Sarcastically Yours

Blue Sky Buzz: Pixar's Place In Disney's World... : I got time... Let me tell you a story... Two actually.  A tale really.  The tale of two, possible future worlds.  One is what the vision of Suits have for this world, and the other is what Creatives want for this world.  You see the see the Suits see only profit and opportunity.  The Creatives see ideas as the real treasure.  The trick is finding somewhere in the middle.  In a balanced world, the Creatives will find a way to prove to the Suits that their vision is what is needed, and creating something just for the sake of dollar signs isn't actually good for the bottom line in the end, as it diminishes what the Founder successfully created that made his company so profitable. Translation is, originality and thinking outside the box to give the guest what they didn't know they wanted was how Walt Disney blazed his path to create a company that is now the pinnacle of, and largest deliverer of ...

Epic Photoshop/Imaginary Girlfriend FAIL

Who Runs The World? Solid Proof That A Core Group Of Wealthy Elitists Is Pulling The Strings : Does a shadowy group of obscenely wealthy elitists control the world?  Do men and women with enormous amounts of money really run the world from behind the scenes?  The answer might surprise you.  Most of us tend to think of money as a convenient way to conduct transactions, but the truth is that it also represents power and control.  And today we live in a neo-fuedalist system in which the super rich pull all the strings.  When I am talking about the ultra-wealthy, I am not just talking about people that have a few million dollars.  As you will see later in this article, the ultra-wealthy have enough money sitting in offshore banks to buy all of the goods and services produced in the United States during the course of an entire year and still be able to pay off the entire U.S. national debt.  That is an amount of money so large that it is almost incompreh...

How Lucasfilm coralled J.J. Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars' : The Hollywood Reporter details Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy's cajoling of the "Star Trek" director and drops a bomb: The next "Star Wars" may not be ready by 2015.

Wait for it...wait for it... ~~~ Your Favorite (and Least Favorite) Pop Artists Look Like Birds

Exit everyman: How the Jersey Democratic bosses destroyed Dick Codey and unleashed Chris Christie | Capital New York

Iran on the Offensive : Yves here. This post may seem a smidge wide of usual NC fare, but it caught my attention because it discussed electromagnetic pulse weapons. I’ve frankly been stunned at how little discussion there has been of then up to now. Anyone who has read Cryptonomicon , or merely has gotten a magnet too close to a computer is familiar with the concept: magnetic fields fry chips, and it is possible to create a device that can send a magnetic pulse over a distance. The technical details are way over my pay grade, but my understanding is that it would not be hard to construct an inexpensive device that could do a lot of damage to electronic infrastructure, which is a major point of vulnerability. If you think America is in a fraught position thanks to the Chinese stranglehold over rare earths, which enables them to dictate who gets first dibs on certain types of chips and advanced electronic components, think of what might happen in the wake of an EMP attack. I suspect the...

US interest rates kept on hold : The Federal Reserve confirms it will keep interest rates at near-zero at least until the US jobless rate falls below 6.5%.

Largest Wave Ever Surfed … 100 Feet Tall? : Garrett McNamara of Hawaii rode a giant wave in Nazaré, Portugal yesterday. It was claimed to be 100 feet high, although the Guinness Book of World Records has not yet confirmed the measurement (the official measurement is usually smaller than initial estimates).  Nazaré has unusual conditions for making huge waves … an undersea trench narrows right before the shore, shooting the sea up to the sky at the last minute. (The waves go from left to right in the above image.) As U.S. News and World Report explains : “It’s a complex region with a submarine canyon—when waves propagate over the canyon at different speeds, they start to converge near the shore,” he says. “This increases the height of waves in the area.” The canyon is particularly special because it occurs just a few hundred feet off shore. Though the canyon can reach depths of a mile further offshore, it is closer to 500 feet deep near the coast. As additional waves start c...

The real point of the story that you have to click through to get is that despite beating investor expectations, the stock is getting pummeled again.  The reason is obvious - ads.  I believe they don't show as many or maybe not at all ads on phones.  If more people are using facebook on phones, then ad revenue, their only money maker, is going to fall.  The obvious solution for them is to start stuffing ads on it for the phone users and hope they don't piss their users off even more. ~~~ More People Are Using Facebook via Phone For the First Time Ever : It's time for another quarterly earning, that kooky game wherein companies announce how much cash they've raked in, and then investors spank or hail them without much correlation to reality. Now up: Facebook, which has just entered crazy new territory. More »

Is Gold in a Bubble? : Despite a very healthy run, gold is not in a bubble according to these four classic signs.

How Student Loans Could Ruin the Economy : Even if you don't have student loans, they don't bode well for the whole economy.

Apple TV Refresh Will Be Stealth Update, Will Not Affect Product Features : An Apple spokesperson spoke to The Next Web about the new Apple TV model disclosed in FCC filings yesterday. The company explained that the changes are strictly internal, and there won't be any new features or other changes. The Next Web is also reporting that the new Apple TV will use Apple's A5X processor from the third-generation iPad, and an upgraded Broadcom BCM4334 wireless chip, as was reported last night . The external size of the device will also remain the same. “We sometimes make component changes which require an updated model number for regulatory approval,” an Apple spokesperson told TNW. “The component changes we made don’t affect product features and Apple TV customers will continue to have the same great user experience.” The new Apple TV will not be marketed as a new version, and it appears the only way to distinguish the old from the new is via the model number.

Israel Strikes Missile Shipment To Hizbullah : The IAF has reportedly struck a potentially game-changing shipment of SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles headed to Hizbullah. Photo: IDF spokesperson An airstrike reportedly carried out by Israeli warplanes near the Lebanese-Syrian border overnight Tuesday targeted a shipment of sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles bound for the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah, regional security officials implied to AP on Wednesday. A US official said the strike hit a convoy of trucks. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strike. While Lebanon initially denied that any incident had taken place, the Syrian state news agency on Wednesday night said an airstrike had targeted a military site near Damascus. The Israeli military and Prime Minister’s Office had no comment. Israel had been making plans in the days leading up to the airstrike to hit a shipment of Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft ...

Disney's 'Paperman' Short Floats Online (Video) : The Oscar nominated black and white animation is now available for all to see. read more

And as the official propaganda magazine for the administration and its failed policies, it didn't bother mentioning it in its own magazine. ~~~ Time Inc cuts staff by 6 percent, hitting business and news : (Reuters) - Time Inc on Wednesday began the process of cutting about 500 jobs, about 6 percent of its total staff as the largest U.S. magazine publisher grapples with challenges beleaguering the print industry.

Analysis: The funds that saw Apple's decline coming : NEW YORK (Reuters) - The slump in Apple Inc's share price from its September high has badly dented the returns of hundreds of mutual funds that had maintained outsized holdings of the stock. But some went sour on the iPhone-maker just in time.

Calling it for Baltimore. ~~~ Madden attempts to predict Super Bowl XLVII victor : The Big Game arrives this weekend, and Electronic Arts thinks its Madden football video game predicted the winner. Do you agree with its pick?

Official: Kia teases Cross GT concept for Chicago debut : Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Crossover , Kia , Design/Style Kia is headed to the Chicago Auto Show with a new concept. Details are scarce on the Cross GT at the moment, but we know the machine was penned as a luxury crossover. Larger than the current Sorento , we would wager there's three rows of seating on board. And while it's unclear whether or not Kia plans to bring something similar to market, we like what we see in the shadowy teaser above. The Cross GT seems to wear the company's "tiger nose" styling well, and the familiar D-pillar upkick ties the machine in nicely with the rest of the company's people-movers. The 2013 Chicago Auto Show kicks off on February 7th, and should feature a number of interesting reveals. Those include the upcoming Toyota Tundra and what could be a special version of the Dodge Dart . Stay tuned for our live coverage on the show floor.

