Taylor Swift: Autographs Are Obsolete Because Of Selfies

The Wall Street Journal's newest columnist, Taylor Swift -- yes, that Taylor Swift -- has a message for all you old fogies out there: Autographs are so over.
"I haven't been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera," Swift wrote Monday in her WSJ column on the future of music. She called autographs "obsolete."
For young people, Instagram followers are "currency," she argued. And she has a point. Instagram is the most important social network for teens, according to a recent survey by the investment bank Piper Jaffray. How are you suppose to impress your friends with a name scribbled on a piece of paper?
If anyone can tell us what the kids are into, it's their fearless leader. She's got 9.7 million Instagram followers, 41.7 million Twitter followers and 66.6 million Facebook "Likes." (Plus seven Grammys, but who's counting?)

Generally, there's nothing wrong with celebrity selfies. The only potential problem for teens -- who will someday grow up and value money -- is that you can't sell selfies on eBay. The whole autograph industry collapses if selfies become the norm.
Just be careful out there when snapping selfies with the rich and famous. A recent example comes from the Tour de France, during which spectators were stepping in front of cyclists in order to take selfies with them as they passed.

Lifeguard Ben Carlson, 32, drowns during rescue off S. California

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) - A lifeguard drowned while trying to rescue a swimmer off a Southern California beach Sunday, authorities said.
Ben Carlson, 32, was pulled from the water around 8 p.m. PDT by fellow lifeguards following a frantic, three-hour search, Newport Beach Fire Department Chief Scott Poster said.
Poster said the 15-year department veteran went into the water to help a swimmer struggling in the water when they were hit by a large wave. Carlson went under water, and the swimmer made it to shore safely. Poster said searchers were hampered by up to 12-foot swells.
"It was just an utter tragedy to lose a man of that caliber in the water today," the chief said, noting that it was the first time a city lifeguard died in the line of duty.
"Ben was a well-respected individual, always a nice guy, always was there to help somebody," Poster said. "He'd give his shirt off his back at anytime."
The National Weather Service had issued a warning Sunday of dangerous rip currents and high surf along Southern California beaches. The weather service said some beaches saw up to 8-feet high surf.
Los Angeles County firefighters rescued a 25-year-old man who was caught in the waves off Rancho Palos Verdes and high tide breached a sand berm in Long Beach.
The lifeguard's death came a day after a 50-year-old long-distance swimmer and former lifeguard was bitten by a shark off Manhattan Beach.
Authorities and witnesses said the 7-foot-long juvenile had been trying to free itself from a fisherman's hook when it lunged at Steven Robles' chest.
The beaches remained open, but police prohibited fishing from the Manhattan Beach pier where the fisherman hooked the shark until Tuesday.

Report: More than 60 girls escaped Boko Haram Friday

CNN reports that 63 girls and women being held hostage by Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram managed to escape Friday, reportedly taking advantage of a 'rare opportunity' that is believed to have been created by an insurgent seize.

Nigerian newspaper This Day Live says, "It is believed that the siege by the insurgents on military and security facilities last Friday in Damboa might have presented the women with an opportunity to flee from their abductors."

Background:

In a series of village raids in June, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 60 women and girls and 30 boys, according to The Guardian. That's in addition to the 200 school girls they took hostage in April.

There are estimated to be more than 650,000 refugees in Nigeria because of Boko Haram's attacks.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/07/report-more-than-60-girls-escaped-boko-haram-friday/20925860/?ncid=webmail1

At 116, Arkansas woman named oldest American

By Jill Bleed
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A south Arkansas woman celebrated her 116th birthday Friday with cake, a party and a new title - she's now officially the oldest confirmed living American and second-oldest person in the world, the Gerontology Research Group said.
Gertrude Weaver spent her birthday at home at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation in Camden, about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock. This year's festivities included the new award from the Gerontology Research Group, which analyzed U.S. Census records to determine that Weaver is the oldest living American, rather than 115-year-old Jeralean Talley, who was born in 1899.
The research group, which consults with the Guinness Book of World Records, found that the 1900 Census listed Weaver as 2 years old - putting her birthday in 1898, said Robert Young, the research group's database administrator and senior consultant for Guinness.
That makes Weaver the second-oldest person in the world behind 116-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan and the 11th oldest person of all time, he said.
"Normally, 116 would be old enough to be the world's oldest person," Young said. "There's kind of heavy competition at the moment."
Weaver was born in southwest Arkansas near the border with Texas, and was married in 1915. She and her husband had four children, all of whom have died except for a 93-year-old son. Along with Census records, the Gerontology Research Group used Weaver's 1915 marriage certificate, which listed her age as 17, to confirm her birth year, Young said.
Although no birth record exists for Weaver, she celebrates her birthday each year on July 4 and did the same this year. At her 115th birthday party last year, Weaver was "waving and just eating it all up," said Vicki Vaughan, the marketing and admissions director at Silver Oaks.
"Most people want to know, 'Well, can she talk?'" Vaughan said. "Her health is starting to decline a little bit this year - I can tell a difference from last year, but she still is up and gets out of the room and comes to all of her meals, comes to activities. She'll laugh and smile and clap."
Weaver first stayed at the Camden nursing home at the age of 104 after she suffered a broken hip, Vaughan said. But Weaver recovered after rehabilitation and moved back home with her granddaughter, before returning to the nursing home at the age of 109.
Weaver cited three factors for her longevity: "Trusting in the Lord, hard work and loving everybody."
"You have to follow God. Don't follow anyone else," she told the Camden News this week. "Be obedient and follow the laws and don't worry about anything. I've followed him for many, many years and I ain't tired."

Michael Strahan -- Knife-Wielding Nut Threatens to Kill Talk Show Host

A homeless man went to ABC studios in NYC Tuesday with a knife and threatened to kill Michael Strahan ... NYPD officials confirm to TMZ.

Andre Johnson appeared Tuesday AM at the Times Square studio where "Good Morning America" is shot. The 25-year-old man showed up at around 8:00 AM ... when the cast often walks out onto the sidewalk set to interact with onlookers.

Police say Johnson got into an argument with

security, pulled a knife and said he was there to kill Strahan -- who makes appearances on "GMA" in addition to hosting "LIVE! With Kelly and Michael."

A cop working security then subdued Johnson and secured the knife.

The NY Post -- which broke the story -- says the man was charged with felony attempted assault as well as menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. It appears he's being held without bail.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/02/michael-strahan-knife-kill-kelly-and-michael-abc-gma/#ixzz36JtpsCnW

'Hot convict' Jeremy Meeks scores modeling contract in LA

 

It looks like all the attention from Twitter has scored convicted felon Jeremy Meeks a modeling contract. TMZ reports Meeks has signed a $30,000 contract with Blaze Modelz in Los Angeles. Apparently, his manager is already getting death threats for it.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/02/hot-convict-jeremy-meeks-scores-modeling-contract-in-la/20923842/?ncid=webmail8

Graceland may remove Elvis Presley's old airplanes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - For 30 years, tourists from around the world have paid money to get a look at two airplanes once owned by Elvis Presley at the Graceland tourist attraction in Memphis. By April of next year, the planes could be gone.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, which operates the Graceland tourist attraction, has written to the planes' owners saying it wants the jets, named Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II, removed from Graceland in late April 2015. The planes were sold after Presley's death, and were eventually purchased by OKC Partnership in Memphis.
OKC Partnership and Graceland agreed to bring the two jets to Graceland, where they have been a popular tourist attraction since the mid-1980s.