What Caught My Eye Today

Political Beliefs - It would appear that the old adage, "the eyes are the windows to the soul," may apply to political beliefs. How nice. A new study suggests that when two people converse, their gazes commonly wander, and each will often glance to see what the other is looking at. Liberals are more likely to follow these "gaze cues" than conservatives are. One wonders if there is a correlation between poker players and liberals. I'm thinking, that those "gaze cues" are pretty much the same as "tells" in poker-speak. Researchers theorize that conservatives place a higher value on personal autonomy than liberals do, and are less likely to be interested in other people's opinions, hence their disinterest in gaze cues. I definitely consider myself a bit left of center when in comes to politics, but I have to say that I totally disagree with the conclusion of this study. I have no use for other people's opinions just as much as my conservative brethren does. In fact, I'm pretty sure my conservative friends would agree that I rarely have use for their opinions on political matters, just as they have little interest in mine.

Feminism - Let me preface this next item by pointing out that the rationale for this next argument comes from a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out in a recent interview that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution--which prohibits depriving any person of equal rights--does not apply to women. Interesting. I cannot wait to see how he came up with this conclusion. Scalia is the nation's most visible and outspoken proponent of "originalism"--the belief that the Constituion must be interpreted only according to its authors' original meaning and intent. when the 14th Amendment was passed in 1868, according to Scalia, it gave equal rights to freed male slaves--not to women. Scalia points out that the Constituion does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. Who else, besides me would like to see this guy run for public office? Can you imagine how entertaining it would be to watch Scalia try to justify his views under the scrutiny of an electorate that includes, you know, women?

Beer - The pint has been a British institution since 1698, when an act of Parliament made it the only legal serving of beer. You have to love the British. They have actual laws mandating consumption of beer by the pint. How cool is that? 313 years later, the government of Prime Minister David Cameron has decided that the public needs "more choice" and that pubs should be allowed to offer beer in the smaller glass known as the Australian schooner, which holds about two-thirds of a pint. The government also believes tthat the smaller measure could lead to less binge drinking. Well now, that is complete nonsense if you ask me. This isn't food we're talking about here; it's beer. If you reduce the amount per serving, all you are encouraging is more servings. In fact, I'm betting that those extra schooners are probably going to cost more than those pints, which means instead of having just a bunch of drunks, you are going to have a bunch of angry drunks.

Underwear - Among the many sources that I rely upon for content, I occassional stumble upon a gem from Consumer Reports, and boy, do I have a revealing gem for you here. A survey of women 18 years of age and over found that they own 21 pairs on average. Other revelations include:

• 46% wear briefs, not bikinis
• 25% have a pair they'd be embarrassed for someone to see.
  Hmm. Embarrassed in a good way or bad?
• 27% say their mood has been affected by wearing ugly underwear.
  I'm guessing this is due to naivety on my part, but why would you buy ugly underwear in the first place?
• 30% complain that underwear rides up.
  Clearly, an argument for wearing more thongs.
• 56% fold underwear before they put it away.
• 45% say the worst undergarment offese is underwear that sticks out of clothing.
  Yet another difference between men and women. In some circles, the dude's look is not complete without showing some undies.
• 10% have gone out of the house without underwear.
  Intentionally or unintentionally?

Potpourri - More stories from the "so bizarre it must be true" file.

• Entrepreneurship - Rapper 50 Cent rented myself out to clear snow from the driveways of his wealthy Connecticut neighbors, charging $100 per mansion, with an additional charge for photos of him shoveling.
  Props to Fiddy for finding a way to make ends meet between album releases.
• Polygamy - A Pakastani man was publicly beaten by two of his three wives, who accused him of having a secret fourth wife and plans to marry a fifth. The man swears that he only has three wives.
  I don't really get the whole multiple wives deal, but dude already has three, one wonders why these wives are making such a big deal with adding a few more?
• Hygiene - U.S. high school students are increasingly reluctant to shower after gym class and sports blaming the general erosion of privacy in the Internet age.
  Makes sense if you think about it. Might as well match a crappy odor to that crappy attitude.