Today Wikipedia and some other sites is blacked out to protest SOPA and PIPA. These are bills pending in Congress intended to stop online piracy but which are poorly written and will harm the internet. The Super PIPA-SOPA Action/Info Flowchart Reference Guide is kinda cute and has links in it too.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Jon Stewart and Jim DeMInt
Jim DeMint has a book to hawk so he went on The Daily Show last night. John Stewart had a long interview with him and it's perhaps the best interview I've seen him do.
Quiet
I'm visiting some friends so this blog will be quiet until the middle of next week. There will probably still be tweets of articles in the feed to the right. Two parting thoughts:
I'm watching John McCain now on the CBS morning show explaining why the Republicans dislike the attacks Romney regarding Bain Capital. The argument is that these attacks are against what Republicans fundamentally believe in. While that's true he also fundamentally distorted the argument saying that Bain are the job creators and they try to rescue failing companies and sometimes it doesn't work and when it always works it's called communism (funny they didn't make this argument for Solyndra). I'm hoping that the Republican middle class sees through that garbage and starts to recognize that they're on the wrong side.
I realized, I grew up in New York, went to college in Pennsylvania and live in Massachusetts. I'm tired of people from places like Texas and Arizona telling me "what the founders intended".
I'm watching John McCain now on the CBS morning show explaining why the Republicans dislike the attacks Romney regarding Bain Capital. The argument is that these attacks are against what Republicans fundamentally believe in. While that's true he also fundamentally distorted the argument saying that Bain are the job creators and they try to rescue failing companies and sometimes it doesn't work and when it always works it's called communism (funny they didn't make this argument for Solyndra). I'm hoping that the Republican middle class sees through that garbage and starts to recognize that they're on the wrong side.
I realized, I grew up in New York, went to college in Pennsylvania and live in Massachusetts. I'm tired of people from places like Texas and Arizona telling me "what the founders intended".
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Who Fires Whom?
Aaron Carroll takes apart Romney's "firing" quote, Lots of people can’t fire their insurance companies. "Then, let’s say you develop cancer. You suddenly find out that your insurance company stinks. So you fire them, right? Of course not. You’re screwed. Now you have a pre-existing condition. There’s not an insurance company out there that wants to cover you. So you don’t fire them. You scream, and curse, and cry, but you’re stuck. Only healthy people have the luxury of picking and choosing."
Paul Krugman comments, Who Fires Whom?. "Why, it’s as if Romney doesn’t understand his own health reform, which was in large part about ensuring not that you can fire your insurance company, but rather about ensuring that your insurance company can’t fire YOU. And this is a bit subjective, but isn’t it awesome how Romney’s lack of empathy shines through? He evidently has no sense of what it’s like NOT to be the very wealthy son of an already wealthy father; no idea how the fear of unemployment or medical bills afflicts ordinary Americans."
Paul Krugman comments, Who Fires Whom?. "Why, it’s as if Romney doesn’t understand his own health reform, which was in large part about ensuring not that you can fire your insurance company, but rather about ensuring that your insurance company can’t fire YOU. And this is a bit subjective, but isn’t it awesome how Romney’s lack of empathy shines through? He evidently has no sense of what it’s like NOT to be the very wealthy son of an already wealthy father; no idea how the fear of unemployment or medical bills afflicts ordinary Americans."
Monday, January 09, 2012
All Tapped Out
The Daily Climate writes All tapped out. It has lots of details of where maple syrup comes from and a big warning.
"According to research from Barry Rock, professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire, the New England region, including upstate New York, has already warmed an average of 0.7˚ F over the last century, with the bulk of that warming in the winter — an average gain of 1.8˚ F. That warming has already had an impact: This year some sugarmakers in New Hampshire were unable to make any Grade A syrup."
"It is the 3˚ to 10˚ F warming predicted over the next century by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that may doom the sugar maple in the northeastern U.S. Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concedes that the sugar maple will not survive the century in New England. Its Climate Action Report from 2002 notes "climate change is likely to cause long-term shifts in forest species, such as sugar maples moving north out of the country." In other words, it is not a question of if the sugar maple will disappear, it is a question of when."
"According to research from Barry Rock, professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire, the New England region, including upstate New York, has already warmed an average of 0.7˚ F over the last century, with the bulk of that warming in the winter — an average gain of 1.8˚ F. That warming has already had an impact: This year some sugarmakers in New Hampshire were unable to make any Grade A syrup."
"It is the 3˚ to 10˚ F warming predicted over the next century by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that may doom the sugar maple in the northeastern U.S. Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concedes that the sugar maple will not survive the century in New England. Its Climate Action Report from 2002 notes "climate change is likely to cause long-term shifts in forest species, such as sugar maples moving north out of the country." In other words, it is not a question of if the sugar maple will disappear, it is a question of when."
Sunday, January 08, 2012
National Geographic Photography Contest Winners: 2011
The Big Picture shows us the National Geographic Photography Contest Winners: 2011 "More than 20,000 photographs, from over 130 countries were submitted to the National Geographic Photography contest, with both professional photographers and amateur photo enthusiasts participating. The grand prize winner was chosen from the three category winners: Nature - Shikhei Goh, People - Izabelle Nordfjell, Places - George Tapan. Shikhei Goh, of Indonesia, took the grand prize honors with his amazing photograph of a dragonfly in the rain and will be published in the magazine. The competition was judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts composed of field biologist and wildlife photojournalist Tim Laman, National Geographic photographer Amy Toensing and National Geographic nature photographer Peter Essick. The winning submissions can be viewed at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/ - Paula Nelson (14 photos total)"
Winter Arrives
Yesterday it was 60 degrees here but In Focus on Wednesday announced Winter Arrives. "Although much of the U.S. and Europe has had a largely snowless winter to date, the temperature has finally started to feel seasonal and snowfall will certainly follow. Other parts of the northern hemisphere have been experiencing more wintry weather, such as Harbin, China, which opens its famous Ice Festival tomorrow, January 5. From the Far East to the Mississippi River, from Moscow to Stonehenge, here are some recent chilly scenes from around the world."
Most of the photos are as astounding as this:
Most of the photos are as astounding as this:
Friday, January 06, 2012
Movie Reviews
So the last movie I reviewed here I saw in October, have to rectify that a bit.
Take Shelter - a small indie drama about a man (Michael Shannon) who starts having apocalyptic visions and thinks he's going crazy. I was very absorbed in it and surprised a few times. Shannon's performance is amazing and he really deserves an oscar nomination though he isn't appearing on too many lists so far. Jessica Chastain played his wife and this was one of several good roles for her in her breakout year (which is almost comparable to Edward Norton's three films in 1996). The cinematography is quite good. The ending is debatable, but after some debate the group I saw it with liked it better.
Let Me In - is the US remake of the wonderful swedish film Let The RIght One In. Yes it's good and yes the small changes made are reasonable, but the original is still a bit better.
The Debt - is a slightly odd spy thriller. It begins in 1997 and most of the middle is a flashback to 1965 when three mossad agents were tracking down a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin. The younger versions are played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas. The older versions are played by Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. That's quite some cast and yes that's Jessica Chastain pulling off a young Helen Mirren. A few people I spoke to agree that Ciaran Hinds was miscast as he looks more like Csokas than Worthington. I liked the flashback story and the modern story was ok though it seemed a little foolish (in an almost comedic sense) at the end. I think also the moral debate about killing a nazi war criminal versus bringing him back for trial isn't as powerful as it used to be, and yes, that's a bit sad.
Margin Call - is a dramatization of the beginning of the current financial crisis. It follows 24 hours at a firm which is probably JP Morgan though loosely. An analyst is laid off, a young former rocket scientist looks at his work and realizes that the firm has substantially more risk than they thought. The issue is raised to higher levels of management throughout the night until a decision is made to sell off the risk, saving the firm but probably destroying the entire market. The cast is excellent: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci are the kind of actors you want in these rolls and Paul Bettany, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker and Demi Moore all hold their own nicely. I think if you didn't understand the crisis this would give you a bit of a sense of what happened, but you're probably better off seeing the documentary Inside Job. I liked the smart dialog and performances, but maybe it's too soon to dramatize this.
From the Sky Down - is a documentary of the making of U2's album Achtung Baby! I didn't love the album and didn't like the documentary though it made me appreciate the album a bit more. It went on too long and didn't say enough.
Made in Dagenham - is a historical drama about a 1968 strike of female workers at a Ford automotive plant in Dagenham England. I hadn't heard of the strike, but women were listed as unskilled labor and were paid less than the men. They wanted to be listed as semi-skilled and paid a fair wage. They ultimately succeeded and this was the beginning of the equal rights movement. Sally Hawkins played the women's leader who had to work against management and against the male union leaders. It's a little slight, but still well done. Hawkins is always great.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas - was much better than the second installment and not quite as good as the first. I thought the setup took a little long but the second half was very good. Neil Patrick Harris was hilarious and I think everyone will want a Wafflebot after seeing this film. Good dumb humor.
Melancholia - is proof that adding a plot to Tree of Life doesn't make it a better film. I liked Tree of Life and really didn't like this Lars von Trier film. Kirsten Dunst suffers from depression and that happens even on her wedding day and even when the world is ending. Her sister doesn't suffer from depression and the second half of the film is centered more on her. I guess we're supposed to compare and contrast but I just didn't care.
The Descendants - was okay but I don't understand all the rave reviews. George Clooney is a native of Hawaii and a father. As the film opens his wife is in the hospital, after an accident, dying. Clooney has to take care of his young daughter and deal with his teenage daughter who's away at a boarding school (for a reason). As the film progresses we learn that the mother wasn't a saint and track how a big family real estate deal is going through. Clooney is getting serious Oscar consideration for this role and I don't get it. Since we didn't ever see the mother being good, I had a hard time relating to her or the family's loss. Clooney at times played the role in his Coen brothers comedic style, particularly when running or hiding behind hedges, which seemed completely out of place. Otherwise he seemed fine in his everyday slub kind of mood but I didn't see anything great about it. I found most of the characters to be underwritten with one surprising moment of depth given to each of them that just ended up seeming out of place. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.
My Week With Marilyn - is based on an autobiography of Colin Clark. One of his first jobs was as the third assistant director on the film The Prince and the Showgirl. Basically he was a gofer, but as a result he spent a week with Marilyn Monroe. There's no way to know how much of the story is true but it doesn't matter. This film is all about Michelle Williams amazing portrayal of Monroe which is sure to get an Oscar nomination and quite possibly a win. She nails the star persona and is as riveting to watch as Monroe was. The standard complaint about the film is that the main story isn't that believable and the main character isn't interesting. I don't think either were as bad as critics made out, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie-making aspects and it's all about Williams anyway.
Outrage is a Japanese crime thriller by Takeshi Kitano that got a fair amount of indie buzz. It was pretty good, but had a lot of characters, mostly in the same suit, all getting angry and killing each other. I found it a little too confusing at times as a third party (well organization) was manipulating two other organizations against each other with the police thrown in for good measure. The ending seemed obvious and the violence a bit harsh at times, but otherwise ok.
The Secret of the Kells - came out of no where to get a Best Animated Film Oscar nomination last year. It's fine fantasy adventure story for kids with some very unusual, interesting and beautiful visuals. If you have young kids or love animation, see it.
Due Date - is trying to be an updated Planes Trains and Automobiles with Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifinakis. It doesn't succeed, goes on too long, and as you might expect, gets the tone wrong a few too many times.
Jackass 3 - Friends saw it and said they really liked it so I caught it on cable. I had had never watched the series but for me it was similar to the first two films. I found myself laughing uncontrollably at about a third of it. I mean really uncontrollably. I was thinking why am I laughing at this, or I shouldn't be laughing at this but I was, out loud, a lot. About another third I just didn't find funny and about another third I found too disgusting and had crossed the line. I get that when pushing boundaries like this it's easy to go too far. I wish they would have edited it down more removing the stuff that was too far. I also get that everyone's line is different and they probably did remove some stuff. I don't want to know about that. If you can handle it, great. A friend said the great third was completely worth it to him and I (almost) agree.
There, that gets me to the middle of December, I'll do another post soon with a lot of the end of the year releases. I'm surprised, but so far this year I've stayed on course and have seen one movie a day. We'll see how long that continues.
Take Shelter - a small indie drama about a man (Michael Shannon) who starts having apocalyptic visions and thinks he's going crazy. I was very absorbed in it and surprised a few times. Shannon's performance is amazing and he really deserves an oscar nomination though he isn't appearing on too many lists so far. Jessica Chastain played his wife and this was one of several good roles for her in her breakout year (which is almost comparable to Edward Norton's three films in 1996). The cinematography is quite good. The ending is debatable, but after some debate the group I saw it with liked it better.
Let Me In - is the US remake of the wonderful swedish film Let The RIght One In. Yes it's good and yes the small changes made are reasonable, but the original is still a bit better.
The Debt - is a slightly odd spy thriller. It begins in 1997 and most of the middle is a flashback to 1965 when three mossad agents were tracking down a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin. The younger versions are played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas. The older versions are played by Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. That's quite some cast and yes that's Jessica Chastain pulling off a young Helen Mirren. A few people I spoke to agree that Ciaran Hinds was miscast as he looks more like Csokas than Worthington. I liked the flashback story and the modern story was ok though it seemed a little foolish (in an almost comedic sense) at the end. I think also the moral debate about killing a nazi war criminal versus bringing him back for trial isn't as powerful as it used to be, and yes, that's a bit sad.
Margin Call - is a dramatization of the beginning of the current financial crisis. It follows 24 hours at a firm which is probably JP Morgan though loosely. An analyst is laid off, a young former rocket scientist looks at his work and realizes that the firm has substantially more risk than they thought. The issue is raised to higher levels of management throughout the night until a decision is made to sell off the risk, saving the firm but probably destroying the entire market. The cast is excellent: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci are the kind of actors you want in these rolls and Paul Bettany, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker and Demi Moore all hold their own nicely. I think if you didn't understand the crisis this would give you a bit of a sense of what happened, but you're probably better off seeing the documentary Inside Job. I liked the smart dialog and performances, but maybe it's too soon to dramatize this.
From the Sky Down - is a documentary of the making of U2's album Achtung Baby! I didn't love the album and didn't like the documentary though it made me appreciate the album a bit more. It went on too long and didn't say enough.
Made in Dagenham - is a historical drama about a 1968 strike of female workers at a Ford automotive plant in Dagenham England. I hadn't heard of the strike, but women were listed as unskilled labor and were paid less than the men. They wanted to be listed as semi-skilled and paid a fair wage. They ultimately succeeded and this was the beginning of the equal rights movement. Sally Hawkins played the women's leader who had to work against management and against the male union leaders. It's a little slight, but still well done. Hawkins is always great.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas - was much better than the second installment and not quite as good as the first. I thought the setup took a little long but the second half was very good. Neil Patrick Harris was hilarious and I think everyone will want a Wafflebot after seeing this film. Good dumb humor.
Melancholia - is proof that adding a plot to Tree of Life doesn't make it a better film. I liked Tree of Life and really didn't like this Lars von Trier film. Kirsten Dunst suffers from depression and that happens even on her wedding day and even when the world is ending. Her sister doesn't suffer from depression and the second half of the film is centered more on her. I guess we're supposed to compare and contrast but I just didn't care.
The Descendants - was okay but I don't understand all the rave reviews. George Clooney is a native of Hawaii and a father. As the film opens his wife is in the hospital, after an accident, dying. Clooney has to take care of his young daughter and deal with his teenage daughter who's away at a boarding school (for a reason). As the film progresses we learn that the mother wasn't a saint and track how a big family real estate deal is going through. Clooney is getting serious Oscar consideration for this role and I don't get it. Since we didn't ever see the mother being good, I had a hard time relating to her or the family's loss. Clooney at times played the role in his Coen brothers comedic style, particularly when running or hiding behind hedges, which seemed completely out of place. Otherwise he seemed fine in his everyday slub kind of mood but I didn't see anything great about it. I found most of the characters to be underwritten with one surprising moment of depth given to each of them that just ended up seeming out of place. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.
My Week With Marilyn - is based on an autobiography of Colin Clark. One of his first jobs was as the third assistant director on the film The Prince and the Showgirl. Basically he was a gofer, but as a result he spent a week with Marilyn Monroe. There's no way to know how much of the story is true but it doesn't matter. This film is all about Michelle Williams amazing portrayal of Monroe which is sure to get an Oscar nomination and quite possibly a win. She nails the star persona and is as riveting to watch as Monroe was. The standard complaint about the film is that the main story isn't that believable and the main character isn't interesting. I don't think either were as bad as critics made out, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie-making aspects and it's all about Williams anyway.
Outrage is a Japanese crime thriller by Takeshi Kitano that got a fair amount of indie buzz. It was pretty good, but had a lot of characters, mostly in the same suit, all getting angry and killing each other. I found it a little too confusing at times as a third party (well organization) was manipulating two other organizations against each other with the police thrown in for good measure. The ending seemed obvious and the violence a bit harsh at times, but otherwise ok.
The Secret of the Kells - came out of no where to get a Best Animated Film Oscar nomination last year. It's fine fantasy adventure story for kids with some very unusual, interesting and beautiful visuals. If you have young kids or love animation, see it.
Due Date - is trying to be an updated Planes Trains and Automobiles with Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifinakis. It doesn't succeed, goes on too long, and as you might expect, gets the tone wrong a few too many times.
Jackass 3 - Friends saw it and said they really liked it so I caught it on cable. I had had never watched the series but for me it was similar to the first two films. I found myself laughing uncontrollably at about a third of it. I mean really uncontrollably. I was thinking why am I laughing at this, or I shouldn't be laughing at this but I was, out loud, a lot. About another third I just didn't find funny and about another third I found too disgusting and had crossed the line. I get that when pushing boundaries like this it's easy to go too far. I wish they would have edited it down more removing the stuff that was too far. I also get that everyone's line is different and they probably did remove some stuff. I don't want to know about that. If you can handle it, great. A friend said the great third was completely worth it to him and I (almost) agree.
There, that gets me to the middle of December, I'll do another post soon with a lot of the end of the year releases. I'm surprised, but so far this year I've stayed on course and have seen one movie a day. We'll see how long that continues.
Movies Seen in 2011
I set a goal of seeing (on average) a movie a day in 2011. I saw 366 feature length films and 30 short films. I'm not doing that again. Lots of times it was fun, sometimes it was a chore. I used the Academy's definition of short, that is under 40 minutes long. Most of those were nominated short films and pixar shorts I caught on TV. For features, I separated out 5 TV movies that were either HBO originals or a PBS documentary.
67% I watched on cable, and 27% were in a theater (this is the first question people usually ask). The rest were online or via netflix or DVD. I watched one movie on my iPad (on a flight).
12% I had seen before, the rest were first times. (This is the second question people ask and yes reruns count. Seeing Casablanca a second or third time is still seeing a movie).
I rated all the films on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. I use what's mostly a Netflix scale. 3 is ok, 4 I really liked and 5 is great. 2 I didn't like and 1 I hated. I didn't see many fives this year and I was pretty good about only seeing reruns that I liked.
I did pretty well breaking them up throughout the year but I still needed to make a push in December.
Most of the films I saw were recent films
and most were US films
I tried attaching a genre to each film but this was harder than I thought. The best I came up with was a two tier system. This worked well for things like biography that could be either a drama or a documentary but it didn't work for other things. Lots of dramas I couldn't find a good sub-genre for. So I'll work on that for next year.
