A video essay about Blumhouse's over-reliance on horror movie jump-scares [7:46]

Independent production studio Blumhouse needs an intervention.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Zeus/a-video-essay-about-blumhouses-over-reliance-on-horror-movie-jump-scares-746

Not The Best Idea

Way to think that one through…
Read more: http://snapzu.com/mtnrg/not-the-best-idea

Written Behind Bars, This 1850s Memoir Links Prisons To Plantations

The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict is the earliest known prison memoir by an African-American writer. Written by Austin Reed in the 1850s, it was discovered at an estate sale in 2009.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/written-behind-bars-this-1850s-memoir-links-prisons-to-plantations

History of science: When eugenics became law

Victoria Nourse reviews a study on a historic US misuse of biology, the case of Buck v. Bell. Adam Cohen's 'Imbeciles' relates a key chapter in this story. Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/nanno/history-of-science-when-eugenics-became-law

A Spymaster Opens Up

Spymasters are supposed to be good at keeping their mouths shut, so it’s striking how many heads of the Central Intelligence Agency have published memoirs. They are no doubt driven by the same motives that lead other public figures to write autobiographies—money, narcissism, score-settling, concern for their place in history. Now, Michael Hayden, the former C.I.A. chief and N.S.A. director, has written a memoir about transparency and torture. By George Packer.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/a-spymaster-opens-up

A Guide to Collecting Harry Potter Books

The Harry Potter series only began in 1996 and yet J.K. Rowling's books have become highly collectible. It usually takes decades for a book to become collectible and gain significant value on the rare book market. The AbeBooks online marketplaces has sold hundreds of copies of Rowling's books at high prices, including a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone that sold for $37,000. Do you have a valuable Harry Potter gathering dust under your bed?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/a-guide-to-collecting-harry-potter-books

Facebook’s AI is learning by reading loads of children’s books

Neural networks developed by Facebook are able to fill in missing words in passages – thanks to a reading list involving many children's classics.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/facebooks-ai-is-learning-by-reading-loads-of-childrens-books

George Orwell’s master – and spymaster?

In his last days Orwell was visited in hospital by a selection of friends who were all involved in a covert CIA project: CCF, the Congress for Cultural Freedom. Its aim was to provide a counterweight to Marxist intellectual and cultural supremacy in Europe. The project, in which the IRD (Information Research Department) also played a part, would lead to the setting up of Encounter magazine and the CIA’s acquisition of the film rights to Orwell’s "Animal Farm."
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/george-orwells-master-and-spymaster

Gardening and the Secret of Happiness

Botanist and nature writer Robin Wall Kimmerer, who has written beautifully about the art of attentiveness to life at all scales, examines the revelations of the garden in "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants" — an unusual and richly rewarding book blending botany, Native American mythology, natural history, and philosophy.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/gardening-and-the-secret-of-happiness

'Prison Break' revival season to be filmed in Vancouver

Another revival season of a hit television series will be filming in Vancouver: Production for Fox Broadcasting Company’s Prison Break‘s so-called ‘limited event series’ is slated to occur in the city, with Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell reprising their original roles in the series, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It is unclear whether Miller and Purcell’s ongoing roles in the CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was a factor in...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/ppp/prison-break-revival-season-to-be-filmed-in-vancouver

Rule #91: And the Birding Oscar Goes To...

