Destroying Internet Freedom

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Nick Heer, writing at Pixel Envy:

The seventy-five-page document (PDF) released today by the FCC represents the clearest view yet of Ajit Pai’s point of view on what ISPs offer, how to regulate providers, and what he sees as the Commission’s role in making sure that the open web continues to thrive. And, in short, it’s a crock of shit.

I anticipate that Karl Bode and Jon Brodkin will explore this proposal — titled “Restoring Internet Freedom”, like a gigantic middle finger to anyone who truly cares about freedom on the internet — on a much deeper level than I can, but I’d like to present a few excerpts for your review.

Snapchat Introduces Custom Stories for Capturing Group Moments With Friends

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Casey Newton, writing for The Verge:

To create a custom Story, tap the new “Create Story” icon in the top-right corner of the Stories screen. Give your Story a name, and then invite the friends you want to participate — no matter where in the world they live. You can also invite all nearby Snapchat users to participate. Snapchat will create a 1-block geofence around your current location; those Stories can only be seen and contributed to by your friends and, if you like, friends of friends.

Mikey Way Talks New Project and the End of My Chemical Romance

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Mikey Way sat down with Billboard:

The band ended, and I was going through a divorce at the same time. I do the most stressful things in clumps. The way I knew how to deal with that, through life, was to self-medicate so that’s what I did. The tail end of My Chem was so dark for me — I was in a fog. Life caught up with me at that point, and I was getting by. I was in the ocean with the water by my lips. I was trying to stay up and I was failing. I had always self-soothed through narcotics from an early age.

Ariana Grande Cancels Tour Through June 5th

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Ariana Grande has canceled her tour dates through June 5th. Entertainment Weekly reports:

“Due to the tragic events in Manchester, the Dangerous Woman Tour with Ariana Grande has been suspended until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost,” Grande’s team said in a statement to EW. “The London O2 shows this week have been canceled as well as all shows through June 5 in Switzerland. We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together.”

1Password Adds Travel Mode

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Jacob Kastrenakes, writing for The Verge:

1Password received a handy new feature last week that allows the app to temporarily remove all passwords, credit cards, and other stored data from a user’s devices. The feature is called Travel Mode, and it was created to protect users worried about running into trouble with security agents while traveling.

Increasingly, people are being asked to turn over and unlock their phones at the border, and doing that can expose a huge amount of data. Add in an app like 1Password — a central repository for a ton of private data — and it’s easy to see why someone would be worried about having to hand over their phone.

I can’t believe we need something like this … but we do.

Review: X

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Chuck Klosterman - X

Chuck Klosterman is the only writer where I’ve stockpiled the complete collection of his books. With X he’s on his tenth book, which is a feat in itself for any author to have ten books. That said, I have yet to read all ten, but this one called to me as an immediate read when it arrived in my mailbox. As someone who has similar interests in general with Klosterman, his writing always intrigues me.

This book is a collection of Klosterman’s writing over the years. Some were familiar, namely his GQ interview (or lack thereof) with Tom Brady while the whole “Deflategate” situation was going on. And despite having already read it, I read it again anyway. In a way, I would like my writing to grow to be what his is, but still something that’s my own. Hopefully that makes sense to someone other than myself. Klosterman covers sports and music in a way that many writers in those areas probably wish they could. He has access that not just anyone gets. His interview with Kobe Bryant is fantastic, and the Lakers fan in me is beyond jealous.

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