Underpaid Genius

The Right to Record - NYTimes.com

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:52:01 -0400

via NYTimes.com

The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department took an important stand last week, declaring that citizens have a First Amendment right to videotape the actions of police officers in public places and that seizure or destruction of such recordings violates constitutional rights.

The Justice Department made the statement in a federal lawsuit brought against the Baltimore Police Department by Christopher Sharp, who used his cellphone to take video of the police arresting and beating a friend at Pimlico on the day of the 2010 Preakness. The officers took Mr. Sharp’s cellphone while he was recording and wiped the phone clean of all videos before returning it to him.

The Courts of Appeals for the First and Seventh Circuits have wisely found that the Constitution protects the right to videotape police officers while they perform official duties. The video taken by another witness of the beating at Pimlico shows that the right to record is crucial to holding police accountable for their actions.

[…]

It is essential that the Justice Department and federal courts make clear that police departments will be held liable for violating this constitutionally protected right.

(via In China, Fear at the Top - NYTimes.com)

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:46:31 -0400

(via In China, Fear at the Top - NYTimes.com)

vintageanchor: “Human beings are not born once and for all on...

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:30:37 -0400

vintageanchor:

“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but…life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”

― Gabriel García Márquez

"Moviegoing is, at its core, a social experience. The moment those lights dim and the film reel..."

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:36:00 -0400

“Moviegoing is, at its core, a social experience. The moment those lights dim and the film reel rolls, you’re no longer an individual sitting in an auditorium; you’re part of a mass of people who are connected through a shared event and the desire to be entertained and transported. In that moment, when you turn from a solitary viewer into an audience, you form a trusting and reciprocal relationship not only with the movie but also with those around you. Every person in the theater contributes to the experience. Usually, this means reverent silence. But I’d argue that there is no theater audience that contributes more to the experience of seeing a movie than one at a midnight show.

I was skeptical until I decided to attend one for the first time. The film was “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” in 2002. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being up until 3 in the morning, and I was unsure and a little worried about the kind of crowd I would have to put up with — especially given that when I saw an opening-day screening of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” I shared the theater with fans dressed as Gandalf or wearing “Frodo lives!” T-shirts, all losing their minds audibly throughout the film. And that was just a matinee.

But what I learned from seeing “The Two Towers” is that a midnight screening is not something you attend but something you do. That’s why, ever since, I have developed the habit of turning “midnight” into a verb. As in, “I’m going to midnight ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ ” or “I’ll definitely midnight ‘Prometheus.’ ” Midnighting a movie is more than just seeing the movie — it’s an act of dedication and enthusiasm above and beyond what most people are willing to give.

The people at a midnight show aren’t there because they want to be but because they have to be. They literally can’t wait to see the movie. That degree of committed anticipation and excitement is something you cannot recreate at any other screening. And it burrows into you. Lining up early turns from a painful experience to a kind of inebriant. You absorb the excitement around you, and you watch the line expand in perfect proportion to your own anticipation.

When you finally get into the theater, you’re drunk on the energy that is being poured into the room by every person there. One time I midnighted “Snakes on a Plane,” and “The Devil Wears Prada” came on the screen by accident. Rest assured, the reaction was not kind or contained. Woe be the projectionist who mistakenly gives Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway to an audience that is frothing for Samuel L. Jackson and snakes.

That incident made me realize, though, that there’s a palpable sense of want at these shows. And in the audience, you can’t wait for that need to be met — not just for yourself but for everyone in the room, because you want to share the rush together. When the lights go down, the energy that seizes that crowd on the precipice of fulfillment is like a roller coaster cresting its highest point, just before it plunges. From the moment the studio logo goes up, people cheer, applaud, laugh, moan, scream, explode into “That was awesome!” Movie titles, character entrances, one-liners, epic action sequences, unexpected deaths, violent creative deaths, bad-guy comeuppances, twists — they all elicit vocal and passionate responses.

One of my favorite excursions was when I midnighted “Freddy vs. Jason” and there was a group of guys who enthusiastically yelled “Boom!” every time the two horror icons dispatched a victim. These guys got so into it that at one point, one of them actually leapt out of his seat and ran up and down the aisle cheering.

Yes, they were probably drunk, and yes, I know that story may deter you from ever seeing a midnight show. But their enthusiasm was such that the whole theater connected to it. By the end, you would have thought we were watching the greatest movie ever made.

