- In case your life has just been incomplete without social etiquette tips from a famous actor whose life has little to no correlation to the reality that you and I encounter on a daily basis, here you go. Brad Pitt is here to help in the form of a cover story from Wired Magazine. "How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans" hits newsstands July 21 and will help you address issues like whether you should talk on the phone while using the restroom. "No, you can't talk on the phone!" Pitt tells the magazine. "Do you want the guy next to you to hear your entire conversation? "That's why you should only text in the bathroom. Just be sure you don't hit the wrong button and end up putting a photo of your junk on Twitter. Trust me, you don't want those followers." Umm, thanks for that…I think. Pitt isn’t actually pretending to be a tech expert, but with the help of “Wired” founder Conde Nast, he’s giving some semi-serious pointers to the 18 dorks who actually read the magazine. Oh, and by that logic, no one should ever talk on a cell phone anywhere because someone can always hear their conversation. The magazine’s cover features Pitt wearing a Bluetooth device in his ear. The picture actually ties into one of the article’s rule, Rule No. 52: " Ditch the headset. He can barely pull it off -- and you are not him," the magazine says. But fear not if you’re not a cell phone degenerate, because Pitt has advice for other issues too. One question asks if a person who exaggerated his or her salary on an online dating profile should confess. "Hell no," Pitt writes. "Everyone lies online. In fact, readers expect you to lie. If you don't, they'll think you make less than you actually do. So the only way to tell the truth is to lie." He also weighs in on viewing porn at work. "Don't just look at it at work, bring in your old porn mags and scan them there!" Pitt writes in the magazine. "It's like converting your vinyl to MP3s. Fill up your hard drive, and when you need a break from spreadsheets, just open a favorite pictorial." I’m thinking that advice is tongue-in-cheek, but I guess you never know." Overall, a curious project for Pitt to lend his time to, but I guess having sex with Angelina isn’t something you can do all day, every day……
- Hmmm, who saw this coming? Could it be me after hearing the absolute outrage in the voices of various Pittsburgh Pirates players a couple of weeks ago after the team traded away yet more of its most talented, experienced players in an effort to slash payroll, er, make more money, er, build a foundation for the future by acquiring promising young players? Shortstop Jack Wilson was one of the most outspoken critics of trading away players like Nate McLouth and Jason Bay, all-stars and cornerstones of the team. He publicly ripped the team after the most recent trades that sent away two-thirds of the team’s starting outfield, then doubled back and couched his comments the next day after someone from the front office clearly got in his ear and convinced him to quasi-apologize. However, Wilson may get the last laugh on the Pirates. He and second baseman Freddy Sanchez were both offered multiyear contract extensions this week and both turned the extensions down. Why, I don’t know. These guys watch their team trade away its best players year after year, basically admitting it can’t or won't spend the money to compete, and they don’t want to stick around? Curious. The true irony is that by rejecting their respective contract extensions, Wilson and Sanchez have almost certainly increased the odds that one or both of them will be dealt before the July 31. Because both potentially could become free agents after this season and the Pirates have no top-level prospects at either position, the team could decide to ship them out now and get something in return to restock their system. They’ve reportedly had multiple trade discussions involving Sanchez in recent weeks, but no deal has been made -- partly because Sanchez's 2009 salary is guaranteed at $8 million if he makes 600 plate appearances. He allegedly rejected an extension that would have been worth $10 million over two seasons. As for Wilson, he’s been through the ups and downs of trade speculation before and knows what’s in store. "I've been through this the last couple of years," Wilson said. "Until they call me in that room and say I'm not a Pirate, I'm here.” As for trading away two more all-stars and a guy in Sanchez who was the 2006 NL batting champion…..that’s why these guys are the Pittsburgh Pirates, owners of the longest current streak of sub-.500 seasons in all of the four major U.S. professional sports (17 seasons). General manager Neal Huntington claims that the team offered both Sanchez and Wilson fair market value, which may be true. However, money isn’t the only factor in play. As much as athletes love the cash, most of them want to play for a team that at least gives off the illusion of trying to be competitive and contend for a championship every now and then. The way things are going in Pittsburgh, I can’t see why anyone would want to play for the Pirates……
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Any time you can give a salute to a group of Africans rioting in China, of all places, you best take the chance. I can count on no hands the amount of times in my illustrious riot-watchign career that I’ve seen Africans rioting in China. Yet there they were, a group of 100 Africans protesting outside a police station in southern China on Wednesday afternoon following the reported death of an African merchant during an alleged police raid. It all started in the same place that every good riot starts, namely with The Man looking to come down on the little guy. In this case, it meant police checking the passports of Africans who were operating stalls at a shopping mall in China's Guangdong Province. Police claimed that they were conducting routine checks at the mall and a man who injured while trying to flee the building. Later, they doubled back and said that another man had been critically injured after falling from the building. Protestors told a different story, namely that a brawl broke out after at least one African merchant was killed. That’s as good a reason to go as any, no doubt. The Man kills one of your fellow protestors, you thrown down then and there. News of the incident spread quickly and within five hours a large crowd of Africans gathered at a nearby police station and protested. Many of the protestors have been identified as Nigerians, which would make sense because a leader in the Nigerian community in Guangdong said the Nigerian community would meet with Chinese authorities to discuss preventing similar incidents. All of this comes as China has steadily begun investing more and more money in African countries and more Africans have immigrated to China. This is also a fairly prodigious period of rioting in China, as you might recall from my report last week about ethnic Uyghurs in Urumqi, Xinjiang, taking it to the streets to speak out against what they feel is unfair treatment by China’s Han majority……..
- William Petersen may have left CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, but his love interest on the show is making a return. Jorja Fox has inked a deal to return to CSI as Sara for multiple episodes after leaving at the same time as Petersen early last season. The storyline involving the two lovebirds had them riding off into the sunset together, ostensibly never to return. Laurence Fishburne came in to take the place of Petersen’s Gil Grissom character as head of the Las Vegas crime lab, marking the start of a new era for one of the longest-running dramas on TV. However, Fox’s return would appear to indicate that, at least in the world of CSI, Grissom and Sara aren’t living so happily ever after. Fox’s return will come without Petersen, so now the question is what became of their relationship and what the conditions of Sara’s return are. According to executive producer Carol Mendelsohn, Fox will reappear in the Sept. 24 episode when viewers will "discover where life has taken Sara Sidle and what brings her back to the CSI team in Las Vegas." I’m not a huge fan of any of the numerous versions of the CSI franchise (except occasionally in reruns), but this should generate some good buzz among fans for the new season and drum up some of the interest that may have been lost when Petersen and Fox left the show…….
- So the Sears Tower is history - technically. Like famous sporting venues whose naming rights are sold to the highest bidder, the most famous building in Chicago has seen its long-standing name go by the wayside in favor of its new moniker, Willis Tower. As of Thursday, the iconic skyscraper is now named Willis Tower, named after international insurance broker Willis Group Holdings. The company is the main tenant of the 110-story skyscraper and they have bought the right to call it whatever they want. However, don’t expect Chicagoans to follow suit and begin calling the building anything but the Sears Tower. Many of these people have gathered on the most popular place for individuals to go when they want to bitch, moan, complain and make idle threats without actually doing anything about their problems: Facebook. More than 90,000 people have joined the group "People Against the Sears Tower Name Change," on the social networking site. “This name change is absurd," one member wrote. "Would Paris change the name of the Eiffel Tower? Or London change Buckingham Palace? Or New York, the Statue of Liberty? I believe the Illinois Congress needs to proclaim the Sears Tower a recognizable landmark that is known all over the world by people who have traveled to Chicago.” To that end, the group has gathered more than 34,000 signatures on an online petition against the name change. That’s great, just don’t expect the powers that be to give a damn about this online petition. Yesterday, a renaming ceremony was held with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. The skyscraper's Web site also features the new name, so don’t expect it to officially be changed back. Still, I have to admit that it is bizarre to see an official new name bestowed upon a building that has been the Sears Tower ever since it opened in 1973 with its original occupant, Sears Roebuck & Co. Still, those who oppose the name change have the best weapon of all in their power: calling the building the Sears Tower and convincing those they know to do the same. If politicians and Willis employees are the only ones calling it the Willis Tower, nothing will really have changed………
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