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REVIEW: Logitech's New iOS 7 Game Controller Is Good, Not Great

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Logitech Power shell Controller + Battery

Logitech has a released a new game controller for the iPhone called the PowerShell controller + battery. It supports the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and the fifth generation iPod Touch.

It's one of the first game controllers made for iOS 7 and it costs $99. 

I tested over the past few days and here's what I liked and what I didn't like.

The set up process is very easy.

It doesn't require much effort to set up the PowerShell. All you have to do is slide the iPhone or iPod into the center of the controller. Although the device will be encased in the shell, you'll still be able to answer calls and have full access to your phone.

Some of the games make you feel like there is a Playstation in your pocket.

Once its locked securely in the dock, download games from the app store. Logitech touts console-style controls for the PowerShell and certain games certainly feel like your playing a miniature PlayStation. While gobbling up dots in multiple levels of Pacman, I felt like I had a classic 80's arcade game in the palm of my hands. The directional pad was responsive when helping Pacman find his way through the maze and the letter controls worked well for adjusting playing options such as turning up the sound. Here's a full list of what you can play.

Players will have long hours of gameplay.

At the top of the PowerShell, there is a small silver switch that activates the controller's powerful battery. If your iPhone or iPod battery gets low, turn on the PowerShell's battery. My iPhone 5S was fully charged in under an hour while I completed several levels of Fast & Furious 6.

Now, here's what needs work.

The controls need some more improvements. While the directional pad worked well for some games, it was AWFUL for others. As I mentioned above, it responded well with PacMan but was extremely hard to use on some of the strategy games like Bastion. I had to push down multiple times in order to scroll through menus and keep my character moving in a straight line. If Logitech had wanted to make the definitive controller for iOS 7, they could have put some more effort into refining their controls.

Also, I don't recommend using an iPod in the PowerShell. In order to use headphones, you'll have to hook your headphones into a flimsy power adapter. It took me several tries to sync my headphones into the dongle and the sound quality wasn't great. You're better off muting the volume on your iPod. 

Conclusion

I thought the controller was good, not great. The gadget fits great in your pocket and was fun to use while I was on my train to work. But ultimately, I think there should have been more features to justify the $99 price. 

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Mayor Bloomberg Makes 'Weekend Update' Cameo To Joke About His Future Job Prospects

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Jimmy Fallon dropped by "Weekend Update," with anchor Seth Meyers pointing out that both men are leaving their jobs in the coming year.

When asked if they're looking forward to the big changes, Fallon said "I'm so excited about about hosting 'The Tonight Show' as well as bringing it back to New York City" while Bloomberg joked with a straight face: "I'll be fulfilling a lifelong dream of enjoying a small soda on a non-smoking beach."

But when asked what the future brings for the former mayor, Bloomberg said, "I've applied to teach Spanish at a few universities, but I'm told that my accent isn't quite bueno. I don't know what the future holds — president, pope, naked cowboy  I have lots of options."

As for Fallon leaving his "Late Night" hosting duties, he said to successor Seth Meyers: "I am sad, but can I just say how happy I am to be passing the baton to you? I introduced you the first time you were ever on 'Update' and I've watched you grow. My little Sethy."

Watch the full sketch below.

But they weren't the only guest stars on "Weekend Update." 

Openly gay tennis legend "Billie Jean King" also stopped by the Update desk to comment on the Sochi Winter Olympics after Obama selected her to be part of the U.S. delegation to the games, which many view as an act of protest to Vladimir Putin's controversial anti-gay laws.

"I couldn't be more excited. I'm President Obama's big gay middle finger and this bird's about to be flipped," she joked. "BJK is about to double down and Putin's going to find himself in the epicenter of a gay tornado. I'm going to drive my Subaru Outback into Red Square while doing doughnuts and blasting Melissa Etheridge."

Watch the full, funny segment below:

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Fallon And Justin Timberlake Interview Megyn Kelly, Paul Ryan, And The REAL Madonna On SNL 'Barry Gibb Talk Show'

MORE: Paul McCartney Makes Surprise 'SNL' Appearance To Duet With Jimmy Fallon During Monologue

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Jimmy Fallon Cracks Up Watching Justin Timberlake Play Him During SNL 'Celebrity Family Feud'

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"Saturday Night Live" sketch "Family Feud" was full of spot-on celebrity impressions.

With Kenan Thompson playing a hilarious version of host Steve Harvey, he introduced the different teams of celebrities by TV network. 

Representing CBS were Jim Parsons, Ashton Kutcher, Alyson Hannigan, and Jon Cryer. Competing for NBC was Jane Lynch, Ice-T,  “SNL” newbie Brooks Wheelan (who Steve Harvey said he never heard of), and musical guest Justin Timberlake playing "Late Night" and "SNL" host, Jimmy Fallon.

The best part was when Timberlake, playing Fallon, competed against Fallon, who perfectly portrayed "Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons. 

But Fallon loses it at 6:40. Watch below:

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Fallon And Justin Timberlake Interview Megyn Kelly, Paul Ryan, And The REAL Madonna On SNL 'Barry Gibb Talk Show'

MORE: Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Music Video Mocked During SNL’s 'Waking Up With Kimye'

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Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Music Video Mocked During SNL’s 'Waking Up With Kimye'

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A brash Kanye West and nasally Kim Kardashian were mocked once again on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live" in another installment of the "Waking Up With Kimye" sketch.

During the Christmas-themed skit, West talks about how Kardashian got her post-baby body back through exercise, diet and “photoshop.”

The bit also featured her family performing as the “Kardashian Kristmas Karolers,” or as she calls them, the “KKK,” and West praising Kim as "the Armenian Frank Gehry" for constructing a nightclub gingerbread house.

The couple then unveil their video Christmas card, a parody of the now infamous "Bound 2" music videoWatch the segment below:

SEE ALSO: Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Slam Apple 'Genius' In 'SNL' Skit

SEE ALSO: Mayor Bloomberg Makes 'Weekend Update' Cameo To Joke About His Future Job Prospects

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The Best Christmas Movie Of All Time Also Happens To Be The Best Wall Street Movie Of All Time

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trading places

I've always been pretty traditional in my tastes for the best Christmas movie of all time. I've always been partial to "It's A Wonderful Life," since I watched it a lot growing up, there's a great financial/historical element to it, and well, just generally, it's hard to dislike.

But this post by film blogger Ian Phillips, which I saw on Reddit, argues that the the Eddie Murphy film "Trading Places" ought to be considered one of the best Christmas movies, and as soon as I saw the post I realized it was obviously correct.

This year happens to be the 30th anniversary of the movie, which is why my colleague Rob Wile published an oral history of the film this summer.

If you haven't seen it, the gist is simple: Two fabulously wealthy brothers who own a commodities brokerage in Philadelphia debate whether genetics or upbringing is more important in a person's life. So they do an experiment. They fire their top broker (Dan Aykroyd) and frame him for a crime, forcing him to essentially live on the streets with no money. Then, at the same time, they take a nearly broke guy from the street (Eddie Murphy), and see if they can train him to be a commodities broker.

Spoiler alert: Hijinks ensue, Dan Aykroyd turns to crime, Eddie Murphy becomes an awesome broker, showing that genes don't matter, and that it's all about upbringing. Eventually Aykroyd and Murphy realize how they've been toyed with and together they get revenge.

Trading PlacesThe whole movie takes place around several days starting before Christmas and going through New Year's. In one memorable scene, Aykroyd crashes his old firm's Christmas party dressed as Santa Claus, which ends with him getting really drunk, stuffing meat from the buffet table into the pockets of his red coat, and then trying to eat it through his synthetic beard on the bus. It's a gag-worthy moment.

