Tech Week That Was: Surveillance Scope, Apple's Retail Hire

Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is moving to Apple, where she will head the company's retail division.

Mark Lennihan/AP

Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is moving to Apple, where she will head the company's retail division.

Mark Lennihan/AP

It's time for your Friday week in review, a look at the big headlines and conversation in the tech and culture space.

ICYMI

On the air, we continued to follow the ongoing failures of websites designed to sign people up for the new health insurance exchanges. I chatted with All Things Considered about how an old technology — pen and paper — is what a lot of folks are turning to in light of repeated issues with trying to sign up online. (The folks at Reason magazine say we have no idea when the problems will be fixed.) Steve Henn looked at how Silicon Valley may have been able to do the job much better than the tech contractors who built the healthcare.gov behemoth.

Also this week, Steve introduced us to new technology that gives parents a better way to track their teen drivers. On the blog, our pals at Turnstyle featured an innovative Indian man who is helping women in rural areas with his maxi pad machine, and our weekly innovation pick was a USB charger that's powered by fire.

The Big Conversations

Tech companies are business titans, and this week Apple's hire of Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts as the tech giant's new retail chief signaled the company's interest in fast growth in Asia. As Twitter readies for its IPO, it continues to roll out changes to user capabilities and its platform. This week, it announced a change to who can send you direct messages (it's no longer only people you follow). And more revelations about the scope of NSA surveillance — The Washington Post reported that the NSA is collecting hundreds of millions of email and instant messaging contact lists. The New Yorker explained why these stories are troubling.

Other Curiosities

Vice: Online Booksellers Are Increasingly Afraid of Selling Smut

The dark corner of the Amazon Kindle store gets some attention.

The Atlantic: Someone Has Solved The Supreme Court's Angry Email Problem

Good ol' pen and paper seems to be a theme, eh? At the Supreme Court, justices avoid firing off angry emails with their innovative system: only handwritten memos.

Finally, your blogger is on the road today, in Atlanta with 1,200 other journalists, technologists and educators for the Online News Association annual confab. The conversations here focus heavily on the tech-powered reporting and distribution methods that are changing the game for traditional journalism — data, mobile and networks. "2014 is about anticipatory computing revolution for the masses," predicts digital strategist Amy Webb, who spoke Friday morning about how predictive elements like Google Now and smart virtual personal assistants are taking over. Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard will be covering other big themes to emerge from here. Stay tuned.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/10/18/237016532/tech-week-that-was-surveillance-scope-apples-retail-hire?ft=1&f=1006
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L.A.'s Own 'Amazing And Unique Instrument' Turns 10

An Angeleno revels at 10 Times The Party, a celebration of Walt Disney Concert Hall's 10th Anniversary, on Oct. 5, 2013 in Los Angeles.

David Livingston/Getty Images

An Angeleno revels at 10 Times The Party, a celebration of Walt Disney Concert Hall's 10th Anniversary, on Oct. 5, 2013 in Los Angeles.

David Livingston/Getty Images

If you were listening to NPR 10 years ago this week, you might have heard this enthusiastic proclamation: "The wait is finally over for architect Frank Gehry, for the musicians and staff of the L.A. Philharmonic, and for all of Los Angeles. Tonight, for the first time in public, the orchestra plays its magnificent new instrument: Walt Disney Concert Hall."

The voice was that of KUSC's Gail Eichenthal, speaking alongside Performance Today's Fred Child from the broadcast booth at the freshly-minted Disney Hall back in 2003. From day one, the city's residents marveled at the building's curving, swaying, almost dancing facade.

"It's become a symbol of L.A. already," says Mark Swed, who covers the city's classical music scene for the Los Angeles Times. "It became one almost overnight."

Architect Frank Gehry worked wonders with the structure. But Swed says music aficionados give special credit to the man who designed the acoustics: Yasuhisa Toyota.

"People come there, and they just don't realize what things can sound like," Swed says. "The first night, they ended with Stravinky's Rite of Spring. The fact is, you just could sense not only what every individual instrument was doing — and it felt like it was very close to you — but the combination of them. You got all of the colors and all of the amazing nuances. But then you just got the big, physical impact where it felt like the bass was coming through the floor right into your soles of your feet."

At Disney Hall, the acoustics for the audience are as good as the acoustics for the musicians. Every cough, every candy wrapper, every sneeze resonates and resounds.

"And interestingly enough, audiences learned extremely quickly about that," Mark Swed notes. "And it's made for much, much better audiences because you notice it."

Here's how disciplined they are now: For the 10th anniversary gala, music director Gustavo Dudamel began with John Cage's "4:33," a completely silent piece. All the musicians sit basically motionless for four minutes and 33 seconds.

"It's all about being in the environment you're in," Swed says, "but everybody was so quiet, there was almost nothing to hear! Everyone was so respectful. We're all so used to just being quiet in there."

As for the outside, Swed says that although Frank Gehry's undulating design quickly became a landmark, not many people know what Disney Hall could have been if not for early budget cuts.

"They took away the cafe from him. They don't light it well; you wouldn't think of not lighting the Arc de Triomphe," Swed says. "He chose the steel specifically for its reflective qualities because his idea was you would project the concert on the skin of the hall as it was going on. ... There would be a giant Solanen or Dudamel conducting away. And they've never done that."

Still, Disney Hall was an instant success, and has remained so. And that stands in stark contrast to some of the depressing recent headlines about classical performance across the country: lockouts at the Minnesota Orchestra, or the bankruptcy of the New York City Opera.

"With a new hall, and especially with Disney Hall, you have a year or two where you're gonna sell out every concert, because people just want to see it. And then you've got to find a way to hook people," Mark Swed says. "One of the ways the L.A. Phil hooked people was with new music."

Enter Gustavo Dudamel. Says the orchestra's wild-haired Venezuelan music director: "I always say that L.A. is a place of the new tradition, of new things."

Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the L.A. Philharmonic, with Yo-Yo Ma at Disney Hall's 10th anniversary opening night gala concert.

Craig Mathew/Courtesy of the artist

Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the L.A. Philharmonic, with Yo-Yo Ma at Disney Hall's 10th anniversary opening night gala concert.

Craig Mathew/Courtesy of the artist

Dudamel took over in 2009 and brought a youthful energy and unmistakable star power. But he's also been bucking the nationwide trend of offering only the tried-and-true favorites, like Mozart and Bach. Dudamel says he thrives on introducing audiences to new composers.

"It's really interesting because in the new music programs, we have good audiences," Dudamel says, "[whereas], in other places, they feel like they will not connect with that music."

It's a legacy that goes back to Dudamel's predecessor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, whose dedication to new music paid off in more than just ticket sales. In 2005, the L.A. Phil gave the first performance of one of the most important works of the last decade: The Neruda Songs.

"Peter Lieberson wrote these songs for his wife Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who was an amazing mezzo-soprano, just at the height of her powers," Mark Swed explains. "She also had cancer and was dying. Nobody quite knew how bad things were at that point. But these are songs that were very personal, and it's really become one of the best known and most popular new classical pieces from this century."

These days, Disney Hall routinely packs in crowds with new music on the schedule, whether tucked in between Debussy and Bartok or standing alone as part of its now-revered Green Umbrella series.

"It's sort of like hitting the jackpot," says composer Andrew Norman, who had a piece commissioned for the series in 2011. "I mean, this series is known all over the country and the world as being a showcase for the most interesting things in new music, so for me as a young composer, this was part electrifying and part terrifying."

Disney Hall is unquestionably unique, both outside and in, and that enduring gift is not lost Gustavo Dudamel.

"For me, and for the orchestra, it's something great to have an instrument where we can develop a sound," he says. "And this is the Disney Hall: an amazing and unique instrument. It's moving all the time; it's calling you all the time to move. You know, architecture is harmony, it's sound, it's music. And I really love this place."

Disney Hall is spending this month celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/19/237098112/l-a-s-own-amazing-and-unique-instrument-turns-10?ft=1&f=1039
Tags: julianne hough   hocus pocus   survivor   Amber Riley   Disney Infinity  

Zac Efron Pops Boner Pillz, Gets Butt-Naked, & Rocks Out With C**k Out In That Awkward Moment!

OMG! Zac Efron is really naked! We've been anticipating this wonderful day for years!!!

That Awkward Moment looks to be a HIGHlarious romp about hot dudes being hot dudes, and we're sure it'll be super successful at the box office, but holy crap let us talk for a second about Zac getting nekkid!!

Get out of our mind, Hollywood screenwriters!!! About 40% of our recurring dreams include Zefron, his glorious a** cheeks, & copious amounts of boner pills — so, you'll please forgive us if we assume they're somehow tapping into the delicious thoughts in our head!!!

In fact, the red band trailer for the flick is so hot and so steamy that we're totally deeming it NOT SAFE FOR WORK! Mmmm!!

Ch-ch-check out the super raunchy look at Zefron's adorable ass (above)!

Or just look at the AH-Mazing animated .GIF…AFTER THE JUMP!!!

