The results of a study of more than 1,000 of the brightest five per cent of young people will come as relief to parents whose offspring, usually long-haired, are devotees of Iron Maiden, AC/DC and their musical descendants.

Researchers found that, far from being a sign of delinquency and poor academic ability, many adolescent "metalheads" are extremely bright and often use the music to help them deal with the stresses and strains of being gifted social outsiders.

Stuart Cadwallader, a psychologist at the University of Warwick, will present the findings at the British Psychological Society conference in York today.

He said: "There is a perception of gifted and talented students as being into classical music and spending a lot of time reading. I think that is an inaccurate stereotype. There is literature that links heavy metal to poor academic performance and delinquency but we found a group that contradicts that.

"We are looking at a group with lower than average self-esteem that does not feel quite as well adjusted. They feel more stressed out and turn to heavy metal as a way of relieving that stress.

"Participants said they appreciated the complex and sometimes political themes of heavy metal music more than perhaps the average pop song. It has a tendency to worry adults a bit but I think it is just a cathartic thing. It does not indicate problems."

The researchers surveyed 1,057 members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth - a body whose 120,000 student members are within the top five per cent academically in the 11-19 age range.

Asked for their favourite type of music, 39 per cent said rock, 18 per cent R&B and 14 per cent pop. Six per cent said heavy metal and a third rated it in their top five genres.

The heavy metal fans in the study had lower self-esteem and more difficulties in family relationships and friendships.

Mr Cadwallader then held an online discussion involving 19 members of the academy, 17 of whom were heavy metal fans. They spoke of listening to bands including System of a Down, Slipknot, Tool, Dragon Force, Forward Russia and In Flames when they were in a bad mood and using it to work off frustrations and anger.

One student said: "It helps me with stress. It's the general thrashiness of it. You can't really jump your anger into the floor and listen to your music at the same time with other types of music."

Mr Cadwallader added: "Perhaps gifted people experience more pressure than their peers and use the music to purge this negativity."

Dan Silver, assistant editor of the music magazine NME who has worked for Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, said: "Many themes of heavy metal are about alienation. If you have these kinds of feelings there is a lot you can get out of the music and the community of fans who are into it."

Goosey's Gabbings...

When this information was told to Ozzy Osbourne, his response was "Well I guess Mozart can stick that up his ^%*Q!W@#*!*!*@)#*! ass!" (Of course, this was translated from Ozzy's dialect of gibberish)

I guess I should have nothing to fear then when I hear Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar" blaring from my son's room; it's just Junior workin' off some steam!

Labels: bizarre, comedy, funny, heavy metal, humorous, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, quirky, united kingdom, weird

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Currently, the federal government is slated to spend more than $1 billion in abstinence-only educationthrough 2008. Federal funding is denied institutions that provide facts about homosexuality, same-sex marriage or birth control.

The Responsible Education About Life Act was presented by Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and would grant $206 million per year to states for comprehensive sexuality education.

Of the 19 million cases of sexually transmitted disease annually in the United States, nearly half strike young people ages 15 to 24, Lee and the other lawmakers said in a written statement.

"We need to get real about sex education," Lee said in the statement. "We should absolutely be teaching young people about abstinence, but we shouldn't be holding back information that can save lives and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Instead of 'abstinence only,' what we're proposing is 'abstinence-plus.' "

Goosey's Gabbings...

I applaud this effort to giving information to teens in a format that discusses all angles and appropriately demonstrates more of a realistic approach to sex education. While the content and context of these changes remain to be seen, I am confident that in the world we live in today, that this will be far more effective than just simply preaching abstinence. Again, with proper parenting and instruction, this can be a powerful message given to our youth.

Labels: bizarre, congress, government, news, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, quirky, sex, sex education, weird

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three brazen New Jersey shoplifters made off with nearly $12,000 in women's underwear by stuffing the goods into bags designed to foil anti-theft equipment at a Victoria's Secret store while the shop was open for business, police said.

Surveillance cameras captured two men and one woman jamming undergarments into large bags and walking past customers and staff into the Newport Center Mall in Jersey City.

Police said the thieves took over $6,900 in panties and more than $4,900 in bras. Victoria's Secret bras retail from $30 to over $50. Panties cost between $5 and $20, according to the company's website.

No arrests have been made since the crime was reported Tuesday night, said Lt. Edgar Martinez, spokesman for the Jersey City police department.

"This isn't something we've seen before. It's a lot of underwear to take," said Martinez.

Goosey's Gabbings...

This definitely gives new meaning to the phrase "panty raid". Once again, this isn't like a teenager getting away with sneaking out one item past someone; we're talking items in bulk here. If anyone should be embarassed, it's the staff at Victoria's Secret--I mean, how many bags did they bring in there? Like--50? Come on!!

Labels: bizarre, comedy, crime, funny, humorous, new jersey, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, panties, panty, Victoria's Secret, weird