Word of the Day (The Future Is Now Edition)

Gobsmacking

I probably shouldn't be gobsmacked at all about this, it's just another step in the evolution of the internet. This part caught my attention, though

"There is a weaving together of entertainment and promotion and marketing," he added. "It's difficult to say where one ends and the other begins."

Locking future generations into the Disney brand. Mickey Mouse Forever! Kids have been marketed to for awhile now, it's nothing new, but it's getting increasingly sophisticated and a touch creepy.

(also, I can't help getting the feeling that some folks who might later end up being on Dateline might also find this new service attractive)

Sometimes the Money Follows the Science, and Sometimes the Science Follows the Money . . .

The fervor favoring 'doing something' immediately about global warming has increased even as the scientific data supporting the primacy of manmade causes to that warming have decreased.

At least that's what this climatologist claims (hat tip Tim Blair).

I think this explanation/analysis says quite alot

And the political realm in turn fed money back into the scientific community. By the late 1990's, lots of jobs depended on the idea that carbon emissions caused global warming. Many of them were bureaucratic, but there were a lot of science jobs created too. I was on that gravy train, making a high wage in a science job that would not have existed if we didn't believe carbon emissions caused global warming. And so were lots of people around me; and there were international conferences full of such people. And we had political support, the ear of government, big budgets, and we felt fairly important and useful (well, I did anyway). It was great. We were working to save the planet!

Checking Myself, Before I Wreck Myself (LDS Edition)

Ken Jennings has a post up regarding what he sees as a resurgence in anti-Mormon bigotry. I think he's right, I think it's on the increase, and I think it's shameful (Andrew Sullivan to name names was especially shameful in this regard).

I don't share his faith, but I share his concern over the manner in which his faith is being maligned.

Before I get too self righteous on this matter, I checked to see whether I poked fun at the LDS before, and turns out I did take a few swipes.

In a post where I pointed out Ken Jennings sarcastic suggestions for Jeopardy!, I titled the post, "Are Later Day Saints Allowed to be THAT Bitchy and Catty?". First, my apologies for getting the name of the faith wrong, it's Latter not Later, I know this, just didn't see it as I was typing, and nobody ever pointed it out these many months later (or is that latter?), second, I think Bitchy and Catty was overkill, 'sarcastic' would have worked much better, thirdly, as far as I know sarcasm is an allowable form of comedy for Latter Day Saints, but I was using comedic overstatement for effect, so forgive me.

The only times I have referenced Mormons was regarding Ken. Beginning where I first linked to Ken Jennings and was pointing out that he has a new (at least then it was new) blog. I was approving of his hippie hatred, as is clear to anyone who reads this blog, that is one group for which I believe no type of discrimination or bigotry is uncalled for.

That was a tweak at Ken, not a swipe at his faith, I hope that is how it would be received.

The second time was on the day Snakes on a Plane was released, and that was post like a mother%#$@er day (as an explanationg for the faux-expletives). He was jokingly referring to placing some bets, and I jokingly referred to the prohibition against gambling amongst Latter Day Saints.

It's always seemed a bit strange that the old time locals in Vegas and a big part of the important folks about town have been Mormons (less so today as the city expands, but then there still is Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid from nearby Searchlight).

But I'm sure my experience isn't unique in that whenever I've met a Latter Day Saint they've been good, decent, and warm folks, so if their faith is rather shiny and new and if their origins seem a bit strange, so be it. Regardless of where it began, this faith is one of the better ones as far as how it treats those outside of their faith, and for my money that's the best way to measure a faith.

No faith has a monopoly on belief, or believers, so how they react when they meet the unfaithful is important, and on that count the Latter Day Saints are golden and their faith's ability to adjust their views has been exemplary (the shift in attitudes towards blacks for instance)

Faiths I may not be so generous towards include, Scientology, Islamic Extremists, Extreme Secularists, Gaiaists, Jainism (really, space clad priests?) and any New Age-y repackaging of any sort of Eastern Mysticism. All that stuff is just plain crazy.

Word of the Day

Gobsmacking

My theory regarding Robert Horry is that he is a voodoo priest. During the last five minutes of key playoff games, he calls down the spirit of Pete Maravich and uses those shooting skills when needed.

Of course this comes at a high cost, which is why he's a seemingly mediocre player the rest of the time, and acts as if he's in his mid-50s rather than mid-30s.

His legend grows.

He presents a difficult conundrum for folks who get to vote for the Hall of Fame. His stats don't justify consideration, but he's collected a series of moments and has been a contributor on some amazing teams, and he holds some important playoff records (2nd most games played, most 3 point shots made, 6 rings with 3 teams). He'll get votes, he should at least have a little exhibit, even if he's not a hall of fame level player, he continues to have a noteworthy career.

(of course, what's really gobsmacking is that I'm a year older than him)

Is It the Last Day, or First Day of April?

Everything about this press release suggests that it should have been released on April 1st instead of April 30th (ok it was really released on April 25th, but Drudge only just now linked to it, and for some reason, I'm not on the David Lynch Foundation mailing list, though maybe now I'll make sure to get on it).

We had transcendental meditation in my kindergarten class, only they called it 'nap time' back then.

Some quotes from the press release (with bracketed comments from the peanut gallery):

The National Institutes of Health has granted more than $24 million to study the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique for reducing high levels of stress and anxiety, improving brain functioning, and promoting cardiovascular health.
[Does it really take $24M taxpayer dollars to ascertain that calming and centering oneself has benefits?]
* * *
Lynch will be joined by quantum physicist John Hagelin (What the bleep do we know?!, The Secret), and singer/songwriter Donovan Leitch (Hurdy Gurdy Man, Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow).
[Donovan?!? If his daughter was there, I'd be there in a heartbeat, but Donovan?!?]
* * *
Lynch, Hagelin, and Donovan will explore the anti-violence plan in detail during a national student weekend entitled, “Exploring the Frontiers of Brain, Consciousness, and Creativity” at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, over Memorial Day Weekend, from May 25 to 28.
[Maharishi University of Management?!? in Iowa no less?!? Words fail. This fact set exceeds my ability to poke fun. I've been completely disarmed by the sheer ridiculousness of this. My ability to actually ridicule it has failed. If you don't see any post from me for awhile it will be due to the crisis in confidence caused by this disturbing turn of events. Sort of like that South Park episode where Cartman had seen something so funny that he lost the ability to laugh and feared an anhedonic existence for the rest of his days (not to be confused with the Pee Wee Herman inpsired syndrome of 'so funny I forgot to laugh')]

Word of the Day (Media Edition)

Gobsmacking

Oh, wait, the news that newspaper circulation continues to plummet is actually the opposite of gobsmacking.

What is the opposite of gobsmacking anyway? Gobsatisfying? Gobkissing? Gobcarressing?

Also, somebody with trouble getting "it" quoted in the article

"While newspaper marketing practices continue to focus strongly on sustaining the core readership, newspapers are working hard to leverage the brand power of the core product to attract readers to their print and online publications that serve advertisers," said NAA president John Sturm.

So, Mr. Sturm (is his VP Mr. Drang?) feels the problem is marketing based and not, oh I don't know, maybe have something to do with the content being provided.

Might the downturn have something to do with the general non-news status of many of the news articles that get published and the frequent tendency for "news" stories to mix in the worldview of the editors and journalist who some studies have shown come from a narrow elite of liberal groupthinkers?

The papers that are more "just the facts" are doing better than the ones that try and tell you what to think about what they report as they are reporting it.

I have no objection to paper having an editorial outlook, but that outlook should stick to the editorial page, in the actual articles, they shouldn't frequently distort facts to reflect the bias of the newsroom.

That this distortion is finding a smaller audience over time shouldn't surprise anyone, yet few in the industry seem to think that the real problem is the problem, instead they just have to learn how to talk to younger folks better, and somehow better marketing will make all the structural faults that have crept into newsgathering disappear.

Writing better copy would be a start, if the nakedly biased reporting was also good writing then I would probably still read the paper, but on top of being biased the crap that is written is crap, and if I'm going to be insulted, I expect to at least be entertained.

Less Snacks, More Lipstick

(via Drudge)

Lesbians are twice as likely to be overweight than their straight counterparts, according to a study mentioned in this article.

From the article

“Our findings indicate that lesbian sexual identity is linked to a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity,” the authors wrote in the study, released this week.

They reviewed smaller studies that have suggested a higher prevalence of obesity among lesbians and the possible reasons why.

“The results of these studies indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women,” they wrote.

Good body image=poor health?

So lesbians should treat each other more like many straight men treat women?

And is there a selection bias going on amongst the small percentage of women who may have been ambivalent sexually and choose the orientation that is favorable to their body type?

Would a comparable study find that gay men are generally less obese than straight men?

Certainly that's the popular myth, so the flip side would be that straight women should treat their men more like gay men treat their men if they want to encourage healthy lifestyles for their mates.

What this study boils down to is that men are pigs, but their piggishness and focusing on physical beauty is actually beneficial to their partners, while women with their willingness to overlook physical flaws are more likely to fail to strongly discourage health problems in their mates.

So the real question is, why do many women insist on trying to outlive their mates?

Word of the Day (You Call This Journalism? Edition)

Gobsmacking

The AFP, being unbiased purveyors of the truth . . . ,



or not.



(no by-line, but I wouldn't be surprised if The Goracle himself had written it)

Word of the Day (Questionable Litigation Edition)

Gobsmacking

(I got nothing else, I'm seriously and profoundly gobsmacked by this)

Word of the Day (Time Capsule Edition)

Gobsmacking

If I really were Judge Kozinski (which I still will neither confirm nor deny), would I really find this story gobsmacking?

I Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny . . .

Could it be that I'm Judge Kozinski anonymously blogging?

White Flag Fever

Watching the "Debate" between Democratic Presidential candidates. Each candidate seems determined to wave a white flag and the only competition is between which candidate can wave the flag fastest and raise it highest.

If only there were more diplomacy is the frequent refrain followed by a desire to leave Iraqis to Iraqis and let the chips fall where they may (cause that worked out so well in Southeast Asia in the 70s and 80s).

Disgusting. Beyond disgusting. Sen. Gravel is winning the outrage over Iraq battle, so far.

I hope there are a dozen more debates like this, there's no way a Democratic candidate would get elected with many more performances like this.

And remind me why again this couldn't have been on FNC?

UPDATE:

Ooohhhh, I'm watching the "Free Ponies" section 'aka' National Healthcare section. Hillary mentions Hillarycare, "I'm ready to try again", woohoo! Did I mention Free Ponies!! And it won't cost a thing!!!



UPDATE, TOO:




After seeing Rep. Dennis Kucinich's long limbed, red haired and very young wife, I have new and profound respect for the man.

So What's the New Acronym?

Cutting edge identity politics can get a bit tricky. As soon as you start defining what people are, there will be someone who decides that the current definitions are too exclusionary.

For those invested in defining themselves regarding their sexual orientation things are getting a bit out of hand.

Look at this from an Eastern Ontario paper

PFLAG Cornwall, support/discussion group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, two-spirited, intersex, queer and questioning people, as well as their friends, families and allies

So gay was too limiting, homosexual too clinical, and even LGBT wasn't enough, now it's LGBTTTIQQ, at least until somebody comes up with a new group identity to throw into the mix.

I think PFLAG is a good thing generally and helps some people through difficult times with their families and themselves, but is it really necessary to name check each and every flavor of orientation when describing your group?

Word of the Day (Important Scientific Inquiry Edition)

Gobsmacking

Did I say gobsmacking, I meant lipsmacking, math is relevant to everything in life, if they used more examples like this in high school and college, there wouldn't be a fratboy who wasn't a math major.

Posts That Didn't Quite Get Posted Yesterday

I almost wrote a post on what a silly willy Andrew Sullivan was being lately, but decided that was self-evident and deleted it (no link needed, just read any post from the past couple weeks, dude seriously needs to get laid, I think).

I almost wrote a post on how ridiculous Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was being, and if he thinks things would be better if they just kick out the press, why not leave the voters out of the selection process also, but the Democrats don't want my advice.

I almost wrote a post lamenting my rusty math skills. I should be able to calculate the time it would take to reach that new planet given a few sensible givens. Given one, the spaceship would accelerate and later decelerate at a 1.6g so as to get the crew used to the gravity of their future home. Also, foregoing any exotic new discoveries, I limited the craft to .8c, the closer you get to the speed of light, the amount of energy to move a certain amount of mass grows geometrically, so to it would seem reasonable to limit the speed to something close to the speed of light, but not too close. I think the trip would take something like 60+ years even with all those currently impossible to achieve givens. The other thing to contemplate would be what the perceived passage of time of the passengers would be. Given time dilation, depending on how much of the trip is at the max speed, that effect should shave about 30% of the time spent in transit (from an observer inside the ship, anyway). But these numbers are guesses, I don't remember enough calculus to do the appropriate calculations. Obviously you'd send an unmanned craft at much faster accelerations to shape the world before arriving, plus you have the problem of communications as there'd be a slight (20.5 year) delay between messages, so the colony would have to be fully self-sufficient. This is awfully long for a post that didn't get made isn't it?

The other post that I didn't write was all about how the Lakers would rebound and win four games in a row over the Suns, but even I am having trouble being that optimistic about the Lakers chances right now.

My final unposted post was all about how much better Sean Lennon has been as a singer/songwriter than his father was as a solo artist (and I should have gone to go see him at the Roxy this week, but got lazy). But that's another one that's pretty self-evident.