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Things Americans don't like to talk about

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:36:06 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Read the whole article, it is illuminating to say the least. I thought this passage said it best:

"

If you listen to a lot of conservatives, they'll tell you that the difference between them and us is that conservatives love America and liberals hate America.... They don't get it. We love America just as much as they do. But in a different Way. You see, they love America the way a 4-year-old loves her Mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups.

To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad, and helping your loved one grow. Love takes attention and work and is the best thing in the world."

Clip Source: dneiwert.blogspot.com

One of the oddities of the emerging media meta-narrative about Jeremiah Wright is the way it is now readily assumed by the broad range of talking heads that Wright's recent comments have only proven the charge that he is deeply "anti-American," embodied in the endlessly repeated "God damn America" sound bite.

But it's also apparent that the larger context in which Wright condemns American behavior -- the reason he shouts "God damn America" -- in fact reflects hard historical realities that Americans, and the American media especially, really don't want to talk about, let alone confront the present-day consequences thereof.

And doing so, evidently, is now proof of being "anti-American."

-- The genocide committed against Native Americans.
-- Slavery.
-- The "lynching era" and Jim Crow.
-- Sundown towns.
-- The forced incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

Tags: history, truth, wright, religion, obama, politics, america

Why People Engage In Risky Behavior While Intoxicated

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:42:06 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

New brain imaging research published this week shows that, after consuming alcohol, social drinkers had decreased sensitivity in brain regions involved in detecting threats, and increased activity in brain regions involved in reward

he first human brain imaging study of alcohol's effect on the response of neuronal circuits to threatening stimuli

The key finding of this study is that after alcohol exposure, threat-detecting brain circuits can't tell the difference between a threatening and non-threatening social stimulus

Comparing brain activity, Gilman's team found that when participants received the placebo infusion, fearful facial expressions spurred greater activity than neutral expressions in the amygdala, insula, and parahippocampal gyrus--brain regions involved in fear and avoidance--as well as in the brain's visual system. However, these regions showed no increased brain activity when the participants were intoxicated.

LSD Inventor Albert Hofmann Dead at Age 102

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:29:06 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Kudos!

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Albert Hofmann, the pioneering Swiss chemist and advocate of psychedelics who discovered the hallucinogenic properties of LSD, died Tuesday. He was 102.

Hofmann reportedly died of a heart attack at his home in Basel, Switzerland.

Hofmann's most famous discovery happened on April 16, 1943. He was researching the synthesis of a lysergic acid compound, LSD-25, when he inadvertently absorbed a bit through his fingertips. Intrigued by the effect it had on his perception, Hofmann decided further exploration was warranted. Three days later, on April 19, he ingested 250 milligrams of LSD, embarking on the first full-fledged acid trip. That day became known among LSD fans as "bicycle day" because Hofmann began experiencing the drug's intense effects on his bicycle trip home from the lab.

In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors

Tags: lsd, hoffman

Really?: The Claim: Tilt Your Head Back to Treat a Nosebleed

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:36:40 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: THE BOTTOM LINE

Never treat a nosebleed by leaning your head back.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Most people know the right way to stop a nosebleed: lean the head back and apply pressure to the nose.

But medical experts say that what most people know about nosebleeds is wrong. Tilting the head back, a technique widely considered proper first aid, can create complications by allowing blood into the esophagus. It risks choking, and it can cause blood to travel to the stomach, possibly leading to irritation and vomiting.

The American Academy of Family Physicians says the best treatment is to sit down, lean forward and keep your head above your heart, which lessens the bleeding. Leaning forward also helps drain the blood from the nose and keeps it from the esophagus.

A report in the British journal BMJ says you can stop the bleeding by using your thumb and index finger to squeeze the soft tissue just below the bridge of your nose for 5 to 10 minutes. A cold compress or ice pack placed across the bridge of the nose can also help.

Tags: medical

Absinthe uncorked: The 'Green Fairy' was boozy -- but not psychedelic

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:51:42 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: there goes another myth..

