Gluttony Is Literally a Deadly Sin

Stop! Just stop with all of the "I can eat more than you can" contests. They are utterly pointless and disgusting. Corporate sponsorship of these events is morally reprehensible and spectatorship is depraved. There is no skill or talent involved in these contests -- just plain gluttony and often stupidity. Case in point -- the guy who died because he had five cupcakes lodged in his throat and he couldn't breathe. Good grief! What a horrible way to go and it was completely preventable (remember all of those "chew and swallow" directives when you were a kid?).

Today is one of those news days that's filled with strange deaths. Aside from cupcake guy, another man was killed by a shark and the woman who couldn't get oxygen on a flight.

Cool Computer Apps

Sometimes little things really can make a big difference. I've just installed two simple computer applications that are making me very happy. The first is Taskbar Shuffle, which allows you to rearrange how your programs appear in the Windows taskbar. This is incredibly important for me because I keep a lot of windows open at once and I like to keep them in a very specific order at the bottom of my screen. I get very distracted when they are out of order. Yes, I know, I should get over it, but now I don't have to!

The other application was just recommended by Corey. It's last.fm and it creates customizable radio stations. I haven't been using this one for long, but so far it's great. And it's come at a great time for me because I've been very bored with my iTunes collection and not quite satisfied with most Internet radio stations.

Clueless

On the way home from work Monday I stopped at the local drug store to buy milk and a few other things I needed. When I made my way to the counter there was a new clerk there -- a very chatty 50-ish man. He immediately commented on how I was paying too much for a gallon of milk and it would actually be cheaper to buy 2 half-gallons. I politely told him that if I really wanted to save money I'd buy milk at the grocery store, but I'm paying for the convenience.

Then he rang up my other three items -- a birthday card for my brother-in-law (Sto lat!), a lipstick, and an eyeliner. The total was around $23.00. He stared at the register dumbfounded.

No, that can't be right.

He checked the receipt to make sure he rang it up correctly. He starts babbling about how it's not possible for these four items to cost so much. I, of course, ignore him and run my debit card because I know the total is correct. Finally, I'm afraid he's going to cancel the transaction, so I decide to explain to him that the total is correct because of the makeup items.

NO! How can that be?!? Those little things can't cost that much!

Yes, it's correct. Can you imagine what they would cost at the Estee Lauder counter at Nieman Marcus?

And then I made a hasty retreat as I used up all of the politeness that I had in me at the moment. Really, how clueless can you be? What a luxury to be middle-aged and never have to consider what it costs women to fit into their gender stereotypes. It reminded me of a funny blog post about buying tights written by a female academic that resonates well with the whole White House manifesto regarding no bare legs.

Goings On

Today is Presidents' Day, one of those "holidays" that I truly don't get. It also coincides with our very brief winter break of two days "off." Basically that just means that I teach one less class this week than usual, but otherwise it's a work week just with fewer people around. I wish I had taken advantage of the time off to go away for a few days, but I decided to "catch up" on work instead, as if that ever really happens. Anyhow, here are today's thoughts during my lunch break blogging:

• The lasted USDA beef recall is yet another sign that I should return to vegetarianism. I've really cut back on meat over the last 6 months or so (and I hardly ever eat beef), but I haven't given it up all together mostly because I'm still struggling with protein deficiency. I've also been eating a lot more organic food lately, although I really don't know how anyone with kids could afford to eat organically regularly. We're supposed to be reading Omnivore's Dilemma for our campus reading project this spring and, quite honestly, I'm not looking forward to it. I've been avoiding that book because I think it's going to freak me out.

• Kosovo has declared it's independence. Once again my little corner of the world is back in the headlines. Yeah for me! It remains to be determined whether or not this will be good for the Kosovars. This region has suffered extreme violence for years, mainly ethnically motivated, but I'm not completely convinced that "nationhood" is going to solve this problem. Let's hope I'm wrong.

• I'm starting to get serious about my book project. I've made tentative plans this summer for a book retreat with a friend. We're going to spend at least two weeks in some nice location to just focus on our respective books. The goal is to find a place that's far away from our daily distractions but not too far from a good research library. So far we're considering Cape Cod/Boston, Madison, and Raleigh. Any other suggestions?

Climate Change

We recently watched Arctic Tale, which was an enjoyable movie for a number of reasons. The part that stuck with me most, though, was watching the effects of global warming (oops, I mean "climate change") on the arctic wildlife. The footage of natural habitats in this film is really impressive and the fact that this team of cinematographers has been filming the arctic for several years allows you to visualize the changing climate over a relatively short period of (geological) time. The melting of the glaciers is just an unbelievable sight.

Soon after seeing that movie I heard a great story on NPR about how the Maldives is coping with global warming. This tiny group of islands in the Indian Ocean could easily be submerged by rising sea levels. They have been actively engaged in the debate about climate change long before Western countries would acknowledge the problem and they have been quite creative in their solutions. In particular, they are building flood-resistant islands. Not only is this a technological feat, but a political one too. The new islands are being marketed for cleanliness and affordability rather than for safety from an "end of the world" doomsday. It's a refreshing example of human possibility.

Sunday Stuff

• I'm suffering from acute restlessness. This is typical for me at this time of year. I'm tired of spending a lot of time indoors. I'm also bored with Albany. We haven't gone anywhere since the holidays and I'm feeling claustrophobic.

• I'm also suffering from a more persistent sense of restlessnes. I haven't been out of the country in a long time. I was scheming to put together a research trip to Europe this summer, but it's probably not going to pan out. The hardest part of balancing my various work obligations and balancing work and personal life is fitting in long-term travel. It's hard for me to justify spending a couple of months out of the country when (a) I have a ton of writing to do that probably won't get done if I'm traveling and (b) I feel bad about leaving my husband behind. At the same time, I study Europe, so it's also problematic not to go there regularly.

• I'm reading a great inspirational memoir, Three Cups of Tea, about a mountain climber who nearly dies climbing K2 and then dedicates his life to building schools in the inhospitable terrain of northern Pakistan in thanks to the very hospitable people who saved his life. It is contributing to my general sense of restlessness. While I value what I do for a living and the contributions I make to society (particularly educating America's youth), I often feel a calling to a less traditional path of social change.

• To write a book or to not write a book -- that is the current pressing question. Some departments are book departments and some are article departments. I was trained in a book department, but my current place of employment is clearly article driven. It would really be nice if it didn't matter -- they are after all just different forms of scholarship. In reality, it matters a lot and this has become crystal clear in my current position. If I plan to go up for tenure here, it would probably be best to just focus on articles. And yet, I've been brewing a book idea for a while and I can't seem to let it go. I'm leaning toward taking the risk, partly because it's hard to say what kind of department I'll end up in given the fluidity of academia. I'm also stubborn and I don't like catering to institutional constraints that I believe are somewhat arbitrary. If I don't travel this summer, and it looks like I probably won't, then I will likely work on a book prospectus. Come what may.

• On a lighter note, I was eager to test out a new internet quiz that's been popular in the blogosphere since I haven't done one in a while. The What Time of Day Are You? quiz turned out to be a disappointment when it declared that I was "breakfasty" when I most certainly am not.
  
  
  

More on the Democratic Race

Although I'm still supporting Clinton for the Democratic primary, I'm nonetheless impressed by Obama's strength in this race. This latest video clip is a great representation Obama's ability to inspire people and mobilize support. The comparisons of Obama to MLK and JFK are justified and it's been a long time since we've had a leader who could stir us out of our apathy. My concern, though, is that these qualities are great for campaigning, but I'm not sure how well they will translate into actual decision-making in the bowels of Washington or in global politics. It's easy to talk about the need for change and harder to actually implement it. This is where I think Clinton's experience will pay off. The failed health reforms of the 90s painfully illustrated how a widespread desire for change never got off the ground. While Clinton is less exciting than Obama, I think she is more realistic about the types of changes that can be accomplished through the presidency.

When I was a freshman in college I read an article for a psychology class about how college women got more conservative as they aged. I remember being outraged and thinking that would never be me. I actually don't think I've become more conservative, but I do think I've become more pragmatic. If I were a college student today, I would probably be more enamored by Obama than I am today. I'd also be out heartedly campaigning. Nowadays, I'm much more of a realist and less easily swayed by grand ideas and powerful speeches. Change is hard, dirty, frustrating, and long-term. I want a candidate who knows how to get things done in those circumstances.

Gender and the Academy -- Breaking the Silence

While this topic is near and dear to me, I have been very tempered in blogging about it because I'm supposed to be "behaving"* at work until I get tenure. Let's just say that it's getting increasingly difficult to keep quiet -- not because of things happening in the external environment, but because it is so counter to the essence of my personality that my self-censoring is becoming a psychological burden.

Since coming to Albany I have been involved in more "women's groups" than ever before. I greatly miss the progressive social environment of the University of Michigan where there was generally a heightened awareness of gender (and other) inequalities and where there were a lot of institutional mechanisms in place to address those issues, albeit imperfectly.** I didn't belong to any such groups there because I didn't need to in order to advocate for my own interests, nor did I feel the need to represent women more generally because others were already doing so. That's simply not the case at Albany, so I feel obliged to participate in these groups, despite the fact that I often don't find them personally gratifying.

One reason why I find them dissatisfying is because I often don't understand their purpose or see any concrete actions coming from them. I agree that one positive function of such groups is to create a comfortable environment for networking, socialization, and support. I have nothing against that in principle, but too often these turn into occasions to bitch and gossip, activities best left to friendship networks than professional relationships. I'd much rather spend my "free" time (since many of these activities take place after official work hours) doing things that are more action-oriented, either with respect to personal goals or more organized institutional changes.

I'm not sure what that means for me, yet, in terms of my participation in these groups, but one action that I'm taking is breaking the silence on the blog. Honestly, I doubt that anything I write here would be that incendiary. And quite frankly, if my personal opinions about gender dynamics prevent me from getting tenure, then it really just wasn't meant to be. Thus, there are likely to be more posts on this topic. One in particular is brewing and was the spark for this prelude. However, I'm currently supposed to be working on a manuscript, so I have to stop procrastinating now.

*Part of "behaving" in this context is not overtly challenging the existing power structure, which just so happens to be male-dominated.

**I certainly had my share of "gender issues" working at Michigan, too, including a very opaque glass ceiling, blatant wage discrimination, and inappropriate behaviors among male supervisors and their staff. Nonetheless, the overall environment there was more positive than most.