Thursday, May 31, 2012

Unicorn election issues, Moroccan hypocrisy and soccer does something good for once

- When American politics fulfill their potential, it is a beautiful thing. Take as a prime example, a group that may as well be called the "unicorners." These lovers of mythical creatures commonly found near rainbows and birthday parties for 5-year-old girls are a liberal group that claims it has collected more than 19,000 e-mails requesting Arizona officials to confirm Mitt Romney is not a unicorn. This pertinent question has been raised in response to efforts by "birthers," who continue to raise the already-settled issue of whether President Barack Obama meets the Constitution's requirements for citizenship. The so-called “unicorners” are officially known as Left Action and they are demanding truth on the issue of whether or not Romney is a magical horse-like creature with a single horn sprouting from his forehead. "I feel like we've tried logic with the birthers for too long," Left Action founder John Hlinko said Wednesday. "Now it's time to take their arguments to the logical extreme to show how absurd they are." The entire debate sounds absurd, but it’s not, and not only because unicorns do exist and Romney just might be one. Dating back to before Obama's election in 2008, some conservatives have questioned whether he was born in the United States. If he wasn’t, he would be ineligible to serve as president. Despite evidence to the contrary, these kooks have refused to budge from their position, buoyed by support from prominent Republican figures. Pompous windbag, comb-over king and Rosie O’Donnell eviscerater Donald Trump led a campaign on the birther issue last year and raised the issue again last week. When challenged by CNN beard champion Wolf Blitzer on the issue, Trump turned the tables after being called ridiculous. "You are, Wolf," Trump fired back. "Let me tell you something, I think you sound ridiculous." And so the issue stays alive and it may be the only way to ascertain Romney’s unicorn or non-unicorn heritage. Simply put, questions such as this are why American politics exist………


- Birds: Amazing creatures of flight to be admired or simply be dinosaurs that never grew up? That question was tackled in a recent study by wicked-smaht researchers from Harvard University. These Ivy Leaguers compared fossilized skulls of juvenile dinosaurs with those of birds and found remarkable similarities they believe indicate that arguments about birds being evolutionary descendants of dinosaurs are accurate. Evolutionary biologist Arkhat Abzhanov of Harvard and his team theorized that rapid maturation altered the expression of genes, changing the physical characteristics of the animals and keeping them much smaller in size. He pointed to the fact that at least 22 bones are found only in birds and dinosaurs, and in no other animals. Past expeditions have found fossils of feathered dinosaurs, fossils of dinosaurs with other bird-like features, and fossils of primitive birds with dinosaur-like features. It is the similarities in the skulls of juvenile dinosaurs and adult birds they examined that pushed Abzhanov’s team toward its conclusion. "We examined skulls form the entire lineage that gave rise to modern birds," Abzhanov said. "We looked back approximately 250 million years, to the Archosaurs, the group which gave rise to crocodiles and alligators as well as modern birds. Our goal was to look at these skulls to see how they changed, and try to understand exactly what happened during the evolution of the bird skull." He and graduate student Bhart-Anjan Bhullar used CT scanners to examine dozens of skulls from various birds and dinosaurs. They tracked changes in skull structures over the years anf found that dinosaurs’ snouts grew longer and their heads grew flatter as they aged. However, the skulls of juvenile and adult birds are remarkably similar. Abzhanov and Bhullar labeled the evolutionary changes that produced birds as a phenomenon known as paedomorphosis. "We can see that the adults of a species look increasingly like the juveniles of their ancestors," Abzhanov said. "When we look at birds, we are actually looking at juvenile dinosaurs." The study’s findings are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature……...


- Soccer rarely gives the world anything of worth. It’s the flopping-filled, soft-to-the-core sport played by long-haired, one-name prima donnas who fall to the ground as if they’ve been shot any time an opposing player passes within 10 feet of them. Too often, it turns in 0-0 (nil-nil in soccer terms) ties in which the offensive firepower on the pitch (the field) is as absent as former Ass Hat in Chief W.’s ability to correctly pronounced the names of foreign leaders. But every once in a while, soccer does something positive. Sunday was one of those days. During the Soccer Aid game in Manchester, England, professional soccer players competed alongside out-of-shape celebrities and quite frankly, one of the most awesome plays ever to occur on a soccer field took place. Gordon Ramsay, the loudmouth, blowhard chef and host of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen," was wandering slowly across the pitch when he f suffered a particularly hard tackle from former professional soccer player Teddy Sheringham. Sheringham blasted Ramsay from behind and the chef went down like a sack of potatoes. Unable to get back up, Ramsay became quite possibly the first soccer player ever to actually be injured and require medical assistance. He was carried off the field with an oxygen mask on ended up in the hospital. He somehow survived his injuries and tweeted out his appreciation for the support of his fans when he was released from the hospital on Monday. "Thx 4 all the messages. Out of hospital after receiving amazing care from medics at ground & hospital. Bit sore but fine Gx," he wrote. The day was a dangerous one for the celebrities in the game, as Will Ferrell also suffered a leg injury during the same match, which raised $6.4 million for the charity UNICEF. Perhaps Ramsay can parlay his injury into some sympathy as he begins to promote the upcoming seasons of his two Fox shows, the 10th season of "Hell's Kitchen" and the third season of "MasterChef," both of which premiere on Monday…………

 
- Morocco: Where fairness is not welcome and hypocrisy always has a home. On one hand, the northern African nation is hosting its annual Mawazine international music festival with nine days of showcasing some of music’s biggest names (and has-beens) like Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. After 11 years, the  "Rhythms of the World" festival in the capital Rabat has come to symbolize the inherent contradictions in Morocco’s social and governmental policies. The country spends millions of dollars to lure major artists to perform at generally free concerts, yet most of its populace lives in poverty. Not only that, officials have spouted a message of freedom of expression as the theme of this year’s festival despite the fact that one week before the festival began, Human Rights Watch slammed Morocco for sentencing a rapper to a year in prison for lyrics deemed insulting to police. Somewhere, the members of NWA are shaking their heads, as are the hundreds of rappers around the world who have vented against The Man in their songs. Morocco can have Elton John and Shakira perform, but Lord forbid it allow a no-name native rapper to speak his mind. "Morocco hosts one famous international music festival after another each spring, but meanwhile it imprisons one of its own singers solely because of lyrics and images that displease the authorities," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Mideast director of Human Rights Watch. "Morocco should be known as a haven for world music, not for locking up singers with a political message." The man at the center of the lyrical sh*t storm is Moroccan rapper Mouad Belghouat, known as El-Haqed, or "The Enraged." He was convicted on May 11 of "showing contempt" to public servants with his song "Dogs of the State" about police corruption. In the aftermath of his conviction, dissident poet Youssef Belkhdim was convicted of attacking police at a sit-in he organized in support of Belghouat and sentenced to two years in prison. Coincidentally, both men belonged to Morocco's pro-democracy February 20 movement that saw thousands take to the streets in protest. Some of those same streets have been packed the past few days with festival goers at the  $7 million event funded largely by corporate sponsors with strong ties to the state. "It's a celebration. It's a celebration of the city, a celebration of Morocco and it reflects a bit Morocco's good life to the world," said program director Mahmoud Lemseffer. "It is a vehicle to present the image of our country, of its hospitality and tolerance." Tolerance? This guy has to be joking…………