Clip Source: physorg.com

A new study may end the century-old controversy over what ingredient in absinthe caused the exotic green aperitif’s supposed mind-altering effects and toxic side-effects when consumed to excess. In the most comprehensive analysis of old bottles of original absinthe — once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso to enhance their creativity — a team of scientists from Europe and the United States have concluded the culprit was plain and simple:

A high alcohol content, rather than thujone, the compound widely believed responsible for absinthe’s effects. Although consumed diluted with water, absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof wallop. Most gin, vodka, and whiskey are 80 – 100-proof and contain 40-50 percent alcohol or ethanol.

Tags: art, absynthe, the green fairy

Which Existed First: God or the Human Imagination?

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:36:16 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

French-British anthropologist, Maurice Bloch, of the London School of Economics believes that humans alone practice religion because they're the only creatures to have evolved imagination. The development of imagination occurred at the time of the Upper Palaeolithic 'revolution' 40-50,000 years ago. Bloch challenges the popular notion that religion evolved and spread because it promoted social bonding, as has been argued by some anthropologists.

According to Bloch's theory, initially humans had to develop the essential brain architecture to imagine things and beings that don't exist physically, and the possibility that people somehow survive on after their death.

Once this was acquired, we had access to a form of social interaction unavailable to any other creatures on the planet. Exclusively, humans could use what Bloch calls the "transcendental social" to unite with groups, such as nations and clans, or even with imaginary groups such as the dead

Tags: imagination, social, brain

My cunt examination

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:31:03 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii
clipper's remarks: WTF

Clip Source: www.weirdasianews.com

Tags: humor

'Free Tibet' flags made in China

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:53:30 GMT

clipped by: travislaborde
clipper's remarks: LOL isnt everything?

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

'Free Tibet' flags made in China

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

Tags: omg

RAW vs JPEG

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:36:22 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: prophotolife.com

Okay, it’s extreme time. I simultaneously shot a RAW (Canon CR2) file (left) and a large JPEG (right) of the same scene with a Canon 20D. These were shot with correct exposure but under tungsten light with the camera set to daylight color balance.

Here’s the RAW file, straight from the camera: ugly.

The JPEG file looks much the same straight out of the camera.

I put this RAW image into Photoshop CS2 (ACR), clicked the eyedropper on the gray square in the middle of the QPCard and voilá, it looks pretty darn good.

I opened the JPEG in CS2, opened Curves and clicked the gray square in the QPCard with the eye dropper to neutralize white balance. Ugh.

RAW at -2 stops.

JPEG at -2 stops. They look much the same

Okay, in CS2 (ACR) I did a really quick correction to the file and processed it out.

In CS2 I did a quick curve correction to the JPEG and got the highlights and midtones looking acceptable. But where’s the shadow detail?

Tags: photography, camera, raw, jpeg, photoshop

Record-breaking Mentos and Coke eruptions in Belgium

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:57:34 GMT

clipped by: haraya

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

It was to be one of the biggest science experiments ever seen yet there was not a bunson burner or test tube in sight.

Around 1,500 students kitted out in waterproof ponchos discovered exactly what happens when you drop a mint sweet into a bottle of Coca Cola, in an attempt to break a world record.

The students, from Belgium, tried to out-fizz the previous record for so-called Mentos fountains by simultaneously putting Mentos mints into bottles of the soft drink.

The resultant chemical reaction shot hundreds of streams of carbonated soda into the air.

The explosive record-breaking event was held in Ladeuzeplein square in Leuven, Belgium.

Tags: mentos, cola, record, belgium, leuven, photos, news, blue, fun, fountain

The Limits of Memory: We Can Only Remember Four Things at a Time

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:20:28 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

New research in to our minds capabilities to retain knowledge has shed light on a question that has been discussed for many years; how much, can our mind remember, at a time?

The study focused on ‘working memory’, that part of our mind which refers to the temporary storage of information that still allows us to pay attention and manipulate it. Some believe that working memory is separate to any of our other memory storages, many believe that working memory is simply that part of our long-term memory that we can currently access.

