- There is no better or more appropriate way to celebrate a
momentous occasion in the history of your troubled nation than going into your
desk drawer, bringing out your favorite firearm and squeezing off a few rounds
into the air. Such was life in the streets of Bangui, the capital of the
embattled Central
African Republic, after the president of the war-torn nation stepped down amid
international efforts to stem a growing humanitarian crisis. President Michel
Djotodia announced his resignation at a regional summit in neighboring Chad and
it took his constituents all of five seconds to collect their ammo and rush
outside for a shoot-e-nanny. Djotodia’s resignation came after international
pressure to end violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands in a country
rife with resources but mired in poverty. His reign was a short one after being
swept to power late last year when a loose largely Muslim grouping known as
Seleka took control of the capital. That was followed by several months of
blatant abuses of power that prompted Christian communities to create defense
militiamen. The result was hundreds of deaths in a bloody civil war that
threatened to plunge the country into further chaos. Of course, the only proper
way to commemorate the end of such a time of tyranny is to recklessly send
bullets flying into the sky and hope they don’t hit anyone when they come down,
mimicking the celebrations many American sports fans engage in when their
favorite team wins a championship. For now, Central African Republic will
remain a nation without a president as talks to select new leadership are planned
to take place in the capital, Bangui, at a future date………
- CBS likes to brag about having the best or most-watched
shows in certain categories or genres of television, but its offerings must not
be superior enough or else the network wouldn’t be creating a new division to develop
miniseries and live "event" programming. Citing changing tastes in
television, CBS's entertainment chief announced Wednesday that the network is
attempting to duplicate the success of its miniseries "Under the
Dome" last summer with the help of a new executive, Stacy Mandelberg of
Von Zerneck/Sertner Films. Mandelberg will oversee the effort, according to network
entertainment president Nina Tassler. “Dome,” a miniseries based on a novel by
Stephen King, returns for its second season June 30. A second short series,
“Extant,” will be produced by Steven Spielberg and star Halle Berry as an
astronaut returning to Earth pregnant with an alien baby. CBS has also inked
producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, to adapt the historical novel
"The Dovekeepers" to television following their success with the
History channel series "The Bible." "It gives you the
opportunity to get more original projects on the air," Tassler said. CBS
is actually behind the curve on this one, as Fox launched a similar department
last year and that department cranked out the “24” movie that will air this
summer. NBC’s live remake of “The Sound of music” was the Peacock’s first real
foray into the area, leaving CBS with ground to make up. The ever-increasing
number of viewers watching online or recording their favorite shows to watch
later has placed a premium on programming that can draw a live audience —
awards shows, sporting events and the like. On the opposite side of the ledger,
show creators are attracted to projects that are shorter and less demanding
than broadcast television’s typical 22-episode season. Such projects also give networks fodder
for the summer months, when they once ran an endless cycle of reruns from their
most popular shows. Enlisting the likes of Spielberg, King and Burnett helps as
well……..
- Stay classy, Arizona state Sen. Don Shooter. Shooter is a straight
shooter who isn't even bothering to pretend that he holds elected office out of
some noble sense of obligation to fight for the people he represents in his
home district. No, this forthright legislator is bold enough to blackmail his
own state and tell the world all about it. Shooter admitted this week that he
will continue to take free tickets to sporting events, shows and concerts from
lobbyists unless and until he gets a raise. “$24,000 a year,” Shooter said
referring to his legislative salary, “Give us a raise, we’ll buy our own
tickets.” It’s a brilliant point and one that in no way should offend residents
in Shooter’s district who make that amount of money or less and must cobble
together extra money to attend a game or two every year for their favorite
sports team. Shooter’s remarks come a scant four years after the Fiesta Bowl
scandal left a black mark on the state legislature, but he is adamant that
freebies like football tickets help supplement his pay. “It costs a lot of
money to do this job, there’s an opportunity cost,” Shooter added. His district
is based in Yuma and without a doubt, residents of htat fine city are beaming
with pride today over their local lawmaker. The comments came just days after several
lawmakers introduced legislation this week seeking to ban legislators from
taking sports and entertainment tickets from lobbyists. Sen. Michele Reagan, a
Scottsdale Republican, is the main sponsor of the bill and thus should probably
be on the lookout for Shooter waiting outside her office door with a sock full
of pennies in the days ahead. “People like going to these events and I like
going to these events,” Reagan said. “Nothing says you can’t go. You can go to
an event, just pay for your ticket. That’s what the public has to do.”
