I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Linkee-poo wishes you could swim like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim

Is it too late to start writing? "The clock ticks even louder for those of us 'of a certain age.' In addition to worrying that our window of publishing opportunity is closing, there’s also that pesky mortality thing looming in the back of our minds. This only adds to the steaming pot of Insecurity Stew many of us keep simmering on our mental stovetops." Om my yes. Or, "I'm sorry I can't hear you saying 'no' over the chiming of this clock in my head."

Hipster Fairy Tales? Okay, it's a review of "The Tale of Tales, Giambattisa Basile's 17th-century book of fairy stories."

What cultural appropriation looks like. It came seem like homage or respect from the perspective of the people doing it, but like art, it's in the eye of the beholder. This is what happens when you don't do your homework and just reach for the easy.

"A 1,500-year-old underground Byzantine church has been discovered in Turkey with unseen before frescoes depicting Jesus." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

A bacterium that can focus light to determine the direction of its source. And so falls another creationist myth (not that they'd see it that way). (Grokked from David Klecha)

NPR Planet Money's podcast on CEO pay and the 90s spike. Or why changing the tax code needs to be approached very carefully. Or at the very least, how one rule can take, and the loophole in the very next clause can give it all back plus compound the problem. Also, not only is this why CEO pay exploded, it also explains why corporations are so highly focused on stock price and quarterly results. Yes, this country does transfer wealth. Still. A lot of it. But it's all going to the top.

So how's Michigan representatives doing with solving the crisis in Flint? Ah, passed a bill outlawing oral and anal sex. I'm sure that'll help fix the problem. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

The Labor Department is proposing new rules to allow companies to charge employees with high BMIs more for their insurance. So if you were wondering when the next shoe would drop after charging smokers more for their insurance, here it is. And this has nothing to do with actual health or costs. It all has to do with companies wanting to offload the cost of insurance, but still having to offer insurance to remain competitive.

Dear Eric Trump, you're a fucking ignorant, privileged snot. Okay, that was unfair to mucus membranes everywhere. "Eric Trump responded… 'And then somebody complains when a terrorist gets waterboarded, which quite frankly is no different than what happens on college campuses and frat houses every day.'" Jesus, the incompetence of these people. As Gene Hackman said in the 70s Superman, it's amazing that brain generates enough electricity for him to walk. But then again, your father is a shining example of human excrement. And your other brother is just as ignorant of life. ""You know, we weren’t trust fund babies. We were very fortunate. We experienced great things, but we were spoiled the right way. We were spoiled with great education, great experiences, we weren’t spoiled with cash." That's called "privilege". You'd know this if you had half a brain and could examine your own life without the mental blinders.

And speaking of having the same damn argument over and over again. "Indeed, there are other fundamental reasons to oppose not just the presence of women in the infantry but their forcible conscription into its ranks. Such a policy inverts natural law and the rules that have grounded our civilization for thousands of years." The National Review editorial board weighs in on the whole "should women be required to register for Selective Service." Funny, I remember having this argument in the 80s (and the 90s, and the 2000s…). Also, they like to say that war is just too terrible for us to send the women folk. However, they're just find sending all our young boys into the meat grinder. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

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