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Prabhu Chawla's son named in media bribery case

churumuri — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:48:57 +0000

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named advocate Ankur Chawla, son of Prabhu Chawla, editor of the leading English newsweekly India Today*, for allegedly acting as a conduit to pay a bribe to a quasi-judicial official for “a favourable verdict in a case concerning a media house”.

The Hindustan Times reports that junior Chawla represented one of the two feuding factions of the Hindi daily newspaper Amar Ujala, and had arranged for Rs 10 lakh to be delivered to the acting chairman of the company law board (CLB), R. Vasudevan, who has been arrested for taking the bribe.

The Times of India, quoting CBI sources, says Ankur Chawla had approached Manoj Banthia, a secretary with the Ujala management, with Rs 10 lakh to get the case settled in favour of the daily’s management. “Banthia kept Rs 3 lakh. Chawla’s name is also in the FIR.”

According to Press Trust of India, Banthia was nabbed while he was emerging from Vasudevan’s house in South Delhi after allegedly paying the bribe. A further sum of Rs 55 lakh was also recovered from the residence of the 58-year-old officer.

The Economic Times quotes a CBI spokesman as saying it was “a double-trap”, in which the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker were arrested.

Atul Maheshwari, managing director of the Amar Ujala group, has clarified he had no connection with the case, but Chawla’s house in upscale Defence Colony was raided and a file relating to the case was recovered “establishing his links with the case“.

Indo Asian News Service reports that Chawla, who was reportedly out of India for two days, has professed ignorance about the bribery but has said he will co-operate with investigators.

However, Financial Chronicle reports that Ankur Chawla was among the three arrested along with Vasudevan and Banthia. But the official CBI press release makes no mention of a third arrest, much less the name or pedigree of Chawla.

The Hindu reports that CBI has registered a case against Vasudevan, Banthia and Ankur Chawla under 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 7 (public servant taking bribe other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act), 8 (taking bribe, in order, by corrupt or illegal means, to influence public servant) and other sections of the prevention of corruption Act.

There was no reporting of the story in Mail Today, the tabloid newspaper owned by the India Today group, in which Prabhu Chawla has a column every Monday.

Read the CBI press release here

* Disclosures apply

Beurs-World Trade Centre

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:18 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Beurs-World Trade Centre
Beursplein 37
3011 AA Rotterdam (Netherlands)
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ΚΑΠΤΕΝ ΜΙΚΥ

nikos110 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:31 +0000

Ηταν 1951 όταν η γνωστή μας τριάδα EsseGesse (Giovanni Sinchetto – Dario Guzzon – Pietro Sartoris) κ

World Bride Magazine in London

worldbride — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:51:33 +0000

World Bride Magazine are launching into Europe and its all exciting as we approach the amazing event taking place at the 5* May Fair Hotel in May Fair London on Saturday 12th December starting at 5pm.

We have some amazing designers who are flying in from around the world to be part of show. Yes the designers will be at the event to meet with you whilst their designs are showcasted.

Jane Wilson Marquis from New York, comes home to London as she has made some fantastic designs especially for this event.

Isabel Zapardiez from Spain, wow what can i say she is awesome and the designs speak for themselves.

Jasper Garvida from Project Catwalk is extremely talented and the designs will be showcasted for the modern and quirky brides.

Plus we have some great sponsors such as Mizani L’oreal, John Lewis Gifting, Kim Rix (Wedding Planner), m2m damorejon nail collection, Celebrity Session Stylist Eugene Davis designer wigs for Shuly Wigs, Belinda Ferrari Florist and the Pop Life who are our glamorous photographers. This is just to name a few of the exciting people and companies that are involved. This will be an event based on experience which should not be missed.

Win a Free Nights stay the May Fair Hotel*on the night

Win a Wedding Coordinator for you most important day by the amazing Kim Rix. Book sometime with the planner via bookings@freelancetheworkspace.com

Tickets are now on sale so book quickly as to avoid disappointment. BOOK NOW

Brides we are looking for you as we want 7 amazing brides to be featured in our next issue.

