What a brave new world we live in when children can affect social change through on line forums.
While not actually on the level of Twitter revolts such as the Arab Spring, to get a modern American toy maker like Hasbro to respond to the public with an online petition and update Easy Bake Ovens by making them less girly ranks as pure genius.
[PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Hasbro says it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven after meeting with a New Jersey girl who started a campaign calling on the toy maker to make one that appeals to all kids.
McKenna Pope, 13, of Garfield, N.J., got more than 40,000 signatures on her online petition at Change.org and the support of celebrity chefs including Bobby Flay, who backed her call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral oven and to include boys in the ads.
She was prompted to start the petition after shopping for an Easy-Bake as a Christmas present for her 4-year-old brother, Gavyn Boscio, and finding them only in purple and pink.
Hasbro invited McKenna and her family to its Pawtucket, R.I., headquarters to meet with its Easy-Bake team, and on Monday, they drove to Rhode Island from New Jersey. During the meeting, Hasbro executives showed off a prototype of their newest Easy-Bake: one that's black, silver and blue.]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/gender-neutral-easy-bake-oven_n_2318521.html
Also: http://americablog.com/2012/12/hasbro-gender-neutral-easy-bake-oven.html
Similarly, recent Darden restaurant group leaders noted a sales and social media hit after folks learned about corporate plans to provide heath care as mandated by the Affordable Care Act by reducing workers hours.
Bottom line remains corporations watch the bottom line and will change pernicious policies under public pressure.
And a little child did lead them.
What cause can I create a petition for, one in suppport of lower beer prices? The Desperate Dan Appreciation Society?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
"Do we all secretly want the world to end?"
Short answer to a long question; yes.
See below.
See also Salon.com for "Do we all secretly want the world to end?"
[But why would anyone enjoy kindling this fearful response? Lissek suspects that some apocalyptic believers find the idea that the end is nigh to be validating. Individuals with a history of traumatic experiences, for example, may be fatalistic. For these people, finding a group of like-minded fatalists is reassuring. There may also be comfort in being able to attribute doom to some larger cosmic order—such as an ancient Mayan prophecy. This kind of mythology removes any sense of individual responsibility.
There’s an even broader allure to knowing the precise end date. “Apocalyptic beliefs make existential threats—the fear of our mortality—predictable,” Lissek says. Lissek, in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health neuroscientist Christian Grillon and colleagues, has found that when an unpleasant or painful experience, such as an electric shock, is predictable, we relax. The anxiety produced by uncertainty is gone. Knowing when the end will come doesn’t appeal equally to everyone, of course—but for many of us it’s paradoxically a reason to stop worrying.]
See below.
See also Salon.com for "Do we all secretly want the world to end?"
[But why would anyone enjoy kindling this fearful response? Lissek suspects that some apocalyptic believers find the idea that the end is nigh to be validating. Individuals with a history of traumatic experiences, for example, may be fatalistic. For these people, finding a group of like-minded fatalists is reassuring. There may also be comfort in being able to attribute doom to some larger cosmic order—such as an ancient Mayan prophecy. This kind of mythology removes any sense of individual responsibility.
There’s an even broader allure to knowing the precise end date. “Apocalyptic beliefs make existential threats—the fear of our mortality—predictable,” Lissek says. Lissek, in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health neuroscientist Christian Grillon and colleagues, has found that when an unpleasant or painful experience, such as an electric shock, is predictable, we relax. The anxiety produced by uncertainty is gone. Knowing when the end will come doesn’t appeal equally to everyone, of course—but for many of us it’s paradoxically a reason to stop worrying.]
Monday, December 17, 2012
My New Game: Which do you find more reprehensibe?
That Westboro "Baptist" "Church," alleged humans but certainly bottom feeding scum, planning to picket and spread their hate or that hacker uber group Anonymous plans to "destroy" the cult of Fred Phelps.
[The ever-hateful Westboro Baptist Church has not failed to deliver in the wake of the Newtown school massacre. The Church, notorious for picketing the funerals of fallen troops with “God Hates Fags” placards, announced Saturday that they would picket Sandy Hook elementary school, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead Friday. Tweets from the Phelps family suggest they believe the horrors in Connecticut are a punishment from God for gay marriage.
Hacker collective Anonymous was swift to respond, releasing private information of Westboro members including email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. This video, decrying the church for spreading “seeds of hatred” was also released. It warns, “We will destroy you. We are coming.”]
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/anonymous_hit_westboro_baptist_church_over_sandy_hook_picket_plans/
+
So much for turning the other cheek. IMHO, idiots like the Westboroians much better met with ridicule and sarcasm as they deserve, perhaps with a side of counter protest with humour like at Comic Con or reserved silence at military funerals.
Meet these fools with disdain; turn your backs to them with your wall of silence honoring our military.
These West bat crap crazy people deserve not a minute of our time nor notice of their hatred, deserving perhaps only our pity.
So while my instincts generally lie with Anonymous, perhaps the hyperbolic use of the word "destroy" along with publishing names and addresses of cult members might lead to violence against them, thus creating the specter of creating a martyr for their cause of hate.
Perhaps whoever published this screed anonymously fails to realize the beauty of our First Amendment right to free expression guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Those darn rights of free exercise of religion and speech protect Phelps' fanatics also.
So laugh at them or ignore them as fit, but please don't over hype a counter protest by threatening to destroy.
[The ever-hateful Westboro Baptist Church has not failed to deliver in the wake of the Newtown school massacre. The Church, notorious for picketing the funerals of fallen troops with “God Hates Fags” placards, announced Saturday that they would picket Sandy Hook elementary school, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead Friday. Tweets from the Phelps family suggest they believe the horrors in Connecticut are a punishment from God for gay marriage.
Hacker collective Anonymous was swift to respond, releasing private information of Westboro members including email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. This video, decrying the church for spreading “seeds of hatred” was also released. It warns, “We will destroy you. We are coming.”]
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/anonymous_hit_westboro_baptist_church_over_sandy_hook_picket_plans/
+
Quote of the Day
Received from Sojourners daily verse.
[And the stars down so close, and sadness and pleasure so close together, really the same thing. ... The stars are close and dear and I have joined the brotherhood of the worlds. And everything's holy — everything, even me.
[And the stars down so close, and sadness and pleasure so close together, really the same thing. ... The stars are close and dear and I have joined the brotherhood of the worlds. And everything's holy — everything, even me.
- John Steinbeck
From The Grapes of Wrath]
From The Grapes of Wrath]
President Romney: A leader to rule during the coming zombie apocalypse
Did an election happen while I went away? I don't see any more nauseating campaign ads on my magical communicating box. So did it end? Who won, the guy who wants to keep Guantanamo open or the guy who wants to keep Guantanamo open and bomb Iran?
[“Romney's ready to make the deep rollbacks—in healthcare, education, social services, reproductive rights—that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting: all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland. But it's his commitment to ungoverned corporate privilege that will nose-dive this economy into true insolvency and chaos—the kind of chaos you can't buy back. ... Mitt's ready. He's not afraid to face a ravening, grasping horde of sub-humans, because that's how he sees poor people already."
[“Romney's ready to make the deep rollbacks—in healthcare, education, social services, reproductive rights—that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting: all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland. But it's his commitment to ungoverned corporate privilege that will nose-dive this economy into true insolvency and chaos—the kind of chaos you can't buy back. ... Mitt's ready. He's not afraid to face a ravening, grasping horde of sub-humans, because that's how he sees poor people already."
—Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, endorsing Mitt Romney for leader of the impending zombie apocalypse]
College Degrees Returning Least on the Investment
Another sign of the moral bankruptcy of our society in general: the more a job or profession contributes to the overall good in the society, the less the people get paid.
As a kid with a teacher for a father, it always seemed Santa had a predilection to leave clothes for me under the tree. The same Santa left more toys for children of neighbors with jobs more valued by society.
Although we need bridges and engineers to build then, society also needs good teachers to nurture and inspire young minds to become doctors and engineers and such.
Also if you want a return on investment for your tuition dollars, forget about law school. (Citation later after having my coffee}
http://salary.com/8-college-degrees-with-the-worst-return-on-investment/slide/10/
As a kid with a teacher for a father, it always seemed Santa had a predilection to leave clothes for me under the tree. The same Santa left more toys for children of neighbors with jobs more valued by society.
Although we need bridges and engineers to build then, society also needs good teachers to nurture and inspire young minds to become doctors and engineers and such.
Also if you want a return on investment for your tuition dollars, forget about law school. (Citation later after having my coffee}
http://salary.com/8-college-degrees-with-the-worst-return-on-investment/slide/10/
Stupid Crook News
Like my great aunt Helen used to say, some people will steal anything that ain't nailed down. But golly, don't think i'd have the patience to steal a driveway brick by brick.
[MARION COUNTY, Fla. —
Deputies in Marion County said they've arrested a man for stealing a driveway.
Brick pavers were stolen from a home in Reddick on Thursday.
Neighbors saw men taking the bricks, but thought they had been hired by the homeowner.
Later, a neighbor called deputies after seeing someone come back to take another load of pavers.
Anthony Jones faces charges, but only for the second theft.]
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/deputies-man-caught-stealing-brick-driveway/nTXPj/
[MARION COUNTY, Fla. —
Deputies in Marion County said they've arrested a man for stealing a driveway.
Brick pavers were stolen from a home in Reddick on Thursday.
Neighbors saw men taking the bricks, but thought they had been hired by the homeowner.
Later, a neighbor called deputies after seeing someone come back to take another load of pavers.
Anthony Jones faces charges, but only for the second theft.]
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/deputies-man-caught-stealing-brick-driveway/nTXPj/
Vodka: Not just for breakfast anymore
[MOSCOW —
Circus trainers claim two of their elephants were saved from the deadly Siberian cold by vodka.
Emergency ministry spokesman Alexander Davydov said Friday that the elephants were in a trailer that caught fire Thursday outside the city of Novosibirsk, forcing trainers to take them out into the bitter cold before another truck arrived to deliver them to a warm gym at a local community college.
The Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported that trainer Leonid Labo had the animals, aged 45 and 48, drink 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of vodka diluted in warm water — and a veterinarian said later that only the tips of their ears were frostbitten.
Although scientists say that alcohol can make humans feel warmer but actually lowers their core body temperature, Novosibisk zoo director Rostislav Shilo told the daily that the vodka saved the animals from frostbite and pneumonia, without harming or even intoxicating them.]
http://www.wftv.com/news/ap/top-news/vodka-saves-elephants-from-death-in-siberian-frost/nTWjc/
Circus trainers claim two of their elephants were saved from the deadly Siberian cold by vodka.
Emergency ministry spokesman Alexander Davydov said Friday that the elephants were in a trailer that caught fire Thursday outside the city of Novosibirsk, forcing trainers to take them out into the bitter cold before another truck arrived to deliver them to a warm gym at a local community college.
The Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported that trainer Leonid Labo had the animals, aged 45 and 48, drink 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of vodka diluted in warm water — and a veterinarian said later that only the tips of their ears were frostbitten.
Although scientists say that alcohol can make humans feel warmer but actually lowers their core body temperature, Novosibisk zoo director Rostislav Shilo told the daily that the vodka saved the animals from frostbite and pneumonia, without harming or even intoxicating them.]
http://www.wftv.com/news/ap/top-news/vodka-saves-elephants-from-death-in-siberian-frost/nTWjc/
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
How long must I cry out Violence?
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Habbbakuk 1:2,3
28 dead in CT school shooting.
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Habbbakuk 1:2,3
28 dead in CT school shooting.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Scriptural Socialism
Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty, who says to a king, "You scoundrel!" and to princess, "You wicked men!"; who shows no partiality to nobles, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of [God's] hands?
- Job 34:17-19
Saturday, December 8, 2012
World Won't End This Year
Editor's note: Clock to the right strictly a goof, mocking all the dooms day believes and preppers.
Yes, we might say we do have a small possibility of the world coming to an end, but no one can calculate it nor say when.
Sheesh, think all humans feel some trepidation over their personal demise as "No one gets out o life alive," and we selfishly hope everything will end when we do.
So to embrace suicide denies the lives and loves and laughs we can make with our own free will.
Although my life may amount to words in the wind whipped away and unheard. I'm going to make them matter somehow.
After that, I don't really care.
Bring it on God; I'll face whatever She throws my way with a laugh.
There's plenty of confusion for NASA to address: There are several distinct theories out there predicting the world as we know it will cease to exist on December 21, 2012. Some of these theories are based on questionable readings of the I-Ching, or misguided analysis of the ancient Mayan Long Count calendar (a flawed interpretation that tends to piss off real-life living Mayans and the researchers who are most familiar with the calendar). Some say the world will end when we all get sucked into a black hole. Others claim that in a couple weeks Earth will collide with the nonexistent rogue planet "Nibiru," thus ruining everything forever. Pseudo-scientific doomsday speculation has gained so much attention over the years it's ingrained itself into our pop-culture: The theories have provided the basis for the aforementioned big-budget John Cusack movie, inspired college courses, and earned a special on Fox News this past November.
Though this all might seem like little more than a collection of laughable fringe superstition, promulgation of these beliefs do have troubling real-world consequences. "I get 1-2 [questions] a month from a person who self-identifies as 11-12 years old, who is contemplating suicide," David Morrison, a senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, told ABC News. (Speaking to a USA.gov blogger, Morrison later said that he gets a message at least "once a week" from "a young person...who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday.") Morrison also highlighted a letter he received from someone claiming to be a middle school teacher in California, who wrote that parents of a student said they were going to kill their kids and themselves before the 2012 apocalypse.]
Media Stereotypes Females
Even more insidious than the unnatural proportions of Barbie dolls which perhaps leads girls to eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia in pursuit of impossible figures, images seen in scenes on our televisions sets socialize girls and female in ways to he detriment of them developing their own personalities, instead assuming the gender roles watched.
[The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (founded in 2004 by the Oscar-winning actress and United Nations special envoy) has published a new report (PDF) detailing the stereotypes, barriers, and straight-up exploitation that still define how badly women and girls are treated on screen. The study takes a deep dive into prime-time television, as well as children's programming and family-friendly films. Women are scarcer in prime-time shows and family films, and those films depict "fewer women in prestigious occupational positions," the study notes. "Females are not only missing from popular media, [but] when they are on screen, they seem to be there merely for decoration."]
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/geena-davis-institute-women-girls-are-stereotyped-sexualized-hollywood
Why did we never see female teenage mutant ninja turtles?
[The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (founded in 2004 by the Oscar-winning actress and United Nations special envoy) has published a new report (PDF) detailing the stereotypes, barriers, and straight-up exploitation that still define how badly women and girls are treated on screen. The study takes a deep dive into prime-time television, as well as children's programming and family-friendly films. Women are scarcer in prime-time shows and family films, and those films depict "fewer women in prestigious occupational positions," the study notes. "Females are not only missing from popular media, [but] when they are on screen, they seem to be there merely for decoration."]
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/geena-davis-institute-women-girls-are-stereotyped-sexualized-hollywood
Why did we never see female teenage mutant ninja turtles?
Say What? Expensive coffee from elephant rectums!
Un-fracking believable. Normally, good taste and modesty would deter me from possting anything so disgusting,
Nevertheless in this case that demonstrates just how decadent our consumer culture has become, gots to post this one.
Golly, plain old espresso from the grocery store satisfies my coffee cravings. For the key word in quote below, find dung.
[GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Thailand —
In the lush hills of northern Thailand, a herd of 20 elephants is excreting some of the world's most expensive coffee.
Trumpeted as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung. A gut reaction inside the elephant creates what its founder calls the coffee's unique taste.
Stomach turning or oddly alluring, this is not just one of the world's most unusual specialty coffees. At $1,100 per kilogram ($500 per pound), it's also among the world's priciest.] emphasis added to increase ick factor.
Nevertheless in this case that demonstrates just how decadent our consumer culture has become, gots to post this one.
Golly, plain old espresso from the grocery store satisfies my coffee cravings. For the key word in quote below, find dung.
[GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Thailand —
In the lush hills of northern Thailand, a herd of 20 elephants is excreting some of the world's most expensive coffee.
Trumpeted as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung. A gut reaction inside the elephant creates what its founder calls the coffee's unique taste.
Stomach turning or oddly alluring, this is not just one of the world's most unusual specialty coffees. At $1,100 per kilogram ($500 per pound), it's also among the world's priciest.] emphasis added to increase ick factor.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Scriptural Socialism
12Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Defining Myself
Although ever'one in the whole damn world seems able to define me just because of now walking with a walker, in just the same way I have fought to stay out of a wheel chair for over 32 years I have also struggled to define myself: disabled, differently-abled, handicapped, gimp, geek, cripple, one who walks with a non standard gait subsequent to a spinal cord injury
Lately figured out becoming me a cool thing to be and so will let my life speak for me, damn your eyes all you womens who ain't given me a second look while they date boys or psychopaths who steal from them, all you people who jump to help and judge and expect me to grovel with gratitude for my right to live with dignity as a human being.
"He was describing one of the areas between San Diego and Oceanside," de la Rocha says, "and as a reference to this particular area of the coastline, he said, 'You know, that wetback station there.' And everyone around me laughed. They thought it was the funniest thing that they ever heard."
De la Rocha's voice — usually a rapid-fire thing, a formidable weapon of debate in conversation and on the three Rage albums he has made with guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk — drops to a measured snarl: "I remember sitting there, about to explode. I realized that I was not of these people. They were not my friends. And I remember internalizing it, how silent I was. I remember how afraid I was to say anything."] Emphasis added because I ain't afraid no more.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-battles-of-rage-against-the-machine-19991125#ixzz2EI1mbD8a
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
Small Victories: i Sat. I Shat. I Stood Up.
Not quite, "I came. I saw. I conquered, (Veni, vidi, vici)," but a significant victory all the same--if you have a balky lower back that last month would not let you get off the floor.
It even gets funnier if you played cards with a mother who used to say to a procrastinating player, "Shit or get off the pot."
Yay me!
Now only have to get these people to do their job and get me a discharge plan so I can go home and they can quit milking Medicare and life will get good again, or at least get back to watching Have Gun Will Travel on Encore Western channel.
What would Paladin do?
It even gets funnier if you played cards with a mother who used to say to a procrastinating player, "Shit or get off the pot."
Yay me!
Now only have to get these people to do their job and get me a discharge plan so I can go home and they can quit milking Medicare and life will get good again, or at least get back to watching Have Gun Will Travel on Encore Western channel.
What would Paladin do?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
RIP Hector Camacho
Before ridiculing the behavior of boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, let's take a moment to praise his boxing talent and consider that, as a performer seeking to feed his family, he had to market himself with what we call gimmicks, admirably recounted by George Diaz, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/os-george-diaz-macho-camacho-funeral-1201-20121130,0,883748.column Would quote but this computer balky at best and hates me at worst.)
As humans, we tend to see these and other public indiscretions of a famous individual as sum total of who they are.nevertheless, this presumption prevents us from realizing we see but a portion. Also, too many imbued with fame and fortune whether through athletic talent like Mr. Camacho or pathetic and vacuous Kardashians created by our celebrity culture, become the gimmicks or circus act they use to make money.
Used to wish fame and fortune for myself, nevertheless this stay in medical rehab facility reminds me becoming myself a pretty good thing to be.
Besides, some will celebrate my passing, and not in the good way either. At least, people noted he riotous wake of this "Macho" man.
[Hector "Macho" Camacho can't rest in peace just yet.
A catfight involving the slain boxing legend's alleged lover, his official girlfriend and sisters marred Tuesday's wake in honor of the former world champion at the Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation.
The somber atmosphere took a violent turn when Cynthia Castillo, a local woman claiming to be Camacho's partner at the time of his death, removed the casket veil covering his face and kissed him on the mouth, El Nuevo Dia of Puerto Rico reported.]
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-11-28/news/35417113_1_hector-camacho-fernandez-casket
As humans, we tend to see these and other public indiscretions of a famous individual as sum total of who they are.nevertheless, this presumption prevents us from realizing we see but a portion. Also, too many imbued with fame and fortune whether through athletic talent like Mr. Camacho or pathetic and vacuous Kardashians created by our celebrity culture, become the gimmicks or circus act they use to make money.
Used to wish fame and fortune for myself, nevertheless this stay in medical rehab facility reminds me becoming myself a pretty good thing to be.
Besides, some will celebrate my passing, and not in the good way either. At least, people noted he riotous wake of this "Macho" man.
[Hector "Macho" Camacho can't rest in peace just yet.
A catfight involving the slain boxing legend's alleged lover, his official girlfriend and sisters marred Tuesday's wake in honor of the former world champion at the Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation.
The somber atmosphere took a violent turn when Cynthia Castillo, a local woman claiming to be Camacho's partner at the time of his death, removed the casket veil covering his face and kissed him on the mouth, El Nuevo Dia of Puerto Rico reported.]
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-11-28/news/35417113_1_hector-camacho-fernandez-casket
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