- Anyone
who’s ever owned an outdoor dog knows the feeling. Their beloved pooch manages
to break free from its leash, get through a hole in the fence or ignore the
shock from their Invisible Fence system long enough to get out of the yard and
run free in the world. For dog owner Tonia Mosteller of Belmont, North
Carolina, it happened when her 5-year-old golden retriever Riley lifted the
latch on the backyard gate when Mosteller went out to run some errands. Earlier
in the day, she and her dog ran into a group of dogs from the local doggie daycare
during their morning walk and because Riley is a regular at the Happy Dog Café,
seeing his friends clearly sparked an idea in his small canine mind. When his
owner dragged him away from his friends, Riley whined the whole way home and
when his owner made the mistake of leaving him unattended in the back yard, he
saw his chance to make a break. "We walk Riley everyday, typically through
town, and sometimes we will stop by the daycare," Mosteller said.
"Riley knows his way around town." Once free, Riley headed to Happy
Dog Café, where owner Teresa McCarter noticed a dog sitting outside waiting to
be let in. She recognized Riley and brought the wayward canine inside, later
calling the Mostellers to let them know where their pet was. Riley got a free
daycare session, the Mostellers received valuable lesson about underestimating
the cleverness of their four-legged friend and everyone else got themselves a darn
cute story to enjoy…….
- If
you’re going to take on a serious, heavy topic like the late Russian despot
Joseph Stalin, it’s best to do it with a serious, straight-laced cast of actors
known for pulling off convincing portrayals of weighty roles. Either that or
you do what Armando Iannucci is doing with his project “The Death of Stalin,” a
political satire centered on the aftermath of the Soviet leader’s demise in
1953. Iannucci, out to craft a winning follow-up to his hit HBO series “Veep,”
has enlisted a part of comedic veterans in Jeffrey Tambor and Steve Buscemi to
round out the cast of “Stalin” alongside Michael Palin, Timothy Dalton, Olga
Kurylenko, Toby Kebbel, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine and Andrea
Riseborough. Buscemi, whose voice and appearance lend themselves well to
playing wacky characters, will play Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin’s eventual successor,
with Tambor as Georgy Malenkov, the chairman of the council of ministers in the
wake of Stalin’s death. Dalton also has a central role as Georgy Zhukov, a war
hero and former confidante of Stalin who was another key figure in the power
struggle, and all of this is built on the foundation laid by the 2011 graphic
novel 'The Death of Stalin,' written by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin. Those
who lived through the horrors of Stalin’s reign of terror or had ancestors who
did may not appreciate the zany approach of this project, but if you can't laugh
at Stalin then Armando Iannucci is clearly not the director for you……..
- Fashion
weeks are all about pushing boundaries, being edgy and….making sure you cover
up and keep it concealed? That would normally make no sense, except when it comes
to the bizarre event that is Turkey's first
International Modest Fashion Week. The event took place this weekend in
Istanbul, gathering designers and models of conservative wear from around the
world in a show of fashions that will make people stop and say, “Wow, this is
extremely unappealing, unenticing and not the least bit sexy in any way. It was
a two-day event stocked with models hitting the runway at a historic train
station, rocking a bright palette of breezy garments and kaleidoscopic
headscarves for those who live in corners of the world where showing off even
one centimeter of skin is a heinous offense. Some 70 designers took part in the
event hosted by Modanisa, an online retailer of Muslim fashion based in Turkey.
According to Modanisa CEO Kerim Ture, the purpose of the event was "to
create mainstream fashion out of modest fashion and to energize Islamic
communities to produce for Muslim women." One interesting aspect of this
particular fashion show is the backdrop of the heated debate over the role of
secularism in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation where the constitution
enshrines the principle of secularism. At least this particular show was one
where there were no diamond-encrusted undergarments that most women couldn’t afford
even with a third mortgage on their home………
- One
of the best stories of this year’s NFL draft is one step closer to having a
happy next chapter. Former Navy quarterback and Baltimore Ravens sixth-round
draft pick Keenan Reynolds’ selection inspired tears from Ravens executives
because he’s a high-character guy with a great attitude, but there was the
question of whether he would be able to play in the NFL right away. Because he
made a five-year service commitment to the Navy in exchange for his
undergraduate education, there was a chance Reynolds would have to go straight
into the military and not play football this fall. However, Secretary of the
Navy Ray Mabus is inclined to give Reynolds a chance to shine on the gridiron
and has submitted a request and "strongly recommended" that Reynolds
be cleared to join the NFL. "Approval of these requests will provide the
Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of the Navy (DON) significant
favorable exposure, enhance national recruiting, and serve as a positive
ongoing contribution to DoD public affairs efforts," Mabus said in a memo.
It’s up to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to make a final decision, but other
Navy graduates have been given a chance to play football before serving because
the Navy decided that having them playing in the NFL was great publicity and
could appeal to other young athletes who might consider attending the Naval
Academy. Thus, a triple-option quarterback at Navy now has career options
beyond spending the next five years on a ship. As Reynolds looks to switch to
wide receiver and returner for Baltimore, he can do so with his service
commitment on hold………..
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