Manic, Chill

News, politics, and hip hop from a die hard Packers fan, part-time writer for ShortFormBlog, and freelance reporter for the International Digital Times. The views expressed here are solely those of Scott Craft, and will probably be edited for spelling and grammar issues when noticed. No promises though. Follow @manicchill !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");  var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-23043322-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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First Trip To E3

So, you guys may not have noticed my absence from ShortFormBlog last week, but I was actually out in California for five days to cover the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo for the International Digital Times. Getting to go to the show was pretty amazing, and something I've been hoping to do since I started playing video games as a kid.

I know I don't update this blog often anymore, but figured I'd pop in and leave a few links to some of my coverage for anybody that's still following Manic, Chill and hoping to see an update from time to time.

Payday 2 Release Date Will Bring Better Graphics, New Heists And Enough Weaponry To Hold Off A Small Army [HANDS-ON]

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z Combines Cel-Shading, Dark Comedy And More Than A Bit Of The Old Ultra Violence [HANDS-ON]

Saints Row 4: E3 Game Play Demo Drops The Bass, Laser Swords And The Most Super Powered President In History [HANDS-ON]

Warframe PlayStation 4 Port Features New Control Scheme, Same Awesome Cyber-Ninja Action [HANDS-ON]

Dead Rising 3: PC Port Inquiry Gets 'No Comment' From Dev Team

Also got a chance to meet Curren$y, Evander Holyfield, a few members of the GIant Bomb team, and a couple of other folks that made the trip to Los Angeles really awesome. Basically, what I'm saying is, you should probably try and go to E3 at some point in the future if you have the opportunity. It's pretty fun.

[insert generic promise to update the blog more often here]

Scott

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Matthew Keys, a deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters, has been charged in an indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group “Anonymous” to hack into a Tribune Company website, the Justice Department announced today.

Keys, a former web producer for the Tribune Co-owned television station KTXL FOX 40, in Sacramento, Calif., was charged with providing members of the group with log-in credentials for a computer server belonging to the Tribune Co., according to the DoJ’s press release.

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In case you’d like to read the indictment, here it is.

Quick statement: Matt’s a good friend, and we’ve worked closely together for a couple of years, bouncing ideas off of one another and the whole bit. I talked to him three hours ago. We had no knowledge of this situation, and offer no other statement other than to hope that one of our favorite people is OK. Good luck, Matt. — Ernie @ SFB

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Like Ernie, I had absolutely zero knowledge of this situation, and didn't even really have much/any contact with Matt at this point in time. In fact, I'm fairly certain he'd already started with Thomson Reuters by the time I started working with SFB.

That said, I'd certainly consider the guy a friend (considering he helped me land my first writing gig), and hope that things don't turn out nearly as bad for Matt as the possible sentence suggests. A decade in prison for this would be beyond unreasonable.

Scott

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Artist: Stalley (Prod. Harry Fraud) Track: Petrin Hill Peonies (WaveMix) Album: Adrift

I know I don't update this blog nearly as often as I should be, and I'm working on that (really, I am), but for now I figured I'd pop in with a quick mixtape recommendation. Harry Fraud finally released his Adrift mixtape this week, and its a pretty great mix of major label and independent artists over the smoke session beats Fraud is known for. Head over to DatPiff for the free download.

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"Motherfucker, you in space. Gravitation is just holding you down right now."

Quote of the Year candidate right here.

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Exciting News!

I'm officially a tech reporter for the International Digital Times!

Here are my first two articles:

Walmart Testing New iPhone Powered Self Checkout System At Arkansas Supercenter

Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer will receive monthly content updates, parallel storyline

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Just received another submission from the great people over at The Online Paralegal Program Project. Their newest infographic, titled "Masters of the Earth", does a great job of displaying information on just how big an impact humanity continues to have on our planet. Head over to their site to check out the whole thing!

And if you missed it before, check out the OPP's other release: 

Going Green: Legalizing Marijuana is the Best Thing for America

Thanks, Sarah W., for sending this over!

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The contrast between George Romney and his son Mitt — a contrast both in their business careers and in their willingness to come clean about their financial affairs — dramatically illustrates how America has changed... First, however, let’s talk about what it meant to get rich in George Romney’s America, and how it compares with the situation today. What did George Romney do for a living? The answer was straightforward: he ran an auto company, American Motors. And he ran it very well indeed: at a time when the Big Three were still fixated on big cars and ignoring the rising tide of imports, Romney shifted to a highly successful focus on compacts that restored the company’s fortunes, not to mention that it saved the jobs of many American workers... Now fast-forward to Romney the Younger, who made even more money during his business career at Bain Capital. Unlike his father, however, Mr. Romney didn’t get rich by producing things people wanted to buy; he made his fortune through financial engineering that seems in many cases to have left workers worse off, and in some cases driven companies into bankruptcy.

