"Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense." - Carl Sagan
***
Got a spam email: "will you come to canton fair?" Was tempted to reply: "star anise, cloves, ginger and sichuan pepper"
Someone in it on NIE: "women or men, this place is an obvious dumping ground"
"Power, sex. Sex, Power. They both come down to one thing, fucking others"
"If the Westboro Baptist Church pickets your funeral, you've probably done something good with your life"
RT @kellyoxford Cain, Perry, Bachmann all claimed God told them to run for President, and all are out of the race. God is hilarious.
"It is there whether you like it or not. You are in the game whether you play or not. You either play or you are a victim" (this was on corporate politics but can apply elsewhere too)
If everything is urgent, nothing is. (failing which, another of my aphorisms: "urgent" means someone is going to die)
[On Victor Mair's Classical Chinese class] "first class he walked in and promptly announced his prediction that half of the 10 people sitting in the room would drop the class by the first two weeks. He underestimated.
"if you think you can do well in this class because you're fluent in mandarin, you're wrong. this is a completely different language. the words don't mean the same, don't sound the same, don't look the same. the grammar doesn't work the same way. you will be learning from complete scratch". i kinda think he took sadistic pleasure in disappointing the students"
Yew Tee sounds horrible in Chinese. 油池 (oil pool)
Is talking about "Crimes of Opportunity" and how to prevent them Victim Blaming?
I was wondering whether it was appropriate to call females blur cocks, and someone pointed out a word already existed: "bimbo", but that it "may be deemed inappropriate by more sensitive members of the opposite gender"
"Unwanted pregnancies are not the root cause of abortion. That is like saying an unwanted baby is the root cause of killing the baby"
RT @BB_See: If a man hits a woman he's a monster. If a woman cuts a man's penis off it must be something the man did. #equality
I doubt anyone - least of all AWARE (I checked the website and couldn't find anything) - makes noise about male MOE teachers not being allowed to bring students overseas alone. Ironically this policy can hurt the students it is presumably meant to "protect" - for activities like mountain climbing it can be very hard to find female teachers to go along (one solution is to get female alumni to fill the role of female chapeone). Ahh male privilege!
Comment on a ST Forum letter: "men typically speak for greater good while human rights to women seems to mean only their own rights" (commenting on the self-ghettoisation of female activists; for example of the 3 Nobel Peace Prize winners in 2011 [all female], 2 used a female perspective (as opposed to a universalist one).
"If we break up he must give me the house..even prostitutes get paid" "you don't give full service"
"If I hit 30 & I'm not married I'm going to give up"
Me on the Joint Singles Scheme: "35 is a good age to give up..the government gives up on you"
[28 year old girl on dating older men] "We hate all the girls 5-6 years younger than us, but the girls 5-6 years older than us hate us"
RT @avalon: @gssq U sound so WISE I thought u r a sagely 30+ man with lotsa wisely charms...
RT: @ItsAYYSIAN: If strippers are now called exotic dancers then drug dealers should be called exotic pharmacist.
RT: @LANDEYves: Les tweets les plus hilarants sont ceux qui critiquent le capitalisme et dénoncent le travail d'enfants en Chine « via Twitter for iPhone ».
RT: @Isaamia: -Papa y a quoi entre les jambes de maman?
-Le paradis
-Et entre les tiennes?
-Les clefs du paradis
-Bah change les, le voisin a les doubles!
It's telling that there're more Google hits for "Du tiers-monde a la prosperite" than "Du tiers-monde à la prosperité"
L'origine de Bert
Friday, February 10, 2012
On substantiating one's points
"Rules are just helpful guidelines for stupid people who can't make up their own minds." - Seth Hoffman
***
From Case #1: Shakesville vs. Penny Arcade and “Rape Culture” « Compromises For Assholes:
"Shakesville:
1. You should substantiate your argument that this concept exists for real, with data. I shared the graph about how rape is becoming more rare while violence in popular culture and access to porn is going up, and got this graphic in reply:
Very droll indeed, but unfortunately for people who are not you, conversing with someone who is asking to make sweeping cultural changes but can offer only personal anecdotes that loosely illustrate why their changes are so urgently needed is rather tedious. I, for example, wish that Larry the Cable Guy was not allowed to perform comedy because I believe he makes people stupid. But I don’t have any evidence of it, so I basically keep that one to myself. Especially when I’m actually speaking to Larry the Cable Guy."
