radioman

Early porn actress identified. Scandal has never been far from Gustave Courbet's L'Origine du Monde, one of the most provocative works of art history depicting a naked woman's genitalia and torso.Now a French scholar may have solved the mystery of whose body was painted so explicitly in his 1866 work, not exhibited publicly in France till 1991. The subject of Courbet's work was for years assumed to be his Irish lover. But the woman now thought to be in the picture is dancer Constance Queniaux. Warning: graphic content in Courbet painting below French literary expert Claude Schopp stumbled on his discovery as he went through correspondence between two writers, George Sand and the son of Alexandre Dumas. Who was Constance Queniaux? Queniaux had retired as a ballet dancer at the Paris Opera in 1859 and aged 34 she was a mistress of Turkish-Egyptian diplomat Halil Sherif Pasha. In later years she became a woman of some means, given to philanthropic work. She is seen clothed in the top left and bottom left images of the picture below. The diplomat who commissioned L'Origine du Monde, who was known as Khalil Bey, kept Courbet's painting in his dressing room behind a green curtain, revealing the work to visitors and dinner party guests. Skip Twitter post by @undessinparjour End of Twitter post by @undessinparjour The former dancer is mentioned in one letter from Dumas. Not only is her name badly spelt but a word was wrongly transcribed in the following line: "One does not paint the most delicate and the most sonorous interview of Miss Queniault of the Opera." Schopp was puzzled by the word interview, so he consulted the original manuscript in the National Library of France dating back to June 1871 and found the error. Dumas had written of Ms Queniaux's delicate and sonorous "interior" rather than interview, leading Schopp to deduce that Dumas was writing about the painting. And that was not all. Having shared his discovery with Sylvie Aubenas at the library, she was convinced he was right. When Ms Queniaux died in 1908 she bequeathed a painting by Courbet of a bouquet of spring flowers and red and white camellias. Camellias were the flowers most closely identified with courtesans, and Aubenas told AFP news agency she believed the painting was a gift from Courbet and his Ottoman patron. The Courbet painting is still considered so risqué that Facebook shut down a French teacher's account when he posted a picture of it. Dude on the right checkin the snatch https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45637037

Trust nothing you hear/read and half of what you see would seem to be a good starting point.

TOKYO: A gadget to "translate" dog barks for humans, a "babypod" that plays music inside the mother's vagina for unborn babies and the world's first self-colonoscopy method were among the whacky inventions on show Friday at a new Tokyo exhibition. The museum celebrates weird and wonderful inventions created by real scientists for the Ig Nobel Prize -- or "anti-Nobels" -- designed to make people "laugh first and think later." Japanese medic Akira Horiuchi, 57, was among the winners last week of the tongue-in-cheek prize, organised by the satirical science journal "Annals of Improbable Research", for his do-it-yourself colonoscopy. Horiuchi demonstrated his technique to AFP at the museum from his 2006 study "Colonoscopy in the Sitting Position: Lessons Learned from Self-Colonoscopy." The researcher said he had never found his method embarrassing. "I knew the importance of colonoscopy and that the number of colon cancer patients was increasing," Horiuchi told AFP. The latest research shows that cancer of the colon is the most prevalent form of the disease among Japan's 870,000 cancer sufferers, according to the National Cancer Center. "Not many people took the test... so I wanted to create an examination that would be accepted by everyone," said Horiuchi. Another exhibit was the dog-language interpreter "Bowlingual", which classifies barks into six emotional categories -- frustration, menace, joy, sorrow, desire, and self-expression. The babypod is a speaker inserted into the vagina that creates a "concert" for unborn children, after research showed this was more effective than playing music on the belly. Japanese researchers have won Ig Nobel prizes for 12 years in a row. The winners include a team who developed Bowlingual and researchers who discovered female insects endowed with a penis. Prize founder Marc Abrahams told reporters in Tokyo Friday that Japan had so many winners because there were "many eccentric people" in the country. "In most of the world, when people behave in very eccentric ways, that's considered to be a very bad thing." "In Japan and also in the UK, it's different," Abrahams said. "You don't kill your eccentrics. You love them," he said, adding that is why Japan and the UK have long been "inventing so many clever, crazy, wonderful things." Horiuchi agrees. "I thought I was an eccentric. But I now know there are many people like me in Japan."

