What matters

Women We Hate This..

2012-02-10T18:57:00.001-08:00

You’re probably wondering why I am taking the time out of my busy life to write this crap but you’re welcome. I do it because maybe one of you confused guys who was never schooled on life will realize that the crap you are dealing with is not cool. If she is slighting you, let her know or cut that bird off… women outnumber us 3-1 in the world so there’s 2 more like her out there, waiting to treat you right. Gain some self respect (they will try to fool you by calling this cockiness or arrogance) but it’s self respect, if you don’t budge she will have to choose and most often than non she will play ball. Self respect guys, self respect… I don’t care how fine a girl is, when you hit 30+ you should know that beauty only goes so far… if she’s fine and disrespectful then you are a bish for being with her, that’s it.

Wearing her ex’s jewelry

If your girl has a nice ring or necklace that glitters ever so brightly and she never takes it off you may want to get some history out of her. Girls are quick to get pissed when we keep a trinket but all the while wearing an engagement ring or otherwise to hold unto the guy who cheated on her and dumped her before your rebounded ass. How can you respect yourself, you making love to your girl and some dudes name is tattooed on her back… she holds your hand in line affectionately with some man’s ring on her finger. Check yourself, check her and look into it. It happens a lot, girls got jokes.

The hang-arounder

Lol me and my man Conan laugh about this guy… you know this guy, he hangs out with your girl’s parents. She gives you vague explanations as to who he is exactly but he gives you odd looks when you see him. Sometimes you go out to a movie and he comes along, because he is her friend… it happens alot. Check her ass dude… that guy right there, he will marry her and you are a dumbass. The hang-arounder is usually a childhood boyfriend, he doesnt have anything else going on but he’s patient. When you piss your girl off he’s in those panties. When you are trying to be a big pimp and flirt with other girls, he’s in those panties. When you finally break up with her, guess what? He’s in those panties. Mark my words, this guy is worst than the d-ck in a glass jar dudes, he knows the game and he thinks your girl is worth the wait.

Going through your cell phone

Lol ok where do I start… how far along in a relationship have you shown so much weakness that she thinks this is cool. One way to avoid it, check her hard the first time it happens. Second time you catch her, cut her off, it’s not cool. Do not go through my email, and leave the cell phone alone. If you think i’m doing dirt, have the balls to confront me, stop trying to be Olivia Benson.

Flirting with a guy on Skype, Facebook orTwitter

If she’s at this point your done. Seriously, wrap it up dude. If you are married to her and she’s doing this something is very wrong bro. That guy is a plane ticket away from boning your girl. Keep thinking it’s innocent… heh I have stories, but it will be in a book i’m writing so I can’t give up the game here so freely. I am being dead serious, if she is doing it, she will f— that guy. You need to cancel that ticket.

Make you spend Vacation time to see her when she really has a dude in her life

Wtf… seriously… are you serious here? Is it rocket science that if a man is giving you his time, so much so that he takes a vacation to see you… that he is your girlfriend? Come on ladies do not play with my intelligence here, you know wtf it is, you just like your d-ck in the glass jar to know where he stands right? Lol, okay it happened to me once, I drove home 300+ miles the same night. The royal ass had to be kissed clean before I even talked to her again… disrespect me like that.

Keeping you on the sidelines (d-ck in the glass jar syndrome)

Okay there are only a few situations where us guys have girls as friends. Bear with me because this is a huge item that women have a hard time grasping. Here it is in black and white. IF A DUDE APPROACHES YOU IN ANYWAY OUTSIDE OF WORK, SCHOOL OR FAMILY HE WANTS YOU. Okay let me explain now. Alot of guys get into the friend zone and are unhappy there. They are there because the game was weak, the girl feigned marginal interest and now the sucker hangs around hoping one day he will get some pity booty out of the deal. Lol okay… fellas, don’t do it man. I have seen it a million times, the friend comes over (and she’s female) and she gives me the time of day because she likes me… and then you are mad at me because you have paper handcuffs on her. Don’t play yourself, you will get pity booty in times of loss and rebound situations… if its worth it to you to be this woman’s male girlfriend, go right ahead.

The official times that a girl is a friend is if you worked with her and kept contact, went to school with her, you played an online game with her and kept contact, she is your buddy’s wife or girlfriend, or you grew up with her. Guys don’t seek out women for friendship, we aren’t built that way. If you met a guy and dated him and now you are friends, you are both full of it, stop lying to yourself. So stop getting mad when someone else gets with her… she doesn’t want you!

Strippers don’t love you

I thought this would be common knowledge but maybe I am just a bit more rational about this. The girls in there are entertaining you… it’s like thinking a bartender is cute and that she likes you just because she knows how to work a flirt for tips. Come on fellas, you have to do better than this. Now i’m not saying this is 100%, i’m sure there’s some Captain Save-a-Ho’s out there who managed to rescue Julia Roberts from “The Life” but I doubt it was anything less than him looking good, having some nose candy for her habit and a whole mouth full of game to snap her up into his web of tricks. Speaking of tricks… you know what you’re doing right? I mean, she squeezed a few hundred out of you and now you think she loves you… wtf dude. If you think i’m wrong, keep going. You are buying some dude’s X-Box and paying his car payment by tricking for his girlfriend weekly… thinking she wants you. Tighten up guys.

Okay i’m tired, so this concludes volume 1. Study your man bible and grow your self-respect fellas. If you are insecure or weak… I can’t help you, hell you’re hopeless and you will lose her anyway… a weak man isn’t sexy, once she sucks you dry she will drop you like a bad habit in lieu of a dude who probably follows the code. .. not necessarily one of these grown men acting like teenage thugs, but a man who is really a man. Go watch a Humphrey Bogart movie and get your manhood back. Thanks for reading.

The Before and After on some Iconic Arts

2012-02-05T14:00:00.001-08:00

No Words Needed

2012-02-05T13:52:00.001-08:00

Hear Me Roar

2012-02-05T13:51:00.001-08:00

These are my favoriteCars from Fast & Furious

1987 Buick GNX

Dom and Letty use this car in the opening scenes of Fast & Furious, as they've gone back to hijacking trucks on the move. The Buick GNX was a hot rod version of the sleepy Buick Regal, and was claimed as the fastest production car ever built at the time. The all black appearance of the car also earned it the nickname "the Darth Vader car."

1970 Dodge Charger R/T

Look familiar? This is the resurrected version of the Charger that Dom wrecks at the end of the first film. Those who know what to look for can see some minor changes to the trim, and in reality it's probably an entirely new car.

1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R (GT-BNR34)

Brian O'Connor loves him some Skylines. We saw him drive a silver one in the second film, and he builds this one from the parts of two Skylines and a new Nissan GT-R, all conveniently impounded by the authorities. That must be one of the perks of being a cop; you get to use the impound lot as your personal parts store.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS

Considering how Dom tends to wreck cars, it's hard to believe he's still driving this Chevelle. We saw it at the end of the first movie, and it's still red when we first see it in the latest movie, but for some reason he decides to repaint it to primer grey. We're not sure why, but in any color, it still looks like it's going to be fast enough to melt your face off.

2001 BMW M5

German cars get no love in the Fast & Furious series. BMWs and Mercedes show up in races only to be wrecked, both as race cars and obstacles. Which is a shame, because the M5 is a great car. We can only hope that the next chapter embraces the European tuning scene. But maybe that's what the Transporter series is for.

1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport

The latest Fast & Furious has a lot more American muscle than we've seen before, and this Gran Torino is a fine example. The red and white Gran Torino featured on Starsky & Hutch is probably the most famous example of Ford's other (non-Mustang) muscle car.

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

Another refugee from the impound yard. What the WRX STi lacks in the looks department (someone here said it looks like a minivan), it makes up for in speed and handling. The STi is the street legal version of Subaru's series of World Rally champion cars, and like the Mitsubishi Evos, was made more popular by the Gran Turismo game series.

1973 Chevrolet F-Bomb Camaro

Hot Rod magazine Editor in Chief David Freiburger took an $800 Camaro beater and turned it into a 1500-horsepower, twin turbo beast of a car. Dubbed "Project F-Bomb," the idea was to create a street legal car that could also dominate at the drag strip, harkening back to the good old days of "run what you brung." The F-Bomb seen in the movie isn't the original car, but even use of the replica shows a surprising awareness of the muscle car scene in a film series mainly known for hot import tuners.

Buddy Love

2012-02-05T13:35:00.001-08:00

Buddy Bumper Balls

HearthSong: $39.98

The Mental Burden of a Lower-Class Background

2012-02-05T13:31:00.001-08:00

A few years ago my mom took a short-term nursing job at a hospital in the Sacramento area. This was a huge deal for her. She had never been to California, hadn’t lived outside of our rural area of Oklahoma since she divorced my dad when I was a baby, and had never worked at a “big city” hospital. She feared she wouldn’t be able to make it, that her rural hospital experience just wouldn’t translate. There were a lot of firsts for her, but it went well and the hospital administration told her they’d be happy to have her back. She was incredibly proud of herself, both for doing a good job and for being able to survive in California, a location trumped in the Big Scary Places sweepstakes only by New York City. It was an enormous confidence builder: she could leave her small town and she could make friends and keep a job.

And then, a few days before she was set to leave, she called me. Some of the staff had a little informal going-away party for her, and she was baffled by the card they’d all signed for her. It featured Jeff Foxworthy, the comic who made a name with his “You might be a redneck if…” schtick in the ’90s. The joke on the card was something about being a redneck if you used Hefty trash bags for luggage. But why, my mom asked hesitantly, would they give that to her? She’d never told them she liked Jeff Foxworthy; what made them think she’d want a card with him on it? And finally, in a plaintive voice that still just breaks my heart when I remember it, she asked me if it was possible they were implying she is a redneck, and that the people she thought were her friends were laughing at her.

Of course they did, and were. That doesn’t mean they didn’t genuinely like her or didn’t think she’s an excellent nurse, or that they meant to be hurtful; they probably assumed she’d get the joke, what with her accent, unusual colloquialisms, and openly-expressed awe and complete lack of irony or cynicism. But in fact, the idea that her new friends might view her as a redneck or a hick was a shock. She didn’t know what she might have done that would make other people think she’s a redneck. And I could tell she was terrified — afraid that instead of “making it” in California, she was actually a joke, and too clueless to know it.

I lied to her. I said I was sure it wasn’t anything specific to her, but was just because she was from Oklahoma, and Jeff Foxworthy is from the South, so they probably just thought everybody in the South or South-adjacent region likes him. I knew it would break her heart and totally destroy her new-found confidence to think that to a lot of people, she represented stereotypes of backward rednecks, not the hard-working medical professional she’d been working so hard to portray herself as.

I thought of that experience when I saw this postcard from Post Secret:

I’ve built up a lot more cultural capital than my mom, going to grad school and being socialized into the norms of academia. I mostly eradicated my accent when I was an undergrad, I figured out that Velveeta cheese was not an acceptable addition to a cheese plate at an upper-middle-class dinner party, and I learned that most people don’t view skunks, squirrels, opossums, or raccoons as animals you might potentially turn into pets, if you’re brave and really dedicated.

I don’t feel ashamed of my background any more, because I’ve achieved enough proof of upper-middle-class success — a Ph.D., a tenure-track job, the knowledge that Brie is fancy cheese and not, as my grandma thought upon seeing it for the first time, fish bait — and some useful theories, like the idea of cultural capital, to help me make sense of what’s going on.

But I recognize the sentiment expressed in the postcard — the ever-present possibility that you’ll un-self-consciously mention something from your childhood and be met with gleefully horrified looks and giggles, and not know what’s so funny about shrugging and off-handedly saying, “I don’t know if I really need to see a movie about it, I’ve watched my relatives do it tons of times” when someone suggests watching the documentary Okie Noodling. It’s an extra little mental effort you have to expend as you navigate social encounters, trying to imagine whether something as small as honestly answering a simple question like what was your favorite food when you were a kid might open you up to ridicule. It’s not really the laughing itself, which is often good-natured and comes from people who do honestly like you, that’s so bothersome; it’s the realization that you still don’t know the cultural rules, and thus can’t necessarily protect yourself from being laughed at even if you wanted to — or in my mom’s case, that you don’t know what it is you’re doing that makes you a redneck in other people’s eyes.

by Gwen Sharp,Originally cross-posted at Jezebel and Owni.

Gender, Sexualization, and Rolling Stone

2012-02-05T13:28:00.001-08:00

You often hear that everything is sexualized nowadays, and not just women but men too. In the September 2011 issue of Sexuality & Culture, we examine this idea in an analysis of Rolling Stone magazine covers. Specifically, we wanted to know if men and women are equally sexualized, and if they have become either more frequently or more intensely sexualized over time. To do this, we analyzed every cover from the first issue of Rolling Stone in November 1967 through 2009, minus a few (such as those that featured cartoons rather than people, etc.). You can read more about our methods in the article here.

In order to analyze these 1000+ images of men and women, we developed a “scale of sexualization.” This scale was composed of 11 different variables to measure different aspects of sexualization. For instance, a cover model was given “points” for being sexualized if their lips were parted, if they were scantily clad (more points if they were naked), if the text describing them used explicitly sexual language, or if they were lying down on a bed or otherwise posed in a sexually suggestive way. Images could score anywhere from 0 points (and 176 did) to 23 points (though 20 was our highest score).

Once all of the images on all 43 years of Rolling Stone were scored, we divided the images into three groups: those images that were generally not sexualized, those images that were sexualized, and those images that were so sexualized that we dubbed them “hypersexualized.”

The graph below shows our findings:

Looking first at images of men (represented by dotted lines), we see that the majority of them– from 89% in the 1960s to 83% in the 2000s — were nonsexualized. Men are sometimes shown in a sexualized manner (about 15% in the 2000s), but they are rarely hypersexualized (just 2% in the 2000s). In fact, only 2% of the images of men across the entire dataset — all 43 years — are hypersexualized.

But, again, the vast majority of men — some 83% in recent years — were not sexualized at all. So, if you were to pick up a copy of Rolling Stone in the 2000s, you would most likely see men portrayed in a non-sexualized manner, such as in these images:

In contrast, women, especially recently, are almost always sexualized to some degree. In fact, by the 2000s, 61% of women were hypersexualized, and another 22% were sexualized. This means that, in the 2000s, women were 3 1/2 times more likely to be hypersexualized than nonsexualized, and nearly five times more likely to be sexualized to any degree (sexualized or hypersexualized) than nonsexualized.

So, in the last decade, if you were to pick up a copy of Rolling Stone that featured a woman on its cover, you would most likely see her portrayed in a sexualized manner, since fully 83% of women were either sexualized or hypersexualized in the 2000s. Here are a few examples of hypersexualized images:

In our article, we argue that the dramatic increase in hypersexualized images of women — along with the corresponding decline in nonsexualized images of them — indicates a decisive narrowing or homogenization of media representations of women. In Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, journalist Ariel Levy (2005:5) describes this trend in this way: “A tawdry, tarty, cartoonlike version of female sexuality has become so ubiquitous, it no longer seems particular. What we once regarded as a kind of sexual expression,” Levy writes, “we now view as sexuality” (emphases in original). In this article, we offer empirical evidence for this claim.

So what explains this trend towards women’s hypersexualization? We don’t think it’s just the idea that “sex sells.” If that were true, we’d see many more images of women on Rolling Stone’s covers (only 30% of covers feature images of women) and we’d also see more sexualized and hypersexualized images of men. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

—————————

Mary Nell Trautner and Erin Hatton are Assistant Professors of Sociology at SUNY Buffalo. Trautner is the author of many articles on the relationship between law, culture, organizational practices, and social inequality (and has written a fantastic Soc Images Course Guide for Sociology of Gender courses). Hatton, a sociologist of work, is the author of The Temp Economy: From Kelly Girls to Permatemps in Postwar America.

Be Heard The Right Way

2012-02-05T13:26:00.001-08:00

Don Waisanen at Thick Culture highlighted Norm Magnusson’s I-75 project. The project involves installing historical markers with a primarily political instead of historical message. Some examples:

About the project, Magnusson writes:
…unlike most artworks on social or political themes, these markers don’t merely speak to the small group of viewers that seek out such work in galleries and museums; instead, they gently insert themselves into the public realm. ”Are they real?” is a question viewers frequently ask, meaning “are they state-sponsored?” I love this confusion and hope to slip a message in while people are mulling it over.
These markers are just the kind of public art I really enjoy: gently assertive and non-confrontational, firmly thought-provoking and pretty to look at and just a little bit subversive.
Waisanen concludes:
That the project is as much about the use of wide-open public spaces as it is about the carefully crafted messages speaks volumes about how innovation may best work in our age. With so little room to communicate messages of social conscience in our message-dense environment, these signs are apt demonstrations of how to pick and choose a context for sociological critique.

Amazing Arts

2012-02-05T13:21:00.001-08:00

Cool art that will mess with your head!

The mobius ring

How man y horses do you see .... If you see less than seven; Look again

House of fans?

Is the girl part of the puzzle or not?

Tell me, do you see the silver/grey dot between the squares?.. Where do they come from?

Do you see the world liar in this picture?

How about the word lift?

Why I care

2012-02-04T15:32:00.001-08:00

I want my (future) kids to see and enjoy earth beauty like I did
There is nothing human can create that will ever come close to this earth
if this earth is gone ... So are we
I am one with this planet. I came from ashes and to dust i shall return
If not me? then who
I have seen the Serengeti... Go see it them you will understand
Because with all of it's craziness ... Earth is still the most sane thing about us
We have yet reach our pinneacle on it
No one has yet given me a reason as to why I should not
IT WAS NOT GIVEN TO US BUT ONLY LEND....

Chill Time

2012-02-04T13:15:00.001-08:00

Creative mind always find a way to mix pleasure and leisure....

10 Reasons To Hate Atlanta

2012-02-04T13:05:00.001-08:00

Amen. Here are 10 other reasons to be blissfully unhappy that you live in Atlanta today -- and every day -- that you live here. May it be a very long time. Unless you want to leave, or change the norm in which case, you got my full support.

10. Sending your laundry out for someone else to wash and dry it is not just good business, it's just being lazy. Unless you need all your shirt dry cleaned and starch. I do not get that concept. But then again, since you will probably never own a washer and dryer you never have to feel guilty about not doing your own laundry.

9. Drinking coffee four times a day, every day, isn't the exception, it's the rule.

8. The fact that Chick filet think they better than everyone else thus hard to find in less glamousrish neighborhood.

7. There is always someone Thirstier than you. ALWAYS.

6. The view from no where. We really do not have a single truly breathtaking view in the city. We have some good one but not some Iconic ones.

5. The all Peachtree Road.

4. The fail feeling you get running to catch a train...and miss it. Now you got 20 minutes to waist on a platform

3. The fact that there is no real artist disctrict.

2. The all Buckhead vs Midtown war as in "who is cooler". The fact is... You both in ATLANTA thus still country no matter how we look at it.

1. Beig the capital of the Shag hair cut ( thank you Bieber and all these frat white boys).

Bonus

That WTF look on our "friends" faces when we tell them you think Atlanta is the just as good as Hollywood.

Are You Being Followed?

2012-02-04T12:37:00.003-08:00

Last year, 20-year-old Yasir Afifi found this GPS tracker on his car while undergoing a routine oil change (imgur via khaledthegypsy, Reddit).

Washington DC police thought they had a good idea when they attached a global-positioning-system (GPS) device on the car of a suspected drug dealer in order to more effectively tail him and find his "safe house" stash.

The police did, in fact, nail DC nightclub owner Antoine Jones. But the Supreme Court this week sided with the Appeals court that over-turned Jones's conviction on the grounds that police need to first obtain a search warrant before attaching such a device.

The decision by the high court was unanimous, a relative rarity for this court that is usually politically divided. But the decision also opens up questions, legal scholars and some of the justices believe, about whether law enforcement will be allowed to track suspects by homing in on their cellphone with or without a warrant.

View Gallery: GPS Tracking Devices

Judge Samuel Alito addressed the cell-phone issue in his opinion asserting that the most basic cellphone can be located by coordinating signals received by different towers. That would cover more than 322 million cellphones, he noted. Advanced smart-phones often contain GPS devices that can be more accurately tapped for a user's location – Apple, for example, allows a user of its new iCloud system to precisely locate a phone that might have been lost or stolen.

"It may be necessary to reconsider" whether simply carrying a cellphone means a citizen "has no reasonable expectation of privacy," at least when it comes to disclosing one's location, added the court's newest member, Sonia Sotomayor.

The decision should also open new questions about whether police can tap into GPS systems installed on cars, such as General Motors' OnStar system. In an episode of Hawaii Five-O on CBS, a show in which GM has had a vehicle integration deal, the Hawaii police literally caught a criminal by honing in on his OnStar. Before that, character Tony Soprano in HBOs The Sopranos, ordered that all the GPS stuff be ripped out of a new GM SUV to avoid having the FBI use it to track his movements. The idea is already very much in the pop culture.

The Arts Of Drinking Beer

2012-02-04T12:37:00.001-08:00

A gourmand’s guide to picking the right brew for the occasion.

Photo credit: Jeff Harris

By David Ramsey

Photographs by Jeff Harris

Good beer — skip the mass-market pilsners — doesn’t just go well with food; it can turn a good meal into something transcendent. Nothing against wine, but it simply doesn’t fit with certain foods — the highly spiced, for example. More to the point, sometimes you just want a beer. We asked Sang Yoon of Father’s Office, the beer-centric L.A. gastropub, along with Garrett Oliver, author of The Brewmaster’s Table, and Tom Peters of Philly’s legendary Monk’s Cafe, for their favorite pairings.

TAILGATING – Pilsners

Pilsners, with their clean, palate-cleansing bitterness, are the “ultimate chameleon,” says Oliver. Peters suggests Stoudt’s Pils for “hot dogs, burgers — you can sit down and have 10 of them.”

—-

INTENSE FLAVORS — Belgian Tripels

Highly alcoholic tripels have an intense complexity of fruit, herb, and spice notes. Yoon recommendsTripel Karmeliet with fiery Thai beef salad: “It’s bold enough not to get overwhelmed by the food.”

—-

SUSHI — White Beers

At once ethereal and flavorful, a white beer can enliven breakfast (think of it as a decadent mimosa), salads, and delicate seafood. “Hitachino White is perfect with sushi,” says Yoon. “It doesn’t overpower, but it also has so many complementing flavors.”

—-

SPICY FOODS — India Pale Ales

The kick of stronger hops, bold carbonation, and sharp, bitter flavors make IPAs the best put-out-the-fire beer when you’re going for the hot stuff. Try Samuel Smith’s with chicken vindaloo or most any other four-alarm option.

—-

WILD GAME AND CHOCOLATE — Fruit Lambics

Fruit lambics can have explosively tart flavors — surprisingly good with game and fantastic with chocolate. Try the raspberry crispness of Lindemans Framboise with chocolate cheesecake.

—-

STEAKS — Brown Ales

Brown ales’ hints of fruit and nut create a nuanced and hearty companion to almost any great piece of meat. “If you have a nice rib eye with a dark sear, Brooklyn’s roasted malt tastes will grab right on,” says Oliver.

—-

GRILLING — Porters

Porters get their darker color from roasting the malts longer, which creates a succulent complement. “Anchor Porter is the barbecue beer,” says Yoon. “You get the long-roast flavor and kiss of smoke; anything straight off the grill is perfect.”

—-

DESSERTS — Stouts

With dark and often heavy notes of coffee and chocolate, strong dark stouts “are the clear winner for pairing with desserts,” says Oliver. Try Deschutes Obsidian over vanilla ice cream and you’ll know what he’s talking about.

Respect your pets

2012-02-02T17:54:00.001-08:00

No longer is it enough to just own a pet dog. Now, owners have to dress their dogs up too! And not just any dresses either, but specialized dresses that are customized for the dogs made to make them look cute. And it definitely works – mostly, anyway. How the dogs feel about it, is an entirely different matter. Surely they prefer the ‘loose’ naked look instead of being dressed up. Check out the pictures below and decide for yourself. But as far as I am concerned this is animal cruelty ... imagine someone dressing you up as a clown and parade you around town. Would you like it?

01. A dog dressed as a German policeman rides on a remote controlled motorbike in the centre of Cologne, before England face Sweden during the World Cup soccer tournament June 20, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

02. A woman presents a chow-chow dog in a bee costume during the Zoo Russia International Dog and Cat Exhibition in Moscow April 16, 2006. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

03. A pair of chihuahua wears a wedding costume during a fashion show at the Woefstock dog festival in Antwerp October 21, 2006. REUTERS/Thierry Roge

04. A pair of chihuahuas, dressed as Santa Claus, take part in a fashion show at the Woefstock dog festival in Antwerp October 21, 2006. REUTERS/Thierry Roge

05. A Yorkshire Terrier presents a creation during a fashion show featuring the winter collection for dogs in Moscow December 1, 2006. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

06. Dogs Dana (L) and Puki, who were married in a symbolic wedding, wait inside a car during a celebration for World Animal Day in Lima October 4 2007. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

07. A pug wearing a dress sits before a dog parade in Berlin October 6, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

08. A dog dressed in a spider costume takes part in a Halloween costume parade for pets at a shopping mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila October 27, 2007. REUTERS/ Cheryl Ravelo

09. Rocco poses in the Leo tux, inspired by one worn by actor Leonardo DiCaprio to the Oscars, at Little Lily in Los Angeles, California February 18, 2008. Pet fashion label Little Lily has designed a range of dog clothes inspired by the actual gowns worn by A-listers on the Oscar red carpet. REUTERS/Phil McCarten

10. A dog dressed in traditional Cunmbia outfit participates during a parade at the Carnaval de Barranquilla in Colombia February 14, 2010. REUTERS/Jairo Castilla

11. A dog named Coffee dressed as a baseball fan sits outside Citi Field before the New York Mets play the Florida Marlins in their MLB Major League baseball opening day game in New York April 5, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Segar

12. Chinese Crested dogs attend a dog show in Kalocsa, 130km (81 miles) south of Budapest April 18, 2010. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

13. A Chihuahua in a cowboy dress walks on catwalk during a dog fashion show at the Animalia pet fair in St.Gallen May 8, 2010. REUTERS/Miro Kuzmanovic

14. A Shih Tzu, wearing a traditional Filipino dress, waits for her turn during the Fashionista Pooch, a dog fashion show at a mall in Pasay City Metro Manila June 13, 2010. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

15. A Chihuahua, wearing a traditional Filipino dress, waits for her turn during the Fashionista Pooch, a dog fashion show at a mall in Pasay City Metro Manila June 13, 2010. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

16. Julia, a Shih Tzu-Japanese Spitz cross, dressed in a native Filipino costume waits for her turn during the Fashionista Pooch, a dog fashion show at a mall in Pasay City Metro Manila June 13, 2010. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

17. A dog is dressed in a bowtie and glasses during a performance of the Moscow Cats Theatre in New York October 1, 2005. The Moscow Cats Theatre, which was created by Yuri Kuklachev almost 30 years ago, is performing for the first time in the United States in New York City. REUTERS/Seth Wenig

18. A dressed-up dog runs at a park in Shenyang, Liaoning province December 9, 2008. REUTERS/Sheng Li

19. A pet Chihuahua wearing a coat walks on a street in Beijing December 11, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Lee

20. Miniature dachshund crossbreed dogs are seen dressed up with hats at a dog fiesta in Tokyo June 13, 2009. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

21. A dog plays in the snow near apartment blocks covered in pre-election posters of president candidate and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev January 12, 2010. Ukraine will hold a presidential election on January 17, its first since the pro-Western Orange Revolution of 2004-2005 which led to a re-run poll that was won by Yushchenko. REUTERS/Konstantin Chernichkin

22. A french bulldog, named ‘Spoon’, has a mock up of a cigar in its mouth during a dog show in Dortmund May 2, 2008. More than 6,000 dogs compete for the title of the best pedigree hound on May 2 to 4, 2008 in Dortmund. REUTERS/ Ina Fassbender

23. A man carries a dog in his shirt at a shopping district in Tokyo August 29, 2009. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24. A Carnival reveler presentS his pet dog dressed as Cangaceiro bandit Lampiao, during in pre-carnival festivities along Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, February 15, 2004. Revelers in Rio presented their costumed pets in a carnival fashion parade for the second straight year. The cangaceiros were a group of outlaws who operated out of Brazil’s arid Northeast in the 1940s, and one-eyed Lampiao was their famous leader, and a historical folklore hero in that region. REUTERS/Bruno Domingos

25. A dog models specially made clothes during the Zoosfera-2002 international exhibition of goods and services in St.Petersburg November 15, 2002. The exhibition displays new products and fashions for those involved in business with animals. Picture taken November 15. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk

26. Guinness, one of the 256 chihuahua dog entries in a race to determine America’s fastest chihuaha, is seen dressed in his Spiderman outfit at Petco Park in San Diego, California September 18, 2005. Regional finalists who outran one thousand Chihuahuas from across the United States competed on Sunday to win the honor of America’s Fastest Chihuahua. REUTERS/Dave Gatley

27. A labrador dog waits to be sold at a pet market outside Moscow, January 27, 2002. Moscow authorities moved the pet market from central Moscow into the outskirts due complaints from Muscovites. REUTERS/Viktor Korotayev

28. A pilgrim looks at his dog dressed up in typical costumes as he takes part in San Benito Abad procession at La Laguna in Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife July 13, 2008. REUTERS/Santiago Ferrero

29. A police-trained dog wears boxing gloves during a demonstration before a military parade to celebrate Peru’s Independence Day in Lima July 29, 2008. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

30. A dog dressed as Elvis Presley is led in the Krewe of Barkus Mardi Gras parade in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana February 15, 2009. REUTERS/Lee Celano

31. A Pomeranian is seen dressed up with a hat and a pair of sunglasses while taking a walk with its owner at a shopping district in Tokyo May 23, 2009. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

32. One-year-old dog Rocky, dressed in a traditional Bavarian forest warden outfit, rests in Hailing near the Bavarian town of Straubing, September 11, 2005. Hildegard Bergbauer designed the outfit to match the traditional attire of the local residents.

33. Chihuahua Eliot looks out of a pram during the World Dog Show in Bratislava, October 10, 2009. The exhibition, taking place until Sunday, was attended by more than 30,000 dogs from 59 countries. REUTERS/Petr Josek

34. The dog of a street entertainer sits in Havana October 20, 2009. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

35. A dog dressed as a Rastafarian participates in the Family Pet Festival in Cali October 25, 2009. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

36. A dog dressed in an overcoat waits as her owner chats with friends in central Kiev December 21, 2009. The temperature in the Ukrainian capital is about -16 degree Celsius (3 degree Fahrenheit) on Monday. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

37. Tontite, a Pomeranian dressed as Zorro, the Spanish masked swordsman in the movie The Mask of Zorro, models its costume during the Scaredy Cats and Dogs Halloween fund-raising event at a mall in Quezon City October 23, 2010. Some 70 pets participated in the event to raise funds for the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)’s Animal Rehabilitation Center, a temporary shelter for more than 100 dogs and cats which were either abandoned or rescued from cruelty or neglect. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

38. A dog dressed as woman participates in the Family Pet Festival in Cali October 24, 2010.

The penis festival

2012-02-02T17:49:00.001-08:00

This is one thing Atlanta or the US as a whole doe not need...

Each year on the first Sunday in April in the Japanese town of Komaki a quirky Asian festival called Kanamara Matsuri takes place. It isn’t all about the penis it is actually a Shinto fertility festival where people create giant penis illustrations from every possible object (I wouldn’t know where to look.) People carry around large handcrafted penises and worship huge penis idols because it is a Japanese symbol of fertility. Expect everything to be penis-shaped; the candles, the candy, the decorations, and the food will all be shaped like a penis and will be involved in a giant penis parade throughout the city.
Additionally, worshipping at a giant penis effigy is believed to protect against sexually transmitted diseases. That’s just a bit backward isn’t it? Surely they should be worshipping a giant condom.

Home Theater inspiration

2012-02-02T17:44:00.001-08:00

They’ve come to save the planet! No not the Transformers, The Fantastic Four or Spider Man. It’s home theatres and there’s one designed for just about every theme, movie and yes, action hero one could think of. Technology has allowed homeowners to practically built NASA inside their residences. Just throw in the comfy chairs, a bar and a state-of-the-art remote control, which could probably “beam Scotty up” if it had to.

Nonetheless, there’s nothing like sitting with friends and family, or the new neighbors, in the comfort of your own home with surround sound and a screen larger than most people’s garages. It’s a magnanimous project that must be built to perfection or homeowners could find their ceiling blinking lights on and off at will or the remote control mistakenly activating the burglar alarm. Let’s take a peek at 10 of the coolest home theatres on the planet.

10. Nighttime Themed Home Theatre

This monochromatic private theater is very stylish. Less is more fit’s the bill nicely for this theatre’s décor. Hanging lights with an arched ceiling makes this theatre seem comfy or either claustrophobic.

9. Titanic Themed Home Theatre

This home theatre is gorgeous and elegant. It reminds one of velvet and leather materials, not just from its appearance but the ambiance as well. It’s rich and pompous at the same time. The dome shaped ceiling itself has over 1,000 fiber optic lights.

8. Nautilus Theater

This private theatre has a ceiling that is slightly arched over two rows of lazy-boy black leather chairs. For some reason it has a “coffin feel” to it. It’s probably all the wood, which can easily be gotten used to, as long as there are no matches in the room.

7. Stargate-Home Theatre

A round frame enclosed screen, along with stars and metal textured walls creates a spaceship effect in this theatre. However, the lone chair placed in front of the screen gives one the feeling that they’re going to be jetted into space and taken to a galaxy very far, far away.

6. Italian Themed Home Theatre

Someone is certainly obsessed with Italy in order to built this private theatre into his or her home. However, the pasta is probably quite good along with the best Italian red wine. There are plush ruby-red seats, mosaic tiles, and a Bistro. Italy has lost a few tourists for sure.

5. Enterprise NCC1701D Theatre

This home theatre has a hygienic feel that looks like the first-class section of a jumbo-jet. It’s seems narrow, which could make people feel that they’re going in for a MRI rather than watch a movie.

4. Indiana Jones Themed Home Theatre

Indiana Jones comes to life along with all the Egyptian hieroglyphs to boot. This theatre is warmly designed in neutral shades with plush carpeting and magical lighting.

3. Nautilus

This home theatre reminds one of the bottom of an old, dingy pirate ship, but only for the rich. The red velvet chairs, with paisley styled carpet is succulent. The wooden circles along the walls are a bit kitschy though.

2. The Batcave

This is a cave Batman himself would envy. Sleek black leather seats resembling bat ears, with ice-pick shapes hanging from the ceiling, gives this home theater a dark ambiance, but ever so lustrous. A cool half-a-million is the price tag on this baby.

1. Evergreen Ultimate Theater

This private theatre is deemed to be the “crème a la crème” of home theatres. The Star Trek theme has all the technological gadgets. Consequently, the average person may have a hard time figuring out how to get the darn movie

They matter

2012-02-02T17:41:00.001-08:00

What does all these pictures have in common?

They are all amzingly taken
They showcase a beauty otherwise not seen in these people
ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS....
THEY MATTER EVEN IF YOU PASS BY THEM ON A DAILY BASIS AND PAY THEM NO MINDS.

Lee Jeffries career began as a sports photographer, capturing the beautiful game of football in Manchester. Then a chance meeting with a homeless woman living in the streets of London changed his life forever. He has since dedicated himself to capturing gripping portraits of the disenfranchised.

Shooting exclusively in black and white, Lee Jeffries’ 135+ pictures can be viewed in his Flickr Photostream. The majority are closeup portraits with incredible detail. Each photograph exudes so much raw character and depth, you find yourself studying each shot with great intensity. Below is a sample of his large collection, the Sifter strongly recommends you check out his entire set on Flickr.

BLACK AND WHITE PORTRAITS OF THE HOMELESS – LEE JEFFRIES

Lee Jeffries lives in Manchester in the United Kingdom. Close to the professional football circle, this artist starts to photograph sporting events. A chance meeting with a young homeless girl in the streets of London changes his artistic approach forever.

Lee Jeffries recalls that, initially, he had stolen a photo from this young homeless girl huddled in a sleeping bag. The photographer knew that the young girl had noticed him but his first reaction was to leave. He says that something made him stay and go and discuss with the homeless girl. His perception about the homeless completely changes. They become the subject of his art.

The models in his photographs are homeless people that he has met in Europe and in the United States: «Situations arose, and I made an effort to learn to get to know each of the subjects before asking their permission to do their portrait.» From then onwards, his photographs portray his convictions and his compassion to the world.

2012-02-02T16:24:00.001-08:00

What is Day One? In 2011, Prudential asked hundreds of people across the country to photograph their first day of retirement. These photos capture a moment of transition in a life. And behind each of these photos, there’s a unique story and wisdom about the challenges of retirement.

Julie Paradise — Chicago, IL — Day One of Retirement: 8/1/2011
"I've had great years and not so great years. But by the time I got around to saving for my retirement, the economy was in a deep recession. So what I've learned can be summed up in the saying, 'Save for a rainy day.'"