January 2012
As an asker kindly reminded Cara, AAA’s Tipsy Tow service is not available in all regions.
Here’s a list of AAA clubs that are participating, and more resources on safe and sober rides.
Have an awesome NYE, and please, don’t drive drunk, get in cars with drunk drivers, or let other people drive drunk; tonight marks the death anniversary of a number of friends of mine and...
December 2011
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Amanda Simon at ACLU Blog of Rights: President... →
President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today, allowing indefinite detention to be codified into law. As you know, the White House had threatened to veto an earlier version of the NDAA but reversed course shortly before Congress voted on the final bill. While President Obama issued a signing statement saying he had “serious reservations” about the provisions, the...
Meg James at Los Angeles Times: Internet... →
Just a few years ago, a syndication sale for a modest performer like “Community” would have been unthinkable. Only the most popular and durable network comedies, such as“Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” which this seasonare each drawing more than 15 million viewers an episode, were a lock for syndication, the corner of the business where the big...
Rachel Kaufman at Science: It Doesn't Add Up →
Much attention has been given to the gap in performance between boys and girls in mathematics skills. In a new study published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, Jonathan Kane, a professor of mathematical and computer science at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, and Janet Mertz, a professor of oncology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, examine this gender gap and...
this ain't livin': eBooks: Also Available At... →
And many people are not aware that independent bookstores sell ebooks. Through an agreement with Google Books, it’s possible to buy ebooks through independents, although unfortunately the interface is less than ideal. It takes time to get accustomed to navigating, and it’s important to be aware that books have to be purchased through the bookstore’s website, not the Google Books site, as...
Tina Daunt at Los Angeles Times: In Pasadena,... →
When we asked L.A. at Home contributor Jeffrey Head to adapt part of his new book on the so-called “bubble houses” of iconic L.A. architect Wallace Neff, Head reminded us that the last remaining bubble house in the United States can be found in Pasadena. The house was the subject of a Times feature back in 2004. Owners Sari and Steve Roden, right, noted at the time that Neff may be...
The Economist: Frog-hunters of the Western Ghats →
In 2003 he discovered nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, a purple jelly-like creature with a pointed nose and a running gait that makes a sound like a small chicken. It is actually a frog, but so different from other frogs that it has its own taxonomic family; and because its closest relatives are in the Seychelles, the discovery had implications for theories of palaeogeography and species migration...
Elisabeth Rosenthal at New York Times: Organic... →
Del Cabo Cooperative, a supplier here for Trader Joe’s and Fairway, is sending more than seven and a half tons of tomatoes and basil every day to the United States by truck and plane to sate the American demand for organic produce year-round.
But even as more Americans buy foods with the organic label, the products are increasingly removed from the traditional organic ideal: produce that is not...
David Batty at The Guardian: Arab spring leads... →
In 2011, cameraphones entered the mainstream of photojournalism due to a combination of the Arab uprisings, the Occupy protests and improved technology.
The Guardian, wire agencies and major broadcasters used many more cameraphone and video images. The New York Times said its use has increased a hundredfold.
“That’s largely because of the Arab spring”, said Michele McNally,...
Global Comment: Review: Downton Abbey, Season Two →
The second season of Downton Abbey returns to US airwaves this weekend, just in time for the seven households that haven’t torrented it yet. The British import has turned out to be an unexpected hit for US television. PBS seems rather astounded by the show’s success; Masterpiece has gone from being a somewhat stodgy line of programming to the talk of millions of viewers. Will the second season...
this ain't livin': Driven to Predatory Loans →
So predatory lending specifically focused on cars strikes at the heart of an iconic tradition in the US. Middle class owners may have a tough time conceiving of a world without a car, let alone the idea that some people can’t afford cars or are forced into hazardous financial transactions to access a car. The idea that a car can be a lifeline, too, may be alien to some car owners who haven’t...
xoJane: I Love My Seamstress →
People. Did you know? That there are people whom you can pay to make your clothes look awesome on you? Because there are. People who do that. Sometimes at very reasonable prices.
My seamstress cheerfully hacks things off, hems things up, puts in darts, lets things out and basically, well, tailors my garments. She hasn’t done my whole wardrobe, but she’s done a good chunk of it, and people often...
this ain't livin': Turning the Border Into A War... →
There are people growing up in the United States right now who have always known the border as a war zone, who have accepted it as part of their lives. Who believe that this is the natural state of the border, that of course it needs to be secured with troops and heavy-duty fencing and trigger-happy vigilantes. These are the people who will be growing up to make policy in the future, who will be...
xoJane: New Year's With No Alcohol: A Survival... →
Presenting seven of my favourite tactics, as a non-drinker, for dealing with alcohol-centric events!
