- Ian Poulter may
not have won last weekend’s PGA Championship, but he should go down as one of
the biggest winners of the weekend. Jason Dufner took home the trophy as the
champion of the season’s final major and the massive payday that went with it,
but Poulter deserves a trophy of his own for a short Twitter rant addressing
one of the biggest problems with golf at the moment. As he came to the aid of
fellow British tour pro Lee Westwood as Westwood dueled with some of his own
followers who talked junk after his less-than-stellar outing at the tournament,
Poulter tweeted, "You been having some twitter trouble. Let me know next
time we both let them have it. Funnier." That was the launch point for a
mini-diatribe about the growing trend of ass hats in the gallery at PGA Tour
event yelling increasingly bizarre phrases after players' tee shots. Morons
have been yelling “Get in the hole!” on shots from as far as 600 yards away for
some time, but the comments has grown weirder and weirder by the week and
Poulter has heared just about enough. He retweeted the thoughts of one of his
followers: “RT @FredNOLA Will you cop my lawyers fees if I punch the next person I
see yell mashed potatoes or in da hole? No how about a Signed glove.” If
@FredNOLA won't, then someone certainly should and if no one is willing to step
it up, Poulter seems willing to tackle the issue on his own. “I'm calling for
@PGATOUR to step in & stop this shouting out right after shots. Message in
to @PGATOUR with your thoughts. Tazer them?” Sadly, a Taser blast might be a
nicer response than the resident tools in the crowd deserve when they shout the
most moronic thing possible at the top of their lungs…….
- Believe it or not, an American push to reduce soot and
other heat-trapping air pollutants worldwide is not saving the environment at
the rate many had hoped. The campaign was initially billed as a new front in
the fight against climate change, but a study published on Monday suggests its
impact has been minimal. Thirty nations have joined the initiative to limit
short-lived air pollutants as a new way to curb temperature rises, protect
health and aid crop growth, but the report said that extra measures to reduce
such pollutants, led by soot and methane, would cut temperature rises by only 0.29
degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. "Reductions of methane and black carbon (soot)
would likely have only a modest impact on near-term global climate
warming," the authors at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory wrote. The entire plan is predicated upon the idea that developing
nations would drop high-polluting technologies such as wood-fired stoves anyway
as their economies grew, but instead, the world has learned that more wealth
did not necessarily mean cleaner air. Learning that one tactic does not
automatically result in cleaner air may be a shock, but it’s one gradually
sinking in. It is becoming clear that efforts to reduce soot, methane and other
gases that break down quickly in the air could substantially complement a wider
drive to slow global warming, but they do not form an effective strategy all on
their own. Just don’t tell that to the Climate and Climate and Clean Air
Coalition, which continues to contend that simple measures such as tapping
methane that would otherwise leak from trash dumps as a source of energy,
changing cows' diets or reducing flaring of natural gas can have big benefits.
Maybe a more comprehensive plan is needed, but it isn’t imminent. Emerging
economies such as China and India have not joined the Coalition and have
reiterated that its membership of mostly developed nations including Japan,
Canada and Australia should focus more on curbing carbon dioxide, released from
burning fossil fuels. "Our results don't change previous findings that
soot and methane emission reductions would have beneficial effects for health
and agriculture,” said Steven Smith, lead author of the study. Thanks for
stating the obvious, Steve-O……..
