Born in a tiny cold shack in the woods, I raised myself, tending the fire and the soup pot with help from the resident wolves, ravens and mice. At age five, I gave birth to a wet furry version of myself, who said, "Don't walk on the thin ice," then disappeared into the fireplace, unburned by the flames. Years of this existence taught us to love each other. We moved to the city where we live in a cast-iron building looking over the taxicabs, prostitutes and drug dealers who call us The Trinity. We've never seen slavery or the Clinique counter at the department store, so I guess our existence is pretty circumscribed. We search the Internet to broaden ourselves.
Satire falls on deaf ears at U of British Columbia Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
7000 copies of a student handbook written by graduate students Nate Crompton and Andrew Witt with information on student services, campus life, and a daily planner have been recalled. Satirical content about the number of construction cranes on campus and questions about how UBC can be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year when the first class wasn't held until 1915 were just too defiant for the graduate student society that hired the students.
The handbook also provided a map that shows students where they can find the UBC president's $15-million house.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 106 [+].
Vogue exploits India's poor to sell pricey fashions Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
A man modeled a Burberry umbrella in Vogue that costs about $200. Some 456 million Indians live on less than $1.25 a day.
The editorial spread was “not just tacky but downright distasteful” said Kanika Gahlaut, a columnist for the daily newspaper Mail Today that is based here, who denounced it as an “example of vulgarity.”
Comments: 2 Score: [-] 81 [+].
Houses raided in advance of Republican National Convention Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
Were the police responding to a legitimately perceived threat, over-reacting, or, most sinister, deliberately stifling freedom of speech?
The targeted group's take is quite different than that of the press; find it here.
Comments: 2 Score: [-] 118 [+].
Bruce Ivins could have made thousands on anthrax panic Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
Anthrax scientist Bruce Ivins, who killed himself on Tuesday, was the FBI's top suspect in the anthrax killings of 2001. One possible motive: an anthrax vaccine he had developed years before.
But first you have to believe he really did it.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 60 [+].
Inventor rolls out efficient non-stop train system Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
A Taiwanese inventor with no credentials has devised an ingenious non-stop train that will save fuel and time.
The idea seems simple, but the experts have not yet weighed in.
Comments: 2 Score: [-] 68 [+].
Pope Benedict: "I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country."
Broken Rites, which represents abuse victims in Australia, has a list of 107 convictions for church abuse, but says there could be thousands of victims as only a few cases go to court.
The U.S., Australia, where next?
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 59 [+].
Good-bye, Kiribati Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
The tiny island nation is doomed to submersion within the next 100 years due to rising ocean levels. The highest land in the island chain is less than 2 metres above water . Anote Tong, president of the threatened islands in the Republic of Kiribati, has appealed to the international community to take responsibility for rehousing the islands' 97,000 residents.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 176 [+].
Four Japanese crime bosses got liver transplants at UCLA Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
The same surgeon, an internationally known liver transplant expert, performed the procedures on four Japanese "yakuza" organized crime lords. The most prominent transplant recipient, Tadamasa Goto, had been barred from entering the U.S. because of his criminal history until the FBI helped him obtain a visa to receive the transplant.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 13 [+].
Picture of ghost in haunted Scottish castle! Posted: 1 year ago by teresag
The spectral vision was captured by 14-year-old Connor Bond at an ancient castle in the Scottish highlands famed for its ghostly residents. Tulloch Castle dates back to the 1200s and has a long history of ghostly activity.
Pic is not from story.
Comments: 4 Score: [-] 20 [+].
Howard Zinn on war Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
A veteran of WWII and eminent "alternate" historian, Zinn presents his humanistic views on war.
"Whatever the justification...we must not resort to war."
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 136 [+].
Salvador Dali, scientist Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
Salvador Dali carved out a reputation that was arguably as eclectic as his paintings: eccentric, exhibitionist, genius, showman, author, agent provocateur and – oh yes – the most successful surrealist painter in history.
But The Dali Dimension: Decoding the Mind of a Genius (2004) brings into focus another appellation befitting the Catalan master: man of science.
The page, unfortunately, shows but a fraction of the 75-minute video. Scroll down to the (self-important) quote from J.D. Watson. And definitely click to read the second page.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 166 [+].
Spanish nurses forced to wear skirts or face wage loss Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
Nurses in Cádiz, Spain, have been told that they have to wear a skirt if they want to earn a full wage. Those at the San Rafael Clinic who choose to wear trousers instead will lose a 30 € productivity bonus every month.
Sure, that makes perfect sense.
If percentage of visible skin is directly proportional to productivity.
Comments: 22 Score: [-] 449 [+].
The unbalanced need not enter. Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
This house, designed by partners and artists Madeline Gins and "Arakawa", is off-limits to children, and adults are asked to sign a waiver when they enter. The creators believe its undulating floor will delay aging.
Sure. Yep. No doubt.
Comments: 7 Score: [-] 214 [+].
Pattern Formation Syndrome Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
On the recombinant behavior of disparate video electronic devices. Or.....fascinating art for math nerds.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 202 [+].
Thursday by Morphine Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
In response to this . From my favorite all-time forever most bestest band, Morphine. (This explains my avatar.) Mark Sandman was one of a kind.
Comments: 3 Score: [-] 78 [+].
GeoGreeting: the worldly way to say "Happy Valentine's Day!" Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
Link takes you to the example, then you can make your own! (The "T", however, said to be in Portland, Oregon, is indeed in Vancouver, Wa., to the north of our fair city.)
Stupid, stupid Google.
Comments: 4 Score: [-] 135 [+].
Politics of Stem Cells Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science presents a cogent description of Bush's interference in science. And what Congress can do about it.
Comments: 4 Score: [-] 110 [+].
What is this? Find out at the ---- museum. Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
If you have one, I'll watch for your appearance on Antiques Roadshow.
Comments: 6 Score: [-] 129 [+].
What's the point of Silbury HIll? Posted: 2 years ago by teresag
"...what archaeologists always say when faced with an object they don't understand: it must have something to do with religion." But maybe it's not that at all.
Comments: 3 Score: [-] 179 [+].
"Kin you b'lieve that, honey?" Fluffy bunny bites snake. Posted: 3 years ago by teresag
I don't know if the bunny's behavior is really all that unusual, but the narration is strange enough to make it all worthwhile.
Comments: 2 Score: [-] 18 [+].
on the design of Moral Treatment facilities for the mentally ill Posted: 3 years ago by teresag
"Once state-of-the-art mental healthcare facilities, Kirkbride buildings have long been relics of an obsolete therapeutic method known as Moral Treatment."
A study of lofty ideals, decay and abandonment.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 20 [+].