Month: April 2014

Categories
children Education Food And Recipes

Cereal Characters Lure Kiddies with Eye Gaze: Study

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Packets of Nestle Golden Nuggets whole grain breakfast cereal, produced by Nestle SA, sit displayed for sale inside a supermarket in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014.

If you ever got the creeps as a kid walking down the cereal aisle, you’re not imagining things. Snap, Crackle and Pop were all staring at you.

A new study from Cornell University finds that the cartoon characters on cereals marketed to kids are routinely designed so their eyes are shifted 9.6 degrees down. That’s the perfect angle to make eye contact with a child standing in the aisle.

Breakfast staples face surging prices

It works, too. When the same researchers showed participants two different versions of a box of Trix, the box that had the rabbit spokes-character looking downwards versus straight out increased brand trust 16 percent and feelings of connection to the brand by 28 percent. That could increase sales.

Apparently, Trix really are for kids after all, but not in the way you might have thought.

Why restaurants care so much about your breakfast

The researchers provided two key takeaways from their findings. One, parents should think about not taking their children down the cereal aisle. Two, manufacturers of healthier cereals could consider adding a character looking downwards to the box to make their cereal more appealing to younger consumers.

h/t – CNBC

Categories
Featured

Florida Woman Arrested – Torturing and Killing Animals for Sexual Satisfaction

Yes, there are a lot of sick people out there.

A Florida woman, already in custody for violating probation, is facing an additional forty years in prison after police turned up animal torture fetish videos she appeared in where she decapitated live chickens and killed rabbits while engaging in sex acts.

According to the Miami Herald, Sara Zamora, 28, was arrested on eight felony counts of animal cruelty for her feature role in a video called “SOS Barn” that showed her and other porn actresses “torturing and killing a wide variety of animals, including chickens, rabbits and more for the sexual gratification of its viewers.”

The snuff or ‘crush’ video was filmed at the South Miami-Dade home of Adam Redford, who is listed as a co-defendant.

Redford is already on probation for a similar animal cruelty case but has yet to be charged in this most recent case.

Categories
News

Possible Pinging Noise Detected in Search for Missing MH370

This could be the best news so far in the month long search for the missing Malaysia Airline. A Chinese vessel is reporting that it is picking up a sound deep in the Indian Ocean,  consistent with the ping of a black box.

“I have been advised that a series of sounds have been detected by a Chinese ship in the search area,” Angus Houston, the chief coordinator of Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said in a prepared statement.

“The characteristics reported are consistent with the aircraft black box,” he said, adding that a number of white objects were sited about 56 miles (90 kilometers) away.

“However, there is no confirmation at this stage that the signals and the objects are related to the missing aircraft,” the retired air chief marshal said.

Neither the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) nor the Australian Transport Safety Bureau can verify any connection to the missing aircraft, the statement said.

Categories
Food And Recipes recipes

Today’s Recipe – Almond Ciabatta French Toast


Ben Fink

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 8 (1-inch) slices round ciabatta
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup sliced almonds

Get a Recipe for Delicious Doughnut Puffs

Preparation

1. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-low heat.

2. Whisk together first 6 ingredients (through almond extract) in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in both types of milk. Pour mixture into a shallow baking dish. Working in batches, if necessary, place bread in dish and let soak 3 minutes on each side.

3. Coat a griddle or skillet with cooking spray. For each slice of the bread, place 2 tablespoons almonds in a single (but fairly densely packed) layer on the hot griddle, forming an area the size and shape of a bread slice. Press 1 side of the bread into the almonds, and cook 4 minutes or until golden brown. (You will probably need to repeat this process in 2 batches.) Flip the bread over, and cook 3–4 minutes or until speckled golden brown. Serve immediately.

Categories
Featured

Woman Declared Dead Woke Up in Morgue’s Freezer, Then Froze to Death

A grandmother prematurely declared dead woke up in a hospital’s freezer and “struggled unsuccessfully to escape her frozen tomb” before dying, according to Los Angeles court documents.

The horrifying discovery came after Maria de Jesus Arroyo’s body was allegedly presented to her family disfigured with a broken nose and scars on her face so severe a mortuary wasn’t able to mask their appearance.

The 80-year-old married mother of eight had suffered a heart attack on July 26, 2010 when a doctor at Boyle Heights’ White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles declared her dead.

When her mysteriously bruised body was returned to her heart-broken family for her funeral, they assumed it had been abused by hospital staff and contacted an attorney for help.

“I sued for mishandling,” attorney Scott Schutzman told the Daily News.

The hospital in turn, he said, “filed a motion to get out of the case saying there are red fleshy substances [in her wounds] … therefore she must have been alive,” he said of the approximated timing of her injuries.

Schutzman said he immediately consulted his own expert to verify their claims and to his horror, learned that their review concluded the same: “She was placed in the body bag while she was alive,” he said.

Categories
Politics The Budget weekly address

President’s Weekly Address – Obama’s Budget Is For You. There’s For The 1 Percent

In this week’s address, the President highlighted the important differences between the budget he’s put forward – built on opportunity for all – and the budget House Republicans are advocating for, which stacks the deck against the middle class.

Categories
Politics

U.S Attorney Has Convened a Grand Jury in Bridge Gate Scandal

ABC news reported that the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey has convened a grand jury to investigate the involvement of Governor Chris Christie’s office in the George Washington Bridge scandal, ABC News has learned.

Twenty-three jurors convened in a federal courthouse in Newark today to hear testimony from a key staff member, Christie press secretary Mike Drewniak, whose lawyer, Anthony Iacullo, said Drewniak was not a target of the investigation.

“We’re here to answer questions and that’s what Michael did today,” Iacullo said.

