Poetic justice and other tales.

I’ve got two cool news stories to share with you, so here goes. You might want to go grab a lemonade or a couple of peanut butter cookies.

Cool News Story #1
Rick Norsigian of Fresno, California, who spent $45 on two boxes of glass plate photography negatives at a garage sale 10 years ago, has just had them authenticated as the lost works of iconic American photographer Ansel Adams ... worth an estimated $200 million. Adams, the best-known American landscape photographer of the early 20th century (see image below), lost his studio to a fire in 1937 and believed that most of the negatives from his early years (1919 through the early 1930s) were gone forever. This discovery of Adams’ lost photographs is being hailed as the missing link in his career. (Oy, why can’t this happen to me?)

Cool News Story #2
It has been reported that “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast members Teresa and Joe Giudice have filed for bankruptcy. According to court documents, the Giudices are $11 million in debt and are accused of hiding assets and lying to the court about the value of others. Even worse, on August 22 the entire contents of their gaudy, 10,000 square foot gated mansion in Towaco, New Jersey, which is in foreclosure, will be auctioned to repay creditors. Items include a grand piano, two six-foot wide flat-screen televisions, massive gilded furniture, their wedding bands, a suit of armor and at least nine chandeliers. To read the entire list in PDF format, click here. (It’s a mighty impressive 13-page document. Give it a shot.)

These self-absorbed deadbeats also owe $12,000 to a fertility clinic and $5 million to Joe’s former real estate partner ... an issue that may also send Joe to jail after it was discovered that he forged the partner’s signature on fraudulent loan documents. They’ve stopped making payments on their Cadillac Escalade, and the bank has already taken their other homes in Jersey shore and Lincoln Park, New Jersey.

In light of the above, in last night’s episode Joe had the gall to present Teresa with a six-carat yellow diamond ring for their 10th wedding anniversary. I can only hope it was a QVC knockoff. And I’ll bet you thought this show was boring!