Great article about Sam!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Links
Take a look: The Seven Sides of Sam Chupp « LeonDalePhotographer
The Parable of the Shower
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Humor, Links, Reading
The Parable of the Shower by Leah Bobet is an absolutely hilarious short story.
The angel of the LORD cometh upon you in the shower at the worst possible moment: one hand placed upon thy right buttock and the other bearing soap, radio blaring, humming a heathen song of sin.
Thanks to Sarah Monette for the heads-up!
Tags: Leah Bobet, short stories
Weird Fish
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
If you’d told me yesterday that there’s a fish with a transparent head, I wouldn’t have believed you. I certainly wouldn’t have imagined that anything would look up and around through its own head for a greater range of vision! But that is exactly what the barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) does.
Natterings
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
I started playing around with SocialWhois today, which led me to visit FriendFeed and add Disqus and DandyID to this site. And that led me to visiting a bunch of other sites for the first time in ages, like Bloglines, which wants me to claim my site all over again.
DandyID has the most extensive list of social networking sites I’ve ever seen. I mean, who wants to be part of something called my.curse.com? Ick! I couldn’t even begin to guess what some were about. I think I may set a moratorium on signing up for any new ones unless there’s a seriously compelling reason to do so. Oddly enough, they don’t have Ravelry listed (but I did suggest that they add it).
Miscellany
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
I lost track of who originally linked to what, so I can’t credit them properly. But thank you to whoever they all were, anyway!
Filed under “another reason I’m proud to be a homeschooler”: California court rules that private school can oust lesbian students. I do understand that it’s a private religious school, and that their denomination doesn’t approve of homosexuality. On the other hand, the girls’ parents chose to send them to that school, not the girls themselves. And demanding that everybody in the school be heterosexual makes every bit as much sense as demanding that they all be right-handed! (It also sounds like the school went WAY the hell overboard in interpreting the “evidence.”)
Can I get an “Amen”?! Ending Weight Bias: The Easiest Way to Tackle Obesity in America
This is news? Readers build vivid mental simulations of narrative situations, brain scans suggest
Not Good News: Mercury found in kids’ foods — and in pretty much anything else that contains HFCS. I’m confident of my ability to kick the soda habit, but totally avoiding HFCS pretty much means avoiding all processed foods. GAH!
This is so cool! Implants Tap the Thinking Brain
No surprise to me, at least: Watch out. The Internet will cut you
Reality check: Sorry, you don’t have a 200 IQ
Another no-brainer: Video Games May Hinder Relationships
Tags: Civil Rights, discrimination, Education, GLBT, HFCS, Homeschooling, IQ, mercury, neurology, obesity, Reading, Relationships, technology, video games
Any Knitters Who Like Graphic Novels?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
Imagine you’re a teenager, and you have some… special powers. Maybe even super powers. And one day, at a sleepover, your best friend in the whole world tells you—you’re not alone. So begins the adventure for a couple of teenagers, a single mom and yarn shop owner, and a whole bunch of hand knitted fun.
Handknit Heroes is the first graphic novel for knitters. Each issue features a great storyline with knitting superheroes, terrific artwork, and a beautiful (and easy) knitting pattern.
I’m vastly amused, and I neither knit (yet!) nor read graphic novels. I know that
Tags: graphic novels, Handknit Heroes, knitting
Random Linkage
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
In lieu of a real post, which would require actual thought…
New Elizabeth Bear short story: The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder
Ruminations on science fiction, fantasy, etc.: Asking the Wrong Questions
Dr. Horrible recast with My Little Ponies
Tags: Dr. Horrible, Elizabeth Bear, Fantasy, My Little Ponies, Science Fiction
Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom: Scientific American
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links, Sex
This could have gone in my last post, considering Porter’s life 😉 Thanks to Scott Bragg for the link.
Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom: Scientific American
… as many as 1,500 species of wild and captive animals that have been observed engaging in homosexual activity. Researchers have seen such same-sex goings-on in both male and female, old and young, and social and solitary creatures and on branches of the evolutionary tree ranging from insects to mammals.
Unlike most humans, however, individual animals generally cannot be classified as gay or straight: an animal that engages in a same-sex flirtation or partnership does not necessarily shun heterosexual encounters. Rather many species seem to have ingrained homosexual tendencies that are a regular part of their society. That is, there are probably no strictly gay critters, just bisexual ones. “Animals don’t do sexual identity. They just do sex,” says sociologist Eric Anderson of the University of Bath in England.
Tags: animals, bisexuality, nature
Lawn Sanity!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
I detest grass. I’m so allergic that I consider the stuff a personal attack. Beyond that, I’ve always considered all the money and energy that is put into inedible crops that aren’t even pretty to be a disgusting form of conspicuous consumption.
I cheered out loud when I read this article: The Incredible, Edible Front Lawn
It makes so much more sense–and it’s prettier, too! People actually eating what the grow, instead of growing it to cut it. Wow.
Tags: edible lawns, food crops, grass
Linky!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
I’m not feeling so good, so I’m mostly posting links. But they’re good ones!
Marvelously fun toy:
Killjoy Cooking With the Dungeons & Dragons Crowd
Gays marry, world does not end
Tags: cooking, D&D, gay marriage, Wordle