- What the frak is going on with metal rockers Queensryche? Fans of the band would definitely like to know in light of a few recent incidents of supposed intra-band drama. The first alleged hiccup came on May 13 with reports of an alleged altercation among some of the band's members prior to taking the stage at an April 14 show in Brazil. That report claimed that four members of the band - guitarists Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfeld – informed singer Geoff Tate he was being fired. Tate allegedly assault two of his bandmates in retaliation. All was apparently quiet for two weeks, but at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Okla., during Memorial Day weekend, Tate addressed the crowd during the band’s set, telling them, "You guys suck." Despite a few forced chuckles to show he was allegedly joking, Tate continued, "C'mon! I know it's Sunday. You've gotta go to work tomorrow. You're gonna let that stop you? My God. You only live once, man… Anyway, nice to be here on a Sunday." A video of his remarks spread quickly on YouTube and shortly thereafter, news broke through various metal sites that Wilton, Rockenfield, Lundgren and Jackson were forming the band Rising West with Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre, and would play material from Queenryche's first five albums at Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe on June 8-9. The band was supposedly going to hit the studio this summer, but la Torre muddied those waters with a statement in which he insisted he wasn't leaving Crimson Glory. "I am embarking on another musical endeavor with the members of Queensryche. I am proud and honored to be a part of this!" his statement said. "Crimson Glory is still writing new material for our record, DO NOT WORRY :) This is going to be an amazing new chapter. \m/ Thank you for all of your support!" A Queensryche spokesman tried to spin the situation by saying Tate is focusing on his “solo acoustic material” while the other members of the band embark on a side project. Sure enough, Tate is headed out on a solo tour and the drama is far from resolved………

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Money to lose weight, Thai chaos and "Les Miserables" leaks

- Potential travel delays and setbacks abound any time a person sets foot inside an airport. Weather delays, lost luggage and overbooked flights are inescapable and that doesn’t even factor in one’s idiot fellow travelers and their sheer stupidity. So what can an airport do to pick is passengers up? For an answer, turn to a very unlikely source: the Communist, rights-trampling hell hole that is China. Specifically, head to the northeast China city of Dalian, where passengers have a few very cheerful, perky reasons not to be upset when their flight is delayed or canceled. To distract its distraught passengers, Dalian International Airport recently recruited a squad of cheerleaders to perform kicks, jumps and splits in the airport's main hall. That’s right, their solution is to skank it up and expecting China to go that route was as much a reach as any bizarre idea ever could be. Yet there the airport spirit squad was during massive fog-related delays in Dalian last week, performing for more than 5,000 stranded flyers. The cheerleading show is part of the airport’s effort to “bring more convenience to passengers in the summer-autumn air season,” explained Zhen Qun, an airport official. Even better was an airport statement saying the performances were a way for the Dalian airport to “demonstrate spirit and shoulder social responsibility.” Associating cheer skanks and social responsibility is funny, but entertaining. While the Dalian International Airport spirit squad may not be the glorified strippers that NBA franchises trot out on the court every game, they seem to have had a positive impact thus far. Combine them with free physical checkup and instant weather and flight updates by text message and Dalian International Airport may be onto something. To keep up the mystery, Zhen refused to reveal a schedule for the performances. At least one has taken place every day for the past week, each lasting two to three hours, with breaks. Who are the spirit squad members? “The cheerleaders are enrolled in different colleges in Dalian. We hire them on a work-for-study program,” Zhen added. “The performance is free of charge for passengers.” Whatever works for you, Z……………


- Cam Newton may have become the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and run for 500 last season and he may have drastically improved the Carolina Panthers offense as a rookie, but he still believes he was a bad teammate during his Rookie of the Year season. "I was very immature," Newton said of his effort as a starter and team leader in his first NFL season. When asked why, he explained that he had difficulty adjusting to losing during Carolina's 6-10 season and reacted poorly after losses. "I'll be the first one to tell you, the pouting and the moping, I kind of overdid it. I know that. I was a bad teammate. That's where I have to mature," he continued. Newton glossed over the fact that he breathed life and energy back into the career of beaten-down star receiver Steve Smith and was able to take the lifeless Panthers offense from the league's worst in 2010 to the fifth-highest scoring attack in 2011. He now realizes that he was beating himself up over his mistakes and that led to the moping, even if those watching him saw a young quarterback who vastly exceeded expectations and improved a terrible team to a slightly below-average one. His favorite target on the field saw the same thing and believes in Newton as a signal caller. "Cam was angry because he thought he could and should make every play," Smith said. "He has to realize you can't do it all yourself. It's like when someone drops a touchdown pass at the end of a close game. You can say that play cost the team a chance to win the game, but it didn't cause the team to lose.” Should Newton achieve his goal and become a more stable, even-keeled player in pressure situations, the rest of the NFL should look the hell out. Coach Ron Rivera praised Newton for his leadership efforts during Carolina's organized team activities so far this offseason. After the Panthers won four of their final six games last season, hopes are high in 2012…………


- The release may have been a little hurried and forced on account of the ever-annoying online leak, but the first trailer for director Tom Hooper's highly anticipated big-screen version of “Les Misérables” has finally dropped and in it, fans of the famed musical finally get a chance to hear Anne Hathaway sing "I Dreamed a Dream." Hathaway plays the tragic Fantine in the 19th-century tale and her massively downsized hairdo has already become a point of interest for fans. But hair choices aside, the question of how her vocals would sound has become a bigger issue after an unauthorized trailer that leaked to the Web a few weeks ago showcased shaky vocals that drew swift, negative reactions from fans who questioned whether or not she was fit to play the part of Fantine. The leaked video was quickly taken down amidst criticism that perhaps Hooper, the director of “The King’s Speech,” insisted on his actors singing live on set without lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track. Hathaway’s stripped-down version of the classic showstopper was a prime example of this problem for the haters, but her vocals sound much better in the new version of the trailer. Alongside the “Dark Knight Rises” star will be Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as his dogged pursuer Inspector Javert; Amanda Seyfried as Fantine's daughter and Valjean's ward Cosette, and newcomer Eddie Redmayne as Cosette's true love. Bad singing or not, Les Misérables” is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 14……………


- Who’s having fun, Thailand? How can the Thai people not be on the verge of the introduction of a bill that could clear the way for the return of polarizing ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with no repercussions? Not only might Shinawatra be returning, but his former top lieutenants are also on the verge of returning to politics after a five-year ban. The legislation, shockingly enough, is the handiwork of the party of current Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's sister. The party hopes to introduce legislation in parliament that would serve as a first step toward providing amnesty for Yingluck Shinawatra’s fugitive brother's convictions and allow him to return to Thailand without further consequences. Clearly, the hope is that the Thai people forget that Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of abuse of power and disrespect to Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Oh, and never mind that his party was dissolved by a legal decision the year after, or that he was among the 111 executives of the Thai Rak Thai Party banned from politics for five years. Thaskin went into self-imposed exile and his potential return has been a divisive issue ever since, threatening to reopen wounds that have healed over the past six years. Both sides in the battle have ramped up their efforts in recent weeks and Thaskin’s Yellow Shirt opponents in the People's Alliance for Democracy took to the streets Wednesday in one of their largest demonstrations in months. The group opposes a government-backed reconciliation bill to grant amnesty to all parties involved in political violence and wrongdoing from the end of 2005 through mid-2010. It was the Yellow Shirts’ vitriol-fueled protest in 2006 that set the coup in motion and two years later, they boldly occupied the prime minister's offices for three months and Bangkok's two airports for a week to pressure two pro-Thaksin prime ministers out of office. Both the street scenes and the scene inside parliament were contentious Wednesday as the opposition Democrat Party sought to derail efforts to schedule debate on the bill and their Yellow Shirt friends raged outside. Ironically, the protests were better behaved than the legislators, with one female Democrat lawmaker dragging the House speaker's empty chair off the podium, sparking a scuffle with government members of parliament. Regardless of the outcome, the five-year ban on Thaksin and his party associates expired at midnight Wednesday………….


- FAT, but unwilling to put in the time and effort necessary to lose weight and shed flab simply to avoid small hassles like diabetes, heart disease, heart problems and a lack of energy? Why not add one of the world’s best motivators to the mix: money. With a small-but-growing number of websites cropping up around the concept, a group of researchers who recently completed and published a study in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine decided to see if offering obese people money to lose weight really works. The study wasn’t exactly a typical lab-based experiment in which medical experts with no ulterior motives set out to expand the knowledge base on a topic. Instead, researchers offered as much as $175 for people who met their goals during the intervention to which they were assigned. They also offered a 20-week follow-up period during which time participants could earn $30 to $80 if they kept on recording and sending their information. The study was also flawed in that it did not directly examine the impact money had on participants’ weight loss. Overall, the project followed 204 people who had several indicators of a need to change habits: low physical activity, a lot of sedentary leisure time, a high intake of saturated fat was elevated and a low intake of fruits and vegetables. Rather than address a person’s specific issue, researchers randomly assigned each participant one of four treatments: increase fruits and vegetables, decrease fat and leisure time that's not active, lower fat and sedentary leisure or eat more fruits and vegetables and lower inactive leisure time. Using mobile technologies and remote coaching, researchers attempted to make sure participants were closely following their prescribed treatment. The most effective treatment proved to be the simultaneous increasing of fruits and vegetables and lowering of leisure time spent sedentary. Because all participants got the same offer of money, the goal of the study was not to whether money would help people lose weight. The one factor working in favor of that concept was the continued improvement of participants during the five-month follow-up period, even though they were not asked or encourage to stay healthy during that time. Nearly 87 percent of the 185 people who gave exit interviews said they "definitely" or "somewhat" tried to maintain their goals, meaning they did so at a time when they were still being offered money to lose eight. Previous studies have shown similar results, so maybe there is something to the idea that FAT people love money like a FAT kid loves ice cream………….

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Facebook phones, athletes defying age and too big to fail is still a lie

- Because it did so well in issuing stock and taking its business public, Facebook is now looking to branch out in another new direction. After its bungled IPO brought charges of fraud and conspiracy theories about plots to screw over the little guy, newly minted billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and his crew are moving ahead with secretive plans to release its own smartphone. According to anonymous sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, the social networking giant has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple engineers who worked on the iPhone. Similar reports have surfaced in the past, including rumors in 2010 that Facebook was building software for a phone and partnering with a third party to make the hardware. At the time, reports claimed the phone was code-named "Buffy" and would run on a version of Android modified to integrate Facebook's services. Nothing came of those rumors, but they resurfaced over the weekend thanks to an interview with a former iPhone engineer who said he recently met with Zuckerberg and spent significant time discussing the inner workings of smartphones and the types of chips used in the devices. From the description of their conversation, the exchange definitely did not sound random or inconsequential, but rather a concerted focus on a project already in motion. Rather than comment on the story, Facebook referred back to a previous statement that said in part, "We're working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers." It is a typical corporate BS statement that says nothing about anything. But BS or not, a Facebook-built smartphone would be perfect for the social networking-addicted masses, who use their Droid, iPhone or BlackBerry for Facebook-ing and tweeting all day long anyhow. For Facebook, creating new sources of revenue with its limited options is vital and a successful phone could do exactly that………


- Few athletes have turned back Father Time again and again like New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. The 18-year veteran is four wins from his fourth Stanley Cup championship and has become the ultimate rarity in modern sports by spending his entire career with the same team. As he nears a stunning fourth championship, the questions persist as to whether this might be the last season for the 40-year-old Brodeur. Judging by how he responded to those questions after Monday's practice, the end is not so imminent for the veteran net minder. "You know, I can't say no. But I doubt it," Brodeur said about retiring after this season. "I'm really enjoying this. Regardless of what happens this series, we made a great step last year, and we've got a good team together, a good coaching staff, and it's fun, you know? For me it's all about having fun coming to the rink. Some say it's fun to retire on top or whatever, but at the end of the day, when I'm gonna say it's over, it's gonna be over. I'm not gonna come back. We'll see." He certainly would not be coming back to chase personal records, as he is already the NHL's all-time winningest goalie. He has championship rings from 1995, 2000 and 2003 and is playing nearly as well as he ever has, posting a 31-21-4 record during the 2011-12 regular season. His playoff mark of 12-5 with a 2.04 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and one shutout suggest that he can still compete at the highest level as well. He conceded that his success this season has actually pushed back any thoughts of retirement that may have been lurking. "The way I've enjoyed myself, having fun with the young guys, we gelled as a team, and coming to the rink is fun. That's what I was looking for. I wasn't having fun last year,” he explained. The Devils begin their Stanley Cup Finals run Wednesday night at the Prudential Center against the red-hot Los Angeles Kings……….


- Madonna and Lady Gaga are the same artist. Gaga is Madonna 2.0 in as much as anyone can be version 2.0 of a completely manufactured, artificial and contrived act who flutters from one gimmick to another in a constant attempt to keep herself relevant despite a total lack of musical talent. Often, such artists don’t get along because they hate the idea of someone being just like them and parroting their career. So how will Lady Gaga react after video surfaced from this past weekend of Madonna rehearsing for her upcoming show in Israel when, mid-song, she burst into a Lady Gaga song and created a mash-up of the meat dress wearer’s lyrics with her own? The Material Skank took her song, "Express Yourself," and combined it with Gaga’s track "Born This Way." The footage might be a deliberate leak on the Material Skank’s part or it may be legitimately recorded on the smartphone of a snoop who had access to the rehearsal, but nothing says epic music quite like an over-the-hill pop hack belting out her 1989 female-empowerment anthem interspersed with words from Gaga’s equally awful modern-day salute to empowerment of a different kind. The performance was ironic given the Material Skank’s previous comments that Gaga ripped off her song and her style. "I certainly think she references me a lot in her work," the MS said in January. "And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done. There's a lot of ways to look at it. I can't really be annoyed by it...because, obviously, I've influenced her." Gaga has admitted the influence and to essentially being the female version of Justin Timberlake, who essentially rips off Michael Jackson’s shtick and gimmicks to fuel his awful post-man band career. Madonna later had less-than-complimentary words about “Born This Way,” snarkily saying, "When I heard ["Born This Way"] on the radio...I said, 'That sounds very familiar.' It feels reductive." Reductive or fodder for the worst musical mash-up ever crafted, one or the other……….


- Lawyer haters, today is a day to celebrate. The foundering law firm Dewey & Leboeuf LLP (a legal cousin of the famed Dewey, Cheatem & Howe) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday night and will seek approval to liquidate its business after failing to find a merger partner. The filing is the tombstone marking the biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history. Dewey was once one of the largest law firms in the U.S., but has seen its brilliant legal minds scurry away like rats from a sinking ship in recent months amid concerns about compensation and a heavy debt load. Most of its roughly 300 partners have moved to other firms and a warning from senior leadership earlier this month of the possibility the firm may shut down expedited that process. The firm’s collapse proves yet again that the “too big to fail” mantra doesn’t hold true in any industry and has other big-time law firms wondering if they could be next. Before filing for bankruptcy, Dewey engaged in frantic negotiations with other law firms to strike a deal but could not find a partner. Instead, all but 90 employees are now without a job and those who remain are only on hand to assist in the liquidation, which it expects to be completed in the next few months. How did the collapse happen? Other than the predictable excuse of a bad economy,  the firm's partnership compensation arrangements created a situation where its cash flow was insufficient to cover expenses. "During the first quarter of 2012, the firm was confronted with liquidity constraints that led to the precipitous resignation of over 160 of the firm's 300 partners by May 11," the New-York based firm said in a statement. In its filing, Dewey listed liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million. It terminated 433 of its 533 New York employees earlier this month, paving the way for its final lurching steps toward bankruptcy. Some major legal fights loom, as a number of former partners have already retained lawyers to represent them (ironic, yes). Oh, and there is also the criminal probe of former firm chairman Steven Davis that the Manhattan District Attorney's office launched in April. For those who despise the legal profession, seeing the mega-firm that resulted from a 2007 merger between Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green & MacRae is a reason to laugh. That the downfall came because senior partners had absurdly lucrative compensation packages is funnier still. Too big to fail still means hilarious to enjoy the demise of………..


