Sick

The NY Times profiles a food-invention called the bacon explosion. Gross. And yet...oddly appealing.


In other news, I'm in Chapel Hill, visiting friends, meeting with my advisors, and waiting for two paper rejections. Good times. I had a scary meeting with one of my co-chairs about my timeline for finishing this year. Fear is a great motivator, and I am afraid. I have no idea how I'm going to get this all done. I'm also waiting for word from postdocs I have applied to. After all, I do not want to finish with nothing waiting for me except a job application to Starbucks.

Sociology in the News...and after a hiatus

It's been a while, but here are some recent news gems that have featured sociologists:

1. You shouldn't settle down with your first love? (Ooops! My bad.) British sociologists argue that "puppy love" doesn't set the stage for long-term happiness. I am unclear whether their definition of puppy love is simply the fact of being in a first long-term relationship, or whether they had some other measure of attitudes and dispositions. Sounds fishy to me.

2. Sociologists measure crowds! Clark McPhail metaphorically rains on Obama's parade--the crowd may have been a paltry million.

3. Maybe the NSF will fund me now. A sociologist was appointed to the second-ranking NSF spot.

4. My favorite combination. Sociologist Gary Alan Fine wrote a book about food. Sociology and food...what could be better? Gary Alan Fine, by the way, has a food blog (a man after my own heart). And it's called...Veal Cheeks.

5. Why do real liberals live in Carrboro and pseudo-liberals live in Chapel Hill? That's right, social networks. Sociologists love them because they explain damn near anything.

Countdown to Facebook

First of all, hello to the five of you who actually read this site. Sorry I stopped posting--I was out of town, visiting lovely Boston and Ann Arbor. Despite the cold, I enjoyed the weather in both cities, because I miss the snow. And there was no lack of snow at either location.

Second: No, I am not yet on Facebook. And yes, I have read this article on why I should join. I am even convinced of the utility of joining--more from the persuasive arguments of Jennie and Elana than from a Slate journalist, but the points are largely the same. So why am I not on yet? I initially declined joining facebook because of some qualms about privacy. These have largely been solved by the smart folks who run Facebook. But only recently (in the last month or so) have I become aware of these changes. And over this same month, I have found myself both busier and more susceptible to the lure of procrastination. As paper and post-doc application deadlines approach, I have become a more avid reader of the many political, sociological, and food-related blogs on my growing favorites list. Not to mention the NY Times, the Daily Beast, Huffington Post, and the New Republic. It's bad.

So here's the thing. I fully plan to join Facebook. And I hope that all of you (yes, the five of you) will deign to be my friend once I finally enter into the 21st century. However, I have told myself that I am not allowed to create another procrastination tool until I actually secure a job or (more likely) a post-doc for next year.

And yes, I know that I can log off of facebook and say no to the hours of procrastination it affords. But who am I kidding? I won't.

I'm going to China!

A paper that I am writing with JD was just accepted to the International Sociological Association's RC-28 Spring meeting in Beijing. I'm psyched. Not only is going to Beijing awesome, but I will be able to visit my good friend Michelle. Yay. Also, this redeems (hopefully!) my previous disappointment over a trip to China. I was all prepared to visit Dani in Nanjing in 2002--I had the airline ticket and Visa ready to go. And then the Iraq war started. And then SARS hit. And my mom guilt-tripped me into not going. For which I was eternally bitter...until now. :)

Rick Warren, Part Deux

Picking Rick Warren was never a good idea, but apparently it was a terrible idea. Not only is Rick "I have gay friends" Warren a homophobic minister, he is also hurting rather than helping the movement to reduce AIDS in Africa.

This article, at the Daily Beast, covers the basics of Warren's involvement in Uganda (as does an earlier blog post here). In brief, he is linked to people in Uganda who have crusaded against the use of condoms by burning condoms in effigy, limiting the importation of condoms into the country, and teaching secondary school students that condoms contain small openings through which HIV can spread. Lovely.

Congrats, Sanjay!

WashPo reports that Sanjay Gupta will likely be the next Surgeon General. Yay!

2009

I made two resolutions this year (two more than usual--I'm not really into "self-help"):

1. Eat more slowly
2. Use all available food in my fridge.

Alison and I made resolution #1 together. We both eat too fast, and consequently, too much. We decided it would be healthier and less fattening if we made an effort to eat at a leisurely pace. So far, Alison says I am doing better with this resolution than she is. This is probably true. I think about it more often. Plus, I always have water with me (it's a compulsion), so I drink water to slow myself down. I also talk more, so that slows down the process. It's a little ridiculous to have to use tricks in order to avoid eating too quickly, of course, but it works. The only problem with the resolution is that I don't eat less. I tell myself that if I was eating faster, I wouldn't notice how full I was anyway, so I should just go ahead and eat more.

Resolution #2 is something I have been trying to do since the Fall, so I thought I would make it official. This is part of the reason for the "mini-bruschetta" endeavor. I decided sometime in October that I wanted to make a conscious effort to avoid wasting food, and I also wanted to experiment with recipes more. This led to a change in the way I plan for meals. Rather than thinking about what I want to eat and then going out to buy groceries for it, I look through my current food, and then figure out an interesting meal that would use up as many of the fresh ingredients I have. For example, we have leftover parmesan, onion, baby spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cracked wheat bread, and pasta sauce, so I am making penne with a side salad and bread tonight. That's a boring example, but you get the idea.

Hm.

To do, in the next week:

1. Finish table of variables for NIH proposal
2. Review paper for journal (deadline already passed--oops!)
3. Write data section of NIH proposal
4. Heavily edit dissertation chapter for submission to ASA
5. Re-frame/edit other paper for submission to ASA
6. Heavily edit cohabitation paper & construct tables
7. Read at least one paper for each of @16 faculty members I'm supposed to meet with next week
8. Write results section for LCA paper

...All before I pack for my interviews and get on a plane next Sunday. Sleep is optional, yes?

Before going back to work, a few updates:

-I recommend reading this article from the New York Times, on the missed signals of the Madoff scandal.
-I made a potato, cheese, and bacon soup tonight. It was so yummy. Food makes everything better.
-I've only been able to watch a few college basketball games so far this year. So what happens the very first time I catch a UNC game? They lose. Boo.

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that 2009 is a much better year than 2008!

Alison and I have had an excellent post-Christmas and New Years. I returned to Philadelphia on the 28th, and then we headed to New York on the 30th. We stayed at Jennie's for the night. Since Jennie was out of town (boo), we enjoyed the comfort of her awesome Tempur-Pedic bed (yay). We went to an Alvin Ailey performance, which is our Christmas tradition. For the first time, we did not choose a night in which they performed Revelations (their signature piece). It seemed incomplete without it, but it was great to see three completely new pieces. I thought Suite Otis was too short, but I had a great time, as always.

After Alvin Ailey, we went to eat dinner at Alta, a fabulous tapas restaurant in the village. We have been before, and wanted to go back again. We had grilled quail & spaghetti squash, flatbread with mushrooms & ricotta, chorizo-wrapped shrimp, and pork belly. It was excellent. I have no idea why I wasted more than 10 years of my life not eating pork. But I am well on my way to making up for it. After dinner, we went to ChikaLicious, our favorite dessert spot in the city--in addition to amazing food, the owner (Chika Tillman) is adorable. Unfortunately, the main dessert bar was closed, but ChikaLicious Puddin' was open across the street. They were out of their cupcakes (boo), so we shared a bread pudding and an adult chocolate pudding.

The next day, we just had time to grab brunch with Jen & Andrea at Cheryl's in Brooklyn. Then we headed back to Philadelphia to celebrate New Year's Eve. This was the first year in a while that we have not celebrated New Years with friends in NYC. But we had a great time anyway. We made guacamole with pieces of pear, grapes and pomegranate seeds (we were dubious too, but it was great). We also made sausage-stuffed mushrooms and what Alison has dubbed our "mini-bruschettas". I think they are better called "pizza bruschettas," since bruschetta is mini by definition. I came up with them when trying to make a point to Alison that stale bread could be useful for a great many culinary delights. The recipe is at the end of the post, in case you would like to try it out yourself.

Today we ate breakfast, drank mimosas, played trivial pursuit, demolished the remaining bruschetta & guacamole, baked cookies (and ate them), and gave the cat a bath. Now it's back to work as usual.

"Mini Bruschettas"
1/2 lb mozzarella, diced
2 vine tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
fresh basil, chopped (to taste)
a pinch of sea salt
a dash of olive oil (maybe 1/2 tbsp)

1 french baguette, cut into 1/2" slices (best if stale)
balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix the first six items together in a bowl. They can be covered and stored for 1-2 days if not used all at once.
3. Pour a little balsamic vinegar in a bowl (@2 tbsp)
4. Slice the bread and lay flat on a baking sheet (if there are remaining pices of bread you don't want to use, they can be frozen in a freezer bag).
5. Spoon topping onto bread--basically as much topping as will fit.
6. After each bread has topping, spoon a small amount of balsamic vinegar on each, to taste.
7. Put in oven until cheese is melted (@8 minutes)

Voila! Best eaten with white wine :)