Crypto Entrepreneur Eats $6.2M Banana He Bought at Sotheby's

My November 24, 2024 post "World's Most Expensive Banana" pertains. 

 

Justin Sun (right) who outbid six others to claim Maurizio Cattelan's infamous 2019 work "Comedian" – a banana duct-taped to a wall – at Sotheby's auction house in New York, USA, did not spare the fruit.

 

The cryptocurrency entrepreneur ate the banana during a Friday news conference in Hong Kong where he used the moment to draw parallels between the artwork and cryptocurrency. 

 

The banana is regularly replaced before exhibitions, with Sun buying the right to display the installation along with a guide on how to replace the fruit. It has been eaten twice before – first by a performance artist in 2019 and again by a South Korean student in 2023 – but neither paid any money to do so, let alone $6.2 million. 

 

"Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork's history", Sun said. "It's much better than other bananas", he claimed.

 

Each attendee at the said event yesterday was given a banana and a roll of duct tape as a souvenir.

 

"Everyone has a banana to eat", Sun attested. 

 

The New York Times had reported a fresh banana was bought for 35 cents at Manhattan’s Upper East Side, on Wednesday for the auction, before becoming possibly one of the most expensive fruits in the world.

 

A senior official in US President Joe Biden’s administration has told the Associated Press that the US is urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and lowering the conscription age to as young as 18. 

 

The official, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday the outgoing Democratic administration wants Ukraine to lower the mobilisation age from 25 to help expand the pool of fighting age men available.

 

A very good idea, methinks, because it means the Ukrainian male population can be extinguished faster and sooner. After all, they asked for it. 

 

Now, do you still think the US has Ukrainians' best interests at heart?

Jaguar's Rebrand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaguar Land Rover managing director Rawdon Glover has had to defend the Jaguar rebrand and was obliged to deny that its ad is meant to send a “woke” message. 

 

The award-winning luxury performance car brand debuted its new logo and slogan, “Copy Nothing”, in a promotional video on November 19, 2024.

 

The ad featured androgynous models in brightly colored, over-the-top outfits, including one man wearing a dress, along with other slogans such as “create exuberant”, “live vivid”, “delete ordinary” and “break moulds”. 

 

Notably, the ad did not feature any cars in its 30-second run. 

 

Predictably, the video blew up on social media, attracting over 163 million views and over 100,000 comments. 

 

Glover (right) praised the attention around the campaign as “very positive” – but added that he was disappointed by the “level of vile hatred and intolerance” shown by social media commentators towards the models in the video. He claimed the ad’s message had been lost “in a blaze of intolerance”. 

 

Glover told the FT: “If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand”. 

 

And he left me completely confused when he said: “This is not a depiction of how we think our future customers are. We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base”. 😕😕😕😕

 

I'm thinking he is intentionally targeting the "rich transgender person" demographic. It must be a massive market for JLR!

 

👇And this mirrors my response to Glover:

 

 

Next stage in the transformation of Jaguar will be revealed at Miami Art Week – deemed “The Super Bowl of the Art World – on December 02, 2024, in Miami, USA, including the debut of their Design Vision Concept. Whatever lah.

Budapest Shows Off Life-sized LEGO Tram

A life-sized LEGO tram has been created to celebrate 137 years of public transportation in Budapest, Hungary. 

 

The brick-built tram has an actual tram undercarriage and can be pulled on a fixed track. Human-sized Lego minifigures peer out from the windows. 

 

Built using 1.8 million LEGO bricks, the six-ton, 11.5-meter-long tram was constructed by 90 builders in over 6,800 hours. Designed by master builder Balázs Dóczi, the tram is a remarkable feat of craftsmanship.

 

 

 

Although the tramway will not carry passengers, it was towed by two shunting engines to its place of exhibition where visitors can admire it and even place their own LEGO cubes on the base plates beneath the tram.

 

Mayor Gergely Karácsony highlighted the importance of yellow trams to “Budapest-ness” and noted that the LEGO tram also draws attention to the role of public and sustainable transport.

 

And Judit Váraljai-Sipos, Managing Director of LEGO Hungária Ltd., noted that the LEGO tramway marks a milestone as the first life-size LEGO vehicle to move on a fixed track. She encouraged parents to rediscover the joy of play and its educational benefits.

 

This work of art is now on display for a month at the city's Deák Ferenc Square. I sincerely hope it finds a permanent home somewhere.

Australia Passes World-first Law Banning Under-16s From Social Media

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) describes social media as “a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators”.

And so, the country approves a law that will aim to do what no other government have, and many parents have tried to: stop children from using social media. The new law was drafted in response to what Albanese, says is a “clear, causal link between the rise of social media and the harm [to] the mental health of young Australians”. 

On Thursday, parliament’s upper house, the Senate, passed a bill by 34 votes to 19 banning under-16s from social media platforms.

The "Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024" bans social media platforms from allowing users under 16 years of age to access their services, threatening companies with fines of up to AU$50 million ($32 million) if they fail to comply. 

However, it contains no details about how it will work, only that the companies will be expected to take reasonable steps to ensure users are aged 16 or over. The detail will come later, through the completion of a trial of age-verification systems using biometrics and government IDs in mid-2025. Reportedly, the legislation will not exempt underage users with parental consent or those who already have active accounts.

The bill won’t come into force for another 12 months.

The said bill also does not specify to which companies the legislation would apply, though communications minister Michelle Rowland has said that Snapchat, TikTok, X, Instagram, Reddit and Facebook are likely to be part of the ban. YouTube will not be included because of its “significant” educational purpose, she said.

A YouGov survey released on Tuesday showed 77% of Australians backed the ban. Each of Australia’s eight state and territory leaders supports the ban, though Tasmania’s leader suggested it end at 14.

Huawei Unveil Mate 70 With Homegrown OS

Chinese tech giant Huawei on Tuesday unveiled their first smartphone equipped with a fully homegrown operating system, a key test in the firm’s fight to challenge the dominance of Western juggernauts. 

 

Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are currently used in the vast majority of mobile phones – but Huawei are looking to change that with their newest Mate 70 devices, which run on the company’s own HarmonyOS Next. 

 

The launch caps a major turnaround in the fortunes of Huawei, which saw their wings badly clipped by gruelling US sanctions in recent years but have since bounced back with soaring sales. 

 

And unlike their triple-folding phone, the Mate XT, priced at an eye-watering $2,800, which made it three times the cost of the newest iPhone, the Mate 70 has a much lower starting price of 5,499 yuan ($757.60). Pre-orders began on November 18 and over 3.34 million reservations were placed as of 06:00 PM on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

 

In any case, the risks remain high – unlike a previous iteration, based on Android’s open-source code, HarmonyOS Next requires a complete rewiring of all apps on the smartphones it powers. 

 

“It is unclear whether developers overseas will be willing to spend the money needed to build a completely new version of their apps for the latest smartphones”, said Rich Bishop, co-founder and CEO of AppInChina, a publisher of international software in China. 

 

“One third-party agency in China quoted a price of two million yuan ($275,500) to custom-fit a foreign app for HarmonyOS Next”, he told AFP. 

 

To convince them, “Huawei need to continuously improve the software, provide better support for developers, and convince the developer community that (they are) committed to the long-term development of the Harmony ecosystem”, Paul Triolo, a partner at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group, told AFP.

Korean Convicted for Gaining Weight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A South Korean man has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for deliberately gaining more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) to evade a tougher role in the country’s military conscription system, a Seoul court said Tuesday. 

 

In South Korea, all able-bodied men must serve in the military for 18-21 months, but individuals with health issues can instead carry out their duties at non-military facilities such as welfare centers and community service centers. If their problems are serious, they are exempted from their military duties.

 

An exam conducted in 2017 found the said man suitable to become an active-duty soldier at 169 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) tall and weighting 83 kilograms (183 pounds). But with the advice of his acquaintance that he could get a social service grade if he was overweight, he doubled his daily food consumption, focused on eating high-calorie food products and quit his part-time job as a delivery worker, according to the court's public affairs office. 

 

The Seoul Eastern District Court said they sentenced the unidentified man to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the country’s military service act. The court said his acquaintance received a suspended one-year prison term for aiding his crime.

 

 

Liverpool not only ended their eight-match winless streak (including two painful Champions League final defeats) against Real Madrid in style at Anfield yesterday but maintained their perfect start to this season's Champions League with a dramatic but deserved 2-0 win over the reigning champions.

 

The Reds dominated possession and chances but a string of fine saves from the Los Blancos goalkeeper – often Liverpool’s nemesis in this competition – kept them out for a time. Alexis Mac Allister struck the opener only in the 52nd minute after a neat one-two with Conor Bradley. And substitute Cody Gakpo sealed the game in the 76th minute with a header from an Andy Robertson cross.

 

Following this latest victory, Arne Slot has led the Merseysiders to 17 wins in his first 19 games in charge. Many thought following Jürgen Klopp would be an extremely challenging task, but he’s already managed something the German never did in six attempts at the club – beat Real Madrid.

 

Liverpool will now switch focus to a crunch Premier League clash with champions Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

 

In another match yesterday, Daizen Maeda struck a superb equaliser in the 60th minute as Celtic recovered from a disastrous defensive mix-up which led to Cameron Carter-Vickers knocking the ball past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, to earn a Champions League point at home to an impressive Club Brugge. 

 

The Scottish champions were very lucky because they struggled for long spells to find their normal fluency.

 

With away fixtures in Zagreb and Villa Park either side of a home match against Young Boys, Celtic know their destiny is still in their own hands as they aim to reach the knockout stage for the first time since 2013.

UK Petition Calls for A New General Election

In an online petition, created by Michael Westwood who runs Britain's "cheapest pub", more than two million people have backed calls for another election, just months after Labour's landslide victory against the Tories.

 

The petition – set up on the UK Parliament's website on November 20 – states: "I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election". As of the last update, the petition has raked up 2,184,000 signatures and counting. 

 

According to the guidelines, any petition that asks for a change to the law or to policies gets a response from the government after 10,000 signatures. After 100,000 signatures, petitions are considered for debate in the parliament.

 

Even Tesla boss Elon Musk chimed in on the issue by re-posting a message about the success of the petition and even claiming it is evidence the "people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state". 

 

Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) has dismissed demands for a new general election. He said: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election. I am not surprised many of them want a re-run”. 

 

According to The Independent on Tuesday, the majority of signatories to the petition are concentrated in Conservatives or Reform safe seats. Although, over a million signatures have come from constituencies with a Labour MP.

Kursk, a Forbes Fiction by David Axe

Forbes' David Axe is a master storyteller. On Sunday, he expertly weaved a tale of spectacular Russian failure. 

 

If you believe him, the Russians have barely made any progress to expel a now 20,000-strong Ukrainian force from the Kursk Region. 

 

Even as the "under-supplied and poorly-led" Russian forces in and around Kursk are subject to a relentless campaign of precision deep strikes by Ukrainian air force bombers and Ukrainian army rocket batteries, respectively firing Storm Shadow cruise missiles and American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles. 

 

More so, when he claims that Kremlin has bolstered its roughly 50,000-strong corps in Kursk with thousands of North Koreans along with elements of two Russian airborne divisions, the 76th and 106th, plus the 83rd Air Assault Brigade and the rebuilt 155th Naval Infantry Brigade. According to another spinner of yarns, Ukrainian President [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky, there are as many as 11,000 North Korean troops there.  

 

Euronews, on the same day reported that Ukraine has lost ground in Kursk, with a senior Ukrainian military official saying over 40% of land seized has been lost. At the height of the incursion, Ukraine reportedly controlled up to 1,376 square kilometres, though sources in Kiev’s military say this has now decreased to 800 square kilometres. 

 

In fact, according to Russian military estimates, Ukrainian forces suffered extremely heavy losses since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk, which was launched on August 06, 2024. The latest figures show more than 35,510 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded in the region, with more than 200 tanks, 149 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), 120 armored personnel carriers (APC), and nearly 1,200 other armored vehicles destroyed.

 

Across Donbas, active combat is raging at multiple locations, with the Russian military continuing their westward push to the south of the city of Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk), the last major settlement under Ukrainian control in the region.

 

Besides, many more outposts, e.g., Dalneye, Elizavetovka, Grigorovka (Leninskoye), Ilyinka, Kopanki, Makarovka, Novoselidovka, Novoalekseyevka, Novodmitrovka, and Yekaterinovka have been liberated.  And many more soon, I'm sure. 

 

The Washington DC, US-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War even admitted Russian forces have been advancing at a significantly quicker rate than they did in the entirety of 2023.

Violence Against Women

It is generally well-known that India is one of the most dangerous countries for women in Asia. The country is notorious for its high rates of sexual violence and harassment. 

 

Less known but just as horrific is the situation in the UK where one rape is reported every hour in London alone. And that is according to police data.

 

[Note: Read my post "Rape Epidemics in Two Countries" published September 24, 2024].

 

But that doesn't mean other countries are safe for women. Across the European Union, every third woman has experienced physical violence, including threats, or sexual violence, a survey has revealed, in what has been described as an “invisible epidemic”. 

 

The findings released on Monday are based on responses from women aged 18 to 74 from across the EU’s 27 member states. The survey offered a glimpse of the wide-reaching impact that violence has had on the 229 million women who live across the bloc, said Sirpa Rautio, the director of the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights. 

 

“One-third of them have been slapped, hit, kicked, raped or threatened with such violence”, she said. “In the EU, in 2024, women’s safety still cannot be guaranteed”. 

 

In what she described as a “sad reality”, the figures remained virtually unchanged from those published in a 2014 EU-wide survey on violence against women. “A decade later, we continue to witness the same shocking levels of violence that affect one in three women”.

 

The survey, released yesterday, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, also found that one in six women in the EU had experienced sexual violence, including rape, during adulthood. About 19% of women said they had faced violence or threats of violence from a person living in their household.

 

The survey also polled women on their workplace experiences, finding that one in three had been sexually harassed, with reports ranging from inappropriate jokes to staring and sexual advances. For women aged 18 to 29, the figure climbed to 42% of respondents. 

 

Just 14% of women said they had reported the violence to police. Those who had chosen not to report cited worries about their safety, feelings of shame or a lack of trust in the authorities.

 

In recent months, the issue of violence against women has catapulted to the top of the news agenda as 51 men stand trial in a mass rape case in Avignon, France.

 

 

 

Seventy-one-year-old Gisèle Pelicot (right), whose husband has admitted to drugging her and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her over a nine-year period, has been hailed as a feminist hero after she decided to waive her anonymity and insisted that the trial be held in public. 

 

“It’s not for us to have shame, it’s for them”, she has said, offering up a view that has galvanised conversations about sexual violence around the world. 

 

Also, a 36-page report on gender violence by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also published on Monday, revealed that 51,100 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or a close relative in 2023. That's an average of 140 women and girls killed every day.

 

Meet BYD's Yangwang U8 That Can Swim

Meet the world’s first electrified car that can swim.

 

If you've read my post "BYD's Yangwang U9 Can Dance and Smoke a Ferrari" published March 25, 2024, there was a mention about BYD's Yangwang U8’s “float mode”. 

 

Yangwang is the luxury Chinese electric car brand owned by BYD, the maker of the Seal saloon and Dolphin hatchback. Their latest car, the U8, is a plug-in hybrid SUV that can float on water. Really.

 

The floating SUV can sail a car full of people across water for up to 30 minutes moving at a speed of 3km/h by spinning its wheels. However, the U8’s float feature is for emergencies only and is not to be used for traditional SUV wading. 

 

BYD insist that the technology isn’t a gimmick and could save lives in an accident involving water or a flood. After being submerged, the car must be inspected at a service station.

 

Kindly check out this video from DiscoverChinaAuto, "Emergency Floating Function Close-Up Demonstration":

 

 

Published on Sunday, a CBS News poll has found broad satisfaction with Donald Trump’s trouncing of Vice President Kamala Harris in this month’s US presidential election, with 55% of respondents saying that they felt ‘happy’ or ‘satisfied’ with the result, and 44% feeling ‘angry’ or ‘dissatisfied’. 

 

The poll also found that 57% of respondents approve of one of Trump’s most controversial proposals: the deportation of all immigrants in the US illegally. 43% disapprove of the policy. Already, Democrat mayors and governors have vowed to resist the incoming president’s plans. 

 

Trump has promised since last year that, if elected, he would lead “the largest deportation operation in American history”. With anywhere from 11 million to 35 million illegal immigrants living in the US, Trump’s proposed border czar, Tom Homan, has said that those who commit crimes in the country or otherwise threaten national security will be prioritized for deportation.

Yum China's CEO Believes in Power of Observation

At work, Joey Wat is known as the Chief Executive Officer of Yum China. At home, she's known as the "chicken killer" by her son. 

 

In reality, it's a monicker that has to do with the success of KFC China – one of the company’s many fast food brands including Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Speaking at the 2024 Fortune Global Forum, Wat said KFC China kills "1 billion chickens per year". 

 

To put that figure into context, the country is home to 1.4 billion people, and according to Wat, they eat 8 billion chickens per year – meaning KFC China accounts for a substantial part of the lean protein consumed. The secret behind its popularity isn’t just a slick marketing team or even AI. 

 

Instead, Wat (right) revealed that she personally sits in KFC restaurants for “two, three hours” watching customers eat – and it’s inspired some of the company’s biggest hits. 

 

“So apparently, when kids eat the fried chicken, they eat it with the mashed potato”, she said, adding that Gen Zers were literally dipping their drumsticks into the side dish and then again into the gravy pot.

 

“What we can do with that insight is get rid of the bone”, she added, and they went on to launch a boneless “mash potato burger”. 

 

“Oh my God, it was selling so well because this is (the) kids way”. 

 

It’s not the first time watching customers eating habits turned out to be fruitful: “The best-selling pizza for Pizza Hut in China right now is not Supreme (loaded with pepperoni, pork, beef, mushrooms, peppers and onions). It's durian pizza with cheese”. 

 

The Southeast Asian fruit is so pungent that it’s banned in many areas on public transportation, hotels and airports. In fact, when Pizza Hut Hong Kong introduced the durian cheese pizza in 2020 as a limited-time promotion, they decided not to serve it in restaurants but only making it available through delivery and takeout. You can draw your own conclusions about why. 

 

As Wat said: “It has such [a] strong smell, [if] you come to the store [and] you don't like the durian pizza, our solution is, please go out”. 

 

And she remarked: “Thank God we did not need approval from Yum! the brand owner”. 

 

Becoming an independent company in 2016, meant that Wat’s team didn’t need to convince “people in New York or Texas or Kentucky” that the grassroots idea would take off. 

 

“You can imagine it [would] be absolutely impossible”. 

 

The real-time insight again, proved to be valuable. One in every four pizzas sold at Pizza Hut right now is the durian-kind. Last year alone, it sold 30 million pies. 

 

 

“Just watch with heart”, Wat concluded. “Some things you can observe directly from the customer and sometimes talking to the store manager helps”. 

 

This is the power of observation in marketing. It is the astute ability to directly observe how consumers interact with products and services to gain insights about their behavior and preferences. 

 

This method can help businesses understand market dynamics, uncover trends, and make strategic decisions.

BMW is Ultimate Game of the Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world's biggest public-voted games awards, the Golden Joystick Awards, on November 21, crowned China's first AAA game, Black Myth: Wukong the Ultimate Game of the Year for 2024, following a supercharged public vote that drew over 12 million ballots across the event’s 21 categories.

 

It also, unsurprisingly, won "Best Visual Design", while earning additional nominations for "Best Game Direction", "Best Action Game", and "Best Art Direction".

 

The Golden Joystick Awards are held in special regard because they are voted for by the people who buy and play games. Every year, millions of fans show their support for their favorite games, developers, publishers and personalities of the last 12 months! 

 

 

Yesterday's Premier League match between Liverpool and Southampton was far from convincing, but the former did just enough to carve a 3-2 win.

 

Dominik Szoboszlai opened scoring on 30 minutes after Saints lost possession in their own area. 

 

Twelve minutes later, the latter leveled from a rebound after an initial penalty was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. And then, Southampton were dreaming of a shock victory when they scored and put themselves in the lead in the 56th minute.

 

However, the Reds were saved by Mohamed Salah who fired home a 65th minute equaliser. The Saints goalkeeper had injudiciously sprinted out to try and intercept Ryan Gravenberch's ball over the top, but the Egyptian got there first and prodded the ball into the open net.

And their winner came from Salah again who tucked it away from the spot in the eighty-third minute.

 

FYI, in finding the back of the net twice, the No. 11 made it 100 away goals in a Liverpool shirt, becoming only the third player in the club’s history to do so. Ian Rush (161) and Roger Hunt (112) are the only players to net more times on the road for the Reds, with Salah clear of fourth-placed Billy Liddell (86).

 

Liverpool have now won ten out of 12 games in the league, conceded just eight goals, and have a good eight-point lead at the top of the table, especially for this time in the season.

Xiaomi's 2nd EV Model is Next

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The launch of Xiaomi's second electric vehicle (EV) model is on the agenda, as they had reached their target of delivering 100,000 vehicles this year ahead of schedule. 

 

The second model of Xiaomi EV, the car-making arm of the Chinese smartphone giant, is scheduled to hit the market in February or March next year, local media Caijing said in a report on Tuesday, citing a Xiaomi insider.

 

This coincides with the revelation by Xiaomi founder and chairperson Lei Jun (right) previous revelation that the production version of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra will be officially launched in March 2025.

 

It is said that the second vehicle from Xiaomi EV is an all-electric SUV (sport utility vehicle), which is internally codenamed MX11. 

 

Although officially an SUV, the style of the car is very low, and many Internet users have pointed out that the car has a shape and silhouette similar to that of the Ferrari Purosangue. However, it is also obvious that some of the design elements of the SU7 are carried over into the new car, such as the headlights, continuous tail lights, frameless doors, and semi-hidden door handles. 

 

The car will be positioned as a direct competitor to the Tesla Model Y, citing industry speculation.

 

If Xiaomi's pricing strategy for the Xiaomi SU7 is followed, the new Xiaomi SUV will be priced below the Tesla Model Y's 249,900 yuan ($34,500) to 354,900 yuan ($48,950) price tag. Meaning the starting price of the Xiaomi SUV is likely to be under 250,000 yuan.

 

And on October 29, Xiaomi began pre-sales of the production version of the more powerful SU7 Ultra at a price of 814,900 yuan ($112,590), nearly four times the regular SU7's 215,900 yuan starting price. The official launch of the SU7 Ultra would be in March 2025, the company said at the time.  

 

Xiaomi officially launched their first model, the SU7 on March 28 and announced on November 18 that the electric sedan had surpassed their benchmark target of delivering 100,000 units this year. [Refer my blog post "EV Newcomer Rolls Out Their 100,000th Car In 230 Days" published November 16, 2024]. 

 

In fact, Xiaomi also announced a new 2024 target of 130,000 units on November 18, up from the previously mentioned challenge target of 120,000 units.

 

Xiaomi rock!

World's Most Expensive Banana

Maurizio Cattelan’s work, "Comedian" which is actually a banana duct-taped to a wall, was snapped up on November 20, at Sotheby’s in New York, USA by Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun. It first rocked the art world in 2019 on its debut at Miami’s Art Basel.

 

The Italian visual artist said the work was a “provocation” and an invitation to appreciate the true value of art. The piece of art, whose first version was made with a banana that cost just 35 cents, went from a starting price of $800,000 to $5.2 million, plus a buyer’s fee.

 

“Comedian is a laugh against a tired system, an invitation to rediscover the power of irony and simplicity”, Cattelan claimed.

 

“It’s the market that has decided to take a banana stuck on the wall so seriously. If the system is so frail to slip on a banana skin, maybe it was already slippery”, the artist added.

 

Cattelan (left) is known for his hyper-realistic installations and sculptures, which include a fake horse dangling from a ceiling, the late pope John Paul II being hit by a meteorite and a marble hand with a raised middle finger outside Milan’s Stock Exchange.

 

And for his millions, the buyer will receive the banana, a roll of duct tape and instructions on how precisely to install the work, including information on how to replace the fruit (the mind boggles, given the ubiquity of bananas). The really important item, however, is the certificate of authenticity that will accompany these items, for herein lies Comedian’s – fingers crossed, eh? – ongoing value. We’re all free to tape fruit to our walls should the fancy take us, but only someone with the right paperwork is allowed to claim such an installation emanated from the audacious mind of Cattelan. 

 

Still, selling a piece of fruit for that much money isn’t bananas, it’s decadent! I thought art is better than this but sadly, it isn't!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic overcame a shaky first-half display to defeat Hearts 4-1 yesterday and move three points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

 

The Scottish champions made the breakthrough in the 55th minute when Kyogo Furuhashi slotted home a rebound from close range. Five minutes later, Nicolas Kuhn who played a one-two with Daizen Maeda, smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Adam Idah put the outcome beyond doubt in the 78th minute when he struck from 12 yards out after being played in by fellow sub Paulo Bernardo. 

 

The other side reduced the deficit to two with a superb long-range strike, but Celtic sealed victory in the 93rd minute, as Idah converted from the spot after James Forrest had been fouled in the box.