Scientists may discover some cool things from time to time, but sometimes they're real assholes...

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Did you guys ever read about the group of scientists back in the 60's who did experiments on kittens to work out if they could make them blind without doing anything to their eyes [link]?

Yeah, I know.  Uber creepy.  Apparently it's not enough to be able to blind someone by damaging their retinas, you have to use psychological and developmental methods to screw their eyesight up from infancy if you really want to make it as an evil scientist.

I think what they were trying to determine was whether eyesight is an instinctual or learned skill, and they got their answer.  One kitten's eyesight developed normally while the other seemed blind, even though there was nothing wrong with it's eyes.

But seriously, if you're going to do a bunch of weird and highly questionable experiments, why on earth would you choose to do them on kittens!  No matter what results you came up with, people were always going to be appalled by what you did.  If you do them on rats you have a 50/50 chance that someone will be horrified, but everyone loves kittens!

You might be wondering why I'm even bringing it up.  It was fifty years ago, after all.  People did weird things back in the 60's, like building nuclear bomb shelters and wearing flares.  What's a little kitten experimentation compared to that?  But the fact is that kittens are still used for similar experiments, like the ones who had their eyes sewn shut not that long ago to study crossed and lazy eyes [link].

Now THAT disturbs me.

I'm not exactly anti animal experimentation, provided there is no other way that research can be done.  I love animals, but I love human beings more, so I'm always going to be on the side of helping people.  But still...

Kittens!  They're just widdle baby kittens all fluffy and mewling and adorable!  How on earth were those scientists able to do it!  I'd be eating my heart out if it was me.

But I suppose those evil scientist types are made of sterner stuff.

Just call me the cuddlewhore...

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I'm totally in the wrong line of business.

No, seriously, why did I decide to be an accountant again?  What with all the numbers and the spreadsheets and the wails of "But I don't have enough money!  Give me more money!", I'm beginning to wonder if I should have thought about it a teensy bit harder.

I suppose you do get to boss people around, so that's always nice.  There's something about being in charge of the money that seems to scare the bejezus out of people.   I'm pretty sure that there are more than a couple senior managers who would do a rousing version of Knees Up Mother Brown for my amusement, just because of how scared they are of having to do their own finances.

 It's just that in some areas the job is ... lacking.

The biggest one?  That would be the lack of cuddling opportunities, hands down.  You get surprisingly few offers of a quick hug when people just see you as "that finance type person".  Work as a psychologist?  Lots of hugs.  As a lawyer?  Well they always seem to hug after they win a case on TV.  As a sporting person?  Hugs galore and the odd pat on the butt.  As an actor?  More hugs than you know what to do with ... and if you're really lucky, a simulated sex scene or two!

But no one wants to hug the person that told them their salaries budget was at risk of going over by more than the acceptable percentage and they'll need to submit a report to senior management.  It just doesn't happen.

Maybe I should have done what this woman did [link] and started a cuddling business.  She actually gets paid for cuddling people AND taking naps, can you believe it?  I want that job!

I suppose I could start an on-the-side business at work.  I could put up one of those little signs ala Lucy's therapist sigh in Peanuts, declaring that "The Cuddler Is In".

I wonder if I'd get many takers.

Late 70's hard rock is my comfort music. Yeah, I'm weird, I know...

I'm not really a music person.

That's not to say I don't enjoy listening to music, I do, it's just that I don't have the same burning, all consuming love of it that some people seem to have.  I have friends who can name every song or album by a particular artist.  Who can name any song just from hearing a ten second clip of it.

I'm not that person.

When I love a song, it's usually because it's linked in my mind to something.  I'll always love "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" thanks to an ex-boyfriend who serenaded me with it (and by serenaded, I mean warbled all the bits he could remember in a decidedly off-key manner ... but it was still sweet).  And there definitely more songs that have a place in my heart thanks to their connection to a TV show or movie than I'm entirely comfortable admitting to.

See that's the thing, I really only love a song if it prompts an emotional response in me, and that emotional response usually has nothing to do with the song itself.  And the songs that have the biggest responses?

AC/DC.

I know, it's a weird choice.  Late 70's early 80's rock.  But for some reason in my mind they're connected with being little.  I'm guessing they played on the radio a lot when I was a tot and I've subconsciously linked them to being safe and contented.

Because nothing calms a scared toddler more than a good dose of "You Shook Me All Night Long", don't you agree?

So what are your go to comfort songs?

Are we taking zero tolerance too far...

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Sometimes I really do think our society no longer has a functioning sense of proportion.

Alabama teenager, Christian Adamek, committed suicide earlier this month after he was caught streaking at a school gridiron game.  It's hardly the stuff hardened criminals are made of, and yet he was threatened with legal action and the possibility of being added to the sex offender's registry for indecent exposure. 

[Continued here...]

Naughty authors, Goodreads will smack...

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Holy crap, guys, self publishers have finally done it. I mean, I know that authors, and writers in general, have the ability to be obnoxious little jerks with the mental maturity of twelve year olds, but they've finally gotten to the point where they're being so dreadful on Goodreads that they're forcing them to go all "bad-parent" on their asses.

Naughty authors!  Goodreads will smack!

Thanks to a spate of "revenge ratings" on Goodreads, usually organised by a rival author and their cronies, that the social cataloguing site has decided to change their T&C's and start deleting ratings and reviews that are obviously not aimed at the work itself [link].  That's kind of pathetic, isn't it.  We can't be grown ups so they have to supervise us.

Although I have to think that the phenomena has less to do with the fact that they're self published authors and more with the online nature of the catalogue.  As I'm sure we've all been witness to at least once or twice, people can be little bastards online.

There's just something about the anonymous nature of online interactions that seems to make people believe they can be as rude as they'd like.  No face, no consequences.  It's all ridiculous, and so 7th grade, but it is what it is.

But I have to admit it makes my soul weep a little when I hear about self published authors doing it to each other.  I love the current self publishing trend.  It's opening up the industry in a way that's never been seen before and allowing all sorts of wonderful works to be put out there.  It's a true revolution, and we're getting to watch it happening.

But instead of supporting, or at least tolerating, each other through it, authors are doing things to each other virtually that they would never dream of doing face to face.  All because they don't think anyone will notice and call them on it.

Well, Goodreads has noticed.  Consider yourselves grounded.

I've become that one person on my street that all the parents tell their kids not to talk to...

I think I'm just going to stop answering the door altogether.

I know I told you all a few weeks back about my run in with my neighbour who accused me of catnapping [link].  At least in that particular situation I wasn't at fault.  This time, however, I really only have myself to blame.

I decided it would be a good day to put on a face mask.  No real reason, just that I'm home and have no particular plans to leave the house today.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to deep clean my pores.  So I broke out the tube of goo, smeared it all over my face, and waited for it to dry.

That's when there was a knock at my door.

Here's a little tip from your Auntie Kellie, kiddies.  If you're going to answer the door, best to make sure you're not wearing a cosmetic face mask ... and if you are going to answer the door wearing a cosmetic face mask, perhaps you should make sure it doesn't make you look like Al Jolson.

My neighbour was very nice about it, but you could tell he was a bit disturbed.  I thought about telling him that it was just a face mask, I wasn't "blacking up" or anything, but I thought maybe that'd just make things worse.

Yeah ... definitely going to stop answering the door.

The difference between victims and survivors...

I read stories about rape and sexual assault all the time.  It is, unfortunately, a part of our world.

Usually I read, shake my head sadly, then move on.  As important as they might be, I really don't have anything worthwhile to say about them.  Rape is awful and horrible and despicable and people who do it deserve to have their bits chewed off by rabid squirrels, I think we can all agree on that one.

But I had to pause at the article I read today and give it a second look [link].

Not because it was any different to the myriad of other rape case news articles, in fact it was pretty much the same thing.  Man attacks woman trying to kidnap her, rape her and murder her.  Luckily woman gets away and man get arrested.  All pretty straight forward.

But that's not what got my attention.  What I focused on almost immediately was the mug shot of the guy that was included in the article.

He looked like he'd gone seven rounds with a feral cat ... and lost.

I don't know the details of what he did to that poor woman but, if his face is anything to go by, it certainly looks like she put up a good fight.  It must have been terrifying, but she managed to scratch up his face like nobody's business.  I'd imagine he'll have a hard time if he tries to claim it was consensual.

I can't help thinking it's the perfect reminder that women and men who've been raped aren't just victims ... they're survivors and battlers ...

... and, if that picture is anything to judge by, rather vicious fighters.