Electric Zoo

Electric Zoo
It was supposed to be the bigger, better party. Electric Zoo 2013 was the fifth annual Labor Day weekend of electronic dance music on Randalls Island, and its promoter, Made Event, had expanded it by adding another stage with additional headliners. But after two concertgoers died, apparently from using MDMA (known in different formulations as Molly or Ecstasy), Made Event followed the recommendation of the mayor’s office and abruptly canceled Sunday, the third day of the festival. Last week, the House of Blues in Boston closed temporarily after drug overdoses following a show by Zedd, who would have been one of Sunday’s Electric Zoo headliners.

Yasin Bhatkal

Yasin Bhatkal

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Yasin Bhatkal must be the only terrorist to have played such a long hide-and-seek game with Indian agencies despite being in the country all along.

Unlike most top terrorists, who invariably melted into Pakistan or West Asia after terror strikes or after their names cropped up on agency radars, Bhatkal chose to stay back and conducted blast after blast for five years despite every agency trailing him.

Satyagraha

Satyagraha

Satyagraha hits the theatres today. The film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Amrita Rao and Manoj Bajpai is a dialogue with the youth of today, Prakash Jha said at most of his promotional events.

The director picked a rather new (as compared to last

related stories
Splendid: Prakash Jha captures the movement in Satyagraha
Bollywood Release: Satyagraha
week's

related stories
Splendid: Prakash Jha captures the movement in Satyagraha
Bollywood Release: Satyagraha critically acclaimed
political thriller Madras Cafe) subject for Satyagraha.

Although the director claimed that his movie is not based on the Anna Hazare movement, most reports suggested otherwise. With a topic like that, Prakash Jha helming the project and actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Manoj Bajpai - the expectations were sky-high. Prakash Jha, however, could not live up to the expectations, at least for most critics.

Saibal Chatterjee writes for NDTV, "Prakash Jha's Satyagraha is a political film that, for all its well-meaning bluster, neither stings nor scalds. It fails to hit the core of the truth that it seeks," and further elaborates, "Unfortunately, Satyagraha barely skims the surface of a complex theme, leaving many a crucial question unanswered. As a result, it can hardly be expected to shake a vast nation and its somnolent rulers out of their torpor."

Ander Herrera

Ander Herrera

Manchester United prepare £40m double swoop for Bilbao's Ander Herrera and Roma's Daniele De Rossi
Manchester United are expected to trigger a €36 million (£30.7 million) release clause in Ander Herrera’s Athletic Bilbao contract after having a €30 million bid rejected for the playmaker identified by David Moyes as an alternative to Cesc Fabregas.
After seeing two bids for Fabregas rejected by Barcelona, following an aborted move for Spain Under-21 captain Thiago Alcantara earlier this summer, Moyes is now attempting to add three midfielders to his squad before Monday’s 11pm transfer deadline.

The United manager, having won his battle to keep Wayne Rooney at the club in the wake of two substantial offers from Chelsea, has stepped up his pursuit of reinforcements by also lodging a €12 million offer for Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi after testing Everton’s resolve with a £38 million combined bid for Marouane Fellaini and England left back Leighton Baines on Thursday.

Bilbao, Roma and Everton have all rejected United’s advances this week, but there is a confidence within Old Trafford that deals will be done before Monday evening.

However, despite Herrera’s release clause, Bilbao president Josu Urrutia has insisted that the Basque club, one of the few in Spain in strong financial health, are under no pressure to sell, even if United meet the 24-year-old’s valuation.

“Our club is different, in that it is based on feeling,” Urrutia said. “Our objective is not to make money. We received the offer last night, and we communicated [to the club in question] that we do not negotiate for our players. If a player is to leave, first he has to inform us that he wants to go and then his release clause has to be met.”

Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney, acclaimed by many as the best Irish poet since WB Yeats, has died aged 74.

Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past".

Over his long career he was awarded numerous prizes and received many honours for his work.

He recently suffered from ill health.

His 2010 poetry collection The Human Chain was written after he suffered a stroke and the central poem, Miracle, was directly inspired by his illness.

Heaney in 1970, two years before he gave up full-time academic work to become a freelance writer and poet

Recalling how he had been lifted up and down the stairs to his bedroom, the poet eulogised the biblical characters who carried a paralysed man to Jesus to be healed.

"Their shoulders numb, the ache and stoop deeplocked / In their backs, the stretcher handles / Slippery with sweat. And no let up."
'Profound sorrow'

"The death has taken place of Seamus Heaney," said a short statement issued by his family on Friday.

"The poet and Nobel laureate died in hospital in Dublin this morning after a short illness. The family has requested privacy at this time."

Heaney's publisher, Faber, said: "We cannot adequately express our profound sorrow at the loss of one of the world's greatest writers. His impact on literary culture is immeasurable.

"As his publisher we could not have been prouder to publish his work over nearly 50 years. He was nothing short of an inspiration to the company, and his friendship over many years is a great loss."

Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate and a friend of Heaney, told The Telegraph that Heaney was "a great poet, a wonderful writer about poetry, and a person of truly exceptional grace and intelligence."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon told BBC Radio 3: "One of his great gifts was to allow people in who were not necessarily that interested in poetry... and I think that's one of the reasons why he occupies such an extraordinary place in people's hearts."

Heaney was born in April 1939, the eldest of nine children, on a farm near Toomebridge in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, but as a child moved to the village of Bellaghy.

He was educated at St Columb's College, Derry, a Catholic boarding school, and later at Queen's University Belfast, before training as a teacher. He settled in Dublin, with periods of teaching in the US.

Heaney was an honorary fellow at Trinity College Dublin and, last year, was bestowed with the Seamus Heaney Professorship in Irish Writing at the university, which he described as a great honour.

Lukaku

אסד

After a titanic mishap like today. Lukaku will stew in those emotions on the bench and won't live it down. He needs to go on loan where he can play, get some game time and totally forget about this blown chance with a really shit 

'Dedication 5'

Dedication 5'

Lil Wayne pulls no punches. His apology for what we’ve been thinking all year was direct and genuine. He’s been slacking. And he's sorry. Yet Wayne heads (no Damon) hope the newest installment of his famed mixtape series with DJ Drama will break him out of his slump. As we patiently await Lil Wayne’s new mixtape Dedication 5, VIBE offers a recipe for redemption. —John Kennedy

Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney was internationally recognised as the greatest Irish poet since WB Yeats. Like Yeats, he won the Nobel Prize for literature and, like Yeats, his reputation and influence spread far beyond literary circles.

Born in Northern Ireland, he was a Catholic and nationalist who chose to live in the South. "Be advised, my passport's green / No glass of ours was ever raised / To toast the Queen," he once wrote.

He came under pressure to take sides during the 25 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and faced criticism for his perceived ambivalence to republican violence, but he never allowed himself to be co-opted as a spokesman for violent extremism.

His writing addressed the conflict, however, often seeking to put it in a wider historical context. The poet also penned elegies to friends and acquaintances who died in the violence.

Describing his reticence to become a "spokesman" for the Troubles, Heaney once said he had "an early warning system telling me to get back inside my own head".

Born on 13 April, 1939, on a family farm in the rural heart of County Londonderry, he never forgot the world he came from. "I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells / Of waterweed, fungus and dank moss," he recalled in Personal Helicon.

He was a translator, broadcaster and prose writer of distinction, but his poetry was his most remarkable achievement, for its range, its consistent quality and its impact on readers: Love poems, epic poems, poems about memory and the past, poems about conflict and civil strife, poems about the natural world, poems addressed to friends, poems that found significance in the everyday or delighted in the possibilities of the English language.

The very first poem in his first major collection was called Digging, and it described his father digging potatoes and his grandfather digging turf. It ended:

But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests.

I'll dig with it.

His roots lay deep in the Irish countryside

It proved to be his manifesto. He spent a lifetime digging with his pen, but returned often in his poetry to the landscape and society of his boyhood in a countryside of farms and small towns, where Protestant and Catholic rubbed along tolerably, if warily, and one of his earliest memories was listening to the shipping forecast on the BBC.

He was a bright boy: At the age of 12 he was sent on a scholarship to St Columb's College in Derry and studied for a degree in English at Queen's University in Belfast.

He became a schoolteacher, then a lecturer, at Queen's and later head of English at Carysfort College, a teacher training college near Dublin.

For more than 20 years from 1985 he spent part of each year at Harvard as a visiting professor and later Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory, and then as poet in residence. From 1989 to 1994 he was professor of poetry at Oxford.

Lamar Odom

Earlier this week, a slew of reports alleged that Odom had been battling drug addiction, and that his family—including wife and reality TV star Khloe Kardashian—had been unable to locate him. Odom was photographed with Kardashian earlier this week, and his agent, Jeff Schwartz, told multiple media outlets that Odom’s whereabouts were, in fact, known.

Lamar Odom is a free agent. (AP Photo)

While the reports of Odom’s drug issues remain merely allegations, the reported DUI would be a very real problem for Odom. He was arrested at 3:54 a.m. after driving too slow on California’s 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, and TMZ is reporting that he failed multiple field sobriety tests.

As Odom’s personal life continues to crumble, his hopes of rejuvenating his professional life are getting dimmer and dimmer. It was only two seasons ago that Odom was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year with the Lakers, but after leaving L.A. in 2011, Odom flamed out in Dallas, averaging 6.6 points and 35.2 percent shooting and ending the year with the Mavericks essentially kicking him off the team. He signed with the Clippers last year and averaged 4.0 points on 39.9 percent shooting.

Odom is a free agent this summer, and though a handful of teams—including the Lakers—expressed some interest in him, there is little chance that anyone will pick him up now.

“I would say he is beyond toxic at this point,” one general manager told Sporting News. “Just going by what he is giving you on the court, he would have been a risk anyway, maybe someone you give a partial guarantee to just to see if he can turn things around. But with the circus that’s around him off the court now, no way. I think that’s the end of Lamar Odom in the NBA. It’s a shame.”

For now, Odom is apparently facing much more important challenges in his personal life. US Weekly noted that Kardashian told her husband on Aug. 21 that he needs to get help for his addiction or get out. But for those who have closely followed his professional life, it’s a potentially sad end to what was a very productive career, one that included two championships with the Lakers.

Ribery

Ribery

Die einzig logische Wahl

Franck Ribery ist zu Recht zu Europas Fußballer des Jahres gewählt worden. Der Franzose war für den FC Bayern nie wertvoller, weil er sich selbst nicht so wichtig nimmt. Zum absoluten Glück fehlt aber noch etwas.

Eine gewisse Hässlichkeit haben Pokale, die man im Sport gewinnen kann, per se an sich. Ein besonderes Exemplar ist beispielsweise der fransige Gold-Arm für den Sieger der Handball-Champions-League.

Die Skulptur-Künstler der Trophäe für den besten Fußballer Europas waren auch nicht gerade mit Kreativität gesegnet. Ein muskulöser Oberkörper mit abgesägten Armen, der linke noch etwas stumpenhafter als der rechte.

Viel wichtiger als das Gebilde an sich ist aber der Name, der für den besten Fußballer der Saison 2012/13 in Europa eingraviert wurde: Franck Ribery.

Sylvie van der Vaart

Sylvie van der Vaart

sylvie van der Vaart wirft Freundin "Unmoral" vor

Nachdem Sabia Boulahrouz ihrer ehemaligen Freundin Sylvie van der Vaart zahlreiche Affären vorgeworfen hat, reagiert diese wütend. Sie sei "auch hier wieder sprachlos über so viel Unmoral".

Nachdem Sabia Boulahrouz schwere Vorwürfe gegen ihre ehemalige Busenfreundin Sylvie van der Vaart erhoben hat, lässt die nicht lange mit einem Konter auf sich warten. "Unglaublich, wie das so im Leben geht – dass Leute, denen man vertraut und die man lieb hat, mich verraten haben", zitiert die "Bild" die Moderatorin. "Ich bin auch hier wieder sprachlos über so viel Unmoral."

Die neue Freundin von Rafael van der Vaart hatte zuvor in einem Interview behauptet, Sylvie habe während ihrer Ehe zahlreiche Affären gehabt, unter anderem mit einem KLM-Piloten, einem Bodyguard und einem Tänzer aus der Show "Let's Dance", die die Niederländerin moderiert.

