sexism is alive and well g-chats

meg: ♫ feels this way everyday: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/fashion/15WORK.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1

evs: just rode on a camel

georgie: Beet and Squash Faux Tomato Sauce - setdinnerhereveg.blogspot.com

k8: ♫ hey, what was that PBS documentary we screened at journey last spring?

"i see why he's called diablo" - arthur

wallace and i met an unleashed dog yesterday walking back home with arthur. said dog, diablo, initially barked a couple times, and then attached himself to wallace's chest with his teeth...then he went for wallace's ear.

Wallace, to his credit, looked down at diablo as if he were a pesky mosquito, and mostly ignored him. Although when diablo went for the ear, wallace did swat him.

Diablo was not neuetered, and I'm pretty sure suffers from a napoleon complex. regardless, this is one of the best arguments for nuetering ever. C'mon people! Unless you're going to be a real, official breeder, you do not need a dog that is unfixed, especially in a city where they are going to interact with other dogs. Either fix them, or train them. if you need reasons why this is a good idea, the Humane Society has some.

"wallace, you just made my day" - john

um, isn't this what every dog owner loves to hear? that their dog is making people's day?

this morning at katy's, with my cup of chai in one hand (best chai in seattle, peeps) and wallace on the other end of his leash, john bent down to pet him, and ended up telling me about his australian shepherd who he finally had to put down after 18 years last summer - cue blinky tears here. John loved wallace, and wallace loved john after he got a treat from the bin of treats katy keeps on her counter. wallace is scared of mostly anything that moves (he was rescued last month), and our approach right now is to give everyone he meets treats to give him, so he learns that people are nice and love him. this will help him not be scared. we all know scared dogs aren't good.

i promise this is not going to become an ode-to-my-dog-blog, but if you're a seattle area dog owner, you should check out Margaret's 21st century dog training. the resources page is AWESOME.

um, the world digital library is pretty darn cool. check it out.

MESA needs YOU!

Seattle MESA does great things for kids and science.

MESA Day is coming up, on Saturday, May 9th, and MESA is looking for volunteers for the day....you can sign up with Reyna: reynar@u.washington.edu, or 206-383-0220.

Very worthwhile, peeps!

if you are confused about the financial crisis

and did not read johhny v's g-chat status yesterday, here at The Baseline Scenario is where you can find out a lot of good information.

man in the mirror g-chats

grace: ♫ michael jackson - man in the mirror

cowboy: when u love somebody and bite your tongue all you get is a mouthful of blood -fruit bats

johnny v: http://baselinescenario.com/financial-crisis-for-beginners/

marsh: free Microsoft-sanctioned Excel tips book! http://www.mrexcel.com/msft.html

evs: ♫ Mississippi is, per capita, the poorest state in the US. It also has the highest rate per capita of charitable donations. Maybe this recession will do our country good...

k8: i would like to buy these shoes: http://www.simpleshoes.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=9449&categoryID=347&g=w&model=Tubetop%20-%20Silk

meg: ♫ dear mt whitney, whatever i did to you in a past life, i'm truly sorry. now please hold off the weather so i can reach your summit this weekend. love, meghan

"arthur did not create calendar envelopes." - gretzky

I am annoyed lately at how people try and take credit for things they did not come up with. It's plagiarism, people.

there's really nothing new under the sun, folks, and it's important to acknowledge that probably your great idea, unless you are einstein, has been thought of by someone else. And it's okay to acknowledge that. In fact, it's great to acknowledge it. Makes the world a better place, actually. And if you are einstein, you need to acknowledge that your great work was built upon the ground work of those who studied before you.

Anyway, all this vehemence is over the simple thing of calendar envelopes, which someone in my office brought in a pattern for this week, claiming to have created them.

Um, I'm pretty sure I made calendar envelopes in my 3rd grade art class, and my 3rd grade teacher did not know this co-worker of mine who is making such audacious claims.

Here, for your perusal, are five places with instruction on how to make calendar envelopes. None of which was created by my co-worker, for the record:

Ehow

Making Friends

No Place Like Home (great pictures!)

Tammy's Recipes

Cut Out and Keep

money, money, money...

Dear friends,

I am normally a fan of giving to things only that improve the lives of kids. But the Other Journal improves the lives of kids by getting people to think about issues that impact kids.
Like everyone else in the current economy, TOJ is trying to raise some money to stay in business. If you'd like to support our efforts - seriously, we would love even $2 - please click here!

Thanks!

Gretzky

"He is not conventionally good-looking" - NJ

"That is not surprising. One, there are not that many men who are conventionally good-looking. And two, you described him as a mountain man, and how many mountain men are conventionally good-looking?"

