This looks interesting: http://qz.com/129879/this-is-the-first-interesting-search-engine-since-google/
MysticWicks endorsement: "Spoiled brats of the pagan world, I thought. I really don't have a lot of respect for Discordians. They just strike me as spiritually lazy."
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Show posts MenuQuoteCourage requires us to remain steadfast in our beliefs. It asks that we stand by the convictions we express and never give an inch, no matter what the cost. However off base, wrongheaded, or patently false a position we've staked out may be, courage nonetheless demands that we blindly pound home our stupid fucking point, never letting up.
True valor is the moment in a conversation when you realize that what you're saying is completely and utterly wrong, but you continue to say it over and over again anyway, only louder.
QuoteIf there is a question worth asking about race and naming, it's not "why do black people use these names?" it's "why do we only focus on black people in these conversations?" Indeed, there's a whole universe of (hacky) jokes premised on the assumed absurdity of so-called "ghetto" names. Derision for these names—and often, the people who have them—is culturally acceptable.
But black children aren't the only ones with unusual names. It's not hard to find white kids with names like Braelyn and Declyn. And while it's tempting to chalk this up to poverty—in the Reddit thread, there was wide agreement that this was a phenomenon of poor blacks and poor whites—the wealthy are no strangers to unique names. The popular Netflix show Orange is the New Black, written by a Jenji Kohan (a white woman), was based on the experiences of a Piper Kerman (also a white woman). And in last year's presidential election, nearly 61 million people voted for a Willard Mitt Romney, at the same time that the current head of the Republican National Committee was (and is) a Reince Priebus.
QuoteAs for the husband leaving her, the possibility of being left in such a state would make a woman MUCH more careful about the man she decides to marry. Think about it. If you know you're throwing your COMPLETE trust and future on a man, you'll want one you can certainly rely on.
QuoteA disquieting paper has been published in the journal Criminal Justice Ethics, that suggests the decisions of forensic scientists are being influenced by payments for convictions. The authors Roger Koppl and Meghan Sacks, cite as an example one laboratory for which collection of court costs following guilty verdicts is the only stable source of funding. According to the paper, in Washington those found guilty following forensic evidence against them must pay a $100 fee, in Kansas the fee is $400, in North Carolina there is a fee of $600 for those found guilty following DNA evidence, similar rules apply in Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois and Michigan.
It's not difficult to see how this situation creates a perverse incentive, but what make this case so incredibly worrying is how intrinsically vulnerable evaluation of forensic evidence is to bias. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that when a forensic scientist is given evidence about a case, their decisions regarding ambiguous fingerprint and DNA evidence can be swayed.
The paper cites a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) which suggests that "the opinions of bloodstain pattern analysts are more subjective than scientific", other areas of forensic science that were assessed to rely heavily on subjective judgment included fingerprint analysis, handwriting comparisons, traditional hair microscopy, ballistics and impression evidence (e.g. comparisons of shoe and tyre tracks).
QuotePublic opinion towards science has made headlines over the past several years for a variety of reasons — mostly negative. High profile cases of academic dishonesty and disputes over funding have left many questioning the integrity and societal value of basic science, while accusations of politically motivated research fly from left and right. There is little doubt that science is value-laden. Allegiances to theories and ideologies can skew the kinds of hypotheses tested and the methods used to test them. These, however, are errors in the application of the method, not the method itself. In other words, it's possible that public opinion towards science more generally might be relatively unaffected by the misdeeds and biases of individual scientists. In fact, given the undeniable benefits scientific progress yielded, associations with the process of scientific inquiry may be quite positive.
Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara set out to test this possibility. They hypothesized that there is a deep-seated perception of science as a moral pursuit — its emphasis on truth-seeking, impartiality and rationality privileges collective well-being above all else. Their new study, published in the journal PLOSOne, argues that the association between science and morality is so ingrained that merely thinking about it can trigger more moral behavior.
QuoteLSD and Other Psychedelics Not Linked With Mental Health Problems, Analysis Suggests
Aug. 19, 2013 — The use of LSD, magic mushrooms, or peyote does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 130,000 randomly chosen people, including 22,000 people who had used psychedelics at least once.
Researcher Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Neuroscience, used data from a US national health survey to see what association there was, if any, between psychedelic drug use and mental health problems.
The authors found no link between the use of psychedelic drugs and a range of mental health problems. Instead they found some significant associations between the use of psychedelic drugs and fewer mental health problems.
QuoteDear Parents of White Children,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-harvey/dear-parents-of-white-children_b_3719818.html
I vote that we strike the following from our parental lexicon:
1. "Everybody is equal."
2. "We're all the same underneath our skin."
