Author: JD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey
Converse St. Patrick’s Day Limited Edition CTS
THESE CLEAN On Friday, March 15th, Converse will release the limited-edition Converse St. Patrick’s Day CTS, paying homage to the oldest Irish tavern in the famously known Irish town of Charleston, Massachusetts. The Converse St. Patrick’s Day CTS features a multi-density Lunarlon drop-in sock liner for extra comfort, abrasion resistant suede, traction rubber vulcanized sole, and full-memory foam in the collar and tongue for a customized fit.
PFW: Emmanuel Ungaro Autumn/Winter 2013
IM LOVING ALL THIS LADIES
Bob Hope’s Space Age Palm Springs Home on the Market for 50 Million USD
SWAG!!!! The space age home of legendary actor and comedian Bob Hope has gone on the market for a cool asking price of $50 million. The residence, designed by John Lautner in 1973 and built in 1980, features a mixture of concrete, steel, and glass in true modernist fashion. The flowing, open-air feel of the home complements its beautiful desert surroundings and its view over the Coachella Valley. The spacious mansion contains 6 bedrooms, 10 full bathrooms, and 3 half bathrooms in addition to 2 tennis courts, a putting green, and an indoor and outdoor pool. All of that and more can be yours for the low, low price of just $50 million dollars.
Alleged ‘Smoking Gun’ E-mail Suggests Link Between AEG and Michael Jackson’s Death
NEWS By Sophie Schillaci, The Hollywood Reporter | March 04, 2013 7:19 PM EST A “smoking gun” email that allegedly links concert promoter AEG Live to the 2009 death of Michael Jackson was revealed this week in connection with the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother and children. The exchange between AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware and Jackson’s “This Is It” show director Kenny Ortega suggests that Dr. Conrad Murray might have been pressured into forcing an exhausted Jackson into performing over fear of losing his $150,000-a-month job as Jackson’s personal physician, according to CNN. Jackson died June 25, 2009, just two weeks before the scheduled start of his 50-date comeback concerts at the AEG-owned O2 Arena in London. Addressing concerns that Jackson had missed rehearsal, Gongaware’s email read: “We want to remind [Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him.” Jackson lawyers are arguing that the email is evidence of AEG’s involvement in the singer’s sudden death. Jackson’s children Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket, along with their grandmother Katherine, claim that AEG Live’s pressure on Murray led to an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol, which the doctor had used to help the pop icon rest for his rehearsals. (Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011 and is serving his four-year prison sentence.) The new trial is set to begin next month and includes Jackson’s eldest son Prince, 16, and Murray — who did not testify at his own trial — on the witness list. “Now that the court has ruled that there is evidence that it was foreseeable that AEG’s actions resulted in Michael Jackson’s death, the Jackson family feels vindicated from the public smear campaign that AEG has waged against them,” CNN quotes Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle. “The truth about what happened to Michael, which AEG has tried to keep hidden from the public since the day Michael died, is finally emerging. We look forward to the trial where the rest of the story will come to light.” In addition to Gongaware’s email, additional email exchanges between AEG officials are also being used as evidence. In one note from Ortega to AEG Live president Randy Phillips, Ortega expresses concern over Jackson’s condition. “It is like there are two people in there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not wanting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state. I believe we need professional guidance in this matter.”Phillips responded with praise for Murray. “This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig, so he is totally unbiased and ethical.” And while AEG Live claims to have no liability in Jackson’s death because Murray was not its employee, Jackson lawyers point to another email as evidence that Phillips was directly involved with pushing Murray to get Jackson to his rehearsals. A correspondence sent by AEG Live tour accountant Timm Woolley to an insurance broker two days before Jackson’s death read, “Randy Phillips and Dr. Murray are responsible for MJ rehearsal and attendance schedule.” In a brief statement released last year, AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said, “Defendants did not hire Dr. Murray, nor were they responsible for the death of Michael Jackson. ”
Streaming Music Service ‘Daisy’ Raises $60 Million, Spins Out Of Beats Electronics As Standalone Firm
Project ‘Daisy,’ the streaming music servicebuilt internally by headphone and speaker maker Beats Electronics, has received a $60 million investment round that it is using to spin out as a standalone company. The news was announced in a written release from Beats, confirming a report on the fundingby the Verge’s Greg Sandoval issued earlier in the evening (the Verge’s report did not include the spin-out.) Daisy, which is still being referred to in press materials as the internal code name for the project, is now set to launch in “late 2013,” according to Beats. The $60 million funding round was led by billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries along with Marc Rowan, James Packer and entities affiliated with Lee M. Bass. According to Beats, these investors bring “significant expertise in music and subscription business.” Daisy has been growing quietly for a while, and many details on the project are still hard to come by, but it has some big names involved with it. Of course Beats’ co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are heavy-hitters to begin with, but also teaming up specifically on Daisy is Nine Inch Nails’Trent Reznor, an electronic music visionary who serves as the project’s Chief Creative Officer (Daisy was first teased in a big way in an in-depth profile of Reznor published in the New Yorkermagazine.) Then, earlier this year it was announced that Daisy’s CEO would be Topspin founderand music industry vet Ian Rogers. Beats’ $14 million acquisition of digital music service MOG last year was also part of the Daisy project, and those assets will go along with it in the spin out. But more than anything, this newest funding round seems to show how serious Daisy is about building something big. With incumbent streaming services such as Pandora, Rdio, and Spotifystanding as pretty solid competitors in the space, and Google’s YouTube reportedly also looking to add a new entry into the ring, this financial and industry support will certainly come in handy as Daisy works to establish itself.