Posted on 15 April 2011. Tags: audience members, bizarre antics, drinking and drugs, facebook, heart attack, midst, pitch, toast, torpedo, urn
Charlie Sheen, now known for his beyond bizarre antics during his tour shows, capped his first stop in Canada by leading a toast for a dead man’s ashes. The ashes belong to the one of the audience members’ dead husband.
The show is called “The Violent Torpedo of Truth”, and an hour in to the show Sheen called out a woman from the audience whose husband died many years ago. He also said that he learned about her story from a newspaper article.
The audience went pitch quiet when Wendy Newman clothed in black from head to toe with an urn on one arm. Newman told everyone that her husband had a heart attack and the only thing that kept her going after her husband’s death is “Three and a Half Men” – Sheen’s former sitcom.
When Newman heard that Sheen is taking his show to Toronto, she immediately booked a flight and left a message on the actor’s facebook wall asking him if she can bring her husband’s ashes. She also asked that Sheen leads a toast to honor her husband.
Sheen gracefully agreed, led a toast with a non-alcoholic beverage – the actor vowed to shy away from drinking and drugs – and allowed the widow to say a short eulogy. Mrs. Newman ended her eulogy by saying she can finally properly send off her husband since Charlie Sheen is in their midst.
After the speech, the show abruptly ended; much to the dismay of the rest of the audience. Although it was moving, a 25-year old member of the audience could not help but say – “What the hell!”
Posted in Entertainment
Posted on 12 April 2011. Tags: 3 years, cameron, court of appeals, facebook, federal appeals court, harvard university, litigation, phenomenon, schoolmate, supreme court
Federal appeals court said Monday that Former Harvard University schoolmates of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, have no way of undoing their settlement on the creation of the acclaimed social networking site.
The Court of Appeals said that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were technologically knowledgeable enough to understand the agreement they signed in 2008. The deal included a $20 million payment in cash and only partial ownership of the site. One other schoolmate, Divya Narendra, took part of the agreement 3 years ago but decided not to join the twins in the second lawsuit they filed against Zuckerberg.
The settlement’s worth has bubbled to $160 million because of Facebook’s increasing value. The Winklevoss brothers insisted that Facebook’s real value was not disclosed properly when they signed the settlement agreement in their lawsuit claiming they own the original idea of Facebook and Zuckerberg simply stole it from them.
Alex Kozinksi, chief justice of the litigation, said that the twins knew what the settlement entitled during their mediation meeting years ago. The twins even brought six lawyers during the meeting, he said.
Facebook which is now valued at millions of dollars has become a world-wide phenomenon. A networking site that originally started as a way for students of Harvard to keep in touch with each other is now used by almost everyone who has access to the internet.
The social networking site said Monday that they are very happy with the results. Winklevoss twins lawyers said that they are still in the process of reviewing the decision and will then plan their next step. They still have the option of raising the case to the Supreme Court.
Posted in Business, Featured News
Posted on 01 April 2011. Tags: blushing bride, canadian jazz, civil wedding, concert artists, facebook, family and fans, jazz singer, rose petals, tennis player, wedding tradition
Michael Buble, a Canadian jazz singer, married Lusiana Lopilato, an Argentine actress. The ceremony was a private civil wedding, Thursday, in Buenos Aires.
Grammy award-winner Buble and his Argentine sweetheart Lopilato, posed in front of their fans after their civil rights ceremony. The blushing bride wore a simple chiffon flowing dress paired with a silver high-heeled stiletto. The dashing groom on the other hand, wore a gray suite.
After Buble, 35, planted a kiss on Lopilato, 23, she tossed her bouquet on the crowd. Their fans responded by throwing red rose petals and rice on the couple, a long wedding tradition. One of the fans even shouted from the crowd, “I love you Michael!”
Michael Buble won a Grammy for his traditional pop vocal album a month ago. He is also one of America’s top grossing concert artists. Luisa Lopilato started as a model in Argentina and transitioned in to soap operas and sitcoms. Among these are Little Girls, Rebel Way, Pirate Soul, and Married with Children.
Buble dated actress Emily Blunt for a couple of years before meeting Lopilato in 2009 in his concert tour in South America. Lopilato, on the other hand, was dating a tennis player when they met.
Lopilato wrote to her 500, 000 followers on Twitter and Facebook expressing her love and appreciation to all her friends, family, and fans. She said that the wedding was beautiful.
The couple will have a full ceremony in Buenos Aires next month. It will be attended by around 300 guests in a mansion. After that, another wedding will take place on April in Vancouver. The couple have three homes – one in Canada, another in Los Angeles, and in Buenos Aires.
Posted in Entertainment
Posted on 28 March 2011. Tags: abby, cafeteria, diagnosis, doctors, facebook, having a great time, obsession, real time, status updates, time status
A group of influential doctors said that “Facebook depression” may now be added to the list of potential risks associated with social media. They said that obsession to this online site will most likely exacerbate teenage depression. However, some researchers argue that it cannot be considered a separate diagnosis, but rather an extension of the despair teens feel.
Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, pediatrician and author, said that the concept of Facebook makes it extra difficult for teenagers who already have self-esteem issues. Because almost everyone posts real-time status updates and photos of them having a great time, Facebook can cause some kids to feel left out and “out of the loop.”
She further said that not being among the “in group” in Facebook is more devastating than eating alone in a cafeteria or other real high school encounters that causes depression to teenagers. She said this because social media gives people a twisted idea of what really goes on in real life.
Abby Abolt, a 16-year old sophomore, said that she is not personally affected by the drama facebook causes but she can totally understand why this can pose a threat to other teenagers like her.
Right now, many pediatricians urge parents to monitor their kids’ online activities so that cyber bullying, Facebook depression, and even “sexting” are avoided.
Gaby Navarro, an 18-year old senior student said that Facebook can be a worldwide platform for bullying. Some kids posted snotty remarks on her friend’s Facebook wall and so she can really imagine how huge of an impact Facebook has on some kids.
Posted in Health
Posted on 06 January 2011. Tags: buying shares, facebook, goldman sachs group, goldman sachs group inc, minimum investment, mobile services, social networking site, spokesman, stake, stephen cohen
Clients of Goldman Sachs Group Inc who are thinking of buying shares in the closely held social networking site, Facebook Inc. should pay attention for Wall Street’s most profitable firm might release its own holdings without any warning.
The firm, in its one-page investment profile that was sent to private wealth clients, said in the last sentence that GS group may further reduce its exposure to investment in Facebook at any time, without letting the fund or investors in the fund know ahead of time.
Facebook’s offering document that was obtained by the Bloomberg News shows that $75 million of the total $350 million invested in Facebook by Goldman Sachs is from the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. This is a hedge fund that manages client money.
The firm’s $375 million investment might possibly be cut down to $300 million because Goldman Sachs anticipates selling its $75 million shares to third parties or to the fund it made so other clients may buy a stake in Facebook.
According to the offering document’s disclosure section, it said that there may be problems of interest regarding the underlying investments of the fund, as well as Goldman Sachs. However, the materials written in the documents are not guaranteed accurate or complete.
Goldman Sachs spokesman Stephen Cohen refused to comment yesterday, as well as the spokesman for Facebook, Jonathan Thaw.
Clients of Goldman Sachs should make a minimum investment of $2 million by January 7 to get a stake in Facebook. Facebook has already more than 600 million active users every month, and 230 million of that has access to the site through mobile services.
Posted in Business