Sorry, Sen. Buzzkill, but logic and reason have no place in this debate. It
could not matter less in this case….and not just because back in 2010, she was
one more than 30 lawmakers caught up in the Fiesta Bowl scandal where lobbyists
for the bowl game lavished free meals, sporting tickets, and trips to football
games across the country on lawmakers. She and her fellow gravy trainers were
eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and Shooter is damn well not giving up his
seat on that gravy train without a fight………
- Why do birds suddenly appear….and form into a flying V
every time they take to the skies? According to researcher James Usherwood of
Britain's Royal Veterinary College, there is a solid reason. The first extreme
close-up of birds flying in a V formation is at the heart of Usherwood’s work
and he and his team were able birds position themselves and time their wing
beats so perfectly that, according to aerodynamic theory, they minimize their
energy use. Completing this task requires each bird to monitor subtle changes
in its flight mates' flight and alter its own path and stroke accordingly. It
is well-known that aircraft can save fuel by flying in a V, thus giving rise to
the idea that birds could conserve energy by doing the same. However, measuring
this theory in the field is difficult. "It's not something you can do with
a pair of binoculars and timing it, ‘One Mississippi, two Mississippi,'"
Usherwood explained. The invention of über-precise, lightweight GPS instruments
and sensors made such research possible and Usherwood selected northern bald
ibises, a highly endangered species raised in captivity in Austria for
reintroduction to the wild, for the study. The ibises were chosen because every
year, a flock of them takes to the air escorted by a skeletal aircraft known as
a paraplane, which carries the birds' human foster parent and a world-class
pilot. The birds took to the idea swimmingly, as they are accustomed to wearing
harnesses. That allowed Usherwood and his team to hang sensors on them. At the
end of each flight, the research team met with the humans who took part in the
flight. They learned that the 14 young ibises flying in a V each placed
themselves an average of four feet behind the bird in front of it and at an
average angle of 45 degrees. That is precisely the configuration needed for
individual birds to catch the rising air generated by the flapping of the bird
in front of it. The resulting upwash allows birds to stay aloft more
efficiently. Additionally, the birds time their wing beats so precisely that
they continually catch the upwash left behind by the moving wings of the bird
ahead of them. Well played, intelligent ibises, well played………..
- The Chicago Cubs were either kidding themselves or
they’re currently using mock outrage to cover the fact that they just attempted
one of the lamest ideas in their tortured history. Regardless, the public
outrage that followed after the team launched its ridiculous and lame-tastic
new mascot – the first in team history – was warranted and predictable. The
immediate and visceral reaction to the pants-less "Clark" -- a Cub bear
– made sense because one of the most storied franchises in Major League
Baseball history doesn’t need a no-pants-wearing cartoon bear to liven up its
games. Wrigley Field is known for drunken bleacher bums, fans jaded by decades
of losing and little else. Injecting the amateurish Clark mascot into the mix
was bound to yield mockery and scorn and that’s precisely what transpired. In
the aftermath of Twitter and Facebook backlash, the Cubs immediately began whining
about what fans were saying. "I'm disappointed at some of the unfortunate
images that went from negative to despicable," vice president of communications
and community affairs Julian Green said "There are some folks that had
strong reactions to the mascot but at the same time there are folks that see
what we're trying to do. It's strictly for kids and family entertainment."
Green also denounced Twitter as “a boisterous platform” and suggested the team
wouldn’t pay much attention to what people said on the microblogging site. "Some
of the strong reactions were predictable," Green said. "We've been
around for 100 years and we plan on being around another 100 years.” That’s
fine, J., but Clark shouldn’t be around for even another 100 hours. He looks
ridiculous, people hate him already and the only demographic that will enjoy
him is the small segment of children old enough to not be terrified by a large,
furry bear suit and those young enough not to realize how lame Clark is. Odds
are that kids ages 9-12 aren’t going to generate the necessary revenue to make
this sad experiment anything other than a complete dumpster fire……..
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