Tim Murphy at Mother Jones: Newt Gingrich's... →
As Newt Gingrich looks to complete his improbable political comeback, his opponents won’t let him (or the electorate) forget about the scandal that ended the first act of his political career—a string of 84 ethics complaints in the House that culminated in a $300,000 sanction. The pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future hammered home the message in a recent Iowa television ad, citing the...
Greg Hanscom at Grist: Nature is trying to... →
Okay, so there’s not really an official effort to make subdivisions into sanctuaries, but apparently nobody told bears that. In Hopatcong, N.J., a cable TV repairman recently descended into 85-year-old Frank Annacone’s basement and found a 500-pound black bear slumbering there. The folks at Gothamist dubbed it the “Reverse Goldilocks Bear,” and in a true case of lopsided...
Stephanie Pappas at Scientific American: Is It... →
Their proposed calendar overhaul — largely unprecedented in the 430 years since Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar we still use today — would divvy out months and weeks so that every calendar date would always fall on the same day of the week. Christmas, for example, would forever come on a Sunday.
“The calendar I’m advocating isn’t nearly as accurate”...
Carol J. Williams at Los Angeles Times: Annual... →
The decline, from 29 in each of the last two years, may signal that the decades-long appeals process for capital convictions and a 6-year-old moratorium on executions have encouraged prosecutors to seek life sentences without the possibility of parole in more murder cases. California’s less frequent resort to the death penalty puts it roughly in line with a national trend that has seen such...
Also
Since I haven’t put up this advisory in a while, it’s worth repeating:
I link lots of things here because I think they may be of interest. Not because I 100% agree with or endorse the content, and I prefer, for the most part, to present things without commentary to allow people to form their own opinions. Sometimes I post things I actively disagree with because I think they should be...
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xoJane: I Appear To Have Become An (Ugh) Yoga... →
I really loathe the culturally appropriative aspects of mix and match California culture: the Tibetan prayer flags dangling in the back windows of Subarus; Kali statues in the garden; Buddha watching over the front door.
They gross me out, and the appropriation of yoga in the US in general and California in particular also grosses me out. Yogic tradition is about a lot more than writhing around...
Grist: Foot-long shrimp take over Gulf of Mexico →
This giganto breed of crustacean threatens the survival of crabs, oysters, and regular old normal-sized shrimp. It could disrupt the thriving Gulf ecosystem and also the incredible bounty of seafood that cities like New Orleans serve up. How’d these suckers get into the Gulf? One likely culprit is aquaculture: storm surges could have swept them from fish farms into the open water.
this ain't livin': Juvenile Offenders: Farming the... →
This gaping maw, the prison system, doesn’t chew people up and spit them out when it’s done with them, because it is never done. It chews people down and swallows them, making it virtually impossible to get out. Prison is justified as a necessary thing to protect the interests of members of the public, to maintain order, to keep people safe, but these considerations are not extended to...
Eleanor Yang Su at California Watch: Kindergarten... →
Even after accounting for differences in IQ [ed. note—a flawed measure] and family income, Duncan found that those who learned the most math in kindergarten tended to have the highest math and reading scores years later.
“It was very surprising,” said Duncan, whose research appears in a new book. “Everyone says reading is most important, and if a child can read by third grade, the chance...
N.L. at The Economist: Thinking big in space →
AS A small boy Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, dreamed of going into space. He even tried to launch the hollow aluminium arm of a chair, stuffed with propellant, into orbit. It didn’t work out. But his latest adventure in space travel—a joint venture with Burt Rutan, a famous designer of aircraft—looks more promising. Earlier this month, the two of them said they will build an...
Scott Neuman at NPR News: Congress Really Is As... →
A Gallup poll published earlier this month found that just 11 percent of Americans approve of Congress’ performance. A whopping 86 percent gave a thumbs-down. That’s the lowest rating since Gallup started taking the public pulse on this issue in 1974. A similar poll conducted by The Associated Press registered a 12 percent approval rating, and a CBS/New York Times poll in October...
The Guardian: Unemployment 'set to rise in 2012' →
Unemployment will increase to 2.85 million in 2012, while the number of people in work will fall by 120,000 as jobs continue to be lost in the public sector, a report predicts.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) forecast that the jobless total will reach its highest since 1994, adding that it will peak at 2.9 million in the first half of 2013.
Ah, the smell of...
Anthony York at Los Angeles Times: Gov. Jerry... →
Reporting from Sacramento — Introducing a measure of optimism into the state’s dire fiscal situation, Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that his 2012-13 budget would increase education funding and that the outlook for schools would remain strong — if voters pass his initiative to raise taxes.
‘Approve my tax plan or the kids get it!’
Denis C. Theriault at Portland Mercury: Fighting... →
UNSETTLE PORTLAND—an Occupy Portland “affinity group” with the lofty mission of fundamentally transforming society’s relationship with its living space—went public earlier this month after much whispering and quiet planning. In a stirring display of defiance, its members joined other activists outside an East Portland woman’s foreclosed home and promised to support her as...