Related:
From Derailing for Dummies:
"You're Arguing With Opinions Not Fact
If you really want to excel as a Privileged Person® you need to learn to value data, statistics, research studies and empirical evidence above all things, but especially above Lived Experience©.
You can pretend you are oblivious to the fact most studies have been carried out by Privileged People® and therefore carry inherent biases, and insist that the Marginalised Person™ produce “Evidence” of what they‘re claiming.
Their Lived Experience© does not count as evidence, for it is subjective and therefore worthless.
This is very important because it works in two ways: 1) it communicates to the Marginalised Person™ that their personal testament is disbelieved and of no value, causing them great hurt; and 2) it once again reinforces your privilege.
You see, the very capacity to conduct studies, collect data and write detached “fact-based” reports on it, is an inherently privileged activity. The ability to widely access this material and research it exhaustively is also inherently privileged. Privileged People® find it easier to pursue these avenues than Marginalised People™ and so once again you are reminding them you possess this privilege and reinforcing that the world at large values a system of analysis that excludes them, and values it over what their actual personal experience has been.
The process of valuing “fact” over “opinion” is one very much rooted in preserving privilege. Through this methodology, the continued pain and othering of millions of people can be ignored because it’s supported by “opinion” (emotion) and not “fact” (rationality).
It is also important because it calls on the Marginalised Person™ to do something that is simply impossible, and that is summate the entirety of their group’s experiences into a definitive example. It is important that you establish this precedent for the next couple of steps."
When evidence is actually seen as a bad thing, there really is no point talking anymore.
***
From Case #1: Shakesville vs. Penny Arcade and “Rape Culture” « Compromises For Assholes:
"Shakesville:
1. You should substantiate your argument that this concept exists for real, with data. I shared the graph about how rape is becoming more rare while violence in popular culture and access to porn is going up, and got this graphic in reply:
Very droll indeed, but unfortunately for people who are not you, conversing with someone who is asking to make sweeping cultural changes but can offer only personal anecdotes that loosely illustrate why their changes are so urgently needed is rather tedious. I, for example, wish that Larry the Cable Guy was not allowed to perform comedy because I believe he makes people stupid. But I don’t have any evidence of it, so I basically keep that one to myself. Especially when I’m actually speaking to Larry the Cable Guy."
Related:
From Derailing for Dummies:
"You're Arguing With Opinions Not Fact
If you really want to excel as a Privileged Person® you need to learn to value data, statistics, research studies and empirical evidence above all things, but especially above Lived Experience©.
You can pretend you are oblivious to the fact most studies have been carried out by Privileged People® and therefore carry inherent biases, and insist that the Marginalised Person™ produce “Evidence” of what they‘re claiming.
Their Lived Experience© does not count as evidence, for it is subjective and therefore worthless.
This is very important because it works in two ways: 1) it communicates to the Marginalised Person™ that their personal testament is disbelieved and of no value, causing them great hurt; and 2) it once again reinforces your privilege.
You see, the very capacity to conduct studies, collect data and write detached “fact-based” reports on it, is an inherently privileged activity. The ability to widely access this material and research it exhaustively is also inherently privileged. Privileged People® find it easier to pursue these avenues than Marginalised People™ and so once again you are reminding them you possess this privilege and reinforcing that the world at large values a system of analysis that excludes them, and values it over what their actual personal experience has been.
The process of valuing “fact” over “opinion” is one very much rooted in preserving privilege. Through this methodology, the continued pain and othering of millions of people can be ignored because it’s supported by “opinion” (emotion) and not “fact” (rationality).
