GammaGlobulin

Twin studies have always been an important part of Behavioral and Cognitive Science, and medical science, and other science, for many decades, eons almost. You can read the Nature article that I linked above to find out more. Or, for a simplification, then you can just read this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_study These days, due to WISHFUL THINKING and PC and CONFIRMATION BIAS, and other bias.... Many people in this modern day UNDERESTIMATE the very significant genetical component of behavior. We like to think we are good because it is our intention to be good, and that we work hard at being good. And, we like to think that criminals imprisoned in our SUPERMAXes are bad because they are lazy and have made the choice to be bad. Born Again Christians just HATE the idea that their genes are responsible for their being CRHISTIANS, and that it was not Jesus who saved them, but their unique set of inherited genes. Same goes for the genetic component of being Republican vs Democrat, or Liberal vs Conservative, or Risk Takers vs Risk Avoiders....and... The list goes on.....

Instead of paying to see Out of Africa, maybe you should have spent the time immersed in Baby Doll. "What you done is bit off more than you can chew...."

Sure, and I fully understand what you are claiming. However, when we talk about Twin Studies: We usually are referring to studies in which genetic twins, ie identical or monozygotic twins, are physically separated soon after birth, and are reared in different environments, sometimes even in different countries and cultures. Using Twin Studies of this type often allows us to separate influences due to nurture vs nature when researching human behavior.

STRAW DOG: IMPORTANT NOTE: This guy Bard used some strange romanization for the Chinese word GRASS! No worries, though, because I properly chastised Him, and he promises to prioritize PinYin in the future. Bard is like a dumb child in so many respects. You just gotta watch them, every minute, so that they don't get into too much trouble on their own....! So, anyway... THANK YOU for pointing out this important aspect of the film Straw Dogs, which is it's Title. Yes, and this is important to the understanding of the director's Meaning when he created this Amazing and Fantastic Masterpiece of a Film!!!!! ==== Alternatively: One can decide if the Straw Dog in the title has anything or nothing to do with the term STRAW MAN: An argument or opponent set up so as to be easily refuted or defeated.

Sorry, but I can no longer agree with you concerning this hypothesis that environment is the overriding force determining behavior in humans throughout our lives, and that it is environment and experience during the first 5 or 7 years of life that is predominant in shaping behavior. I once was, many years ago, a Behaviorist, but I no longer agree with the garbage science of Social Scientists. Environment plays a role, certainly, but mostly through regulating gene expression, and through diet and disease, as well as, as you say, our experiences with others. It is important to continue to focus on Twin Studies, of course. Also, we can expect to have new research tools in the near future which may be useful in better analyzing human behavior, "deviant" human behavior, and especially Learning, which is a field that may yield important potential benefits (social and individual benefits). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01609-6 So, keep your eyes on the balls of Twin Studies which are still important for behavioral research today, and interesting, too. Nature is one of those Science Rags that we don't like, sometimes, due to its frequent publishing of inconvenient truths....

Do you have any good "on the job" sea stories of circumstances similar to the account of this sad woman's tragedy and demise?

The problem is that much of society today does not find REAL VIOLENCE in the real world cringeworthy. They cringe and object in politically correct sort of ways to what they see on their phones. Yet, they could care less about the violence and tragedies of real life around them. I would say that you, for some reason, are a bit oversensitive, or even hypersensitive, even though I realize that you are not one of the younger generations. What does it mean to be cringeworthy for you? HotLips' Persecution? I did not grow up with such a false sense of reality and real life that I would be bothered by the treatment of Hot Lips. On the other hand, I am in no way a Trump-like boor. Also, I believe you are wrong in your interpretation of Straw Dogs if you believe that film glorified the misogynistic view. This was the original, and mistaken, interpretation by many when the film was first released. And, this misinterpretation of the film is still with us, I see, even here.

And your view concerning why the Vietnam War happened is.....? Would you agree with this?: "We fought the war to prevent Indochina from carrying out successful social and economic development. " (Chomsky, Indochina Newsletter, Issue 18, November – December, 1982, pp. 1-5 [October, 1982]) So far... We have still not learned much. "Very little"

Personally, I would not waste my time with a woman as old as I. For me, the perfect age is either 42 or 24, depending on my mood. I like to look at 24's. But, I like to talk to 42's. Any older than 42, and women become too saggy and baggy for me to wish to start up with them some sort of unconventional new relationship. For me, the best option, and I have thought about this often, would be this: a. I move to a new place with twice as much land as I now have. b. I move into the big house. c. I build a prefab type bungalow on the opposite side of my property, something comfortable but not too big. d. Then, I just install an intercom system between the big house and the slave quarters, and I bet I will have it made in the shade. e. I don't like to share time with a partner when I would prefer to be alone. f. I could just buzz her if I felt like having a game of Chinese chess, or a cup of tea, or a massage, or almost anything. This would be the perfect setup for me....A "big house" with slave quarters on the same property. I am confident that I would be able to easily find a few 42's to occupy the bungalow. But, I also think that setting this up might just be too much trouble for me, at present.

And then....? Make it a ménage à trois, of course. What were you thinking?!

