Interesting Links for 7-7-2011

[andrewducker]

• What Would Don Draper Do?
  (tags: madmen funny)
• Sex is not about promoting genetic variation - it's actually about _reducing_ it.
  (tags: sex reproduction genetics)
• WARNING - DO NOT SHAVE YOUR ASS!!!
  (tags: funny hair)
• New Guidance issued: Rape claims retracted out of fear should not lead to charges (fixing the ridiculous situation from last year)
  (tags: rape law uk)
• Brazilian government signs up to develop OpenOffice and LibreOffice
  (tags: brazil opensource software)
• Spanish solar power plant becomes the first to generate power around the clock
  (tags: solar solarpower technology epicwin)
• The Universe Is Almost Certainly Not a Hologram
  (tags: physics universe)
• What happens when you introduce someone to the internet for the first time?
  (tags: browser ui web)
• Obama authorising secret detention and "military interrogation"
  (tags: law usa barackobama rights)
• Leading medical journal criticises romance novels for promoting an unhealthy ideal for health and relationships
  (tags: Health sex romance romance_novels books)
• Remixing Barack Obama's narration of his own autobiography into myth. (Video of the opening chapter)
  (tags: mythology BarackObama weird art)
• The proper response to being told you have upset someone.
  (tags: argument emotion people conflict)
• Sports help ease aggression in boys
  (tags: sport aggression emotion self-control children men)
• Court orders immediate end to ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’
  (tags: lgbt law military usa)
• Four of the top five solar cell companies are now based in China.
  (tags: solarpower china)
• When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt (And Why It Didn't Last)
  (tags: debt economy economics usa)
• Space Shuttle Program was a $209 billion mistake
  (tags: space money usa)
• 11 different cover version of the Game Of Thrones theme (everything from medieval instruments to techno)
  (tags: music GameOfThrones)
• Hot summer could wipe out Goth population, experts warn.
  (tags: goths funny weather climatechange)
• Product placement now being inserted Into old sitcoms. For some reason I find this creepier than ordinary product placement...
  (tags: Advertising television usa)
• Some data on gender and the chances of being published in an SF anthology
  (tags: scifi writing gender)
• TSA warns terrorists could surgically implant bombs. I bet they're rubbing their hands together in glee!
  (tags: terrorism tsa travel)
• Dear Photograph - photos of photos from the past, in the present.
  (tags: photography inspiration art photos)

Comments

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

damn it, i think you ruined the rest of season four for me (madmen)

[andrewducker]

There may be a lot of drinking :->

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

i'm on episode 10, and yes there has been

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

though in fairness as a male raised in the 50s. I think the programme was trying to point out that he had few emotional outlets (somewhat underlined by him literally pretending to be someone else)

[andrewducker]

Well, yes. Same with Pete. And Peggy.

Pretty much everyone in the series is defined by the cages they live in.

[andrewducker]

I have no idea, by the way, why it suddenly decided to post this.

Delicious must be undergoing...interesting times.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Any self-published article that uses "macroevolution" and "microeveolution" is inherently suspect, since the two terms are creationist jargon and really should always be accompanied by "duh, I eat poop."

[andrewducker]

They're creationist terms now, apparently, but they didn't start out that way.

Not living in a country full of crazy religious folk I hadn't realised they'd been claimed by them.

[kerrypolka.livejournal.com]

Oh fuck off, leading medical journal, unless you're also criticising things created by men and aimed at men (like, eg, most mainstream films) for creating harmful norms (which they do). It is classic that a medium written nearly exclusively by women for women is being targeted as harming women (we just don't know any better! please save us from ourselves!).

[andrewducker]

You seem to be implying that media produced by women should be exempt from criticism. Am I misunderstanding you?

[kerrypolka.livejournal.com]

No, it's that I think one of the functions of patriarchy is that women are criticised for things men aren't criticised for.

[andrewducker]

I'm fairly sure I have seen criticisms of mainstream movies for their depiction of romantic relationships. I don't have any to hand, sadly. I've certainly seen criticism of computer games (largely produced by men) for their depictions of romance, violence, sex, sexuality, etc. Ditto for roleplaying games (also largely male-produced).

[kerrypolka.livejournal.com]

Great!

WARNING - DO NOT SHAVE YOUR ASS!!!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

ROFL. That's disgusting but hilarious.

What's disturbing is that I remember a completely different essay in a similar but not identical style from years ago with the same upshot, so apparently the advice is really needed and _isn't_ getting out there enough :)