Prince Charles world’s best dressed man
March 5, 2009
Prince Charles
LONDON (AFP) – Prince Charles has beaten off competition from US President Barack Obama to be named the world’s best dressed man by Esquire magazine.
“He is perfectly turned out in a double-breasted suit. Admirably, the prince keeps his wardrobe in appropriate style: we’re told he has a room laid out like a tailor’s shop,” the men’s magazine said.
Prince Charles, 60, keeps it simple and has worn suits by Saville Row tailors Gieves and Hawkes, complete with pocket handkerchief and silk tie, for years. Esquire said he was “always incredibly well dressed”.
The prince, who is heir to the British throne, beat off competition from Obama — who came fourth in the top ten – artist David Hockney (seventh), tennis player Roger Federer (eighth) and US rapper Andre 3000 (tenth).
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, however, was named one of the worst dressed, with the magazine noting he had once “turned up in the Iraqi desert wearing black lace-ups”.
London Mayor Boris Johnson — renowned for his slightly chaotic appearance — was also criticised for having “jacket pockets like second-hand bookshops, and hair the result of an encounter with a ghost in a wind tunnel”.
Being Zimbabweans…..
February 2, 2009
PLEASE don’t start naming your daughters after President Barack Obama.
Names such as Obamanesha, Obamalisha, Obamaria, Obamarette, Obamaletta, Obamayisha, Obamatisha, Obamalyne, Obamalinda, Obamamira, Obamaquine, Obamaquinta, Obamalaria, Obamambo, Obamalaya, Obamanette, Obamalama, Barackala, Barackella, Barackesha, Barackisha, Barackyah, Barackleva, etc. or adding, La, Quine, Sha, Da or Ja, Rhi, as a prefix is not allowed.
Don’t start that mess! PLEASE!!
And Zimbabweans are warned that names like Obamamore, Clever Obama,
Obamalet, Obamashame, Obamanashe, Obamawedu, Obamauye, Luckyobama do not sound impressive to anyone but themselves.
Especially do not combine the President’s name with your hero Mandella
to give to your son or daughter like this: Obamandella. This is not good. Leave Dr King out of it too. Please don’t start Barackinging all your sons.
Well, if you like the children’s names, that is fine. But there’s no need for an odd contraption like Barackmalia or Obamasacha or whatever number of combinations you may come up with. Sasha and Malia sound just right.
It is acceptable to name your sons Barack or even Obama but that is as far as you may go. Leave Michelle alone and stop being overly ambitious and adventurous with her name. It is beautiful and complete the way it is. There is no need to add suffixes and prefixes before or after her name. Avoid such horrible combinations as Michellenkrumah, Michellemandella or Michelleguevara or
Michellemothertheresa or Barackmichellela.
Now pass this on quickly before the craziness takes root.
Author Unknown
Biker jailed for YouTube stunt video
October 20, 2008
Sandor Ferenci posted a video of himself online performing high-speed stunts.
(CNN) – A biker who posted videos of himself on YouTube performing stunts and speeding at up to 210 kph (130 mph) has been jailed after inadvertently confessing his misdemeanors to police.
Sandor Ferenci, 28, was approached by police after a motorist saw him speeding on his powerful motorcycle and noted his registration number.
When they called at his house in Oxfordshire, England, he unwittingly asked if they had seen his YouTube video — prompting officers to search the Internet, where they found uploaded video of his hazardous riding.
Ferenci was Monday sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail after admitted two counts of dangerous driving at Oxford Crown Court.
Judge Terence Maher told Ferenci that he had carried out “lunatic and grossly irresponsible maneuvers at considerable speed,” according to CNN affiliate ITN.
Ferenci’s video footage, filmed by a friend from various angles including a footbridge, was shown to the court.
In it the biker is seen performing wheelies, tire-smoking wheelspins and skids on his Yamaha R6 road bike as well as high speed undertaking maneuvers.
Prosecutor Brian Payne said it was impossible to gauge Ferenci’s exact speed in the video, but police estimated he was driving up to 210 kph, ITN reported.
Fat paychecks for little work
October 2, 2008
Michael Ovitz spent $6 million on office renovations, Lakers tickets, and a BMW, among other expenses.
Story Highlights:
• Washington Mutual’s Alan Fishman got about $20 million for 17 days of work
• Disney dumped Michael Ovitz after only 16 months and paid him $100 million
• Actor Billy Dee Williams’ “pay-or-pay” clause paid him money for not acting
• Yankees paid Carl Pavano $39.9 million to start only 26 baseball games in 4 years
By Ethan Trex
Work hard, get promoted, succeed in your new post, and eventually you’ll start earning the big money. This progression seems like a firmly ingrained part of the American Dream, and it’s certainly worked for a lot of people.
However, these steps aren’t absolutely necessary to fatten your bank account, as Washington Mutual CEO Alan Fishman learned last week.
When WaMu failed and was seized by government regulators, Fishman had been on the job for just 17 days. However, he was contractually guaranteed $11.6 million in cash severance on top of the $7.5 million signing bonus he got for taking the job.
