Snob

A Think-piece About Female Pioneerism in Electronic Music, Post-post Feminism and Some Sassy Statements On Sexism 'Woman' is not a genre. Stop acting like we're a passing fad. Delia Derbyshire (previously), Daphne Oram (previously), Wendy Carlos, Doris Norton, Suzanne Ciani, Cynthia Webster... even Goldfrapp and Add N To (X)'s Ann Shenton. These women weren't on the periphery of electronic music...they pioneered it", says Mollie Wells of dark pop band Funerals in an Electronic Beats feature on women in electronic music. And she is right. Females have, since the post-war inception of electronically produced music, played a crucial role in its development and presentation.

From the work of electronic pioneers, such as Clara Rockmore, Pril Smiley, Bebe Barron, Alice Shields, through to Maryanne Amacher, Laurie Spiegel, Cosey Fanni Tutti of Throbbing Gristle, Ikue Mori and Laurie Anderson to second and third generation examples like Diamanda Galas, Gudrun Gut and Sylvie Marks; there have always been amazingly interesting woman involved in some of the most groundbreaking musical advancements. "It's only now though", points out Gudrun Gut, when I talk with her on the topic, "that these women are recognised as key figures and credited for their contributive role in history. Back in the days, no one noticed or knew about it much. It pretty much went without saying that these women were doing just their jobs, nothing else."

Ever heard of Netochka Nesnovas, Mira Calix, Anne LaBerge, Annelies van Parijs, or suGar Yoshinaga...? The Raincoats, the Slits, Hansaplast, the ex Tussies, or Madeleine Bloom?

9 questions about Ukraine you were too embarrassed to ask.

Welcome back to the reread of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s dark comic series, Locke & Key! The second installment, “Head Games,” picks up very closely on the heels of the first. This reread contains spoilers, so proceed at your own risk.

What Happens: The Locke family has survived a second attack from Sam Lesser. Kinsey is starting to fit in with her fellow classmates, Bode is still the curious young boy he’s supposed to be, and Tyler has befriended new student Zack Wells. Zack bears a more than striking resemblance to Lucas Carvaggio, former friend of Rendell Locke. That’s because he is Lucas, except that Lucas died under (thus far) unknown circumstances in 1988.

[Unlock your inner thoughts…]

Professor Joe Ridgeway, one of the teachers at Lovecraft Academy, can’t shake the resemblance because he taught Lucas, Rendell, and their group of friends when they attended school. We learn a little bit more about Zack/Lucas/Dodge as he uses the Anywhere Key to steal a gun and kill Ridgeway.

Zack claims Ellie Whedon—Kinsey’s track coach and a former friend of Rendell and Lucas—is his aunt, and the shock of seeing the face of a thought-to-be-dead friend shakes her reality. Ellie lives alone with her mentally handicapped son Rufus before Zack “moves in” with his “aunt.” She is very much a zombie in her home; she’s afraid of Zack/Lucas/Dodge because she knows he should be dead. As a result of this fear, she helps him make the murder of Professor Ridgeway look to be a suicide.

Duncan recognizes Zack, but can’t quite place him. We get a flashback to a young Duncan sneaking and following his older brother Rendell and friends (including Lucas Caravaggio) as they descend into what is known as “The Drowning Cave,” a dangerous inlet that was once used by the government during the Second World War as a lookout for U-Boats.

Back to the Head Key—when Bode shows it off to his siblings, they are rightfully horrified since the key opens up the bearer’s head, allowing people to see the person’s thoughts and symbolic memories. Even more bizzarely, the person whose head is open is also able to peer into their own head. The scene inside Bode’s head Rodriguez reveals is truly fascinating.

Soon enough, the siblings are curious about the key. Tyler uses it to add books to his head and catch up with school assignments, while Kinsey wants to remove troubling memories. She asks Tyler to remove her fear and ability to cry, symbolized by a horrifying mini-demon and sad woman respectively, which she puts into a jar. Tyler later invites friends “Zack” and Jordan (a female class mate on whom Tyler has a crush) over to show off the Key, despite promising to both Bode and Kinsey that the key must remain a secret.

Back to Zack/Lucas/Dodge and Duncan—Duncan meets his boyfriend Brian at a bar where they eventually get into a physical altercation with some locals. Later when Duncan is asleep, Dodge uses the Anywhere Key to get into Duncan’s house and uses the Head Key to remove his memories of Lucas/Zack. Earlier with Professor Ridgeway, Dodge claimed he didn’t want to be the one to pull the trigger and here with Duncan, he avoids killing his former friend’s brother.

Brian sees Dodge attempting to leave through the kitchen, and grabs a knife. Seeing that Dodge has a gun, Brian runs outside, where the women from the bar were planning to vandalize Brian and Duncan’s house. Panicking at the sight of the knife, the women hit Brian with their car.

In the confusion, Dodge heads back to Ellie’s house where we learn that he helped to kill her abusive mother. Ellie’s mother Candace smoked in the house, despite her daughter’s admonishments that she keep the smoke away from Rufus. Candace physically and mentally abused Ellie for much of her life, but when she slapped Rufus, it was the final straw for Ellie. She lured her mother to the Drowning Cave and called upon Dodge, but was too shaken by the experience to fully deal with it. Dodge removes the memory of the keys Ellie found (Echo and Gender) as well as the knowledge of how to summon Dodge.

Dodge thinks Rufus could pose a problem, so he attempts to use the Head Key on the boy only to realize a key hole does not open in the back of his head. Thinking Rufus too simple-minded to notice or recognize him, Dodge walks away dismissively. As Dodge leaves, Rufus holds two action figures and speaks through them, indicating he is in fact aware of Dodge’s nature… or do the action figures themselves actually speak?

“Head Games” ends with Zack/Lucas/Dodge returning to Kinsey to share a kiss as she awakens.

Commentary: So the title is a double reference. Obviously, the Head Key is the blatant reference, but the psychological games Zack/Lucas/Dodge is playing with everybody. He warms up to Tyler, sweet talks Kinsey, messes with Duncan’s sanity a bit, and completely mind-fucks Ellie to become a shell of herself and a slave.

This installment, steps slightly away from the standard slasher/horror storyline introduced in the first installment. Hill & Rodriguez begin to reveal a greater backstory to the families involved and in doing so, ignite many more questions about the Keyes, the history of the Locke family, Keyhouse Manor, the true nature of the many-named being known as Dodge and the long-game Dodge is playing.

While Dodge/Lucas is a conniving monster, something is holding him back from actively taking the life of somebody he once knew and liked. He also does not kill Duncan, in the brief flashback, a kinship can be seen between Lucas and his best friend’s kid brother. However, no compunction is evident when he takes Candace’s life, perhaps showing a sense of justice at removing a problematic person from his former friend’s life? Regardless of what it is, something is present that seems to differentiate the lives of people about whom he once cared.

Keys Revealed:

Head Key: Allows the user to open up others’ heads to reveal the symbolic representation of their memories. Can be used on oneself as well. A keyhole opens in the back of the head of the person whose head / memories will be revealed. While this was the only new key introduced, it could prove to be the most powerful as it allows one to completely change their place in the world through memory theft.

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Rob Bedford lives in NJ with his wife and dog. He reviews books and moderates forums at SFFWorld, has a blog about stuff and writes “The Completist” column for SF Signal. If you want to read random thoughts about books, TV, his dog, beer, and hockey you can follow him on Twitter: @RobHBedford.

John Cena, a professional wrestler, bodybuilder, rapper, and actor associated with the WWE. Photo via Shutterstock

Pro wrestling is fake. Sad, but true. Hulk Hogan didn't grow 24-inch biceps by taking vitamins, and Andre the Giant wasn't really a 500-pound giant. Regardless of the fixed nature of the sport, between January and April each year, referred to as “The Road to WrestleMania," thousands of wrestling fans forfeit their hard-earned dollars and place online bets on fixed WWE pay-per-view matches. Sure, betting happens year-round, but during these four months, the action is hot on a "sport" as predetermined as an Arnold Rothstein poker game.  

Several online sports books, including 5Dimes and Bodog, have been accepting bets on pro wrestling for years, and lately pro wrestling insiders have begun to notice an unsettling trend. You see, unlike boxing or MMA, the odds for pro wrestling matches (favorites vs. underdogs), flip in such a manner that pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, who has been covering the business for nearly 30 years, is convinced insiders are pulling the strings. "If you're smart and you know people," says Meltzer, "you can make money because you'll know what the results are."

For example, during the WWE's "Tables, Ladders, and Chairs" pay-per-view last December, just hours before the main event between John Cena and Randy Orton, something unusual happened. John Cena, the WWE's biggest star and the "good guy" was a clear favorite going into the show. But just hours before the match, Randy Orton, the "bad guy," shifted into a 750-point favorite. In the real world, this sort of movement on the lines would never happen without one of the competitors breaking a leg, literally.

"Smart money," which is betting with insider knowledge of the outcomes, shifted the balance in Orton's favor. And the experts, including watchdog blogs like WWE Leaks, all seem to think that WWE employees, or moles within the organization, are responsible for the shift in the odds. Not only does "smart money" manipulate the odds on the various online sports books, it also makes for a shitty experience of watching a show where the script gets leaked every single time.

It actually took the WWE them nearly six months to realize, via a Deadspin article that raised a few eyebrows last year, that their storyline results were being leaked. Nobody knows for sure who's responsible, but a mysterious Reddit user, who the WWE referred to as a "modern day Nostradamus," seems to have a good idea. Going by the nonsensical alias Dolphins1925, the account has been able to predict the results of every single WWE pay-per-view match since February of last year with near 100% accuracy. 

According to Dolphins1925, who even went as far as posting his own manifesto to justify his spoilers, someone within the WWE is leaking the results directly to him through a connection. His results are posted in Reddit's popular Squared Circle Prediction Series. Meltzer, who claims to have a good idea who Dolphins1925 really is, seems confident that the Reddit user is the real thing. "He absolutely has a connection, " says Meltzer, who also tells VICE that the WWE would fire the leaker, assuming they discover the mole.

But that's just it—the WWE doesn't seem to care about match results being leaked. No action has been taken, publicly that is, and when asked for a comment, the WWE refused to acknowledge the issue with any seriousness.

Pro wrestling fans.

During the recent Royal Rumble pay-per-view, where 30 wrestlers throw each other over the top rope for a chance at championship match at WrestleMania XXX, the "Animal" Batista was the favorite, and to nobody's surprise, the subsequent winner of the match. As for Dolphins1925, the Reddit user once again selected the winners correctly, and this time, he took his spoilers to Twitter. It's also worth noting that Dolphins1925 always bets in line with the betting odds—meaning he always picks the favorites.

With WrestleMania XXX, the WWE's "Super Bowl," coming up on April, it should be interesting to see if Dolphins1925 will be able spoil the WWE's biggest show of the year. WWE doesn't seem to be too concerned, and their email to VICE required the following thought-provoking clarification from their PR rep: "Since WWE is scripted entertainment and the outcomes are pre-determined, why are people gambling on it?"

More and more, it seems the old days of pro wrestling, when the match results were protected like nuclear launch codes, have been replaced with corporate sponsorships, reality TV storylines, a new WWE Network, and confused fans willing to place bets on predetermined outcomes that are clearly being manipulated by insider money.

Speaking of the WWE Network, the reported deal to make WWE the Netflix of pro wrestling includes a partnership with MLB, which recently announced their inductees into the 2014 Hall of Fame, sans Pete Rose, again. Ironically, Rose, who was banned from Major League Baseball in 1989 for gambling, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 as part of his silly rivalry with WWE Superstar Kane—who wears a mask and sets the ring on fire (really). But while Pete Rose will not be involved in the launch of the WWE Network, his second favorite pastime, gambling, will most certainly be a part of the upcoming WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view—which is expected to have millions of fans tune-in online or through pay-per-view to watch the WWE's "showcase of the immortals."

Dolphins1925, who was 38-38 between February and July of last year, could certainly spoil the whole thing and send subscribers of the new WWE Network into a panic once they realize everything they watch could potentially be spoiled by some random Reddit geek. With rumors floating around that Hulk Hogan could return for a match with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper at WrestleMania XXX, picking a winner between the two legends might be tough call. Unless of course you're Dolphins1925, or the CEO and Chairman himself. "In wrestling, there are no surprises," says Meltzer, "at least no surprises for Vince McMahon." No surprises, right… as long as you're not betting against the house.

This Wednesday a new Red Hot Chili Peppers track was birthed upon the world. Called “Abracadabrafornia,” it hit all the beats that longtime RHCP fans had come to expect from the venerable band: nonsense lyrics about an “Alabama scamma” and having a stick jammed into your butt, strummy guitars, alternating rappy and singy parts, and references to California (“bang-a-bong-a-bong-a-bang-Burbank!”).

“The song is classic Peppers, so much so, it almost sounds like a parody,” wrote a Yahoo music blogger. “Of course the title immediately recalls their year 2000 hit 'Californication.' The track begins with a slightly melancholy guitar riff before slinking into the prototypical Peppers' groove, with Anthony Kiedis's pained vocals, amped up rapping, and nonsensical scatting.”

Except it wasn’t Kiedis singing, it was comedian Jon Daly (of the Kroll Show and Betas), and the whole thing was a parody expertly executed by Jon and the musician Cyrus Ghahremani. The song was good but the website where you can download it was the icing on the cake—stuffed full of corporate logos, it looks like exactly the kind of thing that a past-their-prime band would release right before their Super Bowl halftime performance.

Media outlets more hip to the comedy world than Yahoo (or simply more careful about avoiding internet hoaxes) figured out it was Jon almost immediately after connecting it to a bit he and Zach Galifianakis did on an old episode of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast about being part of a RHCP fan club called the Peppermen. But to my knowledge Jon hasn’t formally acknowledged that it was him yet—he’s just been basking in the glory of having made something good that the internet is eating up. So I called him up to ask him how the whole thing came together.

VICE: The response to this has been pretty crazy. How did it feel to trick Yahoo?
Jon Daly: That was the biggest dupe so far, other than some people online getting really mad about it. [Chili Peppers drummer] Chad Smith tweeted it out, so that’s all I needed to feel OK. He liked it, he was like, “Hahahahahaahahahaha.”

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!@johnmoe: From what I understand, this new Red Hot Chili Peppers song is 100% real: http://t.co/pvUrkiTSA1”

— Chad Smith (@RHCPchad) January 30, 2014

A lot of people caught on to this coming out of that Comedy Bang Bang bit you and Zach Galifianakis did last March. How did that joke start?
Me and Zach were at a party one time and there were a lot of celebrities there, so we started joking around. I was like, “Hey man, Flea texted me, he’s stuck in traffic but he’ll be here soon.” He was like, “Kiedis said he’s parking so we can hang out soon.” By the end of the night, we were like, “Have you heard their new album, Bing Bong Burbank? It’s gonna be great.” Every time I saw him for the next two months we’d do this dumb bit to each other—we’d talk about how the Chili Peppers were our friends and how all their California-isms and California style and stuff came from hanging out with me and Zach in California. We came up with that song during the podcast and we were like, “This song actually kind of exactly encapsulates the Chili Peppers.”

I had already made a song with [Cyrus] for some project, and I was like, “I’ve got this Peppers song…” I sat on it for about a year knowing it was good but wanting to put it out at the right time and then [it was announced] they were playing the Super Bowl. Then Cyrus built the website.

Were you ever a big Chilies fan?
They were my favorite band for about three years of my life. My older brother gave me the record Mother’s Milk when I was in seventh grade and then I was like, “This is my favorite band.” The Chili Peppers, Dave [Matthews], Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana… I saw them at Lollapalloza, I was a huge fan. I have all of their records up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik. I think that “Abracabralifornia” is a nice conglomeration of what I like about their old stuff and what is terrible about their new stuff.

Yeah, you brought back the super explicit stuff when you sang about getting your butt jammed with a stick and your dick sucked.
They abandoned they whole “We really talk about fucking in detail” thing after Blood Sugar Sex Magik so I put a little bit of that back in.

How quickly do you think people figured out that it was you behind the song? On Wednesday, it seemed like some people immediately knew it was you—I saw that Comedy Bang Bang bit making the rounds.
A lot of people passed around that episode of Comedy Bang Bang. One of the reasons we made that song was that people really loved that episode and this was the next logical step. People thought it was my buddy Tom Scharpling for a while in the morning… I tried to get friends with a lot of music connections to tweet it out so it wouldn’t be coming from a comedian. I wanted it to be dropped by big Twitter accounts that would say, “Have you heard this new Chili Peppers song? It’s insane!” I tried to make it like that, but I think by like 10 AM people knew it was me.

But the beauty of it is, people are still being tricked by it. People are tweeting me people who are tricked by it, which is really funny. If anyone buys into it or it makes them angry, that’s amazing—to me that’s a big victory. I love it when people like it, like, “The Chili Peppers are doing kind of a early Faith No More thing here and I like it.” Or like, “The Chili Peppers are going back to their roots. The song has a dumb name but it’s kinda good.”

Download the new Chili Peppers song here and follow Jon Daly on Twitter

@HCheadle

You have probably heard of a movie that's been called the Bible of science fiction, Blade Runner.

Set in a dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, the movie centered on cops, known as Blade Runners, that specialize in tracking down replicants or genetically engineered organic robots made by powerful mega corporations. These replicants are used for dangerous, menial, or leisure work on off-world colonies, but are banned on Earth. Those that defy the ban are "retired" or hunted down.

The film became a cult hit when it was released over thirty years ago and continues to gain fans of all ages even to this day. Critics and fans alike have described it as a philosophical manifesto. Despite the popularity of the film, however, there are many facts about Blade Runner that remained unknown to most fans.

For example, did you know that Ridley Scott's inspiration for making Blade Runner was a novel that he never even finished reading? The novel was, of course, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

Or did you know that Dick never actualy watched Blade Runner, yet predicted with creepy accuracy that it would have a huge impact on future generations?

In October 1981, Philip K. Dick wrote a letter to Jeff Walker, the executive for The Ladd Company that produced Blade Runner, and mentioned among other things:

“The impact of Blade Runner is simply going to be overwhelming, both on the public and on creative people — and, I believe, on science fiction as a field. [ ... ] Nothing that we have done, individually or collectively, matches BLADE RUNNER. [ ... ] My life and creative work are justified and completed by BLADE RUNNER. Thank you...and it is going to be one hell of a commercial success. It will prove invincible.”

Five months after he wrote the letter, Philip K. Dick suffered a stroke and died without ever watching the movie. Blade Runner was released nearly three months after his death.

We do know that Dick saw a special effect test reel of the movie, and liked it instantly. "It was my own interior world. They caught it perfectly," he said.

Despite his prediction, Blade Runner wasn't a commerical success, but there's no denying that it has become an iconic science fiction masterpiece. Perhaps Philip K. Dick could really see the future after all.

This NeatoFacto was written by Theodoros II (@TheodorosII).

Colonel Meow, the fierce-looking fluffy Persian/Himalayan cat who took the internet by storm in the fall of 2012, passed away on Wednesday evening. No cause of death was given.  

Colonel Meow held the Guinness World Record for the longest cat hair, with parts of his coat reaching nine inches long. His online persona was a Scotch-loving cat who pursued world domination. His fans are called “Minions.” Spokesmen for fellow internet stars Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub have expressed their condolences online. Colonel Meow was two years old. -via Buzzfeed

Have you ever been watching television and thought, "Wow, this soap opera is so good it could cause the downfall of a corrupt communist regime," or even, "I bet one day this show is going to send the first woman into space"? Well, maybe you're not giving the boob tube enough credit. While others are busy blaming television for all of society's downfalls, we think it's time someone stood up for ye olde idiot box. After all, these 10 television shows didn't just entertain, they helped convince the world to get with the program.

1. Dallas: The show that overthrew a dictator (Well, kind of)

Dallas was one of the most popular TV shows in history—and nowhere was it more talked about than in Nicolae Ceausescu's communist Romania. How did the soap opera get past Romanian censors? With help from Dallas leading man, J.R. Ewing, of course. Because J.R. was portrayed as a despicable oil baron, Ceausescu's government presumably decided the show must be anti-capitalist. Whatever the reasoning, Dallas became a runaway hit when it arrived in Romania in 1979.

A series about wealthy, beautiful people (evil or not) was an inspiration to Romania's poor and dejected masses. Eventually, the government decided such Western television was a bad influence, and Dallas was taken off the air in 1981. But by then, it was too late. The fantasies of Western life lived on in the imaginations of Romanians, and in 1989, Ceausescu was overthrown during a public uprising. Not incidentally, the actor who played J.R., Larry Hagman, visited Romania some years later and was treated as a hero. In an interview following the experience, Hagman said, "People from Bucharest came up to me in the street with tears in their eyes saying, "J.R. saved our country.' "

2. General Electric Theater: The show that turned Ronald Reagan into a Republican

In the early 1950s, film actor Ronald Reagan was at a low point in his career. So when Taft Schreiber, of the Music Corporation of America, got him a gig as the host of the anthology series General Electric Theater, Reagan jumped at the opportunity. For $125,000 a year and part-ownership of the program, he not only hosted the show, but also toured America as a "goodwill ambassador" for the electricity giant, giving speeches to plant employees and acting as its public spokesperson.

By the time General Electric Theater, was cancelled in 1962, Reagan was a new man. Turns out, all those years defending free enterprise for one of the nation's biggest multinational companies had transformed Reagan into one of America's leading conservative speakers. Although the actor had long been a Democrat, the Republican Schreiber convinced Reagan to change political parties. Four years later, the newly Republican Reagan was elected governor of California, and the rest is presidential history.

3. Out of This World: The show that gave birth to satellite TV

On April 6, 1965, NASA launched one of the world's first commercially sponsored satellites into space. Dubbed Early Bird (but later renamed Intelsat 1), the stationary satellite was backed by the newly formed International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (Intelsat), which comprised agencies from 17 countries. The goal: double the capacity of transatlantic satellite communications and make it possible to send live television signals across an ocean. Sounds great, but at the time, it was an enormous risk. Prior to Early Bird, space technology had been reserved for government projects, and there was no guarantee Americans were going to get excited about using satellites for their TV reception.

In order to win over TV viewers worldwide, Intelsat had to show off what Early Bird could do. Enter Out of This World. Just one month after the satellite's launch, as many as 300 million viewers across nine countries were united by this television special. The program featured live scenes from across the globe, including footage of a heart operation in Houston, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking in Philadelphia, Pope Paul VI making an address from the Vatican, a bullfight in Barcelona, and (perhaps most intriguingly) Russian sailors singing and dancing aboard the HMS Victory in England.

The plan worked. Out of This World made the average person excited about satellites. It was a huge win for big businesses interested in making high-tech advances. Two weeks after the special aired, the first color TV show was transmitted from England to America. Three years after that, the first live satellite coverage of the Olympics was sent from Mexico to Britain. And one year after that, satellites broadcast the first astronauts landing on the moon.

4. Cathy Come Home: The drama that transformed the welfare state

Directed by Ken Loach (who later became one of Britain's most respected filmmakers), the drama Cathy Come Home was a poignant episode of the BBC-1 anthology series The Wednesday Play. It told the tragic story of Cathy Ward, a young wife and mother who becomes the victim of Britain's welfare state. Going from working-class struggle to dire poverty, Cathy's journey begins when her husband loses his job following an accident and becomes unable to support the family. In a painful spiral toward destitution, Cathy suffers through various states of homelessness, separates from her husband, and eventually, has her children forcibly taken away from her by government council workers.

A truly horrifying story, its impact was compounded by the fact that Cathy Come Home was filmed in such a realistic style that some viewers thought it was a documentary. And although the Conservative Party government claimed the movie was "full of blunders," Labour Party politician Anthony Greenwood said the show should be "compulsory viewing once a month for the next five years." British audiences agreed, and Cathy Come Home was aired again shortly after. The ensuing public outrage helped bring major changes to British welfare law. Other nations followed suit, with similar reforms and charities.

[See the show here.]

5. Star Trek: The show that designed the future (of society)

Avid Spock fans might tell you that Star Trek is directly responsible for the invention of everything from cell phones to microwave ovens, but that's slightly exaggerated. While engineers at companies ranging from Nokia to General Electric have admitted to being inspired by the show's futuristic designs, most real life scientists and manufacturers don't credit the show for their inventions.

Star Trek did, however, help shape the future in another, and arguably more significant, way. Defying all stereotypes, the heroic crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise was comprised of a mix of races—and among them were some high-ranking women. Here again, Star Trek became an inspiration—only this time, to minorities and women, rather than tech junkies. Lieutenant Uhura, played by African-American jazz singer Nichelle Nichols, showed audiences that black women could be senior officers and hold positions of power. In fact, when Nichols contemplated quitting the series during its first year, she was persuaded to keep the role by none other than Dr. Martin Luther King, who said. "Don't you realize how important your character is?"

Years later, women ranging from Whoopi Goldberg to Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut, cited Lieutenant Uhura as a major inspiration in their careers. Nichols even spent time working for NASA on an astronaut-recruitment program—an initiative that roped in such people as Sally Ride and Guy Bluford, the first American woman and African-American man in space, respectively.

6. See It Now: The show that ended McCarthyism

(YouTube link)

If you know your 1950s history (or if you saw the movie Good Night, and Good Luck), you know the impact crusading journalist Edward R. Murrow had on American politics. His vehicle for galvanizing change? The current affairs show, See It Now, which premiered in 1951.

Well known as a World War II radio correspondent, Murrow wasn't a fan of television initially. He wanted to go beyond the talking-head discussions and newsreels that filled most nightly news shows at the time. So when he finally decided to move forward with See It Now, he did so on his own terms. The show's debut episode featured television's first live coast-to-coast transmission, which included a split-screen of the Brooklyn Bridge on one side and the Golden Gate on the other. Murrow also broke new ground by airing a day in the lives of Korean War soldiers.

Of course, the show's most influential role was in exposing Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist fear campaign and opening Americans' eyes to the many lives and careers it was ruining. Thanks in part to fallout from Murrow's broadcast on March 9, 1954, the U.S. Senate reprimanded McCarthy for abusing his power, and McCarthyism came to an abrupt end.

Murrow wasn't afraid to take on rogue senators, and later, he proved he wasn't scared to take on Big Tobacco, either. Two episodes of See It Now explored the link between cigarettes and cancer—a brave move, considering television depended heavily on tobacco sponsorships at the time. But perhaps Murrow had a personal interest in the story. A three-pack-a-day smoker who regularly appeared on camera with a cigarette in hand, Murrow died of lung cancer in 1965.

7. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: The show that swung an election

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was many things. It was the first network TV show to make fun of the Establishment, support America's counterculture, and have enough nerve to put blacklisted singers (such as Joan Baez and Pete Seeger) back on the air. Ironically, however, the show's major achievement might have been making Richard Nixon president.

As a gag, show star Pat Paulsen ran for office during the 1968 presidential election. "I'm consistently vague on the issues," announced Paulsen on national television, "and I'm continuing to make promises that I'll be unable to fulfill." Regardless of his humorous motives, Paulsen seemed to have a "Ralph Nader Effect," stealing 200,000 votes from the Democrats and helping to swing one of the closest elections in history. Thanks to Paulsen's efforts, Nixon narrowly defeated Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. "Hubert Humphrey told me I cost him the election," recalled Paulsen, "and he wasn't smiling when he said it."

8. The Inventors: The show that stocked store shelves

Turns out, ABC's American Inventor was about 36 years late to the game. That's right; in 1970, The Inventors was already becoming the American Idol for hyper-intelligent geeks south of the equator. In fact, the Australian program is responsible for popularizing several notable gizmos, including some you may have used (the self-wringing mop and the rotary brush), as well as at least one you hopefully haven't (the colostomy bag). Contestants also introduced useful industrial wares, such as a solar energy tracker and the Super Sopper (a giant roller that soaks up water and has been used to save countless major sporting events from turning into mud fights).

The judges were primarily science and business know-it-alls who were almost as scary as Simon Cowell, but the panel was balanced out with housewife Diana Fisher, who would ask the important questions. (Her most common query: "Does it come in other colors?") And while the contestants weren't always as cute as Carrie Underwood, the show did create its own superstars. Perhaps the biggest winner was Ralph Sarich, whose many inventions included the orbital engine, a rotary-style internal combustion engine that seemed set to change the world with its powerful and unique fuel-injection system.

By the time Sarich was named the show's Inventor of the Year in 1972, he'd already signed a multimillion-dollar marketing deal with a major manufacturing company. The original orbital engine didn't work out in the end (due to its high fuel consumption), but later versions hit paydirt, and Sarich even started his own engine-making company. In 1992, he sold his shares and invested heavily in real estate. He's now one of Australia's richest men.

9. Hour of Decision: The show that gave us Billy Graham

Hour of Decision didn't introduce American audiences to televangelism; it introduced them to the televangelist who would change America—Reverend Billy Graham.

Other evangelists had hosted TV shows in the 1950s, including Bishop James Pike, Norman Vincent Peale (of self-help-book fame), and Oral Roberts, but few were able to use the medium as effectively as the charismatic Reverend Graham. Based on his wildly successful radio program of the same name (which is still on the air), a typical TV episode of Hour of Decision featured religious music, a short sermon by Graham, and a prerecorded interview with a person of interest. Although the show lasted only three years, Graham made the leap to prime time a couple of years later with a series of live telecasts that allowed TV audiences to be a part of his Madison Square Garden crusades.

Graham's telecasts were a huge hit, and the Reverend became a bona fide national celebrity. Year after year, he appeared in Gallup Polls as one of the "most admired Americans," and by 1974, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was receiving some 50,000 viewer letters a week. Also, in a telling illustration of Graham's influence over the American people, President Richard Nixon made certain he and Reverend Graham were regularly seen together. Nixon even spoke at one of Graham's rallies in 1970. However, after Nixon became embroiled in the Watergate scandal, Graham (who usually claimed to be apolitical) was conspicuously absent from White House dinner parties.

10. The Living Planet: The show that made us go green

Sir David Attenborough is possibly Britain's most influential and venerated environmentalist—all thanks to the power of television. A wildlife buff, Attenborough made a name for himself beginning in the 1950s as the host for the BBC show Zoo Quest. But in 1979, he hit it big with the acclaimed 13-part miniseries Life on Earth, in which he traveled the world studying the chronology of every type of plant and animal he could find. (All told, the film crew traveled some 1.5 million miles to 30 countries during a three-year period, and shot nearly 250 miles of footage.)

(YouTube link)

The tremendous success of Life on Earth led to its Emmy-winning 1984 sequel, The Living Planet, which focused on all the ways species adapt to their natural environment—and in the case of humans, plunder it. Each episode in this 12-part miniseries ended with a warning from Attenborough that the environment was in danger. "The natural world is not static, nor has it ever been," Attenborough explained. "But man is now imposing such swift changes that organisms seldom have time to adapt to them... The continued existence of life now rests in our hands."

Attenborough wasn't the first person to make such warnings, but he was the first person people really listened to—not just in Britain, but around the world. The Living Planet aired in 100 countries, and audiences came to revere him so much that they took the caution to heart. The show became a major inspiration for the Green Movement. Not coincidentally, the program peaked in popularity during the late 1980s.

_______________________

The article above, written by Mark Juddery, is reprinted with permission from the September-October 2006 issue of mental_floss magazine.

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Once again, my yarmulke is off to the video editor(s) at Animal NY. They had me in October with their thrash metal mash-up of that lady who went batshit on an airplane.

On Friday, Animal posted a new one–this time, original footage, obtained by a friend of the site, that depicts a commuter of NYC in the throes of Jägermeister hell. And what better track to accompany such a vom vid than “Carmina Burana”? Apparently, none.

source: Animal NY

1. “no manors”

It's alright when you have everything but when your rude aswel as have no manors deep down you have nothing

— octobers very own (@YMCMB4LIFE123) January 31, 2014

This girl in front of me has no eating manors

— Smaug (@WeeFatEls) January 31, 2014

Some people have no fucking manors!!

— Vanessa De La Torre (@VanessaDLT) January 31, 2014

theyy dont havee no manors !

— TyyMoneyyBiish$ (@tyyy_babyyy) January 30, 2014

Some children have no manors 😡 #rude

— (@Crudgeee) January 30, 2014

A disrespectful nigga deserves no respect bitch where your manors

— Nesha'Nicole (@Noheart_fuku_) January 28, 2014

These kids must be rich as hell to complain about people having no manors.

2. “Mindgrain”

This mindgrain dawg 💢💢

— Jesse ;♐ (@_lovexlustxSEX) January 29, 2014

I got a mindgrain fck a headache 😒😒😔😡

— Dirty World #1:30 (@BandUpFrankGMG) January 29, 2014

Doing home work to the point i have a mindgrain.😐

— queen everything (@ellesel24) January 20, 2014

i dont know what to do?my head is aching coz of my mindgrain..

— bernalin recomes (@brecomes) November 8, 2013

I’m getting a migraine from reading these Tweets.

3. “a stake”

Philly cheese Stake and a milkshake #fat&happy

— johnny mendez (@yes_its_johnny) January 31, 2014

In need of a big fat juicy stake 😍😍😍

— Chey Dollasz (@Neg_tive) January 28, 2014

I deserve a fat stake on Friday!

— Arnold Garcia (@rnog02) January 29, 2014

why am I so fat pls? Just had a large chicken stake with chips and now i'm craving more food

— Sharifa (@sharifa_unico) January 26, 2014

No, not the kind you stab into a vampire’s chest — the ones you eat. Steak.

4. “i sware”

I'mma give you everything I sware I would but damn you only take so little

— Twin Number 1 (@Im_not_Tyler_) January 31, 2014

I sware I just wish I can have my own!

— Kalli Henry (@kalli2real) January 31, 2014

I sware these niggas ain't fuckin with me 🙅

— couuuuurrrttt✨❤️ (@_courtneyylasha) January 31, 2014

That shit Jsu really Pissed me Off I sware 😣

— fashionKillaaa___ (@killaaa___) January 31, 2014

I think some of these kids will come swearing at me after this post.

5. “poopin bottles”

we fvckin models and poopin bottles .. i have no stress

— AirJohnye West (@airjxhnie) January 24, 2014

Capricorn shit boutta be poopin. Poopin bottles, poppin pills, poppin bitches. Yes mam.

— Nancy H. (@nancohernandez) January 3, 2014

bottles poopin and ladies twerkin

— isabella ☮ (@_isabellaxoxo) January 1, 2014

Time to turn up poopin bottles nigga

— Caleb Burke (@Dese_hands) December 31, 2013

I’m in pain, but not because I’ve been pooping bottles, though.

6. “running some aarons”

Just running some Aarons. http://t.co/TSX7pVh7

— ❤Bella Nivea (@YepIts_Niv) June 6, 2012

Getting my bathing suit that I left at Britts, getting my phone case and screen protectors and running some aarons with my mom(: #goodday

— Lindsey Paige Allen (@blonde_nCRAZY) June 8, 2012

Ran into Johnny Superfan today while running some aarons #niagaraicedogs #faceofthefranchise http://t.co/wngBPEOI

— BARDOWN® (@BardownHockey) August 23, 2012

This. Actually. Happened.

7. “…hippocrates”

you guys are all the time saying that lorde is ugly but then you're blaming society for everything lol you're all fucking hippocrates

— agustina (@alpacajauregui) January 30, 2014

For people who say " dont judge me or my music" you guys sure hate on other genres of music and there artists, you guys are Hippocrates

— Dayne (@DayneRichards) January 27, 2014

I hate cops. You guys are the fattest Hippocrates an I doubt half of you are willing to "protect and serve" you're in it for the donuts

— Mathias Kuo (@KingxMat) October 9, 2013

You guys never go to church but all of a sudden since its Easter Sunday your guys are holy #Hippocrates

— iAM BAA$h (@Hii_Row10) March 31, 2013

Looks like some people need to take the Hippocratic oath.

8. “your my… angle”

And thats my favorite angle , my legs are numb now, your loving be giving me chills !

— Arielle ♥ (@Arielleeeeeeee_) January 31, 2014

Girl your my angle your my daling baby Girl your friend when i am in ………. .. Love for them girls them.

— Lion bobmano (@bobmano22) January 31, 2014

@MadzCastillo everything's your best angle. =)) oh god my mum smelled me =))

— Megara ♡ (@MAEGANdaako) January 31, 2014

9. “on a crews”

I went threw the crispy cream drive through on a crews ship 9000.

— mikelopez (@mikelopez0222) January 11, 2014

Name three things you have never done, but would like… — 1) Scuba Diving. 2) Go on a Crews. 3) Swim with a sha… http://t.co/gKq02TdiBj

— Taylor Smith (@taylorelise27) August 9, 2013

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy? — Ship to go on a crews! http://t.co/W69IwuZCmz

— BeastMode✨ (@_BeastMode22) June 28, 2013

me and my brother already picked out our graduation trips. his is going on a crews and mine is to hawii (: #excitedddd

— Lindsey (@ABrunette_Thing) October 22, 2012

There are crews on a cruise ship, yes.

10. “bombfire”

Lets have a bombfire on the lake this weekend

— Fresh Prince of Orem (@pointyeyebrows) January 30, 2014

Bombfire and a 30 rack? Why not

— coadster (@coady_Reynolds) January 29, 2014

Somebody should have a bombfire tomorrow

— Christian rising (@c_rising) January 29, 2014

Bombfire at my house fridaay ??? I think yeees

— ♡ C Y N T H I A ♡ (@cynthia_atencio) January 26, 2014

Never throw a bomb into a bonfire. It will damage you.

11. “honers”

Is honers chemistry hard?????

— Quinten Swica (@QSwica) January 31, 2014

Fuck, it feels so good to have a B in my Honers math class. :)

— xJOEx (@xjoerangelx) January 31, 2014

Ill literally pay you to do my honers English homework.

— chelle (@MichelleLovio) January 30, 2014

Well I forgot to my honers English. Oh well I guess I have to wing it

— Isaiah Gates (@ikgates5) January 29, 2014

Kinda mad I'm not getting put into Honers English

— Chloe Bandy (@Chloe_Bandy) January 27, 2014

That honers English test was hard af

— Marranda (@MNapfel) January 27, 2014

Replace the ‘h’ with a ‘b’ and you get…? Well, it’s still not “honors.”

12. “live bicuriously”

Just gonna live bicuriously through GTA today

— Colty T (@ColtonIsntaMyth) January 31, 2014

Sorry I can't help it if I live bicuriously through books??

— Shit Smuellz Says (@smuellisms) January 29, 2014

I always live bicuriously through everyone else's breakfast, lunch and dinner.

— A Work In Progress (@Daily_Dreamer_) October 19, 2013

13. “drink champain”

Im gonna smoke malboro light and drink champain.

— cat (@NicoLaasfig) January 27, 2014

I drink champain to get my day started off right

— Nick McGee (@NJM_008) January 25, 2014

I live. A rockstar life that's how it goes she wana pop champain we got that drink FOR REAL

— DESPERADO (@desperado_ogz) August 10, 2013

14. “regular bases”

Jurassic park in 3D… Giving children nightmares on a regular bases!!

— #MoriartyLives (@Mimsvj33) January 31, 2014

Valentines day is a regular day. you suppose to spoil your girl on a regular bases though

— shunn prettyboy joe (@thashunnjoe) January 31, 2014

I get on a regular bases 💍

— Yasmine (@Gottaloveyas) January 30, 2014

15. “no longer aloud”

I am no longer aloud on twitter when I'm drunk #nomoredrunktweets

— Amanda Acevedo (@amanda93xoxo) January 31, 2014

Yeah you guyzzzz, NO LEGGINGS ALOUD in Turtle Point High

— kaley (@KallleyC) January 31, 2014

HARRY YOU ARE NOT ALOUD TO WEAR THAT NO

— allison (@michaelisbae) January 31, 2014

16. “ginger ail”

His a ginger ail that was my mom since Sunday, lmfao

— ♥™Keiara♥ (@__TMKAC__) January 29, 2014

Remember the time I was dying laughing about the ginger-ail commercial and no one els got it and thought I was crazy? Ya I do..

— Terence McNair (@terrymcnairyy) January 28, 2014

I have an obsession of ginger ail …

— Winnie♡ (@itzwinifred) January 26, 2014

Think I need a gingerail, that was such and epic fail

— ☼march12☼ (@Mjelle_9) January 27, 2014

17. “my daling”

@Let_Life_Pass i love you my daling

— paugir69 (@paugir69) January 25, 2014

I feel on the moon now^^ thx my daling

— boommarang (@boommarangga) May 24, 2013

girl your my daling angel

— Liam Jones (@LiamJon54081541) November 25, 2012

It’s cute, but really? (It also sort of looks like “Dalek,” which I want to stay away from.)

18. “barry the hatchet”

Barry the hatchet and get over it.

— DONDY (@londydondy) May 19, 2013

i got some hidden feelings that i cant show, so i could either barry the hatchet or just keep digging the same hole.

— Tiny❦ (@loveMarisol__) March 30, 2012

i hope there's a #jemi reunion at the TCAs those two need to barry the hatchet before they completely waste a wonderful wonderful friendship

— Kirstie Whittaker (@MisKirstieMarie) June 30, 2011

They can spell “hatchet” right, but not bury.

19. “…for granite”

Life is not a guaranteed thing, stop taking it for granite.💝

— Madeline Barnes (@madelinebarness) January 31, 2014

I'm done being nice to people . They taking it for granite

— 〽illz (@_adidashead) January 31, 2014

I really need to stop taking what I have for granite

— Taraaaa :) (@tdyerrr) January 30, 2014

i'm not taking life for granite

— Aidan (@FuzzyNuts_) January 30, 2014

I don’t know anyone that takes granite as payment, but these guys do.

20. “…minus well”

Minus well get up and put on some clothes

— Jigga Baby (@Quite_Deadly) January 31, 2014

All this weed I smoke minus well make a career out of it right?

— Motivation (@Zelle_Pimpin) January 31, 2014

I minus well get up..

— . (@LittleMorgan_) January 31, 2014

Might as well let them keep going like this.

21. “umbeyonce”

my room has a really nice umbeyonce right now (or however you say it)

— Jewlie Getzzz (@jgoetzz) January 24, 2014

@allisongill Benny Honda’s? That place has grate umbeyonce!

— Lee Oeth (@Lee_Oeth) December 23, 2013

I hope our Christmas Meal has a good umbeyonce today

— Sausages (@LukeHoosTawking) December 13, 2013

They actually mean “ambiance,” but you know, sound it out, right?

22. “petafile”

My older sis has kids laughing as a ringtone, great now you look like a petafile

— Luke Good (@LukegoodPro) January 30, 2014

This old ass man was trying to talk to me omg petafile much? I told him " get tf on, FUCK YOU BITCH " AND bucked lmao

— zuriiii .. ♥ (@_LilHomie) January 28, 2014

He looks like a petafile .

— Princess Natailya (@NatailyaStokes) January 27, 2014

Yes, you’re right…you can tell who’s one of them PETA advocates.

23. “windshield factor”

Dang, this windshield factor tho.

— Garrett the OH (@Reyd_Tterrag) January 27, 2014

It's only a low of -9 tomorrow not counting the windshield factor but wvu professors be like be safe.

— Josh Henderson (@jusJoshingU) January 28, 2014

I don't want to leave the safety of my warm car! Windshield factor is 9 degrees. NINE. I can't.

— Lauren Loeffel (@lauren_tnhoney) January 28, 2014

Okay, if you couldn’t guess, it’s “wind chill factor.” Seriously.

24. “…the sealing”

This might just be the longest night of my life, wish my sealing was nicer to look at! Trying to stay positive #lonelylife

— Julie (@jknerr3) January 29, 2014

I should just look at the sealing & pass out

— Ramirez (@Faded_WILL) January 31, 2014

Look at the designs on the sealing. pic.twitter.com/xUJcLOciYt

— Chinjsta A-a-ron (@Aaron_Lin7) November 17, 2013

25. “pay amish”

Pay amish. Don't forget i made you. I was there when you ain't have shit.

— Yung Eeeeerb (@yungeeeeerb) January 29, 2014

I have to pay amish, after work ill run aarons, I want some kaysadiyas, he is a real human bean, that palmogranite juice was good

— She loves uncle (@Typereckless) July 23, 2013

MAVIS!!! See!? Yall betta pay Amish to that woman

— Stereo Williams (@stereowilliams) November 23, 2012

Pay homage to the Amish!

26. “time heals all wombs”

Time heals ALL wombs.. U learn to move on!!!!

— Marilyn Castillo (@mvcastillo24) January 29, 2014

Time heals all wombs but can't erase the scars!

— Desus (@desusnice) October 9, 2013

I'm a firm believer in "time heals all wombs" & "everything happens for a reason" ..

— Daryl Jackson (@Mr_Jackson7) March 14, 2013

27. “…smell like colon”

My fav compliments are that I smell good and my body. Bcuz that $250 colon and my hardwork are doin something.

— Prince Shane (@SouIfuIIy) January 30, 2014

Love the smell of my colon #gucci

— miguel angel aguirre (@miguelaguirre8) January 29, 2014

Smell his colon

— Daz (@DB_KingDaz) January 27, 2014

I Smell Like Rayniels Baby Colon 😍

— Karee (@KareeHurtado_) January 26, 2014

fall asleep to the smell of your colon

— curvegoddess (@xchinnyx_) January 7, 2014

I saved the best for last. You’re welcome.

read more

La medida agrava las relaciones entre el Ayuntamiento y el sector

• Criterio de promoción sin lucro frente al de pequeños locales rentables

via http://atlantatimemachine.com/

The Mighty One has passed.  God speed.

La programación incluye el sábado una visita guiada al castillo de A Rocha

El SVA ve claro que él propuso a una de las trabajadoras y que era conocedor de la lista completa de recomendadas

• Sopa de ganso
• Un empresario exigió en nombre del PSOE comisiones por 400.000 euros
• Las recomendadas de Currás obtenían mejores contratos
• «Me imagino que los de la oposición sabían lo que había y lo veían razonable»
• Afirman que Conde Roa pidió a Feijoo que agilizara el cambio del secretario y el interventor

CollegeHumor

4 million songs on Spotify have never been played. Even once. Let's change that. According to the Bay Area-based founders of Forgotify, 20% of the songs listed on Spotify have never been played. Their website randomly selects unplayed songs and plays them through Spotify's interface.

Examples are by definition self-destroying, but a brief jaunt through Forgotify, which is now up again after falling over earlier today, unearths tracks by The Hanover Boys' Choir, the perennial ?? (by ?? - on the album "?????") and Joerg Reiter's "Sunset Avenue".

Barbie Dance Club! (1989) Barbie and her friends dance their way through this 30-minute video of cheesy '80s goodness. Featuring Duane!

The extended setting of the Harry Potter series is fertile soil for fans interested in worldbuilding, especially since the release of Pottermore (previously), a companion site to the books that includes back-story and adjunt information direct from J.K. Rowling. Some of these worldbuilding projects include explorations on wizarding fashion, magical education (including other magical schools), fantastic beasts (and perhaps where to find them), Muslims at Hogwarts, and the next generation of Hogwarts students.

Also previously: Lives and Lies of Wizards.

My love affair with the Green Fairy began in the winter of ‘05-’06. I was a bushy tailed freshman in college and my transition from rural Minnesota to the Twin Cities had all the bacchanalian excesses of Rumspringa.

A good friend of mine had French citizenship and returned from a holiday there with a few bottles of the hallowed stuff. At the time the States prohibited genuine absinthe, and even French distillers had to tiptoe around its murky legality. At 18, with flavored rums and vodkas still seeming pretty fucking novel, this was more or less the Holy Grail of booze. It had the ancillary benefit of being doubly illegal.

It’s been seven years since the ban was lifted, but almost a century in purgatory has left people with only the vaguest idea of what it is, how to drink it, and if they’re gonna go nuts and kill everyone around them in a green-hazed bloodlust. So here’s Absinthe 101.

Absinthe dates back to the end of the 18th century. It’s a base spirit of its own, in the company of other less controversial cousins like gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, brandy and tequila. The base is neutral (flavorless but for the burn) alcohol, with the addition of any number of other vegetation: fennel, coriander, lemon balm, hyssop, a million others, and most importantly anise and wormwood.

Wormwood root is where both the identity and the controversy stems from. Even the name “absinthe” is the result of a game of telephone from the ancient Greeks to Latin Rome to the Gauls meaning, well, wormwood. It’s not easy to describe other than to say it has a bit of a minty, floral taste that softens up the heavy black liquorice flavor of the anise. Like all things sexy though, wormwood brings some baggage along with its charms. Consumed in massive quantities, a chemical in it called thujone can cause epileptic seizures. Supposedly, this is also the vehicle for any hallucinations or eventual madness.

In the early 1900s a French dude killed his family after a few glasses of absinthe and ruined things for bohemians and partiers everywhere. It was the early equivalent of some idiot thinking he can fly while on acid or rolling so hard he dies of dehydration. The fact that he’d been drinking for hours and was probably a real asshole didn’t make it into the papers. In the years leading up to total prohibition–the Al Capone, rum-runner, speakeasy, bathtub gin prohibition–buzzkills and teetotalers were using every angle they could to shut down the liquor business. The massive smear campaign earned absinthe the special distinction of being banned five years before the 18th amendment made a lot of mobsters rich or dead.

Nearly a century after the ban, some European distillers headed by the Pernod-Ricard monolith managed to convince Congress it was about time to back off their puritan stance. The hard science just didn’t sync up with the PR hate machine. For one thing, absinthe is usually over 100 proof (much stronger than most spirits), and for anther, the thujone wouldn’t begin to affect you until you’ve drank enough liquor to kill Hemingway three times over. So if anyone dies (be it by suicide, murder, or poison), it’s the absurd amount of alcohol doing the killing, not the wormwood.

Absinthe is about as easy to prepare at home as anything. The best way to drink it is with water, and tap will do the trick. Slowly pour the water (two or three times the amount of the absinthe) in and you’ll see the translucent, neon green color turn opaque and almost milky-looking in real time. Give it a taste, and if you’d like, add a little sugar to lighten the intensity. A bottle will set you back $40+, so if you want to test drive it you can always stop by a local gin joint and try a little there. Pick a nice place to be certain they have real absinthe instead of the fake liquorice stuff that was peddled during the unfortunate lapse of legality.

The initial draw people feel pulled in by is the mystery and questionable reputation of absinthe. Well, I’ve attempted to remove the mystique and make a case against the propaganda. This might strip away some of the charm, but absinthe never really needed the hype or the bad-boy rep. Do yourself a favor. Go drink some.

Image: Shutterstock

 
Dangerous Minds has checked in on English actor/comedian/musician Adrian Edmondson before, to talk about The Idiot Bastard Band, his group with

By J.F. Sargent  Published: January 30th, 2014  If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that mental health care in the United States is as broken as a Trent Reznor sad-off with the Cure. Being the "quickest, simplest fix we can muster" creatures that we are, we decided that we should patch

Os seareiros dos clubs galegos de fútbol americano xuntaranse para seguir a final da NFL deste ano entre Denver Broncos e Seattle Seahawks. A cita, madrugada do domingo ao luns.

A súa Enciclopedia Mecánica, cun sistema de carretes intercambiables, anticipa en 1949 a idea do e-Book

Doña Angelita, a ferrolá que inventou o libro electrónico en GCiencia.

Sepulcro de Fernán Pérez de Andrade en Betanzos nunha litografía de Genaro Pérez de Villaamil (1865)