Day: November 20, 2017

dynastylnoire:

lavendersucculents:

dynastylnoire:

just-shower-thoughts:

Realizing that kids today aren’t even impressed by Charles Manson because he only killed 7 people.

Realizing that Manson had wealthy white people murdered because he planned framing black people for them to start a race war

Realizing that motive of the murders was based on white supremacy and that tid bit is almost always erased from the discussion

that shit is so downplayed. 

isn’t that the whole helter skelter thing? 

Yerp. Same shit. He wanted to be the leader of the new world created after the race war

3liza:

1. Gorgoneion (Gorgon’s face) terracotta stand, Signed by Ergotimos as potter and Kleitias as painter, Greek, Attic, ca. 570 B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 31.11.4. Photo by Lucas Livingston, 13 April 2013.

2. Haida (Pacific Northwest Indigenous Nation) Grizzly Bear – Xhuwaji, Bill Reid

Source: 3liza

Researchers explore why those with autism avoid eye contact

warpedellipsis:

jabberwockypie:

neurosciencestuff:

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often find it difficult
to look others in the eyes. This avoidance has typically been
interpreted as a sign of social and personal indifference, but reports
from people with autism suggests otherwise. Many say that looking others
in the eye is uncomfortable or stressful for them – some will even say
that “it burns” – all of which points to a neurological cause. Now, a
team of investigators based at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
at Massachusetts General Hospital has shed light on the brain
mechanisms involved in this behavior. They reported their findings in a Nature Scientific Reports paper.

“The
findings demonstrate that, contrary to what has been thought, the
apparent lack of interpersonal interest among people with autism is not
due to a lack of concern,” says Nouchine Hadjikhani, MD, PhD, director
of neurolimbic research in the Martinos Center and corresponding author
of the new study. “Rather, our results show that this behavior is a way
to decrease an unpleasant excessive arousal stemming from overactivation
in a particular part of the brain.”

The key to this research
lies in the brain’s subcortical system, which is responsible for the
natural orientation toward faces seen in newborns and is important later
for emotion perception. The subcortical system can be specifically
activated by eye contact, and previous work by Hadjikhani and colleagues
revealed that, among those with autism, it was oversensitive to effects
elicited by direct gaze and emotional expression. In the present study,
she took that observation further, asking what happens when those with
autism are compelled to look in the eyes of faces conveying different
emotions.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI),
Hadjikhani and colleagues measured differences in activation within the
face-processing components of the subcortical system in people with
autism and in control participants as they viewed faces either freely or
when constrained to viewing the eye-region. While activation of these
structures was similar for both groups exhibited during free viewing,
overactivation was observed in participants with autism when
concentrating on the eye-region. This was especially true with fearful
faces, though similar effects were observed when viewing happy, angry
and neutral faces.

The findings of the study support the
hypothesis of an imbalance between the brain’s excitatory and inhibitory
signaling networks in autism – excitatory refers to neurotransmitters
that stimulate the brain, while inhibitory refers to those that calm it
and provide equilibrium. Such an imbalance, likely the result of diverse
genetic and environmental causes, can strengthen excitatory signaling
in the subcortical circuitry involved in face perception. This in turn
can result in an abnormal reaction to eye contact, an aversion to direct
gaze and consequently abnormal development of the social brain.

In
revealing the underlying reasons for eye-avoidance, the study also
suggests more effective ways of engaging individuals with autism. “The
findings indicate that forcing children with autism to look into
someone’s eyes in behavioral therapy may create a lot of anxiety for
them,” says Hadjikhani, an associate professor of Radiology at Harvard
Medical School. “An approach involving slow habituation to eye contact
may help them overcome this overreaction and be able to handle eye
contact in the long run, thereby avoiding the cascading effects that
this eye-avoidance has on the development of the social brain.”

The
researchers are already planning to follow up the research. Hadjikhani
is now seeking funding for a study that will use magnetoencephalography
(MEG) together with eye-tracking and other behavioral tests to probe
more deeply the relationship between the subcortical system and eye
contact avoidance in autism.

“So now that neurotypical scientists have said so, can we stop forcing Autistic people to –   For fuck’s sake.”

Aren’t there entire major cultures that don’t do eye contact? How do they explain the “development of the social brain” there?

Reminded yet again of how much I love the too-common conflation of a GF diet and what some of the food faddists keep doing with that.

“I will base my diet around often low-nutrition commercial analogues of foods which usually contain certain grains” is not at all the same as “I will choose from literally anything that’s not made with these few specific grains originating around the Mediterranean”.

It’s even weirder when the latter describes most of the cuisines across the world, before wheat/barley/rye got introduced. Not everyone had those particular grains at all. It’s like saying you’re bound to get sick if you don’t eat any rice or corn, but way more Eurocentric in its assumptions. (But, what else would someone possibly eat as a major part of their diet?! 😩)

It’s also kinda like framing lactose intolerance as the unusual/pathological state, when adult lactase persistence is the oddity across the world. That’s only going to turn into any kind of problem if fresh dairy is a common part of your food traditions. Again, more unusual than not around the world until relatively recently. People found plenty to eat that didn’t involve fresh dairy before that. And groups that have been exposed to gluten-containing grains for less time also (surprise!) seem to have higher rates of celiac, from what research has been done.

That’s beyond the casting of actual medical reasons to avoid gluten as rare enough to hardly consider. Which is kinda how a lot of us didn’t get the problem recognized until we were well into adulthood and very very “inexplicably” sick from it. (See also: Celiac disease goes undiagnosed in 90% of cases, Canadian researchers find.) I was trying to find something older, estimating that there are about the same number of people in the US who don’t know they have celiac alone as the ones who are eating GF without needing to. But, I couldn’t find the source I was thinking of right now.

The number of people going around with unrecognized dangerous autoimmune reactions would seem to be a much bigger concern than Western food faddists possibly hurting themselves by not showing much sense. If it weren’t that, it would be something else for that demographic anyway. It always is.

It’s also not liable to be great for anybody to rely heavily on, say, bread made largely out of pure potato starch, instead of getting a better variety of nutrients. Many of the explicitly GF products largely aimed at food faddists are even worse for actual celiacs to use as staples, if anything, since we are by definition starting out with multiple deficiencies from not being able to absorb our food properly. So our bodies really need the vitamins and minerals you’re just not going to find in a lot of the commercial explicitly GF starchy foods.

I’ve probably gone on about all of this before, but I just get so tired.

How your boss finds out you’re asexual, and how you lose your job and your privacy.

autismserenity:

myaroaceass:

You tell a coworker in confidence and they appear accepting but go on to discuss with others who are not. Your boss is either part of these discussions or overhears them. Your boss is uncomfortable and you are delegated to menial tasks while they look for a replacement.

You go to social outings with your coworkers. Your coworkers over time notice you have no relationships. They start asking you questions like, “When are you gonna get a boyfriend?” One of my managers, who is gay, privately asked me if I was also gay and offered to let me talk to him if I needed support (which was nice of him but not a great plan even if I was). If you work mostly with older people, and you’re a girl, they will make comments about your appearance and say things like, “You’re too pretty to not have a boyfriend,” or, “You must have to fight off all the boys.”

Your family lets slip in a conversation with a coworker. Your family disagrees with your ID and tells literally everyone in an exasperated tone “how weird” that is. It gets around the workplace and up to your boss. You are not around next quarter.

You posted about your sexuality on social media linked to your name. HR finds it, your boss finds it, and you go on the list for people who aren’t coming back next season or quarter or however your workplace breaks up time.

You wrote about your sexuality, were quoted about your sexuality, or otherwise had a statement about your sexuality published and your privacy was not respected, your full name was used, and your employer finds this quote.

If you have a queerplatonic partner/significant other, your queerplatonic partner/SO is perceived as your sexual or romantic partner. Maybe you posted cute couple pictures on facebook. You have matching t-shirts and hold hands. If your queerplatonic partner or SO is the same sex or presents as the same sex, you can face similar ramifications as if you were in a same sex romantic or sexual relationship. You will probably not get a chance to explain yourself, you will be ushered out of the workplace privately.

You are out in your private life. Your coworkers become part of your private life. They are careless or malignant. They publicly out you.

You are out in your home life. Your family is careless. They publicly out you.

You  are out in your private life. You explain to a romantic partner your asexuality. They are disgusted and angry. They publicly out you.

You are not fired for being “Asexual” you are fired for lacking “Family
Values.” You are older than 30 and have no apparent intention of
maintaining corporate “Family Values.” You do not talk about them on
your down time. You do your work and go home. People think you are weird
and even threatening. You are slowly ushered out of the workplace as it
becomes apparent that you have no “Family Values.” This happens whether or not you are closeted, mostly to women I would expect, but in general the older you are the more likely it is that not having a SO is unacceptable. There may be a cultural shift away from marriage due to financial reasons and as the older population dies out [that’s morbid I’m sorry]. It may become less of an issue in the future due to same-sex marriage legalization, but maybe not idk.

There may be a case for discrimination claims if you are asexual, because under Americans with Disabilities Act and I believe section 504 of the rehab act, the definition of disability includes “appearing to have a disability.” So while asexuality is not a disability in and of itself, it might be possible to claim that you were removed from your position due to a belief that you are defunct in some way. Granted that could also backfire terribly and result in a supreme court ruling that it’s A-OK to fire asexual people.

[Note that “Family Values” is code for a great many things. You can also get fired for: being in a multiracial relationship, adopting children of a different race, being a different religion than your boss, being less intense in your religion than your boss, being political in a way that your boss disagrees with, not wanting kids and saying so, and a lot of weird shit irrelevant to your job. Basically, don’t work for companies with “Traditional Family Values” you’re going to hate yourself.]

I was just rewatching Rocky Horror, and one of the very first lines is the straight dude talking about how his friend is so lucky to have gotten married because now he’ll be in line for a promotion.

He’s not just free-associating. It wasn’t that long ago that getting married meant guys were seen as Mature and Ready To Commit To More Responsibilities at work. A lot of places wouldn’t promote single perceived-as-straight

guys past a certain point, because clearly they were still just fucking around in life. And why give them the raise or promotion that someone supporting a family needed?

(Obvs, the reason for not promoting single dudes you thought were gay or bi was different. Obvs, sometimes people knew enough to read “bachelor” as “queer”, and it didn’t matter whether that meant gay or bi or ace.)

There are probably still companies that act this way. In the US, I think that this mostly disappeared with the disappearance of “working at the same company for life,” but I could be biased by working in a big and queer-friendly city.

How your boss finds out you’re asexual, and how you lose your job and your privacy.

myaroaceass:

You tell a coworker in confidence and they appear accepting but go on to discuss with others who are not. Your boss is either part of these discussions or overhears them. Your boss is uncomfortable and you are delegated to menial tasks while they look for a replacement.

You go to social outings with your coworkers. Your coworkers over time notice you have no relationships. They start asking you questions like, “When are you gonna get a boyfriend?” One of my managers, who is gay, privately asked me if I was also gay and offered to let me talk to him if I needed support (which was nice of him but not a great plan even if I was). If you work mostly with older people, and you’re a girl, they will make comments about your appearance and say things like, “You’re too pretty to not have a boyfriend,” or, “You must have to fight off all the boys.”

Your family lets slip in a conversation with a coworker. Your family disagrees with your ID and tells literally everyone in an exasperated tone “how weird” that is. It gets around the workplace and up to your boss. You are not around next quarter.

You posted about your sexuality on social media linked to your name. HR finds it, your boss finds it, and you go on the list for people who aren’t coming back next season or quarter or however your workplace breaks up time.

You wrote about your sexuality, were quoted about your sexuality, or otherwise had a statement about your sexuality published and your privacy was not respected, your full name was used, and your employer finds this quote.

If you have a queerplatonic partner/significant other, your queerplatonic partner/SO is perceived as your sexual or romantic partner. Maybe you posted cute couple pictures on facebook. You have matching t-shirts and hold hands. If your queerplatonic partner or SO is the same sex or presents as the same sex, you can face similar ramifications as if you were in a same sex romantic or sexual relationship. You will probably not get a chance to explain yourself, you will be ushered out of the workplace privately.

You are out in your private life. Your coworkers become part of your private life. They are careless or malignant. They publicly out you.

You are out in your home life. Your family is careless. They publicly out you.

You  are out in your private life. You explain to a romantic partner your asexuality. They are disgusted and angry. They publicly out you.

You are not fired for being “Asexual” you are fired for lacking “Family
Values.” You are older than 30 and have no apparent intention of
maintaining corporate “Family Values.” You do not talk about them on
your down time. You do your work and go home. People think you are weird
and even threatening. You are slowly ushered out of the workplace as it
becomes apparent that you have no “Family Values.” This happens whether or not you are closeted, mostly to women I would expect, but in general the older you are the more likely it is that not having a SO is unacceptable. There may be a cultural shift away from marriage due to financial reasons and as the older population dies out [that’s morbid I’m sorry]. It may become less of an issue in the future due to same-sex marriage legalization, but maybe not idk.

There may be a case for discrimination claims if you are asexual, because under Americans with Disabilities Act and I believe section 504 of the rehab act, the definition of disability includes “appearing to have a disability.” So while asexuality is not a disability in and of itself, it might be possible to claim that you were removed from your position due to a belief that you are defunct in some way. Granted that could also backfire terribly and result in a supreme court ruling that it’s A-OK to fire asexual people.

[Note that “Family Values” is code for a great many things. You can also get fired for: being in a multiracial relationship, adopting children of a different race, being a different religion than your boss, being less intense in your religion than your boss, being political in a way that your boss disagrees with, not wanting kids and saying so, and a lot of weird shit irrelevant to your job. Basically, don’t work for companies with “Traditional Family Values” you’re going to hate yourself.]

rubyvroom:

rubyvroom:

rubyvroom:

I kind of wish there was a version of MST3K for these awful made-for-TV Christmas movies. They are so hypnotically bad. Maybe instead of a satellite it’s a post-apocalyptic bunker and the only remnants of civilization are things like Firehouse Christmas and the bunker residents watching in horror saying if that’s what society was like, good riddance…

On further reflection I really do want this to be a real show and I want it to be hosted by Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher from a bunker in their backyard toasting the fall of civilization through viewings of Christmas In Vermont.

I still want this and especially 

#michelle forbes as a mad scientist torturing our apocalyptic marrieds with visions of compulsory heterosexuality #which they combat with endless puns and snark #call it nuclear christmas theater 3000