Fla Boy Kelly Slater Wins 11th World Title [surfing]

Fla boy Kelly Slater won his 11th World Title in San Francisco earlier this month. Despite being from Cocoa Beach, Florida, a town more known for its space shuttle launches than turning out world champion surfers, this central Florida beach town has produced one of surfing's finest.

"Lost" Steve Jobs Interview Gets Limited Run in Theaters [steve jobs, tech]

A “Lost” Steve Jobs interview has surfaced and will have a limited run in theaters this week. It is actually an extended interview and part of the 1996 PBS Miniseries Triumph of the Nerds.

Out of all the creative tributes to Jobs in the wake of his death, this one is definitely the best. Made by the awesome guys at Mint Digital, it is made entirely of MacBook parts.

While most are mourning Jobs' death, this street artist had a different kind of eulogy for him:


The Legacy of Steve Jobs

Bullitt & The Greatest Car Chase Scenes of All Time [film]

Bullitt (Yates, 1968) is often said to feature the greatest car chase scene in cinematic history.

Here are the top ten car chase scenes according to CNN.

The Scandalous Lana Del Rey [music]

Apparently I am a little slow on the uptake, but I just heard Lana Del Rey's hit single Video Games and instantly was a fan. I don't know if it was the tubular bells at the beginning, the cinematic orchestration and the snare drum that starts at 2:32, or the video that won me over, but I am a fan of it all.

Books for Left-Handers [books]

I recently did a post on Lefty's in San Francisco, the only store in the US that caters specifically to left-handed people. Though us lefties are in the minority, there are many books written about left-handedness; two of my favorites are "The Natural Superiority of the Left-Hander" and the considerably more dense read, "The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness."

Judy Jetson Was a Man-Whore [television]

I used to love The Jetsons as a kid, but who knew Judy was such a man-whore? That was lost on me, as were numerous "adult" references in my childhood cartoons.

The Perfect Storm & Linda Greenlaw [books, film]

This afternoon I finished reading The Perfect Storm.

Saw the film years ago, and it's not one of the those films where after you've read the book you necessarily feel disappointed – they are two completely separate entities.

The film focuses on the drama of the rescue; the book is more dry and gets into weather patterns, ocean currents, maritime history, and various oceanic and meteorological nightmares as well as the story of the doomed Andrea Gail.

Definitely worth the read, even if a bit dry, especially for the discovery of an awesome, powerful woman – ship captain and author Linda Greenlaw. Linda is one of the few female ship captains on the East Coast, but undeniably one of the best.

She survived the infamous Halloween Gale that the Andrea Gail unfortunately did not. Linda lives in Portland, Maine, still fishes, and has written several books – including the wildly popular Lobster Chronicles and several cookbooks.

All My Children Says Goodbye [tv]

After a 41-year run on daytime television, ABC's "All My Children" is saying farewell.

The show premiered on January 5, 1970 and aired its last episode yesterday, Friday September 23, 2011. Many are mourning the show's departure, with Perez Hilton and others calling it "the end of an era."

The show will be replaced by a new food-centered lifestyle show called "The Chew."

Teeth & Vagina Dentata [film, phenomenons, cake]

I watched Teeth (2008) last night with my girlfriend. Yes, that whole movie about a girl with teeth in her vagina doing (horrid!) damage to the males she encounters. Basically, a man's worst nightmare.

While we were watching it, we were actually surprised. The film was done a lot better than either of us thought it would be and we actually enjoyed it (even me, the penis-possessor of the pair!); the film wasn't just a vagina-chewing-penis horror flick that most seem to expect in line with the Scream-born modern era horrorgore without a story line, and wasn't pornographic or overly gory as I thought it might be.

I admit I don't have much faith in modern horror.

M. commented on the cinematography and the well-thought out shots (as opposed to most modern horror films, people!) and I enjoyed the purposeful pacing and the fact that they actually explored the real cultural phenomenon of vagina dentata without being exploitative in any way.

Note: this film could be triggering to some, watch with caution.



"Vagina dentata" is a male cross-cultural myth seen in numerous cultures around the world (Native American, Greek, African, Egyptian, etc.) in which the man is afraid of inserting his penis into a woman's vagina for fear of his penis being injured by the supposed toothed vagina.

From The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker:

"Toothed vagina," the classic symbol of men's fear of sex, expressing the unconscious belief that a woman may eat or castrate her partner during intercourse. Frued said, "Probably no male human being is spared the terrifying shock of threatened castration at the sight of female genitals." But he had the reason wrong. The real reason for this "terrifying shock" is a mouth-symbolism, now recognized universally in myth and fantasy: "It is well-known in psychiatry that both males and females fantasize as a mouth the female's entranceway to the vagina."

When I did a Google image search for "vagina dentata," the only blog-appropriate images were cakes. Yes, cakes inspired by the film.

If you'd like to see a more "adult" photo, click here.

Vagina Dentata cake via Cakes and Comics and Cartwheels.

Another vagina dentata cake via Miss Cakehead's Flickr stream:

Cakes are not the only culinary items adorning the vagina these days; click here for an earlier post with a recipe for Vagina Muff-ins.

Even if you are not a baker, at least click to see what a muff-in looks like!

1974 was a Golden Year for Film [film, 1970's]

Wow. 1974 sure was a golden year for film; it was also quite a year at the Academy Awards!

I’m currently watching The Conversation, which was filmed here in San Francisco and directed by one of my all-time favorite directors, Francis Ford Coppola. I have a slight obsession with movies filmed here in the Bay Area.

I also adore The Towering Inferno, which came out the same year and was also filmed in San Francisco. It was up against The Conversation for Best Picture (they both lost to another Coppola film, The Godfather III). It did end up taking home the award for Best Cinematography, and it truly is a visual treat.

My all-time favorite film, John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” also came out that year, and Gena Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress but ended up losing to Ellen Burstyn for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Masturbation "New," Effective Treatment for Restless Leg Syndrome [news, medicine, sex]

Great news for those of you with Restless Leg Syndrome - experts are now saying that masturbation is a "new, effective treatment for RLS."

I don't know about "new," but now you have a legit excuse to get down with yourself whenever you want to as often as you please; it's for the restless legs!

Senator Feinsten & Meth [drugs, politics]

San Francisco's own Dianne Feinstein has been active for the LAST decade and a half combating the meth epidemic.

In the mid-nineties California was declared a "source country" for methamphetamine by the DEA; Feinstein introduced the Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996, signed into law by President Clinton in October of 1996 to help curb the spread of the drug.

Feinstein and Jim Talent authored this article that appeared on April 30. 2005 in the Washington Post entitled, "A Remedy for the Meth Epidemic." On September 9, 2005, the Senate approved the Feinstein-Talent Anti-Meth Bill.

On October 12, 2010, President Obama signed the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act, adding to the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2006, which was authored by Feinstein as well.

More:

Senate votes to double fines and jail time for cannabis candy & "candy-flavored" meth.

The twin epidemics: HIV and methamphetamine.

Oregon's solution to the meth problem here.

Lifetime Movies: The Craiglist Killer & Amanda Knox [crime, movies]

I am just finishing up "The Craigslist Killer," the Lifetime movie portraying the story of Philip Markoff, the med student convicted of robbing and killing a young woman he met off of Craigslist in Boston.

In a completely self-centered act Markoff committed suicide in jail before standing trial, leaving the family of his victim in the dark about the last minutes' of their loved one's life. As if the suicide wasn't enough, Markoff went so far as to write his ex-fiance's name in his own blood on the wall of his cell where he killed himself, leaving behind a gruesome shrine with numerous pictures of his ex.
Next up is the controversial world premiere of Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, chronicling the story of American former University of Washington student Amanda Knox accused of sexually assaulting and killing her roommate while studying abroad in Italy. The film is supposedly going to air without a controversial graphic scene depicting the murder.

Amanda's family wanted Hayden Panettierre (who portrays Amanda in the film), to meet Amanda before filming but their multiple requests were never acknowledged by Lifetime. It has been reported that Amanda herself "was shocked and hyperventilating when she saw a TV newscast in her Italian prison cell this weekend about Hayden Panettierre playing her in the Lifetime movie."

I also eventually read the book written about this story, "Angel Face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox."

Lifetime Movie Network: My Neighbor's Secret [movies]

One of my indulgences is the Lifetime Movie Network. I am taking advantage of the rainy day to watch "My Neighbor's Secret," starring Nicholas Brendon, whose career was pretty much over after his run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, save a few episodes of Criminal Minds and Private Practice as well as some minor film roles here and there.

He still has that slight lisp, too.
Up next is the much-anticipated "And Baby Will Fall," based on the novel by Hallie Ephron, and starring Clea Duvall. Yes, Clea Duvall.

No, I don't know why she is doing Lifetime movies either.

Girlfriend's Birthday Cake [baking]

I made my first cake completely from scratch tonight for my girlfriend's birthday, and it wasn't half bad! In fact, she liked it!

It was a chocolate cake with homemade vanilla cool whip frosting with a layer of fresh strawberries between the chocolate cake and strawberries on top; this was her "dream" cake, so I did my best with it.

I used the "Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate' Chocolate Cake" recipe for the cake, and then this recipe for the cool whip frosting.

Green Documentaries [documentary]

No Impact Man

Read Colin Beavan's No Impact Man blog here.

Garbage Warrior

Earth 2100: The Final Century of Civilization?

Oil, Smoke, & Mirrors - official site

Blue Gold: World Water Wars