I don't usualy write much about my research interests on here since I try to keep this a blog about what kinds of things we get up to in our free time, but today Paul sent me this article on the CNN website that hit home. It's about how teachers are the first place parents go for advice on ADHD, and some teachers go so far as to "diagnose" kids with ADHD and suggest they be given medication. Clearly this is not all teachers, but it's an interesting issue from a sociological percpective (how does this change the medical profession, or should teachers be more or less involved in behavior issues?) and I am, after all, studying sociology.
So why does this aricle bother me? Because I applied for a 3-year fellowship, which would more than double my stipend and relieve me from being a teaching assistant, from the National Science Foundation (yes, they include sociology) last fall to study this very issue. I was rejected. There are very few awards I am eligible for because I am early in my program, am not studying an "underrepresented group" or the Middle East, nor am I an ethnic minority. So this was pretty much the only thing I could apply for. Clearly people care about this issue, since just this CNN article was published at 8AM this morning, and now 3 hours later there are over 200 comments on it. I would think that these people would be happy to see their tax dollars go to studying this issue, but they're not the ones who get to decide.
Wouldn't it be great if academia's and the real world's concerns were aligned? I try not to get too upset by this stuff, because I know I will only face more and more of it in my career.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Monroe County Fair
Last weekend we went to the Monroe County Fair with one of my classmates and his wife. They're from India, and they'd never been to a county fair before so we tried our best to show them what it's all about.
First was the dog show. It wasn't nearly as exciting as the professional one on TV, and the hostess had to remind the crowd not to laugh at the kids showing their dogs (I admit, I did chuckle at a couple points because the dogs were so cute and reminded me of our often disobedient dog). But it was super cute! Here is one of the contenders.
Then we got tenderloins, which are a Hoosier thing (pounded pork tenderloin that's battered, deep fried and served on a bun). Next Paul and I got an elephant ear. I have to admit, I like the doughboys I've had in New England better - this one was thinner and cripier than the chewy doughboys I'm used to, and they serve it with cinnamon and sugar instead of powdered sugar.
Then there were the pork rinds that Paul couldn't resist. Here he is trying to select a flavor.
Then there was the main attraction: THE DEMOLITION DERBY. This, we knew, would be a great way to show an American tradition unlike anything you'd see in India. First they send out two teens on horses with a big American flag. They ride around the derby track while the national anthem plays. Next, they introduce the cars that are competing for best looking car. This comes with a $100 prize and bragging rights. Here's an example of one of them (Note the girl with the tiara - she's the County Fair Queen this year):
We thought there'd just be one round of cars coming out and smashing up, but the program went on for hours with multiple rounds of cars coming in. The "winners" of each round (the ones that can still run) move on to the finals. See what happened to that car with the corncob design?
Once we had enough Demolition Derby, we went to check out the animals being shown by the 4-H club.
Here's one I would not want to meet in the wild
And look at the feet on this one!
And finally, the bunnies. These two wanted to get together!
Before we left, we checked out the tractor exhibit. Don't we look like naturals?
First was the dog show. It wasn't nearly as exciting as the professional one on TV, and the hostess had to remind the crowd not to laugh at the kids showing their dogs (I admit, I did chuckle at a couple points because the dogs were so cute and reminded me of our often disobedient dog). But it was super cute! Here is one of the contenders.
Then we got tenderloins, which are a Hoosier thing (pounded pork tenderloin that's battered, deep fried and served on a bun). Next Paul and I got an elephant ear. I have to admit, I like the doughboys I've had in New England better - this one was thinner and cripier than the chewy doughboys I'm used to, and they serve it with cinnamon and sugar instead of powdered sugar.
Then there were the pork rinds that Paul couldn't resist. Here he is trying to select a flavor.
