Har

Not first.

Maybe.

:-)

What I want to know is who is doing "the allowing?"

Dooley's image of the Clovis people applying the pishkun method of meat-harvesting to giant beavers was classic.

Tim Flannery enthusiastically explained the "overkill" hypothesis of Clovis people wiping out the megafauna in "The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples," which he wrote while spending a year at Harvard teaching Australian Studies or something of the sort. He must have found the university as hospitable as the highlands of New Guinea.

I had an entire comment written yesterday about the DoftheC and Dooley revelations. Basically it had to do with one of the things we love about the boodle: the expertise.

When you see a familiar handle, you know right away either 1) this person knows what he or she is talking about, 2) he or she doesn't necessarily, or 3) the comment is funny or interesting enough to read anyway.

When I saw Dave's first comment about the 12,900-year-old comet, I read it with interest, thinking he was probably the guy to tell us about it. Then Dooley jumps in. Wow. Another cool expert coming from another direction.

I even read the entire exchange to my son, even though I'd consider that I mostly fall under the "2)" category above. (I am not going to call myself a Number Two. That's just gross.)

[Why didn't I post my long comment? I figured you'd heard enough of my drivel for one day. But today's a new day, isn't it?]

As long as I'm not called a Number Six, I'm good.

:-)

OK. I have tinkered with that kit. Might add a thing or two later.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

TBG, here is my real #2 test, if you see the word Pleistocene, and the first thing that pops into your head is the modelling clay you got to play with in Grade school.

#2 I am, but I will never give up my delusion of one day being a number 1, at something. :-)

By the way have a great Memorial Weekend to everyone south of the border.

Fabulous weekend, my eyeball!

The National Weather Service has revised its forecast to say that the area is expecting 15 to 20 inches of rain over the next five days--with possible area flooding to equal or exceed that of the 1998 and 2002 floods.

Add to that 11 in-laws are coming with four children under the age of seven. That primal scream (I'm not kidding) is coming from deep south central Texas. The week that I have been dreading for a year is at my doorstep.

What do you do to get to be an Seven of Nine, TBG-- other than be Mo?

Backboodling to bill's "go Weingarten."

I immediately had the imagine of a large black-moustached orangutan putting down his glass of cheap red wine to attack people.

I read too much Terry Pratchett.

Yikes, Loomis. Remember, every day borne is another day closer to the week ending.

Hope you can get them out of the house somehow-- community center, indoors gym, etc. Good luck!

Re registration, if we get italics, footnotes, backrubs, and pedicures, I'm in!

I'm on my way to enjoy the start of the weekend with several hours on I-270.

I'm kidding.

I hope.

Have a good holiday weekend, all, and stay safe! *waving*

:-)

New York seems to have a special tradition--at least back to LaGuardia--of mayors spending their time out in the communities, so they've always had good logistics. That could be why Giuliani was able to keep in touch on 9-11.

I'd jump at the chance to have Bloomberg as president.

TBG, I posted your crab shack recommendations at the bottom of the previous kit, before I new there was a new kit. Not worth re-posting here. But there if you want them.

Mudge... thanks for the restaurant tips in the old boodle.

Just to set the record straight: the G family is a "hole in the wall" family. You never have to say, "It looks like a hole in the wall, but..."

ATTENTION, BOODLE, ATTENTION, BOODLE! At the bottom of his kit, Joel pointed out that the Style section won a big award. He neglected to mention that in the category of "Health and Fitness" they listed the winner and the three finalsists. Among the three were (ahem ahem, and I quote): "'Can We Stop the Next Killer Flu?' by Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post Magazine."

Congrats, Joel--but you wuz robbed. I don't even know if Weingarten entered the Great Zucchini story in a different category, but if he did, he wuz robbed, too.

Thinking of the Pleistocene-sized barbecues coming up this weekend, fake soy-protein burgers seem to be getting reasonably good, at least if slathered with plenty of ketchup, tomato, onion, lettuce, and maybe a tiny amount of chipotle sauce. Could someone get busy and invent veggie grouper that, with gentle warming, would reproduce that wonderful, almost sashimi texture? No tartar sauce allowed, just a nice bed of mashed potatoes.

NYC only "subsumes" five boroughs. Think of London, which has 32 boroughs plus the "City of London."

They only have had one all-encompassing mayor since 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_borough

Veggie fish? Yuck, just cook fish.

But if you really must, the closet veggie I can think of to fish texture when cooked slightly would be tofu, maybe portabella.

I'd go with extra-firm tofu (or other vegetable that you deem suitable in texture) with a liberal marinating in olive oil, a touch of honey, a touch of lemon juice, and chesapeake bay or other fish seasoning, refrigerate for a day or so, and then gently warm (or cook) it up.

Voila! IMO, trying to create meat substitutes out of vegetables does a disservice.

I have loved mock general Tso's chicken with textured soy protein (TSP)-- it even has the fiberous texture of chicken-- but I found the TSP indigestible.

That and some experiences with soy milk have convinced me that dishes with small amounts of tofu dishes is the only way I'm ever eating soy (other than in soy sauce) again. Too much soy ain't good for you.

Most veggie meat substitutes center on soy, with some wheat protein or rice protein-- and trust me, if they come from china, you don't wanna eat them.

I prefer to eat beans other than soy myself-- a black bean taco with cheese, olives, lettuce, sour cream etc is far more tasty than any veggie burger I've ever been able to find. (My favorite veggie burger does have black beans in them-- go figure.)

Mudge, Weingarten is listed as a finalist for "The Peekaboo Paradox."

Veggie fish? Proof that adding Old Bay Seasoning makes anything taste like crab...

MOCK ZUCCHINI CRAB CAKES*

2 c. grated zucchini, peeled
1 c. bread crumbs (Italian seasoned)
1 egg
1 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

Combine Old Bay Seasoning with bread crumbs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Shape into patties or drop by spoonful in skillet of combination of oil and butter. Brown on both sides. Makes 4 servings. (A good way to use up all that zucchini you grow.)

______________________
*From Cooks.com

Speaking of the Pleistocene mass extinction, much of your feral gummint just got an "early out" and that sucking sound you hear is the sound of thousands of gummint workers beating feet out of town, which in another 20 minutes is going to look like Ground Zero when the comet hit--devoid of all life. (OK, yes, I realize that's a potential set-up for something like "OK, how much life was there in the feral gummint, say, an hour ago?")

So the point is, I'm one of the thousands running for the bus (think of the running of the bulls at Pamplona). Everybody have a great, massively carnivorous BBQ-and-crab-swilling holiday, except for you vegen types, who should have a great herbaceous or vegetudinous holiday full of lots of soy burgers and Dave's faux soy grouper meuniere au gratin. You there, up in Canada! Have some nice poutine and try not to feed those grizzlies; maybe just leave out some Purina Grizzly Chow to keep them at bay.

Have I obsessed with you guys on millet yet? If so, I'm gonna do it again (since I'm making it tonight w/ some chicken and copious amounts of veggies for a friend (and me, of course) tonight). Millet is one of those miracle grains -- it would appear to have beaucoup amounts of protein, which is great for vegetarian dishes. Cook it like rice -- it has a nice nutty taste. It's eaten a lot in Africa (which just *has* to be why I like it so much, ya think???) and apparently in Asia, as well. I think it's yummy.

As for the kit on Hillary -- I find it simply amazing that men appear to go ape-**** about the fact that a woman (how *dare* she!) might have any ambition in life other than cooking and cleaning for her menfolk. And that Hillary might have made the conscious decision to stay with her philandering husband for her own reasons. Just as all those judgmental control-freak bodies pounced on John and Elizabeth Edwards regarding their own (presumably very well thought-out) decisions in light of her returned cancer, to tell them that the very best thing they can do for their young children would be to go home, draw the shades, shut the blinds and all hold hands until Elizabeth dies. Now they will throw all the excrement-tainted blame on Hillary for making the choices she has made in her own life. Considering the obvious and profoundly transparent insecurities of all those men out there (most fellow boodlers excused from that generality), it's amazing that they're governing (a misnomer, to be sure) the world. *gack*

That's my rant for today, and I'm sticking to it. A nice warm shower should take care of that, however.

Have a good weekend, everybody.

Is he, Wheezy? I musta missed it; skimming too fast. Thanks. Congrats to him, too, then.

And this of course is not to be confused with the Great Zucchini's recipe for kid fun.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to the Yanks, even to those southern type ones that deny they are Yankees.

Simon D, I hope you stick around. If non sequitors are your thing, this is non sequitor nirvana. I read the sock-mate thing as just humour, BTW, and am SO going to use that.

"The ultimate Sprinsteen compliment: You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright" is my tag line on the Backstreets message board.

I could wax pedantic for hours about the poetry of Sprinsteen. I once used 'Born To Run' on and English Lit final. Only his folksiest caterwauling is off-limits to criticism.

mudge,
All morning I was mentally composing a metaphor between blogs and neighborhood bars. How newcomers are welcome as long as they fit in with the group even if they don't share the same opinion. I now have to abandon that task since it has been done more comprehensively and eloquently by you. As far as I got was:

The Boodle is a friendly neighborhood pub. You don't walk into a friendly tavern and start screaming about what jerks everybody is without expecting some blowback. If all you want to do yell and rant, the big chains like Wingnutz™ and Libtards® are open 24/7 and tolerate that behavior more willingly.

We welcome strangers, but don't tolerate jerks and fools.

Thanks for the well wishes, Wilbrod, but I have NO desire to be with the in-laws, let alone getting them out of the house. But technically, they're not in the house--they're staying in a timeshare about a hours drive north of here, near Canyon Lake. Having 11 guests under this roof would be physically overwhelming (not to mention psychologically and emotionally), to say the least.

The situation is thus (I thought about making two posts, then didn't, then I thought "What the heck"--so I've pasted in some excerpts. Add this to the fact that I've had a tremendous splitting headache today and GI tract upset, so what I wrote may be quite disjointed--and a graf or two ties into the Hillary "ambition" bit.)

A year ago, we begged, my husband making as strong a hint (or plea) as I on the telephone with his brother--why don't just you (my husband's brother and his wife) come for a nice (ADULT) visit and stay with us?

No, they have chosen to come and travel as a battalion, a caravan--11 of them coming in two vehicles. There will be the two grandparents, three adult children, two kidspouses, and 4 children under the age of seven. I can hardly tell them how to spend their vacation time, I try to reason with myself.

Even if the weather were to be fair, the following would still hold. No, I don't want to go to SeaWorld. Once is enough in a lifetime (the last and only time we went to Seaworld with you was in the mid-'90s and I really was doing a great acting job that I enjoyed myself). I also strongly disagree with the practice of taking animals from the wild--land and sea and air--and making them do tricks repeatedly for public consumption.

No, I don' think shopping is recreation and avoid malls like the plague, so I don't want to go to the asphalt-island outlet mall at San Marcos with you. No, I have zero interest in the Fiesta Texas themepark. No, I don't want to go see the third installments of "Pirates." I thought the second film in the series stunk. And no, the house isn't childproofed.

In other words, I have no children, I'm not child-oriented at this stage of my life (having done my bit earlier with children as a teacher and for four summers as a swim instructor) nor child-interested (except perhaps in a public policy sense), and have absolutely zero, nada, zip interest in child-oriented activities. As Gloria Steinem would say, I'm not part of the sisterhood of motherhood nor the sisterhood of grandmotherhood.

I will say that when I met my husband's nieces and nephews at Christmas during Christmas '85, I thought what intelligent children! Only one has graduated college, the eldest son, who remains unmarried. The second son, the one who wanted to beome an architect, is a handyman and repairman at a downtown hotel in Kanas City--one of those big, old, formerly glorious 100-year-old hotels. He married a woman who is barely literate, can barely hold a job, and has caused all kinds of problems. The third son is a true social isolate who lives at his parents' home (and is the one staying home to "hold down the fort" and is not making this trip) and does some home repair contract work for pocket cash.

The only daughter, the youngest child, wanted to become a film director, her reply to me when I asked her her goals in '85. Instead, she got pregnant before her 18th birthday, got married just a handful of weeks before she delivered. Now, she has had two more kids and a miscarriage before her 25th birthday.

Will she ever be ambitious? She has become a breeder rather than a reader. I bite my tongue constantly when I'm around my husband's clan, because what I see is so much true potential wasted. The question of ambition--or lack of it--is very much on my mind as regards my husband's family.

And yes, I will resent every penny my husband spends on entertaining them (and he plans on accompanying them to all the kiddie theme parks, but not I) since we, my husband and I, haven't had a single vacation in seven years, not even spending the night away from home on our 20th wedding anniversary. Yes, there are some real issues between not only my husband and me--and his family.

A very long week coming, as you suggest, Wilbrod, to be taken one day at a time...

Safely ensconced here in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Couple quick thoughts before we head out to the famous "Green Dragon" Farmer's market.

I see nothing in these shocking revelations about Hilary to convince me that she would be in any way unfit for office. Let's face it, anyone who wants to be the President of the United States must, by definition, be wired a bit differently than the average citizen.

I have no problem with the registration. Heck, because of back channel coms Joel already knows who most of us are. Besides, you need to register to get most WaPo content online anyway. Just so long as privacy is maintained I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.

To go back to that version of football (soccer) played with sticks on ice, here's a story from today's LAT --

http://www.latimes.com/sports/hockey/nhl/la-sp-hockey25may25,1,1137361.story?coll=la-headlines-sports

TBG, thanx for the zucchini cakes recipe. It's getting to be the time of year when one looks for ways to utilise excess zucchini. I'm picking them small, but still have 6 sitting in the kitchen. Already. From one hill of two plants.

I'll also be trying out the "faux crab" cakes. I've got a buddy who's forsworn meat, and is always up for something new.

Wilbrod,
My supply of fake meat in the freezer has a fairly long half-life.

Black rice from China goes a bit faster--I've got to keep working on reverse "moros y christianos" with white beans on black rice. I also need to work harder on exploiting the booming basil and African oregano plants in the back yard.

I've reached a point where I can easily live without chicken (dry/rubbery chicken is particularly good at setting off violent heartburn, the sort that makes me wish I were suffering a gout attack, instead). For some reason, white bread rolls can do the same thing. Hamburger is dispensable, except for maybe once a month. But life without the occasional roast-beef sandwich seems unfair. Same for real fish. The great grouper shortage is tragic.

Beans are real culinary marvels. As with other veggies, I assume the red and black ones' pigments are healthy.

On the side, why is it so hard to find red lentils in Florida?

Oh, and isn't "Cook's Illustrated" like, kinda, one of the coolest cooking publications ever?

Dave of C. - If you're trying to do an entire reverse-themed dinner, I once found a recipe (it might have been from "Cook's" also) for a "Frozen Florida", kind of a reversed Baked Alaska. Made with the microwave, balls of ice cream had a hot filling. Very cool!

Ohhhh, DofC, I *love* red lentils. If you've got a Whole Foods down there, you ought to be able to find it. I got some black lentils at Trader Joes and cooked them up, but I didn't like them as much as I like the red ones. The red ones break down and turn golden, and the taste is really nice. I throw a lot of stuff in the mix for cooking, including caraway seeds -- they go quite well with the lentils.

Okay, now I'm *really* going. Nice holiday everyone.

None of you will be surprised that I eat everything, and like it that way. I eat a lot of vegetarian meals with beans and lentils and rices. Nonetheless, meat should be made of meat, and fish fish. I would never eat anything imitation-something.

I don't understand the whole veggie-burger thing. Why not just have a nice falafel and call a spade a spade?

Loomis, oh I do feel for you. We marry a man and well someimtes it's so much more. On the R side of the border, to be absolutely fair, my inlaws love back back in the same, mildly 'who was that masked man' sort of way. Not a lot of connections outside of work.

May you have a peaceful weekend somewhere along the way.

Great Kit. I'm so glad to see Dooley's explanation, which I loved, out there for all to see. In the mysterious way of the Internet, will we now get a bunch of anthro- etc. sciency types taking umbrage?

I also like the comments about Her Hilaryness. I've often wondered why a woman can't have as much ambition as a man. Or, as in the case of several men I know, much more. It is one reason, as my career and commitment (civic, I mean) path climbs, that I use more honey than vinegar and allow other people to express their opinions and ideas. There's nothing like getting a group to buy in to what you want to do while encouraging them to think it was really their idea, or would have been if you hadn't said it first.

Loomis, you have my sincere and abiding sympathies. I like the way you've defined your levels of participation, excluding all the things you really don't care to do. Stick with that plan. As I know you know, if you assent under pressure to accompany the group to any or all of those places, they and you will all be the worse for it.

Bob S.

I have subscribed to "Cook's Illustrated" for about a year now and think it's great.

DooleyDog No.2, Fizzgig the St. Bernard, passed away this afternoon after contracting an as-yet unidentified illness while accompanying us on an excavation 2 weeks ago.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=s7y0dog.t5j7rb4&x=0&y=iz8jq3

Eating Vietnamese food inspired me to make a couple of "reverse tacos." The lettuce was on the outside, corn tortilla chips on the inside. It was okay. Tasted tacoey.

"It's in some bizarro parallel reality that the Rudy campaign achieves verisimilitude." Did the Vanity Fair writer do that without spell-check? If so, a tip-o-the-hat. Plus, I like using "subsume" for "comprise." It works and it teaches.

I have the g-girl. My daughter should be somewhere near Myrtle Beach by now. The bike thing is this weekend. I will be here, and will try to keep up with a three year old.

Simon D, I did ask a question. You will find that in things I don't understand, I will admit that, and ask to be enlightened. I try to be honest, and when I stated that I felt bad when I read your comment, I did. I hope that doesn't make you feel bad. That was not my intention.

Mudge, your explaination was much better.

Again, hope the holiday is the best for every one. And remember our soldiers.

Loomis, I also really liked your use of Steinem's phrase about the sisterhood of motherhood etc. I think this feeds in to the whole Hillary and ambition question. Personally, I think being a mom is great -- good thing, since life would be a bit awkward otherwise. That doesn't mean I like all children, or would necessarily volunteer to spend a lot of time even with the ones I like.

I get tired of public policy, political etc. discussions where the state of being a woman always winds up tied somehow to the presence or absence of children. Most women I know have personal or professional interests, even family interests, which have nothing to do with whether or not they have children. This is as it should be. People don't define Giuliani by whether he was a good father, nor the other male candidates (though perhaps we should have taken the Bush twins as some sort of warning). "They" (those that allow women's ambition, or not) do tend to look at a woman's children as reflections on her, or her lack of children as saying something profound. Sometimes it just means she doesn't have a child.

Of course Hillary is ambitious. Why else would anyone sleep with Lick Swillie? And we know she did it at least once because there aren't any milkmen in Arkansas that ugly.

Yoki, you're not looking at this thing correctly. Veggie burgers aren't "meat substitutes". They're just something else to do with one's veggies, particularly if one (for whatever reason) isn't eating meat at all.

Nuttin' the matter with a little variety!

(I definitely eat of the flesh. Cloven-hoofed, finned, or none of the above. But I've certainly had plenty of tasty "faux" dishes that seemed like a fun way to use up some veg-protein.)

Dooley - I'm so sorry to hear about D-Dog Fizzig.

Ivansmom, you are so right. I think it's wonderful that women step out and do new things. And men are not judged by their child rearing skills or lack of for that matter. I believe that some men are just afraid of smart women, and want them to go away. More power to the ladies. And from what little history I know of the American presidency, women certainly cannot do any worse than men. We won't even go the way of today.

Cassandra, good luck keeping up with your granddaughter! At least it will be fun.

Thanks for reminding us to remember the soldiers. Memorial Day has become so enshrined as another three-day holiday, with sales and food, that we can forget it is to remember our dead. Oklahoma is far enough South that there'll be lots of tidying-up in various cemetaries, I know.

Is the name a take on Fezzik from "Princess Bride", or something so sensitive that I'm going to regret having asked the question?

Ooops, I'm an idiot. "Fizzgig", of course. I'm sorry.

I for one would gladly vote for a woman for President. But at the same time, I can understand the people who have reservations about Hillary.

So, who else is on the bench? Which women do the ladies feel should be going for it besides Hillary?

Dooley, I'm so sorry about your Fizzgig, he was a beautiful dog.

I used to subscribe to Cooks Illustrated but they kept sending me cookbooks, which I kept sending back, and then they'd bill me for the books for months. Has anyone here had this problem with them:? I wrote them at least twice asking them to stop, they didn't. Then they sent me a freebie issue a while back, trying to get me to subscribe again, I wrote to tell them that I would if they would promise not to send me unsolicited books. No reply. It is a great magazine, but they need a complaint department for subscription problems.

Well, Cassandra, I think it's fair to say that smart, ambitious people are feared generally, and it's often wished that they'd go away. Smart ambitious people who know how to play well with others have always had a chance (not always a large chance, but always a chance) to get ahead (no matter their gender, race, or number of functioning body parts), and the increasing diversity of every part of society has been making that easier for a long time.

Hard-driving A-holes can sometimes make it, and sometimes they get shoved back into the lobster pot. Hey, it can be a hard old world for those who don't want to help and be helped.

Loomis, that has to be the biggest assault on San Antonio since Santa Ana. Hold the fort.

Cassandra, thanks for the gentle reminder about why we get to drink beer and freeze our tuchas at the beach this weekend.

Dooley, that is one gorgeous dog. Remember him always.

Au contraire, Ivansmom. One of the running gags at Wonkette is that Rudy is a truly terrible father. Karma may catch him yet.

My wife is is already calling in chits on Balticon. Tonight we are going to see 'Paris, je t'aime'. My son is staying home to watch 'V Is For Vendetta.' My wife says, "You watch your Natalie Portman movie; I'll watch mine."

Me? I'll watch the little neighborhood Lolita in anything.

I somehow forgot that today would mark the arrival of the "summer people." A misnomer really since they aren't truly regarded as fully humnan-more like ATMs, only one must provide a good or service to get the cash. My heartfelt apologies to anyone who is summering at a beloved cottage, cabin, camp, or beach house. You are all too interesting and lovely to act in ways that make me want to not only post my land "no trespassing" but also take leave of my anti-landmine position.

Summertime and the tourists are sleazy,
Fish are bitin',
and your teens are all high.
Your cell phone's a brick,
Cause we don't get no service.

So hush little whiner,
I don't care.

It is time for me to get out in the garden. Hope everyone has a great, and safe, time this holiday weekend. Watch out for the locals, they could be a bit testy.

SCC: Lest I offend the 'mudgeon and other crabbie types:

I'm pretty sure that "back into the crab pot" is the more traditional metaphor.

Sorry about your dog Dooley. He was beautiful.

Dooley, Fizzig was a real beauty, inside and outside it appears. You can tell a lot about a dog by viewing a picture of him with his people.

Wholly aunt of the Spaghetti Monster!!

There are people who actually go to Minnesota for vacation?

In the words of some pointy-eared dude:

"Fascinating!"

In keeping with my typical idiocy, I'm sure that I've mistaken Frosti's stompin' grounds. Feel free to replace with the proper stretch of tundra!

Cassandra, I regret being short to you in the explanation...and apologize for being insensitive (anti-PC is not pretty - we pay the price for authenticity) but my point was that codes (legal and ethical) should be made from the vantage of the most marginalized people in order to maximize justice in society. Colorblindness works on the internet, but we all know it is a complete fiction in normal everyday conduct. Not only that, advocating colorblindness amounts to giving up on history. Race needs to be talked about. My way with words is not always soft, but my heart is in the right place on the stuff that matters.

I spend a lot of time over at the America's Test Kitchen website. It is run by the the same company that puts out Cook's Illustrated. Chris Kimball edits Cook's Ill. and oversees the website and presides over America's Test Kitchen's TV show on PBS.
I'm still waiting for the movie.

SCC: "internet" should be "internets"

Simon D, thank you. And you are correct, we should talk about race, not at it. Have good weekend.

Dooley, I'm sorry about your dog.

And I'm off. Please be careful every one.

Analyzed my kitchen counter problem, and theorized that the large slow cooker, Cuisinart, 10 and 20 qt. bowls and assorted baking items were always out because I didn't have a place to put them. (Can't pull much over on me!)

So today I cleaned out a number of cabinets, moved hardly-ever used items to the cabinet shelves near the ceiling, and tossed everything that had expired.

If there's a shortage of BBQ sauce in America, it's because it was all in my cabinets. Ditto bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate (6 lbs.), 2 kinds of coconut, 5 kinds of flour, 2 types of lime pickle and 7 different incarnations of wasabi. Let's not even mention the 12 cans of tuna, 4 kinds of rice, 2 cans of egg whites and 20 little open pots of gel food coloring that made it easy being green.

(Whine on.) Well, back to it. Both dogs are pretending to be asleep on the kitchen floor--one broke 2 bottles of pinotage when the lawn guys knocked on the door, the other was in big trouble for taking the bandage off his foot 3 times today (and breaking the Elizabethan collar). No filet for him tonight! (Whine off)

Seriously, have a good weekend, everyone!

If that post kills the Boodle, I'll just rinse it out and put it in recycling with everything else!

Dooley-I was so busy grumbling before I missed your post about Fizzig. My thoughts are with you.

BobS-I am in Mn, and people do indeed come here on vacation, on purpose. I am as amazed as you.

Thanks for the bugle call, Frostbitten. I had not thought about how different the dynamics of tourist season could be in a small town compared to DC.

I will be extra careful of Wilbrodog although we're a few blocks from the tourist traps-- including listening to him if he doesn't like anybody (which is really, really rare for him).

Just saw a promo on PBS for Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna hosting the Memorial Day concert on the mall. Sigh. Ossie Davis and Charles Durning would have me crying before the orchestra was seated.

Out here, peeps. (Out here=a milspeak friendly goodbye, usually on the phone.)

Wow, sorry your boy lost his dog, Dooley.

This calls for SERIOUS fur therapy, effective immediately, and not to be let up on until the mourning period is over.

How'd he get his name Fizzgig? I take a professional interest in odd dog names.

I was under the impression that Lake Woebegone, MN was a vacation spot of choice for Lutheran ministers.

Dooley, what a beautiful dog. I know you will miss him? How old was he? I understand St. Bernards are not long-lived.

Hey LindaLoo, would you send some rain this way? We need it badly! If you want to include the in-laws, that would be okay too. We'll just let them do what they want to.

dbG, I've been fighting moths in my pantry since January. I've taken everything out and cleaned three times, as well as thrown away a boatload of stuff (fig preserves from 1996, anyone?). The number of moth sightings is way down but not zero yet. It's sooo frustrating.

Frosti, I hope you're not referring to me! Of course, the husband and I don't summer in the mountains, we're up there every month of the year. I can understand what a pain it is to be around tourists. People with Florida tags on their cars who can't drive in the mountains deserve to be run off the roads. Hmmm, pishkun for deserving tourists, now there's an Olympic sport crying to be born.

Thanks, everyone.

Wilbrodog, when Fizzgig was a puppy, she was a round furball with big feet. When she barked, she was so vigorous about it that it would yank her feet off the floor.

Her appearance and behavior reminded us the Jim Henson movie "The Dark Crystal", in which the pet of one of the characters was a small, spunky furball named Fizzgig.

Yes, Dooley... so sorry about your dog. He is beautiful and it must be heartbreaking to lose him like you did.

Just saw The Waitress. Nice movie. Good acting and great photography.

Hope all have a great weekend. I'll be doing a little politicking on Sunday. If anyone's at the Vienna Fair, stop by Chap Peterson's table between 10 and noon and say "hey boodler!" We can even do the secret handshake (do we have one yet?).

Very sorry to hear about the lady Fizzgig, Dooley.

Loomis, hang in there and fight the good fight. When the going gets tough, the tough sometimes need a couple of white zinfindels.

Bob S. and Boko, I've been reading Cook's for about two years or so; I don't think I ever read Playboy that religiously when I was a teenager as I do Cook's now. And I started subscribing to its sister publication, Cook's Country a few months ago; also not bad. And my wife was in one of the stores at your mall the other day and they were having some kind of massive sale, so she bought me "the" Official Rachel Ray chopping knife (the smaller one, not the machete). I have yet to try it out, and I think before I do I need to have my digits insured by Lloyd's of London.

Dooley I am so sorry about the loss of your family dog, I hope all are OK, having been surrounded by pets my whole life I remember how hard it can be.

Slyness, moths were a problem in Ohio. I found scattering bay leaves and spices (cinnamon sticks, cloves) in the cabinets helped drive them out.

TBG, I'd assume the secret handshake is the same one the 3 Stooges used. Am I wrong?

By the way, I'm still trying to track down this "Frozen Florida" recipe. I think it may well have been 'Scientific American' in which I first discovered the recipe.

I'll get there eventually!

Yes, dbG... same handshake as Stooges, but without the poking of the eyes.

Boob.S; Bobos; BSbo; -- hmmm

I'm trying out new monikers, in case I'm ever asked to register (I'm almost jealous of you newly registered folks! Apparently, I haven't reached the threshhold yet.) and my old one won't work.

I'm not sure that I've come up with anything that grabs a'holt of me just yet.

Now that sounds like a good idea, dbG! I'll try it...at least the pantry will smell good!

Bob, if you find the recipe, I hope you will post it.

TBG, I'd say you are in Category 3. I'm thinking about seeing The Waitress - I like Keri Russell - but I have 10 versions of P&P waiting at the library for me. Maybe next weekend.

I have a hard time thinking of women I'd like to see run for president. I know I would have supported Pat Schroeder, or Geraldine Ferraro, or Barbara Jordan (if she had run). Usually male candidates' wives strike me as just as capable, if not more so - Elizabeth Edwards, Michelle Obama. Madeleine Allbright - but she was born in Czechoslovakia. I'm sure there are plenty of women who would be a good president. Marian Wright Edelman (Children's Defense Fund). I'd have the same trouble coming up with a list of male candidates - Barack Obama is the one person I really wanted to run, ever since I saw him at the Dem Convention. I had never heard of Clinton (either of them) before 1992.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Be careful, have fun, remember what Memorial Day is about. I'm going to try to calm down my husband who is so ticked off at Congress caving to Bush.

Joel asks, "Why aren't women allowed to be as ambitious as men?"

When I was a girl, I was somewhat ambitious. I never aspired to be in charge of everything, but I thought I could achieve excellence in my little world. As I got older, my ambition was to make my way out in the big world, on my own. One of the earliest lessons I learned was to keep those modest ambitions to myself because nobody at school would honor them. As an adult, I still aspire to excellence and I still suffer from the scars of my early education, not to mention the daily reminders of the mixed blessing it is to be female. As I often have commented, I am grateful to Joel for putting a positive spin on the Self-Loathing Syndrome. Since I have to live with it, I'm happy to have a way to celebrate it sometimes.

The question of WHY is a worthy one for debate. Why, indeed. For me, and for most other women, the why is irrelevant because it's just a fact of life. I'm actually surprised at how painful it is to contemplate the why of it.

Here's a passage from the current Harper's Magazine; the article is "Sentimental Education: the Invention of Human Rights," by Joanna Bourke.

===============
"When playwright, feminist, and anti-slavery activist Olympe de Gouges issued her 1791 _Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen_, in which she maintained that 'Woman is born free and lives equal to Man in her rights,' she was vilified and, eventually, executed. A few days after she had her head chopped off with the guillotine...revolutionary politician Pierre Gaspard Chaumette urged republican women to 'remember that virago, that woman-man.' The 'impudent' de Gouges, he continued, had "abandoned all the cares of her household because she wanted to engage in politics...This forgetfulness of the virtues of her sex led her to the scaffold.'"
=======================

We've come a long way, baby, but we still live in the shadow of that guillotine.

Keep asking "Why," Joel. Your daughters will benefit from whatever light you are able to shed on the subject, whatever progress we are able to make.

We've come a long way, baby, but we still live in the shadow of that guillotine.

You're kidding, right?

I have news for you kb, it's a mixed blessing to be male too. Life sucks and then you die. Your dreams don't come true. Has nothing to do with your gender.

And of course, there's always Lady Macbeth's speech in which she asks to be unsexed and made a man to satisfy her ambition.

Not too many people consider Lady MacBeth an admirable role model, probably because she urged her husband to commit murder by insulting his manhood.

But she was in fact living her ambitions in the way suitable for her age and situation-- through her male family members.

I once read a joke that riffed on this very theme.

Shortly after they move into the White House, Bill meets an old ex of Hillary, who is pumping gas somewhere in Arksanas and he says think-- if you had married him and not me, you would be married to a gas station attendant, not the President of the United States.

She said, no I'd still be married to the president of the United States. You'd be the one pumping gas.

