kate

You're a busy person. Keeping up with your job, plus your life, has you constantly racing. It doesn't help that when working, you're distracted not only by your mobile devices, but also by your computer. You average 10 tabs open in your browser at any one time, and you compulsively click amongst them. One's your email, which never stops flowing in. At the end of the day, you sleep less than you know you should, but as you tell yourself, there's just never enough time.

If this is how you live, then Maria Konnikova has a simple message for you: Pause, step back, and recognize the actual costs of your habits. A psychology Ph.D. and popular writer for The New Yorker, Konnikova circles back, again and again, to a common theme: how we thwart our own happiness, and even sometimes harm our brains, in our quest for a simply unattainable level of productivity. "The way that we've evolved, the way our minds work, the way we work at our most optimal selves, is really not the way we have to operate today," Konnikova explained on this week's Inquiring Minds podcast. "I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, but I hope that if there are enough voices out there, someone will finally hear that, 'Hey, this attempt at hyperproductivity is making us much less productive.'"

Based on Konnikova's writings, here are four ways that we can change our lifestyles so as to also improve our brains and how they function:

Sleep more. Science still has a lot to learn about how sleep deprivation affects us. But the research is starting to look pretty grave, especially in light of new studies (Konnikova has written about them here) suggesting that a crucial function of sleep is to purge the brain of biochemical waste products that are the result of conscious brain activity. This means that not sleeping enough could be contributing to the buildup of harmful proteins like beta-amyloids, which could in turn predispose us to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

So how do you fix your bad sleep habits? Not easily: It requires nothing less than a major lifestyle change. "You can't just think that, 'Well, I'm not ever going to get enough sleep, but on the weekends I'll sleep in and I'll be okay,'" says Konnikova. "It doesn't work that way." Recovering from one night with too little sleep is easy, but recovering from chronic sleep deprivation requires nothing less than chronic sleep, er, restoration.

How much sleep? People vary, but the National Sleep Foundation says adults need seven to nine hours per night.

Stop being an internet junkie. You've probably wondered what the internet is doing to your brain. And especially if you can actually remember the era before the internet's existence, you've probably noticed how the widespread availability of things like email has changed you. It might even have made you into a kind of addict, habituated to constant switching from task, to task, to task: Facebooking, tweeting, emailing, reading…and whatever else arises.

Using the internet in this frenetic way is just bad for us, says Konnikova. "Where the problem comes in is when we start to do it all simultaneously, when we start to multitask and really very quickly switch our attention from an article, to a tweet, to a Facebook post, and we're just all over the place," she explains. "Because that's very cognitively demanding, and that makes us less able to engage with what we're reading and what we're doing, and it also just makes us exhausted and worse at the tasks that we do have to accomplish."

So how do you use the internet better? Set rules for yourself, advises Konnikova: a half-hour of email, followed by a half-hour of Twitter, and so on. You can force yourself to have this kind of discipline, or, you can use a tool to help you with it. To get writing done, Konnikova herself uses an app that blocks you from using the internet for a set period of time, forcing you to work and focus.

Put a check on your multitasking. Our problems with using the internet productively are just a subset of a broader problem: multitasking. We have a culture that encourages it, even though it forces us to use our brains suboptimally (at best). "How many job descriptions have you seen where it says, 'Good at multitasking,' or, 'We need someone who's a good multitasker'?" asks Konnikova. "It's just this mindset that this is a very very good thing."

It isn't. Konnikova wrote recently about how open offices, which are widespread, distract us and leave us stressed out and less productive. It's because they thwart our ability to focus; the space itself is structured for multitasking and a lot of distractions and interruptions. And yet, being able to focus is closely related to happiness. "There's really interesting work showing that when you're focused on what you're doing, you become happier, even if what you're doing is incredibly boring," says Konnikova. "And even if you're doing something very fun, it will be less fun for you if you're not paying attention to it."

So how do you stop multitasking? First, try to make a habit of noticing how much you do it, Konnikova says. And instead, as with the internet, try to discipline yourself, so that you do only one thing at a time.

Practice mindfulness. But there's also a broader solution. It's called mindfulness, and it's outlined in detail in Konnikova's bestselling book Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.

The most striking thing about Arthur Conan Doyle's character is his supreme attentiveness, his ability to perceive the details that everybody else misses. And yet Konnikova notes that Holmes solves his crimes, in significant part, through inactivity. "He often just sits in his armchair and does a lot of nothing," says Konnikova. "He has his eyes closed, or is playing the violin, but often just does nothing at all." It is this rest, this calm, that enables Holmes to be such a hyperfocused and attentive detective when he's actually on the case.

So how do you think like Sherlock Holmes? Konnikova says you need to mimic the detective in his armchair: Take 10 to 15 minutes each day, set them aside, and designate them as your time for not doing anything. "All you really need to do, for instance, is sit in your chair in your office, and close your eyes for 10 minutes, and focus on your breath, just on the ins and outs of your breath," says Konnikova. "And that's it."

Research shows that such mindfulness exercises help improve your attention, your focus. "It's like a muscle, it starts growing stronger, bigger," says Konnikova. "You start being able to focus much more easily, and for longer stretches of time."

But, you might be thinking, making these changes would be so hard! Yet that very way of thinking is itself the problem. "It's this mindset that this is the way we need to operate, but it's really counterproductive," says Konnikova. "And what we don't realize is that it's making us less creative, it's making us unhappy, and it's not using humans to the best of their capacity on both a mental and physical level."

You can listen to the full interview with Maria Konnikova here:

This episode of Inquiring Minds, a podcast hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and best-selling author Chris Mooney, also features a report by Climate Desk's Tim McDonnell on how climate change is threatening winter sports, and a special guest appearance by science communicator Dr. Kiki Sanford, who helps us break down what happened in the widely watched Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham creationism debate earlier this week.

To catch future shows right when they are released, subscribe to Inquiring Minds via iTunes or RSS. We are also available on Stitcher and on Swell. You can follow the show on Twitter at @inquiringshow and like us on Facebook. Inquiring Minds was also recently singled out as one of the "Best of 2013" shows on iTunes—you can learn more here.

New series from Durarara!!, Baccano! creator to be published in English

I never actually expect anybody to take part in International Darkstar Day. But last year a number of people were kind enough to join in, and one of them was Dave Windett. And as I started following up on his work, I came across his series with writer John Gatehouse: The Kaci Bell Mysteries.

A long-form webcomic which has just come to print, The Kaci Bell Mysteries follow the eponymous heroine as she wanders around, fights monsters, encounters mysteries and goes sleuthing. It’s a thoroughly charming storyline, which is why I was delighted when Dave agreed to talk about the series for The Beat. We talked about how the series came about, what prompted them to put it online, and what readers can expect going forward.

Steve: What’s the basic premise of The Kaci Bell Mysteries?

Dave: In the small town of Bluewater Cove, California, teens are gaining strange super powers and going on a violent crime spree. Enter: Our Heroine! 16 years old high school student Kaci Bell, new arrival to the area, just can’t resist solving mysteries!

With best friend Robyn, Kaci enters a dark world of science gone mad. And since Kaci’s detective skills don’t exactly match those of Dick Tracy, there’s a good chance she won’t survive the experience!

Steve: The story is told in a newspaper-strip format, three panels at a time, which certainly forces the story to move along quickly. Why choose this format for your story?

Dave: Both John and and I are huge fans of newspaper adventure strip series such as the aforementioned DT, Modesty Blaise, Secret Agent X-9, Johnny Hazard, et al. Sadly, in today’s shrinking strip market, the chances of selling a new adventure series to a newspaper is exactly – zero. So we thought, sod it, we’ll create and publish the series ourselves.

Steve: What do you think is the key to a strong mystery story? How did you first sit down and map out the characters, mysteries, reveals and twists?

Dave: Characters. Without interesting characters, it doesn’t matter how cool the mystery is, you will fail to keep the readers’ interest. As to Kaci’s first mystery, we knew we wanted to combine together the detective and super hero genres. Once we created Kaci and Robyn and the “mad science” plot, all the other characters and twists simply fell into place. (Believe us, this does NOT happen very often!)

Steve: The main character – Kaci Bell herself – is an interesting lead. She never seems to listen to advice or instructions, and always goes off on her own lead. How soon into planning the series did she come to life? Was there a moment in the story where she did or said something and suddenly everything about her clicked into place for you?

Dave: The major inspiration for Kaci – and we gladly acknowledge this fact! – is the Veronica Mars TV series. We’re both proud Marshmallows (fans of Veronica Mars) and when the series was cancelled we decided to create our own kick-ass teen ‘tec in the proud mould of Veronica. (And, to a lesser extent, Nancy Drew.)

However, our series has the added twist of also being inspired by the genius that is Scooby-Doo as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The mad super hero and mystery stories that Marvel, DC and Charlton comics in the ‘60’s and 70’s have also been an influence.

Naturally, fate being what it is, just as we finish Kaci’s first adventure and publish the book we get word that Veronica Mars is returning! (Yaay!) And yes, we did both donate to the Kickstarter project to get the film made! Go, Veronica!

As to the character of Kaci, she came to life the moment John started creating her first adventure. We wanted someone who was the opposite of Veronica in many ways, just as gung-ho to solve mysteries but definitely more klutzy and out of her depth.

But the series isn’t just about Kaci solving the mystery. It is also about her growing friendship with BFF Robyn Prentiss and of the other townsfolk, all whom we’ll be developing further in the next adventure.

Steve: There’s a silver age tone, I feel, with the attitude Kaci takes towards all these supernatural things going on, and little elements like your use of editorial narrative. What were your comic inspirations whilst making the series?

Dave: That’s interesting. We never actually considered the story being tonally “Silver Age”, or any other “Age” for that matter. It is what it is. As Robyn remarks at the start of the story, Bluewater Cove is a place where “weird stuff” happens. A lot! Although a newbie, Kaci appears to have quickly taken the town’s blasé approach to the weirdness as “just another day at the office”.

Steve: How did you meet as a creative team? What was it about the other person which made you keen on the prospect of working together on a project?

Dave: You’re not gonna believe this, but with a partnership going back 25 years or so, we still haven’t met! Everything is done by phone or e-mail (and in the Old Days, by snail mail.) We don’t skype, and John has a real hatred of Facebook and Twitter (and most technology for that matter), so apart from e-mailing each other a couple of photos, that’s it!

Back “in the day” when fanzines existed, John advertised in a UK fanzine called “Speakeasy” for an artist to work on a series with him, I replied, and he’s been stuck with me ever since! But our paths had probably crossed professionally before that. We’ve both worked on numerous comic strip series based on Licensed Properties and I may have actually drawn some of John’s stories without even realising it!

Unlike the apparent “love-ins” that other creative teams appear to have (and that make you want to throw up when reading interviews) we argue and insult each other all the time! But we also (pass the sick bag) appreciate each other’s talents – heck, after 25 years, we’ve lasted longer than many married couples!

Steve: The story was completed – written and drawn – before you started to serialise it. What was behind that decision? Was the intention so that readers knew they wouldn’t be let down by a webcomic which starts and then suddenly stops, never to be concluded?

Dave: Actually, we didn’t start Kaci as a webcomic; that wasn’t even in our minds. We just wanted to create our own adventure strip. Appearing on the webcomic site SmackJeeves was simply a way of promoting the series and the book collection. We’re both professional creators, so we could only work on the serial in our free time. Which is why it took two years to complete!

[The Kaci Bell Mysteries book collection is available from Lulu through this link]

That said, we would never have released the strip online until it was completed. There are too many webcomics that start off with good intentions and then disappear half-finished. That must be very frustrating for fans.

Steve: Did that put extra pressure on you both? There was no opportunity to sneak in and make a fix to the story or go on a tangent, I would imagine?

Dave: The only pressure was the pressure we gave ourselves. We wanted to finish the serial and paying work kept getting in the way of completion. (Not that we’re complaining, companies – if you keep paying us, we’ll keep working for ya!)

Steve: Do you think this forward planning makes for a stronger comics, ultimately?

Dave: All creators work differently. But taking our time on the serial allowed us to tweak the story and art where necessary without deadlines looming, so for us, it works.

Steve: How has the reaction been from fans? Have you noted a fanbase start to build as you’ve moved forward?

Dave: Cliché time, I’m afraid. (That sick bag not full already?!) While we won’t claim to have hundreds of fans on SmackJeeves (unlike some webcomics – *Humph!*), the fans we do have apparently really like the series. (Thanks, guys! We love ya!)

And book sales have been across the board, age-wise. We’re not kidding when we say that it really does cover 6 year old girls to 56 year old men, and every age in-between! (Yep, we are surprised by that!) We originally created the series for teens and Young Adults, but the 6 year olds seem to like the strong female leads.

One thing that does surprise us is that, so far, not one person has realised that Our Heroine has the same initials and even the same surname(!) as the brilliant actress who plays Veronica Mars!

Steve: Comic websites don’t tend to feature coverage of upcoming and new webcomics – we’re all a bit more focused on success stories like Hark A Vagrant or Dinosaur Comics. Is it difficult to get noticed?

Dave: Pfft! Oh, yeah! As I say, we didn’t create the strip as a webcomic. We knew that we would be publishing the collection under our own imprint Little Lemming Books. But even with an actual hard copy book to sell, we can’t afford advertising so we have to rely on word-of-mouth.

It’s a slow process. The good thing is that the book is always going to be out there, and if we keep plugging away then hopefully sales will gradually increase.

Steve: Do you read webcomics yourselves? Are there any you would recommend?

Dave: ‘Fess up time! Until we thought to promote The Kaci Bell Mysteries on a webcomic website, John really took no notice of them. I was more aware of them, and followed strips such as Girls With Slingshots, Go Get A Roomie and Hinges.

I drew the Comic Book Mafia for The Webcomic Factory and I am a fan of most of their strips along with Christian Beranek and Kelci Crawfords’ Validation.

There are a LOT of webcomics out there! A mind-blowing amount! And, pleasantly surprising, there are a lot of really QUALITY webcomics. I know John has become a fan of a good number that he follows on SmackJeeves.

Steve: What will you be up to once this first story for Kaci Bell finishes? Where can we find you online?

Dave: We are about to start the second The Kaci Bell Mysteries serial, which hopefully, now that we know what we’re doing, won’t take so long to complete!

This aside, I’m finishing a series of kids’ books for an iPad publisher and John has just wrapped up writing an animated TV series, but we both available for new projects at any time.

We’re currently working on the final two books of a creator-owned 4-book series for Penguin Books USA. Monster Hunters Unlimited is a humour/factual book for 7-12 year olds, the first two titles of which are published later this year. (Order your copy – TODAY! Yes, cheap plug!)

Lazarus Lemming, a comic strip serial that we produced for the British anthology The DFC has been collected and is available on Comixology.

