Kate Middleton's former roommate told a British tabloid that she's expecting a child with her husband, Prince William. 

Jessica Hay, Kate's former roommate who attended her blockbuster wedding, told the magazine New Idea that the Duchess was planning a December announcement. 

Hay and Middleton lived together in their middle school dorm. 

“It seems very traditional, but of course they’ll be happy with boys or two girls, they don’t want more.” Hay was quoted as saying according to the New York Post. “They’ve discussed it endlessly and don’t want to be older parents.”

This isn't the first time Hay has spilled about Middleton. 

She previously told a biographer that the future Queen of England was bullied at school for being too skinny and shy. 

The Palace hasn't commented on the rumors. 

DON'T MISS: Photos Of The Most Epic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Ever >

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Supermodel Kate Moss got her big break with a Calvin Klein jeans ad in 1992. 

Since that shoot catapulted her to fame, Moss has become one of the most iconic models of all time, sparking a global conversation about eating disorders that altered the fashion industry forever.

But her career-changing photoshoot almost didn't happen, Moss said in an excerpt of her new book. 

Calvin Klein originally wanted Vanessa Paradis for the ad, but she turned down the designer. 

Moss says: 

"They wanted Vanessa Paradis, but she said no. I can still remember asking Paul Cavaco, “Do you think I should do this Calvin contract?” And he said, “You know what? You’re so small, you might not last. It could be all over in a season! Take the money and run!”'

Paradis a French model and actress who is best-known for being the former partner of Johnny Depp. Moss also had a long relationship with the actor. 

Moss later said the Calvin Klein ad was emotionally devastating for her because she was only 17 at the time and had to straddle Mark Wahlberg. 

DON'T MISS: Images Of Kate Moss That Define Her Career >

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Politico's Patrick Gavin spoke with the Tareq Salahi— one half of the notorious White House party crashing Salahi duo— about what he thinks of Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite in the middle of the Petraeus scandal.

There have been many references in the media comparing the Kelleys and the Salahis.

What does Salahi think about that?

“I have seen a lot of the references, which are interesting,” Tareq Salahi told Politico. “I don’t see it myself."

Here's more of what he had to say to Politico:

“It does remind me a lot of what happened with my ex and I. Everyone was talking about whether we were invited or not and all the emails that were eventually released. And that was not the issue. The issue was one of White House abuse. And clearly the White House is letting this run because they want to avoid the issue of Benghazi. … All everyone wants to talk about is the social side of it, the drama and the debts and the affair and sex, because that’s a juicy story. It’s like the Real Housewives within the Pentagon, unfortunately.”

Salahi did acknowledge that he thought Kelley was doing what was needed to "rise up the ranks."

NOW SEE: So Jill Kelley HAS Visited The White House >

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Since news of a new "Star Wars" film in 2015, we've been wondering how much – if any – role George Lucas would have in developing the future of the franchise.

For Disney's release, he was given the vague title of "Creative Consultant." 

In an interview with Lucasfilm veteran Lynne Hale on StarWars.com, Lucas along with new director Kathleen Kennedy broke down what exactly his title of "Creative Consultant" means.

However, its not as easy to describe as thought.

Not even Lucas seems to be able to put a finger on it:

"I said that I would back her up and I would be there if ... and, especially helping with the script and making sure the script sort of ... there's a lot of blank spots in the story treatment that hopefully we can help fill in." 

New president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy quickly mediated to share what she describes as Luca's role as "the keeper of the flame."

"The beauty of the collaboration that can continue is as we work our way through these scripts if we're sitting and saying, 'Hmm, I wonder if this character can do that?' or 'Does this make sense within the rules of 'Star Wars'?' … He's the keeper of the flame when it comes to that." 

Watch the interview below:

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• Warner Bros. is being sued by the estate of "Lord of The Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien in an $80 million lawsuit over online slot machines and other digital merchandise. It’s not the hugely successful movies they’re fighting over, it's merchandising that the Estate says was never anticipated as part of its original deal back in 1969. “Not only are gambling services outside the rights granted, but this exploitation of Tolkien’s well-loved work has offended and distressed Tolkien’s devoted fans, harming Tolkien’s legacy and reputation,” The Tolkien Estate said in a separate statement to Deadline.

• Japanese anime film "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo," the third release from a popular franchise, pulled in $13.9 million over the weekend—making it Japan's biggest box office opening of the year.

• Director Martin Scorsesecelebrated his 70th birthday Saturday night at The Spotted Pig in the West Village. Guests at the four-course dinner included Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, Michael J. Fox, Fran Lebowitz, Steve Buscemi, Elvis Costello and Emily Mortimer.

• Charlize Theron has shed her blonde locks in favor of a shaved head for her role as Furiosa in "Mad Max: Fury Road."

• Good news "My Girl" fans of the 90s! Anna Chlumskyis returning to the (small) screen on NBC's new "Hannibal" starring as "Miriam Lass, a young FBI trainee under the tutelage of Laurence Fishburne’s Jack Crawford." The show is set to star Hugh Dancy as FBI agent Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen as the titular cannibal.

• Fellow 90s "All That" star and current "SNL" cast member Kenan Thompson is currently developing a single-camera sitcom for NBC with Lorne Michaels. If picked up, Thompson will write, star, and executive produce the show about Kenan Monroe, a New Yorker who moves in with his in-laws in the suburbs.

• Rihanna's backstage food demands include Cheetos, Ruffles, Oreos, Gummi Bears, Capri Sun and a long list of other munchie-friendly junk foods.

SEE ALSO: Inside the journalists' drama on Rihanna crazy 777 tour >

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After quickly denying any allegations of animal cruelty on the set of "The Hobbit" in a statement yesterday, Peter Jackson took to his Facebook page to further comment on the allegations to relieve fans of accusations. 

Yesterday, an AP article alleged "The Hobbit" production responsible for the deaths of up to 27 animals, which has since led to PETA's "The Hobbit: Unexpected Cruelty" online petition.

Jackson says the only animal health that came into question were those of two horse wranglers let go by production more than a year ago:

The Hobbit production has always instituted swift and immediate investigations in to any concerns of any kind over the treatment of animals under its care.  A prompt and thorough investigation into the recent unsubstantiated allegations by the American organisation, PETA, in to the ‘hobbling’ of a horse during the making of The Hobbit was undertaken.  No evidence of such a practice was found to have occurred at any time.  Further, the production contacted the owner of the horse concerned who provided the following statement:  “I am 100% happy with the return of Shanghai and his condition. In the term that he was leased he was picked up and returned to me two times. On both occasions there was not a mark on him and he was healthy and happy. He has shown no signs of ill-treatment. I would not hesitate in leasing him to the movie again.” 

To date, the only horse wranglers whose treatment of animals fell below the production’s standard of care seem to be the two wranglers who have chosen to level this new  accusation on the eve of the premiere of the first Hobbit film and who were dismissed by the production over a year ago.  Reports of their actions are documented in several written statements dating back to October 2011.

The production regrets that PETA has chosen to make such a serious accusation, which has distressed many of the dedicated Kiwis who worked with animals on the films - including trainers, wranglers, care-givers, farm workers and animal health care professionals - without properly vetting the source from which they received this information. 

The director went on to include testimony from a veterinarian and farmer on set along with actor Jed Brophy (who will play dwarf Nori) who called the accusations appalling.

You can read the entirety of Jackson's post HERE on his Facebook page.

SEE ALSO: What George Lucas' role of "creative consultant" in the new "Star Wars" films means >

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After initially standing by Kevin Clash — the longtime voice of "Elmo" recently accused of having sex with a minor— "Sesame Street" released a statement Tuesday announcing the voice actor's resignation from the kid-friendly show after a second underage accuser has come forward.

After settling with the young male model who initially accused Clash of underage sex, Cecil Singleton is now claiming in a lawsuit that Clash "groomed [the accuser] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money."

Singleton, now in his 30s, says the two met on a gay phone chat line back in 1993 — when the accuser was 15-years-old and Clash was 32-years-old.

