Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
THE NEW YORK MUSUME OF CONAN ART
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Team COCO
Are you in New York? Why not swing by the Time Warner Center and visit our gallery! Located at 10 Columbus Circle on the 2nd Floor of the Time Warner Center, from 9am to 9pm EST, October 24th through November 3rd 2011, the New York Museum of Conan Fan Art has TONS to do! You can:
From Team COCO
Are you in New York? Why not swing by the Time Warner Center and visit our gallery! Located at 10 Columbus Circle on the 2nd Floor of the Time Warner Center, from 9am to 9pm EST, October 24th through November 3rd 2011, the New York Museum of Conan Fan Art has TONS to do! You can:
- Enjoy killer Team Coco fan art with accompanying audio commentary by Conan O'Brien & Andy Richter!
- Score exclusive Team Coco swag & goodies!
- Discover the joy and wonder that is The Conan Loveseat Experience (a giant robot couch that moves around, gives you a photo, and more)!
- Check in on Foursquare for all sorts of goodies and a chance to ride in the Conan blimp!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
.Liberty "Torch Cam" Goes Live
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From WSJ Blog by Gina Cervetti
You may have visited the Statue of Liberty, and maybe you went inside, made the trek up the stairs and stood in her crown. But it’s safe to say you’ve never been in the torch, which was closed to the public almost a century ago. Now you can see what people used to see when they were allowed in the torch, prior to World War I. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has launched a new web cam, offering various views from Lady Liberty’s torch. (You will have to enter your email to access the cam.) The unveiling comes as America celebrates the 125th anniversary of the statue’s dedication. Several other events were planned to mark the occasion, including the opening of a new exhibit at nearby Ellis Island. Click the link below to hear my interview with foundation CEO Stephen Briganti, who shares some history about the torch, talks about the ongoing renovations at Ellis Island, and offers his thoughts on family history. Download mp3.
From WSJ Blog by Gina Cervetti
You may have visited the Statue of Liberty, and maybe you went inside, made the trek up the stairs and stood in her crown. But it’s safe to say you’ve never been in the torch, which was closed to the public almost a century ago. Now you can see what people used to see when they were allowed in the torch, prior to World War I. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has launched a new web cam, offering various views from Lady Liberty’s torch. (You will have to enter your email to access the cam.) The unveiling comes as America celebrates the 125th anniversary of the statue’s dedication. Several other events were planned to mark the occasion, including the opening of a new exhibit at nearby Ellis Island. Click the link below to hear my interview with foundation CEO Stephen Briganti, who shares some history about the torch, talks about the ongoing renovations at Ellis Island, and offers his thoughts on family history. Download mp3.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Oakland Police Critically Injure Iraq War Vet During OCCUPY OAKLAND March
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Huffington Post
From Huffington Post
Scott Olsen, the 24-year-old Iraq War veteran and Occupy activist suffering from a head injury after being hit with a police projectile in Oakland, has had his condition upgraded to fair and is now breathing on his own.
His roommate, Keith Shannon, who is also an Iraq War veteran, first reported the progress in an email. Olsen will still need surgery, Shannon wrote. "The neurosurgeons have decided he needs surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Coveteur by Daddy Kroenig
Hudson Kroenig is the adorable toddler who walked with his dad, Brad Kroenig—the inimitable muse to Karl Lagerfeld—in the Chanel S/S ’11 show. Matching from head-to-toe in a Canadian tuxedo and white ,Hudson’s runway debut with daddy was only the beginning to his booming modeling career.
Taking cues from dad—the Abercrombie & Fitch model-turned-Lagerfeld legend—little Hudson’s resumé reads like that of fashion’s veterans: he’s been shot by The Kaiser (numerous times!), graced the pages of German Vogue and posed as the face of Fendi alongside his dapper dad, Anja Rubik and Baptiste Giabiconi. And it’s no surprise that as the face of Fendi, Hudson is repping hard—jacket, sweater, jeans, hat, shoes… you name it, he’s got it! Uncle Karl—who shot the Fendi campaign—really is like an uncle to Hud- gifting him stuffed mini Karl’s to cuddle with at night, visiting him in NYC and hanging with him in Europe. From catwalks to clothes, little H definitely knows a thing or two about style.
From Coveteur by Daddy Kroenig
Hudson Kroenig is the adorable toddler who walked with his dad, Brad Kroenig—the inimitable muse to Karl Lagerfeld—in the Chanel S/S ’11 show. Matching from head-to-toe in a Canadian tuxedo and white ,Hudson’s runway debut with daddy was only the beginning to his booming modeling career.
Taking cues from dad—the Abercrombie & Fitch model-turned-Lagerfeld legend—little Hudson’s resumé reads like that of fashion’s veterans: he’s been shot by The Kaiser (numerous times!), graced the pages of German Vogue and posed as the face of Fendi alongside his dapper dad, Anja Rubik and Baptiste Giabiconi. And it’s no surprise that as the face of Fendi, Hudson is repping hard—jacket, sweater, jeans, hat, shoes… you name it, he’s got it! Uncle Karl—who shot the Fendi campaign—really is like an uncle to Hud- gifting him stuffed mini Karl’s to cuddle with at night, visiting him in NYC and hanging with him in Europe. From catwalks to clothes, little H definitely knows a thing or two about style.
The father and son team wowed Chanel's s/s 2011 audience in matching 'Canadian tuxedos'
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Lauren Conrad’s Hair: Pretty — and Peach!
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Style News
Lauren Conrad's hair color matches her perky personality. The former reality starlet dyed the ends of her hair peach , after asking her Beauty Department readers if she should take the pinky plunge.
The designer (and soon-to-be beauty mogul) Tweeted some pictures of the process Wednesday, showing the results on her website Friday. Her look was inspired by an orange hue she saw on the runway, and jokingly, a peach-haired My Little Pony.
This change caps off a year of major hair changes for Conrad: in January she went brunette, returning to her golden hue in June. In July, she made another change, dip-dying the ends of her hair in shades of pink, blue, green and purple. A few weeks later she made the look more subtle, showcasing just a few hints of blue. Then after a return to blonde, she picked the current peach shade.
From Style News
Lauren Conrad's hair color matches her perky personality. The former reality starlet dyed the ends of her hair peach , after asking her Beauty Department readers if she should take the pinky plunge.
The designer (and soon-to-be beauty mogul) Tweeted some pictures of the process Wednesday, showing the results on her website Friday. Her look was inspired by an orange hue she saw on the runway, and jokingly, a peach-haired My Little Pony.
This change caps off a year of major hair changes for Conrad: in January she went brunette, returning to her golden hue in June. In July, she made another change, dip-dying the ends of her hair in shades of pink, blue, green and purple. A few weeks later she made the look more subtle, showcasing just a few hints of blue. Then after a return to blonde, she picked the current peach shade.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Cyclops Shark Discovered In Sea of Cortez
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From NT by Steve Tarlow
At 22 inches long, the cyclops shark fetus may not be large enough to inspire deep sea nightmares, but the fact that it has just a single eye at the front of its head – a product of the congenital condition cyclopia – makes it no less unsettling. Several species, humans included, are susceptible to the birth defect.
On sight, León knew he’d found something amazing. Biologist Felipe Galván-Magaña of the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in La Paz, Mexico, told National Geographic that he first heard of León’s discovery on Facebook. He immediately contacted the fisherman to ask permission to borrow the one-eyed shark for research.
X-rays and a review of previous research confirmed that the spawn of León’s catch was indeed a cyclops shark, one of the very few cases ever documented. According to University of North Florida shark biologist Jim Gelsleichter, the only recorded cases have been as embryos, which suggests that cyclops sharks don’t survive in the wild for long.
From NT by Steve Tarlow
At 22 inches long, the cyclops shark fetus may not be large enough to inspire deep sea nightmares, but the fact that it has just a single eye at the front of its head – a product of the congenital condition cyclopia – makes it no less unsettling. Several species, humans included, are susceptible to the birth defect.
On sight, León knew he’d found something amazing. Biologist Felipe Galván-Magaña of the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in La Paz, Mexico, told National Geographic that he first heard of León’s discovery on Facebook. He immediately contacted the fisherman to ask permission to borrow the one-eyed shark for research.
X-rays and a review of previous research confirmed that the spawn of León’s catch was indeed a cyclops shark, one of the very few cases ever documented. According to University of North Florida shark biologist Jim Gelsleichter, the only recorded cases have been as embryos, which suggests that cyclops sharks don’t survive in the wild for long.
MAPS by Paula Scher
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Amazon
In the early 1990s, celebrated graphic designer Paula Scher (Make It Bigger, 2002) began painting maps of the world as she sees it. The larger her canvases grew, the more expressionistic her geographical visions became. Displaying a powerful command of image and type, Scher brilliantly transformed the surface area of our world. Paintings as tall as twelve feet depict continents, countries, and cities swirling in torrents of information and undulating with colorful layers of hand-painted boundary lines, place-names, and provocative cultural commentary. Collected here for the first time, Paula Scher MAPS presents thirty-nine of Scher's obsessively detailed, highly personal creations.
From Amazon
In the early 1990s, celebrated graphic designer Paula Scher (Make It Bigger, 2002) began painting maps of the world as she sees it. The larger her canvases grew, the more expressionistic her geographical visions became. Displaying a powerful command of image and type, Scher brilliantly transformed the surface area of our world. Paintings as tall as twelve feet depict continents, countries, and cities swirling in torrents of information and undulating with colorful layers of hand-painted boundary lines, place-names, and provocative cultural commentary. Collected here for the first time, Paula Scher MAPS presents thirty-nine of Scher's obsessively detailed, highly personal creations.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
John Jeremiah Sullivan'S PULPHEAD
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Amazon
- In Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan takes us on an exhilarating tour of our popular, unpopular, and at times completely forgotten culture.
In his native Kentucky, Sullivan introduces us to Constantine Rafinesque, a nineteenth-century polymath genius who concocted a dense, fantastical prehistory of the New World. Back in modern times, Sullivan takes us to the Ozarks for a Christian rock festival; to Florida to meet the alumni and straggling refugees of MTV’s Real World, who’ve generated their own self-perpetuating economy of minor celebrity; and all across the South on the trail of the blues. He takes us to Indiana to investigate the formative years of Michael Jackson and Axl Rose and then to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina—and back again as its residents confront the BP oil spill.
From Amazon
- In Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan takes us on an exhilarating tour of our popular, unpopular, and at times completely forgotten culture.
In his native Kentucky, Sullivan introduces us to Constantine Rafinesque, a nineteenth-century polymath genius who concocted a dense, fantastical prehistory of the New World. Back in modern times, Sullivan takes us to the Ozarks for a Christian rock festival; to Florida to meet the alumni and straggling refugees of MTV’s Real World, who’ve generated their own self-perpetuating economy of minor celebrity; and all across the South on the trail of the blues. He takes us to Indiana to investigate the formative years of Michael Jackson and Axl Rose and then to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina—and back again as its residents confront the BP oil spill.
SENNA
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From IMDB
Senna - A documentary about Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
From IMDB
Senna - A documentary about Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Pepper Spray Cop Tony Bologna Punished With More Work
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Gothamist by Jim Kieman
As punishment for pepper-spraying two penned-in Occupy Wall Street protesters without provocation, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna will... pick up some extra shifts. The Internal Affairs Bureau reviewed the infamous incident (which was caught on video and eventually spawned a Daily Show parody cop show, The Vigilogna) and determined that Bologna violated NYPD rules. As punishment for spraying a couple of women in the eyes and walking away, he loses ten vacation days! But he already had his hotel booked for next year's Chile Pepper Fest in Bowers, PA!
In case you're wondering exactly how Bologna went wrong, the NY Times reports that the department’s patrol guide says pepper spray "should be used primarily to control a suspect who is resisting arrest, or for protection; it does allow for its use in 'disorder control,' but only by officers with special training." The head of the Captains Endowment Association tells the paper that "Deputy Inspector Bologna is disappointed at the results of the department investigation. His actions prevented further injury and escalation of tumultuous conduct. To date, this conduct has not been portrayed in its true context."
Bologna, a 29-year veteran makes $154,300 a year, could contest the ruling, but then he risks an even stiffer penalty. And he could still face criminal charges.
From Gothamist by Jim Kieman
As punishment for pepper-spraying two penned-in Occupy Wall Street protesters without provocation, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna will... pick up some extra shifts. The Internal Affairs Bureau reviewed the infamous incident (which was caught on video and eventually spawned a Daily Show parody cop show, The Vigilogna) and determined that Bologna violated NYPD rules. As punishment for spraying a couple of women in the eyes and walking away, he loses ten vacation days! But he already had his hotel booked for next year's Chile Pepper Fest in Bowers, PA!
In case you're wondering exactly how Bologna went wrong, the NY Times reports that the department’s patrol guide says pepper spray "should be used primarily to control a suspect who is resisting arrest, or for protection; it does allow for its use in 'disorder control,' but only by officers with special training." The head of the Captains Endowment Association tells the paper that "Deputy Inspector Bologna is disappointed at the results of the department investigation. His actions prevented further injury and escalation of tumultuous conduct. To date, this conduct has not been portrayed in its true context."
Bologna, a 29-year veteran makes $154,300 a year, could contest the ruling, but then he risks an even stiffer penalty. And he could still face criminal charges.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Controversy Erupts Over Sex-Segregated Brooklyn Bus
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From NPR by Barbara B Hagarity
It's been a few decades since Americans were engaged in a back-of-the-bus controversy. Now a popular bus route between two New York City neighborhoods is reviving the issue.
Last Wednesday, Melissa Franchy boarded the B110 from Williamsburg to Boro Park, two Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. She was accompanying her friend, Sasha Chavkin, a reporter for The New York World, a Columbia Journalism School publication. Their mission: Find out what would happen if Franchy sat at the front of the bus.
At first, nothing happened. Then she was approached by another passenger, a Hasidic Jewish man.
