- The list of names who provided voice talent for “The Lego
Movie” is impressive: Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Bank, Morgan Freeman, Chris Pratt, Channing
Tatum and Will Ferrell. The animated flick built around the classic Danish
children’s toy hits theaters this weekend and it already seems like a slam dunk
for parents looking to get their children out of the house on a frigid winter
weekend. Warner Bros. is the studio behind the movie and clearly, its
executives are enthused about what they have on their hands. They’re so geeked,
in fact, that they have already hired a team of writers to begin work on a
sequel. Warner Bros. is projecting the film to be a huge hit and reportedly
have inked Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan to begin work on a script for the
follow-up. The promotional campaign for the first film has bombastically billed
it as “the greatest movie ever assembled,” which seems a tad excessive for a computer-animated
adventure comedy which follows an average Lego character named Emmet (Pratt)
who is mistaken for the extraordinary and all-powerful MasterBuilder. Emmet is sent
on a mission to defeat an evil tyrant who's plotting to destroy the Lego
universe by gluing it together and as one might expect with a perpetual
screw-up thrust into a role for which he is hopelessly and ridiculously
underprepared, hilarity ensues. Mix in the golden pipes of Morgan Freeman, the
very specific set of skills Neeson possesses and the comedic genius of Ferrell
and the mix seems like the perfect combination for a movie aimed at those under
the age of 12 (and the parents who will inevitably be dragged to the theater to
see it)………..
- Ireland likes three things a whole lot: Guinness, Gaelic
football and bribes. The European Commission wants the lone non-United Kingdom
nation in the British Isles to get rid of one-third of that trio and let’s just
say it’s not the one that is fermented and bottled in the heart of Dublin. Ireland
has already undertaken
substantial reforms in tackling corruption, but the EC isn't satisfied. It wants
the country to improve the speed at which it secures criminal prosecutions,
according to a new report published by the European Union. It is the first EU anti-corruption
report and it examines issues of transparency, public procurement policies and
bribery across the EU’s 28 member states. The report crushes Ireland in terms
of its ability to battle corruption, nothing that despite substantial progress
in improving transparency and accountability in matters related to public
procurement, electoral funding and fraud, “corruption-related risks associated
with close ties between politicians and industry continue to be a cause for
concern.” Chief among the EU’s concerns seems to be that convictions in white
collar crime in Ireland fell significantly between 2003 and 2010 despite an
increase in the number of cases. In the report, EU officials cited the length
of time taken to progress investigations into the role of financial
institutions in the banking crisis. Those problems “contributed to a general
climate of mistrust in the transparency and accountability of the financial
sector in the country and in the capacity of corporate oversight and
enforcement,” the report stated. The case centered on Anglo Irish Bank and it
took four years before any indictments were issued. A whopping 81 percent of
Irish respondents to the EU report believe corruption is widespread, compared
to an EU average of 76 percent. Funding for political parties is another area
of concern and if Ireland truly wants to improve in these areas, it might want
to solicit advice from countries such as Finland, Denmark and Sweden, which
were perceived by their citizens……….
- Suck it, Great Pyramid of Giza. You might be the oldest
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but your status as the original
among the historic pyramids of Egypt has just been ripped by a simple step
pyramid uncovered by archaeologists in southern Egypt. The newly discovered
structure is believed to be a few decades older than the Great Pyramid. Scientists
were aware of the pyramid’s existence, but it remained buried under a thick
layer of sand until a group of archaeologists started excavation works in 2010.