Everyone is welcome to come as this is not your traditional bridal show as we would like to meet with you all.

Look forward to seeing you there.

De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:00:12 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre
P.O. Box 972
3000 AZ Rotterdam (Netherlands)
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Maybe I AM GQ's audience

imaginarymen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:44:43 +0000

A few weeks ago I ranted about January Jones’ boobs on the cover of GQ and noted that I am not

F*ck Outta Here! - Complex Presents: The 10 Most Underrated New Rappers

iSpit — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:19:09 +0000

Ok So here is their 10 with no details (As in if you dont know who they are click the link at the bottom and read about them later)

10. Wiz Khalifa

9. Jackie Chan

8. Chip Tha Ripper

7. SL Jones

6. U-N-I

5-1 after the jump

5. Theopilus London

4. Nickelus F

3. Yelawolf

2. Finale

1. The Jacka

I agree with some of these but, when I first read it I thought “who the f*ck wrote this bullsh*t” “Wow, what a list”.. I mean but why 10? And if it was gonna be 10, where is Jay Electronica? Where is Curren$y? Where is J. Cole? Where is Drake? (Thats a joke for those who dont know) Where is Wale? Are we talking underrated or under radar? There is a big difference.. F*ck outta here Complex, I’m disappointed..

If you wanna see the sh*t sandwhich list click here

Taylor Lautner covers Rolling Stone Magazine

Kimberley — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:52:42 +0000

Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob in Twilight covers the new issue of Rolling Stone Magazine! What do you think of the front cover?

Picture Credit: celebgossip4eva.wordpress.com

Click this to read the interview

Brabanthallen Den Bosch

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:17 +0000

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Brabanthallen Den Bosch
Diezekade 2
5222 AK ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)
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Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC)

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:00:13 +0000

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Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC)
Postbus 1630
6201 BP Maastricht (Netherlands)
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America The Beautiful - a film by Darryl Roberts

Claudia Al Rammahy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:15:50 +0000

“POWERFUL MESSAGE” - Roger Ebert,Chicago Sun-Times “ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCU

Tay's Rolling Stone Q & A

chasingcullens — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:08:11 +0000

Taylor Lautner, star of Summit Entertainment smash-hit “Twilight: New Moon”, is rocking the magazine circuit. He’s appeared on covers of various magazines including Men’s Health and now Rolling Stone. In addition to his photoshoot for the magazine, he also answered a few questions. You can read on to check it out. “New Moon” dominated the box office this past weekend, out-performing competitors by a long shot. The film, which is the highly anticipated follow-up to the international success “Twilight”, has already brought in an enormous $285 million worldwide and it’s only been in theaters for four days. We’re anxious to see what the final gross for the picture will end up being. Read on for the interview!

Taylor has a great Q & A:

“Don’t you think that when some fans see New Moon, they may be disappointed, because you’re kind of the villain in a way.
I have some pretty passionate team Jacob fans [laughs].

Right. But you’re also the obstacle getting in the way of the great romance between Bella and Edward.
I can see where you’re coming from. The thing is, Jacob and Edward are two completely different guys. They are opposites. And it’s just what kind of girl you are. If you like that more mysterious, dangerous type, then that’s one guy. I personally love Jacob and Bella’s relationship, and how they began as friends. They are so much more open, and can tell each other anything. And Bella and Edward’s relationship, it’s always tense. It’s always serious. But Jacob and Bella’s friendship starts growing stronger and stronger and you just wonder if they can go past friends. It looks like that at some points.

But when your character hangs up on Edward in New Moon, it sets off the whole chain of events that almost lead to a major tragedy. That’s something a villain would do.
Yes. that is part of Jacob’s character. He can’t really control himself. When he gets mad, he gets mad. And all Jacob has on his mind is on Bella. That’s who he cares for. That’s who he loves. If somebody gets in his way, it’s not good. And he will explode. So I guess you could see that either way.”

reelempire

Tay On Rolling Stone

chasingcullens — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:01:28 +0000

The pics of Taylor Lautner that were taken back in October for Rolling Stone magazine by Mark Seliger are out, and the results are hot, hot, hot.

Check out the rest of the shoot in this month’s issue and on the Rolling Stone website!

source

RPattz & Tay Kissing!

chasingcullens — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:57:51 +0000

It turns out that if you fold the recent Entertainment Weekly magazine photoshoot just right, something very hilarious emerges, much like the old Mad Magazine funnies–Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner kissing!

Kristen Stewart used to be in the center, but with a clever fold she gets taken out of the mix!

source

Rolling Stone X Taylor Lautner

tcharris87 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:21:10 +0000

LOL …after seeing these ‘younger’ pictures of Taylor Lautner, I feel MORE like a pedophile

He is sooo hot now though, and almost legeal :-\ Anyway he recently did a spread for Rolling Stone Magazine. HOT!

Click the thumbnails to view larger pictures

Amsterdam Convention Factory

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:00:12 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Amsterdam Convention Factory
Czaar Peterstraat 213
1018 PL Amsterdam (Netherlands)
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who told people the recession was almost over?

Cyndi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:13:48 +0000

Seriously. I want the person who told people – out loud – that the recession would be over by the holiday on my doorstep.

Whoopdy doo – good news. Yay for money and jobs!

But really now, we’ve come head to head with my love/hate relationship. Advertising. I like ads for the most part, but they should be in their place – not hidden inside magazine articles or designed to look like instructions on something that should be useful. Holiday editions of magazines are THE WORST. It’s not like they’re showing a shopping guide (I like those.) It’s that 3/4 of the magazine is advertising and the other 1/4 is so badly done that the ads are more attractive. It’s not like someone just announced that suddenly it was going to be Christmas in December and it’s this new thing we need to rush around for. Come on now, isn’t there like an archive of something or other you can set aside say sometime in July?

I was 3 pages into a decorating article before I realized it wasn’t just another shitty ad from Pottery Barn. (Really, have you just caught on to the whole “people decorate with brown and a pastel” trend yet? My bedroom has been two shades of brown with “pops” of color for over 5 years now. Even all my Ikea furniture matches.)

Last year, magazines were slender because advertisers were using their cash efficiently and thriftily. I have a tiny shelf unit in my bookcase that holds 18 months of Real Simple and a year of Architectural Digest. It’s maybe 18″ of shelf space.

This year, they’re 200 pages with 50 pages of actual content that’s squeezed into half a page because of the Hellman’s mayo ad taking up the opposite page and spilling over. My Real Simple came in the mail and is an entire inch thick! (I measured it. It really is.) I got home from the hospital yesterday and saw it on the edge of the couch and Shaun said “it’s huge! It will take you a week to read it!” But no. It was mostly advertising.

See – the sandwich method is being fucked up!

The Sandwich Method is an informal rule you’ll probably only learn person to person in the breakroom at work. It’s a bald-faced manipulation tactic that is used mainly on evil supervisors or stodgy neighbors.

Here’s how it works: when you give someone bad news, first you say something good then say the bad thing then immediately follow up with more good news. It goes like this: Hey Jimmy, I noticed that your flowers outside bloomed while I was checking on the soft spot in the grass. It turns out your septic tank is leaking. Hey, did you hear about the 50% off sale at Home Depot?

Your target is still getting the info – the septic tank is leaking – but you at least have a pleasant lead-in and a get-away plan. The sandwich method is not to form an action plan. It is meant to inform and escape. Then after the escape, your target can think about what you said in the middle at their own pace.

This is also the basic theorem of advertising within content. You have 10 minutes of TV, then 2 minutes of 30 second commercials with the expectation that if you sit there and watch them, soon you will get 10 more minutes of content you care about. If it’s any longer of a time, the target will run away or take up under-water basket weaving or something.

Because what you want the customer to SEE is the middle. That’s the meat. What the customer is there for is the package – the sandwich. What your advertising should be is the MAYONNAISE! The customer takes a bit thinking “wow, turkey and bread are great, we should do this more often.” Then they taste the mayo and go WOW, mayo is awesome! Then you keep slipping in stuff and they start to expect the cleverness and interest your mayo adds to their experience.

