How to Stop a Bird-Murdering Cat

Photo from The Atlantic

This month in bird news: a few weeks ago, I had a story in The Atlantic online about one way we might mitigate a serious threat to native birds: getting eaten by pet and stray cats. Ed Yong at National Geographic, as well as blogs at Smithsonian and Mental Floss, gave the piece a nod. Long-time readers, thank you so much for supporting my writing over the years.

Also, for the 30 Rock fans among us: the headline chosen for the story made me think of "The Rural Juror" episode. I think "bird murder" would have fit in well with Barbara Walter's interview with Jenna:

Notes on Conversations that Matter

This week we've seen people in the public square, notably Donald Trump, saying some poisonous things. At this point I think it would be a mistake to see him as someone who is not taking his role seriously. Instead we should interpret his lack of a filter as strategic and planned. And if the goal is to derail our efforts to talk productively about issues that matter, like the Syrian refugee situation, and draw folks toward his inscrutable brand of nationalism, he's doing pretty well.

So we need to take note of conversations which add rather than subtract. That's why I'm grateful that one of my roles this year is to write summaries of MIT's CommForum, which brings together panels of experts to have engaging and thoughtful discussions on the big issues. The first one I wrote up dealt with the legacy of Jim Crow and the future of the Black Lives Matter movement. Last week I summarized a conversation on women in politics, why we still don't have a woman president, and how likely we are to have one in 2016.

The summaries are highlight reels rather than transcripts. These are lengthy pieces (2500+ words) and, like real conversations, they have threads but not a driving plot. But you might consider skimming through them as some small antidote to the poison being dished out elsewhere in the public forum.

On NOVA Next: Stereotype Threat and Biased Testing

The good folks at NOVA Next were good enough to publish my article on a new social psychology experiment. Stereotype threat is when someone fears they are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group. It helps explain why women and ethnic minority students underperform on standardized exams that begin by asking for your sex and ethnicity. The researchers I spoke to found that stereotype threat's effect can be reversed under certain conditions, though.

Reporting on Brain Implants for Depression

from WIkimedia Commons, user Andreashorn.

Right now my classmates and I are focusing on how to write a science news article. My first go at this can be found on Scopeweb, which is our program's online publication. It involved diving into research on using deep brain stimulation, a treatment involving a small electrode implanted in the brain, to treat depression. It was fascinating to learn about an area of medical research in which doctors do not agree on where to take the research next, and I'll be interested to follow the story as it evolves. 

Nine Haiku

For your diversion, or perhaps your distraction from evening work: Phizzog Review, led by our own Hart L'Ecuyer, was good enough to publish some haiku I wrote during a haiku frenzy in our writing workshop this spring. And they're alongside (well, below) a series of cicada haikus by Matthew Rohrer, a widely published writer. Check 'em out. 

Note - both sets of haiku are non-traditional: they don't all have 5-7-5 syllable structure. Mine do only when convenient. In this I am following Robert Hass's lead. He translated hundreds of classic haiku and sought dynamic recreations in English rather than literal replications.

Truman Students Arrested at Nonviolent Protest

Photo by the LA Times. The two Truman students
are the first and third seated protesters from the right.

For this week's Truman Index, I wrote a feature on two students (one, Greg Fister, an old Prep News comrade) who were arrested during a nonviolent sit-in at the Shaw QuikTrip earlier this month.  For anyone curious about what it is like to be arrested for activism, take a look. Here's the first page (below the Halloween story) and here's the second page. In addition, here's the video referenced in the story showing the police officers using force on Greg to break the line of seated protesters. The Ferguson October events, which included this sit-in, produced a new wave of demonstrations that captured national attention. Depending on the outcome of the grand jury decision, we may soon see even more.

Three Watercolors Find a Home

Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, which published my poem about biting an apple in 2013, was kind enough to publish some recent watercolors of mine. Two are from Ireland and one is of a Monarch butterfly emerging in our backyard in St. Louis. Now to find homes for my other stray poems and paintings!

