- When do people actually give a damn about the WNBA? That
isn't a trick question. There is an instance in which sports fans, who happily
ignore the NBA’s charity outreach that is a women’s incarnation of the National
Basketball Association. Despite its lack of athleticism, the fact that none of
its players play above the rim and the reality that its game is played at a
speed that is a mere fraction of the real NBA, the WNBA can captivate the
masses…..when one of its former stars and an Olympic gold medalist goes
action-hero badass and (allegedly) takes a baseball bat to an ex-girlfriend’s
car before lighting up the car’s interior with her gun. That former WNBA star
would be Chamique Holdsclaw, who is accused of shooting into the car of her
former love interest, current WNBA player Jennifer Lacy, after going Albert
Pujols on the vehicle’s windows. Holdsclaw was jailed Friday in Atlanta on
assault and weapons charges after a judge set her bond at $100,000. Neither
Lacy nor Holdsclaw was injured in the attack, but Lacy identified the former
WNBA standout as an ex-girlfriend from the time when both played for the
Atlanta Dream in 2009. On the one hand, the story has a decidedly sad slant
because two months ago Holdsclaw visited her alma mater, the University of Tennessee,
and spoke about her ongoing battle with depression. On the other hand, if not
for this story, most people in the United States would have no clue that the
WNBA even existed, so it truly is a case of a two-edged sword that cuts both
ways. You’re welcome for the free publicity, WNBA……….
- Bless Microsoft’s heart; Bill Gates’ crew really is
trying. Their products suck and they still make the world’s worst operating
system, but they keep on battling. In its latest futile attempt to compete with
the rest of the tech world, Microsoft updated its SkyDrive app for PC desktops to allow
users to choose specific folders to sync up with their computer instead of
downloading all of one’s SkyDrive files at once. In short, tablet users with
limited storage on their device need to be able to pick and choose folders
because they can't store everything on their iPad or Droid tablet. The folders
and files that aren’t downloaded from SkyDrive will remain in Microsoft’s cloud
drive and can be downloaded as needed. This update works with Windows 7,
Windows 8, and Mac OS X PCs. To use it, new users need to download the new
SkyDrive app. They will then be prompted to either download and sync all
folders or selectively choose the documents they want. Existing users will get
the new option in an update. Once installed, the revised SkyDrive sports a more
modern look and when using it, unchecking a previously downloaded folder will
remove that folder and all its contents from a computer, but the data will
still be saved online in SkyDrive. As with any Microsoft product or idea, there
is an indefensibly ass-hatted, deficient component and in this case, it is the
setting that does not allow a user to select and sync only a few files from
among many in a folder. It’s either download the entire folder or download none
of it, with no in between. Amazingly enough, SkyDrive has existed (and been
largely ignored) since 2007. However, its desktop apps were only released six
months ago. Microsoft is still lagging behind in the world of cloud storage
against competitors such as DropBox and Google Drive……..
- Your daily commute with a side of thinly veiled bigotry,
Chicago? If you ask the Muslim community, the answer to that question is yes
based on controversial ads sides
of buses and Chicago Transit Authority stations. The ad has already run in
other major cities, including New York, Detroit and Washington D.C., and it
reads “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the
civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.” As it did in New York, the ad
drew exactly the response desired by Pamela Geller, a conservative blogger with
an organization called the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Geller
continues to hook Muslims with her message of hate, which is of course the very
reaction she’s after. "When you say defeat jihad, she's essentially saying
defeat all Muslim,” says Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Chicago
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It's incredibly
misinformed." Misinformed, sure. Go ahead and label it small-minded as
well, but kooks like Geller are first and foremost looking to provoke a reaction
and stir up controversy, not change anyone’s mind about the issue at hand. Rehab
believes most people associate the word “jihad” with terrorism, which he says
is completely inaccurate. "Jihad for us is daily struggle, it is going to
school, whatever it is people go through,” he countered. Pressure from Muslim
groups directed at the CTA produced another predictable response, a statement
reading in part: “The CTA understands that this ad may be offensive to our
customers. While the courts have ruled this ad is a form of protected speech
under the First Amendment, we object to its divisive message.” Like them or
not, the ads will run for the next four weeks on 10 CTA buses and will generate
in an estimated $45,000 dollars in revenue for the CTA………
- The clock is ticking on one of the best (and weirdest)
directors of a generation. Quentin Tarantino, with both volumes of “Kill
Bill,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” to his credit, has no intention of
becoming the aging director cranking of movies into his 60s and 70s. As the
filmmaker nears the release of his eighth movie, “Django
Unchained,” he has made it clear he plans to retire sooner rather than
later. Tarantino explained that he doesn't want to be an "old
filmmaker" and claims he will retire as a director after two more movies,
for a very clear reason. "Directors don't get better as they get older.
Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end,”
he explained. “I am all about my filmography, and one bad film fucks up three
good ones. When directors get out-of-date, it's not pretty." It was
suggested that fans might want to see how his perspective grows and develops as
he ages and Tarantino left the door open a bit, saying, "Maybe. If I have
something to say, I'll do it. I just don’t want to be an old filmmaker. You
stop when you stop," he continued. "But in a fanciful world, 10
movies in my filmography would be nice.” Despite its name, which makes it sound
like it should be based in Africa or South America, “Django Unchained” a Western set in the American South during the
1800s and stars Jamie Foxx as
Django, a freed slave who teams up with a bounty hunter, played by Christoph
Waltz, in a bid to murder a gang of killers called the Brittle Brothers. The
film debuts on Dec. 25 in the United States and one month later in Europe……..
- Do Jordanians buy the explanation of their prime minister
for his decision to raise prices for
household fuel? The answer would seem to be no. Four days after a massive
uprising across the country sparked by Abdullah Ensour’s "painful
decision" to hike heating and cooking gas by 54 percent and some oil
derivatives by up to 28 percent, the prime minister offered an official
explanation for the increases. He claimed that removing state subsidies on such
products will save funds that will be directed to needier economic sectors even
though the unrest caused by the decision left one person killed and scores more
wounded. Ensour blamed shaky state finances and assured low income Jordanians
that they will be compensated by $600 per year for a household of six. The
explanation comes as the initial rage over the decision is simmering down a
bit, but citizens don’t appear to be completely placated by what they are
hearing from leadership on the issue. Oh, and when protests across a nation
turn into riots that kill one person and injure 75 others, including 58
policemen, that sort of anger tends not to abate in the span of a few
days just because the powers that be roll out an official explanation that does
little or nothing to address the immediate suffering and difficult being
experienced by the masses………
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