No, you can't have my hope

As the election season mercifully draws to a close today, I'm thinking about the sermon at church this past Sunday. It was about election ad fatigue and how it is not so very hard to get beaten down by the advertisements and feeling like a lot of bad stuff will happen if the other side wins.

This is a quote from the piece the sermon was based on:

"My husband will say on those occasions when the weight of the world is closing in and the evidence against hope mounts as I read the news, when I start confusing cynicism with pragmatism, and I sigh, “I’m so tired, I’m so discouraged”—he’ll say, in the kindest way: “What kind of entitled grandiosity of privilege is this, to think that you or I or anyone has the right to sever the bright thread of hope, the tradition of dedication to the common good and faith in the people’s power to imagine great change and great risks and then take them; the beautiful, proud history of work for human rights and freedom? We’re only here to pass it on,” he’ll say. “All you have to do is keep the fire burning for a little while, and pass it on. You have no right to put it out.” Not in so many words, but that’s about what Ross will say." 

I was kind of relieved to hear things put that way. May we not confuse cynicism with pragmatism.

My cooking prayers answered

Regular readers of this little blog know I can't get it together (ever, really) to pass along recipes like some better-organized bloggers. But I was at the library yesterday, and found a whole book with several good recipes in it, so I thought I'd pass that along.

When I was younger, I can remember spending a lot of time in the library. I guess some of it was with my mom, and some by myself. I do remember having the luxury of time such that I could walk the aisles of nonfiction and pick out things that looked interesting. 

I brought Mr W to the library yesterday. It's slowly transitioning over, but he'll pick out 15 books he's read before if I let him do all the choosing, so I spend some time selecting books I think he'd like. We have found a lot of good ones like that, and say what you want about sequels, it is a really good way to get a kid to pick up a book and begin to read without too much fuss.

We found a bunch of good ones for him, then I went upstairs to the nonfiction stacks and did the walking around thing. I didn't feel like I was getting anything good, but I was wrong. The stew book (link is to see it on Amazon) has a BUNCH of straightforward recipes whose leftovers can be frozen, which is a high priority for me. Lots of cuisines, too. 

I also got a book on clay, one on casseroles, a Rick Steve's guide, "The Best of Europe", and a book on remodeling small houses. I guess I did pretty well at the library yesterday. Being able to wander around the stacks was a real treat.

Aaaaaannnnddd another thing

I've just updated the "blogs I follow" list. I've got a slew of them in Google Reader, and just imported most of those.

Lots of good stuff!!

Busy, good

Things have been busy but good lately. I've been occupied at work with a number of things, and keeping busy at home. I posted a little while ago about how good it was to be in the middle of a good book, which I found (it's a mystery - genre, that is) and I think has been occupying me to the exclusion of writing posts. But I'm working on a plant post which I hope to finish tonight.

I've been getting ready to travel next week to a conference. The Evolution Meetings is a conference of several scientific societies and the stuff that's presented there always seems to jibe most with my interests. I'm presenting a poster called, "Genetics of Culex pipiens complex subspecies and their hybrids along a transect". That's the shortened version, if you can believe it. The poster looks great (imo) and after showing it to the boss, I'll get it printed.

We've also stumbled upon another incidence of hybridization that is interesting because it's assumed in entomological circles that the two species in question don't hybridize. Initially we thought the evidence was a result of contamination, but it now that we've looked for more of it, there's something going on. My coworker who is on leave was supposed to be the one investigating this one, but it looks like I'll be doing it instead. It's an exciting research question, and I'll get more experience cloning and sequencing bits of DNA, so that's good.

I'm also (finally!) moving across the hall into some new lab space today. Whoo-hoo!! No more sharing the placemat-sized space among three people. I'm sure there will be stuff that comes up in terms of what goes where and who gets what, but I'm really looking forward to working in the new space.

I'll be staying with my brother while at the conference, and it is always nice to be the happy beneficiary of their hospitality.

Post Secret

Have you seen Post Secret? It's a site for a project by Frank Warren, who started it by handing out blank postcards that people could put their secrets on and then send to him. It has grown into a community art project with thousands of postcards.

He has the website, has put out a few books of the postcards, and tours with some of the cards. Some are funny, some are sad and some are thought provoking. They update the website Sunday mornings.

Buying Books

CB was here recently for a visit, and we went to the local Barnes and Noble to see if we could find a decent field guide for Colorado birds. Of course we worked our way around the science and nature section, and I found several books that looked interesting. Alas, the prices were such that I hesitated, and then decided not to purchase anything. It was about $25.00 for a hardback and $15.00 for a paperback.

It got me thinking about my relationship with books. I've had, hmm, let's see, 14 years of post-high school education, so I've made use of a lot of books over the years. I'm not ashamed to admit that I really looked forward to purchasing books each semester, especially in graduate school, where the subject matter was more consistently to my liking. I'd page through the books over the next few days and feel like I was in possession of a sort of treasure.

The downside of all the reading for educational purposes, was that I've been ingrained with the idea that reading for pleasure is an extravagance I cannot afford. I thought this feeling would go away about 2 hours after I graduated this last time (which was two years ago) but I'm sorry to say it hasn't, which indicates to me I need to do something about it. I sincerely believe that being in the middle of a good book is one of life's sublime pleasures, and one I've been missing out on.

I supposed it's a slightly different issue than kvetching about how expensive books are, but it's related. I feel like for the price, I need to make the commitment to read the book and for that price I'd better well like it! Maybe I need to loosen my expectations a bit.

In contrast, let's look at CB's relationship with books. He owns a lot of them. His bedroom has 4 floor-to-ceiling book cases, and they are pretty full. Lots of the books are bird books of one kind or another, and they serve as a reference library for his work. He's got other kinds of books too, but the point is, he sees books as an investment. A tangible something that can be used more than once. I like this attitude.

I tend to run out of time and energy at the end of the day such that I don't read before bed. I just sort of fall in and go to sleep. I'm thinking of maybe trying to get to bed a little earlier to have some reading time before bed. I'm still not ready to plop down $25 on a whim, but I'd like to think I could work towards getting a little more that way. As in, seeing a good read for that much, and deciding it's worth it, even though it's $25.

Suggestions for the next purchase, anyone?

image: invisibleman

Another Poem

My former officemate from grad school sent me this whimsical ditty on Botany. Thanks b!

There should be no monotony
In studying your botany;
It helps to train
And spur the brain—
Unless you haven’t gotany.

It teaches you, does Botany,
To know the plants and spotany,
And learn just why
They live or die—
In case you plant or potany.

You learn, from reading Botany,
Of woolly plants and cottony
That grow on earth,
And what they’re worth,
And why some spots have notany.

You sketch the plants in Botany,
You learn to chart and plotany
Like corn or oats—You jot down notes,
If you know how to jotany.

Your time, if you’ll allotany,
Will teach you how and what any
Old plant or tree
Can do or be—
And that’s the use of Botany!

--Berton Braley

From: Nature Smiles in Verse: A Collection of Bi-Illogical Poems compiled by Bernal R. Weimer (1940)

Poetry and mild angst

Poetry is something this science-y person knows little about. But April is National Poetry Month, so here's one that's plant related.

Epitaph

An old willow with hollow branches
slowly swayed his few high bright tendrils
and sang:
Love is a young green willow
shimmering at the bare wood’s edge.

William Carlos Williams

Found on John Lynch's blog http://scienceblogs.com/strangerfruit

In other news, I'm still miffed about what feels like a potentially great job opportunity that I must (must I?) let slip from my grasp. Still looking for a way that I could exist on that kind of dough, and thinking about what it is I want to do when I grow up. I usually imagine myself as a person who isn't severely career-driven. The only times in the last year that I have felt like I should be doing something else were when a faculty job in Plant Evolutionary Biology came up at a liberal arts college, and then with this postdoc.

The pondering will continue for a while, I guess. I have another month before the posting for the position actually closes.

My Favorite Kids Books (the start of a series)

I've read to Mr W forever, and our routine at my house is three books before bed, read in my bed. I then give him a piggy back ride to his bed. I used to be able to lift and carry him more easily, but he's just too big.

I aim for about 20-30 minutes of reading, so I have to choose the books carefully. For whatever reason, reading three books is important to him.

What kind of kids books do you like? I tend to choose ones about stuff that has a little bit to do with reality, but also a major fantasty component. Books about talking animals, aliens, wierd and great stuff happening to regular kids - that's the stuff that appeals to me. I say "to me" because I usually pick out the books at the library to fit into our schedule. And I want to be interested in what I'm reading. Reality can be so boring... Or, I guess, reality happens all the time, why not escape in a book.

That being said, we are currently reading a book on the Hindenberg, done at a kid's level. It's a picture book, and Mr W likes it a lot. And we occasionally get the one out about Casey Jones, so I guess we do a bit of nonfiction.

But the book I wanted to write about today is "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon. It's about Camilla Cream, who "loved lima beans, but never ate them". Sadly, she was afraid of what the other kids would say. So afraid, that one day, she come down with, you guessed it, a bad case of stripes, and for a while, the power of suggestion makes her stripes turn into different patterns. In the end, she is cured by a kind old woman "just as plump and sweet as a strawberry", who tosses some lima beans into her mouth. Being able to admit it, even though it's not like everyone else, that she loves lima beans, she turns back into her old self again.

Yes, indeed. Be true to yourself, even if it means admitting you like lima beans.

Mr W and I agree, although we don't like lima beans.