Wait a minute - women I'd like to see run for president:
kbertocci
TBG
mo
Cassandra
Slyness
dbG
frostbitten
Loomis
Wilbrod
Ivansmom
Raysmom
Lost in Thought
firsttimeblogger
Bad Sneakers

You get the idea. (A thousand apologies to any American female boodler whose name I have omitted!)

But seriously, EF, gender does matter, especially in politics. Women only got the vote in America in 1920 - not even 100 years ago. So for women to have been elected to office, to have "paid their dues" and gotten the experience they needed to be credible candidates was not easy. It's only been the last 30 years or so that women have started to run and get elected - and they're still a minority of elected officials. And it seems like we take a couple steps forward, and one back.

Thanks, mostly (you should be on that list!). I'd rather be Error Flynn's running mate, though!

Error in 2008!

The countries who've had female heads of state include about half the world population, I reckon. The Hon. Sen Clinton of New York seems to be making a pretty decent run at adding another 5% to that total.

There may not be as many women in office as you'd wish, but they certainly seem to matter.

>But seriously, EF, gender does matter, especially in politics.

No doubt. Sexism is still around, the glass ceiling is still there, and as far as being president goes there's a LOT of nonsense. If there were more women in the field I think it might lessen some of that.

But honestly, I think feminism has ill-served women if you're really all running around thinking youre under the threat of the guillotine for being ambitious. It's precisely that kind of hyperbole that makes people wonder if a woman should be president.

I work with plenty of women in high management positions as well as ambitious consultants, both self-employed and in huge corps. and I strongly doubt they feel the same way. If you don't believe me I can introduce you to a young Indian lady who makes no bones about her ambitions and in fact just said so today. Maybe it's a generational thing, maybe it's just the cards you were dealt and how you played them.

You make your choices in life. Don't play victim, unless you're thinking

"I'm a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all."

We know, Mudge, you just take Cook's for the pictures.

Actually, Bob S. & Error, I'll chime in to agree with others that gender does matter. The same way that race is still the elephant in the room. I wish it were true that a smart ambitious woman who plays well with others always has as much chance as a similarly situated man, but it isn't true. Women's dreams are more often deferred than men's, and when they are realized it is almost always, across the board, for lower pay. We don't have anything remotely resembling proportional representation politically. While some of our women elected and appointed officials are real barnburners (of both parties), many are marginalized within their own political systems. I spend a lot of time working on the status of women in Oklahoma. This is really one of my signature issues and I could get even more tedious than I already have, but I'll spare us all. Fortunately, our world is beginning to fill with guys like y'all here, who take women's abilities and capabilites, intelligence etc. for granted. Keep 'em coming.

Thanks Mostly. I do know you meant it as a compliment.

Whenever I hear the word "ambition" I think "Shakespearean tragic figure".

The only characters I ever wanted to play in those tragic plays was either Mercutio or maybe Horatio.

At least, neither, unlike their friends, come from dysfunctional families with relatives that indulge in murder.

And both in their way, champion the use of wit and reason-- a message that quickly is lost once things start getting gory and passionate.

So from that, I suspect I'd be doomed in Shakespearean karma to be a cabinet member or a veep that got offed or politically cashiered for being a policy-sciency wonk.

Worse, I'd probably be done in by Wilbrodog thanks to the activation of the Secret Canadian Canidian Mind-control device, which up to this time had failed since they were not able to locate any labradors with brains big enough to control. (The newfs which they COULD control, kept lying down for a snooze while on their poker-and-door guard missions.)

And thus, pricked on by madness and moose-jerky dreams which are the stuff of a labrador's ambition, MacBredog slays his once-beloved leader.

I'll pass on all that drama and stress, thanks.

I'll follow up Error's last post,which naturally occurred while I was typing. I think you're right: to some extent this is generational, in the sense that younger women, at least from some areas and with certain types of education, are unashamed to be ambitious. It is very refreshing. However, those women also tend to be naive about what can await them, at some level and some point, in their careers - and they'll almost all encounter it at least once, possibly from other women (boy, that hurts). If you ask your women friends who are in high positions, unless they're very young, they'll probably be able to tell you about trade-offs they made which weren't expected of their male competitors, things they had to do at work to be taken seriously that weren't expected of their male counterparts, and a general level of skepticism and expectation that was higher for them than their male peers.

Describing obstacles we've personally encountered along the way, as kbertocci did, isn't thinking like a victim. It is being honest. Thinking like a victim is when you give up the fight and start to blame others or your situation for your own failure to try. No woman should do that, and I don't think any of us here in Achenland have.

Unless, of course, we're talking physical or emotional abuse and you are a victim. But that's a whole nother thing.

Kim Campbell became Canada's only woman Prime Minister when she won the leadership of the Conservative Party. Our Head of State since 1952 has been a woman. I almost wrote, 'has been a woman since 1952.'
Ms. Campbell's party was almost destroyed in the general election she led the Conservatives into (only a small part of that defeat can be laid at her door)and Queen Elisebeth has never faced the electorate because you "Don't vote for Kings."

Boko999, I'm really intrigued by the possibilities of the alternate phrasing, "has been a woman since 1952."

I'm pretty sure that this is not in doubt, but I'll state it clearly:

Gender matters. Race matters. Lots of things matter. Religion matters. I don't deny it.

On the other hand, they matter only about as much as we collectively decide that they matter!

> I spend a lot of time working on the status of women in Oklahoma.

No offense to Oklahoma, but isn't the status of women in NYC a little different? Doesn't look like it to me. Do you think they're just as marginalized? Why doesn't anyone want to acknolwdge the fact that there are a hell of a lot of women running a lot of businesses?

I mean, that's a win right?

At least half of the businesses in my town are run by women. Where I work 70% of the company is female and they hold positions up to and including CEO. (Not at present, but there was one for about 10 years, so it was no fluke.)

I guess maybe I just live in a more progressive environment than some people, but look at it this way: women have progressed more in America in the last 100 years than anywhere anytime in the whole rest of history.

I realize that may be of little consolation when someone is a jerk, but people are just jerks, y'know? They would just use something else if it wasn't gender.

Dear Pop Socket:

I'm sure that the Clintons' daughter deeply appreciates your implied commentary on her physical appearance. Heaven forbid that she should live her life as a private citizen, separate from what her parents choose to do with their lives, and thus avoid your valuable aesthetic critique. *Somebody* has to be the arbiter of attractiveness and tell the ugly folks to get out of public life or maybe just go do away with themselves, for the good of us attractive people. I honor you for your willingness to fill this important public service role. Of course, I don't know what you look like, so I can't be sure that you really are eligible to make these judgments. Thank goodness for my own Adonis-like good looks and giant brain, so I know that I'm okay.

ScienceTim... giant BRAIN, huh?

:)

Out.

Ha - I'm sure I would have written "a woman since 1952".

Ivansmom, well said.

Doh! I left College Parkian and l.a. lurker off the list, and probably many others. Sorry!

I've been meaning to mention that I read Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague. Very interesting, compelling story, written from a woman's point of view. And I read Candide by Voltaire - it reminded me of Vonnegut a bit!

Hi, ScienceTim!

I absolutely agree, Error, women have made great strides since WWII. In fact, I believe a majority of small businesses may be woman-owned. I'm not suggesting that nothing has changed.

I do maintain, however, that women have had to overcome obstacles, and continue to do so, purely for reason of their gender. I agree that if gender weren't an issue, jerks would use something else. But it is still an issue, to some extent, in every state (in varying degrees, as you note). That means that jerks have cover for their actions, and other people who aren't jerks can, without thinking, treat women differently in areas where gender really shouldn't matter (like business).

Bob S., it isn't just a matter of collectively deciding -- it goes back to Loomis's question, who is the "they" who won't allow women to be ambitious? Who is the "they" who is not disturbed by the fact that women's pay for equal work is still 71% that of a man's (that is, he makes more)? Who is the "they" who continues to treat domestic and sexual abuse as low-punishment misdemeanors rather than felonies, and who rejects proposals to allow women time off to prosecute batterers? [That last tends to be business communities, by the way.] There are all sorts of economic and health care inequalities as well. Women can decide that gender doesn't matter, and some men can join them. However, until "we" put into place policies reflecting this decision, it can matter a lot.

SciTim - I noted that little dig, but was going to let it pass. Alas, it's not to be!

The last time I saw a picture of the younger Ms. Clinton, I seem to recall that she looked rather striking. None of the usual terms meaning "unattractive" came to mind. Nope, not one.

Having said that, plenty of people who probably would seem attractive to me in the abstract, do NOT seem attractive because I associate unattractive personalities with them.

Strange, the way beauty can work!

Hey! No way anybody would buy me off for moose jerky.

It'd have to be prime grade beef, and 24/7 on-call massage and feeding service, a nice house with good acreage, plenty of deer and bunnies to chase, fish to look at, and dog friends at my invite only for the rest of my life before I'd ever be tempted. I have my standards.

I think I gotta keep a closer eye on what that gnome's been imbibing. Must be jealous juice.

BTW, I know Cheslea, and I know dogs, and Cheslea's no dog, nor was her sire. Just look at a picture of him in his youth.

I do discern a certain familiar odor to Bob-- uh, Pop Socket. The odor of bovine manure...mmm... with a cocktail of cockeyed aesthetics, and a strong anal exudate of sexual jealousy and fear.

Boy, this dictionary I chewed is really giving me indigestion. Excuse me, I think I need to go and regurgiate.

>That means that jerks have cover for their actions,

Well you know, when the revolution comes they'll be... wait no the first people up against the wall should be the oil company execs:

"Oil Industry Says Biofuel Push May Hurt at Pump"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/business/24refinery.html

Whoops, I stayed on my soapbox so long I got covered in bubbles. Sorry! I'll go sleep them off now.

Really, I completely appreciate you guys here in particular. Your confidence in and acceptance of women's abilities is what makes this discussion possible. I've always been very fortunate in my experiences, which paradoxically has made me feel obligated to speak out for women who have not. This is a great forum for that, because gender here is really never an issue, unless it is a topic or off-topic. That is not to exclude the discussion of secondary sex characteristics, of course, which are always of interest.

Time to sleep. Queso; fondue.

Flash presentation here about women's representation in elective office and Fortune 500 businesses:
http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/culture/facts/

Let me guess, EF, the oil execs have figured out a way to make money *not* selling us gasoline.

Hi, Science Tim! How's Hawaii? Beauty, eh? (I've been wanting to say that for days!)

Ivansmom-Mr. F and I met in Oklahoma. Reading the Lawton newspaper used to get me really wound up when they'd report that a woman got 2 years for passing a bad check for $50, while a man convicted of battering would get probation. I hope things have changed for the better in the intervening years.

Ok. This happened in the last boodle.
Simon D started a post asking if all religions are not parodies of each other and ended it by saying "revealed religion is not inconsistent with science."
Later in the boodle weighed in on the CLEMatis issue with a graph by biologist/botanist Christopher Lloyd.
Then I posted "Parody is not inconsistent with science." and signed it Reverend Jim.
You know, the wacked out guy on "Taxi." (kinda a hero of mine)
Was that too arcane? Should I discontinue this practise? How much help do I need and where could I get it?
Thank you for your consideration.

Ivansmom - You and I both know (I think and hope, anyway!) that you and I have no actual disagreement here. But, just to keep the conversation honest:

1) "Bob S., it isn't just a matter of collectively deciding -- ..."

2) "Women can decide that gender doesn't matter, and some men can join them. However, until "we" put into place policies reflecting this decision, it can matter a lot."

Well, yeah!! "We"!! Girls & dogs & horses & boys & cats & cows & even the little mice in the field. Whatever group of beings partakes in the big ol' collective decision-making thing. Presumably, "we" have decided that all kinds of critters (insert marginalized human-types here) might actually have some worth, sometimes over the rather strenuous objections of supposed sympathizers for those very same marginalized groups.

I'm fairly WASP-ish, have been measured at rather brighter-than-average, am intellectually curious, fairly socially adept, and came from a family with the means to provide me an exemplary education. Nevertheless, I've spent a good bit of the past couple of years just barely keeping the wolf from the door. What/who am I supposed to blame? All the folks who don't understand the value of a semi-educated generalist? Drat them! They're holding me down!

I get your point. Systems value what systems value. Far too often, for far too long, many systems have undervalued what many women had to offer. But, this is hardly unique, or unchangeable, or even unchanged. The systems change as a result of the players within them, and always have, always will.

So, yeah, again I say, "They matter only about as much as we, COLLECTIVELY decide that they matter!"

Boko, I was most amused to see Reverend Jim show up. Loved that character.

I'm afraid there was too much smoke in the boodle to see the clear logic of your posting progression, and consider it properly in the the fullness of time.

Boko, I got the Reverend Jim allusion and I'm not a fuddy-duddy.

I did miss the botanical Christopher Lloyd bit--I thought it was just a religion crack. That makes it even nicer.

I like your alternative 999 handles just fine. Tres amusante.

Wilbrodog - I'm going assume that you were not beginning to imply that I was posting under PopSock.

My feelings would be slightly damaged, but more importantly, I suspect that yours would be more so.

Definitely not quite my style.

SCC
CP posted about CLEMatis
Reverend Jim was played Chistopher Lloyd, the actor not the botanist.

Nevermind

I left Hawaii yesterday evening and arrived here in Arizona this morning. As I sit here at the McMath-Pierce solar telescope, where somebody is playing Fleetwood Mac right now, there are two women working in the other room, building and fine-tuning advanced scientific instruments. They are full participants -- heck, they are leaders on their respective projects. So, I can tell you that things are improving. On the other hand, there are 7 men here right now, too. So, we're not there yet -- we don't have numerical parity in a field in which it is obvious that sex-linked traits like physical strength have no bearing.

Oops! Recount: a female undergraduate just appeared, so women now make up 30% of the local population.

I noted it too, Boko. Yes, Christopher Lloyd was a famous Brit gardener/writer, too. Of course, I always pictured him as Reverend Jim (or maybe as Doc in Back to the Future). I've gotten better at deciphering your comments.

nellie. Annie. Pixel.

no worries, mostly, i've no ambition to run for political office.

ef, that's good that you're in a progressive environment, but have you asked some of your colleagues whether they've experienced any barriers?

i think the issue of a woman having the ambition to high-profile leadership (as opposed to more generic types of ambition, like education or certain careers) really gets at the heart of the matter. if a man in a high-powered job acts a certain way, he is considered competent, proactive, assertive, perhaps aggressive. if a woman acts the same way, she's considered a b1tch. period.

the very existence of the question of hillary clinton's having ambition is sexist. it's like duh. and obama is ambitious. edwards is ambitious. mccain is abitious. romney is ambitious. giuliani... etc. you have to be pretty ambitious to make it as far as any of these people have, so why on earth is it only an issue where hillary clinton is concerned?

Wilbrod, it never crossed my mind that you are or ever have been a fuddy duddy.
I forgot to 999 the Rev Jim.
A yes Error, too much smoke.

Hmmm... Was it incimbent upon me to carify? perhaps...

Earlier, my intent was:

"SciTim - I noted that little dig from Pop Socket, but was going to let it pass. Alas, it's not to be!"

Sheesh. I'm gonna have to work on something here. Just not quite sure what!

:-)

Noo, Noooo, Noooooo!
Take it back!

"incumbent"

>ef, that's good that you're in a progressive environment, but have you asked some of your colleagues whether they've experienced any barriers?

I hate to tell you, but men experience barries too.

As far as the women I work with, they all either outrank me or are complete equals. They just do their jobs like anyone else and they make the same money. I thought that was the idea.

Golda Meir, Margararet Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Imelda Marcos... alright, forget Imelda... it's not like it's been a shut-out, y'know?

Remind me again, please: What were we actually discussing?

If I recall correctly, it was the assertion that ambition is viewed less favorably (by somebody. I'm still not clear about the identity of that "somebody") in women than in men. I've got that right, yes?

I think we're back to the point of - "as long as we think so."

It was the dictionary indigestion, Bob S., I swear! I know you'd never smell like THAT.

Would some fur therapy soothe your umbrage?

LOL!!

"Happiness is a warm puppy."

You, of course, are far too young and sprightly to remember that line.

Point well taken Error about barriers to men too. However, I often think of it this way-every army officer theoretically has the potential to become a general, and even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. However, the most stars and the chairmanship are unlikely to go to someone who was not an infantry officer. This means there are big barriers to most men, but an insurmountable one for women since they cannot be branched infantry.

