Laughter and meows at Oakland’s Internet Cat Video Festival

A cat video is projected on the Great Wall of Oakland (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

OAKLAND, Calif.—Teddy usually spends most weekends lounging around the house, drifting in and out of long luxurious naps.

But on Saturday, he made a rare exception to his routine--taking a ride in what his owners called his “Kitty SUV,” a fancy caged pet stroller with duel front wheels said to be tough enough to climb a mountain.

Inside, Teddy, a 2-year-old Persian-Munchkin mix with a fluffy caramel-colored coat, looked like a tiny little king—and as one of the feline attendees of the city’s first Internet Cat Video Festival held at the Great Wall of Oakland downtown, he was.

As he was maneuvered through the crowd of several thousand people here, Teddy in his chariot was surrounded at every turn by cooing kitty groupies. Many wore cat-themed T-shirts, while some, including Teddy’s owner, Yachi Singh, were actually dressed up as felines, complete with fake ears and drawn-on whiskers.

“What better excuse to bring this indoor cat out here, to let him socialize a little bit, than a cat video festival,” Singh said, as her husband, Ratti, stood nearby, wearing an amused smile. Inside his stroller, Teddy, whose tiny legs were no more than four inches tall, cautiously sniffed the air and yawned.

Teddy was among several cats who accompanied their owners to what could be easily described as a feline lovefest. On Saturday afternoon, thousands of people turned out for a block party featuring local bands dressed up as cats, comedians telling cat jokes and even a troupe of cat-themed dancers.

Steps from the stage were dozens of booths selling artisan cat merchandise, including everything from art prints of cats dressed up as superheroes like Iron Man to $12 packets of “Meowy Wowyy”—organic catnip held in a felt packet shaped like a marijuana leaf.

“One of our best sellers,” the vendor said.

But the real attraction came just after sundown, when a 70-minute reel of the most popular cat videos on the Internet was beamed onto the side of a 10-story building here in the city’s historic downtown district. The clips, compiled by Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center for its inaugural cat video film festival last summer, featured everything from cats behaving badly to a feline cast as a depressed French existentialist.

At moments, the meows of the feline film stars seemed to reverberate off the buildings—though that was often drowned out by the laughter and coos of a clearly delighted crowd of cat lovers, who wildly cheered their favorite clips.

Barbara Henninger, who drove from nearby Berkeley for the festival, dressed up a black cat for the day—complete with drawn-on whiskers and a headband of felt black ears.

“I love cats, I love cat videos, and I really love being around cat people,” Henninger said. “There is something about cats that are really peaceful. They are gentle and loving, and I like to be around people like that.”

She added, “I knew there wouldn’t be any violence here.”

But there were some tensions, including when one man walked into the festival with his brown Beagle on a leash.

“NO DOGS ALLOWED,” an older woman standing nearby yelled, even though dogs actually were permitted by the festival's organizers.

The man just shrugged, smiled and continued walking with his pooch.

"Some people," the woman huffed.

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Commencement Speeches: Most Suck, These Rule (VIDEO)

College graduation is a hallmark moment for students across the country; a time of infinite hope where young adults are released into the world with the kind of optimism that can only come from having too little life experience.

And commencement speeches usually reflect that innocence, imbuing students with the same rote messages of triumph, calling on them to “Reach for the stars!” and “Make your dreams come true!”

While those messages of blind encouragement are kind, they’re not entirely helpful. In reality, life is far more vague than it’s portrayed, its pathways to success meandering and elusive; its difficulties at times meaningless and infinite. It’s certainly not an endless loop of victory laps.

That’s why these may be the best commencement speeches ever, the kind that are empowering because they’re honest. Because telling people to reach for the stars is great, but giving them the tools to face those moments when they fail is a true act of compassion.

David Foster Wallace: Kenyon College

DFW gets so much right here, mostly that adulthood consists of an inordinate amount of time stuck in the monotony of a “crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation.” He’s not kidding. But what’s also true is that how you choose to experience that hell can make the difference between having a life that’s meaningful, and one that’s a mindless grind. Your choice. There—feel better?

