Good article from the New York times about ritual and fashion at a gay wedding between a former seminarian and a former monk, complete with huppah. Good read.
Category Archives: Culture
seeing the world from both sides
This article from the San Jose Mercury News, Seeing the World from Both Sides, is worth a read:
When a Stanford University neurobiologist made a case this week that discrimination, not genetics, keeps women out of science, his comments carried more weight than usual.
Ben A. Barres spent most of his life — and his career as an accomplished scientist — as a woman. Only nine years ago did he complete the process of changing into a man; only recently, he says, did he begin to realize how bias holds women back.
Oddly enough, I just had a conversation about this with Bryan Monroe from work. One point I’ve heard before that this article doesn’t make: girls in science classes often give up on further science if they don’t excel, while boys are encouraged to continue even if they do poorly. That seemed telling to me, because it’s less about a specific person discriminating and more about internalized cultural bias.
Sex is essential, kids aren’t – Los Angeles Times
I just read a wonderful opinion piece in the LA Times called Sex is essential, kids aren’t:
When it comes to human behavior, there are actually very few genetic dictates. Our hearts insist on beating, our lungs breathing, our kidneys filtering and so forth, but these internal-organ functions are hardly “behavior” in a meaningful sense. As for more complex activities, evolution whispers within us. It does not shout orders.
Odd that it’s in the op-ed section, but that’s probably because the Times doesn’t have a “Common Sense Intro to Science” section.
Textiles can do good, doing well
Just when you were beginning to think that it would never do anyone any good, voting with your dollar makes a difference. An effort by textile companies and the government of Lesotho has brought the textile industry back from near disaster to near fighting strength again, in large part thanks to the “government… working hard to become a destination of ethical choice”. Makes you renew your faith in checking labels.
Han, You Ladies’ Man…
I just found some original footage from Star Wars. It’s in black and white, and the sound quality is cruddy, but it’s worth it to see Han’s girlfriend (or whomever she is) and to hear Greedo chatting with Han in an English accent. And yes, Han did shoot first.