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My Anaconda Don't: Nicki Minaj's Ass And Feminism

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With the debut of Nicki Minaj's third album The Pinkprint this week, I wondered where feminism and the star's overt sexuality meet. Can a woman objectify herself? Is that feminist? What is the meaning of life with a vagina, anyway?

In a time where gender equality—or rather the discussion around gender equality—is so popular, I wrangled a few smart folks including Roxane Gay, Minya "Miss Info" Oh, Brittney C. Cooper, Treva B. Lindsey and Uri McMillan to weigh in on Nicki Minaj, feminism and America's infatuation with a big black butt. Enjoy!


Here Is Vice Media's Salary Breakdown

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Here Is Vice Media's Salary Breakdown

Vice Media, now valued at two and a half billion dollars, made a ton of money this year. How much do its employees make? Here is Vice's most detailed information yet.

Vice has long had a reputation in the New York media world (and elsewhere) of paying employees—particularly editorial employees—poorly, in part because they could get away with it. They paid eager young employees with the aura of working at a cool place, rather than with money. As the company has morphed over the past few years from a too-cool counterculture fuck-the-world place into a multibillion-dollar multination multimedia conglomerate, the pressure to pay more competitively has, to put it gently, increased.

Earlier this year, Vice announced that it would be moving its headquarters from its current space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to another, larger space in Williamsburg. Vice promised to hire hundreds of new employees and invest $20 million in office upgrades; in exchange, the state of New York gave the company $6.5 million in tax credits from the Empire State Development.

Vice Media's application for their Empire State tax incentives is a public document. The Writer's Guild got the application via a FOIA request, and shared it with us. There are a few interesting things to be found in it. First (previously reported, but worth repeating), Vice actually says in its application that if it does not get monetary incentives to stay in Brooklyn, more than 95% of its jobs were "at risk" of being relocated to Los Angeles. The idea of Vice packing up hundreds of employees in Brooklyn and shipping them out to L.A. (or laying them off and rehiring on the West Coast) seems preposterous on its face, but that was what the application said: "If Vice is unable to find a space, it will move the majority of its staff to LA where it has sufficient office space to accommodate existing and projected operations." The company's initial application listed 230 out of 240 New York jobs as "at risk" if the new headquarters did not happen.

Second, and more illuminating, Vice was required to give a breakdown of its employee salaries in order to qualify for public subsidies. It has been difficult in the past to get much detail from the company on what their salaries are across different departments. Now we have a document.

A Vice spokesman tells us that the wage numbers in this document "are estimates based on 2013 salaries, and don't include increases and the recent 250+ hires throughout 2014," and apply only to New York-based employees.

Here Is Vice Media's Salary Breakdown

Vice has said in the past that its "average" salary for all positions is $70K per year. This chart gives a good bit more detail, showing that writers (unsurprisingly) earn far less than everyone else, and that in fact the only department with an average over $70K is "Sales and Business Development." The state agreed to essentially pay Vice $6.5 million in exchange for its promise to create 525 new jobs in Brooklyn by 2018.

There is no way to verify these numbers, but they are the most detailed and most recent self-reported Vice Media salary figures we've seen this year. Are you a Vice employee? Do these sound accurate to you? Email me. Anonymity guaranteed.

[Photo: FB]

Nebraska and Oklahoma Are Suing Colorado Over Pot Legalization

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Nebraska and Oklahoma Are Suing Colorado Over Pot Legalization

Nebraska and Oklahoma—Colorado's neighbors to the northeast and southeast, respectively—are not happy about the pot-smoking going on in the Centennial State. They're such buzzkills, in fact, that they're suing Colorado in the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to reverse legalization entirely.

According to the office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, the two states filed their suit directly to the Supreme Court, alleging that the law legalizing the adult recreational use of cannabis violates the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. According to Harvest Public Media reporter Luke Runyon, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning cited increased costs of law enforcement at the Colorado border as a reason for the suit at a press conference today. (That's Bruning speaking at the presser above.)

Suthers, the Colorado AG, vowed to fight the lawsuit. From the Denver Post:

"Because neighboring states have expressed concern about Colorado-grown marijuana coming into their states, we are not entirely surprised by this action," Suthers said. "However, it appears the plaintiffs' primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado. We believe this suit is without merit and we will vigorously defend against it in the U.S. Supreme Court."

Now U.S. Theaters Can't Even Show Team America: World Police

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Now U.S. Theaters Can't Even Show Team America: World Police

In response to Sony's decision to cancel the theatrical release of the The Interview due to vague 9/11-ish threats from a group the FBI says is linked to the North Korean government, a handful of theaters planned to show a substitute North Korea comedy: Team America: World Police (2004). Now they won't even be able to do that.

Paramount has pulled Team America from theaters, forcing Texas indie theater Alamo Drafthouse and others to cancel their screenings. The Trey Parker/Matt Stone comedy, chosen for its mockery of DPRK demagogue Kim Jong-un's dad, Kim Jong-il, is still up on iTunes and Amazon.

Paramount hasn't claimed it's received any specific threats related to the Team America screenings, nor has it given an explanation as to why it pulled out.

This is why we can't have nice things (okay, "desperately unfunny" things). The president would like us to keep going to the movies, but studios are sure making it tough.

America! Fuck yeah!

[h/t Deadline]

Report: The Feds Took Teresa Giudice's Christmas Presents for Her Kids

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Report: The Feds Took Teresa Giudice's Christmas Presents for Her Kids

Teresa Giudice's sad last Christmas before prison is now fully depressing. According to a report from Radar, the feds raided Tree's house this week, taking "plasma televisions, expensive jewelry, cash, and even the kids' Christmas presents" because the Giudices have failed to set up a restitution payment plan.

According to an "insider," Teresa and her husband Joe failed to "submit any payment plan for the outstanding $214,000 they owe in restitution. As such, prosecutors were eager to get the property seized. The property will now be auctioned off with the money going into a trust account. If there is any money left over, it would go to paying creditors in their bankruptcy, in which they owe $14.3 million."

The source notes:

Teresa was home and was absolutely stunned by the raid. She had no clue they were coming. She was absolutely hysterical, and begging them not to take the girls' Christmas presents.

There's also this: "A large amount of cash was found in the wine cellar."

A rep for Giudice denied Radar's story in a statement, claiming "there is no truth to this rumor." So maybe the Giudice gals will have Christmas after all. At least eldest daughter Gia got to make this cool video with her friends.

Teresa heads to prison for bankruptcy, wire, and mail fraud on January 5.

[Photo via Getty]

Listen to the National Weather Service's Awesome, Dorky Holiday Message

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The National Weather Service is in the holiday spirit this afternoon, and it found the geekiest way possible to wish you a merry Christmas and remind you of the best gift you can give someone this year.

If you're looking for a great last minute gift, get someone a NOAA Weather Radio. As nerdy as it sounds, the gift could save your loved one's life.

Often called a "smoke detector for the weather," the NOAA Weather Radio network is one of the most important safety features available to the public today. Almost every populated spot in the United States is covered by at least one station transmitted by hundreds of antennas across the country. Modern weather radios are automated, containing a feature that allows them to receive and read a unique six-digit code (through "S.A.M.E." technology) that's assigned to each county and parish in the country. With this technology, much like smoke detectors are designed to go off when they detect smoke, specially-equipped weather radios can sound an alarm only when your county goes under a severe weather alert.

When a watch, warning, or advisory is issued for your location by the National Weather Service, this information is transmitted over NOAA Weather Radio stations in the area. When you hear that annoying, screeching tone in the Emergency Alert System, embedded within that tone is an audio trigger that tells your weather radio whether the alert is for one of the counties you programmed into the device. If so, your radio will switch on and sound a loud tone, followed by an audio feed of the radio station that lets you hear the text of the alert read by their computerized voice, Tom.

These radios are crucial for people who live in tornado-prone areas, especially in the south, where tornadoes are common overnight when people are sleeping and wouldn't otherwise have a way to receive a warning until it's too late.

When set up properly, weather radios work wonders and have saved lives. S.A.M.E.-enabled weather radios are produced by several manufacturers and you can find them online and in pretty much any convenience or box store, including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Target.

Oh, and in the video above, Tom says "just be glad I don't sing." Well, he does. If you want to hear Tom sing "Deck the Halls," here's a video they made a couple of years ago.

Fa. La la. La. ...... La. La. ..... La. La la.

[Videos via NWS Quad Cities and kb9mwr on YouTube]


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Dear Sony, We'll Screen The Interview For You

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Dear Sony, We'll Screen The Interview For You

Faceless hackers—reportedly sponsored by a brutal regime —have succeeded in striking so much fear into the movie industry that nobody will show The Interview. Well, not us. We'd like to formally offer to show it.

Consider this an offer to Sony Pictures. We know that you've had a rough couple of weeks. You got hacked. Embarrassing internal gossip about your executives and stars spread far and wide—thanks in part to us. We're sure that you are not in the best of moods.

But please, consider the larger picture. Embarrassing business stories will pass. What will live on is the fact that the world's single worst dictatorship was able to intimidate a movie studio into getting its way. This sets a precedent. Not a good one.

The movie theater chains were too intimidated to show the movie. And you, Sony Pictures, decided to scrap the release altogether. Allow us to offer our help in defense of freedom of speech and The American Way. Gawker is happy to host a screening of The Interview, right here in New York City, where the (canceled) East Coast premiere was supposed to take place. We'll pay for it. We'll buy the popcorn. We'll donate proceeds to an as-yet-unselected charity doing noble work within North Korea. We'll invite Dennis Rodman. We'll even invite you, if you'd like to come. All you have to do is provide us with a copy of the movie, and permission to show it.

It's understandable if you think we're the bad guys right now. But there are real bad guys involved in this, and it's not good for any of us to let them win. Let's show that movie. It will be fun. (Unless the movie sucks.)

Deadspin Drugs, Chess, Books, Or Gambling: How To Fight Boredom In Prison | Gizmodo Watching a USB H


Orlando Bloom Sets the Record Straight: "Sculpture Was My Thing"

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Orlando Bloom Sets the Record Straight: "Sculpture Was My Thing"

Miranda Kerr's ex-husband Orlando Bloom has been doing press for whatever Hobbit movie is coming out this week, and in the midst of an interview with Glamour, he made this announcement: "Sculpture was my thing." I'm sorry if you didn't know this, but sculpture was Orlando Bloom's thing.

Orlando explained that if he hadn't become an actor, he'd be an artist. "I would have done something with my hands," he said. "Sculpture was my thing, and I was very passionate about documentary photography too." He did not explain when exactly sculpture was his thing, but he was clear: it was his thing.

Nobody knows why Miranda and Orlando broke up last year, but now we have a working theory: perhaps she suggested taking a pottery class to strengthen their marriage, and Orlando declined, citing the fact that sculpture was his thing, not her thing. Then what do you know, Miranda is cozying up to Justin Bieber and the rest is history.

Attention anyone who might like to marry Orlando Bloom in the future: sculpture was his thing.

[Photo via Getty]

Excellent TV and Movies to Stream This Weekend

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Here you see some great movies and shows to get you through the bear of this weekend, whether you're traveling, cooking, or simply reflecting on a life well lived in infamy. Don't forget to check out our lists of what's leaving and what's coming to Netflix at the end of the year.

HBO

  • The Shining (1980)—I mean being married to a writer is crazy enough!
  • 47 Ronin (2013)—Keanu Reeves shreds the jello as Kai, a half-English samurai that leads a real-life group of bad-asses to take their revenge on something like witches or something.
  • Falling Down (1993)—Joel Schumacher directed this film, in which Michael Douglas rebels against all the things that continue to oppress affluent white men to this day. Inspiring!
  • Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)—The last film for Edith Head and composer Miklós Rózsa, this is a very weird collage film that would have made a lot more sense ten years later: Directed by Carl Reiner but more importantly edited by Bud Molin, it's a Steve Martin comedy/mystery that splices modern performances into old noir classics to create a new, composite story. Noir's always been ripe for cleverness and postmodernity (Murakami; What's Up Tiger Lily, The Long Goodbye; Veronica Mars, Brick) but this one comments just as much on the process of filmmaking itself: A form that's always been about the medium uses the medium to comment on itself.
  • Ladyhawke (1985)—Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer are cursed lovers that turn into a wolf and a bird depending on whether it's nighttime or not, which makes sex awkward—but not impossible.
  • Great Expectations (1998)—Same basic principle but with a kickin' soundtrack.

HULU+

  • The 100 (the last five episodes)—It's Hulu so you only get the last two, but given this week's wild fall finale, I can tell you that these five episodes will be enough to get you hooked. The show rebooted itself at the end of the first season, in one huge way, but the stakes are so consistently high in every single episode that—like its fantasy cousin Vampire Diaries—every episode feels like the most important episode of all time. We love Black Mirror, Orphan Black and all the other rarefied sci-fi coming out these days, but feel strongly that you shouldn't let the CW pedigree keep you from getting into this brilliant, beautifully made and acted show.
  • Not Another Happy Ending (2013)—A struggling publisher realizes that his only successful writer (Karen Gillan!) can't write when she's happy, so he devotes himself to fucking up her life and falls in love with her in the process. No joke that is the plot.
  • Freeway (1996)—Reese Witherspoon gives a "wild" performance in this genius work of horror-comedy that's still just as disturbing and engrossing almost twenty years later. Kiefer Sutherland's metaphorical Big Bad Wolf is his scariest, sexiest role, and Witherspoon's career-defining turn as a trashy, fearless "trickbaby" abused by the system and on the run is the reason we are still enjoying her company today, on this thousand-mile hike we call life: She's great in Cruel Intentions, but the other side of Reese was first brought to life here, and it's intense.

Amazon Prime

Four shows you should either already be watching, or have every reason to get back into and/or catch up with. They also benefit from repeat viewings and short seasons, if you're looking for something to do next week.

  • Orphan Black (2 seasons)—Returns 18 April, so you've got a lot of time, but don't let that stop you from getting into this as quickly as possible. Everybody talks about Tatiana Maslany's multitasked acting as the jewel in the crown, and it is, but she's part of a larger excellence that is tough to describe: Each scene, every moment, contains some insight or visual pun or off-the-cuff reaction or remark, a little surprise or treat, that rewards multiple viewings.
  • Downton Abbey (4 seasons)—Returns to the US 4 Jan. Everybody's always so ready to move on from this one but I mean, it's eight hours of your year. That's not a lot of time, even when you feel like it's being wasted. This first season without Matthew is marked with some sadness, but watching Tom and Mary step it up in his absence, butting heads with the Earl, is a real treat. Less fun is Anna Bates's storyline, which you've probably heard about by now—but I feel like that's more than made up for by Lady Edith's absolute, hilarious misery.
  • Hannibal (2 seasons)—There's no official return date yet, but Season 2 debuted at the end of February 2014. People will tell you it's gross and scary but also beautiful: Don't worry about that, they're just covering their bases in case you're grossed out. The beauty is the main part. And the story: An operatic romance between two superheroes, one a psychopathic Ozymandias and the other a wounded beauty whose superpower is compassion so strong that it cripples him. Even when they're fucking other people, they're fucking each other; it takes two full seasons to tell the story of their damned, doomed daughter and how far they are willing to go for love (and also the killing and eating of people).
  • Broad City (Season 1)—Basically the same but with girls. Returns 14 Jan, alongside a new season of Workaholics.

Netflix

  • The One I Love (2014)—Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss are sent on a retreat by their therapist, Ted Danson. For some reason this movie has the reputation of being a surprise party in some way, like, "just watch it, don't read up on it, just do it" but the twist, as such, occurs almost immediately: It's what the movie's about, so, not really a twist. In fact, if you've been "spoiled" on the movie that could work out better for you, since you can just absorb Moss's (in particular) performance without trying to "figure it out." And if you've been through it already, try:
  • In Your Eyes (2014)—Joss Whedon wrote this movie like a hundred years ago, and it finally got made this year. A man and woman in New Mexico and New Hampshire suddenly start feeling each other like on a vibe level and fall in love via ESPs. Somebody described it as a "rom-com Shining," which I say is redundant.
  • Nightbreed: The Director's Cut (1990)—The best Clive Barker movie, which like all Clive Barker works depends on your ability to accept the horrible and ugly as one-half of the story: The antidote to George Lucas-style, Puritan "balance" that is completely unbalanced, it's thus a complete abomination, until you get onboard with what he's trying to do, which can be super challenging. Anyway, this version takes out twenty minutes of the theatrical edition and adds 45 minutes of new stuff, including the ending. Also Boone's girlfriend is a rock star—if you ever wondered why she is so down for his bullshit, it's because she has her own thing going on—and she sings a k.d. lang song. Sold!
  • The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Etrange Couleur des Larmes de Ton Corps)—While stylized and experimental films leave me cold these days, I liked this one. Following on a previous movie by the French-Belgian directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Amer, which intended to create a pure Italian slasher (giallo) by removing as much substance as possible and going for straight stylistics, this second attempt follows a man who wanders his apartment building seeing horrible awful disgusting things for no reason.
  • I am obsessed with documentaries about LARPers but there haven't been any new ones in a while so this fall I made do with Santa Clauses and Batmen: I Am Santa Claus (2014) is a documentary about a happy thing meant to make you sad; Legends of the Knight (2013) is about a sad thing that will make you happy. Something to do during the interminable wait for Trekkies 3, at least.

Previous editions of the Weekend Stream are here. You live in the future now! Almost any media you can think of, you can find from the chair you're sitting in. Even if you can't, take comfort in the fact that the amount of things you can't find online will never go up: Only down. In that spirit, Morning After asks: What are you streaming this weekend?

What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

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What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

A devilish London mystery, just in time for the holidays.

Witness if you will a real estate agency in London, an office constructed from the familiar: couches, tables, various magazines, paper listings taped to the window offering homes soon to be inhabited by those of the same sort of flesh in which our spirits reside, those who walk among us each and every day. An ordinary scene, an ordinary city. All is as it has been for everyone, it seems, except for one woman: Ragini Patel.

Ragini Patel: Fulham resident, passer-by, ordinary woman. An unintentional but not unwilling traveller into the extraordinary, on the sidewalk outside of the Lettings Company shop in Fulham Road.

Now witness if you will a woman's mind and body overtaken by an otherworldly combustion, a woman forever charged with being a stranger to herself. Ragini Patel. From GetWestLondon:

A passer-by helped save a closed shop and flats from going up in flames after spotting a sofa which had mysteriously caught fire in a square shape.

...

The long-time Fulham resident instantly called the fire brigade who had to smash down the estate agent's door to put the fire out which started in a square shape and slowly spread out to burn the entire sofa.

She said: "I was just going to Sainsbury's in the morning when my neighbour's son told me there was a fire in the shop. I looked in and a square-shaped fire was burning into the sofa. It was very odd. I called the fire brigade straight away then started filming because it was very bizarre, I couldn't figure out how it had started."

What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

What Started This Mysterious Square Fire, a Ghost? Or What?

The time is a bit after Ms. Patel called the fire brigade. The place: still London. The cast of characters: Clyde Johnson, from the shop, and the police, all sharing the common urgency of men faced with an unexplainable phenomenon. Again, from GetWestLondon:

Clyde Johnson, from the shop, said: "We're very thankful to Mrs Patel for phoning the fire brigade but we still have no idea how it started. It's a fire resistant sofa luckily so it minimised the fire but we don't know if it was caused by a laser pointer or maybe a magnifying glass or just the sun shining in oddly. The police can't figure it out either."

In time they might choose an explanation to cover this phenomenon, be it the sun, a laser pointer, a lit cigarette left unattended, a closing argument to sweep from the mind that which cannot be explained. But like tenants in an apartment, the square fire on the couch in this office's presence will never vacate absolutely. Scratches on the walls, an unexplained scent you only notice having left and come back, mail sent to the same being—a stranger to you, still, yet oddly familiar. It will linger forever...in [London].

[images via Ragini Patel's video, GetWestLondon]

Stephen Collins: I Am Not a Pedophile

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Stephen Collins: I Am Not a Pedophile

As promised, clips from 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins' one-on-one with Katie Couric continue to be doled out through Yahoo. In the latest preview of the interview airing tonight on 20/20, Collins insists to Couric that he's not a pedophile.

"A pedophile is someone who is mainly or wholly attracted to children. I'm not," he tells Couric. "I had a distortion in my thinking where I acted out in those ways. But I'm absolutely not attracted, physically or sexually attracted to children. I'm just not."

Couric follows up, asking the actor, "If you're not a pedophile, then how would you describe your particular pathology?"After a pregnant pause, he responds, "I think I'm someone who gave in, several times, to exhibitonistic urges. Someone who had big boundary issues as a young man and beyond that...to an extent."

Collins also shoots down stories whose details he believes were falsified as part of his long-running, acrimonious divorce proceeding with his wife, Faye Grant.

In October, TMZ obtained an email by Grant to Collins in which she relates how the actor allegedly told her that he "just didn't know" if could keep their hypothetical son's "little penis out of [his] mouth." (This conversation allegedly happened before the birth of their daughter.)

Grant also claimed in a note to one of Collins' victims that Collins suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder; the actor claims he's never been diagnosed with such a condition.

He also tells Couric about how, as a child, a woman repeatedly exposed herself to him:

Collins also revealed to Couric something about his own childhood that he said may have contributed to his behavior. "I did have someone in my life when I was between the age of about 10 and 15, an older woman, who repeatedly exposed herself to me." He stopped short of blaming the woman for his actions.

"I did these things because, for whatever reasons — and I tried very hard in the last 20 years to understand. I did them. I'm not saying, you know, this woman did this, and therefore I did it."

Collins said he's been in treatment for 20 years and has felt remorse for his victims. He personally apologized to one of them but has been advised against reaching out to the others. "You don't know what kind of old wounds you might open up," he said.

In preview released yesterday, Collins detailed how he "inappropriately touched" an underage girl in 1973.

Spineless Sony Is Letting "Hackers" Run Their Company

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Spineless Sony Is Letting "Hackers" Run Their Company

CNN reports that top Sony executives received another email from the unidentified "Guardians of Peace" hackers last night, thanking the studio for canning The Interview, but demanding that they further humiliate and supplicate themselves on the global stage. Sony will now pretend this never happened.

TV reporting warlock Brian Stelter was tipped off by someone inside Sony, who relayed the contents of the purported hacker memo, which is in strangely good English. They applaud Sony's buckling as "very wise":

The hacker message is effectively a victory lap, telling the studio, "Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy."

The message also says, "And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately."

It warns the studio executives that "we still have your private and sensitive data" and claims that they will "ensure the security of your data unless you make additional trouble."

That's pretty sophisticated language for the Guardians of Peace—an email I received from them earlier this week included the phrase "Im a m of Gard.Of.P."

But Sony is taking the message seriously, and has already deleted the official website for The Interview. Most of its promotional materials on YouTube are now "private," too. The film's official Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and trailers on Apple.com remain up, but who knows for how long—and why wouldn't Sony truly purge everything, now that they've shown themselves willing to take orders from the email ether? What if the hackers—or someone claiming to be the hackers—ask for $50 million? What if they ask for another movie to be pulled? What if they ask for Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton to pose in a tutu with a shoe on his head? Why wouldn't they keep making demands, when it's working?

Photo: Getty

How to Make Politicians More Priestly

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How to Make Politicians More Priestly

A new poll shows that less than 30% of New Yorkers favor giving their elected state representatives the pay raise they are currently asking for. There are better ways to do this.

One better way to do this is to simply pay state representatives the average salary that their constituents earn. New York legislators are currently complaining that "the current $79,500 annual salary for the part-time job isn't sufficient to live in New York state," even though the median household income in New York is under $58,000 per year. Odd.

One problem with imposing immediate harsh limits on the pay of politicians is that politicians are very reluctant to vote for such a thing. Slashing one's own salary is too high a psychological barrier for most to overcome. So here's another idea: play the long game. Let elected officials have their little salary raises every decade or so. Make them agree to something that requires much more moral fortitude.

This is a suggestion that Nassim Nicholas Taleb puts forward in his most recent book, Antifragile: "A simple solution, but quite drastic: anyone who goes into public service should not be allowed to subsequently earn more from any commercial activity than the income of the highest paid civil servant. It is like a voluntary cap (it would prevent people from using public office as a credential-building temporary accommodation, then going to Wall Street to earn several million dollars). This would get priestly people into office."

A voluntary restriction on what public servants could earn after they leave office. This would do much more than solve the relatively minor issue of what politicians and regulators get paid; it would also solve the much larger and more deleterious issue of the revolving door between government and industry.

More people who actually want to serve the public as public servants. It's not a bad idea. Consider the alternative: what we have now.

[Photo: Shutterstock]

FBI Officially Accuses North Korea of Sony Hack

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FBI Officially Accuses North Korea of Sony Hack

The FBI has concluded that North Korea is to blame for the devastating hacking attack against Sony Pictures. "North Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves," the agency said in a statement released today. "Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior."

The hack was similar to ones previously carried out by North Korea, according to the FBI. From their press release:

Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed. For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.

The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has previously linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.

Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

The hack resulted in a leak of emails and other documents from the movie studio, and led to the cancelation of the The Interview, the Kim Jong-un assassination flick that apparently triggered the cyberattack. Thursday night, Sony reportedly received a new email from the "Guardians of Peace," the group that's claimed responsibility for the hack. As a result of that message, which contained new threats, Sony took down The Interview's website and its promotional materials on YouTube earlier today.


Why Stephen Colbert Closed His Final Show With "Holland, 1945"

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Why Stephen Colbert Closed His Final Show With "Holland, 1945"

After the star-studded "We'll Meet Again" singalong and the sleigh ride into eternity with Santa, the Colbert Report rolled credits for the final time with Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945" playing in the background. It may have seemed a strange choice, but it's one with personal significance to Stephen Colbert.

The kicker to Maureen Dowd's Colbert tribute column, of all things, explains why he chose to end his extremely upbeat finale with a tragic number featuring allusions to Anne Frank and World War II:

He had 10 older siblings. But after his father and the two brothers closest to him in age died in a plane crash when he was 10 and the older kids went off to college, he said, he was "pretty much left to himself, with a lot of books."

He said he loved the "strange, sad poetry" of a song called "Holland 1945" by an indie band from Athens, Ga., called Neutral Milk Hotel and sent me the lyrics, which included this heartbreaking bit:

"But now we must pick up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on. . . .
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore."

It's as heartbreaking as "We'll Meet Again" was uplifting, but he couldn't have picked a more artful way to close this biggest chapter in his career so far with a nod to the people who couldn't be there to see it.

[h/t Uproxx]

2014, Wow What a Year of Stuff: "Basic" 

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2014, Wow What a Year of Stuff: "Basic" 

Remember when everyone was so worked up about the word "basic"? Barely, right? That one probably wasn't as interesting as it seemed at the time.

[Image by Jim Cooke]

Obama: Sony's Interview Cancellation Was a "Mistake"

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Obama: Sony's Interview Cancellation Was a "Mistake"

In an end of year press conference, President Obama responded strongly to Sony's panicky decision to erase its controversial film, The Interview. It was a bad, wrong thing to do.

"I think they made a mistake," Obama said. "We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States." He added that he wishes "they had spoken to me first." That might've been easier if the people at Sony weren't joking about Obama watching Kevin Hart movies.

What to Expect From "SantaBomb," a Possibly Disruptive Christmas Storm

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What to Expect From "SantaBomb," a Possibly Disruptive Christmas Storm

Ho ho holy crap, there's going to be a "SantaBomb" next week, according to the hive mind on social media. The term is a nickname for a potentially large and disruptive storm that weather models are suggesting could affect much of the eastern United States and Canada just in time for Christmas next week.

What the heck is a "SantaBomb?"

Much like Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse, the delightful folks on Twitter came up with the name "SantaBomb" to describe a potentially disruptive storm that's expected to affect much of the eastern United States and Canada towards the middle of next week. The name is a reference to bombogenesis, which is the rapid strengthening of an extratropical cyclone by at least 24 millibars over the course of 24 hours.

The name is equally as ridiculous as anything The Weather Channel pumps out, but I am just a mere blogger and cannot stop the momentum behind people's desire to Fisher Price the weather. As opposed as I am to naming winter storms, I use "SantaBomb" here because the name is spreading so rapidly and people are confused about what it is, exactly. For instance, no, it has nothing to do with the threats by Sony hackers; despite what the Kims would like you to believe, they cannot control the weather.

What's go—

Let me stop you right there. The government's servers that host the GFS and GFS Parallel weather models wet the bed this morning (because this is a PG-13 sub-blog), so we don't really have a good look at the 12z (7:00 AM) run of the models. All of the data in this post is from the 06z (1:00 AM) run of the GFS and GFS Parallel. I'll update with fresher info as the weather gods sort out the mess. The next run of the models (18z/1:00 PM) starts posting online around 4:30 PM.

Interrupting is rude. Anyway, what's going on?

What to Expect From "SantaBomb," a Possibly Disruptive Christmas Storm

A robust jet stream will spread over the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday and Wednesday. The deep troughing and favorable placement of jet streaks—areas of enhanced winds within the larger stream—will foster the rapid development of a low pressure system over the Great Lakes region on Wednesday morning.

The models generally agree that a major storm will develop, but the exact placement and timing is a little iffy. What will likely occur is that a low pressure will form over the Ohio Valley and rapidly move towards the Great Lakes during the day on Wednesday, before undergoing explosive strengthening on Wednesday night and into Thursday. After deepening, it will move farther north into Ontario.

Here's the 06z GFS (American) model, showing a deep 977 millibar low sitting over the Ontario shore of Lake Huron at 7:00 AM on Thursday:

What to Expect From "SantaBomb," a Possibly Disruptive Christmas Storm

Here's a look at the storm from the upgraded GFS model, called the GFS Parallel for now. This is valid for 1:00 PM on Thursday:

What to Expect From "SantaBomb," a Possibly Disruptive Christmas Storm

This morning's run of the European model—if I were legally allowed to show it to you, that is—shows a similar situation, with a very deep 966 millibar low over Lake Huron at 7:00 AM on Thursday, moving north into Ontario throughout the day on Christmas.

There is astounding model agreement that this storm will come to fruition, but remember that this storm is five to six days away. That's an eternity in weather years, but with this much agreement, it's unlikely that something so dramatic will occur that the storm doesn't happen. The timing, strength, and location will likely shift as we get closer to the event, but as of now, it's likely that it will happen.

What are the possible impacts?

Snow

It's too early to make a call on specifics like accumulations and exactly who will see what, but the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes states are the likely winners when it comes to snow falling on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Check back on Sunday or later for more specifics on this.

Rain

Rain will be an issue along the East Coast, especially along the powerful cold front that will accompany a low pressure system like this. The location of the low favors the transport of warm, moist air from the south, likely giving many spots some warmer-than-average temperatures for a day or two next week. We have a hard enough time seeing snow when a coastal low comes through—it's very unlikely with this system, unless it dramatically shifts east, that the major cities along I-95 will see anything but rain.

Oh, and when I say "East Coast," I mean the entire East Coast, with the GFS painting rain associated with the system from Florida straight up through Maine and into Atlantic Canada.

Wind

With such a strong system with a tight pressure gradient, wind will be a big issue. Gusty winds may cause flight delays at airports like DTW or CLE, and with a roaring jet stream, people flying anywhere along or across the East Coast can expect some turbulence at flight level.

If strong winds coincide with snow, some areas in the Great Lakes or Canada could see blizzard conditions at times. Blizzard conditions exist when sustained winds of 35 MPH cause blowing snow that drops visibility to 0.25 miles for at least three hours.

It looks as if we will see a major storm impacting much of the eastern United States and Canada during one of the busiest travel days of the year. If the storm forms as the models are suggesting today, the resulting snow, wind, and rain could severely impact air travel in particular, let alone your drive over the hill and through the wood to grandma's house. Keep an eye on the forecast through the weekend, and hope that the ridiculously-named "SantaBomb" doesn't come to fruition. Or hope it does, if you're desperate for a white Christmas.

[Images: AP, Tropical Tidbits]


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Report: Brad Pitt Dismissed From Jury Duty for Being Too Brad Pitty

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Report: Brad Pitt Dismissed From Jury Duty for Being Too Brad Pitty

Would you convict someone of a crime you don't believe they committed, simply because Brad Pitt—handsome Brad Pitt—wished to see them behind bars (for his own reasons, we don't need to pry)? Yes. And that is why Brad Pitt cannot serve on a jury.

The Daily Mail reports that Brad Pitt was ready to serve as a juror in LA—had his little juror lunch packed, had his little juror outfit on, etc., I assume—when his civic duty was stolen right from his little celebrity hands. Rude! LA attorney William Lively spoke to the Daily Mail about why, why, whyyyeeee:

"You just can't stick Brad Pitt in a jury box and expect 11 jurors to ignore him. It's only natural that those jurors would be watching to see how Brad reacts to what's being said and that they could be influenced by his opinions once the jury goes behind closed doors to render a verdict."

A few examples of possible holes other jurors could've fallen into:

  • "I say what Brad just said."
  • "Brad Pitt and I have a lot of things in common, haha, and it's so weird but one of them is the verdict in this case."
  • "Me too, what Brad thinks."
  • "Juror brothers!"

Us Weekly also spoke to William Lively about this thing:

Lively adds to Us Weekly that "too much attention" on one juror could "interfere with the objective examination of the allegations" in the case. "It's one of those things where [it's like], 'We're not going to use you because it's going to end up being about you,'" he says.

BRAD PITT DID IT I MEAN AHHHHHH HI BRAD PITT, HE DID IT! I MEAN NO AHHH BRAD!

[image via Getty]

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