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C’s fail to get defensive in Game 4

But give Philadelphia some credit, too. Down the stretch they stepped up and made shots against Boston’s half-court defense, something that teams don’t do very often — playoffs or otherwise.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 76ers shot 50 percent from the floor (11-of-22) against Boston’s half-court defense in the fourth quarter, including 3-of-5 beyond the 3-point stripe. After averaging a mere 0.57 points per play in half-court situations over the first three quarters while shooting just 25 percent and turning the ball over eight times, the Sixers averaged a whopping 1.16 points per play in the half-court set in the fourth quarter. They scored 29 of their 33 fourth-quarter points in half-court sets, and didn’t turn the ball over at all.

The Celtics’ goal this series has been to limit their turnovers and prevent transition points. They have often noted they feel like they can win games by forcing the 76ers to play against a typically stout half-court defense.

But fueled in part by the momentum of Philadelphia’s 18-point comeback — which the Celtics certainly aided with turnovers and fouls — the Sixers still stepped up late and made tough buckets, even when Boston was able to set its defense. Continue reading →

How Facebook Hacked The NASDAQ Button | TechCrunch

It was a normal Monday. Nothing out of the ordinary other than that Facebook was set to go public at the end of the week. Camera crews were beginning to appear and NASDAQ was coming to campus so we could ring the opening bell together. Other than that, it was like any other Monday.

During lunch, some us started talking about how cool it would be if the second Mark rang the bell a story would post to his timeline to let his friends and subscribers know.

I was so excited about this idea that when I got back to my desk, I posted on Facebook: “We should totally hack the button so it pushes an open graph action, “Mark Rang the NASDAQ bell”.

The first person to comment? Zuck: “It would be epic if you pulled that off.”

I got to work that night.

The solution: connect the NASDAQ button to a mobile phone logged into Facebook to generate an open graph action. While this seemed simple, it would prove to be a little more complex in practice.

Step one was to hack the headphones of my mobile phone. Continue reading →

Lawyer: John Travolta ‘vindicated’ in sex suit

Los Angeles (CNN) — The withdrawal of one of two massage therapists from a sex battery lawsuit against John Travolta “completely vindicated” the actor, Travolta’s lawyer said Tuesday.

The lawyer representing the therapists filed papers Tuesday dropping the client identified as John Doe #1 because he had misstated the date of the alleged incident at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

“We fully expect that my client will similarly be vindicated with respect to Doe #2, as well as with respect to any other person who makes meritless claims against John Travolta,” attorney Martin Singer said.

The remaining plaintiff claims Travolta groped him during a massage at an Atlanta hotel last January.

“I can guarantee that John Doe #2 has a truckload of witnesses to back up what he’s saying,” plaintiff’s attorney Okorie Okarocha told CNN Tuesday.

Strauss-Kahn countersues maid for at least $1 million

His case is also bolstered by a series of e-mails in which the Atlanta plaintiff complains to his supervisor about Travolta’s advances, Okarocha said. Continue reading →

Bill Clinton on Richard Mourdock: Likable, but Disturbing

Former President Bill Clinton says Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock is a likable person, but the tea partier’s views on compromise are “disturbing.”

Mourdock defeated six-term incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar in a Republican primary last week, unseating one of the Senate’s last bipartisan compromisers. The former president brought up Mourdock, unsolicited, in an interview with NBC’s Tom Brokaw about fiscal reform at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2012 Fiscal Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

“The gentleman that just defeated Senator Lugar said something I found disturbing–although I like him personally, he’s a very appealing sort of person,” Clinton said. “But he said, ‘I am totally against any compromise, our worldviews are irreconcilable, and we just have to keep fighting till somebody wins it all.’

“And if that were the view, there would have never been a Constitution, there never would have been a Bill of Rights, the Capitol would never have been moved to Washington, D. Continue reading →

Newsweek names Obama America’s first gay president

CHICAGO, May 14, 2012 — Toni Morrison named Bill Clinton America’s first black president. Now Andrew Sullivan and Newsweek have named President Obama America’s first gay president. The magazine canonized him with the front cover, rainbow halo and all.

Clinton embraced his title as America’s first black president. Will Obama embrace his title as well? 

Toni Morrison is a noted author. Andrew Sullivan is a noted writer, blogger, self-styled conservative, libertarian, or contrarian depending on the day of the week, and a noted homosexual. Newsweek is struggling for relevance. 

Newsweek’s cover directly competes in outrageousness with Time Magazine’s. Time’s cover featured a mother breastfeeding her three-year-old son. Both are political in nature: Newsweek beatified Obama for his support of gay marriage; Time showed us how politicians are raised.

What was editor Tina Brown thinking when she chose that cover? Brown exploited Obama’s decision in an outrageous manner to create buzz for Newsweek, and she did it to compete with Time. Continue reading →

Juanita Jean's | Kesha Rogers is NOT a Democrat

Today starts early voting in Texas so I have a warning.

We have a female running in the 22nd Congressional District who Collins Street Bakery could box and sell at Christmas time.

Her name is Kesha Rogers and she’s a Lyndon LaRouche “Democrat”.  They are a brainwashing cult following a convicted felon named – ta da! – Lyndon LaRouch.  You might check to see if one of these bozos are running in your state.

Her platform is that the Queen of England rules the world and we have to stop that.  Barack Obama should be impeached – she’s not clear why but she is often seen holding a picture of President Obama with a Hitler mustache. She thinks DDT is perfectly safe and you should probably feed it to your kids for breakfast.

She also believes there is a giant conspiracy to control the world by “the Nazis, Jesuits, Freemasons, Communists, Trilateralists, international bankers, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Socialist International—all supposedly controlled by the British—as well as Hitler, H. Continue reading →

Against Me! Rocker Tom Gabel Comes Out as Transgender

Gabel tells the mag that he’s considering gender-reassignment surgery and will soon begin the transition by taking hormones and undergoing electrolysis.

The 31-year-old, who has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, says he’s been suffering from gender dysphoria for years and explains that “growing up, my experience with transsexualism was nothing but shame.”

He plans to remain married but will now change his name to Laura Jane Grace.

“For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news,” he says of his wife, Heather . “But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”

Gabel also adds that he’s prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. “I’m going to have embarrassing moments, and that won’t be fun,” he explains, but hopes that “people will understand and…be fairly kind.”

The Florida-born musician formed Against Me! in the late ’90s, and the band developed a fan following with the 2002 release Reinventing Axl Rose

Continue reading →

Itinerary suggests Obama will have more to say on same-sex marriage

(CNN) — President Barack Obama on Monday could add more insight into his decision last week to support same-sex marriage when he holds fundraisers in New York with entertainment industry headliners and tapes an appearance on the program, “The View,” where he’s expected to discuss this issue.

While in Manhattan, the president is also set to deliver the commencement address at Barnard College, the all-women’s school and sister institution of Columbia University, Obama’s alma matter.

The president will receive the Barnard Medal of Distinction, an award also to be given onstage to gay rights advocate Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. Wolfson has been outspoken in urging the president to endorse marriage equality, even in the days leading up to Obama’s announcement last week.

The setting provides a platform for the president to further discuss his positions on same-sex marriage and issues important to women — both hot-button topics this election cycle.

Some White House officials have said that Obama initially intended to reveal his opinion on same-sex marriage during his appearance on “The View” this week, but Vice President Joe Biden’s comments on a talk show last Sunday supporting same-sex marriage pushed the president to make an announcement sooner. Continue reading →

Changing my Artist Definition and Blog Name « Patrice L. Farmer's …

The name of the blog was previously Patrice L. Farmer’s Primitive Folk Art Blog but it has been changed/updated to Patrice L. Farmer’s Recycled Art Blog.

I’ve been going through a transformation as an artist. And I’m finding that my definition as an artist has to change. Its still Folk Art, it’s still Primitive Folk Art but because I’m doing more art work using recycled materials, I decided to change my definition to be a Recycled Artist. That definition fits more of the new path I’m taking in my art work. I’m using plastic containers, newspapers, found objects etc. to make more 2 and 3 D art work. I will be posting some new art work soon. You will still be able to find my Primitive Folk Art work on here as well. All art work is copyrighted prior to posting on my blog.Hope you’ll enjoy!!

Continue reading →

Against Me! singer/founder Tom Gabel comes out as transgender …

Tom Gabel, the lead screamer of Florida band Against Me!, has come out as transgender and plans to undergo sexual reassignment surgery, according to excerpts from an interview published Tuesday night on the website of Rolling Stone magazine. The singer, 32, founded Against Me! in 1997, and over the course of the past 15 years it has risen to become one of the most successful of a new wave of punk rock bands.

According to Rolling Stone, Gabel, who is married, will soon begin the process of becoming a woman by taking hormones and receiving electrolysis treatments. He will take the name Laura Jane Grace.

Gabel isn't the first high-profile musician to undergo sexual-reassignment surgery; in the 1972, "Switched on Bach" creator Walter Carlos became Wendy Carlos — but she announced the news quietly seven years later in a Playboy interview. Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P-Orridge in the mid-'00s underwent a series of surgeries to become gender-neutral.

But for a major rock star to announce the news is unprecedented. Online, Against Me! fans are trying to come to terms with the news, even as they note a particular lyric in the band's song "The Ocean" in which Gabel sings honestly about his desire:

And if I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman

Continue reading →