firehose

Baby, it's cold outside? THEN ICE UP.

Oh, what's that, Frosty? You've been locked in a greenhouse by an extremely misguided and irrational magician who wants his enchanted hat back? ICE UP, SON.

The originator of #iceupson #stevesmith #agent89... had to pic.twitter.com/94fK3Od9H4

— Steve Smith (@89SteveSmith) February 13, 2014

YOUR OFFICE—Although they are reportedly attempting to appear busy by typing rapidly and leaning in toward their computer screens, sources confirmed that your coworkers are, in fact, Gchatting about you at this very moment.

The first score of 100+ was set in Sochi on Thursday.

Crowds in Sochi were disappointed by the withdrawal of home town hero Evgeni Plushenko, but they were rewarded on the ice Thursday by witnessing a world record from 19-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu.

Hanyu is widely seen as the next great skater to assume Plushenko's mantle and his score of 101.45 was appropriate on the final afternoon of competition by the great Russian skater. It was the first time a male figure skater has eclipsed 100 points in the short program and broke Patrick Chan's previous mark of 98.52, set at the Trophee Eric Bompard in November of 2013.

The young Japanese skater was appropriately shocked and overjoyed by receiving such a high score.

The score puts Hanyu in prime position to win the gold medal on an afternoon where numerous skaters struggled on the ice. Falls had been the tale of the short program leading up to Hanyu's performance, but the young skater proved it was a problem with the competition, not the ice.

To put Hanyu's score of 101.45 in perspective here's the top scores of other skating greats.

Name	Score
Patrick Chan	98.52
Evgeni Plushenko	91.39
Evan Lysachek	90.30
Johnny Weir	84.60

More on the Winter Olympics:

• SB Nation's Winter Olympics medal tracker | Meet Team USA

• Shaun White fails to capture gold | Women make halfpipe podium

• What you need to know about curling | Bobsled, luge and skeleton

• Miracle Put on Ice: 1984 US hockey team never had a chance

• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis

Good beer comes in bottles, so why shouldn’t good wine come in a can? The Union Wine Company based in Tualatin, Oregon has answered that question by producing their highly praised Underwood Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir in a convenient 12 ounce aluminum can.

Pre-orders are currently being taken for delivery in Spring 2014.

images via Union Wine Company

via Design Milk

Equestrian is the land of magical ponies, who lives under the concepts of harmony, love and friendship. but as an old fallout saying goes "War, war never changes." war brings out the worst of each of us, and in this case it took the form of Mega spells, power full magic that caused a disaster and ravaged the land of the ponies in their war against the zebras.

Washington Post

Facebook gives 50 options to identify gender like androgynous, transsexual South China Morning Post You do not have to be male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media company is adding a customisable option with about 50 different terms people can use to identify their gender as well as three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them. Facebook debuts new gender options(multiple names) Facebook offers more ways to express gender beyond 'male' and 'female'Computerworld Facebook Welcomes 'Transgender,' 'Intersex,' and 'Fluid' Gender DesignationsCharisma News The Week Magazine -DesMoinesRegister.com -DAWN.com all 640 news articles »

Hey you, watchagonna do
Hey you, watcha gonna do
Hey you, watcha gonna do
Hey you, watcha gonna do

submitted by ellewalker
[link] [20 comments]

firehose shared this story from Digital Baubles.

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womeninspace:

Mae Jemison with her suit tech Sharon Caples McDougle. The suit techs helped to fit astronaut pressure suits. On the ground they also took care of the suits and helped astronauts get ready for flight and training.

The text on the photo reads:

To Sharon,

It’s always wonderful to know that there is a person who has your best interest at heart. My dearest[?] thanks for keeping me safe - Definitely the best I could ask for.

Mae C Jemison

Besides we have too much fun together - Do it girl!

