chris uggen's weblog

snoreview no more!

2008-07-16T00:49:00.000-05:00

well, here's some news that will definitely bring me cred among urban colleagues and big city buddies on the nation's crinkly edges. those hipsters at family circle just ranked my hometown among the top ten towns for families. dang. you know you've got it made when your town makes the circle.

shoreview joins such tony burgs as south burlington, oro valley, brunswick, wheeling, rocklin, webster groves, broken arrow, royal palm beach, and, of course, ankeny ("this river don't go to ankeny, boys"), iowa. geez, i hope angelina and brad don't read the circle. the farmer's market and running trails will soon be overrun with paparazzi.

my sense is that the top ten towns may have been the only communities yet to be identified on one of those money magazine "best places to --" lists. here's the methodology, according to the unbiased observers at the shoreview press.

Family Circle chose the cities with the help of OnBoard, a New York City research firm that provides real estate and demographic data. The magazine assembled a list of 1,850 places with populations of between 15,000 and 150,000 and average incomes of around $65,000.From that, 800 localities were selected based on their family-friendliness, using criteria including cost of living, number and type of jobs and quality of schools. The magazine also looked for "green" communities with good environmental policies and a high percentage of residents who recycle.

hmm. the honor doesn't seem quite so prestigious now that i know the selection criteria. still, shoreview has been a wonderful place for my family. like me, the circle was most impressed with the water:

Shoreview is a family-friendly town where housing is affordable, crime is low, and student test scores are way above average. But what residents rave about is the water -- 1,400 acres of wetlands, 11 lakes, and a community center with an indoor water park (hottest attraction: the Shark Attack waterslide). Families who live on the shorefront, like the Maseks, landscape with eco-friendly coconut fiber logs, switch grass, and flowers to prevent erosion.

hey, i rave about the water too -- especially when its not frozen.

prison reentry in the boston review

2008-07-15T18:34:00.003-05:00

bruce western offers a fine piece in the new boston review -- a characteristically thoughtful analysis of mass incarceration, nicely presented for non-experts. bruce argues that the failure of the great experiment in mass incarceration is rooted in three fallacies of the tough-on-crime perspective:

1. the fallacy of us and them.
2. the fallacy of personal defect.
3. the myth of the free market.

the argument, and the article, is well worth a read, as are the review's other contributions: no further harm by mary katzenstein and mary lyndon shanley, and guarded hope by robert perkinson.

a sousa-cal musical

2008-07-13T16:15:00.002-05:00

como park is beautiful in the summer, so i really enjoyed seeing esperanza's latest production at como's grand lakeside pavillion.

teddy and alice tells the story of theodore roosevelt and his "wild" daughter alice roosevelt langworth. the play taught me much about young ms. roosevelt and about what passed for wild behavior for women of the period -- showing one's ankles, smoking in public, plunging clothed into swimming pools, dating senators, that sort of thing.

the show might've taken a few historical liberties (who knew samuel gompers and j.p. morgan were such pals?), but it was fun to see fictionalized versions of henry cabot lodge, a scene-stealing william howard taft, and, of course, young franklin and eleanor. at first i had trouble getting my head around john philip sousa doing musical theater, but it proved way more fitting than, say, TR singing sondheim. plus, the orchestra was terrific.

the actors playing TR and Alice were quite good, though my favorite parts featured esperanza -- as a dancing debutante doing the "leg o' mutton" -- and as protester at the 1904 republican convention. i'm not sure how much history she's learning from the experience, but she did know that women such as alice and her protester were still disenfranchised in 1904.

alice roosevelt seems to have been a great wit and an intriguing historical figure. a few of the quotes attributed to her:

· He [Calvin Coolidge] looks as though he's been weaned on a pickle.
· I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches.
· I've always believed in the adage that the secret of eternal youth is arrested development.
· If you haven't got anything good to say about anyone come and sit by me.
· My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding and the baby at every christening.
· The truckman, the trashman and the policeman on the block may call me Alice but you [Joseph McCarthy] may not.

the china context(s)

2008-07-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

[warning: this post started as a personal reflection, but pretty much ended up as an ad.]

