LABRIGHTFLASH 2 - "Pressing Business 101"

Fearless Leader, your kind assistance please:

I met you at the November meet-up. During that meeting you mentioned that you had written an article in response to another pro-faith article appearing in the same publication. I had asked you at the time if I would be able to see the article you wrote and the one you responded to so that I could get an idea of what sort of things should be actively addressed and how to go about doing so. I'd like to take you up on your offer to show me these articles if you can and it is not too much trouble. Thanks. Hope to see you at February meeting.
News Hound

 

Dear News Hound:

The particulars of my foray in November are related on my blog:

http://nonshoppingchannel.blogspot.com/2007/10/la-times-article-on-bakersfield.html

 

That's a rather long post, but I think it tells the story.

 

Let me make one thing extraordinarily crystal clear:  I would NEVER suggest what should be "actively addressed".  We all have a moral compass, what ticks you off or turns you on is your own thing, so react to whatever you find yourself reacting to in whatever sincerely appropriate way you deem necessary!

 

You have, however, given me the opportunity to wax poetic about the press, how to approach, and how to get published, that I will share with the group.

 

1.  Finding articles to react to -  I've come to the deliberation that we ought to try to find local press outlets, as we're the LA Brights. 

 

LA Times - I read it daily

LA Business Journal - not sure there's much call for our message here.

Orange County Whatever - Do It!

Valencia Village Voice - local published stuff (every city has one, Venice Mag is quite popular)

 

However, it is easier to react to things without worry about geography. 

 

Here's a strategy to find things to react to:  Google Alerts!

 

Set up a news finder alert that has one the following keywords:  "The Brights", "Atheist", "theocracy" "church state separation", "Secular Humanism", "or whatever phrase you wish to react to".

 

Then, everyday, you can review whatever you choose to respond to!

 

2.a  How to respond:  Find, in the online resource, the means to respond.  Sometimes that's simply contributing another comment on the forum where you found the interesting article. 

 

Sometimes you can write to the editor and the author. 

 

I like that better, it means the source is (perhaps) legitimate and not just some random blog.

 

2.b.  How to respond:  Being Bright means being POSITIVE, friendly, diplomatic, assured, NEVER cocky, argumentative nor hostile. 

 

So, think about the tone of your response, especially after you write it! 

 

Be cautious of responding in the heat of the moment, a well edited note, like revenge, is best served cold.  Sleep on it, send Friar Frish a copy to review, send it to your mom, or other person whose opinion you respect, then, read it again.

 

If you stop changing anything in it after reading it, read it again until you stop making changes.

 

2c.  How to respond:  Be direct, be CONCISE, show you've understood their issues and that you take issue with it, (or, that you wholeheartedly agree) and here's some evidence to prove it.

 

So, like every treatise:

 

I> Short intro - to what are you reacting

 

II> Your Premise

 

III> Support for your premise and sign off

 

Here's another real life example...a letter I wrote to the NY Times in response to the following:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/opinion/04dobson.html?ref=opinion

 

(Please note, along with being Fearless Leader of the LA Brights, I'm also a Volunteer in the WWW.VHEMT.ORG!)

 

Dear Editors: 

Cultural changes cannot be "managed", however much Dr. Dobson yearns for some supposedly "better" tradition.  Families are far more diverse than ever before, and our economy and society seem to be coping.

 

His single issue vehemence only serves to isolate him, and his support for a third party candidate would seal the deal.  That's why Giuliani doesn't care about Dr. Dobson, he knows he'll get those votes anyway...

 

To further educate Dr. Dobson, there are those who feel that having children is immoral altogether, but that is a different discussion.

 

I hope any political activities including fundraising and "calls-to-action" via sermon by churches are taxed appropriately.

 

(I write as I speak.  It works for me.  Pick a style you are comfortable with and develop it!)

 

3.  If you get published, you may end up being asked for an interview. 

 

If this should occur, you'll need Frish's Pressing Business 301...for future spokespeople.

 

Thanks all, Friar Frish says: "REALITY NOW!"  (followed by the hand sign, see below)

 

Every "gang" needs a "hand sign". 

