Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"By the year 2025 we will have finally come to grasp that in virtually every human endeavor, density pays. Silicon Valley has known this since Gordon Moore coined his eponymous law nearly half a century ago, predicting the exponentially increasing density and decreasing price of the processing power crammed onto microchips -- a dynamic that has turned young adults into billionaires with regularity ever since. But as everyone from Paul Krugman (whose Nobel-winning research pointed out the trade benefits of geographic concentration) to contemporary French chefs (who artfully condense the essence of a stick of butter into ever smaller morsels) to condo developers (no explanation necessary) has learned, density pays in the physical world as well. As the World Bank observed in its 2009 World Development Report, half the world's GDP is produced on 1.5 percent of its land surface. Humanity's global migration toward ever denser urban living has added trillions of dollars to the global GDP every decade since at least the end of World War II. Global markets have followed a similar trajectory toward ever greater concentration. The Bank for International Settlements reports that the international derivatives market has grown to $600 trillion from just under $100 trillion a decade ago, whereas the world's economic output approximately doubled over the same period. The 10 largest banks in the United States now hold $11 trillion of the country's total $13 trillion in banking assets; the assets of the top five French banks equal 325 percent of France's GDP. Too big to fail?" (ForeignPolicy)

"As you know, Brett Ratner is producing the Oscar show with Don Mischer and emailed me tonight with his reaction to Billy Crystal's statements regarding possibly hosting the Oscars again. Ratner says: 'I didn't see what Billy said. I'm really focused on finishing my film Tower Heist right now. [But] I was told by the Academy that I don't have to make a decision until mid-September.' ... So is Billy Crystal once again the answer to all of Oscar's woes? His statement in answer to a fan's query at an American Cinematheque screening of City Slickers on Friday night was that he might be open to hosting again "maybe one or two more times". But that's not even the first time he's dropped the hint this year. In March, shortly after he made his appearance on the 83rd Oscar show to honor Bob Hope, he was hosting a charity event and told a reporter, 'I think the show needs to change. There's too many awards and it has to sort of freshen itself up, and if I can be a part of that, that would be great.' Between that and Friday's encouraging words, what more do the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and newly minted producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer need to hear?" (Deadline)

"Prince Harry and his lingerie model girlfriend, Florence Brudenell-Bruce, have called it quits after just two months. The blond beauty and England's most eligible bachelor seemed to be going strong, but ultimately Harry did not want to be 'tied down,' especially during army training, a source revealed to the Daily Mail. Things seemed to be getting serious between the two, with Brudenell-Bruce inviting Harry to travel to Ibiza for a vacation next month, but Harry declined. 'Harry enjoyed spending time with friends over the summer, but he doesn't want to be tied town in a relationship when training, so he called time with Flee,' another source explained. While well known for her underwear and swimsuit modeling, Brudenell-Bruce shocked most by winning over many royal aides. Prince William and some of Harry's close friends had even spent time with the beauty, according to reports. She did not, however, gain enough favor to attend the wedding of Harry's cousin Zara Phillips in late July, while Harry's former flame Chelsea Davy was on hand." (PageSix)

"In a Gallup Poll of 1,008 adults, only 13 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, tied for the worst on record, according to the Gallup Organization. Eighty-four percent of Americans disapprove, the poll found. That figure is a record high. The last time Congress had a 13 percent approval rating was in December 2010, during last year’s lame duck session. The congressional job approval rating is slightly lower among independents at 9 percent, compared with 15 percent among Democrats and 17 percent among Republicans. The 9 percent approval rating for independents is the lowest since 1974 when Gallup began measuring congressional approval. The poll results follows a record low approval rating for President Barack Obama, who scored a 39 percent approval rating in the pollster’s daily tracking numbers this week, the first time in his presidency that he received less than a 40 percent rating." (Politico)

"The East Hampton Library held its 7th Annual Authors Night, a lavish fundraiser to benefit the East Hampton Library. All proceeds go directly to the Library. The co-founders, Alec Baldwin and Barbara Goldsmith, began in 2005 with a handful of dinners and a few hundred attendees, it has grown to be the premier literary event of the Hamptons with over 160 authors and more than 1,000 people in attendance. Co-chairs for the event included: Robert A. Caro, Dick Cavett, Nelson DeMille and Michael Connelly. Featured authors included Georgina Bloomberg, Jennet Conant, Kathy Freston, Victoria Hagan, Shere Hite, Duane Hampton, Stewart F. Lane, Katie Lee, Robert Lipsyte, Susan Lucci, Jeffrey Lyons, Adam Ross, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Beth Ostrosky Stern, and Colson Whitehead." (NYSocialDiary)