Sinlung Videos

MIchel & Sven FAIL

2012-01-24T20:32:00.001-08:00

Gunned down in broad daylight: Terrifying moment police shot dead man in hail of bullets outside fast food restaurant

2012-01-24T20:22:00.001-08:00

Why Men and Women Cant be friends

2011-12-12T22:23:00.001-08:00

Boy Genius Builds Unbelievable LEGO Creations

2011-12-12T22:14:00.001-08:00

No matter how hard you worked on it, Warren Seely probably puts even your most beloved LEGO creation to shame.
Dubbed "the LEGO kid," Seely first learned his way around heavy farm equipment while growing up on his parents' Oregon mint farm. He rebuilt his first tractor engine at age 6 and has been using his knowledge of mechanics to build small, working replicas of farm equipment from LEGOs since he was 12-years-old.
At age 15, Seely was already enrolled in community college classes to prep for his career as an electrical engineer.
Over the years, Seely's creations have been displayed at several farming conferences in Washington and Oregon, the Columbia Basin Herald reports.
Seely's models have also been used in classrooms at Washington State University and elsewhere, according to a WSU news release.
Seely says his replicas are useful for showing off the inner-workings of heavy equipment without putting onlookers in danger.
"If you go out and look at a real one running, there's gears you can get caught in, chains, PTO drives that people can get wrapped around." Seely said in a YouTube video produced by Washington State University. "This, being pretty accurate to the real one, you can actually look at it and say 'well, here's where danger points are,' and it's a good way to explain how you get those potatoes out of the ground or how you get that mint from the field into an oil."
Of course, we weren't the only ones impressed with Seely's skills.
Babble blogger Stephanie Precourt says she found the video presentation intriguing and educational:

He's also absolutely fascinating because I totally just watched the entire video below and farm equipment isn't anything I'm remotely interested in. But wow, I feel like I totally learned something.

Six-year global proposal by Canadian pilot goes viral

2011-11-22T23:53:00.001-08:00

Pilot proposes to girlfriend over six years
Spelt "We always knew" on signs around the world
Video showing the romantic proposal goes viral

THIS romantic proposal may not have been written in the stars but it was written on pieces of paper and spelled out around the world.
For six years a Canadian pilot and his girlfriend travelled around the world taking pictures at famous landmarks of themselves holding letters spelling "We always knew".
YouTube user, daviator358, who posted the video montage of himself and his girlfriend that has since gone viral said "we wanted to prove that if one day we got married that 'we always knew'".

The pilot and his girlfriend in the cockpit of a plane. Picture: YouTube user daviator358
At the last stop in their hometown of Montreal, the 26-year-old man was confident enough to organised for two friends to roll out a sign that said: "(W)ill you marry me" behind the couple as they took a photo holding the final W.
When the man showed his girlfriend the photo, he got down on one knee and quickly pulled out an engagement ring - to an emphatic and overwhelmed "yes".
A friend recorded the proposal on video and the video, along with a montage of the couples’ pictures, was uploaded on YouTube.

Submerged in water, the couple make the letter L. Picture: YouTube user daviator358
YouTube users have been quick to congratulate the happy couple, sending well wishes and congratulations to the pair.
"I'm smiling and crying at the same time! Romance isn't lost! Congratulations to you!" YouTube user SherylAnny said.
"I'm not into romantic stuff, but my heart started beating so hard when they were about to take the last picture. That's the proof! Prince Charming exists!" another user, ensa89, said.

Flash mob invasion of Dubai airport

2011-11-21T20:11:00.001-08:00

Dubai seems determined to top the world in just about every category imaginable, and that appears to go for flash mobs as well. Folks of all ages join in for this medley of hits that invaded the shopping area of the airport, much to the amazement and delight of the crowd.

Dairy Queen

2011-11-20T23:24:00.001-08:00

16-year-old Cassie Schirmer of Galena, Illinois and her Brown Swiss cow, named Misty, won second place in the Junior show at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin last month, meaning that she's raised one of the finest cows in the world. Talk about being a proud owner!

Surf's Up

2011-11-20T23:23:00.001-08:00

World surfing champion Kelly Slater called 17-year-old Gabriel Medina, from Brazil, the future of surfing. After winning the Quiksilver Pro in France last month, Medina won the Rip Curl Pro Search at Ocean Beach in San Francisco this week -- and he even beat out Slater for the title! Medina said: "I just couldn't imagine having this success so quickly... I'm still young so I'm just stoked."

A long battle against Indian 'army impunity'

2011-11-08T03:25:00.001-08:00

Flash Mob Marriage Proposal: British Proposal On The Train Goes Viral

2011-11-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

It was just a regular day for Lucy Rogers -- until she was serenaded on her way home from work and proposed to by her boyfriend on the 19.57 London Overground train to Watford Junction last Tuesday.
When a group of commuters on the train started singing Bill Withers' Lovely Day spontaneously, Rogers had no clue that anything was out of the ordinary. In fact, the 26-year-old assumed that the stunt was part of a flash mob. It wasn't until her boyfriend, Adam King, showed up on one knee that Rogers realized something was up.
It turns out that King had been planning the elaborate proposal since April, asking his choir mates from Adam Street Choir to help him surprise his girlfriend. The group had been rehearsing for months -- with King even building a replica of the carriage to make sure everything would go perfectly.
Even with careful planning, there were a few factors he couldn't control: "There was only a three-minute window to get the choir, me and Lucy on [the train]," King told British newspaper The Sun. And when Rogers decided to drive to work on the day of the proposal, King had to disconnect her car's battery to ensure that his girlfriend would take the train.
Rogers and King didn't expect their unique engagement story to become go public -- but it did. Viewed over 500,000 times on YouTube since Thursday, the flash mob marriage proposal video has become the latest viral sensation.

First electric-powered multicopter takes to the air

2011-11-05T01:02:00.001-07:00

Despite airplanes becoming a regular form of travel and mankind reaching the moon decades ago, when humankind dreams, they still take to the sky.
Thomas Senkel broke another barrier last month in the history of flight when he became the first to pilot an electric-powered multicopter in Germany. The craft – which on one hand looks like a very elegantly constructed piece of engineering and on the other, a nightmare that keeps whole flocks of birds awake at night in horror – took to the air for a minute and thirty seconds.
After flying the craft, Senkel commented that,

"The flight characteristics are good natured. Without any steering input it would just hover there on the spot.”

Plus, you can slice and dice an entire Thanksgiving meal in midair.

Revenge of the disabled daughter

2011-11-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

Video of 'family law judge brutally beating girl' sweeps web after she posts it on YouTube

Disabled daughter explains why she leaked horrific video of family judge beating her: 'I'm feeling some regret because to ruin my own father is heavy indeed. But I really want him to seek help'

She sought revenge after keeping video for seven years because 'she was tired of being harassed'
Sickening video shows 16-year-old girl whipped 20 times with belt
Daughter of Texas Court-at-Law judge William Adams secretly filmed him
Girl's mother joined in horrific attack

A judge who was filmed whipping his disabled daughter with a belt today remained unrepentant claiming his life had been made difficult after the violent footage emerged.
In extraordinary remarks to reporters family law Judge William Adams denied he had done anything wrong after the YouTube video, filmed secretly in 2004 by his daughter Hilary, swept the internet.
He told local TV station KZTV10.com: 'She's mad because I've ordered her to bring the car back, in a nutshell, but yeah that's me, I lost my temper.'
Scroll down for video

Unrepentant: Judge William Adams (left) told reporters he had done 'nothing wrong' by violently beating his daughter Hilary Adams (right) after she posted footage of the horrific attack online

The Court-at-Law Judge, from Aransas County, Texas, added: 'It was a long time ago.. I really don't want to get into this right now because as you can see my life's been made very difficult over this child.'
'In my mind I have not done anything wrong other than discipline my child when she was caught stealing. I did lose my temper, I've apologized.. it looks worse than it is.'
The video, called 'Family law judge beats own daughter for using the internet, please spread', shows the motive for the attack was because Miss Adams had been caught downloading music to the computer in her bedroom.
In the footage Judge Adams can be seen delivering around ten powerful strikes across his daughter's legs and backside, his wife then grabs the belt from him to take over, at which point he walks out only to return moments later with another belt so he can continue the beating.
On the seven-minute long clip, as his daughter begs him to stop he can be heard snarling: 'Bend over the f***ing bed.
'Lay down or I'll spank you in the F***ing face.'
In total the girl receives 20 hard lashes from her father and one from her mother.

Sickening: Texas family law Judge William Adams brutally whips his disabled daughter in footage caught on a webcam set up by the girl in 2004 when she was 16

Attack:The girl, who suffers from cerebral palsy, yelps in pain as her father beats her repeatedly with the leather belt for playing on her computer

She screams: 'You turn over like a 16-year-old and take it like a grown woman.'
As she lies crying on her bed he shouts: 'Do you want to put some more computer games on? Are you happy disobeying your parents?

'You don't deserve to be in this f***ing house. What happened to you Hillary?'
'IfI hear so much as you raising your f***ing voice to me or your mother with the wrong tone or do one little thing or you look at me f***ing wrong, I'm going to wear your f***ing a** out with this belt.'
The shocking footage appears to have been filmed on a webcam set up in the bedroom and dates from 2004 but only became public last week on October 27.
Adams added that he informed the Judicial Review board himself after seeing the video had been posted online by his daughter.
Hilary, who filmed her father beating her with a leather belt while she was a teenager, said she wanted to help him despite admitting that she may have ruined his reputation.

Little musician: Innocent Hillary Adams curtseys before a piano recital as a child

Dedication: Hillary Adams suffers from ataxic cerebral palsy which causes difficulty with balance, hand and feet movements and speech

Hillary Adams, took revenge on her father, saying: 'It had happened before, and had been escalating. I set up a camera, and I caught it.'
Mr Adams faces a police investigation after his daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy, posted the secretly-filmed video of the beating on YouTube.
Police Chief Tim Jayroe, of Rockport, Texas, said yesterday that the probe was launched after members of the public contacted them after the film swept the Internet.
Taken in 2004 when the girl was 16, Miss Adams, now 22, decided last week to make it public by uploading it onto the internet.
It was later posted on the social news aggregate website Reddit.
Miss Adams, speaking to a local TV network yesterday, said she decided now was the time becauseshe was tired of being harassed by her father.

Model child: Hillary Adams had previously posted a video showing herself as an extremely gifted pianist

Threats: Judge Adams jabs his finger at his disabled daughter while screaming foul abuse as she cowers in fear

Shesaid: 'My father's harassment was getting really bad, so I decided to finally publish the video that I had been sitting on for seven years.
But yesterday Miss Adams said via Twitter she was sorry she had posted the video.
She tweeted: 'I'm feeling some regret for publishing the videobecause to ruin my own father is heavy indeed.
'But I really want him toseek help.'

Chief Jayroe said he has not determined the identities of the people in the video nor whether any crimes were committed, MSNBC reported.

Asa result of the furore, the video was being examined by the District Attorney and previous controversial judgements Judge Adams made in casesinvolving children have come to light.
In a court judgement last October, Judge Adams said that a child's statements 'amounted to no evidence' despite the fact his words had been confirmed by third party witnesses and recorded on video several times. The young person had also been interviewed by a child psychologist who believed the child.
And on another occasion Judge Adams is said to have agreed with a lawyer who claimed all children are 'fantasizers' and their testimony should just be ignored.

Itgained speed yesterday with the video trending on Twitter and being viewed 600,000 times on YouTube. A Facebook page entitled Don't Re-ElectJudge William Adams was set up yesterday and already has 6,000 followers.

Widespread viewing: After the video was uploaded to YouTube by Hillary Adams, it was then posted on Reddit and thousands more times across the Internet

Gathering speed: A Facebook page Don't Re-Elect Judge William Adams was set up yesterday

The 23-year-old added that she decided to post thefootage - which she'd been 'holding onto until the right time' - after receiving 'a barrage of harassment' in a phone call from her father.

JUDGE ADAMS: 'A CHILD'S TESTIMONY SHOULD BE IGNORED'

The video footage of Judge William Adams physically abusing his daughter has brought under scrutiny child protection cases he has worked on in the past.
Witnesses who attended a courtroom trial of Judge Adams on October 11 last year claimed that the judge agreed with a lawyer who had argued that 'a child's statements amounted to no evidence' and they are 'fantasizers'.
The case involved the custody of a six-year-old child who is said to have suffered 'horrific abuse'.
According to the blog, A Child's Voice, despite the child's statements being confirmed by independent third party witnesses and the young person being interviewed by a child psychologist, Judge Adams concluded that children's testimony should be ignored.

From her Twitter account, she tweeted: 'Please spread the word that my father needs professional help and not hatred. We can offer him the tools to be a better person.
'It is my wish that people stop threatening my father and start offering professional help. That is what he really needs.'
Calls to Judge Adams' office in Texas went unanswered.

However his senior colleague County Judge C.H. 'Burts' Mills told MailOnline that Judge Adams was not currently at work and had not presided over any trials this week.
The police department confirmed it would be making an announcement shortly.
MissAdams, who has suffered from cerebral palsy from birth, said her condition causes problems including difficulty with balance, shaky movements of hands or feet, and difficulty with speech.
The video has incited fury on twitter with dozens posting their disgust.
@Johnny_Ads wrote: oh my god. what a disgusting video. im shocked. poor girl - what repulsive parents. Shame on them.

Ganging up: The father and mother stand over the girl, who is hidden down the side of the bed, both brandishing belts

Take that: Judge Adams unleashes a powerful backhander as the sickening attack continues

And @eschaton added: I hope this exposure gets him sent to prison for a good, long time.

Before the identity of the man in the video was known several people took to the internet to name and shame the Judge.
One post from a J. Andre Bardin, who claims to be one of Hillary's friends, reads: 'I know in the article you say you cannot confirm the man in the video is him, but I can. It's him.
'That's his voice, that's his mannerisms, and that is his house.'
Judge Adam's wife, who is seen in the video delivering a single blow to her daughter, is said to have left the marriage after suffering emotional abuse.
She has apparently apologised for taking part in the beating and allowing it to happen.

'That's for you, son': Footballer plays and scores wonder-goal for club just days after death of his baby

2011-11-03T03:02:00.001-07:00

A Championship footballer who played and scored for his club three days after the death of his newborn son has called the goal the most important of his career.
Billy Sharp turned out for Doncaster Rovers' 3-1 defeat by Middlesbrough on Tuesday after it was announced his two-day-old Luey Jacob Sharp passed away on Saturday.
Despite the tragedy, he captained the team and opened the scoring with 14th-minute wonder goal, which he celebrated by lifting up his strip to reveal a T-shirt bearing the slogan 'That's for you, son'.
Scroll down to see the goal

Dedication: Footballer Billy Sharp played and scored for Doncaster just days after the death of his newborn son Luey Jacob

'A goal from heaven': Sharp looks skyward during his goal celebrations

In the early hours of yesterday morning, Sharp used his Twitter account to thank fans of both teams for the pre-match tribute - a minute of applause before kick-off - and to describe some of the emotions he had felt.
'My goal tonight was the most important goal of my career dedicated to my brave boy luey jacob sharp I love u son sleep tight.thatsforyouson,' he wrote.
'To captain the side tonite was an honour and a pleasure, the minute applause I was crying meant so much to me thanks to both sets of fans.

More...

Talented Oxford student, 20, found dead in college shower block

'My goal had to be something special tonight for my special boy. I'm so proud of him, and his mum @jadecarlie86.'
Sharp's girlfriend, Jade Fair, also tweeted her thanks to the fans, writing: "@billysharp10 & I are grateful for the love and support we have received. Daddy did Luey proudtonight.Sleep tight angel.'
Following the match at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium,Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray praised Sharp for his performance ona night of deep emotion, telling reporters: 'For him to score a wonder-goal, your headlines should be there really - a goal from heaven."

Trauma: Sharp shows his conflicting emotions as he leaves the pitch while his girlfriend, Jade Fair, also thanked football fans for their tribute to her late son

Tribute: Before kick-off there was an emotional minute of applause from both sets of fans and the players in honour of Sharp's son

Sharp's manager, Dean Saunders, also paid tribute to his player who he said had endured 'trauma'.
'I know what has been going on all week, the finer detail, and it is worse than you might think,' he said.
'But Billy rang me last night (Monday) and said he wanted to play because he wanted to score a goal for his son. He hasn’t trained, but when he said that, I couldn’t refuse.
'He is going to be feeling the pain for a long time yet. But maybe the best thing for him is to come in and train with his mates.
'This has been hanging over him for a while, but perhaps he can turn over a leaf now and begin to get on with things.
'What is really pleasing is that he banged in a goal for his son, which is all he wanted to do. It was like the story had already been written, and I’m really proud of him. It tells you everything about him.'
There was praise too for the match referee, Darren Deadman, who refrained from booking Sharp for his T-shirt celebration, as he should have done under the rules of the game.

Nokia shows off how it makes the N9 [video]

2011-10-25T04:49:00.001-07:00

So what if Nokia’s MeeGo-running N9 did not make it to India and most other important markets in the world? So what if it could have been a pretty awesome smartphone had someone not smelled fumes coming from the burning platform and ordered everyone in Espoo jump ship straight into freezing Arctic waters? At least there is something that will keep reminding us that such a product did exist, thanks to a video posted by Nokia to show us poor sods how the N9 is (was?) manufactured. Well, all hope is not lost as from what we are hearing, the new Nokia 800 smartphone the company will announce tomorrow is most likely to look similar to the N9 and probably goes through the same manufacturing process. Jump the break, hit play and sit back to see how the N9 and very soon the 800 is manufactured.

Scream Your Way To Vladivar 'Rock in India' with Metallica

2011-10-24T07:06:00.001-07:00

The Netherlands' Divorce Hotel

2011-10-21T05:03:00.001-07:00

The Netherlands' Divorce Hotel by NewsLook

Flash mob proposal

2011-09-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

It’s one thing to return to the place where you met to pop the question, but it’s another entirely to bring along Paul Anka and a flash mob to give you a hand. Sure, it’s cheesy, but if ever there’s a time for cheese, it’s during a proposal.

Top 100 F*cks In Movies

2011-09-29T08:49:00.001-07:00

With box office opportunities of the utmost importants, producers often work to minimize the foul language in films. The general rule, according to the MPAA, is that more than four instances of the word "f*ck" -- in a non-sexual capacity -- nets the film an R rating. The threshold is even lower for sexual "f*cks."
So, if they're going to go over the line and shrink their potential audience pool, they might as well make it worth it, right?
Thanks to an enterprising film fan with a lot of patience and a YouTube account, we can now watch some of the best instances of R-rated films embracing the f-bomb -- and we can do so in neat, grammatically-organized fashion. Mewlists put together this supercut of 100 of the best uses of "f*ck" in film, separated into categories such as "As a Question," "As a Substitute For Mess Up/Screw Up," "As An Adjective/Adverb," and "As An Interjection."
Included, amongst many others, are a number of Quentin Tarantino's films, some Coen Brothers' films, and a lot of Joe Pesci. Enjoy!

Does This Deodorant Ad Go Too Far?

2011-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Women Wrestle Over Large Egg To Demonstrate Rules Of Rugby

Sometimes men just need a woman to show them how it's done. Take rugby, for example. What better way to learn the rules than watching women in bikini-ized versions of rugby jerseys sweat it out as they wrestle over what looks suspiciously like a large egg to this creepy narration?
Insert comments on making passes, tackles, and hookers -- all of which are actually rugby terms.
This thoughtful lesson is brought to you by the good people at Lynx Effects Australia. If you haven't had enough of an eyeful, check out their website, where they tout their deodorant as a safeguard against "premature perspiration." Yowza!

Dead Sea Scrolls now available online

2011-09-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Fans of primary sources no longer need to hop a flight to Jerusalem to get a look at the Dead Sea Scrolls thanks to a partnership between The Israel Museum and Google.
The interactive documents can be read in their original form or a translated English version, but thus far, only five of the 972 scrolls discovered between 1947 and 1956 can be viewed.

Scientists make a movie of human thoughts

2011-09-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here’s another one from the “science-fiction becoming science-fact” file. Using an MRI and other some seriously complicated technology, scientists have made a video of human thoughts. First, scientists would show the subject a video clip. Then they’d make a movie of the subjects’ memories of the movie. Here’s a sample:

Taking computer problems too literally

2011-09-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

When things at the office get you down, especially computer issues over which you have no control and you’re left having to tackle the phone calls you’d been trying to avoid for weeks or look busy while spelling dirty things on the calculator, a la seventh grade, nothing hits the spot like a bit of good, old-fashioned, slapstick humor.
Please, leave your maturity at the door, and enjoy

Frances Dilorinzo - Homemade Implants

2011-09-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the show.

Click here: Frances Dilorinzo - Homemade Implants - This is one of the funniest things I`ve seen! It cracked me up! She did it

Gamer Commute

2011-09-19T02:16:00.001-07:00

Puppet Break-up (Dir. By Sam Macaroni)

2011-09-19T02:15:00.001-07:00

Coldplay - Paradise (Official)

2011-09-19T02:14:00.001-07:00

How To Cover Up A Murder

2011-09-19T02:10:00.001-07:00

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS - I LIKE HOW IT FEELS FEAT. PITBULL & THE WAV.S

2011-09-19T02:09:00.001-07:00

Burglars Beware - Police Capture House

2011-09-16T00:34:00.001-07:00

'Web Cam 101 For Seniors' Turns Oregon Oldsters Into YouTube Celebrities

2011-09-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

A couple from northwestern Oregon who are Internet newbies have found themselves the unwitting subjects of an instant viral video, thanks to a little help from a grandkid.
Bruce Huffman, 86, and his wife, Esther, 79, of the Hillside Retirement Community in McMinnville, recently purchased their first laptop computer –- an aqua colored beauty with a built-in webcam.
Late last month, the couple sat down together and tried to figure out how to make a video with the webcam, something a granddaughter had painstakingly attempted to teach Esther a few days beforehand.
"I was trying to figure out how to do the videos and didn't know the thing was actually running," Esther told The Huffington Post. "All the while, Bruce was kind of amusing himself because he was bored. He was being quite an actor."
The nearly three minute video captures Bruce making funny faces, singing, burping and at one point, during a moment of levity, he got a little flirtatious with his wife. "See how pretty your hair is?" he said. "Just drop your dress a little bit and see your boobies."
Esther, focused on the task at hand, shot down the request. "Come on stop it. No, no, no," she laughed.
When the couple's granddaughter later saw the video, she titled it "Web Cam 101 for Seniors" and uploaded it on YouTube.

"I did not know anything about YouTube, but apparently, it is spreading like wildfire," Esther said.
While the accidental celebrities are surprised by the amount of attention the video is garnering, they said they are happy that people are enjoying it.
"We certainly didn't plan it, but there is so much bad news out there. We are glad we could put something fun out there. We like to have a good time and if it makes people laugh, that's ok," Esther said.
There is, however, one thing she would change going back.
"I wouldn't have looked that way," she said. "I guess I have to quit chewing gum. I look like a cow chewing gum so quickly."
While their candid video is endearing the modest couple to the World Wide Web, they have no immediate plans of making another video.
"We're still trying to figure out how to work it," Bruce said. "But we're having fun trying."

Contagion: is a killer virus out there?

2011-09-12T22:37:00.001-07:00

In the movie Contagion, panic ensues as an unknown illness threatens to become a global epidemic. To make this scenario as accurate as possible, producers consulted with real life virus hunter Dr. Ian Lipkin.
Full story at Discovery News.

College recruitment gets clever at the University of Hawaii

2011-09-06T22:41:00.001-07:00

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's Burberry Body TV Ad

2011-09-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

You've seen the controversial Burberry Body fragrance print ad starring a nearly nude Rosie Huntington-Whiteley dressed in just a rose gold satin trench coat. Well, check out the Mario Testino-filmed TV advert where the "Transformers 4" actress strips down while spritzing on the sexy new floral fragrance.
"It’s the Burberry world translated into a scent, embodying every facet of the brand including our music, collections, scent, platforms and communities," said Christopher Bailey, Burberry's chief creative officer. " We wanted to create something very British, feminine, timeless, distinctive and effortlessly sensual, with the attitude and energy of our iconic trench coat at the heart of it.”
Burberry Body fragrance launches today in over 150 countries.
What do you think about the Burberry Body TV ad? Does it convince you to purchase the perfume?

Pillow Street Fight

2011-09-03T23:11:00.001-07:00

<a href='http://video.msn.com?vid=93aa75f0-a6f8-4e0d-9454-57e96fd180fc&mkt=en-us&src=FLPl:embed::uuids' target='_new' title='Pillow Street Fight' >Video: Pillow Street Fight</a>

Viral Video of Toddler Driving Causes Uproar

2011-09-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

A YouTube clip of a 4-year-old Chinese girl driving the family car in traffic is making the rounds, and raising eyebrows among experts concerned about all the dangerous things parents are recording their children doing. NBC’s Michelle Kosinski reports.

Amazing cover of "Gucci Gucci"

2011-09-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

One-woman band covers Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc."

2011-09-03T21:24:00.001-07:00

Watching a one-person cover of a song is magical. All those parts running around in the musician's head at once... how can anyone keep that much straight? Observe this amazing woman cover Gorillaz' "Geel Good":

32,000 Ethiopian women bringing hope to their nation

2011-09-01T00:09:00.001-07:00

Living Proof | Ethiopia Community Health Workers from ONE Campaign on Vimeo.

Colombiana Trailer 2011 HD

2011-08-25T02:58:00.001-07:00

Magical moments caught on film of New Zealand snowfall

2011-08-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

A snowfall can be one of the most beautiful things in the world, and filmmaker Ro Tierney captured that magic in spades during this incredibly rare weather event in Wellington’s Cuba Mall.

Graphene Girl Scout cookies = $15 billion

2011-08-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

You can make graphene out of almost anything. Even Girl Scout cookies. A sheet of graphene made from one box of shortbread cookies would cover nearly three football fields. And talk about profit—at $250 for a two-inch square, a box could earn $15 billion.
In a newly published study, researchers at Rice University describe how graphene—a single-atom-thick sheet of the same material in pencil lead—can be made from just about any carbon source, including chocolate, grass, a cockroach leg, dog feces, and Girl Scout cookies.
The scientists say the experiment is a whimsical way to make a serious point: that graphene—touted as a miracle material for its toughness and conductivity since its discovery in 2004—can be drawn from many sources.
Full story at Futurity.

Chrome for tablets caught on film [video]

2011-08-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

Google’s Chrome OS was originally designed as a lightweight operating system for devices such as netbooks, which have a constant internet connection. The search giant already has Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) and will soon offer Android Ice Cream Sandwich for tablets but apparently that hasn’t stopped Google from optimizing a version of Chrome OS for use on slates. One developer named Francois Beaufor has leaked a video that reveals a hint of what Chrome OS on a tablet might look like. The video shows a quick look at the touchscreen keyboard, an example of the web browser in action and support for voice-based search. As Business Insider points out, it might make a lot more sense for Google to just build a top-notch Chrome browser for Android instead of porting its OS to tablets. Many believe Google’s Android offering is fragmented enough as it is. Hit the break for a quick video clip.

Racy Cathay Pacific Cockpit Pictures Prompt Investigation (VIDEO)

2011-08-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

YouTube
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways is launching an investigation into pictures that appear to show a pilot receiving oral sex from a flight attendant while in a commercial airplane cockpit.
Low quality photos of the act, featuring a woman in a red outfit not unlike those of Cathay Pacific's flight attendants and a pilot, have circulated through Chinese media. According to some reports, the two are a couple.
"We are conducting a full investigation into the matter and there are some indications that the female shown in the photos may be a member of our cabin crew," a Cathay spokeswoman told Agence France Presse. However, she added that, "There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the act took place in-flight, and there are no reasons to believe that any safety breaches have occurred."
The pilot, who is apparently not from Hong Kong, issued a legal letter to local paper Apple Daily saying the photos had been stolen from his personal computer and he had filed a police report.
According to GlobalPost, industry sources suspected the photos' release was part of a malicious stunt to hurt the company.
See a skillfully animated recreation of the incident in the video below.

No kidding: Humor eases fear

2011-08-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Humor, particularly positive humor, can help us manage fear when we see something frightening or disturbing, new research shows. Call it the Woody Allen effect.
For the study, researchers at Stanford University asked people to rate the intensity of positive and negative emotions after viewing disturbing pictures, such as car accidents, corpses, aggressive animals, and dental exams.
They also were asked to improvise jokes—either positive or negative—reinterpreting the photos before reporting their emotions. Researchers found that subjects who made any kind of quip benefited, reporting both increases in positive emotions and decreases in negative emotions. But positive humor had the biggest impact.
Full story at Futurity.

Reason TV vs Save Our Schools DC rally participants

2011-08-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

When libertarian Reason TV started challenging those rallying in Washington, DC on the state of public schools, sparks flew with actor Matt Damon (and Mom!) and author Jonathan Kozol to name a few. Though the questions may prompt some teeth gnashing amongst those fighting on the front lines of education, the responses should give you heart. (Thanks, Matt!)

Vilnius Mayor A.Zuokas Fights Illegally Parked Cars with Tank

2011-08-03T01:05:00.001-07:00

Seeking Arrangement: College Students Using 'Sugar Daddies' To Pay Off Loan Debt

2011-08-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK -- On a Sunday morning in late May, Taylor left her Harlem apartment and boarded a train for Greenwich, Conn. She planned on spending the day with a man she had met online, but not in person.
Taylor, a 22-year-old student at Hunter College, had confided in her roommate about the trip and they agreed to swap text messages during the day to make sure she was safe.
Once in Greenwich, a man who appeared significantly older than his advertised age of 42 greeted Taylor at the train station and then drove her to the largest house she had ever seen. He changed into his swimming trunks, she put on a skimpy bathing suit, and then, by the side of his pool, she rubbed sunscreen into the folds of his sagging back -- bracing herself to endure an afternoon of sex with someone she suspected was actually about 30 years her senior.
Taylor doubted that her client could relate to someone who had grown up black and poor in the South Bronx. While he summered on Martha's Vineyard, she'd likely pass another July and August working retail in Times Square.
A love match it wasn't. But then again, this was no ordinary date.
A month prior, faced with about $15,000 in unpaid tuition and overdue bills, Taylor and her roommate typed "tuition," "debt," and "money for school" into Google. A website called SeekingArrangement.com popped up. Intrigued by the promise of what the site billed as a "college tuition sugar daddy," Taylor created a "sugar baby" profile and eventually connected with the man from Greenwich. ("Taylor" is the pseudonym she uses with men she meets online. Neither she nor any of the other women interviewed for this article permitted their real names be used.)
In her profile on the site, Taylor describes herself as "a full-time college student studying psychology and looking to meet someone to help pay the bills." Photos on the site show her in revealing outfits, a mane of caramel-colored hair framing her face. But unlike other dating sites, where a user might also list preferred hobbies or desired traits, Taylor instead indicates preferences for a "sugar daddy" and an "arrangement" in the range of $1,000 to $3,000 a month.

Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.
The past few years have taken an especially brutal toll on the plans and expectations of 20-somethings. As unemployment rates tick steadily higher, starting salaries have plummeted. Meanwhile, according to Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a professor of psychology at Clark University, about 85 percent of the class of 2011 will likely move back in with their parents during some period of their post-college years, compared with 40 percent a decade ago.
Besides moving back home, many 20-somethings are beginning their adult lives shouldering substantial amounts of student loan debt. According to Mark Kantrowitz, who publishes the financial aid websites Fastweb.com and Finaid.org, while the average 2011 graduate finished school with about $27,200 in debt, many are straining to pay off significantly greater loans.
Enter the sugar daddy, sugar baby phenomenon. This particular dynamic preceded the economic meltdown, of course. Rich guys well past their prime have been plunking down money for thousands of years in search of a tryst or something more with women half their age -- and women, willingly or not, have made themselves available. With the whole process going digital, women passing through a system of higher education that fosters indebtedness are using the anonymity of the web to sell their wares and pay down their college loans.
"Over the past few years, the number of college students using our site has exploded," says Brandon Wade, the 41-year-old founder of Seeking Arrangement. Of the site's approximately 800,000 members, Wade estimates that 35 percent are students. "College students are one of the biggest segments of our sugar babies and the numbers are growing all the time."
Wade identifies clients who might be students on his site by a .edu email address, which the site verifies before it will allow a profile to become active. Currently, 82,510 profiles on the site contain one or more of the following keywords: school, college, university, money for school, student debt, college debt, tuition or college expenses. Wade says 110,126 women and 25,363 men list "student" as their occupation.
Wade rewards students who use a .edu email address to register on Seeking Arrangement by automatically upgrading their free, basic membership to a premium membership, allowing them to send unlimited free messages and granting them exclusive access to the site's cadre of VIP sugar daddies. The site also includes a complimentary stamp on sudent profiles, certifying them as a "college sugar baby."
Wade sees his company as providing a unique service, a chance for "men and women living through tough economic times to afford college." He bristles at the notion that he's merely running a thinly veiled, digital bordello, choosing instead to describe his site as one that facilitates "mutually beneficial relationships."
Taylor doesn't explicitly refer to what she was doing in Greenwich as prostitution, but she now allows that her primary motivation was, indeed, money. She and her host ended up in his bedroom, where he peeled off her bikini.
"I just wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible," recalls Taylor, forcing out a nervous smile. "I just wanted to get out of that situation as safely as possible, pay off my debt, and move on."
While she and her host hadn't agreed to a set amount of money, on the drive back to the train station in Greenwich he handed her $350 in cash. She pocketed the envelope, seeing it as decent money for half a day's work. But once on the train and no longer worried for her safety, she started to agonize over what she had just done.
"I never thought it would come to this. I got on the train and I felt dirty. I mean, I had just gotten money for having sex," says Taylor, who never heard from the guy in Greenwich again. "I guess I accomplished what I needed to do. I needed the money for school. I just did what needed to be done."
And she's still doing what needs to be done. With tuition due in September to pay for her last semester of college, Taylor's back on the hunt for other, more lucrative online hookups.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
"It's a very expensive job," says Jack, a 70-year-old sugar daddy, who describes himself as a "humanitarian" interested in helping young women in financial need. Jack isn't the name that appears on his American Express black card, but an identity he uses when shopping online for companionship and sex.
Jack says he meets up twice a week with a young woman from Seeking Arrangement. He typically forks over about $500 a night -- and that's not including lavish dinners at Daniel or shopping excursions on Madison Avenue.
"Unlike a traditional escort service, I was surprised to find such an educated, smart population," says Jack, during cocktail hour recently at the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan. He said he lives next door in a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park South and pays $22,000 a month in rent.
In his profile on Seeking Arrangement, Jack describes himself as a 67-year-old with a bachelor's degree. Prior to retiring, the divorced Charleston, S.C., native says he founded four financial services companies. But after taking a big hit in the financial crisis and being forced to downsize, Jack says he had to part ways with his private jet due to what he describes as "reduced circumstances." On the site, he lists his annual income as $1 million and his net worth as something between $50 and $100 million.
While sugar babies can create profiles on Seeking Arrangement free of charge and a regular sugar daddy membership costs $50 each month, Jack pays $2,400 a year to belong to the Diamond Club. For a sugar daddy willing to pay up, the site says it verifies his identity, annual income, and net worth and then ensures his profile gets the most traction by continually allowing it to pop up in the top tier of search results.
Educated, debt-ridden 20-somethings happen to be an age demographic that intersects nicely with Jack's preferences. "I only go out with girls 25 and under," says Jack, whose thick head of white hair and bushy eyebrows form a halo around a red, flushed face. "But I can't walk into a bar and go up to a 25-year-old. They'd think I'm a pervert. So, this is how I go about meeting them."
As he continues, he repeatedly glances over his shoulder to make sure no one is listening.
"Most of these young women have debt from school," says Jack, who finds most young women also carry an average of $8,000 in credit-card debt. "I guess I like the college girls more because I think of their student debt as good debt. At least it seems like I'm helping them out, like I'm helping them to get a better life."
"By the way, how old are you?" he asks, inching closer.
"Older than 25," I respond.

Wade, who started Seeking Arrangement back in 2006, can easily identify with the Jacks of the world. He created the site for fellow high-net-worth individuals who "possess high standards but don't have a lot of time to date the traditional way."
Wade, whose legal name is Brandon Wey, says he changed his name to better appeal to his clientele. "They're more familiar with Hugh Hefner than with some Asian guy from Singapore," he explains. Wade got the idea for Seeking Arrangement more than 20 years ago, while in college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Watching from the sidelines as his beautiful dorm mates pursued significantly older, moneyed men, Wade fantasized about someday becoming one such man. After business school at MIT and stints at General Electric and Microsoft, Wade dabbled in various start-ups before finally creating his own.
Awkward and shy, he started Seeking Arrangement in part because of his own inability to attract younger women. "To get the attention of the girl I really wanted to meet, I was kind of at the mercy of the statistics of traditional dating sites. I'd write hundreds of emails and only get one or two replies," says Wade, who is now divorced. He says married men account for at least 40 percent of the site's sugar daddies. Sugar babies outnumber sugar daddies by a ratio of nearly 10 to 1. Wade declined to disclose how much money he makes from the site. With more than 115,000 sugar daddies averaging $50 a month in membership fees, and some paying more to belong to the exclusive Diamond Club, it's safe to assume Wade's investment has more than paid off -- and that's not even including advertising revenue.
Debt-strapped college graduates weren't included in his original business plan. But once the recession hit and more and more students were among the growing list of new site users, Wade began to target them. The company, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, now places strategic pop-up ads that appear whenever someone types "tuition help" or "financial aid" into a search engine. And over the past five years, Wade says he's seen a 350 percent increase in college sugar baby membership -- from 38,303 college sugar babies in 2007 to 179,906 college sugar babies by July of this year.
At The Huffington Post's request, Seeking Arrangement listed the top 20 universities attended by sugar babies on the site. They compiled the list according to the number of sugar babies who registered using their .edu email addresses or listed schools' names on their profiles. New York University tops the list with 498 sugar babies, while UCLA comes in at No. 8 with 253, and Harvard University ranks at No. 9 with 231. The University of California at Berkeley ranks at No. 13 with 193, the University of Southern California ranks at No. 15 with 183, and Tulane University ranks at No. 20 with 163 college sugar babies.
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Seeking Arrangement is hardly the only website with a business model that revolves around the promotion of sugar daddy and sugar baby relationships. More than half a dozen websites advertise such services.
For instance, SeekingTuition.com offers college students "who need that special education from wealthy benefactors. Find that special someone to help you with books, dorm, rent or tuition today!" Meanwhile, SugarDaddyMeet.com defines a sugar baby as an "attractive and young woman. Beautiful, intelligent, and classy college students, aspiring actresses or models."
While more conventional dating site Match.com claims 20 million members and OkCupid.com claims 3.5 million members, "sugar websites" generally contend with more modest, though growing, user bases. According to online dating entrepreneur Noel Biderman, unlike conventional dating sites, "arrangement-seeking" websites are the only ones where women consistently outnumber men. Biderman says the lone exception to this rule is eHarmony.com, where far fewer men ultimately complete its lengthy, required questionnaire.
Biderman, the 39-year-old founder and CEO of Avid Life Media, runs a number of arrangement-seeking sites. He's also the creator of AshleyMadison.com, which is a website for married people looking to have affairs.
Currently, Avid Life Media operates two websites that promote what the company calls "mutually beneficial relationships." Over the past year in particular, Biderman says he's seen college-educated women signing up in droves.
On one such site, EstablishedMen.com, Biderman estimates that 47 percent of its 1.3 million members are women currently enrolled in college. And on ArrangementSeekers.com, he says 31 percent of its 387,000 members are female college students.

Much like Seeking Arrangement's Google ads, Biderman advertises his arrangement-seeking websites on MTV and VH1, since both television stations appeal to the demographic he covets.
After sampling the profiles of some of the women on his sites, Biderman concludes their debt, combined with a weak economy, has many clamoring for a sugar daddy to call their own. Their search makes sense to Biderman, who volunteers that, while now married, he would have made for an excellent sugar daddy in his younger days.
"Let's say you're a recent graduate, with $80,000 in debt and a job that pays $35,000 a year. It's tough to pay that amount of debt down, live in a decent city and still be able to socialize and do fun things. At some point, you'll have to start making major sacrifices," he says. "But what if all of a sudden, the only sacrifice is the age or success level of your boyfriend or some guy you occasionally hang out with? That becomes a real game-changer in how you get to live your life."
Biderman finds some women seek arrangements to help get them through a particularly difficult week or month, while others saddled with significantly more debt might search for a longer-term, more lucrative hookup. Either way, Biderman sees men wanting "young, vivacious arm candy while women want a guy who can take them out for a Michelin two-star dinner, take them on the trip of their dreams, or who knows, maybe they'll even find some guy to pay off their debt."
IS IT PROSTITUTION?
When Barb Brents, a professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, conducts research in various legal brothels in the state, she finds women hailing from a variety of different backgrounds. "The women tend to be from working-class or middle-class backgrounds, but a good number are from upper-class families, too," she says. Brents often finds that women turn to sex work when, in their professional lives, they're unable to make ends meet.
Brents equated modern-day college students seeking online sugar daddies to a phenomenon among young, working women nearly a century ago. During the 1910s and 1920s, some young women who worked at minimum-wage jobs during the day would supplement their meager paychecks by meeting up with male suitors at night. They'd swap companionship and sex in exchange for either a clothing allowance or rent money. Such women, explains Brents, never referred to themselves as prostitutes.
"When people think about sex work, they think of a poor, drug-addicted woman living in the street with a pimp, down on their luck," says Brents, who co-authored "The State of Sex: Tourism, Sex and Sin in the New American Heartland." "In reality, the culture is exceedingly diverse and college students using these sites are but another example of this kind of diversity."
With the exception of women who consider sex work their profession, Brents finds that nearly all the women she encounters in her research describe it as a temporary, part-time, stopgap kind of measure.
"These college women didn't see themselves as sex workers, but women doing straight-up prostitution often don't see themselves that way either," says Brents. "Drawing that line and making that distinction may be necessary psychologically, but in material facts it's quite a blurry line."
"I was thinking about going on Match but I needed help financially," says a 25-year-old student at a trade school in New York. When meeting men online, she sometimes goes by the name of Suzanne. "I guess what finally pushed me over the edge was that I needed help to pay off my loans from school."
Earlier this spring, after Suzanne got fired from her job as a waitress at a diner on the Upper East Side, a girlfriend suggested she create a profile on Seeking Arrangement. Suzanne had grown desperate after falling behind on rent. She also needed to come up with $3,000 for a trimester's worth of paralegal classes.
Suzanne already has an associate's degree in elementary education from a community college in New Jersey. Unable to find a job as a teacher's aide, she decided to enroll in paralegal classes at night. But after losing her job, the extra debt proved more than she could afford. She took out $10,000 in loans to pay for a year of school and promptly went on the hunt for a sugar daddy.
Over the past few months, Suzanne says she's gone on more than 40 dates with men from the site. She's not interested in getting wined and dined every single time. At a minimum, she hopes for at least a modicum of attraction. She's already turned down a man who weighed 400 pounds, as well as the advances of countless married men. Though desperate, Suzanne says a homewrecker she is not.
Following numerous emails and chats on the phone, Suzanne generally schedules a first meeting with a man in a public place -- a crowded restaurant, cafe or bar.
After nearly giving up on finding an arrangement, Suzanne recently met a 39-year-old college professor from Dover, N.J. So far, the two have gone on three dates. They typically meet at his house, where he usually cooks her dinner. Afterwards, they have sex.
"After all the assholes I've met, this guy's a real gentleman," says Suzanne, during a break before class. "At the end of the night, he usually gives me $400 or $500 bucks. It's not bad money for a night." While the men typically pay per meeting, Suzanne is hoping to set up an ongoing hookup. Mostly, she doesn't want the men thinking she's only seeing dollar signs, pegged to when her rent or tuition money is due.

While she does not label herself a prostitute, Suzanne's not one to mince words: "If this isn't what prostitution is called, I don't know what is."
"Under the banner of sugar daddy and sugar baby arrangements, a lot of prostitution may be going on," says Ronald Weitzer, a professor of sociology at George Washington University, where he studies the sex industry.
Weitzer says arrangement websites operate lawfully since simply advertising for a sugar daddy or sugar baby is within the realm of legality. "The only illegal aspect would be if the individual receives some kind of direct payment or material compensation for sex."
Allen Lichtenstein, a private attorney in Las Vegas who specializes in first amendment issues, affirms that in order for an exchange to be classified as prostitution there has to be a clear "meeting of the minds" that the arrangement is a quid pro quo, or exchange of sex for money. Absent an immediate sex-for-pay exchange, the legal waters grow far murkier.
"One could even consider certain marriages where there are unequal financial resources to not be overly dissimilar," says Lichtenstein. "But any relationship that is an ongoing one that's not purely about sex but may have a sexual aspect to it, you can't really classify as prostitution. It would simply cover too much ground."
But Weitzer views more extended, involved relationships -- say, a monthly stipend or dinner and occasionally having sex -- as ways for both "college girls and sex workers to camouflage what's very likely prostitution."
Weitzer sees college women as particularly susceptible to entering such an arrangement, especially during times of economic distress. "I could easily see people who have been in college at an elite university, who are paying a lot of money and racking up a ton of debt -- perhaps law school or medical students -- being more attracted to something like this, rather than someone who went to a state school or someone with little or no debt."
Weitzer also sees a potential danger for young women getting sucked into making large sums of money and later finding it difficult to abandon such a lifestyle. "The more you make, the harder it becomes to transition away from," says Weitzer, "just like high-end sex workers anywhere."
DOUBLE LIVES AND SPLIT PERSONALITIES
A year ago, Dayanara started dating an older, married executive while working as a summer intern at an investment bank in New York. The relationship quickly blossomed into a sugar daddy relationship, with him sending her a monthly allowance of $5,000 when she returned to Florida International University in the fall. The two would meet up once every few weeks, for a night out in Miami or a romantic weekend in the Caribbean.
Dayanara, now 23, would set some of the money aside for school and living expenses, often sending the remainder home to her parents in Puerto Rico. Eventually, the relationship soured. And after graduating in May with $30,000 in student loan debt and another $10,000 in credit card debt, she grew increasingly desperate.
In May, Dayanara moved back to New York. Rather than look for a job on Wall Street, she began an elaborate online hunt for other hookups. She says she's now engaged in three separate sugar daddy relationships, in addition to working part time as a topless masseuse on the Lower East Side. On her profile on Seeking Arrangement, she describes herself as a M.B.A. student from Bahrain.
An entertainment industry executive she met on the site regularly gives her $2,500 for a night of dinner and sex. Meanwhile, she's paying off her debt and saving for her dream graduate school: a Ph.D. in finance from the London School of Economics.
Her biggest fear is that one of these days she'll run into one of the bankers from her former life. "The decision was a hard one to make because if I do this and get found out, I will never have a career in this industry again," says Dayanara, whose dark eyes and tan skin allow her pretend whichever fantasy her client desires, be it a Spanish, Indian or Middle Eastern mistress.
Six of the eight women interviewed for this article mentioned the longer-term psychological toll of pretending to be someone else. Double lives and dual identities are common for both the women and men involved in sugar relationships. Lately, when Dayanara catches her reflection in a storefront window, she says she sometimes doesn't know which version of herself is staring back.
To play it safe, Dayanara and most of the women generally tell one friend where they're going. In the case of Suzanne, neither her father, who works as an emergency room physician, nor her mother, who works as a registered nurse, knows about her new job. Both Suzanne and Dayanara also have to keep their work hidden from most of their friends, fearing the stigma associated with revealing their secret.
"Some people can have difficulty integrating those two lives. You're involved in both a secret world and a public world," says Weitzer. "This type of concealment can create a lot of stress for people involved in these types of relationships. The question becomes how well you can manage this cognitive dissonance."
Besides the stress, Weitzer mentions other challenges for the college student hoping to leave sex work behind and eventually assume a nine-to-five gig. Gaps on resumes notwithstanding, the difference in pay can come as quite a shock. "For someone who's been doing it for a while, it can be difficult to stop doing it and suddenly transition into a normal job or date men without as many resources."
As two enterprising anthropology undergraduates at George Washington University, Elizabeth Nistico and Samuel Schall tackled the phenomenon of sugar daddy culture for a recent school project. Schall studied young, gay sugar babies, and Nistico explored the straight scene. Of their study's 100 participants, more than half said the money they received financed their education. On average, the relationships lasted between three and four months.
Nistico found that some of the sugar babies used the excuse of the economic downturn for behavior she thinks they would still have otherwise condoned. "We concluded that people who say they have a sugar daddy to pay off their loans are people who would already contemplate being in that relationship if the economy was doing just fine," says Nistico, whose subjects frequently mentioned the recession, a bad economy or debt as motivating factors in their decisions.
Outside the U.S., a handful of scholars in the United Kingdom recently examined shifting patterns of sexual behavior among college students tied to rising amounts of debt. Ronald Roberts and Teela Sanders, two social science professors in the U.K., contend that a combination of rising tuition, increased debt, a culture of mass consumption and low-wage work are luring students to the sex industry in greater and greater numbers. They fear that as college costs continue to rise, more students will pursue sex work.
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Roberts asked 315 college students at a university in London about their participation in sex work. The findings were stark. Nearly 17 percent said they would be willing to participate in the sex trade in order to pay for their education, while 11 percent indicated a willingness to work directly as escorts. A decade ago, only 3 percent answered in the affirmative. Today's respondents are far more likely to have peers who are working in the industry.
This past spring, two researchers at Berlin's Humboldt University reported somewhat similar findings in other parts of Europe. In Berlin, a city where prostitution is legal, they found that one in three university students would consider sex work as a viable means of financing their studies. Nearly 30 percent of students in Paris similarly responded in the affirmative. Finally, of the 3,200 Berlin students sampled, 30 percent of students working in the sex industry reported being in some amount of education-related debt.
"I attribute it to the rising cost of college and ease of loans, especially in an economy where the buying and selling of emotions and companionship is increasingly easy to afford," says Sanders, who teaches at the University of Leeds.
Roberts fears arrangement-seeking websites are but another invitation for rich men to abuse young, vulnerable women. "It's really the perfect storm of debt and a down economy, not to mention a generation of middle-class women coming of age who were raised to believed that their sexuality isn't something to be afraid of," says Roberts, a professor at Kingston University.
"I'M NOT A WHORE."
"I'm honestly surprised there aren't more college students doing this," says Jennifer, not blinking. She's a 23-year-old recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.
Fed up with young, unemployed men her own age, Jennifer recently began trawling for a sugar daddy to pay down about $20,000 in student loan debt. She also wouldn't mind a clothing allowance or rent money for her studio apartment in New York's East Village.
A week ago, she boarded a plane to Florida to spend the weekend with a 30-something banker she met on SugarDaddie.com. He told her his house was undergoing a renovation and instead drove her to a nearby hotel, where they spent the night together.
"Yeah, sure, he could have been a psycho, a killer," says Jennifer over breakfast. At nine o'clock in the morning, she's in a full face of makeup. On her profile she describes herself as a yoga teacher and personal trainer. "Barring rape or death, what's the worst thing that could happen to me?"
At the end of the weekend, the man handed her 10 crisp $100 bills. They next plan to rendezvous in Orlando in August.
Jennifer doesn't label what she's doing as prostitution. "I'm not a whore. Whores are paid by the hour, can have a high volume of clients in a given day, and it's based on money, not on who the individual actually is. There's no feeling involved and the entire interaction revolves around a sexual act," says Jennifer, who wears a $300 strapless dress purchased with money from her most recent conquest. The rest of the money, she says, went towards paying down her student loans.
"My situation is different in a number of different ways. First of all, I don't engage with a high volume of people, instead choosing one or two men I actually like spending time with and have decided to develop a friendship with them. And while sex is involved, the focus is on providing friendship. It's not only about getting paid."
Jennifer and many of the other young women realize the clock is ticking -- and it’s not ticking in their favor. In these circles, youth and beauty reign supreme, with most men preferring the company of a sugar baby in their early-to-mid twenties.
"I realize I'm not going to have it forever," Jennifer says, brushing her blond, wavy hair off to one side. "While I've still got it, I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. I mean, maybe I'll get swept off my feet. Really, anything could happen."
Andrew Lenoir contributed reporting.

Man without a Facebook

2011-08-01T00:03:00.001-07:00

Connect-the-dot masterpiece

2011-07-31T23:58:00.001-07:00

The Mona Lisa has inspired plenty of connect-the-dot conspiracies figuratively speaking, so Thomas Pavitte decided to take it to a literal level with this 6,239-dot portrait of the ultimate lady of mystery. He couldn’t find a world record of the most connected-dots activity, so he’s taken the title for himself. That works for us, but we wonder how many hidden messages lurk in his version.

Mona Lisa - 6,239 dot to dot drawing from Thomas Pavitte on Vimeo.

'I DON'T!' Kids become an internet sensation after video of marriage argument goes viral

2011-07-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

It's an exchange likely to haunt him at his bachelor party... if he ever does walk down the aisle.
Two children have become internet sensations after a video of the young pair arguing about whether or not to marry went viral.
The children, who appear to be aged five and seven, exchange a heated war of words after the young girl vows she will marry him - and he kicks, cries and screams his way out of her wedding plans.
Scroll down for video

'I will marry you!' Little Christina tells the boy they will wed, but early on he's dragging his feet

The two-and-a-half minute clip begins with a woman behind the camera asking the little girl, 'Are you gonna marry him?'

'Yeah,' little Christina says, sweetly smiling at the camera.

'Tell him,' she's urged.
'I'm going to marry you,' she proclaims. Incensed and standing her ground as the boy screams no, she badgers him with 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' and finally storms off as he begins to cry.

The camerawoman asks the boy why he's so upset.
'Because she says she's going to marry me, and that's why I'm crying,' he explains.

Shouting from the other side of the room, the girl orders him to calm down, 'I will marry you...I'm not scared of you... stop it!' she says.

'You're not the boss!' The boy isn't having it, and tells the girl he won't be walking down the aisle. She storms off

And when he stands his ground, she lets him have it.

'Fine! when you ask for some candy at my house... I will say no!' she yells.

'You cant yell at me cause you're not the boss,' he tells her.
When he turns away from the girl, she demands his attention. 'Look at me,' she commands.
But she is still ignored. 'Fine. I'm still going to marry you. You're going to marry me.'

Cleaning house: The little girl attempts to sweep the kitchen floor during the argument

The video, posted by user gumnaam000, has received 131,604 hits since it was uploaded to YouTube on July 17.

Viewers voiced a mixture of humour and outrage upon seeing the clip.

User K3VY8295 said: 'They sound like they're already married...'
And katherine11982 commented: ''Men start dragging there feet to the alter at a young age, bet he has this argument when he's older too! LMAO.'

Sweet, at first: The girl looks to the camera and smiles, telling the boy, 'I'm going to marry you,' before the furore erupts

But others weren't so amused.

intravenousradio wrote: 'this woman is the worst mother. She is clearly not only condoning the girl tormenting the boy, but she is tormenting the boy herself.
'maybe she has issues with men, and she is taking advantage of her power as an adult and a mother to wound this boy before he becomes old enough to really fight back.'

Another viewer echoed: 'This is a terribly irresponsible action. to make a video filming two kids fighting. There is nothing funny about this video at all. This poor boy is going to be miserable later in life due to his mom.'

Galeria Melissa’s public Post-it project [stop-motion video]

2011-07-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

Marilyn Sex Tape Scandal

2011-07-22T05:16:00.001-07:00

YouTube sensation Rebecca Black releases new single My Moment

2011-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Black is back with My Moment. Picture: YouTube

Rebecca Black debuts new song
My Moment takes aim at haters

HOLD on world, Rebecca Black is taking another stab at the music business with a brand new song.
The 14-year-old who became a viral sensation after releasing Friday - labelled the "world's worst song" last year - has unveiled her second single, My Moment overnight.
Watch the clip below
While the professionally-produced video clip portrays Black's new found “celebrity” life, complete with red carpet premieres and clamouring fans, she also takes aim at her detractors, singing nonsensically: "Haters, said I'll see you later. Can't talk to you right now I'm getting my paper.”
It's been a busy year for Black. In just over six months she's gone from wannabe pop starlet to global notoriety after her mother, Georgina Marquez Kelly, paid a Los Angeles record company $4000 to produce Friday.
In that time she's not only notched up more than 160 million YouTube views, she's also appeared on the Jay Leno show, has hosted MTV's online awards show and starred in a Katy Perry clip.
Whether Black's 15 minutes of fame is up or not, her Mum is adamant the teenager's music will be her ticket to the top - or at least into university.
“This is a tremendous opportunity that we believe she has been given, even though it wasn’t exactly the way we might have wanted,” Ms Marquez Kelly told the New York Times.
“We hope she can grow from it. Growing might mean ‘let’s produce five albums,’ but it might mean ‘let’s give it a try and maybe it doesn’t work.’
"If it doesn’t then she’s going to have one heck of an application essay for college.”

Family Swept over Waterfall in India Flash Flood

2011-07-18T21:42:00.001-07:00

A family in India was swept away after they were caught in a flash-flood in a river in Patalpani.
Video shows the family of five trying to cross the river when water suddenly surrounded them.
The water gains strength and washes the family over the edge.
Two of the victims were reportedly rescued from the river. The others are still missing.
150,000 people have been hit by floods in northeast India this year.
Floods are an annual occurrence in northeastern India during the monsoon season from June to September.

Family Swept over Waterfall in India Flash Flood: MyFoxDC.com

A PSA for all the sexy Princess Leias [video]

2011-07-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wanna grab a geek’s attention? Skip the Princess Leia slave attire, ladies. For the love of Wookiees and droids, try something more original.

In this new Nerd PSA, actress Kaley Cuoco addresses an important issue affecting cosplay girls across the globe: Slave Leia fatigue. With so many choices available to women who cosplay, there’s no reason everyone needs to be Slave Leia. By acting now, we can save Slave Leia for when we really need her.

Marine Asks Betty White to the Ball

2011-07-18T03:54:00.001-07:00

Forget Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. The latest hot date for the Marine Corps ball could be Betty White. Sgt. Ray Lewis posted a YouTube video appealing to the 90-year-old actress to accompany him to the big fete in November. "She's funny, she's sweet, she's mature, she's the all around perfect woman," gushed Lewis, who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He noted he'll be performing as a rapper at the ball, and promised White a good time. "I think we could laugh together," he notes. Let's hope Ray can keep up with White. He was breathing pretty hard on the vid during those crunches.

Marriage Proposal Terrifies Bride-To-Be (VIDEO)

2011-07-17T01:33:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what it would be like to have your worst nightmare and happiest moment happen within the same one minute? Just ask this bride-to-be, who went from thinking her future fiance had fallen to his death, to realizing it was all a creative, albeit terrifying, marriage proposal.

Thankfully for him, she said yes. We wonder how many other girls would have gotten over the fright that quickly. Could this possibly rival this video as the greatest marriage proposal of all time?

Watch the video and tell us what you think: is this mean or awesome?

Well That's One Way To Quit Your Job

2011-07-17T01:31:00.001-07:00

Working in fast food isn't exactly considered a dream job, so we could imagine working at one of those two-in-one fast food chains to be doubly worse. At least one employee of the Depew, New York combination Taco Bell/KFC would agree (or so we'd think) after seeing the epic way in which he quit.
As you can see in the photo above, Adam was not very happy with his gig and decided to go out with a bang, printing the message "I quit - Adam / **** you :)" on the readerboard outside. In the news segment below from Channel 4 we learn why he left his night shift manager duties. Apparently he was mad about having to work on July 4 -- after 22 days without a day off.
Adam, you may not have an income right now, but welcome to the "awesome way to quit your job" club.

Employee announces he quit on sign: wivb.com

Timberlake to Marine: It's a Date

2011-07-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

It's Justin Timberlake's turn in the hot seat over a date request from a Marine, and backed into a corner at a media event, Timberlake said yes, reports People. "I'll tell you what: I accept," he said, "But not because she shouted out one of my songs, which I do love. And not because she had all those beefcake military guys behind her to intimidate me." Rather, despite what you might think, "I don't get asked out," says Timberlake. "Ever. So I was very flattered by that." Kunis, meanwhile, denies rumors that she ever backed out of her date with a Marine.

UFOs over London explained

2011-07-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

New videos appear to show UFOs hovering over London. But our resident skeptic Ben Radford shares five reasons why he thinks it's probably a hoax. Martin Berman reports.
Full story at Discovery News.

How to easily transfer your Facebook friends to Google+

2011-07-16T09:35:00.001-07:00

The Household Hacker explains how to transfer all your Facebook friends to Google+ in one fell swoop. The secret to the big transfer lies in Facebook’s partnership with Yahoo. Sneaky.

How To Speak Like Kristen Stewart

2011-07-16T00:42:00.001-07:00

The 16-Year-Old Bride And Her 51-Year-Old Husband Give Their First Interview

2011-07-16T00:40:00.001-07:00

Epic Pool Jump

2011-07-16T00:34:00.001-07:00

do NOT try this at home.
What you're about to see is a guy doing a gainer into a pool chair. It may sound easy, but you'll just have to watch the video to see how impressive it is. And if you're not convinced, maybe the celebratory cheers from the jumper's bros will make you come around.

Meet Rebecca Black Pal: 'That Girl in Pink'

2011-07-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

Benni Cinkle handles her fame with maturity

Rebecca Black isn't the only one who got noticed in her Friday video: Her friend Benni Cinkle became an Internet sensation in her own right as "that girl in pink" dancing next to her. She's been endlessly photoshopped and turned into animated GIFs, but good luck if you're out to make fun of her. Tom Blunt at the Hairpin writes that the now-14-year-old has handled it all with humility, grace, and a nice sense of humor. She's also using her newfound fame to help charity.
"She has danced (less awkwardly) with a flash mob for Japan relief, walked for cystic fibrosis, and auctioned her artwork to benefit the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity," writes Blunt. She also has her own website and, yes, a single of her own coming out soon. "Rebecca and I just thought the whole thing was crazy," she says. Click to read Blunt's Q&A with Benni and her mom. Or here to read why you can't watch that once-ubiquitous Friday video anymore.

Hollywood Wants You for Its First 'Social Movie'

2011-07-14T04:16:00.001-07:00

Crowdsourced thriller 'Inside' issues online casting call

Social media meets Hollywood thriller in online movie project Inside, billed as the first "social film." Star Emmy Rossum wakes up in a locked room with no way to communicate with the outside world except a laptop, which she uses to communicate with her social network—played by real users of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The film's website invites users to audition via YouTube, reports the Guardian.
After filming begins on July 25, producers say segments of the movie will be released every couple of days across different social media platforms, with users invited to respond and help create the next installment, CinemaBlend reports. After three weeks, the entire project, including user content, will be edited into a single movie.

HYUNA 'Bubble Pop!'

2011-07-11T06:33:00.001-07:00

If The Internet Was Real

2011-07-11T06:31:00.001-07:00

Cher Lloyd - 'Swagger Jagger'

2011-07-11T06:30:00.001-07:00

Candy Pizza - Epic Meal Time

2011-07-11T06:27:00.001-07:00

M240 Rampage!

2011-07-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

Beyonce 'Best Thing I Never Had' Video Features Lingerie, Wedding

2011-07-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

The best thing Beyonce never had? Well, clothing, for starters...

Actually, it's an unnamed man who scorned her back in 1998, according to the brand spankin new video for her latest single, "The Best Thing I Never Had." The second track off her new album, "4," which premiered at number one on the Billboard Charts, the song is a ballad of love and revenge, with her lingerie moments matched to vindictive lines, and later, her wedding (not to Jay-Z, mind you) touching on the positive outcome of her heart break.

It is, to say the least, quite the transition from her first single off the album, "(Girls) Run The World."

For more simmering Beyonce, check out her performance at Glastonbury.

Megan Fox’s Eye-Popping Armani Beauty Campaign

2011-07-08T00:33:00.000-07:00

Megan Fox is a pretty face! The former Transformers actress posed for the Giorgio Armani beauty campaign, and opened up in the behind-the-scenes videos about what makes her feel beautiful, and what she believes is her best feature. Megan married her longtime love Brian Austin Green last year and seems to be settling in as the role of a stepmom to his son Kassius. She says in her Armani vid:

“I think that what affects me the most is when my eight-year-old stepson tells me I’m beautiful.”

As for her favorite feature, the actress reveals, “I like my eyes the best and I like to emphasize them.”

Aside from her sexy new Armani ads, Megan has been making headlines ever since Shia LaBeouf started promoting the new Transformers movie (of which Megan is not apart of). Shia implied to Details Magazine that he had “hooked up” with Megan while they were filming the first two action movies. He told the publication:

“Look, you’re on the set for six months, with someone who’s rooting to be attracted to you, and you’re rooting to be attracted to them. I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation.”

Raw Video: Suicide Bomber Strikes Kabul Hotel

2011-06-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

Adelaide girl an internet sensation

2011-06-29T03:57:00.001-07:00

Watch Maddy Zammit the Adelaide teenager whose Facebook song has become a YouTube sensation.

VIDEO: Adelaide girl an internet sensation

Haflong Puan Sawp Hnatlang

2011-06-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Aniston As You've Never Seen Her Before: Super Raunchy

2011-06-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

Almost two decades in to being one of America's Sweethearts, Jennifer Aniston is reaching a new high -- by going for a new low.
Aniston, as has been consistently highlighted, stars in the upcoming hard-R film, "Horrible Bosses," the tale of three men (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day) who want to murder their, well, horrible bosses. Aniston plays one of those awful employers, a sexual harassment-happy dentist with a very non-traditional definition of rape.
And order in which she eats her courses at dinner.
Kevin Spacey and a barely recognizable Collin Farrell take on the roles of the other two bosses, while Jamie Foxx, as Motherf*cker Jones, plays a hitman inspiring the three beleaguered employees to pull off the killings.
This new trailer gives the most graphic details of the film yet; come July 8th, all the horribleness will be in full view.
<a href='http://video.uk.msn.com/?mkt=en-gb&vid=2tuh810e&from={from}' target='_new' title='Exclusive RED BAND Trailer: Horrible Bosses' >Video: Exclusive RED BAND Trailer: Horrible Bosses</a>

Al Qaeda Threat Highlighted In National Gun Control Ad Campaign

2011-06-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON -- Hoping to maintain a bit of political pressure on Congress and the White House, a prominent gun control advocacy group is turning recent, foreboding statements from an al Qaeda operative into a national ad campaign.
The Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group of more than 600 mayors, released a new spot on Tuesday highlighting a video statement from Adam Gadahn, an American-born spokesman for al Qaeda, that urged followers to exploit a U.S. gun show loophole.
"The latest al Qaeda plot instructs terrorists on how to buy guns in America," the ad says, before shifting to audio of Gadahn.
The al Qaeda spokesman declares: "This is a golden opportunity. America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show ... and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check. ... So what are you waiting for?"
"Call your member of Congress," the ad concludes. "Tell them to close the loopholes that let terrorists and criminals buy guns."
The spot does clarify -- in small text at the end -- Gadahn's misleading assessment of the accessibility of firearms at gun shows. In fact, purchasers cannot obtain fully automatic assault rifles at those venues. Consumers can purchase semi-automatics.
The broader point for the coalition, however, remains the same: A loophole exists in current gun laws. Private sellers are not required to perform the same background checks at gun shows that federal licensed dealers must. By some estimations, private sales make up 40 percent of total gun show sales.
The coalition has been pushing for Congress to pass legislation to change this exception for several years now, most vocally in the aftermath of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. They've won victories around the margins but the larger goal has been elusive. The Justice Department held a series of policy-focused meetings with stakeholders, but nothing, so far, has come from those talks.
It seems the greater battle gun control advocates are fighting is simply to keep their concerns at the forefront of the political debate. The new ad linking gun control to terrorism seems calculated to remind lawmakers and government officials that promises of reform have gone unfulfilled.
The spot will run on national cable channels, including MSNBC, Fox News and CNN, for a week -- no small ad buy. It will then air at least once or twice on a Sunday show in the Washington, D.C., market, an official with the group told The Huffington Post.

What Are You Waiting For? from Fix Gun Checks on Vimeo.

Kindergartens are learning on Ipads

2011-06-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

Check out this video to come up to speed with the current state of social media. The creator is Erik Qualman of Socialnomics. Hat tip to @BrunaMartinuzzi for bringing it to my attention.

The real life C-3PO: World's most advanced robot has muscles, tendons... and ability to correct its own mistakes

2011-06-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Lohan House Arrest Commercial

2011-06-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

“During some of my time at home…” Made me LOL. Lindsay Lohan is still under house arrest… but apparently that doesn’t mean she can’t make a few bucks.

The ultimate cocktail dress

2011-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

If being the talk of the party is your goal, this robotic Truth-or-Dare cocktail dress is the way to go every time.
Created by Anouk Wipprecht, Jane Tingley and Marius Kintel for the Roboexotica festival that took place in Vienna in December of last year, the dress is sure to generate plenty of conversation, especially in the area of double entendres.

Daredroid is a biomechanic hybrid cocktail robot, which rewards players with a White Russian cocktail upon accepting and completing a game of Truth or Dare. The dress combines pneumatic technology with open-source hardware and human temperament to provide you with a freshly made White Russian cocktail. Your presence triggers the dress to produce milk, and your willingness to play a game of Truth and Dare combined with your natural charm, triggers the decision to give you more than just tepid milk.

We’ll let you imagine your own clever closing line for this one.

Full story at V2 via Gizmodo.

Four men play handball 'with a baby'

2011-06-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Several Saudi newspapers described the act as cruel but did not identify those involved or mention the child’s age.

Four Saudi men who apparently felt bored decided to kill time by playing handball at home. But instead of using a ball in the game, they used a real baby.
The four were seen hurling the helpless child between them on a video film posted on U-tube and BlackBerry handsets in the Gulf kingdom. The four appeared to be enjoying the game as they sat inside a room they turned into a playfield for their cruel and dangerous game.

Several Saudi newspapers, which carried the 32-second film, described it as cruel, savage and merciless. They did not identify those involved or mention the child’s age but he looked below two years.

“The four men appeared to be having fun as they kept hurling the poor little child like a ball…..they were doing so in a cruel, savage and merciless way,” the Arabic language daily 'Sharq' said. It was not clear how the game ended.

Canadian cash goes plastic

2011-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Canadians will soon be carrying a lot more plastic around in their wallets, but rather than following the lead of their overcharging brethren to the south, the government is switching to plastic cash, furthering the effort to thwart counterfeiters.
The polymer bills will last more than twice as long as the paper-cotton variety, and contain features such as transparent text, hidden numbers, holographic likenesses and raised ink among others. This step forward in currency will appropriately enough also celebrate the accomplishments of Canadian science on the new bills as well.

James Verone Robs Bank For Jail Health Care

2011-06-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

James Verone said he walked up to a teller at a Gastonia, N.C. bank and handed her a note.
It said "This is a bank robbery, please only give me one dollar." Verone then told the teller he'd be sitting in a nearby chair, waiting for the police.
The 59-year-old said he did everything he could to get caught so he could receive free health care in jail.
Verone has a growth on his chest, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot. With no job, Verone thought his desperate plan was the best way to provide for himself.
Verone was charged with larceny.
Courtney Boyd Myers at The Next Web notes Verone's plot provides clear evidence of a flawed medical system.
"As his fellow American, I have to say, our national health care is in a very sad state," Myers writes.
Though Verone said he's receiving good care in jail, Slate previously reported that health care in prison is at best as good as a low-income health plan and at worst, almost nonexistent.
From Slate:

The majority of ailments are treated on-site, but inmates who are gravely ill can be taken to the nearest hospital. Sick prisoners must make a nominal co-payment for each visit to the jailhouse doctor—usually $5 or so, taken from an hourly wage that typically runs between 19 cents and 40 cents an hour. Costs above that are covered by the state.

It's been more then a year since President Obama signed landmark health care reform legislation. The bill was designed to provide health insurance to millions of Americans who currently lack it. But one year later, the number of uninsured remains roughly the same. That's largely because most of the bill's major elements aren't due to be implemented for another three years.
This month, Republican governors fought against federal rules requiring states to maintain current levels of health-care coverage for the poor and disabled.
There is also an effort, spearheaded by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) to change Medicare from a government run program to a voucher system. Critics of the plan said it would mean seniors would have to pay more out of pocket for care.
Late last week, AARP, a powerful lobbying group for older Americans, said it was open to cuts in Social Security benefits.
Verone's plan was to go to jail for three years, then be released in time to start collecting Social Security.

Wild Turkey Commercial - Give 'em the Bird

2011-06-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

A message from Dexter

2011-06-20T05:06:00.001-07:00

Great white sharks

2011-06-19T03:04:00.001-07:00

Diver Brett Rapp's amazing video of great white sharks feeding off Neptune Island

VIDEO: Great white sharks

Clovis High School Senior Class Lip Sync To Bon Jovi And Katy Perry

2011-06-19T02:39:00.000-07:00

In a single take, seniors from Clovis High School take viewers on an 11-minute, unedited lip-syncing journey through campus grounds and the many facets of student life.
Nearly all 600 graduates participated in the choreographed routine, revealing some serious hidden musical talents among the school's diverse student body. Cheerleaders, gymnasts, football players, and bookworms took center stage, dancing, flailing, and mouthing lyrics to the harmonious classics: "Livin' on a Prayer," by Bon Jovi and Katy Perry's "Firework."
Chrissy Prandini, the school's activities director, told the LA Times:

"We thought it would be a great way to showcase the school spirit, unity and contributions of this senior class."

'Kid Playing Dance Central Disturbia On Hard' Could Break The Internet

2011-06-19T02:35:00.000-07:00

If there's a surge on Kinects over the weekend, we're pretty sure we know why. This kid stopped people dead in their tracks at the Microsoft store in Bellevue, WA with his amazing dance moves... and now he's stopping the Internet, too. We're curious if he's an employee's son, or maybe the store just has him on retainer. Either way, this kid deserves a commission.

The man who wandered around London pretending real-life was Facebook

2011-06-19T02:27:00.001-07:00

All time best break up songs

2011-06-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

It's time for the Kleenex and a few good steering wheel bangs—it's time to talk about break up songs. For such universal heartache, Shine from Yahoo! rounds up the all time greatest break up tunes. Here are just a few:

Pictures of You, The Cure

Don't Speak, No Doubt

Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake

Korea’s Susan Boyle moment…only more so

2011-06-18T22:43:00.001-07:00

Some people seem to have it all, and some have one very incredible thing that they might not even realize is something very special. Congratulations to Sung-bong Choi and don’t forget to grab a Kleenex before watching the video.

Zoram Hmangaihtu: Lalruatpuii

2011-06-18T07:57:00.001-07:00

Final trailer for Harry Potter finale

2011-06-18T06:51:00.001-07:00

Lioness tries to eat baby at the zoo

2011-06-18T05:11:00.001-07:00

Killer Elephants

2011-06-15T08:41:00.001-07:00

Humans might think we’re head of the animal kingdom, but there are still places where wild animals remind us who’s boss.

In villages in north east India hundreds of people have been killed by rampaging elephants, but what has turned the beasts deadly?

Heading into these wild warzones, to explore the places where battles between people and animals still rage, is zoologist and predator expert Dave Salmoni.

No stranger to danger, having previously confronted mean-eating tigers and hippos from hell, Dave finds himself on the front line of a deadly conflict between humans and elephants.

The residents of villages in north east India have been waging war against the planet’s largest land mammals as they try to defend their homes and crops from attack.

But with hundreds of people having been killed by the rampaging beasts over the last ten years, the terrified residents are becoming desperate.

The animal expert will try to discover what has made the elephants so dangerous – and what he can do to help.

http://tv.sky.com/killer-elephants

5 simple steps to the dark side

2011-06-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Mind your step

2011-06-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the last for Erik Johansson’s harrowing illusion art piece, “Mind Your Step,” to appear in Stockholm’s Sergels torg square, which no doubt provided hours of photo fun for tourists and residents alike.
As Johansson explained:

For a long time I have been doing creative retouch and surreal montages. I’ve always been quite fascinated by perspective illusions in my images and some time ago I got an idea of trying to realize one in a public space somewhere. My idea was to put a photo in an environment and actually trick people that it would have depth. Street illusions isn’t something new, but I wanted to try to make it as a photo instead of drawing and painting the streets. Photography is my medium and I wanted it to look as realistic as possible, just like my photos.

The piece was part of the Generation 7 project that gives seven young artists the chance to bring their dream project to life.

Some beautiful video footage from Japan

2011-06-12T09:29:00.002-07:00