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POPSUS Teen: We're here. We're sexual. GET USED TO IT. So it's not just their minds that is to be ignorant? The delusion of abstinence to produce dumb breeding machines and army fodder? Do you remember how difficult it is to keep 'bad' thoughts out of your mind? The harder you try the harder it gets. I've an image of the Christian youth on his knees, blessing himself with one hand while wanking with the other. One of the most important intellectual realizations that I had was knowing that a church's god and my sex were incompatible. I've never regretted my decision. I'm just a human. Let others be mini gods.
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POPSWhen Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans The 300 apes in Spanish zoos would not be freed, but better conditions would be mandated. Meanwhile, even in democracies, the law accords diminished rights to many humans: children, prisoners, the insane, the senile. Teenagers may not vote, philosophers who slip into dementia may be lashed to their beds, courts can order surgery or force-feeding. Spain’s Catholic bishops attacked the vote as undermining a divine will that placed humans above animals. One said such thinking led to abortion, euthanasia and ethnic cleansing.
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POPSWhy hate Gore? Granted, giving Gore the Nobel Prize may well be a political stunt somewhat out of proportion with the relevance of his actions. On the other hand humorless extreme conservatives have even more distorted notion of Gore. Their obsessive hatred of him is even more surreal than the hype. Why do they care so much about him? Why froth at the mouth over just one politician? Klugman provides some interesting answers, but also seems a little to simplistic. I have long been puzzeled on the vhemence with which conservatives react against environmentalism, and I don't think its as simple as pure greed.
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POPSTop 5 Greatest Movie Monologues According to the author, the top 2 greatest movie monologues ever are: 1. Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove . 2. Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen in Network . Can you guess the other 3 without looking? Do you have some better suggestions? What makes a great movie monologue? Even more to the point, what qualifies as a monologue? Hamlet's soliloquy would certainly make the cut, but its origins didn't spring from film, so it's probably ineligible. Does a speech have to be a certain length to qualify as a monologue? Can it be addressed to someone who reacts or occasionally interjects something in the middle of the display? (Via kottke.org.)
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POPSAmazing Up-Close Footage of Oklahoma Tornado I've been fascinated by tornadoes ever since I saw one form above me in person when I was a kid at the state fair in New Mexico. We were watching the funnel descend from the sky when they forced us into a concrete shelter nearby. My 10-year-old self was disappointed...I wanted to see what happened! This video has been getting played everywhere today. It's ridiculous how much danger these tornado chasers put themselves into!
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POPSLove Is Blind Other hormones, oxytocin and vasopressin, kick in later and appear to be crucial for forming long-term partnerships. Couples who have been together for several years show increased brain activity associated with these chemicals, when they look at pictures of their partner. Oxytocin is produced when couples have sex and touch, kiss and massage each other - the hormone makes us more trusting, helps overcome "social fear" and is important for bonding. Brain scans of people in love show that the old adage "love is blind" really is true. While the dopamine reward areas are excited in love, regions linked with negative emotions and critical social judgement switch off.
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POPSThe Energy Technology Revolution Tom Friedman is so right (shocker) about this. I find it to be insane that this is not THE ISSUE of the presidential election. T. Boone Pickens gets it. Tom Friedman gets it. Europe and Asia seem to get it. When will Washington get it???
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POPSInsanity Test Few can have failed to notice the rise in the usage of the word insanity/insane. Here is a test (160+ questions) where you can work out how sane you are.
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POPSDunkin Donuts Goes Completely Insane There are certain times in history that make us look back and wonder, "how is it possible that civilized people behaved in such craven and irrational ways?" The Salem Witch trials, for instance. The present moment will likely be looked back on as another such time. Case in point: Dunkin Donuts just pulled an ad in which TV cook Rachael Ray wore a scarf that somewhat resembled a traditional Palestinian head dress -- because imbalanced bloggers accused the company of promoting terrorism. I'll skip speculating on the sheer pandering nuttiness of Dunkin's decision, to point out merely what a dumb business decision this was. It's a global company. There are 1.3 billion Muslims out there. The math is simple.
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POPSThe Worst Editorial Decision of Broadcast News Another example of the disfunction of the liberal mind. It was liberal political correctness and glorification of diversity that allowed the killer to return to the streets, insane and untreated. Liberals prevented the opportunity for some victims to be armed in order to defend themselves. And now liberals air the videos of a maniac which will certainly impress and inspire future maniacs to kill more innocents. Why worry about the threat of islamofascism? We have a greater threat right in our midst. Liberalism will certainly bring down our civilization.
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POPSNov. 14, 1889: Around the World in Only 72 Days Inspired by Jules Verne's wildly popular 1873 novel, Around the World in 80 Days, Bly proposed to her editors at the New York World that she undertake the same trip to try and break the fictional record. Traveling by steamer, train, rickshaw and any number of other conveyances, she did -- by eight days. She left Hoboken, New Jersey, on the German liner Augusta Victoria and returned to New York on Jan. 25, 1890. Bly received a tumultuous welcome, including a parade, and became a national figure. Her account of the journey, Around the World in 72 Days, sold exceptionally well.
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POPSPray Away Gay "What, if anything do you think Ted Haggard will say publicly about his experience? Certainly if the evangelical former pastor has not truly reclaimed his heterosexuality after the very strict re-programming, it would be a serious blow to the ex-gay industry if he were to come forward and say that he now realizes that his same-sex desires are neither evil or wrong and that these cures have nothing to do with getting right with God."
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