Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Froma Harrop: Losing Our Third Places (Creators Syndicate)
A story that captivated New York City: A group of elderly Korean-Americans had been gathering at a McDonald's in Queens for conversation and fellowship. They'd sit there all day long, sometimes sharing a $1.39 package of fries. The hangout was so popular that friends from other neighborhoods would travel to join them.
Susan Estrich: Don't Blame Obama (Creators Syndicate)
Even I was willing to blame the president, or at least his namesake: Obamacare.
Henry Rollins: The Super Bowl and American Exceptionalism (LA Weekly)
The most viewed TV show in American history happened recently, the 2014 Super Bowl. I watched the game with a roomful of enthusiastic co-celebrants. As popular as the game was, I fear that millions of people who really should have watched it did not. That is to say, America's enemies all over the world.
Ted Rall: Psst. The Pulitzers are BS
The winners of this year's Pulitzer Prizes in journalism will be announced in a couple of months. I will not be one of them; I forgot to enter this year. You read that correctly. Anyone can enter. All you need is fifty bucks, some clips and a dream. And good credit (no checks accepted). Remember that the next time you hear someone touted as a "Pulitzer Prize nominee."
D.J. Taylor: Can't writers make anything up? (Guardian)
Hanif Kureishi's latest fiction involves a fairly exact portrait of VS Naipaul. Is it wrong for novels to include supercharged versions of real people?
Paul Constant: Now Less Kafkaesque (Stranger)
Now that his name has become a watered-down adjective that pretty much means "a bad experience," it's sometimes hard to approach Kafka's writing as a living work. The kind of superheroic ubiquity that Kafka enjoys forces itself in between author and reader, putting a halt to the conversation of literature. Sometimes to truly get to Kafka, you need an intelligent guide.
Ted Rall: Nick Lowe Ruined My Summer. Then He Changed My Life
Overplaying is a zillion times worse when someone else does it to you. Free will is what makes it different. There's a big gap between self-indulgence and - there's no better word - torture carried out by others.
Mark Hill: 6 Life Lessons Learned from Working as a Carny (Cracked)
#6. Everything You Assume About Vomit Is True, and Then Some
How Wolves Change Rivers (YouTube)
"Our natural ecosystem is a delicate balance. When you take one part of it away, the results can be unforeseen and even catastrophic. But Sustainable Man tells us a story of one case of man correcting that imbalance. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after being absent for 70 years. In the 19 years since, the park has undergone a number of astonishing changes that can be traced to the wolves." - Neatorama)
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Lot like summer.
Scientific and Technical Academy Awards
Oscars
This year's Scientific & Technical Academy Awards featured an unusually large number of honorees - 52 individuals representing 19 technical achievements, plus career honorees - but it also summed up the digital revolution that has swept through the filmed entertainment industry
On the one hand, an Academy Award of Merit (that is, an actual Oscar statutette) was awarded "to all those who built and operated film laboratories, for over a century of service to the motion picture industry." It's the first time the Acad has ever given an Oscar to a large group of people, and an unprecedented salute to a segment of the film biz that is passing into history.
The Academy Award of Merit Oscar is somewhat rare, and not all those who planned the awards were convinced the presentation of such an award at the Sci-Tech banquet was the appropriate place to salute the contributions of labs. But the decision sends a signal. David Reisner, secretary of the American Society of Cinematographers technology committee and himself a recipient of an Academy Certificate this year, told Variety "This (unofficially!) acknowledges the death of film and its replacement by digital. It's kind of a big deal."
Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan handled hosting duties gracefully, and for once it was the diversity of honorees' names, not the jargon needed to describe their achievements, that tripped up the thesps as they read from the teleprompter.
Oscars
Lego Makeover
'The Simpsons'
The Fox network's animated family "The Simpsons" is getting a plastic makeover on May 4, as the creators team up with toy company Lego for an entire episode created out of the plastic building blocks, Fox's consumer products division said on Sunday.
The episode, entitled "Brick Like Me," will see family patriarch Homer Simpson wake up in a Springfield where everyone and everything is made out of Legos, and he must figure his way out before he gets stuck in the plastic world forever.
So far, the 25th season has seen a special Halloween episode directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, while an upcoming show will cross over with another Groening animated series, "Futurama."
"The Simpsons" has also been renewed for a 26th season, in which producers have teased that one longstanding character will die.
'The Simpsons'
Make-up and Hair Stylists Guild
Johnny Depp
In an awards season that seems to have a ceremony for every facet of filmmaking, the Make-up and Hair Stylists Guild awards returned after a 10-year hiatus with an award for Johnny Depp.
The actor received the first ever distinguished artisan award for his work in films like "Edward Scissorhands," ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Alice in Wonderland."
Depp's honor was presented by his long-time collaborator and makeup artist Joel Harlow, who is nominated for an Academy Award this year for makeup in "The Lone Ranger." Depp also starred in the film.
Jane Lynch, Ed Asner, Johnny Knoxville, Nicollette Sheridan and Melissa Leo were among the presenters at the charming awards show that even included the engagement of a gay couple.
Johnny Depp
'Gravity' Named Best Film
BAFTAs
Space thriller "Gravity" was named best British movie at the British Academy Film Awards Sunday, taking the first trophy of the night.
The special-effects extravaganza also scooped up early prizes for sound and music.
The supporting actor prize went to Barkhad Abdi, who made an explosive screen debut as a Somali pirate in "Captain Phillips," while Jennifer Lawrence was named best supporting actress for "American Hustle."
"American Hustle" also won the hair and makeup prize for its spectacular 70s stylings, while the "The Great Gatsby" - little-rewarded so far this awards season - took trophies for costumes and production design.
The documentary prize went to "The Act of Killing," a powerful look at hundreds of thousands of killings carried out in 1960s Indonesia in the name of fighting communism by death squads that went unpunished. Director Joshua Oppenheimer dedicated the award to his Indonesian co-director and crew, all of whom had to work anonymously because of the threat to their lives in tackling the taboo topic.
BAFTAs
European Boycotts
Israel
Drive down the steep road from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, and as the desert hills unfold toward the Jordan River the eye meets hundreds of rows of lush palms laden with succulent dates.
More than a third of the world's Medjool dates are grown here in the Jordan Valley, a narrow strip of the West Bank where Israeli agriculture is flourishing. Nearly all Israeli grape exports, as well as abundant crops of peppers and herbs, also come from this arid region.
The European Union, Israel's No. 1 trading partner, accounts for about a third of its total trade, and was long the favored destination for Jordan Valley produce. But these fruits and vegetables are grown on land that Israel has occupied since 1967. For a growing number of European consumers, that's a problem. They say that buying such produce is supporting the illegal confiscation and control of land and water resources that should be in Palestinian hands.
The campaign is starting to bite. Last year, Jordan Valley farmers lost an estimated $29 million, or 14 percent of revenue, because they were forced to find alternative markets for their exports, such as Russia, where prices are 20 to 60 percent lower. Pepper exports to Western Europe have stopped completely, and grape exports are likely to be phased out this year because of consumer pressure, says David Elhayani, mayor of the Jordan Valley Regional Council and a farmer himself.
Israel
Unveils Master Painters' Secrets
Science
What hue of red was really in that Renoir masterpiece? How did Van Gogh envision his yellow flowers? And did Picasso really use housepaint?
Advanced science techniques are helping shed new light on the original beauty that has faded with time on some of the world's greatest masterpieces, experts said Thursday.
By scaling down sampling techniques to the most miniature levels, scientists can now figure out how individual molecules in a painting vibrate differently, allowing them to see the true organic colors as they were over a century ago.
"We analyzed what the molecules as they were under the frame to tell us what they should be now," said Richard Van Duyne, professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, describing a powerful X-ray and microscope technique known as surface-enhanced Raman scattering that was used on a Renoir painting from 1883, called Madame Leon Clapisson.
The painting and its reconstruction are now part of an exhibit that opened February 8 at the Art Institute of Chicago, showing how scientists would revive the rosy and rusty hues to restore how it might have looked back then.
Science
Lone Star Tipple
Sake
What could be more Texas than this? Rice grown in Texas fields first planted by settlers more than a century ago, processed by a Texan in the heart of the capital, Austin, and sold under the product name "Rising Star."
Welcome to the world of the Texas Sake Company, almost certainly the first - and most certainly the only - commercial brewer of the Japanese rice wine operating in the Lone Star State.
Yoed Anis, 30, founder, president and brewmaster of the company started in 2011, applies traditional Japanese methods to make his sake, while dialing up the flavor to reflect the character of the state.
His "Rising Star" is a nigori sake, a coarsely filtered variety that looks cloudy in the glass, is slightly sweet on the tongue, and pairs well with barbecue.
Anis also offers a dry sake called "Tumbleweed" that drinks slightly like a white wine, and the full-bodied "Whooping Crane" that's a bit more acidic than the typical Japanese offerings.
Sake
Palestinians Seek Heritage Status For Ancient Village
Battir
Palestinian officials have filed an urgent request with UNESCO to receive World Heritage status for a West Bank village whose ancient terraces are under threat from the Israeli separation barrier.
The request to put the agricultural community of Battir on the UN cultural agency's list of protected sites was filed earlier this month, a village official said on Sunday.
Battir, which straddles the Green Line just south of Jerusalem, is famous for its ancient terraces and Roman-era irrigation system which is still used by the villagers for their crops.
But the village has come under threat from Israeli plans to erect part of the West Bank separation barrier there, which experts say will irretrievably damage the water system.
Battir
Ice Caves
Lake Superior
Crowds of people are flocking to northwestern Wisconsin to trek on a frozen-over Lake Superior to reach dramatic ice caves accessible on foot for the first time in several years, courtesy of the long frigid winter.
The ice caves on Superior's shoreline are carved out of sandstone by waves from the lake and derive their name from the icy freeze in winter that makes them glisten with hoar frost, icicles and ice formations.
Reachable in warm weather by boat, the caves are accessible in winter only by walking across ice when it is thick and stable enough.
It has been five years since the ice caves were last reachable in the winter, officials said.
About 35,000 people have hiked the more than 1 mile route across the ice in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore since officials declared the ice a "low risk" on January 15, park spokeswoman Julie Van Stappen said.
Lake Superior
Rare Feat
Animals
Dogs may bark to music and chimps may bang on drums, but creatures that can truly keep a beat are rare, raising intriguing questions about the evolution of the human brain.
A bonobo named Kanzi first surprised researcher Patricia Gray more than a decade ago, when Gray was absent-mindedly tapping on a glass window and the great ape on the other side tapped back.
Startled, Gray decided to speed up the tapping and the Kanzi kept pace, even reclining on his back to tap with his toes when treated to a sprig of green onions for a snack.
Since then, a few other creatures have showed scientists that they can truly synchronize their movements to a musical beat -- among them a cockatoo that is moved by listening to the Backstreet Boys and a sea lion named Ronan whose favorite song turns out to be the Earth, Wind and Fire classic, "Boogie Wonderland."
While animals in circuses and at water parks may appear to dance or sway to pop music blaring from speakers, most of the time they are not truly synching their movements to the beat, researchers told the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting on Saturday.
Animals
Weekend Box Office
'The Lego Movie'
"The Lego Movie" built a huge lead on top of the weekend's new releases at the box office.
In its second outing, the Warner Bros. animated film featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett earned $48.8 million to take first place, according to studio estimates Sunday. That brings the film based on the toy brick-building franchise's domestic box office total to $129.1 million, cementing it was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.
Sony's romantic comedy "About Last Night" starring Kevin Hart and Michael Ealy came in second place with $27 million. The strong showing further demonstrated Hart's clout as a box-office draw. The actor-comedian's other film, the buddy-cop comedy "Ride Along" with Ice Cube, nabbed $8.8 million in its fifth weekend to take the sixth spot at the box office.
The action-packed "RoboCop" reboot from Sony and MGM featuring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton captured third place with $21.5 million. The update to the original 1987 sci-fi film starring Peter Weller as a robotic officer performed better overseas, earning $35 million from 37 international markets, including France, Australia and Germany.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "The Lego Movie," $48.8 million ($27.7 million international).
2. "About Last Night," $27 million.
3. "RoboCop," $21.5 million ($35 million international).
4. "The Monuments Men," $15 million ($8.9 million international).
5. "Endless Love," $13.4 million ($3.9 million international).
6. "Ride Along," $8.8 million.
7. "Winter's Tale," $7.8 million ($4 million international).
8. "Frozen," $5.9 million ($18.2 million international).
9. "Lone Survivor," $4 million ($750,000 international).
10. "That Awkward Moment," $3.3 million ($2.1 million international).
'The Lego Movie'
In Memory
Jamie Coots
A snake-handling Kentucky pastor who appeared on the National Geographic television reality show "Snake Salvation" has died after being bitten by a snake.
According to a news release from the Middlesboro Police Department, someone called first responders at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday regarding a snake-bite victim at a church.
When the ambulance arrived, they were told that Jamie Coots had gone home. Contacted at his house, Coots refused medical treatment. Emergency workers left around 9:00 p.m. When they returned about an hour later, Coots was dead.
Coots was caught in January 2013 transporting three rattlesnakes and two copperheads through Knoxville, Tenn., for his church. Tennessee wildlife officials confiscated the snakes, and Coots pleaded guilty to illegally wildlife possession. He was given one year of unsupervised probation.
Jamie Coots
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