More.
I probably shouldn't advertise this website. Even with my extensive expertise in the field of Interneting, I don't know how this site has continues to remain available. A friend of mine informed me over the weekend about this website where you can watch uninterrupted streaming (think high quality YouTube) videos of lots of movies...including some that are still in the theaters, as well as TV shows. Some of them have Chinese subtitles which may suggest a certain country of origin in terms of how movies that theoretically should only be accessible at your local movieplex can be watched online. I know what you're thinking. MRod, Shut the fuck up! What is the website's address?!? Or as N may or may not have said, "I want to watch the Sex and the City movie but I don't want to pay for it!" So without further adieu...feel free to leave a comment or send an email if you want me to send you the URL.
The saga of whether Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea and code for Facebook from a few of his classmates for whom he was working for on their site ConnectU appeared to have come to a conclusion earlier this year when both parties reached a settlement. But it looks like ConnectU is gearing up for another round in the courtroom after they hired the big guns at BSF or Boies, Schiller & Flexner (I worked there once for a couple months as a file monkey) as well as "stock fraud expert Sean F. O’Shea."
What exactly does that mean?Most documents in the case are sealed and neither of the parties are talking to the media. But the late-game lawyer swapping and addition of Mr. Shea to the ConnectU counsel table, suggests a new direction in the case. Since the Facebook-ConnectU settlement was likely part-cash, part-stock, one possibility is that the ConnectU founders feel misled by the value of the equity portion of the settlement and believe that fraudulent representations about its value were made to them.
Read more here.
RELATEDLY
BSF founder David Boies, now married to his third wife, appeared to be quite the playa back in the days: While studying law at Northwestern he conducted an affair with the wife of one of his professors, leading to his banishment from the campus. The woman, Judith Fillman, later became his second wife.
Watch the video of these two kids until the very end for the LOL payoff.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=cSXtEWTvLGQ]
[Thanks N who was clearly bored out of his effing mind at his parents house in New Jersey]
Chipper Jones is currently batting .409 through Saturday:
....something that has not been done since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Jones, who has never batted better than .337 in a full season, is trying to impersonate Williams this time. He is trying to prove that .400 is attainable.
Lets dust off that ol' hype machine and read about something other than the Red Sox or the Yankees.
Read more here.
The UK music video of Leona Lewis's pop song Bleeding Love: [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=_f8nJSAzsH4]
versus the US version:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=j7HHspl65g8]
Joystiq reports on a Wii promotion that recently occurred at the bar Sutton Place where women battled each each in a Wii Sports boxing tournament TO THE DEATH with the winner taking home the Nintendo Wii gaming system.
And even though she had never played the Wii before, the Asian girl won, natch.
Read more here.
That was quite a hellacious thunderstorm yesterday afternoon and night in New York City. Earlier in the day I watched from my friend Stan's apartment window and mocked the people sprinting to escape the torrential downpour. I received my comeuppance later that night when I found myself dashing across the street to find shelter in a bank ATM vestibule.
Stan and I were in complete agreement that there is something incredibly sexy however about girls being caught in the rain while wearing white summer dresses.
Brown Bunny sucked. Literally.
This edited Uniqlo poster can be found at Botanica.
This restaurant I passed in the low 100s on the East Side has it all. The only thing missing is sushi.
I'm pretty excited about this summer's large public art installation.
[Olafur Eliasson's] much-publicized $15 million initiative is to create four waterfalls ranging from 90 to 120 feet in height that will appear from June 26 to Oct. 13 and run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to the waterfall at Pier 35, just north of the Manhattan Bridge, there will be one in Brooklyn at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, another between Piers 4 and 5 near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and a fourth on the north shore of Governors Island.
Read more here.
Update: Looks like one of Eliassons's waterfalls had a test run the other day according to a tip sent to Curbed:
This Alaska boy CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS! I love nature! Er, nature in a 100 percent controlled environment that is.
You would think with ALL the assistants and aides at his disposal whose job is to basically spoon feed President Bush that he would know the correct manner to address the Pope of all people, especially if he made a similar gaffe when meeting the Pope previously.
Even so, an eyebrow or two arched today at the way Mr. Bush addressed Pope Benedict XVI on meeting him in Rome: “Your eminence, you’re looking good,” Mr. Bush said, the A.P. reported.We’re not talking about the Fernando-esque second clause, which was unobjectionably friendly if perhaps a tad over-familiar in tone. It was the “your eminence” part. That’s supposed to be how you address Catholic cardinals. Popes are “your holiness.”
You may think this isn't such a big deal, but imagine the knee-jerk reaction everyone would have, especially those at Fox News and Co., if someone addressed Bush, as this item points out, as "Governor."
Bush is just lucky the Pope didn't smite him right there on the spot with a "↓↘→P"!
Read more here.
There's a club in Beijing called "Sex and Da City."
Sex and da City opened in 2003, Ms. Shen said. She and about a dozen friends had been out at the World of Suzy Wong Club, and everyone agreed they might as well open a bar of their own. When they convened to discuss the idea again in the daytime, the group had dwindled to five. When it came time to talk about investing money, Ms. Shen said, it was down to four women.
