Census Finds A More Diverse America, As Whites Lag Growth
Jun. 22nd, 2017 09:25 am![[syndicated profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
npr_news_feed
Asian and mixed-race people are the two fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population, the U.S. Census Bureau says. Non-Hispanic whites are the only group to see deaths outpace births.
(Image credit: Armin Rodler/Flickr)
Amy Poehler Stopped by Late Night to Mock Trump/Caesar Protests, Bring Us Infinite Joy
Jun. 22nd, 2017 02:04 pmthe_mary_sue_feedAmy Poehler has a lot of experience with politics. That may mostly extend to her excellent run on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” and playing the world’s most lovable politician as Leslie Knope on Parks and Rec, but that’s exactly the kind of experience required to take up the “Really!?” segment again to mock the protestors of the Trump-themed Julius Caesar production.
It’s great to see Poehler and Meyers at it again, even if it’s on a different show, in a time when so many others are content to play to “both sides.” It’s also just great to see Amy Poehler anytime, anywhere, because she’s earned a special place in our hearts, and there are a few more segments from her Late Night appearance on the show’s YouTube channel in case you need to take your mind off of things with some pure joy.
Meanwhile, if you’re all fired up after seeing Leslie Knope mock political protestors during Donald Trump’s presidency, there are certainly more serious issues to think about. Late Night also touched on the Senate Republicans’ super top secret healthcare plan (and so did Jimmy Kimmel), and by “healthcare plan,” I mean “plan to ruin healthcare.”
The plan is finally expected to be revealed this week before Republicans make a final push to ram it through Congress before public outcry can stop them, but details have begun to trickle out that suggest cuts to Medicaid at the very least—something Trump promised he wouldn’t do, though we’d be positively shocked if he actually stuck to anything he’s ever said. It’s also likely that Trumpcare will remove the requirement that insurers cover addiction treatment—in the middle of a massive opioid addiction crisis.
Speaking of Trump himself, he stated publicly that he doesn’t want a “poor person” making economic decisions in his cabinet and tried to make a case for why it’s OK—beneficial, even!—that his cabinet is full of super rich people to an unprecedented degree. Truly, we have never wished harder that Leslie Knope were a real person.
(image: NBC)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Heat can kill and we’re turning up the thermostat
Jun. 22nd, 2017 01:37 pmarstechnica_science_feed
Enlarge (credit: Jorge Quinteros)
‘Tis the season for heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere, as folks across Europe and parts of the US west have been reminded this week. In addition to providing weather to complain about—seemingly a necessary component of human communication—heatwaves can be straight up deadly. The 2010 Moscow heatwave (combined with thick air pollution from associated wildfires) caused thousands of deaths.
The stress of extreme heat on the human body is real. While most of us don’t see those conditions too often, they do occur today. And that means that our warming climate will ensure they occur more often. But how often will that be?
Evaluating this risk with precision isn’t easy, because global data on deaths attributable to heatwaves aren’t very good. But a group of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Camilo Mora gave it a shot, gathering together over 900 studies that covered 784 heatwaves in 36 countries.
Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments
theancientwayoflife: ~ Statue of Apollo. Date: Late 6th century...
Jun. 22nd, 2017 06:15 amassimbyachthonictum_feed
~ Statue of Apollo.
Date: Late 6th century B.C.
Medium: Terracotta
Provenance: Rome, National Etruscan Museum of Villa Julia.
Sand worms and lightning: Aven Colony takes city-building to exoplanets
Jun. 22nd, 2017 12:50 pmarstechnica_science_feed
Enlarge (credit: NASA/Getty Images)
Humans have consumed our world’s resources as if they were infinite. Earth remains, however, a finite planet. Without significant structural and behavioural change—the sort that is difficult to effect en masse— the long-term consequences of our self-sabotaging choices appear grave. In a forthcoming BBC documentary titled Expedition New Earth the English physicist Stephen Hawking estimates that we may have only 100 years to colonise a new planet in order to escape our species' extinction.
It's a daunting challenge. Aside from the mechanical issue of a planetary emigration, there's the issue of where the hell do we go? The moon is an uninhabitable orb of rock where, at night, temperatures can drop below minus 200 degrees Celsius, low enough to freeze-weld steel. Mars isn't much more appealing. Its air is unbreathable. Its soil is toxic.
