- See, famous people are just like the rest of us: They effing hate the Kardashians too. Daniel Craig, the reigning James Bond and co-star of the upcoming David Fincher feature The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, hates the attention-whorish, reality TV-made “stars” just like many others who are neither rich nor famous. Speaking for an interview in the January issue of British GQ, Craig took a solid run at the Kardashians for always airing their private business in public, usually on their crap-tacular E! reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "I think there's a lot to be said for keeping your own counsel," Craig said, speaking in general about reality TV before lighting up the Kardashians specifically. "You can't buy it back. You can't buy your privacy back. 'Ooh, I want to be alone. 'F--k you. We've been in your living room. We were at your birth. You filmed it for us and showed us the placenta, and now you want some privacy?'"
He then zeroed in on his primary target. "Look at the Kardashians, they're worth millions. Millions! I don't think they were that badly off to begin with, but now look at them," he mused. "You see that and you think, 'What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a f------ idiot on television and then you'll pay me millions?'" Aaaaand end of freaking quote. If only D. Craig had been brought in as a consultant for Barbara Walters before Babs made her choices for those to appear in her annual 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year, set to air later this month. Of course, being fascinating and being a blight on humanity are not mutually exclusive and everyone enjoys watching a train wreck. Still, Craig’s comments will definitely make all of his movies more enjoyable, knowing how he feels about some of the biggest ass hats in entertainment or society in general………….
- Wow. Airline food is not only lacking in taste, quantity and overall nutritional content, but it can (allegedly) kill people too. According to a lawsuit by the wife and daughter of the late Othon Cortes of Miami, the food served to their beloved husband and father on an American Airlines flight from Barcelona, Spain, to New York in May ultimately led to his death after he ate food contaminated with bacteria. While the airline copes with fallout from its bankruptcy announcement, it must also deal with the wrath of the grieving family and the $1 million lawsuit they have brought. The incident occurred on May 18 after Cortes consumed an in-flight meal that allegedly contained (what else?) chicken, according to a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in Miami. American Airlines has declined comment on the matter because of the pending litigation, but, LSG Sky Chefs -- a German company that produces airline meals for more than 300 airlines -- has begun the process to dismiss the case, said spokeswoman Josefine Corsten. "Based upon the allegations in the complaint it is not possible that Sky Chefs is the responsible party because we did not cater the Barcelona flight in question," she said. Details, details, J. You do serve food on flights and at some point, your food has probably made someone sick, so let’s just lump you into the mix. As per the lawsuit, the plane in question landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where Cortes and his wife waited for their connecting flight to Miami. During that time, he felt "discomfort and pain that included sharp stomach cramps and sudden thirst and other clear outward manifestation of severe physical illness." Rather than seek medical help, he boarded the flight to Miami and while on board, experienced nausea and shortness of breath. As the plane near the halfway point of its journey, Cortes became unresponsive after a cardiac event, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Norfolk, Virginia, his wife and daughter said. By the time the plane landed and there was any chance to rush him to the hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival. Logically, Cortes’ family fingered poisoned food that American Airlines and Sky Chefs served on the international flight as the culprit. Their lawsuit accuses the companies of "failing to properly maintain or prepare the food" and alleges the companies allowed the food to become contaminated with Clostridium perfringens bacteria, one of the most commonly reported foodborne illnesses in the U.S. It is rarely fatal, but airline food is always a different breed in the culinary world………….
- Disinterested chemistry students, your unwanted challenge of learning the periodic table of elements just got that much harder. Thanks to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry — the scientific body that is the keeper of the list of elements — there are two forthcoming additions to the list. The IUPAC unveiled Thursday the proposed names for elements 114 and 116: flerovium (atomic symbol Fl) and livermorium (atomic symbol Lv). While nothing is official yet, the organization is leaning toward adding both elements. The chemistry union will have a five-month comment period open to anyone and says it will weigh all feedback it receives before making its decision - how very democratic of them. “We believe we have to let the world respond,” said Terry A. Renner, the chemistry union’s executive director. “It’s a desire to be fair and recognize everyone’s right to contribute as a scientist.” Really? Have you met a lot of the people you’re giving a chance to chime in? Simply put, there are a lot of idiots in the world. Granted, these idiots are not likely to take the time or make the effort to comment on something as dork-tastic as adding elements to the periodic table, but there is always that chance. Before proposing the addition of flerovium and livermorium, the IUPAC spent several years checking data before finally accepting in June that the two elements had indeed been created in collaborative experiments by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. That was only half the battle. Naming the new elements was nearly as difficult. With a mere 114 elements named through the course of human history, getting to apply a name to a new one is a coveted chance. Add in the IUPAC’s ridiculously overboard rules about what is an acceptable name and well…..it gets sticky. “We were thinking from all kinds of angles,” said Mark A. Stoyer, a Livermore physicist who was a member of the discovery team and a participant in the naming process. Stoyer said his team had “very open and honest” debates in narrowing 50 possible names to the three they offered to their Russian colleagues, who also offered three names. The name Livermorium obviously came from the laboratory and city their work took place. The Russians then hose to honor Georgi N. Flerov, the founder of their own research institute, with their chance to name the other element. IUPAC officials say that barring something monumental, the proposed names will be approved next May and students all over in all age groups will let out a collective groan………….
