First Cuppa Coffee: Friday January 27. 2012 Edition

First Cuppa Coffee: Friday January 27. 2012 Edition

Here it is–Our daily roundup of things we think you might want to know.  It’s part “three dot journalism”, part link sharing and usually a little wiseass in tone. We’ve been playing with the concept for a while and today it was decided we should go “live”. By this time next week we’ll be up seven days a week, so do stop in…  And we invite you to contribute your links, events and netwise advice to ATTN CUPPA c/o OBRagBlog@Gmail.com

Party tonight!  Winston’s is hosting a CD release party tonight with the Styletones, an original soul band whose website claims “their combined superpowers are so dangerous that they have been known to spontaneously alter the gene pool of the performance venue.”

The party you missed:  The Sunlight Foundation reports that we missed Congressman Brian Bilbray’s birthday bash at the Bali Hai last night. With tickets starting at a mere $250 per person, we’re sure a good time was had by all. Meanwhile, Democrat Scott Peters who, (along with Lori Saldana) hopes to replaced Bilbray come November picked up an endorsement from the San Diego Democratic Equality Club last night.  Saldana may have the progressive votes in this race, but Peters has the Democratic establishment behind him.

Going Bananas in Ohio?  The US Department of Agriculture has released its new Plant Hardiness Map, which shows the northern boundaries for many plant species marching northward showing warmer winter low temperatures than the previously issued 1990 map. “It reflects a new reality: The coldest day of the year isn’t as cold as it used to be, so some plants and trees can now survive farther north,” AP reports. The USDA has declined to link changes in this map to climate change, lest Newt Gingrich make it an issue in a future GOP debate.

Food Documentary Rocks Sundance FilmFest: While Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich decries President Obama as “the food stamp president,” attendees at the Sundance Film Festival have been flocking to see “Food North” which exposes how one in every four American children suffers from hunger, despite living in the wealthiest nation in the world, and nearly 30 percent of American families, more than 49 million people, often go without meals.

Zinn–Gone But Not Forgotten: Lest we forget, today marks the second anniversary of historian Howard Zinn’s passing on. He changed the way we view history with an approach that looked at events through the eyes of the powerless and the oppressed. Noam Chomsky has a few nice words to say about Zinn today at Aljazeera.

Not Gone, Just Hiding: Scientists are now edging closer and closer to mastering real-world invisibility, according to a report over at Dangerroom.  Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have figured out how to “cloak a three-dimensional object standing in free space.” That means the object is invisible, from any angle of observation. The project has a way to go before any practical uses can be made, but rest assured that the Pentagon is just thrilled about this.

Occupy the SuperBowl: Indianapolis, Indiana is the host city for this year’ Superbowl game between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots. It also happens to be site of the latest GOP assault on organized labor, where the legislature is expected to approve a “right to work” law over the next week or so, after having rejected attempts by Democrats to  place the measure before the voters as a ballot measure. NFL Players Association Director DeMaurice Smith has indicated that the football players’ union may “possibly” support a demonstration outside the stadium. Noting that the union has lent its support to picket lines in the past, he said, “We’ll have to see what is going to go on when we’re there, but issues like this are incredibly important to us.”