A man is recovering in hospital after being stabbed four times on Queensland's Darling Downs.

The 32-year-old got into an argument with another man in Warwick, southwest of Brisbane, about 5pm on Saturday.

Police found the victim with four stab wounds to his chest and stomach in front of a home on Tooth Street.

He was originally taken to the Warwick Hospital before being transferred to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.

Police said his alleged attacker, a 28-year-old, was known to the man.

The younger man was charged with one count of attempted murder and is expected to appear at the Warwick Magistrates Court on Monday.

Summary: A Queensland man is facing an attempted murder charge after another man was stabbed four times during an argument on the Darling Downs.


For a man who loves trains, how else is there to get around New York other than catching the subway?

That's just what Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy did after visiting the 9/11 memorial and museum during their first stop in the Big Apple on Saturday.

The pair chose to hop on at Fulton Street station with Mr Turnbull remarking on the underground marble walls of the platform.

It was a short ride for the pair of just two stops - skipping Wall Street for Bowling Green station - before joining locals in climbing the stairs to a sunny Battery Park.

"I'm a great fan of subways generally," he later told reporters in the park.

"I've travelled on the New York subway many times."

Mr Turnbull said Fulton Street is one of the oldest stations with lots of iron columns.

He conceded to being much more interested in public transport than many other people.

"But it is the key, you can see actually in this city how important a good metro system is."

Summary: No stranger to public transport, Malcolm Turnbull and his wife have taken a subway ride on a visit to New York.


Islamic State group marriage contracts unearthed by pro-government forces battling the group in Libya reveal that the jihadists offered their brides unusual dowries: machineguns and explosive belts.

Forces allied with the country's unity government discovered the archives as they searched buildings seized during their months-long battle to oust IS from its coastal bastion of Sirte.

The documents belonged to the jihadists' "Judicial and Complaints Department".

Published on pro-government forces' Facebook pages, they include marriage contracts and divorce rulings without any real name or personal information.

In one example from November 31, 2015, Abu Mansour, a Tunisian born in 1977, married a Nigerian called Miriam, in the presence of Sudanese and Malian witnesses.

In contrast to Islamic norms, Abu Mansour did not pay a dowry but vowed to pay compensation in the event of his death or the marriage being dissolved -- in the form of an explosive belt.

Fatima, from Nigeria, was promised a Kalashnikov assault rifle in case of divorce or if her husband, Malian Abu Said, died.

IS jihadists took over Sirte in June 2015 and imposed a reign of terror including executions in public squares.

They patrolled the streets in 4x4s to ensure that men were observing prayer times and women were not venturing out alone.

Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Accord launched an offensive on May 12 to retake the port city that was the home town of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

They cornered the jihadists in a small area in central Sirte but were slowed down by snipers and suicide bombings that have killed some 450 pro-government fighters.


Outgoing US President Barack Obama is keen to head down under when he leaves the White House, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.

Speaking after a meeting with the president on the sidelines of the United Nation's general assembly in New York, Mr Turnbull said the pair discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal, which Australia and New Zealand are signatories to.

"He expressed his optimism it can be passed during the lame duck (period)," he told reporters on Wednesday (local time), referencing the period of time after the US presidential election, but before the new president is sworn in.

They also discussed the worsening conflict in Syria and the global migration crisis.

"On a more personal note, the president who of course is coming to the end of his term, expressed, not for the first time, his enthusiasm of making an early visit to Australia after he ceases to be president of the United States," Mr Turnbull said.

"Naturally I assured him that he would be very, very warmly welcomed."

Summary: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says US President Barack Obama has told him he's keen to visit Australia once he leaves the White House.


A humpback whale calf has helped free its mother from a sandbank off North Stradbroke Island.

Television footage showed the calf desperately nudging its mother in an effort to free her from the sandbar in Moreton Bay's South Passage.

Just after 8am both animals could be seen splashing their tails and at about 8.10am they were able to swim off the bank and head for deeper water.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services had reportedly launched an operation to rescue the whale, and it is believed the pair had also been stranded overnight just off Dunwich, according to the Nine Network.

Summary: A whale and its calf are stranded on a sandbar in Queensland's Moreton Bay.


A 57-year-old man has been hospitalised after he was allegedly stabbed with garden shears while trying to stop a driver from fleeing the scene of a road rage incident in Brisbane’s north.

It is believed a man driving a Kia had aside-swiped a Toyota Hilux at Geebung and then sped off, with the Hilux in pursuit.

The Kia then spun out of control and smashed into a light pole.

The 57-year-old passer-by heard the crash and attempted to restrain the Kia driver to stop him fleeing, but was allegedly stabbed in the back with a pair of garden shears while attempting to make the citizen’s arrest.

He was taken to hospital and is understood to be recovering well.

The Kia driver has been charged with unlawful wounding, while the other driver is still speaking with police.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016


A 16-year-old boy has been charged over a bushfire that destroyed at least one home and damaged other properties in Sydney's west.

The boy's arrest at Penrith Railway Station in the early hours of Saturday followed the arrests on Friday of a 21-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy over the same fire.

They were later released without charge, pending further inquiries.

The fire began in the Llandilo area on Friday afternoon and spread over 300 hectares, destroying at least one home, significantly damaging others and causing evacuations from schools and nursing homes before it was contained.

Stock losses are yet to be calculated.

The 16-year-old boy arrested at Penrith has been charged with intentionally causing a fire and being reckless as to its spread.

He was granted strict conditional bail to appear in a children's court on December 1.

Summary: A 16-year-old boy has been charged with starting a fire that destroyed a home and damaged other properties in western Sydney.


A counter-terrorism expert turned federal MP has warned tinkering with race hate speech laws could have an impact on national security.

Egyptian-born Anne Aly praised former prime minister Tony Abbott for abandoning suggested changes to a contentious section of the Racial Discrimination Act.

But the Labor MP is scathing of Malcolm Turnbull's willingness to play politics with the issue after the prime minister flagged support for a parliamentary review.

"I think this latest backflip is particularly extraordinary when you consider that even Tony Abbott ... recognised the value of not alienating certain sections of the community in the interests of our national security," Dr Aly told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

She said sections 18C and 18D of the Act - which make it an offence to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a group of people based on their race, and provide a defence for fair comment - had served Australians well.

"I think there's a difference between the Act itself and the way the Act is administered," she said.

Liberal backbencher John Alexander, who represents a multicultural electorate in Sydney, says the focus on the matter was not a great use of the government's time.

"If you did a ranking of the top 10 (issues), and I'm used to rankings and top 10s, it wouldn't be in the top 100," the former tennis professional told ABC Radio.

Cabinet on Monday considered the issue, with parliament's human rights committee likely to be given the go-ahead to review the sections amid calls by conservatives within the coalition to water down the laws.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said he understood people held strong views on the issue, but it didn't feature much in his discussions with voters.

"It's something that is rarely brought up with me, but I understand that those who are involved in it are involved in it passionately," he told reporters.

Senior Nationals colleague Matt Canavan acknowledged it wasn't a bread-and-butter matter, but was dismayed by the prospect that someone telling a joke, or penning a cartoon could be hauled before a tribunal.

"It's not the Australia I grew up in," he said.

The first indigenous MP in parliament's lower house Ken Wyatt believes Australia has "moved on" from the level of racism of four decades ago when racial discrimination laws were introduced.

But he doesn't believe section 18C should be scrubbed completely.

"I would hope that we would find the right set of words," he told ABC TV.

Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs admitted there was always ambiguity about the meaning of offending and insulting.

"We're open to seeing what the inquiry might suggest -- whether the language could be clarified and in our view strengthened that enables us to support the multicultural society that we are," she told ABC radio.

Summary: A radicalisation expert turned Labor MP believes there could be national security implications if racial discrimination laws are watered down.


The South Australian government has backed an expansion of uranium mining and other recommendations related to nuclear power in its full response to the nuclear fuel cycle royal commission.

As it seeks to continue community debate on the question of building a high-level nuclear waste dump, the government has backed eight other recommendations in its response presented to state parliament on Tuesday.

That includes support for simplified approvals for mining uranium, backing for more surveys to find new deposits along with a recommendation to develop new commercial opportunities for nuclear medicine.

The government will also collaborate with the development of a national energy policy to enable all technologies, including nuclear power, but won't pursue a change to current provisions within federal Labor which prohibit nuclear power generation.

Premier Jay Weatherill said the royal commission's report was about embracing a high-tech future for South Australia that would generate jobs and prosperity for decades to come.

"The report made a substantial contribution to our state and opened the doors to a wide range of possible nuclear, resource and energy options for all South Australians to consider," Mr Weatherill said.

On Monday, the premier said the government believed the debate over the idea of building a nuclear waste dump should continue and flagged the possibility of putting the question to a statewide referendum.

But he said that would depend on first restoring bipartisan support for such a move, something Opposition Leader Steven Marshall has rejected.

Summary: The South Australian government has backed expanded uranium mining as debate stalls over the future of a high-level nuclear waste dump.


WASHINGTON, May 31 - With a brief, pointed and unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned Arthur Andersen's conviction for shredding Enron accounting documents as that company was collapsing in one of the nation's biggest corporate scandals.

The court held that the trial judge's instructions to the jury failed to require the necessary proof that Andersen knew its actions were wrong.

But the decision represents little more than a Pyrrhic victory for Andersen, which lost its clients after being indicted on obstruction of justice charges and has no chance of returning as a viable enterprise. The accounting firm has shrunk from 28,000 employees in the United States to a skeleton crew of 200, who are attending to the final details of closing down the partnership. [Page C1.] In its ruling, legal experts said, the Supreme Court did not ultimately settle the issue of whether Andersen acted with criminal intent when it allowed many of Enron's accounting papers to be destroyed. But it made clear that prosecutors went too far by pressing District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston to set such a low hurdle for the jury to reach a guilty verdict in the case in 2002.

