randomwalks/dj

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Cult of Mac, Apple

Gallery: Boston Apple Store (Boylston Street)

Our Boston-based buddy, Chad Barraford, sent us in some pics of Apple's new Boylston Street store. Located across the street from The Prudential Center in Boston's upscale Back Bay, this will be the ninth store located in Massachusetts. Apple didn't just create a bland façade to cover the construction, they made it look like Fenway Park's "Green Monster." Now that this is starting to sound like a real estate sales pitch, let's show you some pictures.


Thanks, Chad!

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Originally posted by Cory Bohon from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), on April 26, 2008 9:30 PM

Hillary Clinton is upping the pressure on Barack Obama to hold new debates before the next round of primaries, challenging him to what she referred to as Lincoln-Douglas style debates, sans moderators.

"Just the two of us going for 90 minutes asking and answering questions. We'll set whatever rules seem fair," Clinton said. "I think it would give the people of Indiana -- and I assume a few Americans will tune in because nearly 11 million watched the Philadelphia debate, and I think they would like seeing that discussion. Remember that's what happened during the Lincoln and Douglas debates."

Meanwhile, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the campaign is reluctant hold any more debates before the next primaries: "Over the next 10 days we believe it's important to talk directly to the voters of Indiana and North Carolina."

(Ed. Note: This is not in fact the format used by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas -- which in turn would be anathema to a modern viewing audience. In those famous debates, one candidate would speak for a solid hour, the opponent would go for an hour and a half, and then the first candidate would make a half-hour rebuttal. In this format, there was simply no active role for a moderator to play.

A better term for Clinton's proposed format might be "Santos-Vinick," after the fictional West Wing debate acted out by Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda.)

Originally posted by Eric Kleefeld from TPM Election Central, on April 26, 2008 7:22 PM

In our reader blogs, TPM Reader GC has a post up entitled "Where is Barack Obama" which he kicks off by writing "These last few weeks, he seems to be missing. Not literally, but his presence in the national dialogue has receded." As I wrote in the comments section, that's been my sense too. His voice seems silent and has for a few weeks. Of course, he's out in the field campaigning, not focusing on national media and catering to political junkies around the country. But what I really think this is is that he's not controlling the agenda. Hillary's controlling the agenda, defining the race at the moment. And that's made him recede into the background, even as he's a constant topic of conversation.

Originally posted by Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo, on April 26, 2008 7:04 PM

The Journal today has a dark and curdled portrait of Bill Clinton's growing role in Sen. Clinton's campaign ...

Dubbed the "Billification" of Sen. Clinton's campaign by some insiders, Mr. Clinton has become something of a strategist-in-chief in recent weeks. He has been pushing for harder and sharper attacks on Sen. Obama. While she has jabbed her opponent over his "elitist" tone and controversial statements by his former pastor, Mr. Clinton delivers his own slams on the stump, calling Obama ads misleading.

...

Mr. Clinton has placed several of his own aides at headquarters, including his former lawyer and a bevy of strategists. Known as a bad loser, Mr. Clinton privately buttresses his wife's drive to push on, telling her, according to aides: "We're not quitters."

On his own daily message calls, advisers say, he implores: "We've got to take him on every time." At the Clintons' Washington, D.C., home recently, these people say, he reviewed possible TV spots and told ad makers to be more hard-hitting, faster and harsher.

...

Mr. Clinton's influence is evident in pollster Mark Penn's continuing role in the campaign. Sen. Clinton recently demoted Mr. Penn as her chief strategist after he took part in talks with Colombia's U.S. ambassador over promoting a free-trade pact with the U.S. that she opposes.

However, Mr. Penn has helped in recent debate preparation, and proposed Sen. Clinton's last-minute negative ad in Pennsylvania questioning whether Sen. Obama has "what it takes."

Originally posted by Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo, on April 26, 2008 6:22 PM

This is so dumb.

Schweddy Eagle is an application I just wrote that yanks your location from Fire Eagle and tells you what NPR stations are in your area. You could use it with a jesus phone, perhaps in a rental car, to find quality radio wherever you happen to be.

It uses the excellent OAuth protocol to safely ask for your current location.

Comments

Originally posted by (author unknown) from tecznotes, on April 26, 2008 6:06 PM

Photograph of protesters in Jamaica, Queens by Jason DeCrow/AP
Last night, hundreds of people marched from the Queens courthouse to the Kalua Lounge, the strip club where Sean Bell was killed on his wedding day, yelling, "Fifty shots equal murder," to protest yesterday's not guilty verdict for three police officers charged in the shooting.

