Billions of cicadas are getting ready to awaken from a 17-year dormancy — and the Science Channel wants you to watch it happen live.

The network has installed a Cicada Cam in a terrarium to give an upclose look at the bizarre moment in nature. The noisy creatures are waking up after a nearly two decade hibernation all across the Eastern seaboard.

Via Mashable

Live video by Animal Planet L!ve

For maximum enjoyment, you’ll need plenty of tasty snacks and the company of some robot friends:

Barricades coming down, couches coming in, banks stole our homes, so we’re moving in.

For color commentary, with photos, follow Alexis Goldstein on Twitter (it might not make the TV news), or check out her story-fication of events.

For a primer on the mortgage scam from Matt Taibbi, click here.

Victoria aged 4

(And to our readers outside Canada, psst, it’s Victoria Day) Queen Victoria: longest reigning British Monarch, first to be crowned Empress of India (a tad presumptuous), last of the House of Hanover, longest-lived British monarch until Elizabeth II recently surpassed her. Victoria’s reign saw 20 British governments come and go, and her name is evocative of the height of Empire, of the flowering of British sciences, letters and invention, of the Dickensian horrors of industrialization, and of class rigidity, pomposity and prudery. So enjoy the day, but keep your pleasures confined within the limits of British decency, and keep those suggestive table legs covered up.

…in nómine partridge and fillet of herring…

Vivian Stanshall as a Pied Piper in a Garret in the Palace

More doo dah after the break.

Cool Britannia ~ Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

Victoria ~ Hanson Brothers

Originally posted May 23, 2011

It’s the cake giver’s last day at work and this is the tradition. It’s been a few weeks since the last one. Some months it’s every week and sometimes it’s not just Fridays.  Usually I don’t know the person but I often still get a piece and a picture. Today I know one of them.

A few weeks ago as I waited by the bathroom for the cleaners to finish, Jane turned in her chair and motioned to me. 

-I have a secret. Promise not to tell?

-You’re leaving.

-How did you know?

- It’s the only secret people tell me.

My colleagues, fresh from university and at their first job, work hard. They are well paid, jumping straight into middle-class from the first day, but I imagine the working life which they once thought glamourous disappoints with long hours and weeks away from home. They lack the evenings and weekends spent at part-time work at movie theatres shovelling popcorn or at fast food places mopping floors. They don’t know that the better life is trudging days.

And most have options: some are hunted, some have found other things, and some just want a break. They think that the job around the corner is better – better pay and less overtime. But it’s another job. At four years, I am a veteran. It’s not just the factories and the construction companies that suffer from high turnover. A booming and diversifying economy brings options to educated people with experience, even only a year.

With the cake comes email. Long, flowery, overly earnest and sentimental, the message thanks everyone. Frequently 500 words or more, the messages read like high school yearbook essays – friends forever, keep in touch, miss you. They are less filling and more saccharine than the cake but equally well-intentioned.

The cake is eaten, the message deleted.

Originally posted May 9, 2011

Via Laughing Squid

Originally posted May 24, 2011

Via Open Culture

William F.: Do you draw any generalities on the basis of the behavior of the Soviet Union [in Czechoslovakia] which instruct you in assessing other political situations…

Ed the Fug: Yeah, like Mayor Daley in Chicago.

William F.: What are those?

Ed the Fug: Those are, when you attempt to, essentially peacefully, gather together to press a point about a war, about freedom, or about freedom of journalism, that you are confronted by people like the Soviet leaders, like the leaders in Chicago, namely Mayor Daley… …you’re confronted with essentially the same position. No, you’re not allowed. You are clubbed. You are maced. You are gassed, freaked, zapped, pushed over. If you are an old lady, you get thrown through a plate glass window. If you’re a cripple, you are thrown against a street light. If you are a peaceful, long-haired, loving protestor, you are smashed and knocked down. If you are a camera man, you are bricked and your camera is destroyed, and your blood is splattered all over you… I mean it’s a nefarious scene.

There’s all kinds of correlations. And the lesson you would draw would be to prepare yourself – and if you’re a non-violent, like I am, and if you believe in pacifism – you will attempt to create a body of love and light, so that thing can’t happen. There will be so many loving people there that you will have a festival of life in all its attributes. And you can do that, by praying together, by loving together, by… …Allen [Ginsberg] was singing ‘Om’ in the streets which is the Hindu benevolent word. By getting together and creating love, I think it’s a great force at least in allowing you to demonstrate in the United States against Daley who is, uh, Al Capone…

William F.: Yeah, sure.

Contemporary relevance? I’d say so. The Fugs did attempt to enter Czechoslovakia later in 1968, to perform in Prague and bolster resistance to Soviet occupation, but they were – predictably – turned back at the West German border.

Much to the consternation of the machine-gun-toting guards, members of the band, standing safely in the West, allegedly protested the interdiction by stripping at the border and committing the sexual acts they had planned to perform before the Soviet tanks.
-Ryback, Rock Around the Bloc

Allen Ginsberg had had immense influence on the youth culture of the Czech capital. He’d stayed there for 2 months in 1965, been much feted, imitated, and was ultimately crowned the King of May. But the authorities were less than amused, and they expelled him for his baleful influence on the nation’s youth, his narco-mania and his homosexuality.

Issues of Sanders’ Fuck You gutter expletive: A Magazine of the Arts are available for download here.

Kinetic loathing and fear of typography

The Fugs ~ Nothing

Originally posted May 31, 2012

In 2008, it was widely reported that the RCMP had maintained a file on MacNeil in the 1970s, before she had embarked on a singing career, tracking her “Women’s Liberation” activities. As noted in a Toronto Star article from August 2008,

In the early 1970s, MacNeil was a married mother of two children and living in east-end Toronto. Every Tuesday night, she’d attend downtown meetings with women from all walks of life where, MacNeil says, they talked mostly about equal rights. The Mounties infiltrated the Toronto Women’s Caucus, starting in the late 1960s. The force kept tabs on the group’s activities and compiled biographical sketches of its members, including MacNeil.

In the article MacNeil quips, “What’s radical about equal pay for equal work? And trying to empower women to reach the potential that they have? The only thing I’m sorry about now is I didn’t know I was under surveillance, or I would have got them to drive me home.”

Rita represented the women and men of the Maritimes with her beautiful, genuine, and passionate voice. Her music will be missed.

On Rita & Cape Breton

ECMA Tribute to Rita in 2005:

The popular misconception is that the BC film industry is a recent addition to the provincial economic landscape, but in truth film production started here in 1913. In fact, the emersion of “quota quickies” in the 30s started BC’s first Hollywood boom. Even though seeing Bob Hope strolling through downtown became somewhat commonplace, film was still a modest contributor to the GDP. Television added to the industry’s outlets in the early 60s, but even with the globally syndicated “Littlest Hobo” in 1965, film and television production remained mostly domestic and relatively small, so that in 1978, the sector’s contribution to the overall economy was an “also-ran” figure of twelve million dollars. It was present and accounted for, but not a force to be reckoned with. Then something happened that changed the industry forever… (Listen to Audio Clip)

This was good news for film technicians and the companies that provided goods and services to the industry, but our crews were relatively inexperienced, or at least perceived as such, at producing a big budget Hollywood film, so production department heads were imported from the US with our department heads matching, but for the most part acting as observers. Our talent in front of the camera also served as backup to leads, supporting roles and guest stars, with many of our best reduced to principal and one-liner actor roles. However, this learning period combined with the overall expansion of the industry, began to change the ground rules in the mid-nineties. Our department heads were now beginning to fulfill their positions without an American counterpart, but the technical side wasn’t the only section to experience a difference… (Listen to Audio Clip)

In 1998, BC’s Production Services Tax Credit or PSTC came into effect, matching the Federal government’s efforts when they replaced the old point system for the labor tax credit program in 1995. This provincial incentive created an unprecedented boom in BC’s film and television production industry. With a marked expansion of existing production space at North Shore Studios and Vancouver Film Studios, there was the creation of Canadian Motion Picture Park (CMPP) and Mammoth Studios, giving BC a solid infrastructure that rivaled both Los Angeles and New York – all with private money. In the year 2000, 192 productions had filmed in BC, bringing $1.2 billion dollars of new money into the province. Even with the waning of the TV Movie of the Week in 2003, the industry in BC managed to adjust. The labor pool culled itself accordingly, union concessions were given and the business structure streamlined to support TV serial production and feature films. The sector continued to perform and domestic production, which accounted for 20% of the local industry, was showing signs of self-sustainability. BC’s entertainment industry was coming into its own and readying to fly. Then something happened… (Listen to Audio Clip)

Things came to a head for the BC Film Industry with the February 19^th release of the Liberal’s 2013 provincial budget. Not only was a promised increase to PSTC was not included, there were no plans whatsoever for the film industry. The dismantlement of the HST was due in April and a general panic rose within the sector as this lack of action and the re-introduction of an additional tax would put BC more than 12% behind the competition. The lobbying efforts of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC (MPPIA) and other entities such as the Union of BC Performers (UBCP) on issues such as PST exemption and tax credit enhancement were being stymied as interested MLAs had their hands tied by party policy. Premier Christy Clark and Finance Minister Mike de Jong were desperate for re-election and chasing to close a billion dollar budget gap in an effort to look like they actually paid attention to the books during their tenure, so they were happy to showboat by taking a hardline on a highly visible and little understood manufacturing sector. Frustration built to a boiling point and the Save BC Film movement, founded by local script supervisor Sandra Montgomery, gathered momentum. (Listen to Audio Clip)

Besides putting a fire to the boots of the MPPIA, UBCP and other lobbying entities, Save BC Film (SBCF) created a rallying point for film workers, giving a sense of community in a diverse industry. SBCF also spear-headed an awareness campaign that managed to educate the public on the full extent of the industry’s economic impact while dispelling myths of an overpaid, undereducated and whining workforce. This campaign was so successful that a Mustel poll taken in February showed an 80% approval rating for the industry and an increased incentive program. De Jong and Clark maintained their stance however, stating the taxes and the revenue generated in the film industry didn’t even come close to replacing the tax credits handed out in the PSTC program. Their findings however were based on an inaccurate accounting procedure. (Listen to Audio Clip)

When the BC NDP finally formalized their electoral platform, they included some good news for the beleaguered film industry. In a public forum held at the Vancouver Film Studios on April 9^th, Adrian Dix announced a plan to increase the PSTC to 40%. This is a victory, yes, but a small one with no guarantees. The NDP need to win the election to follow through and if they do win, they would be hard-pressed to pass this legislation in the first six months of their mandate. Also this increase would only offset the reintroduction of the PST, thus leaving BC’s film industry in the same boat it was in at the beginning of the year. So how has this issue affected film workers on a personal level and what would happen to the sector as a whole if the PSTC issue remains unresolved? (Listen to Audio Clips)

How would continual competitive tax credit support affect BC’s provincial economy? Would it ransack the coffers to depletion in a so-called race to the bottom? Recent studies have shown that tax credit programs, such as the one that fuels BC’s film industry, have been so successful that at worst they would create a revenue-neutral environment. Tax credits are a normal part of the province’s business plan. BC has given and continues to give the mining and forestry industry tax credit support. For instance, the mining sector benefits from a 20-30% all-in tax credit on exploration carried out within the province, then the remaining 70-80% of those costs are classified as a Canadian Exploration Expense (CEE), a never-expiring pool of funds used for other tax shelters, 100% of which can be deducted from any future capital gains. So with the mining industry spending approximately 500 million in exploration last year, the BC government handed back nearly the entire amount. On the other hand, BC’s film industry injected 1.2 billion dollars into the economy with the province handing back between 100-200 million to foreign productions. Also the lower mainland isn’t the only region to benefit from the film industry; many outlying districts have felt the positive influx of movie money. For instance, the production shooting Godzilla is investing over $100,000 per day in Ladysmith and Nanaimo. The math seems pretty straight forward and the benefits clear. The film industry is a positive economic influence in BC and deserves to be supported just like mining and forestry.

As a final note, regardless of the NDP electoral promise, the battle is far from over and the outcome is less than certain. Both industry members and others in the electorate need to continue to apply pressure to the powers that be in order to bring about real change and support. Long term solutions need to be created. For instance, the formation of a unique government body such as the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) that deals solely with the creative sector.  Also studies need to be completed so an accurate accounting can be made of the positive impact of the film industry on municipal, regional and provincial levels. Somehow the industry needs to unite under one banner to strengthen lobbying efforts, rather than the current multi-pronged approach. All this needs to be put into place, otherwise twenty years of hard won growth, talent, skill and infrastructure will wither and die, taking billions in revenue with it. So stay calm and save BC film.

The attack occurred without warning, and the devices appear to have been planted in the spectator section. Boston Police have no information on who was responsible at this point, but they are not ruling this out as an act of terrorism. No individuals or groups have claimed responsibility, at this time.

In a statement, President Obama has said that “we still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this … Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

In this video: a scene of chaos, as the second bomb goes off: