- The Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical is a never-ending source of amusement for anyone not actually involved with one of the biggest train wrecks in Broadway history - or those who paid top ticket prices to see a musical that was critically panned. Even in an entertainment industry full of big egos, high-priced disasters and drama, the musical based on songs written by U2's Bono and The Edge has been a veritable three-ring circus nearly since its inception. The drama continued this week when producers of the show filed a lawsuit against he show's former director Julie Taymor, claiming that she developed a "hallucinogenic" plot. Taymor, who was fired last year, had already sued the show’s producers seeking $1 million in damages after claiming that her creative rights have been violated and that she hasn't been paid appropriately for her work, so a countersuit was only a formality. So far, the show has cost $75 million to make and is the most expensive Broadway show ever produced, which would be easier to swallow if it was critically acclaimed and had gone off without a hitch instead of enduring months of delays, investigations by government agencies over health and safety hazards on the set and one negative development after another. Producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris added to the growing list of reasons to point and laugh at the show with their countersuit, which they tagged with a statement: "Taymor refused to develop a musical that followed the original, family-friendly Spider-Man story, which was depicted in the Marvel comic books and the hugely successful motion picture trilogy based on them. Instead, Taymor, who admits that she was not a fan of the Spider-Man story prior to her involvement with the musical, insisted on developing a dark, disjointed and hallucinogenic musical involving suicide, sex and death." And the problem with any of that is? Who doesn’t like a sexed-up, suicide-featuring slant on a classic movie franchise? Hard to see how Taymor’s attorney’s claims that she is the victim of "outrageous mischaracterizations and attempts to besmirch her reputation" aren’t 101 percent true………..
- Could it be? Is there really a reason to like and support Hamas? Sure, the group is classified as a terrorist organization by some and is right in the middle of all the hate, killing and violence in the Middle East and yes, it would love nothing more than to wipe Israel off the map. However, there has to be a place of love and appreciation in the world for anyone who bans residents of a city or region from participating in any incarnation of “American Karaoke” for any reason. Yes, there is a Palestinian version of "American Karaoke” and yes, the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular reality show. Haters have criticized the ban as merely the latest attempt by Hamas to crack down on behavior it sees as being contrary to its conservative interpretation of Islam, but the reasoning behind the decision is wholly irrelevant. In this case, the ends completely justify the means and the end here is less people being involved with the show most responsible for the bastardization of music as we know it. So Alaa al-Abed, the chief producer of the "New Star" program, needs to shut his mouth and stop complaining about Hamas calling his show "indecent." It IS indecent and if only there were a group in the United States with enough clout to shut down “American Karaoke,” the U.S. would be a better place to live. Big ups to Hamas for making a decision that will prevent Gaza's 12 contestants from competing in the upcoming second round of the competition Thursday night. For those in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel who watch or participate in the show, you should all be ashamed of yourselves………..
- First the White House piled on, then Wikipedia and Reddit went dark in protest and angry Internet users across the United States capped off the digital revolt against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Add those combustible ingredients together, stir in politicians desperate for re-election and not wanting to attach their name to immensely unpopular legislation and you have a Congress backpedaling from legislation faster than Rosie O’Donnell charges toward a salad bar. After widespread protests throughout the week, both the House and the Senate on Friday backed away from a pair of controversial anti-piracy bills. The Senate now wants nothing to do with PIPA, its version of the bill, even though it once had widespread, bipartisan support. On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was postponing the vote "in light of recent events." The House showed no more spine when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith issued a written statement announcing the legislature will "postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution." Both moves show no spine, but it is extremely difficult to move forward with legislation when some of its supporters are exhibiting world-class flip-flopping on it. The blackout-style protests by Wikipedia and Reddit, coupled with the White House expressing concerns about the bill, fueled protestors to take to the streets in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. for demonstrations against the bills. Google also took part by collecting than 7 million signatures for an anti-SOPA and PIPA petition that it linked on its homepage. Smith cited the protests in his statement while doing his best to keep the concept of the bill alive for possible revival and revision. "I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns," Smith said Friday in a prepared statement. "It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves." Media companies who were pinning hopes for a huge financial boost from the bill are just about the only ones disappointed by the bills’ setback and Reid offer some hope to those companies by hinting that PIPA may not be dead yet. "There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved," Reid said. Whatever you say, H………..
- You can ban them from texting or using their cell phone while driving, but you can't take the moron out of bad drivers. Houston, Texas is proof of this phenomenon and a handful of imbecilic drivers in the greater Houston area drove that point home Wednesday. As the day rolled on, the Houston Fire Department began receiving calls about a tiger on the roof of an abandoned hotel near Will Clayton Street and the Eastex Freeway. The calls seemed odd and could easily have been characterized as a few delusional kooks who may or may not have been doing bong rips or dropping acid prior to getting behind the wheel, but they kept coming in and eventually the fire department could not ignore them. They headed to the scene, climbed up to the roof and investigated. Was there a real tiger roaming around and was a scene for “The Hangover 3” being filmed? Nope. It was just a large, stuffed toy firefighters had to remove on the grounds that it posed a hazard because drivers kept stopping to look at it. That’s right, a stuffed tiger on the roof of an abandoned hotel is enough of a distraction to negatively impact the driving of people who have somehow managed to earn and keep them for what it some cases has to be decades. Needless to say, the world is still full of morons…….
- The NCAA is not an organization built on fairness. Maybe it should be that way for an entity governing college athletics and tens of thousands of student-athletes at colleges and universities around the United States, but hypocrisy and bogus ordinances tend to be more of the NCAA’s thing than fair play. University of Alabama-Birmingham basketball player Todd O’Brien can definitely attest to that fact. O’Brien, who graduated from Saint Joseph's and wanted to use the NCAA's waiver rule to pursue a graduate degree at another institution that offered a program not available at Saint Joe's and thus gain one more year of athletic eligibility, will not be allowed to play for the Blazers this season. He lost his last waiver appeal to play immediately at UAB after the NCAA sent an email to the school denying the appeal. “I don't know why this happened," O'Brien said. "I'm mad. It's so stupid. It's so petty." He has been practicing with UAB since August and is pursuing a graduate degree in public administration, but Saint Joseph’s refused to grant him a waiver to play and that is one of the conditions of the rule. An NCAA spokesperson admitted after the appeal was initially denied that Saint Joseph's refusal to endorse O'Brien's waiver did have an effect. His case is rare because most other waiver appeals have been granted without any issues. Even s Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was kicked off the Ducks, was given clearance to play immediately at Ole Miss. O’Brien didn’t get kicked off the team at St. Joseph’s and merely wanted to transfer of his own accord, something he believed Saint Joseph’s was cool with. "I didn't get kicked off," O'Brien said. "I told (St. Joseph's athletic director) Don DiJulia that I wanted to go to grad school. He understood. He was real cool. He said we'll take care of all the paperwork." With his NCAA options exhausted, O’Brien plans to meet with his attorney to consider his legal options and the possibility of playing basketball overseas………
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