Published November 03, 2011 | FoxNews.com

If at first you don't succeed?

Lindsay Lohan was given a week to complete a nude photo shoot for Playboy magazine before heading off to jail to serve her 30 day sentence for violating her probation.

It turns out the extra days of shooting are necessary because Playboy was dissatisfied with the pictures that have already been shot, and wants to start from scratch, RadarOnline.com reported.

“Lindsay was told that the Playboy executives wanted to go another direction with her shoot so they asked her to come back for a second time,” a source told RadarOnline.com.

Lohan will reportedly pocket close to $1 million for baring all in the magazine.

The magazine is planning to feature the troubled star in their January issue. If she had not been able to complete the shoot, she would have been in breach of contract.

Lindsay Lohan was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in county jail after admitting that she violated her probation by not keeping up with court-mandated community service.

Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced the actress for violating the terms of her release by being terminated from a community service assignment at a women's shelter.

If Lohan completes a series of additional court-ordered community service and psychotherapy, she can avoid serving an additional 270 days in jail. If she fails to comply with the new court orders, she will have to serve the remainder of her sentence.

The judge told Lohan she must report back to court in December, January, February and March for updates.

Lohan will also get a new probation officer. Sautner has ordered the new officer to report any violations directly to the court.

It will be Lohan's fifth jail sentence since being arrested twice for drunken driving in 2007. The 25-year-old last served 35 days on house arrest on a four month jail sentence.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. © 2011 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. All market data delayed 20 minutes.

Summary: Playboy is set to reshoot Lindsay Lohan pictures, report says.


Faced with ferocious competition in the smartphone market it once dominated, consumer electronics titan Apple Inc. fired back yesterday, unveiling an upgraded iPhone with a sophisticated new speech-control system.

But it wasn’t an iPhone 5, the next generation device that fans expected to see. Initial reaction to the new phone was lukewarm, and Apple shares lost up to 5 percent of their value before recovering by day’s end.

The iPhone 4S will go on sale Oct 14, and will be offered by AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel Corp. It will be the first time Sprint has offered an iPhone model.

Priced between $199 and $399 with a two-year service contract, the iPhone 4S looks almost identical to the company’s current flagship phone, the iPhone 4. But inside, it’s been upgraded to include the same dual-core processor found in Apple’s iPad 2 tablet computer, and a dual-core image processing chip that should deliver much sharper graphics. Also on board is an upgraded camera capable of shooting higher-resolution videos.

Perhaps the most technically impressive new feature is Siri, a “personal assistant’’ program that responds to spoken requests. Already, many iPhone rivals offer some measure of speech control, but Siri appears to carry the technology to a new level. Users can ask it the kinds of questions they might ask a human being, and get a meaningful answer.

For instance, a user could ask if he should wear a raincoat to work. Siri would respond by displaying that day’s weather report. Or a user could ask how many euros equal 20 US dollars, and Siri would calculate the correct answer.

“While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together,’’ said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, in a release.

Yesterday’s debut of the iPhone 4S occurred under very different circumstances from those of earlier Apple products. In the past, such events have been held at a huge San Francisco convention hall and hosted by Steve Jobs, Apple’s legendary cofounder. But in August, Jobs resigned as Apple chief executive due to ill health. His successor, Tim Cook, held the iPhone 4S event in a large conference room at Apple’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

The relatively low-key unveiling nevertheless attracted the attention of technology buffs worldwide. Interest in the announcement was so intense that for a time yesterday afternoon, Apple’s website was overloaded and could not be accessed.

Still, some Apple watchers regarded the new phone as something of a letdown. In the months before its release, many had predicted an iPhone 5, a total re-design with a bigger screen or compatibility with the faster “4G’’ data services offered by Verizon Wireless.

In the end, Apple delivered a phone that’s faster, and armed with upgraded software, but not radically different from the current iPhone 4.

“This new iPhone 4S announcement was a real yawner,’’ said independent technology analyst Jeff Kagan. “I just don’t think you’re going to find people lined up the night before, like you usually do’’ when a new Apple phone goes on sale at retail stores.

“Apple begins its voyage from great to good,’’ read a critical posting on Twitter from George Colony, chief executive of the Cambridge technology research firm Forrester Research .

But Forrester analyst Charles Golvin was more charitable. “From an overall product strategy standpoint,’’ said Golvin, “I think what Apple’s done makes a lot of sense.’’

Along with the iPhone 4S, AT&T and Verizon Wireless will continue to sell the current iPhone 4 at a reduced price of $99 with a two-year contract. In addition, AT&T will offer the entry-level iPhone 3GS phone for free with a two-year contract.

Golvin said that cheaper iPhones will help Apple compete against phones running Google Inc.’s popular Android operating system. Apple is the single biggest seller of smartphones, but Android is the leading smartphone operating system because many companies make Android phones, often selling them for less than the iPhone.

Golvin predicted that cheaper iPhones would win over consumers who’d otherwise purchase Androids. “It’s not going to slam the brakes on Android’s growth,’’ he said. “It’s going to be more of a damper.’’

Apple stock closed down $2.10, or 0.56 percent, at $372.50 on the Nasdaq.

Summary: Initial reaction to the new iPhone 4S was lukewarm, and Apple shares lost up to 5 percent of their value before recovering by day’s end.


President Obama recently offered up his plan for cutting the federal budget deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. A big chunk of those proposed savings--$480 billion, or more than 10%--is supposed to come from federal health care programs.

Unfortunately, the president plans to achieve those savings through heavy-handed rationing. Americans will lose control of their health care as government officials dictate which treatments will be available--and which cost too much money.

The centerpiece of Obama's deficit-reduction plan is the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Comprising 15 appointed experts, IPAB is charged with ensuring that Medicare spending doesn't exceed its annual target growth rate. In order to do so, the panel will have the authority to reduce reimbursement rates for Medicare providers--including both physicians and drug companies.

The White House says that IPAB "will help keep Medicare cost growth per enrollee affordable." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office appears to feel differently; it has stated that "the IPAB mechanism will not affect Medicare spending during the 2011-2021 period."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of IPAB's cost-cutting potential.

IPAB could also reduce seniors' access to doctors. If the board cuts Medicare reimbursement rates, some doctors will refuse to take new patients--or even cease seeing existing ones. As a result, seniors may find themselves waiting much longer for an appointment-- and receiving lower-quality care.

Further, if IPAB were to slash reimbursements to providers in Medicare's prescription drug benefit, then patients would likely have fewer drug options. Drug benefit plans may institute restrictive formularies or reduce coverage for new treatments, so seniors could get stuck with yesterday's medical technology.

It's no wonder that many members of Congress are gunning to scrap IPAB. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., has introduced a bill--with bipartisan support--that would junk the board.

The president hopes to trim federal spending on prescription drugs in other ways, too. In his deficit-reduction proposal, he's called on Medicare to "leverage [its] purchasing power" to secure better prices for drugs delivered through the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

Summary: Obama's attempt to fix the deficit will wreak havoc on health care.


We’ve just received confirmation that the third installment of Harmonix’s wildly popular Rock Band franchise will include a new keytar controller — sure to put a spring in the step of ’80s new wave fans everywhere — as well as a new Fender Mustang guitar controller with 17 frets and a 6-string strumming area.

In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games have partnered with Fender on a Squier Stratocaster controller for the game that also functions as an actual guitar. That’s right — if you pick up this particular axe, it can get you through those blistering Rock Band 3 guitar solos as well as double as a real instrument. Now gamers will have a legitimate retort to the curiously omnipresent, “Why don’t you just learn to play a real guitar?!” call-outs.

But wait, there’s more — Rock Band 3 will also feature a new Pro Mode that focuses on teaching players actual musical skills. Featuring four levels of difficulty from Easy to Expert, Pro Drums supports three expansion cymbals, Pro Keys features two-octave range pitch-accurate keyboard performances, and Pro Guitar includes notated guitar and bass parts playable on either the Fender Mustang or Squier Stratocaster controllers.

Beyond that, the game has reportedly been re-imagined and redesigned from the ground up. The title is “a clean slate design of Rock Band. Nothing was sacred… We decided to build the ultimate music game,” the developers told Joystiq — who also have a full hands-on preview of the game. They’ve also fixed the often-times annoying setup process of previous Rock Band titles, where invariably one of the players would start air noodling and totally disturb everyone else’s session settings for character and difficulty.

Check out the trailer for Rock Band 3 below and let us know what you think. We’ll be heading to E3 next week to take our turn on the virtual stage, so stay tuned for gripping footage of Mashable editors’ mad musical skillz (or lack thereof). More screenshots, shots of the new controllers and the initial song list follow the trailer below.

Summary: News on the third installment of Harmonix’s wildly popular Rock Band franchise are starting to roll in.


Dolores Hart – the actress who caused girls across the world to turn green with envy when she made her film debut kissing Elvis Presley in 1957’s "Loving You” – will join the ranks of the A-list at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, only this time her dress of choice will be a habit.

Hart, or more appropriately Sister Dolores, turned her back on Tinseltown when she was 24 to become a Roman Catholic nun. Her unique story became the subject of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary “God is Bigger Than Elvis,” slated to premiere on April 5.

And although times have changed, Hart is somewhat familiar with Oscar proceedings, having attended as a presenter in 1959. The striking blonde – who was often compared to Grace Kelly – went on to share the silver screen with everyone from Stephen Boyd and Montgomery Clift, to George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, but found herself falling for an even more famous figure.

“I think it is fantastic she will be there on Sunday,” the film’s director Rebecca Cammisa told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “(Sister Dolores) still has a lot of charm and charisma, she definitely did not lose that when she went into the monastery.”

