FRIDAY FLASH FUN…
1730 by Jeff Hess
16 May 2008
16 May 2008
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1430 by Jeff Hess
I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is The Future of American Power.
16 May 2008
16 May 2008
LADIES…?
1126 by Jeff HessBut when a woman reached orgasm, something unexpected happened: much of her brain went silent. Some of the most muted neurons sat in the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, which may govern self-control over basic desires such as sex.
Decreased activity there, the researchers suggest, might correspond to a release of tension and inhibition. The scientists also saw a dip in excitation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which has an apparent role in moral reasoning and social judgment-a change that may be tied to a suspension of judgment and reflection.
Brain activity fell in the amygdala, too, suggesting a depression of vigilance similar to that seen in men, who generally showed far less deactivation in their brain during orgasm than their female counterparts did.
“Fear and anxiety need to be avoided at all costs if a woman wishes to have an orgasm; we knew that, but now we can see it happening in the depths of the brain,” Holstege says. He went so far as to declare at the 2005 meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Development: “At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings.”
16 May 2008
MY COMMENTS…
1032 by Jeff Hess16 May 2008
WHAT ARE YOUR STUDENTS PLAYING…?
1026 by Jeff HessAll of the students were looking at laptops except for one, who had a deck of cards and was playing solitaire. The professor was outraged and demanded that the student explain why she was playing cards. When she answered “My laptop is broken,” I remember there was simultaneously a roar of laughter from the student body and a gasp from the professors around me. In this one moment, we learned that something new was happening in class.
16 May 2008
WHAT THEY SAID…
1010 by Jeff HessAmericans gave nearly three times as much money after Hurricane Katrina as they did after the Asian tsunami, even though the tsunami killed many, many more people. But this makes sense, right? Katrina was an American disaster.
Then along comes a terrible earthquake in Pakistan, killing 73,000 people, and U.S. contributions are only $150 million, making the $1.92 billion given after the tsunami look very, very generous. That”s only about $2,054 per fatality in Pakistan, versus an approximate $8,727 per fatality for the tsunami. Two far-away disasters both with huge loss of life – but with a huge disparity in U.S. giving. Why?
16 May 2008
FOR MOLLY ON ENDINGS AND CLOSURE…
0932 by Jeff HessThroughout the story you fall in love with three very unlikely heroes. They have personality, quirks, depth, and purpose. You learn about their lives and about the tragedies that have brought them together. As you progress through the game, battling your way through various temples, sealing mana seeds, caring for one another through all times, battle shadow versions of yourself, and it all boils down to facing the great Mana Beast (a dragon).
Upon slaying the dragon your entire world changes. Sprite, the cute and spunky sprite, is seperated from your world as his magical world rooted deep in the magic of Mana is seperated by a magical veil never to be seen again. Fawn, the girl, bids you farewell and takes her leave to try and repair her broken family and life. Mike, the boy, returns to the village that banned him to return the Sword of Mana to its rightful place, fully restored and able to keep evil at bay.
The tragedy is the loss of those who you”ve grown to love and call family. Each had to move on to their own stories, to face their new lives, on their own paths. The story isn”t over; you don”t go on to live happily ever after. You now have your own path to face with all manner of uncertainty. The rest of your life to face.
16 May 2008
WHAT THEY SAID…
0903 by Jeff HessPrejudice is still a nasty, shadowy business that, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, seldom shows its face openly. No one uses phrases like “gentleman’s agreement” or “restricted” these days, but “blue-collar voters” and “Reagan Democrats” serve the same purpose as codes to mask fear and hatred of people who are different.
16 May 2008
FROM MY DAD…
0830 by Jeff Hess
I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.
Tech support: Click on the ‘my computer’ icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
16 May 2008
WHAT THEY SAID…
0707 by Jeff HessThe California court cited the 1948 Perez v Sharp anti-miscegenation law ruling prominently in its decision today. If you believe that courts should have no role in opposing public opinion in areas of social policy, then the polls at the time make for interesting reading. Ten years after the 1948 ruling, Gallup fund that 94 percent of white Americans opposed inter-racial marriage. As late as 1967, when Loving vs Virginia was decided, a majority opposed it. That remained the case through the 1970s. In fact, the Perez v Sharp ruling was fifty years ahead of public opinion.
16 May 2008
FROM MY CHAPBOOK…
0230 by Jeff HessFound in my electronic chapbook.
Harold Bloom proposed six ways in which such creative misreading allows escape from writer”s block. p. 106 [No wonder that Flaherty chose to not elaborate on Bloom”s lexicon. There is a ton of stuff on the web about this and the little bit I”ve scanned reads like nonsense. JH]
From The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer”s Block and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty.
15 May 2008
15 May 2008
GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…
2030 by Jeff Hess
In Myanmar the level of tragedy continues to mount but our print and broadcast news sources have moved north where the death toll in China has climbed past 20,000. A death is a death, but I do find it interesting that two unplanned and tragic events — protests in Tibet and the earthquake — have turned our attention away from greater suffering.
From the BBC:
The UN has sharply increased its estimate of those severely affected by Burma’s cyclone to 2.5m people.
The figure was revised up from the 1.5m previously thought to be in need, following the storm 12 days ago.
Since Cyclone Nargis struck, hardly any foreign aid workers have been allowed into Burma to hand out relief supplies.
Latest Burmese official figures put the death toll at almost 38,500 with 27,838 more missing but the Red Cross warned as many as 128,000 could be dead.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he “regretted” the UN had spent more time arranging rather than delivering help, amid claims of stonewalling by the junta. Continue Reading »
15 May 2008
15 May 2008
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1430 by Jeff HessI’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is 1948, Israel, and the Palestinians-The True Story.
15 May 2008
FROM MY DAD…
0830 by Jeff HessI could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can’t get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it’s really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn’t sound good; I’ll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute… I hadn’t inserted it yet… it’s still on my desk… sorry.
15 May 2008
IS PATRICK O’MALLEY THE OTHER SHOE…?
0810 by Jeff Hess
Waayyy back on 30 June 2005 then Plain Dealer Editor Doug Clifton now infamously wrote: As I write this, two stories of profound importance languish in our hands. The public would be well served to know them, but both are based on documents leaked to us by people who would face deep trouble for having leaked them.
That began my 40 days of calling chickenshit on Clifton.
We would discover on 20 July that one of the stories concerned former Cleveland Mayor Mike White.
But for the next three years the other shoe never fell. Did it fall this morning?
Federal charges possible against Cuyahoga recorder on Thursday
Hmmm… Could be.
Time to come clean Doug?
15 May 2008
MY COMMENTS…
0719 by Jeff Hess15 May 2008
WHAT THEY SAID…
0656 by Jeff HessThe word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can change this.
For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.
