I haven't loved Russell Brand's screen persona. He does his same drunk English celebrity guy in every role I've seen (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, and I skipped Arthur). He also plays that role in all the interview shows I've seen him on. However, I saw him interviewed in the documentary series Monty Python: Almost the Truth and thought he was very clever and insightful. I wish that Russell Brand would show up more.
Well that Russell Brand wrote an article in The Guardian UK riots: Big Brother isn't watching you "Dismissing rioters as mindless is futile rhetoric. However unacceptable the UK riots, we need to ask why they are happening" I thought the bulk of it was interesting, though it falls apart at the end where he says he has no solutions and we should all just get along.
"As you have by now surely noticed, I don't know enough about politics to ponder a solution and my hands are sticky with blood money from representing corporate interests through film, television and commercials, venerating, through my endorsements and celebrity, products and a lifestyle that contributes to the alienation of an increasingly dissatisfied underclass. But I know, as we all intuitively know, the solution is all around us and it isn't political, it is spiritual. Gandhi said: 'Be the change you want to see in the world.'"
Still if you want to see another side of Russell Brand, it's worth a read.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Disney Shoots Down ‘The Lone Ranger’ Over $200 Million+ Budget
The Playlist wrote Disney Shoots Down ‘The Lone Ranger’ Over $200 Million+ Budget "Disney has pulled the plug on the long-gestating, top priority “The Lone Ranger.” Why? Apparently, for reasons we can’t fathom, the filmmakers couldn’t bring the budget down to $200 million, a price tag Disney was willing to live with. Instead, the costs started at $250 million and while brought down to $232 million, the budget wasn’t trimmed enough so Disney simply said, “No thanks.” But seriously, what the fuck were they spending that money on?"
I agree.
I agree.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
GOP Candidates
Timothy Egan wrote a pretty scathing, Rick Perry's Unanswered Prayers. "A few months ago, with Texas aflame from more than 8,000 wildfires brought on by extreme drought, a man who hopes to be the next president took pen in hand and went to work: 'Now, therefore, I, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas.'"
"In the four months since Perry’s request for divine intervention, his state has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Nearly all of Texas is now in “extreme or exceptional” drought, as classified by federal meteorologists, the worst in Texas history."
Glenn Kessler takes down Michele Bachmann’s inaccurate recounting of the debt-ceiling saga.
"In the four months since Perry’s request for divine intervention, his state has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Nearly all of Texas is now in “extreme or exceptional” drought, as classified by federal meteorologists, the worst in Texas history."
Glenn Kessler takes down Michele Bachmann’s inaccurate recounting of the debt-ceiling saga.
Depressing Climate Change News
The New York Times reported that July Was the Fourth-Warmest on Record.
The Times also wrote an editorial, Climate Change and the Plight of the Whitebark Pine. "Most of the whitebark pines in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are dead. It has been declared an endangered species in Canada. And, last week, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the whitebark pine “warranted” listing as threatened or endangered, making it one of the very few species officially acknowledged as threatened by climate change."
"Historically, the pine’s defense against the beetle is living where conditions are too cold for it — at high altitude or at high latitudes. But as the climate warms, that defense has failed catastrophically."
"The cascading effects of the white bark’s decline are already apparent. Grizzly bears, which feed heavily on pine seeds, have begun to disperse from their core habitat. When the pines were healthy, they also slowed snowmelt and reduced erosion."
The Times also wrote an editorial, Climate Change and the Plight of the Whitebark Pine. "Most of the whitebark pines in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are dead. It has been declared an endangered species in Canada. And, last week, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the whitebark pine “warranted” listing as threatened or endangered, making it one of the very few species officially acknowledged as threatened by climate change."
"Historically, the pine’s defense against the beetle is living where conditions are too cold for it — at high altitude or at high latitudes. But as the climate warms, that defense has failed catastrophically."
"The cascading effects of the white bark’s decline are already apparent. Grizzly bears, which feed heavily on pine seeds, have begun to disperse from their core habitat. When the pines were healthy, they also slowed snowmelt and reduced erosion."
