Why I Miss Bill Clinton (and other thoughts):

Yesterday, Jerry took Micah to The Mall for a while. When I met up with them later, I got an earful from Micah about the Battle Bots he saw in action in the rotunda. Jerry informed me that he had difficulty tearing Micah away from the action. I had read about the competition the previous day in the Strib and noted it because of its connection to my current project: grading student papers on potential interventions for juvenile delinquency. The article titled, "Battle 'bots: A guidance program for juveniles," describes how a local Alternative Learning Center offers a class in Battle Bot craft as a means of keeping young men involved in hands-on learning rather than crime. "Their 15-pound wedge-shaped battle robot is keeping guys such as 16-year-old Kiefer Morgan engaged in learning rather than going over the edge of juvenile delinquency."

That's quite a claim for a hunk of metal on wheels. This kind of idea seems to be a salient one for many, however, as my students' papers illustrate. Quite a few are proposing programs to keep kids engaged in leisure and other "pro-social" activities within and outside of school as a means to prevent and/or remedy delinquency. For the most part, though, these types of programs haven't shown statistically significant results in doing either.

But there is one indisputable fact: the Bots kick butt, as the video below illustrates. Anybody else remember this show?

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What are two grown-up nerds to do on a Thursday night in Chicago? Why, attend a taping of National Public Radio's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! of course! This is precisely what Jerry and I did last night, leaving Micah in the capable hands of his paternal grandparents. We headed downtown to the Chase Auditorium to take in the popular current events quiz show. Much zaniness ensued over the 90 mintues of the taping given the ample fodder availble in the current political scene. My favorite bit was the interview with columnist Maureen Dowd who provided some provocative insights on Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. All in all, a great evening, despite fighting traffic and running to catch the CTA (not such a pretty sight - a 31-week pregnant woman huffing and puffing to catch a damn train!). Though I may never have Carl Kassel on my home answering machine, I am proud to say that Peter Sagal is now a friend of mine on Facebook!

I highly recommend catching a taping if you're ever in Chicago on a Thursday. Tix are a mere $20.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm always in awe of the artists I know - putting themselves and their work "out there." Our Best Man Josh Wetjen will have his name in lights this coming July, along with dance sensation Eddie Oroyan (left) at the Southern Theater. Josh is a killer guitar player and has composed and will perform live the music for Eddie's original dance performance. Should be a synergistic evening!

Eddie Oroyan
Brown Rocket

Dancers: Eddie Oroyan and Laura Selle-Virtucio
Music: Joshua Wetjen

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good friend and high school English teacher extraordinaire Josh Wetjen shared this video of some St. Paul Central High students fulfilling a requirement from their Environmental Science class. Al Gore could hardly do better...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just for fun, I subscribed myself to one of those weekly email services that sends you an update on your pregnancy, week-by-week. I like to be reminded of what's going on in my womb while I'm busily doing "important" things.

What strikes me as funny is that each week I am informed that my baby now resembles some form of produce in size. It started out with fruits in the early weeks, like "your baby is now the size of a grape" or "a plum" or a "large orange." But now that we're in the third trimester, we seem to have graduated to vegetables. Last week, my baby was approximately as big as a head of cauliflower and as of yesterday he is, apparently, "like a Chinese cabbage." Mmmmmm...

So, next time you're in the produce aisle, pause for a moment and think of my fetus. Any guesses as to what veggie he might be next week?

For more on my pregnancy, visit my birth blog: Off My Rocker

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This afternoon, Micah came downstairs after his "rest time" (a 45-minute time period during which Micah stays in his room by himself under the guise of rest, but really he just messes around while his parents intermittently yell from downstairs to be quiet) and announced to me that he had found his chapstick. Having not realized it was lost, I said, "Oh really?" He then presented me with a glue stick. I immediately told him that this wasn't chapstick and if he put it on his lips it would glue his mouth shut. Suddenly, Micah's hands flew to his face and he started yelling, "Wash it off!!" At which point I reassured him that the glue must not have worked because if it had, he wouldn't be able to talk to me (I also quickly checked the label to make sure it was non-toxic). If only it had actually worked...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm always happy to see an old friend succeed. While we haven't been in touch in a while, I was excited to see Michaelangelo Matos' review of Lenny Kravitz' new album in this week's Onion. Michael's really made the big time when it comes to his career as a rock critic. He's written for Rolling Stone, Spin, Village Voice, City Pages, and the Seattle Weekly, just to name a few. I will never forget our days as editors of the Richfield Senior High School Spotlight newspaper. Paste-up days were especially memorable, as was the pizza review we did in which Michael arranged for the delivery/pick-up of pizzas from several local pizza joints and we all stood around eating them and giving our not-so-serious comments. I like to think I had something to do with his success - I remember telling him that actually being a rock star was probably not in his future, but writing about rock certainly could be. Never one to mince words or spare his opinion, here's his take on Lenny's latest:

Well, there go the rumors that with each album, Lenny Kravitz was going to jump ahead three years stylistically, catching up with the present some time around 2008. From its title on down, It Is Time For A Love Revolution is spiritually interchangeable with his debut, 1989's Let Love Rule. Think about that: Lenny Kravitz has had a longer stint as an oldies act than most actual oldies acts. And in spite of a couple of bright riffs (the chunky "Love Revolution," the space-soul of "This Moment Is All There Is"), Love Revolution contains some of his hackiest work yet (which is really saying something), from the ponderous refrain of "I Love The Rain" back to "Love Revolution" itself, on which Kravitz overdubs himself in breathy "soulful" mode over his rockin' chorus, just to cover the bases. He's also got zip to say, most gratuitously on "Back In Vietnam," the most nuanced Iraq commentary since 10th-grade lunch hour. Kravitz used to catch hell for sounding like other people. Now people can make fun of him for sounding like himself.

A.V. Club Rating: C-

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was a great night for wrestling at The Barn last night! My #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes came to town and took care of business:

"We took care of business the way we needed to take care of business... We just come to wrestle, and we came here ready to wrestle. We don’t talk about the past." - Iowa Head Coach, Tom Brands (quotes)

I'm liking the new Tom Brands regime quite a bit. The Hawks looked aggressive, scrambled well and didn't give up on matches when they were behind. It's an attitude-thing that seemed (to me) to be missing under Zalesky's leadership.

I wasn't sure if Micah would let us watch all that much of the dual. He's still a bit too young to be captivated by sporting events. He does ask critical questions, though. When we explained that wrestling was about two guys trying to "tackle" each other (trying to keep it simple), he asked, "Why not a boy and a girl?" There are any number of directions to go with that question, but I did reassure him that girls do wrestle in some places. In any case, we were able to see the matches at 133 through184 - enough to see the Hawks' victory was at hand.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOY!!!!

(head is on the left)

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jerry and I decided to buy Micah his very own digital camera for Christmas. It's a vtech Kidizoom Camera designed especially for kids (e.g. allegedly, it is durable). Being a camera for kids, it has special photo enhancing features. Here's a likeness of me taken by my little angel. I suppose it's about what I deserve some days:

Merry Christmas to all!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been doing any number of ditzy things lately. Normally, I would blame it on stress. But I'm really not that stressed right now. So, I'm chalking it up to baby brain. I have no idea if this phenomenon has been scientifically studied, but many women I know testify to having experienced this during pregnancy. Here are some of the silly things I've caught myself doing:

*putting my croutons on my spaghetti instead of my salad
*walking up an extra flight of stairs thinking that was where I was going
*putting shampoo on my shower puff instead of soap

Most of the time, these are harmless, easily corrected mishaps. The other night, though, something really interesting happened. I was putting Micah to bed and forgot to put on his nighttime pull-up. He'd still been wetting those at night so we've kept him in them. But then I forgot to put one on, and guess what? He stayed dry all night long! He was the one to point it out in the morning, too, in his proudest big-boy manner. So, we've kept the pull-up off and for three straight nights he's stayed dry. Thanks to baby brain, my son may now be fully potty-trained. Go figure!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been doing a whole lotta traveling lately, at least by my standards. As of today, I will have traveled to three major US cities in less than 30 days. From October 27-29 I was in San Francisco for the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education. My duties there were to help meet potential candidates for an open faculty position at the School of Social Work. Incidentally, I also took care of my friend and roommate, Jemel, who had a bit too much fun on Saturday night! Second, I traveled last week to Atlanta, as blogged below, for the annual meetings of the ASC. Now, we're off to Chicago, this time on family business - to visit Jerry's parents and celebrate Thanksgiving, my 33rd birthday, and an early Christmas. A triple whammy! Should be a great time (read: lots of free babysitting - thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!). I'll happily hang up my traveling shoes for a while after this. I'm ready to stay in one place for a while...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I spent the better part of last week in Atlanta attending the American Society of Criminology meetings. The conference itself had a few cool moments, especially a plenary address given by President Jimmy Carter. A dang fine man, if you ask me. Fellow grad student attendees also provided some particularly entertaining moments (Thanks, Shelly & Mike!). But the hands-down highlight of my time in Atlanta was an afternoon I stole away to spend with a dear friend who resides there, Tony Gatewood (pictured right, on the left).
Without even needing to verbalize my culinary preferences, Tony quickly shared the list he'd already generated of great soul food places for me to choose from. The dude knows me! I chose the most down-home of the options, Beautiful, located in the West End neighborhood. Man, was it beautiful! The food was down-right spiritual. I'm not kidding. I was transported as I feasted on meat loaf, baked macaroni, collard greens and corn bread. The conversation was also soul-satisfying. Nothing like spending hours across a table from a good friend, breaking bread and talking deep. I loved every minute.

After lunch, Tony gave me a walking tour of the Atlanta University Center where he works as a campus minister. I thoroughly enjoyed the King Chapel on the campus of Morehouse and the Thursday Market atmosphere at Clark. All in all, it was a great day. Thanks, Tony!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Every now and then something gratifying happens in academia. I suppose receiving news that an article has been accepted for publication might reach the top of the list for many academics, at least for us young 'uns trying to prove we've got what it takes. So, I'm pausing, momentarily, to enjoy my second peer-reviewed publication. This one will be published in the top-ranked journal in social work (Children and Youth Services Review).

I'm probably in some ways prouder of my first publication because I'm first author and the whole thing, from conception to analysis, was really my baby. But my bragging point on this second one is that I - wait for it - I did the statistical analysis!!! Yup. Logistic regression, baby! Me and LR are so tight, you wouldn't believe it. Our data set has several limitations (duly noted in the article) and the analysis wasn't that complex, but, dammit, I did some math! Oh, I know somebody hears me...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Done, done and DONE!
Turned 'em in at 3pm yesterday. I'll know in about a month if I passed. Right now, just glad it's over!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My father is fond of saying that the best thing he ever saw was Sioux City in his rearview mirror when he moved to Minneapolis in the late 60s. Yet we all maintain a deep affection for the northwestern Iowa town where my great-grandmother lived out all of her 98 years and where my dad's parents lived for much of my childhood. Many beloved extended family members still live there and in surrounding areas.

We have always hit the road for trips to Sioux City, a solid five hours from these parts. But now I'm thinking I might need to find a reason to fly there, if just to have a ticket stub with SUX on it. It's good to see Sioux City making the headlines with such humor:

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - City leaders have scrapped plans to do away with the Sioux Gateway Airport's unflattering three-letter identifier — SUX — and instead have made it the centerpiece of the airport's new marketing campaign.

The code, used by pilots and airports worldwide and printed on tickets and luggage tags, will be used on T-shirts and caps sporting the airport's new slogan, "FLY SUX." It also forms the address of the airport's redesigned Web site — http://www.flysux.com.

Sioux City officials petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to change the code in 1988 and 2002. At one point, the FAA offered the city five alternatives — GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY — but airport trustees turned them down.

Airport board member Dave Bernstein proposed embracing the identifier.

"Let's make the best of it," Bernstein said. "I think we have the opportunity to turn it into a positive."

He noted that many airports, including some of the busiest, have forgettable three-letter codes.

"I've got buddies that I went to college with in different cities that can't even remember their own birthdays, but they all know the Sioux City designator — SUX," he said.

Mayor Craig Berenstein, who in 2002 described SUX as an "embarrassment" to the city, said he views the new slogan as a "cute little way" to make light of the situation.

Image: get your fly SUX t-shirt here!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of extreme adventure lit. As a result, I've read nearly everything written by Jon Krakauer, including Into the Wild, which has now been adapted to screen by Sean Penn.

Into the Wild is a true-story of Christopher McCandless, a recent college graduate who gives away his savings (nearly $25,000) to charity and changes his name to Alexander Supertramp as he wanders the Western U.S. He refuses contact with any of his family members, leaving his parents wracked with worry for months on end. Eventually, Supertramp heads to Alaska to attempt survival in the only remaining true wilderness in North America. Tragically, Supertramp dies of starvation in an abandoned bus, ironically only a few miles from where he wandered into the Alaskan wild - a very easy distance from the civilization he aspired to escape.

In the book, Krakauer wrestles with the question of how to judge Alexander Supertramp. Was he a naive idealist? Was he mentally ill? Was he just a big ol' jerk? Or maybe just down right stupid? Krakauer refuses to pin him down. While acknowledging Alexander's many weaknesses, Krakauer insists that Supertramp was on a quest for a life full of meaning and in his own way he found it, despite the fact that many of us question his intelligence and sanity as a result.

