Frothy Paradise

Apparently, this robot is named “Squatty.” Must....

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:43:19 -0400

Apparently, this robot is named “Squatty.” Must. Have. Pattern.

florencio: Akira Kurosawa’s 100th Anniversary Celebrated With...

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:04:09 -0400

florencio:

Akira Kurosawa’s 100th Anniversary Celebrated With Free Seven Samurai Showing in L.A.

Excellent! (Seven Samurai: auto-reblog.)

"It used to be that keeping a few free-range chickens, tending some grain-fed hogs, and raising a..."

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:45:00 -0400

“It used to be that keeping a few free-range chickens, tending some grain-fed hogs, and raising a small vegetable garden was how people simply survived. Now these are often vanity projects for young hipsters and retired hedge-fund executives who have discovered the forgotten pleasures of “heirloom” tomatoes and artisanal sausage. Incredibly, we’ve reached a point in our society where things that humans have done for thousands of years—grow a vegetable, smoke or cure a piece of meat—now provide the grounds for smug satisfaction. (Think of Marie Antoinette at Versailles, playing shepherdess and milking the cows.)”

- Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing :: Warwick Sabin Ponders Why the Rich Get Thinner, the Poor Get Fatter (via champagnecandy) (via ilovefat)

Right ON!

"When Al Gore was caught running up huge energy bills at home at the same time as lecturing on the..."

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:38:00 -0400

“When Al Gore was caught running up huge energy bills at home at the same time as lecturing on the need to save electricity, it turns out that he was only reverting to “green” type. According to a study, when people feel they have been morally virtuous by saving the planet through their purchases of organic baby food, for example, it leads to the “licensing [of] selfish and morally questionable behaviour”, otherwise known as “moral balancing” or “compensatory ethics”. Do Green Products Make Us Better People is published in the latest edition of the journal Psychological Science. Its authors, Canadian psychologists Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong, argue that people who wear what they call the “halo of green consumerism” are less likely to be kind to others, and more likely to cheat and steal. “Virtuous acts can license subsequent asocial and unethical behaviours,” they write.”

- How going green may make you mean

While I hope I’m not guilty of this kind of thing (and I am, I shouldn’t wonder, at least to some degree), I have certainly experienced this among acquaintances who strive for green living — stuff like “I don’t have children, so I can eat whale and jet around the world in search of the perfect piece of hamachi.”

Probably an embarrassing question, but...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:07:24 -0400

… I asked someone who’s reasonably technically proficient and he didn’t know either, so: you know that thing people do where they post a screen shot of their iPhone, so you can see a text message conversation or whatever? How do you do that?

Full text of the Senate Reconcilliation Healthcare Bill (pdf)

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:03:49 -0400

Full text of the Senate Reconcilliation Healthcare Bill (pdf):

waifsworld:

squashed:

Spoiler Alert: The changes are all good.

The summary—which has a bit more context than “Strike out $10,000 and replace $8,000” is probably more useful. It’s here.

purplegem: wolfdancer: elledark: Lets Not Forget … Just a...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:48:39 -0400

purplegem:

wolfdancer:

elledark:

Lets Not Forget …

Just a few things to remember in the week that a badly watered-down version of health-care reform (minus the crucial ‘public-option’) might be voted on …

The US spends much more on health care coverage per person than any other country in the world.

The US health care system is ranked #37 in the world overall.

The US is #46 in the world in infant mortality. That means that there are 45 other countries where your baby is more likely to survive past his or her first birthday. For example, a baby born in CUBA is more likely to survive than a baby born in the US.

The US is #42 in life expectancy (down from #11 two decades ago)

Men living in Harlem die younger than men living in the poorest city in the world (Bangladesh).

72 million Americans have medical debt.

2/3 of all US bankruptcies are from medical bills.

46 million Americans have no health insurance.

Premiums of insured people have gone up 131% since 1999.

25 million Americans are underinsured—meaning that they have insurance, but it does not protect them adequately.

14 thousand Americans lose their health insurance coverage every day.

There are 4 times as many medical and pharmaceutical lobbyists in Washington as there are members of Congress.

I think the last point goes a long way towards explaining all of the others …

Ellie

"It is a flea-infected, tick-infested, parasite-infected, special interest-infected wet, smelly dog...."

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:17:12 -0400

“

It is a flea-infected, tick-infested, parasite-infected, special interest-infected wet, smelly dog. - Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fl), on the health reform bill

This should not be passed by anyone unless they eat it. - Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Tex), on the health reform bill

”

- via realitychex

Two republican congressmen, I assume trying to out retard one another. Did you hear me Sarah? I said retard because those quotes are just that.
(via brooklynmutt)

"Over time, American institutions appear to be growing steadily less accountable. Hayes cites the..."

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:18:00 -0400

“Over time, American institutions appear to be growing steadily less accountable. Hayes cites the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal, which strikes me as a red herring. Yes, the bishops averted their eyes, placing the putative well-being of the church above children. Yes, ecclesiastical lectures on sexual sin are a bit harder to take. But the church has been hierarchical, secretive and self-protective since forever. Moreover, as recent developments in Ireland and Germany show, the problem is international. More to the point, “look at CEO pay,” Hayes urges. “In 1978, according to the Economic Policy Institute, the ratio of average CEO pay to average wage was about 35 to 1. By 2007 it was 275 to 1.” In comparison, the ratio remains approximately 20 to 1 in most European countries; roughly 11 to 1 in Japan. Yet people complain about labor unions.”

- It’s time for Wall Street to pay

I finally found something really bad about NYC

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:14:50 -0400

You know, you’d think you could get a frigging Shamrock Shake in New York. But no, you have to go to New Jersey. Or make your own. Goddammit.

(via brooklynmutt)

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:17:13 -0400

(via brooklynmutt)

girlinboyland: lovelyhomes: Totoro Cream Puff Click on Photo...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:06:19 -0400

girlinboyland:

lovelyhomes:

Totoro Cream Puff

Click on Photo for Recipe.

Now I know what to make Frothy Paradise for her birthday.

Dude. I really really really want these.

"Last August, Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove, a cardiac surgeon and chief executive of the prestigious..."

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:03:00 -0400

“Last August, Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove, a cardiac surgeon and chief executive of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, told a columnist for The New York Times that if he could get away with it legally, he would refuse to hire anyone who is obese. He probably could get away with it, actually, because no federal legislation protects the civil rights of fat workers, and only one state, Michigan, bans discrimination on the basis of weight. Dr. Cosgrove may be unusually blunt, but he is far from alone. Public attitudes about fat have never been more judgmental; stigmatizing fat people has become not just acceptable but, in some circles, de rigueur. I’ve sat in meetings with colleagues who wouldn’t dream of disparaging anyone’s color, sex, economic status or general attractiveness, yet feel free to comment witheringly on a person’s weight.”

- For Obese People, Prejudice in Plain Sight

"Achievement is a big one in America—disproportionately valued, and often conflated with material..."

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:21:41 -0400

“Achievement is a big one in America—disproportionately valued, and often conflated with material success. But other dimensions actually have a potentially higher payoff. We easily habituate to material things, and they quickly stop making us happy. But these other less tangible values, a number of researchers have found, don’t lose their happiness-making punch—at least not as much.”

- Weathering the Storm | Psychology Today (via bui)

Christians Urged to Boycott Glenn Beck

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:33:36 -0400

Christians Urged to Boycott Glenn Beck:

stfuconservatives:

Memo to Glenn Beck: FYL.

waifsworld: 51 senators will vote for a public option in...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:30:37 -0500

waifsworld:

51 senators will vote for a public option in reconciliation if it’s sent over by the House

From Progressive Change Campaign Committee

24 have signed a letter to Harry Reid asking for a public option in reconciliation. 19 have given statements to us, reporters, or their constituents. 4 more have made statements on video. And 4 are extremely likely based on their previous support for the public option and Senate leadership, even though they haven’t made an official statement yet.

“I want to be crystal clear: Sen. Durbin and the rest of the Senate Leadership will be aggressively whipping FOR the public option if it is included in the reconciliation bill the House sends over.”

—Senate Whip Durbin’s spokesman, Joe Shoemaker

"There was a debate last night in preparation for Tuesday’s special election to fill Hiram..."

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:44:00 -0500

“There was a debate last night in preparation for Tuesday’s special election to fill Hiram Monserrate’s state senate seat, from which the convicted abuser was ejected last month. Democrat Jose Peralta and Republican Robert Beltrani were there, but Monserrate, running hard to replace himself, was the center of attention; the Daily News reports Monserrate was booed and heckled and, each time he referred to “cuts,” some smartass drew lines on his own face with lipstick, indicative of Karla Giraldo’s slash marks. Monserrate and Peralta seemed not far apart on issues except for gay marriage — opposition to which is Monserrate’s key strategy — and Hiram Monserrate, whose arrest and conviction WNYC says Peralta “kept bringing up,” as per his key strategy. (Earlier, in response to Monserrate’s charges elsewhere that Peralta, a Queens assemblyman, has no record to run on, Peralta replied, “I will be more than happy to match my legislative record of protecting women’s right to privacy in the workplace to Monserrate’s record of assaulting his girlfriend in his bedroom.”)”

- Hiram Monserrate Heckled at Debate; Jose Peralta Has Big Lead
Looks like there is some hope for New York politics after all.

girlinboyland: prettyfoods: cleanbreaks:(via...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:40:00 -0500

girlinboyland:

prettyfoods:

cleanbreaks:(via versusversace)
Frothy Paradise needs these.

Frothy Paradise’s birthday isn’t all that far away!

Thank you, Madame Speaker.

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:46:29 -0500

Thank you, Madame Speaker.:

giftedboi:

notemily:

tennroof:

littlebluebeetle:

“Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer, a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance. Or that people could start a business and be entrepreneurial and take risks, but not be job-locked because a child has a child has asthma or diabetes or someone in the family is bipolar. You name it, any condition is job-locking.”

THANK YOU.

xoxo,

LBB

This is also why average wages are coming down, across the board. They know if you have health insurance, you can’t afford to leave, so they don’t need to give raises to keep you.

Yes. This.

I have a part-time job. My parents pay for my health insurance, which is through my job. Because my job is half-time, though, my employer only pays for half of it, so my parents help out. (The amount is almost a whole paycheck every month.) They don’t like this situation and neither do I, and I’m trying to find a full-time job or even part-time with full health insurance, but y’all know how easy that is.

I can’t go without health insurance. I just can’t. I told my mom I didn’t know what kind of job to get, and she said some people make their own job, and I was like “uh… still need health insurance.” And she was like “…oh yeah.”

Dream of being a writer, I can’t follow you right now, but I’ll ask where you’re going and hook up with you later.

Czechoslovakian poster for Papillon via www.terry-posters.com

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:26:23 -0500

Czechoslovakian poster for Papillon via www.terry-posters.com