Friday Links

Cleaning out my Instapaper links...

Interesting Reads:
Trust your memory? Maybe you shouldn't
"One conversation with Elizabeth Loftus may shake your confidence in everything you think you remember. Loftus is a cognitive psychologist and expert on the malleability of human memory. She can, quite literally, change your mind.

Her work is reminiscent of films like "Memento" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," where what you believe happened is probably far from the truth -- whether you're the eyewitness to a crime or just trying to move past a bad relationship." [via]

Masturbation Is at the Root of the Culture Wars
"The 19th century's secularized anxiety about masturbation was rooted in a fearful reaction to women's growing demands for political and economic power. Simply put, doctors and moralists feared that masturbation made men more dependent—and women less so. Kellogg and Graham worried that boys who masturbated would not only lose their physical vitality, but would become more easily influenced and even dominated by women. The boy who could resist pleasuring himself as a teen was learning the strength he'd need not to allow himself to be manipulated and hen-pecked by his future wife. At the same time, Granville, Baker-Brown, and their peers worried that a woman who learned to give herself sexual pleasure might pursue self-sufficiency in other areas. At a time of rising male anxiety about feminist demands for suffrage, female masturbation became an unsettling symbol of women's independence." [via]

Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alight as long as you do good
I already like him more than Pope Palpatine! [via]

For the Homestead:
Use a French Press to Add Flavor to Your Beer
These all sound delicious, but I really can't wait to try the Framboise with cocoa nibs - yum! [via]

The Best Pocket-Sized Tools for Your Inner MacGuyver

How to Build the Essential Toolbox for Every Level of DIY

The Sweethome
"It’s a list of the best home gear, each item chosen mindfully and in accordance with many hours of research and interviews with the world’s most knowledgable experts and testers, all in service of backing up our own testing and opinions. It’s not a blog. We don’t do news and we don’t post multiple times a day—we just want to help you pick out great gear and get on with your life." [via]

Literary Fun:
Four Literary Pub Crawls We Love

How to make a multi-book secret stash

BIP Blog Post BINGO: The links post

This week's challenge for the Blog Improvement Project is another blog post BINGO challenge. I'm not going to get to all 12 of them, but I'm certainly trying. Number one is a link post, so here are a bunch of random things I've found recently that are too wonderful not to share.

* Did you know that the Vatican's newspaper does movie reviews? Even better: they actually liked the new Harry Potter!

* Speaking of Harry, here's an adorable video of Japan's #1 HP fan meeting Daniel Radcliffe:


(via Gawker)

* Anyone else excited about Rock Band: The Beatles? Joystiq has the song list and a video to whet your appetite. (via my friend Luke)

* Star Wars: Uncut is Star Wars, broken down into 15 sec. segments, reshot by fans, and put back together again.

* Weezer goes 8-bit! (via BoingBoing)

* From the "Things That Make Me Go, 'Awww!'" file: an article about a Woodstock couple still together after 40 years. (also via BoingBoing)

* The (new) Doctor in costume. I gotta say, I love the bowtie! I wonder how many of these will show up at Dragon*Con this year...?

* For my fellow Game On! dieters: four myths about staying hydrated.

* After this past Peachtree Road Race, I'm thinking about joining the Atlanta Track Club to help me get serious about running. I don't know if I'll ever work my way up to "marathoner," but here's a list of 11 celebrity marathon runners to help me get motivated.

* If I ever have to get married, I only ask three things: play the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" as I'm walking down the aisle, let me have a karaoke machine at my reception, and please, for the love of God, would someone help me make a wedding video as awesome as this one?!:

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

(via i am bored)

* Any other Firefly fans out there? Check out The Browncoats - "The Hero of Canton" does surprisingly well as a pop/punk song.

* There was a bit of a kerfluffle this week when Kindle owners realized that Amazon had deleted their copies of 1984. Here's how to read it anyway.

* Because mocking the Twilight movie never gets old: "Twilight," in a Nutshell.

* And just to bring this full circle, Jimmy Fallon had some clips of DRad and RPatz's YouTube spat:

Waiting On Wednesday: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

I've never done a "Waiting On..." post before, but when I checked my Google Reader this morning (okay - afternoon...I saw The Half-Blood Prince at midnight last night and needed to sleep in to get my seven hours) I found a bunch of posts about a sequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I loved.

Are you ready for this?

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters! Heck yes. Although I think Persuasion would've been a better choice for sea monsters (Captain Wentworth, the Lyme Regis trip), I can't wait to read this book.

There's an official book trailer, too:



September 15th can't come fast enough!

Well, if she can't be Veronica Mars...

at least Kristen Bell can be A Veronica: she's currently reading the lead in a new musical based on awesome 80's movie Heathers. And Christian Campbell is reading J.D! There's no guarantee that the same actors doing the reading will tour with the musical (if it happens), but it would be so boss if they did. This musical has the potential to be completely amazing. From the article:

The film offered many over-top-moments as well as choice lines, something Fickman is eager to bring out musically.

" 'I love my dead gay son," Fickman quoted. "If you can get that into a song, then that is just perfect."

Indeed. Other quotes from the movie I'd love to hear set to music:
"Well, f*ck me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like Mother Theresa? "
"Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?"
"Es-ki-mo..."

Man, now I really want to watch it. Time to go dig through the VHS pile...

Quidditch World Cup

Turns out, there's a group of college students who actually get together to play Quidditch. Just...wow. I wonder if this would catch on at the high school?

Camp Jane and other bookish awesomeness

Jane in June is a camp that teaches middle school girls about what life was like in the 1800s:

Lauren Dalme walked about the Kent Plantation House.
She peeked in at farm tools of the 19th century and a blacksmith stable.
The 11-year-old Pineville girl was whisked back to the age when a family lived at Kent House and of the era of Jane Austen.
But she hadn't completely gone back in time.
Lauren quickly snapped photos with her camera phone as she and the other 18 "Jane in June" campers toured the Alexandria plantation home Tuesday.
"I know they didn't have these, but they didn't have a lot of things like air conditioning and toilets," she said. "I couldn't imagine."

They also learn how to sew, garden, play various card games, keep a daily journal, and have daily tea parties! I'm going to mention this at our next Girl Scout leader meeting, because I think the girls would get a kick out of it. Found via Austen Blog.

This book is so going on my wishlist. Geek pride! Discovered through BoingBoing (they also have a link to an interview with the author).

The Times Online had critics chose their most loathed books. What would make your list? Mine would probably include Wuthering Heights, Pamela, and Heart of Darkness; I'm sure there are several more I'm forgetting. Found via bookshelves of doom.

This is why I'll be linking books on this blog to BookCrossing, BookMooch, Library Thing, Powell's Books, or my own review from now on.

There's a new book coming out claiming that Michelangelo hid secret Jewish codes in the Sistine Chapel. Anyone else having DaVinci Code flashbacks?

Amanda Grange is currently working on Henry Tilney's Diary (JOY!) and is blogging about the process (DOUBLE JOY!). Another one from Austen Blog.

Are you ready to celebrate?

I don't know what's more awesome: the fact that the Phoenix rover found water ice on Mars, or that it has its own Twitter page to keep those of us stuck on Earth up-to-date.

Of course, naming a trench "Dodo-Goldilocks" is pretty cool, too.

Imitation is the craziest form of fandom

Chuck Klosterman wrote an article for the Guardian that looks at bands and their fans:

If you scrutinise the followers of any significant rock group, you will predominantly find unrelated, nondescript quasi-hipsters who represent nothing in particular; the clearest sign that any entity has become mainstream popular is when it appeals to random people who don't really care. Asking a band about who inhabits their fanbase tells you nothing. A better question is this: "Who are your fans that care too much?" Because it's always the fringe lunatics who matter more.

