Links - 10th October 2012

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

***

Search is on for boyfriend for Feng Tianwei - "He must be Singaporean and someone who can speak Mandarin... The task has been entrusted to Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing, revealed Singapore Table Tennis Association president Lee Bee Wah"
FAIL!

Where the Minutes Are Longer: The Weird Science of Telling Time on Mars - "Mars actually spins a bit slower than our own planet, and as a result, its whole day is a bit longer -- 24 Earth hours and 39 Earth minutes... "Since I was a young child I've put my heart into making very precise time pieces, now I was being asked to create a watch that was slow on purpose""

Grace Dent: Take the fight to men – we'd give them a good kicking - "the irony of men anonymously slagging off woman who could hospitalise them from behind a keyboard several miles away is simply too delicious"
Comments: "in going through the article line by line, there are 12 negative references to men by the female author, of those 12, 5 advocate or fantasize physical violence against men, 1 reference only could be construed in the context of girl on girl conflict. I think both you and the author have repressed violent issues, and she in particular is using the triumph of female victory at the Games in previously male orientated sports ( weren't they at all at one point) to push her sexist and violently orientated agenda. More tea anyone?"
"Yes I'm now going to encourage the young ladies to smack the teeth out of any other girl who upsets them, kick the head of older men who leer at them, and beat the proverbial cr&p out of anyone who spills their drinks in a bar or eyeballs them wrong in the street. Clearly this is progress and just what the UK needs. "

Samantha Brick on the downsides to looking pretty: 'Why women hate me for being beautiful' - "f you’re a woman reading this, I’d hazard that you’ve already formed your own opinion about me — and it won’t be very flattering. For while many doors have been opened (literally) as a result of my looks, just as many have been metaphorically slammed in my face — and usually by my own sex. I’m not smug and I’m no flirt, yet over the years I’ve been dropped by countless friends who felt threatened if I was merely in the presence of their other halves. If their partners dared to actually talk to me, a sudden chill would descend on the room. And it is not just jealous wives who have frozen me out of their lives. Insecure female bosses have also barred me from promotions at work. And most poignantly of all, not one girlfriend has ever asked me to be her bridesmaid. You’d think we women would applaud each other for taking pride in our appearances."
Misogynist: A man who hates women as much as women hate each other

Consciousness and Cognition - Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving - "The current experiment tested the effects of moderate alcohol intoxication on a common creative problem solving task, the Remote Associates Test (RAT). Individuals were brought to a blood alcohol content of approximately .075, and, after reaching peak intoxication, completed a battery of RAT items. Intoxicated individuals solved more RAT items, in less time, and were more likely to perceive their solutions as the result of a sudden insight"

How an 18-Year-Old Made $35K for Tweeting Parody Accounts - "In the last four months, King has earned more than $35,000 by tweeting sponsored messages on the microblogging platform. Not too shabby for an 18-year-old high school student"

9GAG - Does McDonald's put less sesame seeds on their buns?

Mr.Smith: Event Blogging Template 101 - "Today I was invited to XXX event by YYY company.
[insert picture of event entrance]
I am so excited about the event! The event was so awesome it's a blast!
[insert camwhore1.jpg]
[insert camwhore2.jpg]
[insert camwhore3.jpg]
Look who i bumped into! The Famous [insert another half pass 6 self proclaimed popular blogger with unique click of around 100 per day] "

Artur Davis: Biden "in chains" comment "insulting to African-Americans" - "Artur Davis, a Democrat-turned-Republican former congressman from Alabama, on Wednesday accused Vice President Joe Biden of using racially divisive rhetoric that is "insulting" to African-Americans. "I know what Joe Biden was doing yesterday," Davis said in an appearance on CNN. "Every black person in that room knew who the 'y'all' was. They knew what the chains were. They knew what the metaphor was about." In remarks at a campaign event in Virginia Tuesday with a number of African-American audience members, the vice president lambasted Romney for allegedly wanting to repeal financial regulations enacted after the Wall Street crash of 2008. "He's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules - unchain Wall Street!" Biden said. He added: "They're going to put you all back in chains." Republicans pounced on the remarks. Biden later clarified his comment, stating that he had meant to say "unshackle" in reference to Republican claims that regulations "shackle" the economy"
Everyone can play the Offence Game!

