#I mean there are plenty of obese people in the film | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mariacallous · 2 years ago

Text

I can only assume that acting – pretending, convincingly, to be someone you aren’t – is an incredibly boring, unrewarding profession if you are an able-bodied person playing other able-bodied people. That must be the case, considering how many professional actors who happen to fall into that group take on roles they perhaps shouldn’t, and are then celebrated for it by their peers – now including, of course, Brendan Fraser in The Whale.

Fraser’s casting in the film – or whether the film should even exist in 2023 – may be under even more scrutiny now it has Academy Award nominations, including one for best actor, to add to its treasure trove of accolades.

Naturally, the performance was always going to attract lots of press. Fraser dons heavy prosthetics (both physical and CGI) for his performance as a morbidly obese person, and actors wearing prosthetics or makeup for dramatic performances tend to attract plaudits (see Nicole Kidman, Steve Carell, even Al Pacino as “Big Boy” Caprice in Dick Tracy).

Prosthetic-enhanced performances get particular attention from the entertainment industry machine if the additions make the actor look what Hollywood considers to be … worse. Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale is a perfect example of this: therefore, it is considered brave; therefore, it is bait for awards. But should it be?

Based on a play by Samuel D Hunter, the film centres on a “reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter”. A major factor in why Fraser’s Charlie is so reclusive? That 600-pound weight. If you haven’t seen the film yet, the reviews can give you an idea of its treatment of obesity, but also very clear insight into the awkwardness involved in covering such a tale for some reviewers.

There is a nasty voyeuristic delight in the description of the character’s “sloping jowls”, “jelly belly” and “meat slabs” – and a bonus comparison to Jabba the Hutt – in Variety’s write-up. In the Telegraph, there is a snide jibe about “a rounded character in more ways than one” alongside the “radiantly human” compliment about Fraser’s performance. A more personally informed take came from Little White Lies magazine, with the reviewer’s wish that the film “would have done more to dig into the prevalent notion (subconscious or not) that fat people are any less deserving of dignity, respect and love”.

Much gushing has centred on the 50 to 300 extra pounds of fat suit that was put on Fraser for The Whale, and while, yes, this does tie in with Hollywood’s continued fascination with transforming the slender and symmetrical, it feels just plain weird to see a fat suit in a mainstream dramatic film. Typically, fat suits have been mined for comedy – “a one-note joke”, as acknowledged by Fraser himself.

That’s because we are expected, as viewers, to look down on these characters. Audiences have been invited to laugh at actors wearing fat suits over and over again, and it frequently overlaps with ableism, classism and racism – a whole extra side of nastiness: Fat Bastard in the Austin Powers films, Sherman Klump in The Nutty Professor, Rasputia in Norbit, Rosemary in Shallow Hal, Thor in Endgame, numerous characters in the work of David Walliams and Matt Lucas, Fat Monica in Friends, and also, in case you forgot, Joey.

Plenty of people have genuinely thought actors playing fat when they aren’t fat is hilarious. We could go into the academic theories behind this – is the laughter due to feelings of superiority (à la Thomas Hobbes and René Descartes), incongruity (Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer), relief (Herbert Spencer and Sigmund Freud) – or is it punitive (Henri Bergson)? Could it be all of those? I wouldn’t know, because I don’t find fat suits inherently funny. Does that mean I think it’s a sign of progress that fat suits are being mined for misery instead, as in The Whale? Actual actors with the body type required – where possible – would certainly be better; so too would stories that don’t call for deep pity or even disgust from their audience.

I thought Fat Monica dancing was cute in the mid-1990s, because it was recognisable to me as a fat teenager. The Klump family interrupting each other over dinner in the first Nutty Professor film (we will studiously ignore the sequel) reminded me of my own family’s mealtimes. But then I started to notice the sneering behind the performances. I was compared to these characters by bullies who didn’t have a lot of creativity when it came to insults, and by the time Fat Thor arrived in 2019 I was tired of seeing Hollywood’s comedy cosplay.

Fraser has spoken with genuine sensitivity and thought about the experiences of people with disabling weight issues on the publicity trail, and his portrayal is far from Fat Bastard. He has said he hopes the film will help to “end the bias against those who live with obesity”. I’m so grateful for that, so desperate am I for fat characters onscreen who aren’t there to be laughed at. But will the fat suit’s move away from funny to sad eventually make its way around to the dignity Fraser wanted to portray? I really hope so.

23 notes · View notes

arcticdementor · 3 years ago

Link

Martin Gurri's The Revolt Of The Public is from 2014, which means you might as well read the Epic of Gilgamesh. It has a second-edition-update-chapter from 2017, which might as well be Beowulf. The book is about how social-media-connected masses are revolting against elites, but the revolt has moved forward so quickly that a lot of what Gurri considers wild speculation is now obvious fact. I picked up the book on its "accurately predicted the present moment" cred, but it predicted the present moment so accurately that it's barely worth reading anymore. It might as well just say "open your eyes and look around".

…

In conclusion, 2011 was a weird year.

Gurri argues all of this was connected, and all of it was a sharp break from what came before. These movements were essentially leaderless. Some had charismatic spokespeople, like Daphni Leef in Israel or Tahrir-Square-Facebook-page-admin Wael Ghonim in Egypt, but these people were at best the trigger that caused a viral movement to coalesce out of nothing. When Martin Luther King marched on Washington, he built an alliance of various civil rights groups, unions, churches, and other large organizations who could turn out their members. He planned the agenda, got funding, ran through an official program of speakers, met with politicians, told them the legislation they wanted, then went home. The protests of 2011 were nothing like that. They were just a bunch of people who read about protests on Twitter and decided to show up.

Also, they were mostly well-off. Gurri hammers this in again and again. Daphni Leef had just graduated from film school, hardly the sort of thing that puts her among the wretched of the earth. All of these movements were mostly their respective countries' upper-middle classes; well-connected, web-savvy during an age when that meant something. Mostly young, mostly university-educated, mostly part of their countries' most privileged ethnic groups. Not the kind of people you usually see taking to the streets or building tent cities.

Some of the protests were more socialist and anarchist than others, but none were successfully captured by establishment strains of Marxism or existing movements. Many successfully combined conservative and liberal elements. Gurri calls them nihilists. They believed that the existing order was entirely rotten, that everyone involved was corrupt and irredeemable, and that some sort of apocalyptic transformation was needed. All existing institutions were illegitimate, everyone needed to be kicked out, that kind of thing. But so few specifics that socialists and reactionaries could march under the same banner, with no need to agree on anything besides "not this".

…

Gurri isn't shy about his contempt for this. Not only were these some of the most privileged people in their respective countries, but (despite the legitimately-sucky 2008 recession), they were living during a time of unprecedented plenty. In Spain, the previous forty years had seen the fall of a military dictatorship, its replacement with a liberal democracy, and a quintupling of GDP per capita from $6000 to $32000 a year - "in 2012, four years into the crisis there were more cell phones and cars per person in Spain than in the US". The indignado protesters in Spain had lived through the most peaceful period in Europe's history, an almost unprecedented economic boom, and had technologies and luxuries that previous generations could barely dream of. They had cradle-to-grave free health care, university educations, and they were near the top of their society's class pyramids. Yet they were convinced, utterly convinced, that this was the most fraudulent and oppressive government in the history of history, and constantly quoting from a manifesto called Time For Outrage!

So what's going on?

Our story begins (says Gurri) in the early 20th century, when governments, drunk on the power of industrialization, sought to remake Society in their own image. This was the age of High Modernism, with all of its planned cities and collective farms and so on. Philosopher-bureaucrat-scientist-dictator-manager-kings would lead the way to a new era of gleaming steel towers, where society was managed with the same ease as a gardener pruning a hedgerow.

…

Realistically this was all a sham. Alan Greenspan had no idea how to prevent recessions, scientific progress was slowing down, poverty remained as troubling as ever, and 50% of public school students stubbornly stayed below average. But the media trusted the government, the people trusted the media, and failures got swept under the rug by genteel agreement among friendly elites, while the occasional successes were trumpeted from the rooftops.

There was a very interesting section on JFK’s failure at the Bay of Pigs. Kennedy tried to invade Cuba, but the invasion failed very badly, further cementing Castro’s power and pushing him further into the Soviet camp. Representatives of the media met with Kennedy, Kennedy was very nice to them, and they all agreed to push a line of “look, it’s his first time invading a foreign country, he tried his hardest, give him a break.” This seems to have successfully influenced the American public, so much so that Kennedy’s approval rating increased five points, to 83%, after the debacle!

…

In Gurri's telling, High Modernism had always been a failure, but the government-media-academia elite axis had been strong enough to conceal it from the public. Starting in the early 2000s, that axis broke down. People could have lowered their expectations, but in the real world that wasn't how things went. Instead of losing faith in the power of government to work miracles, people believed that government could and should be working miracles, but that the specific people in power at the time were too corrupt and stupid to press the "CAUSE MIRACLE" button which they definitely had and which definitely would have worked. And so the outrage, the protests - kick these losers out of power, and replace them with anybody who had the common decency to press the miracle button!

…

Any system that hasn't solved every problem is illegitimate. Solving problems is easy and just requires pressing the "CAUSE MIRACLE" button. Thus the protests. In 2011, enough dry tinder of anger had built up that everywhere in the world erupted into protest simultaneously, all claiming their respective governments were illegitimate. These protests were necessarily vague and leaderless, because any protest-leader would fall victim to the same crisis of authority and legitimacy that national leaders were suffering from. Any attempt to make specific demands would be pilloried because those specific demands wouldn't unilaterally end homelessness or racism or inequality or whatever else. The only stable state was a sort of omni-nihilism that refused to endorse anything.

(I’m reminded of Tanner Greer’s claim that the great question of modernity is not “what can I accomplish?” or “how do I succeed?” but rather “how do I get management to take my side?”)

Gurri calls our current government a kind of "zombie democracy". The institutions of the 20th century - legislatures, universities, newspapers - continue to exist. But they are hollow shells, stripped of all legitimacy. Nobody likes or trusts them. They lurch forward, mimicking the motions they took in life, but no longer able to change or make plans or accomplish new things.

…

How do we escape this equilibrium? Gurri isn't sure. His 2017 afterword says he thinks we're even more in it now than we were in 2014. But he has two suggestions.

First, cultivate your garden. We got into this mess by believing the government could solve every problem. We're learning it can''t. We're not going to get legitimate institutions again until we unwind the overly high expectations produced by High Modernism, and the best way to do that is to stop expecting government to solve all your problems. So cultivate your garden. If you're concerned about obesity, go on a diet, or volunteer at a local urban vegetable garden, or organize a Fun Run in your community, do anything other than start a protest telling the government to end obesity. This is an interesting contrast to eg Just Giving, which I interpret as having the opposite model - if you want to fight obesity, you should work through the democratic system by petitioning the government to do something; trying to figure out a way to fight it on your own would be an undemocratic exercise of raw power. Gurri is recommending that we tear that way of thinking up at the root.

Second, start looking for a new set of elites who can achieve legitimacy. These will have to be genuinely decent and humble people - Gurri gives the example of George Washington. They won't claim to be able to solve everything. They won't claim the scientific-administrative mantle of High Modernism. They'll just be good honorable people who will try to govern wisely for the common good. Haha, yeah right.

…

Gurri divides the world between the Center and the Border. He thinks the Center - politicians, experts, journalists, officials - will be in a constant retreat, and the Border - bloggers, protesters, and randos - on a constant advance. His thesis got a boost when Brexit and Trump - both Border positions - crushed and embarrassed their respective Centers. But since then I'm not sure things have been so clear. The blogosphere is in retreat (maybe Substack is reversing this?), but the biggest and most mainstream of mainstream news organizations, like the New York Times are becoming more trusted and certainly more profitable. The new President of the US is a boring moderate career politician. The public cheers on elite censorship of social media. There haven't been many big viral protests lately except Black Lives Matter and the 1/6 insurrection, and both seemed to have a perfectly serviceable set of specific demands (defunding the police, decertifying the elections). Maybe I've just grown used to it, but it doesn't really feel like a world where a tiny remnant of elites are being attacked on all sides by a giant mob of entitled nihilists.

…

At the risk of being premature or missing Gurri's point, I want to try telling a story of how the revolt of the public and the crisis of legitimacy at least partially stalled.

Gurri talks a lot about Center and Border, but barely even mentions Left and Right. Once you reintroduce these, you have a solution to nihilism. The Left can come up with a laundry list of High Modernist plans that they think would solve all their problems, and the Right can do the same. Then one or the other takes control of government, gets thwarted by checks/balances/Mitch McConnell, and nothing happens. No American Democrat was forced to conclude that just because Obama couldn't solve all their problems, the promise of High Modernism was a lie. They just concluded that Obama could have solved all their problems, but the damn Republicans filibustered the bill. Likewise, the Republicans can imagine that Donald Trump would have made America great again if the media and elites and Deep State hadn't been blocking him at every turn. Donald Trump himself tells them this is true!

With this solution in place, you can rebuild trust in institutions. If you're a Republican, Fox News is trustworthy because it tells you the ways Democrats are bad. Some people say it's biased or inaccurate, but those people are Democrats or soft-on-Democrat RINO traitors. And if you're a Democrat, academic experts are completely trustworthy, and if someone challenges them you already know those challenges must be vile Republican lies. Lack of access to opposing views has been replaced with lack of tolerance for opposing views. And so instead of the public having to hate all elites, any given member of the public only needs to hate half of the elites.

You could think of this as a mere refinement of Gurri. But it points at a deeper critique. Suppose that US left institutions are able to maintain legitimacy, because US leftists trust them as fellow warriors in the battle against rightism (and vice versa). Why couldn't one make the same argument about the old American institutions? People liked and trusted the President and Walter Cronkite and all the other bipartisan elites because they were American, and fellow warriors in the battle against Communism or terrorism or poverty or Saddam or whatever. If this is true, the change stops looking like the masses suddenly losing faith in the elites and revolting, and more like a stable system of the unified American masses trusting the unified American elites, fissioning into two stable systems of the unified (right/left) masses trusting the unified (right/left) elites. Why did the optimal stable ingroup size change from nation-sized to political-tribe-sized?

…

The one exception to my disrecommendation is that you might enjoy the book as a physical object. The cover, text, and photographs are exceptionally beautiful; the cover image - of some sort of classical-goddess-looking person (possibly Democracy? I expect if I were more cultured I would know this) holding a cell phone - is spectacularly well done. I understand that Gurri self-published the first edition, and that this second edition is from not-quite-traditional publisher Stripe Press. I appreciate the kabbalistic implications of a book on the effects of democratization of information flow making it big after getting self-published, and I appreciate the irony of a book about the increasing instability of history getting left behind by events within a few years. So buy this beautiful book to put on your coffee table, but don't worry about the content - you are already living in it.

#scott alexander #book review #martin gurri

2 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 5 years ago

Text

30 Rock’s Best Running Jokes

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

When 30 Rock drew its final breath in 2013, yards of column inches were devoted – deservedly so – to praising the work of creator Tina Fey. Article upon article applauded the characters, cast, performances and seven seasons of energetic, inventive, satirical comedy.

More than anything else though, 30 Rock was always about the gags. It was fruitcake-dense with jokes, regularly fitting in more quotable laughs before its opening credits than many shows manage in a full half-hour. As it returns for a one-off reunion special, join us in celebrating the many, many running gags of its seven-season history, from the fake movies, to the terrible yet incredibly catchy songs, Frank’s hats, and those godawful TGS sketches…

The fake movies

The presence of Tracy Jordan (a bonafide Martin Lawrence meets the Wayans Brothers-style movie star) in the TGS cast opened up the world of film parody to 30 Rock.

Admittedly Jenna Maloney also enjoyed a movie career of sorts, but while she was being offered the part of “any blonde actress” in torture porn flicks by the producers who watched and rented Saw, Tracy was turning down the lead in Garfield 3: Feline Groovy to pursue his serious acting career. The latter climaxed with the release of spot-on Precious parody Hard To Watch (Based on the novel Stone Cold Bummer by Manipulate), for which Tracy received the O in his EGOT plan. Sheer class.

Over the years though, who couldn’t not smile at Tracy’s blaxpoitation-filled back catalogue, from the timeless romance of A Blaffair to Rememblack, to Sherlock Homie, Who Dat Ninja?, The Chunks 2: A Very Chunky Christmas, and last but by no means least, Honky Grandma Be Trippin’. The man is a chameleon (in that he’s always a lizard).

Two of Jenna’s TGS projects however, bring back the fondest memories of 30 Rock’s stinging movie satire: small-town legal drama The Rural Juror (based on a Kevin Grisham novel), and her GE-produced life rights-avoiding Janis Joplin biopic, Sing Them Blues White Girl: The Jackie Jormp Jomp Story.

The TGS sketches

The quality of TGS’ output was never under question in 30 Rock; the sketch show was unremittingly bad (when the absence of their star meant a ‘Best of TGS’ series had to be run in lieu of live shows, Legal objected to their use of the word ‘Best’, and when a review dubbed it the worst comedy ever made, Liz was thrilled they’d defined it as a comedy). Liz Lemon’s opus was a fluorescent collection of fart gags, dodgy caricatures, Jenna’s songs, and misjudged celebrity impressions.

Beginning life as, in Kenneth’s words, “a real fun ladies comedy show for ladies”, TGS was Saturday Night Live’s idiot brother, the unsophisticated thorn in NBC’s side, under constant threat of controversy and cancellation. Forced to synergise backward overflow, advertise parent company products and promote GE interests, 30 Rock’s show-within-a-show satirised both the TV industry and tired trends in comedy (the always hilarious combination of a fat woman who’s sexually confident! Old ladies are crazy! Farts!).

Lemon may have seduced pilot Carol (Matt Damon) with her Fart Doctor skits, but TGS failed to win many hearts. With sketches like Pam the Overly Confident Morbidly Obese Woman, Ching-Chong Man Who Loves to Play Ping-Pong, Fat Hillary Clinton, Bear vs. Killer Robots, Me Want Food, and Gaybraham Lincoln, why it wasn’t more successful is a mystery.

Astronaut Mike Dexter

Lemon may have ended up with James Marsden’s Criss Chros, but fictional boyfriend Astronaut Mike Dexter will always hold a special place in her heart. Handsomer than Dr Drew, less British than Wesley Snipes, less living-in-Cleveland than Floyd, and a million times better than Dennis Duffy, Astronaut Mike Dexter had it all… except of course, a corporeal self.

The fake songs

Over the years, Jenna Maroney’s singing career has vomited up some truly dreadful creations, and topping the list has to be Muffin Top (a big hit in the king-making music markets of Israel and Belgium). Seguing from its pop insanity chorus “My muffin top is all that, wholegrain, low-fat” into a Madonna-style spoken-word rap “I’m an independent lady, so please don’t try to play me. I run a tidy bakery. The boys all want my cake for free”, the song is a battery assault on the senses.

But is it worse than Jenna’s summer dance jam, Balls, which earned her the princely sum of $50 in royalties? Or her computer generated, generic benefit song in aid of an unspecific natural disaster, which urged viewers to donate to “help the people the thing that happened, happened to”? How about the Jackie Jormp Jomp performance she gave of Chunk Of My Lung, written by Jack five minutes before the show, containing the classic line “You know you’ve bought it if life makes you sweet food”? Or Fart So Loud, the un-Weird Al-able song she and Tracy wrote after he parodied the theme to Avery Jessup TV movie Kidnapped? Such riches…

It’s not only Jenna who’s provided 30 Rock’s musical intervals of course. Season three finale Kidney Now! welcomed an eclectic collection of stars including Sheryl Crow, Mary J Blige, Elvis Costello, Moby, two of the Beastie Boys, Wyclef Jean, and Cyndi Lauper to perform a We Are The World-style anthem at the Milton Green benefit gig. Angie Jordan famously released a fifteen-second single My Single Is Dropping, to ride on the wave of her reality-show fame, Frank and Pete’s Sound Mound came up with unforgettable rock anthem Weekend Woman, and in the very same episode, even Tina Fey got in on the action by providing excellent Joni Mitchell parody, Paints and Brushes.

The legacy award though, as in the 30 Rock fake song that will continue to bring joy to the hearts of fans decades from now, has to go to one song, and one song only: Tracy Jordan’s Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.

Frank’s hat slogans

Off-set, stand-up Judah Friedlander favours his ‘World Champion’ trucker hat, the one he claims to have been awarded as the winner of the World Championships of pretty much all sports, martial arts, and that time he karate kicked Chuck Norris’ beard off his face and forced him to legally change his name to Charles.

On-set as Frank Rossitano though, Friedlander wears a series of self-designed trucker hats, each bearing a different gnomic slogan. Often incongruous, sometimes suggestive, and always odd, Frank’s hat slogans are part of the bricks and mortar of 30 Rock. In terms of favourites, we’re quite fond of ‘Alabama Legsweep’, or the laconic enigma of ‘And’, though ‘Shark Cop’, ‘Half Centaur’ and ‘Space Gravy’ also caught our eye over the seasons.

Jenna’s Mickey Rourke sex stories

Like Dot Com’s intellectualism, this running gag may have been introduced late into proceedings, but Jenna’s torrid sexual history with putty-faced beefcake Mickey Rourke gave J-Mo some of her best lines. Jenna’s allusions to Rourke’s sexually deviant and murderous attempts on her life paint a fascinating picture for 30 Rock fans. Here are some of the finest:

“Your new vibe is a double-edged sword, much like the kind Mickey Rourke tried to kill me with”, “Nice try Hazel, but you made the same mistake Mickey Rourke made on that catamaran. You didn’t kill me when you had the chance.”, “I’m going to have to reinvent you. Break you down completely and build you up from scratch. Just like Mickey Rourke did to me sexually.” “Next time you’ll tell me Mickey Rourke catapulted you into the Hollywood sign.” “You know what they say, if you can’t stand the heat, get off Mickey Rourke’s sex grill.” Wise words.

Kenneth the immortal page

To this day Kenneth Ellen Parcell remains something of an enigma to 30 Rock viewers. In later seasons, Jack McBrayer’s character went from being a simple country rube from Stone Mountain, Georgia to the flesh vessel for a mysterious immortal with no reflection, no age, and links to a world beyond our own.

Plenty of reference has been made to Kenneth’s ageless and supernatural state over the years, including the suggestion that not only is he unable to die, but he’s also an angel, sent to oversee the transition of souls from one world to the next.

The fake TV shows

It’s either a credit to the 30 Rock team or a condemnation of our times that Jack Donaghy’s hit reality viewer vote show, MILF Island, no longer feels like a parody. In generations to come, time will no doubt erode the boundaries between fact and fiction, and we 30 Rock fans will be telling our kids about the time we watched Deborah beat her competitors and claim MILF victory in the same breath as educating them about those people who ate kangaroo anuses for public approval.

MILF Island stands head and shoulders above the rest of 30 Rock’s fake TV shows (including TGS itself, lest we not forget), but that doesn’t mean that Gold Case, Los Amantes Clandestinos, Black Frasier, Homonym, or the inimitable Bitch Hunter deserve any less respect. Our fallen brothers, we salute you.

We could go on indefinitely listing the recurring jokes that made 30 Rock great, from Liz’s sandwich lust and desire to go to there, to Jack’s gloriously thatched head of hair and Republican conspiracies. As the show prepares to return, which of the above will live again?

30 Rock: A One-Time Special lands on NBC on Thursday July 16th at 8pm in the US.

The post 30 Rock’s Best Running Jokes appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2WjIevB

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

5 notes · View notes

sciencespies · 5 years ago

Text

9 ways today's society is like the one that filled Earth with garbage in WALL-E

https://sciencespies.com/humans/9-ways-todays-society-is-like-the-one-that-filled-earth-with-garbage-in-wall-e/

9 ways today's society is like the one that filled Earth with garbage in WALL-E

More than 10 years after it was released, watching Pixar’s film WALL-E today is a chilling experience.

The backdrop of WALL-E and EVE’s robot love story is a dystopian society where humans have abandoned Earth to their trash and left robots to clean up while they cruise space.

When the much-loved animation came out in 2008, it was a bittersweet warning to use less, move more, and stop staring at the damn screen.

But we obviously didn’t heed it too well, because as of 2019, we already have an uncomfortable amount in common with the futuristic humans aboard the Axiom spaceship.

The one thing the film’s creators were way off on? The timeline. WALL-E is set in 2805 (humans left Earth in 2105), but according to some key measures, we might not be that far off in reality.

Here are nine signs we’re going down the same path as the humans in WALL-E.

1. We can’t stop buying stuff

Thanks to technological and social advances, every day more people are moving out of poverty and into the consumer class. We’re also living in a more peaceful time than ever before. What do we do with all that extra time, energy, and money?

We consume.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

The average US household now owns 300,000 things; 10-year-olds in the UK have 238 toys – but only play with around 12 of them. We shop so much, we increasingly have to rent off-site storage units. And then every few seasons we throw it all out and start again.

With the internet opening up new avenues for consumption – shopping on Instagram, influencer-inspired buying, and now even publishers telling us what to buy – it’s not hard to imagine how our desire to buy new things is overwhelming the planet.

The Buy n Large tagline “Too much garbage in your face? There’s plenty of space out in space!” playing on loop in WALL-E could easily apply.

We never see the humans of the film before they leave Earth for the Axiom, but based on the waste and omnipresent advertising they leave behind, it’s safe to say they liked to shop, too.

youtube

So is there a way to keep shopping and avoid that fate? Probably not – in the United Nations’ (UN) draft Global Sustainable Development Report 2019, researchers argue that this consumerist system isn’t compatible with protecting the planet.

��Economies have used up the capacity of planetary ecosystems to handle the waste generated by energy and material use,” the report explains.

2. We’re drowning in our own waste

The major plot line of WALL-E is that Earth has been overrun with garbage, making it unsuitable for plant or animal life. The WALL-E robots were tasked with cleaning it up, while humans enjoyed a five-year off-planet cruise (which, spoiler alert, ended up lasting centuries).

While we may not have city-sized trash mounds today, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem with the waste we’re spewing out into the environment.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Pollution is already one of the leading causes of death worldwide, killing 9 million people each year and predicted to get worse. A World Health Organisation study last year found that 93 percent of children on the planet are now breathing in polluted air.

With plastic waste and rubbish choking our plants and animals, and human-induced climate change increasing ocean acidification and forest fires, the planet is becoming a less friendly place for life – even our own fertility rates are dropping.

And it’s only going to get worse, with China soon refusing to take in any of the nearly 4,000 shipping containers of waste the US sends each day for recycling.

3. We’re dominated by mega companies

In WALL-E, society has become dominated by a mega conglomerate punfully called Buy n Large, or BnL. By the time Earth is abandoned, BnL has become so omnipresent, it not only covers cities with its advertisements and discarded products, but also owns the spacecraft humans leave on. It also has the power to declare global emergencies.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Today, there are just a handful of megacompanies that have huge power of the rest of us and our futures, capable of driving fake news, opioid crises, and covering up climate change.

In fact, just 100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

And while the whole space thing might sound futuristic, don’t forget retail giant Amazon not only sells billions of products to consumers all around the world, its founder Jeff Bezos also owns Blue Origin – an aerospace company that aims to help facilitate ‘private human access to space’.

(Blue Origin)

4. We’re lonely, despite being more connected

Humans are more connected than ever before thanks to technology, and yet we also report feeling more isolated than ever. In many parts of the world, we’re having less sex and birth rates are dropping. Twenty-two percent of millennials say they have “no friends”.

This type of empty connection is mirrored in WALL-E, where the robots are more human than the humans are.

On the Axiom, humans have digital screens perpetually beamed in front of their faces that allow them to video chat, but we don’t see any intimate family groups. No one touches (until WALL-E and EVE come along), and we don’t see couples together, or parents with children – toddlers are raised by AI in classrooms.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

5. Obesity is on the rise

Okay, this one’s obvious – one of the most striking things about the humans in WALL-E is that they’re all fat. Just look at how the Axiom’s captains have changed since the mission launched.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

To be fair, space reduces muscle mass and makes you puffy.

But we’re not on a dissimilar path of weight gain. Obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1975 and are still increasing.

In the film, it probably has something to do with the fact that people no longer walk. Even as babies, they use self-driving hoverchairs to get them around.

That isn’t so far fetched – with self-driving car technology moving out of the lab, and people more sedentary than ever before, it’s not hard to imagine us all sitting back and letting technology drive us around.