According to TMZ, Singleton is now demanding more than $5 million from Clash, after just becoming aware in 2012 that "he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects from Kevin Clash's sexual acts and conduct."

And now Clash's professional life has suffered as a result of the drama in his personal life.

Sesame Workshop released a statement Tuesday explaining that Clash will no longer be a part of "Sesame Street," despite his nearly three-decade-long career as the voice of "Elmo."

Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.

Production of “Sesame Street” was unaffected by Clash’s leave of absence after news of the scandal broke last week and presumably will not be affected by his resignation, either.

Now let's remember Clash and Elmo in happier times:

Related:

Voice of Elmo takes leave of absence from 'Sesame Street' after allegations of sex with a teen >

Boy who accused Elmo puppeteer of underage sex ID'd as an aspiring model with a criminal past >

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Anna Nicole Smith's 6-year-old daughter is following in her late mother's footsteps.

Twenty years ago, Smith shot her famous first ad for the clothing company which helped launch her career. Now Dannielynn is a Guess girl, too.

Larry Birkhead, Dannielynn's father, told Entertainment Tonight, which got photos from the shoot, that Dannielynn has the modeling bug. “She said, ‘Now tell me, when am I going to be on those shopping bags?’" He followed by saying that school is the most important thing for the now child model and that this was more of a tribute to her mother.

Here are some photos from Dannielynn's shoot:

Like mother, like daughter.

Birkhead asked Dannielynn to show ET's camera crew the face that Guess liked.

Dannielynn is 6 years old.

SEE ALSO: Here's A Picture Of The Bomb-Like Watch That Got An Ad Exec Arrested At The Airport>

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Actor and Celebrity Apprentice contestant Gary Busey filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in early 2012. His liabilities were somewhere in the $500,000-to-$1 million range, according to a Reuters report.

Busey joins a long line of celebrities who have gone bust at some point or another.

Click here to see >

Here’s a rather amusing take on the whole affair from Busey’s agent, as given to celeb site TheWrap:

“As with many great American institutions, i.e., General Motors, American Airlines, and many others who have utilized the strategic business tool called bankruptcy, Gary Busey’s filing is the final chapter in a process that began a few years ago of jettisoning the litter of past unfortunate choices, associations, events and circumstances that visited themselves upon this great American icon, to enable the start of a new and clear path to peace, happiness and success with his career and his wonderful new soulmate, Steffanie, and their son, Luke.”

Randy Quaid (Bankrupt in 2000)

Oh the irony. After making a film called The Debtors, starring himself and directed by his rather talent-deprived wife Evi, Quaid went broke. The decade ended with Randy Quaid banned from stage acting and the Quaids arrested for allegedly defrauding an innkeeper.

Toni Braxton (Bankrupt in 1993 and again in 2010)

After her album Secrets went platinum with No. 1 hits “You’re Makin’ Me High” and “Un-Break My Heart,” Braxton shortly declared bankruptcy thanks to free-spending ways beyond her success. So much for learning her lesson, though — by 2010, the R&B singer was bust a second time. If that’s not enough public embarrassment for you, tune into the sordid affairs and finances of Toni and her kin in the Braxton Family Values reality show on WE.

Stan Lee (Bankrupt in 2001)

Despite the massive success of comic book heroes like Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and The X-Men, Stan Lee was a dot-com disaster. His web-based comic book venture of the era, the eponymous Stan Lee Media, quickly burned through its capital like so many other firms inflated by the tech bubble. Adding insult to injury was that Lee’s partner, Peter Paul, was accused of securities fraud, too.

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Not every extravagant product on Oprah Winfrey's annual "Favorite Things" list would make the perfect holiday gift. For every normally priced idea, there are about four other crazy expensive ones.

And the 2012 version of the list is no different, with stuff like a $3,000 Octane Fitness Q37ci Elliptical Trainer or a $450 Dyson Pedestal Fan making the cut. Who would buy that for someone for the holidays besides Oprah?

But the woman does have great taste, and there's no denying more than a few products caught our eye. So instead of focusing on all the nutty gifts she's planning to give away, we rounded up our favorites.

Plus, some of these items are up to 50 percent off with the code "OPRAH" until December 31, 2012.

H2O+ Marine Spa Gift Set

This gift set comes with  two body washes, two body scrubs, a body lotion, and a body cream all in a light mint and eucalyptus scent. Plus, Oprah says she "discovered these products at David Copperfield's house" and who doesn't want to smell like David Copperfield, right?

Cost: Originally $122, now $98 with code OPRAH (expires Dec 31, 2012).

Source: Oprah's Favorite Things 2012

Tusk Capri Double Zip Checkbook Clutch

"Tired of fishing through your bag for your checkbook and phone? Here's a holds-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink wallet, and it's made of Italian kidskin leather," gushes Oprah. Though I do have to agree with her, these clutches are really cute.

Cost: Originally $138, now $117 with code OPRAH (expires Dec 31, 2012).

Source: Oprah's Favorite Things 2012

Corkcicle

This is great for the wine lover on your list. The Corkcicle comes in three different versions — classic cork top, bright colored top, and even customizable versions. All you need to do is freeze the faux-ice Corkcicle and insert into a wine bottle to keep your vino chilled for over an hour.

Cost:$24.95.

Source: Oprah's Favorite Things 2012

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"Whose Line Is It Anyway?" veteran and current "Let's Make A Deal" host Wayne Brady did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit earlier today.

Here's a link to the full AMA. 

We've curated some of his best responses below. 

Wayne, who was your favorite guest to improv with on Whose Line?

"It was def Robin Williams. It was my dream to work with that guy. And to be able to improvise with him was amazing. I almost had a comedy stroke right on stage."

During the Whose Line days, it seemed like you, Ryan and Colin all had really great chemistry, that didn't quite translate to all of the various "fourth members". Were you three friends outside of the show, or was there just some natural chemistry that was there?

"I met everyone once I started doing the show. The other guys knew each other and worked together a lot but I was the new kid. The thing about being on Wliia was that it was always fresh because we didn't hang out, so the taping was a cool party. I think some people love the notion that we worked together and then went home to our four tier bunk bed to have improvised pillow fights."

Any stories you can share from your appearance on Chappelle's show? How did he pitch the idea? What was the shoot like, etc?

"The Chapelle Show idea came from Dave calling me up at my show and saying that he was a fan and wanted to do a sketch for his last show. I'd run into a couple of his writers and maybe I said that i thought that the Paul Mooney joke was stupid. So, I get this call and the next thing I know we're shooting this classic sketch. He and his writing partner came up with the training day thing and I did the part where the cop gets it."

What's the best improv tip you could offer for all of us here that wish we could be funny/witty on the fly?

"The best thing I can say is don't try too hard. If the opportunity is there, it'll be easy. No one likes the tool who tries to out funny everyone 24-7. and read a lot. Just having a ton of trivia and literary references makes you better armed."

SEE ALSO: What George Lucas' role as "creative consultant" on the next "Star Wars" means >

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After this week's Twinkie scare, the Hostess treat has been on the top of everyone's minds.

And now The Huffington Post has put together a five-minute-long movie montage featuring every Twinkie and Twinkie reference in every film ever made.

From "Grease" to "Die Hard" to "Ghostbusters," check out which of your favorite films have featured America's favorite unhealthy snack.

SEE ALSO: How to make your own Twinkies >

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Time Warner has extended the contract of chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes by five years to 2017, the company announced on Tuesday.

The extension won't affect Bewkes' base salary and bonus target, which will remain unchanged. The agreement does include long-term incentive awards tied directly to financial and shareholder returns in the future.

Also read: TW's Jeff Bewkes: Streaming Is Stabilizing Home-Entertainment Revenues

“Jeff’s compensation reflects his and the Company’s strong performance since 2008, especially in delivering strong financial results in a competitive market and in the digital leadership of our businesses," said Stephen F. Bollenbach, the lead independent director of Time Warner's Board of Directors. "The structure of his pay also takes into consideration the views of our major stockholders and expressly ties his pay to the long-term financial success of the company.”

Bewkes became Time Warner's chairman and CEO in 2009, a year after being appointed as the company's president and CEO. Previously he had served as Time Warner's president and COO, as well as chairman of Time Warner's Entertainment and Networks group.

Also read: Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes: We Are Focused on Fixing Ratings-Challenged CNN

Bewkes' resume also includes a stint as CEO of HBO.

“It is a pleasure to work with such a dedicated Board of Directors and I appreciate their confidence in me and in the strategy we have formulated to drive the company’s growth,” Bewkes said.  “With Time Warner’s exceptional management team we have created some of the most compelling content in the world, we have led the way in developing new business models that capitalize on emerging consumer trends, we’ve expanded our reach internationally and we’ve improved the operating and the capital efficiency of the Company.  I’m even more confident about what we’ll achieve over the next five years.”

Time Warner's third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations this year, with the company's film division pushing the company to a 57 percent increase in earnings with revenues of $7.1 billion. The company reported $822 million in profits for the third quarter.

SEE ALSO: 15 famous people who used to teach >

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Fiona Apple posted a heartfelt, handwritten note on her Facebook page Tuesday explaining that she has canceled the latest leg of her worldwide tour to care for her sick pit bull named Janet, who is on her death bed.

Apple adopted Janet when the dog was just four months old and the now 35-year-old singer was only 21.

“I am not the woman who puts her career ahead of love and friendship. I am the woman who stays home and bakes Tilapia for my dearest, oldest friend,” writes Apple in the four-page post. “I am staying home, and I am listening to her snore and wheeze, and reveling in the swampiest, most awful breath that ever emanated from an angel. And I am asking for your blessing.”

Apple's 14-year-old dog is currently suffering from Addison’s disease and a tumor in her chest. Because of the dog's regularly required injections of Cortisol, the singer says she is unable to travel.

The letter does not specify exactly which performances will be canceled, but a list of tour dates on Apple’s website has been replaced by the emotional letter. However, the note does appear to imply that Apple may reschedule the shows, asking fans to "meet a little while later."

Read the full text of the letter (pictured at right) below:

It's 6pm on Friday, and I'm writing to a few thousand friends I have not met yet.
 I am writing to ask them to change our plans and meet a little while later.


Here's the thing.


I have a dog Janet, and she's been ill for almost two years now, as a t

umor has been idling in her chest, growing ever so slowly. She's almost 14 years old now.I got her when she was 4 months old. I was 21 then ,an adult officially - and she was my child.


She is a pitbull, and was found in Echo Park, with a rope around her neck, and bites all over her ears and face.


She was the one the dogfighters use to puff up the confidence of the contenders.


She's almost 14 and I've never seen her start a fight ,or bite, or even growl, so I can understand why they chose her for that awful role. She's a pacifist.


Janet has been the most consistent relationship of my adult life, and that is just a fact.


We've lived in numerous houses, and jumped a few make shift families, but it's always really been the two of us.


She slept in bed with me, her head on the pillow, and she accepted my hysterical, tearful face into her chest, with her paws around me, every time I was heartbroken, or spirit-broken, or just lost, and as years went by, she let me take the role of her child, as I fell asleep, with her chin resting above my head.


She was under the piano when I wrote songs, barked any time I tried to record anything, and she was in the studio with me all the time we recorded the last album.


The last time I came back from tour, she was spry as ever, and she's used to me being gone for a few weeks every 6 or 7 years.


She has Addison's Disease, which makes it dangerous for her to travel since she needs regular injections of Cortisol, because she reacts to stress and to excitement without the physiological tools which keep most of us from literally panicking to death.


Despite all of this, she’s effortlessly joyful and playful, and only stopped acting like a puppy about 3 years ago.


She's my best friend and my mother and my daughter, my benefactor, and she's the one who taught me what love is.
I can't come to South America. Not now.


When I got back from the last leg of the US tour, there was a big, big difference.


She doesn't even want to go for walks anymore.
I know that she's not sad about aging or dying. Animals have a survival instinct, but a sense of mortality and vanity, they do not. That’s why they are so much more present than people.
But I know that she is coming close to point where she will stop being a dog, and instead, be part of everything. She’ll be in the wind, and in the soil, and the snow, and in me, wherever I go.


I just can't leave her now, please understand.


If I go away again, I’m afraid she'll die and I won't have the honor of singing her to sleep, of escorting her out.


Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes to pick which socks to wear to bed.


But this decision is instant.


These are the choices we make, which define us.


I will not be the woman who puts her career ahead of love and friendship.


I am the woman who stays home and bakes Tilapia for my dearest, oldest friend.


And helps her be comfortable, and comforted, and safe, and important.


Many of us these days, we dread the death of a loved one. It is the ugly truth of Life, that keeps us feeling terrified and alone.


I wish we could also appreciate the time that lies right beside the end of time.


I know that I will feel the most overwhelming knowledge of her, and of her life and of my love for her, in the last moments.


I need to do my damnedest to be there for that.


Because it will be the most beautiful, the most intense, the most enriching experience of life I've ever known.
 When she dies.


So I am staying home, and I am listening to her snore and wheeze, and reveling in the swampiest, most awful breath that ever emanated from an angel.


And I am asking for your blessing.



I'll be seeing you. 


Love, Fiona

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At the urging of L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled Tuesday that 14-year-old "Modern Family star Ariel Winter remain under the guardianship of her older sister after being removed from her mother's care last month amid allegations of parental abuse.

The DCFS report concludes Chrystal Workman, Ariel's mom, committed emotional abuse against her actress daughter, but evidence of reports of physical abuse are currently "inconclusive."

The report suggested Winter remain in the care of her 34-year-old sister, Shanelle Gray, who the judge says has said "eloquent things" at a prior hearing about the family needing to heal. "I don't think she has ulterior motives," he added.

After the report recommended that Gray be awarded permanent guardianship (a trial date will be set to settle that question), Winter's mother and father, who have long been separated, are now both fighting hard to regain guardianship of their teenage daughter.

"We implore the court to send the kid to her dad," an attorney for Winter's mother stated in court Tuesday. "Being a controlling mother doesn't mean [my client] is unfit."

But the judge ruled against it, saying: "I have questions about the nature and strength of the relationship."

In his declaration, Winter's father, Glenn Workman, said: "I am physically, emotionally, and financially capable of caring for my daughter, without limitation. No evidence has been produced that suggests any detriment to Ariel associated with my father-daughter relationship with her."

Workman added of his relationship with his daughter, "We enjoy going on long walks together ... and I love to listen to her talk to me ... I find her to be very interesting. I believe Ariel has demonstrated a lot of maturity and is at an age now that she should have more control over her finances."

Even Winter's brother, Jimmy Workman, is now weighing in on the situation, telling TMZ cameras, "Hopefully my father gets custody of my sister, which it should be." Watch below.

Related:

14-Year-Old 'Modern Family' star removed from home after alleged parental abuse >

'Modern Family' wanted Ariel Winter's mom banned from set after allegedly starving her daughter >

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The recent underage sex scandal involving Kevin Clash, the longtime voice of "Elmo" on "Sesame Street," provided plenty of funny fodder about the popular Hasbro "Tickle Me Elmo" toy.

In the wake of Clash's Tuesday resignation from the kid-friendly show, toy manufacturing giant Hasbro is standing by their furry red doll and his famous "He he he, that tickles" catchphrase.

"'Sesame Street' and its wonderful characters have been entertaining and educating children and families for more than 40 years," Wayne Charness, senior vice president of corporate communications at Hasbro, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. "We are confident that Elmo will remain an integral part of 'Sesame Street' and that 'Sesame Street' toys will continue to delight children for years to come."

The "Sesame Street" controversy comes just weeks after Hasbro released their latest Elmo product, "The LOL Elmo," right before the holiday season.

The "Laugh Out Loud" doll retails for $39.99 and is the latest version of 1996's super popular "Tickle Me Elmo" that sold over a million units and caused store riots over Christmas.

The "Elmo" toy franchise also includes a slew of other products, from alphabet blocks for toddlers to toy cell phones and electric guitars geared towards older children.

Kevin Clash resigned Tuesday as the voice of "Elmo" after nearly three decades with "Sesame Street" amid numerous accusations of engaging in sex with minors.

SEE ALSO: Voice of Elmo resigns as second underage sex accuser comes forward >

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With the first semester of the school year over half way over and Thanksgiving break looming, we know students may not be all that ecstatic about seeing their teachers – and the homework they assign.

Pay attention in class, though; you never know what hidden talents your teachers might have.

Your math or English teacher might one day become a famous actor, or who knows, even the next President. 

Gene Simmons

The tongue-flicking bassist of Kiss taught sixth grade in Harlem before he became the world’s most famous bass-playing demon. Simmons later revealed in interviews that his superiors canned him for replacing the works of Shakespeare with Spiderman comics, which he thought the students were more likely to actually read.

Alexander Graham Bell

The telephone pioneer got his start teaching Visible Speech at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes. He developed a bond with a student named Mabel Hubbard, and when she was 19 the two married.

Sting

Before he became a star with The Police, Sting taught English, music, and soccer at St. Catherine’s Convent School. Sting later said of working at a convent school, “I was the only man on the faculty. In fact, I was the only teacher not in a habit.”

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On Monday, Disney CEO Bob Iger bought $1 million worth of Apple shares, an SEC filing revealed. He's on Apple's board of directors.

That's really interesting, because Iger exercised a million options on Disney stock last week, netting $17.9 million.

“He’s just diversifying his investments and still has a very large portfolio of Disney stock,” Zenia Mucha, a Disney spokesperson, told Bloomberg at the time.

So he seems to have put some of that cash right to work, in a company he happens to be very familiar with.

When an insider, like a board member, buys stock on the open market, it's usually considered a bullish sign. Apple shares have slumped lately amid concerns of increasing competition and tightening profit margins.

Iger also bought $1 million worth of shares a year ago at prices around $375 a share, shortly after joining Apple's board.

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The core idea behind this book is simple and quite enticing. Nassim Nicholas Taleb divides the world and all that's in it (people, things, institutions, ways of life) into three categories: the fragile, the robust and the antifragile. You are fragile if you avoid disorder and disruption for fear of the mess they might make of your life: you think you are keeping safe, but really you are making yourself vulnerable to the shock that will tear everything apart. You are robust if you can stand up to shocks without flinching and without changing who you are. But you are antifragile if shocks and disruptions make you stronger and more creative, better able to adapt to each new challenge you face. Taleb thinks we should all try to be antifragile.

If the idea is nice and neat, however, the book that houses it is just the opposite. It is a big, baggy, sprawling mess. Taleb seems to have decided not just to explain his idea but also to try to exemplify it. One of his bugbears is the fragility of most of what passes for "knowledge" – especially the kind produced by academics – which he thinks is so hung up on order and completeness that it falls apart at the first breath of disruption. So he has gone for deliberate disorder: Antifragile jumps around from aphorism to anecdote to technical analysis, interspersed with a certain amount of hectoring encouragement to the reader to keep up. The aim, apparently, is to show how much more interesting an argument can be if it resists being pinned down.

There are two problems with this. First, the book is very hard going. Everything is taken to link to everything else but nothing is ever followed through. Taleb despises mere "theorists" but still aspires to produce a theory of everything. So what we get are lots of personal reminiscences buttressed by the ideas of the few thinkers he respects, almost all of whom happen to be his friends. The result is both solipsistic and ultimately dispiriting. Reading this book is the intellectual equivalent of having to sit patiently while someone shows you their holiday snaps.

The other difficulty is that too many of the ideas contained here appear thin and brittle rather than rich and flexible: fragile rather than antifragile. Taleb is keen on "heuristics" – shortcuts to wisdom that encapsulate human experience – but often these seem simply to reflect his own prejudices. To take just one example: Taleb thinks modern states become fragile when they get into debt, and that a prerequisite of political antifragility is rigid fiscal conservatism. This is nonsense. Eschewing debt makes states just as fragile as having too much of it. The durability of both the British and American states throughout their history has depended on their ability to use public debt to adapt to different challenges. As political analysis, Taleb's heuristic – "when you don't have debt you don't care about your reputation … and somehow it's only when you don't care about your reputation that you tend to have a good one" – is glib and unconvincing.

