- It is ironic that a band called Slaves are the ones urging
their fellow musicians to free themselves from the constraints society attempts
to impose on them, but in the end, all that matters is that someone speaks up. The
British rock outfit have urged their fellow artists to “stand up and be
counted” as various political and human rights issues continue to flare up and
the world becomes more and more contentious and divided by the day. While some
believe that musicians’ voices aren't any more important or worthwhile than
anyone else’s, Slaves seem to feel otherwise. “Artists thrive under shit
conditions and when terrible things happen and there are injustices, that’s
when artists should stand up and be counted,” band member Laurie Vincent said.
It’s heady times for Slaves, who won the Best Music Video prize at the V05 NME
Awards, snagging the sort-of-coveted award for the video for ‘Consume Or Be
Consumed,’ in which the pair take part in a hot dog eating contest, during
which 200 hot dogs were used. Yes, a band whose award-winning video is all
about downing tubes of über-processed quasi-meat product are the ones telling
you that you, as a musician, need to use your platform to make a difference in
the world. No one is quite sure what message the hot dog eating contest in the
video sends, other than Slaves like cheap, somewhat edible food items and will
use hot dogs to make their impact felt on the world……
- You know it’s a good protest when both lawmakers and those
they represent can get with it. Such was the scene in Venezuela, where a group
of enraged lawmakers blocked traffic on the main freeway to protest against
Nicolas Maduro's government and to demand that regional elections be held this
year, the latest in an ongoing revolt against the dictatorial leader. This one
was great to see because it was a surprise protest staged on Caracas' west side
and while it lasted a scant 30 minutes, it left an indelible impression after
many drivers got out of their cars and joined the fun alongside their elected
representatives. "We're demanding our rights, the right to elections, to
the electoral timetable. The CNE (National Electoral Council) can't continue to
delay the elections. The period for governors has already passed. It expired in
December. We want elections," lawmaker Jose Guerra said after helping lead
the uprising. Some in the crowd either a) knew about this beforehand or b) just
travel with protest signs in their cars because they know what kind of country
they live in and that at some point, they’re going to need a sign that reads, "Elections
Now!" Legislator Jorge Millan was also on hand and proclaimed to the
masses that Venezuelans needed to be permanent agents of protest to
"rescue" the country. According to the noted liars of the CNE, gubernatorial
elections, which had been originally slated for late 2016, will take place at
some vague point later this year. Opposition leaders have continually ripped
the delays as their country remains mired in a deep recession and grappling
with massive inflation and at this point, it’s hard to blame them…….
- Being put out in right field is akin to being put out to
pasture for a great Major League Baseball center fielder. Thus, it’s easy to
understand the hurt feelings for Pittsburgh Pirates perennial All-Star
outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who’s spent eight seasons patrolling center field
in the Steel City. That time is over, just sooner than he expected. McCutchen
thought he’d be making the decision on when to relocate to a corner outfield
spot on account of declining speed and athleticism, as the great ones like to
think. Instead, the team informed him prior to the start of spring training
that he was going to shift over to right field this season. “It wasn't an
ask," McCutchen said. "It was more of a 'say.' It was 'I have to move
there.'" It was a tough decision to accept and Cutch conceded that he took
it hard. "That was one of the first times that that was something I wanted
to go against," McCutchen said. "It wasn't something I was ready for
or I wanted to do. But as I keep saying that, I'm talking about myself. So I
just had to not be as selfish and just accept that that's what I had to do and
move over to right." He’s only played one game in right field in his
entire career, with Double-A Altoona in 2006, but right field is generally
considered the easiest of the three outfield spots to play. Successfully
adapting to his new spot may be a lot more psychological and pride-related than
physical for the multi-time All-Star, a move one of his predecessors in center
field mastery, longtime Minnesota Twins star Torii Hunter also made, albeit
when he was five years older than McCutchen……..
- Be glad they wore pants, Rutgers. Your business school
should not only not be turning students away from a career fair for wearing the
wrong colored clothing, it should remove that stick from up its ass and realize
that it’s Rutgers Business School, not Harvard, Stanford or Oxford. The
situation arose thanks to a stringent new policy forbidding blue suits, colored
shirts, brown shoes and other attire, although the bias against blue suits and
brown shoes is unclear in either its logic or its purpose. According to
ass-hatted administrators, the dress code change was in response to students
who did not dress properly in past years, but unless the attire those offenders
wore was a birthday suit or a clown suit or a birthday suit, then the school
clearly went eight steps too far in its legalistic overzealousness. That much was
clear after the school issued a formal apology in a statement, saying it was
sorry for barring students from entering a job fair when the entire purpose of
a college or university is to help students find the job of their dreams to
help them pay back the tens of thousands of dollars in student loans they
rakced up during their time on campus. The ass hat who fell on the sword for
this one was Senior Associate Dean Martin Markowitz, who explained that the
school did not permit blue to avoid confusion with different shades. Ah yes,
because employers do NOT f*ck around when hiring if a person shows up in navy
blue, sky blue, midnight blue or powder blue. In order to assist the students
it screwed over by refusing to allow them to enter an on-campus job fair specifically
for them, the school those students who were turned away get in contact with
recruiters.…….
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