- Who doesn’t want to see a painting of their country’s highest-ranking political leader’s junk? Hasn’t every American president who has ever served commissioned just such a portrait? Then why is South African President Jacob Zuma asking his country’s High Court to issue an order that the display of the painting called "The Spear," by artist Brett Murray? Zuma claimed the painting violates his constitutional right to dignity after it went on display at the Goodman Gallery, one of the country's leading galleries, early this month. The painting has become a major point of controversy and was defaced by vandals last week, although the motive behind the vandalism was not clear. Following the defacing, 2,000 protesters for the African National Congress marched to the gallery Tuesday to demonstrate against the painting. Because the painting was part of a larger exhibition, taking it down did not ruin the show, especially not after all of the attention it drew for the gallery. In addition to the physical version, the gallery had digital images of the painting on its website. Gallery spokesman Neil Dundas met the ANC delegation at the end of its march on Tuesday and told protestors that the painting will be taken down from the website after Tuesday. Keeping it hanging  after it was defaced would have been a bold move, given that the fickle nature of art values could very well mean that a vandalized painting of President Jacob Zuma with his junk exposed would be even more valuable than the artwork in its original form…………

Monday, May 28, 2012

Losers road trip with a goat, needle-free medicine and tennis history

- Needles suck. Well, unless you’re a hopelessly addicted junkie in search of his or her next fix, in which case needles as supposedly your friend. But for everyone else, needles are to be avoided at all costs. The wicked-smaht folks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology know this and they are working to offer a viable alternative. A research team at MIT has engineered a new device that can deliver medications without using a needle by creating a high-pressure jet of medicine. Their jet injection device can squirt the medication directly through the skin into the body without needing to puncture with a needle. That may seem suspiciously like a needle and possibly just as painful, but let’s give the MIT scientists a chance before dismissing their idea. This device can be programmed to deliver a range of medication doses at various depths, representing a significant improvement over jet injection systems that are available right now. Why is its range of depths for medicine delivery so important? Because different medications have to be delivered at different depths within the body to function, of course. Some medications must be injected directly into the muscle to work, while others need to be deposited in the fatty tissue rather than muscle. Not only would removing needles from the equation lead to fewer people putting off doctor’s appointments for fear of sharp, pointy metal objects, but this device would also make medical workers much less likely to accidentally poke themselves with a dirty needle. Extrapolating further, the needle-free system would also be useful for patients for have to routinely deliver medications to themselves in the home, such as diabetics. The MIT jet injector is built around a mechanism called a Lorentz-force actuator. It is a small, powerful magnet surrounded by a coil of wire with a piston attached inside the drug ampoule. The device delivers the medication at a high level of pressure and very near the speed of sound in air. That in no way sounds painful…….


- There is nothing neutral about this one. Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, who was the best player in men’s tennis from 2003-10, is still one of the best in the sport and he made history Monday at Roland Garros, winning his first-round matchup with Tobias Kamke of Germany at the French Open. With the win, Federer tied Jimmy Connors' Open era record of 233 Grand Slam match wins. Federer owns a record 16 major championships, even though he has gone more than two years without a major title -- his longest drought since winning his first at Wimbledon in 2003. He is 233-35 at tennis' top four tournaments, a .869 winning percentage, besting Connors’ record of 233-49. The Open era began in 1968, so Federer’s feat is an impressive one and he knows it. That's a big one, because that was longevity," Federer said. "Jimmy is obviously one of the greats of all time and was around for 20 years." Setting the mark wasn’t exactly a Herculean effort against Kamke, who fell to 6-10 at Grand Slams, never advancing past the third round. Federer left no doubt, thumping him 6-2, 7-5, 6-3. Many experts and analysts have all but put Federer out to pasture after he turned 30 last August. He is now attempting to become the first man that old to win a Grand Slam tournament since Andre Agassi was 32 at the 2003 Australian Open. Doing so will mean besting younger, quicker rivals and clay court superiors Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic…………


- No one gave Bruce Willis the memo. Either that or Willis is a veteran actor and a bonafide A-lister who knows how to promote the umpteenth sequel of a movie franhcise that has stayed alive for two decades, but either way, he’s selling the fifth installment in the “Die Hard” series like a pro. Willis will reprise his role as renegade police officer/all-around badass John McClane for a fifth time in the forthcoming film “A Good Day To Die Hard.” The movie, which is scheduled for release on February 14, 2013, focused on McClane traveling to Russia to come to the aid of his son, John McClane, Jr. Willis insists he’s not making the movie just to make it or because of the huge payday, but rather because he still wants to make a “Die Hard” film as good as the original, which came out in 1988. Since McClane took down a German terrorist group led by the immortal Hans Gruber at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles, Fox has cranked out three more installments in the series and yet, Willis insists his standards for the role are as high as ever. "I'm still trying to do as good a film as the first one. I like playing that character. There will come a time where I won’t be able to do it anymore, but it's still fun to do. I still get a kick out of it, I have a fun job," he said. In between now and Feb. 14, Willis will also star in Wes Anderson's comedy “Moonrise Kingdom,” which received its premiere at Cannes. After that, it’s time to hit the gym and get in shape to play one of the best action heroes of modern cinema……..


- On this Memorial Day, it’s worth noting that as f’ed up as the U.S. Constitution may seem at times as Americans attempt to interpret and understand it, the salient point to remember is that we at least have a constitution. The good people of Nepal cannot say that at the moment, not after the country’s leaders dissolved its four-year-old Constituent Assembly at midnight Sunday and set new elections after political parties failed to agree on the model of federalism the country should adopt in a new constitution. The news came down in a televised midnight address to the nation by Baburam Bhattarai, prime minister of Nepal's Maoist-led national government. Bhattarai announced that the government has set Nov. 22 as the date for fresh elections to a new Constituent Assembly. "We tried our best to save the Constituent Assembly but we failed,” Bhattarai said. "There was no alternative to fresh elections to collect the people's mandate.” Oh good, another political crisis for the tiny Himalayan nation. How the a 601-member Constituent Assembly, which also worked as its parliament, could not come up with a new constitution in four years is beyond comprehension. Worse still, the assembly was elected in April 2008 following a popular revolution against the monarchy in the spring of 2006. It was part of the United Nations-backed peace process that brought former Maoist rebels into the government after a decade-long civil war in which more than 13,000 people died. Four years later, the economy is tanking and the country is torn by war. The assembly failed on its mandate to write a new constitution to establish a federal democratic republic despite having its original deadline of May 28, 2010, extended four times. The key issues continue to be how many federal states the country should have and whether they should be based on the ethnicity of people in that state or geographical features. Nepal's Supreme Court ruled in November that the parties could not extend the term of the Constituent Assembly any further and so here we are. Protestors marked the deadline outside the Constituent Assembly complex in Katmandu, the capital, by clashing with police. Whoever comes up with the new constitution will have to unite a multiethnic and multilingual nation deeply rooted in feudalism, inequity and the caste system. Volunteers can hop a flight to Kathmandu and get to work…….


- Superstitious losers: America has them in spades. A group of them recently spent three months walking halfway across the country with a billy goat in an attempt to break a supposed cursed hanging over the heads of Major League Baseball’s most snakebitten franchise. The five hikers and their four-legged companion left Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 25 - the birth date of Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo. Since departing the Cubs’ spring training home, they have walked 20 to 25 miles a day to reach Wrigley Field on Memorial Day. The "Crack the Curse" walk has covered some 1,300 miles and its only saving grace from total loser-dom is a charitable component of the journey. Kyle Townsend, Blake Ferrell, Matt Gregory, P.J. Fisher and Philip Aldrich are also raising funds for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, which provided care to one of Gregory’s mother. Were it not for that noble aspect of the trip, these five tools would merely have trudged 1,300 miles with an ill-tempered, IQ-deprived quadruped in a futile attempt to lift a non-existent curse. They insist the responses they have received along the way have been positive. "Great responses from everybody. I mean, we were in St. Louis, and we got a great response there, people in St. Louis were great - even though they're Cardinals fans, everybody's been really great to us," Ferrell said. If the first third of the season is any indication, their effort have failed. The Cubs are riding a 12-game losing streak, holding down last place in the National League Central and tied for the worst record in baseball. Financially, the goal of the walk is to raise $100,000, but the group is presently well short of the mark. The goat has been the laziest participant in the trek, walking just five to 10 miles a day while being pushed the rest of the way in an animal carriage. It’s only fair, though, as the goat is also the only one who didn’t verbally commit to the trip. Its name is Wrigley, fittingly, and it was purchased off Craigslist. So where did this kooky idea originate? All five men worked last year at a resort in Denali National Park in Alaska and with all but Fisher being huge Cubs fans, they decided to overturn the supposed "Curse of the Billy Goat" that went into effect during the Cubs' last appearance in the World Series in 1945, when Billy Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, was asked to take his goat and leave a game against the Detroit Tigers because the animal's odor was troubling fans. Sianis allegedly responded  "Them Cubs, they aren't gonna win no more.” Since then, the Cubs haven’t won a World Series. Of course, they also didn’t win one from 1908 to 1945, before all of the goat drama. Now, some 67 years later, a group of idiots are trying to lift the curse with their loads of free time to use………

