Yo, stop it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility

Mister Rogers defending public television before the U.S. Senate.




Fox & Friends: "Now all these kids are growing up realizing, Mr Rogers lied to me! I'm not special!"
"These kids feel entitled just for being them...why doesn't he say, there's a lot of room for improvement?"

"What you call the external world is as much you as your own body." – Alan Watts

"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.' A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths."
–Carl Sagan

space, space, space is the place

Below its icy crust, Europa is believed to host a global ocean up to a hundred miles (160 kilometers) deep, with no land to speak of at the surface.

The extraterrestrial ocean is currently being fed more than a hundred times more oxygen than previous models had suggested, according to provocative new research.

That amount of oxygen would be enough to support more than just microscopic life-forms, and at least three million tons of fishlike creatures could theoretically live and breathe on Europa, according to Greenberg.

“There’s nothing saying there is life there now,” said Greenberg, who presented his work last month at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences. “But we do know there are the physical conditions to support it,” he added.

Phenomenica | Ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa...

that that good

The greatest oil ad of all time, from 1962.

Updates on UC Regents protests today and tomorrow

The protests at the Regents' meeting have escalated to skirmishes between students and police. At least 14 arrests have already been made inside the meeting, before noon. Students keep disrupting the meeting, and the police have just announced that the entire gallery (public seating) is an "unlawful assembly." Students have been fighting with police outside, with unconfirmed rumors that students are throwing rocks at police; police have tased one student and clubbed several more. One student broke their leg, though it is not yet known how. Police helicopters are overhead, police have donned riot gear, and have threatened to use tear gas on campus. Lynn Tierney, spokesperson for UCOP, has denied that any students were tased, although this has been confirmed by legal observers. About 500 protesters outside, talk of encircling the building if students aren't allowed into Covel Commons. Police have drawn pellet guns on students and ordered them to disperse. 15-20 students remained and have possibly been arrested. Students are being forced away from Covel by police, where the meeting is taking place.

Yudof had the audacity to post on twitter: "Protesters' problems not with me or Regents, but with Sacramento and even voters."

The Afrikan Student Union at UCLA reported that at least 3 members were tased by police.

Updates at UC Regent Live
Updates at Student Activism
UC Regents Protest Schedule
LA Times | Eight arrested at UC Regents meeting at UCLA
Photos and more LIVE updates at The Daily Bruin

tonight

giddy up

If you're reading this, you're still alive.

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.

Wikipedia | This too shall pass

happy belated veteran's day

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012.

NASA FAQs | 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

they're like ninjas

cause a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at

This image, above, is from 1941, and shows - according to the original caption - “the proper way to safely pick up an excited cat in the event of first aid being required due to an air raid.”

Entropic Memes | Catblogging, 1940s style

"Everyone who wants to do good to the human race always ends in universal bullying." - Aldous Huxley

The faces of the Yes on 1 campaigners in Maine as they hear the election results:

Reddit.com | Comment: "When prop 8 passed in California, there was a shot of the reaction from the campaign headquarters. I'll never forget this. At the center of the image was a guy in a suit throwing both hands up, mouth agape in pure jubilation of victory. It was as if he's just won the Lotto. I just couldn't understand how someone could be so thrilled about having gotten so little. What did he get? Nothing. How did his life change? Will he not have to get up for work in the morning? Are his bills any cheaper? Has a loved one who was sick been cured? Does he get more money, video games, blowjobs, or whatever he likes to do in his spare time? He gets nothing. It was all because it felt so good to hurt someone."

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin

· In 1998, Fred Phelps posted the Onion article '98 Homosexual-Recruitment Drive Nearing Goal on his "God Hates Fags" website as "proof" that gay people were indeed actively trying to "recruit" others.

· An article on Harry Potter inciting kids to practice witchcraft was believed by many to be real and was forwarded by many concerned Christians.[24] Columnist Ellen Makkai and others who believe the Harry Potter books "recruit" children to Satanism have also been taken in by the article, using quotes from it as "evidence" for their claims.

