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!