It is also important because it calls on the Marginalised Person™ to do something that is simply impossible, and that is summate the entirety of their group’s experiences into a definitive example. It is important that you establish this precedent for the next couple of steps."
When evidence is actually seen as a bad thing, there really is no point talking anymore.
Post ID: 4929033881855663718
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Female Poses
"What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it?" - Doctor Who
***
***
Post ID: 948527193189297864
Paradoxes and Contradictions of the Singaporean Life
"I am at two with nature." - Woody Allen
***
Bizarre Behaviour of Singaporeans – Observed By a German permanent resident
"- observations made by a German national who has lived in Singapore for 9 years.
44 years of economic and material success have spawned some very strange behaviours among Singaporeans.
They spent so much to buy a house or flat, furnished it up like a palace, but spent their time outside, most of the time at work. And the maids are the ones enjoying the million-dollar or multi-million-dollar assets..
Then they pay so much, the highest in the world, for a car only to park at home. Too expensive to drive, too many ERPs and car park charges to pay. And they are encouraged to park their cars at home and take public transport, being cheaper and more convenient.
And when Singaporeans travel, instead of seeing the places, they went shopping. The best part is that they would head for the cheapest bargains, buying stuff that they could get in Chinatown or pasar malam, at even cheaper prices. But they are still happy that they got a bargain.
And while the heartlanders are busy trying to make a life here, being told to bust off if they are not happy, which they could not, the rich and presumably very happy and contented citizens are buying up properties overseas just in case they need to make that escape from this paradise.
While many Singaporeans are thinking of jumping ship, or preparing to jump ship, hoards of new immigrants are rushing in to take their place in this paradise.
And to top it all up, they keep complaining about the govt and all the policies that they found unpalatable, but come every election, they will vote and return the govt to power.
Strange Singaporean behaviours!"
***
Bizarre Behaviour of Singaporeans – Observed By a German permanent resident
"- observations made by a German national who has lived in Singapore for 9 years.
44 years of economic and material success have spawned some very strange behaviours among Singaporeans.
They spent so much to buy a house or flat, furnished it up like a palace, but spent their time outside, most of the time at work. And the maids are the ones enjoying the million-dollar or multi-million-dollar assets..
Then they pay so much, the highest in the world, for a car only to park at home. Too expensive to drive, too many ERPs and car park charges to pay. And they are encouraged to park their cars at home and take public transport, being cheaper and more convenient.
And when Singaporeans travel, instead of seeing the places, they went shopping. The best part is that they would head for the cheapest bargains, buying stuff that they could get in Chinatown or pasar malam, at even cheaper prices. But they are still happy that they got a bargain.
And while the heartlanders are busy trying to make a life here, being told to bust off if they are not happy, which they could not, the rich and presumably very happy and contented citizens are buying up properties overseas just in case they need to make that escape from this paradise.
While many Singaporeans are thinking of jumping ship, or preparing to jump ship, hoards of new immigrants are rushing in to take their place in this paradise.
And to top it all up, they keep complaining about the govt and all the policies that they found unpalatable, but come every election, they will vote and return the govt to power.
Strange Singaporean behaviours!"
Post ID: 9163917453786176252
Links - 9th February 2012
"Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science." - Henri Poincare
***
FT launches first major HTML5 mobile news app - "Assanka firmly believes that the craze for native apps is a short one and we are already seeing it on the wane. Native apps, which need to be distributed via a proprietary app store controlled by an operator or device manufacturer, also suffer from being restricted to the platform for which they are built, necessitating an almost complete rewrite for each different platform. Maintaining separate, functionally equivalent apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry OS6, Playbook, WebOS AND Windows Phone is an expensive and time consuming business, something that major publishers realise only too well. Native apps have other limitations too. Web technology has matured over 15 years to provide a rich set of tools for making web applications that are open, accessible and linkable. The very ethos of web development is that it is fundamentally an open platform, inviting integration, connecting, linking and sharing of information. Native apps construct a silo around themselves and operate in their own artificially constructed world. Everything in that world may be beautiful and the user experience may be dazzling, but the value is locked into that container."
The Inheritance of Education — Marginal Revolution - "Higher parental income predicts higher child income but only for biological children and not for adoptees. Now what about education?... 'Having a college educated mother increases an adoptee's probability of graduating from college by 7 percentage points, but raises a biological child's probability of graduating from college by 26 percentage points.' The effect for father's years of education is even larger... Similarly, parent income has a negligible effect, small and not statistically significant, on an adoptee completing college but an 8 times larger and statistically significant effect on a biological child completing college"
The only convincing criticism I had previously come across of adoption studies is that adopted parents are not the same as parents in the general population, since they are screened to not be psychotic and otherwise be not unsuitable parents. However I have just been made aware of this further finding, so the findings of adoption studies are indeed very generalisable
Did The Media Treat Bachmann Unfairly Because She's An Insane Woman? | Onion News Network - "'Is Bachmann treated differently because she's a woman with a frighteningly apparent psychological instability?'
'Oh, I don't think there's any question. Every time she says something that's objectively bizarre about how God told her to adopt two dozen children, or how same sex marriage is the number one threat to this country, the press jumps down her throat"
Acura is actually a real brand!
“‘We Hate Math,’ Say 4 in 10 — a Majority of Americans”
Judge Orders Florida Man To Take His Wife on a Date - "Just in time for Valentine's Day, a Florida judge ruled on Tuesday that a man involved in a scuffle with his wife treat her to an evening at a local bowling alley and a romantic meal at Red Lobster"
Nick Patrick - Did Americans in 1776 have British accents? - "Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet diverged. That’s not too surprising. What’s surprising, though, is that those accents were much closer to today’s American accents than to today’s British accents. While both have changed over time, it’s actually British accents that have changed much more drastically since then."
BBC tells its staff: don’t call Qatada extremist - "n order to avoid making a “value judgment”, the corporation’s managers have ruled that he can only be described as “radical”. Journalists were also cautioned against using images suggesting the preacher is overweight... A British court has called Qatada a “truly dangerous individual” and even his defence team has suggested he poses a “grave risk” to national security... “Given the evidence about this man, it makes you wonder what you have to do for the BBC to call you an extremist”"
Man jailed for indecent acts on underage sister-in-law - "The teen was diagnosed with herpes and doctors at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital also discovered that her hymen was not intact. A police report was made"
I thought they had moved beyond the idea of First Blood
New breed of 'piranha women' who are preying on rich men to get them pregnant - "'Marriage doesn’t seem to have the same resonance it once had. Instead women want a baby. Babies are becoming a lot more fashionable – they are becoming trophies. For some women having a baby is a career move. They are paid to stay at home and look after their baby. It is a meal ticket for the next 18 years of their life.’ Mrs Benussi runs a large matrimonial law firm in Birmingham specialising in high-value divorce cases and has over 30 years’ experience. Last night she warned how a one-night stand or fling could leave men with a long-term financial hangover if it leads to pregnancy... she does not put the blame solely on the woman. She added: ‘Any man that has unprotected sex is stupid. He is asking for a big dent in the pocket’" Victim blaming! On the upside I've finally found out where "RAW IS WAR" came from
Is online dating destroying love? - "In the hypermarket of desire, as in a large Tesco's breakfast cereal aisle, it's almost impossible to choose... "Charming, sporty, generous, funny, 'no mind games', good-looking, sensual ... They practically guarantee you'll be on cloud nine." When everyone is presenting themselves as practically perfect in every way... "Dates are not about sitting in the room and interviewing each other about questions; they're often about experiencing something together in the real world"... in the new millennium a new leisure activity emerged. It was called sex and we'd never had it so good... it had nothing to do with marriage, monogamy or motherhood but was devoted to enjoyment, to that scarcely translatable (but fun-sounding) French word jouissance... In a sense, though, sex and love are opposites. One is something that could (but perhaps shouldn't) be exchanged for money or non-financial favours; the other is that which resists being reduced to economic parameters... in the new world of speed dating, online dating and social networking, the overwhelming idea is to have short, sharp engagements that involve minimal commitment and maximal pleasure... Kaufman's utopia, then, involves a new concept he calls tentatively LoveSex (which sounds like an old Prince album, but let's not hold that against him). Kaufmann suggests that we have to reverse out of the cul de sac of sex for sex's sake and recombine it with love once more to make our experiences less chilly but also less clouded by romantic illusions. "We have to discover ways of loving on a strictly temporary basis.""
