“Our age is lousy with celebrities. They can be found in every sector of society, including ones that seem less than glamorous. We have celebrity bankers (Jamie Dimon), computer engineers (Sergey Brin), real estate developers/conspiracy theorists (Donald J. Trump), media executives (Arianna Huffington), journalists (Anderson Cooper), mayors (Cory A. Booker), economists (Jeffrey D. Sachs), biologists (J. Craig Venter) and chefs (Mario Batali). There is a quality of self-invention to their rise; the person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire, with the business imperative of grow or die — a process of expansion and commodification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions…[and] if you are the institution, you don’t need to play by its rules. These new celebrities are all more or less start-up entrepreneurs, and they live by the hacker’s code: ask forgiveness, not permission.”
As reported here last week…
Yahoo Officially Buys Tumblr - http://huff.to/17TJiYz
Hope this proves out: “To preserve the quirkiness that Tumblr users fear will be lost with the acquisition, Tumblr will be ‘independently operated as a separate business,’ the press release stated, with 26-year-old David Karp remaining the popular blogging platform’s CEO. ‘The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators.’”
This Tiffany Alexandrite (6.53 carat) and diamond ring must have been spectacular! (via Pinterest)
Retired Supreme Court justice G.P. Marthur told a crowd in January that it can be appropriate for women to marry their rapists, provided the marriage wasn’t coerced.
New Adult is All That—In a Bad Way
My new Heroes & Heartbreaker article, just went online. It’s my new and quite likely unpopular rant on the new New Adult genre of fiction.
Click the pic to @heroesnhearts and see what’s pissing me off lately.
— Bill Maher, New Rules for May 17, 2013
Marvelous marital advice from Pat Robertson
“Here’s the secret,” the famous evangelical said. “Stop talking the cheating. He cheated on you, well, he’s a man.” - http://huff.to/17wtoDe
The unmasking of a writer who took extraordinary advantage of online anonymity to pursue old vendettas.
Judge Deals Blow To Harsh Abortion Law
A federal judge granted a request Friday to temporarily block enforcement of a new Arkansas law that bans most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy. - http://huff.to/19FqOaE
“Apple injected much-needed competition and innovation into the e-book business,” said Orin Snyder, a lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher who represents Apple. “The DOJ’s case is based on fictions and incomplete quotations. The actual evidence proves that Apple did not conspire to fix prices in the e-book business. We look forward to trial.”
Only in the Bizarro universe does an increase in competition lead to higher prices.
