Links - 6th October 2013

“No one who has something original or important to say will willingly run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either unskilled in writing or up to mischief.” - Peter Medawar

Down with Hegel!

***

In Socrates' Wake: More advice to students: How to write a #$%* essay - "Always begin your essay along these lines: “Since the very dawn of time the problem of free will has been considered by many of the greatest and deepest thinkers in history.”"

Rise of male student support groups sparks row at British universities - "Male students are "manning-up", setting up men's groups to celebrate and explore the concept of masculinity amid accusations of sexism and gender stereotyping. Manchester University has created the first official MENS Society – Masculinity Exploring Networking and Support – despite outrage from critics who claim the existence of such a group undermines women's ability to speak out for equality... Men, who could feel pressured to "man-up" in a mixed gender environment, might feel less vulnerable discussing such issues in a male-only setting."
It's telling that feminists are such noisy critics of these

Twitter Bios and What They Really Say - NYTimes.com - "The Twitter bio is a postmodern art form, an opportunity in 160 characters or fewer to cleverly synopsize one’s professional and personal accomplishments, along with a carefully edited non sequitur or two. It lets the famous and the anonymous, athletes and accountants, surreal Dadaists and suburban dads alike demonstrate that they are special snowflakes with Wes Anderson-worthy quirks."

20 of the world's most clever Twitter bios - "As I scoured the Twitterverse for the most clever bios, I also found some pretty bad ones, too! But they are also funny in their own strange way. I don’t want to embarass anyone so I’ve removed the handles, but I couldn’t resist some of these clunkers:
- Fascinated by transactional nature of counterknowledge & public discourse in socially mediated spaces which simulate (but don’t engender) counter-public spheres"

Chinese give teachers most respect: survey - "Chinese respect teachers the most, while Singapore gives them the best salary, according to a latest survey... China is the only country where the majority rank teachers as holding the same social status as doctors. Over 70 percent of Chinese respondents believe students respect their teachers... About 50 percent of the respondents in China said they would encourage their child to become a teacher."

Scheduling Sex: The Secret to a Passionate Marriage? - "To practice Personal Integrity in your relationship, you are probably going to have to schedule sex, or at least commit to it X times per week. My husband and I have two young children and we both work more than full time, and yet we still promise each other that we will have sex twice per week. Sex is after all what distinguishes our relationship from a really good friendship. We honor that commitment, to differentiate our relationship, no matter what. Just to make sure we do, we have designed a "consequence" that we pay if we break our commitment: the next time we have sex, we have to have it outside of our warm, comfy bed. For some of you, this may be exciting, but I happen to love my cozy bed. What consequence would work well for you?"

Alleged pimp forced 15-year-old to have sex with 10 men a day in ‘high-end’ Richmond, B.C., apartment, court hears - "Mr. Moazami, now 29, would also bring around to various apartments a long-haired Chihuahua named Gucci. The dog was meant for the girls’ enjoyment, and as a manipulative device, according to witness testimonies. When the girls didn’t fall into line, he would hit the dog, step on its neck, threaten to kill it, court has heard."

22 Words | How to make people think you have a girlfriend with your right hand and Instagram [10 pics]

Read Sinead O'Connor's searing open letter to Miley Cyrus - "

You also said in Rolling Stone that your look is based on mine. The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done. I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 yrs of age.. which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality, end up on when they reach middle age. Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you... it’s sending dangerous signals to other young women. Please in future say no when you are asked to prostitute yourself. Your body is for you and your boyfriend. It isn’t for every spunk-spewing dirtbag on the net, or every greedy record company executive to buy his mistresses diamonds with."
Comment: "Slut shaming, really? Do you even understand that term? Why don't you read some feminist literature besides Jezebel before you "pretend" to be PC and know what your talking about."

Who Takes the Lead Hand? Correlates of Handholding Position in Lesbian Couples - Journal of Homosexuality - "When couples hold hands, one partner must take the lead hand and the other the following hand position. As potential correlates or predictors of handholding positions within lesbian couples, we explored differences in height, age, income, who initiated the relationship, who usually initiates sexual intimacy, previous history of partnership with a male, and who has the most “say” in decision-making. Our data revealed only two significant variables: the taller partner was more likely to have the lead hand, and a woman who had previously been partnered with a male was more likely to take the trailing hand position."
There's a journal of homosexuality?

Real vampire website: Get turned into a vampire - "To get turned into a vampire you need to do a simple exchange of blood with a vampire. Even just a 1/4 teaspoon of blood is more than enough blood to turn you into a vampire... being a vampire, and the ability for you to get turned into a vampire is caused by an endogenous retrovirus... Vampires are everywhere. You don't have to go to any specific place to find a vampire, even a grocery store can be used to find a vampire. If you know how to recognize a vampire when you see one, then it will be almost as easy as finding a girlfriend or a boyfriend... Most people that claim to be a vampire, are not actually vampires. We refer to these people as posers, avoid these people if you want to get turned into a vampire. It is usually pretty easy to tell that they are fakes, common traits among posers are one or more of the following traits: 1. use white makeup to pretend to look pale, 2. fake fangs, 3. dress like hollywood vampires, 4. claim they don't need blood just energy, 5. claim to be over 100 years old. There is a group that calls itself the vampire community that is estimated to be 98% posers and the very few real vampires in that group aren't the ones that are running it."

Potential government shutdown: How would the U.S. media report on it if it were happening to another country? - "The typical signs of state failure aren’t evident on the streets of this sleepy capital city. Beret-wearing colonels have not yet taken to the airwaves to declare martial law. Money-changers are not yet buying stacks of useless greenbacks on the street."