The mystery woman involved with ex-SCDF, CNB chiefs - "According to a report in the Lianhe Wanbao, the female IT executive is an attractive divorcee in her 40s, with two children, a boy and a girl, while a report by the Straits Times puts her age at 36, with no mention of her being divorced. The same report has friends and contacts describing her as tall, slim, long-haired and vivacious. Petite with long hair and big eyes, she is said to have the nickname 'pretty woman'"
Nickname FAIL!
Flirt with losing your reputation - ""She was wearing a miniskirt with a very low cut top and seemed to be soaked in perfume," he says. "Not only was she very pushy with the sales talk, she even sat on the meeting table with her legs crossed and kept touching her thighs... He then called the supplier and told them to send another sales representative. They sent a man at the rescheduled meeting. He maintains that he did not misread the signals because "she was on the meeting table". He adds that the difference with men in selling is that they focus on technical details and not on body language... "The men in the company know what they're selling and how to sell it convincingly"... Says Michelle, who is single: "Of course, like any other industry, there's harmless flirting once you're more comfortable with the clients""
The (real) secret to hot sex - "They want spontaneity. Well, you know? You can’t have that. How many 40-year-olds who have any sort of a life do anything spontaneously? I mean, look at you and I, we wanted to have a conversation and we had to plan it. We didn’t say, you know, when you’re in the mood, give me a call. This yearning for spontaneity is so poignant, because what people are really saying is, ” I yearn for the uncomplicated life that I used to have where sexuality was at my disposal 24 hours a day, rain or shine”... Most people who want to know what’s sexually normal, they’re not going to use that information in a wholesome way. Most people want to know what’s sexually normal so that they can compare themselves or their mate to that standard... if you want to know what’s statistically common when it come to sex, as I say in the book, it’s that people have sex when they’re tired and when they feel self-conscious about their bodies."
Flavorwire » Movies Banned in Foreign Countries for Weird Reasons - "Any movie featuring time travel, banned in China (2011)
We could probably fill up this whole list with weird things that China has forbidden in cinema, but what really takes the cake is their ban on “fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions, fatalism and reincarnation, ambiguous moral lessons, and even a lack of positive thinking.”"
The Komen fiasco: How to drive Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business. - "If you want to put Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business, what should you do with your money? The answer is: Give it to Planned Parenthood... What happens when you provide condoms and contraceptive services? Women who don’t want to get pregnant don’t get pregnant. Which means fewer women are in the market for abortions. The abortion business dries up... the proportion of women living under liberal abortion laws is inversely associated with the abortion rate in the subregions of the world"
Uninvited kiss lands man in jail
Francis Ngien Tai Ho's 2 weeks jail for kissing a girl's hand was bad enough. This guy got 6 months for adding a shoulder grab to the kiss. Again, you won't hear AWARE or feminists talking about this
***
FT launches first major HTML5 mobile news app - "Assanka firmly believes that the craze for native apps is a short one and we are already seeing it on the wane. Native apps, which need to be distributed via a proprietary app store controlled by an operator or device manufacturer, also suffer from being restricted to the platform for which they are built, necessitating an almost complete rewrite for each different platform. Maintaining separate, functionally equivalent apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry OS6, Playbook, WebOS AND Windows Phone is an expensive and time consuming business, something that major publishers realise only too well. Native apps have other limitations too. Web technology has matured over 15 years to provide a rich set of tools for making web applications that are open, accessible and linkable. The very ethos of web development is that it is fundamentally an open platform, inviting integration, connecting, linking and sharing of information. Native apps construct a silo around themselves and operate in their own artificially constructed world. Everything in that world may be beautiful and the user experience may be dazzling, but the value is locked into that container."
The Inheritance of Education — Marginal Revolution - "Higher parental income predicts higher child income but only for biological children and not for adoptees. Now what about education?... 'Having a college educated mother increases an adoptee's probability of graduating from college by 7 percentage points, but raises a biological child's probability of graduating from college by 26 percentage points.' The effect for father's years of education is even larger... Similarly, parent income has a negligible effect, small and not statistically significant, on an adoptee completing college but an 8 times larger and statistically significant effect on a biological child completing college"
The only convincing criticism I had previously come across of adoption studies is that adopted parents are not the same as parents in the general population, since they are screened to not be psychotic and otherwise be not unsuitable parents. However I have just been made aware of this further finding, so the findings of adoption studies are indeed very generalisable
Did The Media Treat Bachmann Unfairly Because She's An Insane Woman? | Onion News Network - "'Is Bachmann treated differently because she's a woman with a frighteningly apparent psychological instability?'
'Oh, I don't think there's any question. Every time she says something that's objectively bizarre about how God told her to adopt two dozen children, or how same sex marriage is the number one threat to this country, the press jumps down her throat"
Acura is actually a real brand!
“‘We Hate Math,’ Say 4 in 10 — a Majority of Americans”
Judge Orders Florida Man To Take His Wife on a Date - "Just in time for Valentine's Day, a Florida judge ruled on Tuesday that a man involved in a scuffle with his wife treat her to an evening at a local bowling alley and a romantic meal at Red Lobster"
Nick Patrick - Did Americans in 1776 have British accents? - "Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet diverged. That’s not too surprising. What’s surprising, though, is that those accents were much closer to today’s American accents than to today’s British accents. While both have changed over time, it’s actually British accents that have changed much more drastically since then."
BBC tells its staff: don’t call Qatada extremist - "n order to avoid making a “value judgment”, the corporation’s managers have ruled that he can only be described as “radical”. Journalists were also cautioned against using images suggesting the preacher is overweight... A British court has called Qatada a “truly dangerous individual” and even his defence team has suggested he poses a “grave risk” to national security... “Given the evidence about this man, it makes you wonder what you have to do for the BBC to call you an extremist”"
Man jailed for indecent acts on underage sister-in-law - "The teen was diagnosed with herpes and doctors at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital also discovered that her hymen was not intact. A police report was made"
I thought they had moved beyond the idea of First Blood
New breed of 'piranha women' who are preying on rich men to get them pregnant - "'Marriage doesn’t seem to have the same resonance it once had. Instead women want a baby. Babies are becoming a lot more fashionable – they are becoming trophies. For some women having a baby is a career move. They are paid to stay at home and look after their baby. It is a meal ticket for the next 18 years of their life.’ Mrs Benussi runs a large matrimonial law firm in Birmingham specialising in high-value divorce cases and has over 30 years’ experience. Last night she warned how a one-night stand or fling could leave men with a long-term financial hangover if it leads to pregnancy... she does not put the blame solely on the woman. She added: ‘Any man that has unprotected sex is stupid. He is asking for a big dent in the pocket’" Victim blaming! On the upside I've finally found out where "RAW IS WAR" came from
Is online dating destroying love? - "In the hypermarket of desire, as in a large Tesco's breakfast cereal aisle, it's almost impossible to choose... "Charming, sporty, generous, funny, 'no mind games', good-looking, sensual ... They practically guarantee you'll be on cloud nine." When everyone is presenting themselves as practically perfect in every way... "Dates are not about sitting in the room and interviewing each other about questions; they're often about experiencing something together in the real world"... in the new millennium a new leisure activity emerged. It was called sex and we'd never had it so good... it had nothing to do with marriage, monogamy or motherhood but was devoted to enjoyment, to that scarcely translatable (but fun-sounding) French word jouissance... In a sense, though, sex and love are opposites. One is something that could (but perhaps shouldn't) be exchanged for money or non-financial favours; the other is that which resists being reduced to economic parameters... in the new world of speed dating, online dating and social networking, the overwhelming idea is to have short, sharp engagements that involve minimal commitment and maximal pleasure... Kaufman's utopia, then, involves a new concept he calls tentatively LoveSex (which sounds like an old Prince album, but let's not hold that against him). Kaufmann suggests that we have to reverse out of the cul de sac of sex for sex's sake and recombine it with love once more to make our experiences less chilly but also less clouded by romantic illusions. "We have to discover ways of loving on a strictly temporary basis.""
The mystery woman involved with ex-SCDF, CNB chiefs - "According to a report in the Lianhe Wanbao, the female IT executive is an attractive divorcee in her 40s, with two children, a boy and a girl, while a report by the Straits Times puts her age at 36, with no mention of her being divorced. The same report has friends and contacts describing her as tall, slim, long-haired and vivacious. Petite with long hair and big eyes, she is said to have the nickname 'pretty woman'"
Nickname FAIL!
Flirt with losing your reputation - ""She was wearing a miniskirt with a very low cut top and seemed to be soaked in perfume," he says. "Not only was she very pushy with the sales talk, she even sat on the meeting table with her legs crossed and kept touching her thighs... He then called the supplier and told them to send another sales representative. They sent a man at the rescheduled meeting. He maintains that he did not misread the signals because "she was on the meeting table". He adds that the difference with men in selling is that they focus on technical details and not on body language... "The men in the company know what they're selling and how to sell it convincingly"... Says Michelle, who is single: "Of course, like any other industry, there's harmless flirting once you're more comfortable with the clients""
The (real) secret to hot sex - "They want spontaneity. Well, you know? You can’t have that. How many 40-year-olds who have any sort of a life do anything spontaneously? I mean, look at you and I, we wanted to have a conversation and we had to plan it. We didn’t say, you know, when you’re in the mood, give me a call. This yearning for spontaneity is so poignant, because what people are really saying is, ” I yearn for the uncomplicated life that I used to have where sexuality was at my disposal 24 hours a day, rain or shine”... Most people who want to know what’s sexually normal, they’re not going to use that information in a wholesome way. Most people want to know what’s sexually normal so that they can compare themselves or their mate to that standard... if you want to know what’s statistically common when it come to sex, as I say in the book, it’s that people have sex when they’re tired and when they feel self-conscious about their bodies."
Flavorwire » Movies Banned in Foreign Countries for Weird Reasons - "Any movie featuring time travel, banned in China (2011)
We could probably fill up this whole list with weird things that China has forbidden in cinema, but what really takes the cake is their ban on “fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions, fatalism and reincarnation, ambiguous moral lessons, and even a lack of positive thinking.”"
The Komen fiasco: How to drive Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business. - "If you want to put Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business, what should you do with your money? The answer is: Give it to Planned Parenthood... What happens when you provide condoms and contraceptive services? Women who don’t want to get pregnant don’t get pregnant. Which means fewer women are in the market for abortions. The abortion business dries up... the proportion of women living under liberal abortion laws is inversely associated with the abortion rate in the subregions of the world"
Uninvited kiss lands man in jail
Francis Ngien Tai Ho's 2 weeks jail for kissing a girl's hand was bad enough. This guy got 6 months for adding a shoulder grab to the kiss. Again, you won't hear AWARE or feminists talking about this
Post ID: 7974046477666340092
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
France/Spain 2011 - Day 12, Part 3 - Santiago Cathedral
"It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars." - Arthur C. Clarke
***
France/Spain 2011
Day 12 - 28th March - Santiago Cathedral (Part 3)
After the cathedral museum, I entered the cathedral proper.
I was going to visit the roof, which was recommended by a guide book. At first I was tricked by a sign - it said "16-20" (post-siesta opening hours). The rope across what I took to be the entrance door (the entrance was actually to the side) and the people coming away disappointed also aided in misleading me, so I read it to mean "closing at 16:20". In any event this was not an issue since tours were booked for the rest of the day (Monday), as well as the next, and the next opening was on Wednesday at 4pm. Anyhow from photos it looks quite nice.
Gazing up at the cathedral front. The facade is Hindu-ish.
Nave
The interior was surprisingly plain - and they didn't have the French Revolution, the Reformation, the Italian Wars or the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Pillar
Pillar in context
The pillars and nave are Baroque, but the inside is Romanesque.
There were also the relics of St James. Signs reminded one not to take photos and hold up traffic so I waited till it was empty.
SMS a candle opposite relics
Chapel
A door
Closer view of door
Some other chapel
Back view of altar
This is probably the Virgin flanked by saints. At first I thought she was stepping on Moors' heads, but they look too angelic.
Another chapel
Tomb, side
More detail of tomb
Entrance to a chapel
Chapel interior
Plan of chapel
Altar
Altar
Closeup
Side of nave
Side of nave
Nave
Side portal
One woman was taking confession while kneeling, with the door open and looking at the priest. Perhaps she didn't value her privacy.
No candles in the church.
No photos also but everyone was merrily snapping away and no one was saying anything. One woman crossed herself with one hand - and a camera in the other. So if it was alright for the devout...
Doors and explanatory plaques for carvings. One of the plaques is for the door earlier (with the caption "Closer view of door")
Nave again
I think this was my first time seeing a chandelier in a cathedral.
Organs. Not one but two.
Quite what St James is doing is hidden by the flowers, but a closer look reveals that he is... killing Moors (the turbaned ones are especially hidden - the most visible victim is perhaps a traitor). Notice that SMS-a-candle is at the side.
Chapel
Icon detail
Souvenir coins were 3€ for 1. I put in 3€ and 2 came out. I would've kept both but my coin fell into some stuff so one staff member came by to help (and take the other coin).
***
France/Spain 2011
Day 12 - 28th March - Santiago Cathedral (Part 3)
After the cathedral museum, I entered the cathedral proper.
I was going to visit the roof, which was recommended by a guide book. At first I was tricked by a sign - it said "16-20" (post-siesta opening hours). The rope across what I took to be the entrance door (the entrance was actually to the side) and the people coming away disappointed also aided in misleading me, so I read it to mean "closing at 16:20". In any event this was not an issue since tours were booked for the rest of the day (Monday), as well as the next, and the next opening was on Wednesday at 4pm. Anyhow from photos it looks quite nice.
Gazing up at the cathedral front. The facade is Hindu-ish.
Nave
The interior was surprisingly plain - and they didn't have the French Revolution, the Reformation, the Italian Wars or the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Pillar
Pillar in context
The pillars and nave are Baroque, but the inside is Romanesque.
There were also the relics of St James. Signs reminded one not to take photos and hold up traffic so I waited till it was empty.
SMS a candle opposite relics
Chapel
A door
Closer view of door
Some other chapel
Back view of altar
This is probably the Virgin flanked by saints. At first I thought she was stepping on Moors' heads, but they look too angelic.
Another chapel
Tomb, side
More detail of tomb
Entrance to a chapel
Chapel interior
Plan of chapel
Altar
Altar
Closeup
Side of nave
Side of nave
Nave
Side portal
One woman was taking confession while kneeling, with the door open and looking at the priest. Perhaps she didn't value her privacy.
No candles in the church.
No photos also but everyone was merrily snapping away and no one was saying anything. One woman crossed herself with one hand - and a camera in the other. So if it was alright for the devout...
Doors and explanatory plaques for carvings. One of the plaques is for the door earlier (with the caption "Closer view of door")
Nave again
I think this was my first time seeing a chandelier in a cathedral.
Organs. Not one but two.
Quite what St James is doing is hidden by the flowers, but a closer look reveals that he is... killing Moors (the turbaned ones are especially hidden - the most visible victim is perhaps a traitor). Notice that SMS-a-candle is at the side.
Chapel
Icon detail
Souvenir coins were 3€ for 1. I put in 3€ and 2 came out. I would've kept both but my coin fell into some stuff so one staff member came by to help (and take the other coin).
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