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.
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 Postreported that the NSA is collecting hundreds of millions of email and instant messaging contact lists. The New Yorkerexplained why these stories are troubling.
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.
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."
"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.
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.
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.
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.
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use, and will be moderated prior to posting. NPR reserves the right to use the comments we receive, in whole or in part, and to use the commenter's name and location, in any medium. See also the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Community FAQ.
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."
If you tear open a packet of M&M's, what's the first thing you notice?
The colors: bright blue, vibrant orange, bold yellow. Kids love this visual stimulation.
But the sponsors of a new petition on Change.org — which is urging M&M-maker Mars to replace the artificial colorings used to create these distinctive hues — say these dyes can make some kids hyperactive.
"In this petition, I'm asking Mars to change to natural colorings," mom Renee Shutters told me by phone. "It's very doable."
Shutters, who lives in Jamestown, N.Y., is mother of 9-year-old Trenton. And she says his behavior improved dramatically after she removed artificial dyes from his diet several years back.
"I went through all our cupboards and I couldn't believe how much of the stuff had dyes in it," Shutters told us. The chicken tenders in her freezer had dyes, as did the yogurts — even "the macaroni and cheese I was giving [my kids] had it."
Shutters says Mars has already replaced many of the dyes in the candies it sells in Europe and the U.K. with natural colorings made from vegetables and other plant sources.
"So it is [achievable]," says Shutters, "but they just haven't done it here for our kids."
In Europe, natural dyes outstripped their synthetic counterparts for the first time this year, says food scientist Kantha Shelke of Corvus-Blue in Chicago.
But in the U.S., Shelke says, "the adoption of natural colors is are significantly behind." One reason is that natural colors tend not to be as brilliant nor as stable as artificial dyes.
Cost is also a factor: Natural colorings are more expensive, says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is cosponsoring the petition. Jacobson says colorings derived from beet juice or carrot juice are going to cost manufacturers more than the mass-produced, petroleum-based food dyes used by many U.S. food-makers today.
Now, there's no consensus among scientists that synthetic food dyes are a major contributor to behavioral problems such as hyperactivity.
Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, says that parents are free to see if eliminating avoiding artificial dyes from their kids' diets improves their behavior.
"On the one hand," says Adesman, "I think there's a growing body of research that shows that artificial food colorings can affect a child's behavior. On the other hand, these effects are relatively modest."
And he adds that there's no research to suggest that artificial dyes pose any serious long-term safety or health risks.
Mars sent us a statement that says, "we are aware of the petition." The company said that while all the colors used in its products comply with strict internal quality and safety requirements, "we are constantly evaluating and updating ingredients based on consumer preference, new technology and scientific information."
One clue that Mars may soon swap out one artificial dye for a plant-based alternative here in the U.S.? CSPI's Jacobson says the company recently won FDA approval to use a spirulina extract.
This algae-derived, natural compound could be used to color its M&M's blue.
David Lozano (left) and Kevin Kreinbring stand in front of a painting created by Lozano. The couple says they get tested for HIV together every six months.
Courtesy of David Lozano
David Lozano (left) and Kevin Kreinbring stand in front of a painting created by Lozano. The couple says they get tested for HIV together every six months.
Courtesy of David Lozano
Getting tested for HIV in the U.S. is almost always private, sometimes even secretive. Ditto for disclosing the results.
But some say the approach is outmoded at a time when many at risk for HIV — gay men — are in committed relationships.
Research shows as many as two-thirds of new HIV infections among gay men these days are within committed couples. That's very different from the days when promiscuity fueled the epidemic.
The implications of this for HIV prevention are big. AIDS researcher Patrick Sullivan says what brought it home for him was the discovery that gay men in coupled relationships aren't any more likely to know each other's HIV status as those with casual sex partners.
"In our analysis, lack of awareness was pretty much the same," Sullivan tells Shots.
So Sullivan and his colleagues decided to borrow a strategy that has worked in Africa. For 20 years, heterosexual couples in Rwanda, Zambia and other countries have been encouraged to get tested for HIV together — and learn the results at the same time, from counselors who can help them deal with the information, whatever it is.
The result is a program called Testing Together. Successfully piloted in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, San Diego and Seattle, the program is being rolled out nationally in HIV prevention programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Couples go through the whole process together," Sullivan says. "They get pretest counseling together. Get their blood drawn together. Get the results together. And make a plan on how they're going to remain HIV-negative — or how to support an HIV-positive partner to get into care and keep the negative partner negative."
David Lozano and Kevin Kreinbring, a gay couple in Chicago, say it makes a big difference. "It's just very comforting to do this jointly," says Lozano, a 47-year-old painter and art instructor. "It kind of affirms our trust with each other. I feel like we may not get tested as frequently otherwise."
He says the couple generally get tested together every six months.
Kreinbring, a 51-year-old accountant, says some of the benefits have been unexpected. "It almost becomes an event," he tells Shots. "In a bizarre way, I almost look forward to it. It creates a lot of dialogue about things we might not talk about otherwise."
Those things may include whether the couple's relationship is exclusive or so-called open, and what kind of rules and understandings are in place.
If one partner is HIV-positive and the other isn't, it opens a discussion about condom use and the importance of getting the positive partner on an antiviral regimen to lower the amount of HIV in his system — and his risk of transmitting the virus. It's called treatment as prevention.
And the conversation might turn to whether the negative partner should consider taking an antiviral pill that lowers his risk of infection, an approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.
Testing Together is aimed at dispelling a dangerous myth that helps explain why there are still around 50,000 new HIV infections a year in this country.
"The narrative, even within parts of the gay community, is that the epidemic is fueled by promiscuity," Sullivan says. That can lead men in committed relationships to have a false sense of security.
"But the current epidemic patterns are not driven by promiscuity," Sullivan says. "The face of the epidemic is quite different than it was before. So we need to be providing prevention services where the risk is occurring."
Sullivan, a researcher at Emory University, says the math of sexual relationships makes that clear. "Men with a main partner have sex with that partner about 100 times a year — about the same as male-female couples do with their main partners," he says.
But about a fourth of male-male couples have open relationships that allow for occasional encounters with someone outside the couple. That's a little bit higher than heterosexual couples, according to Sullivan.
"If you add up episodes of sex with main partners and casual partners, it might be 104 or 105 a year total," he notes. So obviously, the biggest risk of infection is from a main partner, even if the virus is introduced into the relationship by a casual encounter. The risk of transmission within couples is raised further by the fact that main partners are more likely to engage in anal sex with each other, which greatly increases the risk of HIV transmission.
Sullivan says if one partner in a gay couple is HIV-positive, there's a 40 percent chance the other one will become infected over time.
So far the results from Testing Together programs, funded up to now by the MAC AIDS Fund, bear out the importance of getting gay couples tested. About 10 percent of couples had one HIV-infected partner — but weren't aware of it. Sullivan says that's higher than the HIV-positive rate in most centers that offer individual testing and counseling.
Even when gay couples have agreed to be monogamous, Sullivan says, there are slips. "In surveys we did, about one-quarter of men said they had stepped outside their agreement in the prior year, and most did not tell their partners about it," he says. "As counselors, we all know this happens."
When the couple tests together, the counselor can defuse anger and focus the couple on how to deal with the news that one or both have become infected — or on how to stay safe in the future.
Sullivan says counselors might frame it this way: "You guys are a strong couple, with a clear commitment toward monogamy, but we want every couple to go out of here with a Plan B."
If Raspberry Pi owners wanted to use the device's camera board for nighttime photography, they had to engage in some extremely delicate tinkering, as the unit's IR filter was firmly attached. Until now. The folks at Raspberry Pi took to their blog today to announce the debut of Pi NoIR, an infrared ...
Twitter, with an IPO looming, needs to make money. To do that, a key focus is being placed on advertising and promoted content around television, the company signaled on Tuesday.
Twitter offers two advertising products geared around TV: TV ad targeting, which lets advertisers place tweets in users’ feeds when they tweet about TV; and Amplify, which pairs video content with ads from select broadcasters.
Those products will be a key element in the company’s efforts to turn a profit in the years ahead.
“We really believe that Twitter and TV are complementary platforms, and we can make the TV experience better with Twitter,” said Kevin Weil, VP of revenue products at Twitter.