The thing to understand about the ruckus of a midnight screening is that, unlike the usual noise you have to filter out at a movie theater, it never feels disruptive, because it’s never disrespectful. The noise isn’t about people distracting others (and themselves) from the movie. It’s directed at the movie. It comes from an irrepressible desire to celebrate what’s being seen. It comes, at its heart, from the greatest emotion a movie can give you: Joy.

That joy also ensures that you will never, ever see a cellphone light up or hear anything but deathly stillness during scenes that don’t merit enthusiastic responses. In fact, midnight movies — when they’re quiet — are some of the most reverent movie experiences I’ve ever had. People will literally shush you one second into the movie. What more could anyone ask from a moviegoing experience than an audience that actually both quietly respects and vocally worships the movie you’re collectively seeing? Being surrounded by that always swells my movie-buff heart as I think, This is why I go to the movies.”

- Alexander Huls, How To Enjoy Going To The Movies Again

Grilled Caesar Salad For the dressing: 1 clove garlic, peeled...

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:32:04 -0400

Grilled Caesar Salad

For the dressing:

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon lime zest
1 lime, juiced, approximately 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the salad:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce, tops and bottoms trimmed neatly, the heads cut lengthwise into quarters
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Preparation

1.Make the Caesar dressing. Put the minced garlic into a medium bowl, and add the minced anchovies. Using a whisk, mix and mash these ingredients together until they form a paste. Add the egg yolks and the mustard, and begin to whisk them with the paste. Add a small stream of olive oil while continuing to whisk. Add more olive oil, whisking all the while, until the dressing begins to emulsify. Add the Worcestershire sauce, and continue to whisk until the dressing achieves a mayonnaiselike consistency. Add the red-wine vinegar, whisk to combine, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.2.Make the vinaigrette. Combine the lime zest, lime juice, balsamic vinegar and oil in another small bowl, and whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.3.Make the salad. Drizzle the olive oil over the quartered heads of lettuce. Lightly grill these over a low fire for 15 to 20 seconds on each side, until they have a light goldenness, and remove to a platter. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, paint the Caesar dressing over the lettuce, making sure to get dressing between the leaves. Return lettuces to edges of grill, sprinkle with Parmesan and cover for 30 seconds to allow the cheese to soften and toast. Remove lettuce to a platter, and drizzle with lime vinaigrette. Serve two pieces each, alongside a steak. Serves 4. Adapted from Alan Ashkinaze, Millesime, New York.

electrikthunder: Seawaves surface and underwater paintings by...

Sun, 20 May 2012 13:37:03 -0400

electrikthunder:

Seawaves surface and underwater paintings by Martine Emdur.

zeroing: saul steinberg

Sun, 20 May 2012 13:30:04 -0400

zeroing:

saul steinberg

Thomas Fyans Boyd: A Life

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:44:40 -0400

Thomas Fyans Boyd: A Life

shoutsandmumbles: Hey Monday. (Taken with Instagram at Brooklyn...

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:53:14 -0400

shoutsandmumbles:

Hey Monday. (Taken with Instagram at Brooklyn Bridge)

Conrad the gangster (Taken with Instagram at 17 south cedar,...

Mon, 14 May 2012 19:03:12 -0400

Conrad the gangster (Taken with Instagram at 17 south cedar, beacon ny)

Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History? - Michael DeGusta via Technology Review

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:52:02 -0400

Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History? - Michael DeGusta via Technology Review:

Michael DeGusta via Technology Review

[…] smart phones, after a relatively fast start, have also outpaced nearly any comparable technology in the leap to mainstream use. It took landline telephones about 45 years to get from 5 percent to 50 percent penetration among U.S. households, and mobile phones took around seven years to reach a similar proportion of consumers. Smart phones have gone from 5 percent to 40 percent in about four years, despite a recession. In the comparison shown, the only technology that moved as quickly to the U.S. mainstream was television between 1950 and 1953.

via Gestalten

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:19:43 -0400

via Gestalten

"Take the Mass. Ave. bridge over to Cambridge. After bridge, take a right at the 4th sets of lights..."

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:15:06 -0400

“Take the Mass. Ave. bridge over to Cambridge. After bridge, take a right at the 4th sets of lights onto Albany St. about a block down bear left onto Portland St. (Sign often missing) at third light turn right onto Hampshire St. We are in the first block on left in the back of the”

- the blue room :: directions

‘Sign often missing’ catches the attention. Maybe it had a tough childhood?

"What if elected Islamist parties impose laws that curb individual freedoms — like banning alcohol or..."

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:32:38 -0400

“

What if elected Islamist parties impose laws that curb individual freedoms — like banning alcohol or executing converts — all with popular support? What if democracy does not serve liberty?

This question is seldom asked in the West, where democracy is often seen as synonymous with liberalism. However, as Fareed Zakaria warned in his 2003 book “The Future of Freedom,” there are illiberal democracies, too, where the majority’s power isn’t checked by constitutional liberalism, and the rights and freedoms of all citizens are not secured. This is a risk for the post-Arab Spring countries, and even for post-Kemalist Turkey. The real debate, therefore, is whether Islam is compatible with liberalism.

”

- Mustafa Akyol, Can Islamists Be Liberals? via NYTimes.com

Stop City (via Dogma)

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:27:44 -0400

Stop City

(via Dogma)

(via void())

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:20:26 -0400

(via void())

Freezing The Future

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:12:19 -0400

The practice of freezing eggs by women nearing the end of their reproductive years is growing, thanks to the grandparents-to-be:

Elissa Gootman via NY Times

At the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, a popular destination for women hoping to preserve their fertility by freezing their eggs, Dr. William Schoolcraft, the founder and medical director, has started to notice something different: more of the women are arriving with company.

“I see these patients come in, and they’re with two elderly people, and I’m like, ‘What the hey?’ ” Dr. Schoolcraft said.

The gray-haired entourages, it turns out, are the parents, tagging along to lend support — emotional and often financial — as their daughters turn to the fledgling field of egg freezing to improve their chances of having children later on, when they are ready to start a family.

The technology to freeze a woman’s delicate eggs to be used later, when the eggs being released by her ovaries may no longer be viable, has improved sharply over the past decade. There currently is no single source of data on the number of women who are choosing to freeze their eggs, but doctors in the United States say the practice is slowly growing.

The procedure remains expensive, generally costing between $8,000 and $18,000. And because it offers no guarantees and is still considered experimental by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a professional association, it can seem to some like an extravagant gamble.

But it is a gamble that many would-be grandparents are willing to take with their daughters, even if it means navigating a potentially uncomfortable conversation.

“By the time Allison was 35, I felt the clock was tick-tick-ticking,” said Candace Kramer, 61, whose daughter took her up on the suggestion to freeze her eggs — and her offer to pay half the bill. “I viewed it as opening up an opportunity for her.”

Such arrangements are not unusual, said Dr. Daniel Shapiro, the medical director of Reproductive Biology Associates of Atlanta. He estimated that at least three quarters of his center’s egg-freezing patients — more than 100 over the past two years — have parents who paid part or all of the bill.

“I was surprised at first about the parental involvement, but now I expect it to be the case,” said Dr. Shapiro, adding that many patients tell him, “My parents want me to have this as a gift.”

After the money spent on college and braces, this might be small potatoes.

Kogi Los Angeles In 2008, Roy Choi, a classically trained chef...

Sun, 13 May 2012 08:45:11 -0400

Kogi Los Angeles

In 2008, Roy Choi, a classically trained chef who once worked at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, took his Korean-Mexican fusion food to the streets. There, his beef short rib taco with a special, 21-ingredient sauce quickly emerged as his signature dish. From one truck, which Newsweek declared “America’s first viral eatery,” Kogi has expanded into an empire, with five trucks, whose locations on any given day are tweeted to over 96,000 followers, and four brick-and-mortar establishments. Many, including Smithsonian magazine’s very own food columnist Jonathan Gold, feel like food truck culture is indebted to Kogi, which proved that delivering “high-end food at street level prices,” as its website says, is possible. – Megan Gambino Website: http://kogibbq.com/ Twitter: @kogibbq Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KogiBBQTacos (via The 20 Best Food Trucks in the United States | Travel | Smithsonian Magazine)

2-crowes: Fairfield Porter

Sun, 13 May 2012 08:09:00 -0400

2-crowes:

Fairfield Porter

faredisfare: Daryl Zang, Ferocious

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:37:00 -0400

faredisfare:

Daryl Zang, Ferocious