Author: Editor

Categories
Culture Entertainment News Lifestyle Programs & Events

Missy Elliott electrifies, Jimmy Page surprises, Bernie Taupin calls out the elephant in the room: Essential moments from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show

Four hours and 22 minutes is a long time to be doing anything except sleeping, even watching a state-of-the-art Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards show that included Willie Nelson, Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Page, Stevie Nicks and many more.

 

Yet it’s a testament to the almost superhuman talent and vision of of Missy Elliott that as the show hit the four-hour mark, she had the entire audience out of their seats for a visually and musically explosive medley of her greatest hits — including “Get Ur Freak On,” “The Rain” and the closer, “Lose Control” — as she rocked the stage in an all-gold glitter suit accompanied by rappers, a DJ, approximately 30 lithely limbed dancers and an eye-popping video presentation that spanned the entire width of the Barclays Center floor. This will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been lucky enough to see a performance from the first female rapper inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it’s something we see far too infrequently these days. She even noted that the evening was the first time her mother had seen her perform live, “Because I didn’t want her to see me talking about bitches and a one-minute man.”

 

 

But before you skip to the end of the show, which was livestreamed on Disney+ for the first time and is available for playback now, see below for the other essential moments. Serious music fans will probably want to watch the whole thing — we’re skipping over performances from Sheryl Crow (with Nicks, Olivia Rodrigo and Peter Frampton), Chaka Khan (including a surreal duet with Sia), tributes to pioneering hip-hop DJ Kool Herc, Zelig-like musician Al Kooper and “Soul Train” founder Don Cornelius and more — but for those without four hours and 22 minutes to spare, dig in for a guide below.

 

Carrie Underwood’s Revelatory George Michael Cover

The late George Michael was inducted by Andrew Ridgely, his childhood friend and former bandmate in Wham!, who few people recognized at first due to his long-since-receded hairline. A trio of performances followed, with Miguel starting with a strong “Careless Whisper” (accompanied by the E Street Band’s Jake Clemons on sax), a mediocre “Faith” from Adam Levine, and finally, a stunning version of “One More Try” from Carrie Underwood, who brought the house down with an emotional, soaring performance that makes you wonder why she doesn’t sing songs like that all the time. The tribute video also featured some hilarious quotes from Michael particularly when he said the two records he first owned as a child were by the Supremes and Tom Jones, noting that his music was somewhere between the two.

 

 

 

New Edition Create a Spinners Tribute Band for the Ages

Anyone who grew up near an FM radio in America during the 1970s heard tons of R&B, and one of the most prominent groups were the Spinners. For a medley of three of their biggest hits, New Edition were clad in black slacks and matching velour maroon jackets, and had their synchronized dance steps down. Hearing Bobby Brown wail on “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” was a totally unexpected but resonant moment.

 

Johnny Gill, Michael Bivens, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe and Bobby Brown of New Edition (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

St. Vincent Bravely Runs Up That Hill

In another unexpected pairing, Kate Bush — who skipped the ceremony but posted a touching note of thanks — was inducted by Outkast’s Big Boi, who joked, “I feel like the White House Press Secretary for Kate Bush.” After speaking of his lifelong fandom and saying “I’m the kid in ‘Stranger Things’” (a nod to the show that brought the decades-old song to new levels of popularity), he said, “What I love about Kate’s music is that you never know what you’re going to hear next.” The tribute video was fascinating, combining clips of Bush with testimonials from Peter Gabriel, and especially Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who essentially discovered her when she was a teenager and recalled going to her house, meeting her family and then she played him “forty or fifty songs.” St. Vincent then showed just how difficult those songs are to sing, turning in a solid, brave and relatively low-key take on “Running Up That Hill” in which she wisely didn’t try to mimic Bush’s intensity.

 

 

Willie Nelson Gets a Hilarious Introduction From Dave Matthews and Performs With Chris Stapleton and Sheryl Crow

There is probably no living songwriter with a catalog that can match Willie Nelson’s, and not many past ones either. Now 90, as Dave Matthews noted in his introduction, he wrote his first song in 1940, saw his “Crazy” recorded by Patsy Cline in 1961, and has released 72 albums. Somehow, he has made it all this way while being a marijuana smoker of magnitude. “The first time I met Willie,” Matthews recalled, “I got so high I forgot how to breathe. And then we got more high, and then we got even more high, and then Willie said, ‘Is everybody high?’” Nelson took the stage and played three songs, accompanied by Chris Stapleton (on “Whiskey River”), Sheryl Crow (“On Crazy”) and “On the Road Again” with both and Matthews — his voice was a little unsteady and he played seated, but he gave a very gracious thank-you speech and peeled off two solos on his legendary battered nylon-string guitar.

 

Willie Nelson receives his statuette from Dave Matthews (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

A Surprise Performance From Jimmy Page

Link Wray, who died in 2005, was such a foundational pioneer of rock and roll guitar that most guitarists these days don’t know who he was. Yet the video that aired featured everyone from Jimmy Page and Iggy Pop to Jeff Beck and Robbie Robertson paying worshipful homage, and the audience rocked to their feet when, just after he’d appeared in the video inducting Wray, Page suddenly appeared on stage, brandishing his legendary Gibson double-neck guitar, and played a slinky, reverent version of Wray’s “Rumble,” a song you know even if you think you don’t.

 

 

 

 

Bernie Taupin Addresses the Elephant in the Room

Elton John reeled off an oft-told story about his lyricist and “best friend of 65 years,” but the tale was no less fresh as he marveled at their progression between his first album and second — “How did we take that leap in such a short time?” — and noted that although they didn’t really have an argument during their peak years, “He was often disgusted with my behavior.” And yet he also noted that they recently completed an album that “is going to surprise the shit out of you.”

 

During Taupin’s acceptance speech, some three hours into the show, the moment finally came: He said how honored he was to be sharing the honor with so many “articulate” (air quotes) women and Black artists — the evening’s only direct reference to Rolling Stone and Hall of Fame founder Jann Wenner’s recent tasteless comments that got him ejected from the Hall’s board.

 

 

Robbie Robertson Gets a Generation-Spanning Tribute From Elton John, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow and Brittany Howard

The Hall digs deep for its “In Memoriam” segment, honoring many relatively little-known bandmembers in addition to superstars. And in a year when a sobering number of great musicians died, it seemed inappropriate to honor just one — until the segment closed with a photo of the Band’s Robbie Robertson and the house band kicked into the group’s 1968 classic “The Weight.” Four generations of singers — Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton and Brittany Howard — each took a verse and then joined together for the song’s concluding fifth verse, showing in stunning fashion just how foundational the Band and that song were for all of them.

 

 

Even in Their Absence, Rage Against the Machine Raged

Since they first parted ways in 2000, Rage Against the Machine have never been there when you needed them. They sat out the George W. Bush years, reunited for tours during the Obama administration, and were a couple of dates into a long-overdue reunion tour last summer when singer Zack de la Rocha injured his knee and the tour was postponed indefinitely. Yet the group’s explosive influence was vividly detailed in the electrifying tribute video, in Ice-T’s introductory speech — “I think Rage has the greatest rock lyric of all time: ‘Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’” — and guitarist Tom Morello’s acceptance speech. Always an inspired speaker, he noted that the often-feuding bandmembers have “differing perspectives on a lot of things, including being inducted,” but paid tribute not only to them but also the “fifth member of the band” — the group’s fans — and noted that the presidents of Chile and Finland “have all spent time in our mosh pits.”

 

His speech gained momentum as he continued, “Can music change the world? The whole fucking aim is to change the world!” and finished by exhorting people to make a difference in whatever way they can, by activism or forming a band or simply following their conscience instead of orders. “It’s time to change the world, brothers and sisters,” he concluded, “or at the very least stir up a shitload of trouble.”

 

As fans exited the venue after a very long night, they saw the following words grafitti’d on a boarded-up window across Flatbush Avenue: “THANK YOU RATM.”

 

 

— Variety

Categories
Art & Life Culture Education International & World Lifestyle Programs & Events

New Jersey Photography Forum announces opening of 29th Juried International Photography Exhibit ‘Our Best’

The NJ Photography Forum opened its 29th International Photography Exhibit, “Our Best,” online and in person on Nov. 1, 2023.

 

There are 66 works by 31 artists  for this year’s show selected from hundreds of entries which came from across the U.S and around the globe. The show will remain available online until Jan. 15, 2024. The in-person exhibit will be on display at the Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, N.J. from Nov. 1, through Dec. 3, 2023.

 

Nancy Ori, Director of the NJ Photography Forum and the Curator of the exhibit was very enthusiastic about the response to the call for submissions and says, “the emotional impact of the pieces range from mysterious and thought provoking, to stunning black and whites and digitally enhanced pieces, to traditional and beautiful color works. The variety of creative ideas and processing techniques has produced a stunning exhibit.”

 

There will be an Opening Reception and Holiday Art Fair: Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, 1-4 p.m. (EST) at the Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, N.J. on the circle. The reception is free and open to the public. Wine and refreshments will be served.

 

The public is also invited to attend an online conference via Zoom moderated by the Curator to review the exhibit and hear from some of the artists on Nov. 18, 2023 from 3-5 p.m. eastern time. Contact Nancy Ori to get the link.

 

At the same time as the Our Best exhibit is in the Main Gallery of the Watchung Art Center, the New Jersey Photography Forum will also be showing The Best One, works by the members of the Forum’s Exhibit Committee in the more intimate downstairs gallery. Both exhibits can be viewed during regular gallery hours.

 

All of the images will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Watchung Arts Center.

 

Four years ago, The New Jersey Photography Forum celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding. The group is dedicated to furthering the interests of professional and serious photographers living or working in the Metro area. Under the direction of Nancy Ori, the NJPF has grown to be the largest and most recognized group of fine art exhibiting photographers in the state.

 

The monthly meetings are held virtually using Zoom or in-person at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit when possible. Meeting attendees are encouraged to share expertise and advance their skills. At each meeting, member and guest photographers have an opportunity to show their work as well as have access to a wide variety of current creative and technical information through informal presentations and demonstrations. Exhibition possibilities within the fine art community are constantly being explored with the group producing as many as a dozen group exhibits each year at various venues. These opportunities have become an invaluable resource for Metro area photographers interested in becoming fine art exhibitors.

 

The Watchung Arts Center offers new art exhibitions each month, performances of music, comedy, improv and classes for children and adults in art, photography, dance, yoga, and more. Visit the Watchung Arts Center website at: www.watchungarts.org for exhibit visitation times and current activities. The center is located at 18 Stirling Road in Watchung, N.J. on the circle.

 

You can learn more about the New Jersey Photography Forum by visiting their web site at www.njphotoforum.com where you will also find a link to the online exhibit or by contacting Nancy Ori at nancyori@comcast.net

Categories
Environment Government Lifestyle Local News Programs & Events Regulations & Security Science

Cleanup begins on lake at Miry Run’s Dam Site 21

The first phase of development of a new passive-recreation Mercer County park began Nov. 1, with the dredging of the 50-acre lake at what is known as Dam Site 21.

Located in Hamilton, Robbinsville, and West Windsor, the 279-acre property was acquired by Mercer County in the late 1970s in order to build a dam to reduce downstream flooding and to develop the land into a publicly accessible park. The dredging will rid the lake bed of weeds, debris and sediment that has built up over the years, and improve access for boating and fishing.

“One of our longstanding goals was to take this diamond in the rough and create a gem of a park, and I’m thrilled that the Mercer County Park Commission’s plan is advancing,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes.

The lake improvements are part of a larger Park Master Plan for the site, which was adopted by the Mercer County Park Commission in 2020. “The goal of our Master Plan is to make the largely hidden public site more accessible to County residents,” said Mercer County Park Commission Executive Director Aaron T. Watson. “But the first step in implementing our plan is to improve the lake’s flood capacity, water quality, wildlife habitat, and accessibility.”

After four years of planning, design, and permitting, the Park Commission recently awarded a contract to Capela Construction, which will begin lowering the lake and complete the dredging over the winter. During the course of this cleanup, there will be no public access to the lake area until the project is complete.

The larger Master Plan for Dam Site 21 calls for trails, parking and other park visitor facilities, and the conversion of farm fields into new natural areas for birds and other wildlife. When complete, the site’s natural features will be augmented through the establishment of up to 34 acres of new forest, which will contain an estimated 14,000 new trees, and 64 acres of new native meadows.

The Master Plan for the site, developed with Simone Collins Landscape Architecture and Princeton Hydro, was awarded the 2021 Chapter Award from the New Jersey Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects.

For more information on the development of Dam Site 21, go to https://www.mercercounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/24870/638066292391570000

Categories
Culture Environment Foodies/Tastylicious Local News Regulations & Security

Locals should not feed the bears!

Residents are asked to be alert and watch for black bears as the bears forage for food ahead of their winter den season.

Though most of New Jersey’s black bears live in the northwest portion of the state, black bears have been sighted in all 21 counties.

Please take steps to secure trash cans and other potential sources of food.

Bears that find food in residential neighborhoods may learn to associate people with food. These bears may then become nuisances that cause property damage, seek handouts from people, or become dangerous. Intentionally feeding bears is illegal in New Jersey and carries a fine of up to $1,000.

Report black bear damage or aggressive bears to your local police department or to NJ Fish & Wildlife by calling 1-877-927-6337. Find more safety tips and information at the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Categories
Business Economics Lifestyle Sports & Gaming Technology

Sources: Bungie cut ~100 jobs after executives said the company’s revenue was 45% below projections for the year, citing a drop in Destiny 2’s popularity

—  Sales at studio were running 45% below projections for year 

— Layoffs are part of a bigger revamp at Sony PlayStation unit

 

 

Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:

 

Bungie’s decision to cut an estimated 100 jobs from its staff of about 1,200 followed dire management warnings earlier this month of a sharp drop in the popularity of its flagship video game Destiny 2.

Just two weeks ago, executives at the Sony-owned game developer told employees that revenue was running 45% below projections for the year, according to people who attended the meeting.

Attendees play Bungie’s “Destiny 2” during E3 in Los Angeles. Attendees play the “Destiny 2” video game developed by Bungie Inc. and published by Activision Blizzard Inc. during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. For three days, leading-edge companies, groundbreaking new technologies and never-before-seen products is showcased at E3. — Photographer: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg — Photographer: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg

Chief Executive Officer Pete Parsons pinned the big miss on weak player retention for Destiny 2, which has faced a poor reception since the release of its latest expansion, Lightfall.

 

The next expansion, The Final Shape, was getting good — not great feedback — and management told those present that they planned to push back the release to June 2024 from February, according the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The additional time would give developers a chance to improve the product.

In the meantime, Parsons told staff Bungie would be cutting costs, such as for travel, as well as implementing salary and hiring freezes, the people said. Everyone would have to work together to weather the storm, he said, leaving employees feeling determined to do whatever was needed to get revenue back up.

But on Monday morning the news got worse: Dozens of staffers woke up to mysterious 15-minute meetings that had been placed on their calendars, which they soon learned were part of a mass layoff. Bungie laid off around 8% of its employees, according to documentation reviewed by Bloomberg. Bungie didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Employees who were let go will receive at least three months of severance and three months of Bungie-paid COBRA health insurance, although other benefits, such as expense reimbursements, ended Monday, sending some staff racing to submit their receipts.

Laid-off staffers will also receive prorated bonuses, although those who were on a vesting schedule following Sony Group Corp.’s acquisition of Bungie in January 2022 will lose any shares that weren’t vested as of next month.

The layoffs are part of a larger money-saving initiative at Sony’s PlayStation unit, which has also cut employees at studios such as Naughty Dog, Media Molecule and its San Mateo office.

TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz wrote in a report Monday that “events over the last few days lead us to believe that PlayStation is undergoing a restructuring.”

PlayStation president Jim Ryan announced last month that he plans to resign.

Many of the layoffs at Bungie affected the company’s support departments, such as community management and publishing. Remaining Bungie staff were informed that some of those areas will be outsourced moving forward.

 

 

— Techmeme

Categories
Culture Entertainment News Lifestyle Perspectives Regulations & Security

Ramona Singer not attending BravoCon after using a racial slur in text exchange

Ramona Singer, late of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City,” who will soon be seen on Peacock’s “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy,” will no longer be attending BravoCon as of Tuesday afternoon — after she used a racial slur in a text exchange with a Page Six reporter.

 

The reporter was asking Singer about an allegation made in Vanity Fair’s recent investigative story about Bravo and “The Real Housewives” franchise — an assertion that Singer had used the N-word in front of a “RHONY” crew member, which caused an investigation. In the text exchange with Page Six, screenshotted in the story, Singer denied she’d said the N-word, but then abbreviated it.

 

As a result, according to a source, Singer will no longer be attending this weekend’s BravoCon, the three-day event in Las Vegas that will run from Nov. 3-5. Her name has already been removed from the BravoCon app.

 

In November 2021, Variety also reported that Singer had been investigated for making racist remarks during the filming of Season 13 of “RHONY,” which featured Eboni K. Williams as the show’s first Black cast member. That season turned out to be so toxic and unpleasant, and drew such poor ratings, that Bravo decided to split “The Real Housewives of New York City” into two different shows, one with an entirely new cast that premiered over the summer, and was well received, the other into a “Legacy” series with cast members from the show’s 13 previous seasons.

 

Though known to be a magnet for controversy, and a key player in ruining “RHONY,” Singer was nevertheless selected to be among the “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy” cast, along with Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Kelly Killoren Bensimon and Kristen Taekman.

 

Doing “Legacy” as a shorter “Ultimate Girls Trip” instead of an entire season was a solution born out of difficult financial negotiations with previous “RHONY” cast members — including Jill Zarin, who won’t appear on the series, after having spoken publicly about wanting more money in order to do so. “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy” will premiere in December, though the exact date hasn’t been announced yet.

 

BravoCon hasn’t even begun yet, but the drama is here already.

 

 

— Variety

Categories
Business Digital - AI & Apps Education Lifestyle Technology

Google completes its switch to mobile-first indexing of Search, a process that began in November 2016, and plans to reduce use of its legacy desktop crawler

—  Google said it will turn off the indexing crawler information in the settings page in Search Console.

 

 

Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:

 

Google’s mobile-first indexing initiative that started just about seven years ago is now complete, according to Google. “It’s been a long road, getting from there to here. We’re delighted to announce that the trek to Mobile First Indexing is now complete,” John Mueller from Google wrote on the Google blog.

 

History. As a reminder, Google started mobile-first indexing over 6.5 years ago, and eventually, after publishing deadline after deadline, Google removed the deadline. Google first introduced mobile-first indexing back in November 2016, and by December 2018, half of all sites in Google’s search results were from mobile-first indexing. Mobile-first indexing simply means that Google will crawl your site from the eyes of a mobile browser and use that mobile version for indexing and ranking.

 

Google in early March 2020, before all the lockdowns began across most of the world, announced the deadline for all sites to switch over to mobile-first indexing would be September 2020. At that time, Google said, “To simplify, we’ll be switching to mobile-first indexing for all websites starting September 2020.”  Then in July 2020, Google moved that deadline once again to March 2021.

 

But in May, Google told us that it was done switching sites over to mobile-indexing, so this announcement, that it is “done” now is a bit confusing.

 

What now. Google said there is “a very small set of sites which do not work on mobile devices at all.” Google explained that those “are primarily that the page shows errors to all mobile users, that the mobile version of the site is blocked with robots.txt while the desktop version is allowed for crawling, or that all pages on the mobile site redirect to the homepage.”

 

Google said these types of issues are issues that Google cannot workaround. Google said it will “continue to try to crawl these sites with our legacy desktop Googlebot crawler for the time being, and will re-evaluate the list a few times a year.”

 

Google will also reduce its crawling with legacy desktop Googlebot.

 

Search Console changes. Google also announced that it will be turning off the indexing crawler information in the settings page in Google Search Console. Google is removing this because the “information is no longer needed since all websites that work on mobile devices are now being primarily crawled with our mobile crawler,” Google explained.

 

Why we care. That is all folks – this is one for the history books. Mobile-first indexing is now really done, and Google will soon stop crawling via its legacy desktop crawler completely.

 

 

Read more here:

Google says mobile-first indexing is complete after almost 7 years

 

— Techmeme

Categories
Art & Life Farewell Services

Tyler Christopher, ‘General Hospital’ actor, dies at 50

Tyler Christopher, known for his role as Nikolas Cassadine on “General Hospital,” has died. He was 50.

 

Christopher’s “General Hospital” co-star Maurice Benard announced the news on Instagram Tuesday evening, writing, “Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment.”

 

Benard continued, “Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting. Tyler was a sweet soul and wonderful friend to all of those who knew him.”

 

Benard noted that “Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol.”

 

Christopher portrayed Nikolas Cassadine on the medical soap opera from 1996 to 2016, as well as Connor Bishop from 2004 to 2005. In 2016, he won the Daytime Emmy for his performance as Nikolas, and previously earned four nominations, one of which was a special fan award for irresistible combination that he shared with Natalia Livingston. Christopher also worked on “Days of Our Lives” between 2001 and 2019, scoring a Daytime Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his performance as Stefan DiMera.

 

Christopher was born on Nov. 11, 1972, in Joliet, Ill. He was married to “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004 and former ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo from 2008 to 2021. Christopher and Pedigo share two children: Greysun James Christopher and Boheme Christopher.

 

Along with “General Hospital” and “Days of Our Lives,” Christopher also worked on the ABC Family drama series “The Lying Game” and guested on such series as “The Twilight Zone,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Family Law,” “Charmed,” “Angel” and “The Pretender.” He also starred in several TV disaster movies, including “Ice Storm,” “20.0 Megaquake” and “Super Volcano.”

 

His film credits include “Shouting Secrets,” “Out of the Black,” “Max Winslow and the House of Secrets,” “Murder, Anyone?” and “Beyond the Lights.”

 

 

— Variety

Categories
Business Culture Lifestyle Technology

A look at the hard right tilt of X, which once served as a hub of real-time news and global debate, and how its political shift could intensify business woes

—  The billionaire bought Twitter to revive its business and make it less “woke.”  He has succeeded at only one of those goals.

 

Washington Post:

 

 

One year after billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, aiming to rid it of a “woke mind virus” that he believed was suppressing free speech, the site’s business outlook appears dire.

The number of people actively tweeting has dropped by more than 30 percent, according to previously unreported data obtained by The Washington Post, and the company — which the entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX has renamed X — is hemorrhaging advertisers and revenue, interviews show.

But in at least one respect, Musk has delivered on his original promise: Twitter has become far less “woke.”

Through dramatic product changes, sudden policy shifts and his own outsize presence on the platform, Musk has rapidly re-engineered who has a voice on a service that used to be the hub of real-time news and global debate. A site that fueled social movements such as the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo has veered noticeably rightward under Musk, especially in the United States, say organizers from across the political spectrum.


— Elon Musk at a Paris start-up and innovation fair in June. The number of people actively tweeting on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has fallen sharply, according to previously unreported data obtained by The Washington Post. (Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images)

Those accounts have been on a  shallow upward trend, but then turn more sharply upward on Oct 27, 2022, the day Elon Musk bought Twitter, and  have stayed on a steeper upward trend since then.
A Post analysis of dozens of conservative and right-wing influencers and media figures found that many saw their follower counts rise on the day Musk became owner and continue rising at a rate higher than under Twitter’s previous ownership. None of the dozens of popular liberal and left-wing accounts examined by The Post show the same pattern.

 

Read more here:

A look at the hard right tilt of X, which once served as a hub of real-time news and global debate, and how its political shift could intensify business woes

 

 

 

— Techmeme

Categories
Business Economics Education International & World Lifestyle Regulations & Security Technology

Sources: Byju’s plans to sell Epic, acquired for $500M, to settle debts after defaulting on $1.2B+ in loans, and may also sell Great Learning, bought for $600M

—  Online education company was once India’s most valuable start-up but now plans asset sales to settle debts

 

 

Chloe Cornish / Financial Times:

 

 

An educational technology empire rapidly assembled by Byju’s during a pandemic funding boom is now set to be dismantled, as what was once India’s most valuable start-up looks to asset disposals to settle its pressing debts.

 

Byju’s had used loans and a war chest of more than $2bn, gathered from venture capital during the pandemic, to go on an acquisition spree, aiming to capitalise on the trend towards online learning and become a global edtech powerhouse. But overexpansion and a post-pandemic contraction in its market have left it desperate for cash to pay off creditors. The principal ones hold notes for a $1.2bn dollar-denominated term loan it took out in 2021 and has defaulted on, embroiling it in lawsuits and countersuits across the US.

 

In addition, it has borrowed $250mn this year from investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management, although two people with knowledge of the situation said under $100mn was disbursed before Byju’s defaulted on that loan too.

 

A lawyer familiar with the situation said he expected “Byju’s to drive a lot of M&A in the coming months.” Its efforts to realise cash through disposals are set to begin with Epic, a California-based digital reading platform, which it acquired in 2021 for $500mn. One person familiar with the matter said term sheets had been drawn up for a deal and another said Moelis, the investment bank, was running the sales process. Moelis declined to comment.

 

Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, head of consumer and internet at Singapore-based Aletheia Capital, said “a battle for the spoils” was beginning, as “various parts of the business could be sold to people who are interested in buying an asset at a discount to its fair value.”

 

Those spoils could include Byju’s subsidiary Great Learning, which offers online higher education courses. Through legal action, Byju’s term lenders won the right to appoint financial firm Kroll to oversee the Singapore-based edtech company. Byju’s acquired Great Learning just two years ago for $600mn, but two people familiar with the matter said it was likely Great Learning would ultimately be sold to help settle debts.

 

Byju’s financial problems also extend to the presentation of its accounts. It is roughly one year late in filing them for its financial year that ended in March 2022 and its chief financial officer Ajay Goel is quitting the company at the end of this week. Goel is rejoining Indian conglomerate Vedanta as CFO, after only leaving it in April to join Byju’s. He told investors in June that the audit to March 2022 would be completed by September.

 

The edtech company, which delayed reporting a $560mn loss in its 2020-2021 year, has suffered the resignation of its auditor Deloitte and of three board members representing its backers. One of them, Prosus, has written down its stake to give Byju’s an implied valuation of just $5bn, down from $22bn last year.  Byju’s did not respond to a request for comment.

 

 

 

— Techmeme