Watching the Watchers

Coroner: Andrew Breitbart Died of Heart Failure

Rogers Cadenhead — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:44:18 -0400

Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart died March 1 of "heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with focal coronary atherosclerosis," the Los Angeles Coroner's Office announced Friday afternoon. "No prescription or illicit drugs were detected," the office announced in a press release.

Villains & Vigilantes Creators Sue Game's Publisher

M. R. Yates — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:25:50 -0400

An epic battle is underway over one of the oldest super-hero roleplaying games, but sadly it won't be settled by muscle-bound men in tights. The creators of the game Villains & Vigilantes, Jeff Dee and Jack Herman, have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Scott Bizar, the longtime publisher of the game. The suit, filed July 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claims that Bizar has no right to publish the game or any related products and illegally profits from their sale.

Mike Huckabee's Distortions of U.S. History

Robin Marie — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:33:33 -0400

Mike Huckabee went on The Daily Show last night and said some remarkably ignorant things about the history of the Constitution and what he refers to as the views of secularists. In a discussion on the well-worn debate about whether or not the founders intended America to be a "Christian Country," Huckabee claims all conservatives like him want is a recognition that most of the founders were Christian. I don't know of a single atheist who would deny that the majority of the founders were professed Christians.

SFO Welcomes Virginâ€™s New Look, Virgin America Welcomes Travelers with Sale

Hipster Travel Guide Staff — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:20:09 -0400

Virgin America, the only California-based US airline, opened up its new terminal in San Francisco Wednesday to all of the hoopla we've grown accustomed to with the hippest fliers in the country. Terminal 2, known as T2, will host Virgin as the anchor airline and the terminal's new look (it's actually been around for more than 60 years) is strictly got Virgin in mind throughout. The 640,000 square foot terminal is also the first LEED platinum certified terminal in the country â€” giving it some eco-goodness that no other terminal can currently enjoy. "As a new airline we've been able to use the latest in technology, design and sustainable practices to enhance the traveler experience, and we hope elevate the journey beyond just getting from Point A to Point B," said David Cush, President and Chief Executive Officer of Virgin America. "We're proud to unveil a new home that similarly reinvents the travel experience for the modern flyer -- and that also reflects the innovative,

History, Culture, and the Brain

Robin Marie — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:57:39 -0400

I recently watched the debate between apologist William Lane Craig and historian Bart Ehrman on the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. As a historian in training, I naturally take special interest in this particular issue. My overall impression after watching the debate is that Craig lacks an understanding (willful or not) of the quality of his sources, the complexity of human psychology, and the power of culture, particularly when it comes to theological impulses.

Rolf Potts is a Travel God

Hipster Travel Guide Staff — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:54:27 -0400

Until this morning, we have never heard of Rolf Potts -- but after reading a short CNN story about him, we have promoted him to Travel God. Potts, 40, according to the CNN story is not a person who talks about traveling, he talks about traveling while he's traveling. The CNN piece discusses Potts theory about time-wealth â€” a commodity we have all heard about but Potts understands.

What Professional Orchestras Should Learn from YouTube

David Cutler — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:28:42 -0400

These days, when symphony orchestras make national news, the topic is usually not a happy one. Yet one group has received a very different kind of coverage: the YouTube Symphony Orchestra (YTSO). Culminating in a performance at Australia's Sidney Opera House on March 20, 2011, this experiment has generated unprecedented buzz and excitement.

Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door

Tom Beasley — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:51:06 -0400

Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door aired last night at 8pm on CNN. The CNN Belief blog has an additional perspective to highlight the segment. Ivy, an American, converted to Islam and began to wear the hijab. She had the following to say about the experience: "I feel like I have more respect. Before, I could be pumping gas in my car and some guy would whistle or make some type of catcall. It was an uncomfortable situation," she said... When you put on a scarf ... [you] know that people can't look at you as a sexual object."

Zunes Critiques War on Libya

Eric Stoner — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:55:04 -0400

As always, Stephen Zunes' writings on US policy toward the Middle East and nonviolent action are some of the most thorough and informative out there, and his articles on the situation in Libya are no exception. At the end of February, he wrote this in-depth piece on the history of US-Libyan relations, which I found very helpful, and more recently he had a great critique of the concepts of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and humanitarian intervention.

Disarm Now Plowshares Receive Sentencing

Bryan Farrell — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:27:20 -0400

The five Disarm Now Plowshares activists who infiltrated Kitsap-Bangor Naval Base in Washington to symbolically disarm the nuclear weapons stored there received sentences yesterday ranging from six to 15 months confinement. With the action having taken place in November 2009, this decision has been a long time coming.

How Not to Kill an Idea

Gabriel SaldaÃƒÂ±a — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 07:39:21 -0400

Sometime ago, I came across this image on a blog, 8 ways to kill an idea. These are all clever and very real ways to kill an idea on the work environment. But it made me think of way's I've killed an idea, on a personal level, and I realized its missing a nine-nth one: Not writing it down.

Restore Samsung Galaxy S to Original ROM

Gabriel SaldaÃƒÂ±a — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:02:29 -0400

Two weeks ago, I messed up my Galaxy S phone. I was having trouble with the back key activating by itself without touching it. As I've said before, I use Darky's ROM instead of the crappy Samsung/Telcel default one. So searching for a possible solution, I found out that you could update your touchkeys firmware.

Social Presuppositions in a Thermostat

Ed — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:59:12 -0400

I just bought a dauntingly complicated fancy-pants touch screen thermostat for our house. But Honeywell has encoded so many social presuppositions (into a thermostat!) that I can't believe they're able to sell them. The device assumes that you have a regular daily schedule with wake up times, departure times, return times, and sleep times. It lets you adjust those times and the heating/cooling temperatures that you want for the different times.

Have a Good What?

Al Vinikour — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:56:49 -0400

The other day my wife and I were in the mood for some classic Italian food so we went to the Olive Garden -- because when we're there, we're family. We had to wait for a little while and we sat on a bench near the hostess. As customers would leave, invariably saying, "Good bye," I noticed she said the exact thing to all of them..."Have a good one." I kicked that around my feral brain for a while and then mentioned it to my wife. We both tried to put a finishing touch on what she wanted these people to have a good one of.

Why War on Libya Is Wrong

Eric Stoner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:35:47 -0400

Should we or should we not support war on Libya? This question is being seriously posed by many on the left and in the progressive world, and I've honestly been quite surprised by who has gotten behind the use of military force. At the end of one particularly nasty piece, after telling a story about how terrible Qaddafi is, Juan Cole, whose analysis I often like, wrote: "Payback is a bitch." Even Phil Weiss of Mondoweiss has written of his mixed feelings on the attack. How people who are so knowledgeable about US foreign policy can buy in to the humanitarian argument for war is beyond me.