Showing posts with label Learning something new every day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning something new every day. Show all posts

Monday, August 21, 2017

Dressed to Kill

You can never dress alone ...



... if your clothes are this complicated.

This sort of fashion was probably the reason why very few European ladies follow their husbands when they go pillaging in the tropics in the 18th century. The suffering when your scapula began to itch; how on earth do you reach that annoying spot?

I don't imagine the garment is terribly comfortable; the boning of the corset looks like sheer torture. Keeping the spine erect is one thing, but the squashing of boobies is another.

Thank God this style is no longer in fashion, no? Although those pockets are really kind of sweet.

*stolen from theLiverpool Museum blog.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Eating crap

Diet is d-i-e with a t

Your body is a temple; worship it. So you take good care of what goes into it.

Paleo diet.

Atkins diet.

Gluten free.

Dairy free.

Vegan.

Organic.

The list goes on.

All this is because we believe that we are what we eat. Garbage in, garbage out. Right?

Well, consider yourself lucky that you are not part of the African aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem that are dependent upon tonnes of hippo faeces for a nutritious diet.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Bludgeon me bloody

Have you ever entertained fantasies of being Dexter? No, I'm not talking about the serial killer thing, sheesh. Unless you are a violent sociopath, in which case, keep calm and carry on SUBMERGING HOMICIDAL DESIRES.

The lovable serial killing villain has a day job with the fictitious Miami Metro Police as a blood pattern analyst. So what the heck does that mean? The pictures below shed some light on what Dexter does  in his professional capacity.





 

*All pictures stolen from here, original source is this.

Television shows like the CSI franchise sold us on the idea that forensic science can solve almost anything. To certain extent, science have made crime investigation a lot more reliable than the previous method of beating up a suspect until he/she confessed (though it's still applied in parts of the world where civil liberty is still a laughable dream). As much as the television show has done to encourage interest in science, it has as much to do with real-life laboratory practice as porn is to making love. My friends and I often laugh at the insane timeline portrayed in CSI (collecting specimen, tagging and paperwork, sample prep, sample run AND analysis in a single day? Please.) and we mock at the clean chromatography results (yeah, nice, distinguishable peaks from a swab at the freeway. Riiiiight.). Not to mention the awkward pipetting techniques or the blase centrifuging without balancing the rotor. To have someone comment, "You're doing it the CSI-style, aren't you?" is considered as a gross insult.

Science, however, is not infallible; DNA profiling is not the magic bullet of conviction as evidenced by the inability to distinguish the rapist twin from the innocent one (though this may change). Samples degrade, there are issues of contamination, false evidence, specimen tampering and many more. That said, it doesn't mean that you can call a video iron (refer to comment by Tuan Guru Haji Hadi Awang on Anwar Ibrahim's Chinadoll video) and throw science out of the window. DNA technology has helped to overthrow convictions on people wrongly imprisoned for rape and give names and faces to victims of mass disasters. Surveillance technology helped to map the unfolding of the Boston marathon bombing step-by-step. Biometrics have been invaluable in enhancing security protocols as well as identify presence at a crime scene.

However, as more and more criminals and villains get smarter from watching Discovery Channel and use forensic science against the law enforcement, legal technicality gets a lot more convoluted and conviction remains equal parts of science, good investigation, robust prosecution and a huge dollop of luck.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Oldie is not goldie

It is not uncommon to see sunrise/sunset couples. Yes, the kind where the dude could be mistaken as the dudette's father or even grandfather.

Case in point:


Media troll and vitriolic partner.

Beauty and Daddy.

Why don't these sort of partnerships raise brows, unlike:

 They hot together, no?

Both are drool-worthy, regardless of the way you swing.

Is it because partnership has to be about a resource provider hooking up with the best of baby factories? After a certain age, women develop menopause and can happily throw away the birth control pills, intrauterine device, estrogen patches, etc that helps them make sure no unexpected babies pop up (or out)*. For some reason, this leads to a devaluation of women in the eye of society; conveniently forgetting the wisdom that comes with age and the inner sex goddess unleashed by freedom from getting knocked up (also, who discovered the joy of self acceptance, unlike self loathing nymphs in their twenties).

It is okay for older men to hook up with younger women, right?  Men remain potent shooters of baby makers till the day they drop dead. Well, guess what?

Just 'cause you can shoot, don't mean you should.

Older fathers are more likely to pass on joyful stuff like sporadic schizophrenia (where you sometimes hear voices and may/may not go manic), osteogenesis imperfecta (where the offspring is so fragile that a strong sneeze could break a bone, kinda like this guy) and autism (it's not all like Rain Man) to their hapless offsprings. This is because the older you are, the greater the likelihood for your testicles to produce error-riddled sperms. Not to mention that fathers transmit 4 times more mutations than mothers.

And no, just because you are over 35 years old, it doesn't mean that your mutant sperm is going to produce X-Men in the next generation. Nature is cool, but it ain't a comic book.


I do have a predilection for this man, er ... Gambit.

* Caveat: Do not throw away the condom. You don't know where he's been. Learn the lesson from senior citizens who developed nasty stuff like HIV, herpes and syphilis.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Jalan-jalan cari makan ...

... extreme polar edition.



I don't eat molluscs; but I suppose seal and whale meat day in and day out would get old during the long winter months. The  people of Kangiqsujuaq apparently laughs in the face of death racing against time to collect mussels for a change in their seasonal diet.

Thirty minutes is all they have to hack through the sea ice, grab the delicious mussels and get out. They risk drowning in the frigid Arctic water as the ocean rushes back with the rising tide or being crushed by the shifting polar sea ice.

Can you imagine dying just because you are beyond sick of what is available on the dining table? Malaysians pride our country as a some kind of food Mecca. No matter what your palate favour, you can find it here; cordon blu haute cuisine, weird meats and sago worms, whatever you want, really.

The reality of what was shown in the video above is something that many Malaysians cannot envision, except perhaps those who live in the rural areas or experience economic hardships. This disconnection about where food comes from is probably a contributing reason as to why Malaysians waste food. In the face of the many people who go without, are malnourished or have only one meal a day, do we think about food beyond what we want to eat?

Do we also think about the way the food we eat are sourced? We haggle over the price of fish and seafood, blithely ignoring the warnings of the devastation of over-fishing and the hardships faced by the fishermen to bring their catch to land. We think we are animal lovers, and yet we close a blind eye to inhumane farming practices and abuse of antibiotics and hormones on livestock that we consume. We take for granted the vegetables and fruits we enjoy year around that are grown under unsustainable conditions that also poison our water supply.

For all the ranting above, I am cynically aware of my own apathy about where my food comes from. Unless you are an activist type, reading or even knowing about the stuff outlined above remains nothing more than an academic exercise. I read Fast Food Nation and it still didn't stop me from eating at Mickey D (I reason that the supplier for the Mickey D here are either local or from developing countries that need the economic growth).

That said, I do think that we should be more grateful with and for everything that crosses our lips to enter our gullet. Honour the food that nourishes you; respect the hard work that got it on your plate (your own, the food producer and procurer and the person who cooked it for you) and enjoy it. Don't take it for granted.

Because you could be an Inuit who died because you are tired of eating seal and wanted to have some mussels instead.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Empathise emphasise

Looking outside of yourself to discover who you really are.



It can change your life.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Choosing to be Happy

Yup, it's a choice.



Just adjust your expectations to meet your reality. Easy right?

Not.

*sigh*

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Assisted enjoyment

Ever wondered why we let our genitals make so much of our decisions for us? Let science show you why.


Men and women don't enjoy themselves the same way sexually. It's basic anatomy and physiology, dummy. As you can see from the scan pictures, touch women in different areas to make her happy, different parts of their brain light up. But men? It's only 1 spot that lights up; not complicated at all.

The brain scan doesn't lie.

For men who are not very perceptive, maybe they need a CT scanner in the bedroom


Stolen from here.

Ladies, show your gentlemen this paper that if they want to keep both of you really healthy, they MUST PAY ATTENTION TO GETTING YOU OFF.

And gentlemen if you want to persuade your significant other for more nookies on a regular basis, show them this paper. Better living through sexual chemistry, it seems.


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Excitement!

I love her contagious enthusiasm: I will never look at a penis (mammalian or otherwise) the same way again.



I admire how she could discuss something titillating in a funny and creepy way.

(Undercut because pretty NSFW)

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Scent for trouble

Limburger cheese is now helping to eradicate malaria. But perhaps not the way you would think so.



Let your curiosity guide you to look for answers in unlikely places!


Sunday, January 29, 2012

Lessons in song

(Severely personal post ahead. You have been warned.)

Majalah 3 tonight featured Mr. Abdul Halim Yazid, a dikir barat artiste and his travels in the Deep South of the United States to trace the story of the blues. I only caught it halfway when my ears pricked to the call of prayer from Senegal that was featured on the show (caught the rest on online). I happily abandoned the dishes I was washing in the kitchen and sat down to watch.

It was nice to see how musicians from different backgrounds and musical traditions could mesh together so beautifully when they sit down for a jam session. But what made me tear up was the song "Al-Fatihah untuk Ayah" (Al-Fatihah Prayers for Father) that Mr Abdul Halim sang together with some blues musicians. No one uploaded that version just yet, so here is the plain dikir barat version.



It was a beautiful tribute from a child to his father, singing farewell to his father who has departed this world for the next. My understanding of the Kelantanese dialect is poor, but I got the gist of the message of the song. The words were simple but heartfelt, the melody plucking the heartstring as it beats along to the rhythm of the drum.

(The rest is undercut for intensely personal navel gazing which may not be of interest to you.)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Learning from nature

Apologetics arguing for certain types of behaviour tend to borrow from nature to justify whatever stand that they propose (e.g. homosexuality, bullying etc.).

Here's another example: domestic violence and divorce.

Happily ever after also elude arthropods, it seems.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Parenting

This picture explains a lot about the reasonings of your toddler.


You're welcome.

And if you ever castigated yourself for being a bad parent, stop that. There are worse parents out there, examplified by this video.

Friday, December 23, 2011

This is mega TAK SENONOH!

You have been warned. Seriously skirts Not Safe for Work-ness.

But the reason I wanted to share this video is because it examplifies how tolerance and accommodation of the needs of both partners can lead to a harmonious relationship.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

On how I freaked out my friend at the movie theatre

It started really innocuously. I went to watch this movie with Naz ...



And I was a sobbing mess at the end of it. Haven't cried like that watching anything; not since the staging of Lantai T Pinkie and Erma Fatima's amazing monologue way back in 1997. That one was really bad in that there were 4 of us watching the theatre with only 2 pieces of Kleenex between us. FML.

Anyway ... most of my friends know that I have been frothing at the mouth to watch this movie thanks to this man,


who is not only dastardly attractive and massively talented, but also warm and kind and just bloody adorable as seen on his interviews.

But I have to say that I was absolutely ecstatic with how Gavin O'Connor crafted a family drama with mixed martial arts as a sport as a background.

Mad fangirl squeals and massive spoilers ahoy!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

How David ate Goliath

In nature, size sometimes do not matter. It's all about your strategy (bite location, poison etc). In the case of ground beetles, it takes bite location, sheer cussedness to hang on to a wildly bucking prey and poison to fell the stronger and bigger toad.

Don't click on video if you do not want to see nature red in tooth and claw. As in live consumption of prey by said beetle. You have been warned.



Ah, Toad. R.I.P.

Courtesy of New Scientist.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Indispensible ...

... is this diagnostic tool to most modern doctors. The CT scan (X-ray computed tomography), or more affectionately referred to as the Cat Scan, became more widely known to the general television watching population, thanks to drama series such as ER, General Hospital and most popularly, House.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear if there are people (hypochondriacs, most likely) who insist on having their aches and pains examined using the Cat Scan in order to rule out major problems. Of course if they know how much it really costs (ask your local friendly hospital services marketing personnel!), they may swallow their indignance and ask if blood tests (some of which may cost nearly as much) are sufficient.

However, in the interest of levity and fun, I invite you to visit the Cat Scan site  for more of gems like the following: