Evolution of Dance

I don't know who this guy is, but he's freaking funny as hell.

Happy Anniversary to me.

I just realized that his month marks the five-year anniversary of this blog. That's amazing to me because it sure as hell doesn't seem like I've been posting to this thing for five years. I'm going to say the main reason for that is due to the fact that my life seems exactly the same as it did five years ago. Damn, I've gotta shake things up. I'm going to Vegas. Blogger should give me some kind of prize like a gold watch, or a free computer, or a million dollars or something. Yo, Blogger!!! Give me something!

Are you lying?

Interesting article on a study where researchers studied emotional reaction on a person's face.

Lying? Your face will give you away: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Liars might think they are good at covering up their deceit but a new Canadian study shows there's one thing they can't control that will give them away -- flashes of emotion in their faces.


Researchers at Dalhousie University's Forensic Psychology Lab in Halifax conducted the first detailed study on the secrets revealed when people put on a false face or inhibit various emotions, and found their faces told the truth.

But instead of clues like shifty eyes or sweaty brows, their expression would crack briefly, allowing displays of true emotions such as happiness, sadness, disgust and fear to come through.

"Unlike body language, you can't monitor or completely control what's going on your face," Stephen Porter, who worked on the research, said in a statement.

The researchers, who reported their findings in journal Psychological Science, examined the case of Canadian Michael White who sobbed as he made a public appeal for the return of his missing pregnant wife Liana White in July 2005.

But three days later, flashes of anger broke through his sadness and he said he was so frustrated with the police that he was going to find his wife himself, leading volunteer searchers directly to her body in a ditch on the outskirts of Edmonton.

He was charged and convicted of second-degree murder.

When Porter and his team analyzed White's plea frame by frame, they found hints of anger and disgust in his face, not noticed by most of the public.

The researchers also studied adult who were asked to view images that ranged from happy (puppies playing) to fearful (a close-up of open-mouthed rabid dog) and disgusting (a severed hand).

They were told to respond with genuine or deceptive expressions and their reactions recorded.

Porter said no one was able to falsify emotions perfectly. Some emotions were harder to fake than others. Happiness was easier to fake than disgust or fear.

Personally, I'm the perfect liar because I always think what I say is true. Really.

What is this chick doing to herself?

Let this picture serve as a cautionary tale to those of you interested in "trying" drugs. Do you really want to look like this? It is such a shame that someone as talented as Amy Winehouse is basically pissing away her life on this shit. Seriously, look at her. It's just a damn, dirty shame.

Go watch this movie.

I think Ben Stein should win an Oscar just for making this film because he addresses the very important issue of freedom of speech in academia, which more and more means freedom to speak as long as it agrees with the liberal bias found on most American college campuses these days. His movie specifically addresses the hostile environment awaiting any academic or researcher interested in exploring intelligent design, but it could really be addressing almost any arena within an academic environment. Here's the link to the movie site.

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

Now, I have no problem with people wanting to promote Darwinism or evolution, but I am dismayed that those who believe in creationism or intelligent design are branded ignorant and superstitious. For myself, I believe evolution is creationism, meaning I believe God created life and that evolution represents how that life has adapted to existence on this planet. But that one group should actively attempt to extinguish another contrary group within an "open marketplace of ideas" is disgusting to me. I have no desire to eliminate any person with views different than mine, and I would expect the same respect. Anyway, go watch this movie.

I'm outie.

My daughter and I are hitting the road for DC tomorrow. She's on Spring Break, so we're going to visit the rents. My husband is staying home because he doesn't have enough vacation to go now and do the two weeks we're planning this summer. We're also taking the dog, which should be interesting only because we'll have to leave her in the car by herself when we stop. The little mutt has a very unpleasant habit of evacuating some part of her body when left in the car alone, so I pray we don't find any surprises after returning from our potty breaks. You know what I wonder? I wonder if Dave Matthews is some kind of male nympho because I realized today that, like, ALL of his songs are about sex, have sex in them, or fantasize of upcoming sex. I'm not a prude or anything, but it's nice to have a larger repertoire to draw from. Know what I'm saying? I love Dave Matthews, so I'd like to see him stretch a little. My brother started working for Microsoft a few days ago, so I told him when he meets Bill Gates to have him pass a message on to Dave for me, telling him we should hang out or something. You know, because I think Dave Matthews lives in Seattle now and they're probably neighbors.

Happy April Fool's Day

Here are some prank videos to keep you entertained today, because if you don't laugh at least once today, you're pretty much a loser.