O GRANDE AMIGO ESTÁ CHEGANDO!!!VAI SER UMA GRANDE FESTA!!!

UM AMIGO SECRETO MUITO ESPECIAL. CHEIO DE AMIGOS SE CONFRATERNIZANDO NESTE NATAL. VEJAM A GRANDE LISTA..

CONFRATERNIZAÇÃO DE NATAL

LISTA DOS AMIGOS PARTICIPANTES

• Abraão - É o Menino-Homem?
• Ana - A Luz de Ana
• Ana - Pelos Caminhos da Vida
• Anne Lieri
• Andrea - Andrea Pagano
• Antonio Rodrigues - Blog do
• Cris França - Canto de Contar Conto
• Aymée - Os Inversos dentro de Mim
• Cris Alves - Pensamentos & Momentos
• Cristiane - Meu Olhar Caleidoscópio
• Daniel Savio - Meu Reino
• Déya - Decidi Viver
• Elaine Castro - Visão de um Ser
• Elcio - Verseiro
• Eliana Pessoa - Coisas Boas da Vida
• Eliane - Corpo, Mente e Espírito
• Érica - LorOtas
• Erico - Conjecturas Poéticas
• Ester - Uni ver sos
• Fabio Rocha - A Palavra
• Fê Fraga - Me Falta Um Pedaço Teu
• Fernanda - Aleatoriamente :)
• Flávia - Compartilhando Idéias...
• Frank - Sob Zero Grau...
• Gilmar - Caminhar & Ruminar
• Gislene - Mundo da Gislene
• Hana - Paz, Harmonia e Amor
• Ira Buscacio - Faces do Poeta
• Isadora - Tantos Caminhos
• Jéssica - CorujArt
• Joice - Contos da Joii
• Júlia - Pensamentos, Sonhos, Desejos
• Jully - Que Seja Doce
• Lilia - Andanças
• Loisane - De tudo um Pouco
• Luiz Castro - Carrancas Literárias
• Machado de Carlos
• Majoli - Rabiscos da Alma
• Manuel Gomes - SantaCruzDouro
• Marcia - Meus Pensamentos
• Marcio - Abismo das Vaidades
• Mari - Brincando com a Rima
• Maria Dias - Bem Me Quer
• Marli - Blog da Marli
• Miss - Miss Simpatia
• Neca - Ai de Mim que Sou Romântica
• Nina - Doce Meio Amargo
• Patrícia Gonçalves - Dias Genéricos
• Priscila - Canteiro Pessoal
• Rosane Marega
• Sam - Vou te contar
• Sandra - Curiosa
• Sheila - Blog Cabra Cega
• Silene - Cantinho da Silene
• Suziley - A Arte das Letras
• Tatto - Xipan Zeca
• Valdivino - Meu Mundo
• Valquíria - Valvesta Essência das Emoções
• Veloso - Baú do Veloso
• Vitinho Andrade - Déjà Vu
• Zil Mar - Recomeçar

QUERO DEIXAR O MEU CARINHO E ABRAÇO A TODOS QUE PASSAM POR AQUI. ANDO TÃO OCUPADA, QUE QUASE NÃO TENHO MAIS TEMPO DE VIR. MAS SEI QUE É BEM ASSIM. CHEGA FINAL DE ANO O SERVIÇO DOBRA. MUITO OBRIGADA PELA SUA COMPANHIA. AMO VOCÊ!!!!
AGRADEÇO A SUA COMPANHIA!!!

Blog Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos-

MEUS MIMOS/SEUS PRESENTES- VOU TE ESPERAR POR LÁ.
UM LINDO SELO RECEBIDO -

Poetas-Um Voo Livre-

Sinal de Liberdade-uma expressão de sentimento-

OBAAAAAAA!!!!VAI TER SORTEIO DE NOVO!!!!

O BLOG BICHA FEMEA PROMOVE SORTEIO. VEJAM SÓ!!! EU JÁ ME INSCREVI, VOCÊ NÃO VAI FICAR DE FORA...VAI???

Sabe o título do post? Foi o que veio a cabeça quando fui convidada pela Eva, a bonita que cuida dessa empresa superultramega criativa, para escolher um mimo para mim e para uma leitora do Bicha Fêmea.