Trick Or Treat, a kids’ e-book for 7-11 year olds that we created a few years ago, is available as a Kindle book from Amazon.

My website can be found here and my blog is here.

John Kahrs, who left Disney abruptly after winning the Oscar for "Paperman," has landed at Paramount's new animation group.

Could this fan-created female scientist set help Lego fix some of its gender gap issues?

Read more...

laikab0ss:

Pixie | Hellion | Mercury | Bling | Cipher | Rockslide

X-Men #10 

Art: Clay Mann & Kristafer Anka

we are bringing these kids back even if we have to force them into other books

firstsecondbooks:

Gaming, Gold Farming, and Being a Girl (in a world that’s not always kind to girls, no matter how good they are with a sword). Jen Wang’s adaptation of Cory Doctorow’s ANDA’S GAME comes out this fall. 

this looks really cool. First Second publishes some cool shizz, yo.

Thanks to an innovative training program, thousands of beauty professionals are learning to identify signs of domestic abuse and encourage clientele to find help. Why? Because they’re uniquely positioned to help address the problem.

CUT IT OUT, founded in Birmingham, AL, seeks to capitalize on the bonds between women and their beauticians, teaching professionals nationwide — including “hairstylists, skin care specialists, makeup artists and other salon professionals” — about indicators of domestic violence. Professionals in the beauty industry have an advantageous platform from which to detect domestic violence because the focal point of their work is clients’ appearance. Moreover, beauticians frequently establish friendly relationships with customers, and are therefore perceived as trustworthy confidants.

The organization’s Manager of Leadership Operations and Charitable Programs, Rachel Molepske, told ThinkProgress that the program structures its curriculum on the “three R’s” commonly associated with domestic violence advocacy: recognize the problem, respond to it, and refer victims to appropriate outlets for assistance.

Once signs of abuse are recognized, trainees are taught to respond by approaching suspected victims discreetly and without judgment, after which they should refer clients to support services. Workers are encouraged to distribute business cards and educational materials, as well. The importance of upholding the privacy of victims’ experiences is always impressed upon CUT IT OUT participants.

Even though an estimated one-third of all women in the U.S. have experienced violence inflicted by intimate partners, a recent Avon Foundation study found that 57 percent of Americans do not talk about domestic violence at all. Another revealing study conducted by More Magazine and the Verizon Foundation concluded that 75 percent of women don’t discuss domestic abuse with their doctors, even though 100 percent of participants affirmed that the topic should be raised during routine exams. Unfortunately, the absence of dialogue between health care providers and patients is extremely detrimental, as doctors often miss connections between domestic violence and chronic illness among patients; victims are 20 percent more likely to experience long-lasting health problems, such as “depression, diabetes, asthma, and digestive disease.”

Given that the majority of victims do not disclose their experiences due to stigma, shame, and fear of backlash, the work of programs like CUT IT OUT could be an invaluable addition to advocacy efforts. Although the exact number of victims reached through CUT IT OUT is difficult to obtain, Molepske confirmed that thousands of beauticians have participated in the one-hour training sessions.

The post Why Beauty Salons Across The Country Are Joining The Fight To End Domestic Violence appeared first on ThinkProgress.

All this month I’ll be reviewing different comic books by African-American creators, based on submissions from the actual creators of the comic books themselves. A quick note – since this month is so relatively short, I’ll be featuring an extra comic every week, for a total of 32 comics spotlighted! Here is a list of [...]

If you are open to working in Norwalk, CT, ReedPOP, the branch of Reed Exhibitions that runs New York Comic Con, C2E2, Star Wars Celebrations and the PAX shows, among others, has a couple of openings. More info here.

Brand Marketing Coordinator
To develop, maintain and enhance the brands of all assigned events within the ReedPOP global portfolio. This includes the implementation and execution of all marketing activities for each assigned event and assuring those activities accurately reflect the brand personality and value proposition of each individual event….

Social Media Marketing Coordinator
ReedPOP is looking for a storyteller that is passionate (bordering on obsessed would be OK as well) about pop culture to represent our brands across our social media platforms. We are searching for a Social Media Marketing Coordinator to lead the charge in creating a compelling social media strategy for our global portfolio of pop culture shows.

Client: You told me the site was updated, but you lied, it’s not. FIX IT ASAP!

Me: It is updated. See the attached screenshot - that is my current view.

Client: You did that in Photoshop or something. It’s not updated.

Me: Have you hit refresh? Or tried emptying your disk cache?

Client: I don’t know how to do that.

Me: Just Google “empty disk cache” for the name of your system and browser you are using.

Client: If I knew how to use Google, then what the hell would I need a web designer for!?

It's been almost two years since we first wrote about "Ernest & Celestine" on Cartoon Brew, and the wait is almost over.

Dear Prudence, 27 January 2014:

Q. Thoughtless SIL Sharing Pregnancy News: I recently became pregnant after four years of fertility treatments. Needless to say, my husband and I are overjoyed. We were so excited to share the news with our families. Then literally the day after we announced our pregnancy, my SIL texted everyone to say she just found out SHE was pregnant (with her third). I am so upset. She has known about our trouble with conceiving and has always been supportive. I thought she would be more considerate of our news, especially since she’s done this twice before. We are meeting up for a family gathering soon and I don’t know how I can face her. All the grandchildren on my husband’s side are girls and I don’t know how I’d feel if she had the first grandson and I had a girl like everybody else. Please give me tips on how I can act normal around her while I’m seething.

You didn’t go through four years of fertility treatment just to come out on the other side and find out you can’t dictate the terms of other people’s fecundity.

But the disappointing thing about living on planet earth is the way in which literally every other human being on the planet is making reproductive decisions specifically to spite you personally. It’s a tough reality, but there you have it: nobody is doing anything with their reproductive organs without an eye toward pissing all over your baby (BUT HOPEFULLY BOY BABY BECAUSE UGH GIRLS, SOOOOO TRENDY OVER IT) parade.

Life is a non-stop competition wherein other people use their bodies as biological weapons targeted to destroy your own personal happiness, which is logically dependent on whether other people produce offspring exclusively with sex assignments or gender identities of which you have previously approved. You’re under no obligation to act “normal” around an autonomous human being who didn’t wait to get pregnant until you gave her your express permission, and who moreover had the gall to tell other people about her pregnancy without waiting for your say-so.

Tell your sister-in-law that the next time she goes and gets pregnant at you, she better wait at least nine months to announce it, you know, to avoid a big dramatic reveal that might outshine whatever you’ve got going on that day.

Dokidoki precure cosplay

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Just the other day we showed you a great illustration set called ABCDEFGeek. Today we expand on the same concept, teaching your Padawan about the ways of the Force (aka Geekdom) with fun building blocks featuring iconic geek images. Jonathan M. Guberman made a huge set which includes letters and numbers. He writes, “The only real rule I followed in choosing subjects was trying to maintain an even gender balance.” That being well said, give them a look!

(via Laughing Squid)

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There's one main rule at the conservative donor conclaves held twice a year by Charles and David Koch at luxury resorts: What happens there stays there. 

The billionaire industrialists and their political operatives strive to ensure the anonymity of the wealthy conservatives who fund their sprawling political operation—which funneled more than $400 million into the 2012 elections—and to keep their plans private. Attendees of these summits are warned that the seminars, where the Kochs and their allies hatch strategies for electing Republicans and advancing conservative initiatives on the state and national levels, are strictly confidential; they are cautioned to keep a close eye on their meeting notes and materials. But last week, following the Kochs' first donor gathering of 2014, one attendee left behind a sensitive document at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort outside of Palm Springs, California, where the Kochs and their comrades had spent three days focused on winning the 2014 midterm elections and more. The document lists VIP donors—including John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain—who were scheduled for one-on-one meetings with representatives of the political, corporate, and philanthropic wings of Kochworld. The one-page document, provided to Mother Jones by a hotel guest who discovered it, offers a fascinating glimpse into the Kochs' political machine and shows how closely intertwined it is with Koch Industries, their $115 billion conglomerate. 

