Liz's Bloglet - Friday 12 August 2005

Because I've always meant to do this, I bring you my Friday Random Ten

"Prison Cell Blues" Blind Lemon Jefferson
"Final Straw" R.E.M.
"Lonely Galaxy" The Minus Five
"Land of Canaan" Indigo Girls
"John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man" The Carter Family
"Bright Sunny South" Alison Krauss & Union Station
"Rocky Road" Alabama Sacred Harp Singers
"Mama Blues" Flatt & Scruggs
"The Prisoner Song" Hylo Brown
"Oh, Atlanta" Alison Krauss & Union Station

Apparently this is the Southern Edition--I swear I have music by Yankees on my computer. _
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10:17:05 AM, Friday 12 August 2005

A challenge for you intarweb superstars out there. I would love (and be willing to pay money for) cds by Cyndi Craven. I had a tape of her album Lessons that my parents bought for me after seeing her perform at a festival in North Georgia a very long time ago. The tape is dead, and Cyndi seems to have stopped touring or releasing her stuff (she is apparently a successful web-designer in Atlanta, which I would imagine is significantly more lucrative). I miss her music very much. _
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02:53:38 PM, Monday 8 August 2005

Tidying up the sidebar. Removed Science Blog, which I've pretty much stopped reading, and replaced it with Pharyngula, a rather nice blog by a biology professor in Minnesota. _
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07:33:09 PM, Saturday 6 August 2005

Indigo Girl Emily Saliers and her dad (a theology professor at Emory) have written a book about music and faith. Sojourners has a story and a recorded interview. _
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03:53:37 PM, Friday 5 August 2005

Am I the only person who didn't know that Jesse Martin (Ed Green from Law & Order) was the original Tom Collins in Rent? That, of course, is why Green got shot and is taking 6 months off from fighting crime in order for Martin to film the movie (yay). _
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02:55:30 PM, Friday 5 August 2005

My 10th high school reunion is this Saturday. I registered at Classmates.com yesterday because that seemed like the place to find out if there is going to be a reunion and it turns out it's Saturday. You had to RSVP last week, I think. I don't think that I had intended to go, but there are people I'd at least like to know what happened to them. That website is obviously not the place to find things out, because it appears you have to pay to do almost anything. Oh well. Maybe in 10 years. Or do they do 15 year reunions? _
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09:00:07 AM, Thursday 4 August 2005

My junior high band director is now chair of the Music Ed Dept at Berklee. I always thought he was a good teacher, and I guess the rest of the world agrees. _
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01:45:36 PM, Wednesday 3 August 2005

Medical term of the day:erythema migrans. DEET is your friend. If you don't use enough, as I apparently didn't, then Doxycycline is your friend. _
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04:48:56 PM, Monday 25 July 2005

Let Me Play:The Story of Title IX by Karen Blumenthal is an amazing exploration of the history of women's rights in this country and how 1972 changed everything. If there is a little girl in your life, or a little boy for that matter, this would make an awesome gift.

It is peppered with boxes telling the stories of the creators of Title IX, in particular congressional representatives Edith Green and Patsy Takemoto Mink, and those who were the inspiration for it, like swimmer Donna de Verona, who won two Olympic golds the summer after graduating from high school then went to Stanford, which didn't let women swim in their pool, and Shirley Jackson, the first African-American woman to receive a PhD from MIT (in theoretical particle physics, Mr. Summers). But it also contains stories that will get kids' attention, about a little girl who grew up playing with her brothers and the neighborhood boys, but when they all went to Little League she had to stay home, about girls who wanted to play basketball, but were required to play by annoying modified rules and didn't get the equipment and coaching that the boys did, and about girls who were good at science who were told they could only be nurses and girls who were good at math who were told they could choose between being secretaries and being math teachers. And of course it tells the familiar stories of women who have done wonderful things post Title IX, like Mia Hamm and Lisa Leslie.

But the most amazing thing about it, to me, is the story of what went on in the '70s and continued while I was growing up.

In 1972, Richard Nixon siged into law an omnibus bill of education reform, whose main focus in the eyes of most of America was reforming financial aid, which incidentally included an amendment stating "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance".

1971-1972 men women
high school sports 3.6 million 294,000
bachelor's degrees 500,000 386,000
college sports 170,000 29,000
medical school 10,435 1,653
law school 85,554 8,914

In 1974, Secretary of Housing, Education, and Welfare Caspar Weinburger decided that applied to sports in addition to all other aspects of federally funded education, at least partially because he'd never cared much for sports himself, anyway.

In 1975, Gerald Ford approved the rules.

In 1979, I turned three, and tests were finally developed to determine if a school was in compliance with the rules.

In 1982, the ERA runs out of time to be passed by the states. More women than men earn bachelor's degrees.

In 1984, the Supreme Court rules the Title IX (and by extension similar civil rights legislation applying to ethnicity and disability) only applies to programs directly receiving federal money. The US women rock the LA Olympics and Mary Lou Retton becomes a household name.

In 1988, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act, extending civil rights rules to all groups, agencies, or schools receiving any federal funding. Reagan vetoes it. Congress easily overrides the veto.

In 1991, my junior high implements a girls soccer team rather than endure the nightmare of empowered young women playing on the boys team (oh, the horror). After some debating between sports, I start running track, and my life sucks less than it did before.

In 1996, my generation of young women, the Title IX Generation, rock the Atlanta Olympics, winning gold medals in gymnasics, softball, basketball, soccer, and synchronized swimming.

In 2003, after extensive review and debate, US Education Secretary Ron Paige quietly announces that Title IX has very broad support and, contrary to very public statements by President George W. Bush, needs no changes.

2001-2002 men women
high school sports 3.9 million 2.8 million
bachelor's degrees 538,000 744,000
college sports 212,000 155,000
medical school 8,581 7,784
law school 69,390 65,701 _
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09:52:56 PM, Friday 15 July 2005

At a lovely cookout at the homes of excellent Johnnies Tim Daniels and Amy Phillips, I had a cool conversation with a UNC Material Sciences grad student from China. He was asking lots of questions about American politics and finally he got down to the kicker: what's the difference between Republicans and Democrats? His understanding was that rich people were Republicans and poor people were Democrats--which is what would be true if people voted based on the actual voting records of the parties, rather than the pretty things they say when campaigning.

I tried to explain about (the overly simplified and not so true anymore) big government vs small government distinction and he said "So, Republicans are liberal." So I had to make that very American admission that when we say 'liberal' and 'conservative' we mean the opposite of what the rest of the the world means when they say 'liberal' and 'conservative'. And he made the awesome and completely correct observation that in other places (e.g. China) they started out with an empire (really big government) and have been liberalizing towards smaller government, while our evolution has been pretty much the opposite.

So our conservative throw-backs are theoretically the opposite of their conservative throw-backs, but both want to maintain the status quo. _
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07:41:09 AM, Sunday 10 July 2005

Today We All Are Called To Be Disciples of the Lord
Text: H. Kenn Carmichael, 1985
Music: English Country Songs, 1893, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906

Today we all are called to be disciples of the Lord / To help to set the captive free, make plowshare out of sword / To feed the hungry, quench their thirst, make love and peace our fast / To serve the poor and homeless first, our ease and comfort last.

God made the world and at its birth ordained our human race / To live as stewards of the earth, responding to God's grace / But we are vain and sadly proud; we sow not peace but strife / Our discord spreads a deadly cloud that threatens all of life.

Pray justice may come rolling down as in a mighty stream / With righteousness in field and town to cleanse us and redeem / For God is longing to restore an earth where conflicts cease / A world that was created for a harmony of peace.

May we in service to our God act out the living Word / And walk the road the saints have trod till all have seen and heard / As stewards of the earth may we give thanks in one accord / To God who calls us all to be disciples of the Lord.

Modern Progressive Christianity encapsulated. I don't care if you agree with it, but surely you can see how little it has to do with the Republican Party. _
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10:20:29 AM, Wednesday 29 June 2005

One nice thing about moving to Durham is that our congressional representative rocks. Just another blue district in a red state. _
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03:16:39 PM, Friday 24 June 2005

I fixed up my sidebar, adding Pandagon, and removing Daily Kos. As a "menstruating she-devil", I choose to take my reading to blogs where women are valued. If you don't read Pandagon, and are not familiar with Amanda Marcotte (her old blog was Mousewords) you're missing out. _
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07:11:18 PM, Saturday 11 June 2005

I just deleted this after realizing I had been specifically requested not to link to it. I'm very dumb. _
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07:27:43 AM, Wednesday 8 June 2005

I have a nephew! Elijah was born this morning in Brussels! _
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11:23:34 AM, Thursday 2 June 2005

Neither my office at Georgia nor the lab here have windows. At the Institute, I could always tell if I had stayed late or if it was a weekend because there would be a conspicuous absence of the large numbers of people who were usually everywhere--just a few souls slaving away, not wandering around the building looking for conversation. Here, in our little basement, there is always a conspicuous absence of...well...any people at all. _
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03:31:52 PM, Saturday 21 May 2005

The National Academies Analysis of Global Climate Change
Literature on Climate Change
Climate Change Blog
Dr. William Schlesinger (compare to Bjorn Lomborg or (if you want to be very silly) Michael Crichton)
Science is about truth, and our goal is to try to communicate the truth to other people. Sometimes that means telling creationists they can't teach religion as science, and sometimes that means explaining to our friends that what they have heard from whatever sources is not necessarily scientific truth. _
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07:13:43 AM, Saturday 21 May 2005

Mac@Duke is exactly what it sounds like: a webpage devoted to the Mac-using community at Duke who are doing really cool things with their computers. _
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10:04:08 AM, Tuesday 17 May 2005

I'm starting to feel like somebody powerful is pulling strings for me. I got the phone call last night that I've received an EPA STAR fellowship, which is ridiculously nice stipend plus ridiculous amount of research funding for 3 years. I am really, really, really surprised. I applied because most other funding sources want to know that you've applied for the big ones and made an honest effort, not because I ever thought I would get it. Craziness. _
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07:41:39 AM, Thursday 12 May 2005

A story of the occasional ability of people to change their minds.
On April 15, the Athens Banner-Herald ran an editorial saying biking is not a viable alternative transportation option. In response to dozens of letters, the editor who penned that editorial decided to try bicycle commuting for two weeks. After the first week, he admitted his mind was changing. After two weeks, he admitted he was wrong. He did opine a bit too much about how people like bike lanes because they're cool, and not because that many people in Athens are biking (and he included mention of the infamous Athens hills as one possible reason). But, still, conservative newspaper editor thinks those crazy progressives might have a point. _
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11:46:11 AM, Monday 9 May 2005

Infomania lowers your i.q. Constant phone call and email interruptions are really bad for our ability to get things done. _
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02:49:23 PM, Tuesday 3 May 2005

A kind-of fun story about a young academic and golf prodigy. _
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12:10:25 PM, Monday 2 May 2005

I also really enjoyed the Hitchhiker's movie. _
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05:42:24 PM, Saturday 30 April 2005

Oh-my-god-I'm-a-princess _
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08:11:18 AM, Saturday 30 April 2005

Here it is. My main disappointment was that neither the story nor the webpage mentioned the page that I spend so much time slaving over. Oh, and he said Emily's last name really funny. We listened to it in the lab this morning and she laughed everytime he said it. _
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10:14:38 AM, Friday 29 April 2005

Our story will be on tomorrow morning at twenty past in the first hour of Morning Edition--so generally 5:20, 7:20, and 9:20. Apparently it has been significantly shortened because of the "ivory-billed mayhem" but it will be there. _
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07:04:57 PM, Thursday 28 April 2005

Our paper about the state of river restoration in the US comes out in Science tomorrow. Tonight (or possibly tomorrow morning) NPR will play a story by science reporter David Malakoff about our paper. Both my advisor and one of my friends are interviewed. This is huge and I'm really excited, but if the ivory-bill story overshadows us I don't really mind. Your local newspaper will probably have a story about river restoration in your area in the next week quoting various members of our working group. And then all of the media blitz will be over and I can do science again. _
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07:19:48 AM, Thursday 28 April 2005

The ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct! This may the most exciting announcement in natural history in my lifetime. Now I want to go visit Remi's folks and try to see one. _
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07:15:27 AM, Thursday 28 April 2005

Anne LaMotte, God Doesn't Take Sides
There's an old joke about a man who is being shown around heaven for the first time, by St. Peter, who walks around pointing out the various glories where people of all colors and ethnic persuasions live -- grassy hills, green meadows, still waters, symphony halls, silent spaces, steep hillsides for people who want to hike to the mountaintops or the ponds, and so on. Then they come upon a great walled fortress.

"What on earth is that?" asks the man. "Oh," says St. Peter. "That's where the fundamentalists live. It's not heaven for them if they think anyone else got in." _
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10:49:57 AM, Wednesday 27 April 2005

Ratzinger was active in stamping out liberation theology, with its emphasis on grass-roots activism to fight poverty. Wow, I think Liberation Theology is the most important teaching of Christianity. I guess it's a pretty good thing I'm not a Catholic, since apparently it's stampings all the way around. _
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04:16:45 PM, Tuesday 19 April 2005

Gay? Fine By Me is a t-shirt campaign that began at Duke (once considered the most homophobic campus in the country). I am especially impressed by the high school students who have gotten involved, as I don't remember high school as a place that it would have been safe to wear a t-shirt with that on it. _
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02:08:14 PM, Tuesday 19 April 2005

The Dean has a sensible proposal for a nationwide energy policy. _
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04:06:31 PM, Friday 15 April 2005

So, not all rich people or even all rich professional athletes suck. George Foster goes to bat for Upward Bound. _
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01:24:20 PM, Thursday 14 April 2005

Many days here are frustrating--I get nothing done on the long-term projects because a single email or phone call leads to 50 little things that must be done immediately, and I never get only one of those in a day. Today, however, is better because I have been charged with finding a restaurant in New Orleans where the working group can all have dinner together one evening in May. I put in a request with the chamber of commerce, and now I'm reading reviews and learning about the differences between Creole and Cajun cuisine. Not such a bad job. _
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10:46:29 AM, Thursday 14 April 2005

Best wrong number ever. I just answered the phone "Hello, blahblah lab" as I always do, and a little kid's voice said "who?"
Me:blahblah
LK:Is this wrestling?
Me:I'm sorry?
LK:Is this WWE?
Me:No, it's not. I'm very sorry.

Because, if it were wrestling, rather than biogeochemistry, my life would be much more interesting. _
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04:45:15 PM, Monday 11 April 2005

In the ongoing phone survey saga, I must constantly reassess which is more miserable: calling people to do the surveys, or listening to tape recordings of the surveys. I apologize to the whole world for my voice. I would have a vocal cord transplant (and possibly some accent correction surgery) to spare you all the pain if I could. _
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10:40:36 AM, Monday 11 April 2005

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