Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
Our Favorite Shaving Gear
Whether you think shaving is relaxing, an art form for you to master, or a miserable time sink, you probably still have to do it, and anything worth doing is worth doing well. Hopefully some of our favorite products get put to good use making your face a bit smoother, and we can’t wait to hear your recommendations in the comments.
Why Prince George Will Never Be King | New Republic
The purpose of the British Royal Family is procreation; its prime duty is to produce at least one heir to the throne. Each heir has to provide a child that will guarantee the survival of a monarchy that began with Athelstan, the first king of all-England in 926.
The baptism of Prince George is the second of his public appearances on the road to his coronation as George VII. Royal job done. Or is it?
In spite of his celebrity parents, Prince George’s chances of being king are not as high as most appear to think even though the monarchy is more popular than it has ever been during this sovereign’s reign.
New York Underground: A Centuries-Old Underworld of Caverns, Squatters, and Unmarked Doors | Vanity Fair
Deep below the streets of New York City lie its vital organs—a water system, subways, railroads, tunnels, sewers, drains, and power and cable lines—in a vast, three-dimensional tangle. Penetrating this centuries-old underworld of caverns, squatters, and unmarked doors, William Langewiesche follows three men who constantly navigate its dangers: the subway-operations chief who dealt with the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the engineer in charge of three underground mega-projects, and the guy who, well, just loves exploring the dark, jerry-rigged heart of a great metropolis.
Ain’t It Cool’s Harry Knowles: The Cash-Strapped King of the Nerds Plots a Comeback
The founder of the once-renegade movie site, who earned the admiration of Peter Jackson and Steve Jobs, is struggling for money and relevance in the wild media landscape he helped to create.
This story first appeared in the April 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter [3] magazine.
It was July 2012, and Harry Knowles was working up a sweat. Eighteen months earlier, the creator-owner-figurehead of Ain’t It Cool News collapsed and had back surgery to treat the effects of spinal stenosis, a chronic condition stemming in part from a 1996 fall that left him intermittently reliant on a wheelchair. So now he was walking on a treadmill at a clinic near his Austin home as part of his physical therapy.
His phone rang. Still trudging, Knowles answered. It was Roland De Noie, his business manager.
“I really f—ed up,” said De Noie in a panic. “It’s all my fault.” He had discovered that Ain’t It Cool News — the website Knowles started in his Texas bedroom that grew to be the scourge of Hollywood, redefined the nature and pace of entertainment journalism and turned an overweight, ginger-haired self-diagnosed movie nerd into the face of a geek nation on the rise — owed about $300,000 in unpaid taxes. While Ain’t It Cool News had been making $700,000 a year in gross advertising revenue at its height in the early- to mid-2000s, that had dipped to the low-six figures by 2012. The business had no cash reserves and no way to pay the bills. Its bank account had been seized. “We’re not going to be able to get out of this one,” said De Noie.
Knowles tried to get his childhood friend to explain, but there was no simple answer. It was the advertising slowdown or bad business practices or horrible decisions or a combination of all three. But the fact remained that Ain’t It Cool News was bleeding out.
via Ain’t It Cool’s Harry Knowles: The Cash-Strapped King of the Nerds Plots a Comeback.
Nelson, Georgia Family Protection Ordinance Approved, Would Make Gun Ownership Mandatory For Some
The city council in a small north Georgia town voted Monday night to make gun ownership mandatory – unless you object.
Council members in Nelson, a city of about 1,300 residents that’s located 50 miles north of Atlanta, voted unanimously to approve the Family Protection Ordinance. The measure requires every head of household to own a gun and ammunition to “provide for the emergency management of the city” and to “provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants.”
Not that every household must go out and purchase a firearm.
The ordinance exempts convicted felons and those who suffer from certain physical or mental disabilities, as well as anyone who objects to gun ownership. The ordinance also doesn’t include any penalty for those who don’t comply.
But backers said they wanted to make a statement about gun rights at a time when President Barack Obama and some states are pushing for more restrictions in the wake of the Connecticut elementary school massacre in December that left 20 children and six educators dead.
via Nelson, Georgia Family Protection Ordinance Approved, Would Make Gun Ownership Mandatory For Some.