"Indeed, it is striking how little culpability the instructions required," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said in his opinion for the court, issued just over a month after an argument in which justices across the ideological spectrum expressed great skepticism about the prosecution of Andersen. During the April 27 argument, Justice Antonin Scalia characterized the government's theory of the case as "weird."

The decision, Arthur Andersen v. United States, No. 04-368, was welcomed by both the criminal defense and corporate bars, which had joined together in friend of the court briefs to warn the justices that the government's position could imperil lawyers' efforts to provide a zealous defense for their clients.

The decision was "truly a slap in the face of the government for overreaching," Robin Conrad, a lawyer with the United States Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview.

Tuesday's ruling, despite coming long after Andersen has effectively gone out of business, does provide some sense of vindication for the firm's accountants.

A spokesman for the firm, Patrick Dorton, said, "This decision represents an important step in removing an unjustified cloud over the professionalism and integrity of the people of Arthur Andersen."

Maureen E. Mahoney, who argued Andersen's case, said in an interview that the removal of criminal liability could help the firm in its defense against civil lawsuits and in seeking reimbursement from its insurers.

However those lawsuits end up, the demise of Andersen as a result of the Enron scandal clearly paved the way for broad changes in the accounting world: the creation of regulatory agencies, greater willingness of auditors to stand up to clients and, paradoxically, a lot more business for accountants and lawyers.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, approved by Congress months after Andersen's trial and intended to address a wave of corporate fraud, has led to considerable additional work for accounting and consulting firms, many of them well populated with Andersen alumni.

Technically, the decision sends the case back to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, which upheld the conviction last year, and leaves the Justice Department free to seek a retrial under new jury instructions requiring proof that Andersen officials were "conscious of wrongdoing" when they ordered documents destroyed.

An acting assistant attorney general, John C. Richter, said in a formal statement Tuesday that "we will carefully examine today's decision and determine whether to retry the case."

But a number of defense lawyers suggested that a retrial was unlikely because it would be meaningless in practical terms.

"The government gave the corporation a death sentence and the corporation died," Prof. Ellen Podgor, a white-collar criminal law specialist at Georgia State University School of Law, said in a telephone interview.

Andersen was prosecuted for destroying paper and electronic records of its auditing work for its major client, Enron, as the energy company was imploding in October 2001, shortly before the Securities and Exchange Commission opened a formal investigation. The government based its case on a 1982 law, the Victim and Witness Protection Act, which makes it a crime for one party "knowingly" to "corruptly persuade" another to destroy documents "with intent" to make them unavailable "for use in an official proceeding."

In its defense, Andersen argued that it did nothing wrong, simply instructing employees to follow the firm's own rules for disposing of unnecessary documents.

Jennifer Bayot contributed reporting from New York for this article.

Summary: The ruling will not revive the accounting firm, but other companies now have clearer rules about handling documents.


Sunday, April 25th 2004, 2:03AM

The Other Side of the Story

There is an unfortunate connotation to "chick lit." It suggests easy, breezy and slick. Then there's Marian Keyes, who tells stories about girls with wit and verve. Invariably, her books become international best sellers.

Amusingly, in "The Other Side of the Story," the Irish writer discovers her feminist side. One character, Jojo Harvey, smacks into the glass ceiling at her literary agency and, being a forceful woman, her howls of outrage are heard. Blessed with Jessica Rabbit looks and a let's-make-a-deal demeanor, she's a former New York City cop who provides more than a few bold moments.

She also represents two authors who play leading roles. Lily Wright is a timid type who happens to write a little Âfable that enjoys huge sales. But her second book fails, and she's trembling at the brink of ruin when she learns that Gemma Hogan has a novel coming out. The only aggressive thing Wright ever did was steal and marry Gemma's boyfriend. Lily suspects Hogan is about to exact a very public revenge.

So there are sufficient complications to provoke high drama in satisfying doses, which is well and good. But Keyes' real connection to her readers is her voice. She's funny, sometimes barbed, in the best tradition of savvy girlfriends everywhere.

Summary: MARIAN KEYES The Other Side of the Story By Marian Keyes Morrow, $24.95 CHICK LIT WITH REAL WIT There is an unfortunate connotation to "chick lit."It suggests easy, breezy and slick. Then there's Marian Keyes, who tells stories about girls with wit and verve. Invariably, her books become international best sellers. Amusingly, in "The Other Side of the Story,"the Irish writer discovers her feminist side. One character, Jojo Harvey, smacks into the


Sunday, October 31th 2004, 1:20AM

The movies' most beloved ogre is back. The top DVD of the week - it comes out Friday, rather than the usual Tuesday - is "Shrek 2" (DreamWorks, 92 mins., PG, $29.99).

The computer-animated blockbuster (it grossed nearly half a billion dollars domestically) marks a few technological advances over the 2001 original. At least that's what many of those involved say in the disk's behind-the-scenes featurettes. It's true that Prince Charming's hair moves with lifelike bounce, and clothing wrinkles realistically as characters dance.

We see and hear from Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and the other voice actors as they record their parts. Antonio Banderas gets his own featurette focusing on his sly little Puss in Boots, a Zorro-ish new character who is hired by Shrek's disapproving new father-in-law (John Cleese) to eliminate the big green guy.

The best of the many DVD extras is "Far Far Away Idol," a funny "American Idol" spoof in which you choose a winner among the singing contestants. Puss/Banderas sings "These Boots Were Made for Walking."

While it proved a nonstarter at the summer box office, the big-budget remake of "Around the World in 80 Days" gets a second chance on DVD Tuesday (Disney, 120 mins., PG, $29.99); the lavish, leisurely comic adventure deserves not to be overlooked.

Steve Coogan stars as Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg, 19th-century efficiency expert and inventor, who bets the fusty old gents at his London science club that he can circle the globe in 80 days. He's aided by a newly hired valet with a secret agenda (Jackie Chan), while a pretty young painter (CÃ©cile De France) who wants to see the world comes along for the ride. (There's also a cringe-inducing unbilled cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince who's effeminate one moment and wolfish the next.)

Chan's character is not only trying to beat the clock but is on the run from the police, having swiped an ancient Chinese jade Buddha. The figurine has magic powers, which is why a female Chinese warrior has sent henchmen to chase down Chan and get it - which provides the opportunity for the martial-arts star to do his thing. (A nearly identical plot propels Chan's 2003 movie "The Medallion.") The DVD has deleted scenes, an alternate opening, a featurette on the stunts and cast and filmmaker commentary.

Stanley Kubrick's black-comedy masterpiece returns Tuesday when Columbia TriStar issues "Dr. Strangelove: 40th Anniversary Special Edition" (95 mins., PG, $34.95). This third DVD release of the Cold War satire is the biggest. The two disks contain all the extras from the 2001 DVD, plus some new material, including thoughts from 1960s Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. (The movie is also good preparation for the upcoming HBO Peter Sellers biopic starring Geoffrey Rush as Sellers and Stanley Tucci as Kubrick.)

Among the least prolific of the great directors, the fastidious Kubrick (1928-99) made only 13 features. All of them, save his debut, "Fear and Desire," are on DVD. MGM has the early noir thrillers "Killer's Kiss" and "The Killing" as well as Kubrick's first classic, the injustice-of-it-all World War I drama "Paths of Glory." The Roman spectacle "Spartacus" is available in a superb Criterion double DVD containing suggestive scenes cut before the movie's 1960 release.

The rest are available from Warner: the taboo-toppling "Lolita," the groundbreaking "2001: A Space Odyssey," the ultraviolent "A Clockwork Orange," the lavish 18th-century epic "Barry Lyndon," the superÂscary Stephen King adaptation "The Shining," the Vietnam shocker "Full Metal Jacket" and the erotic thriller "Eyes Wide Shut." All are eyeopeners.

A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Warner, 95 mins., R, $27.95) This three-way romantic drama, which spans the late '60s to the early '80s, made headlines when bits of a Colin Farrell nude scene were trimmed before release in July. They remain unseen on the DVD; the disk does have a making-of featurette.

FESTIVAL EXPRESS (New Line, 90 mins., R, $24.98) Nearly an hour of bonus performance footage is included on the DVD of this musical documentary about a 1970 rock tour featuring the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the Band and others.

ALI G INDAHOUSE (Universal, 88 mins., R, $27.98) Sacha Baron Cohen stars as his HBO alter ego, the Arab-British wanna-be rapper Ali G, in a lark about an attempt to overthrow the Prime Minister (Michael Gambon). The DVD has commentary by Ali plus deleted scenes and outtakes.

ULTIMATE PARTY COLLECTÂION: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH/ DAZED AND CONFUSED (Universal, 90/103 mins., both R, $27.98) A pair of teen Âfavorites returns in a low-priced Âpackage. The disks appear to be Âidentical, extras-wise, to earlier releases: "Fast Times" (1982) has commentary by director Amy Heckerling and writer Cameron Crowe, plus interviews with Sean Penn and others. "Dazed" (1993) has deleted scenes and commentary by director Richard Linklater.

PHILADELPHIA: ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Columbia TriStar, 125 mins., PG-13, $24.96) As 11th-anniversary DVDs go, this is a good one. Director Jonathan Demme and writer Ron Nyswaner provide commentary on the drama about an AIDS patient (Oscar-winner Tom Hanks) suing his law firm for discrimination. The two-disk set also has a behind-the-scenes look, deleted scenes and the music video for Bruce Springsteen's Oscar-winning title song, among other bonuses.

CALIFORNIA SPLIT (Columbia TriStar, 105 mins., R, $24.96) Robert Altman's 1974 gambling comedy makes its debut on disk with commentary by Altman, writer Joseph Walsh and the two stars, George Segal and Elliott Gould.

ANIMAL FARM (Home Vision, 72 mins., not rated, $24.95) Now here's an anniversary: the 50th for Joy Batchelor and John Halas' famed animated adaptation of George Orwell's powerful allegory. The disk has expert commentary and lots of background material.

Summary: SHREK THIS OUT! The kvetching, chunky green guy and his gang are back on disk BY GERRY PUTZER The movies' most beloved ogre is back. The top DVD of the week - it comes out Friday, rather than the usual Tuesday - is "Shrek 2"(DreamWorks, 92 mins., PG, $29.99). The computer-animated blockbuster (it grossed nearly half a billion dollars domestically) marks a few technological advances over the 2001 original. At least that's what many of


For the first time since Tiger Woods wrapped his car around a fire hydrant in the early morning hours after Thanksgiving 2009, he and his wife Elin Nordegren have been photographed together.

The New York Post ran a photo on its front page Tuesday of the two on the grounds of what they say is his Isleworth, Fla. home.

The paper said a witness reported that the two did not seem to be talking much during their short walk through some greenery, though Nordegren was wearing a bandana emblazoned with a Nike swoosh.

SLIDESHOW: All of the Women Linked to Tiger Woods.

Nike is one of the few sponsors to stick with Woods through his infidelity scandal, which had him linked with as many as 14 women.

Woods delivered a 13-minute statement on February 19 expressing his regrets for his behavior. Nordegren was not present at the televised mea culpa.

SLIDESHOW: Elin Nordegren: From Bikini Model to Billionaire's Wife.

Woods has reportedly been eyeing a comeback to golf in the coming weeks, perhaps at the Masters tournament in April.

He has also hired former press secretary to President George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer, to help manage his return to the sport that made him one of the most recognized people in the world.

Summary: Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren Shot in First Photo Together


Thoughts while quarterbacking from the old hammock ...

-- At least the 49ers and Raiders each have one explosive game-breaker, someone you can count on for clutch offensive heroics: David Akers and Sebastian Janikowski.

-- Raiders tight end Brandon Myers sustained a concussion on a helmet-to-chin hit from Steelers safety Ryan Mundy. Dennis Allen's report on Myers: "No headaches." In the old days, the coach would "diagnose" his player with a rung bell and clear the player for immediate return. I suspect Myers will flunk his tests this week and be shut down for a game or two. After Sunday's game, Myers clearly was suffering. The new way is way better.

-- If the NFL fines or suspends Mundy for concussing two Raiders on hits that weren't penalized, won't the league be acknowledging that its fake zebras are blowing big calls? Meanwhile, the league is telling us the temp refs are doing a swell job. Fifteen-yard penalty for conflict of interest.

-- The old icing-the-kicker trick works in the NFL about as often as the old hidden-ball trick works in MLB. On Sunday, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin tried to ice Jets kicker Nick Folk. His kick was blocked, but he got a re-kick, the game-winner. "Typically, we're going to ice the kicker," Philbin said, and that's excellent strategy ... in Pop Warner.

-- Down, Larry! Steelers linebacker Larry Foote yelled to the refs as they ducked into their locker room after Sunday's game, "You should go kill yourselves!"

-- Bill Belichick and Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan: raving fools.

-- We all can use some comedy relief, so check out Belichick's postgame news conference on Deadspin.com. It's edited down to Belichick, while listening to media questions, making weird snuffling, snorting and clicking noises.

-- So the Raiders are out of the woods with their zone blocking? Well, the zone sprung Darren McFadden for that 64-yard TD. The rest of the day, McFadden rushed 17 times for 49 yards and caught two passes for 2 yards. That's 19 touches for 51 yards, 2.7 yards per play.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler

Summary: -- At least the 49ers and Raiders each have one explosive game-breaker, someone you can count on for clutch offensive heroics:  -- If the NFL fines or suspends Mundy for concussing two Raiders on hits that weren't penalized, won't the league be acknowledging that its fake zebras are blowing big calls?  On Sunday, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin tried to ice Jets kicker Nick Folk.  Steelers linebacker Larry Foote yelled to the refs as they ducked into their locker room after Sunday's game, "You should go kill yourselves!"  -- Bill Belichick and Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan: raving fools.


Jack Smith, a sportswriter known for his ability to turn a phrase and raise a glass, died Saturday at his home in Seattle of complications from a fall. Mr. Smith, who worked for The Chronicle in the 1970s, was 70.

Mr. Smith, a Bay Area native, covered a variety of sports for The Chronicle, but his most prominent assignments were the Raiders and the 49ers. When Mr. Smith was covering the Raiders, he became friends with then-head coach John Madden.

"He was a great writer and a great guy," Madden said Monday on his KCBS radio show. "You hear about Damon Runyon characters -- he lived his life that way. ... And he never tried to hurt anyone. He got the story but wasn't out to rip people."

After Madden rose to stardom as a television announcer, he regularly inquired about Mr. Smith when he encountered the writer's former Chronicle colleagues.

Mr. Smith graduated from Hayward High School and attended San Jose State University, claiming he left one unit short of a degree. He spent three years in the Army, including a stint as a train commander in Germany. "We didn't always know where we were going, but we got there on time," he often said.

After his discharge, he worked at several newspapers including the Contra Costa Times, the Hayward Daily Review, the Honolulu Advertiser, The Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His longest tenure was at the Seattle paper, where he worked from 1980 to 1991. He lived in the Northwest after his retirement.

His working days were often tumultuous, especially before he gave up alcohol in 1979.

"He was the best employee I ever had," former Daily Review Sports Editor Sid Hoos once said. "He was talented, loyal -- coaches and players would just swear by him. Except for his occasional flights ..."

And those flights were often memorable. Besides Madden, Mr, Smith often socialized with sports luminaries including the late National League president Chub Feeney, ex-Warriors president Scotty Stirling, former Cal and NFL quarterback Joe Kapp, former Detroit Lions coach Darryl Rogers and dozens of writers, both local and national.

"He was one of a kind," said longtime San Francisco bartender Michael McCourt. "We brought up the sun together more than once."

He also would take drunken telephone trips. McCourt recalls one night when Smith had picked up an early edition of The Chronicle that included a story of dissidents being executed by the King of Morocco.

"Jack got on the phone and somehow got through to the palace over there, " recalled McCourt. "He said, "This is Jack Smith of The Chronicle, and you tell that son of a bitch to knock it off."

Perhaps coincidentally, the executions stopped that day.

During his time in San Francisco, Mr. Smith lived in a variety of bizarre residences including his automobile and some sparsely furnished apartments.

"He lived down the hall from me in a flophouse on Green Street for a while," McCourt recalled. "One night, he knocked on the door and wanted to borrow a light bulb. I didn't have one. Later I looked in and saw Jack with the bed against the open door of the refrigerator, reading by that light."

Mr. Smith lost several of his jobs because of his escapades and landed others because of his talent. He was fired in Hawaii because he covered what he thought was an unworthy surfing event from a bar rather than attending it.

But he found a home in Seattle, where he was sober the entire time. He was honored as Washington State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association in 1987.

Chronicle Sports Editor Glenn Schwarz, a former baseball writer, marveled at Smith's ability to compose stories on a tight deadline.

"He would pick up the phone when a game ended and dictate a more literate story than the guys who had time to type theirs," Schwarz said.

Mr. Smith is survived by a sister, Maryanne Dixon of Eugene, Ore.

Summary: Mr. Smith, a Bay Area native, covered a variety of sports for The Chronicle, but his most prominent assignments were the Raiders and the 49ers.  When Mr. Smith was covering the Raiders, he became friends with then-head coach John Madden.  After Madden rose to stardom as a television announcer, he regularly inquired about Mr. Smith when he encountered the writer's former Chronicle colleagues.  Mr. Smith graduated from Hayward High School and attended San Jose State University, claiming he left one unit short of a degree.  [...] those flights were often memorable.  Besides Madden, Mr, Smith often socialized with sports luminaries including the late National League president Chub Feeney, ex-Warriors president Scotty Stirling, former Cal and NFL quarterback Joe Kapp, former Detroit Lions coach Darryl Rogers and dozens of writers, both local and national.  Chronicle Sports Editor Glenn Schwarz, a former baseball writer, marveled at Smith's ability to compose stories on a tight deadline.


WELLFLEET – There’s something about the riddle of history that lends itself to epigrammatic expression, from Santayana (“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’’) to Joyce (“History . . . is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake’’) to Faulkner (“The past is never dead. It’s not even past’’).

One-liners, weighty and not, add texture to Harbor Stage Company’s “The Billingsgate Project,’’ a new play by Brenda Withers that amounts to a quirky meditation on the mysteries of history, the distortions of collective memory, and the problematic nature of theater.

“We spend the present — don’t we? — thinking and talking about the past,’’ muses John, one of four amateur historians who are doing just that as they research an unusual episode — the disappearance of Billingsgate Island — and put together a re-creation of the event, designed to be presented as an evening’s entertainment.

The island, which used to sit at the mouth of Wellfleet Harbor, was home to numerous fishing and farming families. But after decades of erosion, the last of the island sank into the sea more than 70 years ago. Well before that, the families had left the island, transporting their houses on rafts to the mainland.

Withers has taken chronological liberties with regard to the island’s last days, but “The Billingsgate Project’’ is rooted in a strong sense of place; indeed, it was created in tandem with the 250th anniversary of the founding of Wellfleet.

A nautical rope is stretched across the stage, which is painted an oceanic shade of aqua (the set design is by Withers and Victor Johnson). As “The Billingsgate Project’’ begins, we hear the sound of the waves and the wind as a lighthouse keeper, played by Robert Kropf, stands vigil.

Then the play shifts to the present, and, in a Pirandellian touch that establishes a link between history and theater, Jean, played by Stacy Fischer, confides to the audience that “I’ve said this before. These words, in this order. Mostly. I’ve stood in this spot, I’ve moved this way . . . this has been staged, prepared, rehearsed . . . again and again and again, until it was ready to be presented. And represented. To you.’’

