Apt. 11D

Question of the Day

Steve and I look forward to growing old, because we know for certain how it's all going to shape up for us. Steve is going to be the grouchy old man on the porch yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. And I'm probably going to be the old lady with bright scarves in her hair and smudged lipstick heading off to make some pots in the kiln.

The writing is on the wall. And we're looking forward to the freedom to being as grouchy and eccentric as we want to be.

Question of the Day: What kind of old person are you going to be?

Spreadin' Love

Discussions about class, work, and culture. See Elizabeth and Orlando Patterson in the Times. Patterson says it's time to revisit cultural explanations for poverty. The lure of being cool is one major reason that black, urban males remain in poverty, according to Patterson.

I heart knockoffs.

Spreadin' Love

I'm chore-girl today. Busy ticking off haircuts, birthday gifts, food, and folders off the to do list. I really hate doing this stuff, because it never goes away. I get the kids' hair cut and then it grows and I have to do it all over again. I'm considering getting electrolysis for their heads and a sensible wig.

A proper post later tonight. In the mean time, some links.

Fun chat at Burke's blog about the university admission process.

For more talk about hot polygamous love, read the Times, Dooce, and Vindauga.

Morgan Spurlock has more than Big Macs in his mouth these days. Now, he has inserted his foot, as well. Read Joanne Jacobs to hear more about Spurlock pissing off parents of kids with disabilities.

The lacrosse team at Duke raped a black stripper. Completely disgusted. Read New Kid and Rachel from Alas, a Blogand the Times and Chris Lawrence who has the inside Duke scoop.

By Dawn's Early Light

As sunrise comes earlier and earlier every morning, so too come my kids into my bedroom and into my bed earlier and earlier every morning.

Kenyon's Quotas

I had to update my post on the quotas at Kenyon, because it was a hastily thrown out post and people still want to talk about it.

Tim Burke discusses admissions policies at universities. He points out that most universities have been engineering a balanced student body for a long time. We shouldn't be surprised that they are now trying for gender parity. Comments from me there.

Three Wives Club

We've been watching Bill get it on with his three wives on Big Love. And you think that Marmite is birth control? Wait until you check out this show.

Bill and the wives are members of a Mormon splinter group committed to polygamy. Instead of hanging out on the compound along with the other polygamists, they try to blend into a suburban development and hide their unique marriage from the neighbors. Bill is always worried that their secret will become public and put his business in jeopardy. It's very stressful.

There's also all the interfamily stress. They have to figure out how to deal out money equally and what to do with the creepy compound people. And somebody is trying to poison grandpa.

But the biggest problem is who gets Bill's penis for the night. If it's Wife A's night, does Wife B still get a morning quickie? What if Wife C is a screamer? Bill's penis can't take the pressure and needs some viagra.

Big problems on Big Love.

Weekend Journal

Before we bought our house, the previous owner thoughtfully repainted the place in two glorious colors -- slumlord "white" and flesh. I suppose that the flesh paint was supposed to be a tasteful blend of taupe and peach, but it's really just flesh.

Work: Yes or No

Last week, there was another op-ed in the Times, which discussed the much debated numbers about women opting out of the workforce.  This writer produced her own numbers to show that women weren't easing up in their ambitions and professional life after they had kids.  "Hey, look at me and my buddy in the economics department", she writes.  (Echidne liked it better than I did.  Read her take.)

I didn't link to it, because I have grown a bit weary of this debate about numbers.  How are you defining work?  Are you opting-out, if you work full time, but take on less responsibility?  Does part-time work count? What about people who are just taking some time off? Isn't this all about validating our own choices?

I read The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less over the weekend.  I loved it, despite the fact my copy has Julianne Moore on the cover.  "Now a Major Motion Picture."

Man Quotas

Jennifer Delahunty Britz, the dean of admissions for Kenyon, writes an op-ed in the Times apologizing to all the girls that she's had to reject in order to keep a 50/50 ratio on campus. 

Had she been a male applicant, there would have been little, if any, hesitation to admit. The reality is that because young men are rarer, they're more valued applicants. Today, two-thirds of colleges and universities report that they get more female than male applicants, and more than 56 percent of undergraduates nationwide are women. Demographers predict that by 2009, only 42 percent of all baccalaureate degrees awarded in the United States will be given to men.

We have told today's young women that the world is their oyster; the problem is, so many of them believed us that the standards for admission to today's most selective colleges are stiffer for women than men. How's that for an unintended consequence of the women's liberation movement?

Admissions officers have to let underqualified men into their schools in order to assure that the man quota is met.  If there aren't enough men, then the school becomes unattractive to upcoming students, Britz writes.  Ew.  Nobody complains when schools are man-heavy.

Good Lord, this is horseshit on so many levels.  Where are the affirmative action haters?  Why aren't they up in arms about this? 

In one week, we have worried that there aren't enough women succeeding at top positions and also that there are too many girls succeeding.  I'm confused.

(A pile of years ago, I received a hand written acceptance letter from Kenyon.  They liked my essay, and I liked their creative writing department. They even coughed up some money, but not enough.  Huge soft spot for that school.)

UPDATE We've already had a long and interesting discussion about why boys are falling behind girls in school. We said biology was a factor. Boys also may feel like they have a range of jobs available to them without a college degree. Now, the question is what to do about this. I believe we can nuture boys in elementary school, without holding back the girls. The boys may need a different methods, and it's worth spending some time thinking about it. Some of my commenters also thought that single sex schools might be the ticket. These 50/50 quotas for college admission rub me the wrong way. Quotas should be a last resort, a method for rectifying great social wrongs. I feel very uncomfortable having different standards for acceptance for boys and girls just to insure that frat parties have a good mix. I understand that schools are a business and a good frat parties are part of the draw, but I still feel that quotas will lead to worse results -- discouraging girls from trying hard in school. Lindsay puts some thought into this question. UPDATE2 Read Tim Burke with comments from me.

The Head of Boone

Last week, Jonah's teacher assigned a book report. He had to get a bibliography from the school library, fill in a worksheet about the book, and then render the likeness of this hero in styrofoam. She provided detailed description about how we had to secure a styrofoam ball onto a paper towel tube and then make clothes and accessories.

Of course, my space cadet son never came home with the book and completely blew past the deadline. Feeling somewhat guilty that my irresponsibility was being passed onto another generation, I lit a fire under his ass.

I drove around New Jersey for an hour looking for styrofoam balls, because I just don't have those things around the house. I unwound an entire roll of paper towels. I drove Jonah to the public library, because he managed to forget the book again. He wanted a book on Julius Caesar. No Caesar, but three books on the Backstreet Boys. Settled for Daniel Boone.

After dinner, we finally read the book and make the head of Boone.

It looks like an Abu Graib torture victim, doesn't it? It didn't help that when our backs were turned, Ian gouged a few holes in the head with the scissors.