Refers to the legendary French singer, Edith Piaf (b. Dec. 15, 1915-d. Oct. 11, 1963), who was known for her petite appearance; her chaotic personal life; and her powerful, husky, emotive voice.
Born into poverty in Paris as Edith Giovanna Gassion, her mother abandoned her at two months of age, leaving her in the "care" of her alcoholic maternal grandparents. Her father, a noted acrobat, sent his daughter to live with his mother, who was a madam in a Normandy brothel, while he went to war; he reclaimed her when he returned from the war and took her with him on his travels- because of this, she received very little formal education.
Edith allegedly lost her sight for a short time between ages 3 and 7, possibly due to an infection.
At 15, Edith left him to return to Paris, where she earned a living singing in the streets and in seedy cabarets. As luck had it, a proprieter spotted her and launched her career, billing her as La Mome Piaf (Parisian slang for "The Little Sparrow," from which she took her stage name); the name suited her tiny, frail figure. With a voice that wrung out every last drop of emotion, the waif with the heartbreaking voice took France by storm.
As successful as her career, Edith, eager to find love, went through a string of lovers, failing to find the right one. Her only child, Marcelle, died in infancy, and the great love of her life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, was killed in a plane crash. Edith herself was in three car crashes. Edith took to drugs and alcohol to ease her suffering. She would also lose almost all of her fortune and was virtually penniless when she died.
The melancholy, anguished songs that she sung (many of which she composed) reflected many of her losses. Her most well known songs were La Vie en Rose; Milord; Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien; Mon Legionnaire; L'Accordioniste; Mon Dieu; and L'Hymne A L'Amour.
Born into poverty in Paris as Edith Giovanna Gassion, her mother abandoned her at two months of age, leaving her in the "care" of her alcoholic maternal grandparents. Her father, a noted acrobat, sent his daughter to live with his mother, who was a madam in a Normandy brothel, while he went to war; he reclaimed her when he returned from the war and took her with him on his travels- because of this, she received very little formal education.
Edith allegedly lost her sight for a short time between ages 3 and 7, possibly due to an infection.
At 15, Edith left him to return to Paris, where she earned a living singing in the streets and in seedy cabarets. As luck had it, a proprieter spotted her and launched her career, billing her as La Mome Piaf (Parisian slang for "The Little Sparrow," from which she took her stage name); the name suited her tiny, frail figure. With a voice that wrung out every last drop of emotion, the waif with the heartbreaking voice took France by storm.
As successful as her career, Edith, eager to find love, went through a string of lovers, failing to find the right one. Her only child, Marcelle, died in infancy, and the great love of her life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, was killed in a plane crash. Edith herself was in three car crashes. Edith took to drugs and alcohol to ease her suffering. She would also lose almost all of her fortune and was virtually penniless when she died.
The melancholy, anguished songs that she sung (many of which she composed) reflected many of her losses. Her most well known songs were La Vie en Rose; Milord; Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien; Mon Legionnaire; L'Accordioniste; Mon Dieu; and L'Hymne A L'Amour.
Edith Piaf had a terrible life... but she had a wonderful one too, for she loved life all the same. Her stellar success contrasts with her tragic personal life, as well as her tiny, black-clad figure with the resonating power of her voice.
by Lorelili September 09, 2005
The Motion Picture Production Code, also known as the "Hays Code" for Hollywood's chief censor at the time, William Hays, was the set of guidelines that governed how United States motion pictures were produced from 1935 to 1968. This system dictated what was acceptable for films.
Before 1935, Hollywood and the films that it produced were pretty raunchy and did not shy from some the grittier aspects of life (racism, references to sex, stereotypical depictions of gay men, drinking, drug use, etc) and several off-screen scandals sent the studios to seek someone to rehabilitate Hollywood's image, eventually picking the rat-faced Presbyterian elder Will H. Hays in 1922. His Code was rarely taken seriously by directors and actors, but when the Catholic Church and religious zealots in general threatened massive boycotts in the early 1930s, filmmakers were forced to play by the rules, despite their resentment of this censorship and of Hays and Joseph Breen, the all-powerful head of the Production Code.
It would not be until 1968 that the Hays Code, which was by then undermined by television and terribly weak, was abandoned in favor of the MPAA rating system.
Before 1935, Hollywood and the films that it produced were pretty raunchy and did not shy from some the grittier aspects of life (racism, references to sex, stereotypical depictions of gay men, drinking, drug use, etc) and several off-screen scandals sent the studios to seek someone to rehabilitate Hollywood's image, eventually picking the rat-faced Presbyterian elder Will H. Hays in 1922. His Code was rarely taken seriously by directors and actors, but when the Catholic Church and religious zealots in general threatened massive boycotts in the early 1930s, filmmakers were forced to play by the rules, despite their resentment of this censorship and of Hays and Joseph Breen, the all-powerful head of the Production Code.
It would not be until 1968 that the Hays Code, which was by then undermined by television and terribly weak, was abandoned in favor of the MPAA rating system.
The Hays Code forbade the following in films:
Open-mouthed kissing
Lustful embraces
"Sexual perversion" (which lumped the LGBT community and actual perverts together)
Sexual slavery or prostitution
Miscegenation (keeping with the racism of the time)
Seduction (wenchers seducing ingenues, temptresses seducing the boy next door, seduction of any kind)
Rape
Abortion
Nudity (no scenes of childbirth, sexual hygiene, nothing)
Obscenity
Profanity
no portrayal of political, legal, or religious figures as villains or buffoons; no sympathy afforded to criminals, regardless of circumstances; no explicit violence (crime, operations, or cruelty); no ethnic jokes or religious jokes; no depictions of sexuality, and especially if it's not a heterosexual married couple; no drug related material; no cursing or foul language... everything had to be squeaky-clean and family-friendly, where heroes always win and goodness conquers all, generally ignoring the complications of reality.
Gays and lesbians were portrayed as unflatteringly stereotypeed as bulldyke lotharios and asexual sissies before the Hays Code; after the Code, they were harder to find and usually made an appearance as cold-blooded villains or self-loathing wretches.
Open-mouthed kissing
Lustful embraces
"Sexual perversion" (which lumped the LGBT community and actual perverts together)
Sexual slavery or prostitution
Miscegenation (keeping with the racism of the time)
Seduction (wenchers seducing ingenues, temptresses seducing the boy next door, seduction of any kind)
Rape
Abortion
Nudity (no scenes of childbirth, sexual hygiene, nothing)
Obscenity
Profanity
no portrayal of political, legal, or religious figures as villains or buffoons; no sympathy afforded to criminals, regardless of circumstances; no explicit violence (crime, operations, or cruelty); no ethnic jokes or religious jokes; no depictions of sexuality, and especially if it's not a heterosexual married couple; no drug related material; no cursing or foul language... everything had to be squeaky-clean and family-friendly, where heroes always win and goodness conquers all, generally ignoring the complications of reality.
Gays and lesbians were portrayed as unflatteringly stereotypeed as bulldyke lotharios and asexual sissies before the Hays Code; after the Code, they were harder to find and usually made an appearance as cold-blooded villains or self-loathing wretches.
by Lorelili October 09, 2011
1. Morally depraved, dissolute, bad, vicious, wicked or evil. Unscrupulous, corrupt. A reprobate.
2. Morally wrong, unethical.
Often confused with amoral, unmoral, and nonmoral, of which the first is the most common; immoral simply means bad and defiant of the moral principles of society while amoral means lacking in or indifferent to any morals, neither moral or immoral (neither good or bad).
2. Morally wrong, unethical.
Often confused with amoral, unmoral, and nonmoral, of which the first is the most common; immoral simply means bad and defiant of the moral principles of society while amoral means lacking in or indifferent to any morals, neither moral or immoral (neither good or bad).
The necktie psychopath is as immoral as they come, cunningly charming and manipulating their way to the top, indifferent to who they hurt along the way.
