Rhymes With Runt

Onion news rack

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Quvenzhan? Wallis, Best Actress nominee for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, arrives at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Calif., Feb. 24, 2013.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

The satirical newspaper the Onion offered a rare apology yesterday after it joked that 9-year-old actress Quvenzhan? Wallis was ?kind of a cunt, right?? Has that word always been so patently offensive?

No. In Middle English the word could be used as a standard term for the female genitalia, in a manner that was quite matter-of-fact. The earliest instance of the word recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary is actually from the name of a 13^th-century London street, Gropecuntelane. The name appears to have been quite literal, and there was at least one other red-light district of the same name, in Oxford. One of the next recorded uses of the word comes from a circa-1400 surgery manual and uses the word much like vagina might be used today: ?In women the neck of the bladder is short, and is made fast to the cunt.? Others have noted that some people in the 13^th and 14^th centuries also had the word in their names, in a way that seems unlikely today: Some men and women at that time included Bele Wydecunthe, Robert Clevecunt, and Gunoka Cuntles. Indeed, as Geoffrey Hughes wrote in his book Swearing, there were many such colorful names, but ?the days when the dandelion could be called the pissabed, a heron could be called a shitecrow and the windhover could be called the windfucker have passed away with the exuberant phallic advertisement of the codpiece.?

The word became more offensive over the next few centuries. While Chaucer used the variant quaint in both the Miller?s Tale (?he caught her by the quaint?) and the Wife of Bath?s Tale (?you hall have quaint right enough at eve?), Shakespeare dared only to slyly allude to the word. In Hamlet, for example, when Ophelia tells Hamlet that, yes, he can lie on her lap, Hamlet puns in his response: ?Do you think I meant country matters?? In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare finds a coded way to spell out the word, when Malvolio recognizes his lady?s ?C?s, her U?s, ?n? her Ts.? (?Thus makes her great P?s,? he continues, in what amounts to an elaborate potty joke.)

If in Shakespeare?s time the word was becoming too obscene to utter in public, by the end of the 18^th century it was truly taboo. When Robert Burns? printed the old Scottish folk song ?Yon, Yon, Yon, Lassie,? in 1796, the word appeared only as ?c?t.? In his 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose defined ?c**t? as ?a nasty name for a nasty thing,? while elsewhere he bleeped it out entirely (?****?), or referred to it only as ?the monosyllable.? (Lest you think him just a prude, Grose noted that others went even further, rendering the word constable as thingstable; Grose called this ?a ludicrous affectation of delicacy.?) By the early 20^th century, cunt had begun to be used as an insult, and it was also around this time that language taboos shifted from religious profanity to vulgar sexual and scatological language. This perception that it's one of the most taboo words continues today: In a 2000 BBC study of the most offensive words, it ranked No. 1, ahead of motherfucker, fuck, and even nigger.

Why has cunt become so much more taboo than, say, snatch or pussy? The main reason may simply be that it?s blunt. Linguists note that, unlike those other words for the female genitalia?whose origins are all Latinate, euphemistic, or diminutive?cunt is plain and Anglo-Saxon. There is also the sound of the word. Many of the most taboo words, in addition to generally being Anglo-Saxon in origin, are monosyllables with short vowels, such as shit, piss, fuck, and cock. These are considered more offensive than words of the same meaning, like poopy, pee, screw, and willy. In fact, one of the only other words to share many of these characteristics is twat, which is also often considered highly offensive, though its origins are more uncertain.

Got a question about today?s news??Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Anatoly Liberman of the University of Minnesota, Jesse Sheidlower of the Oxford English Dictionary, and Ben Zimmer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=fc7a0f5350f1da64b1385be6c81598e2

white house easter egg roll 2012 andy cohen andy cohen mozambique oosthuizen great expectations jake owen

UNC sexual assault victim faces expulsion for talking

(UNC.edu/Flickr)

A University of North Carolina sexual assault victim has been charged with violating the school's honor code and creating a hostile environment for her attacker by speaking out about her ordeal.

Landen Gambill?a sophomore who last spring reported being raped by a student she says is still on the school's Chapel Hill campus?was notified of the charge last week in an email from the school's graduate attorney general. The email, published by Jezebel.com, reads in part:

You are being charged with the following Honor Code violation(s):

I.C.1.c. - Disruptive or intimidating behavior that willfully abuses, disparages, or otherwise interferes with another (other than on the basis of protected classifications identified and addressed in the University's Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination) so as to adversely affect their academic pursuits, opportunities for University employment, participation in University-sponsored extracurricular activities, or opportunities to benefit from other aspects of University Life.

The matter has been turned over to UNC's Honor Court. If found guilty, Gambill could be subject to a range of sanctions, including probation, suspension or even expulsion.

The charge came approximately a month after a group of current and former UNC students including Gambill and Melinda Manning?the school's former assistant dean of students?filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights alleging that school officials had pressured Manning into underreporting sex offense cases.

An avatar used by Gambill's supporters (Twitter)

Gambill says that when she reported the assault to the Honor Court, she was met with resistance. Via the Daily Tarheel:

?The woman student said to me, ?Landen, as a woman, I know that if that had happened to me, I would?ve broken up with him the first time it happened. Will you explain to me why you didn?t??? she said.

Gambill said the court used her history of clinical depression and her suicide attempt?which she said was a result of her abusive relationship?against her.

?They implied that I was emotionally unstable and couldn?t be telling the truth because I had attempted suicide,? she said.

"This type of gross injustice is unacceptable," Gambill wrote on her Facebook page. "It's important to me that we continue to advocate for the rights of survivors?not just because it affects me personally but because I desperately hope no one has to go [through] anything like this again."

Some of Gambill's supporters have also taken to Facebook and Twitter, changing their avatars to say "I Stand With Landen" and tweeting messages with the hashtag #standwithlanden.

Colby Bruno, managing attorney for the national Victim Rights Law Center, told InsideHigherEd.com the code violation is "outrageous.? For the university "to entertain this as a viable claim is a problem, because it's not,? Bruno said.

The university would not comment on Gambill's case, citing federal privacy laws. But at a board meeting last month, Leslie Strohm, UNC's vice chancellor and general counsel, told trustees "the allegations with respect to the underreporting of sexual assault are false, they are untrue, and they are just plain wrong."

[Related: Fox News co-host apologizes for campus rape remark]

"UNC has the potential at this point to stand up for sexual assault survivors," Carey Hanlin, editor-in-chief of UNC's Campus Blueprint, wrote in an editorial. "By telling Landen Gambill that she could face expulsion for saying that she was raped, by denying the allegations that administrators ignored the best interests of sexual assault survivors, and by implying that it is not acceptable to challenge the school system on its inability to help survivors of sexual assault, UNC fails to be a beacon."

Rape on campus is a problem--and not just at UNC.

In 2010, the Department of Justice estimated that 25 percent of college women "will be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduate within a four-year college period," and that schools with more than 6,000 students "average one rape per day during the school year.?

According to New York University's "National Statistics about Sexual Violence on College Campuses," fewer than 5 percent of such cases are reported to law enforcement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/unc-sexual-assault-rape-victim-honor-code-142933849.html

Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes jeremy lin

'There Is No Sustainable Business.' - NYTimes.com

BARCELONA ? Sustainable entrepreneurship ? a buzzword in an increasingly eco-conscious business world ? is often described as a balance between profit and environmental impact.

It?s a subject that Douglas Tompkins seems to have thought a lot about. He founded Esprit and The North Face, two of America?s most iconic clothing and fashion brands, only to quit the business world to become a staunch conservationalist, environmentalist and critic.

?Remove ?sustainable? from your dictionary, there is no sustainable business. Only biological sustainability counts,? he told a room full of business students at the IESE business school Doing Great and Doing Good conference on responsible business. (Disclosure: I moderated a panel at the same conference).

?Economic activity has impact and we are just now doing a better job of measuring what those impacts are,? said Mr. Tompkins in an interview.

A strict conservationalist, he rejects the idea that big business can reform itself and thinks the answer lies outside what he calls the ?techno-industrial culture.? He thinks measuring biodiversity is a yardstick for how society is doing.

?Healthy biodiversity is at the base of everything,? he said, with species extinction being the ultimate catastrophe. ?We?ll be living on a sand heap with a Norwegian rat and a few cockroaches at the end.?

Despite having co-founded ESPRIT, the multinational clothing giant, and The North Face, the maker of outdoor equipment, in the 1960s and having earned millions of the sale of the former, Mr. Tompkins is critical of business?s paradigms.

?We have an economy that?s based on growth without limits,? he said. ?How is that possible??

?To grow and grow and grow without limits is out of the question,? he said.

Even the companies that he is famous for launching do not escape his disapproval.

?My two companies are two monsters now,? he said.