For centuries astronomers suspected that there may other planets beyond the eight found in our own solar system that, just maybe, could sustain human life. It wasn't until 1992 that there was a confirmed discovery of a so-called exoplanet, which was found using high-power telescopes and spectrometer technology. More than 3,600 exoplanets have been discovered since. In recent years computer algorithms have been able to sift through much of the huge amount of data collected by various exoplanet-hunting satellites and telescopes, leading to, most recently, the discovery of three potentially life-sustaining planets in the relatively close TRAPPIST-1 system.
Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments
The Pack
Jun. 22nd, 2017 08:50 amao3_drarry_feedSirius and Remus are left to raise Harry, but how can they raise Harry when their own relationship is so broken..
Words: 3078, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English
- Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
- Rating: Mature
- Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
- Categories: Multi, Other
- Characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Characters
- Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
My Tarot Reading
Jun. 22nd, 2017 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thornsilverSpread: One Card
Date: Thu Jun 22 09:24:39 EDT 2017
Your Card
XX • JUDGEMENT
XX, Judgement is from Mystic Dreamer Tarot.
You are being called to face your past before moving on. Acknowledge whatever has happened, accept it, and let it go. A time for change is at hand—perhaps a new job, a new relationship, or a new way of life. You’ve decided to heed the call. You have the experience and the knowledge to move forward. Make your final farewells.
If reversed, this card warns of hanging on to the past and using it as an excuse to not move forward. Similarly, it can mean moving forward, but dragging the past with you.
Presented by Tarot Sampler app from The Fool's Dog.
Happy Connecting. Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S® 5
Behold This Giant List Of Restaurants Offering Birthday Freebies & Discounts
Jun. 22nd, 2017 01:00 pmconsumerist_feedIt’s your birthday, and you’re hungry. You’d like to treat yourself to something delicious, something… free. Where should you go? We’ve got a huge list you can start with.
Inspired by the tale of this young, enterprising Philadelphia woman who managed to score free coffee, meals, pretzels, more coffee, snacks, and booze without spending a dime, we wanted to see just how many popular chains offer gratis grub on your day of days.
The good news is, there are plenty of restaurants, diners, eateries, and other food purveyors out there willing to reward you just for being born.
However, even if you don’t need to spend your hard-earned cash, there’s no such thing as a free lunch (or so they say) so be prepared to offer up something in exchange — your information. Because unlike days of yore when you could simply inform your server that it was someone’s birthday and get a free song and dessert, most restaurants on the below list will require you to subscribe to an email list, rewards club, or perks program.
Before you head out to collect your birthday spoils, you should also make sure you read the terms of service for each restaurant’s birthday deals, as some may require you to be a member for a certain amount of time in order to cash in on that deal. Offers may not be available at all locations either.
|
Are we missing any great discounts or freebies? Let us know: Send an email to tips@consumerist.com.
![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
links for Friday
Jun. 22nd, 2017 10:41 pmtielanFrom what I understand, the problem is less that 'without bees we won't be able to pollinate anything' and more 'the way we agribusiness is a problem - and the way we use bees in agribusiness is part of that problem'.
--
NPR: The Astrobiology Of The Anthropocene (2016)
Basically, like the Jurassic, Triassic, and other '-cene' eras, we're now in the Anthropocene. A new way of looking at things.
--
The Establishment: Adoption Is A Feminist Issue (But Not For The Reasons You Think)
Ties in with abortion and childbearing, and (I think) points out the issue that if women weren't crowded into a place where they have no economic choices/advantages, then both adoption and abortion rates would drop.
Which is pretty much what this article I linked to (from a Christian minister in Sydney) points out - that having children economically disadvantages women, and if we as a society (or culture, or community) are not going to help a woman bear the burden of children, then even the ones who eventually want children are going to abort if they become pregnant at an inconvenient time.
--
The Atlantic: The Cheapest Generation
What do you do when an entire generation of society largely don't want or can't afford the products you're selling? What does that do to the model of economic growth?
--
Sydney Morning Herald: Three Women Who Regret Motherhood
Earlier this week, I asked if there was any socially acceptable way for a woman to indicate she regretted having children. The kick for that question was this article.
I think the most helpful thing I got was
havocthecat saying that perhaps there needs to be some kind of 'mourning ceremony' for all the things that are going to be lost in having a child. A baby shower is supposed to be the joyful, hopeful, encouraging thing, but we don't talk about the negative side of changes to a woman's status when she becomes a mother.--
Racked: The Politics of Pockets (2016)
How and why women's clothing has no pockets.
--
The New Yorker: China's Mistress Dispellers
The people who are hired to get rid of China's mistresses - chase them off, buy them out - whatever works. And the culture and sociology and reasoning behind the scenes of such a business, as well as an insight into a brief history of Chinese marriage.
--
The New Yorker: Power To The People (2015)
An article about solar power and the part that utility companies - and regulation - may have to play in that; to their advantage, but in the face of the old model. (Man, how does that sound familiar.)
There was an interesting article that popped up as a result of this (or which popped this up as a result) about solar power in Africa - that's a 2017 article, about startups in Africa selling cheap power to sub-Saharan Africans, the advantages, disadvantages, and moral questions. I don't know where that article is, though - I thought I saved it, but maybe not.
--
Modern Maker's Retreat: A New Perspective on Modern Quilting
The last few years have seen arguments over what defines modern quilting, and this woman has an interesting perspective on it all (and one which I've lightly touched on in quilting blogging). Quilting used to be a thrift task - done because there were scraps that needed to be used rather than wasted. Now, it's a creative work of art - done for the joy of it, and by people who have the resources to spend on function-specific tools and fabric. She thinks that's the difference between 'traditional' and 'modern' quilting for her. I can't entirely agree; I think colour and fabric and style comes into play as well.
Louisiana Is First State To Ban Public Colleges From Asking About Criminal History
Jun. 22nd, 2017 08:39 amnpr_news_feed
The "ban the box" movement is designed to open opportunities to the tens of millions of Americans with some kind of criminal record.
(Image credit: Alex Williamson/Getty Images)
Trump Administration Faces Pressure To Not Deport Detained Iraqi Christians
Jun. 22nd, 2017 08:27 amnpr_news_feed
Many of the nearly 200 Iraqis currently under detention are from the minority Chaldean Christian community, which faces severe persecution in Iraq.
(Image credit: Carlos Osorio/AP)
What Orphan Black‘s M.K. and Kira Teach Us About Female Bodily Autonomy
Jun. 22nd, 2017 12:25 pmthe_mary_sue_feed
Orphan Black is, in large part, about women fighting for their bodily autonomy. While Dyad and Neolution have been trying to claim ownership over the Leda Clones for four seasons, Clone Club has been fighting to survive on their own terms. What’s interesting in the show’s fifth season is that in the most recent episode, “Clutch of Greed,” we were given two female characters fighting for bodily autonomy without survival being the point. **SPOILERS AHOY**
For the past four seasons, Sarah’s daughter Kira has been shuttled and shuffled around for her own safety. The daughter of our principal Leda Clone, it’s also become clear over the years that she’s special beyond the fact that she was born to a clone. Over the years, she seems to have demonstrated that she has visions, or a kind of sixth sense. More recently, as they’ve found more Leda clones, Kira has made it known that she can “feel [Sarah’s] sisters.” Kira is connected to all of them, and feels them constantly.
So, of course, everyone wants to study her, and her mother wants to keep her safe. They’ve been running and hiding for years and, for the most part, Kira has gone along. As a little girl with an entire clone family protecting her, along with Felix and Mrs. S, she didn’t really have much choice, and she trusted that they had her best interests at heart.
Yet, at the beginning of this season, there’s a new element affecting the Leda Clones’ lives. Rachel has been chosen by P.T. Westmoreland himself (the founder of Neolution who’s way, way old) to lead Neolution. She says she wants to help cure her sisters, and she wants them all to come in willingly. She’s giving Cosima the time and space to test the cure for their illness, and if it works, she can develop it for all of them.
She also wants to restart human cloning, but that’s a whole other conversation. The point is, she wants to do so nicely.
After Rachel captured Sarah, she wanted to make a deal. Or rather, she wanted to call a sort of truce between herself and the other Ledas. She doesn’t want to take Kira away from Sarah, but she does want to study her, and so she asks Sarah to allow her to pick up Kira from school every day so that she can aid them in their research, and she’ll be delivered back safely
Sarah agrees, but then once she’s safely alone with Mrs. S and Felix, she reveals that she has zero intention of trusting Rachel, even though in her brief time with her, Kira has come to like Rachel, going so far as to call her “Auntie Rachel,” much to Sarah’s annoyance. Sarah then comes up with a plan to steal Kira back from under Rachel’s nose and go hide outside the country.
The plan to save Kira succeeds, though not without some hardship and tragedy. But when it comes time for Sarah and Kira to board a truck that’s going to take them away to safety, something interesting happens.
Kira fights getting on the truck and insists that she doesn’t want to run again. She wants to go with Rachel. Sarah is horrified.
But as Kira explains, she wants to know “why [she’s] like this.” She’s tired of running without answers. She’s tired of her mother and the rest of Clone Club making decisions for her. She’s tired of being shushed or not believed when she tries to warn people about something. Rachel might not be the safest person in the world, but in this moment Kira is asserting her right to look for answers about her own body, abilities, and identity. Even if it means putting herself in danger. She screams for the right to be able to make that decision for herself.
Orphan Black seems to be reminding us that, just because Kira is young doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve a say in what happens to her. While Sarah obviously loves her and wants to protect her the way most mothers would, she’s not taking into account the toll the constant running and hiding has already taken on Kira. Kira is tired of survival at the expense of her own spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. She chooses to take a chance, because the pain of not knowing feels worse to her. And when Sarah looks to Mrs. S and Felix for support, they side with Kira, driving home the message that even as parents want to protect their children, they also have to listen to them.
**CW: Brief description of a character’s murder and a shot of the dead character from the show**
And then there’s M.K. Poor, sick M.K. who’s come down with the clone illness hard. Scott has managed to track down M.K. and M.K. has managed to break into Felix’s apartment. She becomes a big help in maneuvering Clone Club to get Kira to safety, and Sarah is determined to ensure that M.K. will be safe, too. Diverging from the plan a bit, Sarah risks her safety (and almost gets caught by Ferdinand) to stop and pick up M.K. so that she can leave with her and Kira.
However, when Sarah gets to Felix’s, M.K. tells her she shouldn’t have come. That she’s been running and hiding most of her life and she just needs to stop. She’s really similar to Kira in this way, and as with Kira, Sarah thinks she knows best. She insists that the only thing that matters is escaping Neolution. M.K, however, has other priorities. Her illness is pretty far gone, and it’s likely she doesn’t have long anyway. She doesn’t want to spend what’s left of her life running. She finds meaning in helping the rest of Clone Club to safety, but that doesn’t necessarily mean safety for herself.
When Ferdinand tracks Sarah to Felix’s apartment, M.K. makes the ultimate sacrifice. She exchanges clothes with Sarah and gets her out though another entrance as she attempts to hold off Ferdinand. While Ferdinand is there for Sarah, he sadistically rejoices at the sight of M.K. (who recently deprived him of millions of dollars and didn’t have the decency of dying with the rest of the clones he was responsible for killing in Helsinki) dressed as Rachel (who has recently broken his heart by not being into dominating him anymore). He calls it “two revenge fantasies in one.” In a scene that is really, really excruciating to watch, he stomps on M.K’s chest until she is dead. Then, in morbid salute, Ferdinand places her sheep mask on her chest before leaving the apartment.
What’s almost beautiful about that entire scene, however, is that M.K. is prepared to die. She knew what was coming, and she was at peace with it. She insists, over and over, that “you can’t hurt me anymore.” She has chosen to help her sisters and escape her illness by putting herself in this position and letting the chips fall where they may.
On a show that is all about female characters fighting for ownership over their own bodies, I was struck by the fact that, in this episode, we had two of those female characters essentially fighting for the right to put themselves in harm’s way toward a greater purpose. Fighting for freedom, or for one’s life, or for the abstract idea of “having control over one’s body” is very understandable to most people.
Fighting for the right to die, or for peace, or for answers, or sacrificing for another are understood a lot less. These, too, are choices one can make when exerting autonomy over one’s own body, and women have just as much a right over these choices as they do over the choices that would protect them and keep them safe, and alive.
It’s interesting that Orphan Black gave us a look at what that kind of autonomy can look like through the two most seemingly helpless characters on the show. Kira and M.K. are both nuanced female characters, showing us that being a “strong” female character means being a character who asserts her agency, whether it keeps her “safe” or not.
(images: screencap/BBC America)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
American Gods 1.08
Jun. 22nd, 2017 01:42 pmselenakNow that the season is over, I'm still not sure whether Fuller's decision to stretch the main plot out and pace it the way he does is justified. I mean, we STILL haven't reached the House on the Rock yet, and I assumed that would happen in the third episode, as it's this story's Council of Elrond scene, so to speak. Just think of a LotR tv adaption where they've barely made out of the Shire by the time the season finishes. Otoh, all that Fuller & Co. have added does enrich the story and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it, so.
( And the moral of the story is... )
Red Palm Weevils Wreak Havoc On Palm Plantations Across The Globe
Jun. 22nd, 2017 07:00 amnpr_news_feed
Thanks to globalization and climate change, the pest has spread to 60 countries, attacking coconut, date and oil palm plantations, and costing millions of dollars in damages.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Mark Hoddle/Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside)
