"I enjoy being a highly overpaid actor." - Roger Moore
***
17-year-old charged with cheating
"For $25, a 17-year-old boy told an unemployed man that he would find the man a prostitute.
But after getting the money, Raguvaren Bala told the man that the prostitute did not want to provide any service.
Feeling cheated, 37-year-old Sng Meng Teck called the police and Raguvaren was arrested.
Raguvaren pleaded guilty in court on Monday to cheating Sng of the $25 by lying to him.
Raguvaren will next appear in court on December 28. He is expected to be sentenced then."
For $25, Sng Meng Teck now has his name in the public domain as an unemployed person who visits prostitutes.
FAIL!
You can hear us push
Through the deepest bush
With a military air!
Monday, December 07, 2009
"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others." - Samuel Johnson
***
The Food Lab: The Importance of Resting Meat - "Asides from over/under-cooking/seasoning, not resting meat properly is probably the cooking blunder that we are all most guilty of... Ideally, no matter how well-done you've cooked your meat, you want to allow it to cool down until the very center has reached 120°F (49°C). At this stage, the muscle fibers have relaxed enough that you should have no problem with losing juices"
US university links exam success to weight loss
Gropenhagen Conference: Prostitutes Offer Free Climate Summit Sex - "Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards to city hotels warning summit guests not to patronize Danish sex workers during the upcoming conference. Now, the prostitutes have struck back, offering free sex to anyone who produces one of the warnings"
Sexy Girls Have It Easy - "Does being sexy mean that life is financially easier? One girl goes on a mission to find out... 'This really really lovely man just gave me a piece of cake. Offered himself to me as well. I haven't taken him up on the idea'"
All of the people she tried were men. I wonder how women would've reacted. I actually prefer the normal her
'Accidental' Download Sending Man To Prison - "Matthew White... discovered that some of the files he had downloaded were images of children. Matt claims he quickly erased the files... Investigators later were able to recover the deleted images from deep within the hard drive... The FBI could not comment on this specific case, but said if child pornography is ever downloaded accidentally, the user needs to call authorities immediately. They may confiscate your computer, but it's better than the alternative"
Mom blames son's death on air freshener
Boys who go to single-sex schools 'more likely to be depressed and divorced in their 40s' - "'There is a need to avoid an intimidating atmosphere for other boys, which can be generated among all-boys’ classes, and to be alert to the dangers of generating a homophobic environment. There is also a need to beware of girls becoming aggressive towards each other.'... the study found that girls who studied at single-sex schools were no more likely to suffer marriage break up or separate from their partners when they were older... Dr Leonard's study was also unable to confirm the belief that children from single-sex schools are more likely to have a homosexual lifestyle. 'Only 21 men and 22 women reported living with same-sex partners at age 42,' says the research... Men were also more likely to speak of a 'dislike' for their school days if taught in a boys-only school."
Loneliness can be contagious, study finds - "The data showed that lonely people “infected” the people around them with loneliness, and those people moved to the edges of social circles... Previous work suggested that women rely on emotional support more than men do, and in this study women were more likely than men to report “catching” loneliness from others”... Research also shows that as people become lonely, they become less trustful of others, and a cycle develops that makes it harder for them to form friendships. Societies seem to develop a natural tendency to shed these lonely people, something that is mirrored in tests of monkeys, who tend to drive off members of their groups who have been removed from a colony and then are reintroduced, Cacioppo said"
Book Review - 'What the Dog Saw - And Other Adventures,' by Malcolm Gladwell - Review - "When a writer’s education on a topic consists in interviewing an expert, he is apt to offer generalizations that are banal, obtuse or flat wrong... The common thread in Gladwell’s writing is a kind of populism, which seeks to undermine the ideals of talent, intelligence and analytical prowess in favor of luck, opportunity, experience and intuition. For an apolitical writer like Gladwell, this has the advantage of appealing both to the Horatio Alger right and to the egalitarian left"
New Paper journalist Joanne Soh got rapped for remark that “All men are pigs” - "'If men are pigs….then who are the asses that married us?'... 'Can we call women bitches, sluts, crows if they commit adultery?' Not surprisingly, the women-folk are supportive of Joanne and jumped to her defence"
While those who condemn sexism (at least when it's in the other direction) will doubtless, when pressed, disavow such statements, I am reminded of moderate Muslims who only condemn their extremists when asked why they don't
