Society & Culture – Page 3 – C. Buddha's Hasty Musings

Karelia / Alone in the Wilderness

It was nice being able to sleep in a tent for a few nights this past year; I like camping and look forward to taking Max and Mina…

There are a couple of nice outdoors themed links I’ve been wanting to post, so:

Unforgettable Vacation In Karelia – Nice photo set from Finland or Russia, can’t tell which. (It’s hosted on English Russia, so watch for pop-ups.)

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Then there’s this clip from a film called Alone in the Wilderness:

This kind of stuff just fascinates me – I often wonder if I’d be able to handle a month or two of solitude.

The guy’s homepage is here.

I’m acquiring the full video as I type this, so I may write about it again.

much lulz

Golden Globes Awards 2011 – Ricky Gervais Opening Monologue

Never thought I’d willingly watch any part of that show.

Please stop making Facebook accounts for your babies and sending friend requests to all of your ~~friends~~ “friends.” You are freaking me the fuck out with your poor judgment and obvious disconnect to the real world (you know, the one where any idiot can have a kid).

I dub thee famewhore mama / papa.

If dyeing cats is a crime, then my brother is a criminal

Seriously.

But, seriously?

“Hayaku” Time Lapse Journey

Turn up the sound, sit back (for 8 minutes), and watch this:

I hate listening to Royksopp, but I like it used in videos.

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This brought back a flood of Japan memories. It’s funny how my memory has become compartmentalized by country. I have a set of memories that affects things I do every day. They pop up when I’m driving, cooking, or buying something at the store. I remember doing the same thing in different settings years ago. I can remember details like what it smelled like that day or the looks on people’s faces*. For the most part, these memories are very private and I feel like an island – but then I remember I can talk to Nam about most of it, and I don’t feel so alone.

What about the babies? They are going to grow up knowing at least two very different lands and languages. That is just their starting point – I can only dream of what the future holds for them.

* As I was writing this, I flashed back to driving in Bordeaux almost 15 years ago in a rented Opel Vectra (turbo gasoil) and almost t-boning a young guy in an VW Golf because I went on the wrong green light. It was such a bad mistake, the guy would have been totally justified in getting angry about it, but he saw I had realized my mistake and instead just nodded and gestured in acknowledgment.

Society & Culture

Dictionaries banned from California schools

Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for “oral sex”.
These people are gonna die when they find out about that Internet thing.

Society & Culture

Let my Coco go

Conan must emigrate to Comedy Central.
He has enough money already, now it’s all about the power.
That is all.

Input – Output

Two fascinating reads:
Using Menu Psychology to Entice Diners
Sitters Vs. Standers – The Great Wipe Hope

Alouette

A classic Kids in the Hall sketch. Alouette is actually a pretty morbid song by modern standards:
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette, je te plumerai
Je te plumerai…
Translation:
Little skylark, lovely little skylark
Little lark, I will pluck your feathers off
I’ll pluck the feathers off your…
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At least there’s no equivalent song about the ortolan.

Jobless PhDs

This article was making the rounds a while ago, but I forgot to link to it: The Case for Working With Your Hands
There are a huge number of people who can’t use their education in a useful or sustainable manner, and unfortunately, many of them can’t do anything with their hands, either. I don’t really know of a country where this isn’t true.