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Senin, 20 April 2015
What It's Like To Live With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
You probably aren't "a little obsessive-compulsive." I know because I am.
When A Queer Woman Counts Calories
I thought being in love with a woman meant I was immune to patriarchal beauty standards. Turns out, my girlfriend didn’t prevent me from having an eating disorder — but she did help nourish my recovery.
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Charles Barkley Attempts To Do Yoga, Is Not Totally Terrible At It
What does one do in between the downtime of presenting NBA playoff games? For Charles Barkley, it’s (attempting) to get in some yoga.
The Round Mound of Rebound, who now serves as an NBA analyst for TNT, tried his very best to do a downward dog, and possibly some other positions? We’re not really sure.
Barkley has shared his thoughts on yoga before. Last fall, he told Jimmy Fallon that yoga is "just stretching in a hot room."
“You’re not trying to find your inner peace, or anything, you’re just trying to get your leg in a position that it normally doesn’t go in,” Barkley quipped, (also sharing that he even had plans to attend a SoulCycle session with his daughter).
All joking aside, Barkley did say in 2013 that Bikram yoga was “fantastic” for stretching as he’s gotten older.
The Round Mound of Rebound, who now serves as an NBA analyst for TNT, tried his very best to do a downward dog, and possibly some other positions? We’re not really sure.
...meanwhile, in the viewing room, Chuck shows off his yoga poses.
Posted by NBA on TNT on Sunday, 19 April 2015
Barkley has shared his thoughts on yoga before. Last fall, he told Jimmy Fallon that yoga is "just stretching in a hot room."
“You’re not trying to find your inner peace, or anything, you’re just trying to get your leg in a position that it normally doesn’t go in,” Barkley quipped, (also sharing that he even had plans to attend a SoulCycle session with his daughter).
All joking aside, Barkley did say in 2013 that Bikram yoga was “fantastic” for stretching as he’s gotten older.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Blake Griffin Eats Aron Baynes' Defense In 3 Tasty Dunks
So, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Let's see.
One...
Two...
Three... (crunch).
Three.
The LA Clippers lead the San Antonio Spurs 1-0 after Sunday's 107-92 home win in the first round of the NBA playoffs. All-Star power forward Blake Griffin set the tone with a series of devastating dunks over Spurs center Aaron Baynes with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
Let's see.
One...
Two...
Three... (crunch).
Three.
The LA Clippers lead the San Antonio Spurs 1-0 after Sunday's 107-92 home win in the first round of the NBA playoffs. All-Star power forward Blake Griffin set the tone with a series of devastating dunks over Spurs center Aaron Baynes with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
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Huge Explosion From Airstrikes Rock Yemeni Capital
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV says an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition has hit close to the Iranian Embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, shattering windows but causing no casualties or injuries.
The report says Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the kingdom's envoy to Tehran to protest over the bombing on Monday. It quotes Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, as warning the Saudis to abide by their international obligations and respect diplomatic missions. The report adds that Tehran holds Riyadh responsible for the safety of its mission in Sanaa.
Sanaa came under heavy bombardment on Monday as Saudi-led coalition warplanes targeted weapon caches held by Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis who have seized much of Yemen.
The Saudi air campaign in Yemen is now in its fourth week.
The report says Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the kingdom's envoy to Tehran to protest over the bombing on Monday. It quotes Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, as warning the Saudis to abide by their international obligations and respect diplomatic missions. The report adds that Tehran holds Riyadh responsible for the safety of its mission in Sanaa.
Sanaa came under heavy bombardment on Monday as Saudi-led coalition warplanes targeted weapon caches held by Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis who have seized much of Yemen.
The Saudi air campaign in Yemen is now in its fourth week.
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Scott Disick's View On Pubic Hair Is Totally Offensive
Sunday's "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" got dark. Scott Disick, Lord of Calabasas, is also apparently the lord of Kourtney Kardashian's pubic hair. One of the B-plots throughout the episode was Kourtney's nude pregnancy photo shoot with Brian Bowen Smith and Scott's desire for Kourtney to trim her pubic hair for the photos. "It's a little offensive," he told her when she confronted him about his request. Nah, Scott. You're a little offensive.
Sure, everyone has preferences, but Scott's disgust with Kourtney's "unkept lawn" makes it seem like it's inappropriate or unruly for a woman -- let alone a pregnant woman -- to have ungroomed pubic hair. (It's not, by the way.) On a call with Smith, Scott joked that he'll need a weed-whacker to cut through her pubic hair. "When her stomach is hanging over things, I don't think she gets how unkept her lawn can get," he said later in a confessional. "I think she forgets hair still grows downstairs."
As the episode continued, Kourtney told Scott she'd be open to shaving her pubic hair but needed his help. "It's lucky enough that I can shave my legs," she said. "There's a huge stomach here in the way so you're asking a lot to shave down there. I'm down. I just need some assistance."
His response: "Her bush is hanging out like it's the '80s and I'm not going to stand for that. If I have to get my hands dirty I will."
Last year, the Guardian declared 2014 "the year of the bush," but the reemergence of female pubic hair in pop culture has been undeniable for years now. Even the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast spent a good portion of last week's reunion talking about Lisa Rinna and Lisa Vanderpump's pubic hair. "I've got it down to my knees, for God's sake," Vanderpump had said earlier in the season.
So, shut it down, Scott. A woman's pubic hair is her own.
Watch the full clip from "Keeping Up with the Kardashians":
Sure, everyone has preferences, but Scott's disgust with Kourtney's "unkept lawn" makes it seem like it's inappropriate or unruly for a woman -- let alone a pregnant woman -- to have ungroomed pubic hair. (It's not, by the way.) On a call with Smith, Scott joked that he'll need a weed-whacker to cut through her pubic hair. "When her stomach is hanging over things, I don't think she gets how unkept her lawn can get," he said later in a confessional. "I think she forgets hair still grows downstairs."
As the episode continued, Kourtney told Scott she'd be open to shaving her pubic hair but needed his help. "It's lucky enough that I can shave my legs," she said. "There's a huge stomach here in the way so you're asking a lot to shave down there. I'm down. I just need some assistance."
His response: "Her bush is hanging out like it's the '80s and I'm not going to stand for that. If I have to get my hands dirty I will."
Last year, the Guardian declared 2014 "the year of the bush," but the reemergence of female pubic hair in pop culture has been undeniable for years now. Even the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast spent a good portion of last week's reunion talking about Lisa Rinna and Lisa Vanderpump's pubic hair. "I've got it down to my knees, for God's sake," Vanderpump had said earlier in the season.
So, shut it down, Scott. A woman's pubic hair is her own.
Watch the full clip from "Keeping Up with the Kardashians":
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Denver Police Tweet Supportive Marijuana Message For 4/20 Rally
In what may go down as the coolest police tweet of all time, the Denver Police Department posted a message of tolerance for the "420" marijuana festivities taking place in the city over the weekend.
Late Sunday afternoon, on the second and last day of a massive annual 4/20 marijuana rally at Denver's Civic Center Park, Denver police tweeted this:
In a single lighthearted tweet, the Denver police illustrate just how far the drug war has been rolled back in Colorado -- which, in 2012, became the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana -- with a play on lyrics from Chamillionaire's 2007 Grammy-winning song "Ridin'." By any objective standard, that is a pretty cool way for a police department to send a message to the public. When The Huffington Post sent a tweet to the police department account asking about the song referenced, the department noted that "#PoliceLikeToJamToo."
Although private recreational marijuana use has been legalized in the state, public consumption of the drug is still illegal. However, it does still occur, especially at large events. Denver police generally make enforcement of that law on 4/20 a low priority and target only the most egregious offenders.
Considering that an estimated 125,000 people attended the rally over the course of the weekend and that Denver police issued only approximately 160 total citations, it appears that police stuck to that strategy. The Associated Press reported Sunday that the police had seen no major issues throughout the weekend.
The police tweeted friendly reminders all weekend about the state's marijuana law, asking people to "consume responsibly" and "make safety a priority" and noting that officers would "prefer not to be buzzkills" at the marijuana gathering.
Although the real "Weed Day" is Monday, a new city ordinance that puts a moratorium on three-day events limited rally organizers to celebrate all things cannabis for just the weekend.
Late Sunday afternoon, on the second and last day of a massive annual 4/20 marijuana rally at Denver's Civic Center Park, Denver police tweeted this:
We see you rollin, but we ain't hatin’ HAHA… Seriously though, #Denver, please remember to #ConsumeResponsibly this 4/20 weekend.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) April 20, 2015
In a single lighthearted tweet, the Denver police illustrate just how far the drug war has been rolled back in Colorado -- which, in 2012, became the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana -- with a play on lyrics from Chamillionaire's 2007 Grammy-winning song "Ridin'." By any objective standard, that is a pretty cool way for a police department to send a message to the public. When The Huffington Post sent a tweet to the police department account asking about the song referenced, the department noted that "#PoliceLikeToJamToo."
Although private recreational marijuana use has been legalized in the state, public consumption of the drug is still illegal. However, it does still occur, especially at large events. Denver police generally make enforcement of that law on 4/20 a low priority and target only the most egregious offenders.
Considering that an estimated 125,000 people attended the rally over the course of the weekend and that Denver police issued only approximately 160 total citations, it appears that police stuck to that strategy. The Associated Press reported Sunday that the police had seen no major issues throughout the weekend.
The police tweeted friendly reminders all weekend about the state's marijuana law, asking people to "consume responsibly" and "make safety a priority" and noting that officers would "prefer not to be buzzkills" at the marijuana gathering.
Although the real "Weed Day" is Monday, a new city ordinance that puts a moratorium on three-day events limited rally organizers to celebrate all things cannabis for just the weekend.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Joe Manchin: Harry Reid's Leadership In The Senate Did Not Work
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called out Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday, saying his leadership didn't work.
"Well first of all, Harry's a good man," Manchin said while appearing on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." "His leadership and the things he thought would work did not. So with that, you just move on."
In March, Reid announced he would be retiring in 2016. Reid has led the Senate Democrats since 2005 and has served in the U.S. Senate since 1987.
Manchin recently announced he would seek another term in the Senate and will not run for governor of West Virginia.
"Me walking away, I think, would be much worse when I have a chance to make a difference," Manchin said.
The top issue Manchin said he wants to address in the Senate going forward is drug abuse.
"It's just devastating in my state. It's killing families. ... This drug culture we have is killing America," Manchin said.
Watch the video above.
"Well first of all, Harry's a good man," Manchin said while appearing on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." "His leadership and the things he thought would work did not. So with that, you just move on."
In March, Reid announced he would be retiring in 2016. Reid has led the Senate Democrats since 2005 and has served in the U.S. Senate since 1987.
Manchin recently announced he would seek another term in the Senate and will not run for governor of West Virginia.
"Me walking away, I think, would be much worse when I have a chance to make a difference," Manchin said.
The top issue Manchin said he wants to address in the Senate going forward is drug abuse.
"It's just devastating in my state. It's killing families. ... This drug culture we have is killing America," Manchin said.
Watch the video above.
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Perfectly Good Produce Discarded At U.S. Border Feeds People In Need
A nonprofit is giving a second life to produce discarded at the U.S. border by distributing it to people in need.
Borderlands Food Bank, in Nogales, Arizona, sits right on the border of the United States and Mexico -- the crossing where over half the produce imported from Mexico comes through, NPR reports. All products must pass a strict inspection prior to distribution, and often cannot be sold if they have even the slightest imperfection.
But before these fruits and vegetables are sent to landfill, Borderlands intercepts the products to try and give them a second chance to feed people in need. Currently, the organization rescues 35 to 40 million pounds of edible produce each year.
“Some produce arrives spotted, or there’s scarring or black dots on the product, but it’s perfectly good,” Borderlands President Yolanda Soto told The Huffington Post. “By rescuing this poundage [of produce] we are able to move it to families who aren’t able to eat nutritiously.”
Distributing this rejected -- but perfectly safe -- produce is a massive undertaking. Borderlands works with 200 donors to distribute food to 389 registered nonprofits, in both Mexico and the United States. About 47 percent of those agencies are in the state of Arizona alone.
“We sit right in the middle of a produce industry,” Soto told HuffPost. “Once we saturate Arizona, we then offer produce to 18 other states throughout the nation.”
Soto receives calls all day long from her long list of donors; they know which of their discarded produce she will take. She then sends one of her trucks to retrieve the product to bring back Borderlands’ 13,000 square foot warehouse.
Monday at the warehouse are agency days -- nonprofits come directly to the food bank to take large quantities of fruits and vegetables to bring to their organizations. Tuesday through Friday, Borderland hosts a direct client distribution program. And weekends are devoted to POWWOW: Produce On Wheels - With Out Waste, which distributes produce to communities throughout the state of Arizona.
Borderlands’ impact is widespread and far-reaching, but their warehouse is small. Rent isn’t cheap, and Soto is hoping to find a partner to help Borderlands expand to a space where it can grow.
“If we found a bigger warehouse, we could rescue a lot more,” Sota said. “So much can be salvaged, and there is so much need.”
H/T NPR
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Borderlands Food Bank, in Nogales, Arizona, sits right on the border of the United States and Mexico -- the crossing where over half the produce imported from Mexico comes through, NPR reports. All products must pass a strict inspection prior to distribution, and often cannot be sold if they have even the slightest imperfection.
But before these fruits and vegetables are sent to landfill, Borderlands intercepts the products to try and give them a second chance to feed people in need. Currently, the organization rescues 35 to 40 million pounds of edible produce each year.
“Some produce arrives spotted, or there’s scarring or black dots on the product, but it’s perfectly good,” Borderlands President Yolanda Soto told The Huffington Post. “By rescuing this poundage [of produce] we are able to move it to families who aren’t able to eat nutritiously.”
Distributing this rejected -- but perfectly safe -- produce is a massive undertaking. Borderlands works with 200 donors to distribute food to 389 registered nonprofits, in both Mexico and the United States. About 47 percent of those agencies are in the state of Arizona alone.
