This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
And safe supportive higs to Beatrice. The black dog of depression is not nice.
er, hugs, not higs.
Anne, Lurking Feminist Harpy & Support Staff
I’ll take some, thanks. Just got to finish one thing, then I’m going to be in the fort for a while.
A very big thank-you to all of you who keep that fort so well-maintained and generously stocked with hugs and all manner of comforting things (blankets, pillows, soothing distractions to read/listen to/watch, Cups of Tea, Much Moar Biggerer Cups of Alcoholic Beverages, chocolate, dogs and/or cats).
How can you tell? Doesn’t the model tank, worktable, and building quickly dissolve and start working on a China syndrome tunnel through the Earth? (Which, amusingly enough, would actually come out rather close to Ozland, as I recall…)
opposablethumbs:
Higs to you, also.
thanks
blf:
Paint the model tank in the proper primer colour (say, red lead). Let it dry. Spackle some vegemite artisticly on the tank. Let it dry. Spray the camouflage colour over the vegemite and the primer (say, panzer grey). Let it dry. Use a toothbrush (I once used my older sister’s toothbrush for this) to scrape off the camouflage colour and the vegemite. Wash with dish soap to remove the grease from the vegemite. Viola, a large violin. Er, I mean, viola, chipped paint. Then carefully package the paint chips and vegemite and send it off to France.
how in the name of the seven pluperfect purple hells below us can I get “camouflage” correct and cannot spel the simple word “hugs”?
camouflage camouflage camouglafe
ooops
higs seem nice
Click only if you can handle intense red panda cuteness
Far more cultured than those fecking yankees, but it’s Ingerland who has the marmite problem (although I believe Kākāpōland has also become infested).
Basically, yer model tank primer paint must be made of British Industrial Cheddar or other(if there is another) substance which doesn’t dissolve under the onslaught of vegemite. Which is still quite puzzling, how does one paint anything with British Industrial Cheddar? The stuff is so indestructible it can survive the combination of Nutella, Miracle Whip, peas, and Cheese Whiz.
Someone just started playing very loud French rap “music” there, too? That stuff is even more distracting than vegewhipnutpeaorse.
I always confuse ‘marmite’ with ‘marmot’.
*hugs* for JAL.
I’m sorry about your difficulties with your mom.
–
*hugs* for Beatrice.
At least there’s this.
–
Red pandas are almost as adorable as kittens.
–
why do we hate February?
Reading for my First Aid exam.
I’m on the chapter about amputation. *whimper*
next one is burns. *whimper*
….There was never a question about me going to medical school. I almost feinted while listening to a doctor talk about amputation. (no pics, thank gad)
Ummm, what? WorldNetDaily commentator and radio host Andrea Shea King wants any Democrats, especially those who are part of the Congressional Black Caucus, put to death if they boycott Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Right Wing Watch link.
I like higs. Thank you Ogvorbis.
Good news from Nebraska:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/nebraska-same-sex-marriage-ban-goes-down
Lynna (#17) [#517]
I just linked that to the Morning in America thread and then refreshed here only to find you beat me by 20 mins in this thread.
A. Noyd @20: Great minds ….
I was going to cross post to the Morning in America thread, but I see you’re on it.
In other news, Carly Fiorina spoke at CPAC, and she said a bunch of stupid stuff.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/02/28/3628141/war-women-lie-anti-women-assertions-annual-conservative-convention/
Male Fox News host says stupid stuff:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-host-pussification-of-men
Pat Robertson says some stupid stuff that’s also kind of funny. I laughed when I tried reading this out loud:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pat-robertson-marijuana-vegetable-slavery
Beatrice:
It’s not so much hatred of February, as that is standing between us, and less toe-freezingly unpleasant months; very much in the same way that Wednesday, though innocent of any wrong-doing, is good to see receding in the rear view mirror, because it means that the weekend is one day closer.
–
May I offer some hugs? I am in the way of wanting to share some.
By Robertson’s logic eating is ungodly, because we are dependent on “vegetables” and animals. Would becoming a geogan (stone and soil eater) help theologically? OTOH calling cannabis Devil’s lettuce is fun.
So, we men are pussified, meowwwwrrr ssshhhhhhhh!
I’ve sometimes wondered, which Carly Fiorina really is: an empty suit (toom tabard), completely self serving or actually a competent business executive with a nasty conservative world view.
Good morning
Hugs all around
+++
rq
Could lead to unpleasant bites when trying to eat.
+++
Ha! I managed NOT to break my foot yesterday. That’s a huge improvement from last year’s second of March.
Definitely have some hugs, carlie. May I suggest one of those relatively long squish-hugs with optional slight rocking motion, where both parties shut the world away for a few seconds before blinking suspiciously bright eyes and facing the fray again? That’s the kind I’m after, anyway.
Congratulations on not breaking your foot, Giliell :-)
Good for you and your foot, Giliell.
Mode: barely functional at work. I feeltired
Giliell not breaking your foot is a good start to the day. I tried to break my elbow on a door this morning, luckily I failed.
Fluffy hugs for Beatrice and anyone else who needs them.
rq confusing marmite and marmot would make eating twiglets a dangerous pastime!
Possibly TMI but two nights ago I dreamed I was gay and last night I was playing in goal for a women’s football team. Social Justice has infiltrated my subconscious!
Well, went to college, handed in a paper, went to an office, pcked up a piece of paper, moved it about 10m to a different office.
Also, somebody managed to drive his car almost straight into the fence of the upper parking decke instead of around the corner. Luckily for him and the passenger, the fence stopped them from falling down 3 m. Doesn’t surprise me the least. The kids there drive like nuts, speedimg up to 50km/h on the short distance, the younger and manlier the worse.
+++
Yesterday I linked to a piece of the Canto General. Today I found my most favourite recording on Youtube
It’s probably my most favourite piece of music ever. The man you hear at the start is Neruda himself, reciting a small piece. This music, for some reason, was the first casette my parents would put on when we went on a holiday. (Going on a holiday meant driving 2-3 days with a caravan in tow. It would be equally resonable if that piece made me despair) For me it became “The Holiday Music”. It is also the start of my love affair with the Spanish language. Enjoy!
Westboro Baptist Church’s attempts to protest at Leonard Nimoy funeral thwarted by inability to find it http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/03/leonard-nimoy-funeral-westboro-baptist-church
The Daily Mash:
Human penises all either massive or tiny, confirm scientists. Men’s penises are either porn-style monstrosities or minuscule sources of amusement, it has emerged. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/human-penises-all-either-massive-or-tiny-confirm-scientists-2015030395885
.
Paris mass grave contains tourists who were unable to get served. A mass grave beneath Paris contains the bones of foreigners who starved while attempting to summon a waiter, it has emerged. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/paris-mass-grave-contains-tourists-who-were-unable-to-get-served-2015030395881
.
Other news: Sinkholes; badgers’ revenge.
