Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:42 AM

FYI, I've just posted a host of announcements to bard_in_boston, if anybody's looking for something Shakespeare to occupy your time...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:15 PM

Following up to Monday's entry on tea strainers, several commenters spoke glowingly of the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker.

For anybody who's interested, I wish to point you to an entry I wrote last September, which I will copiously quote from here for the benefit of anyone else shopping for tea strainers.

The product on the far right is the ingenuiTEA by Adagio.

Beside it is an image of Teavana's Perfect Tea Maker (with the black lids and more prominent logo).

There are apparently several such products on the market, although Adagio has since redesigned their version.
[Steven Pautz compared the old and new models; Someone from Adagio confirmed “The ingenuiTEA teapot is made by a third-party that we work with. We do not have an exclusive arrangement [... but the newer model] was designed by Adagio, and is thus exclusively ours.”]

Googling around, I found a lot of devoted customers and rave reviews.

The few negative comments (and there were very few) were mostly related to the fact it's made of plastic.
[Somebody said it's too expensive to manufacture from glass, but I share this person's discomfort about where the boiling brew sits and steeps. I already switched from ceramic mugs to glass at work because they're easier to clean.]

Here are some of the other critiques I've found. I'm satisfied with the lower-tech strainer I've got, but for anyone else considering a purchase:

Steven Pautz has one of the more detailed critiques:

It's not quite as nice as their video makes it seem: wet tea leaves are sticky, and the teapot has to be washed pretty thoroughly to get them out. It also doesn't drain 100% on its own: I have to shake it a bit to get the last few drops of tea out—it only drains out about 98% of the water, and supposedly those last few drops can mess up multiple infusions. It's still far cleaner and easier than most other teapots out there, though. =) The big problem is that they don't hold up well to heavy use: mine is stained brown (which supposedly can have a significant negative effect on the tea), and the mesh filter doesn't work so well anymore (I get a small pile of "tea dust" and tiny bits of leaves in my cup fairly frequently). Despite these issues, though, it's cheaper to buy 2 or 3 IngenuiTea teapots than it would be to buy a single high-quality teapot which would last the same timeframe. (Plus those issues are pretty minor: it's not like the teapot is leaking water or anything.)

Lady Pixel:

if you drink multiple varieties of tea, and you have a particularly potent black one or one which is heavily flavored/spiced like a chai, you may want to either rinse it very well with hot water /right after/ you're done with the tea, or run it through the dishwasher before using it on another tea. It seems to hold onto the potent flavors of clove, cinnamon, etc. fairly well. A good rinsing or washing will fix this problem, however, and your milder green teas won't be affected by it. :)

Cathy SI NY:

My new pot leaks. I had 16oz of tea on the counter and floor three times already [...] not easy to clean, I can not get my hand in to remove the filter.

Brian:

I would say this thing is great, but only when it actually works. Maybe mine has a defect, but 50% of the time the mesh strainer (that which keeps the tea leaves out of your cup) floats to the top after the water is poured in. No matter how hard I press and triple check that it fits properly, half the time it floats to the top and I dump out the tea. You do the math - if you buy $20 worth of tea, you'll enjoy only $10 worth. Save your money and get something more reliable.

McAuliflower:

Regarding the IngenuiTea pot- don't leave your used loose tea in it. The tea will etch into the clear plstic and leave opaque white marks that look like you have old rice that you haven't washed off! [...] Sometimes plastic just doesn't cut it.

Meanwhile, I *am* happy with the tea strainer I've got. I've just got an occasional tropism towards shiny new things...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:25 PM

Okay, just read the Chicago Tribune article that inspired Broadsheet's piece.

Much more informative.

A few excerpts:

To get an idea of just how much remains unknown about an area that directly affects most people's lives, you need to drop in on the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.
     ...
Although social scientists have been studying women's sexuality for decades, medical science did not become interested until the advent of Viagra in the late 1990s raised the possibility that female sexual problems might be treated by medication.
     ...
The main session on Saturday morning was devoted to the topic, "What Is Sexual Desire and How Do We Know?"

Dr. Stephen Levine, a psychiatrist from Case Western Reserve University, argued that sexual desire feels a lot like sexual arousal, even though diagnostic guidelines distinguish between hypoactive sexual-desire disorder and female sexual-arousal disorder -- and researchers recruit patients suffering from one or the other for separate clinical trials of new drugs.

"Science must measure," Levine said, "so we measure how many times the patient said she had sexual thoughts or desired sex in the last four weeks. But we don't know what we're measuring."

To some members of the society, fearing that women's sexual complaints are being turned into medical illnesses for the convenience of doctors and the economic benefit of Big Pharma, that admission was a breath of fresh air.

"I think it's progress that we can spend two hours in this performance-driven society admitting that maybe we don't know what we're talking about," said Ellen Laan, a psychophysiologist from the University of Amsterdam.

Michael Sand, a sexologist who works in Germany, agreed.

"We don't understand normative, healthy sexuality well enough to make judgments about what's dysfunctional."

Since the 1960s, researchers have operated under a variation of the simple model proposed by William Masters and Virginia Johnson that says the human sexual response starts with desire, progresses through excitement or arousal and ends with orgasm. But experts argued that notion might reflect the experience of men more than women, many of whom don't see orgasm as a goal.

In recent years the field has moved toward a more complicated model based on the observation that many women go into a sexual encounter without being in the mood--perhaps they're seeking intimacy or hoping to please their partner--and may not really want sex until after they become aroused.

But it wasn't until very recently that anyone thought to test those theories by asking women.

Sand, who was awarded a prize for his innovative research, found that 57 percent of women felt a straightforward model best described their sexual experience. The 29 percent who endorsed the more complicated model were more likely to have sexual problems.

That made sense, Sand said, because Masters and Johnson recruited couples who liked sex a lot, while the more complicated model was based on the experiences of women with sexual complaints.

"We need to go back to the drawing board and come up with models that explain why some women have different sexual experiences, find out which models fit which women, so we can serve women more effectively when they have sexual concerns," Sand said.

Now, that's what I call science.

And it's a whole lot better -- and more promising -- than the way Broadsheet reported it.

I wonder which version is getting more links from the blogosphere... I should probably start searching to see who's posting misinformation that needs debunking, but I'm rather tired at the moment.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:08 PM

Salon's Broadsheet is reporting on the science of women's sexuality:

Sex scientists stumped by women
Experts conclude: "Maybe we don't know what we're talking about."

Looking for signs of life on other planets seems a simple task in comparison with sex scientists' attempt to understand the inner workings of the Venus-born species. They're stumped and admitted as much during the sixth annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.

In fairness, their mission has faced a major setback: The subject of women's sexuality was largely restricted to the social sciences until Viagra hit the market in the late '90s, sparking interest in a similar drug for women, according to the Chicago Tribune. Despite medical interest, no drugs have been approved for treating female sexual dysfunction, which scientists aren't even sure exists. Of course, the downside to women's sexual lives being promoted to the medical sphere is the risk that their sexual complaints could be be medicalized and seized upon by Big Pharma. After all, as sexologist Michael Sand told the Tribune, "We don't understand normative, healthy sexuality well enough to make judgments about what's dysfunctional."

One of the greatest mysteries -- to scientists and inexperienced Romeos alike -- is the process of female sexual arousal. According to one of the governing models, it "starts with desire, progresses through excitement or arousal and ends with orgasm." Sand received a prize for his research on female sexuality, which, unusually, factored in women's accounts of their own sexual responses. He found that 57 percent of women identified with this previous model, while 29 percent reported that they sometimes start a sexual encounter before desire even registers.

But here's the interesting -- if not surprising -- finding: Women who reported this somewhat backward approach to sex (summoning desire in midact) were also more likely to report sexual problems. "We need to go back to the drawing board and come up with models that explain why some women have different sexual experiences, find out which models fit which women, so we can serve women more effectively when they have sexual concerns," Sand said.

Other interesting news from the meeting: There's a nasal spray in development for postmenopausal women that may increase sexual desire; the antidepressant bupropion has proved to improve menopausal women's sex lives; and a study found that physically active women report better orgasms. Still, gather a cross-disciplinary group of more than 300 experts in the field of women's sexuality and the general consensus seems to be, as psychophysiologist Ellen Laan put it, "maybe we don't know what we're talking about."

In other words, not much new under the sun (at least in the popular press) since I became involved in FSD from a patients' perspective five years ago.

The letters are just more of the same:

• “female sexual dysfunction (as far as a viagra equivilant goes) was cured in I belive the 1970's with the invention of Atroglide”

  [By that logic, taping a couple popsicle sticks to the penis cures impotence.]

• “it's not their bodies or brains that are the problem, but their socialization and/or powerlessness in a relationship? Or...gasp...the (un)desirability of their partner”

  [Should all impotence sufferers also blame their partners?]

One person blames feminism, another blames the patriarchy. Neither of which are much help in achieving an orgasm now. At least one person is on the right track, questioning the role of hormones and the birth control pill, but most letters seem to be written out of ignorant prejudice.

I finally got fed up enough to respond when I saw this absolute declaration:

A creative, open minded, uninhibited woman who eats healthy and is not afraid of being assertive does not have sexual problems, I can guarantee it!

I wish I knew what kind of guarantee this guy was promising, but I decided to void it anyway.

I haven't written many letters to Salon; I hope they don't delete mine for violation of their antispam policy, because I included the URL to my dedicated FSD page.

Which, if you're interested in actual information on the subject, I recommend reading.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:45 PM

We're watching the game show Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

If this is real, then how do I become a contestant?

Because we are just acing these questions...

PS: You can test yourself with this quiz, if you're curious.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:05 PM

Earlier today, I received a spam from a “Tamerlane Natale”

“Open the mails; yet guard the treasure sure!”

And then, I suppose as a way of tricking the spam blockers, the message body included several lines from one of the Harry Potter books...

I'd say they're getting better at targeting their pitches, except I haven't the slightest interest in what they're selling.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:00 PM

Via Tom Smith,

Somebody has synched Jonathan Coulton's cover of "Baby Got Back" to the original Sir Mix-a-Lot music video.

Watch it on YouTube.

And if this piques anybody's curiousity, you can compare any of these covers with the original music video by Sir Mix-A-Lot. [Though you may need BugMeNot to bypass the age restrictions.]

And if that's not enough, I just found a lounge-lizard rendition by Richard Cheese...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:45 PM

Shamrock shakes are in season at McDonalds again...

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:25 PM

I've been wrestling with a plot bunny that bit me earlier today.

A post-war Potterverse retelling of Titus Andronicus

Right now, I'm just playing with the cast, featuring Weasleys as the Andronici, Malfoys as the Goths, and Snape as Aaron the Moor.
It all seems to fit quite neatly (with some roles doubled and others divided) except for the question of who becomes Saturnius/Minister of Magic.

Not sure whether I actually need to write this, or if the mere act of casting will be sufficient for my psyche.

Yes, I am quite aware my mind can be a terrible thing...

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:11 PM

For Hannukah, Ian got me this tea strainer I'd been asking for.

And I've been using it at work, and it works wonders. [The drip tray functions perfectly; not a drop of damp tea has leaked onto my desk.]

But this weekend, I've seen two niftier items I now covet...

⇐ First, at the Museum of Useful Things (or was it Black Ink?), I saw a Tea Stick: scoop, filter, and stirrer all-in-one.

Second (via Styledash) Adagio's Display Teas, which unfurl in hot water. ⇒

Too pricy for everyday use, but looks lovely for special occasions. And jasmine tea is already one of my staples.

Oh, a third product that's also quite cool, though not one I feel any particular urge to possess:

Teacups designed to stain artistically.

MAKE put the timelapse photos into a good overview.

I'm happy with my teacups, which are cheap and transparent glass. That makes them easier to clean and to see how steeped my brew is. And are better suited for the first two tea nifties I found.

What do you think?

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:15 PM

Rather late to work this morning.

My alarm went off on time; I thought I'd gotten up and started getting ready.

Only after I had spent a while trying to comb through a particularly tenacious snarl did I realize that I had only dreamed that I showered. My hair was still bone dry and my head was still on the pillow.

Oops.

So I only got into the shower at the time I normally was supposed to leave the house.

As a positive consequence, though, I got to hear Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac. While I've never much cared for Prairie Home Companion, Keillor's voice is marvelous for recitation of poetry and literary arcana.

And today's installment was one I'm particularly glad to have caught.

Keillor began with a brief biography of Victor Hugo, born today, then jumped back several centuries:

It was on this day in 1564 that the playwright Christopher Marlowe was baptized in Canterbury, England. We're not sure of his birthday. He was one of the most prominent playwrights of his lifetime, surpassed only by Shakespeare. When he began his career, most English plays were written in rhyming couplets, but Marlowe wrote in blank verse, without end rhymes. Other playwrights, including Shakespeare, followed his example.

He lived an exciting life. He was a child prodigy and managed to get into Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, even though he was the son of a shoemaker. His school records show that he was frequently absent from class because he was working for Queen Elizabeth's secret service. There is some evidence that he continued to work as a secret agent for the queen for the rest of his life. In the 1590s, while he was producing his plays, church officials began to accuse him of espousing atheism, a charge that could be punished by torture. On May 18, 1593, a warrant was issued for his arrest, but he died in a fight over a bar bill before the police could find him.

Conspiracy theorists have wondered about Marlowe's death for centuries, and there is a group called the Marlovians who believe that Marlowe's death was actually faked by the queen in order to protect Marlowe from the Church. They believe the queen actually whisked Marlowe away to Italy, where he continued writing plays. They also believe that Marlowe used an actor named Shakespeare as a front man to cover up his identity.

Marlovians point out that many of Shakespeare's plays deal with themes of exile and false identity.

But few Shakespeare scholars take this conspiracy theory seriously. And so Marlowe is best remembered for his play Dr. Faustus (c. 1594), about a scientist who sells his soul to the devil and conjures up Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the history of the world.

Then, for today's poem, he read that passage from Faustus.

If you have RealAudio, you should really listen to Keillor's recitation.

Though I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the authorship issue, this just made my morning drive.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.^®

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:50 PM

From the introduction to my current read, Patenting the sun: polio and the Salk vaccine

[N]ature is a canny adversary, and new dangers arise when you least expect them. When we think about the things we fear today, we often try to compare them with the terrors of the past. The fast-growing library of books on influenza, tuberculosis, leprosy, plague, syphilis, and other ailments of the past is, paradoxically, a search for comfort. What we seek is the reassurance that just as these diseases were once mysterious and incurable, and led to terrible treatment of the victims before reaching a point where they could be controlled and even forgotten, so will the scourges of the present vanish in the mists of time. The horrors of today are but part of the progress of history, we want to think, and so we look to history for reassurance that other horrors have given way to a kind of blessed tedium. In an age when AIDS, asbestos, radon, toxic waste, and a host of other biological and environmental threats cloud our consciousness, forming a dark haze of concern through which we filter all our hopes, plans, and expectations, the reminder of conquered plagues, including polio, gives us courage.

It's an intriguing analysis, though not something I've ever been conscious of doing or feeling.

In the past few years, I've read books on smallpox, malaria, scurvy, and cholera... and now this one on polio.

In large part, I'm just fascinated by human nature and in what ways daily life resembles and differs from how we live today. The medical mystery is a nifty puzzle on which to hang a tale, providing us with protagonists and a plot.* It also broadens the story by adding some science lessons.

*As Ian often says, the trick to a happy ending in history is knowing when to stop.

But I also enjoy historic nonfiction about food preparation, about theaters, scandal, true crime, and so on.

And, of course, my fictional reading tastes tend towards science fiction and fantasy, so make of it what you will.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:30 PM

Have you heard?

Jonathan Coulton whitified "Baby Got Back"

A Gilbert and Sullivan version

Mashup video: Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" crossed with "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

Mashups are incredibly impressive. Hard to believe how well songs like "Stand by me" and "Every breath you take" can go together until you see (and hear) it yourself.

Speaking of music videos, have you seen Pop! Goes My Heart from Music and Lyrics? A few parts seem too polished for a recreation 80s video, but it's close and quite catchy.
The real composer is Adam Schlesinger who's found a clever and tricky niche -- an ability to recreate musical genres. His other film music includes "That Thing You Do"

How about Barenaked Ladies' latest, which is lipsynched by Gary Brolsma (Numa Numa), eepybird (Mentos & Diet Coke) and other YouTube celebs

I'll just conclude this entry with a short video of an African Grey who's heard Numa Numa a few times too often.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:12 PM

The Oscar for live-action short film was just awarded to West Bank Story

The official site seems somewhat lagged, but you can (and should) see the trailer on YouTube.

I'm going to have to watch this one.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:10 PM

Seems to be a popular theme this week:

Senator Barack Obama on Friday:

"Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

Former President Jimmy Carter, today:

"If you go back and see what Vice President Cheney has said for the last three or four years concerning Iraq, his batting average is abysmally low. He hasn't been right on hardly anything."

In other words: while some find him initially credible, all Cheney's predictions have turned to crap.

So, is it just the Scooter Libby trial that's making him a more vulnerable target? Or is something else going on to crack his teflon shell?