"And he said, 'OK, you should sit at the back because women sit at the back on this bus and men sit in the front.' And I looked at him and said, 'OK, why?' And he said, 'Well, that's the rule because this is a private Jewish bus.' "
Franchy asked the driver if this was permitted. He didn't speak enough English to respond. Then she noticed two Hasidic women at the back of the bus.
"One of them was rolling her eyes; the other one said, 'Just move, I mean, that's the way it is. You don't ask.' And then the man said, 'When the Lord gives a rule, you don't question it.' "
The rule, says Shulem Deen, who spent the first 29 years of his life as a Hasidic Jew, is steeped in ultra-Orthodox tradition.
"Essentially, it's based on the idea that men and women should generally be separate, should inhabit different spheres of life in public in particular," Deen says.
From NPR by Barbara B Hagarity
It's been a few decades since Americans were engaged in a back-of-the-bus controversy. Now a popular bus route between two New York City neighborhoods is reviving the issue.
Last Wednesday, Melissa Franchy boarded the B110 from Williamsburg to Boro Park, two Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. She was accompanying her friend, Sasha Chavkin, a reporter for The New York World, a Columbia Journalism School publication. Their mission: Find out what would happen if Franchy sat at the front of the bus.
At first, nothing happened. Then she was approached by another passenger, a Hasidic Jewish man.
"And he said, 'OK, you should sit at the back because women sit at the back on this bus and men sit in the front.' And I looked at him and said, 'OK, why?' And he said, 'Well, that's the rule because this is a private Jewish bus.' "
Franchy asked the driver if this was permitted. He didn't speak enough English to respond. Then she noticed two Hasidic women at the back of the bus.
"One of them was rolling her eyes; the other one said, 'Just move, I mean, that's the way it is. You don't ask.' And then the man said, 'When the Lord gives a rule, you don't question it.' "
The rule, says Shulem Deen, who spent the first 29 years of his life as a Hasidic Jew, is steeped in ultra-Orthodox tradition.
"Essentially, it's based on the idea that men and women should generally be separate, should inhabit different spheres of life in public in particular," Deen says.
The B110 bus runs through the sections of the borough of Brooklyn that are heavily populated by Orthodox Jews.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Did Francona’s Marriage Issues, Use of Painkillers Affect Job Performance?
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Sport Of Boston by KC Downey
Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona had a tumultuous eighth and final season with the Red Sox. His team was on pace in late August to win 100 games, but as we know, there was a lot of trouble in the Red Sox clubhouse. The fact that certain starting pitchers didn’t really care whether the team won or lost if they weren’t pitching shows Francona was losing grip on the team.
Now, we may know why. According to the Boston Globe’s bombshell report, team sources had expressed concern that Francona’s marital and health issues may have negatively affected his performance as manager.
The team source also expressed concern about Francona’s excessive use of pain medication. Francona furiously denied that to the paper, saying he has taken pain medicine for years due to recovery from multiple knee surgeries, with the most recent coming last October.
From Sport Of Boston by KC Downey
Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona had a tumultuous eighth and final season with the Red Sox. His team was on pace in late August to win 100 games, but as we know, there was a lot of trouble in the Red Sox clubhouse. The fact that certain starting pitchers didn’t really care whether the team won or lost if they weren’t pitching shows Francona was losing grip on the team.
Now, we may know why. According to the Boston Globe’s bombshell report, team sources had expressed concern that Francona’s marital and health issues may have negatively affected his performance as manager.
“It makes me angry that people say these things because I’ve busted my [butt] to be the best manager I can be,” Francona told the Globe. “I wasn’t terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did.”The paper said Francona spent the season living in a Brookline hotel after he moved out his Chestnut Hill. He and Jacque, his wife of nearly 30 years, were having some serious marital issues. He “adamantly denied” his marital problems affected his job performance.
The team source also expressed concern about Francona’s excessive use of pain medication. Francona furiously denied that to the paper, saying he has taken pain medicine for years due to recovery from multiple knee surgeries, with the most recent coming last October.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Evan Van Der Spuy, South African Cyclist, Hit By Antelope While Mountain Biking
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Huffington Post
Evan van der Spuy, a mountain biker on team Jeep South Africa, was hit by a buck while riding in a race at Albert Falls Dam in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
In the video, we hear his team mate, Travis Walker, warning van der Spuy to "watch the buck." And while van der Spuy looks to his right, there's nothing he can do. Moments later...well, you'll see what happens.
According to Global Post, van der Spuy was taken out by a red hartebeest, a type of antelope that can weigh as much as 330 pounds.
Shockingly, the visibly shaken -- and audibly groaning -- van der Spuy didn't suffer any serious injuries, although his helmet was shattered. He tweeted later that he's "stable with nothing more than a very stiff neck," thanking his team mates for their help.
From Huffington Post
Evan van der Spuy, a mountain biker on team Jeep South Africa, was hit by a buck while riding in a race at Albert Falls Dam in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
In the video, we hear his team mate, Travis Walker, warning van der Spuy to "watch the buck." And while van der Spuy looks to his right, there's nothing he can do. Moments later...well, you'll see what happens.
According to Global Post, van der Spuy was taken out by a red hartebeest, a type of antelope that can weigh as much as 330 pounds.
Shockingly, the visibly shaken -- and audibly groaning -- van der Spuy didn't suffer any serious injuries, although his helmet was shattered. He tweeted later that he's "stable with nothing more than a very stiff neck," thanking his team mates for their help.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
METAMAUS by Art Spiegelman
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From NPR
When cartoonist Art Spiegelman published his epic Holocaust graphic novel, Maus, 25 years ago, a lot changed. He received a special Pulitzer Prize and became a contributor and cover artist for the New Yorker.
Maus blends the stories of Spiegelman's trying relationship with his father and a horrifying tale of Auschwitz, as seen through his father's eyes. Spiegelman drew the Jews as mice and the Germans as cats.
But Maus has continued to haunt him.
But Maus has continued to haunt him.
MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus is the story behind Spiegelman's signature work, complete with interviews, answers to many persistent questions and examples of his early drawings.
From NPR
When cartoonist Art Spiegelman published his epic Holocaust graphic novel, Maus, 25 years ago, a lot changed. He received a special Pulitzer Prize and became a contributor and cover artist for the New Yorker.
Maus blends the stories of Spiegelman's trying relationship with his father and a horrifying tale of Auschwitz, as seen through his father's eyes. Spiegelman drew the Jews as mice and the Germans as cats.
But Maus has continued to haunt him.
But Maus has continued to haunt him.
MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus is the story behind Spiegelman's signature work, complete with interviews, answers to many persistent questions and examples of his early drawings.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
FOR NOW by Nick Cave @ The Mary Boone Gallery
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Mary Boone and Daily Beast
The “Soundsuits” of Chicago artist Nick Cave are some of the most exuberant, peculiar objects now circulating as contemporary art. A big sampling of recent ones is on view in New York in a two-part show, split between the Jack Shainman Gallery and the Mary Boone Gallery, and sampled in this slideshow. Cave’s trademark objects are bodysuits that can be made of anything from rainbow-dyed human hair to found welcome mats. They can be cut like straight-ahead enlargements of a toddler’s sleeper, or can have bizarre extra arms or giant steam funnels where the wearer’s head should be. They are called Soundsuits because some of them make noise when they are worn, but also, more metaphorically, because they change the most basic features of the environment for anyone wearing or witnessing them.
September 10th- October 22nd, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm
FREE
Mary Boone Gallery (541 W. 24th St. btn 10th and 11th Aves)
[Chelsea]
From Mary Boone and Daily Beast
The “Soundsuits” of Chicago artist Nick Cave are some of the most exuberant, peculiar objects now circulating as contemporary art. A big sampling of recent ones is on view in New York in a two-part show, split between the Jack Shainman Gallery and the Mary Boone Gallery, and sampled in this slideshow. Cave’s trademark objects are bodysuits that can be made of anything from rainbow-dyed human hair to found welcome mats. They can be cut like straight-ahead enlargements of a toddler’s sleeper, or can have bizarre extra arms or giant steam funnels where the wearer’s head should be. They are called Soundsuits because some of them make noise when they are worn, but also, more metaphorically, because they change the most basic features of the environment for anyone wearing or witnessing them.
September 10th- October 22nd, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm
FREE
Mary Boone Gallery (541 W. 24th St. btn 10th and 11th Aves)
[Chelsea]
Monday, October 17, 2011
White House site has Dayton Space Shuttle Petition
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From WDTN by Joe Cogliano
The effort to wrangle a Space Shuttle for Dayton has made its way to The White House Web site.
A petition asking the Obama Administration to revisit its decision on the final display sites for the shuttles — New York, Washington D.C., Florida and Los Angeles — went on the site last week and has garnered nearly 200 signatures.
Click here to see the petition.
The petition says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s decision was based on a flawed assessment of applications and that NASA also ignored the intent of Congress to consider regional diversity when determining shuttle locations.
“Even more insulting to taxpayers is that having paid to build the shuttles, they will now be charged to see them at some sites. New York, which received the decommissioned Enterprise space shuttle under the premise that it would house it in the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, now plans to build a separate museum for the Enterprise,” the petition said.
NASA gave Dayton the shaft in April when it placed retired shuttles at the four other sites, leaving out the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
From WDTN by Joe Cogliano
The effort to wrangle a Space Shuttle for Dayton has made its way to The White House Web site.
A petition asking the Obama Administration to revisit its decision on the final display sites for the shuttles — New York, Washington D.C., Florida and Los Angeles — went on the site last week and has garnered nearly 200 signatures.
Click here to see the petition.
The petition says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s decision was based on a flawed assessment of applications and that NASA also ignored the intent of Congress to consider regional diversity when determining shuttle locations.
“Even more insulting to taxpayers is that having paid to build the shuttles, they will now be charged to see them at some sites. New York, which received the decommissioned Enterprise space shuttle under the premise that it would house it in the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, now plans to build a separate museum for the Enterprise,” the petition said.
NASA gave Dayton the shaft in April when it placed retired shuttles at the four other sites, leaving out the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Camden County, Georgia Considers Employing Inmates As Fire Fighters
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Huffington Post by Jillian Berman
States and localities across the country are looking for ways to cut costs amid budget shortfalls, and one county is taking an approach that many residents find controversial: hiring prison inmates as fire fighters.
Camden County, Georgia is considering an “inmates-to-firefighters” program as one way to keep residents’ fire insurance costs from more than doubling, according to The Florida Times-Union. The program is one of multiple options Camden’s Board of County Commissioners are considering, but officials say hiring inmates as firefighters would be more cost-effective than the other options, saving the county more than $500,000 per year.
From Huffington Post by Jillian Berman
States and localities across the country are looking for ways to cut costs amid budget shortfalls, and one county is taking an approach that many residents find controversial: hiring prison inmates as fire fighters.
Camden County, Georgia is considering an “inmates-to-firefighters” program as one way to keep residents’ fire insurance costs from more than doubling, according to The Florida Times-Union. The program is one of multiple options Camden’s Board of County Commissioners are considering, but officials say hiring inmates as firefighters would be more cost-effective than the other options, saving the county more than $500,000 per year.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
43,381 New Virues Found In Sewage
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Yahoo! News by The Week's Editorial Staff
It's a dirty job, but, in the name of science, someone has to do it. Sifting through raw sewage may sound disgusting, but it's actually a "goldmine" for scientists charged with discovering new viruses, as evidenced by a new study [PDF] published by the American Society for Microbiology. Here's what you should know:
Scientists really studied sewage? Yep. Only about 3,000 known viruses had actually been documented by scientists — just "the tip of the iceberg," says the study's editor, Michael Imperiale of the University of Michigan. To identify more, researchers studied sewage from Pittsburgh, Barcelona, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopa.
What did they find? An incredible number of viruses: At least 43,381 so far. Don't freak out though. There were plenty of known pathogens in the sewage — including viruses that can cause cervical cancer and the stomach flu. And only a small percentage of the sewage viruses were bugs that can cause human disease. Indeed, 80 percent of the newly discovered unknown viruses are only interested in bacteria, and of the remaining 20 percent that attack multi-celled organisms, 9 in 10 infect only plants. "That's because humans eat plants and plant viruses dominate the types found in human excrement," says Richard Knox of NPR.
From Yahoo! News by The Week's Editorial Staff
It's a dirty job, but, in the name of science, someone has to do it. Sifting through raw sewage may sound disgusting, but it's actually a "goldmine" for scientists charged with discovering new viruses, as evidenced by a new study [PDF] published by the American Society for Microbiology. Here's what you should know:
Scientists really studied sewage? Yep. Only about 3,000 known viruses had actually been documented by scientists — just "the tip of the iceberg," says the study's editor, Michael Imperiale of the University of Michigan. To identify more, researchers studied sewage from Pittsburgh, Barcelona, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopa.
What did they find? An incredible number of viruses: At least 43,381 so far. Don't freak out though. There were plenty of known pathogens in the sewage — including viruses that can cause cervical cancer and the stomach flu. And only a small percentage of the sewage viruses were bugs that can cause human disease. Indeed, 80 percent of the newly discovered unknown viruses are only interested in bacteria, and of the remaining 20 percent that attack multi-celled organisms, 9 in 10 infect only plants. "That's because humans eat plants and plant viruses dominate the types found in human excrement," says Richard Knox of NPR.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
WHEN THE GARDEN WAS EDEN by Harvey Araton
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
The late 1960s and early 1970s, in New York City and America at large, were years marked by political tumult, social unrest—and the best professional basketball ever played. Paradise, for better or worse, was a hardwood court in Midtown Manhattan.
When the Garden Was Eden is the definitive account of how the New York Knickerbockers won their first and only championships, and in the process provided the nation no small escape from the Vietnam War, the tragedy at Kent State, and the last vestiges of Jim Crow. The Knicks were more than a team; they were a symbol of harmony, the sublimation of individual personalities for the greater collective good.
The late 1960s and early 1970s, in New York City and America at large, were years marked by political tumult, social unrest—and the best professional basketball ever played. Paradise, for better or worse, was a hardwood court in Midtown Manhattan.
When the Garden Was Eden is the definitive account of how the New York Knickerbockers won their first and only championships, and in the process provided the nation no small escape from the Vietnam War, the tragedy at Kent State, and the last vestiges of Jim Crow. The Knicks were more than a team; they were a symbol of harmony, the sublimation of individual personalities for the greater collective good.
THREE AND OUT by John U. Bacon
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
Three and Out tells the story of how college football’s most influential coach took over the nation’s most successful program, only to produce three of the worst seasons in the histories of both Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. Shortly after his controversial move from West Virginia, where he had just taken his alma mater to the #1 ranking for the first time in school history, Coach Rich Rodriguez granted author and journalist John U. Bacon unrestricted access to Michigan’s program. Bacon saw it all, from the meals and the meetings, to the practices and the games, to the sidelines and the locker rooms. Nothing and no one was off limits. John U. Bacon’s Three and Out is the definitive account of a football marriage seemingly made in heaven that broke up after just three years, and lifts the lid on the best and the worst of college football.
Three and Out tells the story of how college football’s most influential coach took over the nation’s most successful program, only to produce three of the worst seasons in the histories of both Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. Shortly after his controversial move from West Virginia, where he had just taken his alma mater to the #1 ranking for the first time in school history, Coach Rich Rodriguez granted author and journalist John U. Bacon unrestricted access to Michigan’s program. Bacon saw it all, from the meals and the meetings, to the practices and the games, to the sidelines and the locker rooms. Nothing and no one was off limits. John U. Bacon’s Three and Out is the definitive account of a football marriage seemingly made in heaven that broke up after just three years, and lifts the lid on the best and the worst of college football.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The 100-Year Starship: US Agencies Ponder Interstellar Travel
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Space
From Space
Warp drives. Artificial gravity. Terraforming planets. These concepts might sound as though they're ripped from the pages of science fiction, but they're the topic of serious scientific presentations at a symposium this weekend sponsored by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Called the 100-Year Starship Symposium, the public event will run Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Orlando, Fla. For three days, scientists from universities, NASA centers and private institutions will discuss far-out ideas for building a spaceship to visit another star.
Monday, October 10, 2011
MARCEL THE SHELL by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Huffington Post
Once just a shell with just a lentil for a hat and a Dorito for a hangglider, Marcel is now the proud owner of a new book and a television development contract. Not too shabby for a tiny animated creature who skis on a man's toenail.
Brought to life in a stop motion animated YouTube video made by Dean Fleischer-Camp and former "SNL" actress Jenny Slate, who gave him his squeaky, lovable voice, Marcel has been watched nearly 12 million viewers. The national attention earned Slate and Fleischer-Camp a deal for a series of children's books, with the first title slated for release on November 1st.
From Huffington Post
Once just a shell with just a lentil for a hat and a Dorito for a hangglider, Marcel is now the proud owner of a new book and a television development contract. Not too shabby for a tiny animated creature who skis on a man's toenail.
Brought to life in a stop motion animated YouTube video made by Dean Fleischer-Camp and former "SNL" actress Jenny Slate, who gave him his squeaky, lovable voice, Marcel has been watched nearly 12 million viewers. The national attention earned Slate and Fleischer-Camp a deal for a series of children's books, with the first title slated for release on November 1st.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Dane Cook's Superfinger Entertainment Pairs with NBC
Stand-up comedian Dane Cook is working on a new comedy show at NBC. The network signed Cook for a deal for a half-hour comedy show for the network's next season lineup. This will mark the comedian's first major role on national TV.
The 39-year old-comedian-actor will headline the sitcom, but will also be part of the development through his own production company Superfinger Entertainment. NBC aims for a fall 2012 debut of the still untitled program. Cook will join his other contemporaries like Whitney Cummings, Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman at the peacock network.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saudi Arabia Gives Women Voting Rights
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Guardian UK
"Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama [clerics] and others … to involve women in the Shura council as members, starting from the next term," Abdullah, 87, said in a speech.
"Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote," he added.
Liberal activists in the country have long called for greater rights for women, who are barred from travelling, working or having medical operations without the permission of a male relative and are forbidden from driving.
From Guardian UK
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has said women will have the right to stand and vote in future local elections and join the advisory Shura council as full members.
"Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote," he added.
Liberal activists in the country have long called for greater rights for women, who are barred from travelling, working or having medical operations without the permission of a male relative and are forbidden from driving.
BLACK SWAN Interns Sue Over Fetching and Cleaning
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Gawker
A couple guys are suing Fox Searchlight Productions, claiming they were exploited during the production of "Black Swan." Basically, they claim that the studio used them as free unpaid labor. One plaintiff found that his duties were mostly coffee-related:
One plaintiff, Alex Footman, a 2009 graduate of Wesleyan University who majored in film studies, said he worked as a production intern on "Black Swan" in New York from October 2009 to February 2010. He said his responsibilities included preparing coffee for the production office, ensuring that the coffee pot was full, taking and distributing lunch orders for the production staff, taking out the trash and cleaning the office.
Nefertiti and the Nephra Kids
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From The Daily News
The Manhattan couple who abducted their eight kids from a foster-care facility claims they did it because some of the children were being sexually abused.
Nadal, 28, and Payne, 34, were nabbed late Monday in Harrisburg, Pa., a week after they spirited the children away from a supervised visit in Queens.
Nadal, 28, and Payne, 34, were nabbed late Monday in Harrisburg, Pa., a week after they spirited the children away from a supervised visit in Queens.
The eight kids - seven boys ages 4 to 11, all named Nephra, and an 11-month-old girl.
Nadia Habib Avoids Deportation
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From The L.A. Times
A college student who grew up in New York has won a temporary reprieve from immigration officials who had threatened to deport her to her native Bangladesh, which she left as an infant when her mother brought her to the United States.
Nadia Habib and her mother, Nazmin, had appeared before immigration officials Thursday with their passports and luggage ready to go after Nazmin Habib's illegal status caught up with them. Nadia, who has lived in the United States since she was 20 months old, had not realized that she was an illegal immigrant until she qualified for financial aid for college and was asked to produce identity papers.
At Thursday's hearing in Manhattan, the mother and daughter were ordered to give up their passports but told they could remain in the country while the case is reviewed further. They were not told when a final decision would be made.
From The L.A. Times
A college student who grew up in New York has won a temporary reprieve from immigration officials who had threatened to deport her to her native Bangladesh, which she left as an infant when her mother brought her to the United States.
Nadia Habib and her mother, Nazmin, had appeared before immigration officials Thursday with their passports and luggage ready to go after Nazmin Habib's illegal status caught up with them. Nadia, who has lived in the United States since she was 20 months old, had not realized that she was an illegal immigrant until she qualified for financial aid for college and was asked to produce identity papers.
At Thursday's hearing in Manhattan, the mother and daughter were ordered to give up their passports but told they could remain in the country while the case is reviewed further. They were not told when a final decision would be made.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Mayonnaise Store in Brooklyn
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Grub Street
Come November, [Sam] Mason and business partner Elizabeth Valleau will open possibly the world's first shop dedicated entirely to high-end mayo, on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights.
From Grub Street
Empire Mayonnaise will be more of a lab than a store, Valleau tells Grub. Though they will sell products and hold events, the storefront is only a small portion of the shop — the rest is a giant refrigerator and testing lab. Empire will initially feature around 40 flavors, with Mason devising a new one each week; coffee, smoked paprika, foie gras, and mushroom are already on the menu.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
JR MURAL's In SoHo On Grand Street + Wooster Street
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Freshness Mag
JR‘s newest mural on the Houston Street (and Bowery) wall, the 2011 TED Prize winner and his band of associates kept busy with 2 additional murals. On the juncture of Grand and Wooster, the murals are on 2 walls diagonally across from one another, near vicinities of where Jeffery Deitch’s two Deitch Projects galleries used to be. Both are tributes from JR’s Native American Standing Rock Nation series.
From Freshness Mag
JR‘s newest mural on the Houston Street (and Bowery) wall, the 2011 TED Prize winner and his band of associates kept busy with 2 additional murals. On the juncture of Grand and Wooster, the murals are on 2 walls diagonally across from one another, near vicinities of where Jeffery Deitch’s two Deitch Projects galleries used to be. Both are tributes from JR’s Native American Standing Rock Nation series.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
THE POSTMORTAL
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Amazon
Plot Summary: Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.
"Drew Magary's haunting first novel imagines a postmodern dystopia that would seem far-fetched if it didn't seem so possible. The Postmortal will make you regret ever wondering, even secretly, what it would be like to live forever." -Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak and A Few Seconds of Panic
From Amazon
Plot Summary: Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.
"Drew Magary's haunting first novel imagines a postmodern dystopia that would seem far-fetched if it didn't seem so possible. The Postmortal will make you regret ever wondering, even secretly, what it would be like to live forever." -Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak and A Few Seconds of Panic
Monday, September 26, 2011
MTA's WEEKENDER Map by Massimo Vignelli
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From New York Times
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will unveil on Friday an online-only map that portrays the subway as it actually appears on the next tangled, jumbled weekend. And in a retro twist, the map is modeled on the 1970s-era guide by Massimo Vignelli, a much-missed city icon that now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art.
The stylish digital map will be customized each weekend to reflect the myriad service changes that regularly bedevil straphangers on Saturdays and Sundays. Currently, rerouted lines and shut stations are noted only in stiffly written prose that sometimes compounds riders’ confusion.
The interactive map is searchable by line, borough and station, and it flags trouble spots with blinking lights. Click, and the site will reveal a rundown of what woe awaits, whether a closed platform or an unexpected station stop.
From New York Times
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will unveil on Friday an online-only map that portrays the subway as it actually appears on the next tangled, jumbled weekend. And in a retro twist, the map is modeled on the 1970s-era guide by Massimo Vignelli, a much-missed city icon that now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art.
The stylish digital map will be customized each weekend to reflect the myriad service changes that regularly bedevil straphangers on Saturdays and Sundays. Currently, rerouted lines and shut stations are noted only in stiffly written prose that sometimes compounds riders’ confusion.
The interactive map is searchable by line, borough and station, and it flags trouble spots with blinking lights. Click, and the site will reveal a rundown of what woe awaits, whether a closed platform or an unexpected station stop.
The Weekender, making its debut on Friday, is based on the 1972 subway map designed by Massimo Vignelli. Blinking lights flag trouble spots, and riders can search by line, borough or station.
JOAN BAEZ IS ALIVE by Marc Hundley
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Team Gal
Marc Hundley’s fabricated advertisements take the forms of posters, postcards, flags, and t-shirts that promote poetic moments from a partly imagined past. For this exhibition, Hundley presents a dozen new posters with texts and images culled from ’60s and ’70s era music, fine art, film and literature. These sentimental snapshots provide a mode for Hundley to both catalogue and evaluate personal experiences in retrospect. A folded piece of paper, a handwritten note, a found photograph, a psychedelic album cover, or a poignant lyric — each marks particular events and impressions in a contemplative diary of melodic moments.
Entitled Joan Baez is Alive is a solo presentation by New York based artist Marc Hundley. The exhibition will run from September 15th through October 29th, 2011. Team is located at 83 Grand Street, cross streets Wooster and Greene, on the ground floor. Concurrently, our 47 Wooster Street space will house the one-person exhibition Sculptures: 1973-74 by Vlassis Caniaris.
From Team Gal
Marc Hundley’s fabricated advertisements take the forms of posters, postcards, flags, and t-shirts that promote poetic moments from a partly imagined past. For this exhibition, Hundley presents a dozen new posters with texts and images culled from ’60s and ’70s era music, fine art, film and literature. These sentimental snapshots provide a mode for Hundley to both catalogue and evaluate personal experiences in retrospect. A folded piece of paper, a handwritten note, a found photograph, a psychedelic album cover, or a poignant lyric — each marks particular events and impressions in a contemplative diary of melodic moments.
Entitled Joan Baez is Alive is a solo presentation by New York based artist Marc Hundley. The exhibition will run from September 15th through October 29th, 2011. Team is located at 83 Grand Street, cross streets Wooster and Greene, on the ground floor. Concurrently, our 47 Wooster Street space will house the one-person exhibition Sculptures: 1973-74 by Vlassis Caniaris.
Northeast Farmers Blame Hufficane IRENE for Pumpkin Shortage
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From USA Today
Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches across the region, farmers say.
From USA Today
Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches across the region, farmers say.
Wholesale prices have doubled in some places as farmers nurse their surviving pumpkin plants toward a late harvest. Some farmers are trying to buy pumpkins from other regions to cover orders.
"I think there's going to be an extreme shortage of pumpkins this year," said Darcy Pray, owner of Pray's Family Farms in Keeseville, in upstate New York. "I've tried buying from people down in the Pennsylvania area, I've tried locally here and I've tried reaching across the border to some farmers over in the Quebec area. There's just none around."
Hurricane Irene raked the Northeast in late August, bringing torrents of rain that overflowed rivers and flooded fields along the East Coast and into southern Canada. Pray saw his entire crop, about 15,000 to 20,000 pumpkins, washed into Lake Champlain.
Pro-Israel Politicians Talked Out of Cutting Aid to Palestinian Authority by Netanyahu
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
When the Obama administration wanted to be certain that Congress would not block $50 million in new aid to the Palestinian Authority last month, it turned to a singularly influential lobbyist: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the request of the American Embassy and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Netanyahu urged dozens of members of Congress visiting Israel last month not to object to the aid, according to Congressional and diplomatic officials. Mr. Netanyahu’s intervention with Congress underscored an extraordinary intersection of American diplomacy and domestic politics, the result of an ever-tightening relationship between the Israeli government and the Republican Party that now controls the House.
When the Obama administration wanted to be certain that Congress would not block $50 million in new aid to the Palestinian Authority last month, it turned to a singularly influential lobbyist: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the request of the American Embassy and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Netanyahu urged dozens of members of Congress visiting Israel last month not to object to the aid, according to Congressional and diplomatic officials. Mr. Netanyahu’s intervention with Congress underscored an extraordinary intersection of American diplomacy and domestic politics, the result of an ever-tightening relationship between the Israeli government and the Republican Party that now controls the House.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
THE 2011 NIKE MAG BACK TO THE FUTURE Sneakers
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
THE 2011 NIKE MAG
You are looking at the rarest of Nike Footwear. For 22 years they have existed only in the year 2015 on Marty McFly’s feet. Today they are finally a reality. Famed Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and footwear innovator Tiffany Beers have returned to recreate the footwear legend. Based on an original movie prop used in Back to the Future Part II, the 2011 Nike MAG shoes have been entirely rebuilt and perfected. They feature an electroluminescent outsole, space-age materials and a rechargeable internal battery good for 3,000 hours. And while they are not recommended for playing sports, these highly limited shoes will very likely command attention wherever they are worn.
THE 2011 NIKE MAG
You are looking at the rarest of Nike Footwear. For 22 years they have existed only in the year 2015 on Marty McFly’s feet. Today they are finally a reality. Famed Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and footwear innovator Tiffany Beers have returned to recreate the footwear legend. Based on an original movie prop used in Back to the Future Part II, the 2011 Nike MAG shoes have been entirely rebuilt and perfected. They feature an electroluminescent outsole, space-age materials and a rechargeable internal battery good for 3,000 hours. And while they are not recommended for playing sports, these highly limited shoes will very likely command attention wherever they are worn.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Lil Wayne: “Republicans Are Never Going To Like Us”
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
Rapper Lil Wayne recently shared his thoughts about the Republican debate held on Monday night in an interview with VIBE magazine. The Rapper spoke about health care, and how race plays in President Obama’s presidency.
From News One by The Grio
Rapper Lil Wayne recently shared his thoughts about the Republican debate held on Monday night in an interview with VIBE magazine. The Rapper spoke about health care, and how race plays in President Obama’s presidency.
DC Comics Relaunch of ANIMAL MAN
3rd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Amazon
Product Description - From Grant Morrison, creator of The Invisibles and writer of New X-Men and JLA, comes a classic tale of a man whose struggle to save human lives becomes something more...Buddy Baker is Animal Man, able to take on the characteristics of any creature he touches. After some time away from high-profile heroics, he decides to get back into costume - much to the chagrin of his wife and son - and is soon involved in a series of dangerous and exciting adventures. But Buddy has some decisions to make, and some shocks to come; because for the first time, he's listening to the animals. And he doesn't like what he's hearing...
DC Comics relaunched Animal Man with issue #1 in September 2011 with writer Jeff Lemire and artist Travel Foreman.
DC Comics relaunched Animal Man with issue #1 in September 2011 with writer Jeff Lemire and artist Travel Foreman.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
MISSONI For Target
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From ABC News
Target’s collection of the Italian company Missoni, founded in 1953, is “a hit” according to a Target spokeswoman.
Target calls the launch of its designer Missoni collection a success after shoppers flocked to store for the launch on Tuesday, even reportedly crashing the retailer’s website. Many shoppers found only leftovers at stores that were picked apart before the day ended.
Target calls the launch of its designer Missoni collection a success after shoppers flocked to store for the launch on Tuesday, even reportedly crashing the retailer’s website. Many shoppers found only leftovers at stores that were picked apart before the day ended.
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Sleazy Origin of the Term "Student-Athlete"
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
The Myth of the “Student-Athlete”
Today, much of the NCAA’s moral authority—indeed much of the justification for its existence—is vested in its claim to protect what it calls the “student-athlete.” The term is meant to conjure the nobility of amateurism, and the precedence of scholarship over athletic endeavor. But the origins of the “student-athlete” lie not in a disinterested ideal but in a sophistic formulation designed, as the sports economist Andrew Zimbalist has written, to help the NCAA in its “fight against workmen’s compensation insurance claims for injured football players.”
“We crafted the term student-athlete,” Walter Byers himself wrote, “and soon it was embedded in all NCAA rules and interpretations.” The term came into play in the 1950s, when the widow of Ray Dennison, who had died from a head injury received while playing football in Colorado for the Fort Lewis A&M Aggies, filed for workmen’s-compensation death benefits. Did his football scholarship make the fatal collision a “work-related” accident? Was he a school employee, like his peers who worked part-time as teaching assistants and bookstore cashiers? Or was he a fluke victim of extracurricular pursuits? Given the hundreds of incapacitating injuries to college athletes each year, the answers to these questions had enormous consequences. The Colorado Supreme Court ultimately agreed with the school’s contention that he was not eligible for benefits, since the college was “not in the football business.”
The term student-athlete was deliberately ambiguous. College players were not students at play (which might understate their athletic obligations), nor were they just athletes in college (which might imply they were professionals). That they were high-performance athletes meant they could be forgiven for not meeting the academic standards of their peers; that they were students meant they did not have to be compensated, ever, for anything more than the cost of their studies. Student-athlete became the NCAA’s signature term, repeated constantly in and out of courtrooms.
Using the “student-athlete” defense, colleges have compiled a string of victories in liability cases. On the afternoon of October 26, 1974, the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs were playing the Alabama Crimson Tide in Birmingham, Alabama. Kent Waldrep, a TCU running back, carried the ball on a “Red Right 28” sweep toward the Crimson Tide’s sideline, where he was met by a swarm of tacklers. When Waldrep regained consciousness, Bear Bryant, the storied Crimson Tide coach, was standing over his hospital bed. “It was like talking to God, if you’re a young football player,” Waldrep recalled.
From The Atlantic by Taylor Branch
Today, much of the NCAA’s moral authority—indeed much of the justification for its existence—is vested in its claim to protect what it calls the “student-athlete.” The term is meant to conjure the nobility of amateurism, and the precedence of scholarship over athletic endeavor. But the origins of the “student-athlete” lie not in a disinterested ideal but in a sophistic formulation designed, as the sports economist Andrew Zimbalist has written, to help the NCAA in its “fight against workmen’s compensation insurance claims for injured football players.”
“We crafted the term student-athlete,” Walter Byers himself wrote, “and soon it was embedded in all NCAA rules and interpretations.” The term came into play in the 1950s, when the widow of Ray Dennison, who had died from a head injury received while playing football in Colorado for the Fort Lewis A&M Aggies, filed for workmen’s-compensation death benefits. Did his football scholarship make the fatal collision a “work-related” accident? Was he a school employee, like his peers who worked part-time as teaching assistants and bookstore cashiers? Or was he a fluke victim of extracurricular pursuits? Given the hundreds of incapacitating injuries to college athletes each year, the answers to these questions had enormous consequences. The Colorado Supreme Court ultimately agreed with the school’s contention that he was not eligible for benefits, since the college was “not in the football business.”
The term student-athlete was deliberately ambiguous. College players were not students at play (which might understate their athletic obligations), nor were they just athletes in college (which might imply they were professionals). That they were high-performance athletes meant they could be forgiven for not meeting the academic standards of their peers; that they were students meant they did not have to be compensated, ever, for anything more than the cost of their studies. Student-athlete became the NCAA’s signature term, repeated constantly in and out of courtrooms.
Using the “student-athlete” defense, colleges have compiled a string of victories in liability cases. On the afternoon of October 26, 1974, the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs were playing the Alabama Crimson Tide in Birmingham, Alabama. Kent Waldrep, a TCU running back, carried the ball on a “Red Right 28” sweep toward the Crimson Tide’s sideline, where he was met by a swarm of tacklers. When Waldrep regained consciousness, Bear Bryant, the storied Crimson Tide coach, was standing over his hospital bed. “It was like talking to God, if you’re a young football player,” Waldrep recalled.
The rest of the article can be read here.
Opera Star Silvatore Licitra Dies in Scooter Accident
From The New York Times by ZACHARY WOOLFE
Salvatore Licitra, a tenor with a ringing, powerful voice who rode a sensational surprise Metropolitan Opera debut to dozens of performances with the company, died on Monday in Catania, Sicily, nine days after being severely injured in a motor-scooter accident. He was 43. His death was reported on his Web site, salvatorelicitra.com.
News reports said that Mr. Licitra lost control of his scooter after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on the evening of Aug. 27 near Ragusa, a town where he was to receive a prize on Sept. 3, and sustained severe head injuries. He was not wearing a helmet, Reuters said, and was riding with his girlfriend, who was unhurt in the crash.
Salvatore Licitra, a tenor with a ringing, powerful voice who rode a sensational surprise Metropolitan Opera debut to dozens of performances with the company, died on Monday in Catania, Sicily, nine days after being severely injured in a motor-scooter accident. He was 43. His death was reported on his Web site, salvatorelicitra.com.
News reports said that Mr. Licitra lost control of his scooter after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on the evening of Aug. 27 near Ragusa, a town where he was to receive a prize on Sept. 3, and sustained severe head injuries. He was not wearing a helmet, Reuters said, and was riding with his girlfriend, who was unhurt in the crash.
Genetically Engineered Blue Roses
1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From The Telegraph
The firm [Suntory, a Japanese company] has invested three billion yen in the creation of blue roses, blue carnations and other blue flowers since 1990.
Its scientists successfully pioneered implanting the gene that produces Delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces a blue hue but is not found naturally in roses.
The world's first genetically modified blue roses were created in the laboratory four years ago, although further research was required to make them safe to grow in nature.
Following the cultivation of test batches in the United States and America, the company will be ready to sell them from next year and aims to open up a global market for blue flowers worth an estimated 30 billion yen.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Evan Rachel Wood Got Tooth Knocked Out in Paris
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From TMZ
Evan Rachel Wood took a serious shot to the face last night [September 9, 2011] in Europe. The actress was hanging out with some friends in Paris. One of the dancers at the establishment got a little loose with the elbows -- and accidentally connected with Wood's mouth, knocking out a tooth ... and giving her one fat lip.
From TMZ
Evan Rachel Wood took a serious shot to the face last night [September 9, 2011] in Europe. The actress was hanging out with some friends in Paris. One of the dancers at the establishment got a little loose with the elbows -- and accidentally connected with Wood's mouth, knocking out a tooth ... and giving her one fat lip.
Reese Witherspoon Hit by Car While Jogging
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From Metro
The bruised and battered actress stepped out for the first time to reveal the black eye and an injury to her forehead. The Legally Blonde star, who has recently remarried, was taken to hospital [in Santa Monica] after the accident - where an 85-year-old woman ran her down after failing to give way to her at a pedestrian crossing.
A spokesman for the mother said at the time: 'The actress was not seriously injured and is resting comfortably at home.' After being left ‘really frightened’ by the event, the 35-year-old Oscar winner was all smiles when she turned up with a big pressie for a pal’s birthday in LA.
From Metro
The bruised and battered actress stepped out for the first time to reveal the black eye and an injury to her forehead. The Legally Blonde star, who has recently remarried, was taken to hospital [in Santa Monica] after the accident - where an 85-year-old woman ran her down after failing to give way to her at a pedestrian crossing.
Hotel Le Bleu Charges $2,000 to Hurricane Evacuees
4th NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
A trendy Brooklyn hotel generated a flood of cash from Irene, jacking up the price of a room to $999 a night on Saturday as the powerful storm zeroed in on New York, employees said.
Hotel Le Bleu on Fourth Ave. in Park Slope upped the rates from its typical $250 a night as people poured in looking for a dry place to rest.
"It was just because of high demand," said an employee, who would not give her name. "A lot of hotels did that."But about 10 blocks away, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Third Ave., the rates remained unchanged from the usual $240 a night.
Hotel Le Bleu on Fourth Ave. in Park Slope upped the rates from its typical $250 a night as people poured in looking for a dry place to rest.
"It was just because of high demand," said an employee, who would not give her name. "A lot of hotels did that."But about 10 blocks away, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Third Ave., the rates remained unchanged from the usual $240 a night.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Do Ho Suh's HOME WITHIN HOME @ Lehmann Maupin Gallery
2nd NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix
From LM
Home Within Home, by Do Ho Suh will present a series of works that reflect the artist’s ongoing exploration of themes surrounding cultural displacement and the co-existence of cultural identities, as well as the perception of our surroundings and how one constructs a memory of a space. Suh’s own feeling of displacement when he arrived in the U.S. in 1991 to study at RISD led him to measure spaces in order to establish relationships with his new surroundings. Years later, the artist developed the idea of taking these measurements and using them to replicate and transport spaces. Suh constructs these architectural spaces and the elements within them in various mediums including fabrics, resin, and Styrofoam. Among the works exhibited in this show will be Fallen Star 1/5, Home Within Home, and a series of fabric objects, all personally revealing works which invite viewers into his homes.
Do Ho Suh
Home Within Home
8 September – 22 October, 2011
540 West 26th Street
From LM
Home Within Home, by Do Ho Suh will present a series of works that reflect the artist’s ongoing exploration of themes surrounding cultural displacement and the co-existence of cultural identities, as well as the perception of our surroundings and how one constructs a memory of a space. Suh’s own feeling of displacement when he arrived in the U.S. in 1991 to study at RISD led him to measure spaces in order to establish relationships with his new surroundings. Years later, the artist developed the idea of taking these measurements and using them to replicate and transport spaces. Suh constructs these architectural spaces and the elements within them in various mediums including fabrics, resin, and Styrofoam. Among the works exhibited in this show will be Fallen Star 1/5, Home Within Home, and a series of fabric objects, all personally revealing works which invite viewers into his homes.
Do Ho Suh
Home Within Home
8 September – 22 October, 2011
540 West 26th Street
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
