The Menagerie

No senate subcommittee necessary

After feeling almost normal yesterday (no naps, much accomplished), this morning I was back to feeling as though my left ear had filled with water.  So, back to the doctor I went (third time in a week), and emerged this time with a prescription for a steroid to reduce inflammation in my ear.

We'll see.  So far I'm just fidgety and irritated, but if I pitch a no-hitter or lie to Congress, I'll let you know.

It's a small thing, but when the young physician came in the room, shook my hand then immediately picked up my book with interest and asked "what's this about?", I was very gratified when I managed to pop out with, "A social history of England in the decades prior to Victoria.  Scenes of Hogarthian debauchery, that sort of thing."   The impressive bit isn't the words, but that I spit the words out just after his opening the door woke me up from a ten minute doze.  Normally I'm confused on my name after waking up.

I didn't mention that it annoyed me that the book's author looks much younger than I do (and is), and, for that matter, so did the physician.  I only call the young ones "Doogie" in the privacy of my  home.   (Slate's reviewer commented that the dust jacket photo makes Wilson look 14.  This actually kept me from reading the book for several months after I purchased it, but I'm glad I got over it.  It's really very, very good.)

Speaking of old British things, I did manage to get to the salon yesterday - and had my hair cut in the style of Victoria Beckham.

I'm it -- and now you are, too.

The delightful Yin has tagged me with this meme:

Here's the tag:

1. Pick up the nearest book (one of at least 123 pages)

2. Open the page to 123

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences

5. Tag 5 people.

Here's mine, from Ian Toll's Six Frigates: the Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy.

More to the point, L'Insurgente was nearly 30 percent lighter than Constellation by tonnage, and she carried 12-pounders as her main battery of weapons, whereas the Constellation carried 24s.  By any objective measure the price was of lesser force than the Constellation.  But Truxtun and his officers employed a combination of bluster and obfuscation to convince their countrymen (and perhaps themselves) that the Constellation had triumphed over a more powerful opponent.

Because I am such a naval history nerd, I have to explain.  Back in the day, all "civilized" countries (yes, that's tongue in cheek) engaged in prize taking, where naval vessels (or civilian vessels carrying letters of marque) could capture enemy ships, and the officers and crew would share in the profit of the ship after she and the cargo were auctioned off.  Before that could happen, though, an admiralty court had to declare that the prize was lawfully taken.  Also, because it's not sporting, even for America, for larger ships to prey on smaller ones, whenever a ship took a less powerful opponent, half of the profits would go to a sailors' disability fund.  In case you're dying to find out what happens, Truxtun  gets busted, to a certain degree, and accepts a smaller valuation -- though still getting $8000 as his share (about $2 million today).  Reading this bit made me slightly less likely to pick up his bio in the TBR pile.

In digging up links for this post, I just discovered that the Constellation I climbed about in the mid-80s wasn't the rebuilt original, whatever the city of Baltimore said at the time.  Damn you, Baltimore. 

My major paper in law school was arguing that the marque and reprisal clause should be resuscitated and used to combat internet piracy.  Oh, it'd be glorious!

I tag: brother Phil, who is blog-less but not Facebook-less, Collateral Evidence, Isaac (I am curious to know what book Mr. Lacquedem has closest at hand!), The Q, and Stephen Fry (who does not read this blog, but it makes me giddy to link to him).    

Late to the Book Group, Redux

Like I was trying to say before a late-night feeding derailed the post, at PT-LawMom's suggestion, a few of us read Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office. In a nutshell, the book points out the dozens of "girly" things women do, think, or say (or alternatively don't do, think, or say) in the workplace that can sink their careers.  [And for the record, this post has taken me three days to finish, what with the baby and a visiting parent.]

As a preliminary matter, I bought this as an e-book (PDF) from Powells, but would never try that again.  While this sort of book does lend itself to reading on a computer in fits and starts, it just was not convenient for me - I couldn't carry my laptop around the house as easily as I might a book.  Also, I was forbidden from printing, which made taking the self-assessment test (described below) a big pain in the ass.  So: glad I tried the ebook experiment, but I'm not likely to try it again.

The book starts off with a self-assessment test, to help readers pinpoint their strongest and weakest areas, and recommends that readers read their weakest areas first (which I did).  Each "mistake" is described in a few paragraphs, with some recommendations for behavior changes, and a place to check off if it's an "action item," or something that needs particular work. 