“We sit right in the middle of a produce industry,” Soto told HuffPost. “Once we saturate Arizona, we then offer produce to 18 other states throughout the nation.”
Soto receives calls all day long from her long list of donors; they know which of their discarded produce she will take. She then sends one of her trucks to retrieve the product to bring back Borderlands’ 13,000 square foot warehouse.
Monday at the warehouse are agency days -- nonprofits come directly to the food bank to take large quantities of fruits and vegetables to bring to their organizations. Tuesday through Friday, Borderland hosts a direct client distribution program. And weekends are devoted to POWWOW: Produce On Wheels - With Out Waste, which distributes produce to communities throughout the state of Arizona.
Borderlands’ impact is widespread and far-reaching, but their warehouse is small. Rent isn’t cheap, and Soto is hoping to find a partner to help Borderlands expand to a space where it can grow.
“If we found a bigger warehouse, we could rescue a lot more,” Sota said. “So much can be salvaged, and there is so much need.”
H/T NPR
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The Steve Ballmer Dance Is Back With A Vengeance
The Los Angeles Clippers are back in the playoffs. That’s all well and good, but what we’re really excited about is the playoff debut of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is about as excited as you’d expect.
It’s not as good as some of his other dances this season, but it’s a good start to what we hope will be a long playoff run for Ballmer. Also down with the kid behind him who seems to be having an equally good time.
It’s not as good as some of his other dances this season, but it’s a good start to what we hope will be a long playoff run for Ballmer. Also down with the kid behind him who seems to be having an equally good time.
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3 Superfoods That Make Smoothies Taste Less 'Green' (VIDEO)
Packed with vitamins and nutrients, green smoothies are known for their great health benefits; but when it comes to flavor, raw kale and spinach don't have the best reputation. To compensate for the grass-like taste, many smoothie recipes call for heaps of sugary-sweet fruits.
As a better alternative, Melisse Gelula and Alexia Brue, founders of the health and fitness website Well + Good, have come up with three superfood ingredients to enhance the flavor of any basic smoothie recipe without increasing the sugar content.
Well + Good Basic Green Smoothie Recipe
1 cup of milk (soy, almond or coconut)
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup of greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard)
1 spoonful of any of the below superfood ingredients
Matcha Tea
"This is a ground green tea from Japan," Gelula says. "What's really wonderful about it is it has less caffeine (but you will get a little zing), [is] really high in antioxidants, really high in fiber, [and has] zero calories."
Raw Cacao Powder
"It's filled with antioxidants, it has no sugar in it at all," Brue says. "It also has a surprising amount of iron and fiber."
Gelula adds that cacao is also an excellent palate pleaser. "It makes the smoothie incredibly delicious," she says.
Cinnamon
"We really love cinnamon," Gelula says. "It's been known to help regulate blood sugar, which is really great if you've got a lot of fruit in your smoothies anyway, so you're sort of balancing out the sugar content and the effect that it will have on you."
Still too "green" for your liking? To add even more flavor to your smoothie, Gelula and Brue say a tablespoon of nut butter or coconut oil will really improve the taste. A handful of fruit will also do the trick -- but go easy to avoid adding too much sugar.
More from #OWNSHOW: Why health fanatics can't stop talking about "bone broth."
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As a better alternative, Melisse Gelula and Alexia Brue, founders of the health and fitness website Well + Good, have come up with three superfood ingredients to enhance the flavor of any basic smoothie recipe without increasing the sugar content.
Well + Good Basic Green Smoothie Recipe
1 cup of milk (soy, almond or coconut)
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup of greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard)
1 spoonful of any of the below superfood ingredients
Matcha Tea
"This is a ground green tea from Japan," Gelula says. "What's really wonderful about it is it has less caffeine (but you will get a little zing), [is] really high in antioxidants, really high in fiber, [and has] zero calories."
Raw Cacao Powder
"It's filled with antioxidants, it has no sugar in it at all," Brue says. "It also has a surprising amount of iron and fiber."
Gelula adds that cacao is also an excellent palate pleaser. "It makes the smoothie incredibly delicious," she says.
Cinnamon
"We really love cinnamon," Gelula says. "It's been known to help regulate blood sugar, which is really great if you've got a lot of fruit in your smoothies anyway, so you're sort of balancing out the sugar content and the effect that it will have on you."
Still too "green" for your liking? To add even more flavor to your smoothie, Gelula and Brue say a tablespoon of nut butter or coconut oil will really improve the taste. A handful of fruit will also do the trick -- but go easy to avoid adding too much sugar.
More from #OWNSHOW: Why health fanatics can't stop talking about "bone broth."
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Rapid Rise In Super PACs Dominated By Single Donors
This story was co-published with the Daily Beast.
The wealthiest Americans can fly on their own jets, live in gated compounds and watch movies in their own theaters.
More of them also are walling off their political contributions from other big and small players.
A growing number of political committees known as super PACs have become instruments of single donors, according to a ProPublica analysis of federal records. During the 2014 election cycle, $113 million 2013 16 percent of money raised by all super PACs 2013 went to committees dominated by one donor. That was quadruple their 2012 share.
The rise of single-donor groups is a new example of how changes in campaign finance law are giving outsized influence to a handful of funders.
The trend may continue into 2016. Last week, National Review reported that Texas Senator Ted Cruz's bid for the Republican presidential nomination would be boosted not by one anointed super PAC but four, each controlled by a single donor or donor family.
The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling helped usher in the era of super PACs. Unlike traditional political action committees, the independent groups can accept donations of any dollar size as long as they don't coordinate with the campaign of any candidate. Previously, much of the focus in big-money fundraising was on "bundlers" -- volunteers who tap friends and associates for maximum individual contributions of $5,400 to a candidate, then deliver big lump sums directly to the campaigns. Former president George W. Bush awarded his most prolific bundlers special titles such as "Ranger" and "Pioneer."
While bundling intensified the impact of wealthy donors on campaigns, the dollar limits and the need to join with others diluted the influence of any one person. With a super PAC, a donor can single-handedly push a narrower agenda. Last year, National Journal profiled one such donor 2013 a California vineyard owner who helped start the trend by launching his own super PAC and becoming a power player in a Senate race across the country.
Beyond the single-donor groups, big donations are dominant across all kinds of super PACs, according to the analysis. Six-figure contributions from individuals or organizations accounted for almost 50 percent of all super PAC money raised during the last two cycles.
"We are anointing an aristocracy that's getting a stronger and stronger grip on democracy," said Miles Rapoport, president of Common Cause, an advocacy group that seeks to reduce the influence of money on politics.
ProPublica's analysis identified 59 super PACs that received at least 80 percent of their funding from one individual during the 2014 cycle. They raised a total of $113 million, compared with the $33 million raised by the 34 such groups that existed in 2012.
Donors who launch their own PACs are seeking more control over how their money is spent. And many have complained about the commissions that fundraising consultants take off the top of their donations to outside groups. But the move carries risks if the patron is new to the arena.
To see a list of the top single-donor PACs from 2012 and 2014, visit ProPublica.
In one cautionary tale, a reclusive 89-year-old Texas oilman with no political experience launched Vote2ReduceDebt, one of the nation's highest-spending conservative super PACs. A ProPublica investigation found that much of the donor's millions went to entities run by the group's consultants or their close associates. The super PAC imploded as principals traded allegations including self-dealing, faked campaign events and a plot to siphon the PAC's money to a reality TV show.
Bill Burton, a former Obama administration official who helped found Priorities USA, the juggernaut super PAC affiliated with the president's reelection campaign, said he expects donors to face more problems if they continue to go it alone.
"One of two things is going to happen," he said. "We will either see widespread flaunting of coordination rules or we will see some pretty spectacular failures to the tune of millions of dollars."
The single-donor super PACs identified by ProPublica span the political spectrum. Among the top conservative donors were Richard Uihlein, a packaging supplies businessman, and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg spent heavily on both sides but leaned Democrat. Hedge fund titan Tom Steyer dominated on the left.
In 2012 the largest single-donor super PAC was former TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Ricketts' Ending Spending Action Fund, which raised over $14 million, 89 percent of which came from Ricketts. It was the ninth-largest super PAC by spending. In 2014 Steyer's Nextgen Climate Action was the largest super PAC, raising almost $78 million, 85 percent from Steyer. (Steyer's wife, Kat Taylor, is a member of ProPublica's board of directors, and the couple has donated to ProPublica.)
In addition to the super PACs dominated by a single individual, dozens more received the great majority of their funding from one corporation, labor group or advocacy organization. In 2014, those PACs represented 8.6 percent of super-PAC fundraising.
PACs dominated by one donor could run afoul of disclosure laws, according to Larry Noble, the former top lawyer for the Federal Election Commission. Under the rules, political ads must include disclosures about who funded them. Noble said election law would require groups funded by one person to list that donor's name, not just the name of the PAC 2013 though he couldn't recall the FEC addressing such a case.
Naming the super PAC instead of the donor in the ad, Noble said, also allows the groups to delay disclosing where their money comes from until the next FEC filing date 2013 potentially weeks after the ad runs.
"It defeats the purpose of the law to allow someone to hide behind a super PAC if they are the only funder," Noble said.
"They want to make it more authoritative, like there's more support. It looks better to say the ad is from Americans for Good Government than from John Smith2026 That just makes a mockery of the law."
Help us investigate: Have a tip about campaign finance? Email robert.faturechi@propublica.org.
Related stories: For more coverage of campaign finance, read ProPublica's previous reporting on Super PAC Men, secret donors and gaps in campaign finance rules.
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.
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12 Mother's Day Cards For Cool Moms, Not Regular Moms
Mother's Day is coming. Back away from the corny Hallmark cards.
For everyone celebrating the mothers (and/or mother figures) in their life this year, we've got your back. Here's a selection of funny, cute and cheeky cards for any mom with a sense of humor. Because who wants rhyming prose when you could have pug puns?
Here are 12 funny Mother's Day cards we love:
1. An apology for the rough times:
"This Mother's Day, I Would Like To Apologize For.."
2. An appreciation of the important skills she taught you:
"Thanks for teaching me how to use a big-girl potty."
3. A serious understatement:
"I suppose you're a reasonable mother"
4. An acknowledgement of what she just can't say:
"I love how we don't have to say out loud that I'm your favorite child."
5. A much-needed thank-you:
"Thanks for not psychologically damaging me."
6. An admission she's been waiting to hear:
"You were right about everything."
7. A tribute to "Mean Girls:"
"You're a cool mom."
8. A nod to all the roles she plays:
"My cheapest therapist."
9. A punny endearment:
"Nothing beets you."
10. A "Gilmore Girls" reference:
"You're the Lorelai to my Rory."
11. A "Puggin'" cute card:
"I puggin' love you."
12. A congratulatory note:
"Great job Mom, I turned out awesome"
For everyone celebrating the mothers (and/or mother figures) in their life this year, we've got your back. Here's a selection of funny, cute and cheeky cards for any mom with a sense of humor. Because who wants rhyming prose when you could have pug puns?
Here are 12 funny Mother's Day cards we love:
1. An apology for the rough times:
"This Mother's Day, I Would Like To Apologize For.."
2. An appreciation of the important skills she taught you:
"Thanks for teaching me how to use a big-girl potty."
3. A serious understatement:
"I suppose you're a reasonable mother"
4. An acknowledgement of what she just can't say:
"I love how we don't have to say out loud that I'm your favorite child."
5. A much-needed thank-you:
"Thanks for not psychologically damaging me."
6. An admission she's been waiting to hear:
"You were right about everything."
7. A tribute to "Mean Girls:"
"You're a cool mom."
8. A nod to all the roles she plays:
"My cheapest therapist."
9. A punny endearment:
"Nothing beets you."
10. A "Gilmore Girls" reference:
"You're the Lorelai to my Rory."
11. A "Puggin'" cute card:
"I puggin' love you."
12. A congratulatory note:
"Great job Mom, I turned out awesome"
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Faithful Runners: Why Churches Are Running Marathons For God
At the start of the Boston Marathon next Monday, runners will congregate by a church that posts a banner with an appropriate Bible verse: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”
Many people of faith are taking this promise from Isaiah literally. Long a place where the faithful went to sit, churches are becoming a place where people go to run.
In Georgia, a layman started a program called “God on the Run” out of his garage; he's now sold 60,000 books in 49 states. Programs such as “Pew to 5K” mimic a secular training program called “Couch to 5K” and some churches are putting on their own races, either as fundraisers or to nudge their members into health.
Many people of faith are taking this promise from Isaiah literally. Long a place where the faithful went to sit, churches are becoming a place where people go to run.
In Georgia, a layman started a program called “God on the Run” out of his garage; he's now sold 60,000 books in 49 states. Programs such as “Pew to 5K” mimic a secular training program called “Couch to 5K” and some churches are putting on their own races, either as fundraisers or to nudge their members into health.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Cubs Pitcher Jon Lester Got The Ball Stuck In His Glove, So He Tossed The Glove To First
In baseball there are plays and then there are plays.
Qualifying for the latter is this move by Cubs pitcher Jon Lester on Sunday, who, after the ball got stuck in his glove, got creative and tossed the whole thing to his first baseman to get the out during the second inning.
Equal points to Anthony Rizzo for quickly ditching his own glove so he could cradle Lester’s glove and ball with the tenderness and care it deserved.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Cubs, who fell to the Padres, 2-5.
Qualifying for the latter is this move by Cubs pitcher Jon Lester on Sunday, who, after the ball got stuck in his glove, got creative and tossed the whole thing to his first baseman to get the out during the second inning.
Equal points to Anthony Rizzo for quickly ditching his own glove so he could cradle Lester’s glove and ball with the tenderness and care it deserved.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Cubs, who fell to the Padres, 2-5.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Here's Everything You Need To Know About Why We Celebrate Weed On 4/20
Warren Haynes, the Allman Brothers Band guitarist, routinely plays with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, touring as The Dead. It's the spring of 2009, he's just finished a Dead show in Washington, D.C., and he gets a pop quiz from The Huffington Post.
