Friday, June 06, 2003

My Thoughts on the Decline and Fall of Men in Academia

You're right Niki, men still have the big positions, even in Women's colleges male faculty tend to have the edge on Seniority. But the lack of male students scares me. Intelligent, well educated women are absolutely necessary for societies in this world to flourish, but if its at the expense of educating men, I'm not sure what we've accomplished. Now, as much as it ever did, the world needs men to have advanced degrees, to have brains which function beyond calculating their golf game and contemplating how they can make more money. More importantly, women need men who are intelligent enough to appreciate their capabilities as human beings. We don't live in a vaccuum.

I've been hearing about the resurgence of male chauvinism in American Popular Culture. Is it just a coincidence that male college attendence is in decline? I don't think so.

One question: When you said most of the students in Iran were women, I immediately wondered what all the men were doing instead of going to school. Do you know where they are?


Post War Iraq, an American View
We've mentioned Salam Pax so many times in this blog, its nice to have some variety. I found this blog via Instapundit, I readily admit it, but Chief Wiggles is a fascinating read. Chief Wiggles is a citizen soldier who's really thinking about his role in Iraq. Here's a taste of the life he leads:

I returned last night from the cages quite late around 1100pm. I was totally beat, wiped out, totally exhausted from the day's activities. Going out to the cage takes a lot out of me, seeing the depressing state the men are in. We had a nice talk though, informing them that we had decided to write a letter to President Bush to see if we could force a decision out of someone. It is as if we are punishing them for doing exactly what we told them to do. They had read our leaflets, asking them to lay down their arms, to surrender and that we would take care of them. They did as we asked them, then we threw them in to prison, where they have been for the past 72 days.
[...]
The Army finally came up with a laundry service here, so we don't have to do it by hand. The army has contracted with a local company to provide the service. I turned mine in a week ago, and then it came up lost or missing. But after a few days, it did finally show up, which was quite a relief. I will try the service again just to confirm that the first loss was just a fluke. That is one thing I won't miss doing, my own laundry by hand in a bucket.

Today we thought would be a good day to play Good Luck Fairies again. I felt the urge, felt the wings sprouting and I thought it would be fun. So we started out by coming up with a large box of apples, ok we stole them, no we procured them, along with a few small bags of ice and took it out to the prisoners, the high-ranking officers. It is worth doing just to see the looks on their face. Of course this is all part of our strategy to win their hearts and minds. We were also able to locate a few bags of pita bread to go with the other stuff.


Good job, Mr. Wiggles, I wish you could do more.

Gardening. Its not a pastime. Its a lifestyle.

Some women like to work out so they can improve their looks and fit into a bikini. I work out so i can be a better gardener. I guess you could say I enjoy gardening, but its not enjoyment so much as necessity. I don't think I could live with a yard the size mine is, and not feel obligated to dig in it. Some of my neighbors have acres of nothing but mowable land. This is a waste of natural resources. I sometimes dream of going in and spraying Roundup when no one's looking. Grass is good if you like kicking the soccer ball around, but if you don't do anything with your yard, you should be forcibly moved to an apartment. People who don't live outside don't deserve yards. People who can't tell a cardinal from a bluejay don't deserve to live outside of city limits. People who think thick, weedfree neon colored grass is a sign of a well kept lawn should be shot. You want a lawn like that, buy astro turf. Quit killing birds. Better yet, back your house up on a golf course. I hope the Canada Geese nest on your Adirondack chairs.

Okay, back to gardening. This year Mom's not doing chemo, so its a garden that's all about taking chances. We've got five varieties of tomatoes, and we're only doing one comparative study of soil additives and their effect on plant productivity. We're going to use new seed potatoes this year, unlike last year when we just threw what was left in the basement into the ground (surprisingly productive!). We're even trying corn again, because we put up a really good mesh fence and we're going to try to keep it from getting knocked down instead of ignoring it until we walk in on deer having a garden party at our expense.

This is a garden not only full of possibility, but also full of old friends. That clover from 93? You're seeing it again, this time as a buffer around the fence. We found some peas from 1998 under the back staircase: Who wants to take bets on germination rates? The potatoes in the basement? Yes, the great grandchildren of some catalog store purple taters from '99 are back in the ground, and we're going to see if they can hold their own against the brand new varieties. The dangling reflective ribbons draped over everything should keep the birds off... until they stop keeping the birds off, and that could be in August, or perhaps next week. I come from a state of bets and debts people, step right up, double or nothing!

I'm hoping Bill B. Sees this.. he seems to lose big, and I'm not unwilling to help him out with that.

Thursday, June 05, 2003

Mother Superior's Sites to Visit When Your Brain is Functioning

I would like to mention once again how awesome Thomas Nephew's Newsrack is. Its a great site with oogobs of information that's pleasantly left of center. A big plus: He footnotes. Constantly.

If you don't like politics, and prefer the philosophical, go to Andy's blog, Under the Sun. He's got lots of interesting thoughtful quotes that sometimes make my brain hurt.

Please ignore the post below.. I flubbed and I don't know how to get rid of it.

Mother Superior's Sites to Visit When Your Brain is Functioning

I would like to mention once again how awesome Thomas Nephew's Newsrack is. Its a great site with oogobs of information that's pleasantly left of center. A big plus: He footnotes. Constantly.

If you don't like politics, and prefer the philosophical, go to Andy's blog, posted by Iris @ 10:07 PM   0 comments

If you see the One-who-cannot-be-described-in-a-pronoun, Sister Andrea, I'm still waiting for that pony I asked for back in fourth grade.

Thank you so much for that interesting post, Niki! I too will post something thoughtful tomorrow or tonight. In the mean time, Hugh Jackman has been spotted wearing leather pants and long hair extensions. The story on the hair is that he's going to be in a period Dracula movie, but I think he must be posing for the cover of a bodice ripper to make some extra change. I'm going to have to start checking the 'book' aisle of my local Meijers store to see if my hunch is correct.

Wednesday, June 04, 2003

Higher Education Is For the Girls!

There is a rising trend in education: More women are getting it, more men are passing it up. Is this a problem? Colleges think so, to such a point they are changing their brochures to include more pictures of men, pumping money into sports, and creating a male affirmative action.

Are men feeling less welcome on campus? They were viewed with equal parts curiousity and suspicion on my campus, and I wonder if the same is becoming true on coed campuses. Ladies, weigh in.

Hmmm, thankyou for that pleasant thought St. Scarlett.

I recently found out in a conversation with Sister Andrea, that some people who have found our site find us unique, in that we do not divulge our innermost secrets and petty grievances on our blog. I wondered what the devil these people had been reading , that they might be subjected to something like this on a daily basis:

It is raining today, dark and stormily. I have not had sex in a month. My delicate hold on reality is slipping. The Silence, the HORROR!!!!
I wrote this outburst in gest, until I started reading some of those online journals... *blink blink blink* Where's that bottle of Zoloft..

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Bwahahahaha! Now that was funny.. no excuse for To Ride Pegasus.. *snicker*

Sister Niki, expect something in the mail.. two weeks from now? I think that's how long it takes. A hard working anchoress like you needs a little pick me up once in a while. :)

Touché!

Ouch! I feel skewered by Andrea's sharp analysis, most of which is unfortunately true, but wait, I can defend myself! Pierce may have written some drivel but I can think of another author Andrea likes who devolved the same way... Mercedes Lackey, anyone? No one can deny that her later Valdemar books were.. not. good. *shudders*

Generic plot summary of later series which will remain unnamed: Good lord(er, Goddess) I've been orphaned by horrible circumstances, and cast out of my surroundings by evil people out to ruin trade and multiculturalism! Wait, here's a handsome dude who not only saves me, but takes me to a band of eco-sensistive good-doers who are uninhibited both socially and sexually. And a gay mage thrown in there for good measure. I can now learn the true meaning of manhood and engage in free love. Life is good. Did I mention the talking animals?


So Pierce wrote crap. She also wrote the DarkAngel trilogy, which is just lovely, so there! :-p

As for boy/girl issues in Science fiction.. I think you're dismissive out of context. I was limiting my comments to fantasy for the sake of of the KISS principle. Could you at least admit that while strong male heroes present qualities that both men and women desire, heroines's characteristics are in most cases closely tied with their physical appearance, and therefore less universal? We don't remember what Hercules wore in his TV series (Very little), but who can't remember Xena's outfit of choice? (I dare you to say you can't bring it to mind at this very moment). Some men admire Xena perhaps, but do they want to be Xena?

I find it interesting that you chose Piers Anthony over McCaffrey. At least McCaffrey's female characters aren't personified by their underwear. Anthony is boy fantasy if there ever was such a thing. He wrote with the infantile teen male in mind. But girls enjoy reading him. Even Piers Anthony can be universally appreciated. Why must McCaffrey, no better a writer than Anthony, but not much worse, be demoted to 'girl' fare? If I ever write a book, I think I'll initialize my first name like J. K. Rowling, so people don't dismiss my work out of hand..

As for Salam, I knew he was the genuine article weeks ago. *Assumes haughty expression* Interesting that Maas was so.. clueless

Monday, June 02, 2003

Another productive weekend at work.. I withdrew dozens of slightly tattered, unreplaceable momentos of my youth, because its library policy not to keep books that look used. *sigh* Many books that are very good are out of print now, and therefore once you withdraw, the library will never see that book again.

I weep for the loss of brilliant books, though I admit some of the things we're removing are real stinkers that were perhaps very cool in 1983, but time has shown that they are really third rate. I'm really not so unhappy that book about the puppy who leaves his mother to go live in an orphanage with fifty unnaturally good tempered boys is leaving the collection. Hopefully quite a few tattered but popular books will be replaced with shiny new copies which kids prefer reading. Because a moving collection is not about my nostaligia, its about what little Johnny will actually sit through.

Interestingly enough I worked with my Boss on desk Sunday. When I first saw her walk through the door I nearly had a seizure, because I had a box of illicit candy stuffed in a drawer (No food!) and my water bottle placed at my feet (No drink!), and several books I was planning to read (No reading!) right in front of me. I was all set to break three cardinal rules on that breezy Sunny day when NO ONE in their right mind was going to be at the library. So I snuck the water bottle back to my cubicle when she wasn't looking, and tried to stuff my face with candy to get rid of the evidence.

I was right about no one in their right mind being there. Just the regular crazies showed up, and some overwhelmed, under-imaginative parents. And the Boss.. was incredibly laid back, to the point that she was petulent, PETULENT, about having to work desk on Sunday. Not that I blame her, but it was kind of funny to see her grimacing comically half the time and the other half counting off the minutes until six. I even offered her a candy, but by that time I had eaten them all so she just got one little Mike & Ike. I was rather sad about this, because I don't like M&I much, and it would have been cool to get brownie points for giving the boss candy I didn't want anyway.

Oh, before I go, remember to Read Meredith Ann Pierce. Great youth fantasy author. More girl oriented though, just to warn you. Funny thing about fantasy, girls can read just about any of it, but boys are socially limited to the, you know, boy stuff. There's an alwful lot of mush in some of those 'boy acceptable' books too, so its not just that. The world will be a better place when young men can read stories centered around strong woman characters and not feel immasculated, or get weird looks from librarians and checkout clerks.

"McCaffrey.. gettin' this for your girlfriend?"

"Uh, yeah , that's it.."