blogawiki

From the Global Orgasm Wiki article:

Global Orgasm, also known as GORG, was an action originally scheduled for 22 December 2006 to coincide with the end of solstice. The idea was for participants throughout the world to have an orgasm during this one day while thinking about peace in order to emit positive energy to Earth.

Global Orgasm for Peace follows in the footsteps of other mass meditation and prayer events which also claimed to be able to change the energy field of the Earth. The Global Consciousness Project (GCP) measures random numbers and claims that large events that create focused attention can create measurable effects on random number sequences. The Global Orgasm’s organizers hope to create a positive change in the energy field of the Earth that can be measured by the GCP and that might begin a shift away from war as foreign policy.

From the Tanuki Wiki Article:

Tanuki (狸 or タヌキ^?) is the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus). They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.

Tanuki is often somewhat mistakenly translated as raccoon or badger into English, animals which are similar to tanuki in appearance, but are actually different species.

Folklore

Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles, typically hanging down to the floor or ground, although this feature is sometimes omitted in contemporary sculpture. ^{[citation needed]}

The comical image of the tanuki is thought to have developed during the Kamakura era. The actual wild tanuki has disproportionately large testicles, a feature that has inspired humorous exaggeration in artistic depictions. Tanuki may be shown with their testicles flung over their backs like travellers’ packs, or using them as drums. As tanuki are also typically depicted as having large bellies, they may be depicted as drumming on their bellies instead of their testicles — particularly in contemporary art.

The eight traits are: a hat to be ready to protect against trouble or bad weather; big eyes to perceive the environment and help make good decisions; a sake bottle that represents virtue; a big tail that provides steadiness and strength until success is achieved; over-sized testicles that symbolize financial luck; a promissory note that represents trust or confidence; a big belly that symbolises bold and calm decisiveness; and a friendly smile.^[1][2]

A common schoolyard song in Japan (the tune of which can be heard in the arcade game Ponpoko and a variation of which is sung in the Studio Ghibli film Pom Poko) makes explicit reference to the tanuki’s anatomy:

Tan Tan Tanuki no kintama wa,

Kaze mo nai no ni,

Bura bura

Roughly translated, this means “Tan-tan-tanuki’s testicles, there isn’t even any wind but still go swing-swing-swing.”^[3] It continues for several verses, with many regional variations. It is sung to the melody of an American Baptist hymn called “Shall We Gather At The River?“.^[4]

From the Bill Nye wiki article:

William Sanford “Bill” Nye (born November 27, 1955),^[1] popularly known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy“, is an American science educator, comedian, television host and mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the Disney children’s science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998) and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.

Early life and career

Nye was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Jacqueline (née Jenkins) and Edwin Darby “Ned” Nye, a sundial manufacturer.^[2][3][4] Nye is a fourth-generation Washingtonian on his father’s side of family. After attending Lafayette Elementary and Alice Deal Junior High in the city, he was accepted to the private Sidwell Friends School on a partial scholarship, graduating in 1973.^[5][6] He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, where one of his professors was Carl Sagan,^[7] and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1977.^[8]

Nye began his career in Seattle at Boeing at which point, among other things, he starred in training films and developed a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor still used in the 747. Later, he worked as a consultant and in the aeronautics industry. Nye told the St. Petersburg Times in 1999 that he applied to be a NASA astronaut every few years but was always rejected.^[9]

The Science Guy

Nye began his professional entertainment career as an actor on a local sketch comedy television show in Seattle, Almost Live!; Nye attempted to correct the host of Almost Live! after the host pronounced “gigawatt” as “jigowatt”.^[10][11] The character name came from the host’s comment, “Who do you think you are? Bill Nye the Science Guy?” and Nye was thereafter known as such on the program. His other main recurring role on Almost Live! was as Speedwalker, a speedwalking Seattle superhero.

Post-Science Guy career

He played in Disney’s 1998 TV movie The Principal Takes a Holiday; he made a hovercraft, in order to demonstrate science in an unusual classroom manner. From 2000 to 2002, Nye was the technical expert in BattleBots.

Nye has guest starred in several episodes of the crime drama Numb3rs as an engineering faculty member. A lecture Nye gave several years ago on exciting children about math was an inspiration for creating the Numb3rs show.^[16]

Life outside television

He holds several United States patents,^[26] including one for ballet shoes^[24] and another for an educational magnifying glass created by filling a clear plastic bag with water.^[27][28]

From the Kim Basinger wiki article:

Kimila Ann “Kim” Basinger (pronounced /ˈbeɪsɪŋər/ BAY-sing-ər, often mispronounced /ˈbæsɪndʒər/ bass-in-jər; born December 8, 1953) is an American film actress and former fashion model.

Some family members recommended Basinger buy the small town of Braselton, Georgia in 1989 for $20 million, to establish as a tourist attraction with movie studios and film festival, but she met financial difficulties and sold it in 1993. The town is now owned by developer Wayne Mason. In a 1998 interview with Barbara Walters, Basinger admitted that “nothing good came out of it,” because a rift resulted within her family. Her financial difficulties were exacerbated when she pulled out of the controversial film Boxing Helena, resulting in the studio’s winning an $8-million judgment against her. Basinger filed for bankruptcy^[9] and appealed the jury’s decision to a higher court, which sided with her. She and the studio settled for a lesser amount.^[10]

From the Joe Francis wiki article:

Joseph R. “Joe” Francis (born April 1, 1973)^[1] is an American entrepreneur known as the founder of Mantra Films, Inc., which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series.

Controversies

In January 2004 Francis was kidnapped from his Bel Air home by a would-be blackmailer, Darnell Riley. Riley first put a revolver up to Francis’s head and duct-taped his hands behind his back. He then videotaped Francis, lying on a bed with his shirt off and a vibrating dildo at the crest of buttocks, repeating, “My name is Joe Francis, I’m from Boys Gone Wild and I like it in the [buttock].” Riley later attempted to extort $500,000 from Francis. Daren Riley was tried in 2006, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.^[9][10]

Civil

In June 2007, Francis and Mantra Films became the subject of another lawsuit claiming that images had been used without the subject’s permission.^[14] However, the plaintiff, Ashley Alexandra Dupré better known as the prostitute involved in the Eliot Spitzer scandal that led to his resignation as New York governor in March 2008, dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her agreeing to be filmed.^[15]

Wynn Resorts Ltd.

Francis is being sued by the Wynn Las Vegas casino for $2 million in gambling debt from February 2007. The lawsuit was filed on June 27, 2008 in Clark County District Court. A spokesperson for the casino claims that the debt has been in their collections department and the suit is a last resort to obtain the debt plus costs. In response to the lawsuit, Francis asserted that he had already paid his debt through agreements with the hotel including certain discounts. Francis claims that he was deceived by the hotel and its Chief Executive Steve Wynn.^[24] Francis attended a deposition in connection with the lawsuit and tried to take the fifth amendment with respect to almost all questions asked, including whether or not he owned a cell phone. During the deposition Francis repeatedly took out his cell phone and appeared to answer emails, and at one point took a call. Steve Wynn’s attorneys reported that Francis repeatedly passed gas during the deposition. “As the court will see from reviewing the video clips of Francis’ deposition, his utter contempt for the judicial system is apparent, including his repeated attempts to disrupt the deposition with flatulence,” the lawyers wrote. Ultimately, the judge in the case ruled that Francis was liable for the entire $2 million, calling Francis’ conduct “the most ridiculous exercise of the Fifth Amendment I think I’ve ever seen.” Francis is expected to appeal the judge’s ruling.^[25]

From the Stadium buddy wiki article:

A Stadium buddy is an apparatus which consists of a collecting bag fastened around the leg and tubing that attaches to a condom catheter. The hood attaches over the penis but, unlike a condom, has a plug for the tube where the condom’s reservoir tip would normally be. This apparatus allows an individual to “conveniently” urinate without having to make use of a restroom. Stadium buddies have been used by sports and concert enthusiasts for over two decades, and are also used by pilots when flying aircraft too small to carry a restroom. Some aircraft have a tube in the seat for attaching to the condom catheter, and this tube drains out the bottom of the aircraft in flight.

From the Bezoar wiki article:

A bezoar is a mass found trapped in the gastrointestinal system (usually the stomach),^[2] though it can occur in other locations.^[3][4] There are several varieties of bezoar, some of which have inorganic constituents and others organic.

Bezoars were sought because they were believed to have the power of a universal antidote against any poison. It was believed that a drinking glass which contained a bezoar would neutralize any poison poured into it. The word “bezoar” comes from the Persian pâdzahr (پادزهر), which literally means “protection from poison.”

In 1575, the surgeon Ambroise Paré described an experiment to test the properties of the Bezoar Stone. At the time, the Bezoar stone was deemed to be able to cure the effects of any poison, but Paré believed this was impossible. It happened that a cook at Paré’s court was caught stealing fine silver cutlery. In his shame, the cook agreed to be poisoned. He then used the Bezoar stone to no great avail as he died in agony seven hours later.^[5] Paré had proved that the Bezoar stone could not cure all poisons as was commonly believed at the time.

A famous case in the common law of England (Chandelor v Lopus, 79 Eng Rep. 3, Cro. Jac. 4, Eng. Ct. Exch. 1603) announced the rule of caveat emptor, “let the buyer beware” if the goods he purchased are in fact genuine and effective. The case concerned a purchaser who sued for the return of the purchase price of an allegedly fraudulent bezoar. (How the plaintiff discovered that the bezoar did not work is not discussed in the report.) Judicial scepticism over the alleged magical powers of bezoars may well have justified this judgment in this particular case. The ruling, however, was seized on and formed an impediment to the formation of effective consumer protection remedies and the law of implied warranty well into the nineteenth century.

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy notes that consumption of unripened persimmons have been identified as causing epidemics of intestinal bezoars, and that up to ninety percent of food boluses that occur from eating too much of the fruit require surgery for removal.^[6]

Types by content

• Food boli (singular, bolus) imitate true bezoars and are composed of loose aggregates of food items such as seeds, fruit pith, or pits as well as other types of items such as shellac, bubble gum, soil, and concretions of some medications.
• Pharmacobezoars (or medication bezoars) are mostly tablets or semi-liquid masses of drugs. Normally found following overdose of sustained release medications.^[7]
• Phytobezoars are composed of nondigestible plant material (e.g., cellulose) and are frequently reported in patients with impaired digestion and decreased gastric motility.
• Diospyrobezoar is a bezoar formed from unripe persimmons.^[8] Coca-Cola has been used in the treatment.^[9][10]
• Trichobezoar is a bezoar formed from hair ^[11]- an extreme form of hairball. Humans who frequently consume hair sometimes require these to be removed. The Rapunzel syndrome, a very rare and extreme case, may require surgery. A trichobezoar in the trachea is called a tracheobezoar.

Types by location

• A bezoar in the esophagus is common in young children and in horses. In horses, it is known as choke.
• A bezoar in the large intestine is known as a fecalith.
• A trichobezoar in the trachea is called a tracheobezoar.

From the Carolee Schneemann wiki article:

Carolee Schneemann (b. October 12, 1939 in Fox Chase, Pennsylvania) is an American visual artist, known for her discourses on the body, sexuality and gender. She received a B.A. from Bard College and an M.F.A. from the University of Illinois. Her work is primarily characterized by research into visual traditions, taboos, and the body of the individual in relationship to social bodies.

Early work

Production on Schneemann’s work Eye Body began in 1963. Schneemann created a “loft environment” filled with broken mirrors, motorized umbrellas, and rhythmic color units.^[14] To become a piece of the art herself, Schneemann covered herself in various materials including grease, chalk, and plastic. She created 36 “transformative-actions” – photographs by Icelandic artist Erró of herself in her constructed environment.^[15] Included in these images is a frontal nude featuring two garden snakes crawling on Schneemann’s torso. This image drew particular attention both for its “archaic eroticism” and her visible clitoris.^[14] Upon its presentation to the public in 1963, art critics found the piece to be lewd and pornographic.

Meat and film

The 1964 piece Meat Joy revolved around eight partially nude figures dancing and playing with various objects and substances including wet paint, sausage, raw fish, scraps of paper, and raw chickens.^[10] It was first performed in Paris and was later filmed and photographed as performed by her Kinetic Theater group at Judson Memorial Church.^[1] She described the piece as an “erotic rite” and an indulgent Dionysian “celebration of flesh as material.”^[14][18]

In 1975, Schneemann performed Interior Scroll, a Fluxus-influenced piece featuring her use of text and body. In her performance, Schneemann entered wrapped in a sheet, under which she wore an apron. She disrobed and then got on a table where she outlined her body with dark paint. Several times, she would take “action poses”, similar to those in figure drawing classes.^[24] Concurrently, she read from her book Cézanne, She Was a Great Painter. Following this, she dropped the book and slowly extracted from her vagina a scroll from which she read.

From the Ilona Staller wiki article:

Ilona Staller (complete name Anna Elena Staller, 26 November 1951), also known by her stage name la Cicciolina, is a Hungarian-born Italian porn-star, sometimes politician, and singer. She continued to make hard core pornographic films while in office.^[2] She is famous for delivering political speeches with one breast exposed.^[2][3]

Anna Ilona was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her stepfather was an official in the Ministry of the Interior, her mother a midwife. In 1964 she began working for a Hungarian modeling agency, M.T.I. In her memoirs and in a 1999 TV interview, she claimed that she had provided Hungarian authorities with information on American diplomats staying at a Budapest luxury hotel where she worked as a maid in the late 1960s.^[4]

Naturalized by marriage and settled in Italy, she met pornographer Riccardo Schicchi in the early 1970s, and, beginning in 1973, achieved fame with a radio show called “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” (French for “Do You Want to Sleep with Me?”) on Radio Luna. For that program she adopted the name “la Cicciolina,” which translates, loosely, as “cuddles”.^[4] She has referred to her male fanbase and later the Italian parliament as “cicciolini”, translating loosely as “little tubby boys”.^[2] Although she appeared in several films from 1970, she made her debut under her own name in 1975 with “La Liceale,” whose U.S. title was “The Teasers,” playing a lesbian classmate of Gloria Guida. In 1978, on the RAI show “C’era due Volte”, her breasts were the first to be bared live on Italian TV.^[4]

She appeared in her first hardcore pornographic film, titled “Il telefono rosso” (”The Red Telephone”) in 1983. She produced the film together with Schicchi’s company Diva Futura. She was rumored to have engaged in zoophilia with a horse in the movie “Cicciolina Number One”^[4], but her memoirs and other sources have disputed the claim.^[5][6]

Staller married American sculptor Jeff Koons in 1991. Koons produced a series of sculptures and photographs of them having sex in many positions, settings and costumes, which were exhibited under the title “Made In Heaven.”^[8] The marriage broke up in 1992, and their son Ludwig Maximillian was born shortly afterwards.

In 1994, she appeared in the film “Replikator,” and in 1996, she had a role in the Brazilian telenovela “Xica da Silva.”^[10] In 2008, she was a contestant on the Argentine version of “Strictly Come Dancing” named “Bailando por un Sueño”. She withdrew after breaking a rib in rehearsals.^[11]

Political career

In 1979, Staller was presented as a candidate to the Italian Parliament from the “Lista del Sole“, Italy’s first Green party. In 1985, she switched to the Partito Radicale, campaigning against nuclear energy and NATO membership, for human rights, and “against world hunger”.  She was elected to the Italian parliament in 1987, with approx. 20,000 votes. While in office, and before the outset of the Gulf War she offered to have sex with Saddam Hussein if he would release the foreign hostages.[1] She was not reelected at the end of her term in 1991.

In 1991, Staller was among the founders of the political movement Partito dell’Amore (Love Party), spearheaded by her friend and fellow porn star Moana Pozzi. She has advocated absolute sexual freedom – “Love for All!” She also proposed a tax on automobiles to reduce the damages of smog and fund the defence of nature.^[2] She is a strict vegan and an animal rights activist.[2]

She renewed her offer to have sex with Saddam Hussein in October 2002, when Iraq was resisting international pressure to allow inspections for weapons of mass destruction, and in April 2006 made the same offer to Osama bin Laden.^[2]

Musical career

Staller has recorded several songs, mostly from live performances, with explicit lyrics being sung to a childrens’ melody. Her most famous song is “Muscolo Rosso,” a song entirely dedicated to il cazzo, which means “the dick” in Italian. Because of its extensive use of swear words, the sond could not be released it in Italy, but became a hit in other countries, especially in France, where the listeners did not grasp the meaning of the lyrics. The song gained considerable popularity in the internet era, when many Italian speakers were able to hear it for the first time.

Quotations

• “My breasts have never done anyone any harm, while bin Laden’s war has caused thousands of victims.” — October 2002 ^[12]

From the Insulin Shock Therapy wiki article:

Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy was a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks.^[1] It was introduced in 1933 by Polish-Austrian-American psychiatrist Manfred Sakel and used extensively in the 1940s and 1950s, mainly for schizophrenia, before falling out of favour and being replaced by neuroleptic drugs.^[2] Insulin coma therapy and the convulsive therapies (electro and cardiazol/metrazol) were collectively known as shock therapy.^[3] Although insulin coma therapy had disappeared in the USA by the 1970s, it was still being used at that time in some countries such as China, and the former Soviet Union.^[4]

Technique

Insulin coma therapy was a labour-intensive treatment that required trained staff and a special unit.^[2] Patients, who were almost invariably diagnosed with schizophrenia, were selected on the basis of having a good prognosis and the physical strength to withstand an arduous treatment.^[7] There were no standard guidelines for treatment; different hospitals and psychiatrists developed their own protocols.^[7] Typically, injections were administered six days a week for about two months.^[1] The daily insulin dose was gradually increased to 100-150 units until comas were produced, at which point the dose would be levelled out.^[1] Occasionally doses of up 450 units were used.^[8] After about 50 or 60 comas, or earlier if the psychiatrist thought that maximum benefit had been achieved, the dose of insulin was rapidly reduced before treatment was stopped.^[9][7] Courses of up to 2 years have been documented.^[9]

After the insulin injection patients would experience various symptoms of decreased blood glucose: flushing, pallor, perspiration, salivation, drowsiness or restlessness.^[9] Sopor and coma - if the dose was high enough – would follow.^[9] Each coma would last for up to an hour and be terminated by intravenous glucose.^[1] Seizures sometimes occurred before or during the coma.^[10] Many would be tossing, rolling, moaning, twitching, spasming or thrashing around.^[7]

Some psychiatrists regarded seizures as therapeutic and patients were sometimes also given electroconvulsive therapy or cardiazol/metrazol convulsive therapy during the coma, or on the day of the week when they didn’t have insulin treatment.^[9][10] When they were not in a coma, insulin coma patients were kept together in a group and given special treatment and attention; one handbook for psychiatric nurses, written by British psychiatrist Eric Cunningham Dax, instructs nurses to take their insulin patients out walking and occupy them with games and competitions, flower-picking and map-reading, etc.^[11]Patients required continuous supervision as there was a danger of hypoglycaemic aftershocks after the coma.^[2]

Effects

Although a few psychiatrists (including Sakel) claimed success rates for insulin coma therapy of over 80 percent in the treatment of schizophrenia, and a few argued that it merely sped up remission in those patients who would undergo remission anyway, the consensus at the time was somewhere in between – claiming a success rate of about 50 per cent in patients who had been ill for less than a year (about double the spontaneous remission rate) with no influence on relapse.^[5][12] The shock therapies in general had developed on the erroneous premise that epilepsy and schizophrenia rarely occurred in the same patient. Another theory was that patients were somehow “jolted” out of their mental illness.^[13]

The hypoglycemia (pathologically low glucose levels) that resulted from ICT made patients extremely restless, sweaty, and liable to further convulsions and “after-shocks”. In addition, patients invariably emerged from the long course of treatment “grossly obese“.^[7] The most severe risks of insulin coma therapy were death and brain damage, resulting from irreversible or prolonged coma respectively.^[1][8] A study at the time actually claimed that many of the cases of brain damage were actually therapeutic improvement because they showed “loss of tension and hostility”.^[14] Mortality (death) risk estimates varied from about one percent^[2] to 4.9 percent^[15].

Recent writing

Recent articles about insulin coma treatment have attempted to explain why it was given such uncritical acceptance. In the United States Deborah Doroshow writes that insulin coma therapy secured its foothold in psychiatry not because of scientific evidence or knowledge of any mechanism of therapeutic action, but due to the impressions it made on the minds of the medical practitioners within the local world in which it was administered and the dramatic recoveries they saw in some patients. Today, she writes, those who were involved are often ashamed, recalling it as unscientific and inhumane. Administering insulin coma therapy made psychiatry seem a more legitimately medical field. Harold Bourne, who questioned the treatment at the time, is quoted: “It meant that psychiatrists had something to do. It made them feel like real doctors instead of just institutional attendants”.^[7]

Leonard Roy Frank, an American survivor of 50 forced insulin coma treatments combined with ECT has described it as “the most devastating, painful and humiliating experience of my life”, a “flat-out atrocity” glossed over by psychiatric euphemism, and a violation of basic human rights.^[19]