Mitt's Gray Areas Paul Krugman 

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Artist: Meyhem Lauren Track: Grown Man Palettes f/ Sean Price Album: Respect The Fly Shit 

Am I the only person who listens to new mixtapes/albums at least twice when they drop? Maybe it's just me, but just like with movies, I feel like there's no way you're going to catch everything on the first spin. Either way, after several spins this morning, I can whole-heartily recommend that you go and download Meyhem's new Respect The Fly Shit LP. It's high quality, has great features and production -- minus one appearance by Riff Raff --  and comes for the low, low price of $free.99.

Go check it out.

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What Gov. Romney and his advisers don’t seem to understand is this: If you’re a worker whose job went overseas, you don’t need somebody trying to explain to you the difference between outsourcing and offshoring, you need someone who’s going to wake up every day and fight for American jobs and investment here in the United States.

President Obama

I'm not going to sit here and pretend that everything is getting better as fast as anybody was hoping for, but let's be honest about something. The President was right on this one.

You don't win elections by correcting people after they've just been told they don't have a job. Let them call it what they want while you, as the President, focus on the economy. The general idea is for people not to need to know the difference between unemployment situations.

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Uruguay's clever plan to limit cocaine use: Sell pot. Wait, what? | ShortFormBlog

cocaine Uruguay, like many countries in Latin America, is struggling to fight against black-market drug dealers that are selling drugs like cocaine and the crack-like pasta basica, and in recent years has seen an uptick in crime as a result.

marijuana In an effort to push drug users away from the harder stuff, the country is currently debating whether to start selling marijuana to adults, tax it, and use the taxes to pay for drug rehabilitation. Think this would work, guys? source

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I don't think you could "sell" legalization anywhere in the United States without diverting massive portions of the tax revenue to fund schools, infrastructure improvements, etc but there's no reason that a portion of those taxes couldn't also fund a program like this too. Personally, I think it's a brilliant idea, and feel like a bit of a moron for having never thought of something like this before.

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then Transformers director Michael Bay announced that, in his upcoming reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the shell-shocked antropomorphic heroes would trace their origins back to another planet. Fans were livid.

now After months of anger, several social media...

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I’m very, very disappointed. I am disappointed that my campaign manager forwarded an e-mail that would include any member of my family in policy discussions.

Representative Marsha Looper • Commenting on campaign manager Lana Fore-Warkocz’s decision to include her son in a recent email praising Looper for voting against a civil unions bill in Colorado. The message pointed to Looper’s decision to vote against the bill, even though her son was homosexual, as proof of her commitment to her ideals. Unfortunately, the email also outed Looper’s son, who had not previously discussed his sexuality publicly. Yikes. source(via • follow)

Family Values: You're doing it wrong.

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This is fucking amazing.

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Greek Neo-Nazi party spokesman attacks rival candidates … on live TV

Remember Greece’s Golden Dawn political party? You know, the one with the guy who channels Hitler when he speaks, and won 21 seats in recent parliamentary elections? They’re back in the headlines again after spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris assaulted candidates from the rival SYRIZA and Communist parties during a televised debate. (Jump to 1:10 in the video. It’s crazy.) A warrant has been issued for Kasidiaris, who is also scheduled to go on trial Monday for his role in a separate mugging incident. source

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8-bit “Community” game might become a reality after all

Reddit user Britta-Bot has set to work recreating “Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne”, the 8-bit title featured on NBC sitcom Community’s season finale. While the title is in it’s early stages, featuring little more than a handful of maps and characters seen on the show, Britta-Bot plans to introduce health and inventory systems, new maps, and more in future releases. Community fans, this is definitely something worth checking in on from time to time. (thanks to LaughterKey for the tip) source

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I want to go to there.

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Artist: A$AP Rocky Track: Brand New Guy f/ Schoolboy Q Album: LiveLoveA$AP

Rock and Q finally dropped off the visuals to one of the best tracks from LiveLoveA$AP. Here's hoping I get another chance to see Schoolboy live during the Childish Gambino show tomorrow night. I'd gladly settle for Danny Brown as a replacement.

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Even if we were to say, for the sake of argument, that Hayes' monologue was wrongheaded and offensive, it would remain the case that he 1) made sure to explicitly note that he wasn't disrespecting any soldier who'd fallen -- that is to say, he tried to anticipate which people might be needlessly offended, and to assure them that he meant something different than they thought; 2) he noted that he could be wrong; 3) he invited a panel of other intelligent people to disagree; 4) and when no one did disagree, the first thing he did was try to articulate the best counterargument that he could formulate. Unless you're a delicate flower looking for a broadcaster who never articulates any idea with which you're uncomfortable, what more can you ask from someone in Hayes' position?

In Defense of Chris Hayes Conor Friedersdorf