CNN- A 4-year old boy has been freed after his arm was stuck for hours in the first vending machine he'd ever seen.
The nearly six-hour ordeal began Sunday when the child tried to reach into the machine, located in a Melbourne hotel lobby, and became trapped by its anti-theft mechanism. "We live up in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and I don't think he's seen a vending machine before so he saw the Oreos, and some biscuits and a few other things," his father Aaron Shorthouse told CNN affiliate 7 News. Arnhem Land is a very remote, rural region located at the very northern tip of the country. It has a population of about 16,000 spread across 37,000 square miles. Rescue workers distracted the child, Leo, by showing cartoons to him on their phones and giving him a stuffed toy as they worked to free him but he had to be sedated at times. "It was (hard to watch), especially seeing a young fellow like this after five and a half hours," Aaron Shorthouse said. Kind of a miracle this doesn't happen more often, no? If responsible parenting didn't exist -and sometimes the internet would lead you to believe it doesn't- then I think every single child would need to get his arm stuck in a vending machine to learn that you need to put money in it first. I mean, come on. A virtual treasure chest of candy? Visible to the naked eye? With a slot that looks like it's made for a little person's arm? I can't believe I didn't see this before. Vending machines are basically kid traps disguised as cheap, convenient snacking apparatuses. They have been getting away with literally disarming our youth for years because they allow us to satisfy our cravings in a timely manner. You know why I sympathize with this kid? Because I am surprised I wasn't this kid. If children had memories that weren't comparable to that of a goldfish then vending machines would have already traumatized them by the thousands. The real shame in all this is that innocent little kids whose metabolism can handle a 'Snickers' bar are risking a limb to get their hands on one. Meanwhile every human trash bin with a sweet tooth and a dollar bill is having their type 2 diabetes delivered to them within seconds and all they have to do is let out one deep exhausting breath as they bend over to get it. Sometimes the world is just not fair. Why can't the phrase be "It's like taking candy from a gluttonous fat pig with no respect for personal space"?
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The Day Has Come, But The Memories Will Never Be Gone: The Saints Have Cut Marques Colston2/29/2016
Maybe it just had to end with Marques Colston's health finally costing him a spot on the roster he's been the silent leader of for the last decade. It's either that or this was the New Orleans Saints way of telling Marques Colston he wasn't cut because of his quickly deteriorating abilities. Regardless, this was a move that had to be made. If we are being completely honest I had already assumed that we had watched Colston's last game in a Saints uniform as soon as last season ended. I didn't need to see the speculative tweets, or read that he failed a physical to know that his price tag was no longer equating to his production.
That's not a knock on him. Time waits for no man, and his own biological clock has made up a significant amount of ground on the Saints leader in every single receiving category. It makes sense that a player who was quick to put himself at risk by going over the middle for a crucial third down catch is finally succumbing to the wear and tear that doing so has taken on his body, but that doesn't make it seem any less unfair. Marques Colston is the type of player that General Managers dream about. A guy that never fails to contribute on the field, and never causes a disruption off of it. His recent failure to consistently do the former never changed how he handled the latter. The thing Saints fans love about him is that they are the only people that truly realize how great his career has been. It's like the Who Dat Nation has their own little untold secret. Somehow that secret has 711 catches, 9,759 yards, and 72 touchdowns and still manages to fly under the radar, but honestly I don't think he would want it any other way. Thanks Marques. For everything...
Talk about a change in philosophy. Scouring the web for Devils news on trade deadline day used to be like searching the Oscars crowd for black people. Ray Shero comes on board and all the sudden they are pumping out transactions faster than an award winning thoroughbred getting milked for his offspring. I'm sitting here expecting Lou Lamoriello to tell me things are "status quo", and Ray Shero goes 0 to a 100 like he's drunk driving on the Audubon. Oh well, I guess it's only right to break this down by trade...
Do you think a hard, inaccurate slap shot is worth more than a 3rd round pick in the NHL Draft? If your answer is yes then I would like to be the first person to say that you, my friend, are stupid. Also note that the "my friend" in the previous sentence was in jest, because I refuse to consider anyone that misinformed anything more than an acquaintance. The trade of Eric Gelinas just potentially brought back a future NHL prospect, and that's already more than he has proven to be worth. The cat's been out of the bag. The chips have been pushed into the center for so long that they are starting to get stale. Eric Gelinas is not an NHL caliber defenseman. In fact, even using his name and the word "defenseman" in the same sentence is just about the greatest compliment I could give him. He's nothing more than a gifted athlete without the slightest clue how to put his physical abilities to good use on the hockey rink. Don't let the booming shot from the point fool you. The Devils didn't just win this trade by getting a 3rd round pick from Colorado, they won this trade by getting ANYTHING of substance for a fatally flawed player that hasn't managed to progress in the areas of the ice that success at his position are predicated upon.
I'm not going to lie to you. This move hurts a little bit. Not because it wasn't a wise business decision, but because Lee Stempniak's unlikely emergence as a viable top 6 forward is one of the things that has made this Devils team so surprisingly fun to watch. Do I think this is an admission by Ray Shero that he thinks the Devils are out of the playoff picture? Maybe. More likely it's an admission that the Devils aren't ready to win anything of significance right now. Just his way of showing that the Devils relative success hasn't blurred his vision of the bigger picture. This is still a rebuilding team, even if they have rebuilt themselves faster than anyone outside of organization could have possibly imagined. When you get to the nuts and bolts of this deal the Devils got two fairly high draft picks for a player that wasn't even signed until after training camp. That's a credit to Lee Stempniak for proving the entire NHL wrong, but it's a credit to Ray Shero for capitalizing on a player's value when it was at it's highest. I think every Devils fan will miss seeing Stemper in the lineup every night and would love to see him resign here in the offseason, but that doesn't change the fact that flipping him for future assets was the right decision.
You know what they say, one man's trash is another man's garbage. Oh, is that not the saying? Psssh, semantics. Clearly the Devils had no long term plans for Stefan Matteau. This was a team that way going out of their way to get younger and they still couldn't find a consistent spot for him in an all-too-depleted lineup. If that's not the mark of someone whose days are numbered then I don't know what is. Is Devante Smith-Pelly -a player who found himself scratched quite a bit as well- going to bring significantly more to the table offensively? Probably not, but he may very well deliver on the promise of hard nosed physical play that Stefan Matteau was never able to. The only thing that this Devils team needed more than a black guy was another right wing, and Smith-Pelly just so happens to fill both those quotas. He can also do this, which is exponentially more impressive than anything Stefan Matteau has done with the Devils...
Ray Shero did exactly what he should have done. He got rid of players that weren't integral to the Devils long term success, and he got back pieces that potentially could be. As much as it sucks to watch Lee Stempniak walk out that door, the fact that Stefan Matteau and Eric Gelinas went with him kind of eases that pain. Plus, he already knows he holds the key to getting right back in...
I Bet You Thought The Devils Acquisition Of Kyle Palmieri Couldn't Possibly Get Any Better...2/29/2016
I think everyone knew that the Devils were getting a player that was an adept scorer when they traded for Kyle Palmieri last offseason. Hell, even the guy that was willing to let him go knew that.
Maybe we didn't know we were getting someone that was on the verge of tapping into a wealth of offensive potential, but we knew he could put the puck in the net. Doing so over 30 times year in and year out could turn out to be quite the unforeseen blessing, but Kyle Palmieri making his presence felt in the opponent's zone isn't something that comes as much of a surprise. What we didn't know is that he would shed the unfortunate label of being a lazy defensive player, but if this picture is any indication then that's exactly what he's done. All the Anaheim Ducks had to do was make Kyle Palmieri walk a mile in a man's shoes and they would have had themselves a hell of a two way player. You just don't see through the eyes of goaltender and not develop more respect for what he has to endure on a day-to-day basis. Especially when that goaltender happens to be one of the best in the world. Kyle Palmieri just found out what it's like to be Cory Schneider, and now he has no choice but to try to make it easier to be Cory Schneider. His effort in his own end has already been impressive given the expectations, but a couple more practices as the last line of defense and he'll be auditioning for a Selke. It appears that there is nothing that Kyle Palmieri can't do, assuming of course that we are excluding his inability to become less lovable. The Saints Being Front Runners For 'Hard Knocks' Is A Terrible Situation For All Parties Involved2/29/2016 PFT- Here’s one thing I remember. Per a league source, the Saints are bracing for the possibility of the league tapping them on the shoulder and directing them to be the subject of the annual Hard Knocks series. The Saints are one of seven teams that can be forced to do it, under criteria the league developed several years ago. Only teams that: (1) have a new coach; (2) have been to the postseason in either of the last two years; or (3) have served as the Hard Knocks subject within the last 10 years can say no. This year, the teams that can’t decline are the Saints, Bills, Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, Chargers, and Rams. Here’s one thing that won’t be happening if Hard Knocks descends on Saints training camp (which could be returning for the third straight year to West Virginia): Saints players won’t be fighting with players from other teams during joint practices, for the benefit of the cameras. As the Saints and Patriots prepared to share a practice field at the Greenbrier last summer, Payton told his players, “If you decide to fight, pack your bags.” Payton later bemoaned that fact that NFL Network excessively hyped a brouhaha between the Cowboys and the Rams. Here’s another thing that may not be happening if the Saints get the assignment: Payton may resist allowing camera into the room when players are being cut. And that, frankly, could be enough to get the NFL to draft a team that would be more willing to allow what often are the most compelling moments of the series to be captured. I hope for the sake of Sean Payton's neighbors that he was nice enough to invest in soundproof walls or they can look forward to a sleepless night or two in their future. As I read this article I think I faintly heard someone scream "FUCK!" and I can't imagine it came from the mouth of anyone other than Sean Payton. Sure, he's probably over 1,000 miles away, but I refuse to believe that timing was simply ironic. If there is anything that Sean Payton hates more than the league that employs him it is giving in to every one of their demands. You probably didn't even notice that you didn't see any Saints players doing postgame interviews after Thursday Night Football, but that was a direct response to the same people that forced their head coach out of football for a year. So the Saints might have to be a part of 'Hard Knocks' this year, but they certainly don't have to like it, and if I know Sean Payton like I think I do then they currently don't have to be cooperative. Banning his players from fighting? Restricting cameras from the room while cuts are made? Getting Sean Payton to be a part of an appealing, engaging television series is going to be like trying to get your kid to do yard work. Sure, he might submit to standing out in the lawn and going through the motions, but he's definitely not going to break his back to make sure it's properly landscaped. You force someone to do something they don't want to do and -generally speaking- you're probably not going to like the effort you get in return. That's why it was pretty brilliant for Sean Payton to denounce certain aspects of 'Hard Knocks'. Not just because parts of the show are particularly questionable, but because it could actually dissuade the NFL from making him a part of it. Sean Payton basically said that if the Saints were involved in the manufacturing process then the consumers would undoubtedly be receiving a half assed product. If that's not enough to scare the cameras away their training camp then the thought of Sean Payton mercilessly berating every member of their staff should be... P.S. As a Saints fan it would be cool to take a closer look into their training camp, but not at the expense of the distraction it would surely cause. I am not saying I advocate eating pets, nor am I a fan of people that make blatant attempts to spread their religious views or lack thereof. What I do respect, however, is good marketing, and that's exactly what this shocking rearview message is. You know what no longer grasps my attention? "Jesus Saves" signs. You know what else doesn't grasp my attention? "Jesus is a lie" signs. However, if you walked past this car -that basically reminds you that someone out there thinks your boy Fluffy is fit for human consumption- without being stopped in your tracks then you are crazier than the person that plastered it on their back window. So while I don't endorse his over the top declaration, I do endorse his methods of advertisement, because anything short of "PETS ARE DELICIOUS MEAT" wasn't getting me to visit GraceTruth7.org, and visit GraceTruth.org is exactly what I got coerced into doing. You don't have to eat dogs to get people to think you eat dogs just like you don't have to push your anti-religious agenda to get people to go to your haphazard website that pushes your anti-religious agenda. I just hope this guy has a spare tire on hand, because dog and cat lovers aren't always the most passive and understanding of people.
Now look, I am not -in any way- telling you that it was a good idea to send Stacey Dash on stage at the Oscars. It was an incredibly tone deaf move, and it was a move that I wish I was actually deaf for, because it was so cringeworthy that it made my skin crawl through the television. I can only imagine that awkward feeling was accentuated by being in attendance. Be that as it may, while Stacey Dash stands for nothing but negativity, her failed attempt at being funny just may have had a positive outcome.
It didn't matter if you were black, white, or purple when the woman that just recently denounced Black History Month lended her undying support to Black History Month. It didn't matter what anyone looked like on the outside, because we all felt the same on the inside. On a night that constantly reminded us of our differences that collective feeling of embarrassment brought us all together. Nothing unites a predominantly white room at an award show like reminding them that some black people loath themselves too. Must have been pretty unnerving for white people to sit there smiling while Chris Rock pretty much said that their occupation is kinda, sorta racist, but it was probably just as unnerving for black people to sit there smiling while one of their own reminded everyone of her critical take on something they hold near and dear. That's what I call equality bitches! Our award shows are still race themed so we may not have figured out how to cure this whole discrimination thing yet, but we have figured out how to make it equally as uncomfortable for every race, color, or creed! LBS- Stephen Curry admitted that he finds the chorus of criticism toward the Warriors from former NBA players to be “a little annoying.” Former players, including some greats of the game, have implied that Golden State wouldn’t have been as successful in days gone by due to the fact that the league was more physical. “It’s starting to get a little annoying just because it’s kind of unwarranted from across the board,” Curry said Friday on the Bay Area News Group’s “Warriors Plus/Minus” podcast, via ESPN.com. “We have a very competent group, and we have fun when we’re out there on the floor, and it shows, obviously. “We enjoy what we do. But for the most part, you don’t hear us talking about, you know, comparing ourselves to other great teams and ‘We could beat this team, we’re better than this team.’ We’re living in the moment.” I had one. I swear I had one. There was a legit criticism of Steph Curry just sitting on the tip of my finger tips, and what does he do? Oh, you know, just goes out and puts up 46 points in a record setting performance that was punctuated by the most casual, effortless game winning heave in NBA history before I could even think about publishing my thoughts. Thank God he did too, because I would have looked just as dumb as Oscar Robertson and Stephen Jackson had I gotten that blog off when I intended to. I WAS going to say that Steph Curry can't be so petty and sensitive in getting wrapped up in the opinions of others. Especially when those "others" are former NBA players that are expected to inherently believe that the basketball being played was better back in their day. I WAS going to say that Steph Curry can't be putting up shots and blindly running back down the court before they go in and then get upset when he receives a little bit of negative attention. That's like being the girl that flaunts her ass with the intention of getting men to look, but then gets "annoyed" when those men make repeated advances at her. Again, that's what I was going to say. Until, of course, Steph Curry once again proved that some fabricated sense of disrespect is the driving force behind what has been one of the most impressive stretches of basketball by any single player or team. That "us against the world" narrative is what's responsible for the Golden State Warriors 53-5 record. It's what's responsible for Steph Curry feeling so disparaged that he goes out and hits 12 of 16 threes. So, as it turns out, I don't exactly have the final say on what an NBA players "can't" do, because Steph Curry is basically proving that impossible is nothing with performances like this...
The New Orleans Saints are reportedly hot to land free agent linebacker James Laurinaitis, who was recently released by the Los Angeles Rams.
Many NFL evaluators have noted a decline in the play of the 29-year-old linebacker the past year with the Rams, but he still managed to rack up 109 tackles, one sack, one interception and a safety. I know this seems like it would be nothing more than the addition of an aging player on the decline to a unit that hopes to be a young defense on the incline. I know a 29 year old linebacker that the St. Louis Rams had no problem cutting ties with isn't the key to transforming the worst defense in NFL history into a formidable group that can potentially compliment a Drew Brees' led offense. With that said, the Saints idea of veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball last year was Brandon Browner. Yes, that Brandon Browner. He wasn't just a leader, he was a captain. So yeah, James Laurinaitis might not be the same player he was in 2012, but he also doesn't exactly have the biggest -or most reliable- shoes to fill. The fact of the matter is that even the youngest, fastest teams in the league need experienced players to help them gel. Considering the entirety of the Saints returning linebacker core has no more than one NFL season under their belt, a player like Laurinaitis can be just the type of mentor they need. A consistent, low risk, instinctive tackler that seems to be a positive presence in the locker room? That might not seem like much, but let's be honest, it's far more than the Saints front seven was working with this past season. Yeah, Laurinaitis is on the downside of his career, but he also had over 100 tackles last year. I haven't run the numbers, but if you took out the plays that a Saints defender pushed a player out of bounds 30 yards downfield I think the entirety of their defense would have been hard pressed to get to triple digits. A sack? An interception? A safety? All by the same player? That sounds like a big play, a turnover, and points to me. I feel like I haven't seen someone do that in New Orleans since the days that they were putting price tags on the head of opposing quarterbacks. No, the Saints wouldn't be adding a game breaking player, but they would be adding an effective NFL veteran that could replace David Hawthorne. That's damn near a Beyonce level upgrade. Yahoo- “I would throw it out [a challenge flag] with both hands like a shot. That’s why I couldn’t shoot,” Rivers said Friday morning during the Clippers’ shootaround for the Sacramento Kings game. “It’s a tough one to me. It's not like officials are trying to make mistakes, but they do at the end of the games.”
With 30.4 seconds left and the Clippers down 85-81, Los Angeles forward Jeff Green was called for an offensive foul on a made basket after driving into defender Danilo Gallinari. The NBA admitted on its “NBA Officiating Last Two Minute Report” on Thursday that the referee made a mistake on the offensive foul call on Green. Green potentially could have had a made basket with a free throw. Rivers described it as a “horrible call, which the league acknowledged.” “I’ve been pushing for a [challenge] flag for a year now,” Rivers said. “We should have a challenge flag. That is the third time this year [against the Clippers] that [the NBA] has come back and said it was a bad call. It doesn’t do anything for us.” You gotta love Doc Rivers. He's got the voice of a pack a day smoker, the patience of a hyperactive kid in the candy aisle, the mannerisms of an off-the-boat Italian, and most importantly, the subtlety of pretty much everyone'e drunk Uncle. That's why this shameless plea for challenge flags in basketball is so funny to me. While it is sincere, it is also completely transparent. Do I doubt that Doc Rivers is arrogant enough to want the NBA to change their entire replay system because he has been on the ass end of a couple bad calls that have cost his team some games over the last few years? No, I don't. With that said, I also think he understands that his team has likely been the beneficiary of just as many questionable calls over that same time frame. That's why this isn't about one Jeff Green charge late in a game that the Clippers deserved to lose anyway. This is about giving Doc Rivers another opportunity to verbally lambast the officials, as well as giving him a justifiable reason to do so. Just read the first line of the quote. Doc has been dreaming of the day that he gets to mock referees by launching objects in their direction for so long that he has already decided on his preferred throwing motion. He is so anxiously awaiting the day that he gets to outwardly question an official's authority that he choose a play that was called a penalty -something that's not reviewable in any other sport- to acknowledge his support of challenge flags in basketball. As a fan you can't help but appreciate the amount of disdain that Doc Rivers has for referees. Put a beer in his hand and dress him down a bit, and he instantly starts to resemble everyone of us by using his emotional state following one of over a hundred possessions to make outrageous proclamations about the NBA. Middlebury College Is Banning Energy Drinks Because They Make The Students Get Drunk And Have Sex2/26/2016 NBC- Say goodbye to the caffeine-fueled all-nighter: Middlebury College in Vermont has banned campus sales of popular energy drinks such as Red Bull and 5-Hour ENERGY.
College officials blame the drinks for contributing to "problematic behavior," such as alcohol abuse and "high-risk sexual activity," and say they don't contribute to the dining service's mission to "nourish" its students. A prominent flyer in the college's Wilson Cafe states: "Energy drink consumption facilitates unhealthy work habits such as prolonged periods of sleeplessness, contributing to a campus culture of stress and unsustainable study habits." The college also links these drinks with increasing likelihood that students will drive drunk and use other "intoxicating" substances. Ha! Good luck getting wasted and slipping it some random broad you met 15 minutes ago Middlebury College students. Your institution of higher learning just completely disconnected you from all forms of fun by banning sugary drinks that act mostly as a placebo for those that need a little kick in the rear. How are you going to squeeze vodka shots, sex, and studies into one day now? Enjoy rearranging those priorities. Probably pass out in the library before you even have the chance to get your hands on some generic brand beer and a sexually uninhibited coed. No more "problematic behavior" for you guys. On the plus side, this all but eliminates the need for cramming sessions. Finally kids will have to treat their education like it's a full time job. Wake up at 7, school from 8-5, dinner at 7, study hour at 8, and asleep by 9. That's a solid 10 hours of rest right there. Very conducive to making sure the brain is running on all cylinders during the time of day that's its taking in the most information. Did Middlebury just increase the value of a college education by banning Red Bull? I think they did. No one will have the drive to drink. No one will have the stamina for unprotected sex. Everyone knows that those extra 5 hours of energy were when all the morally reprehensible activities took place. Energy drinks have been eliminated and students will have no choice but to focus solely on their schoolwork...unless there is a Starbucks nearby.
PFT- Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche made himself one of the most scrutinized players in this year’s draft class, when he fell out of a hotel window in Atlanta and was subsequently arrested for marijuana possession.
So the priority for him here at the Scouting Combine is setting the record straight. Nkemdiche said he was drinking — “I was drunk” — at the time of the incident, denying that he was under the influence of marijuana, synthetic or otherwise. He said there were other players in the room with him, including Ole Miss tackle and potential top pick Laremy Tunsil, but “no one wanted to take the fall.” I was about to call this kid a big dumb idiot until I realized there is no possible way this was his idea. That's why I am now officially calling every single member of his representation a big dumb idiot. Step outside the box one time in your life guys. Riddle me this. Alcohol and synthetic weed. Two legal substances. Which one would you rather have your client be guilty of using on the night he plunged 15 feet from a hotel balcony? The answer is synthetic weed, and if you think otherwise than you're not thinking hard enough. NFL teams are selfish. They aren't worried about what Robert Nkemdiche did in some random Atlanta hotel room. They are worried about how it could potentially effect them going forward. Robert Nkemdiche being a shitty drunk is way worse for his reputation than having one over the top trip while using convenience store weed. It's very easy to fall from a balcony and tell yourself "okay, I am not going to buy my mind altering drugs at 7-11 anymore" and actually mean it. It's exceedingly difficult to have one -incredibly dumb- drunken experience and actually take yourself seriously when you say "I am never drinking again". Don't let the word "marijuana" fool you. No one is smoking fake, hallucinogenic pot on the reg. Nkemdiche is going to be exposed to alcohol far more often during his career, and if he's being honest here (he's not) then he's proven that he's going to be at risk everytime he is. Do they have synthetic weed bars at weddings? Do players go out for a puff of synthetic weed after a long week of practice? Do people have a glass of wine with dinner, or do they use fake drugs to compliment their meal? You can't be a lightweight when you're about to be a professional athlete. Having an inability to hold your liquor is the quickest possible way to regularly find yourself in trouble. I know that, the cops waiting outside of bars know that, and NFL franchises know that. Apparently Robert Nkemdiche's publicist didn't have too many friends in college, and I wouldn't be surprised if she costs her client millions because of it. A 14 Year Old Girl Accidentally Electrocuted Herself While Charging Her Phone In The Bathtub2/26/2016 Metro- A teenage girl has died after getting electrocuted while charging her mobile phone in the bath.The alarm was raised by her mother after she noticed her 14-year-old had spent a long time in the bathroom.
