jscull.

edwardspoonhands: pipud: ut4ps: Race matters. Must...

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:44:12 -0400

pipud:

ut4ps:

Race matters.

Must reblog.

I am not saying that this is not a huge problem, nor that we shouldn’t fight it, nor that it may, in fact, be the biggest problem with today’s America and a sign of deep, systemic racism, and a kind of division between two different Americas and a desire to keep one of those Americas where it is while promoting the other one.

BUT

I have no idea what the first statistic means. Let’s break it down. Five times as many whites are using drugs as African Americans. OK, that, at first, sounds like a surprising and damning statistic. White people are apparently INSANE drug users.

Actually, there are 200 million white people in America and 37 million black people in America. So there are 5.4 times more white people than black people. So the /rate/ of drug use is about the same among black and white Americans. That is /not/ surprising, and is a much more accurate and truthful statistic.

This is not to say that I don’t believe the war on drugs has been a terrible thing for minority and poor populations in the US. Yes, it absolutely has, and I believe it should end. There are lots of damning statistics (for example that African Americans represent 12% of the total population of drug users, but 59% of those in state prison for a drug offense (NAACP.)

There are enough shocking truths that we shouldn’t have to make the numbers look worse than they actually are.

“There are enough shocking truths that we shouldn’t have to make the numbers look worse than they actually are.”

We do this all the time with causes we think are worthy, but it is too often to the detriment of our cause. We’ve seen it a lot in the past with climate change where we justified skewing statistics because of the importance of the issue, and yet instead we gave the skeptics reason to be skeptical.

There are enough good reasons to care for our planet without trying to shock people into action with skewed numbers.

Great movie #unbreakable #quote

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:16:31 -0400

Great movie #unbreakable #quote

LanewayTaken wiith disposable camera

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:07:13 -0400

Laneway
Taken wiith disposable camera

fishingboatproceeds: A few days ago, I received an email from...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:17:28 -0400

fishingboatproceeds:

A few days ago, I received an email from P. F. Kluge, my fiction writing professor from Kenyon College, saying, “Drop everything and read How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.”

So I did, and what a book. Brilliant and ruthless. Don’t miss it.

So I’m trying to finish 52 books in 2013 and I just finished this book (#16). It was excellent and contained probably one of my favourite passages that I’ve read this year

“We are all refugees from our childhoods. And so we turn, among other things, to stories. To write a story, to read a story, is to be a refugee from the state of refugees. Writers and readers seek a solution to the problem that time passes, that those who have gone are gone and those who will go, which is to say every one of us, will go. For there was a moment when anything was possible. And there will be a moment when nothing is possible. But in between we can create.”

i want to go back.

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:10:18 -0400

i want to go back.

False quotes on social media

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:50:51 -0400

The internet has brought about what is often referred to as the Information Age, but what the internet often fails to do is help us discern the quality of information we are receiving. Never in history has the truth been more accessible – and yet neither has the capacity to deceive been greater.

The internet age and the integration and ease of promoting and sharing photos on facebook, mean that we are constantly being bombarded with false quotes. We saw it time and time again throughout the US Election and we are starting to see it more and more in the lead up to the Australian election.

There is a trend of racist, misogynist or bigoted quotes being attributed to political characters and because they affirm what we want to believe about them (eg Mitt Romney is a racist, Barack Obama is a Muslim and he wants to take all the guns, Julia Gillard is a backstabbing puppet, Tony Abbott is a sexist pig etc) we don’t ask any questions.

It is so easy to like and share something that we too often don’t stop to question the credibility of what we are ‘liking’.

Julia Gillard did not write a speech encouraging Muslims to leave Australia (and neither did Kevin Rudd or John Howard to whom it has previously been attributed). Christopher Pyne did not say “If 25,000 teachers have to go, then they have to go. Budget cuts will happen and Education is not immune”. The list of false quotes being shared on facebook is long and it is troubling.

I encourage you to check before you share such quotes on facebook and tumblr. If it sounds too good to be true (or too offensive to be true) it probably is. A simple Google search will tell you pretty quickly if there is any truth to the attributed quote.
And if it is bullshit: call it out. Try not to be condescending, but don’t be afraid to say the truth. You may agree with the sentiment, you may even be glad that a particular personality is receiving a bad rap, but “Misinformation has a negative value; even if you get it for free, you’ve paid too much.” Denning et al, 2005.

The media does a good enough job of turning our political leaders into caricatures and while it may well be impossible to rid social media of fakery and misinformation we can still do our bit to affect our circle of friends/followers and avoid spreading falshoods.

“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that it’s difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine.”
- Abraham Lincoln

thebluthcompany: 15 Episodes, May 26. [via] 2013 is going to...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:47:02 -0400

thebluthcompany:

15 Episodes, May 26.

[via]

2013 is going to be a good year.

scullydesign: A creative piece I did, after studying a module...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:45:00 -0400

scullydesign:

A creative piece I did, after studying a module on culture jamming at University. The original can be viewed here

Looking back on this piece I did in 2011, I’m reminded of how we are in fact a lucky county - for us Cigarettes are a national threat

"the more everyone knows just what a nerdfighter is, the more the definition hardens. The most..."

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:17:46 -0400

“the more everyone knows just what a nerdfighter is, the more the definition hardens. The most beautiful and intriguing parts of any identity tend to be the fluid ones. And the young people nerdfighteria attracts, after all, are often as confused and lonely and frustrated as they are because they don’t fit into the boxes, a problem that can hardly be resolved by creating a new one.”

- Michelle Dean, on the New Yorker’s web site, succinctly making a point that I’ve been trying to make for ages about why we don’t want to be on TV or have nerdfighteria be a “mainstream phenomenon.” (via fishingboatproceeds)

wonderfully stated.

edwardspoonhands: Here’s what all the fuss was about. this is...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:24:00 -0500

edwardspoonhands:

Here’s what all the fuss was about.

this is too good.

Photo

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 03:03:34 -0500

Patrick, I just tried for a solid 10 minutes to work out to...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:01:58 -0500

Patrick, I just tried for a solid 10 minutes to work out to reply to your reply. I failed in my endeavour.

I am posting stuff from my recent, very brief, America trip in November. I am just starting to go through my photos, and I loved the Michigan one. :) :)

University of Michigan

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:51:19 -0500

University of Michigan

kathryn-sander: 5 friends. 5 amazing travellers,...

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:13:39 -0500

kathryn-sander:

5 friends. 5 amazing travellers, philosophers, thinkers, drinkers and dancers…5 sets of thoughts on 1 question. Which way is home?

Will So

Will grew up in Wollongong. He recently spent 2 semesters studying in America. Will took up photography just before leaving, and I was able to watch his skills develop through a blog. Will’s determination to excel in photography symbolises Will as a human being; ever determined to find the best and find the fun in life. Wollongong, to Will, is home, “a place of peace and quiet, a place to return to.”

“Home is away in the opposite direction to where you want to go. It is where you leave to experience something new and different. It is where you leave to feel free, lost, confused, clear, scared and happy all at the same time. It is the place that no matter how bad things get, you can always go to and know that everything will be alright. It is a place that you leave because you are bored of but love to come back to for some peace and quiet.”

Ben Fowler

Ben I met in Tahoe. Ben is infamous in my mind for his ridiculous stash and such philosophical statements as “I don’t wear shoes in the real world”. I’ve seen Ben scrapping a trailer home for coins to buy cigarettes with. I’ve seen Ben smile with all his heart as an awesome Silly Sally learns to ski on her own. Don’t let first impressions fool you. Ben’s heart is genuine, and I only hope one day he fulfils his dream to call Australia home for a short while.

To Ben, home is “more of a feeling than a place. I think the feelings one should get while at home is: safe, happy, comfortable, loved, trusting, and welcome. For me, those feelings are something that I have felt in many places on this earth. Whether I’m with my family in San Jose, or with new and old friends in Tahoe, I have found myself experiencing the essence of “home”. Home is where you’re in good company, drinks are flowing and the good times are rolling. All of the aforementioned can happen anywhere. Home is where we are now. Home is where we’re going next. If you are at peace with who you are, and love and accept life for what it is, than you’re already at home.”

Rachelle Balez

Rachelle has the world wrapped up inside her: a creatively minded, highly intelligent human being who cannot help but seek out the outer edges of life. After a stint living in Alice Springs, Rachelle recently returned from a year overseas in which she slept in 72 hostels, 8 campsites and 3 airports, took 29 flights, 19 trains, 34 buses, 7 boats and hired 6 cars in 26 countries across 4 continents.

“For the first time at the start of a big trip I was feeling melancholy. It wasn’t because I was sad to be leaving home, but because I realised I didn’t have a home to be leaving. After a year living in Alice Springs and a year on the road ahead of me I had no definite place to call my own in the near future or upon return. I adjusted to the situation and like all long term travellers home existed as a dynamic state, each new hostel bed, campground or house I stayed at.

Living for such a long time without a home, I began to realize my home was always around me. It was no longer a static place represented by a fixed destination where I rest my head at night, but was made up of the small things in the world around me. An Aussie accent, a beach, being around people who knew and loved me…or simply the taste of Vegemite on the end of my finger. These things are home. A huge part of finding my home is figuring out who I am and where I come from.”

Joel Ebsworth

Joel, I went to high school with. Over the past 18 months Joel and I began to find great similarities between our values and ideas towards travel, adventure and sense of place and community. I have greatly enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, watching Joel’s beliefs develop as he strives to find his place within this world.

“Where is home? Better yet, where do you find yourself most inspired? What people do you find yourself most inspiring to be around? Where do you feel most powerful? My recent travels had led me to these very questions.

I, for a long time, had no idea of the importance of community. My “home”, in the general sense, did not feel like my community. I often felt lost, different in so many ways. Maybe my home is where I feel the most supported. My ideas can flourish. My opinions are well received. My characteristics are authentic and there is no need to use an ego as a mask.

Home to me is not where the heart is, but where the heart flourishes. Supported by like-minded people. A perfect balance of give and take. Intuition has led you to this place. Love keeps you here. We still have that urge to travel, but we know where we want to return.

Home…”

Joshua Scully

I will never work with so many like minded travel people as I did at UniAdvice. I could never count on one hand the number of UniAdvice crew living and travelling outside of Australia at any given point in time. I remember sitting on the duck pond lawn with Scully both planning out our trips to America at the same time…both back in Wollongong now.

“I think it’s hard to know what direction home is until you leave. Even just for a short time. Leave so that when you return you see things differently. For me ‘home’ has had more meaning since I’ve travelled. It’s less a place, less a point on a map. Home is a feeling of belonging. I’ve moved around from Bathurst to Melbourne to Narrandera to Albury to Wollongong, but ‘home’ is about people. Home is Christmas Eve; Nanna’s desserts, Pop’s BBQ, Grandad’s pies, not laughing at Mum’s jokes. It’s the boxing day test next to Dad on the couch.”

My friend Kate was kind enough to ask me to contribute to her blog post about what “home” means. some great words from some great people

th3skinny: Morgan Freeman’s brilliant take on what happened...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 19:07:40 -0500

th3skinny:

Morgan Freeman’s brilliant take on what happened yesterday :

“You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here’s why.

It’s because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he’ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN’s article says that if the body count “holds up”, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer’s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer’s identity? None that I’ve seen yet. Because they don’t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you’ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man’s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.”

this.

about to enter a bar in Chicago Taken by Molly

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 23:14:50 -0500

about to enter a bar in Chicago

Taken by Molly

gawkercom: President Obama comforts a woman in New Jersey whose...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:06:58 -0400

gawkercom:

President Obama comforts a woman in New Jersey whose marina was damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

As the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Yang put it, “If enough people see it, this is the photo that singlehandedly re-elects Barack Obama.”

[Twitter via AP]

powerful image

ohtobeadreamer: I don’t understand the view that Science disproves the existence of a higher being....

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:31:00 -0400

ohtobeadreamer:

I don’t understand the view that Science disproves the existence of a higher being. Simply because we have come to understand how something was created scientifically, does that disprove that it was created?

Does it disprove that there was a hand at work, a hand deciding what the laws of science will be, and using his own creation - the laws of science - to create this world. It is only recently that we are discovering what these laws are.

Definitely a lengthy topic.. but it’s my thoughts.

Generally over history those of faith have believed/preached that their God reveals truths to them; truths about how the world was made, how the world is shaped or where earth sits in our solar system, etc etc.

Time and time again science has disproved these “truths” and thus we hear the phrase “Science has disproved God”, but it hasn’t (it can’t). What it has done, is disprove that ‘version’ of God.

The nature of God as an idea means that we cannot disprove it definitively, because it can be redefined (ie, disproving Creation with Evolution would still allow people to say that there was a God who set Evolution in motion. Even if you proved that we were created and placed on earth by an Alien species, as absurd as that is, people could adjust their belief to a God who created the Aliens, and so on and so on.)

A more correct statement would be that Science has shown the existence of God to be improbable.

just some more thoughts :)

joshhab: best friends as good as it gets.

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 23:49:53 -0400

joshhab:

best friends

as good as it gets.

The View From The Top

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 23:48:58 -0400

I was lucky enough to climb two peaks when I visited Colorado last year.(Grays and Torreys Peaks). The next day everything hurt.

On Saturday I drove with friends to Dungog where I was lucky enough to attend the Gentlemen of the Road stopover (a festival put on by Mumford and Sons). The next day everything hurt.

In both instances there are no regrets. The view from the top made the pain completely worthwhile.

I’ve realized over the last year that this is something that applies to so much in my life.

Today I was exhausted. My left ankle is sore and swollen from being on my feet, my voice resembles that of an old man who has smoked a few too many cigarettes and I am still blowing dirt and dust out of my nose.

When I was climbing Grays and Torreys it was exhausting. I had only just arrived in Colorado and so I was having a tough time adjusting to the altitude, but we pushed on; desiring to reach the peak.

There’s something about having to complete a journey to experience something, having to work for a reward, I’ve seen a lot of spectacular views in my life, but I couldn’t get an elevator to the top of this view, it was a hard slug.

After driving four hours to Dungog, we were greeted with a fierce heat over 35 degrees, we spent probably the first two hours just trying to find the rest of our friends who had travelled up, but by the time late afternoon we had managed to find each other and we moved into the crowd to the sounds of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

As you climb these mountains, with each bend and each new view you think you must have reached the top, until you see another turn, another peak around the bend.
The View from the Top is something really special. No matter how many photos I took, they couldn’t capture the wonder I experienced. It came at the end of my trip to the states and was a real moment of perspective and humility.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were great, we danced, we sang, there was something really great about experiencing it with a large group of friends. Mumford came out not long after and lived up to every expectation, they played song after song, moving the crowd at their will.
As they neared the end I was reminded of climbing Grays and Torreys, with every song they managed to take it to new heights…
And then came the View from the Top. Having played a really strong set M&S started to play The Cave. As they played things were coming together, together to form a view, a view that rivals any view that I have seen in my travels; I looked around me at fifteen-odd of the best friends I’ve been lucky to make in the past five years, the song continued to rise, we started to jump. Not just jump, we started to throw ourselves into the air, gripped with an unbridled joy. Lights were hanging above the crowd lighting up the faces of my friends – The View from the Top.

The song ended, I was giddy, like I’d been standing at the top of 14,000 foot peak with the wind tearing through me. My friend Mark grabbed me and said with wide eyes, “If we had driven the five hours here and were late and only experienced that song, I would drive back that five hours with a grin on my face.”

It was something else. A moment I will never forget.