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Posts tagged: USA
Scientists hooked a squid up to an iPod. This is what happened.
I just noticed something strange on Wikipedia. It appears that gradually, over time, editors have begun the process of moving women, one by one, alphabetically, from the “American Novelists” category to the “American Women Novelists” subcategory. So far, female authors whose last names begin with A or B have been most affected, although many others have, too.
The intention appears to be to create a list of “American Novelists” on Wikipedia that is made up almost entirely of men. The category lists 3,837 authors, and the first few hundred of them are mainly men. The explanation at the top of the page is that the list of “American Novelists” is too long, and therefore the novelists have to be put in subcategories whenever possible.
Too bad there isn’t a subcategory for “American Men Novelists.”
Wikipedia’s sexism toward female novelists (via explore-blog)
The piece also notes that someone has begun separating out “Haitian Women Novelists” from “Haitian Novelists.”
Comics Editor Carol writes about Superman, masculinity, and the American Way:
Since alex, Chris and I decided to write about masculinity this month, I’ve been thinking about Superman. Actually, I’ve been thinking and rethinking Superman almost as long as I’ve been writing for The Cultural Gutter. I began really thinking about him while watching Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. I’ve spent most of my life—and certainly my childhood and teen years—ambivalent about him. I grew up with the stodgy, daddish Superman of SuperFriends. Superman represented truth, justice and the American Way, a way that seemed all about straight white masculinity of the most rigid, hegemonic sort—a way that didn’t seem to include me. Whether as aspirational hero or adolescent power fantasy, it’s easy to see Superman as The Man.
art by Mike and Laura Allred, from The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo (Dark Horse/DC, 1998).
Section of the score for Roberto Zamarin and Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody.” (via Sparks in Electrical Jelly)
Screen Editor alex shares his list of absurd horror comedies, including Miike, Bergman, Tucker & Dale.
Sometimes life is uncooperative. The consequences extend from our highest functions to the lowest corners of the cultural gutter. Here, friends, is the result of my non-compliant life situation: a list of things that make me think of other things, loosely organized around the theme of absurd horror-comedies!
![theatlantic:
How Do You Say ‘Badonkadonk’ in Chinese?
In the age of YouTube and social media, American English lessons have been taken to another level. Meet Jessica Beinecke, a Voice of America journalist who decided that she could leverage all the web 2.0 tools at her disposal to create a show that taught Chinese youth American slang. It’s shot with only a webcam and was exclusively on Chinese Youku until recently migrating to YouTube.
Beinecke went viral in China much earlier than in the U.S., having somehow struck a chord with a video about boogers that garnered 1.5 million hits. She now has posted hundreds of shows — covering everything from “badakadonk” to “chillax”. The solo effort has paid off, winning hundreds of thousands of adoring Chinese fans on Weibo and accumulating nearly 8 million total hits on the shows. Read more.
[Image: Jessica Beinecke/ YouTube]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3cwi75GR1qcokc4o1_1280.gif)
How Do You Say ‘Badonkadonk’ in Chinese?
In the age of YouTube and social media, American English lessons have been taken to another level. Meet Jessica Beinecke, a Voice of America journalist who decided that she could leverage all the web 2.0 tools at her disposal to create a show that taught Chinese youth American slang. It’s shot with only a webcam and was exclusively on Chinese Youku until recently migrating to YouTube.
Beinecke went viral in China much earlier than in the U.S., having somehow struck a chord with a video about boogers that garnered 1.5 million hits. She now has posted hundreds of shows — covering everything from “badakadonk” to “chillax”. The solo effort has paid off, winning hundreds of thousands of adoring Chinese fans on Weibo and accumulating nearly 8 million total hits on the shows. Read more.
[Image: Jessica Beinecke/ YouTube]
This week at the Gutter, Carol writes about some Summer Fun Time Reading:
It’s summer time and instead of beer bottles exploding out of coolers in a shower of refreshing ice, bikini-clad hotties and fireworks as we know it should be, everything is wilting and perhaps even melting. As far as I can tell there are only two possible explanations—Hot Lava Monsters have readjusted the earth’s thermostat to facilitate their impending conquest or Heat Miser has finally won his eternal struggle with Cold Miser.
Either way, huddle close to your window air conditioner or three-speed fan, don your coolest slip like Maggie the Cat and enjoy these seven summer reads.
