2 Children Being Tested for Possible Ebola in Ohio abc40 ebola COLUMBUS, Ohio — By GEETIKA RUDRA — Ohio public health officials are testing two children for the Ebola virus after they developed fevers following a trip to West Africa. “We have two cases that we're testing,” Jose Rodriguez, director of public ...
My dear friend is protesting in Mexico City and has told me to let people know of this. He relayed this message to me “We are coordinating the info with all the cities that are protesting today because there’s literally zero coverage in the news, if something happens, people will be left on their own.”
Please help spread the word.
They are being put there by the police/army itself to attack themselves and make it look like the students are provoking the police
The Princeton Review, a prominent test prep company, candidly advised certain types of students to emphasize or play down their racial and ethnic backgrounds.
HOUSTON—Noting his quiet demeanor and the fact that he has not been included in any of the conversations taking place around him, sources at Murphy’s Tavern and Grill confirmed Sunday with increasing certainty that a Cleveland Browns fan has s...
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 did very well at the box office this weekend but not as well as Lionsgate probably hoped domestically.
Leading up to its release, I heard a lot of people saying they were going to wait to see Mockingjay Part 1 (The Mary Sue’s review here.) until just before Mockingjay Part 2 was released. Bless them. I haven’t gotten a chance to see it yet but I know there’s no way I’d last another year. But did this affect the film’s opening weekend take? The Hollywood Reporter’s box office report explains:
Mockingjay grossed $123 million from 4,151 locations, down 22 percent from the $158.1 million debut of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a year ago and 19 percent from the $152.5 million launch of The Hunger Games in March 2012 (both those films shattered numerous records).
But things were different worldwide:
The reverse is true overseas, where Mockingjay outperformed the first two films, grossing $152 million, or four percent ahead of Catching Fire ($146 million). That puts Mockingjay’s worldwide total at $275 million, one of the best showings of the year, even if it didn’t match Catching Fire’s tally ($294.1 million).
Are Lionsgate kicking themselves for splitting the last book in Suzanne Collins’ series into two? Assuredly not. They were filmed at the same time, meaning they saved some money, and will be getting double the profits. THR also notes this is the first of the series not to play on IMAX screens.
Mockingjay Part 1 also takes this year’s record of best opening weekend over Transformers: Age of Extinction. Thank god.
You see how she explained how race is a social construct (it is) while ALSO SAYING THAT RACISM EXISTS AND IS FUCKED UP? You see how she did that? Don’t mistake this for colorblindness because it clearly isn’t.
I’ve seen so many folks of all races (mostly White people) on FB saying this is an validation of colorblindness and I’m just like DID YOU JUST STOP LISTENING AFTER THE FIRST SENTENCE OR WHAT?!
A 90-year-old former NBC employee, Frank Scotti, says he arranged meetings, cash payments, apartments and more with a string of models and other women on behalf of Bill Cosby during The Cosby Show run on the network between 1984 to 1992.
Scotti, now retired and living in New Jersey, had been a facilities manager for the NBC studio in Brooklyn where The Cosby Show was filmed. He spoke with the New York Daily News, and provided copies of money orders totaling thousands of dollars to at least eight women during 1989 and 1990.
Scotti said he came forward now because he “felt sorry for the women.” At least 15 women have now alleged that Cosby drugged and raped them years ago. As the controversy has worsened, both NBC and Netflix have pulled new projects with Cosby, and TV Land has stopped running episodes of The Cosby Show.
Scotti said he eventually stopped because he felt uncomfortable with what he called the coverup of Cosby’s assignations with many women. Cosby attorney Martin Singer is quoted denying the allegations:
Egyptian blue is the world’s oldest manmade pigment. And its recipe is so complex that it was lost for 1,500 years, from ancient Roman times till the 19th century.
First discovered at the time of the pyramids, Egyptian blue is made by mixing exact quantities of lime, sand, and a substance containing copper, then melting the blend in a furnace heated to between 1470 and 1650° F—no less, no more. What emerges is an opaque, crystalline material that’s perfectly blue. Artists would grind Egyptian blue and mix it with egg white, glue, or acacia gum to create a paint the color of a “swimming pool in summer.”
