November 17, 2012
The Feminist Sex Wars, were acrimonious debates among feminists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The sides were characterized by anti-porn and pro-sex groups with disagreements regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography, sadomasochism, the role of transwomen in the lesbian community, and other sexual issues.
The debate pitted anti-pornography feminism against sex-positive feminism, and the feminist movement was deeply divided as a result. The Feminist Sex Wars are sometimes viewed as part of the division that led to the end of the second-wave feminist era. Continue reading →
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November 17, 2012
Sex-positive feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s to promote sexual freedom as an essential component of women’s freedom. Some became involved in the sex-positive feminist movement in response to efforts by anti-pornography feminists, such as Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin, to put pornography at the center of a feminist explanation of women’s oppression.
This period of intense debate and acrimony between sex-positive and anti-pornography feminists during the early 1980s is often referred to as the ‘Feminist Sex Wars.’ Other less academic sex-positive feminists became involved not in opposition to other feminists but in direct response to what they saw as patriarchal control of sexuality. Continue reading →
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November 17, 2012
Feminist pornography is pornography produced by and with feminist women. It is a small but growing segment of the pornography industry. Since 2006, there has been a Feminist Porn Awards held annually in Toronto, sponsored by a local feminist sex toy shop, Good for Her.
They have three guiding criteria: A woman had a hand in the production, writing, direction, etc. of the work; It depicts genuine female pleasure; and It expands the boundaries of sexual representation on film and challenges stereotypes that are often found in mainstream porn. Continue reading →
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November 15, 2012
A lucid dream is any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden (1860–1932). In a lucid dream, the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over their participation within the dream or be able to manipulate their imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can be realistic and vivid.
It is shown that there are higher amounts of beta waves (normally associated with waking consciousness) experienced by lucid dreamers, hence there is an increased amount of activity in the parietal lobes making lucid dreaming a conscious process. Continue reading →
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November 15, 2012
An entheogen [en-theo-gen] (‘generating the divine within’) is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts.
Entheogens can supplement many diverse practices for healing, transcendence, and revelation, including: meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and psychedelic therapy. Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years. Examples of traditional entheogens include: peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, uncured tobacco, cannabis, ayahuasca, salvia, iboga, morning glory, and Amanita muscaria mushrooms.
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November 14, 2012
Homeopathy [hoh-mee-op-uh-thee] is a system of alternative medicine originated in 1796 by German physicist Samuel Hahnemann, based on the doctrine of ‘similia similibus curentur’ (‘like cures like’), according to which a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure that disease in sick people.
Scientific research has found homeopathic remedies ineffective and their postulated mechanisms of action implausible. Continue reading →
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November 14, 2012
Charles Fort (1874 – 1932) was an American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena (e.g. UFOs, ghosts, telepathy).
Today, the terms Fortean and Forteana are used to characterize various such phenomena.
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November 13, 2012
Out-of-place artifact (OOPArt) is a term coined by American naturalist and cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson for an object of historical, archaeological, or paleontological interest found in a very unusual or seemingly impossible context that could challenge conventional historical chronology.
The term ‘out-of-place artifact’ is rarely used by mainstream historians or scientists. Its use is largely confined to cryptozoologists (who study big foot, the loch ness monster, and other cryptids), proponents of ancient astronaut theories, Young Earth creationists, and paranormal enthusiasts. Continue reading →
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November 13, 2012
The Morning of the Magicians, first published as ‘Le Matin des magiciens’ was written by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in 1960, it became a bestseller, first in French, then translated into English in 1963 as ‘The Dawn of Magic.’ A German edition was published with the title ‘Aufbruch ins dritte Jahrtausend’ (‘Departure into the third Millennium’).
In a generalized and wide ranging overview of the occult, the book speculates on a variety of Forteana (anomalous phenomena), mysticism, and conspiracy theories such as secret societies, ancient prophesies, alchemical transmutation, a giant race that once ruled the Earth, and the Nazca Lines. It also includes speculations such as Nazi occultism and supernatural phenomena conspiracy theory that the Vril Society and the Thule Society were the philosophical precursors to the NSDAP Nazi party. Continue reading →
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November 13, 2012
According to ancient astronaut theories, intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth during the origins or development of human cultures, technologies, and/or religions. Some of these theories propose that deities from most – if not all – religions are actually extraterrestrials, and their technologies were taken as evidence of their divine status. Ancient astronaut theories have been widely used as a plot device in science fiction (e.g. ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ ‘Stargate’).
Such theories have not received support within the scientific community, and have received little or no attention in peer reviewed studies from scientific journals. Continue reading →
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November 13, 2012
Mechanitis is a genus of tigerwing (ithomiine) butterflies, named by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1807.
They are in the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. It has gained fame due to the metallic appearance of the cocoons of certain phenotypes.
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November 13, 2012
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis regarding the field of robotics. The theory holds that when robots and other facsimiles of humans look and act almost like actual humans, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers.
The ‘valley’ in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a function of a robot’s lifelikeness. People are not as affected in an emotional way by an object if it is easy to tell it is not human. After a certain point, they start to feel emotionally about it, but feel bad emotions because it is so nonhuman. As it gets closer to looking human, they start to feel more positive emotions towards it. Continue reading →
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