novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
Chinese man brings gay conversion therapy lawsuit -- "'According to the law, both sides should sign an agreement before electric shock or hypnosis is carried out, but (the clinic) did not offer,' said Li [Doilong, the man's lawyer]. 'The staff told my client the electric shock felt like "being bit by a mosquito" but it turned out not to be.'"

Seattle cop under investigation for busting too many pot smokers | Seattle cop who issued 80% of marijuana tickets reassigned -- Let's see. That one officer wrote 4/5ths of all such citations. "The police department said 36 percent of the tickets were issued to African-Americans, who make up just eight percent of the city's population." I'd like to see the Venn diagram on that one.

Utah language school blogger writes about homophones, gets fired for 'associating the school with homosexuality'

Scientists Shed Light on Link Between Depression, Dementia
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
Gun Shy: What happened to the Second Amendment at the U.S. Supreme Court this year?

ABA: Lawyers can scour jurors' social media sites -- Yet another reason I won't be migrating to Facebook. It's bad enough (actually probably worse) that employers can demand your social media account particulars.

Christian radio host in Michigan busted in child sex probe, feds say -- "[Balyo] was cuffed while working at a Christian music festival in Gaylord on Friday." It's all about the cover story.

Time-traveling photons connect general relativity to quantum mechanics

Death to high school English: My college students don't understand commas, far less how to write an essay. Is it time to rethink how we teach? -- This article is so true. I read essays written by schoolchildren for a living. The general level of grammatical readiness is atrocious.

Artistic food deemed tastier, scientists and chef show -- "Participants were also willing to pay more for the Kandinsky-inspired plating[.]"
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
Jameis Winston still under fire for rape allegation

Deputies: Man smothered crying son over video game

Teen suspended for asking Miss America to prom

A Browser Extension That Replaces "Literally" With "Figuratively" -- "Built by a programmer named Mike Walker, it's an extension for Google's Chrome browser that replaces the word 'literally' with
'figuratively' on sites and articles across the Web, with deeply gratifying results."
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
Swedish doctors transplant wombs into 9 women

Study: Caffeine Can Enhance Your Memory

Watch: First Video of Fish Leaping Into Air to Prey on Birds -- tigerfish

The Ugly, Fascinating History Of The Word 'Racism' -- This is a decent article, though I take issue with the assertion that "the term has become an abstraction." I say this as someone who has directly experienced a racist verbal attack.

If you're white, that joint probably won't lead to jail time -- "[F]ew have acknowledged the obvious: The media’s images of mostly scruffy-looking, smiling people, lined up to score some newly legal dope, are overwhelmingly white."
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
'Today' show apologizes for 'offensive' joke about Mandela memorial sign language interpreter -- This is offensive on so many levels.

Probation for drunk Texas teen driver who killed four sparks backlash | Probation, rehab for DWI deaths seems woefully inadequate -- 10 years probation in exchange for parents shelling out nearly a half million dollars on one of the most expensive rehab facilities I've ever heard of. It apparently "specializes in chef-prepared meals, equine therapy, martial-arts training, yoga and nature hikes."

Beastie Boys file countersuit against GoldieBlox over 'Girls' in viral video

California prostitutes may gain victim compensation -- "California officials are considering whether to change a decades-old anti-crime regulation and allow prostitutes to receive money from a victim compensation fund if they're raped or beaten. Under the current system, those harmed in violent crimes can be paid for medical costs and related expenses, but prostitutes are excluded because their activities are illegal."

Yeah, Alec Baldwin Really Is a Bigot -- This article admittedly is in response to a news item that is now weeks-old, but the message that "'[b]igot' isn't a 'global' judgement of someone's character [but rather] a description of how they choose to act" is a good one.

Coates' own rejoinder to the above article: Bigotry and the English Language

Gay Sex Bans: One of the British Empire's Most Enduring Legacies -- Check out the overlay of maps.

Fox News host Megyn Kelly tells kids: Jesus and Santa are both white guys -- The first time I heard of this news story, I immediately chortled. Jesus (if you believe in a historical Jesus) was Jewish! He was described as having "feet of bronze" & kinky hair. I guess that just goes to show how altered the American perspective on Jewish heritage has shifted in the last fifty years. (I won't even address the ridiculousness of maintaining the racial identity of a fictional character.)
novapsyche: Teysa, Orzhov Scion (from Magic: the Gathering): a woman with a turned-up cowl, frowning (teysa)
I try to tame my inner grammar Nazi (or, as is more tamely known around LJ parts, "grammar police[person]"). However, when I see, in a published article, a writer use the term "its'", that just gets under my skin without a way out.

I don't understand why others can't get how one version of the sound /itz/ is a contraction for a noun & its verb while the other is a pronoun possessive. Possessives never gain an apostrophe! "His", "hers" & "its", not "his'", "hers'" & "its'" (or even "theirs'").

Come on now.
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
The Heteronym Homepage

Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice (thanks, [personal profile] supergee)

In Wake of Zimmerman Verdict, Obama Makes Extensive Statement on Race in America (NYT) -- BTW, I'm getting rather annoyed with the New York Times, as it has again assumed a threshold over how many free articles persons can access before being restricted by a paywall. I'll probably lessen my references to NYT as time goes on.
novapsyche: a woman of stature circa 1900s peering out of a ring (womanring)
So ABCnews decided to provide a transcript to the video segment entitled "Doctor Blasted for 'Ghetto Booty' diagnosis":

A Tennessee woman is furious after she says her doctor gave her an insulting diagnosis when she sought help. For back -- 55 year old -- Franklin session what the doctor because it felt like her hip. Was slipping out of place in causing a lot of pain after series of -- race she says the doctor walked in the diagnosis.

She was expecting. -- -- I don't what the problem is that -- ghetto booty. And -- often get what you think it'll -- he farewell personal care for it.

-- probably give -- something if you are having paying. -- clinical diagnosis. Is called Lombard lower doses to curb of the lower -- -- makes one's buttocks her true.

After -- the doctor's office manager about the comment Rodman got a letter of apology and that doctor. Explained. Quote I was try to take a technical conversation regarding your lower back and make it less technical.

Thanks for that mangling of the English language. Why provide a transcript if it is this spotty?
novapsyche: a person removing a shirt, revealing a system of organs & skeleton underneath (bodyundershirt)
Hashimoto's thyroiditis can affect quality of life: Even when thyroid gland function is normal -- "[Researchers] report that women with higher levels of anti-thyroid antibody had a significantly higher number of symptoms, even though their levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)--a measure of thyroid function--did not differ from TSH levels measured in women with lower antibody levels."

Listening to music is biological -- "[S]everal behavioral features in listening to music are closely related to attachment: lullabies are [sung] to infants to increase their attachment to a parent, and singing or playing music together is based on teamwork and may add group cohesion."

Advancing delirium care through research -- "Delirium is a state of confusion in which the individual has undergone a sudden alteration of mental status. Delirium is not dementia, but individuals with dementia are more susceptible to developing delirium during hospitalization than individuals without dementia. [...] For vulnerable older adults developing a urinary tract infection or taking an over-the-counter drug with anti-cholinergic effects (including many popular brands of sleeping pills) may lead to delirium."

Language Patterns Are Roller-Coaster Ride During Childhood Development -- "Research from North Carolina State University on African-American children presents an unexpected finding: language use can go on a roller-coaster ride during childhood as kids adopt and abandon vernacular language patterns. [...] Vernacular English is defined here as culturally specific speech patterns that are distinct from standard English; in this case, the vernacular is African-American English[.]"

inside peek

Dec. 9th, 2010 06:30 am
novapsyche: hands actively utilizing a manual typewriter (activetypewriter)
If you submit work to Third Wednesday, know one thing.

As one of the editors, I will pretty much 99% of the time veto a piece that uses the words beautiful or scream, the former because the author has not said anything, the latter because usually a synonym would work better than something so emo.

Cicada is coming close to earning an honorable mention on my invisible list.
novapsyche: Sailor Moon rising into bright beams (Default)
The library had its "free book" cart out yesterday, pretty much chock full. I immediately spotted two titles I would adore: Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 1, 3rd Ed. and Oxford Anthology of English Literature (I can't recall at the moment its volume or edition, but it deals with the period from Chaucer to the Victorian era).

I'd picked up the second volume of the Norton while at college (as I'd focused on American history after Reconstruction), but with a new interest in views of the contemporaries of slavery, I'm so glad to have this literary record. Also, I now have a fair cross-section of the work of my favorite sonneteer, Edmund Spenser. Yay!

(Earlier this week I found there the treasure of H. L. Mencken's The American Language, a trace of the evolution of English on these shores. Wh00p!)
novapsyche: Sailor Moon rising into bright beams (Default)
etymological origin of 'whore' -- the Proto-Indo-European root qar transformed in other languages into 'lover', 'friend', 'desire'

'prostitute' -- literally means "before" + "to stand, establish"; no original negative connotation

'harlot' -- literally means "vagabond"; had both positive and negative connotations in Chaucer's time

'strumpet' -- hilarious backstory for this mysterious word--not all nouns can verb

grr

Oct. 9th, 2009 12:16 pm
novapsyche: Sailor Moon rising into bright beams (Default)
Don't tell me when I cannot use a semicolon. Believe me, I learned the appropriate uses for my favorite punctuation mark many years ago.

I'm a grammar enforcer for a reason. Now dance to the strain of the 1990s radio hit jangling in my head. (Anybody know the artist of that earworm?)

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