Likes: I would totally be "Fish-Lord, the Mackeral Destroyer".
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The Enhancer
I would totally be "Fish-Lord, the Mackeral Destroyer".
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Shit, this was way funnier before I went back a page and saw the context. Now it's just slightly less hilarious.Originally Posted by Fixer808
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In the quest to understand a little about chaos theory- I came about this page talking about mathematics and truth! I don't know if this is what is given in classes i've heard called "applied math", but if I knew math could be applied to things like this/ideas as a child- I probably would have tried harder in math class, haha!
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Probably not as cool to a lot of people here, but someone on another music forum I was more active on before coming cut and paste 2 chapters of an unpublished Sammy Hagar biography. I think he actually sued the writer to keep it from being released because the ill-fated reunion of 2004 was probably in the works then. It basically covered the last two years he was in Van Halen in the 90's. Morbidly fascinating stuff about the inner-workings of a band in collapse. It's long and rambles a bit in places but is a good read. I'd post the whole thing here, but it's way too long.
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Who works the longest hours?
I work a lot more than the average Belgian and even the average person, but thankfully not as much as the average Greek, Chinese or Korean worker. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Fun to do, though.
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Huh, apparently I work 1200 more hours than the average Australian, there you go.
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A really inspiring read about post-capitalism society
http://jacobinmag.com/winter-2012/four-futures/
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10 Languages You Probably Hadn't Heard Of (they got a bit of the info on Fries wrong, but still nice to discover new things)
Poll Shows Fivefold Increase in Ranks of U.S. Atheists: the interesting bit is the link to the actual survey, and the actual numbers there. Now of course this is a survey asking about how people identify, not what they are. Most of my students would probably say they're atheists, but they still believe in life after death, fate/destiny and that 'something' created the world but through the Big Bang. So what I'd really like to read is the follow-up to that question, specifying what aspects of the supernatural people do still believe in when they call themselves atheists. And also: how many of the people who call themselves religious, do not believe in god (which would qualify them as atheists as well). Because there are plenty of those around. And finally: why people would choose non-religious over atheist - how do they define religious/atheist?
Anyway, interesting starting point, and some surprising numbers, but dodgy methodology and ultimately unsatisfying. But it's a good thing to see scientific research into religion making some headlines.
Five atheists who ruin it for everybody else is refreshing because it's written by an atheist. It's not at all serious, but notable for finally FINALLY putting GODDAMN Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her place. This is something that can't be done in Belgium or The Netherlands, because she's like a fucking holy cow over here, but she's the worst case of convert-killing-own-past imaginable. Only Hitler's hatred of short dudes with black hair was more obviously Freudian than her self-destructive turn for the neocon worst.
Also, the piece of Sam Harris was funny, because it's true.
And finally, Love, Actually by Eva Illouz from her book Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation points out a crucial change in the relationship between self-validation and romantic relationships in the last 200 years. It's a really good read, and thought-provoking.
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Oooh, loved this, it was on my tumblr this morning:
http://tranarchism.com/2011/07/07/wh...s-means-to-me/Queerness, to me, is about far more than homosexual attraction. It’s about a willingness to see all other taboos broken down. Sure, many of us start on this path when we first feel “same sex” or “same gender” attraction (though what is sex? And what is gender? And does anyone really have the same sex or gender as anyone else?). But queerness doesn’t stop there.
This is a somewhat controversial stance, but to me queer means something completely different than “gay” or “lesbian” or “bisexual.” A queer person is usually someone who has come to a non-binary view of gender, who recognizes the validity of all trans identities, and who, given this understanding of infinite gender possibilities, finds it hard to define their sexuality any longer in a gender-based way. Queer people understand and support non-monogamy even if they do not engage in it themselves. They can grok being asexual or aromantic. (What does sex have to do with love, or love with sex, necessarily?) A queer can view promiscuous (protected) public bathhouse sex with strangers and complete abstinence as equally healthy.
Queers understand that people have different relationships to their bodies. We get what it means to be stone. We know what body dysphoria is about. We understand that not everyone likes to get touched the same way or to get touched at all. We realize that people with disabilities may have different sexual needs, and that people with survivor histories often have sexual triggers. We can negotiate safe and creative ways to be intimate with people with HIV/AIDs and other STIs.
Queers understand the range of power and sensation and the diversity of sexual dynamics. We are tops and bottoms, doms and subs, sadists and masochists and sadomasochists, versatiles and switches. We know what we like and don’t like in bed.
We embrace a wide range of relationship types. We can be partners, lovers, friends with benefits, platonic sweethearts, chosen family. We can have very different dynamics with different people, often all at once. We don’t expect one person to be able to fulfill all our diverse needs, fantasies and ideals indefinitely.
Because our views on relationships, sex, gender, love, bodies, and family are so unconventional, we are of necessity anti-assimilationist. Because under the kyriarchy we suffer, and watch the people we love suffering, we are political. Because we want to survive, we fight. We only want the freedom to be ourselves, love ourselves, love each other, and live together. Because we are routinely denied that, we are pissed.
Queer doesn’t mean “don’t label me,” it means “I am naming myself.” It means “ask me more questions if you’re curious” and in the same breath means “fuck off.”
At least, that is what it means to me.
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"You work 2859 hours more than the annual average for United States.
This is 2836 hours more than the OECD average."
O_O
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http://www.upworthy.com/a-tea-partie...o-we?g=2&c=la1
"Michael D. Higgins (who was elected president of Ireland last year) is fed up with over-the-top Tea Party rhetoric, and he isn't afraid to show it. Listen to him call out radio host Michael Graham on everything from health care to foreign policy in this heated exchange from 2010. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one." - From the site.
Not really sure where to put this, here, random news, or just in things that cheer me up. I any event, old man owns face.
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OK, so this isn't something I read, but it really didn't belong in the YouTube thread... I'm not sure how I haven't seen this TEDTalk before. It's awesome.
Bite me
Wow. Wow wow wow, that is amazing.
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I absolutely adore both Brene's talks for TED, they're both amazing, powerful and inspirational.
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Chris Kluwe pro jock owns Emmet C Burns Jr. for chastising some Ravens player, "They won't magically turn into a lustful cockmonster". It's pretty standard fair but he has some pretty good lines and make the ever obvious points these thick headed fucks cant seem to wrap their heads around.
Last edited by Pillfred; 09-08-2012 at 02:07 PM.
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I didn't know there was a second one. Thank you!! (She has a new book coming out, btw.) Here's a direct link to the second TEDTalk, if anyone else wants to see it:
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Mitt Romney and The Arts. I didn't necessarily want to post this in some political thread, because to me this was more interesting because of the author's explanation of the role the "arts" has in our economy, and it's basically a "trickle down" (my words, not his) effect in terms of jobs- by funding the arts, you're giving work to all the people behinds the scenes in the art "industry"- many who might not even be artists themselves.
I wish art had a bigger "role" in the culture of this country (not sure how to define what I mean except that people are more likely to be discouraged rather than encouraged by society to pursue the arts. We had a discussion about this in a Russian Lit class, where my teacher was explaining how in Russia, it's considered a very noble pursuit and highly encouraged.) I'd like to fantasize that such a thing would make it easier for this country to have some sort of unified identity/pride. I'm not an expert on such things, so I'm just conjecturing.
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Some random stuff:
- The crappest atheist flowchart ever.
- 7 Awesome Facts of Nature (Science Can't Explain)
- Can You Die From a Nightmare? Yes, it's buzzfeed, but it's a pretty good read.
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50 Reasons Orange County is the Worst Fucking Place in America
Oh god, thank you Jesus. Sane people who have noticed how insane this fucking awful place is.
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An interesting read about the relationship with the Arab world and the Israeli.
http://www.arabnews.com/arab-spring-and-israeli-enemy
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Autism and cultural context. Really fascinating!
Stubby Member
Chile isn't China.
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Eight bosses who screwed their employees after the election [Salon]
The Tweets of War [The New Yorker]
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I feel ya, I spent 3 years going insane in OCC.
A professor stood before his philosophy class
from: http://www.trueactivist.com/forum/inspirational-group18/life-forum49/a-professor-stood-before-his-philosophy-class-thread375/
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes”.
The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed
The professor waited for the laughter to subside…
“Now”, said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things… Your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”
“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your home, your car.”
“The sand is everything else… The small stuff.” If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house or fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand.
One student asked, “What about the beer?” The professor responded, “No matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”
Last edited by hobochic; 12-01-2012 at 05:52 AM.
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