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Skintight USA: For Superheroes and the men who love them
05.13.2010
04:55 pm
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This is recent New York Times article is awesome for so many reasons. I used to live a block away from the Stonewall Bar for a number of years and I never saw a single superhero walking in or out of the place. Then again, Clark Kent could have changed into his Superman duds after he was amongst his super friends?

Dim lighting. Rendezvous-friendly nooks. Muscled bartenders. Pulsating dance music. At first glance, it could be any Saturday night in any gay bar in New York.

But then you notice, off to one corner, Superman flirting with Green Lantern. And there, across the room, someone in the form-fitting outfit of Black Adam, Captain Marvel’s foe, determinedly working the floor. In fact, there seems to be an inordinate number of men here tonight who look as if they have all but jumped from the pages of a comic book. And in some way, they have.

This is Skin Tight U.S.A., the occasional costume-fetish party held at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, which draws a regular group of men (and their admirers) who enjoy a special kind of dress-up. Some wear heroic outfits; some, wrestling gear. The crowd can range from 25 people on an average night to 250 on a spectacular one. The common thread is that the muscle-cuddling garb often leaves little to the imagination.

“I was always attracted to the superhero physique,” said Matthew Levine, 31, who helped found the party in 2005 with Andrew Owen, 44, and who was one of the few participants willing to be named. The two become friends as, respectively, the graphic designer and Webmaster for Hard Comixxx, a predecessor of Skin Tight, once held at the Eagle bar in Chelsea. Mr. Levine is a big fan of the X-Men (who have a handful of gay characters) and the Transformers (all of whom seem straight) and has been reading comics since he was 8. “As I got older,” he said, “I realized, ‘Oh, this is why I admire the Grecian ideal of manhood and musculature.’

Out of the Closet and Up Up and Away (New York Times)

Thank you Alexandra Le Tellier!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.13.2010
04:55 pm
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Eating dogs in space: the Chinese astronaut diet
05.13.2010
04:15 pm
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In his new autobiography, The Nine Levels between Heaven and Earth, Yang Liwei (above), the Chinese commander of ‘03’s Shenzhou Five spacecraft, revealed some of the dining habits of highly effective astronauts:

A local proverb in the south of China is that “Huajiang dog is better for you than ginseng,” referring to the medicinal root that plays a vital role in traditional Chinese medicine.

He added that the diet had been specially drawn up for the astronauts by Chinese nutritionists and that the food had been purchased from special suppliers in Beijing.  Dog is widely eaten in northern China, where it is believed to help battle the winter cold.  The menu was still in use last year, when Chinese astronauts conducted their first ever spacewalk.  China has plans to land a man on the moon by 2020.

The revelation drew an angry rebuke from animal rights campaigners, who said Mr. Yang was setting a bad example to his millions of fans.

Intake of nutrients aside, Yang Liwei has less kind things to say about their elimination.  When asked about his experience aboard the Shenzhou Five he said, “Better not to piss in diaper…baby doesn’t like it, neither does an adult.”
 
Dog on the menu for Chinese astronauts

Posted by Bradley Novicoff
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05.13.2010
04:15 pm
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The YouTube stylings of Paris and Blanket Jackson
05.13.2010
12:25 pm
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If, like me, you have major problems detaching yourself from King of Pop weirdness, this was a big week for you.  A series of answering machine conversations purportedly of Jackson babbling druggily about his finances was just released in Britain to The Sun newspaper.  Here are some highlights:

“It is Michael calling.  It is very important, I want that 150 in that account for me, because…I am very concerned about my life.  I am hearing a lot of stories that (name withheld) is still trying to sabotage…me…I want to be away for a while where they can’t find me.”

A second message adds, “It is Michael.  It is 4:30 in the morning here that’s why I sound very sleepy and I’m really worn out…but please check the message I left a day or so ago.  I am very concerned.  I don’t trust that man.  We think he’s bad, we think he is Italian mafia.  Please…we must be smarter than him.  So please, help me with this…I wanna be away…I don’t want to be in Neverland right now.”

WTF?  Italian mafia?  Anyway, now it’s coming out that Jackson’s long-isolated (and frequently masked) children, Paris and Blanket (or someone in their circle), have been uploading clips of themselves to the YouTube.  Blanket appears to be a fan of Star Wars, and Paris, evidently, likes…monkeys (but hopefully not chimps).

So, maybe, so far, so good?  Keep it up, kids!  Despite the nuttiness of your possibly non-biological father, you two seem entirely normal! 

 

 
Michael Jackson’s Kids Are Big Hit on YouTube

Posted by Bradley Novicoff
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05.13.2010
12:25 pm
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Wedding DJ Performs ‘Phil Collins Boob Slap’
05.13.2010
11:24 am
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Wait for the drum solo.
 
(via HYST)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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05.13.2010
11:24 am
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George Carlin: Religion is Bullshit
05.13.2010
12:20 am
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George Carlin was born on this day in 1937.

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.13.2010
12:20 am
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Thee Majesty Playing at Issue Project Room on 5/23
05.13.2010
12:14 am
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Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Thee Majesty are performing live at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on May 23rd. Not to be missed if you live nearby.

Thee Majesty began in 1998 as a spoken word project, originally founded by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Bryin Dall of 4th Sign of the Apocalypse, A Murder of Angels and Dreams Into Dust. Featuring P-Orridge, Thee Majesty is made up of a revolving group of members including Morrison Edley of Psychic TV. Thee Majesty’s music is a mix of spoken word performance art against Dall’s free-flowing guitar rhythms and Edley’s atmospheric percussion.

More info here.

(Thee Majesty)

(Thee Majesty: Wordship)

Posted by Jason Louv
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05.13.2010
12:14 am
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Squattin’ USA
05.13.2010
12:01 am
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I read with interest this article from Salon about a new squatters movement starting to manifest itself in New York, obviously owing to our present economic conditions. In 1983-84, I lived in a succession of squats, first in Amsterdam and then London. London in the early 1980s had a noticeable number of squatted houses in certain areas. In the south London district of Brixton, where I was at the time, I can recall entire apartment buildings and even one entire city block being occupied by squatters. It was a very interesting thing to be a part of. (I have actually been awakened by police. I don’t recommend it!)

“If you think a property might be vacant, because its windows are boarded up and so on, you have to stake it out for a while. You check out the address on the Department of Finance database to see who owns it. Ideally, it would be a bank or the city. You have to watch the building, especially at night, to make sure no one’s going in and out. After a couple of weeks you can get a pretty good idea if it’s empty or not,” said Morales, whose thick black hair, slim, fashionable goatee and athletic figure far belie his 60 years.

He expounded on the further steps for successful squatting. Safety is paramount; Morales advises all potential squatters to check the structural stability of any building, to look for rot or drooping ceilings. Only when a building’s structural integrity is verified should a group of squatters take the next steps and put their own locks on the doors and secure other possible entry points, like windows. Then, according to Morales, they should black out the windows.

“For the first month, at least, you want to stay under the radar—go in late at night, leave early in the morning,” said Morales, who also stressed the importance of having mail sent to the address with the squatters’ names on it. “If you’ve had mail delivered there for a month, and the police turn up, you use it as proof that you’ve been living there for a while, that you’re a valid resident. They usually leave you alone if you can show them that.”

There is a lot of empty property all across America and a lot of people without a place to lay their head. A building cannot be left boarded up for a long period of time. The plumbing gets messed up, vermin take up residence and so do insects. Apparently after about 18 months, a house left completely empty will become uninhabitable.

The amount of overbuilding done in America over the past decade—most of it fueled by Chinese loans—was obscene, A lot of real estate is going to get abandoned by “underwater” debtors. And there sure as hell is going to be an awful lot of commercial real estate that will get defaulted on during the next five years. Local governments should start thinking about how they can legitimize the residents’ claims to some of these abandoned buildings, because it’s probably going to get worse before it gets any better. If the squatters keep the buildings and yards up, why not let them stay there as long as they’re going to be empty otherwise? Maybe they can pay a small rent to the government for a license? It’s time to get creative with one in every eight Americans on food stamps!

You don’t know squatting: A movement returns (Salon)

Squatters turn £5m building into art galleries and cinema (London Evening Standard)

Councils show squatters where they can find out how to break in (Daily Mail)

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.13.2010
12:01 am
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Urbanism Through the Lens of Superheroes
05.13.2010
12:00 am
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Star Wars Modern posted about the urbanism of superheroes, and the birth of the superhero as a new archetype of the Depression-era city. As our modern times become more like the era the superhero was born in, it’s no surprise that this time we have turned to superheroes to save us once again, even if only in the realm of our imaginations, and albeit this time largely in movie form instead of comic books.

In his book about the creators of golden age comics, Men of Tomorrow, Gerard Jones writes:

The superman was scarcely a new idea and was in fact a common motif of both low and high culture by the early Thirties, the inevitable product of those doctrines of perfectibility promoted by everyone from Bernarr Macfadden to Leon Trotsky. The word had descended from Nietzche’s Übermensch through Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman, but it was easily wedded to ideas neither Nietzchean nor Shavian. In Germany Adolf Hitler was claiming that a whole nation of supermen could be forged through institutional racism and Militarism, and his popularity was rising steadily. In America the idea of eugenic was being explored as Ivy League universities… Even leftists could use the word: a Cleveland radical named Joseph Pirincin argued in his lectures that socialist production methods would create a ‘superabundance’ of goods and opportunities, would make the citizens of a socialist future a ‘veritable superman’ by our current standards.

That Depression Era mash of eugenics, nationalism, and progress/self-improvement, when introduced into the settings of the already popular crime pulps, gave birth to two enduring strains of superheroes: those that are inhumanly-super, like Superman; and those that are merely humanly-super, like Batman. Each has a place, an urban setting. More than childhood trauma or costume choices, it is these negative spaces that surround the heroes that make them what they are.

Superhero Urbanism (via Star Wars Modern)

The Null Device has an excellent commentary on the post, as well.

(Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book)

Posted by Jason Louv
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05.13.2010
12:00 am
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Freak yourself out with new at-home genetic testing kit
05.12.2010
09:20 pm
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Attention hypochondriacs! If you are feeling the need to seriously freak yourself out, look no further than your local Walgreens store! Yup, starting Friday you can purchase an at-home test kit that allows people who, well, worry about these things (obsessively) to see if their DNA makes them more likely to develop one (or more!) of dozens of different health conditions. Breast cancer? Check. Heart disease? Check! Alzheimer’s disease? Can do! Just swab your cheek, pop it in the mail and within a week or so, your life will be completely ruined!

From The Chicago Tribune:

The product’s introduction raises immediate concerns among scientists, bio-ethicists and genetic counselors. They worry that consumers will misuse or misunderstand the results of a test so open to interpretation it is potentially meaningless, or frightening, especially without a full medical assessment.

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration told the Tribune it is investigating the medical claims the product’s manufacturer, California-based Pathway Genomics, is making in marketing its genetic test, which hasn’t been approved by U.S. regulators.

Pathway officials say the company’s home genetic test meets federal regulations and doesn’t require FDA approval.
“The tests conducted are not an in-vitro medical device and are not intended for use in diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or cure of disease. It does provide information that allows a person to learn about their health to make healthier lifestyle choices,” said Ed MacBean, Pathway’s vice president of product management. “If the FDA contacts us, we will discuss it and address any concerns they might have.”

To this I add merely… “Yikes.” This product will have all kinds of unintended consequences, methinks. Results for the tests cost between $79 to $179, depending on the type of tests you chose.

Genetic test kits to hit stores amid controversy (Chicago Tribune)

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.12.2010
09:20 pm
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The Yes Men Launch The Yes Lab
05.12.2010
05:43 pm
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Corporate humiliators, The Yes Men, are launching a grassroots effort to help put the brakes on our run amuck military-industrial complex.  Because plotting the public shaming of the U.N., Canada, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sucks up so much time, they’re looking to recruit Yes-minded people to Fix The World with them.  Thus the newly announced Yes Lab For Creative Activism.  Here’s how it’s gonna work:

In a typical Yes Lab project, an activist organization will come to the Yes Lab with a target—e.g. Monsanto, or war profiteers, or one of those “too big to fail” banks, or greedy health insurance companies, or a bad government policy—as well as a goal: to affect public debate, push for legislation, embarrass an evildoer, etc.  Depending on ability, they will pay a fee to help the Yes Lab keep going.

We’ll work with the group to develop the smartest, most effective plan to accomplish it.  We’ll help assemble the team from within the group as well as our mailing list, we’ll train folks as necessary, and we’ll check in on the project until it’s successful.

Like most well-intentioned start-ups, the Yes Men are now looking for funding.  A target of $50,000 would ensure a 6-month period of, “disruptive, productive media events keeping the public reminded of what’s wrong, what could be right, and what’s in store if we don’t change our ways.”  To help launch the Yes Lab—and receive some interesting Yes Men goodies in return—click here.

Posted by Bradley Novicoff
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05.12.2010
05:43 pm
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