- It’s
a Spanish soap opera, played out within the context of one of the country’s
most popular and controversial sports. Think of it as a hybrid of Maury Povich
and matador flair, centering on a decades-old
paternity dispute over whether two of Spain*s most well-known bullfighters —
men who share the same show name "El Cordobes" — are really father
and son. At the core of the drama are retired bullfighting legend Manuel
Benitez, 79, and a man named Manuel Diaz. Diaz claims he's the son of this
legend and possible deadbeat dad, but it’s a fact Benitez has never recognized.
In an effort to prove his case, Diaz sought and was granted a court-ordered DNA
test that, according to his lawyer, proved 99.9 percent positive. The case has
entranced many Spaniards, who have long been convinced that the two men are
related given their striking physical similarities. Benitez is quite the
proficient procreator, as he has five other children, including another
bullfighter son, Julio, who is also known as "El Cordobes." What it
would hurt him to own the fact that a 47-year-old man is also his son is
unclear, but that’s the decision before the southern Cordoba city court, which
is now studying the evidence and arguments in the case and is expected to rule
next week. Diaz's lawyer Fernando Osuna says the case is mere formality given
the results of the DNA test, something that all of the unexpected fathers who
have appeared on “The Maury Povich Show” over the years only to be hit between
the eyes with the news that they ARE THE FATHER know all too well………
- If
your team has sucked for a decade and you decide to make a shameless cash grab,
er, try to launch a new era of pride by changing your logo so you can sell more
merch, the least you can do is peel off a few thousand dollars to let fans ink
that new logo on their bodies. No credit for you, Sacramento Kings, because
your ploy to roll out a new logo and pay for a limited number of people to get
tattoos of the new look isn't that commendable. The one-day offer was good only
at five local tattoo parlors in the city and given that most of individuals who
got the new logo tattooed on their body did so on a small scale, it’s not as if
these were high-end, über-expensive projects. Kings public address announcer
was out to document the day and posted video of fans lining up to get their
Kings tattoos, but the fact that this was a first-come, first-served deal was
bogus. The Kings have missed the playoffs the past 10 seasons, just fired
another coach and don’t figure to be contenders any time soon, so they really
should pay for as many tattoos as fans want to get for as long as they get them
- whether those tattoos are Kings logos, religious symbols, the name of a
girlfriend or loved one, a picture of their pet or anything else. Fans who got
the new logo inked on their body were asked to tweet the results with the
hashtag #NewEraOfProud and some even got advance notice from the team because
the Kings knew they both loved tattoos and were loyal season ticket holders.
This publicity stunt coincides with the Kings' opening a new arena in downtown
Sacramento, ironically named the Golden 1 Center given the fact that the Kings
have never won an NBA title and won't be any time soon……..
- Hoosier
justice can land a person in legal trouble. For homeowner David McLaughlin, it’s a potentially expensive
proposition and one he’s facing for an incident two years ago in which he shot
a burglar who had just broken into his home. When the alarm on McLaughlin’s
detached garage went off, he ran out toward the garage and spotted a man
running away from the building. Being a good, Second Amendment-loving American,
he had his gun handy and fired at the suspect, shooting him once along a dirt
alleyway in the small town of Dunkirk. The shooting may have seemed like a
clear-cut case of a homeowner protecting his house, but a jury later convicted McLaughlin
of criminal recklessness. It was a double-dip for the criminal justice system
as the accused thief, David Bailey, pleaded guilty to burglary. At that point,
it appeared the case was over and both men had been meted out the appropriate
justice, but the wronged criminal has no statute of limitations on his hurt and
so now, two years after the shooting, Bailey has filed a civil suit claiming McLaughlin
acted recklessly in firing the gunshots. Not surprisingly, McLaughlin’s
attorney disagrees. “My client thinks
it’s outrageous and I tend to agree,” attorney Brian Pierce said. “You don’t
ordinarily expect someone to burglarize you and turn around and sue you
for damages.” The complaint alleges that, “As the plaintiff (Bailey) was
running down the alley away from defendant's residence, the defendant
(McLaughlin) continued to the public right-of-way (and off his property) and
continued firing his weapon down the dark alley.” Those alleged three shots,
one of which struck Bailey in the back of the arm as he ran away, are tagged
with claims that McLaughlin told neighbors he “had no idea what he was firing
at.” As Pierce sees it, his client was merely defending his property and this
whole case will soon evaporate……..
- This
week’s battle over Hollywood casting a white actor in a non-white role comes to
us courtesy of Marvel and talented actress Tilda Swinton, who is under fire for
her casing as a character known as the Ancient One in the upcoming film “Doctor
Strange.” Marvel is under fire for the choice from critics who accused the
company of being the latest example of Hollywood’s racism in role choices by
selecting a white actress for the role of a character that's Tibetan in the
film's source material. “Marvel has a very strong record of diversity in its
casting of films and regularly departs from stereotypes and source material to
bring its MCU [Marvel cinematic universe] to life,” the studio said in a
statement. “The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one
character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this
particular film the embodiment is Celtic. We are very proud to have the
enormously talented Tilda Swinton portray this unique and complex character
alongside our richly diverse cast.” Swinton previously addressed the situation with
the same response, saying she “wasn't asked to play an Asian character” and
that the character is not by its nature Asian. That sounds like some grade-A
Hollywood spin-job bullsh*t, but co-writer C. Robert Cargill is backing
everyone involved, saying that “The Ancient One was a racist stereotype who
comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place.” That
weird place is Tibet-China relations, which are über-strained and by his
thinking, if a Tibetan character were cast, it would offend China and therefore
ruin the film’s chances in one of the biggest film-watching countries in the
world. In other words, #HOLLYWOODWHITEWASHING……….
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