Say Cheese!

No War is Civil

2011-04-12T01:00:00.025-04:00

Civility is a casualty before the first shot.

Just before dawn, 150 years ago today, the Civil War started with a single cannon shot which sailed over Charleston Harbor and exploded above the federal garrison at Fort Sumter, setting the stage for four years of carnage that cost more than 600,000 American lives.

Currier & Ives lithograph of the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter, in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor, from the Library of Congress.

You can hear arguments about the name still echoing through the former Confederate States, where some still seriously contend our bloodiest war wasn't really about slavery... America's original sin.

Adam Goodheart’s new book is “1861: The Civil War Awakening.”

Did the Conflict Ever End?

Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 4/11/11.
Host: Deborah Becker.

The New York Times series: Disunion- the Civil War’s unfolding.

Ken Burns' treatment of The Civil War repeated on PBS last week.

Meat Market

2011-04-12T00:57:00.011-04:00

A sweet, salty, savory scent for real men and women who really want a taste of someone whose essence attracts hordes of other dudes.

Other signs of the Aporkalypse...

9" x 15", periodic table pillow, (non-meat) stuffing included

Can you smell what Victoria's Secret is cooking?

Holy Taco's collection of 50 things made better by bacon.

Banned From Bus Sides

2011-04-12T00:56:00.005-04:00

A ban that began with saying no to this bus board, has been expanded to prohibit all forms of "political" advertising on the King County Metro, the Seattle area's largest public transit system.

Censoring Commercial Controversy

Audio Embed: Puget Sound Public Radio 4/11/11,
Reporter: Liz Jones.

In September 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict headed by Justice Richard Goldstone found strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both Israel and Hamas during the Gaza conflict (during the winter of 2008–2009); urging the international community as a whole to put an end to impunity for violations of international law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The South African jurist was no novice in the field. He had previously investigated, or prosecuted, similar allegations pertaining to the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He also didn't come to the task with an anti-Israeli bias... Justice Richard Goldstone is a Jew.

Sex Ed with Julia Sweeney

2011-04-12T00:55:00.004-04:00

Discussing birds, bees (and frogs) with her eight-year-old daughter.

411

2011-04-11T01:00:00.001-04:00

In the United States there will be more than 6 billion calls to directory assistance this year... The phone company already has your number.

Lily Tomlin as "Ernestine" from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1969-73)

Belgium Gets By

2011-04-11T00:59:00.009-04:00

As last minute budget theatrics threatened at least a partial shutdown in Washington DC, very little attention has been paid to the fact that already has happened in Brussels, where it's business as usual.

Saturday marked 300 days without a central government for the country of Belgium, surpassing the record formerly held by Iraq. Officials there are in a political stalemate over budget issues and electoral districts, but many Belgians say the absence of a government doesn't make much difference in daily lives. Host Scott Simon talked with Belgian columnist and journalist Gerrit Six.

No Government, No Worries

Audio Embed: Weekend Edition Saturday 4/9/11.

No Toner, No Cry

2011-04-11T00:58:00.003-04:00

An M thru F experience via Failblog

Snow Ball Fight In Space

2011-04-11T00:57:00.006-04:00

Gas giants' ring ripples chronicle evidence of chaotic collisions.

Comets as Cosmic Clocks

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 4/1/11.

Alien Nation

2011-04-11T00:56:00.005-04:00

Space invaders aren't a new topic for Steven Spielberg. In the last decade he's turned out the TV mini series Taken (2002) and a full scale action/adventure visualization of War of the Worlds (2005).

And coming in June, a TNT mini series called "Falling Skies."

Wish Fulfillment

2011-04-11T00:55:00.008-04:00

The Washington State Lottery is encouraging would-be players to participate in pairs. Their ad campaign, "Play Together, Win Together," positions the Lottery as a social experience and encourages friends to play it together to make dreams come true.

In the spot "Segways at Dawn," two knights solemnly strap on their armour in preparation for a joust. As the contest begins, it's revealed they're in a muddy field on Segways with a group of friends watching.

Slow motion jousting, either mounted on steeds or balanced on Segways, may not be what you had in mind, but isn't there something you and your friends have never done but wish you could try?

From Cole & Webber via creativity-online

Desperate and Distracting

2011-04-10T01:00:00.004-04:00

Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction

David Letterman gets more than a tasty hint of cilantro!

Rickles on Regis

Mr. Warmth probably has a larger cup size.

Long Ball

2011-04-10T00:59:00.005-04:00

People who complain about the pace of baseball, calling a nine-inning game an eternity, obviously had never heard of the 33-inning game in 1981 between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings... Dan Barry has. And he wrote the book on the longest ballgame ever.

Bottom of the 33rd

Audio Embed: WBUR & NPR's Only A Game 4/9/11,
Host: Bill Littlefield.

Jon Cryer Will F You Up

2011-04-10T00:58:00.006-04:00

"Two and a Half Men" co-star Jon Cryer reveals that he has been spending his post-Charlie free time recording a hip hop album.

Jon Cryer's musical production number will be featured tonight on:
The Comedy Awards - Comedy Central, Sunday 4/10/11, 9pm E/P

Mapping Stereotypes

2011-04-10T00:57:00.041-04:00

Some humorous, some hurtful, each with some truth...

Sayin' No to Nevada

John Coulter's illustration for the Las Vegas Sun

Politicians' contradictory excuses for why businesses don’t want to locate in Nevada... Because it's really Mississippi with a desert.

Continental U.S.

‘Amercia In My Book’ by Haley Nahman

The "Dark (Perspective) Continent"

Yanko Tsvetkov's vision of Africa as seen through American eyes

Eye Can See Clearly Now

2011-04-10T00:56:00.024-04:00

Education spending question: What if a $10 purchase could buy you a 50% increase in how much a child learned in a school year?

Illustration by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Paul Glewwe (rhymes with ‘heavy’) and Albert Park did it by giving away $10 eyeglasses to schoolchildren with poor eyesight in China.

Eyesight, Education & Economics

Audio Embed: APM & WNYC's Freakonomics Radio Podcast 4/5/11, Host: Stephen J. Dubner

Glamour Photo Shoot

2011-04-10T00:55:00.002-04:00

The Real Housewives of Late Night

See more continuing drama from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

In The Midnight Hour

2011-04-09T01:00:00.015-04:00

A great Memphis soul song, but one crazy way to fund a government.

Wilson Pickett - "In The Midnight Hour" - The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Radio Audizioni Italiane TV (c.1966)

The Huffington Post collected a slide show of 25 (mostly) semi-humorous #govtshutdownpickuplines. It's a wonder wonks breed.

Tweak Your Week

2011-04-09T00:59:00.015-04:00

Morning Joe

Meatloaf's massive meltdown, April Fool's anchor prank & budget.

Daily Show: Recap - Week of 4/4/11

Billy Crystal's first tweet, and confronting Middle East sexism.

Colbert Report: Recap - Week of 4/4/11

James Franco debates art and Stephen prepares for royal wedding.

Late Night

Jimmy Fallon reads his favorite tweets, hashtag = #worstspringbreak

This Week in Unnecessary Censorship

from Jimmy Kimmel Live

Who's Gone Too Far This Week?

Click through for details

The Onion Review

Type Casting

2011-04-09T00:58:00.004-04:00

Jessica Biel is rumored to be in the remake of Total Recall... But in which part do you see her?

More Sharon Stone or Rachel Titocin?

Click through for Slash Film's discussion.

Thanks, Left Out Un-History

2011-04-09T00:57:00.004-04:00

Causality, Indexed by Jessica Hagy

"Then Everything Changed"

Audio Embed: Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 4/8/11.

Speed Kills

2011-04-09T00:56:00.002-04:00

But Far Too Slowly For Texas

The Lone Star state already has the fastest speed limits in the nation at 80 mph... But now has raised them to 85. An oil industry stimulus?

Video analysis by Newsy.com

Efficient Child Abuse

2011-04-09T00:55:00.004-04:00

Fact Check That Fool

2011-04-09T00:54:00.003-04:00

As blowhard reality show tycoon Donald Trump flirts with running for president in 2012 and spreads birther claims no more believable than his hair, NBC's Lisa Myers reports what truth she learned in Hawaii.

Conan Coaxes Truth From Trump

The Donald Is Dangerous

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 4/8/11.

Jimmy Kimmel Live - Donald Trump for President

Dump Trump!

2011-04-08T01:00:00.014-04:00

I've previously referred to Donald Trump (Birther-NY) as a "publicity whore" and "egomaniacal entrepreneur." His latest stupid and self-aggrandizing spew as a political poser hasn't changed that opinion.

Donald Trump told Meredith Vieira he has people on the ground in Hawaii investigating the president's birth certificate. It works for Republican polls & TV ratings, but the argument is phony as the hair.

The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart went after the facts.

Back in Black, Deserves A Rerun

Lewis Black thinks publicity whore/political poser Donald Trump has what it takes to be the crazy third-world dictator that America needs.

Mad Ads

2011-04-08T00:59:00.030-04:00

Clothes to the Edge

Calvin Klein's "ck" initials are prominent, the "F.U." is more subtle.

Tyne Stecklein was one of 10 backup dancers chosen from a pool of 5,000 hopefuls for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" tour, which was canceled following his death in June 2009. She nails her moves for Old Navy with a precision that makes her quick change edits possible.

New Zealand clothing retailer Hallensteins failed twice by incurring the wrath of the country's ad watchdog because its song lyrics include the phrase "dumb whore" & aired on TV during G-rated Princess Diaries 2.

Udderly Amazing!

2011-04-08T00:58:00.002-04:00

Chinese Franken-cows Produce "Human" Milk

Illustration by Ron English

Chinese scientists say they've combined human genes with cows that can now produce mass quantities of milk that mimics Mom's own.

Video analysis by Newsy.com

Mel Yells

2011-04-08T00:57:00.005-04:00

More Colorful Language from Mr. Gibson

"digital circlism" portrait by Ben Heine

Pitchman

2011-04-08T00:56:00.005-04:00

The Greatest TED Talk Ever Sold

Film maker Morgan Spurlock put the naming rights to his 2011 TED speech up for bid on eBay, and got a company to pay $7100 for them.

Wash Your Winkie

2011-04-08T00:55:00.012-04:00

Serena Altschul took a ride on the wild side with English bad boy comedian Russell Brand at Universal Studios while filming the remake of the 1981 Academy Award winning comedy "Arthur," which opens today... "Hop" debuted last weekend atop box office receipts.

Mouth Organ Lesson

2011-04-08T00:54:00.000-04:00

"One Tree Hill" star/reluctant harmonica player Sophia Bush.

CBS Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson... Innuendo & out the other.

Shut Down

2011-04-07T01:00:00.041-04:00

President Obama: "Politics should not create a government shutdown."

