- There are many reasons to hate whiny British pop singer Robbie
Williams. In fact, just count the number of crappy songs in his abysmal catalog
and there are at least that many reasons to despise him. But not content to
leave his hate-ability at its existing standard, Williams had added old-person
abuser to the ledger with the video for his new single “Candy.” In the video,
the singer runs through the streets of London as he attempts to get close to a
mystery female with whom he is infatuated. For some reason, along the way he
faces the difficult decision of whether or not to go Mike Tyson on an elderly
woman’s face in order to clear a path for the object of his affections. He
ultimately elects to deck the old broad and the choice has the official agency for
old people in Britain, the National Pensioners Convention, extremely angry. NPC
general secretary Dot Gibson squared Williams up in her crosshairs and
delivered an uppercut of her own. ''Celebrities should think twice before
making ageist comments which seem to imply that pensioners should be treated in
a degrading way,” Gibson fumed. “Elder abuse is a serious issue and needs to be
tackled rather than seen as a bit of a joke. We need to be uniting the
generations, not suggesting that they are different. Pensioners are just young
people who grew older.” True, but Williams isn't advocating punching every old
person in the face; only the ones who get in his way in music videos in which
he’s persuing a hot chick. A spokesperson for Williams insisted the video should
not be taken literally and that the singer does not advocate violence in any
form. ''Robbie Williams does not condone violence in any way; the plot for this
particular video did involve some aggressive scenes but they in no way reflect
his views on violence in real life. He was playing a particular role in the
video,” the spokesperson said. Then again, after a week in which Williams
threatened to “break someone’s legs” is Radio 1 played Madonna’s music after
refusing to play “Candy,” he may in fact have a violence problem………..
- A very important vote took place in California on Tuesday.
No, not a staunchly liberal state voting to award its 44 electoral votes to Barack
Obama and help ensure his re-election, although that did matter. The much
bigger issue in California was on the ballot in the San Fernando Valley, where
a controversial measure passed that could have a tremendously negative impact
on the valley’s biggest industry: porn. Voters boldly approved Measure B, an ordinance that would
require porn actors to wear condoms while making XXX films. The news rocked the
porn industry and as the dust settled from the election Wednesday, porn
producers threatened to pack up their filthy mattresses, ridiculous scripts and
lack of dignity and leave Los Angeles County. More than 55 percent of voters
said yes to Measure B, an initiative spearheaded by the AIDS Healthcare
Foundation. The fact that a non-governmental organization and one focused
solely on health-related issues was the one driving the issue should be cause
for the porn industry to take a step back and think, but the skanks, whores and
dirtbags who make the industry go are thinking only about a new location to
shoot their low-budget filth. Even with the law in effect, enforcing it will be
an arduous (and disgusting) task. The county health department will be
responsible for monitoring sexual activity in the same way they patrol
restaurants and nail salons, but a workplace where one employee is plowing
another on camera while a room full of other employees looks on isn't really
like any other place of employment. Porn productions will have to apply for a
permit and be subjected to on-site inspections just like any trendy sushi joint
in SoCal. Moving on won't be easy for porn production companies because
California and New Hampshire (yes, New Hampshire) are the only states in the
union where filming XXX videos is legal. The industry could drop anchor in Riverside
or Ventura County, but in the interim industry leaders have sent a letter to
the county’s Board of Supervisors vowing to fight the so-called “porn police.”
It truly is heartwarming to see people band together and fight for what
matters……….
- The tablet wars are heating up not only for computer
makers, but also for the wireless service providers whose networks keep those
tablets connected to the world. AT&T is looking for a leg up on the
competition by announcing Friday that it will offer $100 off any cellular-enabled iPad or
Android tablet purchase in exchange for committing to a 2-year data plan
contract. Locking in for two years is a lot to ask, especially given that the
subsidy is less than what's typically applied smartphones, which tend to be in
the range of $200-400. It is believed to be the first time a carrier has
offered a device subsidy for a tablet, although smartphone buyers have reaped
the benefit for years. Those with tablet and data-commitment phobia can still
pay full price and stick with standard month-to-month data plans, although
taking this new offer will allow regular data users to save almost the full
price of the extra LTE and GPS hardware in the iPad "Wi-Fi +
Cellular" models. AT&T Chief Marketing Officer David Christopher
announced the new deal and hailed the company’s range of tablets available on
its network. "We're giving our customers even more reason to stock up on
the hottest device of the season, and just in time for the holidays," he
said in a statement. In addition to the new offer, customers can still add
their tablet to an existing "Mobile Share" data plan for $10 per
month, and use the same bucket of gigabytes of data as a smartphone, laptop, or
other combination of devices. Best of all, they can do all of this while
also paying in the range of $100 a month for unlimited texting, calls and data
on their smartphone………
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Argentina was rocking Thursday
night with its biggest anti-government demonstration in years and the target was President
Cristina Fernandez. Hundreds of thousands of angry Argentineans took to the
streets to rage over inflation, crime and corruption. They flooded the
capital’s streets for nearly four hours and filled the iconic Plaza de Mayo in
front of the pink presidential palace. They encircled the city’s iconic obelisk
and chanted, “We’re not afraid.” Sadly, the protest remained mostly peaceful
and had a family-friendly atmosphere. There were parents with their infants in
strollers and grandparents in wheelchairs and the all-ages feel did lend a
certain lameness to the proceedings. No police vehicles were overturned or
burned, no store windows were smashed and no looting took place. There were no
water cannons, no blasts of teat gas and no truncheons used. Yes, the march
continued through downtown Buenos Aires until nearly midnight, but there simply
was no enough rage. A few people banged on pots, whistled or waved the
Argentine flag and there were banners that read: “Stop the wave of Argentines
killed by crime, enough with corruption and say no to the constitutional
reform,” but even those didn’t do the trick. Protest banners need to be direct,
to the point and memorable. That message is long, wordy and boring. There is an
ample supply of motivation with high inflation, violent crime and high-profile
corruption, but the motivation and the message aren't connecting. A spokesman
for Buenos Aires’ Justice and Security Ministry estimated attendance for the
protest at 700,000, so go ahead and assume it was closer to 800,000 or more.
There were satellite protests in major cities such as Cordoba, Mendoza and La
Plata and also outside Argentine embassies and consulates from Chile to
Australia. The worldwide nature of the effort was sort of cool, but not as cool
as the sight of tear gas wafting in the air and hand-to-band combat between
rioters and The Man……….
- Arguably the biggest game in the NFL this weekend will be
Sunday night in Houston, in prime time, where the 7-1 Chicago Bears will face
the 7-1 Houston Texans in a matchup of two of the league’s best teams. If the
Bears are going to go on the road and win, they will need another stellar
performance from their ball-hawking defense, which has created 28 turnovers and
scored seven touchdowns through eight games. One of the key players in that
defensive surge has been cornerback Charles Tillman, who forced four fumbles
Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Tillman leads the NFL in forced fumbles
and is routinely hammer-fisting the ball out of opponents’ hands so far this
season. However, there is a chance the Bears will line up Sunday without him
because Tillman’s wife Jackie is back home, about to deliver the couple’s
fourth child. Ideally a player and his lady would have a child during the
offseason or at least during the week so he didn’t have to miss a game, but the
timing doesn’t always work out and if his wife gives birth Sunday, Tillman has
made it clear he will be with her and not with his team in Houston. That stance
earned him plenty of heat earlier in the week, heat that has somewhat abated
now that it appears Jackie Tillman will give birth on Monday, allowing her
husband to play Sunday and then fly back to be with her. Many critics have
suggested that it is wrong for a player to miss a game, i.e. his job, for the
birth of a child. Those people are morons with misplaced priorities, of course,
but they have been vocal and belligerent about their point of view. Even though
Steelers
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the same stance as Tillman regarding the
birth of his own child, the haters were having none of it. Suggesting that any
job, especially playing football, is more important than being in the room when
one of your children comes into the world begs the question of whether those
advocating this position are simply too hyped up on football or if their distorted
perspective extends to the rest of their lives as well……….
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