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Doctor Who Open Thread: S5E08: The Hungry Earth
Okay you Whosers, time to talk some Doctor, eh?1
Just finished watching The Hungry Earth, Episode 8 of Season 5. This thread is for discussion of that episode, or any earlier episode in the Doctor Who franchise.
Please be careful not to give spoilers for episodes coming later in the season, as we are continuing to follow the US/Canadian broadcast schedule.
So? What's your Shake-take on the ep? Silurians, baby! Just a dozen or so...;)
1 This is funnier if read with a strong Ontarian (east-central Canadian) accent. Eh.
Open Thread
Hosted by a Welsh Corgi.
This week's open threads have been brought to you by the letter W.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
And yes, I see I added an extra "o" in saloon. LOL. Wevs.
I'm too lazy to fix it now, so enjoy my knuckleheadery!
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
The OFFS Awards: The United States Department of Health and Human Services
The HHS has voted 9-6 against lifting the ban on gay men donating blood.
In the US, any man who has had sex with a man since 1977 is barred from giving blood.
It appears this policy will remain in effect for the time being.
Daily Dose o' Cute
For those who love and can view video, here are some recent feline and canine happenings in Lazy and Frisky at Shakes Manor, set to Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet." Still pix for everyone else are below the fold.
[Also at Daily Motion here.]
Matilda
Olivia
Sophie
Dudley
Very Appropriate
[Trigger warning for sexual assault. Avoid comments at source link.]
Following on the heels of my earlier post regarding the World Cup, sexual assault, domestic violence, and general misogynist shitbaggery, I see via Gabe that R. Kelly was selected to perform at the opening ceremony.
Notes Gabe caustically: "So good! It barely even reminded me of the time that he peed on a child."
I don't really have anything to add to that.
Except, perhaps: Fuck off, FIFA.
Joyeux Anniversaire
I don't remember science class being very interesting, when I was a kid. Actually, I don't remember science class. I think we drew cells in 7th grade biology. And memorized the periodic table in 9th grade chemistry. Or something. High school might have been better, but I didn't make it to high school, for the most part, having already been incapacitated by depression by then.
I did, however, write pages in my journal about the first moon landing, to the bafflement of my best friend. That was really happening! Right then! While I sat on the sofa watching and listening, people landed on the freaking moon!
We didn't have the internet then, twittersnappers, all we had was the TV, and print publications, by way of exposure to the outside world, and space beyond. Which is how I, a landlocked child of the northern Pennsylvania mountains, became enthralled with the world under the sea. Because Jacques-Yves Cousteau brought it to me.
He brought it to me through the TV shows he produced, with their hours of footage of dives he and the crew of his ship, the Calypso, made. He brought it to me through his books, of which I had many, with beautiful photographs and tales of the Cousteau team's adventures in that other world. I loved those books; I loved those TV shows; and I loved Jacques Cousteau for taking me with him, vicariously, on his adventures.
I live a couple of miles from the Pacific Ocean, now, and have for 20 of the last 22 years. I rarely see it; so rarely that when I do, the sight of it still startles me. An ocean is an impressive thing, even from shore. I have never been diving and am not likely to, at this point.
I nevertheless love all those oceans I never see, thanks to Jacques Cousteau. Today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, so it seemed a good time to say thanks. I just re-read, at Gizmodo, Cousteau's description of his very first dive with the aqua-lung he and Emile Gagnan designed, from Cousteau's book The Silent World. It will make you want to take up diving.
So joyeux anniversaire, M. Cousteau, and thank you for bringing the sea so gloriously to those of us who could not go there; thank you for your tireless efforts toward preservation of sea habitats; thank you for the legacy you left us of ongoing work in that area and a family devoted to it.
And I am so, so sorry about what we've done to the Gulf of Mexico.
This is a real thing in the world.
Phoneballs. Only $15.
I'm not going to link to the website, but it's easy enough to find if you are so inclined. Makes a great set with your truck nuts.
[Thanks to Shaker Erin for passing that along.]
Feel the Homomentum!
In case you missed it, it's been Iceland week on TMNS, so it seems especially fortuitous, or at least serendipitous (is that even a word?), that Iceland legalized same-sex marriage today with a unanimous vote.
Let me repeat that last bit: by unanimous vote. How about that?
Also note that Iceland was the first country to elect an openly gay head of state. It's a non-issue there. How about that?
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland, notes that same-sex marriage "has not been a big issue in national politics, it's not been controversial." How about that?
[Tip of the eldfjall to Scott.]
Why I won't get off the internet
[I'm eastsidekate and I'm new here? I've been around since the days when Melmanda Marcewen was terrorizing America (sorry to bring it up, tho' I love that graphic). Liss recently gave me the chance to become a contributor. After a weekish of posting, I've finally put together a comprehensive history of my life, as it pertains to the internet.]