And finally here's the whole list with my ratings. I'll do a separate post about 2011 films as I'm still seeing lots of them that came out at the end of the year.
67% I watched on cable, and 27% were in a theater (this is the first question people usually ask). The rest were online or via netflix or DVD. I watched one movie on my iPad (on a flight).
12% I had seen before, the rest were first times. (This is the second question people ask and yes reruns count. Seeing Casablanca a second or third time is still seeing a movie).
I rated all the films on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. I use what's mostly a Netflix scale. 3 is ok, 4 I really liked and 5 is great. 2 I didn't like and 1 I hated. I didn't see many fives this year and I was pretty good about only seeing reruns that I liked.
I did pretty well breaking them up throughout the year but I still needed to make a push in December.
Most of the films I saw were recent films
and most were US films
I tried attaching a genre to each film but this was harder than I thought. The best I came up with was a two tier system. This worked well for things like biography that could be either a drama or a documentary but it didn't work for other things. Lots of dramas I couldn't find a good sub-genre for. So I'll work on that for next year.
And finally here's the whole list with my ratings. I'll do a separate post about 2011 films as I'm still seeing lots of them that came out at the end of the year.
| Title | Year | Type | Country | Rating |
| Go West | 1940 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The King's Speech | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| The Devil and Miss Jones | 1941 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Good Night | 2007 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Greenberg | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Leap Year | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| A Prophet | 2009 | Feature | France | 5 |
| The Book of Eli | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Fort Apache | 1948 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Twilight: New Moon | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| True Grit | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Chinatown | 1974 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Clash of the TItans | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| One Way Passage | 1932 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Love and Other Drugs | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Percy Jackson - The Lightening Thief | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Sun Also Rises | 1957 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Swing Time | 1936 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Fountainhead | 1949 | Feature | US | 1 |
| The Shop Around the Corner | 1940 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Extraordinary Measures | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Somewhere | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Le Mans | 1971 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Life During Wartime | 2010 | Feature | US | 1 |
| The Way Back | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Dogtooth | 2010 | Feature | Greece | 1 |
| My Idiot Brother | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Warriors of Qiugang | 2010 | Short | US | 3 |
| The Thomas Beale Cipher | 2010 | Short | US | 3 |
| The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra | 2001 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper | 2005 | Short | US | 3 |
| The Mechanic | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Trouble in Paradise | 1932 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Anne of the Thousand Days | 1969 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Becket | 1964 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Edward My Son | 1949 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Lust for Life | 1956 | Feature | US | 4 |
| William S. Burroughs - A Man Within | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| A Damsel in Distress | 1937 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Madame Curie | 1943 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Shoes of the Fisherman | 1968 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Biutiful | 2010 | Feature | Mexico | 2 |
| The Illusionist | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| In the Shadow of the Moon | 2007 | Feature | US | 5 |
| High Noon | 1952 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Pride of the Yankees | 1942 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Disraeli | 1929 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Another Year | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Love Affair | 1939 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Sunset Limited | 2011 | TV | US | 3 |
| National Velvet | 1944 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Poster Girl | 2010 | Short | US | 4 |
| Strangers No More | 2010 | Short | US | 4 |
| Killing in the Name | 2010 | Short | US | 3 |
| Sun Come Up | 2010 | Short | US | 2 |
| Rabbit Hole | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Confession | 2010 | Short | Britain | 4 |
| Wish 143 | 2010 | Short | Britain | 4 |
| The Crush | 2010 | Short | Ireland | 4 |
| How to Train Your Dragon | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| God of Love | 2010 | Short | US | 3 |
| Na Wewe | 2010 | Short | Belgium | 3 |
| I Am Love | 2010 | Feature | Italy | 2 |
| Day & Night | 2010 | Short | US | 5 |
| Let's Pollute | 2010 | Short | US | 4 |
| The Story of Louis Pasteur | 1936 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Lost Thing | 2010 | Short | Australia | 4 |
| The Gruffalo | 2010 | Short | Britain | 4 |
| The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger | 2010 | Short | US | 3 |
| Urs | 2010 | Short | Russia | 3 |
| Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage | 2010 | Short | France | 3 |
| Barney's Version | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Blue Valentine | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Date Night | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Whatever Works | 2009 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here | 1969 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Star Trek: The Motion Picture | 1979 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Metropolis | 1927 | Feature | Germany | 4 |
| Our Relations | 1936 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Real Genius | 1985 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Secretariat | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Adjustment Bureau | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Tortilla Flat | 1942 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Watch on the Rhine | 1943 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Summertime | 1955 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Rio Bravo | 1959 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Tron | 1982 | Feature | US | 3 |
| For Heaven's Sake | 1926 | Feature | US | 4 |
| I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang | 1932 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Robin Hood | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Terminator | 1984 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Robocop | 1987 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Magnificent Yankee | 1950 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Losers | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Black Death | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 1 |
| Hot Millions | 1968 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Wife vs. Secretary | 1936 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Ivanhoe | 1952 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Red Dust | 1932 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | 1958 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Paul | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Sunshine Cleaning | 2008 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The China Syndrome | 1979 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Creation | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| MacGruber | 2010 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Win Win | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Henry & June | 1990 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Other Guys | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf | 1966 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Beast of the City | 1932 | Feature | US | 2 |
| New York I Love You | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The More the Merrier | 1943 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Source Code | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Thurgood | 2011 | TV | US | 4 |
| Inception | 2010 | Feature | US | 5 |
| Dead Again | 1991 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Conspirator | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Cinema Verite | 2011 | TV | US | 3 |
| Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story | 2005 | Feature | UK | 2 |
| His Way | 2011 | TV | US | 4 |
| Being Elmo | 2011 | Feature | US | 5 |
| Three Faces of Eve | 1957 | Feature | US | 3 |
| On the Ice | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Bengali Detective | 2011 | Feature | UK | 2 |
| The Catechism Cataclysm | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Submarine | 2011 | Feature | UK | 4 |
| The City Dark | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Last Days Here | 2011 | Feature | US | 5 |
| How to Die in Oregon | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Stake Land | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Convento | 2011 | Feature | France | 2 |
| Windfall | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Future | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Make Believe | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Circumstance | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Another Earth | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| God Willing | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| El Bulli: Cooking in Progress | 2011 | Feature | Germany | 5 |
| Sons of Perdition | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Whistleblower | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Terri | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Conan O'Brien Can't Stop | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Thor | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| 13 Assassins | 2011 | Feature | Japan | 3 |
