From the entry for "excessive" in the Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus, retrieved 8 September, 2010:

excessive adjective

going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or
amount excessive amount of
time sitting in front of their computers>

“Paper cutting is [...] a traditional art. And through my art, I’m always looking to accentuate the positive elements of being human. We’re really good at communicating, working together, using tools, telling stories, imagining, and working with our hands. So how do we use these skills to fix some of the parts of society that aren’t working? I don’ ( Read more... )

"The sporadic occurrence of targeted helping among chimpanzees underscores their ability to understand the goals, intentions and needs of others[...]Overall, however, targeted helping is rare; it is entirely absent when food is at issue, suggesting that chimpanzees lack any strong motivation to help, even if they presumably understand how their ( Read more... )

paradox, n. and adj.

[...]

COMPOUNDS

paradox-monger n.

paradox-mongering n.

Though intellectually well prepared for the idea, it remains odd and slightly shocking to to realize that I am as prone as anyone to assume the gender of a writer on the basis of their style, subject manner, surname, or other tacit cues. As in most people, this process usually occurs quite beneath my awareness and I usually have no (unphilosophic ( Read more... )

William Gibson didn't publish his first short story until he was 29.
Thus I retain some hope.

In order to drown out the noise of an incessantly barking dog, I listened to Ratatat's Classics during breakfast today. At some point during the meal, I tried (as I often do) to pick out the sound of the manually played electric guitar from that of the multilayered and mostly preprogrammed synthesizer. Not an easy thing to do, at that particular ( Read more... )

A couple of days ago, I received in the mail a shiny new copy of J.D. Paterson's Primate Behavior: An Exercise Workbook. This is, as far as I can discern, a classic text from an established publisher -- ubiquitously referenced, one of two books recommended for more detailed study in the introduction to Martin & Bateson's Measuring Behavior, well ( Read more... )

I wonder if any research has been done into the phenomenon of accidentally biting ones own lip and tongue, specifically to see a.) under what circumstances this is most likely to occur, and b.) how common of an experience it is throughout the animal kingdom ( Read more... )

I keep getting urges to update my Facebook status message, which I take to be a sign that I should write something here instead...