Skyway to Tomorrowland

Living plants have been generated from the fruit of a little...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:38:27 -0800

Living plants have been generated from the fruit of a little arctic flower, the narrow-leafed campion, that died 32,000 years ago, a team of Russian scientists reports. The fruit was stored by an arctic ground squirrel in its burrow on the tundra of northeastern Siberia and lay permanently frozen until excavated by scientists a few years ago. (New Life, From an Arctic Flower That Died 32,000 Years Ago)

"Only a fool would think that someone should be able to bear boredom and frustration for long hours..."

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:19:31 -0800

“Only a fool would think that someone should be able to bear boredom and frustration for long hours at a time and that this would be an achievement. What I might have said to my son’s friend is that it is incontrovertible that sometimes things get done better when you’re doing something else.”

- The Art of Distraction

(via Print Out Vulture’s Downton Abbey Paper Dolls —...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:42:39 -0800

(via Print Out Vulture’s Downton Abbey Paper Dolls — Vulture)

Moochers Against Welfare - NYTimes.com

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:35:02 -0800

Moochers Against Welfare - NYTimes.com:

Finally, Cornell University’s Suzanne Mettler points out that many beneficiaries of government programs seem confused about their own place in the system. She tells us that 44 percent of Social Security recipients, 43 percent of those receiving unemployment benefits, and 40 percent of those on Medicare say that they “have not used a government program.” Presumably, then, voters imagine that pledges to slash government spending mean cutting programs for the idle poor, not things they themselves count on. And this is a confusion politicians deliberately encourage. For example, when Mr. Romney responded to the new Obama budget, he condemned Mr. Obama for not taking on entitlement spending — and, in the very next breath, attacked him for cutting Medicare. The truth, of course, is that the vast bulk of entitlement spending goes to the elderly, the disabled, and working families, so any significant cuts would have to fall largely on people who believe that they don’t use any government program.

"How was your Valentine’s Day, friends? It doesn’t matter. Everything sucks in the world..."

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:04:14 -0800

“How was your Valentine’s Day, friends? It doesn’t matter. Everything sucks in the world of sex: we’re having a national conversation about contraception, a man named after anal leakage is the GOP frontrunner, and the blond barista at my coffee shop with the soccer legs and the pretty mouth introduced me to his stupid girlfriend.”

- Ridiculous Tips for a Miserable Sex Life: February 2012 | Nerve.com

accidentalchinesehipsters: If a hipster could have the perfect,...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:51:24 -0800

accidentalchinesehipsters:

If a hipster could have the perfect, most coolest pet accessory, it would be a trained hawk that would hang out while its owner was drinking an Americano in the garden of a nice cafe - sort of a yin to the ever-present yang of a laptop. A hawk doesn’t depend on wifi either, so it’s great because you could take it anywhere. And unlike a small dog (a more conventional option), a hawk radiates an inner calm of self-assured readiness, efficiency and accuracy that will surely reflect well on the man or woman holding the reins. It’s also got a medieval flair, which I think is coming into vogue.

Extra style points to this hawk man, who has a lot going for him, from the striking red of his jacket, to his army pants, overlapping lapels, beautiful felted Robin Hood cap, and, finally, that face! Slightly buck teeth can do so much good on the right face.

Raymond Yeung got this shot in Yunnan, China.

PS. PLEASE do not get a hawk as a pet. Be smart.

(via Dutch Kids Pedal Their Own Bus To School | Co.Exist: World...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:39:04 -0800

(via Dutch Kids Pedal Their Own Bus To School | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation)

The Right Wing's $7 Billion Media Subsidy

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:49:23 -0800

The Right Wing's $7 Billion Media Subsidy:

The United States is the only country other than New Zealand which allows the bizarre practice of advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers. Called direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), this practice accounted for $4.9 billion dollars in advertising spending in 2007, nearly all of it targeted to traditional media such as television and print. It’s hard to imagine how a mainstream print magazine such as Time would survive without this largesse, especially as the FDA’s regulations typically require drug interaction disclosures which effectively double the amount of advertising space which the pharmaceutical company must purchase. The conservative goal of commercializing prescription drugs while reducing oversight has undoubtedly succeeded; the data show that FDA oversight of DTCA drug ads is decreasing while any of us who consume media have noticed the increasing medicalization of ordinary aspects of life for which companies have created remedies. But it’s inarguable that this adds up to nearly five billion dollars in advertising that goes overwhelmingly to the old media institutions which conservatives rail against.

Pink Razors « Margaret and Helen

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:43:17 -0800

Pink Razors « Margaret and Helen:

If you really, honestly want to reduce abortions in this country, the last thing you want to do is vote for a Republican. If you want to reduce abortions start in your own home by educating your children. Teach your sons to respect women and arm your daughters with information about birth control. If you are so outraged by abortions that your only criteria for a presidential candidate is that he be obsessed with my uterus, then arm your daughters with all the information she needs to protect herself from all those sons who were raised by politicians in Texas and Virginia. And if you really care, make a donation to Planned Parenthood or this other organization called Annie’s List. My grandson says that if you “click” on the underlined words in the previous sentence it will take you to a place you can make a donation on the internet. It couldn’t be any easier than that.

Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:13:00 -0800

Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first:

A 3D printer-created lower jaw has been fitted to an 83-year-old woman’s face in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.

What Feminists Are Saying About the Facebook IPO

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:16:37 -0800

What Feminists Are Saying About the Facebook IPO:

The rest of the story is better told by women who didn’t grow up with lots of familial and social support, women who didn’t go to Harvard, women who weren’t mentored by Larry Summers, women with different definitions of success and leadership. To look at the bright side, perhaps Facebook’s social technology will itself help other women tell their stories and hear the stories of women other than the most privileged elite. The world’s largest communication network between people is taking a big financial step, it’s infamously opportunistic with changing ideas of privacy and it’s lead by an all-male board and a woman whose perspective on gender is likely applauded by conservatives around the world. That all seems important to discuss.

Facebook Is Using You

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:10:37 -0800

Facebook Is Using You:

We need a do-not-track law, similar to the do-not-call one. Now it’s not just about whether my dinner will be interrupted by a telemarketer. It’s about whether my dreams will be dashed by the collection of bits and bytes over which I have no control and for which companies are currently unaccountable.

Paint It Black: Getting Dressed When Depressed

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:26:17 -0800

Paint It Black: Getting Dressed When Depressed:

At some point people will suggest adding more color to your wardrobe. “I LOVE YOU IN COLOR!!!” They will proclaim, which is another way of saying, “Please stop talking about your ex.”

animalstalkinginallcaps: I CAN’T TELL IF IT’S MORE GAUCHE FOR...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:08:29 -0800

animalstalkinginallcaps:

I CAN’T TELL IF IT’S MORE GAUCHE FOR YOU TO ASK OR FOR ME TO ANSWER, BUT I PAY $2200 A MONTH. I HAD A PLACE IN FLUSHING THAT WAS EIGHT TIMES THIS SIZE BUT IT SMELLED LIKE TERIYAKI AND LITERALLY NOBODY WOULD VISIT ME, SO I MOVED TO THE EAST VILLAGE.

I’D INVITE YOU INSIDE BUT THERE’S NOT REALLY ANY ROOM.

Photo

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:02:57 -0800

(via » A Short History of the Modern Calendar - Long Views: The...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:43:38 -0800

(via » A Short History of the Modern Calendar - Long Views: The Long Now Blog)

The Death of Slander by Leslie Yalof Garfield

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:06:02 -0800

The Death of Slander by Leslie Yalof Garfield:

Technology killed slander. Slander, the tort of defamation by spoken word, dates back to the ecclesiastical law of the Middle Ages and its determination that damning someone’s reputation in the village square was worthy of pecuniary damage. Communication in the Twitter Age has torn asunder the traditional notions of person- to-person communication. Texting, tweeting and other new channels of personal exchange have led one of our oldest torts to its historic demise.

Kristof and the Rescue Industry: The Soft Side of Imperialism | NYTimes eXaminer

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:59:57 -0800

Kristof and the Rescue Industry: The Soft Side of Imperialism | NYTimes eXaminer:

“To criticize the Rescue Industry is not to say that slavery, undocumented migration, human smuggling, trafficking and labor exploitation do not exist or involve egregious injustices. Yet Kristof supporters object to any critique with At least he is Doing Something. What are you doing to stop child rape? and so on. This sort of attempt to deflect all criticism is a hallmark of colonialism, which invokes class and race as reasons for clubbing together against savagery and terrorism. The Rescue Industry, like the war on terrorism, relies on an image of the barbaric Other.”

mittbucks.com

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:57:59 -0800

mittbucks.com:

$1,000 for a gallon of gas? Sure, and here’s a tip too.

Threadbare: A letter from a slave to his former master:

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:04:46 -0800

Threadbare: A letter from a slave to his former master::

astronautssleepinspace:

In August of 1865, a Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, wrote to his former slave, Jourdan Anderson, and requested that he come back to work on his farm. Jourdan — who, since being emancipated, had moved to Ohio, found paid work, and was now supporting his family —…