Archive
The “Do Not Kill” List
Ahaha. Maybe what that hipster told me, “We’re living in a dystopia!” wasn’t so crazy after all. Even Americans can be enemy combatants. Rejoice in our executive branch’s power.
http://www.donotkill.net/about.php
The National Agency for Ethical Drone-Human Interactions (N.E.D.H.I.) was founded in September of 2001 to monitor and regulate the use of drones both domestically and internationally.
Disclaimer: Adding your name to the ‘Do Not Kill’ Registry does not guarantee that you will not be the target of a drone strike but only that an additional review process will be undertaken before you are labeled an enemy militant and added to the national kill list. For further information on the drone program and newly instated ‘kill list’ click here.
Sign the Whitehouse.gov petition to get Obama to officially create a Do Not Kill list. 25,000 are required by June 29 to get an official response from the White House.
European Finance Ministers Play “Wasn’t Me.”
Hat tip to Ezra Klein.
The Daily Show Live: Indecision Tour 2012
Can’t argue with free buttons.
In Central Park last night with Wyatt Cenac, Al Madrigal, John Oliver, contributor Kristen Schaal, executive producer Rory Albanese, co-executive producer Adam Lowitt and hosted by John Hodgman. A nice lady let us sit on her blanket with her. Lewis Black made a surprise appearance at the end. It was the best free show ever.
One of my favorite parts was when Wyatt Cenac talked about white supremacists criticizing Thor for having a black Norse god and then agreed with them. Hah, it’s like I said, Thor had all the “political inclusivity of the Power Rangers.”
Kristen Schaal is better on stage than she is on the show. She did a sexy chair dance with water and then John Hodgman did a not so sexy chair dance with water. She does a weekly gig in Brooklyn every Monday that looks fun.
Even the lesser-name guys who went on first were pretty funny. “Passion attack.” “Did you just rename rape?”
I can’t find a tour date schedule. Tthe Indecision 2012 site doesn’t have one posted. I didn’t know about this show until yesterday. Maybe they’re all free and so popular that only the venue promotes it.
Huh. Whatever. Not my loss. I’m going to go spend the heat wave tomorrow (er, today rather) watching the rest of John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show on Netflix, because he is so fantastic.
WTF Wednesday – Naked Model Arrested Sues NYPD
Weird News Wednesday
I posted last August, “Naked in New York City,” about the model in Time’s Square that was arrested during a completely legal, nude but bodypainted photoshoot. Her name is Zoe West and today…
Nude Artist’s Model Zoe West Files Suit Against New York City For Violating Civil Rights (VIDEO)
Meh, I think it’s a frivolous suit for attention. The cops should be disciplined for being negligent about artist laws, but she was only in custody for a couple hours and released with no charges. This reminds me of the time that Mitt Romney threatened to sue for “false arrest” when he was taken in for presumably being a dick when confronted about expired boat tags.
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Meanwhile, have you guys been following the drama over The Oatmeal vs. FunnyJunk? Start here, if you’re not familiar with the $20K that FJ wants for slander or something like that (The Oatmeal bitched abut FJ stealing his comics) and then work your back back to this headline:
Background: the previous entries in our coverage of Charles Carreon’s bizarre and contemptible behavior on behalf of his client, FunnyJunk, against The Oatmeal can be found here at Part I, Part II, and Part III….
[FunnyJunk’s lawyer] transcended typical internet infamy when he filed a federal lawsuit last Friday in the United Sates District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland. He belonged to the ages the moment he filed that lawsuit not only against Matthew Inman, proprietor of The Oatmeal, but also against IndieGoGo Inc., the company that hosted Inman’s ridiculously effective fundraiser for the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society.
But that level of censorious litigiousness was not enough for Charles Carreon. He sought something more. And so, on that same Friday, Charles Carreon also sued the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society, the beneficiaries of Matthew Inman’s fundraiser.
