- Bitter legends are not just confined to the NFL. Sure, football might have the 1972 Miami Dolphins popping champagne bottles every time the league’s last unbeaten team loses because that means they’re still the only team ever to have an unbeaten year. And yes, former New York Jets star Joe Namath routinely piles on his former team for their failings, but the sport known as football outside the United States has a bitter old dude or two as well. Pelé is the most famous soccer player ever and he’ll be the first to let you know it. He received a golden opportunity to do so when it was suggested to him that Argentinean star Lionel Messi might be approaching G.O.A.T. (greatest of all-time) status. Messi already has won three straight FIFA player of the year awards, but Pelé believes the young striker has along way to go before he can be called the best. "When Messi's scored 1,283 goals like me, when he's won three World Cups, we'll talk about it," Pelé said. "Football changes. Records are there to be broken, but it will be hard to break mine. People always ask me: 'When is the new Pelé going to be born?' Never. My father and mother have closed the factory." Way to end it with the “the factory is closed” blast, P. For the record, Messi scored 55 goals in 2011 for Barcelona and already has 213 in 300 games for the club and is the club's leading scorer in the Champions League, scoring in victories over Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 finals. However, he failed to score in the 2010 World Cup and Copa America last year, and has a modest tally of 19 goals in 67 international matches. He's a great player for Barcelona, but when he plays for Argentina, he doesn't have the same success," Pelé said. He finished off his verbal deconstruction of the next big thing by intimating that he likely had more natural ability than Messi. "No one knew which foot I was going to shoot with, I was two-footed. I also scored a lot of goals with my head," Pelé said. Stay bitter, bro……….
- Thank God, the nightmare is over. The über-annoying "Priceline Negotiator" commercials featuring that knob William Shatner as a day-saving travel website savant who gets people insanely discounted rates on hotels, flights and rentals cars are going away. The "Priceline Negotiator" character will be killed in a fiery bus crash in a commercial set to air on Monday and even though the company has made it clear Shatner will still be part of its advertising strategy, the theme of the ads will change. "We only killed off the negotiator," company spokesman Brian Ek said. "William Shatner is still under contract." Shatner claimed he has no idea what his Priceline future holds. "They're leaving me on the same cliffhanger you're on," he said. "They're careful to mention that I still have a contract." Shatner said one year remains on his contract, but he does not know what that year will be like. Ek explained the decision to kill Shatner’s character off in spectacular fashion was merely a way to draw more attention to the company's published-price offering, which is much less well known than its name-your-own-price service. Amazingly, the former “Star Trek” star has been associated with the company for 14 years. "He's not at the top, but he's close to the top," said Ek, who referenced Michael Jordan’s run with Nike and Bill Cosby’s interminably long tenure with Kraft's Jell-O as among the few relationships that lasted longer. Shatner understands the decision to off his character and claims he is fine with it. "All advertising is an attempt to bring attention to their product," he said. "I know that's the case. It's a matter of good business." With his newfound freedom, Shatner plans to open a one-man biographical show on Broadway next month. Anything that brings the "Priceline Negotiator" ads to an end has to be a positive……….
- More than a decade after airing its last new episode, “Seinfeld” maintains a cult following to the point that fans actually transcribe the scripts for entire episodes and post them online. Meddling with anything related to the show is a dicey proposition, but DJ and producer Skrillex decided to take the chance anyway and created a video mash-up featuring and clips from Larry David's sitcom with some of his own dubstep music. The video quickly went viral and are not difficult to find online. They feature Michael Richards’ character Kramer comically dancing to some dubstep beats. As with any video of significance that can be found on YouTube, the reaction from viewers has been split into two extreme groups. Some have saluted the video is being hilarious and entertaining, with a few even ascribing diety-level status to Skrillex for his work on the video. Others have ripped him for tinkering with their favorite show and one user went so far as to write, “I can't believe you would ruin one of the best shows ever made with something as terrible as Skrillex, shame.” The track used for the video is “Breakin' A Sweat,” which was created by the Re:Generation documentary, which also featured DJ Premier, Mark Ronson, Pretty Lights and The Crystal Method. Skrillex enlisted Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore, the surviving members of The Doors, for the song…………
- AT&T has thrown the latest punch in the battle of cell phone carriers seeking control of the unlimited data plan market with a new set of tiered data plans that become available today. Mark Collins, AT&T's senior vice president for data and voice products, wrote in an official company blog post that "more content downloading, more video streaming, more apps" have caused a huge upswing in the amount of mobile data Americans consume daily. A stunning chunk of that data is consumed by a small percentage of uses, according to a study made public this month by a British consultant for cellular providers. Researchers found that the top 1 percent of all people who have cellular data packages account for half of all cellular downloads and data usage. Couple that reality with faster 4G networks and the burden on providers is growing faster than most can react. To compensate (and make more money in the process), AT&T is making its smartphone and tablet computer data packages bigger, both in price and size. All new AT&T cellular customers will be able to choose from three monthly data packages: 300 megabytes for $20; 3 gigabytes for $30; or 5 gigabytes, plus the ability to use your smartphone as a mobile broadband hotspot for other devices, for $50. The previous collection of plans offered 200 MB for $15; 2GB for $25; and 4 GB plus mobile hotspot capability for $45. In short, $5 more will get you a 50 percent increase in data. Existing customers can either keep their current plans or make the switch to one of the new offerings without having to extend their existing contract, AT&T said. As the math-savvy will realize, the new plans technically offer a better value per megabyte than the previous plans even if they are an excuse for AT&T to jam customers for a few extra dollars at a time when most aren't using the full allotment of their data plans every month. Those who do need extra data will benefit from avoiding overage charges. iPad users on AT&T's mobile network have the option of switching to the two larger plans. "Customers are using more data than ever before," said David Christopher, an AT&T spokesman. "Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment." No, they’re driven by profit…………
- Score one for freedom of speech (and nudity) in Iran - sort of. Golshifteh Farahani is Iranian and spent most of her life in its repressive regime’s clutches, but her current whereabouts are unknown. She is believed to be somewhere in France, but no one is sure. What is known is that a video and photos of Farahani baring her breasts have gone viral this week, sparking a divided and often vitriolic response from Iranians. In a photo in the French magazine Madame Le Figaro, the actress appears topless, cupping her breasts. In a video apparently made by a French film academy, she looks directly into a camera as she disrobes and stands with her breasts uncovered. Farahani has not lived in Iran since 2008, when she played a nurse in "Body of Lies" with Leonardo DiCaprio. She reportedly moved to France shortly after making history by being the first Iranian to star in a Western film and has had virtually no ties to Iran since. She is represented by an agency in France, although the agency did not respond to questions about her whereabouts. Wherever she is, Farahani is undoubtedly aware of the divided reaction in her native country to her actions. "The fate of an actress, who left her own country and joined Hollywood, has been nothing but immorality," the semi-official Fars News Agency declared. "The actress who once played the role of caring and decent mothers of Iran has now auctioned off her modesty and honor in front of the Western cameras." Blah, blah, blah. Typical stuck-in-the-16th-century bullsh*t, just what is to be expected from a country run by a repressive despot like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and that kook Ayatollah Khomeini. They preside over an Iranian film industry known for state-sponsored movies that forbid the mere touching of hands. Critics say Farahani has betrayed Islam and Iran for revealing her body, while others cheered her braveness and defended her right to self-expression. Facebook pages encouraging visitors to re-post the photo and video have begun popping up as well. Critics have pointed out that Farahani will likely never be able to return to Iran, although one would have to wonder at this point why she would ever want to………
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