Snow

....going stir crazy. Nuff said.

Culture! And sex!

I am surrounded on both sides by the social-psychological and biomedical paradigms. So I should be used to seeing everything, everywhere, the glamorization and investigation into psychological and/or biological and/or (yes this is a real word) psychoneuroimmunological explanations for observed human phenomena.

The recent article What Do Women Want in the NYT explores women and sexual desire. And ignores culture.

Assuming sexual response arises from some psycho-biological pathway and that observed differences between the genders points to some evolutionary basis without investigating learned responses, reinforced norms (via culture), etc. etc. is SO ANNOYING! While there may be no to little sex research in other cultures, it bears mentioning that sexual response has (an apparently as yet unmeasured) cultural component. Maybe (in the most simplistic way), western women of the type that volunteer for academic sex research get turned on by watching other women because we are trained from an early age to view women as sexual beings.

Whatever happened to culture, anyway?

Thank you Mr. President

clipped from www.cnn.com President Obama signed an executive order Friday striking down a rule prohibiting U.S. money from funding international family planning groups that promote abortion or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion services.

I have been waiting for this one.

Those of you who aren't familiar with the ridiculousness of this now former law, known as the Mexico City Policy or the "Global Gag Rule", can read about it here.

While it sounds like it's all about abortion, it has a far bigger impact on women's and children's health around the world.

I'm just a little surprised he didn't do it on Day 1 like Bush did.

Now I want to know what he will do next!

Standing White Dudes Watching the Sitting Black Dude Close Gitmo

'Nuff said.

clipped from www.cnn.com

I am sooooo predictable

I think I just spent more time searching for the perfect iPhone app to help me track my fitness/diet goals than I will actually spend working toward said fitness/diet goals.

Meanwhile, I perish (perish: verb, to suffer destruction or ruin resulting from a chronic inability to publish).

What's in a Speech?

Wow, yesterday was a cross between a wedding and Miss Universe pageant, wasn't it?

Below is a word cloud of the most common words in Obama's speech. Check out Read Write Web to see how drastically different Bush's inaugural speech was in 2005, and to see the clouds from Clinton, Reagan, and Lincoln.



As for me, I hope I can capitalize on this sense of new beginnings and hope and actually get some of my own work done. I'm floundering.

Heartstrings A Flutter, I Can't Wait for the Inauguration

Next week we will witness the end of the Bush presidency and the end of an era marked by war, financial crisis, and the erosion of our civil rights.

Fortunately with every end there is a beginning. On Tuesday, President Obama (and kickass Secretary Clinton) will begin ushering in a new era of....(dare I say it as I abhorred it during the campaign).....hope.

For some pre-inaugural pulling of your heartstrings and a glimmer of the hope and dreams of our incoming president, read the
letter Obama wrote to his daughters Malia and Sasha. But before you do, get the tissues.

Free Bras

I know my posting has been sporadic at best. And that I tend toward the random and absurd. That's just how I roll.

Speaking of the random...

I have been scanning my local Freecycle a lot lately and have come across some funny stuff. Here's a great offer that raises all kinds of questions:

OFFER: Two bras size 38B wore once on a cruise

Seriously? What kind of cruise was this? Why were they just worn on the cruise? But apparently they were in hot demand, because just two days later I see the following post:

TAKEN: Two bras size 38B wore once on a cruise

...they were taken.

I love Freecycle.

Another Problem with Causality - A Huge Waste of Money Called a "Success"--

OMG. This stuff drives me crazy. So a hugely expensive random steroid testing scheme in Texas came up with few positive tests. Rep Flynn, the sponsor of this legislation, claims the program has deterred steroid use, and therefore, is a success!

It's another claim of causality to which I declare, "BOGUS!"

clipped from news.yahoo.com By the tens of thousands, Texas student-athletes have been pulled out of class to urinate in a cup for the nation's largest high school steroids testing program. the first 10,000 tests found only four positive results The point of testing was to act as a deterrent against steroid use, not catch teens using drugs, said Rep. Dan Flynn, a Republican. calls it an "incredible success."

Thanks auderey for noticing this.

OMG

Today is the deadline for several faculty to complete and submit recommendations for me for a program I applied for a month ago. A month ago. There are 7 more minutes yet and my last faculty has just now logged on to the system.

What makes it worse is that 30 minutes ago I called this person and was told, "Don't worry, I've done these things before."

Just now I got a panicked call from this faculty member that "The System" wasn't working.

It cuts off in 1 minute now.... and unless she can talk the federal government out of it, I will be out of the running for funding I spent 2 months applying for.

Seriously? A bailout for porn?

I would think the "adult entertainment" industry wouldn't do well in times of high unemployment, just like the alcohol industry does. I mean, what else are people supposed to do?

clipped from politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com WASHINGTON (CNN) — Another major American industry is asking for assistance as the global financial crisis continues: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.