At Long Last

Here are the long overdue Halloween winners for the department -- Ian as Tinkerbell Gone to Seed, and Agustin as a Banana Ecosystem. Enjoy.

News Stories

Why Female Genital Mutilation Won't Get You Asylum
by Bonnie Goldstein
Slate.com, Nov. 9, 2007

Hardships increase in isolated Gaza
By Steven Erlanger
Internat'l Herald Tribune, Nov 10, 2007

Go Ahead, Rationalize. Monkeys Do It, Too
By JOHN TIERNEY
NY Times, November 6, 2007

Invention Of the Year: The iPhone
By LEV GROSSMAN
Time.com, Nov. 5, 2007

The Tide Has Turned

Today we play Air Force, with the outcome in serious question. Weis has decided to start Klausen, not quite sure why. Talking to the students, they said that last week, at the end of the game when they play the song where everyone shouts "Weis", people boo-ed instead.

Another telling sign - when I asked some of the students in my large class whether the story was true, every one of them said that either they didn't stay till the end of the game, or they didn't go at all. Times they are a' changin'.

UPDATE: Air Force 41, Notre Dame 24. And so it continues... I have to confess that a nap overtook me at halftime and I had to go look up the final score (not that it was really in question).

Fall Canceled

This explains everything!

Fall Canceled After 3 Billion Seasons

It's been pretty cold around here the last week. The pretty trees lasted about 3 days, then the windy weather took care of much of that around campus. Below average cold for the past week, with snow and sleet in small doses (mostly at night). Seems more "wintery" I think because of the darker evenings with the time change.

Okay, I'm done whining...

News Stories

West Bank settlements 'expanding'
BBC.com, Nov. 7, 2007

Here we go again...and again...and again...

Curry-derived Molecules Might Be Too Spicy For Colorectal Cancers
ScienceDaily, Nov 6, 2007

Not that we really need an excuse to eat Indian food, but here ya go.

Paper or Plastic … or Neither
by Brendan I. Koerner
Slate.com, Nov. 6, 2007

Nice follow-up to the plastic bag overconsumption pictures from my Sept 22 (A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words) post.

Election Day

One year left till the really important election day!! My "Until Bush Leaves Office" widget still says 440 days, but I'm going for the glass-half-full approach ;-)

For those who know Ellen, her father won the Mayoral race here in South Bend. The ads got a bit nasty towards the end, nice to have that done with, for the short term anyway.

Israeli Archaeology

Here are 2 articles that are interestingly intertwined. The first is about a Palestinian-American professor at Barnard College whose tenure was in question because she published a book in 2001 saying that Israeli archaeology is driven to provide a basis for the existence of the country. The second is about Israeli prehistory being destroyed because, as an Israeli archaeologist says, the Israeli government is only interested in sites that provide information on the history of the Israeli state. Hmmmm.

After Battle, Barnard Professor Given Tenure
By Annie Karni
New York Sun, Nov 2, 2007

Prehistoric Treasures Lost Forever
by Liana B. Baker
The Media Line, Nov 01, 2007

Fall Colors

Although today is a windy overcast day, this weekend was gorgeous, complimented considerably by the Fall foliage. Nice time of year to be in South Bend.

Today harkens the perma-grey that's about to descend, but it had a nice prelude for sure.

Ahhh, Days of Yore

Didn't change my clocks last night as my wise father told me to, so got up today rather late, realized it was actually an hour earlier than I thought, rolled back over with the express desire to sleep some more. Unfortunately, Wiley's tummy didn't know about the time change, and thus the nagging began. Doh! Admittedly, I don't want him to waste away to nothing, so I got up and did my parental duty.

I liked it better when we lived in the timewarp bubble of never changing clocks. Life was simpler then ;-)

And since I'm up, here are some news stories:

King Tut's face Unveiled to World
BBC.com, Nov. 4, 2007
Something doesn't seem right about this. Maybe it's the typical Hawass commentary. Don't know, but it bothered me.


Spurning leftovers may hurt climate
NewsDaily.com, Nov. 3, 2007

Works at home, but what about the carryout container trash??


Cremated Son Later Found Alive
BBC.com, Nov. 4, 2007
This would suck...for somebody.

