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Big Love in China
In this episode of Sexy Beijing, Su Fei gets sick of the city life and goes to the countryside in search of love.
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Is marriage really just for white people?
As part of a CNN series "Black in America" producer Dionne Hill wonders if she'll ever get married. 45% of black women have never married, as opposed to 23%.
This statistic has led her to believe that marriage might be for white people.
I am neither black, nor female, (I am white and male) but I don't think marriage is that important. I mean I support gay marriage, and straight marriage, but only for financial reasons, and maybe for the open bars at the receptions.
But the whole institution doesn't seem that important to me.
What do you think? As part of a CNN series "Black in America" producer Dionne Hill wonders if she'll ever get married. 45% of black women have never marr... more -
House reconsiders 'don't ask, don't tell'
A House panel weighed overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday, the first time Congress has considered the rule since it was implemented 15 years ago.
Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Miltary Readiness said having gays in the military would be disruptive.
The policy, adopted in 1993, allows gay and lesbian individuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they do not publicly engage in homosexual behavior. The law also prevents military leaders from asking a service member about his or her sexual orientation.
Congress implemented the "don't ask, don't tell" law after President Clinton backed away from a plan to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military. The armed forces' most senior officers resisted the plan, saying they feared that homosexuals would disrupt unit cohesion and morale.
The House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee was considering a bill by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-California, that would repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 75 percent of respondents supported allowing gays to serve openly in the military, up from 62 percent in 2001 and 44 percent in 1993. A House panel weighed overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday, the first time Congress has considered the ... more -
Dying eight-year-old 'marries' his school sweetheart
Given only weeks to live, Reece Fleming proposed to his 'special friend' Elleanor Purgslove at a laser tag party.
After she accepted, their parents arranged a make-believe wedding at Reece's home in Mackworth, Derby. He died the next day with his family.
Reece's mother Lorraine Fleming said he told her, "I can go now" after his wish had been granted.
The 28-year-old said: ""He was so proud of her, and we were proud of them both."
Reece was diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2004, when he was aged just four.
He fought the disease for four years until May when doctors told him he had just weeks to live.
Ms Fleming, said she and his stepfather Mick Thompson had tried to help him achieve as much as possible before his death, including marrying his sweetheart.
"When we found out that we only had a few weeks with him we tried to do absolutely everything with him that we could.
"Him and Ellie had been 'special friends' for a couple of years but then they broke up.
"We said we'd have a pirate party, and Ellie came. She went to visit Reece a few times in hospital as well.
She added: "We also had a football and laser quest party, apparently that's when he proposed to her."
The pair went out to dinner in the mayor's limousine and the families organised a 'wedding', complete with rings, a stand-in vicar and a certificate.
The ceremony was carried out on July 4 and the following day Reece died at home with his family and a Macmillan nurse.
At his funeral, mourners followed a horse-drawn hearse on foot.
Ms Fleming added: "Even on the Saturday that he died, he got out of bed and walked to the sofa.
"He always tried walking, right to the end, so we thought if he walked for us then we would walk for him." Given only weeks to live, Reece Fleming proposed to his 'special friend' Elleanor Purgslove at a laser tag party. ... more -
First flush of love not emotional
This is an oldie, but goodie.
When you first fall in love, you are not experiencing an emotion, but a motivation or drive, new brain scanning studies have shown.
The early stages of a romantic relationship spark activity in dopamine-rich brain regions associated with motivation and reward. The more intense the relationship is, the greater the activity.
The regions associated with emotion, such as the insular cortex and parts of the anterior cingulate cortex, are not activated until the more mature phases of a relationship, says Helen Fisher, an anthropologist from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Fisher and colleagues recruited seven male and 10 female volunteers who claimed to be madly in love. They asked them to look at pictures of either their loved one or another familiar person while inside a functional MRI scanner.
Eating chocolate
Early on in a relationship, the images showed that the brain seems to be very focused on planning and pursuit of pleasurable reward, says Fisher, mediated by regions called the right caudate nucleus and right ventral tegmentum. The same regions become active when a person enjoys the pleasure of eating chocolate, she adds.
There are also patterns that resemble aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder. "Activity in one particular area of the anterior cingulate cortex is in common," says Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who was part of the research team. "The activity is correlated with the length of a relationship, lasting just into the emotional stage."
There are some differences between love-struck men and women, says Fisher. Women in love show more emotional activity earlier on in a relationship. They also seem to quiz their memory regions as they look at pictures of their partner, perhaps paying more attention to their past experience with them.
For men, perhaps unsurprisingly, love looks a little more like lust, with extra activity in visual areas that mediate sexual arousal.
The team has since moved on to examining the final phase of romance. "We are now looking at people who have just been rejected," says Fisher. The research was presented at the Society for Neuroscience's meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday. This is an oldie, but goodie. ... more -
Teens want to talk more about sex, parents are too embarrassed!
"Parents are missing out on vital conversations with their children about sex because of embarrassment, a report for the government says.
A study by author and agony aunt Anita Naik found three-quarters of 11-to- 14-year-olds wished it was easier to talk to their parents about sex.
And a poll found that 44% of young people did not trust the information they received from friends.
Most felt talking would not encourage them to have sex, as many parents fear.
More than half of parents (55%) held back from talking about sex, the survey suggests, because of embarrassment about how to start.
Fathers were much less likely than mothers to get involved in conversations with their sons about sex. " "Parents are missing out on vital conversations with their children about sex because of embarrassment, a report for the government sa... more -
How to survive a long distance relationship
A funny video chronicling the plight of those involved in LDRs.
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Canto Della Terra/Song of the Earth
Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This song particularly (along with Sogno) uplifts my spirit and is not only a song of love, but a song to celebrate our Earth. Perhaps a positive vibe will go a bit of the way to truly changing this world. I hope so, because to be honest I have been losing hope in people of late. I hope this song uplifts you as it does me.
And just as a sidenote: We need the mighty sun to save our planet and ourselves.
Translation of the song:
Yes I know
My love, that you and I
Are together briefly
For just a few moments
In silence
As we look out of our windows
And listen
To the sky
And to a world
That's awakening
And the night is already far away
Already, far away
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope and some
Sun, sun sun
My love, you are you my love
I hear your voice,
And I listen to the sea.
It sounds just like your breathing
And all the love you want to give me
This love
That is there, hidden
Hidden among the waves
All the waves in the world
Just like a boat that....
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope,
And some sun, sun, sun,
Some sun, sun, sun.
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Giving us some sun,
Mighty sun
Mighty sun
Mighty sun Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This s... more -
10 powerful requests for today
10 powerful requests for today - by Dieter Braun (Indian in the machine)
www.indianinthemachine.com
1. I request to live in pure clean air, and to have pure clean water and
soil to grow pure clean food. Pure clean air, food, water and soil are a birthright to all.
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2. I desire to purify myself in a joyful and powerful manner.
3. I request the end of the bush cabal and/or any dark cabal, and the
transmutation of all darkness I experience, into Light.
4. I request the Angels of the Universe, to come even closer to planet Earth.
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5. I request that humans reaffirm their need for outside assistance at
this time, from our loving star family.
6. I desire to live on planet Earth, to experience permanent peace on planet Earth.
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7. I comprehend that all are equal in the universe, therefore may all
manmade laws reflect this immediately and Now!
8. I desire to live in a world where spiritual awareness is a priority in governance.
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9. I call for the end of all planetary slavery!
10. I call forth financial abundance to spread far and wide across the planet like never before!
Read more from Indian in the Machine Dieter Braun at www.indianinthemachine.com
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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthblog.blogspot.com
where we know there are many ways to understand energy.
To paraphrase Dr. King Jr., [Darkness can not overcome darkness,
only light can do that. Violence can not overcome violence,
only love can do that.]
Embody love and light up the darkness. 10 powerful requests for today - by Dieter Braun (Indian in the machine) www.indianinthemachine.com ... more -
Salma Single Again!
Her ex is the CEO of the company that owns Gucci, among others. Any takers out there?
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A Romantic Evening
This is proof that Manly Men can be romantic. My friend put me up to it and she was impressed. But it is TOOOOOOOOO sappy, corny, sweet, and everything in between. This is proof that Manly Men can be romantic. My friend put me up to it and she was impressed. But it is TOOOOOOOOO sappy, corny, swee... more
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Helen Fisher: The brain in love
Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.
Helen Fisher's courageous investigations of romantic love -- its evolution, its biochemical foundations and its vital importance to human society -- are informing and transforming the way we understand ourselves. Fisher describes love as a universal human drive (stronger than the sex drive; stronger than thirst or hunger; stronger perhaps than the will to live), and her many areas of inquiry shed light on timeless human mysteries, like why we choose one partner over another.
Almost unique among scientists, Fisher explores the science of love without losing a sense of romance: Her work frequently invokes poetry, literature and art -- along with scientific findings -- helping us appreciate our love affair with love itself. In her research, and in books such as Anatomy of Love and 2004's Why We Love, Fisher looks at questions with real impact on modern life. Her latest research raises serious concerns about the widespread, long-term use of antidepressants, which may undermine our natural process of attachment by tampering with hormone levels in the brain. Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for ro... more -
Stand By Your Man
Venus will do anything for her man. Even if it means seeing him behind bars for 14 years.
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Worst break-ups ever turned into a play: are yours as dramatic?
Ok, so it’s not high on the 'lots of wars, lots of conflict' news agenda, but it is proper interesting. And it has a topical peg and everything.
When the Bush Theatre asked people to share their worst break-up experiences, it was inundated with replies. Now those stories have become a play, '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover', which will debut at Latitude festival this weekend.
Ranging from the flippant one-line kiss-off to the tender conclusion of a quarter-century of marriage, a four-strong cast, two women and two men, including Ralf Little, best known as The Royle Family's Anthony, will race through 50 break-ups in as many minutes in a lo-fi production that was originally commissioned for Latitude Festival. Sounds like fun!
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, a kind of Bayeux Tapestry of broken hearts, features the much-loved/hated clichés ("Let's just be friends", "I'm not ready for a relationship" etc) but also some spectacularly inventive excuses for waving goodbye. Who, for example, could argue with the following? "Yeah, I see a future for us, but it's more a global warming and climate catastrophe sort of vision. So I'm going take some preventative measures. For the sake of the planet."
What about the cad who dumped his lady via his Facebook status? Or the girl who was charmed by the love token of a hand-made teddy bear, only to discover that it growled, "you're dumped. And I want my CDs back" when she squeezed its tummy? Or the charmer ended it all "three days before the wedding.... I told her I was gay... It wasn't very nice..."
So go on, let it all out. What are your worst break-up stories?
Ok, so it’s not high on the 'lots of wars, lots of conflict' news agenda, but it is proper interesting. And it has a topical peg and e... more -
Naughty Teacher of the Week: Brenda Baillargeon
Brenda Baillargeon, 40, a former teacher’s aide at Amery High School in Amery, Wisconsin was sentenced to one year in the county jail and 15 years probation for engaging in sex with a 16-year-old male student. Orginally she was arrested on 3 counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff and 2 counts of child enticement with sexual contact.
Mother-of-four Baillargeon entered a no contest pleas to one count of sex assault of a student by school staff and one count of child enticement with sexual contact. In exchange for her no context plea three other felony charges were dismissed.
The boy's family, according to the court's victim advocate, said they were satisfied with the outcome.
The teenager's mother became suspicious about the relationship last fall -- a relationship Baillargeon and the boy first denied to investigators. The mother obtained a restraining order, which Baillargeon repeatedly ignored.
She had sex with him at his home, at his grandfather's cabin, on a bench at a nearby park and at her cabin near Amery over the course of seven months. Brenda Baillargeon, 40, a former teacher’s aide at Amery High School in Amery, Wisconsin was sentenced to one year in the county jail ... more -
Devoted widower finishes 15-year labour of love on 'jigsaw' of shredded love lett...
A widower has pieced together thousands of fragments of romantic notes that he sent to his late wife who shredded them in a fit of pique.
Ted Howard wrote 98 letters to his sweetheart Mollie during the seven years he spent courting her. However, she tore them into pieces and stuffed them into a cushion after finding someone reading them in 1953.
It has taken Mr Howard 15 years to put the fragments back together. The 82-year-old, whose wife died three years ago, said that the mental exercise helped him deal with his grief.
"I still miss Mrs Howard terribly but having the memories helps me through," he said. "The letters brought back so many good times. I now want to write a book about them so everything is committed to paper before it is too late." Mr Howard, of Ramsey, Cambs, a retired farmworker and machinery demonstrator, wrote the letters to Mrs Howard on hotel writing paper as he travelled Europe in the late Forties and early Fifties
After he finished putting each note back together, he photocopied it then returned the fragments to the cushion.
Mr Howard said: "It was love at first sight. No two ways about it. I was at a village feast and this girl jumped off the carousel and came careering into me. It turned out to be Mrs Howard. That was July 19, 1948."
Mrs Howard was 18 at the time while Mr Howard was 23. They married in 1955 and went on to have three children and six grandchildren. Mr Howard, who has written an autobiography, Life on the Fen Edge, is ready to start a book on the letters, called A Week At Stanton. It will be dedicated to Mrs Howard. A widower has pieced together thousands of fragments of romantic notes that he sent to his late wife who shredded them in a fit of piq... more -
Rejection
A Preview of the upcoming film noir Rejection.
Starring David Moore and Noelani Sing.
With Ana Martinez and Raoul Paisner.
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A Menace 2 Suburbia Production.
Witten and directed by Jacques Paisner.
From a short story in ALBUEQUERQUE BLUES (2007) TouchArt Books.
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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
A Preview of the upcoming film noir Rejection. Starring David Moore and Noelani Sing. With Ana Martinez and Raoul Paisner. ... more -
Sad pets need love and exercise - not drugs
The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior-modification and “lifestyle” drugs specifically for pets. America’s animals, it seems, have very American health problems. More than 20 percent of our dogs are overweight; Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved by the F.D.A. last year as the country’s first canine anti-obesity medication. Dogs live 13 years on average, considerably longer than they did in the past; Pfizer’s Anipryl treats cognitive dysfunction so that absent-minded pets can remember the location of the supper bowl or doggy door. For lonely dogs with separation anxiety, Eli Lilly brought to market its own drug Reconcile last year. The only difference between it and Prozac is that Reconcile is chewable and tastes like beef.
Doggy diet pills may be plainly absurd, but scientists in an expanding field known as behavioral pharmacology say that the combination of new drug therapies and progressive training techniques can solve problems that in the past almost always resulted in euthanasia. The supposed effectiveness of psychiatric medicines in treating mood and behavior issues is prompting new questions in the centuries-old debate over what, exactly, separates mankind from the beasts. If the strict Cartesian view were true — that animals are essentially flesh-and-blood automatons, lacking anything resembling human emotion, memory and consciousness — then why do animals develop mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones and that respond to the same medications? What can behavioral pharmacology teach us about animal minds and, ultimately, our own?
Marketers have a new name for the age-old tendency to view animals as furry versions of ourselves: “humanization,” a trend that is fueling the explosive growth of the pet industry and the rise of modern pet pharma. Americans forked over $49 billion for pet products and services last year, up $11.5 billion from 2003; other than consumer electronics, pet products are the fastest-growing retail segment. The market expansion is being driven both by more pets and by more spending per pet, especially by affluent baby boomers whose children have graduated from college. A third of the total spending, and the fastest-growing category, is health care, with treatments formerly reserved for people — root canals, chemotherapy, liposuction, mood pills — being administered to pets.
“I get asked all the time, ‘What is it with this humanization — do we suddenly love our pets a whole lot more?’ ” says David Lummis, who analyzes the pet industry for the market research firm Packaged Facts. “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet.”
Humanization has pharmaceutical companies salivating like Pavlov’s dogs. Surveys by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found that 77 percent of dog owners and 52 percent of cat owners gave their animals some sort of medication in 2006, both up at least 25 percentage points from 2004. Sales of drugs for pets recently surpassed those for farm animals. Eli Lilly created its “companion animal” division at the beginning of 2007 and over the next three years hopes to release several other drugs. Pfizer, whose companion animal revenues have grown 57 percent since 2003 to nearly $1 billion, hopes to develop medications for pain, cancer and behavioral issues. Most consumer spending is still on traditional pet medications like antiparasitics, but Ipsos, a marketing research firm, estimates that at least $15 million was spent on behavior-modification drugs in the United States in 2005. The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and ph... more -
Rejected Red Panda adopted by Cat
A newborn red panda rejected by its mother in Amsterdam's Artis zoo has been adopted by a domestic cat, the zoo said Friday. The cat is nursing the red panda, currently about the size of a kitten, along with her own four kittens, the zoo said.
The red panda was born on June 30 and rejected by its mother soon afterwards. Red pandas look like raccoons and when fully grown are slightly larger than a domestic cat -- substantially smaller than the black and white giant panda.
For Full story
http://www.worldamazingrecords.com
A newborn red panda rejected by its mother in Amsterdam's Artis zoo has been adopted by a domestic cat, the zoo said Friday. The cat i... more
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