Lifestyle

It’s here. At last. KardBlock. What is it? KardBlock is klaimed claimed to be a way to block the Kardashians from the internet. Think like AdBlock, but specific for any internet content related to the Kardashians. All could be wiped clean. From Kim, to Khloe, to Kourtney, to Kris, to Kylie, to Kendall, and beyond. With all the talk of someone’s name beginning with K, people began looking for a Men in Black memory-wiper. Unfortunately, none was found (that can be recalled). Leaving people with but the option of washing their eyes as the next best alternative. Until now that is. If KardBlock works as claimed, there’s no need to keep up with any of the Kardashians anymore. Nor worry about one of them breaking the internet, because KardBlock can fix it. According to James Shamsi of KardBlock, it will make all mention of the K_____s “disappear”. Hopefully it also includes ...

Cassey Ho, the Blogilates fitness instructor, recently made a YouTube video (shown below) called The “Perfect” Body, aimed at tackling body image shaming and cyber bullying. In it, and her accompanying blog post, she addresses negative comments she has received, such as: “you shouldn’t give advice when you’re so fat” “trainer?…really? tone up the belly fat and love handles” “Why do all trainers have a 6-pack but not you?” “take your career seriously and lose some weight” “her body is so pudgy. try doing some crunches” “no offense but you have no butt” “you should suck it in more” These are the ineloquent seven mentioned in the video, and are likely but a few of the negative comments received. Cassey requests that the video is shown, where she begins to Photoshop her body to be “perfect” in response to the various comments and idealised notions of beauty. Asking at the end: ...

The Australian Government plans to stop some welfare payments for those parents who do not vaccinate their children. Meaning they are no longer likely to receive any childcare benefit or rebate, nor receive the Family Tax Benefit A end of year supplement. The policy is expected to become effective from 1 January 2016. It is also now to apply to those whom formerly claimed religious exemption from childhood vaccines, such as the Christian Scientists. This apparently closes the exemption loophole which permitted those not vaccinating their children on religious grounds; and the vaccination exemption loophole is being ever tightened elsewhere. For a religion to gain an accepted exemption from childhood vaccinations, the religion’s governing body would need to formally apply and have its objections approved by the Government. Minister for Social Services, Scott Morrison, has stated: “There are no mainstream religions who have such objections registered.” Further noting that the ...

In what may well be a serious contender for the overreaction of the year, one girl found herself more than a little freaked out when a manatee swam past her. Never mind that manatees are gentle and docile herbivores. Of course if you were unaware of what was in the water, and some strange and large creature suddenly swam past, being a little ill at ease can be understood. Let’s not forget that the manatee has a long history of mystery surrounding it. Sailors back in the day were said to have thought manatees were mermaids. Which may say a lot about long voyages at sea and rationing rum. Mistaken mermaid or not, that didn’t stop the girl shrieking somewhere between a Siren and a harpy about her particular manatee encounter. What may defy logic even more was that as she was swimming, she was carrying around her selfie stick with her. ...

The selfie, whether it’s the about face and smile or the full mirrored stand and pose, the photo of the self with a phone has become beyond common place. With selfies now the fodder of the digital world in a way that the real world can only be thankful so few of the photos are actually printed. Although a Kim Kardashian-obsessed Kim Kardashian West is releasing a book of her selfies, called Selfish, for the similarly selfie self-obsessed fan. Notwithstanding any ogle factor, why exactly converting digital selfie images into a physical book made any sense is a bit of mystery. Perhaps it was just easier to make a profit that way. Though the coffee table book seems rather removed from the mobile and transmitted talking (or commenting) piece that selfies usually are. As for commenting on selfies, the language is becoming more focused if blurred in its meaning. Names, ...

Buzzed then Jolted Coffee, is argued at times as being the beverage of the civilised world. A cup of coffee may be anything from the provider of caffeine to make the morning more bearable for some, to an excuse for talking to someone for others. With coffee has come its aficionadas. Someone making coffee is a barista, thank you very much. It’s not just the beverage of choice in cafés though. The coffee pod has more than gone mainstream and enjoys massive success both financially and in terms of market share in defining how people prepare their coffee. Interestingly though, John Sylvan, inventor of the American coffee pods (called K-Cups and sold by Keurig) now has his regrets about his creation. The cost of them and their cost to the environment are his major concerns, especially the latter. Back in the earlier part of the 1990s, John Sylvan’s drinking of ...

Mankind has long held a fascination with the tangible.  Yet it was also the intangible, the ideas, that have given rise to so much. If one considers the nature of writing, it has moved  from things such as cave paintings, to clay tablets such as those used in ancient Babylon.  Literally going from being on an immovable rock, to being transported essentially in a rock.  Stone tablets gave way to things such as parchment, papyrus, and paper.  Handwritten by way of scribes, to be superseded by the Guttenberg press.  The printing press ushered in a phase of modernity, the book could be readily made and information disseminated as easily as it could be carried.  Digital innovations and the internet have now expanded this.  Taking writing and books into essentially intangible areas with such things as e-books. Information now seems little bound to the tangible, save for a means to decode and ...

Enter Angelina Since first stepping into the spotlight, Angelina Jolie was been many things to many people. From Hollywood wild child, with her various oddities such as an interest in knives to wearing a vial of blood of her then husband Billy Bob Thornton (a much older man) in a necklace.  Perhaps channelling some of these quirks or even art imitating life, she became a celebrated actress.  Including winning three Golden Globes; and winning an Oscar in 1999 for her portrayal of the sociopathic Lisa Rowe in Girl, Interrupted.  Plus the Tomb Raider movies, although perhaps far from the most respected acting she has done, playing as Lara Croft served to place her truly in the public eye. Seen as incredibly beautiful, she has consistently ranked in FHM’s list of the 100 Sexiest Women each year since 2000 to now; peaking at third place in the year 2005.  Similarly Esquire magazine ...

The interweb has been ablaze in recent weeks with discussion about the anticipated release of iOS 7, expected to be announced at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Following the departure of Scott Forstall, there has been much speculation about whether Apple will abandon skeuomorphic design in favour of a more modern “flat design” approach. “Skeuo what?” we hear you say? What is skeuomorphic design? The word skeuomorph, pronounced “skyoo-uh-mawf” is compounded from the Greek words skeuos (container or tool) and morphê (shape). It has been applied to material objects since the 1890s, but more recently it has been used to describe computer interface design. A skeuomorph is an ornament or design that is made to resemble another material or technique. It is the design equivalent of poetic metaphor. Typically skeuomorphism is employed to make products designed from new and novel materials feel as comfortable and familiar as the ...

That is the Manly Question Based on male and female judgements of photographs of men who were clean-shaven, lightly or heavily stubbled and fully bearded, a recent study by Dixson and Brooks (2013) about men’s facial hair and their perceived socio-sexual attributes of attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities was conducted. It found that both male and females rated heavy stubble as the most attractive; whereas a full beard was rated highest in perceptions of parenting ability and healthiness, again by both males and females. So there you have it. Men, grow at least some heavy stubble, or invest in a beard.  You’ll be seen as more attractive and masculine.  (It may not actually make you more manly though, just people’s perceptions of this.)  Then you’ve maybe got a chance with Mila Kunis, who was named by FHM the World’s Sexiest Woman in 2013. Is it Really that Simple? In psychological ...