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13 Feb 2012 15:26

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Culture: Having too many Facebook friends can make you depressed

  • 354Facebook friends ought to be your limit source
  • » There’s nothing wrong with denying that friend request: A recent study presented at the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology meeting asked a group of participants to check their friend’s status updates. After doing so, they rated their lives as “much less satisfying” than a group that didn’t check their news feed. They looked at how many friends the users had, and found that 354 friends was roughly the point at which reading status updates started making them sad. The theory is that status updates often paint a disproportionately positive picture of peoples’ lives. Readers of said updates compare their own lives to those represented in status updates, and figure that they’re having a lot less fun than everybody else. The solution, then, is to either clean up your friends list, or befriend a bunch of depressed misanthropes.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2012 10:28

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Culture: Autopsy inconclusive: Coroner’s officials don’t know how Whitney died

Despite claims from TMZ that her death may have been an overdose, officials say it’s too early to tell if that was the case. She may have also drowned in the bathtub inside her hotel room. Officials say there were no signs of trauma. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2012 11:59

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Culture, Sports, U.S.: Jeremy Lin lights up Lakers, sets new team record for Knicks

  • 89 points scored by Jeremy Lin during his first three starts with the New York Knicks this week
  • 80 points scored by former team record-holder Bill Cartwright in his first three starts, way back in 1979-1980 source
  • » What can’t he do? With a solid showing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, including a career-high 38 points scored, Jeremy Lin set a new Knicks team record (EDIT: And league record) for the most points scored by a player in their first three starts since the NBA-ABA merger. He’s also one game away from matching Lebron James’ — 20 point, 5 assist, 50 percent shooting — four-game performance streak, the longest streak by any player this season.
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2012 11:10

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Culture, Politics: Bill Murray: Is he a Closet Libertarian?

  • I think we ought to be personally responsible.
  • Bill Murray • Speaking during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” The actor made clear that he believed we should all help ourselves and any others we can. Saying that many people forget America is a “pioneer country”, Murray stopped short of condemning the social safety net; however, he did say that “we’ve sort of gotten used to someone looking out for us”, though we apparently shouldn’t, because some people are simply  “compost for the whole planet.” The interview left many wondering, is Bill Murray a closet Libertarian? source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2012 18:33

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Culture: George Lucas speaks out on Han vs. Greedo

  • The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo (who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original) to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom… Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.
  • George Lucas • Addressing one of the biggest fan complaints relating to his serial re-tinkering of Star Wars. There’s two main points here that we somewhat object to: first, Lucas claims that people who thought Han Solo fired his blaster before Greedo did in the original cut of Star Wars were mistaken, and that it was merely unclear that Greedo fired due to the framing of the shot. We’d suggest this is flatly, evidently not the case by any reasoned examination of the original scene. Also, Lucas seems to paint those who’d prefer Han to have fired first as wanting their beloved space-smuggler to be a “cold-blooded killer,” an idea we suspect many would dispute. There’s a difference between being a cold-blooded killer and being unwilling to let every backwoods bounty hunter get a shot off at you before you fire back, isn’t there? But, we digress — what do you think? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Feb 2012 11:11

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Culture: Rapper Ja Rule’s best buds behind bars: Disgraced rich guys

  • Outside, you don’t meet guys like this every day. This place is amazing.
  • Rapper Ja Rule • Discussing his time in prison, where he’s in the middle of a two-year prison sentence for gun possession and tax evasion. The “guys like this” he’s referring to are disgraced Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and Alan Hevesi, a  New York state politician who went to jail over a “pay to play” scheme involving the New York state pension system. Ja Rule, who will be releasing an album later this month despite his prison sentence, has been working on taking college-level courses behind bars after getting encouragement from Hevesi and Kozlowski to pursue higher education. “It’s funny,” the rapper said. “We’re from totally different walks of life. But when you’re here, you’re here.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2012 14:59

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Culture: Soul Train’s biggest fan? Questlove looks back on Don Cornelius

  • “im just kinda writing from the heart”: The news of Don Cornelius’ death today has sparked many reflections on the man’s career, and lasting societal impact. Soul Train holds a significant place in the many people’s hearts for presenting a celebration of not just black artists, but identity as well, and Cornelius himself was the core of that. Perhaps the best tribute we’ve read on the subject comes from Questlove, and we urge you to read the full piece. “Soul Train to me is the GREATEST creation and inspiration of my life… i will NEVER EVER forget its powerful impact on education on pride on creativity on culture and on me. i love you don.” (Photo on left by Naoharu; photo on right by Questlove, showing his huge selection of hard drives full of old Soul Train episodes, which he says he brings with him everywhere.) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

31 Jan 2012 00:12

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Culture: Ferris Bueller Sells Out: Matthew Broderick’s Super Bowl ad

  • Bueller … Bueller … So, question for you all — is it awesome that Matthew Broderick’s reliving his faux-childhood memories, or just sad? “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” came out a solid 25 and a half years ago, and is arguably his crowning achievement (though “The Producers” on Broadway comes close). This early Super Bowl ad, which openly references “Bueller,” albeit with some modern touches, should remind you of two things: Matthew Broderick is going to be 50 in a little over a month, and a Honda CR-V is not a Ferrari. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? (By the way, when you’re done with this, Jerry Seinfeld also has a past-referencing car ad.) source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2012 23:22

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Culture: Joe Paterno’s memorial service: A strong defense against a grave offense

  • Paterno, remembered: During Thursday’s memorial service, numerous speakers remembered the longtime Penn State figure’s life, and his time as a coach, with great reverence, showing respect for the man at a time when his legacy has been clouded by controversy. Speaker after speaker — family, friends, and disciples — spoke reverently of him, emphasizing a legacy that goes far beyond that of an unspeakable scandal, one that improved many lives and the scope of a university. Perhaps none said it better than Nike chairman Phil Knight: “If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation, and not in Joe Paterno’s response.” Penn State football, under Paterno, was known for its great defense; the defenders came out strong Thursday. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2012 10:52

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Culture: Obviously: People trying to sell free Joe Paterno memorial tickets on eBay

  • 16,000 number of free tickets given out for Joe Paterno’s memorial, which happens this afternoon
  • $98,000 the amount some of the tickets have gone for on eBay — before eBay took the sales down source
  • » Greed over grieving: With Paterno so highly regarded in the Penn State community, it only makes sense that there’s a lot of demand for these tickets. “It took only minutes more for pairs of the tickets to start showing up on eBay,” the Centre Daily Times pointed out. But, thing is, eBay has a rule where you can’t sell tickets you got for free for money. So many of the ticket sales got taken down. Suggestion to all: Don’t sell tickets for a memorial. A guy died. It’s not the Super Bowl. (Thanks Time’s Moneyland for the tip)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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