February 14, 2020
Soul Gospel of the 1970s
"I speak of none other than the computer that is to come after me"
No stand-in used here
That time Jewelpet Sunrise, a Japanese magical girl with fluffy mascots cartoon series did a shot for shot recreation of the audition scene from Flashdance.
American Gray Squirrels: pets and pests, creatures of contrast
In the late 1800s, squirrels were favorite pets (Atlas Obscura), as seen by Benjamin Franklin's letter written in 1722, morning the passing of Mungo (Google books), and the 1851 book Domestic Pets: Their Habits and Management (Internet Archive), has a chapter on pet squirrels. John James Audubon wrote about the Migratory Gray Squirrel in The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, and describes how and when to capture a young squirrel to domesticate. In the late 19th century, American squirrels flooded London parks. To Victorians, uninitiated to the perils of invasive species, these creatures were exotic, attractive, even cuddly (Atlas Obscura), and their views were probably informed from Americans, who would even have portraits of their children painted, including pet squirrels (Artsy). [more inside]
Why does my heart go on beating? Why do these eyes of mine cry?
The Food You Should Try
There is a country named Georgia (please do not ever mix it with the state). Georgia is famous for many things, like ancient culture, alphabet, nature, wine and of course food.
Georgians are proud of their food even more as about culture. Top Georgian foods are: Khinkali, Mtsadi, Chakapuli and of course Khachapuri!
Worthwhile Canadian initiative
How emissions-intensive is your sex life, and does it matter? A Valentine's Day excerpt from The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success, a new book (free
online) by Canadian climate policy expert Mark Jaccard. Jaccard is a professor of sustainable energy, former chair of the British Columbia Utilities Commission, and the architect of the BC carbon tax. Endorsements. [more inside]
Overthinking John Cusack
“I was stabbed,” I said, and my voice sounded breathy.
The first thing people usually want to know is what getting stabbed feels like. The answer is that it feels like getting punched really hard. Or at least, I assume it’s what getting hit feels like. I’ve never been punched. I have been stabbed six times. (content warning: pictures of blood and stitched-up wounds)
Love App-Tually
Mashable's series on digital dating. Jims looking for Pams, post-breakup pet custody and the glory days of Missed Connections. Here are the worst online dating behaviors and the "superfluous words we invented along the way to cope with the indignity of it all."
Revisiting Marry Him at 10 years on
Tracy Clark-Flory: "Just as heart-shaped candies and pastel greeting cards filled drug store shelves, in time for Valentine’s Day of 2010, a new book came out: Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough by the journalist Lori Gottlieb . . . This opener is representative of what Gottlieb does repeatedly in the book: paint a caricature of petty, shallow, and self-aggrandizing women. Meeting in a bar with a group of single women in their thirties, Gottlieb relays outrageous examples of the reasons these sources say they once broke up with seemingly good men: He was bald, too optimistic, or a cryer. He bought the wrong kind of flowers, had long nose hairs, or loved her too much." [more inside]
Margaret Atwood on a scooter.
Here's Margaret Atwood on an electric scooter. That's it. That's the post.
The official coronavirus epidemic numbers don't add up
Body Count Viet Nam War casualty reporting as metaphor for the official numbers coming out of China concerning the coronavirus epidemic. [more inside]
Even graduate students think poop is funny ...
The latest out of MIT: Smart diapers that tell you when it needs changing. (Via Mefi's Own™ adamg's Universal Hub)
You must submit to my will in order to get a big smile
If it turns out that, contrary to widespread assumptions, behavior modification techniques aren’t supported by solid data even when used with autistic kids, why would we persist in manipulating anyone with positive reinforcement? A rigorous new meta-analysis utterly debunks the claim that applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy is the only intervention for children with autism that’s “evidence-based.” In fact, it raises serious questions about whether ABA merits that description at all. Previously on ABA from an autistic point of view: [1], [2].
Living as a whole person instead of an idea of a person
The Alexander Technique has nothing to do with standing up straight. There is not one straight line in the body, or in the universe for that matter. This is an extended look letting ourselves be ourselves rather than applying artificial standards of correctness-- straight, upright, symmetrical, etc. It's about not letting a small part of our minds take charge of the rest of us. [more inside]
Now sleep in the bed you've made
Right-Wing Backlash Greets Modest GOP Foray Into Climate Change House Republicans offered a modest proposal to slow climate change.
It was not well-received.
The free market-group American Energy Alliance dismissed it as a “Republican-led Green New Deal lite” that amounted to a “climate messaging exercise.” The libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute called it “bad policy that will not bring any political relief.” And the Club for Growth vowed to not endorse any candidate who backs what it called the “liberal” Republican climate plan.[more inside]
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