Sympathy for the Lizard: Godzilla

Rich Juzwiak · 05/16/14 02:40PM

I saw Godzilla earlier this week and have thought about it on my own precisely zero times since then. Gareth Edwards' take on the classic is as great-looking as it is dumb. It conveys enormity extremely well, as well should a movie that stars monsters who dwarf skyscrapers. For all of his twitching, nostril-flaring, and saliva-string-producing, Godzilla has never looked more life-like (or zaftig—check out that thick neck, bro). His nemeses, a pair of giant cockroaches called MUTOs, looked real enough to mildly nauseate me.

Columbia Announces It Will "Deal With the Issues of Sexual Assault"

Adam Weinstein · 05/16/14 02:28PM

Columbia University plans to create a second rape-crisis center on campus and add staff positions to help it "deal with the issues of sexual assault and related misconduct," the school's president, Lee Bollinger, announced yesterday. The university also intends to add Title IX investigators on campus and to create a new position of executive vice president for student affairs, with responsibility for overseeing sexual-assault claims.

Discrimination Against Hillbillies Is Rampant in Higher Education

Adam Weinstein · 05/16/14 02:00PM

The academy. It claims to stand for inclusiveness and diversity and voices of dissent. But what happens when students decide to vote with their feet—their bare feet—and a professor calls those students "hillbillies"? Well sir, you've got a discrimination problem.

Beagles Experience Sunshine, Grass For First Time

Jordan Sargent · 05/16/14 01:33PM

One might imagine the inescapable joy, but also terror, of experiencing sunshine and grass for the first time. One might also imagine that joy multiplying many times over if you happen to be a beagle.

Sarah Hedgecock · 05/16/14 01:15PM

A woman is evacuated from her home in Obrenovac, a town 18 miles southwest of Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday. Serbian authorities are considering full evacuation of Obrenovac, inhabited by roughly 25,000 people, as the local rivers have flooded most of the town's residential areas. Image via Marko Drobnjakovic/AP.

Jimmy Kimmel and Iggy Azalea Translate "Fancy" Lyrics for Old People

Rich Juzwiak · 05/16/14 01:05PM

Before performing her Top 5 hit "Fancy" on last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, Australian rapper/drag queen Iggy Azalea helped prep the squares in Kimmel's audience by rephrasing the lyrics of the song's first verse and hook. Her in-between accent as she recites (but doesn't quite rap) her lyrics is utterly bizarre, and Kimmel's translations are for the most part hilarious.

Zen Koans Explained: "Teaching the Ultimate"

Hamilton Nolan · 05/16/14 01:02PM

"Zen." Roll the world over in your mouth. "Zzzzennnn." Do you taste it? I can, but I spent years practicing that. Years. Don't expect to get there on the first day.

Operation American Spring, the Right's Crazy Copy of Occupy, Explained

Adam Weinstein · 05/16/14 12:24PM

You can feel it in the air, rising on a zephyr like a handmade sign depicting Obama as the Joker. Operation American Spring is on, people, in the streets of Washington and Baton Rouge and—that's about it, really. But here comes the nutty conservative impeachment revolution!

Female Titans of Broadcast Journalism Say Goodbye to Barbara Walters

Rich Juzwiak · 05/16/14 11:45AM

After 53 years on television, Barbara Walters is retiring today (or something). For the 84-year-old's final appearance on the show she helped create and will continue to executive produce, The View, about two dozen women in broadcast journalism joined her onstage to honor the woman who helped pave their way in broadcast journalism, and tell Walters, "Goodnight, Moon!" one last time in front of cameras (maybe). Oprah was there! So was Gayle (of course). Kathie Lee and Hoda seemed sober. Elisabeth Hasselbeck wept.

The City of Portland Is Divesting From Walmart

Hamilton Nolan · 05/16/14 11:34AM

Yesterday, Walmart announced weak earnings in the past quarter. The company blamed the weather. It might do better to blame itself. Walmart's reputation is now so toxic that a major American city is purging itself of investments in the company.