- Usually,
the Running Man is lame. It’s an uninspired dance move that looks ridiculous
even when done properly, but thanks to one well-conditioned Scottish
adventurer, the term has a new - and much cooler - meaning. Jamie Ramsay, a man who likes to run and help people, has
completed an epic 11,000-mile journey just in time to close out 2015. Ramsay has
run the equivalent to 403 marathons from Vancouver in Canada to Argentina's
capital, Buenos Aires, wrapping up his über-run around 4 p.m. local time on the
penultimate day of the year so he could spend New Year's Eve in Buenos Aires
with his girlfriend. During his trek, he traversed deserts, mountains and
everything in between, running thrccough 14 different countries. His quest was
to raise money and awareness for three charities - CALM (dedicated to
preventing male suicide), WaterAid and Macmillan - and in that respect, he was
successful. "I've always loved running. I've always loved travelling. I
just had something inside of me that wanted to go out and see if I could do
something special," Ramsay said. "CALM is preventing male suicide - which
is a big problem in the UK right now. That gives you a lot of motivation.”
Ramsay left Canada 17 months ago on his trip and consumed nearly 6,000 calories
a day and changed his trainers every 600 miles or so. He averaged over a
marathon a day and did so pushing around 100 pounds of equipment in a
conventional baby stroller. His most impressive stretch came in the last month,
when he ran an average of 35 miles a day in order to reach Buenos Aires on
time. He will run a comparably brief 15-mile jog from the airport to the Mall
in central London as a ceremonial victory lap when he arrives back in the
United Kingdom on Jan. 10………
- Disney
still doesn’t get it. Maybe CEO Bob
Iger didn’t get a chance to see 2008’s epically awful fourth installment of the
Indiana Jones franchise, because if he had, he would not be talking about his
company’s future plans for the franchise. Anyone who saw even a brief sampling
of what “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” had to offer
walked away shaking their damn head at what had become of the once-great action
franchise, now tainted by crystal alien skulls and outer-space nonsense with an
aged-out hero and a so-so young apprentice at the center of a crappy film. Yet
here is the CEO of Disney, explaining how the studio’s recent acquisitions of
director George Lucas’ intellectual properties will facilitate future projects.
“With George Lucas's Star Wars - and Indiana Jones, by the way, which will be
coming, we have more great stories,” Iger said. Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4
billion back in 2012, acquiring the rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones in
the process. The hype so far has been all about the much-debateda new Star Wars
flick, “The Force Awakens,” but rumors about the return of Indiana Jones have
been swirling for months. Steven Spielberg directed the first four movies in
the franchise and has amazingly - and inexplicably expressed interest in
working on a new film with Harrison Ford. One suggestion for taking over in the
franchise’s lead role is Chris Pratt, apparently the go-to choice for reviving
or resuscitating high-grossing action franchises from days gone by. The right
choice here, of course, is to never do another Indiana Jones movie and pretend
that “Crystal Skull” never happened, but we all know that ain’t going to
happen………
- In
Donald Chen’s defense, at least he didn’t lie about being a member of the Army
Reserves. That’s about all there is to be said in defense of an a-hole who from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 by the Stamford (Conn.) Police department
so he could report for training with his U.S. Army Reserves unit and instead
used that time to soak up the sun in Hawaii with his lady. Midway through his
military leave, the police department received a call asking where Chen was.
Given that the military and law enforcement are two groups that typically are
pretty good about being able to figure out who is and isn’t present/track down
those who are missing, it’s not clear how Chen intended to pull this one off.
His first move when his lie was exposed was to make up a story about his father
being ill, but that fabrication was soon exposed and Chen had little choice but
to admit that he was vacationing in Hawaii with his girlfriend. Then, in the
ultimate man-up move, he tried to hurriedly hit the eject button by resigning
from the police department on Dec. 14. Somehow, that brilliant swerve in the
plot didn’t absolve him of all the judgment coming his way and now, he’s had criminal
charges brought against him. Chen is facing charges of felony larceny and
defrauding a public community and while the latter of those two isn't a charge
often filed or even heard of, if ever there was a person to file it against,
Donald Chen is that person. He’s a man equal parts laziness, stupidity and lack
of integrity and he just proved that not everyone in a police or military
uniform embodies that true hero spirit……….
- While
those around former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during his tenure
in the City of Brotherly Love uttered a few requisite niceties about him, it’s
not hard to find their true feelings nestled among their words. Owner Jeff
Lurie wished Kelly all the best in his future after Philadelphia, while third-year
right tackle Lane Johnson called his former leader a "brilliant
coach." Listen a little longer, though, and the reality of the situation
comes into focus. Lurie offered a few insights when he was asked about what
qualities he will look for in Kelly’s successor. "Looking for somebody who
interacts very well and communicates clearly with everybody he works with and
comes in touch with," Lurie said. "[Somebody who] understands the
passion of our fans and what it's like to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. I
would call it -- I would call it a style of leadership that values information,
all the resources that are provided, and at the same time, values emotional
intelligence." Johnson was a bit less diplomatic when he was queried about
what was wrong with Kelly’s leadership style. "Maybe the ego got in the
way," Johnson said. "Too much power. Control. Not being human about
things; not working together, with the team, instead of being a dictator."
Ouch. Labeling someone a dictator and linking them to the likes of Gaddafi,
Lenin, Castro, Pol Pot and Hitler is always a big step, but it definitely jives
with the control-freak reputation Kelly developed during his time with the
Eagles. Hell, cornerback Brandon Boykin said after being traded to Pittsburgh
over the summer that Kelly wouldn't say anything when he passed a player in the
hallway and it’s typically very tough to have a good relationship with your
subjects, er, players if you won't even have a conversation with them………..
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