DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Opinion | Vivek Ramaswamy Is Very Annoying. It’s Why He’s Surging in the Polls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Cupp called him, in a column: “Obnoxious. The Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight and Ipsos polled likely Republican primary voters before and after last week’s debate. Following his performance, Ramaswamy’s favorability rating rose from 50 percent to 60 percent, even though his unfavorability rating rose even more, from 13 percent to 32 percent. Participants in a CNN focus group of Iowa Republicans declared him the debate’s winner, as did a poll released on Thursday from JL Partners. The day after the debate, his campaign reportedly raised more than $1 million.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Josh Barro, Ramaswamy, Vivek, CNN’s, Cupp, Matt Lewis, Seinfeld, Ipsos, Donald Trump, pollsters, Trump, Fox News’s “, ”, Ron DeSantis, Lyndon Johnson’s, ’ ”, Paul Ryan Organizations: Republican, Trump, Daily, Republican Party, The Washington Post, CNN, Iowa Republicans, JL Partners, Fox Locations: Harvard, Florida

☆ What High Schoolers Need to Start the Year: Seinfeld-Style Griping
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Tim Donahue | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

There is nothing more perfectly cynical than a high-schooler in the first weeks of a school year. With sand still in their shoes and few memories of alarm clocks, they suddenly find themselves in a procession of groggy mornings and hard chairs, in classrooms where the air is heavier and warmer than it should be.

☆ Why I Bring Up Climate Change on First Dates - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Erica Berry | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When I brought up global warming, he’d often try to comfort me: to wrap me in a hug, cue up an old episode of “Seinfeld,” offer a CBD gummy. I struggled to tell him that I didn’t need anesthesia or answers, I just wanted a relationship where we shared more of the same inquiries. If relationships depend on a shared fantasy of the future, then global warming does more than unsettle our environment — it creates uncertainty in our interpersonal ones. This time, I’m swallowing my fear of sounding too anxious and am talking about climate change early on. But I’ve found that talking about how global warming affects our lives, however casually, becomes a sort of canary in the coal mine for learning about a person’s broader beliefs and behaviors.

Persons: he’d, “ Seinfeld, ”, ” Kathryn Schulz, wasn’t, we’d, don’t, I’ve Locations: Idaho, Venice

☆ McDonald's 'As Featured in Meal' reminds customers that Marvel's 'Loki' is just its latest cameo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McDonald's new 'Famous Order' meal is inspired by TV shows and films mentioning the chain. The "As Featured In Meal" includes "Loki" sweet 'n sour sauce, a nod to the Marvel series. The company's latest meal will remind diners that McDonald's is a bit of a celebrity itself. In a video, McDonald's showed various films and TV shows where McDonald's was mentioned, including the latest trailer for "Loki" Season 2. The chain is also turning a McDonald's in Brooklyn, New York, into a 1982-themed restaurant, the setting featured in Loki Season 2.

Persons: McDonald's, Travis Scott, Cardi, Loki, Loki Sweet, Tom Hiddleston, Sylvie, Morgan Flatley, Grimace Organizations: Marvel, Service, Disney, . Locations: Wall, Silicon, Brooklyn , New York

☆ Opinion: Trump’s hat trick is America’s Rorschach test
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Jane Carr | Opinion Jane Greenway Carr | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. “The ramifications of these charges for Trump and the country are enormous,” wrote legal scholar Michael Gerhardt. A sobering new studyAfrica Studio/Adobe StockA recent study has found that alcohol-related deaths are rising more quickly among American women than among American men. There’s no reason to think that will changeMike Shields: A tectonic shift in GOP voter turnout is underwayA back-to-school questionDenver Public School nurse Jennifer Nelson works at McAuliffe Manual Middle School. Every child deserves a school nurse.”

Persons: Pythagoras, It’s, Tobias Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, who’s, won’t, Donald Trump’s, Jack Smith’s, ”, Michael Gerhardt, “, Trump, ” Clay Jones, John Avlon, Ulysses S, Grant, Black, … Trump, ” George Costanza’s, Eric Klein, Jeremi Suri, ” Klein, Tanya Chutkan, Klein, Suri, Russell J, Levenson, Jr, Julian Zelizer, Dean Obeidallah, Phil Hands, Jon Gabriel, Gabriel, Badri, Paul Kane, punctuating, Aimee Phan, wouldn’t, Phan, Morocco’s Nouhaila, …, I’ve, CNN Opinion’s Kirsi Goldynia, Dr, Catherine Donnelly, Donnelly, Whitney Browne, Alvin Ailey, O’Shae Sibley, Clay Cane, Cane, ” Cane, Jill Filipovic, Filipovic, —, ” Filipovic, Eric Winer, Winer, Don’t, Ralph Tedy Erol, Catherine Russell, Rachel Marshall, Georgia Mark Zandi, Mike Shields, Jennifer Nelson, Hyoung Chang, ’ Organizations: CNN, Trinity, Capitol, Trump, Ku Klux Klan, Klan, Reconstruction, US, GOP, Warner Bros, Agency, Sun, FIFA, Canada, Germany, juggernaut, Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Adobe, Yale Cancer Center, Haitian National Police, Denver Public School, McAuliffe, Middle, Denver Post, National Association of School Nurses, American Academy of Pediatrics, Research Locations: Scottish, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, United States, Washington ,, Wisconsin, Phoenix , Arizona, xeriscaping, Morocco, Colombia, South Africa, Jamaica, Vietnamese, Philippines, Zealand, Vietnam, States, Thailand, Washington, Brooklyn, America, New York City, Philadelphia, Africa, American, Port, Prince, Haiti

☆ From 'wrong shoe theory' to Kramercore: Why Gen Z wants their fashion to be sustainable — and ugly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gen Z fashion trends are sustainable, intentional, and just a little bit silly and ugly. "Wrong shoe theory" and Kramercore are part of a reaction to economic and climate turmoil. It's called "wrong shoe theory," and it's yet another Gen Z fashion moment that might seem counterintuitive at first. At the same time, as with many of the challenges that Gen Z encounters, there's an eye toward sustainability and looming climate doom. It's no wonder, then, that Gen Z is embracing another similarly kitschy and thriftable aesthetic: Kramercore.

Persons: It's, Allison Bornstein, Long, Gen, there's, Bornstein, Amanda Mull, Kramer, it's, Mull, — Kramer, —, we've, Charmaine Simmons, Kramercore, Zers Organizations: Service, New York Times, Times, Los Angeles Times Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ At striking actors' hangout bar, tiny residual checks no longer a joke
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Back in the late '90s, it used to be kind of a rarity to get a tiny residual check," actor John O'Brien said. In today's streaming-TV era, small residual checks have become so customary that they helped push the SAG-AFTRA actors union to go on strike in mid-July, joining film and television writers, who walked off the job in May, in part over residual payments. O'Brien, who has appeared on dozens of shows, from "Grey's Anatomy" to "Pretty Little Liars," shared images of residual checks from more than two decades ago worth $47.49, $87.77 and $216.25. For working class actors who were not the famous, highly paid stars, the residual checks were vital to helping them pay their bills. Lower residual payments mean fewer actors earn the $26,470 per year needed to qualify for SAG-AFTRA's health insurance coverage, said actor Michael Spellman.

Persons: John O'Brien, you'd, It's, O'Brien, Michael Spellman, Walt Disney, Arabella Field, Mike Blake, bartenders, Walt, Justin Bieber, Kirk Dinsmore, you've, Dinsmore, Spellman, We're, Lisa Richwine, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: CITY, SAG, Alliance, Television Producers, Netflix, Studio City, REUTERS, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Walt Disney, Writers Guild of America, WGA, Thomson Locations: CITY , California, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles , California, U.S

☆ Jim Gaffigan’s Quintessentially American Comedy Gets Darker and Better
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jason Zinoman | More About Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

This set the course for a career of food jokes, with so many of them about how the cheap pleasures of eating fast food overpower our knowledge that it’s bad for us. His new special starts with a moody nighttime landscape that pans back to reveal itself as being inside a picture frame. What he doesn’t do is organize them into a thematic, coherent hour, as if he’s making a grand statement. Gaffigan’s old-school act is allergic to anything that might seem pretentious, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t challenge himself. His new work reveals his move into more storytelling, elaborate act-outs and jokes built on deceptions (“My parents aren’t vaccinated.

Persons: Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, “, Jesus, They’ve, He’s, Trump, ” Organizations: Trump

☆ Zucchini to Go at Gwyneth Paltrow’s Home and 125 Years of the Parrish Art Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Katie Van Syckle | More About Katie Van Syckle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

“Careful!” Gwyneth Paltrow called to her daughter, Apple Martin, who was walking in black Gucci heels down a stone path on the family’s property in Amagansett, N.Y. It was a muggy, overcast Saturday night, and nearby, the actress Blythe Danner, Ms. Paltrow’s mother, mingled as guests arrived for the tented, 46-person dinner near the trampoline and treehouse in the manicured yard. The stylist Rachel Zoe said she was just focused on being on time as she was getting ready: “Gwyneth is very punctual, and if she is like, sitting at 7, it is 7, maybe even 6:59.”The dinner was hosted by Ms. Paltrow and her stylist, Elizabeth Saltzman, and the occasion was the release of a new Goop serum and a Gucci summer collection. Attendees included Jimmy Fallon, Jodie Comer, Cleo Wade, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, and Dr. Julius Few, a plastic surgeon who worked on the new product.

Persons: Gwyneth Paltrow, Apple Martin, Gucci, Blythe Danner, Ms, Paltrow’s, Rachel Zoe, Gwyneth, Paltrow, Elizabeth Saltzman, Jimmy Fallon, Jodie Comer, Cleo Wade, Jerry, Jessica Seinfeld, Julius Few Locations: Amagansett, N.Y

☆ Gwyneth Paltrow poses with look-alike daughter Apple Martin at Goop event
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Gwyneth Paltrow is enjoying her summer by spending time with her daughter, Apple Martin, and mom, Blythe Danner. The Goop founder hosted a dinner at her home in the Hamptons on Saturday, posting a photo from the gathering on Instagram with Martin and Danner on Sunday. Paltrow looked sun-kissed and glowy in a midriff-bearing skirt set, with her wavy hair worn down. Martin, whose resemblance to her mother is uncanny, looked chic in a black mini dress while Danner wore a cozy white maxi dress. I can’t take it!”Paltrow shares two children with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

Persons: Gwyneth Paltrow, Apple Martin, Blythe Danner, Martin, Danner, Paltrow, “, ” Paltrow, Chris Martin, Brad Falchuk, Falchuk, Jerry, Jessica Seinfeld, Jodie Comer, Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Zoe, Mattia Agazzi, Elizabeth Saltzman, ” Organizations: CNN, Hamptons, Coldplay

☆ Due to climate woes, Georgia has to pivot away from peaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Ellie Stevens | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Peach State lost more than 90% of this year’s crop after a February heat wave followed by two late-spring frosts. It’s even on the flip side of the Georgia state quarter. Their summertime staples Peaches & Cream and Georgia Peach Sorbet flavors debuted July 1, he said, but eat fast. Liella Foods, LLCYes, Georgia peach prices have zoomed, he said, to about $40 for a box wholesale, from the usual $17-$20. And in the meantime, Georgia peaches are selling like the Seinfeld-ian Macinkaw, a delicacy that Kramer described as “a miracle of nature, like the Aurora Borealis.”

Persons: —, ”, Henryk Kumar, Sean Lennon, Fitzgerald, Lennon, he’s, Kamayan, Mira Orino, they’re, Kramer, Maddie Mitchell, Aunt, Aunt Evelyn’s, David Bruce Organizations: CNN, Peach State, Georgians, Cream, Foods Locations: Georgia, Atlanta, California, York, Los Angeles, Woodbury , Ga, Mexico, Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada, David Bruce . California, South Carolina

☆ In 1990, Tom Stuker bought a lifetime pass from United Airlines for $290,000. He has since flown 23 million miles and calls the purchase the 'best investment' of his life.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In 1990, Tom Stuker bought a United Airlines lifetime pass. Stuker told The Washington Post that the pass was the "best investment of my life." Stuker — a car dealership consultant from New Jersey — has flown 23 million miles, which, according to The Washington Post, is more miles than any individual in history. Stuker, now 69 years old, told the newspaper that his frequent travels were driven by the accumulation of airline miles. Stuker told The Post that he has been to 100 countries and had over 120 honeymoons with his wife.