And mindless knee jerk opposition to anything Barack backs continues to be the operational stance, if not publicly declared rationale, of the Republicans' Tea Party federal budget insurgency.

The deadline looms large.

"The price you paid for your riches and fame,
Was it all a strange game? You're a little insane."
-- The Byrds, "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (1967)

Budget Negotiations Process Viewed as Political Game Theory

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 4/6/11,
Reporter: Ari Shapiro.

Anthony Weiner (D-NY) talks about the ongoing negotiations and the disingenuousness of Republicans who claim not to want a shutdown.

So who IS essential?

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 4/6/11.

And maybe what was the last widely popular "shut down"...

The Beach Boys - "Shut Down" - Surfin' USA (1963)

Fine, Just Fine

2011-04-07T00:59:00.000-04:00

Hitting the balance sheet is really the only tool a government has to enforce violations of law or regulations by corporations... However much it might be deserved, there's no corporate death penalty.

Do fines make a difference in changing behavior, or do they just get written off eventually as another cost of doing business as usual?

Does The Money Really Matter?

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 4/6/11.

Southwest Airlines Top Ten

CBS / Late Night with David Letterman, 4/5/11

Looney Tunes

2011-04-07T00:58:00.048-04:00

Is Beck Too Crazy... Even For Fox?

As news broke that Fox News and Glenn Beck will be parting ways, at least in terms of his daily FNC show, mid day anchor Megyn Kelly slyly joked to Bret Baier: ‘I hear there may be a chalkboard becoming available.’

On Tuesday, Beck repeated his familiar mantra (the “Insurrection” is coming, his viewers need to prepare for dark times). He blamed the same groups (unions, Communists, Socialists, Islamists). He showed clips from the same people (Frances Fox Piven, Van Jones). And then, he tied it all to an arch-villain (liberal campaign funder George Soros).

After that, he asked his audience, “It's really getting boring, isn’t it?”

Fox executives Roger Ailes and/or Rupert Murdoch answered: "Yes."

"(This) is a great moment for the collective intelligence of American discourse."
-- Keth Olbermann, former cable competitor, 4/6/11

Now who will urge the paranoid to hoard guns, gold and groceries?

Let's Go Mental

2011-04-07T00:57:00.027-04:00

British designer Patrick Smith brainstormed an as yet unsponsored series of minimalist posters of the theme of mental health disorders.

In the United States, National Mental Health Month for 2011 is May.

Dana Delany, Night & Day

2011-04-07T00:56:00.001-04:00

TV's latest crusading medical examiner has a long list of showbiz credits, a wild streak, strong stomach and no shortage of stories.

Birthday Boycott

The Beauty of Brains, Blood and Guts

ABC /Jimmy Kimmel Live

Bitchiness, Body of Proof, Bruce Willis & Moonlighting

CBS / The Talk

Polish That Turd

2011-04-07T00:55:00.005-04:00

Flying, Nuclear Waste & Deadly Protests

Daily Show Correspondents Olivia Munn, Wyatt Cenac, Samantha Bee and John Oliver look for the bright side of news about failing planes, leaking radioactive waste and deadly protests in Afghanistan.

Masters & Manners (NSFW)

2011-04-07T00:54:00.017-04:00

You may not ever watch a TV golf match the same way again.

Speaking of Turds...

Audio Embed: Berger & Prescott, podcast via Facebook.

Every Vote Counts

2011-04-06T15:04:00.012-04:00

The job is not as powerful as you might think:

Most of "Las Vegas" is outside city limits
A manager runs the city, not the elected mayor
The mayor chairs, not controls, a city council
There aren't that many ribbons to cut anymore

But it had fringe benefits for former mob lawyer Oscar Goodman.

Often pictured with showgirls on each arm, or a martini in hand, his 12 year administration is ending because of mandatory term limits.

If voters had their choice, the self proclaimed "world's happiest mayor" might well have the job for life. But Tuesday's preliminary election narrowed the field of 18 candidates down to 2, guaranteeing the next mayor would be one of two women with the same initials.

Carolyn Goodman: vivacious wife of the outgoing Oscar, short on substantive political positions, long on name recognition.

Chris Giunchigliani (say June-killy-Annie): former teacher, union leader & state legislator, current Clark County commissioner.

But the more interesting story belongs to two of the also-rans... Candidates whose campaigns could not have been more different.

County commissioner Larry Brown went door to door in an old fashioned grass roots effort. Although his reputation is that of a budget hawk, he was derided as a big spending liberal in the sole big budget TV campaign, for immigrant businessman Victor Chaltiel.

Commissioner Brown fell short of making the final ballot by 15 votes.

Victor, who spent more than a million of his own money in his vanity campaign, finished 4th @ 14%... But many are left wonderring how many votes his mischaracterization cost Larry Brown in the end.

Off year/off season voting almost guarantees the lowest turnouts of any electoral process, but magnifies the importance of each individual participant... Making it never more true: Every vote counts.

More McJobs

2011-04-06T00:59:00.023-04:00

McDonald's Announces Plan to Add 50,000 Employees... If the hair-net fits, wear it.

On April 19th McDonald's US plans to hire 50,000 new employees for a variety of positions in 14,000 restaurants around the country.

All the Better to Supersize Me, 24/7!

I Want My iPadTV

2011-04-06T00:58:00.021-04:00

Should you be able to watch cable TV channels you subscribe to on your iPad at no extra cost? Providers say yes, networks say no.

It's war!

Audio Embed: APM's Marketplace Tech Report 4/5/11,
Host: John Moe.

Specialization in Perspective

2011-04-06T00:57:00.007-04:00

Indexed by Jessica Hagy

French Chef, American Spy?

2011-04-06T00:56:00.002-04:00

Before she was a famous cookbook author, or television’s first iconic chef, and long before she was played by Meryl Streep in the Nora Ephron film “Julie and Julia,” Julia Child worked for the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS... The U.S. spy organization formed during World War II that was a predecessor to the CIA. Julia (Williams) met husband Paul Child while they both served in the OSS in the 1940s.

Espionage is French for Spying

Audio Embed: PRI & WNYC's program The Takeaway 4/5/11,
Hosts: Celeste Headlee & John Hockenberry.

Jennet Conant takes a closer look in her new book,
“A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS.”

Takin'It To The Street

2011-04-06T00:55:00.013-04:00

Internet Outage Alters Voicing of Inane Opinions

Cyber attack forces Americans to physically go outside to tell people how much they love BBQ or what they think of Christina Aguilera.

Ban the Benjamins?

2011-04-06T00:54:00.000-04:00

Hundred-dollar bills are for criminals and sociopaths. Why do we still print them?
-- Slate contributor, Timothy Noah, 12/9/10

Is disliking who holds them a reason to stop making $100 bills?

Kill the Bills?

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 4/5/11.
Read the Slate Article by Timothy Noah

Zealots at Home & Abroad

2011-04-05T01:00:00.017-04:00

Terry Jones, the Gainesville FL cult leader, who ALMOST burned a Quran last September 11th, finally did it... Sparking deadly violence at the United Nations compound in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Protests against the burning continue, with a death toll comparable to the membership of Jones' congregation, and injured over 100 more.

While the Taliban seem to be stoking the fires of the angry mobs, a supposed U.S. ally seems to be the one who lit the bigger match.

Our Good Old Buddy, Hamid

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 4/4/11.

Al-Jazeera’s Abderrahim Foukara and Professor Irshad Manji react.

International cartoonists on Terry Jones & Afghan violence.

"The Koran gets burned all the time when Muslims blow each other up in mosques"
-- Rush Limbaugh, 4/4/11

Spill Baby Spill

2011-04-05T00:59:00.013-04:00

The Wall Street Journal reports that Transocean is granting annual executive bonuses based in part on the company's safety record, despite the 11 workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Oil Prices Soar Again

John Hofmeister of Citizens for Affordable Energy talks about the rising price of oil as BP plans to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Punk Rock Opera

2011-04-05T00:58:00.008-04:00

The Boston-based Dropkick Murphys are out with their seventh studio album. “Going Out In Style” is filled with odes to family, friends, the working man and fallen soldiers. It’s based on the life of Cornelius “Connie” Larkin, a fictitious creation of band’s bass player, vocalist & co-founder Ken Casey, with author Michael Patrick MacDonald.

An Irish Immigrant Experience

Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 4/4/11,
Host: Robin Young.

Cloudy

2011-04-05T00:57:00.017-04:00

When you live with a day tripper in a yellow submarine...

A word cloud made of Beatles' lyrics

Day One Tripper blogged by I Love Charts

Choose Your Weapons

2011-04-05T00:56:00.007-04:00

Evan Longoria

The third baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays made it through spring training, but you can't say the same for all of his gansta goodies.

3B Minus AK-47

Audio Embed: WBUR & NPR's Only A Game 3/31/11,
Commentator: Bill Littlefield.

Batman & Robin

via 9gag.com

Muhammad Ali Monument

2011-04-05T00:55:00.001-04:00

The Greatest, as Portrayed only in Boxing Speed Bags

It took three years, 1300 boxing punching bags in two different colors, five miles of stainless steel wire and two miles of aluminum tubing to create this 22 foot high mobile and modular monument...

"reALIze" by Michael Kalish (artist) & the Oyler Wu Collaborative (architects).

Karyn Bryant interviewed the creators during set-up in L.A., where the sculpture is on display at Nokia Plaza, but only through 4/9/11.

Live On Stage

2011-04-05T00:54:00.020-04:00

Thumbs Up

Harry Smith profiles comedian Chris Rock who is currently rocking the Broadway stage in the play "The Motherf**ker With the Hat."

Thumbs Down

The crowd at Charlie Sheen's live show in Detroit greeted him with a standing ovation but soon began to boo the troubled actor and many in the audience walked out demanding refunds.

The Violent Torpedo of Truth: The show sucked on opening night.

In The Name of Love

2011-04-04T01:00:00.010-04:00

Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King.

Truth At Last

2011-04-04T00:59:00.046-04:00

The Nixons board Air Force One for the last time, 8/9/74

Richard Nixon's legacy, distorted for four decades by diehard loyalists who controlled his presidential library, gets a fresh look through the more objective eyes of new management... The National Archives.

Sorry, He Was A Crook

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 4/1/11,
Reporter: by Ina Jaffe.

Lovely, Loopy, Lounging

2011-04-04T00:58:00.024-04:00

Victor Aleman's combination fantasy and function "chair" has single, double or triple loops designed for face to face poolside socializing.

'Loopita' from Kerozene Design... The lovely Lupita not included.

Partyin' Payoff

2011-04-04T00:57:00.005-04:00

The bet was that Stephen Colbert would sing Rebecca Black's 'Friday' on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' if the two could meet a Friday fund-raising deadline for the education charity Donor's Choose.