An actress-playwright who is one of the six founding members of Harbor Stage Company, Withers has a hypnotic way with words and an absurdist sensibility, as she demonstrated with the Damon-Affleck spoof “Matt & Ben’’ (co-written with Mindy Kaling) and “The Ding Dongs (or What is the Penalty in Portugal?).”

Her characters tend to go off on unexpected tangents, and dread is often lapping around the edges. Without warning, whimsical conversations can suddenly take a deep dive to a dark place.

Withers sometimes lets “The Billingsgate Project’’ tip over into obscurantism, but I’m willing to accept some head-scratching moments if it means a chance to see this original mind at work and to hear this arrestingly idiosyncratic voice. (Withers describes “The Billingsgate Project’’ as an ensemble effort; while she wrote the text and conceived the staging, the other three actors helped to shape its order and tone, according to the playwright.)

The play shifts back and forth in time from the present day to the earliest years of the 20th century, when Kropf’s lighthouse keeper watches and ruminates as his neighbors prepare to depart Billingsgate Island for the mainland. “My friends fear they are here too long; I fear their fear, the impending exodus,’’ he says. He later adds: “I hold true to my calling even as they abandon theirs.’’

A similarly all-consuming notion of duty seems to propel John, the tightly wound leader of the history project, also portrayed by Kropf. Withers, her hair in a ponytail and her face framed by eyeglasses, plays Rebecca, who remains starchy and self-possessed right up to the point that she launches into a macabre tale about a witch. Fischer’s cheerily garrulous Jean is light years away temperamentally from Fischer’s brooding Masha in Harbor Stage’s recent production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull.’’ Jonathan Fielding portrays the contemplative Haley.

As they try to turn the tale of Billingsgate Island into an evening of entertainment, there are power struggles and debates over authenticity. They wrangle over what to include and what to leave out, how faithful they need to be to the text of the lighthouse keeper’s journal, and how to cope with an ominously unstoppable leak whose rushing water prompts anxious thoughts about parallels with the story they’re telling.

As time goes by, an awareness steadily dawns on them, and us, that everything they’re saying and doing can be entered into that tricky category called history.

Summary: WELLFLEET – There’s something about the riddle of history that lends itself to epigrammatic expression, from Santayana (“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’’) to Joyce (“History … is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake’’) to Faulkner (“The past is never dead. It’s not even past’’).      One-liners, weighty and not, add texture to Harbor Stage Company’s “The Billingsgate Project,’’ a new play by Brenda Withers that amounts to a quirky meditation on the mysteries of history, the distortions of collective memory, and the problematic nature of theater.     “We spend the present – don’t we? – thinking and talking about the past,’’ muses John, one of four amateur historians who are doing just that as they research the disappearance of Billingsgate Island.


'I think they were excited by the way I was directing them' … Emily Andersen

I was shooting in Sussex for a fashion designer, Richard Ostell, and this was the last setup of the day. We had already taken pictures in lots of different locations: at an old gas works, near a river, by the sea. But my parents lived locally, and I realised that it would make the whole thing more interesting to dress them up in the clothes; it's unusual to see people of their age in fashion shoots.

They enjoyed taking part. I've photographed my family and friends for years, so they are used to it, and my dad is a natural actor. There was no awkwardness; once I start taking pictures, the people become part of the scene.

I wanted the models to be in the picture as well, so I got the woman to hang a sheet out of the window, and the man to shout up to her. In a split second, a shoot can go from being very ordinary to something less so, and I think they were excited by the way I was directing them.

As a viewer, you're not sure where to look or what is going on. There are all sorts of references; it's a frame within a frame. My father is looking straight at you and is framed by a door – but you've got these other people who are framed, too. It is almost animated: you keep expecting something to pop out of another window.

This was the first of many photographs of people in pairs. I am intrigued by the relationships between sisters, twins, friends, fathers and daughters, or couples. What I've learned over the years is to direct in a subtle way, to see how people respond naturally.

My mother said afterwards she had been interested to see how I concentrate when I work. She kept the dress, but the suit wasn't really something my dad would go for. They still send postcards of this picture to friends.

Studied: West Sussex College of Art and Design; Royal College of Art.

High point: When the National Portrait Gallery began to collect my photographs.

Low point: Photographing Peter Gabriel at a concert for NME. He jumped into the crowd and landed on top of me; my kit went flying.

Summary: 'I dressed my parents up, and put models in the windows. My mother kept the dress; the suit wasn't really dad's style'


As a 49ers fan and a physician, Dr. Bob Baravarian watched wide receiver Michael Crabtree through a different prism than most of the faithful did Sunday.

In his sixth game back from a torn Achilles tendon, Crabtree had season highs with eight catches and 125 yards in the 49ers' 23-20 wild-card win at Green Bay. The performance suggested Crabtree was close to his pre-injury form just 228 days removed from surgery.

Baravarian's assessment: "I think it's amazing."

Baravarian, a foot and ankle surgeon, isn't stunned by the medical side of Crabtree's recovery but by the wideout's mental toughness. Medical advances in the past decade have made it common for professional athletes to return from Achilles tears in about six months, which Crabtree did when he made his 2013 debut Dec. 1.

However, it often takes several more months for elite athletes to regain a pre-injury performance level, partly because of mental hurdles. It takes time, for example, to trust that a recently shredded Achilles is stable enough to withstand sudden changes of direction at high speed.

On Sunday, Baravarian marveled as Crabtree had the second most receiving yards of his 69-game career and matched his fifth-highest reception total. To his eyes, Crabtree is already playing fearlessly.

"These guys, a lot of times, are healed, but mentally they have to be at an elite level," said Baravarian, who works at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. "And Crabtree, it's astounding that he's at that elite level. It's a real testament to his willpower and his mental prowess. To go up and catch a ball, knowing that you're going to get hit and you're going to come down on one leg that had a torn Achilles less than eight months ago? These guys are off the charts."

On Sunday, the Panthers will get their first look at Crabtree this season when the 49ers visit Carolina in a divisional playoff game. Crabtree was sidelined when the Panthers won 10-9 on Nov. 10, and the 49ers had a season-low 151 yards.

Crabtree's recent performance has fueled optimism that the 49ers are in the midst of a run to their second straight Super Bowl. After averaging 51 yards in his first three games, he's posted two of his eight career 100-yard performances in the past three weeks.

"When he first came back he was a little limited, but as the weeks continue to go by, he's gotten better and better," tight end Vernon Davis said. "And his mind-set - it's all a mind-set - and he's very strong mentally when it comes to playing this game."

Indeed, East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who was Crabtree's position coach at Texas Tech, isn't surprised by his former pupil's recovery. Based on experience, Riley already appreciated Crabtree's toughness. As a redshirt sophomore in 2008, Crabtree played his final six games with a stress fracture in his foot but still won his second straight Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver.

Five years later, when Riley reached out in the days following Crabtree's Achilles surgery, he immediately recognized that Crabtree was unfazed by the arduous road ahead.

"Mike's just so mentally strong - he's just wired differently than a lot of guys," Riley said. "We didn't even talk about (the injury) because for him I don't even think that was a huge concern. It was like, 'Of course I'm going to come back. Of course I'm going to be even better. Why would I even think otherwise?' "

Riley believes Crabtree's unwavering self-belief helps explain his elevated performances in high-stakes games. In college, playing with that stress fracture, he had a season-high 10 catches for 127 yards and caught a 28-yard touchdown with one second left to beat No. 1 Texas, 39-33, on Nov. 1, 2008.

In his past four playoff games, Crabtree has 28 catches, 410 yards, three touchdowns and three 100-yard performances. Last week, on the game-winning drive at Green Bay, he reached back in traffic for a 17-yard catch on 3rd-and-10 with just over four minutes left.

"Even when you're talking about the NFL where there are so any outstanding players, there's a lot of guys out there that don't mind being a little bit involved, but they don't necessarily want it all on their shoulders," Riley said. "Michael's always been a guy that when the stakes were at their highest, when we had to have a play, not only was he not afraid of the moment, he embraced it. He loved that part of it."

On Tuesday, Riley was making tentative plans to see Crabtree on his latest high-pressure stage. He might travel to Charlotte to see Crabtree play in person for the first time since he arrived in the NFL in 2009.

In Southern California, Baravarian will watch from afar, as a fan and a physician, to see if Crabtree can maintain a level he's achieved thanks to modern medicine and mental toughness.

"What's very, very dramatic is the fact that he's back at an elite level at eight months," Baravarian said. "That sometimes can take anywhere from an additional four to six months to get back to the point where you're really kind of kicking butt. And he's doing that."

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

Summary: In his sixth game back from a torn Achilles tendon, Crabtree had season highs with eight catches and 125 yards in the 49ers' 23-20 wild-card win at Green Bay.  Baravarian, a foot and ankle surgeon, isn't stunned by the medical side of Crabtree's recovery but by the wideout's mental toughness.  On Sunday, Baravarian marveled as Crabtree had the second most receiving yards of his 69-game career and matched his fifth-highest reception total.  To go up and catch a ball, knowing that you're going to get hit and you're going to come down on one leg that had a torn Achilles less than eight months ago?  On Sunday, the Panthers will get their first look at Crabtree this season when the 49ers visit Carolina in a divisional playoff game.  [...] East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who was Crabtree's position coach at Texas Tech, isn't surprised by his former pupil's recovery.  In college, playing with that stress fracture, he had a season-high 10 catches for 127 yards and caught a 28-yard touchdown with one second left to beat No. 1 Texas, 39-33, on Nov. 1, 2008.  In his past four playoff games, Crabtree has 28 catches, 410 yards, three touchdowns and three 100-yard performances.


04/26/2014 at 10:45 AM EDT

Clockwise, from top left: Liam and Chris Hemsworth; Dylan and Zac Efron; Dave, James and Tom Franco; Adam and Michael Levine

Invision/AP; Splash News Online; Filmmagic; Getty

Trying to break out of the shadow of a successful sibling is no easy task.

and Dave Franco. Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy. They're just a few brothers conquering Hollywood with their good looks and talent – and firing up heart palpitations among fans.

So we ask: Which of the siblings below deserves the title of Hollywood's Sexiest Brothers? Vote in our poll, and then sound off in the comments section!

The results will appear in next week's issue of PEOPLE.

The Australian brothers, who share buff bodies, great hair and a love for surfing, are part of a tight-knit family. "We have a good relationship. We're all very close and supportive of each other," Chris has told PEOPLE.

Since completing rehab last year, the

actor says Dylan has helped him get through tough times. "More and more I've come to rely on my little brother to keep me grounded,"

said at a press event on Oct. 17.

The artistic clan from Palo Alto, Calif., are all creative. Tom, who is the director of the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley, where people can create or buy art, joined his family to support James's Broadway debut in

When Adam's brother announced he was gay, the

was supportive. "We all really wanted to provide some cushion for him and constantly let him know that it's okay," the

Clockwise, from top left: Val and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Scott and Chris Evans, Gustaf and Alexander Skarsgard and Justin and Sebastian Theroux

There's no rivalry between the

pros. "I'm his biggest fan," Maks has told PEOPLE about his younger brother. "He's more of the creative talent."

star and his brother, a former actor on

, grew up pulling pranks on each other. Scott told Jimmy Fallon that Chris convinced him once to urinate in his pants while they were playing outside.

The two appear to share similar taste in clothing. Justin â who told

that he goes for the "winter from the waist down" look year-round â was in New York City with Sebastian dressed in nearly identical outfits: black leather jacket and black jeans.

The tall brothers from Sweden are a brooding group of fellas. Alexander plays an often-nude vampire on HBO's

, while Bill stars as a creepy, yet sexy creature of the night in the Netflix thriller

. As for Gustaf, he plays a rugged Norse ship-builder on History's

Clockwise, from top left: Shannon and Jared Leto, Nathan, Caleb, Jared and Matthew Followill, Tiki and Ronde Barber and Stephen and Robbie Amell

Getty; Invision / AP; Wireimage; The CW / Landov

actor is best friends with his brother and 30 Seconds to Mars bandmate. At the Academy Awards in March, Leto thanked his older sibling in his acceptance speech. "To my brother Shannon, the best big brother in the world, you're a true artist. Thank you so much for sharing this insane and amazing adventure."

The three brothers, along with their cousin Matthew Followill, 29, formed their chart-topping band Kings of Leon in 1999 and have been making fans swoon ever since with their Southern rock and blues tunes.

The identical twins are both former NFL players and brutally honest with each other. "Ronde knows that I'm not going to tell him something just to make him feel better about himself," Tiki has told the

. "I'll give him honest criticism, just as he'll give it to me."

Okay, so they're not brothers, but these Canadian cousins are the resident hunks on the CW channel. Stephen, who welcomed his first child last October, stars as a comic book hero in

and Robbie, a former model, is the lead actor in the sci-fi series

. And they certainly qualify in the hot department.

Vote for you favorite brothers (or cousins) below!

Summary: Chris and Liam Hemsworth! James and Dave Franco! Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy! Vote for the hottest celebrity siblings


Are you a skeptic? It pays to be one. Drop your guard and you can be out a lot of money.

When you get an offer that sounds fantastic, ask yourself if it could really be that good. Question why you need to pay money upfront. Ask what guarantees you’ll get. Then take a time-out before you commit and do some research. If you aren’t allowed time to check out the offer, run away.

Unfortunately, a lot of trusting people don’t employ skepticism when they get carefully crafted and well-rehearsed sales pitches. I recently received a letter from a couple in Braintree who sat through a presentation that promised wonderful travel opportunities. Sit through the presentation and you’ll be rewarded with a free trip. Pay a fee to the travel club and you get a lifetime of opportunities to stay at properties coast-to-coast.

As thousands of others who have sat through such sales pitches have discovered, the best part is how it sounds. Reality is quite different. They’ll likely find a catch to deny your “free” plane travel or cruise, including a staggering number of blackout dates. If you do get the trip, rest assured it won’t be free.

For one thing, you won’t be handed a plane ticket. Instead you’ll get a voucher to submit to another company. The voucher will be riddled with conditions to collect that ticket. Whether it’s taxes, government fees, or any other charge they come up with, they’re going to try to get money from you.

What will you end up with if you buy in? Less money and a lot of aggravation whenever you try to book a trip through them. They won’t have places to stay where you want to go. If they do, brace for blackout dates and other impediments.

The Braintree couple that wrote to me paid nearly $9,000 and don’t have anything to show for it.

The best defense against these shady outfits is to avoid them altogether. If you happen to have gone down the same path, file a complaint with the attorney general’s office and Federal Trade Commission.

But it’s better to be a skeptic than to try to get back money already spent.


05/16/2014 at 05:45 PM EDT

won a $13 million settlement on Thursday for a 4-year-old boy who suffered brain damage, in his first trial since returning to the practice of law last year.

"I was happy to be back in the courtroom," a beaming Edwards told

as he left the courthouse in Greenville, North Carolina.

"We fought like crazy for this kid. That's what this case was all about," Edwards said of Kaiden Gaymon, whose family claimed the boy was physically injured and suffered brain damage while being treated at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 2009 for a respiratory virus.

The last time Edwards, 60, was in court was for his own trial

he used $1 million from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress videographer Rielle Hunter while running for president in 2008. A jury found him not guilty on one count of violating campaign finance laws and a mistrial was declared on the remaining five charges.

Since then the disgraced former presidential candidate has been laying low, caring for his two younger children, Jack, 13, and Emma Claire, 16, whose mom was

, and spending time with his daughter with Hunter, Quinn, 6.

Last November, Edwards announced he was opening up a law firm with his old partner, David Kirby, and his eldest daughter,

At the time, Cate, 32, a graduate of Harvard Law School, told

of her dad, "It has always been a dream of mine to work with him. I know my dad really well, we've been through a lot together, and I know in his heart he really, truly cares about his clients and he really, truly cares about the practice of law."

Summary: The one-time presidential candidate returned to practicing law last year


07/05/2014 at 03:40 PM EDT

Jewel with son Kase and Ty Murray

They may be "undoing" their marriage, but

and her husband Ty Murray, who

on Wednesday, are working on an amicable divorce.

on Saturday that showed her and Murray celebrating Independence Day with

, Kase, who turns 3 in a few days.

"Happy fourth everyone!" she wrote. "@typbr Kase & I enjoyed the parade here in CO."

the professional bull rider in 2008, wrote in

on Wednesday that she and her "husband, friend and partner of 16 years" had decided to get a divorce.

"For some time we have been engaged in private and difficult, but thoughtful and tender undoing of ourselves," she wrote.

She added that they were determined to work together to raise Kase.

"Our dedication to our son is unwavering and we are both committed to being the best partners in raising our son," Jewel continued. "Due to the spirit in which we have gone about this separation, we trust we can remain dear friends who hold each other in high esteem, which is so important to us as parents – we wish only what is best for our son."

Summary: The singer announced on Wednesday that they were divorcing


Barbara Lynch has her prune-infused gnocchi. Ming Tsai is known for his garlic black pepper lobster. But it might be Mario Batali’s pizza that certifies Boston’s rise to the top tier of the culinary world.

Batali, an internationally acclaimed chef with more than 20 restaurants worldwide, has committed to opening his first Boston restaurant at Fan Pier in the city’s waterfront Innovation District, where he will serve wood-fired pizza and pastas.

The 8,700-square-foot establishment, to be called Babbo Pizzeria, will bring another level of celebrity clout to Boston’s vibrant restaurant scene. It will also add to the cachet of a fast-growing neighborhood that is rapidly emerging as a mecca for not only some of the city’s best- known restaurateurs but for the hordes of diners who covet their food.

“He’s the first crazy-famous household name to come to Boston,” said Jason Santos, executive chef at Blue Inc. and runner-up on season seven of the Fox television reality series “Hell’s Kitchen.” “The bigger the better, and the more the better.”

Lydia Shire, chef and co-owner of Scampo in the Liberty Hotel, said Batali brings “a world-class city jolt” that could provide a boost to others on the waterfront.

While less formal than Batali’s signature restaurant, Babbo Ristorante in New York City, his Fan Pier business will hardly be a checkered-tablecloth pizza shop. It will feature three bars — one each for cocktails, pizza, and antipasti — as well as an expansive patio and private dining space for large parties.

“We’re embracing the openness and brightness of the space but paying careful attention to construct beautiful, distinct, and comfortable zones within the light-filled room,” Batali said in an e-mail to the Globe.

Batali scouted real estate in the city for several years before picking a site on the ground floor of Eleven Fan Pier Boulevard, in one of two office buildings occupied by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Construction is expected to begin within the next few weeks, with an opening planned by the end of the year.

“In terms of business activity and visibility, Boston is a vibrant and very significant market,” Batali said.

His decision to locate in the Innovation District is a major boost to the waterfront neighborhood in general and to Fan Pier specifically. Developed by Joseph F. Fallon, the 23-acre project is one of the largest privately funded construction jobs in the country, attracting an array of companies and restaurants.

But Batali, who runs B&B Hospitality with restaurateur Joe Bastianich, is the biggest retail name to sign on. In addition to a wide range of restaurants around the world, his company operates the popular Eataly food markets in Chicago and New York (He has looked for, but not yet found, a location for Eataly in Boston.) Batali is also a star on cable television’s Food Network and his main Twitter feed has more than 627,000 followers.

An artist’s rendering shows 22 Liberty, an 111-unit luxury condominium building that is being developed next to the planned Batali restaurant at Fan Pier.

Babbo Pizzeria will be adjacent to 22 Liberty, a 111-unit luxury condominium building under construction by Fallon that will feature the first waterfront homes for sale in the Innovation District. Real estate specialists said the addition of a Batali restaurant will help sell those units along with the other residences and commercial spaces planned for Fan Pier and the neighborhood.

