Chinese culture and language

You. Must. Read. This. It's about how in the Chinese language the same word can mean lots of different things, but the way you say it is what matters. You should also listen to the part where the person is trying to order takeout from a Taco Bell.

Social cognitive career theory

I have to write a research paper with this concept in it. It's really difficult to find anything about it online. But I did find this YouTube video. I'm sure my professor will readily accept this citation in my works cited page.

Lethologica

Lethologica is a psychological disorder in which the person, while conversing, is unable to articulate because s/he forgets key phrases or words, which makes him/her appear either slow or look like a deep-thinking intellectual. I think I might have a minor form of this disorder. I get on a roll for a little bit but then forget the word or phrase I had stored in my mind. Also, Charlie Rose. That guy definitely has it.

Left side, strong side

Apparently, the wallet is supposed to be on the left-hand side. And I've always put it on my right. And will continue to do so.

Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world, at 15,397 feet above sea level. It runs through some mountains and connects China and Pakistan. The Chinese and Pakistani governments struck a deal to build the highway, and in 1986 it was open for business, after two decades of work. A lot of that has been damaged, however, due to the recent floods in Pakistan. Now it may be "impassable" for many years to come.

Lakeview gusher

In March 1910, an oil well in the town of Lakeview, CA, 110 miles north of Los Angeles, spewed oil for 18 months, resulting in a spill of 378 million gallons. About 40% of it was captured. The incident left no human casualties, however, and environmental damage was limited. It is regarded as the largest oil spill in history (along with the Gulf War oil spill, which was intentional), and one of the greatest oil spills you've never heard of.

Damn with faint praise

To damn someone with faint praise is to offer a half-hearted compliment, to the point where you're actually disparaging them because the "praise" is too light to be considered praise at all. The concept can be found in the work of a hermaphrodite philosopher (seriously), who noticed that giving people backhanded compliments was actually more effective than outright criticism.

So an example could be:

Being both a male and female is actually an advantage, because you would be well-versed in the attitudes and behaviors of both sexes. Then you wouldn't have to read Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

Chinese room

I saw this in class today. One of the strangest videos I've ever watched.

You only need to go to 1:11 for the second video.

Louis Wain

Louis Wain was a late 19th and early 20th century painter, best known for his work in which he anthropomorphized cats. In his later years, however, he suffered from schizophrenia, which can be seen in the evolution of his paintings.

Apologize, again

Last week I saw for the first time OneRepublic's video "Apologize." Turns out that that video, which doesn't show any of the band members' faces, is a later version. The first version that was released is this one. I think I like this one better.

I'm sure I'll find out something else next week.

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Venezuela's official name is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. When Hugo Chavez became president he changed the country's name, because of his tendency to compare himself to Simon Bolivar.

YMMV

YMMV is an internet acronym for "your mileage may vary," which originates from the automobile disclaimers. Online, the phrase means that your results may vary.

Irenic

Irenic means "promoting peace or conciliation."

Difference between stepsiblings and half siblings

Half siblings share one parent biologically. Stepsiblings don't share a biological parent.

Xmas

The X in Xmas represents the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ (Christos). The word Christmas has been abbreviated for at least a thousand years. And I thought Xmas was a secular thing.

Is China really communist?

Now that China has passed Japan as the world's second largest economy, I was wondering how they run their economy. That and the fact that I haven't checked my Google Reader in a while.

Aconcagua

Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside of Asia. It sits at the border between Argentina and Chile, and soars 22,841 feet above sea level.

All about BlackBerrys and water damage

I dropped my newly-acquired BlackBerry in a pool today. Actually, that's an understatement. I swam with it in my pocket for several minutes. Needless to say, I freaked out. A friend told me to take the battery out and we dropped it in a bowl of rubbing alcohol. I had no idea if what we were doing was right, but it turns out it was. Then at night I googled it and discovered this video, which is the most thorough explanation and step-by-step process I could find.

I didn't disassemble the damn thing. Too lazy. And I also don't have rice to put it in. But hopefully in a couple days it will start working again (that's a big hopefully).

Note: I went ahead and put the thing in a container of rice the next morning. And now it works! The screen is kinda water damaged, though, but the water does slowly dissipate somehow. Note that this technique doesn't just work on BlackBerrys.

Apologize

I'm not much of a music person. I recently heard of this song called "Apologize," which actually sounds pretty good. Today I discovered it has a video. I thought it was artsy.

Postville Raid

The Postville Raid was a raid at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, IA on May 12, 2008, in which federal authorities arrested almost 400 illegal immigrants. In June 2010, the plant's CEO, Sholom Rubashkin, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The raid is the largest of a workplace in U.S. history.

Garage glamorous

What does Lady Gaga mean when she says "garage glamorous" in her song "Paparazzi"? This is the official Urban Dictionary definition:

Rock Star styled clothes you'll only see on people like Russell Brand and Jack Sparrow. Involves lots of black or just dark colors, ripped jeans or just ripped clothing, and possibly leather, if you wanna go all the way add a little black eyeliner. NOT to be mistaken for gothic, emo or skater clothes. This is the LESS-DEPRESSING and MORE fashionable version of them.

And just for shits and giggles...

Rule of three

Today I was asked to write a LinkedIn recommendation for a friend. (Check out my profile, just created!) I had no idea how to start, so I consulted The Public Speaker over at Quick and Dirty Tips. She had a great article. Then I learned about the rule of three.

The rule of three is a technique used in writing that says that things that come in threes are more memorable than things that come in other numbers. Examples include: the three little pigs, Goldilocks and the three bears, and the three stooges. Another example is the maxim which realtors love: Location, location, location. Simply saying that location is the most important thing to selling a house won't do. You need to make the phrase stand out in people's minds.

Why did boys back then wear girl clothes?

Have you ever noticed that photos taken of young boys in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries show them wearing dresses? Not only that, but most boys also have long hair, so you can hardly make out the gender. Why is that?

Because the parents wanted to show their son's dramatic ascent to boyhood. After the first 2 or 3 years of a male toddler's life, when he is clad in girly clothes and pimps a girly 'do, he could then graduate to pants and a manly-looking I-like-my-beer-cold-and-my-homosexuals-FLAMING crewcut. The Slate article called it a "sartorial bar mitzvah." This tradition gradually lost traction throughout those three centuries, however, and by the 20th century had pretty much disappeared, except for a brief run in the 1970s.

My favorite has to be FDR's baby pic. I saw a similar photo as I was reading his biography earlier this year, and I thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Paddlefish

Like the coelacanth, the paddlefish is a living fossil, whose two species live in the Mississippi River and the Yangtze River. They've survived for 400 million years.

Dousche and douche

It's douche, not dousche. Good thing I checked the dictionary before I spelled it here, but I always want to spell it with an s.

Swimless Americans

Around 33 to 50 percent of Americans can't swim. Generally, the percentage in poorer areas of the country tends to be higher.

The moon ain't really that wet

Remember all the talk about the moon having so much water? Scratch that.

Mien

Mien is another word for demeanor.

Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield was a British singer in the 1960s and 70s, an icon best known for her white soul style. She had 18 singles break into the Billboard Hot 100 in the span of six years. Her most famous hit is "Son of a Preacher Man."

Here's what I was doing at work today:
Spooky
The Mood I'm In
Nowhere to Run
24 Hours from Tulsa
Poor Wayfaring Stranger

And that's just a few. I'll be checking out more of her music in the coming days.

History of the mullet

This is why the Slate Explainer is important. Did you know the mullet started in Ancient Greece?

Who the hell's Snooki anyway?

When Obama was on The View last week, someone asked him if he knew who Snooki was. He said he didn't, even though he mentioned her name at the White House Correspondents' Dinner earlier this year. (He was obviously reading someone else's joke.) Turns out Snooki is some moron from some MTV show called Jersey Shore.

I've become just a bit dumber for knowing that.