Millennial« Generation Wuss »
by Bret Easton Ellis
In his books, he used to shoot at the materialistic excesses of his generation. But today, youth has become Bret Easton Ellis’ favorite target. According to him, young people are just too sensitive, too narcissistic ,too stupid. But ultimately, as he explains in this exclusive text, he kind of feel sorry for them ( and they love it !).
In February I gave an interview to Vice UK to help promote a film I had written and financed called The Canyons—I did the press because there was still the idea, the hope, that if myself or the director Paul Schrader talked about the film it would somehow find an audience interested in it and understand what it was: an experimental, guerilla DIY affair that cost $150,000 dollars to shoot ($90,000 out of our own pockets) and that we filmed over twenty days in L.A. during the summer of 2012 starring controversial Millennials Lindsay Lohan and porn star James Deen. The young journalist from Vice UK asked me about the usual things I was preoccupied with in that moment: my admiration of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street—the best film I saw in 2013 (not great Scorsese, but better than any other American film that year) and we talked about the movie I’m writing for Kanye West, my love of Terrence Malick (though not To The Wonder), a miniseries I was developing about the Manson murders for FOX (but because of another Manson series going into production at NBC the miniseries has now been cancelled), the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast (link), the possibility of a new novel I had begun in January of 2013 and that I lost interest in but hoped to get back to; we talked about my problems with David Foster Wallace, my love of Joan Didion, as well as Empire versus post-Empire (link) and we talked about, of course, The Canyons. But the first question the young journalist asked me wasn’t about the movie—it was about why I was always referring to Millennials as Generation Wuss on my Twitter feed. And I answered her honestly, unprepared for the level of noise my comments caused once the Vice UK piece was posted.
New York scientists unveil ‘invisibility cloak’ to rival Harry Potter’s
By Caurie Putnam
ROCHESTER N.Y. (Reuters) – Watch out Harry Potter, you are not the only wizard with an invisibility cloak.
Scientists at the University of Rochester have discovered a way to hide large objects from sight using inexpensive and readily available lenses, a technology that seems to have sprung from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter fantasy series.
Cloaking is the process by which an object becomes hidden from view, while everything else around the cloaked object appears undisturbed.
“A lot of people have worked on a lot of different aspects of optical cloaking for years,” John Howell, a professor of physics at the upstate New York school, said on Friday.
The so-called Rochester Cloak is not really a tangible cloak at all. Rather the device looks like equipment used by an optometrist. When an object is placed behind the layered lenses it seems to disappear.
The Khorosan Group Does Not Exist
It’s a fictitious name the Obama administration invented to deceive us.
September 27, 2014 4:00 AM
By Andrew C. McCarthy
We’re being had. Again.
For six years, President Obama has endeavored to will the country into accepting two pillars of his alternative national-security reality. First, he claims to have dealt decisively with the terrorist threat, rendering it a disparate series of ragtag jayvees. Second, he asserts that the threat is unrelated to Islam, which is innately peaceful, moderate, and opposed to the wanton “violent extremists” who purport to act in its name.
Now, the president has been compelled to act against a jihad that has neither ended nor been “decimated.” The jihad, in fact, has inevitably intensified under his counterfactual worldview, which holds that empowering Islamic supremacists is the path to security and stability. Yet even as war intensifies in Iraq and Syria — even as jihadists continue advancing, continue killing and capturing hapless opposition forces on the ground despite Obama’s futile air raids — the president won’t let go of the charade.
The Central Business District :Parking well that is just part of the Problem
September 28th 2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A Ridgewood Panel says lack of parking is the source of problems in downtown Ridgewood , but in readers offered many other ideas .
While parking is often mentioned , many felt the issue has been long over played. Readers said store hours , types of stores and restaurants , rents , taxes and Ridgewood’s over bureaucratic non responsive regulatory environment pose significant problems for businesses. It seems Ridgewood has gotten a very anti business reputation.
Readers also questioned the lack of comprehensive planning , spot zoning, ad hoc development, and a lack of efforts by the Chamber to promote new business in town .
Readers though the panel was a bit self serving , and said “What a bunch of self serving greedy people lead by a councilman who is a narcissi . The article shows how much the Ridgewood News is on board with this. These greedy people using words such as “stigma,” “that Ridgewood is asleep.” “that Ridgewood has lost its edge.” “Some similarly jarring points were made” “When you drive into this town, I don’t want to say it the wrong way, but it looks kind of dumpy… -” Thanks.
“Sarceno, a Ridgewood resident, said he wanted to attract anything other than a restaurant into the historic building, but he couldn’t.“It was amazing to see the lack of interest from anyone other than a restaurant,” he said.
Mr. Sarceno did you expect a Gap or a JC Penny to go in there. We all know what you did. You bought that building at a discount and then you go to your friend on the Council and push for a parking garage on Hudson St which would make the bank building more attractive for renters not to mention charging higher rent.”
Most readers would like the down town developed in a sensible fashion , but after years of Valley Hospital looking to ram their expansion down the Village’s throat and the constant barrage of over the top ridiculous claims by developers and politicians the public has grown very suspicious and these actions and they have severely undermined Village leadership .
The fact is no one in Ridgewood wants to live in Hoboken ,other wise they would just move there . Whats needed is an honest assessment as to whats best for the Village and far less self aggrandizing from developers and politicians looking out for the own interests .
Reader says The problem is the inadequate security and accountability provided around the collected money and the unwillingness to FULLY PROSECUTE and FULLY RECOVER the money
If it aint broke – don’t fix it.
As to using the theft as a justification for implementing new meters – it is not the METERS fault that there was theft – it was the criminals fault – and if you “blame” the cash for “causing” the theft – then do you also blame the woman for her clothing or actions for “causing” the rape?
The problem is NOT the coin meters. The problem is the inadequate security and accountability provided around the collected money and the unwillingness to FULLY PROSECUTE and FULLY RECOVER the money.
But lets not address the REAL issue – lets implement new meters so we can waste more taxpayer money and line the pockets of a “friend” vendor and provide another data collection point to track citizens and then allow the coin money (and personal data) to be electronically stolen by overseas thieves.
UPDATE: Sidewalk Café “Encroachments” September 30th 2014 Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood NJ, It is rumored that Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld recently completed her first physical review of all sidewalk cafe layouts (with a tape measure at the ready). Reportedly, several cafes were found to have exceeded the permitted square footage and were advised to make adjustments/modifications accordingly. A copy of the memo/report detailing the Village Manager’s findings was requested via the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). However, a reply to the OPRA request was received indicating that no such written memo/report existed.
One prominent restaurateur revealed to me that as many as five (5) establishments were found by the Village Manager to have been operating sidewalk cafes without the required permits. Further investigation reportedly revealed that all of the establishments had all submitted applications to the Village, some dating back over 18 months ago, but none had received their permits (nor any rejections). No explanation was offered to those establishments as to the cause for such lengthy delays in the Village’s permitting process, nor for the absence of any feedback regarding the status of the applications themselves.
While some elected officials continue to cite the lack of parking as the main issue affecting those trying to establish businesses in the downtown Ridgewood, the inordinately long waits associated with necessary permits, accompanied by the seeming indifference of those responsible (surprise, surprise), may actually be what is keeping new businesses away.
Christians in Middle East face growing threat, top cleric says
SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014, 12:35 AM BY HANNAN ADELY STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
The patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, a cleric who formerly lived in Teaneck, recalled his visit recently to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where thousands of Christians have fled for their lives. A young boy in a crowded church threw up his arms and said to the patriarch: “We have no place. We have no space.”
He meant a real, physical place for Christians like him and his family, who were expelled from ancient Christian towns in Syria and Iraq. But Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II said he also understood his words to mean a place in the culture, religion and life of the Middle East.
“Their existence is threatened,” Aphrem said during an interview last week at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Teaneck, where he served for 18 years until his election as Antiochan patriarch last spring. “This has been their home for 2,000 years, and thousands of years before that they were indigenous to the area. There’s a real threat that they’ll be driven out of the Middle East and there won’t be Christians anymore in the area where Christ was born.”
SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014, 1:21 AM BY MELANIE ANZIDEI STAFF WRITER THE RECORD Print
* The median cost was $425,000 in Bergen and $265,000 in Passaic
Home prices in North Jersey rose in August, as sales across the United States slowed and sales of luxury homes increased, according to data released by RealtyTrac on Thursday.
For New Jersey, the median price for homes sold in August was $285,000, an increase $13,000 from last month.
Bergen County sales in August remained steady with a median price of $425,000, an increase of $1,000 from the same period last year. Passaic County sales also remained unchanged from July at a median price of $265,000. It was a $3,500 drop from last year.
Nationally, residential properties sold at an annual pace of about 4.5 million in August, down a half a percentage point from July and 16 percent from last year. The decline marks the fourth consecutive month where sales decreased on a year-over-year basis.
Despite the slowing pace, the median price of the properties sold in the U.S. rose 3 percent to $195,000 from July and 15 percent from last year. It is the highest price since August 2008.
New Jersey union complaint on pension ‘ethics’ is full of holes
by Dan Primack
September 15, 2014, 2:30 PM EDT
Before the AFL-CIO files another ethics report to embarrass Chris Christie, it should double-check its dates. And the law.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO last week filed an 11-page complaint with the State Ethics Commission, referring to what it called “a disturbing pattern of big contributions to Christie for Governor or Republican organizations by firms handpicked to manage hundreds of millions in state pension funds.” If the union’s goal was to generate headlines that would embarrass a political foe, then the AFL-CIO did its job. If it wanted to make credible allegations of wrongdoing, then it failed miserably.
At issue are New Jersey laws that prevent that state’s public pension system from investing in certain types of funds whose managers have contributed to in-state political candidates or parties during the 24 months prior to receiving the commitment. In other words, ‘pay-to-play’ restrictions designed to prevent pension officials (and their bosses) from giving new business to political patrons.
AFL-CIO believes it has found five examples of such behavior. The problem is that at least three of them involve investment decisions made before Christie entered office. Moreover, the political contributions came years after the pension’s investments were made, and were made by individuals who don’t actually fall under the rule’s purview.
For example, the complaint cites:
Gleacher and Company, which manages such monies even though William Sapoch, who is listed as an investment management professional with the firm, gave $3,800 in December 2012 to Christie for Governor.
According to state investment records, the only state pension monies managed by Gleacher & Co. relate to Gleacher Mezzanine Fund II, a private debt fund that was raised back in 2006. Hard to imagine how a political donation six years later would have impacted that decision (which was made during the Corzine administration). It also is worth noting that William Sapoch appears to have been a financial advisor with Gleacher who never worked on the mezzanine business — a business that actually spun out from Gleacher (and renamed itself Arrowhead Mezzanine) back in 2010.
Here’s another:
JP Morgan, a $3,800 contribution from Robert F. Cummings, listed as the vice chairman for Investment Banking, in January 2013 to Christie for Governor and a $15,000 to the State Republican Party by Greg Onken, who is listed as a managing director and financial advisor.
New Jersey has multiple investments in JP Morgan-related securities but most of it is in publicly-traded equities and bonds that do not fall under the New Jersey statute (because these are passive holdings that do not involve the bank “recommending investment management decisions”). The only exception is a venture capital fund investment called JP Morgan Venture Capital III, which was raised in 2006 and was not managed by either of the aforementioned JP Morgan professionals (Cummings didn’t even join JPMorgan until late 2010, while Onken is a private wealth manager).
The one AFL-CIO example that does hold water is a 2011 investment in a venture capital fund managed by General Catalyst Partners, which had a part-timer who had made a $10,000 contribution to the NJ Republican State Committee just months earlier. That deal has been under investigation since this past May, while Fortune reported earlier today that the New Jersey Division of Investments has sold its interest in the fund. AFL-CIO also mentions State Street, in which New Jersey appears to have briefly invested in via a money market fund. It is unclear when that investment began and ended.
But it gets worse. Here is what AFL-CIO wrote in its press release announcing the complaint:
Many of the state’s relationships with Wall Street firms coincide with generous political contributions, even though state ethics rules require a two-year lag before a donor can be a pension investor. For example, an employee of the Blackstone Group donated $10,000 to the NJ Republican State Committee in 2011, the same year new investment business was being proposed for the firm.
The Blackstone employee being referred to here in Anthony Grillo, who actually left the firm back in 2005 (according to both a press release and contemporaneous media coverage). This example was not included in the actual complaint, but remains in the press release posted on the union’s website.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving Motorcyclist escapes serious injury in Ridgewood crash
September 27,2014
Boyd A. Loving
4:06 PM
Ridgewood NJ, A motorcyclist walked away from a collision with a Honda Odyssey van at the intersection of South Broad and Hudson Streets in Ridgewood on Saturday afternoon, 09/27. His Harley Davidson motorcycle was less fortunate; it was removed from the roadway by a flatbed tow truck. The cycle owner was treated by Ridgewood EMS personnel at the scene for a minor arm injury. Ridgewood PD and FD personnel also responded to the incident. Village patrol officers were observed interviewing at least one eye witness to the crash. No official word was provided at the scene as to the accident’s cause.
Hikers undeterred but locals unnerved by fatal West Milford bear attack
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 6:53 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 6:56 PM BY ALLISON PRIES STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
Hikers were undeterred Friday, but people who live in bear country were unnerved by a fatal black bear attack earlier this week near a West Milford hiking trail.
Darsh Patel, 22, a Rutgers University student from Edison, was found dead by police in the 576-acre Apshawa Preserve after he and four friends ran from a 4-year-old, 300 pound black bear that was trailing them. Patel’s body was found with bite and claw marks on it. Authorities, who searched two hours for Patel, shot and killed a bear that was found near his body acting aggressively.
“They’re normally so docile,” said Suzie Struble, who has lived across from the Northwood Drive entrance to the Apshawa Preserve for five years. “If you live in West Milford you just know – there are bear here.”
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 11:00 AM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 11:00 AM ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Time is running out for the person holding an unclaimed Powerball lottery ticket bought in New Jersey that is worth $1 million.
The ticket for the Oct. 23, 2013 drawing was purchased at Kwik Farms on Shrewsbury Avenue in Tinton Falls.
The winning ticket matched these five numbers: 03, 23, 31, 34 and 47. The Powerball number was 13.
Anyone holding the ticket should sign the back and contact the New Jersey Lottery before midnight on Thursday, Oct. 23. They can also have the ticket validated by any retailer who sells lottery tickets.
Gymnastics: Ridgewood, Holy Angels are closer than they appear
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 12:31 AM BY GREG TARTAGLIA SPORTS EDITOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD — Kerry Callaghan is the new kid on the block who isn’t entirely new — much like her gymnastics team’s most recent opponent.
The Ridgewood High School junior grew up in the village but was not with the Maroons for the past two years. In 2012, the Callaghans moved to suburban Dallas, where Kerry attended Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas.
Her family came back to Ridgewood this summer, and she is now a part of the RHS program for which two of her three older sisters competed.
“It feels good, seeing my old friends again and doing gymnastics with girls I’ve competed with since the third or fourth grade,” Callaghan said.
The Maroons are equally happy about her return. Callaghan’s scores on vault (8.75) and floor (8.4) counted toward their team total versus Holy Angels on Wednesday, and Ridgewood needed every tenth to secure a 102.875-102.225 win in NJGL A Division action.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 4:22 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 5:20 PM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
HO-HO-KUS — Traffic counting cables illegally installed along Powderhorn Road one week ago were finally peeled from the street on Thursday afternoon, but Donna Cioffi warns that they could be returning.
Cioffi had been told by borough officials on Monday to remove the traffic counting cables within 24 hours, or else the town would intervene. However, the strips remained through Thursday, despite the written warning.
But now, “all illegal devices have been removed,” Cioffi reported Friday morning. “However, they may be returning, as per the recommendation of the engineer.”
Cioffi’s engineers, she said, suggested taking additional readings soon, as “they are not sure if the weight of the vehicles was registering correctly.”
Cioffi commissioned the independent traffic study of Powderhorn Road, where she resides, paying an engineering firm she won’t identify $600 to conduct the analysis. The longtime borough resident said she is confident that traffic on the popular commuter cut-through exceeds county estimates of approximately 4,000 vehicles on any given day. Cioffi maintains enforcement by borough police of weight restrictions has been lax along her street, where she’d also like to see traffic volumes reduced.
Cioffi said she plans to share the results with county and borough officials.
