firehose

We are now up to the year 1968 for the double-episode season 6 opener of Mad Men. This already seems to be the show’s most progressive season so far costume wise. Season 5 certainly took the most significant cultural jump, with Swinging Sixties politics, clothes and interiors looming like a shadow of coolness. In the latter half of season 5, aspiring actress Megan’s (Jessica Paré) capri pants and sweater audition wear, while not exactly beatnik were avant-garde enough to suggest the growing exuberance of her character. The times they are a-changin’.

For season 6, costume designer Janie Bryant looks to be channelling the same ideal as season 1, but whereas season 1 (set in 1960) was a crossover in terms of fashion from the 1950s/60’s, season 6 is transitional from the 1960s/70’s. As we are only in 1968 it could be argued this is a mite early, but cleverly Bryant only hints at the changes to come. Costume design is not necessarily presenting a historical truth (though it can be); what is more important is that the audience sees what they expect to see, albeit in a way they were not expecting.

Obviously Megan Draper (Jessica Paré) is the style focal point of Mad Men, and with good reason – her character has the figure, looks and means. But it is also worth noticing some of the younger background players on the show, as they are often wearing even more youth orientated fashion.

To put 1968 into context in New York, it was the tail-end of Mary Quant’s youth fashion movement that originally started in London, which then gave birth to the Swinging Sixties around four years earlier. Mary Quant is one of the most influential fashion designers of all time, though she would probably refute this assertion, believing that a movement as important as that which occurred during the sixties could not come from one person but many working toward a common goal. Arguably Quant created the mini-skirt; definitely she was designing the kind of mini shift dresses seen on Megan by the late 1950s. Her dresses were 1920s inspired, short, unfitted or drop-waist. Thanks to Quant’s success in the UK then even more in the U.S., London led the way in terms of fashion influence. Her clothes and the clothes that followed by among others, Biba, were crisp, lively, fun and, above all, youthful. By 1968 this new movement had died down in London making way for the hippy generation, but for those with means in Manhattan it was at its height. At this point, high-end designer names such as Dior (ready to wear) and Pucci were making psychedelic mini-dresses, wraps and skirts. This is the look we are seeing more and more of in Mad Men.

Early in the season 6 premiere, Megan is on a beach in Hawaii wearing a pink and purple maxi dress, very much resort wear of the time, and later in purple florals, a floppy wide brim hat and white round plastic sunglasses. This is spot on for someone with her money. It is a step up from the more youthful clothes she sported in season five (some of which were a little too young for her) and it screams designer. Pucci would have been a good fit for Megan and no doubt we will be seeing more of their swirly prints as the season progresses. In what could be a first for Mad Men, for her arrival back in New York Megan wears a hip-length fur coat, in leopard skin print no less, which contrasts neatly against the prim, but still elegant Betty (January Jones) who wears an equally trim version in plain brown for a night at the theatre. Staying with Megan, further nods to the 1970s come with the Missoni like skirt and top she wears later during the day in her and Don’s apartment. Then entertaining guests in a metallic silver trouser suit with tunic top (very Goodfellas housewife). She is racing ahead in terms of contemporary style more than any female character on the show. Although for the men, Megan would be hard pressed to keep up with snappy jacket wearing Harry Crane (Rich Sommer), seemingly modelled on Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer) from Rosemary’s Baby (1967).

New SCDP partner Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) is seldom seen out of a sheath dress, except for a wiggle skirt and blouse, so a suit is something different for her. Those brooches though, generally indicative of Joan’s mood or the time of year in the show, are a signature piece.

Megan might be the most forward thinking central character, though a few brief glimpses at the orange mini-dress receptionist working at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) indicate that fashion is now led by the young. Megan is not old, though it was the buy and throw-away teenage wear that inspired trendy adults. Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) on the other hand has always been fascinatingly tough to pin down in terms of style. She began in dowdy separates with occasional broad checks, went through a beatnik phase in season 4, donned a conspicuous 1950s esque evening dress in season 5 and is shown for the first time in season 6 wearing white knee socks. Immediately she appears more teen-like, even Mod, but her new shorter, tucked under hair and pearls with Chanel-like suit indicate a professional persona she is trying hard to project at her new agency. Her boyfriend Abe (Charlie Hofheimer), however, is now nearly unrecognisable with long hair and Viva Zapata moustache. Peggy is inconsistent in terms of style because she has no idea what she is doing. She aims to fit in, but eventually falls back into old patterns. Ultimately she is a sensible girl who would rather dress this way.

