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Article 17


In the Netherlands, sex ed starts in kindergarten. Watch a class get their charming first lesson.

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Dutch schools celebrate "Spring Fever" week, educating primary school students on sexuality.

Students in the Netherlands start sex education classes early. Kindergarten students learn about self-image and affection. 11-year-old students discuss contraceptives and sexual orientations. And yet, with all this education about sexuality, the Netherlands has the world's lowest rate of teen pregnancy.

Dutch teens also report that their first sexual experiences are "wanted and fun." Compare that with the United States, where 66% of sexually active young people say they wish they had waited longer before their first sexual experience.

Why are American kids jumping into sexual experiences before they are ready? Sex education in the United States is primarily focused on the perfunctory messages of the risk of pregnancy and the prevention of STDs. It turns the wonderful feelings of love and sexiness into science class. That's if your state or city allow sex education at all. A few states focus on abstinence-only education.

Compare that to the Dutch students, who are given honest and trustworthy information about sex and sexuality. In an exercise where kids get to ask anonymous questions, the students' curiousity ranges from the harmless confusion about how to ask someone out to the more serious inquiries from a youngster who is worried she might be a lesbian. All the questions are given the same respect, and the students learn together about how to properly handle the powerful feelings associated with sexuality. The teachers even give some advice on breaking up.


Treating children's nascent feelings of sexuality with respect seems to give Dutch students a more grounded sense of self, good sexual boundaries, and builds a foundation of respect in sexual relationships. This approach is being adopted in a few places in the United States.

According to PBS, schools in the Chicago area are required to give students 300 minutes of sex education per year for Kindergarten to 12th grade and 600 minutes per year from 5th to 8th grade. Broward County, Florida, is implementing a new plan in 2015 to have a sex education course for every grade level, covering topics from body image, social media and sexuality to sexting.

Hopefully, the example set by The Netherlands can help young people across the world. A survey by the Public Region Research Institute found that 40% of Millennials, now in their 30s, feel that their sex education was useless. That's like saying sex ed was as ineffective as D.A.R.E.

Obviously, teaching children abstinence and cold facts is not enough to prepare them to navigate the tricky world ahead.

What's worse: this song or that the music video includes real footage of the bassist's spinal surgery?

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The strange new music video from Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford incorporates actual (graphic) footage from his recent spinal surgery.

I know that trailblazer Hilary Duff paved the way for music video/fake reality show hybrids when she went on an allegedly real Tinder date in her recent music video for Sparks. But even for this brave new world we now live in, what you're about to watch is bizarre.

The video is for a song called "Voodoo Juju" by Commerford's band, Future User. The music is interspersed with stilted scenes featuring Rage Against the Machine's guitarist and two members of the band Rush playing Morello's doctors. These moments play sort of like a weird combination of hastily written sketch comedy and a middle school student presentation comparing the American and Canadian healthcare systems, as performed by rock stars. But all this wacky stuff is grounded in reality...by shots of a surgeon slicing into Morello's spine, which he says are comprised from real footage of his own operation!

Even though this is a disorienting video, I do think it's great when celebrities use their platform to speak up for important causes that they care about. And maybe one day we can get a Beyonce video-documentary on the topic of healthcare reform with her doctors played by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

5 Things You Should At Least Pretend To Know Today - June 2, 2015

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1. We're 87 Percent Sure That Martin O'Malley Doesn't Really Think He's Going To Win The Democratic Nomination

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced over the weekend that he will be seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. He has yet to clarify whether this is an act of pure delusion or if he maybe just has a book coming out soon.


2. Big Tobacco Ordered To Pay Smokers $12 Billion, Roughly The Cost Of 13 Packs Of Cigarettes

A Canadian judge has ruled that three of the biggest tobacco companies must pay $12 billion dollars to Quebec smokers for not providing information on the health risks associated with smoking. "The companies earned billions of dollars at the expense of the lungs, the throats, and the general well-being of their customers," Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan wrote. JTI-Macdonald, Imperial Tobacco, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges say they plan to appeal black, tarry infringement of justice.


3. Emma Stone Finally Gets The Extremely White-Looking Asian Person Role She Was Born To Play

Academy Award-nominated actress Emma Stone has been making headlines recently for her role as a half-Asian Hawaiian hula dancing expert in Cameron Crowe's new film Aloha. Reactions from the media range from "I'm not buying Emma Stone as an Asian-American in Aloha" to "Literally Why."


4. Dwayne Johnson To Star In Remake Of 'Big Trouble In Little China' That Literally Nobody Wants To Exist

Twentieth Century Fox announced (probably due to a sense of obligation) that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has for some reason agreed to star in a remake of John Carpenter's 1986 cult-classic action-fantasy film Big Trouble in Little China that some executive probably figured they'd have to get around to making eventually. Sorry to have been the one to inform you.


5. Weird-Looking Fish Forced To Procreate Without Sex

Scientists have discovered that female sawfish in Florida have been reproducing without engaging in sexual intercourse with male sawfish in the area. These births seem to suggest both that such virgin births may be more common in nature than previously assumed and that Florida fish dudes are just as off-putting as Florida human dudes.

Article 13

Parents are angry after their kids' sex ed class took a very grown up field trip.

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Students at Gaia Democratic School in Minneapolis were taken to The Smitten Kitten, a local sex shop.


The Smitten Kitten, definitely not a pet store.(via Facebook)

There's a strong argument to be made for starting kids' sexual education early. Countries that do often report lower instances of teen pregnancy, as well as less regret about early sexual experiences in general. But does that mean schools should take it upon themselves to expose children to the complicated world of adult sexuality? Yes. They just shouldn't bring them to a dildo store without their parents' permission.

That's exactly what happened at Gaia Democratic School, a private K-12 school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Starri Hedges, the director of the school as well as the sex ed teacher, took about a dozen middle- and high-school-aged students on a field trip to The Smitten Kitten, a local sex shop, last week. There, the students had a frank Q&A with sex educators. The event was held in the front library area of the store, and all pornographic materials were hidden for the duration. However, sex toys and other products were in full view the whole time. The educators demonstrated products that could be used for safe sex (not literally), and some students even bought condoms. Hedges was delighted with the result, telling The Minneapolis Star Tribune:

“What I saw happening on our trip, I thought it was beautiful because kids could talk to these sex educators without any shame, without any fear."

Their parents, on the other hand, had enough shame and fear to go around. They were not consulted before the trip, and now, some of them are fuming mad. They feel that it is the parents' responsibility to teach their children about ball gags and butt plugs, and that Hedges overstepped her bounds. At least one family pulled their children from the school after hearing the news, and city officials are investigating whether the store broke any laws by admitting minors.

Gaia Democratic, meanwhile, is in the clear. As a private school, it's not subject to the authority of the Department of Education. Director Hedges said her only regret is that she "didn't communicate well enough with parents ahead of time." She's right about that, but after reading about this school, I don't know how any parents were surprised that this happened. Its website reads like a parody of a progressive private school.


This can't be for real.(via Facebook)

Housed in a Unitarian church, Gaia Democratic School has roughly 25 students, some of which are described by administrators as transgender. Its education philosophy is focused on "academic freedom, youth empowerment, democratic education, and environmental stewardship." The Smitten Kitten, meanwhile, is like the sex shop version of Gaia Democratic. Specializing in non-toxic, ethically-produced sex toys and educational workshops, it bills itself as "a sex positive space where everyone is welcome."

If you're suffering from Hippie Fatigue after reading that last paragraph, I'm with you. To be honest, I would probably send my kids to that school and go to that store to buy lube if I had kids or needed lube, but both of them could stand to tone it down. We get the idea. In my opinion, this field trip would have been no problem if the parents had just been asked first. What kind of school doesn't use permission slips for that? My parents had to sign a permission slip for my trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and none of those historical reenactors ever showed me how to put on a condom.

The only person who ever showed me how to put on a condom was my gym teacher in middle school sex ed, and she did it bitterly and with a definite lack of sex positivity. Then she showed us a slideshow of STD-riddled genitals while gesticulating at it with a condom-wrapped banana. I would have done anything to have sex ed class in a hippie sex shop run by friendly people with sleeve tattoos. But even then, I would have understood that my parents should know about it.

Article 11

Article 10


"Silicon Valley"'s T.J. Miller won an award, gave a hilarious speech about how awards don't matter.

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When actor T.J. Miller won a Critic's Choice Award on Sunday night for his work on "Silicon Valley," he let everyone know how he really feels about awards.

After his name was called, Miller stuffed a bunch of food in his mouth with his fingers before running on stage while still chewing and wiping his messy hands all over the mic stand. His acceptance speech included the sentence, "I would say that awards are for children because children need a tangible representation of their achievement, whereas adults should settle for the respect and admiration of their peers." He also thanked his parents for making him funny enough to "earn a crystal thing."

That's pretty much the opposite of saying "I'd like to thank the Academy."


High school seniors perform over-the-top awesome song-and-dance number at graduation.

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The 2015 graduating class of Kahuku High School in Hawaii capped their graduation ceremony with a ridiculously celebratory musical medley. With dancing!


Pictured: When graduation looks like how graduation feels. (Via YouTube)

The graduation ceremony for Kahuku, a secondary school near Honolulu, begins like most, with the exiting seniors seated. They then give a bittersweet performance of their melancholy "class song"…but they just crush it, jumping up to perform an elaborately choreographed and robe-color-coordinated medley of joyful songs like "I Want You Back," "Shake It Off," and "Uptown Funk."

The routine concludes with a haka, a traditional Maori dance put together by a Maori cultural expert whose son attends KHS.

The two most amazing things about this are that the crowd somehow doesn't join in the dancing, and that the class of 2015 learned all of the steps in just two days.

5 things I learned about making women love me from this week's "Bachelorette."

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My name is Nathan, and I'm bad at love.

So I'm turning to the 11th season of The Bachelorette for help. Week 3 of dating is all about showing how serious you are. That is why Kaitlyn chose a sumo wrestling group date and a sex education group date. Here are the key lessons I learned to advance my own romantic connections:

1. Don't hate on her date ideas.

Kaitlyn likes fun and adventurous dates. But America's favorite “Healer," Tony, has had enough with all the aggression and just wants peaceful dates like skydiving, imitating animals at the zoo, or staring at each other for hours in silence. Saying no to what your date is interested in is not the way to win her hand in marriage. It's just a one-way ticket out of the relationship. Tony. I miss you already.

2. Do tell her you have fallen for her.

You have been dating for three whole weeks. It's time to tell her that you have fallen for her quick and hard. You must also mention this has never happened to you before. The way to move forward in this relationship is to tell her how you “feel." It's OK if you don't mean it, but it's vital that you say these exact words. This is how Shawn wins the group date rose and moves one step closer to true love. I've been practicing this speech nonstop since seeing how well it worked.

3. Do protect her from nature's most terrifying predators.

Fend off life-threatening pigeons. Get rose.

4. Do know how sex works.

Before getting intimate with anyone, Kaitlyn wanted to find out how much the men knew about sex. The best way to do this was to have them teach sex education to a group of very young students. Prank alert! These are actually child actors that have been given prepared questions by adults. Sweet prank! Most of the men stumbled through their lessons uncomfortably, but Ben H. understands that sex is about finding an emotional connection, falling in love, and then introducing his sperm to her egg. How romantic! Now I know what to talk about during my next date.

5. Don't let your bromance get in the way.

Clint was leading the pack until his newfound love of JJ took his focus away from winning Kaitlyn's heart. All he had to do was continue to act like he was interested, tell her he had fallen for her quick and hard, and get down on one knee. But the bromance took over, and Clint felt being a villainous duo with JJ was more important than getting engaged to Kaitlyn. Big mistake. Nothing is more important than winning love and getting engaged. He tried to mount a comeback, but it was too late. The damage was done, and a valuable lesson was learned: the person you are dating ALWAYS comes first.

The dogs steal the show in this adorable, 90-second pregnancy time-lapse.

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This video does not feature the conception, so, safe for workplace.

This couple is famous for making time lapse videos of their ridiculously cute dogs, so it's not surprising that the two rascals make their way into one of the biggest events of their lives: getting a pet baby! I can't wait to see the time lapse video for this kid in 18 years, from birth to graduation. Meanwhile, here's the famous Dunder who may be the most huggable dog I've ever wanted to reach through the screen and squoosh.

Dogs, babies, beach vacations! These two know how to live.

This is the most expensive handbag in the world.

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This Hermès Birkin Bag became the most expensive handbag in the world when it sold for $221,846 at Hong Kong Christie's auction.


You could buy this, or you could buy 10 brand new Kia Sorentos. Your call. (via Twitter)

I did not know what a Birkin Bag was before today. Unfortunately, now I know it's a fancy designer purse that people go bonkers over even though it is pretty boring. I get it. It's made out of expensive materials and is collectible and is worn by famous people. But, I dunno, the picture above just looks like a giant Barbie purse. It looks like the handbag equivalent of a loud teenage girl at the mall in the suburbs in the late '90s. What it really looks like is a shiny pink reminder of the distribution of the wealth in the world.

Christie's had a very different explanation of this piece of 'art,' describing it as, "AN EXCEPTIONAL SHINY FUCHSIA POROSUS CROCODILE DIAMOND BIRKIN 35 WITH 18K WHITE GOLD & DIAMOND HARDWARE." If only this crocodile's family could see what is has become. Also, people over at Christie's love to use caps lock.

The buyer is unknown, but let's all pretend it's someone from the future who is going use the bag as a magical vessel to stop war, end hunger, and eliminate manspreading. But, let's be honest, it's probably just for some billionaire's toddler to use to fill with toys for their pet Siberian tiger.

Promposal in front of entire school ends horribly.

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Watch these two poor teenagers embarrass each other.

Prom season is an exciting time. The school year is coming to an end, spring is in the air, and love is beginning to bloom. Naturally, asking someone to be your prom date can be fraught with anxiety. Especially when you refer to asking a fellow teenager to a school dance as a "promposal." Seriously, why not just call prom "High School Practice Wedding?" Why all this wedding pressure? Let the kids be kids!

Promposals are eye-catching affairs, often done in front of the whole school. This one student asked his potential date on the football field, apparently for some half-time event. Watch the awkward sparks fly when she gives him the worst answer possible. Then cringe as this poor fellow cannot offer any counter.

Oh, skin-crawling social terror, you're what high school is all about.

Article 3


A drunk driver passed out behind the wheel. When he woke up, he found the best note ever.

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Redditor Krazy_Legs found this drunk man asleep in a running car at 3 AM.


Drunk drivers are so cute when they're asleep.(via Reddit)

Imagine you're coming home to your apartment at 3 in the morning. You find this man, asleep and non-responsive behind the wheel of a running car. What do you do? Obviously you take a picture. But one Massachusetts Redditor did more than that – he became a hero. Here's the story in his own words:

I found this guy passed out drunk with his car running outside of a bar at 3:00 am. The bars close at midnight where I am, so I tried to wake him up, but he just kept mumbling and continued to sleep. I decided to hide his keys in the backseat, just in case a cop came, and left him a note and some water. I realized once I was sober that a cop would probably just read the note and arrest him anyway, but at least I tried.

Here's the note in question:


He's the hero this guy definitely doesn't deserve.(via Reddit)

Putting the bottle of water in his steering wheel is an extra-nice touch. That guy's going to need it for his booze/exhaust fume hangover. Meanwhile, the Drunk Knight will stand ever vigilant, ready to save any and all drunk assholes from themselves.


TSA investigators attempted to smuggle 70 fake bombs through airport security. Guess how many got through.

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The TSA put its bomb detection skills to the test, and found it's much better at getting fake bombs on airplanes.


TSA security checkpoints are my favorite place to be screamed at.(via Getty)

The Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint at any airport is a nightmare. You have to remove important pieces of clothing, such as your shoes and belt. You are screamed at by the TSA agents. You have to stand in a giant microwave that can see your genitals. It's dehumanizing, and the longer you wait to get through, the more gray your soul becomes. But it's all for safety, right? Well, turns out the TSA is still no better at detecting potential threats than they used to be.

An internal study by the TSA's "Red Team" was conducted at airports around the country. The agents had 70 mock bombs they attempted to smuggle past security agents. Only 3 were detected. That's 95% of the fake bombs going undetected or undisturbed.

The test was conducted by TSA agents who received the same rigorous training as the agents they were testing. Knowing all the holes and how to circumvent them does give investigators more of a chance to succeed in a test like this than a civilian.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has issued some changes in protocol after reading this report. So, thanks to the TSA conducting an expert level test against itself, expect getting through security to be even more hellish.

Just show them your ID, keep your voice down, and you'll be putting your belt back on soon enough.

8 types of commuters who are guilty of way worse sins than manspreading.

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The New York Police Department has arrested its first manspreaders—hardened criminals guilty of spreading their legs too far apart while sitting on the subway.

Manspreading pisses a lot of people off, because men are taking up more than their fair share of space and it's the patriarchy and no one really needs that much room for their balls.

But guys? I have a confession. I'm a capital-'F' Feminist, but I just can't get it up to care too much about manspreading. I've been taking public transportation for the last 8 years of my life, and I've seen far worse than a couple of legs spread apart like a stuffed turkey.

If I had the power to arrest people for being bad commuters, I would start with:

1. People who fart.


If I could send people to jail for farting on public transportation, I would. I have sympathy for people who accidentally do gross things on the train because they're sick. But that is not farting. Farting in public is a personal choice that says, "I only care about myself." If you want to fart, you need to drive.

2. People who cannot properly hold onto a cup of coffee.


The bus makes sudden stops. That is no excuse for you to throw your cup of hot coffee across the floor, leaving behind a sticky mess that everyone has to stand in.

3. People who have to make out right now.

Good for you. You're in love. You'll still be in love in 30 minutes when you're in the privacy of your own home. It was only hot in Risky Business because Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay were doing it.

4. People who talk on the phone.

No one cares about the deal you're making or how much money you're about to make. We just want to listen to This American Life in peace. Text! For God's sake, just text!

5. People who stink of cologne.

You're just going to work. Who are you trying to impress?

6. People who just stink.

7. People who wedge themselves in and make a seat where there isn't one.


These people don't mind throwing an elbow into your sides. In fact, I think they like it.

Speaking of physical pain ...

8. Musicians.

Man, all musicians on public transportation are the worst. No one can escape. What is charming on a subway platform is a nightmare on the actual subway. Last week, a guy walked onto my train with an acoustic guitar and started playing John Mayer covers. He didn't even bother trying to ask for tips. He knew what he was doing.

All images via Thinkstock.

This girl's diploma is being withheld for what she wore to graduation.

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Another day, another bullsh*t clothing infraction holding back a girl's education.


The offensive foot.(via Jezebel)

Less than an hour after publishing the definitive guide for young women trying to observe school dress codes, yet another example of the egregious double-standard women are held to in schools everywhere popped up. Over at Jezebel, they interviewed a girl identified only as 'Rachel' who is battling her school's administration over her diploma and transcript. Why? She owes detention time for a dress code infraction she incurred while walking down the aisle at graduation.

Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Virginia has some strict dress codes. In the past, Rachel admits she was given detention for things like wearing pink socks or a skirt her teachers considered too short. She had noticed boys in her class getting away with equivalent dress code infractions, such as wearing sneakers or forgetting to tuck in their shirts. When graduation time came around the students were informed of what they were expected to wear at the ceremony, including black footwear. Rachel says:

I'm a self-conscious person. We have our graduation at a college, it's a big stage. You walk in front of everyone. I can't walk in heels and all my flats are poor quality and I would get blisters. So I was like, why not wear something I feel comfortable in?

Her mother packed a pair of more traditional flats in her purse, just in case, but when students were lined up for inspection Rachel was waved on up to the stage. She shook hands with her principal, got the fake plastic diploma for the photo op, then headed backstage expecting to collect the real thing. PSYCH.

Assistant principal Eileen Hanley pulled her aside and said, “You're not getting your diploma. You know you shouldn't have worn those shoes.”

That's right. Rachel worked for four years, graduated with honors and is on her way to college. But she completely forfeited her right to the diploma signifying her accomplishment because she wore sneakers. Her sneakers were probably all anyone was looking at. She ruined the ceremony for everyone!!!!

Rachel's mother is protesting her daughter's punishment, saying she doesn't want her to serve an afternoon in summer school detention where teachers can bully and berate her. They're now threatening to hold back her transcript, which may make it difficult to register for her college courses. However this issue ends up being resolved, the administration will have still ruined what was supposed to be a day of achievement and pride for a young girl. Rachel says:

“I was looking forward to getting my diploma for years. But I was in the car bawling instead. They ruined that moment for me.”

Hayley Atwell tweets great response to being Photoshopped on a magazine cover.

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When a fan tweeted at actress Hayley Atwell about how beautiful she looked on a magazine cover, she tweeted back that she was Photoshopped.

And this isn't the only time that Atwell, the star of Marvel's "Agent Carter," has taken a casually honest approach to talking about beauty norms, expectations on women, and the work that stars have to do to look so good when they appear in public.

She's given her Instagram followers a behind-the-scenes look at how her hair gets perfected, and her facial expression shows she's not taking the process too seriously.

A photo posted by @realhayleyatwell on

She isn't afraid to show the Internet her face without makeup after a sweaty run...

7k in the Heath

A photo posted by @realhayleyatwell on

...or while wearing makeup that's not exactly red carpet appropriate.

A photo posted by @realhayleyatwell on

And she gives credit to the people who make her look so flawless on TV.

It's refreshing for an actress to take such a light-hearted approach to discussing appearance. Now here's a picture of Atwell chilling with Chris Evans.

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