Top Gear Series 16

This BBC show is my favorite. My family has been watching it on BBC America since it first came on the air. Here is a trailer for the new season, Series 16:



Series 16 starts on BBC America on February 7 here in the States. It will air at 9 pm EST. Afterwards, Top Gear will be showing a new special "Top Gear: USA Road Trip Special". This special included filming in Asheville, NC up the Blue Ridge Parkway. It includes them racing at Virginia International Raceway ("VIR") near my boarding school Chatham Hall - and continuing to race up to New York City. I cannot wait!

If you cannot wait to see the special that includes places in my neck of the woods, please check out this YouTube that magically has not been pulled in over a month since the special originally aired:

Mullet (haircut)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back.Often ridiculed as a lowbrow and unappealing hairstyle, the mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s. It continued to be popular until the mid-1990s.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 The mullet in the Classical Period 2.2 First popular appearance 2.3 1980s 2.4 1990s 2.5 2000s 2.6 2010s

 Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term mullet was "apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys", who used "mullet" and "mullet head" as epithets in their 1994 song "Mullet Head".Their fanzine, Grand Royal Magazine, was the first to use the term in print.

In Canada, and the northern United States, the hairstyle is known as "hockey hair" or "hockey player haircut", as it was common among their ice hockey players in the 1980s.

 History

 The mullet in the Classical Period

The 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius' Secret History describes the actions of some of the Blue faction:

First the rebels revolutionized the style of wearing their hair. For they had it cut differently from the rest of the Romans...clipping the hair short on the front of the head down to the temples, and letting it hang down in great length and disorder in the back, as the Massageti do. This weird combination they called the Hun haircut.

 First popular appearance

Tom Jones

Paul McCartney

David Bowie

Florence Henderson

David Cassidy

The modern mullet began to appear initially in the late 1960s, Welsh pop singer Tom Jones sporting one. Glam rock artist David Bowie wore a proto-mullet in the early 1970s. Florence Henderson featured a mullet in the opening sequence of the television sitcom The Brady Bunch (1972–3 season), in the same year (1974) David Cassidy had a mullet on his show "The Partridge Family". Paul McCartney sported a mullet throughout the 1970s when he was with Wings. The hairstyle achieved further popularity in the late 1970s and 1980s among entertainers with receding hairlines such as Anthony Geary of "Luke and Laura" fame from the soap opera General Hospital, and the rock performers Michael Bolton and Phil Collins.


Michael Bolton



Phil Collins



Anthony Geary " Luke and Laura"

 1980s

 

Bono

Cindy Lauper

Joan Jett

Madonna

 

As the 1980s progressed, big and bouffant mullets increased in popularity, and like other popular hairstyles at the time, often included spiking or blond highlights. Bands such as Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran and others, sported them and were labeled "Hair Bands."

U2

Duran Duran

A- ha

 Many individual artists also embraced the cut. Limahl, Billy Ray Cyrus and David Bowie are a few, made famous by their outrageous hair. Australian Rules footballers were instrumental in establishing the popularity of the mullet in Australia. Notable players included Warrick Capper and Dermott Brereton. The mullet is well known and widely remembered in Germany, where it is known as the "Vokuhila", which is an acronym for "vorne-kurz-hinten-lang" or "short in front and long in back".

Volkuhila

The stereotypical German image of the mullet is epitomized by 1980s soccer teams and their fans, as well as by the ubiquity of the hairstyle in images dating from the fall of the Berlin Wall. This fact has led to an unfortunate tendency to associate the mullet with negative stereotypes of the former East Germany, which is probably not fair, as the hairstyle was also popular in West Germany and elsewhere at the time.

Berlin Wall Falls

The zenith of the mullet's popularity in 1980s continental Europe has been described as an "age of singing tattooed Swedish Flokati Rugs".Richard Dean Anderson wore a mullet in the title role of the popular TV series MacGyver."

MacGyver

 1990s

Superman was drawn using a mullet from issue 505 (1993) to 544 (1997)of Adventures of Superman comic and this look was released in action figure form by Mattel in 2009. In the mid to late 1990s the "tail" of the mullet was occasionally "permed" with loose or tight curls adding even more internal composition contrast to the hairstyle.Punk rock band The Vandals sang of country music singers and Jerry Springer Show guests sporting mullets, and listed regional names for the style in the 1998 song "I've Got an Ape Drape". Country Music singer Billy Ray Cyrus was also known for his mullet.

2000s

The Mullets

 

The mullet and its associated lifestyle have been central themes in movies such as Joe Dirt "business in the front party in the back" (2001), and the television show The Mullets (2003–2004).
The mullet remains a moderately popular hairstyle among certain social groups in various countries Spain especially, where it was associated with the Basque independence movement, which claims working-class origin.

A Basque and his Mullet

In the U.S. and Canada, the mullet is particularly associated with blue collar men, fans of country and heavy metal music, and ice hockey players.

Joe Dirt

In the United Kingdom the mullet is most commonly associated with thugs, Pat Sharp or with professional footballers. In Australia the haircut is associated with Bogans and NRL players, particularly those from the 1980s, as well as Lebanese-Australian youths.

 Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings has a recognizable mullet. In Sweden it is referred to as "hockeyfrilla" (hockey-cut) - perhaps because many Swedish hockey players played in Canada and adopted the hairstyle.
In Finland mullet is sometimes called "lätkätukka" (hockey hair) or "tšekkitukka" (Czech hair), the latter a likely reference to Czech-born NHL hockey star Jaromír Jágr, who during his glory years wore a curly mullet long enough to obscure his jersey number. Jágr actually became so well-known with the style that when he decided to cut it off in 1999, his new haircut actually made headlines.

ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose is often referred to as "Mullet" in ESPN-branded media.

Singer Billy Ray Cyrus was also known for his distinctive mullet and frequently jokes about it on the American television show, Hannah Montana. One episode had his character "impersonating" his real-life counterpart by donning a fake mullet.
Dutch violinist, conductor, mullet afficionado and composer André Rieu is affectionately known for sporting a contemporary style.

Andrè Rieu

Billy Ray Cyrus

 

2010s

 

In July 2010, the Islamic regime of Iran issued grooming guidelines to men supplementing the existing modesty stipulations to women. Among the new regulations is a ban of the mullet hairstyle. The ban on mullets is one of the measures that Iran has deployed to "confront the cultural assault by the West". The regime aims to promote a set of new Islamic hairstyles that were unveiled at the Hijab and Chastity Festival of 2010.
In response to the hatred displayed by the Islamic towards western society; Luke Cameron, leader of 'Mullets International' rises in defense. Cameron claims "They don't know how it feels to have a cold neck in the frigid Canadian winters" and "The only reason they are opposed to this classy and sophisticated yet practical hairstyle is the mere fact that their mullets can not actually be used to the fullest extent because their turbans provide a major interference"

More  About Mullets : http://mullethaircuts.blogspot.com/


Iran bans "Mullets" and others"unacceptable" Western Hairstyles

The catalogue of looks approved by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, due to be launched at a Modesty and Veil Festival later this month, is apparently aimed at tackling the 'Western cultural invasion'.
According to Jaleh Khodayar, the festival's organiser, the styles are inspired by Iranians' 'complexion, culture, religion and Islamic law' and will be modified for the country's provinces based on regional culture.


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/834366-iran-bans-mullets-and-other-unacceptable-western-hairstyles#ixzz1CWr6vQv2



I Will Follow

U2

I was on the outside when you said
You needed me
I was looking at myself
I was blind, I could not see.
A boy tries hard to be a man
His mother takes him by his hand
If he stops to think, he starts to cry
Oh why?
If you walk away, walk away
I walk away, walk away
I will follow.
If you walk away, walk away
I walk away, walk away
I will follow.
I will follow.
I was on the inside
When they pulled the four walls down
I was looking through the window
I was lost, I am found.
Walk away, walk away
You walk away, walk away
I will follow.
If you walk away, walk away
I walk away, walk away
I will follow.
I will follow.
Your eyes make a circle
I see you when I go in there
Your eyes, your eyes
Your eyes, your eyes.
If you walk away, walk away
I walk away, walk away
I will follow.
If you walk away, walk away
I walk away, walk away
I will follow.
I will follow.

Hand fan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese Flat Fan

                                                

A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan. But generally, purpose-made hand-held fans are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (such as paper or feathers) mounted on slats which revolve around a pivot so that it can be closed when not in use.
The movement of a hand-held fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin which in turn increases the evaporation rate of sweat droplets on the skin. This evaporation has a cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water. Fans are convenient to carry around, especially folding fans.

Contents 1 History 1.1 East Asia 1.2 Europe 2 Categories 3 See also 3.1 Use in dance 3.2 Use as weapons 3.3 Museums

History East Asia

Chinese Folding Fan

The earliest known Chinese fans are a pair of woven bamboo side-mounted fans from the 2nd century BC. The Chinese character for "fan" (扇) is etymologically derived from a picture of feathers under a roof. The Chinese fixed fan, pien-mien, means 'to agitate the air'. A particular status and gender would be associated with a specific type of fan. During the Song Dynasty, famous artists were often commissioned to paint fans. The Chinese dancing fan was developed in the 7th century. The Chinese form of the hand fan was a row of feathers mounted in the end of a handle.
In China, the folding fan came into fashion during the Ming dynasty between the years of 1368 and 1644, and Hangzhou was a center of folding fan production. The Mai Ogi (or Chinese dancing fan) has ten sticks and a thick paper mount showing the family crest. Chinese painters crafted many fan decoration designs. The slats, of ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell, were carved and covered with paper or fabric. Folding fans have "montures" which are the sticks and guards. The leaves are usually painted by craftsman. Social significance was attached to the fan in the Far East. The management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. The function and employment of the fan reached its high point of social significance (fans were even used as a weapon - called the iron fan, or tiě shān in Chinese, tessen in Japanese; see Korean fighting fan for Korean use).

The folding fan was invented in Japan around the 6th to 8th century. It was a court fan called the Akomeogi (衵扇, Akomeōgi) after the court women's dress named Akome.According to the Song Sui (History of Song), a Japanese monk Chonen (奝然, Chōnen, 938－1016) offered the folding fans (twenty wooden-bladed fans hiogi (桧扇, hiōgi) and two paper fans kawahori-ogi (蝙蝠扇, kawahori-ōgi) to the emperor of China in 988. Later in 11th century, Korean envoys brought along Korean folding fans which were of Japanese origin as gifts to Chinese court. The popularity of folding fans was such that sumptuary laws were promulgated during Heian period which restricted the decoration of both hiogi and paper folding fans.They were made by tying thin stripes of hinoki (or Japanese cypress) together with thread. The number of strips of wood differed according to the person's rank. Later in the 16th century Portuguese traders introduced it to the west and soon both men and women throughout the continent adopted it. They are used today by Shinto priests in formal costume and in the formal costume of the Japanese court (they can be seen used by the Emperor and Empress during coronation and marriage) and are brightly painted with long tassels. Simple Japanese paper fans are sometimes known as "harisen". In Japanese pop culture, Harisen are featured in anime and graphic novels as weapons.
Printed fan leaves and painted fans are done on a paper ground. The paper was originally hand made and displayed the characteristic watermarks. Machine made paper fans, introduced in the 19th century, are smoother with an even texture.

Folding fans (扇子 Japanese "sensu", Chinese: "shànzi", Korean 부채 buchae) continue to be important cultural symbols and popular tourist souvenirs in East Asia. Geisha of all types (but maiko most often) use folding fans in their fan dances as well, and the Korean fan dance of buchaechum is very popular.

Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. In addition to folding fans (ōgi), the non-bending fans (uchiwa) are popular and commonplace. The fan is primarily used for fanning oneself in hot weather.
The fan symbolizes friendship, respect and good wishes. They are given on special occasions, and they are also an important stage prop in Japanese dance.
It was also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle, however fans were mainly used for social and court activities. In Japan, fans were variously used by warriors as a form of weapon, by actors and dancers for performances, and by children as a toy.

 Europe

French Folding Fan

Italian Hand Fan

Spanish Folding Fan

Victorians Folding Fans

 

Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that fans were used in ancient Greece at least since the 4th century BC and was known under the name rhipis (Greek: ῥιπίς).In Europe, during the Middle Ages, the fan was absent. Christian Europe's earliest fan was the flabellum (or ceremonial fan), which dates to the 6th century. These were used during services to drive insects away from the consecrated bread and wine. Their use died out in western Europe during the Middle Ages, but continues in the Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian Churches. Hand fans were reintroduced to Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders. In the 15th century, Portuguese traders brought fans to Europe from China and Japan. Fans became generally popular.
In the 17th century the folding fan, introduced from East Asia, became popular in Europe. These fans are particularly well displayed in the portraits of the high-born women of the era. Queen Elizabeth 1st of England can be seen to carry both folding fans decorated with pom poms on their guardsticks as well as the older style rigid fan, usually decorated with feathers and jewels. These rigid style fans often hung from the skirts of ladies, but of the fans of this era it is only the more exotic folding ones which have survived. Those folding fans of the 15th century found in museums today have either leather leaves with cut out designs forming a lace-like design or a more rigid leaf with inlays of more exotic materials like mica. One of the characteristics of these fans is the rather crude bone or ivory sticks and the way the leather leaves are often slotted onto the sticks rather than glued as with later folding fans. Fans made entirely of decorated sticks without a fan 'leaf' were known as brisé fans. However, despite the relative crude methods of construction folding fans were at this era high status, exotic items on par with elaborate gloves as gifts to royalty.
In the 17th century the rigid fan which was seen in portraits of the previous century had fallen out of favour as folding fans gained dominance in Europe. Fans started to display well painted leaves, often with a religious or classical subject. The reverse side of these early fans also started to display elaborate flower designs. The sticks are often plain ivory or tortoiseshell, sometimes inlaid with gold or silver pique work. The way the sticks sit close to each other, often with little or no space between them is one of the distinguishing characteristics of fans of this era.
In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked in France. This caused large scale immigration from France to the surrounding Protestant countries (such as England) of many fan craftsman. This dispersion in skill is reflected in the growing quality of many fans from these non-French countries after this date.

In the 18th century, fans reached a high degree of artistry and were being made throughout Europe often by specialized craftsmen, either in leaves or sticks. Folded fans of silk, or parchment were decorated and painted by artists. Fans were also imported from China by the East India Companies at this time. Around the middle 18th century, inventors started designing mechanical fans. Wind-up fans (similar to wind-up clocks) were popular in the 18th century. In the 19th century in the West, European fashion caused fan decoration and size to vary.
It has been said that in the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere fans were used in a more or less secret, unspoken code of messages^.These fan languages were a way to cope with the restricting social etiquette. However, modern research has proved that this was a marketing ploy developed in the 18th century - one that has kept its appeal remarkably over the succeeding centuries. This is now used for marketing by fan makers like Duvelleroy who produced a series of advertisements in the 1960s showing "the language of the fan".

 Categories

Hand fans have two general categories:

Japanes Flat Fan - Ushiwa

1. Flat fans(平扇"pǐng shàn)"(can not be folded) : circular fans, palm-leaf fans, straw fans, feather fans, etc.
2. Folding fans(折扇"zhě shàn)"(can be freely opened): silk folding fans,paper folding fans, sandalwood fans, etc.

 See also

 Use in dance

• Buchaechum – Korean fan dance

Buchaechum

 Use as weapons

• Japanese war fan

Japanese War Fan

• Korean fighting fan

 Museums

• Musée de l'Éventail (Paris)
• The Fan Museum in Greenwich (Greenwich, London)
• The Hand Fan Museum in Healdsburg, California

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The language of the hand fan

(Written with the kind permission of theHandfan.com) During a certain period of time (century XIX and beginning of the XX), the fan becomes an ideal instrument of communication in an age on which freedom of speech for women was absolutely restricted. The main gestures and their respective meanings that together configured what it was known as “the language of the fan” were: To hold the fan with the right hand in front of the face. Follow me. To hold it in the left ear. I want you to leave me alone. To let slide it on the forehead. You have changed. To move it with the left hand. They are watching us. To change it to the right hand. You are imprudent. To throw the fan. I hate you. To move it with the right hand. I love another. To let slide it on the cheek. I want you. To hold it closed. Do you love me? To let slide it on the eyes. Go away, please. To touch the edge of the hand fan with the fingers. I want to talk to you. To hold it on the right cheek. Yes. To hold it on the left cheek. No. To open and close it. You are cruel. To leave it hanging. We will continue being friends. To fan slowly. I am married. To fan quickly. I am engaged. To hold the fan in the lips. Kiss me. To open it slowly. Wait for me. To open the hand fan with the left hand. Come and talk to me. To strike it, closed, on the left hand. Write me. To semiclose it in the right and on the left. I cant. To hold it opened, covering the mouth. I am single.

Kirsten Prout

Date of Birth

28 September 1990, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Kirsten Prout was born in Vancouver, Canada, and began her career at ten-years-old. She grew up in a household completely removed from the film industry, being the daughter of a neurologist and a child therapist. She credits her early insight into behaviour as a product of her mother's background in therapy. This sensitivity led to a talent for developing characters and story, which manifested itself as a love of film, television and literature. She also enjoyed dance and martial arts, training most extensively in the latter. Met with success at an early age, Kirsten worked locally in Vancouver, guest-starring on shows such as "First Wave" (1998), "Stargate SG-1" (1997), "Cold Squad" (1998) and "The Dead Zone" (2002). Her first sizeable break in film came in 2005 when she landed the part of "Abby Miller", a young martial arts prodigy, alongside Jennifer Garner, in Elektra (2005). Kirsten performed her own stunts and utilized her past training in taekwondo, crediting the experience as one of the most challenging and rewarding of her career. Transitioning from her rebellious character, Kirsten worked on the ABC Family television series "Kyle XY" (2006) as the demure "Amanda Bloom". After the show finished its successful three seasons, Kirsten, always academically inclined, chose to attend McGill University as an English Literature major, furthering her understanding of character, story, and the written word. After returning from Montreal, Kirsten landed Summit's Eclipse, part of the hugely successful Twilight Saga, and the miniseries Seven Deadly Sins.