Archive for July 2010

Global Orgasm

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.

Tanuki

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]

Bill Nye

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]

Kim Basinger

Kim_Basinger24From 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]