Yesterday I spent a very hot day in the field. We're setting up for a new field experiment and had to label out plots and collect pre-experiment baseline samples. It was hotter than hell out there and I was dragging my sorry ass. Today I'm completely pooped even though I napped during the rides to and from the field site.

Even though I hate the heat, I really enjoy that site. We've had ongoing projects there as long as I've worked at this job. They try to use less chemicals than commercial operations and have lots of wildlife. Yesterday I found a mockingbird nest with 4 tiny, beautiful beige and blue speckled eggs. I also saw several red-headed woodpeckers and killdeer and hear a cardinal calling. Usually we'll see a few bunnies and an occasional black racer, but none this time. They even used to have a resident screech owl who moved on when construction began at the adjacent property.

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I heard on the news yesterday that thsex-discrimination class action lawsuit against W@l*M@art will go ahead. Some 1.6 million women will be eligible. I'm so happy it's finally happening. I hope the women win and get fair compensation.

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Over the past week, I saw some great movies/shows.

First was the Magdalene Sisters. It wasn't an easy movie to watch, and I had been building myself up to watching it for several months. It was a wonderful, yet horrific, movie. In Ireland from the turn of the 20th century until the mid 1990's, the Catholic Church ran Magdalene Laundries. They were basically jails run by nuns where unwed mothers and otherwise "slutty" girls were sent to do penance for their "sins" a la Mary Magdalene. Many women lived out their whole lives in these prisons, beaten for speaking to outsiders, often sexually abused by the priests, and ridiculed by the nuns. The DVD included a documentary about several women who had lived in the laundries and were either removed by their families or escaped. One woman recollected how on Saturday nights, the girls were forced to line up and strip to have their bodies ridiculed by the nuns.

The church did a very good job of covering all this up. Most people that lived near the laundries had no idea how bad things were on the inside and the church has never released records of how many women were held in the laundries or how many died while in custody.


Over the weekend, hubby and I rented 50 First Dates. It was hilarious and sweet. I used to hate Adam Sandler (I still don't care for his stand-up) but I've grown to really like his movies. If you're in the mood for something goofy and light, I'd recommend it.


I also saw Margaret Cho's Revolution. She is my new hero!! She's funny as hell and manages to bring the issues of feminism, racism, and homophobia into her show. Did I mention she had me rolling one minute and totally pissed of at racist/homophobic/sexist assholes the next?