AllupInyourBiz

I’m really seeing the fruits of that hard fought stimulus package, right about now. Or maybe this is just a reaction to Oscars, Hahahah. Wouldn’t it be awesome if bankers had a Wall Street equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscars? All of the Wall Street players could have a big televised party  where they get together,  blow smoke up each other’s arses  and give each other awards on TV. Don’t forget to mix in some extremely biased political views during the award speeches. Why not? I feel like Bernie Madoff and John Thain are probably as notorious as Sean Penn, these days.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who suffers from extra dry skin in the winter. It seriously makes me crazy. Especially on days like today, when it is so cold and windy. It seems to sap my skin of all moisture. This condition, left unchecked, will leave my knuckles all dried out and cracked. So, I do the sensible thing and use hand cream, like its nobody’s business. The only problem with this, is that it leaves my hands all greasy, which in turn greases up my keyboard and anything else that I touch before the hand cream has had ample time to absorb. If this was only once a day, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But there is this thing called hand washing, which pretty much necessitates the application of more hand cream, multiple times per day. I have tried using only the pinky of each hand to apply the cream to my knuckles, then using a napkin to wipe down my pinkys, which helps. But I still end up with the greasy keys, to a degree that is more than desirable. Does anyone have any suggestions for a way around this conundrum? The greasy keys are kind of making me nuts.

[photo by Sephora]

[Photo by David Duprey (NY Times)]

In the wake of the Turboprop crash in Buffalo, NY, on February 12, scrutiny is being applied to speed at which the FAA adopts changes suggested by the National Transportation Safety Board. A NY Times article concludes that the FAA, due to its entrenchment in bureaucracy, often times takes years to implement changes suggested by the NTSB. As an example of this, the Times cites the recommendation given by the NTSB to the FAA after an airliner exploded over Long Island in 1996, noting that recommendation has yet to be put into practice. According to the NY Times, “The safety board says there currently are 429 outstanding recommendations, of which 146 are more than five years old.”

Shepard Fairey is back at it, producing artwork for a “good cause.” The image to the left, is for a World Wildlife Foundation campaign to get everyone to turn out their lights for an hour on March 28th. Lets hope that Shep doesn’t get in any trouble for this one. He has been going through some rough times lately, including being arrested last Sunday. In addition, he is being sued by the Associated Press, for infringing copyright.

The iconic “Hope” image that was created and distributed by Fairey, during the Obama campaign, was tracked back to an Associated Press photo taken by Mannie Garcia, on assignment  by AP. The AP is now suing Fairey, claiming copyright infringement. Can you image the can of worms that is liable to open? Anyone who has done a stencil, can now owe royalties to the photographer who produced the picture it was taken from? Is the guy who took the Andre the Giant photo that Fairey modeled his “Obey” campaign on, now going to come out of the woodwork demanding cash?

Fairey’s lawyers argue that there is no infringement, under the “fair use” doctrine. I feel kind of bad for the guy. I hope that he doesn’t lose this one. Can you imagine the kind of damages that he would have to pay? That “Hope” piece was EVERYWHERE. I hope that if he does lose, that the court at least takes into account the fact that the profit generated from the piece, was primarily used to print and distribute more copies.

Here is the AP photo and the Fairey piece, side by side. You be the judge.