On the bright side, at least the rules are well known so neither women nor men are left wondering if some hidden agenda is holding them back. More and more women are getting promoted to general; Mr. F has worked for a few. We've noted an interesting develpment lately. In the past, when the demands of both husband and wife being in the military grew to be too much it was almost automatic that the wife would get out and follow the husband around. I recently interviewed a female general whose husband got out of the army when they were both captains. He has been a stay at home dad ever since their now high school senior daughter was born.

Yes, he is! I actually do remember that line. It's also a title of a Peanuts Collection.

What Schultz left out was:

"Guilt is a warm puppy drooling while looking at your dinner and at his empty dog dish."

ef, of course, there are many kinds of barriers. the point of my question was this - have you asked colleagues about their experiences? it seems to me that you are speaking for them without actually having discussed the issues with them and that is part of the problem. it is a classic issue in the feminist movement that men like to speak for women rather than letting them speak for themselves or really listening to them. you've come to conclusions based on observations from your own point of view, but have you talked to and listened to your female colleagues on this subject?

i've personally observed men sabbotaging women in leadership because they were women, myself included a few times. and i'm relatively young and in a pretty liberal environment. almost all of my thirty-something friends with children are making way more career sacrifices than their husbands. a number of others here have chimed in and said that yes, gender is an issue. why does it bother you to acknowledge that gender is still an issue? it doesn't take away from the fact that there may be other kinds of issues out there, or that most in this country are relatively privileged compared to the rest of the world.

L.A. lurk - Well, of course you have observed that. There are, in fact, more men in the upper echelons of many companies than there are women. But your anecdotal evidence doesn't change the fact that many, many men have worked for many years under the leadership of many women.

The system changes as its players change. Be in or be out.

There is nothing wrong with having ugly kids. It keeps them out of trouble. I'd rather have Chelsea as a daughter than those drunk bimbo branches off the Bush we have now.

I hope Hillary picks Braburn Miklugski (D) (and that ain't for Democrat) as running mate so we can have two tough broads in the White House. I think Hill sticking with (and sticking it to) Bill was a very cunning stunt by a, well, ambitious politician.

Aaahh, frosti - Well & bravely written earlier, especially since I know that you're girding your (well, whatever you're girding!) for the onslaught of the... ummm... What IS the opposite of a snowbird?

It must be the lutefisk, or that huge honkin' mall! Don't these people have lakes where THEY come from?

Quoth the Vulcan, "Fascinating!"

Remember the good Queen Bess! She had a lot of men working under her, that's for sure... um, maybe I should have said FOR her. Whatever.

Aaahh, yes, but there's something a little disappointing about having mean-spirited kids!

Technically snowbirds do fly south for winter and come back up north for summer, Bob S.

But I think Frosti was describing what I would dub 'Summer skeeters.'

In DC, I always think of those folks as the "Shorts 'n' Sunburn Brigade."

Pop Socket, I'm sure that Senator Clinton will be happy to accept your vote. Somehow, however, I don't imagine that she will want you to campaign on her behalf. Your reasoning and style of argumentation are not... ummmmm... sophisticated. Nor terribly relevant.

Yup, the folks frosti's worried about aren't coming home, so they DEFINITELY ain't "snowbirds"

I think that I'm falling quickly in love with the term 'Summer skeeters', even though this is the first time I've ever heard it.

I mean, of course, that when frostbitten is surrounded by these folks, they are away from home. I hope (for everyone's sake!) that they all return home safely.

All of this is neither here nor there:

Did we finally get the darned Helotes fire extinguished?

Has Bin Laden apologized yet?

Has Sanjaya inked a record contract yet, or are we going to have to vote him back onto the show?

Expiring minds want to know!

Sometimes, I fall in love with the sound of my own croaking voice, and forget (for a little while, not usually for very long) how many beautiful voices are here. I'm content to listen for a while!

Thanks for putting up with me.

Some thoughts on writing well...

http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2007-05-21jl.html

Nice link, LTL-CA.

bob-s, huh?

the question is not whether women are in leadership or whether they have male subordinates, but how they are treated when they are there (and what they went through on the way there) and whether this treatment is connected with their gender. sure, people get treated badly for lots of reason, men included, but when is a man in leadership treated badly or disrespected simply because he is male?

L.A. - Umm.. When Deborah Tannen asserts that men & women are fundamentally different creatures, and process information & communication differently, that mostly works out O.K. for most folks.

If President Summers of Harvard had not been handicapped with a penis, I doubt that "her" idle musings about gender differences within academic fields would have been perceived as so threatening that she'd have been run out of town on a rail.

I'm not a particular fan of Summers, but that particular issue was almost comical. Female academics who tried to support him were treated with disdain, and worse.

Ugly, silly, arbitrary stuff.

It'll change when "we" decide to change it.

The likeability issue is serious for Sen. Clinton - Supposedly, everyone who knows W. personally thinks he's a really great guy. So maybe it's time to try a president or presidentess everyone hates. Can't be much worse than the one we've got.

I'm in full conciliatory mode here:

Here's how I perceive things - There are a whole bunch of deeply-ingrained patterns of irrational discrimination running around in the world. These are all manifestations of fear of "those other people". Hims, hers, white'uns, dark'uns, them that don't date like we do, them that don't worship like we do, whatever. This results in an uncountable number of legitimate grievances on the part of those who are discriminated against, and an almost insurmountable barrier to honest communication between the offenders and the aggrieved.

The problem is always the same, and it's always about fear of the "others".

Well, you and I and every other person who decides to let go of the fear can change the systems which have built up these patterns of irrational discrimination.

All of the anecdotes of crappy treatment of millions (billions?) of individuals can't change the essential fact that the crappy treatment happens one person at a time, and can only be solved one person at a time. A good start is to stop thinking of "them" as "them". Everybody should feel free to join in at any time in this letting go of fear.

I know it sounds goofy, and Pollyanna-ish, but I actually think it's all there is. I honestly believe that all other paths are dead ends.

Why, oh why, oh why couldn't I just shut up when the shuttin' up was good?

Dooley, my condolences on Fizzgig... :-(

Tom, how's yer mean, mean pride?

Let me just say this on gender --

Secondary sex characteristics merely provide a variety (and a delightful one, might I say) of visual images. Where I work, I really do base my interactions with people on what they do, not their external appearance.

Oh, and *weekend Grover waves*

:-)

My wife says that part of the reason she registered as a Democrat is so that she can vote against Hillary as often as possible.

For Frosti and other gardeners:

Vita Sackville-West wrote _Some Flowers_ and included a chapter on Zinnia elegans. Apparently, English gardeners were not sure what to think of this sturdy and pedestrian work-horse of a summer annual. In fairness, the damp of England made for a bit of gymnastics to nurture this easy-for-us plant, this side of the pond. But, here is what Vita said about the mixing of colours:

"Such arguments crash like truncheons, and it takes an effort to renew our determination by recalling the vivid bed which gave us weeks of pleasure last year....whether we grow them in a mixture or separate the pink from the orange, red from magenta, is a matter of taste. Personally, I like them higgledy-piggledy, when they look like those pats of paint squeezed out upon the palette...."

Pg. 94 in the 1993 version published by Harry N. Abrams (New York). First published in 1937 by Cobden-Sanderson (London).

---
May I gracefully point out the lovely phrase,"bed of pleasure." If you say you care nothing about flowers, perhaps meditate on all the lovely metaphors.

Frosti, as for what you want, I would ask this: Dear Frosti, may I drive to MN to see fair spring again? I will dig with you and pull weeds, if you like. And, I can bring rhubarb. But you might prefer crabcakes. Mudge can advise re the vendor. EF sends chocolate. And somewhere south of me Cassandra is watching sunflowers turn toward the sun.

And the Doolian clan is hurting so, since the heartstrings tying them to Good Dog F.D. tug. Good Dog F.D. romps in pasture of plenty, but wonders where his special people are.

Sad, Dooley. Take such care. Darling boy, with darling dog in the picture.

Dooley, my condolences to you and your family over the loss of your dog.

It's a hazy Saturday morning here, with the promise of humid summer-style heat this afternoon.

I'm about to head out the door to help a friend change some axles on his car, and do some other automotive related odds and ends.

A thought on the Ambitious Women - there are more barriers for women than for men to accomplish the same tasks as men. Of course, it's getting somewhat better, but more women are succeeding in areas where they could not just a few years ago.

I really admire the women that are able to push the barriers back, and fulfill their ambitions as far as their resources allow.

It is more difficult, and worthy of note.

And I'm not just saying this becuase 10% of the drivers in tomorrow's Indy 500 just happen to be women.

bc

There are a number of female presidents and prime ministers around the world. Some of them are leaders of countries where women are not been treated very well. I would wager they face equal if not more discrimination than women in the US. I was wondering, what is keeping the US women from becoming the president? The US is not short of talented women. You only now have one running for president but she is not a president yet and not sure if she will be.

In my country, I will not see a woman prime minister in my life time and I'm not that old. At least not ancient.

Rainforest, define ancient. And be very careful how you answer. :-)

CP-No need to bring crab cakes, just the crab already picked. Forstsis #2 taught me her secret recipe where it seems the crab is held together by some miracle. We will serve the cakes with a my very own Pacific Rim remoulade, then retire to the screened porch with rhubarb pie. While weeding would be most appreciated, we would tackle the big pile of manure delivered last week. At least it can be dealt with, vs. the kind of manure that is usually shoveled in your neck of the woods.

Good morning everyone! What a nice continuation of the whole gender discussion you night owls had. Hoot hoot. I'm especially glad to see the distinction made between the fact of greater and more significant participation by women, and the issue of what it takes to get and stay there, distinct from a male path. I think that is what the women are talking about, when we discuss the ambition question.

Bob S. is right when he says that collectively and individually, each one of us can change our own attitude and thus begin to change the discriminatory climate. I must emphasize that only goes so far. As with race, unless you change public policy, reflected in legal and regulatory practice, a public change in attitude will not solve the problem. As Frostbitten says, women don't get infantry slots. Every officer and enlisted soldier could support the idea that women should. However, until someone changes that policy, it won't happen, and it will be difficult for women to get four stars. There are corresponding examples across the board.

Bob also asked, as Loomis did earlier, who exactly the Decider is when we say women aren't "allowed" to be ambitious. I've avoided putting a gender face on this question because there are women as well as men who just don't think women should be in leadership roles, or who think women should lead only other women but not be put in positions of authority over men. This is partly generational and partly cultural but it is real.

Mornin' all...

My condolences, Dooley. Judging from the picture you posted, I'd say you and your family are out about two tons of furry fun and lovin' that won't be easily replaced. Love the name "Fizzgig", btw.

Regarding gender and leadership, I really don't care what kind of plumbing is installed as long as the, umm... waste... comes out the correct pipe (if ya know what I mean). Cheney's facial expressions and oral emissions of guano are a perfect example of what happens when the plumbing system fails.

Seriously, though... gender aside, "ambition" in and of itself is not a bad thing. I think the real question should be "is Hillary *blindly* ambitious"? Or in the general sense, does being female and ambitious automatically imply "blind" ambition? Can't a woman simply be ambitious in the good sense of the word?

I think attitudes are changing (slowly), but we still live in a society that likes to *think* it sends its daughters off to college to get educated, but consciously or subconsciously does so in order for the girls to land rich husbands -- the education is only a "back up" in case they don't.

That said, the voices in my head haven't agreed yet regarding what drives Hillary's ambition. On the one hand she seems altruistic and in the race to do good. But then there's that other hand. All I can say is if she gets my vote it'll have nothing to do with whether she can write her name in the snow on the White House lawn.

Gotta run... no rest for the handy.

(btw... yesterday was a special slashy tic day -- 60!)

Peace out... :-)

>have you asked colleagues about their experiences?

L.A.Lurker I don't speak for anyone but myself. I'm just telling you what I observe. ou can insist on maintaining victim status if you like, but my company wouldn't be a good place to do it.

It seems to me it would be patronizing for me to sit down and ask the majority of people I work with what barriers they experience.

Especially because I'm not one of them.

Why we have our Memorial Day ceremony at 11:29 on Friday.

The VFW/American Legion on the res has an honor guard that covers cemeteries in an area larger than Delaware. They start early on Friday morning to play taps and fire a volley of musketry at any burial ground where they've been invited and will stay on schedule through Monday afternoon. The Friday start means they appear at some old family plots that have been mowed and decorated for their arrival, but none of the living are present to witness it. The grandchildren all live far away and came up last weekend to make things tidy. They always come "up," no one moves north to get away from here. The ceremony goes on. The rifle fire at the "Indian burial ground" behind my place is my 10 minute warning to get to our family cemetery. This burial ground is part of what the trespassing summer tourists come to see. On the county and DNR maps it looks like something exotic to explore. On the ground, not so much. It's like any family cemetery, with soldiers buried young and children lost to the great influenza epidemic buried younger. The current war may skip this family, either too old or too young to serve. Then again, maybe not. Frostdottir's boyfriend, now an infantryman in Iraq, was just 13 on 9/11.

So, we have our ceremony at 11:29 because that's when the honor guard can be here. The solemn ceremony does not kick off a parade or picnic, or anything that would make us want to change it to draw a crowd. These Ojibwe men and women who serve in such dispraportionate numbers, do this to honor the dead not assuage the living. They fire their rifles and play the bugle for a different kind of crowd, one they don't want to see grow.

Good morning, friends. It is a beautiful morning here in the Carolinas. Just a sight to see, and I'm told it is going to be hot.

Kbert and Ivansmom, I agree with all you said.

The g-girl and I will try to visit the park today, early before the sun gets mean.
And maybe, just maybe, get over to see my dad.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ. Peace.

Ok, Bad Sneakers, this is a tricky one. There are references I should stay clear of unless I want to get into trouble. How about, ancient as what a 6 year-old would call someone many many many years older than him/her.

I'd like to strike a blow for women in the workforce and everywhere, and men too. I doubt that it is oft said in boodle households, but when Dad flies solo with the children he is not "babysitting." This implication that Mom is the only qualified parent, and that things will end up in disarray if Dad takes over, belittles both parents.

For all its demands I've found Mr. F being in the military makes my working life easier. He has been the one to take Frostdottir to the doctor and the pets to the vet. All it took was saying, "You don't have to take leave to do it and I can cash in my unused days when we move."

Ah, the great gray drizzle has arrived. A morning devoted to coffee and reading instead of the manure pile.

Frosti, that sounds lovely. Cassandra, I'm about to mail a box of books for the kids.

Error, I don't think we're arguing about the success women have had. I wish you wouldn't refer to la lurker, kbertocci, myself, frosti's posts as claiming victim status. As I tried to say earlier, there is a big difference between acknowledging or relating an experience, and using that experience as an excuse. The former is honesty, the latter is victimhood. You're not a victim of cancer, though you have it (and are often in my thoughts for it).

You're right, it might be presumptous of you to ask your colleagues about barriers. I think la lurker was suggesting that, given that, it might also be presumptuous of you to speak as if this discussion wouldn't apply to them. The kinds of obstacles we're talking about aren't necessarily things you would observe.

Sorry about the passing of your beautiful dog, dooley. I have a dog that is over 10 years old. I dread the thought of when her time comes.

SCC : I think it should be better if I say, Dooley, sorry about the passing of your beautiful dog.

>The kinds of obstacles we're talking about aren't necessarily things you would observe.

Ivansmom, what I observe is they are my equals. Managerially and technically, some of our biggest gurus are women. So whatever barriers there were they obviously got over them.

Possibly they don't see verything though the prism of classic feminism, preferring to just do their jobs and take what people say at face value once in awhile.

If being in the "shadow of a guillotine" isn't playing the victim card I don't know what is. That's what caused me to post about this in the first place, a mistake I won't make again.

My mother worked her way up from secretary to exec starting in the 60's. Doubtless there were barriers. I asked her about it recently, and she told me she just did her best and was promoted due to her effort. She wasn't making a statement, she did it so she could feed us and give us some toys. She really doesn't know what the hell feminists are talking about but then she didn't get to go to college where she could take classes that taught her about all those barriers and how put upon she was.

I think feminism is in the same place the civil rights movement is today. Yes, you were screwed in the old days. Yes, some people still live in the old days. But I didn't do it, recieved no benefit from it and I'm tired of being blamed for it or being told I should go talk to all these people about the barriers you suppose they faced.

We're too busy talking about databases and project schedules.

Frosti, I love what you wrote about fathers not babysitting their children. Here I find women still have a tendancy to perpetuate the myth that women are best qualified to raise children, there are still inequities on bot