100 Greatest Books OF ALL TIMES by Entertainment weekly
1. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
2. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
3. Great Expectations Charles Dickens
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5. My Antonia Willa Carter
6. The Harry Potter Series J.K. Rowling
7. The Rabbit Quartet John Updike
8. Beloved Toni Morrison
10. Charlotte's Web E.B. White
11. Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf
12. The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
13. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
14. Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky
15. Ragtime E.L. Doctorow
16. Jayne Eyre Charlotte Bronte
17. The Road Cormac McCarthy
18. Moby Dick Herman Melville
19. Lolita Vladimir Nabokove
20. Lonesome Dove Larry McMurty
21. American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser
22. Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
23. The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky
24. A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man James Joyce
25. Bleak House Charles dickens
26. Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
27. A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L’Engle
28. War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
29. The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
31. Native Son Richard Wright
32. Blindness Jose Saramago
32. The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
33. Maus Art Spiegelman
34. The World According to Garp John Irving
35. A Personal Matter Kenzaburo Oe
36. Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
37. The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
38. The Regeneration Trilogy Pat Barker
39. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
40. Suitable Boy Vikram Seth
41. Go Tell It on The Mountain James Baldwin
42. The Stand Stephen King
43. A Confederacy of Dunces John Kenedy Toole
44. His Dark Materials Phillip Pullman
45. The Color Purple Alice Walker
46. The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
47. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
48. The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith
49. Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card
50. Snow Orhan Pamuk
51. The Corrections Jonathan Franzen
52. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison
53. Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell
54. Billi Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk Ben Fountain
55. A Fine Balance Robinson Mistry
56. Sophie’s Choice William Styron
57. The Children of Men P.D. James
58. Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie
59. Dracula Bram Stoker
60. Their Eyes were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
61. Love in The Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
62. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
63. Portnoy’s Complaint Phillip Roth
64. Infinite Jest David Forster Wallace
65. Herzog Saul Bellow
66. Howard’s End E.M. Forster
67. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Kay Michael habon
68. Middlemarch George Elliot
69. Money Martin Amis
70. Neuromancer William Gibson
71. The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
72. The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
73. The Spay Who Came From The Cold John Le Carre
74. Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
75. Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
76. The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing
77. Tom Jones Henry Fielding
78. A House for Mr Biswas V.S. Naipaul
79. Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel
80. Swann’s Way Marcel Proust
81. Frankenstein Mary Shelly
82. Disgrace J.M. Coetze
83. The Stone Diaries Carol Shields
84. Clockers Richard Price
85. Catch-22 Joseph Heller
86. A Home at the End Of The World Michael Cunningham
87. White Teeth Zadie Smith
88. The Bonfire of Vanities Tom Wolfe
89. Tristram Shandy Lawrence Sterne
90. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
91. The Leopard Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampera
92. The Glass Bead Games Hermann Hesse
93. Bastard out of Carolina Dorothy Allison
94. The Moonstone Wilkie Collins
95. The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
96. If on a winter’s night a Traveler Italo Calvino
97. The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler
98. Are you there God ? It’s me Margaret Judy Blume
99. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
100. The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan.
How we chose our 100 All-Time Greatest Novels
We’ve gotten a landslide of mail about the All-Time Greatest issue, much of it along the following lines:
“Dear Dips–t Editors:
How could could you possibly be so dips—-y?
You put [name of masterpiece] on your Top 100 list even though it fully sucks. I mean, even my 8-year-old sister who drools when she sleeps knows the immense power of its suckage! Yet you totally ignored the awesomeness of [name of something pretty good]. You can explain yourself but I don’t care, and won’t listen, and hate you. Please die. Sincerely, A longtime subscriber”
Well, then. Here’s how we assembled the books list: We sat in a conference room talking about books we loved and admired. Our books editor, Tina Jordan, then made a rough list based on the conversation, and we argued about it endlessly, moved things around endlessly, cut and added things endlessly. This went on for at least six months, during which time we read like fiends. Eventually, this guy named Lou Vogel, who’s in charge of making sure we actually get around to publishing a magazine every week, said, “OK, you absolutely must turn in the final list right this second or I will scream and never stop screaming.”
We never expected our books lists to please everyone. How could you agree with every book on a list like this unless you wrote the list yourself? And even you, whoever you are, like things that not everybody loves. Admit it, you like some pretty weird stuff.
Another reason we’ll all never agree on a list is that we’ll never even agree on the definition of “greatest.” Does it mean the most influential? The most perfect? The most moving? It means some unquantifiable combination of all these things. My daughter thinks The Great Gatsby should have been No. 1 because it’s the most flawless thing ever. My wife thinks The Road should have been number No. 1 because it’s astonishing and it bridges genres — and it isn’t prehistoric, like Anna Karenina. These are good arguments. I love having them because I love talking about books.
When we were down in the trenches arguing over this issue, I lobbied hard for things that ultimately made the list (Blindness, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Ender’s Game come to mind). But I lost battles too. Everyone here did. Ultimately, though, we stand by the list happily because it’s full of amazing, heart-stopping, heart-changing literature.
Probably you want me to admit to some super-nefarious backroom dealings, so here you go:
Confession No. 1: As our boss, Jess Cagle, said in his editor’s note in the magazine, we didn’t want a handful of authors to dominate the list at the expense of other authors. So there are people like Dickens and Austen who aren’t on the list as often as they could be. By not including six Dickens novels, we made room for a lot of cool voices who wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise. I will state here unequivocally that Austen and Dickens are both really, really good. You should read the novels they have on this list and other ones too.
Confession No. 2: We wanted diversity of every kind on this list. I don’t just mean in terms of the novelist’s gender or race, but also in terms of time period and genre. Our vision of literature is beyond highbrow, middlebrow and lowbrow. Some readers have complained because new books wound up alongside immortal classics. Others have complained that there weren’t ENOUGH new novels. We wanted a mix that reflected fiction as a continually evolving art form. You can’t please all the people all the time, but it turns out you can annoy a whole bunch of them.
One frequently asked question: Why is Harry Potter so high on the list? Because it’s an amazing coming-of-age story that will be read voraciously 100 years from now. You may disagree. We can talk again in 100 years.
Confession No. 3: Just as staffers advocated for novels they personally loved, they fought against stuff they disliked. I’ll give you an example. Phillip Roth is generally thought to be one of the most gifted novelists of the last 50 years. But here’s the thing: Roth has some extremely vocal detractors on our staff—people who feel that he represents everything that is wrong with everything that is wrong. I personally feel that he is underrepresented on our list, but then I feel strongly that The Hobbit (on the list) is a better novel than Lord of the Rings (not on the list), which many commenters have said is a ridiculous abomination of an opinion.
OK, enough explaining. The bottom line is that all our All-Time Greatest Lists are meant to be tributes, not trash-talk. You should find some stuff on the list you haven’t read and read it. We’re all reading all your comments and emails to look for suggestions, too. I like the idea that people still feel fiercely enough about novels to get mad.
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Jumat, 06 Desember 2013
Kamis, 25 April 2013
A £1 House in U.K.
Homes in Stoke-on-Trent which can be bought for just £1
More than 600 people are interested in buying rundown homes in Stoke-on-Trent for £1 each, the city council has said.
Thirty-five derelict homes, mainly two-bedroom terraced properties, will initially be sold off in the Cobridge area, with a further 89 to follow.
Under the £3m project, the local authority is offering loans of up to £30,000 to help complete essential repairs on the houses.
Applications opened for potential buyers on Monday.
People have until 12 May to apply for one.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the initial 35 homes would be randomly allocated to the successful applicants.
The majority are two-bedroom, but there are also a few three-bedroom houses and possibly some flats.
Anyone applying must have lived in the city for the past three years.
Other criteria they must satisfy include:
A joint income of £18,000 to £25,000 a year – £30,000 maximum if they have children
Applicants must have been employed for the past two years
They must not own another property
They must have the right to live permanently in the UK
The new house must be their main home for at least five years
‘Community spirit’
Anyone taking out the £30,000 loan would have to pay it back within 10 years at an interest rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate, which currently stands at 0.5%.
If the house is sold within 10 years, a proportion of any profit must be paid to the council on a sliding scale.
In return for buying the properties, people will be required to renovate them and bring them back into use.
Councillor Janine Bridges, responsible for housing, said the scheme would “see a rundown area of the city transformed”.
She added: “The project will not only benefit the residents who are currently living next door to properties that have been vacant for some time, it will also give families moving into the homes the chance to take their first step on the property ladder.”
The council said it hoped to “build a community spirit” in the area and create “thriving neighbourhoods”.
However, Steph Dunn-Fox, from Stoke-on-Trent-based estate agents findahomeonline.co.uk, said Cobridge was presently an unattractive area for home buyers and was “full of empty homes”.
She said: “I think it’s a great idea in principle and they’re probably thinking it’ll appeal most to first-time buyers.
“It’s the sort of area and offer that could appeal to property developers, but they’re excluded from this.
“It’s difficult – unless you’re from the area, who wants to live on a rundown street, carry out a lot of work and know you have to stay there for at least five years?”
She said she could see a typical terrace house redeveloped in a good condition reaching a maximum of £55,000 to £60,000 on the market.
Last month, Liverpool City Council said more than 2,000 people had been in touch about buying 20 homes there during the week they were on offer for £1.