It was the ladder. Can’t figure that bit out.

This was a couple of days ago but hadn't seen it reported. Maybe not many here who would have known her. https://www.bbc.com/news/45409341 Actress Fenella Fielding has died at the age of 90 after suffering a stroke. She was a serious actress remembered for a single, stand-out comic performance. Fenella Fielding survived a violent upbringing to play Ibsen, Shakespeare and Euripides on stage. As an artist, her sheer versatility captivated both Federico Fellini and Noel Coward. This was a woman of wit and wisdom who kept a copy of Plato beside the bed. But, for millions, that serious side is long forgotten. Instead, she will forever be Valeria: the camp vamp star of Carry On Screaming - draped on a divan in a skin-tight dress; her voice oozing with sex appeal and sporting eyelashes like upturned claws. She turned down all future Carry On work but the die was cast. In the public mind, she was the quintessential Sixties femme fatale, delivering double entendres with lashings of false innocence. And sadly, as a performer, her career slowly drifted into obscurity almost as soon as she uttered her most immortal line. "Do you mind if I smoke?" Fenella Fielding with Harry H Corbett in Carry On Screaming.

WTF? I thought this was the joke thread. That last post was eerily prescient. Plenty of people out there who want at least this, and more. 😔

I appreciate it is a "controversial" view, I'm just not convinced that those who will have to deal with longer term impact were appropriately heard. At a UK general election the term is typically 5 years so most people even of advanced age might reasonably expect to experience the benefits or failings from any given choice. Brexit is more of a "forever" deal that will only really impact several years on. Given the nature of the question asked I think there is still a reasonable divide across the age group of say 18-70. Would the result have been the same, who knows, but I think it might have been less prejudiced by a slightly intransigent mindset prevalent among those who will say "I ate vem bluudy krauts!" or "I don't want no bleedin foreign johhnys on my patch!"

Yes, if they are entitled to vote then I don't see why Abdul and Mohammed can't vote, so long as they are British, have UK passport etc etc. At 85 it's unlikely anything your father might argue for now is relevant. With or without brexit his end of life care is unlikely to be greatly affected any more than it already is. Which by the way I happen to think it is already greatly affected thanks to incompetence in immigration going back decades. My mother, similar age to your father, said the same thing, "Why do I need to vote, it's already too late for my lot, we're the ones who messed it up in the first place".

This piece from 2012 makes for interesting reading. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9770633/The-EU-so-where-did-it-all-go-wrong.html and here's another one from as far back as 2006 that might give some insight for our non-EU friends http://www.vernoncoleman.com/howthebritishmedia.htm My apologies, this is the Germany thread. I do hope Nasiadai keeps posting his input, it's very interesting, don't mean to thread fuck.

There was a referendum in 1975, 2 years after Heath achieved a solid house majority to enter the EEC (Common Market) The referendum at that time, another binary choice, achieved a 67% Yes to staying in. I do agree the most recent referendum was a knee jerk reaction and totally inappropriate for it to have been a binary choice. Had there been a shopping list I'm confident the results would have been very different. When you consider how many things will change after leaving the EU and how many were given coverage during the campaign it seems clear it was all BS. I think the first thing the referendum should have done was exclude anyone over the age of say 70-75 from voting. Most likely any outcome would not have an impact on the remainder of their lives.

Several videos on YouTube which, if you give them any credence, suggest that even if immigration were stopped right now with no more movement into countries like Germany or the UK the simple fact of the typical average birthrate of the various groups suggests that within a few generations there will be a dominant muslim population.

@ Nasiadai Many thanks for your comments, well detailed and clear, as I expected. I don't see the explanations as too long, any shorter and the lost detail can lead to misunderstandings. I've long known about the Turkish people in Germany and always thought they integrated quite well. I have a good friend who is second generation Austrian with Turkish parents, educated and with a good position I would say he is exactly what people would hope for when they think about welcoming outsiders. My understanding is that Germany, like many of the more advanced European nations lacks the number of unskilled labourers it needs so a certain amount of immigration at the lower levels is useful, the problem as you indicate is where supply far exceeds demand and the situation deteriorates, yet I think that is only one factor and there are many. Birth rate is clearly a major long term driver, if every couple has just one child then the general population drop over time is significant. Having 2 kids simply replaces the parents so the population is essentially stable. More than 2 leads to a population increase in time. Look at the likely birth rates across different groups to see where the weight of numbers that will long term drive government policy come from. Radioman = very much white Englander, fast approaching the 6th decade, 3rd decade in Thailand but always interested in western situations especially as I view them from outside.

