Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Michael J. Petrilli: "Kid, I'm Sorry, but You're Just Not College Material" (Slate)
Is exactly what we should be telling a lot of high school students.
Mark Morford: Is "work-life balance" a lie? (SF Gate)
We have now fully embraced the heartbreaking notion that "life" and "work" are not the same thing - and what's worse, probably aren't supposed to be.
Hannah Slapper: Why is Generation Y having less sex? (Guardian)
Stop reading this and go get some.
Erica Buist: Telling a young person to 'Just get a job' is like going to the Sahara and yelling 'Just rain!' (Guardian)
We were told that education was a ticket to employment when really it's more like vague directions to the station.
Zoe Williams: "Martin Amis on the English: provocative and preposterous" (Guardian)
Amis shows no interest in life in England now. He cannot distil or explain the national character, because he isn't listening.
Daniel O'Brien: How a Comedy Article Got Me Placed On the No-Fly List (Cracked)
I wrote a book about president fighting called How to Fight Presidents, which just came out today. It's a comedic nonfiction book that teaches you, appropriately enough, how to beat the crap out of every single lunatic who ran this country.
Daniel Beaulieu: Malaise (Vimeo)
This is my final project from Vancouver Film School's 3D animation program. With Malaise I wanted to do a project that was both visually exciting and a demonstration of my abilities as an animator. The look of the piece was influenced by an array of old sci-fi classics ranging from Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris to Jean-Claude Forest's Barbarella. For the feel and tone of the film it was to Ridley Scott's Alien franchise that I drew inspiration from.
Charlie Jane Anders: Two Reasons That Explain Why We're All Obsessed with Game of Thrones (io9)
Game of Thrones comes back to television in just a few weeks, and already we're feeling the imperative: All Men (And Women) Must Freak Out. But why is Game of Thrones such a huge cultural phenomenon, among all other fantasy series? It comes down to two huge cultural trends, that are rooted in our widespread anxieties about life in the 21st century.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
So - to let you know what's going on, the guestbook on bartcop.com is
still open for those who want to write something in memory of Bart.
I did an interview on Netroots Radio about Bart's passing
( www.stitcher.com/s?eid=32893545 )
The most active open discussion is on Bart's Facebook page.
( www.facebook.com/bartcop )
You can listen to Bart's theme song here
or here.
( www.bartcop.com/blizing-saddles.mp3 )
( youtu.be/MySGAaB0A9k )
We have opened up the radio show archives which are now free. Listen to
all you want.
( bartcop.com/members )
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Thanks, Marc!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and warmer than seasonal.
White Tiger Lily Protest
'Peter Pan'
Peter Pan is getting a reboot, but not without a bit of a fight. A new petition, protesting against Warner Bros.' announcement of Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, has collected over four thousand signatures, after launching on Tuesday.
The Care2 petition notes that the character of the J. M. Barrie story is a Native American princess, stating: "The casting choice is particularly shameful for a children's movie. Telling children their role models must all be white is unacceptable."
The activists said that they received an "unapologetic" statement from the studio, saying that "a black actress and a French actress were first considered for the role," and that "the world being created is multi-racial/international - and a very different character than previously imagined."
However, Warner Bros. emphatically denies releasing a statement to the organization.
'Peter Pan'
Visits Alaska Robotics
Sen. Mark Begich
"With us today from the oppressive capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., we have Sen. Mark Begich" isn't how the Alaska statesman is often introduced, but then again, politicians usually don't make willing appearances on Alaska Robotics News.
Times, it seems, have changed. Just a week after President Barack Obama sat down with comedian Zach Galifianakis for a sketch on "Between Two Ferns" to promote his health care law, the Alaska Democrat appeared on the YouTube channel for Alaska Robotics News, an obscure satire news show from his home state.
The show is edited to look like a homemade talk show with cheesy background graphics, which are common online, and stock music.
In the episode, Begich, who is up for election this fall, mainly discussed the National Security Agency's domestic spying program while the host made cracks about Alaskans and the federal government.
Sen. Mark Begich
The Truth About His Mustache
John Oates
John Oates is a bit reluctant to discuss his mustache. It was the singer-guitarist's trademark during Hall & Oates's incredible run of hits in the '70s and '80s, but as that era came to an end, so did the 'stache.
"It was a big deal for the people who cared about it and it was weird for me," Oates admits. "It's a deep-seated emotional thing. It had to do with me changing my life in the late '80s and early '90s, after the big commercial success and pop-star thing. I needed to become a different person to go forward with my life. The mustache represented the old John; I didn't want to be that guy anymore, so I shaved it off. It was ritualistic in a way."
Although Oates is still very much together with Daryl Hall as a touring act - the duo will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month - perhaps that defiant act of shaving off his mustache allowed him to finally pursue a career as a solo artist.
As for the mustache, he now sports a goatee. "So now," Oates says, "it's just facial hair."
John Oates
Filming Set For 2015 Start
'Ghostbusters III'
The subject of rumor, hope and even demand for years, a third "Ghostbusters" film is very much in the works, even if franchise director Ivan Reitman won't be at the helm.
With original "Ghostbusters" actor Harold Ramis having passed away in late February, his friend and writing partner Reitman is to help Sony Pictures find another director, rather than take the chair himself.
"We'd decided not to comment up till now, I wasn't sure what I was going to do, and it was never clear what Bill was going to do," Reitman told Deadline.
"I'm not going to say how many Ghostbusters there will be in the new cast, but we are determined to retain the spirit of the original film," he said.
'Ghostbusters III'
Phone Hacking Payments
Rupert
A former News of the World reporter who was convicted of phone hacking told a British court Wednesday that the tabloid's editor, Andy Coulson, authorized payments for the illegal eavesdropping.
Ex-royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed in 2007 along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for eavesdropping on the voicemails of royal aides. Goodman is on trial again, alongside Coulson and five others, over wrongdoing at the now-defunct Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid. All have pleaded not guilty.
Speaking about hacking, Goodman said "lots of other people at the (newspaper) were doing this and I was the one that got caught."
Goodman said after his arrest that Coulson told him to claim he had been a "lone wolf." Goodman said he was told he would be able to return to work after serving his prison sentence as long as he didn't implicate anyone else.
He later accepted a financial settlement from the newspaper and signed a confidentiality agreement.
Rupert
No Due Process
No-Fly List
Thirteen people say their placement on the no-fly list deprives them of their due process rights, while lawyers defending the U.S. government say explaining such placement would involve classified information and endanger national security.
In August, U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown's rejected the government's assertion that people on the no-fly list can travel by other means, and that being on the list does not deprive them of their liberty. She asked the government for more information about its redress procedure to help her determine whether it satisfied due process requirements for the plaintiffs.
Lawyers representing the government said in federal court in Portland, Ore., on Monday that a person's right to a hearing concerning his no-fly list status is limited, given the national-security issues, and cautioned Brown not to "take over the policymaking" by writing new rules if she decides that the system is unfair.
The people seeking notice for their placement on the list were represented by lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, who argued that the process is inherently unfair to its clients by refusing to tell them what evidence put them on the list and shutting them out of the appeals process.
The government has never confirmed nor denied that the plaintiffs are on the list. Government attorney Amy Powell said the plaintiffs don't know whether they're on the no-fly list; they were merely denied boarding, which could have been for several reasons that have nothing to do with the no-fly list.
No-Fly List
MYSTIC and RETRO
NSA
The National Security Agency has technology capable of recording all the phone calls of an entire country and replaying them later, a report based on leaked documents said Tuesday.
The Washington Post, citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, said the technology functions like a time machine by being able to reach into the past.
The report said the NSA can collect 100 percent of the calls of a country and reach as far back as one month with the tools called MYSTIC and RETRO.
The leaked documents say the tools can "retrieve audio of interest that was not tasked at the time of the original call."
NSA
New Ag-Gag Law
Idaho
Not even a month after Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed it, Idaho's freshly minted ag-gag law is already facing a legal challenge. A coalition of animal rights, environmental, labor, and civil rights groups, along with journalist Will Potter, is suing the state, claiming that Senate Bill 1337 violates the First Amendment.
"These ag-gag laws are turning my sources into criminals, they are placing journalists like me in the legal crosshairs, and they are chilling a vibrant national discussion about animal protection, food safety, the environment, and workers' rights," Potter wrote on his website, Green Is the New Red, this morning.
Many of the same plaintiffs are involved in the Utah and Idaho cases, with the local American Civil Liberties Union being the notable addition to the new lawsuit. Leo Morales, communication director of ACLU Idaho, says that the group's involvement in the case is in the tradition of Upton Sinclair, who founded one of the group's first affiliate chapters in the country and nearly singlehandedly eliminated lard's place in the American kitchen after revealing the horrors of Chicago's stockyards in his novel The Jungle.
In Idaho, today's would-be Sinclairs could face fines of up to $5,000 or as much as a year in jail for taking audio or video recordings at agriculture installations, obtaining a job under false pretenses, damaging facilities, and other activities that relate to whistleblowers, undercover journalist, and animal rights activists.
"When the government tells us what we can observe and documents what we can use, not only do we lose our freedom of speech-it puts into question our entire freedom of thought," Morales says, highlighting the First Amendment concerns that drew the ACLU chapter to the case.
Idaho
US Sending Advisors
Uganda
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has agreed to meet with American experts to discuss his nation's draconian anti-gay law which has triggered international outrage, the top US diplomat said Tuesday.
Secretary of State John Kerry told US students he had talked with Museveni recently and he "committed to meet with some of our experts so that we could engage him a dialogue as to why what he did could not be based on any kind of science or fact."
Last month Museveni signed off on one of the world's toughest anti-gay laws, despite warnings from his Western allies, which state that "repeat homosexuals" should be jailed for life, outlaw the promotion of homosexuality and require people to report on gays.
Kerry has likened the new law to anti-Semitic legislation in Nazi Germany and warned it could damage ties with Washington.
Uganda
Idaho Scapegoat
Ravens
Idaho is planning to kill thousands of ravens to protect another bird whose eggs and chicks are among its prey, despite criticism that human development is a greater threat to the imperiled sage-grouse than the black-winged bird.
Ravens, carrion birds often popularly depicted as omens of death or misfortune, will be killed by baiting them with poisoned chicken eggs, shooting them and destroying a number of their eggs and nests, Idaho wildlife managers said.
Ravens are protected by federal law, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently granted Idaho a permit to kill 4,000 ravens in four areas of the state over two years. That will begin this month and end in June, with a second round planned for next year, federal documents show.
The sage-grouse's fate is at the center of a battle pitting environmentalists against industries like ranching and oil whose operations are tied to millions of acres of mostly federal lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service is to decide next year if the bird must be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Yet Idaho wildlife officials say habitat destruction and fragmentation linked to human activities are the greatest threats to the sage-grouse, with predation ranking 12 among 19 factors that contribute to the bird's decline.
Ravens
Wandering Oregon Wolf
OR-7
Wildlife advocates are preparing to retrace the 1,200-mile path of a wandering wolf whose trek in 2011 across Oregon and California attracted worldwide attention, hoping their upcoming journey will help build greater acceptance of wolves as they reclaim lost territories across the West.
The wolf, dubbed OR-7 and wearing a GPS-equipped collar, became a celebrity at 2 years old after leaving a pack in northeastern Oregon in September 2011, just days after the state issued a kill order for his father and a sibling for preying on livestock.
Using traditional storytelling, real-time multimedia blogging, time-lapse photography and a documentary film, they hope to offer new insights into what the spread of wolves across the West means for the people who live here, inspire new attitudes that ease conflicts in ranch country and recognize conservationists working to protect wolves.
On his route, OR-7 passed through where the last Oregon wolf was killed by a bounty hunter in 1946, and where the last known California wolf was killed in 1924.
OR-7's trek is standard procedure for young wolves trying to establish new territories. That's how wolves came to Oregon in the late 1990s from Idaho, where they were re-established as part of a federal endangered species program.
OR-7
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