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11.10.09

Interview with Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar NBA basketball legend talks with CNN about his chronic myeloid leukemia. Basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar... more

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1 hour ago

Current Media lays off 80, cancels shows

it hasn't worked so well to mesh the short-video-clip culture of the Web with traditional cable news: Current Media, the edgy cable company co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, announced Wednesday it has laid off 80 employees in conjunction with a programming shakeup.

According to a release from the company, this shift involves canceling a number of programs, including "Current Tonight," "Current Takeover" and "Current Exposed." Most of the layoffs are in conjunction with those programs.

Additionally, per Wednesday's release: "Current will be shifting away from short-form programming and daily in-house production and towards proven 30-60 minute formats from a multitude of sources, including acquisitions, co-productions, outside studios, as well as Current developed and produced content." So it sounds like there will be a significant amount of new focus on outsourced material rather than more expensive in-house production--and perhaps less of an attempt to compete with well-established, live cable news networks.

Exactly one year ago, Current--headquartered in San Francisco but with many of its production operations in Los Angeles--laid off about 60 people but said that it was also creating about 30 new positions, which left its head count around 410 employees. Current chief operating officer Joanna Drake Earl told CNET News that this year's cuts leave its employee numbers at around 300.

The release said that the cuts were "not the result of a need to cut costs" and that the company would be hiring in areas like talent management, licensing, marketing, and ad sales. It'll also be consolidating its two L.A. facilities into a single new one.

"We've been an extremely innovative company doing lots and lots of different things," Earl said, "but (we've had to ask) what are we doing for our audience, and what shouldn't we be doing."

The company had filed for a $100 million IPO about two years ago but then retracted it amid concerns about the economy. It's repeatedly had to deflect rumors about its viability, like a report early this year that it would be closing its San Francisco headquarters to focus on L.A.

I luv CURRENT SORRY FOR THE BAD NEWSit hasn't worked so well to mesh the short-video-clip culture of the Web with traditional cable news: Current Media, the edgy... more

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5 hours ago

Last.fm Jumps on the Video Bandwagon!

What's going on with Last.fm these days? A lot, if you know which blogs to read (yes Mashable, I'm swooning at you). In... more

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2 hours ago

The End Is Nigh: Fox Officially Cancels Dollhouse

UPDATE: Joss Whedon has spoken. "I feel [Dollhouse] is getting better pretty much every week," he just wrote to his fans... more

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4 hours ago

Lou Dobbs leaves CNN

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/report-lou-dobbs-leaving-cnn/ The evolution of CNN anchor Lou Dobbs from financial news wizard to... more

SleepDirt
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2 hours ago

Middle School food fight leads to 25 arrests

The food fight here started the way such bouts do in school lunchrooms most anywhere: an apple was tossed, a cookie turned into a... more

LowShred
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3 hours ago

US envoy to Kabul urges against new troops: report

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_envoy_to_Kabul_urges_against_new_11112009.html

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3 hours ago

Whistleblowers: Blackwater approved $1M in payoffs of Iraqi officials

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/whistleblowers-blackwater-approved-payoffs-iraqi-officials/

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3 hours ago

Grizzly Bear’s Ready, Able: A Haunting Surreal Mix of Sadness and Otherworldly Beauty

Grizzly Bear’s new album “Veckatimst” has given birth to another aesthetically appealing video. Artist Allison... more

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4 hours ago

Fool's Gold a Golden Opportunity for Solar

"Fool's gold, or pyrite, could be a real gold mine for the solar panel industry.

Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley and Switzerland-based NLV Solar are developing solar cells based on one of the most widely available minerals on the planet, pyrite, that could one day be as efficient as today's popular silicon panels, but much thinner and much cheaper.

The best cells can only convert about 3 percent of the light that strikes them into electricity, a number that hasn't changed much since the 1980s. Indium tin oxide, silicon, gallium arsenides and other materials used in solar panels can achieve many times that efficiency.

Instead of focusing on technical accomplishments Wadia looked at the environmental availability of 23 different materials in the Earth's crust. While silicon, a major component of beach sand, might seem limitless, pyrite is much more common -- four to five orders more common in fact.

"We can't change the geology of the Earth, so we might as well go after the materials that is most abundant," said Wadia. "We can barely put solar power in the hands of one million, let alone six billion."

Wadia isn't the only scientist looking at pyrite based photovoltaics. NLV Solar and Swedish car maker Koenigsegg recently built a solar-electric concept car known as the Quant, which used pyrite-based solar cells.

With multiple layers of solar cells, NLV boasted that their Pyradian photovoltaic cell can convert 50 percent of all the light that strikes them into electricity. Being a concept car, it is unlikely that it will be available for consumer purchase anytime soon.

Other scientists have also noticed pyrite's potential. "It's absorption coefficient is very high, and it requires very little material to absorb a lot sunlight," said Joseph Luther, a research scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. "What might take 300 microns of silicon to absorb might only take 20 nanometers of pyrite."

http://news.discovery.com/tech/fools-gold-solar-power.html"Fool's gold, or pyrite, could be a real gold mine for the solar panel industry. Scientists from the University of... more

DeliaTheArtist
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4 hours ago

Official: Obama rejects all Afghan war options

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Obama still is close to announcing his revamped war strategy, most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

The president raised questions at a war council meeting on Wednesday, however, that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

The president is considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. troops to take on the Taliban in major areas of Afghanistan and to buy time for the Afghan government's small and ill-equipped fighting forces to take over. The other three options on the table are ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition of forces to the roughly 40,000 that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan prefers, according to military and other officials.

No open-ended commitment
The main sticking points appear to be timelines and mounting questions about the credibility of the Afghan government.