Read Sharons story on NASA JSC Oral History Project

Source: NASA JSC Oral History Project

Mattel has decided to rehabilitate Barbie's falling image in the toy market (a 13% drop this holiday season over last) by changing nothing, and dismissing criticism of Barbie by talking about her as if she were a real person and not an image entirely created and controlled by a massive toy empire. Also by putting her on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue and starting the hashtag #unapologetic. It's so cute, watching a more than half-century old media franchise discover the marketing power of intentionally creating internet outrage while trying to make it look like an accident. I recommend ThinkProgress' take on the whole deal. Previously in Barbie

	firehose shared this story from Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
	hi everybody it's me, garrett

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In this Thief trailer, someone has stolen Daniel Day-Lewis from the movie There Will Be Blood. Check your DVDS and you’ll see all that’s left is a mess of dangling pixels and a top hat. But in a surprising twist, another thief has stolen his acting ability and also made off with his voice, so what you get in this little slice of life from The City is, well, it’s not well-acted. I’m actually okay with the words and the animation, even if makes it look like someone has stolen the in-game, but the Thief Taker General has all the authority and presence of a fluffed-up kitten.
… [visit site to read more]

	firehose shared this story from APE IN A CAPE:
	A+ Amanda Waller

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renaroo:

Secret Six (2008-2011) #26

"You could never spot them in time."

I’ve gone on before, I think, about just how much I adore Secret Six, but one of my favorite exchanges from the last on-going title was this issue with Amanda Waller and Katarina Armstrong.

There’s so much tension and razor-sharp dialogue between them. These are incredibly powerful women, I’d argue two of the most powerful women in the DCU, and neither of them have super powers or capes. They’re just pure awesome.

And the beat changes between the two are amazingly well handled.

Again, just awesome.

This is a fun thing…Spy Smasher was SUCH a fun antagonist for the Birds partially because she genuinely believed in what she was doing. She thought national security justified every horrid decision she made, and she made LOTS of horrid decisions.

But because we were going through so much abuse of citizens’ rights, and because people were every bit as smug as Spy Smasher about it, I actually grew to hate her, like she was real. Loved her character, loved writing her, but really, REALLY hated what she stood for. Few villains I have written have been so damn bossy in how they should be written, which was great fun…but I wanted to see her get comeuppance just as much as the readers did.

So, what do you do with a government agent so powerful that the President has to ask her permission to act?

You send her against Amanda Waller.

THAT is fun stuff to write.

firehose shared this story from APE IN A CAPE.

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heck yeah out-of-context comic book panels

There should be a series just called BANE’S PANDAS.

houghtonlib:

Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543. Totentanz, ca. 1525.

Typ 515.38.456a

Houghton Library, Harvard University

Death comes for the Knight and the Abbot in these two images from Holbein’s Dance of Death.

	firehose shared this story from APE IN A CAPE:
	Red Sonja in armor with a polar bear pet I expect they mailed this to me directly already before I even heard of it

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readreact:

Hey! Another female written Red Sonja title!

Red Sonja Berserker One Shot by Nancy A. Collins with art by Fritz

Personally I really like the art on this one, and  EEEE BABY POLAR BEAR PET! :3

WOW.

I hadn’t read this yet. It looks FANTASTIC!

We're seeking a passionate, restaurant-savvy editor to travel the United States for us year-round to uncover the best of what America’s restaurants have to offer. The role requires a sense of adventure, a love of travel, a strong palate (and stomach), impressive critical faculties, and an aptitude in photography. Oh, and one should of course know how to write. Ideal candidates will be professional writers who know the restaurant world inside out and have dined at some of the best restaurants around the country—if not the world. The job will require nearly constant travel and an aggressive dining agenda, paid for by a generous dining and travel budget, but the writer’s home base can be anywhere in the United States. Compensation is competitive with other similar roles at food publications.

This one’s for a long-time reader, Skippy, who is goin’ through a rough patch at the moment, so her friends (including the incomparable Reece) decided that what she needed was a painting of St. Otter and the Egg.

All proceeds from sales of this print goes to support breast cancer research. - Ursula Vernon

[link]

French spirits maker Pernod Ricard has unveiled Project Gutenberg, a web-connected cocktail maker concept that blends together alcohol, apps, and an unusual design.

Powell's Books just announced that as of June 30, they will be closing two of their three stores at the Portland Airport—the two concourse stores will close, and the "Oregon Marketplace Store" (the one located before security) will remain open.

My first thought was that this was more "death of bookstores" stuff, but in an official statement Powell's CEO Miriam Sontz places the blame for the store closures square on the Port of Portland: “The Port of Portland is working on a new vision for retail at PDX, and in spite of our efforts to negotiate a renewal of our leases and review other options for maintaining a concourse presence, we were unable to reach an agreement. We regret deeply the closure of these two stores.”

I regret it toooooooo. Now where am I going to last-minute panic-buy a Stephen King book I've already read just in case the plane breaks down or gets stuck circling for hours in some sort of Speed-esque terrorist situation and the three books and a Kindle I already have packed aren't enough? (Before I go through security, you say? Ugh, fine.)

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Remember when ThinkGeek sold an officially licensed 10th Doctor coat in a ladies cut? They'll finally got 11 for sale. 

New Orleans parted ways with several veteran defensive players on Wednesday, but the memories of Harper helping turn around the franchise won't soon be forgotten.

Most NFL fans know that the New Orleans Saints turned around their entire franchise in 2006, the season that coincided with the hiring of head coach Sean Payton and the signing of free agent quarterback Drew Brees. But perhaps an underrated aspect of that season and that turnaround was the drafting of safety Roman Harper out of Alabama with the 43rd overall pick. Harper has played with the Saints for eight seasons and twice been named to the Pro Bowl, including in 2009 when New Orleans won its only championship in franchise history.

On Wednesday, the franchise released Harper.

It comes as no surprise that the team would cut the veteran safety with two years remaining on his contract. The Saints were projected to be well over the 2014 cap before a series of moves that also included the releases of Will Smith and Jabari Greer, plus they likely won't re-sign Jonathan Vilma. The Saints save almost $17 million with those moves and are now projected to be under the estimated $126 million cap for next year, but they may not be done making changes.

They'll need more room to sign pending free agent tight end Jimmy Graham, even if it's just to place the franchise tag on him. That doesn't make it any easier to let Harper go.

Harper signed a three-year deal in 2013 with a base salary of just $850,000, and New Orleans saves over $3 million in each of the next two years by giving him his walking papers. He missed seven games last season with a knee injury, but has recently said he still sees himself as a full-time starter. Harper has been a reliable player to avoid injury for most of his career other than this past season, having played in at least 15 games in each of the previous six seasons.

Harper has been a tackling machine from the strong safety position throughout his career, but also added 7.5 sacks in the 2011 season alone. He's also accumulated seven interceptions throughout his career, sometimes finding himself in the right place at the right time.

In Week 1 of this past season, Harper also put himself in position to intercept Matt Ryan's final pass attempt in the end zone and seal a 23-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

In the Saints all-important NFC Championship win over the Minnesota Vikings in 2009 on their way to the Super Bowl, Harper had seven tackles and a forced fumble in a 31-28 OT win.

But if they want any hope of keeping around Graham, a star tight end who wants to be paid like a star receiver, the team had no choice but to release Harper and some of his longtime teammates. New Orleans, along with the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, were the three teams most obviously facing financial hell for 2014. Though Brees carries a cap hit of $18.4 million next season, the team would face an even bigger cap hit down the road if they tried to restructure his deal this year. It's speculated that they could work with Ben Grubbs, Marques Colston, and Jahri Evans to re-structure their deals and get further under the cap.

They'll need to do so if they want to retain Graham, and to even talk to other free agents.

Releasing a player of Harper's caliber after eight seasons and a Super Bowl championship is never easy, but the business of sports rarely is.

More from SB Nation NFL

• Finding the ideal free agent for all 32 teams

• How hard is it to find a QB outside of the first round?

• This is why the Browns restructured their front office | Haslam defensive

• Behind the scenes with Michael Sam's decision | Strangers have opinions

• NFL mock draft: Johnny Manziel is our new No. 1

In a movie full of awesome moments, Batman's self-composed theme song from The Lego Movie may be the awesomest. But you only got to hear part of it! Here's the full-length track, which should be legally required to accompany every single Batman appearance from here on out.

Read more...

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