Basically, Fishman netted just under $20 million for 17 days of work, which is a pretty nice setup for the head of a collapsing corporation. (In Fishman’s defense, it’s tough to blame WaMu’s failure on his leadership alone; it seems highly unlikely that any CEO, however determined, could crash such a large thrift in just two weeks.)
Fishman’s not the only person to reap huge rewards for relatively little work. Here are few other well-compensated employees who didn’t have to put in too many years of service:
1. Michael Ovitz
After co-founding Creative Artists Agency in 1975, Ovitz quickly skyrocketed through the ranks of entertainment agents until he established himself as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.
In 1995, though, he left CAA to become president of Disney. Ovitz’s tenure at Disney was stormy; he clashed with CEO Michael Eisner, who didn’t share Ovitz’s penchant for delegation.
Ovitz also racked up a $6 million tab for various expenses ranging from renovating his office, buying Lakers tickets, and purchasing a BMW.
It quickly became obvious that Ovitz wasn’t going to be a great fit at Eisner’s Disney, so the board terminated his contract after just 16 months.
While Ovitz put in more work that Alan Fishman did at WaMu, he also received a lot more cash: a severance package of stock and cash that was worth around $100 million at the time.
As Disney’s stock price rose, though, so did the value of the package; at one point Ovitz’s take might have been as much as $140 million for those 16 months of work.
2. Billy Dee Williams
Critics raved about Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Harvey Dent in this summer’s The Dark Knight, and most couldn’t help but mention that it was a marked improvement over Tommy Lee Jones’ campy portrayal of Two-Face in 1995’s Batman Forever.
However, Jones wasn’t the only man to portray Dent in that run of Caped Crusader films.
Billy Dee Williams had the role of Dent in Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman.
Although the role was a fairly minor one in that film, Williams allegedly took the part with the understanding that he would reprise the character in a sequel in which Two-Face would be one of Batman’s antagonists.
To this end he had a pay-or-play clause inserted in his contract that basically assured that if the Harvey Dent/Two-Face character appeared in a future Warner Bros. Batman film, Williams would play the role.
If the director chose to cast another actor in the part, the studio would have to cough up a buyout to Williams.
In the end, that’s exactly what happened: when Tim Burton left the series’ helm, Joel Schumacher took over and wanted to cast Jones in the part. Williams received a cash buyout to not be in Batman Forever, a deal most of the principals in the critical disaster probably wish they’d been offered themselves.
3. Carl Pavano
When a professional baseball player signs a new deal, he’s pretty much guaranteed to pull in the cash regardless of whether or not he plays.
If you want proof, just mention the name Carl Pavano to New York Yankees fans and watch as their faces contort in terror.
After an early stint in Montreal and three fairly strong seasons in Florida, Pavano signed a four-year contract worth $39.95 million with the Yankees before the 2005 season.
He then got injured. Frequently.
The pitcher’s ill-fated tenure in the Bronx included pretty standard baseball injuries like an elbow strain and some problems with his throwing shoulder, but he also had some booboos that made Yankees fans wonder if he might be cursed, including two broken ribs in a car crash and a disabled-list trip for bruised buttocks.
In all, the Yankees shelled out that $39.95 million for Pavano to make 26 starts over the four-year span.
To make matters worse, on the rare occasions when Pavano was healthy he wasn’t very good at baseball. His best season with the Yankees saw him compile a 4.77 ERA and allow 1.47 baserunners per inning he pitched. Even Mike Hampton, baseball’s other pricy-but-fragile starter, has to shake his head at those numbers.
4. Edward McSweegan
While he may not be as high profile or as well-paid as the other names on this list, McSweegan may have found the sweetest deal an average guy could find. In a coup ripped directly from one of George Costanza’s daydreams, McSweegan claimed that he did nothing for seven years while employed as a scientist at the National Institutes of Health.
In 2003 McSweegan told the Washington Post that he hadn’t really been given any job responsibilities since 1996.
Prior to that, he had been a researcher and program officer on Lyme disease, but he was removed from that position in 1995 for arguing with a sufferers’ support group.
Although he had a title as director of the U.S.-Indo Vaccine Action Program and a list of nominal duties associated with that role, McSweegan claimed that he only carried out the tiniest of tasks like ordering coffee. In exchange, he received a salary in the neighborhood of $100,000.
When the NIH vehemently disputed McSweegan’s story that he simply went to work and did nothing all day, he maintained that he never received any assignments. McSweegan would show up, sit in his office, and read to kill time.
He took up fiction writing to fill his workdays and published a pair of novels he allegedly wrote while at the office. He told CBS in an interview that he also joined a health club near work “just to sort of break up the day.”
The most amazing part of McSweegan’s story isn’t that he managed to stay employed through this seven-year period, but that he received positive performance reviews from his superiors. He wryly explained to CBS, “I guess I’m good at doing nothing.” – Mentalfloss.com
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