The more than 40 donors courted by the Kochs include hedge fund and private-equity billionaires, real estate tycoons, and executives of top corporations, including Jockey International and TRT Holdings, owner of Omni Hotels and Gold's Gym. A number of them have never been identified as members of the Koch donor network, including Schnatter, one of the more prominent names on the list. An outspoken opponent of the Affordable Care Act, he is a longtime Republican donor who hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. The document notes that the pizza mogul was scheduled to meet with Ryan Stowers, the director of higher education at the Charles G. Koch Foundation. (Schnatter did not respond to requests for comment.)

Another top conservative contributor on the list is TRT Holdings' cofounder Robert Rowling, whose net worth is estimated at $4.9 billion. During the 2012 election, Rowling directed $3.5 million to American Crossroads, the super-PAC spearheaded by Karl Rove, and he cut a $100,000 check to the pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future. According to the document, Rowling was scheduled to sit down with Charles Koch at the "Koch residence"—presumably a reference to the Wichita businessman's vacation home at the Vintage Club, a short drive from the resort where the donor conference was held. Top Koch operatives were expected to participate in this session, including Kevin Gentry, the Koch brothers' fundraising guru; Daniel Garza, the director of the Libre Initiative, a Koch-funded organization dedicated to Latino outreach; and Marc Short, who runs Freedom Partners, the centerpiece of the Kochs' political network, which distributes donor funds to a large web of conservative nonprofit groups. (Rowling did not respond to requests for comment.)

Other heavy hitters slated for meetings with the Koch brothers or their representatives included Carl Berg, a Silicon Valley real estate tycoon worth $1.1 billion; Ken Griffin, who founded the hedge fund Citadel and clocks in at No. 103 on the Forbes 400 (net worth, $4.4 billion); John W. Childs, a top private-equity investor; and Fred Klipsch, the chairman of the headphone and speaker company Klipsch Group. 

The meeting list illustrates the interwoven nature of the Koch brothers' corporate, political, and philanthropic activities. The donor meetings featured various senior Koch Industries executives, including the company's chief financial officer, Steve Feilmeier. He was scheduled to join Charles Koch for a sit down with Berg. Charles Koch's 36-year-old son, Chase, the president of Koch Fertilizer, was also scheduled to take part in a meeting with a donor named George Gibbs. (Koch Industries spokesman Rob Tappan would not comment on the conference document, only confirming that company employees attend the donor summits. Freedom Partners spokesman James Davis said he was "uncertain" about the document and did not respond to further questions.)

At least half of the one-on-one sessions involved representatives of Americans for Prosperity, the political advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers and their top political adviser and strategist, Richard Fink, a Koch Industries executive vice president and board member. The AFP officials called to duty for these discussions included AFP's president Tim Phillips, chief operating officer Luke Hilgemann, vice president for state operations Teresa Oelke, and vice president for development Chris Fink (Richard Fink's son). The state directors for AFP's Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida chapters were also slated for tête-à-têtes during the Koch summit. (AFP spokesman Levi Russell declined to comment on the meeting document.)

In the past, Koch Industries has distanced itself from AFP and its political activities. The company has said the group is just one of "hundreds of organizations" that receive funding from the Kochs and that it operates "independently" of Koch Industries. But the document suggests a close collaboration between officials of Koch Industries, AFP, and Freedom Partners, whose staff and board are stacked with numerous current and former Koch Industries employees. Michael Lanzara and Jeff Noble, who transitioned over to Freedom Partners from Koch Companies Public Sector—the company's legal, lobbying, and public affairs branch—were scheduled to meet with donors alongside AFP staffers. The Koch brothers and Richard Fink were also listed as taking part in some of these sessions. (Fink, a man of many hats within the Koch firmament, is also an AFP board member; David Koch chairs the board of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation.) 

Heading into the midterm elections, AFP has emerged as one of the right's most active and well-financed political outfits. In recent months, it has spent more than $20 million on ads clobbering congressional Democrats for supporting Obamacare. And the group is merely one piece of the Kochs' massive political operation, which in size, scope, and fundraising prowess has come to resemble a political party in its own right. During the 2012 election cycle, in fact, the Koch network managed to raise as much as the Republican National Committee itself. 

After the brothers and their allies failed to win the Senate or unseat Obama in 2012, David Koch told Forbes that this setback would do little to deter them: "We're going to fight the battle as long as we breathe." At the Palm Springs conference, as the left-behind-list of VIP meetings shows, the Kochs are lining up serious financial firepower for the political fights of 2014 and beyond.

Read the meeting list, along with a guide to the participants in them, below.

Koch Donor Conference Meetings (PDF)
Koch Donor Conference Meetings (Text)

DONORS

Carl Berg: Ranking No. 308 on the Forbes 400, Berg is a Silicon Valley real estate titan with an estimated fortune of $1.1 billion.

Ronnie Cameron: He runs agribusiness giant Mountaire Corporation. During a meeting of the Kochs' donor network in 2011, Charles Koch recognized Cameron (and other donors) for donating at least $1 million to their cause.

Charles Chandler: Based in the Kochs' hometown of Wichita, Kansas, Chandler is the CEO of Intrust Bank.

John Childs: He runs the Boston-based private equity firm J.W. Childs & Associates.

Jamie Coulter: Haling from Wichita, Coulter is the former CEO of the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon restaurant chain.

Bob and Steve Fettig: The Fettigs run the metal fabrication company Tankcraft, based in Darien, Wisconsin. Steve is the company's CFO; Bob is CEO.

Richard and Leslie Gilliam: Richard founded Virginia-based coal mining company Cumberland Resources Corporation, which he sold to Massey Energy for nearly a billion dollars in 2010.

Ken Griffin: A major conservative donor, the Chicago-based businessman founded the hedge fund Citadel and is worth an estimated $4.4 billion.  

John Griffin: He's the founder of Blue Ridge Capital, a New York hedge fund. 

Dick Haworth: He's the chairman emeritus of Holland, Michigan-based office furniture company Haworth.

Richard "Ric" Kayne: He's the founder and chairman of Los Angeles-based investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.

Dan Kirby: He's president of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Kirby Financial. 

Fred Klipsch: He's the chairman of Klipsch Group, a speaker and headphone manufacturer.

Frank Kozel: He's the principal of Pittsburgh-based Keystone Energy Oil & Gas Inc.

Francis "Franc" Lee: He's the president and CEO of Flowood, Mississippi-based lender First Tower, LLC. 

Robert "Bob" Luddy: He's president of CativeAire Systems Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Hugh Maclellan: He's the executive chairman of Chattanooga, Tennessee's Maclellan Foundation, which make grants to Christian causes. 

Cecil O'Brate: He's the CEO of Garden City, Kansas-based Palmer Manufacturing & Tank.

Verl Purdy: He's the chairman and CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina-based AGDATA Inc.

Tom Rastin: He's a director and vice chairman of the Mount Vernon, Ohio-based Ariel Foundation, started by his wife, Karen Buchwald Wright, the CEO of Ariel Corporation. Rastin is the company's vice president of engineering, sales, and marketing.

