Asexuality is a sexual orientation. Asexual people usually do not have sexual attraction towards anyone, no matter what gender they are. Asexuality has nothing to do with a person's romantic/aesthetic/sensual attraction. The opposite of an asexual is an "allosexual". Allosexuality means that you feel sexual desires.
Asexuality is described as a spectrum. Demisexual people are on the asexual spectrum. They feel sexual attraction, but only to people who they feel a connection to. About 1% of people identify as asexual. Alfred Kinsey used the label "X" to describe asexual people. Grey-asexual people are people who feel like they are not asexual, but they're not sexual either. For example, a grey-asexual person doesn't feel sexual attraction often. Some asexuals also identify with a romantic identity as well, meaning they may feel the need to form relationships, while others may not. Some asexual people identify as queer. However, some people think that 'queer' is not an appropriate word for asexual people. Not having sex (celibacy), is not always asexuality. Some homosexuals, for example, don't want to have sex because they feel guilty about their sexual attraction.
In 2001, David Jay started the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. A 2012 study found that asexual people are just as discriminated against as gay men, lesbians, or bisexuals people. Asexuality has only recently been studied. One writer, S.E. Smith speculates that it has not increased, its just people have only just started noticing it. Acceptance of asexuality as a subject of scientific has only begun recently.
Libido, or sex drive, is the sexual arousal that humans feel. Some asexual people have a libido, this does not mean they are allosexual. They feel it as the body just doing it's thing, and often masturbate to relieve it.
Some asexual people are aromantic. This means that they do not feel romantic attraction such as getting a crush on someone. Others can be homoromantic, heteroromantic, biromantic, etc.
Mongoose
A mongoose (plural mongooses, alternatively mongeese) is a member of the family Herpestidae, a family of small cat-like carnivores. Mongooses are widely distributed in Asia, Africa the Caribbean, and southern Europe.
A well-known mongoose written in fiction is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, who has a short story of the same title in "The Jungle Book" (1894) by Rudyard Kipling. In this story set in India, the young mongoose saves his family from a krait and from two cobras, named Nag and Nagaina. This story was later made into several movies, and also a song by Donovan.
There is a Mongoose fictional character in Bram Stoker's novel, "The Lair of the White Worm." The main character, Adam Salton, buys one to hunt snakes.
Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise has a Pokémon named Zangoose, named after the mongoose.
Macedonian language
Macedonian (македонски јазик, "makedonski jazik") is a Slavic Indo-European language spoken mainly in North Macedonia. Macedonian is a part of the Balkan linguistic union, which also includes Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, Albanian and Torlakian dialect of the Serbian language. Macedonian is very similar to Bulgarian and some linguists say it is a dialect of Bulgarian.
The Macedonian language uses a Cyrillic alphabet. The following table provides the upper and lower case forms of the Macedonian alphabet, along with the IPA value for each letter:
Patina
A patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides or carbonates formed on the surface of metal or other material. Often this is due to exposure to weather. The word "patina" comes from the Latin word meaning "shallow dish". For many works of art the patina adds to its value. In many cases, the artist wanted the work to acquire a patina over time.
A patina layer takes many years to develop under natural weathering. Buildings in damp climates will develop patina layers faster than ones in dry areas. The facades of many buildings are made of copper, brass or bronze, for example. These will produce different colors after natural weathering.
Copper takes on a natural green or blue-green patina. Bronze takes on a brown color. Early civilizations used bronze extensively. The Bronze Age is named for it. In the United States, bronze was rarely used in buildings before the American Civil War. Marble, especially white marble, was used in classical Greek and Roman statues. It takes on a light golden patina over time.
Often, antique and well-used firearms will develop a patina on the steel after the bluing, parkerizing, or other finish has worn off. Firearms in this condition are generally considered more valuable than ones that have been re-blued or parkerized. The patina protects the firearm from the more damaging rust that would occur if the patina were polished off. Rust is sometimes valued as a patina. Examples are rat rods, custom cars and meant to look like early 1940s hot rods. They glorify rusted hot rods that have an almost cartoonish appearance. Some are actually rusted metal while others have a faux (false) finish intended to look like rust.
Copper items, lamps, fixtures and outdoor projects can be made to look weathered by use of paints or chemicals. For example, a 50/50 mix of ammonia and white vinegar will give copper an aged patina. Architects and craftspeople use copper sulfate on copper items to make them look old. Patina Green is another product used to give copper an instant aged look. Woodworkers and wood finishers mix their own wood stains. This is to match finishes on wood furniture to the same color, tone and patina of the original finish.
Crux
Crux (IPA: /ˈkrʊks/, Latin: cross), commonly known as the Southern Cross (in contrast to the Northern Cross), is one of the modern constellations. It points to the directions of north, south, east and west. It is the smallest modern constellation. It was first described by the Italian navigator Andrea Corsali in 1515.
In the past, sailors used to use Crux as a means of navigation.
The Southern Cross was used on the flag flown by miners in Ballarat, Victoria, during the rebellion known as the Eureka Stockade. The Southern Cross flag has been used as a symbol of protest in Australia since 1854.
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is only 3 km (2 miles) south-east of Melbourne's business district. Richmond's population was 26,121 in the 2011 census.
The older suburb has been rebuilt with more expensive houses and stores. This removal of run-down areas started in the early 1990s. Richmond now has many homes for the wealthy that were once warehouses. There are also public housing high-rise flats for the poor and row houses from the Victorian-era. There are also many shops, restaurants and bars.
Richmond has a popular active Vietnamese living area along Victoria Street. The area is also well known for the illegal drug trade (especially heroin) that happens both in the streets and inside homes.
Richmond has a train station, called the Richmond Train Station, which has 10 tracks and 10 platforms. The Richmond Railway Station is on the following train lines: Alamein, Bairnsdale, Belgrave, Cranbourne, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Lilydale, Pakenham and Sandringham.
The 1980s cult punk movie Dogs in Space made by Richard Lowenstein and starring Michael Hutchence was made in Richmond.
Songwriter Paul Kelly's song "Leaps and Bounds" mentions Richmond's 'clock on the silo'. Its real name is the Nylex Clock.
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, since the 1956 Summer Olympics.
The site for the opening and closing ceremonies was the Melbourne Cricket Ground which was also used during Melbourne's 1956 Olympic Games.
The mascot for the games was Karak, a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.