Venture capitalists invested $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2012

Venture capitalists invested $5.8 billion in 758 deals in the first quarter of 2012. The report shows that after a strong fourth quarter 2011, VC investment activity for the quarter fell 19 percent in terms of dollars and 15 percent in the number of deals compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 when $7.1 billion …

The untold story of American superheroines

Yesterday, I wrote about the need for women writers and artists in comic books, highlighting a very successful Kickstarter project, Womanthology. The project was so successful that they have an offshoot. A documentary about female super heroes that premiered at South by Southwest 2012: Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating evolution and …

Kickstarter project: Womanthology – massive all-female comic anthology

I read a lot of comics and it is always upsetting that there are no women creating them. There are female characters everywhere in the stories, many super heroines, and yet, nearly all the top female characters have all-male teams working on them. It is pretty sad, and unfair. The good news is that a …

Gas prices have peaked – $3.70+ is the new normal

This year’s surge in gasoline prices appears over, falling short of the record highs some had feared heading into peak summer driving season. Prices have held at a national average of $3.92 a gallon the past week, below 2011’s $3.99 high and July 2008’s record $4.11. “By the behavior of the market, things are just …

The top 10 cities for travel in 2012 – from Lonely Planet

London Muscat, Oman Bengaluru (Bangalore), India Cádiz, Spain Stockholm, Sweden Guimarães, Portugal Santiago, Chile Hong Kong Orlando, Florida Darwin, Australia A few of the explanations: Bengaluru – The undisputed Elvis of South Asian megacities, Bengaluru is in a class of its own when it comes to redefining flamboyance. Perpetually drunk on the good life, this South …

Tickets available for the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival

This will be my second year attending the Newport Beach Film Festival. Last year I watched a film about sharks and listened to Aaron Sorkin speak about writing. I loved it. This year is looking to be just as good and I’m excited to see movies about the ocean, surfing, design, and drama. One things …

Tipping point – estimated 1 billion more movies in 2012 will be streamed than watched via DVD

According to research from the IHS Screen Digest, we may have finally reached the point when streaming video services have become ubiquitous enough to take over American households. The researcher forecasts that 3.4 billion movies will be legally consumed over streaming services this year, more than double the 1.4 billion that were viewed last year …