Corey Taylor talking about his views on bullying.
This man is amazing. This is one of the best things I’ve ever heard in my life.
Ten Most Enduring Mysteries of Mercury
1. Dense Metal Core
Mercury is so dense, scientists believe its heavy iron core accounts for two-thirds of the planet’s mass, more than twice the ratio of core to mass for Earth, Venus or Mars. Scientists aren’t sure what caused this incredibly high density, but suggest it might have started off with more mass that got scraped off by collisions. Researchers hope MESSENGER’s geology measurements can shed light on how the planet formed, and how it got to be so dense.
2. Why Does It Have an Atmosphere
Mercury is so small, scientists long assumed it had no atmosphere. But Mariner 10 surprised experts by revealing a tenuous net of gas around the planet. Mercury’s thin atmosphere constantly escapes the weak gravity of the planet, but somehow, hydrogen and helium are constantly replenished. Scientists suspect the solar wind draws the gases back to the planet, and hope MESSENGER measurements can provide further insight.
3. Mercury’s Tails
Scientists don’t know exactly what creates and shapes the bright tails of particles that stream off the planet’s surface. They believe some mechanism of interaction between the solar wind and Mercury’s magnetosphere is responsible. Messenger took sensitive measurements of the light emission from the tails of sodium and hydrogen to learn more about them.
4. Mercury’s Violent History
The pock-marked surface of Mercury is highly reminiscent of the moon. The planet has been continually bombarded by space rocks that leave their mark with craters.
But there are important differences between Mercury’s craters and the moon’s. For one thing, some craters on Mercury seem to be shallower than similar-sized craters on the moon, although the scientists must investigate further Messenger data to see if this trend holds across the planet.5. What Lies on the Hidden Side
The last time humans sent a probe to Mercury, more than three decades ago, we were able to see less than half of the planet. Messenger has already revealed another 30 percent of Mercury that the 1975 Mariner 10 mission didn’t cover.
6. Did Mercury Have Volcanoes?
Plains on the surface seem to have been formed when volcanic lava spilled over the rough surface and dried smooth. Many craters appear to be filled with this material. These are strong clues that Mercury once had volcanic activity, although scientists don’t see this going on now. In the lower right corner of this picture is a crater within a crater, filled in with smooth plains material that scientists think might be volcanic in origin.
7. Mercury’s Magnetoshpere
Earth has one, and so does Mercury, inexplicably. Researchers don’t know why this small, slowly spinning planet has a magnetic field around it, but measurements taken when Messenger flew through Mercury’s magnetosphere have shed new light on the conundrum. The data shows that Mercury’s magnetic field has two poles, like Earth’s, and hosts significant densities of charged particle plasma pulled off the sun.
8. Does Ice Hide on the Planet’s Surface
A spectrometer on Messenger has taken measurements of the light bouncing off Mercury’s surface in different colors to help scientists understand what the soil is made of, and whether ice can exist on the closest planet to the sun. The red and blue lines represent two different points on the planet’s surface, and their divergence reveals that different minerals are present in each bit of land.
9. Is Mercury Shrinking?
Scientists suspect the core of the planet is slowly cooling and becoming smaller, causing the whole globe to shrink. Many long and high cliffs on Mercury appear to be signs that the surface is crumbling as the planet buckles beneath it.
10. The “Spider”
This baffling structure on Mercury’s surface, an impact crater surrounded by radiating cracks in the ground, is unlike anything seen elsewhere in the solar system. Scientists are at a loss to explain what caused the troughs to form, but suspect that underground volcanism might be involved. They aren’t sure of the relationship of the central crater to the more than 50 grooves, and say it’s even possible that the cracks occurred first, and a meteoroid just happened to land in the center.
I find it much easier to write on a personal level when I’m in a sad or upset or mad or worried or otherwise negative mood. I seem to find words and topics harder to come by when I’m happy. Or feel less reason to write about it. Or maybe don’t want to delve too much into the whys of it. I’m not sure. It’s a little strange. I have less to write about when I’m happy. When I’m happy I usually just want to write things that go along the same general idea. My darker thoughts give me more inspiration than my lighter ones. And if I think about why I’m happy it can have a reverse effect - instead of continuing to be happy, I can decline in mood. Not always, but often enough. I start to worry how long it will be before I’m sad again. I start to think I have no reason to be sad at all, so why should I keep lapsing into sadness? Maybe this will be the last time I have these unfounded depressed episodes for x amount of days or weeks or months. Maybe my brain will fix itself one day, somehow. Or maybe the psych was wrong and there’s nothing even wrong with it. Which might be worse.
I’m generally considerably more to much more introspective and creative when I’m troubled in some way.
Ashkan Honarvar - Faces, 2009 - pen on photograph
“Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. It occurs in places you least expect, revealing its art in the human body, but also cruelly absent in the presence of deformation and scars. Honarvar depicts an undeniable, unavoidable beauty by accepting the darker sides of human nature.”
The kiss of death.
This astonishing sculpture forms part of Barcelona’s Poblenou Cemetery. The Kiss of Death (El Petó de la Mortin Catalan and El beso de la muerte in Spanish) dates back to 1930. A winged skeleton bestows a kiss on the lips of a handsome young man: is it ecstasy on his face or resignation? Little wonder the sculpture elicits strong and varying responses from whoever gazes upon it.
I’m not a people person, I don’t feel I get along well with many people, partly because maybe there are no or few common interests, no shared sense of humour, no shared morals, no shared or compatible what-have-you, but I think more (primarily) because I am just not good with people. I don’t talk much and when asked questions give but the barest answers or no answer at all. I don’t even smile or laugh very much until I’ve begun to feel comfortable around you, until I don’t feel quite so nervous - with some people it doesn’t take very long for me to reach that point, but for the majority, it takes a while or it doesn’t happen at all. Those things alone are enough to turn people from me, and I know for a fact - I’ve been told so, and I see it happen - that they have done before. Even if we have commonalities of any kind, my shyness and nervousness pushes people away often enough. But if someone perseveres and stays around long enough to crack my shell even a little, then they’ll find that I won’t, unlike some people believe, stay so quiet and shy forever. I admit I still am not a very talkative person, I still get anxious to some degree around almost anyone, I am still not always able to smile or laugh very much, and I don’t really open up to anyone - although with one person I have started to, and I tell you, it’s not easy. It’s not easy at all. And I’m not very good at it yet, but I’m getting better, and I’ll get there someday, to the point where I can say anything and tell everything to at least this one beloved person, and without much difficulty, or so I hope.
The people who don’t give up on me when even I think they should, when I have given up repeatedly on myself, are the only ones who really need matter.
I love you so fucking much. So much. I can’t even explain. Everything about you. Every merit and every flaw. And when I’m not with you I don’t feel right. I feel as though there’s something missing, you know? Some part of me. And my house doesn’t feel like my home anymore. My room doesn’t feel like my haven anymore. I mean, they do, but not like they did before I met you. They’re still familiar and hold my things and my family but my room is just cold and empty and dull, and my bed too - unless you’re in it. I’m so very relaxed and happy and… well, me, when I’m with you.
Your place, your room is home now. You are home now.
Cedric Laquieze is an artist working out of Amsterdam. I like the idea that Cedric has taken the idea of taxidermy art, and added a different twist to it. The idea of skeleton is a clear link to death, but with the flowers adorning them the idea seems to be softened. It’s also a stronger connection to life; if we did not go through such trouble to embalm and preserve, the bodies we bury would give way to other life such as flowers. (Via)
