- Adult cartoons have always seemed to miss the point, the
point being that cartoons are supposed to be silly, funny, kid-oriented
programming built on simplistic ridiculousness that children can understand. In
spite of this fact, “The Simpsons” has remained on the air for two decades and
has proven to be one of Fox’s steadiest shows during that time. Fox has also
leaned heavily on fellow adult cartoon “Family Guy” and received consistent
ratings as well. That makes it a natural fit for the two shows to cross-pollinate,
something they will do this coming TV season when the stars of “Family Guy” will make
a guest appearance on “The Simpsons.” Fox confirmed that “Family Guy” stars the Griffin family will end
up in Springfield in an episode titled “The Simpsons Guy,” which is
slated to air this fall. A Fox episode synopsis says that the Griffins and the
Simpsons "get along famously" and Homer Simpson "welcomes his
new 'albino' friends with open arms.” Also according to the synopsis, Marge and
Lois ditch housework for a heart-to-heart, while Lisa becomes a mentor to Meg
and Stewie gets obsessed with Bart and his pranks. The only point of contention
will be patriarchs Homer and Peter battling over the best beer in town:
Pawtucket or Duff. "Fox hasn't spent this much money since they took Simon
Cowell tight T-shirt shopping," said Family Guy's Peter Griffin in
a press release. The two shows have a history of collaborating, as Family
Guy creator Seth MacFarlane
guested on an episode of “The Simpsons” earlier this year, Homer Simpson
made a cameo on “Family Guy in 2012” and Peter Griffin briefly popped up
on “The Simpsons” all the way back in 2002……
- Americans, now is the time to learn Arabic and apply for
citizenship in Dubai. No, not because it is a nation of opulence and excess
wherein building multimillion-dollar skyscrapers is something children do after
opening up their lemonade stand in the morning and raking in the profits until
lunch time. There can be no better place for people from the world’s FAT-test
nation to repatriate now that the tiny Emirate has launched a weight-loss
initiative that will reward citizens with gold for shedding pounds. This
limited-time offer will reward fatties with one gram of gold for every kilogram
(2.2 pounds) lost over the course of a one-month challenge. “It’s a good idea.
It will encourage the people. Gold is gold and money is money,” a tourism
spokesperson said. “People are eating more and more.” One gram of gold is worth
about $41 at current market prices and a in one of the most obese nations In one
of the most obese nations in the world, that could equate to some real wealth
being dishes out. A recent United Nations report placed the obesity percentage
in the United Arab Emirates - a collection of seven Emirates including Dubai –
at 35 percent. That puts the UAE dangerously close to running down the United
States, where the obesity rate is 35.7 percent. Another recent study, this one
by the World Health Organization, , 30.2 percent of men and 43 percent of women
in the UAE are obese. Medical experts blame a lack of exercise, the
prevalence of fast food and the wealth-induced laziness of Dubai’s resident for
the FAT problem. It’s an odd development, given that just over half a century
ago the UAE was populated by nomadic Bedouin desert farmers and coastal
dwellers. The discovery of oil changed all of that and has now led to the “Your
Weight in Gold” campaign, in which the three biggest losers will have a chance
to participate in a draw to win a gold coin worth $5,545. Those looking to shed
pounds can make use of Dubai’s well-groomed, ocean-side tracks for the running,
walking and bike riding they apparently haven't been doing much of………
- Mike Tyson’s renovation into renaissance man continues. Now
out of boxing as an active competitor and living life as a reformed crazy man
who trains pigeons and eats healthy, Tyson has to find a way to fill his free
time between appearances in increasingly terrible sequels to “The Hangover.” He
has his next endeavor and eight years after retiring from boxing after a knockout loss to Kevin McBride in 2005, he will
make his first substantial return to the sport. The closest he has come in the
past eight years was talking about his career in his hit one-man stage show and
appearing for his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
As of this week, Tyson is entering the promotional end of the sport and is
thrilled to be there. "I thought about it, I talked to my wife [Kiki]
about it and we thought we wanted to do it," Tyson said of his new
company, Iron Mike Productions. "I feel so awesome to be involved with the
game again. That just feels so awesome." His first event will take place
Aug. 23 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y., with junior
lightweight world titleholder Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) in his first title
defense against Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs) in the main event and Claudio
Marrero (14-0, 11 KOs) taking on Jesus Andres Cuellar (22-1, 18 KOs) for a
vacant interim featherweight title in the co-feature. Tyson will partner with
Acquinity Sports, a Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based promotional company that has
been around for about two years and has an existing talent base that includes
Mendez and Marrero. Tyson is essentially taking over the company and giving it
a new name. "They gave me a call and believed we could help each
other," Tyson said of Jonas and Henry Rivalta, who heads boxing operations
for the company. "We struck up a deal where we would form Iron Mike
Productions. I just thought that would be something remarkable because I always
wanted to be in boxing but I was unable to because of all the stuff that I've
done that back in the sport has to be good for boxing, which is struggling
mightily for star power. The fact that Tyson remains one of the most famous
fighters ever and a pop culture icon because of his long-ago in-ring success
speaks to how few stars boxing has these days. He vowed to be hands-on in
running the business and said his main goal is to help the fighters while also
making a few dollars………
- Chimpanzees and orangutans have fairly solid
memories, according to a new study carried out by Gema Martin-Ordas
of Aarhus University in Denmark. In the study, these primates were able to remember past events when
presented with sensory reminders. Both species were able to locate a useful
tool that had been hidden and do so three years after performing a task with
it only four times. They were also able to recall a unique event two weeks
later and that led Ordas’ team to theorize that memory for past events is not
unique to humans. In the study, chimps and orangutans were presented with two
boxes in different rooms, one of which had useful tools, the other useless
ones. No, the useless tools were not former “Jersey Shore” cast members, by the
way. The primates could earn a reward by successfully retrieving the useful
tools. Three years later, they were able to retrieve the tools and use them correctly.
The cues used by the researchers seemed to triggered the apes' memories. Some
90 percent of the apes who experienced the event three years earlier found the
tool in the correct location almost instantly. "Our data, and other
emerging evidence, keep challenging the idea of non-human animals being stuck
in time," Ordas said. "We show not only that chimpanzees and
orangutans remember events that happened two weeks or three years ago, but also
that they can remember them even when they are not expecting to have to recall
those events at a later time. What this shows is that the episodic memory
system in humans is not as unique as we thought it was, as we share features
with non-human primates." The one major difference shown by the study is
the lack of an ability to remember when an event happened along with recalling what,
where and when it took place. Still, it was a solid primate performance under
pressure…….
- Losers abound in the world. The Internet offers
consistent proof of this fact and the Katz family of New Haven, Conn. is
reinforcing that reality. The Katz clan has an honorable mission, but that
doesn’t make how they are going about accomplishing it cool. Their plan is to get young people to eat healthier. Their
means of doing so a music video designed to “un-process” teens. "We've
been processing food. Now we're processing you. We're here to climb in your
mind. We will control what you chew,” son Gabe Katz says in the video. "They
process the food in a factory manufacturing and they process you that their
bright and colorful commercial, to think that this product is best for you.”
The video is a spoof of “The Matrix,” which is apparently supposed to appeal to
teens even though the trilogy came to an end in 2003, making it about as
current as “The Cosby Show” for most under the age of 18. The video was
produced by The Turn The Tide Foundation, a.k.a. the Katz family, and was
released on YouTube. "Processed foods, when you see a long list of
ingredients, back away number one," Gabe Katz added. "A banana, all
it has in it is a banana, so it's obviously great for you." In the
clownish video, Katz’s sisters Valerie and Natalia sing and dance along with
him. "Everything is not black and white. You have to really look into what
food you're eating," Valerie Katz added. “It's really important to eat
healthy. Know what you're putting in your body." The three Katz children
have apparently been inspired by their father, well-known health expert and
author Dr. David Katz. Dr. Katz heads
up the Yale-Griffin Prevention Center and has reached out to Connecticut’s
public schools and asked them to upgrade their cafeteria offerings. "We
want to develop a whole educational curriculum around music videos and focus on
a whole series of messages about both the importance of eating well and being
physically active," said Dr. Katz. "But also the power the kids have
to take this into their own hands and do something really good with
it." It’s a great concept, but less corny music videos is probably
the way to go……
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