TresSugar

Smarty Pants Prove Brainiacs in Spelling and Philosophy

CitizenSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:59 -0700

Great minds think alike - wisdom isn't wasted on the young. This weekend an Oregon man won this year's Great American Think-Off, a national philosophy competition asking ordinary people to debate extraordinary questions. This year's question was, "Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?"

Craig Allen, of West Linn, OR, won a gold medal this weekend when a live audience in New York Mills decided he was most convincing when arguing that the system of immigration and immigration policy is broken and that it encourages an influx of illegal immigrants and poses a threat to the country.

During the debate, the four finalists touched on what it means to be an American and stressed that American identity is evolving. He wasn't the only adult winning laurels for being a smarty pants this weekend.

Larry Grossman won this year’s senior national spelling bee correctly spelling the word “debouch” and snatching victory. Grossman, a Northwood, ND resident is a teacher and has won the North Dakota state spelling bee six times already. “This is a great feeling. ‘Great’ doesn’t seem like a very adequate word but that’s all I can think of on short notice.”

The event, hosted by AARP, had about forty-seven competitors from twenty-four states in this year’s senior bee. Those competing were invited following wins in recent regional bees and were required to be fifty years of age or older. The winner received $500 and some big ol' bragging rites. Rights. Writes. Aw, ask Larry.

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Found! The Musings of Some "Syco"

GiggleSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Sheesh! Just eat the damn nachos and get on with it already.

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"Kid Nation" Kid Cracks Me Up

GiggleSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:45:59 -0700

Meet Jared. He's the resident Socrates on "Kid Nation." Don't be fooled by his youth or his scrawny appearance or his penchant for hippie-cowboy fusion wear, cuz he's a real brainiac. He can (almost) recite Shakespeare, plans to complete 20 or so years of college, and like MLK, he's got a dream. He's not sure what that dream entails at this point, but at least he's got one.

Would You Show Your O-Face For an Alt-Porn Website?

TresSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Years ago, I was approached by a filmmaker who asked if I wanted to participate in a documentary he was doing about (get ready for it!) what people's faces look like when they're having an orgasm. "You can either be alone while I film you," he told me as I looked increasingly wary, "or you can bring your girlfriend or boyfriend in to 'help' you. It will just be me and the camera."

It was, alas, an offer I could refuse. But the idea of capturing someone's face at the moment of orgasm hasn't gone away. Beautiful Agony is an alternative-porn site that recently hit its five-year anniversary. "Sexy doesn't need to be obscene" is one of its philosophies, and what started as an experiment has turned into a full-on website "dedicated to the beauty of human orgasm."

There's no nudity (only video footage of heads and shoulders) and most of the videos are accompanied by a "confessional" interview where the O-face contributor talks about masturbation, sexuality and sexual secrets. Is this something you'd be interested in participating in?

Cleveland: Future Host of the 2014 Gay Games

TresSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:42:00 -0700

While America's first family arrives in Denmark with hopes of bringing the 2016 Olympic Games home to Chicago, Cleveland, OH, has just been awarded the 2014 Gay Games! The sports and cultural event should attract more than 10,000 athletes, along with spectators ready to spend millions of dollars. In fact, the games can generate up to $80 million in economic impact.

The Gay Games were started in 1982 by US Olympic decathlon competitor Tom Waddell, who has since lost his battle with AIDS. The event's philosophy is that "doing one's personal best should be the paramount goal in any athletic endeavor." Anyone can participate, regardless of his or her sexual orientation or skill level, and competitors represent their cities, not their countries.

Cities like New York and San Francisco have hosted the Gay Games, but it's fun to see a less predictable location choice like Cleveland. Would you check it out?

Don't Know Much About Philosophy?

GiggleSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Well, Friedrich "God is dead" Nietzsche wants to tell you why Immanuel "There is nothing higher than reason" Kant is a loser. Think the election stuff is over? Wait until you get a load of this attack ad! ("I am Friedrich Nietzsche und I approve of this message.")

Richard Dawkins Funds Atheist Camp For Kids

TresSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Famous atheist Richard Dawkins has put his money behind a Summer camp for kids - you can think of it as the anti-Jesus Camp.

At atheist Camp Quest, kids aged 8-17 learn about rational skepticism, moral philosophy, ethics, and evolution - while enjoying traditional camp activities. According to those involved, the project is not about changing what kids think, but about changing the way they think.

Do you think kids should be able to go to camp and just have fun, or is it valuable to include an emphasis on religious or ideological values?

Smart B*tches, Trashy Books Defend the Romance Novel

TresSugar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan have helped romance readers discern the good smut from the bad for years with their blog Smart B*tches, Trashy Books. And now with their book Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, they offer a guide through the heady world of the $5.99 novel and defend it with wit and intelligence. First they told us who really reads these things, and today we ask why romance novels deserve respect and what they tell us about society, and Candy and Sarah make the genre sound like the college course we all missed out on!

What do romance novels tell us about women, relationships, and society? Why do they deserve more respect?

Sarah: Romances are a billion dollar industry of women writers working to produce narrative fiction for an audience largely comprised of women. No, nothing feminist or subversive about that at all. The industry and the genre are long overdue for critical attention, especially because the whole of the genre's history parallel major shifts in the social and political status of women in the US. Romance novels represent an anthropological history of women through fictional narrative, exploring professional status, sexual agency, self-empowerment, self-actualization, and achievement of autonomy. I think that's the part that surprises new readers the most - the heroine always wins. To see Candy's answer, read more.

Candy: I think more than any other genre, romance novels are about finding emotional stability at the family level and nurturing hope. It's part of why they're so appealing, and why they've been selling like gangbusters in this economic downturn. But I really hesitate to make any kind of generalization about the overall message of romance, because the authors are every bit as diverse as the readers, and consequently, the books run the cultural gamut, from espousing fundamental Christianity to displaying a deep suspicion of religion, from endorsing authority to urging the readers to question it, from displaying a deep-seated (and oftentimes largely unconscious) homophobia to centering around gay love stories.

Romance novels deserve more respect because they're the whipping boys for no goddamn reason that I can see other than a societal fear of and disdain for squishy emotions. They're no better and no worse than any other genre out there, but there's this incredibly strong stigma attached. In many ways, I think my desire to see romance stop being the Rodney Dangerfield of publishing has more to do with my desire for the deeply-buried societal disdain for femininity to go away and stop wrecking our sh*t already. Romance authors are still, by and large, seen as a "damn mob of scribbling women," though they're a much bigger mob now than poor Hawthorne could've dreamt of in his philosophy.

I don't necessarily agree with Sarah - that romances as a billion-dollar industry written by and for women are feminist and subversive - because a lot of what's out there is conservative. I hesitate to say that a lot of them reinforce or are supportive of the dominant paradigm and of patriarchy, because honestly, that's the cultural medium we inhabit, and it's difficult, if not outright impossible, to step out of it completely while we're still in it. Patriarchy stll informs the fabric of our experiences, and that includes the fiction we read and write.
Ultimately, market forces are shaped by society at large, which means that the romance market as a whole tends only to be as feminist or subversive as the society as a whole. That's not to say that there aren't many wonderfully subversive feminist romances, because there are. I'm just not convinced the genre as a whole is. Romance authors are still, by and large, seen as a "damn mob of scribbling women," though they're a much bigger mob now than poor Hawthorne could've dreamt of in his philosophy.

Neda's Boyfriend Says She Just Wanted Freedom For Iran

TresSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0700

"She only ever said that she wanted one thing. She wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran."

- Caspian Makan, Neda Agha Soltan's boyfriend. Soltan (or Soltani), a 27-year-old philosophy student killed by a sniper this past Saturday during a protest of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial election, has become an icon in Iran.

Iran Bans Prayers For Opposition Martyr Neda

TresSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:10:00 -0700

She's being called the "face of Iran," "Iran's Joan of Arc," and an "Angel of Freedom" - but no matter what she's called, Neda Agha Soltani, who was shot and killed at a protest this weekend in Tehran, will live on as a defining symbol of the segment of Iran's opposition to the controversial election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The young philosophy student was shot in the heart on Saturday, presumably by government snipers. Graphic video and images of her last moments have spread around Iran and the world, making Neda a galvanizing figure for protesters.

The reaction by Iranian authorities is evidence of her power - the government has banned prayers and memorials for the young girl.

On the video of her death, a man cries: "Neda, don't be afraid! Neda, stay with me. Neda, stay with me!" Although she's dead now, it's clear that Neda will stay with Iranians struggling for more political freedoms for a long time to come.

To see a protest poster with a graphic, and now iconic, image of Neda, read more.