In this way, Into the Wild strikes me as a good read about the travails of the transition from youth to adulthood. By all typical measures of "success," Supertramp did not make it. He refused to engage in the conventional benchmarks of the young adult period (education, employment, marriage) even though he had the seemingly perfect set-up to achieve them: loving parents, a middle-class, white suburban background and a world-class education at Emory, all of which he tossed to the wind. But to his credit, Supertramp explored in-depth, and perhaps the the extreme, why life might be worth living and who he wanted to be in the world. These are key questions, of meaning and purpose, that are essential to growing up. I hear echoes of these concerns when I listen to young people talk about their transitions out of society's most entangling institutions: the military, prison, foster care, residential treatment centers. Who am I? What do I want to be? Will I make it? Am I a hero? A failure? A good mother? A throw-away?

Deep stuff. So, I look forward to seeing Into the Wild on screen soon. Colin Covert of the Strib has given the film four out of four stars and Rotten Tomatoes shows a 79% Fresh rating. I have no doubt Sean Penn will deliver Alexander Supertramp just as he ought to be - without any easy answers.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I last posted on this topic, I've finished reading The River of Doubt as well as The Member of the Wedding. For the first three of my summer reads, I took my cues from recommendations on NPR. For my final pick of the summer, I've taken a tip from the hubster and am immersed in a noir-esque novel called Citizen Vince set in the fall of 1980 about an ex-con who comes face to face with his ambivalence about turning legit when his voter registration card comes in the mail. I'm enjoying the novel a great deal, particularly due to its congruence with my research interests in criminology and reintegration, not to mention my boss' expertise in felon dis/re-enfranchisement.

Here's my favorite passage from the book so far. The protagonist has just received his voter registration card in the day's mail and flips on the TV only to find a debate between Carter and Reagan. With the 2008 election brewing, I find this quote to be quite resonant:

"And yet here is Vince Camden, at the peak of technology and development, at the crest of a remarkable wave of human achievement, in a world created by piling these single thoughts together, strung out over millennia - here is Vince Camden, himself a technological and legal creation, standing alone in a heated, wired, insulated shelter, witnessing a thirteen-inch box beaming a mash of electrons that when unscrambled depict two men vying for the most powerful position in the history of the world at a time when the push of a button can effectively end civilization. Here is Vince Camden, overwhelmed by his own significance and by his desire to change, by the undertow of history, and by the weight of so many choices, undone by this miracle of being and by all these strands connected in the thread of one simple thought:

Which one of these stupid fucks are you supposed to vote for?"

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Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few weeks ago, my son noticed a "no smoking" sign at church (we meet in an elementary school building on Sunday mornings). The kind volunteer in his Sunday school classroom explained the sign to him. Later that day, Micah began asking me about "smokes." At first, I thought he was just talking about smoke in the plural. It was only when he mentioned a sign that I realized he was referring to cigarettes. I think he must have heard the part about "no smoking" and just assumed that what you're not supposed to smoke are called smokes. Makes sense, no?

Well, since then, Micah discusses cigarettes and "no smoking" on a daily basis. When he draws, he draws "no smoking" signs. When we read Curious George, he notices and inquires at length about the pipes and cigars he sees the characters smoking (Thanks, H.A. & Margaret!). He also, as of today, incorporates "no smoking" messages into the children's songs that he sings. For example, "Here we are together, no smoking, no smoking. The more we get together the happier we'll be." He also informed me today on the way home from daycare that he thinks Teddy Roosevelt* must have smoked because he died. I tried to explain the subtle fact that not everyone who dies does so because they smoked, but this only led to an endless series of questions about how else people can die. I am pretty morbid anyway, but explaining all manner of paths to death to my four year old just wasn't what I wanted to talk about in rush hour traffic.

In any case, if you happen to bump into Micah anytime soon, be prepared to be read the riot act on smoking and how if you do it you will die. Can we possibly hope that this attitude will last into his teen years?

*Micah has been watching Night at the Museum regularly this summer, of which Teddy Roosevelt is a key character.
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Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a Pepsi drinker by upbringing. I was raised on the stuff. My great-grandmother drank a Pepsi a day and lived to be 98 years old. She was buried with a Pepsi at her side. Mt. Dew is my Pepsi-product of choice - you'll find me with a Diet Dew in hand (or very near my hand) most of every day.

Much to my disgruntlement, the University of Minnesota sells only Coca-Cola products in its vending machines. The past three years of grad school have been tough when the caffeine bug hits and I've run out of my own supply. Darn those exclusive contracts! I've learned to tolerate Cherry Coke. I've comforted myself with the fact that I was paying only 65 cents per can. As of July 1, however, this one cold comfort has come to an end. I now must pay 75 cents to consume a beverage I don't even really enjoy. They've also jacked up the price on animal crackers, my snack-of-choice-in-a-pinch, to 85 cents as opposed to the former 80 cents. You can still buy a bag of M&Ms for 80 cents, so I fail to understand why a bag of generic animal crackers should cost more than chocolate!

It may sound like nickels and dimes to you, but this is a boycott-worthy cause if I ever saw one. Now if I could just dig that last dime out of my wallet, I could buy that damn can of Cherry Coke...

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Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two exciting events are afoot in the world of music, at least the kind I listen to. The first is that the John Lennon catalog is now available on iTunes. Hurrah! Upon learning this fact, I immediately downloaded Well, Well, Well, but so many favorites await my mouse click...

The second is that Over the Rhine (OTR) is soon to release their latest record, The Trumpet Child. One local station has already played a tune or two from the forthcoming album on the air. OTR produces the kind of songs I sing with my eyes closed (sometimes while driving...I can't help it!). I've heard their style described as alt country and dreamy roots, but they also infuse jazz, rock, spiritual and all manner of sass and sweetness into their melodies. Take a listen here. I highly recommend Trouble and Let's Spend the Day in Bed for a little grown-up romance...

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Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sunday, September 16th I will don my walking shoes and join 2,000 other people walking for justice on Boom Island in Minneapolis. I'm doing so to raise funds for ICAN of the Twin Cities, a fabulous organization to which I belong and without which I would never consider having another baby. Seriously. Having a c-section birth with Micah was one of the most traumatic things I've yet experienced, and ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) has helped me move forward and heal. If you want to support me in my walking efforts, click here.

ICAN's mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary c-sections, supporting c-section recovery, and promoting vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). I could write a manifesto here about the medical establishment, but instead I will post ICAN's statement of beliefs, which summarizes many of the reasons I find its mission so compelling and important:

We, the International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc., believe that:

1. The cesarean section rate remains at an alarmingly higher rate than the 15% average recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO estimates that half (50%) of all cesarean sections performed in the United States are unnecessary.

2. When a cesarean is necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique for both mother and baby, and worth the risks involved. With half the cesareans being performed deemed unnecessary by WHO, the risks these mothers and babies are exposed to are avoidable and costly.

3. In most cases VBAC is safe for both mother and infant. A repeat cesarean should never be considered routine– it is major abdominal surgery with many risks.

4. Birth is a normal physiological process. Given sincere emotional support, real education, and an honest opportunity, 90-95% of women can deliver vaginally, joyfully, as nature intended.

5. Women have the right to accurate information regarding nutrition and risks of drugs during pregnancy and labor. Poor nutrition, smoking, alcohol, and medications taken during pregnancy and labor often affect the infant's well-being and contribute to unnecessary cesareans.

6. Women have the right to the information necessary for using medical technology and procedures judiciously. The misuse of technology has fostered the high cesarean rate. Women have the right to know what tests are being performed, the side effects of such tests, the right to decline any procedures. Informed consent is not a privilege, it is a right of all birthing women.

7. Women must be allowed to express all their birth related feelings in a safe and supportive environment. The emotions of a pregnant and birthing woman have profound effects on the birth outcome.

8. Patient-choice cesareans are unethical and immoral on the part of physician. Women are not being fully informed of the risks of this option in childbirth, and therefore make decisions based on cultural myth and fear surrounding childbirth.

9. We as women must now assume more responsibility for our own bodies and births. At stake are our babies, our bodies, and our futures.

This material may be copied and distributed with retained copyright.
© International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are some criminologists who cite low self-control brought about by faulty parenting as the root cause of delinquency. I have found that the Curious George series of children's books illustrates this concept rather clearly. You see, George's guardian, the Man in the Yellow Hat, is constantly leaving him unattended, during which times George gets himself into enormous amounts of trouble. In fact, in the inaugural Curious George story, George lands himself in prison, no less, for accidentally summoning the fire department while imitating the Man in the Yellow Hat using the telephone. He also smokes a pipe, an additional habit picked up from his guardian. In every book, George's behavior is credited to his unyielding curiosity (low self-control?), which, despite his best efforts to "be good," always seems to draw him into delinquent behavior, including painting jungle graffiti all over an unsuspecting lady's apartment and taking an entire block's worth of newspapers and making them into paper boats instead of delivering them. Yet, in the end, George always wins the authorities over, either by the skills only a monkey has (four hands are handy!) or by somehow doing something good. Perhaps human juvenile delinquents should take George's methods to heart!

Well, Micah is really into Curious George these days, watching the PBS cartoon daily and reading every story the library owns (well, I read them to him - over and over and over and over again!). The Minnesota Children's Museum currently has an exhibit on Curious George, which the hubster escorted Micah to last week. Sounds like it was pretty cool. An interesting fact learned there was that H.A. and Margaret Rey, creators of Curious George, were Jewish refugees who fled Paris a few hours before it fell to the Nazis in WWII. One of the few things they took with them was their first Curious George manuscript. Seems like that was a good thing to pack...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our little neighborhood rag published the first of a two-part piece this month on the meaning behind the street names in our area. The streets are alphabetical and are named for famous individuals in (mostly) American history, particularly literary, military and political figures. To be honest, I hadn't thought much about this, but found the story absolutely fascinating. I was particularly pleased to find out that we live on the street named after Washington Irving, creator of Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle. I've long had an affection for the macabre, so the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a favorite yarn.

Here are the famous folks behind the first-half of the alphabetical streets in Minneapolis:
Aldrich Ave: Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Bryant Ave: William Cullen Bryant
Colfax Ave: Schuyler Colfax
Dupont Ave: Samuel Francis Dupont
Emerson Ave: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fremont Ave: John Charles Fremont
Girard Ave: Stephen Girard
Humboldt Ave: Alexander von Humboldt
Irving Ave: Washington Irving
James Ave: George P.R. James
Knox Ave: Henry Knox
Logan Ave: John Alexander Logan

Sleepy Hollow image

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The hubster has launched a new endeavor on his blog: a taste-testing podcast in which participants compare the taste of organic vs. non-organic food items. I am one of the reviewers, along with our best man Josh. The inaugural episode features grass fed vs. meat packing plant beef. Check it out here. Stay tuned for organic vs. non-organic apples...

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Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When it comes to pleasure reading, I generally go for books that fall into one of the following categories:

Mystery/suspense
Biography/history
Extreme adventure

I tend to be drawn toward historical fiction, as was the case with my most recent read, The March. I can't properly claim to be a Civil War buff - I know very little of battles and generals. But I've always found that historical period to be captivating, probably for less-than-original reasons: the larger-than-life historical characters like Lincoln and Sherman, emancipation, the test of this republic's tenacity. Doctorow's narrative was vivid and his characters captivating. A couple of passages caught my attention in particular:

At the surrender of Johnston to Sherman: And so the war had come down to words. It was fought now in terminology across a table. It was contested in sentences. Entrenchments and assaults, drum taps and bugle calls, marches, ambushes, burnings, and pitched battles were transmogrified into nouns and verbs. It is all turned very quiet, Sherman said to Johnston, who, not quite understanding, lifted his head to listen.(p. 348).

Sherman's reflections: Though this march is done, and well accomplished, I think of it now, God help me, with longing - not for its blood and death but for the bestowal of meaning to the very ground trod upon, how it made every field and swamp and river and road into something of moral consequence, whereas now, as the march dissolves, so does the meaning, the army strewing itself into the isolated intentions of diffuse private life, and the terrain thereby left blank and also diffuse, and ineffable, a thing once again, and victoriously, without reason, and, whether diurnally lit and darkened, or sere or fruitful, or raging or calm, completely insensible and without any purpose of its own.

And why is Grant so solemn today upon our great achievement, except he knows this unmeaning inhuman planet will need our warring imprint to give it value, and that our civil war, the devastating manufacture of the bones of our sons, is but a war after a war, a war before a war. (p. 359).

The latter quote struck me particularly for its potential relevance to soldiers returning from Iraq. I will be leaving next week for Ft. McCoy to interview returning soldiers as part of the research project I'm extremely fortunate to be working on this summer. I have a feeling I'll be more than moved by some of the words I'll hear spoken there.

What's really exciting is when a book encompasses several of my preferred categories. My next read does just that - River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. The book combines biography/history and extreme adventure. Given that I'm a Jon Krakauer junkie (highly recommend Into Thin Air and Into the Wild!), I'm excited to delve into this true story of a former president fighting for his life in the Amazonian jungle! I'll keep you posted...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

These latter days have certainly taken their toll around these parts. To lighten the mood, we've taken to watching a new HBO series, Flight of the Conchords. While the bits between songs often fall flat, the musical aspect of the show provides lots and lots of laughter-inducing material. In case you do not have the benefit of HBO in your home, here's a song to illustrate:

"Bowie Song"

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I for one appreaciated this week's release from the Vatican of the "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road." In terms of sermon-making, I tend to prefer those that utilize narrative and metaphor. However, as a churchgoer, it is sometimes useful when the pastor outlines practical tips for daily living. I am not a Catholic, but I am a driver and so I eagerly reviewed the guidelines to glean some spiritual wisdom for navigating this season's construction-congested freeways in the Twin Cities.

