Wall Street Journal - FishbowlLA

Freelance Writer Michael Ybarra Killed Near Yosemite

Marcus Vanderberg — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:00:43 +0000

Freelance writer and Wall Street Journal contributor Michael Ybarra was tragically killed last Saturday during a climbing trip near Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada:

Mr. Ybarra set out by himself early Saturday morning to traverse the Sawtooth Ridge, a rugged area near Yosemite National Park, his sister and Alex Few, a friend and fellow mountain climber, had said earlier Wednesday.

Mr. Ybarra, 45 years old, was scheduled to return from his climb by Sunday evening at the latest. After he didn’t contact Ms. Few, as planned, nor respond to her efforts to call, email and text him, she said she contacted local search-and-rescue personnel on Monday.

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Spielberg One Of Many Victims Of Madoff Swindle

Dan Cox — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:53:01 +0000

Steven Spielberg was one of many ultra-rich Hollywood and Wall Street types whom Bernard Madoff scammed in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Associated Press reports.

The alleged victims who sunk cash into veteran Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff’s investment pool include real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the foundation of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, and a charity of movie director Spielberg, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Among the world’s biggest banking institutions, Britain’s HSBC Holdings PLC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Man Group PLC, Spain’s Grupo Santander SA, France’s BNP Paribas and Japan’s Nomura Holdings all reported that they had fallen victim to Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme

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Ad Characters Get Sit-coms, Movies, and Back-stories

Kate — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 13:01:51 +0000

The Wall Street Journal plumbs the shallows of those who would turn a car insurance ad into a laff-riot sit-com. Geico’s Cavemen are getting a series on ABC, as was reported last week. Considering Geico spent an estimated $403 million on ad time and space in 2005, some royalty checks should come in handy.

And the Burger King King is also getting the royalties treatment:

The burger baron recently starred in a series of videogames, and the company says it has lined up a studio and distributor for a feature film. Russ Klein, Burger King’s president of global marketing strategy, won’t reveal the studio’s identity or the likely plot. But he says the movie could appear as early as the end of this year, with the film aimed at “creating a back story for the King.”

Ad characters need a back story? Here’s ours.

Back when he was just Prince Charming, he married Cinderella, she went nuts with the credit cards (she never had anything as a kid) and he had to get a day job in a fast food joint. They all lived happily ever after.

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