Nate Knows Nada

From over at Crooked TImber:

This is what we do when we’re not writing on the blog.

Russell Digs a Hole

More than a month, to be relatively precise.

But I have an “80 percent” draft of a chapter done, some more datasets conglomerated, and a few things still to do before the break in 6 days.

But this was so patently crazy, I had to share:

Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality. That’s why most of the medical (not socio-spiritual) blame for today’s rise in homosexuality must fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products. (Most babies are bottle-fed during some part of their infancy, and one-fourth of them are getting soy milk!) Homosexuals often argue that their homosexuality is inborn because “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t homosexual.” No, homosexuality is always deviant. But now many of them can truthfully say that they can’t remember a time when excess estrogen wasn’t influencing them.

Yep, that explains it all.

Technorati Tags: crazy, bad science, soy, weird

Apologies for very little writing of late.

My grandmother (mom’s mom) died last week, and I had to fly to California for the funeral on Monday. We were somewhat closer in the past than in recent years. Her death was not unexpected, and it’s somewhat surprising that she lasted as long as she did these last couple of years. It’s sad, but I’m not broken up right now. I just wish some parts of her life could have been happier.

I delivered the eulogy at the graveside, but I’m never sure about crossing the line of private and public in this forum, so I may or may not post it here.

Technorati Tags: death, obituaries, family

It was 25 years ago today:

Epidemiologic Notes and Reports

Pneumocystis Pneumonia — Los Angeles

In the period October 1980-May 1981, 5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died. All 5 patients had laboratory-confirmed previous or current cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and candidal mucosal infection. Case reports of these patients follow.

We have become the proud owners of Russell the dachshund, who will arrive on 3 June.

Any particularly profound advice to offer?

We have become the proud owners of Russell the dachshund, who will arrive on 3 June.

Any particularly profound advice to offer?

Yesterday was “Thropstalk” here in the house. It’s our get out and play in the outdoors for some fun event. Tire swings (you can see me and BF here on the one), giant Twister (I was the winner in “Tutor Twister”), and general fun.

So there was also Sumo wrestling, of a sort. In essence, as you can see, we put on suits that simulated the girth of Sumo wrestlers and which had enough padding to make sure nothing hurt. The fellow you see there on the left is Steve Rosen, aka Winthrop Master Rosen, aka my dissertation chair. Out of three, he won two bouts, but I finally figured out how to win by sidestepping his sumo weight on the third try. Given another, I think I might have come out on top.

‘Course, it may be good for my career that I didn’t. *grin*

It’s my third 29th birthday today.

I’m never sure how to regard birthdays. I feel weird asking people to make a big fuss over me, but I still like the attention on some level. But I’ve been less reticent this year, perhaps for living in Winthrop, to tell people that it’s my day.

I was asked recently what I want, not just for my birthday, but in reference to my relationships with other people. I don’t quite know. It’ll be lovely to get some presents from BF and friends and family, but I can’t think of any material goods that you could give me that would make me particularly happy. I think, in fact, that I’m not particularly good at expressing my positive desires — I can tell you what I don’t want, for my birthday and from others, more easily than I can tell you what I want.

With age is supposed to come wisdom. Mostly what I notice is that I can see how much I didn’t know when I was younger and how much more I think I see now, which leads me to believe that there’s plenty more to learn from life. By proportion, I’m guessing I really don’t know very much yet. but at least the curve does not seem as steep (although you should talk to me in a few years to see how wrong I was).

I’m not unhappy to be my age. Just unsure how to mark the passage of time meaningfully (I can have one meaningful day a year, right?).

Anyway, I did have a lovely weekend, spent in Chicago. Well, it was lovely once I finished conferencing. Spring has spring there, and the city felt alive in a way that I haven’t gotten to see much of yet here in Boston. I spent time with some political scientist friends in Hyde Park, where I took this picture (of the Oxbridgean University of Chicago). I need to go back to Chicago when I’m not there for a conference, so that I have more time to hang out with Andrew and Emily (who always has really good ideas for my academic work besides being similarly crazy to me). Also, our friend Alan, who’s just left the monastery and is heading back to Chicago. Plenty of couches to crash on, especially at a time when I don’t have to present a paper or talk about the merits of other people’s papers.

Listening to: Morning Theft from the album “Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk)” by Jeff Buckley

This is glorious.