February 2010
January 2010
On Language: Crash Blossoms →
meloukhia:
One of my favorite crash blossoms is this gem from the Associated Press, first noted by the Yale linguistics professor Stephen R. Anderson last September: “McDonald’s Fries the Holy Grail for Potato Farmers.” If you take “fries” as a verb instead of a noun, you’re left wondering why a fast-food chain is cooking up sacred vessels. Or consider this headline, spotted earlier this month...
annaoverseas:
Every time something in Halifax drives me up the proverbial wall, I remember this exchange in Casablanca:
Captain Renault: What in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca? Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters. Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We’re in the desert. Rick: I was misinformed.
We moved here because I thought it was pretty. Oh...
“Eggs Benedict with spinach, grilled portobello, roasted peppers and blue cheese...”
– what I am probably ordering for brunch (via katoleary)
Except for the mushrooms (I really don’t like mushroom), this sounds like THE MOST AMAZING THING IN THE WORLD.
Question Time.
So, my school’s choir does a little showcase thing in March, where individual members can perform a song and so-forth. I, of course, plan to do this. The question is: What should I sing? And the answer is: I don’t know! That’s why I am asking YOU, gentle readers.
Joanna Newsom, “En Gallop”. (lyrics here)
Jeff Blumenkranz/Edna St. Vincent Millay,...
De-centering non-disability →
amandaw:
thecurvature:
At my university, certain kinds of reasonable adjustments are considered reasonably “standard” for disabled students. These are things like getting extra time on exams, or having your classes specially timetabled in accessible buildings.
Wait a minute, did I just say “extra time”? “Specially”? Compared to what?
Read the whole thing.
Suggestion
meloukhia:
There should be a Tumblr called fuckyeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that is all skydiving pictures.
I wholly support this notion.
isabelthespy:
poppygallico:
Apart from the fact that I don’t actually like movies, I think the main reason I steer clear from foreign ones is because I can’t read subtitles and play on the internet at the same time.
i have that same problem! speaking of subtitles - it’s bad enough that a movie that at best could have been a fantasy-action thrill ride (and yet couldn’t even manage that) even...
triangularisthepie asked: Can I still ask you questions? Questions are fun to ask!
Scott Roeder Found Guilty of First Degree Murder -... →
abbyjean:
chuckmore:
Amen.
Oohrah!
Query
Do you ever just—
—stop—?
Like, you’re doing something and then you sort of freeze up for a couple of seconds? This happens to me every once in a while, and I find it most alarming, actually. It’s like I totally shut down for a few moments and then start back up.
Well, do you?
“This comment takes umbrage at the use of a word that was in fact “ist” more than...”
– so this comment (yep, still reading) actually kind of raised my eyebrows, all “huh, sounds like someone was called on using some word, my money’s on an ableist word since those words seem to have been the most absorbed into the language, and refused to admit ze could be in the wrong.” and then i...
annaoverseas:
The conference was awesome, and yet somehow I’m in a horrible state of rage right now. I’m really tired of feeling like everyone’s token-pawn in the so-called debate about reproductive justice.
**hugs**, if they’re wanted.
Here also is a Pony a Day blog, that—while it has not been updated in two years—has many lovely photos.
reblog with the song you're listening to, then add...
reachingtheshore:
shiyiya:
isabelthespy:
mocasinbojangle:
traceys:
Plug In Baby in my pants. OIC HOW IT IS
All Hail the Heartbreaker in my pants
nothing this second but just finished up an album that i think is accurate
Romance is Boring in my pants.
No One Mourns The Wicked in my pants.
I’m not actually listening to anything right now, but had to reblog b/c of the song Shiyiya...
So that people can actually answer my plaintive...
Here is a question mark, in a post with enabled answers.
?
“Before tackling this tutorial, make sure you have read and understood the...”
– I don’t know why, but I have this HUGE MENTAL BLOCK going on here. I need to write a discussion post on this topic for my Sociology class, but it’s like I just CAN’T EXTRACT MEANING here. I can’t! I don’t know why! It’s REALLY FUCKING BOTHERSOME! What should I do?
Guardian: Comment is free: Feminism shouldn't be... →
meloukhia:
Walter, who has been described as one of the UK’s most important feminists, is right – there is a growing confusion between sexual liberation and sexual objectification, and there is similar confusion between what women should aspire to do and what they shouldn’t. It is a shame that these mystifications are still, somehow, being spread by the publication of her own book.
Waiting In Line Shouldn't Be Inhumane | Poverty in... →
abbyjean:
Some of the most harmful results of the recession are budget cuts that tend to target services for poor people first. The problem is particularly acute in high-poverty urban areas like Washington, D.C., where poor residents are forced to camp out for days in front of understaffed aid centers in hopes of applying for food stamps, rent assistance and emergency cash.
Increased demand is...
Watched a short documentary in Sociology today.
Of course, because I am a bitter joyless person with no music in my soul, it kind of pissed me off!
