Friday, January 02, 2015

One-man Turkish riots, Anthrax + Game of Thrones and how the Knicks could be worse


- Carmelo Anthony’s definition of a crumbling empire needs some revision. The New York Knicks star is the best player (i.e. tallest midget) for a 5-29 team that has the most losses in the NBA and anyone with a shred of objectivity would characterize the once-proud franchise as crumbling. Yet there’s Anthony, bad knee and all, insisting that despite losing nine straight games and 19 of their previous 20 games, the Knicks are not falling apart – a fabricated reality Anthony attributes to rookie head coach Derek Fisher. "I think if it was anybody else in his position, I think this probably would've crumbled already," Anthony said after yet another blowout loss Wednesday night. "I think he's doing a great job of keeping everybody focused on the task at hand and believing in what we're trying to do." Really? How good can your focus be and how strong is your belief if you haven't won in nearly a month With losing streaks of 10, nine and six games this season and injuries ravaging what was already a weak roster, the Knicks have displayed virtually none of the qualities Fisher and new Knicks president Phil Jackson have tried to instill in New York. The Knicks lack most every essential quality for a successful team, from talent to basketball intelligence, defensive ability to teamwork and anything in between. Worse still, Anthony admitted that because of his ailing knee, he might not even make it to the All-Star Game, which is in New York this year. Hosting one of the NBA’s showcase events in the midst of what may go down as the worst season in franchise history would be an ironic twist for the Knickerbockers and one that would fit well with their crumbling empire……..


- Someone started the New Year’s Eve celebration a little early in sunny San Diego. That would be a certain clothes-free individual who was found running along Interstate 8 Wednesday and taken into custody by police. The man, whose identity was not released in keeping with California law, was spotted by a motorist who phoned the California Highway Patrol at 11:11 a.m., although the police did not confirm whether or not the caller also made a wish before alerting them to the fact that there was some mentally unstable kook doing his daily run on the interstate sans clothing. The caller alerted the law to a nude man running in and out of traffic along westbound lanes near Severin Drive, CHP officer Tommy Doerr said. Officers who arrived on the scene confronted the naked man and ordered him to stop, pointing Tasers at his ass (which was much easier to spot given his lack of pants) before taking him into custody. “[The naked man] said he wanted to go to heaven. He was a little unstable that’s why we took him to county mental health for evaluation,” Doerr said. Heaven? This fool already lives in sunny southern California, so the idea that he doesn’t already live in some form of utopia on Earth is off-base. After doing some quality police investigative work, officers determined that the man was involved in a three-vehicle crash nearby and was trying to run away. The law allows for individuals such as this to be hospitalized involuntarily for up to 72 hours if deemed a danger to themselves or others. Oh, and this incident occurred on one of the coldest days on record in San Diego, so there may also have been some shrinkage involved………..


- Who doesn’t think medieval drama with proper English and corsets aplenty and immediately conjure up mental images of tattooed metal maniacs with flying-V guitars and gnarly facial hair shredding in the background? Everyone should and now they can because metal rockers Anthrax have agreed to contribute a song to “Catch the Throne,” the forthcoming album inspired by HBO’s hit drama “Game of Thrones.” The network has cranked out a soundtrack for previous seasons of the show and the one for the fourth season included the likes of Big Boi, Wale and Daddy Yankee. The Season 5 version will go in a slightly different direction given Anthrax’s inclusion as well as the previous confirmation that Killswitch engage will also be part of the album. The complete lineup for the album hasn’t been confirmed, but an image of Anthrax founder Scott Ian in a studio was posted on Facebook earlier this week with the caption "Stay tuned… #CatchTheThrone #ANTHRAXalbum2015.” As  for the notion that “Game of Thrones” and heavy metal don’t mix, Ian had a counter to that argument in a recent interview. "All of you out there who watch 'Game Of Thrones', much like me, probably think it's a very metal TV show,” Ian said. “And just know the reason for that is that one of the creators [D.B. Weiss] is a huge metal head. I asked Dan, 'Hey man, what would be the possibility of us recording the drums for the next album in the throne room?' Like we bring a mobile studio and set up the drums, mic everything and record in here. He says, 'Oh my God, that would be the sickest thing ever. We know the guys that can make that possible.'" Here’s hoping the guys and ladies in the show’s writers’ room find a cameo for one or more members of Anthrax and Killswitch at some point this season……..


- Sometimes, a one-man riot is necessary. Not everyone understands this, but at least one man in Turkey has a firm grasp on the notion, leading him to loosen his grip on the multiple grenades and bullets he fired at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Istanbul office. This maniac was subdued by police after lobbing multiple grenades at the president’s office and chasing that with some gunfire. Police ended the whole attack a bit early, which was probably a solid idea for them given that the man was also armed with a small weapon and an assault rifle. His identity was not released, but that doesn’t mean police don’t know precisely who this rebel is. "The individual's identity and affiliation is obvious to us. He has spent time in prison,” Istanbul Police Chief Selami Altinok said of the attacker. The attack itself wasn’t exactly a precision plan, as the two grenades the attacker through did not explode and were soon destroyed by law enforcement. The Dolmabahce Palace in downtown Istanbul was the scene of the crime was once the residence of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, but police did not say whether Erdogan was present at the time of the attack. The president has become an increasingly divisive force in Turkey in recent months thanks to oppressive policies and a general intolerance of opposing viewpoints, so it was about time for someone to strap up, arm themselves to the teeth and lay siege to the palace in a relatively benign attack that screams “homicidal psychopath” in a way that mere words never, ever could………

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