- Who
needs the death penalty when your leader is a soulless despot who will imprison
and murder those who oppose him as if he were fining them for jaywalking? Zimbabwe
is a place ruled to the dictatorial Robert Mugabe, a man creeping up on one
century on this planet and without a single moment lived with humility, decency
or basic human kindness. Yet there was Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who
is also the justice minister, speaking at an international meeting of justice
ministers in Rome and telling everyone that his country will consider scrapping
capital punishment. Mnangagwa called it "a flagrant violation of the right
to life and dignity” and if any living man can speak to that topic, it’s Mnangagwa,
who was sentenced to death during Zimbabwe's colonial era, only avoiding it
because he was too young at the time. The issue is at the forefront now because
last month, a group of death row inmates approached Zimbabwe's Constitutional
Court bid to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. In a country
of 13 million, there are nearly 100 death row inmates even though its
constitution says the death penalty only applies to men between the ages 21 and
70 convicted of "murder committed in aggravating circumstances." That
seems blatantly unfair and discriminatory, but Zimbabwe has never been known
for its judicial fairness or equity, so worrying about the problem now when
safety, security and peace remain wholly elusive concepts does seem a bit out
of place………
- When
you think of over-the-top, massive-budget movies that are orgies of special
effects and excess, it’s hard not to think of director Guillermo Del Toro. He’s
helmed “Blade 2,” “Hellboy” and “Pacific Rim” and therefore, he’s the obvious
choice to pen the sequel for “Pacific Rim 2,” which is due out April 2017. Charlie
Hunnam - who starred in Del Toro's “Crimson Peak” - is expected to reprise his
role from “Pacific Rim” as Raleigh Beckett and word on the street is that “Hellboy”
star Ron Pearlman is returning as Hannibal Chau. "I'm going for very new, very crazy ideas
on the second one,” Del Toro said of his new project. “It's very different, but
you will get a really great spectacle.” Maybe this is all in search of a
blockbuster trilogy after Del Toro pulled out of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit”
trilogy, which he bailed on following years of preparation amidst internal problems
at MGM. The original “Pacific Rim” dropped in 2013 and made much of its $411 in
income worldwide due to its 3D and IMAX-3D showings as sci-fi fans rallied
around the idea of a story set in the 2020’s when Earth is at war with the Kaijus,
colossal monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on
the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Humanity fought back by creative massive
machines to battle the beasts and one would have to imagine that all manner of
mechanized and mutated weirdness will be a part of the sequel as well. Del Toro
doesn’t do anything sensibly or quietly, so over the top is the perfect way to
describe this project before the script is even finished and submitted………..
- Americans
are all about finding new ways to enjoy beer. If there is a way to drink it,
use it in their food or make their party better, then they will find it. But
that makes it all the more curious that the country is just now getting its
first beer spa. It comes from central Oregon, where something called Hop in the
Spa is now open for business. The Sisters, Oregon-based business offers patrons
the chance soak in a “proprietary blend of beer, hops, barley and some
herbs," according to its owners. Owner Sally Champa claims that sitting in
a tub of beer helps with relaxation and insomnia, based on hops' medicinal
qualities in getting rid of pain and aches. The idea for the spa came when one
of Champa’s friends and the spa’s chief "hoptimisitc" officer got
into a car accident. Mike Boyle’s car rolled over several times, causing serious
damage to his body, and he went to Champa for a massage. Having experienced a
beer spa in Europe, he knew about the concept and despite not being a beer
drinker himself, he was open to the idea. "One day we talked about this, and it
just happened that I said, 'Let’s hop into the spa business,'" Boyle said.
"I didn't drink beer until three months ago.” According to this duo,
business has built quickly and they’re doing well enough to plan a beer garden
and beer-infused coffee to expand their business. However, anyone patronizing
this spa should know that - according to Champa - soaking in a spa tub full of
beer will not get a person drunk. The idea of immersing oneself in beer when
the prospect of getting a few ounces spilled on you at a bar is a reason to
cave someone’s face in remains weird, but if people are will to pay for the
privilege, then keep charging them for it………
- Much
has changed for the New York Knicks this season - just not anything that really
matters. They’ve raised their expectations, tinkered with their roster and even
changed coaches mid-season and the current result is losses in 12 of their last
14 games and a 0.1 percent chance of rallying from their current position as
the third-worst team in the Eastern Conference into the playoffs. Their head
coach is embroiled in a Twitter controversy in which he followed and liked a
picture from a pornographic source, then claimed his account had been hacked,
and now that interim coach is the one trying to diffuse comments made by the
team’s star player. Carmelo Anthony isn't the only member of the Knicks to lash
out in response to the recent losing streak, but after hearing his star player
suggest that the team was in big trouble and said he worried that his teammates
may have started to accept losing, Twitter porn liker/interim coach Kurt Rambis
had to plug that hole in the damn. "We're all frustrated," Rambis
said. "We can't accept this. For the organization, for our team, ourselves
as individuals, the coaching staff. We can't accept losing. I want players to
be angry. I want players to be frustrated. That's the right attitude to
have." It’s an attitude reportedly shared by worst owner in the NBA
owner/frontman for a crappy pop band James Dolan, who has watched his team go
2-12 in the last month and 1-3 since
Rambis took over for the fired Derek Fisher. "We're considering a lot of
things; we'll see," Rambis said of how to fix what ails the Knicks.
"We'll have some conversations with the coaching staff, management and
players. We've got to find a way to play at a much higher level.” That’s fine
to say, but Rambis’ stated goal of qualifying for the playoffs when his team is
6.5 games out of the playoffs and will have to leapfrog several much better
teams to make the postseason and earn the honor of being swept in the first
round makes everything he says sound insane by association………
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