Now, everyone knows that even the toniest of Ivy League institutions recently suffered substantial blows to their massive endowment funds, but Harvard University’s idea to launch a menswear line called Harvard Yard just seems like school branding gone horribly awry.
The economic downturn has been rough on countless industries, and arts organizations in New York City that rely on endowment money to survive have been hit hard—not just, as City Journal’s James Panero points out, by the immediate effects of the meltdown felt round the world, but also by the “indirect effects” of how some of their funds have been managed.
Amazon’s Kindle reader might still be a great device in the estimation of some literary aficionados, but the honeymoon is over for Michigan high school student (and potential member of Future Lawyers of America) Justin D. Gawronski, who’s getting litigious with the online superseller after his copy of George Orwell’s “1984” was yanked from his Kindle in July.
It’s no secret that Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly don’t get along, but the two TV personalities have drastically scaled back their attacks on one another ever since a private meeting between GE and News Corp. CEOs determined the feud was bad for the bottom line.
Despite any illusions some of us may still harbor about our manual dexterity and multitasking prowess behind the wheel, a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has found that text messaging and driving really don’t mix. Surprise.
In late June, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made it clear that he’s no fan of the burqa, calling the concealing garment worn by some Muslim women a symbol of “subservience.” But right around that same time, a fashion show consisting of only abayas, the requisite attire of Saudi women, hit the runway in Paris.
It’s not news that the planet is in trouble, that global food and energy supplies won’t last long at the current rate of consumption, and that we’ve basically got a big mess on our hands as the species most responsible for all of the above and more. What’s the human race to do? Why, the answer may lie in intelligence augmentation, according to The Atlantic’s Jamais Cascio.
Although the pope and other prominent Christians have registered their disapproval of the Harry Potter franchise in the past, the newest film in the series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” is getting glowing reviews from fellow members of their fold. It’s not quite on the level of WWHPD? but some are noting the teenage wand-wielder’s similarities to a certain other powerful young man from a very popular book.
One of the news industry’s longest-living legends, Walter Cronkite, died of cerebrovascular disease Friday at the age of 92. Over the course of his storied career as the anchor of CBS News, Cronkite covered some of the biggest events of the 20th century. He himself coined his famous and often-quoted sign-off line: “And that’s the way it is. ... ”
Vanity Fair’s Brett Berk has detected a mini-pattern playing out in the film world, starring (but certainly not limited to) “Brüno,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest attempt at biting social satire. It’s “Pinkface”—or the cinematic phenomenon in which straight guys play gay by way of trying to “lay claim to homosexuality as a ‘topic’” with less-than-stellar results, judging by Berk’s sum-up of the situation.
The time frame for projecting the success or failure of a newly released film has already been compressed to the point of asphyxiation, thanks to the Internet, but with the popularity of social networking services like Twitter, the window of box office opportunity has become even shorter, according to The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman.
When the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in June, the team and private donors paid the $2 million tab for the victory celebration. The same can’t be said for Michael Jackson’s July 7 public memorial at Staples Center, unfortunately.
Dutch art dealers have surrendered 69 artifacts that were stolen from Iraq following the U.S. invasion. The ancient objects will remain in the Netherlands until they can be returned to Iraq. In addition to losing 15,000 treasures stolen from Iraq’s national museum, the country has had to contend with rampant looting since the 2003 invasion.
After the likes of Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono and Al Franken, Alec Baldwin’s (still tentative) musings about taking up the celebrity-politician mantle carry a certain sense of dramatic inevitability. The “30 Rock” star may play a Republican on TV but leans to the left in his offscreen life.
So, Time and Newsweek have had to reinvent themselves in the face of flagging circulation numbers and built-in relevance issues (i.e., they were created at a time when there were too many newspapers, crazy as that sounds now), but as The Atlantic’s Michael Hirschorn notes, there’s one weekly news digest that’s going strong while others falter.
The renowned German choreographer Pina Bausch has died. The death of the artist, a revolutionary figure in dance, comes as a great loss to both the world of dance and the international arts community. “Pina Bausch continually pushed the boundaries of what we call dance,” said John Neumeier, director of the Hamburg Ballet. “I simply cannot imagine a successor. ... ”
A program at the New England Aquarium is aimed at inspiring obese children to get up and exercise by watching seals stretch, jump and swim. It’s hoped that the seals’ athleticism will move kids to get up and “you know ... run,” as one official put it.
Michael Jackson was rushed to an L.A. hospital Thursday, where he was pronounced dead. He was 50 years old. His astonishing musical career, perhaps unparalleled among solo artists, unraveled into a tabloid mess of child molestation, doctor-sanctioned self-mutilation, bizarre parenting and, ultimately, debt. He was about to launch a comeback tour.
Despite his fame, money and extraordinary résumé—he had been a Marine, pitchman, newsboy, ditch digger, talent show host and, of course, the most famous sidekick in the history of television—Ed McMahon came off as a likable everyday guy. Before his death Tuesday at the age of 86, McMahon even experienced the wrong end of the mortgage crisis, albeit with a Beverly Hills mansion.
Three Italian women academics have called upon the wives of world leaders attending the G-8 summit in Italy next month to boycott the gathering in a stance against Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi’s “sexist” and “offensive” attitude toward women. Could they be referring to his harem of call girls, his rumored affair with an 18-year-old, or his nominations of ex-showgirls to the European Parliament?
French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that burqas worn by Muslim women are no longer welcome in France. The full-body veil, symbol of women’s “enslavement,” he said, is a threat to gender equality and to France’s long-standing secular democracy. Only a minority of women among the roughly 6 million Muslims in France wear such attire, but Sarkoz’s new hard line is sure to fan the debate.
Is China experiencing a pornography epidemic? Beijing’s obsession with porn blocking now rivals its attempts to stifle political dissent. On top of censorship software soon to be packaged with every computer sold in the country, China has told Google to limit its search functionality for fear of accidentally helping Chinese users find the good stuff.
On Thursday, the Senate adopted a resolution that apologizes for the evils of slavery on behalf of the people of the United States, and “acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery, and Jim Crow laws.” The resolution does not, however, offer any form of reparation for the descendants of slaves.
Sean Penn has pulled out of two upcoming film roles and may be taking a year off from acting. No word yet on his politicking schedule. The star had been set to appear in “Cartel” and “The Three Stooges.” Yes, those Three Stooges.
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers brought the NBA championship trophy back to Los Angeles and with it cause for celebration, but how can a city struggling to make ends meet justify the traditional $2 million victory parade? By making the team and private donors pay for it.
Delay Tactics Worked For Kennedy
