June 26, 2012
Nutopia is a conceptual micronation founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to address Lennon’s then-ongoing immigration problems though satirical means. There is no leadership and not all citizenships have been recorded. As a result, the population is unknown. It was first announced on April Fool’s Day 1973 at a press conference in New York City. The Lennons were ambassadors of the country and sought (creatively, though unsuccessfully) diplomatic immunity to end Lennon’s ongoing immigration troubles, as he and Ono tried to remain in the United States.
Ono already had a Resident Alien ‘green card’ through her previous husband, Tony Cox, but Lennon had been denied permanent residence status. John talked about the imaginary country, which would live up to the ideals of his song ‘Imagine,’ saying this in the ‘official’ declaration: ‘We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and its people.
Posted in Humor, Politics, World |
Leave a Comment »
June 26, 2012
The mudflap girl is an iconic silhouette of a woman with an hourglass body shape, sitting, leaning back on her hands, with her hair being blown in the wind. The icon is typically found on mudflaps, clothing, and other items associated with trucking in the United States. The image is sometimes also known as trucker girl, trucker lady or seated lady. This famous design was created in the 1970s by Bill Zinda of Wiz Enterprises in Long Beach, California, to promote his line of truck and auto accessories. It is variously claimed to be modeled on Leta Laroe, a famous exotic dancer at the time, or on Rachel Ann Allen, a friend’s wife, and mother of Ed Allen, the trademark’s owner.
As a parody, Wyoming Libraries use a mudflap girl holding a book, in an effort to attract readers. In another parody the feminist blog Feministing uses a version depicting the mudflap girl holding up her middle finger as an ironic logo. Optimus Prime has been portrayed as having a mudflap with the silhouette of Elita One (leader of the female autobots). At McMurdo Station, Antarctica, the mudflap girl is depicted on a utility vehicle, but wearing more appropriate attire for Antarctic environment.
Posted in Humor, Money, Sex |
Leave a Comment »
June 26, 2012
The Gatorade shower is a sports tradition that involves dumping a cooler full of liquid (most commonly Gatorade mixed with ice) over a coach’s (or occasionally star player or owner’s) head following a meaningful win, such as the Super Bowl. The tradition began with the New York Giants in the mid-1980s.
According to several sources, including Jim Burt of the Giants, in 1985, when the Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-3, Burt dumped a cooler on Bill Parcells after being angry about the coach’s treatment of him that week. Burt insisted that Harry Carson dump the Gatorade on Parcells, because Carson was a favorite and wouldn’t get in trouble.
read more »
Posted in Food, Games, Humor |
Leave a Comment »
June 9, 2012
There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social function it serves, and what would be considered humorous. It would be very difficult to explain humor to a hypothetical person who did not have a sense of humor already. In fact, to such a person humor would appear to be quite strange if not outright irrational behavior.
Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of humor there are: psychological theories (the vast majority of which consider humor to be very healthy behavior); spiritual theories (which may consider humor to be a ‘gift from God’). There are also theories that consider humor to be an unexplainable mystery, very much like a mystical experience. Although various classical theories of humor and laughter may be found, in contemporary academic literature three theories of humor appear repeatedly: relief theory, superiority theory, and incongruity theory.
read more »
Posted in Health, Humor, Philosophy |
Leave a Comment »
June 9, 2012
Nervous laughter is laughter evoked from an audience’s expression of embarrassment, alarm, discomfort, or confusion, rather than amusement. Nervous laughter is usually less robust in expression than ‘a good belly laugh,’ and may be combined with confused glances or awkward silence on the part of others in the audience. Nervous laughter is considered analogous to a courtesy laugh, which may be rendered by more of a conscious effort in an attempt to move a situation along more quickly, especially when the comedian is pausing for laughter.
Nervous laughter is a physical reaction to stress, tension, confusion, or anxiety – just like sweaty palms or an elevated heart-rate. It’s not a conscious decision; it has nothing to do with one’s sense of humor and can occur at the unfunniest of times. Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran states ‘We have nervous laughter because we want to make ourselves think what horrible thing we encountered isn’t really as horrible as it appears, something we want to believe.’ Those are the most embarrassing times, too, naturally.
read more »
Posted in Health, Humor |
1 Comment »
June 8, 2012
Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of excitement, an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from jokes, tickling, and other stimuli. It is associated with a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, and relief. However on some occasions it may express other emotions, such as embarrassment, contrition, or confusion.
A nervous laugh or courtesy laugh is rendered by a more conscious effort, in an attempt to move a situation along more quickly. Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations.
read more »
Posted in Health, Humor |
Leave a Comment »
June 7, 2012
Laughter in animals other than humans describes animal behavior which resembles human laughter. Self awareness is conscious concomitant of the physiological processes involving laughter or smiling reflex (response) and its grades, degrees, or spectrum varies according to phylogenetic development, with no clear cut demarcation. The emotional ingredients (such as contempt, hatred, ridicule, sarcasm, love, amusement etc.) are variable and involve different neurophysiological and physiological processes.
Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans show laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling. This is documented in wild and captive chimpanzees. Chimpanzee laughter is not readily recognizable to humans as such, because it is generated by alternating inhalations and exhalations that sound more like panting or screeching. The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. It is hard to tell, though, whether or not the chimpanzee is expressing joy.
read more »
Posted in Humor, Science |
1 Comment »
June 5, 2012
Kenny Scharf (b. 1958) is an American painter who lives in Brooklyn, whose works consist of popular culture based art with made up science-related backgrounds.
Scharf came to prominence in the 80s interdisciplinary art scene making sparkly, pop-ed, and monstrous paintings and installations.
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor, Money |
Leave a Comment »
June 4, 2012
‘The Theory of Interstellar Trade‘ is a paper written in 1978 by economist Paul Krugman. The paper was first published in 2010 in the journal ‘Economic Inquiry.’ He described the paper as something he wrote to cheer himself up when he was an oppressed assistant professor, caught up in the academic rat race.
Krugman analyzed the question of how interest rates on goods in transit should be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light. This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer traveling with the goods than to a stationary observer.
read more »
Posted in Humor, Money, Technology |
1 Comment »
May 30, 2012
Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965. Harrison reports having been approached by a Vietnam veteran who described Bill as ‘the only book that’s true about the military.’ Harrison introduced a new euphemism, ‘bowb,’ in the series to cover the vulgarity necessary to render military life accurately. It is used extensively in Bill, the Galactic Hero.
Bill is a farmboy on a small backward agricultural planet who is drugged, hypnotized, then shanghaied into the Space Troopers and sent to recruit training under a fanged instructor named Deathwish Drang. After surviving boot camp, he is transferred to active duty as a fuse tender on the flagship of the space fleet in battle with the Chingers, a small reptillian race. Injured and with the fleet almost destroyed, he fires off a shot witnessed by the admiralty and is proclaimed a hero.
Posted in Humor, Language, War |
Leave a Comment »
May 30, 2012
James Bolivar DiGriz, alias ‘Slippery Jim’ and ‘The Stainless Steel Rat,’ is the fictional hero of a series of humorous science fiction novels written by Harry Harrison. He is a futuristic con man, thief and all-round rascal. He is charming and quick-witted, a master of disguise and martial arts, an accomplished bank robber, an expert on breaking and entering, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. A master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently justifies his crimes by arguing that he is providing society with entertainment; and besides which, he only steals from institutions which have insurance coverage. He displays a strong morality, albeit in a much more restricted sense than is traditional. (For example, he will happily steal, but deplores killing.)
The character was introduced in Harrison’s short story, ‘The Stainless Steel Rat,’ which was first published in 1957 in ‘Astounding’ magazine. Like other characters created by Harrison, the Rat is a speaker of Esperanto and advocates atheism. From the original publisher’s blurb: ‘…We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society. It was easier in the old days, of course, and society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings. But there are rats in the building now as well. Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment…’
Posted in Art, Humor, Language |
Leave a Comment »
May 30, 2012
‘Judge Dredd’ is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology ‘2000 AD’ is the magazine’s longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977.
Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury, and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for early development. The series explores issues such as the police state, authoritarianism and the rule of law.
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor, Politics |
Leave a Comment »
The Daily Omnivore 