The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 2nd of February Edition

EDITORIAL

Hello everyone and happy Groundhog Day! This edition of the Procrastinator goes out in GMT so by the time I'm writing this I really don't know what is going to be Punxsutawney Phil prediction about the winter, but it doesn't matter, because we have our own. Oh yes, we put together a special Groundhog Day section to honor one of our favorite films, as well as one of our favorite weird rituals of this weird world we live in.

In the news section we have an NSA/Snowden/Facebook triangulation going on, we also have articles about asteroids and genetically modified monkeys; the SS14 Barneys campaign and sex with Google Glass; female advertising, writer's sleeping habits and Michel Houellebecq. Finally our In Dog We Trust section is also a special lovely Groundhog Edition.

We hope the winter turns out to be shorter than we expected. Follow us in Twitter if you want to be  informed about Phil's predictions, and all in all have a happy Sunday and a happy reading!



NEWS

Photo via The Independent.

The first news of this week in our edition is the nomination of whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize. "Two Norwegian politicians say they have jointly nominated the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel peace prize. The Socialist Left party politicians Baard Vegar Solhjell, a former environment minister, and Snorre Valen said the public debate and policy changes in the wake of Snowden's whistleblowing had "contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order". Read full article in The Guardian. E.T.P. 2' and/or The Independent. E.T.P. 2'

Image via Dazed Digital.

This brings us to our second news: a very complete article published in Dazed Digital in which, having learned some of the NSA encryption methods, Stephen Fortune compiled Ten Ways to Fuck the NSA. "While code-breaking supercomputers are mentioned in the disclosures Bruce Schneier, one of the most respected cryptography experts commenting on this matter, assures us that the NSA have not been able to code-break any of the crypto used by cypherpunks and activists to shy away from prying eyes. Absolute clarity on the matter is unobtainable, as the NSA's capabilities in this regard are a tightly guarded secret. Against this backdrop it's not surprising to hear that 86% of (US) internet users have attempted some method of covering their tracks online. But the time has past for half measures: if you want to fuck the NSA check out our top 10 list." Read full article in Dazed Digital. E.T.P. 12'

Image via TIME with my Facebook non-meaningful procrastination info.

Non-meaningful Procrastination.  Finally, our 3rd article this week is about this crazy place that need no NSA to discover everything about our lives, because we just share it all without even think twice: Facebook. "Facebook will celebrate its 10th birthday next week. Created in a dorm room by Mark Zuckerberg and a few friends, TheFacebook.com came to life on Feb. 4, 2004. In its decade of existence, the social network has attracted 1.1 billion users, and all their pokes, wall posts, baby photos and engagement announcements add up to a whole lot of time." TIME magazine invite us to use their calculator so we can have an estimate of how much time we have wasted on Facebook. My case is not as dramatic as many others, I guess because I refused to sign in for a long time. Now I'm lost, like everyone else. Argh. At some point this year I'll sign off, this is my Chinese New Year resolution. Go ahead use TIME's calculator. E.T.P. 6 - 10' 

Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 22nd of September Edition

EDITORIAL

This week there was tons of things to do in London, but mainly we honoured both procrastination and the autumn-ish weather with a lot of indoors procrastination, that means that we watched a lot of movies, series and documentaries, and that we had the time to read a lot of things on the Internet, but we are recommending and sharing just the best. Our contributor Marie James did managed to go to a couple of LDF's events. She is sharing her experience with us and if you want to do the same for next week, please just send your article/post/critic/photo our way. 

Hope you have a nice reading and a happy Sunday.

NEWS

Photo: Bassam Khabieh/Reuters via Big Picture.

While we wait and see how the Syrian conflict unfolds, one of the world's best photojournalism blog, Boston Globe's The Big Picture publishes 23 photos showing Syrians struggle as the civil war continues. Great work being made by journalists and photographers. Nothing more to say really. Watch the photos here.

Image via Fast Company.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales, CSIRO, and the University of Sydney calculated a new measure they call the “material footprint” of 186 nations and published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently. The results? Wealthy countries that seemed to be slowing their environmental impact are actually as bad as ever. Read full article in Fast Company.

Image: faceofmalawi.com

Chinese University Asks Students to Sign 'Suicide Waivers'. City College of Dongguan University of Technology in China’s coastal Guangdong is asking students entering its freshman class to sign a document absolving the school of responsibility should the student commit suicide — a macabre sign, say some, of the growing pressures of Chinese society. Read full article in Time.