Men in Uniform

Today we play Navy. We've won in the last 43 match-ups, this is usually considered a fun (two schools with considerable traditions) but easily predictable game. No so much, this year. Only thing we've got going for us is home field advantage...if you ignore the fact that we haven't won a home game yet.

UPDATE -- I may lose my tenure for saying this, but by about half-time, I found myself rooting for Navy. Our season is shot anyway, and they most certainly deserved this win! Fun game to watch.

Cool News

Here are some fun/interesting stories from the past week:

Semi-identical twins discovered
BBC.com, Nov 2, 2007


Study: Beer beats water for hydration
NewsDaily, Nov. 2, 2007


Guiness Names World's Hottest Pepper
SlashFood, Feb 2, 2007

Note: it's not the one to the left, that's just a skull pepper (of course).

Bummer

Colbert got the boot in South Carolina. Understandable, but takes the fun out of it. Would have been fun to see him in a debate.

S.C. Democrats Say No to Colbert
by Katharine Q. Seelye
November 1, 2007, NY Times

Washoe

This was a sad story to see in the NY Times today. I think I'll go home and eat some "candy fruit" in her honor.

Washoe, a Chimp of Many Words, Dies at 42
By Benedict Carey
NY Times, November 1, 2007

Silbury Hill Update

Here's a follow-up on the excavations at Silbury Hill. Pretty cool stuff - green grass growing inside, chalk stairs, etc.

Last Chance to Solve Puzzle of Ancient Hill
by Simon de Bruxelles
Timesonline, Oct. 25, 2007

Lights, Camera, Action

Did some filming today for the Notre Dame webpage. They've revamped the site and now run video segments exclusively, so film crews are making the rounds. Right now Mark's work is featured, if you go to the website, look for the "Digging Into the Past" to see his interview. He did a good job.

Our bit is supposed to highlight Matt G's work on interpersonal conflict with the Bab edh-Dhra' remains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS -- don't forget to feed the fish from the previous post or pet the kitty to the left (I had some free time on my hands last night...)

Happy Halloween !!

This year we had a competition in the department - students paid $1 for the Breast Cancer fund drive, and they got to vote for a professor to wear a costume on Halloween. Agustin and Ian tied. Ian came dressed as "Tinker Bell Gone Bad" and Agustin as a "Banana Ecosystem." I have an Ian picture that I'll post later, am still trying to track down Agustin (these pesky classes get in the way!) It's a fun idea, the students seem to love it. I think we have the start of a tradition.

In the meantime, here's a little something for your reading pleasure:

Star Trek Gadget? 'Tractor Beam' For Cells Developed
ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2007)

Apple's Microsoft-Devouring Jungle Cat: How Leopard demolishes Vista
By Harry McCracken
Oct. 31, 2007, Slate.com

And now for something completely different:
Move your mouse over the fish pond to "feed" the fish. Click your mouse to leave food. Fun diversion.

Anticipation

Can you feel the excitement in the air?? That sense of anticipation?? The nearness of the high holy day of osteology??

One more day till Halloween!!! Wooo Hooo!

And as important, the day after Halloween when all the skeleton stuff goes on sale ;-)

Notre Dame Could Learn From This...

Notre Dame might want to consider adding this to their play book. Texas Trinity made 15 lateral passes to score the winning touchdown. The video quality is not so good, but you definitely get the gist of this play:

Bushism of the Day

"I fully understand those who say you can't win this thing militarily. That's exactly what the United States military says, that you can't win this military."—on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

Video (comment at 18:35)

Early Riser

I got up at the crack of dawn this morning. Not "dawn" in Sue-land (just before noon), but for real (6:00 am). I was on the road by 7:30, and people were already up and about!! Who knew?? Indeed, there was what might pass for traffic in South Bend, took me a good 7 minutes to get to campus rather than the usual 4. Not sure what possessed me to be out and about at this hour, probably has to do with the high sleep quotient of Fall Break ;-) Anyway, this seemed a monumental enough occurrence for a blog entry ;-) (I figure this'll get a comment or two...)

Unmade Beds

Finally, justification for not making my bed!! Be forewarned, this article might make sleeping tonight a bit difficult. Excuse me while I go vacuum my bed...

Untidy beds may keep us healthy
BBC.com

New Dots

Well, I might not be gettin' much love in comments, but I got a bunch of new dots on my map from Sweden, Greece, and Russia. Thanks Tracy, you jet-setter.

While I can account for most of the dots on the map - the northern Norway and Hudson Bay area viewers remain a mystery.

Forgotten and Unloved

I haven't had a 'Comment" since October 17th, I feel so lonely (as I sit here writing on the computer..okay...so forget that fact for a minute).

Come on (sniff) - no Notre Dame jokes?? Mac-bashing? Ooo-aahhs for wild boat rides?? Jealousy about Fall Break?? Impressed-ness at my plethora of skeleton action figures?? Blogging is no fun without a little feedback occasionally (sniff)

Citizen Paul

My brother-in-law became a US Citizen this week, here are some pictures of event. The first is Paul the American with the kids, the second is my father and the kids saluting a flag outside the house. It's been a banner year - Full Professor and no more green card! Mabruke & matzel tov!!

Wild Ride!

Here are some pictures my folks sent about a wind storm and its effects on the ferry they take to travel from their home on Whidbey Island to Seattle. The price they pay to spend time with their grandkids!!

PS -- they didn't take these pictures, nor were they on this particular ferry ride - but still, credit where credit is due ;-)

Lookin' Good

One day and counting...

New Treats and Tiny Tweaks Make Mac OS X Leopard Spot On
By Scott Gilbertson
Wired 10/25/07

The iPhone might have grabbed all of this year's headlines, but Leopard may well prove to be Apple's most revolutionary product release of 2007.

Tonight Show

Tonight we made Leno's monologue in two jokes. Had to chuckle. These are close to quotes:

1. To avoid further embarrasment, the Vatican approved a massive payout...for Notre Dame season ticket holders.

2. Notre Dame suffered further embarrasment today when their leprechaun was beated up by a Keebler elf.

Harry Potter Revelations

Apparently JK Rowling made several statements yesterday that have attracted attention, particularly that Dumbledore is gay:

Q: Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?

A: My truthful answer to you... I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. [ovation.] ... Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him. Yeah, that's how i always saw Dumbledore. In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair... [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, "Dumbledore's gay!" [laughter] If I'd known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!

But as Keith Oberman stated tonight, the real takeaway message is to question authority, always. Shame this part didn't get the same amount of press, but hopefully it got thru to the kids reading the books.

Here We Go Again

Oiy, they're at it again. From the mouth of our Vice President:

"The Iranian regime's efforts to destabilize the Middle East and to gain hegemonic power is a matter of record. And now, of course, we have the inescapable reality of Iran's nuclear program; a program they claim is strictly for energy purposes, but which they have worked hard to conceal; a program carried out in complete defiance of the international community and resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. Iran is pursuing technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. The world knows this. The Security Council has twice imposed sanctions on Iran and called on the regime to cease enriching uranium. Yet the regime continues to do so, and continues to practice delay and deception in an obvious attempt to buy time.

The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences. The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."


Here's the whole speech if you really want to give yourself a sleepless night (or at the very least, raise your blood pressure a few hundred points...) The poster above might become reality if this isn't just so much chin music.

Vice President's Remarks to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Office of the Vice President
October 21. 2007

Here We Go Again

Oiy, they're at it again. Sen David Vitter slipped a $100,000 appropriation into an education bill for the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF) to "develop a plan to promote better science education." Only problem is, part of the LFF's charter says that they want to "persuasively present biblical principles in centers of influence, including schools." Apparently in the past, LFF has advocated teaching creationism in the science classroom to accomplish this goal.

Groups Ask Senate To Remove Earmark Promoting Creationism From Spending Bill
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
From Americans United for the Separation of Church & State

Su-prise, Su-prise

Hmmm, there was no predicting the outcome of today's game...

Maybe if they recruit a few of the cheerleaders?? Or some of the stockier band members?? Perhaps keeping 'em here for Fall Break to, I don't know, practice ??!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evolution Of The Pocketbook
A fun theory on women's handbags:

"If one thinks anthropologically, handbags may be a vestigial expression of women’s biological desire to nest. We need to feel that all the necessities of life are immediately within reach — and these necessities have increased in number as civilization has grown more complex. By the same token, the handbag may only be a shrewd invention on the part of patriarchy to keep women enslaved. The dead white male who invented it knew that it was an accessory that we wouldn’t be able to resist."

The Handbag
By Paula Marantz Cohen
The Smart Set, Drexel University