Maj. Nidal Malik is awake and talking. Sen. Joe Lieberman vows to investigate the events leading up Fort Hood, specifically seeking any evidence that the Army missed cues that Malik was showing signs of becoming an Islamic radical. Had said signs existed, then this could have led to Malik’s discharge, ergo preventing last week’s horrible events from ever transpiring.
“Everyone else just sat down there and drunk their beer and looked at him and giggled at him,” the woman said, starting to cry. “They just would laugh at him when he walked down with his Muslim clothes. . . . He was mistreated. He didn’t have nobody. He was all alone. He went to his apartment there and was all alone.”
This is where things get sticky. Was the Fort Hood shooting the result of an Islamic radical enacting a master plan, or was it backlash against religious persecution within in a small concentrated environment? It would seem that Lieberman is suggesting the former, but if it turns out that the latter is actually the case this poses complications when considering the very reasons for founding the United States of America back in 1776.
This is where we’re at on Monday, and the Developing Stories approach to our coverage on Current.com is the vehicle which brought us here. Our community has acted as the driver, by pitching and scooping stories as they develop. If you’re interested, read details about participating in the Developing Stories process on the Current.com blog.
It will be interesting to see where this story will take us next.
It should come as no surprise that as someone whose job is to trawl Current.com, I’ve come across some pretty weird, icky and just plain odd stuff on the site. Luckily, my cringing, eep-ing and outbursts of profanity as a result of this seems to amuse those who work near me.
Today was no exception. I came across “Germany’s bald bears: Fur disease afflicts Dolores and baffles vets” that Trypnotik posted, and promptly choked on my coffee. I seriously thought it was a picture from some new movie with a horrible, scary killer animal thing. Upon closer inspection I learned that it was a bear that had lost all it’s hair. The nice, compassionate reaction would have been something like, “Oh, that’s terrible. Poor bear.” Mine was “Ah! Groooooss!” Not wanting to be the only one freaked out, I made the rest of the Online Community Team look at too. That does NOT look like a bear. It’s all leathery, wrinkled skin, horn-like ears, bulgey eyes and ginormous claws. I’m sorry bear, that really sucks, but EW.
This got us talking about what other animals would look really odd without hair. Naturally, we Googled it. Whoa man, let it be known that it’s not big, round eyes or floppy ears or little tails that make animals cute, it’s fur. Trust.
So for your twisted curiosity I’ve included some pictures of normally-hairy-hairless-animals. You’re welcome…and I’m sorry.
Last week I laid out details about our editorial team and guidelines when it comes to finding and featuring content on Current.com. Today we’re launching a brand new community-based experiment built on top of our editorial practices which, for lack of a better name, I’m calling “Developing Stories.”
What is a Developing Story?
This doesn’t always hold true, but quite frequently we notice that stories we feature on Current.com actually speak to a larger, ongoing story in play. Sometimes these stories are stretched out over longer periods of time (e.g. the ongoing discussions around public options in healthcare reform, or the debates surrounding gay marriage), and other times these stories are developing rapidly over the course of hours (e.g. Elections 2009, Afghan presidential elections, or Michael Jackson’s death).
Starting today, we’ll begin identifying certain featured stories that we think have the opportunity to be “developed” further. These stories will be added to our Developing Stories group, and we’ll clearly mark it as such on both the story page and whichever image is picked to accompany the story.
What does it mean to have a story picked as a Developing Story?
This is the cool part. Getting your story featured as a Developing Story is like having the stage handed over to you. We’re looking to take a closer look at the underpinnings of these stories, and we’re giving you the opportunity to take on the role of online investigative journalist in the process. As long as things continue to progress in a relevant way, your story will remain featured on Current.com.
Earlier today one of our community members raised a question that immediately reminded me of a drafted post sitting in my to-do pile. So I dusted this sucker off and refreshed it with some new information for all to read.
“You guys never put my submissions up at all. It would seem as though a plan were afoot to force only designated providers – while the promise is held as Bullshit.”
This isn’t a anything new; in general people get a little confused when it comes to what gets featured on Current.com. It’s not uncommon to find out that people either don’t understand, or worse, their misunderstanding leads them to believe that there is a secret agenda conspiring against them behind-the-scenes.
Trust me, this is just not the case.
Our editorial team is relatively small on Current.com, especially in comparison with some of the more editorially driven sites out there. We see Current.com as a joint partnership between our internal team, and the community that frequents the site. While we produce content for TV, the amount of content we produce for the web is fairly small in comparison with what our community produces on a daily basis.
It’s an exciting time around these parts. For those of you who regularly read our posts, there are two things that may hold true:
You’re well acquainted with my weekly Around the Blogs posts where I recap some of the posts on our other Current blogs: News, Movies, Music, Green, Tech, and Comedy.
You’re growing tired of the rather bland layout of our blogs. Admittedly, these were a patchwork effort when they launched, but now that we’re picking up a little steam…
Join me, for a very special “BEHOLD! A STYLISH NEW BLOG LAYOUT!” edition of Around the Blogs. Here’s a round-up of recent posts from our blogs, but do yourself a favor and check out the new layout for each blog. Let us know what you think!
Have you embedded Embedded yet? Don’t look at me like that. Seriously, if you have a website, blog, MySpace account, or any other home on the Internet that takes video embeds, now is your time. Current Music is looking for help raising awareness for their upcoming special, Embedded.
This is where you come in, I’ll let Shana’s words do the talking:
When you log in (hey, we have Facebook Connect login BTW) and visit Embed Embedded on Current each week, you’ll find a different video clip to embed. The code to the video on the Embed Embedded page is unique to you. The user with the most views on their video will become the top embed user for the week, and will be showered with praise in the Current Music blog. So what are you waiting for? Start embedding your unique embed code, help us spread the word, and get the opportunity to score some exclusive Embedded swag.
“Der Spiegel has a great story of a Palestinian couple, he in Gaza and she in the West Bank, who came together despite the blockade and travel restrictions. How? The bride crawled through a smugglers’ tunnel out of Egypt.”
“Crazy accusations from a regime known for its bending of the truth? Perhaps. But Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker wrote a controversial article last year disclosing the Bush Administrations secret plans to go to war with Iran, and also pointing out a rise in clandestine activities by the US in the Islamic Republic. Additionally, at a talk in Minnesota in March, Hersh went into a little more detail. While he made headlines with a claim that the Bush Administration had “an executive assassination ring”, he also described secret US efforts to capture an Iranian nuclear scientist inside of Iran and use that person to make the case that Iran was secretly building a bomb. So perhaps not such a crazy claim.”
A couple of quick tidbits from the Current Movies blog, as John is wrapping up his coverage of the New York Film Festival.
This week he took a look at Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, Broken Embraces and reports back from the press conference featuring both Almodovar and Penélope Cruz. Take a look, it features some of Lichman’s finest doodles.
“On one hand, it is every bit as brutal and bleak as Caché–almost to a startling degree to some fellow viewers sitting around the first few rows. But on the other hand, If you want proof the Cannes Film Festival is a joke, then look no further than this Children of the Corn remake that won.”
As for the original Fame, it combined the surging hormones of high school and the ache of young artists into a wonderfully frizzy, perspiring, autumn-colored postcard from a New York that’s not around anymore.
New York in 1980 – Graffiti on the subway, no AIDS ransacking the performing arts and not one, but TWO Howard Johnson’s in Times Square. The original’s where a supposedly street-smart Irene Cara meets a sleazy predator. (It’s also where my parents went on their first date).
If you’re like me, and you like to daydream that you’re a serious, emotional teenage dancer (yes, say it with me, dancer!) who lives life at the dance studio, you’ll probably love it. The leg-warmers, the artfully mismatched outfits, the boobs. This look wasn’t invented by American Apparel, ya know.
Today, I witnessed a trauma, a trauma that happens every day in Bayview-Hunters Point. I’m not talking about Uganda, but 94124. San Francisco, one of the liberal hubs of the universe. A Superfund toxic site, a modern-day ghetto where the normal pedestrian has to travel miles to get to a grocery store with “healthy” produce — AKA fresh vegetables.
“But is “extreme frugality” the latest emerging trend? Have we come to a place where we understand that (gasp) resources are limited: and the limited resources in our wallet could be the best metaphor to understand the limited resources on the planet?”
Additionally, John finally screens Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist, the film that compelled Cannes audiences to collectively question, “Why?” Additionally, Von Trier went on record with this film, proclaim that “I am the best filmmaker in the world.” Check out John’s review here.
Leah spent some time chatting with Colin Beavan (you may know him as No Impact Man from his Twitter account, blog, and the trailer of his new movie), and discusses the dedication it takes for someone like No Impact Man to commit to a lifestyle change of this extreme magnitude. All in the name of “green.” It’s quite remarkable.
An added bonus this week, our friends in Vanguard are ramping up their blogging efforts, and to kick things off they’ve posted a couple gems for you to take a look at. First up, Vanguard correspondent Laura Ling shared her thoughts on Vanguard’s mission during a live event in Italy. As an added treat, the full broadcast of the Italy event is embedded on the post, so if you’ve ever wanted to hear Mariana van Zeller speak Italian, make sure to watch beyond the intro.
Speaking of Mariana, her piece “The Oxycontin Express” is going to be our season premiere for Vanguard on October 14th, and as an added bonus the team was invited to tape an episode of Dr. Phil and discuss both her documentary and the prevalence of prescription drugs. Darren posted some photos from the visit to Dr. Phil, so go check it out. The Dr. Phil episode with Mariana will air on the same day as our Vanguard season premiere, October 14th.
Judging by how well this McCarthyism mash-up (via The Huffington Post and comprised of McCarthy-era footage and claims that Obama and company are a band of Communists from the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh) plays, I’d say we’re a stone’s throw away from Congressional hearings.
Don’t think so? At around the 6:05 mark, footage taken from the Chris Matthews helmed Hardball (from last October) features Congresswoman Michele Bachmann laying out what she would like to see occur:
“What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look, I wish they would, I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and take a look at whether they are pro-America, or anti-America. I think people would love to see an expose like that.”
Holy cow. If you haven’t been reading Andrew Fitzgerald’s latest posts over on the Current News blog, you’ve been missing out. Don’t panic, we’ll get you caught up.
US military personnel watch as Afghan insurgents set up a deadly IED and then accidentally trigger it themselves. I think this video is pretty rare: I imagine not many insurgents are caught on camera setting up their IEDs.
To top things off, Andrew hit the ground running today with two new posts: The first regards Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter made famous for throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush, and the implications of his reception post-release. Next up Andrew revisits the Kibera slums, which are now beginning to be dismantled in Kenya. Several years ago, Vanguard’s Christof Putzel produced a peice on the Kibera slums, take a look:
Over on the Current Music blog, Shana Naomi Krochmal unleashes word of two new punk rock docs. Check out the details, and peruse a list of classic punk rock doc faves culled from the Current Music community!
From the “Get this now” files, Peter Grumbine has not 1, but 2 offerings this week:
If you don’t know Mutantes, it would be easy to say something like they’re the Brazilian Beatles or the Brazilian version of the guys from Buena Vista Social Club, but they’re not; they’re Os Mutantes.
The Mutantes were a big part of the Tropicalia movement in Brazil during the ’60s. Imagine what you know about the psychedelic ’60s in America and the UK, and then combine that with Carnival, and you can basically suss up the sound of that movement. Put simply, it’s fucking wild.
In case you don’t know the story, years ago, Rodrigo y Gabriela were in some badass metal bands in Mexico, but they grew tired of the limited scene and potential there. A lady from Mexico who had moved to Ireland was back in Mexico and ran into them. After talking about their situation, she invited them to come stay with her in Ireland, a country where artists were treated better. Ah fate, at last!
Ever since Sarah Lane took Final Cut Pro classes, she’s been cutting together some awesome tech videos and posting them on the Current Tech blog. Here’s a taste of flickr’s new iPhone app, plus a list of some of the others she’s cooked up:
I recently learned while checking out an article reporting on the Frankfurt Auto Show: I should start using condoms to lower my carbon footprint. The facts are coming out, if you want a car that has a small carbon footprint (we’ll skip over the argument that you wouldn’t have a car) than you should have a small car. A very small car. The kind of car that would make you get out of it if you wanted to…discuss… the birds and the bees. The kind of car that doesn’t need to carry a large family.
Funny man Josh Heller is in a “tribute” mood this week, and he has three Current Comedy blog posts to place on the alter of the Internet gods (that means you, dear readers):
Last, but not least, a special taste of what is to come on infoMania this week. Here’s a hint: it involves Sarah Haskins and backpacks. Think you know the answer? Better click to make sure.
We’ve been making Current content available in many different ways (including dedicated channels on YouTube and iTunes), and we’re happy to announce that fans of Hulu can now cozy up to the latest episodes of SuperNews!, The Rotten Tomatoes Show, Vanguard, and infoMania, presented in that awesome Hulu viewing experience. If you’ve never checked out some of our shows or watched TV content on Hulu before, head on over, give it a spin, and then let us know what you think.
The sad part? Vicky won’t be returning to the airwaves alongside our “bumps to TV” for various reasons. We’re going to miss her dearly, but I’ll have you know, the split was amicable. When we approached her with the news of our intended plan, Vicky surprisingly replied:
We honestly had no idea how hard Current:News was for her. Her reaction to the news definitely shed some light on the situation, and the more we discussed it the more this change made sense for everyone involved.
As she mentioned, Vicky is going to take some time out for herself. She’s planned a trip to tour Europe, and she might even do some self-upgrading. We’re sad to see her go, but this isn’t the end for Vicky and Current. She’s agreed to check in every once in a while via Facebook, and she plans to keep a close eye on the re-launch of our “bumps to TV.” She’s invested in it, and wants to see it all work out.
So, here is where you guys come in. Let’s send Vicky off with some love directly from the Current community. We’ve set up a group for Vicky specifically, titled “Current [hearts] Vicky.” Head over there, submit a webcam, and tell her what you think. Let’s send her off in style.
Please use the button below [make sure you're logged in] to head over to the Current.com clipper and add a webcam, photo, or comment for Vicky:
We honestly had no idea how hard Current:News was for her. Her reaction to the news definitely shed some light on the situation, and the more we discussed it the more this change made sense for everyone involved.