Research originally suggested that our working memory cut off point was around the seven items mark. However scientists are revising that idea, when adding the limitation of no memory tricks, such as repeating items over and over or grouping them together.

"The information you can hold in your mind at one time is the information you can interrelate. If you have a better working memory we believe that your problem-solving abilities are better."

Tags: intelligence, memory, 4?, 7?, mind

It's not immoral to want to be immortal

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:24:07 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: the prospect of immortality raises complex ethical social and economical issues. This is exactly why we need immortality! So we will have unlimited time to resolve these very issues. If there is one thing humanity won't give up is the dream of immortality. It is as ancient as our race.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Is it right to want to try to live forever? This ethical question is being kicked around quite a bit these days.

As the science of regenerative medicine using stem cells inches forward, as more is understood about how lifestyle influences longevity, as organ and tissue transplants become routine and as geneticists begin to unravel the secrets of why we age, the prospect of living forever — or at least until the Cubs win a pennant — makes the question something more than an exercise in science fiction.

What is particularly interesting is that many of those raising the question of the ethics of immortality do so with an answer already in mind — “No, it’s not right!”

Why is the prospect of immortality viewed in such a negative light? A bunch of different reasons can be found in the writings of the growing ranks of anti-agers.

Another concern is that it is not right for humans to strive for immortality because it violates the natural order of things.

Tags: aging, anti aging, immortality, ethics

The ages of man

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:40:52 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Click source for complete details

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

From the tiny 'Hobbit' to the burly Neanderthals - a variety of other hominids once preceded and coexisted alongside us Homo sapiens, says Robin McKie

It is common to depict the evolution of Homo sapiens as a straight sequence in which ape-like beings turn into upright, big-brained humans, a linear march that suggests humans were an inevitable biological outcome once apes had begun to walk on two feet. But the notion is misleading, say experts.

So let us look at some of those different hominids that peopled the Earth, starting from the remote past and moving to the present.

Australopithecus anamensis

One of the earliest species of apeman

Australopithicus afarensis

the southern ape from Afar (an area in Ethiopia)

Australopithecus africanus

Another ape-like predecessor of modern humans

Homo habilis

The first hominid species to make stone tools

Homo erectus

the Nariokotome boy appeared to have been nine to 11 years old when he died

Homo heidelbergensis

Homo neanderthalensis

Homo floresiensis

Homo sapiens

Tags: history, man, evolution

My treatment

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:34:49 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: second session today

Clip Source: www.turning-point.co.uk

At Turning Point we pride ourselves on turning lives around in a trully person centred way

People are not placed in a pre-existing service and expected to adjust but rather the service adjusts to them

Clip Source: www.stalbanscsp.org.uk

structured day programmes

Clip Source: www.patient.co.uk

Cognitive behaviour therapy - CBT

CBT has been shown to help people with various condition

certain anxiety disorders including phobias, panic attacks and panic disorder

depression

drug or alcohol abuse

a practical therapy which focuses on particular problems and aims to overcome them

sometimes used alone, and sometimes used in addition to medication

one type of psychotherapy ('talking treatment'). Unlike other types of psychotherapy it does not involve 'talking freely', or dwell on events in your past

not a 'lie on the couch and tell all' type of therapy

tends to deal with the 'here and now'

aims to find solutions to how to change your current thoughts and behaviours so that you can function better in the future

has a structure, is problem-focused and practical.

Kids name 8 new colours for Crayola

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:26:54 GMT

clipped by: haraya

Clip Source: www.crayola.com

What does COLOR mean to you?
20,000 kids told us! Now their eight favorites are available in the 50th anniversary 64 box—introducing the 2008 Kids' Choice Colors! Look for them in specially marked boxes of 64ct. Crayons, new 64ct. Colored Pencils, and new 64ct. Markers!

Tags: crayons, crayola, color, fun, kids, children, names, imagination, perception, anniversary