BackStage

PhD Comics often are quite succinct in explaining graduate student life. And, this week’s comic is a good explanation for my post today:

And now for some Low Brow entertainment:

Blue sent this to me. Hat tip to The Edge of the American West.

This is just great.

Jeff Oliver sets up a “Meet a Black Guy” booth at an Oregon Farmer’s Market.

Found this over at Stuff White People Like.

J.K. Rowling’s speech at Harvard.

Posting this here for my perhaps two or three readers who do not read orgtheory.net.

At lot of this was stellar. But, at the point I’m at (trying to get a job), I liked this the best:

Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

As a human, and a social psychologist, I loved this:

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And, as a teacher, we have this:

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

You may have noticed I have not said word one on this blog about politics. That’s because the presidential campaigns and other sorted news is heavily covered on other blogs… and they all do a much better job than I could. That said, I did want to share with you this:

Push him, pull him, or (my favorite) throw him. Found this here. Link to the game here. There are also two H. Clinton versions: here and here.

Comments on the “naked” Hillary version? Why no Obama or McCain?

“We can become the best versions of ourselves.” By … I’ve got no words, just watch:

The House Bunny, a bad movie I think even I won’t be watching (and I do adore my bad movies).

More than twelve hours later, I still find myself sucking on the thumb of my right hand. The reason? Four glorious hours of Mario Kart Wii with scatterheads and orgtheorists (and a few other random soc bloggers and an eight year-old that consistently kicked my ass).

Last night was my first attempt at Mario Kart. I don’t think anyone has ever been so excited to finish in the middle of the pack (unlike the people who could actually play) . After some races I would celebrate fifth position (those I wasn’t in last). And, there is a perverse joy in knocking over a professor who you have long read and admired with a turtle shell. If you didn’t play this time, you really should try to find a way to play next time. It was a hoot.

Thanks to Killa for letting Mad Slave and I use her apartment (while she’s off skipping around the globe, poor girl, and was not able to play). And, thanks to Mad Slave for teaching me how to play. And Tina for arranging it!

First, this just makes me happy. Second, I figured out how to embed non Youtube and google videos, all ON MY OWN. You have no idea how proud this makes me.

The Republicans take their new slogan from a powerful anti-depressant medication.

from www.thedailyshow.com posted with vodpod

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Also, from Fresh Brainz I found this. Which just cracked me up.

Also making me laugh, is Kristina B. Who is also adding to my blogging skills.

All much more amusing than breast ironing, I must say.

It appears that the only way to get hits is not to use “overblown rhetoric and angry titles” like “Fucking Sociologists!” Another way to do it is to get Belle to like your post enough to cross-post in on both Law and Letters and scatterplot. Witness the awesome power of Belle:

A network analysis, even old school with just stars and isolates, would be fascinating on all of our stats. But, I think we all know who the big rollers are in the sociological bloggy-type world.

Trolling around the Internet, I found myself on the Wikipedia Grand Theft Auto IV Controversies page. It’s rare for me to actually catch Wikipedia vandals in action. This time, I got lucky:

It was gone about an hour later. I know, it’s not the best ever, but I was amused. Hope you are slightly too.

What are the best Wikipedia edits you’ve caught?

A fat woman trying to commit suicide. The concern? A tidal wave. Oh, and so much more.

To learn about the gym, don’t try their website, watch this:

Well, maybe this type of environment is conducive to weight loss. So, maybe that’s all that matters. But, still… umm wow.

Thanks to BOINKOLOGY for the post that led me to this. And Anomie for leading me to BOINKOLOGY.

For more adds from the Anti-gym, look here. With them, you too can have sex with the light on. [Do I dare dream?]