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☆ Opinion | How to Save Disney
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the feast-or-famine landscape of contemporary cinematic box office, Disney is gorging itself at the high table once again. There are the recent stumbles into culture-war controversy and a related impulse to blame the fans when self-consciously diverse content disappoints commercially. There’s the stagnant stock price, the big layoffs last year and the smaller ones this year. But really, the problems can be summed up in a single sentence: The old stuff still sells, but nobody likes the new stuff. But when it comes to new content and new storytelling, the Mouse is struggling to connect.

Persons: ”, Hugh Jackman Organizations: Walt Disney Company, ” Marvel, Pixar, Disney, Vox Media

☆ I used to explore abandoned places as a kid. When I started exploring them again as an adult, I made a career out of it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Blake Pfeil | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAs a kid who dreamed of being a professional artist, I spent hours at an abandoned dairy farm near my childhood home. After the dairy farm burned down, it slowly faded from my memory. The practice of exploring abandoned spaces calmed the symptoms of what eventually became a cyclothymia diagnosis — a rare mood disorder — much later in life. As I got older and moved away, my childhood fascination with abandoned spaces almost vanished completely. I lay in bed, thinking about the abandoned dairy farm, and I wondered if there were any abandoned buildings near where I live in the Hudson Valley, New York.

Persons: —, I've, I'd, Blake Pfeil Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Hudson Valley , New York

☆ Parent of FTX victim who lost $130,000 asks judge to go easy on SBF, suggests six years in prison versus DOJ's 40-50
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives for a bail hearing at Manhattan Federal Court on August 11, 2023 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesHeather Ferguson's son lost approximately $130,000 in cash when crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt in November 2022. Ferguson's letter is part of an eleventh hour push by the defense to appeal to Kaplan's sense of leniency as the judge gears up for Bankman-Fried's sentencing hearing on Thursday. Bankman-Fried's psychiatrist, George Lerner, told Judge Lewis Kaplan in a letter in August that the former FTX CEO has a history of depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Without his medication, Lerner warned the judge, "Bankman-Fried will experience a return of his depression and ADHD symptoms and will be severely negatively impacted in his ability to assist in his own defense."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Michael M, Heather Ferguson's, Ferguson, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Yesha Yadav, Dean, Kaplan, George Lerner, Lewis Kaplan, Lerner, Maria Centrella, Asperger's, Judge Kaplan, Michael Lewis's, Sam I, …, Centrella, Joe, Sam, Matt Kelly, Kelly Organizations: Manhattan Federal Court, Santiago, Getty, District, Alameda Research, Vanderbilt University, CNBC, Bankman, Autism, MIT Locations: New York City, Manhattan

☆ Katherine Woodward Thomas Looks Back at 10 Years of Conscious Uncoupling
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Katherine Woodward Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their separation a "conscious uncoupling" 10 years ago, I was in Costa Rica on a writing retreat. What the heck is a "conscious uncoupling"? Within one day, conscious uncoupling was listed in an online dictionary as "redefining divorce in the 21st century." Katherine Woodward Thomas, the founder of Conscious Uncoupling Laura ReochYet Mark and I were determined to protect our daughter and resolved to not put her in the middle. Katherine Woodward Thomas, a licensed marriage and family therapist, is the New York Times bestselling author of "Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After."

Persons: Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, she'd, Gwyneth, uncoupling, I'd, Mark, Katherine Woodward Thomas, Laura Reoch, That's Organizations: Hollywood, Disney, New York Times Locations: Costa Rica, goop, Star, Venice, Italy

☆ '3 Body Problem' is not 'Game of Thrones' with aliens — but it's just getting started
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Similarly, it's hard to tell how "3 Body Problem" will pan out even from its first season, which by the end still feels like it's only barely gotten started. Netflix"3 Body Problem" is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. The modern-day storyline is less compelling — at least so farJin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Jack Rooney (John Bradley) in "3 Body Problem." "3 Body Problem" has a "Contact"-like bent, in that it attempts to use science and extraterrestrial life to interrogate the idea of God itself. But "3 Body Problem" is worth your time, if at least to see what some of television's greatest hitmakers have taken on next.

Persons: David Benioff, Weiss, Liu Cixin's, Alexander Woo, —, Benioff, Carl Sagan fan's, Ye Wenjie, Ye Zhetai, he's, she's, Wenjie, Rosalind Chao, Tseng, Derek Tsang, Jin Cheng, Jess Hong, Jack Rooney, John Bradley, Ed Miller, alums, Da Shi, Benedict Wong, Thomas Wade, Liam Cunningham, Ye, Woo, It's, Ye Wenjie's Organizations: Netflix, Service, HBO, Amazon's, Tsinghua University Locations: China, Mongolia, London, Oxford

☆ Opinion: Why a line of dialogue truly can define a film
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Opinion Arash Azizi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” Villeneuve told The Times of London. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. This supposed truism is heard everywhere in the film world and even taught to film writers. Cinema has never been a language of “pure image and sound.”Even in the age of silent films, dialogue rendered as inter-titles was critical to cinema. Charlie Chaplin stars in his 1931 silent film, "City Lights."

