Equal pay for women, the black civil rights movement, suicide, Alzheimer’s and immigration were all hot topics this week: and all that happened at the Academy Awards. Lost during Patricia Arquette’s speech for equal pay plus the usual discourse about roles in Hollywood for women was an image of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scientific and technical achievement award recipients. (It’s that little recap they always cover midway through the show for about five minutes). Say what you will about roles for women in Hollywood but I count a total of three women in the shot and at least one of them was there to give out the awards. To further emphasize the difficulty for women in the tech industries, The Los Angeles Times wrote about why women are fleeing them.
Although there are countless images taken before, during and after the Academy Awards, the best are usually the ones taken backstage or during the after parties and no one captures those moments like Vanity Fair (their recently redesigned site looks great; so does the new The New York Times Magazine that includes a story about America’s first slavery museum). Vanity Fair then went one step further and ran a story about the behind the scenes of the behind the scenes shoot with Mark Seliger.
The more things change, the more they stay the same: Keith Olbermann was suspended from hosting his ESPN2 program (for a week) for a tweet about Penn State. Following Brian Williams’ suspension, we’re all wondering if Fox will also suspend Bill O’Reilly who has become increasingly hostile regarding allegations against misinformation that initially broke on Mother Jones. Congress is fighting itself regarding a potential shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security while three men in Brooklyn were charged with providing support to the Islamic State and “Jihadi John” the face of fear for the Islamic State was identified as Brit Mohammed Emwazi. Another Congress vs. Obama feud concerning the Keystone XL pipeline continues to heat up. Loretta Lynch took one step closer to becoming Attorney General. In Port au Prince, Haitians protested human rights violations in neighboring Dominican Republic. Time has a great look behind the scenes at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Lady Gaga is back in the news and back in the public’s good graces (with a little help from Julie Andrews) while supposed nemesis Madonna fell off stage in London during the Brit Awards. The rocker that outshines both of them – Kim Gordon – has written a memoir. Pot is now legal in Washington, D.C. and Alaska (learn more here) but The New Yorker pointed out that just because it’s legal doesn’t make the pot industry seamless. What else can be said about the weather? The Washington Post reported that Boston was poised to end February with ten times the normal amount of snow. As for The Boston Globe? They posted a slideshow and its debilitating effect on public transportation. Incredible photos of the slushy waves of Nantucket. Not to be outdone with eye-popping slideshows, check out this one on in The Washington Post of all things: sinkholes.
The Wall Street Journal has a feature on Novak Djokovic who recently became a father and won the Australian Open. Let’s give some attention to male models during fashion week for a change and a Saudi prince lists his Manhattan 10,500 sq ft “pad” complete with panic room (once you get the first mortgage payment) for $48.5 million. Maybe the Kardashians are interested? Jim Krantz will have a show at Danziger Gallery in NYC. Google is building a futuristic campus. Finally, proof that airbnb isn’t just for hipsters.
ICYMI: Last September the New York Times Magazine ran a great story about McMansions in China. And don’t miss this great quiz published early this month that asks the question, do Westminster dog owners look like their four legged friends?
