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The Salt
Day Of The Dead, Decoded: A Joyful Celebration Of Life And Food
November 1, 2012 The ancient Latin American holiday welcomes ancestors back to the earth for one day each year. Each element on the altar symbolizes a connection between the world of the living and the dead, so naturally, food and drink play a big part. Here we've deconstructed the altar and its meaning.
The Salt
Behind A Halloween Mask, Even 'Good' Kids Can Turn Into Candy Thieves
October 31, 2012 Results of a 1976 experiment involving masked trick-or-treaters still hold true today: We're more likely to do bad things — like stealing candy — when we're anonymous. And that tells researchers about the ways adults break the rules, too.
Television
Katey Sagal, Holding Court On 'Sons Of Anarchy'
October 31, 2012 The actress plays Gemma, the fierce matriarch of the biker gang in the FX series. She's best-known for playing the acerbic Peg Bundy on the long-running show Married With Children.
Monkey See
Twenty Stories That Will Absolutely Run The Week 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Is Released
October 31, 2012 Yesterday, Disney announced that it was purchasing Lucasfilm for four billion dollars and would be putting out new Star Wars films. The good news is that we already know what some of the headlines of 2015 will look like.
The Two-Way
The Force Is Strong With This One: Disney Buys Lucasfilm For $4B
October 30, 2012 The studio announced it would continue the Star Wars movie franchise with a seventh film due to be released in 2015, and others to follow. Disney also owns Marvel, which it bought for $4 billion in 2009.
Monkey See
Impersonating The President: From Will Rogers To Obama's 'Anger Translator'
October 29, 2012 Elizabeth Blair finds that presidential impersonations came and went and then came back again, but it's not always easy to find just the right angle on a sitting president — or a challenger.
It's All Politics
Conspiracy Theory Experts: Skepticism Is Part Of Our National Identity
October 28, 2012 Those who study claims that things such as public opinion polls or government jobs reports have been manipulated see the tendency toward distrust of power as neither partisan nor entirely detrimental. They say a healthy distrust of power is part of our democracy.
Television
'Sábado Gigante' Celebrates 50 With Lots Of Variety
October 26, 2012 For 50 years, Spanish-speaking TV viewers have tuned into the weekly variety show Sábado Gigante. Since 1962, host Don Francisco has commanded a festive live audience in Miami, with celebrity interviews, musical performances, goofy sidekicks and scantily clad dancers.
How We Watch What We Watch
The Future Of 'Short Attention Span Theater'
October 26, 2012 Digital gadgetry and on-demand media are changing the way we watch TV. Why wait for next week's episode when you can download a whole season from Netflix? Graphic design critic Jessica Helfand wants to harness that impatience and come up with more compelling short-form media.
Monkey See
'Take This Job And Planet!': Why Clark Kent Quit His Day Job
October 24, 2012 Now that Clark Kent's abandoning print journalism for the web, our comics blogger ruminates on the reasons for his decision, and wonders where it might lead.
How We Watch What We Watch
The TV Screen's Evolution, From 1880 To The Present
October 24, 2012 Despite its status as a device that defines the modern age, the television has its roots in the 19th century, when radio pioneers suspected they could also transmit images. Even the word "television," combining Greek and Latin roots to mean "far-sight," stems from the 1900 world's fair.







