tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69144152024-03-06T23:47:05.290-05:00DoctorLizardo<strong> MISTRESS OF SCIENCE! Mwah ha ha ha. </strong>
<img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2112/33/1600/190579/run_squrl.gif">
(Actually now with PhD, but Doctor of Philosophy just doesn't have the same evil ring, does it?)lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.comBlogger860125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-78386904164923617202015-01-24T19:55:00.002-05:002015-01-24T19:55:38.604-05:00Oven-Roasted Salt & Vinegar Almonds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Preheat oven to 350<span class="actual-temp ng-isolate-scope" data-show-temp-unit="true" data-wx-temperature="obs.getTemp()"><span class="ng-scope ng-binding" data-ng-bind-template=" 34" data-ng-if="hasValue()"></span><sup class="deg ng-scope" data-ng-if="hasValue()">°.</sup></span><br />
<br />
1 Pound raw almonds (~3 cups)<br />
2 Tablespoons olive oil<br />
<br />
2 Teaspoons coarse salt/margarita salt<br />
<br />
1.5 Teaspoons food-grade malic acid (1lb, $10 online)<br />
<br />
Toss almonds in bowl with olive oil. Spread on cookie sheet and roast 10-12 minutes (basically until it smells like roasted nuts in the kitchen).<br />
<br />
I used a large mortar-and-pestle to grind the salt and malic acid together so it would be more like the powder found on the store-bought roasted almonds.<br />
<br />
After roasting the almonds, sprinkle the salt-and-acid mixture over them evenly and shake the cookie sheet to slide them around a bit.<br />
<br />
These were slightly less salty and acidic than the store-bought variety; you could probably increase the seasoning mixture by 50% and it would be good. Still just as addictive as the store-bought ones, though.</div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-74561789768195523862015-01-10T08:43:00.002-05:002015-01-10T08:43:40.637-05:00Cartoonist Harold Gray's Cultural Context and Racial Aspects of "Little Orphan Annie"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The original Little Orphan Annie strip
debuted in 1924, written by 30-year-old Harold Gray. He was born in
Kankakee ["<i>Manteno! Peotone! Chicago Heights!</i>"*] and raised
in the Midwest; worked in Chicago in adulthood. The interesting thing about his
cultural context was that the foreign-born Irish population peaked in
1900, when he was a kid. Which means that would have also have been
the peak of anti-Irish-immigrant sentiment in that area.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Originally
this was expressed as White racism against the Irish, though they
were quickly made White (as <a href="http://rsample57/" target="_blank">@rsample57</a> put it). This was partly in
order to keep them from forming an alliance with Black USians. The
divide-and-conquer of the poor has a long history within this country
and without.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So what I'm leading up to here is that
Gray would have been deeply familiar with the anti-Irish racism of
the time. Gray's use of a red-haired protagonist wasn't coincidental, though
I can't tell you if it was conscious or not. Either way, it was
firmly rooted in some level of recognition of that particular
oppression. That's why Annie was the underdog to root for. Now, he
could have used a Black protagonist to possibly an even greater
effect, but I doubt a White male cartoonist of 1924 would have.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
However, having Little Orphan Annie
be Black in 2014 is VERY close to what Gray was doing with a White
redhead in 1924. It was not a matter of aesthetics or whimsy. It was
a social commentary. Having Annie be Black today is completely
historically appropriate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(*And yes, you did get internet points for
guessing where I spent at least some of my growing-up years!)</div>
</div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-82604651567755340352013-06-04T09:39:00.001-04:002015-01-10T08:49:28.112-05:00Nice to Finally Have It Quantified: Nerd? Geek? or Dork?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's official. I'm 96 % Nerd, 61% Geek, 39% Dork.<br />
<br />
Which, according to this test, makes me a "Modern, Cool Nerd." Not sure how that changed since I was a dorky 13 year old other than becoming a dorky 40-something, but nice to have a niche anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />
"For The Record:<br />
<br />
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.<br />
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.<br />
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.<br />
<br />
You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, <b>Cool Nerd</b>.
<br />
<br />
Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used
to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a
pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world
that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and
geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very
least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent,
knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer
advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as
your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there,
winning the million bucks)!
<br />
<br />
Congratulations!"<br />
<br />
<br />
[I love that they have distribution graphs for this]:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="analysis">
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Your Analysis (Vertical line = Average)</span></h3>
<ul class="variables clearfix">
<li> <img alt="nerdiness Distribution" src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs=170x80&cht=ls&chls=1,1,0%7C1,1,0%7C1,1,0&chco=009cff,0099cf&chm=B,e5f5ff,0,0,0%7CB,caeafe,1,3,0%7Co,009cff,1,88,7,1%7CtYou,009cff,1,88,11,1%7CV,dddddd,0,49,1.0&chg=100,100,1,0&chf=bg,s,f6f6f6%7Cc,s,ffffff&chds=0,101107.3781&chd=t:2684.25,2769.75,2876.73,3008.89,3171.76,3373.10,3617.59,3933.56,4317.08,4786.88,5355.93,6060.34,6936.25,8022.87,9321.54,10800.29,12427.12,14172.94,15962.34,17744.92,19470.33,21107.12,22690.49,24256.24,25840.16,27501.21,29248.26,31093.64,33049.70,35095.45,37208.72,39366.73,41546.67,43750.80,45974.44,48206.57,50436.16,52652.81,54847.32,56925.23,58792.12,60357.00,61541.56,62475.14,63287.04,64105.97,65231.14,66719.61,68628.45,71008.38,73494.89,75714.61,77294.16,77774.91,77182.49,75725.79,73613.70,71262.69,69107.04,67370.24,66275.77,65805.00,65572.79,65251.90,64515.12,63026.33,60870.95,58138.60,54918.88,51484.64,47992.93,44603.33,41475.41,38557.97,35791.48,33125.09,30507.98,27947.21,25444.80,23016.02,20676.16,18444.68,16323.59,14326.39,12466.57,10760.14,9196.59,7901.82,6817.48,5916.35,5163.63,4536.37,4023.75%7C2684.25,2769.75,2876.73,3008.89,3171.76,3373.10,3617.59,3933.56,4317.08,4786.88,5355.93,6060.34,6936.25,8022.87,9321.54,10800.29,12427.12,14172.94,15962.34,17744.92,19470.33,21107.12,22690.49,24256.24,25840.16,27501.21,29248.26,31093.64,33049.70,35095.45,37208.72,39366.73,41546.67,43750.80,45974.44,48206.57,50436.16,52652.81,54847.32,56925.23,58792.12,60357.00,61541.56,62475.14,63287.04,64105.97,65231.14,66719.61,68628.45,71008.38,73494.89,75714.61,77294.16,77774.91,77182.49,75725.79,73613.70,71262.69,69107.04,67370.24,66275.77,65805.00,65572.79,65251.90,64515.12,63026.33,60870.95,58138.60,54918.88,51484.64,47992.93,44603.33,41475.41,38557.97,35791.48,33125.09,30507.98,27947.21,25444.80,23016.02,20676.16,18444.68,16323.59,14326.39,12466.57,10760.14,9196.59,7901.82,6817.48,-1,-1,-1,-1" /><br />
<div class="desc">
You scored 96% on <b>nerdiness</b>, higher than 99% of your peers.</div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
</li>
<li> <img alt="geekosity Distribution" src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs=170x80&cht=ls&chls=1,1,0%7C1,1,0%7C1,1,0&chco=009cff,0099cf&chm=B,e5f5ff,0,0,0%7CB,caeafe,1,3,0%7Co,009cff,1,56,7,1%7CtYou,009cff,1,56,11,1%7CV,dddddd,0,30,1.0&chg=100,100,1,0&chf=bg,s,f6f6f6%7Cc,s,ffffff&chds=0,101107.3781&chd=t:13973.79,15471.09,17405.46,19711.83,22399.09,25521.17,29003.71,32838.45,36503.04,39835.59,42853.14,45493.83,47695.80,49482.43,50851.47,51994.81,53104.35,54282.50,55789.50,57660.84,59932.00,62651.30,65478.77,68060.57,70042.92,70993.09,70927.88,70062.99,68614.16,66991.28,65631.86,64701.82,64367.08,64568.84,64850.35,64996.97,64794.08,64013.21,62969.10,61790.63,60606.67,59745.08,59049.50,58426.03,57780.78,56748.25,55334.64,53542.47,51374.22,49074.50,46763.00,44535.05,42486.00,40525.34,38569.98,36612.42,34645.16,32723.17,30950.10,29343.46,27920.78,26695.85,25531.29,24360.06,23115.12,21705.10,20210.89,18671.40,17125.57,15687.92,14332.25,13067.43,11902.31,10759.59,9645.93,8566.33,7525.78,6599.63,5793.15,5109.81,4553.04,4084.34,3668.51,3280.07,2893.55,2518.52,2168.16,1872.33,1629.35,1442.78,1301.36,1197.15,1125.07%7C13973.79,15471.09,17405.46,19711.83,22399.09,25521.17,29003.71,32838.45,36503.04,39835.59,42853.14,45493.83,47695.80,49482.43,50851.47,51994.81,53104.35,54282.50,55789.50,57660.84,59932.00,62651.30,65478.77,68060.57,70042.92,70993.09,70927.88,70062.99,68614.16,66991.28,65631.86,64701.82,64367.08,64568.84,64850.35,64996.97,64794.08,64013.21,62969.10,61790.63,60606.67,59745.08,59049.50,58426.03,57780.78,56748.25,55334.64,53542.47,51374.22,49074.50,46763.00,44535.05,42486.00,40525.34,38569.98,36612.42,34645.16,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1" /><br />
<div class="desc">
You scored 61% on <b>geekosity</b>, higher than 87% of your peers.</div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
</li>
<li> <img alt="dork points Distribution" src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs=170x80&cht=ls&chls=1,1,0%7C1,1,0%7C1,1,0&chco=009cff,0099cf&chm=B,e5f5ff,0,0,0%7CB,caeafe,1,3,0%7Co,009cff,1,36,7,1%7CtYou,009cff,1,36,11,1%7CV,dddddd,0,26,1.0&chg=100,100,1,0&chf=bg,s,f6f6f6%7Cc,s,ffffff&chds=0,123342.8016&chd=t:25104.96,28383.10,31835.99,35206.06,38325.76,41045.08,43614.63,46218.75,48160.90,49668.43,50898.54,52132.58,53651.90,55528.36,57868.28,60773.02,64343.94,68717.49,73781.79,79097.79,84226.47,88711.57,92106.77,94224.96,94879.08,94006.23,92197.76,89998.17,87952.04,86598.90,85959.77,85881.73,86211.77,86469.84,86269.47,85263.49,83104.71,79705.23,75325.10,70367.20,65234.39,60282.68,55789.61,51875.95,48662.49,46096.00,43837.71,41664.40,39352.82,36718.99,33892.42,30998.68,28163.37,25654.83,23510.35,21725.97,20297.76,19064.99,17874.84,16615.30,15174.39,13555.66,11845.15,10135.04,8517.49,7080.78,5831.41,4783.61,3951.61,3308.39,2814.64,2432.28,2123.20,1890.21,1720.67,1601.95,1521.41,1472.57,1446.49,1434.24,1426.90,1423.22,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00,1422.00%7C25104.96,28383.10,31835.99,35206.06,38325.76,41045.08,43614.63,46218.75,48160.90,49668.43,50898.54,52132.58,53651.90,55528.36,57868.28,60773.02,64343.94,68717.49,73781.79,79097.79,84226.47,88711.57,92106.77,94224.96,94879.08,94006.23,92197.76,89998.17,87952.04,86598.90,85959.77,85881.73,86211.77,86469.84,86269.47,85263.49,83104.71,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1" /><br />
<div class="desc">
You scored 39% on <b>dork points</b>, higher than 68% of your peers.</div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
<div class="desc">
[It tries to make you sign up for OkCupid to get your results, but there's a small "no thanks, just results" option if you look closely.]<br />
<br />
[UPDATE: LINK: <a href="http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-nerd-geek-or-dork-test">http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-nerd-geek-or-dork-test</a>]<br />
<br />
[UPDATE 1/2015: Just to clarify their <i>dork</i> definition, I don't really believe I have "difficulty with common social expectations/interactions" other than that I don't necessarily respect those expectations. So that's more a matter of choice for me. I recognize that's not the case for every dork.] </div>
<div class="desc">
<br /></div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-67108034703730553782012-10-10T10:22:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:22:02.262-04:00Christopher Columbus and Jerry Sandusky: the Cultural Narrative Connection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This week saw an unrepentant Jerry Sandusky sentenced to what will amount to life, as well as Columbus Day, which seethed with annually increasing attitudes of "why celebrate a promoter of slavery, rape, and genocide?"<br />
<br />
On my walk home this morning I was reflecting on the traditional way I initially learned about Columbus in school, waaaaay back in the '70s. Explorer, hero, <span class="st"><em>Niña</em>, <em>Pinta</em>, and <em>Santa María. </em>Then as a young adult I read Zinn's classic <span class="st"><em>A People's History Of The United States</em> and learned a completely different story. (If you haven't read it, then you know what to do.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><span class="st">What I began recognizing as I walked was that our cultural narrative regarding Columbus (and others like him) has led directly to the destructive path of Jerry Sandusky (and others like him). We need to widely promote the telling of the <i>whole </i>truth about important historical figures. Did Columbus do some really challenging, brave, world-changing things? Yes. Did he do some terrible, murderous, world-changing things? Yes. But we've been focusing on only the flattering things. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><span class="st">The more stories we have in our cultural library in which these really important, influential dudes are just great and awesome, without the painful side of their histories, the harder it is for us to accept that someone important and influential is even capable of something like raping dozens of children. And it's also true that by dichotomizing important people into "great" ones and "monstrous" ones, we further this. Because if someone's famous, and doing some positive things, then there's no way they can be doing monstrous things, right? Totally, completely, false. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><span class="st">This kind of splitting actually makes it harder for us to recognize when someone we like is doing something bad. All humans can enact both good and bad behaviors. Insert anecdote regarding evil's poster boy, Hitler, feeding the deer in his garden. "Regular" people do extraordinary things (good and bad). Extraordinarily bad people do some good things, and vice versa. If we let ourselves believe that only bad people do bad things, then we blind ourselves to the possibility that what victims tell us is true, individually and as a group. We end up believing only the powerful, rather than hearing truth about them. Also, we end up blinding ourselves to the possibility of our own behavior hurting others. "I'm a good person, therefore I can't have done something harmful!" (This is actually the process behind most prejudice and prejudice denial, in fact.)</span></span><br />
<span class="st"><span class="st"><br /></span></span>
<span class="st"><span class="st">If we can stop dichotomizing and accept our shadow selves, we can learn to live our values instead of acting out our repressed traits. And if we can accept that just because someone is loved or famous or does good works doesn't mean they can't possibly do something hurtful, then we will have come a long way towards healing society.</span></span></div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-42868223179245095992011-12-16T20:07:00.000-05:002011-12-16T20:08:04.787-05:00Leftover Turkey PieA good way to use up leftover turkey.<br /><br />Oven: 425 F.<br /><br />~2c cut-up cooked turkey<br />~2c cooked (diced) carrots & peas<br />~2 c mashed potatoes (soft enough to spread--add milk if nec.)<br />1 onion, diced<br />2 celery ribs, diced<br />2 tins/can cream of mushroom soup<br />~1/2 c drippings<br />dash dry sherry<br />2 pie crusts (for bottoms)<br />1/2 c. shredded cheddar<br />pepper<br /><br />Saute onions and celery in drippings and sherry. Stir in mushroom soup concentrate. Add peas, carrots, and turkey.<br />Divide into raw pie crusts (in pans).<br /><br />Mix most of cheese with mashed potatoes. Spread over tops of pies. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with black pepper to taste.<br /><br />Bake for 1/2 hour until crust is done and filling is hot.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-73749417745735603272011-10-28T12:27:00.002-04:002011-10-28T12:30:55.244-04:00What year is this, again?Really, really starting to tick me off. In 2011, this should be a snap. <br />I just want to get some groceries and diapers for a sister in another state. <br /><br />Here in Midatlanticville, I order my groceries online and then pick them up. Easy! And sometimes I buy groceries for an aunt in Wisconsin and they actually deliver them to her.<br /><br />But apparently in this town in Missouri, no grocery stores do anything like this. Oh wait, Wal-mart does! [piles stuff into online cart]<br /><br />--Oh, they only have non-perishables and they won't even get the items until a week from now? Huh. Well, crap, I could do better with Amazon.<br /><br />So maybe I can just get her a Kroger gift card over the phone and she can pick it up and buy her own groceries? Okay!<br /><br />NOPE! No over-the-phone transactions. <br /><br />But hey! At least they have a Western Union station there, so I could at least wire her some money. For a hefty fee, but, whatever. [signs up on Western Union site]. So, name, address, phone number, email. <br /><br />WHOA! Western Union "can't verify my information" and therefore won't send me an email to verify my...uh, information. WTF? What part don't they believe? My name? Address? Phone?<br /><br />I just don't get this.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-48121336955527483012011-08-16T17:20:00.000-04:002011-08-16T17:21:53.853-04:00Systems Theory and the NymwarsHere's the thing about the nymwars.
