Are Sexual Harassment Laws Being Taken Too Far???

First-Grader Suspended for Singing 'I'm Sexy and I Know It'

By Ashley Jennings | ABC News

• First-Grader Suspended for Singing …

A Colorado elementary school student was suspended from school this week for singing a lyric from a popular LMFAO song, "I'm sexy and I know it."

Those six little words from the Los Angeles rap-influenced duo earned first-grader D'Avonte Meadows a three day dismissal from Sable Elementary in Aurora, Colo.

"I only just said the song," Meadows told Denver's ABC7 News. "I'm sexy and I know it."

School officials said D'Avonte was suspended for sexual harassment after he sang and the line  to a female classmate who was standing in a lunch line. Unfortunately,  it wasn't the first time he'd serenaded this girl with this particular lyric.

Aurora School District's Media Relations Specialist  Paula Hans, said in a statement:

"Aurora Public Schools is committed to providing equitable learning for all students. We have policies and protocol in place to prevent any disruption to the learning environment. Due to privacy laws, we are unable to discuss appropriate disciplinary consequences about a specific student."

District policy, as outlined in the student handbook, states that sexual harassment "must have negative effects on the learning or work of others."

D'Avonte's mother, Stephanie Meadows, told ABC7  News that her son had had disciplinary problems before this week's infraction.  Last month, she said, he was sent to the principal's office for singing  the same song  to the same girl.

This time, however, he was "shaking his booty" near the girl's face, Meadows told ABC7 News.

"I'm going to definitely have to sit with him and see if he understands exactly what the song means," Meadows told ABC7 News.

But Meadows still doesn't believe her son's recent actions justify  suspension for sexual harassment.

"I could understand if he was fondling her, looking up her skirt, trying to look in her shirt. That, to me, is sexual harassment," Meadows told ABC7 News. "I'm just, I'm floored. They're going to look at him like he's a pervert. And it's like, that's not fair to him."

5 Mind-Bending Facts About Dreams

By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor | LiveScience.com – Sat, Apr 28, 2012

• 

When your head hits the pillow, for many it's lights out for the conscious part of you. But the cells firing in your brain are very much awake, sparking enough energy to produce the sometimes vivid and sometimes downright haunted dreams that take place during the rapid-eye-movement stage of your sleep.

Why do some people have nightmares while others really spend their nights in bliss? Like sleep, dreams are mysterious phenomena. But as scientists are able to probe deeper into our minds, they are finding some of those answers.

Here's some of what we know about what goes on in dreamland.
1. Violent dreams can be a warning sign

As if nightmares weren't bad enough, a rare sleep disorder — called REM sleep behavior disorder — causes people to act out their dreams, sometimes with violent thrashes, kicks and screams. Such violent dreams may be an early sign of brain disorders down the line, including Parkinson's disease and dementia, according to research published online July 28, 2010, in the journal Neurology. The results suggest the incipient stages of these neurodegenerative disorders might begin decades before a person, or doctor, knows it.

2. Night owls have more nightmares
Staying up late has its perks, but whimsical dreaming is not one of them. Research published in 2011 in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythms, revealed that night owls are more likely than their early-bird counterparts to experience nightmares.
In the study 264 university students rated how often they experienced nightmares on a scale from 0 to 4, never to always, respectively. The stay-up-late types scored, on average, a 2.10, compared with the morning types who averaged a 1.23. The researchers said the difference was a significant one, however, they aren’t sure what's causing a link between sleep habits and nightmares. Among their ideas is the stress hormone cortisol, which peaks in the morning right before we wake up, a time when people are more prone to be in REM, or dream, sleep. If you’re still sleeping at that time, the cortisol rise could trigger vivid dreams or nightmares, the researchers speculate. [Top 10 Spooky Sleep Disorders]

3. Men dream about sex
As in their wake hours, men also dream about sex more than women do. And comparing notes in the morning may not be a turn-on for either guys or gals, as women are more likely to have experienced nightmares, suggests doctoral research reported in 2009 by psychologist Jennie Parker of the University of the West of England.
She found women's dreams/nightmares could be grouped into three categories: fearful dreams (being chased or having their life threatened); dreams involving the loss of a loved one; or confused dreams.

