Saturday, June 29, 2013

Border-crashing simulations, Floyd Mayweather sells and Google's video games


- Snoop Lion, aka Snoop Dogg, has long resided in “I can collaborate with whoever the hell I want because I’f F’ing Snoop” territory, but even that doesn’t fully explain his collaboration with Eddie Murphy on a new reggae song. Snoop has swerved into the world of reggae for a while, leaving hip-hop behind and channeling his new Snoop Lion persona. Murphy doesn’t exactly scream either musical credibility or reggae, but he and Snoop have teamed up for a track titled “Redlight.” Not only does Murphy appear on the track, but it is officially designated as a song by "Eddie Murphy Feat. Snoop Lion aka Snoop Dogg" on YouTube, where it debuted this week. Snoop’s first album under his new reggae persona dropped in April and featured collaborations with an eclectic and head-scratching list of characters including Drake, Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes, Akon, Rita Ora and Miley Cyrus. It’s already been an interesting year for Snoop, who claimed last month that he actually operated as an actual pimp in 2003. "It was my program. City to city, titty to titty, hotel room to hotel room, athlete to athlete, entertainer to entertainer," he said. "If I'm in a city where the Denver Broncos or the Nuggets play, I get a couple of their players to come hang out, pick and choose, and whichever one you like comes with a number. A lot of athletes bought p*ssy from me." A past as a pimp and a present as a reggae star who hits the studio with a slew of hack pop singers and A-list actors who haven’t made a good movie in more than a decade proves once again that Snoop is a man of many sides and interests, one who thought it was a good idea to help Murphy revive a subpar singing career he tried to get going in the '80s and '90s, when he released three albums and actually made a brief appearance on the charts with 1985’s “Party All the Time,” produced by the crack pipe-wielding Rick James…….


- Google is at it again. The Web search titan is indeed hell-bent on world domination and now it’s after the minds of gamers. Word on the street is that Google is looking to get into the video game hardware market with a new console running its Android mobile operating system. The plan is to extend the reach of Android beyond smartphones and tablets to compete better with its tech rivals. To that end, it is also reportedly developing an Android smartwatch, as well as a second version of its Android-powered Nexus Q streaming device. Rather than team up with a partner with experience in the gaming or watch fields, Google will design and market the devices itself with the intention of releasing at least one of the new devices this fall. The Android-based Ouya console went on sale this week and received a largely tepid response, so Google could either view that as a negative sign for its own efforts or a learning experience so it doesn’t fall short where Ouya has. Then again, Ouya raised $8.6 million on Kickstarter last year for its sub-$100 console and there were few indications that it would have such a so-so launch. Google’s push to develop a gaming system is believed to be motivated by its desire to compete with Apple, which is reportedly working on its own video game console that would be integrated with its next Apple TV product. If and when Google’s gaming system does launch, it is likely to use the next version of Android, widely referred to as Key Lime Pie. Both Apple and Google are expected to develop low-cost smartphones to further their reach into emerging markets, continuing their duel for tech superiority……..


- This is not going to help whittle down Floyd Mayweather’s ginormous ego. As Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez prepare to face off on Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the bout is already breaking records. Two months before the fight, it has already broken the all-time live gate record for a boxing event after selling out on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after tickets went on sale. Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer confirmed that the fight will generate a minimum of $18,647,000 in ticket sales and "it could go up to a little shy of $19 million depending on the number of comps that are given out. It's going to be the record. Mayweather also broke the record back in 2007, when he outpointed Oscar De La Hoya to win a junior middleweight title at the MGM Grand. That fight broke every boxing revenue record, including the all-time pay-per-view mark with nearly 2.5 million units sold and the all-time gate record of $18,419,200. The only factor that could mitigate the final gate number is that the exact figure from the number of complimentary tickets handed out to famous folks. "Everything is gigantic with this fight," Schaefer said. "Two months out and you can say within 2 percent what the gate is. The more comps, the less the gross will be but the casino gets a certain number of comps, the fighters get a certain number of comps, Showtime and Showtime Pay-Per-View get some, the sponsors get some. I have to go through the list. I don't want to have too many comps." Mayweather himself was in top braggadocious form, insisting that he expected the sellout all along on account of how awesome he is. "This sellout doesn't surprise me because this is what happens when the best fights the best,” Mayweather said. “They're going to see a hell of a show on Sept. 14." In addition to the gate record, Schaefer said the fight also has set the record for a guarantee on national closed circuit revenue, which is derived from people who pay to watch the fight at bars and restaurants. Part of the engine driving that dollar train is the cost Televisa paid for the Mexicanelevision rights for Mayweather-Alvarez, which reportedly went for four times as much as they did for De La Hoya-Mayweather. The promotional blitz for the fight is ongoing to drive up the profits even more and if the pay-per-view numbers match what has already happened, Mayweather will be able to buy himself another private jet or two after the bout………


- Mexican theme parks do NOT receive enough credit. They, like so many other parks in other countries, do attempt to attract visitors with extreme roller-coasters and spooky haunted houses, but some step their game up and go beyond the expected. Parque EcoAlberto in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo is one such park and while it has traditionally been successfully frightening park visitors for $20 a ticket, park officials have come up with a new concept to help people experience what it means to be Mexican. The three to four hour “Night Walk” simulates an illegal border crossing from Mexico into the United States. As part of their border-crashing experience, visitors are led by fake smugglers on a seven mile hike that includes climbing over fences and trying to evade barking dogs, flashlight beams and other obstructions in an effort to elude fake border patrol officers. The park is actually located about 800 miles from the actual Mexico-U.S. border, but that doesn’t mean it cannot trivialize an illegal experience that creates headaches on both sides of the border. It’s a brilliant idea because scaring people with jokers in skeleton masks and blood clothes at a haunted house is so tired and played out. Park officials say the goal of their new attraction is to generate income for the local community and discouraging young people from leaving town by showing them how dangerous and difficult an illegal crossing can be – seriously. "Our objective is to stop the immigration that exists amongst our citizens, principally from the state of Mexico to the U.S.," said Maribel Garcia, a park administrator. Wait….you think paying $20 to get into a second-rate amusement park for a fake border crossing with a fake coyote to ferry they to a fake new country that exists in reality some 800 miles north is going to dissuade folks from trying it for real? If the plan to double the number of border patrol agents and add 700 miles of fencing along the U.S. border makes it through Congress, that could be the next big upgrade to the Night Walk………


- Attention oranged-up, wealthy south Florida businessmen who will head to the bar this weekend and order one too many gin martinis: Be on the lookout for a group of what authorities are describing as four "foxy thieves" they say are drugging men they pick up at high-end bars and stealing tens of thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry, guns and other valuables. The public is being asked for help in finding the four suspects, all in their 20s, who have arrest warrants issued for them. The Broward County Sheriff's Office released photos of the four suspects, but believe there may be more women involved in the ring. "They're attractive women that go into a bar and they have a scam and they work it again and again," said Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. Their scam is simple: Go to a posh bar, flirt with some desperate, pathetic middle-age or older man wearing expensive jewelry, get invited back to his home and slip a drug into his drink to render him unconscious and allow the foxy thief in question to rob him and leave before he wakes up. That’s the reported M.O. for Subhanna Beyah, 25, Johnnina Miller, 25, Keshia Clark, 27 and Ryan Elkins, 23, who have allegedly been carrying out this same plan for the past few months in upscale bars in South Florida. So far, detectives have identified four of the women's victims, Moschella said, while they believe other "haven't come forward because they're embarrassed." "This investigation is by no means over," Moschella added. "We anticipate identifying other suspects and other victims." One of the victims, Scott Rosen, claims he was scammed by two of the suspects after meeting them at YOLO, a popular bar in Fort Lauderdale's business district. He took them back to his home, where he says one of the women distracted him while the other made him a drink. When he woke up, more than $250,000 worth of his personal items were gone, including guns, diamonds and a Rolex watch. Police say the women use fake names for the scam and each of them is charged with one count of grand theft. Broward County authorities are offering a $1,000 reward for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest, so maybe a wealthy dude or two is willing to serve as bait in order to help bring this ring of hotties down………

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