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☆ Gerald M. Levin, Time Warner Chief in a Merger Debacle, Dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gerald M. Levin, a “visionary” media executive, as he was often described, who became C.E.O. of the world’s largest media company, Time Warner, and an architect of its merger with America Online, widely considered the worst corporate marriage in American history, died on Wednesday. Mr. Levin had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Levin was Time Warner’s chief executive when he and his counterpart at AOL at the time, Steve Case, devised what was then the largest business merger in U.S. history. Instead, it became shorthand for the excesses of the turn-of-the-century dot-com bubble and the era of so-called synergy.

Persons: Gerald M, Levin, Time Warner, Jake Maia Arlow, Mr, Levin’s, Steve Case, Warner, Henry Luce, Jack Warner Organizations: Time, America Online, AOL, Jan, America, American, Hollywood Locations: Long Beach, Calif, Virginia

Matthew Perry was found dead at his home, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesIn the first five minutes of the pilot episode of “Friends,” Ross is destroyed because his wife has moved out and has turned out to be a lesbian, Rachel has run out on her wedding, and Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing has unpacked a dream: He’s back in high school, he’s in the cafeteria, he’s naked, and he has a phone down…there. “All of a sudden, the phone starts to ring,” he says in the 1994 episode. “And it turns out, it’s my mother, which is very, very weird because…she never calls me.”

Persons: Matthew Perry, Frederick M, Brown, ” Ross, Rachel, Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing, ” Organizations: he’s Locations: Angeles

☆ Feeling Healthy Is So Metal: Metallica at Midlife
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“I can tell you that having a clear mind and a clear view and feeling strong and healthy, you can still give the drums probably more of a beating and you can kind of go up and let loose and push it as much as you ever have before,” says drummer and co-founder Lars Ulrich in an interview. Jeff Yeager

Persons: ”, Lars Ulrich, Jeff Yeager

☆ Paranormal Festivity: A Small Town Celebrates U.F.O. Lore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Local legend has it that Elmwood is a favorite visiting place of extraterrestrials and U.F.O.s, a reputation that inspired the name of the annual festival. The stories go back many decades. One of Elmwood’s most infamous stories is the one about the police officer George Wheeler, whose squad car is said to have been hit with some kind of blue light from a U.F.O. one night in 1976. Six months later, Wheeler was dead, as reported in Howard Blum’s 1990 book, “Out There: The Government’s Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials.”

Persons: George Wheeler, Wheeler, Howard Blum’s, ” Locations: Elmwood

☆ Jeff Daniels Unwinds With Hidden-Camera TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jeff Daniels has accomplished a lot battling boredom. Before he moved to New York in 1976, he bought a guitar to play when he wasn’t getting work. After he moved back to Michigan in the 1980s, he started getting bored between movie jobs, so he formed the Purple Rose Theater Company. I walk out and I see them, I hear them, but that’s not the climax. For me, by that point, it’s over.”Daniels talked about pursuing his other endeavors — creative and athletic — while avoiding ticks.

Persons: Jeff Daniels, wasn’t, Atticus Finch, Harry Dunne, “, ” Daniels, ”, that’s, That’s Organizations: Rose Theater Company Locations: New York, Michigan

☆ What Mike Epps Learned From ‘Sanford and Son’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When you’re a Black man and you see a Black movie like that that is macho, you know, you want to be a part of it in some capacity. When people see me riding it, they look at me like I’m crazy and say: “What the hell you doing? Killer Mike is one of those guys that has been blessed to have that voice for our people. 9Treasure HuntingWhen I’m out on the road telling jokes, the first thing I want to hit is a vintage store. I want to hit the vintage clothing store, and I want to hit the antique furniture store.

Persons: ’, “, ”, Michael B, Jordan, you’re, Denzel Washington, Jackson, Mike It’s, Mike Organizations: Denzel, Detroit Locations: Miami, America, Detroit

☆ Cary Elwes Is Soothed By Grunge and a Maltese Poodle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elwes, 60, talked about the music, cities, pets and pastimes that similarly inspire him. Let’s face it: Nirvana and Pearl Jam changed music. It’s very charming and there’s very little traffic, so it’s perfect for a sunny day. 4Our Maltese PoodleWhen I was a kid, I had a cat, but I didn’t understand how to treat it well and to get the cat to hang out with me. I never wanted a dog, but then my daughter sent me a picture of a Maltese poodle and I just about melted.

Persons: Elwes, Pearl Jam, there’s, I’m, I’ve Organizations: Marylebone London, Maltese Locations: Marylebone, Maltese

☆ Tiffany Haddish Dances to the Beat of Her Never-Ending Internal Soundtrack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I don’t know what kind of island this is I’m on, so I definitely want some fresh alkaline spring water. I want to drink water from streams, springs, from the Earth. 7Taylor SwiftIt’s funny because when she first came out, I was like, I don’t know about this. Eating my food, I’m dancing. Trying on clothes, I’m dancing.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Taylor, I’ll, I’ve, Louise Hay

☆ The Only Grill You’ll Ever Need Is Less Than $200
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MELISSA COOKSTON can still remember her parents trying to cook over “a towering inferno” of fire in their Weber Kettle Grill in the 1970s. To help dispel their own memories of hot dogs flavored with heavy notes of lighter fluid, many of today’s backyard gourmands rely on pricey gas grills, pellet smokers and pizza ovens all designed to provide a much more manageable fire at the push of a button or a twist of the knob.

