- Sit ins: The laziest, least aerobically demanding form of
protest. But it was the demonstration of choice for thousands of Venezuelans
who turned out Monday in several cities around the country to stage a "Big
National Sit-in," heeding the opposition movement’s call on supporters to
peacefully protest against the government of Nicolas Maduro, against the
"fraud" of the recently-convened constitutional assembly and in
defense of the prevailing constitution. The day was perfect to show the mettle
of those opposing Maduro
s totalitarian regime, with rainy conditions as opposition
supporters enmassed at the spots designated by the opposition MUD alliance. The
12-hour sit-in was proclaimed by two-time presidential candidate and current
Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles on Twitter, as he wrote, "We're
already deployed in many cities. Remember that it's national!" Images of
citizens sitting on their asses in protests spread quickly on social media, but
it felt more like a class field trip than a protest as there were reminders for
those gathered to wear comfortable clothing, bring water, food and sun
protection, along with something to pass the time and enable them to entertain
themselves with some kind of activity. What happened to pain, suffering and discomfort
in the name of a cause? Not only that, there were totally lame requests by
organizers for people not to block the streets that were not included in the
planning for the various sit-ins. There was one in the capital, Caracas, where
thousands of opposition members assembled along the Francisco Fajardo Highway,
the city's most important traffic artery, and on Victoria Avenue, setting up
chairs, flags and refreshments. All in all, not the way to take 45 days of
protests and riots to the next level, y’all………
- Bad timing, accused robbers who held up former Texas Tech
QB and Kansas City Chiefs draft pick Patrick Mahomes II at gunpoint in Texas.
Mahomes and three other victims called police and reported being the victims of
an aggravated robbery in which a male believed to have a handgun in his
waistband approached the four men as they were getting out of their vehicle.
Police responded to the residence and were told that the suspect demanded
property from the four men, then fled in his own vehicle. Demanding property
from the son of the former major league
baseball pitcher, Pat Mahomes, is a potentially lucrative endeavor, but if the
would-be robber had waited a while longer until Mahomes signed his rookie
contract (with signing bonus) as the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft,
robbing the young signal caller may have offered some nicer potential fruits. As
is, two suspects — Michael Blake Pinkerton and Billy Ray Johnson — who were in
the car in question when police tracked it down were taken into custody,
arrested and taken to Smith County Jail. Ironically, some may argue that the
Chiefs got robbed with all they gave away to trade up in the first round to
select Mahomes as their quarterback of the future, but at least he was able to
keep all of his belongings and walk away unharmed when a couple of kooks tried
to jack him of his money and goods……..
- Lots of bad sh*t went on during the 1800s on the lands of
Southern property owners in the United States. One of them, at least not
according to the historical retellings from either side in the Civil War, was
attacks on civilians by camels. Those attacks, allegedly are reserved for the
21st century, where a Florida woman claims a camel at the last home of
Confederate president Jefferson Davis attacked her at the Mississippi tourist
attraction in 2015. Sylvia June Abbott is suing the United Sons of Confederate
Veterans Inc., identified as the operator of Beauvoir plantation in Biloxi, for
the alleged malicious misdeeds of Sir Camelot, the beast she claims injured her
mentally and physically. Attorney Charles M. Thomas lays out a terrifying
scenario in which Abbott and her husband were walking to a cemetery behind
Beauvoir when the camel stampeded her and bit her, leaving her with a fractured
wrist and vertebrae. Side note, were this a ghost camel attacking near a
cemetery, then it would be a truly epic story. As is, Abbott's suit says
Beauvoir's operators should have known the camel had "behaved
dangerously" in the past, yet neglected to fill in the details of any
prior incidents. For now, the powers that be at Beauvoir are staying quiet and
this legal charade is marching on……..
- They don’t exactly occupy the same musical wavelength, but
apparently British rock icons The Beatles lent a hand to R&B singer Frank
Ocean’s last two albums. According to Ocean, listening to the Fab Four “almost
single-handedly got me out of writer’s block” during writing sessions for his
last two albums, “Endless’ and ‘Blonde.” He did sample the Beatles song ‘Here,
There and Everywhere’ on ‘White Ferrari,’ which was one of the tracks on
“Blonde,” leading to John Lennon and Paul McCartney being awarded songwriters’
credits on the track. Oh, and Kanye West also contributed, so it was a true
musical free-for-all. During a recent appearance to promote his recent work,
Ocean laid out how The Beatles moved his recording efforts forward. “I want to thank The Beatles for almost
single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block,” Ocean said. “Do you hear
this?” Ocean also recently premiered a new version of his track ‘Biking’, which
originally featured guest verses from Jay Z and Tyler, the Creator, though the
new version only features Ocean, who adds a new verse to the mix. Maybe next
time around, McCartney and Ringo Starr can find their way into the studio and
play an even more active role in Ocean’s new album, seeing as they have such an
ability to inspire and motivate him. Rappers always sample from older music to
make new beats, but in this case, the endeavor went beyond sampling, all the
way to driving the creative process when it had come to an unwanted standstill……
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