UFOs and the Bible: Close Encounters of the Sacred Kind
A group of people has a mass sighting of a huge, airborne glowing object that follows them for many miles and even protects them from attack. Someone is seen being lifted into the sky on a beam of light. A man witnesses unexplained circular vehicles with living creatures on board.
Pretty much sounds like your typical, modern-day UFO sightings, right? Wrong. These are vivid accounts of stories from the Old and New Testaments.
via UFOs and the Bible: Close Encounters of the Sacred Kind.
The Case for Revenge – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education
A surefire way to establish one’s moral superiority—certainly in our society and in most Western nations—is to renounce any interest in revenge. No matter the damage done, the outrageousness of the conduct, or the magnitude of loss, most people will reflexively wave off any suggestion that vengeance is what they desire. Indeed, they will indignantly deny having a vengeful streak, as if nothing could be so shameful as the simple wish to settle a score. Take your pick of maxims: “Vengeance is beneath me”; “I’m not out for revenge, I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else”; “All I care about is justice, not revenge.”
That’s what President George W. Bush told the nation shortly after 9/11. “Ours is a nation that does not seek revenge, but we do seek justice.”
The president knew that line would draw applause, and it did. Why? Because we’ve been trained to believe that justice is a sign of refinement, while vengeance is a barbaric holdover from a primitive past. So we couch our vengefulness in the language of the law, and cast our lot with the rule of law, with all its emotional detachment and cool dispassion. Leave revenge to the louts and the hotheads; civilized people suppress their instincts and moral outrage, and recite the script that justice is the enlightened man’s revenge.
via The Case for Revenge – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Downton Abbey Star Blames ‘Naivete’ for Regrettable Nude Scene, Says She’s Done Taking Her Top Off (NSFW)
It was a concern about being typecast that ultimately led Jessica Brown Findlay, AKA Downton Abbey’s Lady Sybil Crawley, to exit in dramatic fashion from the popular series midway into the third season.
“My contract was ending and I was unsure about signing away another year,” she recently told Radio Times magazine. “What scared me more was to keep going and then one day discover it was all I could do and wish I had pushed myself more.”
But Findlay is also setting limits on how far she’s willing to push herself, having reflected on things in her past that she would not have done had she known better.
Namely, her topless scene in 2011’s Albatross (NSFW).
Downton Abbey Star Blames ‘Naivete’ for Regrettable Nude Scene, Says She’s Done Taking Her Top Off (NSFW)
“To be honest, Albatross was naivete and not knowing that I could say no,” she told the publication. “I had no idea what was going to happen and thought I was going to be shot from behind.”
Findlay says she did learn one thing from her nude scene experience, and that is to “be honest and natural.”
The 23-year-old tells other actresses not to stress out about their bodies. “I was drinking pints and eating burgers,” Findlay said. “But actually, it’s not something I would do again.”
Before closing up shop for good, however, Findlay is giving fans one last look around by taking it all off for her latest historical TV series, Labyrinth.
The two-parter is set to air this weekend on Channel 4, but if you’re only tuning in for noodz, you can skip all the talk and go straight to the bedroom by clicking here (NSFW, with bonus Katie McGrath from Merlin casting a sexy spell on The Paradise’s Emun Elliott).
A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years – The Globe and Mail
The iconic writer reveals the shape of things to come, with 45 tips for survival and a matching glossary of the new words you’ll need to talk about your messed-up future.
via A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years – The Globe and Mail.
The 5 Most Ridiculous Assassination Plots Ever Attempted | Cracked.com
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi really wanted King Louis Philippe of France dead as a doornail. It would be his revenge on society for unjustly sentencing him to 10 years in prison–well, unless you consider all that stealing and forging he did to be some sort of crime. But like all assassins, he knew he’d get only one shot. So he decided to make the most of that shot–by taking 20 guns and fusing them together into an “infernal machine,” just like a supervillain … who had failed Imagination Time in kindergarten. But hey, at least he was bound to hit something, right?
via The 5 Most Ridiculous Assassination Plots Ever Attempted | Cracked.com.
Ed Parnell's Cunning Plan 