- Big
names continue to commit to producing content for various video streaming
services and the latest might be a very clichéd, tired reality show concept,
but it has the name of Sylvester Stallone attached to it. Stallone will produce a new gladiator-style
competition TV series for Netflix. The show, “Ultimate Beastmaster,” will pit
competitors from six different countries against one another on a demanding
obstacle course known as “The Beast.” Think of it as mixing “American Ninja
Warrior” with a Warrior Dash event and a dash of United Nations, as the series
will be broadcast in six countries, with local languages, contestants and hosts
from each nation. The United States, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany and
Japan will all take part and with that international appeal, Netflix has ordered
10 hour-long episodes, each featuring 12 competitors battling to be crowned the
“Beastmaster.” After nine episodes, the individual winners will then compete
against each other in the final episode of the show to become the Ultimate
Beastmaster. “The invitation to partner with Netflix and mega-producer Dave
Broome on this revolutionary concept was an opportunity I couldn’t resist,” Stallone
said - i.e. they’re paying me a sh*t-ton of money to do this. “The world will
watch in awe as amazing competitors from around the globe overcome grueling
physical challenges — and in the process become champions and heroes. The
course is unequaled in its daring creation and I am excited to be a part of
it.” There’s no question a huge stack of cash will draw in many an A-lister and
Stallone has carved out a niche as an action hero over the years, but that doesn’t
mean him overseeing a glorified obstacle course race is going to give Netflix
its next bit hit…….
- Far
too rarely these days does an attorney try to use a centuries-dead playwright
to get his client off on a murder charge. An attorney in Maine is trying to
break that sad trend, but so far his strategy hasn’t worked. Defense attorney Stephen Smith tried to argue that his
client, Justin Pillsbury, should get a new trial after being convicted of
killing his girlfriend simply because a prosecutor (allegedly) affected the
verdict by referencing Shakespeare's "Othello" in his opening
statement. Smith tried to argue that in using the "green-eyed
monster" line, prosecutor Donald Macomber invoked a racist connotation. In
“Othello,” the titular character is commonly portrayed as a black Moor and
since Pillsbury is black, the jurors were therefore unfairly and irrevocably
biased against the defendant. Of course, dropping a vague hint about Iago
telling Othello that jealousy is "the green-eyed monster which doth mock
the meat it feeds on” only works if any of the jurors have a freaking clue
where that line comes from and how its context could relate to the trial and
since juries are comprised of 12 people not smart enough to find a way to get
out of jury duty, the odds of that happening here were low. Justice Michaela
Murphy decided the Shakespeare reference was only "on the line" of
prosecutorial misconduct and Macomber says he was referring to jealousy, not
race. The judge denied Smith’s appeal,
meaning this legal eagle must either take his case to the next level of the
legal system or decide to stop protesting so much……….
- Nice
try, soccer. You’re trying to matter here in the United States and in your endless,
futile quest for relevance, you’re trying to ride the coattails of very real,
burning hatred from the sport that is king in America. This is taking place in
Cincinnati, where upstart soccer team FC Cincinnati is trying to get people to
care about its fourth-rate United Soccer League and specifically, its upcoming
match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at the University of Cincinnati's
Nippert Stadium. Ordinarily, no one outside the immediate families of the
players and coaches would have any idea this game was even happening, which is
why FC Cincinnati has recruited a pair of bonafide idiots with a strong disdain
for all things Pittsbugh. Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones were the anti-heroes
of the Cincinnati Bengals’ January wild-card playoff game loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers courtesy of multiple last-minute personal foul penalties
that allowed the Steelers to move down the field for a game-winning field goal.
Burfict tried to decapitate Steelers receiver Antonio Brown with a despicable
illegal hit and now, he and Jones are trying to lure soccer fans to the stadium
to see a pair of irrelevant teams do battle. Jones, Burfict, defensive tackle
Domata Peko and several teammates will serve as honorary captains for FC
Cincinnati, which started play in Cincinnati about a month ago. "Cincinnati
and Pittsburgh is probably one of the nastiest rivalries in football,"
Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko said. “Whenever we play Pittsburgh,
everyone wants us to beat them. That's how I feel when it comes to soccer.
Hopefully we can get this big win." Good use of “we,” D-Money, but no one
is buying that you and the fellas give a damn about minor league soccer………
- Beware
of the man who admits that he is a dictator in any sense of the word,
Philippines. Even if the loose cannon you just elected to be your president
says he will only be a "dictator" against
evil and promises to step down in six months if he fails to fulfill his promise
to stamp out corruption, you can't be foolish enough to trust a word he says. "I
will be strict. I will be a dictator, no doubt it. But only against forces of
evil -- criminality, drugs and corruption in government," Duterte said in
a speech deliver in his hometown of Davao City in the southern Philippines,
where he is the mayor. "My message to all government employees -- the
police, the military, everyone, including Cabinet secretaries -- stop. You just
stop (corruption)." Oh, if only it were that simple. A man who just
clinched the presidency of the Philippines probably wants to keep the word dictator
out of his mouth despite its potential for dramatic effect. Even Duterte seemed
to realize he’d gone several steps too far and the next day, he’s dialed the rhetoric
way down. "If I get to live to the day (of) my oath of office, I don't
have other desires than to serve the interests of the people of the
Philippines. Nothing follows," he said, promising to focus on improving
education, health and agriculture. He mixed in a well-publicized scene in which
he was filmed and photographed sobbing over his parents' grave and with that,
he put a cap on an election in which 40 million of the nation's 54 million
registered voters endured the hottest day of the year so far to vote, giving
him 38 percent of the votes to carry him to power……..
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