Where does "420" come from?
He pauses and thinks, hands on his sides. "I don't know the real origin. I know myths and rumors," he says. "I'm really confused about the first time I heard it. It was like a police code for smoking in progress or something. What's the real story?"
Wavy Gravy is a hippie icon with his own ice cream flavor who has been hanging out with the Dead for decades. HuffPost spots him outside the same concert. Asked about the term 420, he suggests it began "somewhere in the foggy mists of time. What time is it now? I say to you, 'Eternity now.'"
Depending on whom you ask or their state of inebriation, there are as many varieties of answers as strains of medical bud in California. It's the number of active chemicals in marijuana. It's teatime in Holland. It has something to do with Hitler's birthday. It's those numbers in that Bob Dylan song multiplied.
The origin of the term 420, celebrated around the world by pot smokers every April 20, has long been obscured by the clouded memories of the folks who made it a phenomenon.
The Huffington Post chased the term back to its roots and was able to find them in a lost patch of cannabis in a Point Reyes, Calif., forest. Just as interesting as its origin, it turns out, is how it spread.
It starts with the Dead.
It was Christmas week 1990 in Oakland. Steven Bloom was wandering through The Lot, that timeless gathering of hippies that springs up in the parking lot before every Grateful Dead concert, when a Deadhead handed him a yellow flyer.
"We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais," read the message, which Bloom dug up and forwarded to HuffPost. Bloom, then a reporter for High Times magazine and now the publisher of CelebStoner.com and co-author of "Pot Culture," had never heard of "420-ing" before.
The flyer came complete with a 420 backstory: "420 started somewhere in San Rafael, California in the late '70s. It started as the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress. After local heads heard of the police call, they started using the expression 420 when referring to herb -- Let's Go 420, dude!"
Bloom reported his find in the May 1991 issue of High Times, which the magazine found in its archives and provided to HuffPost. The story, though, was only partially right.
The origin of 420 had nothing to do with a police code, though the San Rafael part was dead-on. A group of five San Rafael High School friends known as the Waldos -- by virtue of their chosen hangout spot, a wall outside the school -- coined the term in 1971.
The Waldos never envisioned that pot smokers the world over would celebrate each April 20 as a result of their foray into the Point Reyes forest. The day has managed to become something of a national holiday in the face of official condemnation. Officials at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California, Santa Cruz, which boast two of the biggest "smokeouts," pushed back in 2009 in typical fashion. "As another April 20 approaches, we are faced with concerns from students, parents, alumni, Regents, and community members about a repeat of last year's 4/20 'event,'" wrote Boulder's chancellor in a letter to students. "On April 20, 2009, we hope that you will choose not to participate in unlawful activity that debases the reputation of your University and degree, and will encourage your fellow Buffs to act with pride and remember who they really are."
But the Cheshire cat is out of the bag. Students and locals will show up around four, light up at 4:20 and be gone shortly thereafter. No bands, no speakers, no chants. Just a bunch of people getting together and getting stoned.
THE FIVE WALDOS
Today the code often creeps into popular culture and mainstream settings. Some of the clocks in "Pulp Fiction," for instance, are set to 4:20. A "Price Is Right" contestant won YouTube celebrity by bidding either $420 or $1,420 for everything. In 2003, when the California Legislature codified the medical marijuana law that voters had approved, the bill was named SB 420.
"We think it was a staffer working for [lead Assembly sponsor Mark] Leno, but no one has ever fessed up," says Steph Sherer, head of Americans for Safe Access, which lobbied on behalf of the bill.
California legislative staffers spoken to for this story say that the 420 designation remains a mystery, but that both Leno and the lead Senate sponsor, John Vasconcellos, are hip enough that they must have known what it meant. Vasconcellos says he has no idea how it got the number 420 and wouldn't have known what it meant at the time. (If you were involved with SB 420 and know the story, email me.)
The code also pops up in Craigslist postings when fellow smokers search for "420 friendly" roommates. "It's just a vaguer way of saying it, and it kind of makes it kind of cool," says Bloom, the pot journalist. "Like, you know you're in the know, but that does show you how it's in the mainstream."
The Waldos have proof, however, that they used the term in the early '70s. When HuffPost spoke with the men in 2009, they requested anonymity, preferring to go by the names they call each other -- Waldo Steve, Waldo Dave, Waldo Mark, etc. Pot was still, after all, illegal.
Since then, however, California has decriminalized possession of marijuana so that getting snagged costs little more than a parking ticket. Medical marijuana shops dot the landscape, and the plant has become dramatically more culturally acceptable.
In the spring of 2012, they agreed to go on the record with HuffPost.
"The baby boomers have been taking over. People are dying off. The generations behind them are fine," explains Steve Capper.
"I think I read recently a poll where somewhere like 47 percent of the American public are okay with marijuana," says Dave Reddix. (In March 2012, a Rasmussen poll found 47 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana.)
Mark Gravitch also agreed to be identified. The other two aren't yet ready.
The Waldos' story goes like this: One day in the fall of 1971 -- harvest time -- the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of the free bud.
The Waldos, who were all athletes, agreed to meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside the school at 4:20 p.m., after practice, to begin the hunt.
"We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis, and we eventually dropped the Louis," Capper, 57, says.
The first forays were unsuccessful, but the group kept looking for the hidden crop. "We'd meet at 4:20 and get in my old '66 Chevy Impala, and, of course, we'd smoke instantly and smoke all the way out to Point Reyes and smoke the entire time we were out there. We did it week after week," says Capper. "We never actually found the patch."
But they did find a useful codeword. "I could say to one of my friends, I'd go, '420,' and it was telepathic. He would know if I was saying, 'Hey, do you wanna go smoke some?' Or, 'Do you have any?' Or, 'Are you stoned right now?' It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it," Capper says. "Our teachers didn't know what we were talking about. Our parents didn't know what we were talking about."
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE DEAD
It's one thing to identify the origin of the term. But Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary already included references to the Waldos by 2009, when HuffPost first wrote this account. The bigger question: How did 420 spread from a circle of California stoners across the globe?
As fortune would have it, the collapse of San Francisco's hippie utopia in the late '60s set the stage. As speed freaks, thugs and con artists took over The Haight, the Grateful Dead packed up and moved to the Marin County hills, just blocks from San Rafael High School.
"Marin County was kind of ground zero for the counterculture," says Capper.
The Waldos had more than a geographic connection to the Dead. Mark Gravitch's father took care of real estate for the Dead. And Dave Reddix's older brother, Patrick, managed a Dead sideband and was good friends with bassist Phil Lesh. Patrick Reddix tells HuffPost that he smoked with Lesh on numerous occasions. He couldn't recall if he used the term 420 around Lesh, but guessed that he must have.
The Dead, recalls Dave Reddix, 57, "had this rehearsal hall on Front Street, San Rafael, California, and they used to practice there. So we used to go hang out and listen to them play music and get high while they're practicing for gigs. But I think it's possible my brother Patrick might have spread it through Phil Lesh. And me, too, because I was hanging out with Lesh and his band [as a roadie] when they were doing a summer tour my brother was managing."
The bands that Patrick managed for Lesh were called Too Loose to Truck and Sea Stones; they featured not only Lesh but rock legend David Crosby and acclaimed guitarist Terry Haggerty.
The Waldos also had open access to Dead parties and rehearsals. "We'd go with [Mark's] dad, who was a hip dad from the '60s," says Capper. "There was a place called Winterland, and we'd always be backstage running around or on stage and, of course, we're using those phrases. When somebody passes a joint or something, 'Hey, 420.' So it started spreading through that community."
Lesh, walking off stage after a Dead concert in 2009, confirms that Patrick Reddix is a friend and says he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Waldos had coined 420. He isn't sure, he says, the first time he heard it. "I do not remember. I'm very sorry. I wish I could help," he says.
As the Grateful Dead toured through the '70s and '80s, playing hundreds of shows a year, the term spread though the Dead underground. Once High Times got hip to it, the magazine helped take it global.
"I started incorporating it into everything we were doing," Steve Hager, then editor of High Times, tells HuffPost in 2009. "I started doing all these big events -- the World Hemp Expo Extravaganza and the Cannabis Cup -- and we built everything around 420. The publicity that High Times gave it is what made it an international thing. Until then, it was relatively confined to the Grateful Dead subculture. But we blew it out into an international phenomenon."
Sometime in the early '90s, High Times wisely purchased the web domain 420.com.
The Waldos say that it took just a few years for the term to spread throughout San Rafael and start cropping up elsewhere in the state. By the early '90s, it had penetrated far enough that Dave Reddix and Steve Capper began hearing people use it in unexpected places -- Ohio, Florida, Canada -- and spotted it painted on signs and scratched into park benches.
In 1998, the Waldos decided to set the record straight and got in touch with High Times.
"They said, 'The fact is, there is no 420 [police] code in California. You guys ever look it up?'" Bloom recalls. He had to admit that, no, he had never looked it up. Hager flew out to San Rafael, met the Waldos, examined their evidence, spoke with others in town, and concluded they were telling the truth.
"No one's ever been able to come up with any use of 420 that predates the 1971 usage, which they had established. So unless somebody can come up with something that predates them, then I don't think anybody's going to get credit for it other than them," Hager says.
THEIR 420 STASH
The Waldos have evidence to back up their story, now stashed away in a vault in a San Francisco bank. Reddix, Gravitch, Capper and another high school friend, Patty Young, gave HuffPost a tour of the vault, where they keep a flag with 420 stitched onto it, letters, newspaper clippings and other pieces of memorabilia.
The men remain positively giddy about their impact on an international subculture. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen, the Waldos are here!" exclaims Reddix outside downtown San Francisco's flagship Wells Fargo. He picks up a plastic "Caution, Wet Floor" sign to use as a megaphone. "You are witnessing history!"
And there it all is: A clipping from a 1970s issue of San Rafael High's school newspaper, in which a student claimed the one thing he'd want to say in front of his graduating class was simply "4-20." A letter postmarked 1975, from Waldo Dave to Waldo Steve, rife with 420 references. The official 420 flag, which Young tie-dyed in her art class.
The bank teller watches as the Waldos show off their archives. "Do you know what 420 means?" Capper asks him.
The teller pauses, then grins sheepishly. "Yes, sir," he says.
The Waldos are slightly conflicted about what to do next. Reddix is gung-ho about telling the story widely and publicly. Capper is more circumspect, worried that releasing too much would cost them future commercial possibilities.
The Waldos are considering a documentary, a dictionary of the rest of their slang and whatever else might be out there for five guys who coined the term 420 four decades ago.
"I still have a lot of friends who tell their friends that they know one of the guys that started the 420 thing. So it's kind of like a cult celebrity thing. Two years ago I went to the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. High Times magazine flew me out," says Reddix.
But "we never made a dime on the thing," he says, half boasting, half lamenting.
Reddix is now a credit analyst, with a side interest in filmmaking that led to the documentary "Roots Music Americana." He works for Capper, who owns a specialty lending institution and lost money to the con artist Bernie Madoff. When we spoke in 2009, Capper was spending more time composing angry letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission than he did getting high.
The other three Waldos have also been successful, says Capper, who notes he keeps in close touch with them all. One is head of marketing for a Napa Valley winery. Another is in printing and graphics. Gravitch is an operations manager in the construction industry.
"I've got to run a business. I've got to stay sharp," says Capper, explaining why he rarely smokes pot anymore. "Seems like everybody I know who smokes daily or many times in a week, it seems like there's always something going wrong with their life, professionally or in their relationships or financially or something. It's a lot of fun, but it seems like if someone does it too much, there's some karmic cost to it."
"I never endorsed the use of marijuana. But hey, it worked for me," says Reddix. "I'm sure on my headstone it'll say, 'One of the 420 guys.'"
This article was originally published on April 20, 2009, and has been reposted each year since. In 2012, it was updated to include, for the first time, the full identities of the men behind the coining of the term "420," as well as additional details. Carly Schwartz contributed to the reporting.
Ryan Grim is the author of "This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America," available from Amazon and at independent bookstores.
Where does "420" come from?
He pauses and thinks, hands on his sides. "I don't know the real origin. I know myths and rumors," he says. "I'm really confused about the first time I heard it. It was like a police code for smoking in progress or something. What's the real story?"
Wavy Gravy is a hippie icon with his own ice cream flavor who has been hanging out with the Dead for decades. HuffPost spots him outside the same concert. Asked about the term 420, he suggests it began "somewhere in the foggy mists of time. What time is it now? I say to you, 'Eternity now.'"
Depending on whom you ask or their state of inebriation, there are as many varieties of answers as strains of medical bud in California. It's the number of active chemicals in marijuana. It's teatime in Holland. It has something to do with Hitler's birthday. It's those numbers in that Bob Dylan song multiplied.
The origin of the term 420, celebrated around the world by pot smokers every April 20, has long been obscured by the clouded memories of the folks who made it a phenomenon.
The Huffington Post chased the term back to its roots and was able to find them in a lost patch of cannabis in a Point Reyes, Calif., forest. Just as interesting as its origin, it turns out, is how it spread.
It starts with the Dead.
It was Christmas week 1990 in Oakland. Steven Bloom was wandering through The Lot, that timeless gathering of hippies that springs up in the parking lot before every Grateful Dead concert, when a Deadhead handed him a yellow flyer.
"We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais," read the message, which Bloom dug up and forwarded to HuffPost. Bloom, then a reporter for High Times magazine and now the publisher of CelebStoner.com and co-author of "Pot Culture," had never heard of "420-ing" before.
The flyer came complete with a 420 backstory: "420 started somewhere in San Rafael, California in the late '70s. It started as the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress. After local heads heard of the police call, they started using the expression 420 when referring to herb -- Let's Go 420, dude!"
