It's not my fault if you won't let it die!
More like this
Joy, of TelicThoughts, posted some gentle thoughts on PZ Myers, they were deleted due to "incompetence." As a public service, the vile mess is below the fold:
"He Should Die of Gonorrhea and Rot in Hell":
Yeah, that's a a movie quote*. And quite funny too, considering the movie and the context.…
This is a nicely done essay prompted by the papal poltroonery that has been going on in Sydney recently. Here are a few bits:
I don't give a stuff what people believe in, but it won't stop me poking at it or prodding it. Why should religion be any exemption? Telling me I'm going to hell won't…
Ok... maybe not for real reals but there are some brain eating amoebas taking over the world. Ok maybe they're not taking over the world but they really (for real this time!) have killed a few people.
According to the AP:
A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks…
In the fair use story that just won't die, my internet romp over the use of a figure from the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture was mentioned in this story on Newsweek now. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this article in The Scientist describes that incident factually. The…
Bam!
Live Journal is behaving again. Am I the only human on earth who does not like horror movies? Well, a couple were ok.
BTW, Friends of Pharyngula met in Catonsville today and had a great time. We were ten this time and hope we are growing.
Woo-hoo. Now I can comment on random things without a) having to wait ten minutes for it to load, and/or b) it crashing.
An Easter quote from the inimitable Bill Hicks:
Since I'm not a huge chocolate fan, I'm going to - from this year on - instead celebrate the gifts provided by the world's newest invisible, undetectable being, The Blue Vein Cheese Eagle.
I'm tired. After Rochester, I went to see Roy Zimmerman in Cannon Falls...then had to drive all the way to Madison and back home to pick up Son #2. And what do I get? Graeme Bird and Ishkababbler morphing to avoid their bans, and spewing all over the threads. Gimme a break!
Die? We're just getting started.
I whipped up a special batch of
Easter grog. Guaranteed to make you start the day with a hangover. Keep the Pullet Patrol™ away from your dribbles though, or Mistress Patricia might have ***** waiting for you.
Does anyone have any advice for marinating a precooked ham?
I wish MANT from Matinee had been made into a feature.
That would have been awesome.
Evelle doesn't hold a candle to Vampira.
Jolly Rancher jelly beans are goooooood.
Now THAT's cheepnis.
I love the MST3K version of that movie
/Breaking PZ's heart
How about a song? Here's a Stan Rogers' ballad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ei7MS3gdXk&playnext_from=TL&videos=MMQjM-SKIKU
Sorry, bad link in my post #12.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ei7MS3gdXk
They're generally not my thing either.
But then, they're good when they're not quite horror... Or not just horror. Horror mixed with somethin' else, that's often good.
So I guess I see horror as bein' kinda like vermouth.
As in: there's no one on the planet drinks that shit straight. But waved properly over a glass of gin, it does officially make it a martini.
Less obliquely: Alien was a good movie, and that was a SF/horror blend. I really rather liked Sleepy Hollow actually, and that was sorta a lightish, insanely pretty* horror homage. Hour of the Wolf is what you get when Bergman takes it into his head he wants to do horror, and that was really good, too... And... Umm... I'm pretty sure I can think of other examples. Right after this martini.
(*/Depp, Ricci, both very pretty. Crazy, artificial fog-cloaked English location and soundstage forest, criminally pretty.)
From the previous incarnation:
iambilly:
Nah. Snow sometimes happens in April, but May 15th is our 'free to garden like insane gardeners' date. Storms of this magnitude are unusual in April. Hailstorms happen in July.
Pygmy Loris:
It actually started in April. The 1st to be exact. Some joke, eh? :D Thank you. There's word going around that we might have power back as early as Monday, but I'm glad we got the generator. I really feel for the people who couldn't get one. My husband went to 3 stores looking today, and bought the display model at Lowes, and there were people around him who wanted to buy it too. Lowes was getting an emergency truckload in from Fargo, so hopefully, most people who needed one managed to get one. I'm just happy to have the net back, it's good for one's sanity.
Oh. Right. And Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre is actually pretty awesome. And that's sorta a horror mix thing, too.
Harrrmmmppphhhhhhh
Tis, you had me looking forward to that wonderful voice. I means she's nice, but how about this instead.
The REAL Stan Rogers
Then, of course, there is my favorite.
Oh, and since we are the topic of Easter
Tomorrow is not only Easter, the secular celebration of the new life of Spring, but it is also my darling daughter's 14th birthday. Grandparents and the rich aunt chipped in to buy her a drum set. A nice one.
Oooooo I can't wait...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF-k4wg70rg
leepicton | April 3, 2010 9:42 PM:
The overwhelming majority - not just Sturgeon's 90%, but more like 99.999% - of horror movies are pure pig excrement. But the movie industry has spent tens of billions of dollars and about a hundred years training its customers to slurp up pig excrement and love it.
otrame,
Here's the only political song Stan ever recorded. It was also the last song he ever recorded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwld86XndSY&feature=related
Etiquette is a complicated subject in the modern world. Given the mix of cultures and traditions that prevail in many modern urban centres, determing the correct way simply to say 'thank you' can be fraught... I say fraught with complications...
Still, some things are both timeless and universal. And I'm pretty sure the correct way to thank anyone who's just bought someone who (a) lives with you, and (b) is in their adolescence a drumset is... Hold on... Let me just confirm this one with my Judith Martin guide...
(Flips through pages...)
Hrm. Yep. Thought so...
(/... Miss Manners is of the opinion that the approved gesture of thanks for such kindnesses as these is a grenade thrown through their picture window. With no warning given.)
@22
Yeah. "causes are ashes where children lie slain".
at least we've gotten a little peace from
"and the damned UDL and the cruel IRA
will tomorrow go murdering again".
*sigh
I wish he was still with us. But at least we have what he left us.
hee hee
and if (a) does not hold?
AJ Milne,
"If thine enemy offend thee, buy each of his children a drum." -Attributed to Confucius
Sven
..then insist it's such a great gift that you wouldn't dream of said child being parted from it and as such it should be kept at your ex's house so said child can have maximum "play" time.
Follow this up with hearty thanks to the grandparents on such a kind gift and suggest as an idea for next year, said child has also always expressed a hankering for a saxaphone.
When I am wishing to be particularly evil, I threaten the spawn with presenting my darling grandson with a drum (he is 10 months old right now and pounds on everything anyway - see facebook movie). Spawn threatens to take steps to make sure he can collect his inheritance in a more timely fashion that I would naturally have planned.
otrame,
Unfortunately my favorite Stan Rogers' song isn't on YouTube or any of the other music video sites. That's "Sailors' Rest."
It starts off great with the first line, "It's acrimony down in the card-room", and just keeps on being good to the last lines in the last chorus:
EXTERIOR SHOT: Jesus, outside tomb.
Jesus: (looking toward sky, raspily) I told you to let me die!
Lee:
My threat in reserve for when the Aquaria spawn spawns is to give him one of those Fisher-Price Corn Popper. Cheaper, the sound will drive you crazy, but, the most annoying of all? It's portable.
Found it! The video is a guy tying a dry fly with "Sailors' Rest" as accompaniment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzx1AtzFhkA
A reminded to everyone that tomorrow is Zombie Awareness day. A time to gather with your loved ones and practice your 'mercy killing drills'. Remember, Always Aim for the Head, least we make the same mistake a centurion did 2000 years ago with a botched zombie execution. If you don't stop the outbreak in the beginning it can go on to become pandemic and form a religion.
You're thinking too small. Bagpipes!
For a second there, I thought Evelle was Michele Bachmann in drag. Sure scared the bejeezus outta me!
She's certainly no Vampira, or Elvira, for that matter.
For this, my understanding is, Miss Manners approves air strikes.
(/My father played--nay, plays--those. Ah, the memories. The squealing, droning, whining, oh fuck will you please make them go away memories...)
As an ex-drummer I have learned one thing: While everyone loves music, no one wants to live next to a musician.
'Tis: Bagpipes! Haunting, Celtic, badassy.
bwahahaha
I am going out to New Mexico in a couple of weeks to play some accordion/banjo duets with a buddy of mine. Bagpipes would complete that trio for sure.
Why are you an ex-drummer?
I LOVE Jodorowsky but I don't think that's really horror. Is it? I dunno. My movie taste would probably disturb. I hate slashers though except maybe for some of the old gialo stuff. Some of the horror of Italy, like the house with laughing windows, also works as a metaphor for life in a small village under a fascist government. Spain has some films like this as well that are worth it I think.
I never know whether to say I like horror or not though because while I do like a deeply disturbing and provocative film (Visitor Q, Holy Mountain, The Reflecting Skin...) I also often like films because they are visually stunning and affecting (Russel's The Devils is one of my favorites)...
Well the final results are in for the Pharyngula NCAA Bracketology Challenge. In a stunning last-minute come-from-behind victory, it looks like it's (((Billy))) the Atheist, who correctly picked Duke for the championship game (worth a big 160 pts.), winning it all with a total of 810 points. I was left behind in a pitiful second place with 730 after my own Spartans went down to freakin Butler, and everybody else was worse than that.
A mug's game, I tells ya.
I did kick President Obama's ass though. And Dick Vitale's for that matter, baby.
Crap did I just trail off there? Yeah... I'm in make-mode right now.
Anyway, while I like those films the cheap gotcha tricks, or the omg boobs bouncing while some one is disemboweled, just don't reach me.
Gawd that movie gave me nightmares as a child! (Thanks PZ.) I still shuddered when that guy's arm got ripped out of its socket.
Movies like that are where expressions like "The Heebie Jeebies" are born...
#40:
Oh, hell, I dunno. That was kinda the point. It's kinda horor, uses some of the language, but does its own thing...
Come to think of it, see also The Devil's Backbone. It's got a ghost. But the ghost is so, so far from being the scariest thing in the film.
(/Seriously, it's like: I'll take the ghost over some of the actually living people in this thing. It can tuck me in at night, for all I care. I'd be pretty okay with that, relatively speaking.)
I dunno. I think that in those films the supernatural becomes a metaphor for experience that we might not be able to relate to on a visceral level when given the actual context.
For instance, if you watch a film that is directly about a specific situation, say living in a remote home under Franco's rule, then it is too easy I think for viewers to feel secure. We've never experienced that, it's happening to them. While we may feel bad for them we don't necessarily tap into the emotional experience of that fear or situation (or at least as the directer et all see or feel it).
In horror, or good horror, that damage or pain or experience is translated to something abstract, or is made transparently human (I think both approaches work well) and then we feel the fear or the pain on a more visceral level as if it truly affects us.
Or rather... some of us? Me and my friends who like horror that is :P
Oh yeah, that's some great spelling up there man. I'm proud of myself.
I should make signs for the tea party.
#45:
Well, quite. But again: that's exactly the point.
As in: it's not just horror, and that's what's great about it. As per my previous: it uses those techniques precisely for an artistic effect rather beyond merely scaring the bejeebus out of you (or occupying a few hours of screen time while the audience gropes one another, whichev).
Geoffrey #835 from ep. XLIV
My apologies, could was supposed to be italisized. I stated in #786 that he appropriates the actions as jokular, something which i find a serious slight to the ramifications of stupid people in high positions of influence--the publishing power held by texas, in addition to being the the capital of the Creotard rebel state.
I did read the post, but i was replying to Ol'Greg in regards to his proposed hypothetical retaliatory stance as the postmaster of a blog. I realise PZ's reaction differed from that, but apparently Josh had a similar reaction, though things are smoothing out i think.
Don't i feel special; two sequential responses to my comments :)
I know you aren't. No one here is, in any dramatic sense of the word (and if there were some who fit that description, i wouldn't go about needlessly pointing fingers becasue that would serve no purpose).
Josh, i understand. But then again, i cannot. As much as PZ loathes accomodationalism, you seem to be insisting that i accomodate his (i find) lackadaisical respose to what is ostensibly one of the biggest issues in our education system at this very moment. We need an immediate knee-jerk response calling for the impeachment of these offenders of intellect!
And another thing, i need to rouse at least a semblance of concern for the issue. I cannot understand how you, my fellow pharangulites, -oids, and OMs, can be burnt out about this discussion but are still roaring strong over the pope and his fucking problems (pun intended). That issue is being dealt with by the global population en masse, because it is a global issue that will destroy the church. Our input (while appropriate and natural) seems to be coming at the expense of more pressing domestic issues which PZ as a professor should take personal affront to.
It's time to play Be the Facebook Fan!
I once found Eraserhead in the horror section of a video rental store. And all this time I thought it was a comedy.
Since then, have gobbled up everything Jodorowsky ever directed, BTW. Lynch just wasn't weird enough.
Two things I think.
1.) People prioritizing the goal of keeping children from being systemically raped across the globe over keeping children from receiving piss poor public educations in the States.
2.) People who are involved in things like TFN and whatnot such as myself already put a lot of time into places where that is the focus rather than here.
Just my guesses.
Eraserhead is an acid trip rivaled only by the Revelation of John in weirdness.
Surely the comments have moved away from The Brain That Wouldn't Die, but . . .
© ALTA VISTA PRODUCTIONS, February 15, 1962? Really? Why not add the time it was released while they were at it?
Ol'Greg wrote:
Once a drummer, always a drummer. It's in the blood. And whatever remains of the brain...
Yes, I'm a self-hating drummer.
Ah Wowbagger, don't go hating yourself for being a drummer. It's not your fault. You see the only way to gain the four limb coordination required to play a drum kit is to be possessed by the devil. This is why drummers cause so much chaos, it's the devil leaking out. Er, then again maybe not... :)
I gigged as a guitarist for a bunch of years and the best advice I got was to never help the drummer load out their kit. If you do it once you'll have to do it every time and that cuts into your drinking time and is bad for your back.
+1055-287+56=38589-40000= C-1411 till thread reaches 4x10^3 comments!!!
1410= 2x3x5x47 by the way :)
If only my comment had been 689, then i would be totally mindblown hahaha
Well I hate all you drummers for not living near me. I'd give my eye teeth for a drummer who'd work with me around here. I figure the chances of that are rare enough that I would probably have to get a good portion of the drummers in the world within a 50 mile radius of me to find one. Meh...
Drums are awesome. If I hadn't spent the last 20 years of my life playing piano I'd have probably spent them playing drums.
Ah, you misremember, Milne. She wrote airbursts, with the full neutron enhancement option encouraged.
In some parts of the galaxy it is considered that bagpipe playing merits removal of the parent star. Retroactively. You know it makes sense.
Ah.. switching my self link to my blog now. Blog is pretty dull and generally not related to things on this one so I won't go mentioning it all the time.
New music is supposedly coming, dunno when. I'm going to try to work on some recording myself. And maybe some new videos for youtube. But it makes more sense to put them on my blog because it may be that the whole world ends before I ever update that poor website.
\blogwhore
Tommy Makem used to say: "The Irish gave the pipes to the Scots, who never have understood the joke."
A piper playing the archtypical pipes tune.
Ten atheists walked into a bar on Saturday, April 3, and had such a great time. What with the funny and/or outrageous stories, blasphemy, and snark, we lost track of the time and stayed at the bar for 3 1/2 hours.
I think this was the best Baltimore Pharyngula Fans get-together yet. If you're a member of the group and haven't come to one of our get-togethers, you're really missing some very interesting conversation and lots of laughs.
A drumming teenager! I have the next worst thing at my house - a tap dancing teenager! The trouble is that he is built like a football lineman (yes, he does play football) It isn't easy to find double wide tap shoes. I just bought him a new $300 pair So imagine a football lineman with an expensive pair of percussion instruments on his feet, stomping around on my hardwood floors. Did I mention he is known to spontaniously break into song as well. And man-o-man, can he project!
You have a drumming teenager - I feel your pain.
So. Anyone else planning to change his or her status message to "I am risen" when they wake up tomorrow?
Good times.
@Ol' Greg
Visitor Q (as well as Gozu and a couple other Miike films) caused me to literally slam my head against the couch and gouge at my eyes with my fingers. Not kidding at all.
Personally, I love horror films. Toby Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, and Let the Right One In are easy favorites. Dario Argento has made quite a few good ones as well. As for less-well-known Giallo flicks, everyone should see Torso some time. More gratuitous TNA than Caligula.
Bagpipes.
Ah. I see 'Tis got there ahead of me.
Remember, Always Aim for the Head, least we make the same mistake a centurion did 2000 years ago with a botched zombie execution.
And always double tap.
Annnd, blockquote fail.
And always double tap.
Zombieland = win
JohnHamilton makes me think of Charlie Wagner.
There's that same insistence that oh, no, he's no creationist. How dare we call him that?!
There's that same insistence that sure, there's the fact of evolution (observation), but the theory (explanation) of evolution is completely inadequate or invalid or whatever.
But otherwise the style is very different. Actually referring explicitly to a "higher intelligence" or discussing souls is not something CW usually does, as I recall, and JH hasn't suggested panspermia, or even talked much about abiogenesis.
Meh. The feel of similarity is probably apophenia on my part.
Still, I wonder if JH has a Hawaiian IP address?
I'm not sure if JohnHamilton has really thought the implications of his argument through. He seems to want to limit science to the observation, and completely take away its explanatory power. Thus we can't know anything beyond the observed - it means that something non-controversial like a heliocentric solar system is unknowable because all we have are data points of the planets observed from earth. That the data points fit within the theoretical framework of a heliocentric orbit as observed from our position also in such an orbit doesn't make a bit of difference. It's going beyond the observed and thus can't be explained.
In other words, JohnHamilton in is desire to see evolutionary theory knocked out has knocked out the entire means of doing science. Science is theory-laden, so by trying to remove the possibility of explanations has reduced himself to a position where he can't know anything!
Gravity: Just a theory.
'Tis
...naaahh, YOU'RE thinking too small - TUBA!!!! Then you've got the additional excuse as to why it should really, really stay at the ex's house.
..As a corollary, my dear old departed atheist Scot grandad used to play the bagpipes when he'd had a few whiskeys. This of course was every afternoon at about 4 pm (he was surgeon so we'll just have to presume anything after about 12 was a "suspect" diagnosis) My gran soon worked out this fit nicely with school ending time so she'd banish him to the local school (which was mercifully staggering distance) to play on their oval to his heart's content.
..My gran's coming to stay tomorrow for a few days so I'll no doubt get a bit more of the juicy goss from her. She turned 94 last week and still walks her dog 4 klms a day and was one of the first radical feminists in the 30's in Aust. I love her gorgeous atheist heart to death!!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175491/
Now there's a horror movie ?
