Happy Birthday - Updated

The Silent Podium is a little over a year old now. It's getting a little old in the tooth as some would incorrectly use the long in the tooth adage.

Time for some changes. :) I'm going to clean house a little bit and sweep some dust under the rug. I hope you all like what I have in store.

For now, go have fun with Psykopaint and create some wild images like these.

Update: So what do you all think of the new look? A little more lively then the bland gray from before yeah?

Public Service Announcement

A common question about the common cold:
Can you catch a cold from going out in the cold?
The older generation likes to say that yes, the cold air will somehow magically create the cold virus in a person. The newer generation of people say no, since a cold is in fact a virus, there is no way it can be generated out of thin air.

So what is our current understanding? Unfortunately it is a little of both.

Recent studies have shown that in some cases, cold temperatures CAN in fact instigate a cold. Spontaneously generate no, but INSTIGATE. What does this mean?

The studies indicated that cold weather allowed the dormant virus to take hold of the body. So simply being cold didn't make the virus appear out of nowhere.

When colds are circulating in the community many people are mildly infected but show no symptoms. You know, those times when people around you are coughing and sneezing and you borrow a pencil? Then only after the fact do you remember and thank your “lucky stars” for not catching the virus. It is quite possible that you DID catch it but it lies dormant within you waiting for the opportunity to take over your body.

If you become cold this causes a pronounced constriction of the blood vessels in the nose and shuts off the warm blood that supplies the white cells that fight the infection. The reduced defenses in the nose let the virus strengthen and common cold symptoms develop.

So cover up and don’t go outside with your hair wet, yes, just like mother said.

(This blog contains information used from many different websites that can neither be validated nor found again, damn history wipe!)

Iris on ... Blogger?

For those of you that came from Iris' YouTube channel you will be pleased to note that she has finally decided to join us here on BlogSpot!

It's just a little thing now but if she gets a lot of traffic, with your help, she will be convinced to spend more time here with us chatty folk. So drop by, say hi and read a little more about that girly stuff y'all seem like so much.

Personally I liked the Crepe style stuff she did in the early days though I hear a particular Christmas-time shaving video is not so bad either. ;)

Iris On BlogSpot!
(http://irisonyoutube.blogspot.com)

Don't forget to follow!

Holiday Segregation

(I started this post a long time ago but didn't finish it until now. I've been...busy.)

I have some beef with everyone. Segregation is wrong correct? The idea that one group of people should be forcefully separated from another is looked down upon by everyone but the most racist in our midst.

So why do we, in the United States, still have African-American History Month? Now I understand the significance of the recognition that successful and influential African Americans deserve and for that memory to be recalled and acknowledged by everyone. But I question why it has to be jumbled into one month specifically. Why aren't some of these events and celebrations spread out throughout the entire year?

Do we really need a special month when it is "OK" to talk about the historical influence of African-Americans? Does that month really "reimburse" them for their years of oppression?

I bet that elementary schools reserve certain topics in order to cover them special month. Aren't we doing a disservice to the unification of cultures?

I see it as saying, "We're all the same, but we belong to different clubs that we can NEVER be a part of together." Its that same ignorance that keeps people from acknowledging that 50% of Obama isn't what we say he is.

Personally I think it is more important that he is of multicultural heritage. It symbolizes a new generation of people. Looking forward as a mixed culture country to a mixed culture world where we should all work together to overcome all challenges.

Is it pure coincidence that they gave them the shortest month of the year? I wonder who had a hand in that? When I think of February I think of one color and that color is pink.

Mexicans get one day,
The 5th of May,
and its a day most true Mexicans don't celebrate anyway.

I know it is not my place to fight a war that isn't my own but I just never saw it as logical to do this. I feel they are just throwing a bone to the activists.

"Here, have a month, we'll plaster your hero's all over T.V. now shut the fuck up."


It just seems wrong to me.

Reorg Earth - Huzzah!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Some of you regular readers may remember a lengthy post here on The Silent Podium regarding Foreign Policy AKA Lunacy (Oh how witty..)

It was basically about what things I thing would greatly benefit our suffering economy here in the U.S. specifically regarding foreign policy and taxation.

Today on the White House Blog (Yeah...there IS one! XD ) I read this. For those of you who won't click hyperlinks, here is a very short series of snippets.

"Today the President answered that question with proposals to curb tax havens and replace tax advantages for creating jobs overseas with incentives to create them here at home."

The plan involves;

"Getting Tough on Overseas Tax Havens
· Eliminating Loopholes for 'Disappearing' Offshore Subsidiaries
· Cracking Down on the Abuse of Tax Havens by Individuals
· Devoting New Resources for IRS Enforcement to Help Close the International Tax Gap"

I know I know, politicians often make a lot of promises and usually come through with painfully few but its a start yeah? No word on importer taxation but all in due time... :)

Lunch Browsin'

Just before lunch I had a second to browse...now I kind of regret it.

Sheep sure are soft! Or: What happens when androids dream of sheep.



Get up on this! Or: Interesting stool sample.



Big Mac? Never knew that was a dog's name. Garfffff! (The fun starts at 2:56)