Apt. 11D

I Would Rather Be in Philadelphia

I'm off to a geek conference tomorrow. I have a pile of last minute things to do -- making copies of the paper, posing in various outfits for my husband (the winning answer -- "those pants do not make your ass look fat"), packing, arranging playdates for myself at the conference.

(I haven't had a chance to reply to e-mail this month. Don't be cross with me.)

So, I'm out of here until Saturday. When I come back, I have most amazing blog story.

Question For the Rest of The Week: What do you want to talk about here? Want more education policy, suburbs, family life, feminism? Want more rambling stories about life? If I miss any good stories, send me the links.

Wish me luck.

Top 5 Foods at Trader Joe's

5. The Frozen Jasmine Rice -- Pre-made rice is only for the laziest of cooks. I'm not proud.
4. Frozen Cod Sticks -- Kiddies love 'em. Made entirely from some rectangular fish.
3. Tandoori Chicken -- Individual lunch-sized meals, when peanut butter and jelly won't cut it.
2. Frozen Peas -- Again, kiddies love 'em.

and...

1. Black Beans Burritos -- One of those, a salad, and a glass of wine is a perfect meal.

Spreadin' Love

I'm scrambling to finish my paper before tomorrow's deadline. My ever ambitious Appendix C might not be happening. Nervous e-mails are being exchanged with fellow tardy writers. "Are you done? I'm not. I'm so dead." "No, I'm deader. I haven't even finished my introduction."

This paper has sucked up every weekend and evening this summer, and I'm sick of it. I'm giving myself a vacation when it's over. I'm going to paint the bedroom a lovely shade of grey and pulling the wall paper off the bathroom -- a month of girlie home decorating. Might even take in an episode of Dr. Phil.

Some random interesting tidbits that I stumbled across in the Times today:

Beyond that, Congress needs to grasp the obvious, which is that the quality of the teacher corps is more crucial to school reform than anything else. The original law required states to provide highly qualified teachers in core subject areas by this year. But the Education Department simply failed to enforce the rule, partly because of back-channel interference by lawmakers who talked like ardent reformers while covering up for state officials clinging to the bad old status quo.

Joe Kernan, the morning anchorman of the business cable channel CNBC, confused many in the news media when he jokingly reported that first weekend grosses for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel had broken the record set by “Aquaman,” a fictional film starring Vincent Chase.

Just why anyone would be interested in pages and pages about this unhappy relationship or the self-important and self-promoting contents of Mr. Franzen’s mind remains something of a mystery.

You know nothing is more painful than plugging in citations in a bibliography. Sharp pencils in my eyes are baby taps.

The big question of the day. Is it possible to write a title for an academic paper without a colon? I say no. One half of the colon allows the author to make some ill advised attempt at humor, even letting him take that very wrong turn into pun land, because on the other half of the colon the author can use a theoretical phrase or obscure jargon to establish seriousness. Thus, creating that unsettling image of the nerdy professor who's hip to that MTV stuff.

Crazy Geniuses on the Internet

There's something about crazy, smart mathematicians that grab our attention. Two recent movies, Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind, feature those freaks. The latest one to land on the front page of the New York Times and the New Yorker is Grigory Perelman who solved the Poincaré conjecture.

Really excellent article in the New Yorker that discusses Perelman's history and relationship with other mathematicians. I just want to pick out one part of this story for this post.

After spending time studying and teaching in America, Perelman returns back to Russia. He moves in with mother, like all good crazy geniuses must do, in a gloomy suburb outside of St. Petersburg. Though he was isolated from the top notch academics, he discussed ideas with other mathematicians across the world on the Internet. "The Internet made it possible for Perelman to work alone while continuing to tap a common pool of knowledge. "

When he had finalized his results for this question that had stumped the great minds for a hundred years, instead of publishing them in a peer reviewed journal, he just put it up on the Internet. Bypassing the usual channels, enraged some of his more traditional colleagues. He was also opening himself up to other mathematician from fixing any errors and claiming victory. "But Perelman said he was not particularly concerned. “My reasoning was: if I made an error and someone used my work to construct a correct proof I would be pleased,” he said. “I never set out to be the sole solver of the Poincaré.”"

