So this is pretty cool.

Vocaloids are one of those weird japanese things that I've always been sort of tangentially aware of but never really cared about, though they are pretty neat. I have friends who are really into this stuff, know all the names and histories of the different characters, but I never really cared. They're computer programs. If you have enough time on your hands, you download them and make them sing things. It's fun to listen to, but it's not really something I really care to get involved with, you know?

But I thought this was a really cool video.

The history of the whole wide world is grown-ups behaving like children.

Dear you,

Having now dealt with your immature behavior, it doesn't surprise me that your child is absolutely incompetent.

No love,

Me.

Study Hall Etiquette

I'm noticing that there's a specific way that people sit in a study hall. Isolated desks near power outlets are the most desirable, while central worktables are the least wanted. So if this is the study lounge:

Then the most desirable desks are the ones along the wall, furthest from the door which presents a constant source of distraction. Typically, however, this is divided by which desk is easiest to reach. The result is that the first desk occupied is usually one of the wall-side desks on the lower left hand side, and the second desk occupied is the desk directly across from it.

Once these two desks are occupied, a sorting algorithm is established. You cannot sit back-to-back or next to someone until a certain density is reached, otherwise it's regarded as rude. So the next person to enter takes the wall desk nearest the door, because seeing that there are others already in the study hall, they take the first desirable desk that they see. Once this desk is occupied, the fourth person to reach the lounge takes the top righthand desk against the wall, because it is intermediate between the easiest desk to reach and the most isolated desk, that fits all the requirements - ie, not back to back or next to another person, and not a table.

The desk back-to-back with the lefthand wall desk fills in fifth. Sixth is the desk across from the top lefthand desk.

Seventh is the table closer to the door, because the set of desks in the corner furthest from the door is awkward. It is only occupied once all other desks and one other table have been ruled out, and the bottom right desk is taken first.

From this point on, all desirable desks have been occupied and studiers must choose at their own risk. Back-to-back is always preferable to next to someone, and typically the remaining table will be unoccupied until a large, loud group of Stern students come in to work on their Econ. project. They'll probably be speaking Korean and you'll hate them because they are loud and don't seem to realize that there were other people in the study lounge before they took over.

Once all seats are occupied, anyone else attempting to use the study lounge will be subjected to bored glares until they get the hell out of dodge.

Yours truly avoiding studying for finals,

Leez

What makes a human a human?

"Mitochondrial Eve" is about 100-200 thousand years ago in Africa. This refers to not a single individual, but a single population of perhaps a thousand or fewer individuals from whom all modern humans are descended. While some of the adaptations we see in modern humans are certainly the result of evolving to be smarter, faster, and adaptable, the fact is that your ancestors were all horribly inbred. The skull of H. sapiens is fucking weird looking. Check it out:

H. Erectus:

H. Heidelbergensis:

H. Neanderthalensis:

H. Sapiens.

Do we actually look anything like our nearest relatives? No. Because, just like in West Virginia, it's all relative in Africa 100KYA. Our reduced palette and weird shaped skull? It's probably because your ancestors were making it with their first cousins. What's the fastest way to tell if something is an anatomically-modern Homo Sapiens or not?

Well, if you've got a mandible, the question to ask is... Does it have a chin?

That's right. The fastest way to identify if you've got H. Sapiens or H. Something Else is that little buildup of bone at the base of the mandible. And where does that come from? Well, you're reducing the size of your jaw, and the bone has to go somewhere. And if you decide to move up the face, what's the next defining feature?

Anatomically modern humans have no retromolar space. While in earlier forms the jaw extends past the base of the third molar, in humans the jaw is squashed in to reduce prognathism. What do we pay for our markedly reduced alveolar prognathism? Well, if you've ever had a wisdom tooth pulled, you know - Our jaws can't hold all our teeth. We're evolving out our M3.

You know who else didn't have an M3? H. Florensiensis. "The Hobbit." An island population that, over the course of a few hundred thousand years, managed to reduce everything about itself. You know what they wound up with? Smaller jaws, no M3s, and teeth more jacked up than a Liverpudlian. (No offense to the Liverpudlians.)

So, everything that makes us human? Founder effect. Genetic bottlenecks and inbreeding.

Giga Puddi

Is there much I love more than Weird Japanese Stuff? (Oh. Wait. Rockets, Neil Gaiman, dogs, and chai lattes. )But I do love strange Japanese confectionaries a whole lot. Mochi ice cream? Daifuku? Pocky? Bring that shit on, son. Delicious! And, fortunately, yours truly lives near one of two M2M Asian Grocery Stores in all of New York City. So if this stuff exists anywhere in Manhattan, it should not be too hard to find.

I propose we make this stuff, and do a reaction video. It'll be fun!

ALSO, Christoph Waltz as an angry Austrian Jew in the Water for Elephants movie? Be still, my fangirl heart! Oh Hollywood, you have redeemed yourself from the curse of Robert Pattinson in this truly wise casting choice. Christoph Waltz is a perfect August, all suave and debonair. I am now officially excited to see it!

Inappropriate answers to unspeakable questions.

Just let these wash over you and wonder what they go to.

"Whatever I want to do. Gosh."

"In my purse in the pocket with all the tampons... actually, let me get it for you."

"Because you're a girl."

"I can answer a question without using another question. What do you think I'm doing right now? Oh, shit."

"Whatever you're doing, stop it."

"He was a jackass."

"He was a badass."

"He was a bad seed."

"He'd gone to seed."

"He'd gone to pot."

"He'd gone to smoke some pot."

"We're not smoking pot."

"I used to see something in him. But not anymore."

"It was just a syllable, to make a syllable. Can there be consonants?"

"I tried to keep calm once, but panicking burns more calories."

"I stopped waiting for you."

"It all seems sort of pointless."

"I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum."

"I came here to dance."

"I came here to have a good time."

"I came here to find the man who killed my father."

"We don't like strangers in these parts."

"Mom told me not to ever talk to strangers."

"There are new kids every season on Barnie because he eats the old ones."

This is the only semblance of coherent thought I am capable of at this point in time.

BUT IN OTHER NEWS,

WHO HAS TWO THUMBS AND PROBABLY ACED HER EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH FINAL?

THIS CHICK.

I think that...

If I have a final and a job interview tomorrow, then my impatience with cinema studies is justified. Especially if we're talking about Parody and Horror and watching Rocky Horror Picture Show. Because when I have all that other stuff on my mind, being subjected to Tim Curry in drag on top of all that is just kind of cruel and unusual. :(

One week until the end of the semester. I really, really need it.