End Metallophobia (previously named 'Fear of a metal planet')

All, My friend (who calls herself Vera Metallum on Facebook and used to call herself Pagan Baby on Yahoo) has just entered the Miss Alternative 2010 'Beauty' Pagent.  Her decision to enter this competition prompted her to ask herself what is the definition of 'alternative'. This is a long 'essay' that she published on Facebook regarding the 'ins and outs' of being 'alternative' and what it means to be 'alternative'.  The essay begins with a definition of 'alternative'. Citing from http://www.dictionary.com/ , she states that an alternative (as a noun) is a choice limited to one of two or more possibilities, as of two things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes the other possibility. one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen. A possible or remaining course or choice. While as an adjective, it means Affording a choice of two or more things, propositions or courses...

They are one band who have been up there (and pretty much no 1) in my list of favourite bands and are one band, for many years, have been highly controversial. They are highly respected for many reasons: They have been around for a long time, since the early 1970s; They have many classic albums (see (1) below), though some 'cheesy' ones too (like Turbo for instance); They have survived in the face of many 'trends' including Punk, Disco, Rap and Dance, and many 'trends' within Heavy Metal itself (like Glam, Thrash, Death, Black and Nu Metal).  In other words, they have stood the 'test of time'; They have also survived in the face of many 'knockers' and naysayers, and have successfully defended themselves (in most instances) and their genre from all the outside (ie non-metal) forces, as well as those 'knockers' from withing who have accused them of being 'gay' or lame (cos they like something more 'brutal' or 'true...

I don't want to delete myself from the Internet, though there are times when I have said some things about other people that I regretted later on. For instance, I have been 'dragged' into some 'flaming' wars on some Yahoo groups I used to belong to, and as a consequence, I am no longer in these groups. Some of them have been over guys I used to like, some of them over making comments that were allegedly 'racist' (even though there weren't generally racist, they were more about certain 'subgroups' among 2nd and 3rd generation migrants whose own behaviour offended me also), while others were when some of my friends were being bullied online and subject to *sexist* jokes and comments (like how 'fat' they were, or how 'slutty' they looked). In many of these cases, I was also treated like I was 'dumb'. The sad reality was that all of them, where I was subjected to online bullying myself (because I was either sticking up fo...

Earworms: Can They Be Killed? A repetitive lyric (usually a chorus) is called a 'hook line' in some circles (probably because the 'powers that be' at the time wanted us to believe that because most pop and rock music has a catchy tune and repetitive chorus, there must be an 'ulterior motive' behind the song, and therefore we fall for it 'hook, line and sinker'). The more recent term is 'ear worm' - the song gets into your head, and is hard to remove once you hear it. The best 'remedy' is to do (or listen to) something else. I'm not thinking about that Supernaut song now, thanks to the fact that I had been 'getting it out of my system' by watching the clip(s) on YouTube. And, to be honest, it is *one* earworm I'd be happy to keep in my head. :) cheers, Night Owl

I like it both ways (according to these men) (as the song by Supernought goes) :P 'I Like it Both Ways' by Supernaut (on YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzDUcPfZoJ

I found this site when I was reading the article about whether or not gay males are necessarily more abusive then straight males, and it caught my attention. In fact, what I thought was a web site about gay males is actually about males (ie men and boys) in general.  While I consider myself a 'feminist', I am *not* anti-male, as some would believe; and sometimes services that are 'available' to females, aren't always available to males.  Things like sexual assault clinics or 'refuge' facilties for those who may experience intimate, domestic or family violence, medical services for 'men's health' or even counselling services where guys can feel free to get things off their chests if something is bothering them (so they don't have to go to the pub and get sloshed). I don't know for certain, though the overwhelming statistics indicate that women are overwhelmingly on the receiving end of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, more likely ...

Homophobia, Heteronormativism and Hegemonic Masculinity: Male Same-Sex Intimate Violence from the Perspective of Brisbane Service Providers - Psychiatry, Psychology and Law Authors: Melissa Kaya; Samantha Jeffriesb Affiliations: a Queensland University of Technology, Australia b School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia This is the synopsis for the paper written on abuse in same sex relationships among men - the hypotheses and questions asked are: (a) intimate partner violence occurs in male same-sex intimate relationships, (b) if so, what form this violence takes, (c) what contextual triggers underpin this violence, (d) what barriers victims face in exiting abusive relationships and seeking support, and (e) what services are available and appropriate to the needs of men in violent intimate relationships with other men The researchers found that: ".... the prevalence, types and contextual triggers of violence in male same-sex relationships parall...