Too Old...? Babies Can't Count

In a brilliant longer article in NYMagazine, the prejudice against older mothers is examined- by older they mean women who are pregnant in their late 40s and into their 50s. Is it really so bad or are social norms correct? Available here.

Melonistan

Who knew that Turkmenistan celebrated National Melon Day? not like they have much else to celebrate...

Who knew that you could frame temping in the UK Coalition government-era as reminiscent of Mad Men?

Who knew a viral video could help a revolution? Zenga Zenga!

World Peace Could be Closer than You Think

Finally, some great news, courtesy of Joshua Goldstein at Foreign Policy.

recession in the land of the tooth fairy

it wasn't just mere mortals who have been affected by the economic downturn... the tooth fairy has also been hit. and this is a real news story...

urdu we do

Gawker has a 10-minute video on the world's last remaining hand-written newspaper. bless them, the scribes leave a blank space in case of "breaking news" by the time they finish.

the reluctant role model

cher, gay-icon supreme, had a daughter and she named her chastity. one day, chastity realized something just wasn't right. now she is a he named chaz, subject of a documentary about the demanding process. and no...it wasn't because his mom was cher.

tajikistan: bad for beards

if you're a man with a beard in tajikistan, beware. the government authorities are attempting to crack down on "extremism" and are harrassing men with facial hair. no, it's not suddenly april 1 and no, you're not in the twilight zone. read this article over at Eurasianet to see it's the truth!

The War of the Scarves

The keffiyah - the Scarf Formerly Known As A Political Statement - is a fashion staple in the west, with the political aspect long forgotten. However, politics is coming back into fashion as the last Palestinian factory which produces the scarves is finding it very difficult to compete with Chinese imports.

egg vs chicken

i am sure you will all be thrilled, ecstatic, overjoyed...to learn that as of july 2010, scientists are pretty darn sure the chicken came first.

but that of course then begs the question...where did the chicken come from??

is the pope even a christian?

apparently not. or can we maybe rename the post to "the pot" to stop confusion? or maybe "kettle"... either way, the man-who-demands-respect-yet-does-nothing-to-deserve-it has proclaimed to a gathering of lay Catholics in Portugal "that he appreciated their efforts fighting abortion and promoting the family based on the "indissoluble marriage between a man and woman"—the Vatican's way of expressing its opposition to divorce and same-sex unions.

Such initiatives "help respond to some of the most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good today," he said. "Alongside numerous other forms of commitment, such initiatives represent essential elements in the building of the civilization of love."

What those 'other forms of commitment' are, is as of yet, still to be outlined. My guess would be a)the commitment to abusing young boys; b)the commitment to a wilful disregard for human life when preaching against the use of condoms when HIV/AIDS kills so many every day; c)the complete devaluation of women, as persons unable to decide what's best for themself.

I do not understand why so many millions of people around the world continue to revere this misogynistic, uncharitable "christian". I for one am looking forward to the day he loses the ability to speak.

the moral life of babies

A gently provocative article by the New York Times Magazine, it contains the wonderful sentence,
A sympathetic parent might see the spark of consciousness in a baby’s large eyes and eagerly accept the popular claim that babies are wonderful learners, but it is hard to avoid the impression that they begin as ignorant as bread loaves.

...and now for something completely ridiculous

in the blue corner we have >>
a mad emu attacking a policeman ,
and in the red corner >>
a Vatican prostitution ring .

the choice is yours

not so fast, suckers

i think this is one my favourite headlines of 2009, just for the sheer randomness of it.
Octopus Snatches Coconut And Runs

between the sheets

Random Breathy Noises Do Not Equal Enjoyment.
How Not To Make Love Like a Porn Star

swiss'otel

as well being world champions at glass recycling, switzerland is also the home of a few unusual hotels.

the null stern hotel ("zero star hotel") in Appenzeller-Ausserhoden is the brainchild of two conceptual artists.

In Scuol, you can find Europe's largest kosher hotel - whilst the village residents grumble about jews littering their valley.

and, on a side note, it turns out no one tortured witches quite like the Swiss

potbellies are so hot right now

apparently so ...and we're not talking pigs. No, we are talking hipsters in NYC

refugees

Will a trade in human beings ever be acceptable? One of the issues Professor Michael Sandel raises in the first of his 2009 Reith Lectures on "A New Citizenship"

more penguins

so it turns out that penguin poo is visible from space. apparently that's how they track the little blighters....

gay penguins

two penguins in a german zoo, both boys, were given an egg to look after.

They are doing a wonderful job of it by all accounts.

No surprise there then?

eyes wide shut

Damon Rose: oh how I'd love to be able to sit here and tell you that blind people are without prejudice. It's not true.

"a blind friend of mine fell completely head over heels in love with a girl he thought the world of. They started dating. He talked about her all the time and, as mates do, he stopped going down the pub and started to prefer homemade meals and a nice bottle of wine with his loved one.

I remember him saying how much he liked her soft voice and her perfume. They had similar politics, liked the same films, read the same books - a match made in heaven.

Then, his brother met her, unpleasantly told him she looked "a right dog" and my friend dumped her."