- San Juan Capistrano, Calif. is the sort of place where
parties just happen. That is even truer if you’re a 19-year-old X Games star who has more money
than he’s ever had an no one to tell him how to spend his free time or his
disposable cash. Nyjah Huston is in just such an enviable position, ranking as
one of the best skateboarders in the world and the sort of shaggy-haired
miscreant who drives older, equally wealthy SoCal residents crazy because he
likes to party. Huston resides in an upscale San Juan Capistrano neighborhood
and a few of his neighbors wish he would take his X Games dollars elsewhere –
or learn how to enjoy swimming quietly in his infinity pool like they do when
they want a fun night out. One of Huston’s neighbors, Rob Morey, claimed that
the skateboarder cranks his music so loud and has so many friends over for his
parties that it feels almost as if a weekend trip to Caesar’s Palace in Las
Vegas is going on. According to Morey, the parties are continual and they are
out of control virtually every night of the week. Neighbors have complained
that many of the parties have 200-300 people and the streets become so clogged
with parked cars that residents can't even get through. According to Orange
County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jeff Hallock, deputies have been called to
Huston’s house for noise complaints at least 20 times. The easy solution would
be for all of these whining neighbors to adhere to the adage that if the music
is too loud, then you’re too old. Because that doesn’t seem likely to happen,
maybe it’s time for these 1 percenters to build large, soundproof walls around
their properties and embrace the fact that Huston is trying to bring some
street cred into their über-square world……..
- Successful TV shows are cut down in their prime more often
than they should be. However, it’s rare that those involved with such shows are
out ahead of the race, declaring that their series will meet its end before a
network executive makes the decision for them. “True Detective” is one of HBO’s
most-successful series of the moment after a well-received first season earlier
this year built a loyal following that is eagerly anticipating a second season
set to air next year. With good ratings and positive critical reception,
screenwriter Nic Pizzolato would seem to be in a great place, poised for a long
run that would see the “Detective” story unfold over several seasons of varying
success. Not so, the scribe said during an appearance at the Banff World
Media Festival. Good ratings or not, Pizzolato has said that he can't see the
hit series running for more than three seasons and cautioned fans expecting a
long run not to look for the show to be around much longer. "I can't
imagine I would do this more than three years," Pizzolato said. "I mean,
I’d like to have a regular TV show. We’ll have some fixed sets, regular actors
and I could bring in people to help and I don’ t have to be there every second.
It’d be great." The idea of the show having a short shelf life makes
sense, as A-list actors attached to the project generally aren't the type to
anchor themselves down for a long tenure with a show. Sure, Academy Award
winner Matthew McConaughey intimated earlier this month that he would be open
to be appearing in another season of the show, but neither he nor co-star Woody
Harrelson will return for the second season. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain
have both been linked to the second season, but neither has commented on the
rumors or said they were interested. Keeping up this sort of pace in terms of
plugging in and replacing A-listers could definitely wear thin for a
writer/producer, so maybe Pizzolato isn’t insane after all……..
- NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Danger, America, danger! The threat’s
severity and validity is in question, but the mere possibility is terrifying
enough that the United States needs to begin preparing and taking evasive
measures immediately. While the 2022 World Cup scheduled for the soccer hotbed
of Qatar is embroiled in controversy amidst allegations of corruption in the 2010 FIFA
vote that awarded the event to a nation with no soccer history and no chance of
avoiding games being played in triple-digit temperatures, there are rumors that
the U.S. could be on deck as a backup plan should soccer’s government body rip
the event from its scheduled host. There has been no official suggestion that
this plan could happen and United States Soccer Federation President Sunil
Gulati has denied a report that the U.S. was told by FIFA to be ready to host
the 2022 Cup, so this could all be pointless….but what if it’s not? What if the
outrage from sponsors over accusations that Qatari billionaire Mohamed
bin Hammam kept up the age-old tradition of bribing FIFA officials and
colluding to win the bidding forces a change of venue? Hell, bin Hannam has
even been accusing of colluding with Russian officials, who won the right to
host the 2018 Cup. The U.S. fortunately finished second in the 2010 balloting,
narrowly avoiding having to host a month-long event that 95 percent of its
population doesn’t give a damn about. Gulati hasn’t said the U.S. couldn’t or
wouldn’t host if asked, but was adamant that he can't see such a decision being
made any time soon. In addition to rampant corruption, the fact that summer
temperatures in Qatar often reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit and poor treatment of
migrant workers have all added to the growing chorus among sponsors who are
demanding that FIFA address the fate of the Cup in Qatar before they take
matters into their own hands……..
- What flavor is the moon? That question may finally have an
answer, if only NASA can transfer the recipe it has concocted to reveal key flavors of
Saturn’s moon Titan to Earth’s own moon. The recipe was born out of a need to
understand a previously unidentified chemical composition hidden beyond Titan’s
orange haze and NASA’s Cassini spacecraft examined material gathered from
Titan’s atmosphere at alternate wavelengths. As part of this test, Cassini probed beyond the infrared
spectrum, in the far infrared region, revealing a curious mixture that required
further study. "Now we can say
that this material has a strong aromatic character, which helps us understand
more about the complex mixture of molecules that makes up Titan's haze,"
said Melissa Trainer of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
What Trainer did not go into was the exact smell this mixture yields, which is
sad because she and her team reached their conclusion in much the same way that
a good chef can take a bit of a particular dish and determine all of the
individual components used to make it. NASA’s crew experimented by combining
gases in various ways and under differing lab conditions and eventually found
the right combination to replicate the initial mixture spotted earlier by
Cassini, right down to the actual color. The one hurdle to clear was the fact
that Titan’s atmosphere with its dark orange hue could be a result of a number
of chemical mixtures. Eventually, the researchers added benzene to the mix and
got as close as possible to figuring out Titan’s taste and smell. With the
recipe unearth, scientists have a chance to better understand the precise
mixture of gases in the unseen areas of Titan’s atmosphere. What that could
mean for the world…..probably won't affect any of us during our lifetimes………
- This could escalate quickly. World, we may all want to pay
close attention to this one. The last time a German leader was overly
enthusiastic about using Deutschland’s military to “help resolve” international
conflicts, an entire continent nearly got steamrolled and the entire world was
launched into a war that left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of Jewish
people murdered. That’s not to say that German President Joachim Gauck urging
his constituents not to automatically reject the idea of deploying their
military to help resolve various conflicts aboard is akin to a certain Third
Reich founder seizing power, trampling human rights and trying to exterminate
an entire race of people, but the world may still want to be wary of this one.
Gauck’s remarks were part of a plan he is promoting in which Germany takes a
larger role in the international community, functioning in the same sort of
role that makes the United States a target of frequent hate for attempting to
be the world’s policeman and tell other countries how to handle their business
and treat their people. In recent times, German officials have taken a more
active diplomatic role but have shown great reluctance to deploy their military
because such moves remain wildly unpopular within the country. Gauck insisted
he understands Germans' longstanding reluctance to take a leading international
role, but believes the nation’s status as a "solid and reliable democracy"
gives it the necessary clout to step up and stand in when it comes to major
global issues. "It is sometimes necessary to take up arms,” Gauck said of
the need to take a stand in defending human rights and innocent lives. All of
this might carry greater weight if these words came from the prime minister – a
position of power – instead of the limited-authority office of the president,
so don’t expect German boots on the ground in foreign countries any time soon………
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