+++++
Ing, it’s just that to the degree you talk smack about the President, I will push back. You might well go out and vote as rationally as possible, but if you’re demoralizing others in the meantime, it’s no good as far as I’m concerned. It’s plausible that by fighting about it here occasionally, we’ve brought about more clarity for others than there would have been if you’d not complained; I’m not sure about this; but I am sure that if you’d complained and I & others had not fought about it, that would have been a net loss.
See, you do science, it’s just work in, results out. Be an IDiot, though, and you’re not really getting a damned thing, but you’ve got eternal hope, the thought that you’re going to overthrow a paradigm, and you’ll be vindicated in any number of ways.
Damned hard to fight against that, especially when more or less routine results are all that science promises 99%+ of the time. Can’t quite call ID Vegas (they don’t know how to have a good time, generally), just a long campaign against “evil” and almost tasting victory over the people who laughed at the IDiots.
Sue Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, AUF ULM, Senior.
I’m almost done crocheting presents for christmas, but I can’t figure out what to make my grandfather. I’ve been looking at patterns for an hour now and I haven’t found anything I think he’ll like. Does anyone have any suggestions?
“I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion.”
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
OK
So this is Thread Bankrupt!
I don’t know what y’all are on about!
but
I’m done.
The files are uptodate, the emails are sent:
I’m ready to go and spend a week yelling at my Mother.
(Mom is mostly deaf, there is always YELLING)
(I do NOT get to have coffee with my oldest friend because xe is dead)
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
StarStuff
make a fancy, personal cylinder.
Gramps can put it on a cold or hot beverage.
razzlefrogsays
I almost got up from my computer to go weep in a corner after hearing that no monkey would fall for posthumous rewards…
That reminds me of this Swedish guy dating a Javanese woman. Her family would only accept the relationship (marriage) if he converted to Islam in accordance with religious law (Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, while Muslim men can marry Christian or Jewish women).
He was fine with that, but then they also demanded that he get circumcised. He found a typically Indonesian solution: he just bribed the (whatever you call the Islamic mohel) to issue him a circumcision certificate, and her family was happy!
I found a pattern for an octopus finger puppet that’s really cute, but I don’t think it’d make a good gift for my grandfather.
consciousness razorsays
The Newt continues:
And I think if you believe in historic Christianity, you have to confront the fact. And, frank — for that matter, if you believe in the historic version of Islam or the historic version of Judaism, you have to confront the reality that these secular extremists are determined to impose on you acceptance of a series of values that are antithetical, they’re the opposite, of what you’re taught in Sunday school.
Someone give that man a hair shirt.
consciousness razorsays
But you know, I was a Real Christian. I didn’t attend this “Sunday School” bullshit. I went to a Catholic school every day of the week and on Sunday I also went to a real service. Posers.
Anyway, yes, I want the opposite of all of that, which happens to be the opposite of imposing the acceptance of values.
You could check this on Pffft: Linky. But I was watching the program in Shekou, which is in Guandong Province. No censorship that I could notice. Perhaps the leopard is changing its spots?
(Just checking, did you look at Lease North Korea? (I was interested in your take on such an idea.))
@ StarStuff!
If you can crochet with string, what about a set of oven gloves? Pix.
@ ॐ (sgbm)
I think it (ie:gay and secular movement[s]) is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion.
I seem to have found a dating side for victims of arranged marriage. Spoken to 2 women there, from different countries, and both had arranged marriages (rapidly followed by pregnancies) in their teens or early twenties, and are just now trying to move on.
Quite intriguing. Got to love the internet.
(Just checking, did you look at Lease North Korea? (I was interested in your take on such an idea.))
You’re serious?
Unfortunately, Kim Jong-un, like his father, is not sufficiently magical, so I don’t think he will be able to do that. Now if we were talking about the Queen*, that would be another story.
*Which we are not doing.
janinesays
We have to see the chimp playing hockey! That’s hilarious! The ice is so slippery, and, and monkeys are all irrational. We have to see this.
Very serious. It is the only option (well, I hope it becomes an option) that provides a winning solution for all parties involved. The Fat One ™ might even come out of this alive.
“Hey, don’t fuck me on teh details!” … :-)
consciousness razorsays
Very serious. It is the only option (well, I hope it becomes an option) that provides a winning solution for all parties involved.
I don’t think all parties in North Korea would benefit from it. The Chinese government would perhaps, in some ways, be a slight improvement, but that’s probably as optimistic I could be about it.
I don’t think it is very realistic, even the North Koreans are fiercely protective about their Korean identity and nationhood.
BTW, you do know that the Korean nation is split in three? There is an autonomous Korean region just across the border from North Korea (Yanbian),*) which used to be part of Kogyureo. Chinese control of any more Korean territory would just be inconceivable.
*) this came in handy one time when I was taking a Korean course in Seoul, with a bunch of Japanese housewives and OLs (you know the Korean wave (hanliu), apparently sweeping China too), and the housekeeper in the dorm was trying to tell us something. Turns out that many ethnic Koreans from Yanbian come out to Seoul for work, and once I understood that I was able to resolve the situation by talking to her in Chinese and explaining the problem to my Japanese classmates in Japanese.
I don’t think all parties in North Korea would benefit from it.
Well, the North Korean people would certainly benefit from it. That should be our primary goal. But how to incentivise that outcome?
Their country is currently hopelessly broken. No one in North Korea can fix it for the foreseeable future. Nor do they even have the means. There is too much bad blood between North and South for immediate reunification.
Perhaps you think it smacks to much of colonialism? On the other hand the lease system has worked very well in Macau and especially Hong Kong (in spite of some arguments to the contrary … hey, consider the alternatives under Mao).
Player by player:
People of North Korea: Food, clean water, infrastructure, Confucius Institutes, freedom (within an organised framework), hope, a future…. (the list is populated by every positive human attribute you can imagine. The current situation is a living hell.)
Generals of North Korea: Their own luxury compound (gated) on Hainan Island with an endless supply of Hennessey.
China: Huge impulse to economy through infrastructure, agriculture, mining, etc projects (which all devolve to Korea at end of lease.) Security from nuclear madmen at doorstep. Feel-good factor at undoing a huge blot on humanity. China is the only country big enough,wealthy enough and organised enough to pull this off. They are keeping the country from collapse as you read this. They are also the only country remotely able to disarm the NK army.
South Korea: Removal of threat hanging over their heads 24/7. Unification faster than expected AND to a working country (alternatively gaining a civilised neighbour if the NK people decide otherwise.)
Japan (former colonial power)/US/other interested parties: Removal of raving mad nuclear threat. Investment opportunities. … obviously I could go on …
I cannot actually think of anyone in the equation who cannot be accomodated fairly simply. All will gain huge benefits.
Man! Am I ever Thread Bankrupt! Not that I’m conceited enough to think any of you remember me from a stray cat. It’s been quite a since I’ve posted here (trifecta of annoying and scary health episodes). Just thought I’d drop in and day “Hello” to all of you.
I’ll try to keep more in touch since I’ve got more time now. Hope all are doing well.
Favor to ask ( Can’t brain…has the dumb). How do I get that hideous pink think off and add a gravatar?
Stay in bed, send minions of for hot lemon and honey, plonk cats around you for extra gemütlichkeit and enjoy TET. (Reinforcements will arrive shortly as the horde go on line.)
@ NovaC
Welcome back. For gravatar I would suggest loading a picture to gravatar (Link) and logging in via wordpress (they have FTB/Scienceblog only registration too, IIRC).
If you want a special shape (I am round) you need to use .PNG format. If you want to mess around with a simple graphics program, try GIMP (Link) – it is free.
Illuminata, prev. thread: Just ask the bride to omit tossing the bouquet as there’s no competition. She can just casually leave it on the head table. It’s not mandatory.
If she insists, call in some strangers from the street to catch it.
Argh… I want to write my book but I’m at work and I can’t put thumb-drives into the computer and besides I can’t do outside work on the company dollar argh! *pout*
Cannabinaceaesays
Anybody who can’t “roll” their Rs (in the front of the mouth rather than the guttural style) may be able to teach themselves by repeating the nonce-word “totterday” over and over.
I can’t see how. The American flap isn’t a trill and doesn’t sound much like one. “Now witness the power of this fully armed and opedational battle station” was an epic fail.
Ah, you are using the wrong organ. Instead of your see-er, you need to use your talk-er. Did you try it? You may have to say it over and over, in kind of a lazy way. The tongue rolling effect comes just after, or maybe it’s more during, the “tt” and before the “r”, of “totterday”. W.U. couldn’t roll her Rs, but can when she uses this trick. She doesn’t really care, and generally has no need to.
Ouch I had a twinge of worry and now I’m flustered.
I want to write a series of posts on my blog describing and giving a short biography of the main characters in my first novel I’m working on (maybe even some minor characters.) As I was typing something up I thought “of crap, what if my family finds it.” The names of my characters and my story all are something I told them, so it’s not as if I can deny, but at the same time I don’t want them to find the blog cause it clearly describes my gender problems.
*I hate this… how worry becomes panic becomes anxiety becomes fear.
Loudsays
@Katherine
It’s not ideal, but could you change the names, so that you can still write about them? Or do they know enough about the characters that it would still be obvious?
*hugs*
I wish I knew what advice to give you that would work for you. I tend to be more of a “fuck it and let it ride” type of person.
Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottlesays
You know, I normally laugh at all the religious ads that run on freethought blogs, but the Forced Birth Misogyny Brigade ones are well beyond the pale. Fuck content-generated advertisizing.
Beatrice, anormalement indécentesays
So, it seems like I won’t be payed for November until next year. Because the contract my boss sent them is apparently lost somewhere in some department. But they’ll probably find it.
*deep breath*
Better now.
Katherine,
I wanted to tell you something along the lines of “what are the chances…”, but then again, you never know. Maybe if you change the names it really wouldn’t be very likely for your family to find it.
In absence of anything better, a *hug* if you want it and some *hot chocolate*.
I made a WordPress blog… aaaand I’ll extend it to more about the geography, history, science, legends, and other sort of stuff like that besides only character bios.
Well, usually when we are asked to Pharyngulate a poll, the answer is rather obvious. It was a little tough for me — I like facial hair (have some myself) but the mustachios are a little cheesy. I voted ‘keep it.’
Good boy.
I knew you could figure it out on your own.
Silisays
Markita Lynda
For a look at the sad state of North Korea, take a look at these night-time images of North and South.
What are you on about?!
This just show the Glorious Peoples Republic of Korea care so much for her citizens, unlike the decadent West, that she ensures that everyone has a free and unobstructed view of the night sky devoid of light pollution!
birgerjohanssonsays
Markita Lynda @ 56
Oops, didn’t see that you already had made that point!
— — — — — — — —
” the religious ads that run on freethought blogs”
-Use the “Black Ice” software in “Neuromancer” and send it to the ad origins.
If nothing else, this will do that, since I’ve so clearly defined so many things about my world straight down to geographic terms (ie, Nier Numaquaya – the biggest mountain in Cathemega – is a little over 5200 feet.) I’ve got culture, festivals, histories, all that kind of stuff all up here in my headand I plan to put a great amount of it down – maybe in the future write a kind of Atlas sort of thing.
I think it is very cool that I can be goin’ down the road on a bus and be on the interwebs, too.
cicely, Disturber of the Peassays
Take care of yourself, Giliell.
–
Hi, NovaC. “Annoying and scary health episodes” sounds all too nastily familiar; hope things are looking up for you.
–
Katherine Lorraine: Deep breaths. Think of kittens. Tiny little fluffy kittens, wobbling around on their too-big paws, stubby little tails pointing straight up, taking the occasional swat at each other, losing their balance, tumbling, mewsqueaking….
Better?
–
Sounds like it will be right up my alley! Looking forward to it!
hotshoesays
And no need to Paint it Black either I guess.
Ahh, that’s an old memory suddenly resurrected. I remember my step-brother Felipe teaching himself that song when it first came out … 45 years ago. I loved it.
Ing, it’s just that to the degree you talk smack about the President, I will push back. You might well go out and vote as rationally as possible, but if you’re demoralizing others in the meantime, it’s no good as far as I’m concerned. It’s plausible that by fighting about it here occasionally, we’ve brought about more clarity for others than there would have been if you’d not complained; I’m not sure about this; but I am sure that if you’d complained and I & others had not fought about it, that would have been a net loss.
I’m truly sorry I hurt their faith.
See unlike you apparently, I trust that on TET I’m talking to at least semi-reasonable adults who can understand nuance and don’t have to be babyed and be corralled like good sheep. It’s offensive and absurdly arrogant that you presume people can’t bitch about the legit horrible points of the president and vote well.
What should be obvious, Ing, is that I want Obama to win this election and I will argue against anything that I think might hurt his chances. I would seriously consider voting for Ming the Merciless if he ran as a Democrat.
So much for that granular voting then. Wouldn’t Perry be an obvious step up from Ming? Oh wait yeah, Democrat…we make excuses for their evil actions to protect us from the evil actions of the enemy.
Great, I basically spent the entire day sick in bed too…
Anyhoo, SQB,
I misinterpreted what my comparative Germanic grammar had to say about Dutch adjective inflection. It was sing.indef.neut. which was the exception, not sing.indef.common. Apologies
I’ve amended it:
indefinite:
een mooi boek (neuter) “a nice book”
een mooie pen (common gender) “a nice pen”
so how can the Republicans possibly think that rejecting an extension of the payroll tax is a winning strategy for 2012?
They are setting themselves up to be able to say that Democrats only wanted to extend the payroll tax reductions for two months, while they, the Republicans wanted to extend it for a year.
They are counting on the ignorance of Faux News viewers to get the general population to buy this lie.
Rather than have a straight up-or-down vote, the House implemented a procedural maneuver in which it “rejected” the Senate bill while requesting to go to conference with members of that chamber in a single measure, protecting House members from having to actually cast a politically unpopular vote against extending a payroll tax cut.
That’s an excerpt from an article in the New York Times. Link.
Republicans said the two-month extensions provided by the Senate bill left too much uncertainty at a time of deep economic vulnerability and would leave Congress facing the same thorny issues early in the new year. They said it was a deeply inadequate half-measure that represented the old ways of Congress.
House Republicans structured the vote Tuesday to avoid being seen as voting directly against a tax cut.
Thank you. One was taken care of by a series of treatments that are a necessary evil with my given condition. The other is now a game of “hurry up and wait” for the biopsy results.
Hope you’re on the swift road to mending if you aren’t already there!
Now Ing, I don’t know why you think you can ask me not to be an asshole to you and then turn around and talk to me like this.
See unlike you apparently, I trust that on TET I’m talking to at least semi-reasonable adults who can understand nuance and don’t have to be babyed and be corralled like good sheep. It’s offensive and absurdly arrogant that you presume people can’t bitch about the legit horrible points of the president and vote well.
Unlike you, I know for a fact that some people here on TET have voted Green when they were reasonable adults, I know that I voted Libertarian and later SWP when I was a reasonable adult, I know that people like StarStuff who are reasonable adults will nevertheless defend irrational actions — as when everyone here thought you were saying you weren’t going to vote Democratic, and StarStuff defended you for it — and
I expect that people here do not have to be coddled, like you’re doing, by insinuating that they are immune to cognitive biases and immune to irrational behaviors, as though we all naturally behave rationally even without debate and vicious argument first.
So much for that granular voting then. Wouldn’t Perry be an obvious step up from Ming?
No, it’s not obvious. It largely depends on whether Ming the Merciless would have a strongly liberal Democratic congress to keep him in check or whether he’d have a lot of warmongering Republicans to make deals with, as well as who’s sitting on the Supreme Court at the time and what their demonstrated opinions on the extent of executive power are. I would certainly be more wary of Ming while Roberts, Scalia and Thomas sit on the court, less so if they were replaced by more liberal judges.
That’s why I said I’d seriously consider it, not that I’d absolutely vote for Ming without any other considerations. Granular.
Oh wait yeah, Democrat…we make excuses for their evil actions to protect us from the evil actions of the enemy.
Umm, but we don’t have a liberal Democratic congress. We have a Conservative Democratic congress who has time and again failed to live up to the standards of the Constitution.
I intend to vote for Obama, but I still think he’s undeserving of my vote. It’s merely that voting against him – whether for a third party candidate or not voting at all – would result in an even worse presidency. It’s just that the gap between the two evils is much, much slimmer than it should be.
I don’t enjoy going to the ballot and cringing when I make my vote.
Not that I’m conceited enough to think any of you remember me from a stray cat.
I remember you, Nova. Welcome back!
I just found out I’m getting a quarter for Xmess. Yay!
Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottlesays
vote well
Which is an impossibility. There are no good choices. There’s a Moderate Republican, which is was passes for “democrat” nowadays, and . . . . you know, I can’t think of a way to describe the field of wingnut Teahadists without ableist slurs . . . I need to build up my vocabulary.
What constitutes voting “well”? Likely, we’ll do what we always have to do, vote for the marginally less useless politician because he’s not a wingnut Teahadist. Yahoo! Yay faux democracy!
WeedMonkey,
Iche Warte was pretty solid, that building tension really hooked me.
___
Katherine,
Open and reading. I think world creation is my favourite part of fantasy.
___
Giliell,
An ass kicking sounds overdue. Good luck.
___
NovaC,
You have good people in your corner. Take care.
Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottlesays
Katherine Lorraine – right there with you. Don’t like Obama, but already know that’s where I’ll have to waste yet another vote because there isn’t a single repub candidate that isn’t somewhat more terrifying.
It seems odd, doesn’t it, that we’re always put in the position of voting for the least horrible candidate, because of this delusion that doing so will do something more than merely putting off the next horrible republican prez for 4 years.
That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless, as even with a supposed democrat in the white house, we still lose more and more ground.
While we do that, dems move further and further right and repubs move closer closer to [Godwin].
Hi there Caine!
Sorry for the long absence but, MS decided to play a few mean tricks on me….Not to mention a scare with what appeared to be masses in the right ascending colon and the left descending colon. Nothing to indicate cancer during the scope…Now it’s all waiting on the lab results for the polyps, ulcerations, and eroded areas so they can figure out the treatment.
Yaaaay for the quarter!
How have you been…I’ve been trying to keep up as best I can and I’m quite sure I’ve missed a lot. Conga rats on the new rattie!
Thanks. I got breaking news alerts from various “liberal” MSM, they made it sound like that the Republicans had actually voted down the bill…. If the Democrats were better at spinning issues, they should have a field day…
Well, have some catching up to do, with TRMS…
That’s largely true, but we have had such decades ago, and may yet in the future.
We did? When was that? I’d actually be interested in concrete figures when the Democratic caucus became overwhelmingly liberal, including the Dixiecrats…
It’s scary, that’s what it is. The Republican party is in a spiral towards Brownshirts while the Democratic part is in a spiral towards Republicans. While my hope is probably marginally reasonable, I seriously do hope that the attitudes on the Right split that party into the crazies and the less crazies. Maybe we’ll lose some moderate-to-Conservative Democrats in the process, but on the other hand we may end up with three parties – regressives, moderates, and progressives.
Nova, sorry to hear about all the health problems, had my share of those this year (acute pancreatitis, gallbother removed, tests, no cancer, yada, yada, yada) it seems this year wasn’t good for a lot of people, I’ll be glad to see the back of it.
Two new rats! Esme & Rubin joined Chas. We’re waiting on a Gytha and Magrat to join the clan. (Although that might make me certifiable, the current three sound like a herd of oliphants when they’re playing). :D
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trollssays
Homosexuals are broken and are being further insulted and broken by those who refuse to let homosexual fix themselves.
This is almost enough to make my skull implode.
*facepalm*
*headdesk*
*hands Janine a tankard of egg-nog flavored grog*
janinesays
At least the egg-nog flavored grog does not taste too much like egg-nog. It is the strange property of the grog. I really do not want to know much about that.
Caine
Three of my favorite names! Esme, Gytha, and Magrat! Love it!
I’ll be glad to see the tail of this year too. Glad to hear things are better…And,by the way, I’m completely envious of your le creuset kettle! Happy belated birthday!
I’d say “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”….but, sadly, I know you’re not. I don’t even think I can come up with a vile enough description for that crime…..
Hello… totally threadrupt (I just can’t keep up, it’s overwhelming, sorry!), but I hope everyone’s doing OK.
Also, I bring you the news (if it’s indeed news here) that Pharyngula alumna Cerebus is now a headlined blogger at Sadly, No! The most recent 3 posts at this writing are hers.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trollssays
At least the egg-nog flavored grog does not taste too much like egg-nog. It is the strange property of the grog. I really do not want to know much about that.
*turns around to look at the Pullet Patrol™, on their backs, laughing their @sses off*
I think I’ve been had!
*looks up number of the nearest KFC processing plant*
We did? When was that? I’d actually be interested in concrete figures when the Democratic caucus became overwhelmingly liberal, including the Dixiecrats…
I’m thinking of the congresses that passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, and the Voting Rights Act which began ensuring minority representation in congress.
Ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and signing in the Lilly Ledbetter act and the Matthew Shephard act, were not utterly worthless.
janinesays
So that is what happened to her. People have been lighting the Cerebus signal to no avail. Cannot blame her for the move. Why be one of many commentators on a blog when one can be one of the heads of one. I wish her well.
Perhaps PZ should add Sadly, No to the blog roll.
(That blog has commentators that makes the horde seem demure.)
435 seats in the House, 152 Democrats voting for the Act do not make a majority last I checked…
cicely, Disturber of the Peassays
. . . . you know, I can’t think of a way to describe the field of wingnut Teahadists without ableist slurs . . .
Illuminata, I can help you out, here.
They’re lame. Morally/ethically lame, as exhibited by the recent succession of Not-Romneys’ tendancy to self-scuttle by shooting themselves in all available feet, morally/ethically speaking.
–
that’s not what you said. You (or Katherine, rather) said “liberal Democratic congress”. That would, to me, imply that liberal Democrats actually have the majority in Congress.
Predator Handshakesays
Ms Daisy Cutter: major kudos for using the proper gender/number in “alumna.” Too many people just use “alumni” for everything no matter how many or what type of people they’re talking about and it makes the Latin center in my brain hurt.
Major ugh: my mother has apparently decided that what I need is to be a part of the “singles group” that someone is putting together at her church. She felt so correct in this, in fact, that she went ahead and gave (who I presume to be) the organizer my cell phone number. He was polite enough over the phone and didn’t attempt too much cajoling to get me to go, but I’m not happy about having my phone number passed out to her church buddies.
Is it an overreaction for me to be so upset about this? I told her that I don’t want her giving my phone number out and she seems to understand for the time being. However, even after nearly 4 years of being “out” to her about my atheism, she still seems to think that it’s just a phase and that I just need to read more Lee Strobel.
that’s not what you said. You (or Katherine, rather) said “liberal Democratic congress”. That would, to me, imply that liberal Democrats actually have the majority in Congress.
Ah. Fair point. What I should have said was this was a time when the Democrats drove congress, and the liberals drove the Democrats.
PH:
Not being upset would indicate you’re in danger of becoming terminally mellow. If that had happened to me, I would have told my mom in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t acceptable.
waltonsays
Meh. I think it’s fine to hold one’s nose and vote for the slightly-less-awful candidate; I can understand the rationale for voting for Obama, or for voting for Bill Clinton (who did plenty of similarly awful things) back in the day. But voting isn’t the only, or the most important, way to influence things; politics isn’t limited to electoral politics.
When it comes to my particular cause – equality for immigrants and abolition of discriminatory immigration laws – I’m all too aware that, given the depth of public hostility to immigration, it isn’t very likely that any mainstream politician is going to agree with me, or that it’s going to be achieved in the short term through any political means. But I still keep talking about it, because in the long term I think it’s important to shift the Overton window. At the moment, the noisy racist xenophobic lobby (FAIR, MigrationWatch, and so on) dominates the discourse, and has succeeded in pushing immigration policy further and further to the authoritarian side. What is really needed is an equally vocal pro-immigration lobby, working on disseminating accurate information, correcting myths, and promoting empathy with the actual human stories of individual migrants and the oppression and harm caused by racist immigration laws. That’s the only way that the political mindset will ever change, and it will take a long time.
In the meantime, though, it’s often true that the most effective way to do good is to help, on a case-by-case basis, the individual people who are being screwed over by the system. Which many people here are doing, in various ways, through their careers and/or through their volunteer work. Political advocacy is important too, of course, but it’s more of a long-term approach and may not always pay off in the short term.
janinesays
Predator Handshake, I know you are just looking for confirmation of what you alright think but you have every right to be upset. Your mother is not respecting who you are, it does not matter how meaning she is. She should not volunteer to an organization that you want nothing to do with and she should not give any information about you to strangers. That is for you to decide, not her.
I think you would be entirely in the right if you firmly and politely told her that she should never do something like this again. Just because she is your mother is no excuse for her to not show you any respect.
Dhorvath, OMsays
PH,
Ughh. No, that would not sit well with me at all. Words would be spoken. Hope she gets it this time.
Ms. Daisy Cuttersays
Predator Handshake: Thanks. I also sometimes say “internet fora.”
And, no, you are hardly overreacting. WTF. Disrespectful of your privacy, your sexual orientation, and your opinion on religion.
Well, I can see this ruling by the Utah Supreme Court leading to all kinds of bad decisions.
Parents can file wrongful death lawsuits against health care providers for the death of an unborn child, the Utah Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
The high court had been considering whether state law allows such lawsuits over fetuses in a case where a medical condition may have gone undetected and resulted in a stillbirth.
…four justices agreed the term “minor child” used in the law includes fetuses.
… “The term ‘minor’ then, may refer to the period from conception to the age of majority, thereby encompassing an unborn child.”
…
Miguel Carranza and Amelia Sanchez claimed physicians at the Mountainlands Community Health Clinic didn’t take adequate precautions when the 39-year-old Sanchez expressed concerns about her fetus’ well-being at an April 14, 2006 appointment when she was 9 months pregnant….
“We believe the negligence of the defendant prevented our clients from having a healthy child. We’re pleased the court has recognized that a full-term preborn child is a person for purposes of wrongful death,” Sutterfield said.
Miss DC: sorry, I should have been more clear. I’m only “out” to her regarding atheism; I’m the straight sibling.
Thanks to the rest of you as well for the replies. I may have been looking for a bit of validation, but I was unsure if something as small as a 10-minute phone conversation was worth getting worked up over. The baffling thing about all this is I just can’t imagine what good she could have thought would come of it. The last time she tried to have a Jesus talk with me she ended up crying, so I think she’s trying to outsource the conversion effort.
Dhorvath, OMsays
Seems to me their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities. Why are they complaining about that?
janinesays
Predator Handshake, the ten minute phone call is beside the point. Your mother is giving your personal information to a stranger that you want nothing to do with. When you get down to it, is it really any different if some troll signs you up for anything? What you mother did is unacceptable and disrespectful, even if she thinks she the best intentions.
Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottlesays
Ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and signing in the Lilly Ledbetter act and the Matthew Shephard act, were not utterly worthless.
Don’t put words in my mouth and then argue with them. I’m sure if you ignore the list of shit that’s about 10x longer, this would seem impressive. SOPA negates any “good” he’s done. His total silence on the psychotic levels of police brutality against OWS protestors as well. His support of What’s-Her-Faces’s asinine decision to ignore science in favor of “ick! Teens have sex!”. The totally-not-war in Pakistan. Fellating republicans at every.fucking.opportunity.
Huh. The list of shit is already longer.
Obamabots don’t make me want to vote for him, they make me want to not vote at all.
++
Cicely – that is an ableist term.
John Moralessays
Predator Handshake, I encourage you to become less apologetic and stop mincing words.
(Works for me)
changeable monikersays
janine: “Got killed by ten millions pounds of sludge”
Gah! Saw that on the train into work and was enraged by the twin facts that (a) it’s not on my MP3 player, and (b) work blocks YouTube. Curses!
(Belated thanks for the GrooveShark link thread-III*.)
But, more important: Seven. Day. Weekend. Oh, yeah.**
* Shush, I know.
** Which I will use to fix (a). ;)
Predator Handshakesays
Oh, I wasn’t trying to excuse what my mom did; Janine, you’ve summed up my feelings about it pretty well. This is the first time she’s done something like this so hopefully I’ve managed to establish a firm boundary around it.
I’ve got to stop watching these People Buying and/or Selling Things shows before I blow money on a storage locker full of wicker furniture. Are there any panel shows I should check out similar to QI and Nevermind the Buzzcocks? I’ve also seen Would I Lie to You and You Have Been Watching but didn’t find the former entertaining.
Don’t put words in my mouth and then argue with them.
I’m arguing with the words you actually said, of course: “That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless”
That is a false statement.
SOPA negates any “good” he’s done.
There is no such thing as negation in this sense. Good things and bad things stand side by side.
Fellating republicans at every.fucking.opportunity.
Let’s try to do this more homophobically.
Obamabots don’t make me want to vote for him, they make me want to not vote at all.
What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.
Don’t put words in my mouth and then argue with them.
I’m arguing with the words you actually said, of course: “That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless”
That is a false statement.
SOPA negates any “good” he’s done.
There is no such thing as negation in this sense. Good things and bad things stand side by side.
Fellating republicans at every.fucking.opportunity.
Let’s try to do this more homophobically. You should probably rephrase that to say he takes it up the ass.
Obamabots don’t make me want to vote for him, they make me want to not vote at all.
What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.
Gregory Greenwoodsays
Remember the ‘von Däniken poisons everything’ thread? Well, I have an update on that, so I am reposting my post from that thread, in case anyone is interested.