Noting the brief appearance of new partner at SCDP, Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks), who unfortunately does not receive much screen time in the premiere, it is obvious there are changes afoot. Once ubiquitous in sheath dresses, Joan has put her new money to a new wardrobe consisting of a purple skirt suit with waistcoat and matching blouse – possibly the first time she ever has worn one. We have seen Joan in wiggle skirts and blouses before, but not a suit. It looks like a brand new creation by Janie Bryant too, rather than a vintage piece. And this is something Joan could afford: custom clothing. It is telling just how dated Joan is in terms of overall demeanour at this point in the show. She will always be stunningly beautiful, but the Twiggy figure was dominating fashion spreads and posters on teenage boys’ walls. Despite her ingrained beauty, to most young men Joan was starting to look like a buxom aunt or worst still, their mother.

Although Roger Sterling (John Slattery) is the oldest of the three men pictured, he is the most modern in terms of styling with his blazer and even a stitched shirt cuff. Note that even staid Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) attempts a lively pocket square and matching tie (likely chosen by his wife), while Don Draper opts for a sober grey check.

For the gentlemen of Mad Men, the show’s make-up and hair department clearly had some fun embracing a new ‘wild man’ ethos. Don Draper (Jon Hamm), still in the same cut suit in the same colours, wanders into a meeting of young freelancers looking like a handsome headmaster. There are beards, moustaches, jersey sweaters and loud sports jackets. He, like Joan, belongs to an entirely different era. But Don is a smart man, he surrounds himself with young, hungry people who now know the world he is selling to far better than he does. Roger Sterling (John Slattery) is more youthful than Don at heart, seen in the premiere wearing a blue blazer with heavily stitched lapels, grey slacks and white sideburns. Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) has let his sideburns grow too; he seems a tad sloppier which in turn makes him seem more relaxed. His brown suit is further sign that the seventies are right around the corner. Out of all the male characters in the show, Pete is the one who would suit the 1970s best: comb-over, slight paunch, fat lapels, wide flares, kipper tie, brown liquor in hand – perhaps we will be fortunate enough to get a spin off when Mad Men ends for good at the close of season 7.

This season’s double episode premiere was slightly disappointing in respect of the evolution of Don, who appears to be retreading old ground, but in terms of costume design it is one of the most accomplished yet. Janie Bryant understands that trends do not turn on the decade, some creep in early, some come later. But most important of all it depends on the individual wearing them. We see Don in a rather jazzy red and grey check sports jacket later in the episode, which we will likely see more of, although really this is a man who will live and die in a grey single breasted suit. These are people, remember, not a catwalk. That said, roll on the rest of season 6, and bring on the patterns.

Mad Men season 6 continues on Sky Atlantic HD every Wednesday at 10 pm.

© 2013, Chris Laverty.

Star7 Demo (by JamesAGosling)

By Dave Tach on Apr 22, 2013 at 6:00p

Winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge presented their games today at the White House Science Fair, according to a press release from sponsor E-Line Media.

Gustavo Zacarias presented his game, Dark Labyrinth, to attendees that included representatives from the U.S. government, industry and education sectors. A trailer for the game, which sees players navigate a maze while solving multiplication problems, appears above.

"I never thought I would be exhibiting my game at the White House," said Zacarias. "I worked very hard during the making of the game and was very happy about winning a national competition, so I'm very excited and thankful for the opportunity to be part of this great event."

Wilfried Hounyo and Golden Rockefeller, part of another winning STEM Challenge team, presented their game Electrobob. The game teaches players about electrons, and a trailer appears below.

The National STEM Video Game Challenge tasks middle and high school children with creating video games as part of an initiative to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills. Submissions for 2013 opened in February, and the deadline has been extended to May 1.

Other STEM projects recently in the news include the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles' recently introduced video game design patch and iD Tech Camps' announcement of a summer class on first-person shooter design using Ubisoft's ShootMania Storm.

By Brian Crecente on Apr 22, 2013 at 6:07p

Nordic Games acquired "substantially all" of THQ's remaining intellectual property, including titles in the Darksiders, Red Faction and MX series, pending court approval, as part of a $4.9 million bid for multiple lots of games.

Two titles — Homeworld and Drawn to Life — received higher bids from other entities, Gearbox Software and 505 Games, respectively, according to court documents.

"The Debtors accepted Nordic's offer of $4.9 million for substantially all the IP except two titles, Homeworld and Drawn to Life," a court document reads. "The bids for individual lots for the assets, excluding the Homeworld lot, did not exceed $4.9 million, and Nordic paid a premium over such individual bids to acquire the aggregate lots."

Nordic Games will acquire more than 150 individual titles as part of the accepted bid. The publisher calls it the "biggest acquisition deal in the company history."

In February, THQ announced that its remaining games and intellectual property would be auctioned off in lots. The lots were broken down into six groups of the following titles and franchises:

• Darksiders series
• Red Faction series
• Homeworld series
• MX series
• Other Owned Software, including Big Beach Sports, Destroy All Humans!, Summoner, and more
• Other Licensed Software, including Marvel Super Hero, Supreme Commander, Worms, and more

In some cases, ownership of the overall intellectual property is not for sale, simply the rights to distribute certain games on specific platforms. Those initial bids were turned in last week with the company noting that they received 17 final bids for "certain of the IP." If approved by the court and certain holders of claims against THQ, those sales are expected to bring in anywhere from $6 million to $7 million.

In February, the company said they received "more than 100 expressions of interest" in purchasing its IP and that a "vigorous sale is anticipated."

In January, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of some of THQ's in-development games and studios for $72 million. The auction saw THQ properties like Saints Row and Metro go to Koch Media, developer Relic go to Sega andSouth Park: The Stick of Truth go to publisher Ubisoft.

THQ failed to find buyers for some of its intellectual property and studios, like Darksiders and developer Vigil Games. THQ was dissolved and its staff laid off on Jan. 23.

The ful list of of owned and licensed games up for auction is listed below in detail by lot.

Lot 1 - Owned Software

• Red Faction
• Red Faction Armageddon
• Red Faction 2
• Red Faction: Guerrilla

Lot 2 - Owned Software

Lot 3 - Owned Software

• MX Alive
• MX vs ATV Untamed
• MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael
• MX vs. ATV Alive Tournament
• MX Unleashed
• MX vs. ATV Unleashed
• MX vs ATV Reflex
• MX vs. ATV: On The Edge

Lot 4 - Owned Software

Lot 5 - Owned Software

• All Star Cheer Squad
• All Star Cheer Squad 2
• All Star Karate
• Baja: Edge of Control
• Battle of the Bands
• Beat City
• Big Beach Sports
• Big Beach Sports 2
• Big Family Games
• Crawler
• Deadly Creatures
• Deep Six
• Destroy All Humans!
• Destroy All Humans! 2
• Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
• Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
• Dood's Big Adventure
• Drawn to Life
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter
• Elements of Destruction
• Fantastic Pets
• Frontlines: Fuel of War
• Full Spectrum Warrior 1
• Full Spectrum Warrior 2: Ten Hammers
• Juiced
• Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
• Lock's Quest: Construction Combat
• Neighborhood Games
• Pax Imperia
• Stuntman: Ignition
• Summoner
• Summoner 2
• Terranium
• The Outfit
• Titan Quest
• Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
• World of Zoo
• de Blob
• de Blob 2
• uDraw

Lot 6 - Licensed Software

• Costume Quest
• Daniel X (SueJack)
• Deepak Chopra's Leela (Curious Holdings)
• Fancy Nancy: Tea Party Time! (Harper Collins)
• Jeopardy
• Jeopardy 2
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Let's Ride Best of Breed
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet 2
• Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase
• Nexuiz
• Paws & Claws Marine Rescue
• Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Resort 3D
• PurrPals 2
• Rio
• Rocket Riot
• Screwjumper (Frozen Codebase)
• Scripps Spelling Bee (Scripps)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House
• Stacking
• Supreme Commander
• Supreme Commander Forged Alliance
• The Biggest Loser
• Truth or Lies
• Vampire Legends: Power of Three (dtp)
• Wheel of Fortune
• Wheel of Fortune 2
• World of Zoo
• Worms 2
• Worms: A Space Oddity
• Worms: Open Warfare 2 (Team 17)
• Worms Battle Islands
• Worms Open Warfare
• You Don't Know Jack (Jellyvision)

Krang Inspired Cosplay Apron – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

“Grillain Villains” by Jacksonville, Florida-based Stacy Maceda, clothing designer and owner of Haute Mess Threads, is a brilliant line of handmade costume aprons inspired by criminals from comic books, films and television. They are each available to purchase online at the Haute Mess Threads Etsy shop.

