August 25, 2012
Pegging is a sexual practice in which a woman penetrates a man’s anus with a strap-on dildo. The neologism ‘pegging’ was popularized when it became the winning entry in a contest in advice columnist Dan Savage’s ‘Savage Love’ sex advice column, held after an observation was made that there was no common name for the act. In terms of physical pleasure, a woman’s genitals may get direct stimulation from the base of the dildo, or in the case of a double-ended dildo, from vaginal (or internal) penetration. A woman can use a secondary vibrator, between the dildo and her genitals, to get pleasure from pegging.
Men may find stimulation of the anus, rectum, and adjacent organs enjoyable. During anal sex, pleasure can be particularly derived from the prostate, which can lead to an orgasm. Some men enjoy masturbating (or being manually stimulated) during pegging. Savage wrote that he believes all men should try pegging at least once, as it may introduce them to a new enjoyable sexual activity and illuminate them to the receiver’s perspective in sex.
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August 25, 2012
In 2003, the columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage held a contest among his readers to create a definition for the word ‘santorum‘ as a response to comments by then-U.S. Senator Rick Santorum that had been criticized as anti-gay. Savage announced the winning entry, which defined ‘santorum’ as ‘the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.’
He created a web site, spreadingsantorum.com (and santorum.com), to promote the definition, which became a prominent search result for Santorum’s name on several web search engines. In 2010 Savage offered to take the site down if Santorum donated US$5 million to Freedom to Marry, a group advocating legal recognition of same-sex marriages. In 2011 Santorum asked Google to remove the definition from its search engine index. Google refused, responding that the company does not remove content from search results except in very limited circumstances.
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August 25, 2012
The Livestrong wristband (stylized as LIVESTRONG) is a yellow silicone gel bracelet launched in 2004 as a fund-raising item for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded by cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. The bracelet itself was developed by Nike and their ad agency Wieden+Kennedy. The bracelet is part of the ‘Wear Yellow Live Strong’ educational program. The program is intended to raise money for cancer research, raise cancer awareness, and encourage people to live life to the fullest.
The bracelet sells individually, as well as in packs of 10, 100, and 1,200 as part of an effort to raise $25.1 million for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in cooperation with Nike who manufactures the bracelets in manufacturing plants both domestic and foreign and sells the bracelets through their Nike outlets worldwide. This target was achieved within 6 months, and there have now been 80 million Livestrong bracelets sold to date. Yellow was chosen for its importance in professional cycling, as it is the color of the yellow jersey worn by the leader of the Tour de France, which Armstrong won seven consecutive times.
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August 24, 2012
The chewing gum ban in Singapore was enacted in 1992 and revised in 2004 and 2010. It bans the import and sale of chewing gum in Singapore. Since 2004, only chewing gum of therapeutic value is allowed into Singapore following the Singapore–United States Free Trade Agreement. This law was created because people disposed of gum incorrectly by sticking it under places like chairs or tables.
A common misconception among citizens is that personal use of chewing gum is allowed in Singapore. However, according to the set of Regulations, ‘importing’ means to ‘bring or cause to be brought into Singapore by land, water or air from any place which is outside Singapore …’ any goods, even if they are not for purposes of trade. The set of Regulations also does not make any provisions for personal use of quantities to be brought into Singapore. Therefore, bringing chewing gum into Singapore, even small quantities for whatever purpose, is prohibited.
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August 24, 2012
One old wives’ tale says that swallowed gum will remain in a human’s stomach for up to 7 years. According to several medical opinions, there seems to be little truth behind the tale. In most cases, swallowed gum will pass through the system as fast as any other food.
There have been a few cases where swallowing gum has required medical attention, but these cases are more or less related to chronic gum swallowers. One young boy swallowed several pieces each day and had to be hospitalized, and a young girl required medical attention when she swallowed her gum and four coins, which got stuck together in her esophagus. A bezoar (a mass trapped in the gastrointestinal system) is formed in the stomach when food or other foreign objects stick to gum and build up, causing intestinal blockage.
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August 24, 2012
Evgeny Morozov (b. 1984) is a Belarusian writer and researcher who studies political and social implications of technology. In 2009 he was chosen as a TED fellow where he spoke about how the Web influences civic engagement and regime stability in authoritarian, closed societies or in countries ‘in transition.’
Morozov expresses skepticism about the popular view that the Internet is helping to democratize authoritarian regimes, arguing that it could also be a powerful tool for engaging in mass surveillance, political repression, and spreading nationalist and extremist propaganda. He has also criticized what he calls ‘The Internet Freedom Agenda’ of the US government, finding it naive and even counterproductive to the very goal of promoting democracy through the Web.
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August 24, 2012
Doenjang girl is a satirical Korean expression for girls and young women who are addicted to luxury and vanity. Doenjang is a fermented soybean paste used to make sour of bean soup.
Instead of visiting an expensive foreign restaurant they will eat a three dollar bowl of soup and then go to Starbucks to purchase a six dollar latte, because carrying a Starbucks cup is considered posh. Likewise, doejang girls carry around shopping bags from Chanel and other high end stores to look as if they were shopping there.
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August 24, 2012
Voina (literally ‘War’) is a Russian street-art group known for their provocative and politically charged works of performance art. The group has had more than sixty members, including former and current students of the Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography, Moscow State University, and Tartu University. However, the group does not cooperate with state or private institutions, and is not supported by any Russian curators or gallerists.
The activities of Voina have ranged from street protests, symbolic pranks in public places, and performance-art happenings, to vandalism and destruction of public property. More than a dozen criminal cases have been brought against the group. According to its members, Voina has no formal leadership, and all members are considered equal. Conceptions are worked out by Oleg Vorotnikov (a.k.a. ‘Vor,’ ‘Thief ‘– the chief ideologist), Natalia Sokol (a.k.a. ‘Kozlyonok,’ ‘Goatling’ – the chief coordinator), Leonid Nikolayev (a.k.a. ‘Crazy Lenya’) and Alexei Plutser-Sarno (the chief media artist, the author of the group’s media art and texts).
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August 23, 2012
A blooming onion is a dish consisting of one large onion which is cut to resemble a flower, battered and deep-fried. It is served as an appetizer at some restaurants. The dish was created by chef Jeff Glowski in New Orleans and first appeared on the menu of Russell’s Marina Grill in that city as ‘Onion Mumm.’ The owners of Scotty’s Steak House in Springfield, New Jersey also claim to have invented this dish in the 1970s.
It was popularized nationally when it appeared as ‘Bloomin’ Onion,’ a charter feature of the Outback Steakhouse when that national chain opened in 1988. The dish remains prominent on its menu. Its popularity has led to its adoption as an appetizer at various other restaurant chains, most notably Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, where it is known as the ‘Texas Rose.’ A single blooming onion with dressing contains approximately 3,000 calories and 134 grams of fat, including 44 grams of saturated. When it existed, the similar style ‘Awesome Blossom’ at Chili’s was ranked ‘Worst Appetizer in America’ by ‘Men’s Health’ magazine in 2008.
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August 23, 2012
The phrase, ‘proud member of the reality-based community‘ was first used in 2014 to suggest the commentator’s opinions are based more on observation than on faith, assumption, or ideology. Some commentators have gone as far as to suggest that there is an overarching conflict in society between the reality-based community and the ‘faith-based community’ as a whole. It can be seen as an example of political framing.
The source of the term is a quotation in ‘The New York Times Magazine’ by Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to George W. Bush (later attributed to Karl Rove): ‘The aide said that guys like me were ‘in what we call the reality-based community,’ which he defined as people who ‘believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.’ ‘…That’s not the way the world really works anymore,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
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August 23, 2012
Waze is a free GPS application featuring turn-by-turn navigation, developed by the Israeli start-up Waze Mobile for mobile phones. Waze differs from traditional GPS navigation software as it is a community-driven application and learns from users’ driving times to provide routing and real-time traffic updates.
Additionally, people can report accidents, traffic jams, speed traps, police and can update roads, landmarks, house numbers, etc. Waze also helps users find the cheapest, closest gas station around them or along their route. Waze is available for download and use anywhere in the world, but some countries have a full basemap, whereas other countries still require users to record the roads and edit the maps.
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August 23, 2012
The Point! is a fable and the sixth album by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point. According to Nilsson:
‘I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s a point to it.” There have been, so far, at least three different renditions of The Point!, each featuring songs written by Nilsson to accompany the story, including an animated film, an album, and a stage musical.
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