Aims: A popular belief is that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language. The effect of acute alcohol consumption on perceived foreign language performance and actual foreign language performance in foreign language learners has not been investigated. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-rated and observer-rated verbal foreign language performance in participants who have recently learned this language.

Methods: Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were randomized to receive either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Following the experimental manipulation, participants took part in a standardized discussion in Dutch with a blinded experimenter. The discussion was audio-recorded and foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who were blind to the experimental condition (observer-rating). Participants also rated their own individual Dutch language skills during the discussion (self-rating).

Results: Participants who consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared with those who did not consume alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills.

Conclusions: Acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who have recently learned that language.

Italians ain’t white!

Yes, they are, bro.

Since the fuck when?

Since the last 60 years, man.

I don’t know who the guy on the right is, but the robot is G.I. Robot so I assume this is a reference to this scene in Creature Commandos episode 3 “Cheers to the Tin Man” where (to the music of Amanda Palmer’s Coin-Operated Boy) he kills a lot of neo-nazis.

(I’ve never seen the show besides that scene and only know about any of this from memes…)

After completing his infantry training, Graham was assigned to Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion 8th Marines and deployed to Al-Anbar Province, Iraq in January of 2005 where the battalion served primarily in the area east of Fallujah. In 2006, he was deployed to Ramadi, Iraq and served as machinegun section leader at the Government Center. He was deployed again in 2007.

After his third deployment, Graham enrolled at The George Washington University using the GI Bill. Graham quickly realized that his time serving in uniform was not over. So in 2009, he joined the Maryland Army National Guard. He was deployed to Afghanistan the following year where he served as a rifle team leader.

He returned from Afghanistan and went back to school at The George Washington University in 2011. Like many veterans, Graham struggled with undiagnosed PTSD and physical challenges that come from heavy infantry combat. Graham eventually withdrew from George Washington University and moved back home to Maine where he used the resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs to get the help he needed.

After four tours overseas, Graham was deeply disillusioned with America’s failed foreign policy and endless wars and decided to focus on serving his local community in Maine.

In 2018, Graham started working on his friend’s small oyster farm in his hometown of Sullivan. He quickly felt deeply connected with the sea and the community. He eventually took over the oyster farm and built it into a business that produces high quality oysters. Graham also began a diving and mooring service to help out around the bay, and serves the town of Sullivan as Harbormaster and Planning Board Chair.

for some reason his website bio omits his time as a “security contractor” in 2018, although he did mention it in this interview:

After his return to DC, he was in and out of college. He picked up bartending, and never ended up finishing school. In 2016, he moved back to Maine, where he began gaining support from the Veterans Affairs department, getting physical and mental therapy. He felt a renewed call to service, and in 2018, got a job as a security contractor for the State Department in Afghanistan.

Help on class timedelta in module datetime:

class timedelta(builtins.object)
 |  Difference between two datetime values.
 |
 |  timedelta(days=0, seconds=0, microseconds=0, milliseconds=0, minutes=0, hours=0, weeks=0)
 |
 |  All arguments are optional and default to 0.
 |  Arguments may be integers or floats, and may be positive or negative.