Mare Festival 2011: Beyond the razzmatazz

Mare Festival 2011: Beyond the razzmatazz

What is wrong with Jojein Hotel, Akure?

What is wrong with Jojein Hotel, Akure? Wale Ojo lanre, Editor , Tribune magazine shares  his experience in a new hotel planted in Akure , Ondo - state.

Average penis size by country

British men more well-endowed than French...but smaller than Germans

British men have bigger penises than those in France - but are less well endowed than Germans, research suggests.

The manhood of the average British man is two inches longer than in France Photo: GETTY

2:03PM BST 30 Sep 2012

British men typically have bigger penises than the French - but are less well endowed than German guys, new research claims.

The average British man's penis is apparently 5.5in when erect - coming ahead of the French at 5.3in, Australians (5.2in), Americans (5.1in) and Irish (5in).

And it towers over the average manhood in North and South Korea - the smallest in the study at a mere 3.8 in.

But British men do not have a great deal to shout about in the trouser stakes - coming only 78th out of 113 nationalities covered in the study.

The men of Africa's Republic of Congo are best equipped of all at 7.1 in.

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They are closely followed by Ecuadoreans at 7in, Ghanaians at 6.8in and Colombians at 6.7in.

In Europe, Icelanders are the best endowed at 6.5in and the Irish are the second smallest at 5.03in - behind only Romanians at 5.01in.

Africans have the biggest penises at an average of 6.3in and north-east Asians the smallest at 4.2in.

Brits come in just under the Germans, who are bang on the European average of 5.7in.

The sensitive subject has been tackled by Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University.

He is known for voicing the controversial view that evolutionary pressures have led to racial and national differences in intelligence.

Mr Lynn says that the findings confirm previous theories of "race differences in penis length."

He concludes: "For most populations penis length are predictable and confirmed."

But critics have claimed that Mr Lynn's research is flawed because he has admitted gathering his data on penis length from websites.

Jelte Wicherts, professor of methodology at Tilburg University, Holland, said: "This is a brave paper in a controversial area but the data has no methodology."

The research is published in scientific journal Personality and Individual Differences.

Average penis size by country:

Republic of Congo, 7.1

Ecuador, 7

Ghana, 6.8

Colombia 6.7

Iceland 6.5

Italy 6.2

South Africa 6

Sweden 5.9

Greece 5.8

Germany 5.7

New Zealand 5.5

UK 5.5

Canada 5.5

Spain 5.5

France 5.3

Australia 5.2

Russia 5.2

USA 5.1

Ireland 5

Romania 5

China 4.3

India 4

Thailand 4

South Korea 3.8

North Korea 3.8

culled The Telegragh

WOMAN KILLS 5 OUT OF HER 7 CHILDREN BECUASE HUSBAND DOES NOT WANT LARGE FAMILY

A 28-year-old woman in Germany has confessed to killing each of her five children shortly after giving birth to them.

The woman turned herself in to police in the German city of Flensburg and made a "comprehensive confession", according to spokesman Dirk Czarnetzki.

The woman confessed to police that she killed her children, then hid their bodies. She was then arrested on five counts of manslaughter.

Ulrike Stahlmann-Liebelt, the head prosecutor in Flensburg, said the woman has two living children, aged eight and 10, though her name is not being released in accordance with German privacy laws.

The case has shocked the small German town of Husum where the woman lived.

It is alleged she began hiding her pregnancies in 2006, avoiding doctors and hospitals before killing each infant shortly after giving birth.

The paper sorting station where the woman hid one of the bodies

She claimed to have given birth to two of her children at home and three of them in nearby woods.

"She had the impression her husband would leave her if she had any more children, and that's why she didn't tell anyone she was pregnant, including her husband," said Mr Stahlmann-Liebelt.

The woman also said her family lived at a certain level of prosperity, which she feared might be endangered by another child. She added her husband had made it clear he did not want a bigger family.

The husband has told police that he knew nothing about the pregnancies and it was not entirely clear how his wife managed to keep them secret.