NASA After the Space Shuttle
NASA After the Space Shuttle has some great pics. "Now that the final space shuttle has landed, many thousands involved with it have lost their jobs, and budget cuts loom, I thought it would be interesting to have a look at the other projects NASA has been working on recently, and what will be keeping the agency busy in the coming years. There has been a flurry of discoveries and firsts just this year alone, as scientists have discovered a fourth moon around Pluto, and a spacecraft has entered orbit around the asteroid Vesta for the first time. Earlier this month the spacecraft Juno launched toward Jupiter, while workers prepared the next Mars rover, Curiosity, for launch by the end of this year. All of this on top of supporting existing missions to the sun, Mercury, Earth, Mars, Saturn and more. Collected here is just a small recent sampling of NASA's far-reaching projects and missions. [33 photos]"
How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans
"Mickey Edwards spent 16 years in Congress and 16 years teaching at Harvard and Princeton. He is a director of The Constitution Project and wrote Reclaiming Conservatism." He wrote in the last Atlantic, How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans.
"I am not calling for a magical political “center”: many of the most important steps forward in our history have not come from the center at all, including women’s suffrage and the civil-rights movement, and even our founding rebellion against the British crown. Nor am I pleading for consensus: consensus is not possible in a diverse nation of 300 million people (compromise is the essential ingredient in legislative decision-making). And I’m not pushing for harmony: democracy depends on vigorous debate among competing views. The problem is not division but partisanship—advantage-seeking by private clubs whose central goal is to win political power. There are different ways to conduct elections and manage our government—and strengthen the democratic process. Here are some suggestions designed to turn our political system on its head, so that people, not parties, control our government."
I think I agree with all of his suggestions.
"I am not calling for a magical political “center”: many of the most important steps forward in our history have not come from the center at all, including women’s suffrage and the civil-rights movement, and even our founding rebellion against the British crown. Nor am I pleading for consensus: consensus is not possible in a diverse nation of 300 million people (compromise is the essential ingredient in legislative decision-making). And I’m not pushing for harmony: democracy depends on vigorous debate among competing views. The problem is not division but partisanship—advantage-seeking by private clubs whose central goal is to win political power. There are different ways to conduct elections and manage our government—and strengthen the democratic process. Here are some suggestions designed to turn our political system on its head, so that people, not parties, control our government."
I think I agree with all of his suggestions.
The Brain on Trial
The Atlantic had an interesting article last month, The Brain on Trial "Advances in brain science are calling into question the volition behind many criminal acts. A leading neuroscientist describes how the foundations of our criminal-justice system are beginning to crumble, and proposes a new way forward for law and order."
He talks about a couple of specific cases where crimes were caused by brain tumors and then goes on to other things. "The lesson from all these stories is the same: human behavior cannot be separated from human biology. If we like to believe that people make free choices about their behavior (as in, “I don’t gamble, because I’m strong-willed”), cases like Alex the pedophile, the frontotemporal shoplifters, and the gambling Parkinson’s patients may encourage us to examine our views more carefully. Perhaps not everyone is equally “free” to make socially appropriate choices."
"If I seem to be heading in an uncomfortable direction—toward letting criminals off the hook—please read on, because I’m going to show the logic of a new argument, piece by piece. The upshot is that we can build a legal system more deeply informed by science, in which we will continue to take criminals off the streets, but we will customize sentencing, leverage new opportunities for rehabilitation, and structure better incentives for good behavior. Discoveries in neuroscience suggest a new way forward for law and order—one that will lead to a more cost-effective, humane, and flexible system than the one we have today. When modern brain science is laid out clearly, it is difficult to justify how our legal system can continue to function without taking what we’ve learned into account."
He talks about a couple of specific cases where crimes were caused by brain tumors and then goes on to other things. "The lesson from all these stories is the same: human behavior cannot be separated from human biology. If we like to believe that people make free choices about their behavior (as in, “I don’t gamble, because I’m strong-willed”), cases like Alex the pedophile, the frontotemporal shoplifters, and the gambling Parkinson’s patients may encourage us to examine our views more carefully. Perhaps not everyone is equally “free” to make socially appropriate choices."
"If I seem to be heading in an uncomfortable direction—toward letting criminals off the hook—please read on, because I’m going to show the logic of a new argument, piece by piece. The upshot is that we can build a legal system more deeply informed by science, in which we will continue to take criminals off the streets, but we will customize sentencing, leverage new opportunities for rehabilitation, and structure better incentives for good behavior. Discoveries in neuroscience suggest a new way forward for law and order—one that will lead to a more cost-effective, humane, and flexible system than the one we have today. When modern brain science is laid out clearly, it is difficult to justify how our legal system can continue to function without taking what we’ve learned into account."
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Republican’s dissent
Steve Benen walks through The Republican’s dissent.
"Today, at the 11th Circuit, a conservative Clinton nominee, Judge Frank Hull, agreed that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, while a Reagan nominee, Judge Stanley Marcus, wrote a stinging, bordering on furious, dissent (pdf). Court rulings don’t generally make for easy reading, but Marcus’ blistering response to today’s ruling is pretty entertaining. Note how he accuses his colleagues of judicial activism in ruling against the ACA’s mandate provision:"
"Today, at the 11th Circuit, a conservative Clinton nominee, Judge Frank Hull, agreed that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, while a Reagan nominee, Judge Stanley Marcus, wrote a stinging, bordering on furious, dissent (pdf). Court rulings don’t generally make for easy reading, but Marcus’ blistering response to today’s ruling is pretty entertaining. Note how he accuses his colleagues of judicial activism in ruling against the ACA’s mandate provision:"
It Looks Like the Stimulus Worked After All
Kevin Drum says It Looks Like the Stimulus Worked After All "But as you may recall, the BEA recently revised its GDP estimates from late 2008 and 2009, and it turns out the economy was doing much worse than we thought. And if you don't recall this, Michael Linden wants to remind you about it today. He also wants to remind Douglas Holtz-Eakin about it. Because it turns out that when you redo Holtz-Eakin's favorite chart using the corrected data, it suggests that the stimulus bill produced about $544 billion in extra GDP. In other words, a multiplier effect of about 2x."
Geography of Jobs
The Geography of Job Loss (Updated) is a nice animated infographic showing job gains and losses by area from 2004 to now.
Entitlements vs Civilized Society
I really liked this bit on The Daily Show last night. "Megyn Kelly has either inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy at the heart of conservative demonization of unions and the working class or ... oh, my god, it's worse than we thought: Megyn Kelly is suffering from postpartum compassion."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Why S.&P.'s Ratings Are Substandard and Porous
Nate Silver has a great post on Why S.&P.'s Ratings Are Substandard and Porous. Lots of graphs and statistics and stuff. :)
Supercommittee Ideology
Matthew Yglesias writes about the Supercommittee Ideology.
I haven't given the supercommittee much thought, though my gut feel is that it won't agree on anything and the alternative plan will be enacted. This graphic doesn't change my mind on that.
I guess Jared Bernstein agrees.
I haven't given the supercommittee much thought, though my gut feel is that it won't agree on anything and the alternative plan will be enacted. This graphic doesn't change my mind on that.
I guess Jared Bernstein agrees.
Two on Bachmann
I can't bring myself to watch the Republican Presidential candidates debate. Here are two recent articles on Bachmann's craziness.
Michele Bachmann is worried about the Renaissance - latimes.com "Tea party queen and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is convinced that America is sinking into tyranny. Why? In a remarkable profile of the candidate appearing in the Aug. 15 issue of the New Yorker magazine, the artistic flowering of the Italian Renaissance takes a beating for having done away with the god-fearing Dark Ages."
Michele Bachmann’s inaccurate recounting of the debt-ceiling saga "It is simply wrong to say S&P lowered the rating on U.S. bonds because the debt limit was increased; the agency wanted the debt limit increased, in direct opposition to Bachmann’s views. And while S&P’s downgrade appears to have played some role in the market turmoil, broader economic concerns in the United States and abroad have been a much more important factor.
"
Michele Bachmann is worried about the Renaissance - latimes.com "Tea party queen and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is convinced that America is sinking into tyranny. Why? In a remarkable profile of the candidate appearing in the Aug. 15 issue of the New Yorker magazine, the artistic flowering of the Italian Renaissance takes a beating for having done away with the god-fearing Dark Ages."
Michele Bachmann’s inaccurate recounting of the debt-ceiling saga "It is simply wrong to say S&P lowered the rating on U.S. bonds because the debt limit was increased; the agency wanted the debt limit increased, in direct opposition to Bachmann’s views. And while S&P’s downgrade appears to have played some role in the market turmoil, broader economic concerns in the United States and abroad have been a much more important factor.
"
How About A Bachmann-Inspired Stimulus?
Steve Benen came up with an interesting idea, How about a Bachmann-inspired stimulus?
"In public, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann spends much of her time railing against government spending. In private, Bachmann spends quite a bit of time requesting government spending."
"What’s more, the phenomenon certainly isn’t limited to Bachmann — all kinds of right-wing lawmakers who swear public investments are fundamentally evil, including plenty of this year’s radical freshman class, have spent a fair amount of time pleading for more public investment in their states and districts, insisting the spending would be good for the economy. Rachel Maddow did a segment on this last year that still stands out as devastating.
The easy observation is to mock the GOP hypocrisy, but Bachmann gave me a new idea: how about a new stimulus package focused on granting Republicans’ requests for public investments?"
Rachel Maddow had Benen on her show last night:
"In public, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann spends much of her time railing against government spending. In private, Bachmann spends quite a bit of time requesting government spending."
"What’s more, the phenomenon certainly isn’t limited to Bachmann — all kinds of right-wing lawmakers who swear public investments are fundamentally evil, including plenty of this year’s radical freshman class, have spent a fair amount of time pleading for more public investment in their states and districts, insisting the spending would be good for the economy. Rachel Maddow did a segment on this last year that still stands out as devastating.
The easy observation is to mock the GOP hypocrisy, but Bachmann gave me a new idea: how about a new stimulus package focused on granting Republicans’ requests for public investments?"
Rachel Maddow had Benen on her show last night:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
NPR wrote Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books "More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles. "
I've read 39 of them (and own a few more).
I've read 39 of them (and own a few more).
Blaming the tools: Britain proposes a social-media ban
Blaming the tools: Britain proposes a social-media ban "In the wake of the riots in London, the British government says it’s considering shutting down access to social networks — as well as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry messenger service — and is asking the companies involved to help. Prime Minister David Cameron said not only is his government considering banning individuals from social media if they are suspected of causing disorder, but it has asked Twitter and other providers to take down posts that are contributing to “unrest.”"
I wonder if they will shut down telephone service? But what I really think is that all those surveillance cameras that London is famous for, aren't really useful in preventing crime.
I wonder if they will shut down telephone service? But what I really think is that all those surveillance cameras that London is famous for, aren't really useful in preventing crime.
The Turkey Recall: Another Sign Our Food System Is Broken
The Turkey Recall: Another Sign Our Food System Is Broken is pretty staggering.
"But CDC investigations show that turkey-related illnesses have been reported for months. Despite the reports, the USDA took its own sweet time insisting on a recall. The rationale for the delay is--get this--the USDA believes it does not have the authority to order recalls for any contaminant except E. coli O157:H7. It has no authority to recall meat contaminated with Salmonella or other toxic forms of E. coli."
This is the kind of crap I expected under the Bush administration.
"But CDC investigations show that turkey-related illnesses have been reported for months. Despite the reports, the USDA took its own sweet time insisting on a recall. The rationale for the delay is--get this--the USDA believes it does not have the authority to order recalls for any contaminant except E. coli O157:H7. It has no authority to recall meat contaminated with Salmonella or other toxic forms of E. coli."
This is the kind of crap I expected under the Bush administration.
Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'
A few days before George W Bush took office, The Onion wrote a remarkably prescient article, Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'. Here's just one bit: "During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years."
The Republican War on Voting
I don't usually link to my town paper, but Shawn Fitzbiggons has a good article Fitzgibbons: The Republican war on voting with some nice examples.
Hard Drive Issues
I run SMARTReporter on my mac and it started reporting some disk i/o errors yesterday. I've got good backups and am going to the genius bar today to see if I need a new drive. Then of course the question is, if I do, do I spend $500 on a 256GB SSD? My current (3.5 year old mac) drive is only 200GB so it would be a size increase. Though I could get a 750GB HD for about $120.
My plan was also to switch to an iMac with a 27" screen and good graphics card to be ready for Diablo III (and use the iPad for portability). Then I realized this is a tax free weekend in MA... But because Quicken doesn't run on 10.7 yet, I was going to keep the macbook pro on 10.6 and use it for Quicken, so I have to keep it running. Is it worth an SSD for that?
Anyway, blogging will be light, but I'll probably still update the HowardLikedThis Twitter feed (on the right) as that's easy from the iPad.
FYI, my backup strategy is basically the same as grahams', though I don't (yet?) do the offsite stuff.
My plan was also to switch to an iMac with a 27" screen and good graphics card to be ready for Diablo III (and use the iPad for portability). Then I realized this is a tax free weekend in MA... But because Quicken doesn't run on 10.7 yet, I was going to keep the macbook pro on 10.6 and use it for Quicken, so I have to keep it running. Is it worth an SSD for that?
Anyway, blogging will be light, but I'll probably still update the HowardLikedThis Twitter feed (on the right) as that's easy from the iPad.
FYI, my backup strategy is basically the same as grahams', though I don't (yet?) do the offsite stuff.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
TED: Rory Stewart: Time to end the war in Afghanistan
"British MP Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan after 9/11, talking with citizens and warlords alike. Now, a decade later, he asks: Why are Western and coalition forces still fighting there? He shares lessons from past military interventions that worked -- Bosnia, for instance -- and shows that humility and local expertise are the keys to success."
Monday, August 08, 2011
Blog Better Than Krugman
I year ago I said You Too Can Blog Like Paul Krugman by using FRED from the St. Louis Fed. Now you can do better with the FRED Add-In for Microsoft Excel. It's in beta, is Windows and Mac compatible, and I haven't tried it yet, but the demo video looks very impressive.
Oh Right, Jobs!
Washington still isn't talking about jobs, but Jared Bernstein is, FAST!…and the Debt Ray from Outer Space.
"While all this debt ceiling junk was going on, Mary Filardo, Ross Eisenbrey, and I were developing the FAST! idea—Fix America’s Schools Today.
As OTEers know, this is a national infrastructure program to repair, retrofit, insulate and “green-up” the nation’s stock of public schools. Importantly, it’s structured to be labor-intensive (as opposed to capital-intensive–this is key in today’s infrastructure efforts), ready-to-go, based on existing formulas and practices re distribution of the resources, and highly visible in communities across the country.
It’s also scalable. We could fix some schools and get a bunch of folks facing very high unemployment rates back to work with a $20 billion investment. But the extent of the backlog could easily absorb hundreds of billions."
They even found $46 billion in funding by closing a fossil fuel industry loophole.
"While all this debt ceiling junk was going on, Mary Filardo, Ross Eisenbrey, and I were developing the FAST! idea—Fix America’s Schools Today.
As OTEers know, this is a national infrastructure program to repair, retrofit, insulate and “green-up” the nation’s stock of public schools. Importantly, it’s structured to be labor-intensive (as opposed to capital-intensive–this is key in today’s infrastructure efforts), ready-to-go, based on existing formulas and practices re distribution of the resources, and highly visible in communities across the country.
It’s also scalable. We could fix some schools and get a bunch of folks facing very high unemployment rates back to work with a $20 billion investment. But the extent of the backlog could easily absorb hundreds of billions."
They even found $46 billion in funding by closing a fossil fuel industry loophole.
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