Arts & Culture

In case you didn't know, Brad Pitt really digs architecture.

Through work in New Orleans with his Make It Right Foundation, Pitt is trying to make a difference by bringing together architects, residents and community leaders to create guidelines for rebuilding. Their goal is to make new homes that are affordable while incorporating green technology, sustainable design and being adaptable to survive the unpredictable weather of New Orleans.

This viral video is all about the exponential growth of available information in our society and what effects it might have on our future. Everyone should watch it once. Created by Karl Fisch.

Do you think Hillary Clinton has anything on Sam Seder? Sam Seder doesn't think so, but then Sam Seder's thought process (as it is reflected here): a bit like the bailout(s) were it (they?) based on a problematic view of our global economic system. Oh wait....

There's a lot one can do in twenty-three years (hey, look what Dubya managed in eight!). For director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras and her Laos-born collaborator Thavisouk Phrasavath, two-plus decades added up to The Betrayal, a powerful documentary about Thavi's family and how their fates collided with Kissinger's war and a curdled American dream. We sat down with Kuras and Phrasavath to discuss the film's genesis, and the multiple meanings of its title.

Dan Persons Handy Household Hint of the Day: "When an award-winning cinematographer offers to adjust the lighting for your interview, LET HER!"

Via the Washington Post:

A Missouri woman who posed as a 16-year-old boy on MySpace, wooed and rejected a troubled teenage girl who later committed suicide was found guilty Wednesday of three misdemeanor charges, but no felonies, by a federal jury.

According to published reports, the jury rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization for Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother from O'Fallon, Mo., who allegedly posed as a 16-year-old boy to harass a former friend of her daughter's. The jury did, however, find Drew guilty of three lesser misdemeanor counts.

The jurors could not reach a verdict on a count of conspiracy.

More here.

 

Artist. Activist. Mother. Though not necessarily in that order, Ursula Rucker embodies all of those titles with a level of class not seen among most rebels. But she’ll be the first to tell you that juggling all those monikers is a daily grind, yet a welcome yoke she hoists upon her shoulders in order to teach her kids left from right and sleep at night knowing she’s fulfilling her purpose on this planet.