- It’s a lonely, lonely life on the ATP tennis tour, even
for one of the best players in the world. Japan's Kei Nishikori is a certified
baller, ranked fifth in the world and yet, there is a gaping hole in his life
alongside the millions of dollars he has won and the trophies he has hoisted.
Addressing a news conference in his native Japan this week, Nishikori admitted
to feeling envious of his rivals who have wives and girlfriends there to
support them when they play. "Tennis players are always on the road so it
must help relieve some of the stress for the players who have their partners traveling
with them," Nishikori said. "It would be nice to have someone like
that with me on tour one day." That’s a poignant statement for a player
nearing the end of a breakout year in which he became the first Asian to reach
a grand slam final. Nishikori has been romantically linked with former Olympic
gymnast Honami Tsuboi, but wasn’t exactly forthcoming when her name was raised.
"I have lots of people who support me -- my family, my team, coach, my big
sister," he said. "A fan once asked me to marry them (during a match)
but I wasn't confident enough to offer a response." Good non-answer, K. He
also conceded that he felt outmatched among the world’s top players at last week's
ATP Tour Finals in London, but had words of warning for the likes of Novak
Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. "I felt like a little child at
the Tour Finals," Nishikori said. "I was the smallest of the eight
players, but I feel I have weapons other players don't have -- maybe extra
quickness and a different style of play. I have a little power too." A
little power plus a little love can go a long way……….
- Get the hell out of Argentina, foreign scofflaws. The
South American nation is poised to give visitors who disregard its laws the
boot after the Argentine Senate passed a bill to expel foreigners who commit
crimes. Senators approved the legislation 39-24 on Wednesday and the bill,
backed by President Cristina Fernandez, is expected to be passed by the lower
house as well and turned into law. Fernandez has said on numerous occasions
that there is a growing number of foreigners entering Argentina to commit
crimes, although she hasn’t been very specific about what types of crimes
they’re looking to commit or why they’re coming to Argentina to do them. Either
way, the bill allows for foreigners caught breaking the law can be immediately
expelled from Argentina and banned from returning for at least five years. In
other words, it had better be damn well worth it to jaywalk in Buenos Aires
because if you’re caught, you’re out of the country for half a decade. Foreigners
with legal residence can ask to remain in Argentina to serve out their sentence
for the crime, but this all seems like an overwhelming dose of paranoia and
lashing out blindly by Argentines, who are growing increasingly worried about
rising crime in their country. The only sane-thinking people in this matter are
rights groups who have argued that foreigners represent a fraction of law breakers
and say the proposed law could lead to unfair treatment. It’s a salient point
and one that lawmakers could have considered before, you know, voting in favor
of this bill……..
- “Portlandia” lives on. The cult-favorite cult sketch show
co-created by Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein will be back for a fifth
season next year, with a 10-episode season set to begin on IFC on Jan. 8. Brownstein
and co-star Fred Armisen will anchor the show once more, with help from a
glittering array of guest stars including Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan, Steve
Buscemi, Greta Gerwig, Matt Groening, Seth Meyers and Brigitte Nielsen. "This
season, Portlandia will go back
in time to see the origins of feminist bookstore owners Toni and Candace’s
long-time friendship,” IFC said in a statement promoting the new season. “Plus,
Bryce and Lisa start a taxidermy shop, Malcolm and Kris are a public failure as
parents, Lance and Nina seek out couples therapy, and Fred and Carrie attempt
to buy a home in Portland’s cutthroat real estate market.” Fans of the satirical
sketch show that spoofs the general weirdness that is Portland, Oregon and
which debuted in 2011 will undoubtedly be enthused to hear this news, probably
even more so than they were when hearing the news that Sleater-Kinney will
release their first new album in 10 years on Jan. 19. No offense to Brownstein,
but the debut of “No Cities to Love” is likely to fall well below the radar
while “Portlandia” getting 10 more episode will send fans to setting their DVR
and Netflix users rushing to catch up on previous seasons so they can be ready
for the next round of wakcy hijinks the show has to send their way……….
- Maybe it’s just the lingering terror of risin and
anthrax-laced letters in the mail from a few years back, but spraying unnatural
sh*t on paper – beyond the many chemicals present because they’re used in the
production of paper – seems like a shady move. Don’t tell that to the owners of
Jacob’s Meat Market in Appleton, Wisconsin, because these experimental yahoos are
looking to combat the hazards of winter with an extra dose of vitamin C – on
their receipts. “The first time we got it, I was like, ‘What’s wrong with it? Is it
running low?’ because it was yellow. But, no, they were like, ‘It’s from down
the street,’” employee Samantha Regeth said of the paper. “It’s made out of
vitamin C and it’s more of a ‘going green’ paper.” The meat market adopted the
idea courtesy of Appvion Paper in Appleton, which created the unique papyrus
and uses the formula because it skips the harmful use of chemicals like BPA.
“We wanted to come up with a natural ingredient that would address that issue
that would solve that issue. And vitamin C seemed like the perfect fit for it.
It also serves as a color developer; it’s a weak organic acid that functions in
much the same way as other phenols that other people are concerned about, BPA
for instance,” Appvion spokesman Bill Van Den Brandt said. According to the
paper maker, the vitamin C coating is healthier for checkout clerks and the
environment. “They are concerned about and their customers are concerned about
exposure to certain chemicals that are often used in receipt paper,” Van Den
Brandt added. The vitamin-laced paper has been test marketed in a few dozen
stores and Appvion hopes to eventually expand its production as more retailers latch
on to the idea……..
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