As a filmmaker, Cammisa was curious to learn not only why Hart walked away from such a stellar career, but also what she has been doing all these years, and what has kept her serving as a Benedictine nun.

“I hope the film will break the stereotype of who nuns are and what they do,” she continued. “Sister Dolores will be at the Oscars showing who she is now, and if people are curious and have questions, I’m sure she’ll clarify things for them.”

Don’t be surprised if the lady covered up in religious dress gets Brangelina-like attention as she roams the red carpet, as blogs and social network sites are already lighting up with comments and curiosities over the golden era actress’ appearance.

“It should be no surprise that a nun will appear on the red carpet at the Oscar awards. The influence of nuns is everywhere. The Sisters of Saint Francis have been active in corporate board rooms urging corporations to behave responsibly,” entertainment lawyer and a Lady of the Holy Sepulcher, Margaret Cone, said. “Throughout the world and in many of the most dangerous and unstable conditions, sisters are running orphanages, schools and hospitals. She will easily compete with the other stars in her veil and chic black.”

And Cammisa has her prayers out that not only will they walk away from Sunday’s ceremony with a golden statue in hand, but that Hart will get to return to the Oscar podium just like she did all these decades ago.

“If we do win, we will bring Sister Dolores to the stage,” she added. “We would love to have that opportunity.”

And if they win, will Hart do a Tebow? Stay tuned...

Danielle Jones-Wesley contributed to this report.

Summary: Actress who kissed Elvis, then became a nun, walking red carpet at Academy Awards


Pregnant Jessica Simpson said she will not marry her fiance, Eric Johnson, until after the birth of her child as she does not want to become "a hormonal Bridezilla."

The singer-turned-fashion designer told "Entertainment Tonight" that she has no plans to get married before her baby is born.

"We didn't even have a [wedding] date nailed down," she said. "I'm going to wait until everything is over so I don't end up being a hormonal Bridezilla."

Simpson confirmed she was pregnant in October, ending weeks of speculation over her growing baby bump.

"It's true! I am going to be a mummy!" she tweeted to fans, posting a photo of herself dressed in a white mummy Halloween costume with her hands framing her stomach.

When asked what finally caused her to announce her pregnancy, she told the TV show, "The stomach spoke for itself."

Simpson, 31, announced her engagement to former NFL player Johnson last November. She was previously married to 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey.

Summary: Pregnant Jessica Simpson said she will not marry her fiance, Eric Johnson, until after the birth of her child as she does not want to become a hormonal Bridezilla.


“I was still at Bryanston (the coeducational boarding school in Dorset). I wasn’t even 17.”

Her youthful relationship with Mr Goldsmith, the youngest son of the billionaire financier Sir James Goldsmith, was “a real love story”, she said.

But the pair grew apart and went through periods of separation.

It was against this backdrop that she met Electronica, a New Orleans rapper who was sleeping rough before his music career took off.

“We connected,” she said. “It was that simple. We talked and talked, and although we come from hugely different backgrounds, we found we had an enormous amount in common.”

Mrs Goldsmith, who inherited an £18 million fortune after the suicide of her banker father, Amschel Rothschild, spoke fondly of her estranged husband, despite their recent public spat.

Two months ago the couple traded insults and accusations on Twitter, with Mr Goldsmith remarking it was a “bit late” for his wife to “fix her reputation”.

But Mrs Goldsmith now calls him a “wonderful man and an amazing father” who will always be “such an important part” of her life.

Both of them lost their fathers at 14 and loved the idea of having a home and family together, she said.

After marrying in 2003 and having three children, Mrs Goldsmith found herself living a “very grown-up life”, despite being only 25.

“I needed more,” she said.

She found her calling in the music industry and her new career led her to Electronica, of whom she has said: “He saved my life in many ways and I am eternally grateful to him.”

Electronica, five years her senior, said: “She’s like my mom. She pushes me.”

The fact that her world is so different to his is what makes her “so valuable” to him, he added.

Summary: Kate Goldsmith's "connection" with rapper Jay Electronica was not the reason   why her marriage to husband Ben ended, she has insisted.


Flying into Logan International Airport can be an unnerving experience, coming in low over the water before touching down seconds later on the runway — similar to the approach that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 made at San Francisco International Airport Saturday before it crashed, killing two people and injuring more than 180.

The Asiana pilots came in too slowly and tried to abort the landing, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The plane hit the sea wall, snapping off its tail section and skidding to a halt before catching fire.

The accident evokes memories of similar crashes at Logan, including the worst in Boston’s history.

In July 1973, a Delta Air Lines plane hit the sea wall while landing at Logan in heavy fog and burst into flames. All 89 people aboard the flight from Burlington, Vt., were killed, including a 20-year-old Air Force sergeant who survived for four months before succumbing to complications from massive burns.

In 1982, a World Airways flight from Newark skidded off an icy runway into the harbor, apparently throwing two men into the water; their bodies were never found. It was the most recent serious plane crash at Logan.

The airport has made hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of airfield improvements since those accidents, including removing the 2½-foot concrete sea wall and adding an extension into Boston Harbor that can stop planes that overshoot the runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration has mandated many safeguards over the years, and in some cases Logan has been among the first in the country to test them.

Safety measures adopted early in Boston include lights at intersecting runways that tell pilots on the ground if they are about to cross an active runway; radar that shows air traffic controllers the height of ships in the harbor; a radar-based system that detects foreign objects on the runway; and a tracking system that shows snowplows and other ground traffic to air traffic controllers, pilots, and others during periods of low visibility.

The FAA now requires runways to have a 1,000-foot safety area for aborted takeoffs or missed landings, like the World Airways crash.

Logan does not have room to fully extend its runways, however, and instead installed beds of gravel that slope down into the water or crushed concrete, both of which act as braking mechanisms.

A $63 million project completed last month added a 300-foot-wide concrete pier at the end of Runway 33L that extends 470 feet into the harbor, with a bed of crushed concrete designed to stop a plane as big as a Boeing 747-400 traveling at more than 80 miles per hour.

These crushed concrete beds have stopped aircraft eight times since 1999 at airports around the country, according to the FAA.

In Boston, the vast majority of takeoffs and landings occur over the water, in part to keep planes from violating noise restrictions over South Boston. Many planes take off over the water and then make a hard left turn to avoid the city.

“Pilots have always said you need to bring your A game, which I’m happy they do, when you’re coming into Boston,” said Thomas Kinton, former chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, and an aviation consultant in Winthrop.

Airports near water are prone to fog and tricky wind conditions, but in general, coming in over water is no more challenging than over land, said Patrick Smith, a pilot from Somerville whose column, “Ask the Pilot,” runs on Boston.com.

Still, Smith recognizes that passengers sometimes get nervous when they see water during a landing.

“The perspective might have something to do with it,” he wrote in an e-mail.

“Passengers can only see to the side; pilots, of course, have a forward view and a much clearer picture of the plane’s orientation.”

Summary: Flying into Logan International Airport can be an unnerving experience, coming in low over the water before touching down seconds later on the runway — similar to the approach that Asiana Airlines’ Flight 214 made at San Francisco International Airport Saturday before it crashed, killing two people and injuring more than 180. The Asiana pilots came in too slowly and tried to abort the landing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Instead the plane hit the seawall, snapping off its tail section and skidding to a halt before catching fire. The accident evokes memories of similar crashes at Logan, including the worst in Boston’s history. In July of 1973, a Delta Air Lines plane hit the seawall while landing at Logan and burst into flames.


'Hypnotic and meditative' ... Drained (2011) by Adeela Suleman

Coiled, glistening and serpent-like, a whirlpool of welded spikes and circles sits in an alcove behind rows of scuffed pews in Manchester Cathedral. Visitors for the service stare, curious about the shiny new arrival into the staid, gothic space. Up close, the site-specific sculpture is both hypnotic and meditative, an apt celestial orb made of steel drain covers, that brings to mind water draining through the plug hole. "In Pakistan, there is a lot of turmoil and one is always in a fix – questioning religion, questioning purity and experiencing death," says the artist Adeela Suleman. "This felt relevant to explore in a place of reverence and piousness." Co-curated by the Aicon gallery in London (where a solo show of Suleman's work is currently exhibiting), Drained is a triumph from one of South Asia's most exciting contemporary artists, commissioned especially for the second Asia Triennial Manchester (ATM).

Billed as the only event of its kind in Europe, the ATM has pulled together 40 artists, from 13 different countries across the continent, to exhibit their work across 17 venues. For the next eight weeks, Manchester's usual suspects – the Cornerhouse, the Whitworth gallery, the Chinese Arts Centre – have volunteered space for the festival, as have less obvious spots including the city's grand John Rylands library and Cheshire's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.

Originally put together in 2008 as a pet project by Alnoor Mitha, director of Shisha Arts, the second edition of ATM has expanded in size and ambition. Twenty-five of the works exhibited are new commissions and, despite Shisha (an "agency to promote South Asian arts and crafts") being on the receiving end of a 100% funding cut from the Arts Council earlier this year, Mitha promises the event will return in 2014.

If it does, I can't help wonder if a tighter focus might serve the artists – and their audiences – better. Showcases that arbitrarily lump together artists by geography will often turn up an uneven range of hits and misses – and ATM is no exception. Underwhelming regional tweeness can be seen alongside great, world-class works, while one sweet piece, Silsila by Tasawar Bashir and Brian Duffy, is hampered by the site's rigid restrictions. The pair originally wanted to project their installation – a work combining Sufi poetry, qawaalis sung by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and cosmic sound generated by data from space – on to the face of the Lovell telescope, with the resulting abstract shapes and symphonies bouncing around Jodrell Bank. Instead, they have had to downscale their ambitions to create a much less sensory experience in a darkened room at the learning centre.

