This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
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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
um…
what?
Dia de Los Muertes, probably?
Very disappointed, me, just now. Having seen him recommended by a number of people, I watched a Tim Minchin show on Netflix tonight, and turned it off after about fifteen minutes when he made a rapey joke (the lights went out, and he suggested a nonconsensual sex act to the audience), after a few jokes that had skirted the edges of my tolerance for the problematic. I ought really to have kept to my usual “no standup shows on TV EVAR” rule. :(
I mentioned good-but-bad news the other day. The good is that I met with my lawyer for the appeal on the disability ruling, and she thinks we’ve a decent chance. Then I went to see my doctor, and she took my double-vision issue seriously (it’s vertically misaligned and monocular, so I was concerned too). And had me come back on Friday for a referral to a back surgeon (my last one, a man with an Arabic-related last name, suddenly took a year off to return to his first country and look after his family).
So, the bad-but-good part: my doctor, unusually, was running late, and I didn’t get in to see her until an hour past my appointed time. At that point, I’d been sitting in a bad chair for 1:10, after 15 minutes in the car. And I was approaching (half an hour later) the next med-time, meaning I was about at the bottom of the pain-relief cycle, AND it was a grey, rainy cool day. All of which together meant that for the first time in a long time, she got to see me halfway along the downstroke of my pain-relief cycle instead of the peak.
Usually, knowing I’ve got an appointment, I schedule my meds to peak just before I leave, allowing me a few hours to reasonably function. That means I get to my doc’s at the crest of the cycle, and I’m in as good shape as I get when I see the doctor’s. That’s best for me short-term, but long-term, i’d be better if my doc could see how bad it gets, even with the meds. It’s difficult for me to express how my life is affected by my disability, because I don’t have a baseline to measure it against, and I’m culturally predisposed to minimise my own pain – yes, believe it or not, what I talk about here is the minimised version. So I tend not to be able to show her the real impact.
Anyway, this time, she got to see me stagger to my feet and slowly hobble down the hall after my long sit. And then see the greatly reduced range of motion that I’m left with when I’m not at the best point of my cycle.
The bad-out-of-good part is that I was turned down for the interim support funding during my disability appeal, and that decision is not appealable. So I’m stuck with the OW payment and its punitive clawback for a while yet – probably be spring when my hearing is scheduled, about six months or so.
The good-out-of-bad part is that Her Ex-cellency directed people to my GoFundMe page from her Facebook yesterday, and now I can pay the October rent, and probably the November too, as well as paying my phone bill.
The unalloyedly good part is that I got some chocolate (and some colourful bits of paper with numbers on!) from Latvia today.
CaitieCat, [gentlehugs] and I’m glad some things worked out for you today.
Ah, typical Tuesday evening at Casa la Pelirroja. Nerd timed everything beautifully, so the Redhead was fed and changed by the time her parents called at 7:30 ct….The Redhead hadn’t shut off the local radio phone handset, and had been open air for four plus hours….Found the message once it was turned off. *Sigh*
Gentle hugs to CatieCat. I’ve experienced pain before (12 knee surgeries) but my current back injury is a new experience. With medication, I can function. Without I become a hobbling question mark. I’m hoping physical therapy (which starts next Tuesdy, not today like I thought it did!) will help. This is short term for me, I cannot imagine this kind of pain as a chronic condition. Safe hugs to you.
*Hugs* to CaitieCat and Ogvorbis.
This is annoying; every time I try to subscribe to the thread, I get taken to a page that tells me an email’s been sent with a link. The email link takes me to a page where I can unsubscribe from previously subscribed threads, but doesn’t seem to have a way to subscribe to a new one.
Non contact hugs to CaitieCat and Ogvorbis.
Dalillama, me too – I was trying to subscribe without commenting, but I couldn’t subscribe unless I posted. All too complicated.
Hope this can make someone else laugh too- my teen is researching religions for school and says to me, “Well, I would qualify a lot of religions as sort of hippie things.” Then I laugh hysterically and she says, “What?”
I’m a long time lurker and I just wanted to pop my head up and let the Horde know how grateful I am for all of the education I have gotten from so many of you. I also want to thank you for the support you didn’t know you were giving me. To see so many other survivors speaking up and being supported has given me hope. I thought it was only fair to let this community know that you are making a difference, even though speaking up is hard for me. Thank you.
rq:
Or, as a wise woman in the SCA once told me, “Even shit is Period”.
:D
Not in my feet, it ain’t!
My fingers know where the beat is, but my feet are stoopid. I nearly killed The Husband trying to learn to dance Scotland the Brave.
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*gentle hugs* for CaitieCat.
At least, if you must have bad, it’s good that some good comes of it. And good is better. And unalloyed good is best.
*moar feather-light hugs*
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*soft-and-gentle hugs* for Ogvorbis, as well.
Hoping for the best possible results from the physical therapy.
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Hi, martha—have we met?
If not, Welcome In.
If so, also Welcome In.
:D
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Welcome In, stellatree.
There are a lot of people in here who are made of unalloyed—and therefore, best—Awesome.
And they let me hang out here, too—but don’t let that put you off.
:)
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CaitieCat and Ogvorbis,
I’m sorry about your pain. Over a year and a half ago, I had an injury that I’ve mostly recovered from. This was my first taste of long term pain, and it certainly hasn’t been fun.
I hope you both are able to reach an improvement in pain management. *hugs* or other gesture of support, if wanted.
stellatree
Speaking up can be difficult for me as well. The Horde has helped me deal with casual sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. just by reminding me every day that other people see it too. It’s frustrating to feel isolated with a view point that should be so easy to figure out – treat other people as individuals who deserve respect.
Caitie Cat and Ogvorbis:
I hurtle towards you at all possible speed (“Damn the torpedoes, Gridley!”) and put you both in a hug with a muffled **PLUMF**. I turned myself into a massive pillow, see, infused with lavender. I really hope you guys like lavender, because I have that crap all over me.
(And I empathize with your pain. Twisted my back something fierce earlier this year.)
Again with the alloy bashing *grumble*[/engineer]
Thanks, cicely! It’s funny, I have been reading Pharyngula, including the comments, for years – I feel like I know people here, and I agree that the Awesome is strong!
toska, it really does help to know other people see what I see. Beyond that, many people here can seen so much more than I, and have strengthened my knowledge and sensitivity on social justice issues.
So last night I was being restless and having trouble falling asleep, and I was all ‘Heh, maybe it’s because my dad’s about to die!’
Then my mum texted me (well, and all other siblings, I presume) shortly before 5AM. It’s possible that I am psychic after all.
(And as sad as I am, I can’t help but feel relieved – mostly in the ‘he’s no longer suffering’ aspect, but also substantially-more-than-a-tiny-bit in the ‘he can’t scare me anymore’ aspect, for which I feel like an undecent person.)
Gentle hugs and commiserations to CaitieCat and Ogvorbis. I’m on the other side of severe pain now. It’s fresh enough in my mind that I can imagine what it must be like to live like that with no end in sight. All the strength to you.
Waves at stellatree. Welcome to the delurk zone.
How about this for the good that comes of this place:
Today I wrote and sent a letter to an old friend of mine. I haven’t spoken to him in six years. We stopped being friends, or at least active friends, when he was going through a rough patch in his life. To cope he turn to alcohol, and my past being what it is, I couldn’t handle that. I cut him loose to protect myself, but in truth, in hindsight, I’m pretty sure I was actually strong enough to stick around. Laziness and fear, a damning combination.
So what has this to do with Pharyngula and the Horde you ask? I found the courage to send that letter because of what I learned here about apologies. My previous attempt rattled around in the bottom of my bag until the address was illegible. It just never felt right to send it.
This time I wrote it with no expectation of being forgiven. I wrote it to explain how I’d wronged him, and how I felt about it now. That’s it. I made damn sure I didn’t state or imply that I wanted his forgiveness. I learned this here. I learned that how he feels about things is his, and his alone. That his reaction to my past transgression and my current remorse is none of my business. And that understanding made it possible for me to apologise.
Thank you Horde.
rq
*all the hugs* and my deepest condolences.
Oh rq I’m so sorry. Hugs if you want them.
May I presume to comment on this:
? If you’re in a place where unsolicited advice is unwelcome please just skip the rest here, okay? [mild tigger warning for psychological abuse]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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My father was an alcoholic. An abusive one, though never physically. I grew up in a house full of anger and fear, and even these thirty years later it still marks me. The sound of dishes being put way roughly or a door closed a little too hard causes me to freeze in place, and I have to work at not seeking a place to hide.
After he died a went through a cycle of grief and guilt. I was sad because for all his faults he was my father, and I could remember times that weren’t bad. And even that close to all the shitty things he did, I could feel pity for him. But I’d also catch myself feeling relieved that he was gone. And then the guilt would slam down. Repeat ad nauseam, with literal nausea on occasion.
I can’t say how I got over it, I suspect it was simply time’s dulling hand. But I can say that your reaction, at least from my experience, is perfectly natural. It’s okay to feel contradictory things, human beings are vast, complicated things, and our relationships to them even more so.
Feel as much as you like, however you like.
Forget as much as you like, however you like.
Do whatever you must to get through, and damn anyone who would question your choices. For in the end, he’s gone, and you’re here. The only one that matters now in that relationship is you.
Be well my friend, and please believe that I speak truth when I say that you are not an undecent person.
rq, my deepest sympathies dear woman. Mixed feelings about one’s parents are a lot less unusual than you think, I expect. Email box is always open to you.
rq
I’m sorry for your loss. Hugs for you and your family.
I had the same exact feelings about my grandmother, who died October last year. I was so relieved that she wasn’t in pain anymore (She was 94 years old, so life had certainly become difficult), but I also was glad that I didn’t have to worry about her injuring herself anymore, and I didn’t have to think “Oh god, that could be the last time I see her” every time I drove away after visiting with her. I don’t know if that makes me an undecent person, but I think maybe it means that the feelings you have are normal and understandable, and they don’t mean that you don’t love your father. From what I’ve seen of you here, I think you are far beyond just a decent person. Extra hugs for you.
rq, condolences, and hugs if they’re welcome.
stellatree and martha, hi! ::waves::
Shit, reading toska’s 21 makes me think I mis-read ‘he can’t scare me anymore’.
rq,
My condolences. *hugs*
FossilFishy
Looking again, I’m not sure if I properly interpreted it either, but I think it certainly shows how different experiences can cause people to read and react very differently to the same exact sentence.
fossilfishy, I read, or misread that, as you did.
toska 25
Ain’t that the truth? My post says way more about me that it does about rq and her situation. I really should learn to ask questions before I offer advice. Sigh. Sorry if I got it all wrong rq.
CaitieCat @2:
I guess a mixture of good news and bad news is better than all bad news?
((hugs))
****
rq @16:
My deepest condolences. I’m so sorry to hear that.
All my love and sympathies to you and your family.
stellatree @10:
Welcome in.
Thanks for delurking and sharing :)
****
FossilFishy @17:
Good on you for writing that letter.
****
I agree with CaitieCat @20–it is completely natural to have mixed feelings about a loved one after they die. No one should feel bad for having mixed feelings. Those feelings merely reflect how you felt about that person. Hell, by having mixed feelings, perhaps you do honor to the true memories of the loved one who has passed.
rq
*hugs*
…
[daddy issues]
…
yeah
we’ll just do the *hugs*
FossilFishy
This goes for me, too.
Oh no, rq! I’m so sorry. May you find solace and peace when the time is right. :-(
Gentle hugs for Caitie
Your Ex-cellence is a wonderful person, please tell her that from me
+++
rq
Lots and lots of hugs.
You’re a decent person. Feelings towards parents can get complicated, especially if they’re not the beacon of human kindness.
CaitieCat, I’m sorry-but-glad for the timing of your doctor’s appointment – sorry you had to endure the extra pain, but glad they got to see how bad it is. Argh. Solely virtual and hence physically non-damaging hugs to you and Ogvorbis, with hopes for relief of pain.
rq, I hope you are all right and that you’ve got all the family-and-friends support around you. Thinking of things you’ve mentioned about your father in the past, I’d reckon those feelings you describe are absolutely right and there is no way they reflect undecently on you – no way at all, so don’t you even think that for a minute, all right? All the hugs to you. I hope you get some really great squishes from the kids today and in the coming days. There’s often a whole huge emotional maze to cope with when something like this happens; fwiw I hope you know there are a lot of people here who will be thinking of you and who know what Good People you are and who are wishing you well as you get through all of this.
Thanks, everyone.
(And you got it right, FossilFishy, though your interpretation, toska, is probably the one I would prefer.)
I’m so sorry rq, in all of the ways. Many hugs.
rq, [hugs] and I’m sorry for your loss.
Report on the kinky brownie cake:
The first batch of chocolate cream was not kinky. It didn’t want to be whipped and turned sour. The second batch did wonderfully. Pictures will follow maybe tonight.
Talking of pictures: Happy Birthday
And the wannabe not really a quilt snuggly blanket
Mormons address mystery surrounding undergarments
“No longer will tolerate them” – I wonder what that means. Are they going to go all Mountain Meadows?
Elizabeth Warren on experiencing sexism in politics
I wonder what the specifics are. I’m guessing it’s the condescending branch of sexism like she doesn’t understand politics and should leave it to the big men.
rq: So sorry for your loss.
Saad
Not too long ago, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also publicly talked about male senators making sexist comments about her appearance and weight.
Ottawa right now. It had to be today, didn’t it. *sigh*
rq, more hugs. [hands Hobbes to rq, because tiger hugs are the bestest]
Reginald Selkirk @39:
Mormons are no longer going to tolerate flippant remarks about their undergarments? What are they going to do, threaten to drink coffee around people? Create blasphemy laws that prevent people from mocking the magic underwear? Oh wait, this is Utah we’re talking about…they might just try that.
Although if they’re so tired of the mockery, the simplest solution is to go commando…
On a more serious note, I find it so funny that they expect others to revere their religion so much that they don’t laugh at the idea of magic undergarmets.
First world problems…
I have spent the morning so far dealing with (a) washing a pile of Husband’s clothing that a Bad Cat (couldn’t be one of ours, oh, no!) peed on, and (b) the bedroom carpet and old Indian throw rug that Patches horked all over. It’s cat effluvia Wednesday.
I can haz hugz naow plz?
rq:
Hugs and sympathy. Family relationships, with all the good and bad, all the history can make things complicated. And the feelings of relief when a family member dies seems to be both normal and difficult.
It’s unclear to me what you would have to apologize for in the first place.
Azkyroth @48:
I thought it was obvious–FossilFishy feels bad for cutting off a friend who was going through a tough time.
For taking care of himself by removing himself from, at best, a triggering situation with an addict?
I mean, I can certainly understand wishing one would have been able to be more help, but self-care is not actually blameworthy.
rq
I’m sorry. You’re in my thoughts.
Azkyroth @50:
No, it is not blameworthy, but it can be a source of internal guilt. The decision to cut off relations with someone to prevent pain to one’s self, or (in my case) the decision to hurt another to avoid being hurt, can create of well of guilt that can seem endless.
209 people implicated in a corruption investigation will not stand trial. Instead, a cartoonist will.
9 years in prison for a cartoon bc a caricature went too far?! What did it do, take on a life of its own and start killing people (bet there’s a Warehouse 13 gadget that can do that or something from Friday the 13th: The Series)?
A followup to rq’s post #43 about the shooting in Canada, video is available here:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/video-shots-fired-canadian-parliament
Here’s the CNN link:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/world/gallery/canada-shooting-parliament/index.html
Here’s the MSNBC link:
http://www.msnbc.com/newsnation/watch/police–multiple-suspects-in-ottawa-shooting-346286147851
Seems there were multiple shooters.
On other matters, sorry to hear about the extent of pain that CaitieCat had to endure; and empathy to rq for having mixed feelings about the death of her father. Been there, for both my mother and father. You just have to go through it at your own pace, and in your own way. Try not to berate yourself for having mixed feelings.
Re the mormons, as discussed in comment #39 and #45: Mormon leaders are trying, once again, to make their religion look normal, and to fit themselves into the pantheon of other religions. They failed. The more information they put out, the more mormonism looks like a cult. Both their temple clothes and sacred undies look ridiculous on real people. The undies are so inappropriate for most climates that they are known to cause more-than-normal yeast infections in women, and crotch-rot of various varieties in men. Mormons are forced to adjust the bottoms so frequently that the gesture is known in the morridor as “the mormon salute.”
Mormon leaders definitely used to teach that the undies were “protective” in both physical and spiritual terms. Mormon garmies supposedly saved people from burns, dying in plane crashes, etc., etc. This latest ploy to rewrite history and say they are not “magical” is another common mormon ploy. Just rewrite whatever is embarrassing — pretend the embarrassing stuff never happened. Older mormons will probably just dismiss it as a “lying for the Lord” episode in which mormons have to protect themselves and their reputation from the big bad evil outsiders.
The underwear/temple garments video is part of a plan. It belongs in the same category as the “Meet the Mormons” movie. All of it is PR and proselytizing mixed with an attempt to stem the tide of people leaving the so-called One True Church.
Hi Folks,
Just delurking briefly to say – I know, it’s only October, but soon it will be Christmas, and even sooner than that, there will be people moaning about the War on Christmas.
Well, THIS is how you do the War on Christmas. We’ve got to raise our game; I’m sure we’ve never threatened to shell a Christmas tree… have we?
On a less frivolous note – internet hugs to everyone who’s going through a tough time at the moment (everyone who wants one, that is).
gillyc, what a tremendous commercial opportunity! Pre-holiday sales on pitchforks and torches, get your War on Christmas supplies early to avoid the rush.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/shooting-unfolds-canadian-capitol
I have to fire someone today. Crap.
And the soldier who was shot in Ottawa by the gunman died from his wounds. :-(
What judges are appointed to the courts by conservative doofuses in the USA? It mattered, and it still matters.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/george-bush-fifth-circuit-court-abortion-voting-rights
Hugs for anyone who wants one, the basket is overflowing.
I’m being cynical when I say that I would bet Harper will make this into a spur for more ‘security’ on the Hill, which will have the ‘unintended’ effect of moving pulic protest ‘safely’ out of sight, and for more authoritarianism and secrecy. I admit it. But he does have form on this, and that it involved the Hill will allow him space to claim it’s justified.
And, to add a bland merdaise to that shit sandwich, I am left, again, hoping it’s not Muslims, because we don’t need to give this Dominionist barsteward any more impetus to push us back into more War on Terror bullshit that will inevitably be spun into ‘let’s go smack the IS around!’ meme that Harper has so desperately wanted.
Another weird-looking dinosaur discovered. Because everything else in the world is pretty much horrible right now.
CaitieCat
So far I’ve been loving the twitter response (Stats Canada said 100% of Canadians are angry and in 100% solidarity, or words to taht effect). Also some smackdown of people who were trying to use the shooting for political means already.
But yes, everything that you said.
Also *hugs* for the painful appt.
rq, *many hugs* and sympathies.
I’m sorry, in so many ways, about your dad.
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*hugs* for Anne.
If it’s any consolation—in the “misery loves company” sense—we had Surprise Cat Barf In The Night, last night.
I never can decide whether it’s worse stepped in fresh-and-warm, or old-and-cold.
I resist collecting the necessary data, whenever possible.
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Hi, gillyc; Welcome In!
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*hugs* for jrfdeux.
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rq,
Hugs and condolences. Transitions can be complicated and painful and a relief. So is life.
US cable news vs. Canadian public news. Innnteresting. :P
Thank you, everyone. You’ve all been great, and I’m sorry I can’t take the time to list you out. And yes, even short supportive comments are great right now. ♥ to everyone, I really appreciate all the thoughts and words. And I will continue to be conflicted, though I will feel less worse about feeling conflicted. Y’all rock.
Text from a friend in Atlanta on the Ottawa shooting. “Huh. Are shootings up there rare or something?”
My response: “Fucking-A they are. :-(“
This attack in Ottawa. I’m so sad and so conflicted. I was on the verge of tears, perhaps only because of the mix of emotions. It’s just so awful that someone was killed. And, then, I’m thinking how awful it is that one of my first thought on reading about this was, ‘No, not here. Other places, but not here.’ And no one even knows the motives of those who did this or even who they are.
Who knows how long we will have to wait for some definitive answers, if any even exist, as to the motives of those who did this? Or, indeed, if they’ll even be arrested.
I don’t know how to feel. I guess confused and sad.
Thomathy @68:
Confusion and sadness are ok feelings to have when tragedy strikes.
… And yes, I had to get involved in a discussion about same-sex partnerships in Latvia on Facebook, today. So far I’m winning.
Cait
You called it.
Also, where does that whole ‘I have a bridge to sell you’ line come from? I realize it’s something to do with selling the Brooklyn Bridge (right?), but what’s the origin?
Tony @ #69, you’re right. But these are very foreign feelings to me.
rq, I’ll add my voice to those of others re you’re father.
On your #71, it’s an odd thing for Blair* to do and to claim that it will ease minds. Especially considering his statement suggesting people be vigilant, even after also stating that there were no specific or credible threats. The only thing that such a response from Blair could do is to create or increase tension. I can only hope this does not lead to the murder of a person because brown.
*Chief of Toronto Police Services
From a con-man who actually did that.
rq
Well known (eventually, after the trial) 19th century con artist George C. Parker (and others, but he appears to have originated or at least popularized the scam), made his money by telling immigrants and farmers new to the city that, e.g., the Brooklyn Bridge had been found to be structurally unsound, and was going to be dismantled and sold for scrap, or alternately that it was being sold as a toll bridge to raise money for a city project and, either way he just happened to be the official in charge of setting up the scrap contract, at an excellent rate because I like your face, kid. He would sell other landmarks, but the Brooklyn Bridge was the best known scam. Hence, ‘I’ve got a bridge to sell you’, meaning ‘you’re a gullible rube’.
Thomathy
Yes, I was wondering if Blair had been moved to Ottawa, but I guess he’s still in Toronto… Why is he the go-to person on this?
Anyway, I hope your conflicting feelings find some sort of resolution, too.
Thanks, rq!
Nope, he’s in Toronto, the current Chief, and he’s being an alarmist.
Nerd and Dalillama
Thank you, I didn’t think it was an actual, serious scam – heh.
People have short memories. Terrorism in Canada dates back to the 1960s, and has included attacks by home grown terrorists like the FLQ and the Squamish Five, and actions by Cuban, Sikh, Armenian, and Croatian groups. The Sikh separatist attack that destroyed Air India Flight 182 killed more Canadians that any other, and was one of the most lethal incidents prior to the September 11th attacks. There was even an American bomber, Thomas Bernard Bingham, who killed three when he attacked the Montreal Metro in 1984. “It can’t happen here!” should really be “We’ve been lucky it hasn’t happened here more often.”
Yeah, so this happened: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie made public the Republican plan to control “voting mechanisms” at the state level. Republicans plan to continue to chip away at the voting rights of likely Democratic Party voters.
North Jersey Bergen Record link.
Previous comment in the Lounge on Republicans restricting voting rights. And here.
I should have mentioned in comment #80 that Chris Christie is also the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
timgueguen, thanks for the rundown, but no one has said it doesn’t happen here*. And, of course, I think everyone is grateful it doesn’t happen more often than it has.
*Except me, quoting myself with the caveat that that thought was awful, to which I will add the further caveat that it’s awful because it’s not true and that I certainly don’t think it should happen anywhere else.
I don’t think any of those attacks you mentioned are gone from memory.
Further, the FLQ attacks, in fact, should remind us that not only is our top parliamentary officer capable of the draconian action that CaitieCat expects of Harper@ #60, but that they have gone much further.
(I highly recommend those reading to look into the actions taken by Prime Minister Trudeau during the October Crisis. That was 1970!)
Illinois is trying to head off any curtailment of voting rights with a constitutional amendment on our ballot this fall. Both the Redhead and I voted for the amendment.
You really want to see more campaign ads on TV, right? Well, the Koch brothers are here to help you out. They’ve already spent about $16 million on mostly deceptive Republican campaign ads for the midterm elections, and now they are going to throw another $6.5 million into Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.
This is the conservative push in states where the race is close, and the Koch brothers want Republicans to take over the Senate (they already control the House).
Maybe everyone will be so fed up that they vote for the Democratic Party or Independent candidates? [eternal optimist]
Daily Kos link.
What could have triggered the wave of violence in Canada?
Taylor Swift tops Canadian iTunes chart with 8-second track of white noise
Nerd @83, I like that Illinois constitutional amendment. Wish we could do it nationwide. I wouldn’t bet on Republican governors and states attorney general not finding a way around such ballot measures, but it might slow them down considerably in their efforts to disenfranchise voters.
Cait called it again: no link but the one we have just made.
Well, this is a disgustingly sneaky way to get around the academic requirements for college athletes. NY Times link.
rq:
All my love.
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What. A. Day. That domestic violence training may have impacted the life of one of my clients today, in that the prosecutors who were present may have been influenced positively by their new knowledge about the life of a DV survivor. I have no way of knowing whether they would have made the same call before the training, but…I have suspicions. Anyway. It was a hard, but good day. Six straight hours in court, being defense then prosecution, and about 14 cases in two counties and …I am ready to go to bed with my Delsym and my hot tea. Life advice based on my day: if you’re going to call the prosecutor a sexist slur, maybe don’t do it three feet away. First time I’ve ever tossed someone out of court (to the big bad hallway, but still). The bailiff was very proud of me and my sternness.
Kudos if you were able to decipher any of my run-ons there…
*hugs* all around.
rq
Hugs and condolences.
Anita Sarkeesian was featured on the Melissa Harris Perry Show on MSNBC three days ago. I forgot to post the link then, but here it is: Link.
The interview portion with Sarkeesian is quite good. I enjoyed watching her answer the questions.
Running my first virus/malware scan since upgrading to Yosemite. Apple is regressing. The number of files after each upgrade kept decreasing. Now, a huge jump in the number of files. Gives a dirty look towards Cupertino….
This all came about because the iMac went spinning beach ball of death in the middle of the night, and upon reboot, I had a request for permission dialog box pop up to complete an index I hadn’t seen before. Looks OK so far. Might be a good idea to change the administrator password to something stronger….
Towels can have AIDS – Pat Robertson
Have you considered encasing it in concrete? :)
Azkyroth #50
Look, I felt at the time that I had good cause to take the actions I did. In hindsight I’m less sure, but that’s not the point.
The question of blame is not up to me. I harmed my friend, this is beyond dispute because he told me so. I apologised for causing that harm. My intent, the need for self-care, mitigates that harm only if he chooses to see it that way. He has that right and my self-blame or lack thereof has nothing to do with it. And to be clear: even if he chooses to be completely unfair in how he feels about all this, that is his business and none of mine.
Shorter: I didn’t apologise for choosing self-care over his needs, I apologised for the harm I caused.
Lynna, #91
So awesome to see MSNBC straight up describe Gamergate as a war on women without dishonest references to journalistic ethics, etc.
I completely share her frustration about the police and school refusing patting down, metal detector and checking for permits even in the presence of a very explicit threat. Unbelievable.
FossilFishy, hugs if you want ’em.
Wonderful fossil find: http://www.npr.org/2014/10/22/357622139/bigger-than-a-t-rex-with-a-ducks-bill-huge-arms-and-a-hump
I’d just like to mention in passing that I love having people here with whom I can burble about totally awesome cool critters and not get yawns or the old side-eye. The Husband and Daughters are right there with me too; my other forum, not so much.
Nice thing about being a chemist. Acetone is simple, 2-propanone more esoteric, and dimethylketone is antiquated. So I can use even the German equivalent….
Commenting to see if that lets me subscribe to comments…
Portia, that’s the only way I can subscribe now. Does it work for you?
Anne:
Yep, it did work, and thank you for commenting and confirming that it worked :)
Portia, it certainly sounds as if you’ve earned your nights rest!
:)
–
cicely:
^_^ Thank you.
And a good thing, too, because I made a pot of tea, brought it with me to bed, and curled up about…oh…7:15. :D
How are you?
Sleep well, Portia.
Portia, I am, if not good, then at least not out-right Evil. The Grandson prospers, and grandparentalness is awesome.
One day, there will be colored chalk all over the driveway and poster paint on the walls—safely buffered by butcher paper, oh indeed there will.
And I have discovered that capsaicin patches are Things Of Joy And Beauty Forever.
–
An acquaintance got interviewed about bacteria and her turn away from mormonism. Which are, of course, related.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11346686
Ladies and non-binary folks interested in games and programming: unleash your fantasies!
When your anti-gay argument comes down to the fact that Jesus Christ invented human rights, I think I win.
Good morning.
I should be working while it’s still nice and quiet at work but I don’t wanna..
A friend died yesterday.
There’s a little overlap here with Shakesville; one of their contributors, Phil Barron, died of a flu-like infection that went septic.
Another friend of his, a writer, wrote this: A friend on twitter died today. It sums up how I feel about him, but also how I feel about you here as well.
carlie, I’m sorry for your loss.
Carlie
So sorry. :( *hugs*
The Addams family.
It was a minor loss for me, compared to his close friends and family, but I so wanted to share that piece to let you all know I love you. :)
After my sort of mess up in the comments at this article.
I’ve decided really need to get some education on this topic.
The talk.origins index to creationist claims was really helpful for getting a good grasp on my misconceptions about evolution, is there something like that for anti-feminsts claims?
This is the best I could find: . Are there some other good online resources that you’d recommend?
Time to read lots of things. Yay!
Dangit, I messed up the tags.
Carlie:
You have my support and sympathy for your loss.
Pre-emptive link-dump!
Tree Lobsters!
Chris Kluwe: Why #Gamergaters Piss Me The F*** Off
John Oliver’s all-dog Supreme Court on ‘Last Week Tonight’ is hilarious and free for anyone to remix
cicely @118, I loved the “Scalia” dog in John Oliver’s presentation. The fact that Oliver used words the justices’s had actually spoken was part of what made it priceless comedy.
I decided to take the day off from major housework and the online watercolor class, and play with some of the things in my jewelry projects drawer instead.
I made a shiny thing. Wanna see my shiny thing? Fall Raku necklace and earrings
Mormon church leaders have been publishing a series of essays meant to assuage the doubts of true believers, and to combat the historical information found on the internet. They’ve been doing this for more than a year. So far, they’ve thrown Brigham Young under the bus as the acting-as-a-man-not-a-prophet guy to blame for past sins, (racism, etc.), and now they are trying to explain away Joe Smith’s polygamy.
Ex-mormon, pulitzer-prize-winning cartoonist, and all around good guy, Steve Benson, is having none of it:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411333
And there’s this from another ex-mormon:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411408
“Sealed” to a corpse, that’s nice. Bleh.
Here’s a link to the polygamy essay mentioned in comment #121:
Essay is here: https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng
I’m going to complain about the bloody cold outside, because it’s the first day this season that has been below 0 during daytime hours (this in addition to nighttime hours). And windy. Oof.
And I can’t find the bags of winter accessories at home (Husband insists he didn’t put them in the attic, but they’re nowhere else to be found and I broke the hook for the attic door, so I can’t actually check), so I’m stuck with mildly inappropriate fall apparel for now. So are the kids, which sucks for them more.
Come spring, I’ll be excited in a good way about such small minuses, but for now, ARRRGGGHHH!!!!
Here is a mormon columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune discussing the polygamy essay: Link. (In reference to posts 121 and 122.)
She is being torn apart in the comments. A few examples below:
Republican says stupid stuff:
Ummm, Joni, if you disagree with government policies you are supposed to address that at the ballot box and/or in the courts. You are not supposed to whip out your sweet little Smith & Wesson and start shooting government officials.
As a political candidate, you are also not supposed to encourage citizens to whip out their own weapons and start shooting government officials.
And this totally addlepated woman looks likely to win in Iowa. [headdesk]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/joni-ernst-guns_n_6032164.html
Ad in which Joni does whip out her gun and indicate that she would be willing to “unload on” President Obama: Washington Post link.<a?
Whoops, I should clarify: Joni is going to unload on Obamacare with her gun, and not on President Obama himself. Sorry. (In reference to comment #125.)
More on Republican candidate, Joni Ernst: she also wants state law enforcement officials to be able to arrest federal officials who are enforcing laws the rightwing doesn’t like. Obamacare is one example, but Ernst would apply this principle across the board if she could.
Please sign this petition to the President of Afghanistan:
Protect 10-year Old Rape Survivor from Honor Killing
*hugs* for carlie. I’m sorry for your loss.
Long-distance-media friends, are still friends.
–
Anne, your shiny thing is, indeed, a shiny thing. :)
What is raku?
–
Thank you, cicely!
Raku is a firing technique – the ceramic is taken from the kiln while still hot and put into a container of dry leaves or other combustibles. The glaze reacts to the carbon and you get nifty iridescent colors and smoky bits and there’s no way of predicting how it’ll come out. At least that’s my understanding of how Western raku works. I don’t make them, I just buy them.
Welp, that didn’t take long.
It’s a real burden, being right so often. :/
Republicans saying stupid stuff:
That’ll be nice for Steve King, he won’t have to put up with any gays in heaven.
Bee Herald link.
A Republican woman on Fox News made this point in a discussion about women voting:
Daily Kos link.
Mitch McConnell pays people to show up at his political rallies.
The Hill link.
Mitch McConnell is deluded.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, is treated to genuinely enthusiastic crowds who were not paid to hear her speak.
The abominable mystery: How flowers conquered the world
Chemical weapons! Sheesh. Bad gets worse.
Washington Post link.
Boko Haram kidnapped some more girls in Nigeria:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/boko-haram-kidnaps-dozens-more-young-girls-n232641
Republicans do stupid stuff in North Carolina. North Carolina Fights To Take Voting Site Away From Pesky College Kids.
Mother Jones link.
How the world loved the swastika – until Hitler stole it. o.o
To be honest, though, I was mad at Hitler for a long time, too, because it’s one of the most powerful and meaningful signs in Latvian traditional pagan signage.
Republicans say even stupider stuff.
An hispanic man collected and delivered sealed absentee ballots to a polling station in Arizona. This was all done in a legal and correct way.
As is his right, the hispanic man was wearing a Citizens for a Better Arizona (CBA) shirt.
Now Republicans want to kill the guy. “Surveillance video apparently catches guy doing something at the ballot box that left Republican monitor stunned,” is what Glenn Beck said on his website.
You can watch the scary video of a brown person who is a community volunteer as see for yourself the terror he inspires … not.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/a-hispanic-man-delivers-absentee-ballots-and-now-conservatives-want-him-dead/
TW for DATE RAPE and DETAILS OF RAPE
Was this man date-raped? The answer is quite obvious, but the last line just pisses me off:
Umm, when someone isn’t listening to your explicit no? That’s not ‘harmless aggressive behaviour’. Just sayin’.
BTW, the Republican interpretation of the legal delivery of sealed absentee ballots by a brown person in Arizona is: “Ballot Box Stuffing Caught on Tape!” (In reference to comment #140.)
I had the USPS legally deliver our “Vote my mail” ballot. Given the USPS personnel I see, the chances of it being a white male were less than 50%, since they are as diverse as the city (surprise).
So, I’m stuffing the ballot box am I????
This is a followup to comments #140 and #141.
Daily Kos link.
Yep, it is all legal. This is from the AZ Elections manual: “After they have securely sealed the voted ballot inside the early ballot return envelope,voters may voluntarily give their voted early ballot to a person of their choice for delivery to the Recorder or a polling place. The designated person shall not tamper with the envelope or the ballot and shall not deliberately fail to deliver the ballot to the Recorder or a polling place within the voter’s county of residence.”
As an aside A.J. LaFaro seems to be part of the Russell Pearce wing of the mormon/Maricopa County mafia-like Republicans who are constantly messing up the politics in that area.
*reads Lynna’s links*
*goes back to pillow fort and hides in the farthest, deepest corner*
rq, long story about swastika designs – i have a couple books with counted-thread embroidery patterns based on Chinese (among other things) designs. When I decided to embroidery some towels for Aged Mum to match her phoenix-pattern china, I had to modify the swastikas out of the designs.
Also swastikas show up all over American Indian pottery and rugs and jewelry; I think they symbolise the four winds or something like that in some cultures. It’s a lovely design, but I just can’t use it, because it’s been spoiled past reclamation.
I hope I’m making sense. My head feels like it’s stuffed with soggy towels this afternoon. Please be kind to my mistakes.
Also whilst I was typing, we had two earthquakes, a 2.8 followed by a 3.0, right up the road. No damage, lots of rattled nerves.
rq
My dad has quite a nice tapestry with a swastika border on his piano. It was given him by some Assamese students of his, and it would have been terribly rude of him to turn it down.
Lynna
Conservatives really are terrified of absolutely everything, aren’t they?
Anyone familiar with this?
http://feministbatwoman.tumblr.com/post/100602884177
This is what happens when you don’t talk to your cat about catnip
Tony, your 147 is my life in five panels. My brain doesn’t have an off switch. It just goes til I run out of power and then I fall over.
Tony @147
Yes.
Tony @148, also what happens when you don’t monitor your cat’s intake of nip, from the look of it. Hee!
This amuses me.
Good morning
Did you know that today is Halloween?
Well, for us it is. Since we’re in Berlin next week we celebrate early.
BTW, has anybody seen David recently?
+++
rq
In one part of Germany there are currently protests against the plans of the state government to teach kids that non-straight and cis people exist. There signs are blue with the male sign and pink with the female sign and never should anybody allow anything else (why the hatred against green, I’m asking) and of course, since they’Re for the “real” families they bring their kids.
Now I’m not against kids having political opinions and being involved in activism. I pretty much grew up on demonstrations and such. But yeah, it’s all about the content. Statistically speaking some of the kids who get brought along, or who stay at home while mummy and daddy protest against teh horrible gays sexually inddoctrinating their kids, will be LGBTQ. And that breaks my heart, because those children will grow up knowing that their parents hate them, hate who they are, hate what they can’t help being. And those parents want to take away all the other resources from those children, too.
+++
Portia
I’ve long thought that anybody who works in the judicial system where they have to do with rape, abuse and domestic violence should be required to get training in these matters.
+++
Feminist ranting ahead, you’ve been warned
Now, in the last months the dreaded Lego Friends have moved in. Now there are some things I really like about them. I love the taller, more realistic figures and the attention to detail, which is something I always found intriguing about Playmobil. I like that the sets are not dumbed down construction wise, though it means that atm I got to build most of it (a feature, not a bug).
I don’t like most settings. Apart from the Jungle Series they’re all about beauty, shopping, be a pop star, groom pets etc. Now even in the Jungle Series they can’t just be explorers and scientists, no they rescue the aniimals and, ultimately take care of them. It’s a sneaky way to reinforce gender stereotypes: Even when you get to fly a fucking helicopter it’s ultimately about being caring and nurturing and cleaning up others’ shit.
But looking through the catalogue, the boys don’t get a much better deal: Most of it is about fighting, fighting, fighting and, did I mention fighting? Boys only get fierce animals, animals that fight. And just like with girls it’S not just Lego but TV and games and movies and books and then people are surprised that those boys turn violent when they never ever got any other strategies for solving conflicts than might makes right and fighting?
Of course, Hoff-Sommers calls that misandry and it’s feminists’ fault that we just don’t allow boys to beat other kids black and blue anymore…
Also, something nice for a change: http://www.juliedillonart.com/
I backed her kickstarter and now I’m wishing for a white wall where I could hang up the prints. I really like her style (lots of colours) and, yay diversity.
David was just on one of the other threads – I can’t remember which one, but it was just yesterday. I was going to make a big to-do, then realized I haven’t kept up enough to know if he’s been more absent or if I just haven’t noticed, and didn’t want to make a fool of myself. :)
Speaking of which, rq is inspiring me. I’ve been mulling over joining a community choir for the last couple of years, and I think maybe it’s finally time to do that. Not right now, because it’s too late to join before the christmas concert, but maybe for the spring. It’s about a 40 minute drive away, but I’ve been realizing that I don’t do anything I used to love any more, and maybe it’s worth it. I sit around being depressed and thinking nothing is enjoyable, but I don’t go out and do enjoyable things, and I could really do with meeting more people who have nothing to do with my job. It’s kind of scary, though – I used to be “really good” at choral singing, but “really good” from the perspective of a) for a high schooler and b) 25 years ago. I don’t know if I can even sight read any more. I don’t know if I can blend properly with the people next to me any more. I don’t know if I have any breath control. I don’t know if my voice totally sucks now. They are performing the christmas concert in my town this year, though, so maybe I’ll go and see if they look like nice people.
Oooooh, that is annoying, and subtle enough for most people to not even notice.
NB:
When parallel worlds collide, quantum mechanics is born http://phys.org/news/2014-10-parallel-worlds-collide-quantum-mechanics.html
— — — —
IAS, Princeton; “What does the next generation telescope need to detect life?” http://phys.org/news/2014-10-telescope-life.html
— — — —
Two families of comets found around nearby star Beta Pictoris http://phys.org/news/2014-10-families-comets-nearby-star-beta.html
— — — —
The search for habitable worlds, from sub-Neptunes to super-Earths http://phys.org/news/2014-10-habitable-worlds-sub-neptunes-super-earths.html
Archaeologists document highest altitude ice age human occupation in Peruvian Andes http://phys.org/news/2014-10-archaeologists-document-highest-altitude-ice.html
— — —
Ancient Europeans intolerant to lactose for 5,000 years after they adopted agriculture http://phys.org/news/2014-10-ancient-europeans-intolerant-lactose-years.html
— — —
Genomic data support early contact between Easter Island and Americas http://phys.org/news/2014-10-genomic-early-contact-easter-island.html
— — —
Finally: A missing link between vitamin D and prostate cancer http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-link-vitamin-d-prostate-cancer.html
“Now from this starting point of Vitamin D in prostate cancer, we’ve come a long way toward understanding how we might use GDF-15 to target NFkB, which may have implications in cancer types far beyond prostate.”
“I’m Not a Scientist” Is a Dangerous Cop-Out -Politicians brag about their ignorance while making ignorant decisions. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/10/i_m_not_a_scientist_excuse_politicians_don_t_need_to_be_experts_to_make.html
“In response to questions about climate change, political candidates, including high-profile politicians such as Senate Minority (for now) Leader Mitch McConnell, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are frequently saying: “I’m not a scientist”
(snip)
American populist rhetoric has always had a dark side of anti-intellectualism, the belief that the common sense of the average man on the street is equal to or greater than the expert knowledge of people who spend years studying a particular question, and that has been on full display in recent years. Who can understand what those weird, other-worldly scientists are talking about, anyway? Somebody needs to “stand up to the experts.” Despite what any politician says, the overwhelming evidence supports the scientific consensus that climate change is happening because of human activity and that we should take action to stop it because it will be a significant threat—a position the U.S. military agrees with.”
Devil in a Trenchcoat “the secret history and uncertain future of DC Comics` John Constantine (Hellblazer) ” http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/10/john_constantine_examining_the_dc_comics_character_s_history_and_uncertain.html
“There’s never been a comics character like John Constantine, DC Comics’ trenchcoat-sporting magician and wisecracking righter of wrongs. He’s openly, specifically political. He’s queer. He’s working class. He’s wordy. He’s indelibly and un-stereotypically English. Astoundingly, he’s remained largely unchanged since he first took to the page in 1985 and throughout 26 years of constant publication—a kind of character consistency that’s unheard of even among icons like Superman or Batman.”
Saudi Arabia warns women not to protest against driving ban
carlie
If you do join the choir, you’ll find that both the sight reading and the singing voice come back fairly rapidly. So does the breath control. As for the blending in, well… depends on who’s standing beside you! :) Good luck!
Thanks, rq!
Saw this on twitter today – I think it was written about gamergate, but it could just as easily apply to what’s happening in the atheist movement: Good Old Jim Hornets.
(visual description: it’s a multi-panel comic. A guy tries to join a charity group, but is surrounded by a cloud of hornets. He says it’s no big deal, he’s called exterminators, the hornets aren’t actually him, and we need to work together and be positive and he’s helping! As the hornets sting everyone around him)
I finished my other pendant project this morning.
Ceramic moon face pendant
I feel so… accomplished. *rolls eyes*
This is a followup to the discussion up-thread of Republicans freaking out over supposed ballot-box stuffing in Arizona, and, of course, to Nerd and the Redhead also stuffing ballot boxes. Reference comments #141, 143, 144, 145.
Republicans should look for more damning videos. That guy is only carrying a few hundred or so.
Er, yes! ^_^ I’m having a productive phase, tending to work nonstop, I have a deadline approaching (this conference here in Berlin from Nov. 5th to 8th, preceded by an associated field trip that begins on Sunday, Nov. 2nd), and I’m sort of afraid of trying to catch up with the timesink that is Pharyngula!
Let’s meet! :-)
*pouncehug* ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
From there:
“On that note, a second article that will appear in the same issue of Current Biology by Malaspinas along with Eske Willerslev and their colleagues examined two human skulls representing the indigenous ‘Botocudos’ of Brazil to find that their genomic ancestry is Polynesian, with no detectable Native American component at all.”
Brazil?!?
Uh, yeah. NFκB is one of those things that are, like, everywhere and do everything. :-)
That’s beautiful. :-)
=====================
And now the link dump:
Behold the mass extinction at the end of the Middle Permian (the Guadalupian). And follow the link to the GSA conference abstract. And there, follow the link to the rest of the symposium. :-)
Donate to the Emergency Black Voter Fund which wants to get out the Black vote. The accompanying e-mail said horrifying amounts of people don’t even know when election day is – and that in an election where the polls say Georgia has become a swing state! – I don’t know if you have to be a US citizen or resident to donate; it doesn’t say so, which is unusual, and obviously this is not a campaign, but then ActBlue has to be affiliated with the Democratic Party in some way…
“Pledge now what you can to stop Ebola — Avaaz will only process our donations if we raise enough to make a difference.”
*facepalm* On palaeos.com, they call the first amniote – the last common ancestor of mammals, turtles, lizards/snakes, tuataras, crocodiles and birds – “Bob the Basal Amniote”. Fair enough, and probably a nod to Robert L. Carroll who has worked on that general area of the tree for decades. But now there’s a tradition on LiveScience of calling the first placental mammal “Shrëwdinger”!!! Also, lots of interesting news about tenrecs, tropical hibernation, and Madagascar… which is slowly turning into Easter Island.
And the latest from the corruption scandal that is Austria: as part of the corruption-ridden sale of the Federal Apartment Corporation in 2002, the minister of finance at the time allegedly got a total of 9.61 million € in bribes.
LDS (mormon) leaders ran into some trouble with their video about the sacred undergarments and temple garments. (Reference comments #39, 45, and 54.)
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-updates-temple-garment-video
I feel for them. It’s hard to find a mormon leader without a criminal background — though there are plenty who just haven’t been caught yet.
GamerGate is now imploring anti-GG people to check [their] privilege. Because GamerGate has a “Native American POC” (Vox Day!) and a feminist (Christina Hoff Sommers!) and a…”disabled”…? (WTF?!?)
#NotYourShield indeed.
Salt Lake City police have a problem when it comes to investigating rape cases:
See, that right there is your problem Police Chief Chris Burbank, you and your detectives just don’t see the need to analyze rape kits in 79% of cases. The problem gets worse if you look at the whole county, and not just at SLC. Only 6% of reported sexual assaults are prosecuted across Salt Lake County.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/1739633-155/police-council-assault-rape-sex-department
Swaheelies: a shoe with a purpose.
Many of you will have heard of Herrerasaurus and Eoraptor, perhaps also Eodromaeus: some of the oldest known dinosaurs, found in Argentina.
Turns out there’s more where they came from:
*Homeric drool*
In German: lots of people in Syria and Iraq seem to be playing Inglourious Basterds, murdering IS members anytime, anywhere, to terrorize the terrorists. Some of them belong to biker gangs; one of those – which consists mostly of Kurds and calls itself “Median Empire” because Kurdish nationalists have long claimed to be descended from the Medes – is based in Germany.
The countries of the EU pay membership fees; that’s where 70 % of the EU’s budget come from. According to this article in German, those fees are determined around the beginning of each year, based on the prognoses each country makes about its economy. Later in the year, like right about now, those predictions are compared to reality and the fees reassessed: those whose economy has done worse than predicted get money back, those whose economy has done better than predicted have to pay surcharges.
Germany gets almost 780 million € back.
The Netherlands are supposed to pay 642 million till December 1st. The government is unpleasantly surprised, wants details on how that amount was arrived at, and wants to “look at all aspects, including the juridical ones”.
The UK is supposed to pay 2.1 billion. Cameron told Barroso Barroso has “no idea” what that’s going to do to public opinion in the UK. Nigel Farage is furious – and says Cameron is in a weak position where he can’t do anything, in other words, Farage is campaigning already.
Actually, I can’t deduce “furious” from the article. Ihould have said “duly outraged”.
Misspelling of Cretácico in the original.
Srsly?
How many is he descended from? I weep for all the discrimination he has experienced for his ancestry. *closes eyes for a moment, because the air here is so incredibly dry*
Two mormon-run “essential oils” multilevel marketing schemes are fighting with each other.
Scammers fighting over who is the best scam artist, over who stole what “confidential information” (a list of the most gullible mormons?).
http://www.sltrib.com/news/1739671-155/living-doterra-claims-distributors-judge-companies
Neither company is admitting wrongdoing, but they issues a statement:
Laughable.
The allegations brought up in court included:
– theft of trade secrets
– faked lab tests
– false advertising
– claims that “pure” products were contaminated with unnatural substances.
Quack wars!
TW HARASSMENT
I yelled at a customer yesterday. Well, I raised my voice to a chronic harasser. He said “attagirl” at me in the most condescending way. If it was an isolated incident, I would have let it slide. But he’s a chronic harasser, not just of me, but my coworkers, too*. I told him not to say that to me, that it’s something you would say to a dog or a child. He tried to argue with me. -_- After some back and forth, I finally got him to say he wouldn’t say it again, but it’s a small victory.
I came here to complain because at the forum where I normally go to complain about work-related things, commenters are telling me to let HR handle it. Besides that I don’t trust our HR person to handle internal issues, much less issues with customers, I would much rather call out the behavior as inappropriate when it happens. I don’t want to wait for some manager or HR person to have a talk with the customer when he’s abusing me and my coworkers.
Thanks for letting me rant.
*The harasser has called me “sweetpea,” which I called him out for, and called a coworker “floozy” and “bimbo.” He makes unwanted comments about our appearance. He stands in the lobby and stares at us with a slight smile on his face. He calls us “cranky” when he doesn’t get his way, and he gives us over-the top compliments when he does. He gets a lot of benefits in the form of waived fees and such because no one wants to deal with him. They(we) just want to get him out of the office as fast as we can.
Re the nutcase in Iowa ranting about Obamacare: Obamacare has been documented by the department of HHS to have saved the feds money. Any person who opposes it can not be considered a fiscal conservative. Or rational. The old adage about “if you’re not a liberal when your young you have no heart, if you’re not a conservative when you’re old you have no brain” is officially defunct: conservatives have allowed their brains to be taken over by the parasitic infection known as the tea party and they no longer have any claim to being the “hard headed” party. If they ever did.
Lynna @169
Don’t be silly, everyone knows a rape-kit will not further a case, so the forensic evidence is not needed. After all, it might point towards the guilt of a MAN.
dianne, #175
Do you have a source for that?
(not asking in a challenging way; I’d love to get my hands on a source that says that so I can bring it up in conversations)
The Mellow Monkey #168
lookie
“I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent.”
-James G. Watt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G._Watt#Other_controversies
Saad @117, here a few sources for journalists talking about the successes of Obamacare:
Talking Points Memo link. Excerpt:
Rachel Maddow Show link. Excerpt:
Rachel Maddow Show link. Excerpt:
Daily Beast link. Excerpt:
Saad @117, here is the Whitehouse fact sheet on the Affordable Care Act:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/04/17/fact-sheet-affordable-care-act-numbers
This is from April 17, 2014. We have even better numbers now. Excerpt:
More here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/myths-and-facts
Republicans say stupid stuff. This time it is Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas who is enlightening us about gays, massages and the military:
Mediate link.
Gohmert represents a gerrymandered district in which he regularly gets about 70% of the votes. Oh, the horror.
It can be difficult for Native Americans to register to vote, to actually vote, and to deliver absentee ballots to polling stations. But they are working to do just that.
This story reminds me of the supposedly scary, voter-fraud-perpetuating brown person that Republicans are currently excoriating in Arizona. Some of these community-level volunteers exemplify democracy-at-work, and that apparently scares the bejeezus out of Republicans.
Scroll down to see the Contribute link where you can help out with money if you are so inclined.
Daily Kos link.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152463739096167&permPage=1
This is a compilation of Fox News hosts, Rush Limbaugh etc., discouraging women from voting. Liberal women especially should not vote.
Oh, yeah, discouraging blacks from voting too. Any, yeah, poor people shouldn’t vote either.
Democrats should not encourage early voting. The homeless should not vote. Elderly people should not be encouraged to vote if they need special accommodations, like early voting days.
College students should not vote because they are “ignorant of the issues.”
Ahh, I see mentioning David is like Beetlejuice
David
Dunno if you’ve seen my mail, but we’ll be in Berlin next week and would be very happy to meet you.
Is your mobile number still the same? Because mine changed…
A school shooting is being investigated/stopped/handled in Seattle:
http://6abc.com/news/shooting-reported-at-high-school-north-of-seattle/364512/
@177 Saad: My apologies: I misremembered the situation a bit and therefore misrepesented it. It’s actually about $5 billion saved by hospitals in the form of fewer people presenting uninsured or with bad insurance that won’t pay them. So it’s the hospitals that saved $5 billion. But who pays for uncompensated care given at hospitals? The taxpayers. So it’s an indirect, not a direct savings to the government and probably largely on the state level. The savings is almost exclusively in states that took the Medicaid expansion. Odd, that. The link is here: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2014/UncompensatedCare/ib_UncompensatedCare.pdf
My bad, again. I didn’t read the report carefully enough: most uncompensated hospital care is covered by the feds, not the states. From the report: “Uncompensated care is largely federally funded…the federal government is estimated to pay for 62% of UCC.”
mentioning David is like Beetlejuice
David, David, David!
…
Well?
Gotta run. Giliell, I’ll check my e-mail in about an hour!
Quick dump of links to all the paywalls:
You’ve probably seen the news: “Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia” (News & Views article about same) – “Under the simplifying assumption that the gene flow occurred as a single event, and assuming a generation time of 29 years16, 25, we estimate that the admixture between the ancestors of the Ust’-Ishim individual and Neanderthals occurred approximately 50,000 to 60,000 years bp, which is close to the time of the major expansion of modern humans out of Africa and the Middle East. However, we also note that the presence of some longer fragments (Fig. 5) may indicate that additional admixture occurred even later. Nevertheless, these results suggest that the bulk of the Neanderthal contribution to present-day people outside Africa does not go back to mixture between Neanderthals and the anatomically modern humans who lived in the Middle East at earlier times; for example, the modern humans whose remains have been found at Skhul and Qafzeh26, 27.”
Hallucinogenia was on the onychophoran side of things, and the tardigrades are closer to the arthropods than the onychophorans are.
Pennaceous feathers might have evolved for signaling and used for flight later, this time argued from iridescence being possible in scales and flat feathers but not in downier ones.
