Facts About LGBT

No research has conclusively proven what causes bisexuality, heterosexuality, or homosexuality. It is estimated by scientists that there are around 5% in all human population has a homosexual orientation.

As of January 1 2019, there are 26 countries who legalized same-sex marriage: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Malta, Portugal, Argentina, Iceland, Ireland, Netherland, Norway, South Africa, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, and Uruguay. The latest country to do so was Australia (7th Dec 2017).

Asia’s first gay marriage bill was introduced by the government of Taiwan. The bill also grant “permanent unions” to them and give these same-sex couples limited adoption rights.

The third leading cause of death among adolescents is suicide. Compared to straight teens, gay teens have 4 times more likely to attempt suicide.

Being left-handed is more prominent in gay people.

In 2017, Bangkok was named the Asia’s second-most gay-friendly city, just after Tel Aviv due to its LGBT openness, nightlife, dating scene and safety. Male and female same-sex sexual activity there are both legal in Thailand.

Thailand is also the country which performs the most SRS or sex reassignment surgeries, followed by Iran.

There is no accurate number of China’s LGBT population, but the most common estimate is that they represent 5% of the population – that is 70 million. Homosexuality has been recorded in that country since ancient times and often been referred to as “the cut sleeve”.

A man named James, became the oldest person in Britain (at the age of 81) to have sex reassignment surgery, whereas the world’s youngest transsexual was a German teenager named Kim Petras, at the age of just 16.

Cities that are known as being LGBT-friendly or gay-friendly include New York City, San Francisco, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, Miami, Seattle, Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Paris, Madrid, London, Monteria, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Brighton, Berlin and Copenhagen amongst others.

There were approximately 220,000 children in 2013 being raised by more than 120,000 same-sex couples.

In 1978, the first modern gay pride flag was designed by an American artist Gilbert Baker. Each colored stripe has symbolism – pink: sex, red: life, orange: healing, yello: sunlight, green: nature, blue: art, indigo: harmony, and violet: human spirit.

Humans are not the only animals who experience same-sex attraction. It is thought that almost all bonobos are bisexual. Sex is used by them to reinforce social bonds and resolve conflict. Lions have also exhibited homosexual behaviour.

Some study says that if your index finger longer than your ring finger, then you are probably a gay.

Surveys show that in recent years, churches have grown more accepting of same-sex couples.

Types & Differences

All transsexual persons are transgender, but many people do not know that not all transgender persons are transsexual. Transgender person may dress as a woman, use a feminine name, and refer to herself as a woman. Transsexual persons are those who physically transition to the gender they desire to – this can include taking hormone supplements, increasing vocal pitch and undergo gender reassignment surgery.

This means that a transgender person can be asexual, heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. The word also can be used to refer to people of the third gender, non-binary, genderfluid, bigender, cross-dresser, agender, pangender, and genderqueer.

While transgender refers to a personal gender identity, “drag” is just a temporary and deliberate performance of gender. Therefore, the term drag can also be used for straight men who wear women’s clothing for the sake of comedy.

Intersex people are those who born with some biological characteristics that are considered “male” and others that are considered “female”. There are many different intersex variations. Some of them have both ovarian and testicular tissues while other intersex people born with a combination of chromosomes that is different than XX (female) and XY (male), like XXY. It is not known how many people in the US are intersex.

Oppa Gangnam Style – Meaning and Facts

Gangnam Style is a 2012 dance pop single performed and written by South Korean popstar Park Jae Sung (or PSY, his stage name).

Upon its release, his song took off on virtually all Korean billboard charts, online music stores and portal search sites, but the song began garnering international attention after his music video went viral on Youtube on July 2012.

The song was posted on Youtube on July 15, and it had 100 million views about 50 days later.

The music video has been viewed more than 350 million times on Youtube as of October 3, 2012. Because of that this extremely silly “Gangnam Style” has become the world’s most viewed K-Pop song of all time.

The video has also been shared on the internet by many famous celebrities like Tom Cruise, T-Pain, Katy Perry and Britney Spears, covered by music artist Maroon 5 and Nelly Furtado and featured in international media outlets such as the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, CNN International, and the global politics magazine Foreign Policy.

On 20 September 2012, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” was listed by Guinness World Records as the most “liked” video on Youtube.

Gangnam Style is actually a Korean language colloquialism, it refers to a luxurious lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district, a wealthy district in Seoul, South Korea.

PSY is the first artist from Korea to go mainstream in the United States.

This 34-year-rapper from South Korea also taught Britney Spears how to do his popular “galloping horse dance”.

In Korea PSY signed under YG Entertainment, a company that also works with other popular artists such as SE7EN, 2NE1, and BINGBANG.

PSY’s first and second album was banned for sale to minors.

In 2006, PSY married Yoo Hye Yeon.

He also suffered other early career scandals – fined for marijuana and serving a 2nd 2-yaer term in the military due to evidence that the rapper may not have properly served his first mandatory term.

PSY pursued an education in music in the United States. He graduated from the Berkley School of Music.

Facts About MC Hammer

Hammer was born Stanley Kirk Burrell in Oakland, California. He is better known by his stage name Hammer (or MC Hammer). He is an American rapper, spokesman, actor and entrepreneur.

Between 1980s and 1990s, Hammer had his greatest commercial success and popularity. He is known for his hit records (such as “2 legit 2 quit” and “U cant touch this”), choreography, flamboyant dance movements and trademark Hammer pants.

Hammer’s mega hit “You cant touch this” helped him earn more than $30m in the early 1990s.

He has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Hammer is also the first hip-hop artist that achieved diamond status for an album.

Rick James cried foul when MC Hammer’s song “You cant touch this” hit big but with good reason. If we compare those two, it doesnt take long to notice that “You cant touch this” and “Super freak” sound almost just alike.

However, Hammer was also pretty careless with his money, he bought a $1m beautiful mansion and had a staff of about 200 people working in it. His entourage was over 40 people large. And because of that Hammer couldnt support his lifestyle for too long and had to filed for bankruptcy in 1996 with over $13m in debt.

Hammer was the youngest of his parents’ seven children. He is a son of a gambling casino manager and professional poker player, as well as warehouse supervisor.

He got his nickname from baseball legend, Reggie Jackson – while he was working as a batboy, Reggie Jackson nicknamed him “Hammer”, he said because he looked like world record batting champ Hank Aaron.

Hammer was first discovered by the Oakland As – when he was a boy, Hammer was known as Stanley Burrell, who liked to take his beatbox to the Oakland Coiliseum and dance. He was spotted by the CEO of the Oakland As who then hired him to come work as a bat boy.

Hammer enlisted in the Navy for three years.

Hammer became a preacher in the late 90s and he officiates weddings for close friends.

His rap moniker “MC” represents “Master of Ceremonies”. Now due to the Christian beliefs, Hammer says that his initials stand for “Man of Christ”. Now Hammer lives a quieter life as a pastor.

At the 40th American Music Awards, Hammer danced to “Oppa Gangnam Style” and “2 Legit 2 quit” along with Psy, two of them wearing his signature Hammer pants.

Facts about Kris Kross

Kris Kross was an American rap duo (Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith) of the 1990s.

The duo was best known for their song “Jump” (released in 1992) and the song stayed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks.

Kris Kross was also noted for their fashion style – wearing clothes backwards.

‘Jump’ sold 2 million records.

Mega-producer Jermaine Dupri discovered them at an Atlanta mall in 1991, Chris Kelly and his buddy Chris Smith were playing video games at the age of 13.

Jermaine Dupri wrote both emcees’ lyrics for ‘Jump’.

The song is also Kris Kross’ first and most successful song.

“Warm It Up” was the follow-up to “Jump”, and the song also went gold.

Before being discovered, Chris Kelly had never rapped a day in his life.

Two of them toured on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour.

Kris Kross also appeared in TLC’s “Hat 2 Da Back”.

The pair became the first and only rap group to open for the ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson (during the 1992 Dangerous Tour).

A video game starring two of them, titled “Kris Kross: Make My Video,” was also released in 1992 on the Sega CD system.

Jermaine Dupri produced and wrote all the entire songs on the duo’s first album.

The follow-up album Da Bomb was dropped in 1993.

