- Get in line, Paramore singer Hayley Williams. While you’re
there, retract your claws because it’s going to be a long wait. Williams is the
latest musician to accuse British man-banders One Direction of ripping off
someone else’s music, joining those who have accused them of plagiarizing
iconic acts like The Clash and The Who. This time the alleged victim is much
less accomplished and not nearly as talented, but plagiarism is plagiarism
nonetheless. Williams is upset because One Direction hijacked her boyfriend’s band’s song, with her
boyfriend being New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert. Gilbert first took to
Twitter to note the startling differences between One Direction’s current
single “Steal My Girl” and New Found Glory’s 2006 track “It’s Not Your Fault.”
In his post, Gilbert mused about the similarity between the opening piano parts
of the two songs and with her man having voiced his displeasure, Williams felt
compelled to chime in. "Beginning of that new 1D song couldn't sound any
more like the beginning of @newfoundglory's "its not your fault" but
I realize that I'm gonna get hate from a very large fanbase for that,” Williams
tweeted. “But really, it has more to do w/ whoever pitched or cowrote the
song." At least Williams’ response was more measured than Gilbert’s when
screeching teenage girls with no musical taste berated him for daring to
chastise their beloved man-banders. “.@onedirection Your fans spew the most
racist/homophobic/sexist hate I have ever seen on the Internet... You have a
platform to change that,” Gilbert tweeted. A platform, yes? But the kahones to
step up and do it, not so much……..
- The Philippine government needs to boost its bottom line
and what better place is there to start than ripping 15 paintings from the former home
of a late dictator to prove a point? The art in question were taken from the
home of the late Ferdinand Marcos, part of efforts to recover 156 artworks
included in his alleged ill-gotten wealth. Andres Batista, the head of the
agency tasked to recover wealth amassed by Marcos during his 20-year rule,
announced the seizures Wednesday. According to Batista, the paintings were
recovered from Marcos’ old residence in San Juan city, part of metropolitan
Manila. There was another attempted seizure, that one from a condominium
belonging to Marcos' widow, Imelda, who is better known for the thousands of
pairs of shoes she amassed during she and her husband’s unethical and corrupt
reign of terror. However, Imelda Marcos had no intention of allowing her
paintings to go so quietly. When authorities showed up to take back the ark
from her residence, they were kept waiting outside for an hour, and when they
entered they saw her crying and found only empty walls and hooks that once held
paintings. It was a scene straight out of a basic cable drama and all that was
missing was David Caruso ripping off his designer shades and delivering an
über-corny quip about the missing paintings. The 156 paintings that were
recovered reportedly include ones by Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin and Michelangelo,
which proves that the Marcoses had both good taste and no conscience when it
came to lying, cheating and stealing to get their hands on priceless works of
art they had no business owning………
- Apology not accepted, bong hitter and beer funnel chugger
Michael Phelps. The most-decorated Olympian in history is also one of the most
brain-dead athletes in recent memory because this week, he joined the
ever-dubious two-DUI club that no one should belong to at any point in their
life. Police arrested Phelps on
a DUI charge early Tuesday, claiming the Olympic icon was speeding and failed
field sobriety tests when officers pulled him over. His blood-alcohol level was
reportedly .14, or nearly twice the legal limit when he (allegedly) drove under
the influence of alcohol, traveling at excessive speed and crossing double-lane
lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in Baltimore. Phelps moved
quickly to address his arrest and like any high-profile athlete who’s f*cked up
in very public fashion, he tried to sound as contrite as possible in a canned
apology that did little to help his case. "I understand the severity of my
actions and take full responsibility. I know these words may not mean much
right now but I am deeply sorry to everyone I have let down,” Phelps said in
the statement. You’re right Mike, those words don’t mean a damn right now. That
will happen when you already have one DUI on your record, were seen on social
media with your lips wrapped firmly around a bong and were then clocked at 1:40
a.m. driving a white 2014 Land Rover at 84 mph in a 45 mph zone after downing a
12-pack or two of beer. Phelps’ first DUI came back in 2004 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland,
and he received 18 months' probation and a $250 fine. In 2009, he appeared in a
British newspaper doing a bong rip and acknowledged "regrettable"
behavior and "bad judgment." Considering he just started his comeback
to swimming and hopes to add to his total of 18 gold medals when he competes at
the 2016 Games in Rio, this incident couldn’t come at a worse time. USA
Swimming, the sport's national governing body could suspend Phelps from
competition as it did for three months when he was photographed with the bong,
but a longer suspension might be necessary this time given the relapse and
degree of stupidity on this dive into the pool of idiocy……….
- As usual, the common people of the world are missing the
point and it’s up to the forward thinkers to remind them. On the surface, a
restaurant offering incentives for diners to make it through their meal without
Instagramming, Snapchatting or tweeting out a picture of their meal or updating
their Facebook status to let their quasi-friends of the Internet know how much
fun they’re having eating their meal with their nose stuck in their smartphone
is a positive. After all, there are too many dumb people in the world who are
made even dumber because their attention is split between living life and being
on their phone communicating how much fun they’re having living life. However,
someone needs to urge The Station restaurant in Bernardsville, New Jersey, to come correct. The
Station is old-fashioned and believes that smartphones at the dinner table is a
problem. To encourage folks to dine sans digital interference, the restaurant
is dangling a nice perk. “If you make it through the duration of the meal,
we’ll give you 5 percent off,” said manager Geraldine Infantolino. “Disconnect
phones, reconnect families.” Bzzzzzzzz! Wrong-O, Gerry. The reason people are
out to eat at your fine establishment is not to reconnect with their family,
but because they are too lazy to cook for themselves. Going out to eat means
they can be around other people instead of just the annoying pests they call a
family and it’s quicker because they don’t have to prepare the food. Staying on
their phone is probably the only thing keeping them from reaching across the
table and connecting their fist with one of their family members’ faces. “What
we’re trying to do is encourage families to communicate a little bit more,”
Infantolino said. If only it were that simple……….
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