TresSugar

Today Marks 30-Year Anniversary of Jonestown Mass Suicide

CitizenSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:30:12 -0800

On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 people living in the intentional community (a polite way of saying commune) Jonestown committed suicide. Their weapon of choice? A grape-flavored drink mixed with cyanide. While it wasn't Kool-Aid (generic - they were socialists!), it is where the phrase "drinking the Kool-Aid" originated.

Before Jonestown became a full-blown commune in the jungle, it was a church called the Peoples Temple. Jim Jones was its founder and powerful leader, though he also went by "Dad." Not a sign at all! With a congregation heavily dominated by African-Americans from poor communities in San Francisco, his goal was to care for parishioners. And in many ways, he did. Social programs were created; sexism was preached against; and racial integration was supported.

Nobody saw it as a cult, though. Nobody wanted to. To find out why, read more.

Jim Jones, who was head of San Francisco's Housing Authority, was active in San Francisco politics and, unlike other cult leaders, in touch with the outside world. But when reports of sexual abuse, public beatings, and staged healings emerged, Jones moved the group to Guyana, a former British Colony in South America.

California congressman Leo Ryan visited the commune with reporters after concern from family members at home arose. It was a tense trip. Dozens of members pleaded to leave with him and several did. Jones's men followed them to the airport and shot at their plane. The congressman was killed along with several reporters and escapees.

Later that day Jones told the 900 remaining members that they had no choice but to commit "revolutionary suicide." And all but a few, who pretended to be dead, did. Until 9/11, it was the greatest single, non-natural disaster loss of American life.

The Jonestown Report

The Dark Side of Cute

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Kittens in casts. Babies nudged to laugh every five seconds. Stuffed teddy bears left at killing-spree sites. We are so surrounded by the tyranny of cute that even multibillion-dollar corporations have cute names like "Google" and "Twitter," and the uncute business of insurance is represented in ads by a cute lizard with an English accent. (And yes, I too am guilty of spreading cuteness.)

What's up with the cute? Writer Jim Windolf has had enough and decided to try to get to the bottom of what he calls the "self-infantalization" of Americans. His conclusion? There's a dark, manipulative side to cute. If you want to know what it is, read more.

In Daniel Harris's book Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic, he says that there's a hidden sadism to our love of cute, citing the barrage of images of cats falling, puppies slamming into mirrors, and even babies trapped in high chairs being prodded to laugh.

"The process of conveying cuteness to the viewer disempowers its objects," he writes, "forcing them into ridiculous situations and making them appear more ignorant and vulnerable than they really are. Adorable things are often most adorable in the middle of a pratfall or a blunder." In other words, they are cute insofar as they are helpless, and we, conferrers of cute, are all-powerful.

Becoming cute, conversely, is one way of disarming opponents or critics. It's not incidental, argues Windolf, that the cult of cute in the US emerged during the Bush years, when "the American image went from that of protector to invader, from defender of human rights to aggressor on the lookout for loopholes in the Geneva Conventions." Cuteness then, according to this theory, "came about as some sort of correction, as a way for us to convince ourselves and our friends that we're not as bad as our recent national actions have made us seem." (It reminds me of smiley emoticons at the end of passive-aggressive email messages and instant messages. In this case, American cute is like a ginormous cultural smiley face emoticon tacked on the end of dubious actions telling our allies we're not all that bad.)

Windolf traces American cute back to Japan's kawaii culture, which got huge 10 years ago but actually emerged at the end of WWII after it was "humiliated and emasculated." If you're interested in political and cultural psychoanalysis, I suggest reading this long essay. But whatever you do, remember - ~~sometimes a cigar is just a cigar~~ sometimes a cute kitten isn't just a cute kitten.

Source

Cult Comedy "Office Space" Recut as a Thriller

GiggleSugar — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:00:00 -0800

"Office Space" reminded us that office work can suck. This fake trailer suggests that working in an office could be dangerous, too...

Source

Flashback: John Waters Announces No Smoking in Theater

TresSugar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Of course, while he does this, he's sucking on a cigarette and marveling at how much he's enjoying it! This director of cult classics such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Polyester takes us back to a time when it was even imaginable that someone would light up at the movies. (Late '70s, early '80s?)

Call Girl Business Cards Get Their Own Art Exhibit

TresSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Wallpaper magazine has dedicated its July issue to sex and art - two things we love at Très. Tart cards, with their clever fonts and splashy colors, especially caught my eye.
Tart cards are basically business cards for sex. For years they've lurked in London's red phone booths, explicitly advertising services and creating a cult following with their ingenuity. Now as the Internet and cell phones threaten their existence, they're no longer just accidental art but worthy of an exhibit in their honor.

Wallpaper, along with St Bride Library and Type, asked designers to dream up their own tart cards for an exhibit displaying at London's KK Outlet from June 22-29. They may not be the real cards, but seeing the concept elevated to an art form confirms their lasting impression.

Want to see real tart cards from the early '90s? Check out the gallery below.

View 10 Photos ›

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Front Page: Health Sec. Confirmation Sped Up Due to Swine Flu

TresSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:00:57 -0700

The Senate is expected to confirm Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services today, so she can quickly start her response to swine flu. - AP
Since the outbreak of swine flu, the WHO and the CDC have been trying to balance the need to provide information about the deadly disease without causing panic. - New York Times
Fox has declined to air President Obama's primetime news conference Wednesday, instead sticking with the regularly scheduled show Lie to Me. - AP
A photo op intended to capture images of an Air Force One plane with a majestic Statue of Liberty set off a panic yesterday in NYC. - AP
A cult leader being held on the French India Ocean island of Reunion for child sex charges escaped from the jail in a helicopter. - AFP
While his fiancée is still by his side, the wedding for accused "Craigslist Killer" Phillip Markoff has been called off. - People

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Tyranny Has Come to Our Shores With Potato Day

CitizenSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:30:38 -0700

Jon Stewart called out a few high-profile Republicans last night who are terrified of President Obama. One example: conservative Andrew Breitbart thinks Obama somehow made his kids' school change "St. Patrick's Day" to "Potato Day." Sounds like fascism to me!

After playing video of Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, and the like, Stewart said: "I think you might be confusing tyranny with losing." Even so, Jon didn't hesitate to point out the cult of personality surrounding Barack Obama. Did you buy your commemorative plate yet?

Watch the clip, and tell me: do you think the conservatives make a good case that Obama will take away some of our freedoms?

Introducing: The SnugWow!

GiggleSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:02:51 -0700

It was only a matter of time before The Snuggie and the Sham Wow mated to become the vestment/absorbent towel of choice for couch potatoes everywhere! Why get up to grab a paper towel because you just spilled beer or nacho cheese sauce all over your Snuggie when you can just wipe up your mess with your blanket/towel/cult member's robe? I would draw the line at taking bathroom breaks from the comfort of your couch, though. There's always the Uroclub, after all.

Headline of the Day

GiggleSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Manilow Ballads Ward Off Unruly Kiwi Kids

Christchurch city officials hope that playing songs like "Mandy" and "I Can't Smile Without You" will keep loitering teens away from its shopping district. These brats now "spread rubbish, spray graffiti, get intoxicated, use drugs, swear and intimidate patrons at the outdoor mall." I wonder if the city knew that Barry Manilow's music was considered "excessive force" by the FBI in the Branch Davidian showdown years ago with cult leader David Koresh. Either way, they have a tougher challenge it seems. "We would just bring a stereo and play it louder," said one teen miscreant. I have some advice: Play Train or Creed. That'll make 'em skidaddle. Click here to read more about these punkasses.

Product of the Day: The Snuggie

GiggleSugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:15:00 -0800

I love the arguments for why you need the Snuggie (which is essentially a blanket with sleeves). Blankets are inferior, because "they slip and slide." And with a blanket, there's the risk that your hands can "get trapped inside" while you're on the couch watching the teevee. (It's very hard to extricate the arms from the trap that is your regular blanket!) But the biggest benefit of the Snuggie: The Blanket with Sleeves, in my opinion, is that if you wear it with your whole family, you all will look like you belong to some weird cult. (I wonder what's better, the Snuggie, or the Slanket?)