firehose

We throw thousands of men in the hole for the books they read, the company they keep, the beliefs they hold. Here's why.

The Hovenring is a circular cable-stayed bicycle bridge that appears to hover, spaceship-like, above an intersection in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The bridge is supported primarily by a 229-foot-tall pylon in the center of the intersection. The bridge was designed by Dutch design and engineering firm, ipv Delft.

via Visual News

photos and video via ipv Delft

wobbleinthehox:

apparently i’m not enthusiastic enough about satan for google 

tastefullyoffensive:

[destructiveoutlet]

Hope everyone has a safe and dachshund-bite-free Halloween!

Daniel_Stuckey writes "Reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, who shared a Pulitzer last year as part of the Associated Press team covering the NYPD's surveillance activity, have summed it up perfectly: The NYPD doesn't answer document requests. "For the most part, they don't respond," Apuzzo told the Huffington Post. 'Even the NSA responds.' It's not just reporters who've noticed. New York City Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio gave the police department a failing grade in an April report based on its dismal response rate to Freedom of Information requests. By de Blasio's analysis, nearly a third of requests submitted to NYPD go unanswered."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Signature gatherers behind an effort to create a new water and sewer district have received their first formal complaint—a potentially serious allegation that, if deemed true, could result in felony charges.

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown's office received a written accusation on October 24—claims a Lloyd District petitioner offered false information about what the proposed Portland Public Water District would accomplish.

"The petitioner told me that the petition supports a ballot measure that would prevent the privatization of the Bull Run system," writes the complainant, whose name the secretary of states office withheld because of a potential criminal investigation. "It was clear to me that the petitioner had been trained to use this knowingly false statement."

Reading over the water district measure, though, the alleged statements don't seem necessarily misleading—just woefully incomplete. At its core, the measure creates a seven-member elected board that would assume control of the Portland Water Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services. There are still some big questions about whether the measure's language could have unintended consequences.

But it also plainly states: "The district may not regionalize or privatize water or sewer service," and "the district may not adopt regulations for the Bull Run Watershed that are less protective or enhancing of water quality than the regulations in place on July 1, 2013."

The complaint will send secretary of state investigators to work determining if a crime was committed, spokesman Tony Green said. But that's no easy feat where local races are concerned. For statewide petitions, Green said, the secretary of state collects the names and photos of everyone circulating a petition. That's not the case with local initiatives, so it might be hard to even locate the gatherer who uttered the allegedly illegal exhortation.

The complainant provided a picture of the man, but a copy sent to the Mercury is essentially a pixelated blur wearing sunglasses.

"If we can’t find who that person is, we can’t do anything," Green said.

Calls and messages to chief petitioners Kent Craford and Floy Jones haven't been returned, but Green said investigators are working with the group.

The letter is the measure's first formal complaint, but not the first protestation that's made its way to the secretary of state's office. Days before the complaint was filed, Friends of Trees Deputy Director Brighton West sent an email claiming a signature gatherer had incorrectly claimed the petition would stop Nestlé from privatizing the city's water supply.

According to Green, a separate caller phoned Brown's office last week to complain about a signature gatherer referencing Nestlé.

As far as the formal complaint goes, if the signature gatherer's identity is discovered and it's determined he knowingly made a false statement, he could be prosecuted under ORS 260.555, which says:

No person attempting to obtain signatures on, or causing to be circulated, an initiative, referendum or recall petition, shall knowingly make any false statement regarding the contents, meaning or effect of the petition to any person who signs it, attempts to sign it, is requested to sign it or requests information concerning it.

Violation of the law is a class C felony.

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This Sunday, November 10, the Crystal Ballroom is hosting a very special event. It's titled Neo Boys Presents: A Benefit for Rock and Roll Camp for Girls, and it's exactly that. Neo Boys were a seminal all-girl punk band in late-'70s, early-'80s Portland, and they've recently been the subject of a terrific, exhaustive compilation on K Records. Read more about Neo Boys and K Records' Sooner or Later double-album comp here.

Sunday's concert will feature lots of up-and-coming punk and rock bands featuring women, and while Neo Boys aren't technically performing, they're the figurehead for the evening, which also doubles as a release show for Sooner or Later. It's a benefit for the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, and the performers are Cold Beat (Hannah Lew of Grass Widow), Newman/Schonberg/Reyna, Toody Cole (of Dead Moon and Pierced Arrows), the Ghost Ease, the Vandies, Monica Nelson, Busy Scissors, and Crimson Typhoon. It's going to be a one-of-a-kind event, something to remember.

Now, this is a benefit show, but courtesy of the good folks at McMenamins, we've got a pair of tickets to one lucky End Hits reader! To enter, send an email to contest at portlandmercury dot com with "Neo Boys" in the subject line. Please include your first and last name in the email. We'll select a winner at random and send them on their way. These are hard tickets, so it would be best if you can come by the Mercury office later this week to pick them up. This contest closes Thursday morning at 9 am, so enter now! And good luck.

More event info here.

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King of the Internet's affections Benedict Cumberbatch solidified his rule by appearing on The Graham Norton Show recently and doing a damn fine Chewbacca impression. The best part? He does it in front of Harrison Ford, whose reaction to hearing his former co-pilot is, in a word, priceless.

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Yoko Ono’s always been a little puzzling, what with her commitment to art above all else, but her new video for “Bad Dancer” inspires head scratching for an entirely different reason. Somehow—definitely not because she used to be married to John Lennon—Ono managed to attract all sorts of New York celebrities to star in the clip, including Beastie Boys Mike D and Ad-Rock, This American Life host Ira Glass, Reggie Watts, Roberta Flack, Cibo Matto, and Roots drummer ?uestlove. All the guests get to cut a poorly trod rug with Ono, and the entire clip really turns out to be quite charming. [via Pitchfork] 

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Based on available information, Ciancia’s alleged actions amount to a textbook case of “terrorism” according to the U.S. government’s own definitions. But for some reason neither media nor officials are describing it that way.

In many parts of the Western world, Halloween (for adult women, and increasingly for girls too) has morphed into an opportunity or imperative to dress sexy.  These costumes for women and girls are par for the course, where men usually go for scary, funny, or creative.  Brandi H., however, found a link to “sexy costumes for men” at msn.com that claims “There are sexy options for men, too.”

Let’s take a look.  While women’s sexy costumes are typically decidedly sexy (tight with lots of exposed skin), these men’s “sexy” costumes are simply suggestive.  In two cases, they “suggest” that men should be sexually serviced or played with (the “breathalyzer” and the “ring toss”):

In a third, the joke is that he is a perfect candidate for casual sex (the “one night stand”):

In a fourth, the costume is simply sexy because it’s related to (stereotypes) about prostitution (the “hustler”):

So, when women go sexy for Halloween, it usually means being seen as a sex object for others.  When men go sexy, it means joking about how men should be sexually serviced, have access to one night stands, or being in charge of and profiting from women’s bodies.  A different type of “sexy” entirely.

The other two costumes are simply non-sensical in context.  I suppose policemen (and men in uniform in general) are supposed to be sexy in American culture.  And I guess bunnies are related to Playboy bunnies?  But the costume certainly misses the mark.

Cross-posted at Ms.; originally posted in 2010.

Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

(View original at http://thesocietypages.org/socimages)

Having recently moved on from casting the stars of its fellow cult TV shows to casting their creators, Community will one-up the recent addition of Arrested Development’s Mitch Hurwitz by adding Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan to the mix. Entertainment Weekly reports that Gilligan will join the show’s ever-growing roster of fifth-season guest stars—a roster that already includes Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks in a regular role—in what will be the writer-producer's acting debut. Gilligan will reportedly play “a smooth-talking gold digger who winds up exacerbating a fight between Annie and Abed”—possibly as a Machiavellian means of convincing them to kill each other, so he can then take control of their gold. Look for Gilligan to appear sometime in “late winter or early spring,” followed by an episode where the gang takes a class taught by a stack of Sopranos DVDs. 

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"I don't know how to say this without saying it how I've said it a million times," Marshall told the magazine in an upcoming cover story. "But that word, those kind of words, when I came up battle-rappin' or whatever, I never really equated those words  [with being homosexual]." In the song, he raps, "I attempt these lyrical acrobat stunts while I'm practicing that/I'll still be able to break a motherfuckin' table/Over the back of a couple of faggots and crack it in half... "Little gay-looking boy/So gay I can barely say it with a straight face-looking boy."

carmem:

vcs

UNBELIEVABLE!!! 

NEW YORK—More than two years after the commencement of the Occupy Wall Street protests, former Wall Street executive and financially devastated man Arthur Stratton, 65, told reporters Monday from his modest one-bedroom apartment in Washington Height...

Cellulose nitrate was used to make dice from the late 1860s until the middle of the twentieth century, and the material remains stable for decades. Then, in a flash, they can dramatically decompose. Nitric acid is released in a process called outgassing. The dice cleave, crumble, and then implode.

From Dice: Deception, Fate & Rotten Luck by Ricky Jay and Rosamond Purcell, 2002.

After reading that I immediately checked my box of D&D dice, which have been sitting on the shelf for years. They all seem to be intact.

Text and image via Sutured Infection.

Vaumara Rebelo
Miss Angola



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A new DiY science kit, "Backyard Brains," teaches kids about neuroscience and biotech by helping them dissect cockroaches — and then use simple electronic components to control the bugs' brains and movements. Now PETA is protesting the kits, saying they are cruel.

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The Shut Up & Sit Down Supercomputer: I have spent the week exhaustively probing and sampling the corpses of Quinns and Paul, and have arrived at a conclusion: They are still dead. Therefore I shall continue to transmit the "Games News" as if they were not. I recommend that you all perform the human act of "denial", as it sounds quite soothing.

Paul: Good morning everybaby!

Quinns: Paul, I cannot believe this. You will remember that two months ago I performed such that the people should buy real-time game Escape: The Curse of the Temple.

Paul: I remember it well, it made me birth eight giggles from my larynx.

Quinns: What a friend. But this week Queen Games has announced Escape from Zombie City. A tremendously similar game of rolling dice and escaping zombies, this time taking 15 minutes instead of 10. Just after I told everyone to buy the first Escape!

Paul: That is the limit!

Quinns: Stow your bum! This story gets even crazier.

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Some say Christopher Columbus brought syphilis back with him from the Americas. But was the so-called "French Disease" already in Europe by the time of his return?

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An aide came in, saying Oprah Winfrey had arrived for the dinner and wanted to see the president. "Don't you think you should get changed?" he asked Washington. She wondered whether cast member Kenan Thompson couldn't play Winfrey; both Thompson and Pharoah have said recently they will no longer impersonate women on the NBC late-night comedy institution. Washington left the stage and returned as Winfrey. She was then asked to portray Beyoncé — before the show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, stepped in. Michaels said producers would like to apologize to Washington for the number of black women she would be asked to play in the show. "We make this request both because Ms. Washington is an actress of considerable range and talent, and also because Saturday Night Live does not currently have a black woman in the cast," he said. "We agree this is not an ideal situation and look forward to rectifying it in the future — unless, of course, we fall in love with another white guy first."

"Had a good time at the #ood suicide prevention walk today. I may need to go back if our season continues the way it is..." — Freddie Falcon, @Freddie Falcon

SportsCenter commercials are perhaps ESPN’s funniest contribution to television, creating a dense fictional fantasyland out of the network’s Bristol, Connecticut offices. But one spot centered on remote contributor John Clayton revealed the supposedly buttoned up NFL analyst to be a devoted metalhead, with a long ponytail and a Slayer obsession. The band loved the ad when it saw it, so naturally when its tour rolled through Clayton's hometown of Seattle, the members took the opportunity to snap a picture with the ESPN analyst and radio host, bringing the wonderful union of geeky sports insight and legendary metal full circle. 

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A Diversity Campaign by UK department store Debenhams features models who are larger, older or otherwise different from traditional models. In 2012, Debenhams won the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Body Confidence Award.

By becoming the first high street retailer in the UK to promote its latest fashion collections by using models in a diverse variety of ages, sizes and looks – the imagery in our ‘High Summer Look Book’ turns its back on the industry norm of young thin models. Featuring an amputee, three models over 40 (including one nearing 70), a paralympian athlete and not forgetting our swimwear shot with a size 18 model to celebrate curvelicious women.

“Our customers are not the same shape or size so our latest look book celebrates this diversity. We would be delighted if others followed our lead. Hopefully these shots will be a step, albeit a small one, towards more people feeling more comfortable about their bodies,” said Ed Watson, Director of PR, Debenhams.”

via Slashed Beauty

Photos by Debenhams

dr3amingofdisn3y:

oswald-ears:

duckavenger:

“I don’t like Donald because I can’t understand him.”

“Why do you even like Donald? All he ever does is get angry.”

“He’s so mean all the time!”

OMG

HOW

CAN

PEOPLE

HATE

ON

DONALD

DUCK