Readsalot

Wonder what happened to this? Sonette Ehlers, of South Africa (the rape capital of the world), has invented an anti-rape device that goes by the name, Rapex. The device is basically a female condom with teeth lining the inside that work just like the protective spikes in a parking garage… You can go in, but whatever you do, don’t back out. The teeth are angled so they allow penetration, but bite like a shark as the penis is removed; supposedly causing so much pain that it will give the woman a chance to escape. Further, according to Ms. Ehlers, “the device will need to be surgically removed at a hospital, which will lead to the capture of the rapist.”

Skyscraper (2018) 5/10. Decent cast and some pretty special effects but a predictable story with a script that feels like it was done by the numbers and characters I couldn't care less about.

When I was in Taiwan the topic of tattoos came up in a class and I was a bit taken aback by the (innocence? naivety?) of their responses. In the West I think we've become so used to tattoos and piercings that they rarely draw comment except in the most conservative circles. But these were teens, some of them about to go to varsity, and all of them assured me that only gangsters and criminals would be so brazen as to openly walk the streets and flaunt their tattoos.

if you like dogs I recommend you check out Delilah S Dawson's twitter feed. She writes poems about her dog and calls it the Borkbook. Nothing revolutionary, but entertaining and clearly affectionate. https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/1024021269874917378

Science.

Seems about right.

Yes, he grew on me as well. He played a good Superman - I just think the scripts didn't work that great for me, so it took me a while to realise he was doing a good job. And I loved him In The Man From UNCLE. He's already signed on to play in The Witcher for Netflix, so I'm looking forward to that.

Ha ha ha - Australia, as if that's a real country.

Watched this yesterday. Good fun and a good way to remember him.

Have you watched the Billy Jean movie with Emma Stone and Steve Carrell? Battle of the Sexes (2017).

This is a great article, not so much about what is said, but rather about who is saying it. My fav part is Djokovic saying I really don't think there's any need to debate it! From the USTA president: Following the match, the United States Tennis Association, which runs the US Open, released a statement from its president, Katrina Adams, hailing Williams for her “class” and “sportsmanship”. Appearing on ESPN, Adams also claimed there are double standards in terms of how umpires treat women and men. Adams said: “We watch the guys do this all the time, they’re badgering the umpire on the changeovers. Nothing happens. There’s no equality. I think there has to be some consistency across the board. These are conversations that will be imposed in the next weeks. "I know what Serena did and her behaviour was not welcome. A line could have been drawn, but when you look at Carlos in this situation, it’s a judgment call to give that last penalty because she called him a thief. They’ve been called a lot more. “[He could have said]: ‘Hey, we’re getting out of hand here, let’s tone it down.’ I think he would have [said that to a male player], I think it’s a bond that they have and they way they communicate, and maybe not understanding they can have that same conversation with the women.” From Djokovic: Speaking after his win, Djokovic expressed sympathy for Williams but disagreed that women are treated differently from men. “I love Serena, first of all. I really felt for her yesterday,” he said. “It was a tough thing for a chair umpire to deal with, as well. Everyone was in a very awkward situation. “I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should not have pushed Serena to the limit, especially in a grand slam final. He did change the course of the match. We all go through our emotions, especially when you’re fighting for a grand slam trophy. But I don’t see things as Mr Simon does. I really don’t. I think men and women are treated in this way or the other way depending on the situation. It’s hard to generalise things. I don’t see it’s necessary really to debate that.” https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/10/serena-williams-wta-us-open-sexism-carlos-ramos?CMP=twt_gu

