Links - 12th April 2010

"Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion." - Ambrose Bierce

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Drawing Board: Ideal Life

History Of Cartoon Violence (Graph)

Man Attempts To Assassinate Obama, 'But Not Because He's Black Or Anything' | The Onion - "'Croft was quiet and mostly kept to himself, except when encountering a black person, when he would become exceedingly chatty, going so far as to invite complete strangers to hang out'... 'Obama must be killed, he's got a dark soul... Nah, that's not what I meant'... 'He had ruled out explosives for fear it might conjure up memories of the racially-motivated Birmingham church bombings, and he discounted using a gun because-' 'Martin Luther King' 'Exactly. Ultimately to allay all suspicions of racism, Croft decided to shoot the President with a crossbow with a list of important Black historical figures taped to the arrow. But the FBI apprehended Croft while he was parked outside the White House in a car blasting Sly and the Family Stone'"

Paul Popenoe, eugenics, and marriage counseling - "A National Marriage Boycott is on: its members pledge not to get married, no matter how many people ask them, until the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed... Dick is about to leave his wife, Andrea, for another woman. He is bored with Andrea... Andrea is urged to make herself more interesting. She learns how to make better conversation, goes on a strict diet, and loses eight pounds. The affair is averted"

Fourscared and Fourscammed - "Ten minutes after checking in on Foursquare at the Loteria Grill one chilly night in February, Gim received a phone call from someone at the restaurant’s front desk. When she picked up the phone, the caller asked her what she was doing there and told her he’d be waiting for her at her apartment. Gim didn’t go home that night... Paige Craig was FourStalked at Gold’s Gym in Venice, where he checks in frequently... An employee at the front desk called him and told him Ron was on the phone for him. When Craig got on the line, Ron said he was gym manager, and that Craig’s credit card had been declined. Craig relayed that he had just returned from a skiing trip, where he had been using the same card the entire time. Ron said he tried to process the card again and then said, “Sorry, it’s still not working. Let me confirm the credit card number with you. Craig asked the employee at front desk if Ron worked for him. The employee responded with nothing but a confused stare"
Comment elsewhere: "I had someone look up historical data on my checkins and put themselves in places so they would ‘run into me’... In trade for being at risk of stalkers, you get $1 off your beer. The tradeoff just doesn’t seem worth it."

Pleasing your man – and Jesus – with breast implants? - "“Augmenting the body that God gave you is actually a sign of ultimate love and devotion, as long as you hand that body directly over to your husband.” “The ‘unnatural’ aspect of Breast Implants for Jesus doesn’t concern me—it’s the completely bizarre attempt to justify plastic surgery through scripture that sets my bullshit meter off.” Really? It shouldn’t. Using the Bible to justify ridiculous behavior is as old as the document itself... slavery was sanctioned by God since the Bible contained stories about people being cursed with black skin"

Thrill of the chaste: The truth about Gandhi's sex life - "Gandhi called for his 18-year-old grandniece Manu to join him – and sleep with him. "We both may be killed by the Muslims," he told her, "and must put our purity to the ultimate test, so that we know that we are offering the purest of sacrifices, and we should now both start sleeping naked"... He had an almost magical belief in the power of semen: "One who conserves his vital fluid acquires unfailing power," he said... Tragically for him, he was already being sidelined by the politicians at the time of independence. The preservation of his vital fluid did not keep India intact, and it was the power-brokers of the Congress Party who negotiated the terms of India's freedom"

Do men really make the best chefs? - ""Of course there is sexism in the culinary industry," she said. "Most restaurateurs are more likely to hire a young man because they can run around the kitchen faster with heavy pans and create more business. Men have greater muscle power, yet women are calmer in the kitchen." But celebrity chef John Burton Race says: "It is a fact that men are the best cooks, professional or not. Industrial kitchens may have heavy equipment, but men are the best cooks because they are more passionate and take cooking more seriously"... Stacie Stewart impressed many top chefs as part of her MasterChef experience. She is now back in the North-east working as a PA and running an online bakery, and has some traditional views on the subject. "It's a high-pressure environment. Hard work and long hours, late into the night. If you want to have kids and start a family, I don't see how you can do that and be a chef... I'd love to get my own restaurant, get a book published, get on the TV circuit. But I don't want a Michelin star, it doesn't interest me. [I'd rather] teach people how to be really good home cooks. I'm very traditional and, dare I say it, I believe a woman's place is in the home""
It's sexism to discriminate against the less able, and women are engaging in self-inflicted violence!

Facebook 'friend request' lands UK man in jail - "A man who joined Facebook to look at his friend's wedding pics, was sent to jail after the site automatically sent a "friend request" message to his estranged wife."

Why Men's Friendships Are Different - "Researchers say women's friendships are face to face: They talk, cry together, share secrets. Men's friendships are side by side: We play golf. We go to football games... men generally resist high-maintenance relationships, whether with spouses, girlfriends or male pals. When picking friends, "men don't want someone who is too needy," he says. A third of the men in his study said they learned positive things from female friendships, but 25% had a negative impression of women as friends, citing issues such as "cattiness" and "too much drama." And women are more likely than men to hold grudges toward friends"

Brit mum almost kills her lover during sex -- with her 40LL boobs

Bad guys really do get the most girls - "The self-obsession of narcissism; the impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous behaviour of psychopaths; and the deceitful and exploitative nature of Machiavellianism... those who scored higher on the dark triad personality traits tended to have more partners and more desire for short-term relationships... the correlation only held in males... James Bond epitomises this set of traits, Jonason says. "He's clearly disagreeable, very extroverted and likes trying new things - killing people, new women... This observation seems to hold across cultures... "They still have to explain why it hasn't spread to everyone," says Matthew Keller of the University of Colorado in Boulder. "There must be some cost of the traits." One possibility, both Keller and Jonason suggest, is that the strategy is most successful when dark triad personalities are rare. Otherwise, others would become more wary and guarded"

Outer-space sex carries complications - "Sex in space would likely be "hotter and wetter" than on Earth, Bonta said, because in zero-G there is no natural convection to carry away body heat. Also, scientists have found that people tend to perspire more in microgravity. The moisture associated with sexual congress could pool as floating droplets... "Sex in zero-G is going to have to be more or less choreographed. Otherwise it's just going to be a wild flail""

The ‘‘Booty Call’’: A Compromise Between Men’s and Women’s Ideal Mating Strategies - "Traditionally, research on romantic and sexual relationships has focused on 1-night stands and monogamous pairs. However, as the result of men and women pursuing their ideal relationship types, various compromise relationships may emerge. One such compromise is explored here: the ‘‘booty call.’’ The results of an act-nomination and frequency study of college students provided an initial definition and exploration of this type of relationship. Booty calls tend to utilize various communication mediums to facilitate sexual contact among friends who, for men, may represent low-investment, attractive sexual partners and, for women, may represent attractive test-mates. The relationship is discussed as a compromise between men’s and women’s ideal mating strategies that allows men greater sexual access and women an ongoing opportunity to evaluate potential long-term mates."