The Smithian

May 20

blackfashion:

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[meaningful glance]

[re last night's episode of 'Mad Men'] 'Burglar Mammy was horrendous, a confirmation of every harsh judgment levied against Mad Men for being too much of a white upper-middle-class historical fantasy, a show that’s not willing or able to really go where it labors to convince us it’s going. If Burglar Mammy were a dream figure attached to a particular character, and if Mad Men had shown any inclination to go anywhere substantive with its allusions to civil rights and racial anxiety, and if it hadn’t given us a black Playboy bunny, a black prostitute, a black mugger, and other disreputable minor characters over the years, but no people of color with personal or even narrative substance, I might feel differently about her.' — Matt Zoller Seitz, at 'New York' -

What the hell was that?

May 19

“…no real connection has been directly made between these scandals and the president. And, I’d say, he’s buoyed somewhat because the economy here is better than any in Europe—and less vulnerable than Japan’s current Keynesian jolt—and because he’s still a broadly liked president…the press corps needed a storyline, rather than just three stories. But sometimes the line falls apart for lack of evidence (at least among the non-GOP base).” —

Andrew Sullivan, at TDD, in regard to the fact that

CNN finds what Gallup does: no impact on the president’s approval ratings, even as Americans do take the current scandals seriously

adeisia:

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[meaningful glance]

(via 18-15n-77-30w)

Yano, has moved Hello Kitty into a new light by digging below the surface and giving the pop culture icon her full academic due. If popular culture is prone to disposable (mostly Eastern) heroes and fads (e.g., Pokemon, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, etc.), Hello Kitty is the exception to the rule. She has dominated from East to West, in her native home of Japan all the way to Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Integrated as part of Japan’s “cute” culture (kawaii), Hello Kitty has a history all her own.

more.

[video]

'By suicide-bomber standards, at least, it was a success—enough of one, perhaps, to encourage imitations. If the pattern of terrorism is changing, however, so is the public’s response. Polls taken in Boston’s aftermath suggest that, while the share of Americans who judge further such attacks to be likelier has grown, fewer live in dread of them. In the latest Fox News survey, respondents were asked, “Would you be willing to give up some of your personal freedom in order to reduce the threat of terrorism?” For the first time since 9/11, more of those polled said no than said yes. Terrorism remains a grave and constant threat. But, for the moment, fear is the minority report.'

[snackable]

'... [there are] questions...including how Google would collect and store data from the devices, how it would ensure that it did not unintentionally collect private data, how Google would protect the privacy of people not using Glass when they are with people using it and whether the device would have facial recognition technology...'

An infusion of Sandy-related dollars from Congress will help the National Weather Service upgrade two supercomputers that are used in virtually all U.S. weather predictions. That, in turn, could close…an embarrassing gap between the primary U.S. and European computer models. The European model has…been more adept at forecasting the…intensities of major storms, and that pattern held last October when the European model projected the lethal westward turn by Sandy even as the early U.S. model showed it drifting to the east harmlessly, toward open ocean.

more.

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art: photo by Chien-Chi Chang. New York City, 1998