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Kendrick Lamar is having a moment. The buzz-heavy Compton, California MC, who is the latest protégé of legendary producer Dr. Dre, is set for a huge first week debut as his album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is on pace to ring up some impressive figures.
According to HITS Daily Double, Lamar is zeroing in on 200,000 copies, a figure that bolsters the overwhelming critical acclaim surrounding the talented MC. During an interview with Hot 93.7's DJ Buck, Lamar said he is humbled by all the high praise.
"It's crazy to know that it started in my own backyard in Compton, small city like that," Lamar said. "I wrote these songs in my momma's kitchen. These people [are] singing them like they were right there in that same kitchen, making noodles with me. It's crazy."
Lamar then spoke on the pressure to live up to all the hype: "It's really no pressure because when I first came in the game and started writing, I always wanted to be the best. I never wanted to be number two."
As for the whole experience of going from underground MC to breaking bread with hip-hop icons, he points to the surreal moment he recorded his first official single "The Recipe" with Dr. Dre.
"This was one of his houses and it was crazy," Lamar recalled of the session. "The studio wasn't really a studio. It was just a mic, a computer set up, and a few Beats by Dre [headphones] on your head. He got his regular setup. [The sound] comes out the speakers just like a hundred thousand dollar board."
Dr. Dre created the beat for the track, and after hearing it, Kendrick's lyrics came easily. "I got inspired," he said. "Just when I heard the beat it felt like my city, it felt like where I am from."
Check out the full interview here. —Keith Murphy, CBS Local
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Having read Love You, Hate You, Miss You, as well as Living Dead Girl, I was prepared for an edgy subject matter. Once again, Elizabeth Scott did not disappoint. I sat down to take a look at the first chapter and didn't stop until the book was finished.
After I finished reading Grace, I told my husband that I would like him to read it as well because I need to talk about the book with someone to fully understand it.
The inside flap's first paragraph gives you a good glimpse into the book. "Grace was brought up to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom."
Is it the near future, as the flap alludes? Is it the present? Is it statement about politics in any certain country, past or present?
I think that young adult readers will be intrigued by Grace's story, as it is so different from what they live daily. The idea of being "given" to a cause, the idea of being so trained to be a suicide bomber that you consider it an honor, is just not a reality to us.
As you get to know Grace, you also get to know Kerr, the young man who is posing as her brother as they both attempt to escape over the border. Having both endured so much, at such young ages, they are both very similar and different at the same time. Being a survivor is what ultimately brings them to an understanding.
I do believe that there are some people whose psyche's are such that they are survivors, leading them to not just survive unthinkable horrors, but even be able to move on to having a life after those events are over. Others are not. Put two people in the same horrific situation, and there is no telling which one might end up the survivor. I think of Schindler's List, of other Holocaust stories, of people who escaped over the Berlin Wall in a hot air balloon, of people over the centuries who have survived dictators, death marches, massacres of their people, and lived to tell the story.
Both Grace and Kerr are those type of survivors. Brought together through no desire of their own, with only their strong sense of survival to keep them going, the book leaves the reader on a hopeful note. That perhaps not only will Grace and Kerr survive, but that they might even find comfort in each other and go on to have a relatively normal adulthood, where the horrors they have survived eventually fade into nightmares of the past.
A quick, gripping read, Elizabeth Scott's Grace is a must-read.

subset: commoncrawl


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THIS WEEK'S GUEST-BIANS: Kristanna Loken wants to play; Marlee Matlin gets smoke in Bette's eyes; Heather Matarazzo boogies; Cybill Shepherd goes off the deep end.
Guess I won't do a screen shot of this scene — Max is standing in front of a mirror. He takes off his pants, revealing quite a bulge in his briefs, and then takes out the packer that's causing that bulge. He continues to undress until he's naked in front of the mirror, and it's startling — not the nudity but the incongruity of his face and body.
I think maybe this is the key to making Max a sympathetic character: Fewer lines. There's some considerable drama going on in that face when there's no dialogue to worry about.
Nannygate — I presume we're at Henry's house or Tina's house or some combination of the two. Hazel is answering the door. Angstus is at the door. I feel sorry for the door: No matter which way it turns, ugliness abounds — with the unbelievably cute exception of Angelica.
Angus is dropping Angelica off, and Hazel wants to know how Angus' day was — and how she can make it better. I really don't know how to recap this stuff. Maybe I didn't read enough Harlequin novels in my youth. Or Harlot/Mannequin.
California University — Tom is chatting up a student. (A male student.) My, but this campus is rife with inappropriate romances. But never mind: If Tom is hanging around, there's a good chance Jodi's nearby, and if Jodi's around … yep, here comes Bette, right on cue.
Bette comments on Tom's flirtations. Jodi seizes the opportunity to make a few comments of her own:
Bette laughs sort of condescendingly and tries to keep her gaze higher than Jodi's hands (which are on Jodi's breasts). Bette goes into professional mode and says she's glad there were no serious repercussions from the little dalliance. Did you hear the way she said reh-percussions, not ree-percussions? Swoon.
Bette also says she'll try to be more careful herself, but Jodi tells her, "Don't be too careful. That's dreary."
This is worse than when Mr. P died — Jenny (as Debbie) is at the vet's office. Sounder is in kidney failure and is in a lot of pain, so the vet (Stacey Merkin's girlfriend Lindsey) is putting the dog to sleep. Right here in front of me. On my TV. I can't watch.
I get that the dog was going to die anyway, but I can't believe Jenny is essentially participating in euthanasia just so she can get revenge on a reviewer. And just when I was starting to like her.
I'm not quite sure whether Jenny gets the gravity of the moment:
That's right, Jenny. Celebrate Sounder. Celebrate the egomania that has driven you to kill a dog in the service of your so-called art.
I suppose Sounder might represent innocence or trust or weakness or whatever else Jenny has traded in for crazy, but you know what she also represents? A dog. Dying. On my TV.


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The Lovefilm Player for iPad is such an obvious and welcomed application that it's a wonder that it's taken so long to arrive. For starters, the look and feel is identical to the service's other portals on Samsung and Sony home entertainment kit and the PS3, and the quality and film choice apes what's available on those and through the company's own PC online streaming platforms.
Now, obviously, this isn't the first Lovefilm app to hit the iPad. The first was limited in functionality, however, and while it offered a searchable user interface to order rentable movies, it only dealt with the postal side of the Lovefilm business. The new player also offers access to its streamed video service too, allowing those with a relevant subscription to watch full films on their tablet device.
There are many different subscriptions you can opt for, with the streaming service being an add-on to a paid postal option. The cheapest you can get weighs in at £5.99 a month, but that only offers 2 hours worth of streamed content per month (with three physical discs able to be rented). You'll really need to spend at least £9.99 per month if you want unlimited streaming, but if you do, you'll be impressed with the quality.
Where on a 55-inch TV, the standard definition bitrates can look a little pale and not quite DVD quality, the iPad app benefits from presenting its fare on a smaller, brighter screen.
In fact, you would be hard pushed to tell the difference between a streamed Lovefilm movie, or a bought one through a service such as iTunes. And, depending on the age of the film, some of the video performance is excellent all round.
The only real issue is the content itself, or rather, lack of it.
Unfortunately, it's still early doors for Lovefilm's streaming service - Netflix it ain't.
The company, Amazon-affiliation or no, has only got a few license deals in place, so the choice of films you can view are limited. And barely any of them are particularly current.
That said, we're suckers for old flicks such as Bullitt and world cinema like the first Battle Royale, and it's certainly easy to find something to watch through its search and genre tabulated systems. And should you want to order the most recent films to watch on Blu-ray or DVD, the player encompasses that functionality too.
If you own an iPad and subscribe to Lovefilm, it truly is a no-brainer. Especially as it's free.
What do you think of Lovefilm's streaming service? Let us know in the comments below...


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Happy New Year
Happy New Year! Well, this year is already starting off pretty well because of:
I wonder what this decade (alright, I know it technically starts in 2011, but still) is going to be like. I hope there's better music for one. At any rate, a whole set of new experiences and new memories; the last one wasn't short on that! Here's to another great decade!
Note: This post shows up on December 31st because it isn't New Year's yet in Arizona (and this blog runs on MST)! I'm in India right now and it's January 1st, 2010 here.


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Persons taking medications and those with known medical conditions should consult their physician before using this or any dietary supplement.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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When 16-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw pitched at the WWBA PG/BA World Championship in Fort Myers, Fla., in October of 2004, he found himself competing against some pretty elite company. Kershaw, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound high school junior from Dallas, could sense the greatness around him and surely must have felt he belonged.
Now nine years removed from that Perfect Game tournament experience, Kershaw has risen above that pack of young stars and occupies a room all his own in the home of Major League Baseball's truly elite pitching talents.
Kershaw, 25 years old and the undeniable staff ace for the National League West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers, on Wednesday night received the 2013 National League Cy Young Award on a vote by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).
He received 29 of 30 first-place votes and 207 points in the balloting by 30 national baseball writers, well ahead of runner-up Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals (one first-place vote, 86 points) and third-place finisher Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins (62 points). Fernandez, a 2010 Perfect Game All-American, won the NL Rookie of the Year Award earlier this week.
This is Kershaw's second NL Cy Young Award in three years – he won in 2011 and was runner-up in the voting in 2012 – and further establishes the young left-hander as the franchise's most elite pitcher since three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Koufax wore Dodger Blue in the 1960s.
"This is such a cool thing," Kershaw told the MLB Network after Wednesday's announcement. "I feel like anybody can have one great season or one great half of a season. For me, I think the mark of a truly good player or good pitcher is to be able to do it year in, year out. For me, that's my goal, to be that model of consistency."
Kershaw's 2013 season was almost a mirror image of his stellar efforts in the two previous campaigns. He led the league in ERA (1.83), strikeouts (232) and WHIP (0.915), the latter an indicator of walks plus hits per inning pitched.
His 16 wins was the second most of his career (he won 21 in 2011) and was tied for third in the National League and seventh in the major leagues. According to MLB.com, he was the only pitcher in the National League to finish in the top three in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched.
Kershaw's 1.83 ERA earned him his third straight NL ERA title – it's the second lowest ERA in the big leagues since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 in 2000 and the lowest in the NL since Greg Maddux produced a 1.63 in 1995. It is also the top ERA by a National League left-hander since Koufax posted a 1.73 in 1966.
"He doesn't take a hitter off. Every pitch has a purpose," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com in August. "He wants every out he can get (and) he keeps turning the page. Everything in the past is over and it's about today. He's pretty amazing."
The Dodgers selected Kershaw with the seventh overall pick of the first round in the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft and he made his big league debut less than two years later on May 25, 2008, at age 20. In six seasons as a Dodgers' starter he is 77-46 with a 2.60 ERA.
Kershaw was a little bit of late-bloomer but by the time he graduated from Dallas' Highland Park High School in 2006, Perfect Game ranked him the No. 3 overall national prospect in his class. He was named the 2006 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year after going 13-0 with 0.77 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 64 innings during his senior season at Highland Park.
"Clayton has electric stuff on the mound," Highland Park head coach Lew Kennedy said after Kershaw earned the POY award in 2006. "He competes well and has a knack for getting strikeouts in tough situations. He is a humble young man who is a great role model for our team and community."
He may have first started becoming a role model at that 2004 PG WWBA World Championship where there certainly was no shortage of available role models.
While Kershaw was suited up for the Dallas Tigers, he didn't have to look far to spot current Pittsburgh Pirates teammates Andrew McCutchen (Team Florida) and Pedro Alvarez (Bayside Yankees/Virginia Barnstormers); San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (East Cobb Astros); Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce (Houston Heat); St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn (India Mustangs) and dozens of other future big-leaguers that were at the same event.
McCutchen is among three finalists for the NL Most Valuable Player Award which will be given out Thursday night.
Detroit Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer won the American League Cy Young Award in convincing fashion over Texas Rangers right-handed starter Yu Darvish and Seattle Mariners right-handed starter Hisashi Iwakuma.
With Kershaw's repeat honor, the number of Perfect Game alumni to win a Cy Young award remains at three. Righty Zack Greinke, now a teammate of Kershaw's with the Dodgers, won the AL Cy Young Award in 2009 with the Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Rays lefty David Price won the AL Cy Young Award in 2012.


text: M3 Classical (Gold) This item goes on sale often, please call to get price or to order. This item is also available for viewing in our CAIRO GLITZ showrooms. View Details Add this product to your wishlist product.share_this_product M3 Classical (Gold) Write a Review Rating Choose a rating... 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars Name required Email Address required Subject required Comments required Description Details 85" H x 60" W Current Stock: SKU: M3-G


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When people in the U.S. hear the term "prepaid mobile," they might think of cheap phones with limited service options for people with bad credit.
But that's slowly changing. While some wireless companies say the bulk of their prepaid customers are still low-income consumers looking for a value plan, an increasing number of customers who would normally qualify for phone contracts are now considering no-commitment plans.
This week, I'll answer some common questions about prepaid mobile, based on my research of nine U.S. brands. While you won't be able to get a fancy smartphone at a low price, and most plans still aren't catering to heavy data users, there are some good reasons to reconsider prepaid.
Who Offers What
The "big four" — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless — all offer prepaid phones and services. Sprint offers prepaid through three brands: Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Assurance, a government-subsidized program that provides free phones and plans for customers in dire financial situations.
Other well-known U.S. prepaid carriers include U.S. Cellular, MetroPCS and Leap Wireless's Cricket.
Monthly prepaid plans range from $25 to $80 a month. Cricket, for example, offers 300 voice minutes and unlimited text and mobile Web (which is different from data) for $35 a month. Boost is known for its $50 unlimited plan with "shrinkage" — which means that for every six nonconsecutive, on-time payments, a customer's bill can be reduced by $5. At Verizon Wireless, $80 will get you unlimited voice and text and one gigabyte of data, with each additional megabyte of data costing five cents.
Generally, you can't roll over unused minutes from month to month.
Data service is available through prepaid plans. But beware: Some carriers boast "unlimited data" offerings, and in some cases, this is just for feature phones, while data services for smartphones require additional plans. Also, the carriers may reduce your data speeds when your usage increases significantly.
Many wireless carriers now offer access to 4G networks with prepaid plans. But as with contract plans, it depends on whether the device you're using is 4G compatible — and what type of 4G network your carrier has. AllThingsD's Walt Mossberg offers a good explainer of 4G here.
Getting Equipped
In most cases, you'll pay full price for the phone. The carriers and their retail partners offer deals and promotions from time to time, but since you're not committing to a contract, the phone isn't subsidized. Phones can range from $20 on the low end to $650 for something like the iPhone.
Speaking of the iPhone: It's now available with prepaid plans. Cricket made waves a couple months ago when it began to offer a 16GB iPhone 4S for $500 and an 8GB iPhone 4 for $400 with its $55 monthly plan. Sprint's Virgin Mobile also sells the iPhone without a contract. The 16GB iPhone 4S will run you $650, and the 8GB iPhone 4 costs $550, while plans range from $30 to $50 a month.
You can also purchase or activate an iPhone that is GSM-compatible (GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, a specific type of digital cellular network) through AT&T's GoPhone plans, but AT&T doesn't offer data plans with this, so you'll have to use Wi-Fi to browse the Web on this plan. Verizon currently does not offer the iPhone with a prepaid plan.
As for newer Android smartphones, AT&T offers the Samsung Galaxy S III without a contract, for $550. To name a few others: U.S. Cellular offers the Samsung Galaxy S II for $400. MetroPCS offers the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G for $450. Boost Mobile offers the HTC Evo Design 4G for $299, while Virgin Mobile sells the HTC Evo 4G for $300. In many cases, customers must go with higher monthly plans or choose ones that include data in order to get these smartphones.
For Windows Phone 7 fans, T-Mobile sells the Nokia Lumia 710 for $300 without a contract.
You won't have much luck using your unlocked phone with a prepaid plan. The carriers are getting zero commitment from you to begin with, so a lot of them won't accept unlocked phones these days. Also, your phone may be technically incompatible with the wireless network.
T-Mobile, however, allows a user to bring in any unlocked, GSM-compatible phone to use with its prepaid plans. AT&T says customers can come in with a GSM-compatible Android device and it can be activated, though again, compatibility varies by phone type and some smartphones may be connected to Wi-Fi only.
Payment Explained
None of the carriers I spoke with require credit checks for someone to get started on a prepaid device. To qualify for Sprint's Assurance program, however, potential customers must prove they are in need of the financial assistance (most people already getting government assistance will be eligible).
There are several ways prepaid customers can replenish their phones. They can buy a new prepaid card, which looks like a gift card, at wireless and electronics stores, pharmacies and big-box retailers like Walmart and Target; they can refill at prepaid-branded kiosks and pay up online; they can also call their provider's customer service line directly from the phone.
While most carriers don't charge any kind of activation fees for prepaid plans, it's good to ask before you buy. U.S. Cellular, for example, charges an activation free (between $20 and $50) for customers who opt in to cheaper prepaid plans, though the company says it will often waive that. Be sure to check the fine print on international calls and roaming charges, as well.
Also, just because you're going prepaid doesn't mean you're exempt from taxes that are normally affixed to your phone bill. Some carriers, like MetroPCS and AT&T, bundle most of these fees into monthly plans. In other cases, there will be an extra cost. It's not uncommon to have an e911 fee — a monthly charge for Enhanced 911, which funds computer upgrades for public-safety communications — applied to your bill. Also, you'll pay the standard point-of-sale tax on a prepaid card if you buy it in a retail store or pharmacy. For example, my $30 Boost Mobile card actually cost me $32.66.
Playing the Number Game
Most companies offer a grace period, usually between 30 and 90 days, in which your prepaid phone number can stay inactive. But then your number gets thrown into the wireless purgatory known as the "cooling pool," and shortly thereafter it will be reissued to another customer.
The one exception I found was through Sprint's Boost and Virgin Mobile brands, which allow those serving in the military to keep their numbers for up to two years without having to replenish or keep their account active.


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Ben Bass is a longtime computer programmer and avid doodler. In elementary school, he doodled World War II airplanes, and doodled throughout high school and college.
Then doodling got away from him. "Parenting and a full-time job kind of drains the doodle out of you," Bass explains.
Bass thanks a tedious work meeting 18 years ago for bringing him back to doodling. Bored out of his mind, the Affton, Mo., resident started tapping a pen on his notepad, making tiny ink dots on the paper. Eventually, the spots started to look like something — a horse's head — and Bass' doodling days returned with a vengeance.
Today, he doodles in his personal pointillism whenever he's sitting with his hands free.
"It lets me focus my energies. It lets my mind reset," says Bass, 49. "Those are the two main benefits of it."
Schoolchildren and adults doodle for the same reasons: out of boredom, to focus, to release pent-up energy. Doodling is a playful way for artists to tap their imaginations. For novices, classes are available online via crafters' blogs and at some small arts and crafts shops.
"It's a good way to germinate ideas," says Deb Douglas, assistant professor of art history at St. Louis University.
Douglas was featured this summer in Booze Doodle, a series in the St. Louis culinary magazine Feast. Local artists are asked to doodle with a Sharpie on a cocktail napkin at an area restaurant. First they're handed a cocktail to "stir the creative juices," according to the magazine's website.
Douglas doodled some floral and seashell patterns she'd been working into a painting, she says. On her own, she doodles when she feels stuck artistically.
"Doodling is often a way for me to make lists aesthetically," she says.
What is doodling, and what isn't it?
Douglas says there's a fine line between doodling and sketching. Doodling involves pulling ideas out of one's imagination or drawing what one sees, whereas sketching is more purposeful.
Pam Keravuori, 67, an abstract painter in Fairfax Station, Va., says both sketching and doodling involve carving space with lines, but doodling is more carefree.
"I think doodling has become a popular thing . because it's fun," says Keravuori. "It doesn't have some big, ulterior motive. And yet, it's practiced."
She teaches a "Doodle Ink" class on how to stylize handwriting with doodling.
Douglas questions why anyone would need to be taught how to doodle. "Then you're doodling someone else's ideas," she says.
But Keravuori says her doodle lettering class is popular with scrapbookers and painters like herself who want to improve their penmanship without the rigors of calligraphy.
"The obvious rule is that it takes practice. The rest of it is without rules," says Keravuori, who blogs about her doodles at Pamela Jane's Studio. "You can do what you wish, as your imagination guides you."
That is the joy of doodling: There's no pressure to conform or perform. It's private until you want to share your doodles with others.
Stephanie Ackerman, 43, who teaches doodling classes on her blog, Homegrown Hospitality, says adults need help letting go of their fear of failure - even when doodling.
"When it's a child, it's no problem," she says. "When it's an adult, it's an arm wrestle. You have to retrain your brain."
Ackerman, of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., teaches a few basic concepts - about lettering, shading, embellishing and coloring - then sets students loose to experiment.
"You can't teach doodling, but you can teach the techniques," she says. "The doodle part of it is free form. That's where you have to practice relaxing your mind and letting it flow."
For the new doodler, Keravuori suggests investing in a waterproof ink pen and un-textured paper.
A new book, "Fill in the Blank" (Quirk Books), by artists and graphic designers Elodie Chaillous and Vahram Muratyan, is full of visual and written prompts for tapping inner creativity.
"Most people are really scared by a blank sheet of paper," says David Borgenicht, publisher of Quirk Books. "This is hundreds of different starting places . to let your pencil or markers do the work."
Doodling classes? Creatiive pastime gets respect
Ben Bass is a longtime computer programmer and avid doodler. In elementary school, he doodled World War II airplanes, and doodled throughout high school and college.


