Diane's Discoveries

Hillary Clinton, Through a Lens Wrongly

Here's a well thoughtout description of women competing in the world. Read the whole article by Deborah Tannen, an authority on the subject.

Hillary Clinton, Through a Lens Wrongly

By Deborah Tannen

This isn't about Hillary. Well, okay, it is.

But it isn't only about her. It's also about every woman who has ever been underestimated, failed to get credit for work she did or been denied opportunities to do work at which she would have excelled.

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential primary victories in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island last week, Democratic voters continue to evaluate her abilities and her chances of winning in a general election -- and are confronting the double bind that women in authority, including Clinton, face: If they speak in ways expected of leaders, they're seen as too aggressive, but if they speak in ways expected of women, they're seen as less confident and competent than they really are.

Companies invite me to speak about my research on women and men at work because they want to make sure that they accurately assess everyone's abilities when deciding whom to promote. Just so, voters need to understand the double bind when deciding who deserves the ultimate promotion to presidential candidate....

Link: Hillary Clinton, Through a Lens Wrongly - washingtonpost.com.

The Forgotten Man?

My local paper, the Oakland Tribune, carried this editorial today...the title is a little off but it still caught my attention. You will find it worthwhile reading the whole editorial (it's short).

Link: The forgotten lesson of the primaries.

"While everybody else is writing about the results of the New Hampshire primary, I can only follow my contrary nature and write about the forgotten man of American politics.

Because of a self-imposed Christmas truce, I have not written about him for several weeks. So much time has passed, I now find that I can barely remember his name. This strikes me as very good, although admittedly it could be a sign that my mind has closed down out of respect for my recent 60th birthday.

Of course, I could Google the name of the forgotten man using certain unflattering terms, but that would offend the sacred code of the columnist that requires research be limited to a few trips to convivial taverns.

Who is this forgotten man? As much as I remember, he lives in a big house in the nation's capital. It is painted white and has a rose garden. I believe the man who lives there holds the title of Confounder in Chief. He has a lot of power for a forgotten man, but that is why people want to forget him. Unfortunately, he is not yet an invisible man (give it a year or so).

Sure, I could find out the name of the forgotten man, but the truth is that nobody wants his name to be remembered. Everybody is profoundly sick of him. Even rabid radio talk show hosts seem to be pained when they have to speak his name, and speak it they must, presumably because of a pact they made with the devil. It goes to show that just because you are a blowhard doesn't mean you don't get sick of defending the indefensible."...

Read on...

Traveling....

This has been a "Travel Year” for me, so I’ve neglected my blog except for a few entries early in the year. My “discoveries” have been during my traveling --- educational to be sure, but not directly related to schools.

In May my son and I flew to Prague, Czech Republic, and then traveled by motor coach to Regensburg, Germany where we boarded a riverboat for a trip down the Danube River to Budapest, Hungary. Of course we stopped along the way and visited several villages and cities. I have posted photos at my Flickr site and you are welcome to view them as my guest: Prague to Budapest

I kept the most interesting photos but as I'm still learning to use my Canon 20D some may seem to be overkill about an area.

For easier viewing, you can click on individual pictures and increase or decrease the viewing size, or view as a slideshow. If you want a copy of a photo, follow the instructions to send to your email address.

Recently I joined the Oakland Museum, History Guild, and in June took a wonderful trip to our beautiful National Parks (Northern): Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier (including Waterton in Canada).

Here's a link to the set of pictures of the National Parks tour: National Parks Tour

I recently returned from another intriguing trip with the History Guild; this time to visit eight Presidential Museums in the Midwest, from Michigan all the way down to Texas. So, you can see why I have neglected posting to my blog. Perhaps I will be energetic and post some of the interesting sights and events during the trips.

Have a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year, 2008!

Blurb goes low-cost publishing route

Here is a capsule of an article about a terrific idea for all of you amateur and/or semi-professional photographers who would like to publish a book of your photos.

By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY

Eileen Gittins' original goal: to self-publish a book of her own photography for close friends.
But there were obstacles. She didn't like the standard photo albums from companies such as MyPublisher and Shutterfly. And she wanted to add a lot of text to her book. Yet, most traditional self-publishing companies required a minimum order of 500 books and upfront fees of thousands of dollars.
So Gittins last May started San-Francisco-based Blurb to fulfill her own need — low-cost self-publishing, courtesy of digital technology.

Blurb now has fans among architects, real estate agents, photographers, cookbook authors, museum archivists and others who have used it to print bookstore-quality editions. It takes orders for thousands of books daily, up from hundreds just a few months ago.
A basic hardcover Blurb book is adorned with a full-color, glossy dust cover that looks like it belongs in a bookstore, not on a standard $29.95 homemade project.
"We live and die on … quality," says Gittins. "That's what's really gotten people's attention."

Most Blurb customers (Gittins calls them Blurbarians) order books of 100 to 120 pages, and the cost is $37.95. A similar book from Shutterfly or the Kodak EasyShare Gallery would cost upwards of $100.
Gittins says Blurb makes money on every book, and can afford the lower prices thanks to automation.
Blurb's Booksmart software is a free, fully functional layout program. Designing your book — if you are so inspired — can take many hours. But once it's finished and uploaded to Blurb, there's very little human interaction. "We're the cleanest business (that) printing has ever seen," Gittins says. "There are no proofs, just finished books."

For the complete article go to: Blurb goes low-cost publishing route - USATODAY.com.

Pictures worth more than a thousand words...

I presently use Flickr for my online photo storage, but if you're looking for an alternative website to upload your photos, check this article in USAToday by Jefferson Graham: Pictures worth more than a thousand words on upgraded photo sites - USATODAY.com.

Would you pay $40 to $60 a year to ensure that all your digital photographs are safely backed up online and that you can access them from anywhere?
What if you could also share these pictures on the Internet, without bugging your friends to buy prints, in a beautiful display?
That's the offer from SmugMug and Phanfare, two photo sites with significant new upgrades. If the only photo-sharing you're familiar with is via Kodak EasyShare Gallery, Snapfish or another mainstream service whose aim is to sell you lots of products, these sites are definitely worth a look.

The Genius in All of Us

My thanks to Richard Wanderman for calling attention to a very interesting blog by David Shenk. David is working on a book and encourages input at his blog; following is one quote from his blog: The Genius in All of Us.

TV interview with Bruce Springsteen...I was startled when Bruce came out with this:"I wasn't quite suited for the educational system. One problem with the way the educational system is set up is that it only recognizes a certain type of intelligence, and it's incredibly restrictive -- very, very restrictive. There's so many types of intelligence, and people who would be at their best outside of that structure [get lost]. Most of the schools, they're aiming to build you up and get you into the machine."

A Little Humor About NCLB

Link: EduBlog Insights � Blog Archive � If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

Did you see NCLB–The Football Version? Author Unknown

l. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren’t interested in football, have limited athletic ability, or whose parents don’t like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.

If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

He really did turn me into a writer…

This just makes me feel good about teachers...from Konrad Glogowski's blog: blog of proximal development » Blog Archive » He really did turn me into a writer ….

From Konrad: The following is an e-mail that I received yesterday from a former student. He was in my grade eight class last year and participated in my PhD research. The post that he refers to in his e-mail is my farewell entry that I posted at the end of August to thank my former students for a wonderful year of cognitive engagement.

Wired News: IPhone: Calling the Future

My thanks to Richard Wanderman Richard's Notes for the Wired News article. Following is a brief link to the article: Wired News: IPhone: Calling the Future.

The iPhone then is not just a phone, or a combo MP3-video player, but rather a portable computer. And, like a magician, Jobs has performed a sleight of hand in which the computer itself seems to disappear, just as the word has disappeared from Apple's corporate name, leaving only its function behind.

"I think this is a very big deal," says Silicon Valley technology forecaster Paul Saffo. "Cyberspace was a wonderful thing, but the only place you could enter cyberspace from was your desktop. We've had some brain damaged ways of accessing it from the places where we actually live our lives, but until now, they've all been compromised. If the iPhone works as advertised, it's a no compromises node, and that's a huge deal."

"This isn't the next computer," Saffo continues. "This is the next home for the mind. Computers have had a nice long run, and laptops will always play at least some role. But the center of gravity is now slowly shifting from the desk to the device in your pocket."

To be sure, the computer hasn't literally disappeared with the advent of the iPhone, and it likely never will. It'll just continue to get smaller and more powerful. How small and how powerful is now the subject of furious debate among software developers who really want to know: Is the iPhone in essence a slimmed down Mac?

The answer for now quite clearly is no. One of the salient features of a genuine computing platform is the ability to run third party applications, and currently the betting money says Apple won't be opening its mobile platform to outsiders, at least for the foreseeable future.

The Madonnas of Leningrad

I've been catching up on reading lately and just finished a wonderful book by a new, young author, Debra Dean; it's titled "The Madonnas of Leningrad. What first caught my eye was the mention of Alzheimer's, and also the harrowing tale of the siege of Leningrad: Amazon.com: debra dean: Books. Here's an editorial review from Booklist:

*Starred Review* Her granddaughter's wedding should be a time of happiness for Marina Buriakov. But the Russian emigre's descent into Alzheimer's has her and her family experiencing more anxiety than joy. As the details of her present-day life slip mysteriously away, Marina's recollections of her early years as a docent at the State Hermitage Museum become increasingly vivid. When Leningrad came under siege at the beginning of World War II, museum workers--whose families were provided shelter in the building's basement--stowed away countless treasures, leaving the painting's frames in place as a hopeful symbol of their ultimate return. Amid the chaos, Marina found solace in the creation of a "memory palace," in which she envisioned the brushstroke of every painting and each statue's line and curve. Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, first-time novelist Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory. Dean eloquently describes the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, but she is at her best illuminating aging Marina's precarious state of mind: "It is like disappearing for a few moments at a time, like a switch being turned off," she writes. "A short while later, the switch mysteriously flips again." Allison Block Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved