On Tuesday, Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) proposed the latest government bailout to another bloodied and bruised industry, the newspapers. Only instead of a straight injection of taxpayer funds, Sen. Cardin wants newspapers to go non-profit so they can enjoy the massive tax breaks that keep charities afloat.

While I applaud the lawmaker’s noble effort to keep the presses printing, I feel that the bill is just another straw grasp by someone who doesn’t truly get the newspaper business—or a capitalist society at that. →

When Peter Jackson’s rendition of King Kong hit theaters in 2005 there was one aspect of the movie that hit me harder than anything else.  It wasn’t the dinosaurs, Naomi Watts, or any of the other marvelous CGI work.  It was Jackson’s recreation of the “Hooverville,” shanty towns that sprang up around cities during the Great Depression and his depiction of the hard times of the early thirties as America struggled to climb out of economic shortcomings.  I never thought I’d see the reality manifest in America in my time.  Until today. →

Special Blend with Kutmah & Grainshifter
Verdugo Bar – Glassell Park, CA
3/26/09
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Special Blend happens tonight and every other Thursday at Verdugo Bar. Resident DJs Kutmah and Grainshifter explore psychedelic, hip hop, and soul sounds to accompany Verdugo Bar’s ample selection of beers from around the world. The free event takes place at 3408 Verdugo Rd. 90065. 21+ →

(500) Days of Summer stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It’s being called an “anti-romantic comedy” about a boy (Gordon-Levitt) who falls in love with a girl (Deschanel) who doesn’t believe in true love. He’s crushed when she dumps him, but it leads the hopeless romantic on a soul searching journey to rediscover his life’s lost passions. →

Tennis System – “FS”

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From sharing common interest in great music to crossing paths with one another along the historical U Street corridor and Adams Morgan neighborhoods, the Tennis System formulated in 2008 to showcase their talent and influences in music to the nation’s capital. Two weeks from their show on April 14th at Asylum (in Adams Morgan), the band took a moment to reflect on life in Washington, DC.

Politics is not the only influence to the locals in this city. →

The Denouement
Unsigned
(2008)
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The Denouement’s Low Tide has to be the best electronic/rock album I’ve heard sine Radiohead. And while most bands these days point to Radiohead as a major influence, few bands pull it off while having a sound that is uniquely their own and maintain to play their instruments well. But The Denouement does it. →

For the last ten days Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey  have been building one of the most ambitious installations we’ve seen yet at Machine.  The word has definitely been getting out as the number of people attracted by the emerging forest increased daily.  A host of volunteers gave of their time to make the vision of the artists a reality, and it speaks to Machine’s ability to attract enough people to enable something of this magnitude to be pulled off →

etnies + aSneak.com Presents CINEMA featuring LYMELIFE
Yost Theatre – Santa Ana, CA
3/27/09
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etnies presents the CINEMA: a unique film series curated by aSneak.com featuring award winning independent films and live Q+A sessions with the people behind the films.  To kick off the series, etnies invites you and your readers to an advance screening of LYMELIFE starring Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Cynthia Nixon, and Emma Roberts! →

National Geographic recently filmed a documentary of a behind-the-scenes look of life and history of Air Force One. Take it in.

“Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

—Article 6.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Anderson Cooper reports about the fueling violence carried out by Mexico’s drug cartel involving an estimated 6,500 murders and 1,000 kidnapping cases of civilians, police officers and American citizens. Within last year’s drug cartel crimes, American anti-kidnapping expert Felix Batista was abducted →