il Vino

One of my goals in Italy was to learn about Italian wine. Thus far, I can say that I have sampled quite a few. Over 4000 different kinds in Italy. Met a wine snob who explained how to swirl wine and check for so called 'legs.' Wines with higher concentrations of sulfites, such as those in Napa Valley CA, have higher concentrations of sulfites. Italian wines (especially reds) have much lower or no sulfites. As such, I'm much better off with Italian reds. Joyous thought.

I really want to try Brunello di Montelcino, but I have tried quite a few others: Cortona Sangiovese (mild, fruity with bitter tart aftertaste), the Cinque Terre sweet white wine (allergy!), grappa (42% alcohol content soooo strong), Chianti AND Chianti Classico. Yes, I'm a snob since I can taste the difference between good and cheap wine. But I'll drink either as long as it is in a glass bottle when I buy it. Rosso di Montalcino also tasted good.

Hopefully, I'll spend the day in the Chianti region tomorrow. Today didn't work out, but the sights in Siena (both the Palazzo Publico as well as the Duomo) were amazing. Then, it's off to Naples and Sorrento and Pompeii to meet a friend who is flying in from Ireland.

Our Italian Regional Experiment

Parlo un po italiano. So far, Italy has been pretty (Lake Como and Cinque Terre) and ugly (Genova). Yet the stories and adventures have begun.

First, we discovered that when hiking up a mountain, wear more than summer clothes and bring a snack. The three of us forgot that it gets colder and colder at higher altitudes. Our 7 hour hike was without food, so we ended up being famished, cold, and tired. My hands swelled and become red and frozen. It was so cold at one point that we had snow. But the sun returned and we overall enjoyed the hike. The view of Lago di Como was incredible.

Importantly, we have learned a smattering of broken Italian, thanks to the phrase books. We can now order cheese by the kilogram and generally will be enjoying local wines. The markets are useful, though we must come well-prepared with carefully memorized phrases until we have completely caught onto the grammar rules. All my Spanish is returning, which is not helpful. Definitely think that the brain has a certain region that is activated for language...

Menaggio e Fermaggio

Wow, I loved il Lago di Como area. Exactly what I pictured Northern Italy to be. All cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways. the people, the cheese! No, we have not gotten hit by a car that is rolling down stairs. Yes, I ate banana gelato the first night. The sky is beautiful, the language is gorgeous, and the smells emanating from the shops are heavenly. My calves ache after climbing mountains, and we have taken 128 MB of fotos. My crash course in Italian 101 is failing but I can order train tickets with the best of them.

It snowed in the mountains. and I'm still afraid of heights. My backpack is too small and the shoes are amazing (but I can't buy them).

motives

In one of many great scenes in 'The Constant Gardener', Fiennes tells his pregnant wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz) that they cannot give a young woman, her baby, and her son a ride. He argues that there are too many people that need to be helped. She would start with this family. The argument uncomfortably ends with Justin's decision. He has to look after Tessa's health and drives away.

It's a scene that is repeated over and over in this movie, not just with Justin but with those that Justin encounters. Justin, in this scene, reminds me of myself and pretty much everyone I know. All seem to be solid, nice people who wants to protect those they love at the cost of those they don't know. Somehow, I found this affability more disturbing than the premise of large pharmaceutical companies warping drug tests to produce more favorable results.

Notwithstanding, the chemist and doctor in me is still disturbed by this imagery, especially when it contrasts sharply with Tessa's exclamations at the beginning of the movie about nevarapine and its preventive powers for mother-to-child HIV transmission. If, as a character observes that "no drug company does something for nothing," then is it a monolith of people or individuals who are responsible?

Is it enough to know that if you cannot help everyone that you should not help anyone? What inspires people to act?

Note: Fernando Meirelles directed "City of God," another equally thought-provoking movie.

A marriage of conveniance

I must be slipping in my Scottish Politics as I did not notice the news report of "...the descent of a beam in March that nearly wiped out the Tory delegation and closed the debating chamber for two months..." (Economist, 05.18.06).

The Economist is right in its analysis of Scotland and devolution. The Scottish do spend much time concentrating on why they are not English.

Another story of interest....

Without ever knowing the way

Perhaps I'm biased, but I do consider road-tripping across the country to be distinctly American. Think The Grapes of Wrath or On the Road. I've played too many games of Oregon Trail and heartiliy sung too many renditions of the Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces" to believe that the flat American heartland isn't something to be experienced at least once in the car. I've driven from MN to OH and from OH to PA and NJ this year, all in the company of friends. I'm still not quite sure which is the "armpit" of America: Gary, IN or New Jersey.

What passes by on the billboards speaks worlds about the area: Pauxatawny Phil, Adlai Stevenson's birthplace (Bloomington, IL), Wisconsin Cheese, resorts that promise to teach you how to surf in landlocked areas, and gun control warnings (southern IL):

Tested in peace
Proven in war
Guns at home
Even the score
GunsSaveLife.com

Currently, K and I have almost finished our 1000 mile jaunt through the rural reaches of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. No topic is too sacred to be dissected: cherry coke, European politics, friendships, gun control, professors, relationships, and sustenance. We've rarely stopped in the little family restaurants that dot the countryside, but then again, we stop only for gas, restrooms, and to buy more goldfish crackers. We were fortunate to have only blue skies and fuel efficiency that ranged from 36.8-41.3 mpg. All in all, a good trip.

And yes, K, according to the sign in Indiana with large letters: JeSuS is ReAl.

Apples and Oranges

It's a well-worn discussion that Europe and the United States have problems with their health care systems. However I'm not sure if I agree with Ezra Klein in the value of choice in our health care system. He argues in favor of the French system because it has lower debt. Yet let's look to the future. What about the millions of second and third generation immigrants? How will that affect French industry? Is it enough to argue that Medicaid/Medicare have crippled the American health care systems and not predict problems for the French system in the comparison? Dale Franks argues that the American system may still be preferrable over the French and German health care systems, but all are not satisfactory. He is right in the differences between the two systems. However, to group the two countries is not the best idea either. France is a top-down bureacratic state and German is a federal state. Neither will translate directly to the American liberal economy.

presidential likenesses

I've always said that people of certain races tended to aggregate at my high school, and now,

"nobody has ever voted for a presidential candidate they wouldn't have had lunch with in high school."

Thank you, David Brooks. Even if I can't agree with the typecasts, reading this quote after watching a primarily white audience dance to rap music made the column worthwhile..

Feeling small

Last night I watched Syriana. In a way, watching such a movie was a strange phenomenon. Watching a conspiracy unfold alongside strangers in the dark. The audience gained bits of information related to the characters but had no power by which to intervene. Men in business suits made pacts and ordered killings with the efficiency and undistinguishable air of ordering a cup of coffee. T argues that the movie doesn't aptly depict life in bureaucracy and oil dealings. I am little qualified to argue anything besides bureacracy and the actions left unsaid.

Between student government, interning, and being a bit of a politics nerd, the inherant consequences of "insider" information is difficult to ignore. Trying to know and make the student opinion heard while being an overloaded student is difficult. Working with administration that is in transition is difficult, with rewards at infrequent intervals. Yet reading about the everyday politics of a country, even as I realize that so many people do not follow them, is hard to comprehend. The politicians and bureacratic forces that shape the laws, make the laws, and sign disarmament agreements is important to the particular society. The discussions between Sinn Fein and the DUP will shape Northern Irish politics for the next decade. However, the ability to find meaningful commentary is low. Is globalization supposed to open up interest in other parts of the world for reasons other than self-interest?

In some ways, this began as a response to K's blog about the liberally educated person. We are supposed to be able to converse on multiple levels and display dexterity in knowledge. Perhaps the liberally educated person will be more willing to develop understanding of multiple regions of the world that are affected by our global economy for reasons that are not self-interested initially. Perhaps it will be the ability to reach outside of personal "bubbles" and to be more than a spectator or ignorant reader who skips particular section in the daily newspaper. There are some life skills that will not be taught at Kenyon - such as a lack of direct correlation to an "academic" nature or upon the affluent nature of the college. I agree that a wake-up call is necessary. As much as I abhor bureacratic machinations, I probably will continue to work towards some sort of meaningful progress. I know my contributions are as large as one ant. It' is hopelessly depressing at times, but in one microcosm of the world, it may be all that can be done. Sometimes I just wish that people outside of the microcosm would take genuine interest in my "bubble" as I hope to do with their "bubble."

a liberal education

A friend of mine is interviewing in DC this week. She has a new spring suit, new shoes, tasteful jewelry, a modest briefcase, and multiple copies of her resume. She’s conducted two practice interviews, one with our career counseling center and one with friends with varying degrees of interview experience. We spent last night brainstorming the little details: how to take public transportation (viz. buses), merits of carry-on luggage, and checking whether the hotel had an ironing board.

What amazed me last night and has amazed me since I came to college, are the number of small “life skills” that my friends and I do not know. My friend’s new suit? The pants needed to be hemmed, and out of the four 22-year-old girls, only I knew how to hem. Making a flippant remark about the fact that it’s one of those life skills like sewing buttons, I was slightly taken aback that my roommate doesn’t really sew buttons. Yet she knits!

I confess, I was clueless about car care two years ago. I still am clueless. It took me two months, three conversations, and two phone calls to determine that my front wheels needed to be balanced and that my sister can throw away the old windshield wipers. Do I know what to look for when I look under the hood? I’ll take the 5th on that one.

We are talented thoughtful writers who can discuss political philosophy, quantum mechanics, narrative theory, and ecological population shifts. We can cook, do laundry, and clean a house to varying extents. Do we know how to network and how to do an informational interview? Do we feel that it is possible to live on less than $20,000 per year in a large East Coast City? Increasingly, our parents will support us in a monetary fashion after we graduate. I will still call my mom for tips when I spill red wine on white pants. I will call my stepdad and my dad when I don’t know how to check what kind of light I need for the door light. And I will ask my friends when I don’t know what I’m forgetting to do.

New Slang

Even if she can't tell the pineapple story to save her life, I enjoy laughing at my sister's jokes almost as much as I enjoy laughing at her.

Be a free radical. Join the anti-Markovnikov movement.

where Fargo is a big city

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifThe NY Times has an intriguing article on North Dakota. Whereas the Sunbelt and Cactus Belt are struggling to absorb their population increases, North Dakota is seeing a mass exodus.

North Dakota has continued to lose people. And it didn't have that many to begin with. In 1930, its population peaked at 680,845. In 2000, it was down to 642,200, and by 2004, the last year for which statistics are available, it had dropped to 634,366. (By comparison, the national population more than doubled, to 294 million from 123 million, during the same period.) Of the 25 counties nationwide that lost the largest portions of their populations in the 1990's, 12 were in North Dakota.

I spent a few days in rural ND last August, and it confirms the anecdotal evidence of the residents of Crosby, ND. Towns are few and far between. The landscape is flat, to be broken as the fields change from corn to soybeans to sunflowers. In town, there is one main drag, often with a railroad line dividing the town into sections. One town celebrates "Uff-da Days" and unfortunately, I left my T-shirt with the recipe for lefse at home. Neighbors can peer through their lacy windows because, well, strangers add a little excitment, mystery, and fodder for gossip. North Dakota was built on the pen of Lincoln with the Homesteading Act and thus on the need for community. The article points out initiatives by inhabitants to maintain what it values:

North Dakotans, [one resident] says, are "superfriendly, to where you say they're borderline nosy. A real tight sense of community."

The NY Times makes no secret of the problems that cannot be helped by civic pride alone. The desire to live in a place where everyone knows your name doesn't bring employment opportunities and young families to town. [I'm not talking about the teenage pregnancy problems where the youth have nothing to do but smoke, drink, have sex and now do meth. Even seeing David Brooks' column about the lack of values in our society today didn't make me too optimistic] It brings retirees.

The emigration to other places (like Minnesota) and the lack of a tourism industry has meant that ND is in danger of falling off the map. It's sad to hear about a town that simply folds up because it has two residents. "A History of Violence" set itself in Nowhereville, Indiana, to emphasize the disappearance and imagery of small-town America; the NY Times recommends that one goes to ND to see the last vestiges of true small-town America. But this real-life version is grimmer and more ghostly.

Second to none - survey 2

Try this Johari survey for me (karly). The link is different than kelly's link in the previous post.

Better than the Mean Girls survey

Johari. It's not the Bryers-Miggs (or is it Myers-Briggs?), but thankfully, klutzy is not an option.

Science daily

Irregular webcomics combines my two favorite topics: science and politics in my favorite setting: Legos.

Educational Debates

It is interesting to note that AP exams are becoming more common. However, contrary to the Washington Post article, AP classes are not necessarily more difficult than their honors counterparts.

For many years, honors courses have been an attractive compromise for American high-schoolers. They have sampled the choices like Goldilocks: Regular courses? Too easy. Advanced Placement courses? Too hard. But honors courses were just right.

As one educator noted, it is up to the school to follow the guidelines of the AP curriculum, but it is not rigid. Do the financial resources of the schools have any effect on the outcome of the students' AP and college careers? Variation between schools is a critical factor. Nor does this emphasis on AP exams take into consideration students' interests. Rather it focuses on an end goal, college entrance, rather than students liking what they learn. Yes, valuable skills are gained from classes that may not be of interest. However, I would support the person who said that it is best to take at least one AP exam... not the push for all AP classes.


On a slightly different note, South Dakota did not pass their version of the "Academic Bill of Rights."

Lawmakers who backed the measure had argued that it would make clear that the Legislature values intellectual diversity, which the bill defined as "the foundation of a learning environment that exposes students to a variety of political, ideological, and other perspectives." The measure's supporters, who were mostly Republicans, had said the legislation would allow for better oversight of how well the state's campuses were protecting diverse views.

South Dakota certainly seems to have their share of headline-grabbing legislation lately...


Finally, the New York Times prominently featured an article on multiples (siblings) in the classroom. On one side of the argument, you have parental choice.

Advocates of parental choice point to studies in the past few years that have suggested that twins, for example, may actually benefit from being left together in their early years.

Yet, the same people go on to argue that the bond between twins is "is intense and thus privileged" and therefore it may be better for the twins to be together. I can understand the parental choice argument, though it does invite micro-managing parents into the equation. However, to say that twins (or triplets) will fluorish more in the classroom with his or her sibling(s) may not be accurate. Some children become more socially engaged and are more confident with friends present, while others merely become shadows in their friends' wake.

On the opposing side, parents argue that multiples should not have the constant comparisons with one another, which often occurs when the children are placed in the same classroom. Stories abound on both sides of the issue. As you are reading this, you probably already have a bias, based on experience....

life's lessons

On living life the right way:

"Before I left for college, my mom gave me two pieces of advice. One, never mix your whites and colors in the laundry together. Two, when someone asks you what you want to be in life, always answer with an adjective, never a noun."

~a friend who has followed the latter piece of advice, but not always the former.

Repelling genetics.

So apparently, we learn Mendelian genetics in order to learn about ear wax. The allele for wet ear wax is a dominant whereas the allele for dry wax is recessive. Cribbed from NY Times:

The single mutation in the earwax gene is one in which a G (for guanine) is replaced with an A (for adenine). People who inherit the version of the gene that has A from both parents have dry earwax. Those who carry two of the G versions, or one G and one A, are destined to live with wet earwax.

I can't access this article, so I can't read why the authors linked dry ear wax to low body sweat/odor in Han Chinese, Koreans, and Native Americans.

better days

I've nearly completed Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace. The book, by depicting the lives of residents in the South Bronx (and particularly Mott Haven), covers the gamut from employment to drug turf warfare to environmentally-induced asthma to whether hope can exist there. In many ways, the problems encountered are so entrenched as to be nearly overwhelming.

A quick look at articles addressing many of these issues are not exactly hopeful. Drug use? NYC hopes that methamphetamine usage won't catch on because, as two people surmise, cocaine is widely available and meth is the poor white trash's drug of choice. Health care? Besides the oft quoted statistic that 46 million Americans lack health insurance and that 38 million are on Medicaid,

Medicaid, Medicare and other publicly financed health care, such as that for ex-servicemen, and the public sector already pays for 45% of American health care. (The total is nearer 60% if you include the tax subsidies.) (Economist, 26 Jan 06)

Perhaps it's an oversimplification, but I'm reminded of an old argument between K and myself. From where does change occur? Yes, like deepening democracy by entrenching political values within a society, enacting change among the residents of the neighborhood would ideally be the most sustainable solution, but where do the rest of us fit? By changing policy in a top-down approach, working to better implement policy, or to "work on the ground?"

Quite a few of my friends have been mulling over the merits and drawbacks of the Peace Corps and Teach for America lately. In many ways, I think this first hand experience is the way not only to influence lives and also to influence our future actions in the area of social justice. And maybe I'm just leaning too heavily on my current emphasis and desire to enter the field of public health and how societal issues intersect.

bedknobs and broomsticks

Yesterday I was in a state of awe over one of the small things in life... doorknobs.

My younger sister (for reasons best left unsaid) broke my doorknob, broke it to the point where the knob came off on my side of the door. The door still closes completely, but now the door locks behind me. Once inside my room, I'm stuck. I can't open my door.

Maybe I'm glad that I'm leaving tomorrow.