[Illustration by ALEX FINE] TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran’s president was misrepresented by Western media when he was quoted saying there were no gays in Iran, and actually meant there were not so many as in the United States, a presidential aide said on Wednesday.
NPR 4 THE DEAF: The Eternal Sunshine Of Mark Ruffalo’s Mind
FRESH AIR In Reservation Road, Mark Ruffalo plays a divorced lawyer who accidentally kills a child and then speeds away. Based on a novel by the same name, the film is directed by Terry George (Hotel Rwanda). Ruffalo has appeared in Zodiac, 13 Going on 30 and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. RADIO TIMES Hour 1 Rethinking the environmental movement. We talk with MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER and TED NORDHAUS authors of the new book Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. The duo sparked a lively debate after the release of their essay The Death […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
CURIOSITY KILLS: BEWARE THE LEAD MONKEY Marvel Enterprises says it has halted shipments of Curious George products made in China. And it says it will issue a recall if testing backs up claims by a nonprofit group that says it found a product had an illegally high amount of lead. The allegation was made by the California-based Center for Environmental Health. It says tests on a Curious George doll revealed 10 times the new legal maximum of lead. C-E-H says that it bought the toy at a Toys “R” Us. Marvel spokesman David Collins says his firm will order a […]
PAPERBOY: ‘I Got Yer Subprime Right HERE!’ Edition
BY AMY Z. QUINN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right — these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. Hey, we know how it is — so many words to read, so little time to surf for free porn. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you, freeing up […]
RADIOHEAD: A Kind Of Hush All Over The World
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER At 2:39 a.m. Philadelphia time, an e-mail went out to the world — or more accurately, a select group of Golden Ticket holders — announcing that the digital ghost of an album was born. The new Radiohead album, to be exact. Though e-mail is largely silent, this particular one would make a big noise. This particular e-mail bore a link to a Web site where the beneficiary was directed to click and download this brave, new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, sans cover art or album credits. Just a bare skeleton of MP3s to hang […]
INSTA-REVIEW: Radiohead In Rainbows
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER It’s difficult after just three or four listens to rate this album, but my initial reaction is that In Rainbows (****) is as fine a Radiohead album as I have ever heard. The devoted will be immensely gratified, and converts will be drawn in by all the buzz — and what proves to be bewitchingly ethereal, yet altogether visceral, rock music. The 10-song In Rainbows collapses into one tidy package all the Radioheads we have come to know: folk-rock Radiohead, electronica Radiohead, alt-rock Radiohead, prog-rock Radiohead. Not only does the band seem to nail […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Pulitzer Prize-winning business columnist Gretchen Morgenson talks about the subprime mortgage crisis and its effects on the markets and on the economy. Morgenson, an assistant business and financial editor for The New York Times, has covered the financial markets for The Times since 1998. ALSO, this year the Human Rights First Award for Excellence in Television will be given to a show that “depicts torture and interrogation in a nuanced, realistic fashion.” According to interviews with military leaders, portrayal of torture on television shows has changed interrogation techniques in the field. TV producer Adam Fierro (The Shield), intelligence […]
HEAR YE: Radiohead In Rainbows
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO!
SOAP OPERA: Talk To Your Daughter Before The Beauty Industry Does
BY AMY Z. QUINN Can a commercial, through sheer innovation and noble message, exceed its own status as a cheap marketing tool and become art? Or at the very least an important, buzz-worthy cultural artifact? “Onslaught,” Dove’s latest advert-cum-girlpower call to arms, sure gives it the old college try. It’s the follow-up to the legendarily creepy “Evolution,” which showed how an average-looking model is transformed, through the magic of beauty products and Photoshop, into a diva staring imperiously from a billboard ad. Like its sister video, “Onslaught” isn’t meant for the TV airwaves, aside from snippets in the TV news […]
HOT DOC: How To Restore The Fourth Amendment
REP. JOHN CONYERS (D-Michigan): “I am proud to have introduced the RESTORE Act with Intelligence Committee Chairman Sylvestre Reyes… Earlier this year, President Bush signed a short-term surveillance law that exposed innocent Americans’ phone calls and emails to warrantless intrusion. Speaker Pelosi immediately asked us to fix this problem and to ensure court oversight while preserving our ability to fight against foreign threats. This bill shows that it is possible to protect civil liberties and fight terrorism at the same time.” [via TPM MUCKRAKER] RESTORE Act of 2007 (Responsible Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective) Bill Summary Security and […]
HEAR YE: Radiohead In Rainbows
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO!