Roy Exum
Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is a noted astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York’s Museum of Natural History, wandered into “a black hole” or sorts on Christmas Day when he sent some clever tweets that caused quite a ruckus. He has about 2.8 million followers so how do you think the first one went over? “QUESTION: This year, what do all the world’s Muslims and Jews call December 25? ANSWER: Thursday.”
According to a CBS News account, over 3,000 retweeted the comment so a few minutes later came Tyson’s second missive: “On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec, 25, 1642” and – kaWham! – over 60,000 responded, not all of them favorably.
Now on a roll and obviously delighting in scorching the Internet, the Brooklyn-born scientist rolled out his new volley-by-tweet: “Merry Christmas to all. A Pagan holiday (BC) becomes a religious holiday (AD). Which then becomes a Shopping holiday (USA)” Over 15,000 responded and he was called “Scrooge” among other things.
So his last message was a bit more subdued: “Santa knows Physics: Of all colors, Red Light penetrates fog best. That’s why Benny the Blue-nosed reindeer never got the gig.”
I think he was just trying to be funny but some commenters figured he was drunk. Regardless, I now remember why I’ll never tweet.
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Nina Zipkin, writing for Entrepreneur website, gives us the Most Unforgettable Quotes of 2014:
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou, Author and Activist (died May 24, 2014)
"And some of you – and now I’m talking to anyone who has been dumped – have not gotten the job you really wanted or have received those horrible rejection letters from grad school. You know the disappointment of losing or not getting something you badly want. When that happens, show what you are made of." – Jill Abramson, Journalist (fired as editor of N.Y. Times May 14, 2014)
“You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” - Robin Williams, Actor and Comedian (died August 11, 2014)
"Getting from point A to point Z can be daunting unless you remember that you don’t have to get from A to Z. You just have to get from A to B. Breaking big dreams into small steps is the way to move forward." – Sheryl Sandberg, Author, Activist, (who became COO of Facebook Sept. 2014)
"Don't be afraid to make a mistake, because you know what you can do if you grab the wrong one? Drop it and pick up another one!" – Steve Ballmer, Former Microsoft CEO (who became the owner of the LA Clippers after purchasing the team for $2 billion)
"I will always be safe from the random hurricanes of outcome as long as I never forget where I rightfully live.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Writer of “Eat, Pray, Love”
"If you aren’t making a difference in other people’s lives, you shouldn’t be in business -- it’s that simple. Companies have a responsibility to make a difference in the world: They owe this to their community, their staff, their customers, everyone. The amazing part is that doing good is also good for business -- what are you waiting for?" – Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group
"Let’s keep it real: most of us, especially most of us entrepreneurs, get caught up in what we perceive to be the highs and lows of our professional lives. We pop champagne, buy fancy toys and celebrate when it seems like one of our ideas has "won," but we become dark and depressed when it seems like an idea has "lost" or "failed." The truth is that neither reaction is sustainable. Being an entrepreneur or a business person is a journey that will have inevitable highs and lows, but will never actually end." – Russell Simmons, fashion and lifestyle entrepreneur and founder of Def Jam Recordings
So I guess what I’m saying is you gotta ask yourself, why are you playing the game?” – Matthew McConaughey, Actor.
"Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century." – Joan Rivers, Comedian (died Sept. 4, 2014)
"Being open and observant of people and the world around you is really important. People have the same desires and needs online as they do offline. The way that people are stays constant. You can change the format, make it easier for them to communicate or use photos instead of words but human necessities never change." – Caterina Fake, tech entrepreneur, founder of Flickr and Findery.
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