 

Here's my suggestion:

The right hand is vertical, the left palm is placed on the right middle finger.  A Referee's TIME OUT symbol (REALITY NOW!).

Headlines we could not make up! "U.S. woman abducted in Afghanistan. A Taliban snatch?"

I hope "they" don't take this page down, but, just in case, I'll copy the text here. 

While it sounds a lot like Leno ripped off Carson, this is not a fun or funny story, but how can they get away with the headline?

 

The story of the abduction of Cyd Mizell was distributed by the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR!

See:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080128/wl_csm/okidnap

 

U.S. woman abducted in Afghanistan. A Taliban snatch?

By Jon Boone Mon Jan 28, 3:00 AM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - The abduction on Saturday of a female US aid worker in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous cities may signal increased risk for foreign aid workers.

Kidnappings of Americans have been rare, and some Kandahar residents say the abduction of Cyd Mizell and her Afghan driver at gunpoint is a worrying development.

Sarah Chayes, a former journalist who now runs an Afghan cooperative that exports soap, says the incident "sends a signal. It's like a new chapter in a book."

"They haven't taken an American or a Canadian on the streets like this before. I don't think this was just bandits because the operation looks like it was too sophisticated for that."

Ms. Chayes suggests that the abduction could have been payback for US policy on President Pervez Musharraf.

Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban movement, has been rocked by the neo-Taliban insurgency that has gained strength in the past three years. The deterioration of law and order has also made the city considerably more dangerous for foreign visitors and Afghans alike.

The most recent abduction case involved four members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the eastern province of Wardak in September. The two Afghans, a Macedonian, and a Burmese citizen were freed three days later. Perhaps the most notorious case of 2007 was the abduction of 23 Christian aid workers from South Korea who attempted to travel from Kabul to Kandahar by bus. Two hostages were shot to death before the rest were released. An American civilian was briefly abducted in Kabul in April 2005 but escaped by throwing himself from a moving car.

Analysts fear that terrorists and criminal gangs have been encouraged by the policy of some foreign governments to pay ransoms.

The few foreigners who still live in the city of Kandahar often use heavy security, including armed guards and armor-plated vehicles, whenever they ventured out of their offices. Afghan officials say that Mizell had been wearing a burqa, an all-encompassing body veil favoured by most Afghan women when they have to go out of their homes.

Ms. Mizell worked for Asian Life Development Foundation, a little-known nongovernmental organization . The group said she had been working in Kandahar for nearly three years with women and on income generation projects.

A speaker of Pashtu, the main language of Afghanistan's south, she taught English at Kandahar University and gave embroidery lessons at a girls' school.

In response to the abduction, local police increased their presence on the streets of Kandahar over the weekend and the Ministry of the Interior said it was doing all it could to find Ms. Mizell. Local police said that they had not been contacted by anyone claiming responsibility for the kidnapping.

The Taliban have employed kidnapping as a tactic in their battle to erode popular support for the government of President Hamid Karzai several times before.

Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban's main spokesman, said they did not know if anyone affiliated with the extremist Sunni group had been responsible for the abduction.

An inquiry from an acquaintance - what about lyrics?

Drunkirish writes to Frish: A while back u edited my story "the end" ive recently got into writing lyrics maby u can give me some pointers...

Dear Drunkirish:
Find a good RHYMING DICTIONARY and a THESARUS.

Think of what you want to write about, find a few fun words that rhyme or are alliterative and go to town (city, burg, village, urban spawl, etc.) (brown, pity, iceberg, pillage, suburban mall, etc.)

Pick a meter, that's why writing haiku is good practice, since you have to be strict in the word choice  (5 syllables, 7 then 5 again).

A town without pity  (that's a 6 count)
Brown pall over city
Move out from Urban Sprawl
Trade in for shopping mall!

lyrics are fun, hope that helped.

My newly diagnosed "E.D." - your sympathy and guidance are welcome...

Found out today there is a term for what I have...

 

Electile Dysfunction:  The inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president.

LABRIGHTFLASH 1: Voting Your Conscience!

Yes, we have no soul, but we do have a conscience.  All part of being social animals, don't you know.  I ought to know, since I'm about to lay a guilt trip on you!  So, I thank Nature for your conscience...

 

Hi all, I'm Frish - Fearless Leader LA Brights and you signed up for MEETUP email (or I bcc'ed you anyway, or you subscribe to my blog...well you understand!)

 

This is the very first LA BRIGHT F.L.A.S.H. - Fearless Leader Addresses Special Humans.

You are Special Humans.  If you know others, please have them sign up as gaining more membership is one of our goals...or pass this along to all your friends and neighbors...

 

My assignment, post our prior MEETUP, was to do "something" political.  Being a force of one I don't have the "mips" to do more, but I offer the following to assist you in your voting decisions.  (Stop Laughing at the MIPS reference - you know who you are!)

 

Feb 5th is fast approaching.  Generally people get the government they deserve.  I vote.  Hope you do too!  (That was the guilt trip!)

 

FLASH Topics!

A.  HR 888 Christian Nation

B.  Separation, Recognition, Faith and Science

C.  Select a Candidate!

 

===================== 

A. If you happen to be able to raise BRIGHT issues in a group of people, or, better yet, have an opportunity to quiz a candidate, here's something that is fun!  Ask a candidate if they support H. R. 888, introduced by Randy Forbes in the House back in December, and if so, why?

 

Here is a brief summary of it and why your representative ought not vote for it, from the Secular Coalition site: H. R. 888 Christian Nation Resolution

The Christian right is pushing this to get voting records established so they can then use it against candidates in the 2008 election.  Democrats squirm while Republicans jump to answer yes. Then, nail them with the next question, "why do you think this is only a Christian nation," and "what about religious diversity do you find intolerable?"

 

============================

 

B.  Here's a great list of questions from http://www.firstfreedomfirst.org/getinvolved/questions-to-ask-candidates#q8

 

Questions to Ask Candidates

Here are suggested questions that you can use at Town Hall meetings or other locations where candidates for office will be gathering. You can copy and paste them into an email message to the candidates. Or, use these as suggestions to help formulate your own questions to candidates, to find out their views on safeguarding separation of church and state and protecting religious liberty.

1. Leaders on the religious right often say that America is a "Christian Nation." Do you agree with this statement?
2. Do you think Houses of Worship should be allowed to endorse political candidates and retain their tax exempt status?
3. Do you think public schools should sponsor school prayer or, as a parent, should this choice be left to me?
4. Would you support a law that mandates teaching creationism in my child's public school science classes?
5. Do you think my pharmacist should be allowed to deny me doctor-prescribed medications based on his or her religious beliefs?
6. Will you respect the rights of those in our diverse communities of faith who deem same-gender marriage to be consistent with their religious creed?
7. Should "faith-based" charities that receive public funds be allowed to discriminate against employees or applicants based on religious beliefs?
8. Do you think one's right to disbelieve in God is protected by the same laws that protect someone else's right to believe?
9. Do you think everyone's religious freedom needs to be protected by what Thomas Jefferson called "a wall of separation" between church and state?
10. What should guide our policies on public health and medical research: science or religion?

=======================

 

C.  PERSONALLY, I'M MORE THAN A ONE ISSUE (FREEDOM LOVING) GUY.  THIS SITE ALLOWS YOU TO WEIGH THE CANDIDATES FROM SEVERAL PERSPECTIVES...I WON'T SHARE HOW I CAME OUT, BUT I WAS NOT SURPRISED (and somehow I won't miss Fred Thompson!)

 

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/poll.php?race_id=13

 

====================

 

Please do comment, unsubscribe, tell a friend, and otherwise interact, to the group, to me, to total strangers!  

 

Our emails are THE MANIFESTATION of our group - The Los Angeles Brights.

 

Looking forward to your participation!

 

Control your options at http://brights.meetup.com/286/ (daily digests, etc.)

 

----------------------------------------

 

LA Brights - "Reality Now!"

(Frish's suggested, lovely and totally unofficial LA Brights Motto, your reactions please, and seeing if anyone besides John reads this far...DG, thanks for your support on this!)

Italian Altar Boy

Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl."

The priest asks, "Is that you, little Joey Parisi?"

"Yes, Father, it is."
 

"And who was the girl you were with?"

"I can't tell you, Father, I don't want to ruin her reputation."

"Well, Joey, I'm sure to find out her name sooner or later, so you may as well tell me now. Was it Tina Minetti?"

"I cannot say."

"Was it Teresa Volpe?"

"I'll never tell."

"Was it Nina Capelli?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot name her."

"Was it Cathy Piriano?"

"My lips are sealed."

"Was it Rosa Di Angelo, then?"

"Please, Father, I cannot tell you."

The priest sighs in frustration. "You're very tight lipped, Joey Parisi, and I admire that. But you've sinned and have to atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for four months. Now you go and behave yourself."

Joey walks back to his pew, and his friend Franco slides over and whispers, "What'd you get?"
 
"Four months vacation and five good leads."

Achy Breaky

(Responding to Hal):

 

I'm sorry that your life has no goal or purpose, Frish.

Hal, sorry if I wasn't clear.  LIFE has no purpose, it is simply chemistry.  My life?  As all humans, I continuously find purpose, or I wouldn't go on.

 

No wonder that you don't care much about it.

You misunderstand.  I care greatly about life, and therefore am concerned it won't last much longer if humanity continues to "rule".

 

On the other hand, I believe my life does have a purpose and there are definitely goals that I want to accomplish, so I am not so cavalier about giving up the ghost.

Who is cavalier?  No heroic measure, no unnecessary procedures, no unnatural prolongation of misery, etc.  I never said I didn't have purpose or goals, only that life has no purpose.

 

It seems, therefore, that your interest in VHEMT is more because of your belief that your life is useless that any altruistic concern for all the other species that humanity supposedly mistreats. If you changed your view of your life, you may change your view on VHEMT.

Well, it seems, since you have so many mis-assumptions, that you cannot possibly know what I think.

 

In any case, I thought the motto of VHEMT was "Live long and die out." If so, then how can you oppose means to lengthen life?

Because some of those attempts to "lengthen life" are more damaging to the environment than the benefits they provide!

 

As long as you don't reproduce, what's the problem?

Forever, I've got a vasectomy, no problem!

 

But then again, if you think your life is worthless, then I agree, why bother?

Who said I thought my life was worthless?  Many love me Hal.

Relationshi*

(Frish sez:  This has some mild "Adult" Language, but no violence or sex, sorry...If you don't appreciate vulgarity, don't watch...personally I was ROFLMAO having been in relationships almost constantly for the past 40 years or so...I see it as more justification and validation for my vasectomy!)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj1LDgph6PY&feature=related

 

Hi Frish,  I thought you might like this.   --  Bill

--------------------

Bill was correct, I liked this video. 

Considering that Bill is a modern day hermit who lives on a mountain in a rain forest on a rancho in a house (think domes and tunnels and turtle ponds) he's been building out of fishing net and cement for the last three + decades, I thought it quite a nice commentary!

"Over and over and over and over ..."

Probably best watched without the kids (*or your parents, (or your manager? (OR YOUR SPOUSE or significant other!) depending...).

Achy Breaky Responses

Hal Friedman wrote:

> I don't see anything monstrous at all about growing an artificial heart.

 The procedure does not
> involve the destruction of any other life. Is this really any more "unnatural" than devising vaccines
> and other medicines that deny the "right" of naturally-created pathogens to infect and destroy a body
> and so let "nature take its course"? Perhaps your disdain for this procedure is related to your (or
> anyone close to you) not having any heart trouble. I don't think you'd be this philosophical
> otherwise.

 

1.  My distain has naught to do with monstrousness.  (Find the lyrics to "Look out there's a monster coming" and you'll better understand)

 

2.  My distain has to do not with what is possible.

 

3.  My distain has to do with WHY BOTHER, there are already too many people, why are we so keen on extending life beyond some "natural" limit, for what purpose, what is the goal?

 

Hal, for me life has no goal or purpose or mission.  If I had heart trouble, I'd lump it.

 

Life is chemistry.  When chemistry fails we die.  Fairly simple.  Also, humanity evolved to survive about 40 years.  Anything over 40 is bonus time.  Teeth don't last that long even, if you don't have modern cooking techniques for one thing...so, once again, we use our technology (culture) to circumvent "natural limits" via regrowing a new heart for someone...

 

>
> From Hal who says Luddites wouldn't use artificial birth control either.

 

Artificial Birth control was around long before Luddites, so they would have certainly used if  they so chose!   (Condoms have been around since Egyptian built pyramids!!)

 

JIM SAYS:

Good points. Since we routinely perform "unnatural" acts in order to have many of our modern and not-so-modern comforts, perhaps
the quality of them shouldn't be always called into question, but rather the quantity, and the circumstances. Creating an
artificial heart for an infant might at least give that person their "fair share" of life.

 

(HUH?  Fair Share?  Hey, lucky to have been born at all, most fetus' are self aborting.)

 

On the other hand, expending valuable
resources to make life-extenders for people past a certain age could be seen as a misappropriation in our increasingly difficult
world.

 

THIS IS MY DISTAIN.  FOR THOSE WHO THINK WE ARE IN A WORLD OF UNLIMITED RESOURCES, SO THAT EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE PLANET CAN BE SACRIFICED IN THE NAME OF EXTENSION OF human LIFE.

 

Hard choices need to be made, resources allocated correctly, and NOW if humanity expects to survive beyond 2150 BCE.

 

Your optimism Hal is only matched by Jim's diplomacy!

 

Thanks to both of your comments.  The world is being destroyed, we continue to ignore it.

 

(Jim says:) But such discipline, for fairness, should go hand in hand with extremely disciplined breeding.

(Frish: Yeah, Like NONE)

Achy Breaky Heart!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080113/sc_nm/heart_artificial_dc;_ylt=ApqOlrip25h30qU_g5Uhe9xxieAA

Once again, technology finds a way to thwart, circumvent and otherwise make obsolete Mother Nature. 

 

While paranoids do have real enemies, perhaps Luddites had a point!

 

From the article:

Nearly 50,000 people in the United States die each year waiting for a donor heart.

"This is an ingenious step towards solving a massive problem," Dr. Tim Chico of Britain's University of Sheffield said in a statement. "This study is very preliminary, but it does show that stem cells can regrow in the 'skeleton' of a donor heart."

(Let me rephrase:  "This is a monstrous step, a synthesis of Mother Nature and man's tinkering.  Just because we "can" do something doesn't mean we should.")

Perhaps health "advances" ought to be like a balanced budget...Each life saving technique must be matched by double the number of fewer children born...(anyone's ideas on how to achieve this, I'm all ears!)

Getting Rocks Off!

What are you doing here? - man asks wife at brothel Reuters - Wed Jan 9, 9:58 AM ET

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.

 

TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION

SEEMS THEY HAVE A LOT IN COMMON

PERHAPS IT WILL MAKE THEIR UNION STRONGER?

How global warming becomes reality...

Bill Lischka was drinking coffee at a restaurant in Caledonia, Ill., when he heard something he didn't expect in January: a tornado siren.

"Next thing you know ... a tornado just popped right out of the clouds," Lischka said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather

How not to run a beta test program with children

The most telling comment is that the program could have easily passed under the radar, as no one local cared enough to even find out more about it! 

"In a recent letter to parents, the company and the district explained the program and invited parents to get in touch with the school system if they had any questions, Rapp said. No one called. "

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_re_us/tracking_students;_ylt=Au3loUYS9581LnphA8xkzTgXIr0F

 

America, it's beautiful!

Head of State or State of Head?

I drove by Cedar Sanai on my way to work this morning and I I knew something was going on, because of all the news crews.

