Think the sound of mom’s voice is an instant stressor? Think again. According to a new study from the University of Wisconsin, hearing mom’s voice is actually biologically beneficial as opposed to more passive communication, like texting or instant messaging. Wired reports that girls who took a stressful test and talked with mom — heard her voice in a face-to-face or phone conversation — exhibited lower levels of stress hormones and an increased level of comfort hormones. In comparison, those who chatted with mom electronically received none of these benefits. According to the study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, the researchers consider the effects of the spoken word an adaptive advantage, capable of “altering human biology in a positive way, possibly for strengthening the social bonds between individuals.” Wired has more: “IM isn’t really a substitute for in-person or over-the-phone interaction in terms of the hormones released,” said psychologist Leslie Seltzer of the University of Wisconsin, a co-author of the new study. “People still need to interact the way we evolved to interact.” “It doesn’t matter how many smiley faces you put in your IM. It’s not going to have the same effect as talking in person,” said Seltzer. According to Wired, after the girls in the study took a test and were broken into groups to contact their mothers — no contact, IM, phone and face-to-face — those who communicated via IM showed almost no “comforting power” from mom, similar to those who hadn’t contacted mom at all. The research studied cortisol as a stress hormone and oxytocin as a comfort hormone.
Hormone level comparisons based on method of communication after a stressful test. (Image: Seltzer et al./Evolution and Human Behavior via Wired)
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Why Texting and IM‘ing Won’t Replace Actual Speech — It’s Hormonal
Over the last 20 years, I’ve done thousands of radio interviews with hosts and anchors around the country. WBAL’s Ron Smith in Baltimore was one of the first who spent time in-depth discussing my early books and columns. Whether he agreed or disagreed (the former Marine opposed the Iraq war), he was always gracious, deeply informed, engaged, and engaging. He was not only a radio legend, but also a passionate supporter of the arts in his community and a media personality who truly cared about his listeners. I came to know of him initially through my brother-in-law, Daniel — one of Ron’s biggest fans and a cellist in Baltimore. When Daniel launched a local educational series called “Music In Common,” Ron volunteered to narrate the chamber music kick-off. Here’s an article from 1994 on their collaboration: Music in Common, a chamber music series, has quite an offering for its debut concert this weekend. Cellist Daniel Malkin, founder and director of Music in Common, has assembled top local talent from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Peabody Institute, Kennedy Center and WBAL radio. And while it might seem odd to find a news/talk radio personality in such company, talk show host Ron Smith, who will narrate the concert, loves classical music. Mr. Smith will join Mr. Malkin, of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, violinist Wonju Kim of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Amy Lin, a pianist and faculty member at the Peabody Institute. The four will perform classical works by Brahms and Tartini and contemporary pieces by Hindemith and Grant Beglarian Sunday afternoon at the 250-seat Wilde Lake Interfaith Center. Mr. Malkin said that Music in Common’s goal is “to have fun concerts and have an informal atmosphere where musicians speak to the audience. “It’s not really a children’s concert. But any kid who could appreciate a classical music concert could appreciate this.” Mr. Smith, who describes himself as a latecomer to classical music, said he supports the group “trying to show the accessibility of serious music.” “I’ve done these things before. I enjoy doing narration for serious music,” said Mr. Smith, who has worked in a similar capacity for the BSO and at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He also covered the BSO’s trip to the former Soviet Union for WBAL. Mr. Smith will introduce the classical pieces and narrate for the contemporary works. The first is Hindemith’s “A Frog He Went A-Courting” variations, in which each variation is one verse of a nursery rhyme that Mr. Smith will read. In April 1997 , Daniel died of melanoma at the age of 33. He was charismatic, brilliant, funny, and passionate about politics, but much more than that — a man of family and faith who embraced all life had to offer. I got in touch with Ron a few weeks ago to let him know how much he touched our family and to express thanks for his personal kindness both to Daniel and to me over the years. Amazingly — and true to his generous spirit — Ron took the time to respond: This is Ron. I have very little time left. A few days perhaps. I’m at peace. I’ve watched your career blossom over the years and have really enjoyed your strong points-of-view, even when not in agreement. Daniel was a transcendent spirit. Keep on truckin’ girl. Best, Ron Last night, Baltimore’s Voice of Reason succumbed to cancer at the age of 70: Ron died at his home in Shrewsbury, Pa., surrounded by his wife, June, and the rest of his family. He is survived by his wife, five children and seven grandchildren. Funeral services will be private. A public memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. In October, Smith announced on his WBAL 1090 AM radio show that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. In November, he elected to stop his chemotherapy treatments at Johns Hopkins Hospital and announced his retirement from broadcasting. Ron had been a fixture on WBAL Radio and Television for nearly 40 years. Ron began his broadcasting career in Albany, N.Y., and arrived in Baltimore in 1973 as a reporter and anchor for WBAL-TV. He anchored television newscasts as part of WBAL-TV’s old “Action News” team between 1973 and 1980. Then, after a brief break from broadcasting to work as a stockbroker, Smith returned to WBAL Radio in 1985 to begin a whole new journey as a talk show host. Never a screamer, Smith succeeded by staying on top of local and national politics and standing firm on his principles — even if his listeners disagreed. My sadness today at Ron’s passing is mitigated by the joyous thought of Ron and Dan — two transcendent spirits — meeting again to share enlightened conversation and heavenly music.
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WBAL’s Ron Smith, R.I.P.
The marriage of Mitt and Ann Romney is cleaner than a “Brady Bunch” rerun. They’ve been together for 42 years, have five children and she says they never have serious arguments. The story of how they met could put you in a sugar coma. Seriously, their first date was to see “The Sound of Music,” according to the Boston Globe. Compare that to Newt Gingrich ‘s marriage(s). There’s a lot to work with. Even so, Mitt and Ann say they won’t touch it. Except you can’t help but notice, they are. An ad released last week by Romney’s campaign is made up almost entirely of old home videos. “If I’m President of the United States, I will be true to my family…,” Romney says in the voice over. Just before Thanksgiving at a town hall-style meeting in Iowa a woman asked Romney what distinguished him from the other Republicans running for the nomination. “Umm… The most extraordinary wife in the world,” he said, according to the Washington Post. This was just after Gingrich’s campaign caught wind and his poll numbers started hovering around the same as Romney’s. Then recently, Ann hosted a living room full of women in Iowa to talk about her husband. “He is there, he is steadfast, you can count on him,” she said, according to the New York Times. “He won’t abandon you in the hardest times.” Ann then told the Times “I have fond feelings for both Newt and Callista ,” adding, “And I am not going to make any judgment or any — I am never going to make any statement about that, on a personal level.” Really?
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The Romneys won‘t attack Gingrich’s personal life; directly, that is
While drinking my morning coffee before church on Sunday morning, I turned on ESPN like I do every morning. And while I got my morning sports roundup, I was also shocked to see a report on now-fired Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine. The report included never-before-released recordings of one of Fine’s victims speaking to Fine’s wife about what happened, and her seeming to casually admit that she knew what was going on all along. (Here’s some more background .) That’s surprising and disturbing. But the shock didn’t end there: thrown into ESPN’s report was the tidbit that ESPN actually received the recording from the accuser eight years. That means it has been sitting on the audio for Eight years! Let that sink in. ESPN’s reason? It says it couldn’t find anyone to validate the victim’s story: While police have not confirmed reports that Laurie Fine is the woman heard on the tape, ESPN says they hired a voice-recognition expert to confirm the voice on the recording is Laurie Fine. In a statement, the sports network admits they’ve had the tape for several years. “Davis first gave the tape to ESPN in 2003. At the time, ESPN did not report Davis’ accusations, or report the contents of the tape, because no one else would corroborate his story.” And that raises the question: Should ESPN face criticism for sitting on the recording for so long? Consider this: the network now says it found an independent audio analyst to confirm the voice on the recordings is that of the accused coach’s wife. Did it take eight years to find someone to do that ? Certainly not. If Penn State’s Joe Paterno was fired for sitting on information for such a long period of time, it would seem ESPN should at least have to provide a better explanation for its own inaction.
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Should ESPN face scrutiny in the Bernie Fine child sex abuse case?
Yesterday was not a good day for young country stars who got their start on “American Idol.” Just hours before Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina flubbed the National Anthem before the Packers-Lions game, Idol winner and fellow country star Scotty McCreery was caught lip-syncing during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. To be fair, McCreery wasn’t the only one who did it. If you watched (like my wife and I did) you would have found several examples. However, McCreery’s stands out because it was so obvious: he missed a guy and you could hear his voice for almost two seconds before he even brought the microphone up to his lips: “Yes, everyone I saw yesterday at the parade was lip-syncing so that’s not the issue,” writes Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He just missed the first three words of his song so he made it really obvious.”
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Country Star Caught Lip-Syncing During Macy’s Parade Performance
It’s no secret that Mitt Romney’s presidential primary campaign has put far more emphasis on early primary states like New Hampshire and Nevada, before Iowa. After skipping a major Iowa evangelical event last month and planning on not attending a candidate forum in the state this weekend, many Iowa Republicans have expressed a feeling of discontent towards the former Massachusetts governor now candidate for president. In an interview with the Huffington Post Wednesday , Republican Iowa Governor Terry Branstad expressed what these frustrations mean for Romney’s chances of catching the key early primary state: “‘I think he’s going to have to put a real effort in here or he’s going to be embarrassed,’ Branstad said in a phone interview. ‘He’s trying to downplay it and keep the expectations down. But if he comes in fifth or sixth here I think it really damages his campaign nationally. Iowa voters are spoiled by attention, and if you have a candidate who does not take them seriously, I think they’ll punish him.’” Real Clear Politics currently has Romney averaging 18 percent in Iowa polls, behind only Herman Cain. The former Massachusetts governor is performing better in national polls, averaging at 22 percent. While speaking with POLITICO , Branstad warned Romney that a poor performance in Iowa could effect his national image leading to problems down the road. “I know Romney is putting his focus in New Hampshire, but if he gets clobbered here — if he comes in not in the top three but say fourth or fifth — I think that really damages his campaign on the national [level],” Branstad said at a POLITICO sponserd energy forum Wednesday. The words of the five term governor carry weight in Iowa Republican circles. Branstad told POLITICO that the regional focus of Romney’s campaign will come back to haunt him, and that the candidate’s advisors could learn a thing or two from 2008 candidates: “I think that the advisers in Boston don’t get it, they’re too far away from the reality,’ said the governor, his voice rising. ‘They have that East Coast mentality. That was the same deal with Rudy Giuliani. At this point four years ago, he was the frontrunner…by the time it got to Florida he was out of it.’” Branstad may have a short memory himself, as HuffPo notes, Romney went all out spending $10million in Iowa in 2008 only to finish second to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. To make matters increasingly tense between Romney and Barnstad personally, the presidential candidate is reportedly skipping the Iowa governor’s birthday party this Thursday. Romney had campaigned for Branstad during his 2010 reelection campaign. However The Hill notes that the Romney campaign is starting to realize that their focus on New Hampshire and Nevada cannot come at the price of an embarrassment in Iowa. The former Massachusetts governor’s campaign announced Monday that Romney would head to the Hawkeye State next Wednesday for campaign events.
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Iowa Gov. on Romney: ‘Iowa Voters Are Spoiled By Attention,’ If He Does Not Take Them Seriously, ‘They’ll Punish Him’
Lots of people have trouble with their iPhones, whether it’s dropped calls or draining batteries . But Nancy Pelosi is having her own problem: She keeps calling a Republican senator when she means to dial her press secretary. Of course, you have to take into account that Pelosi is… a little older. But then again, using your phone while power walking probably isn’t a good idea either. From the ” New Yorker “: That morning, as she attempted to make her rapid-fire round of political phone calls, she had encountered a technical glitch. “I have a new phone this morning,” she said, holding up a shiny black iPhone 4S, as she marched along the waterfront. “But I’ve had the craziest experience with it.” Every time she tried to call her press secretary, Drew Hammill, she said, “I’d get Jon Kyl ,” the conservative Republican senator from Arizona. “So I call,” she went on, “and they say, ‘Office of Senator Jon Kyl,’ and I say, ‘I’m sorry—what did you say?’ ” She apologized, hung up, and redialled her aide. Sure enough, once again someone answered, “Office of Senator Jon Kyl.”
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Pelosi’s having trouble with her iPhone
It is about responsibility, personal responsibility. If you have seen the story about the 53% on the front page of The Blaze , then you know what we’re talking about – and if you are part of the 53% , we welcome your participation. If you want your voice heard in the community of the 53%ers, you can post a photo/statement online (Facebook, Twitter, your own web page) with the hashtag #iamthe53 Here’s mine I am one of nine children. Growing up, I delivered newspapers, shined shoes, carried golf bags, cut lawns, painted houses, worked on traveling carnivals, in restaurants and grocery stores… I worked while I was in college and every single summer during college. In virtually every year of my post-college life, I have had a full-time work and a part-time job. I don’t have a union pension. My life is my responsibility, and not that of the government. I am the 53%
Link:
I am a 53%-er – Are you?
There is perhaps no greater image of irony tonight than that of anti-capitalist, anti-corporate, anti-materialist extremists of the Occupy Wall Street movement paying tribute to Steve Jobs — the co-founder, chairman and former chief executive of Apple Inc., who passed away this evening. While the Kamp Alinsky Kids ditch school to moan about their massive student debt, parade around in zombie costumes, and whine about evil corporations while Tweeting, Facebook-ing, blogging, and Skype-ing their “revolution,” it’s the doers and producers and wealth creators like Jobs who change the world . They are the gifted 1 percent whom the #OWS “99 percent-ers” mob seeks to demonize, marginalize, and tax out of existence. Inherent in the American success story of the iPhone/iMac/iPad is a powerful lesson about the fundamentals of capitalism. The Kamp Alinsky Kids scream “People over profit.” They call for “caring” over “corporations.” But the pursuit of profits empowers people beyond the bounds of imagination. I am blogging on an iMac. When I travel, I use my MacBook Pro. I Tweet news links from my iPhone. My kids are learning Photoshop and GarageBand on our Macs. I use metronome, dictation, video, and camera apps. I use Apple products for business, pleasure, social networking, raising awareness of the missing, finding recipes, and even tuning a ukulele. None of the people involved in conceiving these products and bringing them to market “care” about me. They pursued their own self-interests. Through the spontaneous order of capitalism, they enriched themselves — and the world. Eleven years ago, I wrote about one of my favorite economics essays: Leonard Read’s “I, Pencil.” He turned a mundane writing instrument into an elementary lesson about free-market capitalism. What goes for the pencil goes for any of the products Steve Jobs introduced to the world. “I have a profound lesson to teach,” Read wrote in the voice of a lead pencil. “I can teach this lesson better than can an automobile or an airplane or a mechanical dishwasher because–well, because I am seemingly so simple. Simple? Yet, not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me.” Read traces the rich, deep genealogy of the metaphorical little pencil from the loggers who harvest its cedar wood grown in Oregon, to the millworkers in San Leandro, California, who cut the wood into thin slats, to the railroad employees who transport the wood across the country, to the graphite miners in Ceylon and refinery workers in Mississippi, to the farmers in the Dutch East Indies who produce an oil used to make erasers. All these people, and many more at the periphery of the process, have special knowledge about their life’s work in their separate corners of the earth. But none by himself has the singular knowledge or ability to give birth to a pencil. Few will ever come in contact with the others who make the production of that pencil possible. It’s not because they “care about each other” that they cooperate to deliver any one good. It’s the result of self-interest, multiplied millions of times over. As Read explains it: “Neither the worker in the oil field nor the chemist nor the digger of graphite or clay nor any who mans or makes the ships or trains or trucks nor the one who runs the machine that does the knurling on my bit of metal nor the president of the company performs his singular task because he wants me.” Indeed, there are some among this vast multitude who never saw a pencil nor would they know how to use one. Their motivation is other than me. Perhaps it is something like this: Each of these millions sees that he can thus exchange his tiny know-how for the goods and services he needs or wants.” Read pushed the lesson of pencil further. “There is a fact still more astounding: The absence of a master mind, of anyone dictating or forcibly directing these countless actions which bring me into being. No trace of such a person can be found. Instead, we find the Invisible Hand at work .” This spontaneous “configuration of human energies” is repeated endlessly in our daily lives. Think of the countless and diverse people involved in producing a Slinky, jump rope, or baseball, a diaper, refrigerator, desktop computer, Boeing 747, or iPhone. Appreciating this voluntary configuration of human energies, Read argued, is key to possessing “an absolutely essential ingredient for freedom: a faith in free people. Freedom is impossible without this faith.” Indeed. Without that faith, we are susceptible to the force of class-warfare mobs and the arrogance of master planners in Washington who believe the role of private American entrepreneurs, producers, and wealth generators is to “grow the economy” and who “think at some point you have made enough money.” The progressives who want to bring down “Wall Street” will snipe that Steve Jobs was one of “theirs,” not “ours.” He belonged to no one. He was transcendently committed to excellence and beauty and innovation. And yes, he made gobs of money pursuing it all while benefiting hundreds of millions of people around the world whom he never met, but who shed a deep river of tears upon learning of his death tonight. Such is the everlasting miracle of the spontaneous configuration of human energies. Teach your children well. *** Via ZoeyalaMode , a very related and relevant September 2011 reflection from Mises.org : What made Jobs’s tenure at Apple great is that he wedded profits with aesthetic loveliness. Not every businessperson can or should do this. Even the entrepreneurs who provided the masses with tacky things are just as deserving of our admiration and praise, for they too do their part to lift us all out of the poverty and squalor that is the state of nature. And aside from the prettiness of certain products or the elegance of the smartphone, there is another overarching beauty that we find in the market: a lovely, orderly, productive global matrix of cooperative exchange that leads to human flourishing for everyone, even in the absence of a global dictator. This is as beautiful a system as any product Steve Jobs ever made.
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From “I, Pencil” to iPhone: The spontaneous order of capitalism