Boba Fett Inspired Cosplay Apron (2) – Star Wars

Harley Quinn Inspired Cosplay Apron – DC Comics

Stormtrooper Inspired Cosplay Apron – Star Wars

Deadpool Inspired Cosplay Apron – Marvel Comics

Two Face and Riddler Inspired Cosplay Aprons – DC Comics

Ursula Inspired Cosplay Apron – The Little Mermaid

photos by Wayfaring Wanderer

modeling by Nicole Brown, James Conner

via Incredible Things

Comic strip fans, rejoice! Universal Uclick’s GoComics has debuted a free app that enables you to read comics on your mobile phone or tablet. While Doonesbury, Peanuts, Pearls Before Swine and The Boondocks are among the offerings, it’s Calvin and Hobbes that undoubtedly will generate the most excitement.

Slate.com‘s Will Oremus notes that it appears to be the first time Bill Watterson’s beloved strip has appeared (legally) on mobile devices; presumably it’s with the cartoonist’s blessing. However, while Gary Larson’s Far Side would seem perfect for phones, he’s yet to make the leap to digital.

According to GoComics, the app gives users access to 20 years’ worth of “back issues.” (“Read the first-ever Calvin and Hobbes strips! Rediscover Charlie Brown and the Little Red-Headed Girl! Share FoxTrot with a younger generation! See Huey and Riley before The Boondocks became a cult classic!”) You’re also able to bookmark your favorites and share them with friends via email, text and social media. Find the download links here.

colinneagle writes "During a recent trip to an eye doctor, I noticed that she was still using Windows XP. After I suggested that she might need to upgrade soon, she said she couldn't because she couldn't afford the $10,000 fee involved with the specialty medical software that has been upgraded for Windows 7. Software written for medical professionals is not like mass market software. They have a limited market and can't make back their money in volume because there isn't the volume for an eye doctor's database product like there is for Office or Quicken. With many expecting Microsoft's upcoming end-of-support for XP to cause a security nightmare of unsupported Windows devices in the wild, it seems a good time to ask how many users may fall into the category of wanting an upgrade, but being priced out by expensive but necessary third-party software. More importantly, can anything be done about it?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sir, You Are Being Hunted, but you should really take a break and watch this gameplay video. It won't only give your tired body a moment of rest, but the tactics demonstrated could save your life in Big Robot's tweedpunk, procedural stealth game, Sir, You Are Being Hunted. It's a win-win, as far as "being hunted" goes.

This is the first video in a new series, and it demonstrates strategies behind fleeing, healing, hiding and, occasionally, shooting at the enemy AI. Take a peek and if you like what you see, pre-orders for Sir, You Are Being Hunted are live now via the Humble Store.

Sir, You Are Being Hunted in this new gameplay video from Big Robot originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These rather grim-looking rocking chairs look like they belong to the Addams family, but they're expertly carved antiques worth a few thousand dollars.

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via http://bigredrobot.tumblr.com/page/4

The THQ back catalog auction results are in, with Nordic Games riding away with the intellectual property (IP) rights to Darksiders, Red Faction and MX vs. ATV for $4.9 million. The company picked up nearly all the assets in the auction, including Titan Quest, Supreme Commander, Frontlines, Stuntman, Juiced, Full Spectrum Warrior, Destroy All Humans and much more.

"First and foremost we are very happy about this deal which also turns over a new leaf for the entire Nordic Games Group. In the long term, we either want to cooperate with the original creators or best possible developers in order to work on sequels or additional content for these titles," said Nordic Games CEO Lars Wingefors. "A very important point for us is not to dash into several self-financed multi-million dollar projects right away, but rather to continue our in-depth analysis of all titles and carefully selecting different financing models for developing new instalments of acquired IPs."

The other reveal is 505 Games grabbed the rights to Drawn to Life and Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter for $300K.

The news follows this afternoon's unexpected acquisition of the Homeworld franchise by Gearbox Software. We now know the price tag for Gearbox to re-release the original games on digital distribution networks and take a swing at its own spin on the real-time strategy franchise was $1.35 million.

We've listed the winning bids in greater detail after the break.

Continue reading THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life

THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Wikipedia entry for Stockholm’s Metro system says that it has 100 stations in use along about 65 miles of track. I seem to recall that Stockholm was one of the cities used to illustrate the concept of transit-oriented development in Michael Bernick and Robert Cervero’s 1996 book on the subject, Transit Villages in the 21st Century. I also know that Stockholm was an early adopter of congestion pricing for roadways.

