THE WEEK Aug 30: Poor performance

Miley mildly inappropriate

Miley Cyrus, a former childhood television star for Disney, has caused an uproar in the media this week. At the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, Cyrus' performance got a bit out of hand. It could have been the creepy life-size teddy bears, the horrifying outfits or maybe it was the twerking, a popular (and sometimes raunchy) dance move. Regardless, this stuff was on television for anybody to see. And if you think the filth broadcasted by mass media has no affect on its audience, this series of videos may make you think differently.

Boo! Ben is not Batman!

Oscar Award-winning actor Ben Affleck was cast to play the role of Batman in the upcoming Superman movie, the sequel to Man of Steel. Despite his success, more than 86,000 people have signed a petition to have Affleck removed from the role of Bruce Wayne. They say he's just not cut out for an action role. So we searched the Internet to find the best alternatives to play Batman in the upcoming film.

Watermelon waistline

While the debate over Ben Affleck's role heats up, people in China are figuring out creative ways to cool down. In the country's Zhejiang province, parents are dressing their kids in watermelon skin as a way to stay chilled in the summer heat. In Japan, however, one viral advertisement is encouraging a different summer style.

This wacky world!

A homeless man in the US attempted to rob a bank for $1 and was arrested. Why? He wanted to go to jail, because it was the only way he could get access to healthcare. Cultural officials in Sri Lanka are calling for an investigation after local police and veterinarians held a wedding ceremony for specially trained police dogs. Stephanie Key, the daughter of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, has been the subject of criticism after the art student posed in some NSFW photos to promote Paris Design Week. To make prostitution safer and less of a nuisance in Switzerland, officials installed "sex boxes". These sex boxes are essentially small parking garages where people can pull in and have sex. Weird stuff.

Buzz word

To twerk - To do a dance move that involves a person bending his or her back and shaking his or her booty to the rhythm of the music. Miley Cyrus twerked on stage at the VMAs last night, and it was just disgusting. Twerking has gotten so popular that there are videos of infant children twerking on the Internet. Sometimes I twerk in my bedroom with the door closed, because I am too embarrassed to do it at the club.