Hackneyed.

Audio

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:22:44 -0400

Teens Flee Facebook Citing "Too Much Drama," Mostly Caused by Allie M.

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:49:25 -0400

Teens Flee Facebook Citing "Too Much Drama," Mostly Caused by Allie M.:

The study found that while the number of teens active on social media who use Facebook has remained flat since last year (94%), the percentage with a Twitter account has more than doubled since 2011, to 26% (up from 12%). The amount of time Allie M. spends gossiping on Facebook about people’s boyfriends like she knows them has increased 1000%.

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:42:49 -0400

"That was a “totally different” situation, Inhofe told MSNBC, arguing that the Sandy aid was filled..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:40:14 -0400

“That was a “totally different” situation, Inhofe told MSNBC, arguing that the Sandy aid was filled with pork. There were “things in the Virgin Islands. They were fixing roads there and putting roofs on houses in Washington, D.C.”
“Everyone was getting in and exploiting the tragedy that took place,” he said. “That won’t happen in Oklahoma.””

- Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.): Tornado aid ‘totally different’ from Hurricane Sandy aid

Totes different, you guys.

The Gay Bechdel Test: Why Hollywood Needs to Expand Its Representation of LGBT Characters

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:39:00 -0400

The Gay Bechdel Test: Why Hollywood Needs to Expand Its Representation of LGBT Characters:

tylercoates:

Here’s a thing I wrote!

David Sedaris's Sorta-Secret Side Career as a Speech Writer for High Schoolers

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:27:52 -0400

David Sedaris's Sorta-Secret Side Career as a Speech Writer for High Schoolers:

“Over the years I’ve met quite a few teenagers who participate in what is called ‘Forensics,’” he writes. “Students take published short stories and essays, edit them down to a predetermined length, and recite them competitively. To that end, as part of the ‘Etc.’ in this book’s subtitle, I have written six brief monologues that young people might deliver before a panel of judges. I believe these stories should be self-evident. They’re the pieces in which I am a woman, a father, and a sixteen-year-old girl with a fake British accent.”

I was introduced to Sedaris by the girl I had the biggest crush on in my entire life. She was sitting on the floor reading Naked during our forensics regionals.

Rumplebomb

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:09:00 -0400

Rumplebomb

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:08:00 -0400

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:08:00 -0400

Global Villiage

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:08:00 -0400

Global Villiage

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Wed, 15 May 2013 08:14:53 -0400

latimes: Justice Department secretly taps into AP reporters’...

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:17:18 -0400

latimes:

Justice Department secretly taps into AP reporters’ phone records

In a surprising declaration a short time ago, the Associated Press revealed that the Justice Department had obtained two months of phone records tied to numerous reporters and editors in various cities, in what the news organization is calling a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.”

The reason for the government’s actions, which the AP was alerted to in a letter Friday, are as of now unknown.

From the Associated Press’ story on the emerging scandal:

In all, the government seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.

AP’s President and CEO, Gary Pruitt, issued a strongly-worded letter to Attorney General Eric Holder:

We regard this action by the Department of Justice as a serious interference with AP’s constitutional rights to gather and report the news. While we evaluate our options we urgently request that you immediately return to the AP the telephone toll records that the Department subpoenaed and destroy all copies.

Read the full story via Politics Now.

Photo: Molly Riley / Associated Press

Video

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:50:00 -0400

Audio

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:15:23 -0400

kfan: Today I wrote about Amanda Bynes & The Internet Teens...

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:22:27 -0400

kfan:

Today I wrote about Amanda Bynes & The Internet Teens saving the world with their selfies.

For more good writing about selfie culture and how we treat women both online and off, read what Lily wrote on Grimes, Amanda Bynes, and Being Seen.

The Sublime Cluelessness of Throwing Lavish Great Gatsby...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:03:00 -0400

The Sublime Cluelessness of Throwing Lavish Great Gatsby Parties

Yet so many people seem enchanted enough by the decadence described in Fitzgerald’s book to ignore its fairly obvious message of condemnation. Gatsby parties can be found all over town. They are staples of spring on many Ivy League campuses and a frequent theme of galas in Manhattan. Just the other day, vacation rental startup Airbnb sent out invitations to a “Gatsby-inspired soiree” at a multi-million-dollar home on Long Island, seemingly oblivious to the novel’s undertones.

theatlantic:

It’s like throwing a Lolita-themed children’s birthday party.

"Kids these days..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:54:00 -0400

"Kids these days..."

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Mon, 06 May 2013 23:44:21 -0400

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Sun, 05 May 2013 06:27:00 -0400

"Roger, I made my first film in total isolation with non-actors and a nickel. It miraculously found..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 20:09:30 -0400

“Roger, I made my first film in total isolation with non-actors and a nickel. It miraculously found its way to Venice, Sundance, and tiny art-house audiences. But then you came, held the door wide open and asked the mass of people to look. You changed everything for me, my films and my future.”

- Ebert’s Last Interview: A Letter from Ramin Bahrani