A team led by Gregory Marouard, a research associate at the University of
Chicago's Oriental Institute, worked to unearth the pyramid, which is estimated
to have stood 43 feet high when it was constructed around 4,600 years ago. It
now stands one-third of that height because the blocks used to build it have
been pillaged throughout its centuries-long existence. The step pyramid was one
of seven so-called "provincial" pyramids built across central and
southern Egypt by either the Pharaoh Huni or Snefru, who combined to rule Egypt
from 2635-2590 B.C. It does not have any internal chambers and was not used for
burials, leaving its actual purpose something of a mystery. Most experts
believe such pyramids were built as symbolic monuments scattered over Egypt as
confirmation of the pharaohs’ divine powers. "The construction itself reflects a certain care and a real expertise in
the mastery of stone construction, especially for the adjustment of the most
important blocks," Marouard said during a recent presentation. One
clue about the purpose of the pyramids is an installation where food offerings
appear to have been made, found by the team of archaeologists. Graffiti also
adorns the pyramid’s walls, showing a book roll, a seated man, a four-legged
animal, a reed leaf and a bird. "These
are mostly private and rough inscriptions, and certainly dedicated to child
burials located right under these inscriptions at the foot of the pyramid,"
Marouard explained. Based on their findings, the research team postulated that
the pyramid was used for less than 50 years and was likely abandoned about the
same time the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza started under Pharaoh Khufu……..
- Seeing an iconic venue fall into a state of disuse and
disrepair is tough to see. A stadium, concert hall or arena that has hosted
hundreds of great events but is now a neglected relic of a bygone era is equal
parts eyesore and piece of nostalgia. Minneapolis’ Metrodome has been around
for 31 years, but it has also gone from a venue that hosted two professional
sports franchises and a Division I college football team to a building without
a tenant. Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins moved out and into Target
Field in 2010, the Minnesota Golden Gophers now occupy the shiny new TCF Bank
Stadium on their campus and with the 2013 NFL season in the books, the
Minnesota Vikings’ tenure at the dome has ended as well. The Vikings were able
to extort local taxpayers and government officials, er, persuade the locals to
help them fund a new stadium that will help them further boost their revenues
and that makes the Metrodome irrelevant. It will no longer be needed to host
games or concerts and so its Teflon roof was deflated for the final time on Jan.
18. That’s when Minneapolis businessman Jim Cunningham sprung into action. Cunningham
has served as an event host for the Twins, the Minnesota Wild of the NHL and
other local teams and when the Metrodome’s roof collapsed in 2010 following a
snowstorm, he had an idea. “It just hit me,” Cunningham said “You know what would be great? A
swatch of the Dome. I betcha everybody would want a swatch of the Dome.” He
bought as many pieces of the old roof as he could when they went on sale and
procured an acre and a half of the inner fabric of the roof and an acre and a
half of the outer fabric too. When the replacement roof was deflated last
month, Cunningham snatched up as much as possible and contacted local backpack
maker Duluth Pack to see if the company wanted to partner with him. “This is a
Teflon-based, fiberglass-woven fabric,” Duluth Pack president Tom Sega said.
“And so this is as strong as it comes.” The material is cut and sewn together
at the Duluth Pack factory and each bag comes with plenty of character. The
nicks, cuts and blemishes on the fabric hints at the history of the dome and
those who buy one of the bags can use their imagination to guess what might
have made the marks………
- As the Seattle Seahawks claimed their first Super Bowl
victory on Sunday, other football players continued to chase their dreams
around the United States. Those dream chasers include former NFL players who
want to get back to the pinnacle of their sport, young players fresh out of
college who didn’t make an NFL roster but are battling for a second look…..and
a certain 325-pound, left-handed quarterback biding his time in the Continental
Indoor Football League and waiting for the NFL to give him the chance he so
clearly deserves. Yes, you read that right: a 325-pound QB and better still,
one with nimble feet, sweet moves in the open field and a knack for making
plays. He is former
Kentucky Wildcats and New York Giants QB Jared Lorenzen and the man with
nicknames like the Hefty Lefty and the Pillsbury Throwboy is currently
anchoring the backfield for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the CIFL.
Lorenzen was never thin and was pushing 300 pounds even during his time in the
NFL, but he has clearly not been hitting the salad bar since then and while no
one has confirmed his exact weight, he’s bigger than any of his offensive
linemen and 325 pounds seems like a conservative estimate. Yet YouTube video of
Lorenzen’s performance in Monday night’s win over the Lexington Bluegrass Warhorses went
viral in a hurry as the world drank in the highlights of the portly signal
caller going 20 of 37 for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Lorenzen has bounced
around football in recent years, including a stint as the commissioner for the Ultimate
Indoor Football League, but on the field is clearly where he belongs and more
Hefty Lefty highlights are good for the world………
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