719 Advice for Democrats

Dan Gerstein has a face smacking lecture for his fellow Democrats in today's Wall Street Journal. Still, he just can't resist impugning George W. Bush's record and reputation--his Vietnam service, the Iraq war, his terrorism battles, and even the 2000 election.

He whines that Karl Rove was ruthless and cunning, and Dems "shouda cudda wuuda" this and that. Hello? Did you see any of the ridiculous political ads we were forced to watch in Ohio all summer and fall of 2004? Danny Boy, get a grip before you suggest changes in your party.

He asks a rhetorical question he himself should heed: "When do we stop beating our heads against the wall and try something and someone different?"

Peggy Noonan's advice (and she's a Republican) actually makes more sense. (Jan. 6, WSJ) "The Groups--all the left-wing outfits from the abortion people to the enviros--didn't deliver in the last election, and not because they didn't try. They worked their hearts out. But they had no one to deliver. They had only money. The secret: Nobody likes them. Nobody! No matter how you feel about abortion, no one likes pro-abortion fanatics; no one likes mad scientists who cook environmental data. Or rather only rich and creepy people like them. Stand up to the Groups--make your policies more moderate, more nuanced, less knee-jerk.

Don't reflexively oppose President Bush on Social Security reform. Talk and listen and consider; ask open-minded questions at hearings. If he's wrong--if his prescriptions don't promise to make the system stronger and more just down the road--then make a persuasive case, one a grown-up could listen to and understand. Don't do "sound bites for blue heads in Dade County," be serious. People can tell when you're not. They just punished you at the polls again because you weren't. You have nothing to gain but stature."

718 Women fall through the glass ceiling

Three of the four people fired in the September "circle the wagons" CBS scandal were women. Isn't it great that women have knocked a big enough hole in the glass ceiling that they can fall back through?

Gone are Mary Mapes, producer of the report, Josh Howard, executive producer of "60 Minutes Wednesday," his top deputy Mary Murphy, and senior vice president Betsy West. Competitive pressures for ratings, not hate for George Bush, is given as the reason for their flub. See? Given opportunity and free rein, women can be just as competitive in the market place as men.

Anchor Dan Rather wasn't fired. I guess he just reads what is put in front of him.

717 So you're not a librarian?

You don't have to be a librarian to enjoy Geoff's Blog Driver's Waltz, to which I've added a link. He's Canadian, an academic librarian, a husband and homeowner, with a herd of pets and has some photo galleries on his web site that are really good. He also has one of the best looking blog skins I've seen, attractive, easy to read and navigate.


Geoff's Daisy

716 Greetings from Iraq

While posting an entry at my blog about new journals, In the Beginning, I was browsing the web page for Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. I came across the story of Captain Kevin Kuwik, the Assistant Basketball Coach at OU who was called up to serve an additional 18 months in the fall of 2003. He's now in Iraq and his letters are posted at the Bobcat webpage. He is a graduate of Notre Dame and has coached in Tennessee and Vermont. He says he'd appreciate some mail--snail or e-mail. CPT Kevin Kuwik, HHC/113th Engineer Battalion, APO AE 09334. kevin.kuwik@us.army.mil

715 Made in Sri Lanka

After tossing about $60 of groceries in the cart, and $25 of HBH (health, beauty & household) purchases, I looked through the 50% off racks in the clothing section. I selected a rose colored, corduroy short jacket with three buttons and three pockets and some elastic at the bottom edge and wrists. I looked at the tag. "Made in Sri Lanka." I wondered if the women who had constructed it in the garment industry there were still alive. I hoped that because they had factory jobs perhaps they lived inland, but I'm suspecting that they were probably in their home villages for the week-end which may have been close to the water. Sri Lanka is an island, after all.

But there's another tsunami coming for those women. In November, the Washington Post reported that as of January 1, 2005 many of the garment industry jobs originally outsourced from the southern US, will be leaving some of the world's poorest countries to take up shop in China.

On Jan. 1, World Trade Organization rules governing the global textile trade will undergo their biggest revision in 30 years. The changes are expected to jeopardize as many as 30 million jobs in some of the world's poorest places as the textile industry uproots and begins consolidating in a country that has become the world's acknowledged low-cost producer: China.

About $400 billion in trade is at stake, but the implications are greater than the money involved. Since 1974, many developing countries have pinned their economic hopes on a complicated system of worldwide quotas that guaranteed each a specified share of the lucrative textile markets in the United States and Europe. By specifying how many blue jeans or how much fabric an individual country could export, the quotas have effectively limited the amount of goods coming from major producers like China, while giving smaller or less competitive nations room to participate. Capital and jobs followed the quotas, helping countries build an industrial base through textile exports.

The jobs are low-paying and tough: Overseas textile plants have been a central target for labor and human rights activists. But the textile industry has, since the Industrial Revolution, provided an opening wedge for broader economic development, and officials in dozens of countries hoped it would continue to do so.

The USA and Europe, in order to protect their own workers, have punishingly high tariffs and quotas for some of these countries affected by the tsunami. After we clean up the ravages of the earthquate driven storm, we'll need to look at what our own policies are doing. I'm sure the message won't be lost on Muslim terrorists.

714 NGOs worth supporting

Diplomad says there are some NGOs worthy of your support. He still has nothing good to say about UN relief agencies--reports they are still having meetings (16 days after the tsunami) while the militaries of the U.S., Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand are the quick responders.

The agencies he says are doing a terrific job are:

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

CARE

Catholic Relief Services

Mercy Corps

Save the Children

"All of these have very dedicated people working under very tough conditions for a fraction of the salaries earned by the UN blowhards. All of these organizations moved extremely quickly (especially IOM) in the wake of the tragedy and have saved countless lives."

713 Oil for Food Scandal

Sunday night the report was released. And who in the media is working on Sunday night?

WaPo reports quietly and calmly on Tuesday:

"The committee that released the audits and other internal U.N. documents is headed by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul A. Volcker. It is investigating allegations of corruption in the $64 billion program, which oversaw the sale of Iraqi oil for the purchase of humanitarian goods while the nation was under U.N. economic sanctions.

In a 35-page briefing paper, the Volcker committee said the audits highlighted the "wholesale failure of normal management and controls" over some of the program's operations. It also faulted the United Nations' internal auditors for failing to scrutinize areas of the program that were most vulnerable to corruption: the sale and purchase of oil and humanitarian goods."

So the sale and purchase of oil and humanitarian goods were not audited by the U.N.? Well, duh! That means the corruption the Volcker committee found were in the non-critical parts? He found only "inappropriate management?" They spent all these months and found--nothing. I'm no expert in accounting, but it truly is hard to investigate a non-audit.

I'm not going to carefully track this story because others are doing that. Check here for a blog on "UNSCAM." Here's a story from NRO in April. And an investigation from 2003.

712 Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children

A photocopy of three pages of "Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children" fell out of our road atlas today. I have no idea how they got there, but I remember photocopying the article from [Proceedings and Addresses?] of the Pennsylvania German Society [early 1900s]. Since I don't have the whole article I can't give you the correct citation (shameful behavior for a librarian and I'm not sure I want to go into the stacks at OSUL to look for it). Anyway, it is fun to read.

#62. Abstain from all coarse, indecent habits or gestures in school, such as to stretch with the hands or the whole body from laziness; to eat fruit or other things in school; to lay your hand or arm upon your neighbor's shoulder, or under your head, or to lean you head forwards upon the table; to put your feet on the bench, or let them dangle or scrape; or to cross your legs over one another, or stretch them apart, or to spread them too wide in sitting or standing; to scratch your head; to play or pick with the fingers; to twist and turn the head forwards, backwards and sideways; to sit and sleep; to creep under the table or bench; to turn your back to your teacher; to change your clothes in school, and to show yourself restless in school.

#83. All indecent habits which, under Rule No. 62, you ought to avoid in school, much more ought you to avoid in church.

It's possible these are a translation or modification of the rules developed by Christopher Dock, and I'm guessing something similar is used by homeschoolers even today. For a good laugh, try googling the terms "rules of conduct for children" and just see the "suggestions" and "guidelines" and "appropriate behavior" you'll bring up. Things have changed a bit since the 18th century. Although here is a fairly stern one for a library.

711 New book reviewer link--Deborama

Deborama's book reviews is a new link I've added. Like me, Deborama actually has a number of different blogs because she is interested in so many things and just can't contain her enthusiasm. I like that! She describes her self as a "hot" 52 year old Minnesotan living in the UK, and that I can't verify. She could be a 13 year old from San Diego, and how would I know? She's just all over the map spiritually, so that page I'm not recommending--I settled that puzzle when I was 34 and don't wish to get mired down again. Seems to have an interest also in words and food. Me too.

710 What she loves about the South--especially Texas

Ambra collects a few of the things she likes about the South at her Nykola blog.

"Still I say, the South is the only place in all of America where a white person and a black person can sit down together at the same table and eat a bowl of grits. . . Sometimes I wish the South could come up North and teach classes. On the top of the docket of topics would be “How to open a door for a woman, How to say 'Ma'am' and 'Sir', How to say thank you, How to fry food, How to barbebque, How to worship God.”

In defense of the South, a region about which people generally have very few nice things to say, I’m going to re-run my list of things I love about Texas:

Chivalry

Everything’s big

Chapels in the airports

The presence of the following fast food chains: Chik-fil-A, Whataburger, Popeye’s, Sonic

White people who know how to barbeque and eat grits

Nice, friendly, and outgoing people

Christian bookstores within a 5 mile radius

Four bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2500 square ft. homes for sale at the sickeningly low price of $175,000 (you couldn’t even buy a 350 sq ft condo in Seattle for that price)

State pride.

Primetime television starts at 7:00 pm

Biscuits with everything."

Every state is different. When we moved to Columbus, Ohio from central Illinois the people and the weather seemed the same. However, during my first visit to downtown Columbus I noticed everyone smiled and said "Hello." I hadn't experienced that in Illinois, not even in much smaller towns. I'm not sure it's still that way, but it should be.

709 Lawyer was surprised

She was expecting a "vegetable," but instead Terri was sitting in her wheelchair, without tubes, making eye contact, showing understanding and expression. The lawyer, who'd never seen her before was surprised, having thought her family had perhaps been exaggerating her level of ability.

After a 45-minute visit Christmas Eve, attorney Barbara Weller concluded Schiavo was so alert that she "should have been gathered around the Christmas dinner table enjoying the holiday with her family."

Weller, along with attorney David Gibbs, took over the lead counsel role in September for Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, who are in a protracted legal battle with her husband, Michael Schiavo, to keep their daughter alive.

Full story here.

708 Woman defies belief, but not aging

A San Diego woman, Debra Scheufler, has filed a lawsuit saying she wants to make advertisers tell the truth about "age-defying" creams that don't live up to their claims. She filed a class action lawsuit in California against Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Estee Lauder for selling anti-aging creams that allegedly employ false advertising.

From the looks of this photo, she has a good case. She definitely has not been able to turn the clock back, but I’ve never heard of a single native speaker of English who thought “anti-aging” would really change her birth date. NBC San Diego story here. Maybe she has spent too much time in the sun?

Hand washing and physicians--the news isn't good

My husband has had a cold for a week, and so far, I don't have it. Mid-week I purchased some Purell antiseptic hand lotion, which air dries, leaves your hands soft and smells nice. He's carrying it around the house along with his Kleenex, Vicks, cough drops and cup of water. I follow him with a cleaner and paper towels. I'm not really a clean freak, but his colds run 7-10 days, and mine last 3 weeks.


Hand sanitizer

Here's a study from the Annals of Internal Medicine that will make you want to wipe down your doctor before s/he lays a hand on you.

"Doctors cleansed their hands 57% of the times that they should have. They cleansed hands most often when a hand-rub solution was easily available. They did not wash hands as often when they had busy workloads with many patient interactions and when they performed activities with high risks for spreading infections. These activities required cleansing hands immediately before examining patients or between examining different body sites on the same patient. Medical students and internists (internal medicine doctors) washed hands most often, whereas anesthesiologists, critical care physicians, and surgeons washed hands least often. Doctors who valued hand hygiene and considered themselves role models washed hands often."

