DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Opinion: We Brits don’t need tea-brewing advice from Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Opinion Rosa Prince | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Almost exactly 250 years after the Sons of Liberty dumped chests of tea into Boston Harbour, a professor from Bryn Mawr College has committed a crime against the British cuppa very nearly as grave. What purports to be a nice cuppa accompanied not by good honest cow’s milk but some kind of yellow citrus thing. Or, god forbid, arrives not in a good honest tea bag, but taking the false form of — shudder — tea leaves. You’re offered a cuppa char if you’ve given birth, witnessed a murder, come home from a crappy day at work. Whether in the seas of Boston Harbour or some mad prof’s lab in rural Pennsylvania, tea and salt do not mix and that, my Yank friends, is that.

Persons: Rosa Prince, Michelle Francl, Rosa Prince Rosa Prince, …, we’ve, Rosie Lee, limey, You’re, you’ll, ” Organizations: POLITICO, CNN, Bryn Mawr College, Embassy, Brit, Tetley, Boston Harbour Locations: London, Boston, Iceland, It’s, LA, Midtown Manhattan, Bucket Indiana, New York City, British, Ribena, Sri Lanka, Pennsylvania

☆ America's Zoomtowns Face a Growing Housing, Traffic, Culture Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Emily Cataneo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

We're transitioning from a sleepy capital city into a midsize-to-major city," Jonathan Melton, a member of Raleigh's City Council, told me. The first wants to solve the problem of too little housing by, well, building more housing. But Melton and the YIMBYs' vision rankled some Raleigh residents who eventually started to push back on what they considered extreme pro-development policies. The new buses seem like a great idea, but as with all these changes, residents are worried that the route will have unintended consequences. It's worth noting, too, that most Raleigh residents, even those who oppose the current pace of development, point to some positives.

Persons: Raleigh, I've, Jonathan Melton, Zillow, Raleighites, We're, Frank Hielema, Hayes, Barton, Margie Case, Hayes Barton, Kesha Monk, Monk, who've, she'd, they'd, shudder, Adam Terando, Terando, Melton, that'll, Shaw, she's, Case, there's, There's Organizations: Raleigh's City Council, Council, Raleigh, Public, Shaw University, Raleigh City Council, New, Seaboard Station, Seaboard, City Council Locations: Raleigh , North Carolina, Southern, Wake County, Raleigh, Oaks, Raleigh's, Melton, Hayes Barton, Hayes, Hielema, Biltmore, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vermont, Austin, Cleveland, Scottsdale , Arizona, Wake, New Bern, downtown Raleigh, New York City, downtown that's

☆ Opinion | We Need a New Word for ‘Plagiarism’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( John Mcwhorter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

They are boilerplate statements in books or academic papers whose reuse is only uncovered through the use of high-tech language searches. I, for one, would be quite OK with someone else lifting boilerplate statements from my work. In an alternative universe in which we had two words for “plagiarism,” that entire discussion could have been clearer and more efficient. There is no reason the new term has to be a formal one derived from Latin like “plagiarism” — or “duplicative language” for that matter. Perhaps we already have the term: “cutting and pasting” — as distinct from, rather than a form of, plagiarism.

Persons: Gay, Oxman, It’s, plagiarize, —

☆ American consumers are feeling the pain of higher interest rates while Wall Street is having a ball, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Households have been hit hard by rate hikes while Wall Street has thrived, economist Stephanie Pomboy says. Pomboy flagged a surge in consumer credit-card debt in November as proof of mounting pressure. AdvertisementAmerican households are bearing the brunt of higher interest rates, while financial firms are raking it in, according to economist Stephanie Pomboy. She cautioned in September that the Fed's rate hikes would ultimately have a "severe impact" on the economy, companies, and household credit. She also predicted that in the aftermath of the disaster, Americans would balk at racking up credit-card debt again as they did after the mid-2000s housing bubble burst.

Persons: Stephanie Pomboy, —, didn't, Michael Burry, Bob Michele, JPMorgan's Organizations: Consumers, Service, Federal Reserve, Fed, ISI

☆ The Neighbors Are All Older, Too. Is That What You Want?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the prospect of life in an age-restricted development makes Robyn Ringler shudder. She meets people while biking through her neighborhood or walking her goldendoodle; she knows trick-or-treaters by name. Though surveys repeatedly show that most older people prefer to remain in their own homes as they age, about 800,000 were in assisted living last year, according to LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit aging services providers. An additional 745,000 lived in continuing care communities and three million in federally supported affordable senior housing. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care estimates that 540 active adult communities with 82,000 units offer market-rate rental properties for seniors.

