Contextual Dissonance

Yea Verily

When Moab thus became a washpot, it was far other than when it was said, "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."

Your Negativity Is Your Best Feature

The Pollyanna principle (also called Pollyannaism or positive bias) describes the tendency for people to agree with positive statements describing them. The phenomenon is similar to the Forer effect. Research indicates that, at the subconscious level, our minds have a tendency to focus on the optimistic while, at the conscious level, we have a tendency to focus on the negative. This subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle.

You're Stars For The Day

The Forer effect (also called the Barnum Effect after P.T. Barnum's observation that "we've got something for everyone") is the observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. This effect can provide a partial explanation for the widespread acceptance of some beliefs and practices, such as astrology, fortune telling, and some types of personality tests.

Message In A Bottle

Roll Call

Unpopular Anagram

Horticutural Anagram

Taboo Anagram

Unlamented Anagram

Ask Re NAB Anagram

City Centre Anagram

Springtime

There Are More Things In Heaven And Earth, Horatio, Than Are Dreamt Of In Your Philosophy

Thought For Food

Lost Cause

The value of a college education

is not the learning of many facts

but the training of the mind to think.

 — Albert Einstein

The Nurture Of Nature

Intelligence is inherited to the same extent that stupidity is.

The Emotional Subtext Of Music

Anything too silly to be said can be sung.
— George Bernard Shaw Man and Superman, act II

Samaritan Anagram

Sign Of The Times

One More Mystery Explained

I wonder where that fish has gone?
You did love it so,
you treated it like a son.
And it went... where-ever I... did go.

Is it in the cupboard?
Wouldn't you like to know!
It is a most elusive fish.
That went where-ever I did go.

Oh, fishy, fishy, fishy fish!
A fish, a fish, a fishy OOOOH!
Oh, fishy, fishy, fishy fish!
That went wherever I... did go!

— Monty Python 'The Meaning Of Life'

Absurd, Farcical & Tragic

Human relationships are patterned and cross-patterned and restricted and limited and delimited and caged and freed again by the elaborate conventions, rules and games which we call civilisation. They're often absurd and farcical, and sometimes they're tragic, yet we acknowledge that they are necessary.

— Peter Greenaway

Republicans: Then And Now

Then

Now

Rough Rhymes

rough
t•rough
th•rough

d•rough•t
b•rough•t

How "Democracy" Works

Parthian Shot

Sola lingua bona est lingua mortua.

[The only good language is a dead language.]

US

No one likes us — I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money — but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us — so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

Boom goes London and boom Paris
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono babe
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now

— Randy Newman 'Political Science'

How To Vote Card

Caucasians

Armenians
Azerbaijani
Georgians
"White" Americans

Successful Head Transplant — Unforeseen Teething Problems

Being & Having

I am dead if I lack desire
I lack desire because
I think I possess
I think I possess because
I do not try to give
Trying to give,
You see that you have nothing
Seeing you have nothing,
You try to give of yourself
Trying to give of yourself,
You see you are nothing
Seeing you are nothing,
You desire to become
In desiring to become,
You begin...to live

 — Doug Anderson