Just can't beat a good comedy I'm okay with the "All Aussies are fake" bit though 😂

Some very interesting insight in these posts here. In a similar vein I might suggest a recent short documentary from the BBC and now available on iPlayer ( for the next 25 days) Called "A tale of two Swedens": For decades Sweden has been held up as a model society: prosperous, egalitarian and well-integrated. But in recent years a counter-narrative has taken hold. According to this story, Sweden is a nation where liberal values, a generous welfare state and an open-door policy towards refugees have led to a crime wave that threatens to spiral out of control. Against this backdrop, Sweden is holding a general election in which an anti-immigrant party, with its roots in the Neo-Nazi movement, is threatening to upset 'politics-as-usual'. So what is going on? Gabriel Gatehouse goes to Sweden to find out. You will likely need a vpn with a UK ip address at least to watch it unfortunately. To stick to the German element of the thread I wonder at what point do immigrants gain the right to vote? Secondly, which parties do immigrants tend to vote for? Is there any sort of trend that would suggest the large number of immigrants could strengthen the the authority of any one party over its rivals?

Guessing the tattoo guy took one look and thought, ooh nice white and squidgy, just like a fresh spring roll 😂

Face has always been a factor in Thailand, and a lot of other countries, in all sorts of things from business to personal relationships just about anything can involve face but now your face might be giving away secrets you never knew. The rather tragic case of what appears to have been a murder/suicide in Seattle involving two Thai women has provoked significant discussion as might be expected some of which sounds quite controversial yet on further searching yields some interesting studies suggesting that facial features can be a way to determine someones sexual orientation. The premise being in the Seattle case that the older woman was the aspirant Tom hoping to secure the affections of the younger Dee who we are led to assume spurned her provoking a rather typical Thai soap opera style outcome. Sounds rather nutty at first but it does seem studies have been done into this that suggest it might have some value: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Facial+Structure+Predicts+Sexual+Orientation+in+Both+Men+and+Women https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23813041 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19830539 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/ai-gay-faces-facial-recognition-study-claims-artificial-intelligence-a7936851.html I'm quite fascinated, and it would make for a cool movie. Anything to make it easier to spot that super hot bi-sexual chick who's into a bit of everything.

It's uncanny for sure.

Where did you get that head?

Its the new mantra, no such thing as inappropriate clothing only inappropriate thoughts. Equality my hairy arse!

One of the greats for sure, though I never was really into some of his stuff, an acquired taste I guess

The problem with this whole thing is it gives people the idea that engaging in lesbian sex (whatever that might be) increases the average stupidity. In a car, in a public place, in one of the most conservative parts of the country??? I'm guessing it was for a dare, or some such.

I had an aunt who had one, a proper pianola that was left behind when the US troops vacated one of the many airbases that they built and occupied in eastern England during the war. I think she had been rather "close" to one of the "boys"! I saw it in the mid 60's, I guess it went along with the rest of her household when she went into care sometime in the 1980's I think. I recall a few boxes of the paper, only ever heard it play the once though. It was an upright and had a swing out candlestick on either side though that could have been a later "upgrade".

The next new thing, digital video on your toilet roll.

Thanks. Yes very likely a crappy upscale. Blu-Ray max is around 100GB so it would seem that 4K is likely to fit that, maybe just. Aha, good info, thanks. I don't see much drop in pirated content but it is all pretty much low grade HD only, and I guess the finger printing is why. The tubular TV sounds good, but once again I can see the porn industry being a big draw 😂 But now ya just went an opened another door, the whole eye scan rate its not about fps tale. I seem to be heading down a Michael Stevens rabbit hole.

Price added. “At the end of the day we’re all about penetrating new markets, and we’re excited to insert ourselves into this discussion ..."