There's also a photo gallery that lets you test how well you can match the fans to the bands. Some of them are ridiculously easy (Marilyn Manson, Rod Stewart, Missy Elliot), and some are less so (The Klaxons? McFly?).

It's pretty interesting, and it makes me wonder: do people take your fanness less seriously if you don't emulate your object of obsession? This coming from the girl who's dressed up for Harry Potter book releases and is already planning her Dragon*Con costumes...

Na Na Na Na Na Na CATWOMAN!

This is one of the coolest articles I've read in a while:

WHAT could be described as a fairy tale turned real on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as a cat allegedly turned into a middle-aged woman after being hit by a commercial motorcycle (Okada) on Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway.

Got that? A CAT turned into a WOMAN. And then a bunch of people started beating her up, and actually killed another cat (cat-woman?) that was with her. The third cat-woman got away.

Awesome.

Found via Neil Gaiman's journal.

Yet another reason Neil Gaiman rocks

This is the greatest engagement story ever.

Yet another reason NCLB sucks...

One of the requirements for my MAT program was joining a whole bunch of professional organizations, most of which have acronymic titles featuring the words "Association" or "Education." One of them (I don't remember which one, actually, but I suspect it was one of the organizations for English teachers) sent me a link to this article from the Denver Post. It talks about a group of schools in Colorado whose reading and math scores have increased significantly in the past four years - one school went from having 20% of its students proficient in reading and math, to having 80 - 90% reading and doing math at or above grade level. When I first read that statistic, I thought, "Wow! That's great. I wonder how they managed such an increase..."

I didn't have to read much further to find out:

Hiza [the principal], who gives kids little vouchers for candy in the hallways when she sees good behavior, did away with science, social
studies and most recesses to focus almost entirely on the basics.

Teachers spent roughly three hours a day on reading and two on math.

Science scores, Hiza acknowledged, have suffered in comparison. Only 22 percent of fifth-graders - the only elementary grade that takes science tests - are proficient.

"There's only so much time in the day," Hiza said. "This allows us to concentrate on ... reading well."

Seriously. NO SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, OR RECESS. This is an elementary school! What happens when they get to middle or high school and they haven't learned the basics in those subject areas? Off the top of my head, things I learned in my elementary science and social studies classes: inertia and structural integrity (we had an egg drop off the school roof in 5th grade, and it was awesome!); the state bird, flower, and flag of Georgia (brown thrasher, Cherokee rose, and the old red-white-and-blue version); and, most important of all, how to make Gloop. It saddens me to think that an entirely new generation is going to grow up without all that.

Lap bands and liposuction

While getting ready for school yesterday morning, I wandered into the living room and happened to catch an ABC news story about Brooke Bates. (I would recommend clicking on the link, as there's a video of the story on the upper right-hand side of the page). Last year, this 12-year-old girl weighed 220 pounds, and her parents gave in and allowed her to get liposuction and a tummy tuck. She lost 60 pounds, then gained half of it back and recently decided to go to Mexico to get a lap band. She had to travel out of the country because American doctors wouldn't perform the procedure on a child, and rightfully so. Now she's lost 15 pounds and is feeling like one of the "pretty, popular" people again.

WTF?! She's barely a teenager, and she's having major cosmetic surgery! What is wrong with this picture? I'm horrified, disgusted, and feeling extremely sad for this poor little girl. I can't believe her parents actually agreed to something so ridiculous. If she was eating too much, why not encourage her to eat less, or eat better food? According to the comments left by Brooke's sister on this post from Back in Skinny Jeans, Brooke couldn't do any strenuous exercising because her doctors were afraid she would have a heart attack. Seriously? Why did they wait until it got that bad to do something about it?

I think the real problem here is that this poor little girl has no self esteem. And that's not something that's going to be fixed with surgery. A weekly appointment with a counselor probably would've been a better (and more healthy) choice for her in the long run.

More links:
The story at Back in Skinny Jeans
My favorite anti-obesity spokeswoman, MeMe Roth, thinks Brooke is suffering from child abuse.

I seez ded peepulz

That subject line is the way I imagine this article - about a cat who can accurately predict death - will be described over at ICHC.

Edit: Ooh, so close!

10 things you should know about your grocery store

MSNBC has posted a list of 10 Things Your Grocery Store Doesn't Want You to Know. Seeing as I work in a grocery store, and would like the chance to defend my store (even though it sucks sometimes), here's my response:

1. The shopping carts have cooties.

Well, duh. So do most doors, railings, and pretty much anything else a large group of people (not to mention their grubby kids) put their hands on on a regular basis. My store provides handi-wipes that customers can use to sanitize the carts before use. If you're really worried about cooties, give yourself a cootie shot (kidding, but just barely) and make sure you wash all your raw produce and fully cook all your food before you eat it. Washing your hands often also helps.

2. Dates are open to interpretation.

This is true. The majority of foodstuffs are actually good for another few days after their printed "sell-by" date. Stuff like deli meat, however, should be eaten within 3-4 days (cheeses last a little longer). In the deli, we keep most meat after it's been opened for 7 days, then toss it.

3. Kid-friendly food is purposely placed within their reach.

Well, yeah. That's just a clever marketing strategy.

4. They cut up food so they can charge more.

Yep, we exploit lazy people for more money. Here's the thing: if you want something that's difficult to cut up (like a pineapple), pick out a non-cut one, then take it to the produce counter and ask them to core it for you. They have a machine that will do it, and they (hopefully) won't charge you for it. I once used a deli slicer to shred lettuce for a customer (I told him I couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be bits of meat still on it, but he didn't mind). Remember: the customer is always right, most places will go out of their way to make you happy, and chances are, whatever you're about to request is not something they haven't heard before. It never hurts to ask.

5. Good-for-you foods require bending and reaching.

Not necessarily. Check to see if your store has an organic or healthy section (we have four - one for organic produce; one for organic dry foods, such as cereals and chips; one for organic dairy; and one for organic meat). These areas are clearly marked, and hard to miss. For some reason, vegetarian foods (such as Tofurky!) are kept near the organic produce - because it's made out of vegetables? - so check these places if you want healthy foods.

6. End-of-aisle displays are there to distract you from your mission.

I don't know why someone would assume that just because something is located at the end of the aisle, that makes it a better deal. That sounds pretty nonsensical. Off the top of my head, things we're selling on our end-caps right now:

Knock-off Vera Bradley purses, Mission chips (on sale), Nabisco products (either crackers or cookies, I can't remember, but they're always there), Thomas' English muffins (on sale, but they're usually sold there), 12-packs of Coke products (same as the muffins), wine, children's fishing gear (we're a lake community, after all), Little Debbie snack cakes, some sort of cereal (on sale), Pantene Pro-V shampoo and condition (special promotion), sunscreen (it's the summer), refrigerated pasta and sauce, ice, and those nifty bags that keep foods cold or hot or frozen for up to three hours!

I don't think we've ever advertised our sale items on the end-caps. We have a special clearance section at the front of the store, but the rest of the sales are advertised throughout the store. The end-caps are usually reserved for seasonal items or special promotions.

7. Bargains aren’t always a bargain.

Didn't some sociologist somewhere discover that people believed buying something for 99 cents was a much better deal than buying it for $1, even though it's essentially the same price? Same sorta thing. My advice: make a list before you go, and don't buy anything not on the list. If you want to check out the sales, read the paper before you go and make sure you're getting a deal.

Fun fact: you know those "Early Bird" specials department stores advertise for sale days? Speaking from experience, they're usually not much of a bargain. I remember one sale when our "Doorbuster" specials were (at most) one or two dollars off the regularly advertised sale price. If you want a really good deal on clothes, the best times to shop are at the end of season sales. The only problem with doing this is that you may not be able to find your size. Unless it's something that you really can't live without, it's better to wait until it's at least half price.

8. You’ll walk the store the way they want you to.

Like I said, make a list before you go, and this won't be a problem. Our bakery department is at the front of the store, but they don't make that much money, so I don't know how sound this logic is.

9. The salad bar can make you sick.

We have strict health code standards that we have to abide by - chicken is tossed after 3 hours of being cooked, food has to be maintained at a certain temperature to prevent contamination, and we FIFO (First In, First Out) all of our perishable foods. I wouldn't be eating the pre-made crap anyway - do you know how much unnecessary fat, calories, salt, and sugar that adds to your diet?

10. They don’t always clean as often as they should.

I don't know where this guy shops, but it's not at my store. We clean our equipment constantly, and do a thorough cleaning of the department every night. If your grocery store has visible bugs or dust, for heaven's sake, shop somewhere else! It's been my experience, however, that cleaner stores + better customer service = higher prices. I guess it just depends on what's more important to you.

Some other stuff to know:

The best time to shop is in the early morning. Stores usually aren't crowded, and that's when the fresh produce comes in. Also, most managers work during the day, so if you have a problem or a question, you can go to them and they'll be guaranteed to fix it and make you happy. If you don't see something that you want, go to the customer service counter and ask them to special order it.

Presidential-ish links I find amusing

First off, Elizabeth Edwards confronts Ann Coulter about lowering the bar for political discourse and Ann reacts by being, well, her bitchy self. Almost as good as watching this high school kid giving Bill O'Reilly what-for.

And secondly, some guy nicknamed "The Impaler" is running for president. Strangely, I'm reminded of the kid from Real Ultimate Power:

"My name is Jonathon The Impaler Sharkey, Ph.D., L.D.D.D. I am running for Governor of Minnesota in 2006 and for President in 2008. I am a Satanic Dark Priest, Sanguinarian Vampyre and a Hecate Witch. My Magikal Path name is: Lord Ares. I despise and hate the Christian God the Father. He is my enemy. However, it doesn't mean that I hate all his followers. This Country was founded on religious rights and freedoms. This is guaranteed under the 1st Amendment of our great constitution. This right allows me to worship Lucifer and the Goddess Hecate, just as it allows you to worship the Goddess/God of your choice. I have a 13 point platform that includes better benefits for farmers and veterans. I will also give more funding to our school system and fix the pot holes on our city streets. Not to mention the FACT that I will personally impale any and all wrong doers in the steps of the Governor's mansion. If you are a child molester, rapist, drug dealer or terrorist you will be IMPALED!"

...but with Vampires instead of Ninjas.

Georgia vs. Gordon Lee

Via iFanboy:

Gordon Lee Trial Date Set - CBLDF Needs Your Help!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund urgently needs your help. This August, the long-running case of Georgia v. Gordon Lee will finally go to trial, with court costs expected to hit $20,000.

For nearly three years the Fund has defended Georgia retailer Gordon Lee, seeing him through multiple arraignments and procedures, and racking up $80,000 in legal bills. The charges stem from a Halloween 2004 incident in which Lee handed out, among other free comics, an anthology featuring an excerpt from the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Salon. The segment depicted a historically accurate meeting between 20th Century art icons Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, the latter depicted in the nude. It was a harmless sequence, no more explicit than the nudity displayed in the award winning Watchmen. Yet because the title found its way into the hands of a minor, Floyd County prosecutors hit Lee with two felony counts and five misdemeanors. The Fund eventually knocked out most of the charges, but must now defeat the two remaining misdemeanor counts of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material, each carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.

The case is slated to go to trial the week of August 13. We urgently need your support in order to wage the best defense possible against these remaining charges, and that means raising the $20,000 that the trial is expected to cost. Here's how you can help:

Make A Monetary Donation: Every dollar counts, so please visit the cbldf.org and make a tax-deductible contribution today. As a thank-you for making a donation of $30 or more, the Fund will give you a brand new t-shirt displaying the text of the First Amendment in the shape of an American flag. Show your commitment to free speech, and your support for this very important case.

Join The CBLDF: Now is the time to join or renew your membership in the Fund. Your member dollars provide the baseline of support that we need to perform our casework, and defend your right to buy whatever comics you wish. If you join now with a basic membership of $25 you will receive a CBLDF Member Card, featuring new Groo art by the one-and-only Sergio Aragones, as well as a subscription to our news publication Busted!, and special admission to CBLDF events across the country. If you join at a level of $100 or more, you will also receive one of the new First Amendment t-shirts.

Donate Original Art & Collectibles: With summer conventions upon us, the Fund needs original art, high-grade comics, and other collectible items to make the most of our summer auctions. Please e-mail cbldf1@gmail.com for more information about how to donate to our auctions, or with a description of your intended donation. If your donation is accepted for our summer auctions, you will receive a letter of acknowledgment and a 2007 membership. To ensure that your donation is received safely, please do not send physical items until accepted by the CBLDF.

With Gordon Lee's freedom in the balance, the CBLDF needs everyone who values Free Expression in comic books to do his or her part to support this very important case. Please visit www.cbldf.org and make your contribution today.

Donations: http://cbldf.safeshopper.com/12/cat12.htm?479

Membership: http://cbldf.safeshopper.com/7/cat7.htm?945


Other Donations: cbldf1@gmail.com

I find this case especially interesting because Lee owns a store here in Georgia - Legends, to be exact. They're currently having a sale, if there are any comic geeks out there who want to help support the man and his cause.

Jeez. First that crazy Laura Mallory, now this. WTF, GA?

And now, some sad TV news...

One of my childhood heroes, Mr. Wizard, died today. That is too sad. I remember going to a science museum when I was younger (Fernbank, or possibly Sci-Trek, which was awesome and should never have closed) and actually getting the chance to meet him. I still have a copy of the book he autographed and gave out that day - a collection of science experiments you could perform in your kitchen using household chemicals. Good stuff.

Spins a web, any size...

Interesting article found on Slashdot: New nanoglue shrinks chips and sticks like Spiderman:

A new inexpensive nanoglue that becomes stronger as it heats up could redefine the way computer chips are made and even pave the way for Spiderman-esque web-shooting devices in the near future, according to its creator.

I can just imagine all the trouble kids would get into with something like that. Cool idea, though.

Silver quarters

To promote the new Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie, 20th Century Fox and The Franklin Mint "color enhanced" 40,000 California statehood quarters with an image of the Surfer, and are releasing them throughout the country during Memorial Day weekend. And now, the government is getting involved, saying that neither the studio nor the Mint got the government's permission to alter the quarters (and also, that it's illegal to use currency for advertisement purposes), meaning they could both face fines.

Well, I think it's pretty crass to slap an advertising gimmick on our money, but I'm also a hypocrite and a comic book geek, so I'll be on the lookout for one. I also find it ridiculous that the government has waited until now to get involved with The Mint and their nefarious altering of our precious quarters. Aren't these the same people who offered "color enhanced" versions of the statehood quarters? Was anything done about those?

After searching their site, I couldn't find the color enhance quarters, but I did find this "special edition" "Season's Greetings" Silver Eagle dollar, which costs $39.95. For a $1 coin with a crappy paint job, protective cover, and display box. I can't believe people actually buy this stuff.

So, the studio and the Mint may face fines, or some other slap on the wrist penalty, for altering US currency and using it to advertise a movie. But look at all the free advertising they're getting!

I'm pissed about it, but more because my chances of actually getting my hands on one have significantly decreased. But I have placed the cashiers at the store on full alert, so there's hope someone may come across one...

Red Rover

So now NASA's discovered evidence of water on Mars. Between that and the "Goldilocks" planet, I hope we're not headed for a real-life reenactment of Mission to Mars. Mainly because that movie sucked. Except for that part at the end, when a fellow audience member yelled out, "Spoon!" - that was actually pretty funny...