Persons: Robyn Ringler shudder, “, ”, Ringler Organizations: National Investment Center, Seniors Housing Locations: New York, Albany

☆ Opinion | New York’s Era of Overspending Ends With a Shudder
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Mara Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After years of heady spending, the budget cuts announced by Mayor Eric Adams last week hit New York City like a punch to the gut: Most libraries would be closed on Sundays. So would efforts to improve New York’s notoriously dirty streets and keep rats at bay. The brutal cuts come as Mr. Adams scrambles to fill a $7 billion budget deficit in the next year. The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan watchdog group, estimates that the budget gap could be significantly higher, closer to $10.6 billion. At the same time, thousands of migrants began arriving at the city’s doorstep in need of shelter.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg, de Blasio Organizations: Budget Commission, Wall Locations: York City, city’s, City, Federal

☆ A Wine Guide for a Changing World (for Better and for Worse)
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Dwight Garner | More About Dwight Garner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

THE WORLD IN A WINEGLASS: The Insider’s Guide to Artisanal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines to Drink Now, by Ray IsleWinery owners appear to lead charmed lives. So, too, do wine writers and critics, if their small talk and Instagram feeds can be believed. A lot of chateaus, grand vistas, infinity pools, delicate stemware and candlelit dinners in private rooms seem to be involved. Robert M. Parker Jr. changed wine criticism and wine sales in the 1980s by circumventing language altogether. Early in Ray Isle’s elephantine, hernia-inducing new guidebook, “The World in a Wineglass: The Insider’s Guide to Artisanal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines to Drink Now,” the author pauses to complain about the fruit-dependent tasting notes wine writers employ.

Persons: Ray, “, Pliny the Elder, James Thurber, Tony Hoagland, Dean Young, Robert M, Parker Jr, Robert Moses, Ray Isle’s elephantine Organizations: Ray Isle Winery, Yorker, Little League Locations: Ray Isle, Burgundy

☆ ‘birth/rebirth’ Review: ‘Frankenstein’ Comes to the Bronx
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Marin Ireland Photo: IFC FilmsOne could never faultMary Shelley for a lack of imagination, just a lack of available technology: Her 1818 “Frankenstein” offers no pseudo-scientific explanation for its Creature’s reanimation, only some vague primal force harnessed by the book’s title character. It was the movies, beginning in 1931, that suggested electricity as a means of fusing humans out of spare parts. What is suggested by the remarkable “birth/rebirth” is how Shelley’s story—its mythos, at any rate—can itself be brought back to vibrant life, time after time, by torquing modern medicine into increasingly plausible horror. The Shelley blueprint—which locates the fear factor in every scientific leap that humans make as they inevitably play God—is always paved with good scientific intentions. Rose and Celie mean well.

Persons: Marin, Shelley, Frankenstein ”, Laura Moss, Brendan J, ”, Rose, Judy Reyes, — Organizations: IFC Locations: Marin Ireland

☆ Five TV Treats for Halloween
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Mike Hale | More About Mike Hale | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

‘Creepshow’Now in its fourth season on the horror-centric streaming service Shudder (as well as AMC+), this anthology series wears its comic-book sensibility and B-movie aesthetic proudly. And the best of its 22-minute stories (two per episode) also exhibit the cleverness and industriousness that contribute to real pop-culture satisfaction. You’ll see the first twist coming, but the second and the third may take you by surprise. In “George Romero in 3-D,” Romero comes back to life in animated form to battle ghouls of his own creation. King and Romero were, of course, the writer and director of the 1982 film “Creepshow” from which the series was spun off.