Courtesy of Imagea.org/Flickr

Courtesy of Ingrid Truemper/Flickr

What I didn’t know until now, however, was that transportation innovation in the Swedish capital and its suburbs also extends to a flamboyant display of public art in its Metro stations. Indeed, The website Twisted Sifter relays the claim that the system is basically "the world’s longest art exhibit":

Travellng by metro is like travelling through an exciting story that extends from the artistic pioneers of the 1950s to the art experiments of today. Over 90 of the 100 subway stations in Stockholm have been decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, engravings and reliefs by over 150 artists. What a fun and inexpensive way to explore the art and culture of an incredible city like Stockholm!

 

Courtesy of @raulds/Flickr

Several of the underground stations, especially on the system’s Blue Line, are left with the shape of the bedrock exposed, covered in sprayed concrete, as part of the exhibits. At the Rissne station, says Wikipedia, a wall fresco depicting the history of Earth's civilizations runs along both sides of the platform. In six of the stations the art is temporary and replaced periodically.

Courtesy of August Linnman/Creative Commons

Courtesy of Nenyaki/Flickr

Twisted Sifter says the movement to install art in the Metro began in the mid-1950s. There are guided tours of the highlights.  Enjoy these photos garnered from the collections of photographers generous enough to license their work for public use (as always, move your cursor for the credits). 

Courtesy of Kallie1/Wikimedia Commons


Courtesy of imagea.org/Flickr

For an especially fun presentation, watch this video (Spanish with English subtitles) of an animated host taking us on a tour of some of the highlights:

This post originally appeared on the NRDC's Switchboard blog, an Atlantic partner site.

In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing.

I’m not a particularly religious person. Or particularly sympathetic to religion as a whole. Okay, I’ll be honest: I’m a raving, irredeemable, godless humanist. (Not that I believe in humans all that much either, but still.) In any case, when a band releases a song called “Secular Haze,” I take note. And when it’s sung by a creepy Swedish dude wearing corpse paint and a pope’s hat with an inverted cross on it, well, you had me at “hell.”

Ghost B.C. has released such a song. “Secular Haze” is one of the many mini-masterpieces on the Scandinavian metal group’s new full-length, Infestissumam. Opening with ghoulish, gothic organs that imagine a Rosemary’s Baby-themed ...

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“

The RCMP says police have arrested two people in Canada in connection with a plot to derail a passenger train in the Toronto area.

“The individuals were receiving support from al-Qaeda elements located in Iran” Assistant Commissioner James Malizia told reporters.

He said the support consisted of “directions and guidance” but added it was not supported by the state of Iran.

”

- RCMP arrest two for ‘al-Qaeda-supported’ plot to bomb Via train - The Globe and Mail

Reddit General Manager Erik Martin has apologized for the Reddit community's reaction to the Boston Marathon bombings, which frustrated the public and law enforcement last week with a flood of misinformation about the perpetrators of the attacks.

"Though started with noble intentions," Martin writes, "some of the activity on Reddit fueled online witch hunts and dangerous speculation which spiraled into very negative consequences for innocent parties." In particular, Martin calls out Sunil Triphathi, who was pegged as a suspect by amateur online detectives on 4chan and Reddit — information that spread quickly online. "We have apologized privately to the family of missing college student Sunil Triphathi, as have various users and moderators," Martin writes. "We want to take this opportunity to apologize publicly for the pain they have had to endure."

"We want to take this opportunity to apologize publicly for the pain they have had to endure."

Reddit users quickly attempted to backtrack and avoid scrutiny after identifying the wrong suspects, pleading for the media to stop using information from the social sharing network. Several efforts to repair the damage done and to show goodwill were created in the wake of vigilantism, including donations to relief funds, pizza deliveries to local law enforcement and medical personnel, and boarding for those stranded in the city. But despite generous acts and contrition, Martin hopes the community will prevent serious investigatory missteps in the future.

"We hope that Boston will be where Reddit learns to be sensitive of its own power."

"This crisis has reminded us of the fragility of people's lives and the importance of our communities, online as well as offline," Martin writes. "After this week, which showed the best and worst of Reddit's potential, we hope that Boston will also be where Reddit learns to be sensitive of its own power." Much of that power is wielded by the site's volunteer moderators, who control individual "subreddits." One of those subreddits, /r/findbostonbombers, was focused solely on uncovering those responsible for the attacks.

