Dance seems to be the ultimate frivolity. How did it become a human necessity? Every culture dances. Moving our bodies to music is ubiquitous throughout human history and across the globe. So why is this ostensibly frivolous act so fundamental to being human? The answer, it seems, is in our need for social cohesion – that vital glue that keeps societies from breaking apart despite interpersonal differences. The French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) theorised that ‘collective effervescence’ – moments in which people come together in some form of unifying, excitement-inducing activity – is at the root of what holds groups together. More recently, Bronwyn Tarr, an evolutionary biologist and psychologist at the University of Oxford who is also a dancer, has researched the evolutionary and neurological underpinnings of our innate tendency to bust a move. Drawing on the work of both Durkheim and Tarr, this Aeon Original video explores that unifying feeling of group ‘electricity’ that lifts us up when we’re enthralled by our favourite sports teams, participating in religious rituals, entranced by music – and, yes, dancing the night away. Directors and Animators: Rosanna Wan, Andrew Khosravani Producer: Kellen Quinn #dance #animation #culture Writer: Sam Dresser Associate producer: Adam D’Arpino Sound designers: Eli Cohn, Ben Chesneau, Maya Peart Narrator: Simon Mattacks
Month: March 2019
Conway: “If the charge were unfitness for office, the verdict would already be in: guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Mr. George Conway, my favorite republican, wrote the following:
But whether the Mueller report ever sees the light of day, there is one charge that can be resolved now. Americans should expect far more from a president than merely that he not be provably a criminal. They should expect a president to comport himself in accordance with the high duties of his office. As all presidents must, Trump swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and to faithfully execute his office and the laws in accordance with the Constitution. That oath requires putting the national interests above his personal interests.
Yet virtually from the moment he took office, in his response to the Russia investigation, Trump has done precisely the opposite: Relentlessly attacked an attorney general, Mueller, the Justice Department — including suggesting that his own deputy attorney general should go to jail. Lied, to the point that his own lawyers wouldn’t dare let him speak to Mueller, lest he commit a crime. Been more concerned about touting his supposedly historic election victory than confronting an attack on our democracy by a hostile foreign power.
If the charge were unfitness for office, the verdict would already be in: guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“My sister just texted me she’s pregnant, I’m going to be a dad”
Damn, it’s great to be proud of incest!
Holy shit! 😂
88 truths learned about life
At this blog Raptitude, David, writes about getting better at being human. I like it. A lot. It’s a great place to spend some time.
In one post, he writes 88 truths he’s found to be true for him. I agree with almost all.
Here’s a taste. Read the whole thing here.
1. You can’t change other people, and it’s rude to try.
2. It is a hundred times more difficult to burn calories than to refrain from consuming them in the first place.
3. If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, you may be talking to someone who knows way more about whatever you’re talking about than you do.
4. The cheapest and most expensive models are usually both bad deals.
5. Everyone likes somebody who gets to the point quickly.
6. Bad moods will come and go your whole life, and trying to force them away makes them run deeper and last longer.
7. Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be.
8. If everyone in the TV show you’re watching is good-looking, it’s not worth watching.
9. Yelling always makes things worse.
10. Whenever you’re worried about what others will think of you, you’re really just worried about what you’ll think of you.
11. Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.
Let’s raise some dead bodies! There are hoaxes a plenty.
The other day I posted about the rise in people claiming “no religion” in America. Reader perdebytjie commented about gullibility in South Africa and how pastors left and right are doing outrageous things to claim a magical superiority in order to gain followers. He cited a few stories about pastors claiming to raise the dead, encouraging their congregations to eat grass to cure disease or to get closer to god, and even feeding them crazy things like dog meat and blood …
I think any religious person in America would agree that these pastors are grifters. They are false prophets. They are preying on the gullible, the weak, and the ignorant.
This is where talking about “those pastors” gets tricky. I remember these kinds of stories from as far back as I can remember. I remember being told that people who speak in tongues aren’t “real” believers. Or that TV pastors claiming to faith heal their congregants … those are false.
But that area is quickly grayed when believers of all ilk claim to have a direct line to the creator of the universe, who can somehow defy science and reality by issuing prayers in exchange for earlier healing, or respite from cancers or disease. I’ve been in many situations where someone asks to pray, calls out to God for early healing, and it’s viewed as completely fine. It’s not like those faith healers on TV. It’s different somehow. It’s “realer”. It’s more legit.
It can’t be questioned. It can’t be scrutinized. And if you doubt it, one would be asked to be quiet. Or expected to remain quiet.
I remember being told clearly that healing from God is not magic. Magic is reserved for trickery. Magic is reserved for something that’s not real. But what happens when a person is mysteriously cured of something, that’s providential. It’s supernatural. If it cannot be directly explained, it must be a power invisible to the natural world.
It’s like being told what’s written in a report without reading the actual report. It’s like thinking something is completely true, because, say, a book makes a claim that it was written by an eye witness, but you never met the eye witness or cannot verity the veracity of that claim … yet one would believe the eye witness claim without question.
These topics are difficult to approach. Because most people are skeptical enough of almost everything, except when it comes to their own deeply held beliefs. Then it’s full-on belief train and there’s no inkling of skeptical prowess.
Here are a few links to more of what perdebytjie is talking about: here. here. here.
Thanks for reading. I know there aren’t too many readers right now, but drop a link in the comments for your favorite hoax-y, miracle, bullshit-y articles … would love to read them.
Pass the salt! I’ll wait … Even at the peril of my steak getting cold
This train wreck of a Rube Goldberg machine will wow you. I promise.
Orson Welles and his drawings
I get a little excited when I think about how creative Orson Welles was. He seemed to be endlessly talented. The above is a trailer for a new documentary about him and unseen art that he created.
Awesome.
Breaking with my Nazi past
I often joke that I grew up at Krispie Kreme, a donut shop that originated out of North Carolina and gained national popularity in the 2000s. My parents took us to KK almost every day after school. They loved a cup of coffee and something sweet, I think. It was something to do. Something to break up the day. A place to meet others. A place to gossip and share stories.
Like the TV show cheers, when we walked in to KK, the whole place would call out to my dad or mom. We knew the staff and almost everyone who frequented there.
It was also a social thing for them. My folks never went to bars that I know of. And at the time, they didn’t smoke cigarettes. But the seating at this KK was circular bar stools anchored to the ground right up against a counter and almost everyone in North Carolina smoked. It was the Paris of its day.
My dad loved going to KK every day for a cup of coffee or two to talk politics, local and world events. When we left KK, we wreaked of cigarette smoke and deep fried glaze.
I joke with Tina that after every cavity I ever had filled at the dentist, my mom made sure to stop by KK afterwards for a cup of coffee. My siblings and I would get two donuts a piece. My donut of choice was chocolate glazed.
Inadvertently, I invested a lot of time into bellying up to the counter at Krispie Kreme Donuts.
You can imagine my surprise today when I read a story from Slate.com revealing that the family that owns KK, as well as Panara Bread, Caribou Coffee & Pret a Manger, recently discovered that its owners family supported Adolf Hitler and extensively used forced labor.
One of Germany’s richest families is coming to terms with a disturbing past. The family that owns a controlling stake in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Panera Bread, among others, will donate $11 million to charity after learning that their ancestors were staunch supporters of Adolf Hitler and extensively used force labor.
The family announced its planned charitable donation after Bild newspaper published a report showing how Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr. used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as forced laborers during World War II. The Reimann family, which has an estimated wealth of 33 billion euros, or $37 billion, did not dispute the findings of the newspaper’s report. “It is all correct,” spokesman Peter Harf, told the newspaper. “Reimann senior and Reimann junior were guilty … they belonged in jail.”
I must admit. I always got a bad feeling when I left KK. At the time, I thought it was only the stomach ache from stomaching two chocolate glazed donuts every day of my childhood.
But this makes so much more sense. My Nazi-o-meter was trying to tell me that our hard-earned money was supporting a family responsible for destroying so many Jews, as well as so many families and people that the Nazis deemed inferior.
But the family is trying to make good by donating a whole $11,000,000 to an undisclosed charity. Donating $11M — when the family is worth $37 billion — is like finding change in the crevices of your couch and putting into the cup of a guy begging in front of a Dunkin’ Donuts.
And look, Panara Bread is also under this company’s umbrella. So now I understand why I don’t feel well spending my money there either.
We’ll probably find out that the Reimann’s donated their $11M to a company called RWSDT, also known as … Russians Who Support Donald Trump.
Let’s celebrate another growth spurt
The 2018 GSS was just released and there’s some big news. Those of “no religion” (23.1%) are statistically the same size as evangelicals (22.8%). There was also a small resurgence of mainline Protestants, while Catholics are down 3% in the last four years.
I’ve been quiet-er lately because of a few things going on in my world. But I have been meaning to post this video as well. It’s from the Atheist Experience, a TV call-in show that I occasionally watch.
In this episode, a man’s sons get their dad to call in. The kids are fans of the show, and their dad has been growing away from his dogmatic past thanks to reading different books with different perspectives.
There’s a part where the dad sits down with one of his sons and admits he was wrong on so many aspects of faith. And like many people who grow up and out of faith, he’s now teetering on the idea that all faiths have merit. I remember being taught how evil that was, but it’s merely a stepping stone to the giant, not so giant leap to acknowledging that not believing in the Judeo-Christian God is as simple as not believing in any other god.
It’s a good episode.
Le Café Wittypoots 