hearshot.

Female orgasm 'overwhelms'

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:03:08 -0500

THE brain’s reward circuits and rational thought processes are overwhelmed with electrical activity when a woman reaches sexual climax.

In the first film of what goes on inside a woman’s brain as she approaches and then experiences orgasm, researchers recorded how sexual arousal generates a cascade of events that, at its peak, involves 30 parts of the brain.

…

In their research they asked 16 women to “self-stimulate” until they achieved orgasm, while lying under a blanket in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Despite the clinical surroundings, all the women were able to achieve their goal, mostly in less than five minutes — although some took up to 20.

The scientists used the machine to observe which parts of the brain became active at each phase. The film, based on images taken of the women’s brains every two seconds, shows the surges in electrical activity as an orgasm overwhelms different combinations of brain areas in turn. They flood not only the brain’s “reward circuits” but also the parts associated with rational thought.

The pattern of activation seemed to be similar in all the women observed.

The study is fascinating in several ways — from a biological standpoint, it’s remarkable that the female orgasmic response (which, as we’re endlessly reminded, is unnecessary for reproduction) is so strong and so much stronger than we males get. Evolution is a terrific thing sometimes. I’m wondering if this is a happy accident, or if there is a selfish gene somewhere in human chromosomes that survived because women who have intensely pleasurable orgasms are that much more likely to engage in intercourse and thus to reproduce.

From a sociological standpoint, too (and forgive my wording here), it’s impressive that the culturally-less-important orgasm is the better one. I don’t want to think that male jealousy is a major cause of this, but nor do I want to think that the “unnecessary for reproduction” argument has been strong enough to cause this much repression.

“In women, orgasm produces a very extensive response across the brain and body,” said Barry Komisaruk, professor of psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who oversaw the research.

…

“In one experiment we asked women to self-stimulate and then raise their hands each time they orgasmed. Some women raised their hands several times each session, often just a few seconds apart,” Professor Komisaruk said. “So the evidence is that woman tend to have longer orgasms and can experience several of them.”

On a side note, I’m quite jealous of Professor Komisaruk.

The Mall, Part II

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:51:49 -0400

I’ve written before about how goddamn annoying mall kiosk workers can be. If anything, they’ve gotten worse since; I no longer fear the cell phone kiosk guys (yes, they’re almost always guys) nearly as much as the people selling random useless beauty products. It’s infuriating dealing with them, because they don’t take no for an answer and they seem to be trying to guilt you into playing along. Here’s a conversation I had with one today that’s pretty well average for how they work these days:

WORKER: Excuse me, sir, try some? (holding out useless product)

ME: No, thank you.

WORKER: You don’t want to try some?

ME: No. Thank you.

WORKER: Can I just ask you one question?

ME: (walking past) No, thank you.

WORKER: Not just one question?!

ME: (walking away, hoping the anxiety subsides)

Two years ago, I had a Monday evening class that interacted poorly with my street’s alternate-side parking schedule. I’d get back around 10:15pm and typically have to park at least a quarter-mile from my apartment as every legal space closer had been taken long before. It’s not entirely surprising, given my neighborhood, that I came across a drug dealer one night, tying a bag to his bike, on my way back from my car. That encounter went as follows:

DEALER: Hey, man, you fuck with powder?

ME: I’m sorry?

DEALER: You into cocaine?

ME: I, ah, no, thank you.

DEALER: (gets on bike) All right, man. Have a good night. (rides away)

Mall kiosk people: when I’m comparing you to a drug dealer I encountered one Monday evening, you should take a good, long look at what you’re doing.

When the dealer comes out better on politeness and on taking “no” for an answer, you should probably fucking throw out your sales techniques.

The Mall, Part I

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:17:14 -0400

The local mall has an anti-youngster policy. From 4pm to close on Friday and Saturday, you cannot be in the mall if you’re under 18 unless you have a 21-year-old guardian (only four per guardian, too). Starting at 4pm, there are white-shirted fascists checking IDs at every entrance as well as throughout the mall (in case any 16-year-olds got there at 3:15).

