firehose

spellthief:

If I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.

          -Hayao Miyazaki (x)

design-is-fine:

Charles Bloud, Sun dial, 1650. Dieppe. skd-online

So many artists are terrible people, the argument goes, that if we were to hold them accountable for their actions we’d have no art left. But when sexual abuse is built into the very fabric of your plots and humor, the separation of the artist and the work begins to collapse.

The Toronto Zoo’s panda Da Mao has a little flop in the snow…

“

When you want to be a writer, “they” tell you to read everything. Read every genre you can get your mitts on, because even if you don’t realize it, this will improve your writing within the genre you actually want to write. They tell you to read broadly, whatever catches your interest, upon whatever shelf it sits.

How do female authors still go so very unnoticed?

How is it their books aren’t getting in front of eyes that would enjoy them?

How can we make it so they do?

”

- The Women We Don’t See

Philly.com

Joe Biden: No reason not to run for president in 2016 CBS News Vice President Joe Biden attends the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton February 6, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pool, Getty Images. Shares. Tweets; Stumble. Email; More +. Vice President Biden can't think of a reason to not run for president in ... Biden: 'No obvious reason' not to run in 2016Houston Chronicle Biden Dangles 2016 RunDaily Beast Besides his Corvette, Biden can't think of a reason not to run for presidentMSNBC USA TODAY all 94 news articles »

If you haven't heard of a "sneckdown" yet, it's a clever combination of "snow" and "neckdown" - another name for a curb expansion - that uses snow formations on the street to reveal the space cars don't use.

The Cave co-writer Chris Remo is no longer working at Double Fine, having teamed up with Idle Thumbs co-stars and Walking Dead designers Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman at the recently formed Campo Santo studio. Remo was formerly editor-in-chief at...

alphadogg writes "Politicians and law enforcement officials in California will introduce a bill on Friday that requires all smartphones and tablet PCs sold in the state be equipped with a digital 'kill-switch' that would make the devices useless if stolen. The bill is a response to a rise in thefts of portable electronics devices, often at knife or gunpoint, being seen across the state. Already half of all robberies in San Francisco and 75 percent of those in Oakland involve a mobile device and the number is rising in Los Angeles, according to police figures. The trend is the same in major cities across the U.S. and the California bill, if it passes, could usher in kill-switch technology nationwide if phone makers choose not to produce custom devices for California. California Senate bill 962 says all smartphones and tablet PCs sold from Jan. 1, 2015, should have 'a technological solution that can render the essential features of the device inoperable when the device is not in possession of the rightful owner.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

After a failed run, lesbian snowboarder Cheryl Maas thrust her rainbow glove into the camera in an apparent political statement of support for LGBT rights.

Before the Opening Ceremonies even began we have our first apparent televised statement of support for LGBT rights at the Sochi Olympics. It comes from Dutch snowboarder Cheryl Maas, a married lesbian, after a slopestyle prelim run.

That's a glove covered in rainbows and, well, a unicorn. While the glove itself could be passed off as a totally normal thing for a snowboarder to wear -- rainbows and unicorns are lovely in any context -- the gesture to ensure the camera caught a full view of it is pretty unmistakable. Maas clearly wanted the world to see her rainbow unicorn glove. One struggles to imagine a snowboarder with a blank glove or one featuring a skull or something doing the same gesture.

We'll soon find out how many other LGBT athetes and allies in Sochi make statements, subtle or otherwise.

More on the Winter Olympics:

• Meet Team USA's brightest Winter Olympic athletes

• The best photos from Day 1 in Sochi

• The Flawless Sochi Olympics | Russia is spying on hotel showers

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

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

More creators join protest against soft-drink company's sponsorship! Interviews with J.G. Jones, John Layman, Michael DeForge and Alisa Harris! A look at "Ultimo"!

Two Revolutionary War Maps of Boston Harbor (1776)

A plan of Boston, and its environs, shewing the true situation of His Majesty's army, and also those of the rebels Revolutionary War Map of the Boston Area (1776) Date: 1776 Author: Richard Williams Dwnld: 01, 02 Source: Library of Congress Print Availability: See our Prints Page for more details pff This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of Boston that you might want to...

the BIG Map Blog - Interesting maps, historical maps, BIG maps.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong got in some hot water yesterday when he cited the medical expenses of two employees’ difficult births to explain why the company will make its retirement plans less generous.

The ire was immediate: How dare Armstrong (perhaps America’s most gaffe-prone CEO) single out these two women’s health care costs as a reason for cutting back on every employee’s 401(k)—especially when he’s personally on track to make $12 million this year?

The CEO brought up the births, which apparently cost $1 million each in medical expenses, as an example of how health care costs are eating into other benefits—specifically, that the added costs that come with the new health care law, some $7.1 million, were the driving force behind the change to retirement plans. Instead of matching employees’ retirement savings immediately, AOL will do so in a lump sum at the end of the year, limiting workers’ investment return.

Armstrong’s stance fits in with that of other American CEOs who have blamed Obamacare’s requirements that they offer their workers high-quality health care plans as a reason for letting workers go or raising prices. Many restaurant chains who rely on part-time workers, including Papa John’s, Applebee’s, and Darden Restaurants, parent of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, have cited the law as a reason for unpopular cost-cutting measures. They’ve gotten some flak for saying so, but by and large people accept the logic.

Yet what they’re saying is essentially the same as what Armstrong said: While not every medical problem is as critical or expensive as a sick infant (and singling out specific employees is extra gauche) companies are facing a trade-off between their employees’ health and their profits. Since the law mandates the former and their jobs the latter, they’re going to find other ways to cut—probably, though, not in the executive compensation account. All this might be enough to make CEOs wish they weren’t in the business of providing health care at all, but political pressure to build on the existing system—provided in part by the business community—led lawmakers to graft new expansions of coverage on top of employer-provided health care coverage.

As the health care law continues to come into force, the “Obamacare made me do it” excuse may prove convenient among corporate executives addressing all manner of tricky challenges—price hikes, benefit cuts, lay-offs. When they use it, they’d do well to remember Tim Armstrong and those sick babies.

Haiti to Haiyan: Four Part Guidance Note Series on Effective Disaster Response How can disaster response contribute to long-term development? Key lessons from Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies at Times of Disaster 1. Even the most devastated communities retain capacities. Even if the physical/material infrastructure is destroyed, the communities still have strong relationships, personal skills, organizational abilities, important […]

semperfrosty:

Your mother’s maiden name, the name of your first pet, your birthday and the first street you grew up on are usually the same fields used for password security reset questions

Stay Frosty

“When I create something, it’s gotta be special, and it can’t just be to throw something out there because I feel like I’m Missy,” said told show host Michael Yo via video chat. “I gotta feel like what I’m giving the fans is 100% and that it’s game-changing. I don’t just throw out microwave records.”

Country music star Garth Brooks was the musical guest

Curling isn't just a pass route to Vernon Davis. For the second straight Winter Olympics, the San Francisco 49ers tight end will serve as the honorary captain of the U.S. curling team. The two-time NFL Pro Bowler has been charged with raising awareness for the sport, which he attempted to do on Arsenio Hall's new show earlier this week, if anyone was watching. To recap, this is 2014, and Vernon Davis is raising awareness for curling on Arsenio for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The 2012 @seahawks draft class. They graded us as an F. Now we are World Champs! #GodisGood #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/HuOjkuOYVa

San Francisco Chronicle

Apple takes $14B bite of its stock via buyback Businessweek NEW YORK (AP) — Apple has repurchased $14 billion of its stock in the two weeks after its first-quarter financial results and second-quarter revenue outlook disappointed investors. Its shares rose in morning trading Friday. Apple bought $12 billion of the ... Apple Makes Huge Move Nobody Saw ComingTIME Tim Cook Is 'Betting On Apple,' Don't Bet Against HimForbes Does Carl Icahn Approve of Apple's Buyback?Wall Street Journal all 181 news articles »

allisontype:

bridgecitybutterfly:

y’all don’t understand. dudE IS CROSS COUNTry SKIING PAST MY BAR RIGHT NOw.

Cause Portland.

thislandislando:

wendesgray:

How about this weather, Portland!  I’ve never run through snow before, so naturally I had to get out there for a few miles and see what it’s all about. I had a blast!  Snow runs can actually be fun…who knew??

Just when I think Portland can’t get prettier.

Massachusetts Senate considers changes in unemployment aid WXXA BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate has approved a bill that would make changes in unemployment insurance that supporters say will lower costs for businesses. The measure passed 33-4 Thursday. It continues a freeze on unemployment insurance ... and more »

On drug sentencing, a growing number of Republicans are ready to shed the party’s law-and-order image in favor of reform.

Presto Vivace writes "The New York City Police Department is trying to determine how useful Google Glass would be for law enforcement. From the article: 'The New York City Police Department's massive and controversial intelligence and analytics unit is evaluating whether Google Glass is a decent fit for investigating terrorists and helping cops lock up bad guys, VentureBeat has learned. The department recently received several pairs of the modernist-looking specs to test out. "We signed up, got a few pairs of the Google glasses, and we're trying them out, seeing if they have any value in investigations, mostly for patrol purposes," a ranking New York City law enforcement official told VentureBeat.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.