Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 1062

Only 10% of Americans Think They're Hipsters

We thought hipsters were dead!

Not quite, according to the latest headline-grabbing survey from Public Policy Polling, published on Monday afternoon under the headline "Americans so over hipsters." The still reliable polling group reports that just 10 percent of Americans identify as hipsters — that ill-defined category of urban, overeducated youth — while 50 percent of citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 say they wear the label with pride. The poll reports a bunch of amusing findings — e.g., "27% of voters said they thought hipsters should be subjected to a special tax for being so annoying" — but really stands out for contradicting the latest literature about Americans hipsters. New York and n+1 began talking about hipsters in the past tense more than two years ago. Three years before that, Time Out New York openly welcomed their annihilation. Hipster godfather Gavin McInnes sired his third child in January 2013. We were supposed to be living in a post-hipster world.

Maybe we are living in a post-hipster world. In his 2010 "sociological investigation" of the hipster phenomenon, New School intellectual historian Mark Greif observed something called "hipster accusation," whereby hipsters flung the term around to identify anyone they deemed insufficiently cool. Within an identifiably hipster culture, no one was a hipster, or would dare call herself one. Indeed hipsters' "obsessive interest in the conflict between knowingness and naïveté" helped define the entire movement. But when half of 18-29 year-olds tell a progressive, Raleigh-based polling firm that they identify as hipster, well, perhaps the term no longer signifies anything special or specific. Maybe it means nothing at all.

Someone should tell The New York Times.

       

Did Obama Cry for Benghazi? An Inquiry

[image error]President Obama answered a question about Benghazi during a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, and hi-def photos reveal that some moisture traveled from the president's eye area to his cheekbone in a thin stream. Was it a tear? It certainly looks like a tear.

These photos from Reuters revealing Obama's epiphora raise new and troubling questions. Is Obama so mad about what he called the Benghazi "sideshow" that he needs to have a good cry about it? Or does President Obama have previously undisclosed allergies that could seriously hamper his performance as commander in chief?

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Does Obama wear contacts, a sign of a different, but also undisclosed, medical problem? No: he has 20/20 vision, but a mild astigmatism and presbyopia. So was Obama's mind on something else — something very sad, like when the dinosaur mom dies in Land Before Time — causing the president to be emotionally crippled and unable to do his job?

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(Above photos via Reuters.)

The tear is not visible in the Associated Press's version.

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Thus far, we only have evidence of a single tear. This would make allergies more likely — perhaps Obama's eyes watered because he's trying out a new undereye cream. These closeups show Obama's getting pretty wrinkly.

       

Here Comes Fox's 2013 Lineup at Upfronts

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Following a pretty rough morning over at NBC, we're now onto the Fox upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Perhaps we'll get some more information on the fate of the Idol judges and hear more about the slate of guy-driven comedies the network has coming up this fall, all the better to round out Fox's New Girl/Mindy Project night. Also: There will be stars! And the bold return of 24! We're on the scene to bring you all the details, first-look clips, insider info, and much more. Scroll down for interactive schedule and the latest. 

Fox

2013 | 2012

  8:00 p 8:30 p 9:00 p 9:30 p Monday Bones Sleepy Hollow Tuesday Dads Brooklyn Nine-Nine New Girl The Mindy Project Wednesday The X Factor Thursday The X Factor Results Glee Friday Junior Masterchef Sleepy Hollow Saturday Fox Sports Saturday Sunday The Simpsons Bob's Burgers Family Guy American Dad

 

The Presentation

5:27 The presentation is ending with a music video/auto tuned compilation of clips. Okay. Stay cool, Fox. 

5:23 Seth MacFarlane approached Fox with the idea of producing science documentary Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a reboot of the original Cosmos. Now that's a bizarre combo. MacFarlane is teaming with astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson for the series. 

5:22: This, of course, also includes: 24: Live Another Day.

5:19 Fox is also developing a number of long form series, including an adaptation of Shogun, and M. Night Shyamalan's Wayward Pines. 

5:15 And the Greg Kinnear show Rake. Kinnear plays a gambler/lawyer defending cannibals who is falling in love with a prostitute. 

 

5:11 Now for later offerings like Gang Related about gangs and cops in Los Angeles. 

5:06 And now J.J. Abrams' Almost Human. It's a futuristic drama about cops that have robot partners. Karl Urban gets one of the robots with a bug that makes him feel. 

5:03 The modern day Sleepy Hollow is up first. The headless horseman rides, and there's some Starbucks humor, mixed with National Treasure style historicism. 

5:00 The drama folks are out and Greg Kinnear seems confused that he's supposed to take the microphone. But he introduces the clip package.

4:58 And we're onto drama. They're highly promoting The Following. 

4:55 A bunch of the reality stars come out and Simon Cowell digs Randy Jackson. "Where's Randy?" Cowell asks.

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4:54 We heard about some of the digital initiatives and now we're onto reality. 

4:45 Reilly mentions that New Girl and a new comedy are running after the Super Bowl. Now Michael Strahan and Troy Aikman are talking about the Super Bowl. Strahan says Fox is going to take over Times Square for the Super Bowl. Because the Super Bowl will be cold this year, apparently everyone who goes to the after party gets a version of Michael Strahan's scarf. 

4:41 Do you miss Bleep My Dad Says? Because Surviving Jack is a comedy from the same dude. It's a period piece. Period being 1991. Christopher Meloni stars. 

4:38 For later in the year we have Us & Them, an BBC adaptation, with Rory Gilmore, sorry Alexis Bledel, and Jason Ritter, about two people and their weird friends and relations. 

4:33 Next: Enlisted, an Army comedy, about misfit soldiers. The tagline: "He was looking for a few good men, what he got was them." 

 

4:30 First up is the multicamera, Seth MacFarlane produced Dads starring Giovanni Ribisi and Seth Green. and the Mike Schur produced Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andy Samberg. The former has some poop jokes and sexy Asian schoolgirl jokes.  The latter looks too have a little of the awkward workplace humor of Schur's Parks & Rec. Kevin Reilly called Andre Braugher in Brooklyn: "A new Lou Grant." High praise.

4:24 A group of actors appeared on stage.

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Max Greenfield, Schmidt on New Girl, came out to introduce the new shows. He gave his jacket away to someone because it got cold out and he revealed he sleeveless. He almost sang a song from Pippin. 

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4:20 After some marketing jargon, we're onto comedy. A video intro to returning shows featured Andy Samberg and Seth green, both on new comedies, and actors on returning shows like Zooey Deschanel. 

4:13 And we're underway. "This was not our best year," execs say.  

3:46 A voiceover from New Girl's Schmidt instructed the audience to take their seats, while a DJ spins from the stage and trivia questions about Fox shows appear on the screen.

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3:31 p.m. Fox has balloons lining Broadway. 

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2013 | 2012

  8:00 p 8:30 p 9:00 p 9:30 p Monday Bones The Mob Doctor Tuesday Raising Hope Ben and Kate New Girl The Mindy Project Wednesday The X Factor Thursday The X Factor Results Glee Friday Touch Fringe Saturday   Sunday The Simpsons Bob's Burgers Family Guy American Dad        

The IRS' Role in Campaign Finance Is an Awkward, Unhappy Accident

Everything about the brouhaha surrounding the IRS' enhanced investigation of Tea Party groups could have been handled better. For one, the IRS should probably never have been in the business of trying to determine which non-profit groups were exceeding the spirit of the law to shield donors to political activity. But the IRS' new role in campaign finance might now mean its best option for a real answer is the easiest one: kick that role somewhere else in Washington.

There are a full 29 different subsections of IRS code 501(c), all of which, to some extent or another, are exempt from paying federal taxes. Cemetery companies are exempt (subsection 13), as are black lung benefit trusts (21). So are social clubs (7), labor unions (5), and the Loyal Order of Moose (8). Each section is a specific carve-out for a specific type of organization that didn't think it should have to pay taxes. Including 501(c)(4), social welfare organizations — the section that now also covers the Obama-sympathetic Organizing For Action, the conservative Americans For Prosperity, and scores of Tea Party organizations.

The IRS isn't clear on the origin of section 4, but it apparently resulted from a 1913 request from the Chamber of Commerce asking that "civic and commercial" organizations be exempt from paying federal taxes. In 1958, the NAACP won a case at the Supreme Court allowing it to keep its donor list private, in order to protect its work for the social welfare.

Which is what (c)(4)s are supposed to do: advocate for the improvement of the social welfare. Here's how the IRS describes that mandate:

To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements).

The IRS gives examples: groups pushing for affordable housing, those doing job training for the unemployed, those working to build a stadium at a school.

What isn't mentioned is: using non-profit status to shield contributions from donors that are used to advocate during political campaigns. It's this use that's become a problem, because the IRS definition of what constitutes social welfare is broad and vague. And unlike some other non-profits, these groups can do political advocacy. The IRS indicates that such groups cannot directly or indirectly advocate for candidates, but can "engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity."

After Congress revised rules governing contributions to political parties a decade ago, donors went looking for other ways to anonymously promote political causes they supported. As far back as 2006, the media was calling out 501(c)(4)s that appeared to serve little "social welfare" outcome beyond the political goals of its funders. Forming a (c)(4) offered the best of all possible worlds: anonymous political money that could largely be used to influence politics. Once, that money flowed into political parties. Now it goes to IRS-designated non-profits.

In 2011, with the prospect of a presidential election looming, the Center for Public Integrity described the breadth of the loophole — little reporting, lots of money, unknown sponsors. In March 2012, after initial reports about Tea Party groups being heavily targeted by the IRS emerged, The New York Times editorialized for a fix, saying that, if the IRS was cracking down on (c)(4)s, it was doing its job. That prompted a request from several Democratic senators for the agency to revise how it allocated (c)(4) status, including:

Making clear what "primary activity" means for social welfare work. This is generally understood to mean that 49.9 percent of the group's work can be specifically political without facing sanction. Require increased explanation of what the group spends on "social welfare" work. Require organizations to explain to donors how much of their donations can be a business expense. This was largely included to address a concern in The Times' editorial.

The first two points are meant to resolve the question of political groups taking advantage of the social welfare stipulation. If they seem a bit soft, it's out of necessity. As of 2011, there were an estimated 30,255 501(c)(4) organizations in the United States, the vast majority of which were not specifically designed as political organizations. Any revision to reporting procedures for those groups would result in a big increase in costs to those tens of thousands of organizations as they try to figure out how to meet the new reporting guideline. After all, a group advocating for a ballot measure that would fund a stadium at a school may toe close to the tacit political line in the (c)(4) definition. Nor did the Democratic Senators address the privacy of donations. That's very likely unfixable, given that it was implemented by the Supreme Court. And it serves a legitimate social service: The NAACP's donors in the late 1950s could have faced harassment or repercussions for their support.

In a letter to non-profit groups that raised questions about the status of (c)(4)s in 2011, the IRS wrote that it was going to "considered proposed changes" to the rules, but didn't indicate what those changes would look like. The previous year, it had begun doing the one thing in its power: paying close attention to the political activity of groups filing as (c)(4)s. In order to determine how an organization qualifies for (c)(4) status, the IRS already sends out a lengthy questionnaire; in the case of the Tea Party, those questions were far more complex. By singling out particular phrases — like "Tea Party" or "Patriots" — the IRS both crossed an ethical line and cast suspicion on an already suspicion-laden process. (Of course, it didn't do itself any favors when it at first suggested that it hadn't done anything wrong.)

People looking to give money to advance political causes without drawing attention to themselves seized upon a loophole. There was a demand; due to several accidents of history that go back precisely a century, the IRS offered a supply. But for the situation to be changed, there are two options.

• After last week's revelations, liberal groups and elected officials and members of the media have called for broader review of (c)(4) activity. That intensive effort could help — but that sort of review is precisely what the IRS was doing, however clumsily, in the Tea Party case.

• The IRS could alternatively develop rigorous standards for political behavior, rigid, complex, definitions of social welfare work, and limits on where and when a group can claim anonymity for donors — perhaps grandfathering in existing organizations.

It's likely that either or both revisions would have the same effect: A short, successful hunt by donors for another legally iffy method of pouring money into political work. At the very least, it might not be the IRS' problem any more.

       

How to Deal With Dan Brown's 'Inferno'

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code's Dan Brown, has yet another long-awaited book on the ever-so-near horizon featuring your favorite tweedy, turtlenecked hearthrob-tellectual Robert Langdon. It's called Inferno, and, yes, this is a Dante reference: "In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante's Inferno." Expect "a chilling adversary," "an ingenious riddle," "a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science," and loads of Dante references! As usual, the stakes are high, like, end-of-the-world high. Poor Langdon must be exhausted!

[image error]Now, no matter how you feel about Dan Brown and his novels, it is certain that you are going to run into this book. The author has already sold more than 200 million copies of his previous books worldwide. It's a near bet that you will see Inferno on the subway. You will see Inferno in a pile at your local bookstore, laughing in your face. You will hear about Inferno around the water cooler. Your mom will ask you, "Have you read this book, Fernono-something-or other, you know, by The Da Vinci Code guy? I like that Tom Hanks!" You may even read Inferno yourself, whether at the behest of an angry albino monk or because you you simply want to. "He's entertaining!", you might say of the author. "He knows how to spin a plot! Those pages keep turning!" That is fine. Reading's reading and I don't judge reading, even if I do judge, on the occasion, what people read. But, look, I have read some Dan Brown books. Maybe I'll read this one, too. More important than whether you read it or not is knowing you have options. If you're wondering what they are, read on for A Few Ways You Might Cope With Dan Brown's Inferno. 

Pre-Order It Now on Amazon. It's not too late for a pre-order! Admittedly, you might want to walk into a store and just buy it outright, considering that it's in stores Tuesday. And journeying into a bookstore to purchase Brown's latest tome does have a certain circular, bringing-the-plot-back-home beauty to it, given that that's probably what you did way back in, oh holy hell, 2003, when The Da Vinci Code first made its mark on our collective psyches. But the Internet makes it more now, you know? Langdon never stops learning.

Get Psyched. This is most likely if you are 1) an unabashed Dan Brown fan, 2) the city of Florence, Italy, or 3) a bookseller. The latter is "predicting that the author's forthcoming new novel, Inferno, will be the biggest of the year." This is because, well, Dan Brown. As Alison Flood writes in The Guardian, this is not simply speculation. There is very real historical precedent, i.e., those more than 200 million copies of Dan Brown books sold worldwide. The Da Vinci Code (and to a lesser extent, the others, too) even managed to generate a secondary industry of pretty successful books about themselves, which is no small feat. Brown's next book, The Lost Symbol, "sold more than half a million copies in hardback in its first week on sale when it was published in 2009." Readers have had to wait almost four years for another installment of Langdon. They will likely be chomping at the bit, and the sales will show that, hope book publishers and stores. (It's already an Amazon best seller.) As for Florence — tourism is down and the Florentine government is hoping Brown can get them back on track. David needs a turtleneck and some Harris Tweed.

Contemplate Dan Brown the Artist. From an interview with the Sunday Times, via The Guardian: "Taking a moment to show his interviewer his gravity table, where he hangs upside down from metal stirrups when writer's block strikes, Brown — who gets up at 4 a.m. every day to write — said the life of an author was 'awful' and a 'brutal existence.'" 

Enjoy the Reviews. Sometimes reviews are nearly as good as the book itself, and sometimes they are better. Dan Brown says he doesn't read his reviews, or that he tries not to. But that doesn't mean we can't. Let's see what we see, eh? One of the first reviews out is from The New York Times' Janet Maslin. She writes:

"The early sections of Inferno come so close to self-parody that Mr. Brown seems to have lost his bearings — as has Langdon, who begins the book in a hospital bed with a case of amnesia that dulls his showy wits." When he wakes, in fact, Langdon's Mickey Mouse watch is gone and his Tweed is in tatters. Like I said, the stakes are high. Back to Maslin:

"As is his wont, Mr. Brown begins with a crazily grandiose prologue, this one a little more unhinged than usual."

But ... 

"To the great relief of anyone who enjoys him, Mr. Brown winds up not only laying a breadcrumb trail of clues about Dante (this is Inferno, after all) but also playing games with time, gender, identity, famous tourist attractions and futuristic medicine."

No spoiler, if you like Dan Brown already, you're probably going to like this book. See "Get Psyched."

Plot Your Own Ingenious Riddles and Diligently Go About Solving Them. If you are the thinking person's Dan Brown novel reader, this is exactly what you're already thinking. Perhaps you have recently broken into the office under cover of night and positioned secret notes using coded script into the mailboxes of all of your coworkers. Perhaps you've hidden ancient pebbles in the sink, which only the inquisitive will find have been inscribed with important messages when they go to pour out their cold coffee. If you're very good, maybe you've already left a trail of breadcrumbs from the street outside up to your cubicle, and if you're not very good, the cleaning person has already swept it up. Do not be swayed from your mission. You are the only one who can save yourself. Have you looked at that Chipotle bag, like, really looked at it? There are stories being told right in front of our eyes!

Become a Dante Scholar. This vaunted profession is about to experience a sudden surge in popularity. Get there early or be left behind.

Become Infuriated. The best you is you criticizing someone else's writing, right? If you are this person you will take this moment to point out that a) the metaphors are trite, b) the delivery is stilted, c) who really wears a turtleneck with a tweed jacket anyway?, and d) this whole thing is a shameful example of the dumbing down of the world's important literary traditions. You might be wrong and you might be right, but the more important question is, does becoming outraged at someone you don't know and something you can't do much about make you happy? If so, carry on!

Join in the Mockery! The Telegraph has a very funny piece entitled, "Don't Make Fun of Renowned Dan Brown." If inclined to make fun of Renowned Dan Brown, you should read it now. Quick teaser: "Renowned author Dan Brown woke up in his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house – and immediately he felt angry..."

Re-Read the Other Books. If you're a purist you're spending the next 24 hours with Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol, reliving every gasping breath, diabolical revenge scheme, and near-near-near-death experience as if it were the first time. This is the equivalent of again watching all the Twilight films the weekend before Breaking Dawn Part 2 comes out. If you've read them before, you'll probably be able to solve the puzzles before Mr. Brag-don this time! Then, tomorrow, you can walk into a store (or receive your pre-ordered copy from your friendly mail person) and pick up again with the latest, Brown's self-described "darkest novel yet."

Read Something Else. The Great Gatsby, maybe, so you can join in the chorus on that book? Or Meg Wolitzer's latest, The Interestings, which I can tell you from experience is quite good. David Sedaris's latest is on shelves near you, as is the long best-selling (on Amazon) 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. Maybe none of those interest you, but the fact remains that there are many, many books currently out and available for your eyes to feast upon (Drew Magary's Someone Could Get Hurt is very funny, and out this week, too!). If you hate books, how about some blog posts? You know what they say about lemmings. Just because everyone else is reading Dan Brown doesn't mean you have to.

       

The Cleveland Victims Don't Want To Talk To The Media

Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus gave their answer to numerous interview requests following their escape from years of captivity last week in Cleveland: thanks, but no thanks. The three, understandably, want their space, at least until the trial of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro is over. 

This weekend, Attorney Jim Wooley read a statement to the media on behalf of the three families (printed in full at the Cleveland Plain Dealer), with a message that couldn't be more clear to those seeking on-the-record time with the three victims: 

"Ms. Berry, Ms. DeJesus, and Ms. Knight have asked — in fact, have pleaded — for privacy at this time so that they can continue to heal and reconnect with their families. You all care greatly about their well-being, so please respect this most basic request...there may be a time, at some point in the future, that Ms. Berry, Ms. DeJesus, and Ms. Knight will want to tell their stories. Let me make this very clear. That will not be while the criminal proceeding is pending and it will not be until they advise us that they are ready to do so." 

In the statement, Berry, DeJesus, and Knight each released short messages of thanks to law enforcement and the public gently echoing that request: 

Berry: "Thank you so much for everything you're doing and continue to do. I am so happy to be home with my family." 

DeJesus: "I'm so happy to be home and want to thank everybody for all your prayers. I just want time now to be with my family."

Knight: "Thank you to everyone for your support and good wishes. I am healthy, happy and safe and will reach out to family, friends and supporters in good time." 

Meanwhile, alleged kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro's brothers have given an interview to CNN, where they address their own initial detainment by police (they were later released, based on the stories of the three victims). Pedro and Onil Castro both say they had no clue what their brother was up to, and worry that their initial identification as suspects will, in the public's eye, connect them to their brother's alleged actions forever. Here's Pedro: 

"I couldn't never think of doing anything like that. If I knew that my brother was doing this ... I would not be, not -- in a minute, I would call the cops because that ain't right...But yeah, it's going to haunt me down because people going to think, yeah, Pedro got something to do with this and Pedro don't have nothing to do with this. If I knew, I would have reported it, brother or no brother."

As the Atlantic Wire explained earlier this week, other members of the Castro family have come forward since Ariel's arrest to fill in some of the details of the family's apparently troubled history. 

       

Mother's Day Parade Shooting Injures At Least 18

A Mother's Day parade in New Orleans was ruined on Sunday when at least one gunman opened fire on the crowd, wounding as many as 18 people, including two children: a boy and a girl, both 10 years old. 

So far, it looks like most of the casualties from the mass shooting are in good condition. Here's New Orleans PD spokesperson Remi Braden explaining what they know to the Times-Picayune: 

Many of the victims were grazed, some by bullets that ricocheted," Braden said in an email. "At this point, there are no fatalities, and most of the wounds are not life-threatening. "But all medical conditions are not known at this time as victims were rushed to nearby hospitals," Braden continued. "Detectives are conducting interviews, retrieving any surveillance video in the area and, of course, collecting all evidence. This is an extremely unusual occurrence, and we're confident that we will make swift arrests." 

Both children, as the Associated Press notes, were grazed in the shooting. They're in good condition. At the time of the shooting, about 200 people were in the immediate vicinity, out of the crowd of about 400 participating in the parade. Police are looking for three suspects seen running away from the scene. No arrests have been made. 

The Mother's Day celebration was a "second-line" parade, a tradition specific to New Orleans. It's kind of a mix between a block party and a more traditional walk-down-the-street parade: a brass band leads an informal procession of dancers and revelers through the streets. They happen pretty much every weekend in New Orleans this time of the year, as the Times-Picayune notes. The century-old tradition is associated with, but not exclusive to, the city's African American community. They're usually organized by neighborhood groups, in this case, the Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, who have hosted the Mother's Day second line in the 7th Ward since 2001.  

While not commonplace, violence at second lines is not unheard of (there was even a second-line shooting in an episode of "Treme," for instance), and it's been a source of tension in the past between city law enforcement and parade organizers. Just after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, New Orleans raised the fees on "second line" permits dramatically in order to, as they argue, pay for the increased costs of policing them due to increased violence at the parades. That action prompted a huge response from second-line supporters, who argued that the fee increase unfairly targeted the predominantly African-American communities in the city who put on the parades. 

       

Pope Francis Names 800 New Saints In One Go

Pope Francis's first canonization ceremony was a record-breaking one. The new pontiff named over 800 new saints on Sunday. That's already almost double the number of saints declared by Pope John Paul II, whose 480-odd canonizations were, at the time, more than those of all of his predecessors since 1588, combined. But the latest canonization bonanza is notable for another reason: most of the 800 new saints are 15th-century martyrs, who were approved as a group for sainthood by Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Given Pope Francis's previous public commitment to improving the Catholic church's relationship with Muslim communities worldwide, Benedict XVI's unfinished business put the new pontiff in a delicate position. The 813 "Martyrs of Otranto" were beheaded by Ottoman soldiers for refusing to convert to Islam. 

Pope Francis, who is also fighting against Benedict XVI's overall poor reputation among many in the Muslim community, tried to handle the potentially awkward moment by declining to mention "Islam" in his entire speech marking the canonizations. Instead, he emphasized the Christian faith of the martyrs, with a relatively toned-down nod to ending inter-religious violence: "Let us ask God to sustain those many Christians who, in these times and in many parts of the world, right now, still suffer violence, and give them the courage and fidelity to respond to evil with good,” he told the crowd in St. Peter's Square. 

The pope also canonized two women from Latin America, which seems to be a more fitting way for the first pope from the continent to kick off his tenure. Those two new saints are Laura of St. Catherine of Siena Montoya y Upegui (also the first saint from Columbia) and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala of Mexico. Saints, as you might know, must have performed two miracles in the eyes of the church to qualify for the Catholic church's highest honor. 

    

What We Can Expect from Google's New Mobile Game Hub

Are you an Android user who's been hoping for a service similar to the iOs GameCenter or XBox Live on your phone? Fear not, your wishes may be granted sooner than you think. The intrepid hackers at Android Police got their hands on an advanced copy of a new Google Play build. Games were the glaring omission when Google Play launched last year. But they discovered something very interesting when they stripped the code down to its bare bones: evidence that Google Play Games is on its way. The big reveals include: 

Social Integration: There's going to be a heavy Google+ presence in the new service. You're going to sign in using your Google+ profile and it will be your central identity while playing. You'll be able to send game invitations to your friends and compare performances on leader boards.  In-Game Chatting: An extension of the social capabilities, but a big enough one that deserves its own bullet point. Based on their evidence there's going to be an in-game chat feature. So there's no need to switch in and out of your app to chirp your friend's terrible performance.  Cloud Capabilities: Google Play Games will sync your save data on its servers the same way it syncs your Mail, Calendar or contact information. So your game saves won't take up any precious hard drive room. 

It's important to note that none of this stuff works yet, not even in the leak obtained by Android Police. But there's evidence strongly suggesting all of these things will function in the leak's code. And as The Verge and TechCrunch aptly point out, Google's annual I/O conference is this week, so we should be hearing more about this new feature soon. 

       

'Gatsby' Not Great Enough to Defeat 'Iron Man'

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're not ready for flapper girls to be a thing again. How depressingly 2010.

1. Iron Man 3 (Buena Vista): $72.5 millions in 4,253 theaters [Week 2]

Tony Stark was able to maintain his stranglehold on the domestic box office for another week. He had to fend off the drunken efforts of a moneyed party boy, so it was nothing he couldn't handle. It's now far and away the biggest earner domestically of 2013, surpassing Oz: the Great and Powerful. Also, Iron Man will surpass $1 billion worldwide, thanks to 3D and Imax ticket sales, some time this week. And the Marvel money train chugs along...

2. The Great Gatsby (Warner): $51.1 million in 3,535 theaters

But Gatsby! Oh, Gatsby! You were supposed to be this extravagant summer event that blew our pants off and swept us away to the roaring 20s. But alas, you've settled for second place. You'll always end up face down in the pool if you keep putting in performances like this, old sport. 

3. Pain & Gain (Paramount): $5 million in 3,303 theaters [Week 3]

If you haven't already done so, please go read Molly Lambert's excellent essay on P&G and Spring Breakers and crazy people in Florida who ignore the second half of Scarface. It's wonderful, and she's wonderful, and it's about crazy people in Florida. What's not to love? 

4. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (Fox): $4.9 million in 2,041 theaters 

Based on the title, The Box Office Report assumes this movie doesn't star real people. Instead Perry made a movie using everyone's favorite Easter treat, Peeps. The timing of the release is a little off, but forgive him. He made a movie with Peeps for heaven's sake. 

5. 42 (Warner): $4.7 million in 2,930 theaters [Week 5]

This might be the strongest May on record. We get Star Trek next week, then the new Fast & Furious, and then the month closes with Now You See Me, that Jesse Eisenberg magician movie with the sneaky good cast that could be the underrated hit of the summer. Let's hope June and July don't suck.