Outwit, Outplay, Outvox

L'Shana Tova

2005-10-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

Mom is responsible for this one:

"Just in time for the new fall TV Season CBS is
releasing a new reality series called JEWISH SURVIVOR.

16 Jews are put in a two-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side of New
York. Each week they vote out one member until there is a final
survivor who gets $1 million (but placed into a trust that does not
vest until age 59).

The Rules:
1. No maid service.
2. No use of ATMs or credit cards.
3. No food from take-out or delivery which includes
Chinese food.
4. All purchases must be at retail prices.
5. No calls to mother for women, office for men.
6. Outside trips must be by foot, bus or subway. NO
limos or cabs.
7. All workouts/exercise must be done in regular
sweats -- no designer labels.
8. Zabars is off limits.
9. No Jewish geography.
10. No NY Times. Only NY Post or NY Daily News.
11 No Pottery Barn, J. Crew, Lands End or William
Sonoma catalogs
12. Only one phoneline for all 16 Tribe members. No
call can last more than 3 minutes. No cell phones.
13. Maintenance problems must be resolved by the
Tribe, without help from any gentile or super.
14. All therapy sessions suspended.
15. No consulting with attorneys.
16. No whitefish, lox, or bagels.
17. No antacids of any kind.

There have been no applicants yet."

MIA

2005-10-11T23:04:00.000-04:00

There has been a shameful lack of posts lately, due to real life, working for the establishment, and other various factors. But there are two new campus blogs to highlight:

The Agenda Gap, written by Mike Herman '07 and Adam Shpeen '07, provides thoughtful, witty commentary on a variety of subjects.

Vox in Sox, written by Andrew Seal '07 (of LTBH) expands upon his posts there and adds some valuable campus media coverage.

New York State of Mind

2005-10-02T12:49:00.000-04:00

In today's political themed NYT Magazine, John Tierney and Chris Buckley (whose famous father is profiled in the same issue), report on a random poll of New Yorkers that examines everything from what Bill Clinton should do now to good topics of dinner table conversation.

Best statistics: " Still, most New Yorkers don't let politics interfere with love. More than half of Democrats polled said they would date and even marry a Republican. A whopping two-thirds of Republicans said they would date a Democrat, though this may be evidence less of open-mindedness than of desperation."

Warning: Self-Promotion

2005-09-30T12:44:00.000-04:00

Perks of working for The D: Publishing yourself whenever you want

Observance without Consequence

Race in America - and At Dartmouth

2005-09-29T09:11:00.000-04:00

David Brook's "The Way We Live Now" series is the NYT's latest examination of race in America.
What is interesting is the discussion of Dartmouth blitz patterns in the second article.

"Bruce Sacerdote and David Marmaros recently did a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research trying to figure out how powerful these clusterings really are, and how friendships form.

They tracked the e-mail exchanges of a group of Dartmouth student to see who was e-mailing whom, and took that as a proxy for social contact. Not surprisingly, they found race matters. Black students send 44 percent of their e-mails to other black students, even though blacks make up only seven percent of the student body.

On the other hand, race is no more powerful than other interests. Athletes exchanged 52 percent of their e-mails with other athletes. Football players exchanged 30 percent of their e-mails with other football players, even though only 2 percent of the students fall into that category.

Students with similar SAT scores e-mail each other more frequently than students with dissimilar SAT scores, but the difference is modest."

Dartmouth Undergoing Maintainance?

2005-09-15T11:39:00.000-04:00

Error Message on Facebook this morning:

"Your school is temporarily down for maintenance. It should be available again within a few hours. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Crazy Brits

2005-09-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

While I'm not actively posting, this story is too outrageous to ignore.
Ha'aretz reports that

"Advisers appointed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair are proposing that Britain get rid of Holocaust Memorial Day because Muslims find it offensive, the British Sunday Times has reported.

The proposals - which provoked a backlash from British Jewish leaders - aim to replace Holocaust Memorial Day with a Genocide Day that would include recognition of Muslim deaths in the West Bank and Gaza, Chechnya and Bosnia, the Times said.".

While the idea of a day that remembers all genocide is a good one, it should not come at the expense of Holocaust remembrance efforts. Also, the arguments that Muslims find such a day offensive and that the events in the West Bank and Gaza are akin to the Holocaust are upsetting, to say the least.

For more discussion, see the Volokh Conspiracy.

Even Bloggers Take A Vacation

2005-09-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

Whether it is due to the lack of good internet access when I'm away from campus, my general laziness, or the fact that without the D I have nothing to write about, the blog has been quiet lately. This trend will probably continue until I get back to campus. Till then, anyone missing their daily dose of unintended media humor should go read the Review.

Killing the Illusion

2005-08-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

CNN kills off Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and Bigfoot, metaphorically at least, with the headline "Writers sue over reality show conditions".

Not that the presence of writers on reality shows should really be news to anyone. But apparently FOX has violated CA labor laws about overtime, wages, and meal breaks.

Survivor: Writing Room, anyone?

Somebody tell S&S

2005-08-22T19:49:00.000-04:00

Dartmouth, alas, did not make the Princeton Review's list of Top Party Schools

The list is:
"1. University of Wisconsin-Madison
2. Ohio University-Athens
3. Lehigh University
4. University of California-Santa Barbara
5. State University of New York at Albany
6. Indiana University-Bloomington
7. University of Mississippi
8. University of Iowa
9. University of Massachusetts-Amherst
10. Loyola University New Orleans
11. Tulane University
12. University of Georgia
13. Penn State University
14. West Virginia University
15. The University of Texas-Austin
16. University of Tennessee-Knoxville
17. University of New Hampshire
18. University of Florida
19. Louisiana State University
20. University of Maryland-College Park"

DMS in the NYT

2005-08-22T09:33:00.000-04:00

Three DMS professors, Steven Woloshin, Lisa Schwartz and H. Gilbert Welch have an Op-Ed in the NYT today, "Warned but Worse Off," arguing about the problems with CT scans for lung cancer.

Money Quote

2005-08-19T19:16:00.000-04:00

From Ricky Gervais in a NYT article, "The 'Office'Manager's New Career"

"I don't know," says Mr. Gervais (pronounced jer-VAZE). "I suppose I grew up wishing I was an American Jew for the comedy and the one-liners. 'The Sunshine Boys' is one of my favorite films And maybe a bit of liberation, knowing that if I said it in American people would know what I meant. So I was trying on my language skills."

The Call of God

2005-08-14T21:55:00.000-04:00

Mormon takes prophet's call, spurns Harvard for Idaho .

The Dean of Harvard's Business School just left Harvard to go head BYU-Idaho. Talk about religious devotion...

Grandma was Right

2005-08-13T17:59:00.000-04:00

Marrying a Jewish doctor may not be such a bad idea after all. According to the NYT, Research Scientist Gives $105 Million to N.Y.U. NYU professor and Remicade creator Dr. Jan T. Vilcek and his wife have given the NYC medical school one of the 4 or 5 largest donations ever made to a medical school or hospital in NYC. What mensches.

Tuck Bridge Student Missing

2005-08-12T11:56:00.000-04:00

The Dartmouth Online reports that a non-Dartmouth participant in the Tuck Business Bridge program was reported missing in the CT river this morning. The search for the student is on-going.

Condolences to the students' family and friends, and to any members of the Tuck or Dartmouth community who are affected.

So I'm a Little Over 18...

2005-08-11T09:23:00.000-04:00

David Brooks' advice in today's Op-Ed, All Cultures Are Not Equals, still applies.

Specifically:
"If you are 18 and you've got that big brain, the whole field of cultural geography is waiting for you."

The Stones Take On the NeoCons

2005-08-10T20:56:00.000-04:00

Apparently the Rolling Stones are including an anti-Bush song on their new album, "A Bigger Bang." Reuters.com reports that the song is called "Sweet Neo Con," and contains the following lyrics:

"You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of s---,"

And here I thought that "Con" stood for "Conservative" and "Neo" stood for "Jewish"...

Bursting the Bubble

2005-08-10T20:35:00.000-04:00

From Slate, a must-read for the fashionista (or Fashion victim)

The Denim Bubble - Is the $300-jeans market about to crash? By Michelle Leder

Politics and Campus

2005-08-08T17:23:00.000-04:00

Joe's Dartblog derisively references the "Gendered Intersections" conference on Gender, Judaism, and Islam that Dartmouth is hosting right now as an example of how universities are nothing but liberal-funded think tanks. While I think this devalues an important conference tht is being organized by a respected professor, Susanna Heschel, and that draws on two under-appreciated departments, Religion and Jewish Studies, I'd also argue that the participants are fully aware of the political nature of campus culture and how it can influence debate. One of tomorrow's plenary sessions is entitled ""Feminism, Judaic and Islamic Studies in the Politicized American University."

Here's the relevant info:

Plenary Session III Tuesday at 4 PM - Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall

Feminist, Judaic and Islamic Studies in the Politicized American University

David Burrell, University of Notre Dame
Marianne Hirsch, Columbia University
Lena Saleymeh, University of California at Berkeley

Worst Line in Sunday's Times

2005-08-07T21:29:00.000-04:00

This week the honor goes to the closing sentence of Warren St. John's profile of party promotoer Marc Biron, And Some Must Party On :

Mr. St. John writes:

"Mr. Biron looked forlornly at the empty bottle of Absolut, and then at his watch. Four a.m. was bearing down on him like an out of control New York City garbage truck. He grabbed his blue blazer. It was time for bed."

Somebody kick this guy out of the club.

Saving Me the Trouble

2005-08-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

No need for me to respond to Iden Sinai's simplistic op-ed in The D today, "When Feminism Goes Too Far," or to give Malchow the satisfaction of an "o so eloquent response." Andrew Seal has an intelligent and thorough response on LGB: "When Iden Sinai Goes Far Too Far"

You Are Not What You Wear

2005-08-02T23:36:00.000-04:00

In WaPo, Natasha Warikoo explores the "waistland" of teenage culture, and how what students wear is interpreted both by their peers and their elders. The article, despite its pun-filled title, "In a Teenage Waistland, Fitting In", is worth looking at.

I wonder what Ms. Warikoo would have to say about the fashions (or lack there of) at Dartmouth...

On Profanity

2005-08-02T21:19:00.000-04:00

Apparently I'm not the only one discussing vulgarity today.

Eugene Volokh posts on The Volokh Conspirary in response to NYT Style Section article, "Longing For a Cuss-Free Zone"

More Shameless Self-Promotion

2005-08-02T21:11:00.000-04:00

My latest, fluffy Op-Ed in The D: Missing the Punchline.
This is what happens when I have a deadline after Parents Weekend.

On a related note: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Editing," an exploration of the editorial process followed by the Op-Ed editors of the NYT.

The Annual Intel Article

2005-07-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

this year comes (quite a few months late) from WaPo. Aptitude Aplenty looks at the general question of women in the sciences and two girls from Montgomery Blair HS in MD in particular, Abby and Sherri. The article is a fascinating exploration of problems and challenges faced by women in science at all levels, as well as an insight into the Intel Science Talent Search (Disclaimer: I was not a semi-finalist).

One line in particular struck me, however. During the grueling interview process that precedes the final selection of a winner, Sherri is overwhelmed and calls home:

"Meeting so many brilliant students and struggling to answer so many difficult questions has been the most humbling experience of her life, she says. At one particularly low point, she called home. "Daddy," she says she told her father, "I'm not sure I belong here."

Zheng Geng, an engineer, tried to reassure her that she did. "You're just as able to handle this as anyone else," she remembers him telling her."

One would have trouble imaging a male contestent making the same phone call. As the article points out, there are still improvements to be made in how we socialize young women to achieve and face challenges.

A PSA to the Dartmouth Blog-o-sphere

2005-07-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

Are you suffering from "blog depression?"

Public Service Pamphlet

Smooth Criminals

2005-07-28T22:24:00.000-04:00

I guess we sometimes can be effective hitmen (and women). Joe Malchow reviews the Dartmouth blogosphere and Alumni reactions here: The Dartmouth Mafia

Although I'm not sure that everyone would agree with or be happy with the characterization of me as a "lefty."

The Best of Everything

2005-07-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

Salon's Rebecca Traister brings us yet another reason why women shoud be afraid of having it all - the Nanny who'll take care of your kids while you work. In The Chronicles of Nanny-a she reports on two recent Nanny scandels, the feud between Helaine Olen and her blogger nanny Tessy, chronicled in the NYT (Modern Love-Blogspot Cat Fight ), and the Jude Law-Sienna Miller-Nanny Daisy Wright love triangle. In all cases, the woman who values her career comes off badly. Not to sound repetitive, but motivated women just can't win, can we?

How Many Literary Allusions Can You Spot?

2005-07-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

In this article from The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | The Joke's on Us Howard Jacobson argues that literature needs to be less topical and more irresponsible. For anyone who ever gets bogged down in Brown or fed up with Franzen, it's worth a read.

How Not to Keep a Job

2005-07-24T10:36:00.000-04:00

Fascinating article in the NYT Magazine, The Rabbi Who Loved Evangelicals (and Vice Versa) . It tells the story of Yechial Eckstein, an orthodox rabbi who is head of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which rallies evangelical (financial) support for Israel. The article is ambigious about the worth and Jewishness of his mission, but Eckstein is redeemed somewhat by his treatment of new hire Rios:

"Eckstein nodded. He says he is certain that evangelical Christians want nothing more than to bless Israel, and he is frustrated by his continuing inability to get his fellow Jews to practice what he calls the Four A's: Awareness that evangelicals are helping Israel; Acknowledgment of that help; Appreciation; and Attitude Change. There has been progress on the first two, and No. 3 is coming along, but attitude change remains elusive. ''I want more than a tactical alliance,'' Eckstein said. ''I'm looking for genuine fellowship. And the Jewish community is nowhere near that.''

Bauer's analysis of the problem is political. ''A lot of this is hostility from Jews who just can't stand conservatives,'' he said. ''It trumps even their support for Israel.''

''Jews tend to demonize evangelicals,'' Eckstein said sadly.

''And not the other way around?'' I asked.

Eckstein shrugged. ''Not really. No.''

Throughout this conversation, Rios was clearly eager to join in. And as soon as there was a pause in the discussion, she did. ''You know,'' she said, ''the truth is, Christians do want to convert Jews.''

Eckstein and Mamo exchanged glances. ''Not by some bait-and-switch trick,'' she said. ''But we believe it's part of God's plan.'' Eckstein winced the way he had when Pastor Munsey called him a born-again Christian.

''Anyway,'' Rios said, ''we love Jews, notwithstanding their rudeness and hatred for us.''

Three days later, Eckstein called me in New York. Rios had been fired, but her gaffe, and the impression it made, was still on his mind. ''It's really my fault,'' he said. ''Hiring staff is a problem. Truthfully, it's extremely hard to find people who understand exactly what we're doing here.'' "

Obviously not the best thing to say to your boss the Rabbi.

Blue Staters Review the Dartmouth Blogosphere

2005-07-22T12:14:00.000-04:00

An article by Kelly Meck in the current issue of the Free Press, which is out in print but not yet on the web, reviews much of the Dartmouth blogosophere. The tone seems to be much more tolerant than that used by TDR in a similar article, "The Dartmouth Review of Blogs", but maybe I just see it that way because Meck is much nicer to me than "Kevin Parkman" was. (I may be moderate but I'm not without bias). I'll post actual quotes when the article is available online.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

2005-07-22T12:06:00.000-04:00

How does your garden grow? I may have laughed at my friends who are taking Organic Farming (with a lab!) this summer, but according to CNN, Students Flock to Campus Organic Farms, they're just part of a national trend.

Dartmouth even gets a shout-out in the article:

"Some student farmers, like those at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, sell the fruits of their labor at on-campus farmstands, while the bounty from the University of Idaho at Moscow gets parceled out each week to community members who have prepaid for baskets of whatever's fresh."

Now if only we saw more of these amazing fruits and vegetables in Collis...

Which One is the Sidekick?

2005-07-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

via Gawker, this amusing cartoon by Patricia Storm starring darlings of the lit world Lethem and Chabon in an adventure to restore male-focused literature in a world with an increasingly female book-buying public:

The Amazing Adventures of Lethem and Chabon

Bush Picks Roberts for Supreme Court Nominee

2005-07-19T20:26:00.000-04:00

It's conservative middle-aged white John Roberts

Particularly troubling: FOXNews.com - Politics - Bush Picks Roberts for Supreme Court Nominee: "'He's a member of the Federalist Society, movement conservatives say 'He's one of us, we're confident he will do the right thing' ... a lot of controversial opinions. Now, he's never said Roe v. Wade should be overruled, he's never said gay rights should be wiped out so the ammunition for liberals to use against him is somewhat limited, but dozens and dozens of opinions' where he could be characterized as a 'dangerous conservative,' Taylor told FOX News."

From the D to the National Media?

2005-07-19T17:19:00.000-04:00

Update: A blitz to the editor determined that the quote was from my article, but was not attributed in the interests of space and because of the widely held nature of the sentiment.

While wasting time online today, I came across this article in Foreign Policy, Weapons of Mass Seduction, by Parag Khanna. I was struck by this quote:

"“Do we really want our politicians to face the same scrutiny as our musicians, actors, and Paris Hilton?” asked another."

The same line appeared in an article I wrote for the D:

"But do we really want our politicians to face the same scrutiny as our musicians, actors and Paris Hilton?"

A Google Search for the phrase brings up only my article and syndicated versions of Khanna's.

Am I the observer? cool.

Modern Love-Blogspot Cat Fight

2005-07-18T13:58:00.000-04:00

Sunday's "Modern Love" column in the NY Times, The New Nanny Diaries are Online, documents the changes in the relationship between Helainie Olen and her nanny after she found the 26 year-old wannabe grad student's blog. The blog, heralded as the source for bisexual longings, reports of alcoholism and descriptions of bad days on the job, can be found here: Instructions to the Double. In her last post, "Tessy" responds to the NYT article and makes some allegations of her own. Definitely worth a look...the catfight is way better than anything Star or US Weekly could dream up.

Dartmouth student killed in Berkeley

2005-07-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the death of Meleia Willis-Starbuck '07. Deepest sympathies to her family and friends.

Publishing without Thinking

2005-07-14T21:34:00.000-04:00

Mike Amico's response to Clayton, In Support of Manly Men takes the joke of revealing the latent homoeroticism in the article a little too far. I'm honestly a little shocked that the D published it.

The Sons of Old Dartmouth?

2005-07-12T16:10:00.000-04:00

In today's D, Brent Clayton publishes a longwinded op-ed, "Why No One Rages Anymore," which bemoans the loss of masculinity among Dartmouth students. While manyof his points are valid - Dartmouth men are certainly more in touch with their sensitive side than their predecessors, the article soon descends into self-parody. Clayton suggests that Dartmouth men become construction workers and regain their machismo by pouring concrete and welding. While the Swiftian dimensions of this modest proposal are amusing, they make the op-ed too long and too silly to be taken too seriously, which is too bad, since some of the content is worthy of a NY Times Thursday Styles piece.

Note: Joe's Dartblog describes the editorial as "brilliant". Because obsessively blogging is so macho, Joe?

No Way

2005-07-10T23:38:00.000-04:00

I don't care how beachy the book was. You do not end a review of a book about Dracula, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, with the sentence:

"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. So be it. Bite me."

Henry Alford does in his NYT review, 'The Historian': Stayin' Alive, and it's just not allowed.

Excuse Me?

2005-07-07T22:05:00.000-04:00

The comics in the D range from astute (roomies) to ad hominen (Guy and Fellow) to to artistic (Looking Up) to average (Lucky to Be Here), but the new comic Pengwinners, by Aaron Golas '07, is kind of strange. I"m not sure I get the humor, and the comic relies on ethnic stereotypes that tend to not make any sense. To wit, the character of Tobias the Jewish Penguin, who premiered this week:

Pengwinners 07/05
Pengwinners 07/07

Basically, I'm not sure I understand the reason for Tobias the Jewish Penguin, and why his Jewishness is so important and prominent in the cartoon. Would Golas have felt so comfortable referring to Tobias the Asian/Latino/Indian/Black/etc Penguin? It strikes me as odd and unnecessary. Also, the reference to Asher Lev today was probably not as funny as was intended, since the book is not a light-hearted look at Judaism but a story of the struggle between religious and secular life that many Jews, particularly Orthodox Jews, face. Additionally, defining Tobias solely by his Judaism is probably a type of categorization that many Jews at Dartmouth (myself included) feel hesitant about.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it just seems a little off.

Shameless Self-Plug

2005-07-05T08:35:00.000-04:00

A week later then it should have been published, my latest D op-ed: A Feminist Walks Into a Bar...

And Salon discusses the new generation of feminists: The F-Word

What to do with my Degree?

2005-07-04T13:41:00.000-04:00

BEcome a producer of a controversial Showtime series? The NYT reports, On a New Showtime Series, America's Protector Is a Muslim on sleeper show, being sure to mention Kamran Pasha.

"'We're showing a Muslim F.B.I. agent, someone who is devout, who is so motivated by both his patriotism as well as his sincere faith as a Muslim that he has to stop these criminals who are abusing his faith,' said Kamran Pasha, a writer on the series and a Muslim, who was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn. 'Of course the risk always is, even if we show a positive Muslim hero, some people may walk away just thinking their average, next-door neighbor is a sleeper cell member.'

'The very portrayal of an American Muslim working with the government will be controversial,' added Mr. Pasha, 33, a Dartmouth graduate whose major was religion. 'Muslims will say, 'That's a bit of a fantasy - there aren't that many Muslims being allowed to advance in the United States government to play this role.' Non-Muslims will say, 'Could that guy really exist?' '"

All's Fair?

2005-06-29T16:50:00.000-04:00

According to Yahoo! News (via Sploid) Unhappy love affair explains Rice stance on Iran: MP . A mysterious woman, MP, has argued that Rice got dumped in college by an Iranian, and thus does not like the country. While the article says that the interplay between love and diplomacy is nothing new, the devil's advocate/feminist in me has to ask whether such speculation would be as rampant with a male Sec of State.

O Bill, We've Missed You

2005-06-29T10:39:00.000-04:00

Safire, that is, not Clinton. William Safire returns to the NYT op-ed page today to write in praise of Judy Miller of the NYTand against the SCOTUS decision to allow the prosecution of Miller and Time reporter Matthew Cooper. In The Jailing of Judith Miller , her argues that reportorial privilege is key:

The principle at stake here is the idea of "reportorial privilege," embraced in shield laws in 49 states and the District of Columbia, but not in federal courts. That privilege not to testify - held by lawyers, members of the clergy, spouses and others - gives assurance to whistleblowers that information confided to a reporter revealing corruption or malfeasance in government will not result in loss of job or more severe retaliation from on high. (Most of the states' attorneys general, recognizing the value of press leads in law enforcement, strongly supported the reporters in this case.)

Safire is right to lament the SCOTUS's lack of action and to list steps that need to be taken. We should be years beyond the point where people are still made martyrs of for free speech, and the High Court's failure to acknowledge this is a scary indicator the direction of future rulings on media issue.

Pay Our Teachers More!

2005-06-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

Dave Eggers and friends opine in the NYT today about the need to pay our teachers more, Reading, Writing, Retailing. They're absolutely right, and the article is worth a read.

The Real Battle Against PBS

2005-06-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

Frank Rich, in his column today, The Armstrong Williams NewsHour, argues convincingly that the real problem facing Public Broadcasting is not the spector of lost funding but the insidious monitoring of its content as part of an attempt to turn it into a propaganda outlet. As a big supporter of PBS - I was only allowed to watch the NY affiliate WNET as a child - and a semi-regular listener to NPR, - yes I'm a dork - the idea that independent broadcasting could become less independent is a frightening one. Rich is right to call for more investigative reporting into the measures being taking against Bill Moyers, Travis Smiley and their colleagues.

Reviewers, Take Note

2005-06-24T10:37:00.000-04:00

Fascinating article in the New Yorker by Hanna Rosin about Patrick Henry College, a Christian school outside of DC where the students are trained for a career in politics. The article, God and Country, profiles a number of students, many of whom were homeschooled. Most of these students are already well-integrated into the Republican power structure. While I think the idea of a school to train political leaders is brilliant, there were two things in particular that disturbed me.

The first is that the school is overtly Christian, and that the students are trained to be Christian Republicans. In an increasingly pluralistic society, the idea that the leaders of one of the dominant political parties are explicitly subscribing to a religious idealogy and morality when they make their decisions is upsetting. If these students become the best trained leaders for the Republicans, the party will become more the party of Christian conservatism, not compassionate conservatism. This alienates a number of less religious Republicans. Additionally, since the Democrats have no comparable training program, we are at a disadvantage. The Republicans have, among others, ISI, the Heritage Foundation internship program, and now this school. Democrats have avid readers of the NYT and WaPo.

Secondly, the role of women at the school is ambigious. Many female students are ambitious and high powered, but also are expected by their male colleagues to give it all up to be wives and mothers, a view the girls themselves sometimes endorse. Rosin writes:

"A faction of homeschooling parents lobbied Farris not to admit girls to the college, but he told me that he considered that an “extreme” position. “All women, moms included, benefit from a great education,” he said. Men and women compete openly. When all the best papers in a constitutional-law class that Farris taught were turned in by girls—and not for the first time—Farris yelled at the boys to grow up. The new careerist code of the Joshua Generation can become a problem for the girls, however. Even the most ambitious ones, those who wake up at 3 a.m. to study, told me without reservation that as soon as they had children they would quit their jobs to raise them."

While all college-age women struggle with the question of balancing career and family, such an approach does not bode well for the future of women in the Republican party, and in American politics as a whole.

Albany Actually Makes a Decision

2005-06-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

I was alerted to this story by a friend that works at Naral Pro-Choice NY, which advocated for this bill. As the NYT reports today, Albany Legislators Back Giving Morning-After Pill Without Prescriptions. This is good news for women who want greater control over their own reproduction, although it will certainly anger pro-life activists and force Republican Governor Pataki to make a hard decision.

Austentations

2005-06-22T20:41:00.000-04:00

Because I've lost count of the times I've read Pride and Prejudice, In Love with Jane from the NYRB

The Great Jewish-American Synthesis

2005-06-22T20:40:00.000-04:00

Via the Chronicle of Higher Education: The Great Jewish-American Synthesis

Time Wasters

2005-06-22T20:29:00.000-04:00

Time's list of the 50 Coolest Websites 2005 is the usual mix of shopping sites, blogs, and everything between. Still, a good place to go for procrastination.

Apologies

2005-06-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Blogging has been light the past week because of break/moving twice in as many weeks. Posting will pick up with the start of the Dartmouth term.

Karl's Heir Apparent...

2005-06-13T10:50:00.000-04:00

This Slate profile of Dick Wadhams, who's being hailed as the next Republican Kingmaker, is a fascinating look at the political dark arts. Two of the points it makes are particularly salient.

First, the article discusses how Wadhams bankrolled two bloggers who were exposing pro-Daschle bias among the media during the tight 2004 campaign for his senate seat. Daschle lost to his Republican challenger Thume, and I'm sure that this sort of media manipulation helped:

"Another way to control a campaign is to shape its news coverage, and Wadhams found a new way to do that for the Thune campaign. South Dakota Republicans had long accused the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the state's most influential paper, of being pro-Daschle. When two bloggers, Jason Van Beek and Jon Lauck, began cataloguing alleged acts of bias like lack of criticism of Linda Daschle's lobbying practice, Wadhams hired them as campaign researchers. Wadhams insists he wasn't underwriting the bloggers' online enterprises. But Van Beek and Lauck didn't disclose that the Thune campaign was cutting them checks. And they succeeded in aiding Thune: The assistant managing editor of the Argus Leader admitted that the paper's coverage had been affected by the online criticism, implicitly acknowledging that it was tougher on Daschle in the Thune race than it had been in the past."

Secondly, the article highlights Sen. George Allen (R-VA) as the potential Republican frontrunner in 2008. His name has been bandied about by the punditocracy, and his employment of Wadhams indicates that some within the party support his increasing prominance.

"The South Dakota race established Wadhams as a giant-slayer, giving him his pick of future clients. In January, he signed on with Sen. George Allen, a Virginia Republican whose staunch conservatism is leavened by his good ol' boy manners. Outside his home state, Allen is a relative unknown, but he's generating plenty of interest among party apparatchiks. In an April poll in the National Journal, pollsters, consultants, and media pundits picked Allen as the No. 1 choice to head the 2008 GOP ticket. "

And as for the next generation of Roves, Heritage Foundation Summer Camp is here to do the training, according to this NYT article, Next Generation of Conservatives (by the Dormful).

Once You Pop...

2005-06-10T17:26:00.000-04:00

Bizarre story via Drudge, Synagogue Sued Over Missing Ashes, about a Houston synagogue that replaced the ashes of a congregant with a can of sour cream and onion potato chips. The switch was discovered when the dead woman's relatives went to her masoleum niche, only to find the chest with her ashes gone. They are now suing the synagogue and funeral home.

While this story is strange and sad, it is even more interesting because Judaism usually frowns on cremation and prefers to bury its dead. The reason is more complex then avoiding situations such as this, but this story provides an additional argument for traditional burial.

Hope for CS Majors Everywhere

2005-06-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

Continuing in the vein of frivolous news stories (it is interim) this story from the NY Daily News, which comes off of Dartblog: Nerds Make Better Lovers.

As anyone who's seen Revenge of the Nerds can attest, there's something about the Darth Vader mask in the moonscape that's just too hard to resist.

Something Affordable at Neimans?

2005-06-10T08:51:00.000-04:00

And by something I mean the store, as this Slate article, The Takeunder, reports. Apparently Neiman Marcus is only one of a bunch of companies being sold for a price that is not an exorbiant overvaluing of the company's net worth. It's an interesting trend.

Now if only their clothing wasn't as overpriced as well.

So True

2005-06-05T10:01:00.000-04:00

David Brooks really needs to stick to social commentary, because when he does, its so on target. This Op=Ed, Life Lessons From Watergate, frames Woodward's use of Watergate to find himself and get ahead in the context of the experience of recent college grads. He writes:

" Entering the world of the Higher Shamelessness, they begin networking like mad, cultivating the fine art of false modesty and calculated friendships. The most nakedly ambitious - the blogging Junior Lippmanns - rarely win in the long run, but that doesn't mean you can't mass e-mail your essays for obscure online sites with little "Thought you might be interested" notes.

They create informal mutual promotion societies, weighing who will be the crucial members of their cohort, engaging in the dangerous game of lateral kissing up, hunting for the spouse who will look handsomely supportive during some future confirmation hearing, nurturing a dislike for the person who will be the chief rival when the New Yorker editing job opens up in 2027.

And of course they are always mentor-hunting, looking for that wise old Moses who will lead them through the wilderness and end their uncertainty. They discover that it's socially acceptable to flatter your bosses by day so long as you are blasphemously derisive about them while drinking with your buddies at night.

This is now a normal stage of life. And if Bob Woodward could get through something like it, perhaps they will too."

You mean this blog won't help me get the New Yorker Job? Damn.

A Genetic Basis for Sexual Behaviors?

2005-06-03T11:49:00.000-04:00

The study may have been done with fruit flies, but the results are striking: For Fruit Flies, Gene Shift Tilts Sex Orientation

WH Style File

2005-05-31T15:32:00.000-04:00

From Jenna's BF to Bush's personal aide, Blake Gottesman makes the transition, while staying humble all the while, according to this NY Times article, From Jenna's Ex to a Presidential Jeeves

Choice quote:
"He also said on 'Ask the White House' that Charlie Young, the name of the character who is the president's personal aide on 'The West Wing,' the NBC television show, 'probably gets a lot more dates than I do.'"

Hmmm, I wonder if that's because Dule Hill is cuter. And fictional.

Update: I've been informed that Gottesman is Jewish...hmmm

Ex-F.B.I. Aide Claims He's 'Deep Throat' in Magazine Article

2005-05-31T12:20:00.000-04:00

Via the New York Times
so why did he choose to come forward now?

Two sides of the same problem...

2005-05-31T09:54:00.000-04:00

The American obsession with the female waistline continues.

This article, Fashion's Larger Problem, from the Washington Post, discusses the problems plus size teens and young women (sizes 14-18) have finding fashionable clothing.

Over on AP (link via Dartblog), this article, Cult-Like Lure of 'Ana' Attracts Anorexics - Yahoo! News discusses the growing fascination of eating disorders and the virtual support network for them. Scary stuff, and indicative of America's divided attitude towards female beauty. God forbid women try too hard to be thin, but there's little room in popular culture for women who are overweight.

Trying So Hard...

2005-05-31T09:39:00.000-04:00

to like John Tierney now that David Brooks isn't quite cutting it. But his Op-Ed this morning, The Urge to Win, makes it difficult. The article is a purported response to women who feel that they are as competitive as men, arguing through the lens of competitive scrabble that men are more likely to waste their time trying to be the best in such a field because it gives them some reproductive advantage. Still, it comes off as sexist, especially with this line, as funny as it is:

"Of course, just because men evolved with an impulse for competition doesn't mean that it still always makes sense, either for society or for the men themselves. Perhaps winning a Scrabble tournament with a $25,000 prize makes you a better marriage prospect. But I'm not sure how many women want to marry someone who spends his weekends memorizing alphagrams."

Do I sense a little bitterness on the part of Mr. Tierney?

In honor of my SE Asia class...

2005-05-29T13:13:00.000-04:00

This article, Asia's Democratic Values, is from the WSJ and by respected scholar Fukuyama. Worth a read.

The Genius of Paris

2005-05-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

The rich dumb blonde strikes again, and its great, as WaPo feels the need to report today in Mama Warned Us About Fast Food And Fast Women. The article discusses her borderline-softcore ad for burger chain Carl Jr., and the fact the company is relying on the publicity over the ad's lewdness to increase its exposure, not actual airing of the ad. The whole thing is kind of funny. I like the way that Carl Jr. is manipulating our obsession with preventing the prurient to increase its brand recognition. And any article that contains the following paragraph is worth a read:

"Hilton is a remarkable creation: a young woman (she's 24) with a famous last name (she is the great-granddaughter of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton) and no visible talent other than an uncanny ability to keep attracting attention. Unlike fellow blondes Jessica Simpson, who play-acts at being ditsy, or Pamela Anderson, who seems terribly calculating and obvious, Hilton seems to come by her dimness the honest, natural way. On her reality show, "The Simple Life"; on Letterman and Leno's couch she comes off as something uncontrived, even genuine -- a rich, good-time gal without a complicated thought in her head. Her infamous "private" sex tape that appeared all over the Internet did nothing to harm her party-hearty cred."

The world is full of poor little rich kids, but Paris isn't one of them. Good for her, and glad she was able to actually eat something along the way.

The Jesus Diet

2005-05-27T01:21:00.000-04:00

Apparently the newest diet craze is to eat like JC himself: Americans look to Jesus for diet

""Jesus ate primarily natural foods in their natural states - lots of vegetables, especially beans and lentils.

"He would have eaten wheat bread, a lot of fruit, drunk a lot of water and also red wine.

"And he would only eat meat on special occasions, maybe once a month, just like the parable of the prodigal son who ate fatted calf."

Sounds like common sense to me. And:

"He followed the Levitical laws. He would not have eaten pigs and rabbits or fish that did not have scales, such as crabs and shrimps. "

You mean a Jew living in Israel at the start of the Common Era would have kept Kosher? Wow. Now that's a diet.

How TDR Spends its Summer?

2005-05-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

Jeff Horwitz goes to conservative youth leadership camp at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, in My right-wing degree. I feel like TDR has mastered many of the techniques discussed, however.

The College as Think Tank

2005-05-25T15:15:00.000-04:00

Anyone want to create a Dartmouth chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, a Stanford-based policy research group? Looks interesting...

Women and the Workplace, Again

2005-05-25T15:12:00.000-04:00

NY Times guest columnist Matt Miller takes on the issue of women and the workplace today in Listen to My Wife . He argues that women alone shouldn't have to try and balance work and family, and that it should be an issue for both sexes. He advocates changing how we structure jobs and the workplace. While this is a great idea, and it is refreshing to see men addressing this topic in a positive way, Miller fails to specify just how the workplace should be changed. Oops.

Scathing

2005-05-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Jonathan Yardley's WaPo review of "The Washingtonienne" by former staffer and blogger Jessica Cutler, Capitol Hill Siren's Tell-All Fiction, could have been harsher. In between rants at the publishing industry, (was his great American novel rejected?), he finds time to argue that

"What's even more remarkable than this publishing coup is that for about a quarter of the way through, "The Washingtonienne" gives hints of being lively, funny and agreeably in-your-face. Eventually it runs out of steam, but for a while Cutler -- in the voice of Jacqueline Turner, her singularly unheroic heroine -- sticks pins in a lot of deserving targets. Washington itself, for example, is "an easy place" for sex because, lacking "those industries that attract the Beautiful People, such as entertainment and fashion," being "full of young single people and bored married people," even a girl of modest looks can find plenty of action."

Not bad for a book blantantly written to hold on to 15 minutes of fame.

Will this Make TDR as Irrelevant as All Other Campus Publications

2005-05-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

Roomies in The D today takes an indulgent potshot at TDR: Roomies

While the comic is funny, the sentiment is interesting - what would all campus publications have to write about if the administration was more popular?

Certainly not campus events, as can be seen by the lack of coverage given to Milan Culture Night in The D today. The event was Saturday, which is plenty of time to write something up. Milan put a lot of work into an event which was well-publicized and well-attended, so to not cover it is a serious omission.

New Op-Ed

2005-05-23T08:03:00.000-04:00

Shameless self-plug: Examining the New SAT

Malchow responds here: "Another Look at the SAT I Version 2"

With Friends Like These...

2005-05-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

Totally unrelated to politics, Dartmouth, or other important topics, but still worth a read: Friend fatale

Traister's arguments should resonate with any woman who has experienced these type of falling outs, and may also help explain to guys why girls care so much about fights with their best friends.

God and Man in the Ivy League

2005-05-22T10:49:00.000-04:00

The Little Green Blog beat me to posting on this NY Times article, "On a Christian Mission to the Top," but I still think it's worth highlighting. The article discusses the proliferation of Evangelical Christian groups among the well-paid and well-educated, particularly at Ivy League Universities. One of the subjects interviewed posited that it was easy to raise money to proselytize in the Ivory Tower because, according to Brown Campus Crusade leader Geoff Freeman,

"It is easy to sell New England in the Midwest," as Mr. Freeman put it later. Midwesterners, he said, see New Englanders as "a bunch of heathens."

This statement strikes me for a number of reasons. First, it is both funny and inflammatory, which is obviously one of the reasons it was published. Second, it conveys an "us" vs. "them" mentality often associated with the liberal left. The Democrats are often criticzed for branding everyone west of the Appalachias and before the Rockys as bible-thumping rednecks. It is interesting to see that us New Englanders are stereotyped just as strongly, and it is indicative of a greater problem in American politics. Finally, the article fails to look at Evangelical groups from other religions, such as the Chabad movement in Orthodox Judaism. Christianity is not the only religion to see a revival of traditionalist practices aimed at the young and educated.

Bash Mitzvah Musings

2005-05-19T13:58:00.000-04:00

When asked by the DJ what the theme of my Bat Mitzvah was, my mother's response was "How about Judaism?" Then again, this is also the woman who told him to "pretend that this was the bat mitzvah of Tipper Gore's child" and to not play explicit music. Thanks Mom.

Regardless, this article in Slate, Bar Mitzvah Madness, explores the increasing commercialization and decreasing ritual value of the "Bash Mitzvah." She argues that the way to save it is to eliminate the age requirement. I'm not sure I agree with that idea, but I'm a fan of anyone over the age of 13 who didn't have one undergoing the ritual at a later date.

Beauty is in the Eye of Technology

2005-05-19T10:10:00.000-04:00

Had to post this article, Enjoy It, Julia, While It Lasts , because of the title. It's a fascinating analysis of how, as our technology for film and television changes, our standards of beauty change to accomodate these new techniques.

Columnists for Sale

2005-05-17T16:01:00.000-04:00

The NY Times has announced that they are going to start charging $49.95 a year for access to select content, such as the Op-Ed columns and the archives. In response, Timothy Noah of Slate argues that most people would not use the archive service, and could be expected to pay $25 to read the columnists. However, since not all columnists are created equal, he's asked people to allocate their $25 among the 8: Columnists for Sale - The New York Times's risky experiment

My allocation:
David Brooks - $4
Maureen Dowd - $4
Thomas L. Friedman - $4
Bob Herbert -$ 1
Nicholas D. Kristof - $2
Paul Krugman - $2
Frank Rich - $4
John Tierney - $4

Now only imagine if the The D asked people to rate their regular columnists...

Meshugganah in the Holy Land

2005-05-16T13:38:00.000-04:00

Reuters via the NY Times: Madonna Feud Rocks Israel's Diplomatic Boat

Apparently the Israeli Ambassador to the US tried to investigate the wife of the Israeli Foreign Ministry for firing one of his embassy aides who failed to get her an audience with Madonna. The Foreign Minister's response was that the investigation was an attempt to deflect attention from the inquiry into charges of verbal abuse against the ambassador's wife.

Because it's not like there are real problems in Israel or anything.

OpinionJournal Flashback

2005-05-16T13:05:00.000-04:00

This article from the archives of the Opinion Journal, "Liberal Fundamentalism, was actually published in 1984. The parellels to our current situation are striking. Which is of course why they republished it, but still worth a look.

Update: Dartblog found it too:

Pawn to Queen

2005-05-16T13:03:00.000-04:00

Interesting article in the NY Times today along the "anything boys can do girls can do better" vein, On Boards Without Boys, Girls Reassert Their Power. It discusses an all-girls chess tournament, touching on the historical underrepresentation that girls have in the activity, as well as some of the reasons for the lack of female chess players. What is interesting, however, is that the story opens with a vingette of a girl flirting and complimenting her way to an advantage, and ends with a description of the same girl as flirtatious. Maybe that's just how ninth grade girls are (flirty and interested in clothes), but it does seem incongruous with the tenor of the article.

Variations on a Theme

2005-05-15T09:52:00.000-04:00

Anyone else think the NY Times is taking party identifications a little too seriously? The Op- Ed page today is:

"Just How Gay is the Right? by Frank Rich

"Liberal Bible-Thumping" by Nicholas Kristof

and

"Meet the Poor Republicans" by David Brooks

Happy Green Key!

2005-05-13T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sheer brillance from Heinz in The D: Guy and Fellow

Neff attacks in TDR: Neff's So Dartmouth

Robinson and Zywicki Win Trustee Election

2005-05-12T19:39:00.000-04:00

The college confirms in an Official Press Release what Dartlog, Dartblog, LGB and VitW have been speculating on all day.

So what does those mean for the college? I'm honestly not sure yet...

More on Dartmouth Blogs

2005-05-12T14:58:00.000-04:00

Over on Dartblog, this post, Campus Blogosphere Rising, offers an interesting take on the problem with the campus blogosphere. Malchow waxes philosophical about the problems with liberal bloggers as a whole, and engages in some self-congratulation for the open-mindedness with which he engages in debate (to Joe's credit, his blog does often respond to criticism). But while his arguments about engaging your opponents, not merely lampooning them are sound, the whole post seems a little nasty, especially with the not-so-veiled attacks on LGB.

The D's Op-Ed Page - Now with "Repeat" Feature

2005-05-11T12:37:00.000-04:00

(I tried to post this last nite, but Blogger ate it. Let's try this again)

I always feel bad mocking The D, mainly because its so easy sometimes, but this needs to be commented on. I know how hard it is to find column topics, (I'm taking suggestions for my next submission) but sometimes reading the page to find out what your colleagues are writing can avoid potentially embarassing overlaps like this one.

Yesterday, staff columnist Dan Belkin '08 wrote this column "Runaway Media," lambasting the sensationalism of the MSM.

"Perhaps "hard" news stories are often delegated to the backburner because the public simply demands "lighter fare." In a fitting microcosm, President Bush's latest primetime press conference began 30 minutes earlier than scheduled due to lobbying from NBC. NBC did not want the press conference to interrupt the "The Apprentice." The Donald bested the President. Across the entire nation, a collective expletive from American teens could be heard as the press conference forced the postponement of "The O.C." (This decision may signify that Karl Rove is finally conceding the youth vote.) The nation has come a long way from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "fireside chats" that loyally drew 70 percent of the American public to hear about the "hard" news of the day. Though Americans were loath to surrender their Thursday night entertainment, the public has a responsibility as well along with the media. Americans must demand the abandonment of excessive, even if entertaining, media circuses for the sake of the most "newsworthy" stories."

Noble sentiments, to be sure, but similar to those espoused by contributing columnist Deborah Wassel '07 in her May 2nd column, "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Wassel deplores the taste of the American public for tabloid-worthy news items:

"The point is that not all the blame can be placed on the news media itself. Half the blame lies with the public.

The American people have been dumbed down to the point where they no longer have the capacity to demand better quality news.

They don't care much for valuable news.

People want explosions. They want prostitution busts. They want shiny things.

Garbage in, garbage out, as my fifth grade teacher used to say.

The American people need to wake up and tear their eyes away from the television long enough to realize they're being manipulated."

Both articles are well-written and interesting, but the overlap is just sad. It's indicitive of a great problem with campus debate, namely that there is none because no one pays attention to what anyone else says.

Harbringer of Things to Come?

2005-05-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

Off CNN: Alcohol banned at Berkeley frat events

America's Top High Schools

2005-05-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

Newsweek has the list: The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools

My Alma Mater is #189...ouch.

You Can't Win

2005-05-09T17:13:00.000-04:00

The use of the word "I" is something I try to avoid when posting, but apparently even when I use it in a way that I intend merely to convey my opinion or make a self-deprecating or ironic comment, I'm still self-centered and superfluous. Apparently humor is not something appropriate on "serious" blogs (who knew I was serious)

As Scott Glabe/Kevin Parkman wrote in The Dartmouth Review of Blogs
"But, lest I wax too philosophical, let me get to my main point, which is that such blogs are a downright waste of time—for author and readers alike. One might object that the reader of personal monologues shouldn’t be surprised to discover the drivel described above, but the same self-centered superfluousness pervades even the “serious” blogs at Dartmouth. Julia Bernstein ‘07, who publishes the general-interest blog “Outvox,” concluded a recent post concerning Dartmouth’s gender pay gap with “Note to self: When considering jobs in Academia in the future, stay away from Hanover.”

I’ll be sure to email you a reminder, Ms. Bernstein, as well as making a note to myself that you’ll one day be an Important Figure in Academia."

Thanks, TDR, for always making sure ad hominen attacks are part of the discussion.

The TDR's list of Dartmouth Blogs is worth checking out, however.

Israeli Professors and the AUT

2005-05-08T09:19:00.000-04:00

A fascinating article, Israelis Need Not Apply, by Fanzia Oz-Salzberger, a historian of British history at the University of Haifa. The U of Haifa is one of two Israeli universities now being boycotted by the AUT, an association of British academics, because of supposed collusion with the Israeli government against the Palestinians. Oz-Salzberger argues that the evidence for the boycott is based on the case of a libelous thesis, which was failed because of the falsification of evidence, not because of a political agenda. More importantly, she argues that the boycott by British-intellectuals is overly political, anti-intellectual and a blow to free speech. It is also ironic considering the role the British had in creating the current political situation in the Mid-East. The argument is definitely worth a read for people interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the interaction between Academia and politics, and free speech.

Schlosser Strikes Again...

2005-05-08T09:10:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I don't know for sure that Fartlog creator Aaron Schlosser is behind the latest addition to the Dartmouth blogging scene, The Little Pinko Blog, but I'd be willing to bet on it. The left-leaning webblog, clearly a parody of The Little Green Blog, is filled with outragously socialist spoofs of the culture-savvy, bush-bashing posts on LGB. The style is akin to that of Fartlog, with even the name of alleged poster having the same nonsensical ring to it. Althogether amusing...good job Mortimer Flavin Merrykinder, whoever you are. We can only guess who will be the next target of your spoofing abilities...Neel Shah's OC Column, maybe?

Derby Fun

2005-05-08T09:06:00.000-04:00

As I'm sure all the news sources have reported by now, the 131st Derby was won by the 50-1 longshot Giacomo. This also means that Steinbrenner's wonderhouse, Bellamy Road, came in a dismal 7th. Which is just about the rank the Yankees now hold in the NL East. At least they won yesterday...

Dead On

2005-05-05T01:43:00.000-04:00

As much as I love D.Bro, I'm not the biggest fan of his NY Times Column. But today's column, Stuck in Lincoln's Land, is dead on. A sensitive, considerate treatment of faith, politics, and agnostics in the US.

(Blogging will be light for the rest of the week, since I'll actually be in NY, not just in a NY state of mind.)

At Dartmouth, Advanced Wi-Fi

2005-05-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

The NY Times' annual "Dartmouth is tech-friendly" article: At Dartmouth, Advanced Wi-Fi

Filial Piety Gone Awry

2005-05-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

Apparently the grandson of the late architect Mies van der Rohe, Dirk Lohan, bid almost $3000 to smash a window at Crown Hall, the main building of Mie's IIT architecture school, The New York Times > Arts > Art & Design > Take That, Grandpa. I can understand the drama of the moment, but I think this takes the need to break with tradition a little too far. My grandfather is also an architect, who worked with Mies and some of the other German expats, but I would never dream of doing something like this. Then again, there would never be an eBay auction to smash any of Grandpa Landsberg's windows, perhaps fortunately.

Can't Blame this One on Larry

2005-04-30T23:54:00.000-04:00

According to Bloomberg, "Princeton Is Only Ivy League School to Narrow Gender Pay Gap", female professors are routinely paid less than their male counterparts at Ivy League universities. This pay discrepency is worse, suprisingly, at dear old Dartmouth, where women make, on average, 22% less than men. Note to self: When considering jobs in Academia in the future, stay away from Hanover.

Political Crystal Ball

2005-04-30T19:59:00.000-04:00

Interesting article in the National Journal, "How the Republicans Lost their Majority, about a possible future outcome if the "Nuclear Option" goes through. While I hope such a world does not become a reality, what with the overturning of Roe and other landmark cases, it's a slightly more positive spin...the " Nuclear Option" not as the end of the world but as a segueway to brighter future for the Democrats.

Teenagers and God

2005-04-30T11:03:00.000-04:00

Fascinating article via Salon on the relationship between teenagers and Christianity, God? Sure, whatever. The article's point seems to be that, while a majority of teenagers do consider themselves Christian, and many associate themselves with the faith, this is not your parents' religion. Specifically,

"And she wasn't the only one who saw God as a big cable guy in the sky. Most kids' faith, says Smith, takes the form of what he calls moralistic therapeutic deism -- God is an undemanding, all-fulfilling entity existing only to help us feel better about ourselves."

Actually not a bad view to have of your deity. Sure beats fundamentalism.

Tonight on the O.C...

2005-04-28T20:05:00.000-04:00

Ryan, Marissa, Summer and Seth learn some important information about Social Security Reform and energy policy, since the popular show has been replaced by Bush's speech on those topics. Details to follow when I get around to reading the transcript.

Bush in prime time tonight

Commencement Speaker Announced

2005-04-28T18:39:00.000-04:00

Dartmouth's 2005 Commencement spearker will be Tom Brokaw, as announced today, Tom Brokaw to give Dartmouth Commencement Address. Mr. Brokaw will also receive an honorary degree. The choice seems to be a good one, since Mr. Brokaw should prove an interesting orator without being too politically volatile.

Does This Count as a "Man Date" ?

2005-04-28T15:09:00.000-04:00

The Thursday Style section strikes again, with an article,The Tao of Skinny-Dipping, which sounds more like it should be about the Ledyard Challenge than middle-aged New York businessman. But apparently all-male nude swimming is the newest ( or oldest) craze among the well-heeled and well-connected. And while events like this are often infilitrated by women seeking involvement in the wheeling and dealing they usually involve, I feel like this old boys club may be one we females are less eager to infiltrate.