Month: June 2015

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Just in case Jon Stewart forgot he was aging, a new YouTube video is showcasing it for posterity. From black hair to gray.. as Stewart leaves the DAILY SHOW, times have certainly changed. As has Jon Stewart’s appearance.

Pakistan heat wave claims hundreds of lives

Pakistan heat wave claims hundreds of lives

MORE FROM CNN:

At the Edhi morgue in Karachi, the smell is overwhelming.

At least 650 bodies have been brought here since Saturday. Many lie in storage. But an oppressive heat wave – and the frequent power outages from electricity grids trying to keep up with demand – means the morgue is unable to properly maintain the temperature at the overcrowded facility.

A handwritten sign outside says the morgue is filled to capacity. Other bodies lie outside.

An NBC report says that there are widespread power outages and that people are literally falling to their death on the streets..

Powerful storms that thundered through eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut downed trees and power lines, leaving nearly 400,000 customers without electricity and disrupting mass transit service Wednesday. In Pennsylvania, PECO says more than 165,000 homes and businesses were without power. Chester and Delaware counties were hardest hit, and officials said full service might not be restored until the weekend

Powerful storms that thundered through eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut downed trees and power lines, leaving nearly 400,000 customers without electricity and disrupting mass transit service Wednesday. In Pennsylvania, PECO says more than 165,000 homes and businesses were without power. Chester and Delaware counties were hardest hit, and officials said full service might not be restored until the weekend

THE FOOD SYSTEM SHOCK OF THE FUTURE

A new report from the Lloyds of London (full PDF link here: http://www.lloyds.com/~/media/files/news%20and%20insight/risk%20insight/2015/food%20system%20shock/food%20system%20shock_june%202015.pdf) is shining some light on the future events that could challenge society and push the planet to a breaking point. Specifically, if you take the time to read through the 30 page report, you’ll find  a few gems worth cringing over. Such as this:

2040 could see food shortages and riots that may challenge society, government, and create a breakdown of the fabric of humanity. If measures are not taken, it would appear that the authors think unprecedented food shortages and riots will take hold.

The report calls the food system “increasingly vulnerable to acute shocks” and suggests that food production needs to more than double by 2050 to meet the needs of the planet..

This is not the first time that scientists and experts warned to impending doom.. For a few decades we have been told the water supply was quickly running out. We  have also been told of a few other disasters coming our way.. Some occur. Some don’t. Some are slower than expected and others never materialize at all..

But the food shortage notion is not new.. Others have warned about it for years.

And all the while, farmers across America are halting production.. there is a lot of land and few gardens.. few people tilling the soil. Instead people plant grass and want it to be as green as possible.

But you can’t eat grass.

Until 2040. That’s when anything appears to be on the table.

ADVENTURES IN JOURNALISM, 2001 edition

REAL MOMENTS IN JOURNALISM..Photos have been leaked and broadcast–through GAWKER–to the world.. New York TIMES journalists in the late 90s and June 2001 mocking mass killings. One was the Heaven’s Gate suicides.. the other, the top photo, is a spoof of the murders committed by the Crown Prince Dipendra, who took the lives of nine people including the king, queen, as well as his own. One of the weapons that he used was an M16…And now the Old Gray Lady’s past sins are exposed. Smiles for the camera–long before Facebook and Twitter. Back when Polaroids were quick and private.. Back when the NET was only just beginning.And now today, 2015, when the entire world is seeing the fun that the TIMES had thanks to leaked photos and a few websites making them be seen across the planet..

REAL MOMENTS IN JOURNALISM..

Photos have been leaked and broadcast–through GAWKER–to the world.. New York TIMES journalists in the late 90s and June 2001 mocking mass killings. One was the Heaven’s Gate suicides.. the other, the top photo, is a spoof of the murders committed by the Crown Prince Dipendra, who took the lives of nine people including the king, queen, as well as his own. One of the weapons that he used was an M16…

And now the Old Gray Lady’s past sins are exposed. Smiles for the camera–long before Facebook and Twitter. Back when Polaroids were quick and private.. Back when the NET was only just beginning.
And now today, 2015, when the entire world is seeing the fun that the TIMES had thanks to leaked photos and a few websites making them be seen across the planet..

