NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006

  FRESH AIR In the climax of Arthur Penn’s 1967 classic film, Bonnie and Clyde, the bank-robbing duo’s days of crime end abruptly when they are gunned down in a shower of bullets. It’s a realistically violent scene, shot in slow motion, which has been both praised and criticized for its brutality. Penn says that the scene was influenced by media reports and images of the Vietnam War, which were broadcasts daily during the filming of the movie. “It was a time,” he says, “where, it seemed to me that if we were going to depict violence, then we would […]

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JUNK SCIENCE: Heavy Metal Fishing Lot

BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Subway’s Tuna sandwich is advertised as dolphin-safe but they fail to mention it comes with a side order of heavy metal — mercury, to be exact. Not just hoagies, sushi too. Shocking news outta Manhattan recently. How much mercury did you say was in that sushi? Yikes, just eating two or three pieces a week of bluefin tuna sushi could be a health hazard for an adult. There are dangerous levels of mercury in marlin, shark, and swordfish, too. Tuna is the fish most often consumed by Americans, so this is the vehicle for most […]

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OBAMA AD: It’s The Oil Companies, Stupid!

CLINTON CAMPAIGN: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Obama has received over $160,000 from the oil and gas companies. Two major bundlers for his campaign — George Kaiser and Robert Cavnar – are oil company CEOs. Sen. Obama has accepted money from Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron and just about every other major oil company. Just last month, Sen. Obama accepted another $8,400 from ExxonMobil, $12,370 from Chevron and $6,500 from British Petroleum. In 2005, Sen. Obama voted for the Dick Cheney energy bill, which was written in secret with the oil industry. Hillary Clinton opposed Cheney’s energy bill, […]

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UPDATE: Diddy Knew DID NOT Have Advance Knowledge of 1994 Assault And Robbery Of Tupac

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: The Los Angeles Times apologized for using documents that were apparently fabricated in a story implicating associates of Sean “Diddy” Combs in a 1994 assault on rapper Tupac Shakur. “The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used,” Editor Russ Stanton said in a story posted Wednesday night on the newspaper’s Web site. “We apologize both to our readers and to those referenced in the documents … and in the story.” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Chuck Philips, who wrote the story, and his supervisor, Deputy Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin, also apologized. The […]

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IOU: Cash-Strapped Clinton Campaign In Arrears

POLITICO: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles. A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Her campaign, say representatives of the two companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-mails […]

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CHINESE DEM: Dr. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Man

NME: Axl Rose has responded to an offer by soft drink company Dr Pepper in which they promised a free can of their drink to every American — except Slash and Buckethead — if the band releases their ‘Chinese Democracy’ album this year. Rose said he was “surprised and very happy” about the offer, but denied the record label or himself were involved in the pledge. Posting on Guns N Roses‘ website, Rose stated: “We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album ‘Chinese Democracy’, as for us, this came totally out of […]

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ARTSY: Now Hanging On A Bus Stop Near You

UPDATE: Thanks for all those who bought the print in support of OBEY and OBAMA. Unfortunately, the print is sold out and we do not plan on producing another edition. The edition was released earlier today with great response. The PROGRESS screenprint was exclusively available through OBEY and the HOPE offset print will be distributed by the OBAMA Camp as an awareness campaign. I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a […]

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NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

FRESH AIR Movie actress Zooey Deschanel has expanded her ambitions recently, moving from the big screen to the indie-rock stage. With co-founder M. Ward, she’s half of the duo She and Him. Deschanel, who sings and plays keyboards, joins Fresh Air to discuss her music and her band’s new album, Volume One — described recently in Time Out New York as “a disarming set of simple pop songs drawn from a variety of ’60s and ’70s styles, a perfectly charming record for the onset of spring.” Deschanel, who’s dabbled in jazz cabaret and sung on the occasional film soundtrack, has […]

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HEAR YE: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark

Now playing on Phawker Radio! Why? Because love you, ya big dummy! BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT I dodged a bullet recently after having applied some of my tough love to the latest platter from The Raconteurs. Maybe you heard. A handful of Jack White’s biggest fans jumped me in a cubicle, took a red pencil to my draft — marking Roman at each instance of boldfaced text. “It’s my editor’s idea of a parody of a gossip column!” I pleaded, but that wouldn’t stop them. They called me names then shoved their iPods in my face, making me recite […]

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