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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Forbes 2013 Most Powerful Celebrities List Re-posted by Nicholas Stix

Forbes 2013 Most Powerful Celebrities list crowns Oprah Winfrey at No. 1

Queen of Daytime regains top ranking, besting Lady Gaga, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce and Madonna.

[Censored] Comments (7) By Ethan Sacks June 26, 2013, 11:36 A.M. New York Daily News LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 20: Oprah Winfrey speaks onstage during O You! presented by O, The Oprah Magazine, held at Los Angeles Convention Center on October 20, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ben Rose/WireImage) " Oprah Winfrey finished in the No. 1 spot on Forbes’ 2013 Most Powerful Celebrities list. The former Queen of Daytime has regained her rightful throne.

Oprah Winfrey topped Forbes’ 2013 list of the Most Powerful Celebrities after having slipped to second place the past two years. Lady Gaga finished in second place courtesy of a strong social media presence and $80 million in estimated earnings.Lady Gaga finished in second place courtesy of a strong social media presence and $80 million in estimated earnings. (Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) RELATED: UNEMPLOYED TEBOW STILL INFLUENTIAL: FORBES

Finishing in second place was Lady Gaga, powered by $80 million in income and a high social media score. Director Steven Spielberg finished third, buoyed by all the media attention for his latest movie, “Lincoln.” Beyonce took fourth place, 28 spots ahead of her husband, Jay-Z. Seven Spielberg, the No. 3 most powerful celebrity according to Forbes, didn’t win an Academy Award for ‘Lincoln,’ but did come away with plenty of positive press.Seven Spielberg, the No. 3 most powerful celebrity according to Forbes, didn’t win an Academy Award for ‘Lincoln,’ but did come away with plenty of positive press. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Madonna [Ciccone] finished fifth, but can console herself with the $125 million she earned between June 2012 and June 2013, easily the highest among the celebrities on the list.

RELATED: OPRAH, BEYONCE LEAD CELEBS IN FORBES' MOST POWERFUL WOMEN LIST Beyonce (No. 4), finished 28 slots above husband Jay-Z on the list.Beyonce [Knowles] (No. 4), finished 28 slots above husband Jay-Z on the list. (Yosra El-Essawy/Yosra El-Essawy/Invision/AP)

The Forbes list, however, uses more than just celebrities’ earnings. According to the magazine, the rankings are based on an algorithm measuring “fame” — and includes mentions in print and on television, their Internet presence, social networking presence and their marketability with the American public.

Taylor Swift (No. 6) and Justin Bieber (No. 9) cracked the top 10 based largely on their social media domination and inability to stay out of the glossy gossip magazines. Madonna (No. 5) earned the most money — $125 million, courtesy of her MDNA tour — of any celebrity on the list. Madonna [Ciccone] (No. 5) earned the most money — $125 million, courtesy of her MDNA tour — of any celebrity on the list. (Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images)

PHOTOS: TOP 15 BILLIONAIRES IN THE WORLD

That’s also why Hugh Jackman finished in 11th place, nine spots ahead of Robert Downey Jr., who hauled in $20 million more than his fellow actor, but has zero social media presence.

Taylor Swift finished in sixth place on the Forbes list, which measures earnings and ‘fame’ between June 2012 and June 2013.Taylor Swift finished in sixth place on the Forbes list, which measures earnings and ‘fame’ between June 2012 and June 2013. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

R&B superstar Rihanna, who finished thirteenth, notched the most headlines — but was weighed down by an embarassing [sic] 60th in marketability rank likely fueled by her steady stream of tawdry tweets.

Rocker group Bon Jovi (No. 7), Tennis pro Roger Federer (No. 8) and Ellen Degeneres (No. 10), rounded out the top ten. Singer Justin Bieber earned $58 million over the last 12 months, according to Forbes, so he can afford plenty of new fast cars to drive around his California gated community. Singer Justin Bieber earned $58 million over the last 12 months, according to Forbes, so he can afford plenty of new fast cars to drive around his California gated community. (MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS)

Without the "American Idol" paycheck to pad her stats, last year's No.1, Jennifer Lopez, fell to No. 12 on this year's Forbes list.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

131210_HOL_SantaMakeover

Illustration by Mark Stamaty


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Gerald Bracey Obituary 

Biting critic of national education policy

By Jay Mathews,October 23, 2009
Washington Post

  • Gerald Bracey was well-known for attacking the statistical biases of studies that declared U.S. schools to be inferior.
Gerald Bracey was well-known for attacking the statistical biases of studies… (Mark Finkenstaedt For The…)

Gerald W. Bracey, 69, one of the most erudite, prolific and acidic critics of national education policy, died unexpectedly early Oct. 20 at his home in Port Townsend, Wash.

His wife, Iris, said his death could have resulted from a number of potential causes, including his prostate cancer, according to his doctors. Mr. Bracey, a Richmond native, had until recently been a Northern Virginia resident.

He had the analytic skill and academic standing -- including a doctorate in developmental psychology from Stanford University -- to become a leading government or university policy analyst. But he was unable to curb his sharp tongue or his outrage at the way American schools were being demeaned by politicians and editorial writers, so he chose a less financially secure career as lecturer, writer, author and sender of e-mails eviscerating people who disagreed with him.

When an international study of high school science and mathematics was about to be released, with American students scoring below average, Mr. Bracey faxed a droll and prickly bulletin to education writers and experts nationwide.

"NOTE THAT GREECE IS SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE U.S. IN BOTH PHYSICS AND ADVANCED MATHEMATICS," he wrote. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

Mr. Bracey, who had lived for a while in Greece, was skeptical that Greeks could score so well on high school tests but perform near the bottom on fourth-grade and eighth-grade tests.

"Do you really think these Greek kids suddenly encountered Socratic teachers in their high schools and shot their advanced students beyond ours?" he told The Washington Post. "In a pig's eye!"

He published articles in dozens of magazines and newspapers and wrote 10 books during the last two decades of his life. He skewered the educational policies of the George W. Bush administration and donated money to and voted for presidential candidate Barack Obama. By May of this year, Mr. Bracey was hitting Obama too, noting that the president was wrong when he said "in 8th grade math we've fallen to 9th place."

Actually, this was an improvement from 28th place in 1995, Mr. Bracey pointed out.

In his book, "Education Hell: Rhetoric vs. Reality," published this year, Mr. Bracey attacked the misuses of standardized testing, a subject on which he was an acknowledged national expert. "We went from a system that valued producing good citizens for a democracy to one that worshipped at the temple of high test scores," Mr. Bracey wrote. "We should be asking, what were we thinking?"

Gerald Watkins Bracey was born Aug. 12, 1940, and grew up in Williamsburg. After graduating from the College of William & Mary and getting his doctorate, he worked for the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., and as a researcher and assistant professor at Indiana University before spending the mid-1970s traveling through Asia, Africa and Europe. He became an expert on international cuisine and wine and reviewed restaurants as part of his freelance writing career.

He began a monthly column on research for the educational journal Phi Delta Kappan in the mid-1980s while working for the Virginia Department of Education. His prominence increased in 1990 when he reacted angrily to a column by The Post's Richard Cohen decrying a national decline in SAT scores, which Mr. Bracey knew had been caused not by bad schools but more women and minorities taking the test.

At Cohen's urging, he responded in The Post's Outlook section, then began writing an annual critique of the mistakes made in education reporting. His bosses at the National Education Association, where he was a senior policy analyst, told him he was being "too entrepreneurial" and he resigned.

The last annual Bracey Report, formerly known as the Rotten Apple Awards, will be published soon, fellow critic Susan Ohanian said.

Mr. Bracey's first marriage ended in divorce. In addition to his wife, survivors include two stepchildren, Noel Petrie of Maryville, Tenn., and Kira Mekeburg of Herndon; and four grandchildren.


Monday, December 09, 2013


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