"Variable standards of beauty"—exactly.

To look more white, of course! (/irony)

Well, since we're talking about different cultural ideas about beauty, "global popularity pole along race lines" seems perfectly apt.

Sure—but there are obviously other factors at play. I don't see many white girls getting eye surgery to look asian or tanning themselves black (as opposed to light brown), despite the fact those are uniquely non-white characteristics.

There is another answer actually: if white culture has little or no impact on the beauty standards of other cultures, I guess we can conclude that white people are just naturally the most attractive race (since those other races are surgically altering their appearances in ways that, just coincidentally, tend towards…

Not quite that straightforward. Ideal female beauty in Heian Japan involved having small eyes, round faces, and black teeth.

Thanks for your detailed response, that makes a lot of sense.

Smugness does seem to be a house style across the Gawker network, whatever they're writing about.

I had that one too!. As I recall the standard Han figure looked a bit weird: way too skinny and grumpy looking. The Endor version was a lot more buff.

Time to show Cordwainer Smith some love. My vote's for "A Planet Named Shayol," simultaneously one of the most horrific and most beautiful stories ever.

Low level spoiler: The Games in this film take place a year after the events in the first movie, during which time Catniss has had plenty of access to food due to her status as a victor.

Just saw that for the first time last week. One of the best scenes ever.

Anyone know what Melting Fake Face Guy around 1.48 and BalloonDude at 1.53 are from?

I reckon Mr. Creosote, along with"The Crimson Permanent Assurance," Live Organ Transplants, Graham Chapman being executed by half-naked girls in crash helmets, the Grim Reaper, and that "Middle of the Film" bit are enough to classify "Meaning of Life" as fantasy/horror. Good call.

The secret to a good scary story of this type, I think, isn't whether it's real or not - its whether it seems real. This may have actually happened, but I have to agree with chaunceyzalkin that it comes across as being fictional.

SPOILER ALERT:

The "believe in God" statement, which is said by the main character near the start of the book, is not necessarily meant to be taken literally. In fact - and I think I can say this without giving too much away - the ending reveals an ambiguity in the statement that is key to understanding the whole story.

Maybe because there is an enormous starving tiger on the INSIDE of the boat?

In Philip Jose Farmer's porno novel "A Feast Unknown" Tarzan frequently wakes up with "piss hard-ons" - I guess this is what he's referring to.

Been a while since I read them, but at the time I was struck by how Wingrove complicated his depiction of the Chinese-controlled future. For most of the books the readers' sympathies are channelled towards the authoritarian and anti-progress Han, while the more Anglo-based revolution is depicted in a negative light.…