The star of the show, though, is Rashid Rana, whose retrospective at the Cornerhouse is the centrepiece of the programme. Currently Pakistan's most famous and successful contemporary visual artist, Rana has transcended the regional surveys in which he made his name; his solo show at Lisson gallery, London, earlier this spring was a sell-out hit and his profile at international art fairs is on the up. Gridded digital photomontages and architectural sculptures have become his signature pieces. His works are often wry, accessible subversions of stereotypes – in his Veil series, for instance, burqa-clad women were composed using thousands of pixellated images of hardcore pornography.

"Pakistani artists are punching well above their weight, considering the country has next to no gallery system and about two art schools," says Niru Ratnam, former director of Aicon (a gallery specialising in South Asian art) and current associate director of Frith Street gallery. "Indian art is very different, more expressionist and dramatic, so even the term 'South Asian art' is reductive." Ratnam believes that the booming auction market for South Asian art between 2005 and 2007 didn't really affect Pakistani artists. Subsequently, they came out of the 2008 crash unscathed by the impact of speculative buyers paying ramped up prices for assets, rather than artworks themselves, by names most people hadn't even heard of.

Yamini Mehta, director of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art at Christie's auction house says the market has long since recovered. She insists, perhaps unsurprisingly, that "now is the best time to collect. A lot of these [South Asian] artists have been undervalued, but they're catching up." I ask her about the long-term effects of the auction houses on careers from this region, because artists from the east have arguably flipped the market tradition, by accident or otherwise. Conventionally, artists would exhibit at group shows before progressing to solo shows, then on to museums and finally selling at high prices in auction houses. The mid-decade obsession with new, emerging art markets saw Asian artists (from far, south and middle east) leapfrog to auction houses without the traditional CV and, tellingly, without enough expert curators or critics to really inform and create a discourse about said works.

"Sure, the market for younger contemporary artists from India and Pakistan has developed without an infrastructure, and that means the auction house has by default become the museum, institution and gallery all at once."

Can that be healthy? Cycles of boom and bust amid a critical vacuum can't promise a decent legacy for the artists coming up this way. Even now, it is difficult to attend a curatorial course specialising in a specific strand of Asian art; the knowledge isn't quite there, and even the Tate Modern admit that despite making great strides in acquisitions, their team of international art curators does not yet include an expert dedicated to the Asian market. For Mitha, this is where ATM can help the scene step up to the mark. "The dialogue starts between you, the viewer, and what you're seeing. You need to start at a place like ATM to get access to that work, to understand it in the first place."

Summary: The only event of its kind in Europe, the ATM brings work by 40 artists from 13 Asian countries to Manchester – spotlighting an emerging art market the west is only beginning to understand, writes Nosheen Iqbal


Michael Sullivan standing in front of Walking, 2006, by Wang Huaqing, a painting from his collection of Chinese art. Photograph: David Gowers/Ashmolean Museum/ University of Oxford

The art historian Michael Sullivan, who has died aged 96, was one of the most distinguished experts in the field of Chinese art. He had a matchless personal experience of the civilisation that became his life's work, and amassed the leading private collection of modern Chinese art outside the country.

From his first visit to China in 1940 to his last in 2013, he forged and maintained friendships with generations of artists. This was not easy after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, and it was not until 1973 that he was able to meet again friends with whom he had been unable even to correspond during the Cultural Revolution. In that period, Michael worked and travelled throughout south-east Asia and the Pacific, acquiring a rare pluralism in his perspective on Chinese art, and he remained outspoken in his support of artistic freedom.

His tireless promotion of the understanding of China in the west, as a teacher, writer, traveller and collector, was honoured with the exhibition Michael Sullivan and Twentieth-Century Chinese Art at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 2012.

He was born in Toronto, the youngest of five children of Alan Sullivan, a Canadian mining engineer turned prolific novelist (under the pen name Sinclair Murray) and his indomitable wife Elisabeth (nee Hees). The family moved to Britain when Michael was three, and set about educating him as a model Englishman, with only partial success. At prep school (Fonthill, in East Grinstead) and public school (Rugby), he was caned for idleness; at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he drifted through a degree in architecture (1936-39).

He lacked direction, but not conviction. A declared pacifist, he heard in autumn 1939 that the Quakers were recruiting a small team to go to China to drive trucks for the International Red Cross. He left the following February, in his own words, "long before the fighting started … and before the tribunals had been set up to test the sincerity of conscientious objectors". For two years, he drove medical supplies between cities in south-west China under bombardment from the Japanese. In 1942, he settled in Chengdu, working at the museum of the West China Union University.

There, the Paris-trained painter Pang Xunqin introduced Michael to Chinese painting and also to many of the artists in Sichuan at that time. In 1943 he married Wu Baohuan, a bacteriologist, who became known as Khoan Sullivan. She devoted the rest of her life to his work.

In 1946 Michael and Khoan returned to London and he began his formal study of the language, history and art of China at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas). Moving to Harvard in the US, he completed his PhD in 1952, and embarked on an academic career, first as lecturer in art history and curator of the art museum (which he founded) at the University of Malaya in Singapore. After a stint as lecturer in Asian art at Soas came the breakthrough: in 1966 he was appointed professor of oriental art at Stanford University in California.

Khoan's outgoing nature, together with her Chinese nationality, opened possibilities for Michael that resulted in a groundbreaking book, Chinese Art in the Twentieth Century (1959). Based on conversations and correspondence with leading artists of the 1920s onwards, it was the first on the subject, in any language. Other books quickly followed. A Short History of Chinese Art (1967) went into its third edition as The Arts of China in 1973. The fifth edition is still in print, and, indefatigable, Michael had all but completed the sixth.

No western scholar had a wider acquaintance than Michael among Chinese artists. His commitment to a sympathetic understanding of artists as individuals, rather than products of their environment, never wavered. Many of these artists gave him examples of their work. So began the Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection of Modern Chinese Art – an accidental collection, as Michael liked to say, formed mostly of gifts and only latterly of purchases as well. The collection is broad and rich, including ink paintings by Zhang Daqian (several from the 1960s with dedicatory inscriptions to Khoan) and Qi Baishi, and woodblock-printed works by Huang Yongyu and Xu Bing.

Michael remained at Stanford until 1984, when he returned to England as a fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford. In 1990 he became an emeritus fellow, but retirement was foreign to him. He remained active, surrounded by his research assistants (the "little animals", as he called them fondly), until the end.

Khoan died in 2003. The Sullivan Collection is due to become part of the permanent collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

• Donovan Michael Sullivan, art historian, born 29 October 1916; died 28 September 2013

Summary: Leading art historian for whom China became a life's work


WEDNESDAY, FEB. 9 DEER PARK BOOK DISCUSSION, 7 p.

m., Deer Park Public Library, 44 Lake Ave. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird.

" Call (631) 586-3000. MERRICK LONG ISLAND FIERI is a chapter of Fieri National, which is a nonprofit, social, cultural, educational, community and professional networking organization of young Italian-Americans. The meeting is 7:30 p.

m. at De Cafe, 151 Merrick Ave. Call (516) 548-8139. PLAINVIEW WINTER FEATURE FILM FESTIVAL continues at Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, 999 Old Country Road, today with "Bowfinger" (PG-13); Feb. 16, "The Winslow Boy"; Feb. 23, "The Thomas Crown Affair" (R); March 1, "Life is Beautiful" dubbed in English (PG-13). Call (516) 938-0077. All films are shown at 8 p.

m. Call (516) 938-0077. SMITHTOWN LITTLE TYKES toy kitchen, slides and other large toys will be featured at the Act II Thrift Shop Feb. 9 and 16. Hours are 10 a.

m. The shop is in the Smithtown United Methodist Church, rear entrance, 230 Middle Country Road. Also available are clean, gently used infant through adult clothing, household items, jewelry, books and videos. Call (516) 265-6945. THURSDAY, FEB. 10 BALDWIN JOIN WORLD TRAVELER CECILE RODAU as she explores the ancient lands of Bolivia and Peru. The monthly side show/lecture "Lunchtime Travel," at Baldwin Public Library, 2385 Grand Ave., is at 12:30 p.

m. The library's community room doors open at noon. Attendees may bring their own lunches. The program is open to all. For more information, call Michelle Young at (516) 223-6228. LINDENHURST SENIOR CITIZEN ADVOCATE JOAN HAUGEN, from the Suffolk County Offices for the Aging, will be at Lindenhurst Memorial Library, 1 Lee Ave., 2 p.

m. Get help completing forms for eligibility or recertification, food stamps, senior ID cards and other concerns. No registration is required. All are welcome. Call (631) 957-7755. PLAINVIEW RESOLVE OF LONG ISLAND, the National Infertility Association, meets 8 p.

m. at Plainview-Old Bethpage Library, 999 Old Country Road. "Secondary Infertility" and "Male Factor" will be discussed. Call (516) 827-9511.

Summary:
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 9
   DEER PARK
   BOOK DISCUSSION, 7 p.m., Deer Park Public Library, 44 Lake Ave. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Call (631) 586-3000.
   MERRICK
   LONG ISLAND FIERI is a chapter of Fieri National, which is a nonprofit, social, cultural, educational, community and professional networking organization of young Italian-Americans. The meeting is 7:30 p.m. at De Cafe, 151 Merrick Ave. Call (516) 548-8139.


With RB Frank Gore (14 yards) and TE Vernon Davis (16 yards) invisible, QB Colin Kaepernick did the heavy lifting for three quarters. Kaepernick's 98 rushing yards in the first half accounted for 78 percent of the offense and his jump-pass TD to Anquan Boldin in the third quarter was a jaw-dropper. But his finish was a disaster. His interception to safety Kam Chancellor was woefully underthrown, and why target All-Pro CB Richard Sherman with the game in the balance?

Marshawn Lynch accounted for the first 100-yard game and the longest run against the 49ers this season, WR Doug Baldwin had 106 receiving yards and QB Russell Wilson posted a 104.6 passer rating. Donte Whitner was beaten for a 51-yard completion and CB Carlos Rogers was victimized for a 35-yard TD pass. The positives: The defense limited Seattle to a field goal after two fourth-quarter turnovers deep in the 49ers' territory. In a win, LB Aldon Smith's sack, strip and fumble recovery on the first play from scrimmage would have been viewed as a tone-setter. LB NaVorro Bowman (14 tackles, sack) was brilliant before leaving with a horrific knee injury.

After the 49ers took a 17-10 lead third-quarter lead, Doug Baldwin returned a kickoff 69 yards to set up a field-goal drive. Andy Lee had a 45-yard punt that Kassim Osgood downed at the 1-yard line in the first quarter. Osgood later had a brilliant open-field tackle of Golden Tate to stop him for no gain on a punt return. Tate averaged 3.3 yards on three returns.

The decision to feature Kaepernick's legs was clearly the correct one against a defense that boasts the NFL's best secondary and was stuffing Gore. In addition, going for it on 4th-and-goal at the 1 in the second quarter was the right call and paid off with Anthony Dixon's scoring leap. In a deafening din, the 49ers didn't burn a timeout and had one delay-of-game penalty.

Given their blowout losses in their previous two trips to Seattle, it was a vast improvement, but they'll spend an offseason mulling three turnovers in the final 11 minutes.

Summary: With RB Frank Gore (14 yards) and TE Vernon Davis (16 yards) invisible, QB Colin Kaepernick did the heavy lifting for three quarters.  Marshawn Lynch accounted for the first 100-yard game and the longest run against the 49ers this season, WR Doug Baldwin had 106 receiving yards and QB Russell Wilson posted a 104.6 passer rating.  The defense limited Seattle to a field goal after two fourth-quarter turnovers deep in the 49ers' territory.  In a win, LB Aldon Smith's sack, strip and fumble recovery on the first play from scrimmage would have been viewed as a tone-setter.


Tim Marlow said the Royal Academy was 'slightly misunderstood, slightly underrated and slightly anti-establishment'. Photograph: Graeme Robertson

The critic and broadcaster Tim Marlow is to be in charge of exhibitions at the Royal Academy as its first director of artistic programmes, it has been announced.

Marlow, best known as the presenter of numerous TV and radio arts documentaries over the past 20 years, will replace Kathleen Soriano in a newly beefed-up role at the Academy.

Marlow has been in charge of exhibitions at the contemporary art gallery White Cube since 2003 and was approached by the Royal Academy for the role, one of the most coveted visual arts jobs in the UK.

He called the job "a brilliant challenge". It's "expansive, demanding, challenging … and on another level you think 'blimey'".

The appointment comes at a critical time for the RA. Construction is due to begin next year on a project that will link its historic home on Piccadilly with the building it acquired in 2001, 6 Burlington Gardens. The £36m redevelopment – due to be completed in time for its 250th anniversary in 2018 – will allow contemporary art shows, a debating chamber and space to show works from the RA collections itself.

Marlow's brief is to look after exhibitions, learning, public talks, the collection and the architecture programme.

He said there was nothing like the RA – which is run by its artist and architect academicians – anywhere else. "I love the Academy because it has almost been like a pillar of the establishment for centuries but it's kind of slightly misunderstood, slightly underrated and slightly anti-establishment.

"There is no other institution like it in Britain or the world. At other museums you deal with your curators, your audience, your trustees. At the Academy you're dealing with artists, living and dead, all of the time."

The academicians will not be shy of giving their opinions. "Ask me in five years' time, I may have changed my opinion, but I think artists' opinions are consistently more interesting to me than bankers' opinions and commentators' opinions. I don't always agree with artists' opinions but they are rarely if ever boring."

Marlow said he hoped to attract new audiences to the RA but the age range of people who went there was already pretty wide. "You've got to keep looking for new audiences but I can tell you this from the beginning: there will be no baby and bathwater nonsense. I'm not going to chase youth at the expense of engaged audiences. There are ways of building different types of audiences."

Much of the RA's exhibitions programme in the next few years is already in place including a major retrospective for Anselm Kiefer in September that Soriano will continue to curate.

Marlow began his broadcasting career as a presenter of Kaleidoscope on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1998. In 1997, he was the man chairing the live Turner prize debate on Channel 4 that featured a worse-for-wear Tracey Emin (now the RA's professor of drawing), declaring: "I want to be with my friends. I'm drunk. I want to phone my mum." Since then he has presented numerous TV documentaries for channels including Channel 5 and Sky Arts and while he will not be giving up broadcasting he said he would have "to be more selective".

The RA's president, Christopher Le Brun, said: "In his career to date, Tim Marlow has proved himself to have the boldness and visionary instincts that the modern RA requires. He is an energetic and popular figure, highly respected in the art world and his experience of working collaboratively with many of the world's great artists, collectors and academics underlines his suitability for this high-profile role in an artist-led organisation."

Charles Saumarez Smith, the RA's secretary and chief executive, said: "I am very much looking forward to working with Tim as he develops an artistic programme for the RA that builds on an exceptional trajectory, and looks to maximise the contribution of our world-class exhibitions, our collection, and our tradition of learning and debate. His success at White Cube, coupled with his knowledge of art history and experience in arts broadcasting will be of great value as we continue the renewal of the Royal Academy in the lead-up to our 250th anniversary in 2018."

Soriano was appointed director of exhibitions five years ago, taking over from Norman Rosenthal, who had been 30 years in the job. The RA said Soriano "feels it is time for a change and to take on new projects".

Summary: Critic and broadcaster moves from White Cube gallery to take on newly expanded role at London gallery


Guardian Brand Partnerships by Guardian Labs to a brief agreed with Nestlé Shredded Wheat

by Nestlé Shredded Wheat. All editorial controlled by the Guardian, except those articles labelled as advertisement feature

From time to time the Guardian offers companies and organisations the opportunity to partner with us on specially commissioned sections on subjects we think are of interest to our readers. For more information about how we work with commercial partners on customised publications, please visit

Summary: Awaken your hunter-gatherer instincts and get out into the wild to exercise. Wildfitness coach Colin Holding shows how making the most of the outside world and rediscovering natural movements can keep you fit and healthy


05/15/2014 at 08:45 AM EDT

Antwane, Nev and Max on Catfish

, and it's not waiting to get weird.

During the show's premiere, viewers

is giving us its first intervention. Nev Schulman and Max Joseph packed their bags for Cincinnati, Ohio, to explore this unusual request, and things only got stranger from there.

Read on to discover the bizarre true identity behind this episode's slippery mystery dater. Don't worry, we did the detective work for you. Here are the "three red flags" that led to "the big reveal," and the "the silver lining" that followed. Let's get fishing, shall we?

Antwane, a caring, vivacious guy living in Cincinnati who has never had a real relationship and is eager to meet the dream man he's been chatting to for three years.

Tony, an all-around mystery man who is lax on the personal details but quick with the compliments.

, Antwane did not write in to Nev and Max for help; instead his cousin Carmen contacted the pair for an intervention. Worried that her family member and best friend was in too deep, Carmen convinced the

crew to find out Tony's true identity so Antwane could move on. Here's why she's worried:

You know those slightly sleazy late night commercials, urging you to connect with local singles in your area? That's where these two first "met" three years ago. It's hard to believe love can be found through a service that charges $2.99 per minute, but that could be the inner cynic talking.

Even though the pair have been talking for three years, Tony has refused to share a photo of himself, his last name, where he lives, his phone number and just about any other personal detail – except that he is tall and buff. Antwane is literally blind to who Tony really is, waiting by the phone for him to call each day from a private number.

After doing some research, Nev and Max discovered Antwane's phone buddy could be more of a prison pen pal. Using a number that Tony once called from before blocking his digits, Nev did a reverse number search, which led to three addresses in the Cincinnati area and a mugshot of a man named Anthony Thomas.

Antwane, Nev and Max on Catfish

Hit with the news that he is possibly being conned by a con, Antwane agreed to visit the three addresses for possible information. The trio, along with Antwane's cousin/interventionist Carmen, stopped by all of the locations and found nothing. Until, like a bolt of lightning on a summer's day, Carmen shocked everyone by admitting

Tony. Yep, that's right, this supposedly concerned cousin had been playing phone games with Antwane using her "Tony voice" for three years because ... he once made fun of her weight in front of their family.

Or, as Carmen put it, "There was a house full of people when he did me, so there's a world full of people when I did him." Way harsh, 'cuz! But Carmen's confession didn't stop there; she went on to boast about catfishing others because she's

Well, it's hard to find perks in a family member vengefully manipulating you for three years, but Antwane managed to do it. He has cut Carmen out of his life for now, seeing her as a toxic influence, and has used the situation as a wake-up call. One month after the reveal, Antwane is working at a job he enjoys and making an effort to meet people in the real world. As for Carmen, she claims that her catfishing ways have stopped as a result of Antwane cutting off contact.

Hopefully viewers learned something from this episode, too. Namely, catfishing existed before the Internet, and be wary of late-night chat lines. You really don't know who is waiting to connect with you ...

Summary: You've never seen a Catfish quite like this before


07/07/2014 at 01:15 PM EDT

Will Garth Brooks soon be making new music? Returning to the road?

Fans' fingers are crossed that Brooks – who retired in 2001 and

a show at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel in 2009 – may be dusting off his cowboy boots and hat for a world tour, after he announced on his website a live-streamed press conference set for Thursday, July 10, at noon ET.

In announcing his leave from country music 13 years ago, Brooks said that he was putting family before career, waiting to make more music moves until his three daughters graduated from high school. His youngest matriculated in May, opening the door for a possible return as he and

say they plan to spend more time in Nashville.

Last week, Brooks hinted that something big was about to happen with a post on his website

, "The wait is over... 7/7." The build-up comes after he said last year on

that a world tour was in the works for 2014, marking his first road outing in 13 years.

) calls himself just "an average guy," but he's far from it: he holds the record as the best-selling solo act in U.S. history with more than 123 million records sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

in April on the Academy of Country Music Awards to present Merle Haggard with the Crystal Milestone Award. It was obvious he'd been missed; fans erupted in in screams and a standing ovation, showing his enduring popularity.

Summary: The country superstar teases a major announcement, coming this Thursday


FORTUNE – Dear Annie: Ever since my spouse got laid off about a year ago, I’ve been supplementing our income by taking on some consulting work in addition to my regular job. I’ve found that I really enjoy it, and eventually I’d like to segue into it as a full-time occupation. The question is, what do I tell my boss in the meantime?

So far, I’ve managed to fit my consulting work into my own time on evenings and weekends, and I’m very careful to avoid the use of any company resources for outside projects. (My consulting business is home-based and has a separate email address, phone line, etc.) Still, it seems dishonest not to mention to my boss that I’m doing this, especially since we are friends. Do I have an obligation to tell him? — Double Agent

Dear Double: That depends. Does your employer have a formal policy requiring that you disclose any outside employment (as many universities and some companies do), or do you have an employment contract that calls for disclosure?

If so, the decision is made for you: By keeping mum about your part-time gig, you run the risk of becoming a full-time consultant sooner than you planned.

But even if not, particularly since your boss is also your friend, “there’s a trust factor involved,” says Kristin Cardinale, author of a book called The 9-to-5 Cure: Work on Your Own Terms and Reinvent Your Life.

Cardinale knows a thing or two about wearing multiple hats. A Milwaukee-based career coach who also teaches college courses, she founded and runs both a tech support company and a national seminar firm.

“As a pre-emptive move, you could tell your boss what you’re doing, just to avoid a potentially sticky situation if he hears about it some other way,” Cardinale says. “You don’t want to seem to be doing this behind his back.”

Telling him what you’re doing doesn’t mean, however, that you have to reveal why. In these situations, as in so many others, how you phrase it makes all the difference. Saying “I’ve started my own consulting practice, and I’m working on building it into a full-time business” would probably be a mistake, since “putting it that way is likely to make your boss start thinking of you as temporary and on your way out,” Cardinale notes.

Instead, mention a current consulting project without bringing up your long-term plan. “There is little to no risk involved in saying you’ve taken on an outside gig if you emphasize that it’s short-term — say, for the next couple of months — and if you stress how it’s helping you sharpen your professional skills,” says Cardinale.

“And you’re not saying anything untrue,” she adds. “After all, until you are ready to make the leap into full-time consulting, you’re still just exploring.”

By the way, this situation is less unusual than you may think. In 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 3.5 million Americans, or 4.5% of the workforce, held a full-time job while also pursuing a part-time sideline. For anyone considering doing likewise, Cardinale offers three tips:

1. Be fanatical about using your own resources, not your employer’s, for outside work. You’re already doing this, but the point bears repeating. Emailing consulting clients on the company’s system, or devoting time during work hours to meeting an outside deadline, can get you sacked.

2. Clearly define your availability. “Be upfront with your outside clients about the fact that you’re working full-time and may not always be reachable during regular business hours,” Cardinale advises. Tempting as it may be to let the boundaries blur, your full-time job has to be your top priority — at least until you decide to leave it.

3. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Build some breathing room into your schedule so you don’t burn out. “Consulting works on referrals. You want to have enough energy to give clients your best work, so they’ll recommend you to others,” Cardinale says.

Another reason not to take on too much at once is that “while you’re still trying this out, it should be a positive experience, not one that leaves you exhausted,” she adds. Don’t worry about turning away business that, realistically, you can’t handle right now: “If you set limits — so that, when you do take on a project, you can give it your very best — clients will actually respect you more.”

Have you added a part-time gig to your regular full-time job? What advice would you give on how to make it work? Leave a comment below.

Summary: These days, plenty of people are holding down more than one job. But deciding how much to reveal to a full-time employer about a part-time gig can be tricky.


Logan Green’s childhood kicked off a lifelong obsession with transportation. As he spent hours stuck in Los Angeles traffic, he noticed that there was usually only one person in each car. Why so inefficient? There’s clearly a better way, he thought. While a student at the University of California Santa Barbara, Green challenged himself to leave his car at home and experiment with other methods of transportation, from trains and buses to bicycles and carpooling with friends.

After college, Green took a trip to Zimbabwe at a time when few people could afford to drive and the government failed to provide public transportation. There, he saw that local entrepreneurs provided ride-sharing to the community using their own vehicles. In 2007, he and John Zimmer started a company called Zimride, named for the country, to match paid drivers with carpooled passengers. In 2013, Zimride was acquired by Enterprise Holdings (of Rent-a-Car fame), and Lyft, hatched the year before in San Francisco, emerged from the shadows.

The young startup remains true to Green’s mission with a taxi-like hailing service, processed through a mobile application, and its now-signature pink mustachioed cars roving around major cities.

Green, 30, says he’s both a driver and a passenger when he travels. He spoke with Fortune.

Who in technology do you admire most? Why?

I think I’m most excited by Elon Musk and the scale of the problems that he takes on. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the tech world, but we’re only more recently getting to a place where tech is impacting these giant aspects of the real world. From the way that we build cars or going after space travel, I get excited about the transportation space because it’s the second-highest household expense after housing. An average household spends 20% of combined incomes on transportation, and most of that goes toward owning and maintaining a car. I get excited about people who are taking on audacious real world problems.

Which companies do you admire? Why?

I really admire Airbnb as a pioneer of the sharing economy and for building community. They’ve found an elegant way to help hosts make more money and for guests to have authentic experiences. It brings those people together in a unique way.

Which area of technology excites you most?

We’re seeing a whole new host of businesses pop up—and Lyft is one of them—that are possible now that everyone has a phone and [there are] all the things that are packed into a phone. Lyft wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago. You couldn’t have assumed that every driver on the road would have a smartphone that could track their exact location, and you couldn’t assume that every potential passenger on the road could pull a phone out of their pocket to get a ride. The different pieces of mobile have been around for a few years, but being able to make the assumption that everyone has one and the ubiquity of it has finally unlocked the businesses that are built on top of that network.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?

Picking an idea and a problem that you’re incredibly passionate about personally is really important. When you’re starting a company, almost anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it will probably look like and feel like you made the absolute wrong decision to start the company. If you’re not absolutely determined to solve a problem or see something through, it might not make sense to keep going. You have to find a way to keep going.

What is the best advice you ever received?

The best advice was early on when one of our advisors at Zimride. He told us that we should stop working on Zimride. Having a trusted close advisor tell us to stop and that we should try something else forced us to strengthen our resolve and question whether it was the right thing to do. We were that much more determined and confident to keep going forward. This was before we had the idea for Lyft. He made us stop to think about it, and question it. We thought twice about it and came back doubling down saying that, “No, we’re going to find way to make it work.”

What’s the next big project you want to tackle?

We want Lyft to be able to serve more people than it does today. So we’re excited to introduce products at a higher price point and a lower price point than regular Lyft. We want Lyft to meet your needs whether going out to a nice date or event and want a nicer car, or if you’re just trying to get to work every day and need something affordable.

If you could have done anything differently in your career, what would it have been?

I think I would have studied computer science. I started off as a computer science major, and I didn’t like how regimented the program was, so I switched to business and economics. But if I could go back, I would have stayed with computer science. With Zimride, we had never experienced the product market fit and the hypergrowth that comes out of it like we have with Lyft. So with Zimride, we did a lot of smaller iterations trying to improve the product when we really needed to be doing much more radical, larger iterations that are a high level concept. I would have wanted to start doing more radical iterations early on the business. That changes everything.

What was the most important thing you learned in school?

Something that I learned in school that inspired me to go down this road was in an environmental studies class. It was really all about thinking about the power and the impact that business has on aspects of our life. On our environment, community, politics, and that really got me inspired to go into business and use business as a vehicle for change.

What is one goal—either personal or professional—that you would like to accomplish during your lifetime?

I want to be able to go to any city and be able to get around that city for less than the cost of owning a car and with the ease of a car without actually having to own a car. I want to be able to consume transportation as a service.

What was the last book you read?

It’s called Zero to One, and it’s not actually published yet. (It’s due September 16. —Ed.) It’s the manuscript of Peter Thiel’s new book. He led our Series B round of funding. It’s kind of a business strategy book talking about businesses operating in competitive markets. He taught a class at Stanford, and one of the students took notes from all of his lectures. He worked with the student to turn those lessons into a book.

Previously in Fortune‘s 10 Questions series:

Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO, Rent the Runway Trisa Thompson, VP of Corporate Responsibility, Dell Joel Simkhai, founder and CEO, Grindr Adi Tatarko, co-founder and CEO, Houzz Mike Nefkens, EVP of Enterprise Services, Hewlett-Packard

Summary: On mobility, computer science, and questioning the purpose behind your startup.


There's no shortage of surrealism at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, founded in 1998 and now regarded as the most significant collection of contemporary Asian art in the world. Plenty of the works deal with altered states of being, cultural displacement and post-industrial anxiety. Yet nothing is quite so bizarre as the fact that it should have come to colonise the centre of Blackburn.

Blackburn is not noted as a centre for contemporary art, Asian or otherwise. But it's suddenly everywhere: vacant mall units, a former building society, basements, the cathedral. Some of the video pieces are even being shown on Blackburn Rovers' big screen at half time. It is an extraordinary enterprise for Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery to bring the Fukuoka collection to Europe for the first time. But the sheer volume of work - 50 artists from 21 countries - can bring you quite literally to your knees. Thank goodness, then, that the Nepalese artist Sujan Chitrakar is thoughtful enough to provide a cushion while one stoops to contemplate his online Buddhist altar, meditateonself. But you really do have to scrabble around to view Korean sculptor Han Jin's miniature frieze, in which cute plastic figures barely an inch from the ground enact a strange narrative, which looks as though it could be the history of the world explained through the medium of cake decoration.

For a more tranquil experience, one may contemplate Keisuke Yamaguchi's transparent wall of flora, formed of several thousand cassette boxes, each containing a wildflower suspended in resin. Yamaguchi prefers to site these pieces against a natural background, though here the view is framed by a department store loading bay. More to the point, you wonder where one gets wildflowers from in Blackburn at this time of year. Apparently, the answer is Marks and Spencer.

· Until April 9. Details: 01254 667130.

Summary: Various venues, Blackburn


Deep-pocketed investors appear to be ignoring those “for sale” signs outside U.S. homes.

That’s the take in the National Association of Realtors’ recent report, which showed a surprise 1.8% drop in existing-home sales for the month of August after four consecutive months of gains. The trade organization blamed the decline on a drop in interest from investors that make all-cash purchases, which dragged down overall results. All-cash sales were 23% of transactions in August, dropping for the second consecutive month and representing the lowest overall share since December 2009.

Though the waning interest led to a decline in sales for August, the NAR touted the gradual decline in investor activity, saying it was good for the market as it creates more opportunity for buyers who rely on financing to purchase a home.

“On the positive side, first-time buyers have a better chance of purchasing a home now that bidding wars are receding and supply constraints have significantly eased in many parts of the country,” said Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief executive.

The trade organization on Monday reported total existing-home sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.05 million in August from the downwardly revised 5.14 million annual rate in July. Observers had projected a 5.18 million annual rate for August, according to a survey by Bloomberg News.

The housing sector’s recovery has progressed slowly and unevenly. Builder sentiment has improved and inventory has been increasing, but there are still some concerns about underlying demand. Many worry about tight lending standards, which are especially problematic for potential Millennial home buyers that on average hold a lot of student debt. Meanwhile, monthly housing reports recently have fallen short of expectations.

The Millennial factor is especially problematic. As Fortune recently reported, Millennials are finally moving out of their parents’ homes after years of living at home, but they aren’t necessarily buying homes–problematic for the real estate industry as Millennials are a massive demographic group, so its important to get them into the market.

Total housing inventory at the end of the month decreased 1.7% to 2.31 million existing homes available for sale, the association reported. That represents a 5.5-month supply at the current sales pace. However, unsold inventory is 4.5% higher than a year ago.

The median existing-home price for all housing types totaled $219,800 in August, up 4.8% from a year ago. While prices continue to climb, appreciation has slowed recently has inventory has risen.

Summary: Trade organization blames the decline on a drop in interest from investors that make all-cash purchases.


Hearing that a show has tinkered with and recast a pilot can mean welcome wholesale changes — or stuffing ballast into a sinking ship.

The new NBC comedy “Bad Judge” falls into the latter category.

LA judge Rebecca Wright (Kate Walsh) is the latest entrant into the “talented professional who is a hot mess personally” canon of TV characters. If this wasn’t obvious from the opening montage — in which we meet Wright hung over, face down in sparkly underwear as she is thrown into an aspirin and pregnancy-test panic when she wakes up late for work — it is underscored by several other characters, one of whom refers to her as “Little Miss Train Wreck.”

The original pilot sent to critics in the summer hit several icebergs. The rearrangement of the deck chairs — including the jettisoning of two subplots that proved Wright was also a bad friend and bad mentor — in the rejiggered version, premiering Thursday at 9 p.m., does not keep the show afloat.

“Bad Judge” is also the second NBC show this fall to waste a great actress in a starring role, following “The Mysteries of Laura” with Debra Messing.

Like Messing before her, Walsh is game for trying to clean up the mess that’s been handed to her — in part by producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Anne Heche — throwing herself, with appropriate snark, sincerity, or slovenliness, headlong into Wright’s wrongs. These include, but aren’t limited to: abuse of her power, having quickies in her chambers (without locking the door), parking in a handicapped space and then pretending to limp when she sees a man in a wheelchair, and smugly handing out annoyingly goofy sentences. (She forces a bigamist to take feminism courses while wearing an “I’m a Convicted Bigamist” T-shirt.) She does all this while scarfing down junk food, drinking too much, and tooling around in a terrifically awful panel van.

In the second episode, things go from “Bad” to worse. We’re supposed to have sympathy for her messiness, as the show draws parallels between Wright and an emotionally wounded, attention-seeking, Lohan-esque paparazzi magnet. It may be accurate that she is damaged and medicating her pain with booze — and pot brownies — and keeping potential Mr. (W)Rights at arm’s length because she’s afraid to be vulnerable, but it’s just not funny.

Perhaps if she were the protagonist of a gritty FX or HBO drama, this might all seem interesting or colorful, but on a light NBC comedy it’s off-putting, especially since we are also supposed to buy how committed she is to caring for others and to justice.

Walsh’s gifts — put to great use recently on “Fargo” — aren’t the only ones going to waste. Ryan Hansen (the charmingly loathsome Dick Casablancas of “Veronica Mars”) as an expert medical witness and the judge’s booty-call-who-wants-more, and Ryan McPartlin (the most excellent Captain Awesome from “Chuck”) as a dim-witted fireman, are given little to work with.

No matter what the crime, no TV viewer should be sentenced to watch “Bad Judge.”

Summary: The aptly named new NBC comedy “Bad Judge,” starring Kate Walsh, premieres Thursday at 9 p.m.


A jogger has caused a major security scare in the UK after he nearly ran into British Prime Minister David Cameron as he left a press conference in Leeds.

Mr Cameron was leaving the Leeds Civic Hall on Monday when local man Dean Farley, aged 28, ran across the street towards him.

Police stepped in to bundle him to the ground as Mr Cameron got into a waiting vehicle.

Mr Cameron's security team grab the man as he runs towards the PM. (BBC)

Mr Farley posted on Facebook that he only "brushed into" Mr Cameron and claimed he was a victim of "assault".

"So im all over the news as 'the protester that attacked david cameron in leeds' yeah if you call brushing into someone while running then getting assaulted by half a dozen coppers in suits attacking," he wrote.

Chief Inspector Derek Hughes of West Yorkshire Police said the 28-year-old was briefly arrested.

"No threats were made, and after the man's details were checked he was de-arrested and allowed on his way."

The incident has raised questions over how a member of the public was able to get so close to Mr Cameron without being stopped by security.

"It is a serious breach of security and I wouldn't be surprised if people on the team are transferred as a result," Andy Redhead, a consultant with security firm FSI Worldwide, told the UK Telegraph.

"It's a really appalling incident - not good at all.

"Fortunately the man had no acid, no knife, no firearm, and there was no threat.

"Looking at the footage, one of the team seems distracted by a female who is a legitimate member of the party, a second member is looking in completely the wrong direction and a third member is too far away to close the whole thing down.

"The whole team has let each other down and I'm sure serious questions are being asked."

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard called for an inquiry into the incident, asking "what if the protester had been carrying a knife?"

Do you have any news photos or videos?

Summary: A man who ran at UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been briefly arrested.


The heat on McDonald’s just got turned up a notch.

On Monday the company reported a 2.2% decline in global same store sales for the month of November, with the U.S. market taking the biggest hit (-4.6%). The Wall Street Journal reported that the drop in the U.S. was the biggest in more than 14 years.

I detailed McDonald’s woes last month, noting that the pressure was mounting on CEO Don Thompson to turn around the fast food giant. But with no relief in sight, investors may soon turn their attention to the McDonald’s board.

Leading the group is Andy McKenna, the company’s non-executive chairman since 2004 and a director since 1991. McKenna is a Chicago heavy hitter, who has been called “the power behind the throne” by the hometown press. Chicago Magazine has put him on its list of the 100 Most Powerful Chicagoans, describing him as “a bigwig other bigwigs seek out for advice.” He has chaired the White Sox and Cubs, and is now on the board of the Chicago Bears. He has also sat on countless other civic and corporate boards, including the University of Notre Dame and the Big Shoulders Fund of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

According to company filings, McKenna planned to leave the board in 2003 when he reached McDonald’s mandatory retirement age for directors of 73. But in the interim the company went through a CEO handoff, and the board asked McKenna to stay on to aid in the transition.

The following year McDonald’s loosened the retirement rule in its proxy, saying that the board “may nominate existing members of the board over the age of 73 as candidates in exceptional circumstances.” McDonald’s was then struck by misfortune in its leadership ranks. CEO Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack while in the job. His successor, Charlie Bell, was then diagnosed with colon cancer and resigned.

By 2007, when two additional board members hit 73, the language about mandatory retirement had disappeared. McKenna has now overlapped with the tenures of six different McDonald’s CEOs.

As of the most recently filed proxy, three board members were over 73: McKenna (listed as 84), Walter Massey (76), and Roger Stone (79). MSCI ESG Research, which provides data on governance, found that the average age of a director at McDonald’s is about 63, the oldest in its peer group. Compare the figure with Burger King (about 50), Starbucks (about 58), and Yum Brands (about 59). McDonald’s directors also have a longer tenure (12 years) than those on other big restaurant company boards (eight years).

A similar spread can be found when one compares McDonald’s with an even bigger corporate universe, such as the S&P 500. Larry Fauver of the University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center found that the average number of years served by a director at McDonald’s was 12.5 versus 9.5 for the broader index. “That’s a fairly significant difference,” he told me.

Why does this matter? In a few words: connection to the company’s customers. While octogenarian and late septuagenarian directors may have more seasoning and worldly experience than young Turks, there is an argument to be made that they may not be quite as in touch with the two demographic segments that McDonald’s really needs and is struggling to attract: millennials and young families. “That’s why you need a refreshed board,” says Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “You need to take fresh looks.”

Fauver adds another concern: Board members who have been around that long may not have enough distance from management to be objective about the company’s performance and challenges. “How independent are you after 23 years?” Fauver asks.

I spoke with McDonald’s chair McKenna briefly for my November story, in which he told me that the board is “very supportive” of CEO Thompson. I also asked McKenna about the board and its tenure. He replied that that he didn’t think length of service had deprived any of the directors of their independence. McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.

In its proxy, the company notes that 12 of 13 of its directors are independent—Thompson being the exception. But there are a couple of interesting connections between the company’s directors that go beyond the McDonald’s boardroom:

–The vast majority of McDonald’s board members are based out of Chicago. (That’s not very geographically diverse for a truly global company.)

–According to the proxy, in 2013 Inter-Con Security Systems, whose CEO is McDonald’s director Enrique Hernandez, provided physical security systems for the company’s home office campus. McDonald’s payments to Inter-Con totaled $1.3 million (less than 1% of Inter-Con’s revenue).

–Jeanne Jackson, a Nike executive, overlapped on the Nordstrom board with Hernandez from 2002-2009. Hernandez became Nordstrom’s non-executive chairman in 2006. They have overlapped on the McDonald’s board together since 1999.

–Directors Roger Stone and McKenna at one time both ran companies that were suppliers to McDonald’s, even as they sat on McDonald’s board of directors.

–McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson was a director of the utility company Exelon from 2007 to 2013, overlapping with McDonald’s director and Ariel Investments CEO John Rogers. Rogers is a current Exelon director who joined the board in 2000. Exelon’s proxy notes that McDonald’s is a customer, paying Exelon $14 million in 2013.

–McKenna served as Aon’s longest-tenured director, stepping down in 2012 after more than 40 years. McDonald’s director Rogers joined the Aon board in 1993, serving also until 2012. Rogers has been on the McDonald’s board since 2003.

–McDonald’s director Cary McMillan, CEO of True Partners Consulting, is chairman of the Board of Governors for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Fellow McDonald’s director Walter Massey is president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

–Director Richard Lenny joined private equity firm Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe as an operating partner in 2011 and is now a senior advisor. This September his fellow McDonald’s board member Robert Eckert became an operating partner. They’ve overlapped on the McDonald’s board since 2005.

Corporate governance expert Nell Minow notes that Chicago has historically had more inbred boards than other cities, and she believes that may very well still be the case. “What you see at McDonald’s is what we expect from boards circa 1990, not circa 2014,” she says. “It’s like McDonald’s hasn’t gotten the message that most boards have about how important it is that you demonstrate a very clear picture of independence to the shareholder community.”

Elson of the University of Delaware says that the closer directors get outside of the board room, the more concerning it is. These relationships have the potential to introduce elements into the mix that might make it hard to be objective. He adds, “Any time you see significant length of tenure and interrelationships between directors, it raises questions of effectiveness.”

Summary: The fast food giant's poor performance has put the pressure on CEO Don Thompson. But the problem may go higher up—to McDonald’s directors.


In late November, Comcast started testing a mobile application intended to shrink the insanely long windows many telecommunications companies specify for on-site service visits. Customers now get an alert about 30 minutes ahead of time.

Comcast’s CMCSA embattled customer support organization certainly has plenty of ground to make up so offering something like this is smart. Then again, my first thought when hearing about this technology was, “Why isn’t every other field service organization doing something like this?”

That’s a question that Boston-based software startup Dispatch would love the chance to debate with large home improvement retailers. Co-founder and CEO Avi Goldberg has been focused on this issue since the day his washing-machine broke and the company managing his warranty service couldn’t connect him with a local service contact. After several phone calls, Goldberg got an appointment—two weeks later. Hours later, he was the owner of a new washer.

Last month, Goldberg’s 13-person team got $3.1 million in seed funding from the backers including Salesforce Ventures and former Oracle exec and venture capitalist Ray Lane to refine software that streamlines scheduling, billing, and communications associated with service appointments.

“Customers want a seamless experience that enables them to book immediately, know exactly when their service professional is going to arrive and then pay with ease,” Goldberg said.

They receive that information in the form of a text, which estimates the wait time. They can even see what the person looks like, so they know whether or not to open the door. After the visit, Dispatch can help gather feedback about the visit.

Dispatch’s technology connects with existing workflow management and invoicing systems. Goldberg said that integration takes two to four weeks to set up, compared with the six-month timeframe often required to create this sort of application from scratch. Dispatch charges a transaction fee based on how many visits it orchestrates, ranging from “pennies” per job to close to a dollar, he said.

Dispatch’s customers are businesses (both large and small) that need to organize service teams. Its primary target right now is the $450 billion home improvements and services sector. Another software company addressing the mobile field management opportunity is ServiceMax, although its mission is broader and tackles internal workforce automation.

Goldberg is cagey about customer names, although Dispatch is working with one of the largest warranty service companies in the United States. Its technology is also used by Handyman Connection, which manages about 1,000 technicians across 50 franchise locations. “Dispatch’s service will help us create a much better customer experience,” said Handyman Connection CEO Jeff Wall.

This item first appeared in the Dec. 10 edition of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology. Sign up here.

Summary: By helping home improvement retailers be more specific about when repair personnel will show up, tech startup Dispatch hopes to improve customer goodwill.


Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. (AAP)

Prince Andrew has been named in a US court filing by a woman who claims she was kept as an underaged "sex slave" by a billionaire Wall Street financier.

In a statement on Friday, Buckingham Palace denied the allegations made in a motion filed by her lawyers on Monday in US District Court in Florida.

A plaintiff identified as "Jane Doe #3" alleges she was "forced to have sexual relations" with the Duke of York in London, New York and the Caribbean at the behest of Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein, a known friend of the prince, was convicted in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and served a prison term.

This week's motion was not the first time Andrew's name had been linked to the case, but the allegations were serious enough for the British royal family to issue a formal denial.

"This relates to long-running and ongoing civil proceedings in the US to which the Duke of York is not a party," a spokesman said.

"However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue."

"Jane Doe #3" made the claim in a motion to be included in an ongoing civil case that accuses federal prosecutors of cutting a plea-bargain deal with Epstein without consulting his victims, in violation of the US Crime Victims Rights' Act.

Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to a single Florida state charge of soliciting prostitution. He remains a registered sex offender.

The filing alleges Epstein forced "Jane Doe #3" to have sexual relations with Andrew in London, New York and on the financier's private Caribbean island during an orgy with other underaged girls.

"Epstein instructed Jane Doe #3 that she was to give the Prince whatever he demanded and required Jane Doe #3 to report back to him on the details of the sexual abuse," the document states.

No dates for the purported sexual encounters were given, but the woman claimed she was Epstein's sex slave from 1999 through 2002.

Others named in the filing include Alan Dershowitz, one of Epstein's defence lawyers, with whom "Jane Doe #3" was allegedly forced to have sex with on several occasions - a claim he denied.

The Harvard Law School professor, who is one of America's most prominent jurists, said Friday he could easily prove the claim to be untrue.

Speaking to AFP, he accused "Jane Doe #3" of "filing a false and malicious legal proceeding" in an attempt to extort money from his former client.

Dershowitz challenged the woman to file criminal charges against him. He said he also planned to act swiftly to have her lawyers disbarred for unethical conduct.

"I know with one million per cent certainty that the story about me is made up," he said. "I am squeaky clean and I will fight back because I have nothing to hide."

Fifth in line to the British throne, Andrew, 54, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, was Britain's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment for 10 years until 2011.

Among Americans, he is best known as the ex-husband of Sarah Ferguson, 55, popularly known as Fergie. The couple, who have two children, divorced in 1996 but remain close friends.

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Summary: Buckingham Palace has denied a woman's claim filed in court papers in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was under age


Google didn’t just buy restaurant reviews with Zagat. It bought restaurant relationships.

Google GOOG this morning announced that it has acquired Zagat, a company known for its burgendy-covered compilations of restaurant customer reviews. The search giant’s says its plan is to use Zagat as the “cornerstone of our local offering,” but that may be a nice way of saying: We’re going to compete with OpenTable OPEN .

OpenTable stock is getting pummeled on the acquisition news, down nearly 9% to $57.19 per share at last check. That’s the lowest the company has traded since this time last year.

“Google has been looking to get into the reservation space for a while,” says RJ Hottovy, a Morningstar analyst who covers OpenTable. “I don’t think the space is necessarily limited to just one system, particularly if restaurants are willing to share their inventory with multiple companies.”

Zagat does not currently have a reservations feature, but it has deep relationships with restaurant operators. That, not content, is what Google really paid for today (even though we don’t yet know if Google paid close to the $200 million Zagat sought in 2008). Plus, the Zagat brand already attracts people looking for their next meal — meaning it’s a ready-made portal for reservations. Particularly if it gets better search functionality, which Google should be able to provide.

Zagat sold a 33% stake in the company in 2000 for $31 million to venture capital firms General Atlantic, Kleiner Perkins and Allen & Co.

Summary: Google didn't just buy restaurant reviews with Zagat. It bought restaurant relationships. Google this morning announced that it has acquired Zagat, a company known for its burgendy-covered compilations of restaurant customer reviews. The search giant's says its plan is to use Zagat as the "cornerstone of our local offering," but that may be a nice…


A man gunned down outside a Copenhagen synagogue in one of three lethal shootings in the Danish capital was Jewish, a Jewish community group says.

Michael Gelvan, chairman of the Nordic Jewish Security Council, told AFP that a bar mitzvah, or Jewish coming of age ceremony, had been underway inside the synagogue and that the "young man" had been responsible for "access control" when he was shot.

"We don't know anything yet, it's too early to guess," he said about possible motives behind the killing.

"But it's a copy of what happened in Paris," he said, referring to the deadly attacks at satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in January.

In addition to the guard there were extra police outside the synagogue after community leaders contacted authorities following the afternoon gun attack on a debate about Islam and free speech at a community centre that left one dead and three police officers wounded.

The two police officers outside the synagogue were wounded but their injuries were not thought to be life threatening.

"I dare not think about what would have happened if (the killer) had access to the congregation," the chairman of The Jewish Community in Denmark, Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, told broadcaster TV2 News.

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Summary: Shots have been fired near Copenhagen's main synagogue, with three people injured including two policemen.


Gina Rodriguez (as Jane), Andrea Navedo (as Xo), and Ivonne Coll (as Alba)

05/11/2015 AT 02:10 PM EDT

's narrator, "Okay, let's do this."

since it premiered in the fall, but actress Andrea Navedo promises that the twists and turns will be amped up even higher for

"The finale is going to be fantastic. It is so well-written," Navedo (a.k.a. Xo) tells PEOPLE. "It really ties in the whole season and has a beautiful connection to the first episode. And there are three titillating cliffhangers. It is just so good."

Navedo, 45, also promises some of

's signature whimsy as the first season ends.

"The actors have to pull it off, but the writers are amazing. There has never been a moment where any of us have said, 'No. This is way too unrealistic,' " she says.

"We can pull off the comedy and the drama without batting an eyelash. It's just so well-written that our jobs are really easy. It's easy for us to pull off these crazy situations. I can't wait for people to see what we get to do in the final episode."

The season 1 finale of

airs Monday at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

Summary: "The finale is going to be fantastic," Andrea Navedo (a.k.a. Xo) tells PEOPLE


THE nation's savings and loan associations and other thrift institutions are facing a serious threat to their survival. Unless interest rates come down sharply - and stay down - in the coming year, hundreds of thrift institutions will either have to be rescued by the Federal Government or allowed to go under.

Insured thrift institutions lost an estimated $900 million during this year's first quarter, as a result of the necessity of paying very high interest rates to attract or hold money on deposit, while receiving the bulk of their income from long-term mortgage loans made at far lower rates.

Nevertheless, money has been pouring out of the thrift institutions into other higher-paying assets, such as money market funds. During April, the savings and loans lost a record $4.6 billion in net deposits, which came on top of outflows of $2.1 billion in March. While savings bank deposits and their certificates of deposit are insured up to $100,000, some depositors were apparently nervous about getting paid off promptly in case of failure, and some holders of uninsured deposits or ''jumbo'' C.D.'s of more than $100,000 may have moved their funds in quest not just of higher yields but of greater security.

More serious losses lie ahead for the thrift industry unless interest rates come down a lot more than they have so far. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Gerald R. Ford and an adviser to President Reagan, believes that the thrift industry is facing the worst losses in its history.

In a fresh analysis, Mr. Greenspan's economic consultant firm, Townsend-Greenspan Inc., concludes that even if interest rates recede to their April 1981 levels, about one percentage point below where they are now, total pretax losses of the savings institutions would keep rising, from $900 million in the first quarter to $1.9 billion in this year's final quarter, with prospective losses totaling $5.5 billion in 1981 and $7 billion in 1982.

That sounds bad enough, and would mean failure for scores of institutions. But if money market rates climb still higher in the coming year, the losses of the thrift units, Mr. Greenspan warns, ''would escalate to truly horrendous proportions.''

Nine out of 10 savings and loans, he says, are currently in the red on income account, though only a few have run out of book equity. However, that number is likely to increase rapidly in the months immediately ahead.

If thrift institutions had to liquidate their existing assets at current market values, only a few would have any equity left. The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation estimates the book value of the savings and loans' total assets at $600 billion, of which five-sixths consists of mortgages. Townsend-Greenspan estimates that their $500 billion mortgage portfolio, if sold at market, would produce a book loss of $100 billion.

Adjusting savings and loan balance sheets to current values would reduce the thrift industry's net worth from a current book level of $31 billion to a market deficit of approximately $70 billion.

On the extreme assumption that the industry had to liquidate its mortgage portfolio at current values, it would thus be $70 billion short of covering its liabilities. Of that amount, some $20 billion in liabilities is not insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Whatever the legalities, it seems virtually certain that the United States Treasury would make good on the insurance of deposits up to $100,000. That now means that the Treasury's contingent liability is approximately $50 billion - plus another $5 billion to cover losses at mutual savings banks.

The best hope for avoiding such a drain on the Treasury would be a decline in interest rates, which would remedy the thrift institutions' imbalance between asset and liability maturities and income flows. A 3.5 percentage point decline from the current level of rates would, according to the Greenspan estimate, wipe out the current deficit and put the thrift industry over all back on a breakeven status.

If the Administration pursues a fiscal policy that is excessively stimulative and keeps pressure on the Federal Reserve to control inflation basically by tightening the money supply, interest rates are likely to stay high and volatile, exacerbating the dangers to the savings and loans and mutual savings banks. The Administration would then, in all likelihood, be driven to employ one or another rescue device, such as the issuance of ''letters of credit'' for obtaining loans from the Treasury, or Federal warehousing of lower-yielding mortgages, to shore up the thrift industry.

The Reagan Administration is not eager to face up to the very real dangers confronting the savings industry; it is loath to undertake a huge rescue operation, and instead is looking for gimmicks and escape devices. These would require the ingenuity of a financial Harry Houdini, and none may exist. If interest rates stay high or move higher, a Federal bailout of enormous size may be needed to provide time for the restructuring of the thrift industry, and to hold down the damages to depositors.

The fundamental cure - lower inflation and lower interest rates - is the preferred solution, but it needs to come reasonably soon.


CHICAGO, March 17— Three local market makers in Kennecott options on the Chicago Board Options Exchange have filed suit in Federal court here against Bear, Stearns & Company, charging that, because of improper activites by insiders, the three suffered losses of more than $5 million.

It was the second lawsuit in a week charging improper use of insider information in options trading. The three traders asserted that the losses had eroded their capital position and had resulted in their suspension from the exchange.

Last week, O'Connor & Associates, another Chicago firm, sued Dean Witter Inc. and A.G. Becker, charging that the firms ''aided and abetted'' insiders in the purchase of options to buy shares of Amax. In an amended complaint, filed yesterday in Federal court in New York, O'Connor asked for a jury trial and named Thomas C. Reed, a former Secretary of the Air Force and the son of an Amax director, as one of the alleged insiders.

''Nobody around here can remember a time when there've been two suits like this,'' an official of the Chicago board said. Options trading began eight years ago on the Chicago board.

Several traders said privately they doubted the suits would have much impact, terming them acts of desperation on the part of people who got caught on the wrong side of the market, people who got caught writing so-called naked options - without owning the underlying stocks - and who did not hedge their exposure. Each call option, the type in dispute, represents a contract to purchase 100 shares of stock at a given price before a specific expiration date.

The options had given the purchasers the right to buy the underlying stock in coming months at prices well above the levels at which Kennecott and Amax were traded before the Standard Oil Company of California arranged to buy Amax for $4 billion, and Standard Oil (Ohio) offered $1.77 billion for Kennecott. Immediately after the offers were announced in the last 10 days, the Kennecott and Amax stocks shot up in price, increasing the value of the options many times over. For example, some Amax call options to purchase Amax stock at $45 or more in March multiplied in value more than 70 times as Amax stock doubled to $58.

The Chicago board, the Amex and the Securities and Exchange Commission have said that they have their own investigations pending in the Amax and Kennecott cases. And the brokerage houses have denied any wrongdoing.

The three plaintiffs in the suit filed here yesterday said, however, that the exchanges' self-regulatory efforts, made up of daily surveillance of trading to spot irregular patterns, would not compensate them for their losses.

''The object of this suit is to get back some lost money,'' said Lawrence Rubin, a lawyer with Avery, Hodes, Costello & Burman, attorneys for the plaintiffs in the suit involving Kennecott options. ''The exchanges and the S.E.C. have generally taken a long time to reach conclusions and the trial may have grown cold by that time.''

Mr. Rubin contended that his clients - Robert Lechman, David Harris and 3-S Board Brokers - sold many of the options to buy 200,000 shares of Kennecott in June at prices of $30 and $35 in the days before Sohio announced that it would pay $62 a share for Kennecott. Kennecott shares, selling for around $27 before the deal, soared to more than $50 a share after the announcement and closed today at 53 1/8, up 3/4.

Caught off guard by the merger news and not owning the shares covered by the options they had sold, the traders were then obliged under the options contract to buy the stock at more than $50 a share and sell at $30 and $35 to cover their options commitments.

Alton Harris, an attorney for O'Connor at the firm of Coffield, Ungaretti, Harris & Slavin, said he did not believe that O'Connor owned all the shares on all the options that it sold.

Attempts by telephone to reach Bear, Stearns for comment were in vain.