Sie erwäge nun rechtliche Schritte: "Mein Anwaltsteam wird das hoffentlich alles in den Griff kriegen. Ich finde es schade, dass es so viele Lügen und schlechten Geschmack gibt."

UEFA

UEFA

Three-time UEFA Champions League winner Samuel Eto'o said it "wasn't a hard decision" after leaving FC Anji Makhachkala to sign a one-year deal with old coach José Mourinho's Chelse

Trending now

1

Barcelona, Milan, Ajax and Celtic drawn together

2

Which is the toughest group?

3

Madrid eye 'spectacular' Juve showdowns

4

Tough for OM, Napoli, Dortmund, Arsenal

5

Chelsea cautious despite positive past omens

More

Headlines

Latest

Group C rivals satisfied

Hulk's Porto reunion

'A high-class draw'

Past in Chelsea's favour

Holders cautiously optimistic

More

Samuel Eto'o has signed a one-year deal at Chelsea FC where he will be reunited with José Mourinho, his former coach at FC Internazionale Milano.

Related Items
Schürrle's Bayern reunion
Bayern, Chelsea eye glory
Müller has a 'score to settle'
Ivanović seeking redemption
Robben reveals all
Super Cup match facts
Mourinho on Chelsea, Bayern
United and Chelsea draw
Eriksson's Super Cup date
Chelsea secure Willian
Ambitious Anzhi sign Eto'o

Eto'o moves to the Premier League for the first time and arrives in London from FC Anji Makhachkala, who have been forced to part company with a number of their star players this summer. One such player, Brazil forward Willian, completed his own move to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Eto'o, who scored more than 100 Spanish Liga goals and lifted the UEFA Champions League in 2006 and 2009 while at FC Barcelona, also won Europe's premier club competition when playing under Mourinho at Inter. After two years at Inter, the Cameroon striker, now 32, left for Anji in August 2011 and went on to score 25 goals in 53 league appearances in Russia.

"I am very happy to be here but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible," said the Cameroon striker. "It wasn't a hard decision. I saw the qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy with José Mourinho before so when the opportunity came, I was very happy to take it."

Chelsea, UEFA Europa League winners last season, will take on FC Bayern München in Friday's UEFA Super Cup, which kicks off at 20.45CET at the Stadion Eden in Prague.

Hyon Song-wol

Hyon Song-wol  

Unconfirmed reports claim the ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was executed by firing squad along with 11 others, after the group allegedly made and sold a sex tape. 

Hyon Song Wol, a singer in North Korea's famed Unhasu Orchestra, was killed by machine gun along with 11 other members of the orchestra and the Wangjaesan Light Music Band, another popular state-run music group in North Korea, according to a report in The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest daily newspaper.

The report, which cites an anonymous source in China, says the group was arrested Aug. 17 for filming and selling a pornographic video featuring themselves. The clip reportedly found its way across the border to China. Their families were forced to watch the execution, which took place three days later, and were then sent to the country's notorious prison camps, the source said

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson  

Today would have been Michael Jackson's 55th birthday. Though the King of Pop died four years ago at the age of 50, Twitter was full of birthday greetings and retrospectives of the late singer.

Also, producer Timbaland hinted at a new project that could include Jackson's vocals. In a teaser initially posted on YouTube's Revolt TV channel, Timbaland talked about being approached by Epic Records executive L.A. Reid about a project that "would be like two kings working together." Timbaland never mentions Jackson's name, but the singer's image appears throughout the clip, which has appeared in several third-party versions since the original was removed from YouTube.

James Spader

James Spader will play the villain Ultron in the next Avengers flick, Avengers: Age of Ultron due out May 1, 2015.

Spader will play the powerful robot villain in the film to be written and directed by Joss Whedon, who made the first Avengers in 2012.

The sequel will bring together the impressive superheroes, including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth as Thor, who brought in $1.5 billion in worldwide box office for Avengers.

Spader earned three Emmy Awards for his role as Alan Shore on Boston Legal and The Practice. He will return to villainy this fall in NBC's The Blacklist.

