CORRECTION: I got the basic source information for this article from an email I received from one of many animal rights groups I belong to. I did not thoroughly investigate the message, because this ruling happened on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, not earlier this week, as I stated.
Thank you to everyone who corrected me, and many apologies for my error. This is why I do not usually write news posts.
On April 20, 2010, the United States Supreme Court struck down a 1999 federal law banning animal cruelty – or “crush” – videos, showing the actual killing of cats, dogs and other small animals by stomping or other intensely cruel methods. The killings are filmed, and the DVDs are then sold to fetishists.
The Court, which voted 8-1 to strike down the law, based its decision on the fact that the 1999 law, which was passed by Congress, was too broad. Justice Samuel Alito was the only voice of reason and common decency dissenting vote. He insisted that banning the sale of crush videos was essential to stop people from abusing the animals.
For more information, see the PBS.org article, which includes a link to the complete SCOTUS decision.
If you’d like to donate to an animal protection organizations, here are some links:
You can’t talk about the ’90s fashion revival without mentioning Beverly Hills, 90210. Today’s designers are taking more than a little inspiration from the halls of West Beverly – many of their clothes seem to be taken directly from the angsty teen with a heart of gold, Brenda Walsh. From Minnesota to LA, Brenda had the perfect ensemble for any locale or occasion. Here’s how to make a few of them your own.
Summer, Summer, Summertime
June will be here any minute now. You’ll need to look your best when you frolic on the beach, and nothing says summer fun like soggy denim. You, too, can rock Brenda’s beach look above. First, pick your shade of choice from American Apparel’s many-colored Stretch Twill High-Waist Side Zipper Shorts. Let’s go with Butternut. Next, pair it with JCrew’s Stripe Button-Back Tee. According to the site, the tee is their It Silhouette of the season and everyone’s just mad over its “new boxy shape.”
To tie the ensemble together, you’re going to need a statement piece. Nothing says HBIC of the BHBC (Beverly Hills Beach Club) like a chunky belt buckle. This Melamed Vine-Buckle Belt from Sak’s is pricey, but looking better than that bitch Kelly doesn’t come cheap.
Too Sexy for Your Shirt
What if you’re traveling abroad and want to scream “sophisticated polyglot”? It won’t matter if your French accent is lacking when you’re wearing a chic peekaboo ensemble. Because when Jacques leans in and whispers “I can see your bra,” what he’s really saying is “Je t’aime.”
Warning: With a look this hot, Kelly will steal your style faster than she can steal your boyfriend.
Gotta Be Bold
Being a teenager is hard. Sometimes Brenda had the weight of the world on her shoulders; other times, it was the weight of her blazer wearing her down.
Power shoulders cost power bucks. Try this strong-shouldered Paul and Joe blazer with shawl lapel for $254.11 from The Outnet. Balance those bold shoulders with Urban Outfitter’s whimsical Square-Knot Headband.
Some people may say Levi’s Relaxed Tapered 550 Jeans are more “mom jeans” than “California teen dream jeans,” but a certain summer of ’91 pregnancy scare reminded us that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Whatta Man
Of all her varied looks, you could argue that menswear chic is the Quintessential Brenda. Tons of brands let you sport this look today even if you don’t have a twin brother’s closet to raid.
If your mother is a TV icon and money’s no object, Paul Smith’s Spring Summer 2011 Collection will meet all your menswear needs. The line features oversized, jewel-toned suits, in addition to the Bengal striped classic shirt, Tromp L’oeil trousers and spot silk tie shown below. Ditch the polka dot tie for something more colorful and fun, like this Stefano Ricci Patchwork Mixed-Design Tie, available at Neiman Marcus for $635.
If you’ll be picking up extra shifts at the diner to finance your glam ambitions, don’t fret.
Stop by American Apparel instead and pick up their Unisex Denim Long Sleeved Button-Up Shirt and Micro-Poly High-Waist Pleated Pant. Then, head over to KMart and pick up a multi-toned Structure Paisley Tie.
Don’t Just Stand There; Let’s Get to It
All that’s left to do is hit the malls. If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll never spend the morning stressing over the perfect outfit again:
Everyone knows that inevitably some day soon the virus that turns humans into zombies will be created through a mishap of evolution, God and modern science’s desire to constantly dick around with shit. When that day comes humanity will be faced with a choice: to act quickly to contain the virus or dither and allow it to tear through the human race like Gore-nado from hell. It will be down to the authorities at hand when patient zero is infected to effectively contain the virus. Popular culture tells us that government secrecy and bureaucratic incompetence are to be involved in any failure to contain the virus.
So we may hope that the outbreak takes place in Boston as this twitter exchange reveals that the Boston PD remains committed to be being forthcoming with information about any zombie attacks.
The 8 bit NES homebrew/modding scene is at it again. Not content at modding an NES to fit in to a Genesis, or modding an NES to fit in to PC, some guy got to hacking a breathalyzer in to an NES cartridge. You’ve been blowing on the cartridges forever (the only way to make them work, duh.) I already know that the only time you feel like playing Zelda is when you’re drunk (or depressed. You want to feel a sense of accomplishment, so you beat Zelda in 3 hours, for the 93rd time. But you’re depressed, so you’re probably drunk too.) So modding a breathalyzer in to an NES cart is actually a good idea. Function and form come together in perfect symmetry, yet again! This is actually sort of impressive because he coded a cartridge to display your score etc. Getting the “party frog” is the equivalent in getting the Soyuz rocketship in Tetris. Hah! Not really! Getting the “party frog” only tells your friends what they know and you’re hopelessly in denial about: You’re a drunk!
In motorsports, if you’re not cheating, you’re probably not winning. Safety regulations have really made it so that from F1 to NASCAR, the best cheaters DO win. Cars are so similar that minute changes will oftentimes determine whether or not you’re placing 1st, or 15th. Lots of times these minute changes come from creative interpretation of the rule book. (That’s not to say that sometimes teams will completely chuck the rulebook away. Remember: its not cheating unless you get caught!)
In the early 1990’s Toyota Team Europe, TTE, was winning. They were racing in rallysports and they were winning. They had a pretty decent car, a Celica GT-Four. The GT-4 was a car that had got them through about six years of racing, and was winning more races every year. They had won the manufacturer’s championship and driver’s championship every year since 1990. For a world-wide company like Toyota, this translated in to MAJOR sales for the Celica. There’s an old NASCAR motto: “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” (This only applied up to the 1970’s when NASCAR cars were actually some semblance of being the ‘stock’ models you could purchase at a dealership.) Toyota needed to maintain their edge, at all cost.
Rallying is inherently a dangerous sport. Drivers race around unpaved roads, through treacherous terrain, trying to beat the clock. Rallying fans stand inches away from cars making hairpin turns around blind corners. There’s always a fight between racing governing boards who want cars to be safe, and everyone else who wants them to be fast. Oftentimes this results in cars having their speeds artifically restricted. You can’t tell a racecar driver “Hey man … could you please not drive over 120 mph?” You need a piece of technology (or anti-technology) to artificially limit the speed of the cars.
In 1995 the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the major governing body for motorsports) decided that cars racing in the upper echelons of WRC would be fitted with “restrictor plates” on the turbo units of cars. All combustion engines produce power when they combine gasoline with oxygen. A spark ignites the gasoline and oxygen mixture which pushes a piston that drives a shaft that drives the wheels. Limiting the amount of oxygen taken in by the engine will limit the theoretical amount of power a car can produce. Thus restrictor plates. They are literally plates, a piece of metal that partially blocks a pipe that draws air in to the turbo part of an engine. A turbo is basically a fan that blows air in to an engine, so it would be like putting your hand in front of a fan … it blocks the air from reaching you. The restrictor plates, in theory would block a standard volume of air from reaching the engine. Restrictor plates were mandated for every car, and after the race officials would take apart certain components to make sure no one was cheating. This in theory would limit the top speed of the cars but do so in a way that every team would have the same exact limitations imposed.
Toyota has some of the best engineers in the world. Every car is inspected before the race by the governing body to make sure that the restrictor plate is installed. Toyota engineers figured out how to allow air in to the turbo intake that completely bypassed the seals around the restrictor! In addition, when the car was moving and the turbo was engaged, the restrictor plate would be moved back a couple of inches completely nullifying the effect of the restrictor plate. Some of the best judges and techs had gone over the car to make sure shenanigans like this weren’t taking place. In fact, the engineering was so good that when the turbo was disassembled post-race for inspection, judges couldn’t find any evidence that extra air had passed through the turbo. Toyota had manufactured special springs and clips that would move the restrictor plate back from the air intake, but when the turbo was disengaged the springs would pop it back in to position making it appear that everything was kosher. Like a sprinter, the more the engine could breathe, the faster it could go.
Max Mosley, the president of the FIA at the time said this: “Inside it was beautifully made. The springs inside the hose had been polished and machined so not to impede the air which passed through. To force the springs open without the special tool would require substantial force. It is the most sophisticated and ingenious device either I or the FIA’s technical experts have seen for a long-time. It was so well made that there was no gap apparent to suggest there was any means of opening it.”
The device gave the car an estimated 25% extra air coming in to the turbos, which added an extra 50 BHP (brake horse power)to the car. The cars raced in WRC at the time had about 300 BHP, an extra 50 BHP gave the car a HUGE advantage. The FIA quickly moved to ban TTE from racing that year. Toyota lawyered up, but they were eventually banned for the rest of the 1995 and 1996 season.
In 1998 TTE placed second in WRC, and in 1999 they won the manufacturer’s championship. That was the end of Toyota’s rallying history, they soon moved on to a pretty lousy F1 team.
With rallysports starting to get big in America, it kinda makes you wonder what cool technology is driving those brutish cars. Companies like Toyota use events like WRC as a testbed for new technologies that eventually make it in to their production cars. When your odometer clicks over to 300,000 miles in your Camry, a lot of that durability comes from testing in extreme conditions. I know that the guy in the Monster energy hat probably doesn’t seem like he’s got anything worthwhile to society, but engineers are going to tear his car apart after the race and find out how to improve upon their existing designs. They may not have anything as mechanically sophisticated as a cheat designed by Toyota engineers, but he’s probably got something if he’s winning! If its as good as their previous hacks though … we may never know …
Snoop Dogg, prolific gangsta rapper, crack dealer, pimp, dog fighting breeder, felon, Norton Internet Security spokesman? Yes.
That was the OLD Snoop Dogg. 19 years later, he’s teamed up with Norton to bring you the “Hack is wack” contest, where if you spit the best rhyme on why hacking is “whack” you’ll win a free laptop (Loaded with Norton Internet Security 2011!!!!) a trip to LA to meet Snoop and his management, and tickets to a Snoop Dogg show! (2)
OMG HOW STOKED DOES HE LOOK IN THAT VIDEO?! Really, my life is complete. Snoop Dogg has legitimized heuristic discovery of suspect processes, polymorphic software, and x86 stack overflows. I can now walk through Watts and have street cred!
Creep with me as I crawl through the drive,
Maniac, lunatic, pay the bills to stay alive,
Good morning. Hope you are ready for a good day. Here’s something to get you started, you damn hippies.
This is why I stay out of Washington Square Park.
Have a great day.
-= Message from Ben =-
Guys IntenseDebate seems to be a little slower than normal today. Please don’t close the window and re-open it, refresh it, etc. Just please wait a second or two. THANKS! And keep jamming up the internet with the gospel of crasstalk. The honeybagder will be benevolent and eat some pit vipers, so we don’t have to deal with them!
SCENE: LeftCoastLady enters the room, shuffles toward a rocking chair and lowers herself into it.
When I was younger, the stores catering towards women who fell into the plus size category were severely limited. Worse, what you did find was usually comprised of horrible patterns, boxy cuts, and just overall unflattering. And we didn’t like it, but we lived with it!
Fast forward in time…
Thankfully, with the magic that is online shopping, finding plus size clothing that is fun, flirty, and even *gasp* sexy, has become very easy. Sure, the plus size mainstays such as Lane Bryant, Catherine’s, Fashion Bug, and those small amounts of space allocated for plus size clothing in department stores (when compared to what’s allocated to the Misses’ and Juniors’ sections) are still around, but why not have some fun with your wardrobe?
Another great benefit of online shopping is the ability to shop globally. You’re not just stuck with what’s available — or more likely, what’s not available — in your area any longer!
Here are a few sites that either cater entirely to the plus size market or have a wide selection of offerings in their plus category.
This shirt dress from ASOS Curve could be dressed up or down.
One of my favorite sites is ASOS Curve. Carrying sizes 16 to 22, the site offers clothing that you can wear to work as well as going out. When I’m getting dressed for work in the morning, I tend to go for the easy pieces that don’t require too much work. This simple shirt dress is a perfect example. Throw on a pair of knee-high boots or a nice heel along with a bracelet and voilà!
UK-based Evans is a site I visit often to drool over their offerings…and to wish the damn exchange rate would settle down. Still, the company offers classic pieces as well as special collections that go beyond the expected looks when it comes to the plus size market. Last fall, the company offered a collection by Beth Ditto, lead singer of The Gossip. While the looks weren’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, I appreciated how daring it was.
Loving this gorgeous Grecian Drape top from Evans.
Another long-time favorite is B & Lu. Their looks tend to skew a bit younger, but still stylish. Their pieces are fun and last for some time. If you want something to show off curves, check out the Raquel Dress. Leopard calls not included.
Missphit is an online boutique that takes traditional-looking clothing and adds an edge, a sophisticated one, but an edge nonetheless.
Get in the navy with this cute Nautical Shrug from Missphit.
Last, but certainly not least, I have to highlight the sexy offerings available to wear under your great finds. I’m a huge fan of lingerie and probably have way too much for someone who’s (currently) single. Still, I love a flattering and pretty lacy thing that makes you want to prance around the house as if you’re in a music video…or a back-up dancer for ’80s era Prince.
Enter Hips & Curves. (Note: The site does feature lingerie models, so use caution if opening this link at work.) I love this site a lot. While they do offer the everyday bras and panties, the fun is in the lingerie section. From fantasy wigs to costumes, Hips & Curves offers all you need to make a sexy night turn into a hot and sexy weekend. Hmm, I think I just found something else I want to buy…
This super-cute lace camisole and panty set from Hips & Curves will make your significant other pay attention when you want something.
While this has focused primarily on the online shopping experience, I can’t end this article without calling out two of my favorite “brick & mortar” shops in the U.S.
For those of you in NYC or planning to visit the city, I cannot recommend Re/Dress enough. Located in Brooklyn, you’ll find lots of new as well as vintage plus size clothing. The women in the shop are nice and the prices are great.
Similarly, if you find yourself in my neck of the woods, be sure to visit Fat Fancy Fashions in downtown Portland. I’ve been frequenting Fat Fancy since they were an operation run out of a garage where they had a store set up one weekend a month. Over a year ago, they moved into a storefront and their fans have followed.
This skirt was one of LeftCoastLady's great finds from Re/Dress in Brooklyn.
So, there you have it! Some fabulous clothing options await you online and I’ve only mentioned but a handful. There are plenty others out there, including the various Etsy shops that offer one-of-a-kind plus size fashions.
You’re not limited to wearing the same old boxy clothes, so go out and be free and be stylish!
Now, get off my damn lawn…and go pick me up two pairs of thigh-high fishnet stockings.
So yesterday we played an insane little game called Find Today’s Worst Politico Article Ever. And the Crasstalk Army rose to the challenge. You risked turning into David Broder-esque Beltway Zombies and actually spent time looking for the crappiest pieces of Politico crap that ever got crapped out.
Here’s the worst of the worst (remember, this is just one day’s worth of Politicrap):
Essentially, this is a 4 paragraph article mentioning when the book is coming out, followed by a short blurb by a publisher. In fact everything in this article is probably going to be found on the inside sleeve of the book.
Except the conclusion of the article, of course, which states: “On Tuesday morning, Bristol posted on her Facebook fan page for the first time since December.”
But there could be only one winner on this day, and that goes to Epuff, for nominating this thing. Amazingly, Politico figured out how to connect Charlie Sheen, Mike Huckabee and Chris Matthews into a fine bouillabaisse of SEO linkbait crappiness:
Two and a Half Mean: Huck says Matthews like Sheen
The awful play on the words. The use of a colon. The rhyming. As Charles Barkley would say, “that’s just turrrrible.” The rest of the article just repeats a few dumb soundbites that Huckabee made right before eating his fifth Hardee’s burger of the afternoon and fucking his cousin. Of course, Politico doesn’t actually ever take sides. They just repeat what the pundits say. See, journalism is easy when you’re as even-handed as Politico is! And if you can throw Charlie Sheen into the mix, go for it!
So congratulations to Epuff on winning our first-ever Politico contest. Here’s a little something I wrote in her honor. I think it really capture’s Epuff’s essence.
And yet we had no ideal Mistress stretching her form up to the clouds, nor yet a cruel Queen to whom to offer our corpses twisted into the shape of Byzantine rings! No reason to die unless it is the desire to be rid of the too great weight of our courage!
We drove on, crushing beneath our burning wheels, like shirt-collars under the iron, the watch dogs on the steps of the houses.
Death, tamed, went in front of me at each corner offering me his hand nicely, and sometimes lay on the ground with a noise of creaking jaws giving me velvet glances from the bottom of puddles.
“Let us leave good sense behind like a hideous husk and let us hurl ourselves, like fruit spiced with pride, into the immense mouth and breast of the world! Let us feed the unknown, not from despair, but simply to enrich the unfathomable reservoirs of the Absurd!”
As soon as I had said these words, I turned sharply back on my tracks with the mad intoxication of puppies biting their tails, and suddenly there were two cyclists disapproving of me and tottering in front of me like two persuasive but contradictory reasons. Their stupid swaying got in my way. What a bore! Pouah! I stopped short, and in disgust hurled myself — vlan! — head over heels in a ditch.
Oh, maternal ditch, half full of muddy water! A factory gutter! I savored a mouthful of strengthening muck which recalled the black teat of my Sudanese nurse!
As I raised my body, mud-spattered and smelly, I felt the red hot poker of joy deliciously pierce my heart. A crowd of fishermen and gouty naturalists crowded terrified around this marvel. With patient and tentative care they raised high enormous grappling irons to fish up my car, like a vast shark that had run aground. It rose slowly leaving in the ditch, like scales, its heavy coachwork of good sense and its upholstery of comfort.
We thought it was dead, my good shark, but I woke it with a single caress of its powerful back, and it was revived running as fast as it could on its fins.
Then with my face covered in good factory mud, covered with metal scratches, useless sweat and celestial grime, amidst the complaint of staid fishermen and angry naturalists, we dictated our first will and testament to all the living men on earth.
