HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes to the class of 1999 and their family and friends for a healthy and happy new year!

There is much news to catch up and the blog should be more active in the coming months. Reunion is just over 2 years away, so expect to hear more from us soon concerning planning and fundraising.

Cheers everyone!

Viviat Acemdia Vivant Professores!

Apparently the randomness of my brain locked on Smith this morning, because I started humming Gaudeamus Igitur while commuting to work. Why this most impossible, at least for me, to sing tune popped in my head I will never know, but I thought I would share it with everyone.

Some interesting Wikipedia notes:
It has been known as a beer-drinking song in German and Dutch (and also United Kingdom and even Australian) universities by many generations of students. In Belgian universities, where drinking and singing is actually a common activity for students, it is one of the 'official' songs which are sung as the opening of these singing activities. The lyrics reflect a joyful embracing of the bacchanalian mayhem of life (especially life as found in fraternities and sororities) while simultaneously retaining the grim knowledge that one day we will all die. The song contains humorous and ironic references to sex and death, and many versions have appeared following efforts to bowdlerise this song for performance in public ceremonies. In private, students will typically sing ribald words.

• The Smith College Lyrics and music are in PDF form here.
• The Full Set of Lyrics in latin and translated.
• University of Stuttgart performing. (MP3)

Not your average gift registry...

I missed this story in the NY Times, but caught it on Broadsheet and thought it would be great to pass on the class. The original Times story is here.

New York's Bowery Mission Women's Center's funding ran out during renovation before they could supply nice blankets, comfy pillows and other items that would turn the mission into a home for its 16 homless residents. To solve the problem they set up a gift registry: one at Bed, Bath & Beyond (#1718811) and one at Gracious Home (in-store only, #639).

There are still plenty of items left, if you're able and so inclined to participate in the program.

He, once a She, offers own view on science spat

I came across an interesting article recently that I thought I'd share out with all the Smithies about women in the math and sciences. Here are the first few lines of this article:

Ben Barres had just finished giving a seminar at the prestigious Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research 10 years ago, describing to scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and other top institutions his discoveries about nerve cells called glia. As the applause died down, a friend later told him, one scientist turned to another and remarked what a great seminar it had been, adding, "Ben Barres's work is much better than his sister's."

There was only one problem. Prof. Barres, then as now a professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, doesn't have a sister in science. The Barbara Barres the man remembered was Ben.

Prof. Barres is transgendered, having completed the treatments that made him fully male 10 years ago. The Whitehead talk was his first as a man, so the research he was presenting was done as Barbara.

zzzz.... huh?

Many apologies for not having updated the class blog in a while.
It looks like I've been sleeping on the job, but I promise you it's been anything but.
I'm in grad school, and the last 6 weeks have been completely insane as the end of the semester came and thankfully went. You know the drill: all-nighters, too much work and far too much caffeine.

I'm playing catch-up now... here on the blog and in my email. (And in sleep...)
Thanks for your understanding and patience....!

Women on top = a global phenomenon?

EDUCATED, successful, high-earning and confident, they are the 'Alpha' women - power women who excel in doing a man's traditional job - and who still have time to make themselves look good. You might wonder, between all the number-crunching, not to mention gym crunches, where do the men fit in? The answer may surprise some: Wimps need not apply. Unlike some counterparts who go for compliant 'yes' men, Alpha gals want guys with gumption - and are getting them.

What type of Alpha woman are you? Who's your ideal partner? For the main story, check out this Singapore Straits Times article.

What do Smithies think of Asia?

Hey ladies! As your friendly international correspondent, I thought I'd start out with an Asian multiple choice icebreaker of sorts...

Introducing our first POLL!
Extra credit if you let us know why (or where else). Vote away!

Which city in Asia would you choose to live and work in?

Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBangkok, ThailandNew Delhi, IndiaSeoul, KoreaIslamabad, PakistanTokyo, JapanSingaporeShanghai, ChinaJakarta, IndonesiaHong KongMy dream city ain't here!

To select multiple entries hold the Ctrl key (or the Apple key)

Free polls from Pollhost.com