the new contexts came today, bringing excitement (cool!), fear (oh no - that picture's too dark!), and the wonder of it all (can you believe we made it to press?) to the editorial team. mostly there's a sense of gratitude for all the hard work people did in putting the pieces together. every issue has its birth pains, of course, but i'm liking this one a lot.

we've got michael burawoy and ruth milkman engaging documentarian michael apted, sports provocateur dave zirin, a wicked-good review of full frontal feminism by sharon hays and jess butler, todd gitlin on the back page, intriguing discoveries, a revealing photo essay, and strong features on social networks, the n-word, heatwaves, sex, and china. we're running several china-themed pieces this summer -- everything from rights activism, to population policy, to chinese sociologists and sexologists, to kitschy trinkets representing the great helmsman. we can't put it all online but we put up enough free stuff, we hope, to merit a trip to contexts.org (a/k/a jonny's house). our indefatigable grad board also posts some nice extended content to complement some of the print features, such as some (nsfw?) videos for the n-word story on latino rappers.

doug (especially) and i work pretty hard on the magazine, but the two haggard dudes pictured on page 3 are only responsible for a tiny fraction of the total work. contexts runs on the good will and good work of dozens of smart people -- authors, of course, but also board members and reviewers, asa and press folks, photographers, designers, section editors, a fine managing editor, undergrad assistants, and, of course, our (indefatigable) grad student board. and, the whole thing runs on an annual budget that's roughly equivalent to the cost of a good german sedan.

hmmm. this is starting to read like a future from the editors column. but not for the summer issue -- this time we wrote about good writing.

loan forgiveness for faculty in public universities?

2008-07-10T19:04:00.007-05:00

as a chair, i'm often selling my department to donors, citizens, legislators, and (most importantly) to faculty and student recruits. as a chair in a public university, i'm often selling the whole idea of public education as a value choice, since those (mean ol' cake-eating) chairs at private universities can often outgun me on material issues.

here's some news that, if true, might strengthen my material case.

i was recently forwarded this article from finaid.org on the college cost reduction and access act of 2007, which links to a related hofstra law review piece. here's my uninformed interpretation: after oct. 1, 2007, a faculty member who makes regular student loan payments and teaches in a public school for ten years will be eligible to have the remaining balance on these loans forgiven. i'm sure there are loads of exceptions and qualifications and heretofores and whereupons. nevertheless, the program might merit a li'l further investigation for debt-burdened new faculty in public schools.

senior evaluator positions open in ramsey county

2008-07-08T19:05:00.004-05:00

one of my all-time favorite (non-professor) jobs involved evaluating social services programs in wisconsin. it was meaningful work, requiring the thoughtful application of good social science research skills -- design, analysis, communication, and even a bit of abstraction and generalization.

if you share these interests and have developed some of these aptitudes, you might want to consider the following job opportunities in beautiful st. paul, minnesota:

The Ramsey County Human Services Dept currently has two Senior Program Evaluator positions open. One will specialize in an MFIP-related area, the other in Children and Family Services. Apply at http://agency.governmentjobs.com/ramsey/default.cfm through 7/14/08.

Job Title: Senior Program Evaluator (0498) (Community Human Services)
Closing Date/Time: Mon. 07/14/08 11:59 PM Central Time
Salary: $25.05 - $37.14 hourly or $52,109.69 - $77,256.99 annually
Job Type: Full Time
Location: (RCGC EAST) St Paul, Minnesota
Education: Bachelor’s degree in social or behavioral science or related field, plus 12 graduate credits in research and statistical methods. (No substitution for Bachelor’s Degree.)
Experience: Six years of program evaluation experience in a human service setting, public health setting, health care setting or equivalent.

are you an oslo coffee addict?

