The Latest and Loudest

The Latest Tweets 2009-06-28

  • Confidence is that feeling you have before you understand the situation. #
  • That's a beautiful quote! #

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Traditional Albanian Custom of Women Living As Men Fading

[repost from before my blog went boom.  But this is still fascinating.  We might have to try this in Chicago soon.]

The New York Times has a fascinating article about the dying tradition of women renouncing their gender to dress as, and take on the role of, men in a society where blood feuds are common:

For centuries, in the closed-off and conservative society of rural
northern Albania, swapping genders was considered a practical solution
for a family with a shortage of men. Her father was killed in a blood
feud, and there was no male heir. By custom, Ms. Keqi, now 78, took a
vow of lifetime virginity. She lived as a man, the new patriarch, with
all the swagger and trappings of male authority — including the
obligation to avenge her father’s death.

The associated pictures are great.

Jack Handey’s “My First Day In Hell”

[repost from before my blog went boom.  But hell either still exists or still doesn't, so this is still timely.]

I didn’t know that Jack Handey, of “Deep Thoughts” fame, wrote longer pieces.  In fact, for a long time, I didn’t even know he was a real person.  This is hysterical.

My first day in Hell is drawing to a close. They don’t really have a sunset here, but the fires seem to dim a bit, and the screaming gets more subdued. Most of the demons are asleep now, their pointy tails curled up around them. They look so innocent, it’s hard to believe that just a few hours ago they were raping and torturing us.

And one of my favorite one liners: “Children need encouragement. If a kid gets an answer right, tell him it was a lucky guess. That way he develops a good, lucky feeling.” LOL!

Octopus Love

Octopus in Love

Life of Brian Video Clip

Monty Python’s The life of Brian – I want to be a woman

Happy Father’s Day. Heard about the Shark Virgin Births?

[repost from before my blog went boom. But lady sharks are still fertilizing their own eggs and giving birth to baby sharks that don't have to buy their daddies a tie for Father's Day so it's still good.]

So I posted yesterday about the male seahorses that give birth.  Someone mentioned the curious nature of Australia’s platypus, which is to say the curious unnaturalness of it.

But then I thought, maybe we just don’t understand what natural is.

And THAT made me think of my favorite big new word: Parthenogenesis.

Apparently, a number of species are perfectly capable of simply giving birth to offspring with no fertilization necessary AT ALL.  No sperm.  No male.

She just kinda has an egg and it just kinda starts to grow and she just kinda gives birth to a child that has NO FATHER. Read the rest of this entry »

Just what is this dude’s problem?

[repost from last year before my blog went boom. But nature remains full of freaks.]

My wife is now seven months pregnant.

If only it was this easy.

And this is a male.

Also, nature is full of freaks.

The Latest Tweets 2009-06-07

  • Watching Schoolhouse Rock with my 9 month old boy–one more perk of being a daddy! #
  • MY 9 MONTH OLD (FAVE HOBBIES:CRAWLING $ EATING ALL HE FINDS ON THE FLOOR) JUST SHATTERED A GLASS. I’M GETTING OCD TRYING TO FIND IT ALL. #

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