50 Things You Didn't Know about Sarah Palin

Lots of talk today about Sarah Palin-- McCain's surprise VP pick. Learn 50 Things You Didn't Know about Sarah Palin here

Dream Meanings

Every now and then we want to highlight a hidden treasure of the EP community. Today it is our dreams section, which helps with dream interpretation and dream meanings.

Dreams often reflect our innermost thoughts in their most raw form, so they are a staging ground for EP users to help better understand themselves and get help and input from the community on an often pressing question of What Does My Dream Mean?

Check it out and share your dreams today!

George Carlin RIP

We just learned that George Carlin passed away on Sunday Night. Rest in peace-- like him or not, he was a true comedic giant that changed the landscape forever.

George Carlin Tributes and Video Clips at Experience Project

Hillary Clinton to Concede Defeat on Friday in Democratic National Primary

According to ABC News, a senior person in Hillary Clinton's entourage said she would concede defeat in the United States Democratic National Primary on Friday.

After Tuesday's split decision in the Montana and South Dakota primaries, and the en masse endorsement of Senator Barack Obama on Tuesday morning by nearly 70 party superdelegates, it was only a matter of when and how, not if.

It has been a truly historic occasion, and we, alongside the EP community, have been enthralled by it. Now it becomes Obama versus John McCain, a
nd the EP communities are ready to throw their support behind their chosen candidate:

I Support John McCain for President

I Support Barack Obama for President

Support Ted Kennedy in his battle against a Malignant Brain Tumor

Senator Edward (Teddy) Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Experience Project users have set up an online get-well card to show support for Senator Kennedy and his family as he battles glioma.

Teddy Kennedy Brain Tumor Diagnosis Support Card

Brain Tumor Survivor Stories at Experience Project

Starving Dog Artist Gets Protested

Check out the Starving Dog Artist Protest Petition at EP...

Play Trivia for your Favorite Candidate

Following the success of our efforts to help save shelter pets and baby seals, we proudly announce the release of our US Presidential Election Candidate Game... play for your favorite candidate, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or John McCain, and we'll donate proceeds to the respective campaign. It's an easy way to help your favorite candidate, pass some time, and increase your knowledge of trivia.

Have fun :)

Beijing 2008 Torch Protest

In honor of the protests in our home town of San Francisco towards the Olympic 2008 Torch Relay, we've set up one of our famous Opinion walls-- a fun, powerful combination of petitions, open forums, and mad libs.

Check it out:

Olympic 2008 Opinion Wall

Thanks Perez Hilton

We appreciate the shout out from none other than Perez Hilton about our SaveDogs game-- play trivia, earn food for dog shelters. Over a metric ton donated already. Play the save dogs trivia game today (also, check out save cats and save seals).

What a Difference a Year Makes

What a difference a year makes. While search for the latest presidential poll numbers, we came upon this and had to do a double-take:

From April 1st, 2007:

Zogby: Giuliani, Clinton Hold Big Leads in National Tests
Edwards holds in third place among Dems; Fred Thompson could be a GOPer worth watching

Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat Hillary Clinton, both of New York state, continue to enjoy significant leads over rivals in national tests of likely primary voters, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows. Meanwhile, Giuliani’s edge among Republicans is now more than double that of his nearest rival.

Clinton holds a double–digit 32% to 22% lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, with former senator John Edwards a distant third in a national test of Democratic likely voters. The survey was the first national poll to be fielded following Friday’s announcement by Edwards that he would continue his campaign despite a new cancer diagnosis facing his wife, Elizabeth. Twenty–four percent of Democrats said they were as yet undecided.

Among Republicans, Giuliani, a moderate, continues to show strength and Arizona Sen. John McCain continues to struggle to build a foundation of support. The former New York mayor now leads over McCain, 27% to 13%.

The survey, conducted March 22-26, 2007, included 432 Democratic respondents (margin of error of +/- 4.8 percentage point) and 376 Republicans (margin of error +/- 5.2 percentage points).

Democrats
Clinton 32%
Obama 22%
Edwards 13%
Biden 2%
Richardson2%
Kucinich 1%
Not Sure 24%

Republicans
Giuliani 27%
McCain 13%
Thompson 9%
Romney 9%
Paul 3%
T. Thompson1%
Huckabee 1%
Hunter 1%
Tancredo 1%
Not sure 28%

from http://zogby.com

Helping Save Baby Seals From The Seal Hunt

Tomorrow marks the start of the annual Canadian Seal Hunt-- widely viewed as the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. In conjunction, Experience Project announces a way to Help Save Baby Seals by playing a simple game.

There is a great deal of controversy over the seal hunt-- proponents say it provides needed income for indigent fisherman, and is no more cruel than the slaughter of any other wild animal, such as lobstering. Critics point to the fact that the seals are mammals who are clubbed to death with an ancient weapon, then often skinned before they are fully dead. A recent study verified that indeed nearly 40% of the seals were determined to have been conscious at the time of skinning.

This year, the permit to hunt seals includes a caveat that the seals be bled to death before skinning-- required, grotesquely, by cutting the major arteries underneath each flipper. Again, wildlife protection agencies cry foul, noting that there is no guarantee that this will be done, or when it will be done.

In any case, at Experience Project, we listen to our community, and we are a community of animal lovers. Our games to raise donations for shelter dogs and shelter cats have resonated with our community, and in that spirit, we are proud to release our newest trivia game to raise donations: Save Baby Seals.

The concept is simple: play a trivia game, get a question right, and we'll donate towards a cause protecting the seals. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to easily help in an important cause.

In honor of Mr. Rogers Day (Sweater Day), Here's 15 Fun Mr. Rogers Facts

In honor of National Sweater Day (Mr. Rogers Day!), and the fifth anniversary of his death, here are fifteen fun facts about PBS' Mr. Rogers (thanks to member Videodemon for pulling this together):

1. Mister Rogers was colorblind (red-green)


2. There has been a rumor floating around for years that Mr. Rogers was (either) a Navy Seal, or a Marine sniper, with dozens of confirmed kills. These rumors are certainly amusing, but totally false


3. While a child, he spent most of his free time with his grandfather, who was a huge influence on him


4. Mr. Rogers first began to wear his sneakers because he found them quieter than his other work shoes when he was moving around the set during production.


5. Mr. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister in 1962. He was charged with continuing his work with TV and children.


6. He first worked with NBC, but then decided that commercial television's reliance on advertisement and merchandising undermined its ability to benefit kids, so he quit.


7. The sweaters Mr. Roger wore on the show were hand knitted by his mother.


8. Mr. Rogers drove a used Chevy Impala. Towards the end of his career, his car was stolen from the studio parking lot. Word spread, and outrage swept the town. 48 hours later, the car was back in the spot where he had left it along with a note, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it!”


9. You can have a VCR thanks to Mr. Rogers. In contrast to most people in his industry, Mr. Rogers fought on BEHALF of VCR manufacturers in court-- arguing that he didn't object to families recording his show for later viewing at a more convenient time. The United States Supreme Court considered his testimony in its decision that the Betamax recorded did not infringe copyright (see below for a great quote from his testimony). The Home Recording Rights Coalition later stated that Rogers was "one of the most prominent witnesses on this issue."


10. When Mr. Rogers was at a speaking engagement, he would instruct the audience to remain silent for 60 seconds-- and to use that time of silence to remember those who helped them become who they are


11. Mr. Roger’s parents adopted an African American teenager named George. Rogers came to consider George his older brother, and George later became an instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II-- and also taught Rogers how to fly.


12. Mr. Rogers was awarded 40 honorary degrees


13. Mr. Rogers show has the distinction of being the longest running program on PBS; it ran for 998 episodes


14. He was a vegetarian, swam every morning, and never smoke nor drank


15. There is a $3 million dollar statue to Mr. Rogers being unveiled on Mr. Rogers Day "Sweater Day" on March, 20th, 2008 in Pittsburgh (he was from Latrobe, Pennsylvania).


16. (Bonus) Mr. Rogers could Moonwalk & Breakdance(not kidding!):
    
    

Here's Mr. Rogers' rather profound quote when testifying about private recording of shows:

"Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the "Neighborhood" at hours when some children cannot use it ... I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the "Neighborhood" off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the "Neighborhood" because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been "You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions." Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important"
RIP Mr. Rogers

Visit the "I loved Mr. Roger's" group at Experience Project to learn more and remember this kind soul.

Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers

http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/464_US_417.htm#464us417n27

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736872/

Eliot Spitzer - A Bit of Comic Relief

With all the Elliot Spitzer news and gossip in high gear (around his participation in the high-class prostitution ring Emperor's Club and subsequent resignation as Governor of New York) we noticed one of our users used it as an opportunity for a comic break:

Jiggylicious posted an entertaining story on Experience Project titled "Top 10 Signs Your Husband Is Part of a High-Class Prostitution Ring." I've reproduced the top 10 list below. Enjoy!

10. He leaves wads of cash on your bedside table after sex.

9. He frequently has voice messages from women with names like Maya, Avalon, and Svetlana.

8. The receptionists at the Mayflower Hotel all know him by name and bill your room by the hour.

7. $31,000 charges show up on your American Express statement from "Emperor's Mattress Warehouse"

6. You find him up at night watching Pretty Woman and crying for Richard Gere's character.

5. He rates restaurants and movies in terms of how many "diamonds" they deserve.

4. Justifies a hike in state taxes to pay for rising costs of service workers.

3. He starts getting bulk discounts for expensive gifts from Tiffany's.

2. He changes his relationship status on Facebook to "it's expensive."

Check out the story for the top reason! And then add your own!

Barack Obama won the Texas Primary, Right?

Like many of you, we've been closely following the trials and tribulations of the US Presidential Election, namely the Democratic contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Barack was on the verge of a knockout last week after 13 straight victories, but Hillary stayed in it by winning Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. But the conclusions were based without having the final Texas Democratic Primary results, including caucuses. Let us explain...

Ohio and Rhode Island were impressive victories, no doubt, both by healthy margins. But it is Texas that provides the most curious results, and by any reasonable math, Obama actually WON Texas yet received no popular credit for it. Here's how it looks:

From the Texas Secretary of State, and with 100% of ballots counted, here are the results:

Hillary Clinton 1,459,814 50.89%
Barack Obama 1,358,785 47.36%

This gives Hillary a popular vote win by ~101,000 voters, and 65 delegates, to Barack Obama's 61 delegates. All well and good.

BUT Texas has, by all accounts, a different type of primary than most any other state. Called the "Texas Two-Step", one is the popular vote in a statewide election, while the second part is a caucus system where voters actually gather and decide who to support en masse. Obama tends to do very well in caucus states, most likely because of his mobilization of the youth.

In Texas, this was no different. The state, to complicate matters, stopped providing results about halfway through the counting process, but here were the latest official results from the Texas Democratic Caucus:

23,918 OBAMA 56%
18,620 CLINTON 45%

with 41% (or 3377/8224) precints reporting.

If this trend holds up, and there's no reason to think it won't, then Obama gets 38 delegates to Hillary's 30, yielding a total result from Texas of:

Hillary Clinton: 65+30 = 95 Delegates
Barack Obama: 61+38 = 99 Delegates

With plenty of margin for error on the caucus side, this means Barack Obama wins Texas in the technical sense of the word (just as George W. Bush won the US Election in 2000 versus Al Gore despite losing the popular vote), which for better or for worse, is all that matters in the Democratic primary process.

To corroborate, Obama's own campaign website shows their side winning Texas, 99 to 94. Hillary is not showing a score on her website (at least that we found).

The caveat: "Although delegates generally do not switch presidential preferences, party rules do not formally bind delegates to support the same candidate at every step in the convention process, and the allocation of delegates to the national convention is not finally determined until the June 6-7 State Convention. Therefore, these results may not reflect the final allocation of 67 delegates determined by the TDP convention/caucus process."

If you support Barack Obama, click here
If you support Hillary Clinton, click here
If you support John McCain, click here


 

Eve Carson Memorial

Here's an online memorial created for Eve Carson after the shocking news of her brutal murder.

Eve Carson Memorial

RIP.

Lindsay Lohan Poses Naked as Marilyn Monroe

Lindsay Lohan lovers have something to cheer about as she recently did a spread with famed photographer Bert Stern, who did a similar layout with Marilyn Monroe just a few weeks before she died. The pictures show her cavorting in erotic poses in bed, and are meant to be a haunting indication of someone who is appreciated more for their sex appeal than their talents. Not sure if it succeeds-- the Monroe pictures are doubtless more powerful.

http://nymag.com/fashion/08/spring/44247/

Be warned: some pictures of Lindsay Lohan are topless in this photo shoot.

Last Minute Valentine's Gifts

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of our most popular stories for this holiday is one detailing quick, affordable, and well-received, ahem, gifts for Valentine's Day... check it out...

---

Listen, I know you're desperate. Time is running out and you haven't a clue nor an infinite budget. Don't even think about making origami flowers or roadside produce. Whether you need a present for your lady friend on Valentine's Day or Christmas, I've got a plan that fits YOUR needs-- and takes into account the stores YOU can get to, be it drug stores, department stores, or (no whammy!) even convenience stores. Yes. I said it.

If you know me, my feelings about high maintenance girls are clear. So instead of getting gouged with roadside roses that are probably already sold out, standing in line for an hour at Sees to get the stuff people returned from Christmas, or doing what most guys do, which is trying to overcompensate by buying her something outrageously expensive like jewelry, here are some realistic (and dirt cheap) suggestions to save your buttockal region and retain a reasonable chance for a successful evening. Note that this isn't stuff I'd recommend in a regular situation, but something about desperate times and desperate measures prevails.

The main strategy- make it look to HER like you're different and thoughtful (not like those 'other guys') AND delay/defuse the situation until you have time to actually do something nice for the lady in your life. Without further ado, here we go...

---
Read the rest of the story...

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is here, and with it the cadre of love experiences and stories about first kisses, first loves, crushes, missed connections, and everything else dealing with cupid, and his successes and failures... here's a small sampling of what we've got for you...

Free Love Notes

• Post a Free Love Note

Experiences and Stories

• I Had A Great Valentine's Day



• I Had A Bad Valentine's Day


• I Am Alone on Valentine's Day


• I Am Born on Valentine's Day


• I Don't Want to Spend Valentine's Day Alone


• I Am Away From My Love on Valentine's Day

Surveys and Quizzes

These Valentine's Day Surveys about love and dating can be posted on MySpace, Piczo, LiveJournal, Blogger, and pretty much any other blog or social network.

• The Best Valentine's Day Survey
  
  
• Ultimate Love Survey For Valentine's Day
  
• MySpace Valentine's Survey
  
• Valentine's Day Perfection Survey
  
• Compatibility Quiz


• Or create your own!
  

Chantix Stop Smoking Drug Linked to Psychological Problems

The FDA today issued a warning that Chantix, the recently approved drug for the treatment of smoking, may exacerbate or even cause psychological disorders.

According to the report, a total of 39 patients have committed suicide while taking the medicine. In addition to the suicides, the FDA said there have been 491 incidents of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Scary stuff.

Many Experience Project users have shared their personal Chantix stories... check them out, and share your own.

I Quit Smoking
I Want to Quit Smoking

John Edwards Gives Up Presidential Aspirations

It seems John Edwards has bowed out of the 2008 US Presidential Election, without endorsing Obama or Clinton, after failing to win any of the primaries or place higher than third, for that matter. A progressive candidate who was simply outshined by his two groundbreaking competitors-- Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama.

At the Experience Project US Presidential Polls, we saw Edwards gather only 5% of the polls for the Question, "If the Presidential Election were held today, who would you vote for?" and 10% for the question "Which Democratic candidate do you support for the 2008 Presidential Election?"

Interestingly enough, Rudy Giuliani (Guiliania, Juliani, Jeweliani, who can spell this!?! ;)), gathered 14% of the Presidential Poll, and 45% of the Republican poll.

The drama now unfolds... Supporters, line up!

Support Barak Obama, Share Your Stories and See the Latest Polls
Support Hillary Clinton, Share Your Stories and See the Latest Polls
Support Mitt Romney, Share Your Stories and See the Latest Polls
Support John McCain, Share Your Stories and See the Latest Polls

Vote in our presidential polls!

Heath Ledger's Death

Heath Ledger's death brought shock and sad surprise at our office. Our community was also affected, with a group immediately forming called "I can't believe Heath Ledger is Dead."

As one user eloquently wrote: "I was shocked and saddened to hear that Heath Ledger was found dead today. He was such a great actor, and so young with such a bright future ahead of him. We'll all miss him."

RIP friend.