“Twitter makes TV better, and TV makes Twitter better,” the executive said, speaking Tuesday at the Ad Age Digital Conference in San Francisco, an event that drew hundreds of advertising executives from across the country.
Combining Twitter with TV, he said, “is an area we’ve really been focusing on at the company.”
Twitter’s sales are strong but the company is losing money, its recent IPO documents revealed.
The social network generated revenue of $317 million in 2012, almost three times what it made in 2011. But the company also posted a net loss of $79 million last year, and a loss of $128 million the year before that.
Advertising comprised 85 percent of Twitter’s total sales in 2012.
Twitter as a second screen
Conversations abound on Twitter around innumerable topics, but lately the company has taken an interest in monetizing digital chatter around TV. By becoming a “second screen” to traditional TV programming, the site hopes that users will engage more with advertising content if it is delivered to them while they are already tweeting about shows.
Recent data from Nielsen suggests that Twitter might be on the right track. Over the past two years more people in the U.S. are using Twitter to talk about shows, according to the research company.
Twitter has looked to other companies to help it build out its TV-related advertising products. Its acquisition of Bluefin Labs, for instance, was aimed to incorporate more social data into sponsored content.
“We saw an opportunity to build a great TV targeting product,” Weil said of that acquisition.
Zach Miners, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service More by Zach Miners, IDG News Service
Use of false ID by youth to buy alcohol is a slippery slope toward alcohol use disorders
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D.
aarria@umd.edu
301-405-9795
University of Maryland School of Public Health
Jennifer Read, Ph.D.
jpread@buffalo.edu
716-645-0193
State University of New York at Buffalo
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Many underage youth use false identification (ID) to buy alcohol.
A new study has found that almost two-thirds of a college student sample used false IDs.
False ID use might contribute to the development of alcohol use disorders by facilitating more frequent drinking.
Many underage youth use false identification (ID) to circumvent minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws in order to obtain alcohol. While underage students tend to drink less frequently than their older college peers, they are more likely to engage in high-risk drinking and are at risk for developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs). A new study of the contributory role of false ID use to the development of AUDs among college students has found that almost two-thirds of the sample used false IDs.
Results will be published in the March 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"Alcohol use is extremely prevalent among underage youth in the United States despite MLDA laws and poses health and safety risks," said Amelia M. Arria, associate professor of behavioral and community health and director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, as well as corresponding author for the study. "Alcohol is easy for most youth to obtain, and false IDs comprise one of the factors contributing to alcohol's easy accessibility."
Arria added that false ID use seems to be related to high-risk drinking in at least two major ways. "First, heavy drinkers tend to be more likely to obtain and use a false ID," she said. "Second, false ID use appears to contribute to further increases in how much and how often a student drinks. In our sample, we found a clear pathway from more frequent false ID use to more frequent drinking, which led to greater risk for developing alcohol dependence, even after adjusting for several risk factors for AUDs. Thus, we believe false ID use contributes to high-risk drinking patterns because it increases the accessibility of alcohol and makes it easier for students to drink more frequently." This study is the first to examine the association between false ID use and subsequent risk for developing AUDs.
Arria and her colleagues recruited 1,015 college students (529 females, 486 males) who had drank alcohol at least once in their lives by their first year in college for annual assessments during their first four years of college. In addition to questions about the use of false IDs, researchers also examined several other factors that might increase risk for an AUD, such as: demographics (sex, race, living situation, religiosity, socioeconomic status); individual characteristics (childhood conduct problems, sensation-seeking, age at first drink); high school behaviors (high school drinking frequency, drug use); family factors (parental monitoring, parental alcohol problems); and perception of peer drinking norms.
"First, we found that 66.1 percent of the sample used false IDs," said Arria, "and on average, we estimated that they used false IDs 24.1 percent of the times they drank before they turned 21. Second, we demonstrated that false ID use led to increases in drinking frequency and quantity. Third, we showed that while false ID use wasn't directly related to AUD risk; it indirectly predicted increases in AUD risk over time through its contribution to increases in drinking frequency. Lastly, the study identified several predictors of false ID use frequency, such as younger age at first drink of alcohol, greater levels of alcohol and drug involvement during high school, higher levels of sensation-seeking, Greek life involvement, and living off-campus."
"I think some of the most important findings to come out of this study have to do with how widespread this problem is," said Jennifer Read, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "I was surprised that almost two-thirds of the students used false IDs. It will be interesting to see if this reflects something specific to this university or region in Dr. Arria's study, or if the use of false IDs is this ubiquitous across campuses in the U.S."
Or beyond campuses. "It's difficult to say whether these findings would also apply to non-college-attending young adults since their environment is different from those of college students," said Arria, "however, it seems likely that the factors that predict false ID use might be similar regardless of college attendance. Future research can help confirm whether our findings could be applied to non-college-attending youth and to evaluate whether or not interventions to reduce false ID use is effective for both students and non-students."
Regardless the status of college attendance, Arria added, interventions targeted at youth and policies that enforce sanctions against false ID use are needed. "Reducing the use of false IDs needs to be a priority for policy makers in order to help reduce excessive drinking among college students," she said. "Other research has suggested that effective measures include heightened enforcement of sanctions against individuals who manufacture and sell false IDs; confiscation of false IDs by alcohol retailers, bars, and clubs; and the use of ID checking machines in establishments that are restricted to persons who are of legal drinking age. Sanctions for individuals caught using false IDs could include their confiscation, fines, and citations. Most importantly, high-risk drinkers should be directed toward effective interventions that can help them change their behavior. Ultimately, this will promote their health, safety and long-term success."
Both Arria and Read spoke to the importance of parental awareness and involvement in the issue.
"Just knowing how common the use of false IDs is suggests that this, among other things, is something that parents should be monitoring and also talking with their kids about," said Read. "Both parental monitoring and communication have been shown to buffer against problem drinking outcomes in young adults, and this is another area where parents might be encouraged to engage in these practices."
"It is important to note that heavier drinking patterns seem to be both a predictor and an outcome of false ID use," said Arria. "In other words, false ID use might be 'adding fuel to the fire' among students who are already high-risk drinkers. An additional finding is that increases in AUD risk over time were explained by increases in alcohol frequency but not by increases in alcohol quantity. This is important for researchers because it emphasizes that frequency and quantity are unique, distinct dimensions of drinking, and that they contribute to AUDs in unique, distinct ways."
"One of the big implications I see of this work pertains to drunk driving," added Read. "As the authors note in their discussion, in all likelihood, this underage drinking likely is taking place in bars, clubs, etc. "While in some cases these underage drinkers have a designated driver or are taking public transportation, it's probably reasonable to assume that many others are not. In future research, it will be interesting to look at the extent to which the use of false IDs is linked to driving under the influence."
###
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "False Identification Use among College Students Increases the Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder: Results of a Longitudinal Study," were: Kimberly M. Caldeira, Kathryn B. Vincent, and Brittany A. Bugbee of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland School of Public Health; and Kevin E. O'Grady of the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland College Park. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This release is supported by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network at http://www.ATTCnetwork.org.
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Use of false ID by youth to buy alcohol is a slippery slope toward alcohol use disorders
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D.
aarria@umd.edu
301-405-9795
University of Maryland School of Public Health
Jennifer Read, Ph.D.
jpread@buffalo.edu
716-645-0193
State University of New York at Buffalo
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Many underage youth use false identification (ID) to buy alcohol.
A new study has found that almost two-thirds of a college student sample used false IDs.
False ID use might contribute to the development of alcohol use disorders by facilitating more frequent drinking.
Many underage youth use false identification (ID) to circumvent minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws in order to obtain alcohol. While underage students tend to drink less frequently than their older college peers, they are more likely to engage in high-risk drinking and are at risk for developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs). A new study of the contributory role of false ID use to the development of AUDs among college students has found that almost two-thirds of the sample used false IDs.
Results will be published in the March 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"Alcohol use is extremely prevalent among underage youth in the United States despite MLDA laws and poses health and safety risks," said Amelia M. Arria, associate professor of behavioral and community health and director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, as well as corresponding author for the study. "Alcohol is easy for most youth to obtain, and false IDs comprise one of the factors contributing to alcohol's easy accessibility."
Arria added that false ID use seems to be related to high-risk drinking in at least two major ways. "First, heavy drinkers tend to be more likely to obtain and use a false ID," she said. "Second, false ID use appears to contribute to further increases in how much and how often a student drinks. In our sample, we found a clear pathway from more frequent false ID use to more frequent drinking, which led to greater risk for developing alcohol dependence, even after adjusting for several risk factors for AUDs. Thus, we believe false ID use contributes to high-risk drinking patterns because it increases the accessibility of alcohol and makes it easier for students to drink more frequently." This study is the first to examine the association between false ID use and subsequent risk for developing AUDs.
Arria and her colleagues recruited 1,015 college students (529 females, 486 males) who had drank alcohol at least once in their lives by their first year in college for annual assessments during their first four years of college. In addition to questions about the use of false IDs, researchers also examined several other factors that might increase risk for an AUD, such as: demographics (sex, race, living situation, religiosity, socioeconomic status); individual characteristics (childhood conduct problems, sensation-seeking, age at first drink); high school behaviors (high school drinking frequency, drug use); family factors (parental monitoring, parental alcohol problems); and perception of peer drinking norms.
"First, we found that 66.1 percent of the sample used false IDs," said Arria, "and on average, we estimated that they used false IDs 24.1 percent of the times they drank before they turned 21. Second, we demonstrated that false ID use led to increases in drinking frequency and quantity. Third, we showed that while false ID use wasn't directly related to AUD risk; it indirectly predicted increases in AUD risk over time through its contribution to increases in drinking frequency. Lastly, the study identified several predictors of false ID use frequency, such as younger age at first drink of alcohol, greater levels of alcohol and drug involvement during high school, higher levels of sensation-seeking, Greek life involvement, and living off-campus."
"I think some of the most important findings to come out of this study have to do with how widespread this problem is," said Jennifer Read, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "I was surprised that almost two-thirds of the students used false IDs. It will be interesting to see if this reflects something specific to this university or region in Dr. Arria's study, or if the use of false IDs is this ubiquitous across campuses in the U.S."
Or beyond campuses. "It's difficult to say whether these findings would also apply to non-college-attending young adults since their environment is different from those of college students," said Arria, "however, it seems likely that the factors that predict false ID use might be similar regardless of college attendance. Future research can help confirm whether our findings could be applied to non-college-attending youth and to evaluate whether or not interventions to reduce false ID use is effective for both students and non-students."
Regardless the status of college attendance, Arria added, interventions targeted at youth and policies that enforce sanctions against false ID use are needed. "Reducing the use of false IDs needs to be a priority for policy makers in order to help reduce excessive drinking among college students," she said. "Other research has suggested that effective measures include heightened enforcement of sanctions against individuals who manufacture and sell false IDs; confiscation of false IDs by alcohol retailers, bars, and clubs; and the use of ID checking machines in establishments that are restricted to persons who are of legal drinking age. Sanctions for individuals caught using false IDs could include their confiscation, fines, and citations. Most importantly, high-risk drinkers should be directed toward effective interventions that can help them change their behavior. Ultimately, this will promote their health, safety and long-term success."
Both Arria and Read spoke to the importance of parental awareness and involvement in the issue.
"Just knowing how common the use of false IDs is suggests that this, among other things, is something that parents should be monitoring and also talking with their kids about," said Read. "Both parental monitoring and communication have been shown to buffer against problem drinking outcomes in young adults, and this is another area where parents might be encouraged to engage in these practices."
"It is important to note that heavier drinking patterns seem to be both a predictor and an outcome of false ID use," said Arria. "In other words, false ID use might be 'adding fuel to the fire' among students who are already high-risk drinkers. An additional finding is that increases in AUD risk over time were explained by increases in alcohol frequency but not by increases in alcohol quantity. This is important for researchers because it emphasizes that frequency and quantity are unique, distinct dimensions of drinking, and that they contribute to AUDs in unique, distinct ways."
"One of the big implications I see of this work pertains to drunk driving," added Read. "As the authors note in their discussion, in all likelihood, this underage drinking likely is taking place in bars, clubs, etc. "While in some cases these underage drinkers have a designated driver or are taking public transportation, it's probably reasonable to assume that many others are not. In future research, it will be interesting to look at the extent to which the use of false IDs is linked to driving under the influence."
###
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "False Identification Use among College Students Increases the Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder: Results of a Longitudinal Study," were: Kimberly M. Caldeira, Kathryn B. Vincent, and Brittany A. Bugbee of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland School of Public Health; and Kevin E. O'Grady of the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland College Park. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This release is supported by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network at http://www.ATTCnetwork.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Now that's Old School. Will Ferrell, a 1990 graduate of the University of Southern California, showed his school pride on Monday when he led the school's marching band, the Spirit of Troy, dressed in full Trojan regalia.
Ferrell showed off his legs in a gladiator-style skirt and sandals, wore a breastplate, cape, and a warrior helmet with enormous plume. He carried a shiny sword, which at one point he staked into the stage, drawing tremendous cheers. When the band broke into USC's famed "Fight On!", Ferrell sang along, and began spinning his sword like a baton twirler. He finally marched off stage in step with the band.
Ferrell's appearance was part of a charity event hoping to raise money for Cancer for College, a group started by Ferrell's college friend and fraternity brother Craig Pollard, who learned he had cancer at just 15. Ferrell and Pollard spoke to USC students Monday night in a lecture titled, "A Will-Powered Friendship."
On Saturday, Ferrell supported another West Coast football program, making an appearance in the locker room of the University of Washington Huskies.
Ferrell's next film, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," comes out Dec. 20.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Thursday posted stronger- than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue driven by wireless growth, sending its shares up nearly 4 percent.
While wireless customer growth was slightly below Wall Street estimates, its Verizon Wireless venture with Vodafone Group Plc posted good profit and revenue growth as customers spent more on data services. Verizon has agreed to buy out Vodafone's 45 percent share of the venture.
The subscriber shortfall caused some concern the company, the first U.S. telephone operator to report this quarter, was losing market share to rivals such as T-Mobile US Inc.
New Street analyst Jonathan Chaplin said that while Verizon's financials were "outstanding," "there were clear signs that a resurgent TMUS is impacting even Verizon."
Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo conceded some lower-spending customers moved to rival services in the quarter, but said some customer additions were delayed to the fourth quarter mostly due to supply constraints involving Apple Inc's iPhone. About one-half its smartphone sales were iPhones.
Still, Shammo told analysts on the company's quarterly conference call that "we continue to gain market share."
The executive said that 8.4 percent service revenue growth at Verizon Wireless was sustainable in the short term but expected the growth rate to decline in the future.
Verizon Wireless added 927,000 net retail subscribers in the quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of about 1 million customers, according to eight analysts, with estimates ranging from 900,000 to 1.2 million.
While much of Verizon's growth was from customers connecting devices like tablet computers, Verizon said phone customers, still made up the most of its growth at 481,000.
Verizon said it expects wireless customer growth to improve sequentially in the fourth quarter but did not give specific estimates.
ENTERPRISE WEAKNESS
Verizon reported a third-quarter profit of $2.2 billion (1.3 billion pounds), or 78 cents per share, compared with $1.59 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding unusual items, Verizon earned 77 cents per share in the quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of 74 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Its wireless profit margin was 51.1 percent, based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization(EBITDA) as a percentage of service revenue, and above its target range of 49 percent to 50 percent for the full year.
Rethemeier said the profit margin would likely come down in the fourth quarter due to steep holiday season costs, since the company kept its wireless margin target for the year despite the strong third-quarter number.
Revenue rose 4.4 to $30.28 billion from $29.01 billion. Wall Street expected $30.16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Strong wireless service revenue growth for the quarter was offset by a decline of 3 percent in its global enterprise business and a slower 4.3 percent rise in its consumer business, which includes its FiOS television service.
Verizon's enterprise business was affected by government budget cutbacks and cost cuts in the private sector, according to Shammo, who expects the business to remain flat in 2014.
"Generally speaking, enterprise customers continue to be cautious regarding new investment decisions," Shammo said.
Verizon shares rose 3.7 percent to $49.02 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
In Kill Your Darlings, Dane DeHaan (left) plays Lucien Carr, a man whose charm and wit quickly command the attention of the young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) in their time at Columbia University. John Krokidas' film chronicles the "Libertine Circle" they inhabited — Ginsberg's nickname — and the events that would shatter it.
Clay Enos/Sony Pictures Classics
In Kill Your Darlings, Dane DeHaan (left) plays Lucien Carr, a man whose charm and wit quickly command the attention of the young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) in their time at Columbia University. John Krokidas' film chronicles the "Libertine Circle" they inhabited — Ginsberg's nickname — and the events that would shatter it.
Clay Enos/Sony Pictures Classics
Kill Your Darlings
Director: John Krokidas
Genre: Biopic, drama
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated R for sexual content, language, drug use and brief violence.
Hollywood's been trying to get a handle on the Beat Poets for years. Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac led wild — and influential — lives. But films about them, like Naked Lunch and On the Road, have never really clicked with audiences. Kill Your Darlings may fare better, partly because it stars Daniel Radcliffe, and partly because the story centers as much on murder as on poetry.
It's 1943, time for student orientation at Columbia University, and incoming freshman Allen Ginsberg is on a quiet, dignified tour of the campus library when a student with the face of a choirboy leaps on a table with a book.
It's Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, and the passage that student reads outrages the librarian enough to get him hauled away by guards, with Ginsberg — as played by Radcliffe with not a hint of Harry Potter about him — grinning broadly.
Truth be told, young Ginsberg is kind of smitten both by the handsome Lucien Carr and by his literary passion. He's soon hanging out with Carr in the dorm, talking poetry and fantasizing about a closer relationship.
Carr (Dane DeHaan), a young man who's anything but a choirboy, and entirely aware of the effect he has on others, soon introduces Ginsberg to a stoned young "Willie" Burroughs (a nice piece of impersonation by actor Ben Foster) and later to Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston). All of them are dreaming of changing the world, but not sure quite how to go about it.
Carr's formidable charisma becomes something of a problem when David (Michael C. Hall), his former lover and professor, won't let go.
Jessica Miglio/Sony Pictures Classics
Carr's formidable charisma becomes something of a problem when David (Michael C. Hall), his former lover and professor, won't let go.
Jessica Miglio/Sony Pictures Classics
They want to supplant Yeats' "Vision" with a "New Vision," but because they're college kids, their literary ambitions often take a back seat to drugs, drinking and pranks, including an elaborately planned but startlingly mild escapade at the Columbia library that gets them in all kinds of trouble.
Bigger trouble, though, is following Carr in the person of an obsessive admirer (Michael C. Hall), a former lover and professor who's long been writing Carr's papers for him — and who has recently been reduced to following him around like a puppy. How Carr deals with that situation gives the story its spine and also a startling climax.
First-time director John Krokidas doesn't make Kill Your Darlings terribly linear. When its heroes go on drug-fueled binges, so does his camera — at one point freezing other patrons at a jazz club in place so the amphetamine-buzzed poets can flit around them. And the director does some flitting of his own, through time with flashbacks, through space with abrupt switches in perspective, and through an eyebrow-notcher of a sequence that conflates three significant penetrations: Burroughs shooting heroin, Ginsberg's first sexual encounter, and the stabbing that will put a period on one fraught situation while creating another one entirely.
In writing circles, the phrase "kill your darlings" usually gets deployed by an editor as advice for a writer who's polished and labored over a favorite sentence so long that all the life has gotten squeezed out of it. "Kill your darling" means get rid of that treasured bit, and find a more natural way to say what you want to say.
The movie Kill Your Darlings is about budding artists who applied that advice to every element of their lives, abolishing rhyme and meter, declaring war on rules, traditions, even people who had the temerity to love them. They flail and they thrash, and Krokidas' film is just like them — as jazz-inflected and freewheeling as the Beat poetry these guys were about to unleash on the world. (Recommended)
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.
If Raspberry Pi owners wanted to use the device's camera board for nighttime photography, they had to engage in some extremely delicate tinkering, as the unit's IR filter was firmly attached. Until now. The folks at Raspberry Pi took to their blog today to announce the debut of Pi NoIR, an infrared ...
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