It sort of suggests that the more money you make (older, more specialized), the less likely you are to wash your hands! This study sounds absolutely 19th century. The hand rub solutions cause fewer skin irritations and are more hygienic than soap and water scrubbing.

706 Babs on Barb

Babs, "Girl in Right," takes the blame and shame for Barbara Boxer in this funny post:

"So I admit it. I'm responsible for helping get both Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein into the Senate. I was young(ish) and busy, and thought "boy wouldn't it be great to have women Senators?". What an idiot. I've since realized that it's not important to have women Senators (doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.) unless they're good. Do you want to be on a flight piloted by a woman who got the job because they needed to fill their quota of skirts? How about a trauma patient in the ER?"

I recall all the times in the voting booth when I didn't recognize any of the names--judgeships, commissioners, etc.--so I'd pull the lever for a woman, figuring they couldn't do any worse. Last week we found out that these people, even though female, work their way up to being super-silly.

Babs is a new mommy with an adorable Russian toddler who looks a lot like John Kerry in his bunny suit.

705 Photos of the Relief Efforts at Navy Site

Sent by the American people

"Indonesian citizens are delighted as a U.S. Navy helicopter drops food, cookies and water to them at a village on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Helicopters assigned to Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) and Sailors from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are supporting Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian operation effort in the wake of the Tsunami that struck South East Asia. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Indian Ocean off the waters of Indonesia and Thailand. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jacob J. Kirk"

This site of over 19,000 photos by the Navy was pointed out by Doyle.

You can call it Operation Unified Assistance if you wish, but the box tells it all. I sure hope we don’t turn too much of this “coordination” over to the UN--there are lives to be saved.

704 College Tuition Hike

“With college costs running as high as $40,000 a year, House and Senate education committees have tuition control on their to-do lists.” Investor’s Business Daily.

“Tuitions are rising an average of seven percent to eight percent annually, at least twice as fast as overall inflation, according to the College Board, the New York-based organization best known for admissions tests like the SAT. (Only inflation in health-care costs surpasses that.)”

Well, not at Ohio State, it isn’t $40,000 a year. These writers must be planning on sending junior to Harvard or Yale. But even figuring inflation, costs are higher than when I started at Manchester College in the late 1950s. I think my costs were about $1,000 a year (and it was similar at the University of Illinois to which I transferred). That would calculate today at $6,797--and it is unlikely you could do that today, unless you lived at home and attended a regional campus. The costs at Manchester, seem to have increased much faster than a state school, coming in around $24,770 for tuition, fees, and room and board. Still, today’s college student and parent expect many more amenities and wouldn't live they way we did then.

703 A game of cats and mouse

These are the kittens of the librarian of the Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Library (what a mouthful!) at The Ohio State University.


Susan's kittens

Singing in the shower

When did I stop singing in the shower? Is it something you do only when young? Only before your soprano turns to a gravely tenor? Or is it when you forget your Russian? Yes, I used to sing folk songs about birch trees in the shower--sad songs of unrequited love, of soldiers dying, of birds flying away.

That memory was really buried deep until today when I read the following in “Birch Use in the Former Soviet Republics,” by Andriy Boyar, Agroborealis, Summer 2004 (University of Alaska, Fairbanks).

“In Central and Eastern European countries, as well as in Russian Siberia, one of these features [related to the environment] is the relationship of people to the birch tree. Birch forests are a truly distinguished characteristic of the Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian landscapes. They are of national pride. Hundreds of songs, legends and fairytales are devoted to birch. The Slavs learned to write and read using flat pieces of split birch bark when paper was unknown to them in early centuries. The beginning of spring is timed from the first appearance of birch leaves; the first spring month in the Ukraine is named Berezen, from the root word for birch.”

I had no idea that birch trees did anything other than whisper your lost love’s name in a very minor key or provide a backdrop for Soviet films. They have medicinal uses and the article includes a list of 28 ailments that birch helps, from gout to bronchitis to dandruff. The author provides relevancy for internet searches for these terms in both Russian and English and the method of using the birch product.

And birch beverages! Who knew? I think I’d heard of kvass, but didn’t know it was made from birch sap. Mr. Boyar provides a recipe in case you want to gather some birch sap this spring (I think it is more difficult than collecting maple syrup). Birch also has cosmetic uses for freckles, pimples, face masks, and oily skin. Birch branches are cleaning tools for sweeping yards and whipping the body in sauna. In rural households it is still used for lighting and heat. Ukrainians decorate with birch branches for Christian holidays and fishermen used to use it for fishing gear. Hail the amazing birch and the ingenious Slav.

There is a lot of research on the versatile birch going on in Alaska, and the previous issue of Agroborealis describes that. These files are pdf, in a nice readable format. Many libraries can catalog these free government agricultural and forestry journals for a local on-line collection so they will come up in a search. This involves staff availability, but if you request it, they may try to accommodate.

701 Today I was unprofessional

If you don't read another blog today, stop by and read "Today I was unprofessional" by Varifrank.

The room fell silent. My hindi friend then said quietly to the Euros:

"Can you let your hatred of George Bush end for just one minute? There are people dying! And what are your countries doing? Amazon.com has helped more than France has. You all have a role to play in the world, why can't you see that? Thank God for the US Navy, they dont have to come and help, but they are. They helped you once and you should all thank God they did. They didnt have to, and no one but them would have done so. I'm ashamed of you all..."

He left the room, shaking and in tears. The frustration of being on the other side of the globe, unable to do anything to assist and faced with people who could not set aside their asininity long enough to reach out and help was too much for him to bear. I just shook my head and left. The Euros stood speechless.

