Done!

Holy neglected blog, Batman! I am just a-coming by to let you all know I defended my dissertation and will be officially graduating in December. The whole fam is coming to help me celebrate and it will be awesome!

This transition of leaving grad school (finally) has made me think a lot about my blog and what I want to get from it. A lot of this blog's beginnings were to keep in touch with friends and to find a community in the dark, isolating days of grad school. I feel like I interact with friends more in other venues, and I don't feel as isolated any more. What I want now is a place where I can write more about my work and science related issues. To that end, I am going to stop this here blog. I have some other plans for internet adventures, so if you are someone I have interacted with over the years, please send me an email to mnkgrlblog at gmail dot com and I may let you in on my plans. MWA HA HA! If you know me in real life, keep an eye out for my future endeavors.

Seriously, I really benefited from having this space to write and from the academic blogging community. But I do think that what I need now is a more professional space, so I am moving on.

And, if you were here for the book reviews, be my friend on GoodReads!

books!

81. The Hero and the Crown
82. The Blue Sword both by Robin McKinley
I loved Robin McKinley when I was like 13, and read both of these books then. They were just as good on a re-read, 20 years later. Both of these are set in the kingdom of Damar, although they are separated by hundreds (if not thousands) of years. The Blue Sword was published first and The Hero and the Crown is a prequel. I kind of like reading The Hero and the Crown first, though, to get the deep back story. Anyway, both these books have strong female characters who have amazing destinies to fulfill, although they feel out of place in the society they are raised in. Both books are just magical with lots of action and some animal friends for the main character. I think I slightly prefer The Blue Sword, but everyone should read them both.

Books!

78. Earthlight by Arthur C. Clarke
Awesome straight up, old school sci fi. Set on the moon, Earth and its colonies (Mars and Venus) are on the brink of war over access to natural resources. I love to see what people in the '50s imagined the future might be like.

79. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Yay! Awesome, sprawling, epic straight up fantasy with tons of characters and lots of drama, civil war and honor. Can't wait to read the next one.

80. An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks
Sacks is a famous neurologist, probably best known due to the movie "Awakenings" which is based on one of his books. This is a collection of essays, each describing a different clinical case that tells us something crazy about the brain. I, unfortunately, cannot get into Sacks' wordy and very descriptive writing style. I know tons of people love his books, so anyone reading this review should try it for themselves. I do love hearing Sacks on the radio though, so if you don't like his writing search out his appearances on Radiolab!

Busy like a bee

I was doing great posting regularly for awhile, but then it all stopped. So sad for you, my 2 blog readers. Here is the sitch: I am trying to graduate in December, I teach full time and I am applying for jobs. So much work! I am really busy. I'm trying to take time when I have it to line up some posts for the upcoming week, so we'll see how that goes. And wish me luck on my graduating and job getting!

Books!

73. Tell No One by Harlan Coben
It might have been the mood I was in when I read it, but I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller/thingy. A pediatrician is living day by day after his wife's murder when he realizes she may be alive. What's up with that? All kinds of other mysteries are revealed. This writer is good, and maintained my interest in the mysteries and the characters throughout.

74. Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace
I never read these as a kid, but I was recently talking to some people who said they were a mainstay of their growing up, like Little House or Anne of Green Gables.

I started here on the 8th book as it was in a give away pile in my laundry room. These books are really good, and I think I would have really liked them when younger, as much as I liked it now. The world of a teenager in 1910 is so interesting to see and Betsy's character is so full of life and determination to enjoy life to the fullest. I will definitely be getting the rest of these books.

75. Carney's House Party and
76. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
Continuing my obsession with these books. Carney's House Party takes place after Betsy and Joe and centers on a more peripheral character in that book. Carney comes home from Vassar for a summer and invites several people to stay in her house for a month. The days are filled with teas and parties and picnics and some misunderstandings and romantic entanglements. I really liked seeing how many things are the same between the early 1900s and now.

Betsy-Tacy is the first book in the series. It is written at a much younger level, but I still really enjoyed it. In this book, Betsy and Tacy first meet, and their adventures begin.

77. Fool by Christopher Moore
Funny book for anyone who likes British humor, lots of swearing and sex and Shakespeare being all twisted around. A re-telling of King Lear from the court jester's point of view.

Musical interlude

Sorry it is not a real video!

books!

70. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
This book lost stars as it went on and on and on. I liked the book a lot at the beginning, but the detailed descriptions and zillions of characters barely kept my interest as I slogged through like the last 1/3rd of the book. I have had this experience with Byatt before. If all her books were like 25% less long, I would like them a lot better.

71. Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters
This is a different series than the one based around Amelia Peabody, which I love, but it was still quite good. I didn't realize it was actually in a series until I finished it, but I will be getting the rest eventually. It was a fun, light hearted mystery with an awesome female romance-writer protagonist.

72. The Light Ages by Ian R. McLeod
This book just never came together for me. I couldn't get a good sense of the world it was set in, and there was a big huge mystery that did not compel me and did not interest me when it was revealed. I don't know, it seems like I should have liked this book more, but it just didn't work out between us.

Beatles 3000

This is a hilarious look at what will be known of the Beatles in the year 3000. Also makes a good parallel to a lot of assumptions made in anthropology when reconstructing the past.

A musical interlude

Blogroll business

So I subscribe to a lot of blogs on Bloglines, and my poor blogroll was long and confusing. I have culled some really old blogs that were not updated in a long time and I organized it by topic. So if you only want to know what food blogs I read or what book blogs I read, you can now easily see.

Plague Ship!

69. Plague Ship by Frank G. Slaughter
There is one book from my vacation reading that I must post about -- Plague Ship! This book is awesome. First, I bought it for 25 cents while visiting Katie (who doesn't get a link since she hasn't blogged since February). I can't believe the library was culling this! Mysterious plague from the past! Sexist doctors with sexist descriptions given of young secretaries! Giant plot holes and foreshadowings that never occur! Awkward exposition given through dialogue. This book is exactly like a bad movie that is so bad you have to love it. Really. Better yet, Frank G. Slaughter was apparently a real surgeon, and wrote other awesome sounding books like Epidemic!, Women in White and Doctor's Wives. I plan on reading more of this excellent author and highly recommend him to you, if you enjoy movies like you find on Mystery Science Theater.

Quinoa!

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is apparently an amazing miracle grain full of protein and able to make you leap tall buildings in a single bound. I mostly just think it is tasty and I like it a lot better than cous cous so I use it in many cous cous applications.

I have only had it hot until recently, but then I realized I could make quinoa in my rice cooker which doesn't heat up the kitchen and THEN I could put the quinoa in the fridge, making an excellent summer dinner. Here is my improvised quinoa salad.



Yummy Summer Quinoa Salad
(partially inspired by this one, on The Picky Palate)

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
1 orange sweet pepper, chopped kinda small
2 scallions, chopped, both white and green parts
1 avocado, chopped
1 small can mandarin oranges
1/2 a jalapeno (if you dare. Mine was really mild.)
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil

First, unless you have indication that your quinoa was pre-rinsed, put it in a mesh colander and run a bunch of water over it. It can have a bitter/soapy taste if you skip this step. Rinse rinse rinse.
Next, put the quinoa and the water in your rice cooker and turn it on. In 15 or so minutes you will magically have cooked quinoa. If you don't have a rice cooker, simmer the quinoa and the water on the stove. Really, it cooks just like rice.
Let the quinoa cool some and put it in a big bowl. Add all the veggies and oranges. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Pour this over the quinoa and veggies and stir it all up. Put in the fridge for a bit and eat! Yum!

I did find this a little too sweet, so next time I will decrease the sugar by about half. You might want to start with that. Also, I meant to add fresh mint but forgot. It would be good though! Throw some in! Or parsley even.



I cooked the corn one of my two favorite ways. #1 is grilled, but here I steamed the corn. The idea is from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Basically, put the corn in a big pot with like an inch of water, cover, and cook for like 15 minutes. I think it is sweeter and more tender than boiling the corn in a huge pot of water and it takes less water and is therefore faster.

books!

OK, if I write reviews for all the books I read on vacation I will be here the rest of my life. So here is a list. If anyone is super curious what I thought of any of them, you can ask. :) All were acceptable to varying degrees.

60. Sunshine by Robin McKinley

61. Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

62. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

63. Heat Lightning by John Sandford

64. Serious as a Heart Attack by Louisa Luna

65. The Quiet Dogs by John Gardner

66. Smiley's People by John le Carre

67. White Hot by Sandra Brown

68. Pretty Boy Floyd by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana

Shahi paneer

R came across some paneer on sale at the grocery store, so we decided to try a new to us Indian recipe. Here is some shahi paneer; a dish with paneer (Indian cheese) and a tomato based sauce. It was pretty easy and I thought it was pretty flavorful. R thought it needed more spices, but to me it was good for an every day supper. I've put the recipe below. If you think your palate is more like R's than mine, feel free to increase the spices, especially the chili powder.



Shahi paneer recipe
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
4-5 Roma tomatoes, pureed
1/2 lb. paneer, cubed
1/4 c water
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1/4 c cream
at least 2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until the onions are golden brown -- about 10 minutes (less if you have a more powerful stove). When the onions are brown, add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder. Stir it all around and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the pureed tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until some of the liquid evaporates and the oil begins to separate out. You'll see a few pools of oil forming. Add the paneer, water, sugar and salt. From this point on stir gently so that the paneer does not break up too much. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the paneer absorbs the tomato sauce and turns kind of orange-ish, about 10 minutes.

Lower the heat to a simmer and add the cream while stirring. Simmer about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cilantro and serve.

We served this with store bought naan and jasmine rice. Yum yum.

Also, we are still on the hunt for a muttar paneer recipe, so if you have one, let me know!

Funny funny blog

So one of my new favorite blogs is Hyperbole and a Half. The illustrations really add to the hilarity. Also, I really relate to a lot of things about this blog. This is how I still feel about bikes and I have totally had this experience with a cat before.

books!

56. Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry
A series of vignettes about Perry's life as a writer and volunteer fire fighter in a small Wisconsin town. I really like Perry's voice and the setting, so I liked this book a lot.

57. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
The third in this super popular series. I liked this one, but I don't have the fanatical love for these books that some others have. I thought it wrapped things up pretty well, though, and through the whole series I really liked reading about Sweden.

58. The Snake, The Crocodile and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters
Another awesome Amelia Peabody mystery. Nothing more to say.

59. To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance by Kirk R. Johnson
This book was really interesting. It is the story of a reporter who signs up for Badwater, a 135 mile ultramarathon from the lowest point in Death Valley to the highest point. Johnson signs up for the race after his brother commits suicide -- Johnson's goal is to explore what makes a person able to endure. Johnson takes another brother and sister with him as crew, and aside from the family stories we also see Johnson's change from an observer of the race (as a reporter) to a whole hearted participant. The early part of the book was less interesting to me as I was not compelled by the questions of why some people do endurance events or even are able to survive certain circumstances while others cannot. What most interested me, was how the idea of Badwater started to obsess Johnson. The books does a good job of carrying the reader along on this transformation. At first I thought only crazy people would run the race, but by the end of the book I could understand its appeal. I'm unlikely to be running in the sauna to train for this race any time soon, but this book is a good glimpse into why someone might do something like that.

Vacay!

R and I just got back from an awesome 2 week vacation in Costa Rica. We saw lots of monkeys, we saw a hawk eat a snake that was planning to eat a frog, we saw sea turtles laying eggs and we saw a volcano. We relaxed and read books on a mountain. We swam in the ocean a little and braved walking on a windy road with crazy drivers in the rain. It was fun. Here are a few pictures -- more are on Flickr.

Books!

55. Brasyl by Ian McDonald
Meh. I felt like all the action happened at the end of this book. And also, if the action had been more throughout I would have liked it better. I am not really impressed by books/movies, etc. with the premise "reality is not real."

Books!

52. The Group by Mary McCarthy
This is the story of a group of college friends from Vassar in the 1930s. I mostly enjoyed it for the glimpses of life as an educated young woman back then, but I found it hard to get really close to the characters. A good read for the historical value, but not completely engrossing.

53. The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama by David Remnick
The title says it all! The book starts out as a biography, and then moves on to Obama's political career and progress from state Senator to US Senator to president. I haven't read Dreams of My Father, so I not seen the biography stuff put all together before and I really enjoyed that part. I actually really liked seeing the whole story laid out. I mean, I lived through the election, I remember Obama's speech at the 2004 convention, but it was interesting to take a step back and see how it all fit together. This book only got three out of five stars because it was long, and some parts dragged a little, but other parts were page turners even though I knew how it would all end up. If you are at all interested in politics or knowing more about how Obama came to be who he is and fit this particular time I recommend this book.

54. Garnethill by Denise Mina
This is the second book of Mina's I have read and I really enjoyed both. I liked this one better than the other. It is a good mystery/thriller but also very well written and with a larger message about the treatment of people with mental illness in society. If you like mysteries but also more literary fiction, I recommend this book. As a bonus it is set in Scotland. I find I prefer mysteries that take place anywhere in Great Britain over those in the US.

Books!

50 and 51. The Dead and the Gone and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
These are 2nd and 3rd books in a series that began with Life As We Knew It, which I loved. In these books a meteor crashes into the moon, pushing it off course and causing various disasters on earth. You all should know by now that I love a good apocalypse. But, I did not love these last two books. In The Dead and the Gone we go through the same time period as the first book, but in New York City. I did like a view of the end of the world from a big city stand point, but the characters were not as engaging. Also, the first book was written in a diary format which really drew the reader in and the second book was in 3rd person. The third book, though, was the worst. The characters from the first two books are brought together in a kind of contrived way and end up having to deal with things NOT going back to normal. In the third, I thought the characters were not as well fleshed out and there were many events that did not fit in with how I understood the characters so far. I would recommend reading the first book and skipping the second two.