Well now... (Bold emphasis mine). “The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is to undertake a review of communication policies following a string of umpiring controversies at the US Open. Swedish umpire Mohamed Lahyani was reprimanded by US Open organisers for going "beyond protocol" when he climbed down from his chair to give Nick Kyrgios a mid-match pep talk during his second-round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Umpire Christian Rask then came in for criticism after he handed a code violation to French player Alize Cornet after she removed her shirt on court after realising it was on backwards. The tournament subsequently released a statement saying it regretted that she was given a violation. On Saturday, Serena Williams was handed three penalties during the second set of her championship match against Naomi Osaka, sparking a firestorm of debate. "Some of these incidents, you know, have prompted us to reflect on the clarity of our own communication to the chair umps," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. "These incidents will prompt us to analyse ways of perhaps instituting some change. We certainly do not want inconsistencies." I think it could potentially help everybody if there was some more consistency to this. (Me: No s..., Sherlock.) The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) have expressed their disappointment over the handling of the match between Williams and Osaka. "[The WTA] is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night," WTA chief executive Steve Simon said. Simon also called for coaching, one of the offences for which Williams received a violation, to be permitted, a topic the USTA plans to review. Widmaier said that the extremely hot temperatures and high humidity, which led officials to introduce a heat rule for both men and women, may have contributed to the confusion. "The Alize Cornet thing kind of was triggered by the heat but it also brought to the forefront nothing that had ever happened before," he said. "It prompted us to say, 'hey, maybe we're not being clear here.'" Mark Kovacs, executive director of the International Tennis Performance Association, said that the officiating controversies at this year's tournament "brought attention to areas of the sport that need to be addressed" going forward. "Consistency in the application of the rules is clearly needed," Kovacs said. "Currently the umpires have a lot of discretion and many times the same offence does not have the same punishment." http://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/11494342/usta-to-review-policies-following-umpiring-controversies160at-us-open

I'd really like to know as well. I'd also like to see some stats on his and his colleagues' decisions, but I'm way too lazy to do that kind of search. [emoji847][emoji4]

No man, Sku, read my posts. [emoji38] I've had to repeat in nearly every post that I never said it was okay for her to act that way nor did I ever try to defend her. "If indeed some men do the same thing and get away with it there should be a push to also punish them as well..." That's my point. The evidence show there are. And that it's the same ump who lets the men get away with it. And that is what I keep saying - either the system, or the ump, or both are clearly allowing inconsistent and therefore unfair punishments by applying the rules only when it suits them.

No! Somebody on the Internet is wrong!!! [emoji1][emoji16][emoji23]

The argument here, though, and the proofs provided suggest the inconsistency is oddly... consistent. And "everyone"? Where did I excuse her? Now, Sku, where did I either defend or excuse her? My focus isn't on her nor do I care about how much love she gets - it is on the ump who seems to ignore the outbursts of men, as shown above, while Serena gets punished.

Which men? Any names? And by definition, of course, if inconsistency is spread along the male female divide, that IS sexism, which is Serena's argument.

Those are two different arguments, though. I haven't seen any that said he should've been more lenient (maybe because I didn't look for it) just that a professional umpire should, at the very least, be consistent. It was rather noticeable on my feeds how often women pointed out his inconsistent (and therefore unfair) handing out of violations for the same offence (see above), letting the men get away with breaking the rules; while how often the men got really cross (see above [emoji16]) because she should have just kept her mouth shut *like a good little girl* and followed the rules, then she wouldn't have gotten into trouble...

Gen, this doesn't make sense. Either verbal abuse is a violation or it isn't. Otherwise it's just a tool for abuse by the umpires who can freely decide to punish some players on some days, arbitrarily and based on how they feel on that day about that player. Shouldn't this be consistent? Why only apply this rule selectively? By not enforcing the rule consistently you are creating exactly the situation we saw on Saturday - frustration, anger, confusion and resentment. That's either a bad system or a bad umpire - or both.

Yebo. No problem with that. My problem with him is that if he is going to issue violations for verbal abuse, shouldn't he do it with the male players as well?

Not a clue. Does it matter, you think?

Destination Wedding (2018) 7/10. This was a rather odd and unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Not to everyone's taste as not much happens. Most of the movie is just (fantastic) dialogue between the two main characters, Keanu Reeves and Wynona Ryder, who play two of the most obnoxious people on the planet - brilliantly and at times laugh-out-loud hilariously.

This is also where I lost you. Nobody said she should be allowed to behave that way. They said Ramos treated her unfairly because he was inconsistent, letting male players get away with it while penalising her.

Wow. It only took you half an hour to come up with that response? This must be the proudest moment of your life.

Ooh, is this a game? Lets play... Too dumb to know how differing perspectives/opinions work - check. Arrogant enough to expect everyone to agree with him/her - check. This is fun!