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12 Apr 2010 08:53

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U.S.: Doctors seem more willing to let you turn on, tune in, drop out

  • All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating. Imagine you fall off a boat out in the open ocean, and you turn around, and the boat is gone. And then the water’s gone. And then you’re gone.
  • Retired psychologist Dr. Clark Martin • Regarding the psychedelic experience he had which he says cured his long-lasting depression. Now that doctors have had a good 40 years of distance from the hippies (but not the bizarro hippies), it appears that doctors are willing to give the drugs another try in a controlled setting. The studies have been on a small scale so far, but the results appear promising. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Apr 2010 08:51

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Biz, Tech: Palm-reading: The phone maker’s putting itself up for sale

  • What a sucky ending for a cool comeback story. A year ago, Palm looked like it had realistic potential to take on the iPhone in the market. Now, it’s a completely different story. The Pre is a good phone. WebOS is a good system. But now the company and its dwindling stock price are going up for sale, according to Bloomberg. The company has been burning through $80 million every three months just to keep up with Apple and Google. It’s not sustainable. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 23:43

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Politics: Max Headroom: Newser’s Michael Wolff misses the point of short

  • We’ve been following the Newser/the wrap tiff with great interest. Because we find the whole thing silly. Today, the conflict took a turn for the insane, with poor Howard Kurtz right in the middle. As fellow ShortFormers, we agree with Michael Wolff’s ideals, but the problem lies with his execution. There’s no respect for the content. (Although we feel Sharon Waxman’s rules of the road are a bit extreme.)

  • the conflict First off, we want to encourage everyone to go to Mediaite for more context. (Their clips are great. Their embeds, not so much. Please fix this, guys. We love you!) Anyway, it’s clear what’s happening here. Waxman asks for something reasonable (fair attribution that encourages further reading on her site). Wolff bites her head off. Ouch!

  • Newser‘s Goals Recently, Wolff was trying to make his arguments about the shortening of content on GRITtv, and on their face, we totally agree with them. Problem is, it seems like he’s done this in a self-serving way. Look, Michael, we like short, too, but respect the sites you’re pulling from. In the long term, this lack of respect only hurts you.

  • The Wrap‘s goals This promotional video made near the time of The Wrap’s launch shows similarly lofty goals for Waxman’s brand of entertainment journalism. Seems to us there’s room for both Waxman’s ideas and Wolff’s. The problem, it seems to us, is that Newser seems to lack respect for Waxman’s work. Yo, Michael – make deals, not enemies.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 22:57

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U.S.: A Catholic sex-abuse conflict that DOESN’T involve the Pope

  • The church didn’t recognize that this bill makes improvements. The victims  – their lives have been changed and some will never recover from years of sexual abuse. For me, it’s about giving them access to the courts.
  • Connecticut Rep. Beth Bye • Regarding a sex-abuse limitations bill running through the state legislature. The bill would allow those with concrete abuse claims access to the courts. Much like everything else Catholic-Church-sex-abuse related nowadays, the Church is in strong defensive mode and telling parishioners to fight against the bill. Bye says the bill makes improvements – for example, someone older than 48 making a claim has to join a case led by someone younger than 48, and show substantial proof of abuse. Oh, and the bill isn’t focused on the Catholic Church at all – it just affects them most because they’re in the news. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 22:44

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World: Thailand PM’s best plan to calm Red Shirts: Early elections

  • After Saturday, it may not be enough, though. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who’s been feeling lots of pressure of late thanks to the Red Shirts, is considering moving the parliamentary elections up three months in a bid to save his job. Unfortunately for him, the Red Shirts are in no mood to negotiate, after 21 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the violent protests on Saturday. “We don’t negotiate with murderers,” said Red Shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn. “We have to keep fighting.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 21:39

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Offbeat: Tactical Nuclear Penguin: Incredibly strong beer landing stateside

  • This beer could make you drunk, fast. That’s because it has an unheard-of 32 percent alcohol by volume, which is six times as strong as your average crap beer. The Scottish beer is so strong that includes this entertaining warning label: “This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.” Julius has already had a six-pack. Over the span of a month. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 21:14

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Culture: #justinbiebersucks: Finally, a trending topic we can get behind



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Apr 2010 21:05

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Tech: Twitter app developers starting to get annoyed by the mothership

  • When we launched, Twitter was incomplete, so developers rushed to fill those holes, but eventually we’re going to have to build a lot of features in because they should be there. We want to set those expectations.
  • Twitter co-founder and chief executive Evan Williams • Regarding the company’s push to build out that infrastructure that app developers had previously built out for the company. Now that the company’s large enough to buy or build some of those apps themselves, it’s causing a bit of nervousness amongst developers. Many are excited about/dreading Twitter’s Chirp conference this week as a result. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 21:05

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Culture: Clash of the Whining: Box-office results disputed for some reason

  • $27.1
    million     amount the non-3D “Date Night” made in its first week in theaters;
    their studio’s happy
  • $26.9
    million     amount the 3D “Clash of the Titans” made in its second week; their studio’s complaining source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 20:30

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World: The EU throws Greece a few bones so they can pay next month’s rent

  • €45 billion in loans; that’s $61 billion for Amer’kans source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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