I found that I am doing quite well on some points, such as "thou shalt not drive and drink." I also tend to stay reasonably close to the speed limit (you have to go with the flow, y'know). But on other commandments I am not doing so well. "Thou shalt not make rude gestures behind the steering wheel" - oops. No "cursing" - yikes. But I would most certainly stop to help accident victims - or at least call 911 on my cell phone.

So, I guess I'm a mixed bag when it comes to righteous behavior behind the wheel. The Guidelines do urge Catholic drivers to make the sign of the cross before embarking on the road. Maybe I'll pick up this habit, just for good measure...

Photo

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend once related this quote to me: "The movie about my life will be really boring, but it will have a kick-ass soundtrack" (or something like that). I can't remember if he was quoting a movie or someone he knew, but the quote has stuck with me. This would most certainly describe any such film attempted about my life to date, unless some serious embellishment were involved.

Nevertheless, I frequenty spend time planning the soundtrack. Artists featured would include The Beatles, Mozart, Miles Davis, James Brown, Over the Rhine, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Cat Stevens, Nina Simone, CCR, U2, Mahalia Jackson, Roger Miller, Michael Jackson, New Kids on the Block, Lauryn Hill, Public Enemy, and Nirvana, to name a few.

Also included would be a more personal favorite, The Honeydogs. This is not only because I like their music, but also because the front man would be involved in the movie's plot given that he is a friend of mine. Perhaps this is where a bit of embellishment could fit in. But I digress....

Tonight my little fam along with the sis and good friend Josh ventured out to St. Paul's Mears Park for a night of free music with the H'Dogs. I enjoyed hearing their tunes live for the first time. I've only come to know their repertoire in recent years after working with Adam at HIRED, so songs in my film would be from the last two albums. Here are a few tunes that would definitely make my biopic (listen to clips here):

Panhandler's Serenade
The Rake's Progress
Elan Vital
Heads or Tales

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent nine years living in Iowa City - attending undergrad at the University of Iowa and then working for five years following graduation. I frequenty refer to it as my time of exile. Every now and again Iowa makes the national news wires - typically at times such as these when political hopefuls make their way to the heart of the midwest for speeches and glad-handing. But today's claim to fame for the "Fields of Opportunity" really takes the cake. The aspiring criminologist in me is simutaneously amused and disturbed - going to prison for stealing toilet paper?!?

Butts charged with stealing toilet paper

Mon Jun 11, 6:40 PM ET

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa - Police blame a woman named Butts for stealing toilet paper from a central Iowa courthouse, and while they're chuckling, the theft charge could put her in prison.

"She's facing potentially three years of incarceration for three rolls of toilet paper," Chief Lon Walker said, stifling a laugh as he talked to KCCI-TV about Suzanne Marie Butts. "See, I can't say it with a straight face."

Workers had noticed the rolls disappearing from the Marshall County Courthouse much faster than usual, Walker said.

Butts, 38, was caught last week after an employee saw her taking three rolls of two-ply tissue from a storage closet, Walker said.

Butts insisted it was the first time she'd pilfered toilet paper, but she declined to answer further questions on her attorney's advice.

The fifth-degree theft charge, a misdemeanor, normally carries a sentence of less than a year in jail. But Butts could face more time if convicted under the state's habitual offender law because she has prior theft convictions.

Walker did not know why Butts was at the courthouse, but said that she did not work there.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A happy moment from graduation day!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today marks the ninth anniversary of the day I wed Mr. Gerald Patrick Shannon of Barrington, Illinois. I must say, I made a very fine choice. As a partner, Jerry is as good as it gets: he's kind, smart as all get-out, hard-working, a devoted father, and he mows the lawn. Did I mention that he cooks and does the laundry? He also knows me really well - what makes me tick, what I like and don't, when to give me a hug and when to piss off (usually). He gets me. In sum, he's a damn good man. So, raise your glasses for my spouse.....to Jerry!!!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've long admired sharks for their sleek and brutal beauty. I've always known they were something really special.

Well, I now know that lady sharks have a distinct advantage over we she-humans. Perhaps it's the millions of years of evolution they have on us, but shark-chics can have babies by they own selves. Imagine, no need for a partner ready and available when ovulation occurs, no ovulation kits, no dinner and candles. Just me and my eggs, thank you very much! Ok, so maybe it has some disadvantages (kids with no genetic variation), but still...

Study: Female sharks fertilize own eggs

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer

DUBLIN, Ireland - Female sharks can fertilize their own eggs and give birth without sperm from males, according to a new study of the asexual reproduction of a hammerhead in a U.S. zoo.

The joint Northern Ireland-U.S. research, being published Wednesday in the Royal Society's peer-reviewed Biology Letter journal, analyzed the DNA of a shark born in 2001 in the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb. The shark was born in a tank with three potential mothers, none of whom had contact with a male hammerhead for at least three years.

The baby was killed within hours of its birth by a stingray in the same tank. Analysis of its DNA found no trace of any chromosomal contribution from a male partner.

Shark experts said this was the first confirmed case in a shark of parthenogenesis, which is derived from Greek and means "virgin birth."

Asexual reproduction is common in some insect species, rarer in reptiles and fish, and has never been documented in mammals. The list of animals documented as capable of the feat has grown along with the numbers being raised in captivity — but until now, sharks were not considered a likely candidate.

"The findings were really surprising because as far as anyone knew, all sharks reproduced only sexually by a male and female mating, requiring the embryo to get DNA from both parents for full development, just like in mammals," said marine biologist Paulo Prodohl of Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, a co-author of the report.

"As is typical with scientists, we doubted our own results and so we did it again, and then a third time using a new technique with new genetic approaches. This confirmed there was no DNA of any male," said Prodohl, an expert in fish genetics with specific knowledge of hammerhead DNA.

Before the study, many shark experts had presumed that the Nebraska birth involved a female shark's well-documented ability to store sperm for months. This seemed the most plausible scenario even though the sharks had arrived at the Nebraska zoo as immature pups.

The lack of any paternal DNA in the baby shark ruled out this possibility.

"This phenomenon has now been demonstrated in all major vertebrate groups except for mammals. Birds do it, reptiles do it, amphibians do it, fishes do it, and now sharks are known to do it," said Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., who was not involved in the project.

The report's other co-author, Mahmood Shivji of the Guy Harvey Research Institute in Dania Beach, Fla., said the finding explained growing numbers of anecdotal reports of male-free shark births in captivity.

Shivji said the research "may have solved a general mystery about shark reproduction," because it suggests that sharks can "switch from a sexual to a non-sexual mode of reproduction." But he said this was not necessarily a positive ability because baby sharks produced only by the mother suffer from reduced genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity makes living creatures better able to adapt to threats, such as disease and climate change.

Prodohl said if self-impregnation was occurring in the wild because female sharks cannot find male partners amid rapidly declining shark populations, it would represent "an evolutionary dead end that compromises the survival of the species."

He said he suspected this was "already a problem in the real world," and noted the population of blue sharks off the west coast of Ireland had fallen by 90 percent in the past 12 years.

But Hueter said he doubted it was happening anywhere besides in captivity. He also argued that the power to self-impregnate represents "an evolutionary strategy to keep the population and species going when all else fails. Genetically, it's a last resort tactic because it leads to genetic uniformity, and eventually that will catch up with the population and make it less fit.

"But as a short-term alternative to extinction, it has its benefits," he said.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I got an "A" in Advanced Social Statistics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a really big deal to me and a great boost to my confidence in my ability to be a social scientist. Oh dear, I need to breathe....

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In our quest to obtain a reliable bathroom scale, my husband scoured the internet and consumer reviews. He then ordered a model with strong evidence for its quality. When it arrived in the mail today, I had a great laugh at its title - "Fat Loss Monitor with Scale." Apparently, a scale is just not enough anymore! I'm actually hoping to gain a few pounds in the months ahead. More on that in future posts....

Photo

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, folks, as of 12:45 this afternoon, the world has a brand new Dr. of Education, and he happens to be my 58-year-old pops. You can call him Dr. Tom Stertz - I'll call him Dr. Dad. I've written before of my pride in my dad's accomplishments, but today made it official. After jettisoning his 23-year career teaching auto mechanics at Dunwoody College of Technology to pursue his PhD eight years ago, the old man has successfully defended his dissertation: "The Relative Effectiveness of Student Retention Initiatives Within Technical Colleges in Minnesota."

Yay Dad! Sky-U-Mah!

Pictured at left: My Dad (right) and his mother upon his high school graduation, 1966. Bet she's braggin' on her boy all over Heaven!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This is reaching back to 2004, but I saw a bumper sticker with this slogan driving in this morning and had a good chuckle:

I also found the following counter-slogan online:

With the last Harry Potter book due out in July, as well as the film version of "Order of the Phoenix" coming out the same month, I'm hoping that we Muggles can have some more fun with this in '08.

Voldemort
Wormtail

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*Source: I totally stole this from someone on the hubster's Cubs message board! But guess what? See above.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ok, so, given the discussion in my previous blog about the paucity of appealing candidates for President in '08, I was excited to see this story come across the wire this morning:

LOS ANGELES - The online social networking site MySpace and reality TV producer Mark Burnett are teaming to launch the search for an independent presidential candidate.

MySpace is a unit of Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
--

Here's hoping they find a network! FOX, anyone?!? C'mon, who here wants to make a run for it???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I spent a couple hours yesterday hanging out with the Sociology department at their annual Sociology Research Institute (SRI). Though I'm technically a social work student, I've managed to weasel my way in to Soc. People seem to like to mix up sociologists and social workers anyway.

There was great intellectual activity going on at SRI for sure. I enjoyed a conversation between my kind benefactor and Tom Johnson of the Council on Crime and Justice. But to be honest, the coolest thing about the afternoon for me was meeting the Gopher Marching Band Drum Major. Not only is Molly the first female drum major for the Gophers, but she's also a double major in sociology and political science and sits in an office down the hall from me on the 11th floor of the Social Science Tower. Oh yeah, and she'll be interning in DC for Jim Ramstad starting next January. A pretty impressive chick, if you ask me!

Having marched in high school myself (and dated the drum major!) and married a man who marched one year for the Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band, I was immediately fascinated to learn more about Molly's experiences as drum major. So, I marshalled my best interviewing skills to that end:

Me: So, like, do you get really nervous being out in front like that?
Molly: Not really, I'm used to it now.
Me: But, I mean, like, your first Big 10 football game halftime show, weren't you, like. "Oh my God?"
Molly: Yeah!
Me: And you carry that thing, that big stick...
Molly: It's called the mace.
Me: Yeah, the mace! That's so cool.

*the goose step, in marching band terms, is the one where the drum major runs way out in front of the band, throwing the mace, and raising his/her legs out in front while leaning back - akin to this image from rugby. This is not to be confused with the fascist form of the step...

Photo

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I absolutely love this story. And the fact that it comes from the homeland of my beloved grandparents (God rest their souls) warms my heart all the more.

Wisconsin sheriff writes self a ticket
Associated Press
Last update: April 11, 2007 – 10:16 AM

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brown County Sheriff Dennis Kocken tailed a speeding driver to give her a warning, but he ended up writing himself a ticket after he rear-ended the vehicle.

Kocken was following a Chevrolet Cavalier in his county-owned Ford 500 when the driver slowed to turn. Kocken, who had moved behind the car to avoid a snow removal vehicle in his lane, hit the Cavalier. No one was injured.

Kocken called for a deputy, who wrote a report on the March 7 accident but did not issue a ticket. The Brown County District Attorney's office reviewed the report and found a ticket was not warranted.

But it kept bothering the sheriff, who was elected in 2002.

"Finally, I decided to write myself a ticket,'' Kocken said. "I felt it was the right thing to do.''

The ticket for an unsafe lane change carries a $160.80 fine, which Kocken said he will pay.

"As sheriff, I'm held to the highest standard in law enforcement,'' he said. "How can I hold officers accountable if I don't hold myself accountable?''

The Cavalier's driver could not be reached for comment.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I seem to have a serial problem with one-season-stands with reality TV shows. A couple years ago I watched a season of American Idol and even voted for Bo Bice! I also watched a season of The Bachelor - the Paris edition, I believe. The latter was an exercise in alternating self-hatred (for watching such misogyny) and utter fascination wondering who HE would pick. Now, I'm hooked on Dancing with the Stars!

I have to admit, I'm fascinated by Heather Mills' participation, both as a pariah and as an amputee. I've also identified my three early favorites for finishing in the top tier:
Ian Ziering (of 90210 fame and, therefore, a key figure in my adolescence)
Laila Ali (daughter of Muhammad; kick-ass chick boxer)
Joey Fatone (of N'Sync fame)

We'll see how they do! My sister and bro-in-law attended the local show on the DWTS tour last year (she got real close to Joey McIntyre, another instrumental figure in my adolescence). Maybe we'll have to go next time around!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yup! As promised, spent 90 minutes of precious Sunday afternoon "date time" with hubster viewing Blades of Glory and it was glorious! Of course, it's crude, superfluous, and of dubious merit in general. But it was funny - to the point of tears a couple of times (for me). Having once been a skater, there's nothing like a good, solid figure skating spoof including cameos by real skating stars, and Blades delivered.

Photo

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I have!

Me & Sgt. Baker on his wedding-renewal day. By all accounts, his wife Scholastica (also a solider) wears the pants. But he doesn't seem to mind...and I sure didn't mind that hug!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's been more than 10 years since I last set foot in New York City. I guess a couple important things have happened in my absence. The hubster and I are here piggy-backing off of his annual meetings for composition instructors.

In any case, I came prepared for fun. Our hotel is minutes from Rockefeller Center and it's still skating season. So, I brought my blades. AND I carried them on the plane. With the threat level at Orange, I wasn't sure if two 12-inch blades with spikes on the end would be welcome on a commercial jet. So, I asked the kind folks at the United ticket counter in MSP. Apparently, no one had ever asked before. So, a TSA expert was summoned who gave the OK. The United ticket counter employee laughed and said, "You can't bring a hockey stick, but you can bring ice skates!"

Photo

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Some kids have a security blanket, others a stuffed animal. Most who have a security item have something tangible that they can touch, hold, hug. Not my son. No. He has never really been attached to objects. But what he does have is a security alter ego. When my son feels scared, upset, insecure, he retreats into his other self which is...a cat. Here is a segment of tonight's conversation:

Micah: I WANT my DINOSAURS!
Mommy/Daddy: Micah, go to sleep now.
MIcah: mmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!

And so it goes. Now if we could just get him to catch mice.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I bet members of Wilco rarely, if ever, consider the 3-5 year old age bracket as one of the band's key markets. But they struck a chord with my 3 1/2 year old today. I put the CD in on a whim while running errands this afternoon. The CD was burned for me a little while back by a friend and includes some classic power ballads tacked on the end. I had considered skipping straight to those, but my son usually tells me he doens't like "that music" and so I figured I'd give Wilco a try. Pretty soon, Micah was asking me to repeat tracks and asking "What's this song about?" As the CD played on, he bopped his head up and down and made statements such as, "I wonder what song is next..."

This of course, got me wondering what it was about Wilco that appeals to my son's musical taste. Perhaps the upbeat guitars? The whimsical percussion? Whatever it was, I had a great time watching my kid rock out in the back seat. Thanks, Wilco!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a confession to make. I'm halfway through my semester of Advanced Statistics and on the verge of handing in my first paper (worth 40% of my grade). The confession is, I think I like stats!!!!!

Once you have picked yourself up off the floor and cursed yourself for placing a bet that I would have a total meltdown by now, let me know...

Believe it or not, it's true. I, the once stat-avoidant, have been transformed into a stat-addict. I have been spending inordinate amounts of time with Stata, trying different models and running various tests and, well, sometimes....I just can't stop! It's really fun - like playing a video game, if you ask me. Which is not to say that I think statistical analysis should be approached in a cavalier way. But it's incredibly rewarding to build a model and really feel like you can say something about the results (with all the appropriate caveats, limitations noted, etc). And then to take it apart and try it another way. Damn, I sound really nerdy. I know, this is shocking.

So, how has this transformation taken place? Here's what I think:

1) What a difference a teacher makes! The instructor for this course is the best math teacher I've had since 7th grade algebra. This is probably because he makes us do very little math and instead focuses on the math we "need" to know to understand the model and the interpretation of results. Letting Stata do the math for me is like a marriage made in heaven (kind of like how my husband does all the cooking, laundry, and lawn care - no shit, just ask him!).

2) Bull-headed determination on my part not to be a stat-flunkie. I want to be a well-armed researcher, which includes having a decent proficiency in statistical methods.

3) The decision to stop thinking of myself as stat-stupid.

I don't have the data to model the relative influence of each of these factors on my statransformation, but I have a feeling that each is significant, or perhaps the interactions between them account for all the difference.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'd like to thank you all for helping me become #38 on the UThink system for blogs with the most comments. I couldn't have done it without you. Well, unless I just commented on all my own blogs. But that would be pretty sad, huh? I'd like to set a new goal, however, and I hope you'll help me reach it. I'd like to go for the gold and surpass Oil is for Sissies which has 5,881 comments. I'm now at 354, so it's a lofty goal. But I'm up for the challenge if you are!

Picture
I've decided to take Brad Wright's advice and credit my photo sources from now on. Just seems like the right thing to do...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have the great fortune of being a part of a developing research project on "re-entries" - that is, the process(es) by which individuals emerging from various institutional settings "make it" in society and what helps or hinders this process. We'll be interviewing folks coming out of prison, chemical dependency treatment, mental health treatment, foster care, and military service. Somehow I feel like this picture captures the hope of re-entry...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I don't care how badly this gets panned, how low on the Tomatometer it scores, I am going to see this movie as soon as it comes out. With Will Ferrell on the ice, this is sure to be a gut-busting good time. Sadly, my own ice follies are on hold for the semester as my class schedule interferes with ice time. Although I was recently chastised by someone for never having visited the John Rose Oval, it will just have to wait.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fresh off my own recent experience of positive review, I can't resist posting this review from the New York Daily News of friend and former co-worker Adam Levy's latest Honeydogs release, Amygdala. So, all five of you people who read this blog, check it out! BTW, The 'Dogs are playing tonight at Minneapolis' Varsity Theater and on February 15th at Iowa City's The Picador.

Oddness on the brain
THE HONEYDOGS
"Amygdala"
(Navarre)
How does a songwriter make odd tunes seem easy, giving every melodic twist and turn an inevitable flow?

Few musicians have figured that out, which is why most stick with familiar chords and sweet refrains. But every so often a brave soul manages to make strange chord progressions and rare keys equally pleasing.

In the late '60s, the Beatles provided the most enduring legacy for these leaps. Steely Dan offered its own twist with their hits of the '70s. Now Adam Levy has given us his version of these sonic improbabilities with the Honeydogs.

Levy's songs sound so simple that at first you won't notice how much is going on in them. In "Truth Serum," one of the songs on the group's new album, "Amygdala," he manages to give the tonal tricks and quirks of jazz the charm of pop. In "Heads or Tales" Levy borrows a tack from John Lennon's "Across the Universe," stretching out its melody with a near-numbing monotony before the chorus moves a surprising direction away from the Beatles' template.

It's probably inevitable that allusions to the Fab Four would show up in so many songs. In various passages, Levy nicks Beatlesque vocal chorales, piano breaks, or acoustic guitar textures, only to reinvent them with his own sly tunes.

The last Honeydogs CD, 2003's "10,000 Years," earned some over-heated comparisons to "Sgt. Pepper," based on its more ornate filigrees. But when the Minneapolis band started out in the mid-'90s, they more often got lumped into the alt-country category. Levy has done all he can to wiggle out of that box in the years since. On "Amygdala," he borrows from psychedelia, power pop, folk-rock and bossa nova, without ever slavishly mimicking any one.

Levy is just as tricky when it comes to lyrics. He packs them with surreal wordplay. (The CD's title refers to the brain neurons that regulate emotions, particularly fear.)

Given the light way the band plays Levy's music - and considering the singer's dreamy voice - the album ends up sounding closest to a similarly sophisticated British group from the '80s: Prefab Sprout. Like that band, the Honeydogs have proven that a few minor chords, placed with care, can have a major effect.

Jim Farber

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Friday afternoon, my father will stride across the stage at Northrup Auditorium to be congratulated on finishing his doctorate in education (EdD). Although the old man still has to defend his dissertation, he is near enough to doing so that he is participating in the ceremony this Fall.

I'm pretty damn proud of my pops. While I was an undergrad myself, my father pusued and completed (six months before I did) his bachelors degree. Then, while still teaching auto mechanics full-time at Dunwoody, went on to obtain his masters. Now, after several years in pursuit of his EdD, despite my mother's several bouts with cancer, continuing to work full-time at the U, adding two grandchildren, and intense involement in church and community service, he is very nearly done with a very crowning achievement. I should know, after all, that they don't give out doctoral degrees for free.

Having the old man as a college student, sometimes overlapping with my own (perhaps more in line with age norms) pursuit of higher education, has given me a deep respect for non-traditional students. Such folks choose to pursue college degrees and even make major career changes at a time in life when this is not typically done, and therefore sometimes invite significant risks in leaving long-held jobs and well-established careers. My dad is seven years away from Social Security and Medicaid, yet he is hoping/planning to embark on a second career, still as an educator, but at a different level and from another vantage point.

So, I'll be at Northrup this Friday at 1:00 beaming pride and maybe shedding a few tears. Oh, and clapping wildly, perhaps defying the "hold your applause until the end" rule. Screw that, it's my dad up there!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've been convalescing on the living room couch for the past three days. Got the flu, I think. Fever, chills, sweats, cough - the whole nine yards. As a result, I've been watching entirely too much television. This evening, however, after watching a lovely tribute to the great Neil Simon, I caught sight of a PBS ad promising to bring back a truly great show from my childhood. I only hope that when my kid learns how to read, it looks this cool.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's that time of the semester when any laugh will do. Here is a snippet of conversation from the car ride home from school/daycare today:

Micah: Mommy, who are bad guys?
Mommy: Where did you hear about bad guys?
Micah: At school.
Mommy: (grrrreeeeat) Oh. Bad guys are people who do mean things (which means even I qualify).
Micah: Yeah. And where do they live?
Mommy: Bad guys live everywhere.
Micah: What?
Mommy: (I know he heard me) Bad guys live anywhere.
Micah: But bad guys don't live in Minnesota!
Mommy: Oh, they don't? (playing along)
Micah: No. Where do they live?
Mommy: (I might as well enjoy this). I think they live in Wisconsin! (I laugh)
Micah: What, Mommy?
Mommy: Nothing, Mommy's just being silly.

Conversation moves on to safer topics....robots and dinosaurs. Phew!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The moment I stepped onto the elevator at my LA hotel last Tuesday, I felt like I'd been there before. As I rode up 15 floors to my room, I realized my deja vu was actually from a film, not unlikely given that this is, well, LA. I tried to place the movie as I turned down the hall and couldn't get beyond that it was an action movie and involved some kind of epic fight in an elevator.

Last night, I finally got it. Just as the elevator doors opened to carry me up, I noticed the plaque on the wall: "This elevator was used in the filming of In the Line of Fire starring John Malkovich and Clint Eastwood." Aha! It all came flooding back - the fight, the lights go out, Clint uses his super-secret-agent skills to subtly communicate Malkovich's location so that snipers can take him out. Good flick. Cool elevator.

Inicidentally, IMDb has a cool feature in which you can look up filiming locations. Also filmed at the Westin Bonaventure include scenes from Pretty in Pink (classic), Rain Man, True Lies, and Heat among others. Had I had the good fortune at staying at one of the official conference hotels (Biltmore), I might have sensed the residual greatness of such flicks as Ghostbusters, Splash, Criminal, The Sting, and, yes, The Wedding Crashers. Ahh, Hollywood!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friday night was the best night of sleep I've had in ages. It just so happens that it took place on a large, comfy couch in the apartment of a friend living in Austin, TX. I was in town to assist with a program evaluation project being conducted by my internship agency. We interviewed staff and participants in one of the Girl Scouts USA's antiviolence programs, housed in a juvenile detention facility in Austin. I felt right at home given the location of my previous internship over the summer. I wasn't even surprised when our plans were nearly foiled by facility staff canceling the troop meeting due to girls' misbehavior. We worked it out, however, and had a phenomenal time listening to and talking with the girls.

Austin's a pretty cool town, though I didn't see much of it in my less-than-24-hour stay. I did manage a Marguarita on 6th Street and a couple good views of downtown. It didn't really feel like I was in Texas, though. According to my taxi driver (who was from Houston originally) this is because Austin is unlike any other part of Texas - liberal. Hmm, well I appreciated the vibe and would recommend a visit to anyone who has occasion to go.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend called me yesterday for the sole pupose of alerting me to this Onion article. For those with the requisite background knowledge, this will provide a good chuckle.

Retired S1Ws Recalled To Active Duty
October 6, 2006 | Issue 42•41

"Not since we entered the Terrordome have we needed this much support from the S, the S1Ws"
Chuck D

STRONG ISLAND, NY—With recruitment down sharply, and the prospect of being held back by the nation of millions appearing once again likely, top-ranking Public Enemy officials issued an order Monday for all retired Security Of The First World personnel to return to active duty.

"In order to come to the aid of the hip-hop nation, we must regrettably ask those men who heroically served the Black Planet to once again don their fatigues and take up their plastic arms," S1W Chief and Public Enemy Minister Of Information Professor Griff said. "We have no more options. It's not as though we can simply call 911. That would be a joke."

"Some see this as a sign of defeat," Griff added. "Don't believe the hype: We will come out triumphant in this Mess Age."

S1W comprised the paramilitary security wing of the Public Enemy forces from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Their intimidating martial presence and synchronized dance steps routinely struck fear in the hearts of concertgoers hoping to enjoy a Beastie Boys or Big Audio Dynamite performance.

Although successfully deployed during the ongoing power-fighting that marked much of Public Enemy's existence, doubts have been raised, even among S1Ws themselves, of their current effectiveness.

