firehose

"Dear Origific Authors: Fanfiction Writers Are Not Stealing "Your" Opportunities:

saathi1013:

I’ve been reading a lot today about the changing nature of publishing. Mostly, I’ve been going through Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog archives on the subject, in case that kind of insider talk is of interest to you.

To sum up: the traditional publishing industry is hella…

An interesting look at this issue which leaves me with one immediate (if idiosyncratic and essentially unimportant) response: jeez, I really dislike the term “origific”. Not that I have the slightest idea what I’d prefer to use in its place. Ask me after I have my tea…

When the Canon 50D DSLR camera was released back in 2008, it could take nice pictures, but it had no support for video recording. Now, through an enterprising hack by members of the Magic Lantern forums, the 50D can capture RAW video. From the article: "The tech inside the 50D looks like it borrows a lot more from its higher-end siblings, like the 5D Mark II, and it’s possible we may actually get better RAW video quality out of the 50D than we do out of any of the non-CF Canon cameras. ... The camera doesn’t have playback or audio recording as it was never designed to shoot video, but this isn’t too different from the RAW recording on the other Canon DSLRs at the moment."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Japan’s SoftBank has cleared its biggest regulatory hurdle in its $20.1 billion bid for Sprint Nextel with a tentative agreement to give the US government oversight over its technology suppliers—especially those from China—and veto power over a seat on Sprint’s board.

The deal was put on hold over fears (especially hyped by rival bidder Dish Network) that SoftBank’s ties to Chinese manufacturers like Huawei would endanger US national security. The agreement will also give the US government oversight through a four-member national security committee and veto rights over equipment purchases, according to the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Sprint will remove Chinese equipment from the network of Clearwire, an affiliate it in the process of fully acquiring.

The agreement leaves SoftBank with just two remaining obstacles—a review by the Federal Communications Commission and shareholder approval, neither of which is expected to be a problem.

In HateSong, we ask our favorite musicians, writers, comedians, actors, and so forth to expound on the one song they hate most in the world. 

The hater: As the rhythm guitarist for Anthrax, Scott Ian has been a heavy-metal icon for almost 30 years. Along with his rotating cast of bandmates, the Queens-born rocker helped create thrash in the mid-’80s, landing his group in the “Big 4” acts of the genre along with Megadeth, Slayer, and Metallica. He’s also founded other semi-popular bands, including The Damned Things, Pearl, Stormtroopers Of Death, and Damnocracy. Ian has also appeared on a number of VH1 programs, including all the I Love The… shows, Rock Show, and When Metallica Ruled The World. 

Ian is on tour this summer with Anthrax, playing dates in Europe, Canada, Wisconsin, and California.

The hated: Morrissey’s “Suedehead” (1988)

Scott Ian: For me, it just comes down ...

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Chair Car, Edward Hopper

I like to imagine that the “Previously On Awkward.”sequences are Jenna’s memory of events as opposed to our own. Otherwise, the way the sequence at the beginning of “Rubbed Raw And Reeling” was edited gave a false impression of how Matty and Jenna’s scene in his car went two episodes ago. As I remember that scene, Matty offered a heartfelt list of reasons why he cares about Jenna, and Jenna failed to come up with any non-physical reasons why she was attracted to Matty; as the “Previously On” sequence here told the story, Jenna asked what Matty loved about her and Matty sat there slack-jawed, unable to answer. If you’re telling me that’s what actually happened, it’s wrong; if you’re telling me that’s how Jenna remembers it, meanwhile, that seems about right for a character who is growing less and less likeable ...

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An anonymous reader writes "A bill has reached the desk of Texas Governor Rick Perry that would give stronger privacy protections to email accounts than exist in any other state. If Perry signs it (or simply declines to veto it before June 16th), the legislation would force law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before reading somebody's email, even if the email has been sitting on the server for a long time. 'As we've noted many times before, there are no such provisions in federal law once the e-mail has been opened or if it has been sitting in an inbox, unopened, for 180 days. In March 2013, the Department of Justice acknowledged in a Congressional hearing that this distinction no longer makes sense and the DOJ would support revisions to ECPA.' This bill passed the state legislature unanimously. The article points out that the legislation won't protect from federal investigations, but it will set a precedent that the U.S. Congress will surely notice. An attorney with the EFF said, 'It's significant as proof that privacy reform is not only needed, but also politically-feasible with broad bipartisan support. And hopefully that will impact federal ECPA reform efforts by getting people on both of sides of the political aisle to work together to make meaningful electronic privacy reform a reality. The more states that pass similar legislation, the more pressure it will put on Congress to keep up with the changing legal landscape.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I’ve found an addition to my imaginary shelf of Awesome Retro Comics Projects That Never Were, right next to a Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series set in the swingin’ ’60s of the Marvel Universe (they’re cataloged by decade): Batman 1972, by Francesco Francavilla.

Better known for his more pulpish work, Francavilla proves himself equally suited for capturing the feel of an early-’70s crime movie, with his take on a Dark Knight a smokes and wears a turtleneck and leather jacket, a James Gordon sporting a handlebar mustache and a Catwoman rocking a ‘fro.

“Yes, you are witnessing the first case of BATPLOITATION,” Francavilla writes. “Hope ya dig it.”

You can see The Riddler, as well as other takes on Batman and Catwoman, on his blog. I’m hoping we get a look at teenage Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon soon.

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1969.

Emilio Pucci.

Researchers can now use a special beam of light called a Schrödinger kitten for teleportation. The method can eventually lead to quantum computers and to

thinkaboutelephants:

Ammonite

Septa detail in an ammonite.

Septa are the walls of the chambers of the shell. They were filled with seawater or air to change elevation. 

The process of fossilization is done through mineral replacement. Pyrite can replace the septa of an ammonite, as seen above. This ammonite is likely to have been treated with bismuth, causing the rainbow color of the crystals. 

New York Daily News

2 US officials shot in Caracas strip club CNN Caracas, Venezuela (CNN) -- Two U.S. embassy officials were wounded Tuesday in a shooting, apparently at a strip club, in Caracas, Venezuela. The U.S. State Department said two members of the embassy suffered non-life-threatening injuries but did not ... 2 US embassy officials injured in Venezuelan strip clubFox News US confirms 2 embassy members injured in VenezuelaXinhua 2 US officials shot in Caracas nightclub, hospital saysCNN International GlobalPost -KOSU all 46 news articles »

(OMS makes the valid point that this meme would be very different if it featured a 22-year-old black dude from the ‘60s.)

 

 

 

 

 

via quickmeme.

Original Source

Christian Science Monitor

Disneyland arrest: Explosion at a family vacation spot is hard to hear about Christian Science Monitor The parks are probably the most legendary family vacation spot in the world (remember those “I'm going to Disney World” commercials?). Skip to next paragraph. Recent posts. 05.29.13. Disneyland arrest: Explosion at a family vacation spot is hard to hear ... Disneyland explosion: Police review video, Internet for cluesLos Angeles Times No injuries in apparent dry-ice Disneyland blastCBS News Disneyland worker arrested in trash can explosion at parkUPI.com KFDX -E! Online -KESQ all 157 news articles »

Demeter Fragrance Library is known for their long list of wacky (and occasionally appealing) scents like Holy Water and Gin and Tonic, but we were pretty shocked to see a bottle of First Response -- Boston show up at Boston.com. As the name suggests, the "pick-me-up" scent was created in honor of the Boston Marathon bombing tragedies, with 75 percent of sales going toward the Boston First Responders fund.

Sounds all well and good, right?

Sure. But what does it smell like?
According to the fragrance brand's site: "At Demeter, we want to do our part, too. So we created First Response - Boston, a combination of spices and flowers, overlaid with white smoke and rubber."

We gave it a whiff, and smoke dominates the fragrance profile, strong and overpowering of any floral or spice notes. But that could just be us.

Our real question is: Is this in bad taste? Should a fragrance brand (or any brand for that matter) -- regardless of their good intentions -- create a product that is so literally tied to a tragedy?

As for Demeter, their scent library is rather literal. As in, Paper Back smells like musty aged paper and Dirt smells like... well a very artistic expression of dirt, so we suppose it makes sense that these notes would appear in a fragrance tied to the bombings.

To quote Seth Myers: Really? Really?!?

What do you think of Demeter's First Response fragrance? Is it an inappropriate gesture or just a consistency for their brand? Would you buy a bottle?

Original Source

Trent Reznor announced today that his newly reformed band Nine Inch Nails will be releasing a full-length album by the end of 2013 through a deal with Columbia Records. Reznor is quoted as saying about the album, “I’ve been less than honest about what I’ve really been up to lately. For the last year I’ve been secretly working non-stop with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder on a new, full-length Nine Inch Nails record, which I am happy to say is finished and frankly fucking great. This is the real impetus and motivation behind the decision to assemble a new band and tour again. My forays into film, HTDA and other projects really stimulated me creatively and I decided to focus that energy on taking Nine Inch Nails to a new place. Here we go!” Earlier this year, it was announced that the band would return and tour extensively in 2013 and 2014.

Surprise: A new #NIN album is finished, coming later this year on @columbiarecords: tmblr.co/ZW-7vsm2kw_u #NIN2013

— Nine Inch Nails (@nineinchnails) May 28, 2013

via Nine Inch Nails

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have concocted a formula that turns cement into a semi-conductor — a breakthrough that will allow it to be used for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips.

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Behold Thor's new nemesis, Christopher Eccleston! This is the first official look at the Thor sequel's villain, and if you though the set pics of elf masks were just markers for better CG, get ready to be disappointed!

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Much like the controversial post-production 3-D conversion process it underwent, 2010’s Clash Of The Titans now has added the extra dimension that is the passage of time, creating a depth of field that can allow director Louis Letterier to see further into it than ever before, then declare it “horrible.” As you may recall, before these additional three years rendered Clash Of The Titans into a fully immersive experience of shittiness, the director presented a far more two-dimensional view to the world by flatly dismissing criticisms of the 3-D conversion with statements like, “It’s not a gimmick. It actually improves the viewing experience.” Now, with the benefit of supplemental distance, Letterier can finally see, as he tells The Huffington Post, “It was absolutely horrible, the 3-D. Nothing was working, it was just a gimmick to steal money from the audience.” Indeed, just as 3-D’s proponents have long ...

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Pay what you want for six great games as DRM-free PDFs – and donate to the Mines Advisory Group and Doctors Without Borders.

The bundle includes Grey Ranks (by Fiasco designer Jason Morningstar), Shooting the Moon (Emily Care Boss), A Penny for My Thoughts (Paul Tevis), and Kagematsu (Danielle Lewon).  If you give more than the current average, you also get Hollowpoint (Brad Murray and C. W. Marshall) and Monsterhearts (Joe Mcdaldno). Hurry up – only five days left!

(Bundle of Holding +2 originally posted on Gaming As Women.)

WASHINGTON—Members of Sen. John McCain’s family expressed deep concern Tuesday after receiving word that the aging legislator had wandered off into Syria.

By Amanda Bynes

#blorpshaming

BOSTON — Dogs have a shorter lifespan in Massachusetts than almost any other state, according to new research (PDF) from the country’s largest veterinary hospital chain.

The Banfield Pet Hospital report found Bay State dogs live an average of 10.6 years. The lifespans are shorter in only four other states: Delaware (10.5), Louisiana (10.4), Alabama (10.2) and Mississippi (10.1).

Dr. Sandi Lefebvre, a veterinary research associate at Banfield, says the finding is a bit of a mystery, particularly since the lifespan for Massachusetts cats — 12.7 years — is on the high end.

Spaying and neutering provides some protection against disease and may serve as a marker for how well pet owners are taking care of their pets. But with 77 percent of dogs spayed or neutered, Massachusetts is above the nationwide average of 73 percent.

A high prevalence of heartworm infection helps to explain shorter lifespans in much of the South. But that’s not a serious problem in the Bay State.

“I had a look at all the other diseases that we evaluated, for arthritis and diabetes and heart disease, and Massachusetts was actually pretty decent,” Lefebvre says.

The short lifespan for dogs, she concludes, “can’t really be explained easily.”

One place where the state stood out: Canine obesity is a bigger problem here than nationwide.

Too many bacon strips under the breakfast table, perhaps.

Lefebvre says large sample sizes nationally — and in Massachusetts in particular — mean statistical error is probably not behind the surprisingly poor lifespan figure for Bay State dogs.

The Banfield study is based on euthanasia records.

(Source: Banfield Pet Hospital, via Pew)

Original Source