April 11, 2011
Amigurumi [ah-mee-goo-roo-mee] is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ‘ami,’ meaning crocheted or knitted, and ‘nuigurumi,’ meaning stuffed doll. The pervading aesthetic of amigurumi is cuteness. To this end, typical amigurumi animals have an over-sized spherical head on a cylindrical body with undersized extremities.
Amigurumi are usually crocheted out of yarn using the single crochet stitch. They can also be knit. Typically, crochet hooks or knitting needles that are slightly smaller than normal are used, in order to achieve a tight gauge that retains stuffing. Stuffing is usually standard polyester or cotton craft stuffing, but may be improvised from other materials. Plastic pellets may be inserted beneath stuffing in order to distribute weight at the bottom of the figure. They are usually worked in sections and then joined, except for some amigurumi which have no limbs, only a head and torso which are worked as one piece.
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April 11, 2011
Bugchasing is a slang term for the practice of pursuing sex with HIV infected individuals in order to contract HIV. ‘Giftgivers’ are HIV positive individuals who comply with the bugchaser’s efforts to become infected with HIV.
Bugchasers indicate various reasons for this activity. Some bugchasers engage in the activity for the excitement inherent in pursuing such a dangerous activity, but do not implicitly desire to contract HIV. Some consider bugchasing ‘intensely erotic’ and the act of being infected as the ‘ultimate taboo, the most extreme sex act left.’
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April 11, 2011
An internet Surf Club is a group site (usually a blog) where artists and others link to ‘surfed’ or ‘surfable’ items on the Web and also post some of their own creative work. ‘Nasty Nets Internet Surfing Club’ was the first to use the words ‘surfing club’ (ironically) and others followed the form or adopted the word ‘club’ to sound relevant. The original clubs were never true clubs but there has been much rancor over the issue of invited membership in the supposedly open and democratic web that still exists outside Facebook-like commercial enclaves.
Dump.fm is a real-time image sharing website that has many aspects of a surf club; however, anyone can sign up for Dump. The core surf clubs (Nasty, Double Happiness, Loshadka) are barely active now—their heyday was 2006-2009, which could be called the ‘surf club era.’ Arguably the widely-used, configurable tumblr, and other a microblogging platforms have made surf clubs obsolete.
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April 11, 2011
Mike Alder is an Australian mathematician and philosopher known for his popular writing, such as sardonic articles about the lack of basic arithmetic skills in young adults. ‘Newton’s flaming laser sword’ is a philosophical razor devised by Alder in 2004 on the conflicting positions of scientists and philosophers on epistemology (the study of knowledge).
The razor is humorously named after Isaac Newton, as it is inspired by Newtonian thought, and is ‘much sharper and more dangerous than Occam’s Razor.’
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April 9, 2011
The term intuition is used to describe ‘thoughts and preferences that come to mind quickly and without much reflection.’ “The word ‘intuition’ comes from the Latin word ‘intueri,’ which is often roughly translated as meaning ‘to look inside’ or ‘to contemplate.’ Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify. For this reason, it has been the subject of study in psychology, as well as a topic of interest in the supernatural. The ‘right brain’ is popularly associated with intuitive processes such as artistic abilities.
Some scientists have contended that intuition is associated with innovation in scientific discovery. Intuition is also a common subject of New Age writings. In Carl Jung’s theory of the ego intuition was an ‘irrational function,’ opposed most directly by sensation, and opposed less strongly by the ‘rational functions’ of thinking and feeling. Jung defined intuition as ‘perception via the unconscious.’ Bringing forth ideas, images, possibilities, ways out of a blocked situation, by a process that is mostly unconscious.
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April 8, 2011
Necklacing is the practice of summary execution carried out by forcing a rubber tire, filled with petrol, around a victim’s chest and arms, and setting it on fire. The victim may take up to 20 minutes to die, suffering severe burns in the process.
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Posted in Death, War, World |
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April 8, 2011
Kevin Carter (1960 – 1994) was an award-winning South African photojournalist and member of the ‘Bang-Bang Club,’ a collective of war photojournalists that also included Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and Joao Silva.
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April 8, 2011
The Bang-Bang Club was a name primarily associated with four photographers active within the townships of South Africa during the Apartheid period, particularly between 1990 and 1994, from when Nelson Mandela was released from jail to the 1994 elections. Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and Joao Silva were the four main men associated with the name, although a number of photographers and photojournalists worked alongside them (such as James Nachtwey and Gary Bernard).
The name ‘Bang-Bang Club’ was born out of an article published in the South African magazine ‘Living.’ Originally named the ‘Bang-Bang Paparazzi,’ it was changed to ‘Club’ because the members felt the word paparazzi misrepresented their work. The name comes from the culture itself; township residents spoke to the photographers about the ‘bang-bang’ in reference to violence occurring within their communities, but more literally, ‘bang-bang’ refers to the sound of gunfire and is a colloquial form of nomenclature used by conflict photographers.
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April 8, 2011
Nardwuar the Human Serviette (b. 1968), is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for ‘The Evaporators’ and plays in ‘Thee Goblins.’ He legally changed his name from John Ruski in 1986.
Nardwuar got his start in media at the University of British Columbia radio station CITR 101.9 FM in Vancouver. His show has been running every Friday afternoon (3:30-5:00 p.m. Pacific) since October 1987. The program features a mix of eclectic music, along with interviews and commentary.
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April 8, 2011
Tyler, the Creator (b. 1991) is an American rapper and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is the leader of the hip hop collective OFWGKTA. He has rapped on, and produced for, nearly every OFWGKTA release.
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April 7, 2011
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling ‘important classic and contemporary films’ to cinema aficionados founded in 1984. Criterion Collection releases were the first to provide several features that have become standard.
The 1984 Criterion Laserdisc release of King Kong included the world’s first optional commentary audio track. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox ratio, bonus features, and special editions. They are also known for taking great lengths to restore and clean all movies released on their label.
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April 7, 2011
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated OFWGKTA or Odd Future, are a hip hop collective from Los Angeles, California. They have released three mixtapes and nine studio albums, all available for free on their website. Rapper/producer Tyler the Creator is the de facto leader of Odd Future. Other members include rappers Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G, singer Frank Ocean, producers Left Brain, Syd Bennett, Matt Martians, Hal Williams and Jasper Dolphin.
As of February 2011, their ages range from 16 to 23 years old. There are three groups inside the collective: MellowHype, The Jet Age of Tomorrow and EarlWolf. MellowHype consists of rapper Hodgy Beats and producer Left Brain, The Jet Age of Tomorrow consists of producers Matt Martians and Hal Williams and EarlWolf consists of Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt.
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