She called for her to come out but got no response. She forced her way inside and discovered her daughter’s lifeless body. According to local media in Moscow, Russia, the teenager had the charger in her hands and the mobile phone was on the floor. It is believed she had used an extension lead because there were no plugs in the bathroom. Prosecutor Yulia Ivanova told local media: ‘Currently we are still investigating and will make a decision on what action to take, if any, once the investigation is completed.’ Not to get to grim here, but I can almost see this girl's face as her cell phone was falling out of her hand and into a body of water she was laying in. I imagine it to look much like my face the time I got out of my car without realizing my iPhone was on my lap and I watched it fall into a two inch puddle curbside. Basically what I am trying to say -with all intended respect to this girl's life- is that a split second before it was taken she was probably more concerned about the safety of her phone than the safety of herself. I bet if she had acted swiftly she could have thrown herself out of tub before she became a corpse, but instead she was probably further embedding herself in the water in hopes of saving her smart phone from an untimely demise. I wouldn't even be surprised if a 14 year old girl -that can't stay disconnected long enough to clean herself- didn't even realize that electrocution was a thing that exists. The only reason she was a bath person instead of shower person was because you can't shower with your phone without ruining it. The concept of shocking herself to death probably never even crossed her mind. I think the only way to properly honor this girl's life is to bury her -cell phone in hand- in a casket of uncooked rice. Inseparable in life, inseparable for eternity. P.S. I am impressed by her perseverance. Could have gave up when there was no outlet nearby, but instead rummaged through the house to find an extension cord. This girl was a lot of things, but she wasn't a quitter. They should put that on the tombstone. DailyMail- On paper, Asher Potts was a model student.The 18-year-old had one of the highest GPAs at Harrisburg High School, was the runner-up for homecoming king and was an active member of the community.
But his teachers and classmates were left stunned after police revealed Potts isn't actually a teenager - but a 23-year-old Ukrainian national called Artur Samarin. He had been masquerading as a schoolboy for four years because his visa had run out, and managed to achieve stunning credentials while doing so. The alleged fraudster is accused of using a fake ID and social security card to apply for a place at the Pennsylvania school after moving from Eastern Europe. He registered under the name Asher Potts in 2012, and by May 2014 he had a 4.16 GPA. He was also a member of the ROTC and Naval Sea Cadet Program. Until his arrest, Samarian was actively involved in school life and took part in a list of extra-curricular activities. On the academic side he also excelled, juggling honors and AP classes, while enrolling in courses at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Let him stay! Let him stay! Let him stay! Honestly, the kid has earned it. He wanted to be an American so badly that he spent four years going to school with a bunch of bratty teens in Harrisburg. If I was a foreigner and someone made me stay in Harrisburg for a long weekend I would wrap my visa in an American flag, set it on fire, and turn myself in at the nearest embassy. It was only a matter of time before someone transcended age. If we are cool with men that decide they want to be women, and white people that decide they want to be black people, then we should be cool with 23 year olds that decide they want 1998 to be their birth year. Welcome to America baby! The land of opportunity! You can be whatever you want to be, even if what you want to be is a high school student that's just a few birthdays away from being able to rent a car. I wonder if he kept that Ukrainian ID. Probably could have bought off every kid in the entire school that knew his secret by supplying them with booze. And they say nobody likes you when you're 23? Psssh, I bet this dude was the life of the party when he walked into the basement at Billy's house with a case of Russian grain alcohol. I just don't have it in my heart to get upset with this kid/man. Living in Ukraine must be really fucking terrible if you are willing to commit to four years of fraudulence just to call East Bumblefuck, Pennsylvania your home. If you have a problem with Asher then it's probably because he makes you feel insecure about your own children, because this dude accomplished more in an American high school than any American high schooler ever has. He's basically a pioneer. He proved that age is indeed just a number, and he became the first 23 year old high school student to maintain a 4.0 GPA in the process. Not only should we celebrate this dude, but we should take him on a tour of the cities in the Continental United States that DON'T still embrace the confederacy. FOX- A St. Louis mother is in shock after learning her son’s skin color will keep him from attending the school of his choice. Edmund Lee is an African-American 3rd grader at Gateway Science Academy, a charter school in south St. Louis. His family is moving to St. Louis County this year.
State law allows some county residents the opportunity to attend a city charter school, but they must live in a district participating in transfer programs, and can not be an African-American. “When I read the guidelines I was in shock,” said La’Shieka White, Edmund’s mother. “I was crying.” School officials say their hands are tied because of state regulations created decades ago. The rules were designed to address segregation problems with St. Louis schools. Leaders at Gateway Science Academy believe it’s time to revisit those rules. “If this helps us start a conversation about maybe some things that could be different with the law, then that is as good thing,” said Assistant Principal Janet Moak. How long do you think segregation has been the last topic on the agenda at school board meetings in St. Louis County? I think that's the mark of a racist school system in 2016. When it's representatives just keep putting off discussing the modification of a law that reflects the ideals of 1960's white supremacy. "Ahhh, civil rights can wait. We'll get to it next week. I'm sure a black kid won't try to transfer here before then". Been playing with fire for fucking 60+ years and they finally got burnt. Talk about deflecting. This district isn't prejudice, it's rule oriented. Wouldn't want to teach the Aryan Nation that's it's okay to break the law by letting African Americans share the classroom with them. That would be a horrible lesson for their youth. Instead they should stick by their guns and be the only institution of learning whose acceptance is based on skin color. They might be discriminatory, but don't you dare say they are undisciplined. All things considered, this is probably a blessing in disguise. Sure, an African American 3rd grader had to learn that racism is still very much alive, but at least he didn't have to show to a place he wasn't wanted everyday. Transferring is hard enough as is. You are automatically an outcast, you have to work super hard to maintain any semblance of a social life, and people are already looking for reasons to dislike you. Probably a lot more difficult when you are greeted on your first day by 500 white kids in hoods carrying molotov cocktails. I don't know how, but the Gateway Science Academy managed to get through those first couple of decades -when most schools were being pressured into treating others as equals- without tweaking their handbook. I think the statue of limitations might actually be up. If they want to be the segregative school then let them be, because the only thing worse than being the blatantly racist school that doesn't accept black transfers is being the subtly racist school that begrudgingly accepts them.
