With the emergence of civilization, the rate of change shifted from hundreds of thousands of years to millennia. With the emergence of science as a way of knowing the universe, the rate of change shifted to centuries.
--William Irwin Thompson
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Quote of the Day (4/1/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
Sexbot On The Loose: Kim Cattrall Unleashes On Page Six Reporter
I guess her royalty checks from Big Trouble In Little China stopped coming in. According to Dlisted, Cattrall unloaded on several doting reporters during the premiere for her new film Meet Monica Velour, about an aging pornstar that becomes a stripper. She allegedly was inebriated (which she told one of the reporters) and said things like" "Why don't you work at --- What's that news agency? Roybers?" and "That's a stupid question. You're a smart girl. How could you want to write that?" Frankly I love seeing semi-drunk people acting a mess because in some way it gives them a measure of street credibility. And they learn from it, too. Now Kim knows to leave the Bacardi alone before she hits the red carpet. None of this damages Kim in my book. I still think she is an amazing sexbot and I cherish the first time I saw the film Mannequin. The woman deserves respect!
I deserve respect, you stupid gossip columnist!
Classic Anime of the Week: Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Vampire Hunter D is a copypright of Urban Vision Entertainment
One of the most popular titles in anime history, Vampire Hunter D is based on a manga of the same name created by Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano in 1983. It tells the tale of a vampire hunter called only 'D' who lives in a post-apocalyptic future inhabited by demons, werewolves, and most importantly: vampires. D is enlisted by a young girl named Doris Lang to help her kill a five thousand year old vampire called Count Magnus Lee after she is bitten by him. Shunned by her village, the only hope for Doris and her brother is to kill the vampire that bit her, so she finds D and he surprisingly agrees to help her. One of the more curious aspects of D, besides his over-the-top appearance, is the sarcastic talking mouth on his back, who seemingly always has something witty and dry to say. Vampire Hunter D spawned many other manga titles and videos, including the anime Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, released more than ten years later. Visually, the anime still has some of the features of the earliest Japanese animation to reach our shores (like Galaxy Express 999) with the huge, almost misshaped heads of some of the characters and the enormous blue eyes, but the maturity of the subject matter and its handling hearken towards the anime of the future and the ubiquitous samurai-inspired anti-hero. This anime is highly recommended to everyone.
"The Sopranos" Rewatch
Inspired by my friend Nikki Stafford's very successful Great Buffy Rewatch, hosted on her blog Nik at Nite, I have set about launching The Sopranos Rewatch.
Go here to see a full list of Sopranos episodes broken into groups of three. A wide variety of Sopranos scholars/critics, contributors to my three books, will watch an assigned trio of episodes, and their comments/analyses/insights will be published here, on The Laverytory, on the University Press of Kentucky website, and on Critical Studies in Television Online.
As someone who is contributing to the Great Buffy Rewatch, I feel certain this will be a great deal of fun.
The starting date for the Sopranos Rewatch will be May 15. New entries will appear every Sunday evening (of course) through November.
What Is This Disaster Called Beverly Hills Fabulous?
I had to say that. Actually this show is hysterical, even though the whole time you're thinking "Why do these people have a show?" Seriously, where is my show? Basically, Beverly Hills Fabulous, now on its third episode, revolves around Elgin Charles who owns a fashionable hair salon in Beverly Hills. His hairdressers include Sean, a flamboyant young man with blond hair (see picture below), the big and beautiful Lolita, and others. In this episode, Elgin goes to a community center to inspire the young kids with his story of his journey from the backwoods in Texas to find success and he leaves Sean in charge of the salon while he's gone. While Elgin is gone, the health inspector arrives unannounced to inspect the boutique. Meanwhile one of Lolita's clients (a bride to be) has arrived with her entourage and they are drinking champagne and making a mess in the adjacent salon. Sean runs over to tell them to stop and to clean the place, and Elgin arrives just in the nick of time to supervise. In the end, the health inspector announces that the salon has passed inspection, but Sean is furious that Elgin showed up because he sees this as an indication that Elgin doesn't trust him. They get into a huge fight and it looks like Elgin's initial happiness that Sean saved the day will be superseded by his fury and Sean's "insubordination". Sean storms out. The end. Honestly, this show is better than "Love and Hip Hop" because the characters are more interesting, but I have a feeling that this show will fizzle out pretty quickly. I guess anyone can get a "reality" show these days.
Sean and Elgin during their heated argument
Hopes For Binational Couples Dashed As Discriminatory Policy Returns
Despite the good news from earlier in the week, the federal government has now re-affirmed it's policy of applying immigration law in a discriminatory fashion towards married binational same-sex couples.
The New York Times reports:
The New York Times reports:
On Monday, Christopher S. Bentley, the chief spokesman for the immigration agency, confirmed in a statement that cases nationwide involving married gay couples had been suspended. What Mr. Bentley did not say was how long that hold might last and what issues the agency was seeking to clarify.
But the elated reaction among gay advocates and couples was immediate. Describing Mr. Bentley’s statement as “a darn big deal,” Rachel B. Tiven, the executive director of Immigration Equality, called it “the first domino to fall” for gay American citizens with foreign spouses.
Ms. Tiven said she understood that immigrants in married gay couples could now apply for green cards and instead of being automatically denied, their cases would be suspended until the courts decided the validity of the marriage act.
Word also went out across the country. In Princeton, N.J., Josh Vandiver and Henry Velandia, in the middle of a public forum on immigration issues, embraced and cheered. They said they had heard from their immigration lawyer that the agency’s announcement might mean at least a temporary reprieve from deportation for Mr. Velandia.
Mr. Vandiver, 29, is an American citizen and a political science graduate student at Princeton. He and Mr. Velandia, 27, who is from Venezuela, were married last August in Connecticut, one of the states that recognize same-sex marriages. Their application for a green card for Mr. Velandia was recently denied, and he is facing deportation as early as May.
But on Tuesday, Mr. Bentley issued a new statement, saying that Citizenship and Immigration Services “has not implemented any change in policy and intends to follow the president’s directive to continue enforcing the law.”
Mr. Bentley said the agency’s field offices had suspended cases for a short period, perhaps a week or two, while lawyers clarified a “narrow legal issue” concerning the marriage act. He said the agency would probably resume action on same-sex marriage cases in coming days and would continue to deny immigration status to foreigners based on those marriages.
Immigration lawyers tried on Tuesday to sort out the meaning of the events.
“We have to be very cautious,” said Lavi S. Soloway, a lawyer who represents Mr. Velandia and Mr. Vandiver. He said gay couples should continue to understand that “if they file for immigration status, they may be putting themselves at considerable risk of deportation.”If you are in a binational relationship or need more information about the effects of immigration law on LGBT people, I urge you to check out the Immigration Equality (and Immigration Equation Action Fund) website. (Full disclosure: MadProfessah is on the board of directors of Immigration Equality and the Immigration Equality Action Fund.)
Colbert for President?
Is he going to do it? This could be so much more interesting than Pat Paulsen.
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Human Rights Watch Issues Report On Mississippi(!)
The state of Mississippi has long been an embarrassment to the rest of the country, but now the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch has made it official by issuing a report detailing and decrying the way the state deals with people who are either LGBT or have HIV or both.
From the Executive Summary of "Rights At Risk":
Hat/tip to Todd Heywood's reporting on this report at the Michigan Messenger.Throughout Mississippi, people living with HIV, their advocates, health providers and public officials describe an extreme stigma surrounding HIV that is, for many, more frightening than the disease itself. Human Rights Watch found that Mississippi laws and policies promote prejudice and discrimination against those vulnerable, and perceived to be vulnerable, to HIV, thereby contributing to the problem. Numerous legal provisions, including constitutional amendments, discriminate against homosexuals and state sex education laws marginalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. In Mississippi, the criminal law penalizes those with HIV for failing to disclose their positive status, an approach that public health experts deem likely to undermine, rather than promote, the public health.Mississippi’s sex education policies also play a harmful role in the state’s HIV epidemic. The state has the highest rates of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and teen pregnancy in the nation and alarming rates of HIV infection among young black men who have sex with men (MSM). Yet Mississippi’s legislature remains stubbornly committed to failed messages of abstinence in sex education, ignoring evidence that such approaches have little effect on reducing HIV or STD transmission. Despite the fact that students in Mississippi are having sex earlier than in any other state, the state suppresses information about condom use and effectiveness in sex education, denying youth access to accurate and relevant health information that can prevent HIV infection.The sex education curricula in Mississippi also mandates negative messages about “homosexual activities,” creating hostile school environments for LGBT youth and interfering with their right to health. Combined with other state laws that discriminate against homosexuals, Mississippi promotes a culture of homophobia that, according to state public health officials, endangers the health of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men by keeping them away from HIV testing and treatment services.The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern US has been particularly devastating for minority communities.Nowhere is the dramatic racial impact of the epidemic more apparent than in the state of Mississippi, where African-Americans are only 37.5 percent of the population, but comprise 76 percent of those newly infected with HIV. Mississippi’s failure to embrace evidence-based approaches in the face of increasing health threats to minority populations conflicts with fundamental principles of human rights.An alarming rise in HIV infection among young black men who have sex with men recently prompted an investigation by federal and state health authorities, who recommended implementation of comprehensive sex education at an early age in order to increase awareness of risk and to promote condom use as a proven method of prevention. These recommendations have been utterly ignored in the public schools despite evidence that once infected these young men are unlikely to access adequate health care. Similarly, though African-American women have the second-highest HIV infection rate in the state, Mississippi’s “Just Wait” abstinence campaign does not provide evidence-based HIV prevention education to this very vulnerable population.The factors identified in this report are not the only contributors to the HIV epidemic in Mississippi, an impoverished state with poor rates of overall health, education, and development. Stigma and discrimination, fueled by community attitudes, religious beliefs, and other societal forces are also contributing factors. But government action plays a significant role, and the harmful policies highlighted here undermine efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic and disregard national and international guidelines on best practices for effective management of the disease. These policies combine to create a high-risk environment where it is difficult for many people to avoid HIV infection and to access life-saving treatment and support. If there is to be meaningful progress in access to HIV services, Mississippi’s obligation to protect public health and human rights should be the immediate focus of both federal and state governments.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Quote of the Day (3/31/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
Like a shadow that does not permit us to jump over it, but moves with us to maintain its proper distance, pollution is nature's answer to culture. When we have learned to recycle pollution into potent information, we will have passed over completely into the new cultural ecology.
--William Irwin Thompson
30 Years Since . . .
All the news shows are remembering today as the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.
For Joyce and I (and then four month old Rachel), it's also the anniversary of our trek to Shanghai.
When I finally began teaching, over a month later, one of the first questions my students had was "Why did this man try to kill your President?" Here's what I wrote about my answer elsewhere on this blog.
For Joyce and I (and then four month old Rachel), it's also the anniversary of our trek to Shanghai.
When I finally began teaching, over a month later, one of the first questions my students had was "Why did this man try to kill your President?" Here's what I wrote about my answer elsewhere on this blog.
After almost a month of getting acclimated to our new surroundings (a month in which we learned that "culture shock" is not just a term in an anthropology matching test but a real, very palpable malaise), I finally began teaching. A few days before we had departed for China, President Reagan had been shot. As expected, my students were most interested in understanding the assassination attempt. Why did this young man try to kill your President? they asked on the very first day I taught. Based on what I knew at the time (from a close reading of the Far East Edition of Time Magazine), I tried to explain: "It seems that Hinckley was in love with a movie star named Jodie Foster, who had appeared in a film called Taxi Driver, in which a deranged young man tries to kill a presidential candidate in order to make a young prostitute (played by Foster) fall in love with him. Hinckley, confusing the movies with reality, evidently believed that if he killed the real President of the United States, himself a former Hollywood actor who would later be characterized as the "acting" President, Jodie Foster (the real Jodie Foster, not the character played by her in the film) would then fall in love with him." They listened politely, and they stared at me like I had come from another universe. I wondered that first day I would ever be able to make myself understood by them.
Amber Rose, Robot, Shows Off Pierced Nipples
SMH. Amber Rose is not an unattractive girl, but this is not a good look. For one thing, it looks like she has fish hooks through her nipples, and the bald head is getting a little old. Obviously, we are all entitled to style ourselves the way that we want, but when someone that is relatively attractive looks this bad... well... the world notices. Typical malfunctioning robot behavior. (via Daily Mail)
Brace Yourself
In the run-up to this Sunday's debut of The Borgias, Showtime has a new campaign with a new tagline:
Brace Yourself
How bracing!
Donald Trump Is NOT a Robot, Reveals Birth Certificate
There goes my plan to make The Donald "Celebrity Most Likely To Be A Robot" for next week. In response to Whoopi Goldberg's outrage on The View last week (she's usually outraged but this time it was because The Donald jumped on the whole "Obama was not born in the US" bandwagon), Donald Trump has revealed his "birth certificate", although the document appears to be issued by the hospital and not by the State or City of New York. Interesting. Actually, I knew that The Donald wasn't really a robot. Just look at his hair. No self-respecting robot would leave the house looking like that. (via Long Island Press via La Daily Musto).
Photos of Lea T. In V Magazine
Recent photos of Brazilian transsexual model Lea T. can be found at Brussels is Burning (and yes, there is BOOBAGE involved).
Willy Vanderperre/V Magazine
Awesome Robot Movie Trailer: Yakuza Weapon
So this trailer features a dildo, a man throwing fireworks at people, and a giant sex robot who detaches her head and uses her neck as an automated weapon. Need I say more? Maybe not, but I will anyway. The film is apparently based on a comic by Ken Ishikawa. Most surprising of all for me is that the Japanese word for Yakuza apparently is not "Yakuza". Someone correct me if I'm wrong. (via Topless Robot)
Gov. Brown Ends Budget Negotiations With Republicans
Capitol Weekly has the call:
Recent figures show that the Republican Party currently has 30.4% party registration in California, compared to 44% for Democrats and 20% for Independents (a significant fraction, possibly a majority, are probably ex-Republicans). By abdicating any responsibility for acting reasonably to fix California's $26 billion 18-month budget deficit, Republicans have pushed themselves even closer to political obscurity.Brown, a Democrat, in a letter to Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton, said the negotiations had focused for weeks on a spending cap, public pension issues and regulatory reform. Brown posted a YouTube video of his position here.But, he said, Republicans late last week added dozens of separate demands, “many of which are new and have no relationship whatsoever to the budget.”“From my count, your list today added almost two dozen new topics, including obscure aspects of labor law and shifting the presidential primary to March. In addition, your list of demands, if met, would undermine my entire budget proposal by undoing major elements and extending the taxes for only 18 months,” Brown wrote.
Hopefully, Gov. Brown will have a better result in winning ballot measures to implement his vision of the California budget than former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did. The Governator tried legislating by ballot box in 2005 and 2009 and was humiliated both times by the California eletcorate. Brown is a much smarter and talented politician, and is in his first year of office, so Californians may give him what he wants: a common sense balanced budget with shared sacrifice and contributions from all California constituencies.
RIP Diana Wynn Jones
Welsh writer Diana Wynn Jones passed away this weekend and she will be sorely missed. She was the author of numerous fantasy novels perhaps the most famous of which was Howl's Moving Castle, which was made into an animated feature film by Studio Ghibli and was a huge success worldwide. If any of you have not seen the film, it is highly, highly recommended. Rest in peace, Miss Wynn Jones.
Diana Wynn Jones
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Quote of the Day (3/30/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
Home means a lot to moralists, but the mystic is society's alien and is not allowed to have a home smaller than the universe, and any time he tries to settle for less, to settle down, and to set up fences, God appears as the moving whirlwind.
--William Irwin Thompson, The American Replacement of Nature
The Great "Buffy" Rewatch
Tonight's rewatch, the first three episodes of Season 3, is by my wonderful former student Dr. Cynthia Burkhead.
Read it here.
Read it here.
Simon Noonan's three types of mature style
the Gypsy, personified by Jade Jagger and India Hicks;
the Socialite, the old school Jackie O type of beauty
and the Existentialist, who is Tilda Swinton and a smaller group of edgy women who create trends.
Immigration Equality Hails CIS Policy Change
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2011
IMMIGRATION EQUALITY HAILS GOVERNMENT DECISION ALLOWING LESBIAN AND GAY COUPLES TO FILE GREEN CARD APPLICATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS CALLS BY GROUP TO END SEPARATION OF FAMILIES
WASHINGTON, DC – Immigration Equality, the national experts on immigration rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, hailed an announcement today from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the agency will allow Americans with spouses from abroad to apply for green cards while courts weigh constitutional challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
“USCIS has issued guidance to the field,” USCIS Spokesman Christopher Bentley announced, “asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues.”
“Today’s statement is the first domino to fall for LGBT Americans with foreign national spouses,” said Rachel B. Tiven, the group’s executive director. “As Immigration Equality noted in our letters to both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, we believe that no spousal application should be denied until DOMA’s constitutionality is settled. Immigration Equality has been fighting for LGBT immigrant families since 1994. In that time we have counseled more than 10,000 families – and for them, today’s news is a sign that relief is finally on the way.”
Last week, Immigration Equality’s legal team filed a green card application on behalf of Edwin Blesch, an American citizen, and Tim Smulian, his South African husband. Despite being legally married in South Africa – a marriage recognized in Edwin’s home state of New York – the couple has struggled to remain together. Edwin struggles with failing health and increasingly depends on Tim as his primary caretaker. The couple joined Immigration Equality in hailing today’s announcement.
“Every day, we live with the very real possibility that, despite following every law and every policy of the United States, Tim will be forced to leave the country, and I will be left without my caretaker and the love of my life,” Blesch said in a statement. “Today’s news gives us great relief, and great hope that we may soon be able to put that worry behind us. For the first time, we can begin to plan the rest of our lives together without fear that we will be torn apart.”
Couples who believe they may be impacted by today’s decision are encouraged to contact Immigration Equality’s legal team for free, confidential advice at www.immigrationequality.org/
# # #
Immigration Equality is a national organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law, to reduce the negative impact of that law on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people, and to help obtain asylum for those persecuted in their home country based on their sexual orientation, transgender identity or HIV-status. Through education, outreach, advocacy, and the maintenance of a nationwide network of resources, we provide information and support to advocates, attorneys, politicians and those who are threatened by persecution or the discriminatory impact of the law.
Love and Hip Hop Episode 3 Recap
This is the episode were Chrissy and Emily get to confront Olivia about the lie she told about her relationship with Terelle. Emily is Terrelle's stylist and he told her that he was not dating Olivia and that they hadn't spoken for months. Olivia ducked and weaved and said they were "working things out", but the other girls knew they had caught her in a lie. Olivia later confronted Emily about digging into her "business" but, surprisingly, they settled things amicably (sort of). Meanwhile, Emily and Chrissy go to a rap session of Somaya's at a poetry jam and only barely manage to conceal their reactions to how horrible Somaya's rap skills were. When Somaya later goes to Jim Jones's studio for feedback about the track she fixed with her manager, he tells her that he can't help her because he needs to work on his own album. Emily then invites all of the girls onto a yacht for an afternoon out, and the inevitable drama begins when Somaya's "manager" overhears Chrissy and Emily talking smack about Somaya. Somaya confronts Chrissy and a shouting match ensues, the highlight of which were Chrissy calling Somaya's manager "Tattoo" from Fantasy Fucking Island [sic] and Somaya asking Chrissy "what's your job title?" Alright, I admit it. This episode was more entertaining than the last one. The cast is starting to pull it together, but the events in the episodes are about as spontaneous as a day on the set of "The Hills". See you next week!
Somaya reaches out to Emily. Somaya is wearing leopard print AGAIN
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3, Episode 11 Recap: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
This week's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race was all about hair. For the first challenge, the queens had to design a hairstyle using props. Raja won the challenge (with a wig made up of plastic lobsters and crabs) and had a five second lead in choosing wigs for the next challenge, which was to create three different wigs for three different looks: a classic look, a fantasy look, and a red carpet look. To make things worse, the queens had to make their fantasy look dress entirely out of hair. As usual, the girls complained about not having enough time for the challenge, but they managed to pull it off, with several of the contestants throwing together some pretty spectacular looks (like Yara Sofia who made a scorpion dress and Manila Luzon who looked like a honey bee). Kind of makes you wonder about the rumors that the queens get some help in putting together their outfits. In the end, Yara Sofia and her highly original looks won the day and she was announced by Ru to be the winner of the challenge. Alexis Matteo and Shangela were in the bottom two and had to lipsynch for their lives to a song by Fantasia (a guest judge along with Wayne Brady). Shangela did her usual showgirl performance, which wasn't right for the song, and she was eliminated. However, RuPaul stirred up the pot when she announced that three judges (excluding herself) would have the opportunity to choose one queen to bring back to the competition for the next episode. Looks like Ru is trying to stretch the season out. My money is on either Delta Work or Carmen Carrera. Please, God, don't let it be Mimi Imfurst...
Raja's "fantasy look"
US Immigration Confirms Suspension of Married Binational Deportations
Following up on reports from this weekend, Metro Weekly just received confirmation from Christopher Bentley, the spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that cases of foreign partners who are married to a same-sex partner and would otherwise be eligible for a green card are on hold in light of questions about the continued validity of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Bentley writes, "USCIS has issued guidance to the field asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues."
He notes, however, "USCIS has not implemented any change in policy and intends to follow the President's directive to continue enforcing the law."
The legal distinction means that although DOMA is still being enforced, the USCIS is using its discretion to hold off on denying green card applications where applicable.This is pretty amazing news!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Quote of the Day (3/29/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
[The CNN Center in Atlanta is] a rendering of Teilhard de Chardin's noosphere . . . a planetary lattice of satellites in which non-stop 24-hours-a-day news gives us the experience of time under control-history under new American management.
--William Irwin Thompson, The American Replacement of Nature
Žižekian
A Facebook friend just posted.
Um, I just used "Žižekian" in a sentence. I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not.
I responded:
Remember in M*A*S*H when Radar was told he could convince anyone he had been to college by saying "Ah, Bach." "Ah, Žižekian" tells us what--that we have pursued a terminal degree?
Writing Like Lorne
It's the fall of 1973, University of Florida Building D (an old World War II barracks where the grad teaching assistants had their offices).
Dick Bolling, a troubled but hilarious new Ph.D. student who went to Harvard, is pounding away at his manual typewriter, writing a paper for Dr. Ira Clark's 17th Century Poetry course.
Dick bangs on the table and exclaims:
Everyday my writing sounds more and more like Lorne Greene!
Dick dropped out at the end of his first year.
Eye Candy: Jon Micklow (3rd time)
Jon Micklow is a model with a distinctly "cute white boy" look. He has been featured on MadProfessah's Eye Candy twice before, on April 10, 2010 and March 1, 2010. Although I try to feature models of color on this blog as Eye Candy, the only criteria is that they be considered "hawt" by me, and in my eyes, Mr. Micklow definitely fits the bill.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
the van Eysden target customer
IF THIS IS YOU OR YOUR MUM OR YOUR GRANDMA:
AND YOU ENJOY THE FOLLOWING THINGS:
LET'S TALK BUSINESS.
Quote of the Day (3/28/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
There seems little chance of getting out of this century with the same human nature with which we entered it.
--William Irwin Thompson, The American Replacement of Nature
"Mad Men" Delayed
I had heard about the delay earlier in the week. The New York Times has the full story.
Map Of Average Penis Size Around The World
This map illustrating the geographical distribution of average penis size by country has been whipping around the blogosphere recently.
Since all anyone cares about is the biggest and the smallest, here ya go:
The five most well-endowed nations are:Hmmm, maybe I need to plan another trip to South America (where Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela are) sooner rather than later....The United States ranks somewhere in the lower-middle of the world penis-size rankings. The average American man has a penis length of 5.1 inches. South Korea is the most poorly endowed nation, coming in at 3.9 inches. Cambodia, Thailand, India, and Burma round out the bottom five.
Remember these are average sizes, so in any population there will be a normal distribution around this average. What we really need to know is how was this information collected (by outside observer or self-reporting) and what's the standard deviation for each number.
I think if most well-travelled gay men were to give their ranking of average penis size by country some other nations would make the top 5. Jus' sayin'.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Quote of the Day (3/27/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
So there are some signs in the cultural evolution of America that, while the cold-blooded dinosaurs are tearing up the landscape, there are some tiny mammals around with warm blood in their hearts.
--William Irwin Thompson, Darkness and Scattered Light
The Rest of Season Three of "Fringe"
Noel Murray (Onion TV Club)has the titles of the remaining episodes of this season's Fringe:
“Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” (4/15)
“6:02 AM EST” (4/22)
“The Last Sam Weiss” (4/29)
“The Day We Died” (5/6)
“Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” (4/15)
“6:02 AM EST” (4/22)
“The Last Sam Weiss” (4/29)
“The Day We Died” (5/6)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Quote of the Day (3/26/11) (William Irwin Thompson Week 2)
America's esoteric destiny seems to be one of breaking down all the cultures of the world in preparation for a new global culture that will become humanity's second nature. The Muslims, whose genius was born in the Middle Ages, have a point when they call America "the Great Satan," for this second nature is so artificial, so opposite to anything that a traditional person would wish to call cultural or natural, that it appears on the horizon of the human as something inhuman, monstrous, and evil. (113)
--William Irwin Thompson, The American Replacement of Nature
Cruising The History Books - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
Cruising The History Books - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
Now, now Andrew. That's my ancestor on my mother's side you are talking about!
Jersey Shore Season 3, Episode 13 Review: The End
It's finally over: both the third season of Jersey Shore and Ron and Sam's relationship. Basically, the entire season was about Ron and Sam, and every one else in the house were basically supporting actors for the Ron and Sam drama. Ron approached Sam at the beginning of the episode about what was really going between her and her friend Arvin. Sam ran to the phone to talk to Arvin and denied that she had ever hooked up with him, but everyone saw by her body language that she was caught in a lie. Eventually, Sam admitted that she had made out with Arvin two years before and that she had lied about it. They seemed to make up after that only to fight again when Ron saw Sam hanging out with a bunch of guys during their last night at Karma.
Prior to that, their boss from the t-shirt shop threw a party in their honor to which friends and family were invited: the highlight of that night was one of Pauly D's friends from RI doing the worm. Meanwhile, Jwoww and Roger are officially a couple and they make a drunken phone call to Roger's boss to call in sick. In the end, it looks like Sam and Ron officially break up, but it seems that it wasn't really official until a few months after the show finished taping. Well, that's it. It looks like the crew will be back next season for some more drunken escapades at the shore. If these people are still doing this in ten years, I am going to gouge my eyes out with my own fingers. Honestly, there have been voices in the media stating their opinions that MTV is destroying American culture, and though I don't believe it's true, this reality fixation that America (and the world) seems to have must at least be symptomatic of something.
Prior to that, their boss from the t-shirt shop threw a party in their honor to which friends and family were invited: the highlight of that night was one of Pauly D's friends from RI doing the worm. Meanwhile, Jwoww and Roger are officially a couple and they make a drunken phone call to Roger's boss to call in sick. In the end, it looks like Sam and Ron officially break up, but it seems that it wasn't really official until a few months after the show finished taping. Well, that's it. It looks like the crew will be back next season for some more drunken escapades at the shore. If these people are still doing this in ten years, I am going to gouge my eyes out with my own fingers. Honestly, there have been voices in the media stating their opinions that MTV is destroying American culture, and though I don't believe it's true, this reality fixation that America (and the world) seems to have must at least be symptomatic of something.
Ron patches things up with Sam only to change his mind two days later
Discussion: Why Nicki Minaj Is A Robot
Look at the pictures. What are you looking at? You are looking at a woman of indeterminate ethnicity, with a huge badonk-a-donk, a Bride of Frankenstein afro, and six inches worth of makeup gyrating on stage with a massive white plastic phallus. How does one interpret this bombardment of thought and images? By admitting that Nicki Minaj is a robot. She is a combination of a programmer/inventor's desire to create something unique, but without an understanding of what it means to be unique, and the stereotypical result of a malfunctioning machine. Something about her is truncated or incomplete and the emphasis on the aesthetic is far too great. Yes, the aesthetic sensory overload works in Nicki Minaj's case, but she doesn't have the personality or the other accoutrements to back it up. Not to say that Nicki will be disappearing any time soon. All she needs is to continue to put out tracks turned out by the hottest producers in the industry and, since it seems that America (and the world) continue to crave robots like Minaj, there's no reason to believe that she won't be around and on top of the world in the next five years or so.
James (from "Twin Peaks") Goes to Court
The man, James Marshall, who played one of the most despised characters in TV history is suing over his medical condition.
Heard on "NCIS: LA"
I had to do this for Ollie North in Nicaragua--twice. The man really was an ass.
--Hattie, putting on rubber gloves in order to apply Calamine lotion to Sam's posterior after he has sat in poison oak
Newt Paraphrased
His current position on Libya amounts to: Obama should never have followed my advice.--David Kurtz
'Have You No Sense of Decency?' The Wm. Cronon Story - The Atlantic
The Joe McCarthy tradition returns to Wisconsin.
'Have You No Sense of Decency?' The Wm. Cronon Story - The Atlantic
'Have You No Sense of Decency?' The Wm. Cronon Story - The Atlantic
Celebrity Friday: Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
Elizabeth Taylor, glamorous Hollywood film star for decades and AIDS activist and gay icon, died on Wednesday March 23rd.
Her New York Times obituary, written by a guy who died in 2005, described her:
In a world of flickering images, Elizabeth Taylor was a constant star. First appearing on screen at age 10, she grew up there, never passing through an awkward age. It was one quick leap from “National Velvet” to “A Place in the Sun” and from there to “Cleopatra,” as she was indelibly transformed from a vulnerable child actress into a voluptuous film queen.
In a career of some 70 years and more than 50 films, she won two Academy Awards as best actress, for her performances as a call girl in “BUtterfield 8” (1960) and as the acid-tongued Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966). Mike Nichols, who directed her in “Virginia Woolf,” said he considered her “one of the greatest cinema actresses.”Even here in Cape Town, South Africa, her death was huge news.
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