- "Carmageddon II" wasn’t overhyped as much as the
first incarnation of the supposed highway apocalypse in Southern California,
but the second installment produced more excitement and more memorable sights.
After last year's closure of a section of Interstate 405, one of the nation's
busiest freeways, failed to produce the sort of commuter chaos many expected,
Carmageddon II wasn’t nearly as publicized, yet there it was delivering the
goods with the unexpected collapse of a section of the famed 50-year-old Mulholland
Drive Bridge. The bridge, a fixture on the chaotic L.A. freeway scene, wasn’t
supposed to fall apart as extensively as it did as workers were demolishing
another section of the span. Either someone on the crew f*cked up during the
demolition process or the survey crews missed badly when doing their prep work
for the project, but having a ginormous chunk of a bridge fall more than 100
feet and nearly crush construction workers below is a bit of a problem. The
falling bridge barely missed unsuspecting workers on Saturday and those
involved in the process aren't even attempting to pretend it was all part of
the plan. “On an operation of this size, of this magnitude, pieces come down of
all different sizes and shapes," said Dan Kulka of Kiewit Construction.
"We did not anticipate this, although it's not unusual for a big piece to
come down like that.” The good news for SoCal residents is that the bridge
collapse did not affect the scheduled reopening of the 10-mile section of the
interstate, which is the same stretch that was shut down last year. It is a
vital portion of highway because w the closed portion of the 405 overlaps the
Sepulveda Pass of the Santa Monica Mountains – one of only two major highways
over the range. There were no major traffic jams over the weekend due to the
closure, something officials were concerned about because Carmageddon I was
drastically overblown and the theory was that motorists might assume any
warnings about this year’s installment were more of the same. Aside from the
great visuals of an accidentally collapsed bridge, Carmageddon II didn’t have
much to offer either………
- Fighting through adversity has been a theme for the
Baltimore Orioles this year. A team that no one expected to contend for
anything, let alone a division title, staved off what appeared to be the early
stages of a mid-season collapse, rallied and are tied for the American League
East lead with three games left in the season. If they finish strong, they can
rip the AL East crown and force the big, bad New York Yankees into a wild-card
spot and a one-game playoff with the AL’s other wild card entrant. Of course,
doing all of that requires the Orioles to stay alive and healthy, something
that was temporarily in doubt Sunday night as they headed south to Tampa for a
big three-game series following a 6-3 win over Boston earlier in the day. After
downing the Red Sox to remain tied with the Yankees at 92-67, the team boarded
its charter flight south. As they entered the air space in northern Florida, a
small fire broke out on the plane and forced the pilots to make an emergency
landing in
Jacksonville. The plane was inspected, the trip continued and the Orioles
reached Tampa, but the cause of the fire was not immediately released. What
makes the fire ironic is that after the big victory, the team’s official
Twitter feed got loose with what its author clearly felt was an über-clever
tweet alluding to another big game from first baseman Chris Davis: “It's official, @ChrisDavis19 is on fire.
Watch him smoke his fifth homer in four games: atmlb.com/QfDzRW
#BUCKleUp.” A fire reference
AND a smoke reference on the same day the team plane went up in smoke? Hmm,
sounds suspicious. Reliever Kevin Gregg, released by the team over the weekend,
could be a prime suspect………..
