Is That Alright? If I Give My Gun Away When it's Loaded?

Okay ladies & gents, there has been much debate as to the meaning behind Damien Rice's song "9 Crimes" featuring Lisa Hannigan. I reviewed the lyrics and listened to the song a few times and have come up with my opinion on the matter.

For starters, I think we can all agree that there is some form of cheating going on... whether physical or just emotional. I think that the two vocals represent the cheating couple, although I think that the male is the one actually in a relationship and the female is the other woman (I'm not sold on her also cheating on a significant other).

When they talk about giving their gun away, I think that's a reference for giving away their heart when they shouldn't... hence it being a loaded gun. I think the line "if you don't shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it?" means that the cheater can't move on (and therefore progress in his affair) until he gets some kind of acknowledgment and punishment from his significant other. I see it almost as though he knows it's wrong he's cheating but he wants to continue on with the other woman, but there is still some morals left in him and he can't open up fully in his other relationship until his current significant other lets him go.

I think that at heart, he is a really good person and truly is going through a lot of pain at the fact that he's found someone else that he is emotionally drawn to, despite being in a relationship.

And thus concludes my analysis of Damien Rice's song. Press play below to check out the song for yourself.

Nothing Good Ever Happens After Midnight

As the old adage goes, nothing good ever happens after midnight... and last night was no exception.  You might have heard through the grapevine that when I arrived home yesterday evening (or this morning, however you want to call it) I discovered that I was sans apartment keys.  This obviously did not make Katie happy... and the gentleman at the front desk (yes, that same one who greeted me when I arrived home at 6am on Saturday) did not have access to the master key to let me in.  Oh boy, is right... I couldn't be let into my apartment until 7am.  As much as I appreciated the offer from Lindsey to sleep over, I was just too yuckied out to do that.  So what does Katie do?  Yeah, she breaks in.  It scares me how easy that was... but hey, I got in!

Anyway, just don't forget that NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT!

Now for the Winner of the Battle of the Sexes...

He's Not as Smart as He Thinks

A British researcher reports that the male ego is often larger than his actual IQ. But you might be surprised by what women think of men's intellect.

By Joan Raymond

Newsweek Web Exclusive

Updated: 5:25 PM ET Jan 23, 2008

Are men smarter than women? No. But they sure think they are. An analysis of some 30 studies by British researcher Adrian Furnham, a professor of psychology at University College London, shows that men and women are fairly equal overall in terms of IQ. But women, it seems, underestimate their own candlepower (and that of women in general), while men overestimate theirs. Furnham talks to NEWSWEEK's Joan Raymond about his findings and why perceived IQ matters. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Many studies show that men score slightly higher in IQ tests. Is this significant?
Adrian Furnham: Universally, men tend to score higher on certain specialized skills, such as spatial awareness. In the real world, that means they might be better at reading maps or navigating. Women score higher in terms of language development and emotional intelligence. But most experts agree there is no real, important overall difference when it comes to gender and intelligence.

But women think they aren't as smart as men?
That's the conundrum. What I study is "perceived intelligence," essentially how smart people think they are. I analyzed 30 international studies, and what I found was that women, across the world, tend to underplay their intelligence, while men overstate it.

So do most men think they're Albert Einstein?
There certainly is a greater male ego. It's what we call the male hubris and female humility effect. Men are more confident about their IQ. These studies show that on average, women underestimate their IQ scores by about five points while men overestimate their own IQs. Since these studies were international in scope, the results were essentially the same whether women were from Argentina, America, Britain, Japan or Zimbabwe. Another factor affecting perception may be distribution of IQ ... Although [men and women] are on average the same, the people at the very top and the very bottom of the IQ bell curve are more likely to be men. That is a pattern that we see in the university setting, with men either being at the very top of the class or at the bottom.

Do women tend to think that men are smarter than they are?
Surprisingly, [both] men and women perceive men being smarter across generations. Both sexes believe that their fathers are smarter than their mothers and grandfathers are more intelligent than their grandmothers.

What about the kids?
If there are children, [both] men and women think their sons are brighter than their daughters.

Did the data surprise you?
Absolutely. And it is worrying in the sense that it may mean parents send inappropriate or misleading messages to their children about their abilities. It is also surprising since school results, at least in Great Britain, indicate quite clearly that girls are doing better than boys in nearly all subjects. What was interesting was that some groups of people, both men and women, got it so wrong. Men with average to below-average intelligence think that they are quite clever. And very smart women think their intelligence is low.

Does any of this matter in the real world?
Men aren't more clever or smarter. But since they think they are, they are more confident about their abilities. These self-beliefs, however, may be highly adaptive. Who gets a job? A bright woman who doesn't think she's smart, or a not-so-bright man who believes he's capable of anything? Arrogance and hubris are not attractive qualities, but confident, self-belief may be. Certainly, underestimating abilities might hurt you. There's a good quote from one of your countrymen, Henry Ford. He says: "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." And that is what is troublesome. Beliefs may be more important than actual ability in certain settings.

So women have a self-esteem problem?
I'm not advocating for self-esteem training and therapy. I think that many of the self-help gurus argue incorrectly that improved self-esteem increases performance. Helping people to perform better increases their self esteem. Giving a kind of carte blanche to self-esteem isn't a good idea in my mind. Rather, I think it should be that increased performance and feedback on the causes of that performance, ability or effort raises self-esteem. As I said, in primary and secondary schools, girls are outperforming boys. And where appropriate, their self-beliefs, hopefully, are increasing.

Do you get a lot of flack for this kind of gender research?
I study perceived intelligence. I don't research whether gender differences in intelligence are innate. That always sparks controversy. But anytime you talk about intelligence and gender, people will have strong feelings about it. Look what happened to [Larry] Summers of Harvard [the former president of the university was lambasted for suggesting that women are underrepresented in the sciences at least partly due to inherent differences in intellectual ability between the sexes]. I just let the data speak for itself. Nonetheless, sometimes I think you have to be stupid, brave or just plain naive to work in this area.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/101079

© 2008 Newsweek.com

Lyrics? Check!

Jen, I took your previous post as a challenge and I now present you all with the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne" in it's original form AND the current English translation.

Original Scots verse written by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,

and pou'd the gowans fine;

But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,

sin' auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,

frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar'd

sin' auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!

And gies a hand o' thine!

And we'll tak a right gude-willie-waught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

English translation

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup!

And surely I'll buy mine!

And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,

and picked the daisies fine;

But we've wandered many a weary foot,

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,

from morning sun till dine;

But seas between us broad have roared

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there's a hand my trusty friend!

And give us a hand o' thine!

And we'll take a right good-will draught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

I Nominate Katie Santo for New Dehli Deputy Mayor

Who knew Katie would have the foresight that the people of New Dehli need at this time? She is totally qualified for the new opening in the New Dehli government.

Monkeys on rampage in Indian capital

Just weeks after the Indian capital's deputy mayor toppled to his death fending off a pack of monkeys, the animals have gone back on the attack, sparking fresh concerns about the simian menace.

One woman was seriously hurt and two dozen other people were given first aidDelhi over the weekend, media reports have said. after monkeys rampaged through a neighbourhood in east

"There were about three or four monkeys involved," deputy police commissioner Jaspal Singh told AFP.

"Wildlife officials are trying to find them. As police we're not experts in dealing with monkeys. We can deal with mad bulls but monkeys are more difficult," he said.

Along with an estimated 35,000 sacred cows and buffaloes that roam free in the capital, marauding monkeys have been longstanding pests.

They routinely scamper through government offices, courts and even police stations and hospitals as well as terrorise neighbourhoods.

But the issue boiled over in late October when the city's deputy mayor, Sawinder Singh Bajwa, 52, fell to his death driving away monkeys from his home.

He was on his balcony reading a newspaper when four monkeys appeared. As he waved a stick to scare them away, he tumbled over the edge, his family said.

In the latest incident in Delhi's Shastri Park area, residents reported the monkeys appeared late Saturday and rampaged for hours.

"I was talking to someone at my door at around 11 pm when a monkey appeared," said Naseema, who goes by one name, told the Times of India. "As I moved inside, the monkey followed and sank its teeth in my baby's leg."

Estimates of the size of Delhi's monkey population range from 10,000 to over 20,000.

In 2001 residential districts petitioned courts to make Delhi "monkey-free."

And last May, federal lawmakers demanded protection from the simians.

But there has been little visible progress.

"We're trying to catch them but the difficulties are a shortage of monkey catchers. We're not able to take full action at full speed," A.K. Singh, a senior municipal official, said.

Delhi has set a 10-million-rupee (253,000 dollar) budget to capture the monkeys which are handed over to a shelter in a disused mine area on the city's outskirts. Neighbouring states have refused to release the monkeys into their forests.

Efforts to drive out the animals is complicated by the fact Hindus view them as a living link to Hanuman, the monkey god who symbolises strength.

Delhi's mayor has admitted authorities cannot cope with the violent animals.

"We've neither the expertise nor the infrastructure," said Mayor Aarti Mehra.

If they are caught, "we're under pressure to release them due to pressure from animal activists and from people due to religious reasons."

Kartick Satyanarayanan, head of India's Wildlife SOS, said the invasion of the animals' natural habitats by mushrooming populations was at the root of the problem. "Humans are taking all their space."

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