Persons: MELISSA COOKSTON Organizations: Grill

☆ Diane Keaton Likes a Messy Comedy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I did what I could, you know, sort of.”The 77-year-old Oscar-winning actress talked about Goodwill fashion, Miley Cyrus and tortillas. My mom and I would go around to the Goodwill and we would buy old clothes — an old skirt, a blouse — and she would make it into a better version of that. 3The BeachMy father loved the ocean. For almost a year, I’ve been trying to buy a beach house. It’s not like it’d be a grand beach house, but everybody’s holding on to their homes.

☆ Jim Gaffigan Values Fear, Longs for Naps and Dreams of Deep-Dish
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I remember hearing about Ronald Reagan napping, and it was presented as not a thing of weakness, but almost like a retirement thing. 5Deep-Dish PizzaI have a long-distance love affair with Chicago deep-dish pizza. What’s confusing about Chicago deep-dish pizza is that there’s way too much of it. What’s amazing about this pen is that they work great, then they eventually explode in your hand. If you’ve printed out something and you put black notes on, you’re going to miss those.

☆ Would You Like a Cookie With That Murder? The Art of the Cozy Mystery Novel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joanne Fluke used to write psychological thrillers that scared her so badly, her late husband would make her hot chocolate to help her get back to sleep. After about 10 books (and many more hot chocolates), he asked: “Couldn’t you write about something else?”Ms. Fluke’s editor suggested she try a cozy mystery. She’d never heard of the genre, but said she went to work creating a character she could spend some time with.

☆ Why It Matters Whether a Robot Is Given a Gender
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People are more likely to rate gendered technology highly or to purchase it, research finds. Is it a bad idea to assign a gender to digital assistants and other robots? Organizations such as the Brookings Institution have expressed concern about giving traditionally male or female names, voices and appearances to technology, saying that doing so might reinforce unfair gender stereotypes. When digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri were given female-sounding names and voices, for example, critics complained that the products stereotyped women as being humble or subservient.

☆ The Guilt Behind ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ has emerged as an awards season darling, nabbing nine Academy Award nominations. With nine Oscar nominations, including one for best picture, and seven wins at Bafta Film Awards last month, the German-language movie, “All Quiet on the Western Front” is an unexpected hit of the awards season. The film’s director, Edward Berger, hadn’t expected to make it at all.

☆ Does Anyone Want to Come to My Book Signing? Please!
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Years after she started writing her debut novel, Chelsea Banning settled into Pretty Good Books in Ashtabula, Ohio, on a Saturday in early December for her first author signing. She waited with neatly stacked paperback copies of her book, “Of Crowns and Legends”—which she calls a King Arthur reimagining that takes place 20 years after his death. She had props, including a crown, a little statue of a knight kneeling and holding a pen, and pictures of friends dressed as her characters, in medieval garb.

☆ Among the Best-Managed Companies of 2022, Some Warning Signs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some of the companies in this year’s ranking of the 250 best-managed companies have a weak spot that may be worth paying attention to. When the Drucker Institute compiles the ranking, it gives companies a red flag if they put up a showing below the 25th percentile in one Gap stores have hit the company’s balance sheet,of five categories: financial strength, customer satisfaction, innovation, social responsibility, and employee engagement and development. The red flags serve as a warning that a company—even one that scores highly in every other aspect of the ranking—needs to address an area of weakness before it has a broader effect on its business.

☆ Four Ways Transportation Will Change in the Future—Even Elevator Trips
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As transportation industries look to reduce carbon emissions and keep up with changing regulations, the vehicles and vessels that carry people and products will evolve in the coming decades. Here are four trends experts in their fields see coming. Elevators That Turn LeftDespite their name, there’s no rule that says elevators can only go up and down. Lee Gray, a professor of architectural history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, says elevators that also move horizontally have been part of the vertical transportation dream for more than 100 years. It hasn’t become a reality, he says, largely because of the immense costs associated with it.

☆ Four Ways Traditional Vehicles Could Transform in the Future—Even Elevators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As transportation industries look to reduce carbon emissions and keep up with changing regulations, the vehicles and vessels that carry people and products will evolve in the coming decades. Here are four trends experts in their fields see coming. Tugboat DronesEven tugboats are being challenged to go emissions-free. These traditional helper-vessels could also go people-free, some in the industry believe.

☆ Why Bosses Should Ask Employees to Do Less—Not More
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Robert I. Sutton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Reports: LeadershipWhen Robots Fire Workers, Best Not to Be Too Human About ItBy Chris KornelisA study finds that worker/robot interactions are very different from consumer/robot interactions

☆ What Happens When M.B.A. Students Don’t Tell Recruiters Their Grades?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-17 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

While proponents say grade nondisclosure reduces competitiveness among peers, critics say it deprives employers of a valuable tool to assess candidates. If students in top-tier M.B.A. programs don’t have to show recruiters their grades, will they still try to get good grades? That was one of the questions three professors sought to answer in a new paper that looks at so-called grade-nondisclosure policies at some of the nation’s top business schools and how those policies affect student behavior.

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