- These are violent times in Russia. First, a Russian
legislator proposes not only legalizing soccer hooliganism, but turning it into
a sport, and now, a budget Russian airline is planning to have its flight crews
channel their inner Conor McGregor. Yes, low-cost carrier Pobeda Airlines plans
to teach its ground staffers judo and sambo, a martial art developed by the
Soviet Red Army in the 1920s, because any time you can revive some
Communist-era tactics as a means of coping with the modern world, you do it
without hesitation. In the airline’s defense, its decision comes after an irate
passenger who missed his flight from Moscow was caught on video attacking the
Pobeda manager who had the unfortunate chore of refusing to issue him a refund.
Even though the incident didn’t spiral into something bigger and the suspect
was later arrested, the airline apparently felt this was the tipping point. It
initially considered hiring private security guards to help protect its
employee, but that idea was scrapped because - in a shocking twist for a tale involving
a budget airline - it would have increased the cost of plane tickets by up to 2
percent. Apparently weaponizing the arms, legs, fists and feet of air
waitresses is a cheaper option and so it’s time to suit up, hit the dojo and
learn martial arts. The good news is that if flight crew members ever decide to
move on to a new career, they’re well on their way to pursuing a future in the
UFC……..
- It won't be the same dance-happy, feel-good flick, but
Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle are teaming up once again. After partnering up
for “La La Land,” the duo are nearing completion on another project, an
upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic titled “First Man.” The outer space flick is
slated for an October 2018 release and will reunite the actor and director who
helped steer “La La Land” to six - not seven, six - Oscars last month. The
biographical film will focus on the late NASA astronaut from the year 1961 up
to the famous moon landing in 1969, so it will have to pack nearly a decade
worth of a very memorable life into a couple of hours. Chazelle will direct
from a script by “Spotlight” writer Josh Singer, while Gosling will hold down
the lead role as Armstrong, who became the first man to step foot on the moon
in 1969. Like so many Hollywood ideas, this project is based on someone else’s
work, namely James Hansen’s biography “First Man: The Life Of Neil A.
Armstrong,” which explores the sacrifices and cost of the mission on both the
astronauts and the United States government from a first-person perspective. After
banking nearly $400 million worldwide and taking home those six Oscars, it’s
fair to say that the duo of Gosling and Chazelle has written themselves a blank
check for most any project they want to make at this point. Armstrong’s is a
kick-ass story, so here’s hoping they do it justice……….
- If there’s a third time, just leave the damn dog. The
Nanticoke (Pa.) City Fire Department may have done its decades-old duty by
coming to the rescue of a thrill-seeking canine spotted sitting on a roof of a
local home. Firefighters responded to the scene after the pooch managed to open
and climb out of a second floor window while his owners were out of the house,
so it was up to firefighters to hurry to the scene and find a way to convince
the dog to come back into the house. It worked, but the second part of their
plan did not because once the dog was back inside, the firefighters foolishly
failed to dog-proof the window and so an hour later, they received yet another
call letting them know that the exact same dog had opened the exact same window
and climbed out onto the exact same roof for a second time. Because apparently
there is nothing better to do for first responders in Nanticoke, the
firefighters returned to the scene and once again succeeded in getting the dog
to come back into the safety of the house. This time, the firefighters made the
smart move - showing they had at least a little intellectual superiority over a
dog - by securing the window to prevent the adventurous animal from making
another foray out onto the roof…….
- Want to know why the Atlanta Hawks won't win the NBA title
this season or any time soon? Other than the fact that there are no less than
eight teams in the league much better than they are, of course. You need look
no further than what went down early in the third quarter of the Hawks’ 119-111
loss to the Golden State Warriors, as Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder was
pulled from the game and bench due to an in-game dispute with formerly great center
and broken-down veteran Dwight Howard that left All-Star point guard Steph
Curry wide open for a 3-pointer that helped his team get back into the game. Schroder
and Howard yapped at each other about an errant pass, willfully ignoring the
game as the Warriors got the ball to Stephen Curry for an open 3-pointer. That
prompted Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer to bench Schroder with 8:41 to go in the
third, even though he led the Hawks with 23 points. The German guard never
returned even as the Warriors blew right past Atlanta and the Hawks absorbed
their sixth loss in eight games to slip further back in the Eastern Conference
standings. Despite being part of a major incident that obviously hurt his team,
Schroder wasn’t happy about being benched. "I don't understand coach's
decision," he said. "Maybe I'm too competitive, I don't know. I'm
just trying to be competitive, trying to win games. But I don't get that
one." Budenholzer was more diplomatic, calling it a "coaching
decision." He might be losing patience with Schroder, who was late
reporting back to the team after the All-Star break and served a one-game
suspension and the very next night, he was late for the team bus and came off
the bench for a game at Orlando. Sounds like it’s time to grow up, Denny………
No comments:
Post a Comment