Today, March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day! The number π (pi) is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and is approximately equal to 3.14159. It is an irrational number...wait, you can go here to find out everything you ever wanted to know about pi, and here you will find probably a lot more than you want to know!
I don't know about you, but all this talk of pi has made me want to go straight to the kitchen and bake a pie!
Happy Pi Day!
Consider humble pi. It is a number never ending. It never repeats itself as its value keeps ascending. Based upon a circle, many men have tried
to calculate the ratio of its width to its outside. It is called irrational because it can not be made a fraction. The challenge of its nature has been a call to action. The number pi has played a role in every life on earth. From physics to statistics, its always proved its worth. The tires that you ride on, the table where you dine, little pi was there throughout its concept and design. Humble pi is constant - its been a great addition and quietly serves us each day without recognition. If you can not appreciate why I hold this number high, then shame! It is you that should be eating humble pie. -- Ken Johnson
Uh-oh, but is there trouble in the kitchen? It looks like math whiz Vi Hart has a pretty convincing argument in the debate between Pi and Tau. Yes, that's right, there is a debate in math circles (heh) over Pi! Who knew? Watch this entertaining video and decide for yourself!
For your Tuesday Tonic, Comedian Dusty Smith gives a hilarious (but NSFW) recap of the History Channel's The Bible series. In under 10 minutes, Dusty strips away the religious mind-twisting (no, really! evil is good, brutality is love, insanity is a "plan"! Check it out in the Good Book™) and gets down to what the Bible actually says.
Seriously, I need to hire Dusty to revive my Barmy Bible Study series!
For your Monday Music, The Sweetest Taboo by Sade. A little sunshine and heat on a dreary March Monday when we have to suffer not only the last kick of winter (we hope!) but also a stolen hour due to Daylight Savings Crime. Waking in the dark this morning was only an inch short of too damn far.
Keep on, keep on bringing out the best in yourself!
The Sweetest Taboo
If I tell you
If I tell you now
Will you keep on
Will you keep on loving me
If I tell you
If I tell you how I feel
Will you keep bringing out the best in me
You give me, you give me the sweetest taboo
You give me, you're giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me
There's a quiet storm
And it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
That is you
There's a quiet storm
And it never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)
You give me the sweetest taboo
That's why I'm in love with you (with you)
You give me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)
I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain
Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away
There's a quiet storm
And it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
I think it's you
There's a quiet storm
And I never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo
You give me the (you give me, you give me the) sweetest taboo
That's why I'm in love with you (with you)
You give me, keep giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me
You've got the biggest heart
Sometimes I think you're just too good for me
Every day is Christmas, and every night is New Year's Eve
Will you keep on loving me
Will you keep on, will you keep on
Bringing out the best in me
For your Sunday entertainment, I am reposting an essay from the NiftyUniverse archives wherein my alter ego rails against Daylight Savings Time, NPR and whatever else that scattered mind gloms onto other stuff:
Good Day, NiftyReaders!
It's another glorious springlike morning, the kind that just makes you leap out of bed ready to greet the day! I love days like this, and I'd love them even more if they began on time instead of an hour too early! As it is, I was forced to drag my protesting limbs out from under the duvet in the pre-dawn murk, call the boys for school, start breakfast and take the dog out before the first life-giving rays of that beautiful sunshine had even peeked over the horizon! If a planet (or star?) could talk, I'm sure the good ol' sun would have said to me, "What the heck are you doing? I'm fixing to shine down on you and the rest of this wonderful world in about 17 minutes--get back in bed!".
Unfortunately for me and the rest of civilized humanity, the Powers that Be™ are deaf to the whisperings of the stars and blind to the natural order of the universe. They insist on the lunatic scheme of daylight savings time and because they are the Powers that Be, they can force the rest of us to arrange our affairs accordingly. There ought to be a law against that. If I had more time in my day (ahem! stolen hour?), perhaps I would organize a grass-roots protest, but I am a busy woman and with even fewer hours in my day, I must redouble my efforts with the important tasks already on my To Do list!
TO DO
Blog Post (obviously- in progress)
Photo Project (another obvious priority, although more difficult- don't know if I will get to it today)
Laundry-sheets, etc (a friend is arriving tomorrow for a quick overnight) Lose Weight
Start Supper (hmm..)
Exercise (right after I finish this post! Going for a walk in the lovely spring sunshine!)
Passport Application (Oops! Forgot again!)
Plan Spring Roadtrip/ reserve hotel rooms en route (I have one already booked! Good!)
I've noticed that the order of priority seems a little off here. Perhaps that has been the problem with my To Do lists. Let me try sorting them in order of importance, then I can start at the top and work down, getting the most urgent tasks completed in a timely manner. I am so glad that I have been blessed with good organizational skills!
TO DO
Blog Post (always job 1!- started and first thing, too--excellent!) Passport Application
Laundry (we need the sheets for tomorrow, so this must come first) Passport Application
Start Supper (we have to eat!!) Passport Application
Photo Project (good lord! this should be at the top of the list! It is job 1!) Passport Application
Plan Spring Roadtrip (won't need any passports if we have no trip planned!)
Passport Application
Exercise (technically, this ought to be number 2 because it is the next thing I am going to do) Lose Weight
Pay Bills (oops! Nearly forgot that one! thanks for the reminder, Comcast, although I must say that terse attitude was uncalled for)
Hmmm...there is a problem with the priorities on this list, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Oh well, it doesn't matter- it is the process which counts and I am nothing if not dedicated to the process! Now that that's done, I can get started on my great day!
But first, I ought to mention something a little disturbing that I noticed this morning on the drive to school. I had the radio tuned to NPR as usual, and they are in the throes of their annoying annual Spring fund drive. I tune in to NPR in the mornings because it is the only station from which I can get unbiased news and so forth without a load of irritating commercials and shouting deejays. Every few months, however, I am subjected to annoying whining and begging for "pledges" and "support" (they call them "annual" Spring/Fall fund drives but they are lying through their teeth - they have them at least twice per year!). It's really very aggravating! I don't see how they can claim to be "commercial-free" when they subject their listeners to an hour or two of nearly non-stop pan-handling every six months, and I for one have had enough of it.
Certainly, I barely noticed the unnecessary interruption of my normal morning routines until this morning - when they mentioned a "special group of members" who are encouraging new members to join - but the principle remains the same: they promise annoyance-free radio and I expect annoyance-free radio! Sure they have no commercials, but is it not equally irritating to subject their listeners to this fawn-fest of shout-outs to their little favorites? I bet that "special group of members" spends all their time annoying people instead of contributing to humanity like Yours Truly and Those in the Know!
Apparently, this is actually the last day of the Spring drive and I hadn't noticed it before now, but standards are standards and I think NPR is letting down the side a little here. Just what do they mean by a "special group of members" anyway? I would have thought that I would definitely belong in the "special group of members" as I listen to the station every single day, but it appears that I have missed the memo! Or rather, NPR has committed a grievous faux pas* by failing to recognise their real quality listeners! I'm a little put out, if the truth be told, although Those in the Know will remember that I am far too tolerant, not to mention busy with important stuff, to give it a second thought.
(Fulminating pause) Who are these people whose membership is more special than mine, anyway? It is all too vexing. I'm going to have to ring them up and give them a piece of my mind...
(PAUSE FOR TELEPHONE CALL TO NPR)
Well, I've wasted enough time today on this blog post and going off half-cocked to call NPR, resulting in humiliating realization that I have forgotten to renew my membership for the past 3 years other stuff. I am a busy woman and people depend on me to make things happen!
Good Day to All!
* Those in the Know can "learn something new everyday" simply by reading my blog and soaking up the sophisticated foreign references! Take that, NPR!
In honor of International Women's Day, may I present a great story about a remarkable woman. This story has it all: a courageous heroine, vicious enemies, conflict, cultural relevance, tension and drama. And a very satisfying conclusion. It's like the best video game ever!
Anita Sarkeesian is a young feminist. She has also been an enthusiastic video gamer since childhood. As she grew from happily video-playing child to thoughtful teen and feminist adult, Sarkeesian became increasingly disturbed by the portrayal of female characters in video games. It seemed that the vast majority of female-identified characters were either victims, trophies or wily (lying) temptresses - always, always hyper-sexualized and all too often brutalized as some part of the storyline.
Sarkeesian talked about this portrayal of women in video games on her video blog as part of the overall discussion of the issue of the negative depictions of women in all aspects of popular culture. She discussed it with other gamers, too, and while she did receive encouraging feedback from many, she also received angry blowback from some. Recognizing that this sexist portrayal of women characters was not accidental, Sarkeesian decided to try to examine the issue a little more closely.
But, it's just a game! Why can't these b****es lighten up?
In 2012, Sarkeesian made the "mistake" of launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a series of videos examining the prevalence of sexist gendered stereotypes in video games. While the project was hailed as a great idea by many feminist gamers (both men and women), it was met with outrage by a significant subset of gamers and misogynists on the internet. The resulting firestorm of misogynistic harassment ranged from expletive-laced comments on the website to threats of rape, torture and death. Her blog, Feminist Frequency, was hacked. Enraged gamers created "games" featuring Sarkeesian as a character who is raped, beaten or killed (or all three) - one was called "Beat up Anita Sarkeesian" and featured the *fun* of punching the animated Anita until the blood-spatter turns the screen red. Furious gamers sent videos of the violence being done to her "game character", perhaps meant as a warning and a threat, but undoubtedly meant to harass, intimidate and silence her.
Fortunately for young women everywhere - and more directly for women gamers - Anita Sarkeesian did not let the harassment silence her. She persevered in her quest. Other feminist gamers supporting her effort spread the word about the Kickstarter and the rest, as they say, is history. Here is Anita Sarkeesian speaking at TED+Women last fall telling the story in her succinct, engaging and calmly awesome way:
Online harassment - even harassment that reaches criminal levels - is almost never successfully prosecuted. The law has not caught up to the technology yet and in any case the anonymity and enormous size of the online population makes enforcement of any laws problematic. The internet is the perfect home for enraged cowards who lob verbal and visual attacks at their targets before scuttling away into the shadows of the interweb. While it is likely that most of these lowlifes would never risk their own hides by coming out into the open and attacking the object of their wrath in real life, the sobering fact that no one can be certain about what rage-filled people might do is often enough to frighten a victim of online harassment into silence.
What? It's just a simple beach shot!
Why do those feminazis always get
their thongs in a twist, anyway?
The goal of the anti-feminists who perpetrated the campaign against her was to silence Anita Sarkeesian through online harassment so vicious and threatening that it is actually nauseating to read about. Instead of achieving their goal, however, they inadvertently assisted her in her goal of funding the video series. With great courage and determination, Sarkeesian not only continued to promote her project but she actually used the online campaign of terror against her as a case in point supporting the need for exactly the series her kickstarter was attempting to fund.
The Fighting F#@k Toy - Video #2 The Sexy Sidekick - Video #3
The Sexy Villainess - Video #4
Background Decoration - Video #5
Voodoo Priestess/Tribal Sorceress - Video #6
Women as Reward - Video #7
Mrs. Male Character - Video #8
Unattractive Equals Evil - Video #9
Man with Boobs - Video #10
Positive Female Characters! - Video #11
Top 10 Most Common Defenses of Sexism in Games - Video #12
In addition to what looks to be a fantastic series of videos about this issue, Sarkeesian is developing materials for a classroom curriculum kit to help educate a future generation of gamers and internet media participants. As she pointed out in her TED+Women talk, "video games are the fastest growing form of mass media today". This is a huge communication tool, with enormous power to influence and shape our culture. As a society, we can sit back and allow it to more deeply entrench harmful tropes which dehumanize, objectify and exclude women or we can use it to help build a more just and equitable society.
Clearly, a significant, vocal and vicious subset of society wishes to enforce compliance with the first option. But feminists like Anita Sarkeesian and her supporters have fought for and achieved a small step toward ensuring that the second option has a chance to flower.
In short, Anita Sarkkeesian pwned the very people who wanted to force her to shut up and go away.
Well done, Anita Sarkeesian!
Take a few minutes to view the masterfully done video below. It is entertaining, quick-moving, and makes its points clearly and concisely. The video clips from some of my favorite games are fun, too!
Best quote:
"In the game of patriarchy, women are not the opposing team; they are the ball."
I have left my preferred place by the fire to stay with her.
But do you see this? Do you see who is lying beside MY Human?
Yes, that is Artemis. I am on the dresser
(shooting freeze-rays at Artemis out of my supercat eyes).
Do you see what I have to put up with?
Thank gods it's FreyaDay!
"his"? "he"? "him"? Oh, the humanity!
My Best Friend
Each morning I awake, my best friend beside me, his eyes are wide with love, and my heart sores again. As I go through my day, expectations on me, my friend is always near, to soothe my troubled mind. When nighttime descends on us, and the world is through with me, at last I can meditate, and give loving thanks for him. My friend is very special, a truly amazing soul, he's very soft and gentle, for he's my cat, after all!
Hello there! Do you want to read this book? Let's read! I will help you! <sniff rustle sniffsniff rustlerustle> (snort) Hmm. Do you know that there are no pictures in this book? Silly book! I can find you a better book. Sit down right here and I will find you a good book. (scamper scamper scamperscamperscamperscamper)
<rustlerustlerustlescritchscritchscratchthump!> (shhttp! tictic shhhtp! tictic shhhhtp!ticticsshhhhttppp!) Here is a good book! Look! Look! -> This book is the best! Let's read! You'll love it! Let's read! Isn't that just Ducky!
Go Dog Go! (excerpt)
Dog Big dog. Little dog. Big dogs and little dogs. Black and white dogs. "Hello!" "Hello!" "Do you like my hat?" "I do not." "Good-by!" "Good-by!"
(Fulminating pause) Who are these people whose membership is more special than mine, anyway? It is all too vexing. I'm going to have to ring them up and give them a piece of my mind...
Anita Sarkeesian is a young feminist. She has also been an enthusiastic video gamer since childhood. As she grew from happily video-playing child to thoughtful teen and feminist adult, Sarkeesian became increasingly disturbed by the portrayal of female characters in video games. It seemed that the vast majority of female-identified characters were either victims, trophies or wily (lying) temptresses - always, always hyper-sexualized and all too often brutalized as some part of the storyline.
The Sexy Sidekick - Video #3
<rustlerustlerustlescritchscritchscratchthump!>
