What Happened to August?

All the sudden, it's September.  The heat wave has broken.  It's not yet cool in the mornings, but it's no longer stifling; the hints of cooler weather to come hang in the air with the morning fog.  Labor Day is in a few days.

What, may I ask, happened to August?  There was one lovely (albeit hot) weekend when my family was in town for my cousin's wedding.  Other than that, much of the month was lost on me.  I (yet again) blame work for taking over all my free time and then some.  And I give big thanks to S for picking up the slack.

But I am reminded, yet again, of the wonder of the change of seasons.  It's one of my favorite things about living where I do.  Each season brings new adventures.  It may also bring a new list of to-do items (many of which will wait around again until next year), but who cares?  For now, I'm just going to enjoy the optimistic moment that exists right now. 

A Candy Question

Does a king-sized bag of mini candy equate to a regular-sized bag of regular candy?

A Mask Question

Even during the height of the pandemic, people who opposed masking regulations often refused to wear their masks correctly.  There was the nose out, the chin strap, the enormous earring, and any number of other iterations.

What I don't understand, though, is why people are still doing this.  In most places, mask restrictions have been rescinded.  So why do I still see a bunch of people -- in places where masks are not required -- wearing them incorrectly?  Can someone please explain this psychology to me?

Levar Burton (and other Heroes) and Speculative Fiction

Levar Burton is up there among the national treasures we should all treasure.  He's up there with Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, and Alex Trebek on my list of good folks.  (Who did I forget?)

I have, of late, binge-listened to several seasons of his podcast, "Levar Burton Reads."  In each episode, he gives a little intro and reads a short story (for adults, the kids -- including me -- got years of Reading Rainbow).  After the story's over, sometimes there are author interviews, but I far prefer the episodes where he talks about what the story means to him.  Through it, you get glimpses into his history and current life.  He talks about his background, his family, and his career.

I have learned, through listening to those codas, that he got into science fiction as a kid because he couldn't find many books with protagonists who looked like him.  His podcast, accordingly, has a lot of science fiction and speculative fiction.  (Plus I've learned other fun facts, like that he was born in Germany and at one point was going to become a priest.)

Prior to listening to this podcast, I'm not even sure I had heard of speculative fiction, let alone would I have been able to define it.  According to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia for Literature, it "has three historically located meanings: a subgenre of science fiction that deals with human rather than technological problems, a genre distinct from and opposite to science fiction in its exclusive focus on possible futures, and a super category for all genres that deliberately depart from imitating "consensus reality" of everyday experience."  So, yeah.  That's what it is.  It seems to me that mostly when my friend Levar uses it, he's talking about the first category.

I'm not sure I would have listened to a heavily sci-fi podcast if it had been read by someone other than Levar.  But wanting to hear him read stories encouraged my marathon listen, and the marathon listen gave me an appreciation for the creativity demonstrated by speculative fiction writers.  It is incredible what strange and clever things their brains come up with.

Two of my favorites had very similar story lines:

One was a story about a man who bought a coat at a secondhand store.  It turns out it was God's coat, and his pockets are always filling with little fortune-cookie-sized slips of paper containing the prayers of the people who are near him.  Concisely titled, "A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets," by Kevin Brockmeier.

The other was called "Chivalry," by Neil Gaiman.  An elderly British woman buys a cup at a secondhand store, and it turns out to be the holy grail.  Galahad, clad in armor and arriving on horseback, arrives at her house on his apparently never-ending quest to locate the grail.

And no mention of speculative fiction would be complete without Ken Liu's "The Paper Menagerie."

All this is by way of suggesting that, if you -- like me -- have written off the whole sci-fi section of the bookstore or library as "not for me," you might want to reconsider it.  Have a walk-through when you next have some time to kill and see if you can find something that strikes your fancy.

Pearl Harbor Day

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  But what do you say on a day like this?  It's not "Happy Pearl Harbor Day," for obvious reasons.  