Yes!!! Zac literally just rocked out with his c**k out!! We're actually drooling on our keyboard right now!!

That Awkward Moment blasts its way into theaters on January 31st.

Tags: abs, completely gratuitous, film flickers, gifs, red band trailer, sexy, that awkward moment, yummy, yummy yummy screw, zac efron

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-15-zac-efron-bare-ass-that-awkward-moment-red-band-trailer-hot-watch-here
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Judge Judy's son, a prosecutor, aids friend's case

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A district attorney who is the son of TV's Judge Judy said Friday he has contributed to the defense of a child-rape suspect who is a close friend, although he recused himself from the case months ago.

Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy said he helped pay for Alexandru Hossu's lawyer when funds ran out and "no one else could come forward."

Hossu, a 35-year-old immigrant from Romania, is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, the daughter of his former girlfriend. He has pleaded not guilty. Hossu is Levy's former personal trainer, and Levy has described him as a close friend and a frequent houseguest.

Levy's statement did not address any ethical issues involved. A publicist said the district attorney would not comment further. Levy said earlier that recusing himself and cooperating with the prosecution were his "ethical, moral and legal obligations."

The district attorney's office in neighboring Westchester County, which is prosecuting the case because Levy recused himself, would not comment.

The case has plagued Levy since Hossu's arrest in March. Soon after Levy recused himself, Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith, a fellow Republican but a political rival, said the district attorney was interfering in the prosecution.

"Mr. Levy's comments and actions would seem to suggest that, if he could have his own way, Mr. Hossu would never have been brought to justice for his crime and Mr. Levy's relationship with him would never have been brought to the light of public scrutiny," Smith said.

In August, Levy sued the sheriff for $5 million, claiming defamation. He called Smith "an out-of-control sheriff who does not care about the truth."

The sheriff denied defaming Levy. He also said the timing of the lawsuit was "blatantly political" and implied it was intended to damage his re-election campaign.

At the time, Levy's mother, Judy Sheindlin, a retired Family Court judge and the star of "Judge Judy," issued a statement calling her son "principled, honorable and dedicated."

Earlier this week, Levy's brother-in-law, Daniel Mentzer, stepped in to take over Hossu's defense because another lawyer withdrew. Levy said Thursday he supported that move.

Levy said Thursday he doubts Hossu had the capability to hurt a child.

• Crime & Justice
• Society & Culture

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-judys-son-prosecutor-aids-friends-case-210627220.html
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Harry Belafonte -- I Have A Dream -- To Sell Martin Luther King's Speeches

Harry Belafonte
I HAVE A DREAM
To Sell MLK's Speeches

Exclusive

Harry Belafonte wants to be free at last ... to sell original speeches penned by Martin Luther King, Jr., but King's Estate has mounted a challenge from the mountaintop ... so Belafonte is now suing.

Get this ... Belafonte has the notes that were in Dr. King's suit pocket when he was assassinated in 1968.  He also has a condolence letter written to Coretta King by President Lyndon Johnson.  And, he has various King speeches, including the outline for the famous "The casualties of the war in Vietman" speech.

Belafonte tried to sell the docs at a Sotheby's auction back in 2008, but the Estate objected and the auction was cancelled. 

Belafonte apparently was stewing over this for years, and now he's made his move by filing a lawsuit asking a judge to confirm he's the rightful owner.  And get this ... Sotheby's is holding all the docs until a court decides who owns the priceless stuff.

As for how Harry gained possession of the docs, he had a long relationship with King during the Civil Rights movement.  In fact, King worked at Belafonte's NYC apartment and Belafonte even provided King with financial support.

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2013/10/15/harry-belafonte-martin-luther-king-speeches-lawsuit-sothebys/
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A Fight Over Vineyards Pits Redwoods Against Red Wine

Environmental groups are fighting to stop the leveling of 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make way for grapevines.

Courtesy Friends of the Gualala River

Environmental groups are fighting to stop the leveling of 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make way for grapevines.

Courtesy Friends of the Gualala River

In the California wine mecca of Sonoma County, climate change is pitting redwood lovers against red wine lovers.

This Friday morning, a coalition of environmental groups are in a Santa Rosa, Calif., courtroom fighting to stop a Spanish-owned winery from leveling 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make way for grapevines.

Redwoods only grow in the relatively cool coastal region of Northern California and southern Oregon. Parts of this range, such as northwestern Sonoma County, have become increasingly coveted by winemakers.

Chris Poehlmann, president of a small organization called Friends of the Gualala River, says the wine industry is creeping toward the coast as California's interior valleys heat up and consumers show preferences for cooler-weather grapes like pinot noir.

"Inexorably, the wine industry is looking for new places to plant vineyards," says Poehlmann, whose group is among the plaintiffs.

California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire, approved the redwood-clearing project in May 2012.

"So we sued them," says Dave Jordan, the legal liaison for the Sierra Club's Redwood Chapter, another of the plaintiffs. The Center for Biological Diversity is the third plaintiff.

The groups filed suit in June 2012 on the grounds that state officials violated California's environmental protection laws by approving the plan.

Redwoods are considered among the most spectacular of all trees. The biggest trees on Earth by height, redwoods can stand more than 350 feet tall. Some are more than 2,000 years old.

However, the redwoods at the center of this conflict are not old-growth trees. The area was clear-cut more than 50 years ago, and most of the redwoods on the site are less than 100 feet tall. Which is why Sam Singer argues: "There are no forests [on this site]."

Singer is a spokesman for Artesa Vineyards and Winery, which is owned by the Spanish Codorniu Group and which first proposed the development project in 2001. Singer says that the two old-growth redwood trees on the property will be spared.

But the thousands of trees slated for removal are between 50 and 80 feet tall, according to Poehlmann. He says the trees provide wildlife habitat and stabilize the soil against erosion, which has been a major problem for streams in the area that once harbored runs of salmon and steelhead trout.

Coast redwood trees stand at Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, Calif. Redwoods are the biggest trees on Earth by height — they can grow more than 350 feet tall. But their range is quite limited: They only grow along the coast of Northern California and southern Oregon.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Coast redwood trees stand at Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, Calif. Redwoods are the biggest trees on Earth by height — they can grow more than 350 feet tall. But their range is quite limited: They only grow along the coast of Northern California and southern Oregon.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The project planners have even estimated this timber to represent 1.25 million board feet of "merchantable" lumber.

Dennis Hall, a higher official with CalFire, says his department's approval of Artesa's project in 2012 came only after a lengthy review process found that it would not significantly damage the environment.

"We did an [environmental impact report] for the project," Hall says. "It was an extreme and exhaustive analysis of potential impacts to the environment." The report deemed most of these potential impacts to be "less-than-significant."

Still, Poehlmann feels CalFire has been too lenient on proposals by developers to level trees. "They are acting as if they are actually the 'department of deforestation,' " he says.

The tensions go beyond this case: Friends of the Gualala River and the Sierra Club's Redwood Chapter have gone to court several times in the past decade to successfully stop timberland conversion projects proposed by winery groups and which had been approved by the state. Among these fights was the battle to save the so-called Preservation Ranch, a 19,000-acre parcel that developers planned to partially deforest and replant with vines. Earlier this year, the developer sold the property to The Conservation Fund.

But from 1979 to 2006, 25 conversions of forest to agriculture occurred in Sonoma County at an average rate of 21 acres per year, according to county officials.

At least a few tree-clearing projects have occurred without permission. High-profile winemaker Paul Hobbs didn't bother getting a permit before he leveled 8 acres of redwoods in 2011 with plans to plant wine grapes. He remains a superstar winemaker and was tagged earlier this year by Forbes as "The Steve Jobs of Wine."

And it's not just redwoods that are at stake as vineyards expand their terrain. California's oaks aren't subject to the same environmental protections as more commercially valuable species like redwoods and Douglas fir, according to CalFire's Hall. And Northern California's oak forest, near the coast as well as inland, is being lost at fast rates to vineyard expansions, says Adina Merenlender, an environmental biologist with the University of California, Berkeley.

Merenlender says oak trees tend to be overlooked by the general public, which is more easily impressed by redwoods. Yet oak forests, she says, provide habitat for vastly more species than do redwood forests.

Sara Cummings with the Sonoma Vintners, a wine industry trade group, says new vineyards are usually planted within what she calls the region's "agricultural footprint" — land that is already designated by county planners as "agricultural." Moreover, she says, more than half the county's wine growers are members of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program.

But Merenlender is concerned about future expansion into land not previously farmed.

"We're already seeing a lot of acquisition of coastal lands," she says. "Investments are moving north and west, toward the coast."

The issue, it seems, is a global one. A 2013 study predicted that global warming will cause a dramatic shift in the world's wine regions. The report warns that wilderness areas in British Columbia and remote regions of China — one of the world's fastest-growing winemaking regions — may become increasingly coveted by the industry.

"But at least we'll have plenty of wine to drink, "Poehlmann quips, "while we bemoan the fact that our forests are all used up."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/18/237136077/a-fight-over-vineyards-pits-redwoods-against-red-wine?ft=1&f=1053
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