Small Red Things

Candy is my "sinful" indulgence. Not that I believe that I'm sinning. More like I know that it's bad to consume as much as I do, but I still do anyway. Part of it has to do with being busy and stressful which leads to over consumptions of such things. Anyways candies can be mini-art. You have to appreciate how the sugar form, the shape, the design.

These also look like candy! It's simple: the cell is just a reddish disk. Yet if you arrange them right the par tern is amazing.

Genome Gone Viral

Scientific American reports: Genes from Ebola Virus Family Found in Human Genome

Genetic code from retroviruses has been found to compose some 8 percent of
the human genome, having been copied in during replication and left to be
inherited by us and our progeny. But non-retroviral RNA viruses do not use their
host's DNA to replicate—and some do not even enter the host cell's nucleus.
Nevertheless, new research has turned up surprising evidence that some of these
viruses are enmeshed in the genomes of vertebrates—including humans and other
mammals.

One of these new studies, published online July 29 in PLoS Pathogens, has
uncovered some 80 examples of viral genetic data circulating in the genomes of
vertebrate species for the past 40 million years.

Course the issue is that virus do not fossilize well. So understanding how they evolve is tricky.

Hotness and Question

Actually I want to ask my readership (under the megalomaniac assumption that you exist): Do you think I'm relying on eye-candy to attract readers? I know that many gay male bloggers tend to do this.

music of the day

Rom Min Ch'aet Teh - Pan Ron


I love these oldies. I'd be rocking to this if any club, gay or striaght, would play it.

Dirty Love - Chris Salvatore


I just think Chris is so cute. :)

Sao Ubon Ror Rak - Tai Orratai

Judge says fat chance to bigot

Thanks to Aratina Cage for tipping me off:

Judge upholds dismissal of counseling student who didn't not want to affirm homosexual behavior to patients:

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Eastern Michigan University by a student who was kicked out of its graduate program in school counseling last year for refusing, on religious grounds, to affirm homosexual behavior in serving clients.

In an order granting summary judgment to the university on Monday, Judge George Caram Steeh of the U.S. District Court in Detroit held that the university's requirement that the student be willing to serve people who are homosexual was reasonable, and did not amount to an infringement of the Christian student's constitutional rights to free speech and free expression of religion.

The university "had a right and duty to enforce compliance" with professional ethics rules barring counselors from being intolerant or engaging in discrimination, and no reasonable person could conclude that a counseling program's requirement that students comply with such rules "conveys a message endorsing or disapproving of religion," Judge Steeh wrote.

Random Model: Ivan

My weight issue

I'm going to start a new workout routine soon. I don't know why, but I'm tired of being skinny. Perhaps it's because I feel insecure. It doesn't help that I'm struggling to find money to go to the gym though. There is only so much that I can do here at home. It's getting to the point where I'm very desperate for any job. What sucks is that there are job openings and I've applied for them but every time I try I get rejected. I wish they'd tell me why I'm rejected but they don't. Is it because I'm over-qualified?

Anyways, I'm going to try to find a workout bench. It'll probably make one. I can't spend anymore money one one since I first need to buy heavier weights. Here is hoping that by winter I'll be 160 lbs.

Random Model: Justin Clynes

Phytoplankton Blues

Scientific America reports:

The microscopic plants that form the foundation of the ocean's food web are declining, reports a study published July 29 in Nature.

The tiny organisms, known as phytoplankton, also gobble up carbon dioxide to produce half the world's oxygen output—equaling that of trees and plants on land.

But their numbers have dwindled since the dawn of the 20th century, with unknown consequences for ocean ecosystems and the planet's carbon cycle.

This should be worrisome to anyone who appreciate fish at the dinner table. Ecologically, when there's problem at one of the food chain levels, the entire chain is impacted.

Councilwoman Recieve Death Threats Over Equality

A Memphis Councilwoman has been threaten with death and a dead cat for supporting LGBT anti-discrimination laws:

"Police think the threats are serious enough have increased patrols around her home to keep her safe. Each phone call mentioned her support for banning discrimination against gays in city government. Distraught, Fullilove reached out to Jonathan Cole with the Tennessee Equality Project. 'She essentially said that they were threatening to kill her,' said Cole, who thinks the death threats are just another example of intolerance in Memphis. 'It's scary and our city needs to stand up to this kind of ugliness.' Police are keeping a close eye on Fullilove and her family. She's asked her telephone provider to track the calls. Meanwhile, Cole says the councilwoman's experience should highlight the need for the ordinance to protect gays and lesbians working for the city."

Fullilove says she will continue to push for passage of the anti-discrimination measure, which comes up for a vote on August 10.

The anti-gay side is always trying to say that we're the ones who are violent and evil and yet they do this. I guess the old axiom is true: You will know a Christian by there love. Looks like Christian love here involves killing a cat and throwing it on people's lawn.

They doth protest too much, don't they

The Patriarchal Pseudoscience Council. . . I mean the Family Research Council. . . Tried another hand at upholding DADT by saying we'd be putting soldiers at risk of STD and psychological problems if we let gays serve openly. Except there are server logical problems too this. And it's very revealing.

The argument they use is that homosexuals are at a greater risk of HIV and other STDs and they might spread it to other soldiers. Now think about this. When you're in the military, sex should be the least of your concern. If you're in for the sex, you're doing it wrong. The only way STD would grow rampant is if the military is one huge orgy already. It also implies that our service men and women don't have self control. Finally, why would straight soldiers be having gay sex anyways? On another level, it's a requirement to obtain physical and mental checkup in order to enter and be in the military, so that already reduce the risk of any psychological and physical problems. Finally, there are already gays in the military deal with. Research shows that being in the closet is detrimental to their health, so letting them serve openly will actually improve their mental health.

All this anti-gay rhetoric about DADT is actually rather insulting to all those who serve in the military when you think about it. Notice that FRC focus so much on sex. More than even normal gay people. It's like they're not getting enough. hmm

Southeast Asian Music pt. 1

One of the common misconception about Southeast Asian music is that they are all the same. This is not true of course there are fundamental differences in the construction and presentation of the music. If we look at modern Thai and Khmer pipat/pinpeat and mahori, there are subtle but important differences between the way the songs are constructed. These includes, how the melody shifts and how each music sequence start. The are different despite of their common ancestry. Musical genre is much like biological evolution: They change, adapting to either culture, region, class, religion, and time. Eventually, a musical tradition with common ancestry will become totally different from it's ancestor. Even close cultural neighbors like Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos will have differences in the construction of music. The court music of these nation are descendant of an older tradition dating back to Angkor but have since diverged. The similarities of the ensembles are noticeable but so is the differences.



(Pictured to the left is a crocodile zither formerly used in Burmese music. The use has since died but an analogous form of the instrument is still used by Thai and Khmer classical ensemble.)

Miller, T., & Sam, S. (1995). The Classical Musics of Cambodia and Thailand: A Study of Distinctions. Ethnomusicology. 39(2), 229-243.

Hotness

Kiang Guek Ew: Guilty

Kiang Guek Ew, chief of S-21 prison, was sent to 30 years in prison for his involvement with the Khmer Rouge.

Nelumbo

Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants that are commonly called "lotus". There are two known living species and one known extinct species:

†Nelumbo aureavallis
Nelumbo lutea
Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo nucifera is a plant found throughout east, south, and southeast Asia. The roots, stem, pod, and seed can be eaten. The plant is cultivated in many parts of the world and is prized as a beautiful water flower to be used in ponds. It's also considered sacred in some religions.

Nelumbo lutea is found in the Southern United States, Parts of Central America, and the Caribbean. Like N. nucifera, N. lutea is edible. However it is not domesticated like N. nucifera, and grows wild.

Nelumbo aureavallis is an extinct Eocene species found from a few fossils of it's leaves and flower bud found in North Dakota.

Here's a lotus root recipe:

1/2 lotus root, sliced very thinly
1 piece of fresh ginger about 1 inch / 2 cm or so long, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloved, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups of roughly chopped green onions
2 Tbs. hot red chili pepper, finely chopped Oil
Vinegar for the lotus root water
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
Pepper
1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
Put the sliced lotus root into vinegar water as you slice it, as described above. Drain well just before cooking.

Heat up a large frying pan with the oil. Add ginger and garlic, and stir fry until the oil is very fragrant. Add the drained lotus root slices in a single layer. Cook until the lotus root slices start to change color - they turn a bit translucent looking. Turn over and cook a couple more minutes.

Add the chili pepper and green onions, and stir-fry. Add the sesame seeds, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. The lotus roots should get a bit caramelized from the soy sauce. Serve hot or cold.

Hotness

As if we need anymore proof of this

Children under gay and lesbian parents are doing well.

Surprise! No not really. We've known for quite a while that homosexual parents are capable of being real parents. So how is gay marriage, gay rights, or the existence of gays destroy families? I doesn't. In fact the evidences show that LGBT folks are creating families. Furthermore, if a person gets a divorce just because two guys can marry and have kids, their marriage probably wasn't stable to be begin with. So what does that make Focus on the Family and American Family Association? Certainly nothing to do with actual families. Patriarchy perhaps. Religious Patriarch more exactly. Those religious idiots can keep their "family values" (like child abuse and extreme misogyny) frankly, since those values aren't something a modern society can run on.

Lt. Dan Choi and Sen Harry Reid at Netroots Nation

The Anime Invasion Claims Another City

Bangkok, Thailand is the next victim of the disproportionaly larged eye horde! lol.

Via NHK,

A Japanese anime song karaoke contest was held in Bangkok on Sunday. The event was organized by the Japanese embassy in Thailand.

16 finalists between the ages of 9 and 25 performed songs. They were chosen from more than 100 participants. Most of the finalists are studying Japanese and sang fluently in the language. Some of them danced energetically to the music as they sang.

Many young people wearing anime character costumes visited the venue, and took part in a photo event and an exhibition of anime items

The horde has already taken over Anaheim, and no doubt sent their spys to Comi-con in San Diego.


Naruto Nerds. :P

18 tote bei Massenpanic auf Loveparade

18 dead in a stampede at Loveparade

Bei Tagesschau:

Bei einer Massenpanik auf der Loveparade in Duisburg sind mindestens 18
Menschen ums Leben gekommen. 16 Menschen starben am Unglücksort, zwei
weitere
Menschen erlagen ihren Verletzungen im Krankenhaus. Nach Angaben
eines Sprechers
der Stadtverwaltung wurden bei dem Zwischenfall rund 80
Menschen verletzt. Die
Feuerwehr berichtete sogar von mehr als 100
Verletzten. Einige mussten
reanimiert werden.

Es ist eine groß Tragödie. Ich bekunde beim Familien der Toten miene
Beilied. Ich hoffe dass, keine mehre Leute verletzt wird.

English: This a big Tragedy. I send my condolence to the families of the deceased. I hope that no more people are hurt. :(

Archäologie Lagen

El Cerén, El Salavador

Ban Chiang, Thailand

Idiot of the Day

Via Towleroad,

A student at Augusta State University, Jennifer Keeton, claims that the school is forcing her to abandon her religious belief by accepting homosexuality. The school, of course, feels that her writing are inappropriate for a her degree to become a councilor. She's demanding the school bend to to her religious belief. Wouldn't that be great? If schools bended to the beliefs of it's student. It means I can become a mathematician and claim π = 3. Hey the Bible claim that it is and forcing me not to believe it is oppression. But the idiot isn't done with her little whine-fest:

The letter also cites an email from Keeton in which she says: "my Christian
moral views are not just about me. I think the Bible's teaching is true for all
people and it shows the right way to live."

Well that's just dandy. She "thinks"it's the right way to live. So lets get this straight, she suing to defend her first amendment rights to revoke the first amendment rights of others? That's what it boils down to. Keeton and her ilks are the type who wants freedom of religion to herself and end the freedom of religion of others. If you don't think so, see how they react when government tries to include other religions in their program; these idiots goes foaming mad if a Buddhist or Hindu tries to express their religion. Sorry Keeton, if you truly think the Bible is the right way to live than go back to the kitchen as you have no business in a learning institute (1 Timothy 2:12). And I hope you don't wear pants, either (Deuteronomy 22:5). I mean if you're going to use Leviticus, you'll have to use those too. Here's hoping that ASU wins against Keeton's stupidity.