Persons: Tom Stuker, Stuker, —, New Jersey — Organizations: United Airlines, Washington Post, Service, The Washington, Post, Polaris Locations: New Jersey, Newark, San Francisco, Bangkok, Dubai

☆ Has America Ignored the Workplace for Too Long?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In that context, watching Sheila’s meeting spiral out of control feels almost as subversive and revelatory as Terkel’s book. The problem arises when the show attempts to explain what, specifically, has gone wrong to make that eruption possible. The series wants to hang around working people, as Terkel did, to understand their hopes and dreams and contradictions. This issue goes unaddressed, but the series does touch on the idea that popular media has long neglected the workplace. Neither are developments like the erosion of job security, the rise of erratic scheduling, the invasive workplace surveillance — changes that marked Obama’s very own era in the White House.

Persons: Obama, Milton Friedman, Terkel, Norman Lear, ”, Reagan, “, Henry Mayhew, London “, Barbara Ehrenreich, Dwight Macdonald Organizations: Television, “, Morning Chronicle Locations: ‘, London

☆ What Will Be the Theme of Summer?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Melissa Kirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I proclaim this: the Summer of George!”Setting intentions for summer is the low-stress, seasonal version of a New Year’s resolution. Megan Thee Stallion ushered in the notion of the “Hot Girl Summer” with her 2019 song, which led to the hopeful but mostly unrealized “hot vax summer” of 2021. Any eccentric pattern can become a designation: “‘Sharknado,’ Cronut … Is This the Summer of the Neolexic Portmanteau?” Slate asked in 2013. Hayley Phelan instructed Times readers on ways to make the summer of 2018 the summer of missing out, introducing the concept of JOMO (J for joy), FOMO’s “benevolent cousin.”In branding summer, we relinquish some of the season’s intoxicating agency: Is it caftan summer? My friend Sarah claims she’s observing an “I’m not showering” summer.

Persons: Seinfeld ”, George, he’s, ”, frivolously, Megan Thee, Nature, Callie Holtermann, Slate, Hayley Phelan, Natalie, Sarah, she’s Organizations: Yankees, The Times Locations: Bay

☆ Five Stand-Up Specials for the Long Holiday Weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Lewis Black, ‘Tragically, I Need You’(YouTube)If a stand-up can tap into or channel the fury of an audience, he can light up a room. Lewis Black’s great gift is that behind that dyspeptic front, you could detect a thoughtful, introspective side, a little damaged perhaps. He shows us more of that vulnerable side here, in part because the isolation of the pandemic put him in a reflective mood. Along with swinging sharp political elbows, in defense of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, say, Black beats himself up over past relationships and sings the praises of companionship. He talks about his failed career as a playwright, bringing up theater because “I like to feel the interest of the audience leave the room.”

☆ ‘BlackBerry’ Review: From Must-Have Smartphone to E-Waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The cast of ‘BlackBerry,’ including Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson Photo: IFC FilmsThere’s no ephemera like business ephemera: Remember Bell Atlantic? Palm Pilot? Unlike “Friends” and “Seinfeld,” brands that disappear tend to be forgotten quickly. If you strolled around a campus today asking about the BlackBerry, would anyone even know what you were talking about? Yet as of 2007—in retrospect, a watershed year—it held a commanding position in the smartphone market.

☆ The S&P 500 is holding up, but the leadership is getting smaller
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Simply put: the big indexes are doing OK, but the average stock is not. Big-cap tech is back but not a lot else If you just owned the top seven stocks in the S & P 500 , you'd think this was a rip-roaring quarter for passive investors in the S & P 500. Market cap vs. equal weight S & P 500 in Q2 S & P 500 up 0.6% Equal-weight S & P 500 down 1.1% There is a particularly large divergence in technology this quarter: Market cap vs. equal weight Technology S & P 500 in Q2 S & P 500 Technology: up 0.2% Equal-weight: down 6.1% What this tells us is that the average stock, and particularly the average technology stock, is underperforming the market. In the S & P 500, this peaked at a little over 70% in early February. The simple way to interpret this is that less than half of the stocks in the S & P 500 are in an uptrend.

And so whenever I get one of those notifications, I know I’m going to have a good time there. kevin roose[LAUGHS]: I actually don’t think I could’ve told you what IBM stood for. kevin rooseSo I’ve thought a lot and written a lot about how and when AI actually is a threat to jobs. The third category is just the jobs that I think are going to be protected, the jobs that we won’t let AI do. But I don’t actually think the speed of it matters at all.

☆ Twitter Begins Removing Legacy Blue Check Marks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Twitter is over $13 billion in debt. But CEO Elon Musk said the company has a shot at becoming cash-flow positive within a few months. Illustration: Preston JesseeLegacy verified Twitter users began losing their blue check marks Thursday, as the social-media platform moved to end its previous system for authenticating users in favor of paid subscriptions. Celebrities who suggested they wouldn’t subscribe when legacy verification went away include Chrissy Teigen , Mark Hamill , Dionne Warwick , and “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander . All four appeared to have lost their blue checks as of Thursday.

☆ I got addicted to an app that helped me turn my most ambitious goals into daily routines
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Once I complete the task, I mark it on a calendar in the app and a colorful streak grows. Each time I logged a successful session on Everyday and the habit's streak grew, it felt like a microwin. Streaks reward repetition, Lindemans explained, but the reason they're so motivating is not the sense of accomplishment they imbue. After all, I was being motivated by the app instead of by my desire to meet my goals. The apps helped me focus on the action itself instead of on setting up my own structure for carrying them out.

☆ Blockbuster pushed HBO to start investing in original content, cable giant's ex-chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

What's less known is it was also the catalyst for HBO's pivot toward original programming, according to former HBO and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. HBO, at the time led by Michael Fuchs, decided the answer was original programming. Source: HBO | YouTubeEven after "The Sopranos" debuted, HBO still faced a dilemma over how much to invest in original shows. HBO's TV schedule was always shifting, based on the length of feature films. Had HBO's early investments in original programming not hit, Bewkes acknowledged he's not sure what HBO would have done to fight off Blockbuster.

☆ Twitter overhauled its verified check marks this weekend — but seemingly only for The New York Times account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of "legacy" verified checks nearly passed without incident. However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk was presented with a meme about the New York Times not intending to pay to keep its check. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said, and the Times' gold check disappeared overnight. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said in another response Saturday night, and the Times' gold check disappeared sometime overnight. Both James and Alexander still have blue check marks as of Sunday afternoon.

☆ News outlets, athletes, celebs — and the White House — don't plan to pay for Twitter Blue checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Several news outlets and high-profile Twitter users have said they don't plan to pay for Twitter Blue. As of Saturday afternoon, the "legacy" checks appear to remain active across the platform. Individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 per month. Several news outlets have said they don't plan to pay for the gold check. Others don't plan to reimburse journalists who pay for Twitter Blue, largely saying that since blue checks only convey a user paid $8, they no longer provide the credibility they once did, according to CNN.

☆ Why so many banks seem to fail on Fridays
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That’s because when banks fail, they have a tendency to do so on Friday. Friday, March 10, 2023: Silicon Valley Bank seized by regulators, the second biggest bank failure in US history. “That was very unusual.”Similarly, Silicon Valley Bank’s unraveling happened at a head-spinning pace nearly three weeks ago. Skinny cansAnyone else notice how skinny cans are these days? My colleague Nathaniel Meyersohn, a reporter with an eagle eye for retail trends, explains that skinny cans are, in fact, in.

☆ Why 94-year-old ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ star James Hong says he's not close to retiring
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Onstage, Hong reflected on the early days of his career, when he often played side characters to white leads in yellowface. Hong recalled that producers "said Asians were not good enough and they are not box office. After decades in the industry, Hong is getting greater public recognition for his work. Hong received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022, making history as the oldest recipient to receive the honor. Hong says he's a better actor today than ever.

Search resuls for: "Seinfeld"

25 mentions found