In a phone conversation regarding the blog post, Martin told The Verge that similar subreddits will not be restricted in the future, but that the site's administrators will pay more attention to enforcing the site's small set of core rules — namely, the one which prohibits users from posting personal information about others. "We will certainly be more proactive in our enforcement of that no personal information policy in these situations," Martin said. But, as usual, Reddit's leaders hope that change will come from the bottom-up. "The conversation has been and is already taking place on Reddit," Martin said. "We want that to continue and for people to realize what's at stake."

• Source Reddit
• Related Items reddit erik martin crowdsource boston marathon bombing

“After an initial denial, Deadline can now confirm that Seth MacFarlane did indeed get a call about returning as host of the 86th Annual Academy Awards next year but has not given an answer yet. The big problem for MacFarlane, we are told by highly reliable sources, is his already full plate with a new Western comedy, A Million Ways To Die In The West, going into production soon as well as initial work on Universal’s sequel to Ted, which has amassed a worldwide gross of over half a billion dollars and is obviously a priority for the studio.”

-

UPDATE: Seth MacFarlane Gets Oscar Call; Plus Why Academy Asked Back Zadan And Meron - Yahoo! Movies

great

New York Times

A big Earth Day for Nest: Palo Alto-based thermostat maker announces utility ... San Jose Mercury News PALO ALTO -- In October 2011, two former Apple (AAPL) engineers unveiled "Nest," the $249 stainless steel "learning" thermostat that quickly became the rage among designers, consumers keen to save energy and the cleantech crowd. Now Palo Alto-based ... Nest unleashes the power of its smart thermostat with data-driven servicesGigaOM Nest Labs Teams Up With Regional Power Providers For New Energy-Saving ...TechCrunch Nest, Now Working With Utility Companies, Will Pay You to Meter the A/C This ...All Things Digital UC Berkeley (blog) all 11 news articles »

Philip Elmer-Dewitt:

In the space of a few hours, more than a thousand votes were cast on the DISQUS feedback system, voting down any comment remotely anti-Samsung and voting up anything -- no matter how inane, in-artful or wrong -- that disparaged Apple, the thesis, or me.

I guess all is fair in capitalism, but this certainly sounds fishy. I'm also betting it's a pretty cheap and ineffective strategy. Normal people do not read comments. People that read comments probably also see through this kind of stuff. It does highlight the danger of comment voting systems like Disqus. They can be gamed with minor effort.

Netflix has won over consumers and Hollywood with its mix of TV reruns, old movies and original shows, all for $7.99-a-month with liberal policies that let family and friends share one account. But those days appear to be coming to an end.

Though Showtime has confirmed the upcoming eighth season of Dexter will indeed be the last one that you hear about, before joking that you thought it ended in season four, network president David Nevins is, as always, not yet ready to say goodbye. Or, acknowledge anyone else’s readiness to say goodbye. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Nevins once again referred to Dexter as “a core franchise”—franchises being more versatile than stories, in that they don’t have to end just because they’ve already been told. “All options are on the table as to where it could go after this,” Nevins said of Dexter, likely unintentionally comparing the show to the many corpses that have been laid out on Dexter’s own table, because it was their time to go. “There's nothing actively happening, but you never know what the future holds,” Nevins added ominously.

Indeed, one ...

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What won’t Henry Rollins do? From blogging about his colonoscopy to going on spoken word tours, the ex-Black Flag frontman keeps himself busy. This week, he pops up on The Gorburger Show, which is presented in part by Funny Or Die and The Warner Sound. In the exclusive clip below, Rollins chats up alien monster Gorburger about the ailing U.S. government and his career before helping the T.J. Miller-voiced character track down a ghost that’s haunting the studio. It’s as weird as it sounds, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Stills from famous movies are broken down into color palettes in the Tumblr blog Movies in Color by designer Roxy Radulescu.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

via Coudal Partners

Lucas123 writes "While news stories have focused on the upcoming jump from 5Gbps to 10Gbps for USB SuperSpeed, less talked about has been the fact that it will also increase charging capabilities from 10W to 100W, meaning you'll be able to charge your laptop, monitor, even a television using a USB cord. Along with USB, the Thunderbolt peripheral interconnect will also be doubling it throughput thanks to a new controller chip, in its case from 10Gbps to 20Gbps. As with USB SuperSpeed, Thunderbolt's bandwidth increase is considered an evolutionary step, but the power transfer increase is being considered revolutionary, according to Jeff Ravencraft, president of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). 'This is going to change the way computers, peripheral devices and even HDTVs will not only consume but deliver power,' Ravencraft said. 'You can have an HDTV with a USB hub built into it where not only can you exchange data and audio/video, but you can charge all your devices from it.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Instead of yelling like a human, a goat mimics a chicken in this video uploaded by Katrina Dufrene.

via SayOMG

Since the second Boston bombing suspect was apprehended on Friday, there's been a wave of support, empathy, and even attraction shown for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. #Freejahar tweets are pouring in every minute; young girls are declaring their desires; conspiracy theorists continue to cry that Tsarnaev is innocent; and at the very least a large portion of the online public appears to be on the fence about the young suspect's guilt.

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There's nothing new about having empathy for high-profile suspects — the past is littered with those that defend and even fetishize some of history's most infamous people — and last week's manhunt was one of the most heavily reported in the modern era. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine massacre that left 15 dead and 21 injured, have their own fan club of sorts, and last year the internet reeled in shock as young girls declared their love for the Aurora shooter James Holmes. The Awl's Rachel Monroe drew comparisons between , but points out that "the main difference, of course, is that Justin Bieber is unattainable because he's a famous pop musician, while Harris and Klebold are famous because they are murderers, and unattainable because they are dead." The nature of these "killer crushes" remains similar nonetheless.

It's not just young girls' misplaced affection that's driving #freejahar, though. The lion's share of pro-Tsarnaev tweets are from conspiracy theorists and those seeking a "fair trial." Wild theories about who was responsible for the bombings began before the world had heard of the Tsarnaev brothers, and there's every chance that, for some at least, the bombings will forever remain an "inside job." Ironically, Tsarnaev himself apparently shares some common DNA with his supporters: one of the tweets found on a Twitter account believed to be his declares 9/11 to be an inside job. A petition on Change.org, which as of this writing is edging closer to its goal of 5,000 signatures, sums up what many sympathizers believe:

"We believe that within the chaos caused by the Boston Marathon explosion, two young men were wrongfully accused of something they did not do, and one of them has lost his life before even getting the opportunity of a proper trial. We do not wish to see blood of yet another innocent victim, someone who, by US law, is innocent until proven guilty. It is vital to end this persecution, as all the conflicting information shown by the media, and footage from the incident, seen by people from all corners of the world, doesn't manifest itself as enough evidence to condemn Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of this heinous crime. You promised to the world that you would get to the bottom of this, and we hope you keep your word. We want evidence. We want truth. We want justice."

Many of the #freejahar tweets point to "evidence" first uncovered by online communities such as Reddit and 4Chan, including images depicting differences between bags, while sites like Infowars continue to fuel speculation that the FBI and other authorities were somehow complacent or that the bombing itself was a false flag operation. For every #freejahar tweet, however, there's a user expressing vitriolic disgust that Tsarnaev supporters exist. "#freejahar What!? He's a #Terrorist scumbag and he deserves to fry," says one Twitter user, before adding "all u sympathizers can burn in Hell too." Such statements about a young man in the hospital who has yet to be found guilty of anything can bring out the empathy in all of us. What if that were you? Or your son?

Vice's Michael Bryne notes that it's all too easy to put yourself in someone else's shoes. "Having empathy, you might be confronted with an uncomfortable feeling about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ... that feeling is feeling sorry for him." There's a contradiction there; shouldn't our empathy be restricted to the victims, rather than someone suspected of killing three and wounding over 200 people? Bryne argues that empathy is ingrained within us all, and that by understanding others' beliefs and motives we can prevent such horrors from occurring again.

But how should we attempt to reason with those that believe in a grand conspiracy? Speaking to Wired, Thomas Hegghammer, a terrorism researcher at Stanford University, notes that many of the conspiratorially-minded individuals "don't believe anything the government says anyway." The important thing is to attempt to convince the "fence-sitters" by highlighting the suffering caused by the bombs. Online extremism researcher Jarret Brachman says the best policy would be "not to dribble out the facts haphazardly," but rather to "work patiently and methodically through the facts of the case." Evidence doesn’t matter to everyone, though; there will always be those that idolize psychopaths, lust after serial killers, and tweet longingly about suspected bombers.

• Image Credit Censored Tweet from BuzzFeed
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