2008-07-08T19:02:00.000-05:00

this morning's today show featured a few shots of sis and jd's oslo coffee in brooklyn. in recent years, oslo also popped up in john mayer's waiting on the world to change, an indie film or two, the times, and gourmet magazine. i dunno what accounts for the williamsburg shop's iconic status, but it might have something to do with good art, superb peoplewatching, and the absence of wi-fi (according to the proprietors, the latter threatened to disrupt the shop's big-table sociability vibe). oh, almost forgot -- the coffee's strong n' good too.

unplugged

2008-07-04T23:43:00.005-05:00

i'm very late on a book chapter, so i'm unplugging the phones, email, web and human connections until i can finish it sunday night. i was better with research deadlines before becoming chair/editor, but my writing has taken a back seat to my administrative roles the past few years. while i hate to be out of touch on department and contexts business, i'm hoping they'll survive the rest of the weekend. i'm just feeling truly awful about being the sole bottleneck on this and other projects. so, i'm going offline until i can put this thing out of its misery.

new american sociological association study on ph.d.s at mid-career

2008-07-03T11:37:00.001-05:00

inside higher ed reports on a new american sociological association study of people who received doctorates in sociology in 1996-1997. some of the results might be reassuring to parents pursuing tenure:

For mothers who remained in the longitudinal survey since it began in 1998, parenthood did not have negative effects on their career trajectories in terms of tenure or productivity when compared to fathers, childless women and childless men.

here's a quick chart on faculty ranks by family status, adapted from table 1 of the study and the inside higher ed article.

new ipums data and student paper awards

2008-06-30T23:41:00.000-05:00

via the minnesota population center:

The Minnesota Population Center is pleased to announce the latest expansion of the IPUMS-International data series. In June 2008 we added 32 new samples. The data release includes 9 new countries -- Austria,Canada, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Malaysia, Netherlands, Panama, and United Kingdom -- as well as additional samples for China, Colombia, Mexico,United States, and Venezuela. The data series now contains 263 million person records from 111 censuses in 35 countries. ... You can read more about the expanded data series at http://international.ipums.org/international/news.html.

We are still accepting nominations for the best overall and best graduate student papers that use the IPUMS-International data. Deadline for submissions is July 15. Details are available at http://international.ipums.org/international/news.html#ipumsi_awards.

nothing's shocking

2008-06-29T20:41:00.003-05:00

george carlin's death has rekindled interest in his old bit about the seven words you can't say on television. slate offers another perspective on obscenity, considering bands that choose unprintably offensive names. this sort of thing probably doesn't qualify as an irrational act, since a putatively shocking name confers notoriety that, in turn, may confer rewards.

when dozens of bands choose such names, of course, they lose all capacity to shock. slate cites painfully uncreative examples, such as Holy F*ck, the F*ck Buttons, the F*cking Ocean, Sh*t Robot, Sh*tdisco, Holy Sh*t, and Psychedelic Horsesh*t. there's no art to these monikers (well, i do like the last one a little), but they're meant to convey a sense of willfull off-handedness -- we know the name of our band is sort of, like, stoopid, but that's the point innit? the whole idea of "names" for, like, "bands" is stoopid.

or maybe i'm giving 'em too much credit. i don't really care whether bands call themselves the f-bombs or whether the times prints their name in a review.* i get much more frustrated with arch hipster hate speech names than with plain vanilla profanity. slate cites AIDS Wolf and Jay Reatard -- names that "aren't literally profane, but ... flirt with a sophomoric crudeness."

that's why i was glad to read that one musician, brendan fowler, simply refused to appear on a bill with these artists:

"It would be like calling your band Jay Faggot," he says. "No one would let you call it that, but you can get away with calling it Jay Reatard." He canceled his performances at both concerts and put together an art show to challenge artists with inappropriate monikers and call for social accountability. It is currently hanging at Rivington Arms, a contemporary art gallery in New York. "

now that's a creative use of obscenity.

* for the record, i dropped a couple f-bombs in the american sociological review. the editors never questioned this usage and, to my knowledge, nobody who read the article ever mentioned it.**

** for the record, there is no evidence that anyone actually read this article.

curd is the word

2008-06-27T18:11:00.002-05:00

i'm expected to give a lot of advice in my various roles as teacher, advisor, editor, and chair. though i try my best to give helpful counsel, my advice is sometimes useless -- and sometimes even worse than useless.

that said, i can occasionally provide a useful insight. as proof of the latter, here's my favorite email of the day:

Chris,

I forgot to tell you. You were totally right--you do need the batter for the cheese curds to work...

--
[name]
PhD Student
Dept of Sociology, University of Minnesota

mmm-mmm. while i may have little to offer students in the way of, say, dealing with journal reviewers, i'm yer guy when it comes to deep-frying cheese curds. for anyone seeking further li'l gooey yellow pearls of wisdom, here's a nice beer-batter recipe and a comprehensive wisconsin site with recipes, a dairy state curd crawl, and inspirational verse. a sample:

The purists will quickly deride
But I like my cheese curds deep-fried
They're gooey and hot
(though squeaky they're not)
And crispy brown on the outside.

- N. Hawker, Portage, MI

new bjs report on sexual victimization in local jails

2008-06-26T19:42:00.005-05:00

the bureau of justice statistics has released a large-scale study of self-reported sexual victimization in local jails. i made the quick figure above to show the estimated prevalence of such victimization for different inmate groups: about 5% of females and 3% of males reported sexual victimization and rates were disproportionately high for inmates of color, youth, and more educated inmates. prior victimization and (self-identified) sexual orientation are most strongly correlated with victimization, however, with about one in 10 bisexual inmates and almost one in five homosexual inmates reporting sexual victimization.

one hopes that such data can help provide a road map for reducing sexual assaults in correctional facilities -- and protecting those most subject to victimization. courageously, the bjs report also identifies the specific jails with especially high or low rates of sexual victimization:

The Torrance County Detention Facility (New Mexico) had the highest rate — 10.1% when sexual victimization excluded willing activity with staff and 8.9% when victimization excluded abusive sexual contacts (allegations of touching only). The Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (New Mexico) were also among the top five facilities on each of these more serious measures of sexual victimization.

inside higher ed on sociology/criminology job mismatch

2008-06-23T08:29:00.005-05:00

scott jaschik offers another nice inside higher ed piece today, based on a new american sociological association report on employment opportunities in academic sociology. an excerpt:

More than one third of the assistant professor positions did not specify a subfield. But the top subfield specified (nearly three times more than the runner up) was criminology/delinquency, and the sixth most popular subfield was a related one, law and society. The concern of those who prepared the report is that evidence suggests grad students are focused elsewhere.

i spoke with mr. jaschik on friday, so my opinions on this issue are well-represented in the article. i won't say more, except to add a few words of reassurance for sociology grad students with specialties outside criminology. though crim is the top specialty area identified, there were 227 positions listed as "field open" in the ASA report, often in top departments. my sense is that these open positions often go to areas such as stratification, demography, and political sociology.

that caveat aside, the ASA report is also reassuring to me as an advisor -- the market continues to be exceptionally strong for sociological criminologists. here are the top specialties specified in job postings for sociology assistant professors in 2006:

Field and Number of Positions
Field open 227
Criminology/delinquency 86
Quantitative methods/statistics 29
Theory 21
Urban/community 19
Race and ethnicity 19
Law and society 15
Medical 13
Race, class and gender 12
Demography 11
Family 11
Social psychology 11
Culture 10
Organizations/Economic 10
Stratification/Labor Markets 9
Policy Analysis/Public Policy 8
Education 7
Environment 7
Latino/Latina 7
Political/Social Movements 7
Aging/Social Gerontology 6
Applied Sociology/Evaluation Research 5
Social Welfare/Social Work 5
Other Fields 75
Total 610

no gophers at victoria's secret

2008-06-23T00:07:00.001-05:00

victoria's secret recently announced that minnversity-themed t-shirts, hoodies, and underwear will be sold as part of the company's PINK collegiate collection.

contrary to strib reports, however, the minnesota daily reveals that goldy gopher will not be participating in the new loungewear line. the mixup is attributed to miscommunication rather than gender politics. nevertheless, spokesgophers made clear that the clothing line is "not in step with the University's values and focus" and that the minnversity only "approves tasteful trademark requests." should universities license their names to lingerie stores? who decides which products should or shouldn't be licensed?

though i wouldn't want my university to be involved in anything distasteful, i know we can always use new revenue streams. personally, i only purchase products that are in keeping with the minnversity's values and focus, such as my officially-licensed golden gopher "talking beer opener."* it plays a bracing version of the rouser at considerable volume, which usually puts guests in a festive mood.

