Month: April 2013

Fanvids are emotional bouillon cubes

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by Doctor Science Since my mind has been desperately distracted by the following fanvid, I am going to share it with you!   Direct YouTube link. “Starships”, by bironic. Music by Nicki Minaj. Lyrics may be NSFW; singing along loudly with them is *definitely* NSFW. And you may be tempted; I certainly am. I’m working … Read more

And one steps out

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by liberal japonicus Didn't post an open thread, as I thought Ugh and Dr. Science had things covered. But NBA center Jason Collins piece in SI seems to be something that you should read if you haven't and you might want to talk about if you have. Some people insist they've never met a gay … Read more

The West, Texas disaster wasn’t an industrial accident

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by Doctor Science Or at least, not *just* an industrial accident. I see three interlocking sets of problems in the disaster[1]: An industrial or occupational mishap at the West Texas Fertilizer Co. Some combination of mishandling or mis-storage of chemicals, improper or non-existent safely protocols, sloppy recordkeeping, sloppy materials-handling. These are the kind of issues … Read more

“we refused to be terrorized”

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by Ugh O rly? From President Obama's statement last Friday night after the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Massachusetts: One thing we do know is that whatever hateful agenda drove these men to such heinous acts will not — cannot — prevail. Whatever they thought they could ultimately achieve, they've already failed. They failed because the … Read more

More walking in the past

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by Doctor Science Last summer, I wrote about candid photos of women from the Edwardian era: What I hadn’t visually expected was how comfortably women *strode* even in garments that to me look heavy and awkward. I also hadn’t realize how much women’s posture is depicted as curving toward men. Even standing up straight is … Read more

Terrorism as Performance

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by Doctor Science Steve Almond, writing in The New Republic, said: I refuse to beat my chest over a grief that belongs to others, or shout about how terrorists messed with the wrong city. I find no virtue in braying over the capture of a teenager whose toxic grievances, and misguided loyalties, led to such … Read more

The instinct for cuteness

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by Doctor Science

Yesterday’s birding walk was good, but nothing unusual in the way of bird life. What made it one for the record books was the single cutest thing I’ve ever seen in nature: four Red Fox kits playing together. They must have been out of the den for a couple of weeks because they’re no longer dark, pretty much like the ones in this video:
 
Direct YouTube link

And let me tell you, if I’d had a video camera, a strong lens (I was about 50m away), and a tripod (because, judging by my photography, my cinematography would be Adventures in Shakycam), I could have made something that would get a million views on YouTube.

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How we make progress Friday open thread

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by liberal japonicus Not sure if this is good for an open thread, but Atul Gawande's New Yorker piece about how the Boston area hospitals handled the recent bombing opens with this observation The bombs at the Boston Marathon were designed to maim and kill, and they did. Three people died within the first moments of … Read more

“nonconsensual warrantless blood draw”

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by Ugh This week SCOTUS decided MISSOURI v. MCNEELY, opinion available here, essentially saying that the "natural dissipation of blood-alcohol" did not, on its own, constitute an exigent circumstance, one of the current exceptions to the warrant requirement of the 4th Amendment.  Hence, the ensuing blood test showing that McNeely was clearly above the legal limit could not … Read more