homecoming

last night our Odysseus returned from one of her many journeys. thankfully, we had no suitors to deal with, so I helped Telemachus prepare dinner. stuffed butterflied shrimp over mushroom risotto served with sauteed summer squash.


we heard tales of great adventures, of Scylla and Charybdis, over many glasses of prosecco and white wine.


and the finale: mojito sorbet with rum and club soda.

everyone went to bed full of food and drink and good company, to dream of rivers and sun and our place in the world...

dear lady, welcome home. I'm glad you're back.

la fin du monde (as we know it)

and I feel fine...

my national pastime

I have a couple of ultimate life goals...

1. to be interviewed, at least once, as the resident expert on X by folks at NPR. whether it be Ira Flatow from Science Friday on Talk of the Nation or Scott Simon on Weekend Edition- I'd love to be asked my opinion on some breaking news story or current event.

2. to hold season tickets to a major league team, preferably the Boston Red Sox, but I'd settle for any team from the Amercian League. I'm not sure how many other 20-something-year-old women long to be a professor at an elite liberal arts college and regularly attend ball games. Maybe it's because I saw my share of little league (my brother played since he was old enough to walk, practically) and learned to keep score at an early age. Maybe it's because some of my most vivid childhood vacation memories revolve around baseball (thanks Dad!) - Fenway, Busch Stadium, Camden Yards, or Cooperstown, most summers included a trip to the Show. Maybe it's because Field of Dreams still makes me cry. Yeah, I know, I'm lame.



I was at two Cardinals games this week. And as much as I complain about the over-priced (Budweiser) beer, there is really no better place to be on a summer evening. While watching the Cards lose is never fun (hey, we're still World Champs for a few more months, right?) at least Boston remains the best team in baseball. I may not be a little kid enjoying swirled soft-serve from a plastic helmet, but in the ballpark at twilight, when your legs stick the seats and your feet crunch on peanut shells, the smell of stale beer and popcorn in the air, time seems to stand still. those are some of my happiest moments.

geek stuff: clocks and evolution

2 really cool articles published last week in Science describing differences between daily clocks (rest-activity cycles) and seasonal clocks (how rest-activity cycles are maintained on long vs. short days) in fruit flies and that evolution played a role.

Check out the Perspectives summary here.

Justice in George W. Bush's America

So the news that Scooter Libby has had his prison sentence commuted- 30 months, for multiple federal felonies serving concurrently- already has created quite a stir. For all the latest, take a look at firedoglake if you haven't already. They've been there since the beginning. Nothing like waiting till the end of the business day, on the week of a major summer holiday no less, for Commander BunnyPants to make such an annoucement. And then turning on the answering machine at home so he doesn't have to take any calls. Not that I'm surprised. This is supposed to be justice under the American legal system?

While in England I saw an excellent program on BBC Two about race relations in the US. The story was from Jena, LA; and one that I hadn't heard much about in the States. A handful of African American high school students, who as targets of escalating racial tension in their small town, reacted and started a fight with a white student at their school. Not that I condone violence of any kind among students, in schools. However, the outcome of their situation is appalling. In response to the fight, which injured but did not permanently harm the victim, the DA is seeking maximum sentence for these children. We're talking 30-50 years in prison on attempted murder charges for a school fight.

So Scooter's sentecing is excessive, Mr. Bush? What do you say to the families of these African Amercian students in Jena?

everybody's working for the weekend

what is it about 70s/80s butt-rock (picture red camaros and mullets) that makes it truly feel like summer? maybe it's because def leppard, foreigner, and styx are touring again... regardless, we've turned the volume way up on the classic rock station in the lab.

besides working both days (ah, gotta love being a grad student) I had a pretty good weekend. 20+ mile ride on Saturday morning. haircut, errands, and drinking beer at Bottleworks with friends that night. Sunday evening Michele and I made dinner together and enjoyed the awesome weather on our deck. I fried up the green tomatoes I bought last week at the Tower Grove farmers' market- the first batch of the season! fried green tomatoes are one of my specialties (shout out to those Southern roots) and in my opinion, some what of an art form. these turned out excellent- yum! we also made a salad with field greens from our garden, heirloom tomatoes, and pearl sized fresh mozzarella with a balsamic vinaigrette. main course was apple-sage veggie sausage with caramelized onions. I meant to take pictures of the food, but alas, we consumed it almost instantly.

seems like this is going to be an odd week with July 4th being on a Wednesday. kinda hard to get the momentum going when you're taking a day off in the middle. guess I should go be productive...

I don't do zone

Our three and a half year old niece was visiting last weekend with Michele's mom. Nothing like spending 24-7 with a little kid to curb the "breeder" urge. I love Abby- she is completely adorable (Above: she curled up and fell asleep on the landing of the second floor so she could hear us talking downstairs) and tons of fun. Abby is smart and she has a fantastic laugh. Michele's brother and sister-in-law now have 3 kids- Abby, a one year old, and an infant! In less than 5 years! These people are crazy. Either that or they just hope to re-populate the Earth with libertarian, slow-package-openning engineers. And regardless, 3 is too many. Unless you are planning on cloning yourself or your spouse, man-on-man coverage is no longer an option. And in my eyes, kids have the number on every zone defense in the book. And I don't know about you, but I can't play zone. Thus the need to have a maximum of 2 kids at all times.

I like kids, don't get me wrong. I don't have kid-fear like some people I know (ahem, Michele). But being someone never to enter into a situation lightly, I take the prospect of having kids pretty seriously. Maybe it's because for me there will be no "happy accidents." It's not a bad deal, actually, since I'm already a planner by nature. Not to restate the obvious, but a kid is a lot of work. And honestly, I don't really mind playing the selfish card and being up front about the fact that I don't see myself having time for a kid anywhere in the near future. I kinda like this aunt gig, where I can hang out with them for a while and then give them back. It's responsibility-lite. After the last week I'm putting a five year hiatus on any possiblity of having kids. There is too much going on in my life to even think about it. And I know that right now I'd much rather spend my free time with Michele, with friends, with books and food and beer and wine. And I'm okay with that. We can have the intelligent, progressive people-need-to-have-more-babies conversation later.