Bob Dylan sells treasure trove of archive material

Bob Dylan has sold his personal archive of notes, draft lyrics, poems, artwork and photographs to the University of Tulsa, where they will be made available to scholars and curated for public exhibitions, the school said on Wednesday.

The 6,000 item collection spans nearly the entire length of Dylan’s 55 year-long career, and many have never been seen before. The collection was acquired by the George Kaiser Foundation and the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

The collection also includes master recording tapes of Dylan’s entire music catalog, along with hundreds of hours of film video.

The Foundation and the university did not say how much the Bob Dylan Archive cost, but the New York Times, which was given an exclusive preview, said it was sold for $15 million to $20 million.

Tulsa is also the home of a museum dedicated to folk singer Woody Guthrie, one of Dylan’s early influences.

“I’m glad that my archives, which have been collected all these years, have finally found a home and are to be included with the works of Woody Guthrie… To me, it makes a lot of sense and it’s a great honor,” Dylan said in a statement.

Despite being regarded as “the voice of a generation” for his influential songs of the 1960s and 1970s, Dylan, now 74, has mostly kept his items out of the public eye, resulting in high prices when they occasionally come up for auction.

A handwritten copy of the song “Like a Rolling Stone” sold for a record $2 million at a New York auction in 2014, while the electric guitar he played at 1965 Newport Folk Festival sold for nearly $1 million in 2013.

The archives handed over to the University of Tulsa include two notebooks with lyrics from the 1975 album “Blood on the Tracks,” and Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to his 1964 song “Chimes of Freedom” scrawled on hotel notepaper dotted with cigarette burns. There is also correspondence between Dylan and the late beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

source: interaksyon.com

In selfie era, demand for U.S. plastic surgery rises

Dental hygienist Jennifer Reynolds was always self-conscious about her looks, never took selfies and felt uncomfortable being tagged in photographs posted on social media.

The 34-year-old from Costa Rica who lives in New York opted for plastic surgery on her nose and now feels ready for prime time on social media.

"I definitely feel more comfortable right now with my looks," Reynolds explained. "If I need to take a selfie, without a doubt, I would have no problem."

Reynolds is one of a growing number of people who have turned to plastic surgeons to enhance their image. Others are hiring specialized make-up artists in what may be an emerging selfie economy.

Selfies, or self portraits, rose in popularity along with smartphones and social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Instagram as a mostly young adult crowd posted images of themselves. Now everyone from Hollywood stars to prime ministers takes selfies.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres posted a selfie with Hollywood A-listers at the Academy Awardson Twitter that became the most retweeted of all time. When Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt's snapped a selfie with President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron at Nelson Mandela's memorial service it caused a media sensation.

For mere mortals, going under the scalpel to create a better selfie may not seem so extreme.

Plastic surgeons in United States have seen a surge in demand for procedures ranging from eye-lid lifts to rhinoplasty, popularly known as a nose job, from patients seeking to improve their image in selfies and on social media.

A poll by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) of 2,700 of its members showed that one in three had seen an increase in requests for procedures due to patients being more aware of their image in social media. They noted a 10 percent rise in rhinoplasty in 2013 over 2012, a 7 percent jump in hair transplants and 6 percent increase in eyelid surgery.

"There has been a 25 percent increase over the past year and a half to two years. That is very significant," Dr. Sam Rizk, a plastic surgeon, said about his Manhattan practice.

"They come in with their iPhones and show me pictures," Rizk, 47, added. "Selfies are just getting to be so crazy.

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Rizk, who specializes in rhinoplasty, said not everyone who requests surgery needs it because a selfie produces a distorted image that does not represent how a person really looks.

"We all will have something wrong with us on a selfie image," he explained. "I refuse a significant proportion of patients with selfies because I believe it is not a real image of what they actually look like in person."

Some patients get upset when Rizk tells them surgery is not necessary, and he knows they will simply go to another surgeon.

"Too many selfies indicate a self obsession and a certain level of insecurity that most teenagers have. It just makes it worse," he said. "Now they can see themselves in 100 images a day on Facebook and Instagram."

New York make-up artist Ramy Gafni, who has worked with clients on selfies and online dating profile photos, suggests using clean makeup, well-defined eyebrows and a bit color on the lips to produce the best selfies.

"You want to enhance your features, perfect your features but not necessarily change your features into something they are not," he said.

Dan Ackerman, senior editor with CNET which tests and reviews products, said the Internet is full of tips and advice on selfies.

"There are apps that apply filters to your face that smooth out wrinkles ... or put artificial makeup.... There is a sub economy of tools and advice that have built up around this," he added.

source: interaksyon.com