Steve Dyer

1 Samuel 20:30
“You stupid son of a whore!”

Discuss.

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aaliyahsashes:

forlackofabettercomic:

As an amateur ornithologist myself, I’d recommend exercising some caution if you live in an area populated by Sneaky Dickgrabbers. Just trust me on this one.

iguanamouth:

why was ariel so impressed with the fucking fork in the ship “WHATS THIS WOW” are you kidding me your dad swings around a giant glorified golden fork everyday the state mermaid education is in is appalling

by Alex Balk

"A film review on Friday about 'Jobs,' a biography of Steve Jobs that the review said has 'all the sex appeal of a PowerPoint presentation,' referred imprecisely to PowerPoint."

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The post Correction Twists The Knife appeared first on The Awl.

Let’s play a game

found it.

On Monday night, Kendrick Lamar delivered what is already a career-defining guest verse on Big Sean’s Hall of Fame leftover, “Control.” Late in the verse, Kendrick raps a list of 11 peers whom he respects, but wants to make irrelevant. It’s earned him a lot of headlines in the past 24 hours. But there's a serious omission: he never mentions Nicki Minaj.

There are a lot of ways you can read into this. Before calling out rappers like Drake and J. Cole, Kendrick lists other MCs he believes are on his level: Jay Z, Nas, Eminem, and Andre 3000. He doesn’t mention both Lil Wayne and Kanye West, two names we know he respects. I’d like to believe the same of Nicki, though it might have been a little harder to convince the general public she belonged: out of any accomplished, working MC, Nicki Minaj has her credibility tested and questioned the most.

Just last week, TMZ framed a lyric from struggling underground rapper Ransom to make it seem like he’d claimed he used to write lyrics (or ghostwrite) for Nicki Minaj. Ransom says the lyric in question (“Before Nicki was wearing those crazy wigs/ I was doing verses for her, just hoping she made it big”) is simply about working with Nicki before she blew up, and that’s probably true. Still, Nicki was ambushed with a deliberately inflammatory question: “What do you think about Ransom saying that he ghostwrote some of your songs?”

Responding to the paparazzi is part of Nicki’s job, and while usually she goes silly—“I am a gay rapper!” she yelled at Los Angeles photogs back in 2011—last Tuesday’s run-in was different. Read the rest at The Hairpin.

The post The Guest Verse As Social Justice appeared first on The Awl.

God bless Stephen Colbert—and the good people of Vicco, Kentucky.

And next up for the city of Vicco... maybe an anti-smoking-during-city-council-meetings ordinance? (Via HuffPo.)

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via

Talking points? I don't need no stinking talking points! Well, I don't need 'em most of the time...

I was on MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes last night. While I wouldn't normally work up a page of talking points before appearing on a cable news program—I usually don't have a problem running my big mouth—I just got back from two and a half weeks in Berlin and I'm pretty seriously jet lagged. (Check out the bags under my eyes.) So I thought it best to organize my thoughts before last night's showdown with Chris. I worked up these talking points about the vodka boycott with Matt Fikse-Verkerk and they cover a lot more ground than I was able to cover in the three minutes I had on All In. So I'm posting 'em here on Slog.

Why did you decide to do launch this boycott?

The boycott of Russian vodkas wasn't launched by me. A lot of people are involved and a lot of people are backing this effort. The boycott was spontaneous and got off the ground in a lot of places all at once—activists in NYC, SF, and Seattle all had the idea nearly at the same time to push this, and everyone got to work. Harvey Fierstein's NYT opinion piece was a real catalyst, but it was the constant drumbeat of horror stories coming out of Russia that kicked things into high gear. Every day we are hearing more and more about legal persecution, abuse, beatings, and worse—all sanctioned by the Russian government.

Why boycott Russian Vodka? Isn't that some frivolous gay cliche?

Boycotts are never the end of an issue, they are the start of an issue. And vodka is Russia's most iconic product—and the companies that make it and sell it have deep ties in Russia. The point of this boycott—the point of any boycott—is to 1) draw the world' s attention to the issue 2) get people motivated and engaged and doing something and then 3.) hopefully, and in time, make the situation better for LGBT people in Russia. This is just getting started and is only going to grow the more we hear about the daily horrors of life in Russia for LGBT people.

Has the boycott been successful?

The boycott has been a huge success. Media all over the world are now covering this topic for the first time, and the vodka boycott is what initially got the international media's attention. Organizations and analysts and activists agree on this. The vodka boycott worked and it is still working.

But isn't Stoli a Latvian vodka? That's what the company that makes Stoli—SPI—is claiming. Stoli is Latvian?

That's simply not true. There is no question Stoli is a Russian vodka. SPI has marketed Stoli as a Russian vodka for years and in the past SPI fought back against any claims that Stoli was not, in fact, a Russian vodka and a Russian product. Two of SPI's three main plants are in Russia. The crops that are used to make Stoli are grown in Russia on Russian land that is owned by SPI. The product is distilled in Russia. SPI is also an enormous real estate developer in Russia. The Latvian ploy was a poorly executed PR effort that is backfiring on SPI. But you don't have to take my word for it. Prominent gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile, during an interview on his radio show, put this question to SPI-Group CEO Val Mendeleev: “Are you saying now that [Stolichnaya’s] not Russian vodka?” Mendeleev's reply? "No."

And here's how the president of the company that distributes Stoli described the vodka to Vanity Fair UK in 2008:

“Stolichnaya, as it is sold outside of Russia, is distilled in Russia. And then it is moved from Russia to Latvia, where it is put into bottles. There is nothing added, nothing taken away, no additions, no subtractions from the product that leaves Russia... Stolichnaya is the original, authentic, genuine Russian vodka brand made with genuine, authentic Russian vodka from Russia. Period.”

It's important to note, again, that there are other Russian vodkas and that the boycott isn't focused solely on Stoli. Russian Standard is a Russian vodka that is sold in the US and Europe and the company that makes Russian Standard is ten times bigger than SPI. And as it turns out, Russian Standard is also the biggest bank and insurance company inside Russia. Russian Standard is also being boycotted. All Russian vodkas are. And both of these companies—SPI and Russian Standard—are ideal targets for a boycott because inside Russia, regardless of the whether the heads of the companies like or don't like Putin, these companies have enormous influence. And if they are going to sell their products to LGBT consumers around the world and profit from LGBT consumers around the world, they cannot ignore attacks on LGBT people inside of Russia. They cannot claim to be on the side of LGBT people everywhere while ignoring what is happening to LGBT people in Russia.

Why not call the boycott off now that you've made your point?

Boycotts end when things change. The sports and arts boycotts against South Africa didn't end until apartheid ended. Musicians didn't start playing Sun City after they "made their point." They started playing Sun City after apartheid ended. If SPI or Russian Standard or any other Russian vodka maker wants the boycott to end, they should put their best, most aggressive, most effective ideas on the table about how they will support LGBT people inside Russia on this issue and create change inside Russia. The LGBT community in the US and Europe can look at that and decide if it's enough. If SPI and Russian Standard and other Russian companies want to hold on to their international customers they should start pressuring the Russian government at all levels to stop the legal persecution of LGBT people in Russia. Throwing money at a pride parade in Michigan or hosting a "Stoli Man" beauty pageant in San Francisco is simply not enough.

But Stoli is friend of the gays, why attack them?

SPI has spent millions selling vodka to gays. SPI sponsored a TV show six years ago and a parade here and there. But what it needs to do to keep gay customers is to start doing things inside Russia to support its gay customers and employees. If SPI wants to be a global, not Russian, brand then SPI is going to have to deal with gay customers who demand that SPI support gay rights globally, not just in countries where gay rights are secure or popular.

If Stoli were truly a a friend of gays instead of paying lip service to it or pinkwashing themselves with a parade on some other continent, they would find things to do in Russia to support Russian LGBT people. They would've already been doing those things. Remember: SPI sells five of the most popular domestic brands of Russian vodka. SPI needs to find things it can do inside Russia on a longterm basis to support their gay employees and consumers. Globalism works both ways on this.

Right now all of SPI's pro-gay statements and claims—and all of their rainbow graphics—appear only on the pages of their websites that are in English. There's nothing on SPI's Russian-language pages. That is unacceptable.

Where does it go from here?

There's lots of work to do. The Olypmics are coming up, and there are big questions about the safety of athletes and visitors. The IOC is electing a new president in a few weeks, there are hundreds of US companies that currently do business in Russia, and they are now facing tough questions. Proctor and Gamble is being taken to task for underwriting the anti-LGBT bigotry that is being broadcast Russian state television—bigotry that is stoking the violence on the streets. This issue is only going to get bigger as time goes on. There will be a ton of ways for people to get involved.

Harvey Fierstein was also on All In last night, in the segment immediately before mine. Watch:

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I almost forgot about my favorite High School Musical dancer (x)

Actually crying with laughter. 

coryalh:

One of the more random and entertaining celebrity conversations I’ve noticed going on in my newsfeed.

High-tech recycling bins in London have recorded data from more than 1 million passing smartphones:

Renew, the startup behind the scheme, installed 100 recycling bins with digital screens around London before the 2012 Olympics. Advertisers can buy space on the internet-connected bins, and the city gets 5 percent of the airtime to display public information. More recently, though, Renew outfitted a dozen of the bins with gadgets that track smartphones. The idea is to bring internet tracking cookies to the real world. The bins record a unique identification number, known as a MAC address, for any nearby phones and other devices that have Wi-Fi turned on. That allows Renew to identify if the person walking by is the same one from yesterday, even her specific route down the street and how fast she is walking.

Why? Advertising, of course:

The scope for new advertising methods offered by this data is remarkable. For example, If Costa Coffee knows that the iPhone with MAC address A8-23-RR-XX usually stops in around 8 in the morning for a coffee and a croissant (don’t forget, this technology could be extended into the stores themselves) is now heading to Pret for a morning pick-me-up, then they might pay to flash an advert on a relevant bin just as the A8-23-RR-XX is approaching, reminding him of a loyalty scheme or a special offer.

Matt Brian is worried about confidentiality:

Renew’s approach is likely to attract attention — both U.K. and E.U. privacy laws require companies to notify consumers they are being tracked and allow them to opt out. Even if the company fixes notices around its trash cans or uses digital signage to warn people walking past it, Renew isn’t able to provide an easy way for them to immediately tell the company that they don’t wish to participate.

David Meyer calls this “yet another reminder of the growing tensions between big data and privacy”:

If you’re trying to harness the vast amounts of data emanating from smartphones and other personal computing devices – even if you anonymize that data once you’ve collected it – it’s very difficult to guarantee that personal data can’t be extracted afterwards. And in this case, the identifying information can’t even be easily stripped out, because it’s the very information the data-gathering exercise is designed to collect.

Lex Berko, who dug up the above promotional video, is just weirded out:

While there are several aspects to this plan that are unsettling, the one that vexes me the most is how little Renew seems to grasp that this idea is unsettling in the first place. On a certain level, it’s understandable—it’s a business and it’s probably not be the best practice for a business to publicly admit that something it’s doing is sneaky. … Renew doesn’t seem to comprehend that most people wouldn’t like to be followed everywhere they go by anything, no matter what it is, let alone by a series of recycling bins with ulterior motives.

Following such criticisms, the bins have been shut down.

RALEIGH, NC—Calling it his lifelong dream, local man Brendan Lockhart, an insecure and perpetually frustrated bully who believes he has something to prove to the world, told reporters Thursday that he is seriously considering a career in law enforce...

by Choire Sicha

Nancy Downing, director of advocacy and legal services at Covenant House New York, a youth shelter, has also learned of kids who consider getting infected with HIV/AIDS as a means of survival. “It’s bone-crushing,” she says. “It’s unbelievable that kids have to go those lengths to get the services they need. Young people are sometimes not looking at their long-term future — they can see only the short-term future — and that is a developmental issue. It’s going to have an impact on them for the rest of their lives. Some might not even take the medication, because at their age — again, developmentally — they might not see the need.”

—Who wants to feel fairly bad but very informed about something today? HERE YOU GO.

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The post ‘The monster,’ ‘the kitty,’ ‘the scratch,’ ‘the gift that keeps on giving.’ appeared first on The Awl.

dannerzz:

u think i make this shit up

rebeccaschinsky:

Teen girl gets period at summer camp, becomes Nancy Botwin of tampons. Brilliant fucking advertising. 

We spent the morning on the beach, Dusty and I. These last few days, this usually aloof and independent mischief-maker leaned into me. She sat on the sand, her body pressed against my leg, then allowing me to hold her longer than usual in my arms before she’d squirm and wriggle away. Aaron took her to their favorite breakfast take-out spot and ordered the egg-and-bacon burger she had lusted after but never eaten before. Today, it was all hers. But something she would have swallowed in one breath not so long ago, she looked at, nibbled, and let drop. Only strands of bacon tempted her and then, a chocolate chip cookie. No hesitation there.

Our usual vet was on vacation so we took Dusty to another animal hospital, where they were extremely kind. We waited a little outside, which is when Aaron took the photo above. Dusty was shivering a little and panting, but  much less agitated than she usually is near a vet. Inside she was given a sedative as I cradled her in my arms. She relaxed as I petted and held her to my face, her tongue suddenly lolling out as the muscles all sagged. There was no reluctance any more. She gave up her fiercely guarded independence to me, in the end, and it touched me so deeply. She was ornery and feisty and selfish usually – only rarely letting her guard down. But now it was fully down; and she let me take care of her one last time.

This was not like waiting for someone to die; it was a positive act to end a life – out of mercy and kindness, to be sure – but nonetheless a positive act to end a life so intensely dear to me for a decade and a half. That’s still sinking in. The power of it. But as we laid her on the table for the final injection, she appeared as serene as she has ever been. I crouched down to look in her cloudy eyes and talk to her, and suddenly, her little head jolted a little, and it was over.

I couldn’t leave her. But equally the sight of her inert and lifeless – for some reason the tongue hanging far out of her mouth disfigured her for me – was too much to bear. I kissed her and stroked her, buried my face in her shoulders, and Aaron wept over her. And then we walked home, hand in hand. As we reached the front door, we could hear Eddy howling inside.

I don’t know how to thank all of you for your emails over the last 24 hours – as well as the thread that helped me understand this whole thing better, as this loomed in the future. Her bed is still there; and the bowl; and the diapers – pointless now. I hung her collar up on the wall and looked out at the bay. The room is strange. She has been in it every day for fifteen and a half years, waiting for me.

Now, I wait, emptied, for her.

luffythekumquat:

Well that’s just hunky dory

theirs:

a zoo of dogs dressed up as other animals