Congrats to Forbes' Top 25 Best Public Colleges in 2013! Too bad one-fifth of them — including the very top three — are currently under fire for allegedly failing to report rape and generally sucking at dealing with sexual assault.
Brits and peeps from the former British colonies probably know all about Southern California's cricket culture (there are 41 clubs in the Southern California Cricket Association!), but there's one team in town that never gave a shit about the queen: the Compton Cricket Club. Activist Ted Hayes started it all back in the nineties at Skid Row's Dome Village--a geodesic dome colony he founded to house the homeless--and in 1997 he and CCC cofounder Katy Haber decided to take cricket to Compton, starting with a workshop at Compton High. Since then, the club has traveled around the world (Prince Edward set up a game for them against the Windsor Palace staff) and earned the respect of the neighborhood. Now they're all just trying to keep it all going. Grantland tells the whole story in a short video:
· Grantland Channel: The Compton Cricket Club [Grantland]
[Image via KCET Artbound]
Mural Mile is blossoming on a stretch of Van Nuys Boulevard, thanks in large part to Levi Ponce, an animator and artist whose painted more than a dozen works on the sides of local businesses. He's been the informal leader of a crew of young artists beautifying the boulevard, and he's got a knack for finding walls to paint. Is it a bureaucratic nightmare of permits and approvals and design review and neighborhood council sign off? Heck no, he just asks. As KCET explains, "he scouts walls in the neighborhood, then knocks on the doors of local businesses with a unique proposition: let us paint your walls with what we want and you get a beautiful work of art for free. It is an irresistible proposal that also favors the abundance of young, creative talent in the Valley. 'I get walls,' says Ponce. 'Now, I'm trying to enable people to get walls.'" Meanwhile, the city is working on a much more complicated plan--right now murals are considered advertising, and the formal process for putting them up is a total nightmare (it's just about impossible). A long-delayed ordinance would make it easier for murals.
[Image via KCET Artbound]
[Image via KCET Artbound]
· A New Generation of San Fernando Valley Muralists Colors the City [KCET Artbound]
With funeral home profits dropping off, LA's famous Forest Lawn has started setting up sales kiosks in malls: "The Forest Lawn display at Westfield West Covina is nestled between a Forever Beauty kiosk and a glass-encased display of summer beachwear. The cart features four cremation urns, including one with a baseball theme, and a variety of brochures and pamphlets about Forest Lawn's services." [LADN]
Kevespadapolkadots
The Minnesota Zoo announced the birth of this Malayan Tapir calf, the first born at the Zoo in more than 20 years. The newborn, a female, came into the world at approximately 9:15 p.m. on July 20, after a 419-day gestation period. Mom, Bertie, and her calf are doing well and are currently off-exhibit together, giving them time to bond. But you can watch them on the zoo's Tapir Cam.
The Malayan Tapir is one of the most endangered animals in Southeast Asia. Tapir populations are declining due to habitat loss from deforestation for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by dam building for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade.
Photo Credit: Minnesota Zoo
Watch the baby and mom in action:
Read more after the fold.
The Malayan Tapir's gestation period varies from 390-410 days. Mothers give birth to a single calf (twins are rare). At birth, a calf weighs approximately 10-20 pounds (4.5-9.0 kg). A female normally births a calf every 2-4 years. For the first 6-8 months of their lives, Tapir calves resemble furry watermelons with legs. They are dark brown to black in color, with alternating bands of yellowish-white stripes and spots. Young Tapirs grow quickly and can weigh as much as 450 pounds (204 kg) at one year of age and reach adult size in about 2-3 years.
“This birth is a great way to celebrate National Zookeeper Week and the dedication the staff have for these animals,” says Tom Ness, Tropics Trail supervisor. “Malayan Tapirs are an Endangered species and every birth is important to the population.”
