Memory is like a “blender left running with the lid off.”
August 10, 2009
Most people believe that the brain is a lot like a recording device—that learning is something akin to pushing the “record” button (and remembering is simply pushing “playback”). Wrong. In the real world of the brain. . .nothing could be further from the truth. The moment of learning, of encoding, is so mysterious and complex that we have no metaphor to describe what happens to our brains in those first fleeting seconds.
The little we do know suggests it is like a blender left running with the lid off. The information is literally sliced into discrete pieces as it enters the brain and is splattered all over the insides of our mind. Stated formally, signals from different sensory sources are registered in separate brain areas. The information is fragmented and redistributed the instant the information is encountered. If you look at a complex picture, for example, your brain immediately extracts the diagonal lines from the vertical lines and stores them in separate areas. Same with color. If the picture is moving, the fact of its motion will be extracted and stored in a place separate than if the picture were static.
—Brain Rules, 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina
Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach
August 2, 2009
I was in a lakeside dog park this weekend and ran into a women who is active in the local political scene dealing with the proposed culling of deer in South Western CT.
We spoke for a while about the biased coverage in the local press; hunters are the reasonable ones who want to prevent you from dying when your car strikes an errant deer or contracting Lyme disease. Animal Rights Activists are shrill, un-American crazies who want to take your guns and rights away.
She told me about Gary L. Francione‘s blog Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach. Francione takes a strict vegan approach to animal rights, here’s part of his mission statement:
The mission of this website is to provide a clear statement of a non-violent approach to animal rights that (1) requires the abolition of animal exploitation and rejects the regulation of animal exploitation; (2) is based only on animal sentience and no other cognitive characteristic, and (3) regards veganism as the moral baseline of the animal rights position.
Now I’ll admit up front that tonight I’m grilling cedar plank catfish and I’m well-known for my orange-ginger pork chops, so I’m not as good a person as Francione. Although I do like the line about vegetarians being people who are too insensitive to hear a carrot scream. Still, I enjoy reading points of view that differ from my own in areas of particular interest. So I plan on delving deeper into Franciones’ writings.
Along these lines I will also point you to Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy by Matthew Scully which provides powerful arguments against our current practices.
Can’t Afford A Trip to Stonehenge? Go There “Virtually” in Your Browser.
August 2, 2009
Courtesy of the BBC, a Flash-based 360 degree panorama of Stonehenge, here.
Great Collection of over 300 High Quality, FREE Splatter Brushes for Photoshop
August 2, 2009
The good folks over at Smash Apps have put together a collection of over 300 splatter effect brushes for Photoshop from 20 different sources. Well worth checking out, here. Did we mention they are completely FREE!
150 Dead Dogs Packed in Freezers in Dearborn, Michigan
July 27, 2009
A mentally ill man in Dearborn, Michigan was taken to a hospital for observation after 150 dead dogs were found packed in freezers in his home. 112 dogs were found living in the house which, as you would expect, was filthy, cluttered and reeking of feces and urine. Crews removingthe dogs needed masks to breath while removing the dogs. For the complete story, go here.
The reason I felt it necessary to highlight this tragic story is to bring up the issue of Animal Hoarding, a topic that today is considered a true psychological disorder. In many cases these are people who begin rationally enough, sheltering or fostering dogs or cats. Then at some point they slip over the line from care to neglect and abuse. There is an absolute limit, a finite number of companion animals that any one individual can safely maintain in a private home or apartment.
There’s some excellent material on the Tufts University website about this issue, here. Also, the website AnimalHoarding.com offers an in-depth look at this tragic issue.
If you know anyone who is approaching or exceeding the limit of responsible care for animals of any type, please intervene before the situation gets worse. The isolation of animal hoarders is the worst thing that can happen to them and their animals.
2 Ways to Create Realistic Depth of Field
July 27, 2009
Minervity has an excellent set of tutorials on creating realistic depth of field in photographs that don’t have any naturally. The steps are clearly explained and anyone with a basic knowledge of Photoshop can easily add this to their skill set.
For the article, go here.
“Intellect is Dangerous.”
July 26, 2009
“Intellect is dangerous. . .there is no way of guaranteeing that an intellectual class will be discrete and restrained in the use of its influence; the only assurance that can be given to any community is that it will be far worse off if it denies the free uses of the power of intellect than if it permits them.
“To be sure, intellectuals, contrary to the fantasies of cultural vigilantes, are hardly ever subversive of a society as a whole. But intellect is always on the move against something: some oppression, fraud, illusion, dogma, or interest is constantly falling under the scrutiny of the intellectual class and becoming the object of exposure, indignation, or ridicule.”
— Richard Hofstadter, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, Winner of the 1964 Pulitzer Prize in Non-Fiction
“Rescue Ink” fights Animal Abuse on the National Geographic Channel in September, 2009
July 23, 2009
You take a look at us, and maybe your first reaction is to cross to the other side of the street. Just remember to look both ways before you do.
We’re not a gang, vigilantes or a social organization, but we do have that certain “in your face” style when it comes to animal abusers.
You may find us hanging out together at a hot rod show, tattoo parlors, or even hitting up the blacktop together on our bikes for a little road trip, but the main thing that brings us together is our love of animals.
We met because we were all doing the same thing on our spare time: rescuing and finding homes for abandoned and abused animals. None of us did it for money; we did it because we cannot stand by while anyone mistreats an animal! — from their website, www.rescueink.org
I’m asking everyone who reads this post to watch this program for two reasons: 1. I love the concept of getting in the face of animal abusers, and 2. Batso is a neighbor of mine.
Please spread the word about this show!
Massive 7 State Crackdown on Dog Fighting Rings
July 23, 2009
Associated Press photo of Humane Society officials removing dogs from a location in St. Louis.
July 9, 2009. Yesterday, authorities seized more than 400 dogs and charged 26 people from seven states in what Humane Society officials are calling one of the largest crackdowns on dog fighting in the United States.
State and federal agents staged multiple raids, charging individuals in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas following a more-than-year-long investigation originally tipped off by the Humane Society of Missouri.
In Missouri, prosecutors said members of a multi-state ring routinely denied the dogs medical treatment and “destroyed” injured dogs who were no longer able to fight by shooting them “in the head, throwing them into the river or burning them in a barrel.”
For the complete article by Amelia Glynn from the San Francisco Chronicle, go here.
India’s Stray Dog Solution: Sterilize 8 Million Dogs over the Next Decade
July 23, 2009
Previously, we wrote about China and their brutal solution to pet over-population and rampant rabies infections (dog beating squads). Now India, which vies with China for having the world’s worst rabies problem, has announced their response: a plan by The Central Ministry of Environment & Forests to sterilize 8 million dogs over the next decade.
For the complete article by Govind Singh at the EcoWorldly site, go here.
We applaud India for taking this humane track in dealing with these twin issues.
Now I guess it’s time for me to forgive them for sending us the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Off Topic Trivia: Did you know that John Lennon’s song Sexy Sadie on The White album was written about the Maharishi? The title and lyrics were changed at the request of George Harrison prior to recording.
After the yogi allegedly tried to force himself sexually on Mia Farrow, the Beatles promptly split from Rishikesh, India. When the Maharishi asked why they were leaving, Lennon is reported to have said, “If you’re so cosmic, you’ll know why.”
Today, there is general agreement by those who were there that such an assault did not take place.
The abrupt departure had more to do with John’s volatile temperament and his dissatisfaction with this particular spiritual path. There is no doubt that the Beatles, as a whole, were phenomenally productive while in India, writing almost all the songs for The White Album during their stay.
Maharishi, what have you done
You made a fool of everyone
You made a fool of everyone
Maharishi, ooh, what have you done
Maharishi you broke the rules
You laid it down for all to see
You laid it down for all to see
Maharishi, ooh, you broke the rules
One sunny day the world was waiting for a lover
He came along to turn on everyone
Maharishi, the greatest of them all
Maharishi, how did you know
The world was waiting just for you
The world was waiting just for you
Maharishi, ooh, how did you know
Maharishi, you’ll get yours yet
However big you think you are
However big you think you are
Maharishi, ooh, you’ll get yours yet
We gave him everything we owned
Just to sit at his table
Just a smile would lighten everything
Maharishi, he’s the latest and the greatest of them all
Ha, he made a fool of everyone, Maharishi
Ha, however big you think you are, Maharishi