Scientists don’t work in a vacuum. Their work should always come along with a rigorous review process to ensure their methods and results aren’t wild, misinterpreted, or outright made up. But what if you’ve found a way to fake your own review?
Last week it was revealed that Apple had requested and was granted permission from the California DMV to test its own self-driving technology on public roads. Now documents that were filed as part of the application have been published, and they detail the safety and training procedures for employees who will work with the software platform and act as backup … Continue reading
Hulu’s soon-to-be-released adaption of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, has yet to premiere, but that hasn’t stopped the showrunner and producers from dreaming about future seasons.
During a panel discussion that took place after a screening of the series’ first episode at Tribeca Film Festival, members of the cast and crew discussed all things “Handmaid’s Tale,” including how the source material for the adaptation of Atwood’s incredibly prescient novel leaves the door wide open for an expanded version of the story for TV.
“When the book ends, the reaction is fury, because the way it ends is so cut off,” showrunner Bruce Miller told audiences on Friday night. “And so in some ways, immediately, the first thing you think of is ― how are we going to expand this story? Because that’s what your desire is as a reader.”
The book, he noted, is written strictly from the perspective of Offred ― one of the many handmaids living in the theocratic dictatorship known as Gilead, who are forced to function as sexual surrogates for leaders of the republic. In this indeterminate future version of the United States, sterility has become an overwhelming issue, resulting in a return to “traditional” values and widespread subjugation of women, particularly those of lower social standing who are capable of bearing children for more powerful men.
“The book is so strictly from Offred’s point of view, that you hear about all of these amazing, interesting worlds and all of these parts of all of these things that are going on, but you don’t see any of them going on in the book,” Miller explained. “That, to me, as a TV series [showrunner], seemed like … once you create this world, you have a lot of places to go.”
“I wanted to know more,” he added. “I wanted to know what happens next. The end of the book is quite a mystery, so I get to make it up.”
The first three episodes of the Hulu series certainly center around the life of Offred (Elizabeth Moss), once a free mother and wife who’s now forced to live with, serve and produce children for a high-ranking commander in Gilead’s militant regime. But we’re also given a glimpse into the worlds of fellow handmaid Ofglen (Alexis Bledel), Offred’s best friend from college Moira (Samira Wiley), the commander’s wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), handmaid trainer Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), and even the commander himself (Joseph Fiennes).
“You might not stay with Offred the whole time,” teased “Lemonade” cinematographer Reed Morano, the director of the first three “Handmaid’s” episodes.
Executive producer Warren Littlefield was more than willing to entertain the idea of future “Handmaid’s Tale” seasons as well:
The landscape of television right now is such an exciting playground for artists. The audience asks, each and every year, to only get more complex in character and more complex in story. Look at who’s up on stage. Each and every one of these actors ― the characters that they play ― there’s so much to explore. Where a limited series is certainly thriving right now in the television landscape, Bruce has years and the struggle continues. God knows it’s relevant. So […] we’ve only scratched the surface in the first 10 hours and our hope is that we leave you with, “Oh, I have to have more.”
“The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere on Hulu on April 26. Meantime, here are some images from the show to get you excited:
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Tamar Arslanian knows that shop cats aren’t just cute, they can play a vital role in a city like New York that can feel a bit cold and brutal at times.
It all started when she started posting photos of two shop cats in her neighborhood — Jack, who lives at a wine shop and Kitty, who resides at a pilates studio — on social media, and was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and interest of her fellow New Yorkers. Many of them had favorite local shop cats of their own.
“It’s then I began to realize how pervasive shop cats were in the city, and the important role they played in adding a touch of warmth – a sense of community even – in a place that can sometimes feel overwhelming and impersonal,” she told HuffPost in an email.
That realization inspired Arslanian to write “Shop Cats of New York,” a book that explores the lesser-known lives of the city’s most adored felines. She teamed up with photographer Andrew Marttila, who shot gorgeous portraits of the book’s furry stars.
Arslanian had some important criteria for which cats she included.
“First and foremost, I wanted to to feel confident the cats were well cared for and beloved,” she said.
As it turns out, she was pleasantly surprised by just how great the cats’ lives seemed to be.
“My biggest ‘ah ha’ was realizing the level of stimulation and attention these cats received in comparison to most house cats, mine included,” she said. “I see my cats for about an hour before work and a few hours in the evenings during the week, but I can’t say I’m actively playing with them for very long. It made me realize the level of enrichment these cats were receiving on a daily basis. In some ways they could be viewed as having fuller lives than most cats living in more traditional homes.”
That’s one reason why Arslanian would like to see more animal shelters and rescue groups be open to adopting out cats to businesses, not just traditional residences.
“Businesses could be vetted as are most adopters, and assessed to ensure the business and cat are a good fit for one another,” she said, noting that of course not all cats have personalities that would be suited to that environment.
See a selection of Marttila’s photos from the book below.
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As the world looks back on BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster seven years later, a study released this week highlights the costly ecological impacts of the largest maritime oil spill on record.
Scientists found that Americans would be willing to pay an estimated $17.2 billion to prevent another catastrophe like the BP oil spill, which leaked more than 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration commissioned the study, which offers the first comprehensive appraisal of the disaster’s financial impact on affected natural resources, like beaches, coral and marine life. Its findings were published in the journal Science on Friday.
In 2016, BP estimated the oil spill cost the company roughly $62 billion in cleanup and legal fees. But scientists were interested in understanding the price tag attached to natural resource damage, a much trickier value to determine.
To do so, researchers asked American households how much money they would be willing to pay in a one-time tax to protect natural resources by preventing another a similar disaster similar to the BP oil spill.
The researchers spent the first three years after the spill developing the survey, which aimed to effectively explain the magnitude of the destruction on natural resources. They spent the next few years administering the questionnaire to a large sample of American adults and analyzing the results.
The average household was willing to pay $153 for a prevention program, the researchers found. To get the final $17.2 billion appraisal, they multiplied this rate by the number of households that the sample represented.
The Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 11 people while the subsequent oil spill wreaked havoc on countless ecosystems and resulted in the deaths of billions of animals, according to the federal government.
Last year, a federal judge approved a $20 billion settlement, which BP is to pay out to five Gulf states and local government over 16 years to cover environmental damage.
“Our estimate can guide policymakers and the oil industry in determining not only how much should be spent on restoration efforts for the Deepwater spill, but also how much should be invested to protect against damages that could result from future oil spills,” said Kevin Boyle, a professor of agricultural and applied economic at Virginia Tech and one of the study’s authors.
“People value our natural resources, so it’s worth taking major actions to prevent future catastrophes and correct past mistakes,” he added.
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Silicon Valley’s $400
Juicer May Be
Feeling the Squeeze
Ellen Huet and
Olivia Zaleski,
Bloomberg
We never bought into the hype of a $700 juicer, but the folks at Juicero were able convince some that its WiFi-connected device was worth the investme…
Late Friday evening, the White House made a mysterious decision to ask for Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy’s resignation. He was quickly replaced by Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams and all social media accounts were scrubbed of Dr. Murthy’s presence. It’s unclear what prompted Murthy’s sudden dismissal but one clue could…
Following news of Cuba Gooding Sr.’s death on Thursday, the soul singer’s son, Cuba Gooding Jr., shared a beautiful tribute to his father on Instagram.
On Friday, the actor shared a photo of The Main Ingredient’s “Greatest Hits” album that he captioned, “Eternal.” Gooding Sr. served as the musical group’s lead singer from 1971, according to Billboard.
The singer was found dead in a car in Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 72. A cause of death has yet to be confirmed, but it appeared to be “non-homicidal.”
Gooding Jr. spoke of the influence of his father earlier this year on an episode of “Inside the Actors Studio.” Among his earliest memories was seeing his father performing at Disneyland, he recalled.
“And after his performances, they would close it off to the general public and all the performers’ kids would go on the rides as many times as they wanted,” he told host James Lipton. “He would pull me up on stage with him and make me finish the song because I’d seen him perform all the time. It was a lot of feeling like, ‘I come from royalty.’”
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Thousands people around the world gathered on Earth Day to participate in March for Science rallies to show their support for science and fight the environmentally disastrous agenda of President Donald Trump.
But humans weren’t the only ones to show up Saturday.
Many demonstrators also brought their four-legged canine companions along for the march as well. And sure, while most of those dogs probably viewed the event as just a good opportunity for a walk and sniffing some new people, that doesn’t mean that animal participation isn’t important. After all, climate change is an enormous threat to hundreds of species around the globe ― despite Trump dismissing it as “bullshit” going on to roll back regulations on fossil fuels. And extreme weather events like droughts, floods and hurricanes affect animals, too — including our pets.
Here are some of the dogs who showed their solidarity on Saturday.
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OMAHA ― Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized the security threats to a speaking event by conservative pundit Ann Coulter at the University of California, Berkeley that prompted the school to postpone the talk.
“I don’t like this. I don’t like it,” Sanders told The Huffington Post after speaking at a rally for Omaha mayoral candidate Heath Mello on Thursday night. “Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.”
University officials on Tuesday night informed Berkeley’s College Republicans, who invited Coulter to speak, that the April 27 event would need to be rescheduled due to concerns that her speech would set off violent protests and make it difficult to maintain campus security.
Campus police have learned that groups responsible for recent clashes during demonstrations on campus and throughout the city planned to target Coulter’s event, according to the university.
Although on Thursday the university offered to host the speech in the afternoon on May 2, Coulter and the College Republicans have rejected the proposal, arguing that students are less likely to be able to attend an afternoon speech. In insisting on the original speaking date, they also note that May 2 is during a period when classes have ended and students are studying for finals.
Coulter has said that she still plans to speak on April 27 in the evening. She and the College Republicans are threatening litigation against the university.
The controversy over Coulter’s speech follows violent clashes between supporters of President Donald Trump and left-wing Trump critics at a pro-Trump rally in a park in the city of Berkeley. UC Berkeley also canceled a speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in February amid violent protests by some 1,500 people.
The events at UC Berkeley and protests against conservative speakers, which sometimes turned violent at other college campuses, have ignited a debate among progressives about the boundaries of free speech with some on the left insisting that racial demagoguery deserves to be countered as aggressively as possible.
Many other liberals argue that disruptions that effectively veto certain points of view are wrongheaded and counterproductive no matter how repugnant the speaker’s views.
Sanders made clear he is firmly in the latter camp.
“To me, it’s a sign of intellectual weakness,” he said. “If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?”
“What are you afraid of ― her ideas? Ask her the hard questions,” he concluded. “Confront her intellectually. Booing people down, or intimidating people, or shutting down events, I don’t think that that works in any way.”
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