More than 600 people are interested in buying rundown homes in Stoke-on-Trent for £1 each, the city council has said.
Thirty-five derelict homes, mainly two-bedroom terraced properties, will initially be sold off in the Cobridge area, with a further 89 to follow.
Under the £3m project, the local authority is offering loans of up to £30,000 to help complete essential repairs on the houses.
Applications opened for potential buyers on Monday.
People have until 12 May to apply for one.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the initial 35 homes would be randomly allocated to the successful applicants.
The majority are two-bedroom, but there are also a few three-bedroom houses and possibly some flats.
Anyone applying must have lived in the city for the past three years.
Other criteria they must satisfy include:
A joint income of £18,000 to £25,000 a year – £30,000 maximum if they have children
Applicants must have been employed for the past two years
They must not own another property
They must have the right to live permanently in the UK
The new house must be their main home for at least five years
‘Community spirit’
Anyone taking out the £30,000 loan would have to pay it back within 10 years at an interest rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate, which currently stands at 0.5%.
If the house is sold within 10 years, a proportion of any profit must be paid to the council on a sliding scale.
In return for buying the properties, people will be required to renovate them and bring them back into use.
Councillor Janine Bridges, responsible for housing, said the scheme would “see a rundown area of the city transformed”.
She added: “The project will not only benefit the residents who are currently living next door to properties that have been vacant for some time, it will also give families moving into the homes the chance to take their first step on the property ladder.”
The council said it hoped to “build a community spirit” in the area and create “thriving neighbourhoods”.
However, Steph Dunn-Fox, from Stoke-on-Trent-based estate agents findahomeonline.co.uk, said Cobridge was presently an unattractive area for home buyers and was “full of empty homes”.
She said: “I think it’s a great idea in principle and they’re probably thinking it’ll appeal most to first-time buyers.
“It’s the sort of area and offer that could appeal to property developers, but they’re excluded from this.
“It’s difficult – unless you’re from the area, who wants to live on a rundown street, carry out a lot of work and know you have to stay there for at least five years?”
She said she could see a typical terrace house redeveloped in a good condition reaching a maximum of £55,000 to £60,000 on the market.
Last month, Liverpool City Council said more than 2,000 people had been in touch about buying 20 homes there during the week they were on offer for £1.
How To Make Money From Short Stories
Richard Bausch wins $30,000 Rea Award for short stories
NEW YORK - One of the country's top short story writers has won a $30,000 prize.
Richard Bausch, author of eight story collections and winner of numerous other honors, is this year's recipient of the Rea Award for the Short Story.
The prize, announced Thursday, is given for making a "significant contribution" to the art of short story writing. Bausch's books include "Something Is Out There" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." He also has written 11 novels and has been praised for his lyrical style and his insights into a wide a range of people and emotions.
The Rea Award was established in 1986. Previous winners include Eudora Welty, John Updike and Lorrie Moore.
NEW YORK - One of the country's top short story writers has won a $30,000 prize.
Richard Bausch, author of eight story collections and winner of numerous other honors, is this year's recipient of the Rea Award for the Short Story.
The prize, announced Thursday, is given for making a "significant contribution" to the art of short story writing. Bausch's books include "Something Is Out There" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." He also has written 11 novels and has been praised for his lyrical style and his insights into a wide a range of people and emotions.
The Rea Award was established in 1986. Previous winners include Eudora Welty, John Updike and Lorrie Moore.
Rabu, 24 April 2013
Deported for Being Too Handsome
Crime of Passion: Three Men Forcibly Deported from Saudi Arabia for Being “Too Handsome”
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Photographer, actor and poet Omar Borkan Al Gala from Dubai was one of the men kicked out of Saudi Arabia because he is ridiculously good looking. Saudi Arabian men feared that these men will steal their wives' hearts if they let them stay in the country ;) According to Arabic language Elaph newspaper, the UAE nationals were taking part in a heritage event in the capital Riyadh on Sunday when they were thrown out by Saudi’s religious police.
TV Emirates reported recently that three United Arab Emirates nationals were deported from Saudi Arabia for the crime of being “too handsome.”
This is certainly an uncommon criminal accusation, but one that we can relate to (some of our writers are banned in 26 countries for the opposite reason).
The three men were manning a booth representing the UAE at a cultural event in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh when the Saudi Mutaween (“religious police”) stormed the UAE booth and carried the men off, with women in the crowd presumably fainting left and right due to their sheer handsomeness.
Apparently, the Mutaween feared that women attending the event were likely to “fall in love” with the three men, prompting the arrest and forced deportation.
We can only assume that Brad Pitt is banned entirely from entering the country and that his face is covered by mosaic in all of his films in the Middle Eastern nation.
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TV Emirates reported recently that three United Arab Emirates nationals were deported from Saudi Arabia for the crime of being “too handsome.”
This is certainly an uncommon criminal accusation, but one that we can relate to (some of our writers are banned in 26 countries for the opposite reason).
The three men were manning a booth representing the UAE at a cultural event in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh when the Saudi Mutaween (“religious police”) stormed the UAE booth and carried the men off, with women in the crowd presumably fainting left and right due to their sheer handsomeness.
Apparently, the Mutaween feared that women attending the event were likely to “fall in love” with the three men, prompting the arrest and forced deportation.
We can only assume that Brad Pitt is banned entirely from entering the country and that his face is covered by mosaic in all of his films in the Middle Eastern nation.
A Penis On MARS !
Nasa Mars Rover Accidentally Draws Penis On Red Planet
Nasa's $800m Mars Exploration Rovers have accidentally drawn a penis.
The twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It appears that part of the robots' programming involves spinning in tight circles to test nearby terrain and find new routes.
Humorously, depending on your age perhaps, that has the unfortunate consequence of drawing a certain shape on the surface, which when discovered by Reddit essentially crashed Nasa's website.
The image was posted on Nasa's site and appears to be a genuine picture from the Martian surface - albeit one taken at an unfortunate angle.
It's not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
Nasa's $800m Mars Exploration Rovers have accidentally drawn a penis.
The twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It appears that part of the robots' programming involves spinning in tight circles to test nearby terrain and find new routes.
Humorously, depending on your age perhaps, that has the unfortunate consequence of drawing a certain shape on the surface, which when discovered by Reddit essentially crashed Nasa's website.
The image was posted on Nasa's site and appears to be a genuine picture from the Martian surface - albeit one taken at an unfortunate angle.
It's not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
Selasa, 23 April 2013
Bollywood Sex And Nudity
India's censored kisses to be shown for the first time
A new film festival is to showcase for the first time scenes from Bollywood movies deemed too racy for Indian viewers, including the first attempt at an on-screen kiss, organisers say.
The "Cut-Uncut" festival in New Delhi will feature unedited versions of films which fell foul of the all-powerful Indian censor board that continues to vet movies before their release.
Portrayals of sex, nudity, social unrest and violence can still be kept out of movie halls under India's strict laws that were first drafted in 1952 and later amended in 1983.
In the year of Bollywood's 100-year anniversary, "Cut-Uncut" is being organised by the ministry of information and broadcasting to demonstrate its more open-minded approach, a ministry official said.
"We want to be more liberal, stop enforcing the old rules and instead recognise artistic endeavor," said an official in the ministry, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Until recently, "long kissing scenes, nudity and visuals depicting acts of rebellion against the government" were all censored, he explained.
"With changing times, we want to have a fresh approach. Our aim is to change the old set of censor laws soon."
The festival beginning April 25 will open with a screening of the 1933 classic "Karma" starring Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, whose onscreen kiss was considered the first in a Bollywood film and was deleted at the time.
A 2004 documentary called the Final Solution, which looks at the highly sensitive subject of Hindu-Muslim religious rioting, will also be shown after it was banned for being "highly provocative."
These days Bollywood is awash with sexually suggestive material and scantily-clad leading ladies, but sex remains a taboo and films showing kissing scenes are given an "adult" certificate limiting them to viewers over 18.
The most popular films remain so-called "masala movies", a mix of violence, romance and comedy for mainstream audiences, but there are more and more filmmakers working to reproduce the gritty reality of India on celluloid.
Star director Dibakar Banerjee ran into trouble last year with the censor board over his film "Shanghai".
He had to delete two scenes depicting violence in the political thriller, including a high-caste character murdering a low-caste victim.
"I hated the idea of deleting the most powerful scenes from my movie but, well, I had to chop them otherwise the movie would have never seen the light of day," he said.
"Censorship has the power to kill the spirit of a film. It's high time the government stops dictating what Indians should be watching," he added.
A new film festival is to showcase for the first time scenes from Bollywood movies deemed too racy for Indian viewers, including the first attempt at an on-screen kiss, organisers say.
The "Cut-Uncut" festival in New Delhi will feature unedited versions of films which fell foul of the all-powerful Indian censor board that continues to vet movies before their release.
Portrayals of sex, nudity, social unrest and violence can still be kept out of movie halls under India's strict laws that were first drafted in 1952 and later amended in 1983.
In the year of Bollywood's 100-year anniversary, "Cut-Uncut" is being organised by the ministry of information and broadcasting to demonstrate its more open-minded approach, a ministry official said.
"We want to be more liberal, stop enforcing the old rules and instead recognise artistic endeavor," said an official in the ministry, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Until recently, "long kissing scenes, nudity and visuals depicting acts of rebellion against the government" were all censored, he explained.
"With changing times, we want to have a fresh approach. Our aim is to change the old set of censor laws soon."
The festival beginning April 25 will open with a screening of the 1933 classic "Karma" starring Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, whose onscreen kiss was considered the first in a Bollywood film and was deleted at the time.
A 2004 documentary called the Final Solution, which looks at the highly sensitive subject of Hindu-Muslim religious rioting, will also be shown after it was banned for being "highly provocative."
These days Bollywood is awash with sexually suggestive material and scantily-clad leading ladies, but sex remains a taboo and films showing kissing scenes are given an "adult" certificate limiting them to viewers over 18.
The most popular films remain so-called "masala movies", a mix of violence, romance and comedy for mainstream audiences, but there are more and more filmmakers working to reproduce the gritty reality of India on celluloid.
Star director Dibakar Banerjee ran into trouble last year with the censor board over his film "Shanghai".
He had to delete two scenes depicting violence in the political thriller, including a high-caste character murdering a low-caste victim.
"I hated the idea of deleting the most powerful scenes from my movie but, well, I had to chop them otherwise the movie would have never seen the light of day," he said.
"Censorship has the power to kill the spirit of a film. It's high time the government stops dictating what Indians should be watching," he added.
The World's Worst Hotel
Wanted: Ugly people for travel ads
Ugly writer crafts beautiful article calling for honest, realistic travel marketing -- pretty people will not enjoy this
Ads lie. Or they did.
The golf vacation commercials are the worst. All those beaming glad-I-came-here faces. After a shank off the first and a round of 118? Not counting 11 lost balls?
It’s impossible for any real golfer to look that happy.
Beach holiday ads are no better. Everyone perfectly formed, no cellulite or growths.
No one looking like they’ve been born in the normal, mammalian way, like you see on real beaches.
Unreally happy families having a wonderfully elated time at a great price with no sign of disharmony, dysfunction or diarrhea.
Couples staring dreamily through candlelight and walking hand in hand through the moonlit Caribbean surf, with no sign of her shenanigans the day before with the hotel’s beach raker.
And the cruises: photo after photo of laughing faces having a once-in-a-lifetime time over a very small portion of fish. Which looks bigger in a close-up.
No sign of anyone seasick or cabin-bound. No pictures taken at the exact moment the dinner table conversation stalled on the first night: “Why did you come on this cruise?”
“Because we have a high superlative threshold and are easily deceived by advertising copy.”
No hint of anyone being tortured by the crooner with the fire-retardant toupee; by the excessively talkative couple from Winnipeg; the extremely cheerful couple from Wales; the husband who memorizes Android reviews and the wife who collects digitalized photos of her master bedroom.
And pronounces Muscadet Muscadette.
No ad can communicate a real vacation and its petty but enervating frustrations.
And that’s to be expected.
But there are signs that as travelers get savvy to the tricks and illusions of marketers, marketers are now becoming savvy to our savvy.
Ugly, the new pretty
I’m an honorary member of the “Ugly Club of the World.” I received the accolade in the self-nominated ugliest place in the world.
The Club dei Brutti is based in Piobbico in the Marche region of mid-Italy. It has 30,000 members worldwide and hosts an ugly persons’ festival every September.
The town square even has an ugly statue.
Amsterdam’s acclaimed Hans Brinker Budget Hotel has been “proudly disappointing travelers for 40 years.”
Its unashamedly filthy rooms are sold out months in advance through sheer honesty, comic in its frankness and superb negative hyperbole.
Its marketing slogan is: “We can’t get any worse but we try our best.”
It waives liability for gastroenteritis, mental breakdown and even lost limbs.
It boasts a bar serving slightly watered down beer and facilities comparable to a prison. One ad proclaims: “Now even more dogsh*t in the main entrance.”
Another shows a figure collapsed on the ground with its head caught in the hostel’s doors, surrounded by an ever-widening puddle of vomit -- a new and successful style of gushing endorsement.
Is all this clever marketing? Or just simple truth that attracts backpackers on a budget and a bender?
Probably both.
What exactly are they advertising?
Being bombarded by perfect breasts and gorgeous men from every holiday brochure and mortgage maturity leaflet I ever picked up gets to me.
Cruise commercials don’t make me go out and book a cruise. They make me go out and get some dental fixative. The only thing that sticks in my head is the teeth.
Recent surveys suggest we no longer trust celebrity endorsement, especially of beauty products. Scarlett Johannsen before and after? Unlikely.
One poll also revealed that 78% of TV viewers believe the people in laxative ads are really actors faking being constipated. Method actors having it the hardest.
It’s time for ads to use normal people with realistic bodies and facial expressions. Someone not so happy. Someone not very photogenic.
Someone with shoulder hair rather than shoulder-length hair. Someone more like me.
It wouldn’t be a totally original concept.
One of the earliest examples of this kind of inverse marketing/reverse psychology came from an Irish realty agent who wrote straight-talking property descriptions along the refreshingly honest lines of, “The décor is revolting and the lack of insulation has attracted insects. Otherwise, there is nothing much wrong.’”
That was in the 1960s.
It proved a productive hook with people flocking up to see just how bad the houses were.
Copywriters need to bin the superlatives and “We’ve found paradise! Come join us!” approach.
They need to realize there’s no such thing as paradise, especially if other people are there and all the loungers have gone.
As my Ugly Club friends keep telling me: “Us uglies must unite to overcome. We are better and stronger than the beautiful people. And there are far more of us.”
It’s all summed up by the recent Southern Comfort commercial.
An astigmatic, middle-aged potbelly in sea waders and tight trunks that could double as an eye patch waddles contentedly down a beach, accompanied by Odetta’s “Gotta Be Me.”
Perhaps body shape losers may not be flocking to the Barcelona beach where the ad was shot, but its aspirational message is clear.
Don’t hype up. Hype down. To the naked truth. Democratize. Don’t idealize. Tell it like it is. And show it how it is.
Get real.
Perhaps then we might not be so frequently disappointed when we get there.
Piobicco has put itself on the map. Being ugly is its Unique Selling Point. It bills itself as a place ugly people can feel at home.
And it’s effective. They come in their hideous hordes, ramping up the tourism income while battering down the beauty factor.
The Czech Republic has gone the same way.
It sells itself to bad skiers, offering “numerous ravishing sceneries” and flat, snowy places where “you can enjoy the nature while struggling to ski” and meet “not very capable skiers.”
Superbeings and posers are not targeted. So everyone else can have a good time. Hard or soft sell, it works. Because it’s different. And funny. And true.
Ugly writer crafts beautiful article calling for honest, realistic travel marketing -- pretty people will not enjoy this
The golf vacation commercials are the worst. All those beaming glad-I-came-here faces. After a shank off the first and a round of 118? Not counting 11 lost balls?
It’s impossible for any real golfer to look that happy.
Beach holiday ads are no better. Everyone perfectly formed, no cellulite or growths.
No one looking like they’ve been born in the normal, mammalian way, like you see on real beaches.
Unreally happy families having a wonderfully elated time at a great price with no sign of disharmony, dysfunction or diarrhea.
Couples staring dreamily through candlelight and walking hand in hand through the moonlit Caribbean surf, with no sign of her shenanigans the day before with the hotel’s beach raker.
And the cruises: photo after photo of laughing faces having a once-in-a-lifetime time over a very small portion of fish. Which looks bigger in a close-up.
No sign of anyone seasick or cabin-bound. No pictures taken at the exact moment the dinner table conversation stalled on the first night: “Why did you come on this cruise?”
“Because we have a high superlative threshold and are easily deceived by advertising copy.”
No hint of anyone being tortured by the crooner with the fire-retardant toupee; by the excessively talkative couple from Winnipeg; the extremely cheerful couple from Wales; the husband who memorizes Android reviews and the wife who collects digitalized photos of her master bedroom.
And pronounces Muscadet Muscadette.
No ad can communicate a real vacation and its petty but enervating frustrations.
And that’s to be expected.
But there are signs that as travelers get savvy to the tricks and illusions of marketers, marketers are now becoming savvy to our savvy.
Ugly, the new pretty
I’m an honorary member of the “Ugly Club of the World.” I received the accolade in the self-nominated ugliest place in the world.
The Club dei Brutti is based in Piobbico in the Marche region of mid-Italy. It has 30,000 members worldwide and hosts an ugly persons’ festival every September.
The town square even has an ugly statue.
Amsterdam’s acclaimed Hans Brinker Budget Hotel has been “proudly disappointing travelers for 40 years.”
Its unashamedly filthy rooms are sold out months in advance through sheer honesty, comic in its frankness and superb negative hyperbole.
Its marketing slogan is: “We can’t get any worse but we try our best.”
It waives liability for gastroenteritis, mental breakdown and even lost limbs.
It boasts a bar serving slightly watered down beer and facilities comparable to a prison. One ad proclaims: “Now even more dogsh*t in the main entrance.”
Another shows a figure collapsed on the ground with its head caught in the hostel’s doors, surrounded by an ever-widening puddle of vomit -- a new and successful style of gushing endorsement.
Is all this clever marketing? Or just simple truth that attracts backpackers on a budget and a bender?
Probably both.
What exactly are they advertising?
