Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Quitting Star Wars, sex on the beach for real and Russia's shiny new tank


- Props to the New York Yankees for finally making it known publicly that they intend to give a giant middle finger to disgraced slugger Alex Fraud-riguez at every possible turn. The confirmed steroid user and unashamed cheater recently blasted his 660th career home run – some of them might even have be legitimate and not fueled by performance-enhancing drugs – and that was supposed to trigger  $6 million bonus, as it tied him with Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list. Yet for the first time since the next potential court battle involving Fraud-riguez became public, a New York Yankees official has dared to say publicly that the team has no intention of paying the aging third baseman five payments of $6 million for reaching the following home run milestones: 660 (Willie Mays' total), 714 (Babe Ruth), 755 (Hank Aaron), 762 (Barry Bonds) and 763, which would break Bonds' all-time record. "We have the right but not the obligation to do something, and that's it," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "We're going to follow the contract as we follow all contracts, so there is no dispute, from our perspective." Simply put, the team believes A-Fraud invalidated the addendum to the 10-year, $275 million contract he signed with the Yankees after opting out of his previous contract in 2007. From the Yankees’ point of view, that deal and its bonuses are contingent upon the club's ability to market each accomplishment. In light of Rodriguez's 162-game suspension for drug violations last year, the Yankees (rightly) contend marketing any of the feats is impossible now due to Rodriguez's admissions of, and punishment for, illegal PED usage. “The Union is prepared to intervene on Alex's behalf,'' Major League Baseball Players Association spokesman Greg Bouris said, presumably while his inner monologue screamed, “I can't believe we have to fight for this disingenuous asshole.” All in all, a truly unsavory situation all around……….


- Look the hell out, world. Russia has a new toy and it wants to use it to conquer the world….maybe just not in the way you think. Sure, the new Armata tank is billed as having the potential to surpass all Western versions because of its remotely controlled cannon and the protection it offers its crew and that comes in handy when you’re looking to wrongly invade every damn country with whom you share a border or from which you’ve ever eaten an ethnic food, but the more pertinent fact is that sh*t sells really well for would-be world dominators around the globe. The mythical new tank made its big public debut this week, rumbling down a broad Moscow avenue on its way to Red Square for the Victory Day parade's final rehearsal. It was the latest step in a drawn-out release process that included the Russian Defense Ministry last month releasing photographs of the tank. Those teaser photos showed only the tank’s platform, with its turret covered with fabric. Monday was the first time anyone not enlisted to help Vlad Putin crush the world under his Communist heel had seen the whole tank uncovered. The Armata will replace the T-72 and T-90 and is scheduled to enter service next year. As for the big parade in which it figures to feature prominently, that event takes place on Saturday, the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It’s ironic because that was a time when Russia actually did something good for the world, but it hasn’t exactly contributed much of value in the 70 years since……..


- Directing a “Star Wars” movie is the sort of gig most dorky directors would be willing to throw their best girly punches for and scrap their damndest with their scrawny forearms to win. So why is director Josh Trank pulling out of directing the second film in the "Star Wars" anthology? "After a year of having the incredible honor of developing with the wonderful and talented people at Lucasfilm, I'm making a personal decision to move forward on a different path," Trank said in the statement. "I've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some original creative opportunities." Umm, that tells us nothing, J. What does tell us something is that Trank was reportedly fired and that Disney, which owns "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' studio Lucasfilm, announced that Trank, the director of "Chronicle," had decided to move on. The studio seems to be handling this politically, but odds are that a director isn’t just voluntarily quitting on a project like this. The first anthology movie, "Star Wars: Rogue One," will take place between "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" and "Episode IV: A New Hope" (known to many as the first "Star Wars" movie from 1977). “Rogue One,” directed by Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla"), is a tale of a group of rebels that goes on a rogue mission to steal plans for the Death Star. It will star Felicity Jones and is expected to come out next year, so there is time to figure out who the hell is going to replace Trank. Disney has yet to announce a replacement and said only hat "the Star Wars team is continuing to develop the project." As for Trank’s wholly unnecessary redo of "Fantastic Four," it’s due in theaters August 7………….


- Sex on the beach…it’s not just a drink these days. Thanks to Elissa Alvarez and Jose Caballero, it’s also a scarring experience for several small children who had the misfortune of seeing these two overly amorous lovers getting it on at a public beach in Bradenton, Florida. Alvarez and Caballero were accused of having sex on in front of families and with some fairly ironclad evidence against them, it took a Manatee County jury about 15 minutes to find them guilty of lewd and lascivious exhibition. The case wasn’t exactly shrouded in mystery after prosecutors played a video in the courtroom showing Alvarez moving on top of Caballero in a sexual manner in broad daylight. There were also multiple witnesses who testified that a 3-year-old girls saw the alleged sex act and while the odds of a child that being able to keep it in their pants will cost Alvarez and Caballero dearly. Both of them will have to go through the rest of their lives registering as sex offenders wherever they go and in addition to that delightful piece of news, their respective convictions carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Credit to Caballero for managing to bag a chick half his age and to get her to get her freak on while at the beach, but maybe next time you either get a cheap motel room or at least wait until after dark so there aren’t a bunch of families trying to chill on a sunny day at the beach………

No comments: