- Good news is here. Life had become completely boring and predictable and was headed nowhere in particular in the world of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," the troubled, $70 million musical featuring music penned by Bono and the Edge of U2. There were a few steady things you could count on from the production over the past few years - injuries to cast members because of dangerous on-stage acrobatics during rehearsals and practices, complaints from concerned lawmakers, production delays due to set and budgetary issues, etc. - and the entire production had become boring and tired. Well, assuming that you don’t revel in people being clubbed in the head by falling wires and cables, dropped from dangerous heights or stuck hanging high above the audience for prolonged periods of time, it had become boring and tired. The blame for that ultimately falls on the shoulders of the director for any production and the show’s longtime director, Julie Taymor, had to know her fate was shaky at best. Even as a Tony Award winner and the person who has overseen the show for the last nine years, she was only going to receive so much leeway. The tipping point for her departure finally came this week with an announcement by the show’s producers that she had been replaced as the show's dark overlord. The producers also said Taymor would cede control of the show after March 15 and she has not been seen inside the theater since early this week. She was conspicuously absent when Bono, the Edge and producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris addressed the cast Wednesday night. At this point, the decision has been made and now it is up to Cohl and Harris to negotiate exit terms with Taymor. Thus far, the two sides haven’t been able to reach a deal because of disagreements on several key issues, including royalties, a non-disclosure agreement and copyright ownership. The situation could ultimately end up in court, which would be bad news for the show because Cohl and Harris are trying to determine whether they can pay for needed changes to the production with the money they have left or must try to raise more capital. Regardless of how the matter plays out, Cohl and Harris have already hired a creative team to replace Taymor. Reports surfacing Wednesday night claimed that "The Boy From Oz" director Philip William McKinley had been hired to oversee staging and "Spider-Man" comic writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been tasked to rework the script for a planned overhaul of the production. And so the drama rolls on, Julie Taymor or no Julie Taymor…………
- Coffee may still be disgusting (as evidenced by the fact that 99 percent of those who drink it alter it in some way - sugar, cream, etc.), but it may have an unexpected benefit for women who consume it on a regular basis. According to a Swedish study led by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, women who drank at least a cup of coffee everyday had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to those who drank less coffee or none at all. The findings were published online Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke and while they are not likely to reverse every negative belief about the effects of drinking coffee on various parts of the human body, coffee drinkers have to like the idea that their favorite beverage is being praised instead of attacked for once. Scientists have been studying coffee for years and have yet to reach any sort of consensus on whether it is helpful or hazardous. Larsson’s research team conceded that previous studies on coffee consumption and strokes have had conflicting findings and felt they could offer some clarity to the matter through an observational study that followed 34,670 Swedish women, ages 49 to 83, for about 10 years. At the outset, participants were asked how much coffee they drank and researchers reviewed hospital records to find out how many of the women later had strokes. There were a total of 1,680 strokes, representing 4.8 percent of participants, including 205 in those who drank less than a cup of coffee per day. Even after adjusting for differences between the groups that affect stroke risk, such as smoking, weight, high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers still found a lower stroke risk among coffee drinkers. That benefit existed regardless of whether the women drank a cup or several daily. "You don't need to drink so much. One or two cups a day is enough," Larsson said. Yet she is not sure why coffee may be cutting stroke risk and says that more research is needed. One possible explanation is that coffee could reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. Or maybe it’s the antioxidants in coffee……even Larsson and her team aren’t certain. Instead, they suggest that those who want to reduce their chances of a stroke stick to known, effective tactics: don't smoke, keep blood under control and maintain a healthy weight. Thanks for nothing, science…..…………
- The true challenge right now when it comes to enjoying all of the riots, protests and uprisings raging on around the world is knowing where and when to focus your attention in a specific direction. For example, are the powers that be in Country X itching to unleash that new supply of tear gas they just received or are opposition leaders in Country Y planning a “Day of Rage” next Thursday? But for those who can't keep up with the many details that make for good riot watching, there is always……Riot Watch! Today, Riot Watch!™ is back in Bahrain, where clashes between demonstrators and pro-government loyalists left hundreds injured in Bahrain Friday in the worst outbreak of violence since the military was ordered off the streets nearly three weeks ago. The violence was timed nicely, as it came just hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates paid a surprise visit to Bahrain in a show of support for the island kingdom's royal family. Gates’ ass-kissing mission is important because Bahrain holds a strategic position in the Persian Gulf and hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, consisting of 3,000 military personnel who oversee 30 naval ships and some 30,000 sailors. The scene on the outskirts of Bahrain's capital, Manama, was violent and contentions throughout the early part of the day as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to stifle the efforts of tens of thousands of Shiite antigovernment protesters attempting to march on the royal complex of Riffa. The mix was kicked of the spicy scale a notch by the presence of pro-government loyalists who showed up armed with swords, sticks and clubs to protect the mainly Sunni neighborhood. A weak attempt by police to cordon off the area and stop the anti-government protestors from reaching the offices of the Sunni ruling family only seemed to further infuriate the crowd. When police began firing rubber bullets and tear gas, the agitated masses were ready to fight and it was go time. The end result was injured anti-government marchers arriving in large numbers at the nearby A'ali Health Center, where doctors said the majority of injuries were fractures and due to suffocation from tear gas. In truth, this day of violent clashes was exactly what Bahrain needed to put itself back on the world’s riot radar. The kingdom had been far too quiet since Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa ordered the military off the streets nearly three weeks ago and urged the initiation of talks with the mainly Shiite opposition. Obviously, the new round of violence will make it more difficult for the government to engage in dialogue with the opposition, but true change never comes from well-dressed men and women sitting around conference tables, sipping bottled water and talking. No, revolutions are fueled by the common man making his voice heard in the streets and that is why Bahraini opposition protestors took to the streets even after the interior ministry warned earlier Friday that security forces "would undertake their duties to preserve security and public order." Say what you want, but when the riot train is a-rollin’ down the tracks, you best get out of the way of you’re going to get run over……….
- When acting like the proverbial bunch of meatheaded fraternity idiots that the world expects any time they think of the Greek system on a college campus, the most important part of the equation is that act like the proverbial bunch of meatheaded fraternity idiots that the world expects any time they think of the Greek system on a college campus without getting caught in anything truly reprehensible and/or illegal. That advice should be helpful to the Kappa Sigma fraternity at USC, which is now under investigation after a graphic, sexually explicit email from within the fraternity was made public. The email, believed to have been written by one of the fraternity’s members, appears to have been written to create a list of sexual encounters by fraternity members. The message that went public was supposed to be the first in a series of emails called the "Gullet Report," with the purpose of "strengthening brotherhood and help pin-point sorostitues more inclined the put-out." As with anything remotely controversial in this day and age, the email quickly went viral and created an immediate backlash across the USC campus. The email, which again is graphic in nature, reads in part: "I have come to write this memo to you today to educate on the only life worth living, that of a Cocksman. A Cocksman is taught to live by the two most applicable principles I know: The Pie and the Gullet. You may already be lost in trying to comprehend this logic. Do not worry this is completely understandable. By the end of this memo, you will not only gain a greater understanding of what it means to live, but you will have embraced a lifestyle. However, in order for this to happen you first must know a couple key terms. Note: I will refer to females as "targets". They aren't actual people like us men. Consequently, giving them a certain name or distinction is pointless." This ass clown goes on to refer to unattractive women as "filth" and informs his brothers that "non-consent and rape are two different things." As a kill shot for his sermon on deplorable behavior, this idiot encourages his readers to have sex with "middle eastern targets" and lays out names of women according to their ethnicity. Readers are asked to rate their conquests in order to establish a ranking by which others might be able to determine which “targets” are easiest and which may need a little prying with alcohol. When the email was brought to the attention of the executive director of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Mitchell Wilson, he condemned it and made it clear that the sentiments in the message do not represent what his organization (allegedly) stands for. “The content [of the e-mail] is contrary to everything [Kappa Sigma stands] for and we are not going to allow individuals to attempt to tarnish our name in any form or fashion.... We will pursue this as far as we can." That’s a good idea and so is recruiting members who are a) human beings with a soul and conscience and b) not morons………
- Who is running the NBA nowadays, David Stern or Vito Corleone? I thought it was Stern, but after reading the latest comments fired off by the alleged commissioner in response to Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy recent critical remarks about the league…..I’m not sure. Van Gundy ripped Stern and the league in general for its handling of Magic center Dwight Howard, who was suspended after getting his 16th technical of the season. In taking up for his star, Van Gundy claimed that Howard gets no protection from the league's referees. He was then asked if the Magic had a case with the league office about their belief that Howard is treated unfairly and he replied that he doesn't think outside perspectives are heard in the NBA offices. "This is the system David Stern and his minions like," Van Gundy fumed. "So that's the system you have. ... I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinion or free speech or anything. So I'm not really allowed to have an opinion. So it's up to him. "He decides and he likes the system he has." Those are the most scathing comments you’re likely to hear from an NBA coach in reference to Stern, who certainly rules the Association with a smug, condescending approach and gives off the impression that he’s just that much smarter than everyone else while putting on a friendly face when need be, i.e. dealing with the media. If you’re wondering why more coaches don’t speak out when many of them probably would like to, listen to what Stern had to say Thursday during a radio interview and you’ll understand. "I would render a guess ... that we won't be hearing from him for the rest of the season," Stern said. "When he stops and reads what he said and realizes what he did, he will say no more. Pressed as to whether he would personally do anything to quiet Van Gundy, Stern icily replied, "I have a feeling that some modicum of self-restraint will cause Stan and the team for which he works to rein in his aberrant behavior." Well, then. That’s some cryptic, Corleone-like commentary and when asked if Van Gundy's comments bothered him personally, Stern said: "It didn't bother me personally. I see somebody whose team isn't performing, whose star player was suspended, who seems to be fraying ...Whatever the pressures are that Stan is feeling, that he fell to whatever position he's in to say something like this, it made me sad." There it is, the trademark condescension. Just to be safe if I’m Stan Van Gundy, I’m hiring a private security firm to monitor my house 24/7 and travel with me wherever I go, checking for severed horse heads in the bed before I go to sleep and not eating any food I didn’t buy, prepare and serve myself for the near future……….
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