Hmmm

It seems the cicadas have awakened in all local areas, save one. My nephew tells me they're out at all his friends' houses. As far as I can tell, the only place without cicadas is right here where I live.

You don't suppose this has anything to do with me inviting demons into my home, do you? Is it possible the cicadas fear my demons? Heavens!

The fear of public speaking

There's an interesting post on the fear of public speaking at Ed Brayton's blog today. If the topic interests you, you can hear Ed, Sam Harris and Mencken talking about it. Well, you can read what they say, anyway. Mencken had a funny take on the topic, turning it into a jab at writers. I found the post interesting.

I had to do far too much public speaking in my human rights work. I would always have a nervous breakdown beforehand, similar to the experience Sam Harris describes in the article. But I always found that when I began speaking, the fear disappeared. Still, the experience beforehand was so unpleasant that I will avoid public speaking for the remainder of my life.

Do you share this common fear?

Submitted without comment

Found this on AlterNet this morning in a post by Daniel Tencer. Here's an excerpt:

A study at University College London in the UK has found that conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain responsible for courage and optimism.