Disney Mucks with the Star Wars Calendar

Posted on August 9, 2014 by wellsdc

I’ve never been all that much into the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the massive set of books, comics, and other works that build on the original movie trilogy and, to an extent, the prequel trilogy. I will say that I have always respected the amount of work, attention to detail, and commitment to maintaining continuity that seems to have gone into building the SWEU. (With some major exceptions—[cough]Ewok Adventure[cough]—of course

Now, Lucas himself mucked about with the continuity a bit in the prequels, such as with the story of who built C-3PO, but the SWEU (mostly) effectively fills in the historical and narrative gaps of the world Lucas created.

Until Disney took over, that is, and proclaimed that the SWEU is not canonical anymore, to the extent that it ever was. (To be fair, Disney spent more on on Lucasfilm in one fell swoop than I’ve spent on Star Wars properties in my entire life, but that only means that, in a strict capitalist sense, they have more say over the Star Wars canon than I do individually. Strength in numbers, fans….)

Some people take Star Wars very seriously.

Continue reading →

Democrats and Tea Partiers Agree…

Posted on August 9, 2014 by wellsdc

John Boehner is lying his ass off about impeachment being a fundraising scam perpetrated by Democrats.

What I’m wondering is, who actually believes his b.s.?

What I’m Reading, August 8, 2014

Posted on August 8, 2014 by wellsdc

Why it Matters What Liberal Validators Say on GMOs, Keith Kloor, Collide-A-Scape, August 4, 2014

When Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks, people listen. I was on vacation when America’s most prominent scientist made news for railing against GMO fearmongers. “Practically every food you buy in a store for consumption by humans is genetically modified food,” he told a French interviewer. It was an impromptu, oversimplified response on a complex, hot-button subject, but Tyson’s stance was clear to all: GMOs are nothing to be afraid of.

***

Much of what constitutes criticism of GMOs from consumer and environmental groups is, to put it charitably, disingenuous. At best, groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth cherry-pick science to emphasize uncertainty (straight out of the climate denial playbook), at worst, they scare-monger and demagogue, using Monsanto as the great bogeyman. In short, mainstream consumer and green groups pollute the discourse on GMOs in the same way that climate skeptics pollute the conversation on global warming.

***

Neil deGrasse Tyson is obviously a huge breath of fresh air in the noxious GMO debate. He is a major “validator” for those with unformed beliefs on GMOs. So he is a potential game changer.

Abortions For “Funsies!” Feminace, Seriously?!?, August 2, 2014 Continue reading →

Ebola and the Law

Posted on August 8, 2014 by wellsdc

If that’s not an eye-catching seminar title, then I don’t know what is. At a friend’s suggestion, I’ll be virtually attending a webinar entitled “Ebola and the Law: What You Need to Know” this coming Tuesday.

Usually, lawyers get continuing education credits learning about dull regulatory updates and such—there’s only so much you can do to make caselaw updates exciting. This is unlikely to be much different, really, but how many CLE’s talk about what “legal powers and duties health department personnel have if an Ebola outbreak occurs in the U.S.”? We can submit questions for the speakers. I’m sort of tempted to ask if a fuel-air bomb is within the scope of the CDC’s authority (that happened in the movie Outbreak), but I’m afraid I might not like the answer.

I’ll post a follow-up about the webinar itself.

BOOM

Posted on August 8, 2014 by wellsdc

From a response to a fundraising email from the College Republican National Committee, seeking to raise money for “recruitment supplies” including “items like CRNC sunglasses and drink coozies [sic] to spread the CRNC brand on campus”:

Here’s a marketing idea for you: in addition to the cool shades and koozies, give all those kids wallet-sized cards with pictures of conservative heroes like Dick Cheney, Steve King, Michelle Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, and Sarah Palin on the front. On the back, you can list everything the GOP has been right about in the last 40 years. You should be able to do that in large type. With plenty of white space. The use of “white” space should have a lot of appeal.

Why do I get the feeling that this guy’s email will show up in a future CRNC fundraising email as an example of the “persecution” faced by college-age conservatives who still get monthly checks from their parents?

This Week in WTF, August 8, 2014

Posted on August 8, 2014 by wellsdc

– Headline of the Decade: Kim Jong Un Went to a Lubricant Factory.

The article also wins Best Use of the Word “Effused”:

Touring both the factory floor and control rooms, Kim effused over the factory’s automation.

(h/t Bluegal)

– I bet you’ll read the fine print now: Side effects of a certain medication may include spontaneous orgasms.

– Saved by the Biebs: A Russian man narrowly escaped death at the ~~hands~~ paws of a bear thanks to a Justin Bieber ringtone: Continue reading →

What I’m Reading, August 7, 2014

Posted on August 7, 2014 by wellsdc

Fox News Calls Ruth Bader Ginsburg an Ignorant Misandrist, Amanda Marcotte, Slate, August 1, 2014

Ginsburg’s comments inspired comical levels of umbrage-taking on The Five on Fox News, where Andrea Tantaros worked herself into full-blown “misandry!” mode. “Isn’t she sort of saying, ‘Keep men away from this court?’ ” she complained. “I get it. She’s a fan of birth control, but she is an enemy to the Bill of Rights.”

“Can you imagine if Justice Scalia would say the same thing about the women on the court, that they have a blind spot? In other words, they’re not reasonable?” Tantaros said. That is an interesting hypothetical, given that, in his majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito specifically shut down the possibility that any other kind of health care would be affected by this ruling. He’s the one who singled out contraception as a lesser form of health care, not Ginsburg. But hey, maybe the court will soon rule on whether male-only health care counts as health care enough to be protected as health care, and Tantaros will see her theory put to the test. I’m sure that will happen any day now.

A Reminder: Texas Murdered An Almost Certainly Innocent Man, Scott Lemieux, Lawyers, Guns & Money, August 4, 2014

Continue reading →

Eating “Healthy” Isn’t Always Enough

Posted on August 7, 2014 by wellsdc

Sometimes people need medicine. This is addressed to the people who dismiss everything and anything that comes from “Big Pharma” in favor of healthy food and “natural” remedies—or “Big Placebo,” as I (and others) call them.

More specifically, I hope the person who made this cartoon eats a bunch of organic fruit full of spiders:

See, I’ve dealt with intestinal issues pretty much my whole life, and the less processed certain foods are, the more distress they cause me. So if health food works for you, that’s awesome and more power to you, but don’t assume I don’t know what I’m talking about just because I don’t share your passion for kelp or whatever.

My issues, by the way, do not remotely compare to those of people with Crohn’s or other forms of inflammatory bowel disease. My diagnosis has always fallen in the catch-all category of irritable bowel syndrome, which also sucks but…..well, you’ll see. Take the story of Sarah at Skeptability (h/t Stephanie Zvan), a vegan who must contend with Crohn’s every day: Continue reading →

What I’m Reading, August 6, 2014

Posted on August 6, 2014 by wellsdc

Ayn Rand’s libertarian “Groundhog Day”: Billionaire greed, deregulation and the myth that markets aren’t free enough, Thomas Frank, Salon, August 3, 2014

This summer will mark 13 years since the series of disclosures that led to the sudden bankruptcy of the Enron Corp. of Houston. The collapse of the gas-and-power leviathan, then one of the largest companies in the nation, was the starting gun for the modern age of neoliberal scandal, the corporate crime that set the pattern. It was not the first episode to feature grotesque bonuses for insiders, or a fawning press, or bought politicians, or average people being fleeced by scheming predators. But it was the first in recent memory to bring together all those elements in one glorious fireball of fraud.

This is the next Hobby Lobby, Irin Carmon, MSNBC, July 30, 2014

Continue reading →

A Brawl in Parliament Becomes Renaissance Art

Posted on August 6, 2014 by wellsdc

I probably shouldn’t find a brawl in the Ukrainian parliament so funny, but I do.

Someone took a candid photo of a fight in Ukranian Parliament that is as well-composed as the best renaissance art pic.twitter.com/BBhw6rdT3l

— James Harvey (@jamesharveytm) August 6, 2014

The images were posted to Facebook on August 2. The caption reads “Fight in the Ukrainian Parliament turned into Renaissance art.”

I just have to give props to anyone who can apply the golden ratio to a news photo.

Cryptic Philosopher

Oh, like YOU could think of a better tagline!

Disney Mucks with the Star Wars Calendar

Democrats and Tea Partiers Agree…

What I’m Reading, August 8, 2014

Ebola and the Law

BOOM

This Week in WTF, August 8, 2014

What I’m Reading, August 7, 2014

Eating “Healthy” Isn’t Always Enough

What I’m Reading, August 6, 2014

A Brawl in Parliament Becomes Renaissance Art