I realize this is counterintuitive. But I'm completely serious.
These statements are so abstract they're mostly meaningless when handed to a 7- (or even 17) year-old. That's at best. At worst, they're empty filler -- stand-ins for the actual conversations about race, racial difference and racism we need to be having with our kids.
Sugar when our kids need protein.
Yet, if white college students are to be believed, these statements are standard in many white households.
My students write racial autobiography papers. It's a pretty straightforward assignment: describe the impact of racial identity in your life -- not race generally, but your race and any significant experiences, teachings and thoughts pertaining to that identity at various life stages. I require that they interview two family members about their experiences of and beliefs about being "x." (As it turns out, this is a really hard assignment for white students for reasons that are important and revealing. More on that in another venue.)
Time and again, my white students write that "everybody's equal" is the "most important" thing their parents taught them about race. Time and again, a not-insignificant number of them then proceed to describe their present trepidation about a.) telling their parents they date interracially; b.) bringing home a Latino/a or black classmate; c.) Thanksgiving break, when everyone will silently tolerate the family member who makes racist comments; or d.) something else that reveals how deeply and clearly these students know this "most important teaching" doesn't mean a hell of a lot to their actual white experience.
Hmmmmm.
Few notice the contradiction they have themselves managed to describe in the space of only four pages.
Quote
By now you've seen the pretty pictures: Color-drenched brain scans capturing Buddhist monks meditating, addicts craving cocaine, and college sophomores choosing Coke over Pepsi. The media—and even some neuroscientists, it seems—love to invoke the neural foundations of human behavior to explain everything from the Bernie Madoff financial fiasco to slavish devotion to our iPhones, the sexual indiscretions of politicians, conservatives' dismissal of global warming, and even an obsession with self-tanning.
Brains are big on campus, too. Take a map of any major university, and you can trace the march of neuroscience from research labs and medical centers into schools of law and business and departments of economics and philosophy. In recent years, neuroscience has merged with a host of other disciplines, spawning such new areas of study as neurolaw, neuroeconomics, neurophilosophy, neuromarketing, and neurofinance. Add to this the birth of neuroaesthetics, neurohistory, neuroliterature, neuromusicology, neuropolitics, and neurotheology. The brain has even wandered into such unlikely redoubts as English departments, where professors debate whether scanning subjects' brains as they read passages from Jane Austen novels represents (a) a fertile inquiry into the power of literature or (b) a desperate attempt to inject novelty into a field that has exhausted its romance with psychoanalysis and postmodernism.
Brains are in demand. Once the largely exclusive province of neuroscientists and neurologists, the brain has now entered the popular mainstream. As a newly minted cultural artifact, the brain is portrayed in paintings, sculptures, and tapestries and put on display in museums and galleries.
The prospect of solving the deepest riddle humanity has ever contemplated—itself—by studying the brain has captivated scholars and scientists for centuries. But never before has the brain so vigorously engaged the public imagination. The prime impetus behind this enthusiasm is a form of brain imaging called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), an instrument that came of age a mere two decades ago, which measures brain activity and converts it into the now-iconic vibrant images one sees in the science pages of the daily newspaper.
As a tool for exploring the biology of the mind, neuroimaging has given brain science a strong cultural presence. As one scientist remarked, brain images are now "replacing Bohr's planetary atom as the symbol of science." With its implied promise of decoding the brain, it is easy to see why brain imaging would beguile almost anyone interested in pulling back the curtain on the mental lives of others: politicians hoping to manipulate voter attitudes, marketers tapping the brain to learn what consumers really want to buy, agents of the law seeking an infallible lie detector, addiction researchers trying to gauge the pull of temptations, psychologists and psychiatrists seeking the causes of mental illness, and defense attorneys fighting to prove that their clients lack malign intent or even free will.
The problem is that brain imaging cannot do any of these things—at least not yet.
Quote
A Letter to Jake Vale Explaining Rape Culture
Dear Jake Vale,
Today, I saw the videos you posted where you "pranked" teenage girls by running up behind them, grabbing them around the waist, and then running away with them while they were trying to get into VidCon. I'm one of the people who was instantly upset and disgusted by your behavior, especially after a girl screamed at you to stop and you laughed at her and refused, and then even more when three girls stood up to you and told you that it was wrong to touch girls without their permission, and you argued with them.
I, along with many of my friends, began discussing your video on Twitter. None of us had difficulty understanding how your "prank" was wrong. Or why it was upsetting. You, on the other hand, posted this tweet:
Jake @thejakevaleshow
People have no sense of humor these days... Or no when to shut their trap
Well, I not only refuse to shut my trap, I'm going to tell you why what you did isn't funny. It's called "rape culture," and you're perpetuating it.
...
QuoteA tumblr called just another ikea catalog [VERY NSFW] consists of clips from hardcore pornography in which Ikea furniture appears, converted to animated GIFs with catalog-style product names and pricing superimposed as appropriate.
An article in Neue Westfälische (machine translation to English) quotes a German trademark specialist who believes that Ikea may be able to have the site censored under a German legal doctrine that entitles companies to protect their "business honor" ("Geschäftsehre berufen"), which is not something I've heard of.
Meantime, just another ikea catalog [again, VERY NSFW] remains as a testament to the ubiquity of Ikea furniture, which has become a kind of modern default background in just about every interior, including porn sets. (via MeFi)
QuoteAsk for evidence
Evidence matters in many of the decisions we make - as patients, consumers, voters and citizens. If you want to know whether a claim made in a policy, newspaper article, advert or product is backed by scientific evidence, ask the people making the claim to provide it.
- See more at: http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/a4e.html#sthash.KyveImr5.dpuf
Quotei would be HAPPY to get to know you. interested?
QuoteAre you in the Alberta Arts/Mississippi neighborhood? I want to clarify that I am not looking for dating or hookups, just expanding my neighborhood social circle.
QuoteI live in my 1978 Dodge Xplorer 18.5ft HouseCar (a classic with sunken floor), so I find myself in many areas. Alberta / Mississippi areas are indeed great to visit and street camp.. So YES. As well I fully understand your interest is social network expansion NOT dating nor 'hookups'. I myself am OPEN TO, though not searching for beyond the getting to know and allowing for highest good / integrity etc at any given moment.
Today will be a good test as well for the HC as the drizzle i hope stays OUTSIDE....
So, from here?
Quote"My Little Pony" is no pop culture newcomer. It began as a television series in 1983 to help sell My Pretty Pony Hasbro toys to young girls. An animated film followed, along with several generations of the show. "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is the latest — and the first to draw the attention of both girls and grown men. Launched in 2010 on cable's Hub Network, it is now the network's top series for girls ages 2-11, households and men ages 18-34, according to network publicist Dupe Bosu. The show centers on six magical ponies, who battle evil.
Donnie Weiss, an 18-year-old who lives in Rockville and plans to attend BronyCon this weekend, likes brony culture because it defies expectations.
"The whole idea of going against the social norm is kind of exciting for us," he said. "We found that by supporting each other and not letting anyone put us down for liking the show, it's kind of rallied us together."
Many bronies say their obsession centers on the show's cast of well-rounded, relatable characters. Weiss said he's most like Fluttershy, as they are "both kind of socially awkward but we both like to muster the courage to speak out when we need to." And Max Stahman, a first-year graduate student at the University of Maryland, is drawn to Rarity, a pony who is "somewhat snobbish and can rub people the wrong way, but ultimately has the best intentions and is a nice person."
Quote"Every year there's some sort of swimming hole at the Gathering," Daff told me, "The guys from Twiztid dubbed it 'Lake Hepatitis.' I'm not sure what happened with the fish, but they weren't floating like this the first day."
Maybe runny face paint had thrown off the ph balance, I suggested.
"Maybe. Folks were slapping each other with them when they first started surfacing."
I was having a bit of a hard time reconciling all the weird spiritual and individual-empowerment business with the general adolescent dumb I'd been basting in all day. The few people I'd talked to so far had been really well-spoken and thoughtful, but it seemed like everyone around me was inarticulate to the point of it being sort of endearing. Daff was able to put it into concrete terms:
"The thing with ICP is there are very few sort of 'casual fans.' I'd say people who like the music but don't consider themselves Juggalos make up maybe five to ten percent of their overall fanbase. The rest are the type of kids you see here."
I was momentarily distracted as we passed by a pavilion full of ninjas bouncing a beach ball to the strains of "Help Me, Ronda."
"Oh, that's Violent J's Beach Boys Blowout Beach Blast, or some other alliteration," Daff informed me. "He's really into the Beach Boys."
After I regained my composure, he resumed his explanation.
"Then there's five or ten percent of Juggalos at the other end of the spectrum who are the sort of people I like to hang out with. They're the type who really think about the whole Dark Carnival and are into things like the Quest for Shangri-La and Morton's List." He took a minute to choose his next words. "There's sort of an opinion about Juggalos, that a lot aren't very bright—"
There was a sudden eruption of cheering down the hill from us, where the Love Train had just rolled behind some trees.
"You know what that is, right?" Daff asked me.
"Titty-flash?" I hazarded as a guess.
Daff nodded gravely.