- Scandinavian skinny dippers, be forewarned. Your time in
the water sans clothing is at your own risk if you happen to be of the male
persuasion. Men near the Danish/Swedish strait of Oresund have been warned that
their junk is in danger if they go into the water without pants thanks to a
fish infamous for munching on testicles. The Pacu, native to South America, has
somehow made its way to Scandinavia and no one is quite sure how. A Pacu was found
by a fisherman in the strait, according to experts at the Natural History
Museum of Denmark. The fish is a cousin of the piranha and with big teeth menacing
looks, it is enough to scare any wedding tackle-loving dude. Ironically, the
Pacu is actually known as a friendly cousin of the piranha. While the Pacu’s teeth
aren't as sharp as the piranha's, they are perfectly capable of severing both
fishing lines and fingers. Interestingly enough, the Pacu is vegetarian, unlike
its meat-eating cousin. So why is it known for chomping down on a very
different kind of nuts than the nature-grown variety it typically eats? That
love of nuts sometimes is mistakenly applied to male reproductive organs. One
mystery that no one has been able to explain thus far is how the South American
fish ended up in Scandinavian waters. "Amateur aquarium owners and fish
farmers are "the usual suspects" when we meet fish where they do not
belong," said the museum's Peter Rask Moller. Museum officials plan to perform
a genetic examination on the Pacu found in the fisherman's nets to learn more
about the fish. For now, the onus remains on swimmers to protect their
jewels……..
- Rodeo clowns are rarely taken seriously. Even amongst
the low-standard-using world of clowns, rodeo clowns are something of a joke.
Perhaps this incident will change that fact. A rodeo clown and the announcer at the Missouri
State Fair decided a state fair was a wonderful place to clown the President of
the United States. During the bull riding competition on Saturday night, announcer
Mark Ficken, president of the Missouri Cowboy Rodeo Association and a school
superintendent, announced a special guest: "President Obama." A
second voice came over the loudspeaker and announced, "We're going to
stomp Obama now." A clown entered the ring and the second voice instructed
him not to move once the bull entered the ring. The clown then responded, "Hey,
I know I'm a clown. He's just running around acting like one. Doesn't know he
is one." For some odd reason, the crowd didn’t take well to the president
being insulted and many complained to fair officials. Their outrage quickly
spread to organizers and politicians, many of whom rushed to condemn the stunt.
The Missouri State Fair Commission called it "unacceptable" and said
the clown has been banned "from ever participating or performing at the
Missouri State Fair again." "The commission reiterated that the
statements and actions Saturday night were inappropriate and not in keeping
with the fair's standards," the agency said in a written statement.
"The Missouri State Fair apologizes for the unconscionable stunt." The
board of directors at Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association issued their own
apology and moved to distance themselves from the clown. "The Sport of
Rodeo is not meant to be a political platform. We are taking measures by
training and educating our contract acts to prevent anything like this from
ever happening again," a statement on the group's website said. "All
Members of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association are very proud of our Country
and our President." Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder also slammed the skit
and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill agreed, pointing out that the state fair is
funded by taxpayer dollars and should be held to higher standards, unlike the
Congress she serves in……
- This release will go out to the ones REM loves…its
respective members’ favorite charities’ bank accounts. Now in musical
retirement, the iconic college rock band have expressed an interest in putting
out their
rare, fan club-only single releases as a charity box set. The band called it
quits in 2011, but guitarist Peter Buck has said that he would like to put out
the band's special releases eventually. REM released a limited edition
two-track single every year from 1988-2011 , but only 6,000 of each were
pressed. They were given away to members of the band's fan club and Buck would
like to make them available to the masses. "There were like 24 of them,
which makes about 50 songs. We'll put them in a big box set for charity one
day... I just liked the idea. I was never in the Beatles fan club but... I
really liked the fact you would get a weird thing in the mail every year,” Buck
said. “So every year, REM put out a record. It was all material that had never
been released anywhere else." The releases were usually eccentric and
included spoofed Christmas music, cover songs and collaborations. Buck releases
his own self-titled solo album last year and it too had just 6,000 copies
produced. "I probably met everyone that bought the thing, but I like that.
That's the level I'm working on. It's very non-professional,” Buck added. He is
working on his second LP and plans to release it around Christmas exclusively
on vinyl. REM has remained relevant on the music scene even in retirement and
Jay-Z recently included some of the lyrics from the band on his latest album
“Magna Carta Holy Grail.” "I've known Jay for a long time, he's super
cool, super grounded, super smart and super talented," REM frontman
Michael Stipe said. “We're thrilled (for our lyrics) to be included, it's a
really great honor.” Maybe Stipe and the fellas have some juice left after
all……
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