That night, Ms. Shen said, she went home and watched HBO. And right there was a show—she had already been a fan—about “exactly four girls,” pursuing independence and glamour in the big city. Before Ms. Shen and her partners went to the bank, another one of them dropped out, but she had settled on the name. Replacing “the” with “da” is, by Chinese standards, a fairly respectful nod to intellectual-property rights.
I think the club name is actually an upgrade. Has anyone ever been to this new hot joint?
Read more here.
[Via Gridskipper]
A question asked in my political science 101 class back in the days is "But who watches the watchmen?" The watchmen in this issue being the mainstream news media. Who watches them and holds them accountable? The answer today is a "broad network of self-appointed watchdogs, including organized groups like Media Matters and individuals." These groups and vocal individuals are holding the media accountable for their insinuations, innuendos, and any inaccurate coverage of this year's presidential campaign. In addition, the media's predictable attempt at both reporting on and incorporating a particular cultural and youthful vernacular, which has infused Obama's campaign with a certain energy and vibrancy, has been erroneous at best and offensive at worst.
The Obama campaign, both naturally and by design, has ushered some aspects of African-American culture into the mainstream. On one occasion, Mr. Obama brushed off his shoulder in a gesture signifying dismissal of criticism, silently reminding his audience of a song called "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" by the hip-hop artist Jay-Z. The episode generated big attention in news media.
"This campaign has shown that people are excited to use black language for the first time in presidential politics," says Sarah E. Lewis, a faculty member at Yale University School of Art, and doctoral candidate focusing on representations of African-American culture. "But as they do it, often they're putting their feet in their mouths because they don't fully understand the culture."
Ah, the old white man's burden of trying too hard.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ixVBlA6zFk]
Read more here.
[Thanks N]
I received an email today from Sundance telling me:
Plan now for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. January 15-25, 2009 — Park City, Utah
I'm being asked to think about 2009 already and I don't like it. You hear me, Sundance? I. Don't. Like. It.
For those of you who have never been, I highly recommend it. For those of you who've been multiple times, I'm very jealous of you.
Curbed says:
Per a Parks Department press release that just hit the inbox, this Saturday from noon to 4pm a 70-foot waterslide will be set up near the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park.
When I read this my inner voice went into an operatic falsetto and said, "Awweeesommeeee!"
I'm quite not sure why this isn't on the front page of the New York Times right now.
Many of you are aware that I am a card carrying member of the ACLU (American Crocs Liberty Union) and have defended Crocs and Croc-wearers in the past here on my soap box that I call a blog. Recently I've been compelled to elaborate on this matter further. If you are new to this thread and before you put your foot in your mouth with comments about how I am "teh stupid," please read my previous (Part 1) thoughts on this issue first. Otherwise, lets jump right into it with our Croc wearing feet:
So I'm aware that hating on Crocs is as popular as Crocs are unpopular. Everyone walks all over them and treat Crocs like the perennial whipping boy of footwear. And yet like all persecuted revolutionary movements Crocs manage to maintain a loyal following of revolutionary freedom feetdom fighters, if you will. Revolutionary radical groups rally and form around certain nonnormative principles and theories, just like the way Crocs (ergonomically) conform around one's feet and envelopes it in, not ideology, but biodegradable rubber. Croc proponents happen to rally around the seemingly non-radical principles of practicality, comfort, and as you'll soon see, versatility: ideals that certainly cause less violence than other revolutionary concepts, and in fact, as podiatrists will testify to, accomplishes more good than harm. I personally think that is quite a "feet" to be applauded rather than stomped on. Nonetheless there are those who continue to hold animus towards crocs, such as the usually perceptive Ms. Simko who states, "Try as I might, I just don’t understand the cult following of Crocs."
Cult? Peoples Temple was a cult. Branch Dividian was a cult. The Manson Family was a cult. Alcoholics Anonymous IS a cult (it's true). Crocs wearers are merely slaves of utility and air circulation. And unlike cults which are narrow minded and exclusionary, Crocs embrace all lifestyles and people from all "walks" of life. In addition to its benefits I've previously highlighted, Crocs are also versatile as demonstrated by this photo sent to me by Randy. Crocs also come in a business casual appropriate black color. My creative director was on to something after all.
If all this makes Crocs a cult, then I'm drinking that Kool Aid.
"But what about appearance?" asks Ms. Simko and others. "Doesn't that rank??"
I thought this line of argument was addressed and resolved with the age of minimalism where the philosophy of "less is more" and the concept of multi-functionality dominated. Clearly Crocs represent the culmination or apex of that legacy. Surely in the 21st century this isn't a radical notion.
I'm not asking you to run out today and buy Crocs. Change can be difficult. All I ask is that before you judge, try first walking in their Croc wearing feet. Someday progress against anti-Crocism will be measured in "feet" rather than inches and will be eventually defeeted and erased. That is my dream.
RELATEDLY
Don't forget to check out this video of Water Buffalos versus Lions versus Crocs.
[Take a shot for every pun intended and unintended you find in this entry. You should be soundly drunk by the end.]