Judgment Day

Monday night, PBS aired a fantastic documentary, Judgment Day, about the Dover School Board's controversial attempt to add intelligent design to the science curriculum, and the resulting federal court case.

For those of you who don't recall, the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, attempted to add the book Of Pandas and People, an intelligent design "textbook," to the biology curriculum as a companion textbook and required biology teachers to read a one-minute statement about how evolution is "just a theory." (All quotation marks are intended to convey my derision.) Parents of Dover students objected: Teaching intelligent design is the same as teaching religion in the classroom, and calling evolution "just a theory" shows a real lack of understanding about how much scientific evidence there is for evolution and also what scientists mean when they use the word "theory." (Gravity is also "just a theory," after all.)

Judgment Day gives an excellent explanation of these issues, and I thought it was very fair and even-handed, giving all parties an opportunity to tell their side of the tale. I was riveted to this documentary, all two hours of it. If you haven't yet seen it, watch it. My understanding is that it will be available in full on the PBS site starting tomorrow.

Update: Here's a link to a clip of what was my laugh-out-loud favorite portion of the documentary. Ha!

Last Chance to Be Sung to Heaven

Don't miss the Chicago Chamber Choir's final performance of Sing Me to Heaven, this Friday at 7:30 pm at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. Sunday's concert was a rousing success, if I do say so myself. It's surprising how much fun a concert about death can be.

A note to Colorado bloggers (and those in nearby western states): Immediately after the concert Friday night, the whole family will pack up and start driving to spend Thanksgiving hard by the Rocky Mountains. We'll be in the Boulder area briefly, probably not long enough to meet up with anyone other than Airan's family. However, if you're near Grand Junction, drop me a line and we'll try to do lunch.

Photo shamelessly stolen from the lovely Julie. Look, it's me!

Building a Temple Doesn't Make It True

Check out John Scalzi's enlightening and highly entertaining (and a little bit terrifying) report from his recent visit to the Creation Museum. Don't skip the photo tour, with its striking images and priceless commentary. Warning: Be prepared for much snarkiness and sacreligiosity. If you take creationism seriously, Mr. Scalzi's post will most likely not be up your alley.

In the Eye of the Beholder

From the makers of Dove, with its Campaign for Real Beauty, comes an altogether different message for our young girls.





For more information, go here.

CBN 2007

Tonight, we celebrated the 15th-annual CBN* (always observed the first Monday after Halloween) with Andrea, Matthew, Simon, Mike, Jenny, and David. Much eggnog was consumed. Nathan, Jemmie, Christine, and Jamie were missed.

Having the kids around really changes the dynamic of CBN -- it isn't exactly the raucous party it was in years past. But we had a great time hanging out, clogging our arteries, and watching old jury tapes. (Matthew had some fine taste in clothing in his college years, I can tell you that right now. And the glasses! And David's hair -- I like to think I remember just how manelike it was, but wow. I mean, wow. Of course, none of this compares to the, ahem, view seen in some of Mike's jury tapes.Yikes.)

Recipe for one CB (the traditional beverage with which to open eggnog season):
eggnog (lots)
vanilla ice cream (plenty)
chocolate sauce (don't skimp)

Combine all ingredients in the largest plastic cup you can find. Super Gulps are great for this.

Eat with a spoon or drink it up, your choice.

*I can no longer use the full name of CBN because I'm too grossed out by the search engine hits I get as a result. If you already know what I'm talking about, you don't need me to write it out. If you don't know, I'm happy to fill you in via email.

Sing Me to Heaven

A friendly reminder: The Chicago Chamber Choir's fall concert series approacheth.

"Sing Me to Heaven" is an intimate reflection of humankind’s inevitable journey from this world into the next. This exquisite collection of music explores the fear, mourning, consolation, joy and celebration that accompany our thoughts of death and what lies beyond. Whether your view of this voyage is one of mystery or one of certainty, you’ll be moved, challenged and uplifted by the music of Tavener, Debussy, Barber and Holst; the poetry of Emily Dickinson and King Solomon; and the spirituals of Hall Johnson, André Thomas and Aldophus Hailstork.

You can see Sing Me to Heaven Sunday, Nov. 11, 3:00 pm at Unity Lutheran Church, 5409 N Magnolia in Chicago, or Friday, Nov. 16, 7:30 pm in Lincoln Park. Order your tickets online now!

Modern-Day Cruella De Vils

I'm extremely distressed by this story about stolen puppies. Seeing as the robbery took place on Chicago's South Side, I first assumed the pups were headed for dog-fighting circles (like the South-Side circle from which our sweet Pepper was rescued). However, the story says these stolen puppies are headed to the "animal black market," where you can get your hands on a replica of Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell at rock-bottom prices.

What is wrong with these people? These puppies are helpless creatures who live and feel and need protection, not exploitation. I honestly believe that something is wrong with the essential humanity of people who have so little regard for animal life. The canine snatchers aren't as bad as the Michael Vicks of the world, but they are damaged goods.

I hope the puppies at least end up in homes where they're loved and properly cared for, although that doesn't seem likely.

Magic

Today, I was transported back in time to finals week of December 1994, UNC's Wiebking Hall room 149, with Tori Amos' Under the Pink blaring in the background. (Well, blaring softly in this case so as not to awaken sleeping twins.) Good times.

Why Twins Happen, since you asked

My search-engine hits mostly fall into one of two categories: song lyrics inquiries and searches for information about twins. I'm not so helpful for that first group (unless you're interested in some Cyndi Lauper lines -- if so, I've got you covered).

The twins-related hits are of more interest to me. There's a lot of misinformation out there about twins. I'm happy to do my part to debunk some of the strange things people seem to believe about twins, but I don't claim to be an expert. That said, here's what I know:

Fraternal twins can be hereditary, but only through female blood lines. Fraternal twins happen when a woman releases two (or more) eggs in an ovulation cycle, and both (all) of those eggs are then fertilized. Because it all has to do with how many eggs a woman releases during her cycle, the man has nothing to do with it. Men cannot influence whether or not a woman will have twins, even if the man is a twin or has twins in his family.

A woman who is related to a woman who has given birth to fraternal twins can think of herself as having twins in her family, so to speak, although that's by no means a guarantee that she will have twins (Nanette beat the odds there). And I know lots of moms of twins who don't have a hereditary predisposition for multiples (Rug's Bug and Mary Beth, to name a few), so heredity doesn't seem to play a very big role in whether you'll have twins or not. Lots of other factors come into play. Obviously, fertility treatments can result in fraternal twins (triplets, quadruplets, etc.). Age, weight, medications that mess with your hormones, and even diet can have an effect on whether you'll have fraternal twins.

So, really, it's a pretty random affair, nearly impossible to predict. If you want to have twins and are trying to make it happen, don't get your hopes up too high. Even fertility treatments aren't a sure-fire method.

Identical (monozygotic) twins are not hereditary. They just happen, and they can happen to anyone. No one really knows why an egg splits, although I've heard it said that fertility treatments might encourage monozygotic twins. Why that would be, I couldn't tell you, but if you're looking at fertility treatments, you're more likely to end up with fraternal twins (or more), not the identical variety.

I believe I've mentioned before that we don't know whether our twin girls are identical or fraternal. Everyone tends to assume that they're identical, and I can understand why. They are quite similar. But I'm not convinced. And I'm also not curious enough to subject them to blood tests to find out for sure. It remains a mystery. (Of course, Jim and Amy say the same thing about their twin boys, and I can't imagine how they could be so blind as to not know that their twins are identical. Is that what everyone says about us, too?)

For lots more fun facts about how to have (or avoid having) twins, check out this link.

Smell My Feet

While we were out in the 'hood with the ballerina princesses last night, celebrating All Hallow's Eve, we encountered scores of candy-crazed trick-or-treaters. I'm disappointed and disgusted to say that, almost across the board, they were the most horribly rude kids I've ever encountered. They barged into friendly local businesses, demanded candy in loud, bold tones, took their loot, and high-tailed it out with nary a thank you. Their parents, trailing along behind the precious angels, were no better. Never once did I hear one say something along the lines of "Say please!" or "Say thank you!" or even "Use your indoor voice!"

Is it just that the holiday brings out the worst in these brats? Or are they like this year-round? I suspect the latter, and I vow that the twins will have much better manners when they start trick-or-treating in earnest. (And in all areas of life, if I have my way.) But maybe the candy mania will take over, and all of my careful grooming will fly out the window in the face of Whoppers and Tootsie Rolls and those ever-coveted Smarties. We'll see.