WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has announced the whistleblowing website is suspending publication of classified documents due to a funding crisis. Assange fronted the media at London’s Frontline media club to announce that the website would be forced to fold after Christmas unless it raised about $3.3 million in funds.
“An arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade has been imposed by Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union” said Assange “The attack has destroyed 95 per cent of our revenue”
Assange warned that WikiLeaks would take legal action against companies blocking funding in Australia, the US, Britain and several European countries.
“We are throwing all our own resources into this stand against the blockade because it will mean the elimination of WikiLeaks and potentially the elimination of any other group that gets on the wrong side of these unaccountable US finance companies,” he said. ”If we do not get the funds flowing again that is the end of WikiLeaks – that is the end” :: Read the full article »»»»
UPDATED: Just like a the plot of a soft porn flick, she plays up to overtly specific fantasies, soft soft spoken words of assurance and a sigh that subtly follows heart felt words. You might think this is pure fiction. In this Internet sourced world of nothing being real this one is so so real. As The Naked Therapist - now known as Sarah White Therapy – Sarah White offers one on one therapy sessions while she slowly strips till she’s in the buff. The whole session is conducted via web cam and while she’s is based in New York her service is available to everyone with a broadband connection. White has also extended her practice to include 3 new team members, Penelop Wolfe (left) Randy Hastings (Center) and Carli Moore (right)
At around $200 a session (1 hour) White describes her therapy as “. . .a form of talk therapy in which the therapist and/or the patient get naked in an environment in which arousal – physical, emotional and intellectual – is encouraged and utilized to arrive at unique self-discoveries. Read the full article »»»»
We’ve all had odd relationships - haven’t WE – my oddest lover was a saccharine sweet devil woman. She’d either be groping inappropriately or cueing up ways for my downfall. The clincher – that moment i knew we were doomed – was the day I discovered she’d Insured me. Now, in retrospect she may simply have been overly cautious, at the time it didn’t seem like a worthy risk. The point is, there wasn’t ever any steadiness to tenderness, it was like living in a discothèque, strobes and flashes of intimacy, but nothing tangeble. Lots of words – but I wuv you – but not a lot of substance, like she knew all the right things to say in a scripted pickup line kind of way, knew when a cuddle was apropriate!? It turns out that may be just what it was . . .
“Maybe it’s about durability. A major factor is how long you’ve been together. What you value as important may mean a lot more after the near-term”Dr Julia Heiman
Socially it’s always been a given that tactile affection has always been a girls domain, anecdotally women Need to be touched? It Turns out cuddling and caressing are more important to men than women in a long-term relationship, according to a new international study. Researchers studied responses from adults in the United States, Brazil, Germany, Japan and Spain, and discovered that men were more likely to be happy in their relationship and that frequent kissing or cuddling was an accurate predictor of happiness for men.
“I was a little surprised,” said Dr Julia Heiman, the director of Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute, Sexual Psychophysiology Lab, which conducted the study that will be published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour journal.
The researchers examined more than 1,000 couples aged 40 to 70 who had been together for an average of 25 years. For men, relationship happiness was more likely if the man reported being in good health and if it was important to him that his partner experienced orgasm. Surprisingly, frequent kissing or cuddling also predicted happiness in the relationship for men, but not for women. Both men and women reported more happiness the longer they had been together, and if they themselves scored higher on several sexual functioning questionnaires.
“Some of the stereotypes we have are borne out of what we feel comfortable believing – that men prefer sex, or women prefer intimacy over sex” she added.
Heiman has devoted her career to achieving a better understanding of the physiological and emotional dimensions of sexuality. Her research is also concerned with developing successful interventions to help people overcome sexual problems. “From the beginning,” Heiman explains, “I’ve been interested in how sexuality changes, either on its own or with some kind of external effort. How do we come up with newer and better ways to measure aspects of sexuality?”A number of Dr. Heiman’s recent projects have focused on identifying appropriate treatments for people who are experiencing sexual difficulty. “Findings from an early study of couples showed that sex therapy without medical intervention does help a number of people. We want to know who is likely to benefit from this kind of therapy, and who might need a different kind of treatment.
Men and women both were likely to report sexual satisfaction if they also reported frequent kissing and cuddling, sexual caressing by the partner, higher sexual functioning, and if they had sex more frequently. On the other hand, for men, having had more sex partners in their lifetime was a predictor of less sexual satisfaction. Men did report more relationship happiness in later years, whereas for women, their sexual satisfaction increased over time. Women who had been with their partner for less than 15 years were less likely to report sexual satisfaction, but after 15 years, the percentage went up significantly. Men did report more relationship happiness in later years, whereas for women, their sexual satisfaction increased over time. Women who had been with their partner for less than 15 years were less likely to report sexual satisfaction, but after 15 years, the percentage went up significantly.
“Possibly, women become more satisfied over time because their expectations change, or life changes with the children grown,” Heiman said. “On the other hand, those who weren’t so happy sexually might not be married so long.”
Surprisingly, cultural differences played a large roll in the findings, compared with the U.S. men, Japanese men reported significantly – 2.61 times – more sexual satisfaction in their relationships. For women, Japanese and Brazilian women were more likely to report being satisfied sexually than Americans.
“I honestly don’t know why this is” Heiman said “Japanese couples may interpret the survey questions slightly different. Maybe Americans interpret this in a much more critical way”
Japanese and Brazilian women were also more likely than American women to be happy with their sex lives.
“Americans are pretty notoriously not satisfied with things” Heiman said. “The United States is certainly not the happiest country when it comes to comparing it to others”
“We recognize that relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction may not be the same thing for all couples, and in all cultures,” Heiman said. “Our next step is to understand how one person’s health, physical affection and sexual experiences relate to the relationship happiness or sexual satisfaction of his or her partner. So, we hope for more couple-centered than individual-centered understanding on relationship functioning and satisfaction.”
RETRONAUT, wtf is that? I hear you ask. Retronaut is a must see website. Created by Chris Wild – he’s the archiving fetishist aka Retronaut. Wild created Retronaut earlier this year. So what is Retronaut, I hear you nag. A Time Capsule, and it’s so so brilliant! Don’t take my word for it, the feedback is pouring in, for example “A new favourite site… A treasure trove… A website of goodies… A website that, for me, is essential reading… About the best thing ever…Absolutely glorious… Amazing… Always brilliant… All the cool kids are talking about it… Amazingly awesome… An incredible site… Awesome… Beautiful…Brain shiftingly brilliant ” Checkout Retronaut at: http://www.howtobearetronaut.com/
For the millions of us who won’t make it to Las Angeles for the historic Art In The Streets exhibition at MoCA, C. R. Stecyk III and crew have put together Street 2011, a short film documenting the amazing space and installations created by artists including Todd James, Barry McGee and Alexis Ross.
Art in the Streets is the first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art. The exhibition opened with a skate ramp designed by pro-skater Lance Mountain and artist Geoff McFetridge and banged out by skaters Nike SB who will be onsite for the duration of the exhibition. Art in the Streets is curated by MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch and Associate Curators Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose, the exhibition will trace the development of graffiti and street art from the 1970s to the global movement it has become today, concentrating on key cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Sao Paulo, where a unique visual language or attitude has evolved. The exhibition will feature paintings, mixed media sculptures, and interactive installations by 50 of the most dynamic artists and will emphasize Los Angeles’s role in the evolution of graffiti and street art, with special sections dedicated to seminal local movements such as cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture. A comprehensive timeline illustrated with artwork, photos, video, and ephemera will provide a historical context for the work. While there’s been much coverage of the historic Art in the Streets exhibition at LA’s MoCA, there has been nothing to date that really gives people who haven’t been able to make it to the show a good idea of the install of the space.
Art in the Streets will showcase installations by 50 of the most dynamic artists from the graffiti and street art community, including Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Futura, Margaret Kilgallen, Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, and JR. MOCA’s exhibition will emphasize Los Angeles’s role in the evolution of graffiti and street art, with special sections dedicated to cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture. The exhibition will feature projects by influential local artists such as Craig R. Stecyk III, Chaz Bojórquez, Mister Cartoon, RETNA, SABER, REVOK, and RISK.
Included are photographers and filmmakers who live off the fumes of canned paint to document the artform and culture including Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, James Prigoff, Steve Grody, Gusmano Cesaretti, Estevan Oriol, Ed Templeton, Larry Clark, Terry Richardson, and Spike Jonze. A comprehensive timeline illustrated with artwork, photography, video, and ephemera will provide further historical context for the exhibition.
For those lucky enough to be local, as well as the exhibition MoCA has an impressive lineup of talkers, all the talks are free, though some require a reservation. For more details checkout MoCA’s blog at www.moca.org
Art Talk with Mister Cartoon
Thursday, June 16, 6:30pm
Join Mister Cartoon for an exhibition walkthrough and discussion of his work in the context of the Art in the Streets.
FREE; no reservations
Art Talk with Carlo McCormick
Sunday, June 19, 3pm
In conjunction with Art in the Streets, senior editor of PAPER magazine and leading New York art writer Carlo McCormick will take a look at the destructive and creative aspects of uncommissioned public art and mark-making.
FREE with museum admission; no reservations
Art Talk with Roger Gastman
Thursday, June 30, 6:30pm
In conjunction with Art in the Streets, co-curator Roger Gastman will lead an exhibition tour and discuss the history of graffiti and street art.
FREE; no reservations
Art Talk with Patti Astor
Sunday, July 14, 3pm
Join underground film star and Fun Gallery Founder Patti Astor, for a tour and discussion that will begin with Art in the Streets’ installation of the Fun Gallery and the Rammellzee loft.
FREE with museum admission; no reservations
Art Talk with Patti Astor
Thursday, July 17, 6:30pm
Join underground film star and Fun Gallery founder Patti Astor for a second exhibition tour and discussion that will begin with the Fun Gallery and the Rammellzee loft installations in Art in the Streets.
FREE; no reservations
Art Talk with Chaz Bojorquez
Thursday, July 21, 6:30pm
Join legendary L.A. graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez for an exhibition walkthrough and a discussion of his work in the context of Art in the Streets.
FREE; no reservations
Art Talk with Aaron Rose
Sunday, July 24, 3pm
In conjunction with Art in the Streets, exhibition co-curator Aaron Rose will lead a walkthrough of the exhibition.
FREE with museum admission; no reservations
Video Credits: Director of Photography: C. R. Stecyk III | Directors: Andy Bruntell, Felipe Lima | Producers: Bret Nicely, Jett Steiger | Camera: Larkin Donley | Sound: Owen Granich-Young | at
“In the past 5,000 years, there have been only four major ways that people pay for things: barter, coin, paper, then plastic. The future is undeniably digital” Osama Bedier
For the past two years, PayPal and Google had been in negotiations for PayPal to provide the payment system for Google’s app store on Android phones. News of Google Wallet had been leaking through the interweb – HighPants- since February this year. In March Google released what amounted to a Beta of Google Wallet. Heading up Paypals end of this deal was guess who? – 2 former PayPal employees – Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tilenius. Both defected to Goolge Beiber in February this year, Tilenius in 2009.
Scott Guilfoyle, PayPal’s CTO said of Bediers departure – January 26, 2011 – via PayPals blog “We’ve got some changes underway today. First, we are saying goodbye to Osama Bedier. After eight years at PayPal, he’s decided to make a change, taking on a new role at Google. Osama helped open our platform to the world two years ago and that’s driving great innovation and momentum. I want to personally thank Osama for his friendship and leadership” :: Read the full article »»»»
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has announced the whistleblowing website is suspending publication of classified documents due to a funding crisis. Assange fronted the media at London’s Frontline media club to announce that the website would be forced to fold after Christmas unless it raised about $3.3 million in funds.