"I am proud of my service to Public Enemy," said retired S1W Roger Chillous, 41. "I was right there in the front of the stage for the First London Invasion tour of duty right before I retired. But I can no longer effortlessly execute the complex choreographed maneuvers that were once required of me. I wasn't called up for the East Coast–West Coast conflict, so I don't understand why I was for this."

Others adopted a militant stance evocative of their younger days, claiming that they have already done their fair share of cold lampin'.

"I got a letter from the P.E. the other day," said James Bomb, 46, also a former S1W. "I opened it, and read it, and said they were suckers. They want me for their army or whatever? Picture me giving a damn—I said 'Never.'"

"Then again, I could use the money," Bomb added.

John "Pop" Oliver, 52, said that commitments to his wife and children make returning to the S1W life much more difficult.

"How is my family going to feel when they turn on the news to find out that the Bomb Squad has been sent into action again?" Oliver said. "I'm like, comatose walking around. I just got my life back, I'm not ready to leave it behind."

Public Enemy leader Chuck D admitted that he had "greatly underestimated" the strength of the power in the late 1990s, having called it "contained" and discharging all but a small force of S1Ws. Despite numerous campaigns to create a broad, multi-racial coalition in order to increase recruitment, such as joint actions with Anthrax, U2 and Gang of Four, recruitment has been less than half that of pre-1992 levels.

In addition, there has been some question about the conditions to which the S1Ws will return. The Jeep Beat Troops were decimated in the Revolverlution of 2002, and the S1Ws' once-proud fleet of 98 Oldsmobiles have fallen into disrepair, lacking the armor plating that would keep them safe under fire.

Though the initial recall order was for just six S1Ws, speculation ran rampant that this was just the first of many such recalls. One high-ranking member spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"No one is happy to execute this order," the source said. "Unfortunately, so long as the show is under siege by a constant stream of potential bum-rushers, there seems to be no end in sight for this conflict. We may have too much posse, but we still require the critical support of the S1Ws. Yeeeeaaaaaah, boyyyyyyy!"

Sister Souljah could not be reached for comment.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm on the verge of submitting my second mauscript for publicaiton review. This one is a paper I've been sitting on for almost a year, tinkering with revisions and generally saying, "I've got to get on that." After receiving helpful feedback from a couple of profs, I think it's ready to go. It's an historical analysis of an intervention for juvenile delinquency in 1940s' Minneapolis. I had great fun poring over delicate original documents in the U of M's Social Welfare History Archives last Fall and came up with something that, I think, is fascinating and relevant even for today. In the process I handled original letters written by Hubert H. Humphrey and Saul Alinsky. I particularly enjoyed a letter written by Alinsky in preparation for a visit to Minneapolis in which he requests a bathtub in his hotel room and not a shower.

In any case, in this paper I cite a letter that hits a bit closer to home for me than those written by such political icons. It is a letter written by a neighbor of mine from childhood to a mayoral committee studying the need for seperate, appropriate facilities for juvenile delinquents in 1940s' Minneapolis. This man lived at the end of our block and always had a jar full of candy to dispense to us neighborhood kids when we stopped by. Granted, if my kid came home today and told me that an old man at the end of the block was inviting him into his home and giving him candy, a full-fledged investigation would ensue. But those were different times, the early 80s. To us, this neighbor was a great man - a kind and friendly soul who made us laugh as he came to answer the door shouting, "Who's makin' all that noise out there?!?" and pouring out the candy jar after chanting, "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to GO!"

Apparently, though I knew this man primarily as a retiree, he had spent his professional career serving the needs and interests of at-risk youth through social service agencies around the Twin Cities. I now know him not only through my murky childhood memory as a friendly neighbor, but also as a kindred spirit in concern and activism for disadvantaged young people. It's funny how the distance of time can seem so long and yet so short with strange and circuitous connections we don't expect.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

After blogging about our most recent burglary, I got to thinking, how often do I talk (or blog) about my neighborhood's strengths? It's blemishes are easy to see and frequently splashed across newspaper pages. But walking home from the bus yesterday, through the leaves and past charming homes with neighbors who do not look (or talk or act) like me, I felt a fresh sense of "I live here. These are my streets, too."

This morning, as I sat in front of this laptop working on a class assignment, the doorbell rang. I opened to find three pre-teen boys clamoring for the opportunity to rake my leaves. One, claiming to be the crew "foreman," asserted that he should be paid $10 and his two sidekicks none, since they were just following him around. I told him we could negotiate payment when they were done, and grabbed our rake for the third, and youngest, worker to participate. I scraped together enough quarters to pay them a decent wage and threw in some candy as well. After about an hour of listening to their boistrous talk and the sound of rakes scraping ground and crunching leaves, I paid them for their labor. I may have overdone it with my questions about school and church attendance and my admonitions to "be good" and "stay out of trouble," but as an "elder" in this community, I guess that's my prerogative.

As for community strengths, I can now name three: Richie, D'Andre, and Josh.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sometimes you find something soooooo good, you just have to share it! Here I can listen to the Beatles all day, including selections from their solo endeavors. I just heard Ringo singing, "You're Sixteen." Ahhhhhhh....

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My darling boy fulfilled a life-long (three years') dream of meeting Thomas the Tank Engine on Wednesday. I missed it as I was in the air between Minneapolis and Montreal (prior to yesterday's terror developments). Despite my pre-motherhood ideals of raising a son who wouldn't scorn playing with a doll or a stuffed animal, the reality of Micah has been non-stop machines, trains in particular, since year one. But I don't mind, as he spends many an evening falling asleep (fighting sleep?) by chatting with Thomas under the covers. I'm smitten, and he's happy...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This evening, while walking around the block with son and dog in tow, we met one of the neighbor kids. A dog, in our neighborhood or perhaps any, is always a source of curiosity for the youngsters. This young man approached us wanting to pet the dog and even reached into the "treat pouch" on my husband's belt loop for a snack to make friends with our canine. He then proceeded to follow us for a block, leading us through his alley and pointing out all the landmarks there - the dogs that are his but he keeps at his neighbor's house, his uncle's garage which had been infested with mice, his auntie on the back porch, and his godfather's house, all in one city block. We had an interesting jaunt together, but then he had to turn back as we left the block to return to ours. One last hug for our dog and he was off. As he cruised back down his alley on his bike, he turned around to shout, "You guys are good people!" He nearly ran himself into the side of a garage in the process. I yelled, "So are you!" in return. I have no idea what prompted his compliment, seeing as we just met. But that's a little of what life's like around here...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I turned on my TV this morning to get Thomas & Friends rolling for the little guy, and what should I see but a replay of Friday's Almanac featuring my former colleague and local rock god, Adam Levy with his band.

I have to say that being acquainted with a local rock god is quite a rush sometimes. I try to make the Hookers & Blow show at Gluek's as often as I can. Several stars must be aligned for that to take place, including the company of at least one companion and either a babysitter or spousal approval. So, it doesn't happen as often as I'd like - I don't even have to be drunk to hit the dancefloor at this gig. But I did get a shout-out from the band leader on one occasion and, I must say, that's enough to make a girl feel pretty damn cool...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Hero has been sadly absent from the news as of late. But, hurrah! This week he reappeared announcing that a deal had been reached to remove sugary soft drinks from America's schools in order to fight the War on Obesity. In our own family's skirmish with said enemy ("Take Back our Lives 2006 - Sarah & Jerry lose weight!") I can say that cutting out sugary drinks has played a big part in our success thus far. Though it sounds like the big soda companies won't be losing much in the way of profits on the deal, I'm impressed with Our Hero's ability to get something done. Would have been nice if he had been as successful with Israel and Palestine during his presidency, but what can we say? For me, I like a good redemption story. I remember when some of the best laughs on TV were SNL skits mocking Clinton's jogs to McDonald's. It's nice to see someone making good on a chubby past.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apparently, somebody owes me some unpaid wages. According to an article published today on what stay-at-home mothers would get paid if they got paid, I am owed $89,414 for the eight months I spent with Micah at home. In addition, according to the article, we should also be making an additional $85K+/year for all the work we do at home as working parents (the article refers to mothers, but Jerry and I have a rather "egalitarian" housework arrangement - ok, ok, Jerry does it ALL). While I find this whole concept interesting and amusing, I can think of a few ways I might rather be compensated by "society" for my work as a parent:

*less dirty looks at the grocery store and more compassion on airplane flights when our toddler is not "on his best behavior"
*expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act to at least six months (rather than three) for those of us who need a little more time to recover and reconsider employment after baby
*paid maternity/family leave???? What a concept!

Just to name a few. I won't be twiddling my thumbs waiting for the check to come (apparently, though, I could print one off for myself at salary.com). But it would be nice to live in a society where families and parenting are actually valued.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you have the good fortune of being in the Twin Cities this weekend and didn't get enough of speed skating from Torino, you can catch the World Short Track Championships at the U of M's Mariucci Arena starting tomorrow. The bad news: Ohno won't be here.

But 25 other Olympic medalists will be. I've caught a few glimpses of practice sessions as I've ventured into Mariucci for my own skating (which involves very little speed or skill). They really don't call it speed skating for nothing! Seeing it live and up-close really impresses one with the speed and precision involved. I remember liking the short track best out of what I saw of the Olympics. Maybe I can rustle up a babysitter and drag the hubby to the rink for a few hours... If only we can afford the tickets.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This entry got its name from my favorite Oscar quote of the night, by some dude who won some technical-ish Oscar. Anyway, that about sums up the experience of watching this year's awards, with the exception of Three 6 Mafia's enthusiastic (and deserved) win for "It's Hard Out Here for Pimp" as the year's Best Original Song. Of course, I could have drummed up such a speech by taking a walk down to Emerson & Lowry with a video camera, but that street corner realness is what made the acceptance so good. As a caveat, I haven't seen Crash (some of you who read this, if you know me, might find this surprising - if indeed anyone actually reads this blog). But here I present my Top 5 Movies of 2005:

1) Brokeback Mountain - the damn thing made me weep in public, not for the gay romance, but for the depth of isolation it explored.

2) The Squid and the Whale - painfully real and moving - I must say I think Jeff Daniels was overlooked in the Best Actor category.

3) Capote - I'm a sucker for a crime drama and Philip Seymour Hoffman's win for Best Actor needs no rationalization.

4) Good Night and Good Luck - George Clooney proved to me that he is an artist, not just a pretty face.

5) Hustle and Flow - because it is truly hard out here for a pimp!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not only are scientists continually discovering new species of sharks, such as this specimen recently discovered in Mexico's Sea of Cortez

but the Pentagon is currently developing strategies to utilize these sleek, stealthy creatures for military intelligence. According to The Independent,
"Military scientists in the United States are developing a way of manipulating sharks by remote control to turn them into underwater spies or weapons.

Engineers funded by the Pentagon have created electronic brain implants for fish that they hope will be able to influence the movements of sharks and perhaps even decode what they are sensing.

Although both Cold War superpowers have trained sea mammals such as dolphins and killer whales to carry out quasi-military duties, this is probably the first time the military have seriously considered using fish.

The Pentagon hopes to exploit the ability of sharks to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails, according to New Scientist magazine.

"These researchers hope such implants will improve our understanding of how the animals interact with their environment, as well as boosting research into tackling human paralysis," says New Scientist.

But the research also has a military objective. "By remotely guiding sharks' movements, they hope to transform the animals into stealth spies, perhaps capable of following vessels without being spotted," the magazine says.

The neural implants consist of electrodes buried in the fish's brain which can then be triggered by remote control to stimulate specific areas of the animal's central nervous system.

New Scientist says that the project is funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Virginia, which is also involved in a number of other research studies investigating the use of electronic implants to monitor or control the movements or behaviour of animals.

Scientists at Boston University have already developed brain implants that can influence the movements of dogfish - members of the shark family - by "steering" them with a phantom odour.

The electrodes are attached to the region of the dogfish brain associated with scent detection. When the stimulus is to the right side of the olfactory centre the fish turn right, when it is left, the fish swim left.

The stronger the signal, the more sharply it turns.

The shark study is also designed to investigate the possibility of monitoring the brain activity of a shark to decipher different patterns of activity that indicate whether the fish has detected an ocean current, a scent or an electrical field."

Just when you thought it might be safe to go in the water...Jaws meets The Hunt for Red October???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I admit it, I'm fascinated by yesterday's news that a group of astronomers released a "short list" of "nearby" stars that have the potential for life-supporting planets in their orbits during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Having been an avid X-Files watcher for several years, my interest should hardly be surprising.

Yet, I am a skeptic. Call me Scully, but I have a hard time believing in extraterrestrial life. At least, I can't imagine that "aliens," if they do exist, could possibly resemble the image we have created for them. According to pop culture, not only are aliens ugly, but, despite their superior intelligence, they look as though they just crawled out of the primordial soup. That, and they always seem to possess an omnipotence typically reserved for the divine. So I have a little trouble ascribing them much credibility.

But I'll be interested to see what NASA and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence might find as they point the Terrestrial Planet Finder in the direction of these promising solar systems. Perhaps they'll make a Mulder out of me yet...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was brutal. In lieu of a Hawkeye victory, the halftime show starring Kyra Sundace and Chalcy, the world's smartest dog, was the highlight of today's Iowa v. Minnesota dual meet. Yeah. It was that bad.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Though I was born and raised in the Twin Cities, I have never been a Gophers fan. Not even now that I am a grad student at the U. Having spent my undergrad plus five years in Iowa City, my collegiate sports loyalty lies with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.

In particular, I'm a Hawkeye wrestling fan. As a student at Iowa, I caught the tail-end of the Dan Gable era - and what an era of near-total dominance it was. After an experience like that, it would be almost impossible to transfer allegience to another team.

But the Hawks have been on a long slide downward since the end of the Gable era - no longer are annual Big Ten, National Duals, and NCAA championships a veritalbe given. This year's 6th place finish at the National Duals, case-in-point.

At the same time, the Gophers have experienced a surge in success. This year, the Gophers beat the Okie State Cowboys (long-time arch-nemesis to the Hawkeyes) to take 1st at the National Duals. The defeat of former Hawkeye heavyweight (traitor!) Steve Mocco, now wrestling for Okie State, at the hands of the Gophers' Cole Konrad (by a fall, no less - that's a "pin" in wrestling-speak!) is the only satisfaction to be gleaned from this year's Duals for a Hawks fan.

This Sunday, the Hawks will travel up to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers at Williams Arena (2:00pm). I plan to be there - rooting for the Hawks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I think I inadvertently had the "birds and the bees" talk with my two-year-old yesterday. He's been home sick with a stomach bug all weekend and this week so far. To entertain him yesterday, we rented March of the Penguins. To my surprise, he watched the whole thing with great fascination. Must have been the fever. Not knowing the plot beforehand, I was "thrilled" to find it's all about how the Emperor penguins manage to mate every year despite the harshest conditions on planet earth. Here is the piece of our conversation in question:

Micah: Where's the baby penguins?
Me: The babies aren't here yet. First the daddies have to find the mommies.
Micah: Oh, why?
Me: Uh, well, because that's where the babies come from.
Micah: Oh, why?
Me: Because the mommies and the daddies make the babies.
Micah: Oh, why?
Me: Um, because that's where the babies come from.
Micah: Oh, why?
Me: Micah, look! That penguin fell down!
Micah: Oh, why?

So, how did I do?

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This world is full of a great many injustices, but this just about takes the cake!

From news.yahoo.com:
LONDON -

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relatives of their Beatles' bandmates are suing EMI to recover what they claim is more than $53 million in unpaid royalties, their company said Friday.

McCartney, Starr and relatives of John Lennon and George Harrison are pursuing the case both in New York and London.

"We have tried to reach a settlement through good faith negotiations and regret that our efforts have been in vain," said Neil Aspinall, who heads Apple Corps Ltd.

"Despite very clear provisions in our contracts, EMI persists in ignoring their obligations and duty to account fairly and with transparency," Aspinall said.

EMI declined to comment on the case.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Read it and weep, extroverts:

INTROVERTS UNITE!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

If you can download this, it's hilarious!
never scare a brother

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, with my birthday coming up in a month, it looks like another Beatles bio will be hitting the bookstores and may be a best bet for a birthday gift. Then again, can I really justify reading 856 pages about the Fab Four? It took me four years to finish reading "The Brothers Karazmazov" after all...

Anticipated Beatles Bio Comes Out Tuesday

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Entertainment Writer Sun Oct 30, 4:17 PM ET

NEW YORK - Ten hours, 28 minutes. That was the sum of the music recorded and released by the Beatles before breaking up, a volume of work that changed lives, careers and the course of music history. Eight years, 2,792 pages. That was the effort author Bob Spitz put into telling their story, although editors whittled his manuscript down to 856 pages (minus the end notes).

"The Beatles: The Biography," available Nov. 1, is a compulsively readable history that brings the same exhaustive level of scholarship to the Fab Four that Robert Caro brought to Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson.

"The Beatles' story is all of our stories," says Spitz, 55, a manager for
Bruce Springsteen and others before turning to writing. "It is about how the youth culture emerged, the drug culture emerged, how politics rose to the fore as a universal debate. It's about rebellion, it's about the growth of the British entertainment system, the growth of the rock 'n' roll entertainment system.

"The Beatles changed music forever. They took rock 'n' roll from a medium that was about cars and girls and gave it context, interesting chord changes and true musicianship."

Get the idea he's passionate about the subject?

Spitz lived it, writing six days a week for six years, spending six months in Liverpool and retracing the Beatles' steps. He could practically smell the stale cigarette smoke from the old clubs, and even ordered the band's favorite scotch and Coke drinks just to taste what they had tasted.

It almost makes up for the school yard beating that a teenage Spitz suffered for suggesting that the Beatles were no-talent bums who wouldn't last; he was an avid Bob Dylan fan at the time.

He feels differently now. But his love and respect for the Beatles doesn't blind him as a writer; he draws a complete portrait of brilliant musicians who were human after all. Several initial reviews have been positive, and his publisher's first printing of nearly 200,000 copies is considered a positive sign of the biography's potential...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not what you think.

I've been noticing lately a scholarly obsession with a certain punctuation mark - the colon. Anybody else? Probably not, as most of you (if there are any of you out there) are probably doing far more productive things with your time than poring over tomes written by puntuation-and-excess-verbiage-obsessed academics. But let me tell you, there is something about the appeal of that colon - that freedom to go ahead and add a second title if you want to. Usually it begins with something catchy like, "A Cycle of Outrage" (ooooo, intriguing?). Then the colon is inserted, follwed by "America's Reaction to the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950s" (oh). Article after article, book after book, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. It's really quite astonishing. Even I have followed suit. check out the title of my current hisotrical research project: "Dereliction of duty: Juvenile delinquency and the parental school idea in the 1940s." What?! Yeah, but if you know what I'm talking about, it's actually quite clever. I assure you.

Q: # of times in the past month I've said any of the following to myself-
"I want to quit."
"What was I thinking?!?!"
"I feel dumber every day since I became a PhD student"
"Which would be the most expedient: jumping off this bridge or stepping in
front of the nearest "campus connector" bus?" (before you start planning
the intervention, rest assured, this is a purely rhetorical question!)

A: oh, thousands!!!!!!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

As winter approaches, I like to insert my "hibernation theory" into small talk conversations about the weather which we Minnesotans are wont to engage in at this time of year (or anytime of year, for that matter, since our weather is nearly always doing something we don't like). The theory is that those of us homo sapiens who have chosen to adapt to colder climes have failed to live in accordance with the biological implications of this choice: namely, hibernation. Whenever the weather turns cold, I start to feel the need to stop moving so much and eat more. I've found that many others share this sense with me. As it turns out, according to the following excerpt from an article on American clutter, my hibernation theory fits well with broader speculation regarding biological adaptation and our habits:

"To many observers, clutter reflects the mind-set of the modern household - overburdened, disorganized and compulsive. To others, clutter is a broader symbol of a ravenous culture dependent on easy credit, piling up debt and consuming a lion's share of the world's resources without considering the consequences.

''People's homes are a reflection of their lives,'' says Los Angeles psychologist and organizational consultant Peter Walsh. ''It is no accident that people have a huge weight problem in this country, and clutter is the same thing. Homes are an orgy of consumption.''

Yet scientists have difficulty quantifying clutter. It is a private problem that most people sweep under the bed and shove behind closed doors. "

Phew. I had been thinking that the clutter around my house and my "extra" pounds had more to do with materialism and gluttony than biology. It's nice to know that I just haven't yet come to terms with my evolutionary status!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Strib had a nice graph to go with this in this morning's paper, but to my great disappointment, it's not on the web version. The chronology of McCartney's highs and lows is listed below. Notice that most of his "highs" seem to be correlated with a hearkening back to Beatles' greatness. I would find it a hard shadow to walk in, but he seems to have no problem...

1970
Releases "McCartney" two weeks before Beatles' "Let It Be" and announces Fab Four's breakup.

1974 Soars with new band Wings and their third LP, "Band on the Run."

1980
Clouds his clean image when he's jailed in Japan for pot possession.

1982 Finds imperfect harmony on "Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder.

1985
Made Live Aid better with "Hey Jude/Let It Be" finale.

1991
Aims too high with the classical "Liverpool Oratorio."

1996
Speaks up proudly for "Beatles Anthology," featuring two new/old Beatles tunes.

2001
Shackled by trite lyrics in 9/11 anthem "Freedom Song."

2002
Rekindles the magic on a Beatles-heavy tour.

2005: Opens Live 8 with today's Fab Four, U2, and a commanding "Sgt. Pepper."

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Data current as of: March 10, 2005
International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida

This graph tickles me...and what's up with the names for the racial categories?

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For a long-standing marine biology enthusiast like me (since I can remember), the capturing on camera of the Giant Squid for the first time ever is a momentous event. The animal has all the intrigue, minus the hoaxes, of Nessie and Bigfoot - and it's real! Click the link for more info:

Giant Squid on camera!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's rare that I take even abbreviated forays into the realm of current popular (or unpopular) music. Most of what I listen to has several decades behind it (and at least one ahead of me, in many cases). But lately, I've found myself in the unlikely position of listening to, and liking, a few bands that actually still exist.

The first incident occurred at an all-day staff meeting for the non-profit I used to work for. As a part of the festivities, prize drawings occurred in which several other staff donated the prizes which they themselves had crafted. The leader of a certain local rock band happens to work for this agency and had donated a couple of his CDs. I made a small spectacle of myself at my table group demonstrating my wish to win these CDs. A co-worker, witnessing my dismay when my name was not drawn, said in COMPLETE and TOTAL JEST, "oh, you want his CD? All you have to do is sleep with him!" which then devolved into a day-long inside joke eliciting many a chuckle from several other staff. I, of course, hoped that word would not make it around to this individual whom I respect a great deal. The following week, I endured several email jabs from other co-workers who had heard the story as the days went by. About mid-week, I went into the HQ to check my mailbox, and what should I find in my box? A CD with a post-it attached reading: "And you didn't even have to sleep with me." Despite the complete and utter mortification I felt at that moment, I have gone on to enjoy the CD a great deal. I've also done a great deal of pennance by hauling large bags of obnoxiously heavy textbooks across three campuses for the last several weeks hoping to sweat my way out of eternal damnation...ha ha.

The second incident occurred just yesterday. I met an old friend for lunch who also happens to be a recording and touring rock musician. It was the first we'd seen each other in eleven years, but I managed to score a free CD here as well. I'm always in awe of real artists when I have the good fortune of knowing one or two. I've known several, including myself, who might wish to be - but real artists are such a rare, beautiful (and oftentimes kinda weird) breed. I'm a lucky gal.

And today, I broke down and bought a CD off of iTunes. I think it was partially a self-administered consolation for not having the dinero or wherewithal to throw down $49.95 for a cheap seat at the U2 concert (a band which, given another decade or two for good measure, may in fact be the Second-Greatest Rock Band of All Time). But it was also an admission, however reticent, that I like this band. What band, you ask? Green Day. They've grown on me and the fit is starting to feel good. I couldn't afford their gig either...

In other music news, my favorite dj played a song by this band last night. A sample of the lyrics are below.

"Homeless (x10)
People that don't have homes
I look in their eyes
...I see sadness
They don't have enough money to pay the rent
Because they don't have good enough jobs.
Why don't they have good enough jobs?
BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH EDUCATION
WHY DON'T THEY HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH EDUCATION?
BECAUSE OF WAR DEBT!..."
Ends with: "I hate you Ronald Reagan..."

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

At least amid all the flack, GW managed to get something out of his trip to the Gulf...

Despite my previous pledge to avoid posting politically charged entries, this is just simply too good a laugh not to share...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmmm...interesting idea for a hurricane relief benefit?

This Tuesday, while taking a break from work on my new thesis topic: "States' rights and the 'worst case scenario': Does disaster have a jurisdiction?" (actually just in between classes), I set foot on ice for the first time in more than two years. Folks, it was not pretty. I managed to stay on top of my feet, which, quite frankly hurt like hell. But skaing has always been something I've done not just with my body but also my mind and spirit. So, I took the opportunity to reflect on what, beyond sore feet and a bruised ego, I could glean from this experience. Here goes:

1) My foot size has changed since my pregnancy - this is both the case physically, but also metaphorically. When one is pregnant, hormones, God bless them, are released that relax the joints in order to prepare the pelvis for delivery. However, these hormones do not specifically target the pelvis but all joints are affected. As a result, my feet have expanded and my skates don't fit like they used to. I feel the same way about how my life has changed since Micah's birth. I wouldn't wish the task of "filling my shoes" on anyone, not because of any great accomplishment on my part (to date) but because of the size of the responsibilites that I carry. When I tell people that I'm raising a two year old (with my husband's incredibly dedicated partnership), taking 12 credits in grad school, and working 20 hours/week as a reseach assistant, they quickly take my pulse, hand me a glass of water, and tell me to sit down. My "joints" are stretched, that's for sure, but I'm hoping to produce something robust and enjoyable in the long run.

2) I have a hard time doing anything that I can't do with excellence. This is not a new revelation as my perfectionism has already cost a modest penny in therapy and pills. But I felt it again quite profoundly as my "sea legs" quaked beneath me and sturdy undergrads out-circled me. Instead of giving it up all together, as I might have done in days of old, I decided to make friends. I bravely (look, I'm an introvert, allright?) introduced myself to two of the younger models on display. One young man turning double-rotation jumps in a fashion I used to (but never will again!) told me that he just "skates for fun." Good plan. I'll just have to keep learning how to have fun without having to prove anything. Wish me luck!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just when you thought it would be simple to set up an aquarium by tossing some water, gravel, and fish together, think again. There's acutal biology involved here, as I was reminded by a tropical fish store employee this evening. She schooled me in the nitrogen cycle (recall 7th grade biology here) while my two-year-old shrieked his way around the rows of tanks, daddy in tow.

You see, in order to achieve the proper chemical, bacterial balance in your tank to support the lives of your fine, finned friends, you must provide the right kind of filtration. Now, I have a filter, mind you, BUT, one kind of filter is not sufficient. Nooooooo, because there are several kinds of filtraion that are needed - biological, mechanical, chemical, etc.-to maintain the viability of the tank. If you are really interested, here's a decent site. Suffice it to say, I felt about as smart as an amoeba after that trip to the fish store.

In other zoological happenings in my life, it turns out one of my PhD cohort members (there are five of us newbies) spent 2 1/2 months in the wild with chimpanzees in Kenya. This is quite thrilling for me as I have a great fascination and appreciation for apes, particularly gorillas. But I would never pass up a good chimp story. So, I drilled him for more information about his experience. Despite this profound experience of observing chimps in the wild, my colleague has decided on a career in restorative justice. To paraphrase his words, "there's only so many times a day you can write down when a chimp goes to the bathroom."

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

French Quarter Holdouts Create 'Tribes'

By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - In the absence of information and outside assistance, groups of rich and poor banded together in the French Quarter, forming "tribes" and dividing up the labor.

As some went down to the river to do the wash, others remained behind to protect property. In a bar, a bartender put near-perfect stitches into the torn ear of a robbery victim.

While mold and contagion grew in the muck that engulfed most of the city, something else sprouted in this most decadent of American neighborhoods — humanity.

"Some people became animals," Vasilioas Tryphonas said Sunday morning as he sipped a hot beer in Johnny White's Sports Bar on Bourbon Street. "We became more civilized."

While hundreds of thousands fled the below-sea-level city before the storm, many refused to leave the Vieux Carre, or old quarter. Built on some of the highest ground around and equipped with underground power lines, residents considered it about the safest place to be.

Katrina blew off roof slates and knocked down some already-unstable buildings but otherwise left the 18th and 19th century homes with their trademark iron balconies intact. Even without water and power, most preferred it to the squalor and death in the emergency shelters set up at the Superdome and Convention Center.

But what had at first been a refuge soon became an ornate prison.

Police came through commandeering drivable vehicles and siphoning gas. Officials took over a hotel and ejected the guests.

An officer pumped his shotgun at a group trying to return to their hotel on Chartres Street.

"This is our block," he said, pointing the gun down a side street. "Go that way."

Jack Jones, a retired oil rig worker, bought a huge generator and stocked up on gasoline. But after hearing automatic gunfire on the next block one night, he became too afraid to use it — for fear of drawing attention.

Still, he continues to boil his clothes in vinegar and dip water out of neighbors' pools for toilet flushing and bathing.

"They may have to shoot me to get me out of here," he said. "I'm much better off here than anyplace they might take me."

Many in outlying areas consider the Quarter a playground for the rich and complain that the place gets special attention.

Yes, wealthy people feasted on steak and quaffed warm champagne in the days after the storm. But many who stayed behind were the working poor — residents of the cramped spaces above the restaurants and shops.

Tired of waiting for trucks to come with food and water, residents turned to each other.

Johnny White's is famous for never closing, even during a hurricane. The doors don't even have locks.

Since the storm, it has become more than a bar. Along with the warm beer and shots, the bartenders passed out scrounged military Meals Ready to Eat and bottled water to the people who drive the mule carts, bus the tables and hawk the T-shirts that keep the Quarter's economy humming.

"It's our community center," said Marcie Ramsey, 33, whom Katrina promoted from graveyard shift bartender to acting manager.

For some, the bar has also become a hospital.

Tryphonas, who restores buildings in the Quarter, left the neighborhood briefly Saturday. Someone hit him in the head with a 2-by-4 and stole his last $5.

When Tryphonas showed up at Johnny White's with his left ear split in two, Joseph Bellomy — a customer pressed into service as a bartender — put a wooden spoon between Tryphonas' teeth and used a needle and thread to sew it up. Military medics who later looked at Bellomy's handiwork decided to simply bandage the ear.

"That's my savior," Tryphonas said, raising his beer in salute to the former Air Force medical assistant.

A few blocks away, a dozen people in three houses got together and divided the labor. One group went to the Mississippi River to haul water, one cooked, one washed the dishes.

"We're the tribe of 12," 76-year-old Carolyn Krack said as she sat on the sidewalk with a cup of coffee, a packet of cigarettes and a box of pralines.

The tribe, whose members included a doctor, a merchant and a store clerk, improvised survival tactics. Krack, for example, brushed her dentures with antibacterial dish soap.

It had been a tribe of 13, but a member died Wednesday of a drug overdose. After some negotiating, the police carried the body out on the trunk of a car.

The neighbors knew the man only as Jersey.

Tribe member Dave Rabalais, a clothing store owner, said he thinks the authorities could restore utilities to the Quarter. But he knows that would only bring "resentment and the riffraff."

"The French Quarter is the blood line of New Orleans," he said. "They can't let anything happen to this."

On Sunday, the tribe of 12 became a tribe of eight.

Four white tour buses rolled into the Quarter under Humvee escort. National Guardsmen told residents they had one hour to gather their belongings and get a ride out. Four of the tribe members decided to leave.

"Hallelujah!" Teresa Lawson shouted as she dragged her suitcase down the road. "Thank you, Jesus!"

For Mark Rowland, the leaving was bittersweet.

"I'm heart-broken to leave the city that I love," Rowland said as he sat in the air-conditioned splendor of the bus. "It didn't have to be this way."

___

AP photographer Eric Gay contributed to this story. Allen G. Breed is the AP's Southeast regional writer, based in Raleigh, N.C.

Robin Cates, left, tosses confetti on John Lambert as he carries a 'Life Goes On?' sign as they take part in the Southern Decadence parade in the French Quarter of New Orleans, La., Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005. The week long gay festival, which is second only to Mardi Gras, was to have begun Sunday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Saturday, we threw a 35th anniversary "luau" for my parents. Their actual anniversary was back in May, but given that my mom was undergoing intensive (read: brutal) chemo treatments at the time, we held off until now to celebrate. My parents have given me a lot in this life and I am profoundly grateful.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

At my first academic conference this past June in Nova Scotia, my co-presenter informed me that I must choose something unique that I would do in each city I attend such conferences. For example, having my palm read or getting a tattoo. Though I find the occult and paranormal activity fascinating, an eighth grade experience with an Ouji board has scared me off for life. And getting a tattoo...well, I've never quite been into doing things to my body that cannot be easily reversed (the effects of pregnancy and childbirth notwithstanding). My resolution to this dilemma came as we happened upon a fascinating piece of Halifax, NS history: the recovery effort after the Titanic disaster was staged from Halifax, the only port near to the catastrophe equipped to do the gruesome work (curling arenas were used for makeshift morgues). As a result, 150 of the Titanic's victims are buried in three cemeteries in Halifax. My colleague and I visited Fairview Cemetery which contains 120 of the 150 graves. Thus, my unique conference activity: find and visit an interesting, historic or personally significant cemetery. For those familiar with my second-favorite movie of all-time - Harold & Maude (the first being Jaws, of course) it will not surprise you that I find this burgeoning new tradition exhilarating.

For the past several days, I've been attending SSSP, a conference for scholar-activists at which I co-presented a paper on the topic described below, in Philadelphia, PA. To fulfill my cemetery visit, I paid homage to Ben Franklin at the Christ Church burial ground. It wasn’t quite as thrilling (or morbid, frankly) as visiting the Titanic graves but significant, nonetheless.

In honor of this new tradition, I’ve also added a link below to my favorite grave marker – the foreboding Black Angel in Iowa City's Oakland Cemetery, of modest literary fame and home to annual Halloween trickery. You can download a document that details the history and myths surrounding the Black Angel here. I took many walks and spent a few happy hours sitting in her shadow during my nine-year exile in Iowa.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently, we've begun acquiring child-friendly musicals on DVD for our two-year-old's amusement. One in particular, "Annie," has everything that delights our son: music (or "duK" in his words), a dog ("duKE"), cars ("mums"), cars with sirens on them ("ooo mums"), a helicopter, and patent leather shoes. As recently as two weeks ago, we took Micah shoe shopping because he has been rapidly outgrowing his old ones. It took some doing to convince him to pass up the patent leather offerings and, in particular, a pair of brown suede boots with pink flowers on the sides. Although we are not keen on enforcing rigid gender-identity boundaries around our son, we're just not quite ready to oblige this preference. So, we worked hard and convinced him that the tennis shoes with a dump truck on the sides and light up velcro straps were pretty cool. For updated pictures of our pride and joy, check out the Shwebsite which has just been updated today.

For me, a renewed viewing of "Annie," which I first saw in the early 1980's as an elementary school student, has taken on new meaning. A thought-provoking question from my husband prompted me to reflect on the implied societal values within the story.

The basic plot involves an orphan ("Annie") who goes from rags to riches by melting the heart of a cold-hard capitalist by the name of Daddy Warbucks (to avoid what might become a lengthy tangent, I will refrain from commenting on the possible meanings in his last name...war-bucks? Has a certain resonance with current affairs...but I digress) who made his own way to prosperity by boarding a ship in Liverpool, England and striking it rich on Wall Street. The most well-known song of the musical is probably "Tomorrow" in which "the sun will come out," the thought of which "clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, 'til there's none." The backdrop for the story is, of course, the Great Depression and the story includes a small role for President Franklin D. Roosevelt (who can't sing worth a damn, fyi).

What struck me this time around, is that at least one layer of "Annie's" meaning is a profound optimism surrounding the American economic system. Given the setting of the Depression, the song "Tomorrow" and the happy ending, this conclusion is not much of a stretch. The moral of Annie's story is that the rich and the poor really can get along, if only the wealthy will open up their hands in generosity and the poor will look cute in patent leather, sing, and have an endearing personality. As FDR's appearance reminds us, the poor must be willing to work hard in order to be worthy of such benevolence. Thus, the duty of the poor is to earn the favor of the capitalists by demonstrating guts, hard work and wit (a song and dance won't hurt, either) while the capitalists are to be generous with their wealth toward the "worthy" poor.

And they all lived happily ever after...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Due to a recent article in the Chronicle for Higher Education ("Bloggers Need Not Apply") warning future academic job-seekers against espousing strong political opinions on weblogs, I've decided to pare-back a bit here and stick to more frivilous matters while also avoiding psychobabble and overly zealous rants on anything in particular. Rest assured, nothing essential has changed, I'm just moving underground...

This morning, as I sat in my much beloved cubicle (read: I hate it), I decided to punctuate the office silence by plugging in my laptop, inserting earplugs and listening to my personalized mix on itunes. I'd had a particular song going through my head all morning. You know how that is. My itunes player was set for shuffle so that it randomly chooses the order of songs, but what should happen to be the first song to play? That same song I'd had in my head all morning! I pulled the earplugs out in shock and stared suspiciosly at my laptop monitor, waiting for the machine to speak my name.

Coincidence? Now, I don't want to start spreading any conspiracy theories, but haven't we been warned about the coming rule of the machines over humankind (Terminator, Matrix, etc)? Not to be pessimistic, but I'll be keeping a wary eye on all the machines in my life from now on...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Two things I have come to appreciate in seven years of marriage: jazz and baseball. Cubs baseball, to be exact. Nearly a month ago, our little family ventured to Chicago to take in an historic afternoon at Wrigley Field: the Cubs vs. the Red Sox for the first time since 1918 when the Sox beat the Cubs in six games at the World Series. Any day at Wrigley, especially when the sun is shining and the stands are full, is a good day - even when the Cubbies (godforbid) falter.

As one might imagine, the energy in the stands behind the matchup was hot, as was the temperature (fortunately, our seats were under the upperdeck but not behind a huge pole). Early on, the multitude of Red Sox fans who had invaded the Friendly Confines erupted in a chant of their team's name, only to be booed by thousands of Cubs' loyals (ourselves included).

What might have been a fierce battle turned into an all-out routing by the Cubs to beat the Sox by a good measure. I was prepared for fighting and gnashing of teeth, especially given the typical amount of beer imbibed during any given baseball game, much less such an historic encounter.

Instead, a rare moment of unity swept across the dividing lines of hostility. As we, along with thousands of others, slowly emptied the stands, a new chant emerged from the swarming mass of sweaty, drunken humanity:

"YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK!"

Now, who can resist that refrain? It's good to know that, in times like this, in such a fractured and hostile world (case in point), humankind can still find ways to "join hands and sing." As Annie Savoy put it so well, "I believe in the church of baseball."

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Our pastor often remarks that our American culture is becoming increasingly a culture of judgement - just look at all the TV shows based on voting people on or off islands, apprenticeships, dates, and stages based on their performances. Well, I've recently become hooked on American Idol - the show where contestants are subjected to the critique of three judges, one of whom is a has-been pop star and another is a Britain whose comments can be so caustic, even viewers want to crawl underneath the nearest rock and die. Be that as it may, I confess, I've become an American Judge, and I have a few things to say about the current contestants:

AMERICA: PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR ANTHONY OR CONSTANTINE....THEY ARE VERY, VERY BAD SINGERS!!!!!

It's your duty as American citizens to judge well. For the good of all our ears, please, vote wisely. Thank you.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

President Clinton and the Pope died on the same day, and due to an administrative foul up, Clinton was sent to heaven and the Pope was sent to hell. The Pope explained the situation to the devil, he checked out all of the paperwork, and the error was acknowledged. The Pope was told, however, that it would take about 24 hours to fix the problem and correct the error.

The next day, the Pope was called in and the devil said his good-bye as he went off to heaven. On his way up, he met Clinton who was on his way down, and they stopped to chat.

Pope: Sorry about the mix up.

President Clinton: No problem.

Pope: Well, I'm really excited about going to heaven.

President Clinton: Why is that?

Pope: All my life I've wanted to meet the Virgin Mary.

President Clinton: You're a day late.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks, Sarah Eadie, for forwarding this story to me. I missed it in the midst of Terri S. and the Pope coverage! I think it's amazing that the timing worked out so perfectly for me to see her (the shark) before her release!

Monterey Aquarium Releases White Shark
Thu Mar 31, 5:05 PM ET Science - AP

By MATTHEW FORDAHL, Associated Press Writer

SALINAS, Calif. - A great white shark that survived far longer than any other in captivity was returned to the wild Thursday because it was growing too large and had begun preying on other fish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The shark, captured by a halibut fisherman off the coast of Orange County in August, was in captivity for 198 days. The previous captivity record was 16 days.

It was also the first great white to regularly eat outside the wild, putting on 100 pounds while at the aquarium.

"The larger she grew, the more that human safety and animal welfare concerns became a factor in our thinking," said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for the aquarium. "It's more risky to handle a larger animal."

The predator had killed two soupfin sharks earlier this year, although aquarium officials weren't sure whether the shark was hunting at the time. After close observation this week, researchers noticed it was starting to exhibit true hunting behavior.

"We've been watching to see if she was actively hunting other animals in the exhibit," Hamilton said. "When we saw clear signs on Monday, we decided an immediate release would be best."

Aquarium staff released the shark south of Monterey Bay. Its movement will be tracked for 30 days with an electronic tag that was attached before its release.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I noticed this morning that Iowa City was awareded status by MPR's mag "Minnesota Monthly" as a "great weekend getaway" and I realized: that's the way I felt about it the entire nine years I lived there. Sometimes I'd find myself walking down Dubuque Street, looking around and saying to myself, "Wow. I live here. I'm not just visiting. Why is that, again?" The summary of my nine year exile in Iowa City: this is a really nice place to visit.

Speaking of visiting, Jerry and I sought out City Lights Bookstore while in San Fran last week. Iowa City's Prairie Lights is modeled, and named, after this shop. It was groovy - although cramped and musty-smelling, probably just as any good bookshop should be. I remember thinking, perhaps saying aloud to Jerry, how many couples make it a point to visit famous bookstores while on vacation???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thanks to the marvelous blog expert at U of M libraries, my blog is back! I have deleted the other one. Welcome back!

Also, tonight I understood every word (except one term which only required a quick look-up) that my stats prof said! And, I got 90% on the midterm, which, at the time I took it, felt like taking the GRE all over again. I am thrilled. The really sweet part is I feel like I'm getting it. Those of you who know what it is to be mathematically challenged will feel me. For once, my math grades are going up, not down, as the semester progresses. Amazing.

Upon further reflection, I think it might be the mocha I had before and during class. I think I'll be making Starbucks a regular thing on Thursday evenings. Call me superstitious, but it's better than wearing the same pair of socks for the next 6 weeks!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

While in San Fransisco last week, I took time to stroll down memory lane...not my memories, grant you, but memories of a decade I believe I was mistakenly born too late to live through. The 60's. That's right, I went to Haight-Ashbury, center of 1960's counterculture, hippiedom, drug use, and (former) home of rock legends like Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Oh yeah, and Charles Manson lived there, too. Perhaps Haight-Ashbury is most famous for being home of 1967's "Summer of Love" when sex ("free love"), drugs and rock-n-roll were all in abundance. Not that you would have found me there enjoying any of those things (ok, maybe a little bit) - I probably would have been in rural Mississippi or Alabama registering people to vote. The 1960's lure for me really lies in the level of social activism and power that was exerted by youth and minorities. But a little Haight-Ashbury could have been fun, too (ha ha).

What lies waiting there for visitors now? That's right, the irony could not be any thicker, the GAP. Right smack-dab on the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets. Pardon my French, but doesn't that seem like a Big Business "fuck you" to hippiedom? Even the mom-n-pop tee-shirt stores sell things that LOOK like second-hand hippie gear, but are actually facotry made (maybe in sweat shops???). Sort of sickening, really.

On the other hand, I did enjoy a piping hot mocha as I strolled along the neighborhood streets, sipping warmth as I walked through the rain, admiring gorgeous Victorian-style houses. Maybe it's not so bad to move on...

Continue reading "Sex, Drugs, Rock-n-roll and...the GAP???" »

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Later this week, I will be tagging along with Jerry to San Francisco. He will be attending a professional teachers' conference, and I will be sleeping in, watching a lot of cable, and worrying about Micah. Jerry's parents have come all the way from Chicago, graciously, to watch him while we are gone. My mom just finished her first round of chemo and is pretty tired out, otherwise, we would have left Micah with my folks. Anyway, it's wonderful to have such supportive family, near and far!

On to my "dream come true:" in case you were not aware, I have been facinated with sharks since I can remember. The only true nickname I've ever had was "Sharkie" in junior high. In particular, I love great white sharks - you know, Jaws...carchardon carcharias. I know, a strage favorite animal to have! In any case, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a mere 2 hour drive from San Francisco, has a LIVE great white in their facility! It's the longest living great white ever to be in captivity. The last attempt lasted only 16 weeks before the shark died. It was thouht that having a great white in captivity is impossible. Well, this one's been there for 6 months and, aside from chowing on a couple other sharks in the exhibit, is doing well. I never thought I would ever see a great white in the flesh, but it looks like I will this Friday afternoon. Some of you may have favorite animals that you can see at the zoo or in your backyard, but not me. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Florida had less shark attacks in 2004 due to harsh hurricane season.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

But it has. I have fallen in love with IKEA. It started with a trip on my birthday weekend with a couple of friends from out of town. I was not that impressed - too modern - I'm an old farshioned furniture girl. Plus it's near the TEMPLE OF MAMMON (some people call it the Mall of America...and you can guess how I feel about that place).

But THEN I started looking for new end tables for the living room and went to www.ikea.com and found beautiful, quality end tables for CHEAP. Then I started looking at other itmes - roman blinds, picture frames, table lamps and that was it. I was hooked. Spent some dough there today but was too busy to stay for Sweedish meatballs and lingenberry sauce. Too bad. Maybe it's the 1/8 Sweede in me...

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When the big things in life are getting you down, look for the small, happy things, right? A couple of days ago, my son said his first word-pair. He said, "Hi Kitty," to my parents' cat who continued to snarl and growl at him from under the end-table in their living room. His development continues to amaze!

Today, I saw a spider catch a boxelder bug in our laundry room. Some people who read this blog may especially understand why this brought me such joy. I love those "it's the Discovery Channel happening right in front of me" moments! Well, except for the time I saw a female mallard duck getting gang-raped by half a dozen male ducks in the middle of Clinton Street in Iowa City. That I did not enjoy.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...when your husband starts coming up with new verses to timeless, and some might say sacred, children's songs. Here are Jerry's "creative" additions to "Old MacDonald:"
"Old MacDonald had an organic farm" with "soy lattes here, soy lattes there"
"Old MacDonald had a vegan farm" where they grow, of course, corn
"Old MacDonald had a hog lot"
"Old MacDonald had a lot of cats, EIEIO. Wit a meow meow here and a meow meow there. Guess he should have had them neutered, meow, meow, meow, meow..."
"Old MacDonald had a farm with Centaurs, EIEIO. With a 'neigh hi' here and a 'neigh hi' there. Here a 'neigh,' there a 'hi,' everywhere a 'neigh hi'..."

Anyone else???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My beautiful son started calling me "mommy" in earnest the other night. It's about enough to make me do a back flip. He sure took his sweet time! For months he's been exploring "ba" sounds and "da" sounds and even "choo choo" sounds, but no "mmm words." He said his godfather's name before he said mine (Josh). This is by far my favorite "stage" of parenting so far. All the growth and bursting forth of new acquisitions of skill and thought keep you guessing what's next and make the crying and screaming and the doing the same thing over and over and over again ever so slightly more tolerable. Because the payoff is not far-off: that look, those words of recognition and affection, the flattery of imitation. Almost makes you want to do it all again and again (I said ALMOST!).

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It's happened. Micah knows how to say "no" and mean it. I love it. Despite the fact that I know this ushers in a lifelong battle of the wills, having Micah know the word "no" is very useful. Now I can present him with options and he can tell me what he wants. For example, this morning I offered him either his tennis shoes or his boots to wear. When I held up the tennis shoes he said "no" and when I held up the boots he laughed. Laughter is Micah's "yes." It also gives me a better shot at guessing what he wants when he points in a direction and says, "da?" Usually there is an assortment of possible objects that he desires. So, now I can point at something and say, "Do you want this?" and he can tell me "no" or laugh and then I know. So, despite its negative reputation, the word "no" is a actually a highly beneficial communication tool.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Raise your hand if you think we'll know who the next President will be by tomorrow morning...

I stood in a long line this morning to vote. It's just such a thrilling experience! I was so encouraged to see my neighbors (mostly African-American, with a smattering of the rest of us), whose ancestors were not considered human enough to vote, exercising their right. Micah was incredibly crabby. I thought to myself, "Here I am, the mom with the snotty-nosed brat who screams in public places to everyone's discomfort." I guess that's my life now and I just have to own it. My polling place is in a public housing complex for seniors. Several wise, old grandmothers did their best to coo and shush Micah, to little avail. But it was a comfort to me.

In the past five days we've had at least as many knocks on our door from the Kerry campaign, Move On and America Coming Together. Notice that the other campaign was not beating down our doors in the 'hood. You can say that it's just because Kerry's strategists are looking to get every vote they can. But I say, look who's showing up to recruit the poor and disenfranchised! I think it's a pretty revealing picture. No one considers the poor to be a powerful or worthwhile constituency, but at least one side is showing up at the door. I have greeted every door-knocker with smiles and thanks.

Tonight we go to a nearby elementary school where children are 2-3 grade levels behind in reading and math. We're helping out with a program that gives kids the chance to "practice" voting while (hopefully) they bring their parents along to vote for real. I am looking forward to it and hope to see many turning out.

It should be an interesting week...

Continue reading "Predictions, anyone?" »

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

FYI, conservative-leaning Economist magazine has endorsed Kerry for President.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3329802

But really, this entry is about my son. According to his day care teachers, Micah is quite a budding leader. His primary words of choice right now are ball and dog (pronouced "baaach" and "daaach"). He also loves to go around, point at any and every object and ask, "Daaaa?" Apparently, this expression has caught on with all the other kids, even those who are close to 3 years old and, prior to their association with Micah, had been quite verbally competent (in other words, he is leading them into regression - sound familiar? Ha ha). What does this tell me? 1) I am happy that my son is a leader and 2) I am disappointed that his peers are not currently helping him expand his vocabulary! Sometimes I feel as though hearing one more "Daaaaaaaa?" will cause me to spontaneously combust on the spot. Other times, I am wholly consumed by the love and pride I feel in this one little human being. It's astounding.

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Does anybody else wonder what kind of shampoo Johnny Damon uses???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Is it just me, or have campaign yard signs gotten bigger this year? It seems to me that people are now erecting veritable billboards in their yards. It's like, ok, get the point! We've had four visits in four days from the Prezzies and the Veeps in this state. I guess those 10 electoral votes REALLY matter this year. Ummmm....overkill???

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I watch entirely too much television. So does my son. Micah likes to watch over and over again Baby Einstein videos. It's to the point that he anticipates the laughs and knows what's coming next. He particularly likes the scenes with puppets that do funny things. I pretty much have the soundtrack for Baby Da Vinci going through my head 24/7, and if you've ever heard it, you know annoying that might be. Anyway, here's MY weekly viewing schedule:

Monday: nothing, it's all crap

Tuesday: SVU!!!! This week I also watched the Red Sox beat the Yanks - it was pure drama to watch the controversial calls and the riot police brought out. Good TV night.

Wednesday: Law & Order (the original). I miss Lenny, but what can be done. Also this week, watched the Red Sox TROUNCE the Yanks - wahoo!!! Since I'm married to a Cubs fanatic, I have a special place in my heart for the underdog.

Thursday: This is the BEST night of all - The Apprentice and Without a Trace. Two hours of drama! Plus, my sister comes over pretty much every week and that's fun, too.

Friday: maybe a flick

Saturday: maybe a flick again

Sunday: Football, which generally leads to either a sense of satisfaction, or a Vikings-hangover (ie they managed to find a way to lose despite the threat of victory).

That's it!

Posted by Sarah Shannon at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)