Administration officials said Wednesday that Obama wants to make clear that the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended. The war is now in its ninth year and is claiming U.S. lives at a record pace as military leaders say the Taliban has the upper hand in many parts of the country.

The options presented to Obama by his war council are likely to be amended.

Military officials say one approach is a compromise battle plan that would add 30,000 or more U.S. troops atop a record 68,000 in the country now. They described it as "half and half," meaning half fighting and half training and holding ground so the Afghans can regroup.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33864508/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security... more

current89
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4 hours ago

The Well-Being of 50 U.S. States

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states are happiest. The index includes questions about six... more

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4 hours ago

U.S. & Cuba: Diplomacy through Science

"Eight American scientists, including Nobel laureate in chemistry Peter Agre, are in Havana to engage in "science... more

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5 hours ago

Lou Dobbs retires from CNN

The last of the original anchors of CNN has called it quits. His last show was tonight.

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5 hours ago

Lou Dobbs Quits CNN

CNN's Lou Dobbs is leaving the network at the end of his show Wednesday night, the controversial anchor and commentator... more

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5 hours ago

Toddler Chokes To Death On Lolly

A TODDLER choked to death in front of his horrified family after a lollipop came off its stick and became wedged in his throat. Little Francis Dean, two, started struggling for breath after being given the lolly as a treat for eating his dinner.

His brother Michael, 13, took hold of the stick but it suddenly came away in his hand — leaving Francis gasping for air. Family and friends frantically tried to save the youngster but he died before reaching hospital.

Last night his anguished parents David and Dawn warned other parents to be extra careful with lollipops. And they urged manufacturers Swizzels Matlow to make the warnings on sweets clearer.

The sweet was part of Swizzels Matlow's 'lots of lollies' pack which carries a warning saying, 'Lollipops are a potential choking hazard. Not suitable for children under 36 months'. But the cellophane wrapper on the actual lollipop does not carry any warning.

Dawn, of Newton Heath, Manchester, added: "Kids love sweets and lollipops and this could have been any sweet given to any child. We would urge the manufacturers to put warnings on each individual lolly or to make them smaller. I'd just say to other parents, you can never be too cautious. We would never have thought this could harm our child."

"We had two-and-a-half wonderful years with him. He was full of life. He loved playing with his toys, his Power Rangers and cars. He liked football and had his own little cricket set to play with his brother. They were very close - he was close to all his family."

"He was a very, very happy chap. He loved nursery and had some wonderful friends who are devastated. We want to thank everyone, all our lovely friends and family and neighbours, for their comforting words and everything they've done for him and us."

A spokesman for Swizzels Matlow said: "All at Swizzels Matlow were devastated to hear of the tragic death of this baby boy. Most of us are parents and we can only imagine the pain and anguish that the little boy's parents are facing."

"As soon as we are furnished with more details we will mount a full investigation."

http://www.bigredkev.com/2009/11/toddler-chokes-to-death-on-lolly.htmlA TODDLER choked to death in front of his horrified family after a lollipop came off its stick and became wedged in his throat.... more

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5 hours ago

What is Artificial Paradise?

If you do not know what is Artificial Paradise or who is Jp Frenay then you might want to take a moment and watch the video below.... more

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6 hours ago

Did Rock Music Peak Right Before Oil Did?

What's the correlation between good, quality rock music and worldwide oil supplies? They both peaked around the same time, according to Overthinking It, and they both illustrate what occurs when you're using something up from a limited pool--crude oil stores in one case, and musical ideas in the other. Have we run out of both?

The decline in U.S. oil production* is explained by the Hubbert Peak Theory, which states that "the amount of oil under the ground in any region is finite, therefore the rate of discovery which initially increases quickly must reach a maximum and decline." Makes sense, right? The same theory can apply to anything of a finite quantity that is discovered and quickly exploited with maximum effort.

This of course is not news to peak oil watchers, but applying the same principle to music makes for an interesting exercise. It's then extrapolated that rock music has been rapidly explored, and has declined ever since.
The rationale behind the editorial, while definitely entertaining, is based on a faulty premise. The author writes:

I don't think I'm being pessimistic about the outlook on pop/rock music or snobbish about my retro music tastes. I think the same idea applies to other creative fields that follow a similar arc of rapid exploration followed by derivative works. Assuming some constraints on the definition of the form, the amount of innovation that can be done within that form is finite. Most of it will come early and fast, then decline after the peak. Impressionist paintings. Star Wars movies. I could go on.

But there are problems--oil is commodity, while musical ideas are not. And while there is certainly some ambiguity around whether or not innovation within an artistic field is finite or not (I might argue it's infinite: there are infinite combinations of musical notes and space, for instance), the supply of oil is indisputably finite. Also, using a the tastes of a single magazine (and one that many would say is well past its prime)--which the author notes as a problem--as a barometer for the health of all of rock music is woefully inadequate. It's an arbitrary enterprise.

For instance, I could argue that bands like Radiohead, Animal Collective, and the Flaming Lips have brought more innovation to rock music than the Bee Gees or the Carpenters (which make Rolling Stone's cut) and probably get plenty of people to agree with me. Just because the more modern acts are less popular, doesn't mean they aren't successfully innovating, and creating good, quality rock music.

And this article, which went viral, probably introduced a whole lot of new music fans (many who likely have more passionate opinions about whether or not rock is dead than whether or not we've already passed peak oil) to Hubbert's theory, and perhaps even the peak oil problem itself.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/did-rock-music-peak-us-oil.phpWhat's the correlation between good, quality rock music and worldwide oil supplies? They both peaked around the same time,... more