Category Archives: Culture

Oldest European fort in the inland US discovered in Appalachians

ANN ARBOR — The remains of the earliest European fort in the interior of what is now the United States have been discovered by a team of archaeologists, providing new insight into the start of the U.S. colonial era and the all-too-human reasons spoiling Spanish dreams of gold and glory.

Spanish Captain Juan Pardo and his men built Fort San Juan in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in 1567, nearly 20 years before Sir Walter Raleigh’s “lost colony” at Roanoke and 40 years before the Jamestown settlement established England’s presence in the region. (more…)

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7 easy and practical ways to recharge your sex life

So you have been with the love of your life for a few years now and things really cannot get any better for you in terms of your relationship. But even the most loving of all couples go through a phase where they find themselves having lesser and lesser sex. Since a healthy sex life is the key to happiness in a romantic relationship, such a situation warrants immediate attention. However, instead of reaching for the magic blue pill, you should try these holistic, easy and practical ways instead.

1. Take a yoga class together

Yoga may look like hard work but it is actually one of the best known types of workout for couples who want to rekindle the romance. The slow pace, the emphasis on breathing and the stretching, all help calm the mind and body down which is necessary to allow couples to unburden their mind of their daily worries and focus on building intimacy. Since the workout won’t be rigorous, you’d still have enough energy for a hookup while the limberness provided by the stretching will help you experiment as well. (more…)

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“Liebe und Romantik”, So denke ich darüber: Katja (30)

Q. Was ist Liebe? Wie würden Sie es definieren?

Katja: Ja, es ist sehr schwierig zu definieren, was Liebe ist. Man kann es schlecht beschreiben, also man liebt ja doch, ich würde sagen mehrere Menschen. Also das Gefühl jemanden gern zu haben, zu mögen….und ja schwierig zu definieren, die richtige Liebe, aber was ist richtige Liebe?…ja..(lächeln)

Q. Was ist Ihr liebstes Liebes-Zitat? Lesen Sie Liebesgedichte?

Katja: Ahh…so richtig lese ich jetzt Liebesgedichte nicht, aber für mich hat jemand ein Liebesgedicht geschrieben und das war sehr schön und da war ich wirklich gerührt und also es hat mich beflügelt, dass jemand für mich ein Liebesgedicht schreibt. Das Gedicht war echt schön, dass man so was denken und fühlen kann. (more…)

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Among Indian immigrants, religious practice and obesity may be linked, study shows

Asian Indians are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, and roughly half a million people of Indian ancestry live in California — more than any other state. Individuals from this group are strongly predisposed to obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, due in large part to physical inactivity, diets low in fruit and vegetables, and insulin resistance.

Among other racial and ethnic groups, research has shown that religious practices and religiosity have been associated with obesity and greater body weight, but no one had studied this potential link among Indians. (more…)

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New book by UCLA historian traces role of gender in 1992 Los Angeles riots

White policemen pulling a black man from a car and viciously beating him. Black male rioters erupting after the officers are acquitted of assault and excessive force charges. Black male rioters pulling a white man from his truck and viciously beating him. Men of color looting stores. Gun-toting male shopkeepers poised on rooftops to protect their businesses.

So many of the indelible images of the 1992 Los Angeles riots feature men, especially black and white men. But there was also a women’s story behind the so-called Rodney King riots, and it is considerably more important and ethnically nuanced than the one that lingers in the public imagination, a UCLA historian argues in a new book. (more…)

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Women and HIV: A story of racial and ethnic health disparities

The history of women with HIV/AIDS in the United States is really a story of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Overall, the rate of American women contracting the disease relative to men has climbed from 8 percent in the 1980s to 25 percent today. But most of this burden is in underserved communities: one in 32 African-American women will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, as will one in 106 Latina women. Meanwhile, one in 526 Caucasian and Asian women will contract the virus. Death rates are also higher for African-American and Latina women, making it one of the leading causes of death for those groups. (more…)

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Helping Many People Boosts Social Standing More Than Helping Many Times, Says MU Anthropologist

Research could guide business and political decisions as well as charity work

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A business may build a better reputation as a good corporate citizen by donating $100,000 to ten charities, as opposed to $1 million to one charity, suggested University of Missouri anthropologist Shane Macfarlan. Contrary to earlier assumptions in theoretical biology, Macfarlan’s research found that helping a greater number of people builds a positive reputation more than helping a few people many times. The results of this research can offer guidance to businesses and politicians on how to improve their public images.

“Good reputations are good business. For example, buyers tend to purchase from merchants with numerous positive ratings on internet-based commerce websites, such as Amazon and eBay,” said Shane Macfarlan, post-doctoral anthropology researcher in MU’s College of Arts and Science. “Beyond the realm of commerce, the power of a positive reputation may have influenced the evolution of language and cooperation in our species. In our study, we found that an individual’s reputation improves more after helping a greater number of people compared to performing a greater number of helpful acts for fewer people.” (more…)

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‘Love and Romance’, the way I feel it: Hossam (23)

Q. What is love? How would you define it?

Hossam: I would say ‘love’ is something that has to be from inside from your heart. It doesn’t come out very quickly. People who are falling in love has to get to know each other first, they have to know whether they understand each other, they have to know whether they fit to each other, and these ways we can know whether we fit to each other or not, if we love each other or not. But of course, that needs some time. So that’s how I define it actually.
(more…)

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