· On June 7, 2002, Reuters reported that the Beijing Evening News republished, in the international news page of its June 3 edition, translated portions of "Congress Threatens To Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built". The story discusses the U.S. Congress's threats to leave Washington for Memphis, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; or even Toronto, Canada unless Washington, D.C. built them a new Capitol building with a retractable dome. The article is a parody of U.S. sports franchises' threats to leave their home city unless new stadiums are built for them. The Evening News is Beijing's most popular newspaper, claiming a circulation of 1 million.[20] Evening News initially stood by the story, demanding proof of its falsehood. It later retracted the article, responding that "some small American newspapers frequently fabricate offbeat news to trick people into noticing them with the aim of making money."

Wikipedia | The Onion taken seriously

Was it alive and swimming, or had it died long ago, or was it dying now, right this second?

A blue whale, the world's largest mammal, was found washed ashore near Fort Bragg this week. The whale, a female, was spotted near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County on Monday night a few "hours after an ocean survey vessel reported hitting a whale a few miles away," reports AP.

The 70-foot whale was found dead. She had large gashes on her body, some of them measuring 8 feet long.

This makes the second dead blue whale discovered along the California Coast in two weeks. NOAA wildlife biologist Joe Cordaro goes on to tell AP that while it's rare for blue whales to wash ashore, last week another blue whale turned up in Monterey County. That whale also died as a result of being hit by a large ship.

Associated Press via SFist

heaven is a place where nothing ever happens

To whom it may concern:

This is to certify, That I have found the Key To all Existance. And all I ask of any one Is for them to read What I am about to say. Because it is not my purpose to tell What you already know. And consequently the proof Shall follow and establish My work to make it law.

For the key to all existance Is the key to the Law By which all things Come into existance and therefore my word Is the key to that law to be verified by proof Listen therefore to what I say As follows:

The Moon Is practically all Water frozen or Ice It was formed By water evaporating From the earth Which arose and gathered Between the Earth and Sun It is hollow Like a pumpkin The inside is composed of that part of the air known as Nitrogen And very very cold Consequently its water is frozen.

If the crust of the moon Was removed, it would be a Sun bright enough To destroy the earth. There is no life upon the moon, but Without the moon There would be no life upon the earth.

Letters to Mount Wilson Observatory | Letter from Edward

I became a feminist as an alternative to becoming a masochist.

We believe the major causes of global environmental degradation are:

· Economic systems that exploit and misuse nature and people in the drive for short-term and short-sighted gains and profits.

· The rapid urbanization and poverty resulting from migration from rural areas and from inadequate planning and resource allocation in towns and cities.

· The displacement of small farmers and indigenous peoples by agribusiness, timber, mining, and energy corporations, often with encouragement and assistance from international financial institutions, and with the complicity of national governments.

· The disproportionate consumption patterns of the affluent the world over. Currently, the industrialized nations, with 22% of the world's population, consume 70% of the world's resources. Within the United States, deepening economic inequalities mean that the poor are consuming less, and the rich more.

· Technologies designed to exploit but not to restore natural resources.

· War making and arms production which divest resources from human needs, poison the natural environment and perpetuate the militarization of culture, encouraging violence against women.

Demographic variables can have an impact on the environment, but reducing population growth will not solve the above problems. In many countries, population growth rates have declined yet environmental conditions continue to deteriorate.

Moreover, blaming global environmental degradation on population growth helps to lay the groundwork for the re-emergence and intensification of top-down, demographically driven population policies and programs which are deeply disrespectful of women, particularly women of color and their children.

Women, Population & the Environment | Call For A New Approach

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Krinshnamurti

Most of what we feed to chickens, pigs, and other farmed animals—most of it is burned off, simply keeping the animals alive until they're slaughtered.

It's bizarre, really: You take a crop like soybeans, oats, corn, or wheat, which are all high in protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates but devoid of cholesterol and artery-clogging saturated fat. You feed them to an animal and create a product with no fiber or complex carbohydrates at all but with lots of cholesterol and saturated fat. It makes about as much sense as taking pure water, running it through a sewer system, and then drinking it.

Vegetarianism in a Nutshell: Environment

always remember

Legend tripping, also known as "ostension," is a name recently bestowed by folklorists and anthropologists on an adolescent practice (containing elements of a rite of passage) in which a usually furtive nocturnal pilgrimage is made to a site which is alleged to have been the scene of some tragic, horrific, and possibly supernatural event or haunting. The practice has been documented most thoroughly to date in the United States, though there can be little doubt that it occurs in many other countries and cultures.

Wikipedia | Legend Tripping

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

who are we in the way we can see ourselves

"Since people are going to be living longer and getting older, they'll just have to learn how to be babies longer." - Andy Warhol

“‘Harvey Milk Gay Day’ would teach schoolchildren the very controversial values of Harvey Milk,” Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, a self-described pro-family organization, said in a statement.

“Based on the historical record of Milk’s sordid life, this could include teaching elementary and secondary schoolchildren that adult-child homosexual ‘sex’ is OK, having multiple sexual relationships at the same time is OK...”

Writers of the bill hope that students will be required to participate in “exercises remembering the life of Harvey Milk, recognizing his accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to this state,” the bill read.

Thomasson said the organization was concerned such “exercises” would include “gay-pride parades on campus, cross-dressing exercises, and mock gay weddings.”

The Daily Pilot | Board of Education Opposes Harvey Milk Day

...yeah, Harving Milk Day promotes the "gay lifestyle" just like how Martin Luther King Day encourages kids to live a black lifestyle. Y'know, cause acting out stereotypes is how we honor people who were assassinated for fighting for civil rights.

"Few people have the imagination for reality." - Goethe

Senator Al Franken tears the living shit out of a Halliburton/KBR lawyer over imprisonment after gang-rape coverup.

"A civilization is destroyed only when its gods are destroyed." - Cioran

Layer after layer of comprehension

Regretsy [Some content NSFW]

who wouldn't do that, do that

Wound Man is an illustration which first appeared in European surgical texts in the Middle Ages. It laid out schematically the various wounds a person might suffer in battle or in accidents, often with surrounding or accompanying text stating treatments for the various different injuries.

WIkipedia | Wound Man

don't you P-O-L-L-U-T-E pollute the river, sky, or sea or else you're gonna get what you deserve

How much cheese is too much? And what about the shampoo caps? Do I have to flatten the cardboard? And really, why no broken glass? These are the kinds of questions that freeze well-meaning recyclers in confusion between the blue bin and the trash can.

To get to the bottom of these mysteries, I checked in with the head of Los Angeles’s Solid Resource Citywide Recycling Division, Neil Guglielmo, who may be one of the few people in America who actually knows how much cheese is too much. Paper and cardboard, Neil says, do in fact need to be clean. “If it had a sandwich on it and you knock off the crumbs, that’s OK. If it had stuck-on lasagna, it can’t be recovered.” Ditto the pizza box.” Both will end up in a landfill. As for unflattened cardboard, it will get recycled, but it hogs a lot of unnecessary space in the truck. And broken glass? It shatters into pieces that are impossible to sort.

The trouble with that oozing Aveda bottle is that “it all goes into a big truck, and that smushes this nasty stuff” with the nice clean paper. Neil suggests that you rinse out the bottle once or twice and replace the cap. (Yes, to caps!) And yes, a bottle with a small lake of rosemary-mint shampoo in the bottom will still be recycled, but before that happens, the government has to use our taxes to wash it for you.

GOOD | Ask An Expert: What Happens When Non-recyclables End Up in the Blue Bin?

Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology, ain't got time to make no apology

Hockey open w/ Polar Bear from Fairbanks, Alaska for the UAF Nanooks AKA "The Alaska Nanooks". This is the intended directors cut with the original music choice, rejected by the UAF people for being "too '80s" as if there is such a thing.

∆ difference ∆ change

Their theory is simple. Where diseases are common, individuals are mean to strangers. Strangers may carry new diseases and so one would do best to avoid them. When people avoid strangers—those outside the tribe—communication among tribes breaks down. That breakdown allows peoples, through time, to become more different.

Differences accumulate until in places with more diseases, for example Nigeria or Brazil, there are more cultures and languages. Sweden, for example, has few diseases and only 15 languages; Ghana, which is a similar size, has many diseases and 89 languages. Cultural diversity is, in this view, a consequence of disease. [...]

Fincher and colleagues tested their theories by simply looking at whether there were consistent patterns in how cultural practices vary among regions of the world, and whether the prevalence of disease varies in a similar way. Are the places with the most diseases also the most xenophobic? Yes, they found.