Bloom reported his find in the May 1991 issue of High Times, which the magazine found in its archives and provided to HuffPost. The story, though, was only partially right.
The origin of 420 had nothing to do with a police code, though the San Rafael part was dead-on. A group of five San Rafael High School friends known as the Waldos -- by virtue of their chosen hangout spot, a wall outside the school -- coined the term in 1971.
The Waldos never envisioned that pot smokers the world over would celebrate each April 20 as a result of their foray into the Point Reyes forest. The day has managed to become something of a national holiday in the face of official condemnation. Officials at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California, Santa Cruz, which boast two of the biggest "smokeouts," pushed back in 2009 in typical fashion. "As another April 20 approaches, we are faced with concerns from students, parents, alumni, Regents, and community members about a repeat of last year's 4/20 'event,'" wrote Boulder's chancellor in a letter to students. "On April 20, 2009, we hope that you will choose not to participate in unlawful activity that debases the reputation of your University and degree, and will encourage your fellow Buffs to act with pride and remember who they really are."
But the Cheshire cat is out of the bag. Students and locals will show up around four, light up at 4:20 and be gone shortly thereafter. No bands, no speakers, no chants. Just a bunch of people getting together and getting stoned.
THE FIVE WALDOS
Today the code often creeps into popular culture and mainstream settings. Some of the clocks in "Pulp Fiction," for instance, are set to 4:20. A "Price Is Right" contestant won YouTube celebrity by bidding either $420 or $1,420 for everything. In 2003, when the California Legislature codified the medical marijuana law that voters had approved, the bill was named SB 420.
"We think it was a staffer working for [lead Assembly sponsor Mark] Leno, but no one has ever fessed up," says Steph Sherer, head of Americans for Safe Access, which lobbied on behalf of the bill.
California legislative staffers spoken to for this story say that the 420 designation remains a mystery, but that both Leno and the lead Senate sponsor, John Vasconcellos, are hip enough that they must have known what it meant. Vasconcellos says he has no idea how it got the number 420 and wouldn't have known what it meant at the time. (If you were involved with SB 420 and know the story, email me.)
The code also pops up in Craigslist postings when fellow smokers search for "420 friendly" roommates. "It's just a vaguer way of saying it, and it kind of makes it kind of cool," says Bloom, the pot journalist. "Like, you know you're in the know, but that does show you how it's in the mainstream."
The Waldos have proof, however, that they used the term in the early '70s. When HuffPost spoke with the men in 2009, they requested anonymity, preferring to go by the names they call each other -- Waldo Steve, Waldo Dave, Waldo Mark, etc. Pot was still, after all, illegal.
Since then, however, California has decriminalized possession of marijuana so that getting snagged costs little more than a parking ticket. Medical marijuana shops dot the landscape, and the plant has become dramatically more culturally acceptable.
In the spring of 2012, they agreed to go on the record with HuffPost.
"The baby boomers have been taking over. People are dying off. The generations behind them are fine," explains Steve Capper.
"I think I read recently a poll where somewhere like 47 percent of the American public are okay with marijuana," says Dave Reddix. (In March 2012, a Rasmussen poll found 47 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana.)
Mark Gravitch also agreed to be identified. The other two aren't yet ready.
The Waldos' story goes like this: One day in the fall of 1971 -- harvest time -- the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of the free bud.
The Waldos, who were all athletes, agreed to meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside the school at 4:20 p.m., after practice, to begin the hunt.
"We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis, and we eventually dropped the Louis," Capper, 57, says.
The first forays were unsuccessful, but the group kept looking for the hidden crop. "We'd meet at 4:20 and get in my old '66 Chevy Impala, and, of course, we'd smoke instantly and smoke all the way out to Point Reyes and smoke the entire time we were out there. We did it week after week," says Capper. "We never actually found the patch."
But they did find a useful codeword. "I could say to one of my friends, I'd go, '420,' and it was telepathic. He would know if I was saying, 'Hey, do you wanna go smoke some?' Or, 'Do you have any?' Or, 'Are you stoned right now?' It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it," Capper says. "Our teachers didn't know what we were talking about. Our parents didn't know what we were talking about."
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE DEAD
It's one thing to identify the origin of the term. But Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary already included references to the Waldos by 2009, when HuffPost first wrote this account. The bigger question: How did 420 spread from a circle of California stoners across the globe?
As fortune would have it, the collapse of San Francisco's hippie utopia in the late '60s set the stage. As speed freaks, thugs and con artists took over The Haight, the Grateful Dead packed up and moved to the Marin County hills, just blocks from San Rafael High School.
"Marin County was kind of ground zero for the counterculture," says Capper.
The Waldos had more than a geographic connection to the Dead. Mark Gravitch's father took care of real estate for the Dead. And Dave Reddix's older brother, Patrick, managed a Dead sideband and was good friends with bassist Phil Lesh. Patrick Reddix tells HuffPost that he smoked with Lesh on numerous occasions. He couldn't recall if he used the term 420 around Lesh, but guessed that he must have.
The Dead, recalls Dave Reddix, 57, "had this rehearsal hall on Front Street, San Rafael, California, and they used to practice there. So we used to go hang out and listen to them play music and get high while they're practicing for gigs. But I think it's possible my brother Patrick might have spread it through Phil Lesh. And me, too, because I was hanging out with Lesh and his band [as a roadie] when they were doing a summer tour my brother was managing."
The bands that Patrick managed for Lesh were called Too Loose to Truck and Sea Stones; they featured not only Lesh but rock legend David Crosby and acclaimed guitarist Terry Haggerty.
The Waldos also had open access to Dead parties and rehearsals. "We'd go with [Mark's] dad, who was a hip dad from the '60s," says Capper. "There was a place called Winterland, and we'd always be backstage running around or on stage and, of course, we're using those phrases. When somebody passes a joint or something, 'Hey, 420.' So it started spreading through that community."
Lesh, walking off stage after a Dead concert in 2009, confirms that Patrick Reddix is a friend and says he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Waldos had coined 420. He isn't sure, he says, the first time he heard it. "I do not remember. I'm very sorry. I wish I could help," he says.
As the Grateful Dead toured through the '70s and '80s, playing hundreds of shows a year, the term spread though the Dead underground. Once High Times got hip to it, the magazine helped take it global.
"I started incorporating it into everything we were doing," Steve Hager, then editor of High Times, tells HuffPost in 2009. "I started doing all these big events -- the World Hemp Expo Extravaganza and the Cannabis Cup -- and we built everything around 420. The publicity that High Times gave it is what made it an international thing. Until then, it was relatively confined to the Grateful Dead subculture. But we blew it out into an international phenomenon."
Sometime in the early '90s, High Times wisely purchased the web domain 420.com.
The Waldos say that it took just a few years for the term to spread throughout San Rafael and start cropping up elsewhere in the state. By the early '90s, it had penetrated far enough that Dave Reddix and Steve Capper began hearing people use it in unexpected places -- Ohio, Florida, Canada -- and spotted it painted on signs and scratched into park benches.
In 1998, the Waldos decided to set the record straight and got in touch with High Times.
"They said, 'The fact is, there is no 420 [police] code in California. You guys ever look it up?'" Bloom recalls. He had to admit that, no, he had never looked it up. Hager flew out to San Rafael, met the Waldos, examined their evidence, spoke with others in town, and concluded they were telling the truth.
"No one's ever been able to come up with any use of 420 that predates the 1971 usage, which they had established. So unless somebody can come up with something that predates them, then I don't think anybody's going to get credit for it other than them," Hager says.
THEIR 420 STASH
The Waldos have evidence to back up their story, now stashed away in a vault in a San Francisco bank. Reddix, Gravitch, Capper and another high school friend, Patty Young, gave HuffPost a tour of the vault, where they keep a flag with 420 stitched onto it, letters, newspaper clippings and other pieces of memorabilia.
The men remain positively giddy about their impact on an international subculture. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen, the Waldos are here!" exclaims Reddix outside downtown San Francisco's flagship Wells Fargo. He picks up a plastic "Caution, Wet Floor" sign to use as a megaphone. "You are witnessing history!"
And there it all is: A clipping from a 1970s issue of San Rafael High's school newspaper, in which a student claimed the one thing he'd want to say in front of his graduating class was simply "4-20." A letter postmarked 1975, from Waldo Dave to Waldo Steve, rife with 420 references. The official 420 flag, which Young tie-dyed in her art class.
The bank teller watches as the Waldos show off their archives. "Do you know what 420 means?" Capper asks him.
The teller pauses, then grins sheepishly. "Yes, sir," he says.
The Waldos are slightly conflicted about what to do next. Reddix is gung-ho about telling the story widely and publicly. Capper is more circumspect, worried that releasing too much would cost them future commercial possibilities.
The Waldos are considering a documentary, a dictionary of the rest of their slang and whatever else might be out there for five guys who coined the term 420 four decades ago.
"I still have a lot of friends who tell their friends that they know one of the guys that started the 420 thing. So it's kind of like a cult celebrity thing. Two years ago I went to the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. High Times magazine flew me out," says Reddix.
But "we never made a dime on the thing," he says, half boasting, half lamenting.
Reddix is now a credit analyst, with a side interest in filmmaking that led to the documentary "Roots Music Americana." He works for Capper, who owns a specialty lending institution and lost money to the con artist Bernie Madoff. When we spoke in 2009, Capper was spending more time composing angry letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission than he did getting high.
The other three Waldos have also been successful, says Capper, who notes he keeps in close touch with them all. One is head of marketing for a Napa Valley winery. Another is in printing and graphics. Gravitch is an operations manager in the construction industry.
"I've got to run a business. I've got to stay sharp," says Capper, explaining why he rarely smokes pot anymore. "Seems like everybody I know who smokes daily or many times in a week, it seems like there's always something going wrong with their life, professionally or in their relationships or financially or something. It's a lot of fun, but it seems like if someone does it too much, there's some karmic cost to it."
"I never endorsed the use of marijuana. But hey, it worked for me," says Reddix. "I'm sure on my headstone it'll say, 'One of the 420 guys.'"
This article was originally published on April 20, 2009, and has been reposted each year since. In 2012, it was updated to include, for the first time, the full identities of the men behind the coining of the term "420," as well as additional details. Carly Schwartz contributed to the reporting.
Ryan Grim is the author of "This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America," available from Amazon and at independent bookstores.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Why 'Sweatworking' Is The New Lunch Meeting
(Reuters) - Sweatworking, the growing practice of meeting clients for a walk, a run or a fitness class, is elbowing networking out of bars and restaurants and into boutique fitness studios.
A yoga, barre or spin class has become the new nine holes of golf, fitness experts said, chased by a post-workout smoothie rather than a three-martini lunch.
“Sweatworking was born out of a desire to connect with clients on a deeper level that wasn’t so sales-y,” said Sarah Siciliano, 32, an advertising executive who has been entertaining clients with workouts. “A lot of sales jobs revolve around drinking.”
Siciliano, who is based in New York City, considers taking her mostly female clients, who range in age from 22 to 52, to yoga, spinning, bootcamp and dance studios a great tool to develop relationships.
“People like to move along with the trends,” said Siciliano, who organizes her workout events.
“I do all the leg work but I exercise everyday anyway so for me it’s a win-win,” she said. “If you can knock out a client event and your workout at the same time, why not?”
Sweatworking began in the advertising world, but has spread to more traditionally conservative professions such as law and banking, according to Alexia Brue, co-founder of the wellness media company Well+Good.
“Now a lot of client entertaining in many industries has moved into boutique studios,” she said, “especially to those with workouts that aren’t super awkward, or super-sweaty to do with a client.”
Gabby Etrog Cohen, vice president of public relations and brand strategy at SoulCycle, a national chain of 39 indoor cycling studios, said in four years sweatworking has become a regular part of her business.
“We get a mixed bag, a lot of people in financing and advertising,” said Cohen. “We have groups that come in every week. One group comes every Thursday.”
Part of the appeal, she speculates, resides in the dim studio lights.
“There’s something about not wanting to sweat in front of clients,” she said. “We ride in the dark so there’s a sense of anonymity.”
For 45 minutes and $35 per class, the studio provides an alternative to the traditional four-hour round of golf.
Cohen said the rise of sweatworking marks the distance traveled from the chain-smoking, inebriated lifestyle of the 1960’s portrayed in the hit HBO series “Mad Men.”
“We’ve taken ‘Mad Men’ and turned it on its head,” she said.
A yoga, barre or spin class has become the new nine holes of golf, fitness experts said, chased by a post-workout smoothie rather than a three-martini lunch.
“Sweatworking was born out of a desire to connect with clients on a deeper level that wasn’t so sales-y,” said Sarah Siciliano, 32, an advertising executive who has been entertaining clients with workouts. “A lot of sales jobs revolve around drinking.”
Siciliano, who is based in New York City, considers taking her mostly female clients, who range in age from 22 to 52, to yoga, spinning, bootcamp and dance studios a great tool to develop relationships.
“People like to move along with the trends,” said Siciliano, who organizes her workout events.
“I do all the leg work but I exercise everyday anyway so for me it’s a win-win,” she said. “If you can knock out a client event and your workout at the same time, why not?”
Sweatworking began in the advertising world, but has spread to more traditionally conservative professions such as law and banking, according to Alexia Brue, co-founder of the wellness media company Well+Good.
“Now a lot of client entertaining in many industries has moved into boutique studios,” she said, “especially to those with workouts that aren’t super awkward, or super-sweaty to do with a client.”
Gabby Etrog Cohen, vice president of public relations and brand strategy at SoulCycle, a national chain of 39 indoor cycling studios, said in four years sweatworking has become a regular part of her business.
“We get a mixed bag, a lot of people in financing and advertising,” said Cohen. “We have groups that come in every week. One group comes every Thursday.”
Part of the appeal, she speculates, resides in the dim studio lights.
“There’s something about not wanting to sweat in front of clients,” she said. “We ride in the dark so there’s a sense of anonymity.”
For 45 minutes and $35 per class, the studio provides an alternative to the traditional four-hour round of golf.
Cohen said the rise of sweatworking marks the distance traveled from the chain-smoking, inebriated lifestyle of the 1960’s portrayed in the hit HBO series “Mad Men.”
“We’ve taken ‘Mad Men’ and turned it on its head,” she said.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Ships Are Responding To Distress Calls From 2 Boats Carrying Some 400 People, Italian Premier Says
MILAN (AP) — Italian premier: Ships are responding to distress calls from 2 boats carrying some 400 people.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
This Is The 'Daily Show' Interview Jon Stewart Regrets Most
Jon Stewart spent 16 years behind the desk of "The Daily Show," but there's only one interview he really regrets.
In a discussion with The Guardian, the host said he wishes he questioned former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld harder about his role in the Bush administration's post-9/11 conflicts. Rumsfeld visited "The Daily Show" in 2011 to discuss his memoir Known and Unknown.
"I should have pushed, but he’s very adept at deflecting," Stewart told The Guardian. “That interview with Rumsfeld went shitty, but it’s still just an interview. He’s the one who has to live with the repercussions of what he really did, so there’s nothing that could happen on my show that carries that same level of regret.”
The host went on to say the reason behind his choice to leave "The Daily Show," noting that it had nothing to do with the show not working any longer. "It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.'"
"Daily Show" correspondent Trevor Noah will take over hosting the show later this year when Stewart steps down. Back in March, Stewart joked that he was so thrilled for Noah that he might even consider returning as a correspondent.
For the full interview, head over to The Guardian.
In a discussion with The Guardian, the host said he wishes he questioned former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld harder about his role in the Bush administration's post-9/11 conflicts. Rumsfeld visited "The Daily Show" in 2011 to discuss his memoir Known and Unknown.
"I should have pushed, but he’s very adept at deflecting," Stewart told The Guardian. “That interview with Rumsfeld went shitty, but it’s still just an interview. He’s the one who has to live with the repercussions of what he really did, so there’s nothing that could happen on my show that carries that same level of regret.”
The host went on to say the reason behind his choice to leave "The Daily Show," noting that it had nothing to do with the show not working any longer. "It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.'"
"Daily Show" correspondent Trevor Noah will take over hosting the show later this year when Stewart steps down. Back in March, Stewart joked that he was so thrilled for Noah that he might even consider returning as a correspondent.
For the full interview, head over to The Guardian.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Vatican Defends Canonization Of Junipero Serra, Controversial Hispanic Evangelizer
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is mounting a campaign to defend an 18th century Franciscan missionary who will be canonized by Pope Francis in the U.S. against protests from Native Americans.
The Vatican is teaming up with the archdiocese of Los Angeles to host a daylong celebration May 2 at the main U.S. seminary in Rome to honor the Rev. Junipero Serra, who introduced Christianity to much of California as he marched north with Spanish conquistadors. For the church, Serra was a great evangelizer and a model for today's Hispanics. Many Native Americans, though, say Serra helped wipe out native populations, enslaved converts and spread disease as he brutally imposed Christianity.
Vatican officials on Monday denounced moves to remove Serra's statue from Congress, saying the historic record shows he defended Native Americans.
The Vatican is teaming up with the archdiocese of Los Angeles to host a daylong celebration May 2 at the main U.S. seminary in Rome to honor the Rev. Junipero Serra, who introduced Christianity to much of California as he marched north with Spanish conquistadors. For the church, Serra was a great evangelizer and a model for today's Hispanics. Many Native Americans, though, say Serra helped wipe out native populations, enslaved converts and spread disease as he brutally imposed Christianity.
Vatican officials on Monday denounced moves to remove Serra's statue from Congress, saying the historic record shows he defended Native Americans.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
5 Stories You Didn't Know About 'The Big Lebowski,' As Told By The Lebowskis
What happens when you take super fandom to the next level? Ask Roy Preston. Owner of The Little Lebowski Shop, he possesses a unique fascination with the Coen brothers' flick, "The Big Lebowski."
"It seems like a dumb Cheech and Chong movie at the first glance, but then you go back and it's a lot more than that," Preston told The Huffington Post. As the proprietor of the only known store devoted entirely to the movie about The Dude, he knows a lot more about the cult classic than the average person.
To learn more about about The Dude, the movie and the legend, HuffPost Entertainment also spoke with David Huddleston, who played the titular character, and Tara Reid, his onscreen wife, Bunny.
1. Jeff Bridges somehow never spilled his White Russian while being thrown repeatedly into the limo.
"Hey, careful man! There's a beverage here," The Dude yells as Mr. Lebowski's driver shoves in one of the movie's most memorable scenes. The door is opened and The Dude is thrown into the backseat, still trying to balance his White Russian.
Somehow, Bridges pulled it off.
Huddleston claimed that "there were not many takes" of the limo scene, but Bridges was able to keep the beverage in the glass throughout each.
There was "no spilling of White Russians," Huddleston said.
2. Tara Reid had a toe double.
Various people involved with "The Big Lebowski" have visited Preston's store over the years, including Tara Reid's toe double, Laura Burnett.
Preston, like most fans, was completely unaware Reid had a toe double in the movie. (Because, why would she?) "I'm not quite sure why," said Preston, referring to the scene where Bunny is seen driving with ten whole, not-severed toes. "Maybe her toe was too little, they needed a bigger toe."
Similarly, Huddleston had a stunt double for the scene in which John Goodman throws him to the ground. Apparently, Goodman had a bit of fun throwing the double around. "I don't recall him having any remorse. We all had a lot of laughs," Huddleston told HuffPost.
3. The dancers The Dude floats underneath played a prank on Bridges by stuffing wigs between their legs.
Preston told HuffPost that several of the dancers from the dream sequence -- soundtracked by "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" -- have stopped by the store, and all told of a joke they played on Bridges.
"They played a prank on Jeff," explained Preston. "There's a scene where he's floating through their legs. And if you watch closely you can see his eyes open really wide, as he's floating through their legs. That's a real reaction"
The dancers knew Bridges was going to be traveling through their legs and looking up their dresses so, as Preston was told, "before they did the scene, they apparently got a bunch of wigs and they cut all the hair off the wigs and stuffed it in their panties, so it would look like really, you know, hairy."
"Apparently, when Jeff was floating through their legs, he got an eyeful," Preston said.
4. The fake adult movie was captured on an actual porn set.
Maude shows The Dude a brief porn video starring Bunny to prove the missing wife had not been taking the relationship seriously with Maude's father. To make things more realistic, a real porn star, Asia Carrera, was hired to appear alongside Tara Reid on a real porn set.
"The cut in the movie for the porn scene was exactly how it was written," Reid explained. "We actually shot it in a porn set it was kinda crazy but it definitely helped you stay into that character."
Talking about the nymphomaniac aspect of her character, Reid spoke of the famous toe scene at the pool with Bridges (where her own feet were used) and how the accompanying line -- "I'll suck your cock for a thousand dollars" -- came about.
"I remember that was my most classic line of my whole career," said Reid. "The Coen brothers just are so cool and they said to make it flirty, but serious. Like she always talks this way to get a rise out of people and she loved it."
5. Bridges has a tradition of taking candid pictures of the cast on set and was honored with a photography award.
In 2013, the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Awards dinner honored Bridges with a special recognition for his various on set photographs he has taken using a wide, landscape film format over the years.
Many of these behind-the-scenes photographs can be found in his 2006 book, Pictures.
"Jeff Bridges is also an amazing photographer and he made all the actors do a smiley face and then one sad one," Reid said when talking about the actor. "He's been doing it for years, so I'm sure he must have a huge collection."
Bonus: "It's a religion, it's a film, it's got it's own store, it's got its own festival. Who would have thought?"
"The Big Lebowski" was initially considered a box office failure of sorts, especially following the Coen brothers previous effort, "Fargo."
"My greatest surprise would probably have been the fact that it was a box office flop when it opened," Huddleston said. "Remember, it followed 'Fargo's' Oscar win the previous year and all of us had such great hopes for it's success out of the gate. But, like my experience with 'Blazing Saddles' 40 years ago, 'The Big Lebowski' didn't find its audience until some time later when it moved into a cult following."
According to Preston, the movie isn't just a cult hit: "It's a religion, it's a film, it's got its own store, it's got its own festival. Who would have thought?"
"It seems like a dumb Cheech and Chong movie at the first glance, but then you go back and it's a lot more than that," Preston told The Huffington Post. As the proprietor of the only known store devoted entirely to the movie about The Dude, he knows a lot more about the cult classic than the average person.
To learn more about about The Dude, the movie and the legend, HuffPost Entertainment also spoke with David Huddleston, who played the titular character, and Tara Reid, his onscreen wife, Bunny.
1. Jeff Bridges somehow never spilled his White Russian while being thrown repeatedly into the limo.
"Hey, careful man! There's a beverage here," The Dude yells as Mr. Lebowski's driver shoves in one of the movie's most memorable scenes. The door is opened and The Dude is thrown into the backseat, still trying to balance his White Russian.
Somehow, Bridges pulled it off.
Huddleston claimed that "there were not many takes" of the limo scene, but Bridges was able to keep the beverage in the glass throughout each.
There was "no spilling of White Russians," Huddleston said.
2. Tara Reid had a toe double.
Various people involved with "The Big Lebowski" have visited Preston's store over the years, including Tara Reid's toe double, Laura Burnett.
Preston, like most fans, was completely unaware Reid had a toe double in the movie. (Because, why would she?) "I'm not quite sure why," said Preston, referring to the scene where Bunny is seen driving with ten whole, not-severed toes. "Maybe her toe was too little, they needed a bigger toe."
Similarly, Huddleston had a stunt double for the scene in which John Goodman throws him to the ground. Apparently, Goodman had a bit of fun throwing the double around. "I don't recall him having any remorse. We all had a lot of laughs," Huddleston told HuffPost.
3. The dancers The Dude floats underneath played a prank on Bridges by stuffing wigs between their legs.
Preston told HuffPost that several of the dancers from the dream sequence -- soundtracked by "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" -- have stopped by the store, and all told of a joke they played on Bridges.
"They played a prank on Jeff," explained Preston. "There's a scene where he's floating through their legs. And if you watch closely you can see his eyes open really wide, as he's floating through their legs. That's a real reaction"
The dancers knew Bridges was going to be traveling through their legs and looking up their dresses so, as Preston was told, "before they did the scene, they apparently got a bunch of wigs and they cut all the hair off the wigs and stuffed it in their panties, so it would look like really, you know, hairy."
"Apparently, when Jeff was floating through their legs, he got an eyeful," Preston said.
4. The fake adult movie was captured on an actual porn set.
Maude shows The Dude a brief porn video starring Bunny to prove the missing wife had not been taking the relationship seriously with Maude's father. To make things more realistic, a real porn star, Asia Carrera, was hired to appear alongside Tara Reid on a real porn set.
"The cut in the movie for the porn scene was exactly how it was written," Reid explained. "We actually shot it in a porn set it was kinda crazy but it definitely helped you stay into that character."
Talking about the nymphomaniac aspect of her character, Reid spoke of the famous toe scene at the pool with Bridges (where her own feet were used) and how the accompanying line -- "I'll suck your cock for a thousand dollars" -- came about.
"I remember that was my most classic line of my whole career," said Reid. "The Coen brothers just are so cool and they said to make it flirty, but serious. Like she always talks this way to get a rise out of people and she loved it."
5. Bridges has a tradition of taking candid pictures of the cast on set and was honored with a photography award.
In 2013, the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Awards dinner honored Bridges with a special recognition for his various on set photographs he has taken using a wide, landscape film format over the years.
Many of these behind-the-scenes photographs can be found in his 2006 book, Pictures.
"Jeff Bridges is also an amazing photographer and he made all the actors do a smiley face and then one sad one," Reid said when talking about the actor. "He's been doing it for years, so I'm sure he must have a huge collection."
Bonus: "It's a religion, it's a film, it's got it's own store, it's got its own festival. Who would have thought?"
"The Big Lebowski" was initially considered a box office failure of sorts, especially following the Coen brothers previous effort, "Fargo."
"My greatest surprise would probably have been the fact that it was a box office flop when it opened," Huddleston said. "Remember, it followed 'Fargo's' Oscar win the previous year and all of us had such great hopes for it's success out of the gate. But, like my experience with 'Blazing Saddles' 40 years ago, 'The Big Lebowski' didn't find its audience until some time later when it moved into a cult following."
According to Preston, the movie isn't just a cult hit: "It's a religion, it's a film, it's got its own store, it's got its own festival. Who would have thought?"
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Conservatives Upset At Pope's 'Green Agenda'
NEW YORK (RNS) The Vatican is set to host a major conference on climate change this month that will feature leading researchers on global warming and an opening address by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The meeting, which the Vatican detailed on its website late Tuesday (April 14), is another sign of Pope Francis’ “green agenda” and another potential red flag for conservatives who are already alarmed over an expected papal teaching document on the environment that is scheduled for release this summer.
The one-day summit on April 28 will also include participants from major world religions and aims to “elevate the debate on the moral dimensions of protecting the environment in advance of the papal encyclical,” as the papal document is known.
Another goal, says a statement on a Vatican website, is to highlight “the intrinsic connection between respect for the environment and respect for people — especially the poor, the excluded, victims of human trafficking and modern slavery, children, and future generations.”
In addition to the keynote speech by Ban, participants will hear from Jeffrey Sachs, a prominent American economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Church sources said that leading scientists in the climate change field will also take part.
Also addressing the conference will be Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, a top Vatican official who is leading the drafting process of Francis’ encyclical on the environment, which is expected to come out in June or July.
An encyclical is one of the most authoritative documents a pope can issue, and church sources say this one has been the focus of intense lobbying by Catholics, especially American conservatives who believe that climate change is being overhyped or that human activity is not a factor and that remedies may do more harm than good.
Others simply believe that Francis — who signaled that environmental protection would be a hallmark of his papacy when he took the name of the unofficial patron saint of ecology, Francis of Assisi — should not be weighing in on issues that touch on technical and scientific matters that some contend are still debatable.
Francis “is an ideologue and a meddlesome egoist,” Maureen Mullarkey wrote in an especially trenchant column at the conservative journal First Things about what she called the pope’s’ “premature, intemperate policy endorsements” on the environment.
Other Catholic conservatives have delivered similar critiques, while some, such as author George Weigel and Princeton political philosopher Robert George, have sought to downplay the import of any statements the pope might make on the environment.
The Vatican’s Council for Justice and Peace, which is led by Turkson and is spearheading the drafting of the encyclical, has been a special focus of lobbying by climate change skeptics who hope to influence the final version, church sources say.
Liberals and environmentalists, as well as the Obama administration, have embraced the pontiff’s “green” agenda and are hoping Francis will give support to their side.
Francis himself does not appear to have heeded the critics so far.
Though his two immediate predecessors, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, also spoke out strongly on the Christian duty to protect the environment, Francis has done so more frequently and forcefully, and at a time when climate change has become a hot-button political issue.
“(I)t is man who has slapped nature in the face,” Francis told reporters in January. “We have in a sense taken over nature,” he said, adding that he believed global warming is “mostly” the result of human activity. In February, he said “a Christian who does not protect creation … is a Christian who does not care about the work of God.”
Francis has also expressed disappointment in the last round of international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gases, calling them “nothing much.” He has said he wants his encyclical to come out in time to influence the next round, set for Paris in November.
This month’s Vatican summit on the environment appears to be another effort to try to press the pope’s agenda, and it’s a topic that’s likely to remain on the front burner as Francis prepares to make his first U.S. visit in September, which will include an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
The meeting, which the Vatican detailed on its website late Tuesday (April 14), is another sign of Pope Francis’ “green agenda” and another potential red flag for conservatives who are already alarmed over an expected papal teaching document on the environment that is scheduled for release this summer.
The one-day summit on April 28 will also include participants from major world religions and aims to “elevate the debate on the moral dimensions of protecting the environment in advance of the papal encyclical,” as the papal document is known.
Another goal, says a statement on a Vatican website, is to highlight “the intrinsic connection between respect for the environment and respect for people — especially the poor, the excluded, victims of human trafficking and modern slavery, children, and future generations.”
In addition to the keynote speech by Ban, participants will hear from Jeffrey Sachs, a prominent American economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Church sources said that leading scientists in the climate change field will also take part.
Also addressing the conference will be Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, a top Vatican official who is leading the drafting process of Francis’ encyclical on the environment, which is expected to come out in June or July.
An encyclical is one of the most authoritative documents a pope can issue, and church sources say this one has been the focus of intense lobbying by Catholics, especially American conservatives who believe that climate change is being overhyped or that human activity is not a factor and that remedies may do more harm than good.
Others simply believe that Francis — who signaled that environmental protection would be a hallmark of his papacy when he took the name of the unofficial patron saint of ecology, Francis of Assisi — should not be weighing in on issues that touch on technical and scientific matters that some contend are still debatable.
Francis “is an ideologue and a meddlesome egoist,” Maureen Mullarkey wrote in an especially trenchant column at the conservative journal First Things about what she called the pope’s’ “premature, intemperate policy endorsements” on the environment.
Other Catholic conservatives have delivered similar critiques, while some, such as author George Weigel and Princeton political philosopher Robert George, have sought to downplay the import of any statements the pope might make on the environment.
The Vatican’s Council for Justice and Peace, which is led by Turkson and is spearheading the drafting of the encyclical, has been a special focus of lobbying by climate change skeptics who hope to influence the final version, church sources say.
Liberals and environmentalists, as well as the Obama administration, have embraced the pontiff’s “green” agenda and are hoping Francis will give support to their side.
Francis himself does not appear to have heeded the critics so far.
Though his two immediate predecessors, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, also spoke out strongly on the Christian duty to protect the environment, Francis has done so more frequently and forcefully, and at a time when climate change has become a hot-button political issue.
“(I)t is man who has slapped nature in the face,” Francis told reporters in January. “We have in a sense taken over nature,” he said, adding that he believed global warming is “mostly” the result of human activity. In February, he said “a Christian who does not protect creation … is a Christian who does not care about the work of God.”
Francis has also expressed disappointment in the last round of international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gases, calling them “nothing much.” He has said he wants his encyclical to come out in time to influence the next round, set for Paris in November.
This month’s Vatican summit on the environment appears to be another effort to try to press the pope’s agenda, and it’s a topic that’s likely to remain on the front burner as Francis prepares to make his first U.S. visit in September, which will include an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Artificial Photosynthesis Advance Hailed As Major Breakthrough
In what's being called a win-win for the environment and the production of renewable energy, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have achieved a major breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis.
The scientists have created a system that can capture carbon dioxide emissions before they're released into the atmosphere and convert it into fuels, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and other valuable products.
Too much gas. Carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas produced by the burning of fossil fuels and has been identified as a major contributor to rising global temperatures.
"Our system has the potential to fundamentally change the chemical and oil industry in that we can produce chemicals and fuels in a totally renewable way, rather than extracting them from deep below the ground," Dr. Peidong Yang, a chemist with the materials sciences division at Berkeley Lab and one of the researchers behind the breakthrough, said in a written statement.
(Story continues below photo.)
The new artificial photosynthesis system was developed by scientists including Peidong Yang (left), Christopher Chang, and Michelle Chang.
Scientists around the world have spent decades looking for a practical way to mimic photosynthesis. That's the process in which green plants use energy from sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates. But it's proven to be a difficult technical challenge.
"The real issue comes from the balance of energy efficiency, cost, and stability, Dr. Amanda J. Morris, assistant professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and an expert in sustainable energy, told The Huffington Post in an email. "Electrons, which are required, are very expensive (either produced from gasoline, oil, coal or solar) and so, the process must be very efficient in terms of electron and energy balances."
Morris, who was not involved in the new research, called it "important," adding that it would guide future efforts in the field.
Biology-nanotechnology mash-up. The heart of the new system is an array of minute silicon and titanium oxide wires studded with Sporomusa ovata bacteria. The "nanowires" capture light energy and deliver it the bacteria, which convert carbon dioxide in the air into acetate (a key building block for the more complex organic molecules in fuels, biodegradable plastics, and pharmaceuticals).
(Story continues below diagram--click to enlarge.)
"We are currently working on our second-generation system, which has a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 3 percent," Yang said in the statement. "Once we can reach a conversion efficiency of 10 percent in a cost-effective manner, the technology should be commercially viable."
That could take awhile. Morris told HuffPost Science that "a device based on this technology will not hit the market anytime soon."
A paper describing the breakthrough was published online April 7, 2015 in the journal Nano Letters.
The scientists have created a system that can capture carbon dioxide emissions before they're released into the atmosphere and convert it into fuels, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and other valuable products.
Too much gas. Carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas produced by the burning of fossil fuels and has been identified as a major contributor to rising global temperatures.
"Our system has the potential to fundamentally change the chemical and oil industry in that we can produce chemicals and fuels in a totally renewable way, rather than extracting them from deep below the ground," Dr. Peidong Yang, a chemist with the materials sciences division at Berkeley Lab and one of the researchers behind the breakthrough, said in a written statement.
(Story continues below photo.)
The new artificial photosynthesis system was developed by scientists including Peidong Yang (left), Christopher Chang, and Michelle Chang.
Scientists around the world have spent decades looking for a practical way to mimic photosynthesis. That's the process in which green plants use energy from sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates. But it's proven to be a difficult technical challenge.
"The real issue comes from the balance of energy efficiency, cost, and stability, Dr. Amanda J. Morris, assistant professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and an expert in sustainable energy, told The Huffington Post in an email. "Electrons, which are required, are very expensive (either produced from gasoline, oil, coal or solar) and so, the process must be very efficient in terms of electron and energy balances."
Morris, who was not involved in the new research, called it "important," adding that it would guide future efforts in the field.
Biology-nanotechnology mash-up. The heart of the new system is an array of minute silicon and titanium oxide wires studded with Sporomusa ovata bacteria. The "nanowires" capture light energy and deliver it the bacteria, which convert carbon dioxide in the air into acetate (a key building block for the more complex organic molecules in fuels, biodegradable plastics, and pharmaceuticals).
(Story continues below diagram--click to enlarge.)
"We are currently working on our second-generation system, which has a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 3 percent," Yang said in the statement. "Once we can reach a conversion efficiency of 10 percent in a cost-effective manner, the technology should be commercially viable."
That could take awhile. Morris told HuffPost Science that "a device based on this technology will not hit the market anytime soon."
A paper describing the breakthrough was published online April 7, 2015 in the journal Nano Letters.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Handcuffed Man Steals A Police Car: Cops
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A handcuffed man who stole a police car in Alabama has been arrested again.
WIAT-TV (http://bit.ly/1JlRyji ) reports Birmingham officers got a call of a burglary in progress. Officers arrested the suspect Sunday and put him in handcuffs with his hands behind his back and placed him in the back of a police car.
Officer Scott Thurmond says the suspect managed to get his handcuffs in front of him and drive away.
Police say the unidentified suspect drove less than a mile before ditching the vehicle. Officers were able to take him back into custody later in the day. He was still in the handcuffs.
___
Information from: WIAT-TV, http://www.wiat.com/
WIAT-TV (http://bit.ly/1JlRyji ) reports Birmingham officers got a call of a burglary in progress. Officers arrested the suspect Sunday and put him in handcuffs with his hands behind his back and placed him in the back of a police car.
Officer Scott Thurmond says the suspect managed to get his handcuffs in front of him and drive away.
Police say the unidentified suspect drove less than a mile before ditching the vehicle. Officers were able to take him back into custody later in the day. He was still in the handcuffs.
___
Information from: WIAT-TV, http://www.wiat.com/
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9 Amazing Ways Rosewater Can Change Your Beauty Routine
At the first sign of the sun each year, we get totally amped to surround ourselves with all floral everything. And, while sunflowers and daisies are great, it's all about the rose for beauty purposes. The strong-smelling bloom is perfect in a perfume or body lotion, but a simple bottle of rosewater can do so much more.
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Michael Imperioli Interprets Tony's Fate In The Heavily Debated Finale Of 'The Sopranos'
Nearly eight years after it went off the air, we're still talking about the final scene of "The Sopranos." Series creator David Chase has said the ending "raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer," but fans still want to know whether or not the cut-to-black final scene represents the death of Tony Soprano.
The conversation was renewed when Chase recently offered a shot-by-shot analysis of the scene in an interview with the Director's Guild of America, so HuffPost Live got an opinion from Michael Imperioli, aka Christopher Moltisanti, during a conversation about his new film "The Wannabe."
Imperioli told host Ricky Camilleri that he watched the finale as it aired live in 2007 along with fellow "Sopranos" actors James Gandolfini, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, John Ventimiglia and Arthur Nascarella, some of whom were taken aback by the abrupt ending. Imperioli said:
Imperioli also offered his own answer on whether or not Tony bit the dust in the finale. Check out his take in the video above, and click here for the full HuffPost Live conversation with the team behind "The Wannabe."
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before.
The conversation was renewed when Chase recently offered a shot-by-shot analysis of the scene in an interview with the Director's Guild of America, so HuffPost Live got an opinion from Michael Imperioli, aka Christopher Moltisanti, during a conversation about his new film "The Wannabe."
Imperioli told host Ricky Camilleri that he watched the finale as it aired live in 2007 along with fellow "Sopranos" actors James Gandolfini, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, John Ventimiglia and Arthur Nascarella, some of whom were taken aback by the abrupt ending. Imperioli said:
We were all just, like, speechless. First of all, you hear the music and you know that not only is this the end of the show, but it's the end of all of us being together for all these years. So that's hitting you emotionally and personally. But some of the guys were not so happy with it. ... They were a little bit surprised. They were expecting a more [definitive ending]. I always thought it was brilliant.
Imperioli also offered his own answer on whether or not Tony bit the dust in the finale. Check out his take in the video above, and click here for the full HuffPost Live conversation with the team behind "The Wannabe."
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Greece's Extreme-Right Leader Of The Golden Dawn Party Goes On Trial
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Leaders of Greece's third-largest political party, the extreme right Golden Dawn, went on trial Monday on charges of operating as a criminal organization that allegedly carried out a campaign of violence against immigrants and left-wing opponents.
Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and senior officials are among 69 defendants in the case closely watched by a country reeling from financial hardship and political uncertainty. Currently under house arrest, Michaloliakos was not present at the start of the trial, which is expected to last more than a year.
The trial was adjourned until May 7 to allow one of the defendants to receive court-appointed representation.
First appearing as a tiny neo-Nazi organization in the mid-1980s, Golden Dawn transformed from a marginal far-right group into a popular political party during the financial crisis that started in 2009.
It won 6.28 percent of the vote in a general election three months ago, despite having state campaign funding axed.
The trial is being held inside Korydallos maximum-security prison near Athens, where nearby schools and municipal services were closed Monday.
Police cordoned off streets around the jail, about 10 kilometers (six miles) west of the capital, while several anti-Golden Dawn rallies attended by more than a thousand protesters remained peaceful.
"The town is like a fortress ... The trial should not take place here," Korydallos mayor Stavros Kasimatis said.
Michaloliakos, a 57-year-old anti-immigrant firebrand, and 12 other members of parliament each face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Politicians and legal experts are divided over whether convictions could lead to the party being outlawed, with most opposing a ban.
Although Greek authorities don't keep official records on racist violence, human rights groups say a surge of attacks has occurred since 2010, typically against dark-skinned immigrants in Athens and frequently resulting in serious injury. Victims have reported that attackers — often in groups and using brass knuckles and baseball bats — have often identified themselves as Golden Dawn supporters.
"Golden Dawn is not being prosecuted for its ideology but its criminal activity. ... This is an important day for the country," said Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis, who was summoned to the trial as a prosecution witness.
The party denies involvement in attacks, and claims political opponents conspired against it after Golden Dawn exceeded 10 percent in opinion polls in 2013.
"They decided to put us in handcuffs ... but in the face of all the mudslinging, Golden Dawn is the third strongest party in the country whether some people like it or not," Michaloliakos said after his release from prison last month, having served the maximum 18 months permitted under Greek law in pre-trial detention.
The crackdown was launched against Golden Dawn in 2013 after Greek rap singer Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed to death, allegedly by a party volunteer who was arrested after the street attack.
Fyssas' mother, Magda Fyssa, was present in court Monday, appearing shaken and helped by relatives as she arrived.
___
Council of Europe report on racist violence in Greece http://goo.gl/yLo3zy
Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and senior officials are among 69 defendants in the case closely watched by a country reeling from financial hardship and political uncertainty. Currently under house arrest, Michaloliakos was not present at the start of the trial, which is expected to last more than a year.
The trial was adjourned until May 7 to allow one of the defendants to receive court-appointed representation.
First appearing as a tiny neo-Nazi organization in the mid-1980s, Golden Dawn transformed from a marginal far-right group into a popular political party during the financial crisis that started in 2009.
It won 6.28 percent of the vote in a general election three months ago, despite having state campaign funding axed.
The trial is being held inside Korydallos maximum-security prison near Athens, where nearby schools and municipal services were closed Monday.
Police cordoned off streets around the jail, about 10 kilometers (six miles) west of the capital, while several anti-Golden Dawn rallies attended by more than a thousand protesters remained peaceful.
"The town is like a fortress ... The trial should not take place here," Korydallos mayor Stavros Kasimatis said.
Michaloliakos, a 57-year-old anti-immigrant firebrand, and 12 other members of parliament each face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Politicians and legal experts are divided over whether convictions could lead to the party being outlawed, with most opposing a ban.
Although Greek authorities don't keep official records on racist violence, human rights groups say a surge of attacks has occurred since 2010, typically against dark-skinned immigrants in Athens and frequently resulting in serious injury. Victims have reported that attackers — often in groups and using brass knuckles and baseball bats — have often identified themselves as Golden Dawn supporters.
"Golden Dawn is not being prosecuted for its ideology but its criminal activity. ... This is an important day for the country," said Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis, who was summoned to the trial as a prosecution witness.
The party denies involvement in attacks, and claims political opponents conspired against it after Golden Dawn exceeded 10 percent in opinion polls in 2013.
"They decided to put us in handcuffs ... but in the face of all the mudslinging, Golden Dawn is the third strongest party in the country whether some people like it or not," Michaloliakos said after his release from prison last month, having served the maximum 18 months permitted under Greek law in pre-trial detention.
The crackdown was launched against Golden Dawn in 2013 after Greek rap singer Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed to death, allegedly by a party volunteer who was arrested after the street attack.
Fyssas' mother, Magda Fyssa, was present in court Monday, appearing shaken and helped by relatives as she arrived.
___
Council of Europe report on racist violence in Greece http://goo.gl/yLo3zy
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Roseanne Blasts America's 'Bullsh*t War' On Abortion
Roseanne Barr's new documentary "Roseanne For President!" documents her 2012 run for the Oval Office, and even though she wasn't successful, the comedian is still committed to ending the "bullshit war" on abortion and the way Americans discuss a woman's right to choose.
"It pisses me off when they say pro-choice and they only mean abortion," Roseanne told HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps on Friday. "That pisses me off because you got a lot more choices than whether you're going to have an abortion or not. But I do think that's between a woman and her doctor, and it's nobody's goddamn business."
Roseanne added that late-term abortions do "bother" her, but she blames the bureaucracy associated with abortion for sometimes delaying the procedure.
"You have to go through so much red tape to get an abortion, when you decide you want one before 12 weeks," she said. "You've got to go through so much red tape, and it's all bullshit, so it's like they force you to have [a late-term abortion] because they're getting paid the whole goddamn time."
She also takes issue with the unnecessary complexity of abortion-related legislation, which she said is impossible to understand for many of the women whom it impacts most.
"Here's the real trick of it: People should know what they're voting for, and a lot of times they don't because a lot of people don't understand how a bill ... is worded because it's all bullshit that lawyers wrote anyway," Roseanne said.
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with Roseanne Barr and "Roseanne For President!" director Eric Weinrib here.
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before.
"It pisses me off when they say pro-choice and they only mean abortion," Roseanne told HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps on Friday. "That pisses me off because you got a lot more choices than whether you're going to have an abortion or not. But I do think that's between a woman and her doctor, and it's nobody's goddamn business."
Roseanne added that late-term abortions do "bother" her, but she blames the bureaucracy associated with abortion for sometimes delaying the procedure.
"You have to go through so much red tape to get an abortion, when you decide you want one before 12 weeks," she said. "You've got to go through so much red tape, and it's all bullshit, so it's like they force you to have [a late-term abortion] because they're getting paid the whole goddamn time."
She also takes issue with the unnecessary complexity of abortion-related legislation, which she said is impossible to understand for many of the women whom it impacts most.
"Here's the real trick of it: People should know what they're voting for, and a lot of times they don't because a lot of people don't understand how a bill ... is worded because it's all bullshit that lawyers wrote anyway," Roseanne said.
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with Roseanne Barr and "Roseanne For President!" director Eric Weinrib here.
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before.
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Husband Fatally Shoots Wife, Another Man, Self At Motel
YORK, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a husband fatally shot his wife and another man before killing himself in a central Pennsylvania motel room.
The York County Coroner's Office says 35-year-old Donnell Graham shot his wife and another man Sunday at the Quality Inn in Springettsbury Township before fatally shooting himself in the head.
The coroner's office says 33-year-old Shaquana Graham was shot in the head and 25-year-old Kristopher Pittman was shot in the chest.
The Grahams were from nearby York. Pittman was from Baltimore, Maryland.
Quality Inn worker Darryl Schock said someone checked into the room shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday.
He says at 9 a.m., the person next door reported hearing eight gunshots - first a series of five gunshots, a short break and then three more gunshots before silence.
The York County Coroner's Office says 35-year-old Donnell Graham shot his wife and another man Sunday at the Quality Inn in Springettsbury Township before fatally shooting himself in the head.
The coroner's office says 33-year-old Shaquana Graham was shot in the head and 25-year-old Kristopher Pittman was shot in the chest.
The Grahams were from nearby York. Pittman was from Baltimore, Maryland.
Quality Inn worker Darryl Schock said someone checked into the room shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday.
He says at 9 a.m., the person next door reported hearing eight gunshots - first a series of five gunshots, a short break and then three more gunshots before silence.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
'Conan' Writer Slams Late-Night Comedy On Twitter
A member of Conan O'Brien's writing staff, Andrés du Bouchet, slammed the state of late-night comedy on Twitter last week, calling O'Brien's competition "Prom King Comedy." "Comedy in 2015 needs a severe motherfucking shakeup," du Bouchet, who has worked as a comedy writer for seven years, wrote. "No celebrities, no parodies, no pranks, no mash-ups or hashtag wars. I’m fat." Many of the tweets have since been deleted, but Uproxx saved some of them in screenshots and the text of the tweets is recreated below:
Clearly du Bouchet is referencing the lip sync battles, pranks and celebrity games employed by "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and, most recently, "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to win what's now called "the morning after." (For the record: Fallon, at the time of publishing, has over 7 million YouTube subscribers, Kimmel has 5.7 million and Conan has just over 2.6 million.) O'Brien, though, tweeted a response to du Bouchet, which seemed to support his fellow late-night hosts, viral videos and all. Team Coco did not return our immediate request for comment.
Comedy in 2015 needs a severe motherfucking shakeup. No celebrities, no parodies, no pranks, no mash-ups or hashtag wars. I’m fat.
and shove your lip-synching up your ass.
Prom King Comedy. That’s what I call all this shit. You’ve let the popular kids appropriate the very art form that helped you deal. Fuck.
None of the funniest stuff ever involved celebrity cameos.
Once again I’m a bonehead for tweeting as a fan of comedy instead of as a guy who earns a living doing it.
@guybranum thanks but now comes the inevitable dressing down at work for criticizing other talk shows!
add games and lip synching and nostalgia and karaoke to this list.
Sorry for being a bloviating elitist windbag last night. I know tons of talented people are making the stuff I enjoy shitting all over.
Clearly du Bouchet is referencing the lip sync battles, pranks and celebrity games employed by "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and, most recently, "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to win what's now called "the morning after." (For the record: Fallon, at the time of publishing, has over 7 million YouTube subscribers, Kimmel has 5.7 million and Conan has just over 2.6 million.) O'Brien, though, tweeted a response to du Bouchet, which seemed to support his fellow late-night hosts, viral videos and all. Team Coco did not return our immediate request for comment.
I wish one of my writers would focus on making my show funnier instead of tweeting stupid things about the state of late night comedy.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) April 19, 2015
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Daily Meditation: A Sense Of Belonging
We all need help maintaining our personal spiritual practice. We hope that these Daily Meditations, prayers and mindful awareness exercises can be part of bringing spirituality alive in your life.
Today's meditation features a reflection on "belonging and coming home" by philosopher and poet David Whyte. "We are the one part of creation that knows what it's like to live in exile," he says. Thus the ability to return home is one of the "great human endeavors."
Today's meditation features a reflection on "belonging and coming home" by philosopher and poet David Whyte. "We are the one part of creation that knows what it's like to live in exile," he says. Thus the ability to return home is one of the "great human endeavors."
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Teen Accused Of Convincing Her Soldier Boyfriend To Kill Her Mom Will Stay In Adult Jail
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A judge has ruled that an eighth-grade girl accused of conspiring with her soldier boyfriend by text message to have her mother killed will remain in adult jail while awaiting trial.
Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos on Friday denied a defense petition to return 14-year-old Jamie Silvonek to the juvenile facility where she was initially sent after the body of 54-year-old Cheryl Silvonek was discovered last month, according to both the prosecutor and defense attorney.
District Attorney Jim Martin had opposed the petition on behalf of the teenager, who is charged as an adult with homicide and criminal conspiracy. Her boyfriend, Caleb Barnes, 20, who is from El Paso, Texas, but was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, is charged with homicide.
Cheryl Silvonek's body was found with stab wounds in a shallow grave about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and her vehicle partially submerged in a pond a few miles from the family home.
Authorities said Barnes and the teenager met in October, when she was 13, but she told him she was 17. The teen's mother found out about their relationship in early March and ordered them to end it. A day later, the teen told Barnes in a text, "I want her gone," police said.
Defense attorney John Waldron, however, maintains that the teenager must have been under "some type of duress or coercion," citing the age difference. He also said she wept and told him how much she missed her mother and that she feared for her life and that of her father.
County officials say Jamie Silvonek in the women's housing unit, away from older inmates.
Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos on Friday denied a defense petition to return 14-year-old Jamie Silvonek to the juvenile facility where she was initially sent after the body of 54-year-old Cheryl Silvonek was discovered last month, according to both the prosecutor and defense attorney.
District Attorney Jim Martin had opposed the petition on behalf of the teenager, who is charged as an adult with homicide and criminal conspiracy. Her boyfriend, Caleb Barnes, 20, who is from El Paso, Texas, but was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, is charged with homicide.
Cheryl Silvonek's body was found with stab wounds in a shallow grave about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and her vehicle partially submerged in a pond a few miles from the family home.
Authorities said Barnes and the teenager met in October, when she was 13, but she told him she was 17. The teen's mother found out about their relationship in early March and ordered them to end it. A day later, the teen told Barnes in a text, "I want her gone," police said.
Defense attorney John Waldron, however, maintains that the teenager must have been under "some type of duress or coercion," citing the age difference. He also said she wept and told him how much she missed her mother and that she feared for her life and that of her father.
County officials say Jamie Silvonek in the women's housing unit, away from older inmates.
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Rogue Bison On The Loose In Arkansas
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — Two buffaloes are on the run in a central Arkansas city after authorities failed to round up all of an escaped herd.
Hot Springs Cpl. Sonia Luzader said Friday that police know the general location of the 2,000-pound animals but that no sightings were reported overnight. Six buffaloes escaped from a farm and spent Thursday roaming neighborhoods and avoiding sheriff's deputies, officers and volunteers.
One animal was hit by a car and returned to the farm. Luzader says three that were tranquilized Thursday evening were left in a pasture to help attract the others.
No human injuries were reported in the city of 35,000 people, known as former President Bill Clinton's boyhood home.
Hot Springs is a popular tourist spot with natural hot springs, a national park and horse track.
Hot Springs Cpl. Sonia Luzader said Friday that police know the general location of the 2,000-pound animals but that no sightings were reported overnight. Six buffaloes escaped from a farm and spent Thursday roaming neighborhoods and avoiding sheriff's deputies, officers and volunteers.
One animal was hit by a car and returned to the farm. Luzader says three that were tranquilized Thursday evening were left in a pasture to help attract the others.
No human injuries were reported in the city of 35,000 people, known as former President Bill Clinton's boyhood home.
Hot Springs is a popular tourist spot with natural hot springs, a national park and horse track.
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Things I Neglected To Do This Weekend To Instead Watch 'Gilmore Girls'
According to lore, weekends are a great time for adults to accomplish chores. I, an adult, have often been seduced by this tale, beginning each Sunday with a long list of tasks I intend to complete before abandoning said list by 2 p.m. to watch "Gilmore Girls." (Thank you, Netflix.)
But with the changing seasons' reminder that time does, in fact, continue to pass -- whether or not I’ve unpacked the bags of housewares my aunt gave me when she moved out of her New Jersey home a month ago -- I set out this past Sunday to attack my to-do list with particular resolve. Bristling with the knowledge that the sooner I complete these basic tasks, the sooner my real life could begin, I pulled on my chores leggings and vowed to start after one real quick episode of "Gilmore Girls."
Then, I watched eight hours of other people doing stuff, and ate cheese.
Mild spoilers for "Gilmore Girls" Season 5 and Season 6 below.
Hour 1: Season 5, Episode 21: "Blame Booze and Melville"
What they did: Luke defends his offer on a $$ house $$ in the hopes that one day he and Lorelai, two responsible adults who own their own businesses, will live in and populate it with children financially dependent on them for survival.
What I didn't do: Set up an online banking account to pay two months of overdue credit card bills.
Hour 2: Season 5, Episode 22: "A House Is Not A Home"
What they did: Rory engineers an entire new life plan, dropping out of Yale and moving into her grandparents' pool house to begin a time of self-discovery.
What I didn't do: Build the TV stand currently sitting in a box propped against my living room wall. (Rory and Lorelai continue to eat their burgers on my floor.)
Hour 3: Season 6, Episode 1: "New And Improved Lorelai"
What they did: While living with her grandparents, Rory appears for court in an aggressively appropriate outfit, despite the fact that most of her clothing was strewn about Lorelai's house until earlier that day when Emily retrieved it.
What I didn't do: Wash my hair for the first time in six days.
Hour 4: Season 6, Episode 2: "Fight Face"
What they did: Rory works to complete her 300-hour community service sentence, picking up trash on the side of the road for many, many hours.
What I didn't do: Carry a single bag of trash from kitchen to sidewalk curb.
Hour 5: Season 6, Episode 3: "The UnGraduate"
What they did: When Lorelai's dog Paul Anka gets sick after eating chocolate, Luke takes him to the vet and nurses him back to health.
What I didn't do: Reschedule thrice-cancelled dentist appointment on ZocDoc to maintain actual human health.
What I did do: Buy and consume bar of chocolate.
Hour 6: Season 6, Episode 4: "Always a Godmother, Never a God"
What they did: Sookie prepares for the baptisms of her two babies, using the occasion to spin a plot to bring Rory and Lorelai back together.
What I didn't do: Follow own tiredness cues and go to sleep before physical pain set in.
Hour 7: Season 6, Episode 5: "We've Got Magic To Do"
What they did: In the face of a D.A.R party disaster, Rory takes over planning duties and manages to sell out the now stylishly USO-themed event.
What I didn't do: RSVP to friend's birthday party on FB, after second reminder that she needs head count to plan for alcohol.
Hour 8: Season 6, Episode 6: "Welcome to the Dollhouse"
What they did: Rory tells Logan, her functional long-term boyfriend, that she loves him.
What I didn't do: Craft clever text back to dude from party, thus severing all potential for future interaction.
In conclusion: I am a grown-up.
But with the changing seasons' reminder that time does, in fact, continue to pass -- whether or not I’ve unpacked the bags of housewares my aunt gave me when she moved out of her New Jersey home a month ago -- I set out this past Sunday to attack my to-do list with particular resolve. Bristling with the knowledge that the sooner I complete these basic tasks, the sooner my real life could begin, I pulled on my chores leggings and vowed to start after one real quick episode of "Gilmore Girls."
Then, I watched eight hours of other people doing stuff, and ate cheese.
Mild spoilers for "Gilmore Girls" Season 5 and Season 6 below.
Hour 1: Season 5, Episode 21: "Blame Booze and Melville"
What they did: Luke defends his offer on a $$ house $$ in the hopes that one day he and Lorelai, two responsible adults who own their own businesses, will live in and populate it with children financially dependent on them for survival.
What I didn't do: Set up an online banking account to pay two months of overdue credit card bills.
Hour 2: Season 5, Episode 22: "A House Is Not A Home"
What they did: Rory engineers an entire new life plan, dropping out of Yale and moving into her grandparents' pool house to begin a time of self-discovery.
What I didn't do: Build the TV stand currently sitting in a box propped against my living room wall. (Rory and Lorelai continue to eat their burgers on my floor.)
Hour 3: Season 6, Episode 1: "New And Improved Lorelai"
What they did: While living with her grandparents, Rory appears for court in an aggressively appropriate outfit, despite the fact that most of her clothing was strewn about Lorelai's house until earlier that day when Emily retrieved it.
What I didn't do: Wash my hair for the first time in six days.
Hour 4: Season 6, Episode 2: "Fight Face"
What they did: Rory works to complete her 300-hour community service sentence, picking up trash on the side of the road for many, many hours.
What I didn't do: Carry a single bag of trash from kitchen to sidewalk curb.
Hour 5: Season 6, Episode 3: "The UnGraduate"
What they did: When Lorelai's dog Paul Anka gets sick after eating chocolate, Luke takes him to the vet and nurses him back to health.
What I didn't do: Reschedule thrice-cancelled dentist appointment on ZocDoc to maintain actual human health.
What I did do: Buy and consume bar of chocolate.
Hour 6: Season 6, Episode 4: "Always a Godmother, Never a God"
What they did: Sookie prepares for the baptisms of her two babies, using the occasion to spin a plot to bring Rory and Lorelai back together.
What I didn't do: Follow own tiredness cues and go to sleep before physical pain set in.
Hour 7: Season 6, Episode 5: "We've Got Magic To Do"
What they did: In the face of a D.A.R party disaster, Rory takes over planning duties and manages to sell out the now stylishly USO-themed event.
What I didn't do: RSVP to friend's birthday party on FB, after second reminder that she needs head count to plan for alcohol.
Hour 8: Season 6, Episode 6: "Welcome to the Dollhouse"
What they did: Rory tells Logan, her functional long-term boyfriend, that she loves him.
What I didn't do: Craft clever text back to dude from party, thus severing all potential for future interaction.
In conclusion: I am a grown-up.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Rick Scott's Obamacare Debacle Explored
Florida's GOP governor is suing the Obama administration to get his hands on some sweet non-"Obamacare" money
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The Psychology (And Philosophy) Of 'No Regrets'
From 2012 to 2014, it seemed America’s mantra had nothing to do with any sort of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” mumbo jumbo, or even “liberty and justice for all.” For two years, American stood for something simpler: YOLO. Born around 2004 and short for “you only live once,” YOLO is the late capitalist predecessor of carpe diem, the rallying cry of a Millennial culture tired and frustrated with burdens of the economic crisis and the constant nagging of doddering New York Times op-ed columns. While the sentiment may be admirable, the term has been misused and overwrought. YOLO has essentially become the over-used watchword for every toxic manifestation of masculinity looking to throw off the crushing yoke of personal responsibility. But, at its core, YOLO is also the current manifestation of a fundamental human sentiment: I want to live my life without regret.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
'Autism In Love' Shows How Complex Romance Really Is
A young man named Lenny lays in bed playing video games. He hasn’t been feeling as happy as usual lately, so his mom comes upstairs to check on him. The source of his woes, he explains, is that he wants a girlfriend, and he doesn’t have one. He considers making an online dating profile. On it, he’d list his interests: cars and sports -- basketball in particular.
“Would you put that Comic-Con stuff on there?” his mom asks.
“No,” he asserts. “I just wouldn’t.”
According to Lenny’s mom, he tries hard to fit in -- to seem “normal” -- and in doing so “takes it too far.” “He just needs to be himself,” Lenny’s mom sighs.
Lenny, like one percent of the world population, has autism spectrum disorder. Like others with his condition, it’s difficult for him to process and respond to social cues, but he feels strongly about his family and loved ones. Though the commonly discussed perception of autism is that it inhibits verbal displays of affection, director Matt Fuller aims to show that the disorder is not at odds with the act of love -- a feeling characterized by empathy and understanding. His first feature-length film, “Autism in Love,” premiered last week at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Fuller spoke with The Huffington Post about his ambitions for making the documentary. "I’m always looking for opportunities to tell stories about characters who want something it seems as though they can’t have," he said. "I don’t know the science. I don’t know about the disorder’s origin. I do know about the challenges many adults with autism face. I know that they want to love and be loved. And, I know they are capable of having meaningful, romantic relationships."
Dr. Paul Wang, Head of Medical Research at Autism Speaks, supports Fuller’s message. “Although we think about autism, and people with autism, in terms of a social impairment, the deficit isn't in desire,” he says. “The deficit is in the skills needed to understand other people's social and communicative behavior, and in expressing oneself through language and social behaviors.”
Another couple in Fuller’s film -- Lindsey and Dave -- combat these challenges daily, and have found success in maintaining an eight-year relationship. In a scene that seems to represent the quotidian conversations that make up their home life, Lindsey explains to her boyfriend that she wears necklaces in order to divert attention from more vulnerable parts of herself. Dave marvels, “I did not know that about you.” Then, he abruptly changes the conversation to his interests: “The weather’s on.” She tenses momentarily -- was he even listening to her? -- but carries on with her day, mostly amused by his fixation with watching The Weather Channel.
“People with autism tend to be very direct in their communication. More than other people, they may say what is on their mind, and say it in a very straightforward and blunt manner,” Wang says, adding that conversational hurdles aren’t unique to those on the spectrum. “Dating and romance require all sorts of complex and subtle social skills. Ask any person who has been turned down for a date, or anybody who can't seem to keep a relationship going long-term."
To navigate these social traverses, Lindsey and Dave compare their relationship to more concrete phenomenon. This approach especially appeals to Dave, who’s a scientist. He relates his feelings for Lindsey to the electromagnetic spectrum: visibly intense at first, and subtler, but stronger, as time goes on. He uses a formula that factors in appearance, personality, and kindness to determine an optimal love connection. In the below video, he explains how he makes sense of love by thinking of it as a force: not tangible, but strongly affecting.
“In general, people with autism do often use language in a more concrete way than others,” Wang notes. “People who are seeking and maintaining a romantic relationship exchange non-verbal cues all the time; they choose their language very carefully and they have to understand what the other person is looking for and trying to convey. For many people with autism, all of these tasks are hurdles.”
But, as Fuller’s touching film demonstrates, there’s ample hope for those on the spectrum to build a steady, loving relationship. As Wang puts it, “the most important message is that people with autism both love, and want to be loved.”
Towards the end of the film, Lenny's perked up. While taking a quick break from a new job he enjoys, he lets the cameraman, and the viewer, know that he's ready to head back inside and get back to work. These newfound responsibilities have granted him the confidence to feel comfortable in his own skin -- a promising step towards interpersonal fulfillment.
Watch a clip from "Autism in Love" below.
“Would you put that Comic-Con stuff on there?” his mom asks.
“No,” he asserts. “I just wouldn’t.”
According to Lenny’s mom, he tries hard to fit in -- to seem “normal” -- and in doing so “takes it too far.” “He just needs to be himself,” Lenny’s mom sighs.
Lenny, like one percent of the world population, has autism spectrum disorder. Like others with his condition, it’s difficult for him to process and respond to social cues, but he feels strongly about his family and loved ones. Though the commonly discussed perception of autism is that it inhibits verbal displays of affection, director Matt Fuller aims to show that the disorder is not at odds with the act of love -- a feeling characterized by empathy and understanding. His first feature-length film, “Autism in Love,” premiered last week at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Fuller spoke with The Huffington Post about his ambitions for making the documentary. "I’m always looking for opportunities to tell stories about characters who want something it seems as though they can’t have," he said. "I don’t know the science. I don’t know about the disorder’s origin. I do know about the challenges many adults with autism face. I know that they want to love and be loved. And, I know they are capable of having meaningful, romantic relationships."
Dr. Paul Wang, Head of Medical Research at Autism Speaks, supports Fuller’s message. “Although we think about autism, and people with autism, in terms of a social impairment, the deficit isn't in desire,” he says. “The deficit is in the skills needed to understand other people's social and communicative behavior, and in expressing oneself through language and social behaviors.”
Another couple in Fuller’s film -- Lindsey and Dave -- combat these challenges daily, and have found success in maintaining an eight-year relationship. In a scene that seems to represent the quotidian conversations that make up their home life, Lindsey explains to her boyfriend that she wears necklaces in order to divert attention from more vulnerable parts of herself. Dave marvels, “I did not know that about you.” Then, he abruptly changes the conversation to his interests: “The weather’s on.” She tenses momentarily -- was he even listening to her? -- but carries on with her day, mostly amused by his fixation with watching The Weather Channel.
“People with autism tend to be very direct in their communication. More than other people, they may say what is on their mind, and say it in a very straightforward and blunt manner,” Wang says, adding that conversational hurdles aren’t unique to those on the spectrum. “Dating and romance require all sorts of complex and subtle social skills. Ask any person who has been turned down for a date, or anybody who can't seem to keep a relationship going long-term."
To navigate these social traverses, Lindsey and Dave compare their relationship to more concrete phenomenon. This approach especially appeals to Dave, who’s a scientist. He relates his feelings for Lindsey to the electromagnetic spectrum: visibly intense at first, and subtler, but stronger, as time goes on. He uses a formula that factors in appearance, personality, and kindness to determine an optimal love connection. In the below video, he explains how he makes sense of love by thinking of it as a force: not tangible, but strongly affecting.
“In general, people with autism do often use language in a more concrete way than others,” Wang notes. “People who are seeking and maintaining a romantic relationship exchange non-verbal cues all the time; they choose their language very carefully and they have to understand what the other person is looking for and trying to convey. For many people with autism, all of these tasks are hurdles.”
But, as Fuller’s touching film demonstrates, there’s ample hope for those on the spectrum to build a steady, loving relationship. As Wang puts it, “the most important message is that people with autism both love, and want to be loved.”
Towards the end of the film, Lenny's perked up. While taking a quick break from a new job he enjoys, he lets the cameraman, and the viewer, know that he's ready to head back inside and get back to work. These newfound responsibilities have granted him the confidence to feel comfortable in his own skin -- a promising step towards interpersonal fulfillment.
Watch a clip from "Autism in Love" below.
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