"All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable." - Fran Lebowitz

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Altered Sexual Orientation Following Dominant Hemisphere Infract - "The patient became aware of his homosexual orientation in his early teens and had several gay partners... The patient started complaining of his changed personality and heterosexual orientation 6 months after his second stroke. At the same time he complained of excessive mood swings and changed interests. He became preoccupied with photography and had a successful photographic exhibition a year after his second stroke. His sexual orientation remained heterosexual 4 years following the second stroke, and he preferred to describe himself as bisexual because of his previous homosexual orientation."

'Flammable' bras hold back Swedish female conscripts - "The lack of combat-ready underwear for Sweden’s women in uniform has been a continuing sore point for the Swedish Conscription Council (Värnplikstrådet)... The women complained that the bras’ fasteners have a tendency to come undone when the women performed rigorous exercise, forcing the female soldiers to take off all of their equipment in order to refasten the brassieres. In addition, the bras aren’t flame resistant and, once lit, can melt onto conscripts’ skin"

Study: Women Are in Charge at Home - "Wives have more power than their husbands in making decisions and dominating discussions... “Most of the research literature in psychology has suggested that women have less power,” Vogel told LiveScience. “They have largely based that on the fact that traditionally men earn more money and so therefore would have the ability to make big decisions in the relationship.”... Wives were more demanding—asking for changes in the relationship or in their partner—and were more likely to get their way than the husbands. This held regardless of who had chosen the issue."

Friends, lovers or fuddies? - "Friends with benefits (FWB) may not have quite yet become a norm for Malaysians but it seems to be gaining acceptance... There could be many reasons why FWB, also known as fuddies (f***buddies) has become a facet of modern life, including heavy workload and not having enough patience to work on relationships... Leia, (not her real name) has never had what society deems to be a 'relationship'. Instead, for the past eight years, the 20-something year old has had 'friends with benefits' (FWB). 'I don't know how to maintain a relationship. All I want is to have the physical part of it,' she says... While she does not reveal the number of FWB that she has or has had, Leia says most times, she calls up one after getting lonely following a night out with her girlfriends. 'You know those times when you have to have it? I send out a 'memo' and see who bites.'... 'Nowadays. if I want a session, I go and get one. And head home or stay the night after it. Instead of wasting time on dinner or a movie. It's just bang, bang, bang and go home'... Leon, 31, (not his real name) decided to have a fuddy after deciding that regular relationships were too emotionally draining and painful... Loen who has been having had a fuddy for about a year, says that the advantage is that it is less taxing and stressful. 'Often, you end up having more fun and are more relaxed because you don't have the level of expectation which comes with a regular relationship'"
Amusing article related to this: "Meals: Acceptable FWB dining situations include shared bowls of cocktail peanuts, late-night grilled cheese sandwiches, and fancy desserts. Meals to be avoided are breakfast, brunch, dinner, with a special get-out-of-jail free card for lunch.... Questions any more probing than "what are you wearing?" and "when can we meet?" can get a little sticky. Your FWB doesn't want to hear about your crazy mom and you really don't want him to start yapping about his Ayn Rand fixation. Keep it light, keep it moving."

Giada’s Butterflied Pork Chops Look Like… Something Else
Comment: "I hope she didn’t stuff that with sausage."
MFTTW: "nice breasts". that's what everyone says

SDP calls off planned talk at Fajar after permit was rejected by police (again) - "The Singapore police has usually rejected applications by the opposition parties to hold public talks and events while those by the ruling party are always given the approval. In 2007, the Workers’ Party’s application to organize a cycling trip for its members at East Coast Park was rejected by the police on the grounds of “security concerns”. However, another PAP event was allowed to be held a week later which was graced by the Prime Minister himself. In 2008, 18 SDP members and activists were charged for holding an illegal procession outside Parliament House against rising cost of living while hundreds of members of CASE led by a PAP MP was able to host a protest against “junk food” a day earlier. The double standards practiced by the police and the criminalization of legitimate political activity is detrimental to the growth of the opposition as well as the civil society in Singapore... If the Singapore police cannot even handle a public forum with less than a hundred spectators, how can we expect it to take charge of major events like the upcoming APEC summit meetings?"
For once I find nothing to object to in a Temasek Review article.

Public holidays: How Singapore compares - "Singapore and its citizens are known to top the world in all sorts of rankings, from free trade and port facilities to education. But when it comes to public holidays, the Republic comes in below average. Singapore has 11 days of gazetted public holidays annually to celebrate various national and religious events. A check of 195 countries and 50 regions found that most places have as many or more breaks. Just 51 countries and regions have fewer public holidays... If annual leave is factored in, the difference in time off work widens... some of the world’s richest countries, such as Finland, Sweden and Denmark, mandate 25 days of annual leave. Australia and New Zealand dictate 20 days, Germany 24 and France 30. In Singapore, those with 14 or fewer days of annual leave accounted for nearly three out of five full-time employees last year, MOM statistics show. Under one in 10 had more than 21 days, while the remainder had between 15 and 21 days"

Really? - The Claim - Cold Temperatures Improve Sleep - Question - "Studies have found that in general, the optimal temperature for sleep is quite cool, around 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. For some, temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness."
That's 15.6-20 degrees celsius. No wonder Singapore makes me sick

Bra Power - Top 10 Odd Environmental Ideas - "Use the breasts themselves as a power source. The idea is apparently feasible: a bra made of fabric interwoven with tiny wires can produce electricity from the bosom's natural bouncing motion throughout the day, enough to power a cell phone or an iPod. The larger the cup size, the more energy produced."