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My own TV-channel,covering poltics and other fun stuff

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Self-referential

Apparently one of the surest signs of a blog's imminent death is a posting noting how long it's been since the previous post. This will therefore not be one of those posts, or will it?

Am I Leo?

Penny: "Well, I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to now."
Sheldon: "Yes, it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality."
- The Big Bang Theory (TV Show)

See clip below, just before the end

Plural of Anecdote

Not often does random googling yield valuable insights, but when entering search terms ”Colombia Private Schools Slum” they do. Not because they are the center of my (everlasting) thesis work, but because of what I found on a blog by a guy who had spent some time in Bogota. Below is a quote from his post about the people in the Recycling District of Bogota

Do you see the blonde kid sitting next to me in this photo? I asked the locals where he came from. They explained to me that a German tourist met one of the locals a few years ago. And now there’s an extra mouth to feed in the Recycling District.

I’m not making this up. I didn’t photoshop the little blonde kid into the photo. There was really a half-German little boy growing up in this ghetto

This quote struck a cord in me, since one of my strongest memories from my time in Nigeria was the sight of a five-year old blonde girl with pale skin, whose only visible company was three Nigerian ladies of dubious reputation. That sight really wrecked my brain, since I could not understand why any responsible parent would entrust their child to those women. The conclusion was pretty obvious. But having solved that riddle, I found myself left wondering about what kind of life would that girl lead? What kind of identity would she have? I, of course, could not answer this question, but neither have I been able to forget it.

Now I add a new question on which to ponder: how prevalent is this fate? Considering that sex-tourism is on the increase (or, at the very least, the media coverage of it), the answer is probably quite depressing.

Thought Provoking Stuff

"What percent of our ancestors were women?

It’s not a trick question, and it’s not 50%. True, about half the people who ever lived were women, but that’s not the question. We’re asking about all the people who ever lived who have a descendant living today. Or, put another way, yes, every baby has both a mother and a father, but some of those parents had multiple children.

Recent research using DNA analysis answered this question about two years ago. Today’s human population is descended from twice as many women as men.

I think this difference is the single most underappreciated fact about gender. To get that kind of difference, you had to have something like, throughout the entire history of the human race, maybe 80% of women but only 40% of men reproduced.

Right now our field is having a lively debate about how much behavior can be explained by evolutionary theory. But if evolution explains anything at all, it explains things related to reproduction, because reproduction is at the heart of natural selection. Basically, the traits that were most effective for reproduction would be at the center of evolutionary psychology. It would be shocking if these vastly different reproductive odds for men and women failed to produce some personality differences."

Read more (quite a lot more) at the author's own homepage on the topic of "Is There Anything Good About Men?"

Picture blogging 1: Milan

One liter of Evian for the simple price of €15. Who can in their right mind refuse that?

Walking on top of the Duomo

Picture blogging 2: Swedish Fall

Picture blogging 3: Florida stop-over

The inside of a gated community

Grandma

Sunset at the white beaches of Siesta Key, Sarasota

Floridian humor, I guess

What language is this?

Meet ’n Greet

One of the many positive aspects about being an exotic foreigner visiting parts not many others go to is that people are usually very surprised and happy to see you. Many small children just gasp and can’t believe what they see, others predictably point and scream. What I find particularly funny is the reaction of grown ups, who can blurt out “Oh what pretty eyes!” instead of saying hello. For some reason girls below 15 and women above 40 feel no inhibitions and are saying whatever they feel, whereas the age group 15-40 demonstrates complete lack of interest, something Joni says is solely because “Colombian women are great actresses”. Having watched my fair share of telenovellas I am not sure about the generality of that statement.

Once the greeting is done, the next amusing phase begins: Names. In the beginning it was tricky to learn how to spell and pronounce names such as Gerrardo or Jaime, but now the greatest confusion comes from names such as Edixon, Jhon, Yeison, Leidy, Stiven & Maicol. These names are all versions of English names, but with spanglish spelling. This struck me as funny, that is, until I realised that this must be how my own name; Patrik (without c), is perceived by non-Swedes.

Usually the next question is if Joni and I are brothers. When told “no”, some ask “maybe you're cousins?” Another popular theme is where we are from. When one kid was encouraged to guess he replied “the circus”. Sometimes my Spanish gets me in trouble, like the time with the girl who thought I was sick because I didn’t understand her whispers. In general though, I am able to communicate and enjoy the hospitality and warmth of the Colombians.