Chris Anderson, author of "Free: The Future of a Radical Price," is speaking at The Los Angeles Public LIbrary's ALOUD series, which is usually free. Except this event costs $20. But it does include breakfast!
With this guy:
So Richard Greenfield, the ding dong who predicted failure for Pixar's oh-so-risky "Up," and the NY Times media reporter who helped spread the false doubt with out question have issued an apology. Or at least, the reporter filed a new story wherein Greenfield admits he was "dead wrong."
An interesting quote: “The recent success of Pixar’s ‘Up’ (well ahead of our forecasts) has renewed investor confidence in Disney’s creative capabilities” -- a passive tautology that should in fact be worded, "We Don't Know What We're Talkign About."
Also noted: the reporter, who dutifully raised an eyebrow about how Pixar's recent prospects hadn't fared so well (and seeingly misread Box Office Mojo in the process) now writes: "Pixar has had an unbroken string of box-office successes since its “Toy Story” revolutionized animated films in 1995."
And yet she can't help herself. "But [Pixar] has also drawn skepticism from analysts with its risky choices of material," she adds. Indeed. There has been skepticism, like in the last, misguided article on the subject, which was wrong, and is now being corrected. This would be like writing on November 5: "Obama was elected in a near-landslide, but has drawn skepticism for lack of experience from pundits, who questioned his electability."
What I didn't expect is that his spirit would best live on through Corey Feldman:
At least Corey Feldman managed to be reincarnated out of this deal! OK for real: glad to see Ol' Feldie still has it. This is a time of healing. Although the prominent placement of Corey's Michael in the LA Times photo spread does speak to the surprising low-wattage of MJ's memorial. Who were all those people? Sure, Stevie was awesome, but I thought we would see more heavies -- Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, etc. Like Obama's inauguration. Instead we got some kid from Britain's Got Talent? I'm surprised Elton John didn't wheel in his piano and start singing, "Candle in the Wind." Did nobody tell him about MJ? Or maybe they didn't want Elton stealing the show at another funeral. Although to keep him out, I figure you'd need a special Anti-Elton Task Force creating a cordon sanitaire for a 2-mile radius. No wonder there were so many police down town.
Essayist Cristina Nehring wrote an essay making a forceful case for essays that make forceful cases. She wrote it last year, although I just read it this morning. For the interested belletrists among you, the quick read is rewarding!
As Poochie explained, there are three awesome things about this video.
By Nick Cobbing, who also took many pictures while sailing on a restored Dutch schooner to the remote, seldom-visited eastern coast of Greenland.
Science Daily says that British historian Brian Regal says that Darwinian evolution killed werewolves, replacing that myth with another sylvan mystery, our old friend Bigfoot. Not sure I'm entirely buying, since the humanoid half-man is not exactly a nineteenth century construct; Europeans made wood-cuts of Wild Men in medieval times. Also, the headline makes the grabby statement, Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf, although it sounds like it was really Bigfoot. Which leads one inevitably the idea of Bigfoot versus The Wolfman, and that is something I'd life to see.