—————————————————————-
I have stumbled upon another interview with Scott at Filmophilia.com, and I found the following… err… ‘gems’ contained therin;
…there’s a writer, Erich von Däniken. One of his most famous books was called Chariots of the Gods. Everyone thinks he was out of his mind, you know, for number one, “we are the creation of gods”, if you go back to the 19th century anthropologists, Darwin, and say if you go look at Darwin for the moment and look at the Darwinian idea, the Darwinian thesis, which is seemingly very logical. You know, you’re going from something that gradually comes to two legs and gradually here we are. Then you can go beyond that and you look more mathematically at the feasibility of how we’re able to be sitting here, right now, in this place. I’m talking to you, and I’ve got this thing (he picks up his cellphone) which looks like Star Trek. This is “Beam me up, Scotty”-stuff. You wouldn’t have believed this thing could exist thirty years ago.
Yup, he just took von Däniken over Darwin, and ill thought out alien gods over evolutionary theory, on the basis of his misunderstanding of the implications of mathematical probability theory. Oh, and modern mobile phones are really like Star Trek communicators, therefore alien gods, or something…
Things have changed so dramatically that you can start looking at the idea that all our history can be completely wrong and misguided. Because at some point someone has to put a statement down and have their own thesis, have their own theories. That was then later accepted or later is gradually dissolved and re-drawn or reworked. So now you’ve got the whole changed attitude with NASA, the church and I think even Hawking. Over the last thirty years have gone from “It’s highly unlikely that there’s anyone else in our galaxy, any other force, being in our galaxy,” to now, where they’re conceding that there are probably thousands of different lifeforms in this galaxy. And I think Hawking actually said, “Let’s hope they don’t visit.” And I think the church has conceded as well that it would not be against the word of God if we conceded that there are other lifeforms in this galaxy.
So, we should apparently be prepared to throw history, known physics and biology, geology and several other fields out of the window because it could be, like, totaly wrong, dude!
Also, the issue of the frequency of intelligent life in the galaxy is far from settled. Hawking was discussing a hypopthetical alien encounter, and likening this hypothetical to our own colonial past as a species – that where a more technologically advanced culture meets a less technologically advanced one, things tend to go poorly for the side with less impressive firepower. I don’t think that Hawking was endorsing a ‘thousands of sentient species’ model for life in the broader universe, merely engaging in a thought experiment.
In any case, I was reading the latest issue of the New Scientist, and I came upon a book review of Alone in the Universe; Why our Planet is Unique by John Gribben, in which Gribben apparently argues that only a very extreme set of coincidences and fortuitous events allowed our sentient species and technological society to develop, and that there is no particular reason to suppose that other such technological cultures are in any way commonplace in the broader universe, and that it is indeed quite possible that we are the only sentient life in existence. I havn’t read the book, and so I can’t speculate on the quality of the arguments therein, but this certainly seems to suggest to me that Scott is grossly misrepresenting the current state of this debate.
Sadly, it is looking increasingly like Scott is taking the express train all the way to crazy town on this one.
@Dhorvath: “their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities”. Um, no:
Sanchez asked the doctor at the appointment to be induced because she was experiencing contractions, was 40 weeks pregnant and had lost her mucus plug —signs that she was in labor. But the doctor allegedly told her that “if it were actually time for her to have the baby that she would hurt much more than she did” and that her contractions would be more regular, court documents state.
Sanchez left the appointment and three days later checked into Utah Valley Regional Medical Center after experiencing strong contractions. An ultrasound showed the fetus had no heartbeat and Sanchez delivered a stillborn boy. A doctor told the couple that the child’s cord was wrapped around its throat, court documents state, but the child didn’t have other defects.
one of the mysteries surrounding the Dear Leader’s death was the fact that Ri Chun-Hee (李春姬), the “People’s Broadcaster”, the chief announcer of the N.K. TV, had been missing since October. But she was the one emotionally announcing the Dear Leader’s death.
Every time I hear N.K. TV, and especially her, I get a shock, and she is known as the “announcer whose voice shocks North Korea’s enemies”, or “whose voice is stronger than bullets”.
Here’s a link with interesting samples. The last video, showing scenes from a military parade and the Korea War, is also interesting. A Chinese netizen said watching it made him faint.
I also came across a video where she is apparently talking about octopuses, but it turned out to be a hoax. “In view of the miraculous predictions of octopus Paul, the Dear Leader has decided to import octopuses from Germany that will never betray our fatherland”
changeable monikersays
Test? Is my post blocked because I is posting links to Mormon News?
changeable monikersays
Apparently so.
changeable monikersays
(In which case, moderator, could you can the 1st one and post the 2nd, please?)
janinesays
PZ does not free messages that gets stuck in his trap, changeable moniker.
love moderately: “What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.”
I think that’s why I went off on one about Marx, prev(prev?)thread. That, and I’ve been reading Antony Flew.
*ducks and covers*
changeable monikersays
OK, I’m bored of moderation.
@Dhorvath: “their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities” …
Sanchez asked the doctor at the appointment to be induced because she was experiencing contractions, was 40 weeks pregnant and had lost her mucus plug —signs that she was in labor. But the doctor allegedly told her that “if it were actually time for her to have the baby that she would hurt much more than she did” and that her contractions would be more regular, court documents state.
Sanchez left the appointment and three days later checked into Utah Valley Regional Medical Center after experiencing strong contractions. An ultrasound showed the fetus had no heartbeat and Sanchez delivered a stillborn boy. A doctor told the couple that the child’s cord was wrapped around its throat, court documents state, but the child didn’t have other defects.
Which if true, is horrible. And actionable.
(Lynna’s point about applicability of the interpretation of the law still stands, though.)
Sili, could you post the link to the poll again? I haven’t voted yet, and the subthread it’s in apparently occupies nearly all of my RAM or something.
Big difference to China where the Jurchen, Mongol and Manchu dynasties simply continued the status quo for another couple centuries.
Huh? There are many dynasties in China started by peasants, even though a noble class was already in existence by the Zhou period. The Han dynasty, even the Ming dynasty. I’d have to look up the others. I was always under the impression that due to its quick succession of different dynasties, Chinese class line were more open than others.
My point is that, in China, it was possible for a random barbarian to become emperor if only he defended his claim to have the Mandate of Heaven convincingly enough. In the Roman empire, that was not allowed; only a citizen could become emperor. Consequently, at the first successful invasion, the Western Roman empire ended because it was much easier to abolish the office of emperor than to fill it with a barbarian.
Really? I was thinking of cases like “extra” or “prima”..
Ah. Prima doesn’t exist over here, so it didn’t cross my mind, and extra is mostly a noun prefix over here.
I was thinking of rosa and lila, which are indeclinable in these forms, but commonly (colloquially) declined after adding -n-.
Based on real-life Puritan hortatory names:
Whoa. Far out, man.
Check out the middle name of his son Nicholas I. Barebon.
The sense should be: “To handle a weapon with skill and ease.”
No such word in German.
2. To exercise authority effectively
Much too wordy in German: sich mit CL-20 durchsetzendes Bärtierchen.
I think you’ll have to become a Verwenderbärtierchen after all. And please note that pelamun took the -hexaza- part out and thus robbed you of a lot of explosivity!!! Without those six nitrogens, you are nothing !!
In Ulm und um Ulm herum?
In Ulm, um Ulm und um Ulm herum.
He was fine with that, but then they also demanded that he get circumcised. He found a typically Indonesian solution: he just bribed the (whatever you call the Islamic mohel) to issue him a circumcision certificate, and her family was happy!
Awesome!
Generals of North Korea: Their own luxury compound (gated) on Hainan Island with an endless supply of Hennessey.
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
Day saved!
Cost of the lease? Say $1.00 …
LOL! The true worth of…
No, actually, there are places in NK that will be flooded with tourists as soon as possible.
Did you try it? You may have to say it over and over, in kind of a lazy way. The tongue rolling effect comes just after, or maybe it’s more during, the “tt” and before the “r”, of “totterday”.
It doesn’t work, and I strongly suspect you’re simply not used to hearing the difference.
Can you do machine-gun noise? That’s the Spanish-/Russian-/Arabic-style r when you add voice to it.
the Glorious [Democratic] Peoples Republic of Korea
FIFY. Not to be confused with the More or Less Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Katherine Lorraine: Deep breaths. Think of kittens. Tiny little fluffy kittens, wobbling around on their too-big paws, stubby little tails pointing straight up, taking the occasional swat at each other, losing their balance, tumbling, mewsqueaking….
Better?
*squee* X-) ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
Anyway, seconded.
*chamomile tea for Giliell*
House Republicans structured the vote Tuesday to avoid being seen as voting directly against a tax cut.
I wondered.
Teahadists
Mutaheadeen…?
the right ascending colon and the left descending colon
…You know, I’ve known for ages which sides the ascending and the descending parts are on, but I’ve never, to this day, thought of them as left and right. I had never associated them with those words.
Also, I bring you the news (if it’s indeed news here) that Pharyngula alumna Cerebus is now a headlined blogger at Sadly, No! The most recent 3 posts at this writing are hers.
Oho! I’ll need to check them out sometime…
Major ugh: my mother has apparently decided that what I need is to be a part of the “singles group” that someone is putting together at her church. She felt so correct in this, in fact, that she went ahead and gave (who I presume to be) the organizer my cell phone number.
Cell phone number!?!
I’d throw a fit. I might get violent.
Test? Is my post blocked because I is posting links to Mormon News?
Highly unlikely. Try again. Are there any words in your comment that might be caught by a filter for Turkish spambots?
PZ hardly ever has time to look at the moderation queue.
cm,
I think that what happened to Sanchez was horrible and I would that people who want care receive it, not dismissal. I don’t think that is what is motivating the legislators. My comment did not make clear who I meant by they and it should have.
Brother Ogvorbis, OM . . . Really?says
Based on real-life Puritan hortatory names:
This just dawned on me as I was reading the The Marjanovićing of The Emdless Thread, but would that make the name exhortatory when he dies?
Definitely Cerberus! The three-headed hound at the gates of Hades, not Cerebus the misogynist aardvark.
Pelamun, I checked back and I really don’t know what your point is. You seem to be just saying “nuh-uh”. I’m not saying you have to like the Romans, or that the Romans were nice! They were imperialists, patriarchal slave-owners, brutally violent and so on. They were also amazing engineers, and the Roman republic had substantial democratic elements. Along with the Greeks, they were an inspiration in the creation of modern ideas of democracy.
changeable monikersays
@Dhorvath, ACK. (Or as the airpeople say, Roger Wilco!)
More to come, next post.
David Marjanovićsays
Crip Dyke! Remember when you asked “straight people, how do you work”? Here‘s a possible reason for why the men you know about put such emphasis on orgasm and neglect everything else:
There is considerable anecdotal evidence, that jibes with common sense and neurology, that removing the foreskin, by removing tens of thousands of specialised nerve-endings, makes orgasm more difficult to achieve and therefore more of a goal, with less emphasis on the pleasures of the journey (something women complain about in male sexuality). A case for this is set out here.
I haven’t followed the link. However, being neither Jewish nor Muslim nor American nor Canadian, I can very easily imagine that what is described in the quote is true.
PZ, I can’t recommend Fafblog (http://fafblog.blogspot.com/) because they don’t post often, but what they post is cherce.
waltonsays
The Walton’s papers are submitted, the semester is over, and he is strangely exhausted. (Going for a short run this afternoon really tired him out, for he has not exercised enough lately.) But in a few days he will be going to visit Algernon in Texas. This is a Good Thing.
This just dawned on me as I was reading the The Marjanovićing of The Emdless Thread, but would that make the name exhortatory when he dies?
Haha…
(Of course, as I understand it, “exhort” and “hortatory” come from the same root, Latin hortor, “to encourage”. My understanding of the hortatory names is that they were intended to be like mini-sermons encapsulated in a name, exhorting the bearer of the name and everyone else to praise God. But I’m not an expert on the period. I’ve always found the Commonwealth era rather depressing.*)
(*Aside from the whole regicide thingy, Cromwell and his gang of thugs destroyed countless irreplaceable medieval artworks, in their campaign of trashing the interiors of churches for Puritan theological reasons. Most English medieval parish churches had beautiful rood screens, altars, elaborate wall-paintings, gold and silver candlesticks, and the like; only a very few have any original art from that period left. Not to mention the stained-glass windows; most of the originals were smashed, while those which can be seen today mostly date from the Victorian era. But I digress.)
Silisays
I’ve always found the Commonwealth era rather depressing.
I’ll give you the iconoclasm, but for all his faults Cromwell gave you the Britain you have today (not that appealing to David Starkey is exactly a good idea anymore): When Charles II took over he was more the successor to Cromwell than his father. The Divine Right of Kings was dead forever.
I’ve always found the Commonwealth era rather depressing.
True. However, Cromwell was, at the very least, far more competant than Charles I or II (or, for that matter, almost any of the Stuart royalty of England (and etc)). So which is preferable: puritanical competance, or hedonistic incompetance? Damn. Now that would have been a good paper for English History II.
So which is preferable: puritanical competance, or hedonistic incompetance?
The latter. Hands down.
I don’t dispute that Cromwell was highly competent. At, among other things, slaughtering people.
(This particular observation isn’t intended as a defence of monarchy: plenty of kings and queens were equally nasty characters. One wouldn’t have wanted to be a Catholic under Elizabeth I’s rule either, say.)
'Tis Himself, OM.says
However, Cromwell was, at the very least, far more competant than Charles I or II (or, for that matter, almost any of the Stuart royalty of England (and etc)).
There’s a story about Charles II that I rather like. Charles had the habit of walking around London escorted only be a secretary. Anyone could come up to him and ask him questions, ask for a favor, or express their opinion. The secretary kept notes.
Charles’ brother and heir, James, warned Charles this habit was extremely dangerous and Charles was inviting assassination by being in public without bodyguards. Charles’ response was “Jamie, nobody is going to kill me to make you king.”
Charles died in his bed of kidney failure. James was king for three years before he fled to France during the Glorious Revolution.
Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilaritysays
Hello, all.
Back from a whirlwind trip to my new stomping grounds. While there, I signed a lease on a new place, signed a huge stack of paperwork at my new employer’s, and trekked around my new neighborhood.
I also went into a car dealership and bought a car (well, not really. I told the salesperson that I would call thursday to confirm the order).
Uh?
Re: American politics. Ugh. I voted for Obama in ’08 (and in ’06, natch) and was pretty excited and happy to do so. I’ve been pretty sorely disappointed, though I’m also utterly disgusted with many, many members of Congress and the Senate. Jebus. This time around, I’m going to vote for Obama again. Not as enthusiastically as I did before, but because the alternative fucking terrifies me. So, my intention is to vote for the Working Families candidates pretty much across the board. That way, my votes go to genuine progressives that actually have a shot at winning.
I was pretty flabbergasted when I looked at a map to see what districts, etc., my new place will be in. Take a gander (no pun intended) at this monstrosity of a gerrymander. Sheesh.
I strongly suspect you’re simply not used to hearing the difference.
I’m extremely used to hearing the difference between being able to “roll your R’s” and not being able to do so, in the USA. You may be thinking I’m referring to something that you know about and I don’t. Or, I may be failing to communicate the expected sound. I’m not talking about what I would probably think of as subtle differences.
Said slowly, “totterday” comes out “taht-ur-day”. Repeating it, er, repeatedly and somewhat lazily, it comes out very close to “tah-[rolled R]-day”. Perhaps your own sophisticated mouth is so schooled that it does not function in the impoverished way that USAian mouths do, and can’t be coaxed to perform this, what would you call it, phonemical illusion.
What I’m claiming, and have observed, is that people who claim, and demonstrate, the inability to roll their R’s, make a sound – indistinguishable to me, though perhaps distinguishable to others whose ears and mind are able to hear it – just like the R rolling sound.
That second paragraph, I’ll note, may come across as kind of assholish, which is hardly the intent. From your comments here I’m sure your mouth is much more sophisticated than mine with respect to language related topics.
Cannabinaceaesays
…and ear…
aladegorrionsays
Testing out this wordpress thing (I haven’t commented since it was registration-free). Hi y’all. Chocolate, fuzzy puppies, etc to all.
aladegorrionsays
Yay, it works!
Very old (threads ago), but to Caine: I loved the pics of your giant doggies running around and your new rats are cute!
And to Dhorvath, chocolate and hugs if you want it.
Holy mother of fuck! NHK World – Olympus offices raided
A hundred billion yen amounts to (approximately) something like 1 billion euros, or 1.3 billion USD.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trollssays
Ugh, big hard drives are nice, but when they have problems (trying to back it up) the repairs can take forever. 4275 files (1.3 TB), but only ten files were unreadable. Finally got the good data backed up, and started a low level format to identify and log the bad areas. Things were smooth for a few hours (not even half done), but now it appears it has found some of the bad areas, as it does a “drum solo” every so often. I’ll find out if it worked in the morning.
Peace, love, and puppies. Every time I see this one kid’s backpack, that’s what comes to mind. Shame that the solution to life’s problems isn’t that easy.
——————————————-
I sent another email to Obama. I’m not expecting a reply (partly because I didn’t check the little box saying such was requested), and who knows if he’ll even see it. Can’t say I didn’t try.
It’s been pretty well known in the photography community that Olympus has been in deep natto for quite a while. From what I understand, it’s not quite an Enron-level scandal, but it’s still pretty massive.
Olympus is pretty much gone, Kodak is hemorrhaging money, Konica Minolta’s camera business was transferred to Sony… other than Canon and Nikon, who’s left of the old guard?
It’s a crank website which denies that Langerhans cells are a target or vector for HIV infection. Read the interspersed red-text commentary he’s added to this study and tell me if it doesn’t scream crankery to you:
Does anyone know anything about “inversion therapy” or inversion tables? I’m trying to write a blog post about it, but there’s very little skeptical information available.
When you google “inversion therapy” there’s pages upon pages of websites trying to sell inversion tables or woo sites saying how great it is.
rorschach, are you still around? I’ve been wanting your opinions. Szabo and Short recommend male circumcision at puberty for reducing HIV transmission in parts of Africa most affected by the epidemic.
The easier question: do you agree that there is significant evidence suggesting that male circumcision reduces HIV transmission from women to men in areas where the prevalence of HIV is highest?
The harder question: is recommendation of male circumcision at puberty a reasonable component of HIV prevention in Africa?
I seem to remember that when I last looked this up, the only justification for male circumcision based on the data was in endemic HIV areas in Africa, yes.
To your 2 questions, I’ll admit that I don’t know what the correct answer is, and Im not in a position timewise to go looking right now.
It seems I’ve been banned on jw loftus’s blog, Debunking Christianity, over an argument where he defended William Lane Craig as being a nice guy, and some of us, including me, did not accept that.
He didn’t say I was banned, but any new comments of mine don’t appear on any of his posts. John Morales, are you blocked too?
echidnasays
Rorschach, I watched the video. I’m glad Hitch got to see it, but it’s oh so sad.
Krasnaya Koshkasays
I feel bad, because I read like mad on these threads. But when I need to post something I don’t read what’s come before. I saw something about Janine and I so heart Janine. I hope she’s okay and no one is fucking with her.
I live in Russia. This is great to me as I love Russia, so much. I am unspeakably in love with Russia.
Moving on. I teach English in Russia. Many people want to do the same. I am kind of jaded as far as humans go but this young man from Pittsburgh wanted to teach in Russia, too. (I don’t pick up stray animals as much as I do stray humans. — No, I pick up stray animals even more so.)
SO, I will call him Pit – Pit came here and *I* swore for him at my school and he started teaching the next day, as I told him he would. The unfortunate thing is that he told me that same night that he was libertarian. I KNOW, I know, I know the hugely encompassing massive grossness of libertarianism, but I am unable to encompass that in succinctness.
He demonstrated it quite nicely by dumping his students and running back to America, but I’d like to formulate some words about it. Besides my own anecdote. Yes, he was white and, yes, his father is a surgeon. He was a wealthy white boy.
Hi there
I report that I’m feeling better. Not good, but better.
Predator Handshake
You’re absolutely right in freaking out. And I recommend putting your foot down. If she does that again, you get a new cellphone-number and she doesn’t get it.
**********
Miguel Carranza and Amelia Sanchez claimed physicians at the Mountainlands Community Health Clinic didn’t take adequate precautions when the 39-year-old Sanchez expressed concerns about her fetus’ well-being at an April 14, 2006 appointment when she was 9 months pregnant….
I am sympathetic with the parents. I can feel with them. They had been expecting their baby, which, most likely, was already viable and would have been perfectly fine if it had been born that day.
The woman expresses her concerns, and was, most likely, ignored because what do women know about their bodies, just a hysterical, overbearing expecting mother*.
The bad ones are legislators who then use traumatized parents as an excuse to push anti-choice legislation.
*It’s not the first time that I hear a story like this. A friend of mine lost her baby shortly before her due date. She felt wrong and went to the hospital, where they, without making any tests, decided that she was too nervous, needed sleep, doped her up and she woke up when she was already in labour with her now dead child. It was most likely still alive when she came to the hospital and could have been saved via C-section.
Rev. BigDumbChimpsays
1 year from today is the end of the world according to a certain pre-columbian stone calendar and those who are gullible enough to believe it.
Actually this sounds pretty cool. The balance of power has shifted to the tardigrades.
-hexaza- part out and thus robbed you of a lot of explosivity!!! Without those six nitrogens, you are nothing !!
Holy Moss Patch! You are right. I better start wielding to set this right. {loudly} Pelamuuuuuuuun!!!
Say $1.00 …
LOL! The true worth of…
Actually this part is also serious. It is a form of acknowledgement that you are taking over something of (currently) little value for the benefit of all. The sale or lease must go through with the transfer of money. It is quite a common occurrence in The Netherlands and elsewhere. (You may also be familiar with the tradition in Switzerland/Germany that you never give a knife as a present. ie you pay a token amount (“one penny”) if someone gifts a knife to you.
@ changeable
an endless supply of Hennessey
*Ahem* Delamain Pale and Dry.
No self-respecting North Korean general would drink less. (Personally I find it completely revolting. If I had the cash value of all the Hennessy I’ve puked up at karaokes, I’d be very well off.)
@ Rev BDC
1 year from today is the end of the world according to a certain pre-columbian stone calendar …
You think YOU are terrified. I am at least NINE hours before you. I am really shitting myself.
You may also be familiar with the tradition in Switzerland/Germany that you never give a knife as a present. ie you pay a token amount (“one penny”) if someone gifts a knife to you.
That’s new to me ;)
Some of my best gifts were knives.
Some of my best buys were knives.
Knives…..
Sorry, what were you saying?
[This bit supposed to go between 219 &220. I suggest doing a screen print then print onto paper and then cutting and pasting to get the right order]
@ Kitty
[new blog]
I get “Problem loading page” … I guess that means you are deemed a subversive here.
Numaquaya
You have just GOT to check out Namaqualand! (Yup, the whole (semi-) desert becomes carpetted with daisies. One of the most incredible experiences you could imagine.)
Meters, not feet.
Aaaah, that is sweet music to me.
@ pelamun (& SQB)
It was sing.indef.neut. which was the exception, not sing.indef.common.
Liewe jissus mense, word dit nie tyd nie dat julle álmal oorskakkel na Afrikaans ‘k sê?
@ NovaC
I’m completely envious of your le creuset kettle!
A connoisseur of the finer things in life… You will fit in nicely with us Pharyngufoodies.
In the Roman empire, that was not allowed; only a citizen could become emperor. Consequently, at the first successful invasion, the Western Roman empire ended because it was much easier to abolish the office of emperor than to fill it with a barbarian. – David M.
Nah. In the later Roman Empire, barbarians were routinely given the Roman citizenship, and in the case of chiefs made senators and patricians, so there would have been no difficulty in making one Emperor if that had been desired. During the later 4th and 5th centuries, men of barbarian ancestry were at times the effective rulers of the Western Empire, and continuing the Empire with puppet Emperors was also an option. The empire ended because the enemies it faced in the 4th and 5th centuries were far more formidable than those it faced earlier, and multiple invasions eventually overwhelmed its capacity to respond. In particular, the Vandals captured its main grain surplus area (what is now Tunisia). Without that, the Western Empire simply couldn’t support an army capable of defending it for long. A plan to recapture Tunisia with help from the Eastern Empire had to be called off because of Attila’s invasion in the 450s. Read Peter Heather’s 2006 The Fall of the Roman Empire: a New History of Rome and the Barbarians (OUP).
Notice that the Chinese Empire has both disintegrated, and been conquered by barbarians, more than once. The later Han version of the Empire collapsed in the 3rd century, and only in the late 6th did the Sui partially reunite it, followed by the 7th century rise of the Tang, who created the largest version up to that time. The question about the Roman Empire is not just why it fell (to which I find Heather’s answer convincing: because its own long-term effect had been to shape the barbarians, especially the Germans, into much more formidable enemies); but why the bits never came together again as happened repeatedly in China. In the 6th century Justinian reconquered much of the west (Tunisia, Italy, a chunk of Spain, the islands of the western Mediterranean), but it was by then not economically viable; much was quickly lost again, and in the 7th-8th centuries Islam conquered the entire southern coast of the Mediterranean, plus Spain, ending all chances of a revival.
Aaack! You are putting yourself at great risk by not paying. Write out a check for € 0.01 to everyone who gave you a knife. Quick, before it is too late!!!one!!!eleventyone!!!
Also remember that “stranger kings” were the order of the day, both in RL and in mythology, so that the concept would have been readily at hand if they where to require an outsider to rule.
(In fact the “stranger king” idea is still alive and well today, albeit in an updated context.)
Does PZ particularly notice/care on older posts? Does he prefer being emailed about it if he does?
I am glad that I don’t have the choice of two bad things in my elections at least. Well there are the two main parties, but in Australia what with preferential voting and so forth I can vote for a minor party without it being a wasted vote by specifying who my second choice is. And can put those who I would not want at all down at the bottom of the list. There’s still a bit too much bias in the media (*Murdoch*) but it makes my choices easier.
“I asked him if he’s elected, how does he plan to engage gay Americans. How are we to support him? And he told me to support Obama,” said Scott Arnold, an adjunct professor of writing at William Penn University.”
If only there was some way to keep sexual deviants from voting.
Even after all of these years, I am not sure if I should be amused or appalled.
Dhorvath, OMsays
And yess, I am excited about the Gollum. I likes the Gollum.
___
Aladegorrion,
I am doing well, just drifting while I sort it out. Thanks for your thoughts.
___
Today I am home with sick little boy, he is watching Star Wars with no Yoda. Fun times.
Theophontes@ 222
I think I was born to be a Foodie! With a mixture of Cajun*,Sicilian, and a smidgen of Catalan for my heritage…a healthy curiosity for new flavors, and a family with a passion for good food it couldn’t be avoided!
(* Although I’ve been castigated for not being ashamed of my Cajun heritage as it smacks of being low class in one person’s opinion)
I get strange looks from friends when I gush over new cookware given to me by my Husband.
KG, Nah. In the later Roman Empire, barbarians were routinely given the Roman citizenship, and in the case of chiefs made senators and patricians, so there would have been no difficulty in making one Emperor if that had been desired. During the later 4th and 5th centuries, men of barbarian ancestry were at times the effective rulers of the Western Empire, and continuing the Empire with puppet Emperors was also an option. The empire ended because the enemies it faced in the 4th and 5th centuries were far more formidable than those it faced earlier, and multiple invasions eventually overwhelmed its capacity to respond. In particular, the Vandals captured its main grain surplus area (what is now Tunisia). Without that, the Western Empire simply couldn’t support an army capable of defending it for long. A plan to recapture Tunisia with help from the Eastern Empire had to be called off because of Attila’s invasion in the 450s. Read Peter Heather’s 2006 The Fall of the Roman Empire: a New History of Rome and the Barbarians (OUP).
After Caracalla’s decree in the 4th c. all freeborn residents of the empire were granted citizenship, just as long before that all freeborn residents of Italy had been. Odoacer was born somewhere on the other side of the Danube, so this didn’t include him (though I believe he was given honorary titles like patricius), but I think you are broadly correct in disputing David’s account of the events of 476. Had there been any desire either on the part of the Senatorial class at Rome or of Odoacer himself, then he could have been proclaimed emperor. I think he wanted no part of it. He wanted to be king of autonomous Italy. Being emperor by then was a mug’s game, and I think Odoacer was smart enough to see it.
The enemies in the 4th and 5th were more formidible yes, and by the 5th, two centuries of intermittant civil war had weakened the army considerably. The very reason that the Germanic armies were more of a threat was that it had been imperial policy not to attempt definitive victories against them in conclusive battles, for two reasons: one was that emperors by then did not campaign with armies anymore and the emperor couldn’t trust a general with a big enough army to do so not to attempt a coup if he was victorious in a decisive battle agains foreign enemies. (Long-term structural weakness on the part of the empire had a lot to do with the fact that the first priority of emperors became their own survival, and not the good of the empire even in theory or propaganda.) The other was that the Goths, Franks, Alans et al had become the main source of ready manpower for the Roman military. The later 4th century had been practically an exercise in playing these groups against each other for the Romans, and playing the Romans against each other for the Germans when one of the endless series of coups was in progress. By the time the independent Germanic kingdoms were being established on formerly provincial soil, it was a case for the Romans of “can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”
In yet another example of a slick photographer using a camera to coax a young, naive model out of their clothes, Rob soon had Owen buck nekkid on the black cloth. Happily, Owen lasted for the full (15-minute) shoot without testing the waterproof material under the black cloth.
Any time you can get all the way through a studio shoot without your model peeing all over the set, well, that’s a good day in my book.
Have I ever mentioned how much it makes my blood boil when I see conservatives collect food for poor people?
I think it was written on my brow, they didn’t try to ask me for a contribution.
Brother Ogvorbis, OM . . . Really?says
Have I ever mentioned how much it makes my blood boil when I see conservatives collect food for poor people?
Don’t worry. It will all go to the ‘deserving’ poor. Which makes it more efficient than, y’know, those evil government programs.
Don’t worry. It will all go to the ‘deserving’ poor. Which makes it more efficient than, y’know, those evil government programs.
Oh, you kno the organisation they’re collecting the food for is a good and solid one. But it’s the same conservatives who claim that the government social security payments are more than enough to live a decent life. And they’re lucky I’m still under the weather, because that’s usually what I’m asking them loudly:
If that’s the case, what are they doing there collecting food for people who they say have more than enough money to buy it?
Brother Ogvorbis, OM . . . Really?says
Oh, you kno the organisation they’re collecting the food for is a good and solid one.
Sorry. Complete grokfail on my part.
But it’s the same conservatives who claim that the government social security payments are more than enough to live a decent life.
And the same ones who claim that $7.25 an hour is a living wage. And paying any more would kill the economy because all the stores would shut down (which would be odd as there would be more money to spend in the stores). Besides, boxed mac and cheese, three meals a day, with powdered milk and the cheapest margarine only costs about $3.00 a day so why would they need more?
In the US, it is the pay, per hour, under which an employer may not go except in specific circumstances — tips or training, for instance. Why?
Sarcastic remark on my side. Germany knows no such thing, we think it’s totes OK to pay somebody 3€/h and that implementing a minimum wage kill the economy because all the stores would shut down (which would be odd as there would be more money to spend in the stores).
(Yes, I know that’s what you said, funny, ain’t it?)
John Moralessays
echidna,
John Morales, are you blocked too? [from Debunking Christianity]
Yeah. I had a comment that showed up, but was gone when I checked an hour or so later, then to confirm I tried to post another, but it never appeared.
(I’ve only ever been banned from one other blog: the Hoggler’s)
Oggie, Gilell, it’s not inconsistent with their beliefs of America, like Ron Paul, they think xian charity will step in to fill the gaps of food & medical care and the gov’t has no place in promoting the welfare of the general public. Despite what the U.S. Constitution says.
+++++++++++++++++++
I had a dental appt today to have 2 fillings replaced. I really like my dentist. Waiting for the novacaine to take effect we chatted about research in optometry and dentistry. and while my mouth was full of arcane tools of torture he recommended 2 books to me. This Is Your Brain On Music”
and How We Decide
I’ll check the first one out, but I haven’t decided about the second one.
Dhorvath, OMsays
Sailor,
I have TiYBoM, but never made progress when it came home several years past. Let me know if I am missing out.
Dhorvath, OMsays
Or for that matter, I could mail my copy to you. It’s not doing me any good.
changeable monikersays
@Ogvorbis, on #2, the other book I’ve seen highly recommended:
I have How We Decide on my bookshelf right now, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I bought it after I watched the author do a pretty interesting interview on the Colbert Report.
KGsays
CJO,
Minor point: Caracalla was Emperor 198-217 C.E., so the extension of citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire was old news by the time of the late 3rd century crisis, let alone the final, long-drawn 5th-century collapse of the western Empire. But any explanation of why the Western Empire fell has to take into account that the Eastern Empire didn’t – although the continual internecine struggles for the imperial throne took place there as much as in the west. Heather discusses how the appearance of the Sassanian Empire in Persia in the 3rd century was met by expanding the resources spent on the military, and that threat was contained. But the Romans’ long-term relations with the Germans (and later the Huns), led to the growth of increasingly powerful and technically sophisticated barbarian polities. He says: “Without the barbarians, there is not the slightest evidence that the western Empire would have ceased to exist in the fifth century.” But he argues, both in The Fall of the Roman Empire, and in a subsequent work, Empires and Barbarians, which takes in the later formation of Slav and Scandinavian states, that Empires generally generate the countervailing social formations that will eventually destroy them, as the societies they seek to dominate change under pressure in ways that make them more formidable.
Dhorvath, the music book is kinda in my fields, I should check it out. But please don’t bother sending it, if it’s not in my Public or Uni libraries I’ll be surprised. I’ll let you know if it’s worth re-gifting;-)
+++++++++++++++
changeable moniker, no worries mate! I listen to my dentist’s recommendations because I have no choice. (We’re also sailing acquaintances and we both love science.)
If you ever confuse me with Ogvorbis again I will be … complimented.
++++++++++++++
StarStuff, let me know what you think of it. My dentist’s description of it was less than compelling.
++++++++++++++
Both books are supposed to be for the layperson. Which is always problematic; it’s usually either dumbed down or too advanced. I pity the poor authors trying to strike the balance.
One day of work left, then 2 weeks off, wheeee! I’ll go get a shower in a minute. Any minute now. When I finish my coffee. I’m still on 6-hour days, working about 11.30am-6pm 4 days a week, but I hope to go up to longer hours in the new year. Health is improving; I can climb a flight of stairs now.
What happened on debunking Xianity? Any specific post to look at?
waltonsays
Germany knows no such thing, we think it’s totes OK to pay somebody 3€/h and that implementing a minimum wage kill the economy because all the stores would shut down (which would be odd as there would be more money to spend in the stores).
Ironically, while similar arguments were made when Britain debated whether to introduce the minimum wage in the late 1990s, it was widely seen as a European idea which was unsuitable for Britain. (The Conservative government under John Major was opposed to the idea of a minimum wage, as was the Confederation of British Industry, who believed it would lead to job losses and weaken British businesses; a national minimum wage was introduced in 1998 after Labour took power, however, and is today supported by all three parties.)
In truth, it’s very hard to tell what effect the minimum wage has on employment levels, because we never have the counterfactual; we don’t know how many jobs would be in existence without it. Milton Friedman opposed the minimum wage on the ground that it would lead to a loss of jobs (as well as on philosophical grounds, since he opposed any government regulation of wages or prices in principle), but plenty of other economists, Krugman included, think he was wrong. I’m sure ‘Tis Himself has a view on this.
echidnasays
Speaking from Australia, where we have had minimum wage for over a hundred years, it works. Compared to the US, Waitstaff are not beggars. Road maintenance crew don’t look like they are starving. Children of immigrants who came in with nothing can become doctors an lawyers. Class mobility in one generation – there is no permanent underclass.
echidnasays
New Zealand was the first to implement a minimum wage in 1896. Australia followed, Victoria in 1899, the rest in 1907. Europe went with collective bargaining, I think, which kind of works as long as the power balance is reasonable. True of any system.
John Moralessays
Alethea, I made a comment on his third post defending William Lane Craig, and a few days later one on his top atheists post, with a follow-up and also a response back to the older thread as he requested.
I have become persona non grata at his digs, as noted above. :|
Hi Walton, are you done with the academic year now? [chide] you spent all that time worrying over nothing[/chide]
But I understand that if you didn’t worry about it you wouldn’t be as exceptional as you are;-)
++++++++++++++++++
IMO, Krugman has been proven right, Friedman even admitted he was wrong.
++++++++++++++++++
Econ is one of those sciences where they are great at predicting the past.
And I welcome ‘Tis’ take on it.
waltonsays
Hi Walton, are you done with the academic year now? [chide] you spent all that time worrying over nothing[/chide]
But I understand that if you didn’t worry about it you wouldn’t be as exceptional as you are;-)
I’m done with the semester, but not the year: I have more classes next term, and need to work on my research paper over the vacation. (The paper will be – hopefully, if it materializes – a comparison of the forms of immigration relief available to victims of domestic violence in the US and UK. It’s a topic that’s very important to me, given that I’m now certain I want to specialize in immigration, asylum and refugee law.) I also need to apply for the Bar Professional Training Course back home, the deadline being in January. And then in March I need to apply for pupillages, and may very well not get one. The Bar in England is hyper-competitive.*
(*We have two kinds of lawyers in England, solicitors and barristers. I’m opting to become a barrister, mainly for financial reasons: the Inns of Court fund scholarships to assist with the BPTC, whereas there is no similar scheme for the LPC, the equivalent course for solicitors. Many people get through the LPC by working for a giant corporate law firm that will pay their tuition fees, but since I want to work in immigration law, not a notoriously profitable field, there’s no possibility of getting private sponsorship; and I’d rather chew my own leg off than work for a giant law firm. But if I don’t get an adequate scholarship for the BPTC, I’ll have to give up on law as a profession altogether and find something else to do, since I’m not willing to get into lots more debt.)
waltonsays
And tomorrow I’m flying to Texas! *excited happy dance* But now I need to pack.
====
Oh, btw: if anyone’s interested, I wrote a rather verbose blog post on the subject of immigration restrictions and why they should be abolished, sharing some of the stuff I’ve learned this semester. It might be a bit on the tl;dr side, but hopefully some people will find it interesting.
I commented on that article about a Raw Story commenter using ALL CAPS. I advised this person that only fucking assholes use all caps.
another commenter came back, with all caps, and said she had a left hand injury and I shouldn’t have complained. (Her previous posts did contain proper capitalization.)
I wrote back that “if you simultaneously press [CTRL] & [w] it will automatically fix that.”
given the choice, it’s better to type in all lower case than all upper case. granted, i can see the issue, though my hands are big enough to hit shift plus any key one handed.
i typed this entire comment one handed, so yes, it’s doable.
Sailor: Yeah, I can. Not going to, though. (Not that it matters; I’m on a Mac, so it’d be Command-W.)
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
(I may regret this.)
Benjamin Geiger
Why are you typing one-handed?
Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays
Cicely #128 (quoting illuminata)
. . . . you know, I can’t think of a way to describe the field of wingnut Teahadists without ableist slurs . . .
Illuminata, I can help you out, here.
They’re lame. Morally/ethically lame, as exhibited by the recent succession of Not-Romneys’ tendancy to self-scuttle by shooting themselves in all available feet, morally/ethically speaking.
Ummmmm. Please explain how this **isn’t** ableist. What is it that your use of “lame” is supposed to communicate?
carliesays
No arguments to use it on at the moment, but to bookmark for the future: This is what rape culture looks like, a post by manboobz illustrating “date” advice from reddit.
I was typing one-handed in response to the Sailor’s post:
another commenter came back, with all caps, and said she had a left hand injury and I shouldn’t have complained. (Her previous posts did contain proper capitalization.)
So, there were two points: 1. With sufficiently large hands (and “sufficiently large” is pretty small), it’s possible to use proper capitalization one-handed. 2. Barring that, it’s preferable to type in all lower case rather than YELLING AT EVERYBODY.
(Another point: Caps lock doesn’t have to be on all the time. You can turn it on, type one letter, turn it off, and type the rest of the word.)
CAPS LOCK MAY BE CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL, BUT EVEN WITH CRUISE CONTROL YOU STILL HAVE TO STEER.
carliesays
Have a great time, Walton!!! Tell Algernon we miss her and give her a hug for us.
carliesays
Benjamin, how are things going lately with the new med? I apologize if you’ve been ignoring the subject on purpose, so if you’d rather not get into a discussion of yourself just know I was hoping you’re doing ok.
Eh. It’s been working about as well as any of the others have, generally. Thing is, it’s also costing about 12 times as much as the others, even with insurance. (My copay for Cymbalta is $50, versus $4 at Walmart for generics.)
I should probably find a different psychiatrist. The one I’m seeing now (at the school’s counseling center) feels like she’s in the pocket of the drug companies.
Oh. Shit. Erm. Why don’t people tell me these things?
Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays
Wait, okay Cicely, you weren’t saying it is not an ableist term, as clarified in #172.
I remember how you reserved the right to use lame. I disagree, but that’s very different than saying lame is not used as ableist language.
Moving on…
cicely, Disturber of the Peassays
I frequently type one-handed; my kitteh would lack support, otherwise, which would result in her clawing for purchase on my neck. And I have very short fingers.
– *sigh*
Crip Dyke, I thought you agreed just the other Thread that “lame” could be used in contexts indicating “crippled”, or not functioning properly? My entire point was that, in my opinion, these people are not functioning properly, ethically/morally speaking. I think that they are “blind” in that spectrum. I think they do not see in that they are in any way “doing it wrong”.
–
cicely, Disturber of the Peassays
Aaaand…I shoulda oughta hit “refresh” before posting.
–
waltonsays
No arguments to use it on at the moment, but to bookmark for the future: This is what rape culture looks like, a post by manboobz illustrating “date” advice from reddit.
Argh. I just read that post… and then I saw the title of the post immediately preceding it. (The one that starts with “Homeless…”.) I did not click through to see what the post was about. I just don’t want to know. Really, there is a point beyond which I don’t want to have my faith in humanity destroyed any more.
(I rarely read Manboobz for this reason. There’s a point beyond which male supremacists’ pronouncements cease to be mockable and start to induce nausea.)
This does, of course, confirm my general view that the great majority of “dating advice”, everywhere, be it in newspaper columns or on Reddit, is a crock of shit written by people with severe mental problems and an extremely disturbing attitude to relationships.
Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays
yeah, cicely, I think we’re in the same place. Problem started when I failed to read to #172 before posting. It need not be an ableist term, however it often is used as such. I am more careful than you as to how I use it in certain circumstances because of that…and probably less careful than you in still others – we just see certain contexts differently, with which I am fine. I was just looking to understand more of what you were trying to say in your original comment.
So, now, really moving on. Hope you’re having a good day. Me? My day was terribly unproductive, but what can you do?
changeable monikersays
@Ogvorbis:
And all your Reading Comprehension Fail be mine!
To be fair, I went wrong at “dentist”.
As we know, all the dentist stories are belong to you.
It all seems a bit odd. The proponent is described thusly:
Angelique Corthalis is a biological/biomedical and forensic anthropologist. She earned her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford and is currently working as assistant professor at CUNY John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York City.
Not sure what an anthropologist is doing researching MS.
But it seems like a bit of a paradigm shift when there is an admission (on the blog post) that there is no actual research to back this statement up. It’s a nice idea, certainly, but MS is another of those diseases, like cancer, where every tiny step, every new thought, ends up getting touted as the answer.
I’m only a humble clinician. Anyone here who can comment from an informed position?
Oggie wins my internets for the day.
++++++++++++++++++++
Benjamin, I saw the finals scores you posted.
Really, Benjamin, really? The best you could do was a 4!?
++++++++++++++++++++
Please welcome Lyle Lovett:
And I like cream in my coffee
And I hate to be alone on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
carliesays
Ogvorbis – “Fever” is the best number of the first season, bar none. None, I say!
Ben – sorry it’s costing more. I think that psych hasn’t been doing anything for you for awhile based on what you’ve said; might be good to get a new person’s fresh perspective on things.
carliesays
Dammit, Google! No, you do not need to change your layout regularly in order for people to think you’re still important.
@Tielserrath – Anthropologists have a very clinical subspecialty involving analysis of historical remains, mostly bones. Lots of bones show signs of disease, accident or other life history, and there’s other interesting stuff like mineral patterns in bones and teeth showing regions where a person lived. Amazing stuff. Look up “physical anthropology” sometime.
Also, if TV shows are any guide, you can work out exactly who killed them and how :)
fuck fucking electric toys
—–
We’re watching Tangled.
It is giving me a fresh appreciation for cast-iron cookware.
and a fresh understanding of the evil of horses.
Althea – but MS is in the nervous system, something that is unlikely to a) be traceable in significantly decomposed tissue, and b) is a cellular disease process occurring in the living, so unlikely to be useful to forensic anthropology. I’m concerned this is someone with an ‘idea’, jumping on the MS bandwagon, little different from someone ‘deciding’ that it’s caused by heavy metals or ‘toxins’.
If you care for people with MS it’s a hugely emotive issue for them when something like this gets published.
Over here, it rained today. It’s not even frozen anymore. It has never snowed this “winter” yet… unless January and (!) February are going to deep-freeze, this is the warmest winter I’ve ever experienced.
All Slog polls are legally binding
…I see.
Said slowly, “totterday” comes out “taht-ur-day”. Repeating it, er, repeatedly and somewhat lazily, it comes out very close to “tah-[rolled R]-day”. Perhaps your own sophisticated mouth is so schooled that it does not function in the impoverished way that USAian mouths do, and can’t be coaxed to perform this, what would you call it, phonemical illusion.
I simply don’t so easily hear a flap as a trill. In a flap, the tongue actively moves. In a trill, the tongue is held in position, and air is squeezed through between it and the roof of the mouth; because of how the tongue is held, the air gets through in separate bubbles. The results can sound somewhat similar, but not similar enough to fool anyone who’s used to trills (such as all not-too-northern German kinds of “r”). There are no trills in most Englishes, so I wrote you’re probably not used to hearing the difference between a flap and a trill.
Thousands of rare documents burned in Egypt clash
:(
…
Écrasez l’infâme.
It’s a crank website which denies that Langerhans cells are a target or vector for HIV infection. Read the interspersed red-text commentary he’s added to this study and tell me if it doesn’t scream crankery to you:
At 3:25 am, I’m actually too tired to tell, but the author of that page should definitely have read up on dendritic cells. They phagocytose intruders (such as, no doubt, HIV), hack their proteins to pieces (I wouldn’t be surprised if HIV manages to escape this and instead reproduces in dendritic cells), display them on their surface, and move to the nearest lymph node to contribute to the selection of… shit, I forgot if B or T cells. They’re antigen-presenting cells.
You may also be familiar with the tradition in Switzerland/Germany that you never give a knife as a present.
~:-| WTF? No.
In the 6th century Justinian reconquered much of the west (Tunisia, Italy, a chunk of Spain, the islands of the western Mediterranean), but it was by then not economically viable; much was quickly lost again, and in the 7th-8th centuries Islam conquered the entire southern coast of the Mediterranean, plus Spain, ending all chances of a revival.
…and remer, straight from Romanus, became the Albanian word for “shepherd”.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Also remember that “stranger kings” were the order of the day, both in RL and in mythology, so that the concept would have been readily at hand if they where to require an outsider to rule.
(In fact the “stranger king” idea is still alive and well today, albeit in an updated context.)
I have no idea what you mean. Please explain.
Being emperor by then was a mug’s game, and I think Odoacer was smart enough to see it.
That’s likely.
Europe went with collective bargaining, I think, which kind of works as long as the power balance is reasonable.
Also, Germany is probably unique in not having a minimum wage. Over here, it’s close to 10 €/hour.
And tomorrow I’m flying to Texas! *excited happy dance* But now I need to pack.
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Have a great time, Walton!!! Tell Algernon we miss her and give her a hug for us.
Seconded!
So, now, really moving on. Hope you’re having a good day. Me? My day was terribly unproductive, but what can you do?
Frankly, given what you posted on the “why do women menstruate” thread, I really wouldn’t call it unproductive. I’m so envious of you :-)
Crip Dyke: no problem. As I said, shoulda oughta refreshed.
As for my day, nothing productive as far as “work” is concerned, but on the other hand, I scored a lot of chocolatey Christmas candy goodness, so I’m ahead of the game there. :)
–
tielserrath @#310:
That’s very, very interesting.
‘Autoimmune diseases’ are of course poorly understood in general. The blog post you linked makes perfectly good sense physiologically.
It’s a review, not original research, so it doesn’t really matter the academic background of the author, to me; scholarship is scholarship. The Quarterly Review of Biology is a very prestigious and carefully reviewed publication of the University of Chicago; they don’t fuck around.
My interest in MS stems from the death of a favorite uncle from it.
tielserrath, you would be amazed what physical anthropologists can do with bones. Bones carry signatures of all sorts of diseases, not just the obvious osteo-related ones. I don’t know much about the details of MS, but I don’t see the involvement of a physical anthropologist as suspect per se.
The blog article does rather overhype the journal article, though. I hate that kind of reporting; it delivers so much false hope.
Yes – you get very jaded by these ‘new theory = cure for MS/cancer/MND’ articles, and I suppose it casts suspicion over anything that isn’t peer reviewed research.
Anyway, weird thing happened – I got an email from a dating site offering to match me with other atheists for Christmas and saying they have ‘something way better than that disgusting baby’.
It isn’t a secular dating site – far from it.
I’ve been trying to unpick why that kind of reference to Jesus makes me so uncomfortable, and come to the conclusion that it’s simply because I don’t believe any baby should be condemned as ‘disgusting’. I also have the suspicion that the line was written by a theist, as I don’t think I’ve ever heard an atheist make a statement like that. Jokes about baby-eating, yes. Cold appraisal of a baby as disgusting, no.
Also, if TV shows are any guide, you can work out exactly who killed them and how :)
I read the new Kathy Reichs novel in one go this arvo, very good indeed ! And I just pressed a wrong button on the blog somehow, and accidentally updated to wordpress 3.3. Without backing up. Oops.
jwloftus [kill][hide comment] says:
December 18, 2011 at 7:27 am
I do not accept that lying for Jesus is legitimate either, duffas. Sheesh. Go away.
Who in their right mind thinks I’m defending that? All I suggested here is that believers have a reason to lie for Jesus. It’s part and parcel of their whole delusion. If you want to blame them for lying then blame them for being deluded too.
Take a critical thinking class.
What’s he saying there ? That Christians are somehow ill, and they can’t help but lie due to this ailment ? That WLC lies because he has a brain disease that compels him to ? Whatever happened to those morals and high standards religion apparently instills in us then ? I find Loftus’ line of “reasoning” farsical, and his banning of commenters who disagree with him petty.
echidnasays
This is the part where he spat the dummy (lost his cool). If you look at his previous comment, he does indeed say that it’s legitimate for Christians to lie for Jesus.
His argument seems to be that Christians are so delusional that they cannot be held accountable. I’m not extrapolating, he really says that, although at greater length.
He also thinks that it’s legitimate to lie in debates, just like in a courtroom, if that what it takes to win. This is stupid.
The nasty thing is the way he deleted some of my posts, where I make a point about internal inconsistency, without comment. Just plain censored and blocked.
Wowbagger, Madman of Insleyfarnesays
Am getting vaguely annoyed with Christians on Twitter either a) asking dumb questions or b) making stupid snide comments about why/whether atheists celebrate Christmas.
I really want to ask them to point to the bible verses that include the word ‘Christmas’ and where it’s specified that it should includes gifts, trees, nog, tinsel, reindeer, Santa, ham, carols or any of the other myriad aspects of the event that these dimwits consider part of the tradition.
What I think it comes down to is that fact that the Christians I know are informed enough to know that most of it is pagan in origin and therefore no more ‘theirs’ than it is anyone else’s, and therefore don’t say/ask such mindbogglingly stupid things.
Wow, I’m extremely unimpressed with that Loftus character.
echidnasays
Rorschach:
That, if it is true, is inexcusable. freethoughtblogs, right.
It’s pretty hard to provide evidence after the fact. I didn’t take a screenshot at the time. What I can point to is the strange way that the comments seem to end, which is two posts by jwloftus, addressing me, asking me to respond. What I can do is assure you that I did respond, and give you an outline of what I wrote.
In one of the deleted posts, I had replied that the reason was that I was referring to one of the known flaws of American debating rules (from an international debating perspective).
In another deleted comment, I pointed out the inconsistency between his posts 27 and 33.
In post 27, JWL said:
Even if WLC and others lie for Jesus there can be a legitimate justifying reason why they do. You do realize this, don’t you? Surely you do. That too is part of their delusion. Do I need to spell this out to you?
In post 30 (still there), I said :
I do not accept that lying for Jesus is legitimate. I know that some people think it is, and I will fight the acceptance of this idea tooth and nail.
In JW:”s comment 33, he says:
I do not accept that lying for Jesus is legitimate either, duffas.
as Rorschach quotes above.
Not long after this exchange, the comments were deleted, and no futher post I made was accepted on his blog, even posts that should have been agreeable to him. I am simply blocked without explanation, as is John Morales.
I’ve never been blocked from a blog before. I’m really quite upset about it, given that the umbrella site is freethought blogs, and there is nothing that I have said that falls under any of the standard reasons for blocking people. My comments were totally unobjectionable, as far as I can tell, as long as you don’t expect me to be nodding in agreement with the OP and subsequent comments of the blogger.
Good morning
Urgh, having a bit of a break after taking the kids to kindergarten/paternal grandma (actually grandpa, funny how reasonable he has become lately) and shopping. Still feeling under the weather.
But believe it or not, people not only wished me Merry Christmas, but also Happy Holidays! And surely some of the latter ones were christians and nobody was struck by lightning!
Oh, and I discovered another German tradition via an American blog I never heard of. “German Pancakes”, which are baked in the oven. No idea what that is based on, but I totally intend to make them a tradition.
minimum wage
The lack of minimum wage is nothing but hidden subsidies for the employer. People work, fall under the treshold for social security (which isn’t to live on like a king or somebody who likes fresh vegetables), get additional payments by the government and the employer can save that money.
PS: Hint to myself: Previewing is good. Previewing, not posting and then wondering what has happened isn’t.
OK, trying to repost:
Good morning
Urgh, having a bit of a break after taking the kids to kindergarten/paternal grandma (actually grandpa, funny how reasonable he has become lately) and shopping. Still feeling under the weather.
But believe it or not, people not only wished me Merry Christmas, but also Happy Holidays! And surely some of the latter ones were christians and nobody was struck by lightning!
Oh, and I discovered another German tradition via an American blog I never heard of. “German Pancakes”, which are baked in the oven. No idea what that is based on, but I totally intend to make them a tradition.
minimum wage
The lack of minimum wage is nothing but hidden subsidies for the employer. People work, fall under the treshold for social security (which isn’t to live on like a king or somebody who likes fresh vegetables), get additional payments by the government and the employer can save that money.
I think I have a comment stuck in spam (actually, by now it should be three comments, I only have no idea why.
No links, nothing remotely controversial, I think.
Unless there is by now a filter against the English version of “Frohe Weihnachten”
John Moralessays
echidna, don’t let it get to you.
(You just had high expectations, and they were dashed. PZ spoils us)
—
rorschach, not everyone is like you or PZ. Alas.
—
Or Daniel Fincke, to whom I give much credit and respect for tolerating me, even though I think I was more provocative to him than to JWL (and probably no less annoying).
With all the hype around the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I was thinking about downloading some of the good old series/movies. So, should I go with the classic – Jeremy Brett’s series or with Matt Frewer’s movies? I remember the latter with fondness, but I can’t remember why.
Jalapeno potato chips, 2 fake chicken strips, one square of 85% chocolote, and coffee.
It amazes me what these kids can get away with eating.
And today is . . . . Hmmm. Not sure what day of the week it is. I don’t have to go to work until January 8, and Wife (who is working her street corner) only has to work her street corner one more time this year.
Smells like VACATION!
And Happy Solstice! (well, 7 hours, 40 minutes ago) Happy Monkey. Happy Channukkah. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy Gnu Year. And Festive Kwanza.
Which reminds me of one of the best face-palm moments of all time (and no, this is NOT a fire story).
Many years ago, Wife and I were involved in the PTA/PTO down at the local elementary school (oddly enough, the same school Boy and Girl went to). The PTA had their own bulletin board in the lobby and, every month, the officers decorated said board with appropriate images.
For December, a woman who was a perfect example of how bad the valley can get was decorating the bulletin board. A narrow-minded Valley People woman. Don’t get me wrong, folks. This is a fun valley in which to live. However, there are valley people, and then there are Valley People. Valley People are the ones with more tattoos than teeth (including women); the ones for whom Atlantic City is exotic, and Disney is a once-in-a-lifetime event; the ones for whom the mechanics of church are more important than any teachings.
She decided that a multicultural ‘holiday’ board would be appropriate. Of course, for many around here, multicultural means Catholic and Protestant. Never mind the Muslims, Animists, Jews, Santeria, and myriad other religions present in our schools (when the art class does ‘holiday’ ornaments, kids who do not wish to participate are given blue paper (no, I’m not kidding)). Seeing herself as very broad-minded, she actually thought beyond the dominant paradigm.
Wife found herself nearby as Valley People Woman decorated the board. VPW had a menorah, a Christmas Tree (or pagan Yule Tree (though I doubt that would entered her mind)), and an outline of the continent of Africa. VPW was running around like a squirrel on crack. As she raced past Wife, she said, “I have to go down the art room and get paper. What color do the darkies use for Kiwanis? I gotta find out what colors they use for Kiwanis.”
Wife’s eyelids fluttered. Her mouth did the fish-out-of-water thing. None of the other PTA/PTO people were phased by the use of the word ‘darkies.’ Of course, Wife was blown away by ‘Kiwanis.’
When the end of the world comes, Wife and I want to be here in the valley. Everything seems to be at least 30 years behind. Of course, we’d spend the thirty years stuck in the valley, so I’m not sure that’d be an imporovement.
Cannabinaceaesays
I wrote you’re probably not used to hearing the difference between a flap and a trill
Well, I was simply describing a cute trick that allows (some) people to make a sound they otherwise (thought they) couldn’t, informally known as “rolling your R’s”. Your introduction of words like “flap” and “trill”, terms of art that I wasn’t using, came across as a non-sequitur. Initially I interpreted what you were saying as the trick doesn’t or couldn’t work. Since I’ve observed it working many times, it was clear that we were not talking about the same effect.
Assuming you now understand what I’m talking about, does the trick generate a flap or a trill? I’m guessing it is a trill, since when I exaggerate the effect my tongue sort of stays in place, but “bubbles”.
Wow, there’s a floor underneath the dirt!
Amazing thing.
Brother O
Well, I treated the girls this morning to something Americans call German pancakes.
No idea what that should be in German, but they’re delicious.
rolling your Rs
Urgh, something I still haven’t managed propperly in Spanish. My dialect is very scarce of Rs, and rolling them on the tip of my tongue is hard.
So here’s the rhyme I learned in Cuba, because kids there obviously have their problems, too
R con R cigarro
R con R barril
Rápido corren los carros
Por las lineas del ferrocarril
Well, I treated the girls this morning to something Americans call German pancakes.
German pancakes? What, they have bacon drippings in them? (Seriously, in one of my German cookbooks, even the vegetable dishes have bacon or drippings in them!)
