Category Archives: Did you know…

Joyland
May 22 2013

News Mash: Stephen King? Killing the joy in eBooks! While Karin Slaughter is…Bustin’ it out!

“Sit in a room and read — and read and read. And read the right books by the right people. Your mind is brought onto that level, and you have a nice, mild, slow-burning rapture all the time. This realization of life can be a constant realization in your living. When you find an author who really grabs you, read everything he has done. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I want to know what So-and-so did’—and don’t bother at all with the best-seller list. Just read what this one author has to give you. And then you can go read what he had read. And the world opens up in a way that is consistent with a certain point of view. But when you go from one author to another, you may be able to tell us the date when each wrote such and such a poem—but he hasn’t said anything to you.”

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers

The thing is though…

About reading in this digital age?

Some authors?

Make it so much easier:

[via Amazon]From Karin Slaughter comes a fast and furious tale in which no one is quite who they seem. This electrifying eBook novella featuring Will Trent is a prequel to Slaughter’s upcoming novel, Unseen.

Detective Will Trent is standing in a Georgia convenience store, waiting on an obstinate Icee frozen drink machine. To the surveillance cameras and bored staff of the Lil’ Dixie Gas-n-Go, however, Will appears to be someone very different—the menacing ex-con Bill Black. Going undercover as Bill, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent is about to infiltrate the most corrupt town in the most corrupt county in the new American South. But first: his Icee.

Everything changes in one horrific instant, as all hell breaks loose at the Lil’ Dixie. A cop is shot. A bag of cash goes flying across the floor. A young woman disappears while a killer takes off in a battered pick-up truck. Within seconds, Will is in pursuit.

…[Read More - Buy The eBook HERE!]

Than others.

Though the exact reason why?

Is beyond me:

[via DailyMail]Misery for e-books! Stephen King to release his new novel in paper format only ~By Paul Thompson

More than a decade after becoming one of the first authors to publish an e-book, horror writer Stephen King has turned his back on digital publishing.

The best selling writer has refused to allow his latest book Joyland to be published in digital format

He hopes his fans will continue to buy his books in the print form and give a boost to many booksellers worldwide who are struggling to compete against e-books.

‘I have no plans for a digital version,’ King told the Wall St. Journal.

‘Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.’

His decision will be welcomed by booksellers who have been hit by a drop in visitors to stores due to the increasing popularity of e-books.

King’s latest book, which is set in North Carolina amusement park in 1973, is tipped to be a best seller.

His decision to turn his back on digital publishing comes as sales of e-books are at an all time high. with 457 million sold last year

Digital books generated $3bn in revenue last year – and increase of 44 per cent on the previous year.

…[Read More]

Kudos to you, Ms. Slaughter.

As for you, Mr. King?

What a killjoy!?

Joyland

Does this mean, however, I will not be reading Mr. King’s new book?

Pffft, hello, we are still talking Stephen King here. So, yes, I will definitely be reading it.

But it might take me awhile to actually GET to book store, hence the “Dang & blast…”

It all, inconvenience.

Jeez.

Ah, well…

Just give me something to look forward to, I suppose.

How about you?

Made in china
May 18 2013

News Mash: Check out these gas masks…No, seriously, thanks to Science? DO!

Today?

Yup…

I find THIS (below) S U P E R interesting:

[via io9] An Illustrated History Of Gas Masks ~Vincze Miklós

The gas mask has a history that dates back thousands of years, though it wasn’t until World War I that it became nightmare fodder for Doctor Who and countless other stories. Here is a sometimes terrifying history of the gas mask, from its beginnings through the present day.

Playing leapfrog, 1934

Above. Able seamen at the Royal Navy Anti-Gas School at Tipnor, Portsmouth play leapfrog wearing gas masks, to accustom them to carrying out strenuous tasks in respirators, on January 22 1934.

(Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

 

The common sponge, ancient Greece

According to the Popular Mechanics (January 1984):

“The common sponge was used in ancient Greece as a gas mask, a compress, a contraceptive – and, of course, for bathing.”

(via Wikimedia Commons/Tom Oates)

Banū Mūsā Gas Mask, c. 850 A.D

This gas mask was designed by the Banu Musa brothers in Baghdad, Iraq to protect workers working in polluted wells. The device was mentioned in the brothers book “Book of Ingenious Devices” that describes 100 inventions.

(Illustrations are from the brothers’ book, but not about the gas mask, via Wikimedia Commons 1 – 2)

Plague Doctor’s Mask

The bird-like beak mask was often filled with sweet or strong smelling herbs or spices – lavender, mint, camphor or dried roses. They’ve believed it would banish the evil smells.

(via Wikimedia Commons/Traité de la peste, 1721 and etsy/Tom Banwell)

Alexander von Humboldt’s mask, 1799

It was the first device with respirator, invented for miners by a Prussian mining official Alexander von Humboldt.

(via Asher Rare Books)

A smoke protecting apparatus for firemen by John and Charles Deane, 1823

In the early 1820s John Deane have seen a burning stable with trapped horses in it. To get through the smoke and rescue all the horses he put on an old knight-in-armor helmet air-pumped by a hose from a fire brigade water pump. The saving was successful, and in 1823 John and Charles Deane have invented the Smoke Helmet:

“An apparatus or machine to be worn by persons entering rooms or other places filled with smoke or other vapour, for the purpose of extinguishing fire or extricating persons or property therein.”

The device was a single copper helmet with a long leather hose attached to the rear. A long leather hose was attached to the rear. Five years later it was converted for underwater use.

(via Submerged)

Lewis Haslett: “Inhaler or Lung Protector”, 1847, patented in 1849

It allowed breathing through a nose or mouthpiece fitted with two one-way clapper walves. The filter was made of wool or other porous substances with water could keeping out dust.

(via Google Patent Search)

The charcoal air-filter of John Stenhouse, 1854 (patented in 1860 and 1867)

 

In the copper-framed mask there was powdered wood charcoal between the two hemispheres. The charcoal could be replaced through a small door in the wire gauze.

(via Wikimedia Commons)

John Tyndall’s respirator, 1871

The Irish physicist took Stenhouse’s mask and added a filter of cotton wool saturated with charcoal, lime and glycerin. The new device has filtered smoke and some noxious gases from air.

(via Wikimedia Commons and steampunksp)

Samuel Barton’s respirators, 1874

This respirator had rubber-and-metal face cover, glass eyepieces, rubber-coated hood and a metal canister on the front of the mask contained lime, glycerin-soaked cotton wool and charcoal.

(via Google Patent Search/148868)

Smoke-Excluding Mask, George Neally, 1877 and 1879

The first version had a filter carried on the chest, but two years later he patented another version with the filter mounted directly on the facepiece.

(via Google Patent Search – 1 and 2)

Fleuss Apparatus, 1878

The rubberized mask covered the whole face was connected via tubes to a breathing bag.

(via History of Diving Museum)

…[Read More - See All HERE!]

And why?

Simply this…

Given the news of late, of the viruses (Thanks, Science–You guys SUCK!!!!) that could spark a Global Outbreak?

I’m getting far more that just a tad bit concerned:

[via Independent.Uk.co] ‘Appalling irresponsibility’: Senior scientists attack Chinese researchers for creating new strains Made in chinaof influenza virus in veterinary laboratory ~by Steve Connor

Experts warn of danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.

They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Lord May of Oxford, a former government chief scientist and past president of the Royal Society, denounced the study published today in the journal Science as doing nothing to further the understanding and prevention of flu pandemics.

“They claim they are doing this to help develop vaccines and such like. In fact the real reason is that they are driven by blind ambition with no common sense whatsoever,” Lord May told The Independent.

…[Read More]

So?

I might start looking into the whole gas mask deal.

And what can I say…

But I like to know all the makeups of my options.

All of which?

Freak terrifying!

Ugh.

LONDON (AP) — 2 new viruses could both spark global outbreaks ~By MARIA CHENG

Two respiratory viruses in different parts of the world have captured the attention of global health officials – a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu spreading in China.

Last week, the coronavirus related to SARS spread to France, where one patient who probably caught the disease in Dubai infected his hospital roommate. Officials are now trying to track down everyone who went on a tour group holiday to Dubai with the first patient as well as all contacts of the second patient. Since it was first spotted last year, the new coronavirus has infected 34 people, killing 18 of them. Nearly all had some connection to the Middle East.

The World Health Organization, however, says there is no reason to think the virus is restricted to the Middle East and has advised health officials worldwide to closely monitor any unusual respiratory cases.

At the same time, a new bird flu strain, H7N9, has been infecting people in China since at least March, causing 32 deaths out of 131 known cases.

WHO, which is closely monitoring the viruses, says both have the potential to cause a pandemic – a global epidemic – if they evolve into a form easily spread between people. Here’s a crash course in what we know so far about them:

Q: How are humans getting infected by the new coronavirus?

A: Scientists don’t exactly know. There is some suggestion the disease is jumping directly from animals like camels or goats to humans, but officials are also considering other sources, like a common environmental exposure. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus, but it’s possible that bats are transmitting the disease via another source before humans catch it.

Q: Can the new coronavirus be spread from human to human?

A: In some circumstances, yes. There have been clusters of the disease in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Britain and now France, where the virus has spread from person-to-person. Most of those infected were in very close contact, such as people taking care of a sick family member or health workers treating patients. There is no evidence the virus is spreading easily between people and all cases of human-to-human transmission have been limited so far.

Q: How are people catching the bird flu H7N9?

A: Some studies suggest the new bird flu is jumping directly to people from poultry at live bird markets. Cases have slowed down since Chinese authorities began shutting down such markets. But it’s unclear exactly what kind of exposure is needed for humans to catch the virus and very few animals have tested positive for it. Unlike the last bird flu strain to cause global concern, H5N1, the new strain doesn’t appear to make birds sick and may be spreading silently in poultry populations.

Q: What precautions can people take against these new viruses?

A: WHO is not advising people to avoid traveling to the Middle East or China but is urging people to practice good personal hygiene like regular hand-washing. “Until we know how and where humans are contracting these two diseases, we cannot control them,” said Gregory Hartl, WHO spokesman.

…[Read More]

And seemingly?

Just getting worse as the days go on.

Hmmm.

I wonder…

can I order ANY of these (see top article above) in bulk?

cause, I have a feeling…

We are all gonna be needing them.

Jeez.

Bottoms up
May 18 2013

News Mash: Scientific research has a money problem, and humanity? Has a scientific research problem!

Vicious circle.

The biggest problem with Science today?

Money.

And by “money” we are not talking a lack of funding…

As much as we are talking an overriding motivation behind search and discovery:

 [via Gizmodo]Why Is Science Behind a Paywall? ~by Alex Mayyasi – Priceonomi

Scientists’ work follows a consistent pattern. They apply for grants, perform their research, and publish the results in a journal. The process is so routine it almost seems inevitable. But what if it’s not the best way to do science?

Although the act of publishing seems to entail sharing your research with the world, most published papers sit behind paywalls. The journals that publish them charge thousands of dollars per subscription, putting access out of reach to all but the most minted universities. Subscription costs have risen dramatically over the past generation. According to critics of the publishers, those increases are the result of the consolidation of journals by private companies who unduly profit off their market share of scientific knowledge.

When we investigated these alleged scrooges of the science world, we discovered that, for their opponents, the battle against this parasitic profiting is only one part of the scientific process that needs to be fixed.

Advocates of “open science” argue that the current model of science, developed in the 1600s, needs to change and take full advantage of the Internet to share research and collaborate in the discovery making process. When the entire scientific community can connect instantly online, they argue, there is simply no reason for research teams to work in silos and share their findings according to the publishing schedules of journals.

Subscriptions limit access to scientific knowledge. And when careers are made and tenures earned by publishing in prestigious journals, then sharing datasets, collaborating with other scientists, and crowdsourcing difficult problems are all disincentivized. Following 17th century practices, open science advocates insist, limits the progress of science in the 21st.

…[Read More]

Unfortunately…

Not only does this hinder research?

But it dangerously contaminates the potential consequences of the Scientific findings…

Which directly affects us all!

(NaturalNews) Science will destroy humanity, says team of scientists ~by J. D. HeyesBottoms up

One of the primary goals of science is to advance knowledge and understanding to improve the human condition, but all too often this noble field of study has devolved into a profit-seeking quest for power, at the expense of mankind.

Indeed, the science of technology is perhaps the worst culprit, a team of mathematicians, philosophers and scientists at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute is warning.

The team, in a forthcoming paper titled, Existential Risk Prevention as Global Priority, says humankind’s over-reliance on technology could lead to its demise, and that human beings are facing a risk to our own existence.

What’s more, the team says humankind’s demise is not far off; it could come as soon as the next century.

‘Threats we have no track record of surviving…

“There is a great race on between humanity’s technological powers and our wisdom to use those powers well,” institute director Nick Bostrom told MSN. “I’m worried that the former will pull too far ahead.”

Since our existence on this planet there have been those who have predicted the end of world as we know it, the latest “fad” in this realm being the hoopla surrounding the now-disproven 2012 Mayan prophesies. Still, folks can’t seem to let go of the notion that, at some point in our future, life on Earth will cease to exist.

From Bostrom’s paper:

Humanity has survived what we might call natural existential risks for hundreds of thousands of years; thus it is prima facie unlikely that any of them will do us in within the next hundred. This conclusion is buttressed when we analyze specific risks from nature, such as asteroid impacts, supervolcanic eruptions, earthquakes, gamma-ray bursts, and so forth: Empirical impact distributions and scientific models suggest that the likelihood of extinction because of these kinds of risk is extremely small on a time scale of a century or so.

In contrast, our species is introducing entirely new kinds of existential risk – threats we have no track record of surviving. Our longevity as a species therefore offers no strong prior grounds for confident optimism. Consideration of specific existential – risk scenarios bears out the suspicion that the great bulk of existential risk in the foreseeable future consists of anthropogenic existential risks – that is, those arising from human activity.

Continuing, Bostrom predicts that future technological breakthroughs “may radically expand our ability to manipulate the external world or our own biology.”

“As our powers expand, so will the scale of their potential consequences – intended and unintended, positive and negative.”

Bostrom goes onto say that well-known threats like an asteroid strike on the planet, supervolcanic eruptions and earthquakes likely won’t threaten humanity in the near future. Even a nuclear explosion won’t completely wipe out life; in that event, he says, enough people would survive to rebuild.

Rather, it is the unknowns that will wind up as a bane on the existence of humankind.

Science has an obligation to serve mankind

Not all of the news is bad, Bostrom says.

“The Earth will remain habitable for at least another billion years. Civilization began only a few thousand years ago. If we do not destroy mankind, these few thousand years may be only a tiny fraction of the whole of civilized human history,” he writes.

Mike Adams, The Health Ranger, notes in an Infographic posted here at NaturalNews that the onus for protecting humanity falls on those who are creating the technology.

“If an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, the burden of proof that it is NOT harmful falls on those taking the action,” the graphic says.

Check out the rest of the graphic here.

…[Read More]

And…

Maybe even one day?

Sadly…

Will lead to our total destruction.

Trust your instincts
May 10 2013

News Mash: Trust your instincts? Or risk your self-destruction!

Have you ever second-guessed yourself?

Everybody has.

Ever wonder why you do it?

Thanks to io9, you no longer have to wonder:

[via io9]Do you self-destructively second guess yourself? This might be why. ~Esther Inglis-Arkell

All the way back when I was taking the SATs, I remember being given the advice that, if in doubt about a question, I should go with my first choice. I never did, but finally there’s an explanation for why I should have. If any other second-guessers are reading this – the explanation might help you before it’s too late!

The oft-repeated wisdom is that everyone should trust their instincts. Fair enough. My instincts seem to dictate that I second-guess every possible decision, taking another look at what the right response is. Generally that second look involves my talking (internally) my way through the chain of reasoning that should get me to a conclusion. As it turns out, that’s not a sound strategy.

…

It seems that your brain is a rather lazy organ. If it can’t find a reason why it likes something – and most people aren’t able to easily explain why they like great art – it just decides to like the thing it can explain. “That poster is funny,” “those politics are easy to justify,” or “that answer sounds more right because blah,” are explanations it can pounce on. It’s only after time and reflection that we can return to our real instincts.

…[Read More]

So…

It all comes down to a basic loss of intuitive instinct?

Makes sense.

And when in comes to instinctively knowing a dangerous situation?

Sadly, so many of us (just like the kids in the BELOW video short…

Ignore it:

And we ignore our instincts?

Often to our own peril.

What am I saying with this post?

Simply this.

Resist second-guessing yourself.

After all?

You brain instinctively knows what’s right…

Long before you consciously realize it.

Trust your instincts

Here there be dragons
May 6 2013

News Mash: The more we learn, the less we…Know?

Despite Science’s love of knowledge…

The only thing we humans will ever truly know?

Is that the more we discover…

The less we understand:

[via PopSci]The Weirdest Things Science Has Revealed About The Past ~By Lindsey Kratochwill

What Alexander Graham Bell’s Voice Sounded Like

Smithsonian

We now know what the man who made it possible to hear the voices of cross-country friends sounded like. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor most notable for his invention of the telephone and other sound recording methods, has himself been silent in the annals of history, but thanks to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in collaboration with the Library of Congress and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, researchers have identified Bell’s voice. The audio recordings come from Bell’s Volta lab, and they are some of the earliest ever made. Researchers discovered a transcript of a recording, which was signed and dated by Bell. Recently, researchers matched this transcript with a recording dated April 15, 1885. The recording sounds as old as it is, and Bell spends about 4 minutes reading numbers aloud, signing off with “in witness whereof, hear my voice, Alexander Graham Bell.” The noninvasive optical technique that was used to recover the sound is a method that has been developed over the past 10 years. The team is still recovering sound from the Volta lab discs with hopes to shed light on the innovation process.

The Color Of Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Car

Library of Congress

Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 funeral included a two-week train procession across the northern states of America. But given the use of black-and-white photography at the time, no one quite knew what color Lincoln’s funeral train car was–and with the 150th anniversary of his death looming, people were starting to wonder. Well, wonder no more. Researchers at the University of Arizona teamed up with model train builders to figure out exactly what color replicas should be painted. Newspaper clippings provided some clue, but were vague and meanings could have changed over time. And since the car burned in a fire in 1911, it’s been difficult to tell for sure. But one UA chemist and model train enthusiast, Wayne Wesolowski obtained a small piece of trim from the rail car. After comparing microscopic paint chips from the car to national color standards, the true original color was revealed–a dark maroon.

[Read More - See All 6 HERE!]

Quite honestly…

I must say?

Such truths…

Makes the world a far more entertaining and fascinating place.

Don’t you think?

You doubt me?

Huh.

Ok:

[via ListVerse]10 Mysterious Anomalies ~by Ron Harlan

Science continues to give us a deeper and more convincing knowledge of the universe we live in. But we still only partially understand the mysterious world we inhabit, and many mysteries remain unsolved. Here are ten of the most fascinating of these anomalies:

10

Dragon’s Cave Anomaly

Here there be dragons
In an unknown year—but likely some time in the early 1900s—land surveyors dropped rope down a cave in Boone County, Arkansas. After the rope had descended two hundred feet into the cave pipes, a horrendous hissing and roaring sound was heard, suggesting that a bizarre and enormous beast had been disturbed. Some believe that the roaring belonged to a cave-dwelling cryptid, or an apparently-extinct or so-far-undiscovered species.

The exact site of the eerie report has not been found, but the explorers of a second Arkansas cave heard a case of a landowner who had apparently gone insane with terror after entering a similar subterranean system and encountering something.

9

Precognition of American Presidents

Abe-Lincoln-Close-Up

Precognition—including the vague sense of impending doom—is an unexplained phenomenon whereby events are seen before their time. Eerily, Abraham Lincoln reported a dream in which he had seen his own dead body. Only days later, he was fatally shot.

Quantum theorists studying the fourth dimension propose that time can bend, allowing us to glimpse the future. Limiting ourselves to American Presidents alone, we find that John Garfield and William McKinley also “previewed” their own deaths. In a related—albeit slightly different—case of extrasensory perception, John Adams’ last words the moment before he died were simply “Thomas Jefferson.” It was unknown to him, but hours before, his great political rival had indeed passed away…

8

Hatley Castle Haunting

Front-Of-Hatley-Castle

Hatley Castle was built on Vancouver Island, off Canada’s West Coast, by the Scottish Coal Baron Robert Dunsmuir. He was a famous but controversial figure in his day, known for his swift-handed approach to decisions concerning the use of land.

The castle, which now forms part of the campus of Royal Roads University, has begun to fall prey to a series of unexplained events, which send chills down the spine of those who venture too close. Terrified observers have reported seeing a white figure drifting around the windows, and they’ve also made reference to hearing the clash of pots and pans.

It is rumored that the maid of Robert Dunsmuir—rejected by her lover—leapt from the window and died. SPIRITS, a charity dedicated to investigating the paranormal, claims that one of its staff members actually saw a female figure clothed in white slipping through the castle corridors. Unfortunately, few sources have less credibility in such cases than a charity dedicated to investigating the paranormal.

…[Read More]

Hmmm…

Yeah.

How about now?

and we should heed it
May 6 2013

News Mash: The internet is slap-full of the funny…Including your Facebook profile picture!

One great thing about the internet?

It preserves for prosperity…

Some of the best jewels of comedy moments:

[via Cracked]9 Brilliant Moments of Comedy Hiding on YouTube ~By

The tragedy of YouTube is that there is just so much of it that some of the most brilliant gems go unnoticed. Last year, I showed you some amazing bits of comedy genius whose greatness was not reflected in their traffic, and you all rewarded those unsung comedy heroes with much deserved attention. Fortunately for us all, I never get tired of finding these ridiculous things, and neither do our forum members. So let’s give a big-ass “fuck yeah” to some more true comedy gems, because knowing that there are people out there who find these as awesome and funny as I do is one of the things that keep my faith in humanity alive.

#9. Penguin Slap Fight

These are king penguins, also known as “the pussiest of all creatures.” And when they fight, it is the greatest thing in the entire animal kingdom, because there is virtually no effort put into it at all. They just kind of stand around halfheartedly squawking at each other until one of them gets up the energy and motivation to swing a flipper. If it makes contact, so be it. It just bounces off with a soft, barely audible *pop*, while the other penguin looks on with a disinterested “How dare you?”


Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

The video is half a minute of that. Fins flopping all around, occasionally making contact. The soft pop of fin on chest, and then with exactly as much apathy, they all just decide that someone won and walk away. And if you really think about it, the world would be a much better place if all fights were conducted in this manner.

[Read More - See All 9 HERE!]

Not less of which?

Could possibly include…

One of your dorky Facebook profile pictures.

You know it’s true!

Come, on…

Which one are YOU?

[via Gizmodo]The 14 Types of Profile Pictures ~by Leslie Horn

Your profile picture represents you. You want to convey that you’re fun, interesting, well-traveled, worldly, witty, or any number of likable, desirable qualities. But we’re also really predictable—our profile pictures can be boiled down into 14 specific categories.

Like the cover of a book or a movie trailer, your profile picture tells people what you’re about and why you’re about it. It’s a chance for you to brag, and we’ve got you pegged.

Now, it’s not to say any of these profile picture choices are wrong, although some might err on the annoying side. Look at your friend’s profiles. Look at your own profile.

You probably fit into one of these 14 camps:

1) The Hello We’re In Love

Recently engaged? Married? Blinded by the overwhelming power of love? This one is simple to spot. It’s an engagement picture, perhaps a shot of a couple with arms around each other, with the girl’s left hand securely placed in the he’s mine just check out this rock position (left hand on chest).

2) The Look at the Baby, Look at the Baby

You procreated! We know this because we see your spawn on your profile picture. And while we’re all very happy for you and your baby are adorable, we’re slightly confused and wondering if somehow you fell into a Benjamin Button situation.

3) The Throwback

Expand

This could be any number of things—a picture of you in a high school uniform, an adorable baby pic culled from your parents’ photo albums—it’s a dip back into the past.

4) The Traveler

Look, you already spent two weeks in Maui while the rest of us slogged through the winter. Do you have to rub it in our faces by changing your avatar to a shot of you lounging in white sands not working at all?

5) The Pet

Sure, you love your pet as much as the next guy. But more, because your pet IS you. At least according to your profile picture.

6) The I Met Someone Famous Once

DUDE. WHEN DID YOU HANG OUT WITH SNOOP DOGG, I MEAN LION?! Some use this profile picture as a setting to broadcast your famous connections. Or that you once touched someone who had a cameo in the third season of the West Wing.

…[Read More - See All 14 HERE!]

Yes, they are very much comedy gold!

Which the internet will keep and store…

F O R E V E R!

So please, do the world a favor?

Take care when you post one of those things, eh?

Some of them could seriously turn the tide of our possible future Robot Overlords against us due to your overt bone-tickling lameness…

(i.e. by showing our EXTREME weaknesses with the unjustified obsession of self)

Word of warning:

Post with care.

Unless?

You have a humorous video of you doing something stupid to post on YouTube.

In that case?

Oh, please…

Post away!

and we should heed it

Good story
May 4 2013

News Mash: Is the cannibalism at Jamestown colony another Donner Party?

The news world is “SHOCKED!” by this (below)…

New discovery.

Starving colonials turned to cannibalism!!!!!

Oh em gee.

[via WP]Skeleton of teenage girl confirms cannibalism at Jamestown colony ~by David Brown

The first chops, to the forehead, did not go through the bone and are perhaps evidence of hesitancy about the task. The next set, after the body was rolled over, were more effective. One cut split the skull all the way to the base.

“The person is truly figuring it out as they go,” said Douglas Owsley, a physical anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution.

In the meantime, someone — perhaps with more experience — was working on a leg. The tibia bone is broken with a single blow, as one might do in butchering a cow.

That’s one possible version of an event that took place sometime during the winter of 1609-1610 in Jamestown. What’s certain is that some members of that desperate colony resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.

That cannibalism occurred during the colony’s “starving time” was never in much doubt. At least a half-dozen accounts, by people who lived through the period or spoke to colonists who did, describe occasional acts of cannibalism that winter. They include reports of corpses being exhumed and eaten, a husband killing his wife and salting her flesh (for which he was executed) and the mysterious disappearance of foraging colonists.

The proof comes in the form of fragments of a skeleton of a girl, about age 14, found in a cellar full of debris in the fort on the James River that sheltered the starving colonists. The skull, lower jaw and leg bone — all that remain — have the telltale marks of an ax or cleaver and a knife.

“Historians have to decide whether this type of thing happened,” said Owsley, who has examined thousands of skeletal remains, both archaeological and forensic. “I think that it did. We didn’t see anybody eat this flesh. But it’s very strong evidence.”

…[Read More]

Though…

I must confess?

I am a bit confused as to just WHY they are so “SHOCKED!”

Cause, um, it’s not like are ancestors hadn’t turned to such dark practices, in time of great peril, in the past, which we know about…

And often report on, with such dark, twisted, morbid glee:

Makes for a fascinating history, tis true.

Such tales definitely captures ones fascination and attention, even if one is not historically inclined.

Makes for a good story, on a slow news day.

However…

I bet those who actually were forced to live through it?

See it just a tiny bit differently.

Good story

shut up and kiss me
May 4 2013

News Mash: We need stress in our lives, but just not too much…So kiss me!!!

Living a COMPLETELY stress free life!

As good as that sounds…

Truth is?

We ALL benefit from a little stress now and again:

[via LifeHacker] Why a Little Bit of Stress Can Actually Be Good for You ~Shana Lebowitz

There are times when I think I’d be much happier if I could spend the rest of my life lounging on the sands of the Mediterranean, having someone fan me with palm fronds while feeding me grapes. In other words, life would be better without any stress. Or would it?

According to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, a little stress may not be so bad for us after all. While chronic stress may be harmful, acute (short-term) stress may actually boost our cognitive function. The findings are supported by other research suggesting a little bit o’ stress may have beneficial effects for our brains and bodies. The key, of course, is knowing when we’re too harried for our own good.

What’s the Deal?

Before we get into the science, let’s be clear that most of the research in this area involves rats, not humans, so it’s not entirely clear that the findings apply to people. For a while now, researchers have suspected that the effect of stress on the (rat) brain is like an upside-down U: Up to a certain point, stress boosts cognitive function; after that, it starts to take a negative toll [1] [2].

In this latest study, researchers wanted to see if short-term stress really would turn regular old rats into geniuses. So they subjected rats to acute stress by confining them in their cages for a few hours. The stress caused the rats’ corticosterone (a stress hormone) levels to shoot up for a few hours, and also caused the growth of new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with memory function.

Two days after the stressful event, the researchers tested rats’ memories, and found nothing had changed. But two weeks later, the rats’ memories had significantly improved. Then the researchers got super-techy and figured out that the cells produced after the stressful event were the same cells involved in learning during the second round of memory tests. In other words, the acute stress had made the rats smarter. The scientists concluded that acute stress has a beneficial effect on cognitive function.

…[Read More]

However?

If the stress becomes TOO much for you?

One of the best cures, best stress relievers…

Is also one of the most easy and enjoyable.

So consider KISSING…

A good viable options for relieving the worst of your stresses:

[via Gizmodo] Science Explains Why We Kiss ~by Casey Chan

…

The scientific effect of kissing has been revealed to burn 2-3 calories per minute and reduce bad cholesterol and stress. But it’s not like we knew that when we first swapped saliva! What we did know was that to feed babies more than just breast milk, mothers had to chew up the food to process it for their wee ones. Mouthfeeding. Watch the entire video to explore every nook about kissing. [Vsauce]

…[Read More]

Heck…

It’s fun!

So why not?

What do you have to lose?

Wanna be de-stressed a bit…

Give it a go!

Kissings curative powers MIGHT just surprise you.

shut up and kiss me

there are more things
May 2 2013

News Mash: Some old wives’ tales are far more wise than others!

It’s true…

When it comes to “old wives’ tales”?

Our ancestors often believed in the darnedest things!

And by “darnedest things”?

I mean things, which definitely makes us question THEIR sanity:

[via io9]The Weird but True History of Sin Eaters ~by Keith Veronese

In 18th and 19th Century Scotland, families placed a piece of bread on the breasts of their dying loved ones. That’s not the strange part — the families then hired someone to eat the bread, believing that the practice would somehow absolve the sins of the deceased. Where did this strange ritual come from? And what sort of people worked as Sin Eaters?

Death and Dine

Eating food at a funeral (or shortly thereafter) is not uncommon — large family dinners often follow the death of a loved one, while drinking has been a cornerstone of wakes for the past couple of centuries.

But Sin Eaters were different — because they had a very singular role within some segments of Christianity. Sin Eaters performed a ceremony wherein they took on the sins that the deceased performed — sins that went unforgiven or without confession prior to death. People typically hired a Sin Eater in situations where the deceased died unexpectedly.

By consuming bread and a drink (usually wine or beer) placed on, or ritually waved over, the dead body, onlookers believed the dead person’s sins were digested by the eater after he or she consumed this beggar’s feast. The act appears to be confined to 18th and 19th Century Europe, with no accounts of necro-cannibalism noted.

In time, the practice expanded in popularity, so that Sin Eaters also attended to people who had just died of natural causes — because people believed the ritual could help prevent the dead from wandering the countryside after death.

This wasn’t an especially well-paid job — the Sin Eater would receive a half-shilling or more, in addition to the scant meal. A half-shilling amounts to no more than a couple of US dollars when inflation is accounted for.

No amount of money paid, however, could overcome the social stigma stemming from a Sin Eaters’s line of work, or ameliorate the poverty and solitude most officiates lived amidst. Each village typically had its “own” Sin Eater, and the villagers believed this individual would become more and more horrible, with each and every ceremony.

Religious Implications

Sin eaters often came under church scrutiny, since the sin eater did not have an affiliation with a local church. The eaters willfully carried the sins of the deceased for the rest of their mortal lives, going against the teachings of many sects of Christianity that were active in 18th and 19th Century Europe.

The practice of sin eating could be seen as a very macabre and misguided take on a Jewish tradition. Jewish priests would use a goat as a physical manifestation of the sins of the Jewish people, releasing the goat into the wilderness during Yom Kippur.

…[Read More]

But did you know…

That some of the craziest “old wives’ tales”?

Yeah…

Are absolutely true!

[via ListVerse]10 Old Wives’ Tales That Are True ~ by Morris M.

Most old wives’ tales are just that: tales. Nobody really believes money spiders bring money, or pulling a face when the wind changes direction will curse you to a life of looking like Carrot Top. Trouble is, we’ve gotten so used to being skeptical we now dismiss the handful of tales that are demonstrably true.

10

Colds

Old Wives’ Tale: The Cold Causes Colds

As anyone who’s ever heard of science knows, the common cold is nothing more than a bunch of viruses living it up in your snot glands. Since low temperatures can’t cause viruses to spontaneously appear, being cold can’t cause colds, right?

Maybe not, but it can definitely cause the symptoms. As far back as 2005, researchers at Cardiff University were testing the correlation between temperature and illness. By making a bunch of people stand in icy water while a control group waited in the warm, they found that those exposed to the cold were more likely to catch one than those who weren’t. Specifically, twenty-nine percent of the ‘cold feet’ group developed a cold in the next few days, compared to nine percent for the control. So what gives?

Well, according to the study director, most of us spend the winter months with mild infections we don’t even notice. But lower our body temperature and our defense system takes five, allowing the virus to go supernova. It’s one of those weird situations where both science and your Gran managed to be simultaneously right and wrong.

9

Apples

Old Wives’ Tale: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Nobody seriously believes apples are a magic illness-fighting wonder fruit. Good for you, maybe; delicious in a pie, absolutely—but life saver? Come on.

Not so fast. According to researchers at Ohio State University, apples may help fight off everything from cancer to strokes. Thanks to something called phytochemicals, eating a whole bunch allows your body to break down cholesterol twenty percent faster, freeing up your arteries to do important stuff like keeping you alive. This in turn decreases your chance of taking a fatal nosedive into your morning pizza; while increasing your lung capacity to Brian Blessed proportions. And while we’re on the subject of fruit . . .

8

Going Bananas

Old Wives’ Tale: Bananas Make Boys

Let’s say you and your partner are trying for a boy. You don’t fancy IVF, but are willing to play loose with nature’s rules. What do you do?

You could try eating all the bananas. A comprehensive study by Oxford University found a high potassium intake around breakfast time increases your chance of having a boy. And guess what? Bananas are the kings of potassium. From a sample of 740 mothers, the researchers found that those on the banana diet had a fifty-six percent chance of having a boy, compared to forty-five percent on a separate diet. An eleven percent difference may not sound like much, but holy hell, when you consider the amount of children born each year, that’s potentially quite significant.

7

Full Moon

Old Wives’ Tale: Seizures Increase during a Full Moon

The ‘Transylvania Hypothesis’ is a theory that states weird stuff happens around a full moon. Since the dawn of time people have reported dogs going mad, cats getting their love on and seizure rates shooting through the roof. So in 2004, a bunch of researchers got together to measure the phenomenon and found . . . nothing.

So much for Dracula theory, right? Wrong. Five years later, Dr Sallie Baxendale decided her colleague’s research sucked so she started her own study. By correlating for cloud cover, she found that seizures really did increase during a full moon—but only so long as sufferers could see it. The theory is that the seizures are triggered by the super-luminosity of a full moon, rather than moon magic or vampires. Which is kinda disappointing, come to think about it.

…[Read More - See All 10 HERE!]

Which…

In turn?

due to our disbelief, makes me question OUR sanity.

Especially?

When it comes to what we THINK we know…

In direct comparison to what IS.

Because…

there are more things

So seldom, I think…

Are we near as smart as we like to think we are.

um can i get a shake with those fries
Apr 26 2013

News Mash: Soon we will know “how to burn it off’, but what if we were like 6-inches long? Ponderism.

Knowing how hard you have to work…

To work off that burger?

Definitely far more useful information than just knowing how much calories what we eat contains.

Especially for those of us who try to do what we can to stay in shape…

And have to really work HARD at it.

[via HealthlandTime] How Much Exercise Will It Take to Work Off a Burger? Menus May Soon Tell You ~By Alexandra Sifferlin

More restaurants display calorie counts on their menus, but what if they also informed you what it would take to burn off those calories?

It’s one thing to know how many calories are packed into a meal you’re about to eat, and quite another to fully appreciate what your body does with them. That’s been clear since cities like New York mandated calorie counts on fast food and restaurant menus so consumers would have a better idea of what they were eating. Despite the added information, studies haven’t shown that the counts led people to eat less. In fact, some surveys found they prompted people to order more food. So caloric information, it seems, doesn’t  have much impact on eating behavior.

Better strategies are clearly needed, so researchers Dr. Meena Shah and Ashlei James from Texas Christian University tried another approach — replacing the calorie counts with the number of minutes of brisk walking a person would need to complete to burn off what they just ate.

…[Read More]

The fact that some of us DO really have to work hard at it…

It does bring to mind a ponderous question.

Ponderism:

How hard would we really have to work, if we were a tenth of the size.

Like, say…

If we were just like 6-inches long.

And before any of you scoff (yeah, I see you, you scofferes!) at the idea NEVER being possible?

Just know, that at ONE time in our history…

It wasn’t impossible.

[via TheBlaze]The DNA Test Results on That 6-Inch ‘Humanoid of Unknown Classification’ Are In ~by 

After images were released of what looks like a 6-inch alien creature, a lot of buzz began to generate around a documentary film titled “Sirius.” Filmmakers said the documentary would reveal that the DNA of the miniature creature um can i get a shake with those friescouldn’t be medically classified, insinuating that it was a foreign life form.

Well, the DNA test results are in. As it turns out, the 6-inch humanoid is, in fact, likely human.

“I can say with absolute certainty that it is not a monkey. It is human — closer to human than chimpanzees. It lived to the age of six to eight. Obviously, it was breathing, it was eating, it was metabolizing. It calls into question how big the thing might have been when it was born,”said Garry Nolan, director of stem cell biology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in California.

“The DNA tells the story and we have the computational techniques that allows us to determine, in very short order, whether, in fact, this is human,” Nolan explains in the film.

“‘Sirius’ focuses on the remains of the small humanoid, nicknamed Ata, that was discovered in Chile’s Atacama Desert 10 years ago and has, literally, gone through different hands and ownership since then,” The Huffington Post notes.

HuffPost has more background on the documentary:

The film also explores an ongoing grassroots movement to get the U.S. government to reveal what it reportedly knows about UFOs, extraterrestrials and the availability of advanced alternative energy technologies that could greatly benefit everyone on Earth.

The primary force behind “Sirius” is Steven Greer, a former emergency room doctor who founded the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) and The Disclosure Project.

One odd thing about the Ata controversy is how it came to the recent attention of the American public.

Early in the documentary, Greer refers to Ata as an extraterrestrial being, explaining how it was found in the Atacama Desert and “we don’t know how it came about.” That seems strange because HuffPost recently reported on the well known history of little Ata since its discovery 10 years ago and subsequent moving from hand to hand, ending up in Spain.

Watch the theatrical trailer for “Sirius,” which now has nearly 1 million views:

…[Read More]

Wow, right?

Can you imagine a humanoid like that surviving today?

Of course, it would probably be shaped like an orange after eating like two McDonald’s french fries.

But still, pretty cool.

Both the idea of eating establishments listing “burn off” calorie requirements, as well as the thought of a hand-sized person purveying that list for their own specifications.

Do these two stories have anything to do with one another?

Pffft, no.

Only in my twisted head were they connected.

But, at least for me…

Therein lay the fun.

This is only the beginning
Apr 24 2013

News Mash: Want a great relationship? Live apart! And today…That’s a lot easier than you might think!

No expert here…

But one would think, logically?

That if one wanted to maintain a healthy, committed adult relationship…

One would have to be in the same location TOGETHER in order to do it.

Apparently not:

[via DailyMail] Want to stay in love? Then DON’T live together ~By Deborah MoggachAccording to a recent survey, 23 per cent of couples - that's 2.2 million people - in a serious relationship live apart, whether by choice or circumstance, and this number is growing rapidly

Ten of the happiest years of my life were spent not living with the man I loved. A couple of times a week, I would cycle to his Soho bedsit, carrying my trusty sponge bag.

So keen was I to preserve my independence that I didn’t even leave a toothbrush there.

We would spend the evening together and in the morning eat breakfast at a nearby cafe, chatting to his friends.

Then I would bike back to my home in Camden, North London, and start my day’s work, writing. This carried on for a decade, unchanged and blissful, until he died 19 years ago.

We loved each other to bits, but I don’t think it even crossed our minds to move in together. We certainly never talked about it.

At the start, I was newly divorced with small children, and he — the cartoonist Mel Calman — was the veteran of two marriages. We bore the scars of prolonged co-habitation and had no desire to jump into domesticity again.

It soon became clear our unconventional arrangement worked for us and we had no desire to change it.

Mel had his own life — 18 years older than me, he never wanted to leave his beloved bachelor pad and move somewhere big enough for two, let alone a house with room for a family.

And it wasn’t all one-way. I had my life, which centred on my two children and writing novels.

I loved being a parent with them and a vamp with him; apart from the fact it was fun, keeping the two parts of my life separate avoided all sorts of tensions and problems.

I don’t think our relationship would have survived if we had moved in together: he would have got annoyed at my children’s mess and the way I brought them up. I think he thought me a slapdash and indulgent parent, though he was far too wise to tell me so.

Nor might we have survived my children’s hostility towards him as the cause of my divorce from their father, though this tension eased as the years passed. Besides, he’d already had a set of stepchildren and I didn’t want to inflict all that on him a second time.

While some of our friends thought our set-up was strange, it turns out we were trendsetters.

According to a recent survey, 23 per cent of couples — that’s 2.2 million people — in a serious relationship live apart, whether by choice or circumstance, and this number is growing rapidly.

Indeed, the number of men and women ‘living apart together’ has increased by 40 per cent in the past decade. Famously, they include the actress Helena Bonham Carter and her director husband Tim Burton, who live in adjacent London homes.

Research suggests young couples live apart because they don’t want to sacrifice their independence, while those who are older have accumulated too many possessions to fit in one property.

But I think there are myriad reasons why living apart appeals to so many. There are women who have worked hard and don’t want to risk losing their savings when an ill-judged cohabitation goes wrong, and men who value their independence — and vice versa.

I know several couples who live apart and prefer it that way. This especially applies to those who have got together later in life, when each person is more likely to be set in their ways and less willing to adapt.

They’re surrounded by their own stuff with no room for anyone else’s. Some have emerged from a long marriage and are scared to commit or just reluctant to return to domesticity. Others have grandchildren nearby and don’t want to uproot themselves.

They’ve done the marriage thing; falling in love again recaptures something of their carefree youth, so why not keep it carefree?

Having two homes is also an escape valve. One couple I know, who have been together for seven years, work from home and divide their time between her flat in London and his cottage in Hastings, East Sussex. Sometimes they go together, sometimes separately.

…[Read More]

Again, no expert here…

But having a relationship, but separately, makes NO sense to me.

Correction.

MADE no sense to me.

Because thanks to the advent of THIS (below) new bit of creepy technology?

Makes a little more sense.

We are, after all, working on negotiating any type of need for any actual HUMAN interaction out of the human experience.

And with that said, introducing?

Vibrating underwear!

Yeah…

You heard that right.

Soon to be known as?

Technology-you-should-be-ashamed-of-your-mother-ever-finding-out-it-exists:

[via Gizmodo] Uh, A Condom Company Just Made Vibrating Underwear Controlled by Your iPhone ~by Kyle Wagner

So obviously this was going to happen eventually, but that doesn’t mean we’re ready for it. Durex just announced what it’s calling “Fundawear“, which ostensibly stands for “fun underwear” but which Durex believes will eventually come to mean “article of clothing that is fun like once ever and until you realize what horror you’ve wreaked in your pants and never want to talk about it again.”

This is only the beginning

The undergarments are loaded with touch technology, and are controlled by a smartphone app—an iPhone in the demo videos—that knows what gender your partner is. The app has diagrams of your partner’s crotch, which you drag your finger across to stimulate their actual crotch from wherever you are in the world. Or the bra, since that apparently vibrates too. Newjack remote controlled vibrator gag that no one does in real life because sex things from movies are almost never practical in real life.

…[Read More]

Cause…

Seriously, dude?

You know how you have to explain all the newest technology to your mom.

Just think about having to have THIS conversation,a nd explaining how these underwear work?

*shakes head MADLY*

Thinking about my mother and vibrating underwear, in the same sentence…

[ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! *gag* Gak & spew!!!!!!!!!!!]

Much less having to talk to her about it?

NOT really something I am comfortable with, or want to contemplate without a readily available gas source and a torch lighter for Self-immolation purposes.

Just sain’

“So, jeez Mom…Quit askin’ me!”

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/8/2011/06/a2b4ffbf5980aac3b3967bf2400ac42e/340x.gif

Warning number of cats in box
Apr 24 2013

News Mash: MacGyver was full of useful lifehacks…Not to be outdone? So is this cat!

It’s stumbling across useful MacGyver hacks like THESE (below)?

Which makes my often depressing internet experience…

All more bearable on a day-to-day basis.

Cause, yeah…

Hello there, Awesome!!!

[via LifeHacker] Top 10 Awesome MacGyver Tricks That Speak For Themselves by ~Whitson Gordon

Some life hacks require a complete how-to guide just to understand. Others are so genius in their simplicity that they speak for themselves. Here are ten of our favorite self-explanatory MacGyver tricks.

10. Make Perfect Pancakes with a Squeeze Bottle

It doesn’t have to be a ketchup bottle, any kind of squeeze bottle will work—including the kind you buy empty from the store.

9. Use a Post-It Note to Avoid a Drilling Mess

8. Seal Plastic Bags with Old Bottle Caps

7. Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubber Band

Then fix the hole with toothpicks.

6. Organize Anything with an Over-the-Door Shoe Holder

This works with anything from pantry items to cleaning products to gadgets, game controllers, and even cables.

…[Read More - See All 10 HERE!]

But I must say…

It is validating to know that MacGyver?

Not the only one capable of pulling off AWESOME! hacks.

THIS (below) cat?

Yeah, pretty capable as well.

Muck to the disgust (not to mention the possible demise), of his box-loving friend:

I Just Got Comfortable![Source]

Though, I must admit?

It’s not quite as scary when MacGyver does it.

*pokes cat in the bottom of the box*

“You alive down there, buddy?”

Sadness.

*shakes head sadly*

I don’t think it’s moving.

Warning number of cats in box

Oh curses
Apr 8 2013

News Mash: Know when to pick your battles, and as well? Your curses.

No one likes to loses.

But just as important as NOT losing should be to you?

Knowing how to pick the battles…

That are WORTH battling over.

[via LifeHacker] How Do You Pick Your Battles? ~by Adam Dachis

Whether you’re highly opinionated or not, you can’t fight every battle you encounter in life—at least, you can’t if you want to keep your sanity. Sometimes you have to let things go, but how do you decide which battles are worth fighting? We want to know.

The Consumerist offers an example of a battle not worth fighting:

Back in 2008, a couple in Olde Fairhaven, Virginia put up a sign in their lawn showing their support for a presidential candidate. This simple action led to a feud that has raged for years and cost the neighborhood homeowners association hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now the HOA is broke, and the central “town square” that turns a clump of townhouses into something resembling a community is up for sale.

This all happened because the homeowners association decided to enact a little revenge against the couple and their lawn sign. This offers at least one good piece of advice: don’t choose to fight a battle if you’re simply feeling bitter.

…[Read More]

And…

For everything else?

Well…

That’s where curses come it.

[via io9] Curse Me Like You Mean It: Using Psychology to Make Your Curses Actually Work ~by Esther Inglis-ArkellOh curses

Perhaps you have been crossed by a friend or loved one. Perhaps you’ve burned to see justice dealt out to the wicked. Perhaps you’ve just decided to start a small business in cursing people and you’re having trouble getting off the ground. Don’t worry. We’re here for you. And we’re going to show you how to use the power of psychology to convince people that your curses are effective. Always remember that you don’t need to destroy someone if you convince them to destroy themselves. Now let’s get down to some good, old-fashioned gaslighting.

A traditional way of really putting an edge to a curse is using the “nocebo” effect. You’ve heard of the placebo effect, and how people who down sugar pills will experience relief from their symptoms despite not getting anything they couldn’t have gotten from pixie stix. The nocebo effect is the opposite. People who have been told that a pill will cause them stomach pains will experience stomach pains. People who have been told that a medical procedure will be painful will experience pain.

So we’ll use the nocebo effect to create your basic “fix it and forget it” kind of curse. Dress up, pick a dark and stormy night for your encounter, and follow someone down the street telling them their bowels will revolt like French peasants, or every step they take will feel like a mile, or that they’ll never get another good night’s sleep, and you’re pretty much done with the curse. Their minds will do the rest. If you really want to get nasty, tell them that they’re going to die during their next medical procedure. It works on groups, too! It’s been suggested as a cause for the dancing plagues – when people literally danced themselves to death – in the 1500s in Europe. Clearly this thing has some juice.

If you want to be a little gentler on someone by just making them screw up their lives, curse them to destroy everything they touch. It won’t take long until they do. This curse involves more work than most. It requires weighing in on what they do in order to make sure they ruin it. Here’s the twist – you don’t have to offer them bad advice or even be mean about things. Just giving them too much information is enough.

A study at Queen Mary University of London gave people the task of either predicting or maintaining the health of a baby (fortunately not a real baby). People who were given constant advice and updates, even if those updates were praise, tended to do worse than people who were left alone. The idea is that, in order to do a good job at anything, people need to focus and make the right decision. Listening to other people’s opinions made them lose focus and screw up. The more complex the task, the more warm and loving encouragement seems to ruin people.

…[Read More - See the whole, amazingly informative article HERE!] [Plus, play with this fun 'Biblical Curse Generator' HERE!]

Sure.

Cursing someone be a little over the top…

But so is my, err…um…I mean, YOUR need to win your every battle.

Tough way to live, that.

But you know satisfying too, especially when it all works out my…uh…I mean, YOUR way.

Are you a devil
Apr 4 2013

News Mash: “Gates of hell” and cursed rings…We bring the very “devil” to the details of our lives!

Have you ever heard the saying…

“The devil is in the details“

Because honestly?

He’s not.

Actually…

He’s in the history:

[via The Blaze]Archeologists Uncover Deadly ‘Gate to Hell’ in TurkeyArcheologists Uncover Deadly Gate to Hell in Turkey | Plutos Gate

Italian archeologists have found the “gate to hell”

Naturally, you’re likely wondering what, exactly, this means. Located in Pamukkale, Turkey, the newly-discovered cave was known in ancient times as Pluto’s Gate. And, as Fox News reports, it is a so-called doorway to hell — one that was discussed and revered in Greco-Roman mythology (at that time Pumakkale was known as Hierapolis).

The historic sources who discussed Pluto’s Gate noted that its opening had lethal vapors. For those living in ancient times, this was very naturally a heralded location. Consider Greek geographer Strabo, who lived between 64 or 63 B.C. and 24 A.D, and the descriptives he used to frame the purported “gate to hell.”

“This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death,” he once wrote. “I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell.”

Archeologists made the recent discovery while excavating in the area and announced their findings earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey. The team, as Fox News notes, was led by Professor Francesco D’Andria of the University of Salento.

…[Read More]

And maybe even…

Hidden.

In that pretty, dainty little gold ring.

So precious!

[via DailyMail] A ‘cursed’ Roman ring that was dug up by a farmer is believed to have been the inspiration behind JRR Tolkein's inspiration? The tale of this 'cursed' Roman ring discovered in a field by a farmer in Silchester, Hampshire, in 1785, may have inspired JRR Tolkien to write The HobbitTolkien’s The Hobbit.

The piece of gold jewellery was discovered close to the Roman town of Silchester, Hampshire, in 1785.

The celebrated author was called in to investigate the incredible story of the ring’s past just two years before his famous novel was published.

The story of the jewellery’s unlikely link to the 20th century author is told in a new exhibition opening today at The Vyne, a National Trust-owned property in Hampshire.

It is thought it was unearthed by a farmer ploughing his field close to the Roman town in the 18th century.

Historians believe the large 12g gold ring once belonged to a Roman called Silvianus but he put a curse on it after it was stolen.

It is so large that it will only fit on the finger of a gloved hand. It has a Latin inscription which says ‘Senicianus live well in God’.

JRR Tolkien, who was an Oxford University professor with expertise in Anglo-Saxon history, is thought to have drawn inspiration from the tale when he started work on The Hobbit.

The book, which has a ring at the centre of the plot, was published in 1937 and was well-received by critics. The novel, which was turned into a film last year, was the precursor for the Lord of the Ring trilogy.

After the ring was discovered in a field it is thought to have been sold to the Chute family who owned The Vyne for centuries before it passed into the hands of The National Trust in the 1930s.

It was several decades after the farmer found it before the curse was discovered on a tablet in Lydney, Gloucestershire, more than 100 miles away.

The victim, Silvianus, knew the thief responsible and called on the god Nodens to strike him down.

The great archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the director of later excavations at Lydney, realised the connection between the ring and the curse tablet, and in 1929 asked JRR Tolkien to work on the etymology of the name Nodens.

The tablet says: ‘Among those who bear the name of Senicianus to none grant health until he bring back the ring to the temple of Nodens.’

Senicianus apparently only got as far as the field in Silchester when he abandoned the ring.

For many years, the ring, with an image of the goddess Venus, lay almost forgotten in a corner of the Library at The Vyne.

…[Read More]

But truth of the matter is?

We live in an amazing world of heavenly things…

And because we do?

We supply the “devils” to the details of our lives…

Not because they belong there?

But because, sadly, a dark, inner part of us cannot imagine our lives without them.

Are you a devil [Source]

Crap I am the one
Mar 4 2013

News Mash: People, on the internet, are extremely inventive…And kinda crazy!

People do some amazingly inventive things…

During the course of their RL (real life)?

And just LOVE posting their tricks/adventures on the net, for all of us less humans to enjoy.

Not to mention wish?

We were half-way as inventive…

As well as able:

Sleight of Hand: Ravi solves the rubik’s cube while juggling! This guy should be knighted Sir Ravi the juggler.

OK.

Maybe not EVERYTHING on the net makes me wish I was just as able.

Take THIS (below) video.

Whereas though I find myself indeed able?

Oh…

I sure as HECATE am not willing:

Watch the behind the scenes in the link below!
http://youtu.be/CpCxIL3r5dM

Shay Carl, one of my favorite people in the world, and on youtube was
there for the adventure as well! See his vlog that he shot on location
in the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WETxI4…

The song in the video is called “Kitten Air” and is featured on Scott
& Brendo’s new album:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/15I54vR | Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZGWMnh

The internet.

It is rife with proof of the inventive, able species, that IS humanity.

Not to mention, in some extreme cases?

Crazy. As. Hell!

Gotta love ‘em!

Crap I am the one