ISIS slaughter 145 civilians in Syria as they retake key town of Kobani Mirror.co.uk Women and children were among those cut down as jihadists “fired at anything that moved”. The bloodbath came after fanatics stormed over the border from Turkey to retake the key city of Kobani and a neighbouring village. Jihadists attacked the town on ...
Burning Man pushes back on upgraded amenities for officials Chron.com RENO, Nev. (AP) — Burning Man festival organizers are pushing back after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested upgraded accommodations for its officials at this year's event in the Nevada desert. The federal agency asked for flush toilets, ...
I’m continuously terrified that people will think LGBT rights is a finished fight as soon as marriage equality passes nationally. There’s still so much extremely important stuff to get to. Marriage is not an end goal.
The Supreme Court’s legalizing of same-sex marriages not only paves the way for such unions in all 50 states, but also on all U.S. military bases.
Until Friday’s ruling, the military permitted same-sex wedding ceremonies only on bases in states that allowed them. The high court’s decision permits the ceremonies in military chapels across the country.
Any military chaplain or clergy can refuse to perform a same sex marriage “if it is not in line with the tenets of their faith.” But same-sex couples are free to pick their own clergy member to perform their ceremony.
Same-sex marriage ceremonies have been taking place in military chapels since September 2013, when the Pentagon ruled that same sex partners of a service member were entitled to the same benefits provided to opposite sex couples, such as health care, access to military facilities and services on all military bases.
Take one look at someone in Scorpion Pose and you’ll know: yoga can build strength and balance. But how does it stack up to traditional strength training — and what can’t yoga do for your body?
I grew up across the bridge from Salem, Massachusetts, a town that is undoubtedly rich in history. It’s among the oldest settlements in New England. It became a seafaring power after the Puritan era and a base for privateers during the Revolutionary War. It’s the home of notable cultural institutions like Salem Willows and The Peabody Essex Museum. It was the birthplace of the National Guard, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Parker brothers.
But none of these are why you’ve heard of Salem. Salem’s biggest claim to fame is of course the Salem witch trials, an epidemic of mass hysteria that resulted in the hanging of 19 women and the pressing to death of one man in the 1690s. While a significant incident in history and sociology, the witch trials have taken on particular prevalence in pop culture. If there are magical people in a story, they ...
Corals—like all marine animals—are at risk as oceans warm up because of climate change. But corals aren’t just organisms; they create an environment for others to thrive in. So losing them will mean losing the many diverse species that they shelter and provide food for.
Although human activity is the main cause behind climate change today, the natural world is not a stranger to it. If there is enough time to procreate, evolution ensures that species adapt to the new climate. The worry this time around is that the temperatures are changing too fast for such adaptions, and the uneven impact these changes may have could accelerate the loss of corals because of extreme weather events.
Fortunately, that may not be the case for some corals. A study just published in Science shows that some species of corals could adapt to handle the extreme weather events that will likely come with climate change.
Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Texas at Austin cross-bred the same species of corals from two locations in Australia, one 300 miles south of the other. The corals at the more northern location—closer to the equator—were accustomed to temperatures about 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the ones further south. They found that the corals that bred with northern parents were 10 times more likely to survive extreme heat—temperatures that reached 35.5 Celsius (about 96 degrees Fahrenheit) over 24 hours—for up to 31 hours.
This resilience will be important, lead author Mikhail Matz told Quartz, as these kinds of extreme spikes become common, rather than gradual increases over time.
Red coral, Acropora millepora, in Palau.(M. Matz)
This research focused only one species of coral—Acropora millepora—but Matz, a marine biologist from the University of Texas at Austin, is hopeful that many corals will exhibit similar behavior. And although Matz intervened to cross-breed the two organisms from different locations, he said that such cross-breeding often happens naturally. Some corals reproduce by releasing young fertilized corals into the water, and many will travel far before settling down on a solid surface to mature.
“We anticipate that most, if not all, corals sharing the same reproductive strategy will show similarly variable and heritable heat tolerance,” he told Quartz. Matz also thinks that other corals in the Acropora family, which are relatively common in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, will behave in a similar way.
Corals are also extremely vulnerable to ocean acidification, which happens as a result of extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This study focused specifically on the warming temperatures, and more research will have to be done to assess how corals will fare as other aspects of the marine environment change over time.
The opening titles of So You Think You Can Dance show code scrolling in the background. I took some screenshots and determined it’s the same block of code used in multiple shots. Googling specific sequences from the code didn’t turn up the original, but it does appear to be Lua script that uses the Corona 2D game engine. I wonder if this is some of the code that was used to generate the visual effects in the titles.
In the US, one group has an extra reason to celebrate—and batten the hatches for a windfall. The caterers, calligraphers, stationers, florists, dress shops, tailors, bands, bakers, photographers, videographers, and wedding planners who make US nuptials into the extravaganzas they traditionally are will soon have even more marriages to support their businesses, and that’s good for local economies.
Legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide could be worth a total of $2.6 billion in spending, leading to nearly $185 million in state and local tax revenue, and creating some 13,000 jobs.
The Williams Institute, a think tank based at the UCLA School of Law, estimates that legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide could be worth a total of $2.6 billion in spending, leading to nearly $185 million in state and local tax revenue, and creating some 13,000 jobs.
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Prior to Friday’s ruling, same-sex marriage was still outlawed in 13 states, which researchers at the Williams Institute estimates locked up more than $500 million in consumer spending. In Texas, the largest of those states, researchers estimate (pdf) that 23,200 same-sex couples will choose to marry in these first three years following legalization, adding a $116 million boost to the economy in the first year alone.
“When gay marriage was passed [in New York], I definitely got more calls about couples coming in from out-of-state to get married,” says Guenther (who is married to a woman herself). She estimates that in 2013, after same-sex couples had ample time to plan their weddings in New York, about 70% of the celebrations she photographed were gay weddings. Now, she says that’s balanced out to about half.
While capturing a couple’s love in the moment is always Guenther’s priority, she says there are some differences when it comes to shooting gay weddings.
“It’s not as traditional, so to speak,” says Guenther. “They’re very quick to let me know like, ‘We won’t be doing the daddy-daughter dance.’”
One tradition, however, carries a great deal of weight.
“The signing of the marriage contract,” says Guenther. “It’s huge. At a straight wedding they barely even think about it. At a gay wedding it’s a very significant moment that I need to be present for.” Now, same-sex couples in all 50 states will be able to sign that contract.
Guenther, who was born in Toledo, Ohio—one of the 13 states where gay marriage was still illegal before the Supreme Court ruling—says she noticed an old high school friend expressing joy on Facebook on Friday, because she can finally marry her partner after 22 years together.
“I wanted to let her know, ‘you make it legal, I’ll fly home and shoot your wedding,'” says Guenther. “It’s so emotional, seeing people who’ve been together 15, 20, 25 years. That’s why I got into this business.”
The debate over gay marriage—addressed this week by the US Supreme Court but by no means settled—frequently turns to concerns about the emotional well-being of children raised by same-sex parents. But science tells us the fears are overblown.
In January, researchers from the Columbia Law School examined 76 studies published after 1985 and found that only four of them concluded that children raised by gay couples faced additional adversity as a result of having same-sex parents. To be considered, each of the studies had to meet established guidelines that accounted for credibility and relevance.
More recently, researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Oregon used the tool Web of Science to examine the ways in which scientific papers analyzed children of same-sex parents over time, and how each paper cited others to back its analysis. They found that over time, more and more papers cited other research that highlighted that there’s “no differences” in the outcomes for children based solely on whether they were raised by same-sex, heterosexual, or single parents.
“I found overwhelming evidence that scientists agree that there is not a negative impact to children of same-sex couples,” says Jimi Adams, a sociologist at the University of Colorado at Denver and co-author of the paper.
Not all of the research on the topic shares this conclusion. In January, Paul Sullins, a Catholic priest and sociology professor at Catholic University, published a paper (paywall) that found that children raised by same-sex parents were twice as likely to have emotional problems versus those raised by heterosexual parents. Though critics accused him of failing to draw distinctions between children from stable, same-sex-parent households and those from households where the parents had divorced or separated, conservatives took the paper as another opportunity to discredit the arguments for legalizing same-sex marriage.
In the end, the US Supreme Court came down on the same side as a majority of the recent science. From the court’s landmark ruling issued on June 26:
A third basis for protecting the right to marry is that it safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from related rights of childrearing, procreation, and education. … Without the recognition, stability, and predictability marriage offers, children suffer the stigma of knowing their families are somehow lesser.
LET ME FURTHER ELABORATE ON THE HILARITY OF THE BEST AMERICAN POLITICAL PRACTICE TO EXIST, “THE ANNUAL RUNNING OF THE INTERNS”:
RECORDINGS ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE U.S. SUPREME COURT. SO WHEN A DECISION IS MADE, COPIES ARE HANDED TO MEMBERS OF THE PRESS INSIDE THE BUILDING IN A PRESS ROOM WHO THEN LEAVE THEIR ROOM TO HAND THE COPIES OF THE RULING TO THEIR INTERNS (WHO AREN’T ALLOWED INSIDE THE PRESS ROOM)
(PICTURED: INTERNS FROM 2013, WAITING FOR THEIR RUN)
AND THEN THE INTERNS HAVE TO DELIVER THE COURT RULINGS WHILE THE JUSTICES ARE ANNOUNCING THEIR DECISION INSIDE THE COURTROOM ITSELF.
SO THE INTERNS RUN THROUGH THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING FROM OUTSIDE THE PRESS ROOM TO OUTSIDE, ACROSS THE PAVED WALKWAYS, AND DOWN THE STAIRS OF THE COURTHOUSE AREA INTO THE BROADCASTING PRESS PEN IN THE STREET.
(A PREVIOUS YEAR’S INTERN RUN WINNER)
INTERNS ARE TOLD THEY MAY TO THROW SOME ELBOWS IF NECESSARY.
AND ALL ARE RACING TO BE THE FIRST TO DELIVER THE COURT RULINGS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE BROADCASTERS WHO ARE WAITING TO GO ON AIR
PICTURED IN FRONT IS YESTERDAY’S INTERN WINNER LAUREN WHO SAID SHE “JUST LIKED TO WIN” WHEN SHE PULLED CLEAR AHEAD TO DELIVER THE OBAMACARE RELATED DECISION.
Cosby lawyer: Unsealing court docs 'terribly embarrassing' Online Athens PHILADELPHIA | A lawyer for Bill Cosby argued Friday that it would be "terribly embarrassing" for the comedian if documents from a 2005 sex-assault lawsuit were unsealed. Cosby is fighting efforts by The Associated Press to unseal motions from a lawsuit he ...
The Onion’s coverage on gay marriage has been on fire (x).
I really hope that movie gets made before they all die, and that it wins literally all the Oscars. Including “Best Visual Effects,” probably for the buck-wild Pride Parade scene.
California vaccination bill SB277 has passed in the State Assembly on a 46 to 30 vote. The bill, inspired in part by the measles outbreak that began last December in Disneyland, mandates ALL schoolchildren be vaccinated, regardless of their parents’ personal or religious beliefs, but still permits medical exemptions.
A man who ran a Bitcoin-based online poker site and then fled to Antigua after being raided earlier this year has pleaded guilty to a lesser gambling violation in Nevada as a way to stay a near-free man.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Bryan Micon accepted probation on Thursday and will also pay a $25,000 fine, surrender the computers, 3.0996 bitcoins ($750) and the $900 that were seized from him during the raid. Once complete, his charge will be reduced to a gross misdemeanor of operating an unlicensed interactive gaming system.
Neither Micon, nor Richard Schonfeld, his attorney, immediately responded to Ars’ request for comment.
…MoMA has acquired the iconic Rainbow Flag into its design collection, where it joins similarly universal symbols such as the @ symbol, the Creative Commons logo, and the recycling symbol. Artist Gilbert Baker created the Rainbow Flag in 1978 in San Francisco. Just a few days ago, he met Michelle Millar Fisher in MoMA’s offices to record an interview for the MoMA Archives, part of which is transcribed here.
…It took four hands to move the fabric through the machine, 20 hands to iron the fabric. I remember one day we had it all in the dye bath—you have to set the dye, and then you have to rinse it out. We looked at each other thinking “we’ll take it to the Laundromat.” Well, they have all these signs at the Laundromat saying “do not dye” so of course we wait until everyone is gone late at night and run into a Laundromat and fill every machine with quarters and blast them all—and [the machines turn] every color of the rainbow! We threw Clorox in [the machines] afterwards hoping that the next customers weren’t walking out of there with pink underwear! It was certainly not like the way they are made today, but I treasure those memories because it really was a beautiful process and I really love all the people who were there.
The mayor's office today announced a contest to guess when the Tide Street snow pile will finally disappear for good:
To enter, participants must tweet at @Marty_Walsh using the hashtag #BOSMeltNow, including the month and day they believe the snow will be fully melted.
Submissions are due by midnight on July 15, 2015.
The winner gets a "meet and greet" with the mayor.
The runner up gets two of them (OK, no, that part's just a joke; geez, reporters are such a cynical, obnoxious group).
'Tennant will play Tony’s partner, the rotund and verbose Mason Savoy. The role was originally planned for Robin Williams'
In what may be the most nerd-baiting-est sentence ever to appear on this storied web site, it was announced today that former Doctor Who star David Tennant is teaming up with Felicia Day and Walking Deadstar Steven Yeun for an animated movie based on John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Eisner Award-winning comic Chew.
Chew centers on FDA agent Tony Chu (Yeun), who possesses the unique talent of “cibopathy”—the often-nauseating ability to see the life history of everything he eats. He uses that skill, along with his not inconsiderable talents as a detective, to investigate various cases, as well as a global—and beyond—conspiracy regarding a deadly plague and a worldwide prohibition on eating chicken.
Tennant will play Tony’s partner, the rotund and verbose Mason Savoy. The role was originally planned for Robin Williams, a fan of the series, but was recast in the aftermath of ...
My newest comic PHASES is now available as a PDF for digital download! Here are the first 7 pages!
PHASES debuted at New South Fest 2015 in Austin TX! It’s a 19-page book about how I became the person I am today by being the most embarrassing human being alive in my youth.
Here’s a little taste of the embarrassment I’m willing to share with you all:
It’s $3 (or pay-what-you-want on Gumroad!). By buying this comic, you’re supporting a xicana comic artist pay her bills!
Super Opinionated.
Gizmodo.
