Got a tune stuck in your head, but can’t identify it?
Go to this site, hum 15 seconds (you’ll need a microphone hooked up to your computer), and it’ll tell you the song.
Of course, your results may vary depending on how well you hum. Still, it’s a cool idea.
The holidays are a time for fun, food, family, gifts — and stress, with more women tending to suffer than men and turning to food, booze and the couch to get over the holidays.
Nearly half of all U.S. women experience greater stress during the holidays, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association.
"Women report a bigger increase in stress of the holidays and seem more vulnerable to the effects of stress of the holidays," Russ Newman, a psychologist who is the association’s executive director for professional practice, told Reuters.
The survey found that 44 percent of the 417 woman contacted in an October telephone survey were more likely to report an increase in stress during the holiday season compared with 31 percent of 369 men.
Many respond to stress by eating more, drinking more alcohol or "being a couch potato," Newman said.
"All three together are very unhealthy ways to manage the increased stress of the holidays," the psychologist said.
One of the reasons, we were told, for invading Iraq was because we wanted to win over the Middle East, and bring them to our way of thinking about freedom and democracy, so that they wouldn’t get all extremist on us and fly planes into our buildings.
The experience of September the 11th made it clear that we could no longer tolerate the status quo in the Middle East. We saw that when an entire region simmers in violence, that violence will eventually reach our shores and spread across the entire world. The only way to secure our Nation is to change the course of the Middle East — by fighting the ideology of terror and spreading the hope of freedom.
It’s kind of nice in theory, but the simple truth is that invading countries tends to make you disliked in the world view — not admired.
And the facts bear this out:
In 2002, the favorability rating of the U.S. among Moroccans was 38%. Now it’s 7%.
In 2002, the favorability rating of the U.S. among Jordanians was 34%. Now it’s 5%.
In 2002, the favorability rating for the U.S. among Saudis and Egyptians was already so low — 12% and 15% — that it basically could not go any lower. And it has not, but it certainly has not improved either after four years of our grand wars of "liberation."
In particular, support for our "Iraq policy" commands 2% of the Saudi population (96% disapprove), 6% of Moroccans (93% disapprove), and 7% of Jordanians (86% disapprove). Those approval numbers are slightly higher — slightly — in Lebanon (16-73%) and Egypt (25-50%).
So rather than make the Middle East more America-friendly, we’ve turned it in to a cesspool of America-haters.
Feel safer?
Of course, the neo-cons have a solution: more of the same. Bomb Iran.
Oy.
You can’t make this stuff up. Here’s an interview between film critic Michael Medved and Focus On The Family’s James Dobson. There discussing the animated children’s film Happy Feet:
MEDVED: And then there’s this whole subtext, as there so often is, about homosexuality. Not that the penguins are gay — they’re not gay — but the one penguin hero doesn’t fit in and the religious authorities — the so-called religious right in the penguin world — are very judgmental. They say, "You are not a penguin. You’re not a real penguin." And then he makes this heartfelt plea, he says, "Dad, you have to accept me as I am. I can’t change." And —
DOBSON: Are they getting at the idea that homosexuality is genetic? Is that what the subtle implication is?
MEDVED: Well, how many times do we hear that in the media? That it’s not a matter of choice, it’s not a matter of change, and my problem with that — as I understand, that there are some people, who — for whom that may be true, but they’re other people — and you and I know them — who have changed their lives and have turned around their lives.
Video here.
Well, Condi Rice has rejected the idea of negotiating with Iran and Syria to help bring some stability to Iraq because "neither country should need incentives to foster stability in Iraq."
This makes absolutely no sense to me. Why not just talk to them? What’s the downside?
Matt Yglesius explains it better:
Seriously, people, it’s time to grow up. Sitting around in the Situation Room and deciding that other countries just should do what we want them to do so there’s no need for diplomacy is insane. The way the world works is that if you want some countries to do some things, you need to discuss this fact with them, ascertain what their actual views on the matter are, see what they would want you to do in exchange, and then make a decision. Rice rejected this option "saying the ‘compensation’ required by any deal might be too high." Get that again. She won’t talk to Syria and Iran to explore options because the price might — might — be too high. Why not find out?