- The more acting gigs Miley Cyrus gets, the less of an opportunity
she has to unleash to talent-deficient crap she calls her music. That’s the
approach the world should take when evaluating the career of the daughter of
the greatest mullet-wearer of all-time. Miley Cyrus, like her father Billy Ray,
may have little to no acting talent, but her bad acting in lifetime miniseries
is much easier to avoid than a ubiquitous, terrible mainstream garbage pop
song. Plus, she is hot and no matter how bad her music is, when she’s on screen
there is at least a visual distraction involved. The next “big” acting break
for Cyrus has arrived as she has been tabbed for a leading role in the
Lifetime and History Channel miniseries “Bonnie & Clyde.” The
project, which is being produced by executive producers Neil Meron and Craig
Zadan, the creative minds behind NBC’s song-and-dance drama “Smash,” was
reportedly to be headlined by Hilary Duff as recently as last year. News about
the effort dried up at the beginning of 2012, but maybe Cyrus will receive a
more favorable response than Duff did when news of her alleged casting reached Faye
Dunaway, the actress who played Bonnie in the original 1967 project. When asked
about Duff assuming the role, Dunaway derisively asked, “Why couldn’t they cast
a real actress?” Duff was allegedly paid to walk away from the project when she
became pregnant, something that isn't so far-fetched with Cyrus. Couple this
attention with the ridiculous amount of time spent discussing her recent
hairstyle change and it’s safe to safe that the former Hannah Montana is still
receiving much more publicity than her extremely modest talents command. There
is no word on when the miniseries will begin filming or a projected date for
its television debut, but hopefully production is a long, arduous process that
keeps Cyrus tied up and unable to record any new music for many, many months………
- Can’t you feel the anticipation building? The roars of the masses,
the murmuring of the desperate and the expectations of the faithful as they
look forward to the latest update for the world’s world computer operating
system…..they are growing louder by the minute. Microsoft knows this and to amp
up the world for the much-unanticipated release of Windows 8 on Oct. 26, the
company plans to make a
touch-optimized version of its MSN portal available to users running Windows
8/Windows RT and Internet Explorer 10 on that same date. A preview of the
portal is being shown at Advertising Week, which kicks off Monday in New York.
Thankfully, not everyone is in danger of being infected by this latest crappy
Microsoft software and its threat is limited to Windows 8/Windows RT and IE 10
users. Because a rapidly decreasing number of people (and approximately 25 with
an IQ above 50) still use Internet Explorer as their browser, the danger isn't
as immense as it could be. The availability for the new portal will initially
be limited to Microsoft's 11 biggest markets worldwide, according to Bob Visse,
general manager of MSN.com. Consumers who are stuck using older versions of
Windows and Internet Explorer, or those smart enough to use other third-party
browsers, won't be able to see or use the new portal any time soon. Its design
is more modern and it is optimized to be navigable via touch gestures, although
it will function with keyboards and mice. The updated sit will also sport a
new-look MSN News, featuring AP and Reuters stories, along with content from
Microsoft's own writers. Users will be able to watch tutorials to learn how to
navigate the new site and take advantage of Windows 8/Windows RT features like
"snapping" applications to the side of the screen. "Eventually,
we also will offer a MSN Windows 8 app and Windows Phone 8 app, too,"
Visse threatened. The new portal is also an underhanded way for MSN to pimp its
other Microsoft technologies, like Bing search, Skype and Outlook.com………..
- Anger and pyromania are frequent compatriots, especially in
Bangladesh, where raging Muslims and belligerent Buddhists have been squaring
off for months and lighting various items and properties on fire. The
back-and-forth feistiness continued on Sunday as hundreds of Muslims
burned at least four Buddhist temples and 15 homes of Buddhists after
complaining that a Buddhist man had insulted Islam. Police and residents
confirmed the arsons in the Cox's Bazar area in the southeast of the country,
but members of the Buddhist minority did not identify the people they believe
to be bent on upsetting peaceful relations between the two groups. This
particular outburst of violence is funny in a sense because it appears to have
started over a photograph posted on Facebook. The image allegedly insulted
Islam and those doing the burning said the picture had been posted by a
Buddhist, who was escorted to safety along with his mother as the sh*t hit the
fan around them. The angry Muslims elected to march to Buddhist villages and
set fire to temples and houses. In response, police deployed extra security
forces and banned gatherings in Buddhist-dominated areas. "We brought the
situation under control before dawn and imposed restrictions on public
gatherings," said Salim Mohammad Jahangir, district police superintendent
for Cox's Bazar. Some of the Muslim outrage remains after the idiotic film made
by a kook in California mocked Islam, but these incidents of arson seem to be
something else entirely. Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir decried the
attacks on temples as a "premeditated and deliberate attempt" to
disrupt harmony. He vowed to rebuild the Buddhist monasteries and temples and
compensate those whose houses were torched, but those are small measures in
light of everything else that has occurred. Sohel Sarwar Kajal, the Muslim head
of the council in the area where the arson took place, insisted his
organization was working to restore peace in the area "We are doing
everything possible to quell tension and restore peace between the
communities," he said. Buddhists retaliated for the attacks on their
temples in more dignified fashion, staging a silent protest in the capital city
of Dhaka on Sunday afternoon………
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