This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Woo Hoo! I got my first christian defender on my blog in a response to a post on why I am an atheist.
I’m curious to know peoples’ thoughts on this:
http://wheelr.tumblr.com/post/82506100534/theartofanimation-sakimichan-tumblr-stop
Tony! what I think, is that I like these very much.
:)
–
I notice none of them even passingly resembles me except, marginally, the reworked…Ursulo? Ursul?
I don’t know if this is an improvement. I wonder if maybe it could be on someone else’s “dime” for once. >.>
Ursul Drinked the Grammar Too :)
It has a certain ring to it :)
****
http://wheelr.tumblr.com/post/81485645153/i-dont-know-what-asshole-invented-the-idea-that
(excerpt)
Random gifts:
Running wheels for cats and wild animals running on wheels
Marc Simonetti’s Discworld covers
And if she does manage to dodge that, saying something like this will be labeled as “internalized misogyny.” >.>
Ugh.
I wish I had the money to buy some of these hero hoodies, bc they are totes cool!
http://michaelalen.storenvy.com/
Nightwing
Northstar
Here is a Thor crochet doll.
For PZ:
A sacrifice for our squidly overlord.
Gorogh
Best wishes for your applications and in meeting all your deadlines!
+++
Had weird dream about electrocution last night. No idea where that came from, but apparently there was a wiring issue with one of the viewing cages at the… I forget where, and people would lean in to look through the window, touch the grating, and get electrocuted and stuck to the window grating. Like insects. By the end of the dream, there were about 8 people stuck to it. :/
Ack, Giliell!
Now I have to read what’s been happening. Not as blog-rupt as I was for 3 weeks there, but still not fully keeping up with things at the moment. I hope I’ve not contributed, but if I have, I’ll find it and work on getting better.
We’ll see you when we see you, and miss you until then.
@Tony!:
Yes, I’d seen your 460, but didn’t have anything earth-shattering to say.
I tend to avoid Young …” and “Kid …” because they have in the past tended to be baby stories, really aimed at giving the pre-pubescents their own characters with which to identify, but not bothering with things like plot or motivations that make sense, etc.
I realize that as a trend this has had its interruptions for decades now. Power Pack (in the 80s? 90s? probably 80s) was the first I remember that was dealing with “young” heroes (as if peter parker is “old”) that seemed to have a reasonably interesting depth in its story lines and characterizations. Nonetheless, I’ve shied away.
Perhaps I should check out of TPB of YA and see what was going on. Do you know the trade that covers these issues (or just the relevant issues’ numbers)?
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/19/gangs-rape-lists-sex-assault
When I think about how far we’ve come in the last few thousand years …
world’s oldest prejudice all right. These guys would be right at home in the Old Testament.
Happy Moon Day!
An “interesting” lunch today…
Went to a favored restaurant where I am a know “accomplice” ot the mildly deranged one, albeit she is not a known “visitor” this orbit…
At the same time the waiter was pouring a glass of the vin for me to taste, a flying wannabe ex-dinosaur pooped on me. Missed, only got my arm and shoulder, not the glass of vin or my head. Lousy aim.
And then I sent the vin back… That bottle was spoiled. (The replacement bottle was Ok.)
Lunch itself was excellent. Braised lamb shank, no peas… So was the replacement bottle of vin. Don’t know about the bird poop, it was cleaned off and flushed down the toilet.
Ordered cheese. Some of which had mold. I was a bit put-off by that initially, and couldn’t make up my mind to complain or not… Eventually decided it wasn’t a big deal and cut the mold away away… (Which is what typically happens to cheese hidden in the lair that the mildly deranged one has not found.)
I’ve been pooped on by birds before, and sent back vin before, but most admit that moldy cheese — where the mold was not mentioned at all (previously, always in the context of being safe to eat) — is a new one.
(The restaurant is actually quote good, and I shall lunch again. The bird and the vin weren’t their fault, albeit the mold on some of the cheese was, and out-of-character…)
Must be Sunday.
What’s a better way to say ‘bovine’ (noun)?
Cattle???
opposablethumbs
Hmm… Not quite the right feel.
There’s a collective word for general species of cow and cow-like animals (incl. buffalo, bison, etc.) but I can’t seem to find it. ‘Bovid’ is closer, but still not it. Isn’t there a term…?
rq, food?
rq, maybe ‘kine’?
Or perhaps ‘cattle’ although both of those tend to imply domestic bovines like cows and water buffalo, not necessarily bison, wisent, etc.
rq:
It does seem like a regular Sunday. Must be nice to have a life.
I think bovid is the most inclusive. On the technical side, though, isn’t it? So it depends what context you want to use it in.
Thanks, all, for the assistance.
It’s a crappy context, Estonia is coming out with a new stamp that shows a local, native boviform. I went with bovid. ‘Kine’ would be too obscure for Estonian English. Just a weird concept to try to get across… I didn’t see the stamp, so I have no idea if it was a breed of cattle or a water buffalo or what. We’ll see, I guess.
Tony
I’m not entirely sure how to take that comment. Sorry?
Just commenting on the quietness of the Lounge?
:/
rq:
Sorry. Just feeling down. Y’know, with my whole situation. I don’t really get the chance to interact with people given the no car and job thing, so I get lonely.
Tony
*hugs*
Wish I could help you out somehow. With more than just random *hugs*, that is.
Your blog so far has been really awesome, though, you know that? I’ve been reading it in bits and pieces, and I really enjoy it. I’m glad you’ve gone ahead with the idea. ♥ Hopefully, eventually, FtB will pick you up as a regular blogger, and then you’ll be filthy rich, just like the rest of ’em.
I can’t tell if my cat likes when I kiss her on the top of the head or if she’s presenting it for me to lick clean (like the other cat does) and thinks I’m demented when I fail every time.
rq:
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.
Though I must say, I don’t have any aspirations for blogging. I just wanted to have a place where I could write about or post whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without fear of taking up too much space, or drowning out others’ voices. I appreciate this space (and the Dome) that PZ provides, and I will obviously continue commenting here, but there are times I have to remind myself that this isn’t my space so I need to be considerate of others.
A. Noyd:
Speaking of cats-I noticed something for the first time a few days ago. I’ve had Kayta for 14 years, and somehow I never picked up on the fact that when I crouch down to pet her, she walks over, lets me pet her and keeps walking, rather than sit still and be pet. She usually rubs the wall for a bit and returns for more petting. She rarely sits there and lets me pet her for a while. I think she expect me to follow her around the room.
Cats! It’s like they think they’re royalty.
Tony,
Yeah, I get lonely too, although for different reasons. It’s good to have Pharyngula.
I was about to complain about shit, but I guess I won’t. Good night all, instead.
Tony! I for one really enjoy your comments. And I wish I could actually do something that would make a difference to your job situation too. I’m waiting with fingers crossed for the next bit of work to come my way just now (I’m freelance, and it’s inevitable – either there are two or three jobs at once and I can’t do them all and have to turn stuff down (I hate that) or there’s the awful feeling that nothing’s turned up for ages and I hate that too :-\ . I like being able to work from home, though, so there’s that I guess …).
All the hugs to you. And all the crossed fingers.
@Tony (#530)
Neither of mine do that, but they definitely expect me to cater to their petting preferences. One of them even grabs at me when I walk by the table between the bedroom and bathroom. (Not with claws, at least.) It’s like the route is now a toll road that charges cuddles.
rq:
You know you can always complain about something here. No matter what I’m going through I’ll always care about what you have to say. I hope you have a good night.
****
Beatrice:
Yeah. It really is.
****
opposablethumbs:
Thank you :D
I can only imagine how frustrating the wait must be. Hopefully something turns up soon.
****
A. Noyd:
I get that too. Only, Kayta likes to do it *with* her claws. If I often pet her when I’m in the kitchen microwaving food. If I stop to check my food and I haven’t pet her sufficiently, she’ll reach up and paw at my leg, with claws extended. She’s unintentionally scratched me before, and I’m sure you know what it’s like when a cat scratches–you reflexively pull away…which is not always a good thing.
Two weeks of migraines have left me mostly threadrupt, but:
rq – You have email. I’m very happy that you are all home and recovering from your Canadian
adventures. *many pouncehugs and lots of chocolate*
Giliell [from a long time ago]:
I think it is more of a mutual grapple sort of thing. :D
I’m sorry things have been so rough for you of late. Please come back soon. *many pouncehugs and chocolate*
Tony! – This is a comment that is several weeks late, but thank you for introducing me to Strong Female Protagonist. I loved it and contributed to the Kickstarter.
I ♥ your new gravitar. *many hugs and lots of chocolate*
bassmike – Happy Belated Birthday! I hope you and your daughter are both feeling much better.
Portia – *pouncehugs and chocolate* You are an awesome lawyer and hostess.
cicely – I hope your son gets better soon. *many pouncehugs and much chocolate*
Me too. :D
opposablethumbs – *pouncehugs and chocolate* – I hope life is treating you well.
Gorogh – Good luck!
A. Noyd:
She likes it, but she probably does wonder why you don’t lick her instead like a proper person. My cat Miriya would try to kiss me, but since she didn’t have lips, she wasn’t sure what to do. That didn’t stop her from trying–nearly 18 years of trying. =^_^=
I’ll leave this pile of *hugs and chocolate* for anyone who needs them.
Thank you, Hekuni Cat! And to you too – many pouncehugs, and a large helping of chocolate!
Thank you Tony! I hugely enormously hope that something really good comes your way soon. Apart from anything else, it’s a net good for you to be working somewhere where you can talk to loads of people coming through, because you have a lot of things worth saying and that people could do with hearing. It’s unlikely to happen, I suppose (with that nuisance ocean and the little matter of the thousands of kilometers (or even miles) in the way and all) but I would so love to hang out in a bar that was Tony’s bar.
I hate websites built in javascript. I hate them with a fiery passion.
Tony!
*hugs* I wish I could do something more for you. Like move you the hell out of Florida to someplace where you could walk places, or catch a bus or something… and find work, of course.
I doubt that it was unintentional.
Beatrice, rq
*hugs*
opposablethumbs
yeah, L is in the same boat, currently in the latter phase. I just don’t have enough hours at my job :(.
Tony (#535)
Mine would either learn not to do that or they’d get their claws clipped down way more regularly. I do have a scratch scar on the back of my hand from when I thought it would be funny to startle the cat as she walked by my chair. Couldn’t really fault her for that one.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Henuki Cat (#536)
Aww.
*hugs* for Tony!.
It’s so frustrating, not to be able to help.
:( :( :(
–
Hekuni Cat!
*pouncehugs*
Son has discovered that he is allergic to amoxicillin (sp???).
This is an unpleasant and uncalled-for surprise; I’m almost positive he’s had it before this, without incident. The Husband wonders whether the ulcerative colitis might be a factor.
–
I just noticed PZ changed his picture in the sidebar. Still looks like a mild-mannered professor instead of Snidely Whiplash evil villain…
Argh, cicely, I’m very sorry for Son – not a good discovery to make :-( Hope you have an alternative available?
I hear you, the Redhead is allergic to the penicillins. She turned into a splotchy red alligator skin with ampicillin, and even the people in the emergency room wanted her treated stat ahead of them.
PZ’s new picture!
Nerd:
Thanks for pointing out that PZ changed his profile pic. I don’t know how long it would have been before I noticed. You’re right, he doesn’t look menacing enough.
****
Just read an interesting article by Andrew Wheeler, a blogger and writer for Comics Alliance. Last year he wrote an article at that site for the movie Man of Steel. Over the course of the article, Wheeler discusses the history of Henry Cavill, the British actor who played Superman in the aforementioned movie. During the article, Wheeler discusses the quality of Cavill’s acting ability, where he’s from, what he’s starred, in and more. He also talks about how attractive he finds Cavill (and I have to say, the scenes of shirtless Cavill when he’s saving the workers on the oil rig…yum yum):
One reader of Wheeler’s article took issue with how he talked about Cavill’s attractiveness:
Wheeler’s response was perfect:
The rest can be read here.
opposablethumbs, they prescribed him something else instead; I don’t know what. He’s been mostly sleeping, so not very communicative.
I do know that they’ve got him taking Benedryl as well as whatever, because of the mouth/tongue swelling. And his mouth was already full of canker sores.
:(
–
Cicely, keep an eye out for certain cheeses, and don’t feed them to your son. Blue cheese in particular, where the blue is from an penicillin mold. The Redhead can tell how good or authentic a Blue Cheese is due to her reaction just being around or tasting a small piece.
Tonight I’m making a beef roast for the Redhead and her parents, with corn on the cob and baked potatoes. With chives (from the herb garden) so fresh, they s*ap you.
Nerd, I will be sure to pass that warning on. It hadn’t occurred to me as a possible problem…and he reallyreallyreally likes cheese.
–
Nerd:
I don’t know much about cheese–what do you mean by ‘authentic’?
****
This might interest people who are into words:
http://kierongillen.tumblr.com/page/391
cicely – I seem to have developed an itchy rash on fingers and toes-type allergy to the penicillins after taking them on almost a yearly basis for a good chunk of my over 5 to the late teens years of my life. I hope they can find a workable substitute.
Tony – Add me to the list of folks who wishes they could give you a bit of help.
Had a nice weekend camping. The weather was fantastic. My wife’s brother stopped by on his way back to Tennessee from selling his house in Connecticut. Visited several local spots that make food (and drink) out of local foodstuffs. Deee-lish.
Looks like heat and humidity followed by storms are moving through this week, though. Which is normal for this time of year, but keeps me inside.
Blue secondary penicillin mold versus blue food dye in the veins. The Redhead doesn’t respond to the “blue cheese” food dye, just the authentic blue cheese with penicillin mold.
cicely
I once had a hives breakout due to a combination of penicillin and shrimp.
Hey! When did the Overlord get a new profile picture?
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/files/2011/07/PZMyersByJerryRauser.jpg
Hi everyone. I haven’t been hanging around FTB as much as I normally do. It’s been a very emotional time in my personal life and I haven’t had the head space to keep up with comments so I was quite shocked this weekend peeking over at Butterflies & Wheels. I don’t mean to stir things up but I figure I should voice that I was disgusted at Ophelia Benson’s and some other commentators’ responses and behavior since CaitieCat’s polite suggestion a number of days ago meant to prevent erasure of many individuals when it comes to using the term woman in relation to reproductive health. (I’d link but I’ll bow my head in shame and admit I can’t seem to figure out how to make a link work in the comments).
I won’t be reading her blog anymore and sadly, I have a feeling that this incident and it’s aftermath probably has flown under the radar of FTB in general. I was also astonished not completely at the ignorance shown but more by the hostility of the responses that seems to have continued on other posts and comments since.
In full disclosure I am a transwoman. I am one of those types that the hostility was being directed towards. I’ll also mention that I don’t demand that anyone be ideologically pure but I just like it when others like me don’t get treated like shit when the politely ask not to be erased. If I’m out of line in the lounge please someone delete my comment and I’m sorry. I’m also really sorry that CaitieCat and others defending her position and dealing with the fallout had it deal with what happened. I found it all extremely upsetting and hurtful and I was just catching up after the fact.
WMDKitty:
http://io9.com/some-genius-designed-a-hamster-wheel-for-cats-1607693636?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Alice Wild:
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I understand how upsetting her words were, and I tried to engage her for a short time, but found that she wasn’t going to budge. Portia informed me that Ophelia doubled down even further, which was it for me. I had just started following B&W, but after that, I deleted her blog off my subscription list, defriended her on FB, and have not been back to her blog. If she’s going to have that attitude toward issues facing transpeople, then I’m done reading her. I initially thought to continue reading her, as I do find a lot of what she has to say of value, but I felt that her actions necessitated not following her anymore.
I’m sorry she upset you and I genuinely wish she’d have listened to reason. I also agree that it flew under the radar here at FtB, and I also wish that the people stepping up to defend her had tried to empathize more with transmen and transwomen before they made apologies for Ophelia.
Alice Wilde:
Sorry for misspelling your nym.
Alice Wilde, I totally get how you feel, and just wanted to offer *hugs* and grokking. Disappointment was the biggest chunk of my reaction too, honestly. Less shock than I’d have wanted, because I’d sort of suspected she leaned toward the cissexist, but deeply disappointed, particularly when they got to the point of lauding themselves as brave heroes for having survived my viciously polite request. :/
She just goes into the small list of FTB writers whose work I pass by, now. In the end, I’d rather know who’s not on my side than have them lurking.
Alice Wilde
*hugs* or other desired gestures of support. I’ve also been avoiding B&W since then.
rq
Probably a wisent or European Bison in that case, which usually wouldn’t be called cattle. Might be an aurochs, for which the term wild kine or wild cattle would be appropriate if there were any around any more.
Alice Wilde: I am so sorry. Between my sporadic interest in B&W and spotty internet, I’d missed it entirely. I wish I could have been there for some kind of support.
It’s an easy fuckup to make when discussing reproductive rights, having been born into and entrenched all our lives in a cissexist culture, but it’s also an easy fuckup to fix when it’s pointed out.
Tony!
…good luck with that.
There’s another aspect of it, too, in that while access to abortion generally affect people with uteruses, anti-choice rhetoric is mostly implicitly, but deeply and intensely, anti-woman (granted, in large part because the sort of people who are anti-choice don’t tend to recognize trans men or female-bodied non-binary people as not being women).
Greta Christina had a post where she’d discussed this, tangentially but explicitly; it seemed to me like she’d handled the distinction well (and proactively) and elucidated both facets; I couldn’t find it when I searched for it, though…
*pops in, very threadrupt*
I was feeling a little romantically discouraged, but then while working in the back of the ambo tonight the patient strained his eyes upwards and said “Yer cyoot.” So, y’know, I’ve got that going for me.
^_^
*pops back out, leaving Minion umbrellas and hugs in a haphazard stack for the taking*
Tony! no worries about the misspelling. CaitieCat,Dalillama *hugs* accepted and offered back. Mellow MonkeyI couldn’t help but think of that Richard Dawkins anecdote about the scientist who was happy to be proven wrong and my subsequent spit-takes. If I could line up the people in the world who take being corrected well I might get halfway to my ass.
As I said I was only catching up so I do feel a certain detachment from the conversations that occurred but yeah, it was certainly still hurtful to see. I don’t want to come across as making a grab for sympathy since there are people here that were directly involved but yeah, the post-game high-fiving that went on? That was gross. Brave heroes indeed.
For me, I think this kind of thing is the most disappointing when I expect better and I did in this case. I’ve been called lots of horrible things in my life but when people you want to respect do this sort of thing it’s a real let down. I hold FTB in general in fairly high regard but this isn’t the first time something like this happened (*cough* *cough* Eberhard) so maybe I shouldn’t be shocked anymore.
Alice Wilde:
Eberhardt was exactly what I was thinking of the whole time that was going down. Of course, once banned, I couldn’t chip in any more.
(insert FREEZE PEACH joke here.)
Alice Wilde:
The thread where Ophelia dismissed CaitieCats request was under FtB’s active threads for a while longer than I’d anticipated. Your comment gives me some idea of what was going on in there.
It doesn’t want petting. It’s been waiting patiently for some mice to run by so it can play with them and have its very own cute furry four-paw-drive yo-yo, and then you come stomp Stomp! STOMPING! along and scare all the mices away…
http://wheelr.tumblr.com/post/41421432328/thescienceofjohnlock
Ya’ll: take a look at this awesome dress. There are disparaging comments about the woman that follow the images, but following *those* are some positive ones.
The skill and ingenuity of some cosplayers is really outstanding – it’s a fabulous dress! And ::ptui (spits):: on all those who would rain on her parade.
cicely, that’s awful. Bloody hell, poor Son – I do pretty badly with any pain in the mouth, I can barely imagine what this could be like. How long has this been going on, and what are the prospects of getting rid of it?
Re: B&W
Does anyone have a link or a headline or something? I’d like to have a look at that.
LykeX:
It was here: https://proxy.freethought.online/butterfliesandwheels/2014/07/oh-dear-did-you-hurt-your-hand/
Thanks, Tony!
This is not happy reading, especially since CaitieCat’s original comment was so innocuous. Ophelia could definitely have handled that better.
Study shows state legislators in favor of voter ID laws are motivated by racial bias http://phys.org/news/2014-07-state-legislators-favor-voter-id.html No, really? (sarcasm)
Researchers develop ‘envy-free’ algorithm for settling disputes http://phys.org/news/2014-02-envy-free-algorithm-disputes.html -Similar math was used to work out a power-sharing method for Northern Ireland, so this is something politicians should embrace.
St. Bernard Is Simultaneously Baffled By, And In Love With, Her New Kitten Friend http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/st-bernard-loves-kitten_n_5585807.html?cps=gravity
Lunar pits could shelter astronauts, reveal details of how ‘man in the moon’ formed http://phys.org/news/2014-07-lunar-pits-astronauts-reveal-moon.html
“Watching Welcome to Sweden With My Sweden-Born Wife” http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/17/welcome_to_sweden_nbc_show_with_guest_star_will_ferrell_is_pretty_accurate.html?wpisrc=obnetwork
Actually, if the protagonist had met Swedish teenagers, they would have greeted him with *a lot* of American slang. And been swearing like people in a Spike Lee film. “This is fucking great, motherfucker!”
And being of the pharyngulate persuation, I think marine arthropods are too cool to be eaten, whatever other Swedes think.
All I can think reading that thread is ‘with friends like these…’
The amount of willful misinterpretaion and passive aggression in that thread is ridiculous.
@Birger – the f word’s also been imported into Dutch, and I hear it in public a LOT more often that I would in the States. I think that, at least with the kids, they assume that people cuss in real life as much as they do on TV.
What’s really annoying is that they usually don’t pronounce it correctly – the u sound is about halfway to an ‘ooh’ sound, which to my ears totally sucks the power out of the word. It comes out sounding like a sadly deflating baloon.
Derek Vandivere @577:
That description would put it close to the Yorkshire pronunciation, which is in fact the correct one :)
Derek Vandivere @577:
-Back when Holland was a world power, a lot of dutch words -mostly related to ships- found their way into other languages.
“Fokken” (originally “to beat”) thus entered colloquial English.*
In Swedish, fock remains a naval term for sailing ships because booms and ropes are thrown about in the wind.
.
I suppose we can surmise the dutch version is the most primitive form of pronounciation.
*Ian Drury’s “Hit Me With Your Rythm Stick” appears to be relatively of close to both the original and the new meaning.
— — —
Criticising schools ‘vital’ to shit parenting http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/criticising-schools-vital-to-shit-parenting-2014071088471
Tpyo strikes again
— — —
Citizen Koch: Public TV Snubbed This Film to Avoid Offending a Billionaire Donor http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/carl-deal-tia-lessin-directors-citizen-koch I like this comment: “Way too early to even contemplate what the Koch equivalent of “Rosebud” is.
(I’m guessing porn site sign-on password.) “
— — —
Researchers develop ‘envy-free’ algorithm for settling disputes http://phys.org/news/2014-02-envy-free-algorithm-disputes.html -Similar math was used to work out a power-sharing method for Northern Ireland, so this is something politicians should embrace.
— — — —
One injection stops type 2 diabetes in its tracks in mice without side effects http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-07-diabetes-tracks-mice-side-effects.html
Biger: my favorite English word of Dutch / Frisian origin is window – wind oog – wind eye. At least in modern Dutch, fokken is ‘to raise’ as in livestock. There’s a golden oldie joke about the Dutch farmer who meets the American President, and very proudly tells him “I fok horses.”
I was amazed when I went to Stockholm years ago how easy it was to figure out at least billboard Swedish by cross-referencing Dutch and English. Had the same experience in Norway a few months ago.
Rob: now I’m trying to imagine my Yorkie friends saying the word. If my ears are remembering right, it’s got a bit of an upwards inflection, which gives the k a bit of a punch. When Dutch kids say it, it’s got a downwards inflection. Maybe that’s what denatures it.
Whatever, it’s still fun to shock 13 year old by teaching them how to pronounce it correctly. I’ve got a whole sermon…
Maybe “to raise” is the meaning of the naval equipment called fock -it helps raising sails?
I hope the East Frisian language is still alive. Living on islands may help the inhabitants preserve it
Today is the anniversary of the liberation of Caen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caen
-After the war, people in Sweden helped collect money to rebuild parts of Caen with the most modern Scandinavian-style architecture of the era, resulting in residential
houses that remain to this day.
This is the deputy speaker of Knesset and a member of Likud:
Israeli Lawmaker Outlines Final Solution For Gaza: ‘Elimination’ http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/07/21/israeli-lawmaker-outlines-final-solution-for-gaza-elimination/?utm_source=crowdignite.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=crowdignite.com
Oh, is that why Caen looks so different than the other towns in Normandy? That would explain all the concrete boxes – that was definitely the style back then.
Well, Friesland is a big (though thinly populated) province on the Dutch mainland – all of the waddeneilanden (the barrier islands) are part of Friesland except for Texel, which is part of North Holland. The Fries language is alive and well – there’s even a few TV channels exclusively in Frisian.
As far as the ‘final solution’ goes – I get the feeling these Israeli ultra-right wingers really have no sense of irony (or justice (or humanity)) whatsoever…
here’s a petition that has only 17 signatures on it and only two have signed in the past hour. It’s to improve the prison conditions of Peter Sunde, one of the founders of Pirate Bay:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Beatrice_Ask_and_the_Swedish_Ministry_of_Justice_Improve_Pirate_Bay_founder_Peter_Sundes_prison_conditions_immediately/?nXYjlcb
We haz a deeeeeeeeeeeeeead Lounge today.
Shh!
You’ll resurrect the zombie thread!
In other news, I have acquired a new knitting project!
There’s going to be an EstelethNiece or EstelethNephew! :D :D
So my job is to welcome the little tyke in style by producing blankets, hats, etc.
*knitting needles clack away*
Esteleth
I don’t know if you can hear me over the clacking, but congrats.
I took my kids to a state park not far from here for a walk in The Nature. My plan for tomorrow is to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (it’s not open on Mondays — what’s up with that? Does the Art need a rest?). These things are my attempt to keep us from sitting in front of computers/video games/TV for the whole summer. We’ve already been to the Phila. Zoo, the Franklin Institute, the Camden Adventure Aquarium since they got out of school. Also a place called Peddler’s Village which has a bunch of unique little shops.
Esteleth:
Congrats to you and your family for the impending new additions. Any idea what you want to make? Or are you planning on making a bunch of stuff?
ajb47:
Did your kids have any favorites out the activities you’ve done?
Tony!
Well, I’m starting with a large (~54 in or so) round blanket with a sunburst pattern. Then I’ll make a hat.
I may – time permitting, the baby is due in January – look and see if I can find a onesie or swaddle-suit pattern.
If ever I seem to be lost, look for me here.
(They have potatoes and practically no people. Just sayin’.)
Tony
So Ilunga is pretty much The Boy Who Cried Wolf conveyed in a single word.
rq:
That seems like a lovely place to get lost at. Mind some company?
ibyea:
I don’t know if I’d agree with that. ‘Boy who cried wolf’ is someone falsely raising an alarm. In the case of Ilunga there is cause for alarm, it’s just that the person voicing their concern is forgiving the abuse the first time, tolerating it the second time, but not giving them a third chance.
You’ll never think of Batman the same way again
NSFW
…am I the only one wondering about the timing of PZ being emailed a falsely attributed TAA quote that’s consistent with his published opinion elsewhere, and a self-professed MRA immediately being on hand to skepticize about its provenance?
Azkyroth:
No, you absolutely are not the only one.
I wondered the exact same thing after I started searching for that image. There’s no proof, of course, but damn, that was reeeeeeeeeeeeeally coincidental.
Tree Lobsters!
–
Ctrl+Alt+Del, on diversity in comics (the meat of it is in the text under the comic).
–
opposablethumbs:
I think the first symptoms were Wednesday night, when he apparently had a sore throat, but thought it was just an on-coming cold. Thursday night, he had a fever over 11 degrees, sore throat, and the first canker sore; his fiancee tried to get him to go to the doctor, but he thought he could tough it out. Friday afternoon he called me at work, light-headed, 2 sores in his mouth, with a 103+ fever, and we took him straightaway to the clinic. (Though there is much Suck attached to my place of employment, in this respect it is solidly Awesome—that in case of emergency, we can go, no argument.
Yesterday is when they concluded that he’s allergic to the amoxicillin, and prescribed something else instead. I’m waiting to hear back how he’s doing today.
Anxiously.
(Later)
He says his temp is under control, and he thinks the allergic reactions are improving, but he can’t sleep because of his mouth pain, which neither Chloraseptic nor Orajel can touch; and ice chips don’t help, either. Any suggestions?
–
birgerjohansson:
What kind of self-delusion must it take, for him—and his “fellow travelers”—not to see the parallels with a very plot-relevant ethnic cleansing? To say nothing of every other ethnic cleansing in recent history?
Oh, wait.
This is another one of those religiously-based dissociations, isn’t it.
–
Esteleth, congrats to you and all persons involved on the impending familial addition!
–
re: Ilunga
The thing is, it never actually works that way.
I forgave him the first time he hit me.
I tolerated it the second time, and had Words, lots of Words.
By the third time it happened, I was too scared to say or do anything about it. By the third time, it’s too late. You’re locked in to the pattern, the abuse dynamic, and there’s no (visible) way out.
That, I think, is the danger that Tony and others are concerned about.
re: Ilunga
I think Pamela Haag is misapplying the word in her example. The definition of Ilunga references abuse, but she uses infidelity as an example of the word. Yes, there are problems with infidelity, but I don’t think they rise to the same level as abuse (whether physical, emotion, or sexual). It’s very different. So different that I think that Ilunga does not fit. But then this may be my Western thinking at work. Ilunga is a Bantu word, and perhaps for that culture, infidelity might be an appropriate example of the word.
Also, WMDKitty:
I’m so sorry for what you went through.
Though I wish otherwise, I wasn’t referring to patterns of domestic violence. In fact, to be honest, I don’t have any personal knowledge of domestic abuse (whether from experiencing it personally or knowing someone who has been victimized). What I do know of domestic abuse is limited to statistics.
cicely @600:
from your ctrl alt del link:
This is only a guess on my part (but it is informed by an understanding of comic book history)–
I think the changes to Captain America and Thor are intended to reach a wider audience than simply launching a solo Falcon or new god empowered female (I do hate that she doesn’t have her own name) book. Books from the Big 2 featuring black or female characters don’t historically do very well and sales would probably necessitate cancellation within a year or so. I *think* what the plan is is to have these characters in the role of Cap and Thor long enough to build up a substantial fanbase, and then spin them off into their own books with the hope that they’ll have enough readers to support ongoing series. There are likely more people reading Captain America month to month and I doubt those numbers would be the same for a Falcon book launching tomorrow. It may be a gimmick, but it’s one designed to bring in a larger audience in the long run. I hope it works. I also hope that at some point in the not too distant future, comics companies can launch a book with a black or female character to good sales figures without having to have them take over for more popular characters first.
Tony!, I think they figure they can jump either way; if the new Cap and Thor don’t go over, they revert them, been done hundreds of times, Peter and Mary Jane were never married, yada yada; and if they do go over well, they can both revert them—under the old titles—and spin the new versions off in their own titles…somewhat like their Ultimates titles. Ultimate X-Men, for instance, with its divergences, didn’t put the kibosh on the main-line continuity titles; they’re still there, still proliferating like bacteria.
In other words, they figure that they can have their cake—throwing away any “uneaten” portion—and eat it, too. Win-win, from their viewpoint, except for the “acceptable losses”—those customers who are so angered by the change, as to drop the titles altogether.
–
http://wheelr.tumblr.com/post/92145410107/man-pudding-raul-castillo-crema-catalan
http://www.racialicious.com/2014/07/14/racialicious-is-looking-for-poc-creators-at-san-diego-comic-con/
Eureka, finally tried on the sandals I bought for the Redhead. The swollen foot is still too swollen for the base shoe straps to work, but making extension velcro pieces by tacking the back of the felt to the back of the barb, and cutting to size, worked beautifully. Her foot sits in the sandal, and feels comfortable.
Now comes the “stand test”.
Tony @591
My kids have liked them all so far. I remember going to most of these places at least a few times while in school, and they seem to have far fewer class trips than I did. I may be remembering it slightly incorrectly (it’s been 40 years, after all), but I’m pretty sure I went to the Zoo and the Franklin Institute and even Historic Philadelphia (Independence Hall and Liberty Bell) more than once.
My son was excited to go to the Aquarium as soon as I told my kids that I wanted to take them places over the summer. Both really liked the Franklin Institute, with its many hands on exhibits. My son rode a pony at the zoo, and both had really great time feeding Lorikeets there. Touching sharks and stingrays at the Aquarium — well, I should upload the pictures I took of that so you can see their faces.
I wasn’t sure they would like just going to a National or State Park and walking along a trail for a bit, but they seem to enjoy that, too. When the weather settles again, I hope to take them to Washington’s Crossing State Park in PA (New Jersey’s version is not really that good) along with Bowman’s Hill Tower and the Wildflower Preserve.
It’s going much better than I expected so far. They still argue when I need to take them to the supermarket with me because we are running out of food in the house, but these extra trips are OK. I still have plans for the US Mint in Philadelphia, another trip to the Zoo, since we only saw half of it the first time, the Museum of Natural History, Pennsbury Manor (which both kids have been to on class trips) which is sort of a local Colonial Williamsburg in William Penn’s home, and Historic Philadelphia (which will require decent weather). Possibly the Constitution Center, but that may be part of the Historic Philly trip since it’s right across from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
Luck to you, Nerd. Glad you have at least a semi-workable solution.
Nerd, I hope the sandal works out.
–
Something for the kids (and the adults, really):
The mini comic is adorable. Supergirl’s Batgirl-inspired costume is nifty too.
Maybe I should have stated outright that those links in 608 are to pictures/photosets on my Flickr.
Congratulations on impending aunt-hood and happy knitting, Esteleth!
Only wish I had knowledge and information to offer, cicely :-( I don’t know what I’d do other than ice, and it doesn’t sound like that’s any help. Ugh, all my sympathies to Son and I hope the treatment he’s getting proves effective quickly.
Congrats Esteleth may you have many happy hours of knitting for the new arrival.
Cicely what’s happening to your Son sounds horrible. I hope it is sorted out soon with the minimum of pain.
Started the drafting of my new story. So far it’s about three quarters of a page describing characters in a cart.
Chimera @ #143 in the thread linked to below asks if I am a serious cyclist. I was at one time but the infirmities of advancing age have just about ended any such activities. I do own a 1980 model Colnago Superissimo professional racing bike which I can’t ride anymore because the frame is too stiff.
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2014/07/20/no-more-us-support-for-israel/#comments
@Tony:
I love Batgirl’s new costume. It’s functional and probably very comfortable to fight crime in.
colnago80,
Aging is no fun, to say the least. I can’t ride at all anymore, but have fond memories.
Are you a military historian?
@Kevin:
Meh. So is every costume that says it is. Fiction, y’know?
@Crip Dyke:
It’s a leather jacket (removable) and a likely stretchy material for the pants and whatever’s underneath the jacket and a swiftly removable cape. It’s certainly much more believable than some of the other outfits superheroines have been thrown into in the past.
*restocks the hug truck with cakes and fuzzy things* (cakes may contain fuzz) (fuzzy things may contain cake)
—
Women penalized for promoting women
Well gee Pteryxx, I’ll have a piece of that cake. Thanks a bunch :)
I have been craving cake for a while now.
Bad day at work. I think clients were fucking with my head instead of genuinly misunderstanding me, since colleague repeated the same thing with nearly the same words and got a “Thank you! We’ve been wasting time on this for the last hour.”
I felt so humiliated I nearly cried. I can deal with rude people, but I can’t deal with someone I feel is deliberately humiliating me, or in this case, sensing that I’m a small fish and abusing me until a bigger fish comes so that they could talk “at their level”.
Also, there is a big spider above my bed.
Beatrice
*hugs* One of the many reasons customer service sucks.
Beatrice, you could take your feelings about the client’s crappy attitude out on the spider. Isn’t that what spiders are for? (Sorry you had to deal with a crappy attitude.)
It seems the new Player’s Handbook has added a section on sexuality and gender identity.
But if I miss the spider, it could end up on my bed or get mad and take revenge on me while I sleep.
—
Two more days and then I’m going home. I miss my mum. :(
Esteleth – Congratulations! And good luck with your knitting.
cicely – I’m sorry your son is in so much pain. I wish I had something I could suggest to help. *hugs*
Nerd – Good luck with the Redhead’s new sandals.
rq – I want to go to Tristan da Cunha too.
Pteryxx – I’ll have some cake and some fuzz.
Beatrice – *hugs and chocolate* I’m so sorry about the clients. I don’t like big spiders above my bed either.
Beatrice
I don’t know if you’re familiar with . It’s mostly focused on web and graphic design, but it has some great stories about difficult clients. Sometimes it helps to know that other people deal with the same shit.
Beatrice @623: I’ve met the type, and seen them in action. They deserve your pity, not your tears, because their worldview is, at bottom, horribly sad.
Also; spiders and praying mantises are our friends. This is just libelous anti-spider propaganda.
The Redhead was able to easily stand up with her sandals, but was unable to “spin”. This isn’t necessarily the fault of the sandals, as she has been having trouble with that lately. But I should be able to put on some strips of elastic cloth around the ball of the foot area of the sandals to give a less firm grip. This was done earlier when she was in rehab, so it’s nothing new, and I’m using the same box of elastic cloth as was used in rehab. So we are closer to getting her out for her periodontist appointment Thursday. I also needed another package of velcro for the third strap. Got that on the way home from work. Now to attach the felt and barb blocks, and cut them lengthways down the middle.
Beatrice:
Much love and ::hugs::
****
A mildly entertaining video, if a trifle too repetitive, from Ryan English:
@abj47:
Awesome. And just 23 years after I had a pair of antagonist characters in a group of baddies appear to be lesbian…though later it was revealed that one was a male gnome illusionist. Then the people at my table had a very long discussion about whether the two were still lesbians and this was a transsexual gnome or whether the gnome was just a magic cross dresser who nonetheless identified as a man. And then they noticed that, hey, the (D&D) “race” of the gnome was different in illusionary disguise, too. Was this a gnome-bodied individual that ID’d as a half-elf? Or a gnome that “cross dressed” as a half-elf? What would it mean to treat a lover as a half-elf if the lover was gnome-bodied?
Well, they found out. When the illusionist died the half-elf fighter-evoker went on a rampage and nearly single-handedly kicked their asses.
They always wondered why individuals that are of similar levels seem so relatively easy to defeat. It was only after that they figured out that, oh, when you spend all your time planning to defeat a particular enemy rather than being all hangy-outy at home while planning world conquest generally, you can target your info gathering and your weaponry in a way that the person who wants to take on the whole world can’t.
it turns out that when NPCs actively hunt PCs, the NPCs always have the right spell on hand, and have purchased just the right potions, etc.
That whole sequence was eye-opening for them in many ways.
‘rupt, as per usual.
*hugs* to Beatrice. I’m really sorry.
My boss often gives me research projects that he knows the answer to. It’s…humiliating.
It’s moderately mitigated when he at least tells me it’s a test. Sometimes he just acts like he doesn’t know a fairly basic thing because he’s testing me.
Ugh.
—
This guy gets points for making me laugh out loud:
“All my books, paintings, and klutzy knittings burnt down when my apartment caught fire after smoking a cigarette indoors in violation of my lease. Please help.”
You can guess how I described myself in my profile on match. I think he hit all the highlights.
@portia
Now that’s someone who deserves a message back.
CD:
*hi hi hi*
*pouncehug*
I agree. Now to agonize over an equally clever response.
Portia:
How important is it to you to give a clever response?
Not terribly, I guess, but it’d be fun:)
Congratulations to Esteleth!!!
–
I went with: “Wow, where to begin. So many of my talents are called for in this dire situation. Most important things first: replacing your books. What do you like to read?”
I’ve gotten bloody noses from too little moisture in the air, but never when it was at its most humid.
Did I type this ok?
I can’t see the keyboard, only the ceiling, from this postition.
Yes, you typed this okay! Sterling, perfect reply. And bloody noses are the gods getting playful. Snotty beasts. I get ’em all the time.
great googly-moogly, you people are nerds.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Do carry on.
My point was that “believability” is a contextual term, and there’s a hell of a lot of context when dealing with a publisher who makes its money on an alien who looks exactly like a human (to the point where “impossibly good looking” might as well be one of his super powers), flies without support, transcends space and time at will, fights (and wins!) against gods, but hasn’t yet bothered to design a lead-lined costume or even just a rocket belt for protecting against or getting away from every two-bit hood with a lump of kryptonite.
Buying into superman takes suspension of disbelief to Damocles’ level. An artificial fiber that wicks moisture and breathes well well containing nano-particles to neutralize contact toxins and maybe add a little shimmer in the right light? Not quite so much. Hell you can make it slimming and bullet proof and you still haven’t appreciably changed the chance of that thread snapping.
I get that there are some that are excited because thought into details like costumes are (hopefully) indicative of a creative team that will give thought to the character as a whole, a team that will think about “what is it like to live life as Batgirl”?
And that’s fine. If it foreshadows a good book, yay. But whether it’s leather or made-up super-fabric doesn’t, in itself, make the costume
It’s fiction. It’s functional if they say it is in the same way that it’s true if they say it is that Superman’s eyes emit lasers that cause matter touched to explode but can also slice through an asteroid with surgical precision when required.
Arguing over which is more “functional”, Supermans “heat vision” or Cyclops eye-beams is no more rational than having an opinion on the functionality of a fictional leather jacket vs a fictional super-fiber with no earthly equivalent.
Why, that’s just the nicest thing to say.
–
morgan:
Thank you for the proofreading. Pesky gods.
And thank you for the validation on the reply :D
Buddy of mine threw out this weird hypothetical today. To paraphrase, “Let’s say you have a fully functional hermaphrodite. Has ALL the parts, and they all work. If this person were to self-impregnate, would the pregnancy be viable, and would the fetus (and subsequent baby) have genetic issues?”
(I know, WTF, right?)
I was like, “Assuming this were possible, it would probably take a few generations of self-fertilization to see any negative effects. But really, I don’t know.”
I mean, even slugs and snails — which ARE fully functioning hermaphroditic creatures — partner up when it’s time to reproduce.
Portia – *pouncehugs* You have email.
hello!
I did so much stuff today! It was awesome being productive, even if it’s hard to get myself to do it.
Also, it’s really nice when I have those rare moments when I can just be myself–and block off all the self-loathing I’ve picked up from those around me. I can’t believe how bubbly I am right now.
thunk
you should have a *hug*, if you want one
Thanks Chigau!
Now if I can just be myself in the mornings, half my problems would be solved.
Well, this is good news. Weird Al apologized for his use of “spastic”.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/07/21/weird-al-apologizes-for-offending-with-spastic-lyric-in-word-crimes-parody/
Hugs for everybody! I finished another felt birdie today, and went for a walk and did all the laundry. I did a creative thing and slayed usefuls. Does wonders to improve one’s mood, getting things done.
thunk – *hugs* I’m glad your day was happily productive.
Congrats, Anne. It sounds like you had a good day. Getting things done always improves my mood too. (It’s not always an option, but getting something done would improve my mood even on those occasions.)
Crip Dyke:
I’m leaning towards Batgirl’s new costume being functional (and stylish). Only thing I don’t like are the boots.
****
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/breaking_federal_judge_set_to_strike_down_colorado_same_sex_marriage_ban
****
thunk, Anne:
Productive days are definitely nice. Kudos to both of you on yours.
****
Of late, I’ve taken to leash-walking my dog Krystal (I use a harness instead of collar–it seems more humane not to choke the dog). In the 6 years I’ve had her, I haven’t walked her much, in part bc I was working so much, and in part bc she didn’t seem to like being on a leash. I would usually just play with her (and my roomies dog) in the back yard. For all that she’s not that accustomed to leash-walking, she is amazingly well behaved. She doesn’t run. If I stop, she almost always stops, without any command from me. She walks just as casually as I do. It’s a really pleasant way to get in a walk and spend time with my dog (in the evening or at least at night anyways; Florida summer times are muggy and hot).
*reciprocating all hugs*, and appreciating all sympathy.
–
We had to take Son back to the clinic today, because the mouth sores were so severe that he couldn’t drink—even water—without excruciating pain. The doctor has decided that these are a separate problem from the strep (I think she called it “stomatitis”, and from the description, it looks as if this may be it; and also, that it may not have anything to do with an allergy to amoxicillin. New meds, and three bags of saline IV, and a corticosteroid added in, together with a topical “mouthwash” to numb the sores so he can eat/drink/take the pills.
He has successfully consumed a vanilla milk shake.
Damn, I hope this is soon over!
I hurt for him.
:(
–
Beatrice:
*hugs*
I recall reading an article fairly recently that suggests that this sorta crap frequently takes place where the information is initially given by a woman, and the subsequently-repeating colleague is a man. (It’s our fluffy pink ladybrains, don’chaknow; our opinions and knowledge are just naturally not worth crap.)
Is that what’s happening, here?
–
Portia:
Well, you made me snortle!
:D
–
thunk, hurray for productivity, and for getting to be yourself!
:)
–
cicely:
Best wishes to SonSpawn, he must be miserable. I bet the milkshake was tasty, especially after not being able to eat or drink much.
Anyone looking for wearable cities and stars?
No idea what I’d wear it with, but I kinda want one. Just bc.
Client-induced headache is gone, I expect today’s group to be ok since there are no high-level big heads.
I don’t know where the spider is. I don’t care where the spider is. It’s alive and out of my sight. I count that as a happy ending. (“eating like kings” gave me a good morning laugh)
—–
Portia,
That was a funny message from the guy, and I think your response fit. Good luck with the whole thing!
—–
cicely,
Much sympathy for your Son.
Colleague is a woman too, she’s just more authoritative than me… and everyone there knew she’s the project manager and I’m helping.
Everyone was super nice (no arguments, no question), and the moment she left – chaos (like, almost literally the moment she left the room a guy started lecturing me). The same, only in the other direction, when she came back.
—–
*hugs*
Bird lovers might like these bird clips for lightbulbs.
Crip Dyke @512:
Sorry, I meant to respond to this sooner.
Young Avengers is aimed at teen demographic, but it’s got a sophisticated, adult sensibility to it. As I mentioned in my prior comment, the team is comprised of lesbian, bisexual, or gay people. The art is by Jamie McKelvie, who’s blog you can find here. Kieron Gillen is the writer. Both of them are socially conscious, feminists, supporters of LGBT people, and-IMO-extremely good at their individuals crafts.
The original series was ok. It was written by Allen Heinberg with art by Jim Cheung. The sequel by Gillen and McKelvie is quite a bit superior.
Here’s a sample of another book Gillen and McKelvie work on, a creator owned project called The Wicked and The Divine:
WMDKitty (#650)
That’s good. I was already feeling nauseated by the tune when I watched that. I was trying to at least enjoy the cleverness of the lyrics when that slur thudded out like a failed fledgeling.
This should be a Gary Larson cartoon: “Swedish police warn of rogue pregnant cow” http://www.thelocal.se/20140723/swedes-to-hospital-after-pregnant-cow-attack
.
This Is What Happens When You Denounce Pro-Israel Bias Live On Mainstream Media (VIDEO) http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/07/22/this-is-what-happens-when-you-denounce-pro-israel-bias-live-on-mainstream-media/?utm_source=crowdignite.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=crowdignite.com
.
Ted Cruz bares fangs at ‘misogynist’ True Blood episode mocking him http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/22/ted-cruz-bares-fangs-at-misogynist-true-blood-episode-mocking-him/ Boo-hoo! Vampires don’t like Ted Cruz.
*hugs* and *sympathies* and *congratulations* for all the folks here, ‘specially Beatrice, cicely, thunk, Anne, Dalillama and… well, here, I’m going to leave a stack of everything here, just help yourselves as you see fit! :)
+++
Combining robotics and ballet? I think so.
And then I realized I didn’t know the story of Francesca da Rimini, so I went looking to satisfy my curiosity, and came upon this painting. And the description notes that the couple on the right is burning in the eternal flames of hell for their adultery, but from the expressions and the pose of the two figures, I would think the artist had a different message in mind. But maybe that’s just me.
Also, this trailer for Dear White People is making the rounds on my Facebook. I can’t tell if it’s a good idea or not… Anyone else?
Musical Interlude: some fusion classical-80s rock music from four Latvian composers. A matter of taste, I suppose.
cicely
*biggentlehugs* :(
Hope it passes quickly
Beatrice:
Ugh. I hate hate hate that. *hugs*
and thanks:)
*hugs* for Dalillama
I have an earworm in my head, and I must do its bidding and infect everyone else!
Enjoy!
Hugs to everyone who needs it.
Tony et al,
In the graphic novel Batwoman; hydrated her female sidekick has a very functional, overall-style suit.
Prince George shoots his first butterfly http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/prince-george-shoots-his-first-butterfly-2014072288822
Flat Broke? Try the Hillary Clinton Way! http://rall.com/comic/flat-broke-try-the-hillary-clinton-way
False Equivalence http://rall.com/comic/false-equivalence
random links:
First a pre-emptive sloth chaser: Disney princesses as sloths
—
Salon interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson
—
You too can watch Congress and the private sector edit Wikipedia
—
(warning for graphic descriptions of worker injury) (have that sloth chaser ready to roll)
And I thought I’d heard enough horrific stories involving sugar this week:
Sugar plant removed safety device 13 days before temp worker’s death
Part of a ProPublica series on perma-temps – temp workers hired through staffing agencies for years or decades on end – who are at increased risk of crushings, amputations, and death on the job.
http://www.propublica.org/series/temp-land
and one more – Race swapping online podcast episode with a transcript here. Mikki Kendall, an Internet writer, talks about respondents behaving completely differently when she switched her Twitter avatar to the face of a white man.
I guess to the companies,that’s what makes them “temporary” *throws up in mouth*
rq (#662)
I saw it and I loved it. I really enjoyed how Simien, the writer/director, examines oppressed people’s witting and unwitting complicity in systems of oppression even if they’re all-too aware of their disadvantages and want better. It made me remember stupid things I did as a young woman that were very supportive of patriarchy, even though I was a feminist. Simien also did a good job of having the characters grow by the end of the film but still kept them young people.
There’s only one flattering portrayal of a white person, but nearly everything the other white people in the film said or did are things I’ve seen my fellow white people saying/doing first or secondhand. In my opinion, Simien toned them down a bit, probably to better focus on the four students whose stories make up the film.
A. Noyd
That’s actually good to hear! I was starting to feel guilty about laughing at the trailer. :/ Mostly due to things I’ve learned here on Pharyngula; can’t say I’d have understood most of the jokes otherwise (sadly). And still I know they’re laughing (a little?) at me, too, and you know, I don’t mind that at all. :)
+++
So, mental illness symptoms (interpretation thereof) are culture-dependent? Doesn’t seem all that surprising, but now there’s Science to back it up.
A note on MH17 and war and things becoming personal. Yeah, it doesn’t touch me directly. It’s not even a neighbouring country. But young people here are scared because they’ve never seen war before, and old people are scared because they have seen war before, and the news is all about Russian fighter jets observed on that border, Russian warships hanging around that port, and suddenly my background thoughts are all terrified… Not scene-of-destruction terrified, of course. But war has a way of reaching out beyond its otherwise-narrowly-defined territory. If not physically, then psychologically. (And most of all I just want to tell them all to just STAAAAHHHP but who would listen to me?)
Bathing in Binchester, Roman-style. Pretty cool discovery!
Anyone have any cute animals?
OMGOMG Joan Baez in Zagreb in October!
rq,
I give you…. a baby grashopper
Beatrice
*major squeeeeeeeeeeeeees* for both your previous posts (plus an extra *jealous* for Joan Baez). :)
rq:
How cute!
I found an itty bitty grasshopper in my kitchen a few nights ago. Critter was sitting on a heating element (long since cool to the touch, obviously). I was rather entranced and bent over to look at it. I couldn’t make out much since it was so small. I thought back to my younger years when I’d have casually-and cruelly-killed an animal in this situation. Instead, I grabbed a cup and a paper plate, covered the grasshopper, slid the plate underneath and took the little critter outside.
****
I found nice digitally painted octopus picture and this really creepy image of some kind of monster from artist Frazer Irving. His work is phenomenal.
This short tale may bring a smile to peoples’ faces. It did to mine. It’s small, so you’ll want to enlarge it.
This cracks me up
http://imgur.com/gallery/pXXQ31Q
The Daily Show’s great piece on civil forfeiture
Portia:
It cracks me up as well.
Oh, and yumMY!
Thanks to SallyStrange, I have been introduced to http://critiquemydickpic.tumblr.com/ .
It’s an interesting blog. The author is critiquing dick pictures. Not just the dick, but the entire pic. Xe is concerned with lighting, angles, ancillary background crap, camera focus, the use of hands, stuff like that. Xe says it is 100% anonymous with no body or dick shaming and includes the tagline:
Wow. I wish he could succeed in this.
http://time.com/3023062/jon-stewart-kickstarter-cnn/
Crip Dyke @633
Sounds like you run great games. I’m pretty good at modules, but my own creations feel flat to me, though my players seem to like them. And I really like that you got them to question assumptions.
Obviously the rules after 1st edition (with its range of stats for women vs. men) have defaulted to, “Who cares rules-wise what gender or sexuality you want to play?”, but I think it’s great that they now have a section explicitly stating this.
cicely Really hoping for better things for son soonly.
Son seems to be doing better today; his temp is under control, and most of yesterday’s mouth sores are on the mend—though now he’s got a whole new crop lurking under his tongue….
–
Jesus Loves the Legal Little Children
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Tony!:
*sniffle*
(A Little Later)
I just watched Jon Stewart’s bits about
evilcivil forfeiture, and the Kickstarter to buy CNN. Both awesome, and I only wish the Kickstarter could/would work out.–
cicely, I’m glad son is on the mend, and I hope that the newest crop of mouth sores is the end of the whole thing. Ouch.
*offers hugs and cookies all ’round*
On the buying CNN thing. Wish it were possible. ^_^
Good morning!
Well, here’s a hint: don’t get raped in Latvia! Just found out what some of our prosecutors – and the prosecutor general himself – think of women who have been raped, and their level of responsibility in the crime. Uneducated assholes. Because “everyone has a right to an opinion” is an excuse for victim-blaming. *spits*
cicley, tenative thumbs-up for Son’s improvement and much holding of thumbs (or, as I am more accustomed to doing, crossing of fingers) for getting what sounds like a horrible condition under control and gone asap.
Cicely I hope your son continues to improve.
rq I sympathize about the MH17 incident. If Ukraine is taken by Russia, who knows which country would be next? As I’ve mentioned before, my wife is of Ukrainian descent. She took my daughter to a Ukrainian camp to see the dancing and generally connect with her heritage a few weeks ago. She bought a couple of Ukrainian flags and took one to work. She’s now had to take it down as a work colleague is Dutch and there are Malaysian students around too. We’re both acutely aware of the situation and the gross hypocrisy of the Western governments.
On a lighter note: I liked the music @662
Tony good little story!
I like Tony‘s story.
—
Tonight, I learned that the book of mormon made it to Broadway. What the.
I haven’t seen it, but I gather that Book of Mormon is a musical and a piss-take.
Before and after – woman sends her photo worldwide, asks photoshop companies to ‘make her beautiful’. The US examples are just freaky as all hell.
@Beatrice:
Eeee! Baby grasshopper is cuute!
NEW THREAD.