The Week Unpeeled
Amid a backdrop of ongoing investigations in motives and scope of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers and the NRA annual convention, the US economy showed ongoing signs of moderate growth with the jobs report showing the unemployment rate declining to 7.5 percent in April and non-farm payroll adding 165,000, better than expectations. That news propelled the Dow to a record high, closing up 143 points on Friday at 14,973, briefly topping 15,000.
Elsewhere:
- The disaster at a Bangladeshi apparel factory is forcing manufacturers to reconsider their productions and brand images tied to poor workplace safety conditions/records, with Disney already pulling out of the country; No doubt consumers will become a different type of label conscious as where clothes are made;
- Warren Buffett hosted its annual investor hoopla, curious to see what he says about his recent buying spree in newspapers; Meanwhile, Berskhire’s profits jumped 51 percent;
- While circulation has been on the decline for most US newspapers, circulation rose at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for the six months ended March 31, because of digital subscribers: WSJ held onto its rank as largest daily with average weekday circulation at 2.4 million and NYT at 1.9 million, with a Sunday total of 2.3 million;
- JC Penney launched a big ad/digital campaign after its downfall and CEO shuffle, in a mea culpa of “It’s No Secret,” illustrating on some levels admit errors upfront;
- Apple sold $17 billion in corporate bonds, the largest deal in history that was met with strong investor demand;
- Making front-page headlines nearly everywhere, NBA player Jason Collins comes out as the first major league sports player (during Tony Awards announcements week, no less!); and
- Favorite Orb wins the Kentucky Derby.
The most emailed article in Sunday’s New York Times was about how to say goodbye to all that stuff. Apparently most Americans struggle with paring down drawers, closets and desks. They hang on to old shoes, free giveaway pens and even jars of jam they will never use. Anyone who works with me knows I suffer from the opposite. I'm a minimalist - the kind that prompts people to ask, "Are you moving in or out?" when they see my apartment.
Ha! 
This past Friday, July 20, marked the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s famous moon landing. Before this date in 1969, what we knew of space came from the minds of authors and directors, such as 
