Twisted-ass, Gutter Headline

This is the twisted, morally indifferent world we live in. After all, who cares about rumpled up hos if someone may have unearthed the "Prison Diet." The editor's hook is that bubble lathering up in someone's head: "damn, I'd kill to lose weight!!!"

Carreyrou and Investigative Journalism

Check out the Vanity Fair piece on Theranos

It has just been a wild, wild ride for Ms. Holmes. She achieved so much just to take her company to its soaring private valuation; nonetheless, I can't help but think of the tens, or hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who may have received false positives or false negatives on the back of Theranos tests that were at best "not ready for primetime," at worst fradulent.

Either way, this (below) has to be the crowning achievement for any investigative journalist. This is winning the superbowl. This is the Bocuse d'Or. 

Chanting "fuck you..." WITH the name... Good lord, it doesn't get better than that

Chanting "fuck you..." WITH the name... Good lord, it doesn't get better than that

Carreyrou just crushed this. And there ain't any better "proof of the pudding." Investigative journalists don't live for the fleeting accolades of the general public, they live to be hated--with passion--because they are right. It's one thing for a grumpy CEO to curse you, but to have your own eponymous cum titular chant is simply legendary.

"Kudos. Carreyrou!"

 

Jean Ping

Could be Gabon's next president, and China had no bone to pick. 

Turns out Mr. Ping's father is from Wenzhou. 

image.jpg

More here 

Colin Kaepernick

Whatever you believe about the ethics of sitting down, don't tell me the easy thing to do would be to stand silently with one's teammates.

I couldn't disagree with more.

Sure, Colin Kaepernick may have made a political statement by not rising for the signing of his National Anthem, and it may very well be an effective one in terms of his stated goal of "raising awareness."

But don't tell me it was the hardest thing he could have done. 

Don't tell me he chose NOT to do the easiest thing.

Read More

NPR Piece and "Hapa"

Saw this NPR piece.

Hapa seems to be simultaneosly gaining and losing relevance. Some people like its all-embracing gloss, others get tripped up with its smell of cultural appropriation.

I don't think "Hapa" has legs. 

The fatal flaw with "Hapa" is something that stands for something too broad risks standing for nothing at all. "Hapa" has nothing it stands for.

But who would've guessed that the question of "how do we offend the fewest people possible?" would be the stumbling block?

That the most threatening undoing will come from those who see it as an imposition and theft of a Hawai'an concept and I.D. tells you all you need to know. This article reminds us "Hapa" was the stuff of faddish picturebooks- it was never worth struggling for.

 

Ted Cruz, 2020 and a Master Politician

He said: " I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father."

So, so improbable he wouldn't eventually fall in line. Whoa. Ted has got some mojo. This is the 2020 game. And he is betting Trump loses BIG in November. A close race and CRUZ will be the spoiler and the vitriol he has currently incited will look like a routine dental checkup, versus the Tijuana Root Canal that he might have in store...

Read More

Umbrella Movement told thru Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil, the self-described “dramatic mix of circus acts and street entertainment” is spectacular. In addition to the spectacle of the performance, Cirque du Soleil is remarkable from a business standpoint too. They have basically turned the circus business, which was ailing for decades, on its head. And, in redesigning the circus experience they created a lucrative new segment[i]. For the purposes of this blog entry, the features of Cirque du Soleil's business model also provide an interesting lens to view issues underlying the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.

Read More

6pm Oct 3rd: Causeway Bay by Forever 21

Here are some photos from Oct. 3rd, in Causeway Bay at the scene of  scuffles between pro and anti occupiers.

4-5pm Causeway Bay: A City Divided

These stills are from earlier this afternoon, right outside of the gleaming Hysan Place Mall. At this point in the afternoon, Occupy Causeway Bay was hanging by a thread- some thirty protesters remained at the frontline, and for a while, stood resolute but unbarricaded. The plastic ties holding together their steel barriers were cut by the Police, and later roving bands of "anti-Occupy" counter-protesters dismantled everything. I saw one guy (depicted in one of the picture's in the gallery) strike someone who happened to be holding a mobile phone. The guy struck so hard the phone flew into the sky. I almost laughed when I saw it because it looked comical- the phone got projected so high it was like the clown act where the clown pulls out kinds of nonsense out of his pocket and lobs it into the air for effect. But this wasn't funny.

There have been all kinds of reports today of pervasive intimidation- in addition to isolated incidents of sexual assault and physical violence. The students have shown some remarkable resolve- especially when they have been in standoffs with adults, sometimes in greater numbers- and sometimes against, let's face it, absolute thugs and goons.

All in all- it has been a very sad day for Hong Kong. I never imagined my hometown could be so divided.