In the news

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I can call a Jew almost every time.

[Portia]

Rabbi strikes against iPhone 5 (and smart phones in general)

A religious person who owns this impure device is an abomination and a disgusting, vile villain,

He then gave an account of a man who had purchased an iPhone, which “ruined his life” and on account of which he got divorced from his wife.

Gee, it was the phone's fault?
(source)

I've heard of Mormon leaders saying similar things about fb (i.e., that it causes divorces).

I have seen how easy a platform like Facebook makes it to cheat. As someone whose dopamine-addicted brain likes instant gratification, I wouldn't be surprised if the Internet facilitated cheating (which of course could and would have happened in an earlier generation through more traditional means).

[Zedability]

Giant eyeball washes ashore

[Yarjka]

Diamond planet (extra sparkly!)

[Digit]

Amateur astronomers discover planet with four suns.

[yayfulness]

Science has confirmed what many people have intuitively expected: there is a correlation between creativity and mental illness.

I can't speak for others, but I tend to be more creative when I'm depressed. Poetry, particularly, I'm only capable of writing when I feel miserable. For me, art is a way to express deep internal struggles that are too much for mere words. Without conflict, there is no art.

[S.A.M.]

Science has confirmed what many people have intuitively expected: there is a correlation between creativity and mental illness.

I can't speak for others, but I tend to be more creative when I'm depressed. Poetry, particularly, I'm only capable of writing when I feel miserable. For me, art is a way to express deep internal struggles that are too much for mere words. Without conflict, there is no art.

Reminds me of Crowley's answer to board question 69208.

[Dragon Lady]

"Chocolate consumption could hypothetically improve cognitive function not only in individuals but in whole populations."

[Yarjka]

Pregnant woman statue. I'm liking it.

[Digit]

Pregnant woman statue. I'm liking it.

I never heard of Damien Hirst before, but that reminded me of another artist Marc Quinn. One sculpture he made is of a person named Chelsea Charms, whose body proportions in real life are extremely extreme. You might not want to Google her name on a work computer .

[Portia]

Pregnant woman statue. I'm liking it.

I never heard of Damien Hirst before, but that reminded me of another artist Marc Quinn. One sculpture he made is of a person named Chelsea Charms, whose body proportions in real life are extremely extreme. You might not want to Google her name on a work computer .

That's not even sexy, just unappealing.

[Portia]

Pregnant woman statue. I'm liking it.

You have to know Damien Hirst to appreciate the brilliance of Fake Mitt Romney! (The only Pinterest I've ever liked.)

[Digit]

Headline: Clark Kent to quit job at Daily Planet. Comic book's writer says he's likely to become a blogger.

[Katya]

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca ... und-usage/

A contest to come up with the best (worst?) fake prescriptivist language rule

[Yarjka]

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca ... und-usage/

A contest to come up with the best (worst?) fake prescriptivist language rule

I'm surprised by how hard it is to come up with one. Everything I can think of has already been taken by an actual style manual at some point. I guess I have a new sort of respect for those prescriptivist originators.

[Zedability]

Bieber fans shave heads before finding out he doesn't actually have cancer

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I see Canadian news is all about the important things.

[Portia]

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca ... und-usage/

A contest to come up with the best (worst?) fake prescriptivist language rule

Thou shalt not use "werf" sans antecedent, any more than one would start off a sentence with "he" or "she" without previously specifying a referent. One can view correct and incorrect usage of the genderless third-person singular pronoun on today's postings. Offenders shall be thrown in the Tower.

[Katya]

72-year-old grandfather models women's clothes, becomes internet sensation

http://shanghaiist.com/2012/11/16/72-ye ... s_wome.php

[Whistler]

oh man, I saw that. I love how women who buy from the site were jealous of his "slender legs."