TresSugar

What Was That Senator?

GiggleSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Can someone please reload the senator? He's skipping again. Either that, or he didn't finish writing his speech before taking the podium and he's now stalling until a conclusion occurs to him. (Because ending his speech without a proper conclusion would just be BARBARIC!)

The Audio On This Kid Is Skipping

GiggleSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:00:00 -0700

This kid can't stress enough (15 times, to be exact) that she needs a bath. Where's the mute button when you need it? This reminds me of that "Family Guy" episode when Stewie stops at nothing to get his mother's attention. Oh, the joys of parenting.

Palin: AP Did "Opposition Research" on Going Rogue

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:25 -0800

Sarah Palin blasted the Associated Press yesterday for doing "opposition research," more commonly known as fact-checking, on her new book Going Rogue.

"Amazingly, but not surprisingly, the AP somehow nabbed a copy of the book before it was released," she said. "They're now erroneously reporting on the book's contents and are repeating many of the same things they spewed during the campaign and afterwards."

She wrote this on her Facebook page, which doesn't help her cause, but she is onto something. Going Rogue is embargoed, meaning her publisher will not release advance copies to the press before its on-sale date (tomorrow), and the press, even if it were to happen upon a copy early, is not to review it.

So what did the "opposition researchers" find? Find out after the jump.

6 Bathroom Stall Scribbles Worth Repeating

TresSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Inspired by the wealth of random bathroom graffiti on Flickr, I invited you all to share some of the best writing on the stall you've spotted. Some are clever, some are just plain random, but they all made me laugh out loud. Here are six of my faves.

My co-worker was in an airport stall when she saw the words "Toy Story 2 was okay." Just randomly written on the wall! - Spiderlove
On a stall in the women's restroom . . . "Oh crap, I thought this was the men's room!" - Hottpink
At Gold Dust Saloon in Union Square SF there was randomly, "Two Tall Black Girls Were Here," No exclamation point or anything, i thought that was pretty funny - PirateKitty
"Hahaha I f*cked ur dad!" "Go home mom you're drunk." - Proletariat

Click here to see my absolute favorite two.

Ask a Woman Unwilling to Settle: My Boyfriend Calls Me Names

TresSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Conventional Wisdom is a different kind of advice column. Your questions will be answered by people from all walks of life rather than by advice experts. If you have a question you'd like answered on Conventional Wisdom, you can submit it here.

This week, a woman unwilling to settle shares her wisdom with a distraught woman who's sick of her boyfriend calling her cruel names. October is domestic violence awareness month. Remember, just because he's not punching you in the face doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Verbal abuse is still abuse.

This week's question:

"Every time my boyfriend gets angry, I get called names. 'Bitch' is the most often one thrown at me. I have told him so many times that it hurts me but he says it's only words. Sometimes he doesn't even apologize. Yesterday, he told me a story about his friend. I told him that I had a headache. He started shouting and telling me that I just wasn't interested, that I was rude. I wanted him to shut up. He called me a bitch again! He always tells me that he would never call me anything if I didn't make him by behaving like an idiot. Once he called me pathetic. I told him I didn't like that and he said at least he didn't call me a bitch. I'm sick and tired of explaining how wrong he is. He thinks he knows better. Please help!"

Signed,

In Pain

To hear what a woman unwilling to settle thinks about this situation, read more

Dear In Pain:

GET OUT. DUMP HIM. MOVE ON. LET GO. LEAVE. DROP HIM!

The simple truth is that your boyfriend does not respect you and he certainly doesn’t value you, your feelings, or your relationship. He is literally shouting this at you. And it’s time for you to hear him, loud and clear.

I realize it’s easy to become confused in matters of the heart. But at the core of any meaningful, loving, long-lasting relationship is always going to be respect. (Trust Aretha to say it like it is!) Without that, you’ve got nothing. And that is exactly what you’ve got right now-nothing.

Your boyfriend doesn’t have the maturity, self-awareness, or emotional development to be the man you want or to offer you the relationship you deserve. (Or at least I presume you expect something more, since you’ve taken the time to write in!)

You are only fooling yourself if you think this guy is going to change. And while you continue to endure his demeaning comments and cruel behavior, you could be out there enjoying the world, meeting new people, and building a life and relationships to be proud of. What are you waiting for?

Take that next step! Show yourself a little respect and leave him and his drama behind you. And while you’re at it, ask yourself one very simple question: why are you in this situation to begin with? If you take the time to sort out your head now, you’ll spare yourself the heartache and disappointment of repeating the same pattern in the future. And at that point you'll be free to meet someone worthy of your time and your heart. Stop being so afraid to take responsibility for your own happiness and make the change now!

Source

Caster Semenya Now in Hiding, Tests Reveal She's Intersexed

TresSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

It's easy to forget that in the middle of this battle to figure out South African runner Caster Semenya's sex, there's an 18-year-old, raised as a girl, who trained hard to win the gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin last month.

Now that the IAAF's (International Association of Athletics Federations) sex test results have come back and reveal that Semenya is intersexed, she's in hiding.

The test results indicate that Semenya doesn’t have a womb or ovaries, she has internal testes and three times the amount of testosterone that an average woman would have. It is still unclear whether the IAAF will strip Semenya of her medal or bar her from future races - but her case has caused outrage all over the world. The National Assembly sports committee chairman Butana Komphela made an official complaint to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights saying that the IAAF has been racist and sexist toward Semenya. (Remember also, that she was tricked into allowing these sex tests, thinking they were testing for drugs.)

The general population knows so little about intersexed people, and we are so conditioned to believe that there are two sexes and two sexes only. The fact of the matter is, one's sex is actually determined by a complicated set of factors, including variations in chromosomes and hormones and their interaction. Gender, on the other hand, is a social construct, how we "perform" our sex. (This renders the repeated use of the term "gender testing" in news reports on Semenya's case nonsensical.)

If there's a silver lining in this sad tale, it's that more light will be shed on what some call the myth of two sexes. Stay tuned for more posts on this fascinating topic. How do you feel about how Semenya's been treated?

Britain to Impose Booze-Ban on "Antisocial" Drunks

TresSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Starting today, anyone who behaves "antisocially" while drunk can be banned from pubs, bars, and other public places in England and Wales for up to two years.

Many people in Britain believe that drastic policing like this must be used to change the culture of heavy drinking. But not everyone is on board with the latest crackdowns - or booze antisocial behavior orders (ASBO). One civil liberties activist says:

It will be jelly bean ASBO for sugared-up kids next. Surely it's time to call last orders on endless new legislation.

While this is the first time antisocial behavior orders will be handed out for public drunks, British courts have been using them to curb other bad behavior for some time now. So what else counts as anti-social behavior in the UK? Earlier this month, a man was given an animal ASBO after bees from his hives repeatedly stung the neighbors. The beekeeper was ordered to move his hives. And a magistrate judge gave another Brit an ASBO for throwing shopping carts outside a supermarket two or three times per week. The ASBO makes it criminal for the man to throw shopping carts going forward. That sounds about right.

Do you think this sort of targeted justice is the best way to solve societal problems like excessive alcohol consumption? Will telling a drunk that he can't go to pubs and bars for a couple of years change anything?

Do, Dump, or Marry? Brad Pitt

TresSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Brad Pitt is an accomplished actor and a doting dad, and his humanitarian work has made him a potential politician. He's also pretty damn hot, although I'm not sure what I think about the goatee.

As for marriage material? Jennifer Aniston infamously declared that her ex-husband was missing a "sensitivity chip." And it seems marrying Brad might get you trapped in a tabloid-fueled love triangle for many years to come.

Luckily for those of you who haven't had enough of Brad over the years, there's much more to come. His new film Inglourious Basterds comes out this weekend and the commercials for it seem to be on repeat.

Want Someone to Like You? Subtly Imitate Them

TresSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:13:24 -0700

OK, that sounds a little creepy, but it has been verified in research that people like others more when they mirror their mannerisms or actions. In other words, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and we like to be flattered.

Research has shown that waiters get bigger tips if they repeat the exact words back to customers who are ordering food, and participants in one study were even more altruistic after they were mimicked. (They were more likely to pick up pens for the researcher who dropped them if they’d been imitated earlier.) Scientists theorize that, from an evolution perspective, mimicry promotes safety in groups by being a sort of “social glue.”

What this study doesn't mention is the pure narcissistic pleasure of being imitated. So if you want to wow an interviewer, for example, subtly adopt the body posture she has - leaning forward when she does, nodding when she does. Just don't go Marcel Marceau on her! Because then it would be weird.

Vintage War Propaganda Posters - Are We Repeating History?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:00:25 -0700

World Wars I and II left us with not only a global landscape changed forever politically and historically, but two of the biggest events in the 20th century left us with a wealth of propaganda artifacts that almost tell the story better than any history book. Some of the themes championed in these beautifully designed posters of food conservation, using resources carefully, sticking with the service no matter what, and encouraging women to do their part sound like wildly familiar themes today. I mean, carpooling! As applicable as some of the sentiments may be, of course the rampant use of racist images to dehumanize the enemy renders some of the images shocking to a modern eye. Though decidedly different than the wars that left us these posters, we are still in wartime. We might not see propaganda campaigns like these posters, but you might not have to look too hard to see the same kinds of appeals to fear, appeals to prejudice, and bandwagon methods of getting the word out today. Take a look at propaganda gone by and see what looks familiar.

View Slideshow ›