“This really gives credibility to the area,” said Michael Tesler, partner at Retail Concepts Inc. a Norwell-based strategy and marketing firm. “The city’s retail and food and culture have always been focused on the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, but now it’s trending in the direction of the Innovation District and Fort Point. That’s great for the city.”

In the last few years, the waterfront has attracted several new restaurants, some of them operated by the city’s most prominent chefs. Lynch was a pioneer in the area when she opened Drink, Sportello, and Menton. Tsai followed her lead with Blue Dragon. Nearby Liberty Wharf has also attracted several new restaurants, including the multilevel Legal Harborside.

Batali, who talks business almost as much as food, said he was attracted to the Innovation District by its transportation connections and the rapid development that has transformed it from a relative backwater to a bustling part of town that in many ways epitomizes Boston’s future.

“The area has already exhibited the critical mass necessary for the restaurant to thrive,” Batali said. “We think there’s a solid foundation there.”

In culinary circles, Boston’s reputation has been on the rise for some time. Multiple James Beard Award winners — including Tsai, Lynch, and Jody Adams of Rialto — have restaurants here and have starred on popular TV shows.

Said Shire, who counts Batali as a friend: “You never have trouble selling out specials here, no matter how wacky. Bostonians appreciate creative, seasonal cooking.”

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Summary: Mario Batali, an internationally acclaimed chef with more than 20 restaurants worldwide, has committed to opening his first Boston restaurant at Fan Pier in the city’s Innovation District, where he will serve wood-fired pizza and pastas along the fast-growing waterfront.


Katy Huberty, Morgan Stanley’s chief Apple AAPL analyst, issued an elaborate report Monday entitled AAPL: How Do You Do Risk Management? that I can’t pretend to understand completely — not even the title.

But two takeaways are clear: (I quote)

Expanding on that second point, she writes:

“According to our equity quality model, AAPL has consistently held a junk bias since 1983 (Exhibit 12). Initiating a dividend is positive for ascending to quality in our model, but it takes time for both earnings and dividends to register as stable (or stably growing). Moreover, the high share base turnover is typically associated with a lower quality equity. Thus, AAPL is likely to continue to exhibit lower quality bias for the near-to-medium term. Indeed, AAPL has not traded like an appreciably higher quality equity since its dividend announcement. In fact, it has traded off in the recent risk-off market more like a low- than a high-quality stock.” (emphasis hers)

Below the fold: Huberty’s Exhibit 12 and a couple of other charts that I could understand.

Summary: A high-quality, fast-growing mega cap company that gets no respect on the Street


Most mornings Clif Bar employee Chris Randall drops his kids off at a bus stop near their home before pedaling off to work. The two-mile bike ride takes 10 minutes of weaving through the streets of Berkeley—a veritable breeze for Randall, who is a long-distance runner. “I like riding my bike from a fitness standpoint, but I also really believe in it as an alternative means of transportation,” the 43-year-old brand manager explains.

The company, which appears on this year’s list of the 25 Best Medium-Size Companies to Work For at No. 12, maintains an employee-friendly philosophy that was in place from the beginning. Twenty-four years ago founder Gary Erickson dreamed up the idea for Clif Bar during a 175-mile bike ride through central California. As he and a friend noshed on bland energy bars, the idea popped into his head. “I could make a better bar than this!” Erickson proposed. What began as a small bakery mushroomed into a private, family-owned business that makes healthy, organic snacks and has become a global brand. Indeed, since expanding beyond its original energy-bar product to other nutritious nibbles and drinks, Clif Bar has reported 20% compound annual growth for the past 10 years.

For Clif Bar management, results are just as important as how its 384 or so employees achieve them—and it puts a particular emphasis on environmental sustainability. In 2001 the company pledged that by 2015 it would have reduced the amount of landfill waste it created every year by 90% with initiatives that reuse, recycle, and compost. The following year Clif Bar introduced new energy-bar cartons that eliminated shrink wrap. (The move saved 90,000 pounds of plastic.) Four years ago Clif Bar opened a new 115,000-square-foot headquarters made from repurposed wood, largely from old barns and railroad tracks. An array of solar panels generates the majority of electricity for its offices and 70% of its heated water.

Great Workplaces Companies with stellar cultures have performed nearly twice as well in the stock market.Graphic Source: Russel Investment Group and Great Places to Work

On top of that, Clif Bar encourages employees to live an eco-friendly life through initiatives like its Cool Car and Cool Home programs: When employees buy a company-approved hybrid, diesel, or electric vehicle, Clif Bar will reimburse them up to $6,500. Bike, walk, or take public transit to work? There’s another $1,500 reimbursed each year. Retrofit that home with solar panels or better-insulated windows? That’s $1,000 back. The company also offers perks that build on one another: Because Randall rides his bike to work most days, he earns virtual points toward services like the onsite chiropractor, whom he can then see free twice a month.

Bikes are a way of life at Clif Bar for Holly Cobbold, left; lunch at Kali’s Kitchen.

Such benefits only hint at the company’s sheer range of health and wellness perks. The onsite cafeteria, Kali’s Kitchen, serves subsidized meals made with local organic ingredients, with complimentary breakfast served every Thursday before the company’s all-hands meeting. An office gym sports a rock-climbing wall, more than 30 free weekly classes—yoga, spinning, and kickboxing, among others—and 2 hours of free personal training a week. “You name it, we’ve either got it or we had it,” says Jennifer Freitas, director of people learning and engagement.

Management’s holistic attitude toward employees extends outside the office too. Every seven years workers become eligible for a six-week paid sabbatical. “Gary realized, ‘If I want to keep employees passionate and engaged, I’ve got to let them go, to make sure they have time to live their lives, have adventures in the world, and come back refreshed,’” offers Freitas. In Randall’s case the 16-year company vet has already taken two sabbaticals. The first time was spent at home with his wife and newborn son. (“We got through those moments of sleep deprivation without having to think, ‘Gosh, I’ve got to go to work teary-eyed, and all of that,’” recalls Randall.) His second paid leave included 17 days in Hawaii and a trip to the East Coast. And even though he has five years to go, Randall is already thinking about the next sabbatical. By then his two sons will be just old enough to car-camp at Yosemite National Park or maybe even backpack through Europe.

Given Clif Bar’s work culture, it’s no wonder that employee turnover remains a low 3% and that competition to land a job is so stiff: Over the past 12 months alone, the company received 7,700 applications from individuals vying for just 114 open positions. For the lucky few who are hired, Randall says working at Clif Bar is a unique experience that’s greater than the sum of its parts. “There are people here I hang with on the weekends,” he says. “We bike ride. We get drinks. I don’t know many other workplaces like that.”

This story is from the October 6, 2014 issue of Fortune.

Summary: Clif Bar, the energy-bar and drink maker, ensures quality of life for employees.


Boardwalk Empire 9 p.m., HBO

This final season has been extraordinarily good so far, as we’ve gotten a glimpse of Nucky’s childhood and why he is the way he is. It’s interesting how show creator Terence Winter saved that perspective until the final episodes, instead of including it throughout the series like “Mad Men.” In this episode, Nucky hosts a potential associate from Boston. Not Whitey, who would have been Baby Whitey at the time. Joe Kennedy.

Under the Dome 10 p.m., ABC

The dome is made out of people! The dome is people! OK, not the case. Yet. This increasingly absurd series ends its second season on Monday, to make way for the fall stuff. Next week in this slot: “Castle.”

Ioan Gruffudd plays a New York City medical examiner who can’t die. When he’s in fatal accidents, which happens ridiculously regularly, he always comes back, and he comes back naked and in water. On the plus side: Finally, an immortal who does not suck blood. On the negative side: Everything else about this procedural is tired.

This new single-camera-com has a lot going for it. Anthony Anderson’s a wealthy black ad executive worried that his kids are forgetting their black heritage, particularly when son Andre goes by “Andy” at school and insists on having a bar mitzvah. How do we balance individuality and cultural identity? This one is from Larry Wilmore, the guy who’s succeeding Stephen Colbert with “The Minority Report” in January. Pictured: Anderson.

Garfunkel and Oates 10 p.m., IFC

I’m smitten with this odd little comedy about the adventures of a female folk-comedy duo named after a pair of second bananas. It’s not as insane or bawdy as “Broad City,” and it’s not as boho as “Flight of the Conchords.” It’s sweet but razor sharp, with Kate Micucci from “Raising Hope” as Oates and Riki Lindhome as Garfunkel.

Shark Tank 8 p.m., ABC

This reality show can be a lot of fun, as the inventors try to impress the sharks. Season 6 is here with a two-hour episode, including proposals involving a baby-swaddler, a nail salon just for men, and an improved version of the athletic sock.

Saturday Night Live 11:30 p.m., NBC

The show is back for season 40, with host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande. Let’s see if the cast becomes more distinctive this season, with newcomers Pete Davidson and Michael Che (who’ll be anchoring the news with Colin Jost) and without Noel Wells, Brooks Whelan, John Milhiser, Mike O’Brien, and Nasim Pedrad.

Summary: This final season of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” has been extraordinarily good so far, as we’ve gotten a glimpse of Nucky’s childhood and why he is the way he is.


Hreinn Fridfinnsson Serpentine Gallery, London W2, until 2 September

Jamie Shovlin: A Dream Deferred Haunch of Venison, London, until 18 August

Art can take you anywhere - any time, any place. The art of Hreinn Fridfinnsson takes you back to Iceland in 1971, to a coast so dark on a winter's day you can scarcely tell the sky from the land. It was here that Fridfinnsson decided to build several white gates, gates that only the south wind could open. But just as he was finishing, the north wind blew so hard the gates were shut forever. The artist told nobody and never returned to that place.

The secret gates, the lost future, the north wind's fury - it has the resonance of a children's story. And whether you entirely believe it (what kind of gates could only be opened by a wind?) the narrative has the power of myth. In fact there is documentary proof of Fridfinnsson's claims: 14 photographs showing these lonely gates in the wilderness. You may want to go and see for yourself, find out whether they're still there. But what this installation of words and images offers is a vision in the mind's eye, the dream of a true experience.

