Suspicions confirmed: I learned nothing in college

"America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree"

Some highlights:

• "50 percent of college seniors scored below "proficient" levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks as understand the arguments of newspaper editorials or compare credit-card offers."
• "Almost 20 percent of seniors had only basic quantitative skills."
• "The percentage of college graduates deemed proficient in prose literacy has actually declined from 40 to 31 percent in the past decade."

So not only will my B.A. become more and more worthless as the market becomes more saturated with college graduates, it is further devalued by the fact that employers realize that a degree pretty much means nothing about a person's skill level.

And nicely put by the author:

Colleges are quick to argue that a college education is more about enlightenment than employment... 44.6 percent [of college freshmen] said they were not satisfied with the quality of instruction they received. Imagine if that many people were dissatisfied with a brand of car: It would quickly go off the market. Colleges should be held to a much higher standard, as a higher education costs so much more, requires years of time, and has so much potential impact on your life.

At least I'll be able to woo employers with my legal education. Oh wait, I won't learn anything there either.

For your reading pleasure

Just finished Tim O'Brien's excellent Vietnam collection The Things They Carried.

I would recommend it to anyone, even to those that have no interest in history/war. It doesn't spend page after page talking about battles and war tactics, but focuses mostly on the lives of the soldiers (to whom you become very attached).

It's very disturbing, funny and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Also, I would imagine it's very relevant in examining modern soldiers' experiences in Iraq.

5 out of 5 golden stars (B&N gives it 4.5, but whatever).

No one cares but regardless, an update:

My nose is still bothering me (tomorrow will be two weeks).

In conferring with my social circle, a few others have noted that this season has been especially rough on the nostrils. One of my allergy-ridden friends suggested saline spray, which I've been using, but still my boogers are painful and a little bloody.

What's a girl to do?

A few fun sites

Etsy.com

For buying and selling handmade things.
Specifically, I want (can't wait) to buy a few of these:
Wall Decals

Name Voyager
Very cool site on which you can visually track the popularity of any name through the decades.

And, as a work related/lawyerly note, Maryland Judiciary Case Search is a fun way to spend some time seeing which of your friends are secretly criminals.

Things I'm happy about

I'm feeling fried and a bit uninspired today. But as a potential perk-up:

1. I am becoming a bigger fan of red wine by the week.
2. I got a 105 on my Fiction quiz.
3. I bought Wicked yesterday and have really enjoyed the first 25 pages.
4. My bank account will be replenished the day after tomorrow.
5. I am seeing Suss and Christ tonight, two of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

Feeling better already.

I'm awesome today

A snippet from my horoscope (Virgo):

Your ruling planet Mercury is amplified by joyous Jupiter and you cannot help but be more inspirational than usual. Almost anything you say makes others feel better so everyone wants to talk with you.

Are you a fat ass like me?

Do you frequently go on late-night pilgrimmages for specific dessert items (Twizzlers or ice cream, perhaps)? Are you crushed when you can't find them at the grocery store of your choice? I too share your quandary.

The bf and I went on a B&J hunt last night for some Oatmeal Cookie ice cream. Canton's Safeway, where we'd previously had luck, didn't have it in stock. If only I had known:

Ben & Jerry Flavor Locator

We did discover a delightful replacement flavor though.

Imagine Whirled Peace-- a tribute via ice cream to John Lennon. Sweet cream and caramel ice cream with chewy toffee cookies and fudge peace signs.

They love to do crazy shit with those fudge chunks (see: Phish Food).

It's earned a place in my top five:

1. Oatmeal Cookie
2. Cinnamon Buns
3. Imagine Whirled Peace
4. Half Baked
5. Chubby Hubby

Fun to say word of the day

Perfidious

Tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character.
Origin: Latin

Teenage singer has breasts beneath clothes

Why is this Miley Cyrus photo controversial? People reports that Cyrus posed for

...a racy, as-yet unreleased Vanity Fair photo shoot in which she appears to be nude...

Are teenage girls not allowed to admit they have naked bodies? I honestly don't know if these photos would have been made a big deal if Cyrus herself hadn't started this by stating,

I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed.

I guess I'm off America's puritan pulse, but about what is she embarrassed? And why is she drawing this scrutiny to herself?

Vanity Fair article and photos here

My feet are dirty but happy

Confession: I am forever barefoot, even while making copies in my office. I don't like to wear shoes, and when I must, I try to stay away from standard functional shoes.

Luckily though, New York Magazine is reporting that barefoot and moccassin-type shoes are back on the "Healthy" list. I am a believer after this experience:

About three months ago, I was in need of new flip flops. I wandered around the shoe store, and stopped at the Reef display. I was extremely impressed by their arch, which is about 3/4" higher than the rest of the sole. $40 later, I thought my feet will be so happy this summer while caressing my new arched flip flops.

I left for Florida a few days later and wore them for a week straight. As I traipsed around to restaurants and the beach, I developed a limp. The seemingly glorious rubber and leather fulcrum felt like it breaking my foot bones with each step.

I assumed that my shoe habits had destroyed my feet and that I now had to undo the damage. Determined to break in my Reefs, I eventually pulled through. I also bought some Dr. Scholl's arches that I later realized wouldn't fit in my mocassins.

The article says though, that after studying different modern civilizations, those that do not wear shoes (Zulus, in this case) have the healthiest and most similar feet to those of our ancestors 2000 years ago. It explains how we and most of the world have ruined our feet and gait by applying padding, raised heels and arches to a tool that was originally only supposed to protect us from thorns and the occasional stubbed toe.

Damn, had it right the first time.

Original article: How We're Wrecking Our Feet With Each Step We Take