Prince George rejects Christianity.
Of course I smoke crack, says Boris.
re: marmite/marmot
I’d usually just wonder why my sandwich filling is wandering off.
*hugs* to Beatrice!
+++
Exclusive: Lost City Discovered in the Honduran Rain Forest, because finding lost cities in the jungle is just awesome!
A new campaign is trying to put one of these 15 women on the $20 bill, cross-posted from Reagan’s Morning. Something to look into!!!
I’ve had this sitting around since the Dress Debacle. No one could see the color blue until modern times. I mean, the title is a bit silly, because not having a word does not mean not having any kinds of descriptors for shades of blue, but the colour test within is rather interesting… Personally, I could spot the green square that was different, but it took a while. And then Friend on FB came out and said that in Japanese, the word for ‘green’ actually stems from the word for ‘blue’, and that Japanese can have difficulty differentiating green from blue. Is this true? Anyway. It’s all so interesting!
Three-Dimensional Mid-Air Acoustic Manipulation [Acoustic Levitation] (2014-) . Is that real???
For the title. ‘Out of My Mouth Comes Unimpeachable Manly Truth’. An experiment a la listening only to Republican radio, but in Russia. o.O
And for fans of Frozen, Watch the Frozen Gang Return in Trailer for Frozen Fever.
(TW for rape)
Rapist in the 2012 India “Nirbhaya” rape case goes full victim-blamer. Even the most dudebroest of the MRAs would be impressed by the vileness reached by this piece of shit.
Sounds good, but including a link to the 10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories in the article kind of… reduces my faith in something inclusive and watchable. Basically another manly-man revenge story, yes?
Saad I saw that on the BBC website. It looks like it’s going to take a major cultural shift to get male attitudes to change.
Hi rq!
I think I nicked this off QI, but what about the way we (um, anglo-saxon denizens of Brit-land at the time) called all orange things red until (apparently) we finally got a word for orange from the introduction of the fruit?
Robin red-breast, red deer and red squirrel are all orange.
So … the suggestion is that we didn’t see orange as a separate colour in its own right before then.
opposablethumbs
Funny, it’s nearly the same in Latvian – used to be, ‘red’ meant anything from a dark maroon-brown right up to salmon orange. :P Nope, didn’t see those colours at all!
If we didn’t have orange as a colour opposablethumbs my daughter wouldn’t have any colours to point out at all! Everything is either orange or ‘don’t know’.
Greetings to all.
I’ve finally nearly finished the cloak and sword room. The new floor is one row of laminate from being done. Then the baseboards go back in, hopefully completed today. Thanks to my “they-don’t-make-them-like-that-anymore” house construction, it’s sometimes very difficult to nail into the walls. I think today will be full of swearing. Luckily, my very handy dad will be coming out to help (he knows some good swears).
Netanyahu is speaking before Congress. A bit of history and perspective is welcome.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/netanyahu-speech-congress
In other words, President Obama is right. Netanyahu, John Boehner, and everyone who wants to bomb Iran — those people are wrong.
The governor of New Jersey and presidential hopeful, Chris Christie, is in trouble again. As is usual with Christie, the trouble is of his own making:
What I don’t get is this: if Christie gets to apply all but $50 million to the state budget shortfall (which he also created), why wouldn’t he support taking more money from Exxon? A judge was ready to take much more, but Christie’s office called and said, never mind, we’ve settled out of court. Does anyone else think Christie and his cohorts may be getting some kind of under-the-table incentive to settle? Maybe we should check to see if Exxon contributed to Christie’s PAC.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/christies-exxon-deal-spurs-questions
Republican dunderhead, Scott Walker, who is also a presidential hopeful, is carrying the anti-intellectual flag these days. Walker is the new rockstar of rightwing politics. A lot of rightwing commentary describes him as “sexy,” always a bad sign.
Walker dropped out of college, so his anti PhD attitude is one way of putting down his critics.
George W. Bush told the same joke over and over: “I remind people that, like, when I’m with Condi, I say, ‘She’s the Ph.D. and I’m the C student and just look at who’s the president and who’s the advisor.’”
Texas Governor Rick Perry tells this joke: “I graduated in the top 10 of my graduating class – of 13.”
Self-depreciation is fine, but the constant drumbeat of anti-education coming from the rightwing really bugs me.
That’s Paul Krugman correctly analyzing the issue.
I’ll add that relying on “guts,” “instinct,” and “leadership” is a fuzzy, ineffective plan for candidates hoping to be elected President of the USA. Too often, they don’t even describe “leadership,” so we don’t know what the fuck they mean — except that they don’t mean acquiring knowledge and experience before acting.
awakeinmo
Good luck with expanding the swearlexicon! And also with the remaining flooring. ;)
bassmike
One colour down, six more to go! ;)
Who is this we, Kemosabe?
p.s. It’s March.
Ah! So you’re the one who broke yesterday. I was wondering why it kept malfunctioning. Maybe this also explains the confusion between February and March?
Hint: Check to see if there is a mildly deranged penguin attached. (Is there an odor, faint, not, of herrings in the air? Or LOUD screams?) Cheese, MUSHROOMS!, and numerous other fillings tend to acquire an attached mildly deranged penguin, albeit frequently moving at high speed, not “wandering off”…
Speaking of orange… Elder Daughter informs me that while Middle English did not have a specific name for the color orange, it was perceived and described. Chaucer described a fox as being a color between red and yellow.
This is a followup to birger’s comment @32.
Yes, the Westboro Baptist Church was thwarted in their attempts to picket Leonard Nimoy’s funeral.
I just love reading this kind of news. As “Retroactive Genius” wrote: “Awww…that’s a shame: the crazed, rancid bigots couldn’t make it.”
Jon Stewart took Republicans to task for some of their latest legislative stupidity. Scroll down for video here.
This is a follow to my comment #42. Here’s some analysis of Netanyahu’s speech before Congress.
NY Times link.
Daily Kos link.
State legislators in Idaho decided it was time once again for them to look stupid. After all, several days have passed since they dropped one of them asked if a pregnant woman could swallow a miniature camera to examine her uterus.
Not sure why the Idaho legislators hold cow worship against Hindus, since some of them have ranching backgrounds, but here we go:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/hindu-invocation-steve-vick-idaho
rq
Whoever wrote that list is a hack, incidentally. They included at least 2 anarcho-communist stories (News from Nowhere and The Dispossessed), and I’m pretty sure Wells’ Men Like Gods too. The Bester, Russell, Anderson, and Vance examples are pretty questionable as well, so they’ve actually got maybe 3 genuine examples of libertarian sci fi on that list.
To follow up on #42 and #52, Netanyahu left a few things out of his emotional and stirring, anti-Obama speech. He did not offer an approach to Iran that differs from Obama’s approach. He said Obama (and the coalition Obama put together) is taking the wrong approach, but Netanyahu offered no solutions of his own (unless you count all-out war as a solution).
