Apt. 11D

An Equal Marriage

I'm reading the Jodi Kanter article on the Obama marriage with great interest. The Times website has some great little audio clips from them.

Like a lot of people of my generation, I relate to the Obamas. They are both highly educated, ambitious people who struggle with doing the right things for their girls, while trying to avoid traditional roles. The Obamas are very frank that Barack's career choices have dominated and that Michelle has had to attend the dance recitals and teacher conferences. She says that although Barack's career choices have won out, that they have an equal marriage. All important decisions regarding the family are mutual decisions.

I really appreciate Michelle's slight annoyance that her career was sidelined and, at the same time, how clearly committed she is to raising her daughters properly. It's honest. I get it.

She shows how it is possible to be a strong, feminist woman and not pull in a paycheck and how you can still look good in a sheath dress, even in your 40s. She has put loud-mouthed, opinionated, good-hearted women in vogue. Love her for that.

Lego Men

I spent two weeks making these costumes for the boys. Last night, Jonah told me that he's not allowed to wear a mask to school. AAAARRRGH!!!

I guess a lot of schools are banning masks and scary make-up. One school district only wants the kids to go dressed as historical figures. Way to kill the fun.

Midweek Journal

I'm hiding out in my office trying to stay out of the way of the glass repairmen. We're finally getting four broken window panes replaced. Next week, I'll call in someone to wash all the windows. We've got old fashioned windows. The only way to wash the outside is call in a window washing service with really long ladders. I found a place in those super-saver coupons that will do it for $5 a window.

The upside of being home is that I'm finally able to get quotes on window panes, cut coupons, and get the house looking nice. The downside of being home is that I'm thinking about window washing and cutting coupons. Boooooorrrring.

GeekyMom is struggling with many of the same problems that I'm dealing with. She wrote about trying to make effort to make friends in her community.

When you're working from home, you really need human contact during the day, but finding like-minded human contact is difficult. Cliques have already been formed. It can be hard to find common interests. (Note to self: Lots of people don't know what the public option is, have never used Twitter, and don't give a crap about Mad Men.) Not everyone gets my sense of humor. (Note to self: No jokes about the possible sexual orientation of the kids.) There are landmines everywhere, if people are insecure about their education levels or the prestige of their profession. Safe topics include the installation of sheet rock, kids' teachers, and proper methods for water-sealing one's basement. 

GeekyMom is also working on a writing project while the kids are at home. The kids are at school for six hours a day. Six hours is a lot of time to get work done, but it isn't that much when you have to squeeze in cleaning up after breakfast, two loads of laundry, a meeting with a teacher, forty minutes at the gym (really, really need exercise if you're spending all day in the house), food shopping, and shopping for art supplies for the kids' book reports.

Some writing work has happened, but not enough to claim any victories. The victories have been elsewhere this month. I'm nearly done making the kids' Halloween costumes. I'm tidying up all the lose ends around the house, including the windows. I've been able to get Ian to two new therapy sessions during the week. His speech has really taken off this past month, and I'm going to take credit for that. I'm spending more time cooking. I learned how to make black beans from scratch (you've got to boil them for 2 hours!) and how to tenderize a flank steak. 

I'm not conquering the world right now. I'm not getting that adrenaline rush after giving a good lecture. I spend too much time alone in front of the computer. But the victories are there and are real. I'm going to savor them.

Eye Candy

I was quite grouchy this morning about American media and the Internet.

Well, the Internet and the media also gives us some jewels. Check out these photographs on pollution in China, the work of autistic artist, and scenes from the Drug War. They range from inspirational to disturbing.

The Internet and The Crazy People

There's a small industry of thinkers struggling with the question of what the Internet means for democracy. Some point to the ability of the Internet to provide more information than ever before. You can visit an elected official's website, use wikipedia to learn more about a candidate's track record, read a variety of opinions on key topics, and get into a debate in the comment sections of blogs. Others point out the negatives.

Cass Sunstein has put forward some of the most damning critiques of the Internet. He makes two main arguments. The first appeared in an article a few years back called The Daily Me. He says that the Internet has enabled us to customize the information that we receive and are thus able to reduce accidental encounters with politics. If you only care about sports, then you will go to the ESPN website and get the scores of the football game. In the past, you would buy the Post for the scores and then flip over the paper and accidentally absorb politics. Now, you can effectively cut out all political information.

Fame At Any Cost

As I was getting the kids ready for school this morning, one of the morning shows was on in the living room. I wandered in just as Levi Johnston dished the dirt about Sarah Palin with Maggie Rodriguez. Video here.

It sounds like their was some dysfunction going on in the Palin house, but pretty normal dysfunction -- fighting between the parents and overworked parents not being home to watch the kids. There's a subtext in the Levi Johnston account about working mothers, but I'm going to go into that today. Let's just talk about Levi.

Spreadin' Love

Valerie Young tears apart recent articles in the New York Times about women and mothers. She writes, "We need to stop talking about how each woman has to carve out her own destiny as if we function in a political and economic vacuum. We need to emphasize, repeatedly, the need for family-nurturing public policies and cultural attitudes that are respectful and supportive of all the work that women do – inside and outside the home. We need to bring caregiving into the policy conversation in a clear-eyed and pragmatic way and recognize it as one of the most prominent factors that affect a woman’s decision on how to live her life. "

I might try to make fish this way tonight. 

There's a 90% chance of seeing the Johnston. (When Steve's reminding Ian to clean all of his parts in the shower, they sing "heads, shoulders, knees, and johnson." We're a little concerned that he'll sing it in school sometime.)

Writing and velocity. 

Ta-Nehisi Coates explains why he often writes about the intersection of race and food.

What's Going On With Print?

The fate of print journalism is a regular topic around here, because my brother is a reporter for a small paper in upstate New York. Also, for a short time, I considered making a switch from academia to journalism. That's like bailing out of the Titanic to get a lift on the Hindenburg.

Megan pointed to some gruesome figures about the top 25 Daily Newspapers. Megan's probably right. Those 25 papers will probably be whittled down to 3 in the next few years. 

The very local papers, like the one my brother works for, will most likely still be around. Their circulation rates have stayed constant. The Internet hasn't replaced local papers yet. There are very few successful, hyperlocal blogs and websites - none that would replace the regional paper. 

Part of me, the dark part of me that eats with her mouth open, wonders whether or not it matters. Sure, it's bad that smart, talented people can't find work, but I'm not exactly starving for good things to read. I can barely keep up with what I've got.

The Cleveland Plain-Dealer is number 16 on the Daily Newspaper list. It's not a very good newspaper. It's mostly ads and wire stories. What original content they have is thin and boring. Ohio needs excellent coverage of politics in their cities and in the state capital, but it doesn't need reporters giving them original stories on home and garden. People get their sports and entertainment and national news elsewhere. The only thing we need from the Plain Dealer is coverage of state and local affairs. I wonder if they would be more viable, if they reduced their mission.

Women In Congress

Cross-posted at Everyday Politics Blog - a student textbook blog.

When I was in college, I signed up for an internship to work in the office of the Mayor of Binghamton, New York. My job was to answer mail from the constituency who complained about potholes in the streets or the drunks who poured out of local bars and puked on their front lawns. The mayor took these letters very seriously, so I put a lot of time into writing sensible and caring responses.

Spreadin' Love

I'm taking the day off from writing/blogging and am only reading stuff. Here are some goodies that I've found.

David Brooks is really chuffed that Obama and Duncan are putting pressure on the states to increase the number of charter schools and to find a way to identify and support good teachers. 

More people are weighing in on the women/unhappiness research, including Barbara Ehrenreich and Judith Warner.

This post made me very sad.