Monday, June 06, 2016

Olivia Wild + Peppers, Washington bus driver heroes and Philly fan's gonna Philly fan


- Philly fan is gonna Philly fan. They’ve booed Santa Claus, cheered serious head injuries to opposing players and are even willing to let their own players know how much they suck when the level of play declines. As such, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard shouldn’t be at all surprised that a fan at Citizens Bank Park threw a beer bottle from the stands at him over the weekend The team and police are investigating the incident, which happened as Howard was walking back to the dugout after a pinch-hitting appearance. The bottle landed at his feet and Howard was none too pleased about it.  "I've done too much in this town to have that kind of stuff," Howard said. "If you want to yell out 'You suck,' that's whatever. But when you start throwing stuff, that's when stuff gets personal." Whoever the weak-armed fan was, he or she had clearly been biding their time because Howard hasn't been in the Phillies' starting lineup the past five games. He was finally used as a pinch hitter with two outs in the ninth inning and after he grounded out to the pitcher to end the game, he was walking back to the dugout unaware when the bottle came hurtling through the air and came to a halt at his feet. "I don't play that. To me, that's crossing the line. It becomes a security issue. It's not necessary. That stuff infuriates me," Howard added. "Somebody has to do something. Somebody should get reprimanded for it. Because if I would've done something, if I would've went into the stands and tried to beat this dude up, I would've gotten in trouble by Major League Baseball. He probably would've tried to sue me.” The fan who threw the bottle is clearly a moron, but Howard is earning $25 million this season while hitting a measly .151, so clearly it was only a matter of time before Philly fan took action……..


- Washington may allow citizens to smoke chron recreationally, but don’t assume that the entire state is a bunch of placid, glassy-eyed stoners with no sense of urgency as they go about their day. One Clallam County bus driver is sure proof that there are go-getters in the Evergreen State after she thwarted a violent attack aboard her bus. The driver intervened when a male passenger violently attack an elderly female rider, all of which was caught on surveillance video. It was an ordinary weekend afternoon, one that included people getting on a bus in Port Angeles. The video shows the attacker standing up and kicking an 80-year-old passenger in the face, then appearing to choke her as she screams for help. At that point, the driver stopped the bus and stood up, causing the attacker to rush at her and grab her by the neck. However, the driver proved to be more of an opponent than an elderly woman and was able to break away, open the doors and call for help. Peaking on pure, 100-percent rage, the attacker went back to his first target as the elderly woman was on her knees, clinging to the nearest set. A few cowards on the bus huddled together in the back of the bus, failing to intervene but making sure they used their phones to call God knows who as the attacker grabbed the elderly woman a second time. The bus driver then returned and opened the read doors so the other passengers could escape, prompting the attacker to turn and scream at the driver to close the doors. Instead, she fled the bus and along the way, disabled the battery so that when the attacker tried to seize the driver’s seat and escape, the bus wouldn’t start. The escapade ended with the attacker in custody and the driver, while refusing to accept any credit publicly, being hailed as a hero……..


- When you’re a famous, successful actress, you get the opportunity to do cool sh*t like direct music videos for aged-out, semi-relevant stoner rockers. “Vinyl” star Olivia Wilde has done more than just appear on camera for a couple decades and her ambition to branch out from acting has lad her to the director’s chair before, so it makes sense that she’s set to direct the next video for Red Hot Chili Peppers for single 'Dark Necessities.” It makes even more sense since she currently stars in HBO’s latest rock ‘n’ roll drama series and previously directed the music video for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ 'No Love Like Yours.’ To chronicle the process of working with the Peppers, she has been sharing images and commentary on her Instagram feed, including one showing her directing model Noelle Mulligan. Another is captioned: "Chad Smith tearing up this crazy kit last night after I asked him to play at double the normal speed." Cinematographer Chris Blauvelt is apparently a part of the madness as well, since Wilde shared a photo of Blauvelt with the caption: "The man. Our kamikaze DP Chris Blauvelt." Blauvelt has worked with people like Sofia Coppola and Harmony Korine, so he has chops and is hopefully helping Wilde cope with the recent problem posed by frontman Anthony Kiedis recently being hospitalized with intestinal flu. His body, probably not at peak strength given its years of drug use, "feels good, but not great." The new single is  taken from Red Hot Chili Peppers' upcoming album 'The Getaway,' which is due out in less than two weeks……..


- How generous of you, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, offering up someone else’s land to house interning migrants. Rather than invite refugees to Salzburg, Vienna or Innsbruck, Austria's foreign minister is proposing dropping these poor souls on various Greek islands. As Kurz sees it, Europe should copy Australia's model of intercepting migrant boats offshore — either sending them back or keeping them in island camps until their asylum claims have been processed. He clearly doesn’t give a damn that human rights groups have criticized the practice as inhumane and a breach of international law, mostly because it would mean fewer immigrants reaching his mountainous nation. Kurz admitted that Europe can't follow Australia’s model to the letter, but believes the basic principle can be applied to Europe. The real gem here is the underlying logic, which is trying to break the mental resolve of those who reach Europe and upon arrival are motivated to make their new home a permanent one. As Kurz noted, someone who is on an island such as Lesbos and stands little chance of getting asylum is more likely to return home than someone who already has an apartment in Vienna or Berlin. In other words, don’t allow them to set down roots and don’t show them the best Europe has to offer; stick them on a remote island, try to keep them as far from a new life in a cool place as possible and eventually, if you throw enough red tape their way, they’ll give up and go back where they came from………

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