Josef Mengele led experiments that led to greater medical understanding... but were stridently immoral and cruel.
Josef Mengele led experiments that led to greater medical understanding... but were stridently immoral and cruel.
by Lorelili August 14, 2011
And adjective relating to behavior that is wrong, unethical; disregard for the conscience or moral compass.
Caligula delighted in the immoral pleasures of incest with his sisters, torture and murder of prisoners and slaves, the rapes of the wives and daughters of wealthy Romans, desecration of sacred buildings, and generally violating the rights of his people.
Israel, through tampering with information and manipulating the public, has oppressed the Palestinians and made their lives miserable for the sake of a "Jewish homeland"; such a policy sounds perversely immoral and counterproductive.
Israel, through tampering with information and manipulating the public, has oppressed the Palestinians and made their lives miserable for the sake of a "Jewish homeland"; such a policy sounds perversely immoral and counterproductive.
by Lorelili June 08, 2011
Of an age suitable for marriage, especially used to refer to a woman at the beginning of her childbearing years; nubile.
For most of recorded history in Asia, Africa, and Europe, men could be considered marriageable at 14 years and women at 12 years, although usually both parties had to be physically mature enough to consummate the marriage.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
by Lorelili October 26, 2013
A segment of the wagon train headed to California in 1846. They had been enticed by young promoter Lansford W. Hastings, who advertised a new and faster route to California (which he only tested once with a horse; it turned out not only more dangerous but 125 miles longer than the charted route).
The twenty wagons of the Donner Party left the regular route in early July and headed for Fort Bridger, the first stop on the shortcut. Beginning on the shortcut in late July, they at first made good time but soon found that the trail over the Wasatch Mountains was almost impassible. Instead of only a week, the trip over the steep Wasatch to the Great Salt Lake took a whole month. Next, the journey over the Great Salt Desert took nearly six days instead of two. The shortcut rejoined the established trail two months after they had embarked on it. By late October, they reached the Sierras but an early winter storm blocked the pass. The travelers were trapped, only 150 miles from the safety of Sutter's Fort.
Trapped in the mountains from November until April, two thirds of the men died as did a third of the women and children. Desperation drove most of the Donner Party to eat the dead. A group of fifteen of the strongest immigrants (nine men, five women, and a boy of twelve) and two Indian guides set off to find help in mid-December, but when they found help in mid-January only two of the men (both married with children) were alive; all five women survived.
The twenty wagons of the Donner Party left the regular route in early July and headed for Fort Bridger, the first stop on the shortcut. Beginning on the shortcut in late July, they at first made good time but soon found that the trail over the Wasatch Mountains was almost impassible. Instead of only a week, the trip over the steep Wasatch to the Great Salt Lake took a whole month. Next, the journey over the Great Salt Desert took nearly six days instead of two. The shortcut rejoined the established trail two months after they had embarked on it. By late October, they reached the Sierras but an early winter storm blocked the pass. The travelers were trapped, only 150 miles from the safety of Sutter's Fort.
Trapped in the mountains from November until April, two thirds of the men died as did a third of the women and children. Desperation drove most of the Donner Party to eat the dead. A group of fifteen of the strongest immigrants (nine men, five women, and a boy of twelve) and two Indian guides set off to find help in mid-December, but when they found help in mid-January only two of the men (both married with children) were alive; all five women survived.
"Anguish and dismay now filled all hearts. Husbands bowed their heads, appalled at the situation of their families. They cursed Hastings for his false promises and broken pledge at Fort Bridger... Mothers in tearless agony clasped their children to their bosoms with the old, old cry, 'Father, Thy will, not mine, be done.' It was plain that try as we might, we could not get back to Fort Bridger. We must proceed, regardless of the fearful outlook." -Eliza Donner (1843-1922)
The third rescue party captured perhaps the most poignant scene of the Donner Party.
"The picture of distress... They had consumed two children of Jacob Donner. Mrs. Graves’s body was lying there with almost all the flesh cut away from her arms and limbs... Her little daughter, about 13 months old, sat at her side, one arm upon the body of her mangled mother, sobbing bitterly, crying, 'Ma! Ma! Ma!'"
"I have not wrote you half of the trouble we’ve had, but I have wrote you enough to let you know what trouble is. But thank God, we are the only family that did not eat human flesh. We have left everything, but I don’t care for that. We have got through with our lives. Don’t let this letter dishearten anybody. Remember, never take no cutoffs (shortcuts) and hurry along as fast as you can." -Virginia Reed (1833-1921)
The third rescue party captured perhaps the most poignant scene of the Donner Party.
"The picture of distress... They had consumed two children of Jacob Donner. Mrs. Graves’s body was lying there with almost all the flesh cut away from her arms and limbs... Her little daughter, about 13 months old, sat at her side, one arm upon the body of her mangled mother, sobbing bitterly, crying, 'Ma! Ma! Ma!'"
"I have not wrote you half of the trouble we’ve had, but I have wrote you enough to let you know what trouble is. But thank God, we are the only family that did not eat human flesh. We have left everything, but I don’t care for that. We have got through with our lives. Don’t let this letter dishearten anybody. Remember, never take no cutoffs (shortcuts) and hurry along as fast as you can." -Virginia Reed (1833-1921)
by Lorelili December 18, 2011
Originally meant joyful, vibrant, and full of life.
Now it's used by ignorant (and often prejudiced) people to describe something that they don't like. It's especially common among teenage boys, who use it to look cool or to "hide" their insecurity about gay people.
Gay is now slang for a homosexual person, that is, somebody who is attracted romantically and sexually to people of their own sex.
Gay men are known as gays, while gay women are known as lesbians. And some bisexuals also identify as gay.
Up to 1 in every 10 adults is predominantly gay; everybody is somewhere in between the two extremes of heterosexual and homosexual.
Gay is only sometimes, but not always:
-Living with AIDS.
-Living a promiscuous life.
-Acting very much like the opposite gender (very masculine women and very feminine men.)(When people think of these stereotypes, they're usually thinking about transsexual people or transgender people instead. Most of these people are straight and just happen to identify as the opposite gender.)
-All about sex.
Being gay is not an illness or a perversion; it's a totally normal variation of human sexuality and it's been around for countless ages, not to mention existing in many different species of animals. In fact, heterosexuals could learn some things from gays, bisexuals, transgender people, pansexuals, asexuals, and other queer people... if they would only put their prejudice aside and look at them as people.
Gay men don't take any women from the straight men looking for a lady and vice versa with lesbians and straight women... and lesbians (and sometimes gay men) provide something exciting for the straight men and women to watch... same-sex kisses.
Gays are perfectly normal people. Their only "difference" is that they (romantically) love somebody of their own sex. Aside from the cruel prejudice that they face because of who they love, they usually are able to live wonderfully full, happy lives.
Often, gays have reclamed old derogatory terms for them as terms of affection: fag and queen for the men, dyke for the women, queer for anyone from the non-heterosexual community, etc... although they can still be used as insults by the bigoted.
Gays sometimes do imitate heterosexual gender roles (butch and femme) in their marriages (in every other way if not legal), but most do not; plenty of femmes pair up with other femmes, butches with other butches, androgyny and so forth. It's often remarkable how much their unions resemble heterosexual unions.
A man can be highly flamboyant and act and dress quite feminine, but sleeping with men is the last thing on this mind. Likewise, a man can be incredibly butch and swaggering, and yet he likes to sleep with men; being gay has to do with who you are attracted to sexually, not how masculine or how feminine you are.
Gay is not all about sex. Most gays are happy doing other things than sex. And most gays loathe the idea of molesting a child, contrary to the beliefs of ignorant people. (Almost all pedophiles are heterosexual)
And with marriage ending in so many divorces, then those in favor of marriage should be happy that there are people who want to get married and are willing to fight for that right. Gays have had to fight so much for the basic rights that straights take for granted.
Now it's used by ignorant (and often prejudiced) people to describe something that they don't like. It's especially common among teenage boys, who use it to look cool or to "hide" their insecurity about gay people.
Gay is now slang for a homosexual person, that is, somebody who is attracted romantically and sexually to people of their own sex.
Gay men are known as gays, while gay women are known as lesbians. And some bisexuals also identify as gay.
Up to 1 in every 10 adults is predominantly gay; everybody is somewhere in between the two extremes of heterosexual and homosexual.
Gay is only sometimes, but not always:
-Living with AIDS.
-Living a promiscuous life.
-Acting very much like the opposite gender (very masculine women and very feminine men.)(When people think of these stereotypes, they're usually thinking about transsexual people or transgender people instead. Most of these people are straight and just happen to identify as the opposite gender.)
-All about sex.
Being gay is not an illness or a perversion; it's a totally normal variation of human sexuality and it's been around for countless ages, not to mention existing in many different species of animals. In fact, heterosexuals could learn some things from gays, bisexuals, transgender people, pansexuals, asexuals, and other queer people... if they would only put their prejudice aside and look at them as people.
Gay men don't take any women from the straight men looking for a lady and vice versa with lesbians and straight women... and lesbians (and sometimes gay men) provide something exciting for the straight men and women to watch... same-sex kisses.
Gays are perfectly normal people. Their only "difference" is that they (romantically) love somebody of their own sex. Aside from the cruel prejudice that they face because of who they love, they usually are able to live wonderfully full, happy lives.
Often, gays have reclamed old derogatory terms for them as terms of affection: fag and queen for the men, dyke for the women, queer for anyone from the non-heterosexual community, etc... although they can still be used as insults by the bigoted.
Gays sometimes do imitate heterosexual gender roles (butch and femme) in their marriages (in every other way if not legal), but most do not; plenty of femmes pair up with other femmes, butches with other butches, androgyny and so forth. It's often remarkable how much their unions resemble heterosexual unions.
A man can be highly flamboyant and act and dress quite feminine, but sleeping with men is the last thing on this mind. Likewise, a man can be incredibly butch and swaggering, and yet he likes to sleep with men; being gay has to do with who you are attracted to sexually, not how masculine or how feminine you are.
Gay is not all about sex. Most gays are happy doing other things than sex. And most gays loathe the idea of molesting a child, contrary to the beliefs of ignorant people. (Almost all pedophiles are heterosexual)
And with marriage ending in so many divorces, then those in favor of marriage should be happy that there are people who want to get married and are willing to fight for that right. Gays have had to fight so much for the basic rights that straights take for granted.
-"Those flowers are so lovely in here! So bright and gay! Don't you think so?"
-"Yes! Quite nice to look at!"
-"Aw man, this computer is being so gay! It won't let me print!"
*Smack!*
-"Hey, what was that for?!"
-"You are being so straight!"
-"Scott... I have to tell you something very important...
-"What is it, Colin?"
-"I- I'm gay."
-"That makes two of us."
-"You are?!... Then are you comfortable knowing...?"
-"Knowing what?"
-"That I love you..."
-...
-"Scott?"
-...
-"I- I'll leave you alone if you want me to...!"
-"No, stay! Joe..."
-"Yeah?"
-..."C'mere!"
-"Yes! Quite nice to look at!"
-"Aw man, this computer is being so gay! It won't let me print!"
*Smack!*
-"Hey, what was that for?!"
-"You are being so straight!"
-"Scott... I have to tell you something very important...
-"What is it, Colin?"
-"I- I'm gay."
-"That makes two of us."
-"You are?!... Then are you comfortable knowing...?"
-"Knowing what?"
-"That I love you..."
-...
-"Scott?"
-...
-"I- I'll leave you alone if you want me to...!"
-"No, stay! Joe..."
-"Yeah?"
-..."C'mere!"
by Lorelili March 24, 2005