End Metallophobia (previously named 'Fear of a metal planet')

A Study Proves That Media Can Subtly Induce Society To Justify Violence Against Women I actually found this article via the 'Psydir News' blog, but it was originally written in Medical News Today. The article states that when a violent crime is committed by a male against a female, and is reported in the media (ie, the newspaper), there are often 'rationalisations' behind the crime, ie what 'provoked' it. The author(s) state a number of 'reasons' or 'causes' behind the crime, eg, drunkeness/alcohol, jealousy, arguments or situations of prolonged unemployment - to explain the aggressor's behaviour. In other words, the aggressor seen as a 'victim of circumstance' or a 'victim of society' when he commits such crimes. Or, if they are pinpointing what the victim had done to 'deserve' it, it would be like "the aggressor had asked her to marry him and she refused". In other words, she is portrayed as 'a bitch...

Social scientists build case for 'survival of the kindest' This article states that animals who treat each other kindly and more compassionately usually far better as both individuals and as a species. But what if we also decided to apply this to human beings, where the levels of kindness and equality are postively correlated with how well a nation does both socially and economically. We all know that the nations that fare better economically are also the ones who treat their people in the best possible way. Using heavy metal fans (and other 'alternatives' like punks, goths, and emos) as an example, as well as women, the elderly or disabled, I have a theory that those nations that treat these groups (or any other disadvantaged group) well often do better economically. For instance, the rates of violence against women are much lower in developed nations like Sweden or Norway, than they are in third world nations. Also, heavy metal is more popular in these nations and t...

Article Review: Teacher testifies in case hearing in http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/03/teacher-alex-barton-case-testifies-hearing/ I have blogged extensively about the issue of 'Ms Wendy Portillo vs Alex Barton' in my other blog (Night Owl 1967). And even though the issue was a grey area, where both parties were in the wrong at the time, what the teacher (Ms Portillo) did was handle the situation incorrectly, by getting other children to vote either for or against Alex Barton from her class (Alex was a boy diagnosed with Autism or Asperger's syndrome). The reason being is that the boy was 'singled out' and was publically humiliated in front of the other children. All I knew about what he allededly did wrong was lift the desk with his feet and throw crayons about the place, and that he said to his mother that he felt 'bad' and 'hurt' by what the others said about him. There was never anything about what the other kids said specifically, nor w...

Wikipedia describes what Emo is about exactly: Emo (music) - Taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stylistic origins: hardcore punk, indie rock Cultural origins: mid 1980s Washington, DC Typical instruments: Guitar - Bass - Drums Mainstream popularity: Sporadically through the 1980s and '90s, growing in the early 2000s Subgenres: Emocore - Hardcore emo - Emo violence - Screamo Fusion genres: Post-hardcore Regional scenes: Midwestern emo Other topics: List of emo groups - Timeline of alternative rock Here is what Wikipedia's definition of the genre: Emo is a subgenre of hardcore punk music. Since its inception, emo has come to describe several independent variations, linked loosely but with common ancestry. As such, use of the term (and which musicians should be so classified) has been the subject of much debate. It's origins and original meanings: In its original incarnation, the term emo was used to describe the music of the mid-1980s Washington, DC scene and its ass...

Most runaway teens return home with help of family ties, study finds Teenagers who resolve their differences with their parents are more likely to return to the family home.

Article Review: Took, K, J and Weiss, D, S (1994), ‘The Relationship between Heavy Metal and Rap and Adolescent Turmoil: Real or Artefact? In Adolescence, Volume 29, Number 115, Fall 1994 ; pages 613-621 This journal article illustrates the relationship between preferences for Heavy Metal and/or Rap music, and difficulties during adolescence. Both the teenaged subjects and their parents were interviewed, and the teenagers were asked about their current 'psychosocial functioning' and their music preferences. The group of subjects who liked Heavy Metal and Rap were compared to a group of adolescents who liked other types of music. The focus of concern was the increasingly explicit references to drugs, sex and violence, and Heavy Metal and Rap have come under the most scrutiny from religious, political, parents' and medical groups, which were likely to affect the minds of children and young people. Heavy Metal music (a particular type of hard rock) often attracted concern ...

I have decided to include some of these in this blog so one can read my opinion on what I believe. Some of these reviews will be on the Reading list, while others will be from other articles I have read online, as well as previous contributions I have made to various social networking and blogging sites (and even an old DIY website I used to have with the now defunct Geocities, which was powered by Yahoo! [TM]). They are there for your own enjoyment as well as to use as a reference to further research (though I do ask that if you are going to quote from me, you do give me due credit)!!!