Persons: Arash Azizi, ”, CNN — Denis Villeneuve, It’s, Zoe Prinds, ” Villeneuve, I’m, Rolling Stone, Federico Fellini, Villeneuve, Fellini, Alexander Steele, ” Josh Brolin, Gurney Halleck, Paul Atreides, Carla Simón’s “, Gorgeously, Ethan Hawke, ” Hawke, “, they’ve, Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Adenoid Hynkler, Adolf Hitler, Institute’s, Quentin Tarantino’s, Jackie Brown ”, Pam Grier, Marlon Brando’s, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, Merve, Greta Gerwig’s, Bird ”, wouldn’t, Palme d’Or, Jane Campion, David Lynch’s, Golden, Martin Scorsese glowed, ” Scorsese Organizations: Oneworld, CNN, Warner Bros, Times, Gotham Writers, Chalet, Warner Bros ., Sundance, Film Society of Lincoln Center, United, Getty, New York Times, Villeneuve, Janus, Atlanta ”, Derry Girls ”, Cannes Locations: French, Canadian, London, Italian, Cannes, Berlin, Catalonia, Jewish, Iran, cinema’s, “

☆ A Writer’s Memorial to a Lover, and an Era, Lost to AIDS
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The result interweaves elements of biography, memoir, psychotherapy, philosophy and confession. Glück’s long struggle to write this book remains palpable in its fragmented structure. “About Ed” may be Glück’s homage to Ed, but that doesn’t mean their relationship was easy. But ultimately, “About Ed” looks not so much toward the future as it does toward a suspended past. If this is a book about a lost loved one, it is also a memorial to a lost sensibility, a period in the 1970s when sex was “founded on hope,” before the onslaught of the AIDS crisis.

Persons: Robert Glück “, ” Robert Glück, ”, Ed Aulerich, it’s, we’ve, Ed, Ed ”, “

☆ Bankman-Fried needs Adderall to testify, defense requests delay in trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Bankman-Fried has been doing his best to remain focused during the trial for the past two weeks, despite not having his prescribed dose of Adderall during trial hours," continues the letter to the court. "Mr. Bankman-Fried has a history of Major Depressive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," Lerner wrote. Lerner added in his letter that Bankman-Fried had tried other antidepressants but said they were ineffective for his symptoms. Without his medication, Lerner warned the judge, "Bankman-Fried will experience a return of his depression and ADHD symptoms and will be severely negatively impacted in his ability to assist in his own defense." For nearly a year, there's been a nationwide shortage of Adderall, the popular stimulant used to treat ADHD.

Persons: Sam Bankman, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Fried, Mark Cohen's, Judge Kaplan, Cohen, Bankman, Caroline Ellison, meds, George Lerner, Lerner, there's Organizations: U.S, District, Government, U.S . Food, Drug Administration Locations: Bahamas, U.S

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans trying to recapture the U.S. Senate majority have the candidate they want in Pennsylvania. Almost since the moment he lost last year's Senate GOP primary, McCormick has floated the possibility that he would again seek the party's nomination for the U.S. Senate, this time to challenge three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. “At this point, if Dave McCormick doesn't run, it'll be the biggest head fake in Pennsylvania political history,” said Vince Galko, a Republican campaign strategist based in northeastern Pennsylvania. For a party that has struggled — both nationally and in Pennsylvania — with nominating polarizing and badly flawed candidates for Senate, some in Pennsylvania worry that another fringe candidate could capture the nomination and embarrass the party anew if McCormick doesn’t run. If McCormick doesn't run, some party officials worry about the caliber of available alternatives at this relatively late stage.

Persons: David McCormick, McCormick, Democratic Sen, Bob Casey, Dave McCormick doesn't, it'll, ”, Vince Galko, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, —, “, Rob Gleason, Mitch McConnell —, “ That’s, Sam DeMarco, Dave, Dave McCormick, he's, Mehmet Oz, Oz, Democrat John Fetterman, Biden, Casey, Trump, lustily, ” McCormick, ‘, Gleason, DeMarco, Linley Sanders, Marc Levy Organizations: —, U.S, Senate, GOP, U.S . Senate, Democratic, Republican, White, Labor, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Fund, McCormick, Allegheny County GOP, Republican Party of Pennsylvania, Trump, Democrat, Publicly, Associated Press, NORC, for Public Affairs Research, Trump Republicans, Twitter Locations: HARRISBURG, Pa, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, U.S, Washington

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer demands he gets Adderall for ADHD while in jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves from Manhattan Federal Court after court appearance in New York, on June 15, 2023. Sam Bankman-Fried's legal team is asking a U.S. district court judge to grant the former FTX CEO "uninterrupted access" to his daily prescribed medication while he is in jail. "And for the past three years, Mr. Bankman-Fried has been prescribed Adderall 10mg tablets, 3-4x/day for the treatment of ADHD." On Friday, Judge Kaplan sided with a request by federal prosecutors to revoke Bankman-Fried's bail over alleged witness tampering. For nearly a year, there's been a nationwide shortage of Adderall, the popular stimulant used to treat ADHD.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Mark Cohen, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Judge Kaplan, George Lerner, Lerner, Cohen, Bankman, Lerner's, there's, Caroline Ellison, Ellison, — CNBC's Dan Mangan Organizations: Manhattan Federal, U.S, Bankman, Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, Prisons, Court, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, New York Times, Alameda Research, MDC Locations: Manhattan, New York, Brooklyn's, Bankman, Bahamas, U.S, Putnam , New York

☆ ‘How To With John Wilson’ Loves All of You Weirdos
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( James Poniewozik | More About James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The final season premiere of the docu-essay series “How To With John Wilson” opens, like many of its episodes, with a problem. Wilson, whose self-help ruminations began airing on HBO in 2020, has a home plumbing emergency that sends him on a search for New York City’s elusive public bathrooms. But the episode, “How to Find a Public Restroom,” is about more than the lengths New Yorkers will go to for relief. Wilson talks to cabdrivers who resort to peeing in empty water bottles for lack of accessible facilities. Wilson builds out his story like a complex system of plumbing.

Persons: John Wilson ”, Wilson, ruminations, Botox, cabdrivers Organizations: HBO, York, Brooklyn -, Hudson Yards Locations: Brooklyn, Brooklyn - Queens

☆ The Days Were Long and the Years Were Longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Eleanor Henderson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At the margins of “The Light Room,” the pandemic persists. We glimpse it in the colorful masks of the children in the park, in the Halloween candy chute, in attempts to schedule vaccines. Mostly, though, Covid is not the protagonist but the force that keeps the family indoors, that amplifies their isolation. “The Light Room” is ultimately, as Zambreno writes, “a collection of meditations.” Some may indeed find them “translucent” — light-catching, yes, but also insubstantial. Readers looking for sturdier insights into what the virus has meant for human history are unlikely to discover them here.

Persons: Covid, John, snot, Joseph Cornell, Natalia Ginzburg, Italo Calvino, David Wojnarowicz, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yuko Tsushima, I’ve, Zambreno, “, Eleanor Henderson, ” Organizations: Cornell, Ithaca College Locations: naps

☆ Paul Simon Confronts Death, Profoundly, on ‘Seven Psalms’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jon Pareles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Simon begins the album in his most casual tone. He’s thinking about time, love, culture, family, music, eternity and God, striving to balance skepticism and something like faith. “I have my reasons to doubt/A white light eases the pain,” Simon sings in “Your Forgiveness.” “Two billion heartbeats and out/Or does it all begin again?”Simon’s songwriting has never been particularly religious. Its refrains return to, and work variations on, the album’s opening song, “The Lord.” As in the psalms of the Bible — which, as Simon notes in “Sacred Harp,” were songs — Simon portrays the Lord in sweeping ways: wondrous and terrifying, both protector and destroyer, sometimes benign and sometimes wrathful. As his fingers sketch patterns, he latches onto melody phrases and then lets them go, teasing at pop structures but soon dissolving them.

☆ A billionaire's top advice for success? Cut out toxic people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger doled out business and life advice. Munger's "great lesson in life" is to cut out toxic people who can hinder your path to success. Munger, in particular, stressed that toxic people could hinder someone's path to success. And one in nine US workers have said they've experienced a toxic workplace. And if that toxic manager or employee doesn't seem to be changing, per Munger's advice, it may be time to cut them loose.

☆ How actor Robin De Jesús became a TV show's secret weapon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Alicia Ramírez | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Robin De Jesús always shows up. Kumail Nanjiani and Robin de Jesús in "Welcome to Chippendales." “With or without my consent, as a Latino actor, even with my light skin, I end up being the representative of my specific demographics: Latino Puerto Rican, working class,” the actor said. “It helped me clarify who my character was and his intentions.”Robin de Jesús and Kumail Nanjiani in "Welcome to Chippendales." “I’m a very fortunate actor that I get to do really, really beautiful work, but I’m still in my come-up,” he said.

☆ 'The English' and 'Mammals' review: Emily Blunt and James Corden can't lead two Amazon series out of the woods
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Both run six episodes, with “The English” structured as a limited series, and “Mammals” paving the way for future seasons, while incorporating too many twists in its dramedy format to discuss much about what happens. James Corden and Melia Kreiling in Amazon's dark comedy "Mammals." While both series should help bring attention to Amazon Prime, neither completely works. That said, there’s probably not enough strictly on their respective merits to lead either of these Amazon shows through the jungle and out of the woods. “Mammals” and “The English” premiere November 11 on Amazon Prime.

☆ I tried doing a 'brain dump' every day for a week to declutter my mind, manage racing thoughts, and improve focus. It's way better than its name suggests.
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-13 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It can help people who have anxiety, racing thoughts, or a tendency to overthink things, psychologists say. Brain dumps are commonly done first thing in the morning or right before bed at night. At night, brain dumps can help quiet racing thoughts and turn your brain "off" so you can sleep. For the purposes of this experiment, I tried brain dumps in the morning, because I'm more interested in the potential benefits it can offer at that time of day. In my brain dumps, I also included questions that I kept dwelling on.

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