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"As our understanding of death changes over time, the forms we use to mourn also change. We're all object-oriented, and we need tangible forms to express our relationship to a person no longer here. Mourning art [such as the early American mourning miniatures and objects made from the deceased's hair] responds to a deeply felt need.''
-- Robin Jaffe Frank, the Alice and Allan Kaplan Senior Associate Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Art Gallery, "In Death as in Life, a Personalized Space," The New York Times, Jan. 18, 2007.
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"[The so-called gyroball is] a useful pitch in cricket, because it makes the ball bounce in useful ways. It's useless in baseball, if there really is a gyroball, because it doesn't really do anything while it's in the air. I don't believe, as a practical matter, it's really possible. I could be wrong, but my guess is you can't really throw a gyroball in baseball in any reasonable fashion. It's a pretty tricky thing to do, to throw a ball reasonably hard with that spin."
-- Robert K. Adair, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Physics and senior research scientist in physics, about the debate over the existence of a new type of late-breaking baseball pitch posited by a Japanese physicist and baseball instructor, "Gyro or Jive?" Hartford Courant, Jan. 28, 2007.
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"I dream of one day being able to travel between hospitals in the United States and India and being able to write prescriptions for the same medications (and deliver the same standard of medical care) without thinking twice. But today's grim reality is one of double standards, in which the lives of Indians and Africans are worth less than those of people in western countries. In the current international calculus of human health, life and death are primarily a function of patents and profits."
-- Ramnath Subbaraman, student at the School of Medicine, in his article, "Generic Drugs and the Fate of the Global AIDS Response," The Hindu (India), Jan. 29, 2007.
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"[Athletes in Cuba's government-run sports academies are] treated like little professionals. There's no spontaneity and very little joy. It's like a little boot camp."
-- Roberto González Echevarría, Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literature, "Martinez Seized Chance To Flourish; After Leaving Cuba, Opportunity Arose for Northeastern Guard," USA Today, Jan. 31, 2007.
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''How much you can fit in a bag depends on how well you pack it. In the same way, our expertise in 'packaging' faces means that we can remember more of them.''
-- Kim Curby, postdoctoral fellow at the Child Study Center, on a study showing that people can remember more faces than other objects because of how they are stored in the short-term memory, "Check Up," Herald Sun (Australia), Jan. 31, 2007.
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"Musical exoticism reached its apogee in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, not coincidentally when colonialism was also at its peak; European composers produced countless instrumental and vocal pieces that vividly evoked various non-European peoples. ... On stage, non-European characters took many forms -- they could be ruthless villains, innocent victims or alluring seductresses -- but they usually stood out in their sheer otherness. Some of these characterizations now seem racist, but surprisingly often the audience was meant to sympathize with 'exotic' characters rather than their Western counterparts; for example, the heroine of 'Madama Butterfly' is a Japanese woman seduced and abandoned by a callous American naval officer."
-- Richard F. Boursy, archivist librarian at the Music Library, in his article, "Music Marches to Globalization's Drum," Daily Times (Pakistan), Jan. 21, 2007.
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"American conservatives used to know that a republic depends less on armies than on citizens' readiness to extend trust to one another at work, in the marketplace, and in cultural and public affairs. That means cultivating democratic habits of the heart through the stories we tell our children, the coming-of-age experiences we give them, and the ways we treat one another. It's not terrorists who are subverting our own democratic habits of the heart but a casino economy of relentless consumer marketing and employment insecurity that conservatives have championed."
-- James Sleeper, lecturer in political science, in his article, "The Peril in Trusting Us," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 21, 2007.
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"I'd much rather we'd get our values in order before government starts messing around in the parenting arena. If we can't convince people that children are the greatest treasure they'll ever own, it won't happen by government regulation."
-- Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of psychiatry and of nursing, and clinical instructor at the Child Study Center, noting that a proposed law to ban spanking (which he condemns) is less important than boosting government funding for programs to improve children's lives, "Who's in Charge? California Legislator Wants To Ban Spanking, but Many Don't Want Government Oversight of Their Parenting," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 31, 2007.
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"I did whatever I was asked to do and then I did whatever I pleased. And I got more honors for doing what I pleased than what I was asked to do. Because what I was asked to do was women's work."
-- Dorrit Hoffleit, retired senior research associate in astronomy, on her nearly 70-year career in astronomy, "Astronomer, 99, Still Shoots for Stars," Boston Globe, Jan. 29, 2007.
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"The way people are making politically overt claims on the government [of Guinea] is qualitatively new and different. This has never happened in the last 49 years. Guinea has crossed a threshold. ... They're saying, 'We want to get to the root of the problem, which is bad governance and corruption.'"
-- Mike McGovern, assistant professor of anthropology, "Tired of Getting Kicked: Guinea Has Avoided Catastrophic Wars Yet Resembles a Country Emerging from One. Guineans Say It Doesn't Have To Be This Way," Montreal Gazette, Jan. 30, 2007.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Faculty committee proposes changes to tenure policies
Yale to consider feasibility of adding two residential colleges
New Yale chaplain will aim to engage people of all faiths
Student finds unforgettable world in ocean's searing depths
Yale biologists 'trick' viruses into extinction
Yale scientists design a molecule that mimics the structure . . .
Kazakhstan's ambassador to the U.S. and Canada will discuss . . .
Discoveries from Yale Ob/Gyn
First-degree fetal heart block may be reversible with early treatment
3-D ultrasound identifies women at risk for impending preterm birth
Pregnancy at age 40 and over closely linked to likelihood of stillbirth
Advanced proteomic technology more accurately predicts prematurity
Event celebrates renowned poet W.H. Auden
Week-long series of events designed to raise awareness about Islam
Rebellious Lawyering Conference to explore progressive approaches . . .
IN MEMORIAM
William A. Chupka, played leading role in the development of . . .
Dr. Aaron Lerner, founding chair of the dermatology department . . .
Nelson Polsby, former president of the University Council
U.S.-China Forum to focus on the global marketplace
Recital will feature the winners of undergraduate music competition
Collection of Musical Instruments concert series to feature . . .
Campus Notes
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