David Letterman And Drummers
Dave Shumka, writing for CBC Music:
Ever since I made this video of David Letterman talking to drummers, I've wondered if he's actually seen it. I recently asked one of his writers, Bill Scheft, on Twitter. According to Scheft, not only has Letterman watched it, but "he loved it as he loved few things." I realize that it just seems like I'm bragging on the internet, but that's about the greatest thing I've ever heard.
Go check out his post and watch all the videos embedded.
An & Ria's First Flight
Two older dutch women who have never flown in an airplane before are taken up in a private plane. This video is delightful.
Thanks to Leah Reich for making me aware of this on Twitter.
Crosswind Landings At The Birmingham Airport During This Past Winter
“Some landing and take-off highlights in awkward wind conditions at BHX this winter (a record winter for stormy conditions in the UK). Note the frequent flexing of the planes’ wings in response to the turbulence.
Of the five “missed approaches” shown, three diverted to other airports, two were “go arounds” and landed successfully on second attempt.”
Thanks to Samer Farha who brought my attention to this video.
Game of Thrones Cello Cover by Break of Reality
“Game of Thrones theme song arranged and performed by cello rock band Break of Reality. Original composition and soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi.”
Letterman’s Last Great Moment
Bill Simmons, writing for Grantland:
After Johnny Carson retired in 1992, David Letterman became the king and stayed the king, even as his show transitioned from antiestablishment to establishment. Leno drummed him in the ratings without matching Letterman’s relevance; he never mattered as much as Letterman did. We forgave Letterman for losing interest over the years, for never filming bits anymore, for clearly not working as hard as he used to, for chugging along because he couldn’t think of anything else to do (and maybe for the paychecks, too). Even an embarrassing sex scandal couldn’t ruin his legacy; he handled the ensuing fallout so effectively that, five years later, people barely remember it.
As Letterman became older and older, those human moments distinguished him. You wanted to watch him after 9/11. You wanted to grieve with him after Carson passed away. You wanted to hear him admit that heart surgery was scary, that he felt humiliated when private demons seeped into his show, that it pissed him off when John McCain canceled on him at the last minute. Candid Letterman was always better than Candid Anyone Else. When Kimmel and Fallon started thumping him in the crucial 18-to-49 demo, Letterman held one trump card: He’s the only late-night host who elicits the same respect from guests that Carson did. Even Jon Stewart can’t say that. We know celebrities appear on late-night shows to promote themselves; it’s part of the deal. They went on Letterman’s show to impress him, to win him over, and that was always the difference.
NSA Knew About Heartbleed Bug and Has Been Using It To Spy On You For Years
Michael Riley, writing for Bloomberg:
The U.S. National Security Agency knew for at least two years about a flaw in the way that many websites send sensitive information, now dubbed the Heartbleed bug, and regularly used it to gather critical intelligence, two people familiar with the matter said.
The NSA’s decision to keep the bug secret in pursuit of national security interests threatens to renew the rancorous debate over the role of the government’s top computer experts.
...
Putting the Heartbleed bug in its arsenal, the NSA was able to obtain passwords and other basic data that are the building blocks of the sophisticated hacking operations at the core of its mission, but at a cost. Millions of ordinary users were left vulnerable to attack from other nations’ intelligence arms and criminal hackers.
I voted for Barack Obama to be President in 2008 to put a stop to this Bush-era bullshit. That he has been completely corrupted by the neo-conservative September 11 cowards that make up the security aparatus of our government is inexcusable. In a just world, congress would launch investigations, the FBI would be arresting people, the NSA would get split up into different agencies, its director would resign, people would be fired.
People would go to jail.
Instead the President might have to stand in front of a podium for 5 minutes and talk about how important it is all for your security and safety for the continued institutionalization of the digital gestapo.
Why Colbert Makes Sense For ‘Late Show’
FiveThirtyEight's Walt Hickey on the Colbert decision:
Stephen Colbert will be replacing David Letterman at “Late Show” on CBS, and that is remarkably convenient for us: We had done a study with SurveyMonkey Audience, an online polling firm, about politics and late-night talk shows.
Take a look at 538's demographics of the two shows they learned from the survey. It looks like exactly what the show needs as far an a boost in audience.