Netanyahu said he wants “a much better deal” with Iran, but did not specify what that deal would include. Looks like PR and propaganda to me, and not like diplomacy or foreign policy.
Yep, mormondom’s top leaders are really old.
Link
One thing we can conclude is that the LDS church must pay for good, free healthcare for these guys.
How many nukes does Israel have, again, Mr Netanyahu?
How many artillery shells were fired at the UN schools, Mr Netanyahu?
How much money are you withholding from the Palestine government, Mr Netanyahu?
Just what is wrong with the Palestine government joining the ICC, Mr Netanyahu & Mr Obama?
…
…
…
Netanyahu really needs to make up his mind: Is Isreal in permanent danger as he keeps telling the non-jewish rest of the world, or is it a safe place where you want to live, as he keeps telling Europe’s jews?
colours
“grue” (blend of green and blue) is an interesting construct. Russian doesn’t have it, they have light blue and dark blue. To me, indigo, as one of the seven colours of the rainbow is just a version of blue, as indeed German knows the word “indigo blau”. Light pink and pink pink are seen as very different colours in German, where we have “rosa” and “pink”. And don’t get me started on the colour of “violets”.
Glenn Beck loves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he loves Netanyahu’s speech to Congress even more. He loves it almost as much as he loves his own “Restoring Love” speech. Right Wing Watch link.
That ought to tell us something.
Different shades called “indigo” are either variants of blue or purple. “It’s ‘violet’ not ‘purple'” is pedantry almost as obnoxious as “black isn’t a color, it’s the absence of all color!” >.>
Oh, how much the rightwing hates those dark or brown-skinned immigrants! Sandy Rios lets us know how much, while also revealing that she is so steeped in ignorance that there’s no room for facts in her world.
Right Wing Watch link
Sarah Silverman’s boyfriend, actor Michael Sheen, made some sense recently when he gave a political speech. The speech sounded better than Sheen sounded when he played Tony Blair, IMHO.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-31707929
My boyfriend managed to finally annoy me into making a doctor’s appt, which is good because I really don’t take my health as seriously as I should. I’m half-thinking I might have hypothyroidism.
I’ve been unreasonably fatigued. Even when my house is 72* I feel like I’m freezing. I last shaved my legs 3 weeks ago, and only about 1/10th the normal amount of hair has grown back; I’m normally very hairy so my mostly-bald legs look really strange to me.
So in 2 weeks I guess I’ll fast for 12 hours, get a bunch of bloodwork and we’ll see.
At least I’m pretty darned sure diabetes isn’t a possibility. When I last used a former coworkers glucometer (she offered to everyone) after having not eaten for half a day, my blood sugar was 67. Everyone sent me to lunch so I didn’t keel over after they saw that. XD
Are we allowed to discuss controversial topics here? The thunderdome scares me. I have something I would like to calmly and rationally talk about, but it is a subject that is never broached in that manner.
Rise: That depends, and your phrasing is going to be pinging a LOT of people’s pattern matching….
Yes, I often seem to phrase things in the manner of a dictionary atheist. Communication is not my forte, to say the least.
I don’t want to cause problems or anything. I just generally appreciate the opinions of people on this site, and would like to talk about something with intelligent people. I don’t really know where to go for that. Apologies, I think it’s probably best brought up in the thunderdome.
Yup. Very loud pinging, and I’m pretty sure that’s not tinnitus.
Yep, definitely loud pinging.
Well, I appear to have failed something miserably here. Apologies, and please forget I said anything.
re: violets
In Latvian, violets, lilacs and irises are commonly known as being ‘blue’, even when they’re clearly ‘purple’, though now people tend to differentiate occasionally between ‘violets’ and ‘lillā’ (at least I seem to) – both are words recently introduced. And in the ‘red’ group, orange is the only colour that has differentiated out of it. The flag is clearly a browny-maroon, but it gets called ‘red’, as does the bright red of the Austrian flag.
I once heard a linguist lady say that the Latvian words for blue, green, yellow, silver and gold all had the same root in a word meaning ‘to shine or to glitter’, which is just absolutely absurd (is it?), but she was trying to make a mystical point. So I dunno. Colours. How do they work?
Brain vs. Heart, from Awkward Yeti.
I call this a win.
Washington, DC, police chief on marijuana: “All those arrests do is make people hate us”
She sounds surprisingly sensible for a public official.
Well, in German you even have the word “Veilchenblau”, blue as a violet, which is actually a synonym of violet. And when somebody has a black eye that is colloquially known as a “Veilchen”, too.
“Lila” was introduced via the plant, you still got “lilac” in English, but the name for the plant didn’t stick in German. Actually, if you think about it, why would people in a pre industrialized Europe have needs are for a name for that colour, since it’s fucking rare in nature here?
+++
Some people. A parent at the little one’s daycare was discussing with the teachers that she doesn’t want to pay the full price, since she doesn’t need the daycare all day. You know, if you don’t need the one daycare in town that is open from 7-18, the daycare people sign their kid up for when they got a positive pregnancy test because they need the long flexible hours, maybe just don’t send your kid there? There’s nothing wrong with just needing a few hours to clean the house and cook lunch, but in that case, just go to a different daycare (yes, there’s another one in walking distance), FFS, and don’t ask the teachers for some extra special discounts for your fucking special snowflake.
True love.
Oooooohhhhh, Julie Dillon has launched her new Kickstarter.
I’m a big fan of her art. Not only because she protrays a wide range of people, but also the style.
One day, I’m going to have a wall, and then I’m going to frame all the prints and hang them there.
Giliell
Interesting, the word in Latvian for lilac is ‘ceriņi’. I have no idea where it comes from, but the ’30s were big on inventing new Latvian words to reinforce the national identity. And yeah, it’s a rare enough colour to have its own name (in Latvian it’s ‘zils’, by the way, for any linguistic people smarter than me who have any ideas on the origin).
Rowan: Here’s hoping they find something easily fixable. Those 12-hour fasts for bloodwork are a complete pain in the keister – I always thought the coffee shops in the medical center had a bit of an unfair advantage, since they got everyone who’d just been to phlebotomy for fasting bloodwork.
Hindus “have a caste system,” he added. “They worship cows.”
I think the good state senator is confusing “venerating” with “worshipping”.
The caste system is totally absolutely different from the idea that poor people should not get any of those benefits they have paid for through their tax money. Or get any free health care. Or free education. Because Mercun contempt for the poor is purely non-religious.
— — — —
Saudi Arabia: blogger Badawi may now face the death penalty https://proxy.freethought.online/dispatches/2015/03/03/badawi-may-now-face-the-death-penalty/
Comment from Ed Brayton’s blog:
”When ISIS starts selling us sufficient quantities of oil at an agreeable price, their killings will cease to be atrocities, right?”
Hey kids, do you know what time it is? It’s time for another fun tweet from Sir Richard Dawkins!
In response to a subtweet that says “loving @Herring1967 retweeting @RichardDawkins retweeting his own praise.”, Sir Richard says:
Name one person on Twitter who does NOT retweet his own praise.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA forever.
For all of those who are interested: I followed up concerning the gender mix of our department’s outreach program and I’m very pleased to report that there are indeed a number of women intrinsically involved in the whole project. They go out to schools and give talks etc. It’s something that the whole department is focused on and continually monitors.
I am reassured!
Save the day! http://satwcomic.com/save-the-day
bassmike
Here’s a *high five* to the outreach program in your department. Yay! And thanks again for looking into it. *hugs*
Ben Carson speaks in support of separate but equal:
He’s also a clueless person overall and thinks creepy thoughts about gay people in prison:
Wow. Curt Schilling actually uses social media for the forces of good: http://deadspin.com/curt-schilling-goes-dadmode-on-twitter-trolls-bashing-h-1688969687
People are disgusting.
Actually… this whole “gay is a choice” makes fuck-all sense. I mean it’s inherently contradictory and impossible.
So a gay person is a straight person who is choosing to be gay. But…. a straight person is someone who is not attracted to the same sex, and doesn’t want to be in a same sex relationship. But they say straight people are defined by not being attracted to the same sex. But apparently millions of straight people are. So…. some straight people are actually gay? Wut.
nich,
That was awesome. Good to see they fired that one asshole.
Canada’s Central Bank Asks Canadians to Stop “Spocking” Bills to Honor Leonard Nimoy http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/spocking_canada_s_five_dollar_bill_tribute_to_dr_spock_leonard_nimoy.html
.
Animal functional diversity since the Cambrian explosion started out poor, became richer over time http://phys.org/news/2015-03-animal-functional-diversity-poor-richer.html
.
Is cannabis a gateway drug? http://www.theguardian.com/science/sifting-the-evidence/2015/mar/03/is-cannabis-a-gateway-drug
Medicine:
Newly discovered hormone ( MOTS-c*) mimics the effects of exercise http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-newly-hormone-mimics-effects.html
*encoded in the DNA of mitochondria.
.
Implanted stem cells reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s during experiment, researchers say http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-implanted-stem-cells-symptoms-alzheimer.html
.
Analysis of spider venom reveals seven promising compounds with potential to relieve chronic pain http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-analysis-spider-venom-reveals-compounds.html
Baby Weasel Flying On A Woodpecker http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/baby-weasel-woodpecker-photo_n_6791944.html
.
Stewie’ Griffin’s lemonade stand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OtU_y5qOPE
That’s an enterpreneurial young man!
.
Elbonian internet http://dilbert.com/strip/2015-02-19
.
The Daily Mash: Human penises all either massive or tiny, confirm scientists
Men’s penises are either porn-style monstrosities or minuscule sources of amusement, it has emerged. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/human-penises-all-either-massive-or-tiny-confirm-scientists-2015030395885
Bloody hell! I double-posted the stuff about penile size. Please ignore.
.
Next time republicans use the term “fiscal responsibility” we should post ads in newspapers and TV quoting this giveaway of billions of expected Exxon damages.
“FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY (OR CORRUPTION)”
So Chris Christie settled for 2.8 % of the potential damages.
He is either a complete idiot, or completely corrupt.
Saad@87:
Of course this triggered the inevitable #freezepeach brigade. “Somebody somewhere is being held accountable for the things they say! TO THE FREEZEPEACHMOBILE!!!”
birgerjohansson
It wasn’t a baby weasel but a lesser weasel, and I’m determined to believe it is a sign of the coming apocalypse, where weasels and octopoda will unite against humans for mastery of the earth and skies. And seas. I’m pretty sure raccoons have a role somewhere, too.
Saad
I’m as confused as you are about the whole ‘gay is a choice’ thing.
nich
Honestly, no one told them to stop saying those things. They just happened to be suspended. And fired. But no one took their twitter away! :P
The point with ‘gay is a choice’ is that I really, really wanted to talk about that big moment in life where I chose to be straight. Because if being gay is a choice, then being straight must be, too, no?
A rite of adulthood: choose your orientation! Do you go with the status quo, or are you a rebel at heart? :P
I liked Curt Schilling’s response and the responses of the people in charge over those jerks. I do hope that they would have responded that way regardless, but I would bet that his celebrity has a lot to do with it. Still, good example to set. Also, his wife wrote a book about having a kid on the autism spectrum that I read a few years ago.
rq – I love the brain/heart comics.
Mom came through, yay! Maybe now I can sleep.
*collapse*
Mildly ‘rupt, since I can’t seem to find time to keep up any more. I’ll add some hugs to the pile, because we might need some after this….
TW: Sexism on dating sites.
I’ve had a profile on okcupid for about 2 months now. Besides the annoying silliness of the scammers and/or bots, I’ve had to add this to the end of my profile: “Show me that you’ve actually read my profile by not mentioning my smile or calling me ‘beautiful’ when you message me.” Then there were a these messages from the past few days:
Message #1 seemed pleasant enough, until I asked him what he was looking for in a partner, and he replied “a woman who knows the worth of a woman…” When I asked what he meant, he replied that a woman should be a wife and take care of the household. I told him off and stopped responding to him.
Message #2: “mwah”. That was the entire message. I told the guy off, reminding him that it would be sexual assault if he kissed a stranger in “real life,” so what made him think it was appropriate online?
JAL, that’s great news.
Yellow Thursday, argh! :-\
JAL
Yay!! Hope you manage some sleep and rest.
Yellow Thursday
But… but… MWAH = maybe we are happy! FREEZE PEACH! Or whatever those gesture-words count as on the internet.
More seriously, I hope the next few messages are more promising.
Message #1, though… ugh.
Quick!
Lots of amazing ebooks for whatever you want to pay
Only until the next full hour
Dammit Giliell and I’m at work, where I can’t buy anything! :(
rq
I can order a gift code for you if you want me to
This is a followup to comments 43 and 92 (92 is from birger).
Asbury Park Press link.
Let’s hope that intervention works. Getting 3 cents on the dollar from Exxon is a travesty.
As I suspected, Exxon did contribute to the Christie cause, giving at least $500,000 to the Republican Governor’s Association. Other sources cite $751,200.
New Jersey, nj.com, link.
Giliell
O. Can you? I might be eternally grateful to you. You still have my email?
I think.
How much do you want to pay?
Giliell,
thanks for mentioning this. Got myself a bundle :)
Uh-oh. Bad news out of Alabama … more bad news to add to the anti-marriage-equality news we saw earlier:
MSNBC new link.
Maddow Blog link.
The new legal folderol gives probate judges 5 days to write in and say why they should give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The thing is, federal courts trump state courts. The feds have said that marriage equality is legal in Alabama. Dunderheads on the state Supreme Court, in league with the likes of Jerry Falwell, have said said no, no it is not legal. The judges in the lower state court positions must be very confused.
The state Supreme Court judge(s) who are defying the federal court ruling should be prosecuted, in my opinion.
Anyone got JAL’s email?
Giliell
Crap, did I miss it?
How many books, what would be a decent price? I have no way to tell since I can’t see the list. :(
rq
You should have mail
Oh, FFS:
Giliell
I DO have mail!! And a response. ;)
Beatrice
I know Portia does. And I think Esteleth?
Regarding Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, Jon Stewart has weighed in. The Longest Blowjob a Jewish Man Has Ever Received. Video available at the link, and at the YouTube link below.
YouTube link for the Jon Stewart segment.
Well, isn’t that special. The specious lawyer arguing for an incredible stupid interpretation of the Affordable Care Act, an interpretation that would deny millions of individuals their health care subsidies, that lawyer is a dunderheaded right-winger.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-carvin-obamacare-statutes-white-women-minorities
Michael Carvin also compared himself to Atticus Finch from the movie “To Kill A Mocking Bird.”
Justice Scalia, you need to get a clue. The current Congress will not act to fix Obamacare if you break it.
The Republicans, the majority, in the Congress want Obamacare to implode. They want it to go away. They do not care about millions of low-income individuals who would lose their subsidies.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/scalia-congress-obamacare
In Georgia, state Republican legislators wait until there is a bathroom break announced, then, as soon as the Democratic legislators leave the room, the Republicans quickly vote on whatever evil bill they have cooked up. Think Progress link.
Republicans did this recently to vote on a “religious liberty” bill that would enshrine discrimination against LGBT rights.
Lynna, gah at all of your stories. But that OC lawyer in particular! Too bad we’re stuck here, there are times when I’d just love to move back to LA county…
Moments of Mormon Madness, rabbits and other wildlife category.
Maybe Agent Matt Fairbanks is high. Though probably not, since marijuana intake of any kind is frowned on by mormons.
Agent Fairbanks has some of his science wrong, or at least questionable, since it is likely that the bunnies will not smoke weed, now will they process weed before adding it to brownies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/02/dea-warns-of-stoned-rabbits-if-utah-passes-medical-marijuana/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dea-agent-warns-utah-lawmakers-fearless-stoned-rabbits-article-1.2135339
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/stoned-rabbits-dea_n_6789232.html
He deals in facts! He deals in science! … What else does he deal?
Anne @119:
I’m with you on “gah” factor. Sorry you have to live near a high percentage of bigots and doofuses in OC.
Maybe the stoned bunnies can come visit you and restore calm.
More Moments of Mormon Madness, anti-green-technology category. A lot of mormons in the state have talked about supporting green energy, but in terms of action they usually fall short. Salt Lake City has one of the worst air pollution records in the USA. The state’s politicians talk about fixes, and then they talk anti-regulation. They specialize in deception.
Some Utahans are speculating that Tesla did not “pay to play.” In other words, they didn’t bribe enough mormon officials, legislators, etc.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/2245987-155/run-in-with-utah-law-could-block
Man flies through Berlin
(Fotography)
From the readers’ comments section associated with the Salt Lake Tribune article about Tesla (see comment 123):
Wow. It’s been a few days since I dropped in here. I’m working a few more hours now, which has resulted in commenting less here and on my blog. I’m more threadrupt than normal as a result. But on the plus side, last month was the first time I managed to pay all my bills without any help from my parents, which was a big deal for me since they’ve been such a lifeline for the last 8 months.
I’ll catch up in a moment, but I wanted to dump this intriguing link:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/03/04/google-exploring-a-big-change-guaranteed-to-make-republicans-lose-their-minds/
*pouncehugs Tony nearly to death*
Sorry about that, mind getting me a Campari and orange? ;)
*waves to Tony* Good to hear!
and good article about the g**gle searches, except that it immediately links to a Sh*rm*r video about baloney detection. Sigh…
I only have internet intermittently these days, so pretty much threadrupt on everything; so I’ll just leave this pile of somewhat dusty, slightly rusted, mothball-smelling hugs here. Nothing a good vacuuming and/or squirt of WD-40 won’t fix.
Thanks especially to rq for keeping the America threads running.
::waves at rq::
I think we’re out of…oh wait, no. We still have some Campari. But the orange is too big to fit in the glass :)
Good to see you as well Pteryxx. I hope all is well with you.
****
Like many people I have an irrational fear of roaches. I’ve tried confronting this fear a few times over the years, mostly by forcing myself not to recoil in horror whenever one skitters across the floor. I haven’t been terribly successful (though I’ve not been trying *that* hard). Articles like this don’t help either:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27080-cyborg-cockroach-has-its-nerves-controlled-wirelessly.html#.VPdyZPnF8SM
Good to see you, Tony!
Pteryxx
It’s become something of a hobby-obession. :) You’re welcome.
Trigger Warning: Rape
Rikers Island prisoners intervene and stop man from raping prison guard.
Yes, the Republicans in the House of Congress are rabidly anti-science. They proved that last year. Now they are proving it again:
Link
This is a followup to comment #117, in which we see Justice Scalia trying to reassure everyone the Congress will act to fix the ACA if the Supreme Court breaks the ACA.
Justice Scalia, Republicans in Congress have voted at least 56 times to repeal the ACA. Congress is not functional. Most of the Republican legislators want the Supreme Court to burn the ACA to the ground. If they can’t do it, they want you to do it.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is on the case. She is doing her best to prevent Justice Scalia and his cohorts from decimating the Affordable Healthcare Act.
Link
Loving me some Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Question: Eldest’s teacher has initiated a points system in her classroom to reward good behaviour and to draw attention to bad behaviour. Among good behaviour she has specifically listed ‘giving priority to girls’, which is my bad translation for, basically, old-fashioned chivalry (letting girls cut in line, opening doors for them, etc.). So, (1a) what is a good way to address this – straightforward but kind, as this isn’t the first noticed sexism-type behaviour I’ve noticed in the teacher (nothing overt, but typical gender-role-type stuff); and (1b) does anyone have a good link to a good article or two on benevolent sexism and its harm, something in possibly not-too-complicated English, as I do not know how well his teacher reads English (they have a different teacher for English)?
I would like to address this as low-key as possible (so personally via e-mail, most likely, but also non-confrontationally), since Eldest will be learning with this teacher for the next 3 (and a half) years – until the end of grade 4 (barring any unexpected teacher-changes). And it’s not a major point, I suppose, but already today he told me that a friend of his got a green sticker (good) for opening and holding the door for a few of the girls. I mean, that’s nice, but… do boys get stickers for holding the door for boys, and do girls get stickers for holding the door for girls and boys?