4. You can control your dreams
If you're interested in lucid dreaming, you may want to take up video gaming. The link? Both represent alternate realities, said Jayne Gackenbach, a psychologist at Grant MacEwan University in Canada.
"If you're spending hours a day in a virtual reality, if nothing else it's practice," Gackenbach told LiveScience in 2010. "Gamers are used to controlling their game environments, so that can translate into dreams." Her past research has shown that people who frequently play video games are more likely than non-gamers to have lucid dreams where they view themselves from outside their bodies; they were also better able to influence their dream worlds, as if controlling a video-game character.
That level of control may also help gamers turn a bloodcurdling nightmare into a carefree dream, she found in a 2008 study. This ability could help war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Gackenbach reasoned.

5. Why we dream

Scientists have long wondered why we dream, with answers ranging from Sigmund Freud's idea that dreams fulfill our wishes to the speculation that these wistful journeys are just a side effect of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Turns out, at least part of the reason may be critical thinking, suggests Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett who presented her theory in 2010 at the Association for Psychological Science meeting in Boston.

Her research revealed that our slumbering hours may help us solve puzzles that have plagued us during daylight hours. The visual and often illogical aspects of dreams make them perfect for the out-of-the-box thinking that is necessary to solve some problems, she speculates.

So while dreams may have originally evolved for another purpose, they have likely been refined over time for multiple tasks, including helping the brain reboot and helping us solve problems, she said.

Should Love Cost a Thing?

Here's What a Cheap Date Costs Around the World

By Julie Zeveloff | Business Insider – Thu, Apr 26, 2012 4:04 PM EDT

Dating isn't cheap. But in some places, a night out on the town is a lot more expensive than in others.

Deutsche Bank has a new report looking at prices around the world, which include what they call a "cheap date" index...though we'd argue that $183 for a movie, pizza, and a couple of beers in New York City is anything but cheap.

TOKYO: A date will set you back $234.77

 
Gustty/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $111.52
2 movie tickets: $42.08
Cab ride (3 km): $14.15 

SYDNEY: A date will set you back $216.22
Delivery of a dozen roses: $95.40
2 movie tickets: $63.72
Cab ride (3 km): $12.11

LONDON: A date will set you back $207.01

Unlisted Sightings/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $111.52
2 movie tickets: $32.78
Cab ride (3 km): $13.12

MELBOURNE: A date will set you back $190.35

Delivery of a dozen roses: $95.40
2 movie tickets: $39.96
Cab ride (3 km): $11.05

NEW YORK CITY: A date will set you back $183.01

Michelle.Hayes/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $111.52
2 movie tickets: $24.00
Cab ride (3 km): $9.50

SAN FRANCISCO: A date will set you back $178.04

Delivery of a dozen roses: $111.52
2 movie tickets: $21.00
Cab ride (3 km): $9.26

TORONTO: A date will set you back $177.68

LWY/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $95.40
2 movie tickets: $27.24
Cab ride (3 km): $10.94

MOSCOW: A date will set you back $174.37

Delivery of a dozen roses: $119.58
2 movie tickets: $13.12
Cab ride (3 km): $5.07

[Related: Dude, Pass the Exfoliator]

WELLINGTON: A date will set you back $171.76

Dazzling Expresso/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $95.40
2 movie tickets: $30.30
Cab ride (3 km): $9.19

CHICAGO: A date will set you back $169.73

Delivery of a dozen roses: $111.52
2 movie tickets: $30.00
Cab ride (3 km): $5.61

PARIS: A date will set you back $167.76

Allen Skyy/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $77.93
2 movie tickets: $24.88
Cab ride (3 km): $11.60

AUKLAND: A date will set you back $165.72

Delivery of a dozen roses: $95.40
2 movie tickets: $10.52
Cab ride (3 km): $10.80

BERLIN: A date will set you back $165.52

KatJaTo/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $75.24
2 movie tickets: $24.18
Cab ride (3 km): $13.77

FRANKFURT: A date will set you back $156.00

Delivery of a dozen roses: 75/24
2 movie tickets: $21.50
Cab ride (3 km): $10.35

SAO PAULO: A date will set you back $151.95

sasgbahai/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $63.15
2 movie tickets: $17.26
Cab ride (3 km): $6.80

SINGAPORE: A date will set you back $137.66

Delivery of a dozen roses: $79.27
2 movie tickets: $15.24
Cab ride (3 km): $4.84

MUMBAI: A date will set you back $87.19

 
watchsmart/FlickrDelivery of a dozen roses: $63.15
2 movie tickets: $6.08
Cab ride (3 km): $1.13

NEW DELHI: A date will set you back $86.40

Delivery of a dozen roses: 63.15
2 movie tickets: $5.08
Cab ride (3 km): $1.24

15 Things Men Really Wish Women Knew

15 Things Men Really Wish We Knew

By SHAPE magazine | Love + Sex – Wed, Apr 18, 2012 5:26 PM EDT

I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING BUT I THINK MOST OF THIS MAKES SENSE .......... note that the credit is not mine.

While you may envision most guys only think about sports, beer, and sex, believe it or not, they're actually thinking about you, too. Or in this case, what they wish you knew about them. Consider it just one small step in figuring out the enigma known as the male species.

We checked in with guys ages 19 to 56-everyone from doctors to NFL players and music industry stars. Here's what they had to say.

Dr. Tom Hacket1. Time flies when you're a man: "There is 'man time' and 'woman time.' For men, time goes by faster than for women. Einstein tried to explain this with his theory of relativity and I think it was all about trying to get along with his wife. So, the next time a guy doesn't call or text a girl back right away or it's been two weeks since he last said 'I love you,' just remember that it doesn't mean he doesn't care it, it just means that time passes differently for him."

-Dr. Tom Hacket, 44, World-renowned Orthopedic Surgeon and Team Doctor for US Olympics Snowboarding


Alexander McGregor2. You're more powerful than you think: "In that single moment when you glance in our direction, we lock eyes, and all we feel is our heart beating through your chest, you have us. And there is absolutely nothing we can do about it!"
-Alexander T. MacGregor, Jr., 19, Editor-in-Chief of The Boulevardier


Chatting about sex can be intimidating...so we did it for you! Here are your top sex questions, answered!


Lalo Fuentes3. We like shopping with you...sometimes: "Things I wish women knew? If you trim your hair, don't get upset if we don't notice. Help us along by actually wearing it in a different style that day. Also, we actually like going shopping with you, as long as you let us pick out your outfit. And, sometimes we wonder why someone as amazing as you wants to be with us."
-Lalo Fuentes, 34, Celebrity Trainer


Beau Davidson4. Your teenage tendencies are a major turn off: "A few things: Insecurity is a major turn off, using the acronyms 'lol,' 'lolz,' or 'rotfl' should not be used by any female above the age of 15, we don't like being called 'dude,' 'friend,' 'bro,' or any combination of the above because you are not our male friend, thinking Justin Bieber is cute is not cute, and finally, going to the bathroom in pairs is bewildering to us."
-Beau Davidson, 30,Country Music Recording Artist


Benjamin Watson5. Confidence is sexier than any lingerie: "Men already love your body as it is but when you're confident, it's even more of a turn on! Along those lines…lingerie is way overrated!
-Benjamin Watson, 30, NFL Tight End


Tim Wilkins6. We're stuck in the stone age. And we like it: "I wish women understood that no matter how much they may think their man is evolved, we are very basic. Even the most manscaped guy in a Brooks Brothers suit is a caveman at heart. Let us grunt and be ourselves and we will gladly drag your dinner home."
-Tim Wilkins, 43, Comedian


Thomas Howard7. Let me think I'm the funniest guy you know: "Ladies, we don't like when you're laughing too hard at another man's jokes. Unless we're at a comedy club or he's your father, there's no reason for that.
-Thomas Howard, 28, NFL Linebacker



Aaron Carter8. We care about much more than looks: "Women need to know that looks aren't the only thing that matters to us. If I want to be in a relationship with somebody, I need to have a deeper connection with them than just the physical. The best thing that a woman could do to attract me is to be herself."

-Aaron Carter, 23, Actor/Singer

Your love doesn't have to cost a thing. Here are 40 free date ideas you'll both love!


Chuck Hughes9. We're not so different: "At the gym, men are just as self conscious and check themselves out in the mirror just as much as women do. In regards to cooking, men can do more than BBQ. All you need to do is ask-but be sure to do it after the game! Oh, and, men do like salads, especially if they are topped off with bacon!"
-Chuck Hughes, 34, Chef and Cooking Channel host


Steve Berry10. I have no secrets: "I've always been told that women know everything. Is that not accurate?"
-Steve Berry, 56, New York Times Bestselling Author


Matt Ritter11. DVDs don't make the perfect gift: "I wish women knew that just because we talk about our favorite movie all the time, we don't want it on DVD as our Christmas gift. We already own it. Actually, we don't want DVDs period. It's 2012."
-Matt Ritter, 30, Comedian


Kyle Erickson12. There's always an exception: "For every rule or guideline to dating that you read about in magazines, there is always an exception!" -Kyle Erickson, 25, Celebrity Publicist




Thomas Edwards13. Don't try so hard: "I wish women knew even though we appreciate you taking hours to get dressed and 'put on your face,' it's no longer necessary. Superficial beauty catches our attention but natural beauty keeps it."
-Thomas Edwards Jr., 26, Founder of The Professional Wingman




Richie Frieman14. Drop hints to avoid disappointing gifts: "When it comes to gift giving, I wish women knew that we are about as clueless as a five-year-old boy doing quantum physics. The pressure of nailing the best gift is enough to drive a man to tears. So, unless you give us a hint or just flat out tell us what you'd like, you are most likely going to end up with something unwanted. Like when I bought my wife tickets to see a wrestling match for our anniversary. She said she liked sports!"
-Richie Frieman, 32 Founder/CEO of Pens Eye View


Can men and women really be just friends? 13 men and women gave us their thoughts!


Drew Brees15. We mean well: "As guys, we're always trying to do or say something with the best of intentions, but it always seems to backfire. We mean well. Give us the benefit of the doubt once in a while!"
-Drew Brees, 33, NFL Quarterback

Coachella 2012 Sunday: Hologram Tupac, Flesh & Blood Rihanna

By Lyndsey Parker | Maximum Performance 

The superstars came out on the third and final day of Southern California's Coachella festival--and really, only at Coachella would a surprise dance tent performance by a superstar like Rihanna (more on that later) not be THE most talked-about event of the day. Instead, everyone was talking about another, much more surprising superstar cameo, by Tupac. Yes, the late Tupac Shakur. In hologram form.

Tupac died in 1996, three years before the first Coachella festival took place, but that didn't stop him--or at least his bizarrely lifelike 3D image--from joining Dr. Dre onstage during Dre's much-hyped festival finale this year. Call it better gigging through technology: About halfway through Dre's 70-minute set, what appeared to be an actual shirtless Tupac appeared onstage, greeted the crowd with "What up, Coachella?"--and then traded rhymes with Dre's co-billed Coachella partner, the flesh-and-blood Snoop Dogg, on "Come With Me," "Hail Mary," and "Gangsta Party." Concertgoers at first seemed confused--the audience momentarily grew abnormally silent--and that confusion only increased when Tupac suddenly vaporized and vanished from the stage as quickly as he had materialized. All eyez were on him, so to speak, and then, POOF--'Pac was gone.
The video below contains explicit language:
Yes, it was a little weird, but it was also pretty cool, and considering how many reunion and heritage acts have played Coachella over the years, this introduction of hologram technology to the festival now opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to future Coachella comebacks. How about a hologram Beatles? Or maybe this would be the way to get the original Guns N' Roses to finally reform? You never know...
Tupac may have been the only hologram at Coachella 2012, but he certainly wasn't the only hip-hop allstar to join Dre and Snoop onstage. Non-hologram guests included Kurupt and Warren G on the "It Ain't No Fun" tribute to the late Nate Dogg (although Nate's likeness, sadly, was limited to a two-dimensional video screen); rising rapper Kendrick Lamar (who'd already played Coachella on Friday) joining Dre for their first live performance of their collaboration "The Recipe"; Wiz Khalifa on "Young, Wild & Free"; 50 Cent on "What Up Gangsta," "P.I.M.P.," and "In Da Club" with Tony Yayo; and even Eminem on "I Need A Doctor," "Forgot About Dre," and "'Til I Collapse."
However, the show was still all about the Dre/Snoop partnership--which, incredibly, marks its 20th anniversary this year. The dynamic duo performed "The Next Episode," "Kush," "Gin & Juice," "I Wanna Rock," "Nothin' But a G Thang," "What's My Name," "Drop It Like It's Hot," "Still Dre," and even bits of House Of Pain's "Jump Around" and Tupac's "California Love." And California was loving it indeed. This was a colossal closer to the Coachella weekend, and the only way to top it next year will be if a Biggie Smalls hologram shows up.

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