:clears throat:
I won't get off the internet because I'm depressed. I play the same damn stuff over and over and over in my head. Always have, probably always will. It's really useful for me to process stuff by putting it into words, getting it out of my skull, and discussing it with other people. It's also useful for me to discuss what's in other people's skulls.
I won't get off the internet because I'm transsexual. As far as I can tell, transsexual people invented the internet as a way to share information about, um, how to survive, as well as a means of starting vicious flame wars. I understand that some people have corrupted the 'net to the point that folks now watch Lady Gaga videos and share large scientific data sets, but that's not so much my fault. Except for the data sets. I apologize.
It would be hyperbole to say that the internet saved my life. Or maybe not. I honestly don't know. I do know that hearing stories from folks who came out without internet access sends chills up my spine and makes me a bit nauseous. The internet is a good thing. I can use it to find people who are just like me. Once I developed skills at that, I used the internet to find out (and gasp, interact with) people who weren't exactly like me. That's been pretty useful, too.
I won't get off the internet because I'm a feminist. I enjoy tons of privileges, including, but not limited to the internet. However, that gender transition? Involves a massive amount of self-examination, and a massive loss of privilege. I've got a lot of first-hand knowledge that I didn't have several years ago, and it's been really useful to discuss that knowledge with others, and put it into the context of other people's experiences.
I won't get off the internet because I'm a writer. I came to Shakesville when I was finishing my Ph. D. thesis, and also trying to find a job in the academy (and also starting puberty-- I don't necessarily recommend that combo). I faced a lot of criticism that I wasn't exactly like a scientist, what with the earrings, and the use of active voice in my writing and whatnot.
The internet can be an amazing place to write. We can be playful here. See Liss' post about neologisms. They're not just for funny-- they're also meaningful. Recently, Sady fucking Doyle wrote an epic post about why she makes jokes on the internet (so she uses this word in the title I don't much like, but I still have a writer crush on her, okay?). If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to. I'll wait.
And wait.
Hi! One of the women I admire most is the late Molly Ivins, who was effectively forced out of a job with the New York Times (or at least made to feel unwelcome), on account of how her vicious use of the English language was fomenting a pervy leftist revolution or some such bullshit. My dream is for all of us to get fired from the Times.
Lastly, I won't get off the internet because I'm an educator. I don't plan on talking much about my paying job (because I'm professional?), but it definitely relates to the 'net. I teach at a “non-traditional” college. One of the things we do is allow students to receive credit for college-level learning they've acquired in life-- with or without the help of pointy-headed know-it-alls. And I keep learning my feminism on the street. And on the internet. And what I've learned about feminism and social justice and activism is at least as important as anything I've ever learned in a classroom. So, there's that.
I'm fortunate enough to have the freedom to experiment in how (and what, for that matter) I teach. And you can learn a lot on the internet. I'm learning a lot about teaching (and learning) from the internet. In a very real sense, Shakesville is closely related (and perhaps intertwined) with my professional life. With slightly more swearing. I hope.
So that's me. Oh, and I have cats.
I'm really, really happy to be here, because I love this community, and view it as yet another home. Folks here are amazing, and not just Liss and all of the contributors who have been here forever, but also everyone who contributes at any level. That Clay Shirky guy's right, y'all are doin' it right.
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
[Background. And background.]
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
World Cup of Ugh
[Trigger warning for sexual and domestic violence.]
That FIFA chose to allow South Africa to host the World Cup, despite the fact that, at the time of the selection, " a woman born in South Africa ha[d] a greater chance of being raped, than learning how to read," underlines the depth of institutional misogyny associated with the World Cup.
So it is no surprise that there are a slew of aggravating articles about the World Cup embedded with misogyny and narratives of the rape culture. Still, I've got to give it to Yahoo Sports for featuring not one but two real doozies this week.
Shaker Tammy forwarded this pile of dogwank that ran Wednesday about English footballers' wives and girlfriends, which contains such gems as: "The WAGs, as they have become derisively known, are a marauding force of champagne-guzzling, credit card-wielding, wild-partying paparazzi fodder who did such a spectacular job of focusing the spotlight upon themselves at the last World Cup that they were cited among the primary reasons behind England's failure to get past the quarterfinals."
And I saw this delightful piece yesterday, in which the author "debunks" the rumor that there will be 40,000 prostitutes pouring into South Africa for the World Cup, casually conflating consensual prostitution with human trafficking:
But the only evidence of any organized prostitution rings – the kind of movement that would generate great numbers – is that there appear to be more women from Thailand. Yet even then, the source suspects, there are hundreds of them. Not thousands.
He even found a lady to quote who laments soccer fans getting "targeted" by the nasty rumors they might want to have sex with prostitutes.
…Back in 2006, when the World Cup was held in Germany – where prostitution was legal – there was talk that the country would be buried by 40,000 sex workers. Interest in them was said to be great. Yet they mostly wound up sitting around brothels waiting for the parade of willing men that never happened. Later, a study commissioned by the European Union and uncovered by the British internet magazine Spiked found only 33 cases of human trafficking at that time. And just five of those cases turned out to be related to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Iain sends along this piece about England's awareness-raising about domestic violence, which reportedly rises on days when Team England has matches: "[The Association of Chief Police Officers] is using a football jersey covered in blood reading 'Strikeher' to encourage people to report domestic abuse, and so-called experts on domestic violence are recommending, per the usual, that women do something to preemptively protect themselves."
I cannot begin to convey the depth of my odium at the bullshit preemptive victim-blaming that imagines staying out late is really going to stop a monstrous fuckwad who uses football as an excuse to beat his partner and/or kids. I'm sure he'll use that extra time while his partner is "staying out with friends of family members on England game nights or arranging for their children to go to a friend's house for a sleepover" to cool down, not build up a big head of steam wondering where his punching bag is.
And "Strikeher"—seriously? Ugh.
It's Your Fault Old People Are In Pain
Why, fat people? Why are you hurting the old folks?
So I'm reading this interesting story in the New York Times about the fact that there is a fairly risk-free vaccine which reduces the chance of developing shingles by more than half and the risk of post-herpetic neuralgia by over two-thirds. Shingles is caused by a reactivation, years later, of the virus which causes chicken pox, which most often occurs in older people. Post-herpetic neuralgia is an extremely painful complication of shingles.
The good news is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccination against shingles in 2006, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2008 recommended all people aged 60 and older receive.
The bad news is that few do, because, according to the Times it costs ten times more than other adult vaccinations at $160 to $195 per dose (it need be administered only once), may not be fully covered by insurance or even Medicare, and the reimbursement process is stupid (my word, not the Times).
Private insurers generally require patients to pay for it themselves and then apply for reimbursement. Medicare classifies it as a presecription drug, unlike other vaccinations for older people, and it therefore invokes the rather complicated payment structure currently in place for prescription drugs under Medicare.
Well, this ain't right, I'm thinking, and wondering if there will be in this article an explanation of why the vaccine is so expensive to begin with (there isn't), when, deep in the explanation of how burdensome all this is to physicians (the article was written by an M.D.), I come across this pearl of sad wisdom:
“There’s just so much that primary care practices must take care of with chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes and heart disease,” Dr. Hurley noted. “If a treatment isn’t easy to administer, then sometimes it just falls to the bottom of the list of things for people to do.”J'accuse, fattiez! (Ok, I'm fat, too, but I'm speaking for the righteously non-fat here. They have so little voice.) Simply by virtue of having a BMI over 30, regardless of whether you have any actual illnesses (besides the chronic disease of obesity, of course) you are keeping the physicians of the world so damn busy that administering a shot which can keep old people from suffering excruciating pain for long periods of time goes to the bottom of their list of things to do.
You, O carrier of the Deathfatz! You have perpetrated this cruelty upon our elders! Unless you happen to be both fat and older, in which case you deserve to be in pain, because if you weren't so fat your doctor would have had time to prevent it.
The article does discuss a real problem in the reimbursement structure for this vaccine. As another quoted physician, Dr. Allan Crimm, says:
“It’s indicative of how there are perverse incentives that make it difficult to accomplish what everybody agrees should happen.”But thank goodness we didn't manage to get through even one article on a medical problem without someone having the courage to point out who is really to blame, although I must say the connection was not exactly spelled out. Still, most people are perfectly willing to take for granted that anything and everything, and certainly any problems with health care, are the fault of the fat people. They don't require any actual documentation; they just need a little reminder now and then to keep that in the forefront of their minds. Fortunately, Dr. Laura Hurley was happy to provide that.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround is brought to you by Shaxco, makers of Liss and Deeky's EqualityBound Tandem Bikes. EqualityBound: you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for everyone!
PLoS One: First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands
In 2008, a well preserved and complete shoe was recovered at the base of a Chalcolithic pit in the cave of Areni-1, Armenia. Here, we discuss the chronology of this find, its archaeological context and its relevance to the study of the evolution of footwear.
Knitting Clio: Sexism in Science, or Why There Was No Alberta Einstein
Via Dr. Isis, the Kids Read Science and Teens Read Science Summer Science Reading Contests:
Contest rules are simple: 1) read a nonfiction book on a topic in science, technology, engineering, or math; 2) make a video about the book that's less than 5 minutes long; 3) upload the video and submit the entry form by 11 pm (Central Daylight Time) on 22 September 2010.