His conversion from fashion to conservation work took place around 1990, however Mr. Tompkins still retains his sense of simple beauty.

?If we just use the aesthetic rule of thumb of saying if it looks bad, it is bad and if it looks good, it ? probably ? is good,? we?d get a lot further than with arcane and complex economic theories.?

But Mr. Tompkins is much more than an anti-business theorist or a conservation advocate. In the last two decades he and his wife have managed to conserve land that will ultimately enlarge or create national parks in Chile and Argentina.

Mr. Tompkins started his drive toward conservation and reclaiming natural habitat in 1990, right around the time he had sold his share of Esprit for a reported $150 million. (He sold his interest in The North Face much earlier in his career and at a much lower price.)

To date, he and his wife have bought up 1.1 million hectares (or almost 2.5 million acres) in South America, through several of his conservation foundations. The land conserved or in the process of being restored, is open to public use, with conditions, until it is donated to the countries? national park systems. (My colleague Larry Rohter visited Mr. Tompkins in 2007 and wrote about the political implications of an American buying up so much land in Chile.)

Besides their work restoring land for parks, the Tompkins are developing sustainable farms (he doesn?t like to call it sustainable, just less unsustainable) in both Chile and Argentina.

At Laguna Blanca in northeastern Argentina, the Tompkins have bought and reconstituted land for a sustainable farm project.

Organic crops are planted using small-scale methods not in square plots, as is common in commercial farming, but following the contours of nature. Passages for wildlife are integrated into the fields.

The farm products are then sold to the surrounding community, with profit going toward his conservation efforts.

Source: http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/there-is-no-sustainable-business/

derbyshire the matrix oceans 11 ferris state hockey mary poppins john derbyshire kinkade

Zynga Closes Baltimore Office, Consolidates in Texas, New York

Zynga is cutting costs further by closing its Baltimore studio and consolidating its presence in New York City and Texas. The moves follow a series of cost-cutting efforts that saw the closure of the Boston and Tokyo offices along with layoffs for about 5 percent of the company’s workforce. Those moves allowed the company to save $25 million last quarter. In today’s changes, Zynga is consolidating the McKinney, Texas office, which came out of the very successful Newtoy acquisition back in 2010. The company is?moving the 30 or so employees there to Dallas, which is an hour away. The studio’s leaders and Newtoy’s founders Paul and David Bettner left in the last year as their “With Friends” line of games had a strong run under Zynga. Zynga is also closing the Baltimore studio, which was behind CityVille 2. Zynga recently shut that game down after it didn’t live up to expectations as a follow-up to the original CityVille. The company is also closing down one of its Austin offices and moving those employees to North Austin. Zynga’s New York City offices will also get moved to the company’s mobile studio in the city. The company says that fewer than 1 percent of the company’s employees will be affected. Zynga chief operations officer David Ko said in a statement: ?In an effort to leverage resources as we focus on creating franchises and driving profitability, Zynga has made changes to four of our US offices. We are closing the McKinney, Texas and downtown Austin offices and relocating those teams near-by to our existing Dallas and North Austin offices. And, we will be consolidating our NYC offices to move staff to our NYC mobile studio. Also, as a part of today?s changes, the Baltimore studio will be closed. While these decisions are always difficult, these steps will affect approximately 1% of our workforce and enable us to focus our resources on the most significant growth opportunities.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gYw2CZbiT7s/

new orleans saints ireland bracket vangogh yield crossbow airhead

Survey: U.S. budget impasse holding back economy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The political standoff over the U.S. budget is slowing the U.S. economy ? more so than any hesitance by Americans to spend freely.

That consensus emerges from the latest Associated Press Economy Survey just as the budget impasse in Washington is about to trigger automatic spending cuts across the economy.

Many of the economists think consumer spending has slowed in response to higher tax burdens but will rebound later in the year. By contrast, they worry that the budget fights in Washington will persist for much of 2013 and drag on economic growth.

Twenty-three of the 37 economists who responded to the survey last week say the paralysis in Washington is a significant factor in slowing the economy. The next-biggest factors they cite, in order: too little job growth, excessive government regulation and taxes, stagnant wages and cautious bank lending. Only eight say they worry about consumers saving more and spending less.

The budget impasse that will set off $85 billion in spending cuts starting Friday will shave an estimated half-percentage point from economic growth this year.

It will be followed by other key deadlines: Much of the government will shut down March 27 without new legislation to authorize spending. Congress must also agree to raise the government's borrowing limit in May or the government will risk defaulting on its debt.

Meeting those deadlines could involve more spending cuts or tax increases. Either could further slow growth.

The economists' views suggest that the budgetary paralysis hurts the economy in at least two ways: It's eroding consumer and business confidence, which could reduce spending and investment. And it will trigger the government spending cuts that are about to kick in.

These come on top of the reduced take-home pay for most workers caused by the Social Security tax increase that took effect Jan. 1.

Businesses "aren't willing to hire people or invest in plant and equipment knowing the uncertainty," says Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University Channel Islands. "The prudent thing to do is to postpone."

The AP survey collected the views of private, corporate and academic economists on a range of issues. Among their views:

? The economy will grow 2.2 percent this year, a modest pace that roughly matches the average annual rate since the recession ended in June 2009. In a typical economy, such growth wouldn't be a concern. But it hasn't been enough to repair the damage from the Great Recession. Faster growth ? 4 percent to 5 percent annually ? would be needed to rapidly reduce the unemployment rate, which is still painfully high at 7.9 percent.

? Growth should increase in 2014 to 2.9 percent, economists expect. That would be the fastest for a full year since the recession ended and would roughly match the average for the five years preceding the Great Recession. Still, the economists foresee the unemployment rate at 6.3 percent by the end of 2015 ? nearly three years from now. In a normal economy, the unemployment rate is below 6 percent.

? Just over half think Europe's recession will end this year. That could benefit U.S. exporters. The 17 nations that use the euro have been in recession since mid-2012. But some encouraging signs have emerged: Germany reported a larger-than-expected budget surplus this month. And German business confidence rose in February for a fourth straight month.

? Nearly half think sales of previously occupied homes will return to normal levels next year. More than six years after the housing bubble burst, residential real estate is finally rebounding. Sales in 2012 reached 4.7 million. That's still well below the 5.5 million in annual sales considered healthy. But 17 of the economists think sales will return to that level in 2014. Ten others think it will happen in 2015.

? Though the economists favor reducing the government's budget deficit, nearly all prefer doing so over the long run rather than immediately.

One consequence of the Washington budget battles was a deal between the White House and Congress to let a cut in Social Security taxes expire Jan. 1. That tax increase cost a typical household with $50,000 in income about $1,000. Retail sales slowed last month as a result. And some big retailers, notably Wal-Mart, blamed the Social Security tax increase for a darker outlook for sales in coming months.

But when asked to choose the biggest reasons the economy isn't growing faster, barely one in five economists cite consumers' reluctance to spend.

Why the lack of concern?

Many economists think the damage from higher Social Security taxes will prove temporary. Most think consumer spending will slow in the first three months of this year but then pick up as companies add jobs. Some employers are even willing to pay more: After stagnating since the recession ended, hourly pay has been rising faster than inflation the past three months.

Analysts also generally think consumers' finances have recovered from the excesses of the housing bubble, when many piled up debt and bought larger houses than they could afford. As Americans repaid debts, they spent less.

But now, home values are up. Stocks have roughly doubled since June 2009. Americans who feel wealthier are typically more likely to spend. After years of delaying big purchases of autos, appliances and other items, consumers are spending more for them. Auto sales in January were the best for that month in five years.

"It's been nearly four years since the recession ended," says Beth Ann Bovino, deputy chief economist at Standard & Poor's. Consumers "have been saving more, and they've put more money in the bank, and I think they're ready to spend more. There's a lot of pent-up demand."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-survey-us-budget-impasse-080239876.html

Ink Master Jenni Rivera Funeral aspergers Richard Engel Daniel Inouye steelers scarlett johansson

Auto Insurance Data To Help You ? Social Networking Community ...

Many people find auto insurance either boring or overwhelming, which makes it harder to understand than it needs to be. Honestly, you will feel less confused the more you learn about it.

Some of the most popular ways to drive down insurance premiums is to install an anti-theft alarm, GPS tracker or theft immobilizer in your vehicle. Your coverage is also based on whether or not your car is at high risk for theft. Your insurance will be lower if you have a safer vehicle.

You must understand the various coverage types when buying car insurance. There are many things that go into your final cost of insurance. The legal costs associated with things such as serious injury or death in an accident you cause are covered by bodily injury liability policies.

Advice You Need To Know About Auto Insurance The consumer complaint ratio should be available for most of the car insurers in your state. This number reveals the percentage of complaints for a given provider.

Gain Some Great Knowledge About Auto Insurance Make sure to stay informed about basic insurance terms prior to searching for a company to get a policy from. While each state varies in requirements, the basic concepts of insurance are the same. By doing some basic homework, you will be better prepared to buy a policy with appropriate coverage.

Before buying car insurance, request policy rates from several different companies. You will only get the best rate by shopping around.

When purchasing car insurance, it is important to keep in mind that they are only insuring the driver of the car that is on the policy. Many drivers lend their car out to a friend, only to find that the friend's accident is not covered because they were not listed on the driver's policy. If you have people driving your vehicle on a regular basis, you could purchase coverage that covers additional people. However, this comes at a higher price.

A great tip for auto insurance is to get 100/200/100 level coverage for liability if you have a good car with a few assets to protect. Make sure the amount of liability coverage you have is enough to meet state requirements.

Enrolling in a defensive driving course is one of the simplest ways to save on auto insurance. Not only will the course teach you to drive in a way that helps you avoid collisions, and filing costly claims associated with them, but most insurance companies also give you a discount on your premium just for taking the classes. You can inquire about these classes at your local driving school. You can search them out on the world wide web, too.

With other expenses already so high, it is a good idea to drop some of those after-market upgrades that only add to aesthetic value. Upgrades such as leather seats and a killer sound system are awesome, but these are not things you really need. Insurance companies will not pay for the damage or loss of any of these types of items.

Auto Insurance Shopping Made Easy With These Tips As previously mentioned, research everything before buying auto insurance so that you can get what you need. If you have enough information, you should be able to find good auto insurance at a fair price. Apply the advice in this article to ensure that you get the type of auto insurance that you need.

Source: http://crew.valkry.com/blog/90034/auto-insurance-data-to-help-you/

school shooting in ohio shooting at chardon high school sasha baron cohen stacy keibler stacy keibler oscar red carpet daytona 500 start time

$30 for Family 4-Pack to Peter Pan and Wendy by Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace in Falls Church ($54 value)

The Details

Second to the right and then straight on till morning!

Rediscover J.M. Barrie's classic novel in this delightful adaptation brought to life with the magical large puppets of Margie Jervis and the original music of acclaimed composer Matt Conner.

When boy extraordinaire Peter Pan flies into the nursery of the Darling home, Wendy is captivated by his promise of adventure in Neverland. With the help of some of Peter's fairy dust Wendy and her brothers are on their way to the magical land that brings them face to face with mermaids, Indians and the notorious Captain Hook and his pirate crew.? With exciting adventures and fun like this, it's no wonder Peter refuses to grow up! Presented by Creative Cauldron's Learning Theater, an ensemble of student and professional performers.

Show times options include:

• Friday March 1 at 7:30 pm
• Saturday March 2 at 2pm
• Saturday March 2 at 7:30 pm
• Sunday March 3 at 2 pm
• Friday March 8 at 7:30 pm
• Saturday March 9 at 2:00 pm
• Saturday March 9 at 7:30 pm
• Sunday March 10 at 2pm
• Friday March 15 at 7:30 pm
• Saturday March 16 at 2:00 pm
• Saturday March 16 at 7:30 pm
• Sunday March 17 at 2:00 pm

Information & Restrictions

Great for all ages!

Voucher is valid for shows on March 1st through March 17th (Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm); must choose show time at checkout.

Select show upon purchase from CertifiKid; valid only for time and date on your voucher. PLEASE be careful when selecting the performance to make sure the one you want is not sold out. ? PLEASE check your voucher after purchase.

Additional tickets can be purchased online via brownpapertickets.com or by calling Creative Cauldron at (571) 239 - 5288. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $12 for Student/Seniors(62+).

Based on availability - ACT FAST!

Seating is first come first serve.

Expires March 18, 2013.

Bring printed voucher to Peter Pan performance on date of show.

Cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts.

This deal is redeemable for admission to a specific ticketed event and venue. It has no value once the event date and time has passed and CANNOT BE REFUNDED after the day of purchase.

This offer is only available for purchase through Certifikid (www.certifikid.com). If you experience any issues or difficulties with registering or purchasing, please email info@certifikid.com and we will get back to you shortly.

Source: http://www.certifikid.com/deal/5399/30-for-family-4-pack-to-peter-pan-and-wendy-by-cr

willie nelson khloe kardashian Wreck It Ralph Hunter Hayes Movember USC shooting halloween