Sporting News- Colin Kaepernick might be looking to get out of San Francisco after all.The quarterback's agents have reportedly asked the 49ers for permission to seek trading options, NFL.com reported Thursday.
The news comes after 49ers general manager Terry Baalke said earlier this week that Kaepernick would "absolutely" be with the team next season. New coach Chip Kelly backed up Baalke's assessment, saying Kaepernick "wants to be" with the 49ers. If Kaepernick stays with the 49ers after April 1, he's guaranteed his full $11.9 million base salary. If he stays for the entire 2016 season and hits several milestones, he would be slated for $16 million in base and bonus salary. Kaepernick is coming off his worst NFL season. He was benched midway though the year in favor of backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert after he threw six touchdowns and five interceptions in eight starts. Gabbert took over for the remainder of 2015. Does Colin Kaepernick have a family or friends? Does he have a confidant? Someone get this dude a life coach. I would say that he needs his very own Mr. Miyagi, but when you're an athletic quarterback that can't throw well then Chip Kelly is the closest thing to your Mr. Miyagi. I don't know too much about sports management, but I do know that if Colin Kaepernick's agents think it's a good idea to demand a trade then Colin Kaepernick would be better off getting represented by Don King. The San Francisco 49er's with Chip Kelly at the helm isn't just the best possible situation for Colin Kaepernick, it's the best possible situation that any subpar quarterback with throwing issues could possibly dream of. What's more surprising, the fact that Colin Kaepernick actually played in a Super Bowl or the fact that he wants to get traded away from quite possibly the only team he would start for? I legitimately think it's a toss up. When your only competition is the dude that sucked his way out of Jacksonville and you want out then you clearly can't be trusted to make your own decisions. I get that there are probably some hard feelings within the organization, and that he thinks he could benefit from a fresh start. What I don't think he understands is that any new destination would expect him to throw a football accurately, and well..if the last few seasons are any indication, that's just not something that's going to happen... NBC- A family that was applauded off an airplane because a boy's allergic reaction was delaying its takeoff was finally able to fly home after two days, their airline said Wednesday night.
The family of three was supposed to fly back to Phoenix from Bellingham, Washington, where they were on a bucket-list trip, when 7-year-old Giovanni had an allergic reaction, NBC affiliate KING in Seattle reported. The family had to deplane, and they said that people onboard clapped. But the family was on a trip to visit relatives, as father George Alvarado has terminal cancer, and they say they were hurt. "People who don't have sadness, they don't understand," Giovanni told KING. Allegiant Air has offered the family its apologies for their "negative experience" on the Monday flight, and their feedback has been noted so any service improvements that need to be made can be, a representative told NBC on Wednesday. Giovanni's mother, Christina Fabian, told KING a flight attendant had smirkingly told them there are dogs on every flight, when informed that the boy was getting hives. "We are truly sorry for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding their previously ticketed itinerary and for the inconvenience they have experienced as a result," a company representative said in an email. Allergic reactions? Terminal cancer? Let me tell ya, I have had just about enough of this family trying to make other passengers feel bad for having a lack of compassion. I suppose the clapping was a bit much, but I would be willing to bet a vast majority of the cabin didn't know about that whole "bucket list trip as a result of a devastating deadly disease" factor. They just knew that their plane was being delayed, and when you are sitting in close proximity of hundreds of other people waiting to fly through the sky in an enclosed steel tube you don't care how good of a reason the airline has for keeping it grounded. You just know that you want that reason to go away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for George Alvarado that reason was his son's weak ass immune system, and that's why it had to be dismissed in short order. I wish I could say I wouldn't have been hooting and hollering along with these people, but I think the general tone of this blog would correctly lead you to believe that'd be a lie. One of the requirements of getting on a plane is checking your soul at the door. There is no commiserating allowed in coach. No benevolence in Business Class. No empathy on board the aircraft. They don't call it mile high heartlessness for nothing. You have probably never sprayed a person head-to-toe with Febreze, but if you have sat next to a fat, odiferous asshole on a plane then you were only an aerosol bottle and a hair trigger away from doing so. You have probably never murdered a baby, but if you've been next to one on a cross country trip you have certainly thought about it. That's because you're at your most irritable when you are traveling, and irritable people don't give a fuck about anyone else. I am truly happy this man this finally got to his destination, but if I was on that flight I truly wouldn't have cared that it wasn't going to happen in a timely manner. I know that most people don't spend an exorbitant amount of time scouring the internet like I do, but do these people that are one step away from kidnapping a 12 year old girl away from the senior citizen they think she is about to marry even have WiFi? Pro tip: If someone has their own camera crew with them as they do something that's considered not only wildly inappropriate, but insanely illegal in the most cluttered area of the most populated city in the United States then it's probably being done with the intent of getting your attention. Even 65 year old men that are from whatever country people their age are marrying prepubescent girls know that they should probably do so behind closed doors. I have seen so many stupid viral videos that I have half convinced myself that I am probably going to die by treating an extremely dangerous real life situation like it's going on a YouTube channel. No way I am falling for fucking Igor over here trying to take a middle schooler's hand in marriage in front of hundreds of thousands of outspoken tourists.
