America
dr. dolittle | August 30, 2014 Image of seals from www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-animal-kingdom/images/14060694/title/seal-wall…
Paleogeneticist Dr. Johannes Krause (University of Tübingen, Germany) and colleagues were interested in the origin of tuberculosis (TB) in the Americas. Since strains of TB found in the Americas are related to strains found in Europe, prior theories held that Spaniards may have introduced it to the Americas while colonizing South America. The problem with those theories is that pre-Columbian skeletal remains showed signs of TB much earlier.
Dr. Krause was quoted in Scientific American, “Pathogens…
sastyk | July 26, 2011On Friday, in a move that shocked, truly shocked America, President Obama said that food stamps were more important than Defense. Since this sort of prioritization is one of the fundamental differences between the US extreme right (aka Republicans) and the US center-right (also known as the Democrats), the fact that this caused an uproar among Republicans should also stun you. Republicans warn us that slashing America's defense budget until it is only double the next largest nations will cripple us, Democrats call the Republicans meanies, and everyone ignores the point.
The point is that…
sastyk | November 30, 2010This morning four guys in camo and rifles were walking up my road at 6am, which means one of two things. Either it is Deer Season, or Canada has invaded. And that's the real reason I'm not leaving the US - I've pinned my hopes on the conquest of upstate New York by Canada, who will ruthlessly impose national health care and better beer upon us.
Of course, back in the 1990s, Saturday Night Live already speculated on what a nation called "Amerida" might look like. (H/T to Edson for the video!)
I'm there already in my mind!
Sharon
sastyk | November 30, 2010An anonymous guest poster at ClubOrlov makes the case that America isn't a place you want to live - and that Americans should get out of Dodge:
Americans, I have some bad news for you:
You have the worst quality of life in the developed world--by a wide margin.
If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you'd be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical American white-collar worker.
I know this…
grrlscientist | May 2, 2010tags: I'm A Teabagger For Jesus, teabaggers, America, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, socialism,humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, social commentary, cultural observation, Edward Current, streaming video
What would Jesus do to help America? In this video, William Current, one of my favorite social satirists, explains how he decided that he would be a Teabagger. No taxation without representation!
grrlscientist | March 30, 2010tags: obama, racism, America, Why Obama Is So Scary, humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, social commentary, cultural observation, Edward Current, streaming video
Another one of my boyfriends, Edward Current, uploaded this video today, even though he filmed it in August 2009. It's another rip-snorter, but the last few seconds is the real capper .. those last few seconds might be the reason he waited to share it with us until now ..
esiegel | February 12, 2010However time may be measured at the Naval Observatory, the clock seems to tick slowly here when Congress is out of town. -Richard Corrigan
The following is the mostly true (but somewhat fictionalized) story of the first clocks in the Americas. In the 17th Century, the finest clockmakers in the world were Dutch, going back to the time of Christiaan Huygens.
Image: A Dutch Longcase clock, courtesy of The Museum of the Dutch Clock.
Huygens determined that if you allowed a pendulum to swing just a little bit, the period of its swing could be used to keep time to incredible accuracy. By the mid-…
grrlscientist | January 27, 2010tags: Baseball versus Football, sports, social commentary, cultural observation, George Carlin, humor, comedy, fucking hilarious, streaming video
I despise baseball, but enjoy football (and futbol, too). My fellow NYCers were brainless drooling idiots when it came to the Yankees, and I reminded them of this as often as possible. The fact that I am still alive to talk about it means that all you religious wingnuts have yet another defensible "miracle" you can cite. (But that's another video). But here's George Carlin's commentary about baseball (which only serves to further elevate his status…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2010tags: We Like War, social commentary, cultural observation, George Carlin, humor, comedy, fucking hilarious, streaming video
George Carlin, a comedic genius, makes a few priceless (and disturbing) observations about America's fondness for war.
grrlscientist | November 14, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, Why Do Atheists Care About Religion?, imrational, streaming video
How does religion impinge upon each American's rights? This video should open your eyes to the ridiculous, backwards and utterly nonsensical laws that control our lives because of someone's religious beliefs.
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009The Gardian The Grauniad published a piece that has me seriously worried! The Brits have apparently seized the gold medal from the Americans in sheer, unadulterated laziness;
One in six people would rather watch a TV programme they didn't like than leave the sofa to change the channel if their remote control was broken. A third (36%) of the 2,000 adults surveyed for the study said they would not run to catch a bus and more than half (59%) would not walk up two flights of stairs to reach their office, choosing instead to take the lift.
More than half of dog owners (52%) did not walk their…
grrlscientist | July 2, 2009tags: Arthur Benjamin, Mathematics, calculus, statistics, education, , TEDTalks, streaming video
Someone always asks the math teacher, "Am I going to use calculus in real life?" And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age. [2:59]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on…
grrlscientist | June 10, 2009tags: agribusiness, agriculture, dairy farm, cows, industrial dairy farm, milk, dairy products, streaming video
This is interesting video sums up my view of America perfectly .. After visiting a Denny's Restaurant, President Obama was visibly shaken and disillusioned; and plans to abandon complex policies on emissions, clean coal and refocus on achievable goals like applying deodorant daily, and learning what to say when you burp [2:46]
Of course, I want to point out that Denny's looks upper middle class when compared to the McDonald's in my 'hood. Just sayin'.
The Onion News Network is an…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2009tags: politics, good citizenship, humor, America, streaming video
This streaming video provides essential educational advice to Americans on how to be good citizens -- I was especially impressed with Mary's frugal meals, but seriously, she'd spend le$$ if she stopped eating meat altogether! [10:39]
Hattip: Travelgirl.
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: Hunger in America, food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, food stamps, poverty
Image: Orphaned.
One thing that the Thanksgiving Holidays has made clear: America, the land of plenty where holiday overeating is celebrated as a social good, is suffering from a food availability crisis. The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture describes a range of food security categories, ranging from "food secure," which includes high food security and marginal food security, and "food insecure," which includes low food security and very low food security.…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2008tags: Only in America, cultural observation, humor
A friend sent me some interesting cultural observations regarding the odd and ironic behavior of Americans .. of course, I had to share it with you.
Only in America ..
Only in America .. can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
Only in America .. are there handicapped parking places in front of a skating rink.
Only in America .. do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in America .. do people order double…