Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Tracy Morgan is back, Riot Watch! Moldova and an MMAer v. ISIS


- Mixed martial artists are generally badasses. You really have to be to earn a living or simply enjoy a hobby in which the other guy’s objective is to choke you out, knock you out or make you submit. But what UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy is dealing with right now takes MMA toughness to a whole new level because as best anyone can tell, he’s the only fighter who has the Federal Bureau of Investigations looking into ISIS terror threats made against him. Kennedy shared new of the FBI investigation in a message posted on his official Facebook page. “Just spoke with the FBI regarding some recent credible threats towards me by ‪#‎ISIS,” Kennedy wrote. “They were not overly thrilled with my response. Let those cowards come.” So why is ISIS possibly interested in taking out a guy who has an 18-5 record as a mixed martial artist? Because Kennedy has spent 12-plus years in the military, having joined the U.S. Army in 2004, where he became a Green Beret serving in the elite 7th Special Forces Group. After five years, he transitioned to the Texas Army National Guard, where he currently serves as a sergeant first class. Defending things seems to be his forte, as Kennedy recently started Sheepdog Response, a group that teaches people about “all aspects of protecting yourself and others, including, striking, grappling, weapons, and situational awareness.” He estimated that he typically receives such threats five to 10 times per day on his various social media accounts, but this time the FBI deemed some of those threats credible enough to follow up on. “Apparently a couple of them were legitimate in trying to, from what the FBI said, plan stuff,” Kennedy said. Suddenly the dude in 4-oz. gloves trying to cave your face in with a jab doesn’t seem so threatening………

- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Life got interesting over the weekend in Moldova, a former slice of the Russian empire that is now a relatively poor Eastern European nation with an extremely angry populace hell-bent on forcing its existing government out of power. That created quite a scene as thousands protested in the capital city, Chișinău, raging against the nominee for prime minister and calling for Parliament to be dissolved and early elections. In the span of a single day, there were a whopping three protests in the Moldovan capital — two organized by pro-Russian parties and the third by civic group Dignity and Truth, which demands an end to what it calls endemic corruption. That much rage by that many different people representing different causes is a thing of beauty and the response was swift and severe after President Nicolae Timofti nominated Technology Minister Pavel Filip as the next prime minister, which parliament is expected to approve. That pleased off the pro-European ruling coalition, which earlier proposed Filip, but antagonized multiple groups. Should parliament fail to approve a government by Jan. 29, Timofti will dissolve the legislature and that would come on the heels of parliament dismissing  the previous government in October amid corruption allegations. Oh, and there’s still the unresolved drama that has persisted since up to $1.5 billion went missing from three banks prior to the 2014 parliamentary elections, so that’s still a thing. Does anyone get the impression that the mystery of the missing money won’t be solved any time soon……….


- It’s good to see Tracy Morgan getting back on track, even if his latest project is based in a world where an overwhelming percentage of such endeavors crash and burn in their first season. Morgan has gradually built back up to full speed in the aftermath of a serious 2014 limo crash that nearly killed him and now, he’s returning to TV with a new show in which he will play an ex-con who is released from prison after 15 years and tries to get his life back on track. The “Saturday Night Live” alum has been on a wide range of shows in the past, but his latest vehicle was announced during the Television Critics Association's winter press tour in Pasadena, California, with the pilot episode to be written by “Key and Peele” star Jordan Peele and “Eastbound & Down” producer John Carcieri. Morgan, Peele and Carcieri are executive producing and despite the number of new shows that fail every TV season, FX is legitimately excited about the project. "What an unbeatable combination — Tracy Morgan and Jordan Peele — two exceptional comics joining forces with a great team of writers and producers to create and produce this pilot for FX Networks," network exec Nick Grad said in a statement. "We've been committed to Tracy from the start and are thrilled that Jordan, John, Eric and Joel are joining him in developing this new project." Having suffered broken bones and a serious brain injury in an auto accident, Morgan has clearly fought hard to get back to where he is now, back to a show on FX like the pilot he was working on for the network with the creators of “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” prior to the crash. Working on a basic cable network can be a painful experience at times as well, but for Morgan, this one should feel pretty damn good compared to what he’s been through……….


- Man, you hate to see something like this happen. Beauty queens are such role models for girls everywhere, what with their ability to parade around a stage in high heels and bathing suits and answer inane questions posed to them by lecherous old men in tuxedos while being judged by a panel of B-list celebrities in order to win a crown that has absolutely no real-world significance. With each and every pageant contestant on such a lofty pedestal, it’s so sad to see Stormy Keffeler - a future local TV weather forecaster with that name - gave up her crown as Miss Washington USA all because she’s an irresponsible lush who puts the lives of many in danger in the name of a good time. Yes, Keffeler went from winner of the pageant to disgraced former winter after it emerged she had been convicted of drunk driving one month before the event, pleading guilty to DUI in September and spending two days in jail last month. It seems that when police stopped Keffeler in April, two of her car's tires were flat and her eyes were "droopy, bloodshot and watery," according to a Seattle Police Department report. "Her speech was very slurred and she was having problems putting together full sentences," the report said. Subscribing to the, “Go big or go home” theory, Keffeler’s blood-alcohol level was .22 — nearly three times the legal limit. It was an impressive display of binge drinking, but it was also one that caused Keffeler to pageant rules not for being a bad human being by driving drunk, but because she failed to disclose  the incident on her paperwork before entering Miss Washington USA nor after she won the 2016 crown in October. But hey, at least she’ll be forgotten just as quickly as every other random state beauty pageant winner, just with a bit more ridicule first……….

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