***
The Food Lab: The Importance of Resting Meat - "Asides from over/under-cooking/seasoning, not resting meat properly is probably the cooking blunder that we are all most guilty of... Ideally, no matter how well-done you've cooked your meat, you want to allow it to cool down until the very center has reached 120°F (49°C). At this stage, the muscle fibers have relaxed enough that you should have no problem with losing juices"
US university links exam success to weight loss
Gropenhagen Conference: Prostitutes Offer Free Climate Summit Sex - "Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards to city hotels warning summit guests not to patronize Danish sex workers during the upcoming conference. Now, the prostitutes have struck back, offering free sex to anyone who produces one of the warnings"
Sexy Girls Have It Easy - "Does being sexy mean that life is financially easier? One girl goes on a mission to find out... 'This really really lovely man just gave me a piece of cake. Offered himself to me as well. I haven't taken him up on the idea'"
All of the people she tried were men. I wonder how women would've reacted. I actually prefer the normal her
'Accidental' Download Sending Man To Prison - "Matthew White... discovered that some of the files he had downloaded were images of children. Matt claims he quickly erased the files... Investigators later were able to recover the deleted images from deep within the hard drive... The FBI could not comment on this specific case, but said if child pornography is ever downloaded accidentally, the user needs to call authorities immediately. They may confiscate your computer, but it's better than the alternative"
Mom blames son's death on air freshener
Boys who go to single-sex schools 'more likely to be depressed and divorced in their 40s' - "'There is a need to avoid an intimidating atmosphere for other boys, which can be generated among all-boys’ classes, and to be alert to the dangers of generating a homophobic environment. There is also a need to beware of girls becoming aggressive towards each other.'... the study found that girls who studied at single-sex schools were no more likely to suffer marriage break up or separate from their partners when they were older... Dr Leonard's study was also unable to confirm the belief that children from single-sex schools are more likely to have a homosexual lifestyle. 'Only 21 men and 22 women reported living with same-sex partners at age 42,' says the research... Men were also more likely to speak of a 'dislike' for their school days if taught in a boys-only school."
Loneliness can be contagious, study finds - "The data showed that lonely people “infected” the people around them with loneliness, and those people moved to the edges of social circles... Previous work suggested that women rely on emotional support more than men do, and in this study women were more likely than men to report “catching” loneliness from others”... Research also shows that as people become lonely, they become less trustful of others, and a cycle develops that makes it harder for them to form friendships. Societies seem to develop a natural tendency to shed these lonely people, something that is mirrored in tests of monkeys, who tend to drive off members of their groups who have been removed from a colony and then are reintroduced, Cacioppo said"
Book Review - 'What the Dog Saw - And Other Adventures,' by Malcolm Gladwell - Review - "When a writer’s education on a topic consists in interviewing an expert, he is apt to offer generalizations that are banal, obtuse or flat wrong... The common thread in Gladwell’s writing is a kind of populism, which seeks to undermine the ideals of talent, intelligence and analytical prowess in favor of luck, opportunity, experience and intuition. For an apolitical writer like Gladwell, this has the advantage of appealing both to the Horatio Alger right and to the egalitarian left"
New Paper journalist Joanne Soh got rapped for remark that “All men are pigs” - "'If men are pigs….then who are the asses that married us?'... 'Can we call women bitches, sluts, crows if they commit adultery?' Not surprisingly, the women-folk are supportive of Joanne and jumped to her defence"
While those who condemn sexism (at least when it's in the other direction) will doubtless, when pressed, disavow such statements, I am reminded of moderate Muslims who only condemn their extremists when asked why they don't
Post ID: 6197554079610559231
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Friday, December 04, 2009
"Formerly, Americans charged with murder were considered innocent until proven guilty; now they are considered insane until proven sane" - Thomas Szasz
***
Man molests colleague in mortuary - "The 55-year-old man pleaded guilty to pressing her buttocks with his hand in the afternoon of Feb 16 while she was photocopying death certificates. A district court heard that the 27-year-old woman had quickly moved away but 30 minutes later, he went up to her again and rubbed her back with his hand before tapping her buttocks... The offender and the women work for the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the court ordered that no details that could lead to the identification of the victims are published"
At first I thought this was necrophilia; unlike Wee Chor Kian, this is pretty incontrovertible, since it was repeated. Interestingly the moral of the story may be: if you don't want your name splashed across the papers, molest a colleague.
Fish & Co awarded $269,000 - "Fish & Co sued its former operations manager Dickson Low, who was then running the MFM chain of restaurants in Malaysia. Fish & Co alleged that Mr Low had taken its secret recipes, cooking tips and kitchen operations in an apparent bid to use the confidential information to set up MFM... The defendants signed a deed of settlement, undertaking not to use serving pans, sauces, slogans and jingles, as well as words and phrases identical or confusingly similar to those used by Fish & Co"
Looks like Manhattan Fish Market's scumminess extends beyond passing off as the Fulton Fish Market
Woman arrested for trying to record 'Twilight' on digital camera - "Tumpach insisted Wednesday that’s not what she was doing — she was actually taping parts of her sister’s surprise birthday party celebrated at the Muvico Theater in Rosemont. While she acknowledged there are short bits of the movie on her digital camera, there are other images that have nothing to do with the new film — including she and a few other family members singing “Happy Birthday” to her 29-year-old sister at the theater."
What do cats do all day? Kitty cam has answer - "About 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping... looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time"
fairterms - "PUT A STOP TO UNFAIR DIGITAL PRODUCT TERMS... The unexpected and often unfair digital product terms that many sellers embed in these agreements, as well as the product features used to enforce them, often take away your basic rights as a customer—whether you are a business or individual consumer. They could increase your computer security risks and jeopardize your privacy. They could also chill competition."
Verizon: How Much Do You Charge Now? - "They configure the phones to have multiple easily hit keystrokes to launch ‘Get it now’ or ‘Mobile Web’—usually a single key like an arrow key. Often we have no idea what key we hit, but up pops one of these screens. The instant you call the function, they charge you the data fee. We cancel these unintended requests as fast as we can hit the End key, but it doesn’t matter; they’ve told me that ANY data–even one kilobyte–is billed as 1MB. The damage is done. Imagine: if my one account has 1 to 3 bogus $1.99 charges per month for data that I don’t download, how much are they making from their 87 million other customers? Not a bad scheme. All by simply writing your billing algorithm to bill a full MB when even a few bits have moved."
Man controlled robotic hand - "During a one-month experiment conducted last year, 26-year-old Pierpaolo Petruzziello felt like his lost arm had grown back again, although he was only controlling a robotic hand that was not even attached to his body."
Press Muse: Age of extremes - "The cardinal sin – to opine and editorialise within the guise of news... The [Temasek] Review calls this news. News! All conjecture, no evidence. Or as Stephen Colbert would have put it: “All heart, no facts.” And as the saying goes, one abysmally contrived opinion deserves another. The correspondent, now capable of mindreading, babbles on fecklessly... Several paragraphs later, we learn that the Review’s correspondent is omniscient, and magnanimous to boot... if I may return the favour to the Review, please pick up copies of the Associated Press Stylebook and Nick Davies’ Flat Earth News. The journalistic profession is in bad enough shape as it is without half-baked bloggers confusing their art for news reporting"
Doubtless TR will say this is pro-gahmen propaganda.
Uganda considers death sentence for gay sex in bill before parliament - "Members of the public are obliged to report any homosexual activity to police with 24 hours or risk up to three years in jail – a scenario that human rights campaigners say will result in a witchhunt.Ugandans breaking the new law abroad will be subject to extradition requests... "We are talking about anal sex. Not even animals do that"... "We would rather live in grass huts with our morality than in skyscrapers among homosexuals""
Sons struggle - "I salute Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. It takes a great man to admit his mistake... my husband and I [migrated] to give our sons a chance to realise their full potential. The disproportionate amount of time they spent on Chinese left them little time for important subjects like mathematics, resulting in average grades that demoralised them. Our decision paid off. Both my sons are now professionals in their chosen fields"
Is this meant to be ironic?
***
Man molests colleague in mortuary - "The 55-year-old man pleaded guilty to pressing her buttocks with his hand in the afternoon of Feb 16 while she was photocopying death certificates. A district court heard that the 27-year-old woman had quickly moved away but 30 minutes later, he went up to her again and rubbed her back with his hand before tapping her buttocks... The offender and the women work for the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the court ordered that no details that could lead to the identification of the victims are published"
At first I thought this was necrophilia; unlike Wee Chor Kian, this is pretty incontrovertible, since it was repeated. Interestingly the moral of the story may be: if you don't want your name splashed across the papers, molest a colleague.
Fish & Co awarded $269,000 - "Fish & Co sued its former operations manager Dickson Low, who was then running the MFM chain of restaurants in Malaysia. Fish & Co alleged that Mr Low had taken its secret recipes, cooking tips and kitchen operations in an apparent bid to use the confidential information to set up MFM... The defendants signed a deed of settlement, undertaking not to use serving pans, sauces, slogans and jingles, as well as words and phrases identical or confusingly similar to those used by Fish & Co"
Looks like Manhattan Fish Market's scumminess extends beyond passing off as the Fulton Fish Market
Woman arrested for trying to record 'Twilight' on digital camera - "Tumpach insisted Wednesday that’s not what she was doing — she was actually taping parts of her sister’s surprise birthday party celebrated at the Muvico Theater in Rosemont. While she acknowledged there are short bits of the movie on her digital camera, there are other images that have nothing to do with the new film — including she and a few other family members singing “Happy Birthday” to her 29-year-old sister at the theater."
What do cats do all day? Kitty cam has answer - "About 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping... looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time"
fairterms - "PUT A STOP TO UNFAIR DIGITAL PRODUCT TERMS... The unexpected and often unfair digital product terms that many sellers embed in these agreements, as well as the product features used to enforce them, often take away your basic rights as a customer—whether you are a business or individual consumer. They could increase your computer security risks and jeopardize your privacy. They could also chill competition."
Verizon: How Much Do You Charge Now? - "They configure the phones to have multiple easily hit keystrokes to launch ‘Get it now’ or ‘Mobile Web’—usually a single key like an arrow key. Often we have no idea what key we hit, but up pops one of these screens. The instant you call the function, they charge you the data fee. We cancel these unintended requests as fast as we can hit the End key, but it doesn’t matter; they’ve told me that ANY data–even one kilobyte–is billed as 1MB. The damage is done. Imagine: if my one account has 1 to 3 bogus $1.99 charges per month for data that I don’t download, how much are they making from their 87 million other customers? Not a bad scheme. All by simply writing your billing algorithm to bill a full MB when even a few bits have moved."
Man controlled robotic hand - "During a one-month experiment conducted last year, 26-year-old Pierpaolo Petruzziello felt like his lost arm had grown back again, although he was only controlling a robotic hand that was not even attached to his body."
Press Muse: Age of extremes - "The cardinal sin – to opine and editorialise within the guise of news... The [Temasek] Review calls this news. News! All conjecture, no evidence. Or as Stephen Colbert would have put it: “All heart, no facts.” And as the saying goes, one abysmally contrived opinion deserves another. The correspondent, now capable of mindreading, babbles on fecklessly... Several paragraphs later, we learn that the Review’s correspondent is omniscient, and magnanimous to boot... if I may return the favour to the Review, please pick up copies of the Associated Press Stylebook and Nick Davies’ Flat Earth News. The journalistic profession is in bad enough shape as it is without half-baked bloggers confusing their art for news reporting"
Doubtless TR will say this is pro-gahmen propaganda.
Uganda considers death sentence for gay sex in bill before parliament - "Members of the public are obliged to report any homosexual activity to police with 24 hours or risk up to three years in jail – a scenario that human rights campaigners say will result in a witchhunt.Ugandans breaking the new law abroad will be subject to extradition requests... "We are talking about anal sex. Not even animals do that"... "We would rather live in grass huts with our morality than in skyscrapers among homosexuals""
Sons struggle - "I salute Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. It takes a great man to admit his mistake... my husband and I [migrated] to give our sons a chance to realise their full potential. The disproportionate amount of time they spent on Chinese left them little time for important subjects like mathematics, resulting in average grades that demoralised them. Our decision paid off. Both my sons are now professionals in their chosen fields"
Is this meant to be ironic?
Post ID: 8585270813867733629
"The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep." - Woody Allen
***
Luckily he already has tenure:
Porn not bad for men - study
ALL men watch pornographic videos but it does not impact on their sexual habits or their relationships with women, a Canadian researcher has maintained after a two-year study.
Montreal University associate professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse told AFP his research had refuted views that pornography enthusiasts seek out in life what they see in X-rated videos, leading to sexual abuse or denigration of women.
"It would be like saying that vodka ads lead to alcoholism,'' the sociologist said.
The majority watches X-rated movies to satisfy a "fringe fantasy," according to his research, and it would be unfair to extrapolate from that that it leads to criminal behaviour.
Prof Lajeunesse said he had difficulty setting up the study as adult video stores and sex shops refused to allow him to post notices inviting men to participate.
A handful of universities permitted him to address their campuses, and after appealing to some 2000 mostly women students to take part, 20 heterosexual men agreed to discuss their sex lives in depth.
His first discovery: all the respondents watched adult videos online. Singles viewed twice the amount of pornography as others with an average of three 42-minute sessions weekly, versus 1.7 27-minute sessions for those in a committed relationship.
Second: almost all searched alone for online erotica, whether in a committed relationship or not. Respondents explained they just did not feel comfortable sharing such moments with others, even with a spouse or girlfriend.
Some fit it into their leisure routine, as one respondent put it: "a good meal, a good movie and masturbation.''
The study also revealed that men tend to fast-forward through scenes that do not interest them, often involving sexual violence or group ejaculation which they found "disgusting.''
According to his research, said Prof Lajeunesse, men search out pornography that relates to their earliest sexual fantasies, generally conceived at age 12 at the onset of puberty. They are not looking for new tricks to show off.
One student who participated in the study confided that he used to fantasise about orgies, but when presented with such an opportunity he found himself unable to perform sexually.
Prof Lajeunesse also dismissed suggestions that avid pornography enthusiasts seek to imitate in life what they see on screens, or that they watch X-rated videos in an attempt to purge vile sexual impulses.
"Both arguments are worthless,'' he said. Men make a distinction between their real lives and sexual fantasies, he argued.
One respondent, who claimed to dream of seducing a porn star, explained why he would never date one, saying simply: "I couldn't introduce her to my parents.''
Naturally, people will pick on the small sample size and self-reporting, but these are seen on the other side of the dispute as well.
Not to mention that opposing studies often don't look at relevant effects, instead looking at indirect results like attitudes.
Related: Proof that Internet porn prevents rape
Addendum: More on the project:
"Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.
But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not been seen it...
Although hampered in its original aim, the study did examined (sic) the habits of those young men who used pornography...
“Not one subject had a pathological sexuality,” he said. “In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional.
“Pornography hasn't changed their perception of women or their relationship, which they all want to be as harmonious and fulfilling as possible,” he added."
***
Luckily he already has tenure:
Porn not bad for men - study
ALL men watch pornographic videos but it does not impact on their sexual habits or their relationships with women, a Canadian researcher has maintained after a two-year study.
Montreal University associate professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse told AFP his research had refuted views that pornography enthusiasts seek out in life what they see in X-rated videos, leading to sexual abuse or denigration of women.
"It would be like saying that vodka ads lead to alcoholism,'' the sociologist said.
The majority watches X-rated movies to satisfy a "fringe fantasy," according to his research, and it would be unfair to extrapolate from that that it leads to criminal behaviour.
Prof Lajeunesse said he had difficulty setting up the study as adult video stores and sex shops refused to allow him to post notices inviting men to participate.
A handful of universities permitted him to address their campuses, and after appealing to some 2000 mostly women students to take part, 20 heterosexual men agreed to discuss their sex lives in depth.
His first discovery: all the respondents watched adult videos online. Singles viewed twice the amount of pornography as others with an average of three 42-minute sessions weekly, versus 1.7 27-minute sessions for those in a committed relationship.
Second: almost all searched alone for online erotica, whether in a committed relationship or not. Respondents explained they just did not feel comfortable sharing such moments with others, even with a spouse or girlfriend.
Some fit it into their leisure routine, as one respondent put it: "a good meal, a good movie and masturbation.''
The study also revealed that men tend to fast-forward through scenes that do not interest them, often involving sexual violence or group ejaculation which they found "disgusting.''
According to his research, said Prof Lajeunesse, men search out pornography that relates to their earliest sexual fantasies, generally conceived at age 12 at the onset of puberty. They are not looking for new tricks to show off.
One student who participated in the study confided that he used to fantasise about orgies, but when presented with such an opportunity he found himself unable to perform sexually.
Prof Lajeunesse also dismissed suggestions that avid pornography enthusiasts seek to imitate in life what they see on screens, or that they watch X-rated videos in an attempt to purge vile sexual impulses.
"Both arguments are worthless,'' he said. Men make a distinction between their real lives and sexual fantasies, he argued.
