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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Calvin & Hobbes</em> Creator Bill Watterson Gives Rare Interview

Image: Bill Watterson

The infamously reclusive creator of Calvin & Hobbes, Bill Watterson, spoke for the first time in several years in a new interview at Mental Floss. Watterson, whose art will soon appear in an exhibit at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum with work from Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson, discussed his feelings on the world of digital comics, creators’ rights, and how he almost lost Calvin & Hobbes.

Asked where he thinks Calvin & Hobbes fits into today’s comics landscape, which includes not only print comics but webcomics and digital comics, Watterson replies:

Personally, I like paper and ink better than glowing pixels, but to each his own. Obviously the role of comics is changing very fast. On the one hand, I don’t think comics have ever been more widely accepted or taken as seriously as they are now. On the other hand, the mass media is disintegrating, and audiences are atomizing. I suspect comics will have less widespread cultural impact and make a lot less money. I’m old enough to find all this unsettling, but the world moves on. All the new media will inevitably change the look, function, and maybe even the purpose of comics, but comics are vibrant and versatile, so I think they’ll continue to find relevance one way or another. But they definitely won’t be the same as what I grew up with.

He also discussed his battle for more room and flexibility on the comics page at a time when that real estate was shrinking, a battle that he famously won. It was a riskier proposition than many may realize; after signing most of his rights away to get syndicated, Watterson said he had no legal rights to demand anything, and could have even lost Calvin & Hobbes itself. “I could not take the strip with me if I quit, or even prevent the syndicate from replacing me, so I was truly scared I was going to lose everything I cared about either way… It was a grim, sad time.”

While the notion of Bill Watterson being replaced by anyone on Calvin & Hobbes is blasphemy to fans of the strip, the experience he describes offers an interesting contrast to the landscape of comics today, where it’s far easier for webcartoonists with a wide variety of styles and stories to find their own niche audience without the help of a syndicate. But as Watterson notes, this can also atomize the audience from national to niche, while the comics pages of newspapers are still shrinking (and newspapers aren’t faring so well themselves).

This long tail of comics may allow creators more diversity and more control, but Watterson worries that without mass media distribution comics ”will have less widespread cultural impact and make a lot less money” — that it will be difficult to create more comics like Calvin & Hobbes, which become cultural touchstones because they are read by all, not merely a small, devoted audience.

A fuller version of the interview will be published in the December issue of Mental Floss magazine.

Source: http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661370/s/3295aadc/sc/38/l/0L0Swired0N0Cunderwire0C20A130C10A0Cbill0Ewatterson0Einterview0C/story01.htm
Tags: Lane Kiffin Merritt Wever

You Can Actually Buy This Electric Flame-Throwing Batpod (Updated)

This isn't the motorcycle you need. It's the motorcycle you deserve. You'll be able to conquer Bane and the morning rush hour commute aboard this insane Harley V-Rod mod. And yes, those are dual flamethrowers and shotguns up front.

Paris student protest over immigrant expulsions

PARIS (AP) — Several hundred French teenagers erected barricades outside their schools and marched through Paris on Thursday to protest the police expulsions of immigrant families — including some of their classmates.

Police sprayed tear gas at a few students throwing projectiles but most marched peacefully, some climbing on bus shelters to shout demands for the interior minister's resignation.

Anger erupted this week over the treatment of a 15-year-old Kosovar girl who was detained in front of classmates on a field trip. The government says her eight-member family had been denied asylum and was no longer allowed to stay in France.

Such expulsions occur regularly around France as the government tries to limit illegal immigration. But the treatment of the girl touched a nerve, with critics saying police went too far and betrayed France's image as a champion of human rights.

The students, saying the expulsions are unfair to children, hope to pressure France's Socialist-led government to allow the girl and a recently expelled Armenian boy to return to France.

At one high school in Paris, students piled green garbage cans in front of the entrance and hung a banner saying "Education in Danger."

"Everybody should have a chance. Everybody should have a job, work and have a family. When children try to achieve that, France refuses, and that is not my country," said protester Romain Desprez.

The protesters tried to march to the Interior Ministry, but were blocked by riot police with shields and helmets. They diverted the march and dispersed peacefully.

The Kosovar girl, Leonarda Dibrani, told The Associated Press from the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica that she wants to return to France. Activists say her family fled Kosovo about five years ago because they are Roma, or Gypsies, and faced discrimination and few opportunities.

"My home is in France," Dibrani said in French. "I don't speak the language here and I don't know anyone. I just want to go back to France and forget everything that happened."

The French government launched an investigation into her detention, and is expected to announce the results Friday.

___

Nebi Qena contributed from Kosovo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paris-student-protest-over-immigrant-expulsions-133955936.html
Category: Olivia Culpo Cressida Bonas Hiroshi Yamauchi dave chappelle pippa middleton

Cory Booker wins New Jersey's Senate race, but what does it mean for rising Dem star's future?

Cory Booker won his bid for New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seat on Wednesday, defeating Republican Steve Lonegan in a whirlwind special election race that gave the ambitious Newark mayor an official entry to the national political stage.

Booker, a rising star in the Democratic Party, had been the heavy favorite to replace Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June. He’s expected to be sworn in to the Senate as early as Thursday — giving Democrats an extra vote in what has been a tumultuous political period in Washington.

But it’s still unknown what kind of lawmaker Booker will be in the nation’s capital — or what damage, if any, his Senate campaign did to his stratospheric rise within the Democratic Party.

As mayor of Newark, Booker has been a larger-than-life political presence, a man as famous for rushing into a burning building to save a neighbor as he is for his savvy embrace of Twitter to communicate directly with his constituents. But the Senate is a different, stuffier place — where lawmakers deal more with one another than with the people they serve.

It’s unclear what kind of effect Booker’s celebrity might have on his profile in the Senate. On the one hand, he could chart a path as the Democratic alternative to visible Republican stars like Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas or Rand Paul of Kentucky. Or he could follow in the footsteps of former Sen. Hillary Clinton, who pointedly worked with Republicans as she sought to build up her own legislative profile in advance of her 2008 presidential run.

Booker, who has made no secret of his desire for higher office, has suggested he’s willing to work with Republicans — pointing to his friendly relationship with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Yet Booker’s time in the Senate could also serve to repair the damage done to his political reputation by his Senate bid. While it was never seriously suggested that Booker would lose the race, the Newark mayor struggled to pull away from the little-known Lonegan, a tea party candidate whose opposition to abortion and support of the federal government shutdown put him at odds with the majority of New Jersey voters.

Booker’s path to victory was largely complicated by his own missteps — including odd scandals involving his Twitter messages to a vegan stripper and revelations that he’d profited off being one of the most famous young mayors in the country.

Many Democrats were frustrated that Booker did not campaign more aggressively — as he spent days at a time off the trail and largely ignored Lonegan until the final days when polls suddenly showed him within 10 points of the mayor.

On Wednesday, Politico reported Booker had spent less than $1 million on television ads — a surprisingly low number for a candidate who had outraised his Republican opponent by nearly $10 million.

Perhaps Booker was saving his cash for the longer race. His win in Wednesday’s special election allows him to serve out the rest of Lautenberg’s term — which runs until November 2014.

If Booker wants to serve a full six-year Senate term, he’ll have to file to run again — a race that officially kicks off on Thursday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/booker-new-jersey-senate-race-win-024859656.html
Category: Johnny Galecki Jamaal Charles

As Greenland Seeks Economic Development, Is Uranium The Way?

Men stand inside the gold mine in Greenland's Nulanaq mountain on Dec. 19, 2009. The Danish territory's underground wealth was at the forefront of elections in March. Now, Greenland faces another dilemma: whether to end a zero-tolerance policy on uranium extraction.

Adrian Joachim/AP

Karen Hanghoj, a scientist with Denmark's Geological Survey, points to the southern tip of Greenland on a colorful map hanging in her office.

"What you can see here in the southern region here, is you have a big pink region," she says. "And then within the pink region, you see you have all these little purple dots.

"And what the purple dots are is a later period of rifting. These complexes have these weird chemistries and have these very, very strange minerals in them," she adds.

Those minerals include rare earth elements. They are essential to making cell phones, wind turbines, hybrid cars and many other products. China enjoys a near-monopoly on the global supply, sparking a race to find new sources of the 17 metals. One particularly large known deposit is in Greenland. But there's a catch.

Hanghoj lifts a hefty rock off her desk. It comes from that pink and purple polka-dotted region, though the rock itself is nondescript — except for one shiny black nugget known as steenstrupine.

"That mineral has all of the rare earths, or most of the rare earths, but also most of the uranium," Hanghoj says.

Uranium would therefore have to mined along with those coveted rare earth minerals.

Legislative Roadblocks

There are a few problems with that.

First, Greenland has a ban on uranium extraction. The zero-tolerance policy was put in place 25 years ago when Greenland was more tightly controlled by nuclear-averse Denmark. Since then, Greenland has taken on a new level of self-governance, including jurisdiction over its own natural resources.

This month, Greenland's parliament appears likely to lift the zero-tolerance policy. That could open the door for uranium mining not only as a byproduct, but also as a primary product. By some estimates, Greenland has enough of the radioactive stuff to make it one of the top five exporters in the world.

“ It's one thing if we're abolishing a policy, but what is going to be the policy instead of that? And that is something where Denmark and Greenland for the first time in their history really need to start engaging in a discussion that they have not had up to this point.

- Cindy Vestergaard, Danish Institute for International Studies

That raises questions for Denmark, which is still responsible for Greenland's foreign policy and security.

"The Greenlandic position seems to be that as long as we are exporting for peaceful purposes, then Denmark does not need to be engaged," says Cindy Vestergaard, a senior researcher with the Danish Institute for International Studies. But, she adds, "how will Denmark know it is being used for peaceful purposes if they are not involved?

"So it's one thing if we're abolishing a policy, but what is going to be the policy instead of that?" she asks. "And that is something where Denmark and Greenland for the first time in their history really need to start engaging in a discussion that they have not had up to this point."

Environment Or ...

There are also environmental concerns – parallels for which can be seen across the world in projects like the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. and Brazil's massive dams in the Amazon.

This spring a coalition of 48 nongovernmental organizations from around the world called on Greenland to uphold the zero-tolerance policy, citing the potential for radioactive pollution in a delicate Arctic ecosystem. And members of Greenland's opposition party, like Sara Olsvig, say the public still doesn't really understand the potential consequences of uranium mining.

"We have a lot of other choices in Greenland of other minerals, other resources, living and nonliving, that we can export," she says. "And our opinion is that we should go for those other resources instead of rushing through a decision on uranium, not even knowing if in the long run will pay off.

"We don't even know the full picture of what things we would have to build to just monitor a big open pit uranium mine in Greenland."

... Economic Development?

But for others, mining and the economic opportunities it represents cannot come fast enough. Technically, Greenland could declare independence from Denmark at any time. But without new sources of income, it remains tethered to its annual Danish subsidy of roughly half a billion dollars.

"When you can take care of yourself, you have more respect and pride in yourself," says Doris Jakobsen of the ruling Greenlandic party. "The same is true of the Greenlandic people."

Jakobsen says that protecting Greenland's environment is her priority, and adds that lifting the zero-tolerance policy does not mean uranium mining will necessarily happen. But she's tired of hearing what others say Greenland can and can't do.

"I can't accept that Greenland should become a museum," she says. "Those [non-governmental organizations] also say that it should be forbidden to sell our seals, forbidden to whale, forbidden to extract oil, forbidden to extract uranium. You can't limit everything. Greenland needs economic development."

Whatever happens in regard to uranium, this issue has raised the decibel level of discussion about Greenland's future. And if there's one thing both the ruling and opposition parties can agree on, it's that any movement is good if it leads to independence.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/10/16/235369150/as-greenland-seeks-economic-development-is-uranium-the-way?ft=1&f=1004
Related Topics: Jodi Arias alexander skarsgard Snowden

He Is Risen

184905256SP008_NEWARK_MAYOR — Cory Booker campaigns in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 15, 2013.

The legend of Cory Booker began when he got his ass kicked. Eleven years ago, when he was a 33-year-old social justice attorney turned city councilman, Booker ran for mayor of Newark, N.J. He was a media sensation—a Rhodes scholar who hunger-striked to protest drug dealers and tractor-beamed money out of donors across the river in New York. A documentary about the campaign, eventually titled Street Fight, captured real-time video of Mayor Sharpe James alleging that Booker was a carpetbagger, a Republican, “not black enough” to run the city, and “collaborating with the Jews.”

Street Fight was nominated for an Oscar, and Booker never lost another race. Wednesday night, he beat Republican candidate Steve Lonegan to become only the ninth African-American in the U.S. Senate. Along the way, he faced the first challenge to his “narrative” in more than a decade, as reporters challenged his stories of ghetto heroism and hyped polls that showed his 25-point lead shrinking to the high teens. “The bloom is off the rose,” said one Democratic state senator in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s version of the “Booker in disarray” story. “No one could be as good as Cory was perceived to be.”

Marshall Curry, the director Street Fight, wasn’t surprised by this. “He's never been a bloodthirsty politician,” said Curry of Booker. “He's never been somebody who loves getting in a fight. When you're up against someone who does spoil for a fight, like Sharpe James, like Steve Lonegan, they can do some damage to you.”

Not enough damage, obviously—Booker is now a Meet the Press–friendly senator-in-waiting, unencumbered by the politics of Newark. He has survived the saga of “T-Bone,” the drug dealer who may or may not have been a composite character, and of the sexless direct message he sent a Twitter follower who happened to be a stripper. What did we learn in this special election?

Pay attention to the boring polls, not just the game-changers. New Jersey’s special election started, unofficially, with the June 3 death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg. One week later, a Quinnipiac poll gave Booker a 27-point lead in a theoretical race against Lonegan, the long-term New Jersey leader of David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity. After Booker won the Democratic primary, two other polls had him up by 35 and 28 points. Then, in late September, disaster—Quinnipiac and Monmouth polls showed Booker up by only 12 and 13 points.

Thus began the “Booker in disarray” storyline. “Booker is underperforming Republican Gov. Chris Christie in a blue state,” noted Maggie Haberman in Politico. “Booker’s missteps have prompted concern among allies who thought the race was a sure thing,” wrote Holly Bailey in Yahoo News. “If Lonegan loses by fewer than 10 points,” wrote Pennsylvania columnist J.D. Mullane, “it will be spun as a big win, given that Booker should have trounced him by two or three times the margin.” Anyone who watched any TV news coverage of the final days learned that the race was closing fast.

It wasn’t. Booker’s average lead over Lonegan remained largely stable for the last three weeks of the race. He took body hits from stories about his investment in the poorly conceived tech company Waywire and about a late-summer surge of murders in Newark, while he was off raising funds. But there’s no evidence that anything like the Twitter-stripper story hurt Booker (only 1 in 5 voters called it “a legitimate issue”), and his favorable numbers remained stable in the high 50s, as much as 20 points higher than Lonegan’s.

“New Jersey Senate elections tend to be in a zone where the Democrat gets between 53 and 59 percent,” said Rep. Rob Andrews, who ran unsuccessfully in a 2008 primary for this seat. “I think it’s kind of an unfair criticism that he’s underperforming if he’s in that range.” That’s spin, but it’s not wrong—the last race for Senate in New Jersey where a candidate cracked 60 percent was 1984, when Bill Bradley ran for re-election. The last race for an open seat, in 2000, ended with a slim 3-point win for the now-despised Jon Corzine.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/10/cory_booker_elected_new_jersey_s_next_senator_lessons_from_the_hyped_politician.html
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Gabfest Extra: Day 16—The End, for Now

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011, AT 3:07 PM
Obama Gets Firsthand Look at a Tornado Damage

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gabfest/2013/10/gabfest_extra_government_shutdown_day_16_with_david_plotz_john_dickerson.html
Category: affordable care act tim tebow amber heard