Being bombarded by perfect breasts and gorgeous men from every holiday brochure and mortgage maturity leaflet I ever picked up gets to me.
Cruise commercials don’t make me go out and book a cruise. They make me go out and get some dental fixative. The only thing that sticks in my head is the teeth.
Recent surveys suggest we no longer trust celebrity endorsement, especially of beauty products. Scarlett Johannsen before and after? Unlikely.
One poll also revealed that 78% of TV viewers believe the people in laxative ads are really actors faking being constipated. Method actors having it the hardest.
It’s time for ads to use normal people with realistic bodies and facial expressions. Someone not so happy. Someone not very photogenic.
Someone with shoulder hair rather than shoulder-length hair. Someone more like me.
It wouldn’t be a totally original concept.
One of the earliest examples of this kind of inverse marketing/reverse psychology came from an Irish realty agent who wrote straight-talking property descriptions along the refreshingly honest lines of, “The décor is revolting and the lack of insulation has attracted insects. Otherwise, there is nothing much wrong.’”
That was in the 1960s.
It proved a productive hook with people flocking up to see just how bad the houses were.
Copywriters need to bin the superlatives and “We’ve found paradise! Come join us!” approach.
They need to realize there’s no such thing as paradise, especially if other people are there and all the loungers have gone.
As my Ugly Club friends keep telling me: “Us uglies must unite to overcome. We are better and stronger than the beautiful people. And there are far more of us.”
It’s all summed up by the recent Southern Comfort commercial.
An astigmatic, middle-aged potbelly in sea waders and tight trunks that could double as an eye patch waddles contentedly down a beach, accompanied by Odetta’s “Gotta Be Me.”
Perhaps body shape losers may not be flocking to the Barcelona beach where the ad was shot, but its aspirational message is clear.
Don’t hype up. Hype down. To the naked truth. Democratize. Don’t idealize. Tell it like it is. And show it how it is.
Get real.
Perhaps then we might not be so frequently disappointed when we get there.
Piobicco has put itself on the map. Being ugly is its Unique Selling Point. It bills itself as a place ugly people can feel at home.
And it’s effective. They come in their hideous hordes, ramping up the tourism income while battering down the beauty factor.
The Czech Republic has gone the same way.
It sells itself to bad skiers, offering “numerous ravishing sceneries” and flat, snowy places where “you can enjoy the nature while struggling to ski” and meet “not very capable skiers.”
Superbeings and posers are not targeted. So everyone else can have a good time. Hard or soft sell, it works. Because it’s different. And funny. And true.
A Cat Addicted to MCDonald's
Cat Lives Off McDonald's for a Year
A cat addicted to fast food has been rescued by the SPCA and put on a health plan to help him kick his McDonald's addiction, according to New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz.
The black-and-white tomcat, dubbed Frankie by McDonald's staff and customers, was only a kitten when he was abandoned by his owners. So the cat made his home in the parking lot of a local McDonald's where he would beg for chicken nuggets or fries from cars as they exited the drive-through lane.
But just as the human body can't properly function from a junk food diet, Frankie's couldn't either and the McDonald's staff became concerned for his health.
One day, Jessica Watson, a field officer with the Waikato SPCA and regular McDonald's customer, spotted Frankie. After noting his swollen face, eyelids that wouldn't properly close, and matted coat, she brought him into her care and launched a search for his permanent owners.
"I estimate he has lived in the McDonald's carpark for 12 to 18 months," Watson told Stuff.co.nz. "Everyone knew to keep an eye out for him. You would go through the drive-through and ask for a burger for you and an extra patty for Frankie. He would watch you and trot after the car, wait until you stopped the car and then you would toss him the meat. It was his little routine."
Thankfully, after a few weeks of living inside and eating nutritious food, Frankie's eyes are clear and his coat is shiny. "He wasn't overweight," said Watson, "but McDonald's wouldn't meet the nutritional requirements for a cat. They need very high levels of protein and I wouldn't think takeaways would provide that."
But weaning Frankie off burgers and fries wasn't easy. "When I first took him home he refused to eat anything because it wasn't McDonald's," said Watson. "I seriously considered going back there to get him a burger. I would put pet food down and he would give me a look like, 'What is that?'"
Surprisingly, there are some human foods that cats can eat. According to Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, President of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), while cats should never consume onion, garlic, kelp, grapes, raisins, sugary treats, chocolate, and alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, items such as cheese, meat, vegetables, fish, and eggs can provide protein and other nutrients.
It took a few days but Frankie has quit his fast food habit and consumes water and cat biscuits. And he always asks for seconds. "He's a big, and healthy, eater," said Watson. The silver lining to Frankie's bad habit? Watson suspects that his love of fast food made him less prone to stalk endangered native bird species. "I'd say he loved cheeseburgers far too much to worry about any birds."
Since Frankie's rescue, he's become somewhat of a celebrity. The SPCA is fielding so many requests to adopt him that applicants are being asked to report in person to the offices, where they can complete an "expression of interest" form as part of the selection process.
Keep up the healthy eating, Frankie!
A cat addicted to fast food has been rescued by the SPCA and put on a health plan to help him kick his McDonald's addiction, according to New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz.
The black-and-white tomcat, dubbed Frankie by McDonald's staff and customers, was only a kitten when he was abandoned by his owners. So the cat made his home in the parking lot of a local McDonald's where he would beg for chicken nuggets or fries from cars as they exited the drive-through lane.
But just as the human body can't properly function from a junk food diet, Frankie's couldn't either and the McDonald's staff became concerned for his health.
One day, Jessica Watson, a field officer with the Waikato SPCA and regular McDonald's customer, spotted Frankie. After noting his swollen face, eyelids that wouldn't properly close, and matted coat, she brought him into her care and launched a search for his permanent owners.
"I estimate he has lived in the McDonald's carpark for 12 to 18 months," Watson told Stuff.co.nz. "Everyone knew to keep an eye out for him. You would go through the drive-through and ask for a burger for you and an extra patty for Frankie. He would watch you and trot after the car, wait until you stopped the car and then you would toss him the meat. It was his little routine."
Thankfully, after a few weeks of living inside and eating nutritious food, Frankie's eyes are clear and his coat is shiny. "He wasn't overweight," said Watson, "but McDonald's wouldn't meet the nutritional requirements for a cat. They need very high levels of protein and I wouldn't think takeaways would provide that."
But weaning Frankie off burgers and fries wasn't easy. "When I first took him home he refused to eat anything because it wasn't McDonald's," said Watson. "I seriously considered going back there to get him a burger. I would put pet food down and he would give me a look like, 'What is that?'"
Surprisingly, there are some human foods that cats can eat. According to Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, President of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), while cats should never consume onion, garlic, kelp, grapes, raisins, sugary treats, chocolate, and alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, items such as cheese, meat, vegetables, fish, and eggs can provide protein and other nutrients.
It took a few days but Frankie has quit his fast food habit and consumes water and cat biscuits. And he always asks for seconds. "He's a big, and healthy, eater," said Watson. The silver lining to Frankie's bad habit? Watson suspects that his love of fast food made him less prone to stalk endangered native bird species. "I'd say he loved cheeseburgers far too much to worry about any birds."
Since Frankie's rescue, he's become somewhat of a celebrity. The SPCA is fielding so many requests to adopt him that applicants are being asked to report in person to the offices, where they can complete an "expression of interest" form as part of the selection process.
Keep up the healthy eating, Frankie!
The Federal Top Secrets How To Control Things Through Mind
Cool! Samsung Discover How to Control Gadgets Through the Mind
Samsung researchers collaborate with the University of Texas to create a gadget that can be controlled by the mind. As an experiment, they use a tablet Galaxy Note 10.1.
Innovation is key to the success of technology producers, and that the attempt made Samsung through their new findings. These findings are also expected to change the user experience when using a smartphone or tablet PC.
As a first step, Samsung wants to make an application that allows users to connect with gadgetnya through mind waves. Through this aplilkasi users can play songs, change tracks, open the app, turn off and turn on the tablet, as well as several other functions.
This experiment was successfully carried out by using the wave mind reader. Shaped like a hat, but there EGG electrodes are used to translate the commands of the mind to be executed on the tablet.
"Finding new ways to interact with the gadget is the main objective of this project. Few years ago only a small button that is the only way to control the phone, but now users can use voice, touch, movement, and eye movements to interact with mobile devices, "said Insoo Kim, Samsung engineers who mengagas the project.
Until now the application is still being perfected, and not known about when these innovations can be used by the wider community.
Samsung researchers collaborate with the University of Texas to create a gadget that can be controlled by the mind. As an experiment, they use a tablet Galaxy Note 10.1.
Innovation is key to the success of technology producers, and that the attempt made Samsung through their new findings. These findings are also expected to change the user experience when using a smartphone or tablet PC.
As a first step, Samsung wants to make an application that allows users to connect with gadgetnya through mind waves. Through this aplilkasi users can play songs, change tracks, open the app, turn off and turn on the tablet, as well as several other functions.
This experiment was successfully carried out by using the wave mind reader. Shaped like a hat, but there EGG electrodes are used to translate the commands of the mind to be executed on the tablet.
"Finding new ways to interact with the gadget is the main objective of this project. Few years ago only a small button that is the only way to control the phone, but now users can use voice, touch, movement, and eye movements to interact with mobile devices, "said Insoo Kim, Samsung engineers who mengagas the project.
Until now the application is still being perfected, and not known about when these innovations can be used by the wider community.
The Sex Secrets How To Become Vivid Stars
Farrah Abraham Brings Her Dad & Daughter to Sex Tape Negotiation
Question: Where is the last place on Earth you should bring your dad and your kid?
Answer: Your sex tape negotiation. Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
But that's exactly what "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham did on Sunday when she hit up the offices of Vivid Entertainment to negotiate a possible deal for her sex tape.
Farrah told our photog she is negotiating with two other companies and that she is considering Vivid's offer. She said she only brought her father along "for support" ... but when you check out the video, you can tell how uncomfortable he is about the whole thing.
Our photog also spoke to Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch after the meeting ... and even he thought bringing a young child to a porn office was a bad idea.
At least someone is the voice of reason.
Answer: Your sex tape negotiation. Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
But that's exactly what "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham did on Sunday when she hit up the offices of Vivid Entertainment to negotiate a possible deal for her sex tape.
Farrah told our photog she is negotiating with two other companies and that she is considering Vivid's offer. She said she only brought her father along "for support" ... but when you check out the video, you can tell how uncomfortable he is about the whole thing.
Our photog also spoke to Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch after the meeting ... and even he thought bringing a young child to a porn office was a bad idea.
At least someone is the voice of reason.
How To Suicide in MARS ! Wanted Volunteers!
I'm Sending Four People to Mars for the Rest of Their Lives
Space travel has always been tainted with a few big, unavoidable problems for me. The first is that I spent all three years of my university career occasionally learning what Foucault thinks about reality television, rather than anything vaguely scientific that would teach me how to launch myself through earth's atmosphere without dying immediately. The second is that everything is just so staggeringly, unfathomably far away. The half hour commute to work is bad enough; three days to get to a pretty nondescript floating hunk of rock just seems pointless and like a massive waste of time that could be spent not crowded up in a little shuttle hurtling through the sky.
Although, I suppose if there was an exciting prospect at the end of the journey I wouldn't mind so much. Like a new, ready-made home for me to spend the rest of my years, for example. Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp is going to be furnishing those exact dreams with his Mars One project, which aims to build a liveable settlement on Mars, before sending four humans to live there for the rest of their lives in 2023, followed by more batches of people as the years go on, living there for the REST of their lives.
Besides that minor detail, his project is remarkable in that it aims to raise the majority of its funding through creating the biggest media spectacle the world has ever known – covering every stage of the project and allowing viewers to vote on who gets to take the trip – rather than relying on governments and having to deal with any kind of political interference. I met Bas for a drink to talk about his plans.
VICE: So tell me what sparked this whole idea of sending people to live the rest of their lives on Mars.
Bas Lansdorp: I was originally inspired around 15 years ago when the first rover landed on Mars. I basically thought it'd be much cooler if humans were walking up on Mars, rather than the machine. I always wanted to go myself and knew I didn't stand a chance if I went through the normal NASA or European Space Agency (ESA) procedures, but I kind of forgot about the idea when I started studying mechanical engineering. Then, a few years later, someone told me that the Americans were planning a one-way trip to Mars – which is so much more feasible than a return mission – so I decided to drop everything and go for it.
What were you doing at the time?
I was working at a company, but I sold half my shares to get things going. Then John de Mol, the inventor of Big Brother, told me I could finance the project through the media, so I thought 'I really have to take this chance now.' I mean, it's extremely complex, but I have to take the risk and do it.
Yeah, it's interesting that you're planning on funding the whole project with media money.
Well, we have other revenue ideas, of course, but yeah – we need to finance a lot of things before we can send any humans out to Mars and creating a media spectacle is a good way to do that. I'll just add that it's not my main goal to create a media spectacle, though. There are much easier ways of doing that than sending humans on a one-way mission to Mars.
Ha, yeah I assume there probably are. How much is it going to cost?
It's going to be £3.8 billion to set it up, then another £630 million for each one of the four astronauts. I initially thought that number was unrealistically high, but the International Olympic Committee had a revenue of one or two billion pounds for one three-week-long event, so that's half a billion a week, which makes our numbers not look too bad.
Literally everybody who has access to internet or TV will watch it and, by that time, nearly four billion people will have the internet, so imagine being the brand that sponsors an event like that. You'll immediately have the biggest name on the planet. It's a lot of money, but I'm very entrepreneurial and also very down to earth, so I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe it was possible.
Cool. So what's the process? What's being sent up first?
We've got a demonstration mission in 2016 to show the technology that we've purchased, which is where we'll send a communications satellite to Mars, then, in 2018, we'll send a rover up to find the best location for the settlement.
What factors determine a good place for a settlement?
It's got to be north enough to have a good amount of water crystals in the soil and south enough for the solar panels to be effective. It's gonna be on the northern hemisphere because the seasons are less extreme there. But it's also got to be as low as possible in altitude, because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and the lower down you go, the more time you'll have to slow down and land safely.
And everything is going to be ready built for the humans' arrival, right?
Yeah, everything will land in big pre-built components that will be assembled by the rovers. There'll be two capsules for the life support system, two capsules for the living units and two capsules with supplies.
Nice. Is it right that the astronauts are being picked with a lottery system?
No, that was just something some news show said. The way we're doing it is to have our experts determine who's suitable from those who apply, then we'll ask the audience who they want to send to Mars. The people picked will be the world's first ambassadors to Mars, so it's important that the general public have their say.
What would be your perfect candidate?
Well, when I started, I thought we'd need doctors and engineers, but the most important thing is actually the person's personality. You need someone who's capable of sitting in a very small vehicle for the seven month journey, then able to cope mentally with leaving earth behind. The medical and engineering aspects are obviously very important, too, but we'll train them in those for the eight years before they leave, so it's the personality that's the most crucial thing.
What happens if two of the astronauts have a baby, or something?
Well, that's not the goal. We're putting people up there, but they'll be largely responsible for their own actions. Because of the time difference between Earth and Mars, it's not like we'll be able to say, "Pick up that rock" or guide them through stuff in realtime, so they'll have to be responsible.
And any responsible person knows that Mars – with only three other people for company – probably isn't the ideal place to have a baby. The means to get a baby into the world will be there, though, and the long-term goal is create an outpost where that could happen – maybe when there's 20 or 30 people there.
So you eventually want to start a whole new Martian society?
Yeah, that should be the goal. We want to establish a small self-supporting society on Mars that doesn’t need the Earth anymore. Although, it's such long-term planning that it's not really something you can keep under control, so we'll have to see.
Do you want to go and live on Mars eventually?
I wanted to. I talked to our medical director, Norbert Craft, though, and he said I don't have the patience or the calmness to cope. I'm the architect and the entrepreneur, not the right person to actually go on the mission, but I will be extremely, extremely jealous when the first four people leave.
One of my friends put his name down for it. He's always wanted to live in the remote Scottish wilderness, so I suppose Mars would be an even better alternative.
Oh, cool. We just got a bid from an investor, so we're getting really close to signing contracts with our suppliers. When that happens, we think we'll be far enough along to start selecting astronauts.
Nice, I'll let him know. Lastly, what's your personal mission with this? Scientific discovery? Moving the human race forward? Or just leaving your mark on the universe?
Somewhere in the middle, I suppose. I’m interested in the science – I mean, imagine if we found life on Mars. We don't know how much life there is in the universe, let alone on our neighbouring planet. And who knows – it could even bring us closer to understanding the history of the solar system and where we all come from. Of course, the prospect of putting humanity on a different planet is also just breathtaking. It seemed incomprehensible to me before, so my biggest motivation at the moment is to achieve sending the first ever people to Mars.
Space travel has always been tainted with a few big, unavoidable problems for me. The first is that I spent all three years of my university career occasionally learning what Foucault thinks about reality television, rather than anything vaguely scientific that would teach me how to launch myself through earth's atmosphere without dying immediately. The second is that everything is just so staggeringly, unfathomably far away. The half hour commute to work is bad enough; three days to get to a pretty nondescript floating hunk of rock just seems pointless and like a massive waste of time that could be spent not crowded up in a little shuttle hurtling through the sky.
Although, I suppose if there was an exciting prospect at the end of the journey I wouldn't mind so much. Like a new, ready-made home for me to spend the rest of my years, for example. Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp is going to be furnishing those exact dreams with his Mars One project, which aims to build a liveable settlement on Mars, before sending four humans to live there for the rest of their lives in 2023, followed by more batches of people as the years go on, living there for the REST of their lives.
Besides that minor detail, his project is remarkable in that it aims to raise the majority of its funding through creating the biggest media spectacle the world has ever known – covering every stage of the project and allowing viewers to vote on who gets to take the trip – rather than relying on governments and having to deal with any kind of political interference. I met Bas for a drink to talk about his plans.
VICE: So tell me what sparked this whole idea of sending people to live the rest of their lives on Mars.
Bas Lansdorp: I was originally inspired around 15 years ago when the first rover landed on Mars. I basically thought it'd be much cooler if humans were walking up on Mars, rather than the machine. I always wanted to go myself and knew I didn't stand a chance if I went through the normal NASA or European Space Agency (ESA) procedures, but I kind of forgot about the idea when I started studying mechanical engineering. Then, a few years later, someone told me that the Americans were planning a one-way trip to Mars – which is so much more feasible than a return mission – so I decided to drop everything and go for it.
What were you doing at the time?
I was working at a company, but I sold half my shares to get things going. Then John de Mol, the inventor of Big Brother, told me I could finance the project through the media, so I thought 'I really have to take this chance now.' I mean, it's extremely complex, but I have to take the risk and do it.
Yeah, it's interesting that you're planning on funding the whole project with media money.
Well, we have other revenue ideas, of course, but yeah – we need to finance a lot of things before we can send any humans out to Mars and creating a media spectacle is a good way to do that. I'll just add that it's not my main goal to create a media spectacle, though. There are much easier ways of doing that than sending humans on a one-way mission to Mars.
Ha, yeah I assume there probably are. How much is it going to cost?
It's going to be £3.8 billion to set it up, then another £630 million for each one of the four astronauts. I initially thought that number was unrealistically high, but the International Olympic Committee had a revenue of one or two billion pounds for one three-week-long event, so that's half a billion a week, which makes our numbers not look too bad.
Literally everybody who has access to internet or TV will watch it and, by that time, nearly four billion people will have the internet, so imagine being the brand that sponsors an event like that. You'll immediately have the biggest name on the planet. It's a lot of money, but I'm very entrepreneurial and also very down to earth, so I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe it was possible.
Cool. So what's the process? What's being sent up first?
We've got a demonstration mission in 2016 to show the technology that we've purchased, which is where we'll send a communications satellite to Mars, then, in 2018, we'll send a rover up to find the best location for the settlement.
What factors determine a good place for a settlement?
It's got to be north enough to have a good amount of water crystals in the soil and south enough for the solar panels to be effective. It's gonna be on the northern hemisphere because the seasons are less extreme there. But it's also got to be as low as possible in altitude, because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and the lower down you go, the more time you'll have to slow down and land safely.
And everything is going to be ready built for the humans' arrival, right?
Yeah, everything will land in big pre-built components that will be assembled by the rovers. There'll be two capsules for the life support system, two capsules for the living units and two capsules with supplies.
Nice. Is it right that the astronauts are being picked with a lottery system?
No, that was just something some news show said. The way we're doing it is to have our experts determine who's suitable from those who apply, then we'll ask the audience who they want to send to Mars. The people picked will be the world's first ambassadors to Mars, so it's important that the general public have their say.
What would be your perfect candidate?
Well, when I started, I thought we'd need doctors and engineers, but the most important thing is actually the person's personality. You need someone who's capable of sitting in a very small vehicle for the seven month journey, then able to cope mentally with leaving earth behind. The medical and engineering aspects are obviously very important, too, but we'll train them in those for the eight years before they leave, so it's the personality that's the most crucial thing.
What happens if two of the astronauts have a baby, or something?
Well, that's not the goal. We're putting people up there, but they'll be largely responsible for their own actions. Because of the time difference between Earth and Mars, it's not like we'll be able to say, "Pick up that rock" or guide them through stuff in realtime, so they'll have to be responsible.
And any responsible person knows that Mars – with only three other people for company – probably isn't the ideal place to have a baby. The means to get a baby into the world will be there, though, and the long-term goal is create an outpost where that could happen – maybe when there's 20 or 30 people there.
So you eventually want to start a whole new Martian society?
Yeah, that should be the goal. We want to establish a small self-supporting society on Mars that doesn’t need the Earth anymore. Although, it's such long-term planning that it's not really something you can keep under control, so we'll have to see.
Do you want to go and live on Mars eventually?
I wanted to. I talked to our medical director, Norbert Craft, though, and he said I don't have the patience or the calmness to cope. I'm the architect and the entrepreneur, not the right person to actually go on the mission, but I will be extremely, extremely jealous when the first four people leave.
One of my friends put his name down for it. He's always wanted to live in the remote Scottish wilderness, so I suppose Mars would be an even better alternative.
Oh, cool. We just got a bid from an investor, so we're getting really close to signing contracts with our suppliers. When that happens, we think we'll be far enough along to start selecting astronauts.
Nice, I'll let him know. Lastly, what's your personal mission with this? Scientific discovery? Moving the human race forward? Or just leaving your mark on the universe?
Somewhere in the middle, I suppose. I’m interested in the science – I mean, imagine if we found life on Mars. We don't know how much life there is in the universe, let alone on our neighbouring planet. And who knows – it could even bring us closer to understanding the history of the solar system and where we all come from. Of course, the prospect of putting humanity on a different planet is also just breathtaking. It seemed incomprehensible to me before, so my biggest motivation at the moment is to achieve sending the first ever people to Mars.
The Top Secrets How To Slim Down Forever
Dead student's family call for clampdown on slimming drug
Sarah Houston, 23, died after taking banned dinitrophenol (DNP), which she ordered online, alongside antidepressants
Sarah Houston was studying medicine at the University of Leeds at the time of her death last September. Photograph: Christopher Thomond
A coroner and the family of a medical student suffering from bulimia who died after taking a banned weight-loss drug bought online have called for a change in the law to further tighten the distribution of the substance, which has been blamed for other deaths.
Dr Graham Mould, a forensic toxicologist, told an inquest into the death of Sarah Houston, 23, that a combination of dinitrophenol (DNP), which is banned from human consumption but is used as a chemical pesticide, and antidepressants may have been fatal.
DNP, which was first used to treat obesity in the 1930s but was banned as a food substance due to its dangerous side effects, continues to be used as a slimming aid by bodybuilders around the world. It was linked to 62 deaths in a study published last year in the Journal of Medical Toxicity.
The University of Leeds medical student, who comes from a family of doctors, is believed to have been taking the drug secretly alongside a prescribed antidepressant Fluoxetine. Houston was found dead in her bedroom by a flatmate.
The inquest in Wakefield heard she had complained of feeling hot and unwell and had been breathing heavily on the evening before she died in September last year.
Mould said there was no evidence of an overdose. "We don't know how long Sarah had been taking DNP but it may have accumulated in her system," he said. "It increases the body's metabolic rate. The side effects can be overheating and breathlessness caused by an increased heart rate and this seems to be consistent with how Sarah was feeling that evening.
"The side effects of DNP were clearly present and it's possible that Fluoxetine may have exacerbated the affect of DNP. At a very high dose, Fluoxetine can have a similar affect to DNP and so one can speculate that the two drugs together might have speeded up the affect."
Mould pointed out that the Food Standards Agency had previously issued a report warning the public not to take DNP.
Coroner David Hinchliff said: "The only way to combat the use of DNP is to bring to the attention of the public how dangerous a substance it is.
"This is not a one-off case and it needs bringing to the public's attention."
Outside court, Houston's family said she was not depressed at the time she died and her health had improved leading up to her death. In a statement, they said that it was incomprehensible that DNP could be purchased over the internet and called on the government to take steps to ensure that no other family suffered in the same way in future.
"It's going to be a slow process, but hopefully approaching the Home Office to begin with will be the right step and hopefully it will be made illegal," said Sarah's father, Geoff Houston. "For those who are selling it, if you have any ounce of decency you must stop."
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
Sarah Houston, 23, died after taking banned dinitrophenol (DNP), which she ordered online, alongside antidepressants
A coroner and the family of a medical student suffering from bulimia who died after taking a banned weight-loss drug bought online have called for a change in the law to further tighten the distribution of the substance, which has been blamed for other deaths.
Dr Graham Mould, a forensic toxicologist, told an inquest into the death of Sarah Houston, 23, that a combination of dinitrophenol (DNP), which is banned from human consumption but is used as a chemical pesticide, and antidepressants may have been fatal.
DNP, which was first used to treat obesity in the 1930s but was banned as a food substance due to its dangerous side effects, continues to be used as a slimming aid by bodybuilders around the world. It was linked to 62 deaths in a study published last year in the Journal of Medical Toxicity.
The University of Leeds medical student, who comes from a family of doctors, is believed to have been taking the drug secretly alongside a prescribed antidepressant Fluoxetine. Houston was found dead in her bedroom by a flatmate.
The inquest in Wakefield heard she had complained of feeling hot and unwell and had been breathing heavily on the evening before she died in September last year.
Mould said there was no evidence of an overdose. "We don't know how long Sarah had been taking DNP but it may have accumulated in her system," he said. "It increases the body's metabolic rate. The side effects can be overheating and breathlessness caused by an increased heart rate and this seems to be consistent with how Sarah was feeling that evening.
"The side effects of DNP were clearly present and it's possible that Fluoxetine may have exacerbated the affect of DNP. At a very high dose, Fluoxetine can have a similar affect to DNP and so one can speculate that the two drugs together might have speeded up the affect."
Mould pointed out that the Food Standards Agency had previously issued a report warning the public not to take DNP.
Coroner David Hinchliff said: "The only way to combat the use of DNP is to bring to the attention of the public how dangerous a substance it is.
"This is not a one-off case and it needs bringing to the public's attention."
Outside court, Houston's family said she was not depressed at the time she died and her health had improved leading up to her death. In a statement, they said that it was incomprehensible that DNP could be purchased over the internet and called on the government to take steps to ensure that no other family suffered in the same way in future.
"It's going to be a slow process, but hopefully approaching the Home Office to begin with will be the right step and hopefully it will be made illegal," said Sarah's father, Geoff Houston. "For those who are selling it, if you have any ounce of decency you must stop."
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
Minggu, 21 April 2013
A Hole In Chinese Condoms - Warning !
Ghana seizes 'faulty Chinese condoms'
The FDA said the condoms were also not adequately lubricated
About 230,000 people in Ghana are living with HIV
More than 110 million Chinese-made condoms have been seized in Ghana after laboratory tests revealed they were faulty, Ghanaian officials have said.
"There are holes in them and... the condoms burst easily," a Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) spokesman told the BBC.
The condoms were being distributed free as part of an HIV/Aids prevention campaign by the Ghana Health Service.
About 200 million of the faulty condoms are believed to have been imported into the country.
The BBC's Sammy Darko in the capital, Accra, says the condom packaging is silvery white with a red Aids ribbon incorporated into the design and the words "Be Safe" also in red.
The FDA has issued an alert about their safety.
Thomas Amedzro, head of drug enforcement at the FDA, said the condoms had been imported via Kenya from a Chinese manufacturer.
All imported condoms are supposed to be tested by the FDA before distribution, he said.
"Somehow there was a lapse; the batches of the condoms were not submitted as duly required for the appropriate testing to be conducted," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Anybody using them could be "exposed to sexually transmitted infections or be saddled with unwanted pregnancies", Mr Amedzro said.
"You may not be able to see the holes with your naked eye but when you look at it under the microscope you can see holes," he said.'
They were also not adequately lubricated, the FDA said.
Our reporter says the health service took delivery of the condoms in February this year, but they arrived in the country in the last quarter of 2012.
"Since the alert went out, a number of individuals and organisations have already reported to us that they have stocks, which we are already retrieving," Mr Amedzro said.
A publicity campaign was underway to ensure that all the other unsafe condoms were found, he added.
According to UN figures, an estimated 230,000 people in Ghana, which has a population of 25 million, are living with HIV.
The FDA said the condoms were also not adequately lubricated
More than 110 million Chinese-made condoms have been seized in Ghana after laboratory tests revealed they were faulty, Ghanaian officials have said.
"There are holes in them and... the condoms burst easily," a Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) spokesman told the BBC.
The condoms were being distributed free as part of an HIV/Aids prevention campaign by the Ghana Health Service.
About 200 million of the faulty condoms are believed to have been imported into the country.
The BBC's Sammy Darko in the capital, Accra, says the condom packaging is silvery white with a red Aids ribbon incorporated into the design and the words "Be Safe" also in red.
The FDA has issued an alert about their safety.
Thomas Amedzro, head of drug enforcement at the FDA, said the condoms had been imported via Kenya from a Chinese manufacturer.
All imported condoms are supposed to be tested by the FDA before distribution, he said.
"Somehow there was a lapse; the batches of the condoms were not submitted as duly required for the appropriate testing to be conducted," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Anybody using them could be "exposed to sexually transmitted infections or be saddled with unwanted pregnancies", Mr Amedzro said.
"You may not be able to see the holes with your naked eye but when you look at it under the microscope you can see holes," he said.'
They were also not adequately lubricated, the FDA said.
Our reporter says the health service took delivery of the condoms in February this year, but they arrived in the country in the last quarter of 2012.
"Since the alert went out, a number of individuals and organisations have already reported to us that they have stocks, which we are already retrieving," Mr Amedzro said.
A publicity campaign was underway to ensure that all the other unsafe condoms were found, he added.
According to UN figures, an estimated 230,000 people in Ghana, which has a population of 25 million, are living with HIV.
The Celebrities Naked Truth - All Nude!
The Naked Truth: 4 Celebrities Go Nude for Allure
The real story of how Keri Hilson, Bridget Moynahan, Ashley Tisdale, and Kaley Cuoco prepped for our shoot—and why they decided to strip down.
KERI HILSON
Before all her hit songs, Hilson worked behind the scenes as a successful songwriter. Stepping out of the background was not as effortless as Hilson, 28, now makes it look. "The transition to being in front of the camera was very, very difficult," she says. "Everyone has their idea of what you should look like. 'You need to get into the gym.' 'You need to wear less clothes.' 'Wear dresses and skirts.' 'Put a weave in.' 'Cut your hair.' 'Color your hair.' There are so many ways that others tug at you." To Hilson, posing naked stripped her back down to her real self. "We do a lot of things to seek validation: I have to get more expensive handbags or fake lashes or fake boobs. This shoot was about dropping all that."
BRIDGET MOYNAHAN
On Moynahan's mind in this picture: "Mostly whether things were getting squashed in the wrong way," she says. The 40-year-old Blue Bloods actress was confident about some things. "You know you're going to have good lighting and positioning to help your body out." In the real world, though, Moynahan says, "I never roam around in bikinis, and I am only naked in the privacy of my own home. In this electronic age, it's not safe to be naked anywhere else, even in locker rooms." But her hesitation isn't due to a lack of confidence. "I've been in the business a long time, so it didn't really faze me. I was completely comfortable."
ASHLEY TISDALE
Tisdale brought her mother to her nude shoot. "I've always wanted to be sure my parents approve of what I do," she says. "Even with my tattoos, my mom went with me. The 'believe' tattoo is because my mom always told me to believe." The High School Musical and Hellcats actress does six workouts a week, rotating a boot-camp class, cardio, strength training, and Spinning, but disrobing was actually much less about showing off her hard-earned shape than it was about growing up. "I'm 25, almost 26, but people think of me as much younger because I look young," she says. "Being in this shoot was me saying, 'I'm not just the young girl everybody thinks I am. I'm actually a woman.'"
KALEY CUOCO
Cuoco confesses, "I have not told my family about this, and I'll tell you why: Until they see the photos, they won't understand. All a mother or father hears is the word 'naked.' When I told my mom about the shoot, I left out the part about taking my clothes off." The 25-year-old star of The Big Bang Theory says of her preparation for the shoot, "My obsession is yoga, so I was already yogi-ing it every day," she says. "And I did veggies, raw food, and egg whites. So boring!" She was surprised by her own lack of shyness. "I was way more excited than I ever thought I would be. Which made me realize, I'm more comfortable in my own skin than I thought."
The real story of how Keri Hilson, Bridget Moynahan, Ashley Tisdale, and Kaley Cuoco prepped for our shoot—and why they decided to strip down.
Before all her hit songs, Hilson worked behind the scenes as a successful songwriter. Stepping out of the background was not as effortless as Hilson, 28, now makes it look. "The transition to being in front of the camera was very, very difficult," she says. "Everyone has their idea of what you should look like. 'You need to get into the gym.' 'You need to wear less clothes.' 'Wear dresses and skirts.' 'Put a weave in.' 'Cut your hair.' 'Color your hair.' There are so many ways that others tug at you." To Hilson, posing naked stripped her back down to her real self. "We do a lot of things to seek validation: I have to get more expensive handbags or fake lashes or fake boobs. This shoot was about dropping all that."
On Moynahan's mind in this picture: "Mostly whether things were getting squashed in the wrong way," she says. The 40-year-old Blue Bloods actress was confident about some things. "You know you're going to have good lighting and positioning to help your body out." In the real world, though, Moynahan says, "I never roam around in bikinis, and I am only naked in the privacy of my own home. In this electronic age, it's not safe to be naked anywhere else, even in locker rooms." But her hesitation isn't due to a lack of confidence. "I've been in the business a long time, so it didn't really faze me. I was completely comfortable."
Tisdale brought her mother to her nude shoot. "I've always wanted to be sure my parents approve of what I do," she says. "Even with my tattoos, my mom went with me. The 'believe' tattoo is because my mom always told me to believe." The High School Musical and Hellcats actress does six workouts a week, rotating a boot-camp class, cardio, strength training, and Spinning, but disrobing was actually much less about showing off her hard-earned shape than it was about growing up. "I'm 25, almost 26, but people think of me as much younger because I look young," she says. "Being in this shoot was me saying, 'I'm not just the young girl everybody thinks I am. I'm actually a woman.'"
Cuoco confesses, "I have not told my family about this, and I'll tell you why: Until they see the photos, they won't understand. All a mother or father hears is the word 'naked.' When I told my mom about the shoot, I left out the part about taking my clothes off." The 25-year-old star of The Big Bang Theory says of her preparation for the shoot, "My obsession is yoga, so I was already yogi-ing it every day," she says. "And I did veggies, raw food, and egg whites. So boring!" She was surprised by her own lack of shyness. "I was way more excited than I ever thought I would be. Which made me realize, I'm more comfortable in my own skin than I thought."
Naked Rollercoaster - The Bumper Crowd of Nudes
Naked rollercoaster 'record broken' in Essex
102 naked people on Adventure Island in Essex broke the previous world record for the most naked people to ride a roller-coaster (previously held by 32 people at Alton towers).
"The rollercoaster ran three times to accommodate the bumper crowd of nudes"
Though this wasn't some kind of random nude happenstance, but a event to raise money for Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation to buy cancer screening equipment.
"More than £22,000 was raised for charity."
102 naked people on Adventure Island in Essex broke the previous world record for the most naked people to ride a roller-coaster (previously held by 32 people at Alton towers).
"The rollercoaster ran three times to accommodate the bumper crowd of nudes"
Though this wasn't some kind of random nude happenstance, but a event to raise money for Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation to buy cancer screening equipment.
"More than £22,000 was raised for charity."
Helsinki Naked Run
The World's Best Doctor - Makes A Daughter Dies After Misdiagnosed Meningitis as Flu
Girl, 3, dies after GP mistakes meningitis symptoms for flu
Chloe Cain had vomited for days and was completely unable to walk
But GP said she was suffering with flu and prescribed painkillers
The following night she suffered a seizure and was rushed to hospital
Tests revealed she was suffering with cryptococcal meningitis
A week later her life support machine was switched off and she died
Tara is now desperate to raise awareness of the condition as her daughter did not show any of the normal symptoms of meningitis such as a rash or stiff neck.
Tara Cain is devastated after her daughter Chloe's symptoms were mistaken for a bout of flu and ultimately cost her life
Three-year-old Chloe loved dancing, playing in the park and going to nursery before she tragically died
A mother has told how her three-year-old daughter died from meningitis after a GP misdiagnosed the killer disease as flu.
Brave Chloe Cain had been vomiting for days and had been completely unable to walk when her mother Tara, 29, rushed her to the doctor on March 24.
After spending 20 minutes with the child, Tara claims the GP concluded Chloe just had a bug and prescribed pain killers.
But the following night the Chloe suffered a massive seizure at home and was taken by ambulance to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.
After a series of tests carried out over the following two days, Tara was given the crushing news that Chloe had cryptococcal meningitis.
Cryptococcal meningitis is caused by a fungus found in soil all over the world. It tends to affect those with a weakened immune system. Unlike bacterial meningitis, this form of meningitis comes on more slowly, over the course of a few days to weeks.
Symptoms include fever, hallucinations, headache, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light and a stiff neck. Chloe did not suffer the tell-tale stiff neck or rash associated with the infection.
Just one week later on April 4 her life support machine was switched off - after the killer bug took grip of the youngster's tiny body.
Today furious Tara, from Nottingham, slammed the GP who wrongly diagnosed her daughter.
She said: ‘I am fuming at the way they shrugged off what I was saying and said it was flu.
‘They just sent me on my way with Ibuprofen and paracetamol.
‘If they had done their jobs correctly then it might've been sorted out by tackling it sooner. They just gave me no support whatsoever.
‘They wanted to take a urine sample to get to the bottom of it, but because she kept throwing up the water they just stopped trying.
‘When she was finally taken in she was attached to a ventilator to help her breathe and they diagnosed her with meningitis. I was heartbroken.
Tara Cain is desperate to raise awareness about the disease that killed her daughter
Tara Cain is desperate to raise awareness about the disease that killed her daughter
‘I was begging for her to get better. It was killing me. I really was 50;50 as to whether she was going to live or not.
‘It was always my worst fear that she would get meningitis as my cousin's baby had it and it took him a long time to recover.
‘So I always prayed this wouldn't happen to my daughter.’
She will be doing a parachute jump next month to raise money for The Meningitis Trust.
Chloe will have a small funeral with only a few friends and family, which will be held next Wednesday.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Tara added: ‘She loved Tinkerbell and Fireman Sam, and loved dancing and playing down the park.
‘My fondest memory of her was when she would wake up at 3am asking to go to nursery.
‘Sometimes I would be downstairs in the early hours of the morning unable to sleep and Chloe would come bouncing down the stairs asking to go to nursery.
‘She just loved going there. Some kids would kick and scream when they were dropped off at school, but not Chloe, she would have lived there if she could.’
Chloe Cain had vomited for days and was completely unable to walk
But GP said she was suffering with flu and prescribed painkillers
The following night she suffered a seizure and was rushed to hospital
Tests revealed she was suffering with cryptococcal meningitis
A week later her life support machine was switched off and she died
Tara is now desperate to raise awareness of the condition as her daughter did not show any of the normal symptoms of meningitis such as a rash or stiff neck.
Tara Cain is devastated after her daughter Chloe's symptoms were mistaken for a bout of flu and ultimately cost her life
A mother has told how her three-year-old daughter died from meningitis after a GP misdiagnosed the killer disease as flu.
Brave Chloe Cain had been vomiting for days and had been completely unable to walk when her mother Tara, 29, rushed her to the doctor on March 24.
After spending 20 minutes with the child, Tara claims the GP concluded Chloe just had a bug and prescribed pain killers.
But the following night the Chloe suffered a massive seizure at home and was taken by ambulance to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.
After a series of tests carried out over the following two days, Tara was given the crushing news that Chloe had cryptococcal meningitis.
Cryptococcal meningitis is caused by a fungus found in soil all over the world. It tends to affect those with a weakened immune system. Unlike bacterial meningitis, this form of meningitis comes on more slowly, over the course of a few days to weeks.
Symptoms include fever, hallucinations, headache, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light and a stiff neck. Chloe did not suffer the tell-tale stiff neck or rash associated with the infection.
Just one week later on April 4 her life support machine was switched off - after the killer bug took grip of the youngster's tiny body.
Today furious Tara, from Nottingham, slammed the GP who wrongly diagnosed her daughter.
She said: ‘I am fuming at the way they shrugged off what I was saying and said it was flu.
‘They just sent me on my way with Ibuprofen and paracetamol.
‘If they had done their jobs correctly then it might've been sorted out by tackling it sooner. They just gave me no support whatsoever.
‘They wanted to take a urine sample to get to the bottom of it, but because she kept throwing up the water they just stopped trying.
‘When she was finally taken in she was attached to a ventilator to help her breathe and they diagnosed her with meningitis. I was heartbroken.
Tara Cain is desperate to raise awareness about the disease that killed her daughter
Tara Cain is desperate to raise awareness about the disease that killed her daughter
‘I was begging for her to get better. It was killing me. I really was 50;50 as to whether she was going to live or not.
‘It was always my worst fear that she would get meningitis as my cousin's baby had it and it took him a long time to recover.
‘So I always prayed this wouldn't happen to my daughter.’
She will be doing a parachute jump next month to raise money for The Meningitis Trust.
Chloe will have a small funeral with only a few friends and family, which will be held next Wednesday.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Tara added: ‘She loved Tinkerbell and Fireman Sam, and loved dancing and playing down the park.
‘My fondest memory of her was when she would wake up at 3am asking to go to nursery.
‘Sometimes I would be downstairs in the early hours of the morning unable to sleep and Chloe would come bouncing down the stairs asking to go to nursery.
‘She just loved going there. Some kids would kick and scream when they were dropped off at school, but not Chloe, she would have lived there if she could.’
The Most Handsome Beggar Becomes Famous Online
Fashionable beggar becomes famous online, encounters human flesh search
“Those sad eyes/that sad expression, the sad mustache, the miraculous godly hair, and that messy hair, all of it has deeply captivated me.” …Recently, a very hot/popular beggar post has become famous on the internet, the post narrating what netizens have hailed as “The Ultimate Gorgeous #1 Passerby Handsome Guy” beggar. Owing to his unconventional, nondescript appearance as well as his original “mashup”, netizens have begun following him, even “human flesh searching” him.
Ningbo’s Handsome Guy Beggar is just a poor/pitiful guy
Many netizens have sent me messages asking me to verify whether that latest famous handsome guy begger is really a beggar. Here I will testify that it can be said that he is.
Long ago in 2008 I encountered him. Most people who see him will avoid him, treating him as a beggar and the link, but actually this is not accurate. 乞丐 [qǐgài "beggar"] in our country’s ancient words first appeared as a monosyllabic word. The meaning of 乞 [qǐ] in the golden texts was “to beg”. But he does not beg, nor does he know how to beg, because he has psychological problems (in Ningbo they call it “great fog sickness”). They do not have an identity, they do not have family, they’ve even forgotten who they are. They are a group of people abandoned by society, and their final outcome is to die without anyone inquiring about them. They wander in the space between humans and animals. Help them a bit and they become humans, ignore them and they are animals.
He once said this to me: “Find a girl to love me.”
“Those sad eyes/that sad expression, the sad mustache, the miraculous godly hair, and that messy hair, all of it has deeply captivated me.” …Recently, a very hot/popular beggar post has become famous on the internet, the post narrating what netizens have hailed as “The Ultimate Gorgeous #1 Passerby Handsome Guy” beggar. Owing to his unconventional, nondescript appearance as well as his original “mashup”, netizens have begun following him, even “human flesh searching” him.
Ningbo’s Handsome Guy Beggar is just a poor/pitiful guy
Many netizens have sent me messages asking me to verify whether that latest famous handsome guy begger is really a beggar. Here I will testify that it can be said that he is.
Long ago in 2008 I encountered him. Most people who see him will avoid him, treating him as a beggar and the link, but actually this is not accurate. 乞丐 [qǐgài "beggar"] in our country’s ancient words first appeared as a monosyllabic word. The meaning of 乞 [qǐ] in the golden texts was “to beg”. But he does not beg, nor does he know how to beg, because he has psychological problems (in Ningbo they call it “great fog sickness”). They do not have an identity, they do not have family, they’ve even forgotten who they are. They are a group of people abandoned by society, and their final outcome is to die without anyone inquiring about them. They wander in the space between humans and animals. Help them a bit and they become humans, ignore them and they are animals.
He once said this to me: “Find a girl to love me.”
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