In human care, the Malayan Tapir is managed for breeding purposes by a Species Survival Plan® (SSP), which, through the coordinated efforts of several zoos throughout the United States, helps maintain the captive gene pool for the future aid of the wild population. The Minnesota Zoo currently participates in 60 SSP programs, including the Malayan Tapir SSP. The Zoo had 4 prior Malayan Tapir births, the last one occurring in 1991.
Kevespada"tuning the radio upstairs"
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. From The Sun:
WITHOUT wanting to sound too camp, HUGH JACKMAN doesn’t struggle in the looks or body department. But the Aussie actor still keeps his missus interested in the sack — by wearing his full Wolverine outfit, including the blades.
A dangerous business when it comes to tuning the radio upstairs, and I won’t even go downstairs.
And it’s just as well he has a few sheckles in his bank account, because their antics cost a fortune in ripped bed sheets.Hugh’s wife DEBORRA-LEE FURNESS says the costume has some uses outside the bedroom too, including the kitchen, where it’s ideal for making salads.
Asked what it’s like to live with Hugh in full Wolverine mode, Deborra-Lee said: “Oh my God, it’s dreadful! Always with the claws. I’m like, ‘Mix the salad. Put them to use, come on!’”
Hugh interrupted: “The sheets we go through…” Let’s hope he pops the props in the dishwasher between jobs.
Haha oh, so, for real no? Hugh Jackman never said “I have sex dressed as Wolverine,” and it’s just a thing that you’re going to go WAY DEEP into imagining for a few lines before throwing to the real quote, which has very little to do with anything you mentioned previous to it? NOT COOL, THE SUN! How dare you get our hopes up that Hugh Jackman has sex dressed as Wolverine, whatever that would even mean. How would he keep the blades on? I feel like it would end up meaning that he just had sex with his Wolverine wig on, which is not much of a thing. Right? IF I’M GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT, TOO, WE MIGHT AS WELL GET INTO IT! AND NEXT TIME, THE SUN, PLEASE MAKE IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, YOU ARE TRYING TO BE TOO CREATIVE WITH YOUR WORD CHOICES!
    
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"Lots of wives have become experts at making up excuses to avoid something that’s extremely important to their husband," warns Christian lifestyle blogger Jennifer Flanders. "Don’t be one of them." Hint: the devil will lead your husband astray if you're too late to work to lie down under him and stare at the ceiling.
KevespadaSee if you can guess the part of this video where I lost my composure.
Meet Verna and Jerry Kinersly, a lovely couple who have been happily married for 60 years.
On July 17, a hippopotamus was born at Zoo Basel in Switzerland. The little one was born in the ditch of the outdoor enclosure, and mother Helvetia, 22 years-old, immediately nudged it towards the bank with her nose, where it was able to rest. It has not yet been given a name, as it is still unclear whether the baby is male or female.
At the beginning of the day on Wednesday, the animal keeper suspected that the time for the birth was near. Helvetia was restless, but still headed to the outdoor enclosure to feed. Shortly after 9 a.m., a tiny head suddenly emerged from the water. The father, 23-year-old Wilhelm, made constant attempts to take a peek at the little one, but Helvetia was having none of it: if he came too close, she would shoo him away with an unambiguous clip round the head. Experience has shown that this will abate over time, and in a few weeks visitors will be able to see the whole family bathing together.
The little one has to dive underwater in order to drink from its mother, resurfacing every 30 seconds to take a breath. The baby weighs between 65 and 110 pounds (30 and 50 kilograms) and is currently feeding solely on its mother’s milk, and will only begin to eat solid food in a few weeks’ time. As is common for the vast animals that are hippopotamuses, the pregnancy was scarcely visible. However, shortly before the birth the mother’s udders began to swell, and Helvetia and father Wilhelm started to keep their distance from each other. The little one is Wilhelm and Helvetia’s tenth child. Older brother Habari, now three-years-old, has been living in Pont-Scorff, France, since June 2012.
YOU GUYS. This is a strawberry jam, Honey, Marshmallow fluff, crunchy peanut butter, Nutella, creamy peanut butter sandwich. And it's in rows and columns so EVERY BITE IS AN ORIGINAL TASTE SENSATION.
[Left via CoreSite; right via Wired]
The One Wilshire tower Downtown just sold for a record-setting $437.5 million--at about $660 per square foot, it's the highest price ever paid for a Downtown office building and way more than twice the price paid recently for the much more high-profile US Bank Tower, according to the LA Times. Why on earth? Because One Wilshire, built in 1966, "is widely regarded in the industry as the single most important telecommunications hub in the Western U.S." and one of the top three communications properties in the entire world. While a few floors are still filled up with law firms and stockbrokers, most of the building is packed with servers and fiber-optic cables routing "[b]illions of phone calls, emails and Internet pages" every week (it's "the primary terminus for major fiber-optic cable routes between Asia and North America").
One Wilshire had fallen on hard times by the 1990s, but as the internet began to grow, communications firms began clustering at the building, mostly to be close to AT&T's "fortress-like switching center on Grand Avenue at Olive Street." Now there're about 300 service providers and other telecommers in the building, including AT&T, Verizon, Sirius XM, and China Telecom. In an alarmingly oblique remark, a rep for the seller says the NSA is "not a direct tenant" in the building (seriously, what is that supposed to mean??). In a story about One Wilshire a few years back, Wired noted that "If this facility went down, most of California and parts of the rest of the world would not be able to connect to the internet."
Rents run about $4 per square foot in the building (again, double those at the US Bank Tower) and, according to a real estate agent involved, they're probably going to go even higher. One Wilshire was purchased by a Menlo Park-based private equity investor called GI Partners.
· Downtown L.A. office building sells for record $437.5 million [LAT]
Who knew, there's a tiny little Los Angeles Museum of Art down an alleyway on a paved yard in Eagle Rock. Sculptor Alice Könitz founded the museum, a 13-foot-long structure, and is its only staffer; she says that while it's technically public, "it's also really private." [T., image via]
Those were the choices facing motorists on Saturday morning as a tanker-truck fire at the junction of the 2 and 5 freeways in Elysian Valley spewed thick, black clouds of smoke between freeway ramps and bridges and obscured traffic lanes. One driver named Daniel, headed southbound on the 2 Freeway in the direction of Echo Park and Silver Lake, apparently could not wait for the smoke to clear.
A passenger who shot the video (h/t OneBunkerHill213) above, titled “Driving Through Smoke From An Overturned Tanker on 5 Freeway,” shows the brief and what must have been scary journey through a smoke-shrouded interchange.
Says a note on the video:
There was an overturned tanker on the 5 which is just below the 2 when Daniel decided to drive through the smoke to get through the traffic.”
KevespadaI am interested in kayaking in the LA River. Am I crazy?
[Image via KCET]
A bit of good news: after the scary fuel tanker crash at the 2 and 5 interchange in Elysian Valley this weekend, the LA River reopened yesterday for kayaking, the LA Times reports. The truck crash sent gasoline pouring towards the river and created a mini-mushroom cloud up in the sky--outdoor enthusiasts were told to get the hell out immediately (and this is all not long after a stretch of the river reopened after being off limits for 80-odd years). Thankfully, only a few gallons of gasoline seeped into the river and what did will soon evaporate. Steve Appleton, co-owner of LA River Kayak Safari, was forced to cancel trips after the Saturday crash, but is now back to leading his three-and-a-half hour tours. Appleton himself was on the water when the big-rig blew up: "One thing that didn't cross our minds was that we could be paddling through flames."
· Kayakers Return to River After Tanker Truck Gas Spill [LA Times]
Hugh Jackman is ripped. No duh. We all know that about him. It’s actually disgusting. I’m not sure which is more repulsive, his arms or his “method.” Of course, regular civilians like you and me are always looking to our betters for tips on how to stay fit, but did u know that sometimes even celebs need a little help? From E!:
But for his latest role in The Wolverine, in theatres July 26, [Hugh Jackman] is admitting to E! News that sometimes, you need some extra diet and fitness tips from other leading men in Hollywood.