I would be opposed to this policy even under normal circumstances, because it’s anti- tons of people (single-parent families, poor families, large families all would have trouble getting a guardian/an appropriate number of guardians there). But it’s even worse when 95% of the ID checks I see appear to fall into one of the following categories:

1) White guard hassling black customer.

2) Male guard hassling attractive female customer.

He's a school board member, folks

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:21:03 -0400

All right. I started a new job this week, getting up early, going to bed early but not early enough, haven’t really had a lot of time to stay caught up on the latest bigotry. My outrage muscle is underworked, so I need to find somebody to say some unbelievably ignorant shit to get me raving fucking mad. Arkansas, can you help me with that?

Clint McCance is a school board member at Midland School District in Arkansas. And he has some absolutely troubling and disturbing views when it comes to homosexuality…

“Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide. The only way I’m wearin’ it for them is if they all commit suicide,” McCance said, in one of the most ugly outbursts in recent memory. “I can’t believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed themselves because of their sin.”

…

“Being a fag doesn’t give you the right to ruin the rest of our lives. If you get easily offended by being called a fag then don’t tell anyone you are a fag. Keep that shit to yourself,” McCance wrote. “It pisses me off though that we make a special purple fag day for them. I like that fags cant procreate. I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other aids and die.”

Perfect, thanks. Clint McCance, you’re a worthless scumfuck.

Hey, lookit

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:36:59 -0400

Employment (pending a physical and a drug test). I was beginning to believe you were mythical.

Roblog with 'i love you' in a different language.

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:09:07 -0400

imissedtumblr:

jhameia:

pensata:

javierfigueredo:

planetesauvage:

kaleidoscopicmind:

themonchismonsta:

bouquetofbarbedwire:

holdingdestiny:

beautifulrichxo:

nohopeforthehopeless:

σας αγαπώ.

iamtheshadow-puppet: Me tu encarta

je t’aime (:

Rwyf wrth fy modd i chi

Rydw i’n caru tu

Jeg elsker deg

Io ti amo

Eu te amo.

Wgah’nagl fhtagn.

ani ohevet at.

Daku cintamu.

Wo ai ni.

Я тебя люблю.

Love, Belle and Sebastian-style

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:38:03 -0400

Love, Belle and Sebastian-style:

So after [Carey] Mulligan and [Norah] Jones, is there anyone else Belle & Sebastian would be keen to work with? The band consider the idea for a moment, before recalling that, at the behest of [Sarah] Martin, they had asked the physicist Professor Brian Cox to be on the album cover, but he was too busy. “But anyway, can Cox sing?” wonders [Stuart] Murdoch.

“He can play keyboards!” Martin leaps to the professor’s defence, and the band all turn to face [Chris] Geddes, their current keyboard player. “Ohh,” says Geddes, looking indignant. “Oh, OK. OK, I’ll take a hit for the team. So what am I supposed to do then? Just fuck off and do some physics?” He shakes his head. “This band’s going to break up over Brian Cox.”

Video (not mine) of Belle & Sebastian’s encore,...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:56:57 -0400

Video (not mine) of Belle & Sebastian’s encore, “Me and the Major” and “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying.”

The only picture from Belle & Sebastian’s set that is...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:55:59 -0400

The only picture from Belle & Sebastian’s set that is actually postable. Stuart Murdoch singing “I’m a Cuckoo,” with the lovely Sarah Wilson on the left.

The opening band (like the headliners, Glaswegians) Teenage...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:53:27 -0400

The opening band (like the headliners, Glaswegians) Teenage Fanclub, during a song I can’t remember the name of. Lead singer Norman Blake reminded me a great deal of Bill Gates.

Turned 180° from the stage. Looking across the East River to...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:38:51 -0400

Turned 180° from the stage. Looking across the East River to see Manhattan.

With the fog and low clouds, this was an absolutely incredible view after dark, but not one of those pictures came out acceptably.

