thanks, vaxjedi

'Toothing' for Hi-Tech Sex with Strangers

British commuters take note -- the respectable person sitting next to you on the train fumbling with their cell phone might be a "toother" looking for sex with a stranger.

"Toothing" is a new craze where strangers on trains, buses, in bars and even supermarkets hook up for illicit meetings using messages sent via the latest in phone technology.

My god.

Effort to remove pro-gay marriage judges

A group that opposes gay marriage has enlisted the help of a state legislator in a long-shot attempt to remove the four justices of the state's high court who ruled that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional.

Democratic state Rep. Emile J. Goguen told The Boston Globe that he planned to file legislation to oust the justices on Tuesday, even though he is the measure's only sponsor.

He sees the bill as a way to pressure members of the Supreme Judicial Court to reconsider their 4-3 decision.

[...] Arline Isaacson, co-chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, called the bill "absolute insanity."

"I can understand if our opponents don't like the decision, but our opponents have no rational basis for removing any of these judges," she said.

(no subject)

I wanted to let everyone know: the new Hershey's Kisses with caramel are DEE-LICIOUS.

(no subject)

It may come as a surprise to some that the Kremlin, symbol of secrecy and repression, has become more transparent than the White House, symbol of freedom and democracy. But such experience has become routine -- so routine, in fact, that Agence France-Presse White House correspondent Olivier Knox has proposed a slogan for the Bush team: "When we have something to announce, another country will announce it."

From the White House, With Silence

(no subject)

I've been kind of active in this discussion over in religiousdebate.

Alexander the Great's stomping grounds

Uzbekistan's best kept secret

Kampyr-Tepe, in southern Uzbekistan, was built at the time of Alexander the Great's empire and occupied for about 500 years until it fell into decline.

Since it was discovered, a generation ago, it has been closed to the public because it stands in a sensitive and tightly guarded military zone, right on the Afghan border.

[...] It was here that Alexander raised his capital more than 2,000 years ago. This was the furthest conquest, then, of the Greeks in Asia.

From our vantage point, we could see why. Far below, beneath a swirl of starlings, we could see the plains melt into those of Afghanistan, Alexander's route here from Persia.

[...] "You see that big pit there," said an old farmer, Hamrah Baba, living on the plains to the north of Kampyr-Tepe.

"When I was a boy, we used to lower each other down there in turns, hanging on a rope. We did not think it was special.

"Then, these men came from Tashkent and found all sorts of things. They found gold and those chessmen."

The gold was 35kg of solid gold jewellery, set with turquoises. The chess pieces may be the oldest on earth.

the history of jewelry

Cave yields earliest jewellery

The oldest pieces of jewellery made by modern humans have emerged in Africa.

Shell beads found in Blombos Cave on the southern tip of the continent are 75,000 years old, scientists say.

The pea-sized items all have similar holes which would have allowed them to be strung together into a necklace or bracelet, the researchers believe.

Christopher Henshilwood and his team have told Science magazine the find is probably one of the first examples of abstract thought seen in our ancestors.

"The beads carry a symbolic message. Symbolism is the basis for all that comes afterwards including cave art, personal ornaments and other sophisticated behaviours," Professor Henshilwood, of the University of Bergen, Norway, told BBC News Online.

"Even in today's world, where you're talking about computers - it's about storing information outside of the human brain. The evidence from Blombos Cave is that humans were using symbolism 75,000 years ago."

(no subject)

Why doesn't Kerry pick a running mate already? Preferably someone engaging and personable (traits he unfortunately lacks).

(no subject)

You Really May Be Addicted to That Chocolate Cake

A brain scan study of normal, hungry people showed their brains lit up when they saw and smelled their favorite foods in much the same way as the brains of cocaine addicts when they think about their next snort.

"Food presentation significantly increased metabolism in the whole brain (by 24 percent) and these changes were largest in superior temporal, anterior insula, and orbitofrontal cortices," they wrote.

These areas are associated with addiction. For instance, the orbitofrontal cortex has been seen to activate in cocaine users when they think about the drug.

The study, published in the April issue of the journal NeuroImage, may support the argument that food advertising is helping drive the U.S. obesity epidemic.

(no subject)

Still no Kill Bill! It's amazing. They have three shelves devoted to that flick, but 12 for Master and Commander. That just doesn't make any sense.

I was going to walk out, but I ended up getting Sex and Lucia, Stevie and 21 Grams. I can't get many more any time soon, though. I think this is really just one big conspiracy to get more people through their doors, this short-stocking.