- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Chile is heating up and rising up
and as so often happens with burgeoning revolutions, this one is being led by a
mob of angry young folks who are pissed off at The Man and want both answers
and change. The sh*t got real Thursday in Santiago, where thousands
of young people unhappy with the pace of education reform under President
Michelle Bachelet participated in a march to make their voices heard. Sadly,
their march was relatively peaceful for the most part. Happily, that tranquility
did not last for too long as dozens of unidentified people wearing masks
interrupted the march, damaging traffic lights and signs, starting fires in
trash containers and throwing sticks and stones at police. These heroes took
what was a boring, ineffective protest into an all-out riot fueled by crude
implements and sheer rage. How many people took part in the gathering depends
upon whom you ask. Protest organizers say about 80,000 people took part in the
march, while Interior Undersecretary Mahmud estimated the number of
participants at 25,000. The actual number undoubtedly lies somewhere in
between, but the number of people involved is not the point. The fact that
dumpsters were set on fire and public property was destroyed makes this all
worth while, as does the fact that police fought back with a tear gas truck and
water cannons. Those scenes and images become burned into the minds of the
public and they cement the reality of any revolution, as well as providing
inspiration for the wallflowers unsure if they really want to join in the
mayhem. Along with the resulting carnage from the riot, there was also major
traffic jams around Santiago's center. This was the third major demonstration
in Chile this year and hopefully, there are many more to come………
- Batman’s universe continues to take shape. The
small-screen version of the Caped Crusader’s tale will air this fall on Fox and
while the Batman franchise is dormant cinematically thanks to Christian Bale
and Christopher Nolan walking away, “Gotham” is one of the promising new shows
set to his network television this season. Fox has released another trailer for
the show, this one introducing several well-known characters in Batman’s
universe who will have roles on “Gotham.” The show’s premise is to shine a
light on Bruce Wayne’s life before he ever thought of becoming Batman and so
its nefarious villains will also be depicted before they reached their
respective evil apexes. Among the famous and villainous faces will be a young Poison
Ivy, The Penguin, Catwoman and The Riddler. All will be a part of the tale as the
young Commissioner Gordon's rises through the ranks of the police department
and the focus locks in on “the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young
heir to the Wayne fortune." Fox will reach into its past for Gordon’s
portrayer, as Ben McKenzie of “The O.C.” fame will play the young detective,
who was so ably played by Gary Oldman in Nolan’s trilogy of films. In addition
to McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith will star as the town’s crime lord Fish Mooney and
Sean Pertwee (“Elementary”) as
Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred. Gordon will find himself fighting the layers of
corruption that secretly rule Gotham City as its iconic villains take form.
Producer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”) will helm the project, which debuts
Sept. 22……….
- Cows on the highway are rarely a positive. Bovines tend
not to respect the rules of the road or the basic needs of those using them to
get where they are going in a timely fashion and that reality was on full display
Thursday morning in Roseville, Calif. That’s where a herd of lost cows ran amok
and blocked multiple lanes of traffic on Interstate 80 after the truck hauling them off for
slaughter crashed into a guardrail and spilled its precious cargo out onto the
road. The crash happened along eastbound I-80 between Riverside Avenue and
Douglas Boulevard just before 2 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol,
leaving the truck heavily damaged. According to the CHP, the driver of the
truck swerved to avoid an obstruction in the roadway, causing the back end of his
trailer to hit the guardrail, knocking open the back doors. At the time of the
crash, there were approximately 20 cows in the trailer. A few got loose, while
some of their peers were not so fortunate and did not survive the crash.
Passing motorists helped to corral the loose cows, but it took several hours to
get the scene under control, as it was the middle of the night and drivers were
few. “We got lucky, there were some people that were familiar with handling
farm animals that came and helped us out,” said Sgt. Steve Pellegrino of the
CHP. A local veterinarian showed up to help deal with the injured cows and the
affected lanes of the highway were reopened around 4:30 a.m………
- Andy Roddick has quietly faded from the professional
tennis scene. He would like to make a limited return to the scene, but the
byzantine powers that be in the men’s tennis world aren't so accommodating.
Roddick, at one time the next big hope for American men’s tennis, wanted to
make one more appearance at the US
Open, but his efforts were rebuffed by tournament officials. The request for a
return was shot down because Roddick, who has been retired for two years, has
not been involved in the sport's drug testing protocols. He wasn’t coming back
for one more shot at individual glory, but rather to help out his friend Mardy
Fish. Fish has been suffering from an anxiety disorder and playing with his pal
Roddick in the doubles portion of the event could have been both a heartwarming
story and a chance for Fish to work through some of his mental issues. He and
Roddick tried to enter this year's doubles field with a wild card, but their
entry ran into a brick wall. Roddick played in an exhibition match with James
Blake on Thursday at the Connecticut Open and said prior to the match that his
sole intention with applying for a wild-card entry was to give Fish a proper
send-off from professional tennis, or perhaps a jump-start to a doubles career.
He added that he has no plans to become a full-time player again and given the
low profile he has kept tennis-wise since walking away from the sport, there
seems to be little reason to doubt his sincerity at this point. Unless, of
course, you’re the US Open and you believe that a retired tennis star has spent
the past two years ‘roiding up in the hopes of making a victorious comeback in
doubles play and hoisting a tainted trophy that will besmirch the integrity of
your fine, upstanding event………
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