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31 Jul 2010 18:11

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Music: One-word album reviews: Arcade Fire still greatest band ever

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31 Jul 2010 16:58

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Culture: “The Thief and the Cobbler,” the saddest story in film history

  • In the era of startup culture, there’s much to learn from Richard Williams. Williams, a brilliant, highly respected animator, had a crazy dream to build his own masterpiece, based loosely on Persian culture. Williams started the project in 1968 as a side-project on top of a bunch of other things, and later turned his skill into a gig as animation director for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” which won him a bunch of Oscars. That’s where the trouble began.
  • losing a projectThe film, built around two largely mute characters, was picked up by Warner Bros. in the late 1980s. They eventually grew angry with Williams after he went over deadline and over budget, and dropped out of the project altogether. The insurance company then kicked Williams out of his own project. The heartless bastards! What nerve!
  • blame “ALaddin”At the time that “Thief” had been pulled out from under Williams, a movie greatly inspired by his work was being produced by Disney. “Aladdin” was a monster success. When “Thief” was finally released as “Arabian Knight” in 1995, it was loaded with unnecessary dialogue, terrible songs, and cheap, awful animation. And it bombed.
  • legacy and lessons“Thief,” a massive failure that Williams doesn’t talk about anymore, has been re-cut by a fan (see above), but it’s not the same. If you ever needed proof that sometimes money ruins great things, here you go. Protect your ideas. Protect their integrity. Fight for their creative purity. It can be taken away like that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 16:15

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U.S.: Judge Susan Bolton isn’t alone; threats going up in federal courts

  • 1,300 number of threats U.S. Marshals reported in 2009 alone
  • 592 number of threats U.S. Marshals reported six years earlier source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 16:08

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U.S.: Arizona immigration law: Susan Bolton’s getting a lot of death threats

  • She has been inundated. About 99.9 percent of the inappropriate comments are people venting. They are exercising their First Amendment rights, and a lot of it is perverted. But it’s that 0.1 percent that goes over the line that we are taking extra seriously.
  • U.S. Marshal David Gonzales • Noting the torrent of rage that has hit U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton since she struck down major parts of the Arizona immigration law a couple of days ago. Gonzales says that, despite the death threats, she’s holding up OK: “She’s tough as nails. She takes this as all part of her job.” source
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31 Jul 2010 15:12

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Offbeat: Washing machine + brick = Somehow the funniest thing ever

  • Poor washing machine. It didn’t even know what hit it. The key moment here hits at the 55-second mark, and it somehow adds a human element to the nature of washing machine destruction. LOL. It just turns into a jittering mess. source
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31 Jul 2010 12:26

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U.S.: “Million Teacher March” rally in Florida oversells itself a little bit

  • 25 people showed up to protest teacher pay source
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31 Jul 2010 11:17

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Politics: Maxine Waters in the same congressional ethics boat as Rangel

Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, reportedly had improper chats with an executive at a bank her hubby owned stock in – while it was asking for a bailout. source
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31 Jul 2010 11:09

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Tech: Guy behind Human Genome Project: It’s “useless information”

  • We have, in truth, learned nothing from the genome other than probabilities. How does a 1 or 3 percent increased risk for something translate into the clinic? It is useless information.
  • Human Genome Project researcher Craig Venter • Regarding the end result (as of right now) of all the work he did with the Human Genome Project. “We couldn’t even be certain from my genome what my eye color was,” he also claims. “Isn’t that sad?” These are harsh words because of the fact that he spent so much of his life working on this project. But it doesn’t mean it’s a total wash – Venter is looking to use his history in genetic research to help create new forms of energy. Which, let’s face it, would be cool. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 10:57

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World: Monsoon season taking a tough toll on Pakistan, Afghanistan

Pakistani officials claim that the death toll from the heavy rains has topped 800, and Afghanistan says another 64 have died in their country. Holy crap. source
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31 Jul 2010 10:38

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Politics: Posted without comment: Pastor behind Quran-burning event

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