30 may 2001

08 may 2001

01:47 p.m. - Salon article on the shutting down of Hatewatch.com [by Jay Dixit]

01:38 p.m. - Questia in the news again | "A solid future for Questia Media is still an online question mark" from [Houston Chronicle April 14, 2001] and today's news: "Online college library and research firm slows pace, reduces staff by almost half" [Houston Chronicle, May 9, 2001]. I have a good friend who works there.

01:33 p.m. - oh! I am at a loss. Over the weekend, the temps dropped to 34ish and I don't think that my cukes have a chance now. I'll have to start over this weekend. oh well.

10:01 p.m. - my reading list now includes the Baker tome: Double Fold. Yale is thrashed about a bit, but not too harshly. not. Hardeeharhar. The reviews have been mixed (fair to libraries v. not) - the NYRB summary was excellent. Today a group that I meet with is discussing Nature Web Debates - most recently on - primary sources made available online [See Science Mag Online]...especially research journal articles held fast to by various societies and for profit publishers. Should be an interesting discusion this time around.

11:54 p.m. - from Salon.com May 1, 2001

GO AMY!: Amy Kapczynski, the first-year law student [Yale] who helped pressure Yale and Bristol-Myers Squibb to relinquish their South Africa patent on a crucial AIDS drug.

"Amy and Goliath
A first-year law student brought a giant pharmaceutical to its knees. But will her victory for South Africa's AIDS sufferers deprive the world of new medicines?"

2:00 p.m. - I still babysit. I enjoy being with kids. The little tyke that I sit for regularly (about 1-2 times each month) just turned 3. Friends and acquaintances often ask me 'why' I still babysit. I don't have a child of my own at the moment so I do it to stay in touch with my maternal side. Sometimes I don't know why myself. The terrible twos can indeed be terrible. But I always learn something new. Something older than time always checks in, too.

18 April 2001

9:08 a.m. - The Kiss of Henry (The Nation)

9:01 a.m. - Links to the whole Media Whores thing with Christopher Hitchens:

- Media Whores online
- Anthony York's Column 1 and 2 and 3

6:42 p.m. - Here's a link to an old homeschooling page that I wrote about two years ago.

6:36 p.m. - More veggies are up and about in the little pots. I've got a lovely selection of tomatos. More plum lemons. And Applegreen Eggplant. I got many of my seeds this year from http://www.seedsavers.com/

9:33 a.m. - I did my taxes last night just before midnight like I always do every year. Consistency is the key for that one, I guess.

12 april 2001

10:50 p.m. - As a former baptist, I think that I might should be offended by this blasphemous and obscene site, but I have to say that It's pretty good. Think of it as The Onion with a clear and concise purpose. "Where the worthwhile worship. Unsaved are not welcome."

11 april 2001

10:43 p.m. - I am such a huge fan of Jamie Oliver. I've got about 3 episodes so far, but he is such a fun nut and I enjoy trying out his suggestions.

08:31 p.m. - My Garden. I have planted all of my seeds that need a little head start up here in Connecticut.

black zucchini
sibley squash
pattypan squash
white wonder cucumber

lemon cucumber
armenian cucumber
english cucumber
early bird cucumber
golden sunray tomato (up)

plum lemon tomato (up)
marizol purple tomato (up)
german green tomato (up)
plum tomato (pompeii) (up)
regular ole tomato (up)
tomatillos (up)
ancho peppers
black hungarian peppers
applegreen eggplant (up)

baby peas (french citadel)
sugar snap peas
trieste fennel (up)
indian summer spinach (up)

and I've got my crocus, daffodil, and tulips all up and/or almost up and as soon as the weather warms up a little more, I'll set out the various remainders (beans mostly):

blackeyed peas

bush italian beans
black valentine beans
tricolor bush beans (gold, purple, and green)

radishes
chives
cilantro
basil
red mustard
mitzspoona
pak choi
asian red kale

My goal was to basically grow things that I don't usually find at the local grocers. I can get anchos, but I wanted to make my own chipotles. So cool beans!

10:12 a.m. Camille Paglia comments on Bush 'the Man'

09 april 2001

07:49 p.m. - this is so damn fun. It's raining. I'm in my cozy little office in the half basement of the Yale Law School with my window ajar listening to the meditative rain and running through search engines as fast as possible looking for 'Jedediah Purdy' references. And to tell the truth, I'm laughing out loud and glad that no one else is here. This is so damn fun. Here's the latest:

Jebediah Purdy
Name: Ruth W
Email: [XXXX]@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: Jedediah Purdy
Date: Wed Mar 15 05:09:17 2000 GMT

I haven't read the book, but I have heard the guy's commentaries on National Public Radio. He's very earnest, exactly the right word for it, and at the risk of offending younger shipmates, I'll add that I'm hoping he'll grow up and grow out of this, for it's the kind of earnestness that suits people in their early twenties, but that is very wearing in anyone older than that.

And from when the guy was at Harvard (1995):

Still, Harvard's less affluent students rarely identify themselves as "poor" in dealing with wealthier friends and classmates. Some suggest that this reticence comes from a sense that, at Harvard, we share a privilege that transcends economic differences. That argument depends on the claim that an abstract future shapes us more than our past and present experiences. While we may share future prospects (so far as these are unaffected by racism, sexism, family connections, and final-club membership), we still bring radically different histories and ongoing personal lives to every encounter. I increasingly believe that Harvard's least advantaged conceal or downplay our backgrounds and experiences because those are devalued, even rendered illegitimate, by Harvard's presumption of affluence. Being a Harvard student means being, at least, economically comfortable;. Where affluence is assumed, poverty is perceived in terms of lack, and asserting lack is a difficult task.

"'I called Purdy's publicist and asked if I could speak to him. Fifteen minutes later, Purdy called. This made me think that earnestness might be a good thing. Then I realized that you have to jump on any media opportunity when you're trying to sell a book called For Common Things: Irony, Trust, and Commitment in America Today.

I asked Purdy if the book wasn't just an excuse for not having a sense of humor. He said, "That's a pretty nifty little piece of psychological deductionism." I took that as a yes. Then, to make conversation, I asked him his favorite movie. He paused and said, "I like movies, but I don't orient to them with the same sophistication as a lot of folks."

'Posted by Sarah on April 22, 19100 at 04:01:16:

HELP!! Have to compare the criticisms of politics in For Common Things by Jedediah Purdy and Plato's Republic using the allegory of the ship'

I should be bold and create a Jedediah Purdy website/log seeing as how I was homeschooled and see him in these sacred halls ever so often. ahahahahahah. hmmm.

"The entire American school system needs to be stringently reexamined from primary grades through college. If high school has turned into a seething arena of boredom and competitive tension erupting in mayhem, it's partly (as I told Interview magazine after the Columbine massacre two years ago) because modern schools have become dungeons for active young men at their most hormonally driven period of life.

Forcing restless teens of both sexes to sit like robots in regimented rows in crowded classrooms for the better part of each day is a pointless, sadistic exercise except for those with their sights on office jobs. This school system is not even 200 years old, yet most people treat it as if the burning bush floated it down from Mount Sinai. Too often, school has become a form of mental and physical oppression.

Exactly what is being taught? Certainly not wisdom or perspective on life. Can anyone honestly claim that current high school students know more about history, science, language and the arts than students 40 years ago? As for college students, the shallowness of their training in the humanities has become all too evident as graduates of the elite schools have entered the professions and the media over the past 20 years.

A gigantic, self-perpetuating school system is forcing students along a pre-professional track whether they want it or not. Perhaps as many as half the college students currently enrolled in the elite schools may not really want to be there but have just numbly followed along in the track of their parents' and peers' social expectations. They have no other options. If our pampered students have the best of all possible worlds, why are so many of them binge-drinking and anesthetizing themselves with brain-wrecking designer drugs?

As I've argued in the past, there's no way that the daughter of prosperous, successful, white upper-middle-class parents could decide to drop out of an Ivy League school in her sophomore year to get married and be a stay-at-home mom. She would be upbraided and shamed, accused of "wasting" her education and betraying her "real" talents -- and embarrassing her status-conscious parents.

Similarly, it's scarcely imaginable that the son of such a family could opt for the career of auto mechanic or trucker instead of physician, lawyer or businessman. There was a time when most high schools offered shop classes and when technical institutions gave practical preparation in the trades to non-college bound students. As the service sector expanded in the U.S. economy after World War II, such choices became fewer"

The people who raised me affiliated themselves with a movement that embraced all of the 'basics'. Apprenticeships were commonly endorsed and actively promoted. Friends of my brother are now fully qualified EMTs, commercial drivers, carpenters, plumbers, etc. They're working through college and/or finding that they don't need (or want) to go. The grief that I have with the way that I grew up was not with the basic ideology, but that it was applied so differently from one person to another. If you were female, like myself, very little was a option for you. Homemaking skills was about it. I had SOOO wanted to learn how to fix a car. I wanted to grow up to be a truck driver and move among the highways of the West. But I was led into two options: teacher or librarian. The automotive classes at the local community college were too 'rough' for me being only 16 and all. So I became a sad sack English major who learned to become very bitter about the lack of scholarship and the browned nose you had to wear to get your degree and be free as the Indigo Girls song goes...

I'm single and don't know that I want to be married, but I do want a kid...adoption is a great option and one that I know I'll lean towards being adopted myself. I pray that I will find a way to see ALL potential in my kid(s). I want them to seek the path that pleases them. Even if it bends, merges, and splits twenty times. No one should regret feeling like they had a destiny rather than a choice.

12:13 a.m. - when has it been that I enjoy going to work? I'm 30. I can't remember. But I love it now. I even get in early...sigh.

12:02 a.m. - reading the various newspapers online this evening, popping back and forth among them comparing who says what about various aspects of China and Milosevic (Blood and Honey photoessay) and torture in Egypt and Russia finally pulling out of Chechnya... I landed on a story that I just loved: Jodie Foster is pregnant again. I work at Yale and there are lots of stories still around about what she was like and what Yale was like when she was here. I eat them up. Growing up I was a closet Jodie fan. 'Closet' in the sense that I wanted to be as butch as possible just like she was in Freaky Friday. Mom wasn't in to that... We watched her films at church and school. I think that my favorite is Candleshoe (1977). The opening scenes are the best. In torn jeans and army jacket she runs and steals and shoves and punches. Oh! She was wonderful! Later on I would repeat over and over as often as possible 'So Long, Suckers' from Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. I'm still slightly amazed that I was introduced to the work of Martin Scorsese via a Kris Kristofferson flick. But I was. Jodie, love ya!

Hey- did you watch Frontline tonight? My TiVo caught it for me...and I just finished it. If you get pig stem cells injected into your brain do you ever again worry with keeping kosher?

09:30 p.m. - ok...you have to go Greek or Hebrew to make Kissinger the antichrist. Here's the scoop. sigh. quick little detail from that site...this is the Hebrew version of the name...and to see the Greek, just go to the site...but be forewarned this one is a proselytizer:

'ANTICHRIST'S NAME IN OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW KISSINGER = Koph Yod Sin Nun Gimel Gimel Resh = 100+10+300+50+3+3+200 = 666 (7 letters) Note: It is remarkable that, while 'Kissinger' is not Hellenic or Semitic in origin, it equals 666 in both Greek and Hebrew. Since 'Kissinger' is non-Semitic, it can be spelled with two G's assuming that the first G is a weak aspirant and the second is strong.'

08:19 p.m. - I've been at the new job for a week and a day. Still loving just about every minute of it...and that, to me, is the best sign that says that you're working a job that you enjoy. I'm now working for a place that spoils its staff. As a boon to the perks like free health care and over a month's worth of vacation a year, we get toys and plenty of alcohol at 'happy hour' every Friday at 5. The work side is challenging. I've never been the 'boss' over anyone save a student here or there or a temporary situation. It's basically a good combination of what I do well and what challenges me. So I'm set for a while.