Sunday, May 27, 2012

The butler really did it, movie news and bickering MLB managers

- Those who wanted to see someone topple the box office juggernaut that has been “The Avengers” through its first three weeks of release and don’t care which contender defeats it, you all can celebrate. Those who would prefer than a bloated, wretchedly excessive and completely indefensible third installment of a movie franchise that wasn’t very good to begin with not be the conquering hero…….sucks for you. “MIB 3” was the movie that defeat the superhero six-pack, debuting with $55 million to best “Avengers.” Don’t feel too bad for “Avengers,” though; it was second with $37 million and has made $513.7 million in cumulative domestic earnings thus far. The sinking disaster that is “Battleship” fell 58 percent and finished third in its second weekend, making a mere $10.8 million to put its two-week tally at $44.3 million against a $209 million budget. Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator” landed in fourth with $9.6 million and has raked in $42 million in domestic earnings so far. The holiday weekend was not a good launch point for the horror film “Chernobyl Diaries,” which opened with a lackluster $8 million effort. “Dark Shadows” wasn’t far behind in sixth place, making $7.5 million to elevate its three-week haul to $63 million. Continuing on the topic of underperforming movies, “What to Expect When You're Expecting” was seventh with $7.2 million and has earned just $22.1 million so far. “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” had more success in limited release, adding 879 theaters and using that added exposure to make $6.4 million for an eighth-place finish. In four weeks of limited release, the movie has earned $16.5 million. “The Hunger Games” slid to ninth, its lowest finish yet, with $2.7 million and has made $395.2 million in 10 weeks of release. The insufferably bad “Think Like a Man” rounded out the top 10 with a meager take of $1.4 million, while “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” (No. 11) and “The Lucky One” (No. 13) dropped out from last week’s top 10………


- Humans need lights to see where they’re going, especially in places like the road they drive down to get home or work. Without lights, visibility becomes a bit of an issue. But do any of us stop to think about the impact streetlights have on the ecology of ground-dwelling invertebrates and insects? The topic usually falls somewhere in between women’s soccer and the socioeconomic hierarchy of villagers in rural Africa on the ol’ thought scale, but a research team led by Dr. Thomas Davies of the University of Exeter chose to stop ignoring the issue and dug in to see what they could learn. Davies and his colleagues set 28 traps in Helston in Cornwall, England and trapped nearly 1,200 of the animals in areas under and between streetlights. Not surprisingly, they found that invertebrate predators and scavengers were more common near the lights, even during the day. While recent studies have focused on the effects that streetlights can have on local, transient populations of bugs, no research had been done on the lights’ impact on invertebrates on the ground. Davies and his team placed some of their traps under streetlights and others in dark regions midway between them, over a three-night period. When they compared their catches, they generally found a higher number of animals were trapped near the lights. However, the relative proportions of predators and scavengers such as beetles and harvestmen were significantly different, with a higher proportion being found near the lights - even during the day. "This study now seems to be indicating that those transient, nocturnal effects on the behavior of the animals are actually being translated into the habitat preferences of the animals in the daytime as well," Davies said. "It's amazing how long we've been using street lighting and artificial lighting, and how little research has been done on the impact of those lights on the environment." Why does any of this matter? According to Davies, his team and their finds that were published in the journal Biology Letters, the impact of street lights on invertebrate communities could be important because such species are vital for a number of ecosystem services such as pollination and the breakdown of organic matter. As usual, more research is necessary………


- Bobby Valentine has brought plenty of fight to the Boston Red Sox since taking over as manager this past offseason. Unfortunately for Valentine and his team, that fight hasn’t translated into wins and the mighty Red Sox are mired in last place in the American League East, behind perennial doormats Baltimore and also-ran Toronto. Valentine has been as advertised, ripping the archrival Yankees at every turn and even turning his bile on his own team at times. Saturday, his rage was directed at Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, who criticized Valentine’s coaching staff for its role in a bench-clearing scrum Friday night in the opener of a three-game series between the teams. The altercation started in the top of the ninth inning after Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales drilled Rays batter Luke Scott. No players were ejected, but the two coaching staffs went at each other during a typical “all bluster, no actual fighting” baseball fight. A livid Maddon said after the game he believed there was a "hit" put out on Scott and called the Red Sox coaching staff "cowardly" and "weak" for the way it acted. Having his team accused of such chicanery pissed off Valentine, who returned fire on Saturday. In return, he blasted Rays coaches for allegedly aggravating the situation and acting unprofessional, immature and out of control. "I thought their coaches were really aggressive," Valentine said. "As a matter of fact, I took offense to the aggressiveness of their coaches. I thought it was very unprofessional and I really was proud of the way my coaches were trying to do what they were supposed to do in those situations. [Tampa's coaches] seemed very immature and out of control." Red Sox coaches noted some inappropriate things Rays coaches said to Valentine during the no-fighting brawl. Both coaches amped up their rhetoric when given the chance and Maddon threw some verbal haymakers of his own. “Quite frankly, I think it was ridiculous, and I think it's absurd, idiotic. I'll use all those different words," Maddon fumed. Of course, he backed down when given a chance to pile on further the next day, attempting to focus on how much respect he has for the Red Sox…..players, that is. In return, Valentine made a fuss over how much he actually likes Maddon. The niceness was nausea inducing, so hopefully the two skippers will get back to fighting soon……….


- Am I missing the problem here? Even if charges that Marylou's Coffee, a chain based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, operates under the policy of hiring only hot, young female employees, why is that a problem? Yes, one could argue that the policy would be discriminatory toward men, ugly women and older women, but there is an opposing school of thought and it doesn’t have to be a sexist, lecherous one. Just think of the baristas at most large chain coffee shops, no names mentioned Starbucks. Piercings abound, spiky ‘dos are common and the superior attitude is common. Oh, and all of this is predicated around overpriced coffee and coffee-like products for trendy tools who love to boast about their affinity for said coffee chain, again, no names mentioned. Shouldn’t there be an alternative and assuming one agrees with that premise, why shouldn’t that alternative be staffed by hot chicks in snugly fitting pink t-shirts and black shorts? Are men, overweight individuals of both ages and all genders and older people really that fired up about the chance to dress in the aforementioned outfit and serve coffee and cappuccino to customers? Apparently so, because the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking into claims about Marylou's Coffee’s hiring practices. In Marylou’s Coffees defense, it doesn’t exactly hide what it is all about. The company is known for its hiring of younger women and features them singing and dancing in its television commercials. When questioned about the controversy, a spokesperson denied the allegations. Qualifications begin and end with a winning personality and a passion for customer service,” the spokesperson insisted. Sounds good enough and in no way a lie, so let’s just keep moving…………


- Have at it, headline writers. Break out your best variations on, “The butler did it.” In a scandal custom-made for those who like cheeky headlines and easy quips, the growing drama over leaked Vatican documents swerved in a decidedly theatrical direction Saturday with confirmation that the pope's own butler had been arrested after documents he had no business having were found in his Vatican City apartment. Paolo Gabriele, one of the few members of the papal household, was arrested to put a capper on one of the most controversial weeks in recent Vatican history. The Holy See is under fire for its alleged non-compliance with international norms on financial transparency. A book containing leaked documents threw the issue into the spotlight and renewed scrutiny on alleged corruption n in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance. The president of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was fired Thursday and Garbiele’s arrested ended the week with a boom. "If you wrote this in fiction you wouldn't believe it," said Carl Anderson, a member of the board of the Vatican bank. "No editor would let you put it in a novel." That sort of hyperbole is typically overused, but in this case it fits. The bank explained its firing of Gotti Tedeschi by saying he routinely missed board meetings, failed to do his job, failed to defend the bank, polarized its personnel and displayed "progressively erratic personal behavior." He was initially accused of leaking documents, although proof of those allegations is shaky at best right now. Gotti Tedeschi has not commented publicly on any of this, hiding behind the excuse that he has too much admiration for the pope to do so. Gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three, has not been so fortunate. He had been in Vatican detention since Wednesday after Vatican investigators discovered Holy See documents in his apartment and was formally arrested Saturday. He has served as the pope's personal butler since 2006 and was often seen riding in the Popemobile alongside the Catholic Church’s highest-ranking official. Now he’ll be rocking some bitchin’ prison attire and his only ride will be to the prison he will call home in the immediate future………..

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Musical mysteries solved, 80-inch tablets and prodigious procreators

- Size does matter in the tablet world. Of course, smaller tends to be more desirable when it comes to the junior version of a laptop computer, but Microsoft is heading the other direction and CEO Steve Ballmer is leading the way. Not long after Samsung introduced its 11.6-inch Windows 8 preview tablet, the maker of the world’s worst operating system revealed that Ballmer uses an 80-inch touchscreen with Windows 8 for communications and productivity. “He's got rid of his phone, he's got rid of his note paper,” spokesman Frank Shaw said. “It's touch-enabled and it's hung on his wall.” The über-tablet sounds like wretched excess for the wealthy top executive of a major corporation and who the hell needs a tablet larger than any computer screen or most any flat-panel TV on the market, but Shaw said the company eventually plans to sell the device. He refused to name the manufacturer, the price or a release date, but like all Microsoft releases, this one is certain to disappoint sooner or much sooner. Right now, Microsoft lists 27 inches as the largest common screen size it expects for Windows 8 PCs, billing these large touchscreens as “family hub” devices. “Families might opt for an all-in-one desktop with a huge touch screen to view and organize all of the family photos,” Microsoft senior program manager David Washington wrote in a March blog post. An 80-inch tablet would obviously be more business-oriented and Shaw knows the average consumer would not need or be able to afford such a device at present. "It's not a consumer thing now, but we know historically that that's how all things start," he explained. "The idea that there should be a screen that's not a computer, we'll laugh at that in two years. Integrating some of its other product, such as the Xbox, could be one way of making the 80-inch tablet idea more appealing to the masses…………


- Everyone has their talent, that one skill which sets them apart from the pack. For Knoxville, Tenn. resident Desmond Hatchett, his skill set is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, Hatchett has clearly had a lot of sex in his 33 years on this planet. He’s good at picking up women and getting them to sleep with him. However, lots of sex can lead to lots of children if one doesn’t take the proper precautions and Hatchett definitely doesn’t specialize in protection or planning ahead. See, he is on a record-setting fathering binge and there is no end in sight. Hatchett has 30 children with 11 women, putting every other procreator in Knox County to shame. The past three years, he has cranked out nine children and become something of a local celebrity in the Knoxville area. His procreating proficiency has continued even after he vowed "I'm done!" in a 2009 TV interview. So why is he back in the news? Because Knox County’s judicial system has been given the difficult task of trying to figure out how to get a man working a minimum-wage job to adequately support all 30 of his kids, none of whom are even in high school yet. Predictably, Hatchett is struggling to make child support payments on such a meager salary and thus he finds himself making regular court appearances. "Yes, we've got several cases with Mr. Hatchett," confirmed Melissa Gibson, an assistant supervisor with the Knox County child support clerk's office. Sadly, there are no legal means to keep Hatchett from sexing it up. Relying on the intelligence of women he meets to keep their pants on doesn’t work, so there is little to do but sit back and enjoy the most prodigious child-producing career of our era. Hatchett’s children range in age from newborn to 14 years old and child support payments are based in part on the ages and needs of the children. Some of his baby mamas receive a mere $1.49 a month. When asked in a recent TV interview how he had accrued so many children in such a short time, Hatchett bluntly replied, "I had four kids in the same year. Twice." That about sums it up………….


- Does any college or NBA franchise want or need a hall of fame player who has run an entire league into the ground, run an NBA team financially aground and been fired from a low-level Div. I program for compiling a 26-65 record in three seasons? If so, former Continental Basketball Association owner/New York Knicks executive and coach/Florida International coach Isaiah Thomas is available…really available. Really, really available. Thomas was fired by FIU in April for three lackluster seasons in which he tried to take a job as a consultant for an NBA team (the Knicks) and keep coaching, failed to crack the .500 barrier and generally was as incompetent as he’s been in any stop during his post-playing career. He previously coached in the NBA with Indiana Pacers as well and served as the general manager for the Toronto Raptors and has been terrible at every stop. His career lowlight just might be the massive sexual harassment suit he incurred while running the Knicks, but that doesn’t mean he isn't hankering for a return to the Association….or any place else that might hire him. "I definitely want to be in basketball again whether it be coaching or as a general manager," Thomas said in an interview this week. "My gift is basketball. I would love working with the kids. If it's the right college program, I would consider it. If it's the right GM job or coaching job in the NBA, I would consider it. I love the game. I just want to be in the game." He’s actually half-right when speaking about what his gift is. Basketball is his gift, but not as a coach or executive. Like many former greats when their playing days are done, he has struggled mightily out of uniform. The perfect storm of disaster would be Michael Jordan, a former peer and also one of the best ever to play the game, hiring Thomas to coach the team Jordan now owns, the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats are 7-55 this past season, posting the highest losing percentage in NBA history. By hiring Thomas for their now-vacant coaching position, the Bobcats could easily bomb out and lose 95 percent of their games next season. Knicks owner James Dolan, the one who tried to re-hire him for a consulting position while Thomas was at FIU despite having fired him from the Knicks a few years prior, has a disturbing fondness for Thomas despite his consistent failings and just might hire him back. Certainly no one is going to hire him for his success as a coach or executive, so Thomas’ best hope is that another small-time program enamored by the chance to make a big splash with a big-name hire will bring him in. He is of the opinion the he simply didn’t get enough time at FIU and would have turned the team around given another season or two. Instead, turning around his sinking career is his next big project…………


- There are few situations in life more terrifying than a 1-year-old Humboldt penguin on the loose. Penguins, the noted badasses of the flightless bird world, terrify most everyone and the idea of that 1-year-old penguin terrorizing Tokyo like a modern-day Penguin-zilla was frightening. The penguin escaped from a Tokyo aquarium three months ago and had remained on the loose since then. It was finally captured by hand when it set foot on land in Ichikawa on Thursday night. An observant aquarium employee was walking alongside the Edogawa River in Chiba Prefecture at 5:30 p.m. and spotted the renegade penguin, which was seen swimming in the river near the Kanamachi water purification plant in Katsushika Ward earlier in the week. Other spotting put the bird hanging out and snacking on small fish in Tokyo Bay. The common thesis was that it was resting some place along the shore at night. Un-creatively named Penguin 337, this avian escape artist scaled a 13-foot wall and got through a barbed-wire fence to get into the bay to find freedom. Aquarium officials now believe the bird escaped through small gaps that cats and frogs can pass through. Tokyo Sea Life Park personnel worried the penguin would not survive in the waters of the bay, which sees heavy marine traffic bound for densely populated Tokyo. Somehow, three months on the run don’t appear to have taken a major toll on Penguin 337. "It didn't look like it has gotten thinner over the past two months, or been without food. It doesn't seem to be any weaker. So it looks as if it's been living quite happily in the middle of Tokyo Bay," said Kazuhiro Sakamoto, deputy director of the park. Now that Penguin 337 is back, maybe the zoo can answer the pressing question of why it is named Penguin 337 when there are only 135 penguins at Tokyo Sea Life Park……….


