Cutting edge?

It's pretty sad when a woman who has refused to even consider getting a portable mp3 player finds herself more in touch with the cutting edge of automotive tech than the radio guy whose job it is to talk about the auto show in Michigan.

If that sounds somewhat smug, well... I'm feeling a little bit smug. When asked to name some of the cars to pay attention to, he (of course) listed several luxury brands, and then commented on one of them (a BMW, I think) that even Americans will have to begin thinking about smaller cars in connection to luxury.

And I thought, "Well, duh! Jeez, I could have told you that more than a year ago." In fact, it was just under a year ago that my husband and I replaced our car that had finally sputtered its last with a used Civic hybrid. And I'd already driven a friend's Civic hybrid for a day, and discovered that it was, as I've been known to mention on a few occasions, a miniature luxury car. The ergonomics are incredible, the interior finishes very well done, the lines snazzy, the drive... sweet.

I mean, come on, people! Hollywood, perhaps the second most image conscious town in the USA (the first being, of course, Washington DC), has long given the Prius the stamp of approval. George Clooney drives a Tango. And, well, the Cooper Mini has been out there for a little while now, and while its fuel economy isn't as good as a regular Civic, it's got serious glitz factor going. The "new trend" toward smaller cars with luxury detailing has been going on for a little while now, folks.

And well, I can tell you, as someone who drives a hybrid, people often ask to "go for a ride" when they find out. Recently, someone at work even commented, "Yeah, I heard you drove a fancy car..." And I drive the 2003 model - not the most up-to-date one. My only "complaint" is that it takes less than a tank of gas to drive from Washington, D.C. to Ohio, so I forget to stop and wind up with stiff muscles at the end of the drive.

Oy

A series on an American woman who chose to wear a Saudi style veil, apparantly so she could write a 4-part series complaining about the experience, and particularly complaining that women who veil should be discriminated against more.

*sigh* If she'd bothered to, you know, try asking someone who covers, Muslim or not, we could have told her a little about it, and far less of it would come as a surprise. (Such as: most people in a grocery are not going to even look at what you're wearing. They're there to get their cornflakes, baking soda, and tomato soup and couldn't possibly care less.) Heck, half of her complaints had to do with not knowing anybody (or asking anybody) who actually wears a covering on a regular basis. And most of the rest seemed to be that nobody actually hassled her, though some people *did* whisper about her at her gym.

Yeesh.

A choice

The Washington Post reports that American students did less well than the average on an international test of math and science. I find this totally unsurprising, in large part because we have not chosen to teach the theory behind the sciences, instead giving a gloss of trivia and memorized facts as our "science curriculum".

Science, contrary to the view most frequently presented in our media and public discourse, is far more than a collection of technological advances. It is, in fact, a form of philosophy, a way of understanding knowlege, hence the name which is derived from the Latin "scire", to know. All too often, the "science kits" available as toys for children might as well be recipe booklets. Rather than foster questioning, these seek to impose knowlege from above.

And as we move to an educational system dominated by tests with limited answers, we depress the questioning that forms the basis of true science. It is by looking around at the world and asking questions, often open-ended questions, like "why?", "how does that work?", and even "does it really?" that scientific discoveries have been made. Science is a means of putting questions to the test: will a heavy ball fall faster? There is only one way to know and that is to carefully measure and observe balls of various weights being dropped.

Sadly, many in this country fear that open questioning, and so science curricula have been gutted, stripped of a real understanding of what science is, and what it can and cannot do.

And so we discourage children from questioning, and from learning. I have sometimes thought that the primary purpose of schools was to teach children to sit still for hours at a time while being bored out of their skulls. Sadly, that is what it felt like to sit, listening to droned repetitions of facts I already understood, with no encouragement for further questioning.

In the face of these results, I think we are faced with a choice: accept that we have done this and work to remedy the problem, by supporting teachers, students, and families in their search for an education for our children, or continue to undermine our own future.

Excuse me?

The New York Times has an article on those of us fools and nutcases who would prefer to see less waste over the holidays. It is, of course, presented as those austere green grinches verses the merry traditionalists.

*sigh*

My er... favorite part of the article is the characterization of a "call for less excessive consumption during the holidays" as "un- American". Oy.

For the record, my gifts, mostly homemade, all in reusable bags or containers, are also ones that I think the recipients will enjoy. For those who can't or shouldn't have sweets, I'll be roasting cashews with spices and including a card with the recipe. Frankly, small gifts of handmade candy rarely wind up in the trash. And since I'm putting the effort in, anyway, I can personalize the gifts with little additional work: an initial worked in a crocheted cloth is not difficult, once you've already decided to do the cloth. Nor is choosing colors that the person enjoys to begin with. And I don't think the recipient of that gift will be tossing it, either.

And apparantly, they ran a different version of the same story last year. Come on, people, this isn't difficult. (And just a hint: it's a good idea to turn the thermostat down during parties, because lots of people in a small space generate plenty of heat. It gets warm fast if you don't.)

The Fool and a Very Grumpy Week

Sorry about the long delay in posting. I think I've finally been feeling the exhaustion of the last year, and while I kept up on my email, I just couldn't find anything to post. I felt empty of words to put here.

Part of it was my camping trip going poof at the last minute due to a summer cold. Why do they always come at the worst possible time? Part of it was anger and frustration over the backroom treatment of Kate's exclusion from a support webring over fears about her sexuality. Part of it is that I have spent part of the last week preparing for a visit from the in-laws and then going to various restaurants and an art exhibit with them, and that can be tiring all by itself. And then...

Well, Saturday night, my father-in-law said some things that made me very angry. It wasn't deliberately said to anger me, but had that effect, nevertheless. Is it too much to ask that someone who *knows* that I'm from a rural background not use "hick", "bumpkin", and similar insults to characterize most of the people in this country? (Never mind that he's from the same country - he's from the city, which apparantly gives him an automatic 100 point boost to his IQ, right?) I found myself doing my best to tune him out, despite the fact that he was sitting directly in front of me. At one point, I even succeeded in doing so - a gorgeous mallard swam by on the river just outside the restaurant window. I know it's rude to tune someone out, but I couldn't think of a polite thing I could do. If I'd actually had to endure much more of the lecture he was giving on American politics, I'd have likely started a family feud.

And of course, it didn't help that he went on about the mess his generation would be leaving for mine. Excuse me? You're not dead yet. If you've made a mess and you know it, why aren't you doing your best to fix it? Why is my husband the only one at the table pulling out a guide to sustainable fish populations? (To add further frustration to the evening, the fish on the menu were not from sustainable populations and there was no vegetarian option, which I would have really appreciated.) Why are we and a cousin the only ones appalled by the fact that the restaurant only serves bottled water from Norway! and doesn't even bother to recycle the bottles? If you (the restaurant) desperately need bottled water to serve, I could point out that we're very close to a spring that produces absolutely wonderful water a mere 2-hour drive away, cutting your carbon cost tremendously.

Meh.