Jessie

"The endangered Painted Hunting Dog or African Wild Dog once numbered as many as 500,000 individuals but human population growth has shrunk that number to only about 3,000. Almost unheard of among social mammals, the Painted Hunting Dog's social structure is a submission-based hierarchy, meaning whoever begs the most gets the most food instead of whomever is most aggressive.  These nine pups were born just days ago at the Pittsburgh Zoo but sadly the mother died shortly thereafter. Luckily a surrogate mixed breed dog was found who was happy to step-in." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

*wants to rub some puppy belly* - Jessie

x_x - Derrick

"A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment at bay for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his torso. Jason Sadler, 26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com, in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

ouch! - Jessie from Bookmarklet

yeah that hair pull definitely deserved a suspension. i winced when i saw the player's neck jerk. where were the refs when all this was going on? - Jessie

"Cha Sa-soon, a 68-year-old South Korean woman, passed the written exam for a driver's license on her 950th try. She's spent $4,200 in application fees since 2005 and still needs to pass a driving test." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

The WRITTEN test!!! - Andrew C

"During this fall's inaugural wolf-hunting season in Montana, hunters killed the matriarch of a Yellowstone wolf pack that researchers had been studying for more than a decade. Park officials suspect that her mate and three other pack members were also killed. A Los Angeles Times story about the hunt claims that wolves are known to kill for "pure pleasure." Do wolves really attack their prey just for the fun of it?" - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"Wolves are not alone in displaying an apparent lack of predatory economy. Foxes have been known to kill large numbers of chicken, eating only the head of each victim. (Veterinarians vaccinate foxes against rabies by sprinkling inoculated chicken heads throughout their territory.) Weasels like the back of the head and neck of their avian prey and tend to pile up the uneaten bodies in neat stacks. Raccoons eat the head and the crop. " - Jessie

"The text message on the young woman's mobile phone reads, "He's workin' late, cum work on me." It's for her makhwapheni ("secret lover" in SiSwati). But next to the image of the phone appears another message that dramatically changes the mood: "Why kill your family," followed by the tagline, "Secret lovers kill."" - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"On call-in radio shows, in the newspapers, and between friends, Swazi openly discussed the formerly unmentionable practice of makhwapheni and the attitudes of fellow citizens toward multiple sexual partnerships. The Times of Swaziland invited readers to send text messages on their thoughts of the campaign, which were then printed in the newspaper, fueling further discussion. The debate... more... - Jessie

"An Iranian woman holds her national flag during a rally outside the former US embassy in Tehran on November 4, 2009 to mark the storming of the American embassy by Iranian students 30 years ago. Thousands of Iranians staged the noisy anti-US rally in central Tehran as riot police armed with batons and firing teargas moved in as several hundred opposition supporters attempted to stage an anti-government protest. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)" - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"A fraternity on the University of Arizona campus has been accused of sabotaging 10,000 campus newspapers in order to cover up a small item in which a woman alleged having been drugged and possibly sexually assaulted at one of the frat’s parties. The copies of the Arizona Daily Wildcat containing the offending “Police Beat” item were apparently removed from their racks and strewn on the outskirts of campus shortly after publication on Oct. 8." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

*facepalm* - Jessie

"On September 22nd the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium welcomed three big and healthy African lion cubs. These two little girls and one boy were bred as part of the AZA's Species Survival Plan for African lions. Over the past twenty years African lion populations have fallen 50% due to human population growth into their native habitat." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"An 11-year-old girl became one of the world's youngest mothers - after she went into labor at her wedding. Kordeza Zhelyazkova, from Sliven, Bulgaria, was still wearing her wedding dress and tiara when she was rushed to the hospital, where she gave birth to a 5-pound, 8-ounce girl." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

Oh my. - The Bohemian Penguin

"U.S. employers who tell workers to stay home when they are sick will have to give them paid time off for up to five days under new federal legislation proposed on Tuesday. The emergency law would cover pandemic H1N1 flu or any other infectious disease, said California Representative George Miller, a Democrat who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee and who introduced the bill." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"Taipei's dogs are living it up at hotels, complete with VIP suites and pools, that aim to ease the problem of strays that has plagued the city for decades. Hoping to discourage people from dumping unwanted pets on the streets, two Taipei proprietors have opened giant hotels dedicated to dogs, with pools, salons, classes and playrooms." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"Time to check back in on our favorite Fennec Fox kits at the Everland Zoo in Seoul, Korea. Zoo photographer In Cherl Kim takes outstanding photos of these epically adorable canines." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"Bad moms, good moms, moms who drink — the media is so mother-centric these days that it's easy to forget many kids also have a male parent. But according to the New York Times, we ignore dads at our peril." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

yay dads! - Jessie

:) - Anne Bouey

:P - Jessie

I'm pretty stoked for this. They seem to have captured the feel of the game really well. I'm jonesing for another Pirates of the Caribbean style blockbuster. - Michael Scarpelli

Meh. I'll need more than this trailer to make me go, I think. It looks looks a weird combination of PotC & LotR. Also that cast is, generally speaking, very unPerisan. - Soup

這首歌很煩. >.< - Jessie

都是你喜歡煩的.....XD - Dominic Yang

才怪.我的室友也覺得這首歌很煩. - Jessie

"Hertz has been campaigning for the past decade against the mantras of mainstream economists, urging a more ethical form of capitalism. But her message isn't some yoga-infused spiritual quest. As she explained in her 2001 European best seller, The Silent Takeover, it is about the unsustainability -- environmentally, socially, and economically -- of laissez-faire capitalism and the idea that markets are stable. If the surge of corporate power was going to leave governments relatively impotent, Hertz argued, then those corporations themselves needed to fill the void." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"Drawing on subjects as diverse as anthropology, physics, geopolitics, and neurology, Hertz's economic vision is at once eclectic and holistic, which may explain her apparent ability to foresee dangers and opportunities others do not. It is also relentlessly pointed, serving an explicit agenda -- making corporations realize that they can no longer operate in their Adam Smith -- designed... more... - Jessie

"Benlysta is aimed at suppressing the immune system's response to lupus, which is an inflammatory disease prompting the body to attack its own tissue and organs. The anticipated study data, from a clinical program called Bliss-76, showed a 10-milligram dose of Benlysta, plus therapy with steroids, prompted an improvement in 43 percent of patients, compared with an improvement in only 33 percent of patients on the placebo end of the study." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

10% gain over placebo doesn't seem like much, but only 7% from half showing improvement does. - Michael W. May

"A few weeks before the ritual comes the discussion. It may begin with a priestess asking what song we should sing for the Spiral Dance, the part of the ritual in which we dance clockwise ("sunwise" is our term for it) to generate energy and to unite us with the god and goddess. One person suggests "There Is No End to the Circle." Any number of coven members nod; the rest groan. Somebody says, "We did that last year." Somebody else: "Exactly. It's traditional with us." Another person asks, "So, we're faux fam-trad now?" A new coven member tries to remember what, exactly, a fam-trad coven is. Inspired by the discussion, someone spontaneously sings out, "There is no end to this song, there is no end." The high priestess glares. Eventually, the debate is resolved simply because everyone is sick of talking about it." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

Your costume came out great! - Anika

cool! haha it's fun! - Dominic Yang

"No need to curse that bad driver weaving in and out of the lane in front of you -- he cannot help it, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. They found that people with a particular gene variant performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people with a different DNA sequence." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"The gene controls a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which affects memory." - Jessie

does everyone in l.a. have the same genes? - Jessie

"Earlier this month, Dr. Michael Berdine, Director of Cambridge Muslim College (which is not affiliated with Cambridge University but has high hopes that it will be one day), announced the launch of a year-long course, entitled “Contextual Islamic Studies and Leadership,” to teach Muslims how to become an integral part of the British community (because they aren’t already?). Students will study Western intellectual history, Islam and gender, modern political thought, and how to conduct inter-faith dialogue and run mosques and charitable organizations." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"The program, which has drawn a total of 6 students, was formed partly in response to a government-commissioned study that found that most British citizens believe that Muslims are an enemy within their country. The study attributes the problem to the media’s representation of Islam, which is often negative, skewed and imbalanced. So the logic thing to do, of course, is to change the Muslims - not the media." - Jessie

boo. they should be targeting the media and the general public, rather than the population in question. - Jessie

"When it comes to climate change population does matter, particularly for countries like Pakistan with an annual growth rate of 2.69 percent[4], will be the sixth most populous country. As poor families struggle to survive, environmental degradation is going to be more pervasive. Long-term sustainable development goals are disregarded in favor of immediate subsistence needs, leaving vulnerable communities specially women at the mercy of climate. Increased use of wood for fuel, abusive use of land and water resources, in the form of overgrazing, over fishing, depletion of fresh water and desertification- are common in rural areas of Pakistan." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"There seems to be no stopping the runaway population growth here in Pakistan because birth control is often portrayed as anti-people. The country’s political and religious leaders who could make a difference are to blame. They have ignored the explosive population growth completely. Birth control is a taboo topic in Pakistan. In our culture, the larger the number of children, the stronger the family feels. Poverty does not seem to matter." - Jessie

"Eight-times grand slam winner Andre Agassi left the tennis world in a state of shock on Wednesday when he admitted using the recreational drug crystal meth and lying to men's governing body the ATP to escape a ban." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

Amazing - is there any sport not tainted with drug use these days? - Jack Norris from email

"Using explosions to promote logic and critical thinking. Should be required viewing in every school...and Congress!" - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"A new study from a researcher at Harvard University finds that gay men are most attracted to the most masculine-faced men, while straight men prefer the most feminine-faced women. The findings suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men's brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces—those with facial features that are most synonymous with their gender." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"In this particular study, straight women preferred more masculine-faced men than lesbian women, while lesbians preferred slightly more masculine female faces than straight women or men." - Jessie

"Rockettes Erin Monteleone and Candace Jublonski pose with camels at Radio City Music Hall October 29, 2009 in New York. Camels, donkeys and sheep posed with the Rockettes as they arrived for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular running November 13-December 30th. AFP PHOTO/TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)" - Jessie from Bookmarklet

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai about 3,300 years ago, he couldn't have seen these Jews coming. A blogger writes about how one of Judaism's holiest days ended, for him, in a strip club, while elsewhere a guy strolls into a tattoo parlor requesting a Star of David. Two women exchange wedding vows in a Jewish ceremony, and hipsters toss back bottles of HE'BREW, The Chosen Beer. A full-time software developer prepares to lead a group in Jewish prayer, as a PhD candidate in Jewish thought pens a letter criticizing Israel's policies. Meet the "New Jews," as some call them: pockets of post-baby boomers -- or more accurately Generation X and Millennial (Gen Y) Jews -- who are making one of the world's oldest known monotheistic faiths and its culture work for them and others in a time when, more than ever, affiliation is a choice." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

""When I'm on stage screaming, hitting my face with a microphone and pouring beer on my head, at least I'm singing about the Torah," said the 26-year-old founder of PunkTorah, an outreach effort to inspire Jewish spirituality." - Jessie

"Jackson had a thriving career writing light domestic pieces, although nowadays she's better remembered for her spine-tingling stories of human perfidy and otherworldly menace. Everyone's read "The Lottery" in school, just one of many amazing short stories - "The Mouse" and "My Uncle in the Garden" are just two that have refused to budge from my conscious. Her last novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castleis haunting and disturbing and has a well-deserved cult following. And then there's Hill House." - Jessie from Bookmarklet

one of my favorite authors! - Jessie