700 The Electoral Challenge

“Stranded on Blue islands,” Dirty Harry, a blogger who admits he is no court reporter, paraphrases DeLay at the Electoral Challenge this afternoon:

"This is a shame. This is noise not justice. This is the second day of the 109th Congress and Democrats immediately prove they've learned nothing by their loss. They've turned to the X-Files wing of the party. They're all about spite, conspiracy mongering, and stating the President himself had a secret computer to manipulate votes. This is an assault against the institution of our Democracy. The party that was once behind The New Deal, Civil Rights, Space Program now are out of ideas. Pre-election memos prove that the Democrat high command encouraged crying voter foul even if none occurred. This is a crime and not a victimless one. This is a direct attack to undermine our democracy and a constitutional election. It's likely Democrats will always cry foul even if there's no evidence in the future. Crying wolf. What happens if something actually happens? No one will listen. Democrats need to rise above this self destructive and yes, destructive behavior. They hurt the House and Senate and themselves. This petition is beneath us. Vote no, Get to the real work."

I saw only a few minutes of it on C-SPAN while visiting a woman in a nursing home. Her companion was convinced that the Saudis controlled all the voting machines in Ohio. It was best not to stay long.

699 Speaking of magazines

I don’t have a first issue of Redbook magazine to write about in my http://premiereissue.blogspot.com/ site, but I did read that it has reinvented itself as a couples magazine. It started years ago as a married woman’s magazine (with good fiction as I recall), then sort of lost its way in the 60s and 70s, and is now returning to its roots. Magazines are all about advertising, and apparently there is money in coupledom now.

According to Folio, a “redesign unveiled in February [2004] includes new sections such as Redbook Married Life and Redbook Busy Life.” A feature on marriage is promised each month, in addition to a story about marriage and sexuality. A few months back, the magazine added “My Life as a (New) Wife,” and “Love Lab,” where writers test popular romance advice to see what actually works. I’ve just checked the website, and if marriage were only about sex, this would be your magazine.

Another new magazine Conceive, the first-ever fertility magazine, was scheduled for May 2004, (although I never saw it) for the waiting rooms of OB/GYNs and a launch in September. It focuses on creating a family by whatever means it takes, including adoption. You won’t believe the web page--when you click on the egg (to enter the site) a little sperm dives in!

If magazines are truly all about advertising and they show trends, I wonder if this renewed interest in marriage and family might be an area for churches to consider--a route to evangelize. Our church has about 10 Sunday services, but I can’t recall a sermon on marriage. I suppose it might offend the divorced, widowed, or single people. But if there is a minivan in a woman’s future, she might be thinking of eternal security too. Having children is what got me thinking about God’s miracles.

Incidentally, if you’ve found this blog entry because you googled the words “sex” and/or “sperm,” just move on. Sorry to disappoint you, but this site’s not for you.

698 My New Yorker Subscription

The label says 15APR1805 which I hope is gobble-de-gook for sometime in mid-April this slip shod, yellow rag will stop coming through the mail slot. Several days ago a nice young man who is paid to invite me to re-up called and offered me another special. I told him "No, the magazine is an insult to anyone who isn't a left wing New Yorker," and should I go on. He sort of chuckled. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to give him an earful. He invited me to vent because, he said, they are supposed to get the subscribers' opinions.

It's not like I'd never read this magazine before subscribing. During the 90s, a friend passed hers along to me, and then I'd donate it to the Friends of the Library sale, so it had been recycled a few times before going to the dump. Now it goes direct--no stopping at the sale. I don't know what happened in the three years I didn't read it, but it is really worthless--unless you live in New York, donate to Move On Dot Org and read The Daily Kos for balanced and fair politics.

I'm only on page 8 of the January 10, 2005 issue. There is a cartoon of a little boy--maybe about 8 or 9--standing in front of a Mr. Milquetoast, WASPish type Dad, sitting in your basic suburban living room--lounge chair, end table with books, floor lamp, pictures on the wall, arched doorway, carpeted stairs to second floor, front door with privacy glass--you know the drill. Screams middleclass. The disgruntled kid looks at the floor and growls, "Unfortunately, the urine test counted for half of the grade." Whoopee. Now isn't that hilarious. Only in New York(er).

697 Andy Geiger to resign as OSU athletic director

He says it just isn't fun any more--the last two years, particularly those spent with Maurice Clarett's antics, have been full of problems.

I know just how you feel, Andy. My last year at work wasn't fun anymore, so I decided to retire. Every day was the same--regular meetings, ad hoc meetings, task force meetings, building committee meetings, lunch meetings, breakfast meetings, search committee meetings, skills upgrade meetings, sensitivity training meetings and appointments with the doctor. Get out with your dignity, Andy.

Mr. Geiger and I could possibly be related, I suppose. I have seen him in the coffee shop, but thought bringing up genealogy to a total stranger might be pushy. Martin Weybright III married Mary Elizabeth Geiger back in the 1780s. Their son Jacob was my great, great grandfather. Martin III and Jacob were both born in the Lancaster, PA area, as was Mary Elizabeth, but pioneered in Montgomery County, Ohio area in the early 19th century. All were members of the Brethren (now Church of the Brethren).

696 How to really help the Tsunami victims

Maimonides, the medieval Jewish sage wrote that the highest of the eight levels of charity was strengthening the name or hand of the poor brother or person with a loan or going into business with him because then his dignity is preserved and he isn’t beholden to you. Dr. Meir Tamari writes on this topic at My Jewish Learning.

Today’s WSJ opinion page has an article and an eye-popping chart about how tariffs discriminate against third world countries. Sri Lanka, one of the hardest hit by the tsunami, was paying $249.2 million (mostly garment industry), but the Scandanavian countries with 12 times more exports to the USA paid only 227 million.

The duty rate on products from “rich” European countries is about 1% while the average rate on Sri Lankan goods is over 16%, according to this editorial. The author suggests that when Bill Frist gets back home, he bring up the idea that the best aid may be “strengthening the hand” rather than providing more gifts and aid.

695 Do banks send e-mail?

One of my e-mail addresses--from OSU--is nothing but a spam dump (don't ever use my bruce dot six address). I must get 30-40 spam a day. I missed a message from my bookclub last week because I was slogging my way through 3,000 spam + 10 messages using delete and probably missed it. Because the OSU e-mail address was used with so many listservs, and they are archived on the internet (isn't it wonderful to be able to go back and read the off hand, stupid remarks you made in 1996?), that address is easy pickens. Other universities have managed to corral that problem, but not OSU.

Yesterday there was an "e-mail" from "my" bank, so of course I deleted it without opening. Maddie Dog has a warning posted at the blog Where's your Brain:

"WARNING: I see that people are still clicking on email links that appear to be from banks or the like. DON'T do it! No bank will ever tell you to click their links in an email and submit passwords or user names. If in doubt, open a new browser and go to your bank directly. Delete all such emails no matter how official they may look!"

694 Thanks, but no thanks

I'll drink the glass of red wine occasionally to help my heart, but don't ask me to eat Indian cuisine for my memory.

"The pigment that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the "plaques" that mark the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, early research suggests."

Pejman refers us to this article on promising research.

693 Buckeyes on Parade

"The Ohio State University Marching Band has been invited to officially represent the state of Ohio in the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Parade for President George W. Bush on Jan. 20, and will perform "Beautiful Ohio" as it passes the reviewing stand. The trip marks the band's fourth Presidential Inaugural Parade appearance. The group also was selected to march in the 2001 parade that celebrated President Bush's first inauguration.

"We are very excited about returning to Washington, D.C., to march in the parade," said Jon Woods, marching band director. "We consider it an honor to be selected. It is a privilege to play for the President of the United States and to represent the state of Ohio."

The Ohio State Marching Band is the world's largest all-brass and percussion marching band. The band is known for its precision marching and military-style uniforms. It is composed of 225 playing members and a drum major. In addition to "Beautiful Ohio," the band will play "Across the Field," "I Wanna Go Back to Ohio State" and "The Buckeye Battle Cry." "

Story from OSU Today.

692 Photo Op

If this were a photo of the President on the flight deck, oh what a controversy we would have.

Seen at "Best of the Web."

Colds and flu and other viruses

A story in the paper yesterday listed a T/F quiz about what to do if a co-worker showed up at work to share your office and work station with a bad cold. First correct answer was wash your hands frequently; second was report it to your supervisor. Homicide was the wrong response.

At the Veterinary library our materials were on occasion returned with blood, guts, semen and vomit, and almost always human viruses. We really weren't in that much danger from the zoonotics, but a sick patron could infect and reinfect my staff. We had a roll of paper towels and cleaner handy, and a box of kleenex for patrons at the circ desk. Viruses can live a long time on hard surfaces like counter tops, door handles, and books returned with fingers that just swiped a runny nose. When kids are going into debt for higher education, they don't stay home to nurse a cold. Even if you have to buy these supplies out of your own pocket, it is worth it.

Viruses can live up to 48 hours on surfaces, but it might be a week before you show any symptoms, so just wash your hands frequently anyway. Carry "Wet Ones" or other wipes with you, or if you work in a library or office, hand them out to your staff to use when they can't get to a wash room.

"Passing the Peace" at church is also a problem. Carry some hand wipes in your purse or pocket, rather than worry that you've touched the hand that touched the hand that touched the door knob, etc. My husband is an usher and he's going to suggest to his team leader that they pass them out with the bulletins or at least have them available for people who want them.

Is it a cold or flu; airborne or surface; here's the scoop.

690 Pugovitsa, pugovitsa

My mother and grandmother both had button tins. When I got married and had nary a button to my name, I ordered from the Sears catalog a package of miscellaneous buttons. Such a deal. When they arrived, I was quite excited anticipating all the repair and mending I could do (not something today's bride would think about). Most of them I still have, although a few were used over the years for various sewing projects, rarely for replacement because bright pink, flat ovals or yellow duckies don't work well on most shirts and blouses.

After Dad died in 2002, I found Mother's button tin and brought it home. He had disposed of so much after her death in 2000, I was surprised he saved it, except perhaps he too thought no home should be without old buttons. I'll never use them, but enjoyed looking through and thinking about her using them (and some were my grandmother's, I think).


Many older style buttons are made from shells from the sea. Therefore, I thought this poem by the new poet laureate, Ted Kooser, is just the most imaginative and delightful way to think about buttons collected for reuse and the "sea of mending."

[from Poetry Daily]
A Jar of Buttons
This is a core sample
from the floor of the Sea of Mending,

a cylinder packed with shells
that over many years

sank through fathoms of shirts —
pearl buttons, blue buttons —

and settled together
beneath waves of perseverance,

an ocean upon which
generations of women set forth,

under the sails of gingham curtains,
and, seated side by side

on decks sometimes salted by tears,
made small but important repairs.

689 What resolutions have you kept?

Sure, I'm resolving to lose the extra weight; to keep the counters clean; to attend all the classes that looked good in December for 2005. But I can look back on the year (forgotten which one) I made two resolutions, and have kept them both. I think it was about 25+ years ago.

I realized I was wasting 20-30 minutes a day looking for my keys. I resolved to always put my keys in the same zippered pocket of my purse instead of dropping them into the black hole (my children were small so the purse was large). I was losing 10,950 minutes a year--almost 183 hours! Just looking for my keys (numerous times during the day). That resolution has added 6 months to my life so far.

That same year I also resolved to stop biting my fingernails. That took a bit of effort, but I did it, and eventually over the years, they even returned to a normal shape. Also, it is just plain disgusting to watch, and now I'm like a reformed drinker or smoker and want to slap the hand away from the face when I see someone cannibalizing their fingers.

Nail Update: Right after keying this, I must have smacked the keyboard with too much pride and satisfaction, because the middle-finger, left hand nail split and broke off. However, experience has taught me to always have a nail file near by, so I wasn't even tempted to nibble.

688 State of Fear--it's fiction, or is it?

"Michael Crichton is well known for his techno-thrillers The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, plus more than a dozen other novels and non-fiction works. State of Fear (HarperCollins, 603 pages, $27.95) is a little different. While constructed as a novel, it is also a guide to environmental issues and their advocates, principally the problem of climate change. It carries a message about global warming and will certainly have an important impact on the ongoing policy debate."

The message is, global warming isn’t happening.

“The scientific evidence is well presented, with numerous graphs and references, but more can be said. The climate has never been constant -- always either warming or cooling on all time scales (year-to-year, decadal, millennial, and over millions of years) -- independent of any human influence. While the observed pre-1940 warming is real and mostly natural (a recovery from the preceding Little Ice Age that terminated around 1850), the cooling from 1940 to 1975 is certainly not a greenhouse effect. The warming data reported during the past twenty-five years from surface stations (almost all of them on land) are likely contaminated by urban heat effects; we don't see such warming in the atmospheric record of weather balloons or from weather satellites that cover the whole globe on a regular basis (including the 70% covered by oceans). At most, human greenhouse effects would lead to a temperature rise by 2100 of a measly 0.8 degrees C.”

Review and comments here.

Opinion Journal: "State of Fear is, in a sense, the novelization of a speech that Mr. Crichton delivered in September 2003 at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. He argued there that environmentalism is essentially a religion, a belief-system based on faith, not fact. To make this point, the novel weaves real scientific data and all too real political machinations into the twists and turns of its gripping story."

To no one's surprise, WaPo does not provide a positive review, instead picks at nits: "As for the footnotes and other impedimenta, now and then the author wields them arrestingly. He assembles graphs of temperature trends to show that while big U.S. cities have been getting warmer over the past seven decades, smaller ones -- Albany, N.Y.; Charleston, S.C.; and Boulder, Colo. -- have either stayed the same or cooled off some. This should be no surprise, we are told, considering that big cities are heat traps." Read it here.

687 UN still lagging in relief for Tsunami victims

Diplomad is a career foreign service officer who blogs under a pseudonym. On day 9 of the disaster s/he writes:

"In this part of the tsunami-wrecked Far Abroad, the UN is still nowhere to be seen where it counts, i.e., feeding and helping victims. The relief effort continues to be a US-Australia effort, with Singapore now in and coordinating closely with the US and Australia. Other countries are also signing up to be part of the US-Australia effort. Nobody wants to be "coordinated" by the UN. The local UN reps are getting desperate. They're calling for yet another meeting this afternoon--" Read the full account(s) here. World Food Program has finally arrived with an assessment team. Doesn't this sound like committees and task forces you've been on at work? Assess, deny, die.

Diplomad goes on to say this is absolutely no joke: "The team has spent the day and will likely spend a few more setting up their "coordination and opcenter" at a local five-star hotel. And their number one concern, even before phones, fax and copy machines? Arranging for the hotel to provide 24hr catering service. USAID folks already are cracking jokes about 'The UN Sheraton.' "

This is really sickening. Worse than the tourists who returned to the beaches while bodies were still rotting. At least they were already on vacation--not planning one at the expense of the victims.

Compare that story to the one Amit has to tell--about neighbor helping neighbor, Muslim helping Hindu, a couple giving up their wedding feast to feed the victims. It is a wonderful story.

686 When in the course of human events. . .

There is a renewed interest in the Declaration of Independence because of the movie, National Treasure. There is a website where you can sign your name to the Declaration of Independence. You select the type of printer, the type of quill, insert your name, and then you are warned that by doing so you are a rebel against the King of England and given the opportunity to withdraw your signature! Go here to sign and print your own copy.

685 The value of a human life

“Consider that there are nearly 121 million people living in low lying areas within 4km of the shoreline of the Indian Ocean. According to TAOS/MIDGARD model projections made late on the 26th, 18 million people live in the tsunami impact area. Assuming a 5% casualty rate, that’s 900,000 injured in some way (probably 250k seriously). Assuming a 1 in seven fatality rate, that’s 128 thousand dead. I hope and pray it’s not that high, but it’s a realistic possibility.” Satellite photos here, at a site by Chuck Watson, many photos obscured now by smoke.

I have two suggestions.
1) People who think unearthing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in mass political graves was not cause enough to go after Saddam, need to peer into the mass graves caused by the December Tsunami and ask themselves if they could have stopped Nature’s forces, would they have done it? Is a dead Iraqi mother or child not of the same worth to God and humankind as a dead Sumatran or dead Sri Lankan? Is the force of the ocean somehow make their deaths more tragic and worthy of aid than death by poison or gun by a madman?

2) Shouldn’t we ask those European (Germans, French, Swedes), Russian and Chinese diplomats and business men who stole 20 billion from the Food for Oil program and then pointed fingers at us as "warmongers" to return it to the United Nations so it can be used for disaster relief? Instead of pointing fingers at “stingy” western countries who’ve completely lost faith in the UN to organize anything remotely resembling “relief,” they need to review their own behavior in response to man made tragedies. Their names are on a list. We actually know who they are. Have those individuals donated one krona, mark or rouble out of their own dirty pockets of wealth?

Who on this newspaper staff was asking this question in Iraq when graves were uncovered? "Faith in God is sure to be shaken by the disaster, admits the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. "Every single accidental death is something that should upset a faith bound up with comfort and ready answers," he writes in today's Sunday Telegraph. "Faced with the paralysing magnitude of a disaster like this, we naturally feel outraged and also deeply helpless. The question 'How can you believe in a God who permits suffering on this scale' is very much around, and it would be wrong if it weren't. Religious believers don't see prayer as a plea for magical solutions that will make the world safe for them and others. The reaction of faith should always be one of passionate engagement with the lives that are left, a response that asks not for understanding but for ways of changing the situation in whatever ways are open to us." The Independent (01-02-05).

684 New Link on my List

Most of the bloggers I link to, I've never met in person. Many are librarians, many are writers, many are Christians. Some are all three. I am adding "Siouxlander" who is a Professor of English and a writer and a Christian. I've written about him before, and have actually seen him, having attended a presentation he gave in April at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. At that time, I wrote:

"James Calvin Schaap (pronounced SKOP) was chosen because I got lost and couldn’t find the presentation I had marked. (Lovely campus; horrible signage) What a wonderful serendipity. He is a professor of English at Dordt College in Iowa and explained how he used ideas from his career as a journalist to be fleshed out in his fiction. If you are homesick for Iowa (or any of those flatter Midwestern states) we were treated to a 12 minute CD of his photography called “Chasing the Dawn; a Meditation,” which I think is available through Dordt College Press.

