The past exists in the present moment because the decisions made and the events that happened in the past condition the present as it is. Our present would not be "the present" without the past. Does the past literally exist in the present reality? Not in all ways, but it does. When you enter a building that was built…

My point of bringing up archaeology is that the past is actually tangible, and doesn't just exist in the ether somewhere. While I am familiar with philosophical arguments regarding time and the existence of the past/present/future/time, I would say that what these philosophies miss or forget, though they are excellent…

How does the past not exist in the present moment? You are at this present moment because of the past, whether through past decisions or past moments or past events. The choices and decisions made not only by you but also by your parents, by your grandparents, by your ancestors brought YOU to this present moment. What…

As an archaeologist, I find it really hard to take your statement "the past doesn't exist" as a anything remotely resembling an intelligent or even philosophical statement. Having excavated dead human beings, in skeleton form, that were 2,000 years old, yes the past exists. Having dealt with incredibly old things, yes…

My information is coming from history classes and books that I have read. But you can check Wikipedia too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slav…. 10-18 million were taken from Africa across the Red Sea into the Middle East. 18 million is the figure that I have heard a lot. 12 million is estimated for the Atlantic…

Context is always important. Let's also remember that slavery at the time was fairly common, and not just European slavery of Africans—which is the only slavery that people remember (and for good reasons). Let's not forget that slavery was for thousands of years a normalized part of the human condition. The Greeks…

Ugh, remind of the shove chips for nachos. Gross. Don't want them anywhere near my nether parts, food, anything. Ugh Ugh Ugh.

I've seen a lot of people commenting that they have fine/thin hair that has to be washed everyday. I have fine hair too, just a lot of it so that it looks fuller, but I only wash my hair every three days or so. Wash it too much and it just gets super dry, and in response my scalp gets super-oily. My hair is also wavy…

Honestly, what bothers me more than the misappropriation of Chicano/Cholo culture (NOT LATINO culture) is that her teardrops are all messed up. They are supposed to look like you are crying, but they've been placed one next to another, so they don't look like they are falling down her face like they should be.

Yeah, so I had no idea that we women were basically Samsons with vaginas, and that all of our fertility resided in our freakin hair. Guess I can get rid of this uterus and ovaries then, since I can have babies with my hair.

Here is my issue with Chihuahuas. First, tea-cup Chihuahuas are an abomination, and should not exist according to the laws of nature. Second, Chihuahuas were originally bred to be food. Yes, they were hot meals on four legs for Prehispanic peoples in Mexico. The solution, therefore, for an excess Chihuahua population…

Used this in a comment posted on an earlier article about the Rand Paul controversy, but still applies:

This is quite the historical misstatement. In America we always blame the Puritans for our unhealthy attitudes towards sex, but in doing so we are not being historically fair nor accurate. While the Puritans certainly frowned on sex outside of marriage, a surprisingly high number of marriages occurred when the bride…

My mother is Dutch-Indonesian and my dad Scottish-German. My brother and I look more like my mom in terms of coloring, although both of us have some of my dad's facial features. When my dad would come to our grade school to pick us up, our classmates always asked us if that was our dad. "Yes, of course he is," we…

So do the comfort women of other Asian nations that they invaded get nothing still? I would like compensation for the horror and tragedy my family went through in Indonesia thanks to them.

My fiancé and I were discussing this recently. At our local grocery store they were selling béchamel sauce in a jar. BECHAMEL SAUCE IN A JAR. One of the easiest sauces to make. Seriously. Butter and flour, cook for a bit, add milk. Salt and pepper, maybe a little nutmeg. The jar was selling was for $10. But for about…

I had had a few crushes beforehand, but I think my first serious crush, the one I had right when puberty hit and I had funny feelings in special areas whenever I thought of him, was Xavier in grade school. He was this beautiful Bahamian boy with this dark cocoa skin that I just wanted to caress. He knew I existed but…

I usually get a French Bikini-style wax (not as extreme as a Brazilian but a little more is taken off than in a traditional Bikini wax). Though my fiancé personally doesn't care, we do it because we have a lot of sex. Because we own our own business and I am a graduate student who doesn't have to be on campus, we set…

I actually have three text tattoos and I am very proud of them and think they not only came out great but have held up well over time. I read the article on text tattoo no-no's, but I have to say if it is short and done right, then they aren't necessarily a bad idea. My first tattoo is an Indonesian phrase, and the…