fruit (apricot, pear, peach, or apple)
Dice, toss, chill, and enjoy!
If you remember any other ingredients, just let me know.
~10 roma tomatoes
1 small bunch of green onions
1 yellow or orange bell pepper
~1/4 cup cilantro
~1 piece of fruit (apricot, pear, peach, or apple)
Dice, toss, chill, and enjoy!
If you remember any other ingredients, just let me know.
on Ferndale and MacGyver
I love Ferndale. That's Ferndale, Michigan 48220. I live here. I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and I discovered one more reason to love it: Dana Elcar - Pete Thornton from the MacGyver series - is from here. Cool, eh?
I might not have remembered Mr. Elcar's name if it wasn't for the fact that I've been watching the complete MacGyver series on DVD, courtesy of my mother. I watched a LOT of MacGyver when I was young (alongside Cheers, Quantum Leap, and M*A*S*H reruns of course!). It has made me realize that Angus MacGyver has forever skewed my relationships with men. If a guy's not brilliant, adventurous, good with duct tape, AND utterly terrified of commitment, I don't want anything to do with him...
I might not have remembered Mr. Elcar's name if it wasn't for the fact that I've been watching the complete MacGyver series on DVD, courtesy of my mother. I watched a LOT of MacGyver when I was young (alongside Cheers, Quantum Leap, and M*A*S*H reruns of course!). It has made me realize that Angus MacGyver has forever skewed my relationships with men. If a guy's not brilliant, adventurous, good with duct tape, AND utterly terrified of commitment, I don't want anything to do with him...
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
people from here are called...
When I moved to Michigan, I learned that people from here are called Michiganders. Yes, Michiganders. My first thought was "okay, so does that make me a Michigoose?" I was happy to learn that some people use the term Michiganian.
Many of you also know about my long-standing love for Seattle. I started to wonder what people from Seattle are called. Well, lest you should wonder as well, I'll tell you - Seattleites. Isn't that great?!
People from Los Angeles? Angelenos. Perhaps Angelenas as well?
People from Memphis? Memphisites. (Though I think Memphisian is SO much better...)
People from Kansas? Kansans.
People from Saint Petersburg? Petersburgers.
People from Moscow? Muscovites.
Does anyone out there have any other good ones?
Many of you also know about my long-standing love for Seattle. I started to wonder what people from Seattle are called. Well, lest you should wonder as well, I'll tell you - Seattleites. Isn't that great?!
People from Los Angeles? Angelenos. Perhaps Angelenas as well?
People from Memphis? Memphisites. (Though I think Memphisian is SO much better...)
People from Kansas? Kansans.
People from Saint Petersburg? Petersburgers.
People from Moscow? Muscovites.
Does anyone out there have any other good ones?
Thursday, January 3, 2008
on folk and country
So it's been a while. I hope everyone had a great holiday. My only New Year's goal is to average one blog post per week, so here we go...
There's been this disturbance in my psyche over the past few weeks. I can't figure out the difference between "folk" music and "country" music. To some people this may seem dreadfully unimportant or, at best, esoteric. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, however, but to no avail.
It all started when I imported a new CD into my iTunes program. Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade. (This is an excellent album, by the way. Maybe I'll start a new blog of music recommendations. Would anyone out there read it??) So when I imported the songs, I glanced at the genre iTunes (or, more precisely, the Gracenote CDDB) attached to the songs: Country. Now, I also have Steve Earle's first album - Guitar Town - which I would have no trouble classifying as "country." Perhaps this is because I grew up hearing the title track on the Birmingham country stations. The only other song of Earle's that I know well is "Copperhead Road," which I might also call "country," though a little less comfortably.
But in my little brain, the categories are worlds apart. I listen to lots of "folk" music, while I usually skip through my local country stations even more quickly than the rap stations. (My tolerance for rap has actually increased a lot since I moved to Detroit. It's not my favorite genre by a long shot, but I've become a bit more interested in it. Funny how your surroundings impact your musical tastes.) Anyway, so this iTunes-generated shock led me to look at the other "folk" musicians I have in my library... Gillian Welch? Country. Lucinda Williams? Country. Alison Krauss? Country. k.d. lang? Country. Yo-Yo Ma? Country. (Yes, but only for the Appalachian Journey album he did with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer...Just had to make sure you're still paying attention, lol.) NOOOOOO! These are not "country"! I love them - how can they be "country"?!
Of course, I also love the country music that I grew up with: George Strait, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Alabama (naturally!), etc. And no matter how hard I try, I can't get Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" out of my head. But country and folk aren't interchangeable categories, right? I mean, would anyone really call Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie "country"?!
In all fairness to iTunes, "folk" is a well-populated category: James Taylor, Indigo Girls, Dar Williams (though I have seen her categorized as "country" elsewhere), Peter Paul and Mary, etc. But they also categorize music as "folk" that I would have considered something else. A lot of my "world music" is labeled "folk." Rocco DeLuca & The Burden is a definite "blues" for me. I also think of Tracy Chapman as a "blues rock" artist. But they're both in the "folk" category. What a mess!
I've tried to discuss this topic with a number of people, most of whom say something to the effect of "That's interesting..." which, of course, often means "Yeah, Rachel, that's not at all interesting." But while I was back in Alabama over the holidays I had this conversation with a couple of my high school friends who, I might add, were also kind enough to introduce me to Guitar Hero. Oh, wow! We weren't able to come to any definite conclusion, but we discussed the following points:
- "old" and "new" country are very different from each other, as are "old" and "new" folk - this muddies the waters a lot
- both old folk and old country seem to have roots in the poor, populist American tradition (I'm thinking about the Depression era particularly, though it's older than that)
- world music seems to have a much bigger place in folk than in country - country may be a peculiarly Southern US phenomenon - but this could lead to a discussion about country vs. bluegrass vs. blues...
- a related point is that American folk music seems to incorporate experiences of the American West and North in ways that country doesn't - or maybe it's a matter of urban and rural experiences?
- there doesn't seem to be a big difference in instruments or tonality, although new country probably uses a more "electrified" sound
As the incurable internet research hound that I am, I had to see what Google could find on the topic. Here are a few relevant online discussions:
http://http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/481266
http://http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f77/folk-and-country-music-29503.html
This is probably the best one - it's from a songwriters' forum:
http://http://www.songwriterforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2438
So, yeah. Country and folk. The same but different...
Happy New Year to all!
There's been this disturbance in my psyche over the past few weeks. I can't figure out the difference between "folk" music and "country" music. To some people this may seem dreadfully unimportant or, at best, esoteric. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, however, but to no avail.
It all started when I imported a new CD into my iTunes program. Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade. (This is an excellent album, by the way. Maybe I'll start a new blog of music recommendations. Would anyone out there read it??) So when I imported the songs, I glanced at the genre iTunes (or, more precisely, the Gracenote CDDB) attached to the songs: Country. Now, I also have Steve Earle's first album - Guitar Town - which I would have no trouble classifying as "country." Perhaps this is because I grew up hearing the title track on the Birmingham country stations. The only other song of Earle's that I know well is "Copperhead Road," which I might also call "country," though a little less comfortably.
But in my little brain, the categories are worlds apart. I listen to lots of "folk" music, while I usually skip through my local country stations even more quickly than the rap stations. (My tolerance for rap has actually increased a lot since I moved to Detroit. It's not my favorite genre by a long shot, but I've become a bit more interested in it. Funny how your surroundings impact your musical tastes.) Anyway, so this iTunes-generated shock led me to look at the other "folk" musicians I have in my library... Gillian Welch? Country. Lucinda Williams? Country. Alison Krauss? Country. k.d. lang? Country. Yo-Yo Ma? Country. (Yes, but only for the Appalachian Journey album he did with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer...Just had to make sure you're still paying attention, lol.) NOOOOOO! These are not "country"! I love them - how can they be "country"?!
Of course, I also love the country music that I grew up with: George Strait, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Alabama (naturally!), etc. And no matter how hard I try, I can't get Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" out of my head. But country and folk aren't interchangeable categories, right? I mean, would anyone really call Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie "country"?!
In all fairness to iTunes, "folk" is a well-populated category: James Taylor, Indigo Girls, Dar Williams (though I have seen her categorized as "country" elsewhere), Peter Paul and Mary, etc. But they also categorize music as "folk" that I would have considered something else. A lot of my "world music" is labeled "folk." Rocco DeLuca & The Burden is a definite "blues" for me. I also think of Tracy Chapman as a "blues rock" artist. But they're both in the "folk" category. What a mess!
I've tried to discuss this topic with a number of people, most of whom say something to the effect of "That's interesting..." which, of course, often means "Yeah, Rachel, that's not at all interesting." But while I was back in Alabama over the holidays I had this conversation with a couple of my high school friends who, I might add, were also kind enough to introduce me to Guitar Hero. Oh, wow! We weren't able to come to any definite conclusion, but we discussed the following points:
- "old" and "new" country are very different from each other, as are "old" and "new" folk - this muddies the waters a lot
- both old folk and old country seem to have roots in the poor, populist American tradition (I'm thinking about the Depression era particularly, though it's older than that)
- world music seems to have a much bigger place in folk than in country - country may be a peculiarly Southern US phenomenon - but this could lead to a discussion about country vs. bluegrass vs. blues...
- a related point is that American folk music seems to incorporate experiences of the American West and North in ways that country doesn't - or maybe it's a matter of urban and rural experiences?
- there doesn't seem to be a big difference in instruments or tonality, although new country probably uses a more "electrified" sound
As the incurable internet research hound that I am, I had to see what Google could find on the topic. Here are a few relevant online discussions:
http://http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/481266
http://http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f77/folk-and-country-music-29503.html
This is probably the best one - it's from a songwriters' forum:
http://http://www.songwriterforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2438
So, yeah. Country and folk. The same but different...
Happy New Year to all!
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