And other mildly offensive ads for the holiday.
Via jezebel.com: The SMART program also has a brochure for men that implores them to make sure to ask ARE YOU SURE before having sex, but that doesn't erase the fact that the campaign assumes that 1. only women are rape victims 2. only men are rapists 3. rape victims who drink too much are at least a teeny bit responsible for what happens to them and 4. a bunch of other problems that I'm too exhausted to go into here. No bueno.
Read more here
South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa's president says.
Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.
He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
In a statement on South African national TV, Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela had "departed" and was at peace.
Read more here BBC
Self-styled celebrity super family the Kardashians love their annual Christmas card. Over the years they’ve built up a smorgasboard of festive snaps, which have become more overblown as the family has slowly risen up the celebrity food chain. Last year’s was an all-white number with ticker tape and bubbly, which made it look as if they were trapped in a 2013 version of The Crystal Maze, but this year their yuletide snap went further and almost broke the internet.
Looking like a mix between a scene from Boogie Nights and the interior of a jazzed up Blackpool Pleasure Beach arcade, it’s gaudy clickbait replete with thinly veiled digs at celebrity culture. Their subtle subliminal missives are communicated via piles of trashy magazine covers, Bruce Jenner trapped in a tube and graffiti that says stuff like “fame”. Most media outlets took the card at face value and instinctively laughed heartily at it, before mocking the Kardashians and moving on, but others looked a bit deeper and started to see the HIDDEN ILLUMINATI MESSAGES.
Conspiracy theorist and shouty bloke du jour Alex Jones summed it up, calling the card “a rather grim and depressing summation of the entertainment world”, which most people would happily agree with. But then he went on to add the whole thing was a homage to the “shadowy elite that is turning popular culture into a toxic wasteland”. At that point most people switched off, but then even mainstream news sources started to ask; what is the secret Illuminati message? It’s a question that has increasingly been asked of celebs linked to hip-hop over the last decade, with artists such as Jay-Z regularly having to bat away accusations that he’s part of an occult conspiracy. And Hova is far from the only rapper accused of having Illuminati ties.
Read more Via Raw Story
The technical process of 3D printing can lack a personal touch, so Sebastian Errazruiz decided to mine his romantic past for some—er—intimate creative inspiration. The designer-slash-artist has been working for a year to produce 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers, a series that quite literally objectifies a dozen former flames. Hrm.
It was the first foray into 3D printing for Errazruiz, who teamed up with the off-beat footwear specialists at Melissa for a pop-up debut next week at Art Basel Miami; he'll be showing these pieces, born from CAD drawings and high-tech equipment rather than hands-on modeling. "He wanted to create shoe sculptures that could just as easily pass as a single exclusive valuable art work or a potential molded mass consumption product," studio manager Shani Ha tells Gizmodo. "To mix a little 1% and 99% demographics on the same project from its inception."
Each of the sets has a generic nickname—"The Boss," "The Jetsetter," "Ice Queen"—and an alias to protect identities, buuuuuuut there's a (strong) argument to be made that reducing flesh-and-blood women to inanimate fashion footwear and pseudonyms is not exactly... progressive. You can check out the accompanying artsy, almost-nude pics, and read a bit of erotic short (non)fiction on his site, and thus parse one man's exploration into memory, relationships, and sexual escapades. [MoCo Loco]
Read more here (NSFW)
Originally conceived as Superman's superior, feminist replacement, the character has become a second-stringer over the years—including, unfortunately, in her forthcoming big-screen debut.
Various Wonder Woman movie projects have been stuck in development hell for more or less forever, but it looks like we'll finally be getting to see an on-screen Amazon princess in the near future. Zack Snyder is including the character in his Batman vs. Superman film; Gal Gadot has been cast. Wonder Woman fans rejoice!
Then again, maybe not so much. Wonder Woman as add-on bit player to the manly conflict on the marquee is a sadly familiar scenario to anyone who has subjected themselves to DC comics superhero product over the years. Batman and Superman are both very popular properties. Wonder Woman is the highest-profile female counterpart, but one who has had much less success in the last few decades (at least since the 1970s Lynda Carter television show).
......and he thinks anyone famous is a moron if they’re on Twitter.
“ Despite the actor’s rise to global superstardom, he says being famous is restrictive. In 15 years Clooney has not gone for a walk in New York’s Central Park, despite wanting to, and is still surprised by his success.
“There’s a funny thing about fame. The truth is you run as fast as you can towards it because it is everything you want. You get there and it’s shocking how immediately you become enveloped in this world that is incredibly restricting.”
On being a celebrity, he says: “Not that I’m comparing myself to Clark Gable or whoever but they couldn’t survive in this environment. They’d punch the shit out of some people. It requires a kind of Zen quality.”
The Gravity star also shares his views on social media, saying: “I think anyone who is famous is a moron if they’re on Twitter. It’s just stupid.”
”
Via Esquire
The massive data breach was a result of keylogging software maliciously installed on an untold number of computers around the world, researchers at cybersecurity firm Trustwave said. The virus was capturing log-in credentials for key websites over the past month and sending those usernames and passwords to a server controlled by the hackers.
More here
Via CNN
With Thanksgiving officially over now, we turn our attention to the series of celebrations primarily associated with the month of December. What better way to kick off this holiday season tour de force than with a visual and auditory musical feat, featuring The Piano Guys? (That's a rhetorical question, there is no better way!)
Watch this Christmas cover of "Angels We Have Heard on High," performed by Paul Anderson, Jon Schmidt, Al van der Beek and Steven Sharp Nelson, on one single piano to feel the festive spirit come alive.
More here.
Via HuffingtonPost
Today, researchers announced they have obtained DNA sequences from the earliest human skeletal remains yet, a Spanish fossil from a site known as Sima de los Huesos, or pit of bones. Although the study is undoubtedly a triumph of technology and technique, the results themselves have researchers scratching their heads, since the most closely related DNA has only been found on the opposite side of Eurasia.
The sequencing of DNA from fossil humans has already shaken up our view of the past. The completion of the genome of Neanderthals indicated that they had interbred with modern humans enough to introduce a small bit of their DNA into genomes of any population that left Africa. But sequencing other bones revealed that there was a second group of pre-modern humans in Siberia that also interbred with our ancestors. This group, called the Denisovans, also contributed DNA to our ancestors, but it only appears in groups that migrated into the Pacific.
To confuse matters further, although we have many Neanderthal skeletal remains and a good idea of how they differed from modern humans, so far, all we have of the Denisovans is a couple of teeth. These tell us that their teeth were very large, but little else. Still, the only real question seemed to be how the Denisovans, whom we only know from Siberian remains, ended up getting their DNA carried out into the Pacific.
With the DNA from Sima de los Huesos, there are quite a few more questions now. The cave has extensive remains of both animals and humans that date from over 300,000 years ago. At least 28 individuals have been identified among the remains, and they've been classified as Homo heidelbergensis, a poorly defined grouping that roughly encompasses any pre-modern Eurasian humans who aren't Neanderthals. Nevertheless, there are a few features on the skeletons that suggest they might have been ancestral to Neanderthals.
More here .
Via http://arstechnica.com
The National Security Agency tracks the locations of nearly 5 billion cellphones every day overseas, including those belonging to Americans abroad, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The NSA inadvertently gathers the location records of 'tens of millions of Americans who travel abroad' annually, along with the billions of other records it collects by tapping into worldwide mobile network cables, the Washington Post said in a report on its website.
Such data means the NSA can track the movements of almost any cellphone around the world, and map the relationships of the cellphone user.
Read more here Via DailyMail
Spotify has responded to critics by revealing how much acts can expect to earn from the music streaming site.
The company said it pays an average of $0.007 per play, according to figures on its new website Spotify Artists, aimed specifically at musicians.
Explaining its business model, Spotify said it had paid more than $1bn (£612m) in royalties since its 2008 launch.
Earlier this year Radiohead singer Thom Yorke pulled material from the site in protest at how much it pays artists.
Removing his solo album The Eraser and Atoms for Peace, a side project with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Yorke tweeted that he was "standing up for our fellow musicians".
"Make no mistake new artists you discover on #Spotify will no[t] get paid," he continued on Twitter. "Meanwhile shareholders will shortly being rolling in it. Simples."
However the new website, which said $500m (£306m) of the $1bn it has paid out in royalties was during 2013 alone, has urged musicians to consider accumulative earnings from a successful album, rather than focusing on plays per song.
Read more here Via BBC
Somehow, Google acquired seven robotics companies without anyone noticing.
The companies, all of which have been scooped up in the last year or so, are all a part of former Android boss Andy Rubins’s new Google robotics venture, which was first unveiled earlier today.
After taking a closer look at some of these companies, one thing becomes clear: Google’s robot vision is as diverse it is ambitious. But the companies all point to Google’s final goal here: To create a smart, mobile, dextrous robot that can work alongside — or in place of — humans. It’s the type of moonshot that companies like Google — and, indeed, Amazon — have gotten particularly good at making,
Read more here
Via venturebeat.com
Save the following dates and Buy Local, Buy Art!
Art Enables
www.art-enables.com
Holiday Show
Sat., Dec. 14 | 1-4pm
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW)
www.chaw.org
Annual WRAP IT UP Sale
Sat., Dec. 7 | 12-8 pm
DC Glassworks
www.dcglassworks.com
Holiday Sale
Sat., Dec. 7 | 1–6 pm
The Fridge
www.thefridgedc.com
Alley Cat Holiday Artist Market
Sat. & Sun., Dec. 14-15 | 12-4 pm
Joe’s Movement Emporium
www.joesmovement.org
19th Annual Mount Rainier Holiday Craft Sale
Sat. Dec. 7 | 10-5 pm
SCRAP DC
www.scrapdc.org
Holiday Market
Sun., Dec. 8 | 12-5 pm
Washington Glass School
www.washingtonglassschool.com
Holiday Open House
Sat., Dec. 14 noon to 5pm
A smartphone with two screens - one of which uses e-ink technology and is "always on" - has been launched.
The Russian company Yota said the phone would go on sale online immediately in Russia, Austria, France, Spain and Germany.
The Android-powered phone promises to extend battery life by transferring web pages and other applications to the e-ink screen.
Experts said it may prove attractive to users fed up with drained batteries.
The phone has one LCD display, similar to those found on other smartphones, and a second e-ink screen which the company says lets users see the information they want without having to wake up the phone.
"The typical user picks up and activates their smartphone more than 150 times a day," said Yota Devices chief executive Vlad Martynov.
"Why? Because users worry that messages or information they need or want are hidden behind their phone's black screen. This is a huge distraction and can impede meaningful interaction with our friends, families and colleagues."
Read more BBC
Baking cookies is almost magical. You put little balls of wet, white dough into the oven and out pop brown, crispy, tasty biscuits.
"In a time-lapse video, it looks like a monster coming alive," says the team from in a new animation that — just in time for the holidays — explains the science behind great cookie baking. "For a moment, it [the raw dough] sits there innocuous ... then it bulges outward ... it triples in volume. Its color darkens ominously. And its surface hardens into an alien topography of peaks and craters. ... The kitchen timer dings: Your cookies are ready."
Read more and recipe here
View TED-Ed here
Caran Johnson of Salmon Creek, WA, is well-known for tweeting out traffic updates in her area. Earlier today she sent out messages alerting commuters to a tragic accident on a nearby highway. As the details kept coming, Johnson started worrying about her husband who was traveling on the same highway. Her messages grew increasingly despondent until she posted her final tweet: "it's him. he died."
Via jezebel.com
Uber to deliver your Christmas Trees
The Home Depot is teaming up with transportation-network company Uber to deliver Christmas trees to homes and offices on Thursday, Dec. 5 via the Uber smartphone app.
There’s no cash necessary – Uber users will receive a 7 to 8-foot wrapped tree complete with stand, along with an “Uber gift,” within minutes of ordering. The tree comes for$135, which will be charged to your Uber account.
The service will stretch across 10 U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C.
Read more here via Daily Caller
The Obama's younger dog is still getting used to the spotlight as it made a major faux pas during a White House ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
Sunny Obama jumped up on a toddler who was a guest at the unveiling of the official Christmas decorations, pushing the little girl to the ground.
The girl, later identified as Ashtyn Gardner, is one of the hundreds of children from military families who were on hand to help the First Lady display this year's decorations.
Read more here
Gal Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman, the follow-up to Man of Steel.
Gadot, an Israeli-born actress who was seen in Fast and Furious 6, joins Henry Cavill, who is reprising his role as Superman and Ben Affleck, who is playing Batman.
Read more here.
Via Hollywood Reporter
