The Unwritten Sexual Bargain
“It can be very difficult for a woman to accept sexual rejection. Even the temporary rebuff can feel like a strike at the core of our femininity. Hey, aren’t men supposed to always want it, while we...
View ArticleTreat Your Romantic Parnterships like Friendships
Gala Darling transcribed an article (author unknown) titled Infinite Relationships. Some excellent passages: “In the beginning I would meet a beautiful new person, we would broaden each others’...
View ArticleNanogenre
Nanocrowd introduces the concept of nanogenre: three keywords that describe a movie. (I’ve used a system like this for categorizing music and found it to be extremely effective.) Some examples: The...
View ArticleGoodbye, Vehicle Ownership
I’ve owned a car my entire adult life. My parents purchased a car for me the moment I got my learner’s permit, at 15. It represented the same thing to me that it does to teenagers the world over:...
View ArticleDie, Flash, Die
I’ve never liked Flash. And yet, I can’t deny that it’s been an enabling technology for a new type of artform - Homestar Runner being one excellent example. That’s aside from all the media its...
View ArticleGovernment is an Industry
“Government is just another industry, where countries offer services to citizens, but it has some unfortunate features. It is a geographically segmented monopoly, and since all land is taken, the...
View ArticleStage Magic and Neuroscience
Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion suggests that stage magic may provide insights into the working of the human mind. And watch the embedded video of Teller showing the...
View ArticleNeuroeconomics
“Neuroeconomics combines neuroscience, economics, and psychology to study how people make decisions. It looks at the role of the brain when we evaluate decisions, categorize risks and rewards, and...
View ArticleShadows
“We see laws as nothing more than the shadows of our predecessor’s customs, lengthened by the years to seem more wise than our own judgement.” From Fighting For Our Lives: An Anarchist Primer
View ArticleArgument
The word “argument” has a fairly specific meaning, yet we’re often conditioned to think of its negative connotations - husband and wife hurling dishes at each other, yelling and emoting, no real...
View ArticleRockbox
Rockbox is open-source firmware for mp3 players - basically, a new operating system for your iPod, but one that can play superior open source media formats like ogg and flac.
View ArticleHardy Souls
“By 1935, when America set up its Social Security system, the official pension age was 65—three years beyond the lifespan of the typical American. State-sponsored retirement was designed to be a brief...
View ArticleFlappers
“These low-hipped gobbies never worry me,” she said. “I keep my cash straight and my decimal points in order. Furthermore, if some dumbbell starts hanging onto the cage I tell him to move on. They...
View ArticleThe Deal With Things
When you try something new - like a new TV show or movie, a new food, or a new card game - and you decide you don’t like it, there are two categories your judgement may fall into. One is that you just...
View ArticleIntentions
“Four different tests of 63 people found that those who kept their intentions private were more likely to achieve them than those who made them public and were acknowledged by others.” From Shut up!...
View ArticleLiberty, Justice, and the American Way
Here’s to liberty and justice: From Bent’s 4th of July event page.
View ArticleEveryone
“Many people would agree that drug culture reform is needed, but we must recognize that “the drug culture” now includes everyone. Modern life involves daily decisions about psychoactives. The option...
View ArticleCell Phone Taxes
If you buy a $199 iPhone in California, you might notice that the tax is $56.91, which implies a 28.6% sales tax rate. California sales tax should be between 7% and 9% (depending on the city), so what...
View ArticleThe Oceanic Feeling
“This dissolving of the ego is akin to what Freud, borrowing the expression from novelist Romain Rolland, called ‘the oceanic feeling.’ He described it as ‘a sense of indissoluble union with the great...
View ArticleNeurofeedback
Neurofeedback, something I’ve been interested in for a long time, is making its way into the mainstream in the form of videogames:
View ArticleRitualized Violence
“As a man, one experiences very heavy socialisation from an early age to constrain violent impulses. Agression is channeled out of us in every way (other than on the sports field) which is absolutely...
View ArticleSita Sings the Blues
Sita Sings the Blues is a feature-length, animated film that I found unique and entertaining. The creator, Nina Paley, wrote, animated, directed, and produced the whole thing. A film of this caliber...
View ArticleThe Only Unpardonable Crime
“I am perhaps happier now than I have ever been and yet I cannot but recognise that I would trade all that I am to be you, the eternally unhappy, nervous, wild, wondering and despairing 16-year-old...
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