The problem is when your sandwich comes with 6 oz of mayo, a thin slice of turkey, and a handful of croutons that were graciously called “bread” last week. Then your customer is not only gone, but they’re pissed off. When they think of your brand they’re going to think of a giant, goo of white fat that has overtaken the awesome memories of a plain ole turkey sandwich.

What you have said is “Jimmy, I got out of my car and noticed your yard was sinking into a puddle of shit. Your flowers look nice, but that’s only because of the “extra fertilizer.” Here’s the name of the most expensive guy in town and he’ll even beat you with a monkey wrench if you complain about the bill.”

And now advertisers have money again and they’ve forgotten about their role as unexpected, awesome goodness that’s needed as a layer of fat and flavor in between actual content.

Magazine editors – you should be ashamed of yourselves! You cheap floozies! So yeah, we toughed it out for a while, but if you’re going to suck this bad just sell the company to the advertiser and let them frame some made-up content with pretty pictures. It appears that your skilled writers and photographers all work for the advertising companies now.

I can honestly say that in this 200 page magazine I just finished had 2 interesting things in it. (Normally I flag 30 or so things to follow-up on.) It was a giant mayo glob with poo pellets and some regurgitated wheat germ.

This is also an apt analogy from one of my favorite movies, Robin Hood:Men in Tights

(apparently my rant has now turned into another episode of the “free business analysis for how to not suck” segment of my blog.)

Autotron

expopedia — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:14 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Autotron
Postbus 142
5240 AC Rosmalen (Netherlands)
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eBook Readers and Standards...Where to Now?

lbonura — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:57:05 +0000

On 18 Nov, I joined more than 600 other publishing peers for an Aptara webinar on “eBook Readers and Standards…Where to Now?” The presentation looked at the rapidly unfolding eBook market, and how publishers are struggling to adapt as competitive and consumer pressures demand that their titles be compatible with the multitude of new eBook applications and eReaders coming to market. For those working on the development of a successful eBook production strategy, this presentation gave a clear position on where the market is today and will be tomorrow.

The presenters were Sarah Rotman Epps, Forrester Research’s eBook Market Analyst, and Michael Smith, Director of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), which manages the EPUB standard. Here are some highlights:

From Sarah Rotman Epps on a Forrester Research survey completed in the third quarter 2009:

Q2 2008, 37% had never heard of an electronic book device; in Q3 2009, that number dropped to 17%
US eReader outlook:
- Sell-through of 3 million units in 2009
  - Amazon 60%
  - Sony 35%
  - Others less than 5%
- 40% of 2009 sales (1.2M) in Q4, with 900,000 in November/December holiday season
- A conservative estimate for 2010 would be for sales to increase from 6M (2009) to 10M units
What’s coming in 2010:
- First eReaders not using E Ink screens
- New screen sizes, color, and non-E Ink video
- New category-bending devices: dual screens, web tablets, smartphones better optimized for reading
- More competition: B&N, others
- Global growth
- 2007 is to eReaders what 2001 was to MP3 players
US consumers:
- 3% now use their desktop computer to reader eBooks
- 2% use their laptop computer
- 1% use an eReader device, such as a Kindle or Sony Reader
- 1% use a netbook
- 1% use a mobile phone or PDA
Of consumers who say they are interested in eBooks, the value they saw included:
- Take up less space: 54%
- Can access multiple books on the go: 47%
- Can adjust text size: 37%
- Better for the environment than print books: 37%
- Can read in dark/low light: 37%
- Cheaper than print books: 35%
- Easy to search: 26%
- Easy to look up a word in a dictionary: 22%
When asked how interested they would be in reading different forms of media on an eBook reader, consumers who were very interested replied:
- Books: 29%
- Magazines: 15%
- Newspapers: 14%
- Textbooks: 11%
- Wikipedia: 9%
- Comics: 7%
- Blogs: 4%
What should book publishers take away from the survey:
- Stay “device agnostic”
- The features that matter when it comes to content:
  - Ability to reflow content and look good on any device
  - Ability to sync up content across multiple devices
  - Ability to share content with a friend
What will eBooks mean for a publisher’s bottom line?
- Expect small revenues from any one channel, but expect growth over time across devices
- Could be incremental, but much will be replacement
  - Plan for a smaller business
  - But potentially still a profitable one as you cut back print operations over time
- New opportunities
  - Subscriptions
  - Incremental content sales
  - Advertising

From Michael Smith’s presentation:

Industry predictions:
- Continued growth of eBooks and eReaders as they become more mainstream
- Younger generations (digital natives) begin to read electronically for pleasure
- Hockey stick sales growth: 2010-2011
eBook wholesale numbers:
- 2009: $109,900,000 (Q1-Q3)
- 2008: $53,500,000
- 2007: $31,800,000
- 2006: $20,000,000
eBook formats: What’s right for your content?
- Final form content vs. digital reflowable text
  - PDF vs. EPUB
- How will content be consumed?
  - Web
  - Mobile
  - E Ink Display
Current standards landscape
- EPUB is an open and non-proprietary standard
  - Key to healthy eBook ecosystem
  - PDF is an ISO Standard
  - DAISY, ONIX, ISBN, XML, XHTML, CSS all important
- Others promoting non-EPUB formats
What’s pivotal to pervasive EPUB adoption?
- Publisher adoption — Critical mass of content
- Consumer adoption — EPUB prefect for small screen apps
- Continuous evolution and improvements — EPUB Maintenance Working Group + EPUB 3.0
Future of EPUB — Not a matter of “if,” but how fast it will become the dominant format/preferred standard
- Continued worldwide adoption of EPUB with strong push throughout Europe, China and Japan
- Move from primarily trade titles into Science/Technology/Math and then Higher-Ed
- Continued growth in Library markets
- Adoption of EPUB format to be a factor in rise of accessible titles available for Print Disabled community

The Weight of Paper

jameswharris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:32:31 +0000

Nanny, my grandmother on my mother’s side, was born in 1881 and grew up before the automobile, airplane, radio and silent film. She watched all the technology emerged that in my boyhood I took for granted, like electricity, the telephone, refrigerators, cloth washers and dryers, air conditioners, etc. She died a couple years after Neil and Buzz landed on the Moon.

My mother was born in 1916 and grew up with the radio, at a time when movies morphed from silent pictures into talkies, watched the television age emerge, drove across the country before the interstate highway system was built, and lived long enough to see computers become personal, phones stored in pockets and the world wired for computer networks, although she refused to own a cell phone or computer.

I was born in 1951, and I’m not sure if I’ve seen as much dramatic cultural change as those two women, but I grew up in front of a TV, watching the advent of the space age, the computer age and the digital age, and if I live long enough I might see far more dramatic transformations. They both lived to 91, and if I could live as long, I will see the world change as much as they did from 1881 and 1916 until 1951.

Computers are changing the way we all live, but have they changed us as much as the automobile, airplane, radio, movie and television? Current digital technology often makes me dislike the way I used to do things, even though I feel strong nostalgia for how things were. Take reading for instance, all aspects of my reading habits have changed in my lifetime. I now listen to books on an iPod, or read them printed on small digital screens like in Star Trek. For a more specific example, my wife is nagging me about my magazine collection, housed in two six foot high bookcases.

I love magazines, and spent six years working in a Periodicals department at a university library. My home library contains hundreds of issues from dozens of titles. Even Susan asks, “Can’t you get them on online?” I stopped reading newspapers years ago, and I might stop reading magazines soon. I prefer audio books now, even though I spent my whole life as a bookworm, and 99% of the words I read with my eyes each day come through my computer screen. I even listen to magazines, like The New Yorker, and prefer it to reading.

The weight of a single sheet of paper is almost unnoticeable, but the weight of twelve shelves of magazines is quite heavy. Since we had new flooring put in this month, I had to move four bookcases of books, and two bookcases of magazines and the weight of that paper was almost backbreaking. How many trees went into making all that paper? What was the impact on the environment?

