Chloe: Critic Girl/Renaissance Woman

The Independent is carrying a story about British scientists demanding that the UK lift its ban on sex selection in test tube babies.

Now, I wasn’t a test tube baby, but in the interest of a slippery slope argument, if I had been one, I wouldn’t be born. For the first two years of my life, I was dressed in blue. My mother laments the gorgeous pink dresses that were bought for me and remained in boxes with tags on. Until, as I said, I turned two. It wasn’t the terrible twos that made my father realize that having a little girl wasn’t so bad, however. My brother was born.

So, having made my full disclosure about fear of never having been born, I can’t say that I know how this development makes me feel. I have a vague idea of the order in which I’d like to have my children (I always wanted an older brother and often treat my younger ones like older ones). I am also not entirely unconvinced that I would try old-fashion rhythm method style gender selection techniques.

But IVF is so final. You have embryos and they will become boys or girls and you pick this one or that one. On its face, this doesn’t seem all that detrimental. But that, I believe, is the privileged view of a citizen of the Western world. This could be the spark needed to end Chinese females for all time (or until China realizes that sons will be no longer without mothers to bear them). Genetic testing on these embryos could lead to the sort of genetic engineering that has crippled critics with fear since WWII.

Maybe my suspicions are vague hysteria, but I do believe that with every step towards new technology, the ethics of both the proposed technology and the “next steps” if you will must be critically examined. Ultimately, we must ask: What social benefit does choosing the sex of your IVF embryo serve? I can’t see that it serves a necessary function other than giving couples their dream baby. The risks and floodgates opened may not be worth allowing Jane and Dick to choose their Bobby or Susie.

science,
genetics,
technology

So, when I first read in the BBC that we’ve invented robots with the capability of reproducing themselves, I had an immediate freak out flash forward to 2019 where the country is overrun by these near-human robots who just multiply to the point of squashing us all into oblivion. Call it Payback of the Dodo or the Dinosaur. The eternal extinction karma wheel will have finally brought our own human rapid reproduction to roost.

Then, there is a discussion of the implications of creating chimeras or animal-human hybrids.

When did life become a sci-fi novel? When did I start feeling like my childhood already fits into a historical novel?

Tags: science fiction, robots, chimera

Irregardless: Regardless. (Probably a blend of irrespective and regardless)

Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. . . it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. - Dictionary.com

In fact, this word has always driven me crazy. I don’t think anyone should ever use it.

Apparently, a fellow NPR listener agreed when she pointed out that Bill Gates used the word when he was discussing the need for training more American engineers (he did not comment on all of those who are out of jobs after tech downturns). She also pointed out that Microsoft’s own Encarta calls the word an illogical double negative.

The final kicker is that Encarta does agree with me. As such an illogical double negative, Encarta reports, it shouldn’t be used. It should in fact be forgone for the much more appropriate word: REGARDLESS.

There’s almost more than a girl can handle - public radio broadcasts from a number of stations.

I also found one station in french which I have yet to try out.

Tags: podcasting,podcast,public radio, french

In conjunction with my endeavours into French, I tried searching today for podcasts in french to work on my listening comprehension. While I do use movies for this as well, I have just about memorized Amelie and I don’t think that counts as “understanding.”

I only found one site with French podcasts and they were all out of date. I suppose I shouldn’t beg and then choose, but a girl can try. I’m relatively new to the podcasting world and so am only beginning to learn the ways to locate interesting ones - I’ve found some great law resources, as well as news and politics. But, my friends, I’m looking for French culture, history, news, politics, anything.

Additionally, I’m amassing whatever French music I can find for the same purposes. I’m virtually addicted to Carla Bruni - she is amazing. I also know that some blog I read had a whole post full of links to French music and I must hunt this down again….perhaps one of the librarians?

Update: I found the post - “French Chanson Linkfest” by Depraved Librarian. Since Finals Period is on strong, I’m going to stick to french music and will get back to films and the next of Leonardo’s Seven Senses: Dimostracione in two weeks.

tags: podcasting, french, music

Listening to Larry Lessig speak today on the future of digital copyrights and his Creative Commons projects, I was reminded how very interested I am in technology as a general field of law and as a place to take my intellectual pursuits in the future.

Of course, I have a million other things that I am interested in, but the main reason that I became interested in copyright and other intellectual property law in the first place was because of my general interest in technology and how the Internet and the digitizing of everything was affecting the up and coming generations. Yes, it was basically old school Napster and the implications for the rest of the world that got my juices flowing.

Since I have to structure the next two years of my life and figure out how I am going to make my way in the world, it is great to have a concrete area that excites me instead of just general world saving. Working in technology is something that I could see myself doing and loving until I am able to go out and save the world for considerably less money.

Of course, there are millions of people who are fascinated with this same thing - a natural side effect of a burgeoning and really rather sexy field. Who wouldn’t want to work with music, books, academia, art, and other media and be a lawyer too? (well, maybe not academia…) And of course, with a mediocre background in patents and trademarks, and nothing remotely related to the actual science or medium in any of these areas, I’m set back a bit.

But here I am: I love film; I’m a frustrated artist and fashion designer; I’m a softcore techno-geek; I’m a law student. Look out experienced, qualified geeks: Sexy law job, here I come.