In addition to the timing of the movie, there are Christmas (and Christian) themes throughout. For one thing, it's about how everyone can thrive, even those who are poor beggars, if given the right chance by someone. Dan Aykroyd's character gets back on his feet through the help of a prostitute he meets (Ophelia, played by Jamie Lee Curtis). During his down period, Aykroyd goes through a "no room at the inn" experience, when trying to visit his friends at his old tennis club (who are shunning him). 

If you've never seen the movie, that's a crime, but also something you should really fix over the next week.

SEE ALSO: An oral history of the greatest Wall Street movie ever made

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Here's What Happened When Cracker Barrel Briefly Decided To Get Rid Of 'Duck Dynasty' Merchandise

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Here's a funny and instructive side story in the "Duck Dynasty" affair. Cracker Barrel, the popular roadside "home cooking" restaurant chain, announced today it would stop carrying Duck Dynasty merchandise after Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments. Their change didn't last long.

From Hilary Sargent, who made a Storify of how it all went down.

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'Duck Dynasty' Fans Are Sending Me Ridiculous Hate Mail

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Phil Robertson

Some people did not like my recent article about Phil Robertson, star of "Duck Dynasty."

In the article, I noted problems with Robertson's comments that go far beyond the idea that homosexuality is a sin. Robertson said blacks didn't seem unhappy about oppression in the Jim Crow-era South; he blamed Pearl Harbor on the failure of the Japanese to accept Jesus; and contrary to his protestations, he hates gay people. I don't think any of that is O.K.

I got dozens of letters taking issue with my claims.

Some of the letters are hilarious and some are sad, like the father who says "I have 3 boys and one of my greatest fears is of them growing up LGBT." But they all reflect the fact that hateful bigots are a large market segment and political bloc, which is why Phil Robertson has so many fans and defenders.

Finally, a minority subset of the letters came from Christians who seemed more interested in informing me of my sin than in insulting me, and who wanted me to know that when Robertson said gays and lesbians were "full of murder," "heartless," "senseless" and whatnot, he was just paraphrasing Romans 1. Why this is supposed to make his sentiment any more acceptable or less hateful, I do not understand.

Now, to the mailbox:

#1 says Business Insider is destroying America:

Pinhead and self styled intellect, Josh Barro sounds like a manure salesman with a mouth full of samples.

Why not try and report "real news" instead of "creating news" with personal opinion, lies and outright spin?

Business Insider along with the "Josh Barro's of the world" should get out of the library and see the real world as the USA sinks into an abyss of ultraliberalism, political correctness where everyone is offended, socialism, and Saul Alinsky Marxism.

I can see your corporate boardroom now a bunch of dumbed down DNC voters, educated by indoctrinators in the dysfunctional Teachers Union public school system, wearing bow ties, suspenders, long hair in some cases, spice up the image of a super liberal with some John Lennon look alike glasses !

TOMBSTONE ............................................... AMERICA 1776- 2013 R.I.P. "You were defeated from within by dumbed down voters, liberalism, socialism, Marxism, and political correctness!"

Note to General George Washington: "Your work was all in vain, it was squandered by idiots!" Business Insider is part of this decline!

#2 says I'm Bull Connor, Al Sharpton, Adolph [sic] Hitler, Barack Obama and the A&E executive team, all rolled into one:

Here's what I know, after having read your column:  you're an ignorant, hateful, hate-filled, ill-informed, bigoted, racist heterophobic bully.

Just to be sure, let me repeat that for you:  you're an ignorant, hateful, hate-filled, ill-informed, bigoted, racist, heterophobic bully.

Just like the executives at A&E.  Just like Bull Connor.  Just like Al Sharpton.  Just like Barack Hussein Obama.  Just like Adolph Hitler.

#3 has a few requests. He would like lesbians to talk more about how lesbian they are, because that turns him on. But when gay men talk about being gay, his mind immediately turns to vivid gay sex scenarios, and that makes him want to puke. So, he asks that gay men do him the courtesy of not disclosing our sexual orientation, just as he is respectful to us by not wearing his "Pussy Eaters Pride" shirt outside the house.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager this guy has never been within three feet of a vagina:

You know, everyone is so concentrated on getting offended. Christians get “offended” by getting shouted down by the gay community. The gay community gets “offended” when they are criticized for their behavior, sinful or not. Let me tell you what offends me: If you're a lesbian, great. As a matter of fact, tell me all about it, I'll probably get turned on. But if you’re a guy, please don't tell me you're gay. Keep your trap shut. Because the thought of two men screwing each other in the a#$ quite frankly makes me want to vomit. Beyond that, I could care less what your sexual preferences are. But I do not go around wearing a "Pu@#y Eaters Pride" t-shirt!

By extension, when a man says he is gay he is basically saying I like to suck c@#$ and take it in the a@# from other men. That is the crux of it. Don’t give me this crap it’s about “love”. I happen to have male friends that I love but I have NO desire to screw them. Why does nobody say this? This is the REAL offensive part about being “gay”.

I am offended when a man tells me he is gay because of the mental picture which is the inevitable conclusion upon hearing such information. I want to PUKE. Somehow, that either makes me a religious fanatic or a homophobic bigot. Why can’t it just mean I am a regular Joe with a sensitive stomach?

#4 disagrees with #3. He wants to hear more about what a gay homosexual I am. He emailed my boss, Henry Blodget:

If Mr. Barro were truthful and above board he should have mentioned in some sort of disclosure that as a homosexual male he has skin in the game.

#5 warns it's a sin "to be a fag, homo, gay, or whatever else you want to call it":

I have never saw a person intentionally misrepresent a story like you did with Phil.  He in no way said anything about all blacks just the ones he and I repeat HE knew.  Further more it is a sin, even if you don't believe the bible, to be a fag, homo, gay, or what ever else you want to call it.  Several area businesses and a group of small town organizers are starting a campaign to get you fired for plain out lies.  No journalist with any integrity would knowing lie to make his point look like the right one.  Most and yes I say most Americans believe same sex marriage is wrong.  Maybe this will unite the American people against left wing idiots like yourself.  By the way being gay is a choice you were not born wrong you chose it.

#6 wants all the gays to "pitch in and buy an island and get out of our faces." (Manhattan, perhaps?) He also knows who the real racists are (it's the NAACP, of course):

Josh what you put down on paper is your opinion. That doesn't mean it's right. There are way more Americans like myself who are absolutely sick of all the gays demanding rights. Gay is a lifestyle. Period. No rights, no privileges.  I think they should all pitch in and buy an island and get out of our faces. Good luck with reproducing. And give back the rainbow, its not theirs. On the black issue, there are millions of upstanding, hard working black people who don't expect things to be handed to them. This is America and you can make it for yourself or you can just sit around and bitch because you think you're owed something. Im talking about white and blacks and illegal who are lazy and that's how they will stay. What is sad is there are people who support them and tell them they are right. NAACP for sure. Its organizations like that, in my opinion who keep the racism game alive. So after what I have said, I hope you know there are a whole lot more Americans who feel like I do, but the media, another joke, keep the  way the majority think and feel just so the need can continue. So please, next time you want to tell people what we support, please have the balls to tell the truth.

#7 hits me where it hurts: "your not a good writer." He's also a small businessman who "would rather lose a million dollars" than do business with a homosexual:

Reading the article you wrote on Phil, half way through I could tell a homosexual wrote it. Sure enough I was right. That tells me your not a good writer in that you couldn't write a fair and unbiased article without letting your dislike of Phil come through. But to be honest if I wrote an article on my own personal interactions that I have had with homosexuals in the course of business over the past couple years. I may of brought out how uncomfortable I feel around them and the way they act and would rather lose a million dollars than have my company do business with them, so I can relate to Phil. Hope you don't mind me giving my thoughts on your article. 

#8 thinks homosexuality is "representative of the effeminizing and enervating forces at work in a decadent culture":

By nature, homosexuality is abnormal.