Awhile back, to do my bit to fight global warming, I started going paperless, and cut my magazines subscriptions from over 20 to just 2 (Sky and Telescope and Rolling Stone – what an odd couple, huh?). But I kept all my old issues hoping to get the maximum reading value someday, and maybe even clip the best articles to scan into my computer. I’m at point in time when I’m shifting away from one kind of living, with paper, and moving into another way of life, without paper.

I still buy an occasional mag at the bookstore, but even that makes me feel guilty, because that means my pile of unfinished magazines keeps growing, and more trees were cut down. I tend to flip through a magazine and read the shorter pieces and tell myself that I’ve just got to find time for those great longer pieces someday, but I seldom do. The weight of paper can also be measured in time, and I have a huge amount of time theoretically reserved for that reading. Throwing all those magazines out will reduce the weight of possessions and free up a lot of imagined obligated hours, probably in the thousands.

I have nice long runs of Sky and Telescope, Astronomy Magazine, New Scientist, Scientific American, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Popular Photography and many others. I like to think of them as my reference library, but honestly, I rarely refer to them. Reading online has become my habitual way of info-gathering. And since I often read online articles about the dwindling subscriber base to newspapers and periodicals, I’m guessing there are many people like me. If only they made a Kindle-like reading device with a large full-colored screen, I’d probably do 100% my eye reading from online sources.

But I must also emphasize the shift from eye reading to ear reading has been very important to me. That’s another paradigm shift, and I think it scares people in the literacy profession.

Throwing away my magazine collection would be like throwing away the past. According to Wikipedia, general interest magazines started in 1731 with The Gentleman’s Magazine, so will we see the era of the printed magazine end before it’s 300th anniversary? When I was born the pulp magazine format was dying and the science fiction and fantasy digest magazine was beginning. Today those digests are disappearing and a new crop of online SF/F magazines are emerging. Read Jason Sanford’s recent survey of these new short story venues for emerging writers of fantastic fiction. Will getting published be as exciting? It will certainly be easier to send copies to your friends.

Today I read “Ten things mobiles have made, or will make, obsolete.” Among the ten items was paper, (also included were pay phones, landline home phones, MP3 players, netbooks, small digital cameras, handheld game consoles, wristwatches and alarm clocks). It’s quite easy to read on an iPhone, whether it’s a book, short story, magazine article or news item.

There is also talk that the United States Postal Service is failing. I can understand why, because only 1 piece of mail in 15 is something I actual need, and even that piece could be eliminated by electronic billing. Nearly everything I get in my mailbox goes right into the recycling bin. This is especially a shame for all those fancy full-color catalogs, resources terribly wasted because I don’t even flip through their pages.

The era of paper might be nearing its end. The more effort I put into recycling the more I realize that most paper trees die in vain, and their lives would be better spent absorbing carbon dioxide. I will agonize over all the people in paper related industries who will lose their jobs, but the history of the world is change, and nothing stays the same.

If I lived until 2042, to become 91 like my mother and grandmother, I might see the end of newspapers, magazines and books. I’ll probably see the passing of paper photographs, 8-16-35-70mm film formats, LPs, CDs, DVDs, BDs and any other form of audio-visual physical storage. Stranger still, I might see the end of libraries and bookstores. Everything will be digital, and the net will be a universal library. Newsstands are already disappearing fast. Bookstore business is still growing, but if the Kindle and its kin catch on, that will change too. And libraries aren’t what they used to be.

The age of wasting natural resources should end in our lifetimes, either from changing our lifestyles to avoid the worst of global warming, or by adapting to the new environments that global warming brings into existence. It is impossible to know the future. It is impossible to know what black swan changes are in store for us. The folks of 1881 could not picture 1916 much less 1951 and 2009 is beyond anything anyone could imagine from the 19th century, so I can’t really predict 2019 or 2042.

However, when was the last time you put a coin in a pay phone or a letter in a letter box? How many other things have you stopped doing in recent years that you haven’t even notice you stopped doing? It’s easy to be amazed by new inventions, but will we even notice when the weight of all that paper is gone?

JWH – 11/24/9

Atlantic Media's Mystery Website Now Has a Managing Editor

Meg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:19:03 +0000

Adam Pasick

Publisher Atlantic Media (THE ATLANTIC, GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE) has hired Adam Pasick as managing editor of a new digital media brand launching in early 2010 and “targeting global business executives,” per a press release.

This mysterious website came to light about two months ago when the publisher announced that Michael Kinsley, the founding editor of Slate, would serve as editor-in-chief of “a new digital media property launching in early 2010.” A company spokesperson only admitted that it will be “a separate property under the Atlantic Consumer Media umbrella.” And, it was not “The Atlantic Wire,” that the magazine then had just launched. The current press release did not bring any more revelations, so – for now – the mystery continues.

Pasick was previously with Reuters, most recently as US editor of Reuters.com.

Gear jam

rdd2009 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:11:10 +0000

Dear Reader,

(If you are out there, that is.)

I have neglected my blogging, which I felt was gaining some momentum and possibly a small audience (yeah!), but I hope to return in the next few days.

I have not had writer’s block, which Tony Hillerman said was spelled “L-A-Z-Y,” but rather have found myself starting a new job, catching a slight cold, running about a lot, and starting to read novels again. Hence, my brain gears are a little jammy – strawberry to be precise.

Now that things look to settle down a bit, I hope to get back to this little project and post more musings and hopefully some useful information including more thrifty listings. I have managed to collect a couple of more places, although I haven’t taken pen to paper. Remember, I will happily take your suggestions for good thrift shops that I can visit.

Happy reading,
R.D.

By the way, Hillerman made that statement in a Cowboys & Indians Magazine interview several years ago (a spring 2004 issue, I believe). As a librarian, I feel I should footnote and cite that, but I hope the above statement will be sufficient.

General Interest Business Magazine Expands Website Content

Shelagh McNally — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:07:37 +0000

Fast Company cover Dec/Jan 10

FAST COMPANY is getting an infusion of cash to freshen up the magazine and flesh out the website.

Owner Joe Mansueto is investing in some new typefaces for the magazine and adding more content to the website with technology channels, aggregated news and a focus on ethonomics (Fast Company’s buzz word for corporate social responsibility). Editor Bob Safian says the changes are in keeping with the magazine’s mandate to focus on progress and innovation in business.

The general interest business magazine targets entrepreneurial and business people by focusing on articles about creative individuals and organizations driving change in the business world.

The company’s ad sales took a 31% plunge in 2008 and it laid off 20 staffers after merging print and digital functions. But ad pages are expected to be up by at least 10% in the coming months. Also, the company hopes to boost circulation through expanded distribution at airports and Barnes & Noble.

The Sexualization of Teen Idols

thealmostworkinggirl — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:41:29 +0000

With Twilight mania in fill swing and a very fine presentation by a friend I have been contemplating the sexualization of our teen idols and the double standard held between the sexes. This is not a new issue, but I feel as for the first time in my own experience, there is a very apparent separation between what is appropriate for male teens to do versus females.

Case in point Miley Cyrus versus Taylor Lautner.

Launter on the cover of the current Rolling Stone.

Miley Cyrus on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2008.

Cyrus’s cover, shot by the famed Annie Leibovitz garnered much negative critical attention. The family was slammed for over sexualizing their young teenage daughter. However, for months now, Lautner has appeared in magazines showing off his body, and he is only 17.

Thus, where does one draw the line when it comes to minors? Looking back at the past decade, both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone dressed and posing provocatively while still teens. So, with this precedent in mind, why did an artful, NOT sexual, shot of Cyrus draw so much criticism, while it is considered okay to objectify the equally underage Launter?

Personally, in this case, I feel that it is about more than a double standard. They are both minors, and sexualizing them in this way is inappropriate no matter how you look at it. Unfortunately, sex sells, and it is selling the youth of these teens short.

Kim Bum in Elle

Margaret — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:38:17 +0000

This issue of Elle will have shots from 93 different stars, including Kim Bum and Kim So Eun. Hopefully they shot at the same location & at the same time… one can dream right?

Maybe we’ll see the So Eun shots in a few days, and hope Elle posts official pictures soon. If not, I’ll go buy a copy.

(Credit as tagged)