With all the turmoil going on, we thought we’d take a break and present a video showing the 2020 winner of the “Illusion of the Year” award.
Most people have probably seen the 2D version of this illusion, but this kicks it up a notch.
How cool is that?
The University of Florida’s Anthropology Department recently held a virtual Town Hall for students.
In what is clearly a case of racism, the Town Hall specifically excluded white students.
The event was organized by two PhD. students, supported by the Department of Anthropology and held on school grounds. An email from the organizers to BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) students reads:
We have some amazing graduate students in Anthropology that are holding a virtual Town Hall tomorrow, Nov 19 4:30 p.m. to discuss future directions and goals for a BIPOC Anthropology Group (open to non-anthro BIPOC majors and minors).
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No one was more disappointed in the storming of the Capital Building in Washington than we were.
We believe the action by served no purpose and only served to make people mad. Furthermore, while we read some articles saying “this was not as bad as the riots in some cities,” to us that is simply moral rationalization. As an adult, we have never bought into the excuse of “they did it too,” as we gave that up after second grade.
We cannot justify what happened and will not even try. It is one thing to protest (which we support) and another to vandalize (which we condemn.)
However, President Elect Biden made a speech yesterday where he not only condemned the acts in the Capital, he tried to portray other riots in a positive light.
President-elect Joe Biden said the treatment of the rioters at the Capitol insurrection on Wednesday and of Black Lives Matter protesters last year revealed a blatant double standard in how law enforcement responded to the two groups.
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Women’s Fitness magazine is under attack for encouraging women to exercise after the holidays.
On Sunday, Women’s Fitness Magazine tweeted: “Are you getting out for a run, walk or cycle today? It’s a great day to burn off those Christmas calories… post your pics here!”
The reaction from the endlessly offended was swift, incredible and baffling:
“I find it really sad that in 2020 you’re promoting the need to ‘burn off’ Christmas calories,” tweeted one person.
“I think that’s a very triggering and outdated message to be sharing. You’re encouraging women to work out from a place of guilt/shame which I think is very negative and dangerous.”
A consultant psychiatrist added: “Hugely concerning and problematic language. We shouldn’t be ascribing moral labels to food and exercise or encouraging people to adopt an earn and burn mentality; it’s the fall out from these damaging marketing campaigns that I see only too well in clinic.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: With this post we are not making a statement as to whether one should get either of the two vaccines that are currently available. While the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, there is a Johnson and Johnson vaccine coming down the pipeline that only requires one dose. Whether a person gets vaccinated at this point is a personnel choice (assuming they fit into a class for which the vaccine is available.) Eventually state governments may mandate the vaccine, but that is not what we want to bring to light today.
What we do want to inform people of is how the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines work and what they do to the body. We feel that information is it’s own form of inoculation against false ideas from all over the spectrum.
Is the coronavirus vaccine safe? Now that the first COVID19 vaccine from Pfizer is being released, how do mRNA vaccines work?
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) was serving as the guest Chaplin for the US House of Representatives when he offered the above prayer.
You can forward to the end where Cleaver ends his prayer with “amen and awomen.”
HUH?
This appears to be a case where Cleaver is trying to be “woke” or politically correct in the extreme and instead, exposes him as a person who has a religion of convenience and not one of true belief or knowledge.
The term “amen” has nothing to do with gender. It never has.
According to Merriam-Webster:
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Tacoma Housing Now, a homeless advocacy group, has taken over a Travelodge Motel in Fife, Washington and refuses to leave.
The group initially paid for one night of rooms for which they paid, and now says they are staying. They claim they are sending the bill to the City and the State of Washington.
This has put an economic strain on the motel’s owners who are struggling due to the lack of travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m just devastated,” [motel manager Shawn Randhawa] told The News Tribune. “Because of the protest, I have nothing else. I was barely getting through this pandemic, and now this. This Christmas, the Grinch came.”
The police, instead of enforcing the laws, are “working” with the group.
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According to an article on accuweather.com, some cities and towns are starting to ban the time honored tradition of snow sledding.
The reason is simple: people are getting hurt when sledding.
According to a study from The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, more than 20,000 Americans younger than age 19 receive treatment for sledding-related injuries each year.
Some cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana have banned sledding on steep hills in recent years. Other municipalities have posted warning signs cautioning people to sled at their own risk.
Midwestern states where some municipalities have sledding restrictions in place. (AccuWeather)
Dubuque, Iowa, is among the cities that have banned the pastime in previous years. In 2015, the city council voted to ban sledding in 48 of the city’s 50 public parks. Violators at the time would risk a fine of $750.
Des Moines, Iowa; Montville, New Jersey; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Columbia City, Indiana; all imposed sledding restrictions in recent years, according to The Kansas City Star. Lincoln, Nebraska, has since lifted the ban.
“Sledding is a time-honored tradition in cities that have hills (but) sledding is a risky activity,” the Dubuque city manager wrote in a letter in 2015, TODAY reported at the time.
The cities began taking action against sledding after some high-profile lawsuits involving sledding accidents were filed in recent years. Some have cost the cities millions of dollars in settlements, including cases against Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa, TODAY reported.
We don’t want to make this a post about “when we were growing up, we walked 10 miles to school in a blizzard, up hill, both ways.” This is not about how tough a child can be.
This is about what we teach kids.
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