That's basically what he told his employee in a Sky News Interview, excerpted above:

Q: You could choose not to be on their search engine... so when someone runs a search your websites won't come up.


A: Well, I think we will... when we start charging.

This is certainly technically possible; all it takes is one correctly-placed text file to tell Google to ignore some or all of a website. And who knows, Murdoch's armies of lawyers and lobbyists might even succeed in effecting the other drastic change he mentioned: rolling back the entire doctrine of fair use, an interpretation of copyright law that allows the sort of quoting and selective reproduction of content that Murdoch's newspapers and TV networks engage in every day.

This isn't the first time Murdoch, 78, and his lieutenants have been made unfriendly noises about Google; they've recently attacked the search engine as a "parasite" with "promiscuous" users. This hostility must seem perfectly sensible if you're an old man who has your secretary find and print up Web pages on your behalf. But here's a pro tip, Rupert: Old media doesn't instant message those pages to your assistant's Twitter, via Blogger, on AOL. She just does what your newspaper reporters and Fox News producers and sales executives and tabloid editors and attack-dog flacks and mid-level accountants do all the time every day: Sticks a hot, throbbing search query into Google and gets busy with a bunch of strange website she doesn't subscribe to. Welcome to the internet.

A spot on the microblogging service's Suggested User List of accounts for new users has helped Daniel Brusilovsky reach just under 120,000 followers. He's also been officially "Verified" by Twitter Inc., lest someone impersonate the powerful 16-year-old. His influence at the microblogging startup apparently runs deep: he's meeting with Twitter's COO, right now.

At TechCrunch, he's a writer who dabbles in events and business development. He's also the young face of video-casting service Qik and CEO of his own TeensInTech.com. Oh, and he advises at least two other companies.

Brusilovsky's quick ascent contains lessons for the more aged and less accomplished:

• Don't fit in? Perfect! Brusilovsky was "the only one who needed his parents to pick him up from" a tech conference last year, according to GigaOM. The intervening year has only brought more mainstream success, like joining TechCrunch in June and getting the Twitter stamp of approval.
• Form a community of similar misfits. TeensInTech is a site for young people as terrifyingly ambitious and energetic as Brusilovsky. They're coming for us all. Soon.
• "Don't give up." That one's from Brusilovsky. And we do not question Brusilovsky.

Let's just hope this promising kid finishes school and goes on to college. Just because Bill Gates, the founders of Google, the founders of Twitter and the founder of Oracle all dropped out of school doesn't mean it pays, kid.

(Pic by Andrew Mager)

As if the fake marketing and technology trends challenging the manhood of young, attractive males wasn't worrying enough, now we have to contemplate the existence of a parallel fake trend afflicting our parents and grandparents which we really would prefer not to contemplate, at all, but there it is, right in the AARP magazine, of course:

"I'll say, 'You have an amazing body. You have amazing breasts,'" he reports. The next thing you know, you'll get a picture of a breast," he says with a hearty laugh.

Yea but an old dude said that, which makes it totally...

"If you're sitting in a restaurant waiting for your food, you can just talk dirty to someone, and no one knows what you're doing," Jill says, in a slow Southern drawl. "I would rather talk on the phone. But I'm also comfortable with hiding behind texting if I want to say something dirty."

Gurl u no ur body just don't quit. Gurl u no u shd let me show u my male body lotion. Gurl UR so fine.

The Wall Street Journal, bless its nilla heart, breaks this story and undermines it in the course of two paragraphs:

"Do you think that hip-hop would be an appropriate area for NEA to fund?" I inquired.

"Absolutely. And mural painting and graffiti are art. There are popular aspects of all the arts that I think shouldn't be ignored."

Funding hip-hop-the best of which is rhythmically poetic, but commonly punctuated by profanity, violence and/or misogynistic sexuality-could put the previously embattled agency back in the crosshairs of the decency police.

Sure, rappers have rhythm. Many can dance! But, you know...bitches and hoes. Guns and malt liquor. Pussy and weed. Glocks and rocks. The WSJ thinks you know what it means. The things those people talk about. [Pic: Rob Gale]

"Younger employees help senior executives unlock social media mystery," declares a Chicago Tribune headline [via PRNewser]. What is this amazing mystery that has been unlocked? For Edelman—the world's largest independent PR firm, and one that loves to market itself as a "digital" expert that will help you, the corporation, navigate the wilds of the internet for a large, large fee—the mystery is, "How can we get people to pay us so much for this shit?"

"I am so all over this Delish thing," Cabot bubbled, punching up delish.com on her computer in her office at Edelman, a Chicago-based public relations firm.

"Oh, you're doing so well!" Spohn said delightedly, counting the recipes Cabot had collected on the food lovers' Web site. "Look, you've got so much!"

Her pride was as evident as the exchange was notable. Though Cabot, 56, is Edelman's central region president with more than 30 years in the business, she is the student. Spohn, a 23-year-old account executive on the firm's digital team, is the teacher.

Hahaha. Do you see what is going on here? Edelman, like many of its peers, is a PR firm that will charge your company a hefty fee for all the digital insight that its 23-year-old account executives can deliver. Because the people in charge aren't really so good on this "internet" thing. Which would be fine if they were not the same people in charge of convincing you, the client, to spend tens (or hundreds!) of thousands of dollars with Edelman for their expert strategic online influencing services. Their mentoring program for the olds is called "Rotnem" because that's "mentor" backwards and you must be a backwards-ass fool to pay money to a bunch of 23-year-olds to teach you how to make a Facebook page and shit at an Edelman markup, when you could get them off Craigslist for much, much cheaper.

"Edelman strongly advocates that companies participate with and engage online influencers." Did you know that Edelman, a massive corporate PR firm, started a blog called "Authenticities"? Edelman, how much do people pay you for your services? Because I am totally going to undercut your prices by one dollar, once the last media outlet finally stops paying employees. Please engage.

[Pic of Edelman's Global Head of Digital Strategy via Flickr]

In an article that might as well begin "Long live the shriveled dick!" the Media & Advertising section's profile on Hefner that ran this weekend—entitled "The Loin In Winter," and get it? Get it?!—is like the most fun visit to the urologist's office you're ever going to have. Sure, it's about his media legacy, or you'd think it'd be about his media legacy, but in the end, what's Hugh Hefner's Sunday NYT profile really about? I dunno, let's say you're writing it. What do you want to read about?

Hugh Hefner leaned back on a red loveseat, the saggy one...

Mr. Hefner, the legendarily libidinous founder of Playboy...

He still works full days on his magazine, flies to Europe and Las Vegas, pops Viagra, visits nightclubs with his three live-in girlfriends - each young enough to be his great-granddaughter...

"I feel strongly that the pop culture is a thinner soup today," he said. "It used to be a thick porridge."

I have no idea what that last one means. But mostly, yes, they use his penis as a metaphor for his business. Which is interesting, because it's true: despite all of the Viagra of reality shows and Marge Simpson spreads, despite all of the erectile dysfunction drugs and stimulants Playboy's tried to pump into itself, it's still growing old with age, shriveling, unable to shoot anything but profit-loss pulling blanks! If we think about the great media penises of our time—Graydon's "monstah" cock, for one—hell, if we had concrete evidence on this sort of thing, we might be able to better understand the futures of media properties (which is to say nothing of media's floppy woos). For example: what's the future of the New York Observer now that Kushner's peen is under the lock-and-key of new hardcore Slumlord defender wifey Ivanka? Measured output or steely restraint? There's an entire field of research to be had here. Media overlords, step forward: we're here to help.

As for Hugh, well: he's worried about his legacy, and the company's considering acquisition offers for the first time in their history, something previously thought to be a null idea while Hugh was alive. But that might be where the metaphor ends. Hef's still battin' 'em away with a stick:

When Mr. Hefner's relationship with Ms. Madison ended, he said he got letters from women around the world begging to move in. "They were climbing over the gates," he said, beaming. Mr. Hefner chose three new live-in girlfriends, 23-year-old Crystal Harris and twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon, 20.

Media empires, even when they're dying, literally and figuratively: still an aphrodisiac. If you're still trying to figure out why people are still trying to get in this business, you're clearly not paying attention.

[Photo via Getty Images/Jim Ross]

Maher cites the CDC website that shows ingredients of the vaccine including aluminum, insect repellent, and formaldehyde, which, incidentally can all be found in the Playboy mansion grotto that Maher's known to frequent.

Maher went on to connect the dots to other procedures we now know are dangerous, like filling teeth with mercury. Without skipping a beat, in response to Maher's question as to if he ever had his teeth filled with mercury, Alec Baldwin deadpanned, "Yeah, that's why I became an actor."

Chris Matthews asked Maher why he's talking about this, Maher countered that he's just trying to have the debate. But Maher already had the debate last week with Bill Frist and was trying to use the panel to air out his grievances. Baldwin wasn't having it "Bill, you having us on the show and rehashing all the problems you got into on your last show is like going on a date and talking about your ex-wife." leaving Maher with a perfect softball to toss back to Baldwin who left himself wide open saying "Maybe we can talk about your past problems."

A 60 Minutes report by correspondent Scott Pelley revealed a demographic most susceptible to the H1N1 virus. "This is one of the really tragic parts of this epidemic. That people who are in the prime of their life - totally healthy can suddenly become so sick,"

If it wasn't bad enough that boomers left them with one of the worst economies in 50 years, The Youngs now have an epidemic with a target placed squarely on their messenger bag-carrying backs. Why does the virus have such age discrimination? Dr. Peter Palese of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York told 60 Minutes that older folks have built up a immunity from viruses lingering from the 1940s they came in contact with.

Will the vaccine kill you? Only one way to find out.

[Video by Gawker intern Yoni Lotan.]

First of all, you just know that most old white people are birthers. Right? There is probably a poll somewhere, but let's just go with our gut here.

For years now, Old People, who are already naturally conservative, have been listening to Talk Radio and then Fox News, and that has made them go from "cranky mildly racist conservatives" to "radical right-wing conspiracy theorists who are terrified of literally everything."

Also: old people are the only people who vote consistently. They are bored and lonely, so if someone offers them a chance to get out of the house for a bit, they will go. You get a sticker and some brief human contact, it's great!

As we all remember, it was old Jews in Florida who kept accidentally voting for Pat Buchanan, who was most recently heard from defending Hitler, again. And that is why 9/11 happened (BUSH KNEW).

And because they are the only people who vote in midterms, old people live in a government-sponsored socialist utopia. Free health care and guaranteed lifetime pensions and "public television"! It is glorious.

The effect of a bunch of lazy welfare-queen old people being radically conservative in thought is the curious specter of Republicans suddenly fighting against any reduction in Medicare, at all. But they have found one variety of Medicare that they can actually support without compromising their precious ideals (hah): Medicare Advantage, which is a program in which the government just gives money to private insurance companies.

The Democrats have decided that it would be more "fiscally responsible" to just pay the same amount for people with Medicare Advantage as they pay in "Medicare Classic."

Well, most of the Democrats have decided this. Florida Senator Bill Nelson, though, has decided that that might scare the old people who make up almost his entire constituency. So he is fighting to protect Medicare Advantage but pretty much only for Old People in Florida.

Here is Bill Nelson explaining his tough stand:

Throughout it all, Mr. Nelson said he would remember advice he once received from Claude Pepper, a Florida congressman and champion for the elderly: "Bill, I want you to look out for our seniors. Someone has to look out for them."

Someone has to! And that "someone" turns out to be literally everyone elected to a national office because America is a hellish geriarchy.

It's the latest in a string of health setbacks for Byrd, who is frankly—to judge by his public performances in recent months—too infirm to serve effectively in the Senate. But he and his staff have clearly made a decision to stay on until he's no longer physically capable of being a senator. He was hospitalized last February after a fall, and again in May after coming down with a staph infection.

Byrd's spokesman told Politico that the senator will not likely be admitted, and that his "caregiver" called 911 out of an abundance of caution after Byrd "stood up too fast" and fell down:

"Byrd apparently stood up too fast this morning in his home and fell down," said Jesse Jacobs, a spokesman for the senator. "To err on the side of caution his caregiver called an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital where he is currently being checked out. At this point in time there is no indication that he will be admitted."

Byrd's health issues are an obvious cause for concern for proponents of healthcare reform: He is a much-needed Democratic vote, and if he doesn't recover in time to make it to the Senate floor in time for the vote, his absence could jeopardize the whole project. If he dies or resigns, West Virginia's Democratic governor Joe Manchin would appoint a replacement.

The Late Show appearance was the final televisual event in a recent Obama "media blitz," which included the Sunday talk shows. Some, like Peggy Noonan, criticized all the face time, especially the late night sit down. But the President told Dave he simply wanted to take the opportunity to break down his policies for the American people.

And, yes, the President talked about some serious issues. For example, the economy, which he says is improving, but remains bogged down by unemployment. He also fleshed out his approach on Afghanistan: review the policies and make a rational decision on how to act.

Health care, too, came up, as Obama explained to the laymen how private insurance rapes and pillages American wallets. But never mind all that, because a woman named Mary Apple brought along a heart-shaped potato, a biological anomaly she gave to Obama, who called it "remarkable." Indeed: that potato will definitely come up in newscasts over the next day or so.

So, too, will be Obama's "I was actually black before the election" dismissal of Jimmy Carters remarks on racism. Those were two of the precious moments at which the President excels. And that's exactly the point.

It doesn't much matter what Obama said about policy. It was almost guaranteed the charming Commander-in-Chief would do something adorable and the White House knows that. And they got it with his potato moment. They needed to reclaim the positive spotlight and, just as importantly, reach younger voters.

Though Conan O'Brien generally beats Letterman in terms of "youth" viewers, that demographic would likely be tempted to tune in for someone as big as the President.

That demographic may not remember his policy points, or even get involved in the debate, but they'll remember that he's awesome and a Democrat. They'll also remember the heart-shaped potato. And that's half the battle right there!

I'm full of hope this morning. It's a beautiful Sunday-–this is my favorite weather, after Beach Weather and Bluebird Power Day Weather-–and for the first time in months I'm not waking up in a crowded sharehouse in East Hampton with a champagne bottle in one hand and a car service business card in another.

(Sorry, you're just catching me in the middle of my weekly Method routine. I can't fully take in the wedding announcements without getting inside the minds of les amants, you know?)

But yes: I'm full of hope. The key to reading the last few pages of Sunday Styles is asking yourself: What is Robert Woletz, all-knowing and all-powerful editor of Weddings and Celebrations, trying to teach us today? Gwyneth Paltrow isn't the only one who has a stake in nourishing your inner aspect, you know.

Last week, that lesson was: cheat on, cheaters! Readers were not happy. "If you wish to celebrate infidelity, perhaps a "Disavows" column would be more appropriate," wrote reader Cameron Holtz. Zing! Watch your back, Maureen Dowd. This week's less-controversial lesson? The Olds can get it on just like you! [Ed. Ew.]

Like Carol White and Gordon Fields, two lovely sounding folks who attended the same congregation and supported one another through the deaths of each of their first spouses over the course of 10 years. Eventually White, 55, and Fields, 68, began dating; today they are getting married in Potomac. Sample Uplifting Quote: "Life is too short not to rejoice at an unexpected second opportunity for this kind of happiness."

60-year old Marsha Crofford was one of the first radiology residents at Nassau University Medical Center, where she first crossed paths many years ago with the married Jason Bitter, now 58. (Fun fact I can't ignore: "He received his medical degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico.")

Extremely devoted to her career, Crofford never married, but in 2005 the by then divorced Bitter saw the light and began his pursuit. Today they are getting married in Long Island. Sample Uplifting Quote: "Sometimes things happen and you don't know why. He was meant to come into my life when he did."

This all culminates with the story of Beth Ashley and Rowland Fellows, which I defy you to read without spontaneously clutching your hand over your heart in pure and unadulterated delight. Just

LOOK AT THESE TWO LOVEBIRDS:

Haha, is that soup? No but seriously, this picture alone is affecting me with the intensity of a thousand episodes of Extreme Home Makeover, and the article only gets better. The two were childhood summer pals in Five Islands, Maine in the 1930's.

"I thought he was very, very cute," said Ms. Ashley, 83. "I kept wishing he would kiss me and become my boyfriend. It was a little girl crush, but it was very serious on my part."

That entire summer of 1938, and three more that followed, Ms. Ashley waited for that kiss. Rain barrels filled and emptied, mail boats came and went, but the long-awaited kiss never arrived.

"I guess I just wasn't a very romantic young man," Mr. Fellows said. "But Beth was sort of a tomboy, and I looked at her as more of a buddy."

Then the war came, and the families moved away; Ashley recalls weeping in the backseat of the car because she knew she would never seen Fellows again. She then went on to kick ass at life, going to Stanford in the 1940's and working as a journalist for decades. Five years ago, a family vacation to Maine "inspired a column about her two early loves: Five Islands and Mr. Fellows." This all led to the pair, both now widowed, to get back in touch.

"I had remembered a boy with brown tousled hair and dimples," she said. "Then out of the restaurant came this 83-year-old man with white hair, though he still had dimples."

Almost immediately, they reconnected, and he suggested they take a trip together.

"She didn't want to at first," he said. "I promised we would have separate rooms. I guaranteed twin beds."

But that wasn't the problem.

"I didn't think I could travel with him because he is a Republican," Ms. Ashley said. "I said I thought I might kill him. Then he suggested we go to Maine, and that was irresistible."

So they reached across the aisle and then they walked down the aisle! Okay, sorry, that was horrible. But anyway, the best part of the story, other than the whole thing is that Isabel Allende, namechecked as a friend of the couple, gives this adorable Sample Uplifting Quote: "Rowland plans to live to be 100, so they have 16 passionate years ahead of them."

Is it creepy if I print that picture out and hang it on my wall? Wait, don't answer that. At any rate, let's hope that the poor Rev. Christine Shiber crops up in Vows with a nice man friend in a few years, okay? I believe love will find a way!

Some regular-aged people got married in Maine too. For example: Frederick Beck III and Susannah Mrazek, the daughter of a Congressman who wrote a book called A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight.

(And if The Wealth of Nations were to be published today, it would be called Invisible Hands: The Mysterious Market Forces That Control Our Lives and How to Profit from Them!)

Elsewhere, JDate wins again, a bride listed "a small role in ‘Cut Off', a 2006 direct-toDVD feature film" as one of her career accomplishments, this descendant of Peter Stuyvesant sounds like that descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, and the Times makes sure to include its requisite musical theatre-based story.

In lieu of the traditional scoring (which Julie Levison and Joshua Roffman would obviously win: the bride's bio contains the phrases "Rhodes Scholar", "master's degree in economic and social history from Oxford", "research on HIV/AIDS in South Africa", "pursuing a master's degree in public health at Harvard, from which she received her medical degree" and "third year of an infectious disease fellowship") I'm going to do two mini head-to-head matchups.

The Brooklyn Artists: Amelia Alvarez and Mark Champion versus Julia Schwadron and Josh Dick:

Wedding location: Solé East in Montauk vs. Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY. Point goes to Julia and Josh because Montauk is just becoming too commercialized, you know?
Bride's cred: Amelia graduated from Tisch and has been in an Off-Broadway production and Law and Order SVU; Julia is a visiting painting and drawing professor at Iowa and has had work appear in some art shows: Point goes to Julia because haven't we all had cameos on SVU at some point?
Groom's cred: Mark is "a freelance photographer in Brooklyn" and Josh is "a freelance documentary photographer": Point to Mark for keeping his options open and for having no indication in his bio of having gone to college. Artsy!
Other: Amelia's dad used to write for The Wire and Julia's dad is an editor of the New York Times: Point to Amelia.

Score: 2-2. The Creatives don't like to compete.

The People Who Send In Photos of Themselves in Front of Preppy Backdrops: Kathleen Devine and David Newman versus Laura Mistretta and Nathaniel Kirk

Chosen backdrop: Kathleen and David go with the dock and sailboats motif while Laura and Nate choose tennis, presumably the US Open. Point goes to the latter: it looks like they have really good seats! I wonder if it's a corporate box.
Wedding: Philadelphia, PA versus Watch Hill, RI: Points to Watch Hill, although the reference to "Quaker tradition" in the Illadelph nearly made this one a wash.
Professions: Kathleen is an ob/gyn and David a future law clerk to Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Laura and Nate are both finance people: Point to Kathleen and David. Laura and Nate personally stole from your 401k.
Other: Laura and Nate both went to Andover but did not meet "until 2004 at a rowing regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England"; Kathleen's dad is the CFO of Coach: Point to Laura and Nate, because come on.

Total: 40-15 for Laura and Nate. Triple match point.

The best part of this video is when Harvey tells the reporter how "Animals. And vegetables. Belong. On the yard!" (At Harvard). And then a little later his eyes flash with excitement and he says how historic this whole cow-grazing business is: "We're gonna hear more about that in about ten minutes here."

He's about to tell you some shit. About cows!

[Boston.com via IvyGate. Pic: Flickr]

Though she once praised Twitter, Lacy has since become disillusioned by the amount of skin-centric span that's clogging her and her friends' feeds. Yes, there are ways to block the site's cabal of sluts, but Lacy argues it's far too hard, so she's offering Twitter her own advice — and knocks Tila Tequila in the process:

There's no reason why Twitter shouldn't be catching spam, or at least making it easier to report.

Unless, of course, Twitter wants to be the new MySpace (NWS). After all, a lot of that site's early growth came from call girls, strippers, and purveyors of porn. Tila Tequila, who has been pictured in Playboy, Penthouse, and other publications, even got an MTV show out of MySpace.... If Twitter wants growth for the sake of growth, porn will do that.

But knowing the founders, my guess is that the site doesn't want that kind of success. Lewd content helped hobble MySpace's advertising efforts.

With The Olds leading the Twitter revolution, Lacy insists the site do something about this madness or face the consequences. But we say there's a far easier solution: don't "follow" or click on links to people you don't know, especially if they have whorish names like "Kiki" or "Cocoa" or feature pictures of bikini-covered breasts.

Even if Lacy and other worried people do leave the site, it shows no signs of slowing down, especially since a federal judge just launched a page that educates kids on civics and DePaul University is offering a class all about the site. If anything, Lacy's arguments will only help the site: you're nobody until somebody tries to stir up a frenzy of "family values" outrage.

"My babies don't walk-they take a limo. Juicy's legs are two inches long! This is not a marathon runner. I have more hair under my arms than Juicy has on her whole body."

Relaxing at home, Cindy's wearing a black T-shirt with heart-shaped photos of the pooches on the breast. "My breeder makes them every Christmas or New Year's, or the day the incinerator got stuffed up-whatever day there is to celebrate," she says. "I have hundreds of them."

The fact that Cindy can reveal these psychotic tendencies for years on end and not be involuntarily committed just goes to show how great New York really is.
[Pic: Getty]