- Violent video games became one of many targets for
grandstanding legislators in the days after the tragic shooting that left 26
dead at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Blaming first-person shooter
games and other violent entertainment choices became an easy and convenient
target for those who don’t want to actually clamp down on the real causes of
gun violence. Now, a state representative whose district includes Newtown is proposing a measure that would (not
really) tackle the issue in a way that (won’t) change anything that matters.
Rep. Debralee Hovey is proposing a 10 percent tax on all video games that are
rated Mature and believes the money the tax would raise should then be used for
mental health services. Hovey’s bill is currently before the legislature's
revenue and bonding committee and one of the games that would be affected by
the tax would be Call of Duty, which was one of Sandy Hook shooter Adam
Lanza's favorites. Games rated Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating
Board receive that denotation because they feature content suitable only for ages
17 and up because of intense violence, blood, gore, sexual content and strong
language. However, the ratings lack teeth because the ESRB is a voluntary
program and if a game maker doesn’t want their newest title slapped with an
unfavorable rating that would keep it out of the hands of would-be gamers, they
can simply elect not to participate. Reaction to Hovey’s proposed tax has been
varied, but there doesn’t seem to be any sense that adding 10 percent to the
cost of violent games would serve as any sort of significant deterrent to those
who would buy them. If anything, it is merely cashing in on those games and
using the extra profits to throw a token amount of money at a much larger
problem………
- NBC has made some questionable decisions with its
primetime schedule this TV season, but the Peacock was clearly hoping that the
return of its song-and-dance drama “Smash” on Tuesday night would boost its
ratings and breathe life into a so-so schedule. The network promoted the show’s
return heavily and did its best to hype up a mid-season debut for a series that
has become a curious target for the phenomenon that is hate-watching a show. Those
efforts appear to have not just failed, but failed miserably now that the smoke
has cleared and the ratings are in. Not only are the numbers nowhere close to
those the show posed in its first season when it premiered with a lead-in from
the reality karaoke series “The Voice” and heavy promotion during NBC’S telecast
of Super Bowl XXVI, they are downright embarrassing. “Smash” returned to a
paltry 4.5 million viewers and a 1.1
rating among adults 18-49. The two-hour season premiere was down a whopping 71
percent from the debut episode last season and a 47 percent step-down from
NBC’s performance average in this time period so far this season. Worse still,
the show ranked as the night’s lowest-rated show on a major broadcast network.
Maybe viewers have been turned off by the near-total creative overhaul of the
Steven Spielberg-produced show, including producers and the cast. “Smash” does
not seem to be the answer to reversing NBC’s ratings slide after Sunday Night
Football concluded for the reason and rival networks have been seizing the
opportunity with their assorted reality series and sitcoms. Even Fox’s
embattled “The Mindy Project” showed some growth Tuesday night, increasing its
viewership by 12 percent and posting its biggest rating in four months………
- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never been bound by the confines of
reality. He seems to have talked himself into believing that his nation’s
nuclear program has no weapons-based purpose, that he’s not a despotic dictator
and that the rest of the world believes the lies he routinely sells. Still,
even for Kook-madinejad, this is a new level of absurdity. During a speech to space
scientists in Tehran, the veteran dictator proclaimed that he is ready and
willing to take the risk of being the first Iranian astronaut sent into space
as part of Iran’s goal of a manned space flight. “I’m ready to be the first
Iranian to sacrifice myself for our country’s scientists,” he proclaimed. Space
tourist Anousheh Ansari has already made history as the first Iranian to make a
journey into space aboard a Soyuz TMA-9 capsule from Baikonur, Kaza and she paid
a reported $20 million for a space station visit. Iran also successfully
launched a monkey into space last Monday, describing the launch a successful
step toward Tehran’s plan to send an astronaut into space within the next five
to six years. The monkey, rocking the moniker “Pishgam,” which means pioneer in
Farsi, reportedly traveled 72 miles before safely returning to Earth. With Imam
Khomeini space center in the final stages of construction and nearing
completion, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Iran will soon send a satellite
into space from the facility. Predictably, state media have not disclosed the
location of the space center, although Iran already has a major satellite
launch complex near Semnan, about (125 miles) east of Tehran, and satellite
monitoring facility located outside Mahdasht, about 40 miles west of the
Iranian capital. Here’s hoping Ahmadinejad receives his chance to go Rocket Man
and gets lost in space…….
- Instagram is downgrading its mobility. The popular
photo-sharing app changed its look dramatically on Tuesday, introducing its
first Web feed. That means instead of scrolling through vintage shots of
friends’ lasagna from dinner at the Olive Garden on their phones, users will be
able to check those same shots out from their computer. Frictionless browsing
was previously only available via Instagram's mobile app, but the paradigm
began to shift after Facebook acquired the company in April 2012. Since then,
Instagram has diversified its platform and added more features. Supporters of
the Web feed believe it’s a natural outgrowth of the app and offers one more
option to stream content, while critics contend that it will ruin the social
network's original user experience: mobile intimacy. Those haters claim viewing
content on a smartphone meant users had to find time to sit down and enjoy
images, whereas having a Web feed means people lazily staring at their screen
and trying to come up with creative ways to waste time at work can sift through
their friends’ latest filtered images. The idea of adding an Instagram bookmark
to the ol’ browser of choice and checking the photo feed the same way people
incessantly check their Facebook news feed or Twitter timeline is offensive to
some Instagram fans. The app wasn’t necessarily designed for quick, convenient
consumption and it has never been constructed or run like Twitter or Facebook.
To make the transition easier for users, Instagram has designed its Web feed to
have nearly the same appearance as the user interface for its mobile version.
On both versions, each images fills the screen almost completely and commenting
practices are the same as well. Whether or not that is enough to win over
longtime mobile users of the service remains to be seen………
- Professional athletes whining about an opponent
embarrassing them or running up the score is a weak play. Both sides are being
paid good money to play their sport and they’re all professionals, so if you
have a problem with what they’re doing to you, find a way to stop it. The
Golden State Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of an embarrassing
situation Tuesday night when the Houston Rockets tied an NBA record with 23
3-pointers in a 140-109 rout. It became clear that the Rockets knew they were
closing on the record and despite substituting liberally with a massive lead,
they continued to bomb away from the perimeter. Golden State fueled the outside
shooting barrage by shutting down the paint and forcing the Rockets outside,
but that strategy proved foolish on a night when Houston shot 57.5 percent from
behind the arc. For most of the night, the Warriors were a good-natured
punching bag, competing and trying to stop the Rockets from torching them.
However, the mood changed when little-used Rockets rookie Patrick Beverly checked in with
just under six minutes left and the Rockets up 120-97. Beverly wasted no time
getting into the 3-point spirit, launching triples with impunity to chase the
record. His approach clearly got the Warriors’ attention and when they
tightened up their perimeter defense, he put the ball on the floor and drove
the lane for an easy dunk, followed by an excessive celebration that would
prove foolish a moment later. On the Rockets’ next possession, Beverly squared
up in the corner for what could have been the record-breaking 3-pointer, but
Golden State forward Draymond Green lunged out at him, flying past him but
pulling across his neck with his trailing arm. Green earned a flagrant foul for
the effort and as time ticked off the clock and the game neared its end,
Warriors coach Mark Jackson ordered his players to intentionally foul any
player with the ball rather than allow any more 3-point attempts. If
only the Warriors had showed that sort of competitive fire sooner in the
game………
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