Establishing shot of the stage, taken because I know an hour and...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:37:28 -0400

Establishing shot of the stage, taken because I know an hour and a half before the show is about the only time my hands won’t shake incredibly. Yes, I was right up front again, though the open-air venue meant it wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as with Interpol in the one-story venue.

Belle & Sebastian / 30 September 2010

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:35:14 -0400

1. I Didn’t See it Coming
2. I’m a Cuckoo
3. Step Into My Office, Baby
4. Like Dylan in the Movies
5. I’m Not Living in the Real World
6. Piazza, New York Catcher
7. I Want the World to Stop
8. Lord Anthony
9. Sukie in the Graveyard
10. We Rule the School
11. Another Sunny Day
12. The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner
13. Write About Love
14. There’s Too Much Love
15. The Boy With the Arab Strap
16. If You Find Yourself Caught in Love
17. Judy and the Dream of Horses
18. Sleep the Clock Around

Encore:
19. Me and the Major
20. Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying

They only hit one of my “pick five,” but honestly it’s hard to argue with a setlist like this. I’d have preferred five songs from The Life Pursuit and two from Dear Catastrophe Waitress, instead of the other way around, but whatever. Tremendous show. The band really seemed to be having a lot of fun and were very good about keeping the audience involved. Venue was beautiful, too; East River State Park, right on the shore in Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline behind us.

Pictures will be up as I determine which are usable.

Dos and Don'ts for Mall Kiosk Workers

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:54:00 -0400

1) When you do your little step-out-ambush move to try and foist your overpriced beauty product on a woman and she, startled, says, “no, thank you,” DON’T stand out there and admire her ass for ten seconds as she walks away.

2) Especially DON’T try to cover for it by acting like you’re trying to ambush me, too, ‘cause I’m just going to shake my head and ignore you. Guys don’t usually go for the products you sell.

Members of Stryker Combat Brigade in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:27:12 -0400

Members of Stryker Combat Brigade in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport:

The U.S. soldiers hatched a plan as simple as it was savage: to randomly target and kill an Afghan civilian, and to get away with it.

For weeks, according to Army charging documents, rogue members of a platoon from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, floated the idea. Then, one day last winter, a solitary Afghan man approached them in the village of La Mohammed Kalay. The “kill team” activated the plan.

One soldier created a ruse that they were under attack, tossing a fragmentary grenade on the ground. Then others opened fire.

According to charging documents, the unprovoked, fatal attack on Jan. 15 was the start of a months-long shooting spree against Afghan civilians that resulted in some of the grisliest allegations against American soldiers since the U.S. invasion in 2001. Members of the platoon have been charged with dismembering and photographing corpses, as well as hoarding a skull and other human bones.

You see what happens when we foster an environment where people think it’s reasonable to say “Muslim life is cheap,” where people decide all Muslims share responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and thus cannot worship two blocks away from our sanctified hole in the ground, where people attack our president by claiming he’s secretly Muslim as though it’s a horrific thing? You see what fucking happens?

imissedtumblr: This transcript is going to be quick & dirty...

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:30:00 -0400

imissedtumblr:

This transcript is going to be quick & dirty because I have a meeting in 30 minutes. None of the names are spelled correctly, I’m sorry. (I’m typing this part at the end and I have to run.) If someone has the time to clean this up, I’d really appreciate it.

Cleaned, I hope! (Extraneous Us were left in.)

This is a black & white video with Lady Gaga sitting in front of a US-flag, looking very serious and speaking directly to the camera.

Transcript:

To my fellow Americans, the Senate, Senators John McCain, Arizona, Mitch McConnell, Kentucky, James Inhofe, Oklahoma, Jeff Sessions, Alabama, and youth all over the world who are watching:

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a law that was created in 1993 that prevents gays from serving openly in the military. Since then, 14,000 Americans have been discharged from the Armed Forces, refused the right to serve their country, and sent home, regardless of honourable service or how valuable they may have been to their units. 400 soldiers under President Obama’s administration alone were discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Advocacy by organizaions such as the SLDN, the Service Members Legal Defense Network, have shown the inconsistent and unconstitutional enforcement of this law.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell asks that serving gay and lesbian soldiers hide and keep private their sexual orientation, under the protection and the promise that the government will not ask them to tell or disclose their sexuality. SLDN’s advocacy proves that these soldiers are being searched, superiors are going through their emails and private belongings, calling family members and operating based on assumptions. Ultimately, the law is being enforced using gay profiling.

And gay soldiers have become targets.

In short, not only is the law unconstitutional, but it’s not even being properly or fairly enforced by the government. Our fight is a continuum of the ever-present equal rights movement. Every day, we fight to abolish laws that harbour hatred and discrimination against all people. Laws that infringe on our civil liberties, unfair laws that, like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, were put in place to eliminate friction and violence but, in the end, only delay the process of ending this most serious prejudice.

I am here to be a voice for my generation, not the generation of the senators that are voting, but for the youth of this country, the generation that is affected by this law, and whose children will be affected.

We are not asking you to agree with or approve the moral implications of homosexuality. We’re asking you to do your job, to protect the constitution. As majority leader Harry Reid said, anyone who is willing to fight for this country should have the same civil opportunities to do so as anyone else. It is my belief that no one person is more valuable than another.

Air Force Major Mike Almy was discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell while serving 6 years in Iraq and a total of 13 years in the Air Force. I spent some time with him recently talking about his story with other soldiers. He said to me, “During my time in the Air Force, when I fought for my country, I never identified myself as anything other than a soldier.”

Just like you, Senator McCain, a distinguished veteran who loves his country, Mike would have done anything during his time of duty to protect America.

Sergeant First Class, Army, Stacy Vasquez, after 12 years of service, was outed by the wife of a cadet to whom she gave negative reports based on his bad performance in the unit. West Point Cadet Katie Miller opted to leave West Point Academy because she felt pressured to mask her identity in school The most shocking discovery for me was to hear them all say how much they missed serving and protecting our nation, how they joined the Armed Forces because they believe in America.

Senators, when you’re sending our men and women into war, when you’re sending our wives, husbands, sons and daughters into combat, will you honour their service?

Will you support repealing this law on Tuesday, and pledge to them that no American’s life is more valuable than another?

For those watching that would like to reach out to their senators and ask for their vote to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, you can log onto www.sldn.org/gaga or you can call 202-224-3121, like I’m going to do right now.

[Ringing] Hi, can I please be transferred to Chuck Schumer’s office? [More ringing. It rings and rings and rings for maybe two minutes while Lady Gaga waits.]

[Busy Signal]

[Lady Gaga hits redial?]

Recorded Voice: Your call has been forwarded to an Automatic Voice Message system. The mail box belonging to Senator Schumer’s office is full. Good-bye.

Lady Gaga: I have called both of the senators that operate in my district. I will not stop calling until I reach them and I can leave them this message.

I am a constituent of the Senator. My name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga.

I am calling to ask the Senator to vote with Senators Harry Reid and Carl Levin to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and oppose John McCain’s shameless filibuster. We need to do this, for our Gay and Lesbian soldiers, and finally repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Try calling after 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. I’ll be on the phone too. Thank you. God Bless.

youburnsohard:

A message from Lady Gaga to the Senate. September 16, 2010. REPEAL DADT.

Purple Hearts Elusive for Traumatic Brain Injuries

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 16:42:00 -0400

Purple Hearts Elusive for Traumatic Brain Injuries:

Commanders turned down some soldiers despite well-documented blast wounds that wrenched their minds, altered their lives and wracked their families.

The Army twice denied a Purple Heart for Sgt. Nathan Scheller, though the aftereffects from two roadside explosions in Iraq have left him with lasting cognitive problems, according to the Army’s own records.

…well, maybe the award was traditionally not considered for such injuries and needs to be updat —

In 2008, Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho, then the top medical commander in Iraq, issued a policy blocking medical providers from even discussing the Purple Heart with soldiers who suffered mild traumatic brain injuries. Doctors were not barred from discussing the award with soldiers who have other injuries.

…

The Army’s official list of wounds that “clearly justify” the award includes, “Concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.”