What is Beetlejuice?
A comedic horror movie.
I think we’ve found PZ’s comfy throne. Actually, I kinda want that chair myself.
Beetlejuice.
(Not just the movie, it was a cartoon series.)
Like orange juice, only made with beetles rather than oranges.
re: Beetlejuice
I haven’t seen the movie, but I used to love watching the cartoon tv series.
I like the kind with extra chitin.
Um…my calling David Majanovic makes him disappear? Oops.
No, dianne, he’s running to you.
Thanks for the info, Lynna and dianne.
Two dead in school shooting near Seattle
From his cold dead hands!
Because I have a spare 10 gallon tank lying around the house, I decided to raise pill bugs and DO AWFUL EVILUTION EXPERIMENTS UPON THEM!… Namely, staring in about 6 months, I’m going to remove (and release) any whose colors I don’t like. I’ve done this in the past and ended up with a population of gorgeous red/orange/yellow ones. We’ll see what these 5 little isopods decide to do that catches my eye.
MUAHAHAHAHA.
@Saad, 199-
I really just don’t understand people.
*Hugs David!*
Beetlejuice was just on tv this week. :) It’s a movie from 1988, and it’s one I’ve always really liked. One of the plot points, used for comic effect, is that he can only be summoned or dismissed by saying his name three times. The tv show Community honored it with a three season long gag; someone said “Beetlejuice” in a single instance each season, and at the third, you can see someone walking by in the background dressed as the character.
PSA:
Nail biting is ugly, but if you really must do it at least don’t touch people afterwards. You had your fingers in your mouth and now you’re wiping them on my shirt!
Please also refrain from touching people after eating something with your fingers, without washing your hands in between.
Thank you, back to regular programming now.
Mildly ‘rupt. Been sleeping extremely poorly of late. Knees have improved some, hopefully I’ll be back up to snuff fairly soon. Ulcer’s been acting up too. Kind of depressed, found out my mom is selling the old homestead, which means I’ll not get to visit the place again. Also some stuff involving interpersonal relationships and exes. Just was able to get a new glasses prescription though, which is nice.
*Hugs* all ’round.
Yellow Thursday
Good on you. I agree that calling it on the spot is better than waiting on HR.
Dalillama *hugs*
+++
Well, looks like Husband’s granny, the keeper of the country farmstead, might be calling it in for living, too. In hospital at the moment, but it doesn’t look good. Double-whammy for the kids – at least next week is a school holiday, so we can work on coping at home.
Sorry to be such a downer lately, I promise things will pick up again once things settle and CSG starts talking to me again.
rq, *hugs*
As another Austrian said a couple of times, I’ll be back.
Giliell, I overlooked your e-mail from the 15th somehow. :-( I get unbelievable amounts of Democratic donation spam, I can’t even keep up with identifying and deleting it. Now I know to expect something!
Everyone, watch this: the Internet Party is campaigning, in Russian, for seats in the
Galactic SenateUkrainian parliament. One of their candidates, showing up at 1:57, is a certain Stepan Chubakka.Beatrice
Since it’s October 25 here already, happy Latvian name-day! (Or, I should say, ‘nym-day, in your case.) Parrr-taay!
I have a Latvian nym day?! Cool. Thanks :)
I’m watching the first Die Hard movie in your honour. Also, I’m hoping it will save my sanity for tonight. Go Alan Rickman! Or not, as it were…
Ooh. Rowan, I have a promise outstanding to my daughter to establish a pill bug terrarium. Any tips?
Annie Lennox whitewashes explanation of Strange Fruit.
George Will, one of those Republican “intellectual giants” who are supposed to explain to us how nifty conservatism is, pulled a Todd Akin and started talking about “real rape” again recently:
Huffington Post link.
Media Matters link.
Brontosaurids.
Contributing to my lack of sleep and general levels of stress have been the new (~ a month) downstairs neighbors, who appear to be incapable of entering or leaving their apartment without slamming the door so hard the building shakes, and go in and out at all hours of the day and night. The also have phone conversations and arguments in the alcove that allows access to the apartments loud enough that we can actually hear what they’re saying over the music or TV show that we have playing. This is on top of the noise they make while inside the apartment. At least after the angry note we left (after talking to several of them), they’ve stopped camping on the stairs with cigarettes and beer and blocking the way (they’re on the ground floor, we’re not; they don’t use the stairs for access like we do). It’s fucking ridiculous.
rq, Dalillama, hugs.
a little rupt
Dalillama
*hugs*, my friend. You’ve always got my email if you need to talk.
rq
Same, of course. I’m so sorry for all this happening right now. *hugs*
Love you
–
I’m trying to make squash. Well, trying it again after a Cooking Intermission For [Someone Else’s] Medical Emergency. Going to try to make some tender chicken, side of green beans and crusty bread with goat cheese. I can’t say how much I love Aldi stores.
I got in touch with the management, they say they’ll do something about downstairs, so that’s nice.
Azykyroth:
What I’ve ended up using this time is a mixture of orchid mix (tanbark, basically) and fertilizer free soil; you’ll want a couple inches of that. I need to get some more wood bits for them to hide under; right now all they have is a small piece of bark. Also, simply for the fun of it, I’m growing some various large-seed-bearing grasses in there just to see if it has any effect (and the cats will enjoy it when it’s cut). If they do poorly, I’ll just cut the grass into oblivian. In your case, I might skip the grass and collect moss. Humidity is key, without it being sopping wet so I would cover about 3/4 of the lid of the terrarium with saran wrap and mist every few days. Feed them dead leaves, fresh fruit (small amounts), potato, and fish flakes (small amount).
Hi all, just wanted to introduce ourself. We have been lurking for a little while and have finally generated sufficient courage to register and comment. Looking forward to joining the fray, as it were.
We are Plethora @220:
Welcome to the Lounge!
Pull up a seat at the bar. I’m serving adult beverages (or N/A drinks).
Rq should be around with the questionnaire soon enough.
David M:
This is Beetlejuice.
Been a while since I saw that movie. I recall enjoying it, but that was back when it came out in 1988.
Welcome We are Plethora. I think you will find us a congenial and often amusing group. Question… Are you also Myriad?
Morgan @223:
I’m betting they’re Legion.
[finds empty seat and bellies up to bar]
Thanks! Next round’s on us, and make ours a sex on the beach of course. Who else wants some popcorn to go with tonight’s showing of Beetlejuice?
We are Plethora @225:
I’ll take some popcorn please and thank you.
Might be fun for a bunch of us to watch a movie all at the same time one day.
Oh, and do you take your Sex on the Beach with Vodka, Peach Schnapps, OJ, and Cranberry? With an orange/cherry flag (or umbrella)?
*Redhead update*
The wounds are healing. The size of the covering for both wounds has dropped from 6″X6″ to 4″X4″. The wound closest to the poophole remains healthy with paranoid changes of dressings. The one further away needs some topical antibiotic, but both fibracol and calcium alginate are now available for both, due to the new month of wound supplies. But the bridging supplies was/is coming out of my pocket, not that of the insurance company.
Apparently, once the wounds heal, the Redhead’s doctor can prescribe another course of physical therapy so she can stand and spin for transfers. Can’t wait for that to happen.
Cooking must be fish Friday, with a talapia filet, lima beans, and garlic mashed potatoes.
Now, can she keep it down????
*/redhead update*
Yes, in fact we are multiple, plural, myriad, and legion. You are all correct. Sort of. We are a relatively small natural-origin multiple system, also known as a plurality.
Can you all see our profile?
Nerd, it’s good to read of Redhead improvement, and I hope the trend continues for both of you.
We are Plethora,
Cannot see the profile. :-(
Tony! The Queer Shoop @226,
Oh that sounds delicious, let’s do the orange and umbrella please. And how do you like your popcorn – we have old fashioned with or without salt/butter, cheddar, and caremel.
rq – oh man, I’m so sorry.
In that case, here it is:
We are Plethora, a small natural-origin multiplicity (aka multiple system, or plurality) consisting of the following headmates. We care deeply about being a force for equality and social justice, and fighting against the harmful effects of the superstitious and religious.
– Sprinkle-Dinkle (an age-sliding brony)
– Lady Elaine Fairchild (yes, the one of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood fame)
– Shap (a very ancient scaly of the crocodilian variety)
– Mystevia (the core, primary frontrunner, and human person of the non-cis variety)
– Sometimes we also get walk-ins, typically from eras past
We are Plethora
welcome in
Tomorow, I will make pizza.
What’s your preference?
Nerd
every little bit
chigau (違う),
Thanks! In our opinion it doesn’t get any better than classic NY-style, plain cheese. Although any pizza is delicious, really.
Nerd @227:
Glad to hear the Redhead is doing better. Here’s hoping the improvement continues.
****
We are Plethora @231:
(Tony is fine, btw)
I like cheddar popcorn as well as the old fashioned kind (though with light salt and little to no butter).
If you had sea salt/black pepper popcorn, I might have to pounce upon it. But seeing as it doesn’t appear to be among the offerings, unpounced shall I remain.
Tony,
Sorry we just stepped out to pick up some sea salt and black pepper. :D
We’ve never had the pleasure of trying that but it sounds great. Enjoy!
Pat Robertson: Girl-on-girl movies to blame for young people becoming homosexual?
At least I think that’s what he’s saying.
WTF is he saying?
Don’t tell PR is watching the porn channel *snicker* *that was a given*…
So did Pat test out his theory and watch woman on woman sex?
Still alive.
Winter Mode is setting in — all I want to do is curl up in bed for the next five months.
WMDKitty @242:
Oh boy, I know. I hate the cold. Yeah, I live in NW Florida, so it doesn’t get bone chillingly cold, but we still get temperatures in the upper teens during the height of winter. I don’t like temps below 50°F.
****
Question: I just posted the latest in my Woman of the Day entries and I was left wondering if it is at all awkward caring for hair that is floor length. Like, how long does it take to dry that much hair? When the hair is wet, does it put a lot of strain on the head and neck?
Nerd
*hugs* And good to hear on Redhead improvement! I hope you are managing some rest, too.
We are Plethora
Welcome!
Someone else will probably be around to pick up your questionnaire (although it is Saturday, so it’ll probably be me).
But, please share your myriad thoughts on:
1) horses
2) peas
3) cheese
Bonus) Miracle Whip*
*Not to be confused with real mayonnaise.
And stahp hogging all the barstools!!!
rq:
Did you need a refreshing beverage? I’ve some nice Sangria over here. Red or white.
Today is the birthday of Pablo Picasso.
rq,
♥
and more *hugs*
Take care of yourself. I know that’s hard whit all that’s going no.
Dalillama,
Ah, people. I’m sorry you’re having trouble sleeping.
Tony,
If you have thick hair, that’s a lot of weight. It must hurt.
My hairdresser told me that girls’ hair often starts falling out because of the weight of very long hair (it’s in at the moment for girls to let their hair grow waist-length).
Tony! Regarding hair care from a woman who has thick hair that used to be to her butt… holy crap it’s fucking obnoxious to care for. My hair is a sort that tangles if you look at it funny, so blow dryers were a no-no and I couldn’t brush it when it was wet. As such, it typically took about 4 hours to dry fully, 12 hours if I had it in a ponytail or braid. It was also really heavy when wet.
While I loved how I looked with hair that long, I much prefer my shoulder-length hair with regards to care. It usually only takes an hour to dry now.
Rowan, Beatrice:
Thank you both. I suspected long hair would weigh down the head quite a bit. Martha Matilda Harper (inventor of the business concept of franchising, as well as professional salons and the woman I wrote about) had floor length hair. From what I can tell, it looked thick.
When I cut my hair the first time, my head felt so light that I almost felt like I was floating. And I kept hitting myself with the brush because I didn’t know how much force to use any more.
Rowan @250:
Was there any particular reason you previously kept you hair that long?
For the snake lovers: 98 garter snakes found in Regina area home. They were found in a basement and were released into the wild.
Tony, I simply loved the way it looked. Didn’t like the whole ‘strange men coming up behind me and petting it’ aspect, but I reveled in my long hair. It was beautiful.
And eeeeeeeeeee snakes!
Hair brushing, how annoying your were. Good thing I don’t have to do that any more.
Finger-combing is the way to go most days, two moves with a brush if I feel like making an effort after washing my hair (combing when it’s dry is useless anyway, my hair has a life and direction of its own then).
Rowan and Tony!
Having had long hair in the past (no where near floor length though, thankfully!), the care is a pain, but the thing that really annoyed me was when it would get caught on things or laid/sat on by me or people around me (awkward sexy times sometimes resulted). I always know to cut my hair when it starts getting caught when I unbuckle my seatbelt.
toska, my specialty was having strands of hair get caught around the bolts in the back of the seats in my college classrooms. Or in the buttons of my jacket. Or, yes, when I’d sit on it.
I often volunteered at an animal shelter at the time, and I’d not infrequently end up untangling kitten claws from my pony tail. Not the most practical hair style for that work ;)
The most I ever managed with my longish hair was entangle it in the bottom spring of an umbrella.
Beatrice
That’s one I never experienced, but umbrellas were the bane of my childhood existence, so I avoid them at all costs.
The reason why I cut my hair was that I could NOT keep it out of grossness at work and once had an aggressive cat snag my hair, and thus me, through the cage bars. Every now and then I try to grow it out, but it promptly gets in … stuff… that I’d rather not have my hair in. Like, the ringworm kittens. Or the rotten dog mouth. Or the cat abscess….
toska,
sounds like there’s a story behind that…
Tony
Do you have something refreshinga nd wake-uppy that isn’t necessarily coffee? I’d love one of those.
Two airport runs today, plus assorted other obnoxious relatives arriving in the next few days.
One of the paternal aunts is already giving my mum (religious) shit for choosing cremation over burial. I told her (mum) to just blame it on us catholic kids (mum’s a lutheran, so pretty much the devil in this aunt’s eyes as it is).
Thanks, Beatrice. Will do my best.
Long hair? I had waist-length hair up until May of this year, when I chopped it all off, to the horror of various people (but it looks so good on you!). But I never really got it caught up in anything, just the effort of braiding it every day and keeping it more or less pinned and/or attached to my head was boring. And the shedding… :P
But umbrella springs? Cats? Your hairs have all the excitements!
Rowan
Excuse the morning brain, but I first read that as ‘aggressive cat shag my hair’, and… yeah.
Rowan
Yeah, I’ve worked in shelters, vet clinics, and ranches, and long hair definitely doesn’t mesh with well with those work places.
Beatrice
I wish I had a good story to go with that! I just grew up in a desert, so what little rain we had was always accompanied by lots more wind, and I learned the hard way that umbrellas and wind don’t mix well. It’s better to just get soaked.
rq, I have yet to have any sort of animal attempt to mate with my hair, though I admit that would probably be an interesting, hilarious, and horrifying experience.
And because it’s late, and my brain loves to tangent, I am reminded of our methemoglobinemia doggy that is in foster whose penis is a truly lovely shade of lilac that everyone feels the need to admire each time he comes in for check ups.
Vet med peoples are weird. :D
Good morning
David
You have mail!
rq
Big hugs
Hope all of you get lots of snuggling
Welcome we are plethora
++++
hair
Long
Has been like that for the better part of the last 25 years or so. Shortest I had was chin length some 15 years ago, but it somehow just wasn’t me.
rq
You have mail.
So, may I share some good stuff for a change?
It’s been a banner week here at Chez Fishy, literally. Today was our small town’s agricultural show. It’s the usual thing with fairground rides, and
consgames, livestock, produce, and craft competitions, and all the myriad things associated with such events.Ms. Fishy and The Small Fry between them entered 16 craft, produce, and baking competitions. They cleaned up, Ms. Fishy got two firsts and TSF got five firsts and three seconds, as well as a ‘best in show’ for her ANZAC biscuits! And by best in show I mean they judged her’s against all the entries, adults included. That last one comes with a meter long tri-coloured ribbon, with gold tassels no less.
They also raked in the prize money, a first place nets four times your entry fee, ten times for best in show! Yup they grossed $41.00 !!! Ice cream’s on us! Now, to be fair, some of those firsts were in categories in which they had no competition, but still…. :)
But that wasn’t the best thing to happen this week, not by a long shot. Wednesday was the prep to grade five year end* celebration. Lots of teeth-achingly cute entertainment, followed by year end awards. The Small Fry earned the academic achievement award for her year for “Outstanding results in all academic areas.” We knew she was doing well, the parent/teacher conference was frankly boring, with both sides struggling for things to say. But we didn’t know that she was the top of her class. I is one very proud daddy right about now.
Mind you, such achievement comes at a cost. We’ve been trying to praise her effort rather than the results, so there was a lot of “I’m so proud of how hard you worked to win that.” and the like between the beaming and the cuddling. We got home past TSF’s usually bed time and during stories she suddenly sits up and says with obvious distress “I haven’t done my reader!” All of our reassurance that this one night it would be okay to skip it was to no avail; she wouldn’t calm down until she’d finished it. Oi, unintended consequences.
I’m also hoping that she doesn’t take after me academically. I won the same award in grade six, and you might say I peaked a bit early because I never did as well at school again.
Long hair – yeah, me too. Catches on everything. On the other hand, if I have mine cut short, it just sticks out all over the place. So I let it grow until it starts getting in the way, then I have it cut a few inches, let it grow out, have it trimmed…so
I braid my hair or put it up in a knot with hairsticks or a hair fork, depending on whether or not I want to wear a hat that day. I’m one of those old ladies with the long grey witchy hair, heh.
Yes, I’m up way too early for a Saturday. I had to feed cats and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I thought I’d just sit and enjoy the quiet for a bit.
Er, by “some good stuff for a change” I meant as a change for me. Reading that back it looks accusatory of those in need and that’s the last thing I want to do.
And I forgot to append the * so:
*The school year still has a ways to go but the power that be decided to hold the celebration early this year to try and make the end of term a little less chaotic.
FossilFishy, congratulations to you and your family!
Mail for Giliell!
“Rep. Chaffetz demands surgeon general head Ebola efforts. Thanks to Republicans, there isn’t one.” It’s truly hilarious to read.
The Alaska National Guard has a gigantic rape scandal that has finally reached the elections for governor and for senator – the incumbent Republican governor received the first complaints four years ago and hasn’t done anything, the Republican candidate for senator was attorney general and won’t say if he knew anything.
Hope in Kentucky. Also, the DSCC wants all your money, and wants you to phone all the strangers.
