We might soon see the last of Leisure Suit Larry … What’s being called the “Games as Porn” statute is being debated in the Supreme Court, with justices listening to arguments for and against banning the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to anyone under 18.
The law, passed in 2005, prohibits selling any video game with a Mature or Adults-Only rating to anyone under 18, with possible fines of up to $1,000, but has never gone into effect due to court challenges. The video game industry and others fear that the ban could go a long way toward restricting actual content within video games for all ages—which is probably the idea, anyway. PCWorld thinks it’s another example of government trying to “protect” us from “offensive” materials, and we’re wondering where it ends?
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wondered that as well. “If you are supposing a category of violent materials dangerous to children,” she asked, “then how do you cut it off at video games? What about films? What about comic books?” What about TV and billboards and radio and everything else with which kids might come in contact?
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What about books? Well, at least the American Library Association has taken the stance of nurturing, not overprotecting our children. Recently, the ALA has added the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, which honors “English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience.”
The Stonewall award itself has been around since 1971, but has been awarded only in adult categories before now. Of the award, ALA president Roberta Stevens said, “Millions of children in this country are being raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are young people who are gay and sometimes they feel very alone. This is a real opportunity for youths who may be feeling alone to read about others like themselves.”
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You know what they say about a Neanderthal with long fingers…they apparently get around more than your usual hominid. At least, that’s what new studies suggest.
Research led by Emma Nelson of Liverpool University is now theorizing that long fingers in Neanderthals meant that the hominid species was more promiscuous than modern humans. The finger length is linked to horniness by way of sex hormones present in the womb. Apparently, the lengthier the digits, the more crazy the hormones, hence the wilder the sex life. Nelson and her team spent long, arduous hours examining the fossilized hands of four hominids, and found Neanderthals had the biggest.
Of course, Nelson did concede that hands may not be the end-all, be-all indicator of a vanished species’ swinging lifestyle. “Although finger ratios provide some really exciting suggestions about hominid behavior,” Nelson said, “we do accept that the evidence is limited and to confirm these findings we really need more fossils.” Uh, yeah.
In the meantime, people across the nation are going to be slacking off at work so they can compare fingers with each other and see who’s the sluttiest amongst them. Thanks, science.
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First there was free hugs, now there is free groping. Well, maybe it’s more of an awkward snuggling, as New York City-based photographer Richard Renaldi explores the invisible barriers that keep us apart—and as he breaks them down in his art installment called “Touching Strangers.”
“Generally when you ask two people to touch, they're going to do one of two things,” Renaldi told NPR, “They're either going to hold hands or put their arms around each other. But I think there can be much more interesting ways to touch each other.” No kidding. But we’d only do that kind of touching with strangers if we had long fingers.
The law, passed in 2005, prohibits selling any video game with a Mature or Adults-Only rating to anyone under 18, with possible fines of up to $1,000, but has never gone into effect due to court challenges. The video game industry and others fear that the ban could go a long way toward restricting actual content within video games for all ages—which is probably the idea, anyway. PCWorld thinks it’s another example of government trying to “protect” us from “offensive” materials, and we’re wondering where it ends?
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wondered that as well. “If you are supposing a category of violent materials dangerous to children,” she asked, “then how do you cut it off at video games? What about films? What about comic books?” What about TV and billboards and radio and everything else with which kids might come in contact?
***
What about books? Well, at least the American Library Association has taken the stance of nurturing, not overprotecting our children. Recently, the ALA has added the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, which honors “English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience.”
The Stonewall award itself has been around since 1971, but has been awarded only in adult categories before now. Of the award, ALA president Roberta Stevens said, “Millions of children in this country are being raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are young people who are gay and sometimes they feel very alone. This is a real opportunity for youths who may be feeling alone to read about others like themselves.”
***
You know what they say about a Neanderthal with long fingers…they apparently get around more than your usual hominid. At least, that’s what new studies suggest.
Research led by Emma Nelson of Liverpool University is now theorizing that long fingers in Neanderthals meant that the hominid species was more promiscuous than modern humans. The finger length is linked to horniness by way of sex hormones present in the womb. Apparently, the lengthier the digits, the more crazy the hormones, hence the wilder the sex life. Nelson and her team spent long, arduous hours examining the fossilized hands of four hominids, and found Neanderthals had the biggest.
Of course, Nelson did concede that hands may not be the end-all, be-all indicator of a vanished species’ swinging lifestyle. “Although finger ratios provide some really exciting suggestions about hominid behavior,” Nelson said, “we do accept that the evidence is limited and to confirm these findings we really need more fossils.” Uh, yeah.
In the meantime, people across the nation are going to be slacking off at work so they can compare fingers with each other and see who’s the sluttiest amongst them. Thanks, science.
***
First there was free hugs, now there is free groping. Well, maybe it’s more of an awkward snuggling, as New York City-based photographer Richard Renaldi explores the invisible barriers that keep us apart—and as he breaks them down in his art installment called “Touching Strangers.”
“Generally when you ask two people to touch, they're going to do one of two things,” Renaldi told NPR, “They're either going to hold hands or put their arms around each other. But I think there can be much more interesting ways to touch each other.” No kidding. But we’d only do that kind of touching with strangers if we had long fingers.
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