I recall a few years ago that this discussion came up in the context of Facebook's "like" option.  When someone posted that a family member had passed away, friends wanted to show support but the only option was to "like" the news.  That didn't seem right, in light of the particular news being shared.  Now Facebook has a variety of reactions a reader can utilize.

So what do you say on a day like today?

Goals 2021 -- January Edition (Plus 2020 Reflections)

Remember how back at the beginning of 2020, my overarching theme for my year of goals would be to  Clearing My Mind, Simplifying My Life?  I had no idea that a pandemic was headed my (really everyone's) direction which would thrust simplification upon us in a lot of ways.

But that is what happened.

Sure, in some ways, shifting to working at home created added complications: the need to buy new or relocate lighting fixtures, worrying about Zoom backgrounds, creating new work flow strategies with team members, and the like.

I choose instead to focus on the positive aspects, and the simplicity: more time with S, time at home to garden and cook, less frenetic traveling but the traveling we did do was longer and lazier.

Now, nearly a week into 2021, I am in need of a new theme and a goal for the month.  After some recent conversations about my general lack of enthusiasm about my workouts, I have decided to choose a totally generic, predictable January goal -- work out.  How will I quantify this and get a little more excited about it?  Rather than the usual biking and erging which have taken over my routine since the weather turned cold, I will mix in some other things: weights, boxing, running (again), yoga.  At the end of the month, you will get a count of my workouts in each category.

As for a year-long theme, how about Adding a Little Fun?  After 2020, when so many people were unhappy about so many things, let's try to lighten it up a bit!

The Year in Review

2020 has been quite a year, hasn't it?

Of course there was (and remains) the pandemic.  There was racial unrest.  Lebanon blew up and a plane crashed in Iran.  There were murder hornets and Biblical swarms of locusts and killer whales attacking boaters.  Raging wildfires burned up much of Australia and the western United States.  And we haven't even touched on politics yet.  Trump was impeached, kept his office, was voted out of his office, and for some time refused to leave.  On the other side of the pond, there was Brexit, Megxit, and probably something else that ends with -xit.  

But there were good things too.  Sure, they were, for the most part, smaller and more personal stories and victories, but that is to be expected -- especially since at the behest of our public health officials we were supposed to be staying home as much as possible.  I got to spend a lot of time with S (and we still like each other!), we made some improvements to our house (and identified many more which are still in progress or not yet begun), we got to spend several weeks visiting family (which required some long drives, but that became part of the fun), we cooked a lot, and I read more than I have in a long time.  My high school reunion was cancelled (not that I would have gone anyway).

We are lucky enough to be a pretty self-contained unit -- no kids, both working from home with people who are more or less also independent, and both pretty okay with isolation.  But I did very much enjoy hearing the stories of all the people who really went above and beyond.  I especially enjoyed the stories of teachers visiting their students to make sure they were okay, delivery drivers being appreciated for the extra work load, and most of all medical professionals who kept on going to work even when they didn't know what kind of a virus they were fighting or how to best protect themselves while caring for their patients.  That last group -- they are the real heroes.

I wonder -- what lessons will we take from this year?  Will we correct racial injustices?  Will we take better care of our environment?  Will people be kinder to each other?  Will people appreciate what they have when things are good, and help others when things are hard?  Or will we move on to other things and forget all about it?

Yes, it has been quite a year.  What we will say about it in 20 years' time?

Columbus Day

Did you know that today is Columbus Day?  I didn't either, until it popped up on my calendar.  Who celebrates Columbus Day anyway?  I don't think I've ever had a job that I get this day off work.

What Columbus Day seems more like to me than anything is the first real day of autumn.  I know technically this happens in late September at the fall equinox, but usually there are a sufficient number of lovely days which occur subsequent to the equinox that it doesn't feel like autumn yet.  By the middle of October, the weather has cooled down, the leaves are changing color if not already drifting groundward, and a piping hot mug of apple cider seems just the thing on a chilly evening.

Our leaves in this particular corner of the state went from green to brown with very little in between, which is always a bit of a disappointment.  But we did have a couple of weeks of perfect weather -- those sunny days, warm but not too hot, with cool evenings that we usually get about three of each year -- so I can't be too upset about the colors.

Thoughts on a Quarantine

There is a lot of bad stuff going on out there.  People are sick, and dying.  People are losing jobs, and suffering corresponding losses of financial stability and the ability to afford medical care, just when they may need it most.

This post is not about those things.

Instead, it's about the emotions of isolation.

There are a multitude of scientific studies investigating the benefits that social contact can have on both mental and physical health.  (Here, here, and here are just a few links.)  Yesterday, there was a story on NPR about the spike in suicide rates which is expected to follow in the wake of COVID-19 -- as a consequence of many things, of which social isolation is only one.  Prior mental health issues, job loss and related financial struggles, illness, and relationship stresses obviously also play a role.  These are real and devastating consequences, and I don't intend to dismiss them.  But what I'm talking about here are the less acutely severe results of isolation, the more day-to-day issues of a relatively short-term isolation.

I am an introvert.  I have known for years that I am an introvert.  My Meyers-Briggs score is I = 19, E = 1.  (Is it even possible to get a 20-0 score?)  "But wait!," you may say.  "Aren't you always posting about the things you do all over town?"  Yes, that is true.  Though I typically enjoy loads of activities around town, I enjoy the activity, not necessarily the people there.  I would sooner go to a fancy dinner at the art museum where I am the only guest as go there with a Grand Hall full of strangers.  But unfortunately I don't have that kind of dough, so I put up with the strangers out of necessity.

Introverts have been getting more attention in recent years.  Prominent in raising that tide was Susan Cain's 2012 book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  (Her TED talk, for the basics, is here.)  Someone gave me a copy of this book when it came out; I haven't read it yet, but I have been thinking about the difference between introverts and extroverts during the quarantine.  I am not the only one.  Google some of these keywords and you will finds loads of articles.

Initially, I did not know whether I would like working from home.  In many, but not all, ways, it turns out that I do.  Without a doubt, however, I am thrilled that -- for a period of time at least -- I was told I had to stay home, that I could not go out and interact with other people.  (Obviously, people were told this more or less forcefully depending on their particular state, county, or city, but I took it to the extreme by choice.)  What a relief to have a socially acceptable reason to refuse to see or speak to people!

In an article in The Guardian, one writer comments that she "can’t imagine what it would feel like to suddenly have to live life the other way round, with the government forcing me to socialise relentlessly."  Isn't that how we introverts live most of our lives -- forced to go to work and into the world and socialize with people even when we don't want to?  True, it's not the government forcing us, but basic everyday needs (like having a job to pay living expenses) and strong social norms sure do force us to behave in ways we don't like and aren't comfortable with.  So, for the moment at least, I am getting a little bit of perverse joy from all the extroverts out there complaining about being in isolation.  Finally!  You all know the sort of emotional turmoil we introverts deal with daily!

This all, of course, has limits.  I miss traveling, and much of our travel is to visit our families.  I miss them (you!).  If we travel for any other reason, it is usually to go do something fun and novel that we have not done before, to see the country and the world.  I miss that too.

But for the time being, I am happy to be quarantined for a bit longer, keeping to myself and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Broken Justice

Another attorney recommended the Broken Justice podcast to me. Back in my younger days, I did a short stint with the public defender's office in another state and one here in Missouri, and even then the problems discussed in this podcast were evident.  Staff was overworked, cases fell through the cracks, deadlines passed by left and right, and the state hiring freezes meant that no relief was coming.  So I was pretty open to this subject even before I started the show.