Then there was the main attraction: THE DEMOLITION DERBY. This, we knew, would be a great way to show an American tradition unlike anything you'd see in India. First they send out two teens on horses with a big American flag. They ride around the derby track while the national anthem plays. Next, they introduce the cars that are competing for best looking car. This comes with a $100 prize and bragging rights. Here's an example of one of them (Note the girl with the tiara - she's the County Fair Queen this year):
We thought there'd just be one round of cars coming out and smashing up, but the program went on for hours with multiple rounds of cars coming in. The "winners" of each round (the ones that can still run) move on to the finals. See what happened to that car with the corncob design?
Once we had enough Demolition Derby, we went to check out the animals being shown by the 4-H club.
Here's one I would not want to meet in the wild
And look at the feet on this one!
And finally, the bunnies. These two wanted to get together!
Before we left, we checked out the tractor exhibit. Don't we look like naturals?
Friday, August 6, 2010
3 Years!
Last week we celebrated our THIRD anniversary! We had thought about going away somewhere for the weekend, but opted for a more budget-friendly option here in Bloomington.
First we went to a spa happy-hour (meaning they cut their prices in half - score!)where we got a couples massage. So relaxing!
Then, Paul came home with this HUGE bouquet of flowers! I had to split it between our two largest vases because it wouldn't all fit in one!
Binsey wanted to get in on the flower action too...
We ended the evening with dinner at the Limestone Grill. We started with some super delicious calamari. I was surprised that they did such a good job cooking it despite being in Indiana, far from the sea. I meant to take a picture, but we were hungry and ate it all before I thought of it. Paul then had the lamb, and I had salmon with sweet potato pancakes. Yum!
These past 3 years have been crazy - we've lived in two states, three countries (Paul lived briefly in Munich for an internship while I was in England), bought a house, got a dog and have met tons of great friends along the way! Who knows what the future brings, but if the past is any indication, we're in for one heck of a wild ride!
First we went to a spa happy-hour (meaning they cut their prices in half - score!)where we got a couples massage. So relaxing!
Then, Paul came home with this HUGE bouquet of flowers! I had to split it between our two largest vases because it wouldn't all fit in one!
Binsey wanted to get in on the flower action too...
We ended the evening with dinner at the Limestone Grill. We started with some super delicious calamari. I was surprised that they did such a good job cooking it despite being in Indiana, far from the sea. I meant to take a picture, but we were hungry and ate it all before I thought of it. Paul then had the lamb, and I had salmon with sweet potato pancakes. Yum!
These past 3 years have been crazy - we've lived in two states, three countries (Paul lived briefly in Munich for an internship while I was in England), bought a house, got a dog and have met tons of great friends along the way! Who knows what the future brings, but if the past is any indication, we're in for one heck of a wild ride!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Hoosier Grammar
Since I haven't been going to classes this summer, I've been around Hoosiers a lot more. One thing I've picked up on is their weird grammar with things that need doing. For example, let's say the paint is peeling off your barn. A Hoosier may say "The barn needs painted." Car looking dirty? "It needs washed." I've even heard "It needs warshed." Now the word "warshed" is something I thought to be limited to Missouri (miss-ur-ah), but I have heard it more than once from Hoosiers and I'm guessing it's much more widespread than I had thought.
However, before I say anything about whether this is correct or incorrect grammar, the Boston Globe had an article on this very issue:
So it looks like I've just got to get used it it. It's gonna be wicked hard.
However, before I say anything about whether this is correct or incorrect grammar, the Boston Globe had an article on this very issue:
Needs fixed is usually labeled a regionalism, most familiar in western Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, in the Midland dialect area. The Oxford English Dictionary labels it Scottish, Irish, and northern English as well, and it has friends in Australia and New Zealand.
So it looks like I've just got to get used it it. It's gonna be wicked hard.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Birthday Dog
Somebody just turned 1! We think Binsey was born around July 4 (the guy we got her from did not remember when the pups were born). It is crazy that the 4.5 pound roly-poly pup we brought home last August is now a 62 pound nearly-grown dog. We've been keeping a chart of her growth. Hopefully the slowdown will continue because I struggle to lift her!
She is getting a bit too large for the dog bed we bought last year (and had to hide from her for a few months because she was eating it). You can see she is unsure of how she feels about it.
In people news, we have been grilling out a lot. Last week, we tried out our new rotisserie with some pork. The rotisserie has a motor on one end, so you just put it in there with the rotisserie burner on, push the button and let it cook. Yum!
She is getting a bit too large for the dog bed we bought last year (and had to hide from her for a few months because she was eating it). You can see she is unsure of how she feels about it.
In people news, we have been grilling out a lot. Last week, we tried out our new rotisserie with some pork. The rotisserie has a motor on one end, so you just put it in there with the rotisserie burner on, push the button and let it cook. Yum!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Happy Birthday to the USA
In honor of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Paul and I did what is required to be a good member of US society by going to our local 4th of July celebration at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. The AmVets post puts on an annual fireworks show here in Bloomington, and this was the first year it was at the fairgrounds rather than at the university stadium parking lot. The fireworks were to begin at 10pm, and living about a 10 minute drive away from the fairgrounds, we left at 8:45 in case there was traffic. Well, after an hour of being reminded of why we prefer living in the country to living in Chicago or another big city, we managed to get to the fairgrounds and park. Walking up to where the action was, we were treated to the aroma of fresh fried dough, kettle corn and BBQ.
Despite the long line of large and tattooed men, as well as pregnant women, already ahead of him, Paul, being Polish, could not resist stopping at the Polish Sausage cart (he's on the right in the dark).
Here he is with his prize - juicy polish sausage topped with "everything", which appeared to include sauerkraut and onions among other things. The glow of the yellow neon light from the cart adds to the ambiance of the dish.
Of course, Paul isn't the only one who enjoyed the bounty of the Polish Sausage cart. I was treated to something called a "potato blossom". I don't seem to recall such a delicacy being served in Poland, so this must be a New World creation. More convincing of its US origin is the fact that it's a potato (or probably several potatoes) cut into a spiral, deep fried and smothered with ketchup (or plain if you're too dainty for the red stuff). While the neon yellow glow is not the most flattering light on me, I did want to share the image of this fried treat, in all it's glory, with those who may not have seen it before .
As we enjoyed our rural fairground fare, an 80s cover band played such hits as Van Halen's "Jump" and other Hair Band classics. Finally, at around 10:30 the fireworks began. It was actually a much bigger pyrotechnic show that we expected. There were several times when the audience started clapping because they thought it was the grand finale, but then it would start up again. Pretty impressive, though the paper this morning said they spent $25,000 on the show and only raised $17.000 in donations. They've been short like that two years in a row. Whoops!
What was cool is that we were pretty close to the show, but not so close that we thought we might get hot ashes on us.
And finally, when the show had ended and the line for the Sugar Shack food cart (pictured in the background below) had died down, we ordered our dessert - FUNNEL CAKE! Does it get any better than funnel cake? We think not.
Let the French keep their baguettes. Real Americans take their bread fried and loaded with powdered sugar!
In other news, Indiana ranks 17th in the country for its 2010 level of obesity.
Despite the long line of large and tattooed men, as well as pregnant women, already ahead of him, Paul, being Polish, could not resist stopping at the Polish Sausage cart (he's on the right in the dark).
Here he is with his prize - juicy polish sausage topped with "everything", which appeared to include sauerkraut and onions among other things. The glow of the yellow neon light from the cart adds to the ambiance of the dish.
Of course, Paul isn't the only one who enjoyed the bounty of the Polish Sausage cart. I was treated to something called a "potato blossom". I don't seem to recall such a delicacy being served in Poland, so this must be a New World creation. More convincing of its US origin is the fact that it's a potato (or probably several potatoes) cut into a spiral, deep fried and smothered with ketchup (or plain if you're too dainty for the red stuff). While the neon yellow glow is not the most flattering light on me, I did want to share the image of this fried treat, in all it's glory, with those who may not have seen it before .
As we enjoyed our rural fairground fare, an 80s cover band played such hits as Van Halen's "Jump" and other Hair Band classics. Finally, at around 10:30 the fireworks began. It was actually a much bigger pyrotechnic show that we expected. There were several times when the audience started clapping because they thought it was the grand finale, but then it would start up again. Pretty impressive, though the paper this morning said they spent $25,000 on the show and only raised $17.000 in donations. They've been short like that two years in a row. Whoops!
What was cool is that we were pretty close to the show, but not so close that we thought we might get hot ashes on us.
And finally, when the show had ended and the line for the Sugar Shack food cart (pictured in the background below) had died down, we ordered our dessert - FUNNEL CAKE! Does it get any better than funnel cake? We think not.
Let the French keep their baguettes. Real Americans take their bread fried and loaded with powdered sugar!
In other news, Indiana ranks 17th in the country for its 2010 level of obesity.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
We're not in Kansas, but we still have tornado warnings
The past two nights we've had tornado sightings near Bloomington. Now I love a good storm, especially when I'm at home with some tea, but it's not so much fun when I'm out somewhere else.
On Monday night, I was working at the survey call center (that dreaded mandatory assignment for my PhD program) when the tornado alarm went off in the building, an old 10+ story limestone dormatory. There was an announcement in the building and we all had to go into the elevator area in the center of the building until the warning was over. Someone had a fancy phone and got the weather forcast from it, and reported that the tornado was spotted west of Bloomington and the storm was headed toward the campus, first going right through our neighborhood. So I borrowed someone else's phone (of course mine didn't get reception) and called Paul, who was taking a nap at home. Thankfully there was no damage to our neighborhood, but Paul and Binsey waited it out in the downstairs bathroom anyway. Here's a shot Paul got of the double rainbow that happened right after the storm. I could only see a single rainbow from the call center, so I'm jealous!
The second tornado warning was last night.We'd happened to order pizza just before the siren went off, so we had just enough time to go pick it up and then go back and wait out the storm again. We could barely hear the siren, even standing outside. It sounded almost like someone's air conditioner was malfunctioning. If I hadn't heard the announcement on TV, I don't know if we would have known anything was going on. While we didn't get a tornado, we got a really loud and rumbly storm with torrential rain. So much that we got a fairly fast flowing river through our back yard and into our neighbor's yard!
At first I thought that was a bad thing, having all that water go through our yard and maybe leave sediment, but then I realized our next door neighbor (upstream) goes nuts with his lawncare, so all the fancy stuff he's been putting all over his lawn is probably now in ours! So that's not so bad after all!
On Monday night, I was working at the survey call center (that dreaded mandatory assignment for my PhD program) when the tornado alarm went off in the building, an old 10+ story limestone dormatory. There was an announcement in the building and we all had to go into the elevator area in the center of the building until the warning was over. Someone had a fancy phone and got the weather forcast from it, and reported that the tornado was spotted west of Bloomington and the storm was headed toward the campus, first going right through our neighborhood. So I borrowed someone else's phone (of course mine didn't get reception) and called Paul, who was taking a nap at home. Thankfully there was no damage to our neighborhood, but Paul and Binsey waited it out in the downstairs bathroom anyway. Here's a shot Paul got of the double rainbow that happened right after the storm. I could only see a single rainbow from the call center, so I'm jealous!
The second tornado warning was last night.We'd happened to order pizza just before the siren went off, so we had just enough time to go pick it up and then go back and wait out the storm again. We could barely hear the siren, even standing outside. It sounded almost like someone's air conditioner was malfunctioning. If I hadn't heard the announcement on TV, I don't know if we would have known anything was going on. While we didn't get a tornado, we got a really loud and rumbly storm with torrential rain. So much that we got a fairly fast flowing river through our back yard and into our neighbor's yard!
At first I thought that was a bad thing, having all that water go through our yard and maybe leave sediment, but then I realized our next door neighbor (upstream) goes nuts with his lawncare, so all the fancy stuff he's been putting all over his lawn is probably now in ours! So that's not so bad after all!