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

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Linkee-poo, fly a little higher than the rest, make your journey last, soar a little longer than the best, leave your worries in the past

Looking for some new holiday music that doesn't sound like the old holiday music? Try Folk Alley's holiday music stream. No, they're not sponsoring this post, I just happen to like folk music, and I also happen to like holiday music I haven't heard five-thousand renditions of the same exact song. And even when they do the standards, I guarantee they put a new spin on it so it sounds completely new. Maybe you'd like it, too. Folk Alley is listener sponsored, so there's no commercials to boot.

Martin Shrekli learns the wrong lesson. Instead of, "if I had kept the drug price reasonable, we'd be making money way into the future" the lesson he took away was "I should have grabbed more profit until the $1 alternative arrived." In the Biggest, Clueless Asshole of the Year competition it was a tough field with the 2016 primary in full swing, but I think we're found a winner. (Grokked from John)

Research finds that kindness, support, and respect are the glue that holds good relationships together. Next up, water is wet. Well, okay, they attached electrodes and stuff to people, and then reviewed thousands of hours of video tape. So it's real research. Also, the article is full of good examples. (Grokked from Janiece)

So, after taking all out money and not going to jail, the big bankers are waging a war of morality. In this case, they're denying credit, accounts, and credit card payment for sex workers, condom merchants and other adult service providers. Really? I'll bet they'll be very interested to continue processing all the orders for dildos on Amazon. Cause that's what we want our bankers to do, be the moral stewards of the country. Of course "It's troubling to note just how much the impact is disproportionately on women." (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)

"Xu Yuanxiang, vice president of Beijing-based Alibaba Pictures, said in a film seminar on Friday that the company would no longer hire professional screenwriters. Instead it would gather material from online forums and fan fiction writers to compete with each other over screenwriting credit." Wow, a shockingly bad version of the Hunger Games, but for screenwriting. Here is a business model to use to study what failure mode means. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

A revamp of the "person on the street" questioning, a couple of Dutch pranksters recover a Bible with a Qur'an and ask people to comment about the verses inside. "A lot of conservative Christians like to argue, as do atheists, that the Qur’an is full of barbarism and misogyny. Unlike the atheists, though, they forget that their own Bible is also full of horrific verses." Yes, this. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

We've hit the point where the candidates have become parodies of themselves. Especially in their speeches to the Republican Jewish Coalition. Dr. Ben Carson, in an attempt to bolster his international affairs credentials mispronounces "Hamas" as "hummus" (note to Dr. Ben, the soft-talk thing just backfired). And the Trumpster praises the Jews for their business acuity and says they won't like him because he doesn't want their money. You just can't make up this shit, and if this was fiction people wouldn't buy it. (Grokked from Christopher Moore)

"Michigan Republican legislator on why schools ‘fail’: 'We can’t fix that. We can’t make an African American white.'" Sure, it's from a longer quote, the other parts don't help make that quote any better. Can't fix that kind of stupid. Also, there's more electoral stupidity going on in Michigan. Can't blame it on Michigan, the Ohio GOP tried the same fucking things. You small government, less intrusive government people at work. (Grokked from Julie)

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