doodle
as my email traffic seems stuck in a perpetual rush hour jam, i find myself inadvertantly perpetuating it by not even responding to emails that would require at most 20 seconds of my time.
this week i had to organize my graduate committee meeting, and the mere thought of coordinating a group of people via email turned me into a 9th grader (lots of big sighs and time-consumptive hemming and hawing). then i remembered doodle. this site allows you to create online polls and email off the link, so everyone who's participating goes and checks their availability. you get a comprehensive idea of time constraints, rather than sorting through the social etiquette upchuck of "what time works for you? oh, well actually that isn't the best for me, but maybe could we push it back 2 hours? you have a thing that kindof conflicts then? well, how does thursday sound? do you want to do a morning thing? a lunchy thing? a pre/post lunch thing? oops, turns out thursday's no good for ___, so how does friday look for everyone?"...etc. my advisors swooned and thanked me for acting as a preventative traffic cop.

gaits
i remember doing a theatre workshop in high school where we explored leading with different parts of our bodies and expressing character through gaits. sometimes when i'm out walking i watch people and try to identify what they're leading with, and why. the bus station is an especially good spot to do it (and for getting a quick reality check about peterborough's economic demographic); i saw a guy there yesterday with a very extreme shuffling knee-lead that was combined with the sense that he was stuck inside an ever-shrinking box.

i've been walking around in high heels to and from tango rehearsal, and it's interesting to find people unaware that they're sizing me up because of my gait. even though i'm not wearing anything more revealing than a pair of jeans, the frequency of cat calls and unspoken invitations to "cat fights" increase. it seems like everyone has a predetermined opinion about why i'm wearing heels and what i must be trying to proclaim.

science or nature?
for those of you concerned about the worth of my poop-sorting skills, feast on this:

we got results back from the stable isotope work (looking for a relationship between chimney swift population decline and diet as a contributing factor), and in joe's words, the results were "absoloutely stunning". i can't elaborate, as i've been sworn to secrecy, but i'll explain what this means.

to start, for most biologists the idiom is "publish or perish". everyone's trying to publish so that they can gain further esteem and funding. you choose which journals to send your article for possible acceptance. each journal has an "impact factor", with the "more impressive" journals having higher impact factors. so if you publish in, say, "journal of chimney swift ecology in ontario" (don't look it up, it doesn't exist), the audience is very limited and the impact factor of that journal would be low. there's a lot of dischord about impact factors, and much validity in the arguments of those opposed to them. however, for now it's largely the method employed for ranking success.

another thing to consider is authorship. the more papers a person authors, the more they'll get referenced, and the more esteem and funding they'll get. to be an author on a paper you just need to have been involved with the work in some way. so if a project takes off, and is headed for a journal with a high impact factor, everyone wants on the bus. delegating who gets what position in the authorship (first, second, third, etc., which defines the significance of your role in the project) and whether someone should even be included or not (because more authors can dilute the effect of authorship) gets quite, quite sticky.

that said, these "absoloutely stunning" results, which happen to be very applicable to a number of other species and population declines in general, have made my world a little helter-skelter. fortunately joe is acting as captain in these reckless waters, dealing with the host of people vying for authorship. according to joe, we're heading for science or nature with this, which are the leading impact factor journals in biology. and he wants me to be first author. what would this mean for me? if the paper happened to get picked up by either science or nature, i'd be sitting really pretty (a master's student with a paper published in science or nature is kindof a big deal), and probably have a number of enemies. after all, people work their whole lives to get published there. actually, i'd be sitting pretty even if i published in a lower impact journal. and even if it doesn't get published in any journal, as joe says "there's your thesis, right there".

not bad.

the burning hell
...not actually a blurb about my blossoming satanism. this is a band i'm heading to see tonight (aptly named for a halloween event). although their name might evoke heavy metal or suicidal emo imagery, they're nothing of the kind.
http://www.myspace.com/mathiaskom

swimming
it may be pure coincidence that i'm a pisces and i love swimming, but yesterday i went swimming at the trent pool for the first time, and with my flippers and goggles, i could've swum forever. if i have an untimely death, look for my reincarnation as an otter. or a salsa dress.

chia seeds
it turns out these guys are good for more than terra cotta pets!
chia seeds are not only a nutritional powerhouse (why does flax get the fatty acid rep when chia seeds knock them out of the park on omega 3s and hemp is higher in the 6s?), but it has the awesome quality of creating a tapioca-like consistency when soaked in fluid.
my newest favorite raw delight is soaking chia seeds overnight for pudding in the morning! you can use any non-dairy milk (i didn't have any so i just whipped up some banana and oats with water), and extras like dates, raisins, coconut...
Hooray! :)

transition towns
i didn't even know it, but apparently Peterborough is Canada's first transition town. i chatted up a guy at wednesday's documentary night and, uh, i want to clone myself so i can spend an obscene amount of time volunteering with the transition group. really, really great stuff. a couple days later i picked up a copy of the free "Greenzine" magazine, which is printed by Transition Town Peterborough. man oh MAN it's chock full of people i want to cram into my pockets, and loads of events i must attend in november. highlights include:

Medicinal Herbs (using local flora)
E-Bikes: How to make them your main form of transportation (... a workshop on electrifying your bike? !!)
Sustainable Building Practices (in addition to building a house, i can use this for my new swift towers)
Handcraft Your Own Hair and Skin Products (hopefully i'll learn new tricks!)

i love peterborough more and more with each passing day. there seems to be no shortage of phenomenal organizations (is it weird that there are so many it kindof stresses me out?), stellar live music, tons of art and dance opportunities, and a community full of sweeties. i wish i didn't have to sleep!

UPDATES:
* the retreat was outstanding. we stayed on kushog lake in a couple cabins reminiscent of maine, and i cooked all our vegan meals to rave reviews. not only did no one miss their meat and dairy, i was peppered with questions and asked to send a follow-up email to all with recipes and links to more information. i also got to go swimming (briefly) under a billion stars and i fit in a long lakeside run in the woods. ahh.

oh and i brought "catch phrase", and it was such a raging, hilarious success (which will come as no surprise to some of you) that we played for 3 hours. we only stopped because someone needed a pit break in the wee hours of the morning and we discovered our exhaustion. that game is powerful.
...and i think i have yet to play it competitively. :)

*my DIY workshops are a hit! i've already gotten loads of positive feedback. if you want to see project pictures you can visit our facebook group: OPIRG's Rubbish to Relish DIY Workshops

Helen Caldicott
this wednesday i'm heading over to see helen caldicott speak. she was named one of the most influencial women of the 21st century, and is one of world's leading voices against nuclear energy. she's also co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and she hosts a radio program called "If You Love This Planet". check her out: http://www.helencaldicott.com/about.htm

no poo
sometime last year i heard about "no poo", which is a cute/crude term for going without shampoo and conditioner. i browsed a website or two, and learned that people were spouting about the fact that you can use baking soda and apple cider vinegar in place of shampoo and conditioner, resulting in locks as nice and healthy as one has ever seen. well, being a dutiful environmentalist and an economical human being, i gave it a try. i rubbed baking soda into my scalp, and then doused my head with vinegar. my hair was left with a rather sticky residue, but it did the trick- as long as i was planning on braiding my hair. and wearing a hat. so i went back to shampoo and conditioner, trying everything to avoid plastic (bars, bulk shampoo and conditioner, making my own, etc). a couple weeks ago i ran out of the shampoo i'd made, and not having the time to make more (or being very impressed with the recipe i'd used), i decided to look up no poo again. in doing so, i realized what was apparently a rather large faux pas. the baking soda is supposed to be dissolved in water (~1T to 1c) and poured over the head and scalp, followed by rubbing/agitation similar to shampooing and a good rinse. then the apple cider vinegar is supposed to be diluted (again, ~1T to 1c) and poured over your hair, also followed by rinsing. that made an incredibly large difference. also, this time i was more patient. it takes a week or two for your head to adjust its pH and oil secretions. once it balances out, your head and hair take care of themselves and can go longer periods of time without washing. in the long run it saves you money, requires no plastic, saves both you and the environment from exposure to unneccessary chemicals, and happens to be incredibly easy. i know you're all probably skeptical, but my hair is lovely and soft and shiny and clean. i also only wash it once or twice a week. and yes, it looks delightful the whole time.

board retreat
i won't be posting next week, because i'm shooting off on a retreat to the wilderness with my OPIRG tribe. for some reason i thought i'd volunteer to help organize all the food, even though it was going to be vegan anyway. "helping" quickly turned into planning the menu, buying and transporting all the food, and being responsible for delegating duties related to cooking and such. it's a good thing i have an absolute surplus of time...
between the good company, planned events, canoeing, swimming (it may be mid-Oct but i'm going swimming- and i've convinced at least one other guy to go with me), the great food, and the fact that it's all paid for, it should be a marvelous time.

