Adrienne Rich (1929 - 2012)

1. Poet Adrienne Rich, 82, has died
2. Adrienne Rich: Resolution Amid The 'Turbulence'

"UBC study finds happy smiling men least sexually attractive to women"

Happy smiling men are consistently rated least attractive by women when compared to proud or brooding men, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The finding, published today (Tuesday) in the journal Emotion, goes a long way toward explaining the sexual allure of dark characters such as the brooding Twilight vampire Edward Cullen or the tortured and shamed Jim Stark in James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause.

1. Full article

Victory... therefore pornography.

A friend of mine just posted this on facebook, speculating that Bin Laden's recent death may have had a similar effect:

Title: Pornography-seeking behaviors following midterm political elections in the United States: A replication of the challenge hypothesis

Authors: Patrick and Charlotte Markey

Published in: Computers in Human Behavior
Volume 27 Issue 3, May, 2011

Abstract: The current study examined a prediction derived from the challenge hypothesis; individuals who viciously win a competition of rank order will seek out pornography relatively more often than individuals who viciously lose a competition. By examining Google keyword searches during the 2006 and 2010 midterm elections in the United States, the relative popularity of various pornography keyword searches was computed for each state and the District of Columbia the week after each midterm election. Consistent with previous research examining presidential elections and the challenge hypothesis, individuals located in traditionally Republican states tended to search for pornography keywords relatively more often after the 2010 midterm election (a Republican victory) than after the 2006 midterm election (a Democratic victory). Conversely, individuals located in traditionally Democratic states tended to search for pornography relatively less often following the 2010 midterm election than they did following the 2006 midterm election.

This world of ours 7

As we approach the new year, the air is thick with consumerism, misinformation, and sometimes snow.
1. Holiday consumerism gets in the way of cherished traditions -- like my annual temper tantrum
2. Voters Say Election Full of Misleading and False Information, Also Finds Voters Were Misinformed on Key Issues [especially Fox News viewers, *cough*]
3. Friday rant: Fool's cold edition -- Tom Toles

But we have at least three things to be thankful for. First, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which allows openly non-heterosexual individuals to serve in the armed forces.
4. Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal: American reaction

Second, the renewal of Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans--which was needed to break the Republican filibuster on all legislation, including the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and providing health care for 9/11 responders (which has yet to be passed).
5. Biden defends White House compromise on tax cuts
6. New York's Dem senators see breakthrough on 9/11 healthcare bill

Third, we finally have some clue what may have happened to Amelia Earhart.
7. Remains May Belong to Amelia Earhart

In other news, North Korea is being more belligerent than usual ostensibly in order to facilitate the transfer of power from Kim Jong-il to his son, Kim Jong-un. Not to be outdone, forces in Ivory Coast create some controversy of their own with massive human rights violations.
8. North Korea firing: Why now?
9. 'Hundreds abducted' in Ivory Coast election unrest - UN

Our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, meanwhile, will continue through the next fiscal year.
10. US House passes $725bn defense bill

Amid all the theater, violence, and insincerity, it's good to know there are still great gift ideas out there.
11. Snobama Snow Globes

~"Scientific proof that sugar is perfect for the holidays: [reading from a molecular diagram of sucrose and glucose] HO HO HO O OH HO HO..." —Alton Brown

Hitchhiker

One man's vandalism is another man's art. At least, that seems to sum up the situation in Raleigh, N.C., where college student Joseph Carnevale created a 10-foot roadside monster out of stolen orange-and-white safety barrels.

[...]

1. He Created A (Barrel) Monster ... And May Go To Jail

House of Leaves of Grass

According to a certain publisher's press release, author Walt Z. Danmanewski has a new work that is set to hit the shelves next week.

Here's an exclusive preview of one of its pages, courtesy of the publisher (click to view it at a higher resolution):





4/23 update:

Suggested reading:

1. House of Pancakes

"Nation Finally Shitty Enough to Make Social Progress"

WASHINGTON—After emerging victorious from one of the most pivotal elections in history, president-elect Barack Obama will assume the role of commander in chief on Jan. 20, shattering a racial barrier the United States is, at long last, shitty enough to overcome.

Enlarge Image

Faced with losing everything, Americans took a long overdue step forward and elected Barack Obama.

Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change.

"Today the American people have made their voices heard, and they have said, 'Things are finally as terrible as we're willing to tolerate," said Obama, addressing a crowd of unemployed, uninsured, and debt-ridden supporters. "To elect a black man, in this country, and at this time—these last eight years must have really broken you."

Added Obama, "It's a great day for our nation."

Carrying a majority of the popular vote, Obama did especially well among women and young voters, who polls showed were particularly sensitive to the current climate of everything being fucked. Another contributing factor to Obama's victory, political experts said, may have been the growing number of Americans who, faced with the complete collapse of their country, were at last able to abandon their preconceptions and cast their vote for a progressive African-American.

Enlarge Image

After enduring eight years of near constant trauma, the United States is, at long last, ready for equality.

Citizens with eyes, ears, and the ability to wake up and realize what truly matters in the end are also believed to have played a crucial role in Tuesday's election.

According to a CNN exit poll, 42 percent of voters said that the nation's financial woes had finally become frightening enough to eclipse such concerns as gay marriage, while 30 percent said that the relentless body count in Iraq was at last harrowing enough to outweigh long ideological debates over abortion. In addition, 28 percent of voters were reportedly too busy paying off medical bills, desperately trying not to lose their homes, or watching their futures disappear to dismiss Obama any longer.

"The election of our first African-American president truly shows how far we've come as a nation," said NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. "Just eight years ago, this moment would have been unthinkable. But finally we, as a country, have joined together, realized we've reached rock bottom, and for the first time voted for a candidate based on his policies rather than the color of his skin."

"Today Americans have grudgingly taken a giant leap forward," Williams continued. "And all it took was severe economic downturn, a bloody and unjust war, terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan, nearly 2,000 deaths in New Orleans, and more than three centuries of frequently violent racial turmoil."

Said Williams, "The American people should be commended for their long-overdue courage."

Obama's victory is being called the most significant change in politics since the 1992 election, when a full-scale economic recession led voters to momentarily ignore the fact that candidate Bill Clinton had once smoked marijuana. While many believed things had once again reached an all-time low in 2004, the successful reelection of President George W. Bush—despite historically low approval ratings nationwide—proved that things were not quite shitty enough to challenge the already pretty shitty status quo.

"If Obama learned one thing from his predecessors, it's that timing means everything," said Dr. James Pung, a professor of political science at Princeton University. "Less than a decade ago, Al Gore made the crucial mistake of suggesting we should care about preserving the environment before it became unavoidably clear that global warming would kill us all, and in 2004, John Kerry cost himself the presidency by saying we should pull out of Iraq months before everyone realized our invasion had become a complete and total quagmire."

"Obama had the foresight to run for president at a time when being an African-American was not as important to Americans as, say, the ability to clothe and feed their children," Pung continued. "An election like this only comes once, maybe twice, in a lifetime."

As we enter a new era of equality for all people, the election of Barack Obama will decidedly be a milestone in U.S. history, undeniable proof that Americans, when pushed to the very brink, are willing to look past outward appearances and judge a person by the quality of his character and strength of his record. So as long as that person is not a woman.

—The Onion

Debt clock gets extra digit

1. US debt clock runs out of digits

Noam Chomsky on the US Election

A really interesting read:

1. Chomsky: US public irrelevant; US can learn something from Bolivia's democracy

Be Patient, This Gets Amazing

1. White House Refused to Open E-Mail

RIP George Carlin (1937-2008)

1. Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies
2. George Carlin mourned as counterculture hero

McCain doesn't know how to use a computer!?

John McCain says he doesn't know how to use a computer. In a video interview with Yahoo's Political team and Politico.com, McCain admitted he is computer illiterate. When asked if he preferred a Mac or a PC, McCain said "neither."

"I am a illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all the assistance I can get," McCain said. In a computer-dominated world, McCain's professed computer ignorance may raise questions again about his age. At 71, he is seeking to become the oldest person ever elected president of the United States.

1. McCain admits he doesn't know how to use a computer


Also with the age issue, check out:
2. Things younger than John McCain

Some of my favorites include the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (anything involving "food history" and "food historians" is always a favorite), zip codes and area codes, the shopping cart, and The Grapes of Wrath.



Update:

And while I'm at it:
3. GOP Insiders Worry About McCain's Chances

I thought this bit analysis was a little different:

In reality there is only one candidate. Barack Obama. In November he will win or he will lose. John McCain is relevant only in so far as he is not Barack Obama. The Senator from Arizona is incapable of energizing his party, brings no new people to the polls, and has a personality that is best kept under wraps.

Obama's also favored internationally:


4. Obama The Preferred Candidate Around The World: Poll



6/15 update:
5. Analysis: Age an issue in the 2008 campaign?

"Snobama"

So I saw this recently. It was in a facebook ad recruiting Republican volunteers for campaign picketing.


...And I'm a bit confused. Ok, so, whoever made it thinks he's an elitist. I saw an another site with the graphic complaining that he was an intellectual snob. But, frankly, whether or not this is the case, why does this matter? Bush is a huge fucking snob. Cheney is an even bigger fucking snob. Remember a while ago when a reporter asked him what he thought about opinion polls showing the majority of Americans don't think the war in Iraq is worth it, and he replied "So?"-- Here's a Tom Toles cartoon to jog your memory:




Our current Republican vice-president is the biggest elitist imaginable. Not the kind that "doesn't care about conservative working Americans," but the kind that doesn't give a fuck what people, in general, think.

Still, the "common man" appeal doesn't make sense. No one wants a president who can take a shot of whiskey like a man (or woman); we want a president who is fit for the job--who can make good judgments, who can get our economy back on track, who can address healthcare reform and improve our educational policies. Not someone who can don a hard hat or some work clothes for a press photo shoot.





Dumb.

...


The president's job is chiefly an intellectual one, and to deride a candidate for this quality is absolutely ridiculous. To criticize a candidate because he or she does not appreciate the ideas and opinions of the "common man" is another story, however. If Obama was an elitist because he believes that white middle class working Americans had stupid and fanciful views on government and he doesn't respect their opinions, that would be something. But he doesn't. He denounced xenophobia, gun-toting, and racism in his controversial comment, not positive beliefs of theirs:

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Now, this isn't a favorable comment. And I can see it as being condescending and oversimplifying--but I don't see what's so awful here. Tell me that there isn't racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, etc. in many small, midwestern towns (I'm living in one with these things right now). They're there. But it's not everyone there, and it's not entirely due to their economic situation, so it's a oversimplification--but he's still not saying anything inappropriate. (And don't even try to argue that he's an elitist because he doesn't respect the racist and xenophobic ideas of some of these people...)


The point that I'm trying to make is that I, personally, don't give a fuck about what potential candidates do to sympathize with the average middle-class white person. I want our next president to have good ideas, good judgment, and I want him to do his job well. And if Republicans find themselves needing to indict Obama on "snobbish," "elitist" charges rather than on actual issues, we're in bad shape. Who cares whether Obama likes wine more than beer or eats arugula? Get over it. How about we look at healthcare proposals, getting over our Middle Eastern oil addiction, stabilizing the situation in Iraq, strengthening the value of the dollar, and shit that matters if he actually gets elected.

Market troubles

I meant to post this a while ago. Best use of a green screen ever:

Yes!

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday that, if elected, he would like to take a page from the British government and appear in question-and-answer sessions with lawmakers.

"I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the prime minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons," McCain said in excerpts of a speech he is to deliver later in Columbus, Ohio.

1. McCain urges UK-style sessions for U.S. president


I also came across this...
2. Things younger than John McCain

Wreckless Pelicans!

1. Pelican swallows pigeon in park
2. Diving pelican slams into swimmer's face in Gulf off Florida

$6.4 million better spent on other things...

...such as helping the poor, feeding the hungry, investing in sustainable energy, funding underfunded/overcrowded schools, investing in cancer/AIDS research, donating to other charitable causes, ...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lent her presidential campaign $6.4 million over the past month, her campaign said Wednesday, underscoring the financial advantage held by her rival, Barack Obama.

1. Clinton lends her struggling campaign $6.4 million
2. Clinton 'heading for the exit'
3. N Carolina poll win boosts Obama
4. Pundits Declare the Race Over
5. Clinton vows to continue campaign



6/23 update:

1. Clinton seeks help repaying debt

In the report filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission, Clinton reported owing about $10 million to vendors as of May 31, and also having loaned her own campaign nearly $12.2 million. During May, as she fought to stay in the race, her campaign ran a deficit. She raised about $12.6 million, loaned herself $2.2 million -- but spent more than $19 million.

Kansas...

So there was a really strong storm here earlier, and after a bit I checked the weather. My weather widget said, oh you know, it's 62 degrees-- the moon is so-and-so and it's partly cloudy. I checked weather.com and it said something to the effect of "THERE HAS BEEN A TORNADO SIGHTED IN YOUR AREA, SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!" Right after that there was an announcement over the dorm speakers and everyone huddled downstairs (not that we'd be safe if a tornado actually hit us anyway), and we waited there for a while.

I just got back to my room. It's almost 2am. I guess we lost a few of the smaller trees. Kansas is awesome.

(Oh, and notice that the sirens never went off, just like they didn't go off when we had the microburst.)

1. More than 8,400 [and counting] without power as hail hits Lawrence


Update:

Westar Energy is reporting that more than 8,600 customers are without power in Douglas County around 2:20 a.m. today as a severe thunderstorm hit Lawrence.

The Journal-World has received several reports of storm-related damage, including downed trees and debris blocking the road in northern and western Lawrence.

6News Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Schack is reporting that the storm had winds in excess of 80 mph in Douglas County.

The severe thunderstorm warning issued for Douglas County expired at 1:45 a.m., and the tornado watch is no longer in effect.

A tree has fallen on a mobile home on Perry street. The family who lives there has been set up at the Holidome, according to Jane Blocher of the Red Cross.

Police and emergency crews are responding to large downed trees, including at Sixth Street at Iowa and Trail Road near Fireside Drive. Also, a roof has blown off a building on Sixth and is on the road on Florida Street.

John Oliver's rant about Fox News

5/3 update:

"So you need a student loan..."