Friday, September 27, 2013

Kanye West Has Twitter Rant On Jimmy Kimmel

Kanye West posted this Spongebob Meme to his twitter
Kanye West has gone on a twitter rant...which is never a good thing. Okay, its good for a laugh. Jimmy Kimmel aired a spoof of Kanye West's ridiculous interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, with Kimmel's spoof featuring a kid version of West making fun of the interview. In the actual interview, West called himself the "number 1 rock star on the planet" and compared himself to Michael Jackson & Steve Jobs. Note to West: there are two big guidelines to being the number one Rock Star on the planet: 1 - If you have to call yourself that, you aren't it. Strike one. 2 - You can't use auto-tune. Strike two.

Kimmel, in typical comedic fashion, obliterated West in his monologue. How did he do it? Basically by showing all the tweets and meme's that West posted. Those are the jokes in and of themselves. He also said Kanye called him and told him to publicly apologize for the spoof (note: he didn't). Here are some of West's insane tweets:

JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS 

YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY… IS THAT FUNNY?… OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY??? 

SHOULD I DO A SPOOF ABOUT YOUR FACE OR YOU FUCKING BEN AFFLECK…#NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK #ALLDISRESPECTTOJIMMYKIMMEL!!!!

SARAH SILVERMAN IS A THOUSAND TIMES FUNNIER THAN YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!

I feel bad for his keyboard. He's probably just looking for attention, as he usually is. Knocking up Kim Kardashian wasn't enough?

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Welcome To 'Jurassic World'

'Jurassic Park IV' has been discussed on-and-off since 2001. Just when you thought it was close to extinction, the film is finally stomping its way towards release. Universal recently announced that the film will actually be called 'Jurassic World', and will be released to theaters on June 12, 2015.

Not much is known yet, though news will surely continue to trickle out soon as filming should probably begin in Spring 2014. Here is what we know so far:

1. It is confirmed that there will be a number of new dinosaurs to terrorize us tiny humans, including one very big one on the level of the favorite T-Rex. They won't say which dinosaurs, though Jack Horner (a paleontologist who has worked on all three movies) promised that, "you'll want to keep the lights on after you see this movie."

2. Colin Trevorrow ('Safety Not Guaranteed') is the director, and seems like a perfect fit as a known fan of the first three films. You just know he cares enough about the franchise to want this to be more than your average sequel. 'Safety Not Guaranteed' is also a fantastic and highly original movie, which should boost confidence that 'Jurassic World' will succeed. Steven Spielberg is producing it, so the movie will get his stamp of approval.

3. Many scenes will be filmed in the Hawaii location where the first 'Jurassic Park' was shot, and Trevorrow confirmed that at least some of the movie will take place on the original Isla Nublar.

4. Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern have both said in the past they would consider returning to the franchise. However, there is no word on any past cast members returning yet. The only rumblings about casting include a rumor about John Krasinski ('The Offce') possibly playing a "dinosaur tamer". The latest rumor is that Bryce Dallas Howard ('The Help', 'Spider-Man 3') is currently in talks to join the film.

5. The title change to 'Jurassic World' could possibly be a play on a park like Sea World, which further helps those rumors that the film will deal with a new park that has been fully operational and successful. Of course, terror will somehow take shape.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Return To The World Of 'Harry Potter'!

WB announced a new partnership with J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter author will act as screenwriter for a new film set in the famous Wizarding World, called 'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them', based on the textbook used throughout the Harry Potter series.

The movie is not a sequel or prequel to any of the Harry Potter movies, but it will take place in the same world. The main character of the film will be the fictional author of the book, Newt Scamander, whose grandson Rolf is married to Luna Lovegood. Rowling said the film will begin in New York, 70 years before the start of Harry Potter. So no, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, & Rupert Grint won't be involved in the film. However, other characters we know from the series could be in it. She did say some of the characters will be familiar to Harry Potter fans, so it's possible we'll see younger versions of characters like Dumbledore and McGonagall.

'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them' will also include video games, products and a link with the Pottermore website.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

USA Qualifies For 2014 FIFA World Cup

The United States is heading to Brazil. After defeating arch rival Mexico 2-0 in Columbus last night, the US Men's National Team is headed to its 7th straight World Cup, and 10th overall. The 2-0 scoreline has become a modern legend in the USA-Mexico rivalry, now called "Dos a Cero". That has been the final score of USA victories over Mexico in Columbus, Ohio in 2001, 2005, 2009 and now 2013. The score has also surfaced outside of Columbus - in 2000, 2007 and most famously in the 2002 FIFA World Cup round of 16. Landon Donovan sealed the deal with the US' second goal...complete with an infected eye. Apparently he only needs one eye to score against Mexico. The Dos a Cero was in danger of becoming a Tres a Cero when the USA was awarded a penalty kick, but Clint Dempsey missed a bit wide. Many joked it was intentional to preserve the famous scoreline, but that seems unlikely.

The Dos a Cero is a symbol of the United States' dominance over Mexico in the 21st century, a turning of the tide from when Mexico held the upper hand, during a time when the USA failed to qualify for the World Cup between 1950 and 1990 and Mexico dominated. Times have changed of course, and the US has qualified for every World Cup since 1990.

So far, the following nations have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup: Brazil, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Iran, Netherlands Italy, USA, Costa Rica & Argentina. You can expect some of the usual suspects like Spain, France, England, & Germany as well. Belgium is also about the qualify, and is my early pick for possible winners of the tournament. Mexico has an uphill battle. There is just one automatic spot left for CONCACAF, and Honduras is leading the way and likely to take it. Mexico & Panama will battle it out for 4th place, and whoever gets that spot will have a playoff against OFC winner New Zealand to see who goes to the World Cup. Mexico last missed the World Cup in 1990.

Landon Donovan, and possibly Damarcus Beasley, will be playing in their fourth World Cups, becoming the first American men to do so. They join some of our legendary women: Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Briana Scurry & Christie Rampone have competed in four, with Abby Wambach likely to join them during the 2015 Women's World Cup. Kristine Lilly is one of the rare soccer players to compete in five World Cups. To have that consistency of veteran players to go with the fresh faces is very important for the development of the team.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

NWSL Season Ends On A High Note

The first season of the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) is in the books. Portland Thorns FC defeated Western New York Flash in the championship on Saturday night 2-0, on a soaring golazo from Tobin Heath and a late clincher from Christine Sinclair (with the assist by Alex Morgan). Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd and the Flash played well but just couldn't find the net, as Karina LeBlanc was on her top form. LeBlanc probably would win a seat as the mayor of Portland if she ever chose to run. The whole game was exciting from start to finish, and was even better than NBC's slate of EPL games on Saturday.
Thorns fans packed Jeld-Wen Field all Year
The Portland Thorns set the standard for women's club soccer, averaging over 13,000 fans per game with a season high of 17,619 on August 4th. US Soccer President Sunil Gulati said there won't be any expansion in 2014 as they focus on the current teams building their base. He did say there could be more NWSL teams that link up with an MLS (Major League Soccer) team. The New York Red Bulls and Sky Blue FC were the clubs mentioned who could form a partnership. The Portland Timbers ownership also owns the Portland Thorns, which has given them this big edge. They were able to bring in many Timbers season ticket holders, and the "Timbers Army" supporters group members joined the "Rose City Riveters" Thorns supporters group in giving the Thorns an atmosphere that can rival some European men's teams.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Brief History Of The Foam Finger

The 2013 Video Music Awards will be remembered mainly for one thing: Miley Cyrus molesting a foam finger, as well as "twerking" with some giant teddy bears and against Beetlejuice. She subsequently may have killed the tradition of the foam finger as we know it. We've had a week to digest it all. Let's give the foam finger some love with a brief history.

It all started back in 1971 when Steve Chmelar created one during High School out of paper-mache instead of foam. He did it for the Iowa High School basketball finals, and a picture was snapped by the AP.

Geral Fauss then decided to create some hands and sell them at the 1978 Cotton Bowl game between Notre Dame and Texas. In 1979 he started a company called Spirit Industries that manufactured the very first foam versions.

They started appearing at stadiums all over in the 1980s for all the major sports teams, and the rest is history. It spawned custom versions as well, such as the "Hook 'em Horns" shape used by University of Texas fans. Non-hand versions became available as well, such as the foam tomahawk and foam talons.

And now of course in 2013, nobody will be able to look at one again without thinking of Miley Cyrus and her Hellboy shaped hair simulating sex with one on a stage. Original creator Steve Chmelar stated, "She took an honorable icon that is seen in sporting venues everywhere and degraded it. Fortunately, the foam finger has been around long enough that it will survive this incident." Well, it may survive, but we won't look at it the same anytime soon. So, you probably know way more than you ever wanted about the history of the foam finger. You can thank Miley, she was just being Miley.