“Houston mayor’s daughter initially refused driver’s license, because she has two moms”
“Twenty-seven-year-old Wiyaka Eagleman registered 50 Lakota voters on the Rosebud Sioux reservation of South Dakota last week. Then he walked and hitched rides for more than 40 miles to deliver the completed forms to the Tripp County Clerk just in time to meet the Monday deadline. Then he walked and hitched home.” That’s because he doesn’t have a car or a cell phone. “One ride ended after just one mile because the white rancher who picked him up turned out to be a Republican. He says the rancher was nice enough at first but as soon as Wiyaka mentioned that he was a Democrat on his way to drop off voter registrations the man abruptly pulled over and let him out. Wiyaka shocks me a little when he says he wants to find that rancher again and apologize. Why? To say he’s sorry that the rancher didn’t believe him that things are going to change. That his kids’ futures depend on it. ‘Someday he’ll see what I mean.'”
“Scott Brown: ‘We don’t need to be experts’ to deal with Ebola (we just need Mitt)“
Cheers Anne. And thank you for the hugs way up thread. Much appreciated.
I do have to say that anyone who wakes early and can find enjoyment in it boggles my mind a bit. If I can’t get back to sleep I end up so grumpy that you could use me to initiate cold fusion.
And with that cheery thought, I’m to bed. Tomorrow, scratch that, later today is our local pub’s open stage and I have to sing the song I wrote for Ms. Fishy’s birthday. Best I be rested because “it’s the thought that counts” is going to have to carry a whole heaping of weight even without me adding to the burden by being over-tired. ;)
Night, morning, evening or afternoon, as appropriate.
I’ll be crashing by lunch. I take naps in the afternoon. I have to feed the cats at 5:30 every morning. Patches of the great white stomach starts meowing at the bedroom door around 5, because she’s afraid I might forget to feed her. Some days I can get back to sleep, some days I can’t.
“I repeat: This may be the stupidest conservative freakout all damn year.” Complete, naturally, with death threats in YouTube comments. And make sure you read to the end.
“Thom Tillis, one-time Medicaid expansion killer, now says North Carolina should consider it”
Republican attitudes to the minimum wage in practice. There’s a surprise.
“Young, petite, UNARMED, female teacher stopped today’s school shooter” – that’s yesterday’s.
“Indians 101: The Cheyenne Migrations“
I’m in California, and it is raining. Just a little, but it is wet outside.
About. Damn. Time.
My turn to do a Republicans say stupid stuff:
Sooooo, having an MD from Yale, being an internal medicine physician at a leading teaching and research hospital and being an instructor at Harvard Medical School is no longer considered being a health professional?
Also, being a health professional means you can’t be anti-gun? Dr. Murthy believes gun control is a healthcare issue, which of course, it is: Guns are a very specific risk factor contributing to injury and death. The misanthropic goons at the NRA are actually threatening senators they’ll pull support for anyone who votes for Dr. Murthy.
I think it’s obvious that’s not the only reason for the Republican opposition. Let’s be honest:
1. Brown-looking
2. Non-patriotic, freedom-hating name
3. Huge supporter of healthcare reform and the ACA
4. Is strongly anti-gun
So more or less they hate him for the same reasons they hate Obama.
Rain? Send some down my way, please? Orange County is going to dry up and blow away.
Anne, if I can figure out how to do so… sure. Or I could leave out gallon jugs, collect some water and send it to you.
Thanks, Rowan, much appreciated.
David M. @272:
Ha! That is a great read.
It also counts as a Moment of Mormon Madness. Jason Chaffetz is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a highly active one at that. He demonstrates the uncanny skill mormons have to spin anything and to rewrite history while sounding naive and innocent. When you combine that skill, (learned and practiced daily in church activities) with the usual duplicity of Republican politicians … oh my god is that a stunning example of lacking-a-moral-center. Chaffetz doesn’t know he’s an unethical monster. He thinks he’s more than fine, a great priesthood holder doing god’s work, so he also is annoyingly self-righteous.
More Pat Robertson:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-we-have-power-raise-dead-we-just-arent-using-it
*waves to all the busy less-rupt-ers*
JAL you have an email from me, again.
Graph and more info at the link. Religion News link.
In response to my #277
I missed one more thing the GOP fears that Murthy has in common with Obama:
He was born outside the United States.
:'(
I could never get my hair to grow out and become “long” in the conventional sense.
I eventually gave up on it.
“For Harry, England and St. George!”
Happy St. Crispin’s Day!
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!”
Oddly, it’s also the anniversary of The Battle of Balaclava and the charge of the Light Brigade. “Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die…”
Congratulations to The Small Fry and Ms Fishy, and best wishes for a great rendition of the birthday song. Very nice to read your good news, FossilFishy!
Welcome to We Are Plethora (great nym!) – just let us know where you stand wrt horses and peas, though, OK? :-)
Many hugs to cicely and carlie and Portia and rq and Tony and Rowanvt and Giliell and Dalillama and Morgan and Saad and Azkyroth and Lynna and Pteryxx and Anne and David M and and and all you very very excellent people.
I haz a tentative cautiously-quite-optimistic today – nothing earth-shattering, but SonSpawn managed to have a small and modest social occasion this afternoon (as in, it was his set-up, he invited some people, most of them (about 12-13 students) came!) for the first time ever. We provided the home-made pizza :-) (made plenty, so we knew we’d have enough left for ourselves ::burp::). It was an afternoon of pizza, beverages and bonfire, and they’re almost all going to be meeting again at an early halloween do tonight in the student halls of residence, so the afternoon had a sort of natural framing in terms of timing, as everyone had to go and get into costume for tonight. So, they ate, drank, jammed for a while, chatted round the bonfire … nothing earth-shattering, but OK.
yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
opposablethumbs,
congrats to SonSpawn!
opposablethumbs:
That sounds like a great time for SonSpawn and all involved. :D I know I still feel really tickled when I arrange and host something social and it goes well. It’s such a fun feeling. Three cheers! And piiiiizzzzza. Yummm… *hugs* back :)
Hello We are Plethora, welcome.
–
Fire training this morning. I clambered right up the aerial ladder (the one attached to the truck) and went higher than any guy I saw do it (I’m the only woman in the class). I felt like I did it pretty deftly and managed my nerves at 75 feet in the air. When I came down, the instructor said:
“You’re a natural!”
{Portia happydances internally}
“…yeah, you did very well for a female of the species.”
{Portia screams internally}
It was so nice for a minute : ( Now I have no idea if I actually did it well or not.
OK folks, I’m off for our trip to Berlin, meeting David and my family and probably Alex Gabriel
Take care. I’ll leave some hugs, so suit yourselves while I’m away
Portia
Facepalm. What an asshole.
Giliell
Have a good trip.
Nerd, Opposablethumbs, Fossifishy
Yay for assorted good news.
Azkyroth
Different people’s hair stops growing at different lengths; I’ve never been able to see any pattern in it. My hair used to be down to my ass, but my dad’s hair never gets beyond his upper back, and this is a man who hasn’t had a haircut in my lifetime.
My knees were feeling well enough last night that I rode my bike to work again. On the way, I hit a patch of wet leaves, my wheels went out from under me, and now my lower body feels like someone’s been hitting me with sticks, and my arms and back aren’t much better.
Thank you Beatrice and Portia! It was V Scary because of all his social communication etc problems, so we’re extra thrilled that it went quietly OK :-)
Yay Portia for being the best – I don’t know your instructor, obviously, but I’d be willing to bet that he was double-thinking and second-guessing himself at 100mph something like this:
Portia excels at fire training activity – first impulse is to celebrate and congratulate – stoopid unfluffy blue mansplainingbrain kicks in – Portia is a woman, she did better than everybody, therefore a woman did this activity better than the men – THIS IS UNPOSSIBLE!>???!}!} – THEREFORE IT DID NOT HAPPEN – therefore she only did well for a not-male-person.
All done in a split second, and without conscious thought let alone realising what he’d said. eh. ::sigh:: :-\
Congratulations on the 75′, that’s fantastic. It’s also high enough to leap over this building in a mighty bound, I think.
Dalillama:
Thanks. It’s almost worse when, like in this case, they think they’re giving high praise. Ah well.
Sorry you have extra pain now :(
–
opposablethumbs:
That’s a very nice way to interpret it, I’m going with it :D
Thanks for the positive spin. My friend who was in the pair with me (one of us up on the ladder, one at the base with the instructor) said he was saying what a natural I was without the qualifier, while I was actually up there, so that supports your version. :D
The height was exhilarating – he did lift me above the roof of the high school, like he did with everyone, and then joked “Ok, now go ahead and jump onto the roof” I told him I’d stay on the ladder bc the view was better. He said “Ok, you want to climb down from there, or go higher?” I said “Higher.” :D Thanks for the happy commiseration ^_^
–
It is such a gorgeous day. Hope those who like the rain have it and those who need rain get it. I am loving the sunny afternoon. Gonna sit on my deck and read some more.
Thank you Dalillama, much appreciated :-)
Shit, I’m sorry about the bike skid, though. Just what you want when you’ve already been having lowerlimbpain that makes it hard to be at work. Do you have to do a long shift now? Dog, I hope not.
Any chance of a long hot soak later, followed by tea, aspirin/something stronger and bed? (It’s already a very dark evening here, so my feelings about bed-is-the-place-to-be may be unduly influenced by that; I keep forgetting it’s only afternoon (?) for you. ). Sympathies and very cautious hugs. :-(((
opposablethumbs
It was actually on the way to work last night that it happened, and I did have to work a full shift just afterwards. I’m back at work here in a few hours again, but I’ve had time to sleep and get in a hot bath in the meantime. You’re correct about it being afternoon for me, but I work nights.
“We only get one life. Wasting someone’s time is the subtlest form of murder.”
From here.
Someday I’m getting that as a tattoo…
Thanks to all for the warm welcomes.
1) horses: beautiful, powerful, majestic creatures, although as a city system we don’t have much direct experience with them unfortunately; 10 out of 10, would ride
2) peas: we’ll have to politely pass on the peas, unless smothered in melted cheddar cheese (see number 3 below)
3) cheese: yes, please! we love it, cheese makes almost everything better
4) Miracle Whip: same as above, zestier than regular old mayo
Azkyroth @286:
In high school and college, I had long to medium long hair. Then I was in the Army. I tried to let it grow out after the Army. It grew in all directions. I don’t look good with an afro.
Morgan!? @288:
A lot of good clothing came out of that, though. Lord Raglan’s feud with Lord Cardigan, at the Battle of Balaclava . . . .
I wonder if Lieutenant Blouse was there?
========
Boy went for an interview at a nursing home (Catholic, but with a really good reputation and multiple facilities) and was, basically, told that he was overqualified for the job for which he was applying so, after most likely a great deal of communications between the kitchen manager and hunan resources, they offered him a job that actually covers three jobs (with him eventually moving to full-time cook) at more per hour than anything but the cook job.
=========
We are Plethora @ 299:
Horses are evil. Intelligent and malevolent.
Peas are wonderful (not the canned shit, but just about every other form).
I agree with the cheese.
Miracle Whip is not food.
You score 25%. Please report to the spunking couch ASAP.
Now, there’s a tribute to Tpyos.
chigau: It was an homage to Tpyos the first time. This time was intentional.
Quick question….
Is there some reason why the wordpress account I use to comment here (infrequently, I know) wouldn’t be recognized when I try to use it for other sites using wordpress?
I just tried to comment on a post on skepchick, and it did the “wrong info shake” when I tried to log in there. Thoughts?
I figured I’d ask you fine folks since the commentariat has an overlap.
Thanks!
Today, working out in our fee collection booth, I was listening to Kniaz Igor by Borodin (the opera has the melody which became the 1960s song Stranger in Paradise) and a visitor not only recognized the opera, but began to sing along. His wife then thanked me for putting him in an opera mood for the rest of the day.
Portia, wow, you are as always and for many reasons, Awesome!
Dalillama, ouch!
opposablethumbs, how lovely, I am vicariously happy for you and SonSpawn!
We Are Plethora, welcome! If the world gets to be too much, the pillow fort is over here in the corner, with stuffies for cuddling and soft blankies for snuggling and hiding under. If you see the bogeyman, just put the fuzziest blankie over his head and he will bother you no more.
Anne:
Heeeeee thank you. I feel the same way about you.
–
I’m going to cook dinner and have some wine. Anyone in here want to keep me from drinking alone? Tony’s probably working ^_^
Og:
Sounds like great news for your son? If I’ve read you right, congrats to him :)
Thank you, Portia, that’s very kind of you to say.
I had a question about usefulness of the different subject GREs. How applicable is the knowledge they test to researches in the field. The math subject GRE is awful. It is stuff I haven’t done in years and likely won’t have to do much of, (though in the course of teaching a course I would likely relearn for that course and then “forget it” soon after.) I’m kind of embittered by the experience right now.
*hugs for opposablethumbs ^_^ *
Probably you did – and he thought he was giving you a compliment by saying other women do worse. *Picard & Riker double facepalm*
To…day is Austria’s longest national holiday: it’ll last 25 hours. ^_^ In a bit over a quarter of an hour the clocks will jump back.
Portia @306:
I’m off work now (slow night, again; I’ve started searching for a second job).
Congrats btw, on the aerial ladder climb! Was it a timed exercise?
****
We are Plethora @299:
Gonna have to disagree with you a bit. *Nothing* can make peas palatable.
They make for great weapons in a slingshot though.
****
Ogvorbis @300:
I love that typo in your last line…
****
I probably shouldn’t mention that Himself is very fond of peas… The petite frozen kind, properly cooked, preferably with those little onions. What can I say, he’s from Minnesota.
Tony:
Bummer that it’s slow at work. I hope that having it as a cushion takes some stress out of the job search this time around.
Care to share a glass of cab?
This exercise wasn’t timed. We were timed on how fast we can put on all our gear, including air mask and turn on the air, and I passed that the first time, which was cool. This was more ranked on whether you could actually complete it (the climb, the locking in your safety harness, the gauging possible hazards on the roof of the building should you hypothetically have to climb onto it, and then climbing back down.) Mine was a little more challenging given that I climbed all the way down from the 75 ft instead of the operator lowering the ladder to about 20 feet instead. It was really interesting to feel the ladder move up and down and extend and retract and left and right, while you’re on the end of it. I expected to be much more nervous.
Long answer for a yes or no question ^_^
Tomorrow is training on the jaws of life, which I feel pretty comfortable with given that I’ve had other trainings on them. Although I think the set we’ll be using is different than the ones my department has so it will be a good experience. Plus cutting up cars is really really fun, especially when it’s not because someone was in a bad accident and no one is inside the car actually in trouble.
Portia:
Sure, I’ll take a glass of cab. Thanks!
For some reason I never realized that the ladders moved left and right. I always thought they were just up and down. Are the jaws of life a complicated device to operate?
Tony:
It’s a cab called Irony. Irony is delicious ^_^
Our aerial ladder truck actually has a joystick to control the various directional movements. It’s kinda funny to me. But yeah, the ladder can typically rotate all the way or nearly all the way around.
The jaws are a little complicated. I guess the more complicated part is being able to know about the composition of your average car, so you know where to cut and what to expect to possibly fly out at you if you do. Also, “jaws” is a term that applies to several tools, really. Extrication tools include spreaders, cutters, combo, rams, and air bags. The cutters are what people think of when they say jaws.
The first memory I have of the car accident that messed up my back was of the jaws of life removing the door of my car. They’re pretty scary from the inside of the car, but also relieving. And Smokey already knows what I think of her heroism. :)
Portia @315:
I was thinking of the spreader myself. Interesting stuff at your link. Thanks. Have you used the air bags yet?
****
CaitieCat @316:
How bad was the accident you were in (obviously the injury to your back was significant, but I was hoping there wasn’t anything else)?
My VW Rabbit was T-boned by a Granada doing an estimated 70 km/h. The car was thrown about fifty feet into a concrete lamppost, which cracked but held with the cable tension. The driver’s side door pillar (4dr car) ended up about 1m from the opposite side, with the seats displacing internally to accommodate.
I had a severe concussion, with temporary amnesia and aphasia, both of which faded inside a year. Dislocated left elbow, sprained left knee, and unknown to me then, micro fractures of my lumbar vertebrae.
The other driver was 17, drunk, and running a red light – at a confluence of two one-way streets.
Made me very glad to live in a country with proper health care. I’d been truly shocked about six months earlier when accompanying an 80yo woman to ER in Massachetc., and seeing them stop her from entering with her clearly shattered and agonising hip until her husband arrived with a credit card. I couldn’t believe I was standing in the richest country in the world, and seeing this.
Cait;
*gentlehugs* You are so nice to me.
I can only imagine how it feels to need to be cut out of a car, having experienced a fairly severe impact with a semi truck. Last time we did the training, we had one of the more experienced firefighters sit inside the car – he was also a paramedic. At some points he hollered in fake pain – afterwards he told us he shouted when a real patient would have, like when the equipment made the car rattle or something. We’ve always gotta remember that the person in there is the whole reason we’re doing it.
Tony:
I have not used the air bags on an actual scene, but we did use them on the last training last month.
As a sidenote, we’ve just discovered that the local towing company will bring us a car, let us cut it up, and then come and literally pick up the pieces. All for free. I don’t know if it fits in a compactor better that way, or what, but it’s kind of awesome.
btw, Tony, are there other places you think you’d like to work or think about applying?
Cait:
I should do that thing where I re-read comments more than twice before posting, because I end up wanting to clarify:
I know what it’s like to feel shaken up and scared immediately after an accident, and I can’t imagine how much more terrifying it is to not be able to get out of the car and then have the giant tools coming a t you while they maybe break the glass after maybe covering you with a blanket…eep.
*hugs*
CaitieCat @318:
Damn. Those injuries sound awful. I’m glad things weren’t worse.
****
Portia @319:
I have a few places in mind.
If you don’t mind, I’d prefer we not talk about that right now, bc every time I think about it, it bums me out and I just want to crawl into a ball and cry my eyes out.
I think I’ve had that Irony Cabernet, btw. IIRC, it was quite tasty.
Also,
forgot to say:
Thank you for saying so, David :)
–
One more whine – the air packs are not made for a smaller torso. They could be functional and made to fit me better, but of course they are made for men. I get the reasons why, but it means I have to accommodate the fact that my gear doesn’t exactly fit. The weight isn’t distributed on my back properly, so wearing the pack for extended time is harder than it would be if I had broader shoulders and a longer torso. And we wore them long enough this morning that the bigger, taller, guys were even complaining about the soreness of it. And yet, I do well “for a female.” HARUMPH, I say.
–
I’ll stop spamming now…
Tony:
Aw, damn, sorry to poke at a sore spot.
Something silly.
Lotsa *hugs*
Portia (@ 323)
Are those Orcs dancing Thriller?
Portia @323:
Do you have to have an account to view the pic? When I clicked your link it took me to the Imgur sign up page, rather than the image (which is odd, since others have linked to images from Imgur before and I’ve not had this problem).
WMDKItty 324:
I’m not sure if it’s Thriller specifically. I do know it made me giggle. :)
Tony 325:
I’m not sure what went wrong, usually you can just look at imgur pictures without signing in.
This and this should take you to each .gif, there were only two of them.
Portia @326:
Ah, I see them now. Ha! Dancing orcs are funny indeed.
****
Google exec sets new skydiving world record by jumping from the stratosphere.
He was 25 miles up and broke the sound barrier during his descent.
Wow.
I’ve gone skydiving and while it was nerve wracking, it was fun as all get out. Once you’re in free fall, there’s nothing you can do, but scream and…well…fall. Once I realized there was no turning back, I relaxed and boyohboy, it’s like riding a rollercoaster times 100! The freefall wasn’t long enough though. I think it was something like 45 seconds. I want to fall for 5 minutes!
Opposeablethumbs – yay for SonSpawn! Isn’t it the most wonderful feeling of success?
Ogvorbis – yay for Boy and his job!
Hi Lounge! I have missed you all very much. Now that I’ve declared total threadruptcy, I’m hoping to be a regular again.
Portia – *many pouncehug and chocolate* How’s life?
Tony! and carlie *[pounce]hugs and chocolate* if and as you want them. If I hope life is treating both of you well.
Hekuni Cat @329:
I’ll take a hug or three. Life ain’t grand for me at the moment (actually, that’s been the norm for this year).
****
Ashley Miller criticizes the bigotry displayed by the Morehouse football team at a viewing of the movie Dear White Men. One of the characters in the movie is a black gay man, and he gets beaten by some white characters in the movie. Apparently several of the Morehouse football players cheered on the beating and showed that they were bigots themselves (yes, Ashley points out the irony).
Several people from Morehouse have shown up in the comments. Some to apologize for the players. Others to criticize Ashley for critiquing the team. Some made excuses for the homophobia of the team. Ugh.
*hugs* for Tony, *threecheers* for opposablethumbs and SonSpawn, *hugs* for carlie, *feministfinger* in the general direction of Portia‘s instructor (plus a *highfive* for her), and general good wishes for all.
Oh, *pouncehug* for Hekuni Cat :)
I can’t believe it’s taken this long for me to discover the wonders of the Southern Lord record label again. Sunn 0))’s Black One and Earth’s the Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull remain two or my favorite albums ever.
good morning
I’m against the summer/winter hour changing, but I could live with it if it always gave me an extra hour of sleep :)
Anne and David M, thank you! It’s funny how much it means to be able to share things like that – it’s such a tiny thing in itself, but after so many years of speech therapy and SEN and spending half of Primary School at a specialist language unit instead of mainstream school … and for the last several years having no birthday … it’s a little thing that takes on huge significance :-))))
Ogvorbis, yay for Boy – when I read “overqualified” my first thought was ugh, so they said no. So many people and organisations are reluctant to change a routine setup, to the point of never even considering it. The fact that they actually made the effort to adapt a situation in order to be able to have him speaks volumes! I hope it turns out to be a great place to work :-)
We Are Plethora, hmmm. Horses are wonderful ::nyah to Ogvorbis and all the horse-haters:: but peas are a dodgy proposition (unless freshly picked, which are so rarely seen as to make me doubt their existence); cheese is essential but miracle whip? Oh dear. Tsk tsk tsk. Clearly the invention of some evil mastermind seeking to make humanity give up in despair. I’ve carefully maintained the distance of an entire ocean away from any such Abomination.
Huge ginormous hugs to carlie and rq :-)))
Very many hugs to Tony!, an exceptionally excellent person to whom I wish a damn sight better breaks than he has been getting lately :-(
Hugs for Tony!, you are way overdue for an infusion of All Good Things.
Bad day. We were supposed to be home from Georgia yesterday, but there was a fire in the Charlotte terminal that shut down the airport at exactly the time we were supposed to take off for Minnesota — we were stuck in the E concourse with thousands of other people, while the plane was loading way over on the B concourse. Then they took off without us, and about 50 other people. If they’d delayed the flight just 20 minutes, it would have spared everyone a huge amount of hassle, but would have hurt their on-time stats. We know what’s important.
So we got bumped to a much later flight. Which meant we spent all yesterday sitting in an airport, lurched into Minneapolis late at night, and were too tired for the 3 hour drive home…so yet another cheap motel for the night. We’ll probably not get home until this afternoon.
Ugh, PZ. Sympathies for the exhaustion, frustration and airline intransigence :-(
I hate airports.
Oh, no, PZ! So sorry. Hope you get home soon.
Hi, Hekuni Cat! Good to see you again!!! :)
Hugs to everyone. :)
PZ:
Sorry to hear about the travel woes.
Hope the fire wasn’t serious.
****
Model and tv personality Chrissy Teigen quits Twitter after barrage of hate following her comments on the recent shooting in Canada.
Why do I think misogynistic comments made up the bulk of the responses to her?
My comment just got eaten.
PZ:
Sorry you’re having travel problems.
Hope the fire wasn’t serious.
Model & TV personality Chrissy Teigen quits Twitter following criticism of her comments on the recent shooting in Canada
All she said was:
“active shooting in Canada, or as we call it in america, wednesday. That’s not a joke. It is a fact. … I’ve lost faith in this world. Sorry if it comes off as being unemotional. There is just so much bad.”
Of course I’m sure the bulk of responses to her were misogynistic.
Damn. I forgot the filter. That’s where my comment is. No need to approve that one PZ.
For people who have been following the Marysville school shooting news,
Is there any word of the police trying to find out how Fryberg got the gun and prosecuting the person who let him have access to the gun? Doesn’t the NRA and all the gun advocates want guns to be owned by responsible people and thus want irresponsible people held accountable?
The only thing I’ve been able to find is this:
I have little knowledge on this topic, but what the fuck? Can 14-year olds legally own handguns?
Of course poopyhead is having travel problems. He didn’t take the TGV.
Oh, sorry, this is in a ÜberStupidbAckwardstan… the place where deliberately destroying the environment is mandatory.
Tony @327
I went skydiving when I was 18. We had the silliness to go in November, so it was reallllly cold. But yeah, pretty neat:D I felt really relaxed, too, once I was able to breathe after the parachute opened. :)
–
Tony:
*moarhugs*
Those football players should be required to attend a class on systematic oppression. Or something :(
–
Hekuni Cat:
*pouncehug* Hi! Great to see you, how are you? Life is treating me pretty well, overall. Doing a semester-long fire class, and working quite a bit, and doing election/campaign stuff. Right now I’m working up the energy to make some coffee. :)
*waves at carlie
Everyone’s a responsible gun owner until they’re not at which point how dare you bring up gun control so soon after this horrible tragedy?
The irresponsible people are the ones who failed to already be armed so they could save the day.
Seven of Mine @347:
Wait, I’m not a gun owner and never want to be. Does that make me one of those irresponsible people?
:)
billygutter01 @303:
I wish I had a clue how to help you out, but I don’t. Perhaps it’s just a temporary glitch.
No. The nra is (largely) composed of nutters, far too many facist and/or racist for them to be taken seriously, and (possibly most) of the rest just plain stooooopid, who want only people similar to them to have guns, voting rights, money, be in the county legally, and be eligible for government jobs and society’s welfare. Everyone else should either be executed, driven out of country, or enslaved.
The nra is one of the most dangerous and regressive groups in USAlientstani today, disturbingly similar to the israeli military and “government” (who can do and never are wrong), the child raping and moronic cults (ditto), al-qaeda and daʿish (ditto), and other totalitarian groups (ditto), including USAlienstani’s own thugs (ditto), which they seem to control.
What is astonishing is there are groups in USAlienstani, such as the gun owners of america, who are even further more extreme (the president of that group, Larry Pratt, is so extreme he has hinted that politicians you(? probably he) disagree with should be afraid of assassination, and that gun control advocates were directly responsible the mass-murder of children in Sandy Hook (“because” there were no armed guards or teachers)).
Some time ago, I asked for suggestions on how to enjoy Kraken Black Spiced Rum. To-date, the beast (I meant to type “best” there but “beast” is more appropriate…) is to take some organic apricot juice which is several years past its use-by date (but has been keep cold or frozen the entire time) and use it as a mixer, probably at about a 4:1 ratio (4 parts ancient juice, not monster rum). I call it the Lethal Organi…
…
…
SPLAT!
+++ OUT OF RUM ERROR ++++++ REDO FROM MOAR CHEESE +++
Today is ghostie and ghoulie day here in Redheadville, the city decreeing 1-4 only, but this will be the first time that we won’t be handing out treats when we have been home. That is the Redhead’s job, and we can’t get her bed outside. If we could, she would be out handing out treats. Being in a wheelchair doesn’t stop her, but is does cause some of younger ghosties and ghoulies to be a little more shy.
I have other work to do today, like putting up storm windows, getting the cars checked for winter, and tightening the clutch spring on auger for the snowthrower. This on top of feeding and depooing the Redhead. Busy day.
An big axe or sword will solve the problem: “Is that a real axe?”
“Yes.”
“Groovy! Can you chop up my bother, please?”
“Brother. And with pleasure…”
WHACK!
“Ohhhhhh! Neat! Thanks.”
“No problems.”
Or you could do the wheelchair up to look like a throne, and the Redhead could be Supreme Empress.
Anne,
Sounds like fun, but it seems like Nerd already has more than enough to do. :(
I know, but it seemed like a fun thing to think about – what the Husband calls a doodle project.
Two Stunning Trailers for ‘Tant de Forets,’ an New Animated Short by Burcu Sakur and Geoffrey Godet
At 43 seconds and 38 seconds respectively, the trailers are incredibly short, but visually striking.
This country has come to a point where I’m actually taking into consideration voting for a priest for president because he is more progressive than most other candidates. O.o
I saw the kraken rum at the store yesterday! But it was a bigger bottle than I wanted, because I was just making my first rum cake.
Side note: rum cake glaze tastes really good straight. ;)
carlie @359:
You should try the bi or the gay rum cake glaze. They’re magically delicious!
NOT THAT I DRANK ALL OF THE RUM GLAZE OR ANYTHING…
*looks at dry cake*
um…
*win*
:D
Grammar question. In response to Ashley Miller’s post about the Morehouse football team, I blogged about the reaction of several of the commenters in that thread. One of my comments contained this phrase “an historically black college”. When I spell checked the post though, the phrase was corrected to “a historically black college”. I always thought the rule was an before a vowel sound or silent letter like the “h” in historically.
(I know there’s not a question in there…humor me :)
Beatrice, I have no idea what country you are talking about, but… (1) Priests should be assumed to be child rapists; and (2) Politicians should be assumed to be corrupt. In the extremely rare case neither is true, you must be in an different Universe, on a planet with pink skies and everripe strawberry and cheese vines.
Cue song.
Tony
I’ve seen both used in front of ‘historically’ and related words. *shrug* I guess it’s just one of those grammar things.
Tony, With exceptions, “spell checkers” are rarely cognizant of surrounding context; that is, in your example, because the word following the “an” didn’t start with vowel was very possibly why it was flagged as poor grammar. Whether or not it is poor grammar is for the nazis to argue over, but unassumingly / unquestionably taking the advice of an automated spell checker is perhaps rarely sensible.
I should hope not. What you don’t drink makes rather good bath suds.
Then you drink it…
H in historically isn’t silent… no?
Beatrice @369:
I think if you say the word aloud without any prior words, I always though you pronounce the “H”, but when it’s said in a sentence it’s often…muted(?) or silent.
For instance:
“Historically, the Stonewall Riots kicked of the Gay Rights Movement”
vs
“The Stonewall Riots were an historically important moment in the Gay Rights Movement”.
Maybe it’s just a queer shoop thing…I’ve been told I am unique in all the 9 worlds.
Nine-sided dice, you mean…
(Which probably means yer one of the tenth-or-other sides, the main question being: In which dimension?)
PZ @#337, when you travel the microbes in your gut suffer.
May only apply to travelers who change time zones, but I’m betting it applies to all weary travelers.
Smithsonian magazine link.
Tony!, Beatrice
Basically, in some dialects of English, the initial h is sometimes or always dropped. Whether it’s customary to precede such a word with a or an locally depends on which dialect is more prestigious, usually. IME, most Yanks use a, but most Brits use an.
fwiw (as a Brit-type person; sample size – one) I always sound the “h” and therefore always precede it with “a”, not “an”.
I also have a (probably class-ridden) strong aversion to calling the letter itself (when spelling aloud etc.) “haitch”. It is pronounced “aitch”, dammit. ::shudders unreasonably::
Tony!
Arguably the “H” is minimized in the 2nd one because enunciating it takes more effort after a word ending in “n”. If you said “a historically”, enunciating the “H” is easier. YMMV.
Ah, the joys of machine maintenance. Craftsman stuck the wrong manual into the snowblower kit, and the job looked tedious and obnoxious. Turns out with the right manual, the maintenance was much easier, since the cable adjustment was much different.
I vote for “an historically …” in the sentence Tony referenced up-thread.
Here’s an addition to our list of Republicans saying/doing stupid stuff: Rick Scott’s campaign for governor of Florida is sending white hecklers to the rallies of his opponent … to those rallies which are held in mostly black neighborhoods.
Miami Herald link.
It would serve Rick Scott right if black voters turned out in droves, despite Scott’s voter-restriction efforts. That guy needs to go.
Daily Kos link.
Don’t worry. The pope-controlled supreme “court”, with the assistance of the money-is-all-that-matters legal “profession”, will ensure that after his mandatory three terms as President of USAlienstani, he is crowned Emperor of the Universes. Assuming, of course, the Kochroach brothers agree.
Weirdness afoot in Canadian media land. Canadian readers, and some of the American ones as well, are likely to be familiar with Gian Ghomeshi, host of CBC Radio 1’s weekday pop culture show Q. It was announced today that the CBC is dropping him. They’ve said there is some issue that “precludes” them from continuing their relationship with him. This follows an announcement on Friday he’d be taking indefinite leave from the show. In response Ghomeshi is apparently going to sue CBC for 50 million bucks for breach of contract and bad faith. Rumours are starting to fly around about what the issue might be, and I’m getting a bad feeling about all this.
timgueguen
re: Gian Ghomeshi
WHAT THE FUCK.??!.
Personally…
I say the word ‘history’ with a hard aitch … A History of Whatever
I say ‘historical’ with a soft aitch … An ‘Istorical Overview of Whatever
I … ‘ereby refuse to even try to justify this
Sidebar menu often won’t open on my mobile, does anyone else have that problem?
timgueguen
I read about the publicly amicable departure earlier today.
Did not read about the 50 million lawsuit. Whoa.
Boy, I’m glad we got the potatoes dug.
Because it’s [fucking] snowing.
chigau
Winter has come to my little splotch on the map too. A little late this year, but it is here… Ugh. I’ll enjoy outside again in April or May.
Hello again. I’m quite threadrupt, mainly because I’ve been busy with schoolwork that finally decided to happen. I bid a welcome to all newcomers (or something of this variety).
Going to university in a conservative state has been an interesting experience. The administration is tolerant enough, and the school paper has quite enough social justice stuff for me, but my immediate neighbors have quite the religious conservativism in them. My fellow meteorology students, quite often raised in rural areas on a steady diet of pushy religion and Fox News, grate on my nerves quite a bit. But we still somehow get along.
This has freed me up to once again examine my political preferences (slightly less leftist than I thought I was, but not much), my weather preferences (warm is nice), and my music preferences (less dudebro-ey). I’m working on the new media preferences. All in all, while it may seem like I’m becoming a hermit, college has been enriching.
thunk
*hugs*
welcome back
—
Why do the “pushy religious” take up meteorology?
Doesn’t praying work?
—
It’s SNOWING here.
blf @378
The thing about wild generalizations is that it only takes one data point to disprove them.
*raises hand and gives pointed look*
Please stop it.
Gian Ghomeshi has released a statement on Facebook. Short version, he claims he’s the victim of an upset ex-girlfriend. Includes non-explicit details of his sex life. https://www.facebook.com/jianghomeshi/posts/10152357063881750
thunk:
Good to see you. Weirdly religious people are hard to take, obviously, but the “getting along” part of that is good news. Sounds like you’re doing well?
It’s not snowing in Dah YooPee yet. But it will
I scared off any snow by working on my snowblower (never mind today was the nicest weather we have had in years for the ghosties and ghoulies, low sixties and sunny).
timgueguen #379
He’s released a statement. It doesn’t look good. My first impression is that it amounts to a “women be irrationally vindictive” defence and bit of pre-emptive well poisoning. I guess with the lawsuit, assuming CBC doesn’t settle, we’ll find out. Blockquoted here because I couldn’t find it outside Facebook.
Missed it by that *__________* much. Sigh.
Playing catch-up.
But first, a link: This Date in Labor History October 26, 1676
–
<cumulative reaction to Revealed Stoopid>
Just when I think Republicans can’t say/do anything dumber….
*sigh*
</cumulative reaction to Revealed Stoopid>
–
Azkyroth, I recognize that meal all too well.
In fact, my stomach gave a mighty *lurch* when I clicked into your link and saw…that.
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carlie, it may be different with vocal music, but I do know that the breath control comes back more easily than I expected, where woodwind is concerned. After a more than 20 year gap, even!
–
The Beetlejuice cartoon series was Son’s Intro to Bad Punmanship.
:)
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*hugs* for Dalillama.
I hope the noisy neighbors get sorted out soon.
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Welcome In, We are Plethora!
I think rq is a little bit distracted just now, so I will take it upon myself to administer the Questionnaire:
1) Horses—pro, con, other?
2) Peas—ditto.
3) Cheeses—how much is Too Much? And what kind/s?
4) Write a short essay on Miracle Whip™, and what constitutes its Best Use.
–
225
::blinks::
How do you smuggle $70 K in your stomach?
I do the exact same thing.
Yay, thunk’s here! :)
cicely @394:
I’ve been meaning to ask…what is the purpose of the numbers I often see you close your comments with (like your #394, which ends with ‘225’)?
Waves at thunk.
Is glad to see he is not alone in pronouncing ‘historical’ with a soft, almost silent ‘aitch’.
Oh yes, I’m doing fine. Also fun. That’s nice. My studies are mostly fine, and I’m distracting myself with geography. This is why I keep forgetting to come here.
Nothing too eventful happening in my life, aside from this. I saw both eclipses this month, which were nice. The boredom is relaxing, but it also means I don’t have much to talk about.