Ok...what I've been reading. More about the 70s...focusing on how the 'academic' research community dealt then with 'cults' and how missionaries dealt with the 'pagans' and influenced international policy. It's absolutely fascinating stuff. I eat up anything linking mission work with the CIA and the like --often the local equivalent.

Camille Paglia drove me nuts for the past week with her latest. She's not a Sopranos fan. I am. completely and totally. Especially as I lately seem to be so in love with so many of the characters. The way that Dr. Melfi said 'no' with such strength. god damn. I'm not from Italian stock, German and Scot for the most part, but heck. I love the bad side of anyone. But fuck Janice.

Edward Said writes again for peace and reason and why intellectuals are still relevant. Feed magazine has an interview with Hitchens from 03-01-2001. The interview glances through some of Hitchen's charges against Kissinger. 'The most devastating charges relate to Kissinger's involvement in Chile and, particularly, Vietnam.' And most importantly - the transcript from the Harper's Forum which just can't be played enough on C-SPAN. sigh. who cares about the latest house vote. Kissinger is the antichrist. or one of many listed. The religious freaks that I grew up with proved it. well. hmmm. but hey. they said that it works but with an english spelling it doesn't.

H 8 e 5 n 14 r 18 y 25 A 1 l 12 f 6 r 18 e 5 d 4 K 11 I 9 S 19 S 19 I 9 N 14 G 7 E 5 R 18. This total only comes up to 227, so I don't know how they got it up to 666. I should see if someone has this up on a site. the research never ends...

10:45 p.m. - I was doing some research on President Jimmy Carter and ran across this link from ABCNews. I don't know that I have ever heard about an ex-Prez willing to talk about UFOs. I've seen the strange sightings three times in my 30 years. The first was with my Dad when I was 15. We were returning from a long walk where we had been talking about my starting college the next year. As we turned the corner on to our street we stopped to continue the conversation and my dad looked up within the moment of a long sigh and a quiet 'oh my' turned my eyes upwards following his gaze. Above us was something that seemed to move about 20 miles/hour. The direction was towards us which was from the south going north/northeast. The thing seemed to be 1500-2000 ft. above the ground. There were seven blocks of light in a delta formation. Even as it moved above our heads and for a while afterwards, we heard absolutely no sound.

UFO example from the story above.... Now don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily believe that what is referred to as a UFO is not of this world. I've just seen three things that I didn't recognize in my wee little bit of human existence.

The second story is from a trip that I took to Thailand. We had already flown on Thai Air from Seattle to Tokyo. About 30 minutes from Narita, the captain came on talking calmly in Thai. All of a sudden over half the passengers in the 747 jumped up excitedly and ran to the right side of the plane. Not knowing Thai, I hadn't a clue what was going on so I just remained in my seat watching the people point out the windows and chatter away in hushed and excited tones. Within about a minute, the captain comes on in English and explains what is happening. He says that there are unexplained lights to the right of the plane. They appeared about five minutes ago. The captain has notified Tokyo airspace tower, but there has yet been no response. The lights are undulating and moving independent of each other. They are white. Then passengers start yelling and moving back from the windows as my friend Yee exclaims that the lights are moving towards the plane. I leap up from my aisle seat and cross the aisle to an empty row and begin looking out the leftside windows. The passengers yelp and some scream. I am staring into the darkness when two lights shoot out from below the plane and one from above. They level off and I see that indeed they move independently of each other. They continue to move away from us and I keep watching until I can't see anything anymore. The captain then came on again saying that the plane is ok and that there is nothing to fear about the current status of the flight. He also says that he has yet to receive an answer from Tokyo or from any other contact.

My third story is relatively short and simple. I was driving from Memphis to Nashville for some training for work. It was during the day just before noon. I was about two hours from Nashville on the interstate. I looked ahead along the highway and noticed at about 50 degrees, there was a silver object with an orange-ish aura. The object moved slightly to the right and then slightly up and then back to where it was. The movements were very slow and without any obvious jerking. Now since my vehicle was moving along the highway at about 70 miles/hour, I figured that this was some kind of ballon and that I just couldn't see it very clearly. But it stayed in the same position --distance and height even as I was speeding along. The idea that it was not a ballon hit me after about an hour. Then as I was concentrating on it and trying to get a better look at it. About 15 minutes later the object began to move to the left. It crossed the highway and continued to move. Now very fast. And then it was gone. and for now, I'm signing off.

3:46 p.m. - Pat Schroeder has gone off the deep end. She's behind the AAP and they're trying to slap librarians around. We're going to bite back, you can count on that. Go Kranich!

12:53 p.m. - a friend of mine made me a snowy day cd and I've now been introduced to Dido and Marine Research and Letters to Cleo and Shudder to Think and Kendall Payne and...very nice mix to work to as well as read. Beautiful stuff.

Yesterday I picked up two books from the lib on Witchcraft and Demonology. One was the Letters on D and W by Sir Walter Scott. I'm not interested in Wicca or being a witch or the powers that they claim. I'm interested in the reaction to their claims. How people handle the mystery or fear. There are some damn fascinating tales in those tomes.

12:47 p.m. - They got one guy, but maybe there were two? The Tech University Daily continues to print updates about the murder (see below).

7:15 p.m. - Ah, Lubbock, how do I miss thee? More on the news about Birdsall. You'd at least think that they'd get his name right.

10:20 a.m. - Updates on the Lubbock/Texas Tech Library tragedy: Arrest made in double murder from the Lubbock Avalanche and again from the University Daily.

11:13 p.m. - The police authorities in Lubbock have ruled that Doug was murdered.

3:15 p.m. - news from a former place of employment is coming at me every which way in shocking detail. Foul play is expected regarding the death yesterday of the Associate Dean of Libraries at Texas Tech University. I worked there for two years and Doug was very involved with my day to day work and that of my department. It is quite a loss and I feel for everyone there. May they find grace in this time of hardship.

12:52 p.m. - More from my lunch half-hour reading:

From the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal: 'Lots of Firsts' -- Christopher Hitchens, January 16, 2001

"• The first presidential candidate to conduct a photo-op execution during the New Hampshire primary.
• The first president to be credibly accused of rape (and to refuse comment on the charge).
• The first president to face proceedings for disbarment.
• The first president to pay money to an aggrieved female former subordinate.
• The first president to be suspected of ordering bomb and missile attacks to save his own "private" face.
• The first president to have franchised the Lincoln bedroom as a means of fund-raising.
• The first president to have defined the Oval Office as private property.
• The first president to have kept another president waiting as he used the above property privately.
• The first president to issue a public apology for something he did not admit to having done.
• The first president to have claimed not to watch his own impeachment hearings."

and From The Nation: "This is the last column of mine that will appear in the Clinton era. Eight years ago, I concluded that the man was a pathological liar, filthy about women, corrupt about money, desperate to please authority, a serf alike to powerful interests and to opinion polls. His legacy is "managed competition," "don't ask, don't tell" and "faith-based" care for the losers. He didn't mean it about the era of big government being "over," as Powell and others are about to demonstrate, using his same selective principles. It's been a nasty interlude between the Bushes. The incurables among you can now set to work, to make Bush seem a dismal interlude between two wonderful Clintons." from The Minority Report -- Christopher Hitchens:

12:21 p.m. - From Paglia's latest in Salon:

"If only one had the exhilarating sense of new beginnings that normally comes with a changing of the guard. But out of some strange psychological stagnancy, Bush has lazily surrounded himself with advisors and appointees from long-gone Republican administrations. It's baffling why someone who urgently needs to prove to the world that he has a political identity separate from that of his president father wouldn't make a more vigorous effort to bring in fresh blood. Bush has simply played into the hands of critics who claim he wasn't ready for the presidency. Was his web of close personal and professional associations really that thin? And it's dismaying that in this age of communications the president-elect has thus far failed to meet an elementary standard of articulateness for public figures." A bland antidote for Bill 'n' Al fatigue: George W.