Enter Dwayne Johnson!“I know Dwayne and I rang him and said, ‘Buddy, I saw you in The Tooth Fairy…and then I saw you in an action movie and you are massive. How do you do it?’” Let’s just say it takes a lot of time and food to look that big.
“Buddy, I saw you in The Tooth Fairy.” LOLOLOL. “I had never noticed before, but have you been working out?” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is literally a monster created in a laboratory, as well as a former pro-wrestler and an action movie superstar, but Hugh Jackman saw The Tooth Fairy and was like “that’s the body I am looking for.” Very cool. Let’s just say it takes a lot of time and food to look that big. “What’s your secret?” Let’s just say that diet and exercise do play a part. Huh!
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It's a three-generation collaboration on Robin Thicke's "Ain't No Hat 4 That," a song co-written by his dad, Growing Pains' Alan Thicke, and featuring his 3-year-old son, Julian. Perhaps that's why these lyrics are slightly more family-friendly than his Song of Summer, "Blurred Lines." Is this also a sign that Alan Thicke will return to music? If so, we would be "the luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'."
Read more posts by Lindsey Weber
Filed Under: robin thicke ,alan thicke ,right-click
Because who wouldn't want a giant sucker? See's Candy will display the world's largest lollipop at its Grove store this coming Saturday and during the day all See's locations will distribute free lollipops. The Grove behemoth weighs 7,003 pounds and measures about four and a half feet in length, three and a half feet in width, and nearly six feet in height. The stick rises close to 12 feet. [LAW]
Kevespadayes
[Photo: Robyn Lee]
Eating watermelon isn't that far off from drinking watermelon: this fruit is pretty juicy stuff. Which means it's also pretty easy to turn your favorite hot-pink summer treat into something sippable. Watermelon has a great affinity for tart lime and delicately flavored spirits; here are a few of our favorite recipes for summer watermelon drinks.
[Photo: Robyn Lee]
Back away from the bottled mix! It is so easy to make fresh fruit margaritas at home, and so much more delicious than anything that comes pre-packaged. This naturally pink drink starts with seedless watermelon, whirled in a blender with tart lime, tequila, and a pinch of salt. Instead of triple sec, this margarita has a touch of sweetness and delicate floral flavor from elderflower liqueur.
[Photo: Autumn Giles]
This refreshing booze-free drink is as simple as can be: watermelon, lime, and a little agave nectar. It's guaranteed to be the prettiest drink at the barbecue, and if anyone wants to spike it, they can easily add a little gin to their cup.
[Photo: Robyn Lee]
You can make sangria all year, but summer versions have a way of being more fun, since you have access to all sorts of fresh fruit. If you've already made a classic white or red sangria, consider offering this unusual variation alongside it. This one's juicy with fresh watermelon and lots of lime, and the rum and Cointreau give it a bit of tropical flavor.
[Photo: Jessica Leibowitz]
Ever sprinkled watermelon or cantaloupe with a little salt? It really brings out the flavor. That's one reason we like the spicy chili rim on this drink: it's both sweet and salty, elevating the flavors of cocktail with every sip. This simple cocktail is a good place to use your favorite silver tequila. Here are a few we love.
[Photo: Carolyn Cope]
Summer parties in the sun tend to leave us dehydrated in the morning. Here's a cure: the juice from fresh watermelon and cooling cucumbers, plus a little mint to brighten it up. Pour a tall glass, put your feet up, and think of it as a little spa experience right at home.
Looking for more summer drinks inspiration? Keep in the loop with our weekly newsletter.