The areas I needed the most help were in "think" and "sound."  (I scored the best in "look" and "respond.")  In a nutshell, I have issues with believing in myself enough and with advocating for myself enough.  And while I'm very secure about what I do and how well I do it, somehow that doesn't translate into an ability to sell those skills or deal with people who undermine me in the work environment.  And geez, I can't believe how much mental fortitude it took for me to ask one of my favorite attorneys for whom I've done a lot of work for a professional reference -- and that was knowing he liked my work and would be a great advocate for me. 

All of this is relevant for me immediately, because I'm in the job market.  In the last two years, I've gotten a lot of incredible experience, both as a solo and as a contract attorney, and it's given me the flexibility I've needed for a high-risk pregnancy, delivery, and the Peach's infancy.  But it's time to move on.  While I am very good at describing my skill set and my abilities, as well as whatever I might bring to the company in question, I am less good at negotiating salary or benefits.  And downright abysmal at handling situations in my professional life where I feel I'm being taken advantage of.  Oh, how I wish I could be more specific!  But alas, this is also relevant right now. 

Needless to say, I'll be rereading the book, as well as checking out some of the other, recommended titles.  It's a good reference book to keep on the shelf (or virtual shelf), whenever I might need a pep talk in a particular area. 

Late to the Book Group

I am a (late) part of the spontaneous book group founded by PT-LawMom, and have finally finished reading the Lois Frankel book, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office...

...and as much as I am looking forward to typing up my thoughts, the baby is awake and needs to be fed.  Drat!  Hopefully tomorrow, then.

Reviews

There probably won't be any opera reviews this season -- I may try to get to Aida in the spring, but I didn't subscribe.  One of the reasons I love opera is the connection with the historical, and I'm put off with the number of avant-garde (or would be) productions. Also, there are no more opening Saturdays, just opening Fridays.  Ugh. 

I'm so opinionated, though, I couldn't help myself but review other things in my life, so here's a smattering of my recent diversions. 

Wives and Daughters (DVD).  I enjoyed North and South (the book) and bought Wives and Daughters (the book) in the hopes I'd get around to reading it.  I didn't, but I also had the DVD set, so over the course of a couple of nights, when I was feeding Eden, I watched all 300 minutes.   

There's no unifying theme to it, say like Pride and Prejudice, but it has a similar classic chick lit appeal.  In a nutshell, a young woman  gets an evil stepmother and a scheming but charming stepsister, and there are love interests and secrets and missteps along the way.  It's Elizabeth Gaskell, which means it's on the syrupy side (none of the biting social commentary of Austen - Gaskell is kinder and gentler), but for all that, I enjoyed it.  Eden seemed to.   A

How Doctors Think.  I've been wanting to read this for months, ever since I heard an interview with the author on some NPR show (Fresh Air, maybe) and I read the first chapter online.  I heartily recommend it to anyone who, like me, is spending a god-awful amount of time with specialists and having dozens of tests performed.  It's somewhat chilling -- I didn't really want to know just how often radiologists screw up -- but very practical.  For example, "I'd like to see X sooner -- maybe in two weeks instead of four weeks," is pediatrician talk for, "I'm quite concerned about your child, but am using soothing and neutral language so you don't get alarmed."   (And now I'm not annoyed that the doctor doesn't want to see Eden very much -- the first month she was followed closely, but now we just go in every couple of months, like normal.  It had bothered me, but no more!)   A-

Intervention.  I watched this show on A&E yesterday.  I don't go in for reality
TV (other than "Who Wants to be a Superhero" - at least the first run), but it was on and I was interested.  I watched an episode with a narcotics drug user and an episode featuring a woman with a severe eating disorder.  The narcotics boy was sad and predictable.  The eating disorder girl bugged the hell out of me -- whiny and insecure and bitchy.  I couldn't stand to watch it to the end of the episode -- hopefully someone put her on an SSRI.  C+

Das Leben Der Anderen.  I'd been wanting to see this since it first came to Portland, but life interfered.  Finally out on DVD, Matthew and I got it through Netflix.  It was fascinating for a number of reasons - for one, I really enjoyed seeing Matthew go down memory lane (his father was Army Intelligence in W. Germany and they lived there during the 70s).  Second, the similarities of the Stasi then to the American intelligence complex today - well, it was impossible not to draw the comparison.  Third, it's simply a damn good film.  Fourth, I studied German for five years, and enjoy any opportunity to listen to it spoken. 

