Via Tengrain, we have the story of Trump skipping out on a G20 summit discussion of COVID-19 preparedness. Donald decided to fiddle while Rome burns, going to the golf course while the leaders of Germany, South Korea, Argentina, and France attempt to "foster international cooperation and to find solutions that protect people’s lives and livelihoods". It's no big loss, Trump has absolutely nothing to contribute to such a discussion, with the US leading the world in COVID-19 deaths, and cases spiking nationwide. I wouldn't expect a children's welfare agency to invite Ghislane Maxwell as a keynote speaker.
The real kicker is that he's billing the taxpayers for golf cart rentals to his Secret Service detail. his farcical-and-tragic reign can't end soon enough.
In the aftermath of Trump's electoral loss, I have been sporting a perpetual Schadenboner, and perhaps the most delicious part of it is the internecine fighting that has broken out among right-wingers. A Night of Long Knives is a-brewin', and it looks like frozen food heir Tucker Carlson is going to get carved up like a turkey destined for a TV dinner. Carlson, who is the Fox 'pundit' most beloved by white supremacists, made the fatal mistake of criticizing last best MAGA hope Sidney Powell by pressing her for evidence of voter fraud. BIG MISTAKE! Now the Donald Dead Enders are proclaiming that Tuck is a cuck, Even flat-out neo-Nazis are rejecting the one Fox figure they thought was one of their own.
It wasn't so long ago when Republicans were touting Tuck as a 2024 presidential candidate... he's an authoritarian like Trump, and probably even more racist, but he is smarter and a better speaker. He would have been a lot more dangerous than Trump, able to keep a lid on the bad stuff a lot better. Now, he's quickly becoming yet another Emmanuel Goldstein for the far-right, a public enemy in a two-minutes hate that goes on for years. The next Republican primary is going to be a disturbing spectacle, to say the least.
I don't complain about my job... I'm pretty much left to my own devices, and my immediate boss is very responsive when I bring a concern to his attention. When the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, the Main Office assembled a coronavirus care package for all employees on duty- a box of fifty face masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer. Nitrile gloves are provided at all sites. Suffice it to say, I don't work for a bunch of sociopaths. It seems like I am one of the lucky ones...
Supervisors at a Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa were found out running a betting pool concerning the number of employees who would contract COVID-19. These same supervisors canceled safety meetings and downplayed the incidence of the virus in the plant. By May, over a thousand plant employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The negligence of the plant supervisors that led to the spread of the coronavirus is horrific enough, but the callousness with which the supervisors treated the peril in which they placed their employees is even worse. The prospect of dead peasants was merely a joke to these monsters.
I will make sure I avoid any products put out by Tyson and its subsidiaries until they put a stop to these horrible practices.
It was just about a year and a half ago when I was making fun of Sebastian Gorka for using the catchphrase 'release the kraken', trying to sound tough by uttering a line from a children's fantasy adventure movie, and, in typical right-wing fashion, totally muffing up the pop-culture reference. I mean, the kraken pretty much lasted less than five minutes:
Well, now there's a new kraken in town, ready to be released... QAnon favorite lawyer Sidney Powell (best known for messing up General Flynn's plea deal) is trying to overturn the recent presidential election by claiming that the Dominion voting machines flipped the election to Biden, and threatened to release the kraken:
My favorite take on this is that she really meant 'release the Karen'. I suspect that, like the kraken in Clash of the Titans, this stupid conspiracy theory promulgated by a grifting shyster, will last all of five minutes, and the next conspiracy theory will be extruded through the right wing social media-to-professional media pipeline, Human Centipede style.
Once again, we have a culturally non-savvy person (if they hate Hollywood so much, why do they always quote movies?) thinking that saying 'release the kraken' makes her sound tough, and once again, the kraken will accomplish nothing and the war will be lost.
Tonight, the Secret Science Club is sponsoring a Zoom lecture with neuroscientist Dr Wendy Suzuki of NYU's Center for Neural Science. This lecture is the Secret Science Club's annual Dana Foundation Brain Center lecture. The topic of the lecture concerns the astonishing effects of exercise on the brain, and I will attempt to summarize the lecture as it proceeds. Dr Suzuki's book Healthy Brain, Happy Lifewas adapted into a PBS program.
Dr Suzuki began the lecture by telling us that there was something we could be doing to change our brains, and to increase our brain health by exercising. Physical activity has immediate, longterm, and protective effects on our brains. She began to conduct an experiment on herself by harnessing the transformative effects of exercise.
Dr Suzuki's main area of interest is brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to change the brain. Dr Suzuki, as a freshman at Berkeley, studied under Dr Marian C. Diamond, the first neuroscientist to study the effects of environment on the adult brain. Dr Diamond took two groups of rats, one of which was placed in a 'Disneyland for rats', full of toys and other rats, while another group was sent to an impoverished environment, with food and water, but few other rats and little variety. As a neuroanatomist, she observed that the cerebral cortices of the rats in the rich environment had thicker outer layers. Dr Suzuki was inspired to study the role of plasticity in the formation and retention of memories.
The formation of long-term memories is dependent on the hippocampus. Dr Suzuki wondered how a momentary experience. such as a first kiss, could form a lasting memory. She studied the neurons' action potentials in the hippocampus as memories were formed. She noted that she could have continued on in this field for years, but was inspired to change her topic of study when she gained twenty-five pounds when she was seeking tenure at NYU, grinding academically and subsisting on takeout. On a river rafting vacation, she was dismayed to find that she was the weakest member of the expedition, and determined to get in shape.
Once she started exercising, she had more energy and better focus, and found a workout class mixing kickboxing, aerobic dance, and spoken affirmations. She rebalanced her diet, lost the weight, and. while writing a multimillion dollar grant proposal, realized that her writing had improved due to improvements in focus and memory. The grant proposal was dependent on her ability to memorize details from various papers. She then decided to examine the literature concerning the effects of exercise on the brain, and saw that Marian C. Diamond's measurement of the cortices of blood, neurotransmitters, and brain angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels was increased by environmental enrichment, which also increased hippocampus neurogenesis. What factor is critical for these changes? The exercise wheel was a major factor in these changes. As Dr Suzuki was examining the positive effects of exercise on her brain, she received a call from her mother, who told her that her father had gotten lost on his drive home from a favorite coffee shop. While her focus, attention, memory, and mood were improving, her father was on a downward trajectory. She studied the effects of exercise on the brain, even having her students exercise in class. Even high-functioning students in a prestigious college could improve their performance with exercise.
How does exercise improve brain function? Dr Suzuki displayed a photo of a brain she keeps (Betty, the most photographed brain in Manhattan), and displayed the hippocampus and the profrontal cortex, both of which benefit from exercise, both of which are vulnerable to aging and neurodegenerative disease.
Acute exercise immediately changes the neurotransmitters coursing through the brain- dopamine, neuroepinephrine, and serotonin levels increase. Neurotrophins, such as BDNF, which repair and maintain the brain, increase. Dr Suzuki jokingly described exercise as a 'bubble bath for the brain'. Exercise improves mood, focus/attention, and reaction times immediately. The long-term effects of exercises that improve cardiovascular fitness are evident in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus by increasing neural growth factors. Dr Suzuki quipped that she wants brand new shiny neurons in her hippocampus because they function better than her old ones. Regular workouts help to grow new hippocampal cells- for a strong hippocampus, get a strong body. Glial cells, support cells in the prefrontal cortex, also increase, and synapses improve. There are functional changes in the prefrontal cortex due to exercise.
How much exercise is needed to create improvements? In an experiment in conjunction with the exercise-cycle gym Swerve, these improvements were measured in low-fit subjects exercising three times a week. The Swerve model actually measures caloric outputs for teams, using team competition as a motivating factor. A control group played group video Scrabble. Predictably, the spin classes raised heart rates more than video Scabble. In the spin class group,mood was improved as was motivation to exercise more. Attention and reaction times improved. Hippocampus-dependent recognition ability improved in the spin class group. Spatial memory improved with exercise.
Physical exercise also has protective functions, the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are vulnerable to neurodegenerative effects of aging. Exercise shores up these areas of the brain, and larger cortices and hippocampi take longer to degenerate. A study of middle aged women in Sweden over 44 years showed that highly fit women experience dementia an average of nine years after their low fitness counterparts.
What is the most effective form of exercise that will maximize your brain functions? Dr Suzuki formed a company called BrainBody to provide a two minute brain evaluation before and after workouts. Asked to give an thirty minute lecture to incoming NYU freshmen, she delivered a ten minute lecture followed by anxiety tests followed by ten minutes of exercise and a second anxiety test, which reduced anxiety by fifteen points. She then led us in a three minute exercise session to end the lecture.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A session. One question involved the role of exercise in improving cognitive biases, but there are no real studies. A question about the benefits of martial arts elicited the response that these activities involve aerobic activity, resistance, and mediation so they are beneficial- she will be starting a ChiGong study soon. Are there gender differences in the benefits of exercise? Studies suggest women may see more improvement. As far as time of day goes, Dr Suzuki indicated that exercise is best done before one needs cognitive productivity, but there are no systematic studies. People have different circadian rhythms, though. Regarding the effects of marginal increases, there is no study to show what an optimum rate of exercise is. Anecdotally, her BrainBody work has shown that subjects who state that they are working out to their limit need more recovery time to show improved cognitive function. A good, sweaty workout keeps the good doctor functionally well all day. Regarding ADHD, there are a handful of studies being conducted- self experimentation, working out and documenting the effects, can help individuals track the improvements they see. Some Bastard in the audience asked if there were studies concerning the relative benefits between working out in complex environments (e.g. biking on a bike trail) versus working out in an enclosed environment (e.g. stationary bike in a gym)- there are no studies, it's hard enough to get subjects to work out in a gym, much less outside. For her, a living room workout suffices. Regarding the pathways involved in the exercise/brain connection, muscles release a protein which passes the brain/blood barrier and increase production of BDNF, the liver also releases a ketone which stimulates growth factors. There might be stimulants which could mimic this, but exercise is known to be beneficial. Regarding cortisol stimulation induced by exercise, exercise is a stressor, but the cortisol improved doesn't seem to have deleterious effects. Another question concerned the effects of the microbiome on brain health, and Dr Suzuki noted that diet as well as exercise played a critical role in brain health. Another question regarded the brain's motivation to exercise... why is sitting on the couch so addictive? The brain does indicate that junk food and vegging out are bad, but it takes conscious motivation to exercise. Is a certain intensity of exercise necessary? Not everyone has to be a triathlete- a second lap around the supermarket could suffice. If you are just starting out, you have to do the least amount of exercise to see improvements- get the heart rate up with a power walk. Find a workout that makes you feel like you worked, though. Asked how to get involved with one of her studies, Dr Suzuki told the questioner that her subjects are NYU students, and most of her studies involve the effects of exercise on anxiety. A high school student referred to the lecture asked about the evolutionary history of our need for exercise, and if our sedentary lifestyle is a 'self-induced disability'. Dr Suzuki noted that we evolved to move, and modern individuals need to move more- she uses a standing desk, but she still can't be moving around a lot while writing. BDNF and neurotransmitter levels in human subjects are studied through blood tests.
For a taste of that Secret Science Club experience, here is a video of Dr Suzuki lecturing on this subject:
Now, get up, shake your booty, and bask in that SCIENCE!!! Kudos to Dr Suzuki, Dorian and Margaret, and the good people of the Dana Foundation.
It looks like Donald Trump is continuing on in a deep state of denial. Finally, the stink of failure has clung to this serially bankrupt, serially divorced trust fund kid, and he doesn't like it... not one bit:
It would be Pure Comedy Gold if he weren't capable of doing real damage to our society, indeed to the world. One really gets the sense that his life seems shrinking, and the walls of his bower are closing in about him, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in.
When I contemplate the last days of the Trump Maladministration, I picture them being like the end of Werner Herzog's Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, with Trump playing the role of a corpulent, partially-melted Klaus Kinski, raging at his followers as he denies his imminent downfall and plots a grandiose scheme of conquest:
Hell, there's even a creepy incest angle to both 'Aguirre' and 'Trump'- if it were legal, I suspect that Trump would make Ivanka his 'queen' when he ascends to his throne as God-Emperor... and if he ascends to his throne as God-Emperor, he would make it legal. Thankfully, with his slew of lawsuits contesting the election all failing, it seems more and more likely that he's just a deranged tyrant floating aimlessly downstream, surrounded by frightened, chattering underlings that want nothing more than to abandon ship.
I figured I'd take a break from the stupid, bad news of the day, and post about an awesome subject... the first discovery of a dinosaur poophole/peehole/sexhole. Yep, paleontologists have found fossil evidence of a dinosaur cloaca, that Swiss army knife of a hole that birds and crocodilians, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, use for the elimination bodily wastes and for reproductive purposes.
The cloaca in question belonged to a psittacosaur, a parrot-beaked, hornless relative of the celebrated Triceratops. Paleontologists can even surmise the color of the beasts' hide by studying the shape of melanosomes, which are pigment-bearing cells. Psittacosaurus was determined to be brown, with a lighter underbelly... no technicolor dinosaur here!
The discovery of an impression of a dinosaur cloaca now raises questions about... uhhhhhh... how dinos did it... Some birds just perform a brief cloacal contact to transfer sperm, others have large, alarming dongs that ballistically launch out of the males' cloacas. It's probable that large dinosaurs, had titanic tallywhackers to compensate for their lack of maneuverability during coitus... tortoises have improbably large dicks, one would imagine that similarly encumbered dinosaurs would be just as comically hung. It looks like Chuck Tingle was right all along!
The Big Bad Bald Bastard is a character played by Monsieur _______ of the City of Y______. The role of the Bastard is a handy one to play on subways, walking the streets, and in dive-bars, when being a nerdy, bookish sort is not to one's advantage.