With a 4/1 finish line, many suspected an elaborate April Fools' Day prank. But on Friday's "Late Night," Best Friends Forever For Six Months Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon delivered big time, with The Roots rockin' and American Idol Taylor Hicks joining in.

Blue Food Blues

2011-04-04T00:56:00.002-04:00

Neither Dave Ross, nor the Food and Drug Administration, share George Carlin's enthusiasm... Studies link several widely used food coloring dyes to childhood hyperactivity and could prompt restrictions.

Food Coloring Warnings

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 3/30/11.

There Goes Gravity

2011-04-04T00:55:00.039-04:00

Do you know? Don't you wonder?
What's going on, down under you?
-- David Crosby, "Déjà Vu" (1969)

Unveiled during a conference at Technische Universität München (Munich Technical University), results from the European Space Agency's GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) satellite gathered data to map Earth's gravity field with unprecedented precision. It offers a very different image of home.

The resulting figure, called a "geoid," is a reference for ocean, climate and geological tectonic (earthquake) studies, and will improve our understanding of Earth’s internal structure.

"Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity."
-- Eminem, "Lose Yourself" - 8 Mile Soundtrack (2002)

All The Way to China

Do you remember the premise of "The China Syndrome," a 1979 movie starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon & the bearded Michael Douglas?

The disaster film suggested that an uncontrolled reaction's nuclear meltdown could create enough heat to melt its way into the earth, and some engineer remarked "it could go all the way to China."

Actually, that kind of hole starting at PG&E's Diablo Canyon Power Plant, near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California would wind up at the bottom of the southern Indian Ocean... More or less where an imaginary line drawn between Cape Town and Perth would intersect a south east compass radial from southern Madagascar.

If you're willing to put aside that whole molten magma in the middle mess, you can dig a big hole of your own with this interactive map!

By the way, if you really did want to dig a hole all the way to China, begin in the rural eastern province of Rio Negro, Argentina, south of Lago 8 de Agosto, and you'll wind up in downtown Beijing.

Monday Matchup

2011-04-03T02:17:00.002-04:00

It's a dogfight for the NCAA championship game on Monday night as UConn & Butler come off Saturday night Final 4 victories in Houston.

#3 seed, 56-55 over UK

#8 seed, 70-62 over VCU

Busted Brackets

2011-04-02T01:00:00.017-04:00

The final four combination was so improbable that only 2 of the nearly 6 million people who filled out brackets on ESPN picked:

One of those who got it right was Joe Pearlman of East Brunswick, NJ.

Accidentally Brilliant

Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 4/1/11,
Host: Robin Young.

So now let's all hope for great games... That's pay-off enough!

Samurais' Sacrifice

2011-04-02T00:59:00.019-04:00

Japanese nuclear workers have told relatives they know they could die from radiation-caused cancer within years, or exposure within weeks.

Video analysis by Newsy.com

Moving Day

2011-04-02T00:58:00.080-04:00

Moving Out

The man who monitored the "success" of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (a.k.a. "Wall Street Bailout") leaves with mixed feelings.

How Do You Measure a T.A.R.P.?

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/30/11.

Move Your Money

Will you personally turn away from Too Big To Fail megabanks?

Smaller Scale Alternatives

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 4/1/11.

Move Your Music

Amazon.com rolled out two new products this week: "Cloud Drive" for storing up to 5gb of music on their Internet servers and "Cloud Player" for playing it back... Accessible from anywhere you're online.

Should you put your music on a cloud?

Audio Embed: APM's Marketplace Tech Report, Host: John Moe.

Vermont Opts Out

2011-04-02T00:57:00.010-04:00

A bill in the Vermont legislature would opt out of the federal health care program, but unlike other states, improve it with single payer.

Animation Nation

2011-04-02T00:56:00.003-04:00

Schwarzenegger as ‘The Governator’

As he promised, Arnold's back as an animated hero

Jay & Silent Bob Series

Characters resurface despite Kevin Smith's announced retirement

Silver Anniversary Celebration

Pixar Feature Films Used (In order of release)

Toy Story (1995)
A Bug's Life (1998)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Monster's Inc. (2001)
Finding Nemo (2003)
The Incredibles (2004)
Cars (2006)
Ratatouille (2007)
WALL-E (2008)
Up (2009)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Cars 2 (2011)

Roger Ebert Predicted The Future Of Film In 1987

Ambient World

2011-04-02T00:55:00.012-04:00

A 2010 two-disc set of contemplative & textural electronic music by David Arkenstone, Ambient World flavored with the tastes of Japan.

Listening Eastward

Audio Embed: Echoes, an ambient music program on public radio with extensive archives of subscriber downloads.

Funny Girl

2011-04-02T00:54:00.011-04:00

She's Mugging For the Radio

American stand-up comedian and voice actor Maria Bamford gives the CBC's QTV a glimpse into the mind of one crazy comic.

Stop Deforestation

2011-04-01T01:00:00.006-04:00

The Lines Are Already a Bitch!

From The Daily Tail dog blog, Spring 2010

Shoes For Industry

2011-04-01T00:59:00.013-04:00

Proud celebrity chihuahua owner Paris Hilton selected Mexico City as the latest place to get paid for showing up and posing on March 30th.
The vapid vamp's latest venture: a line of shoes...

For those who don't know a Jimmy Choo from a chalupa:

click to enlarge

And for those who prefer "monster jams..."

The Eagles - "Those Shoes" - The Long Run (1979)

#snakeinbondage

2011-04-01T00:58:00.001-04:00

After what could be a final tweet...

	BronxZoosCobra
There's a Facebook page "Bronx Zoo's Cobra to Host SNL." Apparently it worked for Betty White. #snakeonsnl

Thursday, the evasive reptile was recaptured inside the reptile house, lured by the tasty temptation of live mice... Unless this news is what passes for April Fools in NYC these days. #snakeinbondage

Exit Strategy

2011-04-01T00:57:00.015-04:00

Regis Philbin & David Letterman talk about riding off into the sunset.

Form Follows Function

2011-04-01T00:56:00.012-04:00

Similar Shape

Sized To Fit

Sure looks like brain food! Don't it?

Eat Up, Go Nuts

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/28/11.

Staggering Solidarity

2011-04-01T00:55:00.012-04:00

Demonstrating, Damaged, Drunk & Damn Late

Angry that their afternoon march on the Capitol had been ignored, The Damaged Women's Coalition returned later... Drunk and crying.

Clarification

2011-04-01T00:54:00.002-04:00

Sorry for previous confusion.

AFFLECK

AFLAC

Play Ball!

2011-03-31T01:00:00.009-04:00

Visitors	Home	Time ET	TV
Braves	Nationals	1:05 pm
Tigers	Yankees	1:05 pm	ESPN
Brewers	Reds	2:10 pm
Angels	Royals	4:10 pm
Padres	Cardinals	4:15 pm	ESPN
Giants	Dodgers	8:00 pm

Christianity Is Fattening

2011-03-31T00:59:00.000-04:00

News Item: Study Correlates Obesity & Church

"He dined for your sins." Photo post by Mike Mitchell

Combining Burger King with Bible Study just makes it worse (sigh).

Yahweh Or No Way

Jesus is totally cut... Unfortunately not true of his followers.

Stephen Colbert's Next Religion

Stephen Colbert gave up Catholicism for Lent, so Stephen Prothero helps him find a new faith by describing Quakers and Shakers.

"We are building a religion
We are building it bigger
We are widening the corridors
And adding more lanes

"We are building a religion
A limited edition
We are now accepting callers
For these pendant key chains"
-- Cake - "Comfort Eagle" (2001)

Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies are the new Devil's Food

Nuclear Threat Assessment

2011-03-31T00:58:00.015-04:00

More Than Only Three Mile Island

It doesn't take an earthquake and/or tsunami to cripple a nuclear plant... Anything that shuts off the electricity risks catastrophe.

Rachel Maddow reviews a litany of malfunctions and safety problems at American nuclear facilities that are not part of common pubic knowledge and offers suggestions for bolstering back-up systems.

Some environmental groups say the nuclear disaster in Japan is a wake-up call and they would not support building new U.S. nuclear plants. Others say that nuclear power is still one of the safest technologies invented. But both sides agree that the priority should be to examine existing U.S. nuclear plants for safety risks.

Environmental Impact Statements

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 3/28/11,
Reporter: Elizabeth Shogren.

Jonathan Livingston Robot

2011-03-31T00:57:00.002-04:00

Do mechanical gulls drop solid-state "clams?"

Two meter wing-span "Smart Bird" autonomously flying robo-gulls weigh less than half a kilo and are the latest from Festo, a company with a history of developing mind-boggling, biologically-inspired bots.

Someday My Prints Will Come

2011-03-31T00:56:00.002-04:00

Mercury's Basically Another Moon

First ever close-ups released from NASA's "Messenger" Mercury probe.

But That's No Ordinary Honda

Millennium Falcon window sticker via GeekStir

American Exceptionalism

2011-03-31T00:55:00.017-04:00

Countries That Don't Use The Metric System

ZME Science via Gizmodo

The U.S., Liberia & Myanmar... Miles behind the rest of the world.

Mascot Massacre

2011-03-31T00:54:00.004-04:00

B&P resent efforts to purge Indian imagery from NCAA sports teams. And my former dentist, the original mascot at my high school, always insisted what looked like his tomahawk was really a stone hammer.

Scalping More Than Tickets

Audio Embed: Berger & Prescott, podcast via Facebook.

Birther Backfire

2011-03-30T01:00:00.001-04:00

When investigators found the papers Donald Trump furnished to prove his own American birth weren't official, the egomaniacal entrepreneur was sent scrambling for genuine documents of his own. Following a controversial right-wing rabble-rousing appearance on "The View," "The Donald" released the real thing to ABC News.

Odd coincidence: I didn't have possession of my own birth certificate until 2008, when I obtained one from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for dealings with the Social Security Administration, who accepted it without question. It is very similar in form to what Hawaii issued for Mr. Obama... I believe my mother had a hospital certificate much like Mr. Trump's. They were common in that era.

Dream On

2011-03-30T00:59:00.013-04:00

American Dream Dead, Final Believer Gives Up

The last vestige of the American Dream slipped away quietly as a Pennington, IL resident laid aside his hope of owning a bar & grill.

Take This Job & Shove It

2011-03-30T00:58:00.003-04:00

Businesses push employees closer to their Johnny Pavcheck moment.

I Ain't Workin' Here No More

Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/29/11.

The Animals - "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" - (1965)

#snakeonthetown

2011-03-30T00:57:00.007-04:00

The Bronx Zoo is missing a cobra, but apparently he's joined Twitter.

	BronxZoosCobra
Leaving Wall Street. These guys make my skin crawl. #snakeonthetown

Jimmy Kimmel's Cousin Sal gets reactions to NYC's escaped cobra.

	BronxZoosCobra
FYI, I've had it with Samuel L. Jackson, too. #snakeonthetown

Paula Abdul - "Cold Hearted (Snake)" - Forever Your Girl (1989)

	BronxZoosCobra
I'm 20 inches long. Just sayin'. #snakeonthetown

Bronx Zoo's Top Ten Excuses

CBS / Late Show with David Letterman, 3/28/11.

Product Placement Palooza

2011-03-30T00:56:00.020-04:00

One of the favorites at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Morgan Spurlock‘s documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement. Now called "Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," it’s scheduled for release on April 22.

The creator of the McDonald's exposé "Super Size Me" asks a simple question... Backed by the right brands, could a documentary ever reach the same marketing success as Hollywood's latest blockbuster?

In Your Facebook!

2011-03-30T00:55:00.003-04:00

"Facebook addiction" news from WFTS-TV/Tampa & KIRO-FM/Seattle.

Looking for Cyber Symptoms

Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/ Seattle, 3/28/11.

And... Because sadness knows no bounds, Cloudgirlfriend.com is a website that will create fake Facebook girlfriends for pathetic dudes.

click to enlarge

Cartoon from Shoeboxblog

Self Esteem

2011-03-30T00:54:00.001-04:00

Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome, performing as Garfunkel & Oates

Casus Belli*

2011-03-29T01:00:00.011-04:00

The wait for President Obama's justification for acts of war is over.

MSNBC's Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow dissect President Obama’s address to the nation on the U.S. military action in Libya.

Hostilities continue, whatever the situation over Tripoli... On the airwaves, accusations from Congress and critics still fly freely.

* Casus belli is a Latin expression for an event or action that explains or allegedly justifies acts of war or armed response.

Butter Knives and Brutality

2011-03-29T00:59:00.019-04:00

When Iman Al-Obeidi burst into a Tripoli hotel lobby on Saturday claiming that she had been raped by Gaddafi supporters, Jonathan Miller of the UK’s Channel 4 News was an eyewitness to the events: accusation, arrest and attempt to suppress news of the incident.

Explosive Accusations & Reaction

Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 3/28/11,
Host: Robin Young.

Biased Against Al Jazeera?

2011-03-29T00:58:00.050-04:00

Probably Not... If You Think You're Watching CNN

Ph.D candidates in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor conducted a study which proves Americans don’t see Al Jazeera English as biased. That is, as long as they don’t know what they’re watching.

Study participants who watched a test segment of AJE news coverage branded with a CNN International logo found it to be fair... People watching the same clip correctly labeled as Al Jazeera were more likely to conclude the story was biased.

“The findings that show differential bias ratings between AJE and CNNI based on the same exact news clip suggest Americans are, on average, still unable to fairly evaluate the station,” concluded William Youmans & Katie Brown.

And that's a shame, because it an era of American network austerity, no one has been better positioned to respond to this year's Arabian "awakenings," or pro-democracy uprisings, than Al Jazeera.

Ayman Mohyeldin says the American cable companies that refuse to carry Al Jazeera help contribute to misunderstanding the Middle East.

The Book on Broadway

2011-03-29T00:57:00.022-04:00

Original (un-injured) cast in action!

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been obsessed with Mormons... Probably more than anyone outside the LDS church, and since long before anyone killed Kenny. Now they've taken their fascination to the Broadway stage with "The Book of Mormon."

A 'Mormon' Swipe At Everything

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 3/24/11,
Reviewer: Robert Smith, speaking on opening night.

Gotta Look Sharp!

2011-03-29T00:56:00.004-04:00

Edward Scissorhands 20th Anniversary Art Tribute

An uncommonly gentle young man, with scissors for hands, falls in love with a beautiful teenage girl... It happens all the time.

Gallery Nucleus, near L.A., will host a 20th anniversary tribute to Tim Burton‘s Edward Scissorhands with paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures on display April 16, 2011 – May 09, 2011.

Gallery Nucleus is in Alhambra, California, a suburban city in the San Gabriel valley just south of Pasadena, and 10 freeway minutes east of downtown Los Angeles. (more information)

Capitalism Is Not Democratic

2011-03-29T00:55:00.001-04:00

About the time I saw a rebroadcast of "Surviving the Bottom Line," Hedrick Smith's (1998 PBS series) account of the forces, institutions and values driving the new American economy, this off-topic post appeared in a broadcasting related Internet newsgroup on 1/24/2000.

It's an interesting read following the financial meltdown of 2008.

We live in a world being pillaged by the institutions of global capitalism to enrich the few at the expense of the many.

It has become more than just a political issue. We have reached the point in human history at which the very survival of civilization and perhaps our species depends on replacing these rogue institutions with institutions supportive of democracy, market economies, and ethical cultures that function in service to life and community.

For those of us who grew up believing that capitalism is the foundation of democracy, market freedom, and the good life it has been a rude awakening to realize that under capitalism, democracy is for sale to the highest bidder, the market is centrally planned by global mega-corporations larger than most countries, the elimination of jobs and livelihoods is rewarded as an economic virtue, and the destruction of nature and life to make money for the already rich is viewed as progress.

Let us speak truth... Global capitalism is not democratic and it systematically violates every principle of a market economy.

Under global capitalism the world is ruled by a global financial casino staffed by faceless bankers, money managers, and hedge fund speculators who operate with a herd mentality that sends exchange rates and stock prices into wild gyrations unrelated to any underlying economic reality. With reckless abandon they make and break national economies, buy and sell corporations, hire and fire corporate CEOs --(while) holding the most powerful politicians and corporate managers hostage to their interests.

When their bets pay off they claim the winnings as their own. When they lose, they run to governments and public institutions to make up their losses with cries that the financial skies will fall if they are forced to suffer the market's discipline.

Contrary to its claims, capitalism's relationship to democracy and the market economy is much the same as the relationship of a cancer to the body whose life energies it expropriates. Cancer is a pathology that occurs when an otherwise healthy cell forgets that it is a part of the body and begins to pursue its own unlimited growth without regard to the consequences for the whole. The growth of the cancerous cells deprives the healthy cells of nourishment and ultimately kills both the body and itself.

Capitalism does much the same to the societies it infests.

Another way of characterizing our situation is that we find ourselves unwitting participants in an epic contest between money and life for the soul of humanity.

And it comes down to a fairly literal choice as to which we value more -- our money or our lives.

The text may not be a direct lift from David Korten, but it's in the same vein as "When Corporations Rule the World," his anti-globalization book from 1995... Which argues that a new breed of corporate libertarians have 'twisted' the ideas of free market economics away from Adam Smith's original view of the role of private companies.

Hedrick Smith's "Surviving the Bottom Line" is no longer available online... But his bottom line: Businesses must acknowledge their responsibility to stakeholders, not just stockholders, for democracy to thrive, too.

Scene Stealer

2011-03-29T00:54:00.005-04:00

Gregor the Russian billionaire (aka "Czar of Opulence") might consider DirecTV to be his ultimate evidence of conspicuous wealth, but reaction to the "Opulence" and "Epic Win" ads from Grey New York, indicates the real star of the campaign is his miniature giraffe.

And now you can "reserve your own," watch a "critter cam" or browse still photos at PetiteLapGiraffe.com. The site created for the (fake) Sokoblovsky Farms, "Russia's finest purveyor of PLG's," by Grey/NY advertising (with special effects by The Mill) takes an seemingly random, but awesome, detail from the TV campaign and runs with it.

Get a glimpse into the Opulent life. Gregor loves his riches - gold remotes, Van Gogh paintings, stunning models and pygmy giraffe.

Inside Gregor's gym of opulence, outfitted with solid gold fitness gear, even his beloved pygmy giraffe must stay fit on the treadmill.

Cold Sun

2011-03-28T01:00:00.001-04:00

The newly discovered WD 0806-661 B, a small "brown dwarf" within a binary pair 75 light years away, is only about the temperature of a cup of tea and raises questions about what it really means to be a star.

Alan Parsons -"Too Close To The Sun" - On Air (1996)

Up From The Flames

2011-03-28T00:59:00.001-04:00

1911 editorial cartoon, artist unknown (Cornell University archives)

Around the beginning of the 20th century, fire was something that not only killed people, but it destroyed entire cities. San Francisco and Chicago were only the largest on a list of places nearly turned to ash.

A century ago, 3/25/1911, New York City's Triangle Fire stunned the U.S. The death of 146 people, mostly young immigrant women working in a high rise factory, led to outrage, which emboldened unions and changed labor laws. It also led to a profound change in how we work to prevent fires.

Ending Fire Deaths

APM & WNYC's Freakonomics Radio Podcast 3/25/11,
Hosts: Kai Ryssdal and Stephen J. Dubner.

Anchors Aweigh

2011-03-28T00:58:00.001-04:00

Will Katie Couric stay or go when her contract expires in June?

“The search is on” for a worthy successor, writes the Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz... Among those mentioned is "CBS lifer" Scott Pelley, a 21 year veteran correspondent now assigned to 60 Minutes. The L.A. Times blogged "odds are the network won’t have to worry about him eyeing his next big deal or wondering what else is on the horizon.”

"CBS just announced that actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway will be replacing Katie Couric as anchor of the CBS Evening News... 'Because the news itself isn't nearly as important as the people telling it to us.'"
-- Spencer Green, in the Huffington Post, 3/26/11

OMG - GE!

2011-03-28T00:57:00.003-04:00

As Republicans slash benefits for workers, the poor, single moms & children while also slashing taxes for corporations, this year America's biggest corporation, General Electric, already beat them to the punch. The now minority owner of NBC Universal paid nothing in income tax.

Lesley Stahl also explored corporate tax gimmickry on 60 Minutes.

Appointment TV

2011-03-28T00:56:00.002-04:00

"Robin Sparkles" rides again on CBS tonight 8pm E/P

Work Through the Heartbreak

2011-03-28T00:55:00.006-04:00

A comic must earn his living as a clown no matter what happens.

You'll Laugh, You'll Cry

A story from The Moth Radio Hour by Anthony Griffith.

Zombie Zooey

2011-03-28T00:54:00.025-04:00

Doesn't it defeat the purpose of asking a well known actress to be your model if the finished ad's image leaves her unrecognizable?

Rimmel's "Lasting Finish" lipstick was what people were supposed to remember... Not a botched version of the adorable Zooey Deschanel.

Concept from Styleite via AdFreak

On the opposite extreme, Make Up For Ever has it claims are the first cosmetics ads that aren't Photoshopped or otherwise retouched at all.

As proof they offer a video in which a professional photo retoucher explains the unused tricks of the trade.