- LKT

anything worth doing g-chats

ericson: http://www.fellspointdevelopment.com/privateerday.html

evs: doesn't recommend spilling coffee down the front of your shirt when you're on your way to meet with important people all day...

marsh: might have to try calling flo for kicks: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/08/flo.rida/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

k8: anything worth anything / takes more than a few days / and a long, long night

meg: http://www.clickondetroit.com/family/19122495/detail.html?taf=det

johnny v: one ex-treasury secretary's opinion: http://tinyurl.com/cwkopw

"The Chippewa have a name for it - it means 'the sickness of long thinking.'" - Parker

I read Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves last week.

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, especially the kind that takes place in snowy wintery places where people are fighting to survive. I don't like snow in copious amounts. Light dustings, great. Short showers, then a sunbreak, perfect. But the idea of living in a place where snow is permanently on the ground from say November to May, that makes me want to vomit. So I didn't think I'd like this story, set in in the winter in 1860's Canadian Northern Territory.

But this novel transcends that genre beautifully, portraying real people and unresolvedness in a way that makes you want to read more and more and more. When it ended, I so wanted to keep going with the characters.

A few favorite lines:

"I watched him try to be stoic and tough, to cultivate a foolhardy courage and the casual disrespect for danger that is common currency in the backwoods. To be a man you have to be brave and enduring, to make light of pain and hardship. Never complain. Never falter. I saw him fail. We should have lived in Toronto, or New York, then maybe it wouldn't have mattered. But what pass for heroics in a softer world are daily chores here." - Mrs. Ross, page 20

"She has always thought of him as a foreigner, too, with his dark hair and skin. She considers herself a well-traveled woman, and from each place she has been to, she has brought away a prejudice as a souvenir." - Mrs. Ross, page 31

"So that is how it happens: mutual need is what makes people cooperate - nothing to do with trust or kindness or any such sentimental notion." - Mrs. Ross, page 116

bake, bake, bake, baconnaise...

it's nice that seattle's in the news for some good ol'fashioned entrepenuership, nothing related to technology or airplanes....i don't think I'll get any baconnaise, but I think Justin and Dave are hilarious.

"it's raining in baltimore..." - counting crows

it's probably sunny there, actually.

in this rainy seattle spring I've been missing pink cherry blossom adorned Calvert street, the smell of people and produce mixed up at waverly market, the nutella in sophie's crepes, the cinnamon-y kabuli at the helmand, getting a pint of resurrection at brewer's art, and so many other homey baltimore things....

myndi linked to this article her friend seth wrote about baltimore, and I love it. it captures so much of how I feel about this city, and how I never really know what to say about it when people ask me about my time there.....

I love seattle for many things, mainly the green, the water, and the mountains that sustain my soul in the misty grey skies. But I'm having a hard time with people here. Even though there are people I love dearly here, I'm not feelin' the overall culture of seattle lately.

I was teaching english in winter of 06, when the seahawks were playing the steelers in the superbowl. Our math dpt head gave me a rick reilly article about why seattle wasn't going to win. (Giving Seattle the Needle) Of course, I showed my hometown pride and insisted reilly was wrong on every count. but after moving back home, i've come to think much of what he said was true. A nd I don't know if I like it very much.

(My current favorite line from that Reilly column is: " Your sportswriters are more forgiving than Hillary Clinton. If they covered Jeffrey Dahmer, they'd refer to him as "a people person." "
It's true. We accept mediocrity in too many ways. And passion? If you have passion for something, as say, the author of this blog might exhibit at a meeting in which long-term vision for kids is addressed, she is called "fiery," and afterwards, a colleague might come over and tell you "thanks for consistently bringing up the hard issues." Damn right I'm gonna bring up the hard issues when kids are concerned. We can't pretend it's all hunky-dory, peeps.)


I mean, here's what I'm thinking about in the Seattle cons column:

1) the sonics debaucle. sherman alexies testifies hilariously, and we still don't keep them. this is a long-standing issue, btw. hearing from experts and then not listening to them. (summer 08)
2) our biggest debates while there's a bunch of shootings happening in the south end are over whether to salt or sand the streets. (winter 09)
3) light rail is finally being built, but there's been arguing over the damn transportation system since my parents moved here in 1982. Come on, people, get it together. the public transportation system we do have takes WAY too long in most cases to get anywhere.
4) $$$$$. Um, the median income in Seattle is 78,000, and the cost of living reflects that. For those of us who don't make that much, it's a pricey place to live.
5) the seattle freeze.

where are my pros? any seattle lovers? What am I missing?

missing the deadline g-chats

rempt: Espresso is next to godliness

k8: The first principle of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating. --Cesar Chavez

evs: "have you ever missed a deadline or a due date?" "one. I missed being born on Jan 26. I came two weeks late. I apologized to my mom later."

taft: is just a little black rain cloud hovering over the honey tree

cowboy: ♫ i just changed my gmail "theme" to silver lining in honor of jenny lewis and crew.

"Just thought you should know" - BeCs

last spring, there was an orange chicken in my neighbor's yard. i didn't believe BeCs when she told me she saw it, but there it was....and just in case any of you are thinking about getting chickens, here's the 411 on city chickens, courtesy of Seattle Tilth.

"can't go wrong with a margherita" - km

Hear, hear. Especially not one from Mioposto. Don't believe me? Check out the yelp reviews. The Pizza Raccolto in Autunno is the BEST!

"Wallace and Sky, there's a match made in heaven.." NJ

this might have been the best week I've had since 2006. that's right peeps, it's been a long time coming. 2008 was supposed to be my year, but no one told the universe. anyway, this past week has been golden. 5 days in a row. It's like a world record.

On Wednesday, NJ moved in, and I have to say, it is so amazing to live with a housemate who is fantastic, who is laid back and also loves dogs. Woo-hoo! NJ also re-organized our kitchen in a way that makes way more sense. Why didn't I think of these things? Because I'm a p, that's why....j's are helpful to have around, for sure.

On Thursday, I found out I got into grad school. Go Huskies!

On Friday, my mom got me a dog for my birthday! See above picture.

On Saturday, I picked Wallace up after he was fixed, and we hung out in the kitchen. He is super laid back and sweet.

On Sunday, we went for a walk, cleaned some boxes up, and are hanging out with people later this evening...Sigh. It's been a great week.

and in other friday educational thoughts...

oakland's school shooting should have made some national headlines.....it didn't...

"he is not really a good pick at all" - mfn

(in which we are disappointed by Obama's "centrist" position on education reform..)

A while back mfn and I were having a conversation about Arne Duncan, whom he can't believe was picked for the top job of education secretary.. i orginally thought duncan was a vast improvement over spellings, but am vascillating, which is always a nice place to be....

Here's what mfn sent me to support his choice, Linda Darling-Hammond. Too late now, since duncan's in office, but...

Truthout: Obama's Betrayal...

Duncan's Track Record @ Catalyst Chicago

Obama's Choice a Compromise @ Democracy Now!

Also, Alfie Kohn's thoughts on Duncan in the Nation....


(my favorite part from the Truthout article, italics mine, below)

"In spite of what Duncan argues, the greatest threat to our children does not come from lowered standards, the absence of privatized choice schemes or the lack of rigid testing measures that offer the aura of accountability. On the contrary, it comes from a society that refuses to view children as a social investment, consigns 13 million children to live in poverty, reduces critical learning to massive testing programs, promotes policies that eliminate most crucial health and public services and defines rugged individualism through the degrading celebration of a gun culture, extreme sports and the spectacles of violence that permeate corporate controlled media industries. Students are not at risk because of the absence of market incentives in the schools. Young people are under siege in American schools because, in the absence of funding, equal opportunity and real accountability, far too many of them have increasingly become institutional breeding grounds for racism, right-wing paramilitary cultures, social intolerance and sexism.[13] We live in a society in which a culture of testing, punishment and intolerance has replaced a culture of social responsibility and compassion. Within such a climate of harsh discipline and disdain for critical teaching and learning, it is easier to subject young people to a culture of faux accountability or put them in jail rather than to provide the education, services and care they need to face problems of a complex and demanding society.[14] What Duncan and other neoliberal economic advocates refuse to address is what it would mean for a viable educational policy to provide reasonable support services for all students and viable alternatives for the troubled ones. The notion that children should be viewed as a crucial social resource - one that represents, for any healthy society, important ethical and political considerations about the quality of public life, the allocation of social provisions and the role of the state as a guardian of public interests - appears to be lost in a society that refuses to invest in its youth as part of a broader commitment to a fully realized democracy. As the social order becomes more privatized and militarized, we increasingly face the problem of losing a generation of young people to a system of increasing intolerance, repression and moral indifference. It is difficult to understand why Obama would appoint as secretary of education someone who believes in a market-driven model that has not only failed young people, but given the current financial crisis has been thoroughly discredited. Unless Duncan is willing to reinvent himself, the national agenda he will develop for education embodies and exacerbates these problems and, as such, it will leave a lot more kids behind than it helps."

"8. Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it." Gary Hamel

-from the facebook generation vs. the fortune 500, Hamel's Management 2.0 WSJ Blog, via johnny v....

Hear, hear.

"I want it to be Logan!"- Sis

We all want it to be Logan, Sis.....In the continuing blogs on how much we love Veronica Mars, last week sis was having a crummy week...she came over for dinner Thursday. I gave her Season One of Veronica Mars, reasoning this should be enough to help anyone get in a better mood. I told her to watch it, and call me in the morning.

She called me Sunday morning, saying she'd finished Season One and she was going crazy trying to decide if it was Logan or Duncan outside Veronica's door...

I pointed out that watching the ENTIRE season one from Thursday night to Sat night was enough to give me pause, since there's 22 episodes, about 16 ish hours of television right there....She came over, took Season Two on Sunday, and would probably be on Season Three by now except that she's on vacation with my aunt....so Veronica's having to wait for a while.