Friday, October 14, 2016

Clowns terrorize Slipknot, African dictator playbook reading and Carson Wentz gets it


- You and your damn tiny houses, America. You’ve made something goofy a craze that has its very on TV series on HGTV and you have downsizers around the country clamoring for 150-square-foot domiciles with combination bathroom/kitchens and loft beds that boast all of three feet of overhead space for sleeping. So thank God someone out there is combating this phenomenon by striking fear into the heart of every man, woman and recluse who buys a tiny house and slams it onto a postage-stamp-sized parcel of land in the middle of nowhere. The identity of this anti-hero isn’t yet known, but his or her heroic deeds are after Malinda Crichton's new tiny house in West Sacramento, California. "The victim called us and said her tiny house had been stolen," said Sgt. Roger Kinney of the West Sacramento Police Department. The thief took the tiny house in the dark of night, stealing away with a home Crichton bought for a specific reason.  "This is for me to live in so that I don't have to worry about rent. I don't have to worry about mortgage. I'm a singer and a musician, so this is going to allow me to follow my passions," Crichton said. The whole scenario is suspicious; the house is nearly complete and Crichton is shopping for a place to put it because her current landlord doesn't want it on his property. A padlock and chain on the trailer hitch attached to the home wasn’t enough to prevent the theft, but hours after the house went missing, Crichton found it sitting in a shopping center parking lot in West Sacramento. The total cost of her home is about $50,000, so grand theft domicile could now become a thing if stealing tiny houses catches on……….


- As deftly as he’s handled opposing blitzes and last-minute audibles at the line of scrimmage, perhaps nothing shows better the extent to which Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz has mastered the art of being an NFL star than how he handled his run to a local sports bar when visiting home during the Eagles’ bye week. Wentz headed back to North Dakota and hit up Herd & Horns Bar and Grill in Fargo, where he likely spent plenty of time during his college days at North Dakota State. The difference is that back in college, he and his buddies probably made sure to go on Dollar Beer Night, when they could get a lot of alcohol for a low price and not feel obligated to leave a big tip. This time around Wentz and his friends ran up a $1,000 tab while playing darts and shooting pool. Knowing that he could afford that bill as the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, Wentz picked up the tab and left a $500 tip. Tipping 50 percent is a habit not enough professional athletes pick up even when they make seven figures annually and could easily chip off a few extra dollars for people in the service industry. Herd & Horns Bar and Grill owner Brent Tehven confirmed Wentz’s generosity when the story got out and this underscores the fact that if you’re a public figure and you either tip really well or really poorly, someone is going to post it on social media and you’re either going to look like a total boss or like an über-cheap scumbag who gives a $2 tip on a $500 meal at a premium steakhouse…….


- Stifling the release of information to prevent your administration from looking bad? African dictators NEVER do that. So for all those accusing South African President Jacob Zuma of seeking to block the release of a preliminary report on whether a wealthy business family sought to influence the selection of some Cabinet minister picks, check yourselves. Zuma, one of the continent’s oldest and most thoroughly corrupt despots, is going to court to prevent the release of the report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, head of the state watchdog agency - or so the haters say. What’s not disputed is that Zuma previously asked for an opportunity to question witnesses who testified for Madonsela’s report and when that didn’t didn’t happen, he apparently moved on to the next page in the African dictator’s playbook for stifling dissent and quashing any opposition to his tyrannical rule. Zuma has kept his hold on power even though he should have long ago vacated office and allowed someone else to rule the country - you know, assuming this is an actual democracy and not a malevolent dictatorship where those who want a fair, non-corrupt and honorable government can demand accountability from those who rule over them. Madonsela is investigating links between Zuma and the Guptas, an Indian immigrant family accused of meddling in politics, and while both sides deny any wrongdoing, questions persist and should continue to do so even though Madonsela is completing a seven-year term and will be replaced by lawyer Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Saturday……….


- Look what the Clown Apocalypse hath wrought. Not only are children and communities across America living in fear over creepy ass hats who think dressing like a clown and peeping in strangers’ windows or trying to lure children into the woods with candy is amusing, but Slipknot percussionist Clown is suffering too. Yes, Clown, real name Shawn Crahan, is self-aware enough to understand that at a time when the clown has become a symbol of terror (as opposed to a symbol of simple creepiness as it usually is) and in the wake of the clown attacks throughout America and England, he’s temporarily changing his stage name to steer clear of the mayhem. Crahan has announced he will now be known as Mime “until the coast is clear,” which likely means until kooks in clown outfits stop wielding knives, invading privacy and attempting to kidnap children. “Even our dear Clown has downgraded himself to Mime, in order to distance himself from these hedonistic doppelgangers until the coast is clear,” Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor said in announcing the decision. “Remember, a real clown doesn’t need a knife to intimidate – just a bat and a good cold stare.” Ah, a jovial line about the good old days when a clown wielding a bat and playing drums for a rock band was considered acceptably menacing…..though Taylor did make it clear that he was angered by the clown attackers’ intimidation. How about we just get rid of clowns entirely in all walks of life, just to be safe……..

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