This Is Beautiful: Working From Home

 Stayed home all last week because I didn't have a reason to go in and also I didn't want to haha. It's nice to give myself a bit of a break and just focus on what I need to do from the comfort of my own home. I don't remember the last time I just sat down in the middle of the day and read for instance. It was a nice break and I'm almost (not completely) glad to be going back into work this week. 

“Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Justice System” by Alec Karakatsanis

This was a book that I happened to get for free from my student union. I mostly picked it up because, hey free book. I’ll almost never turn that down.

The book consists of three different essays, all looking at criminal justice and constitutional rights. They vary wildly in length and format, but there are several themes that they have in common. One is that a disregard for human rights is the norm in criminal justice, especially if you are poor or a person of color. And another is that lawyers get used to the harm that they perpetuate with their job.

This was an interesting look at how criminal justice working in the United States. Karakatsanis clearly knows what he is talking about, as every fact and figure (and there are a lot of them) is cited and quantified. The figures themselves are so stark that it really opens your eyes and makes you question just what is going on here. How does the US hold a quarter of the world’s incarcerated people? How on earth did that happen?

Unsurprisingly it is a very relevant read at times. There is a whole section dedicated to so called “progressive prosecutors” such as Kamala Harris (who just lost her bid for president). The book was published ten years ago, its amazing that these same names keep popping up. Just goes to show that not much has changed.

I would highly recommend this, especially to others that are not familiar with the criminal justice system broadly. It really makes it clear just how far we have to go in this country and fires you up to make that change and get us there.

This Is Beautiful: Teaching

 Gave two lectures this week, the first one focused on Jacques Monod and how he was a scientist that played a big part in the French Resistance, and another talked about the complicity of scientists in things like eugenics. I am going to keep this up, and I'm interested to see what impact this has on the students, but I am not sure yet. There is a fine line I'm trying to walk here, and while I am not personally worried about my job security right now, I would love to not get fired from a part time lecturing gig lol. Regardless, this is keeping me going because I feel like I am actually making a difference here, this is the class that I wanted when I was in school back in 2016.

Gestures Vaguely At Current Situation

 Not sure what I can write at this exact moment, but it feels wrong to not try when that's why this blog exists. Partially I am hesitant because I do not think that I have all of the answers here, and I do not think that anyone does right now. We will just need to give some of this time to figure out exactly what to do, how we got here, and where to go now.

Which isn't to say that there are no answers whatsoever. The Democrats absolutely let their base down by swinging to the right. Standing with Israel means that Kamala had absolutely no chance of getting Michigan at all. I am more convinced than ever that there will never be a female president within my lifetime, let alone a Black, South Asian woman. I am still amazed that people were surprised by this when I could have guessed this the day she announced she was running. Hate comes in both blue and red.

There are some good things. Many states codified abortion, and the first trans Congresswoman was elected. It feels really minimal though when we are absolutely about to lose rights and progress. Personally I'm already exhausted and depressed. I was already doing the work, and I will keep doing it, but I'm so annoyed at having more stuff put on my plate. And I know my energy will come back, but it feels like so much whenever I think of the next four years and what we will have to endure. Because people absolutely will not survive this. That is a fact. And that depresses me in advance.

There are a number of things I'm really hopeful about. This time around I'm a teacher and I will be giving my students the tools to get through this. I've been thinking a lot about the art that got me through the first Trump presidency, and how we can possibly make more of it in these times. There is still good in this world, and it is absolutely worth fighting for.

This Is Beautiful: Traveling

 I'm trying to stay positive about this, I'm at a conference this week. Of course I'm also losing it over the election, but I'm trying to enjoy the change of scenery and all that. It's nice to explore somewhere new, I'll probably write about it soon, and just take an excuse to have a bit of a break!

“Circe” by Madeline Miller

I had been meaning to pick this book up at some point, finally got around to it when I picked it up on a whim from my library. It was a really cool and interesting read, despite my fascination with Percy Jackson I am not the biggest buff of Greek mythology anymore and this was riveting.

Circe follows the story of the titular witch throughout her life, starting with her being born as a nymph to the sun Tital Helios. She is overlooked by her family and actively bullied, until she discovers these plants that have magical powers to transform individuals. She first uses it to transform a man she likes into a god, and then when he favors a different nymph, she transforms her rival into the monster Scylla. After that she turns herself in and is banished to an island. While there, she comes into her own as a witch and bends the island to her will.

The first time she leaves the island she is bidden to help her sister give birth. Daedalus comes to fetch her and they return together. There her sister gives birth to the Minotaur and Circe is able to meet the characters from the myth. She advises Daedalus on how to constrain the monster, and he gifts her a loom.

Then men start coming to her island. She welcomes the first group, but when they learn she’s alone the captain rapes her and she turns them all into pigs. She does this to all crews that come by, until she meets Odysseus. He convinces her to return his crew and they stay on the island for a while. Eventually though, he has to leave, and Circe bears a son as soon as he goes. Eventually, her son wants to leave and meet his father so she sends him off with a poisonous spear for protection. When he returns though, tragedy has struck and Odysseus poisoned himself when trying to grab the spear. He returns with Odysseus’ wife and original son, who stay and get to know Circe. Athena then returns to the island and offers Odysseus’ first son the chance to become a king, he refuses. Circe’s son takes his place. Circe then convinces her father to end her exile and she travels around with Odysseus’ son trying to right her wrongs. The book ends with her taking those original flowers and becoming mortal.

Now the book is a really cool read, it combines a bunch of myths together that Circe witnesses or plays a role in. Because in the original stories, she is only in the Odyssey and even then most of her motives and personality is shadowed. We don’t know why she turns men into pigs, or why she eventually helps Odysseus get home. There are many more beyond the ones I mentioned here, Media and Jason make an appearance, among others. The result is an incredible weaving together of stories, linked by Circe’s life and perspective.

Circe is a very sympathetic character here, we see her bullied throughout her life and we hear her scorn the Titans and the gods alike. When she comes into her power and starts turning men into pigs, you end up cheering her on. Having said that, she is always sympathetic to mortals and is one of the few immortals to actually morn them, so we are predisposed to like her.

My only gripe is with the ending. I do love that it comes full circle and she uses her first source of magic to become mortal, that’s all very nice. But it also says that she then marries Odysseus’ first son and they have kids together and just. Ewww? Like she gave birth to his brother, I know that these myths play fast and loose with all that but the book also very much uses modern morals throughout it. And that is just a little too much for me.

It was a fun read, makes me want to read The Song of Achilles by Miller as well. Hopefully I get around to it eventually!

This Is Beautiful: Post-Move

 So my lab recently moved to a new space. It's been pretty annoying, I first cancelled all experiments in order to put shit into boxes, and then cancelled this week in order to unpack and also find things again. But it's finally starting to clear up and feel nice. The space is a lot bigger, has more windows, and I think will be pretty nice to work in. Best of all is that it has parking! I've been dreading work for a while because I didn't want to deal with the move, but after today I think it'll actually be nice for things to go back to normal.