WASHINGTON POST: Silicon Valley once cheered the election of President Obama, comforted by his stance that Internet service providers should be banned from charging Web sites such as Facebook or Netflix for faster access to American homes. And for much of the past six years, tech firms felt shielded from the possibility that the Internet would ever have separate slow and fast lanes for traffic. But on Thursday, the government is poised to vote on a plan that could make that scenario a reality. Tom Wheeler, a Democratic Obama appointee, is pressing new rules at the Federal Communications Commission that […]

Calgary, Alberta’s Chad VanGaalen’s blood flows by unrestrained creative impulses. He has never worked in a commercial recording studio. By his hands alone, one line, sound, shape or word leads organically to the next. Over the last ten to fifteen years, Chad has been producing living maps in songs, drawings, modified instruments, animations and performances–shifting forms pointing to another world, infinitely more liveable, maybe hidden just under the surface of our own ever-disintegrating reality. In Shrink Dust, Chad’s fifth full-length album under his own name, we have a new window into his world. The album is, in Chad’s view, a […]

  “One of the things … that I think has been misunderstood about Edward Snowden … is that he actually hasn’t released a single document to the public. He could have if he wanted to: He could have uploaded the documents to the Internet on his own; he could have given them to foreign powers. There are all sorts of things he could have done, and what he did instead is he came to journalists and said, “I don’t actually think that I, Edward Snowden, am the person who should be making the decisions about what the public should and […]

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R5 PRODUCTIONS: On Saturday June 21st the Kimmel Center for The Performing Arts will host “Solstice In The City” an all night event with food, drinks, performing arts and music spread out all over the building. There will be DJs in the lobby, jazz artists playing in the lounge. Jose Garces will have food and drinks made especially for the Summer Solstice and most importantly REAL ESTATE and SAN FERMIN (with one special guest tba) will be playing live inside Verizon Hall. For those who have not been, Verizon Hall, was the first major concert hall to open in the […]

  From his record label: Morrissey is one of few iconic musicians making radical, counter-cultural work, and Harvest Records is proud to release his latest album on July 15th, 2014. World Peace Is None Of Your Business explores the tragedy of human apathy in our turbulent, modern era. Morrissey’s career as a writer reaches new lyrical heights but maintains his signature humor, drama, and emotional longing. World Peace Is None Of Your Business was produced by Joe Chiccarelli at La Fabrique Studios in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. The video for “World Peace Is None Of Your Business” is the first in a […]

By RUBEN BOLLING FRESH AIR When stories began to emerge about the U.S. government’s massive surveillance of Americans’ phone and Internet communications, it was no surprise to a group of analysts who had left the National Security Agency soon after the Sept. 11 attacks. Those analysts, who’d worked on systems to detect terrorist threats, left in part because they saw the NSA embarking on a surveillance program they regarded as unconstitutional and unnecessary. Two of those analysts, Bill Binney and Kirk Wiebe, are interviewed in a Frontline documentary called , which airs Tuesday night. Binney was a cryptomathematician who worked […]

  VARIETY: While the Batman-Superman movie is still two years away from hitting theaters, director Zack Snyder has posted the first look of Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight standing next to his new Batmobile. The Batmobile is somewhat obscured by Affleck but the image gives fans a chance to debate how the new suit compares to past costumes. The Batsuit has always been a divisive feature of every Batman pic – especially since George Clooney’s costume in “Batman and Robin,” which came complete with the now-infamous “Batnipples” and gave fans an advanced hint that the production might be troubled. […]

  John Hodgman comes to Underground Arts Friday October 17th. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.