- Riot
Watch! Riot Watch! South America is overflowing with rage this week and on the
heels of a massive protest in Brazil demanding an end to violence and
discrimination against women, a general strike by
diverse groups upset with President Rafael Correa has virtually crippled the
Ecuadorian capital of Quito. The strike is epic because it unites so many
different groups whose sole common denominator is that they hate the president
enough to clog up provincial cities and stretches of the Panamerican highway. These
brave dissidents were out and at work early, blocking roads with tree trunks,
rocks and burning tires. Tire fires are a wonderful way to start your day while
simultaneously giving a giant, literal middle finger to the environment, so
it’s worth looking at why these various groups were out raising hell. Many of
them object to pending legislation that would permit Correa's indefinite
re-election, while indigenous groups are upset by the leftist economist's
refusal to consult them on mining and oil exploration on traditional lands. Correa
has become a massive target ever since a plunge in crude prices forced him to
impose cost-cutting measures, including new taxes, and that’s a recipe for
chaos in a small, relatively poor country which is heavily dependent on oil
revenues. Deputy Interior Minister Diego Fuentes tried to head off the riots at
the pass, saying before they began that people who blocked streets would be
arrested. Those words had little deterrent impact on the outpouring of anger
aimed at ending Correa’s supposed reign of terror before his third term comes
to an official end in two years. Nine years of Rafa seems to be about as much
as some Ecuadorians can take…………
- Bring
them all back. All of them. Every old movie and television show that has ever
existed for even a failed pilot episode that never made it to air must be
revived, remade and/or given a sequel. It is what Hollywood demands and the
goal the entertainment industry seems to be working toward with relentless
devotion. The latest old movie or show to be hauled needlessly off the scrap
heap is HBO’s deceased Western, “Deadwood.” The show, which was officially cancelled in 2008, may become a movie in
the near future. An HBO spokesperson confirmed that discussions on a
“Deadwood” movie are in the early stages and once such a rumor begins to
circulate, it’s only a matter of time before someone involved with the original
project chimes in - someone such as star Garret
Dillahunt. "So uh....I'm hearing credible rumors about a #Deadwood
movie." he posted. "Come on
HBO," Dillahunt tweeted. "You made @entouragemovie. Give the
#Deadwood fans some closure." The possibility of a movie has hung in the
air for seven years on account of HBO announcing it would make not one, but two
“Deadwood” movies when the series came to an end back in 2008. It existed for a
mere three years from 2006 to 2008, but as the return of “Twin Peaks” proves,
it doesn’t take a long and distinguished run marked by consistently high
ratings to get a show remade, movie-d or sequel-ed. Creator David Milch has
hinted in the past that a cinematic adaptation may happen. "I don’t know that the last word has been said on
the subject," he cryptically proclaimed back in 2011. "I still
nourish the hope that we're going to get to do a little more work in that
area." Along with Dillahunt, the show’s original cast included Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, Molly Parker, and
Brad Douriff. Considering that none of them are setting the entertainment world
afire on their own these days, all should clearly take the call if invited to
be a part of the potential movie……….
- It
takes serious stones to try to cheat a casino in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. They
are some of the most heavily surveilled places on the planet and they can build
massive monuments to opulence that reach the clouds because they have a tested
system of squeezing lots of money out of suckers who should know better. Trying
to game them in any way requires both chutzpah and incredible smarts and Christian Lusardi of Fayetteville, North Carolina seems
to have one of those two characteristics. This would-be rich man pleaded guilty
this week to bringing millions of dollars in counterfeit poker chips to use in
a casino's poker tournament, a scheme that crumbled when he panicked and clogged
a pipe by flushing the chips down the toilet in his hotel room. He will now
spend five years in prison thanks to a plea agreement in which he admitted to suspecting
the fake chips had been noticed, hurrying out of the room and flushing them
down the toilet in his room at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, where he had been
staying. For a fleeting moment, he likely thought his obfuscation efforts had
succeeded, right up to the point the chips clogged up the pipes and guests on
the floor below complained that water was dripping into their rooms. Maintenance
was called, the chips were found at that time and an additional 22 tournament
chips worth $5,000 were found in a clogged toilet in the Borgata the next day. All
together, $3.6 million worth of tournament chips were found, although they have
no actual cash value - just value in a court of law. Lusardi pleaded guilty to
trademark counterfeiting and criminal mischief and in addition to being hit
with five years in the hole, he will be required to pay the Borgata Hotel
Casino & Spa $463,540 for the revenue it lost when it canceled the 2014
tournament after discovering the fake chips. Oh, and there’s that $9,455 fine for
damaging the pipes. Left without a price tag were the hopes and dreams of the 27
people remaining in the Borgata Winter Open Big Stack, No Limit Hold 'Em event
when play was suspended. Lusardi had won $6,814 in the tournament after
purchasing his phony chips from a Chinese manufacturer online and then put a
counterfeit Borgata logo on them. Give Lusardi credit not only for being stupidly bold, but
also for inspiring the Borgata to begin using more intricate chips with more
colors and an authentication element that can be checked under ultraviolet
light……….
- No
one in men’s professional tennis is applauding Nick Kyrgios on Thursday for his
"insulting remark" toward French Open champion Stan Wawrinka during a
match at the Rogers Cup, but it’s worth asking if they should be. On one hand,
having courtside microphone pick you up saying that Australian player Thanasi
Kokkinakis had slept with a player who is reportedly Wawrinka's girlfriend
seems like the classless retort of a loser who’s bitter about being bounced
from a tournament, but just know that if not for this remark, no one outside of
the über-small diehard tennis fan community would have any clue the Rogers Cup
was going on. The ATP fined Kyrgios $10,000 under a provision in its rules that
allows a fine of up to $10,000 for incidents of verbal abuse or unsportsmanlike
conduct, noting that a "singularly egregious, a single violation of this
section shall also constitute the player Major Offense of Aggravated
Behavior.'' Wawrinka was understandably offended and tweeted that the
Australian's words were "beyond belief" and urged tennis' governing
body to take action. "So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and
colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine,"
Wawrinka tweeted. "There is no need for this kind of behavior on or off
the court and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand for this
and stands up for the integrity of the sport that we have worked so hard to
build." Kyrgios followed the script as well, posting an apology on his
Facebook page. "My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were
unacceptable on many levels,'' Kyrgios wrote. "I take full responsibility
for my actions and regret what happened.'' The allegedly unfaithful girlfriend
in question is Donna Vekic of Croatia, who is ranked 127th in the world on
the women’s tour. All involved can thank to colorfully haired, loose-tongued Kyrgios
for getting a lot of attention they would never have gotten otherwise, so let’s
try a little gratitude………
No comments:
Post a Comment