Below are simple links to other interesting stuff I've come across on the web in the last day or two; they may or may not concern literature or photography, or indeed the arts at all. You can click here to learn more about how I compile this list and what software I use, if you're interested.

House-of-cards "luxury industry" declines 35 freaking percent in 2008
Earlier this year I reviewed a rather astounding book called "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster," which posits a fascinating argument: that since the '80s, the so-called "luxury industry" (Gucci et al) has stopped relying on actual high-quality goods for success, and has instead hedged all its bets on clever marketing, cheap Chinese labor, the embrace of "bling-bling culture," the unending debt-spending of the late postmodern era, and the low self-esteems of most middle-class people; and furthermore, that the moment this combination no longer works, the entire industry will be set to completely collapse on itself like the trillion-dollar house of cards it is. And hey, guess what? The figures have just come out for 2008, and it turns out that the luxury industry has declined over the last year by a whopping 35 percent, far and away the largest decline of any major industry in America. See? Dana Thomas was right!

Rosenblat's publisher on fake memoir: "Um, it's a 'work of memory!' Yeah, that's the ticket!"
A couple of days ago I reported on the latest Oprah-loving memoirist to get busted for writing a fake "true story" -- it's Herman Rosenblat, whose Holocaust tale "Angel at the Fence" turns out could've never actually happened, not according to Buchenwald experts who claim that a prisoner could've never gotten as close to the outside fence as Rosenblat's main contention. And now his publisher has weighed in, nominally standing by the book but now claiming that it's a "work of memory" instead of a "memoir;" or in even plainer terms, as the author himself now admits, "This is my personal story AS I REMEMBER IT" (emphasis mine). You know, MY personal story as I remember it involves banging Bridget Fonda in my dorm room in 1987; so I guess now THAT's true too, huh? Give me a ring, Oprah -- I've got some great stories about Bridget Fonda for you!

Financiers of Chicago Spire busted in $120M personal-loan scandal
For those who don't know, a group of developers have been trying for several years now to get the newest "tallest building in the world" built in Chicago, an edifice they call "The Spire" and that has been mired in controversy since day one. And now the news gets even worse; the president of principal financier Anglo Irish Bank Corp, based in Dublin, has just gotten busted for handing out over $120 million in personal loans, all of which he kept hidden from the board. So long, Chicago Spire!

Regarding Gaiman's Law of Superhero Films
A funny and interesting post from author Neil Gaiman today, explaining again his "Gaiman's Law of Superhero Films" that he came up with earlier this year; essentially, that no matter how good or bad a superhero film is on its own terms, its success or failure depends directly on how well it captures what fans of the comic like about the comic version itself. That's why "Sin City" was such a success, he opines, and "The Spirit" such a failure, despite the movies looking virtually identical -- because the former was a literal duplicate of the page-based comic (co-directed by the same guy who actually made the comic, unsurprisingly enough), while the latter is a 180-degree spin from what fans love about the Eisner original. Makes sense when Gaiman explains it this way, although I admit I had never thought about it in those terms before.

RNC nominee sends out "Magic Negro" Christmas gifts
Proof of just how many Republicans still don't get it: Chip Saltsman, a paleocon running for the head of the Republican National Committee next month, sent out an audio CD to friends for Christmas this year which included a racist song about President-Elect Obama called "Barack the Magic Negro." Says Saltsman (and this is a direct, real quote): "I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that [such songs] are light-hearted political parodies." Light-hearted political parodies. Hmm. I see. And burning crosses are merely yard decorations, right, Saltsman? (UPDATE: Oh yeah, and the whole thing's sung by a white guy in an Amos-N-Andy-style blackface minstrel voice, with the singer claiming during the song to be Al Sharpton. Did I forget to mention that?)

CBS repeats beat Christmas Eve airing of "Wonderful Life"
Yet more proof that Americans simply no longer gather around the television set at predetermined times for "prestige events" like they used to: NBC's traditional Christmas Eve airing of the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" was actually beaten in the ratings this year by repeats of crime thriller "CSI" on CBS.