Are you taking the piss?

I'm all about cultural sensitivity and stuff, and I try and bit a politically correct to respect my fellow man. However, I do not subscibe to the rampant PC and CS bullshit that goes around and is used as an excuse to promote any old bollocks that any old bloke wants because it's his/her "right" to a certain belief.

Fuck. Off.

So, I was bloody surprised to find out that thanks to "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month" we're having a "Informative Session & Presentation" (WTF does that mean? As opposed to a what?) on...

"Medicinal Plants and Backyard Herbs"
Natural Healing Remedies Inspired by the Native American Culture (Cherokee)

Are you having A FUCKING LAUGH?!

We're a medical School. An accredited Medical College!!! FUCKING HERBALISM? ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!

From the speakers' bio: "Her early training in herbalism came from walking the fields and woods of west Tennessee as a child."

What the ever-loving fucking pisswank does that mean? I walked the fields and woods of South Hertfordshire as a child, but at no point have I thought that it entitled me to some motherfucking herbalist shamen-like knowledge, other than how to avoid stinging nettles and badger shit.

I've been warned about making waves about this because I'll be construed as a racist and "hater". Thankfully my girlfriend is 25% Native American & 75% Africa American.


And the best defence is a good offence...

Statistics Don't Lie!

New rankings for the most dangerous cities, and even neighbourhoods were released out today. Delightful Memphis is the 10th most dangerous city in the US, which is nice.

Our local douchebags hoodlums screwed up this weekend though, when we had a full FIVE murders; but they were too late to affect our national rankings. Poor timing lads, I mean that 19 year college kid you shot to death outside the library: wasted (literally). Although with murders regularly committed by teenagers (the youngest arrested in the aforementioned shooting was 16, the eldest just 19) , maybe it's an inexperience thing. a few years in the FedPen, and the advanced training this provides, should ensure a better result next time.

New this year were neighbourhood stats too. And although we made only a poor 10th place nationally, it was great to see Memphis ranking up with Richmond, VA; Dallas, TX and NY, NY as having multiple neighboorhoods on the crime-map. Our two neighbourhoods have an average risk of 1 in 7 for someone passing through (although I think they mean living there) of being a victim of a violent crime.

Fucking hell.

See it IS normal!

From today's edition of Nature, about an article in the Public Library of Science (PLoS).

Research Highlights

Nature 462, 14 (5 November 2009) | doi:10.1038/462014b; Published online 4 November 2009

Animal behaviour: Fruit-bat fellatio

PLoS One 4, e7595 (2009)

Libiao Zhang of Guangdong Entomological Institute in China and his colleagues have documented what may be the first case of regular fellatio in adult animals other than humans.

They report that female short-nosed fruit bats (Cynopterus sphinx) licked their mate's penis during 14 of 20 observed copulations. Matings that involved licking lasted significantly longer than those that did not.

Possible functions for this behaviour include stimulation to prolong copulation and assist fertilization; mate guarding; antibacterial effects; and the detection of chemicals assisting in mate choice.

The authors say their observations could suggest a possible adaptive benefit for the activity in this species.