Durex: Flagrant Faux Paw

Oksana could not believe how wonderful her life was turning out; that a freaky girl from Chernobyl would grow up to be a gold-medal swimmer, and on the same day meet the man of her dreams, a world-champion high jumper from Fukushima… it was just too good to be true!

Thanks Luke for taking the time out to send this into us. The original was actually an advert for Durex and you can see a semi normal version on twicsy.

Question of the Day

What's the worst movie you've seen in the last month?

It doesn't have to be a new movie, or even a movie you watched for the first time. Just whatever was the biggest stinker you've seen lately.

I cast my vote for Hugo—and, for perspective on how much I didn't like it, we recently rented The Zookeeper for Bad Movie Night, and I'm still casting my vote for Hugo, lol.

News from Shakes Manor

Scene: This morning, our bedroom, way too early. Iain has just gotten out of the shower and is getting dressed; I'm still lying in bed, awake and resentful for it.

Iain: We should build a city.

Liss: We totally should.

Iain: What do you think we should build it on?

Liss: I dunno—rock and roll?

Iain: [singing] WE BUILT THIS CITY!

Liss: [singing] Duhn duhn!

Iain: [singing] WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLL! WE BUILT THIS CITY!

Liss: [singing] Duhn duhn!

Iain: [singing] WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Liss: Have a good day, babe.

Iain: You, too. Don't forget to build a city on rock and roll.

Liss: Will do.


Video Description: The music video for Starship's "We Built This City."

Maybe It's Just Me

I didn't find this story about movers and police tasked with evicting a 103-year-old woman and her 83-year-old daughter from their foreclosed home "heartwarming" as much as I did anxiety-inducing and rage-making, with a side of relief for the temporary reprieve from a terrible fate.

This country is so fucked up.

Assvertising

High fructose corn syrup is good for me! Thanks for the non-biased info, government-subsidized corngrowers' association!

I am so tired of these commercials.

(Which I'm sure are available on YouTube, if you're inclined to watch them.)

Postmodern beer advertising from Molson?

This is kind of hard to believe, but also quite remarkable.

After years of serving up ads that insinuiate that drinking their brand of beer will make you attractive to the opposite sex, Molson has decided to go meta.

The above ad, according to Sociological Images, appeared in Cosmopolitan. Just look at that sensitive, but ruggedly manly, dude with the adorable puppies and matching sweater and cap. A fine catch for any heterosexual woman! And look here! He's drinking a Molson!

While not very credible in its forced cuddliness, this ad probably went unnoticed between all the photoshopped boobs and bums that make up most of the ads in a women's mag.

But then someone caught wind of the other side of the campaign, that ran in FHM and Playboy:

Copy:

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF WOMEN.
PRE-PROGRAMMED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. 

As you read this, women across America are reading something very different: an advertisement (fig. 1) scientifically formulated to enhance their perception of men who drink Molson. The ad shown below, currently running in Cosmopolitan magazine, is a perfectly tuned combination of words and images designed by trained professionals.  Women who are exposed to it experience a very positive feeling.  A feeling which they will later project directly onto you. Triggering the process is as simple as ordering a Molson Canadian (fig. 2).
…
Extravagent dinners.  Subtitled movies. Floral arrangements tied together with little pieces of hay. It gets old.  And it gets expensive, depleting funds that could go to a new set of of 20-inch rims. But thanks to the miracle of Twin Advertising Technology, you can achieve success without putting in any time or effort. So drop the bouquet and pick up a Molson Canadian…

Sociological Images editor Lisa Wade (a respected blogging ally, I should disclose) was offended by the ruse, writing "The second ad, then, portrays men as lazy, shallow jerks who are just trying to get laid (not soft and sensitive at all). And it portrays women as stupid and manipulable."

But I think Molson was on to something here. And it has to do with the nature of the trick.

There is no way any male reader of those magazines would take the "Male" ad seriously. It is a parody of the many "how to pick up girls" ads that have been gracing those kinds of publications since the '60s.

It also needs to be seen in context of the culture of pranking Millennials have grown up with. While some women might be offended by the goofy trick, others may get as much of a laugh out of it as the men.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Åsk, from Adland, tells me this campaign is old. Like, real old. (It's always good to know the internet's longest-running ad blogger!)

Tori & Dean: No Weigh, Dude!

Even further proof that Tori Spelling is an idiot because everyone knows that the last thing you should do when your kid starts to show signs of super powers is to put them on frickin’ TV!

Thanks Susan for the great find. Can anyone see any other disasters? I think that I see one or two. If you can't see the PSD, you can check out our red circle gallery.

Update: A bunch of people are calling no disaster on this one but have a careful look at how the kid could have taken off and where he will land.

Photo of the Day

This undated image provided by the Scottsdale Gun Club shows a woman posing with Santa Claus and several guns at the Scottsdale, Ariz. club. Ron Kennedy, general manager of the gun club, says the business got the idea for the photo op last year when a club member happened to come in dressed as Santa and other members wanted their picture taken while they were holding their guns. He says people have used the photos for Christmas cards and Facebook posts. [AP Photo]

All right then.

I am not reflexively anti-gun; I have friends and family members who do target shooting, and I have family members who hunt for food, and, although it's not my scene, I'm pretty wev about it. I also respect that there are people who have ethical objections to gun ownership and hunting of any sort. This thread ain't about that debate.

It's about the fact that OMFG PEOPLE ARE POSING WITH SANTA WITH GIANT-ASS GUNS. Or, to be more clear, about an aspect of gun culture that has nothing to do with principled debates and everything to do with fetishizing deadly weaponry. Yikes.

Daily Dose of Cute

KITTEHS!


Matilda


Olivia


Sophie

More hysterical censorship from the UK

Source

This transit ad, from the UK's Marks & Spencer chain, has been banned by the kingdom's ad regulator for being too sexy.

From their ruling:

"We noted the complainants’ concerns that this ad, displayed on buses, was likely to be seen by children. We considered that most children viewing the ad would understand that the poster was advertising lingerie and, as such, the models would not be fully clothed. We considered that the pose of the woman lying on the bed was only mildly sexual in nature, and as a result was unlikely to be seen as unsuitable to be seen by children. However, we considered that the pose of the woman kneeling on the bed was overtly sexual, as her legs were wide apart, her back arched and one arm above her head with the other touching her thigh. We also noted that the woman in this image wore stockings. We considered that the image was of an overtly sexual nature and was therefore unsuitable for untargeted outdoor display, as it was likely to be seen by children. We concluded that the ad was socially irresponsible."

If you read this blog, you know my stand on this. Using sex to sell everything is just lazy. Objectifying women in ads is insulting. But those are my opinions, not things I want regulated.

I honestly believe that we, as consumers, need to decide for ourselves what we are willing to tolerate from advertisers. Sexual exploitation of women in ads is so commonplace, in ads aimed at both men and women, that I'm surprised it has any breakthrough potential at all anymore. My 7-year-old son, just last weekend, was stopped in his tracks by a larger-than-life POP poster at Sears showing a woman in see through underwear. But that stopping power wears off. (In his case, he just blurted out "booby covers!" and laughed.)

You can choose to complain to a business about their ads. Or you can choose to not do business with them. You can choose to complain to the owner of the media. But this knee-jerk banning that's happening with the ASA in the UK really seems over the top to me. Plus, it only works into the offending advertisers hands by giving people a reason to take notice of their ads.

Generally, in social marketing, we feel that it's more effective to recognize and reinforce good behaviour than punish and shame bad. Imagine if organizations like the ASA put more of their efforts into celebrating the advertisers who are "socially responsible",  giving them the free PR while the naughty ones languished in the oversaturated sexy soup of the ad landscape. Wouldn't that be nice?

Via The Drum and The Telegraph

Quote of the Day

"We've got real issues to talk about, not the latest bimbo eruption. ... Every time another accusation comes up, it diminishes our ability to stay focused on the issues that really do matter for the American people."—Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, attempting to smear Herman Cain as a distraction from a serious campaign, but succeeding instead in dismissing the women Cain sexually harassed and abused as "bimbos," categorizing sexual predation as something other than a "real issue" which "really does matter," and defining "the American people" and survivors of sexual harassment and abuse (and their allies) as mutually exclusive groups.

Wow, Jon Huntsman. Wow.

Wednesday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by hemp.

Recommended Reading:

Andreana: Solidarity, White (Male) Privilege and Occupation

Batocchio: Stop the SOPA and Protect IP Bills

Jed: White House Says Obama Considering Rolling Back Mandatory Insurance Coverage of Contraception

Andy: Evansville, Indiana Passes LGBT Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Jorge: SWAT Team Raids Home of Civil Rights Attorney Working on Voting Rights

Echidne: [TW for misogyny, gender essentialism, and disablism] This is one of the worst pieces of so-called science reporting I have come across for a very long time.

matttbastard: Time's Ongoing Cover Disparity Disgrace

Renee: [TW for bullying] Child Bullied out of School Because of His Appearance

Mattie: [TW for kyriarchy in gaming] Why I Don't Feel Welcome at Kotaku

Emily: Crass Warfare: Raunch and Ridicule on Whitney and 2 Broke Girls

Samhita: TLC's Virgin Diaries Comes to the US

Leave your links in comments...

It's Here! (Rearden Metal Edition)

Hey, remember that email from Atlas Shrugged Movie I posted about last week? The one that seemed to be advertising something, but was really not advertising anything? Well, the whole mystery has been cleared up with a new email from... drum roll please... REARDEN STEEL!

Yeah, so, the Atlas Shrugged marketing team is finally taking my advice and sending out emails from movie characters. I guess Rearden Steel is a character. As much as anyone or anything in the movie is. It's an entity. Like the Ministry of Love or the Lord of the Flies conch. Right? It would totally get its own Cliffs Notes page. Plus, it's actually clear this time what they are selling. (Cue up Pomp and Circumstance, they are ready to graduate my marketing class!)

They sent me this great email:


The copy in the email reads:

It's here. And, it's AWESOME.

Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro present this very Special Edition Atlas Shrugged Part I Blu-Ray packaged in an amazing one-of-a-kind REARDEN STEEL collectible case housing over 2 hours of incredible bonus material.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

PRE-ORDER NOW FOR DEC. 19-23 DELIVERY.

[There is also some stuff about Midas Mulligan's annual sale, whut? And the Canadian premier! Ha! Eat that, Canadians!]

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1: The Search for Spock on Blu-Ray! In a Rearden Steel metal case! Note, this is not actually made of Rearden steel because Rearden steel is fictional. But still!

You and all your friends can order this one-of-a-kind item, which kind of makes me wonder if the marketing team knows what one-of-a-kind means. But nevermind!

The Blu-Ray comes in three different versions (Oof, what's the total now, twelve? Twelve different versions of this DVD/Blu-Ray thing?) with a bunch of exclusive features like the "I am John Galt" fan video compilation which is on the regular DVD, too. This also makes me wonder if the marketing team knows what exclusive means. Ah, well, in marketing words can mean anything you want, dictionaries be damned!

So give yourself (obviously) the gift of Rearden Steel this Xmas! I know I will. (I won't.)

Speaking of Xmas (a non-denominational holiday, just FYI) this stuff is also on Blu-Ray this week:

One Day. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess have sex once a year for twenty years. Special packaging: Comes inside a Page-A-Day Calendar.

Friends With Benefits. Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake have sex. Special packaging: Comes inside a No Strings Attached DVD case.

The Adventures of Tintin. Cartoon version of the books! Woo hoo! Special packaging: Comes inside a reproduction of Tintin's rocket.

Walk a Mile in My Pradas. Switcheroo Comedy™ about a homophobe who turns gay. Boat Trip meets Vice Versa and/or Like Father Like Son. Special packaging: Comes in a time capsule from 1986.

Conan the Barbarian Reboot! About muscles and swords and (probably) does not feature any Grace Jones. Special packaging: Comes in a faux-fur loincloth.

The Smurfs Reboot! Computer-generated blue wee people (are they people?) get into hijinx and shenanigans with Doogie Howser. Retro! Special packaging: Comes in a can of creative bankruptcy.

Get shopping, Shruggers!

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Soul Asylum: "Misery"

For laurakeet

Number of the Day

56%: The percentage of USians who believe that the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") includes a public option. Whooooooops it does not.

At the link, Igor makes the good point that "voters either like [the actual provisions in the law] or don't know about them," which creates an opportunity for Democrats "to build support for the measure by highlighting and campaigning on some of its best features, a task that will seem less daunting as a growing number of voters begin to actually benefit from the law."

The potential flipside to that, however, is that among the more than half the voting populace who believe a public option exists are people who will be disappointed to find out it doesn't.

It isn't just the socialism alarmists who erroneously believe in the existence of a public option. It's also people who desperately want and need one.

Cool Columnists. Totally Trenchant.

Two of the Washington Post's four opinion columnists have used their columns today to police the language of, respectively, a retiring member of Congress and a teenager:


It's contemptible enough that two prominent and privileged op-ed columnists have been given space by a major US newspaper to concern troll and language police a gay congressman and a teenage girl, but the fact that it's Dana Milbank, who has used in his professional capacity misogynist slurs against the Secretary of State, and Ruth Marcus, who thinks decency is telling people triggered by invasive security procedures to "grow up," imbues this little parade of sanctimony with an intense fuckery that would be hilarious if it weren't so profoundly grim.

[H/T to @ScottMadin.]

Whoooooooooops

During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Texas governor and and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry mistakenly said that the voting age is 21 (it's 18). He also mistakenly said that the date of the 2012 election is November 12 (it's November 6).

His spokesperson calls his repeated gaffes "misspeaking." I call them "evidence that he is a fuckbrain." Potato potahto.

I love this passage in Rosalind Helderman's coverage of Perry's latest whoopsery:

Perry would love to capi­tal­ize on conservative displeasure with Herman Cain, as the businessman reassesses whether to stay in the 2012 race following allegations that he engaged in a 13-year extramarital affair.

But he will first have to convince voters that he has the verbal dexterity to go toe-to-toe with President Obama in a general election; repeated gaffes will likely hurt any effort to do so.

LOL! Indeed!

Economic News Round-Up

The password is: Shrinkage.

Businessweek—Ireland's Economic Growth Rate to Halve in 2012, ESRI Says: "Ireland's economic growth rate will more than halve next year as exports slow amid a deepening euro-region debt crisis, the Economic & Social Research Institute said. ... 'There has been a significant deterioration in the outlook for the world economy in recent months stemming from the uncertainty about the euro zone debt crisis,' the ESRI said."

Reuters—Brazil Poised for 3rd Rate Cut as Inflation Slows: "Brazil is seen likely to cut interest rates a third straight time on Wednesday, ramping up a bet that the euro zone debt crisis and a fragile world economy will brake inflation in Latin America's biggest country. ... A worsening debt crisis in Europe is clouding the global economy, inflation has begun to ease in Brazil, and recent indicators show the country's economy may have contracted in the third quarter."

AFP—China Eases Credit Controls Amid Slowing Growth: "China said Wednesday it will cut the bank reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, as it seeks to boost lending and spur growth in the world's second largest economy. The move, which takes effect on December 5, is the strongest signal yet that the government wants to ease tight credit restrictions put in place to curb surging inflation and property prices."

Bloomberg—South Africa Economy Expands Less Than Forecast at 1.4% as Exports Slump: "South Africa's economy, the biggest in Africa, expanded at an annualized 1.4 percent in the third quarter, less than economists forecast, as manufacturing and mining output slumped. ... South Africa is struggling to meet employment and economic growth targets as the debt crisis in Europe, which buys about a third of South African manufactured goods, pushes that region close to recession."

Businessweek—Egypt's Rulers Face Unrest, Crumbling Economy as Vote Begins: "The unrest in Egypt has hurt the economy, as tourists have shunned the country and industrial production has been hit by strikes. Gross domestic product grew 1.8 percent in the fiscal year through June, the slowest in at least a decade. The country's long-term foreign sovereign credit rating was cut one level to B+, four levels below investment grade, at Standard & Poor's on Nov. 24."

Reuters—India's Economy Slows to Weakest Pace in More Than Two Years: "India's economy grew at its weakest pace in more than two years in the quarter that ended in September, revealing the heavy toll that stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and crisis-hit global capital markets are having on Asia's third-biggest economy. ... The economy has been hit by a confluence of factors. Inflation has been persistently high all year, policy inertia has hurt investment and industrial output and, now, capital outflows have pushed the rupee to new lows."

Bloomberg—Denmark's Economy Shrank More Than Estimated Last Quarter: "Denmark's economy contracted in the third quarter, after households spent less and the government cut expenditure, threatening to delay the nation's recovery as twin housing and bank crises persist."

Businessweek—German Economy to Shrink 0.2% in Fourth Quarter, Institute Says: "The German economy, Europe's biggest, may slide into a 'technical' recession at the end of the year as domestic and foreign orders drop, the DIW economic institute said. The economy will shrink 0.2 percent this quarter, led by a slump in industrial production, and may contract again in the first three months of 2012, the Berlin-based institute said today in an e-mailed statement. 'The euro crisis is affecting the German economy more and more,' DIW economist Ferdinand Fichtner said in the statement."

Bloomberg—Slovenian Economy Unexpectedly Contracted in the Third Quarter: "Slovenia's economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter from a year earlier as industrial output and export growth lost pace."

Etc. Shockingly, European confidence in the economic outlook has fallen to a two-year low. Huh. Go figure.

In good news, Poland, Canada, and Sweden have done slightly better than expected. And USians are inexplicably more confident about their economy, up 15 points to 56.0 from October's low of 40.9. Well aren't we the eternal optimists!

In other economic news...

CNN Money—Fed, ECB Offer Aid for Global Financial System: "The Federal Reserve, acting with five other central banks, took further steps Wednesday to make it cheaper for banks around the world to trade in U.S. dollars. The Fed—along with central banks of the eurozone, England, Japan, Switzerland and Canada—announced a coordinated plan to lower prices on dollar liquidity swaps beginning on December 5, and extending these swap arrangements to February 1, 2013. The effort is meant to 'ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity,' the Federal Reserve said in a press release."

The Guardian—World Central Banks Launch Co-Ordinated Action to Fight Financial Crisis: "Federal Reserve, ECB, Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss Central Bank act to prevent liquidity drying up in the financial system." Live coverage will continue throughout the day at the link.

CNN—Study: Cyber Monday Was Biggest Online Shopping Day Ever in US: "Analysts have begun providing their final tallies for Cyber Monday sales, which found that people piled more in their virtual shopping carts than ever before. Monday was the highest-grossing online shopping day in U.S. history, with spending reaching $1.25 billion, according to market research firm comScore. That's up 22% from the previous record, which was last year's Cyber Monday."

The Guardian—Occupy Protests: Police Clear Activists from LA and Philadelphia Camps: "Hundreds of police officers are clearing protesters from Los Angeles and Philadelphia, arresting those refusing to leave and dismantling tents. ... [T]here were 200 arrests in Los Angeles alone, according to police. In Los Angeles around 1,400 officers wearing riot gear and biohazard suits were moving members of Occupy Los Angeles after they ignored a Monday deadline to leave the area. ... In Philadelphia, police began pulling down tents at about 1:20am (EST) after giving demonstrators three warnings that they would have to leave, which nearly all of the protesters followed. Dozens of demonstrators then marched through the street until they were stopped by police."

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Open Thread

Hosted by a cat smoking a pipe.

Sometimes a cigar just... isn't a cigar at all

BoingBoing posted this hilariously unironic ad from WWII-era America.

Indeed, who is that man with the impressively large cigar? My guess is war profiteer. Although putting "Dramatist" among the high-status professions is curious.

Even curiouser is this funny little visual, which should be co-opted by the anti-circumcision lobby.

...or not O_O

Ah, the good old days...

Sculptures Made From Recycled Automobile Parts by Tom Samui

Swiss artist Tom Samui has been creating junkyard wonders for the last decade or so. He works with a team of 15 people creating these amazing sculptures. Tom has created hundreds of these sculptures, entirely made out of scrap car and motorcycle parts.

You’ll find animals, vehicles, people, creatures from fantasy and even some furniture in his collection. Many of the sculptures aren’t small, either. His T-Rex is about 28 feet in height. The build process involves collecting cars from a junkyard, then sorting through the parts. Then they are cleaned, and welded together, then polished and lacquered. Nothing is wasted. It takes about 400 hours to complete a large sculpture. This translates to about two to three months.

Question of the Day

Are you more likely to experience a fear of failure, or a fear of success?

Neither? Both?

Quote of the Day

"I repudiate, and I call on the President to repudiate, the concept of the 99% and the 1%. It is un-American, it is divisive, it is historically false."—Newt Gingrich.

lol your fuckbrain.

Photo of the Day

Lego Freddie Mercury
[Via.]

News I Don't Want to Write About

Here is the news I don't want to write about today!

There is the news of an alleged 13-year affair a woman named Ginger White had with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who is now reportedly "reassessing" his campaign. I find it deeply hilaritragic that it was not his total lack of qualifications, competency, or reasonable ideology that has rendered him unfit for the presidency in the estimation of conservative voters, nor even his being a serial sexual harasser, but the report that he may have had a consensual extramarital affair.

There is more depressing evidence that "Support the Troops" is a policy in bumper-sticker sloganeering only.

There is the revelation that iPhone4's virtual assistant Siri is anti-choice, refusing to direct users to abortion clinics. Womanly enough to sexually harass, but not womanly enough to be an ally to abortion-seeking women. (Not that all women are pro-choice, but a meaningful majority of them are.)

There is the ruling that Norwegian spree killer Anders Behring Breivik is mentally ill "and cannot be sentenced to prison or preventive detention, but can be confined to a mental hospital for the rest of his life."

There is the news that Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician, who was recently found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury in California, has been sentenced to four years. Okay. Because even contemplating the consumption of information about this case makes my brain short out from overwhelming relief that I am not a celebrity, I still know virtually nothing about it, but that sounds about right, I guess?

There is the fact that I agree with Ann Coulter about something. (Well, John McCain is a douchebag.) Now back to your regularly scheduled universe.

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.

I Write Letters

Dear Andrew Sullivan:

No.

Love,
Liss

Austerity in the UK: The new civil service

In case you haven't heard about it (and even if you have), British civil servants are planning a major one-day strike for tomorrow. They're protesting the conservative government's proposed austerity measures. More specifically, public employees are indignant about substantial increases in the contributions they must make to their pensions, and an increase in the retirement age. In order to save the UK government from a manufactured crisis, its employees will be working later in life for less pay. Where have I heard that before?

The Guardian has been providing tons of coverage from multiple perspectives. This includes quotes from workers, and analyses of why teachers will be striking.

By a moderate coincidence, a few days ago I got my annual statement from the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). Gold-plated it was not. New York State is constantly reducing the value and harshening the terms of its public employees' pension. (At the moment, NYS classifies its employees into one of five tiers based on their first date of service. The later one starts, the higher the tier and the less generous the pension.)

New York State employees are also looking at a pay freeze for multiple years (just like UK public employees), and required unpaid furloughs.

Anyhow, I thought I'd take this opportunity to express solidarity with workers in Britain while simultaneously beginning to explore why I chose to leave the public sector.

For me, my pay and benefits weren't as much of an issue as the lack of respect they represented. Don't get me wrong, there's all sorts of disrespect in the private sector. However, I think there's a fundamentally different dynamic to the abuse public employees deal with.

Let's say you're an employee in the private sector. If you refuse to work long hours, don't have the resources you need to do your job, are doing the work of multiple people, have incompetent coworkers or supervisors, you could cost your employer money, which could lead to you losing your job. Likewise, your boss might (also) be an asshole and/or cheap, and fire you for whatever. If you don't have a union, you're pretty much out of luck. If you do have a union, you still may be out of a job.

If you get fired or laid off under such circumstances, a lot of folks will conclude that your boss is an asshole. To hell with hir. What an isolated and unfortunately awful person.

Let's say you teach. You will most certainly be working long hours, doing the work of several people. It's pretty much a given that you won't have the resources available to do your job well.

These working circumstances fly in the face of a culture that claims that universal education is an important, fundamental right.

Some of your students will drop out or perform badly on standardized tests, or be unhappy with the education they received. This may be because the system sets up teachers and students to fail. It may be because some of your students do not have adequate food, shelter, and medical care, and are somewhat distracted from their studies.

It won't matter. Someone, somewhere will notice you or your institution, and you and/or your institution will be faced with pressure to "step up your game" or else. Every. Single. Night. you'll hear politicians and pundits talk about how lazy, inept, and overpaid you and your colleagues are. A lot of your neighbors, the same people who depend on your hard work, will agree with the pundits and they'll elect politicians that will continue to attack you.

And why, do you ask, would politicians attack teachers? Because teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. A lack of educated workers is what keeps the economy in shambles. The lack of quality education causes poverty, crime, and otherwise destroys our bootstraps.

In this line of reasoning, the key to social mobility (or the lack thereof) is education, not reckless speculators and wealthy tax scofflaws. After all, in this narrative the rich got where they are by virtue of their intelligence and education, not by virtue having vast amounts of privilege.

Teaching is important. Its something I enjoy immensely, and consider myself reasonably good at. In my job search, I applied for a lot of positions teaching and/or writing in public and private, for-profit and non-profit settings. They all paid a lot less than the job I'm ending up with, because I'll be working in a position that society agrees involves technical skills.

Thus, teaching is the most important job in the world yet anyone can do it. (See also: writing) Despite this, just about everyone who tries it fails miserably, because they are bad, lazy, incompetent people, which explains why teachers don't get paid squat.

Mixed messages, anyone?

Without going into the specifics of my job, my mental health has declined precipitously during the three-and-a-half years I've taught for the State University of New York. I'm not alone. When I started, my colleagues warned me this would happen. Apparently my profession breaks up families and destroys lives.

I couldn't take it anymore. My family couldn't take it anymore. I'm taking my Ativan (among other things) that I take for my multiple daily panic attacks and going home. I love teaching, but I grudgingly engage in occasional acts of self-care.

Here's one last thing. Three quarters of my teachers' union (which covers K-12 and SUNY teachers) are women. I suspect that many other sectors of the government workforce are heavily female (provision of health care and social services, for instance).

Throughout Europe, Canada, and the US, governments have also been at the forefront of hiring workers based on merit. I don't care what lies people have told you, modern governments tend to hire qualified candidates, even if they're not temporarily able-bodied, straight, cis, white, Protestant guys who are related to their supervisor. It's an open secret that the civil service is one of the places you go to get work when other people are too bigoted to hire you.

That the composition of the civil service doesn't mirror that of corporate boardrooms or government cabinets is not immaterial. In numerous times and places, meaningful public sector employment and the services that public employees provide have been important in aiding upward social mobility. Despite their talk, most of what has come to be termed "the 1%" isn't interested in social mobility or in paying taxes to support it.

The double talk, aggression, and hatred aimed at public employees from our bosses (ostensibly, our neighbors) takes a huge daily toll on us. This is why I standard in solidarity with the workers in Britain.

1 in 5 teenagers will experiment with art

An illustrator friend, Marc A., shared this on Facebook:

Hosted by the Philbrook Museum of Art

Considering how much dope gets smoked in art schools, though, the comparison may be a little too close for comfort.

Daily Dose of Cute

Lord Dudlington takes his breakfast on the settee.
Dudley—who, as previously documented, is One of Those Dogs who constantly has to be taken to the vet for something, whether it's eyeball drama or butt hullabaloo—was limping pitiably this weekend after hurting his front left paw while zooming around the backyard. Now, Dudz routinely tears his paws to pieces, because he is not only a beastie capable of running 45mph but also a total glaik, so we're used to cleaning cuts and removing thorns and not getting totally alarmed every time he has a little limp. But this was a serious limp, and we feared a broken or dislocated toe (to which greys are prone), so it was off to the vet. Again.

Luckily for Dudz (and us), it was not a broken toe; it's merely the equivalent of a sprained ankle. So he's been prescribed an anti-inflammatory and bed rest.


Zelda keeps watch on the floor in front of the settee: "I got this."
Trying to keep Dudz and Zelly from playing together is the hardest part, although I shan't complain about having two playful dogs who love each other.

At the animal clinic, the vet noticed that Dudley had some bruising on his belly and the inside of his back legs, easily noticeable since those areas are pink and hairless. "Um, that's where our other dog bumps him with her head when she runs underneath him," I told the vet. "It's, like, the best game ever." The vet and the vet tech laughed. Of course it is.

Yesterday, after we got home, I was watching Animal Cops: Phoenix and a mixed-breed dog that clearly had greyhound in him whimpered onscreen. Zel almost never reacts to anything on the television, but that greyhoundy whimper sent her tearing up the stairs to the loft where Dudley was resting, to make sure he was okay.


"Let me know if you need anything, buddy." BFFs.

Sexual Abuse Also Happens Outside of Penn State

[Trigger warning for sexual abuse]

The day after the Penn State Board of Trustees fired Joe Paterno and PSU president Graham Spanier for covering up rape and sexual abuse by assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a woman called the Syracuse police to allege that Syracuse assistant men's basketball coach Bernie Fine had molested one of her friends over an extended period of time. This set off a chain of events that has thus far led Syracuse University to fire coach Fine.

Authorities are closely examining the allegations against Fine nine years after this victim first contacted the Syracuse police and the Syracuse Post-Standard, eight years after he contacted ESPN, and six years after SU conducted an internal investigation. (Deadspin has a timeline of events.)

A few things have changed since 2002. Syracuse has a new police chief. In light of both the renewed interest in the allegations and events at Penn State, two more victims have came forward. As Fine allegedly abused one of these men in another state, the federal government still has time left under the statute of limitations to prosecute the coach. This was not the case with alleged abuse that occurred within New York. Oh, and also a pair of famous college coaches at Penn State are in deep trouble because one of them raped and otherwise abused some children, while the other one covered for him.

Now the police, media, and SU are suddenly very interested in finding out what happened.

Call me skeptical, but it seems like Joe Paterno has to get fired for folks with power to care about coaches sexually abusing children. This, in turn, discourages victims from coming forward.

Since Fine's first accuser came forward, he's been ignored for years and publicly condemned by legendary SU men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim (who subsequently issued a tepid quasi-apology). Meanwhile, after SU fired the abuser in light of substantial evidence that corroborates the victim's allegations, the Syracuse Post-Standard still seems unclear about nine years' worth of inaction. ("When the allegations first broke", SU did not "quickly [place] Fine on administrative leave" [emphasis mine].)

True to form, today's New York Times contains a lengthy story on Bernie Fine, much of which details what a great guy he is, despite getting fired for molesting boys.

As long as were swimming in a rape culture, sexual abuse will continue to be appallingly common and largely unprosecuted.

Luck is an attitude... a very Italian attitude

It's a cute ad, part of the new "Luck is an Attitude" campaign to push Martini on a younger generation. The aggressively flirtatious nature of Italian culture may rub some the wrong way, but it's actually pretty common there. I like the way Gianni keeps re-syching with his more passive self so that the day never really diverges except in sexiness and fun. And the vintage Italian film style and music certainly fit the brand.



What do you think?

Via Buzzfeed

The Walking Thread

"You should definitely use this gun to shoot me, because I am terrible."
Sunday night's episode was the mid-season finale, a new concept that means "We will be back when our ratings won't be torched by the holidays, i.e. February," and it was definitely the best (and THE WORST!) episode in quite some time. OMG that ending! Walking Dead, you are just lucky I ALSO watch Dexter, so I saw an EVEN SHITTIER reveal on the same night. Oy these shows.

Anyway! Let us commence discussion of the last episode that FOR SURE I'm absolutely positive about this felt exactly like a zombie munching on the contents of my brainpan.

(Spoilers lurch undeadly herein.)

"Boyfriend wanted" Facebook ad seems totally legit

It's for a speed dating site. I'm just always saddened that these ads target self-proclaimed married men.

(Then, of course, there's the copywriting...)

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

SSQ: "Synthicide"

Sesame Street's catchiest tune was stolen from Italian porn

"Vorrei manamanarti!"

The most infectious tune ever written was apparently revisited in the new Muppet Movie (which I have yet to see) but I recall it best from the golden age of Sesame Street:



Slate tracked down the original song to, of all places,  a 1968 Italian soft-core movie called Sweden: Heaven and Hell by Luigi Scattini.

From Amazon: "Edmund Purdom narrates a pseudo-documentary about sexuality in Sweden. It shows contraceptives for teen girls, lesbian nightclubs, wife swapping, porno movies, biker gangs, and Walpurgis Night celebrations. It also examines Sweden's purported drug, drinking and suicide problems. It features the original appearance of the Piero Umiliani's nonsense song 'Mah Nà Mah Nà' which was later popularized by 'Sesame Street' and 'The Muppet Show'"

Piero Umiliani, according to Wikipedia, "composed the scores for many exploitation films in the 1960s and 1970s, covering genres such as spaghetti western, Eurospy, Giallo, and soft sex films. Although not as widely regarded as, for example, Ennio Morricone or Riz Ortolani, he helped form the style of the typical European 1960s and 1970s jazz influenced film soundtrack, that later experienced a revival in films such as Kill Bill, and "Crepuscolo Sul Mare" in Ocean's Twelve."

In other words, he may be the most awesome composer you've never heard of. But Henson heard it when it briefly charted on US radio, and gave it eternal life.

Here's the original clip. It is pretty uncontroversial.

Economic News Round-Up

The password is: Unemployment.

LA Times—On the US: "Despite the nation's 9% jobless rate, Republicans have grown increasingly uneasy with providing additional unemployment benefits beyond the 26 weeks most states offer. More than 2 million jobless Americans will exhaust those benefits in the early weeks of the new year. The federal government has been supplementing the states to provide up to 99 weeks of benefits. Congress will need to devise a way to pay for the estimated $55-billion cost of the extra aid that will draw GOP support without alienating Democrats."

Belfast Telegraph—On the UK: "The UK's economy will slip back into recession in the coming months, a bleak forecast from the OECD revealed. The economic think-tank said the UK's GDP will shrink in the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012—the first time it has predicted a double-dip recession for the UK. ... The OECD also said unemployment, which currently stands at 8.3%—its highest since 1996—will rise to 9% in 2013 as jobs figures take a worse hit than in the recession following the banking crisis."

ABC Melbourne—On Australia: "A study looking at youth employment has found young people make up almost a quarter of Australia's long-term unemployed. ... Since 2008, the percentage of young Australians without a job for a year or longer has almost doubled."

AP—On Japan: "Government figures released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate adjusted for seasonal variations had jumped to 4.5 percent from 4.1 percent in September. Other recent indicators show slowdowns in exports and industrial production in the face of a strong yen and a sputtering global economy."

China Daily—On France: "The number of jobless people in France grew by 1.2 percent in October from a month earlier, as sluggish economic activities slowed job creation in the eurozone's second largest economy, official figures showed on Monday. According to labor ministry figures, France registered 34,400 more jobless people last month, which pulled up the country's total number of jobseekers to more than 2.814 million in France's mainland."

Asia One News—On Thailand: "The Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESDB) said yesterday that Thailand had 260,000 people out of work in the third quarter of this year and the flood had significantly affected workers' quality of life. The unemployment rate was expected to increase to 700,000-920,000 people, with household debts also rising."

NASDAQ—On Italy: "Italy's economy will contract by 0.5% in 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday in a new set of forecasts, sharply slashing projections of 1.1% growth made in May. ... Italy's new government needs to 'fully implement' emergency fiscal measures it inherited from its predecessor and 'undertake important structural reforms to spur growth,' doing so even as unemployment rises, the OECD said."

Bloomberg—On Spain: "Spain's economy is struggling to recover from a three-year slump as households spend less to pay off one of the largest private-debt burdens in the euro region. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its 2012 growth forecast for Spain to 0.3 percent from 1.6 percent yesterday, and said it sees unemployment peaking at 22.9 percent next year."

The Globe and Mail—On Greece: "In October, Greece's million-strong unemployed outnumbered the county’s 750,000 public sector workers as the country edged to the close of its fourth year of recession."

Not good. Meanwhile, the Eurozone crisis remains a primary global concern...

The Guardian's live coverage is here.

CBS News—EU leaders seek Hail Mary for the euro: "The 17 finance ministers of the countries that use the euro converged on EU headquarters Tuesday in a desperate bid to save their currency—and to protect Europe, the United States, Asia and the rest of the global economy from a debt-induced financial [disaster]. ... Even countries outside the eurozone were ratcheting up pressure on the ministers to find a solution. President Barack Obama, meeting with top EU officials on Monday, said a European failure to resolve its debt crisis would complicate his own efforts to create jobs in the U.S. And even Poland, historically wary of German dominance beyond its borders, appealed for help. 'I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is,' Radek Sikorski said in Berlin. 'I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity. You have become Europe's indispensable nation.'"

ABC News—Obama says US 'stands ready to do our part' for Eurozone crisis: "As the European debt crisis continues to escalate, President Obama urged European Union leaders today to act quickly to resolve the eurozone crisis... 'This is of huge importance to our own economy. If Europe is contracting or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home,' [the president said]. While Obama did not say what kind of assistance the U.S. would be willing to provide, earlier today the White House ruled out any financial contributions from U.S. taxpayers. 'We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States or from American taxpayers,' White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters. 'This is a European issue, that Europe has the resources and capacity to deal with it and that they need to act decisively and conclusively to resolve this problem,' Carney said."

So, basically, we're going to "help" by lecturing other countries to get their shit together while failing to get our shit together. Awesome. Austerity for everyone!

Reuters—Euro zone crisis biggest threat to global economy—OECD: "The euro zone's debt crisis has become the biggest threat to the global economy and a break up of the currency zone can no longer be ruled out, the OECD said on Monday, slashing its forecasts and urging the ECB to play a bigger role in defusing the crisis. ... A worst case scenario of continued inaction in the euro zone and the failure of U.S. lawmakers to agree a spending-reduction plan would usher in a devastating downturn for the world economy, the Paris-based OECD said."

Speaking of the Congressional Supercommittee, they have yet to do fuck-all, naturally. And Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is leading the charge on making it All President Obama's Fault, despite the fact that Republicans accuse him of railroading Congress when it suits their narrative, and now accuse him of, essentially, not railroading Congress. (As if Congressional Republicans could be railroaded, anyway.) Good fucking god, this country's national discourse is infuriating.

In other random economic news...

IndieBay: Interview with Scott Olsen about his injury from the police attack on Occupy Oakland (video).

Bloomberg: Moody's considers bank debt downgrade in 15 European nations.

Wall Street Journal: Facebook targets huge IPO.

CNN Money: American Airlines files for bankruptcy.

Bloomberg: How Paulson gave hedge funds advance word. And related to that: Paul Krugman's "Mission not accomplished."

New York Times: In gloomy economic times, Santas learn to help by curbing expectations.

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Freedom of Tweet

Last week, 18-year-old high school senior Emma Sullivan got in Big Trouble after tweeting that she had "made mean comments at" conservative Republican Governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, who was addressing a Youth in Government program, and told him that he "sucked." Sullivan actually had not done those things; her tweet was a joke to her then-65 followers, comprised of her friends. But Brownback's office, who fiercely monitors social media sites to document (and apparently whine about) criticism of the governor, ratted on Sullivan, whose principal ordered her to send Brownback a letter of apology. Sullivan refused, saying "she isn't sorry and doesn't think such a letter would be sincere."

Sullivan received a scolding at school and was ordered to send Brownback an apology letter. She said Prinicipal Karl R. Krawitz even suggested talking points for the letter she was supposed to turn in Monday.

...She said she thinks the tweet has helped "open up dialogue" about free speech in social media..

"I would do it again," she said.

...Sullivan said she disagrees with Brownback politically, particularly his decision to veto the Kansas Arts Commission's entire budget, making Kansas the only state in the nation to eliminate arts funding. Brownback has argued arts programs can flourish with private dollars and that state funds should go to core government functions, such as education and social services.

"I think it would be interesting to have a dialogue with him," she said. "I don't know if he would do it or not though. And I don't know that he would listen to what I have to say."

Sherriene Jones-Sontag, the governor's spokeswoman, told The Star previously that Sullivan's message wasn't respectful and that it takes mutual respect to "really have a constructive dialogue." Brownback's office didn't return calls or emails Sunday from the AP.

This is a man who ran for president of the United States, and we're meant to believe that he can't have a dialogue with a teenage girl who criticizes him with indelicate language, because it offends his delicate sensibilities? Yikes.

Again I will note with amusement how it is progressives—and feminist ladies in particular—who are constantly cast as "oversensitive," but I have engaged in dialogue on many occasions with people who have said much worse to me than that I "suck." And I am not a public official whose paycheck is drawn from a government which ostensibly guarantees the right to freedom of speech.

Sullivan's mother, Julie, said she isn't angry with her daughter, even though she thinks she "could have chosen different words."

"She wasn't speaking to the 3,000 followers she has now," Julie Sullivan said. "She was talking to 65 friends. And also it's the speech they use today. It's more attention grabbing. I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers. If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her."

Rock on, Mama Julie.

After Brownback and his staff tried to bully Emma Sullivan into silence and capitulation, and she and her mother were having none of it, guess what happened?

Brownback did announce this afternoon: "My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize."

Still no apology for using taxpayer dollars to monitor Twitter for any hint of criticism of the governor in direct contravention of free speech laws, though. Huh.

Scientists develop tool to measure Photoshop Disasters

Via Wired

Scientists in the United States have developed tools to quantify the amount that an image has been digitally manipulated — but only of they have access to the original image.

While Wired talks about the breakthrough as a way to regulate image manipulation in advertising, at a time when some jurisdictions are cracking down on altered images, Nature says the system was developed as a way of combatting image fraud in scientific journals.

Nature also quotes developer Hany Farid, a computer scientist who studies digital forensics, wo points out that this system is no magic bullet:

"The requirement for both original and retouched images is an obvious flaw in his system, admits Farid, as researchers can’t always find their originals. But, in his opinion, it is impossible to get an accurate score for the extent of manipulation without the original image. Moreover, for both scientific journals and popular magazines, the very act of requiring original images to be provided could act as a deterrent against manipulation, he says."

In advertising and the fashion industry, therefore, the system will only work if media or regulators institute a scale of manipulation and insist on access to unaltered images. Which won't do much to deter dishonest marketers, who are not bound by the same honour and reputation system as scientists.

So, while this is pretty cool, we'll probably have to keep discovering image fraud the old fashioned way.

Seen

On the bumper of a van in front of us on the road, on the way to dinner with friends Friday night: "If you can read this, you weren't ABORTED. Call your MOM and thank her."

Capitalization original.

I tried to get a picture of it at a stoplight, but our headlights' reflection off its gloss rendered it unreadable. Sad trombone.

Given the fact that Indiana has the most abortion restrictions of any state in the union, it might make more sense to call Mitch Daniels and thank him.

If you're the sort of person inclined to thank people for your lack of abortedness, that is.

Open Thread

Hosted by an octopus.

Field Of Light Installation by Bruce Munro

Lighting artist Bruce Munro has unveiled his latest light installation at Holbourne Museum in Bath, England. The field of more than 5,000 Christmas lights atop acrylic stems sprawls across the museum grounds intending to mimic the way a barren desert bursts into bloom after a brief rainfall. The artist was inspired to create the fantastic installation after a walkabout in the Australian desert landscape after rainfall.


















Source: flickr

VS Fashion Show: Unnatural Beauties

Beautiful disaster - jacked lower knee placement (worst chop)... right arm is long and is real thin, large, thin.. extra "ab" area with elongated panty (second worst chop), butt (ok.. we like the donky-donk.. but(t) this is ridiculous. by Catherine

I thought the explanation provided by Catherine was too funny not to share. The original can be found in the US Weekly page 12 issue 877 on the 9/05/11. If you can't see the PSD you can check out our red circle gallery to see the marked up image.

Why Computer Tech Support Is A Business Investment

 By Kevin Thereon 

Photo: techworxs.com

Computer tech support is any service that can provide guidance on how to solve PC problems, as well as helping you to make repairs to your computer. This is something that most of us will use on a personal basis and if you have a home computer then chances are that from time to time it will have gone wrong and you will have used computer tech support companies in order to handle the repairs for you.
These companies are highly useful and everyone should have the number of computer tech support, however for a business they are more than 'useful' and they are in fact a huge investment that can save a company huge amounts of money. How is this possible? Here we will look at why computer support is crucial for a business.
When you use computer tech support as a business this means using more than just PC repair. The idea is not only to repair your computers when something goes wrong, but also to prevent things from going wrong in the first place, and to make sure that things run better than well when things are going right so that your computer not only works, but works as quickly and efficiently as you could possibly need it to.
This then will mean that your computers are first of all as fast as they can be. PC support can do a PC performance check to make sure that everything is going well and this will help your staff to load their e-mail faster and to load the PCs up quicker in the mornings as well as getting each piece of software to start faster. If you consider that an average member of staff probably checks their e-mail about 5 times a day, and that they load about 5 programs, and that each process could take 2 minutes before your PC tech support, then each member of staff could lose around 20-30 minutes a day waiting for thing to load (particularly when you bear in mind that we tend to get distracted when the programs are loading).
Then if you have 20 members of staff in your office that's then 20x20 minutes wasted or in other words 400 minutes a day - more than five hours. This is then getting close to being able to hire an entire new member of staff for the amount of money you've wasted on slow computers.
This is also before you consider all the things that can go wrong and completely cease operations. If the computer crashes that's then even more time wasted waiting for it to start again. Or if the internet stops working then that means potentially hours until someone with no experience in PC repair gets it working again - hours when your staff are getting paid and not working. Meanwhile if PC problems mean that you have worse security or you lose important data this could then get your company into huge amounts of trouble with clients and customers or with the law which would cost you a lot of money in the short term and possibly cost you your reputation in the long term.

Computer tech support is important for everyone, but for businesses it is even more crucial. Click the links for PC repair and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Thereon

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6714688

Chick-Fil-A by no means wants you to eat more kale

That's Vermont artist Bo Muller-Moore, who sells his curious "Eat More Kale" shirts at eatmorekale.com. There, he says "I'm also about eating locally, supporting local farmers, bakers, famers markets, farm stands, CSA's, community gardens and restaurants, sustainable lifestyles, social commentary and community. Most importantly, I'm about printin' Vermont's one-at-a-time orginial design t-shirts. Have fun and remember: eat more kale!!!"

The man loves kale.

But Chick-Fil-A think it's a ripoff of their ads:

They have sent him a cease and desist letter, and are apparently prepared to sue. They even want him to hand over his internet domain. But Muller-Moore has lawyered up and declares, "Our plan is to not back down. This feels like David versus Goliath. I know what it's like to protect what's yours in business."

As does the big chicken chain, which will probably not give up either unless it starts to hurt their PR. Let's hope it does.

Via The Consumerist and Yahoo! Finance