It followed a small Inuit community in Northern Canada. I’m not sure when it was made, but I think a while ago. I’m sure much of the information is factually OK—that isn’t what bothered me. The thing that bugged me is the framing. Here is a quote!
“[I follow these...
amandaw:
I can speak to that learned inability to protect oneself. I’m only just recovering from it myself.
Self-protection, the boundaries one sets which others must not cross, and the willingness to regard any violation of those boundaries as a violation and treat the other person accordingly — it is something most people learn as they grow up, and something most of them take for granted.
...
“Here’s a thing about mansplaining and why I care a lot about it: it is annoying,...”
– fillyjonk (via amandaw)
abbyjean asked: why is a raven like a writing desk? by which i mean, don't you love alice in wonderland? which are your favorite renditions of the story?
se-smith asked: How do cats always find the cleanest laundry to lie on? And would it be possible to develop a feline laundry freshness detector, or are cats too contrary?
mkenyon asked: Why do elephants have flat feet?
Why 30.1% of numbers start with 1 →
kevintwohy:
Since there are nine possible digits, you would expect that one-ninth (11.11%) of the numbers would have 1 in the leading digit position. However, this is not what you will find– about 30.1% of the numbers will start with 1. It gets even stranger from here.
(via hn)
This is the first time the radar has actually turned up something I found interesting. HOW ABOUT THAT. (It is...
My Concert Fantasy
abbyjean:
dorianisms:
Bernadette [Peters]! She is fabulous, and one of my top 3 concert fantasies. (The other two being Joanna Newsom—this March, hopefully!—and Lady Gaga. Why yes, my tastes are eclectic).
i have one overarching concert fantasy. that involves duets.
we start with NIN. and then, for the last few songs, tori amos comes out. and her and trent do a NIN song or two and then he...
Haiti Update: The top five rules in a disaster →
amandaw:
abbyjean:
Smile and care - It means more than any treatment you might render.
Be flexible – Every day is a new day. - On the first day, I was a mostly an intern, seeing a few patients, referring them to the surgeons, and sweating to see everyone that walked through the door. Some of the time I might have been a tech, a nurse, a transporter, or a scribe.
Keep the broader goal in...
It's Tumblr Tuesday!
staff:
Tumblr Tuesday will never be the same! Now, every Tuesday, you can add your favorite blogs to the Tumblr Directory. Click here to make your recommendation!
Here are a few recommendations from our beta testers that caught my eye:
Letterheady An homage to fine letterhead design throughout history.
Vizualize A handpicked selection of cool infographics.
Kid Casting You know when movies...
Joanna Newsom's "Have One On Me" to span 3 discs.
fuckyeahjoannanewsom:
Just a few weeks ago, you’d be hard pushed to find a single piece of news surrounding a new Joanna Newsom album.
Now though, it seems that every few days we’re given another slice of info concerning her forthcoming LP which is now said to be a triple album.
The record officially goes by the name of Have One On Me and is due through the Drag City label on February 23rd....
2 tags
“Aronson says she fears that the short-term solution will be that large relief...”
– Adopting a Child from Haiti (via meloukhia)
Rackets optional.
Chally: Oh Venus Williams is kicking everyone's butt in the tennis
Xands: as proper /smug
Chally: heh heh :P
Xands: I haven't kept up with tennis as much this year though...
Xands: I'm excited for the world cup
Chally: I don't, I'm just watching because that's all that's on TV these days!!
Chally: When's the world cup?
Xands: Thiiis Summeeeer
Xands: in June
Xands: not sure the exact day yet
Xands: but it'll be epic
Chally: EPIC
Chally: LIKE THE ILIAD
Xands: oh even more epic than that
Xands: men
Xands: sweaty
Xands: most of them sort of attractive
Xands: with long flowing locks
Xands: running on a field
Xands: in shorts
Xands: grunting
Xands: compromising positions
Chally: hahaha
Chally: wait this isn't tennis??
Xands: ...okay basically every sport men play
Chally: hahaha
Xands: except tennis has rackets and soccer/football they're...like...yeah
Xands: no rackets
Dorian: See, this is honestly the only motivation I would ever have to watch sports. Even with the attractive-man factor, I've only ever really watched figure-skating.
Dorian: In some ways I'm very much a stereotype.
New Headphones!
I got some today. They were cheap, so the sound quality is only average. However! They have one INCREDIBLY APPEALING FEATURE, which is that, as they were designed to be similar to earplugs, they block out a lot of ambient noise. Given my occasional ~issues~ with ambient noise (overload stuff), this is very welcome indeed!
There are two downsides, though. First is that—while external noises...
Question of the Evening
meloukhia:
Will this week’s Tumblr Tuesday, an event which I need hardly remind you is rapidly approaching, make any reference at all to That Thing That Happened? And has anyone who wrote the Tumblr Staff about That Thing That Happened received a response?