<br />
<br />One fact I remember very well from my Systems class in grad school is that the function of an organization is what it actually does, not necessarily what it says its function is. And organizations function primarily to perpetuate themselves.
<br />
<br />What this means is that, for example, say I set up a charity to fund research into curing a disease. So the stated purpose of my organization is "end this disease."
<br />
<br />However, what actually happens in the organization is that people make phone calls, send out pamphlets, hold fund drives, set up accounts, and--why not?--even send money to the researchers. So in systems theory, all those activities are the actual purpose of the organization.
<br />
<br />In fact, once the cure is found for the disease in question, the organization is likely to continue, because its primary purpose is actually to perpetuate itself (and in this case generate phone calls and paperwork). And this does happen with regularity.
<br />
<br />So now people are trying to change the collective mind of Google by stating they are dissatisfied. This will almost certainly not work, because Google's actual purpose is probably not to keep users happy.
<br />
<br />People using this (free) service are not, in fact, the "customers" but the resources that the real customers want. Who are the customers, then? Well, ask yourself who profits from your participation.
<br />
<br />I guess if all the resources up and left, that would be bad for Google. But by now they have become huge and reached a saturation point where it's a lot easier to ignore that, because we are a flood of resources. And once you start profiting from your resources, it becomes easier to look at your funders' benefits and harder to remember to cultivate or use good husbandry with your resources. It becomes easier to take resources for granted. Look at our collective history and tell me I'm wrong: oil? water? animals? plants? human workers?
<br />
<br />I doubt there are many individual Google employees who think of themselves this way. It's often difficult to see the actual purpose of an organization when you're inside it. But that's sure what appears to be happening.
<br />
<br />I have my suspicions about why "real" names--as filtered through a biased Eurocentric perception, that is--would be profitable to an organization, but I'm sure you can come up with your own conspiracy theory at this point. So to be allowed to use your name of choice, you're going to have to find a way that this would be profitable for Google.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-31659342589105043102011-05-22T21:20:00.002-04:002013-05-16T10:54:52.756-04:00Just in time for the rapture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorlizardo/5733483595/" title="You saw it here first..."><img alt="You saw it here first... by doctorlizardo" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/5733483595_09ab9c555a.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorlizardo/5733483595/">You saw it here first...</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorlizardo/">doctorlizardo</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
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For no good reason. Also I like writing "paleontology."</div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-88388798085054457212011-04-30T13:53:00.001-04:002011-04-30T13:53:49.468-04:00Buchanan Park Fair 2011<div>Here's the thing. For <em>no</em> apparent reason, it has been nearly impossible to find out anything online about the annual carnival/festival/fair going on in nearby Buchanan Park until it's already over. Every single year (for the past three years.) I have only ever found out about it by literally walking past and seeing them setting up the rides. This is not unlike the whole thing with the <a href="http://doctorlizardo.blogspot.com/2010/07/longs-park-petting-zoo.html">petting zoo</a> (only more so). I guess they figure if you don't magically already know about it, they're not going to tell you. So I'm posting this for anyone else who's been futilely looking for info online.</div> <div> </div> <div>Anyway, we were at the park this morning, and it looks like they are setting up the rides. I'm guessing setting up, because they logically wouldn't be taking them down on a Saturday morning. Also, the area doesn't look devastated by fairgoers yet. So in theory, I think they will probably start it up on Thursday (or possibly Wednesday) and go through Sunday.</div> <div> </div> <div>You're welcome.</div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-13988288124830715162011-03-18T11:09:00.003-04:002011-03-18T11:17:45.979-04:00Another Mushroom Soup Cheating Recipe: Scalloped PotatoesThis is another crockpot recipe, as that's what works for me these days. As usual, it's a synthesis of recipes I found online, modified to my liking.<br /><br />Chop up 6 or so medium potatoes and one medium onion. Add to crockpot. If you peel those potatoes you are losing out on nutrition (and time)!<br /><br />Add about .5 cup chopped ham, or turkey ham, or tofu ham, or not, as you wish.<br /><br />Add a can/tin of Cream of Mushroom soup and then the same can/tin's worth of milk.<br /><br />Add about 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, then add hot water to just below food line.<br /><br />Sprinkle with ground pepper and garlic salt to taste. Stir it all up.<br /><br />Cook 5 hours or so on high. Near the end of cooking time, add a glug of dry sherry and/or some beer. They really add to the flavor: I use both!lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-80342887372984412302011-02-10T21:30:00.005-05:002011-02-10T21:42:50.034-05:00Recipe: Creamy Leek-a-Cocky Soupy (for Slow Cooker)Cut up two chicken breasts and sauté in olive oil+butter. Add pepper during sauteing. The point is to scorch the outside for flavor without cooking the inside much. Place chicken in slow cooker/crockpot.<br /><br />Chop four medium potatoes in smallish pieces and add to cooker.<br /><br />Slice eight medium leeks (I hope you already know to wash away any dirt and discard the tough green parts) and add to pot.<br /><br />Add one can/tin of Cream of Mushroom soup. I don't care that it's cheating. It turns out great.<br /><br />Top with spices and stuff: about a tablespoon each of tarragon, dried chopped onion and chicken bouillon granules; a sprinkle of celery seed; a teaspoon or so of ground mustard powder; and ground black pepper to taste.<br /><br />Pour hot water over all of it until it comes up to within an inch of the solid ingredients. Stir it all up somewhat.<br /><br />That's it.<br /><br />Cook on low for 6 or 7 hours. Or start on high for an hour and then turn it down for 5 hours. Whatever. As long as the potatoes are tender, you're good.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-89884193573441967312011-02-10T21:26:00.002-05:002012-10-31T08:51:30.516-04:00Recipe: Hot Knock<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Start with about 3/4 mugful of hot milk. For Pete's sake, don't try using skim. That's just counter to the whole premise of Hot Knock anyway. Add a spoonful of honey, a dash of vanilla, and a shot of Foine French Brandy.<br />
<br />
There; that's it. Drink upon coming in from exercising in the cold, or just feeling generally chilly.<br />
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Doesn't the name sound like a genuinely archaic drink? And yet we just made it up tonight. Upon coming in from the cold after exercising.</div>
lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-30811496485038766462011-01-03T07:57:00.001-05:002011-01-03T07:57:35.295-05:00Rihanna: Adore Me (Pwease?)These days I'm possibly the only person alive who still listens to music on the actual radio, and the only time I get the chance to do that is while driving on some domestic errand. So I realize I'm way behind times here.<br> But there's one song that's bugging me, and that's Rihanna's Only Girl (In the World). Now it's very catchy and danceable. The problem for me is that the lyrics are at odds with the rest of the song. (Does she write her own? I would think so, but I always think that, so I don't know.)<br> The music (including Rihanna's operatic voice) is sweeping, epic, dramatic, insistent, and staccato, like a pair of ankle-strap patent-leather stilettoes. But the lyrics? "...make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world..." Wha? A goddess doesn't beg. <br> The music says, "I have no equal: on your knees and worship, fool," while the lyrics say "reassure me that I have no competition, pleeeeaaase!"<br> <div style="visibility: hidden; left: -5000px;" id="avg_ls_inline_popup"></div><style type="text/css">#avg_ls_inline_popup{position: absolute;z-index: 9999;padding: 0px 0px;margin-left: 0px;margin-top: 0px;overflow: hidden;word-wrap: break-word;color: black;font-size: 10px;text-align: left;line-height: 130%;}</style> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-57609340647119458612010-12-14T12:14:00.003-05:002010-12-15T12:58:14.094-05:00Plateau or Canyon of the Auras...or SomethingWe went to a neighbor's Christmas party last weekend (child-friendly, so we could actually go). As I stood in food-stakeout mode near the spicy guacamole and crab dip, some of the nearby partygoers began discussing one woman's experience with a rash on her wedding ring finger. Which actually is not an unknown psychosomatic symptom of a troubled marriage.<br /><br />But then the woman in question described how she fixed the trouble, which was that she attended a session with a local psychic who helped her higher self talk to her husband's higher self. Not that he was there in person or even knew anything about it. Somehow during the course of this description she mentioned having taken "some psychology--oh, I don't mean like <i>you </i>have, or anything" (meaning, what? She knew I have a Ph.D. in the subject but she took...Intro Psych? Abnormal Psych? during her undergrad years before getting into the clerical field? Who knows.)<br /><br />Anyway, apparently this psychic session fixed everything between them, and now she goes regularly, at nearly $90 a pop. Others at the table were asking interested questions and wanted referrals (surprisingly, I quietly demurred).<br /><br />TheLimey wandered up just at this moment and from what he heard of the conversation interpreted it as "we're laughing at the idea of auras and such," and started in on a humorous tale of someone he knew who had gone to a psychic who---SCREECH! even after a dozen years or so over here, his British sense of social transgression remains acute enough that he correctly interpreted my frozen-eyed expression as meaning "STOP right there for the love of God" and his anecdote quickly trailed off into inoffensive vague mumbling. But I probably should have allowed him to continue.<br /><br />Because just then, the Higher Self Woman enthusiastically proclaimed to all present that the process works better than....she paused, clearly suddenly remembering who she was standing right next to...and then apparently decided she either didn't care or else had already gone too far, and said that it works a lot better than therapy!<br /><br />I'm guessing this is not based on actual scientific research, which has not shown similar results. And I didn't hear that she even tried therapy, either.<br /><br />Later TheLimey was aghast to learn that the apparent premise for this kind of secret psychic communication is that higher selves vibrate on the same plane as each other (even when you don't know it). This has led to all kinds of midnight jokes, such as "My higher self is flipping you off right now--can you sense it?" and "My higher self doesn't so much vibrate as twitch, writhe, or sometimes flop around like a fish."<br /><br />And really, if someone is actually helped in their everyday life by whatever culturally appropriate tradition they subscribe to, that's great. Sometimes just feeling like someone cares for you, or that you're doing something to help yourself, can lead to useful outcomes. But this whole psychic planes business sure leaves the door open for a helluva lot of charlatans to squeeze money out of gullible persons, and with little or no oversight.<br /><br />That last bit feels particularly ironic and galling to me right now, considering that even with 16 years of study and practice towards my degree <i>in an actual proven treatment field</i>, the bottleneck to my working with people is that I have to get even more oversight and practice and pay hundreds of dollars to take even more exams before I can be pronounced safe enough for licensure.<br /><br />But hey. I guess that's because therapy "doesn't work," right? At least according to<br />the experts who've taken Intro Psych at some point in their lives. Therefore it <span style="font-style: italic;">must </span>be okay to let who-the-heck-ever put out a psychic shingle and charge $90 to stroke your aura, or whatever.<br /><br />PS: thanks Google, for all the ads for clairvoyant healing, quantum jumping, and so forth in the margins as I compose this entry. That's super-appropriate.<br /><br /><div style="visibility: hidden; left: -5000px;" id="avg_ls_inline_popup"> </div><style type="text/css">#avg_ls_inline_popup{position: absolute;z-index: 9999;padding: 0px 0px;margin-left: 0px;margin-top: 0px;overflow: hidden;word-wrap: break-word;color: black;font-size: 10px;text-align: left;line-height: 130%;}</style>lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-44220341306472033522010-10-05T11:56:00.001-04:002010-10-05T11:56:54.213-04:00Hold and Have Shame!<div>I've been thinking about some plays that we did in my <a href="http://www.usd116.org/leal/">elementary school</a> in 5th grade. I probably wouldn't have thought to have 10-year-olds do either one, now that I look at them, but I guess kids are always more sophisticated than we give them credit for.</div> <div> </div> <div>One was an in-class play with a small cast. I was Clytemnestra. Yes, it was a pretty artsy--or progressive--school, at least in the late '70s. (But who wasn't, in that time?) Upon looking it up now, it appears as though we probably did <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oresteia#The_Libation_Bearers">The Libation Bearers</a>--I do remember that I was gruesomely murdered, which was fun. We didn't have to get dressed up in costumes for this one, but I did, wearing some sort of drapey thing including a white slip of my mother's. I think I went home at lunch to change into it.</div> <div> </div> <div>The other was Gilbert & Sullivan's <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_Penzance">Pirates of Penzance</a></em>, which was a more formal production that we presented in an evening performance for parents and community. I was a mere chorus member in that one; one of the general's daughters. There were perhaps a dozen or so daughters in our production, as there were three 5th-grade classes combined. I wanted to be Ruth, but alas, was not chosen, though my friends said I sang the audition song better than the girl who got it "just because she did gestures." (Well, loyal friends are good to find, right?) I've always liked the songs from this operetta and they've often popped into my head at completely random moments throughout my life.</div> <div> </div> <div>I've recently had the opportunity to revisit the experience, as Limelet enjoys pirates generally as well as people singing, so I bought a DVD of the Australian Opera's <a href="http://amzn.com/B001ARDBZS">version of PoP</a>. It's been a hit, and is <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=pirates+of+penzance+australian+opera&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLL_en#q=pirates+of+penzance+australian+opera&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&prmd=iv&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=CUerTIjjH4GdlgeX343BCA&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQqwQwAA&fp=6b964bcc94c5a63">still funny</a> and clever after all these years. Though part of the humor for me in this production is the Australian accents (the Major General singing "General" in a way that rhymes with "dinner roll.")</div> <div> </div> <div>I'm surprised at Limelet's level of attention to something like this that a lot of adults can't focus on for long, and he goes around quoting/singing excerpts. (From upstairs: "I sink a few more ships it's true/ than a well-bred monarch ought to do!") He also has been enjoying <em>The Sound of Music</em>. So much for TheLimey's declaration that Limelet can do whatever he wants in life--<em>except become an actor</em>. I <em>told</em> him that attitude would guarantee that Limelet becomes an actor, I told him, but did he listen?</div> <div> </div> <div>Anyway, our ornate local theater does a lot of family shows, especially at Christmas time. I don't think Limelet is ready yet, as he wants to get up and walk around after 20 minutes tops, but next year definitely. And I hope that this fall we can go without him some time to see a murder mystery type of production. There are some reasons it is nice to live in a city, after all.</div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-29655890874349089612010-09-22T10:53:00.001-04:002010-09-22T10:53:53.150-04:00Harvest Moon<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregob/3978620061/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3524/3978620061_400bd7381a_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregob/3978620061/">Harvest Moon</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/gregob/">gregob</a></span></div>Happy Autumn Equinox / Full Moon<br clear="all" />lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-45551638164206603952010-09-16T09:41:00.001-04:002010-09-16T09:41:50.566-04:00Equinox Approaches, Also TLAP Day<div>My favorite time of year. Both equinoxes, but especially the autumn one. For whatever reason.</div> <div> </div> <div>We had a goof on our taxes last year and just got the bill this summer, so I filled out the many associated forms and sent a check. It was only as I was scanning the documents for copies that I realized the number of the check I was sending was, naturally, 666. I'm sure if someone at the IRS notices that they will think it was on purpose. Are we cursing them, or are we saying they are the Devil? Who knows. They cashed it anyway.</div> <div> </div> <div>Watching yet another pirate film with a fiddler on deck during the melee, TheLimey said that instead he'd have someone playing a bass. Maybe he meant electric, but I pictured stand-up. Nevertheless, I said I'd have a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHiRX6QYwEk">theremin player</a>. Of course, a theremin player would probably be the first one to end up in Davy Jones's locker during the battle, but that's the risk you take being a pirate thereminist.</div> <div> </div> <div>Now, I must continue cleaning entire house for Limelet's birthday party on Saturday. I've given up on the idea of steaming the upstairs carpet after we all got sick and lost time this week. I did get the seven bales of hay for the back yard, though. For kids to play on. So far Limelet likes them, and rolls them around the yard although they are larger than he is.