Thursday, April 21, 2016

Game of Thrones + Liam Gallagger, Nigerians v. lack of fuel and NBA dance party haters


- Craigslist is a bizarre and terrifying place. There are freaks of all types looking for everything from sexual fetish material to those seeking human organs and anything in between, but every now and then, something on the list of weird offerings on the site is simply weird and nothing more. Enter Cornish, Maine resident Bob Solomon, who’s looking to move a half-century-old tank on Craigslist. Solomon’s M-114 tank dates back to the Vietnam War era, but he’s not sure if it ever saw combat. In a truly Craigslist tale, Solomon got the tank in a trade about a year ago. “I’m always trading, and wheeling and dealing. That’s what you’ve got to do in Maine, right?” he said. Sure, but who the hell is making a deal for a car, boat or large household appliance and says, “Hey Bob, I don’t have the cash for that, but what I do have is this semi-functional, 50-year-old tank?” Solomon is asking $10,000, but his ad says he’ll consider some interesting trades – namely vintage “Star Wars” merchandise. He claims he doesn’t want to sell, but said his family needs the money. Sadly, for those looking to start their own local militia, the tank starts and runs, but has been stripped of its armor and weapons. Solomon and his three sons originally planned on rebuilding the top of the fighting vehicle so his sons could “have their buddies ride in the tank,” but the need for disposable cash eventually won out because Solomon suffered a back injury that affected his ability to work. According to state authorities, the tank could be made street-legal with a lot of work, but didn’t explain how any dude purchasing it should explain it to his wife……..


- Bitter much, Dallas Mavericks reserve forward Charlie Villanueva? Villanueva has apparently appointed himself the NBA equivalent of the town leaders in “Dirty Dancing,” decreeing that the nightly pregame dance party between Oklahoma City Thunder superstar guard Russell Westbrook and rookie guard Cameron Payne is inappropriate. Villanueva blatantly initiated a minor confrontation before Game 2 of the two teams’ first-round playoff series when he stepped between Westbrook and Payne during their normal pregame dance routine in front of the scorer's table at midcourt. Westbrook shoved Villanueva out of the way, but Villanueva walked between his dancing foes a second time and kept his anti-dancing crusade going in a video he recorded and posted online. "If you want to go dancing and stuff like that, go to a nightclub," Villanueva said. "Go to a club and dance. Go to 'Dancing With the Stars' and be a dancer. You want to battle and dance, we can battle, but not in a basketball game. Plus, they were in my way, too, so I wasn't necessarily interrupting their dance." He tried to explain how he loves pregame hype and rituals, but said dancing is a step too far. “I wasn't feeling all that right in front of me. Take that to the nightclub or to your side of the court. All due respect, but naaah,” Villanueva added. Hey Chuck….you and every other “old school’ type in every sport who tries to stamp out fun, dancing, celebrations and showmanship out of their sport needs to stop. There is nothing so sacred or holy about any sport that a guy two-stepping or freestyling before or during the game is sacrilege. Just appreciate that your team won the game and stop being so damn bitter about what happened on the side of the court before tip-off……..


- A gallon of gas for your soul, Nigeria? With disagreements between the government and fuel importers topped off with a foreign currency crisis caused by plunging oil prices, the African nation is locked in yet another fuel shortage and that’s impacting more than just citizens’ ability to get around. The fuel scarcity has left many without gas for cars and fuel for generators, which many people rely on for electricity. In a disturbing sight, drivers are queuing up for hours and even overnight in the hope of landing some of the few remaining drops of petrol available at fuel stations around Abuja, Lagos and other cities around the country. To compound the crisis, the recent explosion of an important pipeline and that has negatively affected electricity supplies. State officials are trying to reassure the public that the crisis would be resolved quickly, but that was weeks ago and as they wait, Nigerians are taking to Twitter, using the hashtags #NoFuel #NoLight and #EndFuelCrisisNow to share their experiences. They’ve used valuable power on their mobile devices or computers to share images of long fuel lines and snarky observations, lamenting their petrol-based problems regarding power for lighting, appliances and devices such as mobile phones. Worst still, the country’s water supply has also been affected because pumps are often powered by generators. Even though Nigeria is Africa's main oil exporter, it lacks facilities to refine it and depends on imports. President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Emmanuel I. Kachikwu have done little outside of posting useless videos on Facebook and considering that a similar crisis happened in May last year, a pattern appears to be developing here………


- An odd trend has emerged with “Game of Thrones,” which returns to the small screen for a sixth season on Sunday night. Ahead of the much-anticipated season, various characters on the show are being linked to different political and pop culture figures. First, we have Iwan Rheon explaining that he based his “Thrones” character on former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher.  Rheon plays Ramsay Bolton in the hit series and much like Gallagher, his character is extremely unpopular and hated by many. Rheon said he played Bolton "somewhere between the Joker from The Dark Knight and Dennis the Menace, with a little bit of Liam Gallagher in there.” Up next is British actor Jonathan Pryce, who plays High Sparrow on the show and has had his on-screen persona likened to Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.  “It was all with good intentions; he had lived a very debauched life, he was very rich, and he woke up one morning and said, ‘This is wrong’ and walked out with bare feet. He’s stayed barefooted ever since,” Pryce said of his character's defining quirk. “It’s funny, or perhaps ironic, but if you look on the Internet there are images of me and Jeremy Corbyn as a looky-likey. That could be interesting. A faith militant.” Given the sheer volume of characters on the show, if this trend picks up speed, Season 7 could be in the books before the world finishes deciding which public figures most resembles every member of the cast…….

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