Snob

In the time of Halloween, the serious and not-so-serious often turn to parlor games that verge on the occult, in trying to contact ghosts and spirits that we don't think about during the rest of the year. The common Ouija board is one way to either pass the time, have a few laughs, or scare yourself silly. But where did it come from? Ouija historian Robert Murch found out over twenty years ago that no one had completely documented the history of the Ouija board, outside of the reason for its popularity.  

The Ouija board, in fact, came straight out of the American 19th century obsession with spiritualism, the belief that the dead are able to communicate with the living. Spiritualism, which had been around for years in Europe, hit America hard in 1848 with the sudden prominence of the Fox sisters of upstate New York; the Foxes claimed to receive messages from spirits who rapped on the walls in answer to questions, recreating this feat of channeling in parlors across the state. Aided by the stories about the celebrity sisters and other spiritualists in the new national press, spiritualism reached millions of adherents at its peak in the second half of the 19th century. Spiritualism worked for Americans: it was compatible with Christian dogma, meaning one could hold a séance on Saturday night and have no qualms about going to church the next day. It was an acceptable, even wholesome activity to contact spirits at séances, through automatic writing, or table turning parties, in which participants would place their hands on a small table and watch it begin shake and rattle, while they all declared that they weren’t moving it. The movement also offered solace in an era when the average lifespan was less than 50: Women died in childbirth; children died of disease; and men died in war. Even Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the venerable president, conducted séances in the White House after their 11-year-old son died of a fever in 1862; during the Civil War, spiritualism gained adherents in droves, people desperate to connect with loved ones who’d gone away to war and never come home.

Which explains why it became so popular, but the story of how the game came to market is even more fascinating. There were homemade boards to tell fortunes before the Ouija board was patented. The businessmen who rushed to patent the game knew they had to prove that it worked before they could secure a patent. And they did just that. Read that story, plus how the Ouija board really works, at Smithsonian.  

A member of the OneTaste movement.

Can you wank your way to inner peace? According to the OneTaste movement, you can. OneTaste is an organization dedicated to "the partnered practice of female orgasm," which it calls orgasmic meditation (OM). This is much like any other form of meditation, only instead of focusing on deep breathing or repeated mantras, OM is all about having someone—anyone—stroke your clitoris for 15 minutes.

It works like this: after building a "nest" out of soft furnishings, the stroking partner lubes a gloved finger, sets a timer for exactly 15 minutes, and strokes the "upper left quadrant" of the woman’s clitoris with no goal but to "feel what is happening in the moment." Before he (or she) gets down to business, the stroker examines and describes the vagina he's about to stroke, discussing color, texture, shape, and any feelings he's having while looking at it. This is a pretty uncomfortable thing to watch. At the end of the allotted time, both parties share a glimpse of their experience, using sentences like, "A white light extended from your pussy through to my finger." (In OM, the vagina is always, always, a "pussy.") Theoretically, the experience is equally intense for both participants—stroker and strokee.

OneTaste has grown quickly since its founder, Nicole Daedone, set up the first center in San Francisco in 2001. Thousands of flush-faced members now swear by it, while a few critics have gone so far as to describe it as a sex cult. One of Daedone's most ardent followers is Justine Dawson, a former social worker who used to help homeless women and children but who now dedicates herself full-time to the pursuit of helping women come. I recently had a chat with her to find out why she was so into orgasms.

Justine Dawson.

VICE: What is orgasmic meditation, in your words? It kind of sounds like tantra, but it's supposedly nonsexual, right?
Justine Dawson: OM is held within a container—15 minutes, start to finish, no reciprocation, and no goal. This separates it from sex and puts it in the realm of practice.

So it's a bit like tantric sex?
It's much simpler than tantra in that it doesn't involve any visualization, special working with the breath, or deliberate movement of energy within the body.

OK, so what are we aiming for here? What happens after 15 minutes?
There's no ultimate goal, but most people who practice over time experience greater connection, rich sensation, more energy in their life, and a general feeling of ignition in their bodies. It's similar to yoga or meditation, where you might not feel all the benefits every time you practice, but over time you experience a significant difference—in this case, in your sex, relationships, and general spark.

So there doesn't have to be an actual orgasm in the 15 minutes of OM to make it successful?
No, climax isn't a goal in OM. It may happen and it may not. But taking the goal-oriented pressure off makes the whole thing a lot more fun and pleasurable for both parties.

What about the women who have difficulty reaching orgasm from clitoral stimulation alone?
Many women who have been diagnosed anorgasmic have reported experiencing climax since starting OM. And for me personally, I never experienced an orgasm from penetration before, but now regularly do. OM has changed my relationship with orgasm entirely.

Can you expand on that a bit?
Well, before I started practicing OM, I had a set standard of what good sex looked like. It was spontaneous, we would give and receive equally, and he would always ensure I climaxed. There was a certain accounting to the whole thing—I stroke you, you stroke me; it was like a commerce model. Now climax isn't nearly as interesting to me. I experience a much deeper and richer range of sensation. Sometimes it's subtle and intricate, sometimes huge and intense. But I'm always inside of it—rather than in my head, which is where I used to spend a lot of time during sex.

What about him? How does he get off?
I know my partner can feel it too, while stroking. And because he can feel it, the whole reciprocity question falls away. We both have access to the same thing, just from different positions.

An introductory video to OM.

What about the male orgasm, though? Why is there no male stroking technique?
There is a male stroking technique, although we focus on the female orgasm. It gives men the opportunity to experience their whole bodies, starting with their finger, as a sex organ.

To be honest, that doesn't sound like a fair deal.
Many women bring obligation into the equation of sex. We do it to make our partners happy, so that they'll do something in response or for a number of other complex reasons. We don't just do it for our pleasure. That's because most women aren't full sexually, and so when we touch men, fuck them, and stroke or suck their cocks, we aren't doing it with all of ourselves. But, when a woman has OMed for a while, she changes, and the way she enters sex is from overflow. And that is an entirely different experience for both her and the people she's having sex with.

Why is female sexuality so confusing for some people?
For many women, desire is shameful. If we're not getting off, we often think it's us, some deficit in our sexuality. We don't realize that our bodies know exactly what they want and would feel so good if only we listened to them and asked them what they want. In OM, we teach women to do this. We also train men to make simple offers that women can say yes or no to: "Would you like me to stroke faster? Would you like me to use a shorter stroke?" That way, two people can hone in on the greatest sensation. Men find it relieving to receive direct instruction on what will feel good. They no longer have to read women's minds.

And this partnership is equally stimulating for the stroker and strokee? Does it have to be a male and female partnership?
OM simply requires one person with a clit and another person with a finger, so women can equally OM together. Having been stroked, as well as having stroked for many years, I can say that the experience is equally impactful from both positions. It's wild, but true. Rather than one person giving and the other receiving, it's more like two people plugging into an electric socket and both feeling the electricity run through their bodies. There's science that explains this—the biology of limbic connection. But most importantly, experience speaks for itself.

Why do you guys always call it a pussy and never a vagina?
Pussy is just more charged, isn't it? Going into charged territory is sexy. It increases sensation. It has us question things. We like that. The funny thing about pussy is all the stroking connotations. A couple of weeks ago, we had an article in the Sun. Right next to it, they put a piece titled "Why Stroking Cats Can Help Beat Stress." Turns out the Sun has a sense of humor.

Do you think having a specific set of cunni-lingo is important to the overall practice? Are you trying to, in effect, teach people how to speak about sex in a way that changes their philosophy while they do it?
Yes, that is a part of it. We do like using charged words: Pussy, cock, fucking, sucking. They go right to the center of shame and turn it around. They have a rawness to them. Sensational sex is raw. You don't need to add anything to it. No flowery language, no yoni, no sacred. When you strip sex down to its most unfiltered components, that's when you find out what's actually there. You can stop pretending. You don't have to be anything other than what you are.

Can you describe your first OM experience?
I don't actually remember much about my first OM. The experience itself wasn't mind-blowing, but what was amazing was what I felt afterward. It was like a door deep inside of me opened and feelings I didn't even know I had started flooding through—pulsing sex, weeping sadness, hilarious laughter, raging anger.

A TED Talk by Nicole Daedone, founder of OneTaste.

How has your life changed because of OM?
After that first OM, my pussy turned on in a way I had never felt it. It was alive. And I started to feel more alive, too. I opened my sex. I had a lot more energy. I felt more creative. Six and a half years later, my life is fully immersed in OM and everything that goes with it. Under my photo in the high school yearbook it says, "Most likely to become a nun." Not anymore!

Has the British population responded well to OM as a movement?
I would say Brits enjoy a good amount of skepticism. I've been told there is an exalted culture of critique here. So people have the ability to use intellectual defense at a whole other level. On the other hand, Brits are more reserved and less expressed. There is a lot brewing inside that is dying to come out. When British people discover OM, it gives them permission to be real and express themselves in a whole new way.

Does it tend to make practitioners more, uh, sexually prolific?
OM opens up desire. For some people, they might have had a lot of sex [and] exploration in kink and other arenas. For others, they may have never let their sex out—it's been like a wild animal living in a very small cage and, through OM, they begin to open the door. For me, I was definitely in the second camp. Through OM, I came to truly love sex. I lost my inhibition against asking for what I want. My body is more alive and turned on. I have more of the sex I want, more of the time.

Guess it's tough to argue with that. Some profiles I've read have dubbed OM a feminist movement. Do you think that's true?
I would say OM is for everyone who wants more connection, energy and turn on. Feminists would get a lot out of OM, but so would conservatives. I think most people would benefit from a little pussy stroking.

Follow Monica on Twitter: @monicaheisey

More stories about masturbation:

In Pursuit of the Four-Month-Long Orgasm

The Great Manhattan Masturbation Crawl

You Can't Just Walk Around Masturbating in Public, Swedish People

First off, let me say that there is no bigger fan of Home Alone than myself. I’ve seen it more times than you’ve probably seen your mother’s face so trust me when I say that I’m not slamming the movie in any way. After a while, you start to notice things that don’t really make sense or that have gone somewhat unnoticed. I know you’re all about to say that you have too much time on your hands and my answer to that is I could not agree with you more. Here’s a look at 8 things that always bothered me in Home Alone.

Home Alone

1. Kevin’s Mom Did All of Her Traveling For Nothing.

You know at the very end of the movie when Kevin has those sweet moments with his mom that’s quickly interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the gang? It seems nice, but do you realize that means she did all of that nightmare travel for nothing? She asks how they got back so soon and Peter tells her that they simply waited for the next flight. She laughs and they all hug, but I would have lost my mind. While they all sat in a nice hotel being fed shrimp by Uncle Frank, she spent thousands of dollars and gave away her dangly earrings just to arrive 30 seconds early. I seriously would have thrown a shoe through a window.

2. Old Man Marley Brought It On Himself.

Home Alone

We find out halfway through the movie that Old Man Marley isn’t a shovel carrying murder that turns his victims into mummies, but rather a misunderstood old guy who just misses his family. Here’s the thing; he brings most of that judgment upon himself. When he runs into Kevin at the store, instead of just speaking to him like a normal, function member of society, he slams his hand down on the counter. Oh did I forget to mention that his hand is covered in bloody bandage? What were you doing, Marley? Maybe you should get that looked at by a doctor instead of visiting your corner drug store for a beard comb or whatever you were buying. Anyone in their right mind would be horrified of you, pal.

3. This Was NEVER Mentioned Again?

Home Alone

I know that Kevin thought he made his parents disappear, but the fact that he battled a duo of criminals and defended their home against hardened criminals it never came up in conversation? I would have bragged about this for the rest of my life and used it as a warning to Buzz so he knows never to mess with me again. Oh you’re going to feed me to your tarantula? I smashed a pair of criminals in the face with paint cans. You probably shouldn’t mess with me.

4. What Kind of Store Sells a Toothbrush Not Approved by the ADA?

Home Alone

Sure Kevin panicked and ran out of the store with a toothbrush, but I think the storeowners are overreacting just a bit. There’s no way that thing cost more than $1 and that’s in ‘90s money. Why don’t you save your attack dog, Jimmie, for an actual criminal, like the home invaders lurking in your neighborhood. By the way, I spelled his name with an “ie” instead of a “y” as a sign of disrespect. You heard me, Jimmie. The real question is what kind of third world flea market are these jokers running that sells a toothbrush not approved by the American Dental Association? You probably sell fake Gucci purses and illegal, exotic pets in the back of that crime hole, don’t you?

5. Kevin Has One Big Flaw.

Home Alone

So I’m to believe that Kevin, a child, can, not only build a Saw-like series of traps and snares to stop some grown men from robbing him, but he can also simulate an entire house party using only toy trains and Michael Jordan cardboard cutouts? I can accept this, but you mean to say that with all of this knowledge he doesn’t know how to pack his own suitcase? This kid cooked a macaroni dinner, which, we all know, requires boiling water and measuring ingredients. How can he do this but can’t figure out how many pairs of jeans he would wear in a week? I believe in you, Kevin. You should believe in yourself.

6. Those Police Officers Should Be Fired.

Home Alone

The McCallisters arrive in France after realizing they had forgotten Kevin. They immediately call the police, of course. After explaining that a child has been left unattended and could be in need of medical assistance, the police begin to jerk her around like she’s being ridiculous. Oh I’m sorry that I’m a little upset that my child is alone on the other side of the country from his family. Once they convince these terrible officers to investigate the home, this fella goes to the door, knocks a few times, and then tells her to count her kids again! What!? I would sue everyone involved with that branch and press charges for criminal neglect. What if he’s choking or seriously injured? You have permission from the homeowners to enter the house, but you don’t do it? Unbelievable.

7. The Wet Bandits Crime Level Quickly Escalates.

Home Alone

After Kevin unleashed his arsenal upon Marv and Harry, they eventually catch him. Now remember these guys are petty thieves. Not only do they start talking about murdering Kevin, but they start talking about how they are going to bite off his fingers. We’ve gone from stealing home goods to cannibalism? Luckily Old Man Marley arrives just in time to hit them with a shovel and save Kevin. God knows what would have happened if he got there 2 minutes later.

8. Don’t Accept Rides From Strangers in the Back of a Moving Truck.

Home Alone

I know it’s John Candy and we all love him, but seriously kids, don’t accept rides from a strange group of men offering to drive you cross country in the back of a moving truck. What part of this sounded like a good idea? This is worse than getting in the car with those fake cab drivers at the airport in New York who offer you a ride but make you feel like you’re entering the movie Taken. Thanks goodness for Uber cabs so we don’t have to worry about this ever again. 

1. Stop placing all the blame on other people for how they interact with you. To an extent, people treat you the way you want to be treated. A lot of social behavior is cause and effect. Take responsibility for (accept) the fact that you are the only constant variable in your equation.

2. Stop being lazy by being constantly “busy.” It’s easy to be busy. It justifies never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go out with friends, meet new people. Realize that every time you give in to your ‘busyness,’ it’s you who’s making the decision, not the demands of your job.

3. Stop seeking out distractions. You will always be able to find them.

4. Stop trying to get away with work that’s “good enough.” People notice when “good enough” is how you approach your job. Usually these people will be the same who have the power to promote you, offer you a health insurance plan, and give you more money. They will take your approach into consideration when thinking about you for a raise.

5. Stop allowing yourself to be so comfortable all the time. Coming up with a list of reasons to procrastinate risky, innovative decisions offers more short-term gratification than not procrastinating. But when you stop procrastinating to make a drastic change, your list of reasons to procrastinate becomes a list of ideas about how to better navigate the risk you’re taking.

6. Stop identifying yourself as a cliche and start treating yourself as an individual. Constantly checking your life against a prewritten narrative or story of how things “should” be is a bought-into way of life. It’s sort of like renting your identity. It isn’t you. You are more nuanced than the narrative you try to fit yourself into, more complex than the story that “should” be happening.

7. Stop expecting people to be better than they were in high school — learn how to deal with it instead. Just because you’re out of high school doesn’t mean you’re out of high school. There will always be people in your life who want what you have, are threatened by who you are, and will ridicule you for doing something that threatens how they see their position in the world.

8. Stop being stingy. If you really care about something, spend your money on it. There is often a notion that you are saving for something. Either clarify what that thing is or start spending your money on things that are important to you. Spend money on road trips. Spend money on healthy food. Spend money on opportunities. Spend money on things you’ll keep.

9. Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as time to focus on doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are essentially rote tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you away from your phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention span are difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X amount of things at any given moment.

10. Stop blaming yourself for being human. You’re fine. Having a little anxiety is fine. Being scared is fine. Your secrets are fine. You’re well-meaning. You’re intelligent. You’re blowing it out of proportion. You’re fine.

11. Stop ignoring the fact that other people have unique perspectives and positions. Start approaching people more thoughtfully. People will appreciate you for deliberately trying to conceive their own perspective and position in the world. It not only creates a basis for empathy and respect, it also primes people to be more open and generous with you.

12. Stop seeking approval so hard. Approach people with the belief that you’re a good person. It’s normal to want the people around you to like you. But it becomes a self-imposed burden when almost all your behavior toward certain people is designed to constantly reassure you of their approval.

13. Stop considering the same things you’ve always done as the only options there are. It’s unlikely that one of the things you’ll regret when you’re older is not having consumed enough beer in your 20s, or not having bought enough $5 lattes, or not having gone out to brunch enough times, or not having spent enough time on the internet. Fear of missing out is a real, toxic thing. You’ve figured out drinking and going out. You’ve experimented enough. You’ve gotten your fill of internet memes. Figure something else out.

14. Stop rejecting the potential to feel pain. Suffering is a universal constant for sentient beings. It is not unnatural to suffer. Being in a constant state of suffering is bad. But it is often hard to appreciate happiness when there’s nothing to compare it to. Rejecting the potential to suffer is unsustainable and unrealistic.

15. Stop approaching adverse situations with anger and frustration. You will always deal with people who want things that seem counter to your interests. There will always be people who threaten to prevent you from getting what you want by trying to get what they want. This is naturally frustrating. Realize that the person you’re dealing with is in the same position as you — by seeking out your own interests, you threaten to thwart theirs. It isn’t personal — you’re both just focused on getting different things that happen to seem mutually exclusive. Approach situations like these with reason. Be calm. Don’t start off mad, it’ll only make things more tense.

16. Stop meeting anger with anger. People will make you mad. Your reaction to this might be to try and make them mad. This is something of a first-order reaction. That is, it isn’t very thoughtful — it may be the first thing you’re inclined to do. Try to suppress this reaction. Be thoughtful. Imagine your response said aloud before you say it. If you don’t have to respond immediately, don’t.

17. Stop agreeing to do things that you know you’ll never actually do. It doesn’t help anyone. To a certain extent, it’s a social norm to be granted a ‘free pass’ when you don’t do something for someone that you said you were going to do. People notice when you don’t follow through, though, especially if it’s above 50% of the time.

18. Stop ‘buying’ things you know you’ll throw away. Invest in friendships that aren’t parasitic. Spend your time on things that aren’t distractions. Put your stock in fleeting opportunity. Focus on the important.

19. Stop being afraid.

October 29th is National Cat Day, which indicates both that we need to recognize and celebrate cats, and also that apparently EVERYTHING has a national day now.

Since this now-important holiday is so close to Halloween, it only seems right to celebrate with cats wearing costumes.  And, as every cat lover knows, a costumed cat is an angry, scary cat that’s sure to fill your hearts with festive terror. Win-win!

1. This truly terrifying cat that looks like he’d kill you despite his lack of depth perception:

via imgur

2.  This grouch.

via imgur

3.  This little guy who looks truly horrified with the way his life has turned out.

via imgur

4. This cat who is almost certainly going to kill someone within the next 10 minutes.

via imgur

5. The angriest hotdog that’s ever existed.

via imgur

6. This pretty princess who’s hoping she can somehow destroy you with her death stare.  Somehow.

via imgur

7. And this sad sack who’s already given up on revenge.  And joy.  And anything beyond this costumed existence.

via imgur

Two unrelated scientific studies were published recently that basically let us know that science really wants us to get out of the house and pal around. According to The Association of Psychological Science, people look more attractive in groups.

This phenomenon — first dubbed the “cheerleader effect” by ladykiller Barney Stinson on the popular TV showHow I Met Your Mother — suggests that having a few friends around might be an easy way to boost perceived attractiveness.

According to psychological scientists Drew Walker and Edward Vul of the University of California, San Diego, people tend to “average out” the features of faces in a group, thereby perceiving an individual’s face as more average than they would be otherwise.

While being average-looking might seem like a bad thing, research suggests that’s not necessarily the case for attractiveness:

“Average faces are more attractive, likely due to the averaging out of unattractive idiosyncrasies,” Walker explains. “Perhaps it’s like Tolstoy’s families: Beautiful people are all alike, but every unattractive person is unattractive in their own way.”

Walker and Vul suspected that the attractiveness of average faces, coupled with the tendency to encode groups of objects as an “ensemble,” might actually support the cheerleader effect. To test this, the researchers performed five experiments with over 130 undergraduate students.

Not only do people in general look more attractive in groups, but another study has found that men’s health is bolstered by drinking twice a week with friends. Luckily for you men, while you’re out managing your health and taking care of you, because you’re with your best bros, you’re going to look totally awesome.

From The Vancouver Sun:

Men need a minimum of two guys’ nights a week to maintain good health – and it’s a scientific fact, at least according to new research from a U.K. psychologist. Robin Dunbar (infamous for the Dunbar Number – a theoretical limit on the amount of close social contacts a person can have – and his work on friendships), director of Oxford University’s social and evolutionary neuroscience research group, is very specific with his prescription: Men must physically meet with four friends twice a week to reap the benefits of male friendship.

Those benefits, in addition to general health, include faster recovery times when faced with illnesses and higher levels of generosity.

Dunbar goes so far as to recommend guys “do stuff” while they socialize. In addition to drinking beer and laughing together, men should try to play a number of team sports.

Hear that, fellas? Eat your red meat and crawl out of your man cave! Time to bond with the bros! Science said so.

Worth mentioning: the participants in the group attractiveness study were shown electronic pictures of people alone and in groups to verify these findings. I wonder if the same is true on OkCupid and if there’s an group size apex at which the results are voided. I only say that because I’ve been on OkCupid for a few months and some guys solely post pictures out with a ton of friends, making it almost impossible to determine to which man the profile belongs. Even my best skills of deduction can’t eliminate the overlap.

But hey, at least they’re all attractive and healthy!

Lou Reed, animal y poeta del rocknroll, a veces oscuro, a veces romántico. Rompió esquemas en los 60, se convirtió en icono de los 70, y su música sigue influenciando a nuevas generaciones a día de hoy. Falleció ayer a los 71 años. Este es el primero de los programas que dedicamos a repasar su trayectoria, disco a disco, de forma cronológica. Podrás escuchar a Lou Reed en; Intro, Sweet Jane, So blue (por The Jades), Merry go round (por Lewis Reed), The ostrich (por The Primitives), Here she comes now (por The Velvet Undergorund), Thats the story of my life (por The V.U.), I love you, Satellite of love, Caroline says II, Kill your sons, Metal machine music part 1, Crazy feeling, RocknRoll heart, With you, So alone y Peggy Sue.

Article reposted with permission from Business Insider

This is either useful or terrifying, depending on how the data affect you: Researchers at Facebook and Cornell University have figured out a formula that predicts whether a couple is likely to break up within the next 60 days.

Jon Kleinberg, a computer scientist at Cornell, and Lars Backstrom, a senior engineer at Facebook, took a dataset of 1.3 million Facebook users who listed that they were in a relationship. They were actually looking for a formula that could predict which users were in relationships with each other.

They found that the shape, or “dispersion,” of your friends network is the key. You might expect that a cluster of mutual friends indicates two people are in a relationship but the opposite is the case: You’re more likely to have cluster of mutual coworkers listing each other as friends than a couple.

Instead, when two people have widely dispersed clusters that are linked mostly via the couple, that is the main predictor of whether you’re in a relationship.

In the diagram above, “you” are at the center. The two dense clusters of friends are coworkers and college friends. The blue dot in the lower left is the significant other — he or she is at a remove from most of your friends but has links to many of them.

The dispersion formula makes it easier to guess who is in a relationship with whom.

But when the formula guesses incorrectly, that means a couple is more likely to break up soon, the researchers say:

We find that relationships on which recursive dispersion fails to correctly identify the partner are significantly more likely to transition to ‘single’ status over a 60- day period. This effect holds across all relationship ages and is particularly pronounced for relationships up to 12 months in age; here the transition probability is roughly 50% greater when recursive dispersion fails to recognize the partner.

Here’s what that looks like in a chart:

The red line shows incorrect guesses by the formula. When it fails to spot a couple based on dispersion, that couple has a much higher likelihood of breaking up within the next five months, the data suggest.

source: BI

Listen, it’s Monday. And sure, you can make the argument that that’s an arbitrary fact and every day is exactly the same, or you can say to yourself that this is the first day of the work week and that sucks. And since it does suck, why not watch a video of a hedgehog making friends with a kitten?

That’s what I thought.

One of these days I’m going to figure out why every cute animal video on YouTube is accompanied by a cheesy acoustic song in the background. Until then, let us all just watch this for what it is, and enjoy. Because it’s Monday, people.

É curioso como se van colocando as palabras na clasificación de uso dos falantes. En castelán existen certidumbre e incertidumbre. A segunda, loxicamente, é derivada da outra por oposición. Pois hoxe en día, úsase moito máis incertidumbre que certidumbre, substituída na maioría dos casos por sinónimos.

No galego non existen ningunha delas nin os seus calcos castrapos certidume e incertidume. Se ben o castelán construíu estas palabras desde o latín certitudinis, o noso idioma deriva de certo os duplos significados de cada palabra: certeza: calidade do que é certo; circunstancia de saber que algo é certo. E incerteza: calidade do que non é certo; estado do que dubida ou se sente inseguro.

De feito, case sempre que escoitamos ou lemos o castrapo incertidume referímonos a ese segundo significado. “A reforma ilegal das condicións do concurso eólico deixaron as empresas do sector na incerteza xurídica”.

LA HORA LOCA 18- ¡Mi amigo Lou Reed!

All photos by Mick Rock

A lot of people who’ve read Please Kill Me, the history of punk I co-wrote with Gillian McCain, don’t realize the book begins with a question from Lou:

It seemed like the perfect way to begin a book called Please Kill Me, you know? I thought that would be a worthwhile question to pose, especially since the basis of all philosophies is, “To be or not to be?” I mean, why go on? Is life too shitty to continue? The history of punk is sort of an answer to Lou's classic question.

That was the glory of Lou—he showed us just how shitty everything really is. Just listen to “The Kids,” off of Berlin: “The black Air Force Sergeant / Wasn’t the first one…” He’s always pushing me to go further into the depths of hell—to have all the experiences life has to offer, the profound and the profane—before making up my mind about whether to end it all. I’ve always been fascinated with people who've been to psychic places I haven't been, like William S. Burroughs and Norman Mailer, to mention a few. Lou was someone who knew the true secrets of life, and tried to weasel some truth out of them.

Lou was the most influential artist of my generation, easy. Yeah, the Beatles and the Stones were more popular, but for honest, human emotions, you can’t beat Lou. I never met a girl in a gin-soaked bar in Yonkers, and she never blew my nose or my mind, y'know what I’m saying? But many times, I didn’t know where I was going. Many times I spent waiting for her to come. Many times—if only, if only, if only…

Lou mined the depth and articulation of sheer desperation. Whether I was waiting for my drug dealer, or trying to get off during sex, or some other private weirdness I was too mortified to admit, Lou'd already been there, and he'd come back with a song. Take “Kicks” off one of his first solo albums. “How do you get your kicks for living?” he asks, right before the jarring mix is blasted to 11 and you’re thrown out of complacency.

I think John Cale said it best, and I’ve never heard Lou’s work defined so succinctly: “The first time Lou played ‘Heroin’ for me, it totally knocked me out. The words and music were so raunchy and devastating. What’s more, Lou’s songs fit perfectly with my concept of music. Lou had these songs where there was an element of character assassination going on. He had a strong identification with the characters he was portraying. It was method acting in song.”

Lou’s songs weren’t about being a junkie—they were a junkie. Or hungover, or frustrated, or broke. He eliminated the fourth wall. We used to have a saying at Punk Magazine, “Show, don’t tell.” In other words, instead of trying to write about punk, just be punk. That was Lou.

One morning in the 80s, I was writing an article about crack cocaine infiltrating Middle America. Strolling into a West Virginia diner for breakfast, I remember singing the lyrics to Lou Reed’s “New Age,” the one that goes, “Can I have your autograph / He said to the fat blond actress.”

The song was rumored to be about Lou’s affair with the actress Shelley Winters. I hummed it as I walked from the parking lot. The day before, Jim Tynan and I had been doing drug busts with local cops, arresting Jamaican crack dealers. We’d sit in the back of a van filled with sweaty cops, guns drawn, waiting to rush out the doors once the sexy girl in the driver’s seat made the buy. I always went out the doors behind Jim, since he had to get the photograph, and because he was bigger than me. I knew his body would shield mine once the bullets started flying. OK, I’m a coward, I admit it.

I was in my own head at the diner, relieved I’d made it through a bunch of busts without getting shot. Suddenly, a fat hillbilly lady turned to me and spat, “You’re a vile, horrible man!” I was flabbergasted, until I realized she thought I was singing to her. I didn’t even consider the words, it was just a tune flowing through my head: “He said to the fat, blond actress…” There was nothing I could say to her. I just chuckled as she waddled to her car, thinking, Wow, even here in West Virginia, Lou gets me into trouble. That was his power.

Yeah, Lou taught me a lot. And all I had to do was listen.

Lou Reed, 1942—2013. RIP.

More on Lou:

My Dear Friend Lou Reed, by Mick Rock

Lou Reed: No Epitaphs

Lisa Rogak’s book Death Warmed Over explores the world’s ultimate comfort foods: 75 recipes typically served at funeral ceremonies of different cultures around the globe. With Halloween (and Mexico’s Day of the Dead) just around the corner, Lisa joins ES to share a recipe for bread of the dead.

While there are many funeral traditions throughout Mexico, the best-known post-funeral celebration is The Day of the Dead, also known as All Souls’ Day, on November 2nd. Officially, it is the one day of the year when dead ancestors return to earth to visit. November 1st is All Saints’ Day, and traditionally, celebrations begin that evening, though in the daytime families tend to honor children who have died, reserving the evenings for adult ancestors.

On November 2nd^, the family will spend the day at the cemetery where loved ones are buried. They clean the area around the grave, wash the tombstone, and place the deceased’s favorite foods around the grave. Huge flower arrangements are also common. Most families also build a small altar – either at the gravesite or at the home or office – and place food offerings and favorite items on it as well

Food is also a central part of Day of the Dead celebrations for those still walking the earth: Special black plates and bowls are only sold during the last two weeks in October and bakeries make hundreds of the life-size skull-shaped cakes with the name of the deceased written in frosting on the forehead. In fact, candy and desserts take center stage during the Day of the Dead, from chocolate caskets to candy skeletons. Indeed, like other cultures that saved biscuits and cakes from the funeral as a memento of a lost loved one, many Mexicans will hold onto these candy bones for years.

Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

5 to 5-1/2 cups flour

2 packages dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon whole anise seed

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

In a saucepan over medium flame, heat the butter, milk and water until the butter melts.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and ½ cup of the sugar. Add the butter and milk mixture and stir until well combined. Add the eggs and beat in another 1 cup of flour. Continue to add more flour until the dough is soft but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured board for ten minutes until smooth and elastic.

Lightly grease a large mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape into loaves resembling skulls or skeletons. Let rise in a warm place for one hour.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. While the bread is baking, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan, mix the remaining ½ cup of sugar, orange juice, and zest over high heat. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Boil for two minutes, still stirring, then remove from heat. Let cool.

When bread is done, remove from pans to cool completely on racks. Brush the glaze over the top of the bread.

Makes 2 loaves

For more recipes, buy Death Warmed Over on Amazon.

(Photo: LuisVGWikimedia)

Cuando tenía 17-19 años, todavía bastante desorientado, y creyéndome seguramente más listo de lo que en realidad era, empecé a desarrollar una inquina muy profunda hacia la gente que no alcanzaba determinado nivel intelectual, que no era capaz de relativizar, evitar que el árbol no le dejara ver el bosque, ignorara cómo funcionaba el método científico, fuera capaz de reírse de todo lo intocable e incluso de sí mismo, y una larga lista arbitraria e idiosincrásica a la que englobaba en un término paraguas totalmente inventado: ‘temperar’ (Concepto que incluso dio para que escribiera una novela… pero ésa es otra historia).

Tanto creí en ello (seguramente alimentado por las conversaciones que mantenía con personas que se creían tan listas como yo), que incluso aspiraba, algún día, a mudarme a una isla con la gente con la que me entendía (que temperaba). Una isla privada, lejos de cualquier país, cuyo acceso estaría vedado a todo aquél que no superara una batería de tests que naturalmente confeccionaría yo mismo.

Por ejemplo: ¿vistes con la camiseta de tu equipo de fútbol por la calle? No entras. ¿Alguna vez te has envuelto en una bandera? Fuera de aquí. ¿Te fías de tus intuiciones? No hay sitio para ti. ¿Eres fan de Crepúsculo o similares? Media vuelta y adiós. ¿Alguna vez has participado en un baile coreografiado de moda en una discoteca? Vete a la mierda.

Era un modo tosco, injusto y profundamente ignorante de juzgar a los demás. Pero creía que, al menos, así evitaría toparme con determinadas personas que me hacían perder el tiempo, me minaban el alma y me hacían sentir como un abstemio en una orgía de borrachos. Cuánto me equivocaba. O no, quién sabe. Quizá tuviera algo de razón. Hoy en día, mi opinión al respecto es que sufría miopía empática, me dejaba llevar por un pragmatismo atroz que no me hacía realmente feliz y filtraba a la gente de un modo que no necesariamente me hacía conocer a las personas que realmente me satisfacían a largo plazo. Es decir, que aún sigo pensando parecido… pero con un millar de matices.

Todo el que se haya creído superior a los demás (o realmente lo sea, en el terreno que él considere oportuno), en alguna ocasión ha pensado cosas semejantes a éstas. Por ejemplo, hace poco se estrenó la película Armados y cabreados (God Bless America), en la que un tipo asqueado con el mundo, divorciado, despedido de su trabajo y con un tumor en su cerebro, decide coger una pistola y empezar a segarle la vida a todas las personas que se lo merecen en base a su estulticia. Al jurado de una suerte de American Idol, a esas pijas de dieciséis años de padres millonarios que, llenas de melindres, aspiran a tener la mejor fiesta de cumpleaños de la historia; gente así.

He de confesar que disfruté de la película. Tuvo algo de catártico. Pero también disfruto atropellando a todo el mundo en el GTA, y eso no significa que me parezca bien hacerlo en el mundo real.

Una de mis películas favoritas es El club de la lucha. Tengo orgasmos mentales cuando Tyler Durden se carga un New Beetle o las cintas de VHS de película Independence Day o larga cosas como “que se joda Martha Stewart”. Pero sé perfectamente que, en el mundo real, Tyler Durden no sería una solución a ningún problema social: destruir todo el planeta es solo una pataleta, no una solución. Podéis leer más acerca de las ideas inmaduras de Tyler Durden en Ser anormal no siempre es bueno… ser Tyler Durden, tampoco.

Y ahí reside el problema de las personas que se creen moralmente superiores y que aspiran a crear mundos utópicos. O sus alternativas son demasiado fantasiosas, en el mejor de los casos, o dado que son incapaces de hallar soluciones, deciden cortar por lo sano y destruir, matar y discriminar todo aquello que no está a su nivel, en el peor.

Los genocidios existen gracias a la capacidad del ser humano de convertir en no humanos a los individuos que no cumplen sus expectativas. Los individuos despreciados por mí, cuando eran joven, los tildaba de cucarachas; los genocidas de la historia han tildado a sus enemigos de ratas, serpientes, gusanos, piojos, moscas, parásitos, y, naturalmente, cucarachas. La idea que lo alimenta todo es: mata a esa gente peligrosa y nociva, y mátalos a todos para que no se reproduzcan masivamente como los animales empleados metafóricamente para señalarlos.

Como señala Steven Pinker en su libro Los ángeles que llevamos dentro, “no sólo aplicamos metáforas repugnantes a pueblos infravalorados desde el punto de vista moral, sino que tendemos a infravalorar moralmente a personas físicamente asquerosas.” Por ello, Lynn Hunt elaboró la siguiente teoría: un incremento de higiene en Europa provocó una disminución de los castigos crueles a las personas.

En la siguiente entrega de este artículo, seguiremos profundizando en los males que traen aparejados las utopías o las eugenesias, así como las razones que han producido todos los genocidios de la historia.

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La noticia Siente asco hacia ‘esa’ gente, o los peligros de las utopías (I) fue publicada originalmente en Xatakaciencia por Sergio Parra.

Burqa aqruB originally appeared on My[confined]Space NSFW on October 27, 2013.

Bendy originally appeared on My[confined]Space NSFW on October 27, 2013.

Esta quinta feira dia 31 a Comissom de Cultura da Gentalha do Pichel organiza várias actividades para a noite de defuntos. O programa é o seguinte:

19h30 Visita guiada ao cemitério de Bonaval. Falará André Seoane (membro da Comissom de História da Gentalha do Pichel). Combina-se às 19:30 diante do CGAC (Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea).
20h Procissom da Companha do Pichel. Traz o teu disfarce de defunta e sairemos em procissom após a visita guiada.
23h30 Festa e pinchada terrorífica a cargo da Radio Kaaaaalimeraaaaa
Coqueteis sanguentos: Bloody Glory (Lago), Sangue de Rajoi,…

Sylvie Vartan

France’s cheerful early ‘60s yé-yé bubblegum pop music didn’t feature only young female singers (there was, for example, Claude François), but girls were certainly the majority, first on the radio show Salut les copains (Hello Friends!), named after a Gilbert Bécaud song, and the subsequent spin-off music magazine of the same name. Any song featured as the week’s favorite pick on the show was guaranteed to be a hit, just like titles from Oprah’s book club. Feral House has published a grand tribute to these glamorous singers, Ye-Ye Girls of ‘60s French Pop, by French music writer Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe, with the first of many accompanying playlists.

 
The best known yé-yé (derived from “yeah yeah,” coined three years or so before “She Loves You”) singers were Sylvie Vartan (long-time wife of French rocker Johnny Hallyday), France Gall, Sheila, Jacqueline Taïeb, and the stunning Françoise Hardy, whom Mick Jagger once called his “ideal woman.”

Sylvie Vartan with The Beatles

Chantal Goya

Gillian Hills

Françoise Hardy

France Gall

Serge Gainsbourg, then in his thirties, wrote the hit “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” for the schoolgirl singer France Gall, whom he called “the French Lolita.” He then wrote “Les Sucettes” (“Lollipops”) for her, a thinly veiled paean to oral sex, which greatly embarrassed her when she eventually learned the song’s true meaning. (Note the dancing penises in the video.)

Yé-yé, like the vast majority of Francophone music, didn’t receive a lot of attention in the U.S. when it was first released, although Susan Sontag did mention it in passing in “Notes on Camp” in 1964: “Sometimes whole art forms become saturated with Camp. Classical ballet, opera, movies have seemed so for a long time. In the last two years, popular music (post rock-‘n’-roll, what the French call yé yé) has been annexed.” Fifty years later yé-yé has enjoyed a new wave of interest, thanks to Quentin Tarantino and Mad Men.

Feral House’s Yé-Yé Girls of ‘60s French Pop:

Jacqueline Taïeb, “7 heure du matin,” a song about wanting to bed Paul McCartney:

France Gall, “Laisse tomber les filles”:

Gillian Hills, the original version of “Zou bisou bisou,” produced by George Martin:

Sheila, “L’école est finie”:

François Hardy, “Tous les garçons et les filles”:

Sylvie Vartan, “La plus belle pour aller danser”:

La revista VICE nos ha sometido a un interrogatorio donde hablamos de futuros capítulos de la serie, enumeramos nuestros referentes y abocetamos lo humano y lo divino. Podéis leerla pulsando en la imagen o en este link.

Es de recibo completar la entrevista con algunas de las piezas que sobrevuelan la conversación: los extraordinarios vídeos de Ramón Gómez de la Serna El Orador (1928) y Esencia de Verbena (1930), las estupendas series documentales de Adam Curtis como The century of the Self (2002) y las ácidas piezas de Charlie Brooker sobre televisión como este How to report the news (2010) (además de los breves de Curtis para el programa de Brooker, como Oh dear-ism (2009)). O la memoria sentimental del Athletic de Bilbao (1970) de Antonio Marcero, que se componía a partir de un album de cromos.

También las propias: la charla Repronto en la Universidad Complutense y la conferencia sobre el 15-M en el CCCB.