i guess i wouldn't be terribly offended if the minnversity struck a deal with victoria's secret, as long as they also licensed some male boxers and loungewear. either way, however, i'm unlikely to set foot in the store. my last trip to victoria's secret was at rosedale about 10 years ago, where i was greeted by a hearty, "hi professor uggen! can i help you find something?" being unprepared to talk underwear with an undergrad, i made up a lame cover story -- "why this isn't the Foot Locker, i must've taken a wrong turn! i'm very absent-minded, you know" -- before retreating quickly, two kids in tow.

* in truth, the opener was a gift from a much-loved student.

badges, posters, stickers, and road rage

2008-06-21T00:20:00.004-05:00

brad k. sends word of a colorado state study linking bumper stickers to road rage. territoriality is the hypothesized mechanism. here's the newsweek synopsis, with a link to the authors and article:

As scientists led by Lucy Troup and her student William Szlemko of Colorado State University report in the June issue of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, it’s a simple matter of territoriality. Researchers have long known that drivers who have a strong sense of personal space while in their vehicle are more likely to be road-ragers, and the more someone plasters his vehicle with bumper stickers and decals the more territorial he feels about the space inside.

and a few lines from the abstract:

Aggressive driving may occur when social norms for defending a primary territory (i.e., one's automobile) become confused with less aggressive norms for defending a public territory (i.e., the road). Both number of territory markers (e.g., bumper stickers, decals) and attachment to the vehicle were significant predictors of aggressive driving.

when i pitched this story to the contexts board as a possible discoveries piece, i was asked whether the sentiment expressed on the bumper sticker made any difference. apparently not. while the number of stickers is highly predictive, the researchers found no evidence that visualize whorled peas was any less dangerous than they'll have to pry my AK-47 from my cold dead fingers.

i suppose territoriality is a reasonable explanation, though my first thought was that badges, posters, stickers, and t-shirts are expressions of extroversion, which might be directly linked to externalizing behaviors such as bird-flippin' and roadside dukers.

but now i'm buying the researchers' argument and thinking it might be territoriality after all -- i've been driving much more aggressively since the arrival of those ICUDV8 license plates.

(sort of) on facebook

2008-06-19T23:48:00.006-05:00

i'm not really on facebook, but i set up an account weeks ago so that i could see a friend's picture. i still couldn't see the picture, of course, because i was only an unofficial friend. at that point, i wasn't so interested anymore and i didn't pursue an officially sanctioned friendship with picture-viewing privileges.

stumbling upon my lonesome shell of a page, sarah shannon was characteristically supportive: "dude, you need some friends." so, now i've got ten friends -- i'm sure that must be some sort of facebook record, right? no? oh well, here's the cool news:

Chris and Tor Uggen are now friends.12:55pm

yes, my seventeen-year-old actually invited me to see his page. i don't want to abuse the privilege by blogging about its contents* or even discussing them with him, but i'm glad he let me in. this called to mind a few research ideas about secrecy and parent-kid relationships (is sharing such info a good thing for families or does it create too-much-information problems? do some maintain shadow pages where they put the real stuff?). i'd best shut up about them, however, before he changes his mind and puts some sort of block on me.

* ok, one exception: in the About Me section of his personal info, he writes "i'm a leggy blonde." that's pretty accurate, i guess.

update: check out jay's post on how worlds collide when parents view kids' facebook entries.

doctor hlavka

2008-06-17T19:23:00.002-05:00

we're celebrating a new ph.d. in the department, after heather hlavka's successful defense of her dissertation, the trouble with telling: children's constructions of sexual abuse.

dr. hlavka analyzed ten years of case files and videotaped forensic interviews with children seen for suspected cases of sexual abuse. the diss is powerful stuff, rendered with great care, sensitivity, and sophistication. she shows how the meaning of sexual abuse is negotiated in interaction with adults, but keeps the children's voices front-and-center throughout. a systematic research design yields clear (and disturbing) generalizations about social power and barriers to disclosure. in short, she's got me questioning just about everything we (think we) know about the age, race, class, and gender distribution of child sexual abuse.

