Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 94 Editor's Choice: 19
-
two concrete pieces of advice
[Read the article: I'm the academic wife, jealous and insecure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Lots of good stuff here, but here's a couple of concrete pieces of advice from my personal experience for the original LW if she gets this far into the comments:
1. I got two and half years into an academic career before I bailed out. Those were some of the most isolated and friendless years of my life. Six months after I quit grad school and got a full-time job in publishing, I suddenly had all these friends and a rich social life. I'm not saying that everyone's experience is the same, but I do think that academics by and large are a little on the socially awkward side. It feels a bit like all the nerds from high school (of which I was one) were suddenly the only ones left and went about perpetuating all the social ills and heirarchy and exclusion that had been imposed on them for years. My point is that you shouldn't judge yourself or get down on yourself because of your inability to find acceptance in that somewhat skewed social world *on the same terms as your husband*. Rather, if you carve out a niche *outside* of that world and become more self-confident as a result, you'll probably be viewed as a fascinating outsider by the academics. It helps if you don't view the academic scene as an elevated priesthood of which you can't be a part, but rather a group of brilliant but eccentric types following a insular and particular little career path.
2. You don't say what the foreign country you're living in is. If it's not an English-speaking country, however, I would recommend hooking up with various English-speaking ex-pat communities there, even if you already speak the local language. I lived in Berlin for six months, and it did seem like the smallness of expat communities made it socially acceptable to say to someone you might find interesting, "Hey, you speak English, I speak English, let's hang out!" If you're in a major city, look for an English-language bookstore, there will probably be announcments of social events. Or just check Meetup.com or other Internet resources. You might also want to check out the American Women's Club (though club members tend to be somewhat scary uber-rich and uber-bored wives of business executives).
jf
-
gout is awful
[Read the article: Dick Cheney and the disease of kings]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I also think Dick Cheney is one step above the anti-Christ, but this potential diagnosis actually makes me feel bad for him. My stepfather has attacks of gout. When he first started getting them I thought it was pretty funny, because I associated it with 18th century British artistocrats who drink a barrel of wine a day. But, as I quickly learned from him, it's really an incredibly painful and frustrating condition. In fact, I only recently found out that he was recovering from a bout of gout at the rehersal dinner before my wedding ... the dinner was at this amazing family-style seafood restaurant, and he loves seafood but couldn't have any because it would have set off another attack.
Taking Cary Tennis' advice that we should pray for our worst enemies, I do sincerely hope that Dick Cheney doesn't have gout.
jf
-
another reason why: lack of control
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think another reason why people are so anxious about flying is that, no matter how statistically safe flying is, the passenger has to give up control by the very nature of being a passenger. It's the height of delusion: the person flying the plane had to go through years of training; you, if you're lucky, got a semester's of driver's ed, and are on the road with thousands of other people and variables you can't control. Yet because you "know" you're a good driver (and just about everyone "knows" that they're a good driver) you feel safe behind the wheel of a car in a way that you don't sitting in an airplane, because you don't have any influence over the situation.
Personally, I know that I'm a a terrible driver, and I haven't actually driven a car in years ... maybe that's why I don't get anxious while flying.
jf
-
apportionment (re: huh?)
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To expand on the earlier answer to Dan: under this scenario, Utah would not be over represented becuase the House would be expanded to 437 seats from the current 435. Under the current formula for apportioning House seats, Utah gets 3 out of 435. If we add DC to the list of entities that get apportioned seats, and expand the number of house seats to 437, then (again using the current formula) Utah would properly get 4 seats and DC 1 (out of 437). Make sense?
I wonder if the Republicans would really be willing to accept the quite temporary additional Utah seat -- after all, would go back to 435 after the next census, but that DC Democratic seat would be there forever. Maybe they're assuming that Red states will pick up more Represenattivs after the next census.
I have a hard time seeing how this law would pass constitutional muster, though, honestly. The constitution says rather explicitly that "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States." DC not being one of the several states, the law seems pretty at odds with that. I definitely think DC should have a representative (and senators too), but I think that would require an amendment -- or, better, DC statehood.
jf
-
terminology clarification
[Read the article: My husband thinks I should make more money]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Only obliquely related to the issue at hand, but, my fellow commentors:
Copy editor (what the LW is): Someone who edits text for spelling, grammar, style, and factual accuracy. Usually one of the last pair of eyes on text (if not the last pair) before it is published.
Copywriter: Someone who writes the text ("copy") for advertisements, promotional material, product labels, and the like.
They're very different jobs, and though I can't speak for copywriters, as a former copy editor I can tell you that it drives copy editors a little bit nuts when you mix them up.
I thank you for your time. We now return you to your regularly scheduled debates on class and gender.
jf