J.J.A Richardson

theantidote: Andres Segovia - Siciliana (Listen...

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:26:21 +0100

Andres Segovia - Siciliana

(Listen here)

(via mfs:)

My late grandfather met and got an autograph from Segovia once during a holiday in Spain. Segovia emotionally embraced him, for some reason. My grandma hangs in the autograph in a picture frame in her kitchen.

nietzscheisdead: if you have to put “non-racist” on your...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:29:29 +0100

nietzscheisdead:

if you have to put “non-racist” on your website,

theparisreview: We meet Mr Messy—a man whose entire day-to-day...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:24:37 +0100

theparisreview:

We meet Mr Messy—a man whose entire day-to-day existence is the undiluted expression of his individuality. His very untidiness is a metaphor for his blissful and unselfconscious disregard for the Social Order. Yes, there are times when he himself is a victim of this individuality—as when he trips over a brush he has left on his garden path—but he goes through life with a smile on his face.

This series of reviews from 2010 is, in a word, brilliant.

Ten William S. Burroughs Quotes About Cats

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:24:25 +0100

Ten William S. Burroughs Quotes About Cats: nevver: “My relationship with cats has saved me from a...

"There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing."

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:23:58 +0100

“There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.” - John Cage (via...

we-are-star-stuff: Who says North is up? Upside Down maps (also...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:23:44 +0100

we-are-star-stuff:

Who says North is up?

Upside Down maps (also known as South-Up or Reversed maps) offer a completely different perspective of the world we live in.

Technically speaking, even referring to the earth with words like “up” or “down” or comparing places with words “above” or “below” is flawed, considering that the earth is a spherical body (it’s actually slightly “fatter” at the equator) and flying through 3 dimensional space with no reference of up or down. However, the issue of “up” and “down” does become an issue when viewing the surface of the earth projected onto a flat piece of paper (a map). And the effect of the orientation of a map is more significant than you might realize.

As all maps require orientation for reference, the issue of how to layout the map orientation is as old as maps themselves. As map orientation is completely arbitrary, it is not surprising that they differed throughout time periods and regions.

The convention of North-up is usually attributed to the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (90-168 AD). Justifications for his north-up approach vary. In the middle ages, East was often placed at top. This is the origin of the term “The Orient” to refer to East Asia. During the age of exploration, European cartographers again followed the north-up convention…perhaps because the North Star was their fixed reference point for navigation, or because they wanted (subconsciously or otherwise) to ensure Europe’s claim at the top of the world.

In modern times, reversed maps are made as a learning device or to illustrate Northern Hemisphere bias. Different from simply turning a north-up map upside down, a reversed map has the text oriented to be read with south up.

The famous “Blue Marble” photograph of the Earth taken from on board Apollo 17 was originally oriented with the south pole at the top, with the island of Madagascar visible just left of center, and the continent of Africa at its right. However, the image was turned upside-down to fit the traditional view.

While the orientation of a map might seem harmless, it can have a significant effect on one’s perception of the world, and the relative importance of the different place in it.

In speech, we often refer to places being “above” or “below” others. Think of how you would say you’re about to travel to the state or country to your north or south (to go “down” to Kentucky from Indiana, or “up” to Canada from the US). Without even mentioning geography, ask any grade school student whether Mexico is “above” or “below” the United States. We’re all familiar with the “land down under”. As we often correlate importance to relative height (think how a citizens of a country will fly their flag higher than all other flags), the north-up convention reinforces the idea that northern bodies are more important than their southern neighbors. Suddenly, traveling “down” to the South might have an inference much deeper than geographic location.

After looking at the map more closely, you may realize that the South-Up orientation may change your perception of the relative status of different places. For example, South America suddenly looks to have more prominence, and Africa and the Middle East completely dwarf Europe. Likewise, tucking Northern Europe, Canada, and Russia away at the bottom of the map, subconsciously takes away their status.

To summarize, unconditionally accepting the north-up map convention without at least appreciating the effect stands at odds with viewing all people and places within the world equally. x x

theplanetofsound: Fugazi - Waiting Room And why the heck not…

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:53:19 +0100

theplanetofsound:

Fugazi - Waiting Room

And why the heck not…

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Wed, 22 May 2013 15:52:59 +0100

earthfix: Wow. Stunning fact about air...

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:50:12 +0100

earthfix:

Wow. Stunning fact about air pollution.

kqedscience:

What kills more people than AIDS and malaria together?

“A recent study by the World Health Organization provides a good dose of “good news, bad news”. Compared to 20 years ago, there are fewer deaths from infectious diseases, maternal and child illness, and malnutrition. But they also found that air pollution is a huge killer, probably bigger than we suspected.”

stickyembraces: Philosophers lost in social media, #8

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:37:06 +0100

stickyembraces:

Philosophers lost in social media, #8

"When you see a rainbow, you’re seeing something completely subjective. You see it at a certain..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:13:23 +0100

“When you see a rainbow, you’re seeing something completely subjective. You see it at a...

grangerbread: the great gatsby is not a love storythe great gatsby is not a love storythe great...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:12:08 +0100

grangerbread: the great gatsby is not a love storythe great gatsby is not a love storythe great...

thedailywhat: False Alarm of the Day: FBI Questions Saudi...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:11:51 +0100

thedailywhat:

False Alarm of the Day: FBI Questions Saudi Student for Possession of a Pressure Cooker

Last Friday, the FBI surrounded the home of Saudi student Talal al Rouki after his neighbor tipped off the authorities that he has been seen around the residential area with a pressure cooker, a household kitchenware that recently made the headlines after it was used by the Boston Marathon terrorists to set their deadly bombs off in April. When questioned by the FBI, the frightened Michigan resident showed FBI agents the cooking apparatus, informing them he had used it to make the Saudi Arabian rice dish kabsah before taking it over to a friend’s house, to which they replied “You need to be more careful moving around with such things, Sir.” …Welcome to ‘Murica, Talal!

goldenheartedrose: joanthedeductionist: allisticntprivilege: ...

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:05:27 +0100

goldenheartedrose:

joanthedeductionist:

allisticntprivilege:

fyeahpdp:

Privilege Denying Dude:
[Picture: Background: 8 piece pie style color split with red and teal alternating. Foreground: White guy with glasses and light shadow wearing a sweat shirt over a button down and short black hair. Has a smug, arrogant facial expression and crossed arms.
Top text: “ [People with learning disabilities] ” Bottom text: “ [should be paid less than minimum wage] ”]

I don’t think this needs a trigger warning but unfortunatly,this is a political view here in England. http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/adult-care-blog/2011/06/tory-mp-let-disabled-work-below-minimum-wage-to-gain-jobs.html I’m not even joking, I wish I was. The link contains the “logic” behind this including quotes from the original claims made by a conservative MP (our prime minister is conservative) that people, like myself, are “less productive” and therefore should be paid less in order to “help us”.

I don’t think I even need to point out everything that is wrong with this, the exploitation that will result is apparent even to my less productive brain.

SO:

This is a UK story, and what is called learning disabilities in the UK covers at least intellectual disability and possibly some other disabilities in the USA.

This exists in the USA already in the form of sheltered workshops and has for years.

Also the bolded.

this is terrifying and disgusting wow

Yep. I really am surprised more people don’t know or care. Like, great, boycott the Salvation Army because they’re cissexist and heterosexist. Yes, do! But don’t you dare say Goodwill is a good company/ a good alternative when they pay disabled workers just PENNIES per hour. Don’t you fucking DARE.

To clarify:

It has been legal to pay people with disabilities subminimum wages since the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. Specifically, for more than seventy years Section 14(c) of the FLSA has allowed the secretary of labor to grant special wage certificates to entities that provide employment to workers with disabilities, permitting them to pay their disabled workers at rates that are lower than the federal minimum wage and excluding people with disabilities from the workforce protection of the federal minimum wage enjoyed by all other Americans.

And yes, this includes people with Autism, anxiety disorders, physical disabilities, and cognitive/developmental disorders:

Employed in a publicly funded sheltered workshop in Beaverton, Ore., Paula Lane has earned as little as 40 cents an hour. Lane, who has autism and an anxiety disorder, works with 100 other people with mental and physical disabilities.

Sheltered workshops hire people with disabilities to do simple labor, such as folding bags, packaging gloves, and shredding paper. The only nondisabled people the workers interact with are staff and managers. Their jobs don’t offer training for advancement, and environments can be noisy, crowded, and hazardous.

While promoted as stepping stones to mainstream employment, these ghettoized workplaces are often nothing more than sweatshops. The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) published a scathing critique, called “Segregated and Exploited: the Failure of the Disability Service System to Provide Quality Work.” The report said that these job sites “have replaced institutions in many states as the new warehousing system,” one that “keeps people with disabilities in the shadows.”

Philip Davies MP is one of the worst human beings on the planet. Fascistic venomous Tory scum.

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Tue, 21 May 2013 16:04:20 +0100

5sswiking: Off with his head!

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:04:00 +0100

5sswiking:

Off with his head!

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Tue, 21 May 2013 16:03:49 +0100

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Tue, 21 May 2013 16:03:34 +0100

stfuconservatives: (image by warlike - please do not remove...

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:03:27 +0100

stfuconservatives:

(image by warlike - please do not remove credit)

billhicks: Important.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:01:39 +0100

billhicks:

Important.