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
The act of performing sexual acts for money or other goods. Most prostitutes (also known as "whores", "harlots", "trollops", "hookers", or "strumpets") are women, although some men and (unfortunately) children are also in the trade.
This largely illegal profession is one of the oldest markets in the world and, despite efforts, will probably exist for as long as humans (and other animals) exist. Still, while prostitution is argued to be the "world's oldest profession", child abuse is just as old and nobody justifies that.
Contrary to the glamor that the media gives to the image of prostitution (such as films like "Pretty Woman"), there is hardly anything at all glamorous about the trade.
Most women who have become prostitutes were raped as children, came from unstable or abusive homes, suffer from addiction, any number of traumas, and often ended up as runaways before entering the sex trade. Low self-esteem is also a major risk factor, whether or not the girls come from poor familes.
Other women have been tricked or outright forced into prostitution; pimps, who can easily be described as men who have no respect for women and care only about their own gain, are the ones who recruit girls as young as twelve to work for them. The pimp usually lures the young, impressionable runaway by acting as a boyfriend or a father-figure to her, offering support to her... and training her like a dog all the while; once she's under his power, she has little chance to escape.
Even those who willingly turn to selling themselves do so out of desperation to survive rather than because they like the work. Mothers (especially poor, unmarried ones) who have fallen on hard times and are desperate to support their children have also ended up in the trade (like Fantine from "Les Miserables").
The idea of the "happy hooker", who likes her work, comes from the fact that the women usually are putting on an act; it helps them to attract buyers if they're smiling and happy instead of crying and upset. Plus, to quote "Moulin Rouge", they're "paid to make men believe what they want to believe".
Prostitutes range from the high-end call girls and courtesans in the legal brothels with rich clients to the homeless, drug-addicted streetwalkers who prowl the streets and the truck stops at night, shivering in their skimpy clothes, hoping that they will survive the night. The women are often looked on with disdain, disrespected, harassed and attacked, and treated as if they weren't even human. By and large, most prostitutes do not want to be prostitutes.
This largely illegal profession is one of the oldest markets in the world and, despite efforts, will probably exist for as long as humans (and other animals) exist. Still, while prostitution is argued to be the "world's oldest profession", child abuse is just as old and nobody justifies that.
Contrary to the glamor that the media gives to the image of prostitution (such as films like "Pretty Woman"), there is hardly anything at all glamorous about the trade.
Most women who have become prostitutes were raped as children, came from unstable or abusive homes, suffer from addiction, any number of traumas, and often ended up as runaways before entering the sex trade. Low self-esteem is also a major risk factor, whether or not the girls come from poor familes.
Other women have been tricked or outright forced into prostitution; pimps, who can easily be described as men who have no respect for women and care only about their own gain, are the ones who recruit girls as young as twelve to work for them. The pimp usually lures the young, impressionable runaway by acting as a boyfriend or a father-figure to her, offering support to her... and training her like a dog all the while; once she's under his power, she has little chance to escape.
Even those who willingly turn to selling themselves do so out of desperation to survive rather than because they like the work. Mothers (especially poor, unmarried ones) who have fallen on hard times and are desperate to support their children have also ended up in the trade (like Fantine from "Les Miserables").
The idea of the "happy hooker", who likes her work, comes from the fact that the women usually are putting on an act; it helps them to attract buyers if they're smiling and happy instead of crying and upset. Plus, to quote "Moulin Rouge", they're "paid to make men believe what they want to believe".
Prostitutes range from the high-end call girls and courtesans in the legal brothels with rich clients to the homeless, drug-addicted streetwalkers who prowl the streets and the truck stops at night, shivering in their skimpy clothes, hoping that they will survive the night. The women are often looked on with disdain, disrespected, harassed and attacked, and treated as if they weren't even human. By and large, most prostitutes do not want to be prostitutes.
The world of prostitution is very dangerous; by and large, the practice is illegal in most of the world and the women are seen as criminals and thus their rights are pretty much forfeit.
The pimps and human trafficking rings have full power over the women; the pimps usually take all of the money that the women earn (beating the tar out of them if they make less than the pimps demanded or simply from the littlest act of defiance), force addiction onto them to keep them dependant on the pimps, and generally degrade and demean the women without compassion or concern for their well-being.
The risk and spread of STDs among streetwalkers is almost a nuisance compared to the dangers of the streets.
As criminals themselves, protitutes (especially streetwalkers) are less likely to be looked after by the police than the law-abiding; if she is harassed, attacked, raped, or threatened in any way, the woman in question usually cannot go to the police for help or she'll be arrested; if her pimp is arrested instead and she testifies against him, her life and the life of her family could be at risk.
The women must be on the defense all the time against their abusive pimps, corrupt cops, and the clients who use them; a major cause of death for prostitutes is murder. The woman will climb into the cars of clients (known as Johns) as disceetly as possible to avoid trouble from the police and go with these strangers to secluded places where they won't be interrupted, making her easy prey for serial killers. The disappearance of a prostitute may go unnoticed for weeks before anyone says anything.
Jack the Ripper, the Green River Killer, and Arthur Shawcross were just a few serial killers who targeted prostitutes.
How, pray tell, is it "hard out here for a pimp"? For a man who disrespects and actively exploits and destroys women?
Interstingly, in Sweden, it is legal for the women to sell themselves but it is illegal to buy from them; the punishment goes to those who deserve it: the pimps, traffickers, and Johns. The women themselves have legal protection, rehabilitation, and escape routes.
At the end of the day, prostitutes are human; they were human long before they were used and disrespected and will still be human.
The pimps and human trafficking rings have full power over the women; the pimps usually take all of the money that the women earn (beating the tar out of them if they make less than the pimps demanded or simply from the littlest act of defiance), force addiction onto them to keep them dependant on the pimps, and generally degrade and demean the women without compassion or concern for their well-being.
The risk and spread of STDs among streetwalkers is almost a nuisance compared to the dangers of the streets.
As criminals themselves, protitutes (especially streetwalkers) are less likely to be looked after by the police than the law-abiding; if she is harassed, attacked, raped, or threatened in any way, the woman in question usually cannot go to the police for help or she'll be arrested; if her pimp is arrested instead and she testifies against him, her life and the life of her family could be at risk.
The women must be on the defense all the time against their abusive pimps, corrupt cops, and the clients who use them; a major cause of death for prostitutes is murder. The woman will climb into the cars of clients (known as Johns) as disceetly as possible to avoid trouble from the police and go with these strangers to secluded places where they won't be interrupted, making her easy prey for serial killers. The disappearance of a prostitute may go unnoticed for weeks before anyone says anything.
Jack the Ripper, the Green River Killer, and Arthur Shawcross were just a few serial killers who targeted prostitutes.
How, pray tell, is it "hard out here for a pimp"? For a man who disrespects and actively exploits and destroys women?
Interstingly, in Sweden, it is legal for the women to sell themselves but it is illegal to buy from them; the punishment goes to those who deserve it: the pimps, traffickers, and Johns. The women themselves have legal protection, rehabilitation, and escape routes.
At the end of the day, prostitutes are human; they were human long before they were used and disrespected and will still be human.
by Lorelili May 22, 2009
Something that is very common on the internet: a way to offend somebody, by angering or hurting them.
The insult "fuck you!" is odd, since fucking is a pleasurable activity. "Rape you" would make more sense. And "damn you", despite that it is considered milder, is actually worse since it is somebody's condemning that you are wishing.
"Whore" and "slut" merely refer to people who sleep around frequently, which is not a bad thing in itself, provided that it is consensual and protected. "Wart", "pimple", and the like, would make better insults since they are truly unwanted things.
The insult "fuck you!" is odd, since fucking is a pleasurable activity. "Rape you" would make more sense. And "damn you", despite that it is considered milder, is actually worse since it is somebody's condemning that you are wishing.
"Whore" and "slut" merely refer to people who sleep around frequently, which is not a bad thing in itself, provided that it is consensual and protected. "Wart", "pimple", and the like, would make better insults since they are truly unwanted things.
"Taigh na Galla ort!" Scottish Gaelic, literally meaning "House of the Bitch on you!" which equates to "Damn/fuck you!"
Seriously, the insult world in English is weird; "fuck you!" when fucking is a pleasurable act.
"Go mbeadh cosa gloine fút agus go mbrise an ghloine" Irish Gaelic, meaning "May you have glass legs and may the glass break"
"Tuiteam gun èirigh ort." ("May you fall without rising.")
"'S e as a' bhaile nam guirean a tha thu!" ("It's from the town of the pustules that you are!")
"'S e mìr na caca a th'annad!" ("It's a piece of shit that you are!")
"George Bush!"
"Dick Cheney!"
"Pat Robertson!"
"Michael Savage!"
"Fred Phelps!"
"Westborough Baptist Church!"
"Rush Limbaugh!"
"Anita Bryant!"
"Jerry Falwell!"
"Ann Coulter!"
"Pauline Hanson!"
"Sean Hannity!"
"Jesse Helms!"
"Robert Mugabe!"
"Moral Majority!"
"Buju Banton!"
"Conservative!"
"Sizzla!"
"Hoku!"
They make more sense; when really thought about, most English insults (or at least their order from lightest to most offensive) don't seem to make much sense.
Seriously, the insult world in English is weird; "fuck you!" when fucking is a pleasurable act.
"Go mbeadh cosa gloine fút agus go mbrise an ghloine" Irish Gaelic, meaning "May you have glass legs and may the glass break"
"Tuiteam gun èirigh ort." ("May you fall without rising.")
"'S e as a' bhaile nam guirean a tha thu!" ("It's from the town of the pustules that you are!")
"'S e mìr na caca a th'annad!" ("It's a piece of shit that you are!")
"George Bush!"
"Dick Cheney!"
"Pat Robertson!"
"Michael Savage!"
"Fred Phelps!"
"Westborough Baptist Church!"
"Rush Limbaugh!"
"Anita Bryant!"
"Jerry Falwell!"
"Ann Coulter!"
"Pauline Hanson!"
"Sean Hannity!"
"Jesse Helms!"
"Robert Mugabe!"
"Moral Majority!"
"Buju Banton!"
"Conservative!"
"Sizzla!"
"Hoku!"
They make more sense; when really thought about, most English insults (or at least their order from lightest to most offensive) don't seem to make much sense.
by Lorelili April 01, 2006
Scottish Gaelic term referring to a slapper, a total slut. Not to be confused with "leòdag", which simply means "a flirt".
Chan dh'atharraich a smadan a-chaoidh leòghann-craoibhe agus chan dh'atharraich leodag mar thu a dòigh le fir a-chaoidh!
(A leopard never changes its spots and a slapper like you never changes her way with men!)
(A leopard never changes its spots and a slapper like you never changes her way with men!)
by Lorelili February 23, 2006
Kel-tik
Mainly relating to the culture, language, and society of the Celts. "Celt" apparantly came from the Greek term for "Secret People", since little was known of them, and still not very much is. Genereally known to be a tall race of people, their coloring ranged from dark-eyed and dark-haired to blue-eyed and fair-haired.
Having conquered most of Europe, and even terrorizing Rome itself at one point, this viscious race was highly advanced. Ironmaking, womyn having the same status of men, going nude into battle to discomfort the enemies.
Still, for all of their adavancements, their languages had become so varied that they could no longer understand each other. When the German peoples attacked and defeated Rome, they also defeated the Celts...
Only In Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, France do the Celts survive.
Mainly relating to the culture, language, and society of the Celts. "Celt" apparantly came from the Greek term for "Secret People", since little was known of them, and still not very much is. Genereally known to be a tall race of people, their coloring ranged from dark-eyed and dark-haired to blue-eyed and fair-haired.
Having conquered most of Europe, and even terrorizing Rome itself at one point, this viscious race was highly advanced. Ironmaking, womyn having the same status of men, going nude into battle to discomfort the enemies.
Still, for all of their adavancements, their languages had become so varied that they could no longer understand each other. When the German peoples attacked and defeated Rome, they also defeated the Celts...
Only In Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, France do the Celts survive.
O chionn fhada, chaill sinn ar daoine, ach tha mi a' faireachdainn an teine nam Gàidheil. Rathadeigin, mairidh mo chànan beò... 's e linn òrdha a bha sin.
by Lorelili October 23, 2004
Sarah Good was called to testify. The irritable beggar rarely went to church and often muttered under her breath when she was denied food or shelter; she was an easy target for accusations of witchcraft.
by Lorelili August 05, 2011