interesting things
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan star in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
via Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/great-gatsby/review/451988?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Fnews+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Top+Stories%29
A Brooklyn Heights playground was renamed to Adam Yauch Park today, in honor of the dearly departed Beastie Boy.
[via]
via Newsweek http://newsweek.tumblr.com/post/49519836126/a-brooklyn-heights-playground-was-renamed-to-adam
On the eve of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, in which up to 70,000 people with guns gather in Houston, Texas, under the slogan “Stand and Fight,” the gun group has announced a new president who is more extreme than the old president. Jim Porter, whose father was also an NRA president, will begin his two-year term on Monday, after the party. For some insight into how dealing with the gun lobby in the near future will be, please refer to this 2012 speech from Porter, in which he calls Barack Obama a “fake president.”
“The NRA was started, 1871, right here in New York state. It was started by some Yankee generals who didn’t like the way my southern boys had the ability to shoot in what we call the ‘War of Northern Aggression,'” he told the New York Rifle & Pistol Association in a little history lesson. “Now, y’all might call it the Civil War, but we call it the War of Northern Aggression down south.”
Porter went on to explain that “one of our most greatest charges that we can have today, is to train the civilian in the use of the standard military firearm, so that when they have to fight for their country they’re ready to do it. Also, when they’re ready to fight tyranny, they’re ready to do it. Also, when they’re ready to fight tyranny, they have the wherewithal and the weapons to do it.”
The nutty Wayne LaPierre will remain the group’s main mouthpiece, but this man sounds like he knows how to turn up the crazy, too.
Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli
Filed Under:
guns
,jim porter
,national rifle association
,gun control
via Daily Intelligencer http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/new-nra-president-jim-porter-civil-war.html
The “Reliable Sources” host will address the controversy on Sunday’s program.
via Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/howard-kurtz-status-at-cnn-451581?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Fnews+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Top+Stories%29
CNN “Reliable Sources†host Howard Kurtz may not have a job at The Daily Beast anymore, but he still has his CNN hosting gig… for now. A CNN spokesperson tells THR:
“There has been no status change with Howard Kurtz, he remains the host of Reliable Sources,†said a network spokesperson on Friday. “He will address this issue on the program this weekend.â€
We heard from a CNN source yesterday that Kurtz’s future at the network is up in the air. Since then, we have heard from others, who say that Kurtz is on a week-to-week contract with the channel.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
via TVNewser http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/howard-kurtz-status-unchanged-at-cnn_b177926
During a longer mediation on the economics of journalism, Rohin Dhar passes along some fascinating research on the subject:
In 2010 Berkeley researchers performed an experiment selling souvenir photos to people after they rode a roller coaster. They tried 4 different pricing schemes. The first was a flat fee of $12.95 for the photo. The second was a flat fee of $12.95 for the photo, but half the money went to charity. The third was to pay what you want for the photo. The final scheme was to pay what you want for the photo, with half the money going to charity.
Allowing people to name their own price was a complete disaster. Everyone lowballed the researchers. But when customers paid what they wanted and half the money went to charity, the researchers raked in money. It generated 3X more revenue per rider than any other option. Adding a charity component to the flat fee had basically no effect on whether someone would buy it.
When people can pay what they want, this experiments indicates it helps if there is a worthy cause attached to it. In that case, it works well. Otherwise, customers will choose to pay almost nothing.
For four hundred years, rumors have persisted that when all other options were exhausted, the settlers cannibalized the dead. This week, anthropologists revealed the first physical evidence.
via The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/05/cannibalism-at-jamestown.html
Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus, is set return to live in the Vatican on Thursday afternoon, beginning an unprecedented cohabitation: a retired pontiff living alongside a reigning one.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/world/europe/pope-emeritus-benedict-to-take-up-residence-at-vatican.html
Hotel executive and Obama donor Penny Pritzker will nominated for Commerce secretary today. Pritzker, the Tribune notes, “has had rocky relations with labor unions,” which is one way of putting it. Another way: “Penny Pritzker has a long and storied history as an anti-labor and anti-worker kind of boss.”
via Gawker http://gawker.com/hotel-executive-and-obama-donor-penny-pritzker-will-nom-486932856
ZINTAN, Libya (AP) — The imprisoned son of Libya’s slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi appeared in court on Thursday on charges of harming state security, but the judge adjourned his hearing until Sept. 19 to allow defense lawyers time to study the case.
via Yahoo! News – Latest News & Headlines http://news.yahoo.com/gadhafis-son-appears-court-case-postponed-094012947.html