Ahhhh me alma mater! PV used to be such a quaint little country university.....PV is a middle of no-where, historically black university, not many republicans there-if they had put the polling place on campus, then you'd have a clusterfuck of traffic on campus(not to mention, you'd have fun with all those white folks who had never been there before, trying to find their way around the place)-this goes both ways for an amicable convenient location-(I can think of 100 better causes to march on the highway for) silly white people-you shouldn't have stuck the black folk's U in the country ya, cake and eat it too crackers!!

Another shot in the foot for PV s the amount of punk-ass, gang-banger type crime in Waller county, which has increased steadily since about 1990-bout the time smooth R&B was replaced by gangster-rap as the predominant music of choice-watched it like a bad fekkin' dream-

I see "My Name's Mater," a clip from the movie Cars.

Thanks rottenseed,

Blankfist and I are Alumni and didn't know it till just a few weeks ago...so we are flexing our alum speak for a really good party at the end of each year at our old alma mater.

Great sift, and thread as well. Ah, where's Westy when you need him?

Whenever I hear people say between you and I, irregardless, or it's instead of its, I am constantly resisting the urge to correct them. Of course, we can all be a language Nazi, but words and their usage will always evolve, as Ferdinand de Saussure first noted; he classified language study into two groups—the static (a snapshot of a language at a given moment in time, which we call a dictionary) and the dynamic (the fluid usage of words, which changes so quickly that it's impossible to put into a dictionary). Unless you are working with an artificial language like Esperanto or mathematics, where its definitions are clearly explained from the outset, every word's etymology will be a Frankenstein to some degree. For instance, when should we use "that" instead of "which"? There is no One True Answer, only a messy history of usage which we must dig through to agree one usage is better than the others because... well, because we like the sound of it.

Still, it's frustrating. Why do we bother learning grammar and spelling rules if it's okay to suddenly not follow them? Here's a poem I wrote about exactly that:


Ode to Our Mislaid Apostrophes

O wonderful, mischievous, slippery mark:
I want to punctuate, but youre location is stark.
My meanings are loose, my intentions skewed—
my editors pens could leave me quite screwed!
They often complain that theyre English is good
while my typewritten words barely understood
If only Id divine when its was not it's
they just might be able to keep all there wits
Or not mistake they're when it really is there,
or swap out a your when you're is somewhere...
I find it so silly. Cant you understand my thought?
Is my english so bad that new laws must be wrought?
I suppose who and whom can go fly with the dodo
for who really cares, but Gandalf and Frodo
In fact, I will drop all punctuation at once
and no one around will suspect me a dunce
for they too will know what I mean with my word
so why need I try its so pointless absurd
lets assassinate all grammer and speling as well
im sure every school kid would love to us tell
how much they hate engish and other dim arts
no need to learn standards when its old pompous farts
insisting they bend to the will of those rules
like all human beings are grammatical mules
o wunderful mischevious slipery mark
i would use you if only i knew where you park
but no one cares now if youre lost to the wind
since apostrofe rules they wish to recind
its a simple mater of its usage you kno
wheter your is correct in your sentance flow
ah who cares no one maybe only a fyew
i do wish theyd speek up oh how I doo


P.S. And "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" is actually "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but in this case, the author's comma placement is explicitly intentional. Tee hee.

P.P.S. I also agree with oxdottir that neither the internet nor this forum is a formal medium; we are not paid editors and nobody is expected to write as if they are paid journalists (least of all those for whom English is a second language). So, sorry in advance to anyone if I reach out and tag you. Westy, of course, is exempt.

alma mater

It's true, this is the mascot for UCSC (my own alma mater, coincidentally).

Like you said, great if you live in a state like Oregon, but if you live in a state like Louisiana and happen to be African American you're probably going to get the short end of the stick when it comes to just about everything. I don’t think we should turn a blind eye to civil injustice just because it’s happening in another state. One of the jobs the federal government serves is that of a check on the state governments. Unfortunately our system of checks and balances has been trampled over as of late.

I gotta agree with you about Homeland, most worthless pile of fecal mater the government has created in recent years. The problem with the CIA is that it has become too politicized. I think it’s a critical department as far as national security is concerned, but it’s apparently way too easy for people with political agendas to influence it.

I suppose why Ron Paul is so refreshing is because his voting record reflects his rhetoric (Dr. No), and he’s pretty straight forward with it, though I still think there’s a lot of reading between the lines that needs to be done.

The revolution I’d like to see is our political and election process not getting dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. Where two words like “fuzzy math” aren’t used to flippantly dismiss a whole argument. Where people like Wolf Blitzer don’t ask questions on complex issues like, “the importance of human rights vs. national security” in yes or no format or ‘buzz words’ like WMD don’t beat the drums of war that lead this country into Iraq. A lofty dream I know, but hey change has to start somewhere.

As I am required to mention whenever this movie comes up...

* it was filmed part at my alma mater, the University of Texas at Dallas (this floored me when I saw the movie because I didn't know ahead of time)
* The guy with the line about where engineers go when they die is a former co-worker of mine at UTD, Keith Bradshaw
* Much of the rest of the film was filmed at an apartment complex where I lived for a few years (Post Addison Circle, a great place)

When I went to see the movie I did not know any of this stuff so I was really shocked to see all this stuff I recognized. Weird feeling.

I love my alma mater

The sad thing is. I have an Aunt who is a professional protester. That's right. They get a call and say "Hey come hop on a bus to Whereverwecanbitch, Alabama. We'll pay for the trip all you have to do it shout on the capital steps for a couple of hours and then your free to party!"

What's even more depressing is that she sees it at a vacation. Doesn't mater what people are protesting she gets a free trip and all she has to pay is her dignity and a few hours of sign holding.

Shermer views on acupuncture were. kind of funny ...im glad you admit that shemmer was belligerent. that was my maine point.
shemer thinks acupuncture is based on a quack theory. he thicks that he the can prove 2000 years of life energy theories from the fare east as wishful thinking, with junk the establishment (Harvard) taught him.

as for you saying i think science is vague. that i would say is a mater of semantics.
science is a vague word in that . to talk about this subject i wanted to distinguish between value of science and pitfalls of modern scientific method. particularly the gold standard of randomized controlled studies.

what are you views on the ama and its highjack scientific method. do you not agree that the ama has used its power to promote itself under the banner of " we are so smart and our rigorous double blind studies are to help man kind. " i think the ama is extremely belligerent this respect

science is important and useful and can be used like a good tool that it is . but
my problem is with scientism. shemer is one who contends that scientism is the way of the modern world. this is a extremist view. even the establishment acknowledges this.
i repeat
1 scientific method is not wrong or unjust in it self but that individuals often use scientific method to achieve fame (shemmer) wealth the (ama).
2. that it doubtfull that shimmer will prove theories acupuncture and life energy wrong.
3. that science is not something that began in the 19th century.
4. that good science is a tool not a bandwagon that trys to debunk rather then understand.

star trek was a metaphor to the way people are so busy looking for big answers to "Save" or understand mankind at the cost of failing to see simple natural truths with out the blockage of being tide down to needing to get down to the jest of everything.
and you pint out the scientest / humans have so many flaws. i dont buy that excuse. its the same excuse people use when the get busted riging their so called scientific studys so they get fame and money . you should slow dawn and not just dismiss bad moral character. that is at the root of my skepticism of mikey Shermer and his followers who preach intolerance and dogmatism. remember other key words money

establishment
moral character
champion

In reply to your comment:
“I was hoping for some examples and some lively debate. You gave no examples (c'mon... flawed and outdated views on acupuncture? Acupuncture?!?), and although we are all entitled our own opinions regarding others, I think your personal opinion of Shermer is baseless. As far as debate, I don't think it will be possible to meaningfully debate with someone who views "science" as vague, thinks the AMA is the second-biggest corporation ever, and invokes Star Trek in his/her argument.

Even if Shermer were belligerent, science is not, and that is something I don't think you understand. As Ann Druyan explained very beautifully here (coincidentally, Shermer is sitting in the audience), scientists are human and have bias's. They can be assholes. They can be dismissive, strident, condescending, intractable, and prejudice, just like every other human being. But scientific method ultimately wins the day as its' built-in checks and balances overcome these things.

Your comment was all over the place, bighead, but I think your pessimism towards science and scientific method is based in ignorance rather some anecdotal experience. Read more. Think critically, not paranoidally. Don't be afraid to expose yourself to things you "know" to be untrue. If nothing else, you may learn the minds of those you disagree with. This isn't meant to be condescending. Just friendly advice.”



Shermer views on acupuncture were. kind of funny ...im glad you admit that shemmer was belligerent. that was my maine point.
shemer thinks acupuncture is based on a quack theory. he thicks that he the can prove 2000 years of life energy theories from the fare east as wishful thinking, with junk the establishment (Harvard) taught him.

as for you saying i think science is vague. that i would say is a mater of semantics.
science is a vague word in that . to talk about this subject i wanted to distinguish between value of science and pitfalls of modern scientific method. particularly the gold standard of randomized controlled studies.

what are you views on the ama and its highjack scientific method. do you not agree that the ama has used its power to promote itself under the banner of " we are so smart and our rigorous double blind studies are to help man kind. " i think the ama is extremely belligerent this respect

science is important and useful and can be used like a good tool that it is . but
my problem is with scientism. shemer is one who contends that scientism is the way of the modern world. this is a extremist view. even the establishment acknowledges this.
i repeat
1 scientific method is not wrong or unjust in it self but that individuals often use scientific method to achieve fame (shemmer) wealth the (ama).
2. that it doubtfull that shimmer will prove theories acupuncture and life energy wrong.
3. that science is not something that began in the 19th century.
4. that good science is a tool not a bandwagon that trys to debunk rather then understand.

star trek was a metaphor to the way people are so busy looking for big answers to "Save" or understand mankind at the cost of failing to see simple natural truths with out the blockage of being tide down to needing to get down to the jest of everything.
and you pint out the scientest / humans have so many flaws. i dont buy that excuse. its the same excuse people use when the get busted riging their so called scientific studys so they get fame and money . you should slow dawn and not just dismiss bad moral character. that is at the root of my skepticism of mikey Shermer and his followers who preach intolerance and dogmatism. remember other key words money

establishment
moral character
champion

I'm pretty sure it doesn't mater how tame you THINK a tiger is.....

I found this amusing for no reason other than that it took place at my old alma mater: University of Richmond. It's actually in a place called "The Pier" where you can get fast food type fare. It spans a man-made lake in the middle of campus (which is what you'd see if you could see out the windows clearly). It's really a beautiful campus. The actual "dining hall" is on the other side of the lake. This wouldn't have been the first person to fall down those stairs so I wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been staged but it is awfully coincidental that somebody was taping at the time of the fall and seemed to be following him with the camera from well before he got to the stairs.

"NOOOOW1? Yall' kin sang louder n' that!?, Here;s the words t' foller' aloooong!"
BRAINSTEM (Episode P3)
Lyrics by Tom Minton.

Sung to Camptown Races by Stephen Foster.


Pinky: And now, the parts of the brain, performed by The Brain!
Brain: Ye-e-s!

Brain: Neo-cortex, frontal lobe
Pinky: Brainstem! Brainstem!
Brain: Hippocampus, neural node
Right hemisphere.

Brain: Pons and cortex visual
Pinky: Brainstem! Brainstem!
Brain: Sylvian fissure, pineal
Left hemisphere.

Brain: Cerebellum left!
Cerebellum right!
Synapse, hypothalamus
Striatum, dendrite.

Brain: Axon fibers, matter gray
Pinky: Brainstem! Brainstem!
Brain: Central tegmental pathway
Temporal lobe.

Brain: White core matter, forebrain, skull
Pinky: Brainstem! Brainstem!
Brain: Central fissure, cord spinal
Parietal.

Brain: Pia mater!
Menengeal vein!
Medulla oblongata and lobe limbic
Micro-electrodes...
Pinky: Naaarf!
P+B : THE BRAIN!!!

Brain: That ought to keep the little squirts happy. Ye-e-s!