It is taboo behavior according to many of the major world religions.  The Bible identifies the behavior as an “abomination” and prescribes the death penalty.

The practices associated with it are detrimental to health.

It becomes prominent in declining civilizations being representative of the effeminizing and enervating forces at work in a decadent culture.

Homosexuality represents yet one more assault on the family, the basic building block of society.

Your attack against Phil Robertson is a bad reflection on Business Insider.  Perhaps they should pull an A&E and terminate your position as politics editor.

#9 just wants to slap me. "Not so hard that it would harm you. Just insult you."

Just read your article about Phil from DD. If I was standing next to you right now I'd slap you. You're an ass. Not so hard that it would harm you. Just insult you. Because that's what your word twisting article does to me. It insults my intelligence. 

Of course if you felt the need to, I'd give you one free swing, then I would stomp you into oblivion. 

Someone bumps into you soon, you better keep your head down and keep moving. Karma. It's coming.

#10 is confused about how "scare quotes" work:

...what you FAIL to realize (Mr. "Bozo") is that whatever "Phil" has to say is Constitutionally protected FREE SPEECH !   It doesn't matter what his opinion(s) are !  The Constitution clearly says he has the RIGHT to say it !   so...if you don't like what "Phil" has to say...   under the (banner of "free, Constitutionally protected FREE SPEECH)   "CRAM it up your @ss" !   (and) Merry Christmas to you too !

#11 helpfully looked up "queer" in the dictionary and seconded Robertson's view that blacks didn't seem terribly bothered by Jim Crow laws:

Since you probably think you are intellectually "elite" also, consider this.  What is normal, and what is not normal?  If homosexuality is normal, there would not be a human race today, or a race of any other species, since homosexuals cannot reproduce.  According to the reasoning I just gave, homosexuality is abnormal!  An internet dictionary definition of "queer" states the following:  strange, odd. Synonyms include "odd, strange, unusual, peculiar, bizarre, weird, freakish, unnatural."

As to Robertson's remarks about blacks, I would have to state that I grew up at exactly the same time he did, and in southwest Virginia to boot.  I never, ever, not even once, saw a black person who I thought was unhappy.  Discriminated against by laws and rules, yes—unhappy over it, I did not see.  It probably was there, but I never saw it.  

The "elites" in this world are the Christians.  I am sorry if you don't agree.  You are wrong.  Not because you are gay; not because you are Hispanic (if you are); not because you are black (if you are).  No matter what your sexual or racial persuasion, if you are not a Christian, you are wrong.  

#12 was one of the few readers who stuck up for Robertson's attack on Shintoism:

It seems perfectly reasonable to me that Mr. Robertsons experience growing up was as he stated, that he didn't see any black people mistreated. That does not equal approval of Jim Crowe Laws. Mr. Robertsons comments on the Nazis is correct. At least as far as the Nazi leadership is concerned. Many Germans at the time were Christian (Protestant or Catholic) but the leadership had turned its back on Christianity for the Occult. Whether there were Christians in Japan is concerned, I would bet that their leadership at the time was perhaps not anti-Christian, but predominantly Shinto. Maybe had there been more Christians in the Japanese leadership perhaps they wouldn't have attacked Pearl Harbor. Who knows? And you state that Phil Robertson hates gays. How could you possibly know? Mr. Robertson was paraphrasing scripture. It wasn't an exact quote, but it was pretty close. If you want to beat up on someone, take it up with the Apostle Paul. In my view, your interpretation of Mr. Robertsons comments fully illustrates your predispositon to dismiss an alternative opinion.  I thought the hallmark of a liberal education was critical thinking, How disappointing. 

#13 says the real problem for black Americans is that coastal elitists like BI readers want to use welfare to keep them poor; that homosexuality is disgusting like peanut butter; and that Barack Obama is busy defending Muslim beheaders:

"Robertson thinks black Americans were treated just fine in the Jim Crow-era South, and that they were happy there." No, my view is he was stating that the way Entitlements are today, Blacks seem to be more miserable than they were back then. Just look at anyone on welfare at that, not just blacks... they are miserable. It's modern day slavery bubba, but hey, you write for an economic magazine that caters to the "rich", so of course lead the way brother, push that liberal agenda of switcharoo. Lets keep people in poverty to make sure those business run efficient and increase profit margins off the backs of the poor while they receive assistance from government handouts. Better for the government to fill that gap than for businesses to pay someone huh... they might lose profits, so we need a redistribution of wealth in the views of your liberal principals. I don't believe in redistribution of wealth.  So if that's "racist", go kick rocks. Earn what you get and stop holding everyone down...

"Robertson hates gay people."... I thought what he was saying is that pussy is his preference and he can't understand why a man would want some dookie. I totally agree, yet I don't care if you do, your choice. No different than I think a drug addict is disgusting and I wouldn't want that type of "lifestyle Choice" around me, I feel the same with homosexuals. I don't like peanut butter and think it's disgusting, you eat it, that's you, but I'll curl my lip if i see you eating a PB&J.   Live your life bubba, but I prefer not to associate with that type of behavior. Like PETA doesn't like meat eaters. Same same. Doesn't mean I wont treat you with dignity, just means I probably wont want to indulge in your lifestyle and would prefer you keep that stuff with you. You can't knock me because I don' like that lifestyle. That's my preference. Now as far as Robertson and religion is concerned... hmmm, infidels should be dead, so I guess while Obama is busy defending the Muslim nation that wants to chop our heads off, and the LGBT community as well, unless we are giving them some hard earned American taxpayer dollars; You'll be all for them having "freedom of speech in America won't you. 

But hey dude... Opinions are just that, and we're in the greatest nation of all, but what pisses me off is you sit on a platform like you speak for a "majority". No, you speak your opinion, just like Phil spoke his.  Is yours wrong, no, and neither is Phils or anyone who opposes or supports his. But don't get all pissy about the fact there are millions of people who agree with Phil. I totally agree. Just not in the name of God bubba. In the name of say what the fuck you really mean because this is America and you can and it's not my problem if we have too many pussies with thin skin and get offended when someone doesn't agree with their lifestyle.

#14 is taking great pains to ensure that his three sons don't grow up to be gay (or lesbian) like me and the suits who run A&E:

It was easy to tell you were gay from your article and had an ax to grind from reading your message.  I read it and said this guy has to be gay, it was you using your media platform to get your own personal gay message out.  I don't have a problem with that, but why don't all you people in the media, journalist, whatever disclose your biases for writing, filming or for whatever media or discourse you choose.  Too me its the same as if you give investing advice or opinions. Full disclosure.  I dare you or anyone else to who use espouse anything for public consumption to note your biases or political leanings or whatever at the bottom of your article, video, whatever.  I think it is BS for people who use the media to try to sway the public to side with them.  

So we know that there must also be a bunch of LGBT at A&E also. Easy to spot by the what they did.  You sure wouldn't go out and do all this otherwise.  There was also someone with Phil from A&E when he did the interview.  It was no secret what he said.  So why let it be published if there wasn't an agenda from A&E as Phil and his family have stated? 

I know when you are LGBT that you want to make as many people as you can aware of it, but I think it has gone over board and is just about everywhere.  I have 3 boys and one of my greatest fears is of them growing up LGBT.  They are all in grade school and I don't let them watch any violent programs, scary, nothing with guns or bombs, no LGBT, just straight informational stuff like TLC, National Geographic, History Channel, etc. No Duck Dyanasty, no music videos, and they don't get to use the internet either. I myself collect guns and have many yet, they've never seen one of them. I go hunting, but they don't even know I do this either or that I kill animals and eat them. I just want to give them a chance to grow up and when they are mature enough I will teach them more, but for now they go to church and I try to only give them positive things to look at. I keep them so busy in sports and studying for school that they don't have time for much of anything else like watching TV, playing video games or surfing the internet. Maybe they will grow up to be Gay, Transexual or Killers, but I'm trying to give them a good foundation.

