NIBRS Frustration

The crim/data folks who read this blog will appreciate my whining ... everyone will just think I'm being typically impatient (and boring). As I was waiting for some students to stop by this afternoon, I decided to "play" with some NIBRS data (this is detailed crime incident data). I've had a couple of paper ideas for NIBRS that have been sitting on the back burner and I wanted to see if some of them would actually be feasible. That was at 3:45 p.m. It's now 5:15 p.m. and the data are still loading into SPSS. This is a victim-level file from 2002 looking only at property crimes, so not even all of the 2002 data. The case count so far is 2,360,000 and counting.

It's was fine to let this run in the background while I met with students, read my mail, cleaned up my email inbox, etc. Now I want to go home. It's after 5 p.m. on Thursday. Thursdays are my Fridays (end of the teaching week and my evening off) so I just want to go home, eat dinner, and watch The Wire. I could just leave my computer on and go home, but it's running off of the software on my PC and I'm afraid it might crash at this point or give me an incomplete file and then I won't trust the file that I have in the morning and I'll have to start all over again. I also could just start all over again tomorrow, but that seems kind of silly since it's probably at least half way done by now.

This painful lesson in patience has made me appreciate Holli Lama's complaints of working with large graphic files, and it also reminds me of why no one analyzes NIBRS data or at least not assistant professors who would like to get tenure in this lifetime!!

A New Low

I thought that the excessive coverage of the departure of the Wiggles lead singer was a sign of a slow media day. Now, however, I think that the media has hit an all time low. My morning online newspaper troll led me to this precious find.

The headline from the cover of the Life section of USAToday:
The crotch shot seen 'round the world

The headline of the actual article:
Britney's crotch shots take web by storm

I seriously do not want to read about Britney's crotch at 8 a.m. In fact, I really don't want to read about anyone's crotch, particularly in a serious news outlet. At least CNN was respectable enough not to have the same story posted ... at least not yet.

The Grinch Who Stole the Christmas Shoes

I've been listening to the 24-hour Christmas music radio station since Thanksgiving to get into the holiday spirit. I like most of the songs that they play, but one of them is already grinding on my nerves. You are probably expecting me to say it's "Gradma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," or something like that. Yes, that one is annoying too.

The song that bothers me most right now is "Christmas Shoes." I know, it's probably really horrible to complain about a sweet song depicting a boy trying to do something nice for his mother before she dies. But, really, could it get any sappier? The moral of the story is that some wealthy, busy man runs into this boy buying shoes for his mother and thereby learns the "true meaning of Christmas." How pathetic are you that you need such a desparate situation to remind you of the true meaning of Christmas? The run-of-the mill tragedies of the world (poverty, AIDS, senseless violence) don't suffice to get the message across?!?

I realize that I sound like a Grinch complaining about this feel-good song, but I felt better about my opinion when I read the review of the book that the song is based on by Publisher's Weekly that called the story "a gooey holiday parable." I'm just not a fan of goo.

Rockwell's Americana

Yesterday we made our first trip to the Berkshires, the quaint little towns in the rolling Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. We ended up in Stockbridge, once home of Norman Rockwell and current home of his museum. The town was just as cute as we expected it to be, with a main street filled with old-fashioned little stores, historic inns, and adorable farm houses and cottages.

I couldn't resist going to the Rockwell museum and I really enjoyed it. While I'm quite familiar with his pictures, I don't remember ever seeing his actual paintings, although I'm sure I must have at some point. Anyhow, seeing some of his classic paintings up close was really impressive and the gallery with all of his covers from the Saturday Evening Post was fascinating. Seeing the chronology of the covers was a visual American history lesson. I also learned some new things about Rockwell, including his profound sense of tolerance and social justice. Some of his works on that theme were quite bold for the times.

Rockwell was also interested in the debate between urban versus rural (or in his case, small town) living. Since this is one of Eddie's favorite debates as well, it's not surprising that we spent the ride home discussing why we should live in the Berkshires and commute to work, especially since it's only about 45 minutes to Albany. Aside from my usual retort of not wanting to commute to work anymore, I just checked the real estate listings for Stockbridge and the earliest we'll be able to afford a modest home there is when I become a full professor. For now the discussion has been tabled.

