Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Who’s to be Mayor in the Big Apple?


Twitter co-founder and CEO of Square, Jack Dorsey, has a new job in mind.  He wants to become New York City’s Mayor…one day.  In a recent interview shown on CBS’s ’60 Minutes,’ Lara Logan said that Dorsey is serious about moving to New York City at some point, and thereafter running for the position of Mayor.



Jack Dorsey was reported to have said that whenever he finds himself in New York City, he feels “electricity.”  He compares the feeling to “being caught in a car during a thunderstorm.”  Maybe the guy who does not even have a desk (he just uses his iPad), and had a speech impediment in his youth could lead the city to great things one day.



In the meantime, just a few days ago, Republican Tom Allon pulled out of the current mayoral race. The reasons cited were lack of campaign funding.   Given this, it seems as if the Liberal Party is now back in with a chance as it had previously supported Allon.


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Barnes & Noble Partnering with Read Across America Day


If you’re in the New York area, you just might want to get to a Barnes & Noble soon to enjoy their offerings for the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day. Designated on March 1 every year (and coinciding with Dr. Seuss’ birthday for some extra fun) the Read Across America Day serves to encourage reading and education across the country.

Today, some 45 million people participate in Read Across America Day, something that would certainly have made some of our presidents, like Harry Truman, happy. As the Shapell Manuscript Foundation recently explained on their Between the Lines program, Truman loved to read. A letter that Shapell has in its possession from President Truman states,

 “I had to study whether I wanted to or not.  Read the Old & New Testaments King James translation three times before I was fifteen, and all the histories of world leaders and heroes I could find.  Our public library in Independence had about three or four thousand volumes, including the encyclopedias! Believe it or not I read ‘em all – including the enclo’s. Maybe I was a damphool [damn fool] but it served me well when my terrible trial came.”

Surely, he would be thrilled to see the many programs that take place for Read Across America Day. And as part of this event, Barnes & Noble is offering customers to one $25 gift card when they purchase the NOOK HD at the retail stores between March 2, 2013 and March 31, 2013. This is part of their effort to honor Read Across America Day and to encourage children to foster a love for learning.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

NYC Photographer Snaps Away


There are many buildings, skyscrapers, etc. regularly photographed in the city of New York.  That is common.  But what is more newsworthy is what Brandon Stanton has been aiming to do – capture 10,000 New Yorkers from his camera lens.  To date, he has reached around half of his goal, having shot nearly 5,000 photos throughout the various boroughs of New York.   Some of the more interesting photos Stanton has gotten so far include: a Michael Jackson lookalike, a nun, fake tiger-skin coat and more.  His self-description is that he is “really passionate about things.”

What makes the project even more interesting is Stanton’s background – which doesn’t include photography.  Having lost his job trading bonds on the Chicago Board of Trade, he moved to New York to begin snapping photos.  Now two years down the line, he has developed a Facebook following of 560,000 fans.  He walks around – sometimes for hours – to get the perfect picture. He requests permission first and then asks more about the individual’s life, enquiring “what was the happiest moment of your life?”
As well as snapping photos in New York, Stanton went to Iran to do the same thing, establishing 20,000 followers along the way.  His plan is ultimately “to go everywhere.”  Now, imitation projects exist such as: Humans of Paris, Humans of Beirut and more.