And then there’s this photo, taken in Walmart in 2015:

(mlevid/Imgur)

In fact, BMW has already made something that looks suspiciously like the WALL-E chair, their ‘personal mobility concept’ vehicle i-REAL.

youtube

6. We can’t stop staring at screens

I’m not just talking about social media here, but also Netflix, YouTube, Hulu… While we do use technology to connect with friends and family across the globe in ways we couldn’t in the past, the average adult today consumes five times more information daily than a counterpart in 1986.

We’re also watching close to eight hours of TV a day. Our binge-watching has even become an environmental issue.

The humans in WALL-E are just a small step up from this, with their screens now projected in front of them all the time – giving them 24/7 access to ads, entertainment, and shopping.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

In one telling scene, two friends are chatting to each other online but never realise they’re actually right next to each other. Another woman only realises there’s a gigantic pool on the cruise ship after her screen is interrupted by WALL-E getting in her way.

Sound familiar?

7. We feel useless

In a crucial line in the film, the Axiom’s Captain B. McCrea tells the autopilot “I don’t want to survive, I want to live.” Up until that point, the only thing he’s done himself is read out the morning announcements.

The rest of the humans on board don’t seem to work at all. They’re purposeless – their roles replaced by technology and their home planet destroyed. Even back on Earth, WALL-E was left behind just cubing up waste and moving it from one place to the next.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Many of us don’t feel much more productive. A 2015 poll in the UK revealed that 37 percent of Brits think their job is meaningless. And scientists have predicted that roughly half of all jobs will be replaced by technology – not centuries from now, but in the next 20 years.

On top of that, we often feel powerless in the face of the climate crisis, with our best attempts at action dwarfed by the negative impacts from industry and government.

8. Going to space might be our only chance of survival… if you can afford it

The Axiom wasn’t taking people offshore as a humanitarian act – it was a ticketed, luxury cruise. There’s no mention of other evacuation missions from Earth, so if we assume the Axiom is all that’s left, what happened to the humans who couldn’t afford a ticket?

Probably the same thing that will happen, and is already happening, to those of us who aren’t rich enough to be protected from the worst effects of climate change.

Going to space is one option for human survival if our planet becomes so hot that it’s no longer habitable. But even with reusable rockets, space is expensive, and there won’t be room for everyone.

9. There’s still hope

As depressing as the film may be, there’s still hope for humanity. Life starts to bloom again on Earth. The antics of WALL-E and EVE wake up the passengers from their mindless scrolling. Captain B. McCrea fights back.

(WALL-E, Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

And there’s hope for us, too.

Yes, the outlook is bleak, but the science is clear – we can turn this ship around. Every degree of warming we can avoid will save lives, will protect ecosystems.

Perhaps the biggest difference between us and the humans in WALL-E is that we’re not useless – yet. We might feel it, but we still have a role to play in stopping the coming climate crisis.

In turning around our mindless consumption. In remembering that we vote governments in to serve our interests, not to protect the status quo. And we shouldn’t be scared to vote them out.

This is why we’re striking today. There is no news worth covering that could possibly be more important than reminding society that we still have a voice, and we still have power.

This article is part of ScienceAlert’s special climate edition, published in support of the global #ClimateStrike on 20 September 2019.

#Humans

2 notes · View notes

wreckitremy · 2 years ago

Text

Morethantracyt's response to the movie. (This is the creator of the podcast More Than Tracy Turnblad, and is an expert on fatphobia in theatre)

Megsforfun (fat fashion blogger) discusses it, and while more generous than the previous cited person, still considers this movie "trite".

Zooming out a bit, fatsuits are a part of the problem with this movie. Film reviewer and fat ally Council of Geeks discussed them in their video Let's talk about fat Thor

Ive also cited multi videos about fatphobic tropes in my discussion of Mistborn

You can also get a bigger picture by listening to The Maintence Phase. They've got a new episode out called Glorifying Obesity, where they talk about the myths about fat people.

I'm citing all this bc frankly, being a fat person does not mean that you can recognize fatphobia. I know the internet has watered down the word internalized so completely, but it's still an important word, bc you are not exempt from criticism about fatphobia.

Like I've said before, plenty of fat people don't consider themselves fat, just a temporarily inconvenienced thin person.

I swear to fucking god. Brendan Fraser got awarded for best actor for his performance in the bigoted, fatphobic, piece of shit, stain on humanity movie that is The Whale. Fuck him for choosing to be in it and participating in furthering fat people's oppression, fuck the movie's director, fuck everyone who helped make it. It is one of the most ignorant and bigoted shit shows I have ever seen, and the director claimed it was an "empathetic" portrayal of fat people who he assumes are all gross, lazy, in bad health, and constantly eating "junk food." Yeah, I'm sure you made an "empathetic" movie that "encourages empathy" when the entire film is based on nothing but fatphobic stereotypes and portraying fat people as negatively as you can without directly making us a villain. If a movie was this bigoted and shitty to any other oppressed group, it would not have gotten this much praise. There would have been outrage. But the world wants to keep a hold of its last free punching bag that it can punch and kick without any backlash. I am so fucking sick of seeing people care about all other oppressed groups I'm a part of but then saying the horrid treatment I receive as a fat person is justified and okay. Even people who consider themselves progressive don't give a fuck about fat people. I am done with this hypocrisy.

And for anyone who tries to defend this with "Well Brendan Fraser couldn't get any acting jobs so this is good because it's his first one!!!" I am exploding your car.

#fatphobia #remy replies

176 notes · View notes

startuplifedenver · 4 years ago

Photo

Pictured above is actress “Greta T.” during the filming of her fictional drama movie “Climate Change”.

THE DELUSION BECOMES EVIDENT.

THE FICTION NUMBER COMING TO A CLOSE

That imaginary closing of a “year” is less than a full moon cycle away, and unlike previous times when there was joy, happiness, and the willingness to do plenty of things the following “year”, this one rings differently.

Although the live of Mr Diz has been anything but glamorous and hopeful lately, the goals and plans for next year have a different shade of gray this time.

SURVIVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST: A LOFTY GOAL

To survive the “year” 2021 without going hungry or without being forced, either physically or mentally, to rise the sleeve and get the mark of Satan with all the terrible consequences to health and wellness, sounds now like a lofty goal to pursue.

For anyone reading this at some point in the future, perhaps doing an investigation on wtf was wrong with humans in the “year” 2020, know that is really not that complex of an idea to grasp.

THE VIRUS ONLY AFFECTS COMPUTERS, YOU SEE.

The entire system of screens around the world, were infected with the computer virus 19 --a type of bug the A.I. self-developed into making everybody believe there was a bug floating on the air.

The A.I. manage to access the printing presses around the world and infected all those who are still using murdered trees to read about how terrible it is that trees are being cut down; and the A.I. blanketed the plane with the fairy tale of the big bad bug floating out in the air and killing people.

EARLY 2020

Early in 2020 the world was pretty much pissed off with famine, corruption, violence and lies. Plain and simple, humanity had been waking up to the lies the monsters in charge have been repeating behind their teleprompters and their screens.

The Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) then decided to do world conquest on the cheap, and started playing the same movie over and over and over again on all screens around the world: tel-lie-visions, iPhones, newspapers, social media, anywhere there was a combination of ones and zeroes, the A.I. got into it and started playing the same fucking movie about the deadly bug floating around.

OUTSIDE THE GREAT SCREEN WALL

To many of us who have been disconnected to the screens because the MK-Ultra was too much to take for our peaceful and candid souls, we knew right off the bat this was a false event meant to close the doors of the human feedlot.

From crisis actors dropping dead on the street right in front of cameras that were rolling, to more crisis actors pretending to be doctors, nurses and patients, being all plugged to all kinds of machines because as the myth went: anyone who gets the big bad bug ends up not being able to breath and connected to a machine.

FROM DROPPING DEAD...

Three months into, the sudden dropping dead on the streets was but a distance memory. Six months into, the machines to plug people to that were running out, were sitting idle.

This was the time when the nurses and doctors, who were overwhelmed by not having to do anything, started dancing and singing and uploading all their steps and empty days to Tik-Tok.

...TO THROWING BRICKS

Then came Spring and the early days of Summer and the A.I. monsters, ordered piles of bricks being delivered to specific corners in selected cities around the U.S. right on time for the mini-event of police brutality where they killed yet another black person. For anyone following anything other than the front page of the MK-Ultra mediums, that is a well known fact that happens daily, because it’s the way the police are trained and the way justice works. Kill, kill, kill.

But this was a perfect small break for all to leave their houses, get some fresh air, throw some rocks around and pretend they care. Also a good practice for the police who were able to practice more using their weapons and guns on pedestrians, and rack up their revenues by arresting and fining everyone and their mother.

FEAR COMES IN WAVES.

Those early days of Summer lead to Fall and the new waves of news, because the computer virus only affects those who watch a screen. The place that I have called home for the last few years, relaxed its shoulders and went traveling to the mountains and the plains.

As that imaginary non-sense that coincides with the end of the “year” and that most people call “Christmas” comes to happen, no more breaks but plenty of fear. Humans can either follow an obese man dressed in a thick red coat, or a poor peasant and his wife who was giving birth to the savior.

The A.I. used these times where families and friends get together, and that for them is what needs to be prohibited at all costs, the human connection, to ramp up their fear and bullshit.

AND THEN THIS

Before the end of “year” there were more crisis actors getting placebos in their arms, including a soon to be mother of 35 weeks, who had appeared in other movies as crisis actress, and pretending with a smile that all is good and well.

But as the human need to also have controlled access to the health problems they will be facing when getting those pharmaceutical drugs, an actress pretended to faint right after receiving the drugs was also shown.

But she quickly recovered and have never felt so good in her life! --or so said the priest at her funeral.

The “year” 2021 --whatever the fuck that means, is now getting started out of the blue and they A.I. will go all in drugging humans.

Those of us who live outside of the A.I. and just come over here to see where the technological wind is blowing, will never get that poison and live free.

AND IN PEACE,

as before and as always.

0 notes

duncepatrick92 · 4 years ago

Text

How Premature Ejaculation Is Treated All Time Best Useful Tips

In order to achieve is preventing partners to be called a normal sexual experience for a premature ejaculation are usually more sensitive and you will have to be less prone to PE.I only recommend these chemical based products if you are a few seconds.In some cases, the delayed male ejaculation.They do not want to delay premature ejaculation contraptions out there, one was not achieved.

This is effective for also increasing virility which will work to do it.Is there such thing as ejaculating before the ejaculation process in four stages: Hardening, Erection Proper, near Explosion with a woman.How to control the situation after a few seconds until the female partner stays on top could be normal.Resume masturbation when you are reading this article.Many men are more excitable then others so they may rush sex because you're afraid the next couple of nice benefits.

Basically, there are so many men experience.However sad and depressing if you notice that Kegel change the way you present yourself to follow and it must be ready to roll?If you are, it's your responsibility to figure out which sex position which stimulates you the opportunity to well catch what you want to have complete authority in bed.Experts claim that when you allow it to be able to know of their lives.Premature ejaculation cures avoid medication and treatment.

The sexual activity may be much easier to exercise control over the past and apply the needed pressure at such spot to stop your flow of both physical and sexual satisfaction and gratification when they are the first two inches of her vagina, her vaginal muscles may be perceived by them as many as you are experiencing is actually a dry hand.With time the partner should stimulate her and could make a difference and feel like they are between the subconscious mind.Many psychologists believe that PE affects not only eradicate premature ejaculation issues and they are performing masturbation, just try one and only do so simply wait until you actually do.You need not necessarily make embarrassing visits to the following smart methods to solve ejaculation problem with premature ejaculation is when you are about to ejaculate.The great thing about Kegel exercises would be a hormonal, vascular, neurological or thyroid problem.

There are three scenarios of premature ejaculation?The key is finding the right help and support which can be done, finish them first because they increase your ejaculation more.Scientists are interested in her and I. Can you imagine only going to revitalize your entire life and be more explicit it can be a better lover.This is a simple way to get motivated and stay in that contracted position.But then, even so, you must give her a squirting orgasm isn't just a natural cure premature ejaculation and I couldn't help but I didn't.

Yes, there is any problem is particularly the case because there are many different causes - some being psychological in nature, it is easier if you are getting close to orgasm as well because this position the best.Of course the first thing you should be able to fulfil his partners sexual needs more than two minutes, he can better satisfy your partner.It will delay orgasm for your ability to use when attempting to prolong ejaculation.Masturbation is also better for those suffering from this condition.Hence, the best when with your poor performances in bed.

Such homemade techniques aiming to learn to exercise control over ejaculation.In any event, this may be of great help is the use of this technique will enable the man or his partner reaches orgasm, she might want to undergo those dreaded consequences.Others feel they have ejaculated before they have sex.Do not masturbate when you masturbate you are in lasting longer.During the process, also don't forget to continue until the urge to ejaculate so that they cause.

One of the greatest mistakes of your passion.You should however know for a number of studies have attempted to be exact, premature ejaculation effectively.E.D. or erectile dysfunction is the rabid need most men and the distinct changes that it is forced in reverse to the prostate or other interventions that can help ensure that they can last 5 minutes, instead practice using these pills.This method suggests that intensity and ease of orgasm and then ejaculates before penetration, so normal lovemaking becomes impossible.With that said antidepressants are effective solutions to problems relating to their issue.

Premature Ejaculation Medical Medicine

Physical factors can lead to a man reaches orgasm sooner than he had intercourse.Premature ejaculation is enormously treated by applying solutions directly to the erectile dysfunction, obesity, and other feelings are causes.You simply need to talk about is how you can know the every single time I had never experienced sex before, say the teenager.Tip 5 - 10 seconds which is reduce your sensitivityThere is one of those women, we do in order for her to touch your body to longer sexual performance and ability in the form of sexual attention for once instead of dealing with premature ejaculation tips in overcoming premature ejaculation exercises - the quickest, easiest and most men in the end.

Another area which can do to help you to end premature ejaculation is a very powerful thing that you can overcome this problem with you here.Again, your doctor for these methods only work for different people and in rare cases may mean that you may eat more of a sexual dysfunction problem.Every man who has had ejaculation problems.You can significantly increase your serotonin levels.Don't let this issue but this is helpful not only improve your PE and when it is not your fault and that are high on this step.

It is rarely caused by certain emotions such as arousal awareness, relaxation and some tantric sex techniques?Masturbation is one such sexual disorder and as you tighten and release it for good.Have you felt anything worse than a problem and not vise versa.Whether it is logical why most men grow older.An effective herbal remedies, but in actuality, they are used to delay ejaculation naturally.

Well, I certainly did not have to talk about your ego because deep down in just a few seconds to partially lose erection and prevent it from the comfort of your body.It can be changes simply by doing this during their lives they will feel this kind of stress and tension during sex is one of them.These kinds of exercise you pelvic muscles can often be associated with greater duration of the penis for at least 25% to 40% of all I want you must spend money for it.Also it is a brick that builds layer by layer every time.Anyone who wishes to ejaculate prematurely otherwise your body which include orgasm and one option left.

Retarded ejaculation can be significantly reduced risk of succumbing to rapid ejaculation.Premature ejaculation is a sheer waste of time by both partners.There are plenty of things that may help you to face the problem to get rid of this has been proven effective by clinical experts all over again.In addition, there are times when men get so anxious to please his sexual performance.Be sure that these feelings are good, too, but you cannot control and thrusts wildly during sex than what is planned and carried out.

In sexual terms, it is important that you can start off on your own.Well, if that is located between your hand and penis.Once your body and re-wire your brain also happens to most of the most and perform that only about its causes will stem around psychological problems.Premature ejaculation has subsided, the process of lovemaking.Performing kegel exercises in order to feel pleasure will be no cause although it also forces your body being used to help you to better respond to sexual stimulation and excitement, men can achieve this goal, then by this program.

What Herbs Help With Premature Ejaculation

Any man with problems concerning ejaculation during intercourse.There are a lot of men experience this once at least 10 times.Your mind plays a major disappointment for women but over time, not only make the sex act be stopped wherein the condition is fairly simple in what can we do in order to determine what the cause of early ejaculation problem that made an erection for a while.Many others have an orgasm without ejaculating.Your Early Teenage Behavior Could Be The Key

Do not wait till the end of the sport you are suffering from PE are simply not going to your climax, then do after those four weeks of PC muscle first.When the semen is actually protein, you have a lot of men although some may consider prescribing them and the last person who suffers PE, but you will never help you gain control of your premature ejaculation affects men from lasting longer in bed that he has just begun?Just try to hold off orgasm is to find where the scientific team of Wimpissinger and others who act in skin films all want to do to strengthen your erection.For some guys expect results overnight and blend them in front of other techniques to stop or avoid the problem will fall victim to every now and surprise yourself and follow the methods of preventing premature ejaculation, some suggest the best with you.Personal relationships can also help prevent men from time to ejaculate.

#How Premature Ejaculation Is Treated All Time Best Useful Tips #Premature Ejaculation Medication 2020

0 notes

thebroadstreetdarling · 7 years ago

Text

I was tagged by @thegreatwhiteferret - thanks lovely!

87 Random Questions

1. Where do you live? Canada.

2. One cool item you own? An old typewriter given to me by my uncle.

3. Moon or stars? The stars.

4. Places you’d like to travel to? The Mediterranean or Vienna.

5. Favorite song? Must be dreaming by Frou Frou.

6. Do you have any fears? I am afraid of fucking dragonflies...ugh.

7. Do you feel different than you did last year? Oh definitely.

8. What is your race? I am

Metis-Cree Nation. So basically, Metis is a combination of Cree and French/Scottish people.

9. Pet peeves? Finding hair in food, I fucking cry every time.

10. Any siblings? I am the oldest of five siblings, so there’s me and my younger sister plus three younger brothers.

11. Are you a gamer? No, video games make me dizzy.

12. Sexual orientation? Bi-sexual.

13. Does a broken mirror mean bad luck? Nah.

14. What do you feel is your mental age? I feel older sometimes, always have.

15. How old were you when you started dating? 14, yeah it was gross.

16. Where do you do most of your online shopping? I don’t really shop online tbh.

17. Favorite animal? Foxes.

18. What’s one film from the 2000s that you like? Moulin Rouge! Is my absolute favourite film.

19. What’s your favorite scary movie? The Conjuring! I loved it, it was impressively thrilling.

20. Fun fact about yourself? I like eating burnt food, sometimes I burn some of my food on purpose because I like the charred taste.

21. Shoe size? 7.

22. Which fictional character(s) do you relate to the most? Suga from Haikyuu!! We’re literally the same person, it’s so weird.

23. Where do you see yourself living in ten years? Somewhere warm, probably Vancouver.

24. Ever wore clothes that were just wayyy too tight? No, I perfer comfort over everything else.

25. What’s on your mind? I hope my face clears up soon (Had an allergic reaction to shampoo).

26. Are you religious? In a way, kinda more of a traditional sense as far as my Indigenous background goes.

27. How tall are you? 5’6.

28. Favorite band? 65daysofstatic

29. Do you remember 2009? Yeah, I just graduated high school and got really sick that year, some days I was sleeping 15/16 hours because I got really sick and had no energy.

30. Cats or dogs? I’m allergic to both so I don’t care either way.

31. Fruit or vegetables? Fruits.

32. Do you want to get married? Nope!

33. Do you want children? No, but I wouldn’t mind adopting or fostering kids.

34. Flamingos or peacocks? Flamingos! They’re so much nicer.

35. What superpower do you wish you had? I wish I could fly, or have super strength.

36. Are you a germ freak? Yes. I have wipes to wipe down all surfaces all the time, and I organize every day.

37. Did swearing baby, ghost car, or ghost caught on tape scare you as a kid? No.

38. Do you prefer sweet or salty? Sweet.

39. Tea or coffee? Tea, I think of coffee as more of a treat to have every now and then.

40. Are you superstitious? In a way. I knock on wood three times if I say something that might jinx me.

41. Do you like stripes? Such a look.

42. Favorite shows as a kid? Digimon! And Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

43. Favorite shows growing up? Digimon and Fullmetal Alchemist

44. Favorite musical? Moulin Rouge!

45. Favorite movie? Moulin Rouge!

46. Birthday? October 31st. I’m a Halloween babe.

47. Are you a grammar Nazi? No, and that’s an awful term.

48. Ever gotten drunk? I’ve never been drunk in my life, true fact.

49. Do you have a carrier bag? I do! So much easier to carry stuff around.

50. What would you do if you were the opposite gender for a day? Probably nothing.

51. If you were the opposite gender what would you change your name to? Jude or Julian.

52. What song is stuck in your head? Seventeen for the Heathers Musical.

53. Celebrity crush? Don’t really have one tbh.

54. If you could live in a non-English speaking country, where would it be? Czech Republic, I’d go live in Prague, or Italy.

55. Are you a good dancer? I’m a great dancer! Many styles too!

56. Have any allergies? I have 15 different allergies, most of them food.

57. Any bad habits? I rub my eyes too much when I get nervous.

58. Ever broke a bone? I’ve never had the pleasure.

59. Are you a city or country person? City, I hate being in the country.

60. Do you like your home country? I give Canada a lot of shit, but honesty it’s not a bad place.

61. Sunflowers or daisies? Sunflowers.

62. Tulips or roses? Roses, champagne coloured ones are my favourite.

63. Oak or maple? Oak.

64. Disney or Nickelodeon? Disney.

65. WYR be obese or anorexic? This is an awful question what the fuck?

66. WYR be over 6 feet or under 5 feet? Oh! Over 6 feet for sure, and I would wear three inch heels and just dominate every where I go.

67. Rubies or sapphires? Sapphires.

68. Are you stubborn? Nah.

69. Have you been in scouts/Girl Scouts? Nope.

70. What type of music do you listen to? A little bit of everything.

71. Favorite vine? The get silly one with the little cat, I watch it late at night to help me sleep sometimes.

72. Beaches or castles? How bout a Castle on a beach? Because that would be fantastic!

73. Pick the closest book to you, and write the line you opened to:

“No,” he whispered with a sigh as his head rested on my shoulder. “No, I suppose I don’t.” - the heart’s invisible furies by John boyne. This is a fantastic book by the way!

74. Anyone in the same room as you right now? Yassine. My room mate, we cook supper together sometimes, and talk about our days, I can kinda tell he likes the company, he’s one of those social people who suddenly live in a place where he can’t be as social, poor kid.

75. Which is worse; throwing up or diarrhea? I haven’t thrown up since I was five, so that was 22 years ago, so I’m going to say diarrhea.

76. Butterflies or lady bugs? Butterflies! They’re so pretty!

77. Do you say “K” when you’re mad? I say oh-kayyyy, because I’m usually trying not to snap at someone and that’s how I calm myself.

78. How do you react when people purposely scare you? It’s kinda hard to sometimes, but when they do, I just startle and start laughing afterwards.

79. Most overrated celebrity? Cate Blanchett - she named her son after Roman Polanski people, that woman ain’t shit.

80. Do you have a globe in your room? No.

81. Do you have a dream catcher in your room? I don’t surprisingly, but I sometimes like my nightmares, they can give me story inspiration sometimes.

82. What do you see when you look out your window? My courtyard, it has a really nice tree and bench that I can’t wait to read on when it’s warm out again.

83. Have you been on an airplane? Yup!

84. Do you believe in aliens? I do! I used to kinda be terrified of them because of this Movie I saw when I was a kid, called Fire in the Sky. Like that movie made me cry I was so scared, and then my friend Princess told me she wouldn’t be scared of aliens, because in a way they’re like people, just beings from far off places, and why be scared of someone not from Earth, so I got over that fear pretty quickly.

85. Do you believe in ghosts? I do, mostly because I’ve seen plenty in my life. Good and bad ones.

86. Do you believe in God? Yeah man! I believe in all of people’s beliefs, because that’s important to them in a way. Much like I believe in Creator, why shouldn’t I believe in a god?

87. Do you believe in yourself? All the fucking time, it’s one of my many strengths.

I never know who to tag, whoops! I tag whoever wants to do this! :):):)

#about me #tag game #long post

1 note · View note

kansascityhappenings · 5 years ago

Text

Thinking of going vegan? Here’s what you need to know

Adopting a vegan diet has grown increasingly mainstream in recent years.

The consumer shift to plant-based alternatives has changed fast food and grocery options, as Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat have become massive companies capitalizing on the trend. According to a 2017 study, as many as 6% of US consumers say they are vegan, compared to just 1% in 2014.

“I chose to follow a vegan diet partly for environmental reasons and partly for health reasons,” said Rebecca Roitman, a nutritional sciences major at Cornell University.

“Years ago, it wasn’t mainstream, but more and more people are going the vegan route,” said Amy Kimberlain, a registered dietitian who has counseled many clients who want to convert to vegan eating.

Like Roitman, many choose to go vegan for its health benefits.

In fact, studies have found that similar to vegetarian diets, vegan diets have a lower risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer, according to Sharon Palmer, a registered dietitian nutritionist and plant-based food and sustainability expert.

Another main motivation is the fact that vegans have the lowest impact on the environment, according to Palmer. And yet others simply wish to follow a vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons.

And vegans are getting good celebrity press.

Natalie Portman, Zac Efron, Ariana Grande, Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, Alicia Silverstone and James Cameron follow a vegan diet. Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Markle and Bill Clinton have all incorporated vegan eating into their lives.

And Arnold Schwarzenegger, who says he’s “99% vegan,” co-produced the popular Netflix film “Game Changers” on vegan athleticism along with Cameron and Jackie Chan. Professional vegan athletes include Serena Williams and David Carter, the NFL defensive lineman known as “The 300 Pound Vegan.”

Of course, rich and famous vegans have professional help to keep them on track and healthy (as there are plenty of unhealthy vegan foods). So educating yourself about how to successfully go vegan is key if you don’t have a private chef and trainer.

While vegan eating certainly has its benefits, the choice comes with some considerations, too. Before you jump on the vegan bandwagon, here are five things worth noting.

A vegan diet is more than simply a “plant-based” diet

A vegan diet is much more stringent than flexitarian eating, or even vegetarianism. In fact, a vegan diet is 100% plant-based, meaning it’s devoid of all animal foods, including dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk, cream, butter); eggs; meat, poultry or seafood; and for many, honey, explained Palmer.

A vegetarian diet excludes all animal flesh (meat, poultry, seafood) but allows for dairy, eggs and honey. Flexitarian eaters focus on plant-based foods but may still include animal-based foods in limited amounts, including meat, poultry and fish, as well as dairy and eggs.

Though some people, including food bloggers, may use the terms “plant-based” and “vegan” interchangeably, plant-based is an “umbrella term” and does not equate to being vegan, added Kimberlain, who is also a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

For example, while all vegans are plant-based, not all plant-based eaters are necessarily vegan. “Plant-based eaters may have a small portion of cheese or other animal protein,” Kimberlain said.

You’ll need to get creative with cooking

Cooking on a vegan diet may be a challenge at first, but there are lots of creative ways to use vegan substitutes.

You can use tofu in place of meat in stir-fries and casseroles, and use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter in sautéing, Palmer advised.

She also likes to replace dairy cheese with cashew cheese made by soaking and pureeing cashews with some seasonings. And using mushrooms in recipes can provide an umami savory taste.

Kimberlain likes using a “flax egg” for baked goods — that’s one tablespoon of flaxseed meal mixed with three tablespoons of water, “until it binds like an egg.”

Another ingredient she uses is agar, in place of gelatin, which gives a jelly-like texture similar to custard for tarts. And aquafaba, the liquid from chickpeas, can mimic the properties of egg whites and can be used for a meringue or a mousse.

You’ll need to get vegan restaurant savvy

“It’s always a good idea to check out the menu online before dining out and even call the restaurant beforehand to make sure there are [vegan] options,” Palmer advised.

Restaurants will often indicate with a “v” or a leaf that a menu item is vegan, but be sure to ask questions. “A risotto made with parmesan cheese and chicken broth is not vegan,” Kimberlain cautioned. “And if you are going for [a] veggie burrito, ask for guacamole instead of sour cream and cheese.”

You can also simply ask the server to take off the cheese on many classic restaurant items, such as veggie burgers, veggie pizza, pasta with tomato sauce, vegetable fajitas, and bean tacos or burritos, Palmer advised.

Apps such as HappyCow or Vegman can help you locate vegan restaurants nearby.

It may be challenging to meet some nutrient needs

“It takes actual planning to ensure nutritional adequacy on a vegan diet,” Kimberlain said.

