Saturday, August 09, 2014

NFL Twitter rants, Sam Smith's James Bond theme and Anthony Weiner's new eatery


- Late night shows and headline writers, your golden opportunity of the decade has arrived. The man who has spawned so many jokes, so many bad puns and even an international dance craze has lined up a guaranteed kill shot for anyone looking to pull page views and boost ratings. Disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, a.k.a. Carlos Danger, failed in a bid to replace the congressional gig he lost by being elected mayor of New York City and like anyone who loses their job and isn't independently wealthy, Weiner/Danger needs to find his next move. It appears he has indeed identified that next step and it is none other than a non-profit project to open a restaurant in the Rockaways –a section of New York City still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The project, called Rockaway Restoration Kitchen, is billing itself as "a comfortable neighborhood restaurant with healthy, locally sourced food that satisfies the hunger of Rockaway residents, attracts visitors and serves up dignity and self-sufficiency by serving as a hands on training ground to provide skills, real experience and job placement in the culinary industry.” According to its website, the restaurant will will offer a 13-week program to teach restaurant skills to the chronically unemployed in the area and help place them in restaurants around New York. “[It will] attract visitors and serve up dignity and self-sufficiency by serving as a hands-on training ground to provide skills, real experience and job placement in the culinary industry,” a post on the site reads. Weiner’s exact role with the eatery has not been disclosed, but he has reportedly been spotted scouting a site for it. When a man famous for sexting pictures of his junk to women with whom he was having affairs is attached to a place that could serve hot dogs and bananas, go ahead and assume that scores of terrible jokes and pun-based headlines are not far away……….


- The soulful sounds of Adele will not be gracing the soundtrack of the next James Bond movie, but a comparably soulful male voice may take the British crooner’s place belting out the film’s theme. Sam Smith is reportedly in talks to record the theme after Adele passed on the chance and he has been negotiating with bosses at Bond producers MGM for the gig. Adele’s decision to pull out of the running for the theme song made sense, as did producers deciding to ask her in the first place, because she recorded the theme for the most recent Bond movie, “Skyfall,” in 2012. Doing back-to-back Bond theme songs might not present the sort of challenge a songstress like Adele is seeking and she may also worry about getting pigeonholed in the role of movie theme singer. According to multiple sources, MGM has zeroed in on Smith as its top choice because studio officials believe he has the right profile, the proper image and the ideal voice to author a great Bond theme song. As expected given that no deal has yet been reached, Smith's spokesman refused to comment on the story. The movie itself is cloaked in the requisite amount of mystery, working under the unimaginative title of “Bond 24” at the moment. Smith or no Smith, Daniel Craig will anchor the movie in his fourth outing as Agent 007. Also returning are “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes and screenwriting team John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The other confirmed cast are Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny and Rory Kinnear as MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner. Should Smith sing the theme, he would become the first British male solo singer to score a bond theme since Tom Jones as the voice of choice for “Thunderball” in 1965……….


- What is the primary focus of most people during their morning commute? Avoid distractions, duck any possible delays and try to steer clear of any unwanted conversations with strangers on whatever train, bus or other assorted mode of transportation they choose. Helping another commuter avoid losing one of their limbs is generally not on the agenda, but train travelers in the western Australian city of Perth proved that taking your nose out of your phone and tucking away your tablet inside your briefcase for a moment can be well worth the effort. The scene at a train station in Perth was a truly harrowing on Thursday as a man lost his footing while boarding a train. Closed-circuit footage released by the Western Australia State Public Transport Authority showed the man slipping on the platform and getting his leg lodged between the platform and the train as horrified passengers looked on. While one passenger raced to alert railway staff to stop the train, everyone else on board somehow managed to coordinate their efforts and communicate the message to exit their respective cars. Once they were all outside and the weight of the train was lessened significantly, the passengers began to push against the car to free the trapper man’s leg. Dozens of helpful Aussies joined in the effort to free the man, who fell at least thigh deep into the platform gap. "It's really heartwarming I think, to find an incident like this where everyone pitched in," transport authority spokesman David Hynes said. The trapped man was freed, avoided injury and was able to collect himself in time to catch the next train to his destination. This time, he made it successful on board and went on with his day, undoubtedly touched by the kindness of the many strangers who made his safety and well-being a priority over their own busy schedules for at least a few minutes……….


- The Indianapolis Colts were one of 12 NFL teams playing a thoroughly meaningless preseason game Thursday night, but they were the only one of the 12 to be the target of an impassioned live-tweeting session by a livid player they cut earlier in training camp. The Colts broke off all-around bad seed and mediocre running back Chris Rainey on July 28 for a violation of team rules and haven't said anything about his release since then, but Rainey had plenty to say during Thursday’s game. He finally revealed the reason he was released as part of his Twitter rant. "Yea I'm piss watching the colts game when I should be out there, too. Even tho i didn't break no f----- team rules, not even," Rainey tweeted during the Colts’ 13-10 loss to the New York Jets. He expounded on that cryptic remark four minutes later after running back Daniel "Boom" Herron scored a touchdown. "Nice TD Boom even tho u was in the hallway with me that nite when we was horsing around with the fire extinguisher. Man up like I did," Rainey tweeted. Hmm…..screwing around with the fire extinguisher like a 12-year-old staying in a nice hotel for the first time during a family vacation is a reason for a team to release you? Weird. Rainey later tried to pretend the tweets didn’t happen by deleting them, but screen shots of the messages had already been captured. The incident continued his sour relationship with electronic communications, one that began in earnest during his time at the University of Florida, when he texted his estranged girlfriend that it was “time to die” after a fight – and while he was in front of her house AND while police officers were inside with the woman. Add on a January 2013 arrest on a charge of simple battery in Gainesville, Florida, and it’s a safe bet that no other NFL teams will be rushing to sign C. Rainey any time soon……….

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