 

A reporter from a local news channel was standing high on a portable step, so she could have the "right" part of the hospital in the background.

 

There were three or four news vans, both local and national...but this is LA and a famous and well regarded hospital, so I figured it was either a dying celeb, or a foreign head of state...the fact that the hospital is also within Beverly Hills City Limits also adds to its panache...

 

This evening, on my way home, a CNN crew was across the street, filming a well lit someone standing under a tarp, microphone in hand, while it was raining here (really hard). 

 

The four tent poles stretched the vinyl tarp in a peculiar way, making it look a lot like some  misplaced Arab tent...I was sorely tempted to call Homeland Security...but figured I was almost home already, so not to worry...

 

Then, thanks to you Guy, I found out it was not some head of state...but perhaps just the state of her head!

On Jan 4, 2008 8:25 AM, From Guy at Soundscapers <guy@soundscapers.org > wrote:

As long as she's having fun, I say it's fine.

 

http://music.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=291008&GT1=7702

 

While some people may know what it means to have fun, I sincerely doubt Brit is one of them.

This spammer tried to post a comment to my blog

Gostei muito desse post e seu blog é muito interessante, vou passar por aqui sempre =) Depois dá uma passada lá no meu site, que é sobre o bunkoNet, espero que goste. O endereço dele é http://www.bunkonet.com . Um abraço.

It is Portuguese, and I changed the name so he'd get no play here.

Found 33 references to his site on the web, all in blogs, except his own blog, which is actually a site to purchase telephone minutes or some such bs.

Here's my rough translation of the pigfucks spam:

Really liked your post and your blog is very interesting, I'll be swinging by here a lot. Come on by my site, blah blah blah, Hugs.

~~~XTIAN OPERATING SYSTEMS~~~

As a Bright, and a technologist, and a marketer, and an Anthropologist, the following "YAHOO Answer" struck me as quite surreal...

-----------------------------

Where can I find the new Christian operating system for my computer?

I think it is called JesOS, by Baptist Pastor Isaac Peters, to offer an alternative to the secular operation sytems like Lynux and windows, and the Satanic Apple (Apple=fall of man).

===============

So, that looked weird enough to be true...after all, since Apple is Satanic as it is a sign of the fall of man, and we know the rumors about The Devil and Bill Gates etc..., so, looks like we're left with Pastor Peter's OS - JesOS!!!

 

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0907/jesOS.html

 

Then I found the reference to landoverbaptist and am no longer concerned with the profits at MS going to hell anytime soon...

 

There actually is at least one open source xtian operating system (they claim!):

 

http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html

 

While I won't be changing operating systems anytime soon...this is definitely a sign of the end times...

"Is it normal for a rat to itch?" - dedicated to rodent pet lovers everywhere!

The Internet remains ephemeral.  The nature of the data flow allows only snapshots of what's really going on dynamically.  Tonight I snapped a copy of YAHOO Answers Home > Pets > Rodents as of 11 PM PDT or so on 080102.

 

Cheers and enjoy these questions about rodents as pets…my answers are included beneath the unedited question…whoa, the standards for English as she are wrote ain't real high!

 

Rodents

 

I breed mice becuz i feed there babys to my bearded dragon an i was wondering my female will not stop breeding i have had over 6 litters of babys in the last 2 weeks? should i take the males out and the female are fight alot

            Too many prey?  Get more Predators!  I'd say 2 more dragons should do it...

 

My hamster has an odor coming from his rear end. Is that normal?

            When did you first find yourself sniffing hamster rear end?

            Why are you asking me?

 

Why do my hamsters bite their cage??

            Because they can?  In actuality, hamsters continuously sharpen their fangs (that's how they think of them) and they have continuous delusions of slicing your throat, thinking themselves mad wild boars 100 times their actual size, because of the purina crap you feed them...

 

Has anyone ever been to a rat show?

            Yes, but they called it the Republican National Convention.

 

What do I need for my new gerbil??

            It all depends…anything from a cardboard tube to meat tenderizer are popular!

 

Why does my guinea pig losing hair in clumps when i pet her?

            Probably a failed experiment from a radiation lab…what do you expect, its a guinea pig for crap's sake...

 

How do you give a Guinea Pig exercise if you live in an apartment?

            A:  Place Guinea Pig in Palm of hand.  Bend elbow until pig is near shoulder, extend hand, bend elbow and repeat for several thousand times.

            B:  Get a large low cage for the guinea pig…Get a cat and let it loose in the apartment.  The pig will run like hell…

 

Do gerbils recognize people?

            They do, but they won't admit it…DO NOT attempt communication, it shames them and they get really depressed.

 

How do you tell a gerbil is sick, and how to make it get along with its little gerbil friend?

            Ask it if it is sick, if it answers see a doctor.   Have him try giving Chocolates, they work for me...

 

Will my guinea pig be lonely?

            Not as long as you sleep with it and carry it with you at all times.

 

Do dwarf hamsters poo a ton???

            One reason they are popular with gardeners, the dwarf hampster poops more than it eats, fixing nitrogen from gut bacteria introduced in genetic experiments in United Korea, 2050.  They were the first pets sent back in time (2075).

 

Cavy info on care?

            Sorry, recipes yes, info no…

 

Is it normal for a rat to itch ?

            No, but it is common for them to scratch…what makes you think that it itches?

 

What's a good idea for a unique hamster cage?

            Clear plastic flexible tubes attached in a warren all over your apartment that you can flood to clean…

Sexual Economics 101 - Male monkeys pay for sex

While the idea of paying for sex is not new, this may be the first documentation in non-humans of a "cultural" practice that leads to sex as payment, since the "cost" of the plumage on a pheasant may be a different means for paying for sex...or the house a bird builds etc...(And, with the frequency of mating being only 1.5 times per hour what are those monkeys getting wrong???)

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080102/sc_afp/scienceanimalssexoffbeat;_ylt=An4ZHmzwP6VaR5W6WJ4vvLMPLBIF
Cost of coitus: Male monkeys pay for sex

Wed Jan 2, 1:52 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - Selling sex is said to be humankind's oldest profession but it may have deep evolutionary roots, according to a study into our primate cousins which found that male macaques pay for intercourse by using grooming as a currency.

Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore made the discovery in a 20-month investigation into 50 long-tailed macaques in Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia, New Scientist reports on Saturday.

On average, females had sex 1.5 times per hour.

But this rate jumped to 3.5 times per hour immediately after the female had been groomed by a male -- and her partner of choice was likely to be the hunky monkey that did the grooming.

Market forces also acted on the value of the transaction.

If there were several females in the area, the cost of buying sex would drop dramatically -- a male could "buy" a female for just eight minutes of nit-picking.

But if there were no females around, he would have to groom for up to 16 minutes before sex was offered.

The work supports the theory that biological market forces can explain social behaviour, the British weekly says.

"There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species itself," said Ronald Noe of France's University of Strasbourg.

"There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies."

So, did you see this yet?

Just a little something from Fearless Leader Frish, and Bright's Central...

 

(J.T.: please distribute and/or post in all the right places...)

 

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Religion/210738/

 

That is the article in which I am quoted, along with others...regarding being Bright and still respecting aspects of religion.

 

As you can see below, "Bright" Paul doesn't like being second banana, but hey, the article also characterized my non-belief as "Atheistic Leanings"  (yeah, like HORIZONTAL!)...

 

We'll probably see other outlets pick up this article over the next few months, it is the way of the web these days...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Geisert <the-brights@the-brights.net>
Date: Jan 2, 2008 11:59 AM
Subject: RE: So, did you see this yet?
Frish

Thanks for forwarding the "heads up".  I did not know about it.  

Love the part about the Bright who is a Greek Orthodox deacon.

 

Nice little article (except for:  "Mynga Futrell, who started the organization in 2003 with the help of her husband, Paul Geisert…")

Hummmm.

Bright Regards

Paul

Paul Geisert

Mynga Futrell

 Co-Directors of www.The-Brights.Net

illuminating and elevating the naturalistic worldview