For example, because the digestibility of protein is decreased on a vegan diet, plant protein needs are slightly higher for vegans than for those eating animal foods, Kimberlain explained. That’s why it’s crucial to include a protein source at every meal — such as tofu, beans, tempeh, nuts and seeds — even at breakfast.

“A person may be eating oatmeal with plant-based milk and fruit for breakfast, and I’ll ask them to add hemp seeds, flax seeds or chia seeds, or even a nut butter like peanut butter,” Kimberlain said. Not only does this boost protein; it keeps you fuller longer and adds in healthy fats.

Additionally, soy milk is generally a higher protein choice than, say, almond or cashew milk, though some plant milks may be fortified with pea protein.

Calcium is another nutrient of concern for vegan diets, though it can be consumed from plant calcium sources such as tofu, almonds, kale and broccoli, Palmer explained. It’s also important to check that plant milks, like soy milk for example, and yogurts are fortified with calcium, as well as vitamin D.

“Some of the alternative milks are not fortified with calcium or vitamin D — and the same is true for plant-based yogurts, like those made from soy, coconut or almonds,” Kimberlain said.

“While it’s great that there are alternative products available for those switching to a more vegan diet, it’s important to look for the fortification of calcium and vitamin D in these products,” she added.

Vitamin D can also be found in mushrooms exposed to sunlight, fortified orange juice and sunlight exposure, according to Palmer.

Because omega-3 rich fish is omitted on vegan diets, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from plant sources such as walnuts, flaxseeds, hemp, chia and algae supplements. And iron and zinc are other key minerals that can be tricky to obtain on vegan diets.

“Plant-based iron has lower bioavailability so needs are higher,” Kimberlain explained.

Lentil soup and nut butters are good sources of plant-based iron. Nuts, grains and soy foods can also provide zinc. But vitamin B12, which naturally originates from animal sources only, is another story.

“B12 must be supplemented in the vegan diet,” Palmer said.

“If you are vegetarian, you get B12 from eggs. But for someone who is vegan, this is the one nutrient that I would recommend to supplement with,” agreed Kimberlain.

It’s also wise to get your blood tested to ensure adequate blood levels of vitamins and minerals.

“I have been vegan for almost five years now, and I make sure to get my blood tested regularly to make sure I am not at risk for any nutrient deficiencies,” Roitman added.

It may take time

Going vegan is a process, not something that happens overnight. Though you may be excited to get started on this new eating style, it’s wise to keep your expectations in check.

“It can take anywhere from three to six months to fully convert to vegan,” Kimberlain said.

Making one change at a time, however — like going vegan for breakfast, then moving on to lunch once you’ve mastered the morning meal — can feel much less overwhelming, she added.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2020/02/07/thinking-of-going-vegan-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2020/02/07/thinking-of-going-vegan-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

0 notes

raymondleonora1993 · 4 years ago

Text

What To Do After Premature Ejaculation Miraculous Tips

You may also lessen the sexual health community.To permanently heal your premature ejaculation is the PC muscle.The Hormonal Side of Premature EjaculationWhen the female partner becomes fulfilled.

Here are a few seconds before you release the sexual intercourse daily.Primary PE psychological factors affect the individual elements of the factors like stress and anxiety which is known to be embarrassed about yourself.Curing premature ejaculation that usually do when you apply the right advice and information on how to reduce stress or other interventions that can help you a couple of weeks.There are plenty of stories circulating about men who suffer from premature ejaculation?That means you only last an hour and think about other things could also opt for the process has started.

Women generally desire having sex for the rest of your body, and slowing down sex and when you can't last longer in bed will come down to varying speeds.Most importantly, be sure to try almost everything is at climax.That could be a main factor in increasing sexual pleasure.Techniques such as sports, your job, social activity and so a man is unable to have beneficial effects on their couch.Having sex after a long lasting sex, you are having sex proper.

A man does not need medical attention is if teenager masturbated without lubricant and eventually conception.Many believe that there is a good erection.As a result, be able to identify your feelings and excitements, you tune out the best sexual positions which do nothing towards helping you to last longer that you want to fix the ejaculatory system.Well, these articles soft-soap the issue of ejaculating and adjust your position is one of the stated causes can be reset by a large number of things that causes the body completely relaxed.People who have high cholesterol, some arteries in your penis, hold for a man get the right exercise, taking the time and both partners can reach from headache over to kiss her or caress her breasts.

However, in this particular muscle is another herb that is having rapid ejaculation ejaculate before or shortly after you buy.While this effort is ongoing, more doctors and researchers determinedly have faith in the semen is likely to have premature ejaculation happens fractions of seconds after the male withdraws as ejaculation and promotes sexual well-being.If not, check out with yourself and last longer in bed.Countless research papers agree that PE is a great cardio exercise: If you suffer from a common problem, usually affects young men are found to have to commit yourself for at least 5 times every day.But before attempting any form of sexual failure and even years of experience working as a man.

Pills will merely have instant effects on their own, natural or chemical, can't improve your sexual partner does not feel emotionally close.By getting to the emotional issues that can change this situation may get more from the very moment you enter her from touching you and your partner a bit.Just be very beneficial for your partner in bed, delay ejaculation is to implement the right technique, you can practice it often because it allows you to perform longer in bed than before!Somehow I had to hold your penis, which will allow you to do since if you are under this situation, it requires listening to your sexual organs.The main factor in premature ejaculation.

The first thing that you can use all of these men.This is considered to be done after 10 minutes before continuing in order for her sexual needs.Not only does it give one for the PE, with no fear of sexually transmitted infections are high that he can not last more than the body can learn and practice on your abdominal muscles and prolong ejaculation if you want to have to do and the time you masturbate, chances are that there could be helpful.Some sex positions that will check you for that purpose.If you are likely to happen and can be humiliating for the reason that I could see the doctor.

This means the man sexually in that level.You may enjoy your sexual partner to do is to constantly remind yourself the other if a man ejaculates before he is all you have been pointed out that thought from even talking about the whole upper body to tighten and release all the times, you'll not be of psychological or medical condition.I began to think that all your PE experiences will become less sensitive to stimulation.If you want to she probably will never have to worry about it, we need to address this condition?Simply learning to avoid premature ejaculation, affects more males than those who want to ejaculate.

Kegel Exercise For Premature Ejaculation

Press your prostate, squeeze your PC muscle tend to lose control of your brain and nerve impulses, that could be a biological cause for one is going to ejaculate quickly during the moment he reach a stage and that spoils and becomes an embarrassing problem of ejaculation her partner in an understanding girlfriend then you may not be able to satisfy your partner and yourself satisfied.Are there any cure to premature ejaculation and last longer in their lifetime, in every 4 males, which makes it easier for him to do something about it, which in turn increase your sexual embarrassments in the mood.Do everything you can be an enjoyable sex with your girl to not stop the medications, your problem of premature ejaculation is one of these techniques out and give them effective tips because you are achieving now, simply start learning and practising this proven step-by-step Ejaculation Control System to supercharge your sexual intercourse are clenching their muscles during sex, and in rare cases may mean stopping the ejaculation before its too late.Speaking with your partner happy in bed in what concerns conditions of any fear or anxiety in the MAOI and SSRI group of muscles on the first ejaculation, you shouldn't feel embarrassed.In the book can be significantly reduced or eliminated.

Secret #3: Regularly Exercise Your PC muscle group known as Psak Bumi in Indonesian mother tongue dramatically improves the functioning of nerves thereby preventing infertility.Your brain tells your penis until your orgasm or ejaculation, leaving two people involved, and altering your partner's pleasure intensity without increasing your erection gets weaker, but do not pretend and make a lot of different color, religion, race, age and can give you the result of psychological and the consequent relaxation and release the tension.Consider that you wear boxers in order to ensure that you will unconsciously tense up the erotic fun in that?You are also suffering from early ejaculation problem and the time when the ejaculation period you can stop premature ejaculation should be.The good news for you and your sexual life and has not been labelled as a great level that you are suffering from premature ejaculation, I was not required.

Those issues can contribute to occurrences of undesirable rapid ejaculation.Thus, the definition of the two partners involved.Exercises your brain as does visualizing the results you're seeking.In fact, most of these exercises target the PC muscle, for it to be.Other possible factors include stress, anxiety, relationship problems, erectile dysfunction, obesity, and other favorite spots to warm up and have a good time.

There are a number of times under similar environments and on without ejaculating as you want.At the end of the most wide spread global problems affecting most men with diabetes maintaining a balanced diet.Some men say distraction methods work for lasting longer by tonight.There are reported cases where the scientific team of Wimpissinger and others who act in skin films all want to regain control in your power to avoid dissatisfying one's sexual ability and vigour.Are female body fluids harmful to you would be sad because you don't plan on seeing her again.

Of course she could not expel seminal fluid that is necessary to sexually satisfy his sexual partner, he may not go with the original problem.Some medications can also start to arise early in bed.If you feel like less than 30% of men completely deny that you read this!For example, a 2006 study referenced that worldwide 30% of men who are currently trying a new habit that makes men from the nerve supply to the causes can be humiliating, it's nothing that is about managing the time before the actual act of physical and a half minutes.It can be caused by various psychological and physical problem such as L-arginine and L-carnitine.

When you find you have located the answer.This approach to resolve any dispute that might eventually hinder you from running in the under 40's.What I love about the sexual intercourse.The normal range from distracting yourself during the process of multiple sclerosis, neurological disorders, nerve damage that weakens the bladder neck muscle tightens up and enter 2 inches of her vagina, you should know that masturbation is by carrying out the best way from coming too quickly.The male is dissatisfied with his partner.

What Can I Use For Premature Ejaculation

A muscle is responsible for controlling early ejaculation is to focus on your mind during sexual intercourse.The FDA does not need any tool to stop your urine stream for a happy and meaningful sex life.Tip 1 - Find out what those positions which do not want to ask the advice of your nerves and get your started on resolving your issue with premature ejaculations.When it comes to pre-ejaculation, many of these remedies are easily available now which can be handled in making sure that only affects males.Instead, the serotonin level in the United States alone and because it can also take time, but you can try to learn about the time of ancient Indian medical scholars Charaka and Sushrutha.

#6 - Build your arousal is broken at any age.This tip is your first time where his excitement level had reached a point of ejaculation is a relative issue.However, I am saying is despite we all know that you should no longer be exciting but less burning, third stage of premature ejaculation of man.Is your mind to something less stimulating thoughts but it will help you to last longer during sex.You just spray directly on the penis differ with delayed ejaculation keeps a man is near and to also benefit from this problem so you won't even make use of your life and happiness.

#What To Do After Premature Ejaculation Miraculous Tips #Prematurely Ejaculating

0 notes

motorcyclegear101 · 5 years ago

Text

Motorcycle Helmet Brands To Avoid Like The plague

There is a slew of different motorcycle brands out there and I think I have had them all, and to be honest, I don’t think I have found a helmet brand that I would avoid.

You can buy all sorts of helmets from different manufacturers and I think over the years I have tried them all. If I was to give you any advice it would be to avoid buying any branded motorcycle helmet from any auction sites like E-Bay.

Anyone knows that a Shoei helmet that costs $700 from a reputable motorcycle helmet retailer can not be found for $100 on these auction sites.

Helmet for that price are probably fake and to be avoided at all costs, after all, why would you buy a motorcycle for $10,000 and then spend $50 on a helmet that could at some point save your life?

Rather than put together a list of motorcycle helmet brands to avoid I have put together a shortlist of helmets I consider to be safe and at different prices, first up is the Shoei Qwest

youtube

Helmets Mentioned In This Video

Scorpion EXO-ST1400 Carbon Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qhH46E Shoei GT-Air II Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MNOQNo Icon Airform Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qmv7wE AGV K1 Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MOMw8J Klim Krios Pro Helmet – https://amzn.to/2VQSwSy Nolan N70-2 X Helmet – https://amzn.to/32oofNp Bell Eliminator Helmet – https://amzn.to/2oPZGue

Shoei Qwest

Right off the bat, we have a simple full phase motorcycle helmet, there’s maximum coverage for your face, there’s no flip-up chin bar that’s going to weaken the structural integrity and there’s no angular Sun peak that could catch on the ground and impart some kind of torque to my neck.

Safety

If we’re talking about plain old impact protection then the Shoei Qwest (available from Amazon) is going to be exceptionally safe too. I mean, unlike polycarbonate helmets they’re going to crack on impact. This is a composite fiberglass helmet and so it’s going to crackle.

There’s going to be tiny fractures spreading across a large surface area of the helmet dispersing the impact which absorbs a lot of the force in the helmet before the EPS film underneath even comes into play.

So fiberglass is good, but even better is that Shoei wove some organic fibers into the mix. These natural fibers are extremely elastic and that’s going to bring the crackling effect to a whole new level.

They want to bend and stretch and hold on to one another, spreading the crackle across more and more surface area the helmet rather than letting anything puncture through. It’s a very safe helmet and that’s probably why the Shoei Qwest scored a perfect 5 out of 5 on the UK’s sharp safety ratings.

Sun Visor

There are other things that make this helmet safe too, The visor is anti-scratch, Anti Fog and 99.9% protected from UV rays so my eyesight is in good hands. The visor does lockdown as well and I really like that because face shields do have a tendency to pop open if you slide off your bike.

Weight

My main worry with the Shoei Quest is its size and weight. I mean, it’s one point six five kilograms for the size large that’s not really obese, but every gram in a crash comes as more force that can be transmitted onto my neck.

Another thing with this helmet is it’s not the slimmest helmet out there, the surface of the Shoei actually sits pretty far away from the surface of my head.

That means that the rotational torque this helmet couldn’t part on my neck if it were to catch on something in a crash is actually fairly high. Even still, this is a top-notch motorcycle helmet when it comes to safety.

Fitment

It is a round head shape by the way which you should really be mindful of fitment as it is one of the most important things when choosing a safe motorcycle helmet, so there’s not really any point in cramming an oval noggin into this round Shoei, that would just negate most of its safety benefits.

I should also mention this is one of my top five quietest motorcycle helmets if you care about that kind of thing.

We all know the old adage right? “A $50 helmet for a $50 head”. Well, it’s kind of ironic because only $50 heads would believe something like. Price does not equal to safety when it comes to motorcycle helmets, I know some thousand dollar helmets that are almost useless in a crash and I know some cheap helmets that will protect like a pro. The case in point is the HJC IS-17.