The convening of the grand jury is evidence that the U.S. Attorney’s investigation has progressed beyond an inquiry and moved to the criminal phase.

Categories
Politics

Judge Refused to Remove Herself From Renisha McBride Murder Case

Theodore Wafer

The motion was submitted by the defense attorneys and today, the judge in the Renisha McBride case denied that motion to remove herself from the case.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Qiana Lillard rejected the motion filed by Theodore Wafer’s attorneys, who argued that her previous employment with the prosecutor’s office and associations with employees create an appearance of impropriety. Lillard was a prosecutor for more than eight years before Gov. Rick Snyder appointed her to the bench last August.

Wafer is charged with second-degree murder after shooting Renisha McBride, 19, at his Dearborn Heights home. He said he believed McBride wanted to break in. Prosecutors say Wafer should have kept the door shut and called police instead of shooting. McBride was drunk and in a car crash three hours earlier.

Categories
Featured Healthcare

Paralysed Stroke Victim Helplessly Listened as Doctors Discussed Donating His Organs

A stroke patient lying paralysed in hospital listened in horror as doctors discussed organ donation with his family after telling them he would not survive.

Jimi Fritze, 43, heard every word but couldn’t protest because he was unable to speak.

His heartbroken relatives had come to say their final goodbyes after doctors said brain scans showed he had ‘no hope’ of pulling through.

As they surrounded his hospital bed, doctors asked the family about the possibility of donating his organs when he died, not realising Mr Fritze could also hear the conversation.

Stroke victim Jimi Fritze listened helplessly as doctors discussed donating his organs with his family, but was unable to speak out. He later recovered and is now taking action against the hospital

He eventually recovered after his family sought advice from another medic.

He has now launched an official complaint against the doctors for breaching rules by discussing organ donation before a patient is brain dead, it was reported by The Local.

Read more: Daily Mail

Categories
Featured Health

Oh god, Korean plastic surgery will never cease to amaze me

I’m truly fascinated by the obsession of some South Korean women to transform themselves into this animesque beauty ideal through extreme plastic surgery. This is not the case of this woman, however. Her story is quite sad.

According to RocketNews 24, her husband “got fed up of her plain features and sun spots and had filed for divorce.” When that happened she sent her application to a plastic surgery reality TV show—apparently, that’s a thing in South Korea—and she was accepted.

The surgeons remodeled her into a completely different person. So much her own son wouldn’t recognize her. She met the husband after the metamorphosis was completed, “who upon seeing her immediately backtracked on his divorce plans, promising he’d never mention it again.” What a fucking asshole.

More examples of this makeover show here:

And of course:

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Categories
News

Video Of Man Being Arrested And Bullied In His Own Home Goes Viral


A video of police bullying at its finest has gone viral on Facebook. The video shows the victim’s, Donrell Breaux (pictured), home seemingly invaded by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy who is seen trying to forcibly cuff him without following protocol.

Reportedly, Breaux and friend Eric Banegas were standing on Breaux’s porch just shooting the breeze joking and using profanity. A neighbor emerged from his home and asked the men to lower their voices and be mindful of their bad language. Breaux told The Times-Picayune that the neighbor was combative from the start, and when the men confronted the irate man, he summoned police.

“He threatens to call the police all the time about stuff in the backyard and stuff going on inside the house. Things like, there’s too many cars in the driveway,” Breaux told the news outlet.

When deputies arrived, they reportedly spoke with the unidentified neighbor, then according to the video, proceeded to forcibly enter Breaux’s home while refusing to answer the young man’s questions as to why he is being arrested. Breaux continuously refers to the officer, as “Sir,” even while the policeman wrestles the young man on the couch. The young man then continues to plead with the policeman, stating several times that he is scared and for the officer not to shoot him.

At the end of the video, another deputy is seen joining in the unnerving wrangle.

Watch the unsettling video here:

The incident reportedly took place on March 30th in River Ridge, La.  The encounter was recorded by Banegas who then posted the footage on Facebook two days after.

Breaux told the Times-Picayune that he has seen both of the arresting deputies before at the complaining neighbor’s house and he believes they are friends, stating, ”These are personal friends. I wish I had friends that I could call and have them handle personal vendettas that I have with my neighbors.”

h/t – NewsOne

Categories
Celebrities Entertainment

James Franco Confirms Online Flirtation With 17-Year-Old: “I’m Embarrassed”

James Franco is addressing — and apologizing for — his online flirtation with a 17-year-old Scottish girl named Lucy.

The news actually broke yesterday, but it wasn’t until the 35-year-old actor talked about the incident on Live! With Kelly and Michael today, April 4, that we had confirmation that it was actually him.

“I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of how social media is tricky, It’s a way people meet each other today, but what I’ve learned is you don’t know who’s on the other end,” he explained to hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. “I used bad judgement, and I learned my lesson.”

In case you missed it, James and Lucy met at the stage door of his Broadway play, Of Mice and Men. He posed for an Instagram video and instructed Lucy to tag him in it. She did, and that’s how he reached out, sending her many questions like “Do you have a [boyfriend]?” and “Where are you staying?” and “When is your [birthday]?” and “What’s your [number]?”

He then asked if he should get a room in her hotel — and sent her a couple of selfies as proof that it was actually him. And when she mentioned telling her friends of her brush with celebrity, he told her not to.

It’s important to note, however, that the age of consent is 17 in New York and 16 in Scotland. Still, even if it’s not illegal, James’ pursuit of a girl who is so many years younger will likely bruise his reputation.

And it’s important to note that this could all be a publicity stunt: James Franco’s new movie Palo Altosees his character seducing a teenager.

Jury’s still out on this one!

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