Ugly Betty

When I first saw the previews for Ugly Betty I thought it would be too campy for me. I put it on the DVR schedule anyhow because I'm a big fan of America Ferrera. Now I'm hooked and every week it's the show that I most look forward to watching. Even though the moral message and delivery are over the top, it's still a fun, smart comedy with some endearing moments. It also has had some real laugh-out-loud moments, which are pretty rare on t.v. these days. Not only does Ferrera live up to her talent, but the supporting cast are real "characters." They're outrageous, but charming in their own right. I just love Betty's little nephew who has his own take on machismo.

Low-Key Holiday

Although we miss spending Thanksgiving with our families, there's something to be said for a low-key holiday. The turkey's in the oven and we're watching the Macy's parade while we wait for the Lions game. After the game there will probably be a nap before dinner. The evening clean-up won't be bad since there's only two of us. The dogs will be happy with their annual turkey leftover feast. And I should also be able to squeeze in a non-academic book, since I haven't read one in weeks.

This evening we'll talk to my family on the web cam. Yesterday was Eddie's birthday and Abby wants to sing to him. That will be adorable. I'm sure she'll also have lots of amusing stories about Thanksgiving with her cousins and the latest adventures at pre-school. Apparently she just learned how to make butter from scratch.

Disappointing

Ohio State 42, Michigan 39
[sigh] Need I say more?

Oh yeah, it was a heartbreaking loss in the wake of the death of the man who built the rivalry and who was one of the greatest college football coaches ever.

Feminism Part II

The other way in which discussions of "women's issues" have been quite uni-dimensional here is the very narrow and naive view that women can only be victims of discrimination and inequality and not perpetrators. The women's groups typically consist of white women espousing very mainstream middle-class values. Diversity along race and class lines isn't explicitly excluded, although it's also not actively persued. This is exactly the same criticism that has been leveled against the first wave of feminism more generally, but it doesn't seem to have taken root here.

Personally I have been offended on several occasions by very bourgeois attitudes regarding gender roles and employment issues. For example, given my background and my husband's career, I find it offensive when people imply that blue-collar jobs are worthless and assume that there is some intrinsic value in having a Ph.D. It is even more insensitive when these comments are made by people who know me fairly well. I realize that these comments are not made to intentionally insult me, but they are based on a naive assumption that our gender unites us in a way that blinds all other social distinctions. Simply because we are women, we must naturally be similar in other respects as well.

I'm bothered by the uncritical examination of how women can engage in exclusionary practices. It's easy to blame men for all of our troubles. It's much harder to be self-reflective about our role in perpetrating social divisions.

What Kind of Femininist Am I?

I've found that since living in Albany I've been forced to really think about my position on feminism in a way that I haven't had to before. I'm actually surprised by this development given the blatantly sexist environment of my last job, the aggressively PC environment at U of M, the oppressive patriarchy of grad school, etc. It's obviously not the case that I'm thinking about gender dynamics for the first time, but there's something very different about this experience that is bothering me. The problem, though, is that I'm having trouble articulating exactly what is bothering me. I've been trying not to blog too much about work, for the simple fact that this is a public blog and I wouldn't want anything written here to haunt me when I'm up for tenure. At the same time, I'm hoping that blogging about this issue will help me figure it out in my own head.

I've been involved in numerous discussions about "women in academia" or "balancing career and family" lately that have left me ... uncomfortable. The intentions behind these discussions are good and I certainly wouldn't want to give the impression that these things aren't important. Yes, there are gender inequities in academia that affect me and others directly and indirectly. Yes, we should discuss these issues intellectually and openly. Yes, we should work toward changing this environment so that is more equitable (in many ways).

However, there is something unsatisfying about these discussions. I think that one of the things that bothers me is the very uni-dimensional nature of these conversations. The message that I've gotten so far is this:

• As a young, female assistant professor trying to make a career in a male-dominated environment, I should have a set list of "concerns" that every other woman in my position shares (the biological clock, how to "have it all," etc.).
• I should commiserate with other women in academia about the inequities of our world, but behind closed doors.
• I should not engage men in these discussions or advocate for institutional changes that could actually resolve or mitigate some of these issues.
• I should be comfortable discussing my personal fertility decisions with women who I barely know and I should welcome them to engage in equally personal discussions with me. Apparently having ovaries makes it "natural" to want to discuss sex and babies with anyone else who has ovaries. (For those of you who mock my strict personal vs. work boundaries, you can appreciate how much this one bothers me.)

In many ways I find these expectations more oppressive than the gender issues I get from men. More to come ...

Darker Days

The main thing that I dislike about living on the east coast is that we have about an hour less daylight than in Michigan. Even though we're in the same time zone, Detroit is on the western end of that zone so they eek out a little extra sunlight. It is early November and it's already getting dark here just after 4 p.m. The long dark days get kind of depressing after awhile, which is why I keep telling Eddie that we can't move to Alaska. I suppose it's good that I've started taking a Vitamin-D supplement. Although I'm not especially concerned about rickets, D deficiency is apparently related to other health problems, including osteoperosis for women and Alzheimer's. My nutritionist recently pointed out that I have now reached the age where I'm losing bone mass. That's just as depressing as the darkness.

L.A. Wrap-Up

For all of the Idol fans, here's a picture of the Kodak Theater from Hollywood Boulevard in L.A. The conference was a success and I got a lot of work done there. The last two days were really hectic, so I didn't get to do any other sightseeing. I flew back yesterday and spent the day catching up on sleep. It was a good trip overall, but I'm happy to be home.

Day 2 in L.A.

So Day 2 in L.A. has been pretty good. I spent the morning at the conference and it was very productive. I heard some interesting presentations and met some important people -- exactly what I'm supposed to be doing here. I then took the afternoon off to go explore L.A. I took the subway to Hollywood Boulevard, where I saw the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. I couldn't see the enshrined handprints of the rich and famous because they were getting ready for some red carpet event -- I did get to see the red carpet, though. I also strolled the Walk of Fame and saw some great (Julie Andrews), and once-great (Michael Jackson), and questionably great stars (Winnie the Pooh -- come on, I love Pooh, but a Walk of Fame star is just Disney advertising in my book).

I saw the famous Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards and American Idol finals. Conveniently enough, there is a star for Ryan Seacrest (also questionable in my book), right in front of the theater. I'm having trouble loading pictures to Blogger right now, so I'll show proof of my visit later on.

Last, but not least, there was plenty of Hollywood kitsch. Fake Academy Awards every few feet, not to mention the maps of the homes of the rich and famous. I was almost tempted to take a tour of the area and see some of the homes, but it was just too voyeuristic for my tastes.

Day 1 in L.A.

With the exception of San Francisco, I'm not a huge fan of California. The whole west coast vibe just doesn't really suit me. One of the reasons why I wasn't looking forward to the criminology meetings this year is that I didn't want to go to L.A. It's expensive, and far, and not terribly exciting in my book.

It took two flights totaling almost 7 hours to reach L.A. For someone with a severe motion sickness problem, this is a grueling trip. Luckily, the plane trip to L.A. was fairly smooth and I was even able to get a little work done on the plane -- all for naught, as I then left my folder with all of my notes, readings, and even some materials for my conference presentation on the plane.

The shuttle van ride from the airport to the hotel was brutal. I'm usually scared during these trips because the cab/van drivers are not the safest drivers in the world, but this was the first time where I got really sick. Between the long plane rides and the psychotic van driver, I seriously thought I was going to toss my cookies in the van. To make matters worse, I was with 10 other very friendly criminologists all heading to the same hotel making lots of small talk. I had to struggle to try to be social without puking all over them.

Thankfully I made it to the hotel and spent the next hour trying to see if I could recover my lost folder from Northwest. Well, it may be in the lost and found at LAX, but they don't have a phone number so I'd have to shuttle back over there to see if it's there or not. No thanks! Just another reason why I hate Northwest.

I had a free evening so I was going to try to do something fun in L.A., but I just couldn't muster the energy. Between the motion sickness, getting up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight, the 3-hour time difference, and my complete exasperation at losing my stuff, I just didn't have it in me.

The good news is that Day 2 in L.A. is turning out to be much better. Stay tuned for the next exciting update.