It’s not just about the acting. Find out which film should win based on accurate bird depictions alone. To a birder, hearing or seeing an out-of-place bird is like seeing an SUV in a Civil War drama.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/nanno/rule-91-and-the-birding-oscar-goes-to

Predator 4 Gets A 2018 Release Date

It's official. 20th Century Fox has announced a release date for the fourth Predator film. The next Predator movie will be released on March 2, 2018. Earlier this month, Fox released the first teaser art for the film. The poster revealed the possible title of the film as The Predator, and it included the phrase, "You'll never see him coming." The script for The Predator was written by Shane Black (Iron Man 3) and Fred Dekker. Black is also believed to be directing the film.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TentativePrince/predator-4-gets-a-2018-release-date

All Def Digital Rolls Out the Black Carpet

Russell Simmons’s new-media company hosts its own movie-awards show, a D.I.Y. response to the #OscarsSoWhite campaign.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/imokruok/all-def-digital-rolls-out-the-black-carpet

Leonardo DiCaprio Finally Wins An Oscar For Best Actor

With his fifth nomination, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally earned an Oscar for his role in The Revenant.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/picklefingers/leonardo-dicaprio-finally-wins-an-oscar-for-best-actor

Star Trek Continues, Episode 5

“Divided We Stand”
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/star-trek-continues-episode-5

The Lost Childhood’s End

A Tale of Phil DeGuere, The Late 1970s, and Arthur C. Clarke’s Classic Novel. By James Burns.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/the-lost-childhoods-end

California Highway Patrol needed nearly four hours to catch a runaway ‘unicorn’

When a caller reported a “unicorn-like” animal galloping down an open Central Valley road, the California Highway Patrol suspected someone was high on hallucinogenic drugs.By Brittny Mejia.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/california-highway-patrol-needed-nearly-four-hours-to-catch-a-runaway-unicorn

The Fierce Courage of Nina Simone

Simone’s courage was undeniable, but it was also a shield, even a mask, designed to protect her from hostile forces, real and imagined. White supremacy was not the only hellhound on her trail. By Adam Shatz.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/the-fierce-courage-of-nina-simone

Dispatch from Jaipur Literary Festival 2016: The Greatest Literary Show on Earth

The JLF brings together writers from all over the world for readings, lectures, discussions and celebration at the Diggi Palace in Jaipur, India. The festival has grown from 200 to more than 3 million attendees in nine short years. This year’s speakers included international heavy hitters like Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Thomas Piketty, Stephen Fry, Aleksandar Hemon, Colm Tóibín, sharing the stage with Indian literary giants like Ruskin Bond and Gulzar.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/dispatch-from-jaipur-literary-festival-2016-the-greatest-literary-show-on-earth

The Unintentional Last Words of 13 Famous Writers

Including James Baldwin, Lou Reed, Nora Ephron, and David Foster Wallace.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/the-unintentional-last-words-of-13-famous-writers

Books Coming Out this Week of February 2016

Look for new books by John Feinstein, Shirley MacLaine and Clive Cussler.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jcscher/books-coming-out-this-week-of-february-2016

The Life Project: what makes some people happy, healthy and successful – and others not?

The factors that most affect our life chances are revealed as the first group of British babies followed in a remarkable cradle-to-grave study turns 70. By Helen Pearson
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/the-life-project-what-makes-some-people-happy-healthy-and-successful-and-others-not

Horror Movie Newspaper Ads from the '80s

I recently bought a former film buff’s collection of 1980s newspaper clippings, not knowing quite what to expect... As if the sheer volume of goodies wasn’t enough, the guy’s main interest seemed to be horror movies. Below are several scans from his (well, my) collection, all from the very late ‘80s.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Zeus/horror-movie-newspaper-ads-from-the-80s

Wittgenstein, bewitched

Tim Crane reviews Ian Ground and F. A. Flowers III's "Portraits of Wittgenstein."
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/wittgenstein-bewitched

Astronautica - "Palm Springs" (Official Music Video)

From the new album "Gemini" out now on Alpha Pup Records
Read more: http://snapzu.com/imokruok/astronautica-palm-springs-official-music-video

Netflix is producing an original anime series with the studio behind Ghost in the Shell

Netflix's upcoming anime series, Perfect Bones, will be the first original program from the streaming service to air in 190 countries simultaneously, the company announced today.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/timex/netflix-is-producing-an-original-anime-series-with-the-studio-behind-ghost-in-the-shell

Porn Industry Uses Airbnb, Rental Houses for Filming

Nearly four years after Los Angeles County passed new requirements for pornographic performers, the porn industry has spread to nearby counties like Ventura County — and much of that filming is happening in residents' homes with or without their knowledge, the NBC4 I-Team has learned. Private citizens believe their home is being rented out for a few days — perhaps never knowing it's become the set of a raunchy pornographic title.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/robmonk/porn-industry-uses-airbnb-rental-houses-for-filming

Adele: The full story

In little more than eight years, Adele has come from nowhere to establish herself as one of the world's biggest entertainment brands, right up there with Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars, FIFA 2016, and Call of Duty. The proof was in the prizes on Wednesday night, when she walked away with a record-equalling four Brit Awards. Her success is a remarkable achievement - all the more impressive given that she is operating in a market that has roughly halved in size over the past decade.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rawlings/adele-the-full-story

Master of reality: on Henry James' non-fiction

James elevated the novel to a higher plane – but 100 years after his death, it’s his suprising memoirs and essays that are enjoying a revival.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/master-of-reality-on-henry-james-non-fiction

When Britannia ruled the digital waves

Tom Lean’s "Electronic Dreams" reminds us how Britain once led the field in computer science, producing systems more revolutionary than the Apple Mac. By Steven Poole.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/when-britannia-ruled-the-digital-waves

Chic - Everybody Dance 1977

Clap your hands!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/CrookedTale/chic-everybody-dance-1977

Singer Donna Jean Godchaux of the Grateful Dead Inducted into Alabama Music Hall of Fame

Her background vocals can also be heard on '60s Muscle Shoals recordings and Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds."
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/singer-donna-jean-godchaux-of-grateful-dead-inducted-into-alabama-music-hall-of-fame

The 30 Best Fantasy Book Series of All Time

Some readers equate fantasy with hobbits and magic wardrobes. Others conjure images of a wizard P.I. in Chicago or a gunslinger in a magical Wild West. And that is the beauty of the genre. Fantasy thrives on the creation of new worlds, species and magic systems. It allows for the impossible to occur—for elves to fall in love with humans and for street urchins to wield magic. Fantasy introduces readers to adventures starring world-conquering...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TNY/the-30-best-fantasy-book-series-of-all-time

Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw? 1973

You know the words. No need to put them here.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/CrookedTale/why-dont-we-get-drunk-and-screw-1973

This State Wants a Trigger Warning for Toni Morrison

A bill in front of the Virginia legislature would force schools to seek parental permission before teaching books that have sex scenes. Did a boy who would leave for college the following year, one who enrolled in an advanced placement English class, and posted photos of his liquor stash on social media, need his mother’s protection from Toni Morrison’s words?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/this-state-wants-a-trigger-warning-for-toni-morrison

Gianni Infantino elected new FIFA president

Gianni Infantino has been elected as the new FIFA president. The Swiss-born administrator had been UEFA general secretary since 2009, though will now take up the most senior position in world football's governing body. He won Friday's election in which delegates from all 209 of FIFA's member states participated, at an "extraordinary congress" called after the resignation of his disgraced predecessor Sepp Blatter.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TentativePrince/gianni-infantino-elected-new-fifa-president

Really Good at Killing: The Ethics of Drones

Pacifists are rare. Most people believe that lethal violence may be used in self-defence, or the defence of others, against potentially lethal threats. Military action is justified by a collective institutional version of this basic human right, which sets an outer limit on the right to life. Lethal aggressors who cannot be stopped by lesser means are liable to lethal attack, and this does not violate their right to life so long as they remain a threat.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Pfennig88/really-good-at-killing-the-ethics-of-drones

80 Books No Woman Should Read

A few years ago, Esquire put together a list that keeps rising from the dead like a zombie to haunt the Internet. It embodies the whole mission of that magazine so far as I can tell. The magazine’s monthly instructions are not aimed at me, so I know the magazine mostly by the taglines and tarted-up ladies on on its cover. But I did just read Esquire’s list… By Rebecca Solnit. (Nov. 18)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/80-books-no-woman-should-read

Growing Up with the Unabomber

Ted Kaczynski's brother tells a moving story of complex family dynamics.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/growing-up-with-the-unabomber

A Bloody Tale of How Mexico Went Catholic

The ancient rites of the Aztecs, the brutality of the Inquisition, and the savagery of anti-clericalism all combined to give the Mexican church a very special character. By Alan Riding.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/a-bloody-tale-of-how-mexico-went-catholic

Rocky actor Tony Burton dies aged 78

Tony Burton, who appeared in six Rocky films opposite Sylvester Stallone, has died at the age of 78. His cause of death is not known but his sister, Loretta Kelly, said he had regularly been in hospital over the past year. She added he had not received a diagnosis in that time but his health was so poor he had not been able to see recent spin-off film Creed. Burton played Tony "Duke" Evers, who trained both Rocky and Apollo Creed.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/rocky-actor-tony-burton-dies-aged-78

Dirty Old Medieval Books

Most of us have said “I love this book!” at one point or another. However, what we mean by it may differ a great deal. If you are like me, this statement has little to do with how enjoy…
Read more: http://snapzu.com/sjvn/dirty-old-medieval-books

Why Is Stan Lee’s Legacy in Question?

It’s the 93-year-old comic-book god’s universe. He built Marvel Comics and laid the foundation for today’s blockbuster superhero movies. So why, at 93, is his legacy in question? By Abraham Riesman.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/why-is-stan-lees-legacy-in-question

The Trials of Aaron Swartz

A collection of Swartz’s writings is a record of a mind thinking, beautifully, against itself.  By Ava Kofman. (Feb. 3)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/the-trials-of-aaron-swartz

How time travel works in Star Trek

It's 2016, meaning we have now 50 years of Trek time paradoxes to explore. By Xaq Rzetelny.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/how-time-travel-works-in-star-trek

‘Bones’ Gets 12-Episode Final Season On Fox, Stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel Set To Return

Fox’s Bones will be getting a final chapter. The network has renewed the long-running comedic procedural for a 12-episode farewell 12th season. Stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel have closed deals to return as the series’ leading duo of Booth and Brennan. Also set to come back as showrunners are Jonathan Collier and Michael Peterson, who took the reins of the show this season.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geoleo/bones-gets-12-episode-final-season-on-fox-stars-david-boreanaz-and-emily-deschanel-set-to-return

The other KKK: how the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift tried to craft a new world

George Orwell thought they were ‘sex maniacs’. They thought they were spiritual samurai, rebuilding Britain after the Great War. With their magical rituals, outdoor living and utopian vision, they are the most fascinating of forgotten youth movements – and their ideas still resonate. By Jon Savage.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/the-other-kkk-how-the-kindred-of-the-kibbo-kift-tried-to-craft-a-new-world

Marvel's Daredevil - Season 2 - Official Trailer - Part 2 - Netflix [HD]

Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios. Bigger problems emerge when Frank Castle The Punisher, a man who takes justice into his own hands in Matt’s neighborhood. Matt must balance his duty to his community as a lawyer and his dangerous life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, facing a life-altering choice that forces him to truly understand what it means to be a hero.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/mtnrg/marvels-daredevil-season-2-official-trailer-part-2-netflix-hd

ZHU - In the Morning

Experience Neon City
Read more: http://snapzu.com/imokruok/zhu-in-the-morning

The full run of If magazine, scanned at the Internet Archive

The Internet Archive's amazing Pulp Magazine Archive includes all 176 issues of If, a classic science fiction magazine that ran from 1952 to 1974.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/imokruok/the-full-run-of-if-magazine-scanned-at-the-internet-archive