Summer Leaves

Here's the link to my first post for the blog of the vernal pool research program at University of Maine-Orono, "Of Pools and People." They're also on Facebook. It's my first foray into writing about a branch of ecology which is still very new to me: biogeochemistry, the study of fundamental environmental processes. There's a couple formatting hiccups in it that will probably be rectified soon, but I figured I might as well just link to it now, trusting in your generosity not to condemn me too badly.

The Pony Express

In poetry workshop this semester, our professor told us that the only difference between us and published poets is the "pony express." In other words, the difference is that published writers send their stuff out. It's fitting, then, that the journal in which two poems I wrote for this workshop will appear is named after the saddlebags used by Pony Express mail-carriers: the Mochila Review. (Our teacher encouraged us to submit to this journal, published by Missouri Western, without being aware of the coincidence. Kismet!) Here's the link to the PDF. My poems are on pages 35 and 61. Shout-out to two of my classmates, Lydia Frank (pp. 52 and 78) and Paula Vaught (pp. 25 and 79) , who also are in print in this issue. Here's to the pony express!

We also published the 2014 issue of Windfall, TSU's undergraduate literary magazine, this past Thursday. Let me know if you want a copy (free but limited supply) and I'll try to put one aside for you.

Unraveling Ukraine and Complicating Soccer

Militant Ukrainian protesters, which include both far-right
ideologues and moderate pragmatists. Photo:
Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times.

My last two Index columns have been a bit more political than past ones. In the first, I address the protests in Ukraine as an example of a complex news item that needs research and discussion to unravel. This piece received a very generous letter ("Response to Conor Gearin," middle-right) the next week from a Ukrainian former journalist living in Kirksville (who would have thought?) He cleared up a confusion in the way that I was understanding  the political left in Ukraine: I was using it to mean Ukrainian liberals, those wanting closer ties with the European Union and greater civil liberties, but according to him, to Ukrainians the left means communists more exclusively.

The info about the situation in Kiev is generally still accurate, but check out your favorite international news outlet for updates about what has happened over the past two days. Things are coming to a head, and nonviolent voices are getting edged out on the front lines, though according to the New York Times, nonviolent activists are still in the majority.

In the second piece (bottom of the page), a speech from Fred Gray, Rosa Park's lawyer and longtime activist, caused me to reflect on a place of both diversity and prejudice near me: pickup soccer games at the Student Rec center. Thanks for reading.

Gray Wolves and Black Coffee

The New York Times printed this memorable
image of Ukrainian protesters in Kiev.

I try to vary my columns between trends in the news and personal experience. My first column of the year considered our future with Gray wolves, which are expanding their ranges south as reintroduced populations rebound. This morning's column is one in my unofficial series, Advocacy for Unlovely Causes. The cause this time was rising early in college, which may just get me stoned to death for cultural heresy. Oh well. Next week: making sense of Ukraine from 5,000 miles away.

Index Columns: Truman and Conservation

Last Thursday, I wrote about problems with Bear Creek, the stream that runs through Truman's campus, which the EPA considers an impaired stream. Today, my column considers the benefits of creating a wildlife watching license, as other states have done, that would allow birdwatchers to pay into conservation, which is traditionally supported by hunters and fishers alone. Again, apologies for the lack of paragraph indentation or spacing on the Index website ... Also, the website's teaser for my column describes me as an "enthusiastic" birdwatcher. I don't remember providing such an adjective.

It's Not a Shame to Love a Morning Brew

Here's the link to the first of my weekly-ish columns for the Truman Index.  The web page doesn't seem to have paragraphing at the moment, so if you are on campus, just pick up a hard copy somewhere if you want to read it. This will also allow you to see the somewhat awkward juxtaposition of my silly observations about coffee culture next to a very serious, and I think well done, column on alcohol dependency ... I wasn't aware of that when I was writing my column. Oh well. I suppose you get both light and serious this way.

Eating an Apple with No Noise at All

Good news! The nice folks over at the Foliate Oak Literary Magazine published my poem in their May issue. Read it here. Check out Foliate Oak's Facebook page here.

And cue celebratory fiddle tune: