- When The Man is threatening a hostile takeover of your
humble abode because you refuse to do a damn bit of upkeep on the place, there
is one and only one response: Paint the f*cking house bright purple and cover
it in images
of pink breast cancer awareness ribbons. That is the brilliant plan od
Denville, N.J. resident owner John Pinto, who has been cited by the city
numerous times over the past few years for maintenance issues. For some odd
reason, the sight of an unkempt house overgrown by weeds and in need of severe
maintenance intervention inspired several neighbors to complain about the
house. Neighbor Brian Walsh is one of the complainers and he said he and other
residents have been battling for more than a decade to get Pinto to clean up
his property. “You look at the back of it — he didn’t paint the back,” Walsh
said. “He painted all sides so everyone can see but not the back.” Because Pinto
doesn’t live in some snooty community with a homeowners’ association that can
dicate basic home appearance standards to residents, the pruple paint job doesn’t
violate any laws or codes. What could shut Pinto’s purple palace down is a
citation in August requiring him to repaint and repair a wall that is
collapsing. The new paint job complies with part of the order, but Walsh
believes Pinto’s choice to paint the house purple shows a bare minimum effort
to comply with the orders and avoid a summons. “What bothers me is that I have
to spray for termites twice a year, because this house is infested,” Walsh added.
“The roof is caving in.” So far, all the city has done to follow up is issue a
statement saying that as long as the property owner is “working towards
compliance, the township is not inclined to issue a summons.” Way to step your
game up, township………
- On the positive side, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appears
headed for reelection to a third five-year term by a landslide. On the
downside, he allegedly did so thanks to massive election fraud. The aftermath
of the election was quite the scene, with Aliyev supporters celebrating his
widely anticipated election victory within hours of the closing of polls and
opposition groups crying fraud to anyone who would listen. Those in favor of
the presi-fraud gathering in front of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
headquarters in Baku and proclaimed the result to be “the Azerbaijani people's
victory." If one believes the official results of a rigged election, Aliyev
received nearly 85 percent of the vote while the united opposition's leading
candidate, Camil Hasanli, was in a distant second at around 5 percent. Hasanli
issued a statement saying, "Total falsification of elections is a brutal
violation of people’s right to elections and is openly disrespectful." He
also claimed his staffers had gathered evidence of violations on a large
scale. "The information that I have been receiving from my observers
from across the country is providing proof of mass falsifications," he
said. "How can you talk about elections where the official results
have been determined a day before the voting?" There are already fun tales
of opposition election observers being beaten and Aliyev supporters allegedly
being driven around in buses to vote at multiple locations and stuff the
ballot. The government has dismissed the claims as the misguided whining of a
bunch of losers and to back up their claim, representatives from the observer
mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said they
had not yet observed any violations. Let the investigations begin……..
- It was only a matter of time. Sooner or later, someone was
going to take the time and spend the money making a truly absurd parody of “The
Hunger Games.” A post-apocalyptic movie about people competing in a deadly game
just to have food to eat is rife for a parody and with a rabid worldwide
following, spoofing the franchise guarantees plenty of attention no matter how
ridiculous the end result on screen. So it is that a new trailer for “The Hunger Games” spoof “The Starving Games” has been
released. The parody is the latest absurdist comedy from writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who previously churned
out the many “Scary Movie”
sequels, “Date Movie,” “Meet The Spartans” and the “Twilight” spoof “Vampires Suck.” For “Starving Games,”
the duo have truly taken it to the extreme with a script that includes
characters called Kantmiss Evershot, Effoff and Peter Malarky. There is also a
character not-so-cleverly named Bruce Willis, suggesting that one of the
world’s biggest movie stars is about to be mocked like perhaps he never has
before. One would guess that the production value for this one will not be
anything close to that of “The Hunger Games” or even for one of Willis’
super-fueled action romps, but that’s typically the point of a parody. The
spoof will hit theaters the second week of November, just two weeks ahead of
the next installment of the non-spoof branch of the franchise, “Catching Fire,”
which will continue the “Hunger Games” saga for all who have been breathlessly
awaiting the next chapter of the story to bring meaning and excitement to their
otherwise empty lives. Jennifer
Lawrence is back in her role as heroine Katniss, joined by returning
cast members Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and Lenny
Kravitz. To bolster the sequel’s star power, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sam
Claflin are also on board………
- The new version of Google Maps is still in beta testing,
but some of the details are beginning to leak out and so far, the upgrades
sound solid. There is a new full-screen interface, improved public transportation
integration and the return of multi-destination trips. In order to add a new
location to an existing route, users need only click the little plus sign below
the list of existing stops. Once all of a person’s destinations are listed, the
stops can be re-ordered by dragging them up or down in order to set the route. Those
who will notice the changes are the people who have been bold enough to begin
using the new version of the mapping service. They have slogged through a
succession of bugs and missteps, while those who have stuck with the old
version of Google Maps never lost the multi-destination feature. Along with
returning the multi-destination feature, there is an addition that will pull
any upcoming flight, hotel, or restaurant reservation on a user’s schedule straight
into Maps whenever they sign in. Searching for a specific airport code, such as
MCO (Orlando) or (DFW) Dallas-Fort Worth would trigger a drop down list with the
user’s upcoming flight’s details. There will also be an infusion of data about
upcoming events in a given area or at specific venues. Searching for concert
venues will yield a list of clubs in the searched-for area and mix in a list of
upcoming shows. The new features sound helpful, especially in Google’s ongoing
quest for world domination…….
- Anyone hoping that the Washington Redskins will change
one of the most offensive nicknames in professional sports, Redskins owner Dan Snyder has a message
for you: Eff off. Snyder, with no less than President Barack Obama and a
growing list of former NFL greats saying it’s time to consider a change, is
once again defending the franchise's nickname, this time in a letter to season-ticket
holders. His argument isn’t that the nickname isn’t offensive to some, but
merely that the nickname is rooted deeply in the team's past and "isn't
just where we came from -- it's who we are." He wrote to fans that he
wanted them to "hear straight from me on the issue” and deemed the
Redskins name “a badge of honor." In his letter, he pointed out that t
four players plus the coach were Native Americans on the first Boston Redskins
roster. Snyder’s letter came just days after President Obama said that if he
were the owner, he would consider changing the name. President or not, Snyder
has remained resolute about not getting rid of the moniker, although he
insisted that he has listened to those who believe differently. "I've
listened carefully to the commentary and perspectives on all sides, and I
respect the feelings of those who are offended by the team name," Snyder
wrote. "But I hope such individuals also try to respect what the name
means, not only for all of us in the extended Washington Redskins family, but
among Native Americans too." His words were less harsh than his past
comments on the issue and adding in fun factoids such as the presence of a
plaque on a wall at Redskins Park that was given to former coach George Allen
from the Red Cloud Athletic Fund, which is located on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota, suggest that Snyder is taking a different tact
this time around. There is something to be said for the fact that there is
history in the nickname, but there is also much to be said for the fact that
the world has changed and Snyder cannot simply stand his ground as an arrogant,
Lilliputian billionaire who refuses to change because he’s not going to be told
what to do. He may like singing the team's fight song, "Hail to the Redskins,”
but singing that song since he was a child doesn’t mean he can continue using
the nickname if it is truly offensive. Besides, just imagine the potential for
marketing and new product sales with a new nickname, color scheme and
uniforms……….
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