Given the limited information, it’s hard to know what to expect, but this certainly was not it. And I am not disappointed.
(Source: zomgblog)
Jane Lynch: You don’t seem like a dark person, but you have to have something dark going on. Tell us what’s dark about you.
Amy Poehler: I don’t like most people. I really, really don’t. I don’t like other people or a lot of people. But other than that, I’m really fun to be around.
When allegations of federal complicity in the shutdown of Occupy Wall Street sites across the nation went viral last weekend, the phenomenon showed that the crackdowns had clearly touched a nerve.
Yet, Occupy New Haven remains on the New Haven green, and, according to the City of New Haven, that’s where ONH, at least at present, has permission to stay.
“I don’t foresee the city feeling a need to clear the green,” said Robert Smuts, chief administrative officer for the City of New Haven. “The green has been a center of assembly and free speech for 373 years, and we’re not about to try to change that — we’re proud of that heritage.”
…
The ONH presence on a green remarkably free of litter, with its trash split for recycling, continues to grow. In late October, ONH consisted of between 15 and 20 tents, said Meghan McGaffin, who serves on the outreach committee. On Friday, according to a member of one of the safety teams on site, the number of tents wedged between Yale University and the federal structures once known as Quality Row stood at 76.
“I’m surprised every time I go down there,” McGaffin said. “They’re determined and willing to stay, and preparing for the [winter] weather.”
McGaffin also saw the New England tradition of the green as one reason for the group’s longevity.
“The entire reason why towns in New England have a green is for peaceful assembly — to gather and have public discourse,” she said. “The green’s not meant to be looked at. It’s meant to be used.”
This makes me happy.
This is a pretty good list (with audio), but a little disappointing at the lack of depth. In addition to the obvious choices of Sufjan Stevens and the White Stripes, I am super happy to see Mason Proper also on the list.
“For years, the US city of Detroit has been scene as the emblem of industrial decay, but there are some companies that are bringing work back to the city.
There has been a significant growth of “green shoots”, or businesses that develop and build more environmentally friendly technologies than had been built there in the past.”
Being the world’s foremost ice cream connoisseur (self-proclaimed), this is VERY IMPORTANT. The number one place, according to National Geographic, is in Philly which isn’t too far…I sense an adventure in my near-future!
A fantastic article that beautifully captures Occupy Wall Street, AFP (one of my heroes), and the state of the music industry.
this is still one of my favorite things on the entire internet.
this is definitely one of the most beautiful things ever
To give you an idea of where this was starting from: the occupation began with just a few thousand dollars on hand and no idea who would show up.
The Occupy movement is officially a month old, so here’s a timeline to help you catch up.
Best when played on shuffle
You Guys! It’s National Cheese Month! A whole month devoted to man’s most wondrous creation! This list includes info on how to make your own cheese along with 10 variations on the grilled cheese sandwich I want to put in my face-hole immediately post-haste.
Here’s a clever and judicious use of the open space that is required around a busy airport like Chicago’s O’Hare: An apiary.
There are now 1.5 million bees living in beehives in this open space. The beehives are tended mainly by carefully screened former convicts. The felons work for Sweet Beginnings, an enterprise that employs them as beekeepers, landscapers and food processors.
I wanted my first-year film students to understand what happens to a story when actual human beings inhabit your characters, and the way they can inspire storytelling. And I wanted to teach them how to look at headshots and what you might be able to tell from a headshot. So for the past few years I’ve done a small experiment with them.
Some troubling shit always occurs.It works like this: I bring in my giant file of head shots, which include actors of all races, sizes, shapes, ages, and experience levels. Each student picks a head shot from the stack and gets a few minutes to sit with the person’s face and then make up a little story about them.
Namely, for white men, they have no trouble coming up with an entire history, job, role, genre, time, place, and costume. They will often identify him without prompting as “the main character.” The only exception? “He would play the gay guy.” For white women, they mostly do not come up with a job (even though it was specifically asked for), and they will identify her by her relationships. “She would play the mom/wife/love interest/best friend.” I’ve heard “She would play the slut” or “She would play the hot girl.” A lot more than once.
For nonwhite men, it can be equally depressing. “He’s in a buddy cop movie, but he’s not the main guy, he’s the partner.” “He’d play a terrorist.” “He’d play a drug dealer.” “A thug.” “A hustler.” “Homeless guy.” One Asian actor was promoted to “villain.”
For nonwhite women (grab onto something sturdy, like a big glass of strong liquor), sometimes they are “lucky” enough to be classified as the girlfriend/love interest/mom, but I have also heard things like “Well, she’d be in a romantic comedy, but as the friend, you know?” “Maid.” “Prostitute.” “Drug addict.”
I should point out that the responses are similar whether the group is all or mostly-white or extremely racially mixed, and all the groups I’ve tried this with have been about equally balanced between men and women, though individual responses vary. Women do a little better with women, and people of color do a little better with people of color, but female students sometimes forget to come up with a job for female actors and black male students sometimes tell the class that their black male actor wouldn’t be the main guy.
Once the students have made their pitches, we interrogate their opinions. “You seem really sure that he’s not the main character – why? What made you automatically say that?” “You said she was a mom. Was she born a mom, or did she maybe do something else with her life before her magic womb opened up and gave her an identity? Who is she as a person?” In the case of the “thug“, it turns out that the student was just reading off his film resume. This brilliant African American actor who regularly brings houses down doing Shakespeare on the stage and more than once made me weep at the beauty and subtlety of his performances, had a list of film credits that just said “Thug #4.” “Gang member.” “Muscle.” Because that’s the film work he can get. Because it puts food on his table.
So, the first time I did this exercise, I didn’t know that it would turn into a lesson on racism, sexism, and every other kind of -ism. I thought it was just about casting. But now I know that casting is never just about casting, and this day is a real teachable opportunity. Because if we do this right, we get to the really awkward silence, where the (now mortified) students try to sink into their chairs. Because, hey, most of them are proud Obama voters! They have been raised by feminist moms! They don’t want to be or see themselves as being racist or sexist. But their own racism and sexism is running amok in the room, and it’s awkward.
This for every time someone criticizes how characters of color and female characters of color especially are treated in text and by subsequent fandoms. It’s never “just a television/movie/book”. It’s never been ”just”.
(Source: letthetruthlaugh, via needtherapy)
