The Smoke Signal

Julian Assange. Possibly the most Googled two words in the last month or so. His story in itself is fascinating: a hacker turned programmer turned Internet activist, he’s been on the move for the last several years, bouncing between countries as he decides where to hunker down for the next installment of WikiLeaks. The Guy Fawkes of our age, he sets kegs of gunpowder around the Internet and lights the fuses as wake-up calls to governments around the world. Some of the leaks have provided remarkably transparent views of otherwise classified material: from the release of the Scientology “secret bibles”…

By: Andrew Han I remember back in 2005, a friend of mine sent me a link to this quirky new site called “Facebook.” Little did I know that I would be joining perhaps the largest bandwagon in human history. Time Magazine recently chose social-networking guru Mark Zuckerberg as the 2010 Person of the Year. Widely known as the founder and CEO of Facebook, a Harvard dropout, and the world’s youngest billionaire, Zuckerberg was chosen above WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange, President Barack Obama, pop artist Lady Gaga, and countless other influential individuals in Time’s list of nominees for the 2010 Person…

By Ginger Werner Many people have seen the “I Heart Boobies” bracelets on the wrists of their peers. But other than eliciting a few giggles from friends, the bracelets mean much more. Fifty percent of all the proceeds go to the Keep A Breast Foundation, and they come in a wide variety of colors. They serve as a fashion statement, are cause for a good laugh, and help support breast cancer. But in dealing with such an important matter, the Breast Cancer Society seems to be starting a trend among teenagers and not accomplishing much more than that. “I think…

By Tina Tseng The Internet makes everyone feel like vigilantes. Spot a foolish blogger or brash Youtuber? Then it’s clearly time to bring out the bashing, dig up some private information, and sic others on the target—all anonymously and conveniently with minimum accountability. Take the case of a now-famous Internet meme, Jessi Slaughter. Earlier this year, the eleven-year-old posted risqué photos and obnoxious videos of herself on the Internet. A group named Anon from the online forum 4chan righteously stopped Jessi’s outrageous behavior with some of their own. Members of the group found and circulated her real name, phone number,…

By: Connor Williams Darwin Deez has been taking the indie scene by storm. After releasing a hit single, Radar Detector, in the UK Deez has been where he loves to be: on tour. With a enthusiastic performance persona and an unmatchable style, Deez creates a unique show experience, sometimes breaking into dance and movie references mid-song. Deez says “…when we play live, the bottom-line is, we want all the people outside the room to come in, and we want the people inside the room to really enjoy themselves.” Deez casts a striking image, with a tall skinny frame, a…

By: Vaishaal Shankar and Michael Wu In a stunning comeback, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy silences his critics. After a year of personal struggles for the artist his musical genius is finally able to surpass even his tremendous ego. Kanye frequently uses similar auto-tuning and instruments from his past albums. However, he is able to recycle these old styles and use his new songs’ lyrics to bring a new flavor to his music. His hit song “Power” explosively drives up the energy of the album. While Kanye’s pride is evident in the very lyrics of the song whose…