(1) Put in freezer: 20-25 minutes
(2) Put in bucket of ice: 10-12 minutes
(3) Put in bucket of ice and water: 4-6 minutes
(4) Put in bucket of ice and water and salt: just over 2 minutes
(5) Put in bucket of ice and water and salt, while rolling can around: Less than two minutes
(6) Fastest way possible: blast the soda with a CO2 fire extinguisher
So says one of the guys from Mythbusters
MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — The pastor of a Mount Airy church accused of brandishing a gun as part of his sermon is free on bond after being charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
Jerry Wayne "Dusty" Whitaker, 58, of Mount Airy, was convicted in Virginia in 1990 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm during drug trafficking.
Members of Whitaker’s Victory Baptist Church say they had no knowledge of his criminal background. Whitaker told them he was a retired Virginia state police officer and a retired U.S. marshal who was injured in the line of duty, said Garry Scearce, trustee chairman at Victory Baptist.
Whitaker denies ever telling anyone he was a marshal, but said he worked as a police officer for six years in Montgomery County, Va.
In September, Whitaker reportedly brought a handgun and a shoulder holster to a service.
"He was driving home his point," Scearce said. "He said he was no longer a pistol-toting U.S. marshal.’ He was a pastor."
Whitaker said the gun was a toy prop.
"I use parables," he said. "Once I pretended to be a blind man with a cane, glasses and can with coins. Why didnt they arrest me for impersonating a blind man?"
Whitaker was arrested during church services Sunday. He was released Monday after posting a $20,000 bond.
WEIRD
CNN — Worldest Tallest Man Saves Dolphins:
The long arms of the world’s tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday.
The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province.
Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins’ stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-feet-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said.
Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest living man.
WEIRDER
This isn’t the first time tall men have been recruited to save dolphins by reaching down its throat. From the wikipedia page of Clifford Ray NBA center for the Washington Bullets):
In 1978, Ray was in the news for an entirely different reason: he helped to save a dolphin’s life. During maintenance in his tank, a bottlenose dolphin named "Mr. Spock", housed at Marine World in Redwood City, California had swallowed a sharp screw. The veterinarian was unwilling to perform a risky operation while the screw was still in the dolphin’s first stomach, just inches from his fingertips. His frustrated suggestion that he needed longer arms led someone to ask local star Ray (whose arms are 3 feet 9 inches, or 114 centimeters long) if he could help. With gloves, lubrication, and guidance, he was able to reach down Spock’s throat and retrieve the screw before it could cause more damage.
Dear Mr. O’Reilly:
On the December 13 edition of The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, you engaged in a debate with a woman named Jennifer Chrisler, who heads the organization known as Family Pride, which supports famillies comprised of children with same sex parents.
In the course of the show, you raised the subject of Mother Nature, saying:
"Nature dictates that a dad and a mom is the optimum, does it not?"
While I understand that a man and a woman pairing is optimum for conceiving a baby, I don’t think that nature really distinguishes between males and "dads", or between females and "moms". The latter (dads and moms) are societal constructs; the former (males and females) are biological constructs.
But I get your point, wrong as it is.
You then went on to ask:
"Why wouldn’t nature then make it that anybody could get pregnant by eating a cupcake?"
Again, I think you are confusing the issue of conceiving children with the issue of raising children. Raising children is the controversial subject, not conceiving them. I think everybody agrees that conceiving children requires a man and a woman — or more specifically, a male sperm and a female egg.
As for raising children, that is an entirely different subject. Many children are raised by people who are not their biological parents (we call these people "orphans", Bill), or by one biological parent.
But your insistence on bring nature into the debate prompts me to ask question, and tap into your vast knowledge of all things Mother Nature related, to wit:
Why do men and women still feel attracted to members of the opposite sex after they are married to each other?
And by opposite sex, I refer to members who are not their spouses.
I mean, married men/woman still get aroused by beautiful women/men who are not their spouse. They are biologically programmed that way. So Mother Nature obviously intended it to be that way. Doesn’t that suggest that marriage itself is antithetical to "nature"?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against marriage. But the notion that "nature" intended one man and one woman to marry and raise kids is simply silly. It’s how we have traditionally done it, but it’s not biologically-based.
Just wanted to point that out. Now stop with the silly cupcake analogies.
Yours, Me
Thank God it’s never happened to me, but I do worry about it. The tales I’ve read and heard from identity theft victims will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Cleaning the mess and restarting over is, in this information age, a disaster.
A post at BlueNC has a list of precautions to take so that you don’t fall victim to identity theft:
1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.
Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad.
6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.
I didn’t know that last one.
Now, if you do happen to be a victim of identity theft, here’s what to do, courtesy of the same site:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
3. This perhaps most important of all: Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. This will stop thieves dead in their tracks.
Some numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents that have been stolen:
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration on (fraud line):1-800-269-0271
The son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye is a tattooed bohemian type. But don’t think the fruit has fallen far from the tree. He’s also a preacher in Revolution Ministries. More than that, he’s making sense:
What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.
So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome’s Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It’s not what Jesus stood for.
His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.
LATE UPDATE: Oh, this just gets better and better. Apparently, Dobson plagerized.
In an editorial appearing in Time, Focus On The Family’s James Dobson cites scientific studies to support his thesis that children being raised by two mothers (i.e., Mary Cheney and Heather Poe) become screwed up:
According to educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, mothers tend to stress sympathy, grace and care to their children, while fathers accent justice, fairness and duty. Moms give a child a sense of hopefulness; dads provide a sense of right and wrong and its consequences. Other researchers have determined that boys are not born with an understanding of "maleness." They have to learn it, ideally from their fathers.
Well, psychologist Carol Gilligan (from NYU) — the scientist Dobson cited — has something to say about that:
Dear Dr. Dobson:
I am writing to ask that you cease and desist from quoting my research in the future. I was mortified to learn that you had distorted my work this week in a guest column you wrote in Time Magazine. Not only did you take my research out of context, you did so without my knowledge to support discriminatory goals that I do not agree with. What you wrote was not truthful and I ask that you refrain from ever quoting me again and that you apologize for twisting my work.
From what I understand, this is not the first time you have manipulated research in pursuit of your goals. This practice is not in the best interest of scientific inquiry, nor does bearing false witness serve your purpose of furthering morality and strengthening the family.
Finally, there is nothing in my research that would lead you to draw the stated conclusions you did in the Time article. My work in no way suggests same-gender families are harmful to children or can’t raise these children to be as healthy and well adjusted as those brought up in traditional households.
I trust that this will be the last time my work is cited by Focus on the Family.
Carol Gilligan, PhD
New York University, Professor
UPDATE: Aside from Dr. Gilligan, Dobson quoted another scholar in his opinion piece:
The unique value of fathers has been explained by Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School in his book Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett says dads are critically important simply because "fathers do not mother."
Well, guess what? Dr. Pruett — just like Dr. Gilligan — isn’t too happy about Dobson’s cherry-picking, and he too writes a letter:
Dr. Dobson,
I was startled and disappointed to see my work referenced in the current Time Magazine piece in which you opined that social science, such as mine, supports your convictions opposing lesbian and gay parenthood.
I write now to insist that you not quote from my research in your media campaigns, personal or corporate, without previously securing my permission. You cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles.
There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions. On page 134 of the book you cite in your piece, I wrote, “What we do know is that there is no reason for concern about the development or psychological competence of children living with gay fathers. It is love that binds relationships, not sex."Kyle Pruett, M.D.
Emphasis mine.
Concord – Using upscale, mostly suburban "McMansions" as a front, a drug ring converted the pricey properties into marijuana labs where more than 6,000 plants, worth about $24 million on the street, were seized by police in coordinated raids yesterday.
Ten houses, from Derry to Andover — most costing between $300,000 and $400,000 each — were confiscated and six people were taken into custody during "Operation Green Thumb," the name given the multi-agency probe launched after investigators stumbled upon two similar pot-growing operations in Hooksett and Epsom this fall.
State Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte said the joint federal, state and local law enforcement effort disrupted "what has to be the largest seizure of marijuana in this state’s history."
I know, I know. Who cares? But I grew up there, and it’s a small state. So I expect (somewhat foolishly) to see names that I remember from childhood show up in stories like these. But sadly…
Six individuals were taken into custody and are expected to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Concord today, said Thomas P. Colantuono, U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire.
Their names and charges against them were not available yesterday, Colantuono said, noting investigators still were collecting evidence and preparing complaints during yesterday’s mid-afternoon press conference.
Oh, well.
Complete list below the fold.
And by the way, I haven’t seen a single one of the movies mentioned. Even the ones not nominated for best film, but containing a best actor or actress nominee — haven’t seen a single one of them either. In fact, the most nominated film, "Babel", I’ve never even heard of until now (sounds interesting though).
And even the nominated TV shows — I’ve only seen a few of them. "The Office" (of course) and occasionally "Lost" and "Weeds". "Studio 60" wasn’t nominated, except for Sarah Paulson as Best Supporting Actress.
Women and holiday stress