is that a book you're holding, or a super sweet clutch?
my brain-baby workshops are taking off- there's a lot of hype about the kickoff next week. a few of us got together to make examples of next friday's projects, which will focus on things to make out of unwanted books (journals, photo albums, photo frames, and clutches). the projects turned out better than i expected.  i only have a pic of the clutch i made, although i wish i could show you how well everything turned out. i was so impressed with us.

here's the clutch (do you know what a clutch is? i didn't, although now i'll have to try to find a reason to use one...), which i made out of a tom swift book entitled "Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster". it's hilarious. and Awesome. you can't tell from these photos, but i found some gold sparkle fingernail polish and painted the atomic earth blast featured on the cover. also, the fabric i used along the sides and on the inside of the bind is a very atomic stretchy silver.

this quote

from the http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/ website, which expresses a viewpoint i've long held:

"One of the critical reasons that we have so many major issues in the world today - such as climate change, sweatshops, wars over oil reserves, factory farms, polluted oceans and rivers - is because we never have to see the direct repercussions that our purchases have on the people, environment and animals they affect. The degrees of separation between the consumer and the consumed have increased so much that it now, conveniently, means that people are completely unaware of the levels of destruction and suffering involved in the making of the 'stuff' they purchase. We have no longer any idea how much embodied energy has gone into the things we consume. The main reason we have no appreciation for this energy is because we are so disconnected from what we buy."

in this crowded world, many people feel they have no power to make a social or environmental impact. what they don't realize is that there's power in every single purchase made. any time money changes hands, it goes to a person, a corporation, an organization, an ethical or unethical approach to people and or the planet.

who or what do your purchases support?

enough of the heavy stuff, how about this guy? :)

hah! it's a newly banded 7 day old ovenbird.

organizations
enough of you have asked me for a rundown of my "free-time" activities that i'll make a little review list of my regular loves:

OPIRG (ontario public interest research group): this is the super environmental and social justice org with whom i've spent copious hours volunteering since feb. we host a seemingly endless number of events throughout the year that cover a broad range of topics. a couple of constants are the free market and the food cupboard, and free wed night popcorn & documentaries. right now i'm doing a lot of work on my Do It Yourself pet project, which has received overwhelming support and will start on Oct 16th. i'm also regularly designing/writing/posting publicity, running movie nights, painting things, calling people, or monitoring events on a regular basis.
it's a phenomenal group.

Seeds for Justice: a working group through the Kawartha World Issues Center (KWIC), i've just started collaborating with them. they focus on educating and empowering youth on environmental and social justice issues, usually through art and workshops. i'm brainstorming on a political theatre project involving paper mache masks, along the vein of Bread and Puppet theatre.

Latin & Swing Dance: this website is on its way to being updated. i dance with this group mon & wed, and usually at least one other day of the week. i'll be dancing in an united way fundraiser competition later this month and i'll also be starting rehearsal this afternoon for an early november cabaret performance. and they just asked me to join their committee, so i went to my first meeting last night.

Scottish Country Dance (yes, i get to dance with those kilted studs every week): my beloved scottish country dance group, which occupies my tues evenings. they also host monthly social dances.

Food Not Bombs: this group cooks FREE vegan meals from food donated by local farmers. on mon nights i walk less than 1 block from my house and divulge in a feast (we're talking over a dozen dishes). people are also encouraged to bring take-home containers and fill them to overflowing. it's just too bad so many plates and plasticware get thrown out... oh wait, that's right- they provide plates and silverware, so there's no waste! volunteers cook all the food and wash all the dishes.
they also frequently provide free vegan food for OPIRG events.

i <3 peterborough.
i obviously recommed tracking down and getting involved in community groups. and if you can't find the group you want, you could follow julia's beacon and just start one (big shout out to inspirational julia who got a whole newspaper feature this week on her flourishing vegan group -in ireland, where they're still burning garbage in their fireplaces-!).


lost and found
i wrote this letter to the school newspaper and they printed it. the great thing is that i totally found it! now i just need to find the girl...

you know, the world doesn't have to be a mean, angry place.