And finally, it was the most upbeat German drama I have ever seen.  Only two suicides! Das Happy-End, indeed.  A

The Blighted Cliffs: Book One of the Reluctant Adventures of Lt. Martin Jerrold.   I'm usually pretty skeptical of age of sail naval fiction.  For one, I'm a detail freak when it comes to both historical fiction and the age of sail, and an error or two will ruin a book.  Also, I'm familiar with the lives of "real" naval heroes of the era, and can't stand it when events in those lives are blatantly ripped off and called fiction.  My experience has usually been that if the details are right, the novel is dry and dull, or if the writing is good, the details are spotty.  I don't bother most of the time. 

This series -- written by someone younger than I, which I found disconcerting but cool --  was different.  For one, there's humor.  For another, the hero is a scapegrace.  There are some weaknesses -- I felt the author tried too hard with some of the humor (a bit too Fry and Laurie), the female characters were  two-dimensional, and I wasn't entirely happy with the way the hero interacted with those female characters.  But the story was compelling and historically accurate, and most of the characters were intriguing.  I'm hoping the weaknesses are resolved in later books.  B+

Eureka.  Matthew and I have been following Eureka from the beginning, but it's declined this past season.  Our take is that the show went from quirky to grand far too quickly, and once a show has gone there, well, there's no going back. The same two scientists work on whatever random problem appears, in every episode, while good ol' Sheriff Carter (with his 111 IQ) always suggests some folksy remedy that the two brilliant scientists somehow managed to overlook, but is always the key to the problem.  B-

House.  The first episode of the season was lame.  I can't believe I'm dissing a House episode, but there it is. Who cares if he "needs" his team or not?   I'm not sure why the writers keep belaboring this issue, but just get them back ASAP. (Last season's opener completely dispensed with the previous finale with little to no denouement - annoying at the time, but this time it was like watching that eating disorder girl on A&E.)  C 

Scrubs.  Matthew and I have recently watched the first two seasons.  Entertaining, quirky, but am I the only person in the world who doesn't like Zach Braff?  The guy bugs me. We watch it for the secondary characters. B+ 

Good for Karin

The owner of Looking Glass Bookstore in Portland has refused to stock the new OJ Simpson book. I'm not the sort of person who would ordinarily be happy about someone not stocking a book, but in this case, I'm making an exception. Good for her.

What they don't tell you in law school and other Friday thoughts

I remember in some class - I want to say legal research and writing - the professor commented about some memo technique, saying we'd need to know this "when you get out of school and work for a firm, or, God forbid, go into solo practice..."

I didn't like that professor very much.

Anyway, what she probably didn't know is that, while the work is never really "over" for a solo (and learning how to leave work at the office is an art form you will need to master in order to keep your sanity), there are days when there's nothing on the critical list. And those are the days, like today, when you can stay in your PJs until 9 and vacuum cobwebs and get the handwash dishes and laundry done, and futz around writing a blog post in front of the fireplace and play with the dog.

Anyway, guess what I'm doing?

Yesterday I picked up a book at Powell's that I'd been wanting to read ever since I laughed out loud during its review in the London Review of Books. It's David Johnson's The Lavender Scare, about the purges of gays and lesbians from the civil service during the more (in)famous Red Scare.

Two of the more amusing bits from the review:

The scare lasted from 1947 to the 1970s, and in The Lavender Scare David Johnson estimates that thousands lost their jobs. The men and women charged with rinsing the pink from the Potomac were astonishingly ignorant about their quarry. Senator Clyde Hoey, head of the first congressional inquiry into the threat, had to ask an aide: ‘Can you please tell me, what can two women possibly do?’ Senator Margaret Chase Smith asked one Hoey Committee witness whether there wasn’t a ‘quick test like an X-ray that discloses these things’.*

and:

How could a nation confronting so many foreign threats allow itself to be sidetracked like this? (This is not just a question for historians: in recent months, Congress has devoted considerable energy to debating gay marriage, while in the last 13 years the US military has fired 55 of its Arabic speakers for being gay; the most recent was uncovered after investigators asked him if he had ever participated in community theatre.)

I love the LRB, because it's a lot like sitting down with smartest, wittiest person you know and giving them permission to be as snarky as they want. On my way back to Hillsboro from Portland yesterday (via MAX, because I am SO done with trying to find parking downtown during the day), I read this bit: "Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology." (Terry Eagleton reviewing The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.)

*There is a story told about Oregon Supreme Court Justice Rives Kistler, who clerked for US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell while the court was deciding an important case relating to gays. Justice Powell said something along the lines of "I don't even know any gays," to which his clerk responded, "Well, you know me."

I'm guessing....no.

A dedication in a book Matthew bought last week at Powells (used):