Antifragile is trying to be two things at once: a philosophical treatise and a how-to guide for living. Taleb's two previous books – Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan– drew their appeal from being more narrowly focused on the failures of economists and financial traders to understand the game they were in. Their enormous success derived in part from his apparently being proved right by the financial crash of 2007-08. But now Taleb wants more than just vindication: he wants long-term intellectual respect. He makes a great play in this book of denigrating those earlier volumes as somehow lesser versions of his big idea. He says Antifragile, along with a technical treatise he published before he became famous, are by far his favourite pieces of writing. If I may be forgiven a heuristic of my own, it is a very bad sign when authors start to look down on the books that connected them to their audience: it means they are now irredeemably up themselves.

As a how-to guide Antifragile is a mixture of the pretentious and the banal. Some of this is deliberate provocation: we are told that real scholarship depends on having a private library rather than learning in the classroom. But much of the advice is just a warmed-up anti-health-and-safety rant with a bit of Nietzsche thrown in. Relying on gyms and doctors make us ill. We all eat too much: better to avoid breakfast. Our kids are being cosseted into fragility by "soccer mom" parenting: we need to let them toughen up. The childrearing implications of Taleb's argument illustrate some of its limitations. Being a parent is an inherently fragile business, given the permanent possibility of something going disastrously wrong. Of course, one way to avoid that would be to live in a world where people are accustomed to their children dying young. Taleb is deeply and depressingly nostalgic for the virtues of the ancients, with their stoicism and tolerance for suffering. To want to return to the miseries of a world that requires such virtues strikes me as ridiculous.

Antifragile is not all bad: it has flashes of wit and insight. Taleb says the least antifragile state in the world at the moment is Saudi Arabia, a plausible claim though one it would be nice to see argued out. He is good at knockabout invective, laying into "fragilista" economists such as Joseph Stiglitz and self-aggrandising journalists such as "the vile and harmful" Thomas Friedman, who was an apologist for the Iraq war. And there are some nice lines: "We practitioners and quants aren't too fazed by remarks on the part of academics – it would be like prostitutes listening to technical commentary by nuns." The problem, though, is that Taleb no longer writes from the perspective of the practitioner but of someone who has crossed over to live among the academics and wants to tell them what they are missing. He is now more like the nun with a racy past who lectures the rest of the convent about the meaning of sex: not much fun for anyone.

He says books and their authors should be antifragile too. That means that negative reviews should be welcomed: "Criticism for a book is a truthful, unfaked badge of attention, signalling that it is not boring." He even specifies a bad review given by an academic to a popular author in these pages recently (Glen Bowersock's review of Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword) as a reason for going out to buy the book. At the same time, he suggests that a useful heuristic for book readers is not to bother with anything less than 10 years old, since most recently published books will soon reveal themselves to be worthless. He thinks you should abandon a book as soon as it starts to bore you (so don't be a book reviewer: I had to plough on with this one to the bitter end). He thinks all criticism of his work is essentially ad hominem (though with a book as self-referential as this it's hard to know what else there is to do). All in all, Taleb is not going to care about anything I say here.

Still, this book should be approached with caution. We do live in a fragile world, vulnerable to extreme shocks. But antifragility is not the solution. It is too crass an idea, and Taleb, for all his vaunted intellectual curiosity, is not really curious about the lives of anyone who doesn't live like him. He says it's better to be a taxi driver than a stockbroker, because you are less exposed to the whims of others. Let him try it. He thinks it's better to be a mafia hard man than a tenured academic. Again, let him try it. The problem with Antifragile is that it is a deeply antisocial book. I am pretty sure people will still be reading Taleb's two previous books in 10 years' time. But I'd be surprised if they are still reading this one.

• David Runciman's Political Hypocrisy is published by Princeton.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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