Some say that this quality of the film is part of it's allure. And, it was the reason that Quentin Tarantino called this film...."ART". IMHO, on the contrary, I beg to differ and I believe this film, Straw Dogs, has aged well and remains surprisingly watchable and relevant today. This film is not for the more modern brainwashed generations, the very ones who tend to see the world in back and white. These recent generations are almost incapable of seeing see their world in nuanced ways; this is due to their failure to read widely, presumably, and changing politics, and PC, and their hypocrisy. Here is a little news story I found in Cornwall-LIVE.... Very nice, I think... https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/history/straw-dogs-made-village-cornwall-4693206 Each to his own, but this film is far more memorable than any of Peckinpaugh's other films. It's above the rest. The Wild Bunch is a thing of the past, and no longer that interesting (at least to me)..... Just an opinion and a feeling, and...I am probably mistaken, as usual.

Exactly! Any kind of ingested substance, such as barbiturates, or bleach, etc., is a very bad idea. There is just not enough USER CONTROL possible. People often fail to consider the ramifications of rash actions. The moral to the story is: Look before you leap!

It would have been safer for him if he had just enlisted with the Army Paratroopers.

Right you are. I, too, was thinking of Barry Lyndon.

As far as I can tell, this year in CM has been the worst, so far. Yes. the heat is worse than it has ever been here, by about two degrees, consistently. And, this higher heat exacerbates the dust, this year, which is almost as bad as the worst it has been in the past five years. There now seems to be little doubt that the temps may climb even higher within the next five years. Really, the only thing to be done is to insulate the house, more effectively. Caulk the cracks around the doors and windows. Use either a good air purifier, or, just make a few cheap ones using fans and HEPA filters. And then, of course, buy ACs with the highest-possible efficiency ratings (at least over EER of 23). It will be just the 3-month-long Hot Season that one must deal with, which is also the Smoking Season. From July through the end of January, the environment will still remain quite livable. But now, especially this year, I am truly looking forward to rain, and rain at least every day, if this can be managed. We need a LOT of rain this year.

I just want to say, once more, that this is an incredibly interesting photo image posted in the OP. For example, in this image, we see the obvious statues which are part of the "background/foreground" of the original image. But then, we quickly notice that the "humans" shown in this image are, in fact, posed as statues, and are not actually part of the image, but have been placed "in" the original image, or on top of it. So, I wonder where this image came from. I like it....MUCH.

Thank them all... Anytime we get rain that soaks the earth, and which... Keeps my mango tree producing well.

Maybe, Central America. The Mexican culture is very big on Angels. Remember that great film, Under the Volcano. Plenty of souls walking around on the Day Of The Dead. And, remember what once was a great city: The Once Great City of.... Los Angeles

He is saying that he can picture any Englishman as an Enrico Caruso? Far From the Madding Crowd, and alone with Friday and Crusoe, on some remote isle. But, now, no more. Travel has become prohibitively expensive for the likes of you and me. In my view, it is best to just choose some place, no matter how remote, as long as you love it, add then just remain in one spot, and enjoy a much more stress-free, as well as much lower-cost, existence. This is what I do. I will not spend money to buy things, or go places, based on artificially created need. Let Madison Avenue's propaganda be read and acted upon by those far more gullible than I. Save money on airfare, and then spend that money to create a personal utopia of your own.... Far From the Madding Crowd of Phuket and BKK. Travel is NOT fun. Travel is stressful, expensive, and no longer worthwhile. Travel for pleasure is no longer what it once was. And, this is the Myth that the travel industry is still trying to sell you.

Interesting that you should mention Straw Dogs. Straw Dogs (1971) is still Sam Peckinpah's all-time Masterpiece. Straw Dogs was filmed in some amazing locations. Also, the rape scene was shortened and lengthened several times, principally due to the fact that it was seen as important to ensure that the audience knew that Amy was in no-way enjoying it. If some might not know what it is like to NOT be welcomed in a place like the one you mention, the Straw Dogs scene you refer to is most likely this one (the pub scene): One of the greatest films of that generation. The film, at the time, did not get proper credit from critics of the NYT, and other rags. Now, in hindsight, even those critics must admit just how great Peckinpah's film truly was. It was his masterpiece.

a. I think that the crowd may have interfered with his concentration. b. When competing in the HIGH-dive event, concentration is key. c. If one were to lose one's concentration, this could cause a bad landing, and then result in serious injury.

I agree. It seems to me that this photo keeps morphing. A few minutes ago, I thought that it was an image of several people sitting in chairs, on a beach, looking out to sea. Now, the image has morphed into this. Maybe this surreal look is due to the effects of Thai street food, as you say. Anyway, someone has achieved a very interesting effect in this photo. Quite dream-like, as if halfway between reality and some other zone. During the Hot Season, I eat street food, but only very close to the university. So far, very few issues have I experienced.

Yes. Bad timing. He should have chosen 5:00AM. Less of a crowd. At dawn is always the preferred time.

I agree. Beautiful form. With a bit more practice, he might have won Olympic Gold in the very-high diving event. Sad, because he seems to have been in quite good physical shape... (before his dive, of course.) Too much stress at the moment. I would guess that a helping hand, at the right moment, might have averted this calamity.

Yes. Do the Hemingway if you want to play it safe. (Still, poor girl! She met a very tragic and tortuous end, at her own hand. Such irony!)