Random Model: Radoslav Vanko

More of Radoslav!

ไทยดำรำผัน - Tai Dam Lum Phan

The song is about the exodus of the Tai Dam people from Sơn La province due to the start of the Vietnam War.

Heatwave in Japan

Via NHK World:

A heat wave continued in most parts of Japan on Thursday.The temperature reached
39.4 degrees Celsius in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. Tajimi is the first
Japanese city to record temperatures above 39 degrees this year.Weather
officials say the hot spell is likely to continue through the weekend, and are
cautioning people to guard against heatstroke.Five people died and at least 330
were taken to hospital with symptoms of heatstroke across Japan on Thursday. In
Ibaraki Prefecture, a 36-year-old farmer died after working in a hothouse

Just a reminder to Riverside folks that heat is a serious thing. Drink a lot water, and try to stay indoor. Avoid using electricity since that doesn't help and only lead to environmental problems.

Random Model: Radoslav Vanko

Er ist eine Lieblingsmodel auf DNA magazin, das ein schwule australisch magazin ist.

Oh Sarakao Oy

The Mynah Bird, in Khmer Sarakao, is a bird native to South and Southeast Asia. Khmer folklore has it that the Sarakao are wise and witty. One Khmer story speaks of a girl who turns into a mynah bird because of a wicked rival. Another speaks about how a sarakao was use to insult an unjust rich man.

I ran into a few sarakao in Cambodia. One was in a cage that I felt was too small for it while another was being transported on a large truck of a family that appears to be moving.

Boy, the ancients must have been bored

Via Livescience,

Behold the ancient dildo found in Sweden :

Last week, an excavation in Sweden turned up an object that bears the
unmistakable look of a penis
carved out of antler bone. Though scientists can't be sure exactly what this
tool was used for, it's hard not to leap to conclusions.

Now for me to sound like a third grader: That's small!

Archäologie Lagen

Río Bec ist eine maya Lage auf Campeche. Sie hatte für sienen falchen Turm gewusst.



















Phnom Bakheng ist eine khmer Lage auf Angkor. Sie ist eine pyramide.

Arsenic Wells

Via the Phnom Penh Post

High amounts of Arsenic in well water are afflicting as much as 150.000 rural Cambodians.

Chhiev Kimlorn, the village chief, said that 10 of the community’s 26 wells had
been tested. According to a document she was given by UNICEF, seven of them were
found to contain elevated arsenic levels.

Three were found to contain
arsenic levels as high as 500 parts per billion – more than 50 times the limit
considered safe by the World Health Organisation, and more than 10 times the
limit considered safe by the Ministry of Rural Development.

This is why I'm a big fan of environmental government policies. The individual villages aren't capable of fixing it on their own. They need the government to regulate and protect their water supply. Tap water can do only so much for these villager before they run out.

Random Model

Romance of the Scienceblog

If you guys haven't been keeping up, or if you're not scienceblog follower then let me summarize the fallowing to you: It's the fucking Three Kingdoms over there except with out the three kingdoms. Okay more like the disintegration of the Easter Han in general. When Zimmer and Yong left to Discoverblog, it's like the individual territories that ceded themselves to outside forces. We can consider the intrusion of Pepsi to be like the Yellow Turban rebellion, weakening the power of SB. The railing of this intrusion is like the campaign against the Yellow Turbans. Finally after SB quails the Pepsi incident, like the Han, the individual bloggers begin to make their own way and break away from SB. Superbug, Zuska, Speakeasy Science, PalMD, Grrlscientist, Laelaps, and Bora are some of such bloggers that chose to break away from the seemingly inept SEED media. PZ and Laden are in strike. A number of other scientist like Orac are considering their resignation as well. Yet like the Han, there are a few bloggers, like Brayton, Tetrapod, and Klemetti, are still there and functional. But like the last Han Emperor, SB has been unable (or perhaps unwilling) to fix the situation.

Well, at least the fallout isn't because they were caught sockpuppeting. That event was just aggravating. At the same time though it was unexpected. SB's fallout was a storm we could see coming. Complaints about the ads, the paycheck, and the commenting system had been there for awhile. Pepsi just broke the back of the all the bloggers there.

The consequence of this is quite clear: A great lost of readership. People like to read stable blogs and not have to change so abruptly. For PZ, I know already that his announced strike has caused a great deal of his readership to move on.

So what's left today? In the end of the day a blogger does whatever he or she wants regardless of the readership. I blog but still have virtually no one reading it. PZ could equally do the same and yet some how he'll have followers. Blogging isn't as simple as finding a domain in which to host it. If the conditions is wrong, no matter how much a blogger wants to write, they will refrain from doing so.

กุหลาบเวียงพิงค์

Parasitic Wasp - Now there's a Farmville idea!

Via the Phnom Penh Post

Khmer farmers are awaiting the import of Apoanagyrus Lopezi, a parasitic wasp that will help farmers alleviate mealybugs infestation, from Thailand.

Thai farmers have already use the wasp as a natural pest control. It's much cheaper and overall healthier than pesticides, but could become an invasive species like the cane toads of Australia.

If you've ever seen parasitic wasp, it's like something from the Alien movies. The will lay their eggs in a host. When the egg hatch it will eat away at the host until it matures.

San Diego LGBT Pride - Observations

San Diego is a beautiful city. Hillcrest is a beautifual. Balboa is a beautiful park. All of it has horrendous parking. On the other hand, it's a sign of how many people were there to support Pride. I parked nearly thirty minutes from the destination and I could see the wide range of people who chose to attend. I myself came from Riverside, which was a good idea since I didn't want spend anymore time in the Inland Empire's desert heat. People from Long Beach, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino were there too. Of course you have people from even further there: I over heard to Serbians, and a Russian.

The local business showed their support with rainbow flags displayed infront of their shops. They were all opened, especially the cafés, the resturants, the bars, and the clubs. I was very astonish to see all the ethnic shops there, from Phở to Thai food, there was niche for almost anyone.

Wide ranges of the people was also a positive sight. I want to especailly note the numbers of families that chosed to attend. Patriarchal zealot organizations like the American Family Association and the Focus on the Family are always saying how "anti-family" LGBT events are. So why was there so many families there? Both straight and gay families were there enjoying themselves and having fun. Children were everywhere. For something supposedly "anti-family" a lot of family were having a good time. Ethnicity and minorities were also well represented. It seems to me that minorities better understand eachothers because of our similar expriences with the dominate society.

San Diego LGBT Pride - Personal

Personally, Pride in San Diego was a series of up and down due to issues with my shyness and my friends. I really hate being shy. I also hate coming out in a community lacking LGBT representation. I knew almost no one there. I spent my time being awkward. I've tried going to my University's LGBT resource center but I'm way too shy and too afraid to make much use of the community there. Essentially, I've caused myself to miss out on so many opportunity to integrate in the community.

So there I was spending 4 hours waiting for my friend who was one of the few other gay people I knew. Yeah, I was piss and was about to throw a fit. Eventually, he came and I calm down and began to enjoy the remainder of the day. It was my first going to a club. I manage to trance myself in the dance and totally forgot that I promised to be home by midnight. It was also the first time I got hit on by a guy: after I left the club, a really cute guy said hi and ask me if I enjoyed the night. All I did was give a surprised smiled and one of those dazed out Psyduck looks. He smiled back and said I must really be a shy guy. OMG, I'm still giggling like a high school student over it.

Then things got scary. I drove home from San Diego at around 2-3 am. I just passed Temecula going 80 miles per hour when one of my wheels burs ted. I pulled over to check but since it was dark I didn't see anything wrong. I spent the rest of way back to Riverside with a horrible grinding noise and fearing that I might die. I got home, went to bed, and woke up later in the after noon to check my car. There was no wheel on the back right side. Dad tells me I was lucky that the car didn't blow up on the way. It's the second time I've had this problem, but the first was not nearly as scary because it was bright out and I was in a parking lot.

Teabaggers death threats to the NAACP

Here, listen to it yourself. It's NSFW of course, but this is a testaments to the overt racism that is an integral part of the Tea Party movement.

Viola

Viola Tricolor, also known as Johny Jump Up and heartease, is a small annual plant that now grows wildly after it's introduction in the America's by settlers. You can often find them sold in home improvement stores and nurseries. The grow similarly to weeds in cultivated fields.

Viola Tricolor is a wild ancestor of the Pansy, which is a hybrid form of the Viola Tricolor. Like many domesticated plants, tricolor stated as a weed that would grow when the ground is disturbed during cultivation. People, however, noted how beautiful this weed is and began domesticating it. The result is the mass production of pansy plant. (Photos courtesy of Chris Ford )

Textbook Ban in Cambodia

Via The Phnom Penh Post

The Education Ministry recently decided to pull out text book that deals with sensitive issues in Cambodia. The books poised questions about such issues as human rights and democracy in Cambodia. People opposing the ban feels that the are being cheated out of vital knowledge.

Pulling out textbooks and revising them for political means of course is hardly just a Cambodian problem. Here in the United States, we have the Texas Board of Education trying to turn textbooks in to creationist, right-winged propaganda and peddle it off to millions of American students. We have creationist constantly trying to ban textbook that reveals scientific facts that opposes their mythology. In the early 2000 Japan was notorious for what was considered "white washing" of Japanese atrocities committed in the late 19th early 20th century. Turkey omits the Armani an genocide in it's textbook.

Argentina Wins Equal Marriage

Marriage Equality for Argentina

Republican are more likely to have sex scandals (with gay men)

Via Science Duck,

Methods: the number of sex scandals for politicians (both state/local and
national) for the past 10 years was tallied from the list of political scandals provided on Wikipedia. Each
scandal was scored as to if it involved a Republican or Democrat, if it involved
a gay or straight affair, and whether or not the victim/participant was
underage.
Results: Republicans were involved in 61% of sex scandals in the
past 10 years, whereas Democrats were involved in just 39%. Moreover, 34% of the
total number of scandals were gay scandals (i.e, involving an ostensibly
straight politician and a same-sex partner), with Republicans accounting for
78.5% of all gay scandals. Republicans were also involved in 66% of the underage
scandals.
Conclusion: If a sex scandal is going on in Washington, there is a
2 in 3 chance it will involve a Republican. And If it’s a gay scandal, it’s
almost a sure bet that it involves a Republican.

And of course, they (the GOP) are the ones preaching about "family values" and "anti-gay". "Family Value" almost certainly means that they want the patriarchy to do what ever it wants. As for them being anti-gay, the evidence points to them being self-haters, poisoned by their need to be "normal". The hypocrisy of the GOP is so overwhelming, it's a wonder that their bigoted ass hasn't fallen flat on the ground yet.

I'm joking about wondering of course. It's a fact that the Republican party is supported by an inane idea that you can do everything just as long as it helps the patriarchy.

Random Model: JP Calderon

Dieser Mann ist sehr lecker. :)

More Evictions in Cambodia

Via the Phnom Penh Post,


Hok Bunnat, president of Newspaper Distribution Association, sales her books and magazines in front of her house because the government has yet to compensate her and other vendors with new vending areas after evicting them from Borei Keila.

In the wake of Cambodia's economic development, it's abitious government is often criticized for not caring about the well being of it's citizens over attracting business and companies.

Cyber Bobanpak

Here is a screenshot of a Secondlife recreation of the murals at Bonampak. Yes it's for all you folks who either can't visit the real Bonampak, or just to lazy to visit the real Bonampak.

Note the distinct and permanent Mayan Blue.

What are you looking at?

Phidippus regius
Jumping Spider

The Harada House

It's actually a rather plain looking house. If it weren't for the historical marker on the ground, you wouldn't know what it was. Passing by it often, I always thought it was a haunted house.

But now, I love that house. Not because it's spectacular. The old Victorian house in Riverside are far more aesthetically pleasing. The Harada House represent for me the power of determination and righteousness in the face of a hegemonistic society. From it's founding by a Japanese American family, who fought alien land laws, to it's abandonment due to the racist policy of internment, and subsequently to it being an icon of the Asian American experience, the Harada House stand in it's simplicity as a testament of the human will and the power of questioning authority.