Director Joel Allen Schroeder started working on a Calvin and Hobbes documentary in 2007 and raised almost $100,000 on Kickstarter in 2009. The result, Dear Mr. Watterson, is finally scheduled for a November 15 release. The trailer reveals a movie that doesn't chase after the comic strip's famously elusive creator, but rather interviews a wide spectrum of its fans: from Robot Chicken's Seth Green to FoxTrot's Bill Amend.
Read more posts by Lindsey Weber
Filed Under: movies ,calvin & hobbes ,bill watterson ,dear mr. watterson ,kickstarter ,trailer mix
Kevespada/jacking off hand motion
"Upon the release of my new single 'Take Back the Night,' I was made aware of an organization of the same name called The Take Back the Night Foundation. I wanted to take this opportunity to let all know that neither my song nor its lyrics have any association with the organization. As I've learned more about The Take Back the Night Foundation, I'm moved by its efforts to stop violence against women … It is my hope that this coincidence will bring more awareness to this cause." —Justin Timberlake responds to the Take Back the Night Foundation (and everyone else who raised an eyebrow at his song).
Read more posts by Amanda Dobbins
Filed Under: justin timberlake ,music ,quotables ,take back the night
When Kim O' Grady was applying for jobs in the late 90s, he was excited. He writes that he had the relevant qualifications, experience and could also show a successful track record in his chosen career path — unfortunately for him, he also had a name that many people automatically assume belongs to a woman.
The rejections poured in, and he was confused. He was an ideal candidate, and to not even get interviews was very odd. He examined and re-examined his CV and couldn't figure out what was front with it.
Then, he had a thought:
I made one change that day. I put Mr. in front of my name on my CV. It looked a little too formal for my liking but I got an interview for the very next job I applied for. And the one after that. It all happened in a fortnight, and the second job was a substantial increase in responsibility over anything I had done before. In the end I beat out a very competitive short-list and enjoyed that job for the next few years, further enhancing my career.
Gender discrimination — it's a real thing, folks.
Interestingly, I talked to a man named Lauren who writes woman-centric comedy stuff and he tells stories of the exact opposite problem. It's obviously an exception to the rule, but when producers call in someone named Lauren who wrote a spec for "Labia Landia", they do a double take when an old dude walks through the door. Names, am I right?!
[What Would King Leonidas Do?]
Shutterstock/EDHAR
Kevespadayes please
[Photograph: Anders Schonnemann]
With the unmistakable flavor of juniper, and a twist of citrus, The Ice Creamists maintain this concoction has "enough alcohol for a kick in the bolsheviks."
Reprinted with permission by Matt O'Connor. Copyright © 2013. Published by Octopus Publishing. Available wherever books are sold. All rights reserved.
Special equipment: Ice cream maker
serves serves 4, active time 40 minutes, total time several hours, including freezing
Pour the water into a saucepan and add the sugar. Place over a low heat and bring to the boil, whisking often, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, continuing to whisk until the liquid turns into a syrup.
Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and set aside for
about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooled to room temperature. For more rapid chilling, half-fill a sink with cold water and ice and place the bowl of mixture in it for 20 minutes. Pour the tonic water into a bowl, add the sugar syrup, then cover and refrigerate, ideally overnight, until thoroughly chilled (at least 4°C).
Add the gin, lime juice and lemon juice to the chilled mixture, then pour into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When the churning is completed, use a spoon or spatula to scrape the sorbetto into a freezer-proof container with a lid. Freeze until it reaches the correct scooping texture (at least 2–3 hours).
Decorate each portion with lime slices and serve.
KevespadaWhen I used to take riflery with the ROTC, they had a checkpoint simulation set in a nameless desert somewhere in Central Asia or the Middle East, and I failed the simulation by not shooting anyone. It was really stressful to have the headphones on and watch the scene on screen, even though I knew I was holding a fake gun in a basement in California.
In 2002, a study by Joshua Correll and colleagues, called The Police Officer’s Dilemma, was published. In the study, researchers reported that they presented photos of black and white men holding either a gun or a non-threatening object (like a wallet) in a video game style setting. Participants were asked to make a rapid decision to “shoot” or “don’t shoot” each of the men based on whether the target was armed.
They found that people hesitated longer to shoot an armed white target (and they were more likely to accidentally not shoot). Participants were quicker and more accurate with black armed targets but there were more “false alarms” (shooting them when they were unarmed). These effects were present even though participants did not hold any explicit discriminatory views and wanted to treat all targets fairly.
The effect we see here is a subconscious but measurable preference to give white men the benefit of the doubt in these ambiguous situations. Decision times can vary by a fraction of a second, but that fraction can mean life or death for the person on the other end of the gun.
A terrible reminder of this bias was brought back into the headlines on March 2nd when a black student in Gainesville Florida was shot in the face with a rifle by a police officer. The conditions surrounding the shooting are murky, as the police are extremely hesitant to release details.
It appears that Kofi Adu-Brempong, an international graduate student and teacher’s assistant, was in a stress-induced panic and was worried about his student visa. On the day of the incident, his neighbors heard yelling in his apartment and called the police. It has been suggested that he may have suffered from some mental health problems that related to his panics (although this is not known for sure) and that he had resisted police in the past.
Even so, when the police arrived they broke down his door, citing that they did not know if there was someone else in danger inside the apartment. Adu refused to cooperate and the situation escalated to the point where police tried to subdue him with a tazer and a bean-bag gun. Then a policeman shot him. Adu is now in the hospital in critical condition and has sustained serious damages to his tongue and lower jaw. The police claimed that Adu was wielding a lead pipe and a knife and started violently threatening them with the weapons.
In fact, there was no lead pipe and there was no knife in his hand. When the police approached Adu after he had been shot, the pipe showed itself to be a cane- a cane that Adu constantly used due to a case of childhood polio. And the knife they saw in his hand was actually sitting on the kitchen counter.
Instances like these are tragic reminders of the mistakes that can be made in split second decisions and how race can play into those decisions.
This post originally appeared in 2010. Re-posted in solidarity with the African American community; regardless of the truth of the Martin/Zimmerman confrontation, it’s hard not to interpret the finding of not-guilty as anything but a continuance of the criminal justice system’s failure to ensure justice for young Black men.
Lauren McGuire is an assistant to a disability activist. She’s just launched her own blog, The Fatal Foxtrot, that is focused on the awkward passage into adulthood.
Kevespadahuh
Jimmy Kimmel got hitched in Ojai, California on Saturday, and it appears as though there were hijinks afoot: Gabourey Sidibe arrived in a floofy white wedding gown, complete with train and veil.
The Daily Mail believes Gabby pulled a prank on Jimmy and briefly took the place of his bride, Molly McNearney. Imagine: The music starts… here comes the bride! The groom and the guests turn expectantly toward the end of the aisle… And for one second, the entire room is all, huh?
There are also photos of Jimmy laughing and kissing Gabby on the cheek at the reception; he must have enjoyed the gag. Do you think it will end up on his show?
Image via Splash.
KevespadaI didn't even read this before sharing, I thought the picture was shareworthy enough. But I'm sure there are a lot of gems in the text, too.
Joe Rogan arrives on the fourth floor of NYU’s anthropology department in Greenwich Village still clinging to the possibility that Bigfoot isn’t total bullshit. “I don’t believe,” Rogan says, “but I don’t not believe, you know? There’s enough weird people that have muddied the issue that it seems like fuckery, but then Jane Goodall says she’s absolutely convinced, and then when you go [to the Pacific Northwest] and there’s so much uncharted land up there, it’s impossible to see it all. And then Native Americans have 100 different names for this thing, and they’re uniform in their descriptions—it’s always a large, tall ape.”
Rogan, a former martial artist and current Ultimate Fighting Championship color guy, is a compact, muscular, hairless-pated hominid deeply attuned to his inner monkey. Having emerged from sitcom acting (Hardball, NewsRadio) and reality-TV hosting (seven seasons of Fear Factor), Rogan now hosts a twice-weekly three-hour talk show, The Joe Rogan Experience, where he frequently evangelizes about pot and psychedelics and the Altered States–style isolation tank he keeps in the basement of his home north of Los Angeles. This month on Syfy, he’s launching Joe Rogan Questions Everything, an unscripted X-Files in which he’ll alternately channel Mulder and Scully as he investigates topics ranging from black-helicopter crazy (chem trails) to actual, secret government-research programs (weaponized weather, remote viewing).
He’s in New York for a conference on transhumanism, and while here, he’s getting in an interview for the TV show with Todd Disotell, a fiftyish biological anthropologist with a Mohawk, an impressive collection of aged whiskey, and an office door crowded with stickers that say things like HONK! IF YOU UNDERSTAND PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM. Disotell has become a go-to talking head for TV producers looking to inject some reality into the Bigfoot “debate.”
Rogan had told me earlier, “I’m trying to go into it with a completely open mind, talk to the believers, kooks, scientists.” A cynic could say that being open-minded about Bigfoot just means you haven’t taken fifteen minutes to read a Wikipedia page thoroughly debunking it. Rogan, 45, is a guy who knows what TV needs—suspense until the very end—but he also comes by his interests honestly. He has long read books and watched documentaries about “stupid shit … weird fringe topics … I have a deep curiosity for things that haven’t been solved yet.” He knows Disotell is going to provide the rigorous, scientific case against Bigfoot; still, Rogan clearly likes the idea of Bigfoot and seems to enjoy having a platform that allows him to get to the bottom of all the mysteries that tantalized him growing up, even if they turn out to be fuckery.
His producers had sent Disotell some alleged Bigfoot scat and hair samples, collected by Bigfoot hunters, to analyze in advance of today’s interview, and after comparing molecular-themed tattoos—Disotell’s, on his upper back, illustrates the chemical structure of three of his favorite stimulants: alcohol, caffeine, and capsaicin; Rogan’s, on his left bicep, depicts DMT, a.k.a. dimethyltryptamine, part of the shamanic brew ayahuasca—Rogan proceeds to lay out the various arcane arguments in defense of Bigfoot, which Disotell then knocks down one by one. The Swiss wildlife photographer who claimed to have taken pictures of a previously unknown species of ape? Disotell’s a DNA man, not a photo appraiser. What about the uniformity of sightings? Like angels and alien abductions, “it’s a meme, literally.” What about Melba Ketchum—a Texas Bigfoot-ologist who reported that highly sophisticated analyses of a sample had isolated Bigfoot DNA? The non-peer-reviewed journal it was published in was registered with GoDaddy a week before the article was published, and “the way they analyze, interpret that data is … I want to be polite, I don’t want to say crazy, it’s … heterodox.”
“What is heterodox?” Rogan asks.
“It’s crazy,” Disotell says.
“Ohhh,” Rogan moans to the camera. “Todd Disotell, Bigfoot party pooper, just trashed the whole Bigfoot party. So there’s zero evidence; all the evidence sucks; it’s all crazy and unscientific.” Rogan seems resigned, albeit crestfallen. Afterward, over a lunch of fish and chips at Murphy & Gonzalez across the street, Rogan acknowledges: “You can’t fuck with science. What he said was pretty irrefutable. There’s a lot of fuckery, lots of muddy thinking.” But then he says to Disotell: “You didn’t disprove Bigfoot, you just disproved the evidence.”
Having now interviewed a lot of Believers—not all of them total kooks—Rogan’s most persuasive finding has less to do with the mysteries of fringe phenomena than with the central role of whimsical longing in the human psyche. “All these people searching for mysteries … They’re all unfuckable white dudes. You don’t find a single black guy looking for Bigfoot. Zero,” he says. “A lot of these guys are in their forties,” Rogan continues, “and they openly talk about how this is part of their midlife crisis. One guy, Steve, a very, very nice guy, his take on it was, ‘Hey, man, even if there’s no Bigfoot, at least I’m out here camping, I’m enjoying myself, I’m having a good time.’ ”
*This article originally appears in the July 22, 2013 issue of New York Magazine.
