Weird Halloween Costumes Of The 1970s And 80s

Unfortunately, most trick-or-treat attire of the 1970s and 80s was woefully bad. Generally, costumes consisted of a plastic mask and apron/smock. It was cheap and it came in a box at your local drug store.

- Design you Trust

AFTER THE FIRE - Murder, lies and a missing deer head

You would have been able to see it well before dawn if you lived across those fields, or if you happened to be travelling one of those dark and deserted highways: a spot of fire burning bright on the horizon, hot orange flames licking upward to the sky, a house disintegrating into embers below.

The first firefighters arrived around 7:30, when the family who lived in the house would usually have been up having breakfast, getting ready for work or chores.

In the country, it is friends and relatives who are called to help. On that morning, 16 volunteer firefighters from town and the farms around – local people who knew, as soon as they heard the location, whose house was in flames, whose lives were disappearing into thick plumes of smoke in the winter sky.

- The Globe and Mail

The true stories behind bill murray’s random interactions with strangers

You’re not alone if you’ve repeatedly asked yourself: what’s up with all those Bill Murray stories? The ones where he interacts with random strangers, crashes their parties, does their dishes? The stories have made him somewhat of a myth in movie culture. He pops up in random places with random people. Nobody knows where or when the next one will happen. We only know that, in most of these stories, Murray is reported to whisper the line, “No one will ever believe you.”

- i-D

How To Stay Positive In Dark Times

We are living in tumultuous and divided times. It can be difficult to stay positive in spite of all of the depressing news around the world, the overt ignorance and prejudice that have been resurrected by the populism that has resurged in the west. It can feel like the world is regressing in real time after years of progress. The future looks pretty bleak, and that we are sacrificing longer term interests and goals for short term political benefits of the party in power, consequently creating a worse quality of life for future generations. This is all in addition to the stress and grind of work and day-to-day life. If you find you are struggling to stay positive, here are a few ways you can improve your outlook:

- Forbes

Naked in the Mountains 100 Years Ago, She Invented the Advanced Selfie

Anne Brigman was turning up her selfie prowess about 100-years before the rest of us. For one, she was never the stoic, buttoned-up type, and felt more at home on a mountaintop than with a roof over her head. When Brigman stepped inside the lens of her camera, the result was a ‘selfie’ that looked like an Old Master’s painting come to life– and, might we add, with some serious ‘special effects’ long before Photoshop was available. She’d melt her body into the heart of a lightning-blasted pine tree, or twist like the limb of a cracked oak, all through the magic of photo manipulation before the digital age, when tricking the human eye was a feat of magic. Put yourself in the shoes of a human from 1907, and you can see why Brigman’s gauzy finishes, high contrast, and ethereal surroundings transformed her into a Pagan goddess amongst mortals…

- Messy Nessy Chic

Japan's unusual way to see the world

Originating in Taoism during China’s Song dynasty (960-1279) before being passed onto Zen Buddhism, wabi-sabi was originally seen as an austere, restrained form of appreciation. Today it encapsulates a more relaxed acceptance of transience, nature and melancholy, favouring the imperfect and incomplete in everything, from architecture to pottery to flower arranging.

Wabi, which roughly means ‘the elegant beauty of humble simplicity’, and sabi, which means ‘the passing of time and subsequent deterioration’, were combined to form a sense unique to Japan and pivotal to Japanese culture. But just as Buddhist monks believed that words were the enemy of understanding, this description can only scratch the surface of the topic.

- BBC

Chlamydia, gang-bang et introspection : ce qui se passe dans les podcasts d'Anouk Perry

Depuis huit mois, les histoires d'Anouk Perry se sont fait une place dans les écouteurs de milliers d'amateurs de podcasts. Ils reviennent pour la diversité des sujets qu'elle aborde (les extra-terrestres, les fantômes, le prénom Kévin, le sexe à plusieurs, etc.), mais aussi pour l'autodérision qui traverse en fil rouge son travail. 

Imperméable au malaise, elle exhume les pires hontes de ses proches, explore ses propres doutes sur le sens de la vie, enquête sur ses anciens partenaires sexuels avec une audace qui rappelle parfois les grandes heures de "Strip-tease" (la bienveillance en plus). 

- Rue89

Are You More or Less Committed to Your Relationship

I loved the movie He’s Just Not That Into You, which I think everyone can agree reflects poorly on my taste. At the time, though, it seemed charming, and refreshingly minimalist in its central philosophy: if a person likes you roughly as much as you like them, you will know. I know a lot of the movie is sexist and it’s certainly heteronormative and probably gender essentialist as well, but … is that titular line true? According to researchers, yes — only they, as academics, call it something else: “Asymmetrically committed relationships,” or ACRs.

- The Cute

Eugene, en Oregon, moins connue que sa grande sœur rebelle

Moins connue que Portland, la deuxième ville de l’Oregon recèle des pistes cyclables et des parcours de course uniques. Escale dans la ville si chère à l’auteur de Vol au-dessus d’un nid de coucou, Ken Kesey… et grand apôtre du psychédélisme.

- Le Devoir

Antonin Ziegler covers abandoned barn in zinc plates to create rustic home in northern France

Zinc plates protect the ageing wooden structure of this barn in the French village Notre-Dame-de-Bliquetuit, which was been transformed into a house with its own spa by Antonin Ziegler.

- de zeen

How an Untrained Architect Made Oklahoma the Capital of Kitsch

Meet the latest maverick of the architecture world to steal our hearts, Bruce Goff. Lesser known amongst design laity, but just as groundbreaking as his fellow Midwesterner and mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright, Goff’s work was quite simply jaw-dropping. Case in point? The domed, technicolour house above. It might look like a groovy LA pad from the 1970s, but this baby was built in the Middle of Nowhere, Illinois (drumroll) in 1948…

- Messy Nessy Chic

Here are 6 ways religion does more bad than good

Most British people think religion causes more harm than good according to a survey commissioned by the Huffington Post. Surprisingly, even among those who describe themselves as “very religious” 20 percent say that religion is harmful to society. For that we can probably thank the internet, which broadcasts everything from Isis beheadings, to stories about Catholic hospitals denying care to miscarrying women, to lists of wild and weird religious beliefs, to articles about psychological harms from Bible-believing Christianity.

In 2010, sociologist Phil Zuckerman published Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment. Zuckerman lined up evidence that the least religious societies also tend to be the most peaceful, prosperous and equitable, with public policies that help people to flourish while decreasing both desperation and economic gluttony.

- Raw Story

“Live The Martian Experience”: Get A Taste Of Life On Mars At The Sun City Camp

In the heart of Wadi Rum’s majestic desert, stands the incredible Sun City Camp offering serenity and spiritual soothing experience of living in the desert and enjoying the simple Bedouin life of the valley with its unmatched authentic charm and beauty. Such an experience is featured through variety of high standard services, amenities, and accommodation options to choose from alongside a wide range of relaxing and adventurous recreational activities. The camp is located in Wadi Rum about 60 km from Aqaba city and 313 km from Amman. Upon arriving, guests will be welcomed with fresh juice and scented refreshing face towels that will initiate the amazing journey in the desert.

- Design You Trust

Illustrator Reimagines Iconic Artists as Modern-Day Hipsters

Have you ever wondered how history’s famous artists would look like if they were alive today? This is the concept for the work of Tel-Aviv-based illustrator Amit Shimoni, who has reimagined iconic artists such as Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh as if they were modern-day hipsters. His colorful portrait paintings are part of his ongoing series, aptly called HIPSTORY.

- My Modern Met

Banksy aurait voulu déchiqueter l'oeuvre en entier

Une nouvelle vidéo mise en ligne par Banksy implique que le déchiquetage partiel de son oeuvre Girl With Balloon lors d'une vente aux enchères à Londres n'était pas intentionnel, et que le tableau aurait dû être entièrement réduit en lambeaux.

- La Presse

The Sex Ashram of Koh Phangan and the Lost Teachings of Tantra

Swinger clubs are straightforward. The people that frequent them are there for one thing — polyamorous sex. These clubs rarely take on spiritual airs. There’s no sense of a utopia served with chai. Visits to swinger clubs, raw by nature, come straight to the point. They connect goers to their animalistic desires. Yet, most people respect the etiquette. If a woman says no — it means no.

Moving around tantric circles, you’ll find love and spirituality at the heart. People greet each other with prayer. They hold their hands in anjali mudra and say: Namaste — the light in me greets the light in you. Things like transformative erotic vaginal massages are on offer not to fulfill fantasies, but to push one towards a higher state of being. Here, sexual acts are heavily spiritualized. Yet, in these places meant to be a safe haven for self-discovery and enlightenment, such as Agama Yoga School in Koh Phangan, Thailand, we find men of power, gurus, not only abusing their influence over their disciples, but actually ignoring their cries of “no” and “stop.”

- Medium

'Decent men have affairs all the time. I'm going to tell you why.'

Up until about seven years ago, I had a somewhat black and white view of sex and adultery within a committed relationship. Case in point:

Infidelity – infidelity was for arseholes. If a man has an affair, he most likely thinks with his dick and lacks the inner strength to work through the challenges relationships bring. If a woman has an affair, she is jeopardising her family, demeaning herself, and betraying the sisterhood.

Sex – I liked sex as much as the next woman. That is to say, I used to. But by 2011, I was 40 with two children under six. I was working. I was trying to run the household. To be frank, I still thought my husband was attractive, but I just wasn’t attracted to him. I had no interest in sex anymore; or on the odd occasion I did feel a tingling between my thighs, by the time I weighed up the logistics of following through, the moment had usually passed.

My husband’s sexual needs – I wasn’t meeting them. I didn’t want sex and he was going to have to get used to it. Have a pull. Jerk the chain. Do whatever, but don’t expect me to roll over and think of England. To put out when I didn’t really want to felt like a denial of me; an insincere gesture to us both. Besides which, I was bloody tired and resentful.

 - Mamamia

La dernière oeuvre d'Anthony Bourdain

Le regretté Anthony Bourdain aurait lancé la semaine dernière un roman graphique, qu'il a scénarisé avec son ami Joel Rose. Hungry Ghosts, un album d'horreur gore inspiré de légendes japonaises, a été achevé deux jours avant le suicide de l'animateur de Parts Unknown. La Presse a pu parler à son coauteur.

- La Presse

Photos of Abandoned Russia

Across the vastness of Russia—the world’s largest country, at some 6.6 million square miles—and over the span of its long history, countless houses, factories, churches, villages, military bases, and other structures have been built and then left behind: imperial-era palaces, log cabins of pioneers in the Far East, Christian cathedrals, massive Soviet blocks of concrete, speculative-mining camps, and more. For years now, photographers have traveled across Russia finding and photographing these intriguing ghost towns, empty Soviet factories, toppling houses, and crumbling chapels.

- The Atlantic

Le tabou du plaisir au féminin - Les salopes ou le sucre naturel de la peau

En ces temps de #MoiAussi et d’inconduites sexuelles, parler de sexualité au féminin peut s’avérer un terrain glissant. Dans Les salopes [...], la cinéaste ne fait pas qu’en parler. Elle la montre de manière très réaliste, sous une aura de tabous, de l’adultère à la sexualité à l’adolescence, sans s’empêcher d’inclure une accusation de viol.

« C’est tellement compliqué, la sexualité des femmes, que même évoquer le désir met mal à l’aise », dit celle qui n’a pas voulu non plus signer un pamphlet anti-quoi-que-ce-soit. Mais féministe, elle s’assume. « Je considère qu’il est important de parler de la sexualité de façon positive, là où la femme vaut, la femme aime ça, la femme décide, n’est pas traînée de force. »

- Le Devoir