Notes for writers: “Great stories are in your neighborhood--use experience and imagination.” Notes about life: He is currently writing a book about Laotian Christians, relocated in the USA. Working through a translator, he interviewed a Laotian woman about her job in an Iowa meat packing plant, a job he thought too terrible to even imagine. She told him she loved her job because, “In Thailand I had to butcher the entire cow.”

I quoted him again at my other, other blog, Church of the Acronym for his comments on Christian fiction, an essay that was on his department homepage. Now he has started his own blog, and if you enjoy Ariel (AJ), I think you'll like Jim.

683 Who in the world is Orlando Bloom?

Happy New Year. Let's begin with trivia. Who is Orlando Bloom?
Today I visited the Google Year End Search patterns, trends, and surprises page. George W. Bush was the top political search (John Kerry didn’t make the top ten). However, I don’t put much faith in this because Orlando Bloom was #8 in most popular queries and #1 in most popular men. I’d never heard of him--and maybe a lot of other people hadn’t either, so they’ll be Googling his name all week, which will keep him on the list for 2005. So I peeked. Yes, I clicked on his name. I’ve never seen this man. Who is he? How important can he be if this blogger has never blogged about or searched for "Orlando Bloom?"

682 Nebraskan chosen Poet Laureate

Next to my own family, I've known Nelson (Tom) longer than just about anyone else on my Christmas card list. We used to ride our tricycles around the block together, and had our photo taken together at graduation for the school yearbook. His Christmas letter this year mentioned that 26 years ago he asked a friend, a local poet, to write a wedding poem for him and bride Kathy (a librarian). Now that friend, Ted Kooser, has been appointed Poet Laureate of the United States. I'd say Nelson had a good sense for poetry (he is a philosopher) to recognize this man's talent a quarter a century ago. Library of Congress announcement here.

The Washington Post article states: "Kooser, says former poet laureate Billy Collins, "is a poet who has deserved to be better known. This appointment will at least take care of that problem."

Collins says Kooser is distinguished from the rank and file by two things. First, Kooser has spent most of his life in the corporate world. "I won't be the first or the last to compare him to Wallace Stevens," says Collins, referring to the sublime Connecticut poet who was also an insurance executive.

And Kooser is from the Midwest. Collins suggests that Kooser's appointment is "an intentional pick." He says, "The middle section of the country needed greater poetic representation."

Kooser, he adds, "is a thoroughly American poet laureate."

Enjoy Ted Kooser's poetry here  Ted Kooser | Poems.

Most Disgusting Story of 2004

The worst story I've heard this year was on the last day and I heard it on the radio this morning--tourists have returned to the beaches in the area where thousands have died from the tsunami on December 26. So, maybe their tickets won't be up for awhile, or they've paid for the hotel room. How about putting on some rubber gloves and helping with the clean up? Money. Sometimes it rots brains and metastacizes to their hearts.

Checked it out when I got home. Yes, it's here and here.

680 Beautiful winter scenes

If you live in central or northern Ohio or Indiana, you've probably seen more snow this past week than you care to. Anvilcloud, a retired Canadian teacher who has been taking a Christmas break in the country, has posted some lovely winter photographs on his blog.

679 Dear Preferred Former Member

Considering the letter I sent them some years ago, I'm really surprised they want me back. It was a "record club," although I guess that is a cd club now. I'm old enough to remember vinyl. But here's what I told them:

Please discontinue my membership for the following reasons:

Your mailings are omnipresent, never-ending, stuffed with things I'm not interested in. If I'm interested in music why assume I want new checks, skin care products and Disney junk?

Your bills are confusing, hard to read, and difficult to find in the envelope.

The due date is so small and hard to find in the mailings, one needs a magnifying glass. If it is a good service/product there is no need to trick the unwary and careless into buying it.

The offers are monotonous. Although I expressed an interest in a type of music, "Christian," that is all I hear about and they all sound the same--like boy bands.

Your shipping charges are so high that after having ordered only 2 disks and 2 tapes, I owe $31.46. That is no bargain. I can do better at Kroger's.

Thank you for removing me immediately as a member of whatever it is this company is called. You may keep my free points and the free subscription bonuses--they are too expensive to cash in.

As I said, why would they want me back? Why would I rejoin? This letter is from the "Office of the President." He says he's serious about wanting me back. Wants me to test the music at his website. 100,000 sound samples. 12 CDs for the price of 1. Sure, sure. Tell me another story. And how did they find me? I've moved since I took this scam the last time.

678 An expensive vote count

The recount bill is in--$1,500,000 for the Democrats to gain 300 votes. $5,000 per vote we Ohio taxpayers have shelled out. Story here.

Captain Ed comments: “That certainly proved a productive use of Ohio's resources. The Secretary of State estimated that Ohio's taxpayers will eat about $1.5 million for the complete recount, far outpacing the $113,000 the Greens and Libertarians paid for the effort. When that money isn't available for more voting machines or a few workers get laid off because of the budget crunch, perhaps Buckeye State voters will remember that this useless bill was brought to them by the Democrats and fringe parties.”

677 Insurers to Natural Disasters--"Stop It!"

``The terrible effects spreading all around the Indian Ocean and reaching as far as the Horn of Africa are a further reminder of the global threat from natural catastrophes,'' executive board member Stefan Heyd wrote in Munich Re's annual disaster report.

"They underline our long-standing demand for prompt and rigorous measures against global climate change. After the disappointing outcome of the recent climate summit in Buenos Aires, time is running out." Reuters Story here.

2004 will be the second most expensive disaster year for insurers, second to 1995 which had the devastating Kobe earthquake.

And how about that Jan Egeland of Norway who first called the US stingy in its response and now is backtracking. I personally wouldn't give a nickel to the United Nations after the way it misused the oil for food program. Find a good church agency like Mennonite Central Committee or Lutheran World Relief that has low overhead and a small administrative staff and put your relief money there.

676 Fetus starts kindergarten?

The St. Louis Post Dispatch is still calling that baby girl Stinnet who was removed from her dead mother's womb a "fetus" two weeks after she was brutally "born." I can see the headline when five years from now this precious little one starts school. Past, present, future. A human being.

