It's Done: Yahoo Just Announced the Acquisition of Tumblr
Charlie Rose Will Host Charlie Rose Weekend
Five Essay Questions for Game of Thrones 3×8: ‘Second Sons’
Our guest essay answerer this week is none other than our GoT illustrator, Alex Bedder! Give him a hand!
These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. No. 2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and sample responses.
1. We like to say “Seal it with a kiss” (or, at least, Britney Spears does), but the more appropriate term for our characters in this week’s episode might be “Seal it with some sex.” What special significance does tonight’s episode put on doing (or not doing) the nasty? Things to consider: Religious rituals that had seemingly nothing to do with sex and everything to do with kinky leeches, Tyrion’s dilemma of honor vs. self-preservation (strategically, he’d be much, much better off having sex with Sansa and getting her pregnant) and Dany’s renewed policy of giving it up to whichever dude kills the most jerks for her? Read More
Report: Yumblr! Is a Go, For $1.1 Billion in Cash
Here we go, folks! The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo’s board has approved a rumored deal to purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash money. It’s not clear whether Tumblr’s board has also approved the deal, but if it’s true that the company has only a few months of runway left, they’d be fools not to.
It’s a happy enough ending for Tumblr’s employees and investors, sure, but it’s not exactly the stirring success story the New York startup scene might’ve wished for. (A YouTube’s nice, but a Google would be better.) Yahoo’s got a long history of snapping up startups and frittering away their potential, and $1.1 billion must dash a few hopes for Silicon Alley’s flagship. The company only made $13 million in revenue last year, but as of March it had 117 million unique users worldwide. Read More
To Do Sunday: For the Cycle
You might not be able to bring out your blingy gold Martone Cycling Company bike with a Louboutin-red chain designed by Marc Jacobs’s ex Lorenzo Martone, but competitive biking does get you fit and ready for fashionable, less-is-more summer outfits. So get your wheels ready and race in the Campagnola Gran Fondo, which brings Italy’s Read More
Cannes: Street Gunfire and a Hotel Heist Keep the Festival on Edge
CANNES, France — Who needs movies? Within a 24-hour period, street gunfire and a hotel heist have kept the masses entertained here in Cannes. In the early hours of Friday morning, $1.4 million in Chopard jewelry was stolen from a Suite Novotel when company reps from the U.S. had their room safe Read More
To Do Saturday: Not Your Average Street Food
Tribeca is known for big-bucks lofts, celebrity residents and fancy food. The Taste of Tribeca, started in 1994, is a great way to pig out on glamorous grub from eateries like Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Grill, Bouley, Landmarc, City Hall and many others. The family-friendly event benefits the neighborhood’s public elementary schools P.S. 234 and Read More
Doesn’t Anyone Love One57?
Poor, lonely, luxury condo tower! Unlike the co-ops lining Central Park to the East and the West, whose residents really love them, it seems like One57′s new residents are only interested in it for its money. Or, more precisely, how their money might become even more money if they buy apartments there.
As the condo’s top-floor units go into contract, New Yorker’s real estate community has been speculating on who the super-secretive billionaires buying there are. Tantalizingly, Extell confirmed two contracts for more than $90 million, but for months and months and months, there’s been no indication of who the buyers might be. So imagine the collective glee when The Wall Street Journal revealed that one of the buyers was billionaire hedge funder William Ackman. Sort of. Read More
Rumor Roundup: Betabeat Becomes a Bunch of Glassholes, Prince Harry Hails a Hailo and Zuck Celebrates a Bday
Glasshole Missed Connection Betabeat finally had the distinct pleasure of trying the dorky looking face computer we love to mock so much at a party last night at Meetup HQ. We (only slightly drunkenly) approached a tall white dude donning Google Glass and timidly asked if we might be able to try it on. When we slipped on the device (in slate!), the display was incredibly blurry–not due to our eyesight, but because Glass specifically calibrates to the wearer’s eye. It was hard as hell to see, but the voice commands worked almost seamlessly, impressive since we were at a loud party.
The device’s functionality is fairly limited: you can take a picture, record video and get directions to and from places. It also has the added benefit of making you look like a complete dork while somehow also attracting swaths of attractive ladies to get up real close to your face. Read More
Changes at The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is modernizing under the editorship of Pamela Paul, who was appointed to the positon in early April. The section announced three changes in a new column in this Sunday’s issue (it was posted online today). Starting this weekend, the e-book bestseller list, which first joined the printed list in early 2011, will be online only. Additionally, book prices will no longer be included for any books. Read More
Ridiculous Candidate Gets Ridiculous Endorsement: Jimmy McMillan Crowned Papaya King
In what has to be the best endorsement of the mayor’s race so far, Jimmy McMillan from The Rent is Too Damn High Party has earned a nod from none other than Papaya King.
The cheapo hot dog eatery not only plans to promote Mr. McMillan and his mutton chops in its stores, but has invited him to treat its new location on St. Mark’s Place–which will be celebrating its grand opening tomorrow–as an “unofficial” campaign headquarters. It’s also planning to introduce a new specialty hot dog, “The Jimmy McMillan,” in his honor. Read More
