"Buy and read Amy Alkon’s new book "I See Rude People: One Woman’s Battle to Beat Some Manners into Impolite Society". It will be the funniest book you read this decade. " So says Satoshi Kanazawa, evolutionary psychologist at the LSE.
Actually, what caught my attention was the description in the review of why so many people are rude and ignorant in our sprawling metropolises. The idea from evolutionary psychology is that we once lived in small communities in which everyone was somehow related to everyone else. Avoiding perpetual family feuds leads to a kind of social lubricant to keep the community together. In contrast, people from other communities could be raided and abused as needed. Nowadays, few of us live in such incestuous villages but rather we're surrounded by millions of anonymous people who all count as "others". They are not family, so they can be abused with impunity. I can see this in action here in Thailand where any show of emotion is frowned upon and being a fool is tolerated within the villages, but come to Bangkok and pushing people out of the way is the norm if you want to get anything done before sundown.
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
How to Help Your Children Avoid Social Rejection
A new study by neurobehavioural researchers at Rush University Medical Center has found three key factors in a child's behaviour that can lead to social rejection. The results have recently been published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
“Children’s ability to develop positive peer relationships is critical to their well-being,” said Dr. Clark McKown, the study's principal investigator. “Compared to children who are accepted by their peers, socially rejected children are at substantially elevated risk for later adjustment troubles.”
The three factors are:
The inability to pick up on non-verbal or social cues;
The inability to attach meaning to such cues, even if the cues are picked up; and
The inability to reason about social problems and behave accordingly.
Sadly, the press release does not mention the ages of the children in the study. The above factors do seem a lot to expect from, say, a 5 year-old but certainly not from a teenager. However, with some 13% of school age children diagnosed with social-emotional learning difficulties this is a serious problem. Or is it?
If one looks at a classic bell-shaped curve for IQ then it is perfectly natural that the bottom 15% are very different to the top 15% - this is just part of natural variability. If there was an easy way to measure a social-emotional index we may well find a similar variability. This is not to say that those with problems do not need some assistance, just that in a population with variable characteristics it is not so shocking that there are winners and losers, at least in terms of raw abilities rather than any social measure of success.
The researchers hope that such data will lead to fairly simple tests that can pinpoint children at risk and offer help before the problem becomes chronic. I also think that these are precisely the skills that should be nurtured in the home rather than expecting an often chaotic environment such as a school to teach them. Such findings should also help parents in being more sensitive to how their sons and daughters behave.
One other thing strikes me, though: the idea of peers. As adults, we do not see ourselves as part of one huge homogeneous human family. We have all split into various groups based on education, work, background, hobbies and so on. Hopefully, we see others in such groups as peers and our social behaviour largely conforms to that particular group. Some people may even feel uncomfortable stepping outside of their groups. This is not to condone a lack of social graces but to note that being comfortable within one's peer group does not always translate into feeling at ease outside it.
One can see this happening at school too, with groups and cliques forming, sometimes around special interests but also around social clubs - yes, even gangs. Should we expect a child to conform to a group of which they do not want to be members? Before labelling a child with some social-emotional problem I would look very closely as to whether the child is happy to be who they are, and that is the task of the loving parents.
“Children’s ability to develop positive peer relationships is critical to their well-being,” said Dr. Clark McKown, the study's principal investigator. “Compared to children who are accepted by their peers, socially rejected children are at substantially elevated risk for later adjustment troubles.”
The three factors are:
The inability to pick up on non-verbal or social cues;
The inability to attach meaning to such cues, even if the cues are picked up; and
The inability to reason about social problems and behave accordingly.
Sadly, the press release does not mention the ages of the children in the study. The above factors do seem a lot to expect from, say, a 5 year-old but certainly not from a teenager. However, with some 13% of school age children diagnosed with social-emotional learning difficulties this is a serious problem. Or is it?
If one looks at a classic bell-shaped curve for IQ then it is perfectly natural that the bottom 15% are very different to the top 15% - this is just part of natural variability. If there was an easy way to measure a social-emotional index we may well find a similar variability. This is not to say that those with problems do not need some assistance, just that in a population with variable characteristics it is not so shocking that there are winners and losers, at least in terms of raw abilities rather than any social measure of success.
The researchers hope that such data will lead to fairly simple tests that can pinpoint children at risk and offer help before the problem becomes chronic. I also think that these are precisely the skills that should be nurtured in the home rather than expecting an often chaotic environment such as a school to teach them. Such findings should also help parents in being more sensitive to how their sons and daughters behave.
One other thing strikes me, though: the idea of peers. As adults, we do not see ourselves as part of one huge homogeneous human family. We have all split into various groups based on education, work, background, hobbies and so on. Hopefully, we see others in such groups as peers and our social behaviour largely conforms to that particular group. Some people may even feel uncomfortable stepping outside of their groups. This is not to condone a lack of social graces but to note that being comfortable within one's peer group does not always translate into feeling at ease outside it.
One can see this happening at school too, with groups and cliques forming, sometimes around special interests but also around social clubs - yes, even gangs. Should we expect a child to conform to a group of which they do not want to be members? Before labelling a child with some social-emotional problem I would look very closely as to whether the child is happy to be who they are, and that is the task of the loving parents.
Bored? Try Project Implicit Psychology Tests
Bored with taking dull product surveys online, or just plain bored to tears? Here's something that will stimulate a few comatose braincells, give you something to tweet about and possibly get into a few arguments over.
Those fiendish psychologists at Harvard have devised a test that tries to shed some light on the darkest recesses of people's innate prejudices - the difference between what you think you think and what you truly think.
"It is well known that people don't always 'speak their minds', and it is suspected that people don't always 'know their minds'. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology.
This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new method is called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT for short.
In addition, this site contains various related information. The value of this information may be greatest if you try at least one test first."
Oh yeah, and you have to agree that,"I am aware of the possibility of encountering interpretations of my IAT test performance with which I may not agree." So all that unconscious bigotry, prejudice, intolerance, irrational hostility plus a myriad phobias may well come out in the wash. In which case, deal with it!
I said it would stop you getting bored! Well, at least for 15 minutes or so.
Those fiendish psychologists at Harvard have devised a test that tries to shed some light on the darkest recesses of people's innate prejudices - the difference between what you think you think and what you truly think.
"It is well known that people don't always 'speak their minds', and it is suspected that people don't always 'know their minds'. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology.
This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new method is called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT for short.
In addition, this site contains various related information. The value of this information may be greatest if you try at least one test first."
Oh yeah, and you have to agree that,"I am aware of the possibility of encountering interpretations of my IAT test performance with which I may not agree." So all that unconscious bigotry, prejudice, intolerance, irrational hostility plus a myriad phobias may well come out in the wash. In which case, deal with it!
I said it would stop you getting bored! Well, at least for 15 minutes or so.
Mark McGwire Swings Into Contrition Mode Over Drugs
Up steps Mark McGwire to take his place in this week's media contrition event. He needs his job, he needs his salary, a few tears should do the trick.
McGwire admitted in 1998 that he was using androstenedione, a steroid precursor that turns into testosterone in men. This performance enhancing drug was perfectly legal back then and didn't become a controlled substance till 2004. However, it was already banned by the NFL and the IOC so the dragnet was already closing in. So who cares? Obviously some puritans in the baseball industry are jealous that the drug may have worked too well and assisted McGwire in hitting a record home runs - not quite cricket (or baseball)!
So much so that McGwire has been black-balled from the Hall of Fame no less than four times. After crawling under a rock for a few years he is due back as the hitting coach for the Cardinals. Hence the admissions of mea culpa and an interview with AP where he recounted breaking the news to his son, who is now 22.
"He's very, very understandable [understanding]. So are my parents," McGwire said. "The biggest thing that they said is they're very proud of me, that I'm doing this. They all believe it's for the better. And then I just hope we can move on from this and start my new career as a coach." [HP]
The drug was not illegal at the time, so what's the real reason behind this cry-and-tell? Well, Bic Mac had been rather economical with the truth back at a congressional hearing on disinfecting the baseball industry.
"He knows he owes the baseball world an explanation," said former Rep. Tom Davis, the Virginia Republican who chaired the congressional hearing in 2005. "I think we all knew this. I don't think anybody's surprised by this. He was one of hundreds of players who used steroids during this time. ... This was so widespread. Had we not held these hearings and put the fear of God into baseball, it would still be going on."
So Little Mac gets to be contrite and perhaps avoid the charge of perjury, all for the sake of a game. And history can be rewritten for the Minstry of Baseball and everyone can go back to counting their money.
In 2002 Mark McGwire married Stephanie Slemer, a former pharmaceutical sales representative.
McGwire admitted in 1998 that he was using androstenedione, a steroid precursor that turns into testosterone in men. This performance enhancing drug was perfectly legal back then and didn't become a controlled substance till 2004. However, it was already banned by the NFL and the IOC so the dragnet was already closing in. So who cares? Obviously some puritans in the baseball industry are jealous that the drug may have worked too well and assisted McGwire in hitting a record home runs - not quite cricket (or baseball)!
So much so that McGwire has been black-balled from the Hall of Fame no less than four times. After crawling under a rock for a few years he is due back as the hitting coach for the Cardinals. Hence the admissions of mea culpa and an interview with AP where he recounted breaking the news to his son, who is now 22.
"He's very, very understandable [understanding]. So are my parents," McGwire said. "The biggest thing that they said is they're very proud of me, that I'm doing this. They all believe it's for the better. And then I just hope we can move on from this and start my new career as a coach." [HP]
The drug was not illegal at the time, so what's the real reason behind this cry-and-tell? Well, Bic Mac had been rather economical with the truth back at a congressional hearing on disinfecting the baseball industry.
"He knows he owes the baseball world an explanation," said former Rep. Tom Davis, the Virginia Republican who chaired the congressional hearing in 2005. "I think we all knew this. I don't think anybody's surprised by this. He was one of hundreds of players who used steroids during this time. ... This was so widespread. Had we not held these hearings and put the fear of God into baseball, it would still be going on."
So Little Mac gets to be contrite and perhaps avoid the charge of perjury, all for the sake of a game. And history can be rewritten for the Minstry of Baseball and everyone can go back to counting their money.
In 2002 Mark McGwire married Stephanie Slemer, a former pharmaceutical sales representative.
How Drunk Do You Have To Be To Find Me Attractive?
Researchers at Manchester University have been getting drunk in the name of science. How does an alcoholic haze turn the plainest of people into stunning beauties? Although beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder, other factors are also important, such as whether the person is in focus or not, how much smoke envelopes the atmosphere and whether there is any lighting in the bar.
The research was commissioned by eyecare firm Bausch & Lomb PureVision, so they have little interest in selling alcohol or promoting sober driving. Indeed, the highly scientific-looking formula that accompanies the research has four 'visual' parameters and just one for alcoholic consumption. Perhaps in the spirit of the joke X-ray specs the company could also develop bullshit-detector goggles.
The research was commissioned by eyecare firm Bausch & Lomb PureVision, so they have little interest in selling alcohol or promoting sober driving. Indeed, the highly scientific-looking formula that accompanies the research has four 'visual' parameters and just one for alcoholic consumption. Perhaps in the spirit of the joke X-ray specs the company could also develop bullshit-detector goggles.
How to Learn Any Language in 3 Months
Learning a language in one hour was, admittedly, a bit of a tease but the analysis done in that hour will set you up in how to really learn your new language. Tim Ferriss's research on language acquisition at Princeton and his practical methods for becoming proficient as quickly as possible tear up most other learning methods.
The method consists in three simple steps: Priority, Interest and Process.
For most of us the most immediate priority is in speaking a foreign language. Whether you're a tourist, on business or studying abroad the first skill you need as your plane lands is to speak. This article has a useful list of the 100 most common words in spoken English. As a comparison there is also a list of the 100 most common written English words. Perhaps surprisingly, there is only a 60% overlap between the two lists. Here is another useful word list generator. If you need to be understood by a native speaker then learning to read is not the way to achieve this.
If you're currently learning another language then it is a good exercise to input these word lists into, say, Google Translate and see how many words you need to know. Word lists for spoken languages are pretty consistent as people do pretty much the same things around the world. But once beyond the most common 300 words how do you progress from there? This is where your interests are fundamental. It really doesn't matter what that is - it could be learning judo, going fishing, listening to music, the history of architecture, the football results, whatever - just so long as you have the desire to learn and communicate.
The problem with most language courses is that they largely ignore this fundamental motivation. For example, learning Thai grammar from magazines on Buddhist talismans and sculptures is far more interesting (to me) than paying a school to teach me how to plan a train journey in four different tenses. I can figure that out myself; after all, I'm an adult! And this is one major quibble that Ferriss has with many courses that somehow try to teach a language in a similar way to how a native child would learn it. Adults already possess mastery of at least one language so can make connections between their native tongue and their new target language. Even if your topic of interest is really obscure the grammar remains identical - negotiating the price of a bronze statuette is the same as negotiating a taxi fare to the local zoo. However, how many zoos am I likely to visit?
The third step, the process, is simply the act of repetition. If you're in the actual country whose language you're learning then you have little choice. If, however, you're trying to learn a language in your home country then it's obviously a bit more difficult but there are now lots of free resources online. Listen to music or watch films in your target language. Merely hearing the correct pronunciation helps tremendously in the long run. It may sound like complete gobbledegook at first but you will start to pick up words amid the noise. You will also start to notice common phrases that your textbook has ignored. I carry around a low-tech paper notebook and jot down anything that sounds common and ask a friend what it means.
Most Thais are shy of making any social gaffes, and this includes showing up their poor English. But after a few drinks it is amazing how much English they can dredge up from their school-days. I make enough mistakes in Thai and laugh it off so they can make a few in English. Some Thais will actually speak pretty fair English but were too embarrassed to try with a native speaker yet then seem more interested in perfecting their rekindled English rather than my Thai! So the conversation turns into a bilingual game so that both sides alternate as student and teacher. Mastering a new language is ego-crushing - if that scares the pants off of you then best stay at home! I myself avoided this for a long time as I could get by with very few Thai words.
In terms of sheer volume, the vocabulary of any language seems daunting compared to the grammar. But once you have the nuts and bolts of sentence construction the act of acquiring new vocabulary is pretty easy. Just 300 words make up 65% of written English. With just 1,000 words you can be understood in most situations. Word lists make the adult learning of a new language much more efficient than ploughing through textbooks of often useless situations and unnatural conversations.
The internet has made language learning more accessible. These methods will make your language acquisition more efficient, more relevant and hopefully more enjoyable.
This article is also published at Tales from a Thai Village.
The method consists in three simple steps: Priority, Interest and Process.
For most of us the most immediate priority is in speaking a foreign language. Whether you're a tourist, on business or studying abroad the first skill you need as your plane lands is to speak. This article has a useful list of the 100 most common words in spoken English. As a comparison there is also a list of the 100 most common written English words. Perhaps surprisingly, there is only a 60% overlap between the two lists. Here is another useful word list generator. If you need to be understood by a native speaker then learning to read is not the way to achieve this.
If you're currently learning another language then it is a good exercise to input these word lists into, say, Google Translate and see how many words you need to know. Word lists for spoken languages are pretty consistent as people do pretty much the same things around the world. But once beyond the most common 300 words how do you progress from there? This is where your interests are fundamental. It really doesn't matter what that is - it could be learning judo, going fishing, listening to music, the history of architecture, the football results, whatever - just so long as you have the desire to learn and communicate.
The problem with most language courses is that they largely ignore this fundamental motivation. For example, learning Thai grammar from magazines on Buddhist talismans and sculptures is far more interesting (to me) than paying a school to teach me how to plan a train journey in four different tenses. I can figure that out myself; after all, I'm an adult! And this is one major quibble that Ferriss has with many courses that somehow try to teach a language in a similar way to how a native child would learn it. Adults already possess mastery of at least one language so can make connections between their native tongue and their new target language. Even if your topic of interest is really obscure the grammar remains identical - negotiating the price of a bronze statuette is the same as negotiating a taxi fare to the local zoo. However, how many zoos am I likely to visit?
The third step, the process, is simply the act of repetition. If you're in the actual country whose language you're learning then you have little choice. If, however, you're trying to learn a language in your home country then it's obviously a bit more difficult but there are now lots of free resources online. Listen to music or watch films in your target language. Merely hearing the correct pronunciation helps tremendously in the long run. It may sound like complete gobbledegook at first but you will start to pick up words amid the noise. You will also start to notice common phrases that your textbook has ignored. I carry around a low-tech paper notebook and jot down anything that sounds common and ask a friend what it means.
Most Thais are shy of making any social gaffes, and this includes showing up their poor English. But after a few drinks it is amazing how much English they can dredge up from their school-days. I make enough mistakes in Thai and laugh it off so they can make a few in English. Some Thais will actually speak pretty fair English but were too embarrassed to try with a native speaker yet then seem more interested in perfecting their rekindled English rather than my Thai! So the conversation turns into a bilingual game so that both sides alternate as student and teacher. Mastering a new language is ego-crushing - if that scares the pants off of you then best stay at home! I myself avoided this for a long time as I could get by with very few Thai words.
In terms of sheer volume, the vocabulary of any language seems daunting compared to the grammar. But once you have the nuts and bolts of sentence construction the act of acquiring new vocabulary is pretty easy. Just 300 words make up 65% of written English. With just 1,000 words you can be understood in most situations. Word lists make the adult learning of a new language much more efficient than ploughing through textbooks of often useless situations and unnatural conversations.
The internet has made language learning more accessible. These methods will make your language acquisition more efficient, more relevant and hopefully more enjoyable.
This article is also published at Tales from a Thai Village.
How to Learn Any Language in One Hour
Learn a language in just one hour? Must be a joke or a cheap sales pitch, right? Well, the full title is "How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour", so this isn't a miracle method but rather one intense hour dissecting the basics of your chosen target language. With just six simple phrases translated from English plus a look at your target alphabet and pronunciation should be able to answer one simple yet fundamental question: can I learn this language quickly?
This simple exercise will also highlight any serious problems that can arise. For example, I am fluent in English and Italian and proficient in a couple of other European languages. However, I'm currently trying to learn Thai, which is totally alien. So let's learn some Thai in one hour!
Completely different script - OK, that can be learnt.
Although the script is read left-to-right words are constructed as 'consonant clusters' so that a vowel spoken after a consonant may actually we written before it, or even above it! OK, that can be learnt too but is a bit weird!
The grammar is relatively straightforward - phew!!
Thai is a tonal language with 5 different tones - nightmare!! This needs some serious immersion as it is almost impossible to distinguish many words that to a European ear sound identical. For the casual tourist it may be worth forgetting to learn Thai at this point and just learn enough to get by. If living in Thailand then the logical consequence of this is to learn the Thai script. The written language includes tone marks so one can start to group together words with the same tone. Most Thais will forgive the lax foreigner as the correct word can often be guessed from the context. Trying to learn Thai just using the English transliterations is a waste of time.
Thus a quick analysis of Thai immediately reveals how to best proceed with learning it: learn the script and chat to Thai friends who will appreciate you're learning their language while they have a good laugh at the mess you'll make of the five tones.
One other consequence of this analysis is that the syntax of Thai is more similar to Italian than to English; for example, "red bus" becomes "bus red". Sadly, I don't have a 'learn Thai for Italians' book!
Is anybody else learning a fiendishly difficult language?
This article is also published at Tales from a Thai Village.
This simple exercise will also highlight any serious problems that can arise. For example, I am fluent in English and Italian and proficient in a couple of other European languages. However, I'm currently trying to learn Thai, which is totally alien. So let's learn some Thai in one hour!
Completely different script - OK, that can be learnt.
Although the script is read left-to-right words are constructed as 'consonant clusters' so that a vowel spoken after a consonant may actually we written before it, or even above it! OK, that can be learnt too but is a bit weird!
The grammar is relatively straightforward - phew!!
Thai is a tonal language with 5 different tones - nightmare!! This needs some serious immersion as it is almost impossible to distinguish many words that to a European ear sound identical. For the casual tourist it may be worth forgetting to learn Thai at this point and just learn enough to get by. If living in Thailand then the logical consequence of this is to learn the Thai script. The written language includes tone marks so one can start to group together words with the same tone. Most Thais will forgive the lax foreigner as the correct word can often be guessed from the context. Trying to learn Thai just using the English transliterations is a waste of time.
Thus a quick analysis of Thai immediately reveals how to best proceed with learning it: learn the script and chat to Thai friends who will appreciate you're learning their language while they have a good laugh at the mess you'll make of the five tones.
One other consequence of this analysis is that the syntax of Thai is more similar to Italian than to English; for example, "red bus" becomes "bus red". Sadly, I don't have a 'learn Thai for Italians' book!
Is anybody else learning a fiendishly difficult language?
This article is also published at Tales from a Thai Village.
Would You Clone A Baby?
The idea of human cloning never seems very far from the news. The reality of cloning a baby is already here, with only a little nudge needed to make the practice 'acceptable'.
Fertility expert Panayiotis Zavos, founder of the Zavos Organization in Lexington, Kentucky, said to The Independent that "the cloned child is coming... There is absolutely no way that it will not happen." You can even watch the video of Zavos creating the embryos before injecting them into the wombs of women wanting cloned babies.
Transferring cloned human embryos into a womb is currently illegal in many countries, such as the UK and USA, but not in many other countries. Italian Severino Antinori told Oggi magazine that there are already three living human clones, all aged nine years old and living in Eastern Europe. The world is thus split on whether human cloning should go ahead or not. However, why would anybody want to clone a human?
The media loves to spread false futures. A picture of a girl killed in a car crash with the headline "The little girl who could 'live' again" spread the myth that a human clone is a perfect copy of a lost child. the loss of a child is tragic, but that unique individual human being has gone for ever. The motivations for cloning can actually be quite bizarre. For example, there are enquiries from couples who are infertile to clone the person with the fertility problem so that the new copy can possibly be fertile and therefore have children naturally. This latter logic is twisted and ironic in the extreme. It is also a very long wait to be legally able to procreate with the clone.
Cloning a dead child is not going to bring that child back. Yes, they may be genetically identical but we cannot, as yet, duplicate a person's mind so that the clone is really the same person. As soon as an embryo is created its development is subject to environmental influences, from the chemicals ingested by the mother to the experiences of childhood and life itself. The clone of a child may look the same but to live with the attitude that it is 'my dead baby come back to life' is to live with a major delusion that could be psychologically harmful to both the parents and the child.
Fertility expert Panayiotis Zavos, founder of the Zavos Organization in Lexington, Kentucky, said to The Independent that "the cloned child is coming... There is absolutely no way that it will not happen." You can even watch the video of Zavos creating the embryos before injecting them into the wombs of women wanting cloned babies.
Transferring cloned human embryos into a womb is currently illegal in many countries, such as the UK and USA, but not in many other countries. Italian Severino Antinori told Oggi magazine that there are already three living human clones, all aged nine years old and living in Eastern Europe. The world is thus split on whether human cloning should go ahead or not. However, why would anybody want to clone a human?
The media loves to spread false futures. A picture of a girl killed in a car crash with the headline "The little girl who could 'live' again" spread the myth that a human clone is a perfect copy of a lost child. the loss of a child is tragic, but that unique individual human being has gone for ever. The motivations for cloning can actually be quite bizarre. For example, there are enquiries from couples who are infertile to clone the person with the fertility problem so that the new copy can possibly be fertile and therefore have children naturally. This latter logic is twisted and ironic in the extreme. It is also a very long wait to be legally able to procreate with the clone.
Cloning a dead child is not going to bring that child back. Yes, they may be genetically identical but we cannot, as yet, duplicate a person's mind so that the clone is really the same person. As soon as an embryo is created its development is subject to environmental influences, from the chemicals ingested by the mother to the experiences of childhood and life itself. The clone of a child may look the same but to live with the attitude that it is 'my dead baby come back to life' is to live with a major delusion that could be psychologically harmful to both the parents and the child.
Need a Job? Join the Shady Lady Ranch as a Male Entertainer
Tired of applying for boring jobs with little satisfaction save for a pay cheque? Broaden your horizons and you too could become a male sex worker! Yes, the Shady Lady Ranch in Nevada's Nye County is accepting male applicants to entertain their female customers. Here's the advert:
The Shady Lady Ranch is Looking for a few good men.
The Shady Lady Ranch will start interviewing Men to entertain women.
We will be looking for men in their early thirty's to mid fifty's.
Have a Good Work Ethic.
Must be Service Oriented.
Have a Willingness to Please.
Have a Positive Attitude.
If you think you have what it takes.
Please send pictures to shadyladyranch
No nudes.
We need to see your body type, shorts no shirts as well as suit or clubbing ware (Dress to impress.)
Some other club owners have poured cold water on the idea, saying that women in general want more than a 'quickie' and therefore could be staring at $500 for a minimum of 2 hours of entertainment up to $2,000 for an all night romp. I'm not sure what the cut is for the male sex worker!
George Flint, spokesman for the Nevada Brothel Association, also points out that there are legal problems with hiring men in that "All of the Nevada Administrative Code is built on the female anatomy." I'll leave it to you to find out the ins and outs of the business.
The Shady Lady Ranch is Looking for a few good men.
The Shady Lady Ranch will start interviewing Men to entertain women.
We will be looking for men in their early thirty's to mid fifty's.
Have a Good Work Ethic.
Must be Service Oriented.
Have a Willingness to Please.
Have a Positive Attitude.
If you think you have what it takes.
Please send pictures to shadyladyranch
No nudes.
We need to see your body type, shorts no shirts as well as suit or clubbing ware (Dress to impress.)
Some other club owners have poured cold water on the idea, saying that women in general want more than a 'quickie' and therefore could be staring at $500 for a minimum of 2 hours of entertainment up to $2,000 for an all night romp. I'm not sure what the cut is for the male sex worker!
George Flint, spokesman for the Nevada Brothel Association, also points out that there are legal problems with hiring men in that "All of the Nevada Administrative Code is built on the female anatomy." I'll leave it to you to find out the ins and outs of the business.
Children Taught to Spy on Their Neighbours
Councils in Britain are training an army of children to spy on their neighbours. As the UK shuffles into its Orwellian dystopia these 'citizen snoopers' are being taught how to take photos, note down car number plates and all relevant information that can be used in a prosecution - and on how to do it in secret. The Neighbourhood Watch schemes have been around for decades and were designed to stop criminals, especially thieves. But when families can be fined £100 for having their bin slightly too full this is no longer about crime but rather a fundamental shift in the powers of local councils. People already pay for things like waste collection and policing in their taxes but councils now see their populations as a source of revenue rather than as recipients of public services.
The councils indoctrinate these children into believing they are 'environment volunteers'- note that the kiddie-police are not paid a penny. How long will it be before they are victimized at school? Have the councils considered this backlash? The destruction of communities and civic behaviour is a tried and trusted method of totalitarian communism and a hallmark of Airstrip One.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Community spirit is one thing, spying on your neighbours is quite another.
The councils indoctrinate these children into believing they are 'environment volunteers'- note that the kiddie-police are not paid a penny. How long will it be before they are victimized at school? Have the councils considered this backlash? The destruction of communities and civic behaviour is a tried and trusted method of totalitarian communism and a hallmark of Airstrip One.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Community spirit is one thing, spying on your neighbours is quite another.
Genetically Engineered Puppies Glow In The Dark - You're Next
A team at Seoul National University located in South Korea has successfully created a new breed of beagle capable of fluorescing under ultraviolet light. There's even a video to brighten up your day. Why, you might ask? Some species, such as fireflies and plankton, can create light naturally but genetic engineers have been keen to develop luminescence in other animals. This transgenic canine, named Ruby Red, had a gene inserted into its DNA that creates a fluorescent protein when in contact with ultraviolet light. If placed in the dark with a UV source the puppy glows bright red.
So, apart from possibly creating a fad for luminescent tattoos, is there any real use for this? Do you really need to look for a stray dog armed with a UV ray? Scientists claim that if they could tag various cell types with different fluorescing genes then that could help locate things such as tumours and cancers. Sounds tenuous to me. The most obvious application is in tagging people. Maybe it won't be enough to have a radio frequency microchip implant but just for good measure you could have different classes of people emit a different colour. I'd say it would be impossible for a person to hack into their own genes. Your new fluorescent colour will run much deeper than your mere skin colour.
So, apart from possibly creating a fad for luminescent tattoos, is there any real use for this? Do you really need to look for a stray dog armed with a UV ray? Scientists claim that if they could tag various cell types with different fluorescing genes then that could help locate things such as tumours and cancers. Sounds tenuous to me. The most obvious application is in tagging people. Maybe it won't be enough to have a radio frequency microchip implant but just for good measure you could have different classes of people emit a different colour. I'd say it would be impossible for a person to hack into their own genes. Your new fluorescent colour will run much deeper than your mere skin colour.
Is Hand-Shaking Old-Fashioned and Unhygienic?
Michael Arrington has a problem: he hates shaking hands when meeting people. Why he should choose to air this on TechCrunch has baffled most commenters. What Arrington really hates is the idea of catching a disease off some sweaty palm. He frequently has to excuse himself and go to the nearest toilet to wash his hands. This sounds like he's morphing into Howard Hughes and he should see someone about this (without shaking hands).
However, he has tried to turn a personal obsessive-compulsive disorder into a mini-crusade against the whole cultural proclivity for shaking hands. His idea of promoting 'fist bumps' is puerile, potentially painful and still includes skin contact. He has even posted a second article claiming partial victory as one company claims to have held a board meeting without shaking hands - irritatingly they engaged in a round of... yes, fist bumps!
Thing is, not everyone in the world engages in hand-shaking as a form of greeting. Here in Thailand people 'wai' to each other; hands held together as if in prayer and with a slight nod of the head. If you're carrying something then the equivalent one-hand-clapping gesture is acceptable, and amongst friends often a simple nod is sufficient. In Japan people greet each other with a simple bow, although this can become exaggerated if there is a huge difference in social standing.
Anyway, the point is that hand-shaking is not universal. Should we dispense with it and accept a nod or a bow of recognition as sufficient greeting etiquette? Are there any other ways that humans greet each other?
As for Arrington, he could go down the politician's route of using Prevex hand-cream to form a protective chemical barrier against unwanted germs.
However, he has tried to turn a personal obsessive-compulsive disorder into a mini-crusade against the whole cultural proclivity for shaking hands. His idea of promoting 'fist bumps' is puerile, potentially painful and still includes skin contact. He has even posted a second article claiming partial victory as one company claims to have held a board meeting without shaking hands - irritatingly they engaged in a round of... yes, fist bumps!
Thing is, not everyone in the world engages in hand-shaking as a form of greeting. Here in Thailand people 'wai' to each other; hands held together as if in prayer and with a slight nod of the head. If you're carrying something then the equivalent one-hand-clapping gesture is acceptable, and amongst friends often a simple nod is sufficient. In Japan people greet each other with a simple bow, although this can become exaggerated if there is a huge difference in social standing.
Anyway, the point is that hand-shaking is not universal. Should we dispense with it and accept a nod or a bow of recognition as sufficient greeting etiquette? Are there any other ways that humans greet each other?
As for Arrington, he could go down the politician's route of using Prevex hand-cream to form a protective chemical barrier against unwanted germs.
Would you pay to read online newspapers?
Rupert Murdoch expects to start charging for access to News Corporation's newspaper websites within a year. 'The current days of the internet will soon be over,' he said, as the media strived to fix a 'malfunctioning' business model. Would you pay to read papers online?
The sub-headline from The Guardian says it all. For Murdoch 'free' is a nasty four-letter word and he will do everything in his power to turn the internet into a money-grabbing mirror of his off-line businesses. Just have a look at his media interests, from The Times, The Sun and Sky in the UK to Fox Network and Dow Jones in the USA, and many many more. Oh yeah, he owns MySpace too.
Just don't become dependent on any one platform in case you're suddenly trapped into paying for the privilege or closing your account. The internet is changing from the idealist information superhighway to the social web 2.0 to the corporate pay-per-net. But without users these sites have no influence and hence little advertising. This will be a great test to see how fast people will flee from a subscription news site. But, what if they don't?
Would you pay to read the news online? As newspapers have always sold a particular political spin, rather than any raw news, would you pay to read news that's spun to your liking?
Take our TrendWagon poll at the top-right corner of this page. (Closes 15 May 2009)
The sub-headline from The Guardian says it all. For Murdoch 'free' is a nasty four-letter word and he will do everything in his power to turn the internet into a money-grabbing mirror of his off-line businesses. Just have a look at his media interests, from The Times, The Sun and Sky in the UK to Fox Network and Dow Jones in the USA, and many many more. Oh yeah, he owns MySpace too.
Just don't become dependent on any one platform in case you're suddenly trapped into paying for the privilege or closing your account. The internet is changing from the idealist information superhighway to the social web 2.0 to the corporate pay-per-net. But without users these sites have no influence and hence little advertising. This will be a great test to see how fast people will flee from a subscription news site. But, what if they don't?
Would you pay to read the news online? As newspapers have always sold a particular political spin, rather than any raw news, would you pay to read news that's spun to your liking?
Take our TrendWagon poll at the top-right corner of this page. (Closes 15 May 2009)
Every Intelligent Man Dreams of Being a Gangster
The quote is from the French existentialist author Albert Camus:"The truth is that every intelligent man, as you know, dreams of being a gangster and of ruling over society by force alone."
Perhaps too many people cling on to their morals as an antidote to the news. As swine flu has infected our consciousness it has also sidelined the continuing financial crisis. But both are manifestations of the same covert quest for power and control.
Paul Farrell predicts the new film Public Enemies will be a big hit because it will tap into what many people would love to do to all those who have been ripping us off for years - be they bankers, politicians or pharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately, the truth is that it is us who are staring down the wrong end of the barrel. "Yes, this time the banks are the gangsters. They're robbing Main Street's Treasury. And it's an inside job. Hank Paulson, the "Goldman Conspiracy's" Trojan Horse, plays a "Dillinger," leading a much bigger conspiracy, the "Happy Conspiracy," that robbed America's 300 million citizens and taxpayers. They made off with trillions, while our "guards," a clueless Congress, laid down their guns and surrendered the keys to the vault."
Except that in our oh-so-civilized world we see no guns, no masks, no hold-ups - just the silent theft of our ration of freedoms. Whether it is the WHO or the SEC, the first lesson is that none of these organizations exist for your benefit; they are funded, often covertly, by people for whom your well-being is measured in how much profit you can make for them. The consequence is that your future depends on disempowering these public enemies of their trade.
Forget computer games, forget virtual reality, here is a game we can all play. The targets are shadows, behind which lurk real people with flesh and bile. But the shadows are worth chasing for without them the shadow-masters would have to step into the light of day. Remember how effective was the boycott against South African goods all those years ago? Yes, it was politically approved by the media, which made it easier, but it still shows the power of the masses when focussed.
We can all train our sights on these shadows that darken our lives. We all need to protect those dear to us. Camus was not so wide of the mark.
Perhaps too many people cling on to their morals as an antidote to the news. As swine flu has infected our consciousness it has also sidelined the continuing financial crisis. But both are manifestations of the same covert quest for power and control.
Paul Farrell predicts the new film Public Enemies will be a big hit because it will tap into what many people would love to do to all those who have been ripping us off for years - be they bankers, politicians or pharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately, the truth is that it is us who are staring down the wrong end of the barrel. "Yes, this time the banks are the gangsters. They're robbing Main Street's Treasury. And it's an inside job. Hank Paulson, the "Goldman Conspiracy's" Trojan Horse, plays a "Dillinger," leading a much bigger conspiracy, the "Happy Conspiracy," that robbed America's 300 million citizens and taxpayers. They made off with trillions, while our "guards," a clueless Congress, laid down their guns and surrendered the keys to the vault."
Except that in our oh-so-civilized world we see no guns, no masks, no hold-ups - just the silent theft of our ration of freedoms. Whether it is the WHO or the SEC, the first lesson is that none of these organizations exist for your benefit; they are funded, often covertly, by people for whom your well-being is measured in how much profit you can make for them. The consequence is that your future depends on disempowering these public enemies of their trade.
Forget computer games, forget virtual reality, here is a game we can all play. The targets are shadows, behind which lurk real people with flesh and bile. But the shadows are worth chasing for without them the shadow-masters would have to step into the light of day. Remember how effective was the boycott against South African goods all those years ago? Yes, it was politically approved by the media, which made it easier, but it still shows the power of the masses when focussed.
We can all train our sights on these shadows that darken our lives. We all need to protect those dear to us. Camus was not so wide of the mark.
Swine Flu Meme Spreading at the Speed of Panic
Swine flu is this week's big hype. The information meme is spreading faster than the biological virus. This has all the symptoms of another engineered social experiment. As the viral meme is faster than the virus, one would hope that an informed public would act rationally and head off the virus at the next pass - wrong!
Here are a few facts.
Every year in the USA alone some 25-35,000 people die from flu - that's about 80 people every day. The corporate media are silent on this. Sure, these are largely old people and young children, the most vulnerable people to flu. I haven't yet found any data on how many of these deaths are actually due to flu vaccines, but that's another story.
So before swine flu is tagged as a "pandemic" it has to do a bit more outreach work. The media love "pandemics", with their end of the world connotations compared to the rather boring but more accurate "epidemics".
Swine flu symptoms are pretty much the same as any other human flu. Given the levels of panic, if you know of anybody with the sniffles then they should go to a doctor immediately rather than hanging around waiting for it to run its course. Remember, doctors always tell us that antibiotics do not work against the flu as it is caused by a virus rather than a bacterium.
Actually there are two products that are alleged by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to work on this swine flu: oseltamivir and zanamivir. However, a look at research for oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is less than conclusive. A Vietnamese study conducted on avian flu victims concluded that the drug was "useless". The psychological and neuropsychatric problems from taking oseltamivir have been well-documented in Japan, the country that has swallowed the majority of the world's production of this drug. Self-harm and suicides have been documented, especially among younger patients. Roche's typically stone-walling response is that influenza itself may cause psychological problems. Yeah, sure, many people commit suicide after a few sneezes - the loss of balance during a sneeze can cause disorientation and an inability to see on-coming traffic!
Also, just take a step back... go on... slowly back away from the hype, the media, the government. Try it, it's good for the soul.
“It makes me think back to 1976, the first year I served in the Congress,” Ron Paul has said in a video update. “We had a vote on the swine flu. Back then there was panic, they said it was going to sweep the nation and they rapidly came up with some flu shots and the government was going to inoculate everybody and save the world from this disaster.”
“It turned out that our instincts were correct.” the Congressman, also a medical physician, commented. “… the flu came, the flu went and one person died, except for those individuals that died from getting the flu vaccine.” At the time, Ron Paul was one of only two Congressmen to vote down the vaccination program - just two! And note, most people died from the vaccine!
Read Swine Flu Expose by Eleanora I. McBean, PhD, ND.
"A radio newscast (Jan. 77) reported that one of the paralyzed swine flu victims has filed a $5,000,000 suit against the vaccine promoters for causing his paralysis in December of 1976. His suit is against the instigators of the flu epidemic scare, who are Dr. David Sencer of CDC (Center for Disease Control) who spearheaded the vaccine campaign, and Dr. Theodore Cooper of WHO (World Health Organization), the Health Departments which promoted the shots and the six drug houses making the swine flu vaccine. (Why not Ford also and his Congress who financed it?) His complaint was that they had put out propaganda promising that the vaccine had been thoroughly tested and was perfectly safe, and that the swine flu was contagious and people could die if they didn’t get vaccinated, and that they would be protected if they had the shots, and that the side effects, if any were "inconsequential."" Ring any bells?!
So what is an individual to do?
DON'T PANIC!
The numbers are really small - you can keep track of this "pandemic" at wikipedia. If you have flu symptoms then go the doctor sooner rather than later. There are enough medicines (on the assumption they work) to treat those with flu symptoms - there are not enough for a mass preventative prescription, although given the side-effects would you really want to? There are no vaccines yet for this particular strain.
If you think that face masks are going to be the new must-have fashion accessory than make sure they are certified N99 and not the cheaper off the shelf ones numbered N95. Is there a crime such as "coughing with intent to infect"?
If you're lucky the schools will close, the transport system will be empty and you can take a short holiday.
Stay alert but not alarmed.
You Might Be Rich! Find Out at Dateline NBC
In the midst of a recession, unemployment and stock market turmoil it would be a dream come true if you suddenly discovered there was a pot of gold hidden away, just for you!
Dateline NBC avoids asking serious questions about the current wealth destruction by selling pipe dreams. Yes, there is unclaimed money lurking in various databases - not surprising as people move. Yes, probably worth a quick check... this is like a free lottery ticket, right?! Then most people can go back to figuring out what to do with their lives.
Seems like some people are still falling for the old scam that to get hold of your money you need to pay an agent. If nothing else, this programme should remind everyone that if there is a pot of gold with your name on it, then it's yours for free - no agent required.
Dateline NBC avoids asking serious questions about the current wealth destruction by selling pipe dreams. Yes, there is unclaimed money lurking in various databases - not surprising as people move. Yes, probably worth a quick check... this is like a free lottery ticket, right?! Then most people can go back to figuring out what to do with their lives.
Seems like some people are still falling for the old scam that to get hold of your money you need to pay an agent. If nothing else, this programme should remind everyone that if there is a pot of gold with your name on it, then it's yours for free - no agent required.
What's a Freegan?
Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.
After years of trying to boycott products from unethical corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn’t just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself.
The word freegan is compounded from “free” and “vegan”. Vegans are people who avoid products from animal sources or products tested on animals in an effort to avoid harming animals. Freegans take this a step further by recognizing that in a complex, industrial, mass-production economy driven by profit, abuses of humans, animals, and the earth abound at all levels of production (from acquisition to raw materials to production to transportation) and in just about every product we buy.
Perhaps the most notorious freegan strategy is what is commonly called “urban foraging” or “dumpster diving”. This technique involves rummaging through the garbage of retailers, residences, offices, and other facilities for useful goods. Despite our society’s stereotypes about garbage, the goods recovered by freegans are safe, usable, clean, and in perfect or near-perfect condition, a symptom of a throwaway culture that encourages us to constantly replace our older goods with newer ones, and where retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model.
After years of trying to boycott products from unethical corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn’t just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself.
The word freegan is compounded from “free” and “vegan”. Vegans are people who avoid products from animal sources or products tested on animals in an effort to avoid harming animals. Freegans take this a step further by recognizing that in a complex, industrial, mass-production economy driven by profit, abuses of humans, animals, and the earth abound at all levels of production (from acquisition to raw materials to production to transportation) and in just about every product we buy.
Perhaps the most notorious freegan strategy is what is commonly called “urban foraging” or “dumpster diving”. This technique involves rummaging through the garbage of retailers, residences, offices, and other facilities for useful goods. Despite our society’s stereotypes about garbage, the goods recovered by freegans are safe, usable, clean, and in perfect or near-perfect condition, a symptom of a throwaway culture that encourages us to constantly replace our older goods with newer ones, and where retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model.
Population Growth and Fertility Controls
This tempered voice from Thomas Kostigen pours some tepid water on the propaganda advocating population control. Sir David Attenborough, the well-known naturalist, came out in support of the Optimum Population Trust - a think tank that believes there are just too many people (themselves excluded, no doubt). Kostigen begs to differ and points out some of the inaccuracies in the models used to sustain what is essentially a neo-eugenics movement masquerading as an environmental cause.
"The Optimum Population Trust is a registered charity funded by membership, donations and bequests. It receives no political or government funding and is independent of political or commercial interests." At £15 a year basic membership that doesn't buy a lot of thinking, but a list of members and hence funders is currently unavailable.
The ghost that haunts this topic is that of the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus. Although he died in 1834 sadly his treatise "An Essay on the Principle of Population" didn't die with him and is summoned by every innumerate eugenicist ever since. "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power in comparison with the second." A better acquaintance with numbers would reveal how hollow the whole treatise is. Note that this is not a scientific theory but a hugely simplistic mathematical model based on... contemporary propaganda.
The Rev Malthus was a clergyman with little faith in humanity and a lot of faith in the power of money. He wanted more money given to the Church so that it could preach to the poor about how worthless they really were, except in the eyes of God. His treatise was to give a scientific veneer to a policy promoting Christian sexual morals - family planning being the current euphemism.
Kostigen challenges the model but not its creator. The infantile mathematical model is just not true. The declining birth rates in many industrialised countries shows how social changes affect population numbers, with much of the numerical growth coming from immigrants rather than indigenous births. The Malthusian "axiom" that populations grow geometrically, is just plainly false.
But the Optimum Population Trust likes to look at the other half of the Malthusian fantasy - the food supply. Even that cannot hope to increase arithmetically forever. One stark statistic noted in the article is that if everyone on the planet consumed as much energy as the average American then we would need five planet Earths! I don't know where the author got that figure from but, suspending disbelief and assuming it were true, surely that calls for a spirit of innovation, not a culling of humanity.
The thing that makes me highly sceptical is that there is a lot of important research on energy that is getting very little funding. I have written before on how Shell has pulled the plug on its alternative energy research. The drive towards biofuels rather than electric or hydrogen cars is taking more and more land away from food production. So is the much-feared food shortage actually being manipulated? Is this population control by stealth? We shall see, but if laws to curb the population were already in place then perhaps you wouldn't be here to read this. Malthus needs to be buried again!
"The Optimum Population Trust is a registered charity funded by membership, donations and bequests. It receives no political or government funding and is independent of political or commercial interests." At £15 a year basic membership that doesn't buy a lot of thinking, but a list of members and hence funders is currently unavailable.
The ghost that haunts this topic is that of the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus. Although he died in 1834 sadly his treatise "An Essay on the Principle of Population" didn't die with him and is summoned by every innumerate eugenicist ever since. "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power in comparison with the second." A better acquaintance with numbers would reveal how hollow the whole treatise is. Note that this is not a scientific theory but a hugely simplistic mathematical model based on... contemporary propaganda.
The Rev Malthus was a clergyman with little faith in humanity and a lot of faith in the power of money. He wanted more money given to the Church so that it could preach to the poor about how worthless they really were, except in the eyes of God. His treatise was to give a scientific veneer to a policy promoting Christian sexual morals - family planning being the current euphemism.
Kostigen challenges the model but not its creator. The infantile mathematical model is just not true. The declining birth rates in many industrialised countries shows how social changes affect population numbers, with much of the numerical growth coming from immigrants rather than indigenous births. The Malthusian "axiom" that populations grow geometrically, is just plainly false.
But the Optimum Population Trust likes to look at the other half of the Malthusian fantasy - the food supply. Even that cannot hope to increase arithmetically forever. One stark statistic noted in the article is that if everyone on the planet consumed as much energy as the average American then we would need five planet Earths! I don't know where the author got that figure from but, suspending disbelief and assuming it were true, surely that calls for a spirit of innovation, not a culling of humanity.
The thing that makes me highly sceptical is that there is a lot of important research on energy that is getting very little funding. I have written before on how Shell has pulled the plug on its alternative energy research. The drive towards biofuels rather than electric or hydrogen cars is taking more and more land away from food production. So is the much-feared food shortage actually being manipulated? Is this population control by stealth? We shall see, but if laws to curb the population were already in place then perhaps you wouldn't be here to read this. Malthus needs to be buried again!
Bigorexia - Blame Charles Atlas
If you thought obsessing over one's body image was a largely female occupation, then think again. Bigorexia is both a big business and a big problem. Sometimes referred to as reverse anorexia, people suffering from bigorexia obsess over their muscle tone and dream of being Charles Atlas.
The medical term muscular dysmorphia was coined in 1997 to describe this new form of obsessive compulsive disorder. Most researchers seem to blame the media's own obsession with promoting infeasible standards of beauty coupled with an individual's own poor self-image. I think there is also a large element of drug addiction here - an addiction to the endorphins released during strenuous exercise. One study suggests abnormal serotonin levels, so such individuals find it difficult to chill out. Strangely, many sufferers of bigorexia also suffer from depression so that what started out as a way of looking good ends up as an obsession that one will never look good enough.
Building those bulging muscles is not very difficult to achieve - just look around the weights room of any gym. I was into it many years ago as an antidote to a sedentary lifestyle but soon realised that it had the potential to become addictive. I stopped. Those with bigorexia just can't.
The guy below has gone way past the body beautiful and heading towards Hulk territory. Next time you see a muscle-bound hunk think about whether they're really happy or not.
The medical term muscular dysmorphia was coined in 1997 to describe this new form of obsessive compulsive disorder. Most researchers seem to blame the media's own obsession with promoting infeasible standards of beauty coupled with an individual's own poor self-image. I think there is also a large element of drug addiction here - an addiction to the endorphins released during strenuous exercise. One study suggests abnormal serotonin levels, so such individuals find it difficult to chill out. Strangely, many sufferers of bigorexia also suffer from depression so that what started out as a way of looking good ends up as an obsession that one will never look good enough.
Building those bulging muscles is not very difficult to achieve - just look around the weights room of any gym. I was into it many years ago as an antidote to a sedentary lifestyle but soon realised that it had the potential to become addictive. I stopped. Those with bigorexia just can't.
The guy below has gone way past the body beautiful and heading towards Hulk territory. Next time you see a muscle-bound hunk think about whether they're really happy or not.
Retail Anarchy
Now, this is the kind of random stuff I like to find: an anti-trend setter added to the trend-setting noise. Retail Anarchy is a blog about the follies of consumerism and the desperate attempts by companies to turn lame products into lifestyle choices.
Sam Pocker is an author, film-maker, and tours the country as a “Stand-Up Economist”. Alex is from St. Petersburg, Russia, and has lived in America for 10 years. His place on the show comes from his mutual love of a bargain, and his frustration with the typical “I want it all” American consumerism. The other partners in crime can be found at the blog.
One irony is that Retail Anarchy also have a product to sell: their book of the same name. But what the hell, people have to live! The blog seems to have struck stardom as Ari Shapiro interviewed Sam Pocker on NPR.
Great timing, as consumers on limited budgets seek discounts, freebies, special deals - basically anything that drives the price of products down to something reasonable. If you're a pro at this you may even be able to drive the price down to the point where it hurts the company. They think they're buying future loyalty whereas you'll do the same again in the future. A product is a product, you either like it or you don't, you either want it or you don't. In the future you may want something different.
In the spirit of Retail Anarchy don't waste your money on the book, just read the blog and listen to the radio show.
Sam Pocker is an author, film-maker, and tours the country as a “Stand-Up Economist”. Alex is from St. Petersburg, Russia, and has lived in America for 10 years. His place on the show comes from his mutual love of a bargain, and his frustration with the typical “I want it all” American consumerism. The other partners in crime can be found at the blog.
One irony is that Retail Anarchy also have a product to sell: their book of the same name. But what the hell, people have to live! The blog seems to have struck stardom as Ari Shapiro interviewed Sam Pocker on NPR.
Great timing, as consumers on limited budgets seek discounts, freebies, special deals - basically anything that drives the price of products down to something reasonable. If you're a pro at this you may even be able to drive the price down to the point where it hurts the company. They think they're buying future loyalty whereas you'll do the same again in the future. A product is a product, you either like it or you don't, you either want it or you don't. In the future you may want something different.
In the spirit of Retail Anarchy don't waste your money on the book, just read the blog and listen to the radio show.
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