- Urban warfare and guerrilla tactics don’t usually sync up well with bicycles, but a group of urban activists in Mexico City are attempting to change that. The group, going by the moniker the Make Your City Collective, decided to take action after local government stalled on its promise to build 300 kilometers of cycle lanes by the end of 2012. To start their campaign, they have painted a "guerrilla" cycle lane along a busy stretch of road in the center of Mexico City. "There is a national campaign calling for legislators to allocate at least 5% of the transport budget to non-motorized infrastructure, so we painted a bike lane in front of congress to help promote it," said Jimena Veloz, a member of the Make Your City Collective. The best part of the path is that its unauthorized five-kilometer span takes commuters to the foot of the city's Congressional Hall, where politicians are currently discussing the future of Mexico's transport infrastructure. Painting the technically illegal path was accomplished through the magic of social networking, as organizers used "Fondeadora," a popular Mexican crowdsourcing site, to raise money to buy paints, brushes and rollers. They were able to raise $1,000 in four days and paint the "wikilane" in eight hours, accoring to Veloz, who explained that the name is derived from the fact that the path was made through voluntary participation and is open to everyone, like the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. "We built our own wooden signs, cut stencils and borrowed a tricycle to carry everything. We invited everyone we knew on Facebook and Twitter and told them to come along," he explained. On the day the painting took place, 80 volunteers showed up to help and created a large lane marked by three-meter high green triangles, with a white bicycle stencil in the center and the word "prioridad" (Spanish for "priority") written beneath. Why is a bike lane such a priority? Because according to a report by UN Habitat, Mexico City's current administration has built only 6.8 kilometers of cycle lanes since coming into power in 2006. When a government makes a public pledge to built 300 kilometers by the beginning of 2012 and delivers just over 2 percent of that, people are going to be angry. Oddly enough, in recent years Mexico City has been lauded for progressive action on the issue of bike transportation, even closing certain streets to automobile traffic on Sundays so cyclists and pedestrians can more fully enjoy them. That has not placated the city’s two-wheeled travelers and they vow to create even more “wikilanes” if the government fails to honor its promise…………..
- Well, that was an epic fail. The New Jersey Nets sent Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and cash considerations to Utah for All-Star point guard Deron Williams last season, hoping to sell Williams on being the face of the franchise as it prepared for next season’s move to Brooklyn. The Nets knew they had no chance of luring a prime free agent to New Jersey, so trading for one was their only option. Unfortunately, they gave up all of those parts for a player who can opt out of his current contract after this coming season. They did so knowing they basically had a season and a half to sell Williams on the franchise and to that end, they have apparently failed miserably. Williams' agent says his client will not sign an extension with the Nets during the season for motives that are purely financial. "Based on the new rules, it doesn't make any sense for him to sign the extension," Jeff Schwartz explained. "It has nothing to do with how much he likes New Jersey. Because of the rules, he's going to play the season out and opt out of his deal." While the Nets reportedly expected the decision, there is no doubting it has to sting. While Williams can earn roughly $30 million more by opting out at the end of the season and re-signing with the Nets, the odds that he does so wouldn’t seem to be high given the recent trend of stars teaming up for marquee franchises. Williams did his best to avoid a hostile and ugly season ahead with bitter Nets fans turning against him by insisting on Twitter that he isn’t necessarily bolting at year’s end. "Don't know why people are tripping just bc I'm opting out doesn't mean that I won't resign with the nets! W/ new CBA it makes sense," a post on his Twitter feed read. Under the terms of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, Williams can sign a two-year extension during the season that would be tacked on to the two years left on his current contract, bringing the total value of the deal to approximately four years and $70 million. By waiting until the end of the season, he could get a contract for five years worth $100 million from the Nets, or a four-year, $70 million deal from anybody else. The Nets insist they will do everything they can to retain their for Brooklyn and the $1 billion Barclays Center in 2012-13, even exploring the possibility of trading for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Of course, Howard would probably bolt the franchise soon enough too……….
No comments:
Post a Comment