Bell's mother, Valerie, fainted when Judge Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict, amid tears from Bell's fiance Nicole Paultre Bell and angry words from supporters (outside the courthouse, they yelled "Murderers!" and "KKK!"). His father, William Bell, said, "The judge spit in my damn face, but I knew it was coming," and told WABC 7, "It's a slap in the face and a kick in the ass."

The three detectives--who spoke publicly for the first time after the verdict--are now relegated to desk jobs without their guns as the NYPD will examine their actions--and any case from the U.S. Attorney's office would probably precede that. Many legal experts think their decision to opt for a bench trial, versus a jury trial, helped them--as did the issues with the prosecutions' witnesses' testimonies.

The city's three big papers weighed in with editorials: The Daily News accepts the verdict as "a fair exercise in the law" but feels that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper and their supervisors should be dismissed from the NYPD. The Post thinks it was the "right verdict," especially given the evidence. And the NY Times found the verdict "stunning in its thorough absolution of the officers" and suggests "carelessness and incompetence in the behavior of the police officers...must be corrected as a matter of public policy."

The Reverend Al Sharpton promised to engage in "nonviolent civil disobedience," and said, "They expect us to react in traditional ways; they will not get that. We are going to engage in economic withdrawal. We are going to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience." Sharpton, though, also encouraged people to protest and get arrested, "whether it is on Wall Street, the judge’s house or at 1 Police Plaza.”

But Sharpton also pointed out, “People with records do not lose their right to not be shot by police," and feels a federal case should proceed. Detectives Endowment Association head Michael Palladino still criticized Bell's friends who were wounded in the shooting and testified in the trial and said, "We have been portrayed as insensitive murderers. And I can tell you that we are not.”

Bell's fiancee and the mother of his two children, Nicole Paultre Bell, had fled the courtroom in tears after the verdict. She later said, "April 25, 2008: They killed Sean all over again," and added, "I’m still praying for justice."

Originally posted by Jen Chung from Gothamist Weekly Favorites, on April 26, 2008 4:17 PM

You're in the East Village and you want a Grizzly Peak Marzen on draft. Think fast. Wandering in Midtown West, thirsty for a Brooklyn Pilsner. Where to turn? A few clicks later, BeerMenus.com has the answers. (Hop Devil Grill and St. Andrews, respectively). While MenuPages is strictly food and BeerAdvocate has a grasp on beer-focused web forums, this beer 2.0 site combines the two and includes prices, specific alcohol by volume and the beer medium (tap, casket, bottle, can). It's like Ask Jeeves for the boozer, but unfortunately only in New York for now. [via Webware]

Originally posted by Erin Zimmer from Serious Eats: Main, on April 26, 2008 11:00 AM

"Literate Programming interleaves the documentation (written in TeX, naturally) and code into a single document. You then run that (Web) document through one of two processors (Tangle or Weave) to produce code or documentation respectively. The code is then compiled, and the documentation built with your TeX distribution. The documentation includes the nicely formatted source code within."

Originally posted by Michal Migurski from tecznotes links, on April 26, 2008 9:57 AM

he did the same for Ms. Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and Donkey Kong, too  

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Waxy.org Links, on April 26, 2008 9:00 AM

fig. a: what, no keyboardist?

I wanna destroy you
I wanna destroy you
I wanna destroy you
I wanna destroy you
--"I Wanna Destroy You," The Soft Boys

Skeedle Lee Doo
That's all I do
--"Skeedle Lee Doo," Blind Blake

Then listen now to what I say:

Our friend C. once threw the travelin'-band meal to end all travelin'-band meals. A certain band she was fond of was coming to town. She wrote to them and invited them to stop by pre-gig and enjoy a meal at her place. They accepted. She cooked for an entire week. The prep filled two refrigerators. I know because one of them was mine. Then something happened and things didn't quite work out. Some of us still managed to enjoy the meal. A year or two later the band returned. C. had moved into this very apartment by that time. She got back in contact with said band and reinvited them. They reaccepted. She cooked for another entire week. This time things came off without a hitch. You shoulda seen the looks on the faces of said band. Awestruck. I'd tell you more, but it's a great story and I'm hoping that C. posts it herself on her blog. I'm picturing the menus. Both of them.

