- Is “Dumb and Dumber” suddenly beneath Jim Carrey? Right
now, the reasons aren’t clear, but what is crystal clear is the fact that Carrey
and New Line Cinema have reach an impasse over his involvement in “Dumb and Dumber To” and Carrey will
not be a part of the project. Right now, all fans of the popular
lowest-common-denominator comedic franchise need to know is that Carrey won’t
be reprising the Lloyd Christmas role alongside Jeff Bridges. “Dumb and Dumber”
was a definite piece of lowbrow comedic genius when it came out in 1994, but a
poorly executed 2003 follow-up, “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met
Lloyd”
sans Carrey and Bridges failed miserably and combined with the passing of time,
managed to seriously dull enthusiasm for the franchise. The prospect of
reviving it with the original stars in place kick-started that excitement in
spit of the face that series creators Peter and Bobby Farrelly, a.k.a. the
Farrelly Brothers, have failed to offer anything above C-list material as they
have ridden their early wave of “Dumb” fame in the past decade-plus. That
Carrey will not be a part of the new movie is bad news for fans and also for
Carrey himself, who has flopped in a variety of genres over the past several
years, including dramatic fare
(“The Number 23”), (“Mr. Popper’s Penguins”), classics (“A Christmas
Carol”), high-concept ("Yes Man”) and even quirky (“I Love You Phillip
Morris” as a gay con man). Without fail, Carrey’s movies have failed and the
best project he’s been associated with of late is a creepy video love letter he
made for Emma Stone. He tried to win some favor back on “Saturday Night Live”
last year and will look to gravy train some of Steve Carrell’s good karma in
the upcoming rival-magicians comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” A great
turn in “Dumb and Dumber To” could have done more for his ailing career than
most anything else he could have done……..
- Cuba has been known for many (negative) qualities and
stigmas over the past few decades thanks to the rule of former dictator Fidel Castro,
but could the difficult living conditions have actually been worse? It’s a
question worth raising after a front-page editorial Tuesday in the
island's state-run Granma spelled out Castro’s apparent affinity for yoga. The
35-word ode to the Eastern art of meditation and stretching was the latest
"Reflection from Comrade Fidel," in which Castro channels his inner
Jack Handy and provides deep thoughts for the masses. Rather than touch on
global issues like the conflict in Syria or the impending economic collapse of
Europe, the bearded madman elected to touch on the art of bending and
contorting one’s body into odd poses for purposes of therapy and relaxation. "Yoga
does things with the human body that defy the imagination," he wrote.
Anyone who has seen Scarlett Johannson’s turn as an über-hot yoga instructor in
“He’s Just Not That Into You”
can attest to that imagination-defying power of yoga….but that’s an
entirely different story, as is the gift to the world that yoga has given in
the form of hot women wearing yoga pants in public places. Sadly, Castro’s
piece did not indicate whether the retired despot was himself a practitioner.
It was also a curiously short writing for a man whose "opinion pieces
often have filled whole pages in the newspaper.” Instead, the man who often spoke
for hours without notes on a variety of subjects during his political prime was
extremely concise and read more like a tweet than an opinion piece. Other
“Reflection” pieces have touched on a past rift with former Chinese leader Deng
Xiaoping, praised former East German leader Erich Honecker and tackled other
political topics. The yoga post, should Castro himself practice yoga, does make
one wonder how much harsher life on the island nation could have been during
his tyrannical reign if not for a few brief moments of relaxation every
day………..
- The pre-draft scouting combine is the single most
important job interview for an athlete in any sport whose professional league
uses such an event to evaluate incoming talent from the amateur ranks. For this
reason, NFL prospects who show up at the league’s February scouting combine in
Indianapolis having smoked pot in the past week and who are therefore destined
to fail the mandatory combine drug test are colossal idiots. Preparing for the
combine and coming in to it clean are vital and so is getting a clean bill of
health by the league’s doctors once at the combine. Ohio State forward Jared
Sullinger is learning that lesson the difficult way after he was “red flagged”
by doctors at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago due to back issues. Although his
father tried to head off concerns about the issue by saying tightness and minor
ailments in Sullinger’s legs led to the alarms, the reports of his higher
susceptibility to injuries has already begun to affect the way teams picking
high in the first round of this month’s draft are ranking him on their draft
boards. The most prominent instance of a team revising its opinion on the
6-foot-8 forward is the Golden State Warriors, who own the seventh pick in the
draft, reportedly taking Sullinger off their board. With David Lee, who plays
the same position as Sullinger, already under contract, the burly former
Buckeye would have been an unlikely choice for Golden State anyhow. However,
draftniks breaking down the first round have projected Sullinger to drop as low
as Denver at No. 20. That may well mean a good team, picking at the end of the
round and with an open mind and higher willingness to take a risk because they
are already well-stocked, may get a great value for a player who could well
beat the negative prognosis and have an outstanding, mostly healthy career……….
- Many individuals have strong allergies to dogs and cats,
but could dogs actually help strengthen your immune system and prevent childhood asthma?
The answer is yes, at least according to a new study led by Dr. Kei Fujimura, a
molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco. Fujimura
presented the results of his research at the 112th General Meeting of the
American Society for Microbiology (known for being a three-day kegger disguised
as an academic conference) and explained that bacteria found in the dust of
homes with dogs may have protective effects against respiratory syncytial virus
(RSV). Previous studies have shown that infants with severe cases of RSV have
an increased chance of developing asthma, so anything that works against the
virus could help prevent asthma. "These findings are the first step
towards creating a therapy to protect infants against RSV and therefore
lessening the occurrence of asthma in the long term," Fujimura said. Building
off previous studies showing that bacterial communities in house dust are
different in homes with and without dogs, and that children living with pet
dogs have a lower incidence of asthma, Fujimura sought to draw a link between the
two phenomena. To test his hypothesis, he and his team collected dust from
homes with dogs, mixed it in a solution and fed it to mice. Eight days later,
the mice were given RSV. Their immune response was compared to another group
infected with RSV and to a control group comprised of healthy mice. Mice that were
fed house dust did not develop the inflammation and mucous production symptomatic
of RSV, but a different group of bacteria were found in the gastrointestinal
tract of these mice compared to the other experimental groups. "In this
experiment we were able to manipulate the gut micro biota and this influenced
the immune response in the lungs," Fujimura explained. According to the
good doctor, this distinct set of micro biota helped protect the mice from
developing RSV. Unfortunately, the researchers were not able to determine exactly
which bacteria are the key drivers for this response. However, the findings do
support the hypothesis that exposure to animals in early childhood stimulates
the immune system to resist the development of asthma and other allergies………..
- America has its eyes on you, group of Catholic nuns traveling
around the country to fight for social justice. This group of mischief makers
disguised as women of the cloth are taking their "Faith, Family and
Fairness Tour" around the country and seeking to rile up the good people
of America in places like Janesville, Wisc., where they stopped Tuesday. The
nuns (presumably with their wooden rulers to whack knuckles for deviant
behavior) were greeted by a large crowd. "What we're here to do is lift up
a different point of view and say, 'Lets talk,'" said Sister Simone
Campbell, the leader of this band of malevolent marauders. Calling themselves
the "Nuns on the Bus, they have been traveling around the country to protest
Republican federal budget proposals that they say hurt the poor. "(The
Republican budget plan) actually shifts tax cuts to the wealthy and $8 billion
more to the military than what they're asking for. So, from our prospective,
that's not a good choice for our nation," Campbell said. While in
Wisconsin, the nuns stopped outside of Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's office
on Main Street just one day after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney
made a stop in the same city. Some in the crowd were there to oppose the nuns
and show support for Republican lawmakers like Ryan, who they believe is doing
the best he can in a difficult situation. "I'm embarrassed my fellow religious sisters are doing this. I totally support Paul Ryan. He may not
be 100 percent, but I think he's the best
we have in the foreground than we have now. He's making cuts in our budget which have to be,"
said Beloit Resident Sister Rose Azalea Bauer, with the Franciscan Order Of Perpetual Adoration of LaCrosse.
Bauer deserves respect because a person is clearly unselfish and hell-bent on
doing good deeds if they’re willing to reside in the frozen tundra that is
Wisconsin in order to make a difference. The message for the day was one of
responsibility, unity and compassion. "We're a nation that values
individual responsibility but treasures community, and we can only do it
together, and that's the same as our faith. It's individual responsibility
combined with solidarity that makes a whole; that's who we
are," Campbell said. A likely story, sister………..
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