Hreinn Fridfinnsson is Iceland's foremost artist, whatever such hyperbole means on these shores. Other than the half-Icelandic Olafur Eliasson, who made the sun set over the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, and the wonderfully humorous Steingrimur Eyfjord, who represented Iceland at Venice this year, having 'consulted' an elf to help him find a magical sheep, not many of his compatriots have had exhibitions here.

Fridfinnsson is a poet among artists. He doesn't just draw and paint, photograph and sculpt, he writes about his passion for wind, light and sea, for hearsay and strange superstitions - the jinxed rock that nobody can remove from the centre of Reykjavik, the place where cliffs will fall if three grey cows are taken to water at once. Many words are painted on the Serpentine walls, some of them dark little haikus, others spacey lines conjuring faraway places. Fridfinnsson's typewriter features like a constant friend in his photos.

But he is an inveterate conceptualist, born in 1943, and prominent from the late Sixties. Marcel Duchamp is mentioned in more than one title. As you might expect, his work can take almost any form: raindrops turning to crystal, doors that evoke remembered rooms, a silvery pencil rubbing of Cezanne's Mont St Victoire. This is an art that gives odd substance to old ideas and emotions.

The emotions are generally and unashamedly romantic. Can you catch a rainbow in your hands? You can: it glows through the artist's palms in the photographic record of his charming experiment. How to commemorate the experience of reading? With gilded bookshelves that cast a brilliant light above - and a long shadow beneath. An immense Cibachrome print of a far horizon vanishing into the last rays of evening sun is succinctly, and sweetly, called Elsewhere.

There are no yearning onlookers as there would be in Caspar David Friedrich; Fridfinnsson is above such obvious theatre. Indeed his work goes so far in the opposite direction - works so discreetly placed you wouldn't notice them at all were it not for wall-mounted captions - as to demand scarcely anything of the viewer.

Is there much to be made, for instance, of Element of Doubt, where you read that there is a work hereabouts, and then hunt around until you spot a small rectangle of white wood jutting obliquely above a window. What is this? Who knows, except that this object - this element - throws a faint shadow that darkens as the day goes by: impalpable, but insidious as creeping doubt.

This is the kind of art that could, and probably does, irritate those with more robust tastes. But slightness need not imply lack of strength. A single shoe on the floor next to a mirror that naturally makes a pair of itself may not seem much more than a jeu d'esprit at first. But when you stumble across its doppelganger, its eerie replica, in another part of the gallery the effect is peculiarly unnerving; there is deja vu, of course, which is something mirrors know all about, but also the sensation of moving through a looking-glass world.

Fridfinnsson's sensibility is so delicate that the results can sometimes be winsome. I'm thinking of the glass vessels reflected in mirrors that play beautifully with air and light and hints of water but can't help embodying good taste too. But what raises his work above many contemporaries is the clarity of its insights.

Fridfinnsson has a poet's instinct for the memories that haunt our minds - places once seen, never to be revisited; wind in the ears and brine in the eyes; friendships unaccountably mislaid. He hits upon the simplest of means to evoke them, and the slighter the piece, it seems, the greater the scale of emotion.

Jamie Shovlin should have won Beck's Futures 2006 for his terrific archive of invented memorabilia for a German post-punk band that never existed. Now he is reaching back to America in the Sixties, reinventing those bitter-sweet years of revolution.

Hotel California has gone dark. Woodstock is turning to mud as the blood is washed away after the Manson murders. Black athletes are receiving their Olympic medals shoeless to protest against poverty. And Shovlin's English parents are buying Neil Young, Chicago, Hall and Oates and - in both respects - America.

Shovlin was born in 1978, and it's hard to tell how much he mourns this lost future. His show is a kind of total artwork: many interconnected exhibits, which together achieve critical mass. You pick up piquant links en route. An America LP cover done in kitschy airbrush which resembles 19th-century American painting hangs near an obit of the Yippies' Abbie Hoffman, who named his son America. And later committed suicide.

Time is compressed, cultures spliced together. A Bob Seger cover is reprised as a Kenneth Noland target painting, graphics for a Chicago LP are redrawn in the manner of Robert Rauschenberg. Visually, Shovlin invokes Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, Robert Gober. Ambitious, penetrating and fastidiously realised, 'A Dream Deferred' has the air of protracted obsession. Shovlin is trapped both in and outside the American history that fascinates him, too young and yet prematurely old. As Hoffman is quoted as saying, 'Nostalgia is a sign of age.'

Summary: Art: Less is so much more in the graceful art of Hreinn Fridfinnsson, while Jamie Shovlin can't stop collecting Sixties America, writes Laura Cumming.


Despite car and truck sales that motored past 16 million for the first time since 2007, recalls dominated the news for most of the year. General Motors GM held center stage, dealing with cascading revelations about faulty ignition switches and recalling millions of vehicles. While GM opted for something approaching full disclosure of its missteps , publishing an report into company-wide fumbles, Japanese airbag maker Tanaka chose to stonewall. It left any remedies up to its beleaguered customers, notably Honda and Toyota. They are the ones who deal with the fallout of exploding safety devices that fatally fired shrapnel throughout the passenger compartment.

On the sales front, General Motors and Ford F lost market share to Chrysler, which leveraged its Jeep brand to previously unimagined heights – and then, metaphorically left its heritage behind when it established legal domicile in the Netherlands and changed its name to FCA US LLC.

Among the year’s biggest surprises was the plunge in gasoline pries. Economists differed on the economic impact—money in the pockets of consumers offset by declines in exploration and drilling activity—but everyone agreed that it was bearish for small cars and hybrids. The combination of cheap gas and a steep sticker price made the Cadillac ELR the runaway winner of the most disliked car of the year award. Only 155 of the Volt-based $80,000 cars found buyers in November.

So what does 2015 portend? Here are some educated guesses.

Auto sales: Car sales reach 17 million but manufacturers scramble to adjust capacity as trucks and SUVs soar in popularity. Pressure to hold down corporate fuel averages drives margins on small cars far below break-even.

Detroit Three: The other two Michigan-based manufacturers still face bumps. General Motors copes with continued fallout from its ignition switch recall while Ford fights through the most aggressive launch period in the company’s history.

Japanese Three: Honda treads water while it waits for bold new designs from its Americanized management team to reach market, particularly the Acura NSX super car, which has been on the auto show circuit now for several years. Focused now on his legacy, CEO Carlos Ghosn drives executives even harder to meet targets in his latest three-year plan while he grooms a successor. As for Toyota, Automotive News declares that it is firing on “all cylinders” before its move from Southern California with fresh products in key segments.

German Three: Mercedes-Benz begins to sag as new lower-priced Benz’s inevitably erode its once invincible “the best or nothing” status. At BMW, imminent arrival of a new 7-series cements its status as the preferred brand of Scarsdale, Shaker Heights, and Santa Monica. A new A3, starting at $30, 795, should nicely lift Audi’s sales beyond 2014’s 15% climb, and a new Q7 SUV should nicely lift profits.

Chinese manufacturers: Coming to the U.S.? Warren Buffett’s BYD says it is arriving in 2015 and Geely in 2016 but we’ve been hearing that someone was coming since at 2006. The refinement of Chinese cars is the issue. With more than 80 local automakers producing 524 different models in China, R&D money is spread too thinly to produce meaningful results.

Tesla: In an effort to blunt criticism about slow refueling times for battery-powered cars, Tesla TSLA starts to roll out of a network of battery-swap stations. CEO Elon Musk must hope he can outdo Shai Agassi’s Better Place, which tried to build a whole company around battery-swaps before going bankrupt in 2013.

Headquarter shifts: With Toyota leaving for Texas and Mercedes headed toward North Carolina or Georgia from New Jersey, look for Subaru to chart its own path when it builds its new headquarters. One option: Moving closer to its customers by relocating in Vermont.

CEOs: Newbies Mary Barra at GM and Mark Fields at Ford start playing close attention to the moves made by FCA’s Sergio Marchionne. Despite running his growing empire on two continents, Marchionne tacked on a U.S market share gain of 1.2 points, unhindered by one of the weakest product lineups in the business and troubles with his much heralded eight-speed transmission.

Awards: Despite early wins for VW’s Golf GTI, the Detroit-centric jurors of the North American Car and Truck award 2015 prizes to Ford’s Mustang as well as Ford’s F-150 pickup truck.

Truck wars: Awards aside, Ford’s aluminum pickup is hard to build and slow to sell, leaving an opening for Ram’s fast-rising 1500 while Nissan tries to forget the failure of its first full-size truck when it launches the second-generation Titan with the biggest of big rig styling. The industry’s biggest secret is revealed by veteran executive John Krafcik in Automotive News: In the over $50,000 category, pickups and SUVs distributed through non-premium dealers outsell German luxury brands.

Brands with the most to make up for in 2015: Volkswagen, whose stale product line depressed sales by 11%, thereby delaying Ferdinand Piech’s plans for global supremacy, and Volvo, down 17%, which has yet to make any progress under its Chinese owner.

Brands with the most incentive to coast in 2015: Jeep, which must be exhausted after lifting sales an astonishing 44% on the back of the new Cherokee, and Subaru, now the 10th most popular brand in America after improving its sales by 21% in its usual fashion: quietly.

Alternative fuels: For the first time since diesel-powered cars from Europe started arriving here in the 1950s, old first-person accounts about the joys of driving a diesel fall off to near zero. They are replaced by new first-person accounts about the joys of driving cars with ridiculously high horsepower like the 580-hp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Dodge’s Challenger SRT Hellfire with 707 hp. Elsewhere: fuel-cell cars with their longer cruising range move center-stage, stealing the limelight from battery-powered cars.

Technology: Cadillac will introduce high-resolution video streaming in the rearview mirror, which improves the field of vision by about four times greater than a traditional mirror by removing obstructions like pillars and passengers. Just the thing for aging Cadillac drivers with stiff necks. Coming next: a “beep, beep, beep” signal like that used by garbage trucks whenever the car is driven in reverse.

Autonomous cars: Researchers are working on devices that will automatically park your car in a parking lot without you being in, or near, the car. It will also slip a note under the wipers of the car next to it with your phone number and insurance carrier in case of any scratches.

Dealers: Car dealers work toward reducing the paperwork involved in buying a car and the hours it takes to fill it out. That will give them more time to devote to upselling add-ons such as extended warranties, paint and fabric protection, and rust-proofing.

Classic cars: Prices plummet as an enormous supply of post-war classics, hidden away on an off-shore island, becomes available for the first time in 50 years. Collectors are especially eager to find Packards, Studebakers, Hudsons, Nashes, Kaisers, and Henry J’s. More’s the surprise because all of the cars are in running condition and are used as daily drivers.

Summary: The automotive year that has just concluded was a surprisingly spikey one on several fronts—and robust sales couldn’t hide the pain.


Just have to share…this New York Times story about the top official of the Russian Orthodox Church who proposes to dictate the way women dress in public places.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin’s beef is scantily-clad women and too-casually-dressed men as well. But he reserves his choicest words for women who dress provocatively because this leads to “short-term marriages, which are immediately followed by ratlike divorces, to the destruction of children’s lives, to solitude and madness, to life-catastrophe.”

Yet another reason I am glad that I live in the U.S.

Summary: by Patricia Sellers Just have to share...this New York Times story about the top official of the Russian Orthodox Church who proposes to dictate the way women dress in public places. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin's beef is scantily-clad women and too-casually-dressed men as well. But he reserves his choicest words for women who dress provocatively because…


Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox held preliminary takeover talks with Discovery Communications with a view to creating a $100 billion entertainment giant, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.

Fox, which like other broadcasters is battling a shift to on-demand TV, denied there had been any talks with Discovery, which owns Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

“No truth, not even any sort of talks”, said John Connolly, a spokesman for the company in Australia. “There is no truth in the rumours.”

The AFR reported senior executives from both companies met about two weeks ago to discuss a potential takeover bid, citing unnamed sources close to the situation.

The discussions were “nascent”, and there was no guarantee that a formal offer would be made or that discussions have continued, it said.

Discovery declined to comment on the report.

Summary: Discovery owns Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.


A salesman for some unspecified product has a confrontation with his boss and quits. Vowing to start a rival company, he asks if anyone wants to join him. Getting little response, he carries a sad box containing the contents of his desk to the parking lot. Now where have we seen this before? Was it “Jerry Maguire?” Or an episode of “The Office?” Both. Except it was funnier then.

Almost all mainstream movies steal from other movies, but the better ones get away with it because they possess some distinctive identity. The best that Ken Scott’s “Unfinished Business” can come up with is Vince Vaughn — as the straight man. The ads and trailers would lead one to believe that this is the kooky Vince Vaughn of “The Wedding Crashers” or “Old School,” off to some wacky adventures à la “The Hangover.” But no, he’s worry-wart Dan Trunkman, the disgruntled employee of the opening scene, who has to make his new company succeed.

And he doesn’t have much to work with, just a couple of corporate castoffs. Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson, who didn’t make it to the sequel of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and instead ended up in this) is a 67-year-old victim of ageism who thinks that life owes him a little fun. The other is Mike Pancake (the name is a comic goldmine). He’s a not very bright but indefatigably cheerful kid whom Dave Franco plays like his brother James’s character in “Pineapple Express,” except dumber and creepier. One old, one slow — send them to a wild city like Berlin and the script writes itself.

That’s where Dan and his team must get a deal done with a big international corporation, and their rival is none other than the company that Dan quit, represented by his hated old boss, Chuck Portnoy. Played by Sienna Miller, Chuck is the kind of beautiful blonde who would be a natural on Fox News; not only is she ruthless but she tells dirty jokes and makes derisive comments about the male anatomy. If Dan was played by the George Clooney in “Up in the Air,” he and Chuck would be sleeping together by now.

Instead, he’s sleeping in a youth hostel in a room that is described as “a public work of art” — one of the few inspired gags in the movie. But there’s a lot more going on in town — a marathon, the Oktoberfest, a gay parade, coeds on ecstasy dancing topless, and an older woman who shamelessly flaunts her nudity in a “shpritz.” The possibilities for obvious humor are endless.

Not that it matters, but the product that Dan is desperately trying to deal is “swarf,” the metal dross left over when things like bridges and ocean liners are built. “Unfinished Business” is the cinematic equivalent.

- The real-life inspiration for ‘Wild Tales’

Summary: “Unfinished Business” review: Vince Vaughan faces a challenge getting laughs as an uptight small business owner trying to get a contract signed in Berlin.


Lewis Hamilton sprays a podium hostess with champagne after winning the Chinese Grand Prix. (AAP)

The young woman who had champagne sprayed in her face by Chinese Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton has played down the incident.

Liu Siying, 22, was pictured recoiling as the Formula One world champion aimed a stream of champagne at her.

Hamilton was accused of sexist bullying by critics around the world as well as on Chinese social media.

"It lasted for only one or two seconds, and I didn’t think too much about it," Ms Liu told the Shanghai Daily.

"I think some foreign media are more sensitive about the topic than local media. I was just told by my employer to stand on the podium, and that’' what I did."

Ms Liu is a graduate of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art wand works for a real estate company.

Hamilton said he was relieved to hear Ms Liu's comments.

"I hadn't really heard too much about it until today," he said, according to The Guardian.

"You should see it was a kind of a fun thing. I would never ever intend to disrespect or try to embarrass someone like that."

Do you have any news photos or videos?


This post is in partnership with Time. The article below was originally published at Time.com.

One of the great business stories of the last 10 years is how Lenovo LNVGY , a Chinese company, was able to take IBM’s PC unit and integrate it into its own, becoming a global technology powerhouse in the process. The story is one of the greatest case studies on how to merge massive international enterprises into a winning firm.

As part of my consulting gig for IBM back in 1984, I was asked to be part of the company’s first laptop research program. The IBM PC had been on the market for three years by then, and many of IBM’s customers were clamoring for a more portable version of that PC. During a two-year period I often traveled between Austin, where the laptop was being designed, and Boca Raton, IBM’s PC headquarters, to work with the teams as they tested various models. Eventually, they came up with what was IBM’s first clamshell-style PC that found success on the marketplace.

Over the next five years, IBM’s laptop designs took advantage of newer screens, processors and battery chemistry. Their laptop morphed into what has become the very popular ThinkPad brand. For most of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, IBM had a strong PC business; the ThinkPad was the anchor of their portable line. But by 2004, IBM’s business had changed, and it was looking to get out of the PC hardware business. So on May 1, 2005, IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo — and over the last 10 years, Lenovo has become the #1 PC player in the world.

Since I was close to IBM and had been on their mobile advisory board at the time, myself and about eight other analysts were invited to go to Beijing to meet with Lenovo’s management team, speak with its executives and hear its vision for what had been IBM’s PC products. At first, I was highly pessimistic about the success of this venture. Here was a Chinese company that was going to take over IBM’s famous PC business and try and make itself into a strong global brand. At the very least, I figured the culture clash would be a major issue. Plus, almost all of the IBM employees being sent to Lenovo in the deal were Big Blue lifers, and I suspected the top talent would choose to stick with the company they knew.

It turns out that Lenovo was able to coax most of IBM’s top PC execs to join the new venture. They helped assure IBM’s corporate customers as well as any consumers who bought their products that everything would be business as usual, and that Lenovo would honor all past warranties and service their needs well into the future. An initial hiccup came when some in the U.S. government were reluctant to give a Chinese company access to government data or contracts, but within a year the deal began to smooth out.

Lenovo’s success has to be credited to the hard work of the Chinese and American teams. The merging of these two business cultures alone is quite a feat.

One thing I didn’t expect is that the Chinese leadership took a hands-off approach to the U.S.-run PC company, fully trusting their leadership to keep the business moving forward. That was one of the assurances us analysts got during our trip to Beijing, but I wasn’t sure that would hold true. But Lenovo’s Chinese management put a great deal of trust in Steve Ward, the architect of the deal from IBM’s side.

I recently spoke with Peter Hortensius, who is Lenovo’s Chief Technology Officer and a Senior Vice President who joined Lenovo as part of the executive team that came from IBM. He told me that Lenovo’s dedicated focus on delivering innovative products and being willing to branch out in new areas is key to its growth. Last year, Lenovo bought Motorola and IBM’s server business, adding new breadth to its product offerings. Although relatively new to the smartphone wars, over the last five years they have become the #3 smartphone vendor in China and #4 globally. They are also the #1 PC vendor in the world, with an extremely strong position in China in both business and consumer PC’s. According to Hortensius, “Lenovo is committed to creating great hardware based products, plus a rich ecosystem that will be a driving force for their future.” He pointed out that software plays a major role too, and that Lenovo plans to continue to innovate in hardware and software to help differentiate itself from the competition.

I’ve had a front-row seat for Lenovo’s evolution, letting me see up close how it used the integration of the IBM PC business to become one of the major tech companies in the world. They consistently get high customer ratings, and now with Motorola and the new server business, it seems poised to grow exponentially. When I asked Hortensius what the company would look like in another 10 years, he said Lenovo, under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing, the company will grow in all of the categories they compete in now, and did not rule out the idea that over time the company could broaden its product portfolio still further. From my experience, Lenovo is an extremely focused company that is highly disciplined, with a powerful leadership team that seems to all be on the same page. Ten years ago, none of us could foresee how Lenovo acquiring the IBM PC business would turn out. Now we know.

Summary: Lenovo is the world's top PC maker 10 years after buying IBM's PC unit.