August 17, 2013
The Flowbee is an electrically powered vacuum cleaner attachment made for cutting hair. It was invented in 1988 by Rick Hunt, a San Diego carpenter. Hunt initially sold the Flowbees out of his garage before finding success with live demonstrations at a county fair. The product was advertised as being capable of performing ‘hundreds of precision layered haircuts’ in frequently aired late-night television infomercials. By 2000, two million Flowbees had been sold.
The Flowbee can also be used to groom dogs with long hair such as Maltese or Bichon Frisé with a special pet grooming attachment which is sold separately. The Flowbee is still being manufactured and sold via their factory (in Corpus Christi, Texas) direct website and various outlets across the Internet.
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August 16, 2013
Brené Brown Ph.D. LMSW is an American scholar, author, and public speaker, who is currently a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.
Over the last ten years she has been involved in research on topics ranging from vulnerability, courage, and authenticity, to empathy and shame. She has written notable books such as ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ (2010) and ‘Daring Greatly’ (2012). She is also the author of ‘Connections,’ a psychoeducational shame resilience curriculum.
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August 16, 2013
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains.
In storylines where the protagonists are in physical danger, a happy ending would mainly consist in their surviving and successfully concluding their quest or mission; where there is no physical danger, a happy ending is often defined as lovers consummating their love despite various factors which may have thwarted it; and a considerable number of storylines combine both factors.
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August 15, 2013
Quackery [kwak-uh-ree] is the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a ‘quack’ as a ‘fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill’ or ‘a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess; a charlatan.’ The word ‘quack’ derives from the archaic word ‘quacksalver,’ of Dutch origin, literally meaning ‘hawker of salve.’ In the Middle Ages the word ‘quack’ meant ‘shouting.’ The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice.
‘Health fraud’ is often used as a synonym for quackery, but quackery’s salient characteristic is aggressive promotion (‘quacks quack!’) rather than fraud, greed or misinformation. ‘Pseudo-medicine’ is a term for treatments known to be ineffective, regardless of whether their advocates themselves believe in their effectiveness.
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August 14, 2013
‘Bad Science‘ is a 2008 book by British physician and science writer Ben Goldacre, criticizing mainstream media reporting on health and science issues. The book contains extended and revised versions of many of his ‘Guardian’ columns.
The book discusses topics such as detoxification (Aqua Detox, ear candles etc.) that can easily be shown to be bogus by simple experiments, and discusses the ‘detox phenomenon’ and purification rituals. He also addresses the claims for Brain Gym, a program of specific physical exercises that its commercial promoters claim can create new pathways in the brain. The uncritical adoption of this program by sections of the British school system is derided. Continue reading →
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August 14, 2013
Jenny McCarthy (b. 1972) is an American model, actress, author, and activist. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ‘Playboy’ magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her ‘Playboy’ fame into a television and film acting career.
More recently, she has written books about parenting, and has become an activist promoting research into environmental causes, and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has claimed that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy helped cure her son of autism. Both claims are controversial and unsupported by any medical evidence. Additionally, her son’s autism diagnosis is disputed.
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August 13, 2013
‘Citizen Koch‘ is a 2013 documentary film directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, concerning the political influence of American plutocrats on the political process following the ‘Citizens United’ Supreme Court decision, which granted corporations the ability to anonymously spend unlimited money to influence public policy and elections.
The film focuses on the eponymous Koch brothers, in particular, and their support for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who represents the Citizen Koch in the title. The film also chronicles the rise of the Tea Party movement in response to the election of the first African-American President in 2008.
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August 13, 2013
Foodfight! is a 2012 computer animated family film produced by Threshold Entertainment and directed by Larry Kasanoff. The film features the voices of Charlie Sheen, Wayne Brady, Hilary Duff, and Eva Longoria (additional voices were provided by Bobby Costanza, Chris Kattan, Larry Miller, Christopher Lloyd, Ed Asner, Jerry Stiller, Christine Baranski, Harvey Fierstein, and Cloris Leachman).
It was originally planned for a Christmas 2003 release. ‘Foodfight!’ takes place in the supermarket at night after everyone has left. The grocery store transforms into a city, and from every door of this city comes two types of characters: well-known marketing icons and new characters, including Dex Dogtective (Charlie Sheen), Sunshine Goodness (Hilary Duff) and Daredevil Dan (Wayne Brady). Continue reading →
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August 13, 2013
Jeans are trousers made from denim (a robust textile originating from Nimes in the south of France) or dungaree cloth (a similar cloth used in England since the 17th century, possibly derived from Dongri, a dockside village near Mumbai).
Often the term ‘jeans’ refers to a particular style of trousers, called ‘blue jeans,’ which were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers, especially members of the greaser subculture. Historic brands include Levi’s, Lee, and Wrangler.
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August 12, 2013
‘The Day the Clown Cried‘ is an unreleased 1972 film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It is based on a script of the same name by Joan O’Brien, who had co-written the original script with Charles Denton ten years previously.
The film was met with controversy regarding its premise and content, which features a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. ‘The Day the Clown Cried’ has become somewhat infamous among film historians and movie buffs as a film that has never officially been released.
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August 11, 2013
Dosa [doh-sa] is a fermented Indian crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. This staple dish is widely popular in southern Indian states, as well as other countries like Sri Lanka and Singapore. ‘The Story of our Food,’ a book written by K. T. Achaya, an eminent Indian food scientist and food historian, states that foods like Appam, Idiyappam, Dosai and Adai were already known in Tamil country around 1st century CE, as per references in Tamil Sangam literature. It is a common breakfast dish and street food, served hot, either folded in half or rolled like a wrap.
Dosa can be stuffed with fillings of vegetables and sauces to make a quick meal. They are typically served with a vegetarian side dish which varies according to regional and personal preferences. Though dosa typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions exist, often specific to an Indian region. Some variations include egg dosa, which is spread with an omelette, and cheese dosa, which is stuffed with cheese. Masala dosa is dosa wrapped around an onion and potato curry or sabji (cauliflower with peas and carrots) originally invented by Udupi Hotels.
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August 10, 2013
A pool noodle (also known as a water log or woggle in the UK) is a cylindrical piece of polyethylene foam, sometimes hollow. They are useful when learning to swim, for floating, for rescue reaching, in various forms of water play, and for aquatic exercise. Pool noodles are particularly useful to support amateur snorkelers. The most common dimensions are about 160 cm (5’3″) in length and 7 cm (2.5″) in diameter. The purpose of the hole in some noodles is unclear. Children often use this hole to blow water into the unsuspecting faces of their peers.
A pool noodle connector is a piece of pipe made out of foam, slightly larger than a pool noodle so that it can connect two pool noodles by encasing the end of each. This allows larger structures to be built from pool noodles. ‘Noodleskin’ is a custom cover that is placed over a foam pool noodle which allows 2 pool noodles to be made into a floating seat.
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