'TMS: The cat plays a very important role. Did you want the vampire to find a soulmate in that cat?
Amirpour: What do you think?'
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, in theaters now, is one of the coolest movies of the year. Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, the film stars Sheila Vand as a chador-wearing vampire preying on the men of Bad City in a mash-up of western and vampire film, which is also surprisingly funny and romantic. Vand and Amirpour were in New York this week for the release of the film, and talked about their mysterious character, dangerous love, and the benefits of working with a cat on set.
Lesley Coffin (TMS): The film was made in California, but seems to be set in Iran. Can you talk a bit about the importance of setting in the story?
Ana Lily Amirpour: Well, it is Iranian. It is an Iranian fairy tale. But in the sense that it is a fairy tale, the setting isn’t meant to be specific. The film should feel like a dream, a place in the mind. Like a Sergio Leone western town, it isn’t necessarily a specific town. He was an Italian, telling an Italian-American western story, but was shooting in Italy. There really are no rules, it just needs to be a place in the mind.
TMS: How did you create the character of The Girl and come to cast Sheila?
Amirpour: She was always the vampire from the time I first thought of the character. I did a short film first which [Vand] was going to do, but then she couldn’t so I had to cast someone else. But [Vand] is the vampire. And I didn’t even write the script until I talked to her and told her, I want to make an Iranian vampire western. And then I wrote the script and she said yes.
TMS: What is it abut [Vand] that made you think she had to play the vampire?
Amirpour: She just keeps killing people all the time and drinking their blood, and I just thought, we should film this [laughs]. I was just like, “Sheila, could you do that again?” It is hard to say, because the vampire is such a poetic, existential, lonely soul. I think they have a lot of power and mystery. They are old and young in extreme ways, and I feel that way about Sheila. I feel her eyes are just… look at them. They say everything. And the character is also this creature, and so much of what she does is in her physicality.
TMS: And I have to say, one of the things that first caught my attention is that you [Vand] really do command the screen almost by just starring into the camera.
Sheila Vand: One of the cool things about having a part written for you is you feel you don’t have to try so hard. You were chosen and it was crafted around you. So I did have to do a lot more work than just be myself, but at the end of the day, I knew Lily had her reason for picking me, so as long as I stayed open and brought my spirit to it, I thought it couldn’t go wrong.
TMS: When we are talking about physicality of a character, every actor uses that differently. Some focus on mastering the internal stuff which informs how they move, while others focus on the external to inform the character’s mindset. Do you have a process for building characters?
Vand: It depends on the project and directors I’m working with. I like to talk about it as much as they will let me and have as much information as possible. And that is why I really liked working with Lily, because she meticulously plans, which means there is a lot for me to dive into and draw from. Regardless of how the movie was going to turn out, I became a more interesting person doing it, because of all the movies she made me watch and books she had me read. I’m an outside-in sort of actor. I don’t do as much emotional work, but I do work and want to know everything the character knows. And then I try to just let go.
TMS: What were some of the books and films you [Amirpour] had the cast and crew watch?
Amirpour: It depends on the role they played. There were some movies everyone watched together, like Rumble Fish, Wild At Heart, and Once Upon a Time in the West. And then there were other Sergio Leone westerns like Man without a Name, which [Vand's] character kind of connected to in how mysterious they are and how the audience is always on their side, even if you aren’t sure if they are right. Gummo was another film we watched, because small towns are like fairy tales. And I had Sheila watch Nosferatu and read Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire, which had been my gateway to vampire stories. And cobras and cats are a big influence, so we spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos of cats and cobras and leopards.
TMS: The cat plays a very important role. Did you want the vampire to find a soulmate in that cat?
Amirpour: What do you think?
TMS: I interpreted it that way, because it seems almost like the cat is leading his owner to her.
Amirpour: I like that.
TMS: The more technical question is how do you get a cat to act? I have a cat, they don’t take direction, so just getting the cat to look in the right direction at the right time seems to me, impossible.
Amirpour: They are hard to work with. But we had a very special little being and it was that cat’s destiny in life to make this movie. Sina [Sayyah] our producer, was urging me to use Masuka, and I didn’t want to and I finally agreed to…
Vand: Let him have an audition [laughs].
Amirpour: Basically. We did a camera test and Masuka is just this cat that likes to go into unfamiliar places and is curious about everything. We were joking yesterday that if you unzipped Masuka’s fur, a dog would come out.
Vand: It was cool for me to act with an animal because, animals and babies, they are so unpredictable, they keep you a little bit on high alert and being more present because you are never sure what they are going to do. And I also used Masuka as an anchor because I was watching all these cat videos, modeling my character after tigers and cats. So when I found myself getting a little too stiff, I would just look over at him and relax.
TMS: Speaking of physicality, there is a scene of you dancing in your room and it is so cool, because it almost looks the way a baby would dance.
Vand: Oh, I love that
TMS: And you seem completely free and unaware of the camera.
Amirpour: She was. We were actually setting up the camera, talking over to the side, and a song was playing and I look over and she was just dancing to the song by herself and I said, “Turn the camera on, do it now!”
Vand: I did feel like I was exploring my body a lot in this role. There was always this feeling of, what it would be like to be a grandmother or old lady inside of an 19-year-old’s body. And how different time is. You may have dance a million times, but there still might have been 50 years between the last time you danced. And I had this idea that she felt the most human when she was dancing.
TMS: Did the chador effect how you played the scenes?
Vand: Absolutely. I didn’t feel like I was the girl until the chador would come on. And it is really technical too, because it is heavy, so you have to have good posture or else it would drag on the ground, especially on the skateboard. And I was also doing a lot underneath there, and I can imagine it is a lot like a bat, when they decide to take flight. There is a weight to the chador and way it moves that does feel like a cap. It is like Bruce Wayne when he puts on the cap.
Amirpour: It is kind of like at the end of Black Swan when she stars to change and gets the wings.
Vand: Yeah. I definitely felt a change when I put it on. I felt like a badass. I love that scene at the end when Arash when she puts the striped shirt back on. It is like she doesn’t just put the chador over anything.
Amirpour: She’s this really composed character. When she’s in the tub, she is the most like a creature. And then she puts on the striped shirt and she’s trying to act more like a person but she doesn’t go out without the chador. It is like Superman in that way, that he is Superman in the cape, Clark Kent, but when he strips down and gives up his powers in the second film, he’s just a human. I’m talking about Richard Donner’s Superman of course, not the other one I don’t want to even recognize.
TMS: You mention Wild at Heart, which is a favorite movie of mine, because it is this great love story, but at any minute, they can be destructive towards one another. And here, even though they do seem to be in love, you get the feeling that Arash isn’t completely safe with her.
Amirpour: Well, she eats people. Siegfried and Roy figured out that you might have a very loving tiger that will do your show a 100 times, but that 101th time, he is a fucking tiger that might bite you. That is the nature of the beast. I think love and the quest for love can compel you to do dangerous things. But I was always hyper-aware that she is a vampire and she is a creature. She’s a fucking killer. I always thought there was this tension, like having a tiger and bunny in the same room, and it is all about the missing information. With the pimp, he thinks he’s the tiger and she’s the bunny, but really it’s the other way around. So there is this tension in watching what will unfold. With Arash… Wild at Heart is a much farther-along love story, because these two haven’t even figured out where they are going to drive to.
Vand: We talked about how he, as a young man, he is like the best, freshest meat. The filet mignon for her. He’s young and virile and strong. His blood is really pumping through. He’s so alive and she’s just hanging on by a thread. And so, some times the best love is most dangerous. And it is scary falling in love. It is really scary and does sometime feel like it could kill you if it goes wrong.
WTF I LIETERALLY THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT DOGS UNTIL NOW I AM 20 YEARS OLD
of course it was, why would he actually sing about real dogs and why they got out
No it isn’t. It’s actually talking about the men who predate upon women in clubs, calling them dogs, not ‘ugly women’. Just look at the lyrics:
And tell the fellas stop the name callin’ Yepee ah yo Then them girls respond to the call I hear a woman shout out Who let the dogs out Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof
Or if that isn’t clear enough for you that it’s women quite clearly calling the men dogs then read this next bit:
Get back gruffy, mash scruffy Get back you flea infested mongrel Now I tell meh self dem man go get angry Ah yepee ah yo To hear them girls calling them canine
It’s saying that men who attack women for being ‘ugly’ or refuse to leave them alone are worse than stray mongrels! It plainly points out that women do not want or appreciate the attention and so taunt them with the verse of ‘who let the dogs out’ because they are both unable to control themselves and vile little creatures. Learn to do some fucking research.
It’s worse than it’s said here. They specifically asked the bronies to leave the disabled kid/character alone. So naturally, they attacked the character as ‘pandering’ and being ‘too PC’ and when asked to please NOT turn it into a porn character, they went out of their way to make as much porn as possible.
tbh, the fact that the creators had to say, “hey can you guys not make porn of this one specific pony" is an issue in and of itself
A brony got mad at me because I showed disgust in bronies. He told me “not all bronies are like that”. Fucker if you share the same label as people like this then it’s your problem, not mine. You care more about your stupid brony feelings then the respect for a fucking disabled child and his family.
Kyoto is so beautiful right now! Spent an amazing afternoon at Nijo Castle and viewing the light-up at a temple at night. There were tourists everywhere and the queues were snaking for blocks away from the sites, but so worth the wait. Just gorgeous!
Mark Twain once joked that “whenever a copyright law is to be made or altered, then the idiots assemble.” A lesser-known fact of Twain’s life is that he lobbied vigorously for stronger copyright protections, vexed by piracy of his work both at home and abroad. “They talk handsomely about the literature of the land,” Twain told a House committee in 1906. “And in the midst of their enthusiasm, they turn around and do what they can to discourage it.”
The “they” Twain referred to were the laws and lawmakers themselves. And in the United States, copyright law is administered by the Copyright Office, which is a part of the Library of Congress. So it’s no small irony then that a new book about Mark Twain, “co-authored by” the Library of Congress, appears to contain text copied from at least five different sources, all with no attribution.
An independent scholar, Kevin Mac Donnell, whose sleuthing I’ve written about before, announced earlier this month on a Mark Twain web forum that he uncovered a hefty amount of plagiarism in Mark Twain’s America, an illustrated biography by Harry Katz and the Library of Congress, and published by Little, Brown.
In his review of the book, Mac Donnell noted that its chronology of Twain’s life seemed to be lifted without attribution from Mark Twain A to Z, a reference book by R. Kent Rasmussen. Mac Donnell counted over 400 lines of prose that match Rasmussen’s text almost word for word. More scholars have since joined Mac Donnell on the forum in scrutinizing Mark Twain’s America, and they now say the text includes over 100 factual errors as well.
For example, a photo purporting to show the author’s home in Hartford is, in fact, a picture of a house Twain never lived in. The scholars are compiling a complete list of the book’s inaccuracies to publish on the Mark Twain forum in the near future.
Of course this wouldn’t be the first time a sentimental survey of American history timed for a Christmas release featured a striking lack of original writing or fact checking. (A couple of books by Doris Kearns Goodwin jump to mind.) These accusations now surface about authors with alarming regularity. But what does it suggest about the state of American letters when the latest transgressor cited is actually one of the country’s oldest and most venerable libraries — the very institution where authors register their copyrights?
“The trustiest monument?” Think again, Twain.(AP Photo/William J. Smith)
Indeed, how the Library of Congress proved capable of signing its name to any work, let alone one that included plagiarism, is curious in itself. The acknowledgments section of Mark Twain’s America lists several current and former library staffers, as well as interns. It seems the institutional authorship is meant to reflect their collective contributions to the book, rather than any individual effort.
That is, with the exception of the efforts and contributions of the book’s co-author, Harry Katz – himself a former Library of Congress curator. He did not respond to requests for comment before the time of this article’s publication.
For Twain’s part, although capable of extreme bouts of cynicism, he wouldn’t have predicted such a gaffe. Congressmen have “the smallest minds and the selfishest souls and the cowardliest hearts that God makes,” Twain wrote. Yet he seemed to admire the work of Capitol Hill librarians, once penning a letter that said, “A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection.”
Mac Donnell, who holds a master’s in library science, told Quartz the revelation was “a huge disappointment.”
“I respect the Library of Congress and admire the work they do,” he added. “The vulgarity of this whole thing is not just toward Twain scholarship or Mr. Rasmussen, who is basically the victim here. It’s an insult to librarians and curators and everybody who works in the Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress declined to comment on the matter.
Rasmussen, the first author whose work Mac Donnell identified as lifted, also declined to comment for this article, except to confirm that he is considering legal action.
In response to these allegations, Katz and the book’s editor, Tom Wiener (who was a Library of Congress curator at the time of the book’s publication), posted a message on the Mark Twain Forum expressing regret that Rasmussen’s text was “mistakenly omitted” from their acknowledgments and bibliography sections. They promised to credit Rasmussen’s “important contribution to our chronologies” in future editions of Mark Twain’s America and in the ebook, which is also being adapted into a screenplay.
“Regarding factual errors, we deeply appreciate their being pointed out,” Katz and Wiener added. “We are generalist scholars and writers, but, like everyone on the Forum, we seek to be as accurate as possible in our work. We will rectify errors or omissions in forthcoming editions of the book. The review’s pointed criticisms speak to a deep passion for Twain, a passion we all share.”
Since the above statement was issued, additional vetting of the text (work Mac Donnell described as “deadening” “depressing” and “bad for the eyes”) revealed four more sources the authors seem to have cribbed – one of which was copied even more extensively than Rasmussen’s work.
If the controversy escalates, which seems likely, on top of the obvious embarrassment each party will face, US law leaves room for criminal charges when copyright infringement occurs for commercial purposes.
With that in mind, and in the increasingly archaic tradition of referencing secondary sources, I’ll mention that every Mark Twain quote found in this article was accessed via twainquotes.com, a fine resource for anyone interested in the author’s brilliant repertoire of vicious put downs and pithy aphorisms.
Just when my anger at DC and the New 52 had finally begun shifting to apathy, Sensation Comics comes along to remind me that I really, really should still be pissed at DC comics and their choices.
I miss Oracle so much. It was beyond wonderful to see her show up in the first issue of Sensation. There is a giant, gaping void in the DC universe where she once stood and DC’s decision to pull Babs away from Oracle instead of allowing her any ties to her former role just burns.
This was the single most powerful character in the DC universe before the reboot. She had the respect of the Justice League. She could challenge Batman and win. She had not just one legacy—the Batgirls who she chose and trained no matter what Bruce said.—but also her Legacy through the Birds of Prey. Bryan Q. Miller was even building a third, hacker Legacy through her training of Proxy. She had her own network of operatives that rivaled every other coalition of heroes in the DC universe. It’s not the fact that she had all this that was mind blowing, it’s the fact that she had all this as a disabled woman. It’s that she kept amassing strength. It was that no one at DC ever seemed at a loss when it came to her narrative (compared to Wonder Woman who went through reboot after reboot in the same era). It’s that they weren’t afraid to admit that she was at least as powerful as Batman and growing stronger.
Now she’s gone and no one rivals Batman. Her legacy has been erased while her male colleagues got to keep theirs. She has been de-aged and de-powered. A student of Batman’s again instead of his equal. And as good as the upcoming Batgirl book looks with its lighter imagery, it’s almost like Babs keeps growing younger. Moving backwards.
I can’t forgive DC for doing that to her. For cutting out the powerhouse that was Oracle. For erasing one of the most visible disabled characters in comics. For keeping the Killing Joke canon when they had a chance to get rid of it. I can’t forgive DC their treatment of Barbara Gordon. The release of Sensation Comics today was a reminder of why I shouldn’t.
Otherwise Sensation was quite lovely and you should all go buy it. For a variety of reasons (Wonder Woman’s prominence within the Trinity, out of New 52 continuity storytelling, the return of Oracle (if only for this arc)), it’s really important that this book succeeds.
'Bezos himself drew a cash salary of just $81,840 last year. Even counting stock-based compensation, he is one of the lowest paid CEOs among major corporations. Plenty of top executives have drawn meagre salaries and received most of their compensation in stock, but to have a company-wide limit on salaries is highly unusual. And a flagging stock price means the dollops of equity awarded to employees to make up the difference will be worth less.
Don’t forget, Amazon has also been criticized for the low wages it pays to employees for the “soul crushing experience” of manning its warehouses. And the company has one of the highest staff turnover rates in the tech business.'
Since his inaugural letter to shareholders in 1997, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has pledged to “to focus relentlessly on our customers” and ignore “short-term profitability considerations or short-term Wall Street reactions.”
He has proven true to his word. Amazon is routinely praised and criticized for its unorthodox business model that puts customers above shareholders. But with its stock price struggling this year, investment bank Nomura argues the company can no longer afford to ignore Wall Street:
No Amazon employee receives more than $160K in annual cash compensation; any remuneration above that level is paid in company stock. Therefore, because continued weak stock-price performance could hurt employee morale and retention, and hinder the ability for to attract industry-leading talent, it follows that management would not view stock weakness lightly.
Amazon’s top cash salary of $160,000 is more than triple the median US household income in 2013, but in the fiercely competitive market for talent that is the technology industry, it is not excessive.
Bezos himself drew a cash salary of just $81,840 last year. Even counting stock-based compensation, he is one of the lowest paid CEOs among major corporations. Plenty of top executives have drawn meagre salaries and received most of their compensation in stock, but to have a company-wide limit on salaries is highly unusual. And a flagging stock price means the dollops of equity awarded to employees to make up the difference will be worth less.
To be fair, while the stock price is struggling this year, it has performed strongly over just about every other timeframe. Here it is over the past 10 years against some of the companies with which it competes for talent. It doesn’t hold up against Apple—who does?—but outperforms Google.
Even so, the flight of talent suggests Amazon’s compensation philosophy needs reassessment. If the company wants to dominate the future of consumer purchasing and the internet then maybe its time for that self-imposed salary cap to go.
I consider myself a confident, adept baker. I can make cookies with one eye closed, and my muffins never fail to please. But when it comes to making pie—as I have been asked to do this Thanksgiving—my chest tightens up. It has nothing to do with the filling, and everything to do with the crust.
I love a buttery, golden, flaky pie crust, and take great joy and pride in pulling one out of the oven. But the process makes me exceedingly anxious—specifically the rolling-out stage. The dough never seems to hold together. When it does, it sticks to the counter. Then the butter warms up and starts to melt. There’s not enough to cover the tin. It’s awful.
You may be thinking: Just buy the bloody crust! I will not buy the crust. Store-bought crust is insipid and often made with unpronounceable fats. Even if it tasted as good as homemade—which it does not—I would simply be too proud.
But this year will be different. It will be different because I have figured out exactly how to ease dough-induced anxiety: Just make twice as much dough as you need.
Conventional butter crust wisdom—here’s the recipe I’m currently trying—calls for making the dough into balls and wrapping them in wax paper or cling wrap to chill before rolling. The beauty of having one of those extra dough balls in the fridge is that if your first ball of dough gets too warm and sticky as you roll it out, you can just throw it back into the fridge and take out the other one. If you finally get the perfect rollout, but it’s too small for your pie plate, you can just tack on a piece of your auxiliary dough. Ditto if you want to be one of those people that puts leaf-shaped cutouts on the top of your pie. (Not I.)
Even if you don’t end up using that second ball, this will cut down on your nerves about making the pie, which is of utmost importance. I once read about an anxiety-stricken man who didn’t actually take the pills prescribed for his condition; he just needed to know they were there. This is the way I treat my extra wad of pie crust.
As the blogger and cookbook author Joy the Baker explains, the ingredients can smell your fear. If you are hesitant in your dough-making and rolling, it’s going to turn out badly (and you will resent your loved ones for putting you in charge of pies). A bit of extra flour and butter is a small price for peace of mind.
What’s more, that dough won’t be wasted. When your perfect pie is done and eaten, you’ll find your lovely little extra dough ball nestled among the leftovers in the fridge. Then you can roll it out for a savory galette, or mini pies baked in a muffin tin, take a deep breath, and pour yourself a celebratory drink.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 did very well at the box office this weekend but not as well as Lionsgate probably hoped domestically.
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