–I pronounce initial h in a lot of words, including those wherein it is considered wrong.
blf: Keep in mind population densities are lower in the United States. Even if high-speed rail networks are built, Morris, MN is not likely to be the first destination. This isn’t purely out of environmental malice.
I will not be posting for a little while my wrist is all messed up and I can’t type because it hurts. please excuse punctuation I am using my hat my phone’s voice command text thing y
Dalillama
Take care of yourself.
and your hat…
;)
Nerd, it’s good to hear that The Redhead’s condition is improving.
And you are One Awesome Fellow.
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Good to hear you’re still alive, WMDKitty.
Hibernation season is approaching.
Currently unseasonable warmth means that I am still in communication with my toes.
And I am trying to grow a begonia on my desk at work. In a pot. With dirt. In hopes that colorful blooms may help deflect the Doldrums.
We shall see….
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Tony!, I never wore mine longer than down to my butt, but (ha!) it took frickin’ forever for it to dry; and if I didn’t braid it up for the night, I would get it trapped under me in bed, with much resultant owwiness.
I imagine that the thickness of the hair would determine the weightiness of the load.
Keeping it tangle-free is the nightmare that lead to my cutting it off, and wearing it much shorter, for the last…hmm…(*mathing*)—32 years. I think the longest in that time was to just past my shoulders, and then only by accident.
And long hair and fine-link necklaces are Two Tastes that, in my experience, entirely fail to Taste Good Together.
–
*hugs* and much encouragement for rq.
Eventually, the bulk of the relatives will Go Away, back to Whence They Came.
–
Congrats to the Fishy Family!
–
*pouncehug* for David (who will probably have Escaped Into The Wild, by now; but, still….)
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*waving* back at Pteryxx.
–
*hugsback* to opposablethumbs.
Congrats to SonSpawn on the success of his Social Occasion!
–
*hugs* and congrats for Portia; sorry your instructor had to damn you by faintening his praise.
Asshole.
Him.
Not you.
–
Dalillama—Breakages, sprains, bruises? Are you okay?
Also, I don’t know if this is any help to you, but I am finding that capsaicin patches on my knees at night mean that I am able to get more sleep. These right here.. I cut them in half, plaster one half over each knee, and Bob is in some way related to you.
It may be that this could be more cost-effective, but we have yet to run that experiment.
–
298
I hate to make another post about this, but the Gian Ghomeshi story is getting bad really fast tonight.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/26/cbc_fires_jian_ghomeshi_over_sex_allegations.html
Scuttlebutt I’ve seen is that he’s had a rep as a creep, who had a bad habit of ignoring boundaries and interacting with women inappropriately, in some Toronto circles for a good while now.
Sometimes you wonder if any famous person isn’t screwed up in some way.
Mild sprain if I’m any judge which i m unfortunately this voice recognition has quarks so I can’t really make long posts with that
rq – *return pouncehug with internet chocolate* =^_^=
carlie – Great to be back and able to keep in touch. I’ve missed you all.
Tony! – I’m sorry that life has been so rough this year. Would internet chocolate and kittens help at all? How about more *hugs*? Let me know. You have been awesome in the comments on Ashley Miller’s Morehouse post.
Portia – Life has been treating me pretty well. I’ve been very busy recovering from my trip and getting back on top of life at home after my absence. I have also done election-related volunteering, and I will be glad when the upcoming election is over; I’m tired of both placing calls and receiving calls related to the election, and my email volume will drop by at least 60%.
thunk – Welcome back! Good luck with finding a balance between your studies, your needs, and your ability to limit your stress related to neighbors with belief/moral systems different from your own. My life at my mother’s house (where I have been recently) is frequently a minefield in that regard when I come into contact with my siblings who live in that area.
cicely – *many pouncehugs and lots of chocolate* I hope you have been well. Life has been very busy and occasionally filled with things that made me very sad. Fortunately, I have learned to deal with the sadness, mostly by accepting that I cannot change how my siblings will behave. Being home definitely helps too.
Dalillama – I hope your wrist heals soon.
Dalillama
I hope your wrist heals quickly and without too much discomfort or pain.
From timgueguen’s link @403:
(Trigger Warning)
This guy sounds like scum. I completely understand why these women wish to remain anonymous. I just wish they didn’t have to be.
Dalillama,
I hope your wrist heals well. Take care
Tony and FossilFishy
All I can say right now is Wow. I mean, I can understand a public figure having a stalker or similar, but this? This is not that, especially when Jian goes out of his way to say that there’s a bunch of women out there trying to badmouth him. It sounds like a pre-emptive attempt to give himself the upper ground in anything that might follow in the way of accusations of abuse and other sexual violence. :(
So Gian Ghomeshi is a kind of Canadian version of the raping (and occasionally corpse-fucking) media guy in Britain who died a year ago?
Very Important Science Concept: Feedback (New Scientist):
“Buttered cat array” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15220528.200-feedback.html
— — — — — —
Letters (New Scientist) : “Paws for thought” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg1522061A.600-letters–paws-for-thought.html
— — — — — —
Letters (New Scientist) : “Cat’s curdle” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15320637.400-letters–cats-curdle.html
Excerpt: ”This effect may be the reason for the apparent underutilisation by visiting aliens of the buttered cat array to power their spaceships (Feedback, 19 October and 16 November). To make a journey between star systems, a large quantity of milk is required to keep the moggies going, which is kept in saucers hung from their necks. (From the ground these look like flying saucers). As the spaceship travels through the atmosphere of a planet, the …”
.
(I do not have the archive access to get the last bit, but I recall that the purring of the interstellar moggies would account for the odd humming sound of “flying saucers”)
— — — — — —
“Personal helicopter will be as easy to drive as a car” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429924.000-personal-helicopter-will-be-as-easy-to-drive-as-a-car.html -But wouldn’t a buttered cat array give a better mileage than batteries????
Marysville was the 50th school shooting this year.
Scandinavia and the World: “Only the most necessary things” http://satwcomic.com/only-the-most-necessary
— — — —
‘Missing’ disaster led to all-time worst extinction http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429922.300-missing-disaster-led-to-alltime-worst-extinction.html
A “double whammy led to the worst mass extinction in geologic history (You may also recall that the smaller end-Cretaceous extinction was preceded by the “Deccan traps” magma flood event just before the asteroid hit).
— — — —
Earth hit by double asteroids 458 million years ago http://phys.org/news/2014-10-earth-asteroids-million-years.html
— — — —
Dietary cocoa flavanols reverse age-related memory decline, study shows http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-dietary-cocoa-flavanols-reverse-age-related.html
Hello everyone! I’ve been away being ill along with the rest of my family. So I’m sorry for missing all the things that have happened in the last week or so. I’ve been coughing and sneezing and generally feeling very sorry for myself. My wife has it now too and my daughter had an alarming but temporary rash, but she’s now better.
So I’ll stay in the quarantine area of the lounge until I’m fully well again.
Anyway, welcome to We Are Plethora . Congrats to FosssilFishy & opposablethumbs on their excellent offspring. I’m afraid anything else will just have to wait until I’m back to ‘normal’……once I understand what that is!
Regarding Tony’s post @407 about the Ghomeshi mess, he did something I should have when linking to the Toronto Star article. I hope no one got triggered by looking at it without warning.
birgerjohansson, if allegations are true I don’t think Ghomeshi is anywhere near the Jimmy Savile level. Of course that’s because Savile’s crimes were so extensive, and over such a long period of time, that few can easily reach that level of horror.
When it comes to Republicans saying stupid stuff, it is hard to beat this segment from Rachel Maddow: Republicans who deliberately undermine confidence in public health authorities with made-up disinformation.
This segment includes Republican doofus Darrell Issa confusing Guyana (in South America) with Guinea (in Africa); and also includes numerous references to “eboli” etc.
Ignorance, confusion, disinformation. This genius has decided that he should head a committee to oversee the response of the Surgeon General’s office to the Ebola crisis.
“Absolute freaking no idea what he is talking about …”
hugsbackback to cicely!
Thank you, bassmike – sorry to read that you have the lurgi :-( and have passed it on to your wife (who must be delighted :-\ ) . At least the rash was short-lived … eh, the joys of very small people having health Things Happening! I’ll admit to feeling quite relieved that mine are no longer technically very small people. :-s
Republicans saying more stupid stuff.
This is what David Perdue said:
Because he did not actually say the word “outsourcing,” Perdue is claiming that ads depicting him as an outsourcer of jobs are misleading. “[…] never says I outsourced jobs, not one time […]”
Yeah, we get it. You want to be a Senator from Georgia, but describing your past outsourcing efforts as “outsourcing” is not allowed. Sheesh. Daily Kos link.
A comic for Halloween.
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Go To Fuck To Sleep, with LeVar Burton.
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We are Plethora:
Horses may be powerful creatures—but it is an Evil power. The majesty and beauty, however, is a sinister glamour that They use to conceal Their essential maliciousness.
Here is the true visage of the Beast.
Peas are, if not in league with Them, then at least passively complicit in Their sinister plans for multidimensional domination.
No tonnage of cheese, however immense, can do other than thinly veil this malevolence.
Do not be fooled!
You are, however, entirely correct about cheeses, and Miracle Whip™.
Pass, friends!
:)
(As Tony! notes, however, peas do make for excellent slingshot ammo; I would add that they also work well in mini-ballistae and informal blowguns. Just don’t inhale….)
–
billygutter01:
1) I’m pretty sure I’ve never Welcomed In anyone with your ‘nym before, so Welcome In!
2) I, myself, would very much like to over
hearread the answer to your WordPress question! I run into that same problem often, and with no pattern that I, in my non-tech-savviness, can discern.*begin Expectant Waitfulness*
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Ogvorbis, my best wishes to Boy in his new employment.
How are you doing?
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Hekuni Cat!
*pouncehug-in-blueberry-yogurt*
(Just wipe off the yogurt, if you don’t like/want it, or if it sasses you.)
–
thunk!
*pouncehugs-or-replacement-affectionate-gestures-of-equal-or-greater-value*
Do I remember correctly that you are in—*shudder*—Oklahoma?
–
Tony!:
In a non-digestible container, with intent-to-puke, once past customs?
Ah, yes…the numbers….
They are just my way of keeping track of how far in a thread I’ve gotten, when for some reason I’m either going to have to get off the computer (but have something composed in Wordpad for posting), or when my computer starts acting…erratically. Like it’s plotting to eat my posts and dump me off of the computer against my will. Because it’s stoooopid.
IOW, significant to no one but myself.
:)
–
*haz-mat-suited hugs* for bassmike.
I’m sorry you and your family are ill; here’s hoping you all recover soon.
–
Bradlee Dean, a Republican with Michele Bachmann-like brain activity, just said some more stupid stuff:
Right Wing Watch link.
Rick Wiles, Republican and rightwing religious nutjob, says some more stupid stuff:
Right Wing Watch link.
More Republican/Religious rightwing nutjobs saying stupid stuff:
Right Wing Watch link.
A drunk man in a Dallas airport punched another man in the mouth because he perceived the man to be “queer” and because, “This is America!” He also suggested the victim shove his iPhone up his ass.
Several citizens and law officers tackled the perpetrator.
Daily Kos link.
This is a followup to comment #419.
David Perdue, senate candidate from Georgia, also bragged about the fact that “less than 2000” women sued one of his companies for wage discrimination. Well, they didn’t ALL sue, so it must be okay, I guess.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/10/gop-senate-hopeful-less-2000-women-sued-my-company-pay-discrimination
Gun rights extremists are engaging in online harassment of members of Moms Demand Action and of other women who support Moms Demand Action. Here’s an excerpt from a much longer article:
Salon link.
Rolling Stone published an interesting article on the number of Republican governors who, after being swept into office in the 2010 flood of conservatism, proceeded to tank their state economies though the implementation of trickle-down or supply-side or tax-breaks-for-the-rich policies.
The article looks at the Kansas Tea Party disaster in depth.
You’d think the right wingers would look at Canada, and want gay marriage to happen. After all it was after gay marriage became legal in Canada that our equivalent of a Republican, Stephen Harper, became Prime Minister. So the evidence from Canada is clear, introduce gay marriage, get a right winger running the country. Romney would probably be President right now if gay marriage had been introduced in all 50 states prior to 2012.
Saad #413:
Shit, that’s more than one a week. :-( :-( :-(
Dammit. Finishing translation, TV on, James Bond intro comes on. Excitement!
Starring Pierce Brosnan.
Crap.
(And yes, I’m a bit of a sucker for those movies. The old ones. Sue me.)
Also, the leader of Canada’s Green Party, Elizabeth May, has a statement on Jian Ghomeshi. With a neat link in the middle of it.
No better, no worse over the last two weeks. I start physical therapy tomorrow (most likely will get a TENS unit).
Kinda annoyed that the asswipes still can’t come up with anything new other than “PZed lets a rapist comment therefore HYPOCRISY!!11!1!!!!!” Reminds me of creationists and the evolution of eyes, or the evolution of feathers and flight, or any of the other ‘gotchas’ they’ve been flinging for decades. Hell, I even got hit with Niobrara Man. Today. From a volunteer who is a creationist. I pointed out how the error was corrected, but facts just seem, well, optional to some people.
Other than that, the play was fine.
And I think I invented a new dish.
I had some leftover pasta (gemelli) and some pomodoro sauce. So I tossed it together, slid it into a wide flat casserole dish, crushed up some good crackers, cubed up some provolone, mixed up the crackers and cheese, spread it over the noodles and sauce, and tossed on some pepperoni. Baked it until the cheese was lightly browned and melted, the pepperoni was almost crispy, and then we ate it. And it was good. Really good.
I call it “Pizza Casserole!”
Hey, how about that – we had pizza pasta leftover improv casserole tonight too! It was soooo good. The pasta was new, but we used up leftover pizza toppings from Saturday – tomato-and-onion-and-garlic sauce, a little spinach béchamel with nutmeg, a scrap of serrano ham and – swoons – taleggio cheese (I love that stuff). Plus a small sprinkling of parmesan when it was done. Om nom nom.
Ogvorbis, they are indeed arsewipes. And I am so glad you’re around here – yours is one of the voices I want to read, and I’m glad that you know a very large lot of us want to read you.
Ogvorbis and opposablethumbs
Stop already, you’re making me hungry!
[glances over at the lunchtime peanut butter sandwich]
Sigh. Ah well, at least it’s *Award Winning* bread. ;)
So, I’ve mentioned I wrote a song for Ms. Fishy. I’ve mentioned that I was going to sing it at last Sunday’s open stage. I suppose I should mention how it went. To do so I think I have to post the lyrics. Be kind.
If you’re wondering how I get all those syllables in, the thing is in 7/4 except the “I’ve seen you…” bit which is in 4/4 phrases over the 7/4 sequence.
So. I said up front to Ms. Fishy that if ever there was a time that the thought should count that this was it. And I told her, and incidentally the rest of the tiny audience, that there was one note that I really should be forgiven for and that they’d know it when it happened regardless of any other that I bodged up.
That note was the one on “All” at the very end of the song. It’s about the highest note I can hit with any degree of reliability, and I missed it. Completely.
Anyone with some life experience can point back in their life to a place where something fundamental shifted within themselves. Usually we don’t notice it at the time, or at least I don’t. That note, that horrible croak and desperately seeking wobble was one such point in my life. And I knew it almost instantly.
You see, when I fuck up a performance, even one as low stress and unimportant as an open stage for 8 people, most of whom know me, I get angry with myself. I hate not doing my best. But this time was different.
As soon as I gave up trying to hit that note I laughed, a deep gut shaking, ‘Crap! Keep playing fool!’ kind of laugh. The absurdity of how badly I’d missed it, coupled with how important that note/lyric is to the song, and with my sincerity in the sentiment towards Ms. Fishy, well, it was overwhelming.
I laughed!
And with that laugh something broke in me that needed breaking. That note in all it’s awful dissonant glory shattered an unwarranted seriousness that I’ve been dragging around for most of my life.
You see, one of the many tiny abuses my father heaped upon me was to tell me to “shut the fuck up” every time I tried to practice. Somehow, somewhere, that got twisted in my brain from being the shitty abuse it actually was to a criticism of my ability. If I’d just played better he wouldn’t have told me to stop. And I might be reaching a bit here, but I’m pretty sure that there’s a connection deep in my mangled emotions that has been telling me that if I’d played better he would have loved me better. Yes, I know how pathetic that sounds, but there it is.
I wish I could break how this realisation feels down into one’s and zeros and send it out into the world in a way that everyone could receive. I haven’t felt this light in, well, ever, if I’m going to be honest about it.
Who knew that one note, one fucked up note, could do such a thing?
As to how Ms. Fishy took it, the first thing she said was: “It’s funny.”
Huh?
Turns out she misheard “…makes your heart fly.” as “…makes your heart fart.” I’m still laughing about that.
A little laughter, a little joy, and for once the world doesn’t seem so big and hurtful.
Hi. I’m going to stay over here away from all the food talk, as I seem to have picked up some sort of gastrointestinal thing. I haven’t actually thrown up since this morning, but the potential is there.
So no food talk for me. Not going to hug anybody either, because I don’t know if this is a virus or something I ate. Love you all, don’t want to share my illness.
I don’t have time to be sick, dammit.
FossilFishy, that was beautiful.
All of it.
Sorry to hear that Anne.
[dons E-Hazmat suit]
Hug?
The Small Fry has a touch of the gastro, as they call it here, and is staying home from school. She hates that. Today especially because they’re suppose to be going to the local museum.
Thank you carlie.
Oi, I just noticed a typo in that lyric.
It should read:
“Love at first *sight*
It’s easy ’cause it’s free…”
Beautiful lyrics, Fishy.
*says a few choice swear words about the nurse ordering wound supplies*
No adhesive pads in the box to cover the wounds/dressings. But plenty of dressings. And only one box left of the 4″X4″ adhesive pads. Online to the rescue. Sixty here by the end of the week, for about what 5 boxes of 5 would cost locally. Makes a difference when one wound is easily soiled by poo and must be replaced a few times a day.
Hopefully, that will be the last order.
I’m torturing her for dinner. A honey glazed chicken thigh, mashed potatoes with butter and pepper, and corn with butter and paper. Half of a normal dinner, but even that may be too much for her stomach at the moment.
Thanks chigau.
I was trying to write a realistic love song, one that acknowledges that sometimes it ain’t easy because no-one is perfect and the probability seeing someone at their worse creeps up to 1 the longer you stay together. I think I mostly managed. I’m also happy that it’s gender and orientation neutral. The decision to write it that way is a direct result of my time here.
Nerd. I don’t think I’ve mentioned just how much I admire you. The love you evidence for the Redhead is beautiful to read.
hi!
To people who are sick: Get well soon. Please have some delicious tea, delivered right to your usb port.
Fossilfishy:
Aww, how romantic. Good work anyway
Cicely:
You would be correct that I am in Oklahoma. No need to shudder for me though, I’m doing fine.
And I’m glad to hear you’re annoyed by it instead of going “OH MY GOD THEY’RE RIGHT D’:” again. Because they aren’t.
Seconding Azkyroth @446.
Thanks thunk.
Could I ask you a meteorological question?
It seems to me that 3 day forecasts have gotten pretty damn accurate over the last few years given the complexity involved. But Is it just me, or are they getting a little less accurate? I wonder about this because it occurred to me that with the world getting hotter that could mess up the assumptions that our forecast models are based on. Mind you, my noticing discrepancies in the three day forecasts coincided with my notion that they may be getting less accurate, and now I’m wondering if it’s just confirmation bias on my part.
So, are short term forecasts getting less accurate?
It’s not pathetic, Fossil Fishy and neither are you. It’s an extremely common thread weaved among a lot of abused children. (I don’t have numbers but I’ve yet to hear of someone in our situations not feeling something similar) I’m so sorry for what he did to you. I know those feelings all too well. I’m glad for your happy, breaking moment. It gives me hope that’ll happen for me too.
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(Semi-Related self-centered ramblings)
This reminds me of how much I hate the little voice inside my head. It’s been corrupted by my abusers and continues their work. (Hyperbole alert) I’d wage war to make it shut up and kill for actually feeling how wrong it is, instead of just knowing it intellectually and having to remind myself constantly and fight and fight and lose every time. To me FossilFishy’s breaking moment sounds like freedom from that hell. For tonight it’ll at least help knowing it’s possible.
Remember the story of the guy who destroyed the 10 Commandments monument (PZ blogged about it recently)?
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/man-who-destroyed-oklahoma-10-commandments-monument-was-devout-christian/
FossilFishy
Your song is beautiful. I’m happy for you that you didn’t let the abuse stop you from playing and writing music. That takes a lot of strength, and it sounds like music is a medium that continues to enrich your life. I’m also seconding JAL’s 449; it doesn’t sound pathetic at all.
Is it ok if I rant about something?
My cousin (an 18 year old woman) has been working for the state Conservation Core since early this summer and volunteered for them last summer. One of the last things they do before cold weather sets in is to go to low income families and help them insulate their homes against the coming winter. She has found this rewarding and eye opening – seeing the extent of poverty in her community was a wake up call – but last week, on one of her last runs for the year, she had such a bad experience that she doesn’t want to work for the CC again next year.
She and her male partner (they go in pairs with a man and a woman to try to ensure safety and comfort for the workers and the home owners) headed to their last house, and she called the home owner to verify his address. At that point, this guy started being completely disrespectful to her, and it got worse when they arrived at the house. The home owner, much older than she, was not only completely rude, but he kept staring at her and licking his lips. Her partner put himself between her and the home owner, and they ended up leaving and reporting the incident, but the whole thing really makes me angry. This disgusting creep ruined what had been a good thing for her. She felt so unsafe and shaken by the situation that she’s not planning on ever signing up for the CC again, despite her positive experiences before this.
I know there are assholes everywhere, but it pisses me off that the world is like this. I still want to believe that it doesn’t have to be this way, but I right now (due to this and other things), I feel so worn down by these issues that my confidence in cultural change is almost zero. It feels like the world doesn’t want to change. People don’t want to be better. Fuck them and their lack of empathy.
/end word vomit
JAL
Thank you for that. It means a lot to me. And I’m right there with you: I fucking hate the judgemental asshole that lives in my head. I’m not going to lie, he’s still there, but in this one area the bastard has been given the boot. I hope you find your way to some of that kind of peace too. You deserve it. And hey, if I can do it anyone can, seriously. I’m nothing special.
toska
Thanks. That was another big realisation for me. I had a therapist point out to me just how strong I was continuing on in music after that kind of discouragement as a child. It had never occurred to me to look at it that way before. Mind you, I didn’t really believe him in that moment. Like a lot of these deep-seated things it took living with the notion for a long time for it to really mean something to me. I got there though, and sometimes when I don’t want to practice I can motivate myself by thinking of it as a big “Fuck You!” to him.
toska
I can understand that feeling. But here’s the thing: you have proof, right here on these very pages that things can change.
I was never that bad of a misogynist, I’d have to say that I was your typical privilege blinded sort, ignorant and unaware. I just never really thought about it, and because of that I said things, and did things that hurt people and contributed to the fucked up aspects of our culture. But no more. I’m aware now, and despite still making mistakes occasionally I’m actively engaged at changing the world for the better. And I’m not the only one, the Horde is full of such people.
FossilFishy
re 453
Yeah, I think about how I became disillusioned with team sports as a kid. I was always a very athletic child, but in high school, the bullying in PE class really caused me to lose complete interest in team sports. Since then, I’ve only been involved in sports that are not of the team variety. And that’s no where near the abuse and discouragement you went through, so I really admire your continued dedication to music.
re 454
I know, logically, that people do change. I have changed a lot myself, and recently too (and I was quite anti-femininity and misogynistic until I started changing around age 18. In spite of, or perhaps because I am female). The Horde often gives me encouragement and hope, and I can’t even begin to describe how much I appreciate you all. But in meatspace, I’ve never lived outside of conservative areas, and I know so few people who give a damn about social justice, so I can feel a bit isolated. For the most part though, my pessimism is likely a funk/bad mood.
Because science:
Eldest and the others are right now watching Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, an animated Eric Carle story (the same guy who did the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Monica’s dad climbs a really long ladder to reach the moon. Eldest: “Doesn’t he know that once he climbs out into space, it will be horribly cold and he will have no air to breathre??” Then he leans the ladder against a star, to carry the moon down. “How can he lean the ladder against a star???” I’m waiting to see what other science mistakes he will catch.
*hugs* for all – toska, Anne, JAL, Ogvorbis, etc.; that was a beautiful lyric and no doubt performance, FossilFishy. Good on ya for keeping up with the music.
toska @452:
I understand your frustrations. It sucks what your cousin had to deal with from that homeowner. It sucks all the more because she was there trying to *help* him.
Just remember that change is possible. It’s only one anecdote, but I know *I’ve* changed a metric fuckton in the last five years and a significant reason why is due to interacting with the more progressive members of the atheist movement, such as people here at FtB in general, and Pharnygula specifically, as well as Skepchick and other sites.
****
FossilFishy @435:
I…
um…
that gave me goosebumps. Seriously. That was so far beyond touching that I really don’t have words for how it moved me. That was absolutely amazing. I don’t know how you intended it to be sung aloud, but I found a very nice rhythm to sing the song to and again, just…wow. Your eloquence is incomparable.
I don’t think it sounds pathetic at all. It sounds very human and very relatable. I’m sorry your father made you feel so small. And I’m happy that something in you that needed breaking finally snapped.
(incidentally, the ending of your song really struck a chord with me. As you may know, I long to find someone special in my life and those lyrics speak so powerfully to something I dearly want to experience one day)
rq:
I was thinking of you earlier at work. Wishing you and your family the best.
This may be of interest to any women writers in the Lounge:
OPEN CALL GUIDELINES FOR “SHE WALKS IN SHADOWS”
(hat tip to Andrew Wheelr
Thanks, Tony.
FossilFishy as someone who has been attempting to write lyrics to songs his whole life, I have to say that your lyrics are beautiful. I can get the sentiment underlying the whole thing. I am very impressed! The fact that you wrote the song in 7/4 makes it all the more impressive. If ever you have a recording and feel you wish to share, I’d love to hear the song. You have my email.
Your breakthrough in the performance is wonderful too. The beauty of live music is the danger in the performance. I’ve never played anything live to my entire satisfaction, so I’m used to making mistakes. But to come to the realization that you did during such a performance is incredible. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you to carry on writing and performing. But please do!
Contemporary music and women in music, as per composer data from The Met. My favourite part? The dancing skeleton gif.
FossilFishy, I think the song is really beautiful. The the love that comes through so clearly made me – ahem, made the air go all dusty here ::snf:: (just wondered, was it “when came” or did you mean to type “whence came”?). What you wrote about your father breaks my heart. His massive, infinite fuck-up – seriously, how could someone do that to their child – and your incredible strength of character. I’m hugely admiring of what you have done.
toska I’m so sorry about the shithead who behaved like that to your cousin. What an arse. I hope that maybe she might be able to recover her engagement with the work at some point later. Maybe they need to have a kind of protcol for all the volunteers for if householders treat them unacceptably, to leave immediately and document it rather than try to put up with it. Shit, that makes me angry for her.
Got to run – read you later, Horde.
rq – then he would probably have fits at Harold and the Purple Crayon. :)
Spottily rupt, sorry all.
toska:
I know there are a lot of positive examples of change here and elsewhere, but i just wanted to tell you I can relate to the frustration and hopelessness. It’s so hard when it feels like the gross awfulness is everywhere you turn. It chips away at your resolve. *hugsifyouwantthem*
–
rq:
*hugs* Your Eldest is such a good questioner and so adept and observant. I love the Eldest stories ^_^
–
FossilFishy:
Thank you for sharing that. *hugs*
–
Ogvorbis:
I like the “screw the haters” approach :D
–
I’ve got no idea why they’re supposed to be nationalistic and play music by Americans. Featuring no women composers (ever!) is sad, but it’s not too surprising. There are at least now more women performers/conductors (generally), although I couldn’t vouch for the Met specifically on that front.
Much of the rest is explained by film and radio. Opera was historically a much more important (and cutting-edge, multimedia) artform than it is now, as well as being one of the few public places to hang out in its prime. It was a big cultural hotspot/landmark/whatever in larger cities, and now it competes with many other things that people could do instead. I figure live theater in general is in a similar situation. It still fills a certain niche, but it tends to be “old” music which is just getting older. (Therefore it’s not “relevant”? That seems to be the implication.) “New” works are generally in other media or at least different kinds of ensembles. So…?
The market is saturated with lots more crap than it ever was, which seems to be getting worse every year. In any case, it’s hard to know what sort of conclusions we’re supposed to draw. Should there be more contemporary opera composers, who’ll be ignored (and send the Met and themselves into the red) or write crap to make these graphs look pretty? Or should the Met just give up and shut its doors? What are the options supposed to be?
consciousness razor
I’m going to go with ‘dancing skeleton’.
More seriously, I think it’s fine if their ‘opera’ category focusses on what is classically known as opera, with some more contemporary pieces thrown in every now and then. They do ballet, too, which often allows for branching out into more modern styles or contemporary re-interpretations of the classics (hoooo boy does the local opera ever do this, to no negative effect).
So I don’t know what options the article wants to present, but I think having a niche for the classics is nice. Maybe if they dug up, every now and then, pieces by women from the same time period (at least one must be out there?), or something… But yeah. Locally, what we often get is the traditional opera in a modern/alternate setting, sometimes even tailored to local historical events (hence, the fight for Latvian liberation in 1919 set to The Troubadour; Lucia di Lammermoor in 1930s Mussolini’s Italy; Figaro’s Wedding in the style of 1980s South American soap operas, for example). Not a problem, in my opinion.
*shrug*
rq:
Sure. That’s part of why I put “old” in scare-quotes, because modernized versions (of operas, plays, etc.) can be “new” in an important sense, not to mention that every performance is a new opportunity to interpret a work differently. (If you’re not, then…. what are you doing??? There’s really no need to be stuck in the “this is how it sounds on the album” mentality, even though sometimes it’s exactly what people want.) Even if it’s not more modern, as you said, putting it in a different setting, having new dialogue/characters/cuts or whatever sort of alteration, can make a big difference. Several Shakespeare films come to mind (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, and some others I’m sure) which stick to the text very closely but practically everything else is very different.
opposablethumbs @434:
Not sure why, though.
Azkyroth @446:
Well, in my mind, the argument goes on. And on. And on and on and on.
=============
Boy’s new job goes apace. He still has not the actual written job offer, but he will be getting that today — I mean, hell, they’re already setting up his direct deposit. Stands to make about $4,000 more per year with the new job (gross) and they plan to move him up quickly. When he applied and they told him he was overqualified, and he explained that, since he had never worked in a nursing home, he wanted to get a feel for the routine and that impressed the woman interviewing him.
It’s a Catholic nursing home, part of a small chain, that has a really, really good reputation for patient care and for management quality — probably because it is run by nuns, not priests?
He is going to be at the new job, full time, before Thanksgiving (US version) which is freaking the hotel out because their Thanksgiving buffet has, in the past, needed three buffet runners, three carvers, and gone through about 60 turkeys and 10 legs o’ lamb. Right now, Boy is the only buffet runner left. And he’s leaving. Because they kept screwing him.
Loving FossilFishy’s song lyrics, and the wife’s mistaken interpretation of heart farts. [big smiles]
Congrats to “Boy” on new job. Sounds very promising.
In other news:
Rachel Maddow did a great job of covering the fear-driven response to Ebola by Governor Christie. That dude was not just stupid and afraid, he was impractical and anti-science, anti-medicine … anti-everything-reasonable. Video Link.. Maddow at her best.
So glad that nurse fought back. After Christie reversed his decision, he lied about reversing his decision. Text link.
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Daily Kos link.
Good examples of how Fox News uses misleading graphics to sneakily support their racist and/or bigoted take on national news: Link. Excellent comparison illustration of how Fox News does not apply the same standards to white criminals — see link and scroll down. Memorable.
This really should be big enough news to affect the senate campaigns in Kentucky: Mitch McConnell finally admitted that, yes, he does want take health care away from 500,000 people in that state.
Daily Kos link.
Huffington Post link.
Republicans plagiarizing the stupid stuff they say:
Link.
Link.
Ogvorbis,
because you’re good people, because you get what’s important in political-personal dimensions, plus the additional qualities of being engaging when you elect to entertain, knowledgeable when you elect to inform, and frequently both at once.
I just saw a post (on, ahem, Reddit) that claims that Pope Francis has said that evolution is true. Anyone else here that from a better source?
smhll @477:
It’s funny you ask that. Have you seen PZ’s latest post?
****
opposablethumbs (speaking to Ogvorbis) @476:
All of this (which is so perfectly stated)? QFT.
Hi?
Fishy:
I would disagree with you. Forecast accuracy from what I’ve seen (I don’t have the figures off hand) is incrementally improving as we get new and better data to integrate into the models, and as the models themselves get more detailed. The assumptions numerical models are based on stem more from the fundamental equations that govern the atmosphere; F=ma will not be changed by a warming world. They don’t take into account climatology (but forecasters might). In fact, the ECMWF predicted the left turn of Hurricane Sandy six days out; a clearly unexpected event that is possibly influenced by AGW-induced blocking patterns. But I’m just a first year student, so I don’t know much yet…
psst, Tony!, here’s a coincidence … it happens to be extremely similar to what I’d have said if I’d been talking to you :-)
Here’s an addition for our Republicans-saying-stupid-stuff file:
Mediate link.
YouTube link.
Republican journalist in Charleston, West Virginia says stupid stuff:
Link.
Dark money is taking over judicial elections. In 39 states of the USA, judges are in office as a result of direct input from voters. This may be the result of an election process, or of a vote to retain or dismiss a judge that has been appointed.
Conservatives see this as an opportunity. They’ve thrown lots of money at what they see as a problem of too many “liberal” judges.
In their efforts to control the judicial system, people like Karl Rove are ruining it.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/judicial-elections-dark-money
Video of a young woman dressed in jeans and crew-neck t-shirt walking around New York City — documents more than 100 incidents of street harassment.
Salon link.
Comet 67P in photos. It is Beautiful. And Awesome. And it is just a rock in space. OMG THERE’S AN EARTHSHIP ABOUT TO LAND ON A COMET OUT IN SPACE.
And people have been to the moon.
*tear*
And How to Talk to Your Guy Friends About Not Threatening to Rape and Murder Women on the Internet, some suggestions included:
Oh, and a thing on political correctness. Found it on FB, and of course a friend of mine worried about tone and put up a nice comment about how social justice people currently are being too impolite and driving people away from the movement. Eh.
Rq sent me a link to this survey, which I took and found to be quite interesting. It’s geared at black, gay men. I thought I’d share the link here, in case anyone was interested in taking it. These are comments that followed the completion of the survey.
rq @487:
I find it amusing when people say this. They’re really just talking about themselves, but they try to make it seem as if a harsh tone is turning off legions of potential allies, when they don’t actually know that. I don’t doubt that there are many people who don’t like the tone many social justice advocates take, but there are a lot of people who *do* like that tone. I don’t know how many comments I’ve read from lurkers or new commenters about how they *liked* the tone (around here, for instance) and the fact that we don’t put up with bullshit and we aren’t going to water down our discourse all in the name of civility.
Marvel Comics releases their Phase 3 movie plans
WE’RE GETTING A CAPTAIN MARVEL MOVIE!
WE’RE GETTING A BLACK PANTHER MOVIE!
Sorry for the all caps, but I’m stoked beyond all belief!
Tony: I’m hearing that’s *fifteen years* of interrelated movies, culminating with Thanos?
I sometimes enjoy visiting the video game section of Memebase, but it’s got a nasty infestation of Gamergaters. When they’re not uploading propaganda, they like to downvote everything even remotely critical of them en masse. Case in point: This video, which depicts female gamers treating the opposite sex the same way male gamers far too often do. Right now it’s at 77 upvotes and 157 downvotes. Can I request some Pharyngulation?
tbtabby @492:
Oooh, I haven’t Pharyngulated a poll in a while (wow that sounds like a euphemism for something). On my way!
Pteryxx @491:
Pretty much.
I guess they’re going with Avengers: Infinity War rather than Avengers 3. Can’t wait to see how it turns out, and I really hope Joss Whedon is still attached.
The mention of Tim Minchin’s Pope Song reminded me of this: Dan Bull – Dear Benny
It’s old and was quite popular so I’m sure most of you have seen it. But it’s very well done.
I just put up a new blog post eviscerating this lovely bit of “I’m not victim blaming, but victims are totes responsible for being victims” bullshit.
WMDKitty #496
I have not yet looked up who is this {Ofer Zur, Ph.D.} person but they are not very nice*.
[*rephrased from shrieking outrage and offers of violence]
I googled Ofer Zur.
sweetsufferingjesus
chigau — I just read the “About Dr. Zur” page, and he is just fucking full of shit.
Sorry.
I have these download issues…