Friday, October 03, 2014

Europe v. migrants, Aphex Twin vs. Kanye and government employees do extra work - really


- Bernard Pollard is a bad man. He’s taken out numerous players, including future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, with vicious hits from his safety position. In fact, he’s obliterated so many New England Patriots that the mere mention of his name induces a twitching, sweating panic among New England fans. But Pollard isn't all badass. He’s also an honest, introspective man who’s bold enough to admit when his team is utterly unwatchable. The Tennessee Titans are Pollard’s current employer and they are 1-3 and lingering near the bottom of the AFC South. Having heard the hate from fans disappointed with the team’s effort, Pollard said he doesn't blame fans if they don't want to cheer for the Titans and that he wouldn’t room for the team either based on its recent play. His comments were designed to inspire his teammates to play better and Pollar explained that the Titans need to show more fight and they can't blame the team's fans if they don't want to support them. "We need to just show up and play. As far as saying we need the fans to show up and back us up, they've been backing us up since we've been here," Pollard said.. "You want to call them fair-weather fans and say they don't show up, rightfully so. I wouldn't root for this team, either, because we're a team that comes out and shows greatness one time and then we come out and drop an egg. We can't do that." Dropping an egg is a nice way of putting it, as the Titans have lost three in a row by an average of 22 points and Pollard wants them to play angry when they host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, even if no one shows up to watch………


- Sitting in the fire station all day waiting for something exciting to happen can get old quickly. Firefighters need something to liven up their existence and when they get a chance to escape the brick-ringed confines of their place of employment, they relish the opportunity. Take the good men and women of the Corona (Calif.) Fire Department, who were called to the scene when a local man lost consciousness while mowing his lawn. A crew from Engine 1 came to the aid of the homeowner, identified as Willy, and provided lifesaving treatment before taking him to the hospital. After the ambulance departed for the hospital, a few firefighters were left behind and they decided to enjoy their field trip for a while longer. The firefighters finished Willy’s lawn for him, chopping down the unsightly mass of grass that had grown to an alarming lee. . “This my machine here. My grass was so, so high,” Willy said. He initially went out to mow his lawn on typical sunny California day when the hear got to him. “I was cutting grass here, I feel dizzy a little bit, so I stand over by the car here,” he said. Beset by serious heat stroke, Willy went down face-first on his driveway and when emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they found him there with a scratched-up face. “We all kind of looked at each other, kind of looked around at the lawn equipment and realized this family was going through a very traumatic event right now and they need some simple acts of kindness,” said Fire Dept. Engineer Jamie Pirritano. It was truly a kind gesture and one that proves government employees do actually perform non-required work on rare occasions………


- Aphex Twin, a.k.a. Richard D. James, is the current flavor of the week in electronic dance music. Like any good flash in the pan, he’s picking unnecessary fights and saying ridiculous sh*t in order to get more attention and his latest efforts to extend his 15 minutes of fame involved a conversation about a dispute he had with Kanye West in which he felt he was "stitched up," as well as describing musicians like Madonna as being "mentally ill.” Confusing mentally ill with lacking any discernable musical talent is an understandable mistake, but the Kanye West rant stems from West's use of Aphex Twin’s track “Avril 14th,” from the 2001 album “Drukqs” on West’s 2010 album “My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy.” West sent James a copy of the track on which he used the sample and showing a tremendous amount of gall for an “artist” whose work consist of beeps, boops and other lame artficial sounds rather than actual instruments being playing, James felt it was not good enough and "done really badly.” His description of the song makes it sound like West is some “American Idol” hack doing a bastardized version of let it be using a ukulele. "I felt like they tried to stitch me up. I said to my publisher, 'Just don't fucking give it to them,’” James said.  In spite of James’ objections, the sample was still used on West’s song “Blame Game.” In the aftermath of the exchange, James developed a theory about well-known musicians, describing them as "mentally ill" with insecurity issues. "I actually really like pop music but it's all the other stuff that goes with it," he saaid. "I think you have to be mentally ill to be really famous. I'm only partially mentally ill, because I'm semi-famous.” He included the Material Skank among the ranks of the insane and for a man who admits that his political beliefs are informed by watching YouTube documentaries, it’s tough to argue……….


- This is a problem. The ages-old tale of impoverished people looking to escape dire circumstances and create a better life for themselves somewhere new has caused headaches for many nations over the years, be it border crashers arriving by land or by sea. But this time, it isn't the United States that has an issue with the unwashed and unwanted masses trying to elbow their way across the border in search of fortune. No, the destination of choice is Europe and according to the United Nations refugee agency, a record number of migrants this year have made the sometimes deadly crossing of the Mediterranean to Europe. The agency deemed the increase “alarming,” and they are correct, even if they’re correct for the wrong reasons. The reason 165,000 people making the crossing this year compared to 60,000 for all of last year is problematic is because it looks a lot worse to turn away or sink the vessels of 165,000 people than it does to send 60,000 wannabe Europeans to a watery grave. That’s right, ain’t nobody got time to deal with nearly a fifth of a million people invading their shores and if it takes sinking a crudely made vessel to stop them, then so be it. The U.N. noted that migrants largely from Africa and the Middle East are tirsking their lives in growing numbers and claims at least 3,000 people have died so far this year. The UNHCR says more people are fleeing war or persecution, with people from Syria and Eritrea making up almost half of the crossings since July 1. The agency had the kahones to rip Europe for not doing more to rescue migrants at sea, clearly ignoring the fact that Europe can't be held accountable for uninvited visitors who haven't yet set foot on the continent……….

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