Steve Jobs, Nortel, a plane crash and Ricardo Montalban

It's been a nutty week. I'm coming down from juggling a zillion pieces of work and life, so I thought I'd toss a few milestones onto the screen because months from now, I think it'll be cool to look back at the week that was and remember what it was like to sit here on a cold winter's night and reflect on it all. Let's dive in, shall we?

• Steve Jobs took a leave of absence from his job at the top of Apple. I'm already willing to lay odds - as if I'd even know how to do that, but work with me here - that he won't be back. And what of Apple's future? Whatever it is, it's just gotten that much more interesting to follow. Which means life's going to be more fun for me in the coming months. I chatted with BNN's Michael Kane about this on Jan. 5th. Here's the interview.
  
• Nortel sought bankruptcy protection. This is another one of those things I've been chirping about for a while. It was only a matter of time before this train wreck of a process ended up here. And while it's sad for employees, shareholders and anyone else who appreciated Nortel for its role as a telecom pioneer in a country long seen as a world leader in ths space, it's difficult to ignore just how Darwinian the modern business world has become. And if you've become weak, stuff like this happens. Oops, almost forgot: I spoke with BNN's Michael Kane for his show, Lunch Money yesterday (spacecase that I am, I can't locate the clip - if anyone finds it, let me know) and Janet Babin interviewed me for National Public Radio's Marketplace (click here for story page and link to audio report.)
  
• Ricardo Montalban passed away. While he may be best known for making "Corinthian leather" part of the modern lexicon, his most notable achievement is busting through Hollywood's stereotypes and becoming one of the first latino leading men in an industry that up until then didn't diverge much from the white guy motif. He'll be missed. The Cordoba? Not so much.
• US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River, and everyone survived. Sometimes, you've just got to believe that miracles really do happen. Maybe I won't give up on the planet, after all. (More directly, I hope this convinces you to read the safety card, watch the demo, count rows and otherwise focus on the things you need to focus on the next time you get on a plane. The in-flight magazine can wait.)
  

Your turn: How's your week been so far?

One more thing: We're still taking Thematic Photographic submissions. The latest theme: "aged". Surely you can come up with something old, melancholy, wrinkled or otherwise forgotten. Head over here to get started.