Persons: ‘, You’ll, “, Stephen King, “ George Romero, ” Romero, King, Romero, Usher ’ Mike Flanagan’s, Edgar Allan Poe’s, Usher, ” Organizations: AMC, Netflix Locations: Red, homburg

☆ Levi's CEO says he washes his jeans by wearing them into the shower — never in the washing machine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh once said that he completely keeps his jeans out of the washing machine. He recently told CNBC that if his jeans get "really gross" he washes them on his body in the shower. "What true denim heads, people that really love their denim, will tell you is to never put your denim into a washing machine. Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Chip Bergh isn't a fan of tossing his jeans in the washing machine. "Half of it is growing the cotton, and then the other half is the consumer throwing their jeans in the washing machine."

Persons: Levi Strauss, Chip Bergh, —, Bergh, I've, Levi Organizations: CNBC, Service

☆ A couple bought a 1940s house owned by a family of hoarders. They have 6 months to empty it and make it livable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Samantha Grindell | Monica Humphries | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Katie and David WolfordBut to Katie, 33, and David, 34, it was their future. AdvertisementAdvertisement"There was just no world at this point, three years in the making, where we did not get that house," Katie said. Katie and David Wolford"With all that stuff, you can't really see what is actually built into the house," Katie said. The previous owners had built an upstairs sunroom, which caused major water damage. We feel so connected to this house," Katie said.

Persons: Katie, David Wolford, David, —, Mold, they're, they'd, David Wolford Katie, that's, they've, what's, we've Organizations: Service, YouTube Locations: strolls, Portland , Oregon

☆ Halloween in New York: Things to Do in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Erik Piepenburg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A Halloween without horror movies is like a Christmas without Hallmark movies about big-city women falling for small-town bookstore owners. New scary films in theaters now are the Agatha Christie-inspired “A Haunting in Venice”; the twisted sister tale “The Nun II”; and “Saw X,” the tenth film in the franchise. For a sneak peek at what horror fans will be drooling over next, check out the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (Oct. 12-19), at Nitehawk Cinema’s Williamsburg and Prospect Park locations. Stine’s horror books for teenagers (Disney+, Oct. 13). Back to scare again are new seasons of the killer doll show “Chucky” (Peacock, Oct. 4) and the anthology series “Creepshow” (Shudder, Oct. 13).

Persons: Agatha Christie, Hitchcock’s Marlene Dietrich, ”, moviemaking Adams, “ Michelle, Usher, ” Mike Flanagan’s, Edgar Allan Poe, Chucky ”, John, Ed Gein, “ Organizations: Hallmark, Brooklyn Horror Film, MGM Locations: Venice, Nitehawk, Williamsburg, Prospect, California, Texas

☆ ‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’ Review: Resurrecting the Frankenstein Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Laya DeLeon Hayes Photo: RLJE Films/Shudder/ALLBlkMary Shelley ’s “Frankenstein” and its latest offspring, “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster,” are both wellsprings of metaphor and parables of madness. For Victor Frankenstein, the source of crazy was his mother’s death and a resulting God complex; for Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes)—the title “angry girl” known as her neighborhood’s “mad scientist”—it is a family disappearing due to gang violence, drug dealing, predatory policing and a certain black experience that casts the world as out of control. Hence her theory: Death is only a disease. And if it is a disease, she should be able to cure it.

Persons: Laya DeLeon Hayes, Mary Shelley ’, Victor Frankenstein, —, ” Organizations: RLJE

Biden said that when negotiations began, he encouraged leaders of the two sides to stay at the bargaining table as long as possible. The head of the UAW said the union's negotiators “are hard at work at the bargaining table.”The UAW strike is just one of many labor disruptions. Still, a wider strike by the UAW could cause parts of the U.S. economy to shudder. The chain reaction across parts suppliers to the stores and restaurants that auto workers patronize could hurt local economies in Michigan, Wisconsin and other states that could be pivotal in next year’s election. Former President Donald Trump, the early Republican front-runner, said that union workers jobs are at risk because of Biden’s push to use of government incentives to build more EVs.

Persons: Joe Biden, autoworkers, ”, ” Biden, Stellantis, Biden, Julie Su, Gene Sperling, Shawn Fain, “, ’, Suzanne Clark, Joshua Bolten, ” Fain, Joe Brusuelas, Donald Trump, Trump, Jill Colvin Organizations: WASHINGTON, Big, White, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Ford, UAW, GM, Fiat Chrysler, Workers, Labor Department, Democratic, Business, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, RSM, Oxford Economics, Republican, NBC News Locations: Detroit, California , Oregon, Washington, U.S, Michigan , Wisconsin, China, United States, America

☆ Spain's ex-soccer boss Rubiales due in court in sex assault investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Emma Pinedo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It also sent a shudder through the male-dominated ranks of Spain's football establishment. Rubiales, 46, has maintained that the kiss was mutual and consensual. After weeks of resisting calls for him to step down as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rubiales, already suspended by FIFA, finally quit on Sept. 10. The RFEF has since sacked women's team coach Jorge Vilda, appointing his assistant Montse Tome instead as the first woman at its helm. Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luis Rubiales, Jenni Hermoso, Piers Morgan, Yolanda Diaz, chauvinsim, Marta Durantez Gil, Hermoso, Rubiales, Francisco de Jorge, De Jorge, Jorge Vilda, Montse Tome, Striker Olga Carmona, Emma Pinedo, Andrei Khalip, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Royal Spanish Football Federation, FIFA, High, Rubiales, TVE, government's, women's, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spanish, Sydney, British

☆ Greece wildfires: A losing battle to save the lungs of Athens
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eleni Giokos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The national park, known as the "lungs of Athens" is now home to a battle to repel wildfires. Now it is the home to a raging battle, as the emergency services try to repel more than 200 wildfires in Greece since Monday alone. Firefighters look at a wildfire burning on Mount Parnitha, in Athens, Greece, August 24, 2023. Burning cars destroyed by the fire on Mount Parnitha in Athens, Greece, on August 23, 2023. It was a welcome glimmer of hope, but it will take more than a little water to protect Greece from these wildfires and those that will surely come again.

Persons: Nikos, Eleni Giokos, CNN Nikos, ”, Nicolas Economou, Kostas, Michalis Diakakis, Parnitha, Giorgos Arapekos, Dr Diakakis, Nikos ’ Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, Reuters, of Geology, Kapodistrian University of Athens, AP, Police Locations: Athens, Greece, Paraskevi, Panitha, Greece’s, ”, Parnitha, Dadia, Alexandroupoli, Evros

☆ Sorry, you're going to pay even more for streaming TV soon. Here are the services most likely to raise prices again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix, Disney, and other video streaming providers have raised prices a lot in the past year. The analysis predicts which streaming subscription services are likely to raise prices again soon. The Bernstein sales specialist also fired up an interesting analysis, using Nielsen data and other industry stats, that shows which streaming services are mostly likely to raise prices again. In other words, you're probably going to pay more for Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock before too long. However, over a longer period, it usually takes a consistent supply of solid hits to drive repeat viewing habits that support higher prices, Schilsky explained.

Persons: they're, Jerome Powell shudder, We'll, Mark Schilsky, Max, Peacock, Schilsky, haven't, Bob Iger, Bernstein, Mark Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Bernstein Research, Wall, Hulu, Paramount, Apple, Nielsen, Bernstein Locations: That's

☆ A Novel of Sex and Crisis in the Aftermath of the 1960s
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Christian Lorentzen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I wanted someone, but for what?”The desire will be in service of his literary efforts; at least that’s what he tells himself. Charlotte moves into the house Harold shares with three others, the two of them start seeing other people they catch sight of at parties, and the affair fizzles. If the arc sounds trite, it also echoes the feeling Harold has after he first writes down the words “at least in the physical sense” in his diary. The book is told from a state of aftermath. Donna, the youngest of them, trained in classical piano, plays keyboard in a nightclub act.

Persons: isn’t, he’s, Harold, ”, “, Charlotte, Joshua, Jimmy Wax, Shaw, Donna Organizations: U.S . Army Locations: U.S

☆ You may never need to plug in your electric car again. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Some startups are convinced that EV charging needs a fundamental overhaul. Battery swapping and wireless EV charging could someday make owning an EV way more convenient. Quick, convenient, and cheap battery swapping will be key for getting everyone else on board, John de Souza, Ample's cofounder and president, told Insider. He added that even at highway speeds, Electreon's roads can keep a vehicle's battery topped up indefinitely. "We need all the solutions together in order to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles," he said.

Persons: Long, John de Souza, Ample's, de Souza, Electreon, Oren Ezer, Ezer Organizations: Toyota Locations: Francisco, California, Europe

☆ Sorry, pizza purists — a fresco from Pompeii shows Romans were eating a precursor to pizza 2,000 years ago with fruit that resembles pineapple
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A fresco in Pompeii revealed a surprising feast: a bready food that looks like a pizza. It may not qualify as pizza as Pompeii didn't have access to tomatoes or mozzarella, researchers said. The food may be a pizza ancestor, which seems to have been covered in fruit, they said. Parco Archeologico di PompeiThe fresco, which has maintained its vibrant colors throughout the years, is a rare find for archaeologists. Pompeii "never ceases to amaze," said Italian culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, in the press release about the fresco.

Persons: —, Pompeo, plater, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Gino Sorbillo, Zuchtriegel, hasn't, Gennaro Sangiuliano Organizations: Service, Art, Guardian, Heritage Locations: Italy, Naples, Xenia, Regio IX

☆ So Your Plant Is Sick? Here’s How to Get a Diagnosis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Margaret Roach | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Take the orange-and-black insects that were sitting on curled viburnum leaves and about to be exterminated. “That’s why we included a whole section of beneficials on the website,” Dr. Sadof said. The person in charge knew they were conifers, and therefore assumed that if they were alive, they would be evergreen — but dawn redwoods are among the few deciduous conifers. The key, these scientists agree, lies in cultivating our curiosity about what’s going on — even the nasty-looking stuff. “If you go in there with this attitude of ‘yuck,’” Dr. Beckerman said, “that’s the kryptonite of curiosity.”

Persons: “, ”, Sadof, Beckerman, ‘, ’

☆ ‘The Idol’ Series Premiere Recap: Does it Live Up (or Down) to the Hype?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Esther Zuckerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Season 1, Episode 1: ‘Pop Tarts & Rat Tales’In the background of an early scene in the new HBO series “The Idol” you can hear Fiona Apple’s 1990s hit “Criminal.” The pop star heroine of the series, Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), is posing for her album cover. Areolas are not allowed per the nudity rider — a detail that neither Jocelyn nor her team seem to care about. As Apple’s track plays, two of the members of Jocelyn’s entourage describe her alternately as Brigitte Bardot and Sharon Tate — the latter reference, to the actress and Manson murder victim, is meant to make you shudder. Still, the use of “Criminal” stood out to me among the onslaught of cultural references Sam Levinson throws at the audience. (Levinson, who created the series with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, wrote and directed Sunday’s premiere.)

Persons: Fiona Apple’s, Jocelyn, Lily, Rose Depp, Brigitte Bardot, Sharon Tate, Manson, Britney Spears, Tedros, Abel Tesfaye, Donna Summer, ”, Sam Levinson, Levinson, Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, “ I’ve, Mark Romanek, Apple, Angelou Organizations: HBO, Apple, MTV

☆ Dem. congressman calls 'No Labels' presidential run by Sen. Joe Manchin in a race against Biden and Trump a 'historic disaster'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Democrats are nervous about a potential 'No Labels' presidential ticket, per The New York Times. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have been brought up as potential candidates, per the report. And the possibility of more moderate political figures like Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, or former Gov. "If No Labels runs a Joe Manchin against Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think it will be a historic disaster," Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told The Times. Individuals with ties to Manchin are doubtful that he might surface as a No Labels candidate, per The Times.

☆ Greg Abbott's gun law avoidance strategy in the aftermath of the Texas mall shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“I hear our governor talking about mental health issues,” Spainhouer said of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a Monday appearance on “CNN This Morning.”“We’re always going to have mental health issues. “Until we take some definite actions, we’re changing the narrative about it being just a mental health issue and start doing something about the guns,” he added. Texas ranks last on mental health accessIt was a major understatement for Abbott to say that Texas merely lags on mental health. A report from the nonprofit Mental Health America places the state at or near the bottom of multiple metrics for mental health care.

☆ Jerry Springer Created a World Where We All Act Like Guests on His Show - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jane Coaston | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But I don’t think Mr. Springer’s defense of his show as simply a mirror rings true. Mr. Springer wasn’t a ringmaster; he was a tutor, and he was teaching his guests how to be exactly what his audience clamored to see. Mr. Springer might say he didn’t want this legacy. He once claimed that he wanted his television show to be serious, with serious interviews with serious people. Mr. Springer oversaw it all and tried to convince us that it was normal.

Search resuls for: "Shudder"

25 mentions found