Como não? Eu que tenho uma pequena coleção de canecas, não resisti a tentação de ter mais uma. Agora imagine você: a caneca da La Pomme que eu ganhei, e que você pode ganhar também, é personalizada para o Bicha Fêmea. Luxo puro! Olha só:

Viu? Fiquei feliz “que só pinto no lixo” quando recebi a minha, ainda mais porque veio num pacotinho todo bem cuidado, com embalagem linda de viver, e muito elegante. Me senti presenteada de verdade! E eu tenho certeza que você vai ter a mesma impressão que eu tive. Posso falar? A impressão é das melhores! Dá uma espiada:

Sabe que fiquei com pena de abrir as caixinhas? Verdade! É tudo tão mimoso e bem cuidado, que dá dó de desfazer tudo. Vencida pela curiosidade, abri tudo e me deparei com a caneca e tantos outros mimos. Olha quanta coisa!

Repara só: o kit Bicha Fêmea by La Pomme que ganhei tem a caneca exclusiva, bloco de notas, marcadores de livro, ímãs de geladeira coloridos e mimosos, e um adesivo da La Pomme.

Tudo isso que você vê só na La Pomme é possível encontrar, porque tudo é criado com exclusividade. O que acontece é que a La Pomme é um ateliê de criação de produtos personalizados. Seu principal objetivo é oferecer produtos com estampas exclusivas que estejam alinhadas à personalidade de quem irá ultilizá-lo. Funciona mais ou menos assim: Você envia a imagem que quer utilizar, ou adquire uma na loja ou solicita a criação de uma, especialmente pra você, e eles estampam no produto que você escolheu. Ou seja, total liberdade de escolha!

Quer ganhar um kit Bicha Fêmea by La Pomme exclusivo, bonita? Se você gosta deste espaço aqui, se encantou com os produtos La Pomme, e quiser receber esses mimos em casa, pode participar do sorteio. Para isso, deixe um comentário neste post dizendo que você quer, sim, receber um kit. A única restrição é que seu endereço de entrega seja em território brasileiro, e só!

As inscrições começam agora e vão até 17 de Dezembro, e o sorteio será feito via Random.org.

ESTE EU JÁ GANHEI.

RECEBI HOJE A TARDE NA MINHA CASA. AMEI..

SORTEADA NO BLOG BICHA FEMEA.SAIU O RESULTADO DO SUPER SORTEIO DE ANIVER DO BICHA FÊMEA.

Catavento Artes

kit craft de papel com motivo natalino da Catavento Artes .

E a felizarda foi:

A Sandra, que teve a inscrição de número 50. A Catavento Artes

AGRADEÇO A SUA COMPANHIA!!!

Blog Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos-

MEUS MIMOS/SEUS PRESENTES- VOU TE ESPERAR POR LÁ.
UM LINDO SELO RECEBIDO -

Poetas-Um Voo Livre-

Sinal de Liberdade-uma expressão de sentimento-

Delusions of Gender

Note: This book quotes me approvingly, so this is not quite a disinterested review.

Cordelia Fine's Delusions of Gender is an engaging, entertaining and powerfully argued reply to the many authors - who range from the scientifically respectable to the less so - who've recently claimed to have shown biological sex differences in brain, mind and behaviour.

Fine makes a strong case that the sex differences we see, in everything from behaviour to school achievements in mathematics, could be caused by the society in which we live, rather than by biology. Modern culture, she says, while obviously less sexist than in the past, still contains deeply entrenched assumptions about how boys and girls ought to behave, what they ought to do and what they're good at, and these - consciously or unconsciously - shape the way we are.

Some of the Fine's targets are obviously bonkers, like Vicky Tuck, but for me, the most interesting chapters were those dealing in detail with experiments which have been held up as the strongest examples of sex differences, such as the Cambridge study claiming that newborn boys and girls differ in how much they prefer looking at faces as opposed to mechanical mobiles.

But Delusions is not, in Steven Pinker's phrase, saying we ought to return to "Blank Slatism", and it doesn't try to convince you that every single sex difference definately is purely cultural. It's more modest, and hence, much more believable: simply a reminder that the debate is still an open one.

Fine makes a convincing case (well, it convinced me) that the various scientific findings, mostly from the past 10 years, that seem to prove biological differences, are not, on the whole, very strong, and that even if we do accept their validity, they don't rule out a role for culture as well.

This latter point is, I think, especially important. Take, for example, the fact that in every country on record, men roughly between the ages of 16-30 are responsible for the vast majority of violent crimes. This surely reflects biology somehow; whether it's the fact that young men are physically the strongest people, or whether it's more psychological, is by the by.

But this doesn't mean that young men are always violent. In some countries, like Japan, violent crime is extremely rare; in other countries, it's tens of times more common; and during wars or other periods of disorder, it becomes the norm. Young men are always, relatively speaking, the most violent but the absolute rate of violence varies hugely, and that has nothing to do with gender. It's not that violent places have more men than peaceful ones.

Gender, in other words, doesn't explain violence in any useful way - even though there surely are gender differences. The same goes for everything else: men and women may well have, for biological reasons, certain tendencies or advantages, but that doesn't automatically explain (and it doesn't justify) all of the sex differences we see today; it's only ever a partial explanation, with culture being the other part.

Delusions of Gender

Note: This book quotes me approvingly, so this is not quite a disinterested review.

Cordelia Fine's Delusions of Gender is an engaging, entertaining and powerfully argued reply to the many authors - who range from the scientifically respectable to the less so - who've recently claimed to have shown biological sex differences in brain, mind and behaviour.

Fine makes a strong case that the sex differences we see, in everything from behaviour to school achievements in mathematics, could be caused by the society in which we live, rather than by biology. Modern culture, she says, while obviously less sexist than in the past, still contains deeply entrenched assumptions about how boys and girls ought to behave, what they ought to do and what they're good at, and these - consciously or unconsciously - shape the way we are.

Some of the Fine's targets are obviously bonkers, like Vicky Tuck, but for me, the most interesting chapters were those dealing in detail with experiments which have been held up as the strongest examples of sex differences, such as the Cambridge study claiming that newborn boys and girls differ in how much they prefer looking at faces as opposed to mechanical mobiles.

But Delusions is not, in Steven Pinker's phrase, saying we ought to return to "Blank Slatism", and it doesn't try to convince you that every single sex difference definately is purely cultural. It's more modest, and hence, much more believable: simply a reminder that the debate is still an open one.

Fine makes a convincing case (well, it convinced me) that the various scientific findings, mostly from the past 10 years, that seem to prove biological differences, are not, on the whole, very strong, and that even if we do accept their validity, they don't rule out a role for culture as well.

This latter point is, I think, especially important. Take, for example, the fact that in every country on record, men roughly between the ages of 16-30 are responsible for the vast majority of violent crimes. This surely reflects biology somehow; whether it's the fact that young men are physically the strongest people, or whether it's more psychological, is by the by.

But this doesn't mean that young men are always violent. In some countries, like Japan, violent crime is extremely rare; in other countries, it's tens of times more common; and during wars or other periods of disorder, it becomes the norm. Young men are always, relatively speaking, the most violent but the absolute rate of violence varies hugely, and that has nothing to do with gender. It's not that violent places have more men than peaceful ones.

Gender, in other words, doesn't explain violence in any useful way - even though there surely are gender differences. The same goes for everything else: men and women may well have, for biological reasons, certain tendencies or advantages, but that doesn't automatically explain (and it doesn't justify) all of the sex differences we see today; it's only ever a partial explanation, with culture being the other part.

We're Home

We're home from the Mariachi Conference. It was so much fun! We got home last night. I went straight to bed. I was that tired.

But we had a fun week. My Dad taught for my Tio Joe. My Nana performed for him. Because Tio Joe didn't travel with the mariachi. It was a good thing. Since baby Graciella came while we were gone. My Dad is going to be her Godfather. And my Nana is going to be her Godmother. She is a very lucky girl! :)

My tio Juan also didn't go. Because of my friend Sarita is still in the hospital. So my Nono taught and performed for him. We're all still praying for Sarita.

At the conference I got to take both dance and music classes. I was really lucky. I had to take the dance classes. Because my dance group went to perform. But my Dad got me to take a few music classes. And that was a lot of fun. My friend Joe got to go too. I'm so glad! We live so far away. And only get to see each other for the conferences.

We got to sing and play our violins on the river. Because there is always a big concert on the river. It was so fun! I even got to sing with my Nono and Nana. On the night of the big concert, I got to dance. Marissa, Maribel, and Lauren got to dance too. We really did have a good time.

And when my tios and Nana performed, Joe and I got to sing a duet with them. That was so exciting! I really do enjoy the conferences. And I can't wait until the next one. :) C

OLA MEUS QUERIDOS AMIGOS..DESCULPEM MINHA AUSÊNCIA!!!

NATAL É ÉPOCA DO AMOR E CONFRATERNIZAÇÃO.
É PAZ NO CORAÇÃO.


MEUS QUERIDOS AMIGOS.. ESTOU TRABALHANDO DIRETO PARA COMPENSAR A MINHA VIAGEM PARA OS ESTADOS UNIDOS NO DIA 14 DE DEZEMBRO. POR ISSO ANDO SUMIDA. TRABALHEI SÁBADO ATÉ 12H30 HOJE ATÉ AS 10 HORAS.
ESTÁ UM POUCO DIFÍCIL DE VIR E VISITAR A TODOS. AGRADEÇO POR AQUI O SEU CARINHO E SUA VISITA TÃO AMÁVEL E CARINHOSA.
ASSIM QUE PUDER EU IREI RETRIBUIR.
PEÇO SÓ MAIS UM TEMPINHO..
ALÉM DO TRABALHO TENHO A MINHA CASA E A ORGANIZAÇÃO PARA VIAGEM. ESTOU FICANDO MALUCA, ALÉM DE ANSIOSA. NUNCA FUI PARA TÃO LONGE. MAS TENHO CERTEZA QUE SERÁ UMA GRANDE VIAGEM..UMA DOCE E VERDADEIRA LOUCURA...

PARA VOCÊ QUE SEMPRE ESTÁ AQUI, JUNTINHO DE MIM, LHES DESEJO UM FELIZ E ABENÇOADO NATAL..

ESTAMOS BEM PERTINHO DESSE DIA!!!

AGRADEÇO A SUA COMPANHIA!!!

Blog Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos-

MEUS MIMOS/SEUS PRESENTES- VOU TE ESPERAR POR LÁ.
UM LINDO SELO RECEBIDO -

Poetas-Um Voo Livre-

Sinal de Liberdade-uma expressão de sentimento-

Science Bloggers vs. Science

First NASA had quite possibly discovered an alien lifeform.

Then it was an earth bacteria that has a unique kind of arsenic-based DNA - an entirely new kind of organism.

Then it merely could use arsenic in its DNA, if forced to, although under normal conditions it didn't.

But now, it's looking like it's just a regular (albeit tough) bug - and a lot of hot air.

*

The "arsenic-based alien bacteria" story attracted more media attention than any other scientific paper of the last year. At first, I was very pleased by this: to a scientist, the discovery of an organism that can use arsenic instead of phosphorous in its DNA would have been massive news, with big implications for every branch of biology. How great that the media picked up on the importance of this story, even though it's about a specialized point of biochemistry, I thought.

Unfortunately, as you've probably heard, serious questions have been asked about the Science paper announcing the findings. For details, see microbiologist Rosie Redfield's devastating post on the topic: Arsenic-associated bacteria (NASA's claims), and this one from Alex Bradley: Arsenate-based DNA: a big idea with big holes. In a nutshell, the critics make a very strong case that the evidence supposedly showing arsenic-containing DNA is flawed, and fairly obviously so.

As I've said before, this kind of thing is why science blogging is so important. Thanks to bloggers such as those I've linked to, and many others, this paper - which has enormous implications, if true - has been subject to detailed scrutiny within days of publication.

Without blogs, these questions would certainly have been asked sooner or later - but with the emphasis on "later". The traditional way to criticize a paper is to write a Letter to the Editor of the journal that published it but this usually takes, at best, weeks, and usually months to appear.

Some journals now feature "e-letters" which can appear within hours, or public comment threads attached to each paper, and this is certainly a big step forward. Blogs still have the edge, though, because it's often hard to incorporate pictures, html, etc. into these comments, and these discussion threads often become very hard to read as the important comments get mixed up with less useful, or simply out of date, ones.

A blog post, clearly setting out the arguments, and updated as new information comes to light, is, to my mind, the best form of scientific peer review we currently have.