Author: Eric Scheie

Do animals self medicate? It’s not just humans that seek out drugs to relieve a stomach ache, get rid of a headache or treat skin conditions – animals do it too. The theory of self-medicating animals, known as zoopharmacognosy, has been spotted in macaws in Brazil, elephants in Kenya and even dogs and cats in…

It’s hard to believe it’s been 73 years since Pearl Harbor, but it has, and the number of survivors of the attack on the USS Arizona has dwindled into the single digits. More than a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors, each more than 90 years old, gathered in Hawaii this week to share stories as they marked the…

When I was younger, it was very clear what rape was. Sexual intercourse accomplished by the use of force against a non-consenting victim. Things were pretty clear then. Now some people want to make it “rape” if a person lies in order to get laid. A New Jersey lawmaker has a plan that would make…

If you didn’t know what was going on, you might find this headline puzzling: Teen given 7-year sentence for skirt-burning on Oakland bus Huh? How could burning a skirt lead to to anyone receiving a 7 year sentence? Because the perp didn’t just burn a skirt — any more than someone who sets fire to…

While this only kind of touches unintentionally on the squareness of hip, I kind of think this song is a nice all-around illustration of the concept. From a 1977 concert, here’s DEVO’s “Mongoloid.”   They weren’t terribly worried about political correctness in those days, were they? (Alas freedom. You never know it when you have…

I was recently reminded of a hilarious film, “Colour Me Kubrick,” in which John Malkovich plays a Stanley Kubrick impostor who used his nonexistent “power” as a way of getting laid. Here’s the trailer: And a scene of him scoring in a gay bar: Because they thought he was really Kubrick, they did whatever he…

A hipster I am not, and never have been. I might have been philosophically a hippie and a punk back in the day, and for years I was a Deadhead, but I always found myself annoyed by the trappings of people who want to be “in” and who worry that they might not be, because…

WARNING: It has been pointed out that this post is Not Safe For Work. I am the last person in need of a reminder that human tastes vary widely, but a woman named Kim Kardashian seems to prove the point. Some love her, some hate her. I never would have even heard of the woman,…

Today is Veterans Day, and while it has a long history, the important thing is to remember and honor those who served. My dad was a World War II veteran, as were many of his friends, but unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of them around to thank. My co-blogger is a veteran, however, and…

Another day, another favorite Youtube video taken down (as usual, for “copyright” infringement). Patent royalty claims are invading the 3d printing community. I cannot shop online without later being spammed to death by Google ads offering me what I already bought, or decided NOT to buy. Under the guise of protecting the environment, cities are conning rural…

The spooks are out tonight! I could tell by the way the sun was setting. And indoors, the sunset persists.

An emerging idea is that flattering words — even saying “Have a nice evening” — are a form of abuse called “street harassment“: A 24-year-old aspiring actress has been filmed being catcalled 108 times as she strolled around New York City – even though she was wearing a plain T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Shoshana Roberts, a…

Among other things, they can steal your house: A Norcross, Georgia, woman is pleading with city leaders not to take her home over an overdue tax bill of $94.85. The woman says she never received any notices and never knew her condo had been sold at auction. Now city officials are trying to figure out…

Anyone who has been reading M. Simon’s recent posts about marijuana and who thinks that the War on Drugs is (or ought to be) winding down should get a load of today’s Drudge headline: DOJ’s New Civil Rights Division Chief: Decriminalize Possession of All Drugs… The link goes to this Heritage Foundation pro-Drug War screed opposing the nomination…

This is an outrage: The case against a 20-year-old UC Berkeley student charged earlier this month with rape has been dismissed, authorities said Friday afternoon, and he has been found “factually innocent” of that allegation. [Name omitted] was scheduled to enter a plea in the case Friday morning. But Teresa Drenick, Alameda County district attorney’s office spokeswoman,…

Sometimes life is a circus: A cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers was denied entry to Mexico — and forced to return to the United States — after officials discovered that a woman on board is a health-care worker who handled fluids from a man dying of Ebola. The lab tech, who worked at…

Here’s a San Francisco news item that may or may not amuse readers. Animal rights activists are now targeting restaurant patrons: SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – An animal rights group said they would continue to target restaurants after one of their members stormed into a San Francisco restaurant and gave a tearful speech urging diners not…

A bumper sticker I saw for sale the other day cracked me up: Not very politically correct, is it? How dare anyone play games with the sacrosanct “O” that was a very slick icon of a very slick campaign? Political satire which ridicules this administration is frowned upon in an unprecedented manner. When I was a…

From a piece by Bob Barr: Imagine if voter ID laws were as rigorous as gun regulations found in many of America’s major cities. In order to vote in such a scenario, citizens would be forced to take a day-long class (at a cost of $100 or more) about the basics of the U.S. government and…

This is good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASgApYnZePk