The pat-down and bag-check

It was September 6, 2001. I was in the hell known as Heathrow Airport, hopping from line to line, passing through endless security checkpoints, desperately trying to board my flight and return to the States.

I remember passing my third security check and thinking, “this inefficient mess would never happen in the US.”

Let’s fast forward almost 2 years. I encounter security everywhere. It’s become a part of our culture and my daily life….. to enter my apt. and work buildings, museums, civil buildings, the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Library, concerts, and movies.

Sometimes they’re looking to prevent another terrorist attack, other times they’re trying to protect corporate concerns. All I know is that, for better or worse, my behavior and packing patterns have changed.

I try to avoid carrying bags. If I’m lugging cameras and other equipment around, I’ll use a carrying case with minimal pockets/zippers/strappy things. I never check luggage at the airport (learning how to stuff 2 weeks worth of clothes into a carry-on has turned into a positive thing).

I take special care choosing a travel outfit for flights. You never know when you’ll find yourself stripping in front of a mob of strangers… especially since underwire bras and shoes always set off those bloody detectors.

I hate having strangers peek repeatedly thru my private property.

The lines, the wait, the voyeurism – it’s a necessary evil. But is it really making us more secure?

Cooties

Scientists have determined that humans developed a proclivity for clothing 70,000 years ago. By studying the three types of human lice, researchers created a molecular clock to find out when lice, or cooties, evolved.

What else will they discover through the genetic study of lice?

Atomic bomb aircraft rebuilt and in DC

The newly assembled Enola Gay, the plane that dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, is going on display at the National Air & Space Museum.

I know scientists worldwide were racing to develop nuclear technology, and if we didn’t figure it out first, someone else would have. But just for a second – let’s wonder what life would be like without nuclear weapons? Would something worse have been developed?

Would we be a superpower today without the tactical policy of nuclear deterrence?

A European vacation

Most employers in DC provide 10 paid days of vacation leave per year. Some think tanks, like the Brookings Institution, start employees off with 5 paid weeks. And embassy employers follow the laws of the home country, providing employees with 6 – 8 weeks of paid leave per year.

Joe Robinson is lobbying for a national three-week minimum paid leave law. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without those three weeks off, and more often than not it’s not enough.

I traveled to Portugal with my parents last summer. My Portuguese family were appalled that I was only visiting for a week. After all, they had the entire month of August off. Why couldn’t I have taken off another week? They could not understand that had I extended my leave, I wouldn’t be able to accrue enough days to visit my family for a week at Christmas.

Joe Robinson writes in his Alternet piece:

“Vacations are being downsized by the same forces that brought us soaring work weeks: labor cutbacks, a sense of false urgency created by tech tools, fear and guilt. Managers use the climate of job insecurity to stall, cancel and abbreviate paid leave, while piling on guilt. The message, overt or implied, is that it would be a burden on the company to take all your vacation days – or any. Employees get the hint: One out of five employees say they feel guilty taking their vacation, reports Expedia’s survey.”

My time off is sacred. How many of you don’t take a vacation? Or feel guilty about taking one? Or don’t have vacation time to take off? Would you consider less pay for a more generous and flexible leave package?

The interview

Nick of What You Can Get Away With provided me with interview questions.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying “interview me.”

2. I will respond by asking you five questions – each person’s will be different.

3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

This is what Nick asked me –

1) Hollywood calls and they want to make a movie of your life. What’s on the soundtrack?

American Girl by Rick Springfield

Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel

Stripped by Depeche Mode

Vogue by Madonna

Sabotage by the Beastie Boys

Little Red Corvette by Prince

Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2

2) Who do you identify with most – Wile E. Coyote or the Road Runner?

The Road Runner

3) All the historical monuments, buildings and museums in DC are going to be demolished except one. Which one would you save?

This was by far, the most difficult question for me. My first instinct was to spare one of the monuments, The Jefferson Memorial. Then I thought of the buildings, the priceless artwork and irreplaceable volumes. What to do – save the National Cathedral but not the Folger Shakespeare Library? How does a person weigh the value of Ginevra de Benci in the National Gallery of Art with the documents stored in National Archives or Library of Congress?

In the end, I decided to save the U.S. Capitol Building. To this day, I stand in awe of the structure. I always cringe through the brief scene in Independence Day when the Capitol columns burst into tiny fragments.

I would rescue the Capitol Building with all of its history, artwork, documents, and magnificent architecture. It stands as the memorial to the ideal of government by the people for the people.

4) You can go to any place on Earth at any time in history for two weeks. Where and when do you go to?

I would travel to Florence, Italy, in 1492 and meet with Lorenzo de Medici before his death. Then I’d use the opportunity to solicit a dinner invitation from Leonardo da Vinci and laugh with the humanists over Christopher Columbus’ foolish quest to cross the Atlantic.

5) What’s the one question you wish science was able to answer definitively that it can’t already?

Where does time come from?

Love at first sight

Most of you know how I feel about reality television. Well…. one show finally got to me. Last night, I watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on NBC and today I feel an urge to finally commit to cable.

I watched the Fab Five assist the hopelessly romantic John with preparations for his big night – a marriage proposal to his Armenian love. Those guys thought of everything, even providing the Armenian translation for “I love you.”

I’ve always been fascinated by the stories of how couples met and what happened the night he (or she) proposed. So I started thinking about the couples in my life.

My grandparents are going to celebrate 57 years of marriage. Their marriage was arranged, but you’d never know it. My dad met my mother at a dance. He watched her, gathered his courage to ask for a dance, and by the time that song was over he knew she was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with (sigh).

A friend of mine dressed up as Santa and proposed to his wife on Christmas Eve in front of her entire family (no pressure there).

As for my dear cousin… a male friend of mine was over. My cousin dropped by for a visit before my flight the next morning. We all hung out for a few hours – nothing significant appeared to happen. When he leaned down to give me a hug goodbye, he whispered in my ear that he was going to become part of my family. That whole night, I hadn’t even been aware that I was witnessing something special.

So, forgive me for prying, but how did you propose? Were you nervous? Were you expecting the proposal or did it come out of left field? And how did you know you wanted to marry that person?

This one’s for Buzz

Today Buzz threw down the gauntlet – he sent everyone on a mission to “feed their head”.

New and interesting information crosses my path on a daily basis – nature of my work. But this is what I’ve come up with today.

1. Researchers are a few steps closer to defining arousal.

I learned that understanding arousal is the Holy Grail for neurobiologists. Arousal is supposed to be at the heart of all human emotions.

2. Parts of the Berlin Wall still exist

I was under the impression that tourists completely destroyed the Berlin Wall in 1990 – gone forever. Today I learned that people are making a living from dismantling and selling pieces of the wall. Hurray for capitalism!

3. Paul Sereno discovered another dinosaur species and named it “regal reptile from Narmada.”

Actually, it’s officially called Rajasaurus Narmadensis. I searched for the reason why most dinosaur names end in “-aurus,” but couldn’t find anything relevant (zilch in the dictionary). I’ll spend some time brushing up on my Latin tomorrow. (the answer is probably really obvious)

Thanks for the inspiration Buzz! Oh – and if you read this, I just wanted to let you know I haven’t forgotten about my list of famous Actors.

Stay tuned!

Music Thursday

A great tune – Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash. I’m on deadline (you’d never know it though) and writing away to my high school faves – U2, Depeche Mode and New Order.

God, I love music!

I wish I could share with you, but the lyrics will have to do.