"Your Mother Would Like Me": Self-Presentation in the Personals Ads of Heterosexual and Homosexual Men and Women - "(a) gay men emphasized physical characteristics most and lesbians least; (b) heterosexual women mentioned attractiveness more than lesbians did; (c) women solicited more expressive traits and offered more instrumental traits than men; (d) gay men mentioned sexuality more than other advertisers; and (e) heterosexuals were more likely than homosexuals to pursue long-term relationships and to mention sincerity and financial security. The advantages of using personals ads as a source of data about self-presentation, societal definitions of attractiveness, and changing social forces are discussed"
No wonder lesbians are ugly

Ira Weissman: 7 Reasons Why Diamonds Are a Waste of Your Money - "1) The most common misconception about engagement rings is that they're some kind of ancient tradition that's deeply embedded in human history in societies around the world. This is completely false
2) Diamonds are not an investment -- they are a retail product like any other
3) The diamond jewelry market is a shark tank
4) Spending a month's (or two!) salary on something so impractical -- at the exact same time you are beginning your new life together as a budding family -- is a very poor financial decision
5) Men, you don't need to waste a ton of money to prove your manhood
6) Women, you don't need your man to waste a ton of money to prove that he loves you.
7) If your man buys you a diamond as a means to keep you quiet for another year about marriage, he probably should be dumped anyway...
Ira Weissman is a diamond industry veteran with a decade of experience at one of the world's largest diamond polishers"

Comment sauver sa vie grâce à un tampon! - "Vous pouvez également l’utiliser comme filtre à eau si vous l’insérez dans le goulot d’une bouteille. L’applicateur peut quant à lui servir de paille pour boire. Si vous laissez le tampon dans son applicateur, vous ferez alors d’une pierre deux coups, en filtrant l’eau que vous buvez!"

Vers une suppression des bordels animaliers en Allemagne ? - "Les bordels animaliers ont le vent en poupe en Allemagne, et cela a le mérite d’en irriter certains. En effet, les services de protection de nos amis les bêtes souhaitent que la zoophilie soit reconnue comme un crime (il convient de noter que si la pornographie à caractère zoophile est prohibée, l’acte lui-même ne l’est pas dans ce pays). Selon les autorités allemandes, avoir des relations sexuelles avec des animaux est de plus en plus perçu comme un choix de vie alternatif, et est relativement mieux toléré qu’auparavant"

WikiWeapons: 3D printed guns for everyone - Boing Boing

Mass. couple dies trying to rescue dog from lake - "A Massachusetts couple boating on a lake drowned after jumping into the water to rescue their dog, who survived. Police say the small dog named Sadie jumped into Hampton Ponds in Westfield on Monday night, prompting 64-year-old Donald Cyr to follow his pet into the lake. Police told The Westfield News that he became distressed and his wife, 61-year-old Patricia Cyr, tried to rescue him. Their daughter, Miranda Landry, told The Boston Globe that her mother jumped into the water despite not being able to swim."

Singapore tau huay too low class for French upscale event Diner en Blanc?! | The Moonberry Blog - "Diner en Blanc will be taking place next Thursday at a secret location and even though there has been a lot of positive buzz and general excitement, I am somewhat disturbed upon finding out that fellow blogger Daniel from DanielFoodDiary.com has been asked to modify remove his blog post in which he has suggested some local food (which are white, to suit the all-white theme of this event) to bring. Specifically, his suggestion of soybean pudding aka tau huay is deemed by Diner en Blanc organizers to be “not up to par” with the event’s upscale nature. Whoa. Are they implying that tau huay is too low class to bring to and be eaten at Diner en Blanc?!... the organizers have decided to uninvite all bloggers from the event. From what I heard, the Diner en Blanc organizers feel that there is little value in inviting bloggers because they do not regard social media influencers to be that influential anyway. Everyone on the social media invitation list, specifically bloggers, has been nixed"

Does roux-en-Y gastric bypass cure diabetes?

Top 5 reasons Icebreaker underwear are my favorite pieces of travel gear - "I so enjoyed Icebreaker's boxer briefs that they have become my favorite piece of travel gear. With each passing day of the trip, as temperatures approached 90°F and humidity constantly hovered at around 98%, I was increasingly more thankful that the most intimate parts of my body were enrobed in Icebreaker"

Desk Rage: The Tell-Tale Signs of an Overworked Employee (graphic)

Americans Abroad Renounce U.S. Citizenship Due to Tax and Reporting Reasons

Renouncing citizenship: Did Eduardo Saverin do anything wrong? | The Economist - "Half a billion dollars! That is not scot-free. Did the marauding aliens in "Independence Day" leave behind a half billion American dollars after having successfully invested in Earth? They did not! One wonders how many pounds of flesh Mr Manjoo and Ms Hogue think Mr Saverin owes for the privilege of having Uncle Sam's hooks out once and for all"

Twitter / si_vault: This may be the most entertaining golf photo I've come across

This is what happens when a gamer couple wants to cuddle. We seriously played like this for a good hour 8D (image)