I've been watching The Walking Dead. I don't know why. I don't like it. I do like charts because they make everything seem Authoritative and Irrefutable

MythBusted

Ric laughed this morning when he found this piece by Jerry Brito, saying that I must have been the subject of their study because the similarity was uncanny. I then took exception and asked him whether he really thinks I can be summed up in ten short paragraphs and that, if that was his opinion, we had better reassess this little "thing" we have going with each other *oh snap*. Then I read the article and thought "holy hell it's a word-drawing of me!"

At least now when I tell Ric that I'm feeling super ill after an interminable period of (sober) talking to too many people, in too much ambient noise, in public, he will believe me and not just think I'm trying to get us home and into bed (to sleep) after the second (first) hour...even though I am trying to get us home and into bed (to sleep) after the second (first) hour. But now at least the reason is science-recuperation-based and not party-pooper-oldfolk-based. 

You go all of you weird, geeky, sensory-sensitive, rude, intelligent, agoraphobic, contrary, aloof introverts.

You go You.

 

Jerry Brito

Top ten myths about introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

AG-GAG

Fuckers.

AG-GAG



Overshare for the Day

E-Cards = Flashcards for my LIFE

Blague du Jour (who's guilty of this?)

Sourced from: Tastefully Offensive

Ich mochte!

*BigChest*

This Easter Weekend I spent some time at my parents' house in order to undertake the massive task of sorting through thousands of photos and school memorabilia contained in "the chest" which is opened once every decade or so when we're all feeling a bit nostalgic and when we have the best of intentions to finally sort through this paper monster in order to restore some civility and chronology to our recorded lives (not that this would be in accordance with the overall tone of our actual lives.) The problem is that the contents of the chest are never sorted out because we always get side-tracked by the memories that the photos invoke, then intimidated by the sheer amount of photos that need to be sorted out, then hungry and stiff because we've been stooping over the chest for hours, and then self-pitying because there is such a big damn mess in the lounge that no-one wants to clean up. So back into the chest go the mountains of photos and drawings and awards and negatives and slides, in no particular sequence, only for everything to be hauled out again in a few years' time when the itch strikes and the discomfort and frustration of the physical endeavor is forgotten. The day did end on a high note with me, my mom and my dad sitting and sighing wistfully at lives long-past and futures undetermined. 

Here are a few of my favourite finds: 

Windhoek, Namibia circa 1986

Windhoek Namibia, circa 1987 with Kholi in her traditional Herero dress

Jesse

redneck.

Sick note from my "mom" for me to get out of Physical Training.
I trust that since this letter is still in the chest, I never tried to
hand it to the school principal.

A Vision of the Future / Calf269

So Bill Gates is a vegan. This doesn't come as a particularly big surprise to me but what did is the research he is funding into plant-based meat alternatives and his outspoken backing of vegetarianism/veganism as the future of the meat industry. 

Have a look at his official site here and learn about the Future of Food here and have a look at PETA's article on Bill Gates here. 

News like this makes me really hopeful. I've been spending a lot of time reading about commercialised farming (again) and the sheer scale of the abuse and exploitation is overwhelming. And the extent of peoples' complacency is overwhelming. And then I see what the statistitions are saying about the increase in meat consumption over the next 20 years and I get this sick, sinking feeling in my stomach. But then I read about what pioneers like Bill Gates are doing and I feel better about things. If ethics doesn't win at the end of the day, then at least sustainability will go towards achieving part of the desired outcome.  

 

Have you heard about 269 Life yet? I only found out about the group the other day and feel a little ignorant for only having done so now. The group was founded in Israel and derives its name from "269" which was a calf on a dairy farm. He was a male calf and, as such, would be killed to supply veal shortly after being   torn away from his mother at birth.

The group terms the commercialised mass-slaughtering of animals "the animal holocaust" and it holds pretty intense demonstrations which "call for empathy towards the most oppressed sector of our society and call into question the deep disconnect we as a society, have towards sanctioned animal cruelty." 

I found a thought-provoking excerpt on the group's Facebook page today by Angel Flinn & Dan Cudahy: 

"In recent years, the debate about the welfare of animals has centralized around specific cases of egregious suffering, with a strong focus on certain practices and procedures perceived to cause extreme harm, including intensive confinement, bodily mutilations, and physical and psychological torture. This focus on specific welfare violations has led to an interesting phenomenon: The public’s attention has been sidetracked from the primary issue involved with economic exploitation of sentient beings, which is the commodification of their very lives. In other words, the current direction of the debate has obscured from view the fundamental question of whether it is unethical, or morally indefensible, to take the life of another sentient being for any reason other than self-defense or compassion toward an individual who is severely suffering from a terminal illness or fatal injury.

This is the reason that the animal industry now markets itself as a stronghold of ‘ethical death and dismemberment’. In this new territory of animal slavery double-speak, consumers are actually expected to believe the ever-more-frequent and increasingly perverse accounts of ‘happy farming’; the proliferation of animal exploitation sites where the victims are so content with their circumstances that they happily offer the products of their bodies, then go gladly to their deaths at the side of kindly oppressors whom they trust unconditionally."

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." 

(Frederick Douglass, slavery abolitionist, 1818-1895)