| Rubber | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Incendies | 2010 | Feature | Canada | 4 |
| Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel | 2009 | Biography | US | 4 |
| Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Heartbreakers | 2001 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Easy A | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Cave of Forgotten Dreams | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Too Big To Fail | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| My Sister's Keeper | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Flash Gordon | 1980 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Midnight in Paris | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Sin City | 2005 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Wilson | 1944 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Maxed Out | 2006 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Beautiful Boy | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Reagan | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 | 2008 | Feature | US | 2 |
| River of No Return | 1954 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Lebanon | 2009 | Feature | Israel | 2 |
| Tree of Life | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Agora | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Bobby Fischer Against the World | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Dodsworth | 1936 | Feature | US | 3 |
| X-Men: First Class | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Religulous | 2008 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Super 8 | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| An Eastern Westerner | 1920 | Short | US | 4 |
| Mr. Hulot's Holiday | 1953 | Feature | France | 4 |
| A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Public Enemies | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| My Favorite Wife | 1940 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Kameradschaft | 1931 | Feature | Germany | 3 |
| The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend | 1949 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Green Fire | 1954 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Devil | 2010 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Sex Crimes Unit | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| What a Way to Go | 1964 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Billy Wilder Speaks | 2006 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Pawnbroker | 1965 | Feature | US | 5 |
| Tamara Drewe | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| The African Queen | 1951 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Hot Coffee | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Rack | 1956 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Perfect Host | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Cluny Brown | 1946 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Citizen U.S.A. | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Spiral Staircase | 1945 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Angels in the Outfield | 1951 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Despicable Me | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Lovely & Amazing | 2002 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Christmas in July | 1940 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Petrified Forest | 1936 | Feature | US | 3 |
| WUSA | 1970 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Horrible Bosses | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Love Crimes of Kabul | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Burlesque | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Twilight: Eclipse | 2010 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Seven Days to Noon | 1950 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince | 2009 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Project Nim | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Mann v. Ford | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Moon | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Departures | 2008 | Feature | Japan | 4 |
| The Laughing Policeman | 1973 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Captains | 2011 | Feature | Canada | 3 |
| The Quiller Memorandum | 1966 | Feature | US | 3 |
| GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Captain America | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Brute Force | 1947 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Buried | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Tourist | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Good Neighbors | 2011 | Feature | Canada | 4 |
| George Washington Slept Here | 1942 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Cowboys & Aliens | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| A Patch of Blue | 1965 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Harper | 1966 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Koran by Heart | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Oktapodi | 2007 | Short | France | 4 |
| Kiki | 1926 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Magic Trip: Ken Kasey's Search for a Kool Place | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| How to Steal a Million | 1966 | Feature | US | 4 |
| My Dinner With Andre | 1981 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Jaws | 1975 | Feature | US | 5 |
| Skidoo | 1968 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Superheroes | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Dinner with Schmucks | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Beginners | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Trip | 2011 | Feature | Britain | 1 |
| The Help | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Gloria: In Her Own Words | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Crazy, Stupid, Love | 2011 | Romance | US | 3 |
| London After Midnight | 1927 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | 1920 | Feature | Germany | 3 |
| The Children's Hour | 1961 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Ponyo | 2008 | Feature | Japan | 3 |
| The Karate Kid | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon | 1970 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Dark Journey | 1937 | Feature | US | 2 |
| It's Kind of a Funny Story | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Rembrandt | 1936 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Quintet | 1979 | Feature | US | 1 |
| The Tillman Story | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Point Blank | 2011 | Feature | France | 4 |
| The Lady is Willing | 1942 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Color of Money | 1986 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Fast Food Nation | 2006 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Stone | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Runaway Jury | 2003 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Bomba the Jungle Boy | 1949 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Hear No Evil | 1993 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Better This World | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Outrage | 2009 | Feature | US | 4 |
| United 93 | 2006 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The A-Team | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Killer of Sheep | 1977 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Jack Goes Boating | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Contagion | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| After the Sunset | 2004 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Switch | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Hot Rock | 1972 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | 1976 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Tit for Tat | 1935 | Short | US | 4 |
| Pirana | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Interruptors | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Bloody Sunday | 2002 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Main Street | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Other Man | 2008 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Drive | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Moneyball | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Green Hornet | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Tucker and Dale vs Evil | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Expendables | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| ﾒ50/50ﾓ | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Crank: High Voltage | 2009 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Winter's Bone | 2010 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Next Three Days | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Killer Elite | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Brothers | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Trollhunter | 2011 | Feature | Norway | 3 |
| Brothers at War | 2009 | Feature | US | 4 |
| No Strings Attached | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Ides of March | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| George Harrison: Living in the Material World | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Wham! Bam! Islam! | 2011 | TV | US | 3 |
| The Guard | 2011 | Feature | Ireland | 4 |
| The Killing Fields | 1984 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Love Liza | 2002 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Winged Migration | 2001 | Feature | France | 5 |
| Raising Arizona | 1987 | Feature | US | 5 |
| Edison the Man | 1940 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Take Shelter | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Let Me In | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Doughboys | 1930 | Feature | US | 1 |
| The Debt | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Blackthorn | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| What! No Beer? | 1936 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Margin Call | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Last Train Home | 2010 | Feature | Canada | 4 |
| Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40! | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Oceans | 2009 | Feature | France | 4 |
| "Paris, Texas" | 1984 | Feature | Germany | 2 |
| The Emperor's New Clothes | 2001 | Feature | Britain | 2 |
| Let the Right One In | 2008 | Feature | Sweden | 5 |
| From the Sky Down | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Unknown | 1927 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Passionate Plumber | 1932 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Morning Glory | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Enter the Dragon | 1973 | Feature | Hong Kong | 4 |
| Top Gun | 1986 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Peacock | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Basic Black | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Made in Dagenham | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Where Soldiers Come From | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Star Trek | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Babbitt | 1934 | Feature | US | 1 |
| A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Secret Ballot | 2001 | Feature | Iran | 2 |
| Big Business | 1929 | Short | US | 4 |
| Double Whoopie | 1929 | Short | US | 4 |
| Habeas Corpus | 1928 | Short | US | 3 |
| Angora Love | 1929 | Short | US | 3 |
| Megamind | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Melancholia | 2011 | Feature | Denmark | 2 |
| Pandora's Box | 1929 | Feature | Germany | 3 |
| Solitary Man | 2009 | Feature | US | 3 |
| A Farewell to Arms | 1932 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Roommate | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Melinda and Melinda | 2004 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Battle Los Angeles | 2011 | Feature | US | 1 |
| Groundhog Day | 1993 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Thing | 1982 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Being Elmo | 2011 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Descendants | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| My Week With Marilyn | 2011 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Social Network | 2010 | Feature | US | 4 |
| John Q | 2002 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Unknown | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Super | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Lincoln Lawyer | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Way We Were | 1973 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Two Towers | 2002 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Parlor, Bedroom and Bath | 1931 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Executive Suite | 1954 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Outrage | 2011 | Feature | Japan | 3 |
| The Great Muppet Caper | 1981 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Of Gods and Men | 2011 | Feature | France | 2 |
| Sherlock Holmes | 1922 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Expensive Women | 1931 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Radio Days | 1987 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Secret of the Kells | 2010 | Feature | Ireland | 4 |
| Trek Nation | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Bombshell | 1933 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Shrek Forever After | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Harry Brown | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Libeled Lady | 1936 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Moon Is Blue | 1953 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Due Date | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Man on the Moon | 1999 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Jackass 3 | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Super Size Me | 2004 | Feature | US | 5 |
| The Swell Season | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Silent Running | 1971 | Feature | US | 2 |
| The Disappearance of Alice Creed | 2010 | Feature | Britain | 4 |
| Shame | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Out of the Past | 1947 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Grand Central Murder | 1947 | Feature | US | 3 |
| J. Edgar | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Blue Bird | 1918 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Fear and Desire | 1953 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Best Worst Movie | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | 2011 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Blue State | 2007 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Manhattan | 1979 | Feature | US | 4 |
| Tangled | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Country Strong | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Blind Side | 2009 | Feature | US | 4 |
| The Company Men | 2010 | Feature | US | 3 |
| The Artist | 2011 | Feature | France | 4 |
| A Dangerous Method | 2011 | Feature | Britain | 3 |
| Young Adult | 2011 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Hereafter | 2010 | Feature | US | 2 |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | 2011 | Feature | US | 3 |
| Fairyland: A Kingdom of Fairies | 1903 | Short | France | 2 |
| Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory | 1903 | Short | US | 3 |
| The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon | 1907 | Short | France | 2 |
| A Trip To The Moon | 1902 | Short | France | 3 |
| Hugo | 2011 | Feature | US | 4 |
A Citizens United sequel: different result
SCOTUSBlog wrote
A Citizens United sequel: different result. "The Montana majority, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, said that a closely similar ban could withstand the Citizens United ruling because the Supreme Court had left open the possibility that a “compelling interest” would allow such a measure, and the majority found that interest in Montana’s past history and its present economic and political climate. Corporations are more likely to have corrupting influence with their political spending in Montana, the majority said, because it is a small state, its economy still depends upon outside corporate interests, and its political campaigns are not very expensive so they do not bring out heavy donations by individuals to compete with vast corporate treasuries."
Analyzing the candor of Supreme Court nominees
SCOTUSblog wrote Legal scholarship highlight: Analyzing the candor of Supreme Court nominees. "In our article, ‘No Hints, No Forecasts, No Previews’: An Empirical Analysis of Supreme Court Nominee Candor from Harlan to Kagan, we seek to overcome this gap in our understanding of the Supreme Court confirmation process. To that end, we present the results of a content analysis of every Supreme Court confirmation hearing transcript since 1955, the year that the proceedings became a regular part of the confirmation process. For each hearing, we coded all of the exchanges between a senator and the nominee, recording things such as the type of question asked, the degree to which the answer was forthcoming, and the reasons nominees gave for not answering more fully. Using this original dataset – nearly 11,000 exchanges in total – we then tested a series of hypotheses about nominee responsiveness in the face of Senate questioning.
Our results show that the conventional wisdom about Supreme Court confirmation hearings needs to be rethought. First, we discovered that there has not been a dramatic decline in nominee responsiveness since the 1980s. Recent nominees, such as Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, were just as forthcoming as many earlier nominees, and even more forthcoming than others. Second, the overall rate of responsiveness for all nominees, including those who came after Bork, is much better than generally assumed. Nominees generally answer between sixty and seventy percent of their questions in a fully forthcoming manner. By contrast, only about twenty percent of the questions get a qualified response, and outright refusal to answer rarely tops ten percent. Therefore, whether we are talking about hearings from the 1960s or the 1990s, the notion that nominees evade more questions than they answer is unfounded. Lastly, we find that there have been subtle but important changes in the types of questions that are being asked, the topics of those questions, and in the ways in which nominees answer them, and that these shifts have helped to fuel the perception that responsiveness has declined where in fact it has not."
Our results show that the conventional wisdom about Supreme Court confirmation hearings needs to be rethought. First, we discovered that there has not been a dramatic decline in nominee responsiveness since the 1980s. Recent nominees, such as Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, were just as forthcoming as many earlier nominees, and even more forthcoming than others. Second, the overall rate of responsiveness for all nominees, including those who came after Bork, is much better than generally assumed. Nominees generally answer between sixty and seventy percent of their questions in a fully forthcoming manner. By contrast, only about twenty percent of the questions get a qualified response, and outright refusal to answer rarely tops ten percent. Therefore, whether we are talking about hearings from the 1960s or the 1990s, the notion that nominees evade more questions than they answer is unfounded. Lastly, we find that there have been subtle but important changes in the types of questions that are being asked, the topics of those questions, and in the ways in which nominees answer them, and that these shifts have helped to fuel the perception that responsiveness has declined where in fact it has not."
Myths around Santorum hard to swallow
And so it begins, Myths around Santorum hard to swallow.
"While it's true that Mr. Santorum has relatively humble roots, he's become a millionaire since losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006. He was compensated generously for a column he wrote for Philly.com, if you can believe that bit of irony. He's also a former consultant for Consol Energy and a recipient of generous director fees from the King of Prussia-based Universal Health Services Inc., the same company the federal government sued in 2010 for Medicaid fraud.
Many folks in southwestern Pennsylvania are still stewing over the notorious 2006 cyber-schooling fight Mr. Santorum had with the Penn Hills School District. That bizarre and pointless scandal was about who would foot the tuition bill for the education of the Santorum children after the family had decamped to Virginia. The family wanted to stick working-class Penn Hills with the bill.
Mr. Santorum, who was in the middle of his failed Senate run at the time, implausibly claimed that his children were still residents of Penn Hills, contrary to reality. These days the Santorum family is way past dissembling about the small house at the center of that dispute. With proceeds from his post-Senate hustling bulging his pockets, Mr. Santorum bought a $2 million home in Great Falls, Va., a neighborhood not likely to be populated by many Reagan Democrats.
Mr. Santorum will figure prominently in this column in the weeks to come. We've only scratched the surface when it comes to his unlikely and ridiculous run for the presidency."
"While it's true that Mr. Santorum has relatively humble roots, he's become a millionaire since losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006. He was compensated generously for a column he wrote for Philly.com, if you can believe that bit of irony. He's also a former consultant for Consol Energy and a recipient of generous director fees from the King of Prussia-based Universal Health Services Inc., the same company the federal government sued in 2010 for Medicaid fraud.
Many folks in southwestern Pennsylvania are still stewing over the notorious 2006 cyber-schooling fight Mr. Santorum had with the Penn Hills School District. That bizarre and pointless scandal was about who would foot the tuition bill for the education of the Santorum children after the family had decamped to Virginia. The family wanted to stick working-class Penn Hills with the bill.
Mr. Santorum, who was in the middle of his failed Senate run at the time, implausibly claimed that his children were still residents of Penn Hills, contrary to reality. These days the Santorum family is way past dissembling about the small house at the center of that dispute. With proceeds from his post-Senate hustling bulging his pockets, Mr. Santorum bought a $2 million home in Great Falls, Va., a neighborhood not likely to be populated by many Reagan Democrats.
Mr. Santorum will figure prominently in this column in the weeks to come. We've only scratched the surface when it comes to his unlikely and ridiculous run for the presidency."
Girl sneaks into russian rocket factory and takes amazing pictures
I saw this tweet "Girl sneaks into russian rocket factory and takes amazing pictures." http://lana-sator.livejournal.com/160176.html#cutid1
Maybe a regular reader could comment on the gist of the text. :) I'm assuming the word "abandoned" should have been in the tweet.
Maybe a regular reader could comment on the gist of the text. :) I'm assuming the word "abandoned" should have been in the tweet.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is pretty impressive.
"From Sagittarius to Scorpius, the central Milky Way is a truly beautiful part of planet Earth's night sky. The gorgeous region is captured in this wide field image spanning about 30 degrees. The impressive cosmic vista, taken in 2010, shows off intricate dust lanes, bright nebulae, and star clusters scattered through our galaxy's rich central starfields. Starting on the left, look for the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae, the Cat's Paw, while on the right lies the Pipe dark nebula, and the colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi and Antares (right). The actual center of our Galaxy lies about 26,000 light years away and can be found here."
That last link in the description is video:
"From Sagittarius to Scorpius, the central Milky Way is a truly beautiful part of planet Earth's night sky. The gorgeous region is captured in this wide field image spanning about 30 degrees. The impressive cosmic vista, taken in 2010, shows off intricate dust lanes, bright nebulae, and star clusters scattered through our galaxy's rich central starfields. Starting on the left, look for the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae, the Cat's Paw, while on the right lies the Pipe dark nebula, and the colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi and Antares (right). The actual center of our Galaxy lies about 26,000 light years away and can be found here."
That last link in the description is video:
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
How the Candidates Roll
The New York Times ran this odd infographic a week ago How the Candidates Roll "While the G.O.P. hopefuls are all making their final tours around early voting states, their modes of travel — and their entourages — vary widely."
Iowa
I'm still finding this race a big snoozefest. I think Santorum is just the next lead in the race. The biggest thing is that so far he hasn't had anyone attacking him yet and once that starts he'll fall too. Remember he was a high ranking Republican in the Senate when Pennsylvania choose not to reelect him. He might do well in NH as he's been spending a lot of time up there. Huntsman has too, and while I think he's more conservative than Romney, he's viewed as more moderate because he believes in science (of evolution and global warming). Should be interesting to see if he's next.
Here's the results of the Iowa Caucus this time and last (data from wikipedia)
Remember Thompson? I'm surprised that Paul increased his votes so much but I think it's a matter of competition. I was also surprised that 3,000 more people voted this time than last. Given the field I would have expected more apathy but I guess that's not the Iowa way (they take their role as first primary seriously). More surprisingly is that with 4 more years of campaigning and lots of money spent (and more voters), Romney lost 6 votes since last time. This is a man who couldn't convince anyone to vote for him in 4 years.
Still I'm pretty convinced Romney will win the nomination. Even if he's second everywhere, there won't be anyone who's first everywhere so he'll collect delegates. (Though a toss up convention could be entertaining.) Then the real question is how he'll do against Obama. I think that will come down to who gets out their vote more effectively. Will conservatives vote against Obama or just not vote given two bad choices? Will Obama be able to get out the first time voters from 2008 and add new ones?
Here's the results of the Iowa Caucus this time and last (data from wikipedia)
Remember Thompson? I'm surprised that Paul increased his votes so much but I think it's a matter of competition. I was also surprised that 3,000 more people voted this time than last. Given the field I would have expected more apathy but I guess that's not the Iowa way (they take their role as first primary seriously). More surprisingly is that with 4 more years of campaigning and lots of money spent (and more voters), Romney lost 6 votes since last time. This is a man who couldn't convince anyone to vote for him in 4 years.
Still I'm pretty convinced Romney will win the nomination. Even if he's second everywhere, there won't be anyone who's first everywhere so he'll collect delegates. (Though a toss up convention could be entertaining.) Then the real question is how he'll do against Obama. I think that will come down to who gets out their vote more effectively. Will conservatives vote against Obama or just not vote given two bad choices? Will Obama be able to get out the first time voters from 2008 and add new ones?
Will Dan Savage Wimp Out?
I wonder if Dan Savage will follow through on his (I assume joke) threat:
"If Rick Santorum runs for President on an anti-gay platform, Dan Savage will have no choice but to redefine his first name now, too."
"If Rick Santorum runs for President on an anti-gay platform, Dan Savage will have no choice but to redefine his first name now, too."
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Single Page Book Posters
Spineless Classics offers cute Single Page Book Posters. "Imagine a whole book on a single sheet. A bold art print on which, up close, you can read the full and complete text of your favourite classic work, right from "It was the best of times" to "a far, far greater thing"."
1923 animated film about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Boing Boing posted this 1923 animated film about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. "“The Einstein Theory of Relativity” is a silent animated film made in 1923 that tried to explain Einstein’s work to the general public. It was produced by Fleischer Studios, best known for their delightful Betty Boop cartoons."
It's not bad, but it's just amazing to me that it was made at all. People would have watched this movie theaters along with newsreels. Twenty minutes on relativity to a general audience almost 90 years ago. I don't see it happening today, and only a few more people understand it anymore than did then.
The Einstein Theory of Relativity 1923 from ricordidimenticati on Vimeo.
It's not bad, but it's just amazing to me that it was made at all. People would have watched this movie theaters along with newsreels. Twenty minutes on relativity to a general audience almost 90 years ago. I don't see it happening today, and only a few more people understand it anymore than did then.
A Snapshot of the Race for the Senate
Nate Silver offers A Snapshot of the Race for the Senate.
"Our objective technique for forecasting Senate races is not designed to be applied until summer of the election year. (Before then, the polling is a little too rough, and there is too much uncertainty about the identity of nominees, for polling-based forecasts to be of all that much value.) So you will have to wait on those. However, I have traditionally issued subjective estimates of the probability of the parties winning each seat in advance of our objective numbers.
Basically, I’m looking at the same thing that other forecasters do: approval ratings, recent electoral history, candidate quality and so forth — and yes, I do look a little bit at head-to-head polls, especially if both candidates are well known.
I also tend to place more emphasis than most forecasters on the overall partisan makeup of a state. "
It gets more interesting after the table, but I'll continue to wait a while before getting to involved. A lot can happen between now and November.
"Our objective technique for forecasting Senate races is not designed to be applied until summer of the election year. (Before then, the polling is a little too rough, and there is too much uncertainty about the identity of nominees, for polling-based forecasts to be of all that much value.) So you will have to wait on those. However, I have traditionally issued subjective estimates of the probability of the parties winning each seat in advance of our objective numbers.
Basically, I’m looking at the same thing that other forecasters do: approval ratings, recent electoral history, candidate quality and so forth — and yes, I do look a little bit at head-to-head polls, especially if both candidates are well known.
I also tend to place more emphasis than most forecasters on the overall partisan makeup of a state. "
It gets more interesting after the table, but I'll continue to wait a while before getting to involved. A lot can happen between now and November.
538's Smartest and Dumbest Columns of 2011
Nate Silver lists Our Smartest and Dumbest Columns of 2011.
"Some of my favorite columnists and bloggers have started something called a prediction audit, which looks back at their year of writing and evaluates which of their articles seem to have been the most and the least prescient."
"So I’ve gone back through a year’s worth of blog posts and identified 10 pieces of analysis or commentary that look pretty smart in retrospect — and another 10 that look completely dumb."
"Some of my favorite columnists and bloggers have started something called a prediction audit, which looks back at their year of writing and evaluates which of their articles seem to have been the most and the least prescient."
"So I’ve gone back through a year’s worth of blog posts and identified 10 pieces of analysis or commentary that look pretty smart in retrospect — and another 10 that look completely dumb."
Quadrantid Meteor Shower Late Tonight
ABC reports Quadrantid Meteor Shower 2012: Shooting Stars Wednesday Before Dawn.
"If you're up early Wednesday morning and the weather is promising, bundle up and go outside. The Quadrantid meteor shower, the first of 2012, should be at its best between 3 a.m. and dawn, Eastern time. If you get lucky, you may get a silently satisfying sky show.
The Quadrantids are often the most intense of the year's regular meteor showers, but also one of the shortest. They happen when Earth passes through the narrow trail of debris left by an asteroid called 2003 EH1, so they only last a few hours. (Other showers, such as the Perseids in August, are caused by the more widespread debris from comets, so they may last several nights.) If it's cloudy where you are Wednesday morning, go back to bed and stay warm -- but if it's clear, astronomers say you could see 60-200 streaks across the sky per hour.
The gibbous moon will do you the favor of setting at about 3 a.m. local time, just around the time the meteor shower peaks in the Eastern time zone. From then until dawn, the sky should be very dark, best for watching meteors. If you get up early anyhow for work, you may want to get up a little earlier than usual."
More details here.
"If you're up early Wednesday morning and the weather is promising, bundle up and go outside. The Quadrantid meteor shower, the first of 2012, should be at its best between 3 a.m. and dawn, Eastern time. If you get lucky, you may get a silently satisfying sky show.
The Quadrantids are often the most intense of the year's regular meteor showers, but also one of the shortest. They happen when Earth passes through the narrow trail of debris left by an asteroid called 2003 EH1, so they only last a few hours. (Other showers, such as the Perseids in August, are caused by the more widespread debris from comets, so they may last several nights.) If it's cloudy where you are Wednesday morning, go back to bed and stay warm -- but if it's clear, astronomers say you could see 60-200 streaks across the sky per hour.
The gibbous moon will do you the favor of setting at about 3 a.m. local time, just around the time the meteor shower peaks in the Eastern time zone. From then until dawn, the sky should be very dark, best for watching meteors. If you get up early anyhow for work, you may want to get up a little earlier than usual."
More details here.
Sometimes a cigar galaxy is just a cigar galaxy
Bad Astronomy wrote Sometimes a cigar galaxy is just a cigar galaxy about this new Hubble image.
"One reason this new image from Hubble looks funny to me is that there aren’t as many stars in it as I expect. M82, also called the Cigar Galaxy due to its elongated shape, is pretty close as galaxies go, about 12 million light years away. It’s one of the closest large galaxies in the Universe, and a Hubble image usually shows it littered with stars, so closely packed they form a bluish background glow in most pictures.
And while that background of stars is there, it’s more diminished than usual because in this image astronomers used a series of filters that accentuate the light emitted by gas. While stars put out this kind of light as well, these filters downplay starlight and crank up the volume on, um, gaslight. Specifically, blue and green are from oxygen, red is from sulfur, and teal is hydrogen. The dark material is dust: long-chain molecules that absorb starlight. They also tend to redden light coming from behind them, similar to the way haze in the air makes sunsets look red."
"One reason this new image from Hubble looks funny to me is that there aren’t as many stars in it as I expect. M82, also called the Cigar Galaxy due to its elongated shape, is pretty close as galaxies go, about 12 million light years away. It’s one of the closest large galaxies in the Universe, and a Hubble image usually shows it littered with stars, so closely packed they form a bluish background glow in most pictures.
And while that background of stars is there, it’s more diminished than usual because in this image astronomers used a series of filters that accentuate the light emitted by gas. While stars put out this kind of light as well, these filters downplay starlight and crank up the volume on, um, gaslight. Specifically, blue and green are from oxygen, red is from sulfur, and teal is hydrogen. The dark material is dust: long-chain molecules that absorb starlight. They also tend to redden light coming from behind them, similar to the way haze in the air makes sunsets look red."
Monday, January 02, 2012
Iran Makes First Nuclear Fuel Rod
Bloomberg reports Iran Makes First Nuclear Fuel Rod "Iran produced its first nuclear fuel rod, state-run news agencies reported, as the country offered to restart international talks over its atomic program."
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