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By The Arbourist, on December 4, 2013, at 8:13 am I thought I’d share some useful advice about relationships and marriage. It will be familiar reading to those who have taken sociology of the family. Enjoy.
“John Gottman’s FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE John Gottman, Ph.D., is a well respected psychologist and marriage researcher who reports that an unhappy marriage can increase your chances of becoming ill by 35% and take four years off your life! He believes “working on your marriage every day will do more for your health and longevity than working out at a health club”. Although many of us believe that anger is (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on November 28, 2013, at 8:05 am I’m not much for the social media, to be honest I prefer to be alone because the rest of you are so darn noisy.
Filed under: Social Science Tagged: Loneliness, Technology
By The Arbourist, on September 26, 2013, at 8:03 am A fantastic video on identifying and stopping the objectification of women.
Filed under: Education, Feminism, Social Science Tagged: Feminism, Objectification, The Next Generation, The Sexy Lie, Women
By The Arbourist, on August 18, 2013, at 10:51 am Today, let’s look at one of the prime methods of baffling the masses. The power of positive thinking and the credulous ‘Positive Psychology’ that buttresses the fatuous assertions made by the followers of the cult of happiness. While not a exclusively in the domain in religious, the deluded (religious and otherwise) use ‘positive thinking’ to lie to their flocks and ensconce the cancerous idea that somehow if they just work a little harder and be a little happier wealth, fame and fortune will fall into their laps.
This of course, is bullshit.
Your earning potential in life (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on August 15, 2013, at 8:00 am Dealing with positive psychology and its converts can be most irksome at times because, like religion, they don’t smell the bullshit they are peddling. Let’s look at the concise way Chris Hedges sums up this toxic phenomena in his book Empire of Illusion.
“There is a dark, insidious quality to the ideology promoted by the positive psychologists. They condemn all social critics and iconoclasts, the dissidents and the individualists, for failing to surrender and seek fulfillment in the collective lowing of the corporate herd. They strangle creativity an moral autonomy. They seek to mold and (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on August 12, 2013, at 8:00 am Let us take a good look at how free speech and competing idea’s are treated at a American College. You wonder why so many people just roll their eyes when the words American and enlightened are mentioned in the same sentence.
What gets me is that these are the supposed emerging ‘educated class’… the new leaders of American society. Such inanity, such ignorance such dedication to american exceptionalism. This is really a chilling video.
Speaking the truth, as always, is never well received.
[Full Text of Speech]
I want to speak to you today about (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on August 7, 2013, at 8:03 am My summer vacation reading was a sunny little book by Nick Turse called Kill Anything That Moves. I finished the other book I was noshing on, the Age of American Unreason, just after returning from Kaslo and now I’ve started Chris Hedges book, the Empire of Illusion. Turse’s book is a necessary read for anyone who wants to understand what war is all about; I’ll be posting quotes from it here soon, but a work of that calibre needs time to digest, to make sense of the crushing sorrow it brings about.
Hedges book is similar (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on August 5, 2013, at 8:05 am
“We now live in two Americas. One—now the minority—functions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other—the majority—is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. To this majority—which crosses social class lines, though the poor are overwhelmingly affected—presidential debate and political rhetoric is pitched at a sixth-grade reading level. In this “other America,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins of society.”
-Overview from the Empire of Illusion, by Chris Hedges
I’m (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on May 25, 2013, at 8:07 am *sigh* Like the gender binary needs more reinforcement…
Thanks to Dr. Lisa Wade over at Sociological Images for the pic and commentary.
“Dieting is for women.
I mean we all know that dieting and women go together like peas and carrots. We know this — collectively and together, even if we don’t agree that it should be this way – not because it’s inevitable or natural, but because we constantly get reminded that women should be on diets and dieting is a feminine activity.”
Filed under: Feminism, Social Science Tagged: Cheese, Gender binary, Gender Cheese!, Sociological Images
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Gendered Cheese!
By The Arbourist, on May 21, 2013, at 8:06 am
Of course, it could just be me…
Filed under: International Affairs, Social Science Tagged: Helpful Infographics, Public Sector, USA
By The Arbourist, on March 5, 2013, at 8:08 am For your quick hit of sociological fact, look no further. Inequality is bad for societies and also bad for families. In other breaking news global warming is a “go”, religious is still deceiving people and women are still being systematically discriminated against.
Enjoy the video.
Filed under: Social Science Tagged: Familiy, Inequality, Sociology
By The Arbourist, on November 10, 2012, at 8:08 am *TW for sexual violence. Project Unbreakable is about the survivors of sexual assault. It is a photoblog of survivors holding up signs with messages about their experiences and feelings. Powerful stuff. Abuse is epidemic in our societies, not thinking about it does not make it go away. Please link to and propagate Project Unbreakable’s message. [...] . . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Project Unbreakable – Pictures that say too much.
By The Arbourist, on September 8, 2012, at 10:56 am Did you ever wonder about economic growth? Take the time to question your assumptions on economic growth and how it effects you? Thomas Homer Dixon has and what he says is quite interesting. From The Upside of Down pages 192 – 193.
“One might even say that we’re collectively fixated on maintaining growth. But this is a curious fixation because beyond a certain point – a point many of passed long ago – the higher incomes that growth produces don’t make us any happier.
When psychologists have questioned people over the years about how happy
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Failures of Capitalism – Unquestioned Assumptions on Happiness
By Mystro, on July 26, 2012, at 8:11 am When I was quite young and much more naive than I am today, I was talking to my dad about drugs. We were talking about all the negative health effects of smoking in school, so I told my dad that I thought that it would be a wonderful idea if smoking was made illegal. Within a generation lung, throat, and mouth cancer would be decimated, people all over the planet would be happy, healthy, and less prone to violence. This could save the world!
My dad was quick to point out how I was in error. Drug lords, he said,
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Prohibition is Still Failing. Portugal Shows That Decriminalization Works
By The Arbourist, on April 4, 2012, at 8:21 am I think one of the smartest things a parent can do is get rid of the TV if they have children. TV land is a violently misogynistic place that perpetuates the current ugly set of cultural norms we have here in North America. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation shares some startling/depressing facts about what people are subjected to while they watch TV.
“Nearly 2 out of 3 TV programs contained some violence,2 averaging about 6 violent acts per hour.3 • Fewer than 5% of these programs featured an anti-violence theme or prosocial message emphasizing alternatives
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: You are what you watch – Violence in the Media
By The Arbourist, on March 31, 2012, at 8:13 am Urban living makes it difficult to break with the expected privacy norms…watch and see.
Filed under: Science, Social Science Tagged: CIty Expectations, Safe in Public?, Sociolgy
By The Arbourist, on January 4, 2012, at 8:40 am When you tell someone they are being too sensitive…or they should just suck it up or you just dismiss what they are saying; you’re probably in the wrong. You and your privilege need to stand down, stop and think before you continue.
Filed under: Social Science Tagged: Examine your Motivations, Racism, White Privilege
By The Arbourist, on January 2, 2012, at 8:30 am We all think that we’ll help others in distress. Experimental evidence says otherwise…
Filed under: Science, Social Science Tagged: Bystander Effect, Experimental Psychology, Science
By The Arbourist, on December 13, 2011, at 8:42 am Theramin Trees is notable for his particularly pellucid discourse when it comes to the topics of religion and atheism. The relationships we have and maintain necessarily change over the course of our lives it is unfortunate that religion wants to put us back in the role of the needy, compliant child. Theramin Trees makes a strong argument for embracing adult relationships and responsibilities in all aspects of our lives.
Filed under: Religion, Social Science Tagged: How our relationships define us, Religion, The Bad Parent, theramin trees
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Religion – The Bad Parent
By The Arbourist, on November 16, 2011, at 10:30 am Reflect on how the people involved in the OWS are framed and then consider this lecture by Allan Watts.
Filed under: Politics, Social Science Tagged: Counter-Culture, Normative Attitudes, OWS, Sociolgy
By The Arbourist, on November 15, 2011, at 8:45 am Grabbed from Sociological Images – Again, more evidence that egalitarian policies are good not only for people, but for business. “George W. Bush did not really say, “The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur.” But that statement does fit with the American tendency to view our country as [...] . . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Oh hey, Socialism good for business – Social Safety Nets and Business Start-Ups
By Robert McBean, on November 15, 2011, at 2:11 am As if the tragedy at Penn State wasn’t bad enough in and of itself, people with unrelated axes to grind are now using it to get attention. 1. A spokesman for an anti-gay hate group blames gay men and homosexuality for the alleged sexual assault(s) a… . . . → Read More: Five of Five: Hijacking Penn State
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