Action figures depicting presidents as Famous Monsters of Filmland : Heroes in Action have a line of Presidential Monster action figures, including JFK as the Phantom of the White House, Mitt Romney Ronald Reagan as The Ronmy, GW Bush as Zombush, Bill Clinton as Wolf Bill, Richard Nixon as Monster from the Watergate Lagoon (my favorite of the bunch), Barack Obama as Baracula, and Abe Lincoln as Lincolnstein. They're $30 each or $165 for the set. Heroes in Action Toys - Presidential Monsters ( via Super Punch )

Color film of the Three Stooges from 1938 : Hatrick sez, "Amazing color footage from 1938. The Three Stooges at the Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Film by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann. George Mann and his wife Barbara Bradford also appear in the film." Three Stooges at Steel Pier, Atlantic City -- 1938

Because Turtle needs something to keep his C-List celebrity status. ~~~ 'Entourage' crew to make leap to big-screen : LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Vincent Chase and his entourage are jumping from the small screen to the big-screen....

PYLE!!! ~~~ Actor Jim Nabors marries male partner in Seattle : HONOLULU (AP) -- The actor best known for playing the TV character Gomer Pyle in the 1960s has married his male partner of 38 years....

Have better clothes. ~~~ JCPenney Brings Back Sales After Experiment Flops : JCPenney Brings Back Sales After Experiment Flops

Britain's New Slogan: Go Away : Britain's New Slogan: Go Away

Investors are a weird sort.  Amazon, despite its ton of sales, still loses money and investors pour more money into them.  Apple is making tons of money as well and isn't losing money and investors are running from them. ~~~ Amazon's Growth Looks Like Walmart in the 1990s — But Even Better : Amazon doesn't make a lot of money in the profit sense, which is typically the only sense that matters. But the investors who sent Amazon's stock soaring after-hours last night were likely looking at a different set of numbers.

Outside View: Obama and Iran : Herndon, Va. (UPI) Jan 29, 2013 About two-thirds the way through U.S. President Barack Obama's second inaugural speech, he echoed words spoken almost 75 years earlier by another world leader; words that would soon ring hollow for all who heard them. In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to London after meeting with Germany's Adolf Hitler in Munich. A world fearing it was on the brink of war was

Greedy Apple told it can't triple Samsung's $1bn patent payout : Judge snubs 'inappropriate damages enhancement' bid Apple will not get triple damages in its epic US mobile phone patent infringement trial against Samsung, sparing the South Koreans from writing a $3bn cheque.…

Mimi's Cafe sold for $50 million : The Midwest parent of Mimi's Cafe is selling the underperforming Irvine-based chain in a deal that ends a casual dining marriage that failed to meet expectations for Bob Evans Farms. The buyer is LeDuff America, a Dallas company that operates a...

RIM Renames Itself ‘BlackBerry’ : Research in Motion didn't just introduce a new OS on Wednesday, it also ushered in a new brand identity Speaking in New York during the BlackBerry 10 launch event , CEO Thorsten Heins announced that RIM will now be known as BlackBerry. The company has also changed its ticker symbol from RIMM to BBRY and introduced a new tagline, "One brand, one promise." The company will showcase the new name in an upcoming Super Bowl ad , its first.

NFL Support on Facebook, Visualized : To celebrate the impenidng Super Bowl, Facebook decided to analyze NFL support across the US based on Likes. Many of the results are as you'd expect—but there are a few interesting quirks along the way. More »

In today's trademark abuse news... ~~~ Apple Has Trademarked the Design of Its Stores : Yes, you are looking at a technical drawing of an Apple store. And yes, it does form part of an approved trademark request which means nobody can imitate Apple's temples to tech. More »

Netflix: "The Goal Is to Become HBO Faster Than HBO Can Become Us" : We've long know that Netflix is ambitious, striving to make its own original content when it can. But now the company had made its intentions clear: it isn't just keeping up with the big boy cable networks—it plans to beat them at their own game. More »

Taco Bell CEO Confirms That the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco Is Coming Soon : Fast foodies aficionados, ranch dippers, chip dust finger suckers, ground meat lovers, Mountain Dew drinkers at the skate park, or just people everywhere , listen up. Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed has confirmed that Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco is coming very soon. This is the best gift 2013 will give. More »

Analysis: What is driving North Korea's nuclear test plan? : What is driving North Korea's nuclear test plan?

Israelis 'attack Syria convoy' : Israeli jets attack a convoy on the Syria-Lebanon border, unconfirmed reports say, amid fears that Syrian weaponry might fall into the hands of militants.

HE'S BACK :

US economy in surprise downturn : The US economy unexpectedly shrank at an annualised rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012, official figures indicate.

For 40 years, this Russian family was cut off From all human contact, unaware of World War II : In 1978 a team of Russian geologists took a helicopter to a remote part of Siberia and encountered a family that had not had contact with anyone for 40 years. The family were Old Believers -- members of a "fundamentalist Russian Orthodox sect, worshiping in a style unchanged since the 17th century." They fled to Siberia in 1936 to escape persecution. The sight that greeted the geologists as they entered the cabin was like something from the middle ages. Jerry-built from whatever materials came to hand, the dwelling was not much more than a burrow—"a low, soot-blackened log kennel that was as cold as a cellar," with a floor consisting of potato peel and pine-nut shells. Looking around in the dim light, the visitors saw that it consisted of a single room. It was cramped, musty and indescribably filthy, propped up by sagging joists—and, astonishingly, home to a family o...

'Elections showed Israelis want new political path' : US Sec. of State Clinton says Israelis voted for a new domestic, diplomatic policy; committee confirms Kerry unanimously.

Is it coincidence that this debate always come up during recessionary periods?  It's all about broadening the tax base. ~~~ Obama unveils his own proposal for immigration reform - The Washington Post

Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs Movie Makeup Is Totally Unreal—He IS Jobs : Whoa. We've seen Ashton Kutcher in a scene from early in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, and had an early review of the film as well, but this is the first we've seen of his makeup for the latter day Jobs. And man, it's something . More »

Congress Demands Justice Department Explain Aaron Swartz Prosecution : The two leaders of a congressional committee have sent a letter to the Department of Justice demanding a briefing on why the department chose to so fervently pursue charges against coder and internet activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide earlier this month.

Didn't a band run afoul of the law for doing the same thing last year? ~~~ Video: Biker Fleet Shuts Down The 10 Freeway For Epic Marriage Proposal : Gentlemen, if you're planning to propose anytime soon, perhaps you should watch the below video and take some notes from Hector "Tank" Martinez. The romantic biker planned and executed an elaborate marriage proposal to his longtime girlfriend, Paige, Sunday, one that likely infuriated its fair share of Los Angeles drivers: Martinez and his biker buddies shut down the 10 Freeway. [ more › ]

Some School Buses are More Magic Than Other School Buses...

Disney CEO replies to Congressman about privacy concerns : Disney CEO responds to Congressman Ed Markey's privacy concerns about the new MyMagic+ program.

Analysis: California budget fix relies on good times for the rich | Reuters

Google's Plan to Snatch Shopping From Amazon Is Working : Of all the great match-ups among tech's Fantastic Four -- Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon -- it's Google versus Amazon that's becoming the most fascinating, and not because of who has the better tablet.

The Most Promising TV Pilots of 2013: From <em>S.H.I.E.L.D.</em> to the Shows of J.J. Abrams : It's that time of year when the networks order pilots for the shows that could be coming soon to a TV near you. Here are some of the most promising pilots ordered so far.

Google in N Korea mapping push : Google publishes detailed maps of North Korea for the first time, labelling key landmarks including some of the country's notorious prison camps.

$10/month now. ~~~ The New Microsoft Office Is Here—And You Rent It : Office—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, the old frenemies—are out of beta and ready to buy. Sort of: you buy the newest version of Office like you buy Netflix or Spotify, with a subscription. And it makes a hell of a lot of sense. More »

I'd have to say that was really good. ~~~ Here's What It'd Look Like if JJ Abrams Directed the Original Star Wars : So JJ Abrams is directing Star Wars Episode VII , and everyone is quite certain that it will be very great or very bad or very dumb. But before we see a single frame of lens flared footage, this shot-for-shot recreation of the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer using original trilogy clips is a taste of what an Abrams Star Wars might look like. And it's totally, absolutely wonderful. More »

Horsemeat found in Spain burgers : A Spanish consumer group finds horsemeat in some beefburgers on sale in Spain, days after a similar scandal gripped the UK and Ireland.

France denies state 'bankruptcy' : France's politicians defend the state of its economy after Labour Minister Michel Sapin described the state as "totally bankrupt".

Israel boycotts UN rights council : In an unprecedented step, Israel boycotts its regular review by the UN Human Rights Council, prompting concern that its work could be undermined.

Army warns of Egypt's 'collapse' : Egypt's armed forces chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi warns that the current political crisis "could lead to a collapse of the state".

Why does it feel that everything Apple does now post-Jobs is a passionless knee-jerk panic business reaction? ~~~ Apple iPad jumps to 128GB, starting at $799 : It's still the fourth-generation device, but beefier. A cellular-enabled version of the higher-capacity iPad costs $929.

US Treasury attacked on pay policy : The US Treasury is criticised for approving large pay packages for bosses at firms that received bailouts during the financial crisis, a report says.

Barnes & Noble To Close A Third of Their Stores: Will L.A. Lose Locations? : We knew it was coming : Barnes & Noble is going to close several more locations around the nation, cutting about a third of their stores. [ more › ]

Ashton Kutcher: I Was Hospitalized After Eating Steve Jobs' Fruit Diet : At Sundance, the "jOBS" actor recounted how his well-intentioned attempt to emulate his role model yielded an unwelcome response. read more

Boy Scouts may end gay-member ban : The Boy Scouts of America signals that it may overturn its long-standing ban - reaffirmed only last year - on gay members and leaders.

Already Disney is making better decisions on Star Wars than Lucas has. ~~~ Lucasfilm Kills 3D Star Wars Re-Releases After Realizing It's Horrible and Everyone Hates It : What's worse than the Star Wars prequels? The Star Wars prequels ramrodded in your face with an extra dimension. Lucasfilm was planning on subjecting idiots with loose wallets to re-released 3D Young Anakin, but Disney says no more bullshit . More »

Optical Illusion Turns Pretty Hollywood Actors Into Freaky Monsters : Not even Hollywood's most beautiful are inmune to our brain's faulty image processing. Liv Tyler, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Keira Knightley, Christina Hendricks—all of them turn to creepy monsters when you get them through this freaky optical illusion . More »

Reflections on the American Revolution (Part I of II) : I’ve recently been reading a fair amount on the American Revolution, especially David McCullough’s 1776 (which should be required reading for every American).* The more you read of the Revolutionary War, the more there is to learn, especially about the vital question of how the colonists pulled off their victory over the vastly wealthier and more powerful Great Britain. The standard narrative of the American | Read More »

And in Lindelof 's predictable style of  "creative writing", the ending will ambiguous, unsatisfying, and nonsensical. ~~~ Disney Retitles Mysterious George Clooney-Brad Bird Film 'Tomorrowland' : The film, co-written by Damon Lindelof and director Brad Bird, was initially titled "1952" and is due for a 2014 release. read more

Paul Giamatti in Talks to Play The Rhino in 'Spider-Man 2' (Exclusive) : Felicity Jones is also in negotiations to join the Sony sequel. read more

I always pass these lame pictures and stories but I just realized something.  In every photo spread of Posh Spice she has the same "What do you mean it's not butter, I'm going to mortally wound you for saying that" look. ~~~ Video: Victoria Beckham Has a Big Family Weekend - and Hot New Mag Cover : Victoria Beckham is Elle UK's March 2013 cover girl, and inside the magazine, she spoke about her "need to work" as well as the new chapter her family is experiencing now that they're back in the UK at the start of 2013. In this PopSugar Rush , we're recapping Posh's hot new magazine appearance as well as what she and her family got up to over the weekend.

Obama’s New Appointments Prove that He Will Continue to Lick Wall Street’s Boots In His Second Term : Puts Fox In Charge of the Henhouse … Again The party line is that Obama’s new pick for SEC boss – Mary Jo White – will be tough on Wall Street. For example, the Wall Street Journal writes : Obama Taps Ex-Prosecutor Mary Jo White, Portending Increased Policing of Wall Street In reality, this is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse . White used to represent Morgan Stanley, and blocked an insider investigation into Morgan Stanley boss John Mack. The truth is that all of Obama’s appointments have been in bed with the big banks … and none of them have “gotten tough” on Wall Street once they were appointed: Before Obama was sworn in for his first term, he nominated Geithner and Summers   to the top economic posts … two of the guys most responsible for causing the economic crisis in the first place He appointed as head of the derivatives-regulating CFTC Gary Gensler … one...