German pancakes? What, they have bacon drippings in them? (Seriously, in one of my German cookbooks, even the vegetable dishes have bacon or drippings in them!)
No, but lots of butter.
Actually, I’ve never seen anything like them in Germany, they’re made in the oven and I suspect they’re one of the endless variations of “Mrs. Colon’s Curry”
But they were really nice and much easier to make than real pancakes.
The bacon doesn’t surprise me. Lots of people kept a pig, so bacon was the only fat they had. My local cooking, as much as I like it, can be reduced to the easy formula potatoes+bacon+X. Tonight X will be carrots, and the bacon can be substituted by Blutwurst, but I don’t like that much. Or as Pratchett put it: Nobody would have invented sharkfin-soup if they’d been allowed to eat the rest of the shark.
Silisays
1 year from today is the end of the world according to a certain pre-columbian stone calendar …
For the longest time I thought pre-Columbian referred to the country, not the man.
Silisays
(You may also be familiar with the tradition in Switzerland/Germany that you never give a knife as a present. ie you pay a token amount (“one penny”) if someone gifts a knife to you.[)]
I wasn’t aware that existed outside of Denmark. You’re also not supposed to give a wallet as a gift unless there’s some token amount of money in it.
The traditional English amount for at formal purchase is a peppercorn, but I guess those used to be worth their weight in gold.
KGsays
1 year from today is the end of the world according to a certain pre-columbian stone calendar …
I’ve never felt so alone in the fight for the family.
It’s funny to think how this time of year I am surrounded by my family and friends, and yet I feel like I am the only one defending the American Family.
To be honest with you, I don’t know if I can go on much longer…
It seems like everyone is turning against me and now I am left wondering if you are still with me.
…
Will you sign your 2012 Commitment to the Family today, so I know you are still with me?
And will you continue to fight with me in 2012 by supporting me and Public Advocate with a generous donation of $25, $50, or even $100?
If you and I don’t continue fighting I don’t know who will be left to fight the radical Homosexual Lobby.
Giliell, I’m amused by German Pancakes – which on googling turn out to be the same as a “Dutch Baby”. If you’re going to eat babies for breakfast, this is a good choice.
My mum, who is Welsh, has the same knife superstition. If you give someone a knife or scissors, they have to give you a small coin. Or else you’ll cut your friendship. Oh noes!
“Police said they suspected alcohol was involved.”
changeable monikersays
Will you sign your 2012 Commitment to the Family today
I’ll take Questions to which the answer is “no” for $1000, please, Alex.
changeable monikersays
Including, of course, “Will the kids go to bed at a reasonable hour?”
Xmas Xcitement™ is running high chez CM.
Dhorvath, OMsays
CM,
Sleep went out the window when we hit seven more sleeps until presents. Several fits of “I can’t wait for Christmas” have peppered the week as well.
Dhorvath, OMsays
And that’s just me, you should hear what my child is like…
opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les poucessays
Self to DaughterSpawn: “I ordered you that present you wanted, but it says here it won’t get delivered until about the 30th”
DaughterSpawn: “oh, that’s OK. It’s really nice of you to get it for me”
I love having reached the age of sort-of-grown-uppish spawn :)
(and the thing I’m secretly rather pleased about? It came in the post today, and she doesn’t know about it. So I get to surprise her just a tiny bit after all :))) )
Dhorvath, I thought one of our horde would have said the numb3rs to themselves and had an R&B flashback.
+++++++++++++
Benjamin, I’ll sign the commitment papers for Eugene Delgaudio.
+++++++++++++
opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les poucessays
… well as long as he definitely gets committed, it’s all good
When and how on earth did that mountain of presents happen? I’ve spent 3 hours wrapping them. I count 17 different parcels for 14 different people and I’m not even finished.
I haven’t started yet on trying to put the Playmobil-farm together.
Including, of course, “Will the kids go to bed at a reasonable hour?”
Hmmm, seems like the kids are too small for that yet. Let’s see if they go to bed tomorrow with only the usual amount of fuss, too.
Dhorvath
I am trying to understand this sentence. Truly it baffles me though.
Well, truth is, I suck at making normal pancakes. I can manage American style ones fine, but normal German pancakes are not mine. I can make a five course menu, but no pancakes.
Those “German pancakes”, you just pour the batter into an oven-dish and bake it. No smell of hot oil, not handling hot frying pans with two kidses running around, all can sit down at the same time, I think they’re going to become a tradition here
Dhorvath, OMsays
Giliell,
I suppose that I do them so often that I have lost track of the idiosyncrasies. It’s sort of a background operation now.
Apropos of nothing at all: Obama needs a Teleprompter like republicans need another head up their asses.
I have no idea why that just occurred to me. 3 years too late.
kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~says
Giliell: I made German pancakes today too! Although I’ve always known them as “pannekuchen”. I hear they’re called Dutch Baby, especially when they have apples in them, and when I was a kid a friend of mine knew a very similar dish her family simply called “Swedish”.
Happy Solstice-is-past-and-the-sun-is-back, everyone to whom it’s applicable! There’s a real although tiny sense of dread just after sunset on the night of the solstice when we draw the curtains and the room is dark. Some atavistic thing that never goes away? I know I would not do well in a polar region where winter days have no sunlight, anyway.
Mr. Kristinc gave me a t-shirt that says “You never forget your first Doctor”. He knows full well I am a squealing Nine fangirl and was bitterly disappointed that we only got one season with Nine.
Shutting the computer off now. Need to finish packing for my trip. Hooray, 12 hours of driving.
Beatrice, anormalement indécentesays
I’ve made a batch of chocolate chip cookies with cranberries, a batch of snickerdoodles (I made them because the name amused me) and three batches of almond cookies that turned out looking like little piles of shit (I have a terrible what’s-its-name for making those little swirly shapes and I’m not very handy with it). Two of the last three batches were later half-drowned in chocolate so they now look even more like little piles of shit. But very tasty piles of shit.
It’s half past one in the morning and I’m licking chocolate from the pot I melted it in. A good day.
carliesays
opposablethumbs, I was wondering if I’d have to get the kids pictures of their gifts for Christmas, but they all came in yesterday evening. Whew! The one I was most worried about was an ocarina coming from LA by the post office. Got here in plenty of time, though. Now all I have left is to finish off the box that it will go in, and I’m all set. Well, except for all the gifts to mail home that traditionally end up late anyway, which I haven’t even finished buying yet.
Pancakes I use the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking recipe, which for some reason I always have to look up no matter how many times I make them.
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
Beatrice
Licking the pot has always been the highlight of any baking event.
Beatrice, anormalement indécentesays
Chocolate leftovers and Tim Minchin. Brilliant.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trollssays
Well, truth is, I suck at making normal pancakes.
The Redhead is great cook, which (*burp*), explains my girth, but she sucks at pancakes, while I make excellent pancakes. the difference is that I am able to feel the viscosity resistance between waffle batter (much thicker) and crepes batter (much thinner), and find the pancakes in the middle. Yum…(and the Redhead agrees)
Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OMsays
One for the Skyrim players:
My little brother is 8 years old and a fan of Skyrim. Actually, my whole family has taken to watching me and my 18-year-old brother play. When I started playing, I explained to Jake that just like in real life, skills increase when you practice them. About twenty minutes in, I don’t actually remember what I was doing, but suffice it to say I was doing it wrong. Jake laughed, then said “Stupidity increased to 101.”
My little brother is becoming snarky. :’)
Nutmegsays
In the oven right now:
PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES
Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Filling
1 14-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 15-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
Topping
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix crust ingredients and pat into the bottom of an ungreased 9×9 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Mix filling ingredients until well combined. Pour over warm crust (I only use about 9/10ths of the mix) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are setting but the middle is still wobbly.
Mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle over filling and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool and slice into squares.
Christmas baking almost makes up for all the other aspects of the holiday…almost.
ZOMG, think the entry I’m collaborating on for the first art contest I’m ever entering may be done…ahead of the dead line!
onion girl, OM; imaginary lesbiansays
Because this may spill over to here, this is a notice that the moderators of the Facebook Endless Thread have made the decision to ban Benjamin Geiger from the group.
Ben has shown a history of engaging in behavior that makes other members feel uncomfortable and unable to speak freely. He has supported sexist and misogynistic PUA and MRA tactics in regards to dating and relationships, denied his own sexist statements, refused to accept any advice or support in regards to changing his behavior, and refused to acknowledge the negative effects his words and behavior have had on Horde members.
While he has made other positive contributions to the community, his behavior in this area has been harmful and hurtful to others and the decision has been made that banning is the consequence. This was a unanimous decision of the mods made after lengthy discussion.
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
re Benjamin Geiger
and you waited until he’s on the road for 12 hours?
John Moralessays
chigau, correlation vs causation.
(I doubt they did)
onion girl, OM; imaginary lesbiansays
and you waited until he’s on the road for 12 hours?
No, we didn’t. I haven’t been on TET for more than a few minutes since sometime in October. We’ve been talking about this for days, and finally made a decision. I’m up late trying to finish making Xmas gifts so I volunteered to make the posts.
I posted without reading any of the Thread. The timing wasn’t intentional.
I just wrote a post on Tim Minchin’s Sanat Claus article in the New Statesman (linky), anyway, when I put in the tags for the search engines, one of them was “magic”, right. Now wordpress 3.3 has a new suggestion feature, and the top suggestion after I typed “mag” was…Magic of Reality. I’m impressed.
Tigger_the_Wingsays
Hi Giliell! So glad you liked the squidmas tree. I’ve just added another picture I took from the front garden, showing the Jolly Roger.
Now to get back to wrapping gifts.
I must get around to taking a photo of the ‘nativity’ scene, as well…
Hmmm, I’ve just watched this video about a mtf transgender child.
Kudos to the parents and the sympathetic report, but I’m pretty worried about how over-sexualized that girl is. She’s only 10 years old, make-up should be for Halloween. There’s no way my daughter would be encouraged in this at that age (the make-up and the sexed-up cloths, not the transgender).
I don’t think a touch of make-up is too much at 10 years old, especially when used to emphasise the transition. Of course there’s the general discussion about the pressure on women to put on make-up, but taking that as (an unfortunate) given, I don’t think it’s too early. I do remember girls in my class starting with that around that age.
McCthulhu awaits the return of the 2000 foot Frank Zappasays
Birger #351: Thanks for that. If there’s no OM-like award for posting interesting links, you have my nomination for first recipient.
“stranger king” … I have no idea what you mean. Please explain.
How to answer this in a short comment? (I am not lazy just very tired).
The answer is in two parts. First off we must look at the history of investing foreigners ( the “strangers” in the above) with kingship. There are many examples to choose from, but the case of Rome will have to suffice for now.
After Romulus, descended from the House of Alba (hereditary descent), none of the other Roman kings where immediately succeeded by their sons. Tatius, Tarquin (the elder) and Servius Tullius where succeeded by their sons-in-law who where foreigners or of foreign descent. The right to kingship passed through the female line and was exercised by foreigners.
Royal lineage was traced through the female line. Royal marriage was exogamous (“to outsiders”) and the king had to leave his people to rule a foreign land. Though we have only considered Rome, this is a state of affairs that can be traced trough many times and places, which brings us to:
(parte deux): Now fast forward to more contemporary times. The “stranger king” here refers to a foreign ruler in colonial times being able to fairly effortlessly take over the reigns (for-reign-er?) of power. eg: the Dutch could quite easily take over control of Indonesia. The endemic insecurity of unstable political forces at play prior to the arrival of a few Dutch ships was resolved by the clear leadership that the Dutch could offer. It is generally taken for granted that colonial powers are always and inevitably bad, ignoring the simple solution of the introduction of “the other” to shake up the (often iniquitous) status quo and give societies a new (yes, positive, eeeuw colonists!) direction.
Obviously my interest in this concept is driven not only by my love of mythology, but also for the practical applications in (our recent example) North Korea.
(For a better, more in depth discussion of Roman kingship, read the (free!) book by James Frazer: The Golden Bough. (Though there are any number of other books covering like examples.))
@ Nutmeg
[recipe]
Wow, looks good.
birgerjohanssonsays
Spaceman (Lyrics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMHrxaycomQ
“It is about the person singing being disgusted with the world and wanting a spaceman to take him to another planet”
.
Wow! Babylon Zoo saw the current situation coming back in the early 1990s !
Well, since I just finished making it, here’s Giliell’s chunky applesauce
-apples. I used 6. Four of them were very small, 2 pretty big. Would make about 4 servings. Peel and dice about 3/4 in bigger chunks, dice the remaining quarter very fine.
-Melt 1 tblsp. of sugar in a pot. When the caramel is brown but not burned, apple large chunks, stir, cover, reduce heat and let cook until the apples desintegrate
-Add the fine dice, about a handful of raising, vanilla, cinnamon. Cover again, cook for 5 more minutes so the apples are just done.
-Enjoy
Tigger
Thanks for your very interesting comment on my blog. Unfortunately I have to inform you that, sine I watched Monty Python last night, my imagination of you is now this
++++++
And now off dicing bread for the Bohemian dumplings (region, not culture)
“Bounce That Dick” by Jenna Marbles. NSFW, for your pleasure. Gender roles drastically reversed (genderswitched?), although it probably could do with a little less “bitch”.
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
Well, it is that time of the year when my annual advent calendar from one of my dear friends reaches its climax. There are a few goodies in this year’s haul that are worth a look and there is always the chance that I can crash his web site if I can get enough people to view it XD
Birger #351: Thanks for that. If there’s no OM-like award for posting interesting links, you have my nomination for first recipient.
You can nominate Birger for the OM itself, which can be awarded for any kind of contribution.
+++++
I’m going to try to remember to nominate chrislawson, for this outstanding comment in the Ugly Facts About Rape thread.
Tigger_the_Wingsays
Giliell, that’ll do nicely! (although I’m rather skinnier and taller than that). The lane even looks like the lanes back home.
In case I get overwhelmed with meatspace stuff over the next 24 hours, Happy Monkey to everyone!
I managed to take and upload photos of my alternative Nativity scene here.
The parts usually taken by Joseph and Mary are here played by Jack Sparrow and a lovely lady pirate. The manger has been replaced by a treasure chest, containing treasure (of course) and a lilac baby octopus (plus a couple of jellyfish by way of teddy bears). Instead of an Ox, there’s a bad tempered purple octopus. The three wise men and their camels are played by three pirates and the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Instead of shepherds and sheep, the tributes are being brought by assorted marine invertebrates. Judging by the skeleton lying by the treasure chest, the Infant Cephalopod has already had breakfast. And, of course, His Noodliness is looking down on the whole scene.
I’m off work until Thursday, I’ve laid in comestibles, consumables, combustibles & libations and I have no intention of doing anything worthwhile. Yea!
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
The Sailor
Nothing worthwhile, eh?
You’ll be spending lots of time here, then? ;)
Dhorvath, OMsays
Chigau,
Ouch. I resemble that remark.
John Moralessays
Illuminata, it’s a private group, you’ll need to send a request for a mod to include you.
(Search FB for the Pharyngula Endless Thread group)
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
Dhorvath
Me, too.
Dhorvath, OMsays
John M,
I thought we weren’t searchable anymore. It’s a secret FB group now. Illuminata, I am not a mod, but you can friend me at William Steele, my photo there is the same as my gravitar here and I can pass it along to the mods.
Tigger, “For tonight’s performance the part of Joseph will be played by Jack Sparrow and Mary will be performed by Anne Bonny.
The baby Jesustm is performed by Cthulhu. If you have a problem with that we will make sure you get eaten first. Enjoy!”
I hate to drag this up again, but banning Ben from the Facebook group now has me wondering if I ought to unfriend him. As stated, he’s done quite a bit of good, and while we don’t talk much on FB, he’s never given me problems. But to cause so much hurt and then deny that whatever he’s done/said is sexist. . . I’m gonna go think on this for a bit.
—————————————–
We’re missing one package in the bunch of intended gifts so far. Either it’s waiting for pickup at the post office since no one was hone to sign for it, or what a parent warned us about is true: someone decided it was a good idea to steal the package off the porch. Goodness only knows why.
—————————————–
I’m beginning to think that many people who are in positions of power such that they could help fight poverty and the results thereof, but don’t bother to COME UP WITH SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS OR ELSE REFUSE TO LISTEN, are secretly all harboring something similar to the persecution complex. Except for complete ignorance of reality, it’s the only reason I can think of. However can they feel secure in their positions if they don’t have someone to kick around? How can they feel worthwhile without having a reason to whine?
Carlie, it’s still happening in my part o’ the world.
I’ve been hearing it for years, but I never would have envisioned Peter and Karl.
I always knew what Paula Poundstone looked like. I’ve always thought she was funny.
p.s. I think it’s funny that I can look down at my laptop (I can’t touchtype) and hear my fav radio show and look up and see them.
Like Garrison Keeler, they have faces made for radio;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Neil Gaimin, Coooool!
carliesays
Oh, mine too – I was judging based on the first 10 minutes or so. Sometimes the material just isn’t funny enough, or they just can’t play off of each other well enough.
I’ve seen pictures of Peter and Karl, but have always had trouble thinking of Peter’s voice coming out of that face. :)
Have you read anything of Peter’s? His “Book of Vice” was a really good read.
Merry Xmas! Last night was Xmas eve, as celebrated by the official house tradition – the Watching of Hogfather, with champers and a home-delivery curry dinner. This morning was Xmas day, with the official Opening of Presents, including the Presents From the Cats, and a proper Xmas breakfast of cherries, a croissant and some chocolate.
I’ve just seen the Bloke off on his bus to Sydney, so I’m on my own for a week. I’m now looking forward to my friend Eumides’ classic cold Xmas lunch tomorrow – the goose! The goose! And the hobbit pie! And there there’s boxing day at my best mate’s place. Meanwhile the poor bloke has to endure his family.
All highly satisfactory, except for the poor suffering bloke. But something seems a bit wrong with this calendar. I think I may have fallen into the Ogvorbisverse.
I’m beginning to think that many people who are in positions of power such that they could help fight poverty and the results thereof, but don’t bother to COME UP WITH SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS OR ELSE REFUSE TO LISTEN, are secretly all harboring something similar to the persecution complex. Except for complete ignorance of reality, it’s the only reason I can think of. However can they feel secure in their positions if they don’t have someone to kick around? How can they feel worthwhile without having a reason to whine?
I think it’s explicable merely by belief in a Just World.
(Things are already more or less the way they ought to be, except for those few things which proximately impede me; I can see that those are unjust.)
Why do people believe in a Just World? Easy question: it is less stressful to believe that we live in a Just World.
There are two ways of getting there. I can work to make the world more just, but I will probably not have the benefit of seeing most of the consequences of my work. Or, I can simply believe that it is already Just.
(No, I don’t propose that this calculation is conscious. That makes my argument rather suspect. But as far as I can see it, given that we do have evidence of Just World beliefs and System Justification processes, this is the simplest explanation of how they might happen.)
Well, of course you have to leave the line dangling. It would be wrong to spoil the joke in advance. But actually it’s mushroom. Hobbits are just too hard to source.
“Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None have ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.”
chigau (mrmee, mrmee, mrmee)says
Why can no one in movies spit?
Even in animation.
Half-pint could spit.
John Morales
You are correct.
I have managed to not see Ren and Stimpy.
(as long as I’m bragging, I’ve never watched a whole episode of any “reality” TV show)
(and remove yourselves from my lawn)
Your VJ will take you back in time with some Jaluka:
Traditional war song: Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa (Zulu – that beautiful instrument playing is the lesiba (mouthbow). Zulu guitar tuning is also quite different and called maskanda (from Afrikaans for musician, nogal!) The title is “Don’t judge a bull by its horns”.)
Home from my niece’s frosty-out-doors-at-night wedding. My knees disapprove of air mattresses.
On the docket for tomorrow: lunch “out” with Son & D-I-L; then later, dinner, presents, and appropriate seasonal TV (Hogfather and Dr. Who) watching, all over at their house. Yay!
–
Tests came back; cholesterol is within acceptible limits, and no sign that the gall bother is trying to lead other organs into revolt. Yay again!
–
Hi there. I left the FB group the other day not out of solidarity with Ben, but rather because the idle chatter of people I don’t know took up a corner of my FB window.
Work on the 24th of Dec is always on the busy side, and today didn’t disappoint, it’s not high acuity, but most of it is of the “my shoulder has been hurting for 6 months, can you sort it out before xmas” or “granny just doesn’t look well today somehow, and besides we want to go camping at Phlip Island for the next week” variety.
A Jameson now, and then for a real quiet xmas day at work tomorrow, and 2 frenzied days after that.
Hi there
Christmas eve’s here and so far nobody has freaked out, not even me, although I’ve engaged in a few odd behaviours like finally throwing away the potted plants that died back in summer.
A happy monkey to everybody
Tigger
Cool one.
So far, the kids have liked the idea of a pirate christmas tree next year. We’ll see
And now back to the Bohemian dumplings
John Moralessays
rorschach:
I left the FB group the other day not out of solidarity with Ben, but rather because the idle chatter of people I don’t know took up a corner of my FB window.
It did me, too — until I removed the chat window.
(But then, I have more than zero competence at these things)
So I’m talking to this Indonesian lady right now, who is explaining to me in painstaking detail how to make cooking oil out of coconuts, who got arranged married at age 18 with 3 kids quickly following, who is so lovely, knowledgable and brave that you can not fucking believe it, despite the shit she had to deal with all her life. At age 8, she was forced to take 50 kg of coconuts on her bike daily to the nearest town to sell them on the market, and she would spent from 4am to 10pm grating coconuts, so they could be turned into cooking oil, making her hands bleed and herself fall over with exhaustion. She then had 3 kids in quick succession with a guy who she couldn’t wait to be separated from, and it goes from there.
From all those man-made religions, women suffer the most.
And I’m leaving out the raped by uncle at age 8 with father not stepping in but rather demanding his dinner cooked by 8yo daughter after mother fled from domestic violence bit here.
Merry Christmas.
Giliell
I’d still love to see that tree! The way I see it,it’s my tree and I’ll decorate it anyway I see fit! Universal Studios monsters,Zombies, over-the-top Gothic,galactic and universal themes……the list goes on and on. Next tree is going to be Doctor Who themed (if I can figure out how to stabilize a T.A.R.D.I.S. at the top).
Beatrice, anormalement indécentesays
I almost forgot about Doctor Who Christmas special! Finally a reason to like Christmas.
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
You are welcome Katrina – he always manages to find plenty of xmas related material to taunt me with.
I am disappointed by Norad’s santa tracker this year… no sleigh cam and I suspect that they are deliberately fudging the position information to stop all us boys and girls getting a sighting. I was hoping to get a missile lock this year; my missile target cam definitely registered a near miss last year so I have increased the fuel load in hope that the payload doesn’t fall harmlessly into the Humber estuary this time.
Absolutely, it’s my tree and I do what I want.
And since the ellusive box with the fairy lights also contains the chains and some trinkets, I used whatever lace ornaments I had and there are now bats, wolfs and steampunk-keys as well. Happy monster-mess Closeup
As for the T.A.R.D.I.S., I’d make it out of a cardboard box filled with florists’ foam and a hole in the bottom.
Tigger_the_Wingsays
The Sailor, thanks for the re-write – I approve!
Glad you liked the tableau, Giliell; sadly, a major wind storm blew up this afternoon, blew over the tree and broke the top off it. I only just got the tableau indoors before that got wrecked too.
Less than five minutes to go before four teenage males decide that, as it is officially the 25th, they can open their presents.
Giliell
I love it! And thanks for the T.A.R.D.I.S. tip. I have a new project for the next tree!
Tigger_the_Wingsays
I like the tree and the monster, Giliell! =^_^=
Happy Monkey to all from the non-Ogvorbisverse version of Canberra!
Alethea, if you are bored tomorrow afternoon please come over to our place. We’re having a barbecue; I’ve roasted a pile of different vegetables, we’ll have a Greek salad and hubby will be barbecuing beef steak, goat chops, chicken portions, a whole flathead and whopping great prawns. Oh, and sausages, of course.
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
We’re having a barbecue
All hail axial tilt!
Rev. BigDumbChimpsays
There really is no good damn reason for me to have woken up this morning at 5:15 am.
It’s now 8:30 and everyone in the house is still asleep except for me and the dogs.
At least the sunrise was good and I’ve built quite that raging fire.
How many cups of coffee can I drink before the first fam member decides to wake?
I feel your frustration Rev. There was no good reason for me to climb out of my warm cocoon. My screwed up spine felt otherwise. I’ve managed half a pot coffee so far.
Rev-Thanks for the giggles…Both Gingrich AND Perry!!
carlie- I’m with you on that concern. What scares me is the fact that people will tell you that Paul is perfectly reasonable.
carliesays
What a Christmas! Child 2 announced about an hour and a half ago that he was going to try to earn 10,000 coins on Club Penguin to donate to their Coins for Change campaign. That’s a lot of coins, since he was only at 300. He just came in and announced that he had indeed earned the 10k and donated them all. He figured out how to turn his love of gaming into some real-world philanthropy. Awwww.
(Yes, I know, Disney should be donating a buttload more than they do already to these charities regardless of the involvement of their own user base, but from his end? He done some good.)
carliesays
After the inspiration of you all, I made a german pancake for breakfast this morning (using Alton Brown’s recipe). The results?
“It tastes like fried dough.”
“More like funnel cake.”
“Funnel cake for breakfast!!!!”
opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les poucessays
To all threadizens in the northern hemisphere and/or currently cold climes, may your sun continue to never be eaten by wolves; to all threadizens in the southern hemisphere and/or currently califerous climes (I know it doesn’t mean that but who cares, I wanted something with a c), may your brow never be eaten by scorpions (pace Lorca).
There will be cava at midnight (probably accompanied by escoba de quince and chinchón or of course charades) which will enable me to raise a glass in heartfelt good wishes for your wellbeing – continued, if you’ve got it, and incipient if you haven’t.
carliesays
Atheist Christmas menu:
breakfast: Dutch Baby, poached egg (pre-baby), glass of milk (meant for baby)
lunch: stir-fry with baby carrots, baby corn, and baby bok choy
dinner: baby spinach salad with grated baby swiss and walnut embryos…er, nuts, baby back ribs
dessert: devil’s food cake
:)
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
Happy monkey, theophontes.
It’s been a funny old year… I have been busy and so mostly lurking as the only way to keep up. For the last three weeks I have been vegetating at home leaving computers firmly behind at the office (and staying out of my own office XD)
Tardigrades are amazing things and if they can get down to -1°K I will bow down and worship, rather than just stand aghast a their incredible properties… since they can survive 1°K they can easily survive a trip into space and given that rocks from Mars make it to Earth, there is every chance that they are even now planning their trip to the stars at a balmy 2.5°K
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
Carlie:
He figured out how to turn his love of gaming into some real-world philanthropy.
Well done Child 2, what an absolute star and inspiration to us all.
theophontes:
I just followed your TARDIS link and now realise that the tardigrade plans for inter-galactic domination are more advanced than I imagined!
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
Oh noes!! My lox tank has sprung a leak… I bet Tesco have none left in their freezer section.
Does anyone have any tips for an oxidiser? My missile is going nowhere without one.
Giliell, nice tree!
+++++++++++++++++++++
Serendipitydawg, kerosene/nitric acid makes a good hypergolic fuel.
+++++++++++++++++++++
carlie, that gives a whole new meaning to Santa Baby.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The Google doodle is neat!
+++++++++++++++++++++
Have yourself a merry little Christian,
make the Yule logs glow
From now on,
He will be turning slow
carliesays
I have a Christmas song:
On the day before Christmas
It’s such a pain to see
A wet spot on the ceiling.
It takes 10,000 signatures to get on the presidential ballot in Virginia. It takes 500,000 signatures to recall a governor in Wisconsin.
Grinch & Perry couldn’t get on the ballot in VA.
The Walker recall is going for a million signatures.
Whee!
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin)says
Serendipitydawg, kerosene/nitric acid makes a good hypergolic fuel.
Sailor, thank you so much!
I am definitely not a chemist… I was using kerosene/lox because I am a child of the Apollo age but I do have just enough nitric acid. Just seven hours to reconfigure everything… alas, it’s going to be saran wrap for the tank lining, so I don’t know how this is going to go… I will check in at 00:00:30 GMT
pelamun: here.
+++++
Ing, it’s just that to the degree you talk smack about the President, I will push back. You might well go out and vote as rationally as possible, but if you’re demoralizing others in the meantime, it’s no good as far as I’m concerned. It’s plausible that by fighting about it here occasionally, we’ve brought about more clarity for others than there would have been if you’d not complained; I’m not sure about this; but I am sure that if you’d complained and I & others had not fought about it, that would have been a net loss.
See, you do science, it’s just work in, results out. Be an IDiot, though, and you’re not really getting a damned thing, but you’ve got eternal hope, the thought that you’re going to overthrow a paradigm, and you’ll be vindicated in any number of ways.
Damned hard to fight against that, especially when more or less routine results are all that science promises 99%+ of the time. Can’t quite call ID Vegas (they don’t know how to have a good time, generally), just a long campaign against “evil” and almost tasting victory over the people who laughed at the IDiots.
Glen Davidson
poking ChasCPeterson with a sharp stick
Dammit! I’m an ape, not a monkey!!
From previous episode:
Fixed that for you.
and theist tropes we can do without.
Auf Ulm?
Wasn’t that
In Ulm und um Ulm herum?
Walton:
Why would you think it was a joke?
I’m almost done crocheting presents for christmas, but I can’t figure out what to make my grandfather. I’ve been looking at patterns for an hour now and I haven’t found anything I think he’ll like. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Why I love Newt Gingrich. Somehow I missed this! I guess I wasn’t paying attention to him in 2008:
“I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion.”
OK
So this is Thread Bankrupt!
I don’t know what y’all are on about!
but
I’m done.
The files are uptodate, the emails are sent:
I’m ready to go and spend a week yelling at my Mother.
(Mom is mostly deaf, there is always YELLING)
(I do NOT get to have coffee with my oldest friend because xe is dead)
StarStuff
make a fancy, personal cylinder.
Gramps can put it on a cold or hot beverage.
I almost got up from my computer to go weep in a corner after hearing that no monkey would fall for posthumous rewards…
very interesting circumcision debate, ahs.
That reminds me of this Swedish guy dating a Javanese woman. Her family would only accept the relationship (marriage) if he converted to Islam in accordance with religious law (Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, while Muslim men can marry Christian or Jewish women).
He was fine with that, but then they also demanded that he get circumcised. He found a typically Indonesian solution: he just bribed the (whatever you call the Islamic mohel) to issue him a circumcision certificate, and her family was happy!
I found a pattern for an octopus finger puppet that’s really cute, but I don’t think it’d make a good gift for my grandfather.
The Newt continues:
Someone give that man a hair shirt.
But you know, I was a Real Christian. I didn’t attend this “Sunday School” bullshit. I went to a Catholic school every day of the week and on Sunday I also went to a real service. Posers.
Anyway, yes, I want the opposite of all of that, which happens to be the opposite of imposing the acceptance of values.
Tonight the monkey dies.
Got killed by ten millions pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey.
An absurd gag, a monkey trick, an Irish Bull, a childish joke.
@ pelamun
You could check this on Pffft: Linky. But I was watching the program in Shekou, which is in Guandong Province. No censorship that I could notice. Perhaps the leopard is changing its spots?
(Just checking, did you look at Lease North Korea? (I was interested in your take on such an idea.))
@ StarStuff!
If you can crochet with string, what about a set of oven gloves? Pix.
@ ॐ (sgbm)
How is this in any way a bad thing?
The lord is a monkey.
I seem to have found a dating side for victims of arranged marriage. Spoken to 2 women there, from different countries, and both had arranged marriages (rapidly followed by pregnancies) in their teens or early twenties, and are just now trying to move on.
Quite intriguing. Got to love the internet.
site, even
Touch monkey
Space monkey, sort of divine
You’re serious?
Unfortunately, Kim Jong-un, like his father, is not sufficiently magical, so I don’t think he will be able to do that. Now if we were talking about the Queen*, that would be another story.
*Which we are not doing.
We have to see the chimp playing hockey! That’s hilarious! The ice is so slippery, and, and monkeys are all irrational. We have to see this.
@ CR
Very serious. It is the only option (well, I hope it becomes an option) that provides a winning solution for all parties involved. The Fat One ™ might even come out of this alive.
“Hey, don’t fuck me on teh details!” … :-)
I don’t think all parties in North Korea would benefit from it. The Chinese government would perhaps, in some ways, be a slight improvement, but that’s probably as optimistic I could be about it.
theophontes,
I don’t think it is very realistic, even the North Koreans are fiercely protective about their Korean identity and nationhood.
BTW, you do know that the Korean nation is split in three? There is an autonomous Korean region just across the border from North Korea (Yanbian),*) which used to be part of Kogyureo. Chinese control of any more Korean territory would just be inconceivable.
*) this came in handy one time when I was taking a Korean course in Seoul, with a bunch of Japanese housewives and OLs (you know the Korean wave (hanliu), apparently sweeping China too), and the housekeeper in the dorm was trying to tell us something. Turns out that many ethnic Koreans from Yanbian come out to Seoul for work, and once I understood that I was able to resolve the situation by talking to her in Chinese and explaining the problem to my Japanese classmates in Japanese.
That was awesome.
@ CR
Well, the North Korean people would certainly benefit from it. That should be our primary goal. But how to incentivise that outcome?
Their country is currently hopelessly broken. No one in North Korea can fix it for the foreseeable future. Nor do they even have the means. There is too much bad blood between North and South for immediate reunification.
Perhaps you think it smacks to much of colonialism? On the other hand the lease system has worked very well in Macau and especially Hong Kong (in spite of some arguments to the contrary … hey, consider the alternatives under Mao).
Player by player:
People of North Korea: Food, clean water, infrastructure, Confucius Institutes, freedom (within an organised framework), hope, a future…. (the list is populated by every positive human attribute you can imagine. The current situation is a living hell.)
Generals of North Korea: Their own luxury compound (gated) on Hainan Island with an endless supply of Hennessey.
China: Huge impulse to economy through infrastructure, agriculture, mining, etc projects (which all devolve to Korea at end of lease.) Security from nuclear madmen at doorstep. Feel-good factor at undoing a huge blot on humanity. China is the only country big enough,wealthy enough and organised enough to pull this off. They are keeping the country from collapse as you read this. They are also the only country remotely able to disarm the NK army.
South Korea: Removal of threat hanging over their heads 24/7. Unification faster than expected AND to a working country (alternatively gaining a civilised neighbour if the NK people decide otherwise.)
Japan (former colonial power)/US/other interested parties: Removal of raving mad nuclear threat. Investment opportunities. … obviously I could go on …
I cannot actually think of anyone in the equation who cannot be accomodated fairly simply. All will gain huge benefits.
……
Cost of the lease? Say $1.00 …
Bancrupt
In case anybody misses me, I’m in bed.
You know you’re sick when your breakfast consists of 3 different types of medication
(From last episode of TET):
Not quite. That should be het mooie boek, de mooie pen.
Very much so. There is a tendency to drop the neuter, perhaps under the influence of the English ‘the’, so your example would become de mooie boek.
With your laptop?
Get well soon!
Get well soon Giliell!
Behold the masters
Masters at work
Masters indeed, rorschach.
I’d be prepared to fall out of a tree wasted every now and then, if I only could be as cool as Keith.
Man! Am I ever Thread Bankrupt! Not that I’m conceited enough to think any of you remember me from a stray cat. It’s been quite a since I’ve posted here (trifecta of annoying and scary health episodes). Just thought I’d drop in and day “Hello” to all of you.
I’ll try to keep more in touch since I’ve got more time now. Hope all are doing well.
Favor to ask ( Can’t brain…has the dumb). How do I get that hideous pink think off and add a gravatar?
Then again, give me Far away eyes anytime.
And no need toPaint it Black either I guess.
NovaC: go to gravatar.com and provide your commenting email-address and an image to go with it.
It’s all well and good to assert that things get better As Tears Go By, but I guess it’s also good to know that To Know Him Is To Love Him.
Hi NovaC.
I’ve been meaning to sort my Gravatar out for a while, so I did it just now.
Go to gravatar.com and all should become clear :)
Much appreciated,John! Apparently not ALL of the effects of the sedation has worn off.. DAMN YOU VERSED!
And Loud. Thank you!
@ Gilliel
Stay in bed, send minions of for hot lemon and honey, plonk cats around you for extra gemütlichkeit and enjoy TET. (Reinforcements will arrive shortly as the horde go on line.)
@ NovaC
Welcome back. For gravatar I would suggest loading a picture to gravatar (Link) and logging in via wordpress (they have FTB/Scienceblog only registration too, IIRC).
If you want a special shape (I am round) you need to use .PNG format. If you want to mess around with a simple graphics program, try GIMP (Link) – it is free.
Then again, it’s all one big Unchained Melody
Guess Elvis had his way for a while.
So did Sid Vicious
Illuminata, prev. thread: Just ask the bride to omit tossing the bouquet as there’s no competition. She can just casually leave it on the head table. It’s not mandatory.
If she insists, call in some strangers from the street to catch it.
And Frankie, of course.
For a look at the sad state of North Korea, take a look at these night-time images of North and South.
Forgot to give thanks to Theophontes as well. Feel a bit better now that I look like myself.
@Markita
Wow, that is staggering. A picture speaks a thousand words, huh?
There’s Angels of course.
Wouldn’t want to Come Undone either I guess.
Man, way to make monkeys looks smarter than humans.
Argh… I want to write my book but I’m at work and I can’t put thumb-drives into the computer and besides I can’t do outside work on the company dollar argh! *pout*
Ah, you are using the wrong organ. Instead of your see-er, you need to use your talk-er. Did you try it? You may have to say it over and over, in kind of a lazy way. The tongue rolling effect comes just after, or maybe it’s more during, the “tt” and before the “r”, of “totterday”. W.U. couldn’t roll her Rs, but can when she uses this trick. She doesn’t really care, and generally has no need to.
Or you can make like they do in Amsterdam and substitute a d for an r — train becomes tah-dain, smart becomes smah-dut.
Ouch I had a twinge of worry and now I’m flustered.
I want to write a series of posts on my blog describing and giving a short biography of the main characters in my first novel I’m working on (maybe even some minor characters.) As I was typing something up I thought “of crap, what if my family finds it.” The names of my characters and my story all are something I told them, so it’s not as if I can deny, but at the same time I don’t want them to find the blog cause it clearly describes my gender problems.
*facedesk* Fuck, I hate this…
@my 64:
*I hate this… how worry becomes panic becomes anxiety becomes fear.
@Katherine
It’s not ideal, but could you change the names, so that you can still write about them? Or do they know enough about the characters that it would still be obvious?
Katherine
*hugs*
I wish I knew what advice to give you that would work for you. I tend to be more of a “fuck it and let it ride” type of person.
You know, I normally laugh at all the religious ads that run on freethought blogs, but the Forced Birth Misogyny Brigade ones are well beyond the pale. Fuck content-generated advertisizing.
So, it seems like I won’t be payed for November until next year. Because the contract my boss sent them is apparently lost somewhere in some department. But they’ll probably find it.
*deep breath*
Better now.
Katherine,
I wanted to tell you something along the lines of “what are the chances…”, but then again, you never know. Maybe if you change the names it really wouldn’t be very likely for your family to find it.
In absence of anything better, a *hug* if you want it and some *hot chocolate*.
Katherine, how about starting a new blog, not linked to your regular blog in any way, just for your writings?
I think writing under a different name or changing the cahracter names would be the best option. I guess a blog unrelated to my current one…
NOOO! Dogs are race-traitors!!!! (snark) “Modern dogs are more Asian fusions than Euro pups, study finds” http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-modern-dogs-asian-fusions-euro.html
— — — — — —
The Republican core constituency decoded?
“Research states that prejudice comes from a basic human need and way of thinking” http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-states-prejudice-basic-human.htm
People who aren’t comfortable with ambiguity and want to make quick and firm decisions are also prone to making generalizations about others.
— — — — — —
“Satellite image shows Kim Jong Il’s dark legacy” http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/12/satellite-image-shows-kim-jong.html -You don’t need to be an analyst to see how badly the regime has messed up the country!
— — — — — —
“Kim Jong Il and How to Be a Leader” http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tim-clare/kim-jong-il-and-how-to-be-a-leader_b_1158201.html?ref=uk
— — — — — —
“One trait has huge impact on whether alcohol makes you aggressive” http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-trait-huge-impact-alcohol-aggressive.html
— — — — — —
BIPARTISANSHIP: Congress Protects Big Porn http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/jared-polis-sopa-porn-pornography_n_1158466.html
I made a WordPress blog… aaaand I’ll extend it to more about the geography, history, science, legends, and other sort of stuff like that besides only character bios.
Leaving Iraq http://cartoonbox.slate.com/tonyauth/2011/12/18/
Brother Ogvorbis
Good boy.
I knew you could figure it out on your own.
Markita Lynda
What are you on about?!
This just show the Glorious Peoples Republic of Korea care so much for her citizens, unlike the decadent West, that she ensures that everyone has a free and unobstructed view of the night sky devoid of light pollution!
Markita Lynda @ 56
Oops, didn’t see that you already had made that point!
— — — — — — — —
” the religious ads that run on freethought blogs”
-Use the “Black Ice” software in “Neuromancer” and send it to the ad origins.
Plugging my new blog – http://cathemega.wordpress.com/
Katherine
Bookmarked and shall be perused with pleasure!
Forgot to mention that I’m a compulsive reader and love to find new stories to transport me to other worlds.
@NovaC:
If nothing else, this will do that, since I’ve so clearly defined so many things about my world straight down to geographic terms (ie, Nier Numaquaya – the biggest mountain in Cathemega – is a little over 5200 feet.) I’ve got culture, festivals, histories, all that kind of stuff all up here in my headand I plan to put a great amount of it down – maybe in the future write a kind of Atlas sort of thing.
@my 80:
Meters, not feet.
#75
It works better if it’s through free choice.
I think it is very cool that I can be goin’ down the road on a bus and be on the interwebs, too.
Take care of yourself, Giliell.
–
Hi, NovaC. “Annoying and scary health episodes” sounds all too nastily familiar; hope things are looking up for you.
–
Katherine Lorraine: Deep breaths. Think of kittens. Tiny little fluffy kittens, wobbling around on their too-big paws, stubby little tails pointing straight up, taking the occasional swat at each other, losing their balance, tumbling, mewsqueaking….
Better?
–
Sounds like it will be right up my alley! Looking forward to it!
Ahh, that’s an old memory suddenly resurrected. I remember my step-brother Felipe teaching himself that song when it first came out … 45 years ago. I loved it.
Still do.
@cicely:
I think that might require a YouTube video….
@NovaC:
Glad that you’ll be interested.
Oh wonderful, I’m sick in bed and my mum calls to pick up a fight. I swear, I’ll clench my teeth until after christmas and then I’ll kick her ass
I’m truly sorry I hurt their faith.
See unlike you apparently, I trust that on TET I’m talking to at least semi-reasonable adults who can understand nuance and don’t have to be babyed and be corralled like good sheep. It’s offensive and absurdly arrogant that you presume people can’t bitch about the legit horrible points of the president and vote well.
So much for that granular voting then. Wouldn’t Perry be an obvious step up from Ming? Oh wait yeah, Democrat…we make excuses for their evil actions to protect us from the evil actions of the enemy.
Great, I basically spent the entire day sick in bed too…
Anyhoo, SQB,
I misinterpreted what my comparative Germanic grammar had to say about Dutch adjective inflection. It was sing.indef.neut. which was the exception, not sing.indef.common. Apologies
I’ve amended it:
so how can the Republicans possibly think that rejecting an extension of the payroll tax is a winning strategy for 2012?
(though I guess it might be a political move to win more concessions from the Democratic side)
They are setting themselves up to be able to say that Democrats only wanted to extend the payroll tax reductions for two months, while they, the Republicans wanted to extend it for a year.
They are counting on the ignorance of Faux News viewers to get the general population to buy this lie.
That’s an excerpt from an article in the New York Times. Link.
cicely
Thank you. One was taken care of by a series of treatments that are a necessary evil with my given condition. The other is now a game of “hurry up and wait” for the biopsy results.
Hope you’re on the swift road to mending if you aren’t already there!
Now Ing, I don’t know why you think you can ask me not to be an asshole to you and then turn around and talk to me like this.
Unlike you, I know for a fact that some people here on TET have voted Green when they were reasonable adults, I know that I voted Libertarian and later SWP when I was a reasonable adult, I know that people like StarStuff who are reasonable adults will nevertheless defend irrational actions — as when everyone here thought you were saying you weren’t going to vote Democratic, and StarStuff defended you for it — and
I expect that people here do not have to be coddled, like you’re doing, by insinuating that they are immune to cognitive biases and immune to irrational behaviors, as though we all naturally behave rationally even without debate and vicious argument first.
No, it’s not obvious. It largely depends on whether Ming the Merciless would have a strongly liberal Democratic congress to keep him in check or whether he’d have a lot of warmongering Republicans to make deals with, as well as who’s sitting on the Supreme Court at the time and what their demonstrated opinions on the extent of executive power are. I would certainly be more wary of Ming while Roberts, Scalia and Thomas sit on the court, less so if they were replaced by more liberal judges.
That’s why I said I’d seriously consider it, not that I’d absolutely vote for Ming without any other considerations. Granular.
Yes, if the enemy is likely to be more evil. “Choosing the lesser of two evils isn’t a bad thing. The cliché makes it sound bad, but it’s a good thing. You get less evil.”
Incidentally, poll on Loudon county’s Skelly Claus.
@sgbm:
Umm, but we don’t have a liberal Democratic congress. We have a Conservative Democratic congress who has time and again failed to live up to the standards of the Constitution.
That’s largely true, but we have had such decades ago, and may yet in the future.
I intend to vote for Obama, but I still think he’s undeserving of my vote. It’s merely that voting against him – whether for a third party candidate or not voting at all – would result in an even worse presidency. It’s just that the gap between the two evils is much, much slimmer than it should be.
I don’t enjoy going to the ballot and cringing when I make my vote.
I remember you, Nova. Welcome back!
I just found out I’m getting a quarter for Xmess. Yay!
Which is an impossibility. There are no good choices. There’s a Moderate Republican, which is was passes for “democrat” nowadays, and . . . . you know, I can’t think of a way to describe the field of wingnut Teahadists without ableist slurs . . . I need to build up my vocabulary.
What constitutes voting “well”? Likely, we’ll do what we always have to do, vote for the marginally less useless politician because he’s not a wingnut Teahadist. Yahoo! Yay faux democracy!
Any witty ideas for who I can write in?
++
A reminder: MY vote. MINE. Not yours. M-I-N-E.
Bankers Seek to Debunk Attack on Top 1%
We’re gonna need a bigger tumbrel.
WeedMonkey,
Iche Warte was pretty solid, that building tension really hooked me.
___
Katherine,
Open and reading. I think world creation is my favourite part of fantasy.
___
Giliell,
An ass kicking sounds overdue. Good luck.
___
NovaC,
You have good people in your corner. Take care.
Katherine Lorraine – right there with you. Don’t like Obama, but already know that’s where I’ll have to waste yet another vote because there isn’t a single repub candidate that isn’t somewhat more terrifying.
It seems odd, doesn’t it, that we’re always put in the position of voting for the least horrible candidate, because of this delusion that doing so will do something more than merely putting off the next horrible republican prez for 4 years.
That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless, as even with a supposed democrat in the white house, we still lose more and more ground.
While we do that, dems move further and further right and repubs move closer closer to [Godwin].
Hi there Caine!
Sorry for the long absence but, MS decided to play a few mean tricks on me….Not to mention a scare with what appeared to be masses in the right ascending colon and the left descending colon. Nothing to indicate cancer during the scope…Now it’s all waiting on the lab results for the polyps, ulcerations, and eroded areas so they can figure out the treatment.
Yaaaay for the quarter!
How have you been…I’ve been trying to keep up as best I can and I’m quite sure I’ve missed a lot. Conga rats on the new rattie!
Lynna,
Thanks. I got breaking news alerts from various “liberal” MSM, they made it sound like that the Republicans had actually voted down the bill…. If the Democrats were better at spinning issues, they should have a field day…
Well, have some catching up to do, with TRMS…
We did? When was that? I’d actually be interested in concrete figures when the Democratic caucus became overwhelmingly liberal, including the Dixiecrats…
Thanks Dhorvath!
I hope things will get even better for you. *hugs* if you want them.
@Illuminata:
It’s scary, that’s what it is. The Republican party is in a spiral towards Brownshirts while the Democratic part is in a spiral towards Republicans. While my hope is probably marginally reasonable, I seriously do hope that the attitudes on the Right split that party into the crazies and the less crazies. Maybe we’ll lose some moderate-to-Conservative Democrats in the process, but on the other hand we may end up with three parties – regressives, moderates, and progressives.
Check out this homophobic ad that Exodus recently ran in Trinidad and Jamaica.
link
Homosexuals are broken and are being further insulted and broken by those who refuse to let homosexual fix themselves.
This is almost enough to make my skull implode.
Nova, sorry to hear about all the health problems, had my share of those this year (acute pancreatitis, gallbother removed, tests, no cancer, yada, yada, yada) it seems this year wasn’t good for a lot of people, I’ll be glad to see the back of it.
Two new rats! Esme & Rubin joined Chas. We’re waiting on a Gytha and Magrat to join the clan. (Although that might make me certifiable, the current three sound like a herd of oliphants when they’re playing). :D
*facepalm*
*headdesk*
*hands Janine a tankard of egg-nog flavored grog*
At least the egg-nog flavored grog does not taste too much like egg-nog. It is the strange property of the grog. I really do not want to know much about that.
Caine
Three of my favorite names! Esme, Gytha, and Magrat! Love it!
I’ll be glad to see the tail of this year too. Glad to hear things are better…And,by the way, I’m completely envious of your le creuset kettle! Happy belated birthday!
Janine:
Oh for…absolutely vile.
Nova, thank you!
Le Creuset makes me drool. I seriously love that stuff.
janine
I’d say “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”….but, sadly, I know you’re not. I don’t even think I can come up with a vile enough description for that crime…..
janine,
What the shit! That is sick.
Have some angry:
Through and Through
Hello… totally threadrupt (I just can’t keep up, it’s overwhelming, sorry!), but I hope everyone’s doing OK.
Also, I bring you the news (if it’s indeed news here) that Pharyngula alumna Cerebus is now a headlined blogger at Sadly, No! The most recent 3 posts at this writing are hers.
*turns around to look at the Pullet Patrol™, on their backs, laughing their @sses off*
I think I’ve been had!
*looks up number of the nearest KFC processing plant*
pelamun
I’m thinking of the congresses that passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, and the Voting Rights Act which began ensuring minority representation in congress.
Ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and signing in the Lilly Ledbetter act and the Matthew Shephard act, were not utterly worthless.
So that is what happened to her. People have been lighting the Cerebus signal to no avail. Cannot blame her for the move. Why be one of many commentators on a blog when one can be one of the heads of one. I wish her well.
Perhaps PZ should add Sadly, No to the blog roll.
(That blog has commentators that makes the horde seem demure.)
So, he’s done nothing good? Or the good things he’s done just don’t count?
ahs,
I think you’re mistaken, check the voting figures for the 1964 Act:
The original House version:
Southern Democrats: 7–87 (7%–93%)
Southern Republicans: 0–10 (0%–100%)
Northern Democrats: 145-9 (94%–6%)
Northern Republicans: 138-24 (85%–15%)
The Senate version:
Southern Democrats: 1–20 (5%–95%)
Southern Republicans: 0–1 (0%–100%)
Northern Democrats: 45-1 (98%–2%)
Northern Republicans: 27-5 (84%–16%)
435 seats in the House, 152 Democrats voting for the Act do not make a majority last I checked…
Illuminata, I can help you out, here.
They’re lame. Morally/ethically lame, as exhibited by the recent succession of Not-Romneys’ tendancy to self-scuttle by shooting themselves in all available feet, morally/ethically speaking.
–
I don’t know why you think that’s what I said. That’s 149+7 vs 87+9 in the house, and 45+1 vs 20+1 in the senate. That’s a majority of the Democrats.
that’s not what you said. You (or Katherine, rather) said “liberal Democratic congress”. That would, to me, imply that liberal Democrats actually have the majority in Congress.
Ms Daisy Cutter: major kudos for using the proper gender/number in “alumna.” Too many people just use “alumni” for everything no matter how many or what type of people they’re talking about and it makes the Latin center in my brain hurt.
Major ugh: my mother has apparently decided that what I need is to be a part of the “singles group” that someone is putting together at her church. She felt so correct in this, in fact, that she went ahead and gave (who I presume to be) the organizer my cell phone number. He was polite enough over the phone and didn’t attempt too much cajoling to get me to go, but I’m not happy about having my phone number passed out to her church buddies.
Is it an overreaction for me to be so upset about this? I told her that I don’t want her giving my phone number out and she seems to understand for the time being. However, even after nearly 4 years of being “out” to her about my atheism, she still seems to think that it’s just a phase and that I just need to read more Lee Strobel.
Ah. Fair point. What I should have said was this was a time when the Democrats drove congress, and the liberals drove the Democrats.
PH:
Not being upset would indicate you’re in danger of becoming terminally mellow. If that had happened to me, I would have told my mom in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t acceptable.
Meh. I think it’s fine to hold one’s nose and vote for the slightly-less-awful candidate; I can understand the rationale for voting for Obama, or for voting for Bill Clinton (who did plenty of similarly awful things) back in the day. But voting isn’t the only, or the most important, way to influence things; politics isn’t limited to electoral politics.
When it comes to my particular cause – equality for immigrants and abolition of discriminatory immigration laws – I’m all too aware that, given the depth of public hostility to immigration, it isn’t very likely that any mainstream politician is going to agree with me, or that it’s going to be achieved in the short term through any political means. But I still keep talking about it, because in the long term I think it’s important to shift the Overton window. At the moment, the noisy racist xenophobic lobby (FAIR, MigrationWatch, and so on) dominates the discourse, and has succeeded in pushing immigration policy further and further to the authoritarian side. What is really needed is an equally vocal pro-immigration lobby, working on disseminating accurate information, correcting myths, and promoting empathy with the actual human stories of individual migrants and the oppression and harm caused by racist immigration laws. That’s the only way that the political mindset will ever change, and it will take a long time.
In the meantime, though, it’s often true that the most effective way to do good is to help, on a case-by-case basis, the individual people who are being screwed over by the system. Which many people here are doing, in various ways, through their careers and/or through their volunteer work. Political advocacy is important too, of course, but it’s more of a long-term approach and may not always pay off in the short term.
Predator Handshake, I know you are just looking for confirmation of what you alright think but you have every right to be upset. Your mother is not respecting who you are, it does not matter how meaning she is. She should not volunteer to an organization that you want nothing to do with and she should not give any information about you to strangers. That is for you to decide, not her.
I think you would be entirely in the right if you firmly and politely told her that she should never do something like this again. Just because she is your mother is no excuse for her to not show you any respect.
PH,
Ughh. No, that would not sit well with me at all. Words would be spoken. Hope she gets it this time.
Predator Handshake: Thanks. I also sometimes say “internet fora.”
And, no, you are hardly overreacting. WTF. Disrespectful of your privacy, your sexual orientation, and your opinion on religion.
I’m making chili! I couldn’t find a recipe I liked that used only the stuff I have in my kitchen, so I’m kinda just winging it.
Well, I can see this ruling by the Utah Supreme Court leading to all kinds of bad decisions.
Link.
Miss DC: sorry, I should have been more clear. I’m only “out” to her regarding atheism; I’m the straight sibling.
Thanks to the rest of you as well for the replies. I may have been looking for a bit of validation, but I was unsure if something as small as a 10-minute phone conversation was worth getting worked up over. The baffling thing about all this is I just can’t imagine what good she could have thought would come of it. The last time she tried to have a Jesus talk with me she ended up crying, so I think she’s trying to outsource the conversion effort.
Seems to me their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities. Why are they complaining about that?
Predator Handshake, the ten minute phone call is beside the point. Your mother is giving your personal information to a stranger that you want nothing to do with. When you get down to it, is it really any different if some troll signs you up for anything? What you mother did is unacceptable and disrespectful, even if she thinks she the best intentions.
Don’t put words in my mouth and then argue with them. I’m sure if you ignore the list of shit that’s about 10x longer, this would seem impressive. SOPA negates any “good” he’s done. His total silence on the psychotic levels of police brutality against OWS protestors as well. His support of What’s-Her-Faces’s asinine decision to ignore science in favor of “ick! Teens have sex!”. The totally-not-war in Pakistan. Fellating republicans at every.fucking.opportunity.
Huh. The list of shit is already longer.
Obamabots don’t make me want to vote for him, they make me want to not vote at all.
++
Cicely – that is an ableist term.
Predator Handshake, I encourage you to become less apologetic and stop mincing words.
(Works for me)
janine: “Got killed by ten millions pounds of sludge”
Gah! Saw that on the train into work and was enraged by the twin facts that (a) it’s not on my MP3 player, and (b) work blocks YouTube. Curses!
(Belated thanks for the GrooveShark link thread-III*.)
But, more important: Seven. Day. Weekend. Oh, yeah.**
* Shush, I know.
** Which I will use to fix (a). ;)
Oh, I wasn’t trying to excuse what my mom did; Janine, you’ve summed up my feelings about it pretty well. This is the first time she’s done something like this so hopefully I’ve managed to establish a firm boundary around it.
I’ve got to stop watching these People Buying and/or Selling Things shows before I blow money on a storage locker full of wicker furniture. Are there any panel shows I should check out similar to QI and Nevermind the Buzzcocks? I’ve also seen Would I Lie to You and You Have Been Watching but didn’t find the former entertaining.
I’m arguing with the words you actually said, of course: “That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless”
That is a false statement.
There is no such thing as negation in this sense. Good things and bad things stand side by side.
Let’s try to do this more homophobically.
What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.
I’m arguing with the words you actually said, of course: “That’s all voting this way can even hope to achieve – delaying the next horrible repub president for 4 years. And even that is utterly worthless”
That is a false statement.
There is no such thing as negation in this sense. Good things and bad things stand side by side.
Let’s try to do this more homophobically. You should probably rephrase that to say he takes it up the ass.
What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.
Remember the ‘von Däniken poisons everything’ thread? Well, I have an update on that, so I am reposting my post from that thread, in case anyone is interested.
—————————————————————-
I have stumbled upon another interview with Scott at Filmophilia.com, and I found the following… err… ‘gems’ contained therin;
Yup, he just took von Däniken over Darwin, and ill thought out alien gods over evolutionary theory, on the basis of his misunderstanding of the implications of mathematical probability theory. Oh, and modern mobile phones are really like Star Trek communicators, therefore alien gods, or something…
So, we should apparently be prepared to throw history, known physics and biology, geology and several other fields out of the window because it could be, like, totaly wrong, dude!
Also, the issue of the frequency of intelligent life in the galaxy is far from settled. Hawking was discussing a hypopthetical alien encounter, and likening this hypothetical to our own colonial past as a species – that where a more technologically advanced culture meets a less technologically advanced one, things tend to go poorly for the side with less impressive firepower. I don’t think that Hawking was endorsing a ‘thousands of sentient species’ model for life in the broader universe, merely engaging in a thought experiment.
In any case, I was reading the latest issue of the New Scientist, and I came upon a book review of Alone in the Universe; Why our Planet is Unique by John Gribben, in which Gribben apparently argues that only a very extreme set of coincidences and fortuitous events allowed our sentient species and technological society to develop, and that there is no particular reason to suppose that other such technological cultures are in any way commonplace in the broader universe, and that it is indeed quite possible that we are the only sentient life in existence. I havn’t read the book, and so I can’t speculate on the quality of the arguments therein, but this certainly seems to suggest to me that Scott is grossly misrepresenting the current state of this debate.
Sadly, it is looking increasingly like Scott is taking the express train all the way to crazy town on this one.
Sadly, No! is a long-time favorite, so yeah, I tossed it onto the blogroll. Anything else I’ve missed?
Thank you, PZ.
Cerebus, the horde still loves you. Come by for a visit every so often.
Damn it, I should at least spell her moniker correctly.
Cerberus
Law & Order: KFC
One or two. :)
Needs more Hyperchicken!
Bukka.
@Dhorvath: “their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities”. Um, no:
Page 1 of 2.
Lynna, OM’s point about how this ruling might be abused still stands.
Robot Chicken is a fav of mine! (*** Ducks [sick] Pullet Patrol glares, reaches over the bar blindly and locates grog, sips same. ***)
one of the mysteries surrounding the Dear Leader’s death was the fact that Ri Chun-Hee (李春姬), the “People’s Broadcaster”, the chief announcer of the N.K. TV, had been missing since October. But she was the one emotionally announcing the Dear Leader’s death.
Every time I hear N.K. TV, and especially her, I get a shock, and she is known as the “announcer whose voice shocks North Korea’s enemies”, or “whose voice is stronger than bullets”.
Here’s a link with interesting samples. The last video, showing scenes from a military parade and the Korea War, is also interesting. A Chinese netizen said watching it made him faint.
I also came across a video where she is apparently talking about octopuses, but it turned out to be a hoax. “In view of the miraculous predictions of octopus Paul, the Dear Leader has decided to import octopuses from Germany that will never betray our fatherland”
Test? Is my post blocked because I is posting links to Mormon News?
Apparently so.
(In which case, moderator, could you can the 1st one and post the 2nd, please?)
PZ does not free messages that gets stuck in his trap, changeable moniker.
cm:
There aren’t any moderators, there’s just PZ. Your post is toast. Try again, limiting to two links per post.
Caine, six links per post are allowed.
forgot the link
http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/north-korean-anchorwoman-ri-chun-hee-becomes-famous.html
love moderately: “What you really want is to complain and not be argued with. I understand! I like that too.”
I think that’s why I went off on one about Marx, prev(prev?)thread. That, and I’ve been reading Antony Flew.
*ducks and covers*
OK, I’m bored of moderation.
@Dhorvath: “their obstetrician left the fetus in the hands of deities” …
Which if true, is horrible. And actionable.
(Lynna’s point about applicability of the interpretation of the law still stands, though.)
Sanitised link to follow.
http://tinyurl.com/6nmpgeu
Sili, could you post the link to the poll again? I haven’t voted yet, and the subthread it’s in apparently occupies nearly all of my RAM or something.
My point is that, in China, it was possible for a random barbarian to become emperor if only he defended his claim to have the Mandate of Heaven convincingly enough. In the Roman empire, that was not allowed; only a citizen could become emperor. Consequently, at the first successful invasion, the Western Roman empire ended because it was much easier to abolish the office of emperor than to fill it with a barbarian.
Ah. Prima doesn’t exist over here, so it didn’t cross my mind, and extra is mostly a noun prefix over here.
I was thinking of rosa and lila, which are indeclinable in these forms, but commonly (colloquially) declined after adding -n-.
Whoa. Far out, man.
Check out the middle name of his son Nicholas I. Barebon.
No such word in German.
Much too wordy in German: sich mit CL-20 durchsetzendes Bärtierchen.
I think you’ll have to become a Verwenderbärtierchen after all. And please note that pelamun took the -hexaza- part out and thus robbed you of a lot of explosivity!!! Without those six nitrogens, you are nothing !!
In Ulm, um Ulm und um Ulm herum.
Awesome!
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
Day saved!
LOL! The true worth of…
No, actually, there are places in NK that will be flooded with tourists as soon as possible.
It doesn’t work, and I strongly suspect you’re simply not used to hearing the difference.
Can you do machine-gun noise? That’s the Spanish-/Russian-/Arabic-style r when you add voice to it.
FIFY. Not to be confused with the More or Less Democratic Republic of the Congo.
*squee* X-) ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
Anyway, seconded.
*chamomile tea for Giliell*
I wondered.
Mutaheadeen…?
…You know, I’ve known for ages which sides the ascending and the descending parts are on, but I’ve never, to this day, thought of them as left and right. I had never associated them with those words.
Oho! I’ll need to check them out sometime…
Cell phone number!?!
I’d throw a fit. I might get violent.
Highly unlikely. Try again. Are there any words in your comment that might be caught by a filter for Turkish spambots?
PZ hardly ever has time to look at the moderation queue.
John:
Not anymore. PZ had set it to six per, but that went away after the last upgrade.
Indeed it is. You must have missed my rant in a recent (last?) Thread. Cold, dead knees and so forth.
–
Hi.
Family exchanged our Solstice gifts today (with the Kids work, this was the only day it worked).
Wife made Future-Son-in-Law a NanCat scarf.
We gave Girl a trumpet stand and a book on ancient Egyptian art.
We gave Boy a book called “The History of the World Told Through 100 Weapons” and a bottle of Jolokia hot sauce.
And I gave Wife a 25th anniversary NPS Passport book. Which we plan to fill together.
Bye.
(Less ranty.)
*Ahem* Delamain Pale and Dry.
Unless it’s punishment, in which case QC Sherry.
[test]
The eyes of Anomalocaris
Mary’s Monday Metazoan: Snacktime
Steve Pinker’s hair and the muscles of worms
Anti-Caturday post
Creationist abuse of cuttlefish chitin
cm,
I think that what happened to Sanchez was horrible and I would that people who want care receive it, not dismissal. I don’t think that is what is motivating the legislators. My comment did not make clear who I meant by they and it should have.
This just dawned on me as I was reading the The Marjanovićing of The Emdless Thread, but would that make the name exhortatory when he dies?
Er, Pinch blended Scotch whiskey.
I like Arbor Mist. Don’t judge me!
Definitely Cerberus! The three-headed hound at the gates of Hades, not Cerebus the misogynist aardvark.
Pelamun, I checked back and I really don’t know what your point is. You seem to be just saying “nuh-uh”. I’m not saying you have to like the Romans, or that the Romans were nice! They were imperialists, patriarchal slave-owners, brutally violent and so on. They were also amazing engineers, and the Roman republic had substantial democratic elements. Along with the Greeks, they were an inspiration in the creation of modern ideas of democracy.
@Dhorvath, ACK. (Or as the airpeople say, Roger Wilco!)
More to come, next post.
Crip Dyke! Remember when you asked “straight people, how do you work”? Here‘s a possible reason for why the men you know about put such emphasis on orgasm and neglect everything else:
I haven’t followed the link. However, being neither Jewish nor Muslim nor American nor Canadian, I can very easily imagine that what is described in the quote is true.
PZ, I can’t recommend Fafblog (http://fafblog.blogspot.com/) because they don’t post often, but what they post is cherce.
The Walton’s papers are submitted, the semester is over, and he is strangely exhausted. (Going for a short run this afternoon really tired him out, for he has not exercised enough lately.) But in a few days he will be going to visit Algernon in Texas. This is a Good Thing.
Haha…
(Of course, as I understand it, “exhort” and “hortatory” come from the same root, Latin hortor, “to encourage”. My understanding of the hortatory names is that they were intended to be like mini-sermons encapsulated in a name, exhorting the bearer of the name and everyone else to praise God. But I’m not an expert on the period. I’ve always found the Commonwealth era rather depressing.*)
(*Aside from the whole regicide thingy, Cromwell and his gang of thugs destroyed countless irreplaceable medieval artworks, in their campaign of trashing the interiors of churches for Puritan theological reasons. Most English medieval parish churches had beautiful rood screens, altars, elaborate wall-paintings, gold and silver candlesticks, and the like; only a very few have any original art from that period left. Not to mention the stained-glass windows; most of the originals were smashed, while those which can be seen today mostly date from the Victorian era. But I digress.)
I’ll give you the iconoclasm, but for all his faults Cromwell gave you the Britain you have today (not that appealing to David Starkey is exactly a good idea anymore): When Charles II took over he was more the successor to Cromwell than his father. The Divine Right of Kings was dead forever.
Too late. All Slog polls are legally binding, and you(pl.) failed horribly in this instance.
Shame!
True. However, Cromwell was, at the very least, far more competant than Charles I or II (or, for that matter, almost any of the Stuart royalty of England (and etc)). So which is preferable: puritanical competance, or hedonistic incompetance? Damn. Now that would have been a good paper for English History II.
Terveet Kädet – Pissaa ja paskaa
Terveet Kädet – Tornion kevät
Terveet Kädet – Totuus löytyy Koskenkorvasta
Liimanarina – Kuinka Aku Ankasta tehdään poliisi
The latter. Hands down.
I don’t dispute that Cromwell was highly competent. At, among other things, slaughtering people.
(This particular observation isn’t intended as a defence of monarchy: plenty of kings and queens were equally nasty characters. One wouldn’t have wanted to be a Catholic under Elizabeth I’s rule either, say.)
There’s a story about Charles II that I rather like. Charles had the habit of walking around London escorted only be a secretary. Anyone could come up to him and ask him questions, ask for a favor, or express their opinion. The secretary kept notes.
Charles’ brother and heir, James, warned Charles this habit was extremely dangerous and Charles was inviting assassination by being in public without bodyguards. Charles’ response was “Jamie, nobody is going to kill me to make you king.”
Charles died in his bed of kidney failure. James was king for three years before he fled to France during the Glorious Revolution.
The Desert Sessions – Cake (Who shit on the?)
Kyuss – Green Machine oh this is like a defining song for a genre… like, man, dude.
Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Queens of the Stone Age – First It Giveth
Hello, all.
Back from a whirlwind trip to my new stomping grounds. While there, I signed a lease on a new place, signed a huge stack of paperwork at my new employer’s, and trekked around my new neighborhood.
I also went into a car dealership and bought a car (well, not really. I told the salesperson that I would call thursday to confirm the order).
Uh?
Re: American politics. Ugh. I voted for Obama in ’08 (and in ’06, natch) and was pretty excited and happy to do so. I’ve been pretty sorely disappointed, though I’m also utterly disgusted with many, many members of Congress and the Senate. Jebus. This time around, I’m going to vote for Obama again. Not as enthusiastically as I did before, but because the alternative fucking terrifies me. So, my intention is to vote for the Working Families candidates pretty much across the board. That way, my votes go to genuine progressives that actually have a shot at winning.
I was pretty flabbergasted when I looked at a map to see what districts, etc., my new place will be in. Take a gander (no pun intended) at this monstrosity of a gerrymander. Sheesh.
Thousands of rare documents burned in Egypt clash
:(
–
I’m extremely used to hearing the difference between being able to “roll your R’s” and not being able to do so, in the USA. You may be thinking I’m referring to something that you know about and I don’t. Or, I may be failing to communicate the expected sound. I’m not talking about what I would probably think of as subtle differences.
Said slowly, “totterday” comes out “taht-ur-day”. Repeating it, er, repeatedly and somewhat lazily, it comes out very close to “tah-[rolled R]-day”. Perhaps your own sophisticated mouth is so schooled that it does not function in the impoverished way that USAian mouths do, and can’t be coaxed to perform this, what would you call it, phonemical illusion.
What I’m claiming, and have observed, is that people who claim, and demonstrate, the inability to roll their R’s, make a sound – indistinguishable to me, though perhaps distinguishable to others whose ears and mind are able to hear it – just like the R rolling sound.
That second paragraph, I’ll note, may come across as kind of assholish, which is hardly the intent. From your comments here I’m sure your mouth is much more sophisticated than mine with respect to language related topics.
…and ear…
Testing out this wordpress thing (I haven’t commented since it was registration-free). Hi y’all. Chocolate, fuzzy puppies, etc to all.
Yay, it works!
Very old (threads ago), but to Caine: I loved the pics of your giant doggies running around and your new rats are cute!
And to Dhorvath, chocolate and hugs if you want it.
Sleep – Dopesmoker
Warning, Dopesmoker is over an hour long.
AND FUCKING AWESOME!
Holy mother of fuck! NHK World – Olympus offices raided
A hundred billion yen amounts to (approximately) something like 1 billion euros, or 1.3 billion USD.
Ugh, big hard drives are nice, but when they have problems (trying to back it up) the repairs can take forever. 4275 files (1.3 TB), but only ten files were unreadable. Finally got the good data backed up, and started a low level format to identify and log the bad areas. Things were smooth for a few hours (not even half done), but now it appears it has found some of the bad areas, as it does a “drum solo” every so often. I’ll find out if it worked in the morning.
Absolutego-BORIS
Peace, love, and puppies. Every time I see this one kid’s backpack, that’s what comes to mind. Shame that the solution to life’s problems isn’t that easy.
——————————————-
I sent another email to Obama. I’m not expecting a reply (partly because I didn’t check the little box saying such was requested), and who knows if he’ll even see it. Can’t say I didn’t try.
Weed Monkey:
It’s been pretty well known in the photography community that Olympus has been in deep natto for quite a while. From what I understand, it’s not quite an Enron-level scandal, but it’s still pretty massive.
Olympus is pretty much gone, Kodak is hemorrhaging money, Konica Minolta’s camera business was transferred to Sony… other than Canon and Nikon, who’s left of the old guard?
Killer Pawn
White Feather in the Storm
Rising Sun
Sweet Memories of Earth
Shell Rider
Is there any particular reason I can’t link to an episode of Extra Credits?
Maybe it’s because it’s hosted on Penny Arcade’s site? Test.
Maybe I can just link to the show and tell you to watch Season 1, Episode 9, “Video Game Music”. It’s what got me listening to CarboHydroM.
David,
It’s a crank website which denies that Langerhans cells are a target or vector for HIV infection. Read the interspersed red-text commentary he’s added to this study and tell me if it doesn’t scream crankery to you:
circumstitions.com/Short-HIV.html
Does anyone know anything about “inversion therapy” or inversion tables? I’m trying to write a blog post about it, but there’s very little skeptical information available.
When you google “inversion therapy” there’s pages upon pages of websites trying to sell inversion tables or woo sites saying how great it is.
Someone over at B & W posted a link to this surprising but excellent piece by Sam Harris on, of all things, self defense.
rorschach, are you still around? I’ve been wanting your opinions. Szabo and Short recommend male circumcision at puberty for reducing HIV transmission in parts of Africa most affected by the epidemic.
The easier question: do you agree that there is significant evidence suggesting that male circumcision reduces HIV transmission from women to men in areas where the prevalence of HIV is highest?
The harder question: is recommendation of male circumcision at puberty a reasonable component of HIV prevention in Africa?
lm/ahs/sgbm,
I seem to remember that when I last looked this up, the only justification for male circumcision based on the data was in endemic HIV areas in Africa, yes.
To your 2 questions, I’ll admit that I don’t know what the correct answer is, and Im not in a position timewise to go looking right now.
No problem, rorschach.
+++++
Abortion argument on one of the Hitchens threads, if anybody likes that sort of thing.
PZ: dog spam on this thread: http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/10/27/hitler-was-a-true-christian/comment-page-1/#comment-225899
I’m fucking crying here.
It seems I’ve been banned on jw loftus’s blog, Debunking Christianity, over an argument where he defended William Lane Craig as being a nice guy, and some of us, including me, did not accept that.
He didn’t say I was banned, but any new comments of mine don’t appear on any of his posts. John Morales, are you blocked too?
Rorschach, I watched the video. I’m glad Hitch got to see it, but it’s oh so sad.
I feel bad, because I read like mad on these threads. But when I need to post something I don’t read what’s come before. I saw something about Janine and I so heart Janine. I hope she’s okay and no one is fucking with her.
I live in Russia. This is great to me as I love Russia, so much. I am unspeakably in love with Russia.
Moving on. I teach English in Russia. Many people want to do the same. I am kind of jaded as far as humans go but this young man from Pittsburgh wanted to teach in Russia, too. (I don’t pick up stray animals as much as I do stray humans. — No, I pick up stray animals even more so.)
SO, I will call him Pit – Pit came here and *I* swore for him at my school and he started teaching the next day, as I told him he would. The unfortunate thing is that he told me that same night that he was libertarian. I KNOW, I know, I know the hugely encompassing massive grossness of libertarianism, but I am unable to encompass that in succinctness.
He demonstrated it quite nicely by dumping his students and running back to America, but I’d like to formulate some words about it. Besides my own anecdote. Yes, he was white and, yes, his father is a surgeon. He was a wealthy white boy.
Hi there
I report that I’m feeling better. Not good, but better.
Predator Handshake
You’re absolutely right in freaking out. And I recommend putting your foot down. If she does that again, you get a new cellphone-number and she doesn’t get it.
**********
I am sympathetic with the parents. I can feel with them. They had been expecting their baby, which, most likely, was already viable and would have been perfectly fine if it had been born that day.
The woman expresses her concerns, and was, most likely, ignored because what do women know about their bodies, just a hysterical, overbearing expecting mother*.
The bad ones are legislators who then use traumatized parents as an excuse to push anti-choice legislation.
*It’s not the first time that I hear a story like this. A friend of mine lost her baby shortly before her due date. She felt wrong and went to the hospital, where they, without making any tests, decided that she was too nervous, needed sleep, doped her up and she woke up when she was already in labour with her now dead child. It was most likely still alive when she came to the hospital and could have been saved via C-section.
1 year from today is the end of the world according to a certain pre-columbian stone calendar and those who are gullible enough to believe it.
Pat Robertson has a litter of kittens over SNL Tebow sketch.
damn! TET losing my posts!
@ David M.
Actually this sounds pretty cool. The balance of power has shifted to the tardigrades.
Holy Moss Patch! You are right. I better start wielding to set this right. {loudly} Pelamuuuuuuuun!!!
Actually this part is also serious. It is a form of acknowledgement that you are taking over something of (currently) little value for the benefit of all. The sale or lease must go through with the transfer of money. It is quite a common occurrence in The Netherlands and elsewhere. (You may also be familiar with the tradition in Switzerland/Germany that you never give a knife as a present. ie you pay a token amount (“one penny”) if someone gifts a knife to you.
@ changeable
No self-respecting North Korean general would drink less. (Personally I find it completely revolting. If I had the cash value of all the Hennessy I’ve puked up at karaokes, I’d be very well off.)
@ Rev BDC
You think YOU are terrified. I am at least NINE hours before you. I am really shitting myself.
/marjanovićing
That’s new to me ;)
Some of my best gifts were knives.
Some of my best buys were knives.
Knives…..
Sorry, what were you saying?
[This bit supposed to go between 219 &220. I suggest doing a screen print then print onto paper and then cutting and pasting to get the right order]
@ Kitty
I get “Problem loading page” … I guess that means you are deemed a subversive here.
You have just GOT to check out Namaqualand! (Yup, the whole (semi-) desert becomes carpetted with daisies. One of the most incredible experiences you could imagine.)
Aaaah, that is sweet music to me.
@ pelamun (& SQB)
Liewe jissus mense, word dit nie tyd nie dat julle álmal oorskakkel na Afrikaans ‘k sê?
@ NovaC
A connoisseur of the finer things in life… You will fit in nicely with us Pharyngufoodies.
@ Kitty
Namaqualand: http://www.namaqualand.com/flowers/#/content/Flowers/DSCF2565.jpg
(Hope this works and doesn’t bork my post.)
Ok nerd squeeee
Hobbit Movie trailer released.
Nah. In the later Roman Empire, barbarians were routinely given the Roman citizenship, and in the case of chiefs made senators and patricians, so there would have been no difficulty in making one Emperor if that had been desired. During the later 4th and 5th centuries, men of barbarian ancestry were at times the effective rulers of the Western Empire, and continuing the Empire with puppet Emperors was also an option. The empire ended because the enemies it faced in the 4th and 5th centuries were far more formidable than those it faced earlier, and multiple invasions eventually overwhelmed its capacity to respond. In particular, the Vandals captured its main grain surplus area (what is now Tunisia). Without that, the Western Empire simply couldn’t support an army capable of defending it for long. A plan to recapture Tunisia with help from the Eastern Empire had to be called off because of Attila’s invasion in the 450s. Read Peter Heather’s 2006 The Fall of the Roman Empire: a New History of Rome and the Barbarians (OUP).
Notice that the Chinese Empire has both disintegrated, and been conquered by barbarians, more than once. The later Han version of the Empire collapsed in the 3rd century, and only in the late 6th did the Sui partially reunite it, followed by the 7th century rise of the Tang, who created the largest version up to that time. The question about the Roman Empire is not just why it fell (to which I find Heather’s answer convincing: because its own long-term effect had been to shape the barbarians, especially the Germans, into much more formidable enemies); but why the bits never came together again as happened repeatedly in China. In the 6th century Justinian reconquered much of the west (Tunisia, Italy, a chunk of Spain, the islands of the western Mediterranean), but it was by then not economically viable; much was quickly lost again, and in the 7th-8th centuries Islam conquered the entire southern coast of the Mediterranean, plus Spain, ending all chances of a revival.
@ Gilliel
/gumby
Ok this is a link to the video without bullshit
Bagginsessss
“In Ulm, um Ulm und um Ulm herum” on a unicyle.
I liked the trampoline bit.
@ KG
Also remember that “stranger kings” were the order of the day, both in RL and in mythology, so that the concept would have been readily at hand if they where to require an outsider to rule.
(In fact the “stranger king” idea is still alive and well today, albeit in an updated context.)
Woohoo! I has an infertile!
Hmm. Some students should not go into a health profession seems to be picking up some spam in the comments at the end.
Does PZ particularly notice/care on older posts? Does he prefer being emailed about it if he does?
I am glad that I don’t have the choice of two bad things in my elections at least. Well there are the two main parties, but in Australia what with preferential voting and so forth I can vote for a minor party without it being a wasted vote by specifying who my second choice is. And can put those who I would not want at all down at the bottom of the list. There’s still a bit too much bias in the media (*Murdoch*) but it makes my choices easier.
Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian [action] WIZARD! ;)
@Theophontes:
Hmm, well try typing in http://cathemega.wordpress.com and see if it works. Could be that you’re getting blocked by a firewall?
@ Kitty
No such luck… :'(
I think the firewall in question is called “The Great Cyberwall of China”. I shall have to try your link next time I’m in Hong Kong.
It would be nice to be able to look in on the process from time to time, but obviously it is totally up to you what you feel you can share.
Good luck with your blog and book.
Danny MacAskill in Chamonix. I wish I was in Chamonix. :-{
I wish I could ride like Danny MacAskill.
If you are gay, Newt Gingrich does not want you to vote for him.
If only there was some way to keep sexual deviants from voting.
Even after all of these years, I am not sure if I should be amused or appalled.
And yess, I am excited about the Gollum. I likes the Gollum.
___
Aladegorrion,
I am doing well, just drifting while I sort it out. Thanks for your thoughts.
___
Today I am home with sick little boy, he is watching Star Wars with no Yoda. Fun times.
Gingrich is a piece of shit.
aladegorrion:
Thank you! It’s good to see you back. :)
@Theophontes:
ROFL! I’m banned in China! Lovely :3
It is only in this current collection of high functioning fuck ups that is the Republican field that a failed Speaker could be on top.
Would those who argue that we should be accommodating insist that she should move to the back of the bus? Would the Orthodox Jew learn to respect women if the passenger gave in to his demand?
I hate the need that led to that tale, but wow, I love Tanya Rosenblit for her actions in that situation.
Theophontes@ 222
I think I was born to be a Foodie! With a mixture of Cajun*,Sicilian, and a smidgen of Catalan for my heritage…a healthy curiosity for new flavors, and a family with a passion for good food it couldn’t be avoided!
(* Although I’ve been castigated for not being ashamed of my Cajun heritage as it smacks of being low class in one person’s opinion)
I get strange looks from friends when I gush over new cookware given to me by my Husband.
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/20/i_knew_christopher_hitchens_better_than_you/singleton/
KG,
Nah. In the later Roman Empire, barbarians were routinely given the Roman citizenship, and in the case of chiefs made senators and patricians, so there would have been no difficulty in making one Emperor if that had been desired. During the later 4th and 5th centuries, men of barbarian ancestry were at times the effective rulers of the Western Empire, and continuing the Empire with puppet Emperors was also an option. The empire ended because the enemies it faced in the 4th and 5th centuries were far more formidable than those it faced earlier, and multiple invasions eventually overwhelmed its capacity to respond. In particular, the Vandals captured its main grain surplus area (what is now Tunisia). Without that, the Western Empire simply couldn’t support an army capable of defending it for long. A plan to recapture Tunisia with help from the Eastern Empire had to be called off because of Attila’s invasion in the 450s. Read Peter Heather’s 2006 The Fall of the Roman Empire: a New History of Rome and the Barbarians (OUP).
After Caracalla’s decree in the 4th c. all freeborn residents of the empire were granted citizenship, just as long before that all freeborn residents of Italy had been. Odoacer was born somewhere on the other side of the Danube, so this didn’t include him (though I believe he was given honorary titles like patricius), but I think you are broadly correct in disputing David’s account of the events of 476. Had there been any desire either on the part of the Senatorial class at Rome or of Odoacer himself, then he could have been proclaimed emperor. I think he wanted no part of it. He wanted to be king of autonomous Italy. Being emperor by then was a mug’s game, and I think Odoacer was smart enough to see it.
The enemies in the 4th and 5th were more formidible yes, and by the 5th, two centuries of intermittant civil war had weakened the army considerably. The very reason that the Germanic armies were more of a threat was that it had been imperial policy not to attempt definitive victories against them in conclusive battles, for two reasons: one was that emperors by then did not campaign with armies anymore and the emperor couldn’t trust a general with a big enough army to do so not to attempt a coup if he was victorious in a decisive battle agains foreign enemies. (Long-term structural weakness on the part of the empire had a lot to do with the fact that the first priority of emperors became their own survival, and not the good of the empire even in theory or propaganda.) The other was that the Goths, Franks, Alans et al had become the main source of ready manpower for the Roman military. The later 4th century had been practically an exercise in playing these groups against each other for the Romans, and playing the Romans against each other for the Germans when one of the endless series of coups was in progress. By the time the independent Germanic kingdoms were being established on formerly provincial soil, it was a case for the Romans of “can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”
How Will I Ever Be Simple Again-Richard Thompson
Hand Of Kindness-Richard Thompson
Tear Stained Letter-Richard Thompson
Wall Of Death-Richard Thompson
On Assignment: Shoot Your Kid
Psycho Killer-David Byrne & Richard Thompson
Who Medley-Richard Thompson
Ca Plane Pour Moi-Richard Thompson
Jet Boy Jet GirlElton Motello
Ca Plane Pour Moi-Plastic Bertrand
Jet Boy Jet Girl-The Damned
Ca Plane Pour Moi-Sonic Youth
I am not sure what happened here.
You surfed the tube of you? Lots of people like that song? I suspect it’s something deeper that I just can’t glean.
Have I ever mentioned how much it makes my blood boil when I see conservatives collect food for poor people?
I think it was written on my brow, they didn’t try to ask me for a contribution.
Don’t worry. It will all go to the ‘deserving’ poor. Which makes it more efficient than, y’know, those evil government programs.
I’m caught up.
Some of the threads are weird.
Oh, you kno the organisation they’re collecting the food for is a good and solid one. But it’s the same conservatives who claim that the government social security payments are more than enough to live a decent life. And they’re lucky I’m still under the weather, because that’s usually what I’m asking them loudly:
If that’s the case, what are they doing there collecting food for people who they say have more than enough money to buy it?
Sorry. Complete grokfail on my part.
And the same ones who claim that $7.25 an hour is a living wage. And paying any more would kill the economy because all the stores would shut down (which would be odd as there would be more money to spend in the stores). Besides, boxed mac and cheese, three meals a day, with powdered milk and the cheapest margarine only costs about $3.00 a day so why would they need more?
(Sorry. My cynical phase is peaking.)
What’s a minimum wage?
In the US, it is the pay, per hour, under which an employer may not go except in specific circumstances — tips or training, for instance. Why?
Sarcastic remark on my side. Germany knows no such thing, we think it’s totes OK to pay somebody 3€/h and that implementing a minimum wage kill the economy because all the stores would shut down (which would be odd as there would be more money to spend in the stores).
(Yes, I know that’s what you said, funny, ain’t it?)
echidna,
Yeah. I had a comment that showed up, but was gone when I checked an hour or so later, then to confirm I tried to post another, but it never appeared.
(I’ve only ever been banned from one other blog: the Hoggler’s)
Oggie, Gilell, it’s not inconsistent with their beliefs of America, like Ron Paul, they think xian charity will step in to fill the gaps of food & medical care and the gov’t has no place in promoting the welfare of the general public. Despite what the U.S. Constitution says.
+++++++++++++++++++
I had a dental appt today to have 2 fillings replaced. I really like my dentist. Waiting for the novacaine to take effect we chatted about research in optometry and dentistry. and while my mouth was full of arcane tools of torture he recommended 2 books to me.
This Is Your Brain On Music”
and
How We Decide
I’ll check the first one out, but I haven’t decided about the second one.
Sailor,
I have TiYBoM, but never made progress when it came home several years past. Let me know if I am missing out.
Or for that matter, I could mail my copy to you. It’s not doing me any good.
@Ogvorbis, on #2, the other book I’ve seen highly recommended:
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637/
Doh. Ogvorbis -> The Sailor. Sorry.
@ Sailor
I have How We Decide on my bookshelf right now, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I bought it after I watched the author do a pretty interesting interview on the Colbert Report.
CJO,
Minor point: Caracalla was Emperor 198-217 C.E., so the extension of citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire was old news by the time of the late 3rd century crisis, let alone the final, long-drawn 5th-century collapse of the western Empire. But any explanation of why the Western Empire fell has to take into account that the Eastern Empire didn’t – although the continual internecine struggles for the imperial throne took place there as much as in the west. Heather discusses how the appearance of the Sassanian Empire in Persia in the 3rd century was met by expanding the resources spent on the military, and that threat was contained. But the Romans’ long-term relations with the Germans (and later the Huns), led to the growth of increasingly powerful and technically sophisticated barbarian polities. He says: “Without the barbarians, there is not the slightest evidence that the western Empire would have ceased to exist in the fifth century.” But he argues, both in The Fall of the Roman Empire, and in a subsequent work, Empires and Barbarians, which takes in the later formation of Slav and Scandinavian states, that Empires generally generate the countervailing social formations that will eventually destroy them, as the societies they seek to dominate change under pressure in ways that make them more formidable.
OK, this is a good’un (via Greta’s blog):
A Very Special Christmas Song — No, Really.
Dhorvath, the music book is kinda in my fields, I should check it out. But please don’t bother sending it, if it’s not in my Public or Uni libraries I’ll be surprised. I’ll let you know if it’s worth re-gifting;-)
+++++++++++++++
changeable moniker, no worries mate! I listen to my dentist’s recommendations because I have no choice. (We’re also sailing acquaintances and we both love science.)
If you ever confuse me with Ogvorbis again I will be … complimented.
++++++++++++++
StarStuff, let me know what you think of it. My dentist’s description of it was less than compelling.
++++++++++++++
Both books are supposed to be for the layperson. Which is always problematic; it’s usually either dumbed down or too advanced. I pity the poor authors trying to strike the balance.
How We Decide is awesome. I love it.
One day of work left, then 2 weeks off, wheeee! I’ll go get a shower in a minute. Any minute now. When I finish my coffee. I’m still on 6-hour days, working about 11.30am-6pm 4 days a week, but I hope to go up to longer hours in the new year. Health is improving; I can climb a flight of stairs now.
What happened on debunking Xianity? Any specific post to look at?
Ironically, while similar arguments were made when Britain debated whether to introduce the minimum wage in the late 1990s, it was widely seen as a European idea which was unsuitable for Britain. (The Conservative government under John Major was opposed to the idea of a minimum wage, as was the Confederation of British Industry, who believed it would lead to job losses and weaken British businesses; a national minimum wage was introduced in 1998 after Labour took power, however, and is today supported by all three parties.)
In truth, it’s very hard to tell what effect the minimum wage has on employment levels, because we never have the counterfactual; we don’t know how many jobs would be in existence without it. Milton Friedman opposed the minimum wage on the ground that it would lead to a loss of jobs (as well as on philosophical grounds, since he opposed any government regulation of wages or prices in principle), but plenty of other economists, Krugman included, think he was wrong. I’m sure ‘Tis Himself has a view on this.
Speaking from Australia, where we have had minimum wage for over a hundred years, it works. Compared to the US, Waitstaff are not beggars. Road maintenance crew don’t look like they are starving. Children of immigrants who came in with nothing can become doctors an lawyers. Class mobility in one generation – there is no permanent underclass.
New Zealand was the first to implement a minimum wage in 1896. Australia followed, Victoria in 1899, the rest in 1907. Europe went with collective bargaining, I think, which kind of works as long as the power balance is reasonable. True of any system.
Alethea, I made a comment on his third post defending William Lane Craig, and a few days later one on his top atheists post, with a follow-up and also a response back to the older thread as he requested.
I have become persona non grata at his digs, as noted above. :|
Hi Walton, are you done with the academic year now? [chide] you spent all that time worrying over nothing[/chide]
But I understand that if you didn’t worry about it you wouldn’t be as exceptional as you are;-)
++++++++++++++++++
IMO, Krugman has been proven right, Friedman even admitted he was wrong.
++++++++++++++++++
Econ is one of those sciences where they are great at predicting the past.
And I welcome ‘Tis’ take on it.
I’m done with the semester, but not the year: I have more classes next term, and need to work on my research paper over the vacation. (The paper will be – hopefully, if it materializes – a comparison of the forms of immigration relief available to victims of domestic violence in the US and UK. It’s a topic that’s very important to me, given that I’m now certain I want to specialize in immigration, asylum and refugee law.) I also need to apply for the Bar Professional Training Course back home, the deadline being in January. And then in March I need to apply for pupillages, and may very well not get one. The Bar in England is hyper-competitive.*
(*We have two kinds of lawyers in England, solicitors and barristers. I’m opting to become a barrister, mainly for financial reasons: the Inns of Court fund scholarships to assist with the BPTC, whereas there is no similar scheme for the LPC, the equivalent course for solicitors. Many people get through the LPC by working for a giant corporate law firm that will pay their tuition fees, but since I want to work in immigration law, not a notoriously profitable field, there’s no possibility of getting private sponsorship; and I’d rather chew my own leg off than work for a giant law firm. But if I don’t get an adequate scholarship for the BPTC, I’ll have to give up on law as a profession altogether and find something else to do, since I’m not willing to get into lots more debt.)
And tomorrow I’m flying to Texas! *excited happy dance* But now I need to pack.
====
Oh, btw: if anyone’s interested, I wrote a rather verbose blog post on the subject of immigration restrictions and why they should be abolished, sharing some of the stuff I’ve learned this semester. It might be a bit on the tl;dr side, but hopefully some people will find it interesting.
Walton, pupillages?* :)
(You’re no longer just a puppy)
—
Hah! Caught you in a spelling mistake!
(I knew the day would come)
IRT Raw Story article: Iowa man to Gingrich: ‘You’re a f*cking a**hole’
I commented on that article about a Raw Story commenter using ALL CAPS. I advised this person that only fucking assholes use all caps.
another commenter came back, with all caps, and said she had a left hand injury and I shouldn’t have complained. (Her previous posts did contain proper capitalization.)
I wrote back that “if you simultaneously press [CTRL] & [w] it will automatically fix that.”
Her response: “Thank you …did not know that”
I’m ashamed and tee heeing at the same time.
See here for an explanation.
Flying *crash* little *crash* radio *crash* controlled *crash* helicopters *crash* is *crash* difficult! *crash*
Damn you, Walton!
“I’ll get you next time, Gadget!”
</DrClaw>
given the choice, it’s better to type in all lower case than all upper case. granted, i can see the issue, though my hands are big enough to hit shift plus any key one handed.
i typed this entire comment one handed, so yes, it’s doable.
Wlaton, have a great time in Texas! It’s kinda like the US writ small, great people but the assholes are in charge;-)
Hey! Don’t insult The Sailor.
And all your Reading Comprehension Fail be mine!
The Sailor, heh.
(Ctrl-Shift T)
Benjamin, can you type [ctrl] & [w] at the same time?
chigau:
At least you’re not flying one like this. (NSFW)
Sailor: Yeah, I can. Not going to, though. (Not that it matters; I’m on a Mac, so it’d be Command-W.)
(I may regret this.)
Benjamin Geiger
Why are you typing one-handed?
Cicely #128 (quoting illuminata)
Ummmmm. Please explain how this **isn’t** ableist. What is it that your use of “lame” is supposed to communicate?
No arguments to use it on at the moment, but to bookmark for the future: This is what rape culture looks like, a post by manboobz illustrating “date” advice from reddit.
chigau:
I was typing one-handed in response to the Sailor’s post:
So, there were two points: 1. With sufficiently large hands (and “sufficiently large” is pretty small), it’s possible to use proper capitalization one-handed. 2. Barring that, it’s preferable to type in all lower case rather than YELLING AT EVERYBODY.
(Another point: Caps lock doesn’t have to be on all the time. You can turn it on, type one letter, turn it off, and type the rest of the word.)
CAPS LOCK MAY BE CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL, BUT EVEN WITH CRUISE CONTROL YOU STILL HAVE TO STEER.
Have a great time, Walton!!! Tell Algernon we miss her and give her a hug for us.
Benjamin, how are things going lately with the new med? I apologize if you’ve been ignoring the subject on purpose, so if you’d rather not get into a discussion of yourself just know I was hoping you’re doing ok.
carlie:
Eh. It’s been working about as well as any of the others have, generally. Thing is, it’s also costing about 12 times as much as the others, even with insurance. (My copay for Cymbalta is $50, versus $4 at Walmart for generics.)
I should probably find a different psychiatrist. The one I’m seeing now (at the school’s counseling center) feels like she’s in the pocket of the drug companies.
Oh. Shit. Erm. Why don’t people tell me these things?
Wait, okay Cicely, you weren’t saying it is not an ableist term, as clarified in #172.
I remember how you reserved the right to use lame. I disagree, but that’s very different than saying lame is not used as ableist language.
Moving on…
I frequently type one-handed; my kitteh would lack support, otherwise, which would result in her clawing for purchase on my neck. And I have very short fingers.
–
*sigh*
Crip Dyke, I thought you agreed just the other Thread that “lame” could be used in contexts indicating “crippled”, or not functioning properly? My entire point was that, in my opinion, these people are not functioning properly, ethically/morally speaking. I think that they are “blind” in that spectrum. I think they do not see in that they are in any way “doing it wrong”.
–
Aaaand…I shoulda oughta hit “refresh” before posting.
–
Argh. I just read that post… and then I saw the title of the post immediately preceding it. (The one that starts with “Homeless…”.) I did not click through to see what the post was about. I just don’t want to know. Really, there is a point beyond which I don’t want to have my faith in humanity destroyed any more.
(I rarely read Manboobz for this reason. There’s a point beyond which male supremacists’ pronouncements cease to be mockable and start to induce nausea.)
This does, of course, confirm my general view that the great majority of “dating advice”, everywhere, be it in newspaper columns or on Reddit, is a crock of shit written by people with severe mental problems and an extremely disturbing attitude to relationships.
yeah, cicely, I think we’re in the same place. Problem started when I failed to read to #172 before posting. It need not be an ableist term, however it often is used as such. I am more careful than you as to how I use it in certain circumstances because of that…and probably less careful than you in still others – we just see certain contexts differently, with which I am fine. I was just looking to understand more of what you were trying to say in your original comment.
So, now, really moving on. Hope you’re having a good day. Me? My day was terribly unproductive, but what can you do?
@Ogvorbis:
To be fair, I went wrong at “dentist”.
As we know, all the dentist stories are belong to you.
6345789
Solve the problem and you get extra credit.
Currently watching the 1st season of The Muppet Show. Sandy Duncan looks so young.
And my teeth are doing well. I have my summer teeth.
Summer in my maxilla. Summer in my dentary. Sumarnt.
And I just watched Animal painting Candice Bergen. I love The Muppet Show!
Any one here with an interest in multiple sclerosis?
Just came across this on a blog I follow:
http://asknicola.blogspot.com/2011/12/huge-news-multiple-sclerosis-is.html
It all seems a bit odd. The proponent is described thusly:
Angelique Corthalis is a biological/biomedical and forensic anthropologist. She earned her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford and is currently working as assistant professor at CUNY John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York City.
Not sure what an anthropologist is doing researching MS.
Her site: http://www.aspcorthals.net/Site/Welcome.html
But it seems like a bit of a paradigm shift when there is an admission (on the blog post) that there is no actual research to back this statement up. It’s a nice idea, certainly, but MS is another of those diseases, like cancer, where every tiny step, every new thought, ends up getting touted as the answer.
I’m only a humble clinician. Anyone here who can comment from an informed position?
Oggie wins my internets for the day.
++++++++++++++++++++
Benjamin, I saw the finals scores you posted.
Really, Benjamin, really? The best you could do was a 4!?
++++++++++++++++++++
Please welcome Lyle Lovett:
And I like cream in my coffee
And I hate to be alone on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
Ogvorbis – “Fever” is the best number of the first season, bar none. None, I say!
Ben – sorry it’s costing more. I think that psych hasn’t been doing anything for you for awhile based on what you’ve said; might be good to get a new person’s fresh perspective on things.
Dammit, Google! No, you do not need to change your layout regularly in order for people to think you’re still important.
@Tielserrath – Anthropologists have a very clinical subspecialty involving analysis of historical remains, mostly bones. Lots of bones show signs of disease, accident or other life history, and there’s other interesting stuff like mineral patterns in bones and teeth showing regions where a person lived. Amazing stuff. Look up “physical anthropology” sometime.
Also, if TV shows are any guide, you can work out exactly who killed them and how :)
Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick?
Wrong Thread!
fuck fucking electric toys
—–
We’re watching Tangled.
It is giving me a fresh appreciation for cast-iron cookware.
and a fresh understanding of the evil of horses.
For those who haven’t seen it — time to bug the American Cancer Society again: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2011/12/21/the-american-cancer-society-lost-a-few-more-supporters
Althea – but MS is in the nervous system, something that is unlikely to a) be traceable in significantly decomposed tissue, and b) is a cellular disease process occurring in the living, so unlikely to be useful to forensic anthropology. I’m concerned this is someone with an ‘idea’, jumping on the MS bandwagon, little different from someone ‘deciding’ that it’s caused by heavy metals or ‘toxins’.
If you care for people with MS it’s a hugely emotive issue for them when something like this gets published.
Republicans about to not raise taxes?
Over here, it rained today. It’s not even frozen anymore. It has never snowed this “winter” yet… unless January and (!) February are going to deep-freeze, this is the warmest winter I’ve ever experienced.
…I see.
I simply don’t so easily hear a flap as a trill. In a flap, the tongue actively moves. In a trill, the tongue is held in position, and air is squeezed through between it and the roof of the mouth; because of how the tongue is held, the air gets through in separate bubbles. The results can sound somewhat similar, but not similar enough to fool anyone who’s used to trills (such as all not-too-northern German kinds of “r”). There are no trills in most Englishes, so I wrote you’re probably not used to hearing the difference between a flap and a trill.
…
Écrasez l’infâme.
At 3:25 am, I’m actually too tired to tell, but the author of that page should definitely have read up on dendritic cells. They phagocytose intruders (such as, no doubt, HIV), hack their proteins to pieces (I wouldn’t be surprised if HIV manages to escape this and instead reproduces in dendritic cells), display them on their surface, and move to the nearest lymph node to contribute to the selection of… shit, I forgot if B or T cells. They’re antigen-presenting cells.
~:-| WTF? No.
…and remer, straight from Romanus, became the Albanian word for “shepherd”.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
I have no idea what you mean. Please explain.
That’s likely.
Also, Germany is probably unique in not having a minimum wage. Over here, it’s close to 10 €/hour.
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Seconded!
Frankly, given what you posted on the “why do women menstruate” thread, I really wouldn’t call it unproductive. I’m so envious of you :-)
G’night, all.
Crip Dyke: no problem. As I said, shoulda oughta refreshed.
As for my day, nothing productive as far as “work” is concerned, but on the other hand, I scored a lot of chocolatey Christmas candy goodness, so I’m ahead of the game there. :)
–
And, just because: Adrian Legg – The Irish Girl
tielserrath @#310:
That’s very, very interesting.
‘Autoimmune diseases’ are of course poorly understood in general. The blog post you linked makes perfectly good sense physiologically.
It’s a review, not original research, so it doesn’t really matter the academic background of the author, to me; scholarship is scholarship. The Quarterly Review of Biology is a very prestigious and carefully reviewed publication of the University of Chicago; they don’t fuck around.
My interest in MS stems from the death of a favorite uncle from it.
tielserrath, you would be amazed what physical anthropologists can do with bones. Bones carry signatures of all sorts of diseases, not just the obvious osteo-related ones. I don’t know much about the details of MS, but I don’t see the involvement of a physical anthropologist as suspect per se.
The blog article does rather overhype the journal article, though. I hate that kind of reporting; it delivers so much false hope.
We also watched Hannah.
(ohmy)
Beverly Hills Cop
nobody laughs like Eddie.
Yes – you get very jaded by these ‘new theory = cure for MS/cancer/MND’ articles, and I suppose it casts suspicion over anything that isn’t peer reviewed research.
Anyway, weird thing happened – I got an email from a dating site offering to match me with other atheists for Christmas and saying they have ‘something way better than that disgusting baby’.
It isn’t a secular dating site – far from it.
I’ve been trying to unpick why that kind of reference to Jesus makes me so uncomfortable, and come to the conclusion that it’s simply because I don’t believe any baby should be condemned as ‘disgusting’. I also have the suspicion that the line was written by a theist, as I don’t think I’ve ever heard an atheist make a statement like that. Jokes about baby-eating, yes. Cold appraisal of a baby as disgusting, no.
I read the new Kathy Reichs novel in one go this arvo, very good indeed ! And I just pressed a wrong button on the blog somehow, and accidentally updated to wordpress 3.3. Without backing up. Oops.
So Loftus puts the free in freethoughtblogs, huh ? How bizarre.
What a total train wreck, just look at this :
What’s he saying there ? That Christians are somehow ill, and they can’t help but lie due to this ailment ? That WLC lies because he has a brain disease that compels him to ? Whatever happened to those morals and high standards religion apparently instills in us then ? I find Loftus’ line of “reasoning” farsical, and his banning of commenters who disagree with him petty.
This is the part where he spat the dummy (lost his cool). If you look at his previous comment, he does indeed say that it’s legitimate for Christians to lie for Jesus.
His argument seems to be that Christians are so delusional that they cannot be held accountable. I’m not extrapolating, he really says that, although at greater length.
He also thinks that it’s legitimate to lie in debates, just like in a courtroom, if that what it takes to win. This is stupid.
The nasty thing is the way he deleted some of my posts, where I make a point about internal inconsistency, without comment. Just plain censored and blocked.
Am getting vaguely annoyed with Christians on Twitter either a) asking dumb questions or b) making stupid snide comments about why/whether atheists celebrate Christmas.
I really want to ask them to point to the bible verses that include the word ‘Christmas’ and where it’s specified that it should includes gifts, trees, nog, tinsel, reindeer, Santa, ham, carols or any of the other myriad aspects of the event that these dimwits consider part of the tradition.
What I think it comes down to is that fact that the Christians I know are informed enough to know that most of it is pagan in origin and therefore no more ‘theirs’ than it is anyone else’s, and therefore don’t say/ask such mindbogglingly stupid things.
That, if it is true, is inexcusable. freethoughtblogs, right.
Wow, I’m extremely unimpressed with that Loftus character.
Rorschach:
It’s pretty hard to provide evidence after the fact. I didn’t take a screenshot at the time. What I can point to is the strange way that the comments seem to end, which is two posts by jwloftus, addressing me, asking me to respond. What I can do is assure you that I did respond, and give you an outline of what I wrote.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/loftus/2011/12/13/in-defense-of-william-lane-craig-3/comment-page-1/#comment-48397
In one of the deleted posts, I had replied that the reason was that I was referring to one of the known flaws of American debating rules (from an international debating perspective).
In another deleted comment, I pointed out the inconsistency between his posts 27 and 33.
In post 27, JWL said:
In post 30 (still there), I said :
In JW:”s comment 33, he says:
as Rorschach quotes above.
Not long after this exchange, the comments were deleted, and no futher post I made was accepted on his blog, even posts that should have been agreeable to him. I am simply blocked without explanation, as is John Morales.
I’ve never been blocked from a blog before. I’m really quite upset about it, given that the umbrella site is freethought blogs, and there is nothing that I have said that falls under any of the standard reasons for blocking people. My comments were totally unobjectionable, as far as I can tell, as long as you don’t expect me to be nodding in agreement with the OP and subsequent comments of the blogger.
Yes, totally unacceptable to have comments of people disagreeing with you deleted, I agree. Might as well not blog.
Good morning
Urgh, having a bit of a break after taking the kids to kindergarten/paternal grandma (actually grandpa, funny how reasonable he has become lately) and shopping. Still feeling under the weather.
But believe it or not, people not only wished me Merry Christmas, but also Happy Holidays! And surely some of the latter ones were christians and nobody was struck by lightning!
Oh, and I discovered another German tradition via an American blog I never heard of. “German Pancakes”, which are baked in the oven. No idea what that is based on, but I totally intend to make them a tradition.
minimum wage
The lack of minimum wage is nothing but hidden subsidies for the employer. People work, fall under the treshold for social security (which isn’t to live on like a king or somebody who likes fresh vegetables), get additional payments by the government and the employer can save that money.
PS: Hint to myself: Previewing is good. Previewing, not posting and then wondering what has happened isn’t.
Trying to post, trying to post, trying to post, is this working?
OK, trying to repost:
Good morning
Urgh, having a bit of a break after taking the kids to kindergarten/paternal grandma (actually grandpa, funny how reasonable he has become lately) and shopping. Still feeling under the weather.
But believe it or not, people not only wished me Merry Christmas, but also Happy Holidays! And surely some of the latter ones were christians and nobody was struck by lightning!
Oh, and I discovered another German tradition via an American blog I never heard of. “German Pancakes”, which are baked in the oven. No idea what that is based on, but I totally intend to make them a tradition.
minimum wage
The lack of minimum wage is nothing but hidden subsidies for the employer. People work, fall under the treshold for social security (which isn’t to live on like a king or somebody who likes fresh vegetables), get additional payments by the government and the employer can save that money.
I think I have a comment stuck in spam (actually, by now it should be three comments, I only have no idea why.
No links, nothing remotely controversial, I think.
Unless there is by now a filter against the English version of “Frohe Weihnachten”
echidna, don’t let it get to you.
(You just had high expectations, and they were dashed. PZ spoils us)
—
rorschach, not everyone is like you or PZ. Alas.
—
Or Daniel Fincke, to whom I give much credit and respect for tolerating me, even though I think I was more provocative to him than to JWL (and probably no less annoying).
“New Planets: Earth-Sized Kepler Exoplanets Discovered (PHOTOS) ” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/new-planets-kepler-exoplanets_n_1161213.html?ref=green
Alas, a bit too hot for my taste.
— — — —
WARNING -Do not read if you want to keep your good mood:
.
‘German Fritzl’ Adolf Bergbauer Who Had Sex With Daughter 500 Times Is Cleared Of Rape” http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/20/german-fritzl-adolf-bergbauer-sex-_n_1159891.html?ref=mostpopular
— — — —
“Supreme Court Short List: Who Will Be America’s Next Top Conservative Justice? ” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/supreme-court-short-list-conservative-justice_n_1163178.html
Just a quick fly-by posting, because Giliell asked for pictures of our squidmas tree (sorry about the poor quality).
With all the hype around the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I was thinking about downloading some of the good old series/movies. So, should I go with the classic – Jeremy Brett’s series or with Matt Frewer’s movies? I remember the latter with fondness, but I can’t remember why.
Thanks, both Rorschach and John.
Girl is having The Breakfast of Champions!
Jalapeno potato chips, 2 fake chicken strips, one square of 85% chocolote, and coffee.
It amazes me what these kids can get away with eating.
And today is . . . . Hmmm. Not sure what day of the week it is. I don’t have to go to work until January 8, and Wife (who is working her street corner) only has to work her street corner one more time this year.
Smells like VACATION!
And Happy Solstice! (well, 7 hours, 40 minutes ago) Happy Monkey. Happy Channukkah. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy Gnu Year. And Festive Kwanza.
Which reminds me of one of the best face-palm moments of all time (and no, this is NOT a fire story).
Many years ago, Wife and I were involved in the PTA/PTO down at the local elementary school (oddly enough, the same school Boy and Girl went to). The PTA had their own bulletin board in the lobby and, every month, the officers decorated said board with appropriate images.
For December, a woman who was a perfect example of how bad the valley can get was decorating the bulletin board. A narrow-minded Valley People woman. Don’t get me wrong, folks. This is a fun valley in which to live. However, there are valley people, and then there are Valley People. Valley People are the ones with more tattoos than teeth (including women); the ones for whom Atlantic City is exotic, and Disney is a once-in-a-lifetime event; the ones for whom the mechanics of church are more important than any teachings.
She decided that a multicultural ‘holiday’ board would be appropriate. Of course, for many around here, multicultural means Catholic and Protestant. Never mind the Muslims, Animists, Jews, Santeria, and myriad other religions present in our schools (when the art class does ‘holiday’ ornaments, kids who do not wish to participate are given blue paper (no, I’m not kidding)). Seeing herself as very broad-minded, she actually thought beyond the dominant paradigm.
Wife found herself nearby as Valley People Woman decorated the board. VPW had a menorah, a Christmas Tree (or pagan Yule Tree (though I doubt that would entered her mind)), and an outline of the continent of Africa. VPW was running around like a squirrel on crack. As she raced past Wife, she said, “I have to go down the art room and get paper. What color do the darkies use for Kiwanis? I gotta find out what colors they use for Kiwanis.”
Wife’s eyelids fluttered. Her mouth did the fish-out-of-water thing. None of the other PTA/PTO people were phased by the use of the word ‘darkies.’ Of course, Wife was blown away by ‘Kiwanis.’
When the end of the world comes, Wife and I want to be here in the valley. Everything seems to be at least 30 years behind. Of course, we’d spend the thirty years stuck in the valley, so I’m not sure that’d be an imporovement.
Well, I was simply describing a cute trick that allows (some) people to make a sound they otherwise (thought they) couldn’t, informally known as “rolling your R’s”. Your introduction of words like “flap” and “trill”, terms of art that I wasn’t using, came across as a non-sequitur. Initially I interpreted what you were saying as the trick doesn’t or couldn’t work. Since I’ve observed it working many times, it was clear that we were not talking about the same effect.
Assuming you now understand what I’m talking about, does the trick generate a flap or a trill? I’m guessing it is a trill, since when I exaggerate the effect my tongue sort of stays in place, but “bubbles”.
Wow, there’s a floor underneath the dirt!
Amazing thing.
Brother O
Well, I treated the girls this morning to something Americans call German pancakes.
No idea what that should be in German, but they’re delicious.
rolling your Rs
Urgh, something I still haven’t managed propperly in Spanish. My dialect is very scarce of Rs, and rolling them on the tip of my tongue is hard.
So here’s the rhyme I learned in Cuba, because kids there obviously have their problems, too
R con R cigarro
R con R barril
Rápido corren los carros
Por las lineas del ferrocarril
German pancakes? What, they have bacon drippings in them? (Seriously, in one of my German cookbooks, even the vegetable dishes have bacon or drippings in them!)
Drive-by posting with links:
”Killer flu research to be censored http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21311-killer-flu-research-to-be-censored.html Damn! I have always wanted to create my own “Twelve Monkeys” virus!
— — — — —
“Why psychoanalysis never existed” http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2011/12/why-psychoanalysis-never-existed.html
— — — — —
DARPA’s Shredder Challenge solved two days early http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/12/darpas-shredder-challenge-has.html
-This should be a boon for the citizens of former East Germany –there are hundreds of garbage bags of documents STASI shredded when it was obvious communism was collapsing. Volunteers have been reassembling these documents painfully slowly in an attempt to learn the dirty secrets of the former regime, like the identities of STASI informers.
— — —
NB: Research may hold key to a happy marriage http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-key-happy-marriage.html
— — —
Telling the truth http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-truth.html This study may prompt a review of current practice by police and social workers.
— — —
2011 review: The year in technology http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21308-2011-review-the-year-in-technology.html
— — — —
Wind shear makes amazing waves in Alabama’s skies http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/12/wind-shear-makes-amazing-waves.html Odd weather in Alabama? “We don’t want any queer weather around these parts!
— — — —
No, but lots of butter.
Actually, I’ve never seen anything like them in Germany, they’re made in the oven and I suspect they’re one of the endless variations of “Mrs. Colon’s Curry”
But they were really nice and much easier to make than real pancakes.
The bacon doesn’t surprise me. Lots of people kept a pig, so bacon was the only fat they had. My local cooking, as much as I like it, can be reduced to the easy formula potatoes+bacon+X. Tonight X will be carrots, and the bacon can be substituted by Blutwurst, but I don’t like that much. Or as Pratchett put it: Nobody would have invented sharkfin-soup if they’d been allowed to eat the rest of the shark.
For the longest time I thought pre-Columbian referred to the country, not the man.
I wasn’t aware that existed outside of Denmark. You’re also not supposed to give a wallet as a gift unless there’s some token amount of money in it.
The traditional English amount for at formal purchase is a peppercorn, but I guess those used to be worth their weight in gold.
Only a newage interpretation of it.
Don’t know that this has been mentioned yet or not, but, study shows that women in poorer communities (and thus, statistically more likely to be non-white) are more likely to be denied plan b.
Ooff, spawn is in bed, which means that I can now finish some last gifts and wrap the ones already finished.
Tigger
Your tree is cool. I need to indoctrinate the kids into wanting one next year, too.
++++
How did some guy from Nasa say:
“Look, the calendar on my desk ends much sooner and you’re not freaking out about that either”
Facts schmacts
Carlie,
Bookmarked. Sickened, but bookmarked.
___
Sailor,
The 345789 are in the wrong locations?
___
Ogvorbis,
You are on fire.
___
Birger,
Indeed. 12? 500? These are numbers that don’t match the conviction.
___
Giliell,
I am trying to understand this sentence. Truly it baffles me though.
Got another email from Eugene Delgaudio…
Schadenfreude most enjoyed-a…
Giliell:
I prefer Ebenezer’s interpretation.
Just realized I posted the wrong link. Corrected.
Dhorvath, 634-5789
I would not have even thought of a phone number let alone a song.
Giliell, I’m amused by German Pancakes – which on googling turn out to be the same as a “Dutch Baby”. If you’re going to eat babies for breakfast, this is a good choice.
My mum, who is Welsh, has the same knife superstition. If you give someone a knife or scissors, they have to give you a small coin. Or else you’ll cut your friendship. Oh noes!
Tigger, great tree!
I don’t know if this is Mormon Madness, or just SLC:Man misses mouse and shoots roommate, revealing child rapist
“Police said they suspected alcohol was involved.”
I’ll take Questions to which the answer is “no” for $1000, please, Alex.
Including, of course, “Will the kids go to bed at a reasonable hour?”
Xmas Xcitement™ is running high chez CM.
CM,
Sleep went out the window when we hit seven more sleeps until presents. Several fits of “I can’t wait for Christmas” have peppered the week as well.
And that’s just me, you should hear what my child is like…
Self to DaughterSpawn: “I ordered you that present you wanted, but it says here it won’t get delivered until about the 30th”
DaughterSpawn: “oh, that’s OK. It’s really nice of you to get it for me”
I love having reached the age of sort-of-grown-uppish spawn :)
(and the thing I’m secretly rather pleased about? It came in the post today, and she doesn’t know about it. So I get to surprise her just a tiny bit after all :))) )
Dhorvath, I thought one of our horde would have said the numb3rs to themselves and had an R&B flashback.
+++++++++++++
Benjamin, I’ll sign the commitment papers for Eugene Delgaudio.
+++++++++++++
… well as long as he definitely gets committed, it’s all good
“And that’s just me, you should hear what my child is like…”
**snortle ***
@Dhorvath: Heh. ;)
22:15, one down. 22:40, two down. We’re on the home straight …
When and how on earth did that mountain of presents happen? I’ve spent 3 hours wrapping them. I count 17 different parcels for 14 different people and I’m not even finished.
I haven’t started yet on trying to put the Playmobil-farm together.
Hmmm, seems like the kids are too small for that yet. Let’s see if they go to bed tomorrow with only the usual amount of fuss, too.
Dhorvath
Well, truth is, I suck at making normal pancakes. I can manage American style ones fine, but normal German pancakes are not mine. I can make a five course menu, but no pancakes.
Those “German pancakes”, you just pour the batter into an oven-dish and bake it. No smell of hot oil, not handling hot frying pans with two kidses running around, all can sit down at the same time, I think they’re going to become a tradition here
Giliell,
I suppose that I do them so often that I have lost track of the idiosyncrasies. It’s sort of a background operation now.
Apropos of nothing at all: Obama needs a Teleprompter like republicans need another head up their asses.
I have no idea why that just occurred to me. 3 years too late.
Giliell: I made German pancakes today too! Although I’ve always known them as “pannekuchen”. I hear they’re called Dutch Baby, especially when they have apples in them, and when I was a kid a friend of mine knew a very similar dish her family simply called “Swedish”.
Happy Solstice-is-past-and-the-sun-is-back, everyone to whom it’s applicable! There’s a real although tiny sense of dread just after sunset on the night of the solstice when we draw the curtains and the room is dark. Some atavistic thing that never goes away? I know I would not do well in a polar region where winter days have no sunlight, anyway.
Mr. Kristinc gave me a t-shirt that says “You never forget your first Doctor”. He knows full well I am a squealing Nine fangirl and was bitterly disappointed that we only got one season with Nine.
This is odd: Yahoo Newz runs an ABC News article:President Obama, First Lady Tackle 10 Personal Questions
Yet if you go to the ABC link it says President Obama Faults Republican ‘Lurch Into Extremes’ for DC Gridlock
Both versions convince me I made the right choice in voting for Obama, and will do so again, but I still find the same story spun oddly.
p.s. I didn’t know Baba Wawa was still awive.
Shutting the computer off now. Need to finish packing for my trip. Hooray, 12 hours of driving.
I’ve made a batch of chocolate chip cookies with cranberries, a batch of snickerdoodles (I made them because the name amused me) and three batches of almond cookies that turned out looking like little piles of shit (I have a terrible what’s-its-name for making those little swirly shapes and I’m not very handy with it). Two of the last three batches were later half-drowned in chocolate so they now look even more like little piles of shit. But very tasty piles of shit.
It’s half past one in the morning and I’m licking chocolate from the pot I melted it in. A good day.
opposablethumbs, I was wondering if I’d have to get the kids pictures of their gifts for Christmas, but they all came in yesterday evening. Whew! The one I was most worried about was an ocarina coming from LA by the post office. Got here in plenty of time, though. Now all I have left is to finish off the box that it will go in, and I’m all set. Well, except for all the gifts to mail home that traditionally end up late anyway, which I haven’t even finished buying yet.
Pancakes I use the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking recipe, which for some reason I always have to look up no matter how many times I make them.
Beatrice
Licking the pot has always been the highlight of any baking event.
Chocolate leftovers and Tim Minchin. Brilliant.
The Redhead is great cook, which (*burp*), explains my girth, but she sucks at pancakes, while I make excellent pancakes. the difference is that I am able to feel the viscosity resistance between waffle batter (much thicker) and crepes batter (much thinner), and find the pancakes in the middle. Yum…(and the Redhead agrees)
One for the Skyrim players:
My little brother is 8 years old and a fan of Skyrim. Actually, my whole family has taken to watching me and my 18-year-old brother play. When I started playing, I explained to Jake that just like in real life, skills increase when you practice them. About twenty minutes in, I don’t actually remember what I was doing, but suffice it to say I was doing it wrong. Jake laughed, then said “Stupidity increased to 101.”
My little brother is becoming snarky. :’)
In the oven right now:
PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES
Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Filling
1 14-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 15-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
Topping
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix crust ingredients and pat into the bottom of an ungreased 9×9 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Mix filling ingredients until well combined. Pour over warm crust (I only use about 9/10ths of the mix) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are setting but the middle is still wobbly.
Mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle over filling and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool and slice into squares.
Christmas baking almost makes up for all the other aspects of the holiday…almost.
ZOMG, think the entry I’m collaborating on for the first art contest I’m ever entering may be done…ahead of the dead line!
Because this may spill over to here, this is a notice that the moderators of the Facebook Endless Thread have made the decision to ban Benjamin Geiger from the group.
Ben has shown a history of engaging in behavior that makes other members feel uncomfortable and unable to speak freely. He has supported sexist and misogynistic PUA and MRA tactics in regards to dating and relationships, denied his own sexist statements, refused to accept any advice or support in regards to changing his behavior, and refused to acknowledge the negative effects his words and behavior have had on Horde members.
While he has made other positive contributions to the community, his behavior in this area has been harmful and hurtful to others and the decision has been made that banning is the consequence. This was a unanimous decision of the mods made after lengthy discussion.
re Benjamin Geiger
and you waited until he’s on the road for 12 hours?
chigau, correlation vs causation.
(I doubt they did)
and you waited until he’s on the road for 12 hours?
No, we didn’t. I haven’t been on TET for more than a few minutes since sometime in October. We’ve been talking about this for days, and finally made a decision. I’m up late trying to finish making Xmas gifts so I volunteered to make the posts.
I posted without reading any of the Thread. The timing wasn’t intentional.
And I’m off to bed.
I just wrote a post on Tim Minchin’s Sanat Claus article in the New Statesman (linky), anyway, when I put in the tags for the search engines, one of them was “magic”, right. Now wordpress 3.3 has a new suggestion feature, and the top suggestion after I typed “mag” was…Magic of Reality. I’m impressed.
Hi Giliell! So glad you liked the squidmas tree. I’ve just added another picture I took from the front garden, showing the Jolly Roger.
Now to get back to wrapping gifts.
I must get around to taking a photo of the ‘nativity’ scene, as well…
Hmmm, I’ve just watched this video about a mtf transgender child.
Kudos to the parents and the sympathetic report, but I’m pretty worried about how over-sexualized that girl is. She’s only 10 years old, make-up should be for Halloween. There’s no way my daughter would be encouraged in this at that age (the make-up and the sexed-up cloths, not the transgender).
Now, please cross your thumbs for The Rise of the Macarons.
No, that’s not an online video-game but tomorrows dessert.
I don’t think a touch of make-up is too much at 10 years old, especially when used to emphasise the transition. Of course there’s the general discussion about the pressure on women to put on make-up, but taking that as (an unfortunate) given, I don’t think it’s too early. I do remember girls in my class starting with that around that age.
Birger #351: Thanks for that. If there’s no OM-like award for posting interesting links, you have my nomination for first recipient.
@ David M. 320
How to answer this in a short comment? (I am not lazy just very tired).
The answer is in two parts. First off we must look at the history of investing foreigners ( the “strangers” in the above) with kingship. There are many examples to choose from, but the case of Rome will have to suffice for now.
After Romulus, descended from the House of Alba (hereditary descent), none of the other Roman kings where immediately succeeded by their sons. Tatius, Tarquin (the elder) and Servius Tullius where succeeded by their sons-in-law who where foreigners or of foreign descent. The right to kingship passed through the female line and was exercised by foreigners.
Royal lineage was traced through the female line. Royal marriage was exogamous (“to outsiders”) and the king had to leave his people to rule a foreign land. Though we have only considered Rome, this is a state of affairs that can be traced trough many times and places, which brings us to:
(parte deux): Now fast forward to more contemporary times. The “stranger king” here refers to a foreign ruler in colonial times being able to fairly effortlessly take over the reigns (for-reign-er?) of power. eg: the Dutch could quite easily take over control of Indonesia. The endemic insecurity of unstable political forces at play prior to the arrival of a few Dutch ships was resolved by the clear leadership that the Dutch could offer. It is generally taken for granted that colonial powers are always and inevitably bad, ignoring the simple solution of the introduction of “the other” to shake up the (often iniquitous) status quo and give societies a new (yes, positive, eeeuw colonists!) direction.
Obviously my interest in this concept is driven not only by my love of mythology, but also for the practical applications in (our recent example) North Korea.
(For a better, more in depth discussion of Roman kingship, read the (free!) book by James Frazer: The Golden Bough. (Though there are any number of other books covering like examples.))
@ Nutmeg
Wow, looks good.
Spaceman (Lyrics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMHrxaycomQ
“It is about the person singing being disgusted with the world and wanting a spaceman to take him to another planet”
.
Wow! Babylon Zoo saw the current situation coming back in the early 1990s !
@ Sailor
6 hides behind teh tree (the three… geddit) because seven ate (eight…geddit) nine…
@ birgerjohansson
Youtube is way coool: Tardigrade Rap. Space
manWaterbears! This is art….I didn’t even know we had and facebook endless thread. linkie?!
Fucking keyboards. How do they work?
Well, since I just finished making it, here’s
Giliell’s chunky applesauce
-apples. I used 6. Four of them were very small, 2 pretty big. Would make about 4 servings. Peel and dice about 3/4 in bigger chunks, dice the remaining quarter very fine.
-Melt 1 tblsp. of sugar in a pot. When the caramel is brown but not burned, apple large chunks, stir, cover, reduce heat and let cook until the apples desintegrate
-Add the fine dice, about a handful of raising, vanilla, cinnamon. Cover again, cook for 5 more minutes so the apples are just done.
-Enjoy
Tigger
Thanks for your very interesting comment on my blog. Unfortunately I have to inform you that, sine I watched Monty Python last night, my imagination of you is now this
++++++
And now off dicing bread for the Bohemian dumplings (region, not culture)
birgerjohansson, Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won’t you please take me along 1966.
Comment eaten? Let’s try that again…
“Bounce That Dick” by Jenna Marbles. NSFW, for your pleasure. Gender roles drastically reversed (genderswitched?), although it probably could do with a little less “bitch”.
Well, it is that time of the year when my annual advent calendar from one of my dear friends reaches its climax. There are a few goodies in
this year’s haul that are worth a look and there is always the chance that I can crash his web site if I can get enough people to view it XD
One that made me spray tea – managed to miss the screen and keyboard, so I still have a working laptop.
And a nice venn diagram that pretty much sums it all up.
I am in week three of my holiday and I simply can’t believe that I have to go back into the office the week after next… it is much too soon.
Time to catch up…
Anyone care to Pharyngulate a poll?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/video-surfaces-ron-paul-talking-racist-newsletters-1995-earlier-knew-article-1.995876
I’m signing off, so Happy Monkey, everybody!
SQB,
Likely too late, but Bonersaurus Rex to you. I enjoyed much of that video.
McCthulhu,
You can nominate Birger for the OM itself, which can be awarded for any kind of contribution.
+++++
I’m going to try to remember to nominate chrislawson, for this outstanding comment in the Ugly Facts About Rape thread.
Giliell, that’ll do nicely! (although I’m rather skinnier and taller than that). The lane even looks like the lanes back home.
In case I get overwhelmed with meatspace stuff over the next 24 hours, Happy Monkey to everyone!
I managed to take and upload photos of my alternative Nativity scene here.
The parts usually taken by Joseph and Mary are here played by Jack Sparrow and a lovely lady pirate. The manger has been replaced by a treasure chest, containing treasure (of course) and a lilac baby octopus (plus a couple of jellyfish by way of teddy bears). Instead of an Ox, there’s a bad tempered purple octopus. The three wise men and their camels are played by three pirates and the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Instead of shepherds and sheep, the tributes are being brought by assorted marine invertebrates. Judging by the skeleton lying by the treasure chest, the Infant Cephalopod has already had breakfast. And, of course, His Noodliness is looking down on the whole scene.
I’m off work until Thursday, I’ve laid in comestibles, consumables, combustibles & libations and I have no intention of doing anything worthwhile. Yea!
The Sailor
Nothing worthwhile, eh?
You’ll be spending lots of time here, then? ;)
Chigau,
Ouch. I resemble that remark.
Illuminata, it’s a private group, you’ll need to send a request for a mod to include you.
(Search FB for the Pharyngula Endless Thread group)
Dhorvath
Me, too.
John M,
I thought we weren’t searchable anymore. It’s a secret FB group now. Illuminata, I am not a mod, but you can friend me at William Steele, my photo there is the same as my gravitar here and I can pass it along to the mods.
chigau & Dhorvath; weeeeell, this isn’t exactly the most productive work I do.
+++++++++++++++++
Dhorvath, ah, I think you’re right.
Tigger, “For tonight’s performance the part of Joseph will be played by Jack Sparrow and Mary will be performed by Anne Bonny.
The baby Jesustm is performed by Cthulhu. If you have a problem with that we will make sure you get eaten first. Enjoy!”
FIFY. (Really nice work, BTW.)
+++++++++++++++++++++
Serendipitydawg (gods are my minus one Kelvin):
Thanks for sharing your friend’s calendar. I loved the dance number.
I’m watching “Wait, wait, don’t tell me” on BBCA.
Wait, what?
The Sailor – sadly, it’s not one of their best efforts so far. When they’re hot they’re hot, but when they’re not… yeah.
I hate to drag this up again, but banning Ben from the Facebook group now has me wondering if I ought to unfriend him. As stated, he’s done quite a bit of good, and while we don’t talk much on FB, he’s never given me problems. But to cause so much hurt and then deny that whatever he’s done/said is sexist. . . I’m gonna go think on this for a bit.
—————————————–
We’re missing one package in the bunch of intended gifts so far. Either it’s waiting for pickup at the post office since no one was hone to sign for it, or what a parent warned us about is true: someone decided it was a good idea to steal the package off the porch. Goodness only knows why.
—————————————–
I’m beginning to think that many people who are in positions of power such that they could help fight poverty and the results thereof, but don’t bother to COME UP WITH SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS OR ELSE REFUSE TO LISTEN, are secretly all harboring something similar to the persecution complex. Except for complete ignorance of reality, it’s the only reason I can think of. However can they feel secure in their positions if they don’t have someone to kick around? How can they feel worthwhile without having a reason to whine?
People: How the bloody fucking hell do they work?
Carlie, it’s still happening in my part o’ the world.
I’ve been hearing it for years, but I never would have envisioned Peter and Karl.
I always knew what Paula Poundstone looked like. I’ve always thought she was funny.
p.s. I think it’s funny that I can look down at my laptop (I can’t touchtype) and hear my fav radio show and look up and see them.
Like Garrison Keeler, they have faces made for radio;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Neil Gaimin, Coooool!
Oh, mine too – I was judging based on the first 10 minutes or so. Sometimes the material just isn’t funny enough, or they just can’t play off of each other well enough.
I’ve seen pictures of Peter and Karl, but have always had trouble thinking of Peter’s voice coming out of that face. :)
Have you read anything of Peter’s? His “Book of Vice” was a really good read.
Garrison Keillor.
Oops! Shoulda bolded the last syllable. ;)
Merry Xmas! Last night was Xmas eve, as celebrated by the official house tradition – the Watching of Hogfather, with champers and a home-delivery curry dinner. This morning was Xmas day, with the official Opening of Presents, including the Presents From the Cats, and a proper Xmas breakfast of cherries, a croissant and some chocolate.
I’ve just seen the Bloke off on his bus to Sydney, so I’m on my own for a week. I’m now looking forward to my friend Eumides’ classic cold Xmas lunch tomorrow – the goose! The goose! And the hobbit pie! And there there’s boxing day at my best mate’s place. Meanwhile the poor bloke has to endure his family.
All highly satisfactory, except for the poor suffering bloke. But something seems a bit wrong with this calendar. I think I may have fallen into the Ogvorbisverse.
Alethea,
Are they made from real hobbits?
</Wednesday Addams>
John Morales beat me to it!
NovaC, you have a great mind! :)
Alethea
My sources tell me it is now 2:27 PM on Xmas eve in Canberra.
You must be in the obvorbiverse.
Trust No One.
John Morales,
Why thank you! May I say the same of yours?
I think it’s explicable merely by belief in a Just World.
(Things are already more or less the way they ought to be, except for those few things which proximately impede me; I can see that those are unjust.)
Why do people believe in a Just World? Easy question: it is less stressful to believe that we live in a Just World.
There are two ways of getting there. I can work to make the world more just, but I will probably not have the benefit of seeing most of the consequences of my work. Or, I can simply believe that it is already Just.
(No, I don’t propose that this calculation is conscious. That makes my argument rather suspect. But as far as I can see it, given that we do have evidence of Just World beliefs and System Justification processes, this is the simplest explanation of how they might happen.)
The hobbit pie!
Well, of course you have to leave the line dangling. It would be wrong to spoil the joke in advance. But actually it’s mushroom. Hobbits are just too hard to source.
Cath
Heh!Couldn’t resist though.
mmmmmmm…
Magic mushroom pie!
Would make for a VERY interesting dinner!
“Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None have ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.”
Why can no one in movies spit?
Even in animation.
Half-pint could spit.
chigau, you’ve not seen Ren and Stimpy?
John Morales
You are correct.
I have managed to not see Ren and Stimpy.
(as long as I’m bragging, I’ve never watched a whole episode of any “reality” TV show)
(and remove yourselves from my lawn)
PS I can’t resist: Ren`s Pecs
(Last one, I promise!)
PZ: spam.
Your VJ will take you back in time with some Jaluka:
Traditional war song: Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa (Zulu – that beautiful instrument playing is the lesiba (mouthbow). Zulu guitar tuning is also quite different and called maskanda (from Afrikaans for musician, nogal!) The title is “Don’t judge a bull by its horns”.)
Vainglory: Impi (Zulu/English)
(Zulu chorus: “Warriors! Here come the warriors. Who can touch the Lions?”
Freedom: Bullets for Bafazane. (English)
I should go to bed.
but Eddie is funny.
Home from my niece’s frosty-out-doors-at-night wedding. My knees disapprove of air mattresses.
On the docket for tomorrow: lunch “out” with Son & D-I-L; then later, dinner, presents, and appropriate seasonal TV (Hogfather and Dr. Who) watching, all over at their house. Yay!
–
Tests came back; cholesterol is within acceptible limits, and no sign that the gall bother is trying to lead other organs into revolt. Yay again!
–
Night weddings.
I like it.
and yay for well-behaved internal organs.
Many will appreciate this, but I’m thinking of Brownian:
http://www.yourmorals.org/blog/2011/04/liberals-place-more-value-on-being-funny-than-conservatives-and-libertarians/
Hi there. I left the FB group the other day not out of solidarity with Ben, but rather because the idle chatter of people I don’t know took up a corner of my FB window.
Work on the 24th of Dec is always on the busy side, and today didn’t disappoint, it’s not high acuity, but most of it is of the “my shoulder has been hurting for 6 months, can you sort it out before xmas” or “granny just doesn’t look well today somehow, and besides we want to go camping at Phlip Island for the next week” variety.
A Jameson now, and then for a real quiet xmas day at work tomorrow, and 2 frenzied days after that.
Hi there
Christmas eve’s here and so far nobody has freaked out, not even me, although I’ve engaged in a few odd behaviours like finally throwing away the potted plants that died back in summer.
A happy monkey to everybody
Tigger
Cool one.
So far, the kids have liked the idea of a pirate christmas tree next year. We’ll see
And now back to the Bohemian dumplings
rorschach:
It did me, too — until I removed the chat window.
(But then, I have more than zero competence at these things)
comments disappearing again,…. *sigh*
{just a test}
So I’m talking to this Indonesian lady right now, who is explaining to me in painstaking detail how to make cooking oil out of coconuts, who got arranged married at age 18 with 3 kids quickly following, who is so lovely, knowledgable and brave that you can not fucking believe it, despite the shit she had to deal with all her life. At age 8, she was forced to take 50 kg of coconuts on her bike daily to the nearest town to sell them on the market, and she would spent from 4am to 10pm grating coconuts, so they could be turned into cooking oil, making her hands bleed and herself fall over with exhaustion. She then had 3 kids in quick succession with a guy who she couldn’t wait to be separated from, and it goes from there.
From all those man-made religions, women suffer the most.
rorschach, sigh.
(We Aussies don’t know just how lucky we are!)
PZ: this thread is getting hit hard by spam.
And I’m leaving out the raped by uncle at age 8 with father not stepping in but rather demanding his dinner cooked by 8yo daughter after mother fled from domestic violence bit here.
Merry Christmas.
Cops are taking advantage of the news dearth holiday to clear OWS camps.
Tom Waits – Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
Merry Xmas everyone. I’ll be working. Love you guys.
Well, did I say something about a boring tree?
Seems like the only fairy-lights we can find are the Halloween-monsters…
If you lived in Fiji it would already be xmas.
Giliell
I’d still love to see that tree! The way I see it,it’s my tree and I’ll decorate it anyway I see fit! Universal Studios monsters,Zombies, over-the-top Gothic,galactic and universal themes……the list goes on and on. Next tree is going to be Doctor Who themed (if I can figure out how to stabilize a T.A.R.D.I.S. at the top).
I almost forgot about Doctor Who Christmas special! Finally a reason to like Christmas.
You are welcome Katrina – he always manages to find plenty of xmas related material to taunt me with.
I am disappointed by Norad’s santa tracker this year… no sleigh cam and I suspect that they are deliberately fudging the position information to stop all us boys and girls getting a sighting. I was hoping to get a missile lock this year; my missile target cam definitely registered a near miss last year so I have increased the fuel load in hope that the payload doesn’t fall harmlessly into the Humber estuary this time.
Absolutely, it’s my tree and I do what I want.
And since the ellusive box with the fairy lights also contains the chains and some trinkets, I used whatever lace ornaments I had and there are now bats, wolfs and steampunk-keys as well.
Happy monster-mess
Closeup
As for the T.A.R.D.I.S., I’d make it out of a cardboard box filled with florists’ foam and a hole in the bottom.
The Sailor, thanks for the re-write – I approve!
Glad you liked the tableau, Giliell; sadly, a major wind storm blew up this afternoon, blew over the tree and broke the top off it. I only just got the tableau indoors before that got wrecked too.
Less than five minutes to go before four teenage males decide that, as it is officially the 25th, they can open their presents.
And I can barely keep my eyes open.
Giliell
I love it! And thanks for the T.A.R.D.I.S. tip. I have a new project for the next tree!
I like the tree and the monster, Giliell! =^_^=
Happy Monkey to all from the non-Ogvorbisverse version of Canberra!
Alethea, if you are bored tomorrow afternoon please come over to our place. We’re having a barbecue; I’ve roasted a pile of different vegetables, we’ll have a Greek salad and hubby will be barbecuing beef steak, goat chops, chicken portions, a whole flathead and whopping great prawns. Oh, and sausages, of course.
All hail axial tilt!
There really is no good damn reason for me to have woken up this morning at 5:15 am.
It’s now 8:30 and everyone in the house is still asleep except for me and the dogs.
At least the sunrise was good and I’ve built quite that raging fire.
How many cups of coffee can I drink before the first fam member decides to wake?
I feel your frustration Rev. There was no good reason for me to climb out of my warm cocoon. My screwed up spine felt otherwise. I’ve managed half a pot coffee so far.
TARDIS
FTW!!!!onee!!!!
Oh holy hilarious Merry fucking Festivus
Perry and Gingrich fail to qualify for Virginia Primary
hahahahahahahah
Hai Serendipitydawg!
(Long time no see.)
You are well aware, I trust, that tardigrades can survive down to +1 Kelvin?
(I may be six degrees from an eskimo, but teh tardigrades is two degrees from jeeebus (and the ghost and sky-daddy)… that is just such a cool fact.)
Rev – unfortunately, Paul is on the VA ballot. So with fewer to pick between, a lot more people might throw their votes his way. :(
Hey!
Don’t you go ruining my Festivus schadenfreude!
Rev-Thanks for the giggles…Both Gingrich AND Perry!!
carlie- I’m with you on that concern. What scares me is the fact that people will tell you that Paul is perfectly reasonable.
What a Christmas! Child 2 announced about an hour and a half ago that he was going to try to earn 10,000 coins on Club Penguin to donate to their Coins for Change campaign. That’s a lot of coins, since he was only at 300. He just came in and announced that he had indeed earned the 10k and donated them all. He figured out how to turn his love of gaming into some real-world philanthropy. Awwww.
(Yes, I know, Disney should be donating a buttload more than they do already to these charities regardless of the involvement of their own user base, but from his end? He done some good.)
After the inspiration of you all, I made a german pancake for breakfast this morning (using Alton Brown’s recipe). The results?
“It tastes like fried dough.”
“More like funnel cake.”
“Funnel cake for breakfast!!!!”
To all threadizens in the northern hemisphere and/or currently cold climes, may your sun continue to never be eaten by wolves; to all threadizens in the southern hemisphere and/or currently califerous climes (I know it doesn’t mean that but who cares, I wanted something with a c), may your brow never be eaten by scorpions (pace Lorca).
There will be cava at midnight (probably accompanied by escoba de quince and chinchón or of course charades) which will enable me to raise a glass in heartfelt good wishes for your wellbeing – continued, if you’ve got it, and incipient if you haven’t.
Atheist Christmas menu:
breakfast: Dutch Baby, poached egg (pre-baby), glass of milk (meant for baby)
lunch: stir-fry with baby carrots, baby corn, and baby bok choy
dinner: baby spinach salad with grated baby swiss and walnut embryos…er, nuts, baby back ribs
dessert: devil’s food cake
:)
Happy monkey, theophontes.
It’s been a funny old year… I have been busy and so mostly lurking as the only way to keep up. For the last three weeks I have been vegetating at home leaving computers firmly behind at the office (and staying out of my own office XD)
Tardigrades are amazing things and if they can get down to -1°K I will bow down and worship, rather than just stand aghast a their incredible properties… since they can survive 1°K they can easily survive a trip into space and given that rocks from Mars make it to Earth, there is every chance that they are even now planning their trip to the stars at a balmy 2.5°K
Carlie:
Well done Child 2, what an absolute star and inspiration to us all.
theophontes:
I just followed your TARDIS link and now realise that the tardigrade plans for inter-galactic domination are more advanced than I imagined!
Oh noes!! My lox tank has sprung a leak… I bet Tesco have none left in their freezer section.
Does anyone have any tips for an oxidiser? My missile is going nowhere without one.
Because no linked to this Pogues song this season. It has to be done.
Yes. I have linked to this twice already. YOU MUST LISTEN!
Seasons beatings!
Giliell, nice tree!
+++++++++++++++++++++
Serendipitydawg, kerosene/nitric acid makes a good hypergolic fuel.
+++++++++++++++++++++
carlie, that gives a whole new meaning to Santa Baby.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The Google doodle is neat!
+++++++++++++++++++++
Have yourself a merry little Christian,
make the Yule logs glow
From now on,
He will be turning slow
I have a Christmas song:
On the day before Christmas
It’s such a pain to see
A wet spot on the ceiling.
:(
“Twas The Night Before Christmas-Mojo Nixon
Warning, very raunchy.
Good King Wenceslas-Mojo Nixon
I don’t know that words. Let’s just go la, la, la.
We Three Kings-Mojo Nixon
We were drunk for three days straight. Starting thinking we were Tom Waits.
It takes 10,000 signatures to get on the presidential ballot in Virginia. It takes 500,000 signatures to recall a governor in Wisconsin.
Grinch & Perry couldn’t get on the ballot in VA.
The Walker recall is going for a million signatures.
Whee!
Sailor, thank you so much!
I am definitely not a chemist… I was using kerosene/lox because I am a child of the Apollo age but I do have just enough nitric acid. Just seven hours to reconfigure everything… alas, it’s going to be saran wrap for the tank lining, so I don’t know how this is going to go… I will check in at 00:00:30 GMT
Christmas Eve Can Kill You-The Everly Brothers
Don’t Believe In Christmas-The Sonics
Christmas In Prison-John Prine
Oh carlie, I hope you are kidding.
Hooray For Santa Claus
2000 Miles-The Pretenders
That is the best Christmas song ever.
Serendipitydawg, I think you might be OK with Saran wrap. Seriously.