- This is a true stunner. For a group that has never shown any inclination to engage in use of illegal drugs, say marijuana, rap icons Cypress Hill sure are passionate about the subject of stoner rights. Seriously, one of their best-known songs is “I Wanna Get High” and it’s obviously about wanting to take a flight or go skydiving, so no one could ever have imagined that Cypress Hill member B-Real would be out in front leading a march to Los Angeles' City Hall on Friday to defend and protect California's medical marijuana laws. Leading a group from Americans for Safe Access and the Music & Medicine Project, B-Real marched against threats from the federal government to supersede state laws governing the use if medical marijuana. Sixteen states currently allow the use of marijuana for stoners, er, those who need it for medical purposes. "I feel it went really well," said B-Real after the demonstration. "A lot of people came to show support for what we're trying to do here and for their rights as medical marijuana users. I'm happy about the turnout." The march was a perfect way to kick off a stoner-ific weekend for Cypress Hill, which will host its own Smokeout Festival - dubbed the “all day mind opening experience” – Saturday night in San Bernardino, Calif. with other ganja-friendly acts like Sublime, Korn, Wiz Khalifa and Rusko. Aside from the obvious question of why San Bernardino police don’t simply stand outside the door and bust everyone who enters for possession of the hippie lettuce, one also has to wonder if no one attending the show has a drug test to take in the next few months…..but we digress. After their pothead weekend, Cypress Hill will release a new 'dubstep' five-track EP in early April featuring collaborations with the aforementioned dubstep DJ Rusko.
"This is one of those styles that we felt doing with Rusko would be a great match. We’ve always been the type of group to take chances on doing something radically different than what people expect from us," B-Real said. Blaze on, bro, blaze on………….
- Japanese researchers have taken the concept of suppressing free speech to a disturbing new level. In a truly sci-fi futuristic piece of news, the world learned of the creation of a hand-held gun that can jam the words of speakers who are more than 100 feet away. It functions by listening in with a directional microphone, and then, after a short delay of around 0.2 seconds, playing it back with a directional speaker. In so doing, the gun triggers an effect that psychologists call Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF), which has long been known to interrupt speech with the sort of feedback commonly experienced when one hears their voice echoing through Skype or another voice communication program. The gun’s inventors say DAF does not cause any physical discomfort, but would cause psychological stress on account of being unable to speak. There could be plenty of sinister and non-sinister uses for this weapon against speech, from silencing idiots who talk at incredibly high decibel levels in quiet places like libraries, or to shut down those who attempt to shout down political candidates at rallies. Invesntors Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada created the gun and wrote in a researche paper about how their idea came to fruition. “We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking when speaking. However, some people tend to lengthen their turns or deliberately interrupt other people when it is their turn in order to establish their presence rather than achieve more fruitful discussions. Furthermore, some people tend to jeer at speakers to invalidate their speech,” their paper read. In other words, they were looking for a way to stop “louder, stronger” voices from dominating conversations. But while the initial concept may have been increasing politeness in conversations, plenty of good inventions have begun with noble intentions only to be co-opted for evil means. In other words, look for a shady political candidate or Third World dictator to find a way to manufacture and utilize one of these silencer guns sooner rather than later………
- Behold, the continued power of protests. Following an inspiring rebellion in a rural Chinese fishing village, the will of the people has been enforced. The uprising came after residents in the village of Wukan accused officials there of stealing their farmland. Angry villagers demonstrated against their leaders and sought to oust them from power. Saturday, they had the chance to do exactly that. They did not allow that opportunity to slip away and elected two leaders of the rebellion to lead their village. Under the watchful eyes of dozens of foreign and Chinese journalists, villagers filled in pink ballots for the seven-member village committee and placed them inside simple metal boxes. By day’s end, the election committee declared Lin Zuluan and Yang Semao the new village head and deputy head. The pair were at the forefront of protests in Wukan last year that escalated from angry uprising to full-scale riot with a heavily damaged police station and smashed police cars. Police responded by detaining protest leaders, but protestor fired back once more by driving out government officials and barricading themselves in for 10 days, keeping police out and holding vociferous rallies. Saturday’s elections were a wide-open affair, as villagers could vote for anyone they wanted, even if that person was not among the 23 people who announced their candidacies. After being declared victorious, Lin promised to do his best not to turn into one of the corrupt bureaucrats he so recently raged against. We will do the best job we can with the power given by your great support and help," Lin said after the results were announced. Ruling a fishing village in southern China's Guangdong province might not seem like a huge accomplishment, but the presence of Lin and other protest leaders in the election represents progress in and of itself. Typically in China, local governments pretend to capitulate to protest demands only to drop the hammer on protest leaders once tensions have calmed. Staging new elections, following through on them and accepting their results would be a significant step forward. After Lin and Yang were elected, a second ballot was scheduled to fill five other committee positions after those candidates failed to receive the necessary majority. The Communist Party has allowed villages to hold elections for nearly three decades in order to give the illusion of fairness and control over their daily lives by determining issues like finances, land use and other local affairs. For once, the process actually worked………..
- On one level, Miami Heat star LeBron James is correct when he whines, “I can’t win. I can’t win for losing.” He’s right because he can’t win, at least not in big games when the pressure is on him to make a clutch shot. But James’ latest lament came after he yet again passed rather than shoot with the clock winding down and the game on the line, this time in a 99-98 loss at Utah Friday night. After Utah’s Devin Harris converted a three-point play with four second left to put the Jazz up by one, the Heat got the ball back and after a timeout, put it in James’ hands. He drove left, looked to have a chance to turn the corner against his defender but instead dished it to role player Udonis Haslem, who missed an open 16-foot jump shot at the buzzer. Losing the second game of a back-to-back on the road against a good team isn't terrible, but every time James passes the ball instead of shooting it when the Heat have a chance to win he’s going to take heat. The reason is simple: James has tried to position himself as a global icon, self-glossed himself the King and acted as if he’s God’s gift to the basketball world. As such, he’s expected to play like the greatest player in basketball at all times and in the minds of most fans and analysts, that means taking and making big shots. Instead, James has shown time and again that he likes to facilitate for his teammates as opposed to pulling the trigger when the clock is ticking down. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as one can embrace the idea that a player can be great without having to always take the final shot. Setting up others is a valuable skill and James is outstanding at it. What exacerbates the suffering for James is his incessant whining about the criticism he receives after instances like Friday night. “It’s just the way I’ve always played the game,” James said. “It always come to light when teammates don’t make the shot. When the teammates doesn’t make the shot it doesn’t matter much from a media perspective.” Aside from his all-out assault on grammar and the English language, James has a fair point. Of course, his critics would suggest that a player with the size, strength, speed and skills he possesses should always be able to take and make a good shot to win the game. Unfortunately, that’s simply not the way the King is wired………….
- Don’t you just hate it when a person or company apologizes, but for the wrong reason or offense? For example, let’s say you’re an American company, perhaps a brewer, located in a random Midwestern town like Minneapolis. You brew a regional beer that is relatively popular and like any good, capitalist entity you’re seeking ways to promote and expand your brand. Then the idea comes……use the spiritual and religious leader of an embattled nation chafing under the oppressive rule of China as a means to promote a new flavor of your beer. It sounds good – probably because you’re staffed by idiots – and so you run with the idea, posting a billboard advertisement that shows a yellow-haired version of the Dalai Lama next to a beer bottle with text that reads: “Doing good. Now Available in Blonde.” That’s what Finnegans, a Twin Cities-based brewer, did recently. A company whose own website claims it was founded on the belief that people are good co-opted the likeness of the spiritual leader of Tibet, a man revered by Tibetans and who also served as the country’s political figurehead for a time. After local Tibetan leaders objected to the ad (yes, there are apparently Tibetans in Minneapolis), Finnegans CEO Jacquie Berglund apologized and had the billboard taken down. She also planned to meet with local Tibetan leaders. The apology isn't the issue; it’s what Finnegans is apologizing for that’s the problem. Using the Dalai Lama’s image isn't a reason to offer a mea culpa, but an inane and unimaginative play on words is. Try something more clever, like, “Drink with us and you’ll never feel like an outsider.” You know, ‘cuz the Dalai Lama has been expelled from his own country by the Chinese and all. If you’re going to apologize, apologize for not crafting a more creative ad……….
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