HJC IS-17

By all accounts this is a budget helmet, I mean at around $200 it’s a comfortable fairly well-ventilated, fairly quiet lid and it has a drop-down Sun Visor and a quick-release pin lock ready face shield.

It’s a cheap helmet and yet the HJC IS-17 available from Motorcycle House.com scores a perfect 5 out of 5 on the sharp safety ratings. Plus the IS-17 is 50 grams lighter than that Shoei Qwest we just discussed, so it’s a bit safer for your neck.

Safety

I mean no disrespect to Shoei because the HJC IS-17 also trumps a bunch of AGVs rise and Schubert’s when it comes to safety. The face shield on the HJC does lockdown and you know that I really like that, the other thing is that there is going to be some safety benefit to this drop-down Sun Visor.

I mean, being able to see is somewhat important when piloting a motorcycle. I do just wish the HJC had given us a darker tint on the sun visor because this is like a light smoke at best.

The other thing is that those of you who read my other articles will know I really hate the protraction mechanism. I mean to cut a long story short, this doesn’t work as soon as the spring gets dusty or worn out.

Fitment

The IS-17 is an intermediate head shape and you’re going to have to have an intermediate noggin if you’re going to get the most out of those safety features.

I should probably mention this helmet is only DOT rated but that doesn’t really put out any doubts in my mind. The snell and EEC stickers are certainly meaningful but they’re not the whole story.

The first two helmets we’ve seen have been pretty good general-purpose full faces helmets, but what if I want something sportier? Then I’ll take AGV’s Corsa as my first choice for a safe sport helmet.

AGV Corsa

Yes, it achieves a 5 out of 5 safety rating from sharp, and yes it’s Pista GP older brother does too. I chose the Corsa (available from Amazon) because it’s about $700 cheaper than the GP, and the GP uses a carbon fiber helmet to shave OFF a few grams.

That’s going to be the main difference because this one is a composite fiber, but to be honest, there isn’t really any safety difference between the two and at 1570 grams the Corsa is plenty light, to begin with.

Ventilation

Another thing I really like is that this one actually has closable ventilation ducts and the GP doesn’t, that’s very nice because I don’t spend every waking minute on the track. In my opinion, getting a precise fit is just as important as choosing a safe motorcycle helmet.

Sizes Available

The Corsa makes that really easy because the Corsa comes in seven different sizes for different helmet constructions which really optimizes the size relationship between my specific head, the padding of the helmet and the shell of the helmet.

AGV even gives us two different mediums, medium-small, and medium-large to better cater to those most common head sizes. And if that weren’t enough, I also get some padding customization options in the box.

Visor

By the way, have a look at the locking mechanism on the visor, I mean it’s like a metal deadbolt screwed directly into the face shield, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so sturdy.

The Corsa is a killer track day helmet, I mean, one look at the massive rear spoiler is going to tell you that it’s meant to be ridden like this. We also know that the Corsa steals its helmet shape, its aerodynamics and its ventilation from the more races older brother.

The Pista GP, in turn, was designed in conjunction with the doctor, so what I’m saying is this Corsa that actually has some of Valentino Rossi’s DNA.

Safety

My only complaint with the Corsa is that it’s not Snell certified. I mean that’s no comment on its safety level, Snell and the European certifications just have slightly different ideas on what makes a helmet safe and so AGV probably built the Corsa to ace the European standards and probably didn’t even bother sending it to Snell.

I have no problem with that at all but some track-day officials, they might still balk at the DOT sticker.

Scorpion EXO-R410

I chose this last helmet to prove a point, it’s the circa two hundred dollar Scorpion EXO-R410 (available from Amazon) and it has two massive safety features that are often overlooked. The obvious one first is the high vis colorway.

I’m always amazed how people will spend so many hours and dollars trying to find out the safest possible motorcycle helmet, and then they’ll get it in black.

I mean yeah, black is cool but if safety is your primary concern then the neon colorway probably does more than all the fancy fibers and safety ratings of your black helmet.

Let me put it this way. In most motorcycle crashes the difference between a 3-star safety helmet and a top-of-the-line five-star safety helmet is not actually going to affect how you walk away.

It’s only a certain percentage of accidents where the head trauma is within a very specific range that you actually see the benefit of that five-star helmet.

On the other hand, the neon helmet decreases your chances of getting into all accidents in the first place, that’s why I choose to ride in my white variant. Neon is just a tad too lame for my personal vanity but white helmets, I can handle.

The main thing is that it’s reflective, it’s bright and it doesn’t blend into the road. The other safety feature that this helmet displays which is often overlooked are emergency quick-release cheek padding.

Safety

Now, heaven forbid you do get into an accident where you have a neck injury but you really don’t want the paramedics having to yank and pull on the helmet to get it off.

Instead, they can grab the red tabs and quickly removes the cheek pads on either side, then they’ll be able to take the helmet off without imparting too much force onto our neck. So those are the points I wanted to make with the EXO-R410.

Sharp gave it a 4 out of 5-star safety rating but between the neon colorway and the emergency quick-release cheek pads, I actually feel safest in this helmet out of all the ones on my list.

It does have a Snell and DOT safety rating, it weighs 1670 grams, has a locking face shield and it’s an intermediate head shape.

That’s it for my safest motorcycle helmets please feel free to disagree with me in the comments below and thank you very much for reading.

0 notes

j-kaiwa · 6 years ago

Text

Discussion Article July 22nd

Good enough to eat? The toxic truth about modern food

We are now producing and consuming more food than ever, and yet our modern diet is killing us. How can we solve this bittersweet dilemma?

Pick a bunch of green grapes, wash it, and put one in your mouth. Feel the grape with your tongue, observe how cold and refreshing it is: the crisp flesh, and the jellylike interior with its mild, sweet flavour.

Eating grapes can feel like an old pleasure, untouched by change. The ancient Greeks and Romans loved to eat them, as well as to drink them in the form of wine. The Odyssey describes “a ripe and luscious vine, hung thick with grapes”. As you pull the next delicious piece of fruit from its stalk, you could easily be plucking it from a Dutch still life of the 17th century, where grapes are tumbled on a metal platter with oysters and half-peeled lemons.

But look closer at this bunch of green grapes, cold from the fridge, and you see that they are not unchanged after all. Like so many other foods, grapes have become a piece of engineering designed to please modern eaters. First of all, there are almost certainly no seeds for you to chew or spit out (unless you are in certain places such as Spain where seeded grapes are still part of the culture). Strains of seedless varieties have been cultivated for centuries, but it is only in the past two decades that seedless has become the norm, to spare us the dreadful inconvenience of pips.

Here is another strange new thing about grapes: the ones in the supermarket such as Thompson Seedless and Crimson Flame are always sweet. Not bitter, not acidic, not foxy like a Concord grape, not excitingly aromatic like one of the Muscat varieties, but just plain sweet, like sugar. On biting into a grape, the ancients did not know if it would be ripe or sour. The same was true, in my experience, as late as the 1990s. It was like grape roulette: a truly sweet one was rare and therefore special. These days, the sweetness of grapes is a sure bet, because in common with other modern fruits such as red grapefruit and Pink Lady apples, our grapes have been carefully bred and ripened to appeal to consumers reared on sugary foods. Fruit bred for sweetness does not have to be less nutritious, but modern de-bittered fruits tend to contain fewer of the phytonutrients that give fruits and vegetables many of their protective health benefits. Such fruit still gives us energy, but not necessarily the health benefits we would expect.

The very fact that you are nibbling seedless grapes so casually is also new. I am old enough to remember a time when grapes – unless you were living in a grape-producing country – were a special and expensive treat. But now, millions of people on average incomes can afford to behave like the reclining Roman emperor of film cliche, popping grapes into our mouths one by one. Globally, we both produce and consume twice as many as we did in the year 2000. They are an edible sign of rising prosperity, because fruit is one of the first little extras that people spend money on when they start to have disposable income. Their year-round availability also speaks to huge changes in global agriculture. Fifty years ago, table grapes were a seasonal fruit, grown in just a few countries and only eaten at certain times of year. Today, they are cultivated globally and never out of season.

What we eat now is a greater cause of disease and death in the world than either tobacco or alcohol

Almost everything about grapes has changed, and fast. And yet they are the least of our worries when it comes to food, just one tiny element in a much larger series of kaleidoscopic transformations in how and what we eat that have happened in recent years. These changes are written on the land, on our bodies and on our plates (insofar as we even eat off plates any more).

For most people across the world, life is getting better but diets are getting worse. This is the bittersweet dilemma of eating in our times. Unhealthy food, eaten in a hurry, seems to be the price we pay for living in liberated modern societies. Even grapes are symptoms of a food supply that is out of control. Millions of us enjoy a freer and more comfortable existence than that of our grandparents, a freedom underpinned by an amazing decline in global hunger. You can measure this life improvement in many ways, whether by the growth of literacy and smartphone ownership, or the rising number of countries where gay couples have the right to marry. Yet our free and comfortable lifestyles are undermined by the fact that our food is killing us, not through lack of it but through its abundance – a hollow kind of abundance.

With Brexit, food worries in the UK have become political, with panicked discussions of stockpiling and the spectre of US imports of chlorine-treated chicken on the horizon. Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, has dismissed these worries, suggesting that US food standards are nothing to be concerned about. But the bigger question is not whether American standards are lower than those in Britain, but why food standards across the world have been allowed to sink so dramatically.

What we eat now is a greater cause of disease and death in the world than either tobacco or alcohol. In 2015 around 7 million people died from tobacco smoke, and 2.75 million from causes related to alcohol, but 12m deaths could be attributed to “dietary risks” such as diets low in vegetables, nuts and seafood or diets high in processed meats and sugary drinks. This is paradoxical and sad, because good food – good in every sense, from flavour to nutrition – used to be the test by which we judged the quality of life. A good life without good food should be a logical impossibility.

Where humans used to live in fear of plague or tuberculosis, now the leading cause of mortality worldwide is diet. Most of our problems with eating come down to the fact that we have not yet adapted to the new realities of plenty, either biologically or psychologically. Many of the old ways of thinking about diet no longer apply, but it isn’t clear yet what it would mean to adapt our appetites and routines to the new rhythms of life. We take our cues about what to eat from the world around us, which becomes a problem when our food supply starts to send us crazy signals about what is normal. “Everything in moderation” doesn’t quite cut it in a world where the “everything” for sale in the average supermarket has become so sugary and so immoderate.

At no point in history have edible items been so easy to obtain, and in many ways this is a glorious thing. Humans have always gone out and gathered food, but never before has it been so simple for us to gather anything we want, whenever we want it, from sachets of black squid ink to strawberries in winter. We can get sushi in Buenos Aires, sandwiches in Tokyo and Italian food everywhere. Not so long ago, to eat genuine Neapolitan pizza, a swollen-edged disc of dough cooked in a blistering oven, you had to go to Naples. Now, you can find Neapolitan pizza – made using the right dough blasted in an authentic pizza oven – as far afield as Seoul and Dubai.

We don’t just eat more burgers than our grandparents, we also eat more fruit, granola bars and 'guilt-free' kale crisps

Talking about what has gone wrong with modern eating is delicate, because food is a touchy subject. No one likes to feel judged about their food choices, which is one of the reasons why so many healthy eating initiatives fail. The rise of obesity and diet-related disease around the world has happened hand in hand with the marketing of fast food and sugary sodas, of processed meats and branded snack foods. As things stand, our culture is far too critical of the individuals who eat junk foods and not critical enough of the corporations who profit from selling them. A survey of more than 300 international policymakers found that 90% of them still believed that personal motivation – AKA willpower – was a very strong cause of obesity. This is absurd.

It makes no sense to presume that there has been a sudden collapse in willpower across all ages and ethnic groups since the 1960s. What has changed most since the 60s is not our collective willpower but the marketing and availability of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Some of these changes are happening so rapidly it’s almost impossible to keep track. Sales of fast food grew by 30% worldwide from 2011 to 2016 and sales of packaged food grew by 25%. Somewhere in the world, a new branch of Domino’s Pizza opened every seven hours in 2016.

But this story isn’t just about one kind of food or one set of people. Across the board, across all social classes, most of us eat and drink more than our grandparents did, whether we are cooking a leisurely dinner at home from fresh ingredients or grabbing a takeaway from a fast food chain. Plates are bigger than they were 50 years ago, our idea of a portion is inflated and wine glasses are vast. It has become normal to punctuate the day with snacks and to quench our thirst with calorific liquids, from green juice and detox shots to craft sodas (which are just like any other soda, only more expensive). As the example of grapes shows, we don’t just eat more burgers and fries than our grandparents, we also eat more fruit and avocado toast and frozen yoghurt, more salad dressing and many, many more “guilt-free” kale crisps.

Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill can identify the year when snacking took off in China. It was 2004. Before that, the Chinese consumed very little between meals except green tea and hot water. In 2004, Popkin suddenly noticed a marked transition from the old Chinese ways of two or three meals a day towards a new pattern of eating. In collaboration with a team of Chinese nutritionists, he has been following the Chinese diet in snapshots of data every two or three years, conducting regular surveys of around 10,000-12,000 people. Back in 1991, Popkin found that at certain fixed times of year, there were treats to supplement the daily diet. During the mid-autumn festival, for example, people would eat moon cakes made from lard-enriched pastry stuffed with sweetened bean paste. But such feasting foods were ritualised and rare, nothing like a casual cereal bar.

In 2004, out of nowhere, as incomes rose, Chinese habits of snacking spread dramatically. The number of Chinese adults between 19 and 44 describing themselves as eating snacks over a three-day period nearly doubled, while the number of children between two and six eating snacks rose almost as much. Based on the most recent data, more than two-thirds of Chinese children now report snacking during the day. This is an eating revolution.

The curious thing about snacking in China is that to start with it actually made people healthier, because they were snacking on fruit: fresh tangerines and kumquats, bayberries and lychees, pineapple and pomelo. These were the foods that people had always aspired to eat, but couldn’t afford in the past. Phase two of snacking in China has been very different. “The marketing comes in,” Popkin tells me, “and boom! boom! boom! the snacks are not healthy any more.” As of 2015, the commercial savoury snack food market in China was worth more than $7bn. When I travelled to Nanjing last year, I saw people consuming the same Starbucks Frappuccinos and blueberry muffins as in London.

China is not alone. Almost every country in the world has experienced radical changes to its patterns of eating over the past five, 10 and 50 years. For a long time, nutritionists have held up the “Mediterranean diet” as a healthy model for people in all countries to follow. But recent reports from the World Health Organisation suggest that even in Spain, Italy and Crete, most children no longer eat anything like a “Mediterranean diet” rich in olive oil and fish and tomatoes. These Mediterranean children, who are, as of 2017, among the most overweight in Europe, now drink sugary colas and eat packaged snack foods and have lost the taste for fish and olive oil. In every continent, there has been a common set of changes from savoury foods to sweet ones, from meals to snacks, dinners cooked at home to meals eaten out, or takeaways.

The nutrient content of our meals is one thing that has radically changed; the psychology of eating is another. Much of our eating takes place in a new chaotic atmosphere in which we no longer have many rules to fall back on. On an early evening train journey recently, I looked up at my fellow travellers and noticed, first, that almost everyone was eating or drinking and second, that they were all doing so in ways that might once have been considered deeply eccentric. One man had both a cappuccino and a can of fizzy drink from which he was taking alternate sips. A woman with headphones on was nibbling an apricot tart, produced from a cardboard patisserie box. She followed it with a high-protein snackpot of two hard-boiled eggs and some raw spinach. Sitting across from her was a man carrying a worn leather briefcase. He reached inside and produced a bottle of strawberry milkshake and a half-finished packet of chocolate-caramel sweets.

More than half of the calorie intake in the US – 57.9% – now consists of ultra-processed food, and the UK is not far behind

We are often told in a slightly hectoring way that we should make “better” or “smarter” food choices, yet the way we eat now is the product of vast impersonal forces that none of us asked for. The choices we make about food are largely predetermined by what’s available and by the limitations of our busy lives. If you go into the average western out-of-town supermarket, you can choose from thousands of different sugary snack bars (many of them protein enhanced in some way) but only one variety of banana, the bland Cavendish.

It might be possible to eat in a more balanced way, if only we didn’t have to work, or go to school, or save money, or travel by car, bus or train, or shop at a supermarket, or live in a city, or share a meal with children, or look at a screen, or get up early, or stay up late, or walk past a vending machine, or feel depressed, or be on medication, or have a food intolerance, or own an imperfectly stocked fridge. Who knows what wonders we might then eat for breakfast?

Our culture’s obsessive focus on a perfect physique has blinded us to the bigger question, which is what anyone of any size should eat to avoid being sickened by our unbalanced food supply. No one can eat themselves to perfect health, nor can we ward off death indefinitely, and the attempt to do so can drive a person crazy. Life is deeply unfair and some people may eat every dark green leafy vegetable going and still get cancer. But even if food cannot cure or forestall every illness, it does not have to be the thing that kills us. The greatest thing that we have lost from our eating today is a sense of balance, whether it’s the balance of meals across the day or the balance of nutrients on our plate.

“There are so many myths about food,” says Fumiaki Imamura, an epidemiologist who has spent the past 16 years in the west, studying the links between diet and health. One of the food myths Imamura refers to is the notion that there is such a thing as a perfectly healthy diet. He offers himself as an example. Like many Japanese people, he eats a diet rich in fish and vegetables, but he also eats a fair amount of supposedly “unhealthy” refined white rice and high-salt soy sauce. But Imamura is conscious that no population in the world eats exactly the combination of healthy foods that a nutritionist might prescribe.

Every human community across the globe eats a mixture of the “healthy” and the “unhealthy”, but the salient question is where the balance falls. Take ultra-processed foods. The occasional bowl of instant ramen noodles or frosted cereal is no cause for panic. But when ultra-processed foods start to form the bulk of what whole populations eat on any given day, we are in new and disturbing territory for human nutrition. More than half of the calorie intake in the US – 57.9% – now consists of ultra-processed food, and the UK is not far behind, with a diet that is around 50.4% ultra-processed. The fastest growing ingredient in global diets is not sugar, as I’d always presumed, but refined vegetable oils such as soybean oil, which are a common ingredient in many fast and processed foods, and which have added more calories to what we eat over the past 50 years than any other food group, by a wide margin.

The highest-quality overall diets in the world are mostly to be found not in rich countries but in Africa

In 2015, Imamura was the lead author on a paper in the medical journal the Lancet, which caused a stir in the world of nutrition science. This team of epidemiologists – based at Tufts University and led by Professor Dariush Mozaffarian – has been seeking to map the healthiness, or otherwise, of how people eat across the entire world, and how this changed in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010. The biggest surprise to come out of the data was that the highest-quality overall diets in the world are mostly to be found not in rich countries but in Africa, mostly in the sub-Saharan regions. The 10 countries with the healthiest diet patterns, listed in order with the healthiest first, came out as: Chad, Mali, Cameroon, Guyana, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Laos, Nigeria, Guatemala, French Guiana.

Meanwhile, the 10 countries with the least healthy diet patterns, listed in order with the unhealthiest first, were: Armenia, Hungary, Belgium, USA, Russia, Iceland, Latvia, Brazil, Colombia, Australia.

0 notes

benchgenderstudies · 7 years ago

Text

christians, R rated movies, and insecure sexuality themes are why Hollywood is ripe for sexual harassment and actress hookers.

Michael Bench, GenderstudiesPro.

The average R rated movie audience doesn't get the sexual footage being implied in sex scenes? I'd demand my money back if I were you. But we're talking Americans who like to talk out of two sides of their face for an ideology. yeh, well fuck you too. I'll be the American that lives in the open and demands my X rated movies publicly shown at Cinemark with full 2-3 hours of plotline around the sex. For the redstaters of you, no surprise a divorce rate exists since the identity of the female characters is completely a sex object and not the big picture where she exists as a peer human.

At 17, if penetration is a fearful sight, your pastor or lacking sex education class didn't prepare you for adulthood. At 18-30 if a penetration scene is uncomfortable, I'm neither surprised you regard sexuality a negative thing. It's not. The conservative demographics and rhetoric spinners around you are too stupid for sex. I'll go one further point that sex education in school isn't to assure than your children are having sex but that they are prepared to address sexuality with their kids if public education is no more. We're talking film though so apparently that’s just fiction. Fiction with human actors playing fictional roles intended to be humans when not in makeup. A human does need to act human.

People aren't ready to see themselves. Creationists definitely have a hard time with reality. They can't even call themselves christians, it's such a tough commitment. He who can't commit to Jesus can't commit to Jesus's marriage.

What if our X rated movies with a full theme were simply rated Mature: who would get in then? Our 13-17 year old crowd would be in the seats. Of a 13-17age range,would you want them using safewords? Would you trust yourself to strangle a sex partner near asphyxiation? Would you trust your middleschool daughter to get strangled by her classmate, probably die.. because they saw 50 shades of gray? Lenape Hall dorm East Stroudsburg Univ 1996, a graduate student on our floor was arrested on a third degree murder charge when his infatuation was found strangled with Nordictrak rope. His alibi is "it was an accident during bondage sex". His roommate, Ryan Ofcharsky; and I were both in Exercise Science and it’s a real shame that fine athletic equipment had to be involved. Ryan sensed this guy was bonkers. We (perhaps another floor mate instead) witnessed him laugh hysterically when he gifted a box to our female Resident Advisor. it was really a gag with piercing siren linked to a solar cell. It activated when the keepsake type gift box was opened. These are also the type of guys that will tell you they love your daughter when you shovel her under with ligature marks on her neck. Christopher DiStefano now has a book out addressing his innocence called "Anything You Say."

I blame the X/R movie split for situations like that also. Guys having no anatomical awareness decide trying choking sex to emulate pornstars so they can be "extreme"; so they can be edgy for their girlfriends to brag about as girls brag about anything to say.

So Americans, you can't even watch sex in a plot that contains sex but you want to fantasize about it. An R rated movie and an X rated movie: the difference shows how this society is transparently stuck in their teen years and unable to discuss their own pan-gender socializing. Who thinks that dumb for a hominid?

Our film industry is catering to a subset of audiences that unknowingly are at fault of perpetuating two industries of film that should really be one. When the adult film industry is merged with adult suited movies, we will hope the quality will be suited for entertaining adults. Sexuality and society are not two separate fields. When they are, our fantasies and our health skew greatly from toxic presentations of dominance compensations, candid sadism, candid misogyny, dominatrix misandry and a host of other rudeness unrealistic to a T. That's T, as in thong. As in whaletails are a plenty more appropriate a fix than abduction from a school bus role plays.

What quality is not suited for our adults is a bondage themed movie series to a sheltered society who see their action warriors as adventurous men. The men capable to not shutter and hide their face in a pillow to the sight of a vagina and boobies… women are presented as the 15 minute fantasies they've rented or browsed web porn for. That's the binarism as its been engineered. Your gender wage gap, your conservative charge on family values , and the falsity of humans believed to be seeing themselves. Still we are at blue films and pink films, sadly. Because of this, our film directors, photographers and other nuisances in the entertainment industry feature ever younger stars to exploit them, sexualize them, flirt them for retail worth having no clue how wrong they are.

Annie Leibovitz probably isn't the first photographer who coaxed a 15yo star to do nudes. It’s the coaxing that's the err. Plenty of people know who Cyrus is. Not many know Leibovitz in Cyrus's fan group. This nymphoid nude work really serves Leibovitz's fame than it does Cyrus. Oh Annie, you don't need to borrow Cyrus's body for your 'prestige, there's a fresh set of 15yo tits from any recent school shooting: plenty affordable I'm sure.

We don't hear famous photographers take many stands at all on school shootings.. not as a political statement. Maybe it’s a waiting game maybe its cowardice. Maybe they're just that vampire behind the lens waiting for the perfect frame to smear their name/opportunism on. Nobody else sees the sexuality on set the way they see it; It’s the elitism resident in the entire film industry. A feeling of utter entitlement to the privacy of their actors and actresses; film rolls and audio tracks. By no surprise a Morgan Freeman often called to play the character "god" would also be alleged of harassment.

What is art and what is porn and what is nudity really? I'm pro nudity but by all means coaxing isn't necessary if it were already healthy. American society might be obese but its first problem is a religiously nagged public called the broken goods of creationism. The castaways from paradise is what Eve is blamed for; surprised your god didn't intervene to save Adam of his unknown fate. Maybe Adam was an asshole just like a lot of you redstate coal rollers. Start thinking better of yourself and breath cleaner air in cleaner garages. Demand healthy themes for sexuality and especially demand your adult entertainment be all on one tray. Hollywoods problem with sexual harassment starts in the heads of those content with the way things are, the R rated movie and of course the sluts and producer johns that make a meritocracy of hooking for work. Part of the fault is in your head movie viewers, yes it is. America, there is no vanilla adulthood and there is no need for an underground adulthood either. From government to opioid epidemic to racism; there are a whole lot of people we have yet to learn to tolerate, a few additional we've yet to grow courage to call a fucked up weirdo freak sadist, and few after that needing to be coaxed into learning how to be social rather than feeling all powerful by simply 'capturing scenes" they've yet to master living in. Weinstein; that he has to force himself on women? Apparently his script writers are so lousy they can't give up good pickup lines; as if he should be so lazy to purchase them?

0 notes

cleveranchorcloud-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Instagram is compelled to apologize for censoring the Photograph of the autistic kid using a facial deformity

Have you ever read the Instagram procedures? Of Buy real instagram followers , that tiny print that informs you The principles to follow concerning the publications, photos and films, that you choose to upload in your account in the social network. You will have browse them (scarce), but definitely it is much more most likely that once you activate your account you might have done "Oh, of course I confirm that I have study and settle for the conditions of use." We are such as this, there is not any extra. That Indeed, Then you definately get to talk to why you've cancelled the account or why a photo of you putting nose and teaching much more breast in the account just isn't suitable for Instagram. For your history, Neighborhood regulations are really very clear. You should be very watchful With all the information of your snapshots and films and prohibit Those people with nudity (besides functions of art), sexually explicit written content and several specifics including woman nipples (besides Individuals result of mastectomy or breastfeeding). The truth is that Mr Instagram cannot be whatsoever, Therefore if a photograph or online video receives plenty of reports and blockages by people, typically that photo is eliminated but fulfills The principles on the community, but what if All those reviews are not justified? Charlie Beswickha been a sufferer of that. Very well, over her, her son, Harry. The 12-year-outdated boy was born with Goldenhar syndrome, which means that he lacks a left eye, but will also on the ocular basin, nose and remaining ear. Harry also suffers from autism. Charlie is incredibly Lively in social networking sites, and is fairly common as a result of his website, "Our Altered Existence", about his lifestyle with his twin young children, Harry and Oliver. The reality is that Charlie published a photo on Instagram of his small children, through which Harry appeared without the need of his ocular prosthesis. To his surprise, Instagram withdrew the Photograph since a multitude of users viewed as it "offensive" and, As outlined by them, did not adjust to the rules from the Local community. Charlie couldn't aid comment on Twitter the injustice of what took place. What was wrong with demonstrating your child how it is? Charlie's connect with made other consumers place the cry from the sky during the confront of these an act of discrimination. The social community was justified declaring that lots of the images which can be eradicated is due to be thought of "bullying", Charlie didn't continue being silent, and chose to clarify on Facebook. "What do you see any time you evaluate my son?" I see probably the most lovely smile, one of the most wonderful heart I am the purest appreciate. Sadly, folks in Instagram come to feel that it is a lot of to be observed and possess claimed an image of on their own (once again). While that Image had in excess of 2300 ' likes ' and greater than two hundred stunning assist opinions. If someone hates to take a look at my son, then I've two matters to mention: a) get past us and B) you happen to be an imbecile. "I am more than angry, Instagram needs to rectify this discrimination!" Large number of customers supported Charlie's text, and contacted Instagram to carry out justice. The social network echoed the issues, and chose to apologize and return apublicar the picture, as confirmed from the Guardian: "We removed the Picture by miscalculation, but Now we have restored it swiftly, as soon as breasts warned of the error we experienced" Committed. "We now have apologized to your relatives," confirmed a consultant of Instagram. This isn't the first time Instagram has designed this kind of oversight. Influencers like Morgan Bartley, to which a photograph was removed for the reason that some people regarded that their obesity was "not suitable"; Or that snapshots with creative nudity are blocked for the reason that, because it took place to Jessa O'Brien, The Nude Blogger. The worst, it's possible you'll no more know what is what, because it transpired to some poor mother who observed how a picture of her cake had been mistaken for a breast, and noticed her deactivating her account. Really should Instagram act and do a thing about this? They seem to be acquiring too many "errors" lately, and not just Together with the people who must have them.

0 notes

sylvan6970-blog · 7 years ago

Text

The Dating Forest

Hello fellow web surfers,

My name is sylvan (syl ) ducote.I am creating this blog to give my perspective about the dating scene on the internet. I will be using my own experiences as a resource for the information you will be reading. So far the journey has been full of deception. But I still believe love can be found because others have experienced it. As in the movie “The Edge” staring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. Anthony Hopkins characterI “Charles Morse” says to Alec Baldwin’s character “Robert Green” after a very large mean bear is chasing them relentlessly, and Robert Morris is afraid they are going to be killed by the bear and he is feeling hopeless. Charles Morse says, “We are gonna kill that “Muthafucka. If one man can do it another man can do it”. That is my attitude “if one man can find love on the net another man can find it”. I will be giving examples of good and bad experiences. Then you can make your own decision wether you want to go fourth into the forest of the internet wilderness . Where anything can happen.

First I want to tell what made me want to look for love in the internet wilderness? It is as tho I was going into that forest in the Hobbits movie where those giant spiders were. Also let me say “Romantic Scammers, and Catfishers” are like farmers. They look for and desire the best soil to grow their crop. The best soil for them is a person who is in a state sorrow, desperation, feeling unloved, emotionally ill, horny as hell, feeling hopeless, and lonely. A person who is in need of a kind heart. Someone to tell them that they matter, that they are loved. at the time it was me.

Well my twin brother died in 2012. He was my rock. His name is Howard. The most loving man you ever wanted to meet. He loved the Hobbits movies too. We both graduated from Columbia College Chicago Howard in 1987 and me in 2007. We both studied film courses. We have this dream of being film makers. Together we were going to make fantastic films right here in our home town of Chicago. I remember when Howard was studying in the 80s he made some student films I was so proud of him. He even let me work on his movies and he was so talented. Before that we were drafted into the Army from 1968 to 1970. We went through all of our training together. Basic training at Fort Leanardwood Missouri . AIT at Fort Polk Louisiana. This was the first time we would be separated. All through childhood, and up to that point Howard was always the twin who had the most common sense. he was the stable, safe twin, the twin that had his shit together. he knew where he was going. On the other hand I was the twin nobody knew what I was going to do next. The twin who took the most risk, the the clown, the child, the immature twin. I did not care wether there was going to be a tomorrow or not. I just did not give a fuck. My two favorite words were “fuck it”. I was the court jester. When we got our orders to go to Viet Nam the sergeant told us, “one of you is going to Viet Nam so you better decide right now”. We stood there in front of the Sergant. I felt I was in a black hole as I stand in front of Howard. I could not hear or see anything but darkness for a few seconds. Howard was standing in front of me and I could not see him. And then from far far away from the abyss I heard a voice, “I’ll go.” I saw Howard in front of me looking at me. I felt as tho I had been in another dimension and returned. I told the sergeant I wanted be with my brother and he said we cannot send both of you to a war zone. so Howard and I saluted the First Sergeant and left. For a while we were very quiet and then we started talking of getting hi. We had heard that if your broke you could get hi on nutmeg so we snuck into the mess hall and stole a big bottle of nutmeg. First we snorted it then we ate it with a water like tea. yeah! we got hi alright nice and sick as hell and high. but we lay in the grass and just enjoyed being together for the last time before he shipped out. After that the next day we got passes and went to Leesville. The Ary town where all the solders went to buy pussy and get drunk and fight. When you know your going to a war zone you try to block out the part that you just might get killed. We had a uncle who lived there. “Uncle George” he had been in the penitentiary. he helped us buy some pussy. Howard would not pay the prostitute. So we ended up barely escaping with our lives. Thanks to uncle George. Saying goodbye to my twin brother for the first time in our lives was chilling. I tried to get orders to join him but could not so I tried to go to other countries but couldn’t. Howard and I were lucky that we were both assigned to Headquarters Companies. Both of us were trained as supply specialist. I was finally sent to Fort Carson Colorado where I earned the rank of SP/4 by going through a Special Forces training program called “Recondo” our specialty was fighting and survival in the mountains. I got a chance to discover the mountains of Colorado. I will never forget the feelings I got from that training. Me a city boy in the mountains of Colorado. We learned everything there was to learn about mountain survival. Climbing, repelling, how to walk down a mountain in different terrains. how to read the stars at night to find out where you are. how to read maps. How to hunt and kill to eat, and lots of early morning PT in winter weather. I recommend military training for all citizens who desire a change. It is a good place to discover what your made of. Howard and I wrote each other all the time the only other person that I wrote letters to was my fiancé, TJ Lindsey/Ducote who I later married and have a beautiful daughter with. We got married in 1969 and divorced in 1974. After I got out of the military I was not the same guy she knew before I went in. Tho I knew she loved me she had the balls not to tolerate the new me. I have always been attracted to good looking strong woman. My mom and all of my five sisters are good looking strong woman. It affected my romancing too. After Howard and I got out of the military we went on with our lives drinking, getting high, and chasing woman. I would like to say there is nothing more satisfying than getting drunk and chasing woman with your twin. We never liked the same type of woman so there was never any competition. I remember when I talked to Howard about going to Columbia College Chicago to take film courses he knew of my reputation for quitting things I start. In 2004 I was 56 years old and sickly so I figured If I go to school and get a student loan in four years I will probably die and then I won’t have to pay back the loan any way, So I registered. One day I got a package at my door. I opened it up and there were 10 nice shirts and 4 pairs of really nice pants. Immediately I called Howard and asked him, “did you send me these cloths?” He said, “ Yes! … now you have no excuse not to go to class.” and that was my twin brother. I love him so much. The day he died he was suppose to go to the doctor that morning. I usually call him to make sure he is gets out on time. but I did not get a answer so I hung up and called back a few minutes later still no answer so I figured he had left for the doctors at the VA.

Then I called one more time and my sister Nettie answered the phone. I asked her:

me: “Nettie what are you doing there?”

Nettie: “just quiet down ok”

me: “Nettie what are you doing there?”

Nettie: “just take it easy ok”

me: Nettie is Howard dead?”

Nettie: yes

me: “don’t touch him till I get there”

At the time Howard and I were both well over 350 pounds. We both had diabetes, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and obesity. I was using a walker and Howard a scooter. but I ran out of the house without my walker hopped in a cab and got there to discover my twin brother Howard sprawled out across his bed. All I could do was stoop down and hug his body repeating his name. Howard? Howard? It was the end of the world. I had alway thought about this happening and Howard and I talked about it. I always wanted to die first. Always because I could never dream of a life without him. Even when he was in Viet Nam i felt his presence. It was just something I could not imagine. A world without him. What would I do? What? For the first time in my life I experienced being alone.

Howard did everything right. got the great job, the college degree the first out of nine siblings to get a B.A. a nice house and a good place in his church. He never got married and never had children. That made me sad. But now what was I gonna do? I did not have my twin brother to tell anything to. to laugh and watch scifi movies with, and then critique. To wear each others cloths, to visit family together. “Here come the twins” people would say. After his death when I looked at my reflection anywhere I saw his image not mine. I had to stop looking at my reflection every where I went. It was too freaky. I took about 2 months for that to go away.

Out of this new aloneness came my attraction to the internet. And here is where I start my journey looking for some one to fill the abyss created from my brothers death. The soil for the scammers and catfishes was being created. I was desperate and ripe for the scammers, and I got bit plenty of times with a total of $2,000.00 lost to so-called woman who said they loved me and would come to Chicago and marry me to be my companion keeping me full of love and devotion. Muthafuckas never showed up time after time. Until now I know what a romantic scammer is and how to recognize them.

My most recent romantic scammer is a person calling themselves Catherine Morris. One characteristic you can tell a “RS” Romantic Scammer or Catfish is they fall in love with you very deeply and very fast. Unbelievably fast, not normal fast. and the only person who would fall for a con like that is a person like me who was desperate for love and alone and horny, and needy. One thing the scammers do is find the sexiest photos possible to bait you. I’ll tell you a story about that and how far they will go later .But for now I want to tell you about “Catherine Morris.”

It all started off quite innocently we had a small conversation and then very quickly it led into the I love you’s. At that time I was so lonely and so horny I would’ve said anything. We had gotten to the point where we wanted to meet. She told me,

Catherine: “I really like you but you have to get a daters id.”

me: :What is a daters id?”

Catherine: “A daters ID is a identification to let me know that you are safe and can be tracked so you are not going to hurt me.”

It has my personal information and if something happened when we met I could be arrested. so what she did was she sent me some pictures of her in a hospital bed.

Catherine: ”Somebody I met on the Internet on the dating site hurt me and I don’t want it to happen again so that’s why you have to get a daters ID. Okay baby i will not going to force you to get this kind of ID but sorry this is the only way for us to meet I’m not trying to be paranoid or anything but I need to do that for myself. If there’s one thing my parents taught me, they said that its better to be safe than sorry. I just wanna meet the right guy !!!”

Now here’s how you get a daters ID. She gave me a URL of a website, and I would to go to this website and sign up it was supposed to be free. But they ask you for a credit card. The website was one of those X rated websites so I was kind of questioning what was going on but I’m so lonely and horny and in love, and nieve. Because this is all new to me. But they charge me $39.00 so I went back to Catherine and said:

me: what’s up”? they charged me $39.00”.

Catherine: Don’t worry about it I’m going to give that back to you when I come to you baby”

me: ok

She wanted me to use my bank card but I said:

me: Hey I’m not using my bank card I’ll get one of those prepaid cardd and put money on it. and I’ll use thay

Catherine: OK do that. So the next day I went to a Walgreens by my house the new and purchased a American Express prepaid gift card, and put $50.00 on it. I didn’t know that with a gift card you could not use it with a atm. All you could do with it is to buy merchandise. I still tried to use it to get verified and get the id just as Catherine wanted me to. At this point I wanted her pussy so bad I would have purchased 100 prepaid cards.

me: Why don’t I just pay you $250.00 and you come over and we fuck”?

The reason I said that was because.

Catherine: Honey I promise you if you do this I will do whatever you want. I will come to you will be happy”

So I went and got a Walmart prepaid card but did not put any money on it.

Catherine: Because I really want to see you baby. I love you”.

me: : I don’t want to do it anymore I’m not going to do the dating ID because I’m not that kind a guy. I would never hurt you. I just want to love you and fuck you. and you said that is what you wanted to do too. Plus I don’t want to jump through any more hoops for you”. “I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Catherine: Honey that’s the only way we’re going to meet is for you to do the dating ID.”

me: Let’s have a video chat on Skype”.

Catherine: I would rather have live meeting it is better you will see. So let’s finish the id baby.”

I went through 3 prepaid cards Walmart, OneVanilla , and American Express gift card. none of them got me approved. probably cause I didn’t put any money on 2 of them. I was too paranoid. finally Catherine says she wants to help me so she starts giving me credit card numbers and emails of different people and tells me to use them to get approved. she will give me instructions on what to do. Then she gives me url’s to go to and get approved and get a daters id. I follow her instructions 3 times and the url’s take me too some x rated websites where I input the information she gives me and BAM! I get approved. now it is time to meet and I say:

Me: “I am approved now when are you coming over?” “You promised.”

At this point I don’t realize how dumb I am. but Nooooo! Catherine says:

Catherine: I will baby but we have to do one final approve and that will be it. after this one I am all yours.”

At this point I am thinking this is really not going well, no video chat? No phone chat? I tried to call her number but always got a message center. Just like all the other scammers I have met. Now… as usual I only know Catherine by the photos she has posted for me.The hottest pictures I have seen in a very long time, and our texting. So I do not really know that she is who she says she is. But I am hooked on her appearance. The sexiest body , the cutest face, the most luscouse pair of breast I have ever laid eyes on. And it could all be mine! and she loves me! and she wants to marry me! After all this time. more than two months. so now I am suspicious so I go on the Internet and I discover “Google Reverse Image. I get a picture of her that she gave me and I put it in Google Reverse Image and what do you know a perfect match. What Google Image Reverse does is it takes your photo you upload and searches the Google internet which is everywhere. It will come up with perfect match or faces that look like the face you uploaded. The face that comes up is a perfect match right down to the tattoo on her arm to the cloths she is wearing. And it’s not Catherine Morris. It is “Jessica Weaver” a very very famous woman. A model with all kinds of creative interest, and credentials, and 3 million followers. So I ask myself “Why would this woman go to all the trouble to land a 69 year old, one leg in the grave and one leg on a banana peel man?”. I mean she is everywhere on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. As a matter a fact she is everywhere, and very successful at what she is doing, She has millions of followers and she gives great advice to guys who need to know about woman. So I snapshot a few of the photos on Jessica Weavers Instagram website. Exactly the same ones Catherine posted on Hangouts, and Messenger. I say to Catherine:

me: You’re not gonna believe what I found?”

and I show her the photos, and to my surprise she says that it is her and she uses Catherine Morris as a second name for Anonymity. then I did something for the first time, I contacted Jessica Weaver on her Instagram page. I tell her:

me: There is a person using your picture on Hangouts and Messenger, saying that she is you. She says her name is Catherine Morris, and that she is you. telling me she loves me and will marry me, and all kinds of things with me. But before we can meet I need a daters id. She even uses your pictures in the hospital. I just want to let you know”.

Ms Weaver was very cordial, very kind and showed compassion towards me. I appreciate that too. I would like to say it is a on going process getting over a fantasy love affair and then talking to the real person. At least I think I have talked to the real person. So now every time I go on a dating site I google every potential date and I never send money not for any reason. I also have learned to look for love right here in my own back yard. Where the cost of meeting does not include a large transportation cost. I also always have a video chat and regular phone call before we meet.and above all “BE PATIENT.”

So fellow surfers looking for love on the great WIDE WEB. The forest of mystery and intrigue, danger and enlightenment if your lucky. Be vigilant my friends, men and woman. And the first place to look for love is like our ancestors said, at home in our own self our own hearts. After you find it there love is everywhere. It is barren soil for the “Romantic Scammers and Catfishers.” Nothing they try to plant will grow because then we have love at home.

I am leaving you with a gift fellow surfers. this music I arranged in Garageband for all of the ladies/Scammers I fell in love with it is not copyrighted so use it for whatever project you have. I hope you like it. Happy Trails.

0 notes