thusspakezuska
Posts by this author
March 9, 2010
I failed to produce this post in time for DNLee's Diversity in Science carnival - Black History Month: Broadening STEM Participation at Every Level. That's mostly because I had a bunch of personal stuff going on in the past couple weeks that just wouldn't leave me alone. I think I'll be back to…
February 23, 2010
How did you celebrate George Washington's birthday this year? You didn't do anything? Well, it's not too late. Pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee or tea, and sit down to read a pair of fascinating articles published this past Sunday and Monday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Hercules:…
February 15, 2010
Don't you just love food palaces? Round these parts in Philly, we have several new Wegmans stores to choose from, and of course Whole Foods. A new Whole Foods opened not far from where I live that includes a little bar - you can have a beer or glass of wine and a little something to eat if you…
February 15, 2010
Philagrafika 2010 is happening now, all over Philadelphia.
Involving more than 300 artists at more than 80 venues throughout the city, Philagrafika 2010 will be one of the largest art events in the United States and the world's most important print-related exposition. Prominent museums and…
February 15, 2010
Tomorrow morning Rebecca Skloot will be on WHYY's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. She will, of course, be talking about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. You can tune in and listen on the web here. Radio Times starts at 10 a.m. EST but Skloot is scheduled for the second hour of the show,…
February 10, 2010
Arborvitae. It is snowing. Again. Snow, then freezing rain, then more snow with a vengeance that promises to keep on all day through to midnight. This is on top of the batch we got last Saturday. Philadelphia got 28.5 inches though round these parts it seems we "only" got about 17. It was…
February 5, 2010
Penny Richards has created a new purse, available on her Etsy site. Here's some info about it she shared with me (details about the purse construction available on the site):
[the purse honors] Melba Roy, a Howard University graduate (undergrad and masters) who was a mathematician at NASA's Goddard…
February 5, 2010
Lindsey Vonn is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Womentalksports.com notes
Vonn is first a GREAT athlete, but she also represents norm of feminine attractiveness. The combination of athleticism and attractiveness make Vonn the likely poster girl of the US Olympic Team, and the media hasn't…
February 2, 2010
Just finished listening to Rebecca Skloot talking about her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, on Fresh Air this afternoon. You can now listen on the web (transcript not yet available).
Around 25:10, Skloot tells Terry Gross about an experience she had with a faith-healing ceremony with…
February 2, 2010
Be sure to catch Fresh Air whenever it airs in your local market to day, or catch the podcast. Rebecca Skloot is on today, talking about her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which, as I hope you know, is released today. And I hope you pre-ordered your copy already. Fresh Air is on at…
February 1, 2010
Well, with a little pork.
My mother used to make haluski, which is basically chopped cabbage fried in butter and served over boiled noodles. In the old days, the bubbas made their own noodles, but we used store-bought packaged. As I kid, I was not fond of haluski, but as my palate became more…
February 1, 2010
1. First, a question. What is a blog?
Generally speaking (although there are exceptions), blogs tend to have a few things in common:
A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest on top. Often, the articles are organized into categories.
An archive of older articles.
A way for…
February 1, 2010
You, my dear friend, have been EXCEEDINGLY ill for weeks, but still making sure everything at work gets covered, via arrangements with colleagues and telecommuting despite being on strict bed rest orders from your doctor. You're getting slowly better and we, your friends, rejoice at this news.…
January 25, 2010
I warned Jon, I did. D00d, that thread is for MOCKING MANSPLAINERS.
Now, here I will repost Jon's mis-directed comment. Zuskateers, you may feel free to read (warning: contains mansplaing) or skip right over to the comment thread and post your own examples of Men Who Cannot Follow Clear…
January 25, 2010
Mansplaining. We've all had to endure it, on the internets or IRL, so frequently we are often overwhelmed with the desire to hork up serious chunks on the mansplainer's shoes. And yet, you can't always do that. Maybe the mansplainer is your boss. Maybe he's mansplaining on your blog or your…
January 24, 2010
Mr. Z records live music and is nuts about microphones.
Whenever we watch t.v. he is always pointing out microphones to me. Earlier this evening, the first NFL playoff game ends, there's a crazy scene on the field, confetti flying in the air:
Mr. Z: Did you see that mic?Me: No.Mr. Z: There! There…
January 24, 2010
This is a story about making chicken soup completely from scratch, with local, organic ingredients, and starting with the carcass of a roasted chicken. The soup was very, very good, and looked like this:
The chicken in question came from Pikeland Pastured Poultry. All the vegetables in the soup…
January 21, 2010
Okay, the actual story is this:
if you are an overweight woman you:
⢠May have a harder time getting health insurance or have to pay higher premiums
⢠Are at higher risk of being misdiagnosed or receiving inaccurate dosages of drugs
⢠Are less likely to find a fertility doctor who will help you…
January 20, 2010
You may have been hearing some of the buzz about Rebecca Skloot's forthcoming book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken…
January 19, 2010
Over at A Blog Around the Clock there are a series of posts with great video interviews from ScienceOnline2010, but I'd like to especially point your attention to this one with David Kroll and Damond Nollan, both of North Carolina Central University. It was filmed shortly after their session on "…
January 14, 2010
I've been reading a lot of Casaubon's Book lately. I usually come away from it feeling like I ought to convince Mr. Z to move back to southwestern PA with me so the two of us can become gentleman farmers and live sustainably after peak oil - maybe we can live out our days in mom's house and garden…
January 13, 2010
It's no secret bookstores have been in trouble for some time now. Small independent bookstores have been dropping like flies left and right. One of the oldest and best loved independent bookstores in Philadelphia, Robin's, recently closed, reinvented itself, and reopened in new space above its…
January 12, 2010
I'm speaking from experience, people, having had most of these lobbed at me one time or another. Please feel free to add to the list in the comments section.
1. "When is the baby due?"
I'm not pregnant, you douchebag. I'm fat. If I were pregnant, I'd probably be prancing around telling…
January 12, 2010
Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science has a fascinating post summarizing a recent research paper that shows how objectification silences women.
As Saguy [the lead researcher] explains, "When a woman believes that a man is focusing on her body, she narrows her presence... by spending less time…
January 9, 2010
My fitness program the last 3-4 months - or reasonable facsimile thereof...
Monday: go to gym, half hour on elliptical, half hour doing weights routine picked up at last stint at physical therapy for excruciating neck pain developed over several years due to chronic migraines.
Tuesday: spend day…
January 7, 2010
This evening Marketplace Report had a segment on " A push for Latinos to pursue education". It's a great segment, based on a report from the Southern Education Foundation. (Possibly this one; four page summary of the report, A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South's Public Schools…
January 7, 2010
Maybe you tell us why they're blue.
First the name. Avatar--if you play computer games, you may know this very well--is a character you use inside an unreal world. The word Avatar has its origins in Indian mythology. An Avatar (ava-tara in Sanskrit) is god's visit to earth to fix something that…
January 6, 2010
Professor in Training is working on a faculty website design and asks the following:
I'm in the process of designing my own page and also a separate set of pages for my lab. I know the type of stuff I want in both of these but I was looking for feedback from both current and prospective students…
January 3, 2010
I see erv is blogging some trash-talking shit about how she would "bet a large sum of money that [she is] the fittest person on SciBlogs". Bah! Kids and their puny bragging!
I am totes the hairiest-legged feminazi on SciBlogs! AND the most out of shape! And furthermore, if you mess with me, I…
December 29, 2009
Last time I checked, Erma Bombeck, when she was alive, was a hugely popular American humorist who wrote a newspaper column and published 15 books, most of which were best sellers. She came from the working class, and made quite a successful career for herself in publishing, at a time when women…