Oh. Fuck. So this is just the Army trying to remind us, “hey, if we can’t see it, you’re making it up!”

Emergency rooms cont'd

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:42:59 -0400

Emergency rooms cont'd:

Ezra:

There are certain facts that Americans hear about the Canadian system — that they often wait weeks or even months for elective surgeries, for instance — and they just can’t believe that modern human beings would allow themselves to be put through such misery. But by the same token, there are facts that people in other countries hear about our system — that we often don’t get needed surgeries because we can’t afford them, or that our doctors won’t see us at night or on weekends or in our homes — and they’re similarly aghast that citizens of the richest nation in the world would not just accept that sort of a system, but pay extra for it.

Pastor "Weighing Plans" to Burn Qurans

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:54:07 -0400

Pastor "Weighing Plans" to Burn Qurans:

I’m too tired to properly state just how pissed off I am about this.

A Florida pastor told CNN on Tuesday that while his congregation still plans to burn Qurans to protest the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the church is “weighing” its intentions.

Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, who was interviewed on CNN’s “American Morning,” said the congregation is taking seriously the warning from the U.S. military that the act could cause problems for American troops.

“We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it,” Jones said.

…

Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said the burning of Islam’s holy books “could cause significant problems” for American troops overseas.

“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” he said in a statement issued Monday. … “Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”

So by saying he’s still “weighing plans” when every reasonable and unreasonable person in a position to know has said “this is a horrible, life-threatening idea,” what Pastor Jackass of the truthlessly-named “Dove World Outreach Center” is really saying is that he couldn’t give less of a fuck about the lives of American troops or (American or Afghani) citizens, because he has a hateful, asinine statement to make, and by his God (not yours), he’s going to make it.

But, hey, I’m sure when soldiers are maimed or killed, when citizens are maimed or killed, as a result of this hateful, asinine statement, their parents, their partners and their children will all be thinking, “well, at least he prayed about it. I’d be really upset about my horrific loss if I didn’t know he prayed about it.”

“We realize that this action would indeed offend people, offend the Muslims. I am offended when they burn the flag. I am offended when they burn the Bible. But we feel that the message that we are trying to send is much more important than people being offended.”

…

The message, he said, is directed toward the “radical element of Islam.”

“Our message is very clear,” he said. “It is not to the moderate Muslim. Our message is not a message of hate. Our message is a message of warning to the radical element of Islam, and I think what we see right now around the globe provides exactly what we’re talking about,” he said.

Christ almighty. How can one man be so full of shit?

This “message of warning to the radical element” is going to seriously, seriously upset the remaining 99% of Muslims, the “moderate” Muslims you say you’re not directing your message at. If someone were to burn a Bible and say, “oh, I’m not trying to offend the moderate Christians, just the Timothy McVeighs and the Scott Roeders, the ‘radical element of Christianity,’” I’d bet my life that Pastor Jackass here would be intensely offended.

When he leads his church in the burning of Qurans, as I’m sure he will, he is going to create a situation that will nearly certainly lead to multiple deaths, though of course nobody he knows will be at risk so he probably doesn’t care much. As much as he says this is just a “message of warning” only meant for “radical Muslims,” he’s going to find himself with a lot of blood on his hands, Afghani blood and American blood, Muslim blood and Christian blood. Blood he’ll never be able to wash off his hands no matter how he tries. And what might really blow his tiny mind is how all of that blood is going to be the same shade of red; he won’t be able to tell the American Christian from the Afghani Muslim.

And remember what Jesus said, Pastor (it’s in the Gospel of Matthew, not one of Paul’s letters, so you may not have seen it before): “as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me,” you worthless fuck.

How to tell college is back in session:

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:18:44 -0400

1) Walmart has about twice as many people as its usually-high normal.

2) The beer aisle and the condom aisle are packed to the point of impassibility.

3) There’s a cloud of college-age kids of both genders hovering around the condom aisle who don’t really want to be seen as “in line for the condom aisle,” but who clearly don’t want to ruin their plans for the evening/week/weekend by not buying condoms, either.