Top 10 Famous Kisses

Ah, the kiss. The strange ritual of pressing lips together, exchanging breath and a small amount of spittle while clicking teeth and touch tongues. Sounds disgusting, but we love to do it. So much so you spend about 2 weeks of your life performing this romantic act. So just what are the top ten most famous kisses? Pucker up and find out.

10. Spider-man Upside-Down Kiss

How many young boys (and men) get to live out their fantasies watching Spider-Man swing through the streets of New York City? A few more fantasies were created by the upside-down kiss between Spider-Man and Mary Jane, played by Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst, respectively. The fact that this kiss was between a superhero and the mildly attractive Kristen Dunst (odd teeth and a large head), who looks her best in the scene, and you have a fairly original and exciting kiss. Rain and a wet t-shirt certainly help. 

9. First Homosexual Kiss on Screen

Peter Finch and Murray Head have the distinction of performing the fist homosexual kiss on the silver screen. In the 1971 film Sunday Bloody Sunday, directed by John Schlesinger, a medium close-up shot was filmed of the two men kissing, which was at first planned only to be only an embrace. Someone screamed at a director’s screening of the film, much to John Schlesinger’s consternation. It turned out to be Finch’s wife. Finch was later asked about the kiss and replied, “I did it for England.”

8. Museum Kiss valued at $1,260

In 1977, Ruth van Herpen visited an art museum in Oxford, England and made the mistake of kissing a painting. The painting was by Jo Baer. Ruth left a lipstick smear in her wake and she was ordered by law to pay the restoration costs of $1,260. She claimed to kiss the “cold” artwork in order to cheer it up. Others saw this as an excuse for art vandalism.

7. Sexual Harassment Kiss

In 1996 a six-year-old named Johnathan Prevette, a first grade student in North Carolina kissed a classmate innocently on the cheek. His teacher reported him to the principal, Lisa Horne, who ordered him to spend the day in detention. While this is asinine, this isn’t what made this kiss famous. After appearing on a local radio show, the mother’s story spread until the U.S. Department of Education rewrote the sexual harassment guidelines to omit kisses by first graders. Our tax dollars at work, people. To be fair to Johnathan he stated the girl had requested the kiss.

6. MTV Kiss

In 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Madonna performed “Like a Virgin.” At the end of the performance Britney and Madonna ended the musical number with a French kiss and a second, less scandalous kiss, occurred between Madonna and Christina. Proud moments for all involved, I’m sure. Their kids will love watching this for years to come. Suffice to say it out-shined the awards show.

5. First Kiss on Film

The first kiss to be recorded in a motion picture happened in 1896 in a film by Thomas Edison. The film was aptly named The Kiss, and was between John C. Rice and actress May Irwin. The running time was under 30 seconds as it was filmed for display in a nickelodeon. Not the most attractive couple, more than 30 seconds would have been bad.

4. The Kiss – Sculpture by Francois Auguste Rodin

The passionate love of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta was a theme which Rodin used to inspire The Kiss. Although it was originally intended to be part of the Gates of Hell, Rodin did not feel that it fit and removed the figures to make them an individual statue. The embracing couple depicted in the sculpture appeared originally as part of a group of reliefs decorating Rodin’s bronze portal The Gates of Hell, commissioned for a planned museum of art in Paris. The couple were later removed from theGates and replaced with another pair of lovers. Rodin described his sculpture as follows, “complete in itself and artificially set apart from the surrounding world.”

3. Sleeping Beauty, the Kiss of Awakening

A timeless fairy tale and a timeless kiss. The kiss first appeared in Charlies Perrault’s version of the fairy tale in 1697 in “La Belle au Bois Dormant.” In earlier versions of this tale, the prince isn’t so charming when he rapes her before leaving the scene. Thankfully the fairy tale has been modified to the more romantic version we are familiar with. Benevolent fairies remove the curse of death upon Princess Aurora and change it from death to a deep sleep from which Aurora can be awakened only by love’s first kiss. Romantic, climatic and perfect timing make this a kiss to remember. Photograph by Barry Wallis.

2. Life Magazine VJ-Day Kiss

Many people will think the world’s most famous kiss was captured on film in New York City. This famous kiss photo was taken on V-J Day in Times Square. The photo was plastered all over newspapers and was seen as a symbol of a new era of peace, love and hope. The truth of the matter was that this soldier was kissing every woman in the square and this nurse in particular slapped the sailor. Photographer:Alfred Eisenstaedt

A sculpture commemorating the kiss is located in Sarasota Florida and in Times Square.

1. The Betrayal Kiss of Judas

Judas Iscariot used a kiss to identify Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The high priest Caiaphas paid Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus with a kiss. Jesus was then arrested, condemned to death and crucified. God used his Son’s death as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world and Christianity was born.


Articles From Toptenz.net

10 Controversial Magazine Covers

10. Wired (June 1997)

iPray

I personally bought this issue of Wired, being a huge Apple fan, and still have it to this day. The graphical power of this cover is amazing and the desperation of Apple is evident. If you were a computer owner, PC or Apple, this cover was of interest. Depicting the impending death of the biggest brand on the planet, at the time, was bound to stir up trouble. The article inside, “101 Ways to Save Apple,” is great reading especially now that Apple is dominating the creative/tech landscape.

9. Entertainment Weekly (May 2, 2003)

Three Chicks in Trouble

Being naked on the cover is nothing new these days but The Dixie Chicks appear naked on this cover of Entertainment Weekly with tattoos that read “Boycott,” “Traitors,” “Dixie Sluts” and “Proud Americans” on their bodies. This was on the heels of Dixie Chick member Natalie Maines criticisms of the impending invasion of Iraq by America. Some Americans boycotted The Dixie Chicks music and concerts for months even after this issue allowed them to further speak their mind

8. TIME (April 8, 1966)

Rumors of My Death…

Any time someone questions God you are going to get controversy and this Time magazine cover from April 8, 1966 was no exception. This was the first time the magazine used an all type cover, but the question “Is God Dead?” was the bigger issue and the article inside which preached the “death of God” inflamed readers.

7. TIME (January 2, 1939)

For Better or Worse

On January 2, 1939, Time Magazine published its annual Man of the Year issue. For the year 1938, Time had chosen Adolf Hitler as the man who “for better or worse” had most influenced events of the preceding year. The cover picture featured Hitler playing “his hymn of hate in a desecrated cathedral while victims dangle on a St. Catherine’s wheel and the Nazi hierarchy looks on.”

6. Babytalk (August, 2006)

The Breast of Ideas

Readers of the August 2006 US parenting magazine, Babytalk were up in arms over the publication’s cover depicting a woman breastfeeding, with many calling the photo offensive and disgusting. The whole point of the cover was to bring focus to the controversy surrounding breastfeeding in the United States, where a survey found that 57 percent were opposed to women breastfeeding in public.

5. Vogue (April, 2008)

Twas Beauty That Killed The Beast

One of the more recent covers to illicit controversy was the Vogue cover with basketball superstar LeBron James who shares the April cover of the magazine with supermodel Gisele Bundchen. The controversy stems from the opinion that his screaming face and cradling of a blond woman has racial overtones in its resemblance to the movie poster of King Kong and Fay Wray.

4. Art Monthly (July, 2008)

In the Eyes of the Beholder…

Art Monthly, Australia magazine sparked outrage over naked images of children by publishing an image of a six-year-old Olympia Nelson on its July cover and two shots inside. The magazine’s editors said the images were chosen as a protest against an uproar over similar pictures by artist Bill Henson. The shot of Olympia was taken in 2003 by her mother, Melbourne photographer Polixeni Papapetrou.

I have blurred portions of the photo as not to offend any readers. You can see the unedited version on the Art Monthly site.

3. Playboy (October 1971)

Black and White

While many Playboy covers can be considered controversial, this cover makes the list for breaking the color barrier which features an African-American on the cover for the first time. Darine Stern sits in a Playboy bunny chair on this October 1971 Playboy cover.

2. Golfweek (January, 2008)

Controversy becomes Controversy

Even in today’s more enlightened age Golfweek pushed the envelope a little too far. On Jan. 19, 2008 Golfweek magazine chose the image of noose to illustrate a story about a TV anchor’s racially tinged comments, but the graphically powerful photo of a noose became a controversy all its own. The editor was fired after a public backlash of negative comments.

1. Esquire (April 1968)

Ouch, Standing Up for Beliefs Can Hurt

When it comes to controversial covers it helps to start with a controversial personality and Muhammad Ali was never one to hold his tongue or his opinions. In this April 1968 Esquire magazine cover, “The Greatest Of All Time” is depicted as the martyred Saint Sebastian, patron saint of athletes. St. Sebastian was pierced with arrows for his religious beliefs. Ali is similarly pierced by six arrows, as Esquire defended his refusal to be drafted into the U.S. Army because of his own religious beliefs. He was convicted of violating the Selective Service Act and stripped of his title.

Honorable Mention

TIME (April 14, 1997)

Coming Out…Again

Yep, she is gay and this cover came out and stated as much. Time magazine featured Ellen DeGeneres with the words, “Yep, I’m Gay” in bright red bold letters as part of Ellen’s coming out party, making her television’s first openly gay star. The television character played by DeGeneres on Ellen came out later that month. Coming out twice is quite the feat, and doubly controversial.

http://www.toptenz.net/10-controversial-magazine-covers.php

Top 10 Beautiful Athletes Who Posed for Playboy

Worldwide famous athletes have a long history of posing nude or partially clothed for men’s magazines such as Playboy. Katarina Witt, one of the greatest Olympic figure skaters, was the first female athlete to pose naked for Playboy. The December 1998 issue featuring her nude photographs was the second ever sold-out issue of the magazine.

Some do it for the money and fame, some do it for a good cause, while other athletes do it because they are simply proud of showing their perfectly sculpted bodies. However, there are some Olympians, such as softball sensation Jennie Finch, who turned down Playboy offers  saying that she would “rather be a role model to young girls”.

Whether posing nude is damaging or not for female athletes, is still a hot debate. Are we really “telling women that it’s not enough to be a world-class athlete, that you have also to take off your shirt” as Prof. Charlene Weaving states? By the way, did you know that ancient Olympians competed nude?

10. Amy Acuff

American high-jumper Amy Acuff appeared on the cover and within Playboy’s September 2004 issue. Amy’s photographs were part of the 12-page nude pictorial “Women of the Olympics”. Athletes Zhanna Block, Haley Cope, Ineta Radevica, Fanni Juhasz, Mary Sauer, Katie Vermeulen and Susan Tiedtke-Green were also featured in this famous edition of Playboy.

Amy Acuff competed in four Summer Olympics (1996, 2000, 2004,2008) as a member of USA Track & Field,  finishing as high as fourth during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

9.  Katarina Witt

A remarkable athlete and fascinating person, Katarina Witt is considered to be one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. Her competitive record is truly impressive. The German figure skater won two Olympic gold medals, four World Championships and six consecutive European Championships. There are many great female figure skaters, but what makes Katarina special is the fact that she competed and won for many years. The entire globe was mesmerized by ‘Kati’, as Germany commonly called her.

As mentioned before, Katarina’s nude pictorial was the second ever sold-out issue of Playboy.

8. Anita Marks

Anita Marks played professional football for five years. She quarterbacked two women’s professional football teams: Florida Stingrays and Miami Fury.

Anita was the Playboy Centerfold of the 2002 September edition. According to Anita’s declarations, the reason why she accepted Playboy’s offer was because she wanted to show there is a Women’s Professional Football League and that, yes, “some of the women who play in the league may be appealing to those who read Playboy”. She was trying to demonstrate that it is okay to look attractive, sensual and still play football.

7. Ashley Harkleroad

Bounced out of  Tournoi de Roland-Garros by Serena Williams, American tennis player Ashley Harkleroad claimed a more glamorous coup by appearing on the pages of Playboy, the issue of August 2008. She was the first professional tennis player to appear in Playboy. After turning to professional tennis in 2000, Ashley reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 in 2003. She didn’t win any renowned international tennis tournament, but it seems that her beauty greatly compensated the lack of career success.

6.  Mia St. John

Mia Rosales St. John is considered to be the hottest woman in boxing. Her career is pretty impressive, even if she started boxing late. Mia won in 2005 the International Females Boxers Association Lightweight World Title and the IBA Continental Lightweight Title. She became at the age of 40 the WBC International Female Welterweight Champion.

Mia’s eleven page boxing themed pictorial was released by Playboy on November 1999.

5. Torrie Wilson

Torrie Anne Wilson started her career as a Fitness model and won in 1998 two important titles before becoming a professional wrestler: the Ms. Galaxy Nova Championship and the Ms. Galaxy Florida titles. World Wrestling Entertainment Diva, Torrie Wilson, is a two-time Playboy cover girl. Her first appearance was in May 2003 and the second one in the special Playboy edition of March 2004. This edition featured two of Playboy’s best selling cover models: Torrie Wilson and Sable, another hot professional wrestler.

4. Maria Butyrskaya

Butyrskaya’s figure skating career is another great example of how hard work and intensive training can translate into incredible performances. The Russian figure skater won the 1999 World Championship, she won three-times the European Championship and six-times the Russian National Figure Skating Championship. Maria Butyrskaya finished fourth at the 1998 Winter Olympics and sixth at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

She graced the covers of Playboy magazine in November 1998, shortly after placing fourth at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

3. Amanda Beard

At the age of only 14 years, Amanda Beard won her first Olympic gold medal, becoming the second youngest American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal. She broke twice the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, participated in four Summer Olympics, (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008) and captured a total of seven medals. Amanda stirred quite a bit of controversy, when she unveiled her anti-fur PETA ad at the Beijing Olympic Games. Beard decided to go naked rather than wear fur to help promote PETA’s campaigns. Before posing nude for PETA, Amanda posed nude for Playboy in July 2007 in an effort to change clichés of what it means to be a powerful athlete and woman.

2. Gabrielle Reese

Gabrielle is known just as much for her professional beach volleyball playing as she is for her modeling career. She has been on countless glamorous and sports magazine covers.

Reece was WBVL’s (Women’s Beach Volleyball League) blocks leader in 1993. In the 1994-1995 season, Gabby’s hard work paid off and she was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year title. She played in the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series.

Gabrielle gained national notoriety after being nominated by Elle as “one of the five most beautiful women in the world” in 1989. Moreover, Women’s Sports & Fitness named Gabby one of the ‘20 Most Influential Women in Sports’. Karen Karbo best describes this amazing athlete: “She accomplishes these things by tapping into her aggressive, competitive side without losing sight of her emotional center or her femininity. Gabrielle Reece is an inspiration to all girls and women who want to become the heroes of their own lives.”

It is really hard to be an elite athlete and feminine at the same time. Well, Gabby’s stunning look conveys both attractiveness and athleticism. She accepted to pose nude for Playboy in 2001.

1. Romy Tarangul, Nicole Reinhardt, Katharina Scholz, Petra Niemann

The no. 1 of this Top 10 list follows a four-in-one pattern. Romy, Nicole, Katharina and Petra are the four German Olympic athletes who posed nude in the September 2008 German Playboy. They appeared on different amazing covers.

German sailor, Petra Niemann, brought home a Silver medal at the 2006 Sailing World Championship, she won several national championship titles and participated in three Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008).

Nicole Reinhardt won six Gold medals from a total of eleven at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, including a Gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the women’s K-4 500 m event.

Judoka Romy Tarangul is well respected in the international Judo scene. She competed at her first Olympic in Beijing 2008, won a silver medal in the 2008 European Championships and took the first place at the 2008 Judo World Cup held in Bulgaria.

Field hockey player Katharina-Isabel Scholz was an Under 18 European Champion in 2000 & 2001, and an U21 European Vice-Champion in 2004. Katharina won with her German team the presitgious FIH Champions Trophy in 2006 and the European Hockey Championship held in Manchester.

By Timeea Bianca and articles from toptenz.net

10 Facts You Didn’t Know About the Orgasm

Orgasms are somewhat of an untold mystery. Nowhere is this fact driven home more, than when you start looking up its definition and realize that there are nearly 30 different ways to describe its physical and emotional properties. You probably already know orgasms result in muscular contractions, increase heart rate/blood pressure, are associated with intense pleasure, and can be experienced by both men and women. But what are a few things you may not know:

10. Got Sperm?

When the male orgasms, he ejaculates secretions of sperm, amounting to 10 cubic centimeters (cc) per encounter. It has been calculated that the average male will orgasm enough fluid over his lifetime, to fill a one gallon milk carton, fourteen times.

9. Not Just For Women

While it is common knowledge that women have various g-spot locations, not many are aware that men have these to. Three spots to be exact. There is the frenulum (directly underneath the male appendage), the perineum (patch of skin between the testicles and anus), and the prostate gland.

8. Aunt Flo Can Be a Welcome Visitor

For most men, anytime is a good time for an orgasm, but for women, there are certain times that are better than others. It has been found the best time for her (pleasure wise), is during her “period”. This is unfortunately when many women (and some men) are uncomfortable with having sex. The reason orgasms are better during this time, is the increase in blood circulation around the groin area.

7. Material Girl Goes Wild

One of the big shocks of the 20th century, was that our nations sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, claimed she never achieved orgasm by any of her famous lovers (John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, etc.). It wasn’t until shortly before her death (age 36) she told her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, “Bless you doctor—all the years I had never had one. What wasted years. How can I describe to you, a man, what it feels like to a woman? Think of a light switch with a rheostat control. As you begin to turn it on, the bulb begins to get bright, then brighter, and brighter and finally in a blinding flash is fully lit. It is so good…” Yeah, we know Marilyn!

6. On Your Marks, Get Set, Impregnate

The average speed of ejaculate during a male orgasm is 28 mph, according to the Kinsey Institute. This is in excess of the top speeds of the greatest runners in the world. This is in exact opposite of the slow and steady pace of the sperm, which is only capable of traveling 1½ inches every 15-minutes of intense swimming. The force of orgasm is thought to give them a head start, considering they have a good 3 or 4 inches to go before they reach their final destination.

5. One To Die For

Orgasms aren’t just for the living. If the sacral nerves in the spinal chord are oxygenated and stimulated, then there isn’t any reason why a dead person can’t climax. I still suggest sex only with the living though.

4. Be Loud, Be Proud

Not all women can produce the same orgasm results in their men. In fact, it is the more “vocal” women that achieve the desired results on a consistent basis. Studies show that males orgasm 59 percent of the time while their partner is screaming in ecstasy, and only 2 percent of the time while she’s lying quiet, counting gold sprinkles on the ceiling.

3. Thank You, Sir. My I Have Another?

Many women are capable of multiple orgasms. The most female orgasms recorded by doctors, William Hartman and Marilyn Fithian, were 134 within a single hour. That is a little over two orgasms per minute. Interestingly, it has also been noted that some women are capable of multiple orgasms even during such seemingly mundane activities as stroking their eyebrow, rubbing their knee, thinking (about an orgasm), or brushing their teeth.

2. Natural Selection

Orgasm is an evolutionary function of nature. In 1967, a man named Desmond Morris wrote a controversial book called, The Naked Ape. The book looked at the female orgasm, suggesting its purpose was to not only encourage interest in sexual activity, but promote exhaustion to encourage her to remain in the horizontal position (preventing sperm from leaking out). He also suggested women’s difficulty in attaining orgasm with men, was in fact a form of natural selection. Only the most patient, caring, and imaginative men (considered preferred traits) would have the best chance of eliciting an orgasm, and thus successfully conceiving a child.

1. You’re Never Too Young

Masturbation has been noted in prenatal ultrasound images, especially in males, where their hand appears to be wrapped around their appendage and moving respectively back and forth. It is not uncommon to find young children engaging in various forms of self-stimulation, resulting in a sort of orgasm. This is of course long before their sexual organs are capable of adult function (releasing egg or semen). Considering the great circle of life, it is also believed that an orgasm could be achieved the same in death as in life, by the stimulation of a certain points on the spinal column. This theory has yet to be put to the test however.

By Eric J. Leech, and Article From http://www.toptenz.net/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-orgasm.php