Before I get to my criticisms, let me take a minute to say that the problem addressed here is so much bigger than just the public defender system.  This aspect of the issue is touched on briefly in the last two episodes, with the discussion of "supply side" and "demand side" solutions.  One of the "demand side" solutions is to decrease the need for PDs by changing the way charging decisions are made by prosecutors.

Episode 5 profiles Wesley Bell, the now-not-so-new St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, who made some structural changes to the way the prosecutor's office works which helped to alleviate some of the burdens on the PDs.  One of the best and most meaningful changes Mr. Bell made, in my opinion, was to increase support in his office for referrals to alternative treatment courts.  There is a comment in the podcast that out-of-control incarceration rates are due in large part to addiction and mental illness.  That is a bit of a simplification, but there is a kernel of truth there.  Mr. Bell has shown support for alternative treatment courts which is unprecedented from that office.  That support has gotten a lot of habitual drug users out of the cycle and has opened up mental health services to loads of folks who didn't have (or didn't know how to access) that care previously.

But his and other policy changes are not without problems.

First, since this podcast is all about criminal defense, let's talk about the St. Louis County judges' administrative order allowing the PD's office to appoint any licensed attorney practicing in the county to represent a criminal defendant if the PDs are overworked.  What?!?  Is anyone else as appalled by the absurdity of this rule as I am?  Two huge problems:

1. It does not solve the problem of client neglect.  Private attorneys, too, are often overworked, overtaxed, and of necessity let things fall through the cracks.  (Sure, they might be paid more, but that doesn't mean they aren't worked just as hard.)  So to expect them -- when they have staff and bills to pay -- to drop everything and focus on a forced pro bono case is idealistic at best.

2. Not everyone practices criminal defense.  Would you want an allergist to perform your neurosurgery?  Certainly not.  So why would you want a bankruptcy attorney as your criminal defense attorney?  I assure you, you don't.  This situation creates problems for both the client and the attorney:
     a. The client is going to get a terrible defense.  The attorney doesn't know what they're doing, they don't know the rules of criminal procedure, they don't know the players.  This is not what you want when, as a defendant, your liberty (or even life) is on the line.
     b. The attorney stands to be sanctioned, including losing his or her license to practice law, for poor representation in a case they shouldn't have had (and didn't choose to have) (and had no business having) in the first place.  That license is his or her livelihood and it could go right out the window!  Jefferson County, which shares a boundary with St. Louis, used to employ this practice.  However, so many attorneys just quit practicing there as a consequence, they all but stopped the appointments.  Unfortunately, since St. Louis County is the biggest court system on the east side of the state, the "I just won't practice there" solution isn't really a viable one for attorneys.

Second, back to Wesley Bell.  As I acknowledged, some of his ideas are productive and helpful.  Others just push the problem down the road.  One of his big ideas (and in principle not necessarily a bad one in some circumstances) is to stop seeking prison time for non-violent offenses.  This includes non-payment of child support.

Here's the problem: pushing all the child support collection issues off of the criminal contempt docket and onto the civil contempt docket puts even more of the burden, which is already huge, on the person who is owed child support.  They are not the person who is doing wrong!  Why are we making them work extra hard to collect what is due?  One argument made in support of Mr. Bell's policy goes like this: "These defendants are reliant on the PD's office.  Obviously they have no money."  But if you follow that through to the next step, it sounds like this: "So instead, we will make their exes, who also are strapped because they're caring for the child(ren) but not getting support, beg/borrow/steal money to hire a private attorney in order to collect the child support."

That is totally illogical and shifts the burden in a way that I find to be completely inappropriate.  I have spent several years working in the area of child support collections.  In some cases, there is truly nothing to get -- and in those cases, prison is bound to be ineffective.  But in many cases, there is money to get; often it's cash or money from a family member, but it's there.  When someone is facing jail or prison time -- miraculously! -- the money often appears.

[Aside: I have been biting my tongue the whole way through here every time I wrote "Mr." Bell.  I have a hard time giving him that level of respect in light of his behavior -- at least since he has taken office, and possibly before.  See here and here for examples.]

On the whole, Broken Justice is a much-needed investigation into a a grossly underfunded system with huge responsibilities in the community.  But there was so much wrong with how it was presented (especially the last couple of episodes), and it left a bad taste in my mouth by the end.

Alarms and Ads

I can't be the only person who thinks it should be highly illegal to use the sound of alarm clocks in radio and TV ads, can I?

Oscar Nominations

Despite all of my relatively recent movie viewing, I have heard of extremely few of the Oscar nominees.  In the list I was looking at, I had to get all the way down to the animated features before I even recognized a movie title!  These are the ones I have heard of in the major categories:

Animated Features
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs (which I saw on the plane home from Cambodia)
Ralph Breaks the Internet

Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Documentary Feature
Free Solo
RBG

What does it say about my cultural involvement that I have not even heard of a single one of the best picture nominees?  Not that cultural detachment is necessarily a bad thing, but apparently it's a thing that I possess now.

Contrast of Cities

I was recently listening to an old New York Times Book Review podcast, and the host was interviewing Abby Ellin about her new book, Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and the Con Man I Almost Married.  She was talking about the difference between being in DC and in New York.  Her take on the two:

"In DC, no one is who they seem to be; in New York, no one is who they want to be."

Interesting thoughts, both.

On Becoming a Real Adult

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you always wondered why your parents got up so early, especially on the weekends?  Then when you talked to them about it, you were astonished to learn that they didn't need an alarm clock to get up, even during the week?

This is a thing that's happening to me now.

Another thing that has been happening lately is that my desperate, unstoppable need for sweets, primarily chocolate, seems to be subsiding just the tiniest bit.  We'll see if that holds true through Christmas, though!

Anyway, here's to me finally becoming an adult!

Tiny Grammar Rant

I know there are some sources that say that the use of apostrophes to make an acronym plural is acceptable.

Here's the simple thing about that: they're wrong.

And I would at least expect better from the library:

The Language of Children

My friend L said something to me the other day in passing, which didn't catch my attention at the time.  We were having a very adult conversation about the pros and cons of bar shampoo (as opposed to liquid), and she commented that she and her husband tried bar shampoo because "the kids use a lot of shampoo, for potions and stuff."  Sure, they're kids.  Kids do that kind of thing.

But the next day, for some reason, the word "potion" came back to me.  As an adult, when was the last time (excepting your most recent Macbeth study group) that you used the word "potion" in regular speech?

I started thinking about it.  What about the word tattle?  How often do adults still do that to one another, even though we never use that taboo word anymore?  Monster, yucky, magic....  There are loads of nifty words that fall out of the lexicon as we age.  Which ones should we bring back?

How Can That Be?

I recently heard Richard Blumenthal being interviewed on Morning Edition.  The subject was the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica “scandal” (which I put in quotation marks because no one should be surprised about what happened).  Steve Inskeep asked the Senator if the Senate was considering any comprehensive digital privacy regulation.  Blumenthal touted his own proposed measures, and then commented that “Europe is ahead of us on protecting privacy.  How can that be?”

How can that be?

Well, Senator, here’s how: we are not the only first-world country on this planet.  The horror!  It’s true.  We would probably all do well to at least consider the possibility that other countries and governments just might be able to do one or two things better than we do.

Upon realizing that, let us act like successful businessmen for a moment.  Instead of “deny, deny, deny,” we might try to spend a little time figuring out what they’re doing better than we are, and then stealing that idea and putting it to work for us.  We will all be a little bit improved if we do that.

That is all.  Good day, Senator.

Sea Shepherds

There was a short film that preceded The Islands and the Whales, which focused on the animal conservation work that the Sea Shepherds do -- primarily, attempting to stop illegal fishing.  I had heard nothing about them before this movie (or at least don't remember it if I did).  As we were walking back to the car, S told me about a Animal Planet show, Whale Wars, which had been more or less cancelled back in 2013 after Sea Shepherd's founder, Paul Watson, was charged with several serious crimes.  There were a few more episodes aired in 2015, but it's not clear that any more will be produced.

As with so many organizations of their ilk, that the Sea Shepherds are polarizing.  Paul Watson and several others have been charged with serious crimes in some countries.  But they have also been given amnesty by governments of other countries.

There is no question that they take bold action to stop illegal fishing.  (Check out this fascinating article in The New York Times about their 111-day chase of one of the world's most notorious illegal fishing vessels, which was on Interpol's most wanted list.)  The question, I suppose is this: should the Sea Shepherds be taking such actions?  In all likelihood, what they're doing is illegal (hence all the criminal charges).  Is it worse than the illegal fishing?  Should ramming and sinking the fishing vessels be such a point of pride? (See the Appendix to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal's reversal of a denial of a request for injunction against the Sea Shepherds.)  Whose job is it to step in and prevent over-fishing, if the Sea Shepherds don't?  (There doesn't seem to be much argument that the over-fishing is, in fact, happening.)  And even if it's possible to identify the government or organization who should step in, will they?  Can we count on a government to do anything?

That injunction that was granted (link above) was sought by the Institute for Cetacean Research, a Japanese research organization.  The ICR claims that its whaling activities are permitted under the research exception to the International Whaling Commission's whaling ban.  But, if this 2007 New Yorker article is to be believed, "the institute has produced virtually no research of any regard, and all the whales that are purported to be under study are also butchered for the purpose of selling whale meat to the Japanese public."  Are they just exploiting the research loophole, knowing that no foreign government will call them out on their behavior?  The US government had an opportunity to make a statement, by upholding the denial of the injunction, but didn't (no surprise there).

It's a fascinating issue to read about.  Everyone has a perspective.  Photographs like these support one perspective.  The rule of law and desire for orderly and cooperative world operations supports the other.  Time will tell, I think, which one wins out.

Work

Ugh.  So much work.  I have never wanted so badly to have a few hours free just to cut the grass.

Some People

I had about 15 minutes to stop into JoAnn's Fabrics today to buy something I needed. I went to the back of the store to get the material I was looking for, then to the desk in the middle where the employees cut the fabric to length.

There were two customers at the counter, and two employees. I waited several minutes, holding my material and minding my own business. About halfway through my wait, someone came from the front of the store and got in line behind me. I paid little attention.

A few minutes later, a third employee stepped behind the counter. She looked up, and for the first time (and I've been to this JoAnn's location before), I noticed the Post Office-style number system. "Number sixty-six?"

"Here!" cried the woman who had come up behind me, and stepped around me to the counter.

"Really?" I inquired. I had clearly been there waiting before she walked up.

"Really!" she snarled back at me. "You didn't have a number." For the first time, I noticed the number dispenser, attached to the side of the counter facing the front of the store.

"I came from the back of the store."

"Too bad."

I tossed my material on the counter and walked out. I was angry at her, and I was angry at the employees for not pointing out the obvious fact that I had been there waiting polotely. (That was something I made a point to do for polite customers when I was interrupted by the rude ones at my bookstore.  It's simple: "I'll be with you in a minute. She was waiting.")

I got to my car, put down my purse and jacket, and walked back inside.  Ms. Rude (Nike flip-flops, socks, sweatpants, noticeably missing a bra under an oversized t-shirt) was still at the counter, this time talking on the phone.

I stood next to her. Not too close, but looking right at her. I had my hands clasped behind me, in something like a relaxed "at ease" position. I waited until she hung up and looked at me.  "You're the reason we no longer live in a civil society," I said quietly.  I turned and walked away.

She called after me, "You need to find Jesus!"

At this point, neither S nor I could help it. ""Because he clearly taught you so well!" I called back.

Some people.