Police found the first child's body dumped in a paper sorting station in 2006, nine miles (15 kms) from Husum where she lived.

The quite town of Husum where the woman lives

The second was found in a parking area near a motorway in 2007.

After reading news reports that DNA results had confirmed the two children had the same parents, fearful of being caught, the woman decided not to dispose of the other bodies in public places.

She hid the next three infants in boxes in the basement of the building where she lived.

Police have recovered the bodies and sent them for autopsy, but forensic experts have not yet been able to determine exactly how the woman killed the babies or when.

A judge has ordered the woman be held in custody until she is charged, which typically takes several months in Germany. Mr Stahlmann-Liebelt said it was too early to say what penalty she might face if convicted.

SOME WOMEN ACTUALLY HAVE MEN ON THE BRAIN

Long after a son has grown up, or an older brother has moved out, a woman appears to carry pieces of his fetal DNA in her brain, a study finds.

For decades after a woman has carried a male child in her womb or shared her mother's womb with a brother, she carries a faint but unmistakable echo of that intimate bond: male fetal DNA that lodges itself in the far recesses of her brain.

That astonishing finding, publishedWednesday in the journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS One), suggests that the act of having a child is no mere one-way transmission of genetic material and all that goes with it: There is an exchange of DNA that passes into the part of us that makes us who we are. That, in turn, may alter a woman's health prospects in ways her own DNA never intended.

In the study, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and theUniversity of Washington examined, post-mortem, the brains of 59 women. In 63% of the brains, they found fetal DNA that could only have come from a male. While scattered throughout the brain, the genetic traces of this other individual were clustered heavily in the brain's hippocampus -- a region crucial to the consolidation of memories -- and in the parietal and temporal lobes of the brain's prefrontal cortex, areas that play roles in sensation, perception, sensory integration and language comprehension.

When a person takes on the DNA of another, as happens, for instance, in bone marrow transfusions, she is called a "chimera" -- in mythology, a beast that is the fusion of two or more creatures. The discovery that a person can carry the fetal DNA of another person has given rise to a variant: This is dubbed microchimerism.

This line of research, says rheumatologist J. Lee Nelson, coauthor of the study, "suggests we need a new paradigm of the biological self" and how it is formed. We think of ourselves as the product of two biological parents and a one-time roll of the genetic dice. That, says Nelson, appears to be wrong: In the womb, we may also pick up the DNA of older siblings left over from their stay, or of a fetal twin who never made it to daylight. In the course of our lives, we may take on the DNA of the sons we bear, or even of the sons we conceived and miscarried. And that DNA can stay with us long after our big brothers have moved on and our sons have grown up and moved away.

The sources of our DNA "are much more diverse than we know," said Nelson in an interview. And these exchanges of DNA may play an evolutionary role far greater than we have ever imagined, she added. Walt Whitman once wrote, "I contain multitudes," and Nelson says she and her colleagues now glean new meanings from the observation.

The new study shows that this evolutionary X-factor is also at work in the brain.

It hasn't been many years since scientists first learned that a baby's DNA could cross the placental barrier from baby to mother and lodge itself in her blood and organs. The current study finds that it can also penetrate the vaunted "blood-brain barrier," which is thought to protect the brain from toxins and foreign invaders.

Once there, Nelson said, the DNA of another person may alter a woman's propensity to certain brain diseases -- conferring protection in some cases and vulnerability in others. It may carry the switches that turn brain cancers on -- or off. It may harden the brain against trauma or psychiatric disease -- or make it less resilient. Future research will need to determine how, say, carrying a male fetus may influence a mother's likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease or auto-immune diseases such asmultiple sclerosis.

Stevie Wonder left a voicemail singing back my song!-Lianne La Havas

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• By Anna Nathanson
• Arts, Music
• Monday, 24 September 2012 at 10:58 am

It’s been almost a year since the enchanting and previously unknown Lianne La Havas stepped on the Later…With Jools Holland show stage, confidently captivating everyone watching. Some eleven months later and she has been working non-stop, kicking off the year on the “BBC Sound of 2012” list, and releasing a critically acclaimed UK Top 5 album that has recently been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

Not to mention touring with an impressive selection of some of music’s coolest acts, including Bombay Bicycle Club, Erykah Badu and Bon Iver, on their north American tours. The latter opportunity in fact arose as a direct result of her much lauded Jools Holland performance, which happened to coincide with the Grammy-winning American Folk band’s own appearance on the show that same night.

Despite such a busy schedule and growing interest in the U.S, where one critic described her as “the most striking female voice to emerge from Britain since Adele”, the Soul/Folk musician is taking her newfound success in her stride. “I embrace it, I love being busy”, Lianne says nonchalantly, albeit admitting that her packed diary has meant that she has been unable to complete a song in months. “When I write I find a quiet place. Sometimes I need time for it to come, it’s a gradual process”, declares the 23-year-old, who has writing credits on the majority of tracks on her debut album.

Reflecting on the experience of touring with her friend, Paloma Faith, who she describes as “really lovely, a complete character”, it is clear that La Havas has been relishing life. “I was her backing singer for 18 months. It was like going round the country with your family! I gained so much experience from her. Women who have strong identities, who know themselves, really inspire me. Her and also Laura Marling, Little Dragon, Erykah Badu…”. She cites her varied upbringing as something that’s additionally been hugely influential. “My dad is Greek and my mum Jamaican. My grandparents brought me up for most of my childhood but I saw my mum and dad all the time”, explains the South Londoner, who grew up in Tooting and Streatham.

Recent American sell out gigs and TV appearances have seen her profile steadily rising and fans manifesting themselves in the shape of music royalty like Prince and Stevie Wonder. Despite her composed demeanour, her excitement is clearly evident when it comes to Stevie Wonder. “I cried when I met him!” she admits, recounting how he attended one of her gigs after their mutual U.S booking agent played him some of her music. “It was quite unbelievable! I found out an hour before I was due on stage that he would be in the audience and so I used that as fuel for my show.”

And did he give her any feedback? “He said it was like listening to India.Arie for the first time!” she asserts proudly, pausing at the end for effect. And it doesn’t stop there. After getting hold of her number, La Havas reveals that the icon then left her a voicemail, singing one of her own songs down the line. Lianne is quick to relay the message, also disclosing that the song in question was her single and album title track, “Is Your Love Big Enough?”. “The voice message said, ‘Hey Lianne, this is Stevie and this is my number. It was really nice to meet you and I’m looking forward to hearing more of your project’”.

So how does Lianne La Havas see her future? “I can’t predict what will happen, as I never imagined that all this would happen”, she states plainly, casually throwing in that she’d like to win a Grammy one day. With an iTunes Festival date with Alicia Keys on September 28^th, and a second headline tour due to commence in October, chances are that her profile will only continue to skyrocket from here.

culled The INDEPENDENT

BRIDE DROWNS DURING WEDDING PHOTO SHOOT

A woman has drowned after she was pulled under water by her saturated wedding dress while having photographs taken near waterfalls in Canada.

Quebec provincial police said the unnamed woman's body was recovered four hours after she disappeared under the water at Dorwin Falls.

Police initially said she had fallen from a cliff and fallen into the waterfall, but later corrected that report.

The woman, from Montreal, was married on June 9, but was having photos taken in her dress at the picturesque location in Rawdon, near Quebec.

While she was being photographed with her feet in the water, the dress became saturated and she was unable to remain above the surface, police said.

The photographer and a bystander tried to rescue her but were unable to save her because of the weight of the dress, Sergeant Ronalid McInnis said.

She slipped under the water and her body was eventually recovered in a basin around 100ft away by a diver.

Sgt McInnis said two witnesses had to be hospitalised and treated for shock.

He added: "The photographer put down his equipment and tried to save her. He grabbed her with his hands.

"One witness tried to help, but they couldn't save her. The dress was too heavy."

The Dorwin Falls, at their highest point, are just under 60ft high.

Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on moon, dies at 82

Neil Armstrong's 'giant leap for mankind' as he set foot on the lunar surface in 1969 climaxed a monumental achievement in human history. Despite his fame, the former fighter pilot shrank from the spotlight and called himself a 'nerdy engineer.'

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Neil Armstrong inside the Apollo 11 lunar module after his historic walk on the surface of the moon.(NASA / August 25, 2012)

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• See more stories »By Eric Malnic, Special to The Times

August 25, 2012, 2:17 p.m.

Neil Armstrong, the U.S. astronaut who was the first person to set foot on the moon, firmly establishing him as one of the great heroes of the 20th century, has died. He was 82.

Armstrong died following complications from cardiovascular procedures, his family announced Saturday.

When he made that famous step on July 20, 1969, he uttered a phrase that has been carved in stone and quoted across the planet: "That's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind."

PHOTOS: Neil Armstrong dead at 82

Armstrong spoke those words quietly as he gazed down at his, the first human footprint on the surface of the moon. In the excitement of the moment, the "a" was left out -- either because Armstrong omitted it or because it was lost in the static of the radio transmission back to Earth.

For the usually taciturn Armstrong, it was a rare burst of eloquence seen and heard by 60 million television viewers worldwide. But Armstrong, a reticent, self-effacing man who shunned the spotlight, was never comfortable with his public image as a courageous, historic man of action.

"I am, and ever will be, a white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer," Armstrong once told a National Press Club gathering.

Perhaps.

PHOTOS: Apollo 11 mission

How many other nerdy engineers flew 78 combat missions as a Navy jet fighter pilot during the Korean War? Logged more than 1,000 hours as a test pilot in some of the world's fastest and most dangerous aircraft? Or became one of the first civilian astronauts and commanded Apollo 11, the first manned flight to land on the moon?

In the years that followed the flight of Apollo 11, Armstrong was asked again and again what it felt like to be the first man on the moon. In answering, he always shared the glory: "I was certainly aware that this was the culmination of the work of 300,000 to 400,000 people over a decade."

Neil Alden Armstrong was born Aug. 5, 1930, on his grandfather's farm near Wapakoneta, Ohio.

His father, Stephen Armstrong, was a civil servant who audited county records in Ohio and later served as assistant director of the Ohio Mental Hygiene and Corrections Department. The family of his mother, Viola, owned the farm.

For more than a decade, his family lived in a succession of Ohio cities to accommodate his father's job before settling down in Wapakoneta.

After his father bought him a ride in a Ford Trimotor transport plane in 1936, Armstrong rushed home and began building model airplanes and a wind tunnel to test them.

A good student, Armstrong was a much-decorated Boy Scout and played the baritone horn in a school band. But aviation always came first.

In 1945, he started taking flying lessons, paying for them by working as a stock clerk at a drugstore. On his 16th birthday, he got his pilot's license but didn't yet have a driver's license.

Upon graduating from high school in 1947, he was awarded a Navy scholarship to Purdue University. When the Korean War started in 1949, Armstrong was called to active duty.

After flight training, Armstrong was assigned to the carrier Essex, flying combat missions over North Korea. Although one of the Panther jets he flew off the carrier was crippled by enemy fire, he nursed the plane back over South Korea before bailing out safely. Recognized as an outstanding pilot with a flair for leadership, he received three Air Medals before finishing his active duty in 1952.

He returned to Purdue and earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955.

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

'I found my gay husband a boyfriend': Once mother-of-two Cheryl, 30, recovered from Ashley's shock confession she forgave him - and helped him find a man

• 
  Cheryl and Ashley Barrier were happily married with two children when gay pornography sparked unfamiliar feelings for Ashley
• Cheryl urged her husband to explore his sexuality - and he realised he was gay
• The two remain friends - and Cheryl helped Ashley find his new husband, Nathan

By DEBORAH ARTHURS

PUBLISHED: 18:43, 24 August 2012 | UPDATED: 19:03, 24 August 2012

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Cheryl Barrier thought she had the perfect marriage. With a handsome husband and two young daughters, her life was complete.

But just two years ago, her life was turned upside down when her husband Ashley discovered that he was gay.

At first Cheryl, 30, felt as though her life had crumbled around her.

But instead of being angry, Cheryl found the inner strength to forgive her former husband - and even helped him to find a boyfriend.

Ashley, 27, and Cheryl, 30, were happily married until Ashley realised he was gay

Now, Ashley and Nathan are happily married - while Cheryl is regarded as a close family friend.

The three, who appeared on the This Morning sofa to discuss their unusual relationship, say that they are now one big happy family.

Cheryl, who many would have forgiven for presuming her five year marriage to Ashley had been a sham, says she never had an inkling her husband was gay.

'I never had a clue,' she says now. 'There was never a time when I thought he was effeminate, or gay.

'I never thought for a minute he was curbing his instinct.'

Even more surprising is the fact that Ashley says that he didn't know either.

So was it just a road to Damascus transformation? 'Yes,' says Ashley. 'I never had an inkling.

'AlI I ever wanted was kids and a wife. I’ve always said that if I’d known, I wouldn’t have married and had my children.

'But I don’t regret that for a minute. Back then, I loved it – we were very happy together.'

The two met when Ashley was 19 and Cheryl was 23 through their siblings. It was love at first sight and the pair married quickly.

Now Cheryl, Ashley and his new husband Nathan, 29, regard their unusual situation as just 'one big happy family'

'There were three dates that we could get married on - and one of them was a month away, Ashley recalls. 'We went for that one - we only had a month to plan our wedding.'

The two were blissfully happy, until one night when the two decided to watch an adult film together.

The pornographic scenes of a heterosexual couple gave way to some scenes involving two men engaged in a sex act together.

'As I came across it, I didn't turn it off,' Ashley says. 'At first, it was just that it didn't annoy or repulse me. I was shocked to find I liked it,' he says.

Further on, as I kept going, I realised I really did like it.'

At that point, Ashley decided he must be bisexual. Realising her husband had made a major discovery, Cheryl urged her Ashley to explore that area of his life.

'We spoke about his feelings,' Cheryl says. 'It wasn't something that happened overnight. I said to Ashley, "you have to experience that part of your life. I don't want you to live a lie with me and the children.'

Then, Ashley was still under the impression he was bisexual - but decided to do as Cheryl suggested and look for a boyfriend.

'You can't control when that 'something' comes out,' Ashley says. 'I was as shocked as Cheryl.

Nathan, right, came out to his family when he was 13, and says he isn't at all fazed by the unusual set-up he has with Ashley and Cheryl

'You don't just wake up one day and go, "I'm gay!". It happened gradually.

'We talked in depth about it,' says Cheryl. 'It’s not something we light-heartedly skimmed over.’

Remarkably, Cheryl says she holds no anger towards the man who left her for another man.

'Anger? ‘I have gay relationships in my family already,' she says. 'My brother is gay as well. We are used to dealing with gays in the family, it’s accepted.'

Cheryl and Ashley admit that telling the children was the hardest part.

'We spoke about it, then it came to, "How do we tell the kids?’

'I’ve lost you as a husband but I want to keep you as a friend'

'We both dealt with it a mature way,' Ashley says - adding that Cheryl showed what a good friend she could be.

For Cheryl's part, she says she does not grieve for the husband she lost.

'I'd rather have him as a good friend,' she says. 'We need to keep relationship natural and good for children.'

'We used to send each other cards – I’ve lost you as a husband but I want to keep you as a friend,’ Ashley adds.

Soon after the couple split, Ashley met Nathan and the two were married within the year.

Ashley says he knew Nathan was the one as soon as they met - but that telling Cheryl was difficult.

‘I knew he was the one, but to tell my ex-wife was the final bit. To tell her, I've moved on, I've met someone who is The One - that was hard,' he says.

For his part, Nathan, who came out to his family when he was 13, is open-minded about the unusual situation.

He says he was brought up with a big family, so the fact that Ashley had children - and a wife - didn't perturb him at all.

So is Nathan at all worried that Ashley could return to heterosexual past?

 'At the beginning, we were all so close. In the back of my mind I thought he could go back with Cheryl again. But once we had our Civil Partnership I knew.

'But we are all still very close.'

Ashley says that by appearing on This Morning, he hopes to help other men who might be in the same situation.

'It's not about not being true to yourself,' he says. 'Some people are ashamed, and I want them to see how well we work as a family unit. We work great together. Hopefully people can see how accepting we are.'

 

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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2193161/Cheryl-Barrier-I-gay-husband-boyfriend.html#ixzz24VYvwmIk

Couple have sex on the Beach in broad daylight as nine men look on and take pictures

• Shocked onlookers watched in disbelief as woman 'gyrated' on man just yards from children and parents
• At one point several men approached the couple - and one allegedly attempted to join in
• Police made two arrests at the scene before issuing fixed penalty notices

By KERRY MCQUEENEY

PUBLISHED: 12:02, 23 August 2012 | UPDATED: 14:41, 23 August 2012

This is the moment a couple appeared to be brazenly having sex in broad daylight on a beach in front of shocked parents and children.

Disgusted Simon Cummins said he and his friends were stunned as they heard the woman's sexual moans while walking along the promenade on Brighton beach.

Mr Cummins, 30, had been to a friend’s stag party the night before but was up at 9am to pick up his car to travel to a charity football match, which is when he saw the display.

'Horrible': Police who approached the party made two arrests before issuing on-the-spot fines

Debauched display: Simon said several men approached the couple and one attempted to join in

However, as the party passed the famous Brighton Pier, they say they first heard - and then saw - a blonde woman gyrating on top of a man on the beach.

Just yards from the sordid scene holidaymakers and children can be seen passing by. At one point a youngster points to the lewd goings on before his disgusted mother pulls him away.

The incident happened close to the pier on the public side of Brighton beach. It is near the more secluded nudist beach which is situated on the other side of the pier.

'It was like an orgy or the last days of Rome. It was a horrible sight to see.'

Simon Cummins, witness

Mr Cummins said at one point several men approached the couple and one attempted to join in.

Sussex Police said they did catch up with the couple and made two arrests before issuing on-the-spot fines.

But Simon, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, said he the couple should have been locked up.

He said: 'It was broad daylight, the nearest families were 10 metres away if that, there were kids playing nearby. It was disgusting.

'I have young nephews and nieces and if I had seen that kind of thing going on in front of them I would have had a word.

'The woman and the man didn’t look like they were druggies, or dishevelled, they looked like normal everyday people, except it looked like they were [having sex] on a beach in the middle of the day.

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'It was like an orgy or the last days of Rome, it was a horrible sight to see. At one point a little boy pointed over at the couple and his mum had to haul him off in disgust.

'It’s not Ibiza at 3am in the morning, this was in broad daylight with families around and they just didn’t seem to care.'

Tourist attraction: Brighton beach, as it is usually seen, a popular destination with day-trippers

Mr Cummins, who was with his friends Ben Stone and Richard Jones, said the reason the trio had noticed the couple copulating was because they heard the woman’s ‘screams’.

He added: 'Ben said "what’s that noise?". We thought there was someone in trouble but when we saw what was going on we realised she wasn’t screaming for help.

'As it went on things got even worse when a few blokes seem to turn up. It was disgraceful.

'When the police finally turned up I was shocked because it seemed to me they were almost scared about approaching the couple, and then they just gave them a fine. They should have been locked up.'

A spokesman for Sussex Police confirmed officers attended the incident on Sunday.

She said: 'Police were called to Brighton beach, near West Street, on Sunday August 19 at 9am where it was reported a couple were believed to be having sex.

'Two people were arrested and given a fixed penalty notices.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192455/Couple-sex-Brighton-Beach-broad-daylight-children.html#ixzz24VVVgAME