Years ago, right after Pluto was demoted, I created a juvenile new mnemonic for remembering the solar system.
solar system:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
The mnemonic was:
Many vegetarians eat meat, just show up naked.
See, the first letters match.
Finally, someone else, someone actually talented, has taken up this pressing problem. Of course, I refer to the XKCD guy. Who else?
He says the "traditional" was
My very excellent mother just served us nachos
He invents
Mary's "virgin" explanation made Joseph suspect upstairs neighbor.
Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
2011-10-31
study: "autistic facial characteristics identified"
Heck, I suggested there was a link between autism and the human face 12 years ago. Originally in my defunct website, later here.
And now there is this. Which seems likely to be trashed, as bigoted or something.
Note how they describe this as "a step toward understanding cause of autism" (sic). What the fuck do they think the cause could possibly be? It's as if they do not understand existence at all.
If we take the study at face-value, a third-eye would not be enough, the autistic would have to go on to violate another a deep breath taboo at least, to change the shape of their face.
And now there is this. Which seems likely to be trashed, as bigoted or something.
Note how they describe this as "a step toward understanding cause of autism" (sic). What the fuck do they think the cause could possibly be? It's as if they do not understand existence at all.
If we take the study at face-value, a third-eye would not be enough, the autistic would have to go on to violate another a deep breath taboo at least, to change the shape of their face.
2011-10-13
one about politics, again about liars, and about TED
Today, Reddit has a thread about a video called "How to spot a liar".
No commenter in either forum seems to get that in the 21st century the actuality of the liar is waved like a red cape to maneuver dumb animals.
Of course, running through a list of actual liars is called 'brilliant'.
To me the subtext seemed to be: you, the lovely audience, with your fake sciences, fake anthropology, fake history, bad economics, and relentless spin are not the problem, those bad people who blatantly lie are!
I admit I did not watch all of it. TED makes me grit my teeth.
I will try to be succinct - with a few exceptions the world is not poker. It is more like, poker but where most of the other players hallucinate each time they glance at their hole cards.
No commenter in either forum seems to get that in the 21st century the actuality of the liar is waved like a red cape to maneuver dumb animals.
Of course, running through a list of actual liars is called 'brilliant'.
To me the subtext seemed to be: you, the lovely audience, with your fake sciences, fake anthropology, fake history, bad economics, and relentless spin are not the problem, those bad people who blatantly lie are!
I admit I did not watch all of it. TED makes me grit my teeth.
I will try to be succinct - with a few exceptions the world is not poker. It is more like, poker but where most of the other players hallucinate each time they glance at their hole cards.
2011-10-09
audio podcast - me talking about 3 types of yoga
Which is the most enlightened - to meditate on a mountaintop, go with the flow, or be your face?
An unscholarly comparison of Raja yoga, Kripalu yoga, and a yoga that nurtures personality.
An unscholarly comparison of Raja yoga, Kripalu yoga, and a yoga that nurtures personality.
2011-09-02
autism/human face metaphor
I wrote the following in the 1990s :
I posted this on the internet around 1999 on a page titled "autism and the human face". I was not being literal.
Reading it aloud now it has a kind of snap, a frisson of something that might be true.
Funny thing, I had got my Greek goddesses mixed up. It was Aphrodite who was born out of the foaming ocean.
Athena's birth? Well, Zeus (the god of gods) had headaches, and she finally burst out of his head. As wisdom! As empowered!
I was suggesting then, and am saying it explicitly now, that this myth is not so much about a father and daughter, but much more about competence arising from something like developmental disability.
I am also suggesting the genders are not significant in this myth. Note that someone has rendered Athena's birth gendered-reversed. (the meaning of myth is what other people think about it).
P.S.
By "original will' I meant my opinion that children choose their own personality from the ephemera of existence
just as they are understanding dimensionality and time.
"Those without internal faces - that is, those whose internal face is inaccessible to their original·will - cannot speak.
There is only one true cure - not to force speech out of disconnected face - but rather to produce (with a third eye) the conceived,enlightened face; which can come shimmering up from seeming nothingness like Athena was said to have done (out of the foaming ocean) (as one of the voices of God)."
Reading it aloud now it has a kind of snap, a frisson of something that might be true.
Funny thing, I had got my Greek goddesses mixed up. It was Aphrodite who was born out of the foaming ocean.
Athena's birth? Well, Zeus (the god of gods) had headaches, and she finally burst out of his head. As wisdom! As empowered!
I was suggesting then, and am saying it explicitly now, that this myth is not so much about a father and daughter, but much more about competence arising from something like developmental disability.
I am also suggesting the genders are not significant in this myth. Note that someone has rendered Athena's birth gendered-reversed. (the meaning of myth is what other people think about it).
P.S.
By "original will' I meant my opinion that children choose their own personality from the ephemera of existence
2011-08-06
the kind of idea that grows on you
Does this look like something that is expanding?
Oh, but that's from water. It has to be. Everyone says so.
Possibly in your mind water on the moon and water on Mars is the same story. Or that, you munched it down: water on both. But since it was there after most of the asteroids hit, just, mirabile dictu, a semi-ancient solar system spritzing of some kind?
Or maybe you think, they are just planetarians and have to chase some tail. Jobz, n'est-ce pas?. (it's almost as if Moon water was Bin Laden and Mars water is Saddam Hussein. Or something.)
Now check out the (computer generated) videos here. You will be amazed.
My ultimate point is: Why don't they even consider the idea? Could it be their subconscious sees stretch marks, and this freaks them out?
P.S. for twenty years I have engaged in a special yoga practice, quite likely the deepest yoga ever. I will not divulge much about it. I will say this: there are breath taboos. Oh, and one of them involves growth.
Oh, but that's from water. It has to be. Everyone says so.
Possibly in your mind water on the moon and water on Mars is the same story. Or that, you munched it down: water on both. But since it was there after most of the asteroids hit, just, mirabile dictu, a semi-ancient solar system spritzing of some kind?
Or maybe you think, they are just planetarians and have to chase some tail. Jobz, n'est-ce pas?. (it's almost as if Moon water was Bin Laden and Mars water is Saddam Hussein. Or something.)
Now check out the (computer generated) videos here. You will be amazed.
My ultimate point is: Why don't they even consider the idea? Could it be their subconscious sees stretch marks, and this freaks them out?
P.S. for twenty years I have engaged in a special yoga practice, quite likely the deepest yoga ever. I will not divulge much about it. I will say this: there are breath taboos. Oh, and one of them involves growth.
2011-07-02
World, get off the lying meme
Many believe the world is full of liars.
A couple of years ago a few of these believers made a movie, creating an opposite world.
I guess they thought this would be funny, and would resonate with the irony of the opposite. And maybe even be uplifting. Not to mention educational.
Right?
Well, No. The conceit failed. Despite featuring charismatic and popular stars, The Invention of Lying barely covered its costs.
I could have told them this would happen. I could have told them the irony would be feckless.
Guys, the reason the movie did not make money is your premise was wrong. The world is not made corrupt by being full of liars.
Yes, the world is full of people who say untrue things. But they believe in truth and consciously believe the things they say are true.
It is only subconsciously they know what they say is false.
And now a picture of some kids. Because kids [Hollywood's #1 audience] know.
They can tell that many of the adults in their world are not completely honest human beings. But also that they are not liars.
The lying meme is feckless. Please, world, get off it. That would be step 1 for you to begin to work out what is really wrong.
A couple of years ago a few of these believers made a movie, creating an opposite world.
I guess they thought this would be funny, and would resonate with the irony of the opposite. And maybe even be uplifting. Not to mention educational.
Right?
Well, No. The conceit failed. Despite featuring charismatic and popular stars, The Invention of Lying barely covered its costs.
I could have told them this would happen. I could have told them the irony would be feckless.
Guys, the reason the movie did not make money is your premise was wrong. The world is not made corrupt by being full of liars.
Yes, the world is full of people who say untrue things. But they believe in truth and consciously believe the things they say are true.
It is only subconsciously they know what they say is false.
And now a picture of some kids. Because kids [Hollywood's #1 audience] know.
They can tell that many of the adults in their world are not completely honest human beings. But also that they are not liars.
The lying meme is feckless. Please, world, get off it. That would be step 1 for you to begin to work out what is really wrong.
2011-04-23
audio podcast update of the Horton Hears a Who post
I've been getting a couple of hits a day on my Horton Hears a Who analysis. I have no idea why. So I have done an update. This time it's audio. A podcast, basically.
The recording is about 14 minutes long, but I don't really get into it until around the 7:30 mark. I apologize for the places in the recording where I ramble. I did it without notes or preparation - nobody is paying me for this!
The original was too dense, and too unfriendly. This is better (but still not that good).
The original was too dense, and too unfriendly. This is better (but still not that good).
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