600 Pound Mom Gets Paid to Eat – obesity, subculture

Published on Nov 21, 2012 by vice
After years of getting paid to scarf down tacos and pizza on “fat fetish” cam sites, Donna Simpson reached an astonishing 600 lbs. She’s now desperately trying to lose weight in order to lead a normal life for the sake of herself and her children.

George Carlin – Modern Man

From http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2005/Modern-Man-Carlin15nov05.htm:

I’m a modern man, digital and smoke-free; a man for the millennium.

A diversified, multi-cultural, post-modern deconstructionist; politically, anatomically and ecologically incorrect.

I’ve been uplinked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.

I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.

I’m new-wave, but I’m old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.

I’m a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.

I interface with my database; my database is in cyberspace; so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive, and from time to time I’m radioactive.

Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, ridin’ the wave, dodgin’ the bullet, pushin’ the envelope.

I’m on point, on task, on message, and off drugs.

I’ve got no need for coke and speed; I’ve got no urge to binge and purge.

I’m in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar.

A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistic missionary.

A street-wise smart bomb. A top-gun bottom-feeder.

I wear power ties, I tell power lies, I take power naps, I run victory laps.

I’m a totally ongoing, big-foot, slam-dunk rainmaker with a pro-active outreach.

A raging workaholic, a working rageaholic; out of rehab and in denial.

I’ve got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal agenda.

You can’t shut me up; you can’t dumb me down. ‘Cause I’m tireless, and I’m wireless. I’m an alpha-male on beta-blockers.

I’m a non-believer, I’m an over-achiever; Laid-back and fashion-forward. Up-front, down-home; low-rent, high-maintenance.

I’m super-sized, long-lasting, high-definition, fast-acting, oven-ready and built to last.

A hands-on, footloose, knee-jerk head case; prematurely post-traumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate-mail.

But I’m feeling, I’m caring, I’m healing, I’m sharing. A supportive, bonding, nurturing primary-care giver.

My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond, and my revenue stream has its own cash flow.

I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds, I watch trash sports.

I’m gender-specific, capital-intensive, user-friendly and lactose-intolerant.

I like rough sex; I like tough love. I use the F-word in my e-mail. And the software on my hard drive is hard-core—no soft porn.

I bought a microwave at a mini-mall. I bought a mini-van at a mega-store. I eat fast food in the slow lane. I’m toll-free, bite-size, ready-to-wear, and I come in all sizes.

A fully equipped, factory-authorized, hospital-tested, clinically-proven, scientifically-formulated medical miracle.

I’ve been pre-washed, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double-wrapped and vacuum-packed.

And . . . I have unlimited broadband capacity.

I’m a rude dude, but I’m the real deal. Lean and mean. Cocked, locked and ready to rock; rough, tough and hard to bluff.

I take it slow, I go with the flow; I ride with the tide, I’ve got glide in my stride.

Drivin’ and movin’, sailin’ and spinnin’; jivin’ and groovin’, wailin’ and winnin’.

I don’t snooze, so I don’t lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hearty, and lunchtime is crunch time.

I’m hangin’ in, there ain’t no doubt; and I’m hangin’ tough.

Over and out.

 

MEGAPOST: Sociology of Gangnam Style

Psy – Gangnam Style (2012)

Psy – Gangnam Style (2012) – English Subtitles

Published on Sep 10, 2012 by TheEllenShow
Korean pop star and YouTube sensation Psy gave Britney Spears a surprise visit on the show, and taught her his famous horse dance!

Teens React to Gangnam Style

Elders React to Gangnam Style

Bill O’Reilly and psychiatrist Steve Ablow provide a beautiful example of ethnocentrism. They’re interpreting a global phenomenon through a local filter, and it doesn’t quite fit.

Bill O’Reilly Dissects Gangnam Style. ‘He’s Doing The Pony’
‘Some Little Fat Guy From Yongyang’

Racialicious, however, did an excellent job dissecting the sociology of Gangnam Style.

Racialicious:

So, the song is a comic satire about people who bluff, pretending to be rich and trendy. “Oppan Gangnam style” can literally translate to “I’m a Gangnam style,” in which “oppa” is a Korean referring expression used by females to refer to older males such as older male friends or older brothers. However, the narrator in the song refers to himself in the third person. He keeps saying he lives or loves a Gangnam style life, but in reality, he’s far from it. READ MORE

Published on Nov 28, 2012 by VOAvideo
The South Korean pop song and music video “Gangnam Style” has gone viral worldwide. And now the South Korean tourism industry is hoping to cash in on the song’s international success. Reporter Jason Strother has more from Seoul.

Lyrics from KPop Lyrics:

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that

I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

MEGAPOST: Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choirs

Uploaded by TEDtalksDirector on Apr 4, 2011
http://www.ted.com In a moving and madly viral video last year, composer Eric Whitacre led a virtual choir of singers from around the world. He talks through the creative challenges of making music powered by YouTube, and unveils the first 2 minutes of his new work, “Sleep,” with a video choir of 2,052.

Uploaded by EricWhitacresVrtlChr on Mar 21, 2010

COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY:
Eric Whitacre

PRODUCED BY:
Scott Haines

TEXT BY: Charles Anthony Silvestri

Representing 12 Countries:
Austria
Argentina
Canada
England
Germany
Ireland
New Zealand
The Philippines
Singapore
Spain
Sweden
United States of America

The 2011 Virtual Choir video features 2052 performances of ‘Sleep’ from 1752 singers in 58 countries, individually recorded and uploaded to YouTube between September 2010 and January 2011. http://virtualchoir.org

Composed and Conducted by Eric Whitacre
Poetry by Charles Anthony Silvestri
Directed by rehabstudio/Cake
Design and Animation by Thiago Maia, David Pocull and Sebastian Baptista
Produced by Christophe Taddei
Audio produced by Floating Earth
Music published by Walton Music
Virtual Choir 2.0 managed by Tony Piper
Eric Whitacre managed by Claire L…

Published on Apr 2, 2012 by EricWhitacresVrtlChr

Dueling Malala Narratives on Pakistani Social Media

Published on Oct 26, 2012 by linktv
Girls education activist Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by the Taliban earlier this month in Pakistan in an attempt to scare people away from supporting her cause. Contributor Wajahat Khan reports from Islamabad on how Pakistani social media erupted in several narratives around her story.

TV anchor responds to fat-shaming email

Published on Oct 2, 2012 by wkbttv
WKBT News 8 This Morning Anchor Jennifer Livingston responds to email from a man bullying her about her weight.

LA CROSSE, Wis. -
Jennifer Livingston, WKBT News 8 This Morning Anchor, was so shocked by the cruelty of a letter she received from a viewer, Kenneth W. Krause, about her weight that she took to the air to respond.

Jennifer says she tried to laugh off a viewer’s letter, which read in part, “Surely you don’t consider yourself a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular. Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain.”

But after her husband, Mike Thompson, WKBT 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Anchor, posted the letter on his Facebook page and received an overwhelming response supporting Jennifer, she addressed the issue on the air.

In a frank editorial, she acknowledged that she is overweight, but she knows that from looking in the mirror, not because she received a letter to bringing it to her attention — and pointed out her character is made up of a lot more than the numbers she sees on the scale. She also encouraged the community to rise above people who bully others and teach their children “to be kind, not critical, and we need to do that by example.”

Occupy Turns One With Demands, No Specific Program

Quotes sociology professor Todd Gitlin, Columbia University

Published on Sep 12, 2012 by VOAvideo

September 17 marks one year since the “Occupy Wall Street” movement emerged in New York City – with a long series of demands, but no specific program to realize any of them. VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky examines the first year of this leaderless movement.

Free WiFi on the back of a donkey in Israel’s Galilee

Published on Aug 22, 2012 by itnnews

At the Kfar Kedem park in southern Galilee, visitors can ride donkeys whilst surfing the web, thanks to routers round the animals’ necks. . Report by Sophie Foster.

The third industrial revolution begins

3D printing

Published on Apr 21, 2012 by EconomistMagazine

QUIRKY AND SHAPEWAYS are putting the tools of manufacturing into the hands of the masses using 3D printers and social networks. New products, designs and fortunes will follow

Kony Video Shakes Up Advocacy World

The release this month by a U.S.-non-profit organization of an Internet video denouncing a Ugandan rebel leader is creating a worldwide conversation and shaking up the world of advocacy.

Facebook comment lands atheist in jail

Human rights activists and religious scholars in Indonesia are demanding the release of a man who wrote on Facebook that he did not believe in God.

Alexander An, a 31-year-old civil servant, is facing five years in prison after being charged with defamation of religion.

He says he started to question the existence of God when he was a child.

Although the country is officially secular, every Indonesian has to have a religion and register himself according to one of the official five religions.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Dharmasraya in West Sumatra.

Multi-Site Megachurches Multiply in America

Many young Evangelical Protestant Christians shun the expansive form of worship that drew their parents to so-called megachurches and opt instead for a more intimate religious experience. But one congregation may have found a way to have both size and intimacy. VOA’s Jerome Socolovsky reports from Durham, North Carolina, on the rise of the multi-site church.

Study: Heavy Facebook Users Less Happy

Research over the past several years shows that heavy users of social media tend to be less happy than non-users. But a new academic study now suggests that social media tools like Facebook can also affect how we perceive the happiness of others. VOA’s Mana Rabiee has more.

In Facebook Game, Indian Woman Reject Dowry

A new social-media game is drawing renewed attention to an age-old problem in India — the illegal practice of dowry, which has been oficially illegal for more than 50 years but remains widespread.

Burma’s Journalists Say Censorship Relaxed but Still Strong

Burma’s notorious censors have relaxed their tight grip on the media this year, although journalists are still by no means able to freely report. VOA’s Daniel Schearf traveled to Rangoon last week and spoke with Eleven Media Group’s Chief Editor Wai Phyo about how the censorship process has changed and what remains the same.