Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Emma Stone to Broadway, selfies = death in Portugal and Oklahoma v. a football (alleged) rapist


- College football powers are rarely eager to suspend their top players. That’s what makes the current crusade by the University of Oklahoma so rare. Head coach Bob Stoops and the Sooners have had their share of rule breakers and criminals over the years, but starting linebacker Frank Shannon has gone to a place so dark that even the most forgiving coach would have trouble following. He was found guilty of violating Oklahoma's sexual misconduct policy, leading the school to suspend him for a year. According to a Title IX sexual misconduct allegation report, a female Oklahoma student accused Shannon of sexually assaulting her at an off-campus apartment in January. The case fizzled out as so many alleged sexual assaults do because the local district attorney's office declined to prosecute the case, noting the alleged victim didn't want to press charges. That kept Shannon out of jail, but not out of OU’s crosshairs. Under federal law, the university was obligated to conduct its own internal investigation and when it did, it dropped the hammer on a player who led the Sooners with 92 tackles last season and was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection. That All-Big 12 selection has the right to appeal the ruling to a district court, meaning the school can't actually enforce its punishment yet. Thus, Shannon has continued practicing with the team and University president David Boren is releasing statements saying the school had reached a final decision June 18 to suspend Shannon from both school and athletic activities and "is taking every legal step possible to move this process forward." Should their alleged attempted rapist not be allowed on the field, the Sooners would likely would insert sophomore Jordan Evans into the starting lineup at inside linebacker and once again fail to live up to fans’ hopes for a national championship………


- Bro, this is totally not cool. Snowboarders are a chill group of dudes and chicas who just want to wake up at noon, eat some Pop Tarts, hit the bong and spend the rest of their day shredding the slopes on their new board. Why won't Alta Ski Resort let them be slackers in peace? That’s a damn good question and one that resort officials had better answer. A small but vociferous group of knit cap-wearing, ganja-loving snowboarders say they are victims of discrimination because skiers do not want them on the slopes at Alta Ski Resort. An organization called Wasatch Equality made a video designed to show the hostile treatment snowboarders receive on the slopes. As Wasatch Equality notes in its video, Alta is one of a small minority of ski resorts that doesn’t allow snowboarding. It is a private resort and therefore should be allowed to make its own discriminatory rules, but because the resort is located on federal Forest Service land, several snowboarders went to court to fight the issue. In their lawsuit, the dudes bringing the case claimed that not allowing them on public land violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and as akin to racial discrimination. Members of the group that filed the lawsuit complained that they are unable to go to Alta with friends who visit the facility to ski, but resort officials aren't backing down. “Like all business, they have certain rules, and equipment restrictions, but we don't discriminate against any individuals,” said Alta attorney Robert Rice. Nice try, Bob-O. Take a few puffs of that fattie the snowboarders are passing around and let’s revisit the subject in half an hour or so………


- Many A-list movie stars have made their way to the stage at some point in their career, either to chase long-held Broadway ambitions are to expand their brand to a new audience. Emma Stone hasn’t gotten there yet, but she is reportedly on her way to the Great White Way. The “Easy A” actress is reportedly in negotiations to make her Broadway debut in Cabaret, where she would fill the role of famed British singer Sally Bowles. Stone has flirted with the production before and in April 2013, she was über-close to finalizing a deal for the same role. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts forced her to take a pass on the chance and she elected to take a movie role instead. The itch to perform in a major musical clearly never left her and considering the knockout performance Stone delivered earlier this year during a lip-syncing contest with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show,” her zest for singing is stronger than ever. Ironically, Stone would replace another A-list actress if she takes the gig, stepping in when Michelle Williams leaves the show at the beginning of November. For the theater-ignorant, Cabaret is the tale of Bowles, a young English singer who finds herself in a tempestuous relationship with a young American writer. The production in which Stone may star is currently scheduled to play in New York's Studio 54 through January 2015.  Those who doubt that Stone has the vocal chops necessary to pull off the role need only check out her video from the 2004 competition show, “In Search of the Partridge Family.” Oh, and having an insanely hot actress fronting your production tends to benefit ticket sales as well……….


- It is one of the most horrific stories imaginable and yet, it most certainly will not be enough to stop the cultural phenomenon/societal plague that is the selfie. Losers around the world are so entrenched in the habit of snapping arm’s length photos of themselves in front of buildings, tourist attractions, their lunch and major sporting events that even a young couple tragically falling to their deaths in front of their horrified children while attempting the perfect selfie simply isn't going to end the trend. The couple in question were walking with their two children — aged five and six —along an oceanside cliff approximately 250 feet above the Atlantic Ocean on Cabo de Roca in Portugal when disaster struck. The man and woman took out a smartphone and tried to pose for pictures too close to the edge and with their focus on the ideal pose instead of firm footing, they fell off the cliff and into the water below. Their children could only watch the fall and a rescue team recovered the bodies of the man and woman on Sunday after having to suspend their search due to bad weather. The children are in the care of Polish diplomats and are being counseled after witnessing the tragedy, their lives forever altered and their hearts shattered all because mom and dad were intent on a great photo they could share with their friends on Facebook or Instagram. In an ideal world, this terrible situation would be a resounding smack across the collective face of everyone with a smartphone to cut out the selfie obsession. But this is no idea world and idiots will always persist……….

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