Zeon Santos's Blog Posts

Red Cross Swimming Safety Poster Recalled Due To Racism

I know you've been waiting with baited breath for another political correctness scandal to appear, so here it is- that Red Cross swimming safety poster at the top of the post is seen as racist, can you guess why?

It's not because of the lack of diversity in the pool but rather because all of the good kids being "cool" are white and all the bad kids doing "not cool" stuff are not white.  

Concerned parents took to social media to call out the American Red Cross over this accidental act of overt racism, and the Red Cross immediately issued an apology and discontinued the poster.

The poster's message was seen as doubly harmful for African Americans and Latinos, who still have a shaky relationship with swimming pools:

The African-American community has had a tense history when it comes to public pools, as they were segregated in the past, and even when they weren't, white residents would pressure black residents into avoiding pools and beaches.

"When I saw the poster, I just, was just very saddened that the Red Cross had chosen to put out an image that might discourage African-Americans from trying swimming if they were new to it, and also something that would extend a negative stereotype," Ebony Rosemond, who runs an advocacy group called Black Kids Swim, told KUSA.

"This educational series reflects a serious lapse of judgment that we believe is harmful for young people. 70% of African Americans and 60% of Latino Americans cannot swim," a Change.org petition calling on the Red Cross to review its policies reads. "Your poster extends existing negative stereotypes and further discourages people of color from participating in swim activities."

-Via Good Housekeeping


Anthony Bourdain's 6 Sushi Bar No-Nos

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Anthony Bourdain has hung out with many of the top chefs in the world and eaten their amazing food too, and his culinary adventures have made him a bit of an expert on international cuisine.

One of Anthony's all time favorite foods is sushi, a taste for which he developed while hanging out at the bar at Sushi Yasuda in New York City, where he met and became friends with legendary sushi master Naomichi Yasuda.

So when Bourdain tells you what not to do at a real sushi bar you should heed his advice- or risk pissing off your sushi chef. Here are Bourdain's six punishable by death sushi bar don'ts:

1. Do Not: Make a slurry with all the wasabi and soy sauce you can get your hands on and then douse your fish with it. Make sure to taste your fish first.

2. Do Not: Dip your sushi rice down into the soy sauce—“unless you want to watch your rice crumble and disintegrate into an unholy mess in the wasabi slurry that you probably already made.” If you feel your sushi needs soy, lightly dip it fish side down.

3. Do Not: Say loudly, "This sushi is so fresh, dude." Unless you’re in a place where that concept would even be in question.

4. Do Not: Consider a sushi selection that includes mayonnaise. “Don’t get me wrong, I love mayo. Tuna salad on white bread is our version of Edo-style sushi. But it belongs nowhere near raw fish.”  

5. Do Not: Mistake a lame pan-Asian place for a sushi spot. “You know the ones; unst, unst, unst music is playing in the background, edamame comes with a cloud of dry ice. A great sushi bar is like the perfect Irish pub. You make decisions with your sushi chef, with your bartender, over the course of the night, and you leave feeling extremely well cared for.”
6. Do Not: Order a California Roll. No explanation necessary.

I think of Bourdain's advice every time I make a wasabi-soy slurry and soak my California Roll in it...

-Via Travel + Leisure


Farmer And Sixteen Of His Cows Are Killed By Freak Weather Event

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When a farmer and 16 of his cows were found dead in a field people rightly suspected foul play, but sometimes the truth isn't stranger than fiction- it's just different.

29-year-old farmer Michael Biadasz and 16 of his cows were found dead on the family farm in Amherst, Wisconsin, when workers came in to begin hauling manure out of a holding tank.

Michael was emptying the manure tank when a atmospheric pressure caused by a storm trapped the methane gasses and prevented them from dissipating, killing Michael and 13 of his cattle instantly.

(YouTube Link)

Michael's mysterious death caused people to worry for their safety in Amherst, but I wonder if discovering the fact that freak weather caused Michael's death made them feel any safer?

-Via AWM


Awful Final Roles For Iconic Actors Who Deserved Better

Some would say it's better to crash and burn than fade away, but I think these iconic actors would have disagreed, and they deserved better roles as their final on-screen performances.

Bela Lugosi is best known by his true fans as the first and finest Count Dracula, but Tim Burton's biopic Ed Wood introduced a new generation to Bela for all the wrong reasons- his appearances in Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen Or Glenda.

(YouTube Link)

Both movies were unbearably bad, but at least Bela got to deliver one of the greatest monologues in movie history!

Joan Crawford went from being one of Hollywood's greatest and most revered actresses to playing second fiddle to a guy in a gorilla suit in the ultra-cheesy sci-fi flick Trog.

If you're a Joan Crawford or Bette Davis fan you should check out the FX series Feud: Bette And Joan, the Trog scene was particularly poignant after watching Joan's career end...badly.

But the worst send off of them all has to be Raul Julia's final on-screen appearance as M. Bison in Street Fighter: The Movie- Raul agreed to do the film because his grandchildren loved the video game so much.

Raul delivers an amazing performance in this less than mediocre movie even though he was battling cancer during the filming. He passed away shortly after the movie was finished at the age of 54.

See 10 Awful Final Roles Of Actors That Deserved Better here


Chefs Share The Stupidest Food Orders They've Ever Received

Most chefs aren't anything like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, so they'll be accommodating to customers and customize their orders so they leave full and happy with their dining experience.

But everyone who works in the food service industry knows it's tough to deal with customers who are really dumb, really demanding and really cheap, three of the worst qualities in a diner.

You know what else makes a chef hate a customer, according to the chefs chiming in on the ChefTalk forum? When customers order a dish minus all the stuff that makes the dish delicious:

Chadateit

My personal favourite was a banquet order for a Caesar's salad (for a party of about 100 people) that, 20 minutes before plating, was updated saying that the Caesar dressing couldn't have anchovies, garlic, or egg. What do you even say to that?

Will

Well-done steak tartare.

Ramiro Exposito Gaspe

Paella without rice please.

And then there are those weirdos who don't understand how food allergies or diet restrictions work:

Just Jim

"I'm very allergic to garlic, is there any in the special?" "Yes, there is a little" "Well, as long as I can't see it I'll be okay. I'll have the special."

RAS1187

Order for well done burger. Not unusual, but the guest told the server, "My doctor told me I can't have any red meat" and was dead serious.

Just Jim

"Can I get the special with fettuccine? I'm allergic to penne." "You're allergic to a shape?"

But the worst diners of all are those lunatics who don't understand how food works at all. What planet are these crazy people from?:

Colomboshute

Today's special was sirloin a la plancha and a customer asked my wife if we could make it vegetarian...

Recky

Customer complains after eating her omelette that the menu didn't explicitly state that it contained “so much egg...”

RAS1187

French onion soup, no onions.

Locomoco

The other day I got a ticket that read: “Cheese plate (no dairy).”

Sergeant Pepper

Vegetarian filet mignon.

Read Chefs Share 58 Of The Stupidest Food Orders Ever here


Will A Video Made By The National Crime Agency Curb Casual Cocaine Use In The UK?

Cocaine is a mentally addicting drug that messes with your endorphins and makes you feel like any time is the greatest time of your life, leaving frequent users feeling like the drug is actually benefitting their lives.

But the societal costs of cocaine use can seriously outweigh the benefits, just think about the comedy legends like John Candy, Chris Farley and John Belushi we lost to cocaine.

And yet cocaine users cannot see past the powder haze long enough to admit the drug is doing damage to their body and the world, but maybe they'd see the light if there was a video involved?

(YouTube Link)

Vice asked some young people to watch this video by the UK's National Crime Agency then asked them if they'd stop using coke after watching the video, and not surprisingly the video didn't really change any minds:

Charlie, 25, Barista

How much do you estimate you spend on cocaine?
Charlie: Probably between £150 to £200 a year, but that's spread over periods of high density and then gaps of little use.

How much do you know about where it comes from?
My dealer changes fairly regularly, probably about every six months to a year, and I've never known them very closely. Generally when I pick up I get it through several chains of different people, usually someone I know who knows someone who would then go and pick it up. In terms of where they get it from, I'd have no idea, really. I'd always just assumed it was all from the South America-type region...

Did the NCA video make you re-think your cocaine use?
I was sort of vaguely aware of the kind of widespread criminal networks that exist to transport and facilitate it, but the environmental effects never really occurred to me. This might sound kind of bad, but it's something that makes me think a lot more and speaks to me a lot more because it's kind of larger than just our species.

Does it make you want to stop?
Probably not, but it might make me think a bit more next time.

Read more at VICE


Silly Boston Terrier "Swims" Around On The Living Room Rug

Boston Terrier's are little bundles of energy who will literally run themselves in circles to expend that energy so they don't explode like a little doggy grenade.

Their boundless energy also cause them to act in strange and unpredictable ways, as demonstrated by Riley the Boston Terrier who sometimes likes to pretend she's a shark.

Riley asked the other dogs on Instagram if they liked to pretend to be a shark too, to which they replied they'd rather pretend to be a waste disposal unit, a royal food taster or a squirrel but never a shark. I guess Riley swims to the beat of her own drum!

-Via Laughing Squid


Changing Attitudes About Parenting, As Seen In Cartoons From The New Yorker

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Attitudes towards parenting and the concept of family in general have changed a lot since the 1920s, and throughout the family's transition from nuclear to free-form The New Yorker has captured the changes in their cartoons.

Sociologists from Indiana University Jaclyn Tabor and Jessica Calarco examined the changing attitudes towards parenting from 1925 to 2006 by looking at cartoons from The New Yorker:

...the study asks “Are children seen exclusively as good and desirable? Or are they also seen as a bit of a nuisance?”

Parenting is increasingly intensive (and stressful), especially among the wealthy. And more adults are opting out. According to 2010 census data, about 20 percent of American women never have children, compared to 10 percent in the 1970s. In order to see whether or not these shifts were also reflected in pop culture, the researchers combed through a sample from more than 70,439 New Yorker cartoons, noting how the magazine’s cartoonists have lampooned parenting over time.

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They presented their findings at the American Sociological Association's annual conference in 2015, the comics proving to be a valuable resource for sociological research:

Humor requires cultural resonance—comedy often hinges on the revelation, distortion or exaggeration of cultural realities,” the researchers write. Overall, they found that cartoons that showed having kids as beneficial waned over time, while cartoons about bad parenting have increased since the 1920s. 

Almost 30 percent of all the parenting-related cartoons involved children doing something beneficial to society, like delivering papers or providing services or good deeds for their neighbors. Most of these were published in the middle of the 20th century.

Almost 18 percent of all the jokes poked fun at the cost of having children—most of them from either the beginning of The New Yorker’s run or its more recent issues. “Darling, here’s the bill from the hospital. One more installment and the baby’s ours!” a 1928 cartoon quips, while a 1996 one reads “Your mother and I think it’s time you got a place of your own. We’d like a little time alone before we die.”

And 17 percent of all the cartoons represented having kids as a natural part of life, depicting normal activities like families picnicking or walking around town. These were more common in the middle of the century, but have since been on the decline (probably as not having children became more normal, as the census data shows).

-Via Mental Floss


End The Summer In Style With A NeatoShop T-Shirt

Big Wampa by El Black Bat

The heat, humidity and longer days of summer turn some people into great big monsters, making them unbearable to be around during those summer months because they constantly make us lose our cool.

But summer's almost over folks, so keep calm, stay cool and sport a NeatoShop t-shirt whenever possible for maximum style and comfort for minimum bucks!

Some people will be sorry to see summer go

Jesus ride by MoisEscudero

While others can't wait for their favorite fall activities to return

Wild American Football by SayWhatJAY

So they can go outside again when the weather cools down

SJW snowflake justice warrior by louisros

Because nobody likes to feel all hot and melty

Melted Rainbow by Tobe Fonseca

Continue reading

Doctors Are Baffled When Australian Teen's Legs Are Chewed Up By Sea Fleas

We expect most dangers at the beach to be found under the water, and aside from sharp sea shells, cranky crabs or beached jellyfish people don't feel the need to watch out while they walk down the shore.

But Australian teen Sam Kanizay discovered another beach danger he was unaware of until they'd chewed his legs bloody raw- sea fleas:

"I walked out of the water, saw what I thought was sand covering my ankles below my calf, shook it off quite violently, and it came off," he told CNN affiliate Seven Network Australia. But what he shook from his legs wasn't sand.

"We thought we better clean off this bit of blood and then realized it wasn't washing away," Jane Kanizay, Sam's mother, told Seven News.
"There was no stopping the bleeding," his father told the Washington Post. "We just had to get him to hospital."
At the local hospital, doctors attempted to stem the flow of blood, but it continued to run from the many pinhole-size bites on Sam's feet and legs.
Sam said his pain was "up to an eight out of 10," his father told the Post, adding that hospital staff were baffled by his injury.

Sea fleas are amphipods, a type of naturally-occurring scavenger that normally only dine on dead things, so the reason why they chewed up Sam's legs so badly is still a mystery.

But Sam's dad Jarrod wanted to conduct his own investigation, so he took some raw meat down to the site where Sam was chewed up by the swarm and shot this disturbing footage:

(YouTube Link)

-Via BuzzFeed and CNN


Sculptor Spends 2 Years Building Incredibly Cool Statue Out Of 100,000 Knives

Fascist rulers crack down on artists because art gives people hope and often contains symbols and messages that are critical of people in power, which makes it a dangerous tool against absolute rule.

But sculptor Alfie Radley didn't turn 100,000 knives into the world's most dangerous sculpture to protest political policies in the UK, or give people hope for that matter, and the British authorities actually aided in its construction.

Alfie built the 26-foot-tall Knife Angel to raise awareness about the rising knife violence problem in the UK and honor the victims:

The angel’s founder, Alfie Radley, has spent two years designing and building the sculpture that features authorities donated knives that were actually utilized in violent crimes all over England and Wales, some of which even have the names of the victims engraved onto the blades. The rest arrived thanks to the aid of British Ironwork Centre in Shropshire, which initiated an amnesty program “Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife,” through which individuals can anonymously contribute their knives to the project.

-Via design you trust


Men Are Sealing Their Urethras Shut To Prevent Pregnancy

You know those really stupid news stories you read online then have to verify because it seems too dumb to be true? Men are sealing their penises shut to prevent pregnancy- tell me that's not one of the most verification-worthy headlines ever read online!

According to this New York Post article guys are using a product called Jiftip (NSFW) to seal their urethra shut with an adhesive decal so no sperm escapes during intercourse, which is neither safe nor effective.

The Jiftip website claims their product is meant to help men "feel your partner, feel freedom, feel smart", and yet their site also warns:

"Jiftip is NOT a condom. Because it's not approved for anything anywhere, let's make this clear: Use for novelty, pleasure, convenience, fun, or entertainment. THOU SHALT NOT USE FOR PREGNANCY OR STI PREVENTION PURPOSES."

This crotch catastrophy in the making is still in the beta testing phase, but health experts warn against anyone using the product for good reason:

Natika Halil, chief executive of sexual health charity the Family Planning Association, told The Sun Online: “There’s no evidence to suggest that this product is safe or effective, and it could potentially be very painful.

“As the company themselves say, it isn’t approved to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections — so if you want to avoid either of those, we’d recommend avoiding this product as well.

“It’s quite concerning that the company implies that sex without condoms isn’t ‘real sex,’ as condoms are the only form of contraception that can help prevent sexually transmitted infections.”

-Via NY Post


Wonders Of The Deep

There are many wonders to be seen in the ocean, but when you're famous cartoons like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy your expectations are much higher than that of the average human- with good reason.

Living in a cartoon means anything can happen, and any kind of creature imaginable can appear in the illustrated ocean, from a realistic render to something totally bizarro that could only exist as a 'toon.

So when the trio jump in Doctor Von Drake's submarine ride to see what lies under the sea they're sorely disappointed by the lack of aquatic characters...until they go deeper, deeper, DEEPER!

(YouTube Link)


The Andy Warhol Episode Of The Love Boat

Andy Warhol is often portrayed as a cold, emotionless character who also constantly seems a bit addle minded, but this stereotypical portrayal doesn't really do the man justice. In real life Andy had many sides to his life and his personality, and he was quite the fun loving fellow when he felt like kicking up his Beatle boots.

He was a fan of pro wrestling, appeared in music videos for The Cars and even made an uncredited appearance in Tootsie, but his 1985 appearance on The Love Boat is really out there- even for Warhol.


Love Boat Season 9 Episode 3 by lexie-guerrero-14

Here's more about Season 9, Episode 3, entitled “Hidden Treasure / Picture from the Past / Ace’s Salary”:

An all-star cast, including Andy Warhol, Andy Griffith, and Milton Berle, helps the crew celebrate the ship’s two-hundredth voyage. In “Picture from the Past,” Warhol, as himself, offers to select a passenger as the subject of his next portrait. Marion Ross plays a former Warhol superstar who fears the artist will recognize her and reveal her secret past to her disapproving, conservative husband, played by Tom Bosley.

After The Love Boat episode was aired, he complained to a friend that people in Hollywood were “idiots.” They didn’t buy art, he said. They stank.

-Via Dangerous Minds


How To Gracefully Avoid Touchy Conversation Topics

Most of us can't live without a good conversation here and there, one with plenty of back and forth and honest sharing from all involved, a chat that makes you feel like you're talking to the right people.

After having great conversations you become accutely aware of how awkward and difficult other conversations can be, especially when the discussion turns to touchier subjects- like a relative's fight with cancer.

So Lifehacker's Emily Price came up with planned conversations to help her and her dad deal with all those people who would ask her about her mom's cancer but didn't really care to hear the truth:

Planned conversations certainly aren’t full-proof, but as someone who hates small talk, they can be a lifesaver in situations, like family reunions, where there are a handful of topics you don’t want to talk about.

My advice to my dad was just to respond to questions he didn’t want to answer with a very short nondescript answer, and then immediately change the subject to something slightly related he did want to talk about.

The original question asker likely won’t notice the transition, and if they do, going back to the original question will be awkward after the topic shift, so they’re not likely to do it.

The key to success with this is to have a prepared answer that to some extent answers the question, as well as a planned conversation pivot.

Read How To Gracefull Avoid Touchy Conversation Topics here


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Profile for Zeon Santos

  • Member Since 2012/08/04


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