Wait...there's Catholic Social Teaching?

Recently Glenn Beck told his radio listeners to "run away" from priests who preach social justice and to "ask your bishop if he's down with this whole social justice thing."

*Facepalm* Of course your bishop is "down with it." So was every Pope of the last century. Idiotic statements like this make me mad, and are why I don't readily "admit" I lean to the political right.

Thank goodness Stephen Colbert and a Jesuit priest can set the record straight. "Maybe Glenn could be the next Pope, since he's already comfortable with telling Catholics what to do."

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Glenn Beck Attacks Social Justice - James Martin
www.colbertnation.com
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My very first conference

So before I went to grad school I had no idea conferences were such a big deal. They are sort of a cross between a nerd convention and research show-and-tell. The museum where I study has hosted several this year, so I've gotten to attend a few talks and see how things work.

Then this weekend I got to be on stage myself presenting my very first conference paper! (That sounds like a playset Fischer Price should sell, along with my very first thesis defense.) The Susman Conference at Rutgers is for graduate student research only, so it was a good place to start. It was encouraging to know the other presenters were people like me, who had also thrown together PowerPoints and final drafts the night before.

My paper was about a wax memorial picture from 1800 dedicated to George Washington. I wrote 3 papers on it last semester, so I had more than enough material for 20 minutes worth of talking/reading. Deciding what not to mention was a good exercise - let's be serious, no one but my professor would be clamoring to know about the invention of paraffin. Reading to an audience was also good - I realized I said "identity" and "patriotic" way too many times.

Even though my topic was a little obscure, people seemed to like it! That was the best part; having Rutgers faculty tell me that they found it interesting. My last minute PowerPoint was a hit too, again proving my faith in abundant illustrations.

Another cool part of the conference was hearing what other people were researching. Some were right up my alley: tourism and urban planning in 1950's New York City, dance as a way of understanding American social history. Others were completely new to me: medieval sermons, the role of androgyny in colonial India.

There was even another material culture paper of sorts: a gloriously fun look at the evolution of Mattel's Classically themed collector Barbies. Apparently early "Grecian Goddess" Barbie was schlock, but now Athena Barbie comes with armor and killer boots. I got really excited when the speaker brought American Girl Dolls into the discussion. Then I laughed at the people who got too academic and tried to relate Athena Barbie to Iraq. Puh-lease.

LoL

Omigosh you guys, British decorative arts history is now available at Target! Earlier this week a couple of us grad students ran over there at lunchtime to geek out over the Liberty of London line. Arthur Liberty's department store attracted members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and later formed partnerships with Art Nouveau artists. The early store was especially known for its printed fabrics . When I was in London I visited the store near Oxford Circus, a fabulous 1924 Tudor revival building. Sadly, I could not afford the luxury accessories inside.
But I could afford the $5 pink floral coffee mug I bought on Thursday! Its bright colors make me smile and look forward to spring.

A star spangled hunk of patriotic kitsch

That's right, it's George Washington vs. Bengal Tiger... in a hurricane. This is pretty much made of win.

Interview Weekend!

I'm in the middle of admissions "interview weekend" for my grad program, which is a surreal combination of sorority rush, The Apprentice, and nerdapalooza. It's fun too, though, since we students get all the excitement of hosting and none of the dirty work of making tough decisions. If any candidates have stalked me and found this blog, we're glad you're here - don't be afraid to ask us anything at all.

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since I was one of the candidates nervously awaiting my turn before the panel. Talking to the candidates, I was amazed at how much dec arts geekiness came out of my mouth, something I would have never thought possible. Looks like I have drunk the kool aid - that was poured from a three-part mold aquamarine blown glass decanter into a Japanese Imari pattern porcelain teacup. Or something like that.

History in Movies: The Crucible

(I found this nearly finished in my drafts and decided it was worth posting after all. I've kept the original date.)

What makes you think she's a witch?
She turned me into a newt!
A newt?
Well, I got better.

This weekend The Beau and I watched the 1996 film of The Crucible, since we had both somehow skipped it in our high school education. I have to admit, I don't think we really missed out. All I learned from the experience is that
a) Puritanism is one messed up religion.
b) Teenage girls can be cruel, vindictive, and prone to hysterics.
c) Paul Scofield is a great actor with awesome diction.
d) Movies with creepy music and lots of people screaming freak me out.

All of which I managed to learn in high school anyway so there.
Thanks to my graduate studies I can also attest that the chairs and ceramic jugs were reasonably accurate. 

Luckily, some professional reviews confirmed my suspicions that this film has too much yelling, not enough nuance.
Roger Ebert says: The story has all the right moves and all the correct attitudes, but there is something lacking at its core; I think it needs less frenzy and more human nature... The characters I believed in most were Elizabeth Proctor, the Rev. Hale, and Judge Danforth. As written and acted, they seem like plausible people doing their best in an impossible situation. Too many of the others seem like fictional puppets. The village girls in general (and Abigail Williams in particular) don't even seem to belong to the 17th century; as they scurry hysterically around the village, they act like they've seen too many movies.

Another review agrees: The actors, with four exceptions, spend their time shrieking and spitting at the camera. Ryder comes off the worst: she looks the part, but whenever she opens her mouth, it's over.

I seriously had trouble falling asleep after what was supposed to be a fun movie night. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so emotionally involved, with Salem Witch Trials joining the Donner Party on my list of "tragedies of American history that make me cry."

Conspiracy theories contain the word "piracy"

So I'm at a table in the library, as usual, and just made a crazy discovery. At the DeWitt Wallace Museum in my beloved Williamsburg, there is a gallery displaying the Blagojevich Collection of Furniture. Any relation to the disgraced former governor of Illinois? Wikipedia says no, but I think Michael Moore could think up some way to connect the two.

I've walked through the Blagojevich galleries a couple times, but I think I need to go back. That furniture looks pretty great.