One respondent, who claimed to dream of seducing a porn star, explained why he would never date one, saying simply: "I couldn't introduce her to my parents.''
Naturally, people will pick on the small sample size and self-reporting, but these are seen on the other side of the dispute as well.
Not to mention that opposing studies often don't look at relevant effects, instead looking at indirect results like attitudes.
Related: Proof that Internet porn prevents rape
Addendum: More on the project:
"Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.
But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not been seen it...
Although hampered in its original aim, the study did examined (sic) the habits of those young men who used pornography...
“Not one subject had a pathological sexuality,” he said. “In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional.
“Pornography hasn't changed their perception of women or their relationship, which they all want to be as harmonious and fulfilling as possible,” he added."
Post ID: 3811860148307566218
"La probité, la sincérité, la candeur, la conviction, l'idée du devoir, sont des choses qui, en se trompant, peuvent devenir hideuses, mais qui, même hideuses, restent grandes ; leur majesté, propre à la conscience humaine, persiste dans l'horreur. Ce sont des vertus qui ont un vice, l'erreur. L'impitoyable joie honnête d'un fanatique en pleine atrocité conserve on ne sait quel rayonnement lugubrement vénérable. Sans qu'il s'en doutât, Javert, dans son bonheur formidable, était à plaindre comme tout ignorant qui triomphe. Rien n'était poignant et terrible comme cette figure où se montrait ce qu'on pourrait appeler tout le mauvais du bon."
"Permettez-moi de vous rappeler que l’extrémisme, dans la défense de la liberté, n’est pas un vice"
"Permettez-moi de vous rappeler que l’extrémisme, dans la défense de la liberté, n’est pas un vice"
Post ID: 1244298826064630296
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
"A hotel isn't like a home, but it's better than being a house guest." - William Feather
***
'Female Viagra' boosts sexual desire in women with flagging libido
HSBC embroiled in 'slit-eye row' over advert - "The model called Brian, who stars in the bank's commercial with the tag line "Fixed savings rates that won't budge", had his skin darkened and is wearing make-up that makes his eyes look narrower, it has been claimed. He is pictured in a Japanese-style wig and a traditional mawashi belt... Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said: "The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler, but has been made up to look like one, would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive. "It has insulted the honour of our nation"... "The only make-up and post-production applied is to even up our model's natural suntan from his arms and neck-line all over his body. Sumo wrestlers come from all over the world and the sport is particularly popular in central Europe right now. "It's standard photography make-up - not to alter the ethnicity of the model in any way."
From another article: "the ring [is]- now dominated by foreign rikishi... The two reigning grand champions, Asashoryu and Hakuho, are Mongolian. There are about 60 foreign wrestlers today; the Nagoya tournament, which begins on Sunday, will be the first in which more overseas than Japanese appear in the top four ranks."
Wiktionary, the free dictionary - Wikipedia Mobile - "The web pages accessible via http://wikipedia.7val.com are a live mirror of http://www.wikipedia.org optimized for mobile devices... The original Wikipedia website has been optimized thanks to "FIT Mobile" software, developed by Sevenval AG for optimal browsing on mobile devices"
Killer whales: Death by karate chop, the deadly tactic used by orcas to take out sharks - "The orca will use its tail to drive the shark to the surface. They don't even touch it. Using an up-thrust of its tail it creates a vortex which pushes the shark up on the current they create with their movements. Once the shark is at the surface, the killer whale pivots and lifts its tail out of the water and comes down on top of it like a karate chop."
How Twilight Works - The Oatmeal - - "The author creates a main character which is an empty shell. Her appearance isn't described in detail; that way, any female can slip into it and easily fantasize about being this person. I read 400 pages of that book and barely had any idea of what the main character looked like; as far as I was concerned she was a giant Lego brick. Appearance aside, her personality is portrayed as insecure, fumbling, and awkward - a combination anyone who ever went through puberty can relate to. By creating this "empty shell," the character becomes less of a person and more of something a female reader can put on and wear... Imagine everything women want in a man, then exaggerate it by ten thousand - and you've got Edward Cullen. The level of detail that the author goes into while describing Edward's appearance is remarkable. At one point while reading I started counting the number of times the author used the expression "Edward's perfect face," and it was far into the double digits. The author excruciatingly details his muscular pecs, clothing, hair, eye color - even his goddamn breath (I'm not joking)."
Indonesia minister says immorality causes disasters - "Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that there were many television programmes that destroyed morals. Therefore, the minister said, natural disasters would continue to occur... He also hit out at rising decadence - proven, he said, by the availability of Indonesia-made pornographic DVDs in local markets - and called for tougher laws... Why focus on public immorality when there was so much within the government, one respondent reportedly asked."
Indonesia needs Thio Su Mien to pray for it to save it from disasters
Ejected from Singapore - "The insidious practice of self-censorship is all-pervasive. One senior editor at a major international newspaper in Asia admitted that he line-edits every single story about Singapore for fear of upsetting the powers-that-be. A veteran foreign correspondent in Singapore insisted that it was possible to criticise the government "if one takes a subtle rather than confrontational approach and focuses on policy issues rather than personalities". But, fearful of jeopardising his employment visa, he was not prepared to speak on the record."
STOMP - Singapore Seen - Are we abusing bees for honey? - "Is it cruelty to use bees as "biomachines" for human consumption? Bees gather only a tiny amount of pollen in each trip; they would have to travel 75 000 miles to produce just one pound of honey! Does our abusive treatment of bees amount to slavery? Now that would surely kill some buzz."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Malaysiakini turns 10, so where's Singaporekini? - "Why is it, for example, that the average Malaysian 'roti canai' beats even our most highly-rated prata in taste and texture? How in the world did Malaysia end up with the region's most charismatic budget airline when we're supposed to be the transport hub of Asia? And why, as Malaysiakini celebrates its 10th anniversary this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, are we still waiting for a Singaporekini?... At critical moments in Malaysia, government control did not just strain press credibility, it tore it up, crushed it underfoot and set it on fire for all to see, causing a mass exodus to alternative media. In Singapore, the likes of The Online Citizen might reach the heights of Malaysiakini if The Straits Times were forced to stoop as low as The New Straits Times... the odds are slightly higher of our 'roti prata' becoming as good as their 'roti canai'"
WordWeb - "A typical SUV causes about twice as much warming per mile as a typical normal European car... You may use the program free of charge indefinitely only if
* You take at most 4 flights (2 return flights) in any 12 month period
* AND you do not own or regularly drive an SUV (sports utility vehicle).
If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licence is designed to provide a small incentive for people with massively unsustainable emissions to cut down. Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30
days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro; otherwise it is software theft."
These are the weirdest license terms I've ever seen
On the difference between science and philosophy - "Yes, science can empirically test specific religious claims (intercessory prayer, age of the earth, etc.), but the best objections against the concept of, say, an omnibenevolent and onmnipowerful god, are philosophical in nature (e.g., the argument from evil). Why, then, not admit that by far the most effective way to reject religious nonsense is by combining science and philosophy, rather than trying to arrogate to either more epistemological power than each separate discipline actually possesses. Another common misconception is that philosophy, unlike science, doesn't make progress. This is simply not true, unless one measures progress by the (scientific) standard of empirical discovery. But that would be like accusing the New York Yankees of never having won an NBA title: they can't, they ain't playing the same game"
***
'Female Viagra' boosts sexual desire in women with flagging libido
HSBC embroiled in 'slit-eye row' over advert - "The model called Brian, who stars in the bank's commercial with the tag line "Fixed savings rates that won't budge", had his skin darkened and is wearing make-up that makes his eyes look narrower, it has been claimed. He is pictured in a Japanese-style wig and a traditional mawashi belt... Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said: "The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler, but has been made up to look like one, would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive. "It has insulted the honour of our nation"... "The only make-up and post-production applied is to even up our model's natural suntan from his arms and neck-line all over his body. Sumo wrestlers come from all over the world and the sport is particularly popular in central Europe right now. "It's standard photography make-up - not to alter the ethnicity of the model in any way."
From another article: "the ring [is]- now dominated by foreign rikishi... The two reigning grand champions, Asashoryu and Hakuho, are Mongolian. There are about 60 foreign wrestlers today; the Nagoya tournament, which begins on Sunday, will be the first in which more overseas than Japanese appear in the top four ranks."
