dre in the morning

Reports: U.S. scraps missile defense shield plans
The Wall Street Journal reported overnight that the White House will shelve plans to build the system in both Poland and the Czech Republic, according to people familiar with the matter. (cnn)

Skype founders sue eBay, investors
The lawsuit brought by Joltid Ltd, a Swedish firm owned by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, says Skype used its technology without authorization. It comes on the heels of a legal dispute between Joltid and Skype in Britain over software rights. (reuters)

Masters of illusion: The great management consultancy swindle
The most important of the all-too-human functions of consultants is to sanctify and communicate opinion. Like ministers of information, consultants condense the message, smooth out the dissonances, unify the rhetoric, and then repeat and amplify it ad nauseam through the client’s rank and file. The chief message to be communicated is that you will be expected to work much harder than you ever have before and your chances of losing your job are infinitely greater than you ever imagined. (theindependent)

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies at 72
The cause was complications from chemotherapy associated with a bone-marrow transplant she had several years ago after developing leukemia. (nyt)

‘Laugh-In’ original Henry Gibson dies
Henry Gibson, a wry comic character actor whose career included “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” “Nashville” and “Boston Legal,” died Monday at his home in Malibu after a brief battle with cancer. He was 73. (hollywoodreporter)

Burt Reynolds In Rehab, Reportedly Found Lying In Pool Of Blood
The houseman found Burt lying in a pool of blood. He’d fallen and was badly cut. The houseman drove him to the hospital. But this time, Burt was behaving strangely, and doctors were so concerned about his state of mind that they sent him to the county mental health facility in West Palm Beach. (huffingtonpost)

CBS Turns Out ‘Guiding Light’
CBS announced Wednesday the cancellation of the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history, the soap opera “Guiding Light.” The show has been on radio and television for 72 years, beginning on NBC radio in 1937 and moving to CBS television in 1952. (nyt)

Who are the Oldest Actors Playing High-Schoolers on TV?
It’s a time-honored tradition for high school dramas to be populated with actors well out of their teens. Here, then, is a tribute of sorts, assembled by examining each big teen show on the air, then isolating its oldest cast member. Their characters may flirt at parties to the sounds of Lady Gaga and dance at the high school prom to Taylor Swift, but in real life, some of these actors haven’t been in school since Kurt Cobain was alive. Who are they? (movieline)

The Ten Greatest Films of Steven Soderbergh
With Steven Soderbergh’s latest slice of cinematic greatness hitting theaters this week in The Informant!, we thought we’d take a look back at the amazing career of one of the most important filmmakers of the last two decades. (movieretriever)

Raiders of the Lost Ark as a 1951 adventure movie
This trailer for a notional 1951 version of Raiders of the Lost Ark has my head nigh-exploding with recursive delight: a retro movie that hearkens to 1950s adventure serials remade as a 1950s adventure serial! (boingboing)

President Barack Obama fencing with lightsaber
I get those kinda looks from my wife, too. (timeswampland)

The 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat them
From cake, steak and tapas, to oysters, chicken and burgers, Killian Fox roamed the world to find the 50 best things to eat and the best places to eat them in, with a little help from professionals like Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux, Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray. (guardian)

The distinctive smell of Crayons comes from pig fat
Crayons smell like pig bone fat. I don’t think I’ll use crayons ever again without thinking of that little factoid. (kottke)

Florida woman bags 11-foot alligator with a crossbow
Arianne Prevost of Satellite Beach was in the right place at the right time, and with the right people on Tuesday night during her first-ever gator hunt, as she used a crossbow to bag an 11-footer weighing perhaps 450 pounds. (latimes)

kittehcrimescene
I heard a commotion in the early morning, lots of meowing and a loud crash. I fell back asleep. When I entered my office in the late morning I found it exactly like this. (violetblue)