Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Some Mona Lisa secrets revealed

Link Using infrared light, we know that Leonardo changed Mona Lisa's pose slightly and modified her garments.

Down-low prevalence at 9.4%...

Down-low prevalence at 9.4%, more among minorities and foreign born -- the idea being that homosexuality is even less accepted in other countries and minority groups.
Link This is a fairly high number. Actually surprises me. Reference my recent post on brokeback marriages and beards.

-- updated 9/27

Link Interestingly a British study conducted in 1949 reported that 20% of men had homosexual experiences. It seems men were much more experimental in the years of WWII and shortly thereafter, if this study is to be believed. These days studies don't seem to reveal quite such a large number.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Politics and the power of YouTube

-- orig post 8/17

An interesting CS article about how an Indian American caught a Virginia Republican Senator on tape calling him a 'Macaca' and has probably ended the politician's possible Presidential bid by posting the video on YouTube.

-- updated 9/25

Link
Looks like in addition to the macaca remark George Allen is getting into more trouble over racist remarks, a confederate flag, and the revelation that he was unaware or insensitive or unwilling to admit to the fact that his mother was raised as Jewish.

Housing inventory increasing, prices drop

Link From my own observations of for sale signs in my neighborhood, some of which have been up for several weeks, I'd say that there is a definite slowdown in housing in the Bay Area.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Preference given children of alumni

Economist story I didn't know that if you are a child of an alumnus of Harvard you are nearly 4 times more likely to be given admission than a child of a non-alumnus. I got admitted to Harvard (but didn't go), so there! One interesting point made by the article is that Asians tend to get the shaft when colleges use such legacy admission policies.

Dwindling pops: Japan, Russia and Italy

The article indicates it's financial reasons driving down birth rate. Also it is socially acceptable (actually becoming the norm) not to have children. I think it's good for the planet, but still potentially destabilizing. These countries will be forced to allow immigration in order to sustain their economies.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Writer found moral imperative in Star Trek

It's interesting what lessons you can learn from television. I'd forgotten how Star Trek's ethics worked. I knew that no central character would ever be truly hurt or taken out (at least until Spock sacrificed himself in one of the movies). But the idea that we respected other civilizations was a forgotten lesson until I read this.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Fame: did you get your 15 minutes already?

Link In light of my brief skirt with mini-fame, I thought this article an interesting analysis of why people want to be famous. I don't think I would mind being famous, if only to use it to get more dates. Perhaps there's a dubious linkage for me there, however, as women tend to see status as important, but men might only find it important for getting women.

Satire, Irony and Lampooning

(What you haven't signed up for a free NYTimes account yet? What kind of luddite are you?)

Link Among other amusing things, this piece takes us through the Colbert Correpondent dinner speech and reminds us to read the Onion.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Congress clinging to earmarks

Link Corruption in the US Congress is still widespread in the form of earmarks added to spending bills. I already pay enough taxes. I refuse to pay for graft.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Plaintiff in Lawrence and Garner vs. Texas Case Dies

From Towleroad blog:



Plaintiff in Lawrence and Garner vs. Texas Case Dies: "Tyrone Garner, one of the plaintiffs in the historic Lawrence and Garner vs. Texas which struck down sodomy laws in 13 states where it was criminalized, has died, Lambda Legal reports.

In a statement, Lambda's Executive Director Kevin Cathcart said, 'We extend our heartfelt condolences to Tyrone's family and friends and we join them in mourning his passing. Because Tyrone Garner and John Lawrence had the courage to challenge homophobic sodomy laws, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that love, sexuality and family play the same role in gay people's lives as they do for everyone else. That's a colossal legacy and one for which his community will forever be thankful.'
. . ."

Friday, September 08, 2006

Males inclined to cooperate against external enemies aka War

Link Interesting study which shows why men are mentally geared towards conducting wars. Is this why Bush's action in Iraq was so easily approved by Congress? Do we need more women in Congress?

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Population collapse predicted in Russia

It seems the end of the cold war has left Russia in a pretty bad state. Who knew that male life expectancy in Russia is at 59 years? Seems to be in worse shape than Japan. NYTimes article

-- updated 9/7

Economist article on the same topic.

Science behind the Aktins diet

Link It turns out it's not all bulls**t. Looks like protein stimulates more peptide YY production, and peptide YY tells you that you are full.

When the beard is too painful to remove

[NYTimes] An interesting piece on the difficulties of gay men in leaving straight marriages. It is somewhat inappropriately linked to the 'fashion' section, as if anything gay is fashionable -- disturbing stereotype for a serious issue.

-- updated Sep 3

It's probably my still piss poor gaydar, but I think I know of at least a few couples in the above situation and perhaps a couple more in the reverse situation (lesbian woman in a straight marriage). One might wonder what my opinion of such arrangements are. It might be obvious, based on my biases in this blog, that I don't think very highly of them. In fact, in general I think they are wrong and should be ended as soon as possible. Now are there situations where such arrangements may still be acceptable for a time.

One consideration is whether there are children. Perhaps, here is a case where if the kids are still living in the house, disrupting an otherwise harmonious situation might make one hesitate. Still, if an amicable parting can be managed and finances can afford a split, the benefits of getting the gay spouse out of hiding and the straight spouse out of the dark should outweigh the short term pain.

Another consideration might be age and finances. This is speculation on my part, but perhaps an long married couple (not sure how to quantify long) in such a relationship might have developed dependencies which when broken will bring such detriment as far as lifespan or health to the couple that it outweighs the benefits? Still, I am inclined to say some elements of this scenario should be getting rarer. Women now have careers and can survive without being dependent on the man. Divorce should ensure that both are not destitute (if the couple wasn't destitute when together). Also, being gay is becoming more mainstream and common and less problematic for careers and acceptance.

Perhaps the couple has developed an intimate bond, despite the sexual desire mismatch. This I don't think should be an excuse. Because upon splitting up the marriage, there should be benefit to both of a potentially much more rewarding bond (to more appropriate partners) based on truth instead of deception.

And this is where my self-interest comes into play. It might be true that all the good guys out there are married or gay. But there's another thought of mine that many good gay guys get snapped up by insistent women who want to get married to a their favorite guy, a high school or college sweetheart, and won't take no for an answer. If these guys survive the marriage night, they may just end up trapped in these Brokeback marriages. (Hopefully not many end up as Jack Twist did.) In any case, I say break those things up. Guys, you only live once...

-- updated Sep 4

Of course, there is the concern brought up by the article, it's tough to leave the relative haven of marriage and re-enter the dating game later in life. This issue is difficult to answer. It is an adjustment, but one which should bring some reward over time -- hopefully a good mate, for those relationship minded, and perhaps different rewards for those who are not. Simply not living a lie should be some reward, too.