This talk of bagpipes reminds me of an old joke.
What is the definition of a Scottish Gentleman ?
A man who knows how to play the bagpipes, but refrains from doing so.
I'm not sure if this has already been discussed (I've been computer free fro the last few days):
http://canberra.iprime.com.au/index.php/news/national-news/atheists-hit…
When I was watching the news on Friday night and it was reported that both the Catholics and Anglicans had a go at atheism in their Good Friday sermons, I could only help but think that maybe we've really stared to scare them.
In his recent book The New Atheism, Victor Stenger has Xtians #1 @ 2.1 B, Muslims #2 @ 1.5 B, & 'Secular/non-religious/agnostic/atheist' in 3rd place @ 1.1 Billion. I dunno, maybe it's all true.
@Pareidolius #53: Is it a good thing or a bad thing that this movie came out the day I was born? I love the classic horror films...Creature from the Black Lagoon, Wolfman, Dracula. Never got into a lot of the modern day ones.
Did somebody say "bagpipes"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n9hbYwZZqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XETk-zYa11U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuCbafqBDQ&feature=related
(not to my taste but someone might like it ...)
specially for Australian bagpipe lovers (1) - a busker from Freemantle WA:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNBwwXbKquw&feature=related
specially for Australian bagpipe lovers (2) - Melbourne (??)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UaJ9UKM7kk&feature=related
(turn up the volume and let it rip!!)
Caine:
And June. Some years back, we (the family (not The Family)) were headed for Yellowstone on Vacation. First day, WB PA to Janesville, WI. Day two, to Bismark, ND.
As we pulled over the hills on the east side of town we say funnel clouds on the horizon. We listened to the radio and waited for the all clear. Then we went to our hotel and, as I unlocked the door, sirens started going off. And it began to hail. Fist sized chunks. A foot deep of fist-sized chunks.
After the storm, we headed out to find food (Taco Johns (do they have to put potatoes in everything?). The hail had clogged the drains in the downtown underpasses (under the BNSF line) and they were full to the bottom of the railroad bridges. There were piles of hail two or three feet (about .5 to .9 meters (for all ya'll furriners)) deep in the gutters and on the roads.
While we ate dinner, I overheard a conversation from the next table -- two old ladies (I think they were in their late 200s) were arguing over god(s) and his input into the situations. One said we should thank god(s) for making sure no one was hurt and there was plenty of warning (no thanks (apparently) to the National WEather Service). The other claimed that this was proof that god(s) was angry and all needed to retent.
Our minivan ended up needing a new roof (we were able to continue the vacation (blizzard in Yellowstone, tornadoes in Gillette, normal vacation (just send in the killer bees))), though the van looked like a golf ball (got great mileage for the remainder of the vacation). Unfortunately, a hot rod group was having a huge multistate and multinational meet (hail does not get along well with five layers of hand rubbed lacquer). And an Airstream owners group was also there for a national convention (thin aluminium gets along even less well than the fancy-pants paint).
We heard later it was the most expensive storm in the history of the Dakotas. May still be.
I've been snowed on, somewhere, every month of the year. Once, in August, was on top of Mount Whitney when I was like five years old. And we were all in shorts. Brrrrr.
Off to work. Enjoy Zombie Jesus Day. And remember, the eggshells are good for repelling slugs.
But not theists and True Believers(TM).
Shucky darns.
I've spent today watching an interview between Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath. Infuriating at times, though quite insightful.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing that this movie came out the day I was born?
I was only 12 days old when it came out. :)
Once a drummer, always a drummer. It's in the blood. And whatever remains of the brain...
Yes, I'm a self-hating drummer.
That sounds a lot like something my husband would say.
Honey, is that you? Warm up some coffee cake, would you?
:P
Bride of Shrek OM:
An electric banjo and a Marshall stack.
Men who dress in scratchy wool skirts, throw trees for sport and play a musical instrument inspired by tortured cats.....how can you not like such iconoclastic independence in a people???
Does anyone have any advice for marinating a precooked ham?
Marinate?
I coat them in a brown sugar, mustard, and spice mixture, then use whiskey to baste during cooking.
Nah. Snow sometimes happens in April, but May 15th is our 'free to garden like insane gardeners' date. Storms of this magnitude are unusual in April.
Hold it. Did I miss a storm while here in Chicago?
Some years ago, my brother-in-law and his wife gave my son a drum. Not nice.
We retaliated, though.
Since they don't like to fly, they, and their six-year-old daughter, took Amtrak to Florida to visit (((Wife)))'s parents for Christmas break (we drove (20 hours)). We gave her a couple of presents to open on the train.
One of those presents was, in honour of the trip, a train whistle. Not the nice four-chime wooden whistle with the mellow and soothing chord. Oh, no. This was a three-chime whistle (in a minor 7th) which emits piercing and thoroughly annoying screech.
When, upon arriving in Florida, they objected to the present, we reminded them of the drum.
Turnabout is fairplay.
(Though Fairplay is a town just South of Hagerstown, MD on the road to Sharpsburg. Not sure where Turnabout is.)
Aaahhhh! All this talk about Music! Do you know how hurtful it is? No wonder, our friendly neighborhood Taleban in Somalia are so very afraid of music, that they have banned radio stations from playing music in Somalia. Good job, keeping all that music in check!
In other news from our Bizarro world, our friendly guardians of public morality in Dubai has successfully managed to keep the land in the throes of the Dark Ages, and jailed a British couple for kissing in public. OMA! Imagine! Kissing in public! What an outrage! Go Dubai! At least you are thinking of THE CHULDRUN!
The Gurkhas have taken to the pipes:
http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/75950/ghurka_with_bagpipes.jpg
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Travel/Brunei/GurkhaBand.jpg
Aye lassie we do love our kilts and are particularly fond of our sporrens, the tossing of the kaber is more manly than tree hugging and the bagpipes added much needed melody to music, we invented golf who ever thought that sport would attract groupies, to the culinary world we introduced the haggis.....aye we are a race of great accomplishments.
We are however responsible for a major catastrophe, some years back at the highland games in Sydney a misdirected kaber hit an innocent bystander causing massive brain damage and thus Graeme Bird was let loose upon the world.
@ someone wrote:
I would suggest bourbon... burp!
eh, that should be "Bourbon".
Turnabout Ranch in Utah
Well, if it is country ham, you need to 'marinate' it in water. For a week. Changing the water daily. After, of course, shaving off the fuzz and scraping off the salt and nitre.
Wait. That's not cooked yet, just cured (of what?).
If I'm reheating a ham, I use brown sugar or maple suger and mustard (an some chili peppers), wrap it in foil and bake until hot. Then I nuke a black bean patty for my vegetarian daughter (she has complicated dinner so freakin' much (but (between high school band, chorus, theater, work and her #$**$#*! boyfriend) she's rarely home for dinner).
I nearly had to strangle an Easter sunrise asshole this morning. I got up, admittedly forgotting what day it was, and headed out to the beach to catch a sunrise and maybe get some photos.
Well torture celebrator fuckhead and his little shit kids and annoying wife decided that despite the fact that I had been there on a virtually empty stretch of beach for 30 mins with my tripod set up framing the pier for the sunrise shot, that his need to stand directly in front of me and read from his bible was more important.
I proceeded to give him and his wife a little lesson on common courtesy.
The nerve of some assholes.
And he was a local too, not even a tourist.
Motherfucker.
Happy fucking Easter everyone.
That's something always appropriate for a Sunday morning. The fucking, that is.
He is Risen!
And He Made Coffee!
I'm only an ex-drummer because I no longer have a drum-set. I bought my daughter one, though. The noise doesn't bother me as much as the quiet, as they say.
Sven: tell me that you aren't the banjo half of the accordion-banjo duo. My brother is a pretty accomplished accordion player, and I have just started playing banjo. We spent hours around the holidays arranging Irish tunes for that pair of instruments. I think the two instruments are really pretty complementary...except that an accordion can be played much louder than a banjo.
a) I don't like the ones I find sadistic.
b) I can't usually watch, or take seriously (and therefore can't get scared by) the sort with a supernatural basis. Demons? Anti-Christs? Poltergeists? Ghosts? I just find them ridiculous.
c) I like horror films with daft monsters, and zombies, aliens etc (but not vampires, yawn), even if their existence does break scientific laws.
d) I can't stand movies where some the evil protagonists keep popping back from the dead. That's just lazy, cheating, film making, imo.
I think the films that I find the scariest are those which just have humans, with no special powers. Something like the Coen brothers "In Cold Blood". Slighty dishonest people, who think everyone else is up to something, so they start trying to protect themselves, or take advantage. Paranoia soon means that everyone misinterprets everyone else's moves. Everything escalates and soon it's completely out of hand. Normal people creeping around trying to murder other normal people for perfectly logical reasons. That's scary.
And, of course, there are exections to every rule. Eg, "Rosemary's Baby" is creepy/scary, despite the fact that it depends on my suspending reality so far as to accept the existence the Xtian Satan.
"He is risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. I do, however, have this delicious ham..."
I've been frightened and seen massive amounts of blood in real life and I did not enjoy the sensations. I do not watch movies whose main function is to frighten me and show me massive amounts of blood.
I (mostly) just dropped in to see if what, in the light of his previous comments about the limits of his support for the (UK) Conservative Party, ,b>Walton has to say about the comments by their Shadow Home Minister.
Walton, time to quit the Tories, no?
PS ~ any pictures of 'Tis's boat? Sorry if you posted anything that I've missed.
Happy Zombie Day, everybody.
Sorry to hear about the jerk, Rev. Did you get the shot, or did he take up too much time and you had to miss it? The guy actually got right in front of you? It's amazing how piously uncivil some people can be.
I love horror movies...the more slasherific the better. This is weird because real-life violence nauseates me. In the same way, I'm crazy about Kung-Fu movies, but can't stand that ultimate-fighter cage-match bullshit. It creeps me out.
The Rev is right about some people having no sense of courtesy.
I once upset a group of people in our local Tesco. It was the week before Christmas, and the store was packed. It was hard enough getting your trolley down an aisle, but to make matters worse two couples had decided to stop at the end of one aisle totally blocking it. Several people asked them to move, but they took little notice.
I went up to them and said that whilst they were doing a good job of screwing things up for other shoppers they could do better, and that if they went and stood in the entrance they could be even bigger pains in the backside.
For some reason they thought I was being rude.
I'd suggest Happy Bunny Passover Eastern Mary-nade
1: Mogan David Concord Grape Wine: a bottle worth poured generously over...
2. Cold smoked lamb's blood. : 10 oz
3. clam stock : disclaimer: this verbage is not a veiled reference to Scientology.: a whole can
4.Philadephia Cream Cheese. 3 wobblespoons.
5.Stone ground Vatican aged cracker flour and whole wheat bagels with extra Palestinian blood olives. to taste
Blend vigorously in koscher lard and vegan Kobi Beef hooves.
Serve on leavened un-stupid.
An excellent compliment to graised Rabbit in mint sauce.
Brilliant! I know I'm going to be using that soon. Thanks.
I'm one of those increasily rare people who asks people to take their feet of bus and tube seats , pick up the litter they've just dropped on the pavement and put it in the bin 4 feet away etc etc.
(And why do people hide their empty crisp packets etc in my hedge? At least if they just dropped it in the street the council cleaners would pick it up some time in the next week.)
Thanks scooterKPFT: I will be using that Mary-Nade on tonight's sacrificial leg of lamb.
[quote]I'm one of those increasily rare people who asks people to take their feet of bus and tube seats , pick up the litter they've just dropped on the pavement and put it in the bin 4 feet away etc etc.[/quote]
I do that still. And sometimes I will hand it back them saying I think they dropped it, as though it was something valuable.
I don't own a boat. I sail with a friend who owns one. I don't know if there's a picture of his boat on the intertubes, but here's a couple of boats of the same class, Erickson 39s:
http://charthorizon.com/races/2008_chicago_mackinac/htdocs/images/boats/Nana_full.jpg
http://www.sailingtexas.com/Pics/picericson39100a.jpg
http://www.sailingtexas.com/Pics/picericson39100b.jpg
I don't own a boat. I sail with a friend who owns one. I don't know if there's a picture of his boat on the intertubes, but here's a couple of boats of the same class, Erickson 39s:
http://charthorizon.com/races/2008_chicago_mackinac/htdocs/images/boats/Nana_full.jpg
http://www.sailingtexas.com/Pics/picericson39100a.jpg
It struck me just now, upon reading of various Easter-themed happenings, that my friends and I have arranged to have some good breakfast vittles, then go hiking today, and no one has mentioned Easter or church or any of that happy horseshit. If anyone mentions it to me, I'll say "Happy Zombie Jesus Day" back, but it's quite possible that no one even feels the need to say anything, or think about it.
How freakin' awesome is that?
Matt
Oh yes, the more deadpan the better. I like to ask the seat-filthiers where they got their magic hover boots, because I'd love a pair. It's great fun watching them trying to work out what's going on.
(Plus, of course, I'm less likely to get knifed if I'm standing there with a friendly smile on my face).
'Tis
Mmmmm.
I can't get over this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puph1hejMQE
I saw this band live here in Dallas. The last time they had played they were at club Dada and no one knew who they were. They were great though, that was Yellow House I think. But I figured they'd just be another post rock indie sort-of-cool band like Acron Family. I saw they were coming to the Granada though on the Vackatimest tour and picked up some tickets because I had gotten hold of that album and thought... dang these guys get better each album.
I was lucky. Apparently that album hit rolling stone and by the afternoon the show was sold out.
Totally worth it. They put on a really amazing show! One of the best live performances I've seen at that venue.
That was a long aside, but the video is cool. Awesome stop motion stuff.
700 Pipers and Drummers in Calgary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZUZCoMKxA&feature=related
RTL @#102:
I don't think Grayling's comments were homophobic. Rather, I think it was a reasonable answer to one of the most difficult questions in a free society: how do we draw a balance between protecting oppressed groups from discrimination, and guaranteeing to private individuals the right to act according to their conscience within their private lives?
On the one hand, we, quite rightly, have anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, and other areas that apply both to the public and private sectors. In obtaining the necessities of life - food, housing, a job, and so on - someone should not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender or sexual orientation, and it is absolutely right that the state should take action to protect them from discrimination. Similarly, religious groups performing public functions - like Catholic adoption agencies - should be compelled either to follow anti-discrimination laws, or shut down and be replaced with secular alternatives.
On the other hand, there are limits. I hope we would all agree here that the state should not, for instance, enact anti-discrimination laws forcing the Catholic Church to ordain women to the priesthood or conduct weddings for same-sex couples. Freedom of religion and freedom of association are fundamental rights; while the Catholic stance on several issues is bigoted and irrational, they have a right to apply their beliefs within their own church, without interference by the state. So there is a point at which the right to non-discrimination gives way to the right to freedom of religion and freedom of association.
But a B&B run in someone's home seems to me to fall somewhere in between these two extremes. There is certainly a strong argument for saying that they should not be covered by anti-discrimination laws. Is it the legitimate role of the state to dictate to people who they may or may not invite into their home? Certainly, I would personally condemn any bed-and-breakfast that adopted a homophobic policy - as, I'm sure, would Chris Grayling. But there is an argument that just as we give people the freedom to make decisions for their own church, we should give them the same freedom as regards their own home. This is not a homophobic argument, and I don't think it's fair to suggest that it is. As you know, I speak out against homophobia regularly both here and IRL, and am fully in support of same-sex marriage and adoption rights.
There are some homophobes left in the Tory Party - and in the Labour Party - but Chris Grayling has said nothing to suggest that he is one of them.
Walton
Very disappointed in your reply.
B&B owners run a public business. They can't then decide who can or can't stay in the rooms in their houses that they have designated for public use. They also have to obey many other laws. Do you think they should be allowed to ignore (eg) Health & Safety Laws because "it's part of their private house"? If you open a place up to the public then why should you be allowed to discriminate.
No one is asking for the guests to be free go into the private parts of the house.
Hell, this couple booked a room, and incurred expenses travelling to Cookham, to find they had no accomodation. They probably found somewhere else to stay, but they might not have.
Agian, very disappointed.
This man wants to be Home Secretary soon. The Home Secretary!
Wiki excerpt (for those who don't know what this job entails).
Vert disappointed.
?
Gone a nauseous green with disappointment?
I was the goddamn trumpet player, but I also had a van (hey baby, care to see thw waterbed?)(naw not that kind)(this kind). Permanent fucking roadie. And I'll tell you--a drumset is nothing compared to that fucking Rhodes.
Someday I will own a sousaphone. (But I'll probably get the mandolin first.)
No, no. No banjo for me. I play a convincing right-handed accordion, though I make little or no use of those left-hand chord and bass buttons. As of yet.
I hope windy will take this opportunity to post some more vids of Finnish accordionists she considers "hip"!
So how do you distinguish between a B&B discriminating against gay people, and a church - which is also open to the public - discriminating against gay people? Why is the latter OK and the former not?
I'm not saying Grayling was necessarily right. I think it's an arguable, and very difficult, issue where multiple people's legitimate rights and liberties conflict. But Grayling was not expressing homophobic ideas, and I think it's absurd to suggest that he was.
No. It's unarguable, and quite simple. What you mean is that you don't want to think about it, because that might have implications for your support for the Tories.
I'll let any others here who feel like it rip apart your "points" in more detail. I'm too annoyed to make much sense.
One of these labels is slightly exaggerated, according to the linked report: in the US, atheist males are more liberal, smarter, and better sex partners than their believer brothers.
Guess which before you click!
Damn, I could have used that at the bar last night....
Seriously though, I'm not really that convinced.
Yep, my atheism and liberalism are just fashion accessories to show off my brain.
I found this funny, if over-simplistic:
From the article linked in 121.
I mean I get the point of the article and I think that's great, but statements like this kind of irritate me. I mean these traits are assumed to have no benefit to our early ancestors but that's a helluva assumption.
Higher reasoning, analytical thought, empathy for society members, concentrating resources on one or two healthy batches of children instead of lots of less-likely-to-survive children you don't know about. That sounds like a big advantage, almost like a moving towards a stable society, the likes of which have made humans one of the most competitive species on the planet.
Ah the assumed what women want. It pops up everywhere doesn't it.
Well this female prefers atheist males because they at least don't adhere to a set of pretend moral excuses for holding ridiculous views about me or for abusing me physically or emotionally.
How's that for breeding preference.
I also prefer atheist males perhaps because I imagine they will be less likely to force any children (especially female ones) into uncomfortable social roles, or treat them badly because they are not the preferred sex.
Nothing I hate more than some one telling a six year old they will always be a sinner in the eyes of some angry sky bastard.
Owlmirror @ # 72: ... probably apophenia on my part.
So far I've checked in four dictionaries, and none has that word (though all have interesting alphabetical neighbors for it). Please support your usage, or forfeit Scrabble points.
Aren't apophenia and pareidolia similar? Seeing patterns in random events?
[checks wikipedia]
Holy crap! I was right.
Pierce,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
No.
--o--
Listening to the Easter service from York reminded of a joke told by a visiting bishop in Bath - I don't recall why I was there that night:
He'd been out celebrating mass somewhere in full gear and was driving home, when a car came at him at full speed, veered off and ended up in the ditch. Of course, he stopped immediately, jumped out of the car of the car and went over to see if the drive was alright. In the shock/surprise/wevs he even grabbed his staff.
The driver, luckily, was okay and sorta stumbled out of the wreck. At which point the bishop greated him: "Fear not. My name is Peter."
For some reason that didn't calm down the poor fellow much.
--o--
Speaking of Easter traditions: does anyone else eat an apple on a fasting heart Easter morning (or in my case 5 pm ...) to ensure good health?
I guess these days I do it in remembrance of my mother, but I don't recall where she got it from - though most likely my nan.
Were we?
No. Wtf is a "fasting heart Easter morning"?
By the way, the "define:" feature of Google is pretty handy for looking up stuff that may not be an any particular dictionary, or handful of normal dictionaries. It returns results for various dictionaries, glossaries, etc.
For apophenia, for example, just type "define: apophenia" into Google.
Still dangerous, after all these years.
China blocks Bob Dylan gigs
No we eat a lamb cake. I have to admit I almost made the cake anyway because I like cake... but I'm trying to diet.
Sweet breads, painted eggs... nothing special.
I've never heard of that custom of the apple but I'd love to know where it came from. I'd also like to know what the term fasting heart means?
Been following the homophobic B&B owners story on the local news and am appalled. I am with RTL on this one, the Conservatives do not have it right. A B&B is a public business which follows a whole slew of rules to exist. Sexual preference should be no more subject to discrimination than gender or race (whatever that word means).
Walton, it is different from a church. A church does not appear to be subject to a law that says you cannot discriminate, kind of like a private club. If the church is state supported then it should follow state rules. Then again, no church should ever be state supported. A B&B is a business that is open to the public. Would you defend the owners if they said no people of colour? No jews? No ugly people? No toffee nosed Oxford students? (Tongue in cheek on the last one.) I do not see how you can come up with a defense on this one, but willing to read your effort if you wish to make one.
You know, JohnHamilton over on the Design Flaws thread is nowhere near as fun as the guy who tried to prove Thomas Aquinas. JohnHamilton just doesn't *listen*, so all the discussions are getting nowhere.
One of the things I found most intriguing about the atheists/IQ/liberalism/monogamy story is the implicit assumption - apparently by reporter and researchers alike - that "a desire to show superiority or elitism" just comes out naturally as an expression of liberalism.
I mean, like, duh, what else?
(Imagine the types of women one might attract by vocal professions of Tea-libanism...)
BTW, Paul W. @ # 130 - thanks for a neat tip!
Scratch that. I found a horror flick I like.
Also, PeeZed is in the funnies.
liberalism is unconventional? :-/
anyway
the good: I was woken up by having bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns and a cup of freshly french-pressed coffee delivered to my bedside.
the bad: stoopid christian designers are celebrating their stoopid holiday instead of working; I haven't sold a single picture today
Sorry, bad translation from Danish. I dunno where the heart comes into it, but fasting means just that - as in breakfast: breaking fast. So 'on a fasting heart'='first thing', 'on an empty stomach'.
My personal hypothesis is that it has something to do with being able to keep the harvest fresh until Spring. So if you have apples around to eat Easter morning, you most likely have had fruit and veg to eat all through Winter, which obviously is good for your health.
But that's an explanation pulled out my arse.
I dunno. There are a lot of interesting (to me) little superstitions like that and for some reason I enjoy collecting them and seeing how they modify over time and in different areas.
My grandfather used to put a piece of silver in the bowl to wash his face after the new year.
Horror? This is horror -
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/peeps-recipes-how-to-make-pe…
2 weeks without warm water would absolutely mean I wouldn't shower for 2 weeks. I will not suffer.
Oh, that could be.
The trick with boiled beef is to eat the liquid, as soup. The best beef I know of is Tafelspitz, which I've only had once... all other boiled beef is very tough and needs chewing forever...
No :-)
It's simple: I don't like being scared. Just like how I don't like being melancholic. And that even though I haven't experienced anything similar in meatspace (see comment 101).
Some parts of the Scary Movie series were watchable, but that sort of defeats the point, doesn't it. :-)
I was able to stand Nosferatu (yes, the old one) and Carrie (the TV was on, my dad was watching them), but I didn't like them. Haven't seen any other horror movies.
Unless the Rocky Horror Picture Show counts, which we watched at school. <barf>
:-D
"The big battles you can only win by air strikes! Old rule of the bush!"
– Mortadelo y Filemón. Pun fully intended, at least in the German translation.
WTF. What is that guy doing with his neck!?! JohnHamilton will be delighted to learn of this human-frog chimera.
No. It's exceedingly funny :-)
The True Creature from the Black Lagoon is a lot more classic than you think.
It's very easy to make funny movies with vampires, though; this includes not only Mel Brooks' Dracula – Dead And Loving It, but also Blade: Trinity which was shown at the dig last year (almost everyone brings their laptops, you see).
Ew, Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
Hm. While – if we kindly ignore the "they want to show off" angle! – that article flatters me, and, funnily, flatters Jadehawk at the same time, I wonder if those IQ differences are statistically significant... and what they actually measure. And the "moving the species forward" part is just stupid. And then there are comments 123 and 124.
What do you all think of the related article on dog people and cat people? It predicts me to be a cat person, as indeed I am...
X-D
~:-| No. Your explanation makes sense, though.
Especially the one at the bottom right corner! Ugh! :-)
ROTFLMAO!!!
In the US... hey! You're the one living in ND! :-)
Congratulations!
HOLY SHIT!!!! You've got to see this.This a peek into the lighter side of the Hutaree militia members.It's not safe for work or sanity.All I can say is Holy Duck.(not a typo).http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/scar_my_tattered_body…
oh and btw guys, PZ had a whole thread on this "atheists are smarter" article a while back (which devolved into an argument whether the IQ test measures anything other than being good at taking the IQ test)
bullofthewoods! We were watching that last night... it's so odd. It's almost really good comedy. Reminds me of the old butthole surfer vids a little. It makes me sad to see creative people turn violent.
iambilly (@81), yep, that's a summer hailstorm. Did that happen in 2001? That was a record breaking hailstorm. Took four months to get our El Camino seen too, 6 months for the van. Roofers were booked solid for over a year. As for Taco John's, I don't know. I've never eaten at one.
MAJeff:
Not one that affected your area. Late Thursday through Friday saw a severe snowstorm with heavy, wet, snow, ice and high winds. Took out about a thousand towers over 150 miles from Glen Ullin to Jamestown. We'll be without power for a while.
The Rat is hiding in its nest, Pope defiant over child sex abuse:
Thor was reading Less-Brains-Than-a-Stuffed-Turkey's latest idiocy and wasn't paying attention. He sends you his apologies. Expect about a zillion mosquitoes.
Caine @ 145:
Yup, 2001. It was a most impressive storm.
We then hit 110 degree temperatures at Roosevelt National Park, a heavy snow storm at Yellowstone, and then tornadoes in Gillette.
JeffreyD,
Some hardcore libertarians, including the late Milton Friedman, would argue that all private businesses should be free to discriminate as much as they want. They argue that as long as no taxpayers' money or governmental function is involved, private businesses should be free to decide to whom they wish to provide goods and services.
I hasten to add that I don't agree with that view. In a lot of situations, there is a significant imbalance of power between businesses and individual workers or consumers; so I think it's right that the law should, in general, intervene to protect workers and consumers from discrimination on the ground of race, gender, sexual orientation, at least when it comes to the provision of basic necessities such as employment and housing. As such, I support anti-discrimination laws for the private, as well as the public, sector.
But I do also think that freedom of association is important. You seem to agree with me that churches should not be forced to ordain women or conduct marriages for gay people if this runs counter to their beliefs. As I don't think religious organisations should get special privileges, I would extend the same principle to secular political parties and private social clubs: if a racist political party wants to prohibit ethnic minority members from joining, say, or if a private club doesn't want to admit women, I would argue that the state should not force them to change their policy. As such, there are some areas to which I would not apply anti-discrimination laws.
Running a bed-and-breakfast seems to fall somewhere between these two categories. I don't think Grayling was necessarily right: but I think his position was arguable, reasonable, and certainly not homophobic. I would also add that it was a personal opinion, captured on secret tape, and does not represent an official party policy.
Okay, I have no where else to turn. I do know, however, that the other inhabitants (not me, of course) of this thread are brilliant, well-educated, well-read, well-rounded, and, well, fandamntastic people.
So here's the problem: I'm trying to locate the chords for a specific (and weird) piece of music. I found the lyrics to it:
Which, however, does me no good at all as I have a wooden ear (to go with my wooden guitar (a '64 Martin Dreadnought)) and, though I have heard the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem sing the damn thing enough, I NEED THE CHORDS!
If anyone happens to have the chords for this delightful bit of labour history, or you know where they are, could you email me at bill_clark (at) nps.gov or my home address, which is billytheatheist (at) gmail.com ?
Thank you in advance you wonderful, brilliant and well-fed people.
Iambilly... I don't know this song at all. Do you have a recording of it though? Is this it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI94HbLEzh0
Give me a sec and I'll send them to you. It's not too hard a song I don't think.
I don't know how to write guitar tab but I can give you the chords. Lemme go play it and make sure I've got it and then I'll send it to you. But maybe some other people here are better at it.
I dunno if you want it in the key he's in but you can just move it if you don't like it.
Well I got the shot, and he got an earful after I gave him about 4-5 mins to see if he's recognize what he had done.
And yes he was directly in front of my lens by about 6-10 feet. I could have spit on him.
I didn't, but I could have.
iambilly:
Damn. You need better vacation planning!
blf:
Thor. Again. I'm beginning to think that's one god with an attention span problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI94HbLEzh0
I have not checked Mr Crooke's site to see if he has the cords et al. to this song there or not.
Caine: That was the planned vacation.
Ol'Greg: I can't watch youtube at work. I'll check it at home tonight to see if that's the right one.
And the song (believe it or not) is actually work related. If you fill out the proper paperwork, all of it, maybe the gov't can pay you for your time.
And maybe giant winged porcupines will fly backwards our of me arse.
blf: The Clancy Bros. also did it in a live recording at Carnegie Hall.
Nice bit of irony, there. A song lamenting the abuse of labourers sung in Carnegie Hall.
Meh it's so short I'll just post it here. iambilly the chords in that video are
E B E A E B E
Each time you hear a change so like:
(E)They're moving father's grave to build a sewer They're
(B)moving it regardless of ex(E)pense. They're
(E)moving his remains to (A) lay down nine-inch drains...
Does that make sense.
No minor chords, no sixths, no funny stuff :P It just repeats that sequence. I can write it out in time though and mail it to you if you prefer.
Actually, Thor's short-term attention span is quite good. You try flinging great big hammers around without concentrating! The problem is, after the hammer hits, there's not point in paying any further attention to whatever it was that went SPLAT! So Thor's never needed to learn to stay focused for very long.
The Pope really needs to invoke infallibility on the subject of childrape.
(((billy))), I think that poem is by Spike Milligan - it certainly has that feel - but I'm not aware of there being a tune to it.
Report on dindins:
Omelet, a bit flat but acceptable texturewise
Bread, abject failure, not at all sour, but promising texturewise
Bear, disgustingly sweet and not at all suitable for the salty fattiness
Fatty bacon, perfectly crisp for the first time in ages.
::burps::
Now onto the farting.
Arghh. I shouldn't have made the mistake of getting involved in a mental-energy-consuming discussion on this thread. I'm exhausted and yet have to keep working, as I'm falling far behind with my exam preparation and have done much too little today. :-(
Please don't ask me any more questions that require an intelligent response.
Ewww. While I'm a great believer in candour, there is such a thing as too much information.
This should read "far too little", of course. See how law is destroying my brain. :-(
Yeah, you smell of elderberries.
Walton go away and do your work. I know it's hard. I get distracted too. I tell you what. You go study and I'll go work on the piece I said I'd donate that's due by May 3 (but I'll be in Paris then so I better hurry)......
Le Pétomane.
(E)moving his remains to (A) lay down nine-inch drains...
I screwed that up.
It's
They're (A) moving his remains to (E) lay down nine inch drains to (B) To irrigate some rich bloke's resid(E)dence.
Dunno why I wrote it that way. Sorry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXod1JglqdU
;o)
WTF?!?!?!1!!111
Walton, thanks for your reply. You should not be reading this as you should be resting or studying. I will address you later at length, if necessary.
Quickly, I agree that private associations should be able to discriminate on whatever basis they wish: race, height, hair colour, number of toes, whatever. If they are truly private. If they are meeting in a public, tax payer venue, they are not truly private. Will expand as necessary.
Regarding a B&B, no, I see no way it falls between public and private. A hotel, hostel, B&B, whatever, are all licensed to provide a public service, lodging. They are all the same. If Holiday Inn cannot discriminate then neither can Barney's and Billie's B&B. If they do not like the business, no one is forcing them to stay in business.
OK, young man, you better not be answering tonight!!!! :)
Regarding another thread element, love the really cheesy and bad horror movies. My kids and I used to watch them and do MSTK3000 before it existed. (Sans the robots of course.) Eldest daughter and I still use lines from Phantasm in our emails and on the phone. No zombie movie is too bad for me not to get some enjoyment. The ones I do not like are those that attempt to pretend they are real or take themselves too seriously. I turned off both Paranormal Entity and Paranormal Activity as they were crap. Recently, loved Zombieland, Drag Me to Hell, and I Sell the Dead.
Yes, I am warped...your point would be?
It's a shame you can not unsee something.
Now time to go bleach my brain.
'Scar My Tattered Body No More With Your Punishing Dildo Mallet' needs to become a meme.
<sigh>
I just caught up with the design flaws thread, filling 10 1/2 laptop screens in the process. There were several important things (like the fact that the definition of evolution isn't "change", but "change with heritable modification") which nobody had brought up, and several that indicate that JohnHamilton doesn't read comments by certain people (like me) at all...
There I go, trying to gently talk Jadehawk out of trying to fix all of meatspace at once (in a cryptic one-liner) because I fear she's getting depressed again, and what do I do next? I spend an entire evening acting as if I could fix all of teh intarwebz at once. To finally turn the tragedy into a farce, it's just one single creationist.
Interestingly, he's not a Christian creationist. He is the Gaia-worshipping creationist the Christian creationists so often warn us about. :-D
Urgh. "Courage"? WTF! Not even enough courage to admit his own mistakes!!!
Come on. The mere mention of the mere existence of burping and farting makes you turn away in disgust? I mean, during my first circumcision thread I had to lie down (and actually did so), but... that's not on the same level. o_O
I don't seem to have consciously noticed so far, but it's interesting that, while "much too little" is indeed unusual English at best, it's fine German, even preferred over the alternative which literally translates as "by far too little" and sounds stronger.
David @ 173
Wot? A Gaia-worshipping creationist!!!
You mean I wasted an Ishtar's worth of spleen and invective on someone who won't be remotely offended by my attempts to insult their doctrines and deity? I started trying to read the whole thread, but it is almost as long as Floyd Rubber's meatstick, so in the end I skipped to the end. Liked your posts though DM, you should think about a career.
Who can tell me where all the Xtians have gone? You know, the ones wot caint spel and USE CAPS ON all the time?
Smoggy
Missing really offending someone.
Ol'Greg: Thanks. Now I just need to put it into a key I can play. I knew ya'll could help.
@iambilly:
I'm assuming you knew the melody to the song, so why not just sing it and find the chord progressions by ear? Not trying to be insulting, just genuinely curious. When I want the chords to a song and I can't find them easily, I just work them out on the piano.
I hope all of you are aware of the terrible decision of the appelate court regarding the Snyder family, where the Snyders are required to pay the court costs of the Westboro Baptist Church. If not, read more here:
http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2010/04/04/opinion/editorials/doc4bb5…
You can donate to the legal fund of the Snyder family here:
http://www.matthewsnyder.org/
Please, everyone, donate early and donate often. Excess funds are going to a good cause, and I'd guess they'll have a lot of excess funds. Just a hunch here.
MikeM
New Doctor Who - yum. Anyone else see it yet?
Thanks MikeM. I've been bothered by that story. I tossed in a little donation. I encourage others to. I don't understand how that is protected when the audience is captive (private funeral) and especially when it is hate speech, an attack on a captive audience to keep them from doing what they are there to do.
Josh:
As I said, I have a wooden ear. If I have the actual melody written out, I can find the chords. I cannot do it by ear. I've tried.
Even songs I know really, really, really well (like the Kingston Trio's Fast Freight), I can't find the chords.
(((Wife))) and I have a theory about people: we are biological computers and every single one of us has one (or more) chips missing. Perhaps an innability to figure out the chords is one of my (many) missing chips.
Yes, damn the Beatles !!
Of course, one can always transpose the chords to something more finger-palatable !
Take for example "Octopus's garden" :
Here's the Original , I can't play that shit, but transposed up 3 half steps it becomes childsplay !!
What I learned on the radio(the BBC no less) driving to work yesterday : There is a PeeOutside-Day on April 19th , and an organised Pee Outside movement with a FB page and a website !(sort of SFW, but there is a "photos" page that I didnt look at, so dont blame me LOL)
:D
Heh. Just wrote a diatribe about why I hate it, and then remembered my granny's advice. "If you can't say anything nice about something/someone, then don't say anything at all". So I deleted my diatribe. :)
Each to his/her own. Live and let live. One man's meat etc.
Anyway, life is too short for me to waste my time watching Dr Who. I'm still trying to catch up on some of the more adult BBC series (such as "Museum of Life", and "Seven Wonders Of The Solar System").
#178 Re new Dr Who
My grandson watched it. I will get a review. (Tomorrow)
#182
7 Wonders of the Solar System - well worth watching. The presenter is rapidly becoming the new science heart-throb! (Formerly a member of a pop group, which helps).
Re Dr Who ... Can people outside the UK get BBC i-Player? It will be available on there.
More earthquakes. 7.1 in Baja California, tiddler in Santa Rosa.
Alan B
Did you see this article about Brian Cox?
What's the difference between a drummer and a drum machine? You only have to punch things into a drum machine once.
What's the difference between a banjo and a VW?
You can tune a VW.
How can you tell the stage is level?
The accordian player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.
iambilly
Ever heard Bela Fleck? I never dreamed I would have possesed an album of banjo music, until I heard "Throw Down Your Heart". Now I slowly getting his back catalogue too.
Bela Fleck is good. Flatt and Scruggs, amazing.
How do get a trumpet player to play forte?
Mark the music piano.
And yes, I play trumpet.
What's the difference between a bassist and a pizza?
A pizza can feed a family of five.
How many members of a ska band does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Nobody listens to ska anymore.
What's the difference between a banjo and an onion?
Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.
Judging by the mistakes in my previous post, it's obviously time I went to bed.
How do trumpet players say hello?
"Hi. I'm better than you."
Night all.
An accordian player actually got a gig. Of course, it was about 300 miles away, but, if you're an accordian player, you can't be picky.
On the way, he stopped to use the latrine. As he finished his business, he realized he had left his accordian in the back seat. In plain site.
He ran outside, but he was too late. Someone had broken out the back window.
And left a second accordian.
What's the difference between a trampoline and a bagpipe?
You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.
How does a first chair violinist change a light bulb?
She holds it up and the world revolves around her.
How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb?
It takes 10: one to do it and another nine to stand up the back of the room with their arms folded, saying "I could do that", "I could do that", "I could do that better than him"...
What do you call a musician without a girlfriend?
Homeless.
What do you do with someone who has no musical talent but wants to be in the band?
Give them two sticks and call them a drummer.
What do you do if he still can't manage it?
Take one stick away and call him the conductor.
Sven DiMilo:
You can't imagine the horror of discovering that your brand new wife comes equipped with her own Hammond B3. Which she now expects you to move.
How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?
1, 3, 5, 3, 5, 3, 1, 1, 3, 5, 3, 5, 9, 1
What's the difference between a soprano and a seamstress?
The seamstress tucks up the frills.
How many banjo players does it take to change a light bulb?
Five--one to change the bulb and four to complain because it's electric.
What's the difference between a cello and a coffin?
The coffin has the dead guy on the inside.
The violist complained to the conductor, "One of the oboeists untuned one of my tuning pegs." The conductor said, "That was very juvenile of her, but let's move on." The violist said, "But you don't understand. She won't tell me which one."
How many jazz musicians does it take to change a light bulb?
"Screw the changes, man, I play what I feel."
How is a drum solo like a sneeze?
You know it's coming, but there's nothing you can do about it.
What do you say to a drummer in a three-piece suit?
"Will the defendant please rise?"
What do you call a drummer with half a brain?
Gifted.
How many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb?
Five: One to screw the bulb in, and four to talk about how much better
Neil Peart could've done it.
What's the last thing a drummer says in a band?
"Hey, how about we try one of my songs?"
How do you tell if the stage is level?
The drummer is drooling from both sides of his mouth.
What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
A drummer.
Why do bands have bass players?
To translate for the drummer.
Did you hear about the bass player who locked his keys in the car?
He had to break a window to get the drummer out!
"Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a drummer."
His mother scoffs and replies,"Well, you can't do both."
I've been on the drummers bus a couple of times over the years. Definitely an element of truth there.
I watched the feature on disk 2 of Spirited Away, the Nippon TV special. It had more on the Japanese "cootie shot", and it turns out to be something not known to all Japanese, either -- the 13-year-old girl who voiced Chihiro and the much older man (~70ish) who voiced Kamaji had not heard of the ritual either.
Since it was subtitled, I could see what the word was that referred to it ("Engacho"), and some Googling found an essay on Shinto tropes in the film, with this in the footnotes:
In case anyone else is interested.
If not, +1.
(Laughs hard at the music gags... Looks mildly hostile at the cello thing...)
My grandfather, a (now dead) dixieland and big band sax and clarinet guy, used to tell this incredibly awful, long thing about these two bassists, who, sick of having just this stupid little bit to play at the very, very end of some ninth symphony or other (I'm not sure it's in any way accurate that there even is such a piece--feel free to fill in, anyone who happens to know this one) decided to fuck off for the rest of the piece, go out, get drunk, planning to be back just in time for their four bars of glory at the end...
... but before they go, they're arguing. One's a smidge more conscientious, isn't totally sold on this idea. He's worried: what if they're late getting back, miss their cue?
His buddy talks him into it. Sez: 'Look, man, we'll just take a piece of string, tie it around the last page of the score so the conductor can't turn to that bit until we get back... If we're late, they're just gonna have to repeat for a bit... Seriously, guy, this can work...'
His buddy buys into this, and they do so, go out, get completely blasted...
So just imagine how the conductor felt when he discovered there were two out, the basses were loaded, the score was tied and it was the bottom of the ninth.
(/Runs from room.)
Three musicians and a drummer walk into a bar...
that's the whole joke right there
How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
None. The keyboard player can do it with his left hand.
Oh. Right. And now my actually quasi-topical beef for the weekend:
Between bouts of actually having fun (still at Mont Ste-Anne, staying until they find me and drag me away), we've had the TV on in the hotel room, on and off. There's been coverage on some crazy priestfuck who, apparently, compared the phenomena that persons have had some rather harsh words of late for the august company of child rapists of which he happens to be a member with, I kid you not, the Holocaust...
(Blinks...)
No, I did not make that up. I'm pretty sure. Got a lot of sun these last few days, tho', so hey, who knows...
Anyway, assuming all this happened, and I didn't hallucinate the whole fucking completely ridiculous thing after frying my brain in the UV bouncing around up here, apparently this spectacularly flagrant attempt at playing the victim card has, in a strange outbreak of relative sanity, roundly been criticized, and, mercifully, the media reports I'm seeing are reflecting this well. Lots of generally incensed folk saying, more or less: fuck, these guys are so incredibly shameless this incident should probably be added to the standard definition of said word...
Anyway. That part's good. The part I'm not si much getting: media reports still happily are echoing the phrase 'attacks on the church', through all of this, apparently neutrally...
As in: pointing out the current pope colluded rather extensively with persons who rape children, and worked to cover up their crimes is 'an attack on the church'...
I'm curious. If the cops arrest that corrupt old fuck, is that 'an attack on the church', too?
Or are we going to get back, at some point, to calling it what it is: merely sane, incredibly deserved and apparently incredibly overdue criticism of a buncha truly incredibly awful old fucks who seriously deserve as much at the very least?
(/In other news, previously convicted sex offender Billy Bob 'the perv' Jones decried, at a recent press release widely covered by the international press, 'attacks on his character' by the police and the prosecuting attorney--attacks Mr. Jones opined were fuelled by 'virulent anti-Billy Bobism'...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LMTtsM95XE
Q. If you throw a lawyer and an accordion off the Empire State Building, which one will hit the ground first?
A. Who cares?
Q. What's another name for an oboe?
A. The ill wind nobody blows good.
Q. How do you get a drummer off of your porch?
A. Pay him for the pizza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB2Z2DY17yQ
FWIW: I love accordion...I just don't like polka.
*ducks*
Didn't say I hate it...just the reason I assume people hate accordion.
*ducks*
I liked French style of accordion until I saw Amelie.
*winged*
*Staggers, falls, plays possum or is killed, we don't get to know until the third act*
How many oboe players does it take to change a lightbulb?
Only one but he'll go through 30 to 40 bulbs to find the best one.
I started a new tradition in our house tonight. Made a delicious Easter bunny shaped meatloaf. My 8-year-old skepchick thought it was hilarious. But tasty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quZuGOcmVQ0
I used to hold ritual reed sacrifices in the sink in my dorm-room. After lining all the marginal-and-better reeds up on the left and right edges of the sink, I would, with due ceremony, unwind the thread and remove the reed slips, salvage the bases, pile up all the strings and bamboo, and burn them. This was meant to encourage the survivors. I never noticed as how it ever did any good, other than to make me feel better.
i was thinking about this recently--here on teh Thread?--and it occured to me that of all musical instruments, only the brass family involves vibrating part of the body. Reeds, strings, metal or wood bars or skin or synthetic drumheads, electronics...all vibrating Other. Singing and playing a brass instrument: Self.
Kazoos: both.
Flutes: weird. Only air vibrates, nothing else.
Animal Crackers:
=================
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4zRe_wvJw8
re #223, I reiterate my lifelong commitment to Marxism.
38757
That's not true! My eardrums vibrate every time I hear a flute!
FYI, the previous subThread, Episode XLIV, lasted 5.29 d, making it the longest-duration subThread since the Monolith Monsters subThread of 12/31/2009, which lasted 8.26 d and directly preceded the horrible travesty of anastomosation.
music: n. a complex organization of sounds that is set down by the composer, incorrectly interpreted by the conductor, who is ignored by the musicians, the result of which is ignored by the audience.
=====
What do you get when you play New Age music backward?
New Age music.
=====
Sven:
Not technically true... the vibrating air column is directly responsible for producing the sound, but of course the body of the instrument vibrates along with it and does influence timbre. An open cylinder like a flute can in principle produce any overtone. There is no such thing as a perfect cylinder, so the construction of an instrument (the shape and the materials) really has quite a large effect on the sound, even in an instrument in which "only air vibrates".
Nor is there ever perfect breath support -- in some sense (with wind instruments) your lungs act as another pair of oscillators, disturbing the motion of the air/lips/reed as you as you start it vibrating.
All of these music jokes made me dig up this webpage full of crusty old instrument jokes. As in life, the internet and other endeavors*, it's a huge waste of time.
(Yes, AJ Milne, even your joke about the bassists leaving for the bar during Beethoven's 9th is there.... I think it's best after a long and grueling concert, when everyone is tired -- somehow puns are funnier when I'm tired.)
*Who said anything about teh Thread? You didn't hear it from me. That's all I'm saying. I, for one, have been very productive today. Sure. Yeah, let's stick with that.
After all these posts with people celebrating Easter with various alcoholic beverages it suddenly struck me why it took Jebus so long to get up from the cave grave. Having mostly second hand experience from hangovers it's still pretty obvious the things you want to do after a good party are:
-staying in bed
-avoiding bright light and (basically all) sounds
and after a REAL party
-staying away from the friends you partied with
So, in the lights that Jebus and his friends threw a party known as "The Last Supper*" in which alcohol was a central part, after which he gets nailed up to a cross (disturbance calls were taken seriously those days) we can safely conclude the party was epic and Jebus had a good hangover for a couple of days.
* how do I do a trademark symbol?
PS: Apparently Judas did something not-kosher enough at the party to not want to see his friends again. Bromance? Oh, and I have worked night four nights in a row, currently taking the train home, so blame exhaustion for bad humor. This adresses you too, god.
Couldn't help but notice the drum/bagpipe discussion in which I have to add this:
There are bagpipes designed to sound for several kilometers outside in the valleys of Scotland. These babies should under no circumstances and should therefor make excellent choices as gifts to the enemys spawns.
A friend of a friend actually plays these bags, at sea, on the nonpopulated end of cargo ships.
Type &trade directly after the word you want the symbol attached to, like 'hangover &trade', except with no space.
Well, that didn't work. Sorry. '& trade' is what you type for a trademark symbol, but with no space between & and trade.
Don't forget the semicolon at the end: ™
Caine, to make an & sign, type &
Not true. This one time, at band camp,.....
AJ Milne:
Peace offering--Amy X. Neuburg with the Cello Chixtet:
http://www.youtube.com/user/amyxneuburg#p/a/u/0/n6Bl7eXUXVg
Apparently suggested names for the the all-cello all-female trio included "Hos with Bows" and "K-Y Celli."
Just finished watching it. The new doctor is alright.
This just in....
Police shut down crucifixion reenactment
Another hack article on ABC decrying atheism, they've outdone themselves in recent times.
So many holes to poke through, so little time...
Ah Kel, did you have to do that? I read that days ago, and was the same, so much stupidity, so little time....Now I might just go back and have another read through the comments LOL
I didn't have to, but I think it's important to show the inanity that is the response to the push away from religion.
There were two main points where I found him gravely mistaken: the first was his inference to scientism, the second was his push of absolute morality.
I wonder if my comment I made has been posted...
Yours was, mine havent been yet.
I wrote my reply to the second of the two annoyances of the piece: moral absolutes.
If I'm bored tomorrow I might tackle the scientism straw-man.
What moniker did you post under Rorschach?
Like, my moniker?
The comment moderation there seems to be taking its time, even Barney is quicker.
So I should look for a comment by "Rorschach" then?
You betcha !!!
One has gone through now, to Julie the christian philosopher who wasnt taught how to spell "Nietzsche" correctly in her christian philosophy school.
#187 Ring Tailed Lemurian
No. But I've seen a couple of others. Thanks for pointing it out!
My epic takedown of Uhlmann is still MIA tho...:-) And that was only part 1 !!
that's a shame. If nothing else, can you post your takedown here? Or did you just write it in the ABC submission window and hope for the best?
Yeah yeah, call me naive....;)
This is just a SIWOTI exacerbation anyway, like truthy arguing with Hamilton or Exzyleph tonight, pearls(or in my case glass pearls) before the swine....
Oh, look what happened !!
I am officially not impressed with the ABC right now.
Another hack article in the Guardian decrying atheism
(can't do the strikeout/replace thingy)
I wish to point out to anyone here who also reads the Guardian (to which I often post links) that I am NOT the "ringtaillemur" who has recently started commenting in the Guardian, and none of the comments to my linked article are from me.
From that Guardian article:
Ohh, I see, religion is looking for the completely useless type of 'meaning' that doesn't help anyone, or prevent such accidents from happening again, or learning how to predict earthquakes to help save lives when the event happens again...
I'm sure the Guardian puts these articles up because they know they will get lots of traffic from it... the author pretty much admits so in the article.
I promised a critic's review from my grandson re the new Dr Who.
His conclusion? "He was all right I suppose."
Remember folks, you heard it here first!!
There was rather more fuss about his new assistant who is a strippergram girl who appears as a Policewoman wearing a skirt of non-regulation length. Also, Dr Who does a strip of all his clothes (seen from waist up only) while she watches - presumably to see where he keeps his sonic screwdriver.
Considering this is an early evening showing intended for children there has been complaints from the public.
My main complaint was that the trailer seemed to show the Darleks were in the first episode. I have it from a reliable source that they come in episode 3.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1263583/Dr-Ooooh-How-Time-…
If you haven't checked out Bill Baileys Belgian jazz version of the theme tune, Dr. Qui, I suggest it most strongly!
As for the new Doctor, yeh he was alright.
He must have done well cos my g/f is a scot and before watching it was very skeptical, and she liked it.
Tennant is a tough act to follow and he did well, he just needs to make it his own now, rather than try to copy Tennant completely. See how he does in the rest of the season.
I have a confession to make.
I...I...
I DON'T CARE ABOUT DR. WHO!!!
there, I said it.
When someone is killed in a car accident, western rationality is good at analysing how the brakes failed and the road curved, but has nothing to say about why, on that particular day, the brakes failed when it was you in the car
That's because there is no why. You weren't singled out specifically you just perceive it that way because you think your special. You are to yourself and some people around you, but not to the universe at large. Oh just being. So existential :P
I really think there's only how. The brakes failed on that particular day because that particular day the exact conditions under which the car was likely to crash were approached. Well, unless some one cut the brake lines and then there is a good thing to ask why about. Why does some one want to kill you!?
Now transfer that possibility that some person wants to kill you into the imaginary impossible sky ghost realm and I see how religion *does* get started.
Some one tried to kill me! No one I can think of... maybe it was an invisible magic man. Damn, he's scary. I better go kill some goats and give him the entrails. Maybe that'll keep him off my back for a while.
Its Ok Sven... there there... its aaaall right...
It's always best to come out. Staying in your un-transdimensional closet is tough (closet Who fans have more room in their closets but they are filled with lots of random shite)
oops. I killed those blockquotes some how. Goooood morning :/
Someone needs to dig up the remains of Mary Whitehouse and kw*k them sideways with a Leica rangefinder.
Yeah, formulaic things lose me. The girl us usually annoying. It's always the same thing.
Blah blah.
I can't stand soap operas either. Or even most television shows. I work with code all day. Some procedure, set up objects, plug in objects. It's good enough to write, but damn I wouldn't want to stare at it running all evening!!!!! That's why it exists, to spare me and other human beings the painful drudgery.
That scissor sisters song is funny though.
The only Dr. Who I kind of liked wast the 9th one.
When I was living in Austin I'd visit my parents and some times they would watch that.
Parents loved tv. Before they finally split they came to visit me once. I don't have cable. Never have. When I left I was in my teens and couldn't afford it anyway. Later I ended up with an old TV that is pre-digital. My dad hooked up home-rigged rabbit ears and watched the same static laden infomercial repeat for hours.
WTF?
TV kills the mind. I'm sure of it.
Hah! Snuck a comment in just as PZ closed the Design flaws support evolution thread and booted that weapons-grade moron, JohnHamilton... I enjoyed writing it... hope he reads it. ;^)
Either way, good riddance to a complete thick-headed, stubborn clownshoe...
ouch!
Portcullised on the dumbshit thread.
Well, since I already typed it:
Wow, that guy was stupid.
Praise FSM that PZ finally put the neutronium density idjit JH in his well derved and well padded cell. Ugh.
Thanks for the entertaining if exasperating Design Flaws thread. I caught up on it only to find it had gotten closed - boo - not that it would have made any difference at all...
Aha! I just got John Hamilton's point! And now PZ closed the thread down, and I can't let him know he has been understood.
But I can let others know, here.
What was his point? What was the big, fat, serious issue he wanted to expose? What acknowledgment and concession was he looking for?
Just this: in science, conclusions are considered tentative, and open to revision. They are not absolute and final, for new evidence and argument might require that they be revised.
Huh. We don't know EVERYTHING. We can't be POSITIVE, can we now? Huh? Huh? The conclusion might be confirmed to such an extent that it would be perverse to withhold assent, but still, it MIGHT be wrong. Anything is possible! You can't say you KNOW things.
And people should have the RIGHT to BELIEVE what they WANT! It's all a mystery! We none of us know! Mystery! Mystery! Just admit that, and accept other views as just as valid, as your own! Mystery!
I don't know why I didn't recognize this before. I'm surrounded by New Agers, and I live with this goddam constant refrain, always trotted out like it's some wise insight coming out of Lack of Ego, and leading inevitably to peace, harmony, and love.
Well, but Spamilton was also pretty clearly hinting around about some kind of frontloaded Davisonian scenario of phylogeny-as-programmed-ontogeny. He has defended "ID theorists" in the past on other threads, and also floated the idea that the recent pterosaur fossil was a hoax.
It's more than New Age free-floating; he had a* (very) covert agenda going on.
*(oh I am sorely tempted to delete the 'a' and use agenda as a plural, but I will refrain)
Not just that, he was positively aroused by the negative attention he was getting. You could tell that Christian Persecution Hard-on&trade was coming up to full mast toward the end when he whinged about being "forcefully removed" by PZ. It was almost as if he was pining for it. What is it with these people equating the most mild consequences (being banned from a private website) with violence and censorship? They all read from the same hackneyed script. You'd think he was committing some act of civil disobedience and PZ was the big, bad cop slapping the cuffs on him and dragging his limp self to the clink.
I don't know how y'all put up with him so valiantly, and for so long.
Sastra,
I think you may be right. Hamilton/Spratt/dumbshit seemed to be just that sort of fuzzy epistemological relativist. Frankly, that's one of the most frustrating aspects of science:
The scientist say, "We can say with 90% confidence..."
The anti-science shithead says, "Oh well, I think just the opposite, but hey it's all good..."
I guess that is what happens when the educational system:
a)fails to teach science adequately
b)is not allowed to teach morons that they are morons because it might "hurt their self esteem".
Josh, OSG
Actually, the last part of the "debate", focusing on the evolution being both fact and theory, is an important point to make, and one that many people not familiar with evolution, or who have been programmed to think otherwise, often get wrong or don't fully understand... so I think there was some "collateral wisdom" potential there, perhaps... although maybe not in a thread that far gone...
The whole "just call it 'change' and we'll have no problem" bit was just fucking bizarre though.
Eh... also, SIWOTI.
agenda: neut. pl. never thought about that.
I presume you've given up correcting people for saying 'this data'.
Celtic:
Oh, it certainly is, and the more we can help the American (yes, it is a particularly American problem, though not exclusively) public understand that, the farther down the road they'll get to comprehending science. But many are just lost causes. It seemed apparent to me that Hamilton's m.o. was to cling to his emotional allegiances, no matter what, and to provoke the "persecution" he desperately needed to prop up that narrative.
how do we draw a balance between protecting oppressed groups from discrimination, and guaranteeing to private individuals the right to act according to their conscience within their private lives?
You do it by never forgetting that property rights must never exceed individual rights.
That's where you go wrong, Walton, by according the right of someone to own property as equal to human rights, decency and dignity.
Wow Sastra that's deeeeeeeep. Yeah I grew up around that too.
I think the mystery refrain comforts people a lot and makes them feel intellectual about remaining ignorant too.
Win win!
There's no point in learning or trying, it's all valid man, everything I think is as good as what anyone else thinks. I should never correct myself, my mistakes, nuthin!
Walton,
Ask yourself this. Would it be OK for a B&B owner to refuse to rent a room to someone on the basis of skin colour ? Or because of their sex ?
Grayling was arguing that somehow refusing to rent a room to a same-sex couple should be exempted from anti-discrimination laws because they did so on the basis of deeply and sincerely held religious beliefs. Well so what ? I am quite sure that many racists consider black people inferior to white people deeply and sincerely. I am also quite sure there are people out there who consider women to be inferior to men, and they hold that belief deeply and sincerely.
No. I don't think it's as simple as that.
I have friends who are practising Catholics and are in gay relationships, and disagree with the Vatican's prohibition on gay marriage. Many of these couples would like to get married in the Catholic Church. But obviously, if they were to request a Catholic marriage, they would be refused. And this discrimination might well cause them emotional pain and undermine their human dignity - much more so, in fact, than being turned away from a B&B. Yet I assume you would agree with me that the government should not enact laws forcing the Catholic Church to conduct marriages for gay couples.
In essence, there are some areas where we allow people to discriminate - because we don't, and shouldn't, trust the government to regulate every aspect of our lives and behaviour, and the price of this freedom is that some people will act in ways that we find bigoted or morally repugnant. Once we have established that anti-discrimination laws shouldn't be applied to every area of social behaviour, then the obvious debate is where the line should be drawn between guaranteeing equal treatment for gay people and respecting individual freedoms. Grayling's comments were a part of that debate.
That said, on reflection, I don't agree with Grayling. I read a post on the subject today by Iain Dale (a well-known gay Conservative blogger) and, having thought about the issue some more, I do believe that anti-discrimination laws should be applicable to B&Bs. They are, in the end, businesses, and ought to be subject to the same laws that apply to other commercial businesses. But I think it's very important to recognise that Grayling was making a reasonable point, that his comments were in no way homophobic, and that his views do not reflect official party policy.
I am still planning to vote Conservative in the general election, and am entirely satisfied that the party is serious about gay rights. We have two gay frontbenchers, Nick Herbert and Alan Duncan. We have a large number of gay MPs, councillors and activists. Most Tories of the younger generation fully support civil partnerships, adoption by gay couples, and full equal legal and civil rights for gay people. There is still a homophobic fringe, the "Tory Taliban", but most of them are elderly and retiring at the next election.
Now that JohnHamilton has been plonked, any bets on how long until he shows up at the intersection?
Matt Penfold:
And religiously. Don't forget 'religiously'.
A quote from a conversation at my dining room table as we ate lunch together:
"Bear spray is not the same thing as hair spray."
And yes, I have a bottle of bear spray (from a fire in the Great Dismal Swamp a few years ago).
I have a weird family.
Carry on.
Quotes from a family dinner, two weeks ago:
"Well then, that's why you shouldn't play seven card stud with a magician."
"Please don't eat the juice box."
You don't sound weird at all.
So, last night, I made a quesadila.
I had beef, I had tortillas, I had Mexican cheese mix. I put some spices in the beef, cooked it, separated it, oiled up a non-stick, plopped the tortilla on the pan, put the beef in the middle, sprinkled cheese on the beef, folded it over, and discovered that I had a mutant quesadila.
Thing was an inch and a half thick. It was a lot more like a taco in size, but all nice and crispy fried and delicious. My stomach was happy, and since I have leftover beef, I'm gonna make another tonight to get rid of the last of the tortillas.
Hmm. I feel like there is a whiff of false equivalence surrounding this argument, but I do not possess the philosphical or rhetorical tools to make the case properly.
Here's my attempt though: I don't think there is anything about running a B&B that makes discrimination against gays/minorites/etc. an obvious and central part of the business. The purpose of a B&B is to provide a service. To practice discrimination in the discharge of that service would an offensive policy that cannot be justified on any practical grounds. By way of contrast, it would be quite relevant and fair to turn down a drunken lout, on the grounds that they may damage your property, or injure or harass your guests.
The situation for the Catholic Church is different, even if it is more slippery to describe. Discrimination against, or demonization of, homosexuality is one of their core values, part of their modus operandi, and they cannot dispense with it. I should back up a little, though, and also point out that they do not have the same practical function as a B&B. Their purpose is to formulate and enforce arbitrary and/or irrational rules amongst their membership (and, they hope, beyond). They are far closer to a private club than they are to a B&B, and the former is defined by its discriminatory attitude, as opposed to the latter.
Just to be sure to wave this flag high and clear: I am not apologizing for the despicable RCC. I am trying to demonstrate how I disagree with Walton on what I believe are the terms of his analogy.
@My #283:
And yes, I'm aware that the American quesadila and taco are nothing like what the real quesadila and taco are.
True Mexican cuisine != Taco Bell
Rachel Maddow calls "bull-pucky" on the "severely edited" videos that brought down Acorn. Turns out that an investigation reveals that the main conservative "pimp" dressed as a pimp in the introductory footage, but was never dressed as a pimp when inside the Acorn offices. He wore a shirt and tie. And he never claimed to be a pimp once inside the Acorn offices. And there's the bit they didn't use when they aired footage on Fox News, the bit where an Acorn employee calls the cops to report Mr. Shirt-and-Tie, having figured him for a criminal even though he wasn't dressed in his SuperFly outfit. The investigation comes too late to save Acorn, which, with all its problems, did not deserve the conservative hatchet job.
The same episode calls bull-pucky on Climate Gate.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#36155851
It seems, (surprise! surprise!), that the conservatives cherry-picked, spun, and twisted until the story they presented was not true, not accurate, not even close.
On another topic, I enjoyed the contributions of Sven, a_ray_in_dilbert_space, Celtic_Evolution, Sastra, and others on the thread in which John Hamilton was plonked. Masterfully done. Sven linked back at one point to a comment from David M. that dealt with a creationist as only David M. can. LOL from one end to the other -- if you ignore the tragedy of that much dumbitude concentrated in the skull of JH.
I hear all the stuff JH was saying from religious friends. So, they travel in the same, mind-numbing circles.
@Lynna, OM:
I saw that report, it was very, very good. I love Rachel Maddow.
As a journalist, I mean.
*crickets*
You guys are lucky.
The BNP, the British Oh-no-we're-not-Nazis-HEIL-HITLER-who-said-that? Party appears to be self-destructing in an amusing fashion: BNP sacks head of publicity 'over deaths threats'. It's fortunate that the truly evil are so often truly stupid.
@Ol'Greg:
You can come to my family's dinners *patpat*
Of course, then you might be convinced to call the men in white coats. My family is crazy.
Re: Dr Who
My favourite Doctor was the very first, played by William Hartnell. That goes back to 1963-1966 when I was 8-10. As Wiki says:
Pretty accurate description. What is not included is that the early shows were broadcast live. If the scenery fell down before the Darleks firing (which it occasionally did) then this had to be ad libbed into the broadcast. I remember it as black and white. The quality was totally unacceptable by today's standards but utterly fascinating and exciting and frightening and something you simply did not miss on a Saturday late afternoon.
The first Doctor introduced us to the cidermen - sorry, "Freudian" slip! - the cybermen - obviously men dressed in silly silver-coloured suits and the Darleks who's only weakness was that they couldn't go up stairs! And the music from the BBC radiophonics workshop - ground-breaking and totally out of this world.
Wonderful, innocent, days.
Me @284:
post-hoc editing ftw
I am also quite sure there are people out there who consider women to be inferior to men, and they hold that belief deeply and sincerely. - Matt Penfold
More specifically, there are many religious and cultural groups that consider it scandalous for a woman to travel without a close male relative - would it be OK for a B&B owner from such a group were to refuse to accommodate lone female guests? If you choose to make your home a place of business, you must abide by the law concerning businesses.
I hope I haven't missed the recipe wagon completely.
Lynna’s Sour-Cream Chocolate Cake for Camping Expeditions
This cake is dense and holds together well when transported by vehicle over rough 4WD roads. The protein content is upped to support outdoor activities.
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sugar
½ cup raw cane sugar or molasses
½ cup milk
1 cup sour cream
¼ pound butter,
1 rounded tablespoon shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1.5 cups flour
½ cup soy flour
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Butter-cream-plus-cream-cheese frosting (optional)
Pecans or almonds(optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour a large cake pan (or two 8-inch cake pans). Combine cocoa, raw sugar and 3-4 tablespoons of water in a small pan and heat/stir gently until smooth. Remove mixture from heat and stir in milk.
In a large bowl, cream butter and shortening; add vanilla and 1 cup sugar. Beat until light; then beat in the eggs. Add the cooled cocoa mixture slowly; beat well. Ditto for the sour cream.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, cream of tartar, salt and baking soda together. Slowly add these dry ingredients to the first mixture. Blend gently until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips (optional).
Spread the cake into the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan for five minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.
Prepare and transport separately a butter-cream frosting to which you have added a cup of cream cheese (I used to describe this as “a shitload of sour cream” but some people complained that the description was unappetizing.)
Transport separately a shitload of pecans – oh, all right, bring along a cup of pecans or slivered almonds.
In camp, cut cake into brownie-sized squares and top each square with a dollop of icing. Press pecans into the icing and pretend that “it’s supposed to look like that.” Accept the honor and appreciation that is your due.
If you want to carry individual portions in a daypack, small tupperware-like containers, or to-go cups for coffee work well. Don't worry about mess and smeared icing, as any treat experienced on the trail is transcendentally transformed into an expression of True Beauty and Taste. This is better than DeepWoo Chopra can do on his best days.
Wash down with one shot of whiskey.
'Tis, I am listening to _Sailor's_Rest_ for the dozenth time. Great voice, words and music. Thank you.
I once was refused lodging by a Muslim hotel because I wasn't a Muslim. They had set it up to provide for fellow Muslims, and the fact that I wasn't Jewish or Christian or anything else in direct religious competition didn't matter to them. Nor did it matter to me--I wasn't even the one who thought to ask, it was a helpful travel clerk at the ferry dock.
On the other hand, I have stayed in a Jewish hostel, and was only asked to wear a yarmulka while in the building. Again, not my idea to ask.
I think someone who runs a business with a certain intent is allowed to discriminate based on that intent. Also, a business is allowed to expect proper behavior from their customers--I have seen hotel rules listed more times than I care to recall (including "No Durian Allowed").
Wanting to keep gays out is wrong, but forcing someone to accept them is wrong, too.
I dunno. Be more tactful next time, maybe?
I think JohnHamilton's problem (well, one of his problems) was that words have different meanings in science than they do common speech, and, unfortunately, sometimes even in science, the same word is used as shorthand to mean different things. A "nucleus" in physics is not the same as a "nucleus" in cellular biology. "Evolution", in astrophysics, is not the same as evolution in evolutionary biology.
And even in biology "evolution", the fact, is not exactly the same as "evolution", the theory. And neither is the same as "development", the fact.
What he called a "verbal trick" was just the weird notion that people were using different words or the same words with different meanings with malice aforethought. We're deliberately trying to fool him!
No. He's failing to understand, and blaming everyone else but himself for this failure.
Narcissistic personality disorder, combined with paranoia, maybe?
I was going to try extending the analogy to basic physical mechanics -- velocity is change in distance and direction; acceleration is change in velocity; "rotation" is change in direction about a center; "precession" is change in rotation -- and so on. These all are about "change", but of course, they're different changes.
But no doubt he would have thought that I was just trying to continue tricking him. How dare we disagree that there was any deliberate trick involved!
Meh. He was a dedicated denialist, and denialists are all fundamentally presupposing their own correctness and the wrongness of whatever they want to deny.
Owlmirror #297
I think you give our departed ignoramus JohnHamilton too much credit... it was pointed out to him many times that the problem was his complete failure to understand the terms in the proper parlance. It was also explained to him why, as well, several times...
And I asked him to use his same argument substituting "gravity" for "evolution"... he deftly ignored that request and went right on trying to hammer home his word-game. I think he knew full well what he was doing... he was trying to catch us in a verbal "gotcha" technicality.
From Kel's link @ 239:
Reading that trite crap made my brain cramp. Especially the bit about everyone having the capacity to be godlike - it seems every month we have a chew toy show up here and accuse atheists of being their own god.
Yah - I'm reading the JohnHamilton diatribe right now, Owlmirror.
I think it's the same thing as why Ray Comfort can't get it through his skull that Evolution != Abiogenesis, atheism and agnosticism are not mutually incompatible, and how not everyone who believes evolution is an atheist.
I think these people just don't understand.
#294
I understood everything up to this point, Lynna and was vicariously enjoying it as you described. But this is only moistening it - not washing it down.
And why the Irish "whiskey" - how about real Scotch whisky?
Eons ago, when geology ruled teh Thread, the topic turned to tufa, or carbonate precipitated under certain conditions.
There's a lake in California that was partially drained as the result of diversions to supply water for the Los Angeles area, and as a result, great pillars and towers of tufa formations were exposed.
They look pretty nifty in these photographs:
http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/04/tufa-towers-of-mono-lake.html
Although of course, the reduced water level also lead to disasters for the ecology of the lake itself, as the page also describes.
Mono lake is a very very popular place for photographers.
#296 - Menyambal - "I dunno. Be more tactful next time, maybe?"
Please tell me you are joking or I am reading you wrong.
Alan B @301: You're supposed to sip the whiskey after you've eaten the cake, and while the taste of said cake lingers in your mouth.
:-)
I see I may need to indulge in a rewrite.
Actually, this cake goes well with wine and with Scotch whiskey. You may bring either or both.
Don't your UK cowboys say, "Wash it down with whiskey," -- I thought that was universal slang. I suspect you of taking me literally, which is always a good way to highlight my unintentional inaccuracies.
Another one of JohnHamilton's (many) problems was that he didn't seem to understand that definitions are just a means to an end for scientists. Scientists don't just set up definitions for fun. They do it in order to set up a predictive theory. Often times regular language is too imprecise so they take common terms, like 'evolution', to have a specific meaning or make new terms altogether. If you are going to learn a field of science the first step you have to take is to learn the specific way that some words are used in that field. After that, you get to the really interesting/fun/hard part of learning about the theories. John couldn't even get passed the first step.
Hmm, off for a bit. Listening to the end of the top 300 countdown on ClassicalFM in the UK and #1 is the dreadfully insipid "The Lark Ascending" by Vaughan Williams. Have to go wash out my ears and howl at the sky. (shudder)
Sorry, JeffreyD, I was joking. Not well, apparently.
OK, the memory of the movie with the disembodied head in it almost made me laugh and snort out loud when I was in an Easter service as a singer (don't ask--I got stuck doing it for complicated reasons) and, anyway, the hymn lyrics went:
"He rises glorious from the dead;
All glory to our risen Head!"
Yes, the head! Yes, I very nearly lost it.
Peg
What are these Darleks of which you speak?
Methinks that if the real Daleks were to find out about them, they'd be extra annoyed and might do a starfart with efficiency of Keyser Söze.
Menyambal - glad I saw this before I left. My apologies then. :)
Still feeling ill over the winner of the top 300. Will go gag in peace.
British Gentlemen in the Old West.
Pee Zed,
Is there any reason that, in the Dungeon listing, the last three entries (for Graeme Bird, 1...1...2...3...9ish...lots...more, and
JohnHamilton/JackSpratt) all point to the same place; namely, to Less-Brains-Than-A-Stuffed-Turkey's (Graeme Bird's) blog? Looks like a copy-and-paste mistake to me.
John Hamilton was a goober of high degree, but he was oddly retro in his gooberishness. It kind of reminded me of my own childhood, when I got access to an old set of illustrated encyclopedias from England. How the set wound up in a barn loft in rural Kansas I do not know, but I do know a lot about Visigoths and polar expeditions and the River Thames. But I got a more modern education and learned to manage the meta-data of what I know and where I learned it and how much to trust it. John never got that far, evidently. He knows some stuff, knows it absolutely and will not change it. And it is old stuff.
As I tried to point out to him, he seems to think that evolution is just random. Which leads to his puzzlement about convergent evolution, because getting the same random results twice is not random. But I learned something from thinking about that (including the differences between seals and sea lions, again), and understand some things better, though that is not thanks to him.
As regards convergent marine predators: Is there ANY vertebrate marine predator in the roughly 400 pound range that is NOT shaped like a shark/dolphin/icthyosaur? (Whale-shaped icthyosaurs are sized like whales, by the way.)
Sea lions and penguins both "fly" underwater by using their forelimbs and are smaller and more agile than dolphins. I saw a vid of penguins and sea lions hunting underwater in the same place, in the exact same way, at the same time. It was beauty, and a stunning example of convergent evolution.
Hamilton was also bitching about the word "evolution" and was plainly bonkers about it, but that was another rather retro aspect of his hangups. Charles Darwin's book was titled "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." It was not titled "Evolution", nor did it use that word.
"Evolution", the word, in Darwin's time meant something more like "development", and Hamilton was hung up on clarifying the difference between the two. "Evolve", back then, implied a plan, a pattern and a purpose: "PZ sent us to trash an online poll, and the Pharyngulization is evolving nicely. When his plan is fulfilled, we shall all get Squiddy Treats." Or, if you prefer, the Earth revolves every day as it is supposed to, while the End Time evolves as Revelations foretold.
So Darwin never/seldom said "evolution" because he was trying to get across that there was no plan. We since have shifted the meaning, but John Hamilton never seemed to grasp that.
So Hamilton was hung up on a old definition of a word. Maybe. He was totally bonkers along with it, and snobbishly snotty. But, just maybe, he had read something old and couldn't replace it with something new.
A lot of folks have that problem. If the first mention of evolution that they ever hear is from a preacher blasting from a pulpit, they file evolution under evil nonsense, and they can never, ever, change that first impression.
And when I say "impression", I do not mean "just a feeling", I mean for them it is channeled into their mind with a burning iron. Some folks are just that way, and they tend to spend a lot of time in churches. And some of them come visit us.
#305 Lynna
Whisky and Whiskey - 2 different drinks.
"Whisky" Produced in Scotland
"Whiskey" Produced in Ireland (also used for US-produced whiskey)
http://www.thewhiskyguide.com/Irish/Irish_Whiskey_history-new.html
The key differences are that Irish whiskey uses a mix of malted and unmalted ("green") barley in making the mash while Scotch malt whisky uses all malted barley, often treated with peat smoke. The latter is a rarity in Irish whiskey.
Sadly, not too many UK cowboys (other than in the building trade). And, also sadly, few wilderness areas outside of the highland areas of Scotland
Perish the thought!
From Mr. Fire's link @312 (UK cowboys)
Alan B @315: Thank you for the education in whisky and whiskey. And as for
British dry humour, delivered with raised eyebrows, no doubt.
JohnHamilton was one tedious person. I don't think I've ever seen someone so hung up on what they think a definition means. Didn't matter about what people were explaining to him, we were dishonest because in his world the words we used were wrong.
I thought I had encountered every type of creationist, never thought I'd encounter one who had a definition in his head and anyone who didn't use his definition was dishonest.
Gah, I'm starting to lose my patience with science denialists. Never interested in even understanding the topic at hand...
Copied to emphasize, and add:
Also, [ rel="nofollow" ] should be added to the links.
Trolls deserve no Googlejuice.
Walton, I was planning to address your latest on the B&B and general public and private issue. However, the Iraqi video thread has kind of put the lid on further thought tonight. Glad you decided that the B&B should be subject to law as it is a business, assuming I read you right.
Has anyone seen this bizarre pro-life comic written from the point of view of a fetus as though it was a baby and could talk?
http://www.umberttheunborn.com/wombsite1_024.htm
Papaya Salad.
1/2 tablespoons palm sugar
3/4 lime
2 cups green papaya, shredded
6 green beans
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
2 chili peppers
5 cherry tomatoes
Shred the papaya but make sure there is no seeds. As soon as you get to the seeds, stop.
Crush some garlic in a mortar.
Add the Chili and pound it until your desire spiciness is reached.
Pound, too, the green beans and tomatoes, but only to get juice out of them.
Now add all the other ingredients and mix well. You can mix it in the mortar but also you can mix it in a bowl and crush the ingredients separately.
Dirty Girl Scout.
1 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 oz Bailey's Irish cream
1 oz white creme de menthe or chocolate syrup
Back when the Expelled! debacle was going on, I was amazed that one of Ben Stein's Devastating Critiques of the Theory of Evolution
So, at the risk of being all personal and stuff, I made a major decision over the past couple of weeks. I'm quitting graduate school. I've realized that I absolutely hate doing research, getting my PhD would still be several years down the road, and I don't want to do it. Spending the last three years spinning my wheels in educational limbo hasn't helped my sense of self, nor has it benefited me in any other way. So, I'm done with it all. Tomorrow I'm going in to tell my committee chair.
Well Pygmy Loris, all that matters is that you feel it's in the best interest for yourself.
Good luck with things.
Pygmy Loris, that's an important decision. In light of you realizing you hate doing research, it's probably going to be a good one. So what's next?
Can any of you awesome physics people help a non-physicist figure out this article ? It's on scienceblogs, coming from a physicist and it seems to be claiming that the universe did not start from a singularity. Is this out of left field, or have a lot of physicists switched to this view, or do I just not understand the Big Bang Theory, or what?
Poll alert!
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/my_view/0331-religion-under-attack
Do you think religion is under assault in America?
Yes, I have to keep my views to myself
47%
No, I feel free to express myself
15%
No, religion is too pervasive already
36%
You know what you doing. Move zig, for great justice.
Gyeong,
Thanks. I really feel like this is the best thing for me. I'm tired of school, research, all of it.
Caine,
What's next? I'm looking for a full-time job back home, and exploring my options right now.
Oh, and another thing. The group I'm loosely affiliated with (haven't paid my dues, but...) had an interesting time at a local city commission meeting.
The story is, the commission, despite hearing three different Christians speaking in favor of having an invocation, tried to limit Atheists of Florida to a single speech... and when that speech began, the mayor promptly adjourned the meeting.
And it's all caught on video. (Just ignore the first woman, her presentation is unrelated to the discussion.)
The police had to be called to keep certain Christian activists from attacking AoF members. ("They shall know we are Christians by our love"... yeah, right.)
Menyambal #295
You are indeed welcome. "Sailors' Rest" is my favorite Stan Rogers song. He's best known for "The Mary Ellen Carter". Unfortunately he died in 1983 in a freak aircraft accident when he was only 34.
Nebula @ 327,
how about you ask Ethan, the blogowner and author of the post ? That's what blogging is about, I'm sure he wouldnt mind explaining/expanding, and everyone gets to learn some more!
Rawr! Rogue wombat puts man in hospital.
I forget what I was posting about, what with the musician jokes. (A genre I was totally unaware of.) (A genre of which I was totally unaware.)
oh yeah
'Tis #331
Saint Stan is also best known for Barrett's Privateers, Giant, The Jennie C, Athens Queen, etc. etc. etc.
The airplane accident wasn't just freak, it was grotesque.
According to Pam's House Blend, they sent Constance McMillen to a fake prom.
If you've got to indoctrinate your child with cult literature, consider this:
The Adventures of Lil’ Cthulhu
http://laughingsquid.com/the-adventures-of-lil-cthulhu/
Pharyngula Test Kitchen Report: I tried pixelfish's mushroom, leek, and lemon risotto (from many iterations of The Thread back), which I served with a small pork chop (the risotto was really the main dish; the meat more like a side) and a couple roasted asparagus spears (I had to buy more than I needed for the risotto!). The recipe was great (even ham-handed me couldn't seem to screw it up), the results were very tasty, and there's plenty to take to work for lunch tomorrow. Yay! </JazzHands>
Obviously I need to work on my presentation skills, and you'll want to ignore the Easter-themed placemats, but take a look.
Reading (well, glancing at, really) the Thread backwards...
Gyeong Hwa (@322):
I am so making myself a Dirty Girl Scout at my next drinking opportunity! But I'm puzzled by "1 oz white creme de menthe or chocolate syrup": Seems like the two sides of the or would result in very different-tasting drinks!
Since turnabout is fair play, here's a drink recipe I tried recently, from a Hartford Courant article about whiskey cocktails for spring:
...
Mark Twain Cocktail
From "Whiskey" by Michael Jackson.
In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, combine the Scotch, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters. Shake 10 to 15 times and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add lemon twist if desired.
...
It was good (how can scotch not be good?), but a tiny bit sweet for my taste. Next time I'm going to up the scotch a touch and reduce the simple syrup (maybe to 2 oz and 1-1/2 tbsp, respectively) and I think it'll be perfect. In fact, I have some fresh lemon juice left over from tonight's risotto....
Please some one help me remember to nominate Cerberus for the next molly awards.
Ol' Greg (@339):
Cerberus is on my list, as well!
Pygmy Loris, welcome to my world. I quit too :/ Under extremely bad circumstances in my case and for the love of the only life I get to live. If you're sure then don't let anyone put you down or talk you out of it.
I plan on going back to school, but not in what I was studying. I honestly don't think it was helping me get anywhere or taking me anywhere I want to go.
If and when I do go back I want to study something different. I'm not sure yet, perhaps math or cs. Maybe something more visceral though. I do know that while I am a creative person another whole part of myself is being wasted and I hate that feeling.
So I guess what I'm saying is you're not alone in that decision! For me it was the best cut I made in my life, like leaving a terrible marriage. If it feels right then do it!!!!
Pygmy Loris: It can be a goddamned bear.
Nonetheless, a PhD indicates nothing regarding thoughtfulness, intelligence, ability or inclination to do something worthwhile. If you don't love the research, you don't need it.
IMHO: You seem sharp. You'll be fine.
FWIW
many paths
each her own
*shrug*
Ol'Greg, Antiochus Epiphanes,
Thanks for the support. I'm very freaked about talking to my committee chair, and I just found out that I can't go into town tomorrow to do it (car problems).
Now I just have to figure out how to turn my two liberal arts degrees into a job. Anyone know how you go about doing that?
Sven,
Is that a good thing? I've been following this path for too long, trying to stick with it because 16 years ago it's what I said I wanted to do. It shouldn't have taken me this long to figure out that I need to take a different path, but sometimes old dreams die hard.
Pygmy Loris, you do what seems best for you, because you know best. Good luck to you, and may the people that know you support your decision and aid you in this step.
I just had to speak words of support to a teen girl who is getting back together with her dipshit boyfriend for the third or fourth time, even though she was just about to let him go before he dropped her to date another girl. Geezum Cripes!
But for you, Pygmy Loris, I am sincere and am confident that you are doing the right thing. I enjoy your writing very much.
Get a job in the IT sector? That's what I did. lol.
here, too. And I already voted for her last month, so I'm way ahead of you two. neener neener.
Pygmy Loris:
You mean, like, a good job? One that pays you money and stuff? Just kidding.
I've found it takes a lot of tenacity and flexibility. I hope you can find something that works for you. It's difficult to sell a liberal arts degree (or even two), and you may need to settle for whatever is available until something better comes along. Even so, with two degrees*, a fair amount of work experience, and your obvious intelligence, you should be in better shape than many of the unemployed out there right now. I think the hard part is figuring out what to do with oneself.
*What are they, if I may ask?
Menyambal,
Thank you so much for the kind words. The two friends I have told both said "Good for you." Yes, I do have a few good friends :)
Ol'Greg,
I don't know that much about IT. I can use the internet, MS Office, and a couple of stats programs, but that's really it.
Mr. T.,
I have a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology. My work experience is pretty limited. I was a TA and an Instructor, and I've worked part time as an administrative assistant. Somehow I need to sell graduate school as useful experience even though I'm not finishing my PhD, which is hard for me.
It looks like I'll have to take a minimum-wage job for the time being, and try to use volunteer work to build up a marketable skill set. At some point in the future I will probably go back to school.
Oh, yes indeedy.
When Alan Clarke was still around -- indeed, when Teh Thread first began -- we were all dumbfuzzled by the sheer arrogant inanity of his attempts to invoke philosophy of science, including his bringing in "Occam's Razor", followed immediately by:
LOL!
Oh, yes. The headdesking becomes headflooring, and eventually, headbedrocking.
Sweet & Sour Christ, what a load of assholes on the "I have seen evil" thread. I should probably shut off the generator and just go to bed.
Pygmy, you could definitely get work with that skill set, limited as it may be. Target corporations you've never heard of, and instead of doing minimum wage or waitress jobs (unless you *prefer* them!) go to a temp or contract agency. I know some people who run contract businesses freelance to place part time workers but that's in Dallas and Austin :P What agencies handle what kind of employees varies from city to city, not just state to state. So I have no idea!
But you'd be better off getting low pay temp work but a chance to gain business/technical/clerical experience without paying for it. Also it often can lead to getting hired.
Your degree is a good stamp. It says, yeah, I went to school. Just don't put your major down so they can ask you in the interview and you can improvise to make it sound like it gives you some insight into the job.
Oh and, anthropology? Apply for HR positions and play up your people skills :D
good luck with your new plans, PL.
P.L. Maybe you could market your anthropology as "human knowlege", kinda like psychology of various people, and get a job in Human Resources. You could probably get going in that as an assistant at an employment agency, giving tests if nothing else, or teaching potential employees new skills.
Or I could go to sleep.
Pygmy: difficult decision, and best of luck to you. You might think about the nonprofit sector - tons of social justice and advocacy groups out there. The pay isn't usually glamorous (though often adequate), but the work is rewarding.
Caine: How y'all makin' out with the generator? And with no electricity, how do you have an Internet connection?
Thanks for the advice guys and gals. I really do appreciate it. I'm looking at job postings all over the internet, but it's such a daunting process. I think I'm going to Career Services at my university on Thursday for help with my resume and job search. Maybe they can offer me some good advice.
Josh, just fine. We're on dial-up out here in the sticks. We're planning to go satellite this year. The town's phone junction is right across from our garage, and the phone company has a small generator running it. My husband has actually got us on the net the last two days, because the phone company lets the generator run down and isn't overly arsed to show up and re-fuel it. They now owe us about 4 gallons of gas.
It would be soooo nice if we got power back though. My husband just managed to rent a room in Dickinson, where his new job is at, but he doesn't want to stay away from home while the power is out, so he'll have heavy travel miles this week. Bleargh.
Caine,
I'm glad you have some access to the outside world :) I'm sorry your husband has to make such a trek to get to work during the power outage. Have you heard anything new about when the power will be back?
I just realized there's an infomercial on about SMC, some catalog company that says I can make tons of money ordering shit from them and selling it at a massive mark-up. It looks so easy ;)
Pygmy Loris, I'm glad I have the net too. It's a sanity saver! (Well, most of the time). :D All we got was it will be about two weeks with no power, so four days in, 10 to go. It's an inconvenience, to be sure, but that's all. I would really, really like a hot shower though.
Pygmy Loris,
Good for you for having the courage to stop doing something you don't want to do. Not everyone can do that.
Although you might feel now that you have been wasting time, you can't know how the knowledge and skills you have acquired might turn out to be useful in the future, even in an entirely unrelated field. In any case, there's nothing wrong with education for education's sake.
Good luck with everything :)
PL, be sure to use your education as an example of how you are a good learner. Anybody who has the smarts that you show can probably pick up any job's peculiarities in a few days. They always ask for someone familiar with Whoosijgger '09 and mulkiflanging, but tell them that they are special people doing things that just aren't taught in school and that must be learned only from them.
(I swear that I hadn't read Ol'Greg's HR suggestion.)
Fuckers
scum
Caine,
Do you have a bathtub? It takes a long time, but you can boil water on the stove and fill the tub if you have a few stock pots. At least you could get a warm soak in, or maybe boil enough water for a warm foot bath :)
abulocetacean,
Thanks. I'm trying to figure out what that "completely unrelated field" might be.
Jadehawk,
Fuckers for damn sure! These people aren't just homophobes, they're multi-target jackasses. I did like the comment in the blog post about non-white attendees and civil rights. Too many people just don't see the parallel here.
Did i get some sort of card where people don't read my comments? :-/
????
Are you referring to #366? If so, you did not make a comment. You posted a link to another blog showing comments by Wowbagger and ambulocetacean responding to some douche named Cameron.
Rather mundane comments at that, considering what Wow and ambu are capable of. Please, get over yourself.
This thread had been linked to before.And I don't see any comment by you?
A commenter in an article from the Age(guest opinion by Madeleine Bunting)from today has linked to this rather interesting piece on worldwide tendencies in atheism, FYI.
Caine, looked into the Iraqi video thread this morning and saw your comment. Thank you. I had clicked off right after my post. Decided not to read any further in that thread as a quick perusal was kind of like touring a sewer in a glass bottom boat. That said, I do not want to drag that thread into this one, just wanted to say thanks.
Things to do, have a presentation tomorrow night to a local history group so need to sharpen that up a tad.
In my profession, the average person lasts about 8 years. I've been employed three now, so I'm going to guess that really I'm going to be pushing it to last another 10. I hope by that stage I have enough money saved to fund myself to get a new degree.
From Rorschach's link @371
QFT
So... Summers in Sweden and winters in Vietnam? Who's in?
JeffreyD, you're welcome. The voice of sanity is always a good thing. :)
Pygmy Loris, it would take half of forever to fill our tub and I don't care for baths. I have an old fashioned 'bathing basin' which takes long enough to fill, so we can keep ourselves decent, but it's no replacement for a hot shower. At any rate, it's good I work for myself, that way I don't have to be spiffy for anyone else. ;p
Well after you spamming that YouTube video for a week or so I do sort of ignore them.
Pygmy Loris:
Liberal arts degrees often translate well into government jobs. The NPS and USFS are filled with men and women with various liberal arts degrees, many of whom are doing jobs not relating to their original major. Liberal arts degrees (actually, most college degree outside of business degrees) allows the student to learn how to learn and learn how to find information -- both of which are valuable in civil service.
For example, I have a BA in European Military History. I work for the National Park Service at a park which interprets labour, industrial and technology history. I manage the park's website, desk top publishing and graphics pre-press, exhibit design, public relations, music performance and, occasionally, giving tours. Not much to do with my original degree, but liberal arts tend to be less 'knowing x, y & z' and more 'finding x, y & z.'
Good luck with finding a calling.
Remember -- find something you like to do, then find someone stupid enough to pay you for doing it.
Well we are know officially a month away from the General Election here in the UK.
I have yet to decide who I am going to vote for.
The current MP is a Conservative, and ones of those that is a god-botherer. He has a record of voting against bills intended to equalise the rights of gays with those of the rest of us. I cannot vote for such a bigot.
Labour are the party who came second last time, and before that they held the seat. I cannot vote Labour either.
Which leaves me with a choice of Plaid Cymru or Liberal Democrat.
That must be a brilliant job.
Have you ever managed to make over to the UK to visit some of the industrial heritage sites here ?
nebula99 #327
A very good place to go for an answer to your question is the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today website. Do a search, and if you can't find a current discussion on the topic (unlikely) post a question in their Q&A section.
Wonderful site.
Pygmy L: Getting a job is what I know the least about...I have one, but it just kind of happened. I am lucky to be gainfully employed.
I do have a weird suggestion, though...have you considered forensic work? A Masters in anthropology (especially if you had a focus on physical anthropology) would be desirable, and AFAIK, no PhD needed for many of those jobs. The only reason that I know anything about this is that my university has a forensic science (:|) department...students are learning forensic techniques from professors who weren't trained in forensics, but in anthropology, molecular biology, and chemistry--I can say with confidence that they have no more capability than a student with a Masters degree in one of the sciences, and in my experience, they have considerably less intellectual curiosity. Point being that you might stand a good chance in competition with these students, especially if you could get a little experience first.
Alternatively, have you considered freelancing as an assassin? Pay is good and the hours are flexible. You might also consider becoming a talk show host...apparently no real life experience is needed for that line of work.
If I had to start over again, I think that I might go into either mathematics, or be a hobo. Or a hobo who rides the rails from town to town solving crimes with mathematics and simple hobo tools (harmonica, stick with bandana, stogie, can of beans, and fire).
I would have great difficulty, as a Conservative voter and secularist, if I were in a constituency where the local Tory candidate was a homophobe. There are still a few homophobes around in all the major parties, and obviously I wouldn't be able, in good conscience, to vote for someone with an anti-gay record even where I supported their party. But thankfully, most of them are rather elderly and are retiring at this election. The younger generation of Conservatives are, in general, secular and in favour of gay rights (indeed, we have plenty of gay MPs and candidates), and I will have no difficulty voting for my local Conservative candidate.
Holy crap this made me laugh my head off.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#36186225
Rachel Maddow, Queen of Journalism?
My MP, Stephen Crabb, is only in his 40s, bus as I said, his brain has been addled by religion. Which would explain his voting record on abortion as well as gay rights.
It could also explain why he such problems remembering where here lived, and decided to "swap" the residence he considered his main one just after he had spent a whole load of taxpayers money doing it up. He then got to spend a whole lot more doing up his new main residence. Being stupid would seem to be a "better" explanation than being a venal, grasping freeloader.
Are Plaid Cymru still promising to burn the holiday cottages of the hated English?
I could never bring myself to vote Tory, unless it was in a two-horse race with the BNP. The Lib Dems are OK, aren't they?
#307 JeffreyD
Polls like that used to end up with #1 being the male duet from "The Pearl Fishers" - "In the Temple". Sets up the hairs on the back of the neck. Here is a version:
http://www.online-television.tv/video/Temple+Duet/zQUh_-jEn-E
Either that or Pachelbels Canon in D Major:
http://www.mp3download.ws/mp3/4fNJWATV7MX/Canon_In_D_Major/Pachelbel_S_…
I had the joy of sitting listening to a string group in an Atlanta hotel. I shuffled up to one of the violins, looked over his shoulder and followed along with the music - I can [just] read musicbut couldn't play a violin to save my life - kazoo is more my line.
They were blown away that:
1) I was English
2) I was interested at all (no one else was)
3) I could read music even though I couldn't play
I was invited to come into the group and asked what I wanted them to play! My own string group - from one of the top Atlanta orchestras (I guess there's more than 1) - playing requests for me alone.
I had enough sense to realise I knew nothing about string music and asked them if they would choose pieces to educate me. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok (the Hotel guy didn't like Bartok - he appears to have had complaints or took it on himself to complain). Finally, I tentatively asked if they would play this one. Big smile from the bottom line player because all he has to play is a simple phrase repeated throughout!
Next day I couldn't hang around because of a meeting but as they saw me come down stairs they stopped what they were playing (to an audience of zero) and gave me the Canon for a second time.
Simple joys like that last a lifetime!
When my oldest daughter got married we chose a range of different music for the period when the guests were getting seated with this as the final tune before I escorted her down the aisle - quiet, graceful, solemn without being mournful.
At the end we switched to (another favourite of mine) the first 2 minutes of last movement of Saint-Sans 3rd organ symphony...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnxdpIynSLU&feature=related
(Even better with full orchestra on good sound equipment. Probably better known now as the music at the end of "Babe")
Pygmy Loris, make sure to look at small companies. They are often looking for the person to really run their office, while they run the business. The AA who allegedly works for my bosses boss, manages him and his departments quite nicely.
Plaid never supported the arson campaign on holiday cottages in the 70s, although the people who carried it out (never caught btw) probably were Plaid voters).
I could not vote Tory either, unless like you say, it was them or the BNP or UKIP. The Lib Dems are most likely to get my vote.
#378 and others.
The sitting MP here is an Independent - actually he belongs to a polical party but it is local and he is (and will always be) their only MP.
Interesting story. The local hospital was going to be closed down by the Labour government, much to the distress of local people. As I understand it, the sitting Labour MP was promised big things if he pushed through the closure against local opposition. I have heard other things said about him but I will leave that be.
He lost the seat which had a large Labour majority with a huge swing to the local party with a retired doctor (in general practice) as the MP.
Many of you will have read about the frauds committed by many MPs which were uncovered by the Daily Telegraph and some of the liberatrian blogs in the UK.
Our MP came out of it squeaky clean. Indeed he published on the local newspaper web site a COMPLETE set of all his expense claims - the third to do so out off 600+ MPs and the most complete set produced to date.
He was in 2 minds as to whether to stand again and talked about it in the local paper. Eventually concluded that he would so that it would be for the people to decide if they wanted him to represent them.
I disagree strongly with him on a number of issues but unless something wild comes up, I will be voting for him this time as well. A genuinely honest, sincere public servant is what we need. They are RARE, VERY RARE.
Matt: No, never made it over across the pond (and if I did, I would be hitting the war museums and battlefields). The only times I've been out of the country were trips to the Bahamas, a highjacked plane when I was 3 to Cuba, Canada on my honeymoon, and a couple of trips to New Jersey.
Good luck, PL!
Never apologise. Never regret.
I'm sure you'll do fine. You're not lazy like some of us.
This one's for Alan B at #386, since I don't feel like working right now:
Rochberg - String Quartet no. 6, mvt. 3 "Variations (on Pachelbel)"
That's a shame, but to be fair it's not exactly what I would consider your run-on-the-mill, meat-'n-potatoes, make-the-kiddies-happy hotel lobby music (if that was the intended function). Here's a sample:
Bartok - String Quartet no. 5, mvt. 1
This next one really gets the juices flowing... puts some hair on your chest:
Schoenberg - String Quartet no. 4, mvt. 1
I'm going to stop using weird metaphors for a while.
Should you ever get to the UK you should also visit IronBridge. Brilliant place if you are into industrial history.
#393 Matt Penfold
Totally agree but the museums are distinctly mixed in quality. The Victorian town is excellent.
Fascinating geology at Ironbridge, just set up for an Industrial Revolution. In one borehole you can get:
limestone to act as a flux in iron-making
clay for ordinary bricks but also fire clay to line furnaces
iron ore
sandstone for building blocks
coal to fuel it all
and the River Severn, longest in England/Wales to power water mills, water-powered blowers etc. Also to provide transport of good to and from the area.
Also, plenty of wood in the Ironbridge Gorge.
Finally, tar. When they were digging a tunnel for a possible canal to bypass some hills they found tar oozing out of the walls - a rarity in the UK. You can walk along part of the tunnel and see the tar coming out of the walls. Daily air analysis to meet Health and Safety for a Confined Space - I asked!
Alan,
My understanding is that one of the main reasons the UK was the home of the Industrial Revolution was because of fortuitous geology, with iron ore deposits and coal being near each other in several parts of the country.
That, and the UK having a more ready supply of capital than other European countries with similar geological good fortune.
#392 MrT
Thanks for those. I will have a listen a bit later when I can relax and enjoy!!
The string group had a nice thing going - warm, light, airy environment in which to do the practice they would have done anyway - and paid for it!
One other piece to suggest - better known over the Atlantic as the theme to Masterpiece Theatre. I first heard it in a selection of baroque music on a cassette tape (remember those? - or are you too young /smile). It was entitled, "The Rage of 1703" - i.e. these were the #1 hit parade items for the year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RW1RttAho4&feature=related
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZQG-DZy7uY&feature=related
Lovely, bright, cheerful music!
Talking of nice cheerful music, here is Charpentier's Te Duem Prelude by Neville Mariner and the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields' orchestra.
#395 Matt Penfold
Sounds just about right. That and the efforts of one or two key men - Dud Dudley for one. Before his time (early 1600s) the amount of iron that could be produced was strictly limitted by the amount of charcoal available. This made iron a relatively rare and expensive commodity.
Seeing the problem from the point of view of an iron master and metallurgist, he tried using coal (not very successfully) but then developed the idea of using coke and was the precursor of Arthur Darby and the other great iron producers.
No doubt someone else would have worked it out eventually but Dud seems to have got there first and helped kick-start the Industrial Revolution.
I wrote:
That was true also for the virtually unknown "Industrial revolution" on the Clee Hills in Shropshire where geology was the enabler. Again, coal, clay, iron ore, with dolerite in addition to sandstone for building. I'll get to the Clee Hills sometime on another incarnation of The Thread (I've already mentioned it previously when talking about the GIANTS who lived in the area.
Oh, yes, Alan B, do relax and enjoy those later.
Why not continue the series?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz8P5lJqZ10
boygenius:
I have to disagree. That data is very interesting, but does nothing to make me think that religion isn't due to innate tendencies of the human mind. I'm pretty sure it is.
Nobody reasonable and knowledgeable about the subject thinks that religion is simply hard-wired in and there's nothing you can do about it.
Most of the people that that argument mentions as supporting the innateness of religious tendencies don't think that, even the ones who think that we evolved to be religious in the sense that religion was positively selected for. (E.g., even David Sloan Wilson, who thinks that religion is a group-selected adaptation, but is himself an atheist and a thoroughgoing materialist.)
The moderate version of innateness is just that humans have a bunch of cognitive biases that religion can exploit. It tweaks the combined failure mode of a bunch of heuristics (unconscious rules of thumb, etc.), schemas, etc.
Those biases may just be accidental, in the sense that they evolved for something else but have odd side-effects like religion. (The "spandrel" view, well explained in Pascal Boyer's Religion Explained.) Or they may have been selected for because they have survival value. (The "adaptationist" view of religion, e.g., D.S. Wilson.) Or it may be largely the former and some of the latter.
In that sense, religion is like naive physics. ("Folk" physics.) We have some evolved-in tendencies to view the world in ways that are typically useful but often wrong in light of science. (E.g., science showing that objects in motion tend to remain in motion unless acted on by something else, rather than tending to slow and stop once the "impetus" is exhausted.)
Even if religion has been selected for pretty strongly, that doesn't necessarily mean that the tendency toward religion is very strong at the individual psychological level---fairly slight biases can be enough to make you religious, especially if there's social reinforcement and no countervailing anti-religious stuff going on in your society.
The fact that many people can be atheists doesn't mean that there aren't such innate biases that tend to favor religion---it just means that they can be overcome in the right kind of environment.
Reasonable nativists have known all along that people can be atheists. (Most of them are atheists.) Even most adaptationists think that it's a matter of biases and tendencies rather than simple hardwiring, and that culture is hugely important.
Ooh, hey, I liked that Bartók a lot.
They say that Charlie Parker loved Bartók.
Actually, no, not just "they"; he said it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ZajJd-1kY
HTF does Dodie Stevens look this good at 64?
She doesn't even have wrinkles on her neck! Not fair.
I remember dancing to this at a neighbour's party in 1959. And sneaking two Babychams when the adults weren't looking. And getting drunk. And ending up in a cupboard practicing kissing with their daughter.
I'm going to have a couple of evening's worth of string music to enjoy.
Thanks guys (and I really do mean that sincerely!!)
#399 Sven - not sure about this - had a quick listen but I think I will have to warm up with the others ...
Pygmy Loris @324: All I can offer is encouragement. You thought the situation over well before you made your decision. That's the best you can do.
At the very least, you have freed yourself of the burden of completing a degree that felt like a prison to you. Unburdened, you should have more energy to look for a new path. It's going to be rough, no doubt, but not as bad as facing three years of intense effort doing something you dislike.
Individuals differ in this regard, but for me the idea of putting all my career/money-earning effort into something I dislike is actually worse than worrying about the monthly bills.
Yes, good luck PL.
You have good credentials for teaching--either at a private highschool or a community college.
PL: I can't offer any useful advice, but I can wish you good luck with the job-search. I'm currently uncertain about my long-term career future as well, so I know how you feel.
======
Argh. I've now got myself into a serious discussion on another thread, when I should be working.
Please, people, next time I try to start an interesting argument about something, tell me to fuck off and get back to work. It's for my own good. :-)
Walton -
fuck off and get back to work.
You're welcome.
PL - keep us updated on how the conversation went. Brave, brave step - even if you decide to hold tight awhile longer (like if your advisor talked you into staying until the end of semester or something), you've got it out there and you've decided what to do.
Run, don't walk, to see today's teefury!.
Pretty jellyfish.
What do PZ Myers, Chris Mooney, and Francis Collins all have in common?
They are all Friends of Hitler!
I lol'd when I saw this comment:
truth machine's response:
#410
Tee hee.
Sleazy PZ
And the Thomas Jefferson award goes to...
Berlinski?!!
Larry Farfromsane never disappoints. IIRC he is the #1 or 2 entry in PZ's dungeon. (If I wasn't a) already in Preview and b) incrediby lazy I'd check on that, but...)
Paul W OM #400,
You know, you're right. Actually, as I was drifting off to sleep shortly after posting my #374, my brain clicked. (Better late than never)
Since religion is a construct of the human mind, obviously it is neurological in origin. duh.
Of course, I just figured it out by intuition without using all those big words that you used.;p
Thanks for the more in-depth exploration, as always.
Sven:
Much like heroin.
Diz 'n Bird - A Night in Tunisia
Note the killer solo break. You can also hear all the obvious similarities with this:
Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Hmm... well, not really.
Now for another string quartet:
Shostakovich - String Quartet no. 7 ... although nothing beats his fifth symphony... not even Beethoven's fifth symphony.
Sven:
It also went to McLeroy, who took Jefferson out of textbooks and replaced him with Calvin!
Priceless.
Gah, this is gonna bother me. I know I have his CD at home. There's a composer really only known for a few pieces of work who wrote some really amazing other works, and I can't remember who it was... shall keep looking.
PL:
I just dropped in for a couple posts last night, and missed most of the byplay about your big decision. By now, there's not a whole lot I can offer that others haven't already mentioned, but I did want to wish you the best. I, too, took the MA offramp: By the time I finished my MA, I'd been a student for my entire self-aware life, and I just couldn't face the idea of scaling yet another educational mountain. If I'd gone on to a PhD and were now a tweed-jacket-wearing middle-aged English prof at some sleepy little liberal arts college, I imagine I'd be pretty happy... but I can't imagine how I would've ever gotten myself from where I was then to that point without killing myself.
That's the thing about life: It's not enough to have a happy goal in mind; the route you travel to reach that goal must also be at least tolerable.
As for more concrete advice, I second what Sven said about teaching. Many private secondary schools care more about advanced degrees than formal teacher training, which in any case you could pick up on a post-bac basis. And there's plenty of things you could teach at the community college level without a doctorate.
If teaching appeals to you, but spending your days with roomsful of surly American youths does not, you might consider teaching English overseas. I haven't looked into in a while, but back when my Lovely Bride and I taught in Korea, all you really needed was a degree in anything, and to be a native speaker. It might not be what you want to do for the rest of your life, but it's a great way to see the world, and to save up some scratch for Whatever's Next™ (typically your employer will cover most, if not all, of your travel and housing expenses, and there are [used to be, at least] distinct tax advantages to earning money outside the U.S.).
Also, while you're still a student at your current school (presumably through the end of this term, right?), don't fail to avail yourself of whatever career counseling services they offer. Back in my day, there used to be a section of the job board in the Career Center labeled DIAM (for Degree in Any Major), and speaking as someone who works in a large aerospace engineering company, I can tell you that there are lots of folks with liberal arts degrees working in fields that you'd never think of as related to liberal arts. (Not that I imagine you want to be a middle manager at a defense firm, mind you; jus' sayin'....)
Personally, I'm about to turn 50 and will be eligible for early retirement in another 5 years... so I'm also starting to think in terms of a new career. As much as I like my current job (as jobs go, that is), I can't see myself staying in it past 25 years, so I've long planned to go for a late second (third, actually, if you count my teaching "fling") career. I've always thought I would return to teaching and try to do it right this time... but recently I've been wondering if I shouldn't look at something even more public-service-oriented: Working a congressional office, or for a charity, NGO, or social activism organization. Those jobs usually don't pay all that well, but I'd only need the equivalent of a second income by that time; maybe something along these lines would be better for you — as a stopgap, I mean — than a generic McJob.
All I can say is try to imagine what you want to be doing in 20 or 30 years, and even if you can't get on that path right away, don't settle for anything that would make that path impossible.
Ah - Edvard Grieg. That's who it was.
I may be repeating what someone else has already posted, since I don't have time to read every comment right now.
The New York Times has a long article about homosexuality in animals
Excerpt:
Clearly, we must create a John Calvin award, and give it to the most ironic recipient possible.
*thinks carefully*
How about John Shelby Spong?
Owl:
I replied on the Sunday Sacrilege thread.
Again, thanks to everyone for their thoughtful advice and support. I was unable to meet with my committee chair today due to car problems (I had a severe problem with the back strut and tire that probably would have resulted in an extended, expensive hospital stay had I not heard an unrelated sound coming from the tire). Tomorrow afternoon my car should be back up and running, so I'll be seeing my advisor then. I'll let you guys know how it goes, though I am finishing this term.
I want to say again how much I appreciate the advice everyone has offered. I've never had a regular job that wasn't either a McJob or a TA position, so I'm having to learn all this new stuff about finding jobs and marketing myself to employers. The suggestions for where to start are very helpful.
I've had to leave the "We have seen evil, and it is us" thread - the signal to noise ratio was way beyond my capacity to handle. Somebody tell me if it gets into anything substantive.
patriotism =/= jingoism
Yeah, Becca. There are some really willfully ignorant jerks there. I can only take it in small doses. I don't have the patience and I can't be typing a mad fury at work.
It's been too long since I last listened to Shostakovich, but I think it's 8 and 13 that are my favourites. Possibly 10, too. (I have too poor a memory.)
've had the pleasure of hearing Bartok live, but I must admit that I'm better cut out for Beethoven.
Radio 3 is doing a Mahler cycle at the moment, but I think my favourite symphoniker is Bruckner.
Thanks for the pointer to Cerberus on the Evil thread. Count me in for the April Molly nominations.
JeffreyD, frog.inc. and Jarred C. stood out as well.
Speaking of music, if you look up Thomas Tallis you will find some lovely multi-voice choirs of Elizabethan flavour. The first Elizabeth, not the current one. As recommended by Terry Pratchett.
I've deliberately avoided that thread. I don't have the mental energy or the time to get into it right now, and I'm just not at my most intelligent at the moment; over the last few days, whenever I've tried to make a serious point in discussion, I end up saying something stupid due to lack of proper thought, and pissing everyone off.
So for now, I'll just stick to complaining on the endless thread. :-)
Have a look at the discovery of amber from the beginning of the Late Cretaceous in Ethiopia. Contains lots of organisms that hardly ever fossilize.
<kw*k>I know Vávra and Svojtka personally. Vávra is teh awesum.</kw*k>
From the closed "design flaws" thread...
None of those is a text. None of them is something you can tease an author's intents, background, prejudices out of. Science doesn't consist of performing exegesis on the works of the great Aristotle, or for that matter those of Darwin. Deconstructionism requires a text in the literal* sense, words written down by someone.
* Pedantry mode alert! Of course, "text" is a metaphor... compare "texture". Or, in parallel, compare 文 wén, which means things like "written language" and "culture" nowadays, while its basic meaning once was "pattern"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Unless I immediately find a tenured CNRS job, I'll need to teach anyway :-)
I had no idea of the entire genre of musician & drummer jokes (funny as they are!)... I don't understand the quote. Is it in baseball language?
Except one of them, I suppose...? :-)
(Of course, I'm not speaking from experience, or even from second-hand reports. I'm just imagining.)
Pffffft. Ordinary Parisian fashion, even in winter <shudder>. I almost don't notice that anymore.
In other words, "how" and "why" is the same thing: "everything is the way it is because it got that way" (J. B. S. Haldane).
LOL! How stupid of me not to have thought of this myself!
SIWOTI.
I think he thinks using the word evolution automatically implies the theory of evolution by mutation, selection & drift which he wants to believe is an Unproven Theory®. (I'm glad he didn't use that term, though.)
So well said...
Literally, e-volution means un-wrapping, and that's how development was thought to proceed back then.
Indeed it says that there was no singularity in the sense of zero size. However, it's a tiny effect, just one more little complication of Big Bang theory.
The comments, however, make clear that it's all more complicated still. And they're very confusing.
Do you think religion is under assault in America?
Yes, I have to keep my views to myself 49%
No, I feel free to express myself 16%
No, religion is too pervasive already 34%
Total Votes: 1,465
<sob>
As usual, it turns out I've missed something by not looking into so many threads at all (I was, rightly, afraid of lacking the time). Can someone provide links to the best comments?
Unless all of them are on the Evil thread – I'll try to check that one out tomorrow...
Bingo.
Appears to be pharyngulated.
Someone should laugh at him for two minutes without interruption. Into his face.
And then give him psychiatric help.
At that time of the American night and the European early morning? Come on.
I'd actually prefer the opposite :-)
For me, that route (doctorate, postdoc) is the only tolerable one :-)
Nasally X-D
LOL.
But I still don't understand the kind that isn't jingoism. What is it good for? Why should I somehow like the country that issued my passport more than all others?
While I am at it... For some time, the Western world assumed that patriotism was some kind of innate human urge, and it appears that lots of Americans (of almost all political orientations) still do. But it was only invented in the early 19th century, and where I come from it's mostly gone again.
Fuck off and go back to work :-)
(Or sleep, so you can get up earlier tomorrow and use more of the daylight – that's good for your mood. If the weather agrees, that is.)
I don't think more than the period is missing at the end of that sentence which I wrote at least 10 h ago.
We have power!
We don't have power.
We have power!
We don't have power. And so on.
This is now the 5th time the power has come on, 4 minutes and counting...*
*I'm not shutting down the generator just yet.
Becca:
I did that last night. I was getting way too angry.
ah yes, pandagon seems down, possibly one of the liberal sites under DOS attack. Anyway, that was a link to the finish of the story of the lesbian high-school student who wanted to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend.
what ended up happening was parents organizing a secret, invitation-only prom that most of the kids went to, while the "rejects" were only told about the official prom that ended up having only a handful people attending, including the lesbian couple and some learning-disabled kids.
like I said, fuckers.
ditto. I like winters, why would I want two summers?
And why would you want to leave Sweden at all?
Systembolaget.
That is evil.
wow, that sucks.
Well I guess there's always taking a ferry to Finland and loading up on duty free booze on the boat.
Linky, linky:
This has amusing snarky cartoons:
http://fleasnobbery.blogspot.com/
well, this at least isn't an argument for any of the alcohol-averse admirers of Sweden; of which I know two (though, one of them doesn't like winter :p )
I don't claim to understand this, but I'll assume PeeZed is to blame - somehow.
That would count as leaving Sweden.
But they're supposed to have a good cider tradition. Please do report back on that. Or I guess we'll have to take up a collection and send PeeZed across the bridge in June.
This just in: Stormy Daniels, the porn star who's considering a Senate run against David Vitter, is so impressed with the RNC's taste in nightclubs that she's switching parties! I think it's hilarious that the article says the switch is perhaps satirical!
And that young woman has so much grace under fire for her age - her quote from the Advocate article was that the one good thing about the "fake" prom was that the learning-disabled students were able to have a great time without being picked on.
I know, right? she's definitely made of awesome.
@Josh Official Spokesgay:
Finally, my recipe I promised I'd post last week! (my daughter had absconded with the cookbook). My grandmother, before I was married, wrote several family favorites in a cookbook. This one, for Arroz con Pollo - she got in the Panama Canal Zone in 1945 when she, my mother and uncle joined my grandfather who had been stationed there during WWII. She played with the recipe a bit, and we all love it.
The recipe starts with: Get a fresh chicken from the market.
Clean the chicken with baking soda or vinegar. Cut up and fry in hot oil in a Dutch Oven until lightly brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Thoroughly wash and drain 1 lb white rice. Set aside for now.
Open 1 small can of peas, 1 bottle of stuffed olives and 1 can of chopped tomatoes. Do not drain. Pour peas with juice and tomatoes with juices over the chicken, and pour the olive juice but do not add the olives yet. Add 1 lb chopped onions, 1 green pepper and 1 cup chopped celery to the dutch oven. Simmer until nearly done. (add additional water if needed; I will also use chicken broth but you want the vegetable juices to be the primary flavor so don't add too much).
Brown the rice in hot oil or fat until lightly tan and add to the chicken and vegetables. Cut the stuffed olives in half and add. Add enough water to cover the rice with about 1 1/2 inch standing on top. Cover tightly and steam. Occasionally raise rice with a fork to prevent sticking. The dish should appear moist but no obvious liquid.
Serves 5-6.
Dawn
Pygmy Loris,
Many service companies are looking for people with degrees for supervisory jobs. Unless the job is technical (engineering, IT, etc.) what's wanted is a generic degree.
I work at a casino. Pit bosses (gaming floor supervisors) have to have a degree but there aren't any degrees in gambling. I know pit bosses with degrees in English, sociology and art history. An anthropology degree would not be a handicap for a pit boss job starting at $42K per year plus benefits.
Sweden? Is Norway OK? I'm going to be giving a talk in Oslo in Jue.
Your only worry is them committing suicide when you leave.
Sinful atheists! Won't murder people, but quite happy to disobey god and kill themselves.
'Tis,
I had not thought of working in a casino. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm going to visit my parents next week and make arrangements to store some of my stuff. I'll check out the local casinos while I'm there.
Maybe I should start a blog; then I could jet around the world like Pz ;)
Definitely don't want photos, but was wondering if any of the sailors here have ever renamed their boats.
If they did, I hope they chose a better name than this sailor did.
Night all.
Oh dear, just thought of Queen Liz renaming an aircraft carrier.
How can I sleep now?
Norway? Good luck with understanding the locals.
Though, it's still better than Danish ...
Pygmy Loris, Screw casinos - go become a scuba instructor in Honduras.
Dahab, Egypt, has nice fishies too. Just watch out for restaurant bombers, and stay away from Sharm el-Sheikh when the peace conferences/Arab League meetings are on :)
I once renamed a boat. It was a 20 foot sloop named Tiddly Winks. I renamed it Intermezzo. I did not swim around it shouting "I'm renaming this boat because the previous name is dorky!"
Oh, but you should have! That would have been the very height of awesomeness. :)
RTL,
Please don't put images of old Liz nekkid in my head. I need to be able to sleep tonight. :P
Triskelethecat - recipe snagged, thanks!
But one must be careful about in which directon one circles one's renamed boat.
Widdershins should be right out.
Sorry 'Tis, but yes, one could get a degree in gambling: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN GAMING MANAGEMENT
Gaming Management, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, an undergraduate degree.
More information at UNLV Catalog
Place your bets!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6oYyG0KcvQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSlnDi8Bn7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47UiLhNyujU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5dgAszVslA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fp0gqLwHw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWv_e-xGQkY
that oughta do it
oops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GVzsuDsxW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpHVtJv7DLQ
that's what I'm talkin about
Just a request *ducks*...any possibility of leaving an indication of what I can expect when clicking on youtube links?
No.
OK. Carry on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVDLs3WimdU
The following YouTube link is a video of "Bread" doing their hit "If":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6VsmMN13Y0
happy, motherfucker?
Happy!
This is kind of awesome, Tis.
Legalize it
yeah, yeah
and I will advertise it.
=====
I know none of you motherfuckers asked me, but I'm not happy.
We're like this, man.
Thanks for describing the YouTube links. Seriously, I have been meaning to suggest that for a couple of weeks now. I have a cellphone modem and a wonky browser, so it takes me trouble and time to watch YouTube vids. I click in to see the titles, sometimes, but mostly I just move on.
Thank you.
The Foggy Dew: The Chieftains wth Sinead O'Connor.
Better keep those tongues where they belong folks, god didn't want you to do the naughty with them !!
Oral sex and throat cancer rise
'Tis,
What does an ecomomist do for a casino?
I'm a former casino worker myself, not management tho, so have no idea what you must do for them. Would you mind discussing that a bit?
Thanks,
Dust
Bill @ 338
I imagine that it would be different. I've seen my friends use chocolate syrup as a subsitute, though.
Best thing I had was just a third of a glass Bailey with Guinness. I could almost not taste the alcohol.
@PZ, 447:
You'e coming to Oslo? Excellent. Any dates?
(I really hope it doesn't collide with the cancer conference I've been badgered into working for.)
The Norwegian Vinmonopolet is pretty much the same as Systembolaget 'cept it is a bit more expensive.
I don't mind though - as a true socialist I think luxury like alcohol should be heavily taxed. And to be honest: It's only the cheap stuff that's truly expensive. Both 'Polet and 'Systemet buys good shite in bulk, and therefore you get good wines and spirits cheap, instead of the choice of three different indifferent german libfraumiches at your local walmart equivalent.
Alan B - saw and was interested by your comments on classical music and thanks for the video links. Was working on a presentation all day yesterday that I am giving tonight, so was not in the blog much.
Interesting you can read music, but not play. I cannot read music. However, usually only have to hear something once to have it locked in my head. (I was a singer.)
Anyway, enjoyed all the classical videos your posts engendered.
Here's what I just posted on Facebook regarding the UK general election:
Walton, why are you getting so worked up about the cider tax? Surely there are bigger issues facing Britain today.
Er, what? Did you read what I wrote? :-S
Sorry, Walton. I was just being a smartarse. I've been reading the letters pages in Viz and it's been rubbing off (Fnarr! Fnarr!).
We had the same sort of rubbish in Australia over the past couple of years over the so-called "alcopop tax".
IIRC, when the previous government brought in a flat-rate goods and services tax it eliminated almost all other sales taxes, with the strange result that pre-mixed spirit drinks became really cheap. So kids went beserk on the cheap grog, and the current government felt pressured to make it more expensive and got criticised for doing so.
The row went on for ages, taking attention away from more important issues. I agree with your assessment of the cider situation entirely :)
So... I totally want to get out of my state now.
Virginia Governor McDonnell announced April as 'Confederate History Month.' Ken Cuchinelli is speaking at an armed 2nd Amendment Rights rally that's more or less going to happen in my backyard.
Virginia is getting more and more backwards... it's scary.
man, what wasw I smoking last night?
On another thread (Constance & the prom) someone commented that the blog site seemed to be depressing recently. While I don't want to downplay the sadness and anger expressed by people, for those who want something a little lighter, I have a few things that might interest and amuse. (I understand, of course, that English humour does not necessarily travel well).
First, a picture of our sponsor, PZ:
http://to55er.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/0511-0712-2816-5549_crazy_mad…
Secondly, a suitable sign for many people referred to on this site?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z2Nv-pYmknk/SlgHc7RCV6I/AAAAAAAAExA/3Re27hTtF…
Thirdly, here is an interesting and perceptive piece of peer-reviewed (presumably) science demonstrating imaginative uses of a blow-up bra::
File in the categories:
Nice work if you can get it
Why didn't I write the grant request for this?
A blinding glimpse of the ****** obvious!!"
Only in France
http://nicolas.gueguen.free.fr/Articles/PMS2007b.pdf
Abstract:
"To test the effect of a woman's bust size on the rate of help offered, 1200 male and female French motorists were tested in a hitchhiking situation. A 20-yr.-old female confederate wore a bra which permitted variation in the size of cup to vary her breast size. She stood by the side of a road frequented by hitchhikers and held out her thumb to catch a ride. Increasing the bra-size of the female-hitchhiker was significantly associated with an increase in number of male drivers, but not female drivers, who stopped to offer a ride."
h/t for all 3: force-fieldanalysis.blogspot.com
Finally, if you feel like investigating further scientific uses of a blow-up bra, here is another paper:
www.femininebeauty.info/f/breasts.size.courtship.pdf
(And to think I chose to take up industrial Chemistry ...)
#483 JeffreyD
To be fair, it is more that I can follow along on a score at sight but I would need to study it for a while to work out what it sounds like.
Not all that strange. My mother had a very difficult birth which ended up with the midwife (in desparation) sitting on her! Not surprisingly, I suffered birth damage which expressed itself in an inability to coordinate movements. Sport and, in this context, playing any musical instrument, was completely out in my formative years.
Don't worry. No long term harmful effects. I am totally normal now.
[Ed. Except when you get to know Alan B.]
Imagine that you are leading a massed band that has got itself stuck. "All" you want to do is a left turn. But a left turn means the band is no longer following a line of drum majors. The trombonist who repeats the signals to the rest of the marching band is no longer in the front row - he is halfway down one side and not visible to the rest. There's no room for a left wheel.
What do you do?
In the British Army you do a spin wheel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAyu4w9sZFg&feature=related
If you look carefully, everybody is doing something different. Some are stood still but slowly circling round. Others are striding out to get to their new positions. I think a few are marching backwards. All in all, total confusion until the end when Ho and Belold, all sorts itself out and the band has done a left turn and is ready to march off.
Only the British Army would get itself into a hole like that. Only the British Army could be proud of devising a way out!
Ed. That was rude. You jackass.
Chuck-boy is sooooo going down.
Or he would be if there were any justice in the world.
(via Ben Goldacre)
Uhm, PZ, where are the important people staying during this Copenhagen conference?
I thought our arrangement in Melbourne with Hotel and bar 5 meters away from the convention centre was very convenient, there doesnt seem to be a Hotel close to the Copenhagen venue though.
I'm eyeing the Radisson Blu, doesnt seem to be too far away from that diamond thingy and has a Casino...:-)
Did I mention I just bought my ticket LOL...
Rachel Maddow documents a few results of increasing violence on the right: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#36203756
Rorschach,
Copenhagen is tiny. Srsly, you could walk across Denmark in an hour or so.
Lynna (@496):
Rachel is an indispensible national resource, isn't she? It drives me crazy when I hear people — even sometimes people on the left themselves — say she's just the left's equivalent of someone like Limbaugh or Beck. I don't even think that's true of Olbermann (the other one who catches that guff), but it's certainly not true of Maddow. She's not a reporter, of course, but she's the smartest, hardest-working, and most honest news analyst in the business, and (despite the fact that she clearly has her own opinion) she's the farthest thing from a partisan hack.
I take your word for it...:-) Just don't want to have to walk or travel half an hour to and from accomodation everytime !
Over here, we walked 5 metres, fell into the cushiony goodness of the Hilton bar and got drunk,then walked another 5 metres to fall into bed, life was good :D
@Bill Dauphin (498)
I totally agree. I was contemplating watching her over the new episode of Lost last night - Lost won out, but I watched the re-run on the internet here at work, so she won out, too.