Read more posts by Benjamin Wallace
Filed Under: encounter ,joe rogan ,fear factor ,the joe rogan experience
Or, how to deal with the expectations of others.
It’s not easy to deal with the expectations of others, but more often than not, it’s coming from a good place. Often people are trying to pass on the advice or guidance that they wish they had at a time in their own lives, because it’s their way of being loving and protective. What they don’t realize is your life experience is very different from theirs and therefore your understanding and reasoning will not align. You might hear things like, “You should be doing __” or, “That’s not how you should feel.” In the face of the conflicts like these, all you can do is hold your ground and trust yourself. It’s okay to take care of yourself, and only you can decide how you feel about something. Just like you can’t tell another person to feel a certain way about their life, they cannot tell you how you should feel about yours.
If someone close to you is telling you how you should feel about something or how you should act in regards to an issue that does not directly involve them, that is unfortunate and I’m sure, very frustrating. If how you feel seems preposterous and illogical to this person, know that you do not have to justify your feelings or make them believe they make sense. Just like the saying goes, you can’t judge another person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. The emotions that this other person might have in your situation are not the same, just as the scars they have are not the same. You can explain your reasoning if you like, but it’s not your responsibility to make them agree with it. Everyone has their reasons for feeling the way they do about certain things. Sometimes those feelings are very layered and complex; a mystery to even ourselves. And that is fine. Listen to yourself and do not betray yourself. Your gut will know what is best for you. That’s the only answer you ever need, regardless of what others want you to want.
If a conflict over your feelings or actions is causing you to question yourself to the point of a “spin out” (a constant loop in your head that will not resolve – like a computer glitch that’s trying to solve a problem again and again), it means you need to stop and take a break from this issue. Your inner self has not decided yet how you feel and therefore you have opposing opinions that pull you in two directions. In other words, the answer is not fully baked yet and this conflict will not be solved by force. Let it bake in the back of your brain for a while and divert your attention to unrelated things.
An emotional spin out can also be a sign that ghosts of very old feelings have been triggered, meaning this issue is touching on something from your past that is making you feel the issue is bigger than it is. Often the ghost feelings that are triggered come from childhood experiences that define our understanding of ourselves. They make us feel we are somehow bad or selfish or we are going to lose the love of others if we do not abide their opinions.
If you are unsure or ambivalent about what you want regardless of this other person, take a pragmatic approach to deduce the solution. Write a “Pros” and “Cons” list to decide what you can live with, and what you cannot live with. If one of those factors is the opinion of this other person, “So-and-so will be upset at me,” then write that down. Weigh the items accordingly. When you have weighed your options and the lists are completed you will have your answer whether your happy with it or not. Commit to it and do not put any more energy or worry toward it. You can’t please everyone, nor do you have to. Know that there is no perfect outcome. Accept the discomfort of what has to be compromised, know that you made the right decision for you based on the conditions, and forgive yourself if someone is upset at you. You went to great lengths to decide the right thing to do and you’re allowed to take care of yourself. Know you’re your intentions and heart are in the right place and let it go.
Hope this helps at a time when you need it. Happy Sunday, friends! xox Sarah May B.
Featured image via harakiri
The post Feelings Belong to the Person Who Feels Them appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Kevespadaweeping
Pigs aren’t exactly exotic pet choices, but they are offbeat. How many people do you know personally who have a pet pig? One, maybe? And that person also makes his or her own cheeses? And has an alfalfa garden? And collects abandoned birds’ nests? It doesn’t matter what your weirdo pig friend does — pigs are cute, and that’ll do.
via Buzzfeed
