Frogs and Ravens

Friday Random Ten - April 29th Edition

Sixteen Tons - The Weavers - Greatest Hits

Dawn Dancing - Karl Jenkins and the Adiemus Singers - Dances of Time

Beso Eterno - Ella Baila Sola - e.b.s

Isn't It A Pity? - Linda Purl - George and Ira Gershwin: A Musical Celebration

Ay Linda Amiga - William Coulter - Celtic Crossing

Purpose - Avenue Q

Get Ready - The Limestones - Clean Slate

The Goodnight Song - Emma Christian - Celtic Voices: Women of Song

Quiero tener tu presencia - Seguridad Social - Las 101 Mejores Canciones del Pop Español

Percy's Song - Fairport Convention - Heyday

Wow. This is just all over the map, isn't it?

Alter Egos

Every now and then I google myself to see what pops up.  One thing that is reinforced every time is that, on anything I want to be easily linked to myself, I need to include the middle initial.  There are a lot of people out there with the same first and last names; a huge percentage in the UK.  What is entertaining, however, is that there is not a lot of deviation in the sorts of professions we choose.

After going through the first ten google pages, these are the themes:  environment, writing, PR work, medicine, medical research, athletics and yoga. 

Nice to know that I'm living up to my demographic profile.

Thinking about Freelancing

I'm shifting out of one of my mildly depressive moods towards one of the mildly manic, which means that I'm currently in a nice state of focused energy that can be channeled productively.

As I continue to feel discouraged about the various employment options available to me in Red State, and as my on-going concern about my failure to find a career track to replace academia has not gone away, I'm beginning to think that I have nothing to lose by taking the radical step of moving into freelance work.

I'm leaning towards writing, primarily because I know how to do it, and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it, with perhaps a side of illustration (partly because it interests me, partly because many magazines are willing to pay more for articles that come pre-illustrated).  I will say, though, that the business side of all of this is daunting.  Not so much the hoops to jump through, nor the tracking of income and expenses, nor the legal aspects -- but the twin spectres of (a) having to sell myself and my ideas to strangers, probably over the phone as much as via letters and email, and (b) keeping myself focused and productive over long stretches of time.  Plus I also need to think hard and long about what sort of markets to aim myself at; I'm such an omnivore of ideas that the thought of focusing on only one set of them is worrisome.  (Especially if I take my tendencies as exhibited on this blog as indicators of future writing behavior.)

But I'm smart, I can write, I have a computer, and I know how to research a topic.  Not too bad a beginning, right?  (Right?)

An Important Letter

I just sent this to the Executive Director of the American Historical Association and to the Organization of American Historians, regarding the knowing distortion of the Congressional record by Republican partisans today. If you are a member of either organization, I encourage you to send a letter of your own; if you are not, some variation on this, directed to other affected organizations, or to local media outlets or political representatives would be also be useful. There's just too much at stake -- this is a very deliberate and public rejection of the principle that the accuracy of governmental records should be beyond petty partisanship. It's a simple, easy-to-understand instance of the current administration's arrogance -- and one with wide-reaching implications.

Subject: Knowing Falsification of Official Congressional Records

I hope I have chosen the correct person for this message. If not, please forward it to whomever is responsible for articulating the Association's positions to the members of Congress.

A matter has come to my attention that has grave implications for future research that may make use of federal records. This is the knowing and intentional misrepresentation of Congressional legislative activity by members of the House Judiciary Committee, Committee Chair, and other Republican staff members -- even in the face of specific and vocal protest at the time it occurred. (Full details of this can be found here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/27/104035/827 -- be sure to read not only the initial posting but also the subsequent discussion in the comments, which reveals additional details and developments.)

Regardless of one's political position and opinions on the bill in question, I believe that, as professionals dependent on the accuracy of the federal record for significant portions of our research, it is vital that we, as an organization, take a firm stand against such reprehensible behavior.

Sincerely,

[me]

Gummi!

Must. Stop. Eating. Gummi Bears.

I suppose I should be grateful that Henry's was only selling the two-cup packages, instead of the huge tubs I was looking for. 

But I'm not.  More Gummi Bears!

Fucking HELL

Go.  Go now, and read this post at Daily Kos.

The bill in question is damn horrible in the first place.  But then to go and re-name the amendments designed to protect well-meaning people like relatives or clergy -- after those amendments have been voted on, mind you -- in the official record -- as if they were intended to protect sexual predators from prosecution, and the summaries were also edited to imply the same...

It is confirmed.  These people don't even know the meaning of the word shame.  They are so far from shame that it lives in another dimension from them.

And I am betting that none of this will make its way out to the mainstream public.  We are so screwed!

One Can Hope

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

A warning -- and this is rather ironic, given my result -- there are a LOT of typos in the quiz and results.  Pedants beware!

D. Will Be Pleased

American Cities That Best Fit You:

70% Chicago

70% Philadelphia

60% Washington, DC

55% Boston

50% Honolulu

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Traveling

Your Travel Profile:

You Are Extremely Well Traveled in Australia (100%)

You Are Extremely Well Traveled in the Western United States (95%)

You Are Well Traveled in the Midwestern United States (50%)

You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (29%)

You Are Mostly Untraveled in Canada (20%)

You Are Mostly Untraveled in Southern Europe (13%)

You Are Mostly Untraveled in the Southern United States (8%)

You Are Untraveled in Africa (0%)

You Are Untraveled in Asia (0%)

You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%)

You Are Untraveled in Latin America (0%)

You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%)

You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%)

You Are Untraveled in Western Europe (0%)

You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%)

You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)

How Well Traveled Are You?

How's this for a road map?

(I will say I'm a bit miffed about the Latin American result.  Apparently my three weeks spent in the Panamanian campo don't count.  And how bizarre is it that I'm better traveled in Australia than in my own country?  I guess that's what you get when visiting big cities isn't a high priority at home.)

Gah in a Nutshell

Poll o' the day question on CNN.com International:  "Will President Putin follow through on his declaration that Russia's main political task is to develop as a free, democratic nation with European ideals?"

On CNN.com USA:  "Do you think dogs should be walked at least three times a day?"

Says it all, doesn't it?