Anyway, inspired by our friend C. we devised a simplified three-point plan for entertaining a visiting rock 'n' roll band.

1. Drinks

Beer, wine, water, and peppermint tea. The first three are self-explanatory. You won't find any mention of that last substance in the pages of Hammer of the Gods (at least, I don't think you will--it's been a while), but it pays to have some on-hand (along with some honey) in case the lead singer shows up having lost his or her voice. Throat lozenges are a good idea too. Thayer's Slippery Elm, for instance. Although apparently Jonathan Richman uses Zand HerbaLozenges and, after 40 years in show business, he ought to know.

2. Home-cooked meal

Two words: comfort food. Two more words: spicy goodness. I've been all about the roux recently. I just can't wait to mix flour and fat and whip up some Cajun magic. So when I tried to imagine what kind of meal I might want to find if I was on the road, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo came to mind. It seemed like some pretty comforting comfort food for a hard-workin' band to arrive to.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 3-lb chicken, cut into pieces
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
1/4-lb smoky bacon
cooking oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 medium onions, chopped
1 cubanelle or Italian frying pepper, seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery (including the leaf), minced
1 pound Cajun andouille, kielbasa, or chorizo sausage, sliced thin (we used chorizo because that's the neighborhood specialty and Cajun cuisine is nothing if not pragmatic)
1 bunch scallions, minced
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
several sprigs fresh parsley
1/2 tbsp smoky chili powder
1 tbsp filé powder

hot boiled rice

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy-duty cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon over medium to medium-high heat until the fat has been rendered and the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon, set aside, mince when cool enough to handle, and reserve. Brown the chicken pieces in the fat for a few minutes on each side, until you've crisped the skin and given it a nice color. Remove the chicken and set it on paper towels to cool. Eyeball the amount of fat in the skillet, and the combined bacon fat and chicken fat doesn't appear to be about 1/2 cup's worth, add cooking oil to bring the amount of fat in the skillet to 1/2 cup and bring to temperature. Add the flour and make a true Cajun roux, taking the time so that it becomes mahogany (or darker) and taking the care to make sure it doesn't get scorched. When the roux is to your liking, add the chopped onion, cubanelle pepper, and celery, and simmer until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. After this stage, transfer the roux mixture to a large pot, bring to temperature, add the sausage and cook for a minute or two before adding the chicken pieces and the minced bacon. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile bring 4 cups of water to simmer in a pot or kettle.

When the chicken and sausage combo has simmered for 15 minutes, pour the simmering water into the pot and stir in the scallions, garlic, parsley, and chili powder. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer the gumbo gently for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken slips easily from the bone. Remove the chicken pieces, debone them, discard the skin, and shred coarsely, then return the meat to the pot. Just before serving sprinkle the filé powder in and stir in gently. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with hot boiled rice.

Serves an entire band and then some generously.

[recipe inspired by John Thorne's Chicken-Andouille Gumbo from Serious Pig]

You're going to need rice to go along with the gumbo anyway, so it makes sense to cook up a rice-friendly vegetarian option that has a similar warmth to it, just in case. Take Mexican Lentil Soup, for instance, a keeper of a recipe that we first featured in 2005.

Throw in a batch of cole slaw, and you've got yourself a complete meal.

3. Cookies

Go behind the scenes in the high-end restaurant world and you'll find that there's this whole annihilation fantasy that's a big part of the biz. Basically, some VIP party shows up, the kitchen finds out, and, led by the chef, they set out to "destroy" them. When the VIP party includes other restaurant biz people the stakes go higher. Way higher. It's kind of a combination punch. You're trying to slay these VIPs with the quality of your gastronomy. You're also trying to slay them with sheer quantity. Again, if the VIPs are restaurant people, especially fellow chefs, we're talking an all-out potlatch of destruction. Or so Michelle tells me.

Michelle designed these cookies with this annihilation fantasy in mind. She wanted the cookies to "give [a rock band] energy," but, let's fact it, she also wanted them to be killer.

fig. b: peanut-butter destroyers just waiting to do what they do best

Peanut Butter Destroyers

3 sticks butter
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
100 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Melt one stick of butter in a saucepan, add the oats, and toast them until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool. Cream the remaining butter with the sugar and the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and peanut butter and mix well. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix. Finally, add the chocolate and the oats and mix until the dough comes together.

Drop the dough by tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden. Cool on a rack.

Makes approximately four dozen cookies.

As it happens, some rock 'n' roll band friends of ours rocked and rolled through town just recently, so we tried out the menu on them.

Later, with bellies full, we headed down to a local rock 'n' roll club just in time to catch the last few songs by opening band #2, and not long before the headliners took the stage.

Having arrived late, we didn't exactly have the best view in the house,

fig. c: mirror-ball madness

but the meal seemed to have worked because the band sure sounded great. And every once in a while, with the help of a high-powered lens, we caught a glimpse of the theatrics on stage.

fig. d: rip this joint!

aj

Originally posted by aj kinik from ...an endless banquet, on April 26, 2008 8:37 AM

Photograph of Detectives Marc Cooper, Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver by Dima Gavrysh/AP

Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper, who were acquitted of all charges in the Sean Bell shooting trial, spoke at a press conference this afternoon. Detectives Oliver and Isnora thanked Judge Cooperman for his "fair" decision (Isnora also, per City Room, "thanked God, his family, his lawyers"). Detective Cooper, who was only charged with reckless endangerment, said, "I'd like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy." None of the detectives testified during the trial, as their grand jury testimony had been read aloud by the prosecution.

However, the verdict was denounced by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who said, "This verdict is one round down, but the fight is far from over. What we saw in court today was not a miscarriage of justice. Justice didn't miscarry. This was an abortion of justice."

Mayor Bloomberg said, "There are no winners in a trial like this. An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. No verdict could ever end the grief that those who knew and loved Sean Bell suffer. Judge Cooperman’s responsibility, however, was to decide the case based on the evidence presented in the courtroom. America is a nation of laws, and though not everyone will agree with the verdicts and opinions issued by the courts, we accept their authority." You can read the full text of Cooperman's remarks here.

Here are some other reactions:

• "Today's verdict should be bitterly disappointing to every New Yorker of goodwill. Justice Arthur Cooperman s decision clearly points the finger at the lackluster case presented by the Queens district attorney s office and it is also an indictment of New York City Police Department procedure, with respect to training and management." - City Councilman Leroy Comrie
  
• "An ugly pattern is emerging in New York. This was a massacre, this was not a shootout. And the U.S. attorney general must give America the assurance that we all have equal protection under the law. This is a travesty of justice today, but it is a pattern that deserves attention." - The Reverend Jesse Jackson
  
• "We ask people to be calm as they protest, if that's what they choose to do.... On the same token, though, we ask police to be calm as people protest.... We have not heard what these men did that caused police to act as though they were America's most wanted, yet still we hear a verdict of not guilty. We will go to the next level, whatever that might be, to seek justice." - Leroy Gadsden, president of NAACP's Jamaica, Queens branch
  
• "I am disappointed and absolutely stunned by today's verdict. This incident clearly involved an excessive use of force by the police. All New Yorkers should be similarly disappointed by today's decision." - City Comptroller William Thompson
  
• "We’re a nation of laws, so we respect the verdict that came down." - Barack Obama

Originally posted by Jen Chung from Gothamist Weekly Favorites, on April 26, 2008 4:25 AM

Prince's appearance on Jay Leno last night, singing "Turn Me Loose".. enjoy while you can, cuz this video may not live 2 C the dawn if you know what I'm saying. (I see you Londell!) The lyrics are below,...

Originally posted by jsmooth995 from hiphopmusic.com:, on April 26, 2008 1:17 AM

I didn’t make it to the keynote to see our new CTO speak (meetings that morning), but it was very strange, bordering on deeply surreal to watch the video of it.

1. Interesting to see my “Flickr is the 2nd largest API ” meme work its way up the tree. I didn’t make that factoid up per se, and I’d probably stand behind it if pushed, but I did reason from very limited data. (also AWS screws up the story, is utility computing an API?)

2. Still haven’t quite adjusted to the transition of OAuth from being a personal project that the “Paranoids” (official title of Yahoo’s internal security experts) were angry at me for working on (against Yahoo policy for Yahoos to work on security related projects), to a the company wide standard, at least on paper.

Originally posted by Kellan from Laughing Meme, on April 25, 2008 10:15 PM

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Monoscope, on April 25, 2008 7:45 PM

Standard Operating Procedure is a gorgeous, pulsing stopwatch of a movie, and like all of Morris's best work, its structure is based on a rhythmic series of revelations.

Originally posted by Guest Observer from Design Observer: Main Posts, on April 25, 2008 7:04 PM

The One Day Poem Pavilion uses the sun to display a poem one line at a time over the course of an entire day. (via stingy kids)

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, ReBlogged by GOOD on Apr 25, 2008 at 09:41 PM

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from Eyebeam reBlog, on April 25, 2008 6:41 PM

OpenStreetMap adds an export feature that, as you might expect, goes beyond embedding a map on your site: Want a static map for your blog, without having to spend hours fiddling with JavaScript? No problem - just export in PNG...

Originally posted by Jonathan Crowe from The Map Room, on April 25, 2008 4:35 PM

The One Day Poem Pavilion uses the sun to display a poem one line at a time over the course of an entire day. (via stingy kids)

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on April 25, 2008 4:31 PM

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: (a) Most developers suck. Apple doesn’t care if they “can’t” or “won’t” write iPhone apps because they can’t or won’t learn Objective-C, because any developer who would say that is unlikely to write a worthwhile iPhone app. Picking up a new programming language is not hard. Picking up a language like Objective-C, which is only slightly expanded from regular old C, is even easier. I have never once met a good programmer who wasn’t willing and able to learn new languages. (b) Apple didn’t choose Objective-C for the iPhone arbitrarily; it’s inextricably tied to Cocoa Touch, and Cocoa is the entire foundation of the iPhone UI. (c) Apple doesn’t want existing “mobile” apps written in other languages recompiled for the iPhone any more than they wanted command-line DOS apps recompiled for the original Mac.

 ★ 

Originally posted by John Gruber from Daring Fireball, on April 25, 2008 4:30 PM

Ah, so that’s what the invisible Sphere .gif was for. I did wonder. Isn’t calling these extra links ‘possibly related’ a really weaselly way of avoiding criticism about the inevitable crapness of their algorithms, much as calling the blog surfer ‘beta’ neatly sidesteps any obligation to make it work properly? Obviously I will be switching off this [...]

Originally posted by that girl again from wordpress™ wank, on April 25, 2008 3:49 PM

This season, baseball managers are being a bit more experimental in how they construct their batting and pitching lineups. For instance, the Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers started relief pitchers in games that they suspected might be shortened by rain in order to save the scheduled starter for the next game. The Braves shifted their pitcher to the outfield for one at-bat then brought him back to the mound for the next one.

The article is also notable for this quote from an Angels spokesperson, who said that Angels star Vladimir Guerrero is "somebody who's not affected by things". !!

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on April 25, 2008 2:58 PM

by Eric de Place

There was some hubbub a couple of weeks ago when researchers produced a carbon emissions map of the US. Using direct CO2 emissions, we saw this first-of-its-kind map:

Unfortunately, the map looks a lot like a population density map. That's for obvious reasons, since the larger share of cars, buildings, and industry tend to be where the people are. But by turning major cities red, it leads one to the wrong conclusion. Looking at the map, you might think that the northeast was the nation's big carbon problem, while the dessert West and the Rockies were doing something really right. And I suppose that's true on one level: there's not a lot of carbon being emitted in the wide open spaces of the West.

But check out what happens when the researchers added population density to calculate per capita carbon emissions. It's a completely different perspective:

On this reading, the real problem is the West. The nation's cool spots are the relatively densely-settled eastern areas.

Now, we all know that per capita emissions don't matter a whit to the atmosphere. All that matters is the total amount of carbon. But without understanding the population-based side of the equation, we're unlikely to understand how to fix our emissions problem. The key, as it turns out, is not for our economy to function like it does in West Texas or Wyoming, but more like it does in cities.

Links to bigger version and explanations are here

Help us change the world - DONATE NOW!

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Climate Change at 2:56 PM)

Originally posted by WorldChanging Team from WorldChanging, on April 25, 2008 2:56 PM

That's right - your favorite film blog is off to where the the movie action is right now - New York City. A Girl & A Gun has been given her shiney new press pass and is off to explore. The Tribeca fest is screening a massive 121 feature films and 79 short films from 41 countries. Obviously I'm not going to be able to take them all in, and I'll be missing a couple of the opening parties (boo!), and some of the press screenings I did really want to catch, due to work commitments. But I'll be on the scene from Sunday, enjoying films until my eyes bleed.

What are my top tips/wanna sees?

Savage Grace (Tom Kalin)                                   
The disintegrating psyche of '60s socialite Barbara Baekeland, staring the fabulous Julianne Moore.  

Baghead (Jay Duplass)          
Comedy-horror with of four young actors, a cabin, and something in the woods.

Toby Dammit ( Federico Fellini)     
Restored 1968 Fellini adaptation of a Poe short story, with Terence Stamp as a booze and drug riddled celeb in Rome.

The Caller (Richard Ledes)                              
Film Noir with Frank Langella as a whistle-blowing energy exec.
 
The Cottage (Paul Andrew Williams)
Violent comedy horror with a kidnapping that goes terribly wrong plot.
 
My Winnipeg (Girl & A Gun favorite Guy Maddin)
Maddin's hometown "docufantasia".
   
Elite Squad (José Padilha)                                             
Golden Bear winner and (another) one of Brazil's most controversial films, Elite Squad covers a corrupt special police force operating in Rio.

War, Inc. (Joshua Seftel)                    
 John Cusack back playing a comedy hit man in a fictional Middle Easter country were the US is running its first fully outsourced war. Has to be better than Grace is Gone.

Somers Town (Girl & A Gun loves Shane Meadows)
Comedy about a 16 year old running away from the lovely Midlands for the gold paved streets of London and making friends with a lad from Poland.
          

Originally posted by Josie Fraser from A Girl & A Gun, on April 25, 2008 2:31 PM

CARROLL GARDENS— Schnack finally closed down to the public two weeks ago, but it was just today that someone sent in a picture of their curious signage. Says the tipster: "I walked by Schnack in Carroll Gardens West, and it is shuttered. The chiars and tables are stacked up, and a sign in the window says 'FOR SALE. Turn Key. Cute Joint. Call...'." [EaterWire]

LOS ANGELES— Those of you who frequent LA or are familiar with the food scene there already know about the bacon-hot dog controversy. For the rest of you, Drew Carey has an incredible video on reason.tv where he interviews a women who was put in jail for 45 for selling the delicacy. Especially heartbreaking is the footage of police offivers throwing bacon dogs and the food carts themselves in the garbage. At least our DOH only has those orange stickers. [reason.tv via Eater LA]

Originally posted by Amanda from Eater, on April 25, 2008 2:15 PM

Gar, I missed another one of Tobias Frere-Jones' NYC Typographic Walking Tours but luckily Jason Santa Maria -- a fellow so nice they named him thrice -- has photos. Photos from his first tour here. (via airbag)

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on April 25, 2008 2:08 PM

Metropolis has a great piece where some of the country's best chefs -- including Alice Waters, Grant Achatz and Wylie Dufresne -- talk about their kitchens. Here's a snippet from Waters on Chez Panisse...

Architects really need to think about all the waste a restaurant creates. That relates completely to an important part of the restaurant -- welcoming the suppliers into the kitchen. I'm obsessed with the fact that the back of the house has to be as beautiful as the front.

And Achatz on the process of designing the Alinea kitchen...

When I had the opportunity to build my own kitchen, I thought, Hey, let's wipe our heads clean of conventional kitchen design. I'd worked at the French Laundry, Charlie Trotter's, Trio, so of course I grew up in kitchens, and it shocked me that they were all kind of designed the same. Everyone followed each other.

I felt like nobody really looked at the food, which was a great irony of kitchen design. No one really looked at the style of cooking they were going to do and designed the kitchen around that. We were like, "Let's really look at the food and decide, based on the style of cooking, what we need. What do we need as far as equipment? What do we need as far as space?"

Originally posted by Michael Sippey from this is sippey.typepad.com, on April 25, 2008 11:54 AM

Cindy Sherman disavows any association with Guest of Cindy Sherman screening at the Tribeca Film Festival that was directed by her ex Paul H-O. Here's her statement: Regarding Guest of Cindy Sherman… "As my name is in the title and my work and self are so abundantly represented, I would like to counter any assumption that I am or wish to be personally associated with it. I am not a participant in any events related to the film's screenings in this festival or future presentations. I apologize to all those who participated, thinking they were doing me a favor in giving interviews and otherwise assisting in the fabrication of this film. Against my better judgment, it was clearly unwise to cooperate with the project at it's inception." Paul's movie covers his years documenting the art world for his cable TV show Gallery Beat. He eventually became Cindy Sherman's +1. Which he apparently didn't like very much. He made a movie about it. And now she doesn't want to be a part of it. Convoluted!

Originally posted by (author unknown) from PAPERMAG: WORD UP!, on April 25, 2008 11:29 AM

TODAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 25th at 5:30 pm

All three cops who murdered Sean Bell were found NOT GUILTY this morning by Judge Arthur Cooperman. Join us in protesting this outrageous verdict! Demand justice for Sean Bell and an end to police violence now! People's Justice for Community Control and Police Accountability is calling for a rally and community speak-out in front of the Queens DA's office TODAY.

Queens DA's Office
125-01 Queens Blvd. (between Hoover Ave & 82nd Ave.)
E or F train to Union Turnpike

Rally will include performers & speakers who have been directly affected by police brutality.

Speakers include: Juanita Young (founder of Parents Against Police Brutality, and mother of Malcolm Ferguson who was killed by the NYPD plainclothes officer in March 2000); City Councilperson Charles Barron; Margarita Rosario, activist & mother of Anthony Rosario & aunt of Hilton Vega who were killed by 2 NYPD detectives in 1995 (the detectives were former bodyguards of Giuliani); Jesus Gonzalez from Make The Road NY & the Bushwick 32 case; Nicholas Heyward Sr, whose son Nicholas Heyward Jr was killed by the NYPD in 1994 when he was 13; Allene Person, mother of Timur Person, who was killed by NYPD 2 days before his 19th bday; JoAnn Mickins, mother of Corey Mickins killed after being shot 27 times by plainclothes officers; family member of Fermin Arzu, Honduran immigrant worker & father of 3 who was killed by an off-duty cop; Lisa Claudio, fiancée of Jayson Tirado, who was killed by off-duty NYPD officer in road rage case; Ryan Nunez's mother, whose 16 year old son Ryan was attacked by NYPD while eating at McDonalds exactly 1 year after Sean Bell was murdered.

Performers include: Rebel Diaz & Spiritchild of Movement in Motion

Peoples’ Justice was initiated by the NYC Coalition Against Police Brutality (CAPB) and allies. They are a coalition of NYC-based grassroots organizations that have joined forces to win community control and police accountability.

Endorsers (list in formation): Allianza Dominicana, Audre Lorde Project, Black Radical Congress-NY, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Center for Constitutional Rights, Congress for Korean Reunification, Critical Resistance, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), DJ Chela, Domestic Workers United (DWU), El Puente, FIERCE, Fr. Luis Barrios – St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (West Harlem, Manhattan), Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC), Hasan Salaam, Hip Hop Caucus, Immigrant Justice Solidarity Project, Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas, International Action Center, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), Justice Committee, Lynne Stewart Organization, Make the Road by Walking, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Mano a Mano, May 1st Coalition, National Hip Hop Political Convention, New Abolitionists, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, October 22nd Coalition, Parents Against Police Brutality, Party for the People, Rebel Diaz, Regeneracion, Revolting in Pink (R.I.P), Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities (RIPPD), Sylvia Rivera Law Project, VAMOS Unidos. War Resisters League, Where We Live Radio Program/WBAI-FM NY.

For more information about the April 25th rally/community speak-out, Peoples' Justice, and other cases of police violence go to: peoplesjustice.org and myspace.com/peoplesjustice or email info@peoplesjustice.org.

In Nov. 2006, Sean Bell was murdered by the NYPD in a hail of 50 bullets. His friends - Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman - were seriously injured. After a two-month-long trial of his killer, three detectives, the judge has announced his verdict of NOT GUILTY on all charges. The NYPD's murder of Bell and attempted murders of Benefield and Guzman are NOT isolated or random events. They represent the continued targeting of communities of color by the police and the lack of accountability for police misconduct and abuse.

Originally posted by Molly Fair from Just Seeds: Blog, on April 25, 2008 10:50 AM

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton just confirmed to me that the campaign has set up a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, a development that was first reported today by Mark Halperin.

The move is unusual in the sense that it's typically the sort of thing that's done once there is a nominee.

That the DNC has done this with Obama before the contest is settled reflects two realities: First, that Obama is the likely the nominee; and second, that McCain is forging ahead with the building of a campaign apparatus while the two Dems continue to pour resources into an intra-Dem contest with no immediate end in sight.

"This is an effort to be a team player and make sure we have the resources we need," Burton says.

The joint committee can raise cash in far larger chunks than candidates -- they can take in $28,500 from individuals, more than 10 times the $2,300 contribution limit for candidates.

Similar discussions are ongoing between Hillary and the DNC, but no deal has been struck yet, Halperin reports.

Originally posted by Greg Sargent from TPM Election Central, on April 25, 2008 10:15 AM

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Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on April 25, 2008 10:00 AM

Here is Hillary's long-shot best-case-scenario game plan, as best as I can understand it:

1) Make North Carolina unexpectedly close, showing that she can compete on his turf and using this to try to make the "Obama is weak" argument stick -- and use any future revelations about Obama or gaffes by him to feed that argument as aggressively as possible

2) Eke out a win in Indiana, partly offsetting Obama's popular vote gain from North Carolina, and making it possible to continue arguing that he can't win over blue-collar whites in big industrial states

3) Rack up huge popular-vote gains in Kentucky, West Virginia and Puerto Rico, and keep it unexpectedly close in Oregon -- making it not completely out of the question that she wins the popular vote, or that she gets within one percent of Obama, when you include Florida

4) Push hard for Michigan to be included in the popular vote count, so that including just Florida in the tally looks like a reasonable fall-back position

5) Turn the argument over who won into a two-front spin war

6) The first spin war: Get into an argument over whether Florida should count in the popular vote tally, making the case that not including the state disenfranchises its voters and that Obama's refusal to count those votes is imperiling his general-election chances there

7) The second spin war: Argue that the fact that she "won" the popular vote with Florida "included," or basically tied it, shows that the Democratic primary electorate didn't really deliver a clear verdict on its choice as nominee -- and that the "will of the people" has not been clearly established

8) Argue that the fact that the electorate allegedly didn't deliver a clear verdict frees the super-delegates to use their own judgment -- and that if they do, they will not be bucking the "will of the people"

9) Argue that the fact that she kept it close in the popular vote, despite having been counted out multiple times, shows that she has the tenacity and staying power to take on the GOP -- and that Obama lacks the toughness and killer instinct necessary to finish off a tough opponent for good

So there you have it.

Is this likely? Of course not. Is it absolutely impossible? Of course not.

Outstanding question: If Obama emerges as the clear victor in the pledged del count and the popular vote even with Florida included -- which is far and away the most likely conclusion -- will she continue to press the case to the super-dels that they should follow her, even though not one, but two metrics showed him to be the Dem primary electorate's clear choice?

Originally posted by Greg Sargent from TPM Election Central, on April 25, 2008 8:20 AM

If only the aisles of my local Shop Rite could be filled with such simple and appealing food packaging. Check out more designs from Swiss food retailer Migros at package design blog, TheDieLine.com

Originally posted by Robyn Lee from Serious Eats: Main, on April 25, 2008 7:30 AM

The Expedition One crew, consisting of one American and two Russian astronauts, spent 136 days in space aboard the International Space Station. Their logs include a record of the movies they watched while on their mission.

6 Feb 2001: We ate some dinner and watched the last part of "City of Angels". Shep did his best to explain to Yuri and Sergei what the phrase "chick flick" means.

24 Feb 2001 We put some chow and the DVD player in the Soyuz and close the hatch about 0530. It takes 2 orbits to get the first set of hooks off and the docking tunnel pressure checked. We get the "Austin Powers" sequel in while all this is taking place. (Maybe a Soyuz first here).

Update: The Expedition One crew also documented their many computer problems.

Sergei notices that the Russian PCS laptop has locked up. He tries to reboot, but the Sun application software won't load. Lots of messages on the screen noting data errors. Sergei thinks that it may be the hard drive. He boots up windows to see if the windows partition runs OK--it does. So at least some of the hardware is functional.

Maybe they need Macs?

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on April 25, 2008 6:19 AM

Hey, just a quick housekeeping reminder to readers:

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You can get a TPM Election Central Widget for your site right here!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Originally posted by Greg Sargent from TPM Election Central, on April 25, 2008 6:13 AM

Confession: I love Lindsay Lohan.

I know. It's bad. I can't help it.

I love her and her leggings and her comedic timing and her oh-so-cool bad girl ways and I can't help but worry about her desperately failing career.

So I was thrilled to read in WWD that she's landed herself a job.

Unfortunately, the job description made even me, a true Lindsay lover, cringe. The troubled starlet's "turned her attention to ethical fashion," a cause she's failed to mention in the past twenty-something years.

The campaign in which she stars aims to encourage clothing donations to an outpost in London's Covent Garden in exchange for credit card points.

We love the idea, the cause and the reward, but why is Lindsay posing in vintage clothes for its promotion?

And will she really encourage people to get fashionably green?

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Fashionista, on April 25, 2008 6:00 AM