- Its earnings fell off a cliff, but “Dawn of
the Planet of the Apes” retained its box office earnings title in its second
weekend of release. With $36 million, “Apes” fended off a trio of newcomers and
boosted its two-week domestic total to $138.9 million. “The Purge: Anarchy”
debuted in second place, more than tripling its $9 million budget with $28.4
million. That pushed it past animated newcomer “Planes: Fire & Rescue,”
which procured $18 million in its first weekend, well below expectations, and
slotted third for the frame. The über-over-promoted and truly terrible “Sex
Tape” scored a mere $15 million for a weak-ass debut that left it in fourth
place and 10 spots higher than it deserved. “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
tumbled three spots to fifth place and managed $10 million to raise its
four-week domestic take to $227.1 million and counting. The cinematic train
wreck that is “Tammy” landed in sixth place in its third weekend, banging out
an additional $7.6 million for a three-week domestic bank roll of $71.2
million. “22 Jump Street” managed a seventh-place result with $4.7 million and
has now more than tripled its budget with $180 million so far. Eighth place was
the domain of “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” recipient of $3.8 million in
earnings for the weekend and a respectable $160.6 million in six productive
weeks of release. The run continued for “Maleficent,” which added $3.3 million
to its soaring tally to finish ninth and has earned $228.4 million and
counting. “Earth to Echo” landed the last top 10 spot with $3.2 million, giving
the family-friendly flick $31.9 million thus far. “Begin Again” (No. 11), “Deliver
Us From Evil” (No. 13) and “Jersey Boys” (No. 14) all fell out from last
weekend’s top 10………..
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! French youth have been told they
cannot take to the streets to voice their dissent with Israel's Gaza offensive,
but they don’t give a sh*t. These angry Europeans spat in the face of a ban on
a protests against the offensive, setting fire to cars and garbage cans in a
Paris suburb after a calm demonstration. A calm demonstration is a boring
demonstration, something of which these rage-a-holics were keenly aware as they
took part in Sunday's unrest in Sarcelles, north of Paris. It was the second
time in two days that pro-Palestinian demonstrations turned violent, but this
display of anger rose above the previous day’s level and it was uplifting if
only for the reason that, like the demonstration in Paris on Saturday, had been
banned to ensure peace. Banning protests to ensure peace is a bit like poking a
sleeping bear with a sharp stick while covered in honey, so French officials
had to know what was coming when they made their decision. The fruits of their
efforts came as scores of Jewish youth, some armed with iron bars, encircled a
synagogue to "protect" it. From there, other youths approached and
the clash was on just hours after France honored some 13,000 Jews rounded up 72
years ago, most kept in a cycling stadium before being sent to Auschwitz. While
Prime Minister Manuel Valls denounced a "new form of anti-Semitism"
on the Internet and spreading among youth in working class neighborhoods, these
clashes prove that a statement by an elected official isn’t silencing anyone’s
ire………
- Maybe it’s time to rethink soccer trophies. In a sport
where only one player on the field is allowed to use his hands, giving valuable
pieces of hardware to these guys and expecting them to successfully handle them
with care might be asking too much. Back in 2011, Spanish star Sergio Ramos
dropped the Copa del Rey trophy while celebrating Real Madrid’s win in the
Spanish Premier League, putting a healthy dent in the gilded structure. That
the same happened to the trophy Germany won for curb-stomping the field in the
2014 World Cup while Die Nationalmannschaft’s players were
partying it up in the aftermath of their 1-0 win over Argentina at the Maracana last
week, according to DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach. According to Niersbach,
a piece of the trophy "was chipped off" amid wild celebrations in
Berlin to commemorate Deutschland’s fourth world title. As expected, the team
was welcomed home by joyful celebrations in the capital, but as is to be
expected in a nation where beer is for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the party
got out of control in a hurry. “At one point, a small piece of our World Cup
trophy was chipped off," Niersbach said. "But do not worry. We have
specialists on the case who can fix it. We have investigated persistently who
it was that damaged the trophy, but the investigation was concluded without a
result." Sure thing, Wolfgang…wink, wink. The good news is that the real
trophy – worth a reported $10 million – wasn’t involved in the celebration and
the one that was dinged was merely a cheaper copy of the original. Next time a
major soccer tournament is won, here’s hoping the champions buy some gloves
with good grip before picking up their prize………
- There will never be a better reason for pummeling a man to
the brink of death. An unidentified Daytona Beach, Fla. father did the only
thing he could do when he came home and found someone sexually abusing his
11-year-old son…namely pummeling the pervert with every weapon with which God
equipped him before stopping with his target on the verge of shuffling off this
mortal coil and calling the police. According to Daytona Beach Police Chief
Michael Chitwood, the father called 911 early Friday morning to report what had
happened. The father told the 911 operator that he had beaten the assailant
until he was "nice and knocked out" for police to apprehend. Chitwood
clearly did not have a problem with the father’s actions despite assaulting
someone technically being against the law. "Not as a police chief and not
as a father,” Chitwood said. The identity of the victim and father were not
released to protect the identity of the minor as an alleged sexual abuse victim,
but this father deserves no condemnation whether anyone knows his name or not.
In the 911 call, he is obviously enraged, but calmly explains the situation. He
informs a Volusia County emergency dispatcher that 18-year-old Raymond
Frolander was close to the family and was in the apartment while the father was
out. As the father explained it, he returned home and upon seeing Frolander's
face, he knew something was wrong. Those feelings were confirmed when Frolander's
pants fell down to his ankles "and nothing else needed to be said"
when the father saw exposed genitals. According to the charging affivadit, the
11-year-old victim told authorities that Frolander had performed oral sex on
him and instructed the boy to fondle him….a sentence that is nauseating to both
read and write. In a badass response to the question of what weapons he used to
knock out Frolander, the father told the dispatcher, "my fist and my
foot." He went on to say that Frolander was breathing, but not speaking,
and at one point turned from the phone to say, "You are damn lucky, boy,
that I love my God." Officers arrived to find Frolander "laying
motionless on the living room floor with several knots on his face and bleeding
from his mouth” and once he was released from the hospital, he was taken to the
Volusia County Jail…….
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