Isn't this supposed to be the beauty of living in America? The fact that we don't have to concern ourselves with all the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad shit happening overseas. Pretty sure we have enough "causes" being "fought" for with contrived online videos on American soil. Do we really need to dip our feet into the mating habits of the 3rd world just to get a few more clicks? Don't get me wrong. I feel bad that little girls are being forced into devoting their lives to creepy old men, but nothing I can say or do is going to stop it from happening. I'm pretty sure the next step after "awareness" is "action". Since I am not boarding a plane to fly halfway across the world to picket on behalf of children that don't even speak my language I don't need to know that their lives aren't fair. Ignorance is bliss. Especially when cognizance is futile. h/t Metro
This one's on me. I should have checked the schedule more carefully before I criticized John Tortorella for throwing a nice big hissy fit after a failed coach's challenge earlier this week. I unknowingly tempted the hockey gods, and they didn't hesitate to rain hellfire all over the Devils chances tonight with one of the most atrocious disallowed goals of all time. Now let me clear this up. Bad call or not, the Devils probably weren't winning tonight. Not after they followed up an encouraging win against the Rangers on Tuesday with their most uninspiring period of the season. Heading into the second frame down 3-0 generally isn't very conducive to victory, so in no way am I blaming the officials for an outcome that really got out of hand once they failed to do their job. With that said, I simply can't let this call slide without discussing it...
Not to go full Tortorella and completely denounce the current replay system based on one single play, but if that wasn't a goal then you really have no choice but to feel uneasy about the state of officiating in the NHL. Why was it disallowed, you ask? Good question. I was hoping you could answer that for me. The puck was loose and the whistle wasn't blown so I am having a hard time figuring it out myself. My best guess is that the referee's intention was to blow the whistle earlier even though blowing the whistle earlier would have been the wrong call. Essentially the referee's own futility gave him a second chance to make the right call on a play that -for some odd reason- was unchallengeable, and I think we all know how that turned out.
Again, the Devils didn't play well enough to win tonight. You will get no argument on that from me. However, that play would have made it 3-2 and anyone that has ever watched a second of Devils hockey knew that the Blue Jackets were going to turn that "fortuitous" (Also see: Terrible) decision into a goal on the other end, and that they were probably going to do it in fairly agonizing fashion. Couldn't script something more agonizing than a wayward pass casually glancing in off David Schlemko's skate and giving Nick Filigno -#3 on my top 5 most hated NHL players- a hat trick in the process. The Devils cost themselves the game by showing up for it twenty minutes late, but a comically bad call was quite the additional charge. The worst part about this loss is that it gives the Devils ZERO wins in three tries against Columbus. One team that's vastly overachieved could very well meet an untimely demise solely because of another team that has massively underachieved. The irony of the Devils potentially missing the playoffs because they can't beat the Columbus FUCKING Blue Jackets would almost be enough for me to whine, complain, and ask for a rule change...if I hadn't chastised John Tortorella for doing the very same thing no more than three days ago. P.S. Such disrespect... Here's Blake Griffin And The Trainer Whose Face He Bashed In Walking To The Court Together2/25/2016
I have a question. Does the Clippers organization like Blake Griffin? Do Clippers fans like Blake Griffin? Do they want him to stay in Los Angeles past this year? Sorry, that was more than one question. Kind of went on a little tangent there. A tangent is actually exactly what this team and it's fanbase could use right now, because they're incessant need to remind everyone that Blake Griffin broke his hand on another employee's face isn't exactly giving people the opportunity to forget that it happened. The best way for an awkward, contentious situation to resolve itself is to stop bringing attention to it. That means no more calculated, tone deaf Twitter posts of them shaking hands. No more Instagram videos of them slowly walking down the hall together.
Will the differences of two men that engaged in drunken fisticuffs ever be fully reconcilable? I don't know. I do know that we will never find out if the people that should want this story to die the most don't stop resuscitating it. This is like having a friend that constantly brings up the bad breakup after you get back with chick. I am sure there is still a ton of animosity between Blake Griffin and Matias Testi, but that animosity can only subside if people stop shining a spotlight on it every chance they get. I know that even if they forgive each other this incident will never un-happen. However, time should be able to heal all between two men that were supposed pretty close friends. Maybe, just maybe, we could stop ripping the bandaid off, exposing the wound, and making the process take longer than it has to, because the core of this Clippers team may not have too much more time together if things don't go well when Blake Griffin finally walks through that tunnel in game attire.
h/t BustedCoverage
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