Archive for General

The Heat Goes to Nevada’s Head

blog_nevadaWhile the entire world will face the effects of global warming, an editorial published in today’s Las Vegas Sun, titled “Brutal Century Ahead,” reminds us that the American Southwest, with its already scorched and arid climate, looks forward to even less fun than most areas (this weekend’s NY Times reminds us, though, that Hawaii is the only US state that faces a true existential threat from global warming); efforts in Nevada to fight global warming recently encountered a major setback, as opposition from the US Air Force shut down a company’s plans to build one of the world’s largest solar power plants near a top-secret base; while unemployment in Nevada hit its highest point ever last month (11.3 percent), a Canadian entrepreneur who sells jet-driven surfboards threatened to sue the state for $30 million dollars after being arrested at gunpoint; and artists from around the country have transformed Reno’s roach motels into temporary roach galleries; (check out more on Nevada in the STOP SMILING Gambling Issue). -SS

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Who Needs Another Disc?

blog_bowieTo many of the growing number of people who have discovered $9-a-month streaming Netflix and other similar online cinema services, the prospect of shelling out $200 for a Blu-Ray player seems ridiculous, as the New York Times reports; for those cinephiles who insist on owning a tangible item they can associate with the movies they watch, the Criterion Collection recently released its first line of Blu-Ray selections, which includes The Man Who Fell to Earth — a masterwork starring David Bowie and directed by Nicolas Roeg, who STOP SMILING interviewed for its Auteur Issue. -SS.

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