KidsReadScience is for kids ages 8 through 12; TeensReadScience is for young adults ages 13 through 18. Anyone anywhere may submit one entry (in English), although prize distribution is currently restricted to locations in the US and its territories. Details are at the contest websites.
The Feminist Hulk Twitter feed and the Feminist Hulk Interview with Ms. Magazine blog.
HULK POLITELY REQUEST CHANGING TABLE IN MEN’S ROOM. HULK CHOOSE NOT TO EMPLOY SMASH IN THIS MOMENT. MULTIPLE TOOLS FOR CHANGE.
fannie’s room: In Which Commenters Make My Case
C.L. Minou at Tiger Beatdown: What We Write When We Don’t Write For the Internet: Looking For A Voice In All The Wrong Places
Ethan (via Samia): Propaganda for your Pants
Ladysquires: Tales from the Writing Center: The Engineering Group Project and Why I’m Not Proud of You for Correcting Other People’s Grammar
Dinosaur Tracking: Leonardo da Vinci – Paleontology Pioneer
Wellcome Trust Blog: Old diabetes drugs offer hope for a new Hepatitis C treatment
Ideas in Food: King Salmon Belly. For this project they use Activa RM (pdf on usage and ingredients). Activa is transglutaminase, the amino acid cross-linking enzyme that allows Wylie Dufresne to make noodles with no starch.
Responsible Teenager Reportedly Fine
ABC News: Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland Found Alive; Family Is 'Relieved'
After having her boat turned on its side in the Indian Ocean, it appears that Abby Sunderland is safe. My thoughts go out to Ms. Sunderland and her family. Not only is it stressful to be temporarily stranded in the middle of the ocean, it also puts a kink in Ms. Sunderland's goal of sailing around the world. This year.
You may recall that there was a lot of handwringing about Ms. Sunderland's trip, including accusations that her parents were doing it wrong.
Now one of the worst things that could have happened has happened, and Ms. Sunderland appears to be fine, in part because a) she's responsible, and b) she knows her way around a boat. Of course, things could have been worse. Things could always be worse, something that Abby Sunderland knew was true for people of all ages.
You can follow Ms. Sunderland's blog here.
Your Objective Media
[Trigger warning for domestic violence and homophobia.]
So, there's this article in the New York Times about federal prosecutors being given the ability to use interstate stalking and domestic violence provisions in the Violence Against Women Act in cases involving same-sex couples. Boo that it's necessary, but yay for the tools to legally address such issues using a successful model.
Brian Moulton, the chief legislative counsel of the Human Rights Campaign, is quoted in the article noting: "It's a step towards equality and recognizing that our relationships exist and are subject to the same sorts of issues that face other committed couples. Unfortunately, sometimes that is domestic violence and other issues that need to be dealt with through the criminal justice system."
And because that CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT from a purveyor of the RADICAL GAY AGENDA couldn't go uncontested, couldn't possibly be allowed to stand on its own as if same-sex couples' rights are the business of same-sex couples and their advocates, we get this charming paragraph toward the end of the story where "the Other Side has its say" quote usually resides:
Several social conservative commentators who have opposed same-sex marriage rights did not respond to requests for comment.First of all, LOL at the idea of the fucknecks at the American Family Values Children Christian Liberty Freedom Patriot Association Foundation Organization scrambling to try to come up with a response: "Well, we hate gay people—but we can't actually come right out and say we support domestic violence, right? Crap, this is a tough one!"
Secondly, fuck off, New York Times, with your stupid reflexive need to include a comment from hatemongers in every goddamn article about social justice. We get it. We know there are bigots out there who believe that same-sex couples shouldn't ever ever ever be given any rights or legal protections lest same-sex relationships be legitimized and society crumble and the Baby Jesus cry tears shaped like dildos or whatever.
Providing some bullshit quote from ideological dinosaurs doesn't serve to provide new information; it doesn't create parity; and it sure as shit doesn't approximate objectivity—because, objectively, these people are assholes with a rationale that isn't even legally viable under our Constitution.
"God says so" isn't merely childish and aggravating; it's totally subjective. See, there are also religious people in this country who believe that denying equality is immoral, but being gay isn't. That's the whole conundrum of invoking God as the singular rationale for or against public policy—God says lots of different things to lots of different people, and all of them think that they're right.
Opponents of LGB equality don't have any facts on their side; their every claim (same-sex marriage will destroy America! / will undermine the sanctity of marriage! / will be bad for children! / will require churches to perform gay marriage ceremonies! / will cause hurricanes! / will make the earth spin off its axis!) is demonstrably false.
Stop treating them like they've got anything to add to a public conversation besides irrational hatred dressed up unconvincingly as principled opposition.