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When using the cfwindow tag an error is thrown:
There was an error while validation.
For more details check logs.
The stack trace will include:
coldfusion.security.ESAPIUtils$ValidationUtilExcep tion: There was an error while validation.
Research & Resolution:
Details on this error can be found in: {cfroot}/logs/esapi.log
If you receive the following error in the log, make sure your TITLE tag in the cfwindow tag meets the required regex expression.
This new validation was include as part of the APSB11-14CFContainerID: Invalid input. Please conform to regex ^[\p{Alnum}_\-\.:]+$ with a maximum length of 100


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As you may know, a rather large sporting event is taking place in London this year!
Up here in Scotland, there's not much buzz so we decided to do something about it!
Several lovely ladies and groups have come together to decorate Hampden Park area for the football and I sent some wee "sporty" coloured hearts along to the event!
The lovely ladies turned my hearts into a mobile along with some cute pom-poms!
Hope you like :)
I'm so glad I could take part!
Check out the lovely ladies that made it possible/contributed:
Well, I'm off to click, click, click away! I've knitted the base for my first piece for The Yarnvent Calendar 2012! I'm so excited! I'm putting a little Shadow_Stitch twist on my pieces this year! Eeeek! Can't wait to share! Less than 5 months to go!
Shadow, Sunshine, Love.


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Stone: Dyed Jade
Size: 4x2mm faceted roundel, 1mm hole
Quality: A Grade, dyed color
Quantity: 15.5-16mm" Length, appx. 160 pcs
**You will recieve the same quality beads as shown on the picture
***Please contact me if you need more quantity
we currently accept credit cards and paypal.
Items will ship in 2-3 business days after all the payment is clear. We usally ship USPS
first class mail, please convo me for other shipping method.
If you are not satisfied with your purchase, just return it to me with the original condition, I will refund the money to you after I recieve the items. Please note that returning goods is by your expense, and the refund is not including the shipping charge.
We do offer quantity discount, if you need big quantity, please contact me.


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Pulp fiction is getting a shot in the arm — and some totally gorgeous art — from Chennai-based publishers Blaft. The brainchild of mathematician Rakesh Khanna, Blaft has already published The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction Vol. 1 & 2. And now they're putting out a new comics anthology series, The Obliterary Journal. Khanna explains to NH7:
The name of the journal is derived from the concept of Obliteracy: the doctrine that written literature without illustrations, and especially "literary fiction", has reached the end of its usefulness to human society, and that we must now strive to obliterate it entirely from the face of the earth. This can best be achieved by encouraging people to read comics about extraterrestrial robots, bleeding lizards, exploding donkeys, and defecating cyclopses.
Among the other great stuff in the first volume is a story "written and meditated" by a blender, Durrrrk Mixer Grinder Serial No. 30277 XM03. Plus Yukichi Yamamatsu, Zen Marie and others. [NH7, thanks Liz!]


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More Sun
More Sun
Dear Linux Magazine Reader,
As I pointed out back in the March issue, things are getting interesting over at Sun Microsystems. Sun's purchase of MySQL a few months ago put them back in the sights of industry watchers. No one knows whether these recent moves will ever put Sun back in the lead, but at least they are playing the game.
The latest news from Sun was definitely one of the more interesting developments this month. Sun has agreed to certify several of their servers for Ubuntu Linux, becoming the first major hardware vendor to certify Ubuntu. They have also put out a version of the complete Java stack for Ubuntu. The Java stack appeared in Ubuntu's Multiverse repository for the Ubuntu 7.04 release.
According to the Ubuntu website, "This was the first time an entire, production-quality Java stack with tooling was included in an open source GNU/Linux distribution, greatly simplifying the process for Linux developers and users to access Java technology."
The move creates new competition for Novell and Red Hat, who have their own certification deals with various hardware vendors. If this gambit wins some market share back for Sun, it will be sweet revenge against Red Hat for taking the spot that Solaris held a few years ago. The bloggers were buzzing about what this might mean for Ubuntu, Red Hat, and all the many SUSE sisters, but I'm more interested in what it means for OpenSolaris.
When Sun announced they were going to open the Solaris code, the community (justifiably) wondered what they might mean by "open." Since then, the Free Software Foundation has indeed certified OpenSolaris Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) as a free license, although FSF points out that the CDDL is not compatible with the GPL. Because Solaris is a Unix-based system, most of the open source software that runs on Linux can efficiently adapt to OpenSolaris, raising the possibility of a new kernel war to see which system will play host to the myriad of open source applications and services.
This showdown might be what Sun ultimately has in mind for the long run, but it looks like they are wise enough to know they're not ready for it yet and they are better off proceeding with multiple alternatives. Of course, Linux versions have run on Sun hardware for years, and the Debian Sparc port is practically an institution. Sun even had its own customized Linux for a while, and they have flirted with the big Linux vendors over possible licensing arrangements in the past. But this deal with Ubuntu adds a whole new harmony to the theme of Sun/Linux integration.
Blogger Sean Michael Kerner points out that the arrangements between Sun and Canonical have actually been in place for a while now, and that the recent developments are part of an evolving relationship that goes back a couple years. The recent round of headlines apparently arose in response to some comments by Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth confirming a trend that close observers already knew.
Whether this development is this year's news or last year's news, it still counts as recent history in the 26-year saga of Sun Microsystems. The fact that they are certifying their systems for Ubuntu – and even tooling the Java stack for Ubuntu – means they are not betting everything on OpenSolaris, which is better for Linux, and ultimately better for Sun.
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openSUSE Leap 15.2 Adds AI Machine Learning
With the new release of openSUSE Leap comes some exciting new features, including machine learning.
Google's Nearby Sharing Could Work with Linux
Google's answer to Apple's AirDrop feature is rumored to work with the Linux desktop.
System76 Launches Ryzen-Powered Laptop
The new System76 Serval WS includes a powerful AMD Ryzen CPU.
Linux Mint Drops Snap
Linux Mint has officially dropped their support for Canonical's snap packages.
Lenovo Upping Their Linux Support
Lenovo is now offering full certification and Linux preinstalled hardware.
LPI Launches FOSSlife Website
Linux Professional Institute launches FOSSlife, a website for the FOSS community.
Tuxedo Computers Joins the Ryzen Bandwagon
Tuxedo Computers has released the Tuxedo Boot BA15 with an AMD Ryzen 3500 CPU.
Linux Apps on Windows Is Coming
Linux GUI apps will be coming to Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Linux Usage Is on the Rise
According to NetMarketShare, Linux saw a significant bump in usage during April.
Lenovo is Jumping on the Linux Laptop Bandwagon
PC and laptop maker Lenovo is set to release ThinkPad laptops pre-installed with Fedora Linux.


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Keeping People Away From Your Website: A Beginner's GuideBlog Post: August 22, 2008
I've been wondering about this exact question for quite a while. People who read a blogs posts on a rss reader are not given the oppurtunity to read or see any ads. Not a good thing.
But I'm not sure if there really is a way to stop the practice. I read seomoz on a feed reader myself. Only click through to leave a comment or when I'm looking to find someone to do some work for me. Which by the way is an interesting question. to itself. Does anybody, I mean anybody, answer emails about building a custom WP theme?


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Claudie's Training Diary 4: dress rehearsal in Baikonur
With launch scheduled for the morning of 21 October, it's time for the final preparations. Claudie Haigneré's diary continues: On the morning of 9 October, we leave Star City for Chkalovski military airport where we board two Tu 134s of the ZPK training centre for the flight to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
We use two aircraft for security reasons: the first carries the prime mission crew and the second the backup. For me, it means three-hour trip in a friendly, relaxed environment, sitting comfortably in a big saloon, with an atlas on my knees to trace out our flight on the ground below: the Volga, the Aral Sea, the Kazakh steppe where we will land.
At Baikonur's Leninsk airport we are officially welcomed by the Russian general responsible for the cosmodrome and the deputy head of RKK Energia, who gives us our orders for the checkout of our spacecraft scheduled for tomorrow morning. The prime crew boards a blue bus; the back-up a yellow bus. Just as they always do: I have been coming to Baikonur for ten years now, and these are still the same buses. Somehow, these familiar rituals are deeply comforting.
I appreciate the constancy. I know this place. That road leads to the launch pads; this road goes to the Cosmonaut Hotel. There are the camels, dromedaries really, a feature of the Kazakh steppe. There's the usual militia truck driving ahead of us; over there are the communication relay towers that will track our liftoff. All of this is familiar to me, and I can feel that almost imperceptibly I am slipping into another universe.
At the Cosmonaut Hotel, we follow tradition and walk down the path that leads to the Syr Daria River, where every cosmonaut since Garagin has planted a tree after their mission. Then, after a meal in quarantine - for health and safety reasons, the crews are kept apart - we go to our rooms in the isolated third floor of the hotel.
The next day is dedicated to the checkout of our Soyuz TM 33 spacecraft, and it is long and hard. Our work begins when we put on our spacesuits - and check them carefully for leaks: the next time we wear these suits it will be just a few hours before the launch. Then we walk off together, awkward and clumsy, to the huge assembly building where our spacecraft lies, as yet uncovered by its launch fairing. We reach our ship by a little narrow staircase, and enter by the small hatch at the side of the orbital module. Then we slide into the capsule together.
The ship seems to be ten times as cluttered as the simulator in Star City. And unlike in the simulator, the three seats are in the raised position. In the very last minutes of our flight, the seats will be moved up by 20 cm or so to make room for shock absorbers to deploy before we touch ground. Right now, we must check that there is enough clearance between our knees and the control panels.
The space inside the fully-loaded capsule is so cramped that we almost feel there's been some mistake: there's no way all three of us will fit in here. But we do, somehow. We have to pay very careful attention to all the projecting pieces of equipment: we don't want to damage anything or to tear a hole in our spacesuits. It's a very necessary test but it isn't easy: we have to combine extreme care with the physical abilities of a contortionist.
Once we're satisfied that we can somehow fit inside with the seats raised for landing, we make an awkward exit. The seats are returned to their normal position and we climb into the Soyuz again, still in our suits. This time round, we check that we can reach all the controls, valves, actuators and levers that will be our working tools during our mission. We check for accessibility, and visibility, too, once we are strapped into our seats. We check the on-board documentation, and try to find a seating position that gives the best compromise between comfort - though you could hardly call it comfortable - and functionality.
At the end of this second session we can finally take our spacesuits off and change into flight overalls before we return to the spacecraft. This time, we check everything, in detail, inside and out. We have to know where to find every last plug and connector cable, to confirm that we can reach the stowage compartments under the seats. We may want to ask for such and such a switch to be moved to such and such a place. And so on: every detail is important. We need to be able to reach whatever we need in an instant, without having to wait until we can ask ground control.
After almost six hours in the Soyuz, there follows a long debriefing with the engineers where we list all our requests and recommendations. Then we report to the chief of construction, who assures us that everything we have asked for will be taken into account. We will return to the assembly building in a few days for a second checkout, to ensure that we can take over our ship in confidence. By then, the Soyuz will already be cocooned in its fairing, ready to be mated to the rocket before its journey to the launch pad.
It's been a long day, and an important one. We can feel that the whole team has come together around us. In some way, we have changed status. This isn't training any more: this is the real thing. We are the crew of Soyuz TM 33 and our departure is imminent.
Now all we have to do is make the psychological adjustments that will allow us to cut our ties with the Earth, to ready ourselves for space. That final adaptation will take place here in Baikonur amid the steppes; here, in the cosmodrome, here in the vehicle assembly building; in the Cosmonaut Hotel and in that faithful blue bus, listening to quiet music. Then there will be all the pre-launch rituals on the evening of 20 October and the morning of our launch itself.
This really is the last stage of our long preparation. For now, though, we return to Star City for three days to pack and say goodbye to our friends. Then we are back in the Tupolev 134, bound for Baikonur on Tuesday morning, 16 October.


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Sixty people were injured, five of them critically, and rail traffic from New York to Boston was shut down after a Metro-North commuter train derailed and plowed into a second train Friday in Fairfield, Conn., Gov. Dan Malloy said.
An eastbound train derailed at 6:10 p.m. ET and struck a westbound train between the Fairfield and Bridgeport stations, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority official told NBC News.
60 people were injured after two commuter trains collided in Connecticut Friday at the peak of the evening commute. Authorities say the initial investigation shows the eastbound train derailed, colliding with a westbound train. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports.
"We have no reason to think it was anything other than an accident, but that has to be explored," Malloy said.
"We came to a sudden halt. We were jerked. There was smoke," Alex Cohen, a Canadian passenger on the westbound train en route to New York, told NBC Connecticut.
"People were screaming; people were really nervous. We were pretty shaken up. They had to smash a window to get us out," he said.
NBC Connecticut: 60 injured, five critically, in Metro-North train collision
Malloy said 60 people were transported to area hospitals, most of them with only minor injuries. Five, however, were critically injured, one of them very critically, he said.
The Metro-North train that departs New York City's Grand Central Station for New Haven, Conn., at 4:41 p.m., with an estimated 300 passengers, derailed near the I-95 overpass in Bridgeport, MTA said in a statement. The train that leaves New Haven's State Street station for Grand Central at 5:30 p.m., carrying about 400 passengers, struck the derailed train, the statement said.
There was no immediate word on what caused the derailment or how fast either train was going. That will be determined by the National Transportation Safety Board, which will lead the investigation.
Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy gives details on the collision of two Metro-North trains, which injured 60 people and shut down rail traffic between New York and Boston.
Amtrak services were suspended between New York and New Haven early Saturday, Amtrak said in a statement. Limited Northeast Regional services were available between Boston and New Haven, and all Amtrak services were operating normally between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the statement said.
Metro-North, which runs between New York City and its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut, is one of the busiest commuter rail services in the U.S. There are four tracks on that segment of the New Haven Line, MTA's statement said, but two are out of service for replacement of overhead wires.
There was "extensive damage" to the track and the wire from the collision, MTA said. The train cars will remain in place until the investigation is completed. MTA gave no estimate for the duration of the investigation or subsequent repairs.
Passengers should expect sharply curtailed service through the weekend and beyond, Malloy said. "We have a very old system on our Connecticut section. We're involved in hundreds of millions of dollars in replacement of that system.
"It will slow the recovery," he said. "Obviously, we don't have alternative tracks to go to."
Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com
Christian Abraham / AP
Emergency workers arrive at the scene of a train collision Friday, May 17, in Fairfield, Conn. Rail traffic is expected to be snarled for several days.
This story was originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 7:18 PM EDT


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Because of the way Census records were obtained, the spelling of names, the dates of events and other information may not be even vaguely correct. But sometimes even incorrect information can lead to more specific and accurate names and dates. It is common for beginning researchers to rely only upon the indexes to find their families. They conclude, incorrectly, that failure to appear in Ancestry.com's index is an indication that their family somehow got missed by the Census enumerators. Frequently, a page by page examination of the Census will show that the family was not missed, but simply recorded in way as to obscure the index entry.
Finding your ancestors in any census records, anywhere in the world, are really just the very first small step in researching records about your family. One huge value of finding your family in the census is the additional record searches suggested by the entries. This is also an important reason for finding the family and all the members of the family, in every single available census during their lifetimes. Beginning researchers often fail to follow up on the myriad of sources suggested by each census record.
My recent compilation of records for my Great-grandmother, Francis Ann Thomas (b. 1864, d. 1950), is a good example of both the benefits and the detriments of relying solely on U.S. Census records. Since Francis was born in 1864 and died in 1950, she should appear in every Census beginning in 1870 and ending with the most recent release in 1940. In each year the Census was taken, the questions asked changed, so there is a reason for finding the Census record for every year that may apply to your ancestor.
For example, here is a list of the important categories of genealogical information in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census:
- Full name
- Age (can be used to approximate birth year)
- Sex
- Race
- Birthplace
- Occupation
- Whether married during the previous year
- Town, township, or post office of residence
- Month of birth if born during the previous year
- Month of marriage if married during the previous year
- Whether the father and mother of each person was born in a foreign country
- Full name
- Race
- Sex
- Age (can be used to calculate an approximate birth year)
- Birth month and year
- Relationship to the head of household
- Birthplace of the individual and the parents (included even if the parents were not members of the household)
- Marital status (single, married, widowed, or divorced)
- Number of years married (can be used to calculate the approximate marriage year)
- Number of children born to each mother and the number of those still living
- Year of immigration and number of years in the United States
- Whether a naturalized citizen
- Occupation
- Street address and house number
- Tribe and clan
- Date of locating to Alaska
- Occupation in Alaska
- Post office address at home
- Indian name
- Tribe of the individual and the parents (included even if the parents were not members of the household)
- Percentage of white blood
- If married, whether living in polygamy
- Whether taxed
- Year of citizenship
- Whether citizenship was acquired by land allotment
- Year of immigration and number of years lived in the Hawaiian Islands
- Name of military, naval station, or vessel
- Company or troop, regiment, and arm of service
- Rank grade or class
- Residence in the United States
Every single one of these entries may suggest further places to look for records.
Now, back to Frances Ann Thomas. Each of the Census records compiled during her lifetime is available. But that fact is neither obvious or easy to ascertain. For example, in the 1880 U.S. Census, the enumerator got her father's names reversed. His name was David Thomas, but it was recorded as Thomas Davids, so none of the indexes even come close to having his name or the name of his family members correct. It can be found, however, by a relatively short search of the small town the family lived in during that census year.
As you can see from the categories listed above, doing a census search for every year for every family member is far from redundant.


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Have you been wondering what you can do to improve your leadership skills? Do you want to know the best way to run a meeting? Or maybe you would like to find some fun icebreakers to get acquainted with a new group. The possibilities are endless in the Leadership Library, and those of us in the Center for Student Enrichment want to share our resources with you.
The Leadership Library, 1207 Northern Center (formerly the University Center), is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, for students, faculty or staff. All of our books are free to use at any time. If you have any questions or you wish to focus on a specific aspect of leadership, we are always happy to help your search. Take a few moments to stop in and check it out. We think you will be excited to see what we have to offer.


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To see a master list of every letter and to learn more about the Ultimate Alphabet Craft Collection, please return here.
How to participate:
1) Post your LETTER Cc craft to your blog. After you have posted, copy the exact link to your craft (aka the permalink) and paste it into the Linky Tool at the bottom of this page.
2) Make sure you include a link in your blog post back to the Ultimate Alphabet Craft Collection. Feel free to use our button by copying and pasting this code into your blog post:


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Respawn Entertainment launch
Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vince Zampella make "fresh start" and begin recruiting.
April 12, 2010 Today, Jason West and Vince Zampella, creators of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise, announced the formation of a new development studio -- Respawn Entertainment. The move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create. The company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences. The studio is currently assembling a world-class team of designers, artists and engineers. Applicants can submit resumes to email@example.com.
Respawn is pleased to also announce that it has awarded Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), through the distinguished EA Partners program, exclusive worldwide publishing and distribution rights to future games. Terms were not disclosed. West and Zampella are represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me, said Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment. For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. Were very proud of what we built and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again -- open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.
Were excited, added Jason West, President of Respawn Entertainment. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve."
Frank Gibeau, President of the EA Games Label commented, This is the start of a great publishing partnership one that I expect will develop blockbuster game franchises. Jason and Vince are two of the top creative leaders in the entertainment industry. At EA, were honored to be their partners and to give them the support they need to hire a team and return to making incredible games.
About Respawn Entertainment
Founded in 2010, Respawn Entertainment is an independent videogame development studio based in Encino, California. The studio was formed by Jason West and Vince Zampella, former co-founders of Infinity Ward and creators of the multi-billion dollar franchise Call of Duty. More information about the company will be available soon at www.respawn.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.co.uk.


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DOVER — It's official. This is the best season in the short history of the Dover High School volleyball program.
The Green Wave swept past Nashua South Friday night in three games, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 25-15. It was their school-record 12th win, eclipsing the previous mark of 11, set last year. The Green Wave are 12-2 with four matches to play and are poised to finish in the top four in Division I.
Although Dover struggled serving (13 errors), their offense ran smoothly for the most part. Molly Wotton turned in perhaps her best all-around effort at the net with 13 kills and six blocks. Abby Harte added 20 assists and Reegan McKenney had 12 digs.
"That's always the goal, try to get ahead of where we ended last year," said Dover coach Colleen Harte. "I was pleased with the composure, although that's not to say they had a reason to get rattled. They are still pushing themselves to play aggressively."
Dover led 7-6 in Game 1, but an 8-2 run got the lead to 15-8, and South got no closer than six the rest of the way. Two Wotton blocks and a kill were key.
Megan Priester served for the first eight points in Game 2, aided by two Wotton kills and a block.
"I focused more on my hitters to see where the ball was," Wotton said. "I just got in line with them."
South closed the gap to 18-14 on one of Dover's service errors.
Priester served for three more points to get the lead to 22-14, and sewed up the game with a nice place shot from Jenn Gintovt.
"Our passing was really good tonight," said Abby Harte, "and even when it wasn't, our hitters did a good job of putting the ball away. We just had the momentum the whole game."
In the final game, Dover went up 12-3 on six service points from Shannon Goff, and then cruised to a 10-point win.
Moving forward, Dover is eyeing a top-four finish and the potential home playoff matches that go with it. The Green Wave play at Bedford next Friday, but in the last week of the season have key matches against top-eight teams in Goffstown and Pinkerton.
"Our goal is to finish out here with wins," coach Harte added. "Hopefully we can push through and do that. It will be nice to play some good , competitive matches."
Dover has never hosted a playoff match, nor won a playoff match. Getting home court is a big deal for this team.
"That has been our goal all year to have at least one round of playoffs at home," Abby Harte said. "I'm pretty sure that's going to happen."
Nashua South fell to 4-9 and is trying to rebuild after losing seven seniors coupled with three injuries. Coach Bonny Ducharme felt, while Dover is good, her team had chances to step up and did not.
"My girls were psyching themselves out," Lachance said. "We weren't there. They were delayed in every aspect. It's basically errors, silly errors."
Dover sweeps aside Nashua South
DOVER — It's official. This is the best season in the short history of the Dover High School volleyball program.


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Views: 875
Skr-one human, you said
..most women need to be a part of a community. I wish that we could create non wow new age or religious community,... [emphasis mine]
Part of creating a community is emotional bonding. I don't think it's going to work "without the wow." I recommend the Wonderism group's videos if you've never heard of secular wow.
IMHO this 'community' stuff is the consequence, rather than the cause. Once women were pressed into submissive status, they turned to each other for consolation, comfort, and belonging. Previous to patriarchal religions, women could relate equally to males and females. I really don't think women are inherently more communal than men. In fact, I suspect a great percentage of women are quite solitary, used to working on their own, and spending time alone. If you think back to hunter-gatherer societies, which is the largest component of our evolutionary history, men did the group activities probably more than women since hunting big game needed tight collaboration, whereas capturing small game and collecting plants did not require such a tight-knit group effort, solitary efforts were just as useful.
I agree Judy... there is no way that I am going to spend time "arguing" about god during an outing. Actually, that was why I liked my atheist outings in Florida, cuz god talk was rarely on the menu. We discussed social change, politics, health (we met in a pub and all the males ate pub fare :)
There were usually 15-20 people, so little groups tended to go in different topic directions. I'm sure at some point someone discussed rock music and professional sports, but I am not too aware of those.
Unfortunately, out of that crowd, there were only 3 regular women, and 3-4 occasionnals. Two of us regulars were extroverts, whereas the other regular and occasional females that showed up tended to be more introverts. As far as the males go, it was pretty nerdy :)
Out of the entire group, only 3 of us had a science background, which I think was typical since this group were more in line with Humanism and politics rather than basic atheists and naturalists.
As for women in sciences at university... things are changing, but change is slow to come.
The other thing with the atheist groups is that the ONE science that mostly gets 'honoured' is physics, and that's an area of common least concern for women in sciences. The physics bias is so bad that physicist/atheist Phil Platt once called biology nothing but a mushy science (not to Dawkin's face of course). So even the women that do have a scientific background are looked down upon. Which leaves non science women even farther down the ladder of respect.
Taran, I think you are right that female atheists are in lesser numbers, at least on these kinds of sites. Now bear with me ladies, I'm a third generation atheist, there has never been room for spiritual mumbo jumbo in my brain. But I'm also a biologist and a feminist and ecologist and environmentalist and from years of reading thoughts on these matters, I do feel that women are more inclined to be close to nature, or in tune, or accepting of the natural world.
In the naturalist group, I brought up the philosophical proximity of transcendence to a "enlightened" life through religion or through technology. I think men in general are particularly obsessed with distancing themselves from the natural world through technological prowess. I'm not saying women never do this, just that we're less inclined to. And it's not cuz I'm some feminine wishy-washy cutsy type, I've played with boys/men all my life, and their toys, all their toys. But men and technology is like men and their toys, or men and their cars. Men and technology is an addictive compulsion.
I like some technologies, to a degree, but I don't want to be subdued by them.
Ultimately, I think life and happiness on this Earth boils down to more than just stats-factoids-history books. Patriarchal institutions have controlled most of those for as long as they've existed and to think there is no bias in the choices of research directions over the centuries is to be blind to reality.
-A man will state, without a second of thought to it, that the medicalisation of pregnancy is a good thing cuz it saves women's lives
-Not all women think that the medicalisation of pregnancy should be assumed to be a good thing. If anything, medicalising pregnancy is a sign of failure of a health system.
If women were dying in droves at birth before MEN took charge of birth, that means there was a problem with the system leading up to that pregnancy. I mean really, what percentage of wildlife die at birth? very few. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's 2 things: lack of fitness, because of a sedentary lifestyle, lack of proper preparation during pregnancy. I'm not just comparing the last century or two, I'm taking this back through the millennia. I'd bet 1000$ that pre-religious women were not dying in droves during birth.
I love being an atheist, always have, I despise religions in all their incarnations and whether they have gods in the sky or on earth, whether they fat or skinny or their colour, I hate all forms of idolatry, whether godly or celebrity, even atheist celebrities.
But facts and stats do not clarify everything about life, and this is the crack women fall into, we simply need much more research decisions to be female driven, no matter the discipline.
It's possible that women don't talk about it as much or that they are more afraid to talk about it. Maybe, I don't know for sure.
I too dislike the idea about women being less rational (forgive me if I didn't say it right). I believe, and I was raised by a feminist who believed that women are just as smart and rational as men.
When I first came out as an atheist, my very first exposure to it was predominantly male. I was attending some kind of recovery group, an alternative to AA and I noticed that the leader, who was male, was calling on all the men in the room and not the women. I asked him, afterward why he did not call on any women, as there were at least 4 females in there, incl. myself. He told me I was being paranoid, but I said, "Okay, so what. I might have been. But how about next time, keep in mind that we would also like a voice."
I think the first your first statement is probably true, particularly for women who are doubting their faith. The Bible clearly states in lots of different ways that women are to keep their mouths shut and if they have questions, they should ask their husbands and no one else. There is also the stigma that they should hide themselves. The whole "cover your head in church so you don't attract angels with your hair" thing plants that seed, among other scriptures. I think that kind of teaching definitely keeps some women silent...not nearly as much anymore, though, I think.
I, too, grew up with the "boys are better than girls at math and science" idea. That's the biggest factor for women over the age of maybe 30 or so, I think. That was very commonplace. We're taught that we're not as good at it so why bother. I think women are definitely more emotional, but that definitely doesn't make us less rational. We just show our feelings more often in our arguments, which may be part of the problem as well. That doesn't make them less rational, but, for some people, they may see it that way. Just a thought...
Women have been, historically, systematically excluded from math and science. I'm old enough to remember the first women "allowed" into various so-called "non-traditonal" fields of study. I think one of the only ways working-class and poor women could have any impact on their communities was through church, and that's also one of the only outlets for social recognition, to this day, in many communities and countries. As to why women who are atheist aren't more vocal, I think some of the above applies. In my own experience, my recent brushes with very angry and insecure med in atheism tells me it's not, sometimes, a very welcoming place. I refer specifically to some of the misogynistic language and attitudes I've seen in SOME atheist men's youtube videos. Just this week, I unsubscribed from a channel where a young man went on a ramble about how some celebrity woman who'd been arrested for drunk driving should be raped to death by alligators and used really ugly words to describe her. This wasn't a one-time, passing vent; he repeated it several times. I stopped the video, wrote a comment as to why I'm unsubscribing, and left. Another thing I noticed: A man who, I was later advised, is "vicious" about so-called "men's rights" posted a video, to which I posted a video response. Several of his minions saw my video and assumed some stuff about me, simply because I'm female. One was so nasty, he made a thinly-disguised suggestion that he would find out who I am and where I live and drop my docs. Since I'm in a rural, fundamentalist xian town, he could have gotten me killed. And he did it because I'm female and he assumed things about that which have nothing to do with who I am. Why take risks of being "out," if SOME atheist MEN are not only not going to be supportive, but are willing to actually cause harm?
I JUST transferred a blog I wrote a little while ago that goes into detail about why I think Atheist females are very rare. It's not researched, per say, but it IS based on my extensive knowledge from the likes of Sir David Attenborough and Dr. Alice Roberts. I've watched so many hours of Sir David explaining animal behavior and how it developed that I could probably recite a large portion of his programs from memory and Dr. Alice has some wonderful insights to pre-historic human behavior. Just some conclusions I've come to based on what I know. Short answer is that Atheism seemingly lacks spirituality and that's something that females need more than men. That short answer sounds incredibly biased, but I swear it's a logical conclusion.
Short answer is that Atheism seemingly lacks spirituality and that's something that females need more than men.
And they forget that spirituality doesn't have to be linked to religion.
Funny see, spirituality no more has any claim to reality than religion does. For me it's all about this: we are TAUGHT, from the earliest age, to obey, because we are born with a vagina, nothing more nothing less.
That is nurture NOT nature.
I find the inherent cost of this conversation is mixing how religious mores have "taught" women to be, versus how we evolved to be. I value evolution much more than I value cultural mores.
I was not raised in these religious mores, so I don't have this demureness you speak of. Something that is taught can be overcome. IMO it's important to not fall into the trap of : "well that's just how we are", it's not.
I find it interesting that as an atheist movement that seeks liberation of all humans, that we keep promoting that it's "just how we are". We need to overcome this and recognise that if women are in reduced numbers in the public atheist community, it's that there is a lot of belittling and sexualisation of women in the "new atheism". This is not so prevalent on this site, but it is very present on other sites.
The new atheism (WASP without the P add the M for male) has reached a market of very angry imperialist males. It's how the new atheism is packaged. But it's not always how atheists were. This male top down attitude has only been in the atheist movement since certain recent popular atheist authors have changed the game. Personally, I'd rather we look toward other icons. We females CAN change and empower ourselves to define an atheist community that is more welcoming.
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San Francisco archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, an outspoken critic of gay marriage, told a Catholic newspaper in England Monday that same-sex marriage is so unnatural it is a natural impossibility.
"Legislating for the right for people of the same sex to marry is like legalising male breastfeeding," he told the Catholic Herald.
Cordileone, 56, faced protestors when he was sworn in last year because of his record of anti-gay efforts. He was a major supporter of Proposition 8, which Californians passed in 2008 and banned same-sex marriage in the state.
In the interview, Cordileone also warned against using the phrase "gay marriage" because saying the phrase might fool people into thinking it's a legitimate pursuit that is simply lacking the government's approval.
Cordileone also said that fighting to protect traditional marriage is this generation's gift from God, a struggle that will lead to spiritual greatness when overcome.
"It will entail suffering if we are to oppose gay marriage, something which poses such destruction to the understanding of natural marriage, which is a child-oriented institution," Cordileone said.
The interview also discussed the role of women — they can't be priests, but Cordileone said as "life-givers," women should be allowed to walk through doors ahead of men and wear veils to protect their sacredness.