675 Christmas Surprise

Of course, gifts should be a surprise, but when you make lists and check them twice, you sort of know. However, my husband surprised me BIG with a lovely painting of my mother working in her garden, a scene that everyone in the family remembers so well. Her motto was, "I can't change the world, but I can change four acres," and her family farm property looked like a well kept park. This format is too small to see how lovely this painting is, but even though her face is hidden by the sun hat, I'd know this lady anywhere.


My Office

674 Celebrating with Baby Jesus in many shapes and sizes and nationalities

The list of nativities and creches ran to over 20 pages as we toured yesterday the 19th century home of Donna and David, friends of ours from church. Providing four viewing times on three days near Christmas, they helped us enjoy their wonderful collection with personal reflections on the history, collectibility, value and meaning of each piece and set. They ranged from 19th century Russian paintings to carved wood from the Philippines, metal from India, ceramic from Peru, and porcelain from Hallmark. From kitschy-tourist trinkets to handmade by their children, to valuable sets by known contemporary designers and craftspeople, each piece is loved and receives pride of place in windows, walls, chimney columns, corner cupboards, tables, buffets, refrigerator, and doorways. Some of the most loved and precious were those played with or selected by their daughter who died 8 years ago in an auto accident. Glancing through the cataloged list I see:

• Holy Family by Josef Ammann, wrought iron, 1998, purchased in Erfuhrt, Germany, July 2002.
  
• Nativity Figures by Kim Laurence, Christmas present for David, 1999.
  
• Papier mache and plastic, hand painted Fontinini. Italian. Gift from Donna's mother, 1974.
  
• Painting with cactus needle, Elvis Castillo, Mexico. Purchased in San Antonio, 2003.
  
• Straw Madonna Plaque, East Germany. Purchased York, England, 1989.
  
• Precious Moments, Cloth. Lil's Hallmark, 1986.
  
• Neapolitan Santons, Chalkware. Naples.
  
• Sarcophagus relief from Catacombs in Rome reproduction. Vatican Museum Shop, Rome 2003.
  
• Italian Crucifix, wood, 18th century. Colorado Springs, 1970.
  
• Miniature Pewter, Spoonbill Pewterers, Massachusetts. Purchased from Columbus Cancer Clinic Shop, 1987.
  
• Baby Jesus, redware, Ann Entis. A show of hands. 1988.
  
• Nativity plaque, enameled brass. Israel. 1987.
  
• Wire in Goose egg, Slovakia. FOTC convention, 2003.
  
• Holy Family Figurine, Christopher Radko, 2004. Curio Cabinet, 2004.
  
• Peaceable Kingdom Christmas Plate 1989, Edna Hibel. Gallery Art Center, 1991.
  
• Linen needlework, early 16th century in 19th century frame.
  
• Nativity figures, Kenyan soapstone. Imported by 10000 Villages, 2004.
  
• Peanuts Holy Family, Hallmark, 2001.
  
• Flight into Egypt, Peru, Ceramic. Augsburg, 1993.

And hundreds more. But each set and piece announced the first coming of Jesus in its own unique way. After the tour and our hosts' comments we gathered around Donna's kitchen table for wonderful homemade refreshments and memories appropriate for the season--and even the kitchen window spaces were filled with scenes of that first Christmas.

673 Christmas for new Christians

According to my FamilyTreeMaker genealogy software, we are step-relatives, but I've only seen him once--at the wedding that put us in the same database. However, I do know that this year Christmas has a whole new meaning for him and his family. And for others refreshed, renewed, or newly aware.

James Davis, Religion Editor of the Sun-Sentinel (Florida) had a unique Christmas story to share for the Christmas issue, "A Newly Found Faith," stories about new Christians and how Christmas this year was going to be different. Instead of "Giftmas" or parties until they dropped, or an occasion for huge family get-togethers, this year it was going to be about Jesus Christ.

Story tip from Terry Mattingly at GetReligion. This site is not always kind to Christians (covers all faiths), but has had good coverage of the "Christmas culture wars," even the accusations that the stories we hear amount to summer "shark attacks" news stories--i.e. overblown.

Looking forward to 2005

Karol has had a really, really bad year, and is looking forward to things getting better in 2005. She writes very movingly, particularly about her grandmother's death. Read the whole essay here.

671 Christmas--the Word

The disappearance not only of nativity scenes and wise men but even the mention of the word "Christmas" has been quite a story this year. I saw a news item about a pastor (in Atlanta?) who was telling his flock not to buy at stores unless the word "Christmas" was mentioned in the promotions. It is sort of an odd backlash for Christians, who for years have been telling each other that Christmas is way too commercialized and losing its meaning. There is an old tradition of Christians attempting to put the skids on the commercializing of the holiday.

Mark Roberts writes: "My own theological ancestors, the Reformed Puritans of Britain, attempted to get rid, not only of Christmas carols, but also of Christmas itself. They attempted to “purify” the church of both secular and Roman Catholic elements. When they were in power in Britain in the middle of the 17th century, the Puritans actually succeeded in making the celebration of Christmas illegal. No carols, no fun, no Christmas! The earliest Europeans in America, coming from English Puritan stock, did not celebrate Christmas, and in fact made a point of not doing so. In fairness to these folk, however, we should understand that the secular and pagan celebrations of Christmas were often filled with drunken excess, rather more like Mardi Gras in New Orleans than most secular Christmas celebrations today (except, perhaps, for office parties run amuck)."

Little did we know that the valiant and ever ready ACLU would help us with that problem by taking the holiday away from us! However, I saw a story in the Washington Post, "Money Is Not Enough at Christmas; Many Filipino Immigrants Ship Presents Overseas," By Phuong Ly, Washington Post Staff Writer, on Friday, December 24, 2004; Page B05, in which "Christmas" the word is in the headline, and used 5 or 6 times in the story. The writer may not chose the headline, but it could be that WaPo watches the news too. Anyway, I wrote Ly expressing my appreciation for the acknowledgement of the reason we have this celebration each December.

670 Kittens

Fatboy Slim in three and a bit minutes performed by kittens!
Via MonkeyFilter

Can't decide if I like this. Opinions?