Soundgarden has gotten back together according to Chris Cornell's Twitter.
The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!
The band looks on path to have a reunion tour. However, Matt Cameron, their drummer, has full-time obligations with Pearl Jam who are touring in the Spring and Summer as well. I wonder if it's feasible for Cameron to play for both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden in a night. A joint tour with the two bands would easily be the biggest tour of the summer.
From January 1, any 0.5l vodka bottle selling at below 89 rubles (almost $3) will be outlawed. The price ban is one of the first government steps toward regulating the domestic alcohol market.
This is not the first time that Russia has attempted to reduce alcoholism with measures against alcohol sales:
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced prohibition in the Soviet Union in May 1985 in an attempt to put a halt to the rampant alcoholism that was already taking its toll on the nation's economy and health system. His efforts to steer the Soviets to abstinence were ultimately unsuccessful, however, and the illicit production of moonshine - 'samogon' - rocketed, not to mention a sudden rise in sales of medicinal and industrial spirit. The never-popular policy of prohibition was later quietly dropped.
I'm actually very interested in seeing how effective this measurement is. Prohibition already failed in Russia as it did in the US and I wonder whether the minimum price will lead to more unregulated distilleries/production of moonshine. I think it's highly unlikely that this measure works, though I hope it does.
NEW YORK -- Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other during a Christmas Eve locker room argument over a gambling debt, according to the New York Post.
This might be the most awesome thing I've ever heard.
You assholes know that I've been following the PDC World Darts Championship. Today, we were treated to a magical performance by 14-time World Champion, Phil "The Power" Taylor. It was simply an amazing spectacle. A testament to Taylor's performance is that his opponent, Adrian Lewis, averaged a whopping 102.95. Even with that performance, The Power swept the leg and took all five sets. Taylor's intensity and concentration is incredible. Tiger Woods and Roger Federer aspire to be as dominant as Phil Taylor.
The announcement was expected, and followed a meeting Thursday morning at which Marvel shareholders approved the acquisition, first announced in September. Marvel investors are receiving $30 a share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney share for each Marvel share. When the deal was announced, it represented a 29% premium over Marvel's pre-announcement share price.
Disney will acquire a host of Marvel Superheroes:
Marvel's roster of 5,000 comic book characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the X-Men, promises to broaden Disney's portfolio of entertainment assets. Burbank, Calif.-based Disney historically has been stronger in appealing to girls than to boys, particularly as they enter their teenage years.
The tough and psychologically complex characters Marvel is known for could provide fodder for everything from theme park attractions to cable-television shows and, of course, movies.
Don't expect the superheroes to be apart of the Disney line up right away through:
But fully exploiting some of the best-known of Marvel's characters could be tricky for Disney, especially in the near term. That's because Marvel, based in New York, has over the years entered licensing deals that allow various Hollywood studios to make movies based on many of those characters. Generally those licenses expire after a set number of movies. But at least one such arrangement, Sony Corp.'s (SNE) right to make Spider-Man movies, essentially lasts in perpetuity, according to people familiar with its terms.
Disney, like Marvel, will receive a royalty on movies other studios make out of its new entertainment properties. But it could be some time before the full phalanx of macho Marvel heroes fully joins forces with Hannah Montana and Mickey Mouse.
This is the email sent out to West Ham season ticket holders who have not purchased tickets to see the Hammers take on my beloved Arsenal.
Arsenal have taken the maximum allocation of 5,200. It sucks for West Ham, but that's how this season has gone. Furthermore, the game is on ITV and with the economy the way it is, football fans aren't going to just shell out the money for tickets. It's unfortunate because at the very least, they will get to see tremendous football from Arsene Wenger's Red Army.
Over the last couple days, I've been watching the PDC World Darts Championship. If you have never watched Darts, it's not quite what you'd expect it to be. The competitors walk-on to the stage like prize fighters, the MC could give Bruce Buffer a run for his money, and the crowd. Don't get me started on the crowd. They make college football fans look like kindergardeners. The crowd is unbelievable and the people appear to be having to so much fun. When you think about it, you have to wonder because it's darts. It's something you might see at your local sports pub or whatever. It's not a party inducing sport. However, I've never seen such joy in an audience.
I've been learning a little bit about the competitors and "Barney," the Dutchmen Raymond van Barneveld, has caught my eye in particular. He's had two 9-dart finishes in the tournament already and look posed to make another deep run in the tournament:
"To hit a nine-darter was wonderful and the crowd really showed their appreciation," said Van Barneveld, who finished with double 12.
A source close to the family of Adam James told Schad that the player was treated inappropriately while injured, including being confined to a room for a long period of time because he could not practice. Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, said Tuesday that keeping the receiver inside during practice was better for the player than letting him remain outside.
You're a football coach. You're supposed to take care of your athletes, your students. You're supposed to be a role model, a parent away from home. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard a coach do.
With the end of the decade coming up, there's all this "best of the decade" talk going on. Here's some homage to truly the best of the decade:
History was made over a stretch of 49 games unbeaten. The run began at the back end of the 2002-03 season after a home defeat by Leeds United handed the championship to Manchester United. Arsenal reconvened at Highbury on May 7, tanking Southamton 6-1.
Wenger's Invincibles, like the Magyar Golden Team of 50 years ago and Brazil of 1970, set a standard against which the best will for ever be judged. Team of the decade? Better than that; a team for all time.
Since I'm up and footy is being played, naturally I'm watching football. Even if it's Tottenham, I'm watching. The game is not even 20 minutes in, and I have to admit that Aaron Lennon is one of the best players in England right now. There are certainly players playing better football in England right now like FÃ bregas, Drogba, Tevez, and Rooney. However, Lennon should be considered among these players.
His role in creating for Modric's goal was pivotal. I think the problem with Tottenham is that they don't have any other threats. I'm watching Modric, who is supposed to be their creative force and I see even him looking for Lennon. It seems like defenses will be able to key in on Lennon, preventing him from getting the ball and trying to contain him. I say "trying" because with his pace and skill, that he can create space and attacking opportunities out of nothing. He is turning into something special.
He is definitely securing a position in South Africa with his performances.
I'd like to introduce a new class of post that I'll make from time to time. It's called "What's Goin On?" Basically, I'll look at events that are happening through out the world. May be I'll comment about them, may be I'll let them stand on their own. The key thing is to share them with the world. Here we go:
This is a story I've commented on this week, but it's turning out to be a bigger issue of security. This past week, on Christmas Day, a man was apprehended after trying to light a bomb on an airplane after it landed at Detroit Metro Airport. It appears that the man failed, but several facts have arisen after the incident. It has been reported that his father had reported him to the US Government. Here's some back ground on the suspect:
Instead, officials said Sunday, they marked the file of the son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, for a full investigation should he ever reapply for a visa. And when they passed the information on to Washington, Mr. Abdulmutallab’s name was added to 550,000 others with some alleged terrorist connections — but not to the no-fly list. That meant no flags were raised when he used cash to buy a ticket to the United States and boarded a plane, checking no bags.
It will be interesting to see what develops as a result of this incident. We've already seen TSA have a security breach that revealed secrets including racial profiling when it comes to checking people. Will this go one step further? Some people say that security checks are doing their jobs. However, it is clear with incidents like this that they aren't. Not only are they checking people who are completely innocent (like myself), they are not checking people like Abdulmutallab, who have bad intentions. I think an easy solution would be to scan passports to make sure that people are not on any terrorist watch lists.
Things aren't any better in Iran where protests continue to sprout up since their election in June, 2009. The latest protests have turned violent, showing an increasingly dissident group of support against the government of Ahmadinejad. I'm a fan of seeing visually what is going on, so here's a video from Al Jazeera:
While we're in the Middle East, it's the one year of the bombings in Gaza. Here's a video of children recounting their stories. I couldn't imagine being in a situation like this. Imagine being that young and having that sort of chaos escalating around you, your home, your life. I remember watching a live feed of Gaza last year and it was a constant stream of bombs and machine gun fire.
Just chilling, haunting stuff.
Speaking of anniversaries, Monday is the two year anniversary of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. We still have no answers about her murder nor do we have stability in the Pakistani government. There is a lot of work to do.
If there's any question that China will take over the world, China has unveiled the fastest train in the world:
In science and technology, the focal point of news seems to be on Apple's new tablet. Apple is one of the most successful companies with their incredible computing machines, music devices, and of course, their phones. Now they are introducing a tablet and the industry is going rampant with curiosity. What impact will the introduction of the tablet have on the market? I look forward to seeing it because quite frankly I'm not sold on the Tablet idea. I need to learn more about its usefulness.
Despite my complexion, I haven't really had trouble at airports. However, the last two times I've been at DTW, I've been stopped for security checks. Having seen bits and pieces of the leaked TSA report, I've been irritated by this. I'm just trying to get to my flight. It's not just the fact that they're taking me aside, but the fact that they have the most incompetent people running the security check. I don't care that there have been two security related issues in the days after I flew to Boston from DTW, I don't think I should be racially profiled. I'm a US citizen, and I love this country. I hate that I'm being judged by the color of my skin rather than as me the person. It's wrong.