- At long last, the mystery has been solved. The bridge that inspired the classic 1992 Red Hot Chili Peppers song, “Under The Bridge” has been identified. While it has been widely known for years that the bridge was somewhere in Los Angeles, no one was quite sure which bridge it was. The song itself centers on frontman Anthony Kiedis' battle with drug addiction and his own autobiography, “Scar Tissue,” provided the clues needed for inquiring minds to track down the bridge . In the book, Kiedis tales the story of how he spent "downtown with f**king gangsters shooting speedballs under a bridge." Kiedis has steadfastly refused to name the location, but music fan and researcher Mark Haskell Smith has figured out the puzzle. Smith has pinpointed the bridge as , a pedestrian bridge that is fairly nondescript. “Inside, it looked like a school art project had been painted over decades of tagging, layers of violent history under a family friendly mural… but not that long ago it was the stomping ground of gangbangers and dope slingers,” Smith theorized. "It must be the bridge in the song. It links Sixth and Union — the intersection Kiedis claims he was walking toward [in Scar Tissue]— with the drug dealers at Seventh and Hoover. And, unlike the other bridges, it provides a discreet location for private time with personal demons." Whether that revelation adds meaning to the song for RHCP fans is unclear, but a few are sure to make pilgrimages there to see the inspiration for one of the band’s best-known tracks……….

Friday, May 25, 2012

Cuba's friends, being Jay-Z and smacking down smoking in New Zealand

- Nothing is more appetizing for NFL fans than billionaire owners being sued for billions of dollars by players who are paid hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to play a game. Fans love their favorite sport’s newly-established labor peace, less than one year old, being upset because the NFL Players Association is suing the league’s 32 teams for allegedly having a secret salary cap in place during the uncapped 2010 season, thus colluding against the players and costing them at least $1 billion in wages. NFL players union chief DeMaurice Smith is busting out the heavy artillery early in the fight, arguing that his group's claim of collusion will stand up in court and hitting the NFL with a label typically reserved for the most brutal drug gangs of Mexico and Colombia. "Cartels do what cartels will do when left unchecked," Smith said Thursday outside union headquarters. "The facts justify the complaint." The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on Wednesday and within hours, the NFL issued a statement saying, "The union's claims have absolutely no merit and we fully expect them to be dismissed." NFL spokesman Greg Aiello further attempted to bury the allegations, saying, "There was no collusion. There was no agreement. These claims are totally unfounded." The drama centers around financial penalties imposed on the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys for overspending during the uncapped season. The Redskins are losing $36 million and the Cowboys $10 million. Both teams filed grievances against the league, but those grievances were denied and within a few hours, the NFLPA was readying its lawsuit. There are other lawsuits against the league and commissioner Roger Goodell for various reasons, but this one is the largest financially. The union’s allegations of a "conspiracy" that the league set a $123 million salary cap for the 2010 season when owners did not have the authority to do so should make for an interesting legal fight, but of course fans generally don’t give a damn…………


- New Zealand, anti-smoking champions? Amazing as it may be, the laid-back Kiwis have smoke-free bars, parks and even college campuses. However, the dream for any nation has to be smoke-free status from border to border, north to south and east to west. Smoking is a menace, a hazard and a filthy habit that wrecks the health and well-being of everyone around it. New Zealand’s leaders know this and they stepped up large Thursday by announcing a whopping 40 percent increase in tobacco taxes over the next four years. While tobacco prices in New Zealand are already among the highest in the world, ramping up the price can never hurt. With the additional taxes, the price of a pack of cancer sticks will be $15 a pack on average by 2016. One great angle of the tax hike is the transparency by government officials in admitting that they hope higher taxes and new restrictions will bring the nation of 4.4 million closer to a recent pledge to snuff out their smoking ways entirely by 2025. How serious are New Zealand’s health officials? They recently considered hiking the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $75 and had they followed through, it would have been an awesome display of anti-smoking force. Another new law forcing retailers to hide cigarettes below the counter will come into effect in July and on the strength of these and other efforts, smoking rates among New Zealand adults have fallen from about 30 percent in 1986 to 20 percent today. Kiwi smokers are b*tching about the rate hike, especially since the country already charges more than 70 percent in taxes on cigarettes, compared to 41 percent in China, 45 percent in the U.S. and 64 percent for Australia. Simply put, too freaking bad, Kiwi cancer stick addicts…………


- Persistence pays off. Monroe, Ohio resident Ken Mercurio knows this truism well and just five years after nearly biking his way to an early grave, he is part of a group preparing t to make a 4,200-mile, seven-week journey from Butte, Mont., to Alaska and back. Mercurio nearly died in November 2007 when he was riding with a group in California and crashed his bike. "I was riding along, and the front fork on the bike snapped and broke and it went into the spokes," Mercurio said. "It broke half the spokes immediately and flipped me right over on my head." He doesn’t remember much else about the incident because he was knocked unconscious when he hit the road. When he awoke, he had gone through hours of surgery to implant two rods and an assortment of screws into his neck and fuse five of his vertebrae together. He also had three broken ribs, but doctors assured him the crash could have been far worse. "The neurosurgeon would say it to me every time I'd see him, 'You are lucky to be alive,'" Mercurio said. Lucky or not, Mercurio fought his way back to health and now rides a custom bike that allows him to sit more upright. At age 60, he is a few weeks from making the daunting trip from Montana to Alaska and back and four other riders he will meet in Montana. The trip begins June 15 and it has a charitable angle as well, to raise money in the fight against diabetes. Mercurio has labeled the ride the Tour de Cure…….


- When you’re Jay-freaking-Z, you do pretty much whatever you want and don’t worry about haters because after all, you’re Jay-Z. You are richer, more successful, more famous and more talented than just about anyone who might crack you. As a result, you can take on seemingly un-hip-hop projects like writing new songs for an updated movie version of the musical “Annie.” The film will star Will Smith’s daughter Willow and Jay-Z will be in charge of the soundtrack for the film. Believe it or not, Jay-Z does have ties to “Annie,” as in 1998 he released 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)', which sampled the song 'It's the Hard Knock Life', from the original 1970s “Annie” musical. The musical was first turned into a film in 1982, starring Aileen Quinn in the title role. Now, the man best known as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air will be producing the remake for Sony Pictures, with British actress Emma Thompson writing a new script for the musical. Willow Smith, 11, released her debut single, “Whip My Hair,” in 2010. Along with her title role in “Annie,” she is to Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation and her debut album, 'Knees and Elbows', is due for release later this year. No word on whether Jay-Z will also be working on fresh versions of songs from “Hair,” “Newsies” or “Rent” any time soon…………


- Not many countries are down with helping Cuba. The whole U.S. embargo issue, combined with the reign of terror by Fidel Castro, the island nation’s Communist system and a generally unsavory international reputation have left Cuba with few friends. Count Venezuela among them and score a win for the friendship after Venezuela's science and technology minister confirmed that an undersea fiber-optic cable that was laid last year between Venezuela and Cuba is working. That Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez would help out Fidel and Raul Castro is no surprise and the laying of the cable was completed last year by Alcatel-Lucent SA of France for the state telecommunication companies of Venezuela and Cuba. Jorge Arreaza confirmed that the cable is "absolutely operational" and said it will be up to Cuba how it uses the cable on the island. Alcatel-Lucent SA workers laid the cable beginning in Venezuela and reached eastern Cuba in February 2011. The system was supposed to go online within a few months, but Cuba’s always-secretive government has made no mention of the cable. Its Internet remains the slowest in the hemisphere and a project designed to improve online speed would theoretically be a big deal and an accomplishment to trumpet. Instead, secrecy has reigned and the confirmation from Venezuela is as close as the world has come to any knowledge of the system and whether it is functional or not. Any time Cuba wants to speak up about its end of the project, that would be swell………..