This is yet another example of how the Internet is reshaping academia and threatening the gatekeepers. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like victory.

Weekend Journal

I've been writing a paper for nine hours straight today. I'm beginning to get a little light headed. Let's see if I have any brain cells left to write a simple blog post.

She Devils

As a little present to you all, I give you the latest bomb thrown in the national conversation about women and work. Kathe forwarded it to me a couple of days ago and I should have posted on it then. I had to watch Naomi Wolf and Caitlin Flanagan go at it on the Today show this morning. Damn it. One of the perks of the blog is getting in the first word.

OK, here's your Friday present.

Michael Noer writes in Forbes.com:

Guys: A word of advice. Marry pretty women or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Blondes or brunettes. Just, whatever you do, don't marry a woman with a career.

Why? Because if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage. While everyone knows that marriage can be stressful, recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner....

If a host of studies are to be believed, marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003). They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Social Forces, 2006). You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001). You will be more likely to fall ill (American Journal of Sociology). Even your house will be dirtier (Institute for Social Research).

The guy seems to be saying that women should be kept uneducated, because educated women cheat. The best way to keep your wife from cheating is to prevent her from meeting other men outside the home. He is certainly not suggesting that men pick up any of the housecleaning slack. Read the whole thing and rant away in the comment section. Merry Christmas.

The grain of truth in the article -- dual career families are very difficult to maintain. He cites studies such one by Gary Becker who found that life gets harder when both people work.

In classic economics, a marriage is, at least in part, an exercise in labor specialization. Traditionally men have tended to do "market" or paid work outside the home and women have tended to do "non-market" or household work, including raising children. All of the work must get done by somebody, and this pairing, regardless of who is in the home and who is outside the home, accomplishes that goal. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker argued that when the labor specialization in a marriage decreases--if, for example, both spouses have careers--the overall value of the marriage is lower for both partners because less of the total needed work is getting done, making life harder for both partners and divorce more likely.

If both people work 80 hours a week, they aren't going to know each other very well. Outsourcing the housework and childcare doesn't mean that there is no work to do in that department, and it is usually the woman who picks up those chores. Until government and businesses make some important changes in their structure, dual career families will continue to be under stress.

One theme running through this article and through this comment thread is the fear that men have become superfluous. If 20% of women now outearn their husbands and the husbands still fail to do their share of the housework, some women are going to dump the dead weight. That's got to put some fear into guys and they might start looking for women that need them.

Another theme is the longing for the past. Sometimes the past isn't so far away. After spending an evening with my folks and watching my dad who has no responsibilities other than the lawn and his writing, even my super enlightened husband might may make a comment about the good old days. "Where's my slippers and a pipe?", he asks. "Have you looked up your ass, dear?" Oh my, our marriage is doomed.

UPDATE: Think Progress has the FOX News reaction.

The Latest Charter School Study

Fourth graders in traditional public schools did significantly better in reading and math than comparable children attending charter schools, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Federal Education Department.

And W. bans the federal commissioner of education statistics, Mark S. Schneider, from the cool table in the cafeteria. This is the second major study to come out of this department in two months that found that educational choice doesn't produce results.

Not so fast, says Eduwonk. He points out a key disclaimer in the report that has been omitted in news accounts.

the data are obtained from an observational study rather than a randomized experiment, so the estimated effects should not be interpreted in terms of causal relationships.

The Education department shouldn't be putting out reports that they can't stand by.

My best guess about charter schools is that there is a wide range of academic performance coming out of these schools. It's no secret that some charter schools are disasters. Either poor leadership or insufficient freedom from the state are creating some real school stinkers. On the flip side, there are some great examples, such as the KIPP academy in the Bronx. The stinkers are lowering the overall average of charter schools.

These stinkers shouldn't damn the whole enterprise. The schools should have their test scores posted on the front door and parents should have the opportunity to decide for themselves which schools to use. Continually failing charter schools should be eliminated. And the good ones replicated.

And charter schools that fare as well as public schools should be examined for other variables other than test scores. Parental involvement and unique learning approaches are another reason to support the charter school model.

(thanks, russell)

The Kept Man

Of all the housewifey chores that I do, the one that I do enjoy is food shopping. I like sniffing the melons and choosing the salad dressing with the snootiest label. Even the kids understand the fun of food shopping and run through the aisles "helping" me by locating their favorite cookies and waffles and dropping them in the cart. The cherry on the sundae is the tabloid reading at the checkout counter. Because I would never pay money for these magazines, they must be rapidly digested during that ten minute wait.

One of my favorite story line right now is about Tom Cruise's baby who was sadly deformed, because of the satanic rituals performed by the Scientology priests. "WHERE'S SURI?" "WHAT'S WRONG WITH SURI?" "WHY WON'T TOM LET THE WORLD SEE THE BABY?" "KATIE IS DEVASTATING BY THE BABY" Oh, man. Life is good.

I love that Maureen Dowd is amused by the Kevin Federline story line. The no-talent husband of the brainless Britney Spears has been a favorite of the tabloids. He's been pigeon-holed as a leech, a money grabbing opportunist, a trophy husband, a shiftless mooch.

Dowd points out that this scenario of women out earning men is increasing. Unlike old K-Fed, some poor men are uncomfortable with their new lower earning standing. She quotes an editor of Cosmopolitan who urges women to buck up their men:

A woman with more renown and money, Ms. White continued, really has “to work hard to make sure he has his own notoriety and success in the relationship. And in that scenario, also the husband may become, like, a stay-at-home dad. But you can’t let his fame be traditionally feminine things, like, ‘Oh, you help so well,’ or, ‘You’re such a great dad.’ You’ve got to give him something with masculine overtones he’s really good at.’’

Um, gag. Well, many women who are stay-at-home moms also want their fame to be about more than baking cookies. They've got plans to be writers, artists, or entrepreneurs, as well as great parents. Women want all of their achievements to be recognized and to not be taken for granted.

Women may finally be getting recognition for their work at home and elsewhere, because men are increasingly taking on these roles. By equalizing work at home, by bringing the men in, the work gains stature. It's a really backassed way to bring about equality, but it may be working.

K-Fed, a feminist hero.

Spreadin' Love

Lots of chick links today.

You should all just surf around BlogHer. It's looking good with great subcategories like feminism and family and politics.

Ingrid Robeyns is blogging at Crooked Timber this week. She writes about social justice and women with an international perspective.

Scott Lemieux points to Martha Nussbaum's excellent review of Harvey Mansfield's Manliness book. The only good thing about Manfield's book has been the bad reviews.

The YouTube Political Peep Show

Virginia Republican, George Allen, was caught making a racial slur at a funding raising event last week. A student caught the comment on tape and published it on YouTube. Let's just say we won't be seeing him in primary season. Lieberman was also repeatedly embarrassed by bloggers and videobloggers.

Ryan Lizza writes that YouTube is causing a major revolution in campaigning.

But YouTube may be changing the political process in more profound ways, for good and perhaps not for the better, according to strategists in both parties. If campaigns resemble reality television, where any moment of a candidate’s life can be captured on film and posted on the Web, will the last shreds of authenticity be stripped from our public officials? Will candidates be pushed further into a scripted bubble? In short, will YouTube democratize politics, or destroy it?

Lizza quotes a Republican strategist who said that because of this, candidates will stop experimenting with their message. Candidates will become more vapid.

Perhaps Lizza, whose New Republic has been under siege by bloggers, is overly worried about the impact of videobloggers. If Allen let a racial slur slip and we caught him, then GOOD. If it keeps other racists out of elections, then GOOD. That case isn't about increasing democracy. It's just a new way to improve the vetting process.

I refuse to believe that this catch is going to keep candidates from giving boring policy chats. Those speeches just aren't going appear in the YouTube top 5, which usually includes spoofs of Britney Spears and Chinese guys lip-synching hiphop songs. People said the same thing about C-SPAN, which is only watched by a small geriatric population.