Now: July/August 2008
saturday, august 09
Floor It
10TH GUMBALL 3000 RALLY
San Francisco to Beijing
A decade ago, Maximillion Cooper gathered his A-list friends and their exotic autos for a rally across Europe, but his goal was more than a car race. "I wanted to create a brand they could all aspire to no matter how successful they already were," Cooper says of his celebrity mates, including Xzibit, Adrien Brody, and John Mayer. Today, you can measure Gumball's success by its status as a global brand aspiring to being a lifestyle -- it has spawned films, clothing lines, concerts, events, and perhaps most important, general revulsion among those who can't afford it. The rally is still the main (road) show -- this year's features champagne-fueled parties across California (take that, emissions standards!); a rock concert in Pyongyang, North Korea; and a finale at the Olympics. While fame isn't required to rally, money is; participants need Maserati-like transportation and $120,000 to burn. And, yes, Cooper really does spell his name Maximillion. -- Clay Dillow
saturday, august 23
Swallow
PHARMACY AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
San Diego
Execs -- and of course pharmacists -- from more than 150 retailers representing nearly 80,000 stores and $207 billion in drug sales will gather to talk industry trends (what do the growing numbers of aging baby boomers mean for business?) and strategy (what to do about the nationwide shortage of pharmacists?). Do not attend this conference if you are a layman or operating heavy equipment; side effects may include drowsiness. -- KR
friday, august 29
Go for Broke
MICHAEL JACKSON TURNS 50
Jacko is finally hitting the big five-oh, but we're feeling that this midlife crisis has been unfolding for decades. He almost lost Neverland Ranch, his Santa Barbara casa/carnival, after defaulting on his loan payments. (Colony Capital, a large real-estate investor, no doubt populated with Thriller lovers, stepped in, bought the loan, and agreed to renegotiate the terms.) And he has already leveraged his other (considerable) holdings to the breaking point -- chiefly his 50% stake in a 251-song Beatles catalog. For Jackson, the 1-2-3s have never proved easy. It's hard to fund a lifestyle akin to that of a deposed Third World dictator purely on private-sector funds, and he hasn't produced a studio album (read: new income) in seven years. We can't believe we're saying this, but there may be one thing that Michael Jackson -- or at least his brand -- could really use: a face-lift. -- CD
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