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Tomato wars, World Goth Day and IBM paranoia

- The tech world is not a friendly place. Just ask IBM employees at the company’s Armonk, N.Y. headquarters. Secrets in this realm are guarded closely and for that reason, IBM employees are forbidden from having conversations with their digital friend Siri at work. The digital assistant on Apple’s iPhone is verboten at IBM headquarters because every query and verbal prompt users send Siri’s way is sent to a large data processing center in Maiden, N.C. Apple's iPhone Software License Agreement makes the process clear: "When you use Siri or Dictation, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple in order to convert what you say into text." Siri also compiles names of people from your address book and other unspecified user data, supposedly to help the service do a better job providing answers in the future. The question becomes how long Apple stores the data and who sees it. "By using Siri or Dictation, you agree and consent to Apple's and its subsidiaries' and agents' transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri, Dictation, and other Apple products and services," the software agreement states. That doesn’t sit well with IBM and CIO Jeanette Horan explained that Siri isn't welcome on Big Blue's networks. "The company worries that the spoken queries might be stored somewhere," Horan said. IBM isn't the only entity concerned about Siri, as the American Civil Liberties Union put out a warning about Siri just a couple of months ago. Edward Wrenbeck, the lead developer of the original Siri iPhone app, knew well before Siri was sold to Apple that privacy would be a major concern. "Just having it known that you're at a certain customer's location might be in violation of a non-disclosure agreement," Wrenbeck said. Another concern is that Siri can be used to write e-mails or text messages, so theoretically Apple could be storing confidential IBM messages. It’s one more reminder that the tech world is not a kind place to operate………


- Oh, to be a movie fan in France. Aside from actually living in France, there are benefits like not having to be subjected to the latest identical Tyler Perry movie at your local multiplex. See, Perry’s movies are never scheduled in any French movie theaters or are only released in DVDs and even if the reasons behind those decisions are shady and slightly racist (allegedly), avoiding a terrible movie is still avoiding a terrible movie. Perry’s movies aren’t bad for any racially based reason; they’re just bad movies. But it’s the new (and terrible) comedy “Think Like a Man” that is currently being ignored in France. The movie hasn’t been released in French movie theaters despite its success in the United States. Conspiracy theorists have suggested that the film doesn’t have enough diversity, but no official reason or explanation has been given. Maybe the perception that French film community doesn’t believe that films with all-black casts can do well at the box office is true and maybe France’s cinematic racial profiling is a terrible instance of discrimination. The fact is, there are plenty of great movies with all-black or predominantly black casts; “Think Like a Man” simply isn't one of them, nor are any of Perry’s films. “Think Like a Man” actually has a multi-racial cast and has grossed nearly $100 million at the box office, but monetary success is never an ironclad indicator of how good a movie is. France, you’re dodging a bad movie bullet on this one……….


- Did you miss your chance to rock out to Black Veil Brides, dress head to toe in black and wear the palest, more haunting makeup you own? Unless you celebrated World Goth Day, the answer to that question is yes. May 22 is World Goth day and while those who embrace the culture treat every day like it’s Halloween with their embracing of Gothic music, art, fashion and lifestyle, the rest of the world tends to tune them out. The unofficial holiday is a chance to shine a light on an often-misunderstood subculture. Even Goths don’t agree on what the term means, much in the same way 100 different indie rock fans will give 100 different definitions about what the genre is. Goth boils down to some variation on darkness, but the culture isn't necessarily as morbid or death-obsessed as it's often made out to be. Sure, there are a few freaks who sleep in coffins, are obsessed with blood and listen only to music that sounds like pure death, but not all Goths live that way. Some even blend into everyday culture and society and aside from their slightly different attire, they fit in just fine. They rock out to the Cure or Siouxsie and the Banshees and wear a healthy dose of black when able. World Goth Day had its share of awards, events, music and general revelry, but its organizers also made a concerted effort to educate the general public about acceptance and compassion for cultures outside the mainstream. The history of the event is a poignant one. Its roots are in the 2007 assault of Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, as they were walking through a park in Lancashire, England, when they were attacked by a group of five teenagers. Lancaster died from her injuries and Maltby suffered lasting brain damage; both were attacked because they were wearing Goth clothing. The incident gave rise to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and also inspired the founders of World Goth Day. On their website, the group proclaims, "There are quite a few Goths who have fought damn hard to retain their identity despite peer pressure, family pressure and indeed, any pressure to conform. "And if you've gone to all that trouble to preserve what you believe is the 'real you', don't you think you owe it to yourself to shine for a day?" Hopefully everyone took the chance to let their inner Goth out or at least hug a Goth………


- How many times has it been said, “You can’t fight city hall….over upside-down tomato plants.” Too many times, that’s how many. For Newton, Mass. resident Eli Katzoff, the battle over tomato plants in his yard has become a bigger fight than he ever expected. Katzoff hung 34 upside-down tomato plants in his yard, planning to give most of the produce away to local food pantries. The idea seemed flawless in that growing things is good for the environment, giving food away is kind and no one would get hurt in the process. But no good idea goes unchecked in a democracy and the city has come down hard on Katzoff for his (apparent) stupidity. In a gesture of sheer audacity, he built a large wooden structure to hold the plants. The structure measures 13 feet high by 32 feet long and 16 feet wide and the trouble is has caused thus far is immeasurable. “The city’s not happy about it,” Katzoff explained. Why are a bunch of small-town bureaucrats angry? Because the structure he built is in the front yard, that’s why. Newton laws say such structures must be built in the back yard. Why didn’t Katzoff set up his mega-tomato planter out back? “You can do it in the back yard, but the problem with us is there’s no sunlight in the backyard,” Katzoff explained. In a typical display of bureaucratic ineptitude, Katzoff said he called the zoning office at Newton City Hall before he built the structure and was told his project was fine. That’s no longer the tale the city is telling. “They need to be safe, and they need to be within the zoning ordinances,” explained Bob Rooney, the city’s chief operating officer. Katzoff’s hanging garden is still in place and the city worries that could be a safety concern for people walking by, not to mention there’s the law that says no structures on front yards. In a possible attempt to extend an alive branch, Katzoff has been offered the chance to apply for a zoning variance that would allow the structure to remain. Let the great tomato battle of 2012 commence………


- After having to spend part of his offseason in fear that Peyton Manning would ride into town and rip his starting job, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has to feel damn good right about now. Manning ended up in Denver, Smith kept his starting job and the team added to his cache of weapons by adding free agents Randy Moss and Mario Manningham and first-round pick A.J. Jenkins. Those new weapons were on display during Wednesday's pad-free practice as the team launched its first round of offseason team activities. Smith, who has been embattled throughout his seven seasons in the NFL and will never be considered elite, could not hide his excitement. "It's like waking up on Christmas," Smith said. "You have a lot of new toys out there, new presents." For a team coming off a 13-3 regular season and an overtime loss in the NFC championship game, that sort of added excitement is a very positive sign. Coach Jim Harbaugh is optimistic as well. "Alex has really been, in the two days out here, has been spreading the ball very well," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He's got a lot of options. That's been evident, too, for two days. " The 49ers need an improved offense after their defense largely carried them last season. Smith ranked 19th in the NFL with a career-high 3,144 yards passing and was badly outplayed by Eli Manning in a 20-17 overtime loss in the NFC title game to the eventual champion New York Giants. As a result, the 49ers flirted with free agent Peyton Manning before eventually giving Smith a three-year deal that has some $16.5 million guaranteed. Manningham was signed, leaving the Giants ironically enough, Moss was inked as well after not playing last season due to a lack of interest, and Jenkins was drafted in April. Moss is the highest-profile acquisition, as the once-great, perpetually troubled physical freak who once roasted any defensive back unfortunate enough to have to cover him received no interest last year. Still, Smith is fired up to have him back in the NFL. "The first day, it was surreal out there throwing balls to him. The physical skills everybody knows. The thing you appreciate a lot is the guy's a true pro. He's played a lot of football. He's incredibly smart out there,” Smith declared.  That enthusiasm may fade if and when Moss starts to cause trouble as he always seems to do, but for now everyone is holding hands and skipping through a field of wildflowers…………