The Tennessee quarter is awesome.
That's all, really.
I'm a loser.

from DISCOVER magazine, January 2009, p. 50
by Karen Wright

J.S. Bach's father and uncles were accomplished musicians, Charlie
Parker's old man played piano on the vaudeville circuit, Paul
McCartney's pop blew the trumpet in a band, and Prince got his name
from his dad's jazz trio. Given these and countless other examples,
people have often assumed that musical talent runs in families. Now a
study of 15 Finnish families, published in the 'Journal of Medical
Genetics', provides the first proof that musical ability is indeed
linked to genes.



Medical geneticist Irma Järvelä of the University of Helsinki and her
colleagues analyzed 224 family members who either were themselves, or
were related to, professional musicians or active amateurs. The
subjects were given standard tests of musical aptitude, such as the
ability to discern differences in the pitch or duration of two tones.
Järvelä found an overall heritability of nearly 50 percent. That is,
nature rather than nurture accounted for almost half the observed
differences in aptitude, helping explain why some subjects with no
musical training scored at a professional level.



Järvelä also located several DNA sequences that correlate with musical
ability. One of the implicated genes codes for a protein that may be
involved in translating into neural signals the tremors of hair cells
in the inner ear. Another gene she identified had previously been
linked to dsylexia, suggesting that language development and musical
ability may have the same origin. 'We aim now to identify molecules
that could help us understand the evolution of music and how music
mediates its biological effects,' Järvelä says.

I woke up at 4am ... to go out on perhaps the most evil day in the United States of America: Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving - when every corporation opens up in the wee hours of the morning with ridiculous sales on crap we don't need.

Why did I do this? I fell into the trap. I wanted this new phone, and they had it for only $19.99 this morning, down from about $150. Best Buy opened at 5:00... we were there at about 5 til.

To make a long story short, I went to the back of the line - up some stairs. My mother, who is handicapped, couldn't go up an down the stairs in the cold... so once I got to the bottom ,she came to join me. People all around called their friends and family to join them as they got closer - no big deal. But because they'd seen her standing out there, and because a DOCTOR who knew my mother came by and made a comment to the Best Buy people about how they weren't properly  accommodating someone according to ADA standards, they wouldn't let her in with me. They said she didn't go to the back of the line. NEITHER DID ANYONE ELSE who joined people.

Now, I believe she shouldn't have been allowed in to shop before everyone else.
But maybe allowed to sit over to the side, out of the cold?
Allowed to join me once there?

Now, the cherry on top: we go to get the phones activated, to pay for them... and apparently Sprint isn't opening until 8am today.

Also, this shit in India is pretty fucking awful.
I tried to talk about it with my family at Thanksgiving yesterday... they didn't even know it was going on.
Sigh.

GOOD NEWS though! Chris is back from Iraq! :) I wish I'd known when he first got back, dammit, but... it was a nice surprise on Genocide of the Injuns Day.

Sadder news, my cousin leaves for Iraq the day after Xmas.

Good news always comes with the bad... but I think Daniel enjoys the Marines.
Which is kind of creepy to me.

Yesterday at work, an older African-American woman came through the door, and I asked her the simple "How are you today?" You know, not REALLY caring, but being a nice person and expecting the "I'm alright, thanks" or "I'm well" (or "good," seeing as no one here knows proper grammar). I notice this woman is wearing glasses, under sunglasses. Weird.

Well... she was weird. She started talking about the End Times.
The world is coming to an end, as predicted "in the Old Testament" .. is it mentioned there? I don't know my Bible more than knowing Revelation.
Either way... she told me about how the earth will be consumed with fire, that it is happening soon, and nonbelievers will be cast into hell.

Well then!
I was as kind as I could be with this information. "Okay" and walking away.
But do you know how HARD it was for me not to respond to this psycho?
It's interesting that I'd be the one she decided to ramble to. I'm actually reading a book about how crazy these people are - fundamentalists who cling to Revelation, despite its disputed "facts" and many misinterpretations. Did you know that many Christians and scholars consider Revelation a HOAX?

The sad thing is, many leaders, particularly American, believe Revelation. They have their finger on the big red button... and they believe the end is coming.. and that they'll be SAVED! These leaders include the highly revered Ronald Reagan, and, of course, George W. Bush.

Anyway...
This post is poorly constructed. It's almost 8:30am.
But I think you get the gist.

See the "Now Reading" spot for book information; it's an interesting read.

i've heard anderson cooper come back from commercial break with radiohead songs three times now.
he's officially the sexiest corporate gigantor newsman ever.
i mean, he kind of already was... but radiohead? oh now he's just dreamy

I'm not sure why, but I suddenly just remembered a specific part of the trip to Europe during my senior year of high school (yep, back then).

You know how Europeans hate how annoying Americans are as tourists, especially young Americans?
Well... we weren't even drunk, if I remember correctly, but we were wandering around outside in this town I can't even remember the name of, and we found a rock we could climb on top of, and decided to just be loud and retarded and take pictures of ourselves on said rock. I think this was in Austria.
And suddenly a window in a house across the street flies open and this shirtless, maybe naked, extremely hairy guy starts screaming at us in German... which, of course, he had every right to do.

holy shit was that fun

I disagree with most of what the Republican party says, but I give them points for actually trying to do something right now with the offshore drilling. Don't really know enough about the offshore drilling issue to have a strong opinion - but hey, I give them points for protesting instead of going on vacation... for once

my chinchilla died today.
i'm sad.

An atheist or agnostic who acts morally simply because it is the right thing to do is, in a sense, more moral than someone who is trying to avoid everlasting torment or, as is the case with martyrs, to achieve eternal bliss. He or she is making the moral choice without benefit of Pascal's divine bribe [wherein religious belief is more of a game than faith]. This choice is all the more impressive when an atheist or agnostic sacrifices his or her life, for example, to rescue a drowning child, aware that there'll be no heavenly reward for this lifesaving valor. The contrast with acts motivated by calculated expected value or uncalculated unexpected fear (or, worse, fearlessness) is stark.

Still, people do often vigorously insist that religious beliefs are necessary to ensure moral behavior. Though the claim is quite clearly false of people in general, there is a sense in which it might be true if one has been brought up in a very religious environment. A classic experiment on the so-called overjustification effect by the psychologists David Greene, Betty Sternberg, and Mark Lepper is relevant. They exposed fourth- and fifth-grade students to a variety of intriguing mathematical games and measured the time the children played them. They found that the children seemed to possess a good deal of intrinsic interest in the games. The games were fun. After a few days, however, the psychologists began to reward the children for playing; those playing them more had a better chance of winning the prizes offered. The prizes did increase the time the children played the games, but when the prizes were stopped, the children lost almost all interest in the games and rarely played them. The extrinsic rewards had undercut the children's intrinsic interest. Likewise, religious injunctions and rewards promised to children for being good might, if repudiated later in life, drastically reduce the time people spend playing the "being good" game. This is another reason not to base ethics on religious teachings.

In conclusion, emotional arguments from fear, hope, and fervency are very easy to refute but especially difficult to successfully oppose since, despite their occasional mathematical garb, their appeal circumvents, subverts, bypasses, and undermines the critical faculties of many. Moreover, since literal truth is not always the paramount concern of people, it seems that the untruths underlying faith may make ordinary life more bearable.

As we come together in celebration of our nation's independence, let us not forget our past. The American colonies were under British rule – and we stood up to that oppressive government. Since then, we have continued our struggle for bettering this land – the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, standing against the Vietnam War – by showing our patriotism through dissent. By questioning our government and remaining skeptical about its operations, whether domestic or abroad, we can keep our country in check.


We need to remind people: QUESTIONING YOUR GOVERNMENT IS FAR FROM UNPATRIOTIC. Anyone who says otherwise need look only at the Nazi regime.


America is in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops have had to return for more tours than they signed for, they aren't receiving proper healthcare upon their return, and they're stretched too thin.


Let's support them by bringing them home... home to the country they deserve, one that works for peace instead of war... a country that takes care of its veterans, providing job assistance and healthcare, both mental and physical.


And let us remember this about war: it begets more violence, and should be avoided. Please keep in mind that a preemptive strike against Iran is possible in this last year of the Bush administration. Covert actions are already taking place there, "preparing the battlefield".


For detailed information regarding this matter, please see the relevant article in the current issue of The New Yorker.


Thank you.
Enjoy your weekend.
<3Steph

I had to get a shot on my ass today.

Finally, all three presidential contenders agree on something: Darfur. All three claim that they will increase pressure on the Sudanese government to move towards an end to the genocide in Darfur.

Granted... these are just words.
And pressuring Sudan isn't the only action needed.
Other governments contribute to the issues in Darfur - including surrounding African countries (mainly due to an unwillingness to accept refugees, although several have accepted some). China is also a major contributor.
Also, few people realize that numerous American corporations are also contributing to the issue.

Demanding the Sudanese government to work toward ending this atrocity is important.
But these people need other pressures laid on them.

Also, CNN is saying that people are just now noticing what's going on there.
We are?
Who doesn't already know about this?
The only reason the average American may not know about the crisis in Darfur, is that the media rarely mentions it. Instead, we talk about potential presidential candidates and their religion, their stupid opinions on social issues that aren't any of their business. Interviewing retired military personnel that are already pressured by the Bush administration to give a positive spin on the war.

I'm so frustrated.

Amnesty International - read, and make a difference.

<3

The show last night was, of course, fantastic. FANTASTIC. They are one of the few groups that motivate the entire crowd to dance. This show was just as great as Bonnaroo 06... hell, maybe even better - I was with one of my favoritest pals and there was so much silly action around me. Joy joy joy! Basia Bulat was also wonderful, wow what a voice... and I sat like such a dork at the little table in the back - conducting slowly. She's definitely a fan of songs in 3.

Oh how I love shows.
June shall have some great ones at the Orange Peel as well.
And July?
TOM MOTHERFUCKING FUCK WAITS!

1. I bought my first ever lottery tickets today. Uh-oh, the gambling begins.

2. I want to teach my bird to whistle the Enzyte penis-grower whistle song.

3. Caleb and I are going to Asheville tonight to see DeVotchKa perform - HELL YES. And the opening artist, Basia Bulat, plays a DULCIMER.