Bridget

If you're planning on grabbing Evolve when it launches tomorrow, you'll pretty much be getting a multiplayer experience similar in concept to Left 4 Dead where you can take on one of three monsters as one of 12 hunters (or vice versa). But it's a bit more complicated than that.

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Employees at a chain of British DIY stores are being encouraged to flip through Fifty Shades of Grey and get ready to field relevant questions from curious customers, and managers "need to be aware of the implications that the film may have on stock levels." This is probably the most exciting thing to hit hardware stores since HGTV.

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flycatcher263

Environment

My mother died recently and at the funeral home I was asked if I had any ideas what kind of coffin she would like. For some reason I said something environmentally friendly. These words came out of my mouth more out of nervousness than anything previously discussed with my mother. Duly the undertaker showed us a catalogue of wicker coffins and we chose one made of banana leaves.

I often think of my carbon footprint – I have not owned a car in more than 15 years, for example – but I had never thought about my “green obligations” in death.

It's finally here! The official trailer for one of the most anticipated films of the summer involving Los Angeles's own N.W.A., "Straight Outta Compton." The movie depicts the story of rap group N.W.A., AKA Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and...

ladyclairebear360:

Creamed, everywheeere…

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"Venus and Cupid" by Alessandro Allori

It's February. Which means it's almost time for Valentine's Day, that anxiety-inducing holiday that often ends with us broke from buying gifts for unrequited loves and crying while we creep on our ex's Instagram. At this point, everyone has accepted that Valentine's Day isn't about real love, it's about making us feel shitty and the holiday-industrial complex squeezing us for all of our hard-earned cash. Yet that reality hasn't deterred young couples from indulging in the ubiquitous dinner, movie, and dry handjob routine, or stopped singles looking for love from right-swiping on Tinder until they get carpal tunnel.

If we are going to get conned year after year into celebrating Cupid's dreadful holiday, we should at least make the most of it by forgoing the off-brand drug store chocolates and the teddy bears made in sweatshops. This year, give your Valentine one of the gifts from my thoughtful guide that will ensure that even if you don't fall in love, you'll probably bust a nut.

For Your Grindr Date

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Enema Bulb Syringe (buy at Amazon.com $14.34)

What could possibly be more considerate than rinsing your colon for a potential romantic encounter? This eco-friendly Enema Bulb Syringe will make cleaning out the ol' pipes quick and easy so you can get to the fun part of sticking foreign objects in your back door.

For Your Tinder Date

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Plan B (buy at Walgreens for $49.99)

First impressions are everything on a Tinder date. Most people will show up with their pockets bursting with prophylactics. Dare to be different by packing the Plan B. Having a couple morning-after-pills on deck shows that you like it raw like ODB, but you're not "for the children."

For Your Long-Term Boyfriend

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Clone-a-Willy (buy at cloneawilly.com for $44.95)

Although diamonds might be forever, good dick isn't. As the years go by, your bae's boner, which stands up as straight as a flag pole on the Fourth of July, is gonna be as limp as a wet noodle one day. Capture the glory of his penis while it's still in its prime with this Clone-a-Willy Kit. That way you'll always be able to have access to the cock you fell in love with. And he'll have a totem of his groin's glory days. It's the kind of gift that keeps on giving.

For the Polyamorous Couple[body_image width='610' height='610' path='images/content-images/2015/02/05/' crop='images/content-images-crops/2015/02/05/' filename='valentines-day-gift-guide-body-image-1423155705.jpg' id='24899']

Moregasm Kit (buy at babeland.com $250.00)

You might be asking yourself, "How can I possibly pleasure all of the peens and vageens in my life this Valentine's Day?" Well the answer is: the Moregasm Kit. If you can't keep the bodily fluids flowing with this bad boy, maybe you need to cut a few members from your roster.

For the Guy You Met on Craigslist

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The Vajankle (buy at sinthetics.com $175.00)

Hooking up with people on Craiglist can be a fast track to ending up on the back of milk carton. But then again, who doesn't love a little kink? If you show up to your creepy date's house with this fuckable severed foot, maybe he'll let you keep yours.

For the Missionary Couple

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Noise Perfume (buy at ephemera.pl $91.66)

I get it, not everybody's into anal beads and nipple clamps. There are other dimensions to sexuality. Olfactory is one of the most fun, because it can conjure up so many intense feelings. These scents by Ephemera are designed to smell like sounds—bass, drone, and noise—and can take you back to the first time you two met at that sweaty summer loft party in Bushwick, where there were bands playing, trippy art installations happening, and you both were praying you had on clean underwear.

For Your Girlfriend Who's More Interested in Erotic Novels

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Fetish Fantasy Ultimate Bondage Kit (buy at Amazon.com $29.29)

There is a strong chance that your significant other wants to drag you to the movie theater on Valentine's Day to see Hollywood's hackneyed take on BDSM. Instead of allowing their heads to fill up with unrealistic expectations, show them what bondage is all about in the comfort of your own home with some Chinese takeout, a funny safe word like "Gary Coleman," and this nifty starter kit.

For the Long-Distance Couple

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Twist Cyper Pleasure Toy (buy at lovepalz.com $79.00)

Celebrating Valentine's Day long-distance used to mean sharing late night sexts and whacking off over the phone together, hoping to have simultaneous petit morts. But thanks to the Twist Cyper PleasureToy, you can get your loved one off from anywhere on the planet with these interactive teledildonics.

For the Lesbian Couple

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The Semenette (buy at thesemenette.com $139.95)

Sure, the Seamenette comes off like a glorified turkey baster. But don't diss it until you fuck it. If you're trying to knock up your partner, strapping one of these squirting rubber dicks adds a pretty exciting level of intimacy to a process that is usually kind of clinical. At the end of the day, what's the fun in baby-making if you can shoot some splooge?

For the Girl Who Hates Valentine's Day

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Bijoux 21 Diamond Vibrator (buy at adamandeve.com $60.00)

You might be a woman who prefers staying at home to enjoy her singledom with a marathon of rom-coms and a half-pint of ice cream, but that doesn't mean you can't show yourself a little love. Gift yourself this glamorous three-speed diamond shaped vibrator to enjoy between Hugh Grant scenes.

For your Galentines[body_image width='819' height='1024' path='images/content-images/2015/02/05/' crop='images/content-images-crops/2015/02/05/' filename='valentines-day-gift-guide-body-image-1423155829.jpg' id='24907']

Best Bitches Bracelet (buy at shopjeen.com $13.00)

Sometimes you have to remind your girls that you couldn't navigate this harsh patriarchal world without them. Show them you love them by crowning them as your best bitches with these throwback bracelets.

For the Guy Who Can't Afford a Date

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Tenga Egg (buy at babeland.com $8.50)

Just because you are broke as shit and can't afford to take some ungrateful broad out to a fancy dinner and a movie, it doesn't mean you shouldn't treat yourself. Instead of using the money you find in your couch on a Hot-and-Ready, splurge on a Tenga Egg and get to stroking.

For the Long-Term Girlfriend

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Crave Vesper (buy at babeland.com $149.00)

Your lady has probably hinted at a couple pieces of pricey jewelry she would be interested in receiving on Valentine's Day, but when was the last time a diamond ring gave her an orgasm? Get her this shiny 24K gold Crave Vesper necklace that doubles as a vibrator.

For the Cosplay Couple

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Fox Anal Butt Plug (buy at etsy.com $34.99)

What self-respecting man doesn't fantasize about doing it doggy-style with a furry little fox? Make your boo's dreams come true by shoving this fox tail up your foxhole. Nothing says love like not being able to sit down.

Follow Erica Euse on Twitter.

Feasts in Westeros can be dangerous affairs. If I ever received an invitation to dine with any families in the major Houses, I’d probably find a way to sneak in my own food and drink. You can never be too safe. And if the event was a wedding, I would run away and change my name. I have different feelings about the officially sanctioned Game of Thrones pop-up restaurant headed to London, though. That’s a feast I would sign up for in a heartbeat.

The feast, called All Men Must Dine, is tied into promotion for the release of the fourth season of the HBO series on DVD and Blu-ray. It’s sadly not an event you can purchase tickets for and attend. Seats for the banquet were given away in a contest that ended on February 4th. The feast will take place over three days, February 13-15th at the Andaz hotel on Liverpool Street. The Wandering Chef and Grosvenor Mixologists have created a meal with multiple courses and cocktails, and I bet none of them involve dove-stuffed pie.

Because it’s Game of Thrones, the event is themed — it’s the only right way to do it. The banquet is set around a clandestine meeting of the Small Council in King’s Landing. Maybe that means fictional heads will roll while attendees chow down on “The Lies of Tyrion Lanninster and his Proclaimed Innocence” and “Poached Veal Tongue with Beetroot, Horseradish and Oldtown Mustard.”

My stomach is growling. Here’s hoping the lucky winners take plenty of photos at the event.

HT: Eater and The Independent

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Photos courtesy of the author

"I have an issue with live blood," taxidermist Katie Innamorato told us as she readied to rip the head off of a dead rabbit. "It freaks me the fuck out."

Sitting in the basement of the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, I was one of nine students squeamishly awaiting our first lesson in taxidermy. ("We all look so normal!" Erin McCarson, a fellow student, noted with surprise before the class began). Our instructor, Innamorato, travels the country teaching the brave and curious how to create their own jackalope head mounts—classes cost around $250 for the five-hour lesson.

I wasn't brave, but I was curious. As a vegetarian, I was also nervous. Would manipulating a rabbit corpse into a work of art be just as bad, ethically, as eating one? I wondered.

Whatever my fears, Innamorato dispelled them. Sporting a fresh thigh tattoo of her pet fox Banjo and "cat husband" Havoc, Innamorato rotated from student to student with a silvery fox tail dangling from her waist. She had originally wanted to work as a veterinarian, but seeing animals in pain turned her away from the job. Instead, she started picking up roadkill and using her talent for sculpture to turn the corpses into art—kind of like recycling.

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Although she also teaches taxidermy using other rodents, Innamorato's jackalope class might be, well, the cutest she offers. Jackalopes—as a concept—have existed since the 1930s, and many people still wonder if rabbit-antelope hybrids are actually real animals. They're not: "When I lived in Arizona I thought I saw a jackalope," student Fifi Dupree confessed to the class. "I was wrong."

According to the New York Times, Wyoming's Douglas Herrick deserves credit for the invention of the jackalope. Herrick's brother Ralph told the paper's obituary section that Douglas came up with the idea when they threw a dead jackrabbit across their shop. "It slid on the floor right up against a pair of deer horns we had in there. It looked like that rabbit had horns on it."

[body_image width='1600' height='1071' path='images/content-images/2015/02/03/' crop='images/content-images-crops/2015/02/03/' filename='how-to-make-jackal-789-body-image-1422981137.jpg' id='23803']

To make our own jackalopes, Innamorato first wanted us to follow her example and twist the head off a bunny.

"I don't know if I can do this," someone in the room said.

The first steps, before the decapitation, seemed easy: We massaged our frozen bunnies to loosen up their skin. After we gave our bunnies a massage, we slit their tiny, furry wrists. We then followed the skin around the back of the necks with our scalpels. (Many of the rabbits' noses began to bleed at this point.) With the skin loosened, we slowly peeled it up over the rabbit's heads, a movement akin to taking a sweater off. We then cleaned the inside-out hide of any meat that could rot. The pink, fleshless, bug-eyed heads remained leftover, staring up at us from the table.

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Innamorato explained a couple easy ways to clean the skulls if we wanted to hang onto them: We could simmer the rabbit heads in a pot for half an hour to 45 minutes and then whiten them with peroxide, or simply bury the skull in the backyard and dig it up again in a few months. As for other preservation techniques, she said, "You can buy formaldehyde off Amazon. A lot of people don't know that."

The participants who lacked an interest in preserving the skulls donated scraps to Innamorato. She utilizes every nook and cranny of the rabbit bodies in her art and is currently mulling over the idea of gluing two bunny rumps together and calling the piece "Going Nowhere."

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Next, we smashed our deflated bunny skins into cups of alcohol. Innamorato gave us foam, and then we carved it match the shape of the decapitated heads. (Some students had worked up the guts to twist the rabbit heads off themselves; I left that part to our capable teachers). Once we successfully cleaned our skins, we worked to fit them on bodies made of foam, clay, and fine shreds of wood. Then we glued beads into the empty eye sockets and used pins to make the skin hold and dry naturalistically. With some wiggling, we pushed plastic into the ears to prop them up from the inside, and for the final touch, we glued pieces of deer antler on the bunny heads. After five exhausting hours, our jackalopes were complete.

The entire process is, well, gross. But even as a vegetarian I had a hard time finding fault with taxidermy. Innamorato has a deeply rooted moral viewpoint that keeps her treatment of animals respectful and professional, and she's eager to educate her students on the topic. "When I was a kid," she said, "my dad would tell me, 'Do you know where meat comes from? Cut off your leg, that's meat.'" We're not that different from rabbit corpses, after all.

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For more bunny taxidermy, visit Innamorato's website and find her work on Etsy.

Follow Jeva Lange on Twitter.

Up until today, my plan for the robot takeover had been to flee to northern Canada, where deep snow and grizzly bears would keep me safe from Skynet. But not any more, because some smartass decided to teach the droids to ski. Great work, guys.

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via http://currrzio.tumblr.com/page/2

Erowid Recruiter is a gift to us all.

Our culture is obsessed with food. This manifests in a variety of movements, from those fighting to stem America's obesity epidemic to a growing emphasis on "clean eating" and "juicing." But while the latter's attention to health seems universally beneficial, it comes at a huge cost for some. 

"Orthorexia nervosa" is defined by the National Eating Disorder Association as an "unhealthy obsession with otherwise healthy eating" in which individuals become "fixated on food quality and purity." Orthorexia registers as an emotional quest related to quality of food — and, by extension, the quality of oneself. Read More

theasphodelmeadows:

Birthday Party-era Nick Cave with a guitar in his hands for no apparent reason 

sonicthehedgegod:

this is where dril writes his tweets from

Heartbreak

cannotunsee:

Taylor Swift vs. Nine Inch Nails - Shake It Off (The Perfect Drug)

austpicious:

A painting of Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave by Australian artist Ben Smith titled “The Influence: Leonard Cohen consoles Nick Cave”.

Oh hell yes: BattleBots is coming back to TV. This summer, homemade robots will battle to the death on television, just as Asimov intended. They'll be faster and stronger than ever before. Which makes sense, because the last time BattleBots was on television was over a decade ago. Imagine what they could do now.

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lancrebitch:

alittlelostsputnik:

tinyratfeet:

aquasplendens:

themakeupwitch:

ask-a-zebra:

Having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome sometimes feels about the equivalent of being composed of jello and wet spaghetti. Nothing stays where its supposed to. Literally every single cell in the body is floppy, so fingers are definitely an issue for many of us. I can almost guarantee that for the majority of us, writing is not only slow and painful but nearly impossible at times. FIne motor skills? What even are those? An EDSer surely doesn’t have any of those. Even typing which is far easier than writing, is painful and daunting at times. But last year I joined the population of shiny zebras by getting fitted for a set of Silver Rings Splints and they are beyond magical.

For those of you who have not heard of The Silver Ring Splint Company, they are a company that custom makes finger splints that look like elegant pieces of jewelry. Don’t believe me? Well I can’t even tell you how many compliments I’ve received for them. Nobody even suspects that they might possibly be medical. But more importantly, they work amazing! I still have hand pain and finger dislocations when performing fine motor skills and writing is definitely not something I look forward to but I have saved myself thousands of painful dislocations, I can open doors easier, type faster, write longer and hold objects in my hands without looking like an alien from a sic-fi movie. With the rings on my fingers actually look like fingers rather than tentacles!

The company is also family owned and the people are so sweet and helpful!

If you are having trouble with hand pain, clumsiness and dislocations please check out this amazing company!

http://www.silverringsplint.com

I’m literally crying right now. I will be able to use my hands!!! As it stands I can’t do dishes, hold things, write, hold books, type, without pain or dislocation. Oh my gosh. This is a miracle.

@peaceypanic

those are gorgeous and that is amazing how well they’re working! signal boost!

I love these things. I use one for my thumb because due to arthritis I have very little strength/support in the joint and therefore often can’t do anything. My splint makes it possible for me to do my job, do the shit i need to do and not have as bad of pain. 

these are so cool

omg the first ehlers danlos post I’ve seen, this makes me happy!

Amid news of a measles outbreak among five infants at a daycare center in the Chicago area this month, the spread of preventable diseases is only getting worse, thanks to the unfounded anti-vaxxer hysteria that vaccines cause autism in children. That’s why it’s so important that Rob Ring, chief science officer of the well-known autism advocacy group Autism Speaks came forward to insist that parents to vaccinate their children.

“Over the last two decades, extensive research has asked whether there is any link between childhood vaccinations and autism,” Ring said in a statement, via ABC News. “The results of this research are clear: Vaccines do not cause autism. We urge that all children be fully vaccinated.”

Despite the fact that the infamous the 1998 Wakefield study was debunked as fraudulent in 2010, and resulted in the study’s author Andrew Wakefield losing his medical license, the anti-vaxxer movement inexplicably continues to wield influence. This year, the hysteria has resulted in an easily preventable outbreak of measles infecting over 100 victims spread across 14 states, stemming from an outbreak in Disneyland. This bizarre preference to have a dead kid, and kill other kids in the process, over having an autistic kid has led to many children suffering from a disease that should, by all accounts, be a distant memory thanks to modern medicine.

Although we appreciate the eloquent and much needed statement by Autism Speaks, we are partial to the succinct message an unnamed Los Angeles mother emblazoned on a line of bags, t-shirts, and other accessories.

Items from the VYFK line can be purchased here, with half of the proceeds going to the Sabin Vaccine Institute.

[ABC News]

You are a Stark • You are a Forrester

I’m LOVING this game. Telltale knocks it out of the park every time since the walking dead games. 

Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" remix is finally here, and it's amazing. The song, a new version from Beyonce's self-titled album, is among 16 tracks on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. It's a brilliant reimagining of her debut solo single in 2003 — and a sign of just how far she's come.

Beyoncé's collaborator behind the remix is Boots, the homeless man-turned-superstar producer. The new "Crazy in Love" is hauntingly beautiful; it hearkens back the best of Beyoncé's last record, and it's a brilliant reinterpretation of the original. It's also strikingly similar to Beyoncé and Andre 3000's remix of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" for Baz Luhrman's Great Gatsby. 

Source: YouTubeThe Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack features another Beyoncé song, "Haunted," remixed by Michael Diamond. Read More

Environment

Termites cause about $5 billion in damage in the United States each year, which makes them a fairly formidable pest. Even so, it turns out that their presence can be very beneficial to ecosystems in semi-arid regions. A new study published in Science describes how large termite mounds can actually stop deserts from spreading by storing moisture, creating an oasis of plant life in vulnerable areas.

Health and Medicine

While they may sound totally disgusting, fecal transplants are emerging as a promising treatment for a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, in particular infection with the bacteria Clostridium difficile. They don’t quite involve directly inserting the feces of one person into another, but rather the donor stool is rinsed and strained and then introduced into the recipient, either through an enema or endoscopy, or orally in pill form.

Plants and Animals

It is well known that bees are suffering a serious decline in their populations worldwide. Throughout the past decade, beekeepers have been reporting annual hive losses of more than 30%, sometimes even as much as 50%.

1 oz Raspberry Syrup
1 oz Ginger Syrup
1 1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice

Build in a Double Old Fashioned glass, stir to mix, and fill with crushed ice. Garnish elaborately with fruits and berries in season, and add a straw.

 Cristin, one of the servers, yesterday was asking for a mocktail since she had been envious of the tales she had been hearing. I had been wanting to do something with raspberry syrup and thought about the variation we do on our Always Sunny (rum, raspberry syrup, lime juice, orange bitters, ginger beer). Our mocktail version of that is raspberry syrup and lime juice, crushed ice, and housemade ginger beer. But what if I were to tinker with that in a classic 19th style Fix? Instead of ginger beer, I could use the 2x strength ginger syrup that we dilute to make the soda. And to lengthen the drink as well as smooth it out, I opted for orange juice.
Fixes are very similar to Daisies, but Fixes are rather ornately decorated as was described by Harry Johnson when I wrote about his Brandy Fix. Here, I opted for a triple of the Luxardo cherry, orange peel, and lime peel "grass" that I have garnished Tiki drinks with in solo (along with a sprig of mint or other). Moreover, this garnish reiterates the lime, orange, and fruit notes in the drink. Overall, the Fix was tart, tangy, and spicy, and this flavor complexity made it more of a sipper (than a crushable gone-to-quick glass of juice). Cristin commented that it was "like Sour Patch Kids -- rather tart but sweet" as she gave praise to this Fix.

This is not a love song