Whew! Barely getting my weekly post in today…making it just under the wire. Luckily, I’ve got a good one which  hopefully not all of you already know about.

I’m not on Twitter. I don’t think I will ever be on Twitter. But having stumbled across the Tweeter Shit My Dad Says, I have a new found love for the common tweet. Justin, the guy who makes these tweets possible says this “I’m 28. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says.”  Some of my favorites after the click.

“What are you listening to?…I know who Hall & Oates are god dammit. It’s the mustache guy and the gay man.”

““You touched that god damned biscuit. Bullshit, I saw you touch it….I don’t give a shit about your evidence, this isn’t a court of law.”

“”The dog don’t like you planting stuff there. It’s his backyard. If you’re the only one who shits in something, you own it. Remember that.”

Words to live by, folks. Please feel free to populate the comment section with your own personal favorites. And happy Friday!

But seriously how amazing is that? Call me a nerd, but I think it’s pretty fascinating. Just think how many more species there are out there just living unbeknownst to us. Well, we can cross another one off the list: the Swima worm from possibly my all time favorite biosphere: the abyss.

According to the NYT Science section, these little guys are four inches long, eyeless, and have little paddle bristles which allow them to swim forward and backward. The coolest part? They drop “glow bombs”, bioluminescent green globs that can be released from the body at will. Folks, this is basically the original glow stick. I will never look at raves the same way again. Also, this would be an amazing Halloween costume for you slackers who haven’t come up with anything yet.

Michael Jackson was an incredible entertainer, unsurpassed in my opinion, he was a paradox, a father, an abused child, a complex and (I believe) extremely sensitive human being.

There are some people you come across in your life, whether you actually meet them or in this case just know of them through the media, who seem to be almost too great and simultaneously too fragile for this world and the hand that they’re dealt. He is one of those individuals to me.

Now come look at this photo tribute I copped from another website. In all seriousness I tried to choose photos that would highlight his strange existence, immense talent, and ultimately his solitude and alienation from the world.

all images via Jezebel.

I’m starting to feel like the Bearer of Bad News here at MiFG. And yet, I continue to post about depressing things anyway. The murder of George Tiller yesterday at his own church in east Wichita, Kansas was horrendous. President Obama has stated that he is “shocked and outraged” about the incident, and about 400 turned out for the vigil last night in Wichita. There are no suspects as of now, but police are looking for a 90s powder blue Ford Taurus with the Kansas license plate number 225BAB in connection with the murder.

This was not the first attempt on Tiller’s life; in 1993 he was shot in both arms while leaving his clinic, but recovered. He was also acquitted in March of this year on charges that he performed 19 illegal late-term abortions. Whatever one’s stance is on abortion (or any heated topic), killing people should never ever be an option.

This news is especially disturbing given Obama’s call at the Notre Dame graduation this year to voice abortion concerns with mutual respect and fair-minded words. I guess it is realistic to know that no matter how much progress we make as a country, there will always be some mentally imbalanced radicals hell bent on perpetuating hate crimes and cowardly behavior. Although this notion grieves me, I think that instead of focusing on the hatred in his murderer, it is more important to remember the bravery and open-mindedness of George Tiller and the progress he made for women everywhere and for reproductive rights.  

News and picture via Jezebel.

The questions mostly center around levels of empathy, sense of  responsibility, honesty and other general aspects one would assume are lacking in someone who would join a gang.

My question is, if this works, is it possible to test children for other neurological defects/mental malnourishments? If we can test for a lack of empathy in a child and determine that he/she will join a gang, can the same be tested in a child for sociopathy? Psychopathy? Other chemical or personality disorders which may not become apparent until years later? And even if so…so what? From the Wall Street Journal via Gawker. Picture here.

Or the sheepish, nerdy math whiz Korean kid in my friend’s neuroscience class who’s English was faulty and wore the shirt Looking’s Free, But Touching’s Gonna Cost Ya several times in one semester. I believe some patrons of the Terrible Text Tee wear them unknowingly, be it because of a language barrier or simply thirteen year old naivete. But others, oh others do it for the “humor”. Therein lies the problem. See how my Top 10 Worst Text Tees stack up after the jump.

Least Bad: These shirts are dumb, but not so offensive. Still, stay clear of anyone wearing them if at all possible. If contact occurs, you’ll be fine, though possibly plagued with annoying company for a few minutes:

Pretty Bad: These are a little more annoying and will mostly be worn by weird single dudes who think they’re “ironic”, because they have no idea what that word means but they’re pretty sure that most hip tees are ironic.

This shirt gets it’s own category because I have no idea what i means:

And finally, the worst of the worst. These are so dumb, so terribly and offensively stupid, that they never should have made it past the “Hey, I have an idea” phase of existence. But they did. Oh god, they did.

All shirts from Clutch Tees (also ironic).

Unless you’ve been comatose by Swine Flu for the whole weekend, you know that Barack Obama spoke at Notre Dame’s graduation this year, despite much protest. The real issue of contention are Obama’s pro-choice beliefs about abortion versus the Catholic Church’s aggressively pro-life stance, which made for an awkward setting at arguably the most Catholic University in the nation.

Just 241 words into his address someone yelled “Abortion is murder! Stop killing children!” The heckler was told to shut up by most of the audience and Obama moved on with his speech, but then had this to say on the issue of abortion and the issue of debate on abortion in the US:

“Let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions, let’s reduce unintended pregnancies. (Applause.) Let’s make adoption more available. (Applause.) Let’s provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term. (Applause.) Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women.  Those are things we can do. (Applause.)

Now, understand – understand, Class of 2009, I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory – the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.

Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It’s a way of life that has always been the Notre Dame tradition. (Applause.) Father Hesburgh has long spoken of this institution as both a lighthouse and a crossroads. A lighthouse that stands apart, shining with the wisdom of the Catholic tradition, while the crossroads is where “differences of culture and religion and conviction can co-exist with friendship, civility, hospitality, and especially love.” And I want to join him and Father John in saying how inspired I am by the maturity and responsibility with which this class has approached the debate surrounding today’s ceremony. You are an example of what Notre Dame is about. (Applause.)

This tradition of cooperation and understanding is one that I learned in my own life many years ago – also with the help of the Catholic Church.”

I don’t think there is a more respectful, intelligent and gracious response than that. And I applaud any president who, instead of focusing on name calling and “kicking ass and taking names”, focuses on mutual respect, fairness, an open heart, open mind, and fair-minded words.

Text via Gawker, photo via New York Times.

]]> http://maybeitfeelsgreat.com/2009/05/obama-drama-at-notre-dame/feed/ 2 http://maybeitfeelsgreat.com/2009/05/first-guns/ http://maybeitfeelsgreat.com/2009/05/first-guns/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 20:39:07 +0000 Ana http://www.maybeitfeelsgreat.com/?p=445 Yes, they have their own website.