Wiktionary, the free dictionary - Wikipedia Mobile - "The web pages accessible via http://wikipedia.7val.com are a live mirror of http://www.wikipedia.org optimized for mobile devices... The original Wikipedia website has been optimized thanks to "FIT Mobile" software, developed by Sevenval AG for optimal browsing on mobile devices"
Killer whales: Death by karate chop, the deadly tactic used by orcas to take out sharks - "The orca will use its tail to drive the shark to the surface. They don't even touch it. Using an up-thrust of its tail it creates a vortex which pushes the shark up on the current they create with their movements. Once the shark is at the surface, the killer whale pivots and lifts its tail out of the water and comes down on top of it like a karate chop."
How Twilight Works - The Oatmeal - - "The author creates a main character which is an empty shell. Her appearance isn't described in detail; that way, any female can slip into it and easily fantasize about being this person. I read 400 pages of that book and barely had any idea of what the main character looked like; as far as I was concerned she was a giant Lego brick. Appearance aside, her personality is portrayed as insecure, fumbling, and awkward - a combination anyone who ever went through puberty can relate to. By creating this "empty shell," the character becomes less of a person and more of something a female reader can put on and wear... Imagine everything women want in a man, then exaggerate it by ten thousand - and you've got Edward Cullen. The level of detail that the author goes into while describing Edward's appearance is remarkable. At one point while reading I started counting the number of times the author used the expression "Edward's perfect face," and it was far into the double digits. The author excruciatingly details his muscular pecs, clothing, hair, eye color - even his goddamn breath (I'm not joking)."
Indonesia minister says immorality causes disasters - "Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that there were many television programmes that destroyed morals. Therefore, the minister said, natural disasters would continue to occur... He also hit out at rising decadence - proven, he said, by the availability of Indonesia-made pornographic DVDs in local markets - and called for tougher laws... Why focus on public immorality when there was so much within the government, one respondent reportedly asked."
Indonesia needs Thio Su Mien to pray for it to save it from disasters
Ejected from Singapore - "The insidious practice of self-censorship is all-pervasive. One senior editor at a major international newspaper in Asia admitted that he line-edits every single story about Singapore for fear of upsetting the powers-that-be. A veteran foreign correspondent in Singapore insisted that it was possible to criticise the government "if one takes a subtle rather than confrontational approach and focuses on policy issues rather than personalities". But, fearful of jeopardising his employment visa, he was not prepared to speak on the record."
STOMP - Singapore Seen - Are we abusing bees for honey? - "Is it cruelty to use bees as "biomachines" for human consumption? Bees gather only a tiny amount of pollen in each trip; they would have to travel 75 000 miles to produce just one pound of honey! Does our abusive treatment of bees amount to slavery? Now that would surely kill some buzz."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Malaysiakini turns 10, so where's Singaporekini? - "Why is it, for example, that the average Malaysian 'roti canai' beats even our most highly-rated prata in taste and texture? How in the world did Malaysia end up with the region's most charismatic budget airline when we're supposed to be the transport hub of Asia? And why, as Malaysiakini celebrates its 10th anniversary this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, are we still waiting for a Singaporekini?... At critical moments in Malaysia, government control did not just strain press credibility, it tore it up, crushed it underfoot and set it on fire for all to see, causing a mass exodus to alternative media. In Singapore, the likes of The Online Citizen might reach the heights of Malaysiakini if The Straits Times were forced to stoop as low as The New Straits Times... the odds are slightly higher of our 'roti prata' becoming as good as their 'roti canai'"
WordWeb - "A typical SUV causes about twice as much warming per mile as a typical normal European car... You may use the program free of charge indefinitely only if
* You take at most 4 flights (2 return flights) in any 12 month period
* AND you do not own or regularly drive an SUV (sports utility vehicle).
If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licence is designed to provide a small incentive for people with massively unsustainable emissions to cut down. Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30
days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro; otherwise it is software theft."
These are the weirdest license terms I've ever seen
On the difference between science and philosophy - "Yes, science can empirically test specific religious claims (intercessory prayer, age of the earth, etc.), but the best objections against the concept of, say, an omnibenevolent and onmnipowerful god, are philosophical in nature (e.g., the argument from evil). Why, then, not admit that by far the most effective way to reject religious nonsense is by combining science and philosophy, rather than trying to arrogate to either more epistemological power than each separate discipline actually possesses. Another common misconception is that philosophy, unlike science, doesn't make progress. This is simply not true, unless one measures progress by the (scientific) standard of empirical discovery. But that would be like accusing the New York Yankees of never having won an NBA title: they can't, they ain't playing the same game"
Post ID: 5883502257877156116
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Latest posts (which you might not see on this page)