Steve Carrell: Princeton University

In his memorable 2012 Princeton Class Day address, Carrell essentially damned technology, told the students their youth rendered them wrong, and openly encouraged the graduating class to suffer.

“When I was in college, I wouldn't text a girl to ask her out on a date. I would ask her, in person. One human being to another. And when she said, ‘No,’ which she always did, I would suffer the humiliation and self-loathing that a young man needs for his, or her, personal growth.”

“A text does nothing more than protect us. It protects us...if you will. It keeps us safe. It is like a warm blanket that insulates us from the truth—the truth of how unappealing I was to Amy Miller. Well, look at me now, Amy. Princeton Class Day speaker. Suck on that.”

“My point is, I suffered. You should have to suffer, too.”

Aaron Sorkin: Syracuse University

Aaron Sorkin worked his way first out of obscurity and then out of a well-documented drug problem. The wildly successful screenwriter told his class of rapt graduates to get ready because failure was on its way.

“You’re a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people.”

“I was there. We all were there. You’re barely functional. There are some screw-ups headed your way. I wish I could tell you that there was a trick to avoiding the screw-ups, but the screw-ups, they’re a-coming for ya.’ It’s a combination of life being unpredictable, and you being super dumb.”

If you had the chance to tell a graduating class anything at all, what would it be? Let it fly in the Comments.

More on Education Reform:

• If High School Seniors Can’t Read Their Diplomas, Should They Be Allowed to Graduate?

• 'The Road Out’ of Poverty Begins With Great Teachers

• Op-Ed: Seriously, a Bar Exam for Teachers? This Is Not the Answer

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A Bay Area native, Andri Antoniades previously worked as a fashion industry journalist and medical writer.  In addition to reporting the weekend news on TakePart, she volunteers as a webeditor for locally-based nonprofits and works as a freelance feature writer for TimeOutLA.com. Email Andri | @andritweets | TakePart.com

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Is David Bowie's New Music Video Too Anti-Religion for YouTube?

Fresh off shopping with Tilda Swinton, David Bowie's video for "The Next Day," the second single off his successful new album, puts him in the position of Jesus, sees Marion Cotillard get a stigmata (gushing blood included), and turns Gary Oldman into a priest. There is also a man flogging himself, and a golden-nippled woman writhing around. This may not be appealing to everyone.

RELATED: The New David Bowie Album Is Great

Indeed, since the music video debuted overnight, reports have emerged from places like Sky News and Billboard that YouTube has pulled the clip because it "violated YouTube's Terms of Service." And while there has been no official word that any ban would have been connected to the video's religious imagery, many are assuming Bowie took things a little too far with his playing on religious symbolism this time. The video could violate some of YouTube's Community Guidelines, which state that "graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed" and that they "don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity)." Bowie, of course, has never been one to shy away from being a provocateur.  

RELATED: David Bowie and Bon Jovi Battle to Top the Charts — Wait, What Year Is It Again?

And despite the apparent pulling from YouTube, you can still play the video for "The Next Day" on YouTube via Bowie's YouTube Vevo page, making the uproar somewhat of a mystery. 

RELATED: The Real 'Game of Thrones'; Ziggy Stardust Gets A Biography

RELATED: Here's the First David Bowie Song in 10 Years

We've reached out to representatives for both Google and Bowie to comment. The video itself, however, is definitely worth a watch, at least for the sake of a weirdly fascinating music video. It's directed by Floria Sigismondi, who directed Bowie's first video off his first album in a decade, also called The Next Day. As Entertainment Weekly points out, the new video's imagery echoes some of the religious allusions in the song itself. 

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Boston bomb suspect spotted on video, no arrest made

By Tim McLaughlin and Mark Hosenball

BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators have spotted a Boston Marathon bombing suspect from security video taken before two blasts ripped through central Boston on Monday, a law enforcement source said on Wednesday, in what is potentially the biggest break in the case yet.

No arrests had been made, and the suspect in the video had not been identified by name, two government officials said.

Police considered making an appeal to the public for more information at a news conference, a government source said, but the FBI canceled that news conference after delaying it several times, Boston police said.

The explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line killed three people and injured 176 others in the worst attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001.

The bombings, as well as subsequent reports that someone tried to mail the deadly poison ricin to President Barack Obama - the second report of such a letter in two days - have created a climate of uncertainty in the country.

Nerves were jolted further by an inaccurate report on cable news network CNN that a bombing suspect had been arrested.

Shortly after CNN retracted its report of an arrest in the case, security officials at Boston's federal courthouse ordered staff, media and attorneys to evacuate due to a bomb scare that was later found to be a false alarm.

In Washington, authorities were investigating a letter addressed to the president after the contents preliminarily tested positive for ricin. Authorities had intercepted a similar letter sent to Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi on Tuesday.

The FBI said late on Wednesday it had arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, of Corinth, Mississippi, in connection with the letters.

Earlier the agency had said there was no indication of a connection between the ricin letters and the Boston bomb attacks, but they reminded Americans of anthrax mail attacks the country in the wake of the September 11 attacks 12 years ago.

THREE FATAL VICTIMS

The bombs in Boston killed an 8-year old boy, Martin Richard; a 29-year-old woman, Krystle Campbell, and a Boston University graduate student and Chinese citizen, Lu Lingzi.

The crowded scene along the race course in central Boston on Monday was recorded by surveillance cameras and media outlets, providing investigators with significant video of the area before and after the two blasts.

Investigators were also searching through thousands of pieces of evidence, from cellphone pictures to shrapnel pulled from victims' legs.

Based on the shards of metal, fabric, wires and a battery recovered at the scene, the focus turned to whoever may have placed homemade bombs in pressure cooker pots and taken them in heavy black nylon bags to the finish line of the world-famous race watched by thousands of spectators.

No one had claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Whether it's homegrown or foreign, we just don't know yet. And so I'm not going to contribute to any speculation on that," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who until January was Massachusetts' senior senator. "It's just hard to believe that a Patriots' Day holiday, which is normally such time of festivities, turned into bloody mayhem."

Amid an outpouring of public support for the victims, Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney who oversaw compensation funds for victims of the September 11 attacks and the April 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, was named to administer a fund for those affected by the Boston bombing.

Feinberg, a leading expert on disaster compensation, will serve as administrator of the One Fund Boston, Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement. The fund, unveiled on Tuesday, was seeded with a $1 million donation from the financial services firm John Hancock.

As of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Wednesday, the fund was up to $7 million, its sponsors said, including donations from more than 8,500 people.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington and Scott Malone in Boston; editing by Daniel Trotta, Gary Crosse and Jim Loney)

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Rutgers fires basketball coach after abuse video surfaces

By David Jones

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Rutgers University fired the head of its men's basketball team on Wednesday after the release of video showing him shoving players, hurling balls at their heads and berating them with homophobic slurs.

The video, which went viral on the Internet, prompted outrage and calls from players, fans and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for the ousting of the coach, Mike Rice.

The governor said the dismissal was "the right and necessary action to take in light of the conduct displayed" at New Jersey's largest public university with 58,000 students.

Rice's firing, amid the popular "March Madness" tournament that determines the top U.S. college basketball teams, throws the spotlight on the pressure-cooker world of U.S. college sports, where big money and university reputations are at stake.

Rutgers has been playing in the Big East Conference, one of the most competitive, that includes such basketball powerhouses as the University of Connecticut, Syracuse University and Georgetown University. The taxpayer-supported Rutgers University paid Rice $655,000 last year, the third year of a five-year contract, according to public records.

The video of Rice, released on Tuesday by the ESPN sports network, showed "a chronic and pervasive pattern of disturbing behavior," said Rutgers President Robert Barchi in a statement announcing the dismissal.

"Coach Rice cannot continue to serve effectively in a position that demands the highest levels of leadership, responsibility and public accountability," Barchi said.

The video shows Rice pushing players to the floor, throwing balls from close range to their heads and midsections, kicking them and shouting obscenities and homophobic slurs.

Rice had been suspended briefly in December by Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti after he was shown the video. The suspension cost Rice $75,000 in fines and lost salary.

The dismissal on Wednesday marked a reversal for Pernetti and Rutgers, which had retained Rice as coach when the suspension ended and had ordered him to undergo anger-management therapy.

Pernetti, in a statement, acknowledged that he should have gone further than the suspension.

"I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong," Pernetti said. "Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community."

Rice, 44, apologized for his behavior in an interview with WABC-TV on Wednesday outside his New Jersey home.

"There's no explanation for what's on that film," he said. "There's no excuse for it. I was wrong. And I want to tell everybody who's believed in me that I'm deeply sorry for the pain and hardship that I've caused."

MEDIOCRE SEASON

The hiring of Rice in 2010 was seen as an effort to beef up the Rutgers men's basketball team, which last played in a post-season tournament in 1991. But the team has had a losing season in each of the three years Rice was head coach.

Rice previously had been the head coach at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, leading the team to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. Dr. Craig Coleman, athletic director at Robert Morris, said in an email to Reuters that Rice's behavior in the video was "quite unfortunate, but it is not indicative" of his behavior at the smaller school.

From 2001 to 2004, Rice was director of the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp at the Hoop Group, a Neptune, New Jersey-based organization that trained student athletes.

"They were probably the most enjoyable four years I've had running our business," Rob Kennedy, president of the Hoop Group, said of Rice's tenure. "He was universally liked by everybody."

Rutgers' initial decision to suspend Rice, rather than dismiss him, has come under fire and reignited debate over how universities deal with big-time college sports and the money they generate.

Investigators found those pressures played a role in Penn State's failure to take action against football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted last year for sexually abusing young boys over the years.

The video showing Rice's homophobic slurs was particularly sensitive for Rutgers after the 2010 suicide of student Tyler Clementi, 18, who jumped off a bridge after learning that a roommate spied on his homosexual tryst in their dorm room.

The episode drew national attention when the roommate, who used a computer-mounted webcam, was prosecuted under a hate crimes law. The case also highlighted issues of bullying through social media and teen suicide.

Rice's antics were reminiscent of an incident in 1997 when Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight was caught on tape choking player Neil Reed in practice. Knight, known for his short temper and combative personality, was fired six months later.

The video that prompted Rice's dismissal was compiled by former NBA player Eric Murdock, who served as director of player development under Rice.

Murdock's lawyer, Raj Gadhok, told reporters that the university failed to renew his client's contract after Murdock brought the video, and Rice's errant behavior, to the attention of school officials.

In an interview with ESPN posted on its website on Tuesday, Pernetti denied Murdock's claim that he was wrongfully terminated. He said his contract was not renewed after he attended a speaking engagement against the wishes of the Rutgers coach.

(Writing by Tom Brown and Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Mary Milliken and Grant McCool)

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Reporter says he was roughed up by Chicago Teachers Union [VIDEO]

A reporter for education-reform website EAGnews captured the video below showing how the sausage was made in last week’s Chicago Teachers Union rally — and he says he was physically assaulted for his trouble.

His assailants, on the other hand, got away scot-free.

EAGnews reporter Jeremy Segal was at the protest rally against the planned closing of 54 public schools in downtown Chicago. He brought a camera, with which he was filming and interviewing protesters.

He interviewed union president Karen Lewis and professional activist Jesse Jackson — to little avail.

Things got interesting when Segal later noticed a banner representing the International Socialist Organization, and he tried to ask Lewis and Jackson about it.

According to Segal, three men grabbed him and pushed him down a sidewalk. Segal said he tried to hit back, but was overpowered.

During the tussle, Chicago Teacher’s Union organizer Martin Ritter, began to berate Segal.

“This guy has a tiny penis,” Ritter said, according to Segal’s video. “Keep it moving.”

At one point, an unidentified police officer bizarrely ordered Segal to “cut that camera off.” The cop didn’t follow through with any action when Segal apparently ignored him.

At another point, an unidentified protestor said of Segal: “He’s a Tea Party blogger here to cause trouble.”

Toni Stith, a Chicago parent who was protesting the school closings, saw Segal get manhandled and reported it to police.

“Hey, don’t snitch on him,” an unidentified protester admonished the concerned parent.

The police ultimately arrested two of the union supporters who assaulted Segal but then let them go soon thereafter.

Segal said Chicago’s finest asked him to sign a blank complaint form.

According to Segal and EAGnews, the Chicago Teacher’s Union revealed that its members had been training with “Professor Occupy” Lisa Fithian on civil disobedience techniques.

Union leaders also allegedly prearranged with the Chicago Police Department so that dozens of its rank-and-file members would be arrested — but only briefly — for sitting in the middle of a pre-blocked-off street.

Before the rally, says EAGNews, the police already had collected the names of people who volunteered for staged arrests.

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Reporter says he was roughed up by Chicago Teachers Union [VIDEO]

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Man who took Romney "47 percent" video reveals himself

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scott Prouty was at a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year as the bartender, and ended up secretly taping a video that changed the trajectory of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Prouty went public with his story on Wednesday after months of speculation as to who might have been the source of the video that dealt a body blow to Romney's campaign.

Last May at a Florida fundraiser, Romney said 47 percent of voters were dependent on government and "will vote for the president no matter what."

When Prouty handed the tape over to Mother Jones and the magazine published it in September, Romney was put on the defensive for weeks and never really recovered, losing to President Barack Obama on November 6.

"I didn't go in there with a grudge against Romney. I was more interested as a voter," Prouty told MSNBC.

Mother Jones also confirmed that Prouty was the person who taped the video.

He described himself as a "regular guy, middle class, hard-working guy" and was tending bar at the event which donors had paid thousands of dollars to attend.

Prouty said he was initially motivated to release the tape by a different comment that Romney had made in which he expressed interest in having his private equity firm buy a Chinese factory that employed 20,000 people who earned little money.

The news media seized on the 47 percent section of the speech. Prouty said he felt it changed the course of the election.

"I think it defined him at a critical point, defined him for exactly who he was," said Prouty.

He said he had no contact with the Obama presidential campaign over the tape.

"I voted for President Obama, but I'm actually (a) registered independent," he said.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha and Steve Holland; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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Man who took Romney "47 percent" video reveals himself

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scott Prouty was at a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year as the bartender, and ended up secretly taping a video that changed the trajectory of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Prouty went public with his story on Wednesday after months of speculation as to who might have been the source of the video that dealt a body blow to Romney's campaign.

Last May at a Florida fundraiser, Romney said 47 percent of voters were dependent on government and "will vote for the president no matter what."

When Prouty handed the tape over to Mother Jones and the magazine published it in September, Romney was put on the defensive for weeks and never really recovered, losing to President Barack Obama on November 6.

"I didn't go in there with a grudge against Romney. I was more interested as a voter," Prouty told MSNBC.

Mother Jones also confirmed that Prouty was the person who taped the video.

He described himself as a "regular guy, middle class, hard-working guy" and was tending bar at the event which donors had paid thousands of dollars to attend.

Prouty said he was initially motivated to release the tape by a different comment that Romney had made in which he expressed interest in having his private equity firm buy a Chinese factory that employed 20,000 people who earned little money.

The news media seized on the 47 percent section of the speech. Prouty said he felt it changed the course of the election.

"I think it defined him at a critical point, defined him for exactly who he was," said Prouty.

He said he had no contact with the Obama presidential campaign over the tape.

"I voted for President Obama, but I'm actually (a) registered independent," he said.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha and Steve Holland; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

View the original article here