Dylann Storm Roof had it ‘his way.’ Burger King must hate this PR

According to multiple reports, which I will link accordingly, Dylan Storm Roof had lunch purchased for him.. Or breakfast.. Or something. Either way, we are told, cops gave Roof some BURGER KING food after his arrest..

The DAILY NEWS report here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dylann-roof-burger-king-cops-meal-article-1.2267615

Headlines and Global news: http://www.hngn.com/articles/103444/20150623/dylann-storm-roof-fed-burger-king-while-in-custody.htm

Vibe: http://www.vibe.com/2015/06/police-buy-dylann-storm-roof-burger-king-after-arrest/

Huffington POST: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/23/dylann-roof-burger-king_n_7645216.html

This whole Burger King angle started when the Shelby police chief described the without-incident arrest and eventual food purchase.

In Shelby, the FBI handled Roof’s initial questioning, Ledford said. Shelby police’s lone conversation with the mass-murder suspect was about food. Earlier in the day, Roof had bought water and chips at a south Charlotte gas station. Now he was hungry. Police bought him food from a nearby Burger King, Ledford said.

“He was very quiet, very calm. He didn’t talk,” Ledford said. “He sat down here very quietly. He was not problematic.”

Did police take him to Burger King? SNOPES says no. http://m.snopes.com/2015/06/22/dylann-roof-burger-king/  And that really isn’t the accusation. Most figured out that police most likely purchased food for him from there–murderers get hungry… police often feed suspects, killing the appetite with kindness, and get better results from questioning.

There are hints and allegations about this news..some call it conspiracy, others call it untrue.. a few cite it as evidence that white suspects are treated better than black suspects.

Regardless of where the truth falls, BURGER KING suddenly has a bit of a character problem in the media.. I don’t think the PR department of the fast food chain likes the headlines mentioning its restaurant in any association to Dylann Storm Roof.

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Seph Lawless is back with creepy images of abandoned amusement parks

The photo pictured here is of an abandoned theme park in Ohio. It’s haunting–it looks more like the scene of a horror flick.. But it’s real. It is also among many other strange abandoned structures across the world. Seph Lawless, an amazing photographer who has done the same thing with abandoned malls, is focusing attention on closed amusement parks.. His newest work is labeled BIZARRO.You can see examples of his work here.. But I really recommend you purchase his book–you can also peruse his site to look at some of the amazing empty malls he has photographed. (I personally think my local mall may be next.)I have been following Lawless for some time. He is an amazing artist who makes a point with his work. Often, he puts himself in dangerous situations to get the perfect shot.. He did that with his work on malls, and clearly now the same thing with abandoned amusement parks…Each photo represents a story–with that has laughter in the past with the smell of cotton candy in the air and the sound of organ music. Today lifelessness.. Sadness.. emptiness. Each photograph has a story, if not a multitude of tales under the stars of a warm summer night…..

The photo pictured here is of an abandoned theme park in Ohio. It’s haunting–it looks more like the scene of a horror flick.. But it’s real. It is also among many other strange abandoned structures across the world. Seph Lawless, an amazing photographer who has done the same thing with abandoned malls, is focusing attention on closed amusement parks.. His newest work is labeled BIZARRO.

You can see examples of his work here.. But I really recommend you purchase his book–you can also peruse his site to look at some of the amazing empty malls he has photographed. (I personally think my local mall may be next.)

I have been following Lawless for some time. He is an amazing artist who makes a point with his work. Often, he puts himself in dangerous situations to get the perfect shot.. He did that with his work on malls, and clearly now the same thing with abandoned amusement parks…

Each photo represents a story–with that has laughter in the past with the smell of cotton candy in the air and the sound of organ music. Today lifelessness.. Sadness.. emptiness. Each photograph has a story, if not a multitude of tales under the stars of a warm summer night…..

Another story about a movie theater audience being surprised by a horror flick

Parents and children settled into their seats for a new animated Disney film got a quick jolt when a horror movie came on the southwest Ohio screen instead. The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports that a projectionist accidentally played “Insidious: Chapter 3” instead of “Inside Out.” A mother wrote about the incident on the newspaper’s Facebook page, saying her children were scared and she and other adults scooped up their kids and left. »

This happens quite often.
From someone I know who used to work in a theater, sometimes it’s done intentionally ..

While I am not implying that was the case this time, it certainly seems to be quite a big accident..