So, back to you.  If you are going to write a biased article please disclose to everyone and let them know you are biased when you write something that is your own bias or your own opinion. It's smacks of injustice and while I am not a Phil fan, I commend him on being straight up truthful.  He gives full disclosure and I really feel that if you and your media buddies are going to write or produce digital media then you should come out of the closet and lay it all on the line up front.  I would have a lot more respect for you and your kind. Right now, my opinion of A&E, GLAAD, Business Insider and anyone else trying to crucify Phil for this should let your audience know you are grinding your own ax, pushing your own agenda and lifestyle on other people. It's fair and ethical to do so. To do otherwise is simply deceiving people.  If you write a political article, tell the readers your stance and best of all, give the counter argument and let your readers/listeners decide.

#15 says I'm a bigot and a fascist, and says he's sure deep down I'd like to have Phil Robertson summarily executed, but he wants to save my soul, and he signs off with the closing "respectfully."

In light of the whole context of this "thing" with Phil, I find your remarks totally, reprehensibly bigoted.  Check G.K. Chesteron's definition of a bigot. Very eye opening.  And I put you in the class of fascists.  Liberal fascists to be exact.  Did you ever study fascists?  Mussolini, Hitler?  They hated contrary opinions to theirs.  You like the aforementioned piles of crap, hate those who speak against what you feel is right.  Unlike the aforementioned piles of crap, you are not able to carry out the execution of those who are contrary to you.  But I am sure somewhere down deep inside you, you wish something could be done about Phil and his ilk.

I am taking a chance here and assuming you are a supporter of democracy.  In a democracy, doesn't the majority rule?  All of the groups you mentioned in your opinion piece are a minority.  Has the definition of democracy changed?  Yes, all opinions are heard in a democracy, but the majority still rules.

Isn't it wonderful to live in a country where you have the God given right to express your opinion?  And even express your opinion of God and His son, and those who follow Him.  I once was against God.  Then I asked myself if there was anything more to this life.  What was on the other side.  I then found God.  What's waiting on the other side for you Mr. Barro?

By the way.  I am just expressing my opinion.

Respectfully,

Finally, at least we can't fault #16 for accuracy:

So it sounds like you prefer a mans anus over a women's vagina, not that there’s anything wrong that. Almost forgot my grandson went to see Santa a White Santa!

The season premier of "Duck Dynasty" last August was the most-watched non-fiction cable series episode in history, with nearly 12 million viewers.

SEE ALSO: When You Defend Phil Robertson, Here's What You're Really Defending

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Vin Diesel Announces 'Fast And Furious 7' Will Be Released 2015

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The next installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise will be pushed back until next year.

Vin Diesel announced that "Fast and Furious 7" will come out April 10, 2015 to fans on his official Facebook page. 

Last month, "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker passed away in a tragic car accident in Valencia, California.

Filming for the sequel was still underway with "Fast and Furious 7" originally set for a summer 2014 release.

Diesel announced the news along with a photo of himself with Walker filming their final scene together. fast and furious 7 release date vin diesel paul walker

Here's the complete message:

"The last scene we filmed together ...

There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared... in the film we were now completing... the magic captured... and, in just how far we've come...

Fast and Furious 7 will be released...

April 10th 2015!

P.s. He'd want you to know first..."

Vin Diesel likes announcing news to his fans first on Facebook, so it should come as no surprise he let fans know there.

He finished his post with a nod to Walker: "He'd want you to know first."

Since then, the studio has confirmed the news in a statement saying Walker and Diesel will lead the film.

“Continuing the global exploits in the franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead the returning cast of FAST & FURIOUS 7, which will be released by Universal Pictures on April 10, 2015.  James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series, and Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel return as producers.”

SEE ALSO: Vin Diesel breaks silence on Paul Walker's death

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The Most Popular TV Show Set In Every State

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most popular tv show

Earlier this year, we posted a map of the most popular shows set in every state made by Redditor SomeGuyFromCanada.

Upon closer inspection, we didn't agree with a lot of his picks. (After all, "Breaking Bad" wasn't even included.)

We refined the list leaving out reality shows unless we couldn't find a popular enough series. 

Selections were based on each show’s longevity, critical acclaim, awards, and lasting cultural impact.

Did we get your state right? Let us know in the comments if you have another suggestion.

See a complete, annotated version of the above map here.

ALABAMA: "Any Day Now" (1998-2002)

Network: Lifetime
Seasons: 4

The hour-long drama followed the friendship between two girls of different races during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.  

The series flashed back and forth between the two women, Mary Elizabeth O'Brien Sims (Annie Potts) and Rene Jackson (Lorraine Toussaint), during childhood and as adults. 

Watch a clip here »



ALASKA: "Northern Exposure" (1990-1995)

Network: CBS 
Seasons: 6

What started out as an eight-episode summer series, gradually turned into a popular staple on the network.

The two-time Golden Globe winner followed Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) as he's forced to move his practice from New York to Cicely, Alaska to complete scholarship requirements from college.

Buy the series here »



ARIZONA: "Medium" (2005-2011)

Networks: NBC / CBS
Seasons: 7

Patricia Arquette plays a medium who uses her powers to speak with the dead and see future and past events to help solve police investigations. 

The show aired its first five seasons on NBC before airing two final seasons on CBS. Arquette won a Primetime Emmy for her role in 2005.

Buy the series here »



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






This Map Shows The Most Popular TV Show Set In Every State

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We've already found the most famous book in every state. But what about your favorite shows? 

Earlier this year, we ran a map from Reddit user SomeGuyFromCanada listing the most significant shows set in every state. 

We weren’t happy with all of the selections (no “Breaking Bad” or “Happy Days”?) so we hit the books to discover the shows representative of our nation. 

To qualify, we looked at television series as opposed to reality shows.* Selections were based on each show’s longevity, audience and critical acclaim using info from IMDB/Metacritic, awards, and lasting impact on American culture and television. 

Obviously, some states (California, New York) were more difficult to choose than others.  

Did we get your state right? Let us know in the comments if you have another selection.

Click the map below to learn more about each show.  

most popular TV shows set in every state*When there wasn't a famous enough series to choose from, we selected a more popular reality show. That happens once on this list (IA).

SEE ALSO: The best TV moments of the year

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'The Hobbit' Takes Down 'Anchorman 2'—Here's Your Box-Office Roundup

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Ron Burgundy Anchorman Will Ferrell

Maybe it was over-marketing, maybe it was the opening date before a big holiday, either way Ron Burgundy's big return to theaters with "Anchorman 2" wasn't as big of a deal as Paramount hoped. 

Estimates that had the film making around $30 million opening weekend were spot on. 

The film performed worse than its original in a three-day span ($28.4 million). That film opened up nearly a decade ago in 2004.  

In the long run, the movie will do fine, but maybe opening up the weekend before Christmas wasn't the smartest idea. Historically, it's just a slower time of the year.  

Numbers for "The Hobbit" are pretty low compared to the first film, too. However, that could be because many people still aren't into the idea of a child's book being stretched into three movies. 

her joaquin phoenixThen, there are limited releases that are killing it. Warner Bros.' "Her" — a movie about a man (Joaquin Phoenix's) falling in love with an operating system —  had a huge weekend making $258,000 in six theaters over the weekend. 

Many of films fell out of the top ten this week. 

Judi Dench's "Philomena," "The Book Thief," "Homefront" all fell from the top ten. The worst crash was Relativity's "Out of the Furnace" starring Christian Bale which has managed to make $10.9 million in three weeks. 

Here are the winners and losers in Hollywood this week: 

10. "Thor: The Dark World" rounds up the list this week with another $1.3 million. This should be the God of Thunder's final week at the top of the box office with so many new releases out Christmas day. In total, the film has brought in $627 million for Disney and Marvel. 

9. Bollywood film "Dhoom 3,"a Chicago thriller about a circus man planning to rob the show's owners out of revenge had a big $3.3 million weekend.   

8.  Family film "Walking with Dinosaurs" flopped opening to $7.3 million. The film is performing better overseas so far bringing it to $21 million worldwide. A lot of holiday competition shouldn't help this film in the following week. 

7. "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas" took a big hit in week two making $8.5 million. The film has made $28.3 million to date. With so many movies out at once right now, difficult to see why this film was needed right now. 

6. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" continues its successful run with another $8.8 million bringing the sequel's total up to $765 million worldwide. 

5. "Saving Mr. Banks" rounds up the top five moving up 13 spots in its wide release with $9.3 million. 

4. Another wide release this weekend,  "American Hustle" debuted to $19.1 million. The David O. Russell film featuring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Jennifer Lawrence had a large debut last weekend with $740,455 in six theaters. 

3. Disney's "Frozennarrowly beat out "American Hustle" with $19.2 million in its fifth weekend. (Mind you, it had the edge in more than 1,000 theaters.) The Mouse House's latest animated film has made $344.2 million worldwide. 

2. "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" failed to crack $30 million over its 3-day opening weekend with $26.8 million. Still the film made $40 million since last Wednesday which is in line with Paramount estimates. The original made $28.4 million opening weekend back in 2004. 

1. Not a surprise that "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" made $31 million this weekend. Though it beat out "Anchorman," that's no mighty triumph. Compared to all of the other "Hobbit"/"Lord of the Rings," "Desolation" comes in dead last.  The second weekend for "An Unexpected Journey" was $36.9 million.

SEE ALSO: "Fast and Furious 7" has been pushed back to 2015

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Pussy Riot Continue To Make Vladimir Putin Look Stupid

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Tolokonnikova Pussy Riot

Today, Maria Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, two members of Russian art troupe Pussy Riot, were released from prison. The pair were pardoned under an amnesty signed into law last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The self-styled "punk band" Pussy Riot had become an international cause célèbre in 2012 after three members were sentenced to two years in prison for performing an anti-Putin punk song at a Russian Orthodox church (the third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released earlier this year).

So, what is the first thing they decided to do when released? Why, make Putin look stupid of course.

When Nadya Tolokonnikova was released from a prison hospital in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, she reportedly shouted to the waiting reporters “Russia without Putin!” “There is no new Putin,” Tolokonnikova later told BuzzFeed's Miriam Elder. “This is a small step back, but a small one. There are still plenty of people in the jails.”

Maria Alekhina was similarly unequivocal in her dismissal of her freedom. “If I had a chance to turn it down, I would have done it, no doubt about that,” Alekhina told Russia's Dozhd TV. “This is not an amnesty. This is a hoax and a PR move.”

Most Russia watchers agree that their release and that of oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky were PR stunts ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Regardless, it takes courage to be released from Russia's notorious prison system and immediately criticize the man who put you there.

The act that put Pussy Riot in prison wasn't a particularly noble one — even in most Western countries, forcing your way into a place of worship and performing a blasphemous song wouldn't be met with much support, and it's never really appeared that the group seem to have much of a coherent political ideology to back up their anti-Putin rants. But thanks to the complete overreaction to the performance by the Russian state (probably driven by Putin's desire to keep the support of the Orthodox Church) and their remarkable eloquence and dignity during the trial, Pussy Riot became worldwide heroes to people who had never cared about Russia before.

Vladimir Putin is a very smart man, but Pussy Riot have continually made him look stupid. It will be interesting to see what they do next.

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This Italian Movie Poster For '12 Years A Slave' Has Taken On A Life Of Its Own

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Yesterday, the Tumblr blog "Carefree Black Girl" surfaced an Italian poster for the critically acclaimed movie "12 Years a Slave."

The poster, which has since spread across the internet, prominently displays Brad Pitt's face breaking through a set of sunlit clouds as a small image of the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor runs across the bottom of the poster underneath.

Many on the internet are calling the poster racist for downplaying the role of Ejiofor, who plays protagonist Solomon Northup,  and instead focusing on Pitt, who plays a day laborer who doesn't show up until midway through the film.

Pitt, who served as one of the movie's producers, is widely beloved by international audiences, and is seen as crucial to promoting "12 Years a Slave" to overseas audiences that are often uninterested in films that center on African Americans.

italian 12 years a slave

Carefree Black Girl said she lives in Italy and came across the poster on a trip to the movies.

"I’ve been following the press for months and I can’t wait to watch it but REALLY? I don’t remember Brad Pitt being the protagonist of the film or having such a pivotal role in the story to stay in the middle of the poster," she wrote.  "I sure don’t know anything about marketing strategy to appeal audiences but isn’t this going to far?"

Buzzfeed confirmed that the poster is not an isolated Photoshop but an example of the actual promotional materials being used in Italian theaters.

Here's the American poster for the movie, which focuses on Ejiofor and does not include an image of Pitt.

12 years a slave poster good

People on Twitter have reacted with surprise and anger at this latest example of Italy's well-documented race issues and the way the media tries to avoid marketing stories about black people to white audiences.

Here's what some are saying:

The film is based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup, a New York-born free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841.

SEE ALSO: Gap's Response To Racist Graffiti On A Subway Ad Was Perfect

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One Scene In 'Home Alone' You've Probably Never Noticed That Explains The Entire Movie

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Home Alone

Since it's Christmastime, airings of "Home Alone" are in abundance on TV right now. In between watching childhood star Macaulay Caulkin destroy burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, there's probably one huge thing you've been missing every time you watch.  

Reddit user matt01ss discovered a small scene that answers a question you may ask yourself every time you watch: 

How could Kevin's (Culkin) parents forget to bring their child on vacation (other than the fact that they had too many kids on hand)?

Think back to the part in the beginning of the film where Kevin and Buzz accidentally spill milk over everyone's plane tickets and passports.

His dad quickly cleans up, tossing the napkins in the trash. 

The camera lingers over the garbage can for an extra second. You probably don't think anything of it. Upon closer inspection, you'll see Kevin's plane ticket was carelessly tossed away. 

Here's the scene below via Reddit:

home aloneWhat?home alone

We checked out the film to make sure this is there and not some clever photoshop. (If you're curious, the scene in question takes place around the nine-minute mark.)

Now, fans may be thinking, how is that possible? Doesn't Kevin's mom count all of the tickets at another point? 

Precisely. A subtle move showing that his mom messed up counting the number of tickets in her hand.

So even if Kevin woke up on time and headed to the airport, he still wouldn't have had his plane ticket. 

Yikes.

A reader pointed out to us that one of the girls counting heads before leaving for the airport counts herself twice. Very subtle. The moment starts at the 1:40 clip below.

Happy holidays.

SEE ALSO: The 12 worst-reviewed movies of the year

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Twitter Cofounder Jack Dorsey Is Joining Disney's Board (DIS)

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Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey Jack Dorsey is joining the board of Disney. 

Dorsey is one of the cofounders of Twitter, and the company's chairman.

He's also the CEO of Square, a mobile payments company. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger is on the board of Apple, so he's no stranger to tech. Iger was friends with Steve Jobs, who was on Apple's board. 

After Disney announced Dorsey's appointment, Dorsey tweeted the following:

Here's the official release...

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) Board of Directors has elected Jack Dorsey, chairman of Twitter Inc. and CEO of Square Inc., as an independent director, effective immediately.“I am honored and humbled to join the Disney Board”

“Jack Dorsey is a talented entrepreneur who has helped create groundbreaking new businesses in the social media and commerce spaces,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The perspective he brings to Disney and its Board is extremely valuable, given our strategic priorities, which include utilizing the latest technologies and platforms to reach more people and to enhance the relationship we have with our customers.”

“I am honored and humbled to join the Disney Board,” Mr. Dorsey said. “Disney is a timeless company, one we all grow up learning from and admiring.”

Mr. Dorsey is the co-founder of Twitter, the social networking and microblogging service that allows users to create and share ideas and information instantly via messages of 140 characters or less. Mr. Dorsey posted the world’s first Tweet--“just setting up my twttr”—on March 21, 2006, and since then Twitter has grown to include more than 230 million monthly active users worldwide who create about 500 million Tweets every day. Prior to becoming Twitter’s chairman in 2008, Mr. Dorsey was president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Dorsey is also chief executive officer of Square, a commerce company he co-founded in 2009. Headquartered in San Francisco, Square provides innovative products and services for local businesses including a mobile credit card reader, an iPad point-of-sale system, an online marketplace, and a wallet application that allows consumers to make payments using their mobile devices.

Mr. Dorsey attended New York University and Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Mr. Dorsey will stand for election along with the company’s other directors at the annual meeting on March 18, 2014. Pursuant to the tenure policy in the company’s corporate governance guidelines that limits board service to 15 years, Judith L. Estrin will not be standing for re-election.

“Judy has served Disney shareholders incredibly well during her 15 years of service, and we will miss having her on the Board,” Mr. Iger said. “Her insight and advice on technological innovation and our business, as well as her passion for excellence, have been invaluable to me.” Ms. Estrin, who has co-founded eight technology companies and served as chief technology officer and senior vice president of Cisco Systems Inc., is chief executive officer of JLABS, LLC, a privately held company focused on furthering innovation in business, government and nonprofit organizations.


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34-Year-Old Mindy Kaling Has A Hilarious But Totally Honest Explanation For All Her Early Success

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Mindy Kaling was hired as a writer on "The Office" when she was 24 years old. Nine years later, she's now writing, producing, and starring in a sitcom on Fox, "The Mindy Project."  She's also written a couple books.

Kaling is a very funny, very successful person at a very young age. How'd she do it? What advice could she give to aspiring filmmakers, writers, actors, and comedians who want to be like her?

Back in March of this year, a USC film student asked Kaling during a panel at the 2013 PaleyFest.

Kaling's answer was classic her: hilarious, honest, and dead on.

The student said: "I was wondering if you had any words of advice to [explain] how to make it, because you're awesome."

Mindy Kaling Success

Kaling answered: "Thank you. I never partied or had boyfriends."

kaling 02

Laughter and applause filled the room.

kaling 03

Then, more seriously, she said…

"That was my lifestyle, so that I could achieve this. I was just really, really hard-working."

kaling 07

 "…Now, racist-ly, I'm an Asian person. It comes easier to me than it might to you."kaling 04The USC student and the whole audience laughed.

kaling 05

Finally, Kaling said…

"I was just very focused on the show…I just was very singular-minded. I never went out after. I never got distracted. That's it."

kaling 06

Kaling's simple, honest answer reminds me of something one of Silicon Valley's top startup investors, Paul Graham, says about founding companies.

He says, "Everyone is surprised by how difficult it turns out to be, because it's not the kind of difficulty people have experienced before…Start-ups are hard but doable, in the way that running a five-minute mile is hard but doable."

It also reminds of one of my favorite stories and something another young, successful person I know says.

In a meeting with the entire Business Insider newsroom about a year or so ago, our editor-in-chief was reminding everyone that while the pace at Business Insider can seem really fast, everyone should be wary of burning themselves out because "this is a marathon, not a sprint."

That's when Business Insider's 30-something executive editor, Joe Weisenthal, couldn't help himself.

He kind of blurted out: "Of course, world-class marathoners run faster for 26 miles than most of us could sprint."

This is true, by the way. Divide 2 hours by 26 miles. Then go run four laps around a track. Compare the times.

Joe's point was that you probably shouldn't burn out, but yeah, you're not going to become world-class without hard work.  

It seems to me Kaling and Graham have the same message. If you want something, get focused and get working on it.

(Of course, if that works, and you succeed, you'll also spend a lot of time being amazed at how lucky you were. For a great quote on that, you must see this one from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan.)

Here's the Kaling clip:

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The True Story Behind Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas'

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Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas Is You

Anyone capable of croaking out a note these days now puts out Christmas records. We are oversaturated with them, and they come and go with barely a whimper.

You can think of some the reasons why — banalization, cannibalization — but it may simply be because every year for the past 19 years, a juggernaut has blown them all away: “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” by Mariah Carey.

This year is no exception — the song is again No. 1 on Billboard’s Christmas charts, and is the only other song besides ones sung by Michael Bublé to make Spotify’s top Christmas list.

We wanted to learn more about what went into creating something so utterly dominant, so we called up Walter Afanasieff, who co-wrote the song.

Carey is obviously the star of “Want,” but Afanasieff composed all the music. By the time the song came around, Afanasieff had already been Carey’s main songwriting partner for five years. He was also a driving force behind the two hit singles immediately preceding “Want”: “Hero” and “Without You.”

Recording a Christmas album was basically unheard of in 1994, Afanasieff says, and a bit of a risk. Back then, top 40 Christmas songs in the U.S. had practically died out, having been deemed too sleepy for Gen-Xers.

But Carey had entered the height of her powers, and things were going so well that they figured they could get away with it. Plus, Afanasieff says, Carey just loves Christmas, both for its festive and religious trappings.

So in June 1994,they started writing songs for a Christmas album. Carey had Christmas lights and decorations strung up to set the mood. There would be three singles, and thanks to some nudging from Tommy Mottola, Carey’s Bronx-born husband and impresario at that time, one of them was going to be a more upbeat, propulsive number in the mode of Phil Spector’s ’60s Brill Building pop sound. Indeed, the song in many ways resembles the Spector/Darlene Love hit “Baby Please Come Home.”

With that directive in mind, Afanasieff says he’d come up with a basic chord structure when he and Carey sat down at a piano to write the tune at the house she was renting with Mottola in the Hamptons.

Initially, Afanasieff admits, he blanched at where Carey took the vocal melody.

“My first reaction was, ‘That sounds like someone doing voice scales … Are you sure that’s what you want?’”

But Carey was adamant, and after a few hours, they had the main elements of the song.

“She would sing a melody and I would do a chord change … it was almost like a game of ping-pong, back and forth, until we had it.”

walter afanasieffHe flew back to California to have the song recorded by a live band in a studio, but he said they failed to capture its essence, so he ended up using his first, personal arrangement. With the exception of the background vocals, everything you hear on “Want,” — the piano, the effects, the drums, the triangle — were played or programmed by Afanasieff.

Five months later, the song was out. Afanasieff claims he had no clue he’d come up with a smash, and that he’s not even sure if he recalls the day it was released. “My reaction was ‘Oh cool, I got another song on the radio.’”

But the track soon became ubiquitous as Christmas 1994 approached.

The next year, it did so again. And again and again. It’s since sold at least 14 million copies, and this year will again sell one million copies in the U.K. alone.

It’s gotten to the point, Afanasieff says, where he has an informal competition every year with Jem Finer, the Pogues member who co-wrote their Christmas smash “Fairytale of New York,” to see which song does better over the holidays.

So why does he think the song has become so huge?

“It’s not about the song structure, it’s not about the production, it’s not about the rhythm … there’s no secret formula,” he says, although he says having Mariah Carey’s voice helped.

But, he says, it contains several novel elements that have sustained its success. There are almost no other uptempo songs in the American Christmas canon, he notes, let alone ones packed with something approaching Carey’s vocal fireworks. It also helped that, although it was a Christmas song, it didn’t focus on any of the typical, children-oriented Christmastime iconography like Santa or Rudolph. “It’s more adult,” he said. More than anything, according to what people tell him, it’s really a song about love and romance that also happens to be about Christmas .

Combine those elements, and you get a monster hit.

But while the entertainment industry will notoriously throw money to clone any successful product, Afanasieff says they’re barking up the wrong tree with Christmas.

“The last thing I would tell a record company is to make another ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’”

“Want” is definitively the most successful song he’s ever been involved with — though he also produced “My Heart Will Go On,” whose sales come close. He gets hundreds of requests to license the track for covers or other material. But while he’s enjoyed the financial rewards from the song, he gets uncomfortable when people call the song a cash cow.

“I hate that,” he says. “The commercial part was not the point in any way.”

The reward, he says, is humble appreciation that he gets to be associated with a song the rest of the world has added to the Christmas canon.

And here’s the video:

SEE ALSO: Michael Bublé's Dominance Of Spotify Right Now Is Terrifying

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Billionaire Elon Musk's Mom Is An Incredibly Glamorous Working Model

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You know about Elon Musk's two companies: electric car-maker Tesla and rocket-launcher SpaceX.

But do you know about his mom?

She's Maye Musk, and she explains a lot about her son.

She's been a model since the 1960s, and she's still doing big national campaigns. She's also a working dietitian.

Maye is as tech-savvy as you would expect Elon Musk's mom to be. She's on YouTube. She has a Smugmug portfolio of her modeling work. She is on Twitter. 

In fact, we only discovered her because she "faved" a tweet.

Yesterday we wrote about how, growing up, Elon escaped bullying from other kids through computers and business. Rocco Pendola of TheStreet.com tweeted out the story, appending, "How you like me now!!?" Maye faved it.

On Twitter, Maye is an unabashed Tesla and SpaceX fangirl.

She'll tweet stuff like this:

Maye also has a YouTube channel under the username Ourma7. There, she's got clips from her modeling work, like this commercial for JC Penney.

She's the woman with the silver hair:

Here's Maye on NBC's Today show:

Maye's been a working model since the 1960s. She has a Smugmug page showing off all her work since then. (She also lists her representation, in case you'd like to book her.)

maye musk 01

Maye also has multiple dietician degrees, and continues to work in the field. Here she is on CBS talking about good food to buy for Valentine's Day:

Back in 2012, Tom Junod profiled Elon Musk for Esquire magazine. 

In the story, Maye says that she has two brilliant children — and Elon, a genius.

"I can't explain Elon," she says.

Funny thing is, getting to know Maye a little helps explain a lot about Elon.

Lots of entrepreneurs have big, audacious ideas — but few are as talented at showing them off as Musk is.

Remember how this past summer he had the media transfixed with his "hyperloop" idea? Ever seen his presentation on how fast Tesla can swap out Model S batteries?

Now we know where he gets it from.

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Read Screenplays From Some Of The Year's Best Movies

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leonardo dicaprio wolf of wall street

"The Wolf of Wall Street" isn't out until Christmas, but you can read the screenplay for it.

Toward awards season, studios begin releasing their film scripts as part of their "for your consideration" campaigns.

Movie site The Film Stage gathered together links for 33 of this year's screenplays. So if you're looking for some quality reads over the holiday and don't want to pick up a book, here's a great alternative for you to download.

We've put 10 of our favorite from the year below. 

Check out the rest at The Film Stage.

Paramount
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
"Nebraska

Roadside Attractions
"Mud
"All is Lost" (32 pgs.!)

Fox Searchlight
"12 Years a Slave"
"The Way Way Back

Warner Bros.
"Gravity"

The Weinstein Company
"Fruitvale Station
"Lee Daniels' The Butler

A24
"Spring Breakers"

SEE ALSO: There are 8 movies coming out Christmas — here's which ones you should see

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With Censors Like These, It's No Wonder China's Film Industry Stinks

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Zhao Wei china

THE buildings on the studio lot of China Film Group, a vast government-owned company, are grey, windowless and identical. The air, even 20km outside Beijing, is heavy with pollution. Inside, Jiang Wen is filming his newest movie, "Gone with the Bullets", about a dance competition in 1920s Shanghai. He is standing on a stage with sequined dancers. Around 400 extras in black tie look on from a Gaudiesque theatre, built for the shoot. Mr Jiang, in a grey T-shirt and 3D glasses, scurries up and down the stage giving directions. Mr Jiang has been known to hold up a white board with "Sexy" written in red marker pen, and show the dancers how it should be done. Cameras swivel around the dancers, capturing their gyrations and the audience's reaction.

Mr Jiang, an actor as well as a director, is one of the stars of China's film business. His 2010 movie, "Let the Bullets Fly", attempted to invent a new genre: the Chinese Western. It was about a bandit who poses as the mayor of a remote Chinese town. The government did not appreciate its portrayal of an illegitimate leader gulling the masses, but the film was wildly popular. If everything goes smoothly "Gone with the Bullets", which is being shot in 3D, will open in theatres in China and around the world by the end of 2014. In terms of cost, the film is pushing the boundaries. It has a budget of around $50m, a princely sum by Chinese movie-making standards. A Broadway choreographer and American dancers have been brought in. On stage right near the dressing rooms, Keith Collea, an American 3D expert, sits in the dark watching his screens. "China is where it's at," he says.

Last year China overtook Japan to become the second-largest film market after America, with box-office receipts of around 17 billion yuan ($2.8 billion). Some people think it will be the world's biggest in five years' time. Young people, flush with cash, are eager to get out of the house. Films have become central to Chinese courtship and consumption. Enormous IMAX screens and 3D films are the rage, and in big cities carry a similar ticket price to America. Screens are flickering on around the country. More than ten a day were erected in 2012; today there are around 18,000, more than four times the number five years ago. "Journey to the West", an adventure film released in 2013, has grossed more than 1.2 billion yuan ($205m).

Most Chinese movies lose money: only around a quarter make it into theatres, and piracy means there is no legitimate DVD market. But then many films in Hollywood and elsewhere are unprofitable these days: according to a report by the British Film Institute earlier this month, only 7% of British films turn a profit. Chinese people like films and they like to gamble, so money is racing into the movie business. In September, for instance, Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, announced he would build the world's largest film-studio complex, for an estimated $8.2 billion, in Qingdao.

Hollywood is also trying to push in. Only 34 big-budget films, and a handful of independent foreign ones, are allowed into China each year, and foreign producers are allowed to keep only a small share--usually less than 25%--of box-office revenues. Even so, foreigners are desperate to get their product into China. Sometimes films are specially adapted for the market: four extra minutes of footage, featuring Chinese actors, were added to the Chinese version of "Iron Man 3", made by Disney's Marvel.

To gain a foothold in China, Hollywood studios are helping finance films or co-producing them. Mr Jiang's "Gone with the Bullets" has backing from Sony, a Hollywood studio; DreamWorks, which made cartoon hits like "Shrek", has set up Oriental Dreamworks, a joint venture with Shanghai Media Group, a state-owned studio, and two other firms, to make animated films for the Chinese market. There are risks to working in China as Relativity Media, a Hollywood studio, discovered in 2011. It got flak from the Western press for shooting a movie in Linyi, an ambitious city in Shandong province, when Chen Guangcheng, a well-known human-rights activist, was being held under house arrest in the city. But the lure of the Chinese market tends to outweigh reputational risk, and Relativity is financing a new film located in the city of Linyi (see box).

American influence in China's film business is nothing new. "Everything we learned, we learned from Hollywood," says Yu Dong, the boss of Bona Film Group, one of China's largest independent studios. In some ways China's movie industry resembles 1930s Hollywood, when studios controlled all business lines--from talent to production to theatres--before a 1948 Supreme Court ruling forced them to divest. In China, this is called "being a dragon from head to tail". Huayi Brothers, one of China's largest studios, whose name evokes the fraternal Warners, oversees actors, production, distribution and cinemas.

Yet the differences are more obvious than the similarities. China's film industry lacks Hollywood's technical sophistication. Even costly Chinese movies often look amateurish. "I fell asleep," confesses a woman when the lights come on at a Beijing cineplex. She had left work a few minutes early to catch a late afternoon screening of "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon" in 3D. During some scenes the special effects looked like a 1990s video game. The plot and dialogue were not much slicker.

China's movie business also lacks Tinseltown's glamour. Mr Yu's small office is on the 18th floor of a dingy Beijing tower block above a busy road. Smoke from his cigarettes fills the air; honks rise from the street below. There is no Hollywood-style party scene because stars tend to keep out of polluted Beijing. They treat club openings as work events and expect to get paid to turn up.

But the big difference is in the location of power. In America power lies with the studios; in China with the state. The government controls which films are made and has a hand in every aspect of the film business, from production to exhibition. China Film Group produces movies and distributes Hollywood and Chinese films. The government rewards independent producers for making films it approves of--Desen International Media, a production company, received a bonus of 3m yuan for "Full Circle", which promoted filial piety, for instance--and blocks Hollywood films during national holidays, to help Chinese ones.

Hollywood has always been the world's dream-maker, but China's government wants the country to make its own. A communiqué released after the Central Committee meeting of the Chinese Communist Party in 2011 announced that "it is a pressing task to increase the state's cultural soft power" and to "build our country into a socialist cultural superpower". When Shanghai Media Group signed its deal with DreamWorks last year, Xi Jinping, then vice-president and now president, attended the ceremony in Los Angeles.

The government has twin ambitions in fostering the film industry, one domestic and one global. At home, it wants people to see films that will inculcate Chinese values and culture. And it wants them to go voluntarily: the party used to force people to watch propaganda films, but even it saw that this was like winning an ice-skating medal after beating up the competition with a bat. Abroad, the government wants to spread a more attractive image of the country. Hosting the Olympics was one attempt at this; but film premieres can happen more often. Yet China punches well below its weight in the film world: it has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes only once, 20 years ago, for Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine"--which was banned in China at the time. The government wants to change that, and has recently helped organise events to showcase Chinese films in places as diverse as Fiji, Cambodia and New York.

As with the Olympics, the government does not feel comfortable leaving creative elements to chance. Except during the 1930s, when China had a thriving independent film industry centred in Shanghai and operating with relatively little interference, the political climate has defined and confined its films. Private studios were dissolved after the Japanese occupied Shanghai in 1937. When the Communist Party came to power in 1949, it recognised that movies could be useful. Government studios made films packed with peasants and propaganda, and wheeled mobile projectors to rural areas to ensure they reached millions. Tickets were given out at work, and everybody had to attend. Independent movies started again in the 1970s, and then sputtered along. Now a few independent studios operate within the constraints of a state-controlled system.

If it's entertaining, cut it

"The Chinese producer is the best producer in the world," claims Mr Yu. "He has to negotiate the Chinese government and the market." China does not have a sex-and-violence ratings system of the sort that operates in most of the rest of the world to protect children and young people, but films cannot be screened until they have been signed off by censors at the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. Film-makers must submit a draft of the script in advance of shooting, and later a final cut of the film. The censorship board, which has around three dozen members, objects to violence, sex, drugs and anything critical of the party, either explicitly or implicitly--in other words, every ingredient that might be used to fill seats. Success comes from predicting what censors will object to, and writing scripts in such a way that they do not. Overt political commentary is unacceptable; that is probably why so many films are set in the past.

Censors often ask for multiple script revisions before giving the go-ahead, and, after seeing the final cut, request that scenes be eliminated. Film-makers' reactions to these restrictions range from acceptance to outrage. Zhao Wei, a famous actress and the director of "So Young", a drama about college in the 1990s that came out this year, had to axe a masturbation scene. She considers herself lucky: movies can be held up for years. In April the China Film Directors' Guild honoured Feng Xiaogang, a director. In his acceptance speech he complained about the "torment" of censorship. Even when films have been given a green light, censors sometimes change their minds. Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" was pulled from theatres after a few days.

While producers in Hollywood try to drum up as much interest as possible in their films, those in China keep them quiet, so as not to pique censors' interest or suspicion. Your correspondent visited the set of a movie that had gone through around 20 versions of the script before it was approved. The censors signed off on it only after a sympathetic communist hero was written in. A crew member confided that the censors were still going through the script, even though shooting had begun, and were trying to get the final, climactic scene eliminated. When some of the producers heard a journalist had been on set, they were horrified, lest the movie's name be printed.

Some say that the censors are loosening up a bit. A racy scene was cut from "So Young", for example, but several abortions were left in. "No Man's Land", a sinister thriller, was held up for more than two years because censors thought it was "too dark" and "too distant from real life". But after what are believed to be significant modifications, it was released in early December. "Hunger Games: Catching Fire"--this autumn's Hollywood blockbuster, in which a totalitarian regime sacrifices its young for the entertainment of the masses--was, to general astonishment, screened in Chinese cinemas. Popular online video sites, such as Youku, host original movies, called "microfilms", which are not subject to the same censorship process, but this is probably an oversight rather than progress.

The government uses subsidy as well as censorship to get the kind of films it wants made. It forks out increasing sums for propaganda films, which account for an estimated 10% of movies being made each year. "The Founding of a Republic", a 2009 film celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, was a glossy Hollywood-style epic featuring so many stars that some had to be cut out of the final version.

Yet for all its efforts, the government is not really getting what it wants from its film industry. Far from inculcating the masses with Chinese culture and values the party approves of, successful films are often adaptations of Hollywood hits. "Lost in Thailand", a comedy about male friends reminiscent of Hollywood's "The Hangover", did well last year, as did "Tiny Times", a film about four materialistic friends in Shanghai and their luxurious lifestyle, which has been described as a cross between "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Sex and the City" (without the sex). A saccharine tribute to materialism, "Tiny Times" did particularly well in smaller, less-developed "tier 3" and "tier 4" cities, whose citizens aspire to be rich and fashionable but want to watch characters that feel home-grown. Ann An of Desen International Media, one of the producers, says the film appealed to stressed, overworked audiences. "We provided a two-hour dream for them." A film-maker says the head of the censorship board has privately described the Chinese films being made today as "trashy".

Nor do Chinese movies travel well. "Lost in Thailand" grossed around $192m in China, but a mere $60,000 in America. Even audiences in Taiwan and Hong Kong do not have much interest in mainland films. The plots tend to be blunt and the acting melodramatic. "Flowers of War", a costly movie about the Nanjing Massacre starring a Hollywood actor, Christian Bale, was intended to go global. But it fell flat outside China and failed to win the awards or critical acclaim officials had been hoping for.

Too many films are both too foreign and too familiar for audiences abroad: "Finding Mr. Right", for instance, is a romantic comedy about a woman who goes to Seattle at the behest of her married lover to give birth to their baby, and finds love there. The story feels relevant and modern to Chinese audiences, but to foreign ones it has no surprises and too many echoes of "Sleepless in Seattle", a Hollywood classic.

A lighter touch by the censors might produce films that were more authentically Chinese and artistically interesting. It would also avoid embarrassing incidents. The Chinese film that has garnered most attention in the West lately is "A Touch of Sin" by Jia Zhangke--a gloomy art-house portrayal of modern China that won the award for best screenplay at Cannes this year. The government has banned it from cinemas and journalists from interviewing Mr Jia. More Westerners have probably seen reports of this in recent months than have watched a Chinese film.

The head of the censorship board has privately described the films being made today as "trashy"

 

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