dr. hlavka will be professin' at marquette university this fall, where she will join darren wheelock, a fellow minnversity sociologist.

cuts to public defenders

2008-06-17T00:05:00.004-05:00

in gideon v. wainright (1963), the u.s. supreme court ruled that state courts are required under the constitution's sixth amendment to provide counsel for criminal defendants who can't afford their own attorneys. the decision greatly expanded public defender offices to provide for such defense.

now abc news is reporting that the severe budget problems faced by these offices may be compromising their ability to provide adequate counsel:

Statewide public defenders in Kentucky and Minnesota and local offices in cities such as Atlanta and Miami say budget cuts are forcing them to fire or furlough trial lawyers, leaving the offices unable to handle misdemeanor and, in some instances, serious felony cases.

The cuts leave states scrambling to find a solution to a constitutional dilemma: The Sixth Amendment requires the government to either provide poor defendants with lawyers or release them.

in the jurisdictions i know best, they've trimmed away every ounce of fat in the budgets over the past five years. so today they are cutting muscle and bone -- paralegals, investigative staff, administrative support, and, finally, the attorneys themselves. for a strapped mayor or city council, it can be easier to cut the defender's office than to trim the DA's budget or that of the police. that's why it could take some major wrongful conviction lawsuits -- or another clarence earl gideon -- to preserve the right to counsel for indigent defendants.

three stories about minnesota kids

2008-06-15T19:30:00.002-05:00

1. an outgoing minnversity senior

sociology and political science major molly watters is featured today in the strib's "how i got that job" column. the story would be good for one of those what to do with a sociology major talks with the undergrads. aside from her studies, ms. watters did fine work as a research assistant and a project assistant in the department's office, pitching in on our self-study, contexts magazine, and myriad other projects. now she's working as a "merchandise planning business analyst" (and earning about as much as some new assistant professors). here's a quote to warm a department chair's heart:

What do you think will make you good at your job?
Really, my education is probably going to make me the best at my job, between my extracurricular activities, which taught me teamwork, time management, different things like that, to my actual classroom work, which taught me problem-solving, analytical skills as well as a solid writing foundation...Don't close your doors based on your degree. I have a degree in political science and sociology and I'm going into merchandising.

2. an incoming minnversity freshman

stunning the wrestling world at yesterday's olympic trials, 18-year-old jake deitchler is going directly from anoka high school to beijing.

i watched the minnversity recruit at last year's state tourney, where his anoka team whupped up on our lads at the excel center. fierce wrestler. anoka happens to be garrison keillor's hometown, though it currently bears little resemblance to lake wobegon. the town has now produced four olympic wrestlers, including one of mr. deitchler's coaches, silver medalist brandon paulson.

3. a smart-alecky father's day story

while it is nice to see other people's kids doing so well, my kids just gave me the coolest father's day gift ever, which will be displayed in my office for the foreseeable future. while i love hanging with my teenagers, i sometimes get nostalgic for the preschool years -- when they still believed my tall tales and would respond with peals of wild laughter. cooling down after a run last week, i overheard such a tale during a young family's discussion by a neighborhood lake. a wee lad was suspiciously eyeing some half-submerged logs.

kid: "are those alligators, mama?"
mom: "no, honey!"
dad: "well..."
mom: "don't scare him, jim!"
dad: "oh, your mother's right. there are absolutely noooo alligators in minnesota..."

the dad paused for a few beats, then hoisted the excited kid over the muck, shouting, "THEM ARE CROCODILES!"

huffpost's fundrace data by occupation

2008-06-14T15:05:00.003-05:00

i'd posted before about huffpost's fundrace data and the fine bands that one could put together for the inauguration among supporters of barack obama and john edwards.

mother jones offers a detailed occupational breakdown, showing the amount given and percentage of republican support for the period 1/1/07-3/31/08. importantly, the occupations are self-reported, so the categories are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive. a few highlights:

public defender: 2% GOP

ob-gyns: 5%

journalist: 9%

professor: 14%

biologist: 16%

prosecutor: 17%

rabbis: 18%

scientist: 19%

attorney: 20%

judge: 21%

musicians: 21%

chef: 27%

pediatrician: 28%

realtor: 31%

physician: 40%

manager: 44%

self-employed: 44%

ministers: 49%
homemaker: 52%
farmer: 60%
plastic surgeon: 65%
soldier: 68%
police officer: 68%
retired: 72%
truck driver: 73%
wizards and sex slaves: 100% (specifically, 100% ron paul)

strawberries

2008-06-14T00:16:00.002-05:00

june brings sweet berries and thunderstorms to minnesota, calling to mind summer fruit and edwin morgan's fine verse:

'Strawberries'

There were never strawberries
like the ones we had
that sultry afternoon
sitting on the step
of the open french window
facing each other
your knees held in mine
the blue plates in our laps
the strawberries glistening
in the hot sunlight
we dipped them in sugar
looking at each other
not hurrying the feast
for one to come
the empty plates
laid on the stone together
with the two forks crossed
and I bent towards you
sweet in that air
in my arms
abandoned like a child
from your eager mouth
the taste of strawberries
in my memory
lean back again
let me love you

let the sun beat
on our forgetfulness
one hour of all
the heat intense
and summer lightning
on the Kilpatrick hills

let the storm wash the plates

-- Edwin Morgan

lileks on phone books: heavy on characters, light on plot

2008-06-13T18:46:00.002-05:00

james lileks strikes just the right tone in railing against the 967 pounds of unwanted phone books currently being dumped on your doorstep:

having a human being physically schlep the ginormous phone book to your door is like having someone show up at your house with a slab of ice over his shoulder. Hello, I'm from the previous century. Need anything? No. Well, could I print off the Internet for you? No.

perfect. i've been dutifully hauling the new books in and tossing out the old ones, though i haven't actually referred to anything but the li'l local directory in a decade. and that was for a pizza coupon, i think. ecojoe's suggests that one can halt delivery of the books by calling 1-877-243-8339 or visiting yellowpagesgoesgreen. i'm not sure this will stop the madness, but it might be worth a try.

if you like mr. lilek's strib column, you should visit his fine site and institute. as with trips to the louvre or the met, one should allow several days of study to fully appreciate the collection. the site forms a nice feeder system for mr. lilek's print publications, such as his remarkable gallery of regrettable food.

mayor rybak declares june 13th electric fetus day

2008-06-11T00:38:00.002-05:00

when esperanza said her pals were headed to "the fetus" this weekend, it didn't register at first. i couldn't believe it when she elaborated: "you know, the electric fetus. in minneapolis."

you mean, like, the old record store and paraphernalia shop i remember from high school? aren't record stores for old and/or dorky people? or are you into something we should talk about?

i haven't been to the fetus for a few years (decades?) but i'm heartened that they're still selling music and candles and incense and bath salts and such. they also do some very cool in-stores, with atmosphere and brother ali appearing just last night. here's the rest of the lineup:

Wednesday, June 11th: Haley Bonar
Thursday, June 12th: Roma di Luna
Friday, June 13th: Charlie Parr
Saturday, June 14th: Teddy Bear Band
Sunday, June 15th: Donald Washington/James Buckley Trio

to honor their 40 years of serving the community, minneapolis mayor r.t. rybak has declared friday to be electric fetus day. there's further celebration and a benefit for local foodshelves at first avenue that evening, with live music from four decades: doomtree, polara, the hypstrz, tony glover, and the new standards appearing in the mainroom, and a night in the box, john rodine, moon maan, and the electric fetus all-stars appearing in the entry.

bjs incarceration numbers for 2006

2008-06-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

the bureau of justice statistics has released mid-year 2007 numbers for prison (1,595,034) and jail (780,581) incarceration. the data continue the trend of recent years: correctional populations continued to grow in 2007, albeit at a slower rate than in the 1980s and 1990s. [click charts for data]

according to bjs, african american males comprised 35.5 percent of the inmates held in u.s. prison and jails. about 4.6 percent of all african american males were in prison or jail on 6/30/2007, relative to 1.7 percent of hispanic males and 0.7 percent of white males.