Smith and Kelly went their separate ways sometime after their third album and went on to have solo careers.

Chris Kelly suffered from alopecia since the age of 5.

The two reunited in 2007 and they changed their group’s name to Trytone.

Chris Kelly even continued to wear pants backwards years after their group disbanded.

Chris Kelly was found unresponsive in his Atlanta home  on 12th of May, 2013 and later pronounced dead at age 34.

Facts About Song Hye Kyo – Korean Actress

Song Hye-kyo is a model and actress from South Korea.

Her nickname is Hakkyo (in Korean means “school”).

Song Hye-kyo gained her popularity through television dramas such as Full House, All In, and Autumn in My Heart.

Her most popular and successful drama is a 2004 series called “Full House”. It was the most popular drama of the year. Here Song played the main character along with famed singer Bi (Rain).

Her blood type: A and her height is 156 cm.

This beautiful scorpion actress is known to have two birthdays – she was actually born on 22nd of November 1981 but she was very sick and the doctor as well as her parents did not believe that she would survive. Miraculously Song Hye-kyo did survive and her parents registered her birth on 26th of Frbruary 1982.

Song Hye-kyo is considered as one of the most beautiful women in Korea. She is also one of the most sought after product endorsers.

In 2011, Song became the first actress from Asia to sign a contract with French global agency Effigies.

She is a Roman Catholic.

She went to Sanfransisco, California in early 2005 to study English and afterwards to Seattle for a visit.

Her hobbies include martial arts, yoga, shopping, knitting, traveling, golf, skating, swimming and collecting perfumes.

She is a fan of Abercrombie clothing.

She used to hate herself for being so short but now she has come to accept that as part of who she is.

Song Hye-kyo has no siblings.

Shoo (SES), Sung Yuri and Lee Jin are her best friends.

She attended Sejong University but did not finish.

She likes to play piano.

She loves coffee.

She speaks Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

She likes to play with her nose when she is embarassed or feels awkward.

Her high school teacher described her as a girl who is cheerful, can mix well with others and always in a good mood.

Facts About Jackie Chan – Life Story

Jackie Chan is perhaps the most popular and wealthiest entertainer from Asia. Currently, he is also the highest paid Asian actor (at least $15 million per film).

Jackie Chan was born Chan Kong-sang (7th of April 1954).

Jackie came from a poverty-stricken Hong Kong family. He claimed that he was almost sold in infancy to a very wealthy British couple. Now, Jackie became his family’s sole support.

He began studying martial arts, acrobatics, drama, and singing at age of seven.

He got his new name Jackie while he was working in Canberra (Australia), as a construction worker.

Jackie Chan’s father was a spy and his mother was an opium smuggler.

Jackie’s father is also a member of Shanghai’s organized crime underworld who fleed to Hong Kong  after the Communist takeover of mainland China (1949).

Jackie Chan reportedly spent 12 months in the womb. That was why his Mother nicknamed him “Pao-pao” (meaning Cannonball). Finally being removed surgically and weighing 12 pounds.

It was comedy that set Jackie Chan apart from other famous kungfu and action stars, including Bruce Lee.

Jackie Chan able to break 12 concrete blocks with his hand, without breaking an egg in his hand.

While working as a nightclub bouncer, Jackie spent two days after a nasty scuffle trying to push his bone back into his fist. But later he found that it wasnt his bone, surprisingly, it was actually the other man’s tooth.

In order to protect himself and his other artists from The Triad, he used to carry guns and even a grenade.

Jackie Chan dislikes the Rush Hour series. He only made the sequel because Jackie was offered an “irresistible” amount of money.

In his career, Jackie had broken his nose three times, cracked his ankle, and also both his cheekbones, most of his fingers and his skull (patched together with a steel plate).

His son (Jaycee Chan) will get none of his father’s $130 million fortune. Jackie said “If he is capable, he can make his own money. But if he is not, he will just be wasting my money”.

Aside Elaine Ng, other woman that have been romantically linked with Jackie Chan include Aki Mizusawa, Xu Jinglei, Rosamund Kwan, Zhang Ziyi, Li Ting, Teresa Teng, Fan Bingbing and Korean actress Kim Hee Sun.

Jackie Chan speaks 7 languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Japanese, Korean, German and Thai and also American sign language.

Though he speaks 7 languages, Jackie still cannot write or read with great proficiency, and has someone else write the scripts for him.

Guinness World Record: “Most Stunts by a Living Actor” and “Most credits in one movie”.

Jackie Chan is a staunch supporter of China’s communist party. Not only that, he also thinks that Taiwanese democracy is “the biggest joke in the world,”.

Only two things scare him: needles and public speaking.

Where Does All the Dust in My House Comes From?

Perhaps, you will get tired of doing the cleaning for the house since you have to wipe all the dust in your house every single day. It is always found on every single corner of the house and you need to get the extra energy for cleaning those dusts. Sometimes, you might be really curious about the way in anticipating the dust and you will get such dead end for this matter.

Dust comes from many different things. You are going to see that dust is composed as the effect of such volcano eruption, air pollution, and such natural process of the dust brought by the wind. The dust will be brought into your home as it passes through the ventilation of your house. Sometimes when you go out of the house, it is unconsciously found that you might bring such dust into the house.

Dust is made up of a variety of things like pollutants, dirts, bacteria, pollen, decomposing insects, hair, animal dander, insulation, fibers, dryer lint, sands and mostly , skin flakes that human shed. Dust will always come and go.

According to the study, household dust consists of a potpourri that includes human or animals’ dead skin, fibers from bedding, carpet, garments and upholstered furniture. It can also come from airborne particles blown in from outdoors, this includes arsenic, lead and other potentially harmful substances. It can be a special concern for those who like to put dust-contaminated objects into their mouths especially children.

The study also told us that more than 60% of your house dust originates outdoors. And almost 60% of the arsenic in floor dust may come from arsenic in its surrounding air with the remainder derived from the soil. You ought to clean the house as frequently as you can for anticipating the huge heap of the dust on some corner of the house.

After realizing the source of the dust that will come to your house, you can understand a lot about how to deal with this dust problem. Since you have noticed that the dust might come from several natural processes in this life, there is nothing you can do to stop those natural processes. What you have to do is just taking the action for cleaning up the house from such huge dust heap threat. It is not something complicated to do. You just need to organize your schedule so that you can find the best time for doing the cleaning for your house. Even, if you are too busy for doing it all on your own, you will always have an option for calling the professional cleaners for wiping the dust and then you can see such gorgeous appearance of the house for one more time.

 

While it is always nice to have your air conditioning or heating running, but this is one of the major culprit for attracting dust into our home. Our house without you even realize it, actually breathes air in and out all day long. This can happen through windows, holes, and gaps in things like light switches and electrical outlets.

Some rooms have more dust than others. As your room is tighter and more heavily electronic then the dust problem is also increased. The bedroom, with all its fabric in the bedding, pillows, mattress, blinds, curtains, and carpeting is one giant dust magnet. Have you ever noticed whenever some people get into their bed, their nose suddenly get stuffy and they reach for the breathing strips, antihistamine, or chest rub? Many people have this problem and the problem is not always because of their sinuses, but the dust.

In order to minimize the dust, there several ways we can do that – filtration and prevention. Prevention can be done by not letting the dust get in your house in the first place, such as taking out your shoes before entering the house. Filtration removes airborne dust once it gets in the house, you can do this by getting a good air filter (just make sure that it does not restrict airflow or you will get another new problem).

How to Clean Curtains Yourself At Home – Tips and Guide

Curtains are neglected in most homes and many people would simply buy a new one when their curtain begins to look dingy. After hanging them, it is easy to ignore them.

Curtains are usually found filthy, this is because when the windows are open your curtains absorb moisture and attract dirt from the outside. Dust, pollution, heating fumes, pollen, smoke, bacterial and oil are just some of the dirt that they contain. Even if the windows are closed but there are still cracks and drafts there and if the air can get thruogh, so can tiny dirt particles.

Your draperies are also the places where dirt and dust from ceiling fans and air vents settle. When you are cleaning your house, you are actually putting debris and dust into the air. A number of these particles will settle onto the curtains. This is why it is important to clean our curtains on a regular basis. Cleaning them regularly is also help to prevent dust mites and other allergens from degrading our indoor air quality.

• Before you do the curtain cleaning, you should check any manufacturing instructions and also read all attached labels for special care needs. Follow those labels as certain curtains may need dry cleaning. Never clean them if they are not labeled as washable because some curtains have embellishments and trims that are not colorfast. Materials that are not washable at home are wool, silk and rayon. You should not wash them if the fabric is faded and weakened by sunlight. Curtains can fade over time, therefore you should not keep the same side of your curtains towards the sun light, rotate them once in a while.

• You can get rid of the dirt and dust from the surface of the curtains by vacuuming or dusting them every week. You can use a feather cluster, dusting cloths, a damp cloth, static cluster, or a dusting attachment that fits onto the vacuum cleaner. Start at the top of the curtains and work your way down, in this way, the dust would only falls onto parts that you havent dusted yet. If you use a damp cloth, then you should vacuum or dust the curtains first – this is to avoid smearing in dirt.

• You can place your curtains in the washing machine without adding other laundry so that the dirty curtains can move around freely. Use cool water and mild detergent but try not to overload the washing machine, otherwise your drapes would not clean properly. Never use a veryhigh temperature setting. Hot water can damage the fabric so it is not recommended.

• Choose “large load” for thick curtains so they have room to move around in your machine. Choose “medium load” if they are front window drapes. Use “small load” for smaller bedroom curtains. Many people wash their large curtains in their bathtub to prevent possible damage to their washing machine. Delicate curtains can be hand washed in a bathtub, dont forget to swish them around and rub them very gently. After that you can either line-dry or tumble-dry on a delicate or air setting. Hanging them straight awat prevents creasing.

• Boil drusty curtain rings in vinegar to rediscover thier shine. The rods of the old curtains can be rubbed with soap to make them run smoothly again.

You might also want to read:
Feng Shui Bedroom.
Feng Shui Balcony.

What is Waterproof Paint Made Of

Waterproof paint for walls

Waterproof paint is used to prevent moisture from seeping into the walls (this is why sometimes you see mold or mildew on the walls). It is commonly made with a latex, oil or concrete base. In some cases, they also use ordinary Portland cement based paints (which is also considered as a good waterproofing agent).

Waterproof paint can be used inside our home in bathrooms, kitchens, or basements or used outside our home on objects such as boats, water tanks or birdbaths. It helps to protect surfaces underneath against rain and snow.

Since it works by soaking porous cement material, therefore if your walls are already painted beforehand then chances of waterproof paint working are minimal. This kind of paint also doesnt work if the material being painted is not cement block. Foundation or materials like clay tile wont take the paint properly. Surfaces that having serious water seepage problems are also not suitable using this type of paint as it will allow the formation of decay and rot leadling to severe problems at later stages.

What is Dry Vapor Steam Cleaning

Dry vapor steam cleaning is almost the same with the traditional steam cleaning, the difference is that this machine uses only a minute amount of water. The water is heated to about 240° F or above so that a “dry” steam vapor is produced. It is called dry because there is no dampness or water left behind from the steam.

Ordinary tap water is poured into the water tank of the machine. The water enters the machine’s electronically heated boiler where it is then superheated to temperatures of 240° F or more which, when released into the atmosphere thruogh the nozzle evaporates causing dry steam. Dry steam is only about 5% water compared to the volume of vapor. All the heat is properly maintained within centimetres of the exit point so that at these temperatures the dry steam de-greases, cleans and kills bacteria better than any contact cleaner. No cleaning and sanitizing agents are needed as the high temperature of the steam will clean and sanitize areas simultaneously.

Unlike chemical cleaners that would only remove surface material, leaving behind bacteria, microorganisms, or residue, dry steam vapor cleaners can penetrate even the smallest cracks and crevices removing grime, dirt and stains thoroughly from both hard and soft surfaces (including stainless steel). Steam cleaners can also help to eliminate odors by killing bacteria. They are also an effective tool for cleaning up food spills and pet accidents. The high heat of the steam will draw out the grime, grease and dirt quickly and effectively.

 

Related Topics:
How Steam Cleaning Works.
How to organize your feng shui living room.