</div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-5949033848789435052010-08-25T22:12:00.001-04:002010-08-25T22:12:48.666-04:00The Get-Out Clause<div>I, like many other non-Amish people, have a particular image of Amish people. (Which perhaps I should research a bit more than I have just for the sake of knowing my fellow humans--not that I'm likely to meet many Amish in clinical practice.) </div> <div>Anyway, if you're like me, you probably picture them not only wearing bonnets or those flat hats and driving horse carts (which they do) but also having little, if any, truck with technology. Now this part is apparently where I've been misinformed, except perhaps as concerns old-order Amish, which is my stereotype of all Amish. </div> <div>Today I was speaking with a gentleman who's lived in these parts for a while, as he described it, surrounded by many Amish neighbors. He claims that the restriction on technology is that one can't have it in one's <em>home</em>, which I guess leaves a <em>lot</em> of wiggle room. He told me that frequently they will construct elaborate garages, with air conditioning, televisions, and whatnot. He told of visiting one household at which, when the mother and daughter opened the door, the entryway was crammed with computers tracking the milking, harvesting, and so forth (which information the mother and daughter were in charge of overseeing). Because the entryway was not <em>in</em> the house, you see, this was okay. Another neighbor had to leave their conversation to run to the outhouse--but not for the reason I'd imagine. Rather, he went to answer the phone, which was in the outhouse and had a very loud ringer.</div> <div>So the secret is out. Although it is second-hand, and is probably biased to some extent. For all I know, other non-Amish around here already know all this and perhaps even take it for granted. But it certainly shook up my preconceived notions.</div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-35448228161852077872010-07-23T20:10:00.001-04:002010-07-23T20:10:35.556-04:00Long's Park Petting ZooAs far as I can tell, there is no solid information online anywhere<br>(certainly not on the Long's Park website) about the petting zoo,<br>except to say that it exists. So I actually went to the park today to<br>look at the actual signs at the petting zoo, and thought I'd post it<br>in case anyone else had the same problem. So here's what I found out:<p>-open Mid-May through Labor Day<br>-hours: 10am to 3pm weekdays and weekends<br>-BUT they close for lunch, 11:45-12:35<br>-it appears to be free. People were wandering in and out through the<br>gates and there was no ticket area or anything like that.<br>-I saw horses, a llama, and veterinary certificates for potbelly pigs.<br>There are more animals but I was looking at the signs more intently<br>than at the animals.<br>-no strollers are allowed inside the fencelizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-56149917423092032302010-07-23T20:02:00.000-04:002010-07-23T20:03:09.786-04:00Google Voice Transcript Strikes AgainThis one was too good.<p> Message for David. D[xxxx] David, this is Ann with posh<br>pool squirming marshmallows. We did receive your order as our<br> exit meeting here to get back to you. I will email you to<br> let you know though that we are out of a couple of<br>flavor. Yeah. Okay, so maybe we can still get the order<br>out. Maybe a gentle with a little bit more of some other<br>flavors. I'll just email at info to you later than that<br>long voicemail. Okay. Hi David.<p><br>The actual voicemail was not from any kind of squirming anything, but<br>from Plush Puffs Homemade Marshmallows, and instead of "gentle" she<br>intends to juggle. Oddly, the transcript threw that "yeah" in there<br>for no apparent reason.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-37073347960437619132010-07-09T12:56:00.000-04:002010-07-09T12:57:09.878-04:00Heavy, But Not Very Stable / Like Something From the Bottom of the Periodic Table<div>Gmail keeps showing me an ad for a "4-Year Doctorite Program." (<a href="http://www.carlow.edu/">www.carlow.edu</a> - <a href="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=BIy-6B1Q3TMyZGdehmgfCifHVC-j5y3LYvKu_DsCNtwGgu0oQARgBIIaPgAIoBTgAUM-S4dQDYMnWmozQpNwRsgEPbWFpbC5nb29nbGUuY29tugEIZ21haWwtY3bIAQHaATJodHRwOi8vbWFpbC5nb29nbGUuY29tL01UTTBNRFl6TlRBME1ERTFOalk1TkRrMk5USYACAagDAegDnwToA_QC6AOxCPUDAgAARA&num=1&sig=AGiWqtwh_rKogxZ2zyRBaPQ9Z1dlacbkrA&adurl=http://gradstudies.carlow.edu/psy-d/index.html">4-Year Doctorite Program</a>) But what exactly IS Doctorite? Is it </div> <div> </div> <div>a) an element that strips one of their PhD powers by mere proximity (as my husband insists) </div> <div> </div> <div>or </div> <div> </div> <div>b) a PhD who has fallen through the academic atmosphere & burned down to a tiny fragment by the time s/he lands/graduates (as I suspect)?</div> <div> </div> <div>Please show your work.</div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-85309916074410639772010-05-27T16:37:00.000-04:002010-05-27T16:37:12.379-04:00Pudgy Indian 3: A Couple of FunniesRegarding immigration...<br /><br /><a href="http://pudgyindian3-eugene.blogspot.com/2010/05/couple-of-funnies.html">Pudgy Indian 3: A Couple of Funnies</a><br /><br />Only too true.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-29592061251039684472010-05-26T10:03:00.003-04:002010-05-26T10:14:48.315-04:00Speaking of Predictive Texts...Here's an automatically transcribed message I received on my Google Voice a while back (it was a wrong number, anyway, as you might guess.)<br /><br />"Hi Babe, It's Melissa down the burgers, bagels, I was just calling to let you know are are both possums just gonna have to eat up for a little. I know you said you're not in a hurry to get the bagels. Would you like. If you'd like, I can just give you a call back whenever they're ready. It shouldn't be that much longer than I said but by stuff to wait for the avenue he back up, so just give me a call back down here anytime. Alright, thanks bye."<br /><br />What she actually said in the voicemail recording was this:<br /><br />"Hi Dave, It's Melissa down at Bruegger's Bagels, I was just calling to let you know our oven was off, so it's just gonna have to heat up for a little. I know you said you're not in a hurry to get the bagels. Would you like--If you'd like, I can just give you a call back whenever they're ready. It shouldn't be that much longer than I said but I still have to wait for the oven to heat back up, so, um, just give me a call back down here anytime. Alright, thanks bye."<br /><br />I hope that this Dave fellow got his bagels eventually and wasn't too angry with this Melissa person for not calling him. Instead of me.<br /><br />But I liked the bit with the possums.lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-46338920197164549822010-05-17T09:04:00.000-04:002010-05-17T09:05:21.154-04:00Possibly Outdated Mining Metaphors<div>People. </div> <div> </div> <div>There is no such thing as a <em>motherload*</em>. It's a <em>motherlode</em>. It's to do with geology, not the burdens of mothers.</div> <div> </div> <div>Now about those canaries...</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>*Or at least not in the way you're using it. </div> lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6914415.post-71601436243754929202010-05-13T12:50:00.003-04:002010-05-13T13:04:11.612-04:00Writing While WhiteWhen I taught Prejudice Psych or Women's Psych, one of the exercises/discussions we did in class was to look at who was in power in society by looking at who was in the popular movies of the day. Typically, films "for everyone" featured a heterosexual White male protagonist. If a film had a protagonist who varied from any of those statuses, then the film was considered a niche film.<br /><br />So if the protagonist was a woman, it was a chick flick. If the protagonist was Black, then it was an African-American film. If the protagonist was Gay, then it was a gay film. I know you're immediately going to think of the exceptions, such as any Snipes flick or...Lara Croft (though "she's" clearly a male fantasy/avatar)...or...some other exception.<br /><br />But those really are <em>exceptions</em>. If you don't believe me, go right now and look at the films section of your newspaper [note: yes, I'm <em>that</em> old] for this weekend and count the number of heterosexual White male protagonists compared to "others."<br /><br />And when's the last time you saw a popular, mainstream movie that had, say, an Asian (whatever that means) Queer woman in a wheelchair as the protagonist? And if you did, what are the chances that her being Asian, Queer, or having a disability weren't the focus of the story rather than just part of her profile as she went about the story? Yeah, I thought so.<br /><br />So the next thing that happens with characters who have a non-dominant status is that they might be included as The Sidekick. Preferably to help out the White hetero guy with some status-stereotypical ability of theirs, like the Gay Sidekick might...I don't know, design something, or the Black Sidekick might kick somebody's ass, or the Female Sidekick might use feminine wiles to sexually lure and then betray some "bad guy" or so forth. So you see how it goes to be relegated to sidekick status. (You get to use your otherwise reviled stereotypical powers in the service of "good" for once.)<br /><br />This whole phenomenon is pretty standard in literature, too--and by that of course I also mean books that <em>aren't</em> considered "literature" (like really any damn thing you might find me reading these days.)<br /><br />So what are the possible permutations for fictional situations, then?<br /><br />1. "Standard": Characters are simply all White, heterosexual, able-bodied...usually there's some gender mixing, if only for background of the male characters. (Because even the most rabid misogynist has a hard time avoiding all contact with women throughout his life, as opposed to the most rabid racial bigot who can likely avoid people of Color nearly all the time, simply because of population statistics.)<br /><br />2. Also "Standard" but hey now it's "Progressive": Protagonist is as above, but with some peripheral characters being Sidekicks of Subordinate Status.<br /><br />So given this situation, what do you write, if you're a White hetero able male writer, and don't want to be an ass writing culture-blind material?<br /><br />Maybe you'd decide to write, for example, a protagonist who does not have all dominant statuses. Someone who would be in Sidekick Land in most "mainstream" fiction. For example, a person of Color for your protagonist.<br /><br />I'm going to examine this mostly in terms of race, just for the sake of discussion, although psychologically and socially speaking prejudice pretty much works the same across other statuses as well and a lot of the issues would apply cross-status.<br /><br />When I was thinking about this, I Googled around a bit and found a lot of discussion about this in terms of race. Pieces by the rather adorable <a href="http://monicajackson.com/?p=8407">Monica Jackson</a> (wonderfully explicit in her criticism), <a href="http://wordsbody.blogspot.com/2010/04/writing-black-while-white.html">Molara Wood</a> (includes quite a few informative links), <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/2009/12/transracial-writing-for-the-sincere/">Nisi Shawl</a> (I found his piece oddly removed and anthropological about "others"), <a href="http://www.racialicious.com/2009/08/25/from-margin-to-center-writing-characters-of-color/">Neesha Meminger</a> guesting on Racialicious, the <a href="http://www.therejectionist.com/2010/01/homework-for-white-folks.html">Rejectionist</a>, ... and there are more you can probably find yourself.<br /><br />There are clearly a few pros (demarginalization?) and a number of cons (cultural appropriation?) to writing characters of Color when you're White.<br /><br />Sometimes it helps me to think in analogies that are relevant to my own life. Though of course there's never any direct parallel, analogy can be very useful. For example, what do I think of men who write women protagonists? (Hmmm...who are those guys, anyway?) Or middle-class/rich writers writing low-SES characters? If you know some good (or bad) examples of these, let me know.<br /><br /><a href="http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/22/why-my-protags-arent-white/">Justine Larbalestier</a> writes on why she, a White woman, writes characters of Color, and her reasoning seems persuasive and positive to me. To <em>me</em>, but that doesn't mean it's right.<br /><br /><br />So how, and what, <em>should</em> dominant-culture writers write? In terms of race, since I'm White, should I write scenarios 1 or 2 with White protagonists only? Am I not then perpetuating marginalization of people of Color? Or should I write characters of Color, and risk cultural appropriation at best and bigoted ignorance at worst?<br /><br />There is a lot of information out there about what <em>not</em> to do, but not a lot about what <em>to</em> do in avoiding wielding unearned privilege.<br /><br /><br />I've focused on race (partly because there is a lot of discussion out there about it) but am always interested in what people have to say about other statuses as well. I'd particularly like to hear from commenters who are not dominant-cultured, writers or not.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Trolling, flaming, and ignorantly prejudiced responses won't be approved or will be removed--whichever way this platform works. I can't be bothered with remedial Prejudice 101 right now when there is so much already out there to inform yourself about it (see included links). That is all.</span>lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02417223386917662430noreply@blogger.com0