George Records: A member of the Hoover Institution's board of overseers, Records is the retired chairman of Oklahoma City's Midland Group. 

Robert Rowling: Ranking No. 93 on the Forbes 400 with an estimated fortune of $4.9 billion, Rowling is the cofounder of TRT Holdings, which owns Gold's Gym and Omni Hotels. 

John Schnatter: He's the founder and CEO of Papa John's International. 

Tina and Craig Snider: They are the children of Ed Snider, a founding contributor of the Ayn Rand Institute and chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Dian Stai: Based in Texas, Stai cofounded Owen Healthcare Inc. with her late husband. She's a top conservative donor who gave $125,000 to the pro-Mitt Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future during the 2012 election cycle.

Jim Stephenson: He's the president and CEO of Georgia-based Yancey Bros. Co., "which provides Caterpillar, AGCO, and Blue Bird Bus Co. products and services throughout the state of Georgia." Stephenson is also an Americans for Prosperity board member.

Jim Von Ehr: He's the CEO and founder of Richardson, Texas-based Zyvex Labs. 

Debra Waller: Since 2001, she's been the chairman and CEO of Jockey International Inc. 

Lew Ward: He's the founder of Oklahoma-based Ward Petroleum Corporation. 

Dick Weiss: He's the Core Equity senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management.

Karen Wright: She's the founder and CEO of the Ariel Foundation, a private philanthropy group based in Mount Vernon, Ohio. She's also CEO of the Ariel Corporation, a natural gas compression company.

*Mother Jones was unable to confirm the identities of some donors on the list, including Steve Clark, Paul Foster, George Gibbs, George Jenkins, Jerry Hayden, Kent McCarthy, Andrew Miller, Ted Saunders, Tom Smith, Jaime Snider, and Dean Williams.

"PLAYERS"

Charles Koch: He's the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries.

David Koch: He's Koch Industries' executive vice president and a board member.

Michael Lanzara: A former director for special projects at Koch Companies Public Sector, Lanzara now works for Freedom Partners.

Steve Feilmeier: He's chief financial officer and executive vice president of Koch Industries. 

Kevin Gentry: A vice president at Koch Companies Public Sector, Gentry is the Koch brothers' top fundraiser. He also serves on the board of Freedom Partners.

Jeff Noble: A former senior development associate at Koch Companies Public Sector, Noble currently works for Freedom Partners.

Tim Phillips: He's the president of Americans for Prosperity, the political advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers and Richard Fink.

Chris Fink: He's Americans for Prosperity's vice president of development and the son of Richard Fink.

Teresa Oelke: She's Americans for Prosperity's vice president for state operations.

David Fladeboe: He's the state director for Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin.

Brett Hinkey: A former senior development associate at Koch Companies Public Sector, Hinkey now works for Freedom Partners.

Daniel Garza: He's the executive director of the Libre Initiative, a Koch-funded nonprofit focused on Hispanic outreach. 

Chase Koch: He's Charles' son and the president of Koch Fertilizer.

Richard Fink: He's the chairman and CEO of Koch Companies Public Sector and a board member of Koch Industries. A founder of the Mercatus Center and Americans for Prosperity, Fink is the Koch' top strategist and political adviser. 

Ryan Stowers: He's the director for higher education at the Charles G. Koch Foundation.

Brian Hooks: He's the executive director and chief operating officer of the Mercatus Center. 

Marc Short: Short heads Freedom Partners, the centerpiece of the Koch brothers' political operation. Short is a former chief of staff of the House Republican Conference. 

Scott Hagerstrom: He's the state director of Americans for Prosperity-Michigan.

Jennifer Stefano: She's the state director for Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania.

Tommy Von der Heydt: He's a former regional development officer for Americans for Prosperity. 

Corey Lewandowski: He's the East Coast regional director for Americans for Prosperity.

Slade O'Brien: He's state director of Americans for Prosperity-Florida.

John Hardin: He's a program manager at the Charles G. Koch Foundation. 

Michael Palmer: He is the president of i360, which bills itself as the "leading data and technology resource for the pro-free-market political and advocacy community." Palmer's firm has worked closely with the Kochs' voter microtargeting operation, Themis. 

Derek Johnson: He's a program officer for higher education at the Charles G. Koch Foundation.

Nathan Nascimento: He's an employee of Freedom Partners.

James Davis: He's the vice president of strategic communications at Freedom Partners.

Luke Hilgemann: He's Americans for Prosperity's chief operating officer.

On Tuesday night, CNN ran an interview between Piers Morgan, a 48-year-old cisgender white man who hosts a nightly prime-time cable show, and Janet Mock, a 29-year-old transgender woman of color who just published her first book. In that interview, Morgan repeatedly referred to her as having once been a boy and asked her questions about disclosing her identity to her boyfriend. After it aired, Mock objected to the framing of the interview, and transgender activists on Twitter turned against Morgan. On Wednesday night, she returned to address the situation in a second conversation. Following that interview, Morgan spoke with a panel of commentators — none of whom were transgender — during which CNN contributor Ben Ferguson invalidated Mock’s identity and accused her of engineering a PR stunt for her book. Here’s how the evening progressed.

Morgan began the interview with Mock from a very defensive perspective, claiming that he’d been “abused” by the trans community and demanding an explanation as to why the criticism seemed to come out of the blue. She admitted that during her first interview with him, she was “scared” to confront him and that she was trying to be a “cordial guest,” but Morgan seemed confused as to what she had to be scared of. Throughout the interview, he continued to interrupt her and insist that he had a clear understanding of her story, often ignoring her as she corrected him. Here is how Mock explained the evolution of her gender identity:

MOCK: Before commercial break, we had a lovely conversation, and then all of a sudden you said, “…who was formerly a man.” I was a baby. I was assigned male gender because of the appearance of my genitals. As I grew up, I discovered my girlhood, I discovered my womanhood, and I proclaimed and defined myself for myself.

That explanation didn’t stick. Morgan insisted on asking why it is offensive to say that she “grew up as a boy” and that she “had surgery to become a woman, to become a real woman.” Mock explained that there is a difference between sex and gender:

MOCK: I think that we need to have a discussion about what gender is and gender expectations in our culture. I think that we are born and we are assigned a sex at birth — that is a matter none of us have control over. But we do have control over our destinies and our identities, and we should be respected. It’s not about the past. It’s not about what surgeries I may or may not have had. It’s not about how I disclose my gender to people.

It’s about who I am right now. I’m Janet Mock, I’m author of Redefining Realness, and I’m a fierce trans advocate. And I will continue to be exactly that. That’s what I was on this show to do. If I spoke out every single time that someone called me out of my name or labeled me as something that I’m not, I would not have time to advocate for the fierce and urgent issues in my community — issues of poverty and joblessness, of a lack of healthcare, of violence — verbal and physical violence — against trans women.

That explanation still didn’t stick. Morgan continued to take a defensive stance about his understanding of her identity. Again, he insisted, “Do you dispute you were born a boy?” Mock tried one more time to explain her identity:

MOCK: Do I dispute that I was born a boy? I was born a baby who was assigned “male” at birth. I did not identify or live my life as a boy. As soon as I had enough agency in my life to grow up, I became who I am. And this did not start at 18 when I went to Thailand to have “surgery.” It started when I was six years old and my parents saw me for who I was and allowed me to live my life.

Mock pointed out that though Morgan may have felt vilified and misunderstood since Tuesday night’s interview, that’s how transgender people feel every single day. Still, he insisted that she was to blame for not bringing these concerns up during the original interview — neglecting to apologize for how he consistently misrepresented her story and identity.

Watch the full interview:

That conversation alone, while seemingly unproductive for Morgan’s sake, could have been an educational television moment that stood by itself. Unfortunately, Morgan then invited a panel to discuss the interview — none of whom were trans — and two members of that panel disregarded everything that Mock had just explained about how to validate transgender identities.

First up was Amy Holmes, an anchor at TheBlaze.com, Glenn Beck’s media network. She seemed to think that the only aspect of Mock’s life that defines her experience as a transgender woman of color is the fact that she once had surgery on her genitals:

HOLMES: It seemed like it was really more of a semantic issue here, because the one and only reason why she’s on this show, has written a book, is getting national attention, was because she was born with male genitalia, went through surgery, and is now female, and that’s frankly a pretty sensational thing to go through in life.

Marc Lamont Hill came to Mock’s defense, affirming that she had reason to feel intimidated in her interview and critiquing Morgan for focusing so much on her transition. Morgan argued that he never mentioned her genitalia, but Hill pointed out that everything else nonetheless alluded to it. Besides, he argued, “trans identity does not hinge upon surgery. You can have a penis and still be a woman, a trans woman.”

Then, conservative commentator Ben Ferguson asserted that he knows more about Mock’s story and gender identity than even she does. He went on to claim that her concerns about the interview were fabricated all for the sake of a publicity stunt to sell her book:

FERGUSON: Let’s deal with the facts here. She was a boy and she was a man when she was born. Now she can be in the head and say she refuses to accept that, but based on medicine and based on doctors, you come out and you’re a man or you’re a woman. If you want to change that, that’s your decision… Doctors and science agree with me. [...]

This boils down to a simple issue. This is fake outrage by a woman who needs to sell books who didn’t have the guts to say anything to Piers because there was not a bad interview. You were incredibly gracious, Piers, and I don’t give you a lot of credit. On this one, I’ll gave you full credit. She decided, I’m sure with her PR team that’s watching right now — and welcome to this world of selling books — “We aren’t selling enough We need a fake controversy. Let’s attack Piers Morgan. Drop a fake f-word in there, even though we had no problem with it five days ago, to sell more book.”

Still, it was Hill’s arguments on Mock’s behalf that seemed to stick with Morgan. Concluding the panel, he seemed to acknowledge that he was beginning to better understand her concerns:

MORGAN: I think that the point Marc is making, which is the point that Janet made, I think is this — is that there is a difference between sex and gender, that gender identity is incredibly important to people who go through the transgender process. I have learned more about that in the last 24 hours, and I think it’s important to know about that, because it matters to the people that go through that.

Watch the panel discussion:

Ferguson is now facing his own onslaught of Twitter outrage from transgender people and their allies. Still, by the end, the lesson seems to have sunk in a bit for Morgan.

At one point, Mock pointed out that “gay rights are not transgender rights,” and indeed, trans people have a very different experience and trajectory with their identities than those who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In many ways, people with a same-sex orientation expand the visibility of their identities over the course of their lives: committing to a same-sex partner, moving into a community, and starting a family. Trans people have a very different coming out process, and may consider their journey to be over once they have completed their transition and integrated their gender identity into their lives in a way that works best for them. Telling trans stories cannot follow the same model of telling gay coming out stories, because they’re simply not comparable.

Television hosts like Katie Couric and Piers Morgan, who clearly mean to do right by the trans community, are learning this lesson in a very difficult public fashion, which means the process is messy and has some collateral damage for the trans community. These tough conversations nevertheless provide insights into how to talk to trans people, how to talk about trans people, and how to respect that trans people’s lives are not defined by their transition.

The post Janet Mock Schools Piers Morgan On How To Tell Transgender Stories appeared first on ThinkProgress.

I finished Monday’s post about the absurdly high cost of the Sochi Olympics with a fairly important question: if mega-events like the Olympics, Super Bowl, and World Cup fail to bring economic benefits to their host cities and also often fail to paint those hosts as attractive places to visit and spend money, “how do we change the way these events are sold and delivered to the public to prevent similar problems in the future?”

Over at Salon, Alex Pareene has a proposal that might help answer that exact question. Instead of rotating these events to different cities every year (in the case of the Super Bowl) or to new countries every four years (in the case of the Olympics and World Cup), Pareene says the organizing bodies should build permanent host sites devoted to putting on these major sporting events. For the Super Bowl, he proposes building a big host site in the desert outside Las Vegas where “[t]he league can build its little Super Bowl village with its NFL Experience stuff, and keep it up all year, a whole little town dedicated to the majesty of football.” For the Olympics, he proposes picking two countries, one for the Summer games and one for the Winter games (he proposes Japan and Australia). He concludes:

It is time for sports to stop victimizing our cities. If holding big events in the same place every time is good enough for tennis and golf it’s good enough for American football and the Olympics. Please call your congressperson or member of Parliament or whatever you have today.

I like this idea, though I’m not sure hosting every Olympics (or World Cup, which Pareene leaves out) in the same spot is the right choice if we actually want anyone to consider such a plan plan or want it to work. The IOC and FIFA are corrupt enough when it comes to the current bidding process, in which any country can try to win one of these events. Any process that would attempt to settle on a single host for the rest of time, then, would be an absolute nightmare. The NFL isn’t going to go anywhere within shouting distance of Vegas because of gambling concerns, and building an entirely new site doesn’t strike me as the best idea anyway.

But it’s still a good start. So with that in mind, here’s my proposal, which would create a permanent host for the Super Bowl and a rotation of host cities for the bigger events (NB: the following cities are hypothetical and could be substituted with others):

Put the Super Bowl in Miami: Miami has hosted more Super Bowls than any other city except New Orleans, and if the Super Bowl — a large, corporate party with no inhibition that only pretends to care about the football game at the center of it all — was a city, it’d be Miami. Dolphins owner Steven Ross wants to upgrade Miami’s SunLife Stadium for the explicit purpose of holding Super Bowls. Instead of forcing taxpayers to foot the bill, Ross could pay for it all in exchange for getting to host the Super Bowl for the next however many years. Miami is easy to get to, and unlike New Orleans, its stadium is outdoors, where football should be played. The Pro Bowl has a permanent location. Why shouldn’t the end of season spectacle people actually care about have one too?

Rotate the World Cup between the United States, England, Brazil, and South Africa, all countries where the infrastructure is or will be in place and all places where soccer is either madly popular or heading that way. England and the United States both have plenty of stadiums to host the World Cup at a minimal cost — when both bid on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, neither proposed new stadium construction as part of it. The strength of the Barclays Premier League means that English stadiums will remain in top shape without major FIFA maintenance expenditures, and the NFL ensures that the same is true in the U.S. Brazil is having its trouble now, but by the end of the 2014 World Cup it too will have stadiums in place that will need to be used in the future. Plus, South America deserves to be in the rotation for the world’s biggest soccer tournament, and Brazil is the most able country on the continent. South Africa spent billions of dollars to host in 2010 but now has no domestic league or anything else that can regularly use the stadiums it built for it. Africa needs to be included because none of the power brokers want to cut it completely out of the process, and putting a World Cup in South Africa every 16 years makes more sense than trying to host an Olympics there.

Rotate the Winter Olympics between Vancouver, Nagano, and somewhere in Europe. Vancouver and Nagano are both recent Olympic hosts, and both are natural fits in a permanent rotation, though Nagano has since converted many of its facilities into mixed-use recreational sites. In Europe, there are plenty of options, whether in Scandinavia — Lillehammer, Norway hosted in 1992 and other Scandinavian cities have bid before and since — Switzerland, France, or Italy, where Turin hosted the 2006 Games. The cost of the Winter Olympics is relatively small or at least should be (Sochi notwithstanding), so even rotating it among a few more Asian, European, and North American cities (Salt Lake City may bid again soon) that already have most of the infrastructure in place wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

Rotate the Summer Olympics between London, Sydney, Beijing, and Rio, which by 2016 will have combined to host four of the past five Olympics. All of these countries have most of the necessary Olympic infrastructure in place, though the conversion of their major stadiums after the Games were gone would pose some problems. Yes, China has human rights concerns that caused major controversy during the 2008 Games, but fixing those and other problems (like pollution) could be a condition for including it in the rotation. And while Rio de Janeiro is having cost problems now, promising that it would host future Olympics would make the amount it is spending on the 2016 Games easier to stomach.

The benefits to finding permanent hosts, whether one as Pareene suggests or a small rotating group as I do, would be enormous. “Either fix a single host city/country or a small number of hosts and you save on the infrastructure costs,” College of the Holy Cross sports economist Victor Matheson said.

Because these cities and countries would know they would host regularly, development would be geared toward sustainability as opposed to producing lavish facilities meant to look pretty for television just once. Those bobsled tracks, velodromes, and Olympic-sized swimming facilities would get used more than once, keeping them from becoming a total waste of money. And because the sports infrastructure would be in place in these host cities, it would give the cities time to make the other infrastructure improvements that are often supposed to accompany these events but rarely do.

Yes, the list I proposed is heavily biased toward the world’s large, powerful countries, but it is done so purposefully. Research shows that the Olympics and World Cup don’t have major positive economic benefits, so these large, wealthy countries can at least absorb the costs of these events with minimal financial difficulty. Many of the excluded countries would surely complain, but they should recognize instead, Matheson said, that “the chosen countries are doing the non-hosts a favor” by taking on the costs of hosting these events.

Of course, each of those reasons Pareene and I view as positive are negatives for the NFL, IOC, and FIFA. The NFL uses the Super Bowl as a carrot to get taxpayers to put forth more money for stadiums (see: Miami, New Orleans, Dallas). A permanent host plan would also “cut down on [FIFA and the IOC's] ability to extract huge concessions from the host,” Matheson said, gutting the financial gains those organizations make from spreading the events around the globe. As University of Michigan economist Stefan Szymanski has told me before, these events are as much about legacy as anything else: FIFA and the IOC love to point to stadiums and take credit for their construction. A permanent host plan would restrict their ability to do that, especially in countries like England and the U.S. where the stadiums exist primarily for other purposes.

There are other alternatives too. We could continue not to care about how much is spent on these events, or countries could band together and refuse to pay the high prices these events demand. Or the IOC, FIFA, and NFL could be honest about the economic realities of these events, making it clear that the Olympics, Super Bowl, and World Cup have social and health benefits for their host cities but won’t provide an economic boon. That honesty could itself drive down costs if citizens responded by asking their governments to spend less to win and host these events. That honest approach, though, is even more unlikely than the adoption of permanent hosts for each of these events.

IOC officials this week said that the high cost of the Sochi Games would force them to consider alterations to improve the bidding process, but anything as radical as permanent hosts (or a rotation of hosts) won’t likely be part of that conversation, even if it would make sense. It’s easy for economists and writers like myself and Pareene to look at this process and decide it’s broken. For the people and organizations in charge, though, the Olympics, World Cup, and Super Bowl are all working exactly the way they are supposed to.

The post How To Make The World Cup, Olympics, And Super Bowl Cheaper To Host appeared first on ThinkProgress.

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1. 1.Cyclops
2. 2.Beast, with Laboratory
3. 3.Kitty Pryde, with Headmaster's Office
4. 4.The Danger Room
5. 5.The Danger Room
6. 6.The Mansion
7. 7.Stairway with Cukoos

DarthKy and Glenbricker have this simply massive, wonderfully detailed lego set based on Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Children up for vote on Cuusoo, Lego’s crowdsourcing site for new kits. So give it a vote, and maybe you’ll be able to buy this lots-of-assembly-needed nerd dollhouse in a store sometime soon.

(via Superpunch.)

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All this month I’ll be reviewing different comic books by African-American creators, based on submissions from the actual creators of the comic books themselves. A quick note – since this month is so relatively short, I’ll be featuring an extra comic every week, for a total of 32 comics spotlighted! Here is a list of [...]

This fan-made "Sherlock" Lego set may soon be a reality! Having achieved 10,000 votes on Cuusoo, the LEGO Group will now provide an official response. Based on the BBC drama "Sherlock", starring the dreamy Benedict Cumberbatch (swoon!) this Lego set, designed by Flailx recreates 221 B Baker Street.

Read more...

David O. Russell out, Neil Burger out and now, Seth Gordon in for the long-gestating big screen adaptation of popular video game franchise Uncharted.

Deadline reports Sony is now negotiating with the director of Identity Thief and Horrible Bosses to direct the big screen live action adventures of Nathan Drake. He may be most known for comedic feature films now, but Gordon’s first ever feature-length film was 2007′s The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a documentary about video games and gamers, so he’s got the geek cred down too.

Uncharted has a script from David Guggenheim and will next be searching for a leading man to play treasure hunter Nathan Drake, who, along with journalist Elena Fisher and mentor Victor Sullivan, go on a search for the lost city of El Dorado.

So, who should it be? Please don’t say Nathan Fillion.

Seth Gordon To Direct Video Game Adaptation Uncharted

Valentine's Day is once again looming in the near future, which means that here at ComicsAlliance, our thoughts have turned to romance. And, since our ideas of romance have been formed pretty much entirely by comics, that means that we're also pretty fixated on the sobbing, sniffling, and weeping of utter heartbreak.

If there's one thing I've learned from my love of classic romance comics -- and to be honest, I'm not sure that there is one thing I've learned from these, other than that old men in the 1950s and '60s had some pretty weird ideas about what girls were into -- it's that true love cannot exist without an equal measure of sorrow. That's why today, we've gone back through a stack of back issues to bring you 20 of the most heartbreaking moments in romance comic history.

Continue reading…

“I don’t like the dinosaur in this graphic. It looks too fake. Use a real photo of a dinosaur instead.”

Kagami and the Kurobas boys are making a real slam dunk on the hearts of fans in Shinjuku station! These 14 life-size decals will be on display in the corridor between the east and west exits from January 27th to February 2nd to promote the release of Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD. Watch for an opening and make a fast break--not even a Vanishing Drive could get past the line of defense set up by their adoring fans!

Event official homepage: http://www.kurobas.com/news/2014/01/entry_1030/

So an odd confluence of events lead to me drunk tweeting while watching 1995’s classically terrible Mortal Kombat at about four in the morning this weekend (don’t ask). It was mostly uneventful, a few good jokes, mostly banal observations, as those things tend to be. However, it operated as a particularly potent time travel device [...]

A federal grand jury has begun a criminal investigation into last month’s chemical spill in West Virginia, looking into Freedom Industries and West Virginia American Water Company.

According to CNN, subpoenas have been issued for the investigation, which started soon after a holding tank owned by Freedom Industries spilled about 10,000 gallons of crude MCHM and PPH into the Elk River on January 9. United States Attorney Booth Goodwin said on January 10 that his office had “opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the release,” and the grand jury’s actions marks steps forward in that case.

Though water bans have been lifted in West Virginia, many residents are still hesitant to drink and use their water — caution that was underscored on Tuesday, when an independent water test initiated by CNN found that there are still trace quantities of MCHM in untreated river water and tap water at two locations in Charleston. The CDC has maintained that levels of crude MCHM below 1 part per million are safe — however, questions remain about whether that threshold is truly safe.

“The water ban has been lifted, but too many west Virginians are left wondering if their water is really safe,” West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said during a Senate hearing on the spill Tuesday.

Tennant said people she’s talked to in West Virginia are melting down snow in order to give their children baths. They don’t trust reports of safe water, she said, because there’s so little information on the safety of the chemical. Just last week, news broke that crude MCHM can break down into formaldehyde, which can cause cancer.

During the hearing, put on by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, federal lawmakers called for more regulation in West Virginia as an attempt to prevent spills like this from happening in the future.

“Americans have a right to expect, when they turn their tap on, the water they get is safe,” Sen. Ben Cardin, (D-MD) said at the hearing. “Our laws are just not strong enough to deal with the current situation.”

Lawmakers also expressed their support for a bill from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), which would require states to inspect chemical facilities that pose a threat to water sources every three years.

The post Grand Jury Launches Criminal Investigation Into West Virginia’s Chemical Spill appeared first on ThinkProgress.

At least 125 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa and the Middle East, according to a UNICEF report issued on Monday. In 50 percent of the countries practicing FGM — roughly 29 across the two regions — the procedure involves girls under five years old. In other countries, FGM occurs when girls are between the ages of 5 and 14.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines FGM as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” Also known as “female genital cutting (FGC),” most FGM occurs in Africa and a few Middle Eastern countries, although it does take place in parts of Central and South America. There is no one reason that the practice is continued; in places where FGM does take place, it is considered a social norm.” Many believe the practice preserves girls’ virginity by suppressing “sexual desire” — the reason most Westerners associate the practice with — and can also signal a transition into womanhood when performed on older girls. Families often force FGM upon their daughters as a means to render them more desirable for marriage, and to conform to social expectations. Girls are often perceived as “dirty” if they are not cut.

All told, numerous consequences are commonly associated with the procedure, with “severe pain, shock, [and bleeding]” among some of the immediate effects. Moreover, because FGM disturbs girls’ anatomy, it has a litany of long-term impacts. Women and girls who undergo FGM often experience infertility, difficulties during childbirth, and painful intercourse. Long-lasting infections can develop in the bladder, pelvis, and reproductive system. In addition to physical harm, FGM can also take a toll psychologically. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for example, is a prevalent issue among girls who undergo the process.

UNICEF found that the prevalence of FGM varies across the 29 countries referenced in its report, and grouped them into five tiers to reflect those rates. For example, eight countries have high percentages — above 80 percent — of girls who are cut. Somalia and Egypt, for instance, claim that 98 percent and 91 percent of girls are cut, respectively. Egypt alone hosts one in five of the total number who have been subjected to the procedure. Other nations included in the study have much lower rates of FGM, such as Uganda and Cameroon, in which only 1 percent of girls undergo cutting. The process is currently illegal within the United States.

The international children’s organization is not alone in assessing FGM as detrimental to the health and well-being of young girls. FGM ultimately strips freedoms away from those subjected to the process, Amnesty International argues, including the rights to “physical and mental integrity, freedom from violence…freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, and freedom from torture,…inhuman and degrading treatments, [and] life (when the procedure results in death).” As such, the procedure can be considered a human rights violation, UNICEF says, under the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and possibly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Activists are currently working with government bodies, non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups to eradicate FGM through legislation, educational messaging, and localized advocacy.

According to the organization, 30 million additional girls will suffer from FGM if discourse continues as is. “FGM/C is a violation of a girl’s rights to health, well-being and self-determination,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta said in a blog post from the organization announcing the report. “What is clear from this report is that legislation alone is not enough. The challenge now is to let girls and women, boys and men speak out loudly and clearly and announce they want this harmful practice abandoned.”

February 6 marks International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.

The post U.N. Report: 125 Million Suffer From Female Genital Mutilation In Africa, Middle East appeared first on ThinkProgress.

WANNA KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT BASTED EGG?

IT’S LIKE SUNNY-SIDE UP, EXCEPT THERE’S NO RESIDUAL EGG WHITES STILL SLIMING UP YOUR PLATE. 

FIRST YOU GET THE PAN HOT AS GOLLUM, NOW THAT HE’S RESTING IN THE FIERY PITS OF MOUNT DOOM.

GET A BIT OF BUTTER INTO THE PAN! MAYBE A TEASPOON. YOU THINK PRECISION MATTERS IN THIS SHIT? NO! IT DOESN’T! JUST DON’T PUT A SHIT-TON IN THERE.

PROTIP- CRACK YOUR EGG AGAINST A FLAT SURFACE, LIKE A COUNTER, INSTEAD OF AN EDGE. YOU’RE LESS LIKELY TO GET EGG SNOT ALL OVER THE PLACE LIKE A CLUMSY MOTHERFUCKER.

DIG YOUR THUMB INTO THE SHELL AND DROP YOUR EGGY DELIGHT INTO THE HOT BUTTER.

MAKE SURE THE EGG IS OFF TO ONE SIDE OF THE PAN, AND NOT IN THE CENTER! THIS IS PROBABLY EASY, AS MOST STOVETOPS WERE DESIGNED BY NON-PERFECTIONISTS, AND AREN’T PERFECTLY LEVEL.

WATCH IT WRIGGLE AROUND IN AGONY, AS THE HEAT DENATURES SOME PROTEINS AND CHANGES YOUR SNOTTY EGG SHIT INTO DELICIOUS EGG WHITES!

WHEN THE EGG WHITES ARE ALMOST COMPLETELY DONE, BUT YOUR YOLK IS STILL LOOKING RUNNIER THAN A VAMPIRE ON THE BUSINESS END OF A WINCHESTER’S GLARE, TIME FOR ACTION!

GRAB SOME WATER AND SLOSH SOME INTO THE PAN - ROUNDABOUT 3 TABLESPOONS.

IT’LL START HISSING AND SPITTING LIKE MAD, BUT YOU’VE GOTTA COVER UP THE PAN QUICK, SO ITS FURY CANNOT TOUCH YOUR PERFECT FACE.

KEEP IT COVERED FOR AROUND 20 SECONDS.

YOU’LL SEE THE LAST OF THE WHITES SOLIDIFYING OVER THE YOLK, CAPTURING IT LIKE THE LOVELY CARLIN CAPTURED MY VIKING HEART!

IF YOU LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR MUCH LONGER, THE YOLK WILL COOK AS WELL, AND THAT’S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF EGG!

ONCE YOUR EGG HAS REACHED PERFECTION, SPATULA THAT BAD BOSS ONTO YOUR PLATE~

WANT SOME SCIENCE TO GO WITH YOUR BREAKFAST?

THE ADDED WATER QUICKLY PRESSURE/STEAM-COOKS THE TOP OF YOUR EGG! BRILLIANT!

HAD YOU FLIPPED THE EGG, YOU WOULD HAVE HAD AN ‘over easy’ AND THAT LITTLE SHIT FUCKS ITSELF UP REAL EASY UNDER AN UNSKILLED HAND. 

Sesame Street, you’re not even pretending that this one isn’t for the adult nerdlings crowd. My deerstalker is off to you.

(via: io9)

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