We’ve been pretty good about not discriminating by gender, even in good deeds, at home (Eldest is usually the first to say ‘well of course girls can do that’ and ‘of course that’s not just a girl colour’, and oh boy, you should have seen his horror when I told him that some people don’t think girls should play hockey professionally, but anyway, I doubt everyone in his class receives that kind of education). I don’t want him to start thinking that girls have special privileges or that he, as a boy, isn’t allowed to receive any help or polite consideration from others. I would like them all to be taught politeness and kindness towards each other as people and human beings, not that some are more deserving due to some accident of birth. I know that’s probably a pretty impossible demand (Latvian society being what it is), but it would be nice to at least have his teacher give thought to these things.
Anyway. That was rather long. Any suggestions welcome!
rq @137:
Maybe this will help–http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/2013/04/02/benevolent-sexism/
Huh…I copy/pasted the URL, but there’s no direct link. Wonder why?
Tony – you caught the word “help” inside your anchor tag, if my email is any indication.
@ Saad #86 and rq #96
It’s really quite simple but you have to look at it from the fundamentalists’ point of view. In their system, (by axiom) people are God’s creation and (by axiom) God would not create a gay person, therefore it must be a choice. It is impossible for it to be a function of biology because that would contradict their axiom. It’s also why you can’t use logic or reason with them. It’s similar to the “proof” that 1=2 which is based on dividing by zero, somewhere in your line of reasoning you will contradict one of their axioms and therefore your whole argument is simply wrong.
As to how people can be like that, I really don’t know; maybe I’ll read Why People Believe Weird Things.
.
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Re #64-68
No specifics, but the comment just sounded trollish to me. I read Thunderdome and while it is often rambunctious, even animose, I’ve never sensed it to be hateful or mean spirited. But my question is about the use of the word pinging. Is this jargon that indicates you saw through the commenter’s pretense and it was a troll as in the usage in submarine warfare? I’d really like to think I’m right since it’d mean I figured something out on my own.
.
.
@ rq #77
If Latvian has many words derived from Latin (and not being from Vermont by Latin I mean ancient Romans) it could be based on caeruleus which is Latin for dark blue, not so dark blue, dark green, azure, etc.; cerini* looks like it may be a cognate. Just a guess, I dint research it.
.
* I don’t know how to put the little dot under the n.
Tony! @133
Even Evil Has Standards.
Related to benevolent sexism…I just read a status update from a friend on FB. He said something to effect of “ladies when someone holds the door for you, you’re supposed to say ‘thank you’ “.
My response: “I hold the door for people, regardless of gender, and I don’t get disappointed if no one thanks me. I don’t hold doors to receive thanks.”
vereverum @141:
I think you’re pretty close (you could also liken pinging to Spider-man’s spider-sense, which warns him of impending danger), though I’ll add that comments that set off alarms for people are sometimes false positives. The comments from Rise Kujikawa certainly set off some alarms for me, but I’m not certain if they were looking to troll or genuinely have a discussion about a controversial subject.
Vereverum #141
I wouldn’t say trollish per se, but the vibe of wanting to discuss something likely to result in strong criticism or an argument in the Lounge was there.
We’ve seen it in folks trying to avoid strong criticism of their ideas by avoiding the T-dome. How we react there, depends on them, what ideas they present, what evidence they present to back up those ideas, and their reaction to mild criticism or disbelief.
Just a pile of love I’m dropping here for rq and Tony! and pteryxx and Lynna, and ajb47 and WMD Kitty and Giliell and opposable thumbs and
Oh, hell. Here’s a bunch of love for all y’all.
Sorry I’ve been a bit too busy lately to drop by more often, and when I do drop by to comment much.
You’re all still in my brain, snugging my thoughts.
Fucking hell, rq, I don’t know the answer to that one.
The best I could say is to frame it as **your** problem.
Just one idea of an approach. I wish I had better. I’ll think on it.
The whole “gay people choose it” boggles my mind. Over the years, I’ve had many people inquire about my sexuality. I’ve told them all pretty much the same thing:
When I hit puberty, my hormones led me in a different direction than heterosexual men. I didn’t choose to be gay. I didn’t wake up one day and think gosh, it sure would be nice to start sucking cock“.
I think many people conflate (deliberately or unintentionally, I’m unsure) people being gay with the coming out process. Being gay isn’t a choice. Coming out is. I chose to come out of the closet and live my life openly as a gay man (not completely though; I still hesitate before informing others of my sexuality; to the vast majority of people who know me though, I’m quite out).
@ Tony!, #148:
Oh, it’s worse than that. Many people intentionally conflate “being gay” with having sex. Like you’re obviously not queer if you haven’t gone down on anyone lately. Duh.
Thus the idea that people who sexually assault children will “turn” those children queer. If the perp is of the same gender and/or sex, presto! those kids are already “gay” because they had gay sex! Quick, someone give them a jesus!
If the perp is of a different gender and/or sex, presto! those kids have been traumatized in a way that will cause them to **not** choose heterosex! And we all know that when two women choose to have sex with each other, the real crime isn’t done by ramming home a dildo or kissing someone’s clit. No, the real crime victims are all the poor, poor penises that aren’t going unsucked and unfucked because of their selfish, selfish lesbianism.
Ugh, that shit pisses me off so much. Being a QT* isn’t about how often you have sex or how much you enjoy sex or how old you are or when you lost your virginity (if ever). Being a QT isn’t a sex act.
Heterosexist douchegabbers.
*Say it out loud. Go on. Say it.
*hugs* all ’round. Keep meaning to post then running out of oomph.
Crip Dyke @149:
Yeah, I’ve seen that firsthand.
When I came out to my parents, my father’s reaction was “butt sex hurts”. At the time I didn’t have a rebuttal, but now, if I were confronted by that, I’d likely say something like “when I think of you or mom, I don’t immediately start thinking of what you do in the bedroom, bc that has no relevance on who you are or the type of person you are. Being gay is far more than having sex with someone of the same sex (and not every gay person wants to have sex), and reducing me-a complex human being-down to butt sex is deeply offensive.”
(incidentally, when I came out to my parents, I hadn’t had sex yet)
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/scientists-trace-origins-last-two-hiv-1-groups
@ Tony! #144 and Nerd @145
Thanks, I’ll try and remember what I’ve learned.
.
Tony! I’m with you on door opening. Otherwise I’m doing it for a reward, not because it’s just what I do for people. When it’s done for me I try to always say thank you, though I think your friend’s “supposed” is too forceful. I’m old, my upbringing was that I was always to be polite. Regardless. And while I think it is a good characteristic, I don’t expect it of others.
Probably TMI.
.
Nerd
I can understand that, I don’t like criticism either expecially if it’s true. That’s the worst kind! But I’ll go with Truman: If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
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.
This is really a nice place.
A just-announced new initiative to combat online abuse headed up by the Randi Harper, the author of ggautoblocker:
http://onlineabuseprevention.org/
I’m looking forward to seeing what they manage to achieve!
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Netflix and Nintendo are working on a live-action Zelda series.
This may just be speculation at the moment as neither company has confirmed plans for such a series.
A live action Zelda series sounds amazing.
I’ve had fun with the whole living on my own thing. Until yesterday when I had a flat tire. And with the snow inbound, I couldn’t risk driving on the donut spare while I compared prices, I had to stop at Firestone in the mall parking lot. Oh, and they didn’t have any cheaper tires. On the plus side, my federal tax refund came in last night. Nowhere near what the tires cost, but it will help getting through the week.
As the nym change indicates, I’ve worked some gender stuff out:) Which is good. Still a great many practical questions left on where to go from here, but at least I have a much better idea of who I am. So it’s a start. It was my paternal great grandmothers first and middle name(annie isn’t short for anything- that’s just what her name was). Being a Jr sharing a name with my paternal grandfather, it seemed appropriate. And with her having been an immigrant, that seemed appropriate for linking the two phases of my life.
I HAVE KITTENS! They finally got me some healthy babies so no more “here, it’s probably gonna die, but if anyone can save it you can” animals. … Only I asked for at most 2, and Patti was like “Well… there’s 3 of ’em?” and I was all “er… hmmn, you know what, okay.” And she went and got them and returned and said “Don’t hate me. Turns out there’s 4. ” and made sad-face at me.
So now I have 4 (argh) kittens that if they turn out to be super duper fussy eaters like the last 4 they will find a different foster mama for, because I can’t do 1-hour-to-feed-only-4-kittens again. I will go insane. But providing they don’t turn into little turds, what should I names them? I need plant names for 4 boys, 3 of which are orange and one is a brown tabby and white.
I want a cat. But the apartment complexI’m living in doens’t allow them:(
Time to play old fart. Be the first to throw out an idea, and let the younger ones improvise upon/reject them.
Pumpy, squash, orange, and stripes.
Dang, forgot the blockquote in #159, responding to Rowan for kitty names.
I may use Squash. XD Tempted to also use Satsuma.
Beatrice, thanks for the Broadchurch recommendation. Just started watching it and I’m hooked.
Happy Valley was really good too. It’s sort of similar in some ways, so I think you’ll like it too.
Annie Bruce @156:
I’m happy for you :)
****
So I’m looking for RWAs mouthing off about African-Americans needing to display “personal responsibility” (if anyone has any quick links to examples, I’d appreciate it), and I came across this Metapedia entry on “:
I can’t even with this…
I’ve never heard of Metapedia, but it sure does sound like an offshoot of Conservapedia.
Thanks everyone.
Beatrice: jals(dot)snark(dot)tentacles at teh googly.
Sleep was great. Waking up coughing so hard I almost threw up was not. Roomie has also come down sick. Stress fucking sucks. Little One has only been sneezing thankfully (for now) and tooth pain. :( She’s losing teeth and the adult ones are taking forever to break through.
and Roomie did not get the programming job he wanted. :(
I need to watch Broadchurch. I’ve been meaning to now that I can stream more or less freely now, but I’m in the middle of watching Star Trek: Enterprise. Which I really should have watched years ago, I’m loving it.
As for cat names, when our cat had kittens, we named one Squeaks because he squeaked a lot while working out the whole meow sound.
Darnit. My comment got stuck in moderation. Let’s try it again (and a bit differently).
Annie Bruce @156:
I’m very happy for you :)
****
I’m writing a post about a RWAs lack of “personal responsibility” and went looking for examples of RWAs telling black people and poor people they need to be more responsible (incidentally, if anyone has a link to any examples, I’d be grateful). While searching, I came across an entry on from Metapedia, a site that strikes me as an offshoot of Conservapedia. Their examples of cite this misguided article from Madame Noir.
Here are some of the examples:
Once again, the concept of privilege is misunderstood.
The link contains many more lovely gems like the above.
Rowan, vet-tech,
Tangerine, Kabocha, Curry, Marigold, Butternut, for the brown and white tabby – coconut.
Rowan, vet-tech,
Also, Poppy.
Tumeric.
Hyssop.
Cosmos.
Cinnamon.
Pomegranate.
Tithonia.
I happen to think shoop makes a lovely name for a cat.
Oh. My. Gods.
You guys need to see this:
Kissing Skeletons: Love Has No Labels
I, uh… might have teared up watching it.
Also, my little sister’s documentary, Closure, is streaming on Netflix — go watch it!
Annie Bruce, my names are similarly chosen. Welcome. Big warm higs offered.
Cat names – carrot?
Cat names – Saffron?
Also – I used the vacuum (borrowed) and did all my dishes today. Took all day, but I did get them all done. Only two sinkfuls, but when you can only stand at the counter two minutes at a go, that takes a while.
Yay! Energy to do housework! During winter! A sincere fucking miracle.
D’oh!
CaitieCat (#174)
That’s… a novel way to do dishes.
Fans of SyFy’s Sharknado series will have to put up with someone unexpected in the role of Vice-President in the next installment.
http://dcist.com/2015/03/sharknado_3_casts_leaders_of_the_fr.php
rowan
Baklazhan. It’s a purple vegetable, but it’s an awesome name. ;)
vereverum
I don’t think Latvian has that kind of a relationship with Latin, although it’s an intriguing idea. The Romans never got this far north (vermontish or otherwise :P) but there were trade routes with lots of amber going back the other way.
I’ve looked into it a little bit, and you know what’s interesting? Online etymology says that yellow used to mean blue and blue could be yellow. And a lot of other colours. Interestingly, I’ve always associated ‘livid’ with a deep red-purple colour.
And this whole colour-naming business is complicated.
As for ceriņi (not a dot, a comma! ;) ), turns out, it’s probably from the Latin name – whose Greek root is shared with the word ‘syringe’.
Language is funny.
Cait
Yay for the vaccuuming! Yay for the energy! Hooray!!! Which god do I bow to for this? ;)
*gentle restful yet enthusiastic hugs*
Annie Bruce
Congratulations, and I hope everything goes well for you!! :) I’m very happy for you.
Crip Dyke
That’s actually a pretty good suggestion, I’m going to think about this a little more, and try to have a reply for the teacher in the afternoon. I’ll probably go something along the lines of the other children-door combinations and if they get stickers for the good behaviour, too. *sigh* I had this thought last night that some kind of a gender studies course for teachers should be mandatory learning for all of them.
Oh and Tony thanks for that link to benevolent sexism, I may make use of that!
CaitieCat @174:
Glad you found the energy to get housework done.
****
Things I learned about Star Wars today, thanks to Cracked:
@ rq #178
Thank you for the Etymonline site!
It’s great, I’ve bookmarked it.
because internetss stufff
‘rupt
but leaving hugges
and rum
Good morning
Leaving lots of fluffy hugs for you!
+++
Caitie
Yay for energy!
+++
Hello Annie. Nice to meet you!
+++
I’m totally in favour of this, if in return the same applies to Republican politicians’ healthcare. So, when they have a headache, maybe they see an urologist. Their open heart surgery is performed by the orthopedian. For anything related to bloodworks, see the ophtamalogist.
+++
being gay vs having sex
Actually, the idea of a sexual orientation is a pretty new one. Oscar Wilde wouldn’t have thought himself gay. He had sex with men. It was only at the start of the 20th century that gay was something that you were and not something that you do.
+++
rq
I know there are studies out there that show that this benevolent sexism still lowers girls’ self-esteem. I’d probably try and go the “general politeness” route: You’re teaching your kids that politeness is very important and that you don’t want the boys to get the idea that they only have to be polite towards girls.
BTW, Here‘s an interesting article why the upcoming movie about sexual violence in India (the one from which we got that lovely interview) is problematic.
+++
Also, do you all remember the attack on the German newspaper shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Well, of course everybody knew it was them ebil muslims who couldn’t stand the cartoons.
Turns out everybody was wrong. It was some youth who failed to set their school on fire and therefore turned to the next best thing.
I
Fuck
How
My uncle has died.
My mother just called me to tell me. He’d been visiting my parents just this last Sunday and today my cousin found him dead in his bed. Now my father has to tell my grandma who at 93 has to bury her son. I have no clue how she’s going to deal with that.
… and girls learn to be considerate too (isn’t that the bit that’s actually important about “politeness” – the fact that you’re showing consideration for someone else’s needs/feelings?) by opening doors for other girls and for boys and hey, how about all the kids opening the door for the school cleaner/janitor/anyone with their hands full. I don’t know what it’s like in this case, of course, but I’ve noticed here that sometimes people like the cleaners have amazing powers of invisibility :-(((((
(yes I know girls are usually getting an overload of “be helpful” messages, and usually all the wrong ones :-( but because holding doors is always such a go-to icon of gentlemanliness maybe it can simultaneously be used to cast strangeness on what’s expected of girls too)
Good luck rq! Who knows, maybe the teacher will even be moved to look at their own assumptions :-)
I do the usual thing – whoever’s nearest the door opens it and goes through, holding it for the convenience of whoever’s approaching it next. Extra consideration for the overburdened and/or infirm.
Dalillama, I wish I had a good source of oomph – I’d bake some for myself and send you some too.
Nice nym, Annie! Ongoing good energy wishes to CaitieCat. Salutations to the Horde
I like Cinnamon for a cat name. And there’s always Sandy … or Citrine? Carnelian? Apricot?
Giliell
*HUGS*
Oh, cat names: Rutabaga, Pastinak (means parsnip, but I know you had a cat of that name already, right?).
And Swede. :)
I’m sorry to hear about your uncle Giliell
Giliell, *hugs*
JAL,
you’ve got mail
Thanks
It’s just so surreal.
And to make matters worse, half an hour ago my sister called me to give me the news.
I thanked her and told her that our mother had already called me.
My sister was surprised, because some 10 minutes before, beofre they left to tell our gran, our mother had claimed that I didn’t know anything yet….
Plant names for cats – I was just thinking yesterday that plant hormones would make good cat names.
Auxin, Gibberello, Jasmon, and Brassino. :)
Congratulations, Annie!
I’m sorry, Gilliell. That won’t be easy to manage.
Tony! great to see you back! I had noticed that you weren’t around. Please accept these *hugs* as a welcome back.
rq I agree with what others have said regarding the politeness thing. I’ve always been of the opinion that letting a door swing into anyone’s face is rude. As an aside: is anyone aware of a cultural difference on this with regard to people in China? When I was in Hong Kong, locals consistently failed to keep doors open for others and I wondered if this was a cultural thing.
Giliell, damn. I’m so sorry. Many {hugs}.
Giliell I’m sorry for your loss. I think I have a spare hug or two around here somewhere if you want it.
Giliell, [hugs] and I’m so sorry.
Annie, excellent new name choice. ;)
rq, I open doors for anyone who has their hands full. It freaks people out sometimes, but that’s part of the joy of being helpful, right?
I don’t know what I’m doing today. Yesterday was going to be a quiet day, but I started sorting paperwork and stuff in my mini-office on the china cabinet and it turned into an all-day project. Maybe I’ll take today off. Or not. There’s so much around here needs to be done…
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I hope I phrased it nicely, I basically said to Teacher if it would be possible to remove the focus from let-girls-go-first and the like, and just focus on interpersonal politeness and kindness, as we are trying to teach our children that it’s important to be polite and helpful to anyone, and that it’s actually a lot nicer if they’re all helping each other out rather than differentiating.
I also added a thank you for her hard work so far this year.
*sigh*
Things like this always make me nervous.
rq, I think your response to the teacher was reasonable, well thought out, and polite. I hope she takes your advice.
Sounds good to me too, rq.
Giliell, I’m sorry to hear about your loss.
Threadrupt – just swinging through to leave a pile of hugs and virtual chocolate. (Take care Giliell)
I have found that licorice root/slippery elm bark/marshmallow root tea has been working wonders for my throat. It has been killing me at the end of classes lately. And I don’t even like anise flavor – but the tea has been great.
Ugh. I want the horrible gloomy days to GO AWAY! I want some sunshine!
Take that, big gods!
This is a followup to comments 134 and 183 (Giliell) regarding environmental protections that Republicans in Congress are busy destroying.
Mitch McConnell advises all states to ignore the EPA.
McConnell wants to take President Obama’s agenda to reduce carbon pollution to the courts. He wants to have the courts declare it illegal. In the meantime, McConnell wants to see as many delaying tactics as possible.
Link
This looks like more of the states-don’t-have-to-follow-federal-laws wrongheadedness.
Rachel Maddow nailed Bill O’Reilly, while also providing some historical background on news stores in which the reporting was not accurate.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/oreilly-wobbly-on-facts-of-his-own-story-408716355886
Mass of Higgs boson predicted by Homer Simpson?
@Giliell:
I’m so sorry.
My best to you in a sucky time.
More corruption: Canadian travellers are outright warned of getting shaken down by US police under asset forfeiture legislation.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/american-shakedown-police-won-t-charge-you-but-they-ll-grab-your-money-1.2760736
OMG, but not really surprising. Chris Christie’s office is mired in so many scandals … what’s one more.
This is a followup to comments 43, 92 (birger), and 105. Yes, Governor Christie’s office did push the ridiculously low settlement with Exxon.
NY Times link
Link
Lynna, I expect an unmarked truck loaded with dollar bills to drive up to Christie’s next super-PAC….
Gilliel
Hugs, if you want them.
Maybe you should put Marcia Lucas on the dollar bills?
Yes, Democrats in the House of Congress are still governing.
Looks like a new coalition of reasonable Republicans and Democrats may be emerging.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/04/390841422/house-approves-amtrak-funding-rewrites-rules-to-allow-furry-riders
NEW THREAD.