NEWS - FACEBOOK GRAFFITI ARTIST DAVID CHOE FROM HOMELESS TO MILLIONS

Facebook graffiti artist David Choe, from homeless to millions

By Chenda Ngak

 

 

Choe was hired by then Facebook president Sean Parker to paint a mural at Facebook's first office in Palo Alto in 2005. When the mural was finished, Parker gave Choe the option of taking cash or stock options. At the time, Facebook was only a year old and only open to college and high school students. There was no "like" button, no revenue from advertising and no hype of a $5 billion dollar IPO.
Instead of taking cash, Choe took a chance and opted for the stock options. If you're not familiar with the Silicon Valley culture, gambling on a dot com has either failed miserably or made millionaires out of receptionists.
According to a Facebook employee, Choe was added on as an "adviser" and received 0.1 to 0.25 percent of the company. After you do the math, Choe's share could be worth $200 million. That's a mind-blowing figure, if you also consider that Choe has been homeless since painting that fateful mural.
In the aftermath of Facebook's filing and the value of his share of the social network, Choe took to his blog to express his disbelief.
"Have you had the dream where you ARE this guy?!? And then some kind of happy accident happens, and as you're in the middle of this glorious car crash, you stop to realize, that there is actually no such thing as an accident, and no chance encounters, and that everything has a direct purpose?"
Choe embodies a true tale of an artist's transformation from rags-to-riches in the most dramatic fashion. If Wednesday was a historic day for Facebook, it was also a momentous occasion for the American dream.

NEWS - NEW YORK POLICE PROBE FIRES, GRAFFITI IN JEWISH AREAS

New York police probe fires, graffiti in Jewish area

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City police were investigating a possible hate crime in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn where cars were set on fire and anti-Semitic symbols spray painted on benches.

Police responded to 911 calls reporting cars ablaze early Friday morning. When they arrived, they found three cars, including a BMW and a Lexus, on fire, according Sgt. Carlos Nieves.

Another vehicle, a red van, had "KKK" spray painted on it, representing the racist group Ku Klux Klan. Police also found eight benches with Nazi swastikas spray painted on them.

"The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is actively investigating the twisted person or people who attacked cars, benches, and a sidewalk on a block of Ocean Parkway," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in statement released Friday.

The attack happened a day after the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, when rioters, encouraged by Nazis, vandalized the Jewish community of Germany, burning and destroying hundreds of synagogues, looting thousands of homes and businesses and killing 91 Jewish people, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Bloomberg said the timing of this attack may or may not be a coincidence.

"Either way, this kind of hateful act has no place in the freest city in the freest country in the world," he said.

There is no one in custody and police have no suspects.