- Über really is a different kind of transportation for
people seeking an alternative means of getting around town. If drivers for the
new car service wherein normal people who don’t have a taxi license but do have
a running car and a lot of free time give rides to strangers like real cabbies
is offering kidnapping-like rides across the city, then Über is on a whole ‘nother
level. That’s the tale being told by a Los Angeles woman who took a meadering,
disorienting two-hour-long
Über ride through Los Angeles last week and is claiming that she was briefly
kidnapped by her driver before being taken home. The company disputes her
claim, but the story has already gotten out and as the victim tell it, her
driver took her way off course, stopped in an empty parking lot and locked the
car doors when she attempted to leave. At that point, the woman says, she began
to scream and eventually, the driver capitulated and took her home. Über is
denying her story even though it admits it doesn’t know exactly what happened.
As Über sees it, its driver was actually trying to help the passenger, who was allegedly intoxicated at the time.
The driver claimed to have called 911, but the Los Angeles Police Department is
unable to confirm receipt of any such call. There are reasons to doubt the
veracity of the passenger’s story, as she has yet to file any official
complaint. "Early reports on this ride are inaccurate," Uber spokesperson
Eva Behrend said. "Based on the information we have at this time, this
driver called 911 to ask for assistance with an intoxicated rider who requested
an extended trip. However, we have refunded the rider's trip and reached out to
the rider for additional information." The evidence in the passenger’s
favor consists of a series of screen shots showing a route that should have
taken about 20 minutes, but instead lasted two hours. It’s a bizarre strike
again UberX, Uber's lower-cost taxi service that allows almost anyone with a
vehicle to sign up to be a driver. Maybe it’s time for a better screening
process………
- DNP –
Old. That may not be the designation the Los Angeles Lakers slug aging point
guard Steve Nash with going forward, but it should be. Nash had what can only
be described as the quintessential past-his-prime, aged-out dude injury
Wednesday when he injured his back carrying bags, forcing him to miss practice
for the third straight day. Nash was carrying luggage for the airport when he
was snpirered by Father Time, raising more questions about the 40-year-old's
availability going forward. If he can't make it through security check at LAX,
how is he going to put up with young studs like Russell Westbrook and Kyrie
Irving checking him for an entire game? Nash, a two-time league MVP, didn’t
play in an exhibition game Thursday against the Utah Jazz and appeared in just
15 games last season for the Lakers. He’s admitted that the $9.7 million he’s
due to make this season were a bit reason he didn’t retire and believes this
season -- his 19th -- will be his last. Lakers fans were hoping for one more
season of strong play from Nash, but Lakers coach Byron Scott really can't
count on the Canadian star at this point. For the NBA's oldest active player,
getting taken out by a Samsonite isn't exactly a great omen for a stellar year
and even Scott sounds concerned. "It's a concern because, from my
standpoint, I've got to kind of figure out if he's going to be able to play
every day or not, if he's going to be able to play every other game, or which
games can he play," Scott said. Obviously, in the next couple of weeks,
we've got some time to come to a conclusion to this whole situation."
Conclusion? That’s what Nash’s career should have reached before he decided to
put on a ski mask and pick up another season’s worth of paychecks………
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Usually in these cases, it’s the
police who are part of the problem rather than part of the solution, but things
are different these days in Algeria and it’s refreshing to see. In what can
only be described as a beautiful and highly unusual demonstration of anger at
the country's leadership, police have camped outside the president's office and
are refusing to leave despite a group of solders staring them down. The police
protest entered its third day Thursday amid questions about President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika's whereabouts and his fitness to run the country, adding an
interesting dynamic to the struggle for control in the large, gas-rich country.
In a way this is a chain reaction of riot awesomeness, as police are upset
about riots and attacks on their colleagues. One good riot begets another good
riot and as part of their push for change, the police are demanding better pay
and more political support. Whatever the motivation, the uprising has about 200
police camped out near the president's headquarters with soldiers standing
guard. Thursday was actually a relatively calm day, as 24 hours prior they tried
to force their way into the president's office. The rage died down a bit after
the country’s prime minister met with police representatives Wednesday night
and pledged to consider their demands, but those who know know that those promises
don't go far enough and refuse to return to work. For those holding out and
raging on, the world salutes you and hopes that you try to bum-rush the
president’s office again, hopefully punctuating the push by driving a fountain
pen through someone’s hand. That’s the sort of image upon which true
revolutions are built and sustained……….
- Anyone who shows up at a concert by The Strokes any time
from now until eternity should do their best to enjoy the show, but do so while
realizing that the man singing the songs is miserable. Julian Casablancas may be famous because
of The Strokes and their rise to rock and roll success a decade and change ago,
but he’s no big fan of the band’s back catalog. In fact, he says he takes
little pleasure from playing tracks from the band’s old albums in a live
setting and while it's "still fun to see people react" to the old
material live, he doesn't "feel anything from it" emotionally. "A
little while ago, I saw someone perform a cover of some Top 40 song in an empty
bar, like he probably just learned it two days ago,” Casablancas said. He was
probably enjoying playing that more than I enjoy playing 'Last Nite.’ I just
smiled about it." Fans rarely stop to think about whether their favorite
band actually enjoys performing for them or gets sick and tired of the songs
they play over and over and over again in year after year of live shows, but hearing
a lead singer say he’s literally miserable playing any song from his band’s
repertoire can't be totally overlooked. On a positive note for Strokes fans,
Casa-bitter-cas did confirm that The Strokes will record new material early
next year. "In January, we might meet up and work on some ideas. Everyone
is psyched. Everything is in a really cool place," he said. Once the new
music is recorded, of course, the clock starts ticking down to the point where
the guy singing the songs will grow to hate them, but for the one or two tours
where fans pony up $40 bucks to see the show, he’ll do his best to grit his
teeth and battle through…………
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