TresSugar

Should Wal-Mart Censor Artists?

TresSugar — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:00:00 -0700

It seems fair for a store to make decisions about what it wants to sell. For example, if an owner of a small business opposes vulgarity, she might pass on selling CDs with explicit language.

When Wal-Mart, the largest record store in the country, refuses to sell an artist's record because it contains bad language and insists that it will do so only after the band has released an edited, "clean" version - this is de facto censorship, and, in my opinion, an abuse of corporate power.

Green Day's album "21st Century Breakdown" won't be sold in Wal-Mart because the band refused to edit it for language and content, and knowing their reputation, probably never will. Basically, Wal-Mart is preventing a large portion of an artist's audience from enjoying the artist's authentic work.

Do you think Wal-Mart should be allowed to dictate these standards to artists? Should Green Day suck it up and release a Wal-Mart friendly version?

Things Not to Say to Your Wife: The Song

GiggleSugar — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0700

The things on the list should go without saying, but some dudes need reminding. I especially love how this comedian replaces Green Day's lyric, "It's something unpredictable/but in the end it's right," with "If you're a man who doesn't want to get killed with a knife. . ." Tee hee.

Green Day + Kelly Clarkson = Ponk Rock

GiggleSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Most punks don't really think Green Day is punk, but compared to Kelly Clarkson, they're pretty hard core. Who would've thunk that their musical stylings could blend? Some genius came along, mashed up one of Green Day's live performances with one of Kelly Clarkson's, and created a new hit ~~pop/punk~~ ponk song. (It's not Run DMC meets Aerosmith, but it's pretty good, and it's still more punk than Avril!)

Girl Crush of the Day: Isabella Rossellini

GiggleSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0700

The divine Isabella Rossellini is not only beautiful (getting genes from Ingrid Bergman didn't hurt) and talented (Blue Velvet, anyone?), but also totally offbeat and funny. Here she is on the Sundance Channel's second installment of its Green Porno series telling us about the fascinating sex life of the limpet sea creature.

Get a load of this: The limpet (a sequential hermaphrodite) starts off sexless. Then it turns female. Next, it's joined by another sexless limpet that turns male. (Are you still with me?) They mate, the female dies, and then the male closest to her turns female himself. Wow. Honestly, Isabella could read the directions on a shampoo bottle and I would be rapt in fascination. And note, all ye who think you need to Botox, lift, and collagen your way into beauty after 40 - this is what gorgeous after forty looks like. (Click here to watch more awesome Green Porno videos.)

Headline of the Day

GiggleSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 03:00:00 -0700

N.H. Judge Rhymes Ruling To 'Green Eggs And Ham'

Court rulings have become the stuff of child's play. A New Hampshire inmate filed a lawsuit because prison officials will not feed him a kosher diet. To get the court's attention (or just be a smart ass), the inmate attached a hard-boiled egg to his complaint. The presiding judge responded with:

"I do not like eggs in the file. I do not like them in any style. I will not take them fried or boiled. I will not take them poached or broiled. I will not take them soft or scrambled Despite an argument well-rambled...No fan I am Of the egg at hand. Destroy that egg! Today! Today! Today I say! Without delay!"

Long live Dr. Seuss! To read more, click here.

Source

Stranger Than Fiction: Berlin Brothel Goes Eco Green

TresSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

With nary a hill, Berlin is a great city to ride a bike in and with legalized prostitution, it's also a great place to ride a . . . Anyway! Everyone is looking for ways to lighten their carbon footprint, especially when it disguises a marketing campaign. Maison d'envie, a Berlin brothel, is no exception. It's offering a $7 discount on its usual $100 fee to customers who bike their way in.

The recession has hit the prostitution industry so it makes sense that if a green hostel was going to grow, it would bloom in über-eco-conscious Germany. With three to five new customers taking advantage of the deal each day, owner Thomas Goetz said, "It's good for business, it's good for the environment - and it's good for the girls."

Source: Flickr User Mirosim

Do, Dump, or Marry? Jason Jones

TresSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:30:00 -0700

The Daily Show ~~faux~~ reporter Jason Jones has traded in his green screen for the backdrop of election-time Iran. Footage recorded by the curly-haired hottie recorded for 10 days in late May and early June will air next week. For the segment called "Jason Jones in Iran: Access of Evil," not only did Jones attend a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he also interviewed an underground rapper and a feminist blogger.

Some little known facts about the adventurous Jason? He grew up in Canada, minored in botany in college, and is married to fellow Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee. (We can forget that fact for our purposes).

Source

Prep Talk: Justifying Hazing at Boarding School

TresSugar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:00:00 -0700

High school girls have many ways of punishing each other, the silent treatment being a classic tactic. But what about seniors marching through dorms with the precision of the gestapo, lining up freshmen, yelling at them, making them perform chores, and forcing them to count to 100 in German? It's not reform school - it's an annual ritual at Miss Porter’s, an all-girls boarding and day school in Connecticut where Gossip Girl-sounding names are as common as class rings.

Since Miss Porter's students, graduates, and even the administration are a secretive brood, it’s hard to know which rituals continue today, but we do know traditions die hard on the leafy-green campus. The school even has its own Skull and Bones group named the Oprichniki, after Ivan the Terrible’s secret police. And while Miss Porter's denied its existence in a March New York Times article, 2007 graduate Blair Clarke confirmed it in July's Vanity Fair when she said she “crash-studied German” to join the Oprichniki.

While we can let our imaginations go wild trying to figure out what really goes on at Miss Porter's, we do know this: Tatum Bass, a former student who was expelled, is suing the school for not intervening when she was harassed by the Oprichniki. Why would an otherwise popular senior in student government earn the infamous group's ire? According to Tatum, it started after she suggested the school participate in a multischool prom. As a breach in Miss Porter’s tradition, it was a major faux pas. The taunting, she claims, led to her skipping class and cheating on a test, which led to her expulsion.

What’s shocking is not that she was expelled or that a secret society exists, but that the reaction of students and alumni was, more or less, "Buck up, Bass!" To find out how they reacted, read more.

The ability to tough it out and not go crying to parents is a quality the school proudly instills in girls. So it's no surprise that students and alumni were appalled that Bass used taunting by classmates as an excuse to cheat. Cheating aside, how is it that adults justify teens abusing teens? I found my answer in both the Vanity Fair and New York Times pieces.

Blair Clarke, the confirmed Oprichniki member, said the group never inflicts real pain, just the anticipatory fear of it. Sarah Hart Hansen, a 1974 graduate, told the New York Times, “Maybe there’s nervousness in the beginning, but it’s a bonding moment.” Ah-ha! So it’s not hazing if there’s no physical pain? What a great definition that will create loopholes for underground societies, sororities, and fraternities everywhere.

Oh Snap! The Coolest Excuse Note Ever - From the Prez

TresSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:28:56 -0700

Ten-year-old Kennedy Corpus of Green Bay, WI, got a handwritten note from Barack Obama himself excusing her from missing her last day of school. Her father took her to the president's town hall-style meeting at Southwest High School yesterday and told Obama he hoped she wouldn't get in trouble. The note reads, "To Kennedy's teacher: Please excuse Kennedy's absence. She's with me. Barack Obama." To watch a video of Obama giving Kennedy her note, read more.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Retro Is Eco: A 1970s Lifestyle Could Protect the Planet

TresSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:20:00 -0700

Want to stop climate change? Start by trying to fit into a pair of vintage bell bottoms.

A new study reveals that if the current world population was more like that of the 1970s (aka slimmer), there would be less pollution.

The report uses the UK as a case study. In the 1970s only 3.5 percent of the British population was classified as obese. Today, 40 percent of Britons fit that description.

While this larger reality undoubtedly has serious health consequences, researchers wanted to know how the weight gain impacts the environment.

Compared to the 1970s, the UK consumes 19 percent more food. The increase in food production equates to an extra 60 mega tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. There are also not-so-obvious consequences. Thanks to a heavier population, much more fuel is needed to transport modern-sized people.

So how can we get back to the environmental friendly ways (and weights) of the 1970s? Think green -as in vegetables. Three decades ago people ate larger portions of vegetables and smaller portions of meat. They also engaged in more physical activity back in the day. Can you dig it?

Source