FunnyJunk is now trying to spin something that sounds like Charles Carreon isn’t their lawyer? Whatever. FunnyJunk is made of lies and Charles Carreon is made of crazy. Who sues the American Cancer Society?
In all jurisdictions, if the case truly lacks legal merit, the judge can fine, censure, or even disbar the attorney who brings the case. California needs to fine and censure this guy. Seriously.
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Last one:
Octopus Hitches Ride On Dolphin’s Genitals
Nature is beautiful.
Marco Rubio’s Book Comes Out. He Does Not Do Himself Favors.
“Many people who come here illegally are doing exactly what we would do if we lived in a country where we couldn’t feed our families,” Rubio writes in his memior, An American Son, which went on sale today. “If my kids went to sleep hungry every night and my country didn’t give me an opportunity to feed them, there isn’t a law, no matter how restrictive, that would prevent me from coming here.”
Ooh, that’s going to hurt his intrade numbers. I think Rubio just shot his VP nomination in the foot. The fear of picking someone too bold still haunts the GOP.
Latinos are underrepresented in swing states and remember that the immigrants in Rubio’s home state of Florida are largely Cuban, who tend to vote more conservative anyway.
Also, WaPo: Marco Rubio isn’t being seriously vetted by Romney campaign, adviser confirms.
[Edit: Nevermind. WaPo: Romney: Marco Rubio is being seriously vetted as possible vice presidential choice.
Double Edit: John Avlon says Romney lying about vetting Rubio for VP. Haha. What the hell, Romney campaign.]
I’m going to go ahead and put my money down on Paul Ryan, whom I already have going on in a private bet. I’m a little hesitant because he doesn’t have great foreign policy cred, but economics is a bigger debate topic this year than foreign policy. And I think he has higher name recognition than Rob Portman.
I haven’t been through many primaries in my adult life. I’ll be a little impressed if i’m right.
We will see by the RNC convention on August 27.
AppsBlogger: Nearly Half of All Kickstarters Fail
Mashable released an infographic last week from Appsblogger.com that had the statistic 41% of all projects did not meet their funding goals:
The infographic, created by AppsBlogger.com, looked at a total of 45,815 Kickstarter projects and nearly $215 million pledged funds. It shows that the secret to having a successful Kickstarter project is setting a realistic monetary goal and dedicating the right amount of campaigning days to spend on the site.
Shorter Kickstarter campaigns tend to better, with the average successful project lasting 38 days, compared to failed projects which averaged 43 days. Meanwhile, successful projects typically ask for around $5,487 compared to failed projects which, on average, ask for $16,365.
It’s no secret that social networking and promotion are keys to Kickstarter success. So now that I’ve lured you in…
A friend in Brooklyn, Meg Paska, who is essentially the face of the Brooklyn homesteading movement (also beekeeping) moved to a farm recently and is trying to start up her own place to run farm workshops based on Community Supported Agriculture.
She’s reached the half way point for her goal already with a couple more weeks to go. She wants to grow food and raise animals on a larger scale than what she was doing in Brooklyn.
Remember, projects succeed more often than they fail.
Go and help her out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1296103575/the-homestead-at-seven-arrows
Overheard in Brooklyn @HeardinBK Twitter
I have a new project. There’s a few other “Overheard in Brooklyn” websites and blogs, but they’re all dead. Don’t let this Twitter die like my Anthony Weiner Tumblr died!
My life goal is go viral on the Internet by ripping off other people’s ideas. (My parents didn’t love me.)
Send me your Hipster quotes and retweet any ones you like.
Overheard Brooklyn “My dream is to make a living writing dick jokes for people that have been to college.”
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“Goddamn, I need a man purse.”
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“Feminist mime class. Help! Help! I’m trapped under a glass ceiling.” –@TheRealDictator
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“She bought a shower curtain that says YOLO on it.” “This shit has gone too far.” #YOLO
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“We’re living in a Dystopia!”
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