What Makes People Tick?

WHY WHY WHY ????? Reading this makes me regret that I am the same species as the barbarians who comprise this village court. As a woman and as a human being I am revolted by these inhuman acts. Read at your own caution. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/23/22414118-indian-village-court-orders-gang-rape-of-woman-as-punishment-for-boyfriend

"Married gays to tour drought-hit countries" This is a response from The Daily Mash to the article I linked to in yesterday's post. As far as I'm concerned it's bloody brilliant!   " Married gays to tour drought-hit countries Gay people in civil partnerships, who have been granted the power to summon rainstorms from the heavens by God and UKIP, plan to use it benevolently. Nathan Muir, who saw storm clouds forming as he kissed his husband on their wedding day, said: “We’re honeymooning in Sub-Saharan Africa so that we can bring the waters of gayness to its parched landscape." Thanks to the amazing George Takei for sharing this on his Facebook page .

Apparently, when two people love each other and want to get married to seal that love, this man's idea of the Christian God gets angry and punishes an entire country. Why? Read on at the BBC website .  "[UKIP councillor David] Silvester, from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, defected from the Tories in protest at Mr Cameron's support for same-sex unions. In the letter to the Henley Standard he wrote: "The scriptures make it abundantly clear that a Christian nation that abandons its faith and acts contrary to the Gospel (and in naked breach of a coronation oath) will be beset by natural disasters such as storms, disease, pestilence and war." Religion fascinates me in all its ways, shapes and forms. Religious people also fascinate me, as do their actions, reactions, responses and modern-day interpretations of (for instance) Old Testament stories. How do religions adapt to modern-day society, if they do at all? And how do religious people adapt, if they do? ...

I came across an online article on the Wait But Why website talking about how and why Generation Y (which I'm a part of) has unrealistic expectations about their lives and their careers. As I very much enjoyed the article and agreed with a lot it said, I decided to share it.  Gen Y is made up of people born between the late seventies and the mid-nineties to parents hailing from the hippy generation. Basically the article states that while our parents were taught that hard work would bring success and rewards, we expect those rewards and that success to happen without the hard work.  The article explains why this is and provides ideas on how to change our unrealistic life expectations into ones much more realistic.

A friend sent me a link to a Time magazine article that I want to share. Marine scientists looking for new ways to reduce the number of whales struck and killed off California's coast by massive commercial ships have turned to a familiar tool: mobile devices.  An app called “Whale Spotter” uses crowd-sourcing to gather data, allowing sailors, fishermen and marine scientists who spot whales to plot their location on an interactive map. The maps created could then be used by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Coast Guard officials to recommend different vessel routes.  The app is the latest development in a collaboration between shipping companies, government officials and scientists to reduce whale strikes. Testing begins this weekend to see how effective it will be. Read the rest of the article at TIME magazine : Technology

According to an 09 August 2013 article by CNN, part of a sphinx statue has been found in northern Israel. The find is important for many reasons, not least because it is the only piece of Egyptian sculpture found anywhere in the Levant. As the article reports, excavations at Tel Hazor in northern Israel first began in the 1950s. The capital city of Canaan some 4,000 years ago, Tel Hazor is conveniently located on the route connecting Egypt to Babylon. Some quotes from Mystery surrounds Egyptian sphinx unearthed in Israel which you can read at the CNN website : "Inexplicably buried far from Egypt, the paws of a sphinx statue, resting on its base, have been unearthed with an inscription in hieroglyphs naming King Mycerinus. The pharaoh ruled in 2500 BC and oversaw the construction of one of the three Giza pyramids, where he was enshrined.  "This is of extreme importance from many points of view, since it is the only sphinx of this king known in the world -- even in Egyp...

Reading a 30 November 2010 BlogHer post by Melissa Ford about the commercialisation / Americanisation of the Jewish holiday of Chanukkah (I've copied her way of spelling it here), I couldn't agree more. It also got me thinking. The same thing is happening in my country, only here it's Christmas being Americanised instead of Chanukkah! "Christmas is wonderful. I love your music and listen to it nonstop from Thanksgiving until the holiday (my favourite: "O Holy Night"). I love your candy. Sparkle lights are gorgeous, and I've been known to take extremely circuitous routes home in order to gawk at as many decorated houses as possible. It sounds lovely to give and receive gifts. But it's your holiday; it's not mine."  Exactly! " But it's your holiday; it's not mine. " Those words say it all for me. While the author focuses on the Americanisation of a Jewish holiday, I read the article with my own country in mind. There...