"Miley Cyrus

The singer certainly wasn't shy when she was twerking in her near-naked outfit with Robin Thicke
LOOK!

She was never going to turn up and do some ballroom dancing in a traditional gown.

Miley Cyrus brought her best twerking outfit for her eye popping performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The controversial singer sang her hit We Can't Stop and duetted with Robin Thicke for summer tune Blurred Lines.

View gallery
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Miley Cyrus performance at MTV VMA 2013
View gallery


Miley wore nude PVC hot pants and boob tube which was more revealing than anyone could have ever expected, to be quite honest.

Add to this a giant teddy bear and we've got ourselves one of the most risky performances of the night.

Some viewers took to Twitter to express their disgust after watching the performance on television.

One person wrote: "Miley Cyrus completely embarrassing herself at the #VMA awards. Jesus have some self respect, there's called being sexy, then just darn ugly."

Another tweeter added: "I really want to go to sleep but I'm really worried Miley Cyrus might be hiding in my closet."

And another person simply wrote: "Miley Cyrus that was disturbing."

However, Miley hasn't yet spoken out about any controversy she may have caused but did take time to send her congratulations to One Direction who won the award for Best Song of the Summer for their track Best Song Ever.

Pretty Little Liars

you’ve somehow managed to catch your breath after last night’s Pretty Little Liars summer finale, well, you’re doing better than us. But while we wait for some answers about Ezra, Ali and just about everyone in Rosewood and/or Ravenswood, we did a little investigating … mostly because we couldn’t sleep last night and were desperate for clues.

Remember when the girls found that scrapbook in the Red Coat/”A” lair? In it, they found a letter that Ali had presumably written to board shorts (who we guess is Ezra?). It’s how the Liars realized she never meant for them to come to the Cape with her that summer, but rather that Ali was hoping to spend some alone time with the older man nobody seemed to know about. Here’s what we could translate from Ali’s letter to board shorts:

“You’re taking me away [for my] birthday. And all I can do is say, yay. But you’re better with words than me. Seriously can’t believe I met you in Rosewood. I thought I knew that town. Nothing but [?] and lies. It’s best kept secret was you. But you’re my secret now. My friends wouldn’t understand. They want this to be their weekend, but I want to be the person who shows you the Cape. You can hate the ocean but I promise you’ll like the view. That’s if you’re with me. Maybe we can take a few pictures, too. Ones worth like a hundred thousand words. Our imagination can take care of the rest … for now.

Your favorite, Alison”

Nexus 4 Price Drop Available to Some Past Buyers

Yesterday’s Nexus 4 price drop is available to previous buyers of the Nexus 4 who bought the device within 15 days of Google’s $100 price cut and bought the device through the Google Play Store.

Those who bought the Nexus 4 within 15 days of yesterday’s Nexus 4 price cut now have 15 days to reclaim $100 from Google thanks to the company’s Price Protection Program for device’s purchased through the Google Play Store.

What this means is that those who recently bought the Nexus 4 can fill out a quick little form on Google’s website and get refunded the difference in price. Again, not all Nexus 4 owners can do this, only those that bought it within 15 days of yesterday’s price drop.

Read: Nexus 4 Price Drops $100.

The Nexus 4 price dropped by $100 yesterday.

Catherine Zeta Jones

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones 'take break'

The couple share the same birth date, though 25 years apart
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
In pictures: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones
Profile: Catherine Zeta Jones
Profile: Michael Douglas

Hollywood actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones "are taking time apart" after 13 years of marriage, it has been confirmed.

The actress's publicist told the BBC the couple had taken the decision in order to "evaluate and work on their marriage".

Douglas, 68, and Swansea-born Zeta Jones, 43, married in 2000 after meeting in France two years earlier.

They have two children - Dylan, 13, and Carys, 10.

The pair have both struggled with health problems in recent years.

Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010, while Zeta Jones sought treatment for bipolar disorder in 2011 and again earlier this year.

At this year's Cannes Film Festival, Douglas claimed his condition - which is now in remission - had been caused by oral sex.
'Second chance'

The couple share the same birthday, 25 September, and met at the Deauville Film Festival in France in 1998.

They had their first child in August 2000, and married three months later in a lavish ceremony at New York's Plaza hotel, where guests included Goldie Hawn, Christopher Reeve, Jack Nicholson and Brad Pitt.

Douglas proposed to Zeta Jones on New Year's Day, 2000.

OK! magazine paid £1m for exclusive access to photographs of the day, but rival magazine Hello! spoiled the scoop by publishing pictures taken by somebody pretending to be a guest or a waiter.

A long legal battle followed in the UK, with the couple arguing that Hello! had invaded their privacy.

The case was eventually resolved in 2007, when the House Of Lords ruled Hello! had breached OK!'s confidentiality.

Prior to the wedding, the couple reportedly signed a pre-nuptial agreement, which entitles Zeta Jones to £1m for every year of their marriage in the event of the relationship coming to an end.

Douglas insisted on the contract after his first wife, Diandra, was awarded £44m in their divorce.

Speaking to the Mirror earlier this month, the actor said his biggest regret was not ending his first marriage sooner. He had married Diandra in 1977 and they separated in 1995, but did not file for divorce until 2000.

"I have nothing against her and in fact I'm very fond of my first wife," he said, "but we should have ended that marriage eight or 10 years earlier".

"It took me too long to realise that if you go to a marriage counsellor to resolve problems, it's in his interest to keep the marriage going."

The family attended Buckingham Palace in 2011, when Zeta Jones was made a CBE

In the same interview, Douglas paid tribute to Zeta Jones, who had given him "this second chance to have a family".

"The thing I've learned about getting older is you can't take love for granted," he said. "You protect it, nurture it and it grows and after one's initial, physical emotional aspects, it becomes deeper."

The star, whose films include Wall Street and Basic Instinct, recently made his post-cancer return to the big screen playing Liberace in the biopic Behind The Candelabra.

Nintendo 2DS

Engadget's back to school guide 2013: portable audio

Heading off to college without a solid pair of beats to take with you for those late night studies? Not a wise idea. To help you out we've assembled a list containing nine of our favorite portable audio products that blend fun, portability, good looks and great sound across a variety of price points. Read on above, and try not to sacrifice your sound too much this year.

Lavabit

A screen capture of Lavabit's home page from the end of July 2013.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Ladar Levison can't talk for legal reasons about the specifics of why he shut down Lavabit, his encrypted Web e-mail company, but he was hardly tight-lipped about the subject.

A screen capture of Lavabit's home page from the end of July 2013.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Ladar Levison can't talk for legal reasons about the specifics of why he shut down Lavabit, his encrypted Web e-mail company, but he was hardly tight-lipped about the subject.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund accounted for almost a third of the Bundesliga's €2bn turnover last season. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Hot on the trails of the traditional summer excitement ("A new league is like a new life," poetised Die Zeit), a new brand of German angst has turned down the feelgood volume ever so slightly. It is the fear that last season's Champions League finalists have rendered the playing field so small that all the millions in the stadiums and at home will find themselves watching a version of table tennis instead: Bayern, Dortmund. Bayern, Dortmund. Dortmund, Bayern. Bayern, Dortmund.
The apprehension is not entirely unfounded. In terms of sporting quality, media attention and financial muscle, the duo seem to be on a different planet. The champions are about to post another record turnover, rumoured to be more than €400m, and so will the Black and Yellows (approximately €250m). Put together, Bayern and Dortmund will have accounted for almost a third of the league's €2bn turnover in 2012-13. Plenty of proud, storied clubs – Hamburg, Stuttgart, Bremen – feel marginalised.
"We can't complain about the Bundesliga not winning anything internationally for a long time and then dislike that there's more coverage for the Champions League finalists," countered the Bundesliga's chief executive, Christian Seifert. "Before that, there were complaints that the league was missing a worldwide glamour appeal."
Seifert cannot say it for political reasons, but the comparative disadvantage of the rest of the league is not a structural problem per se, but one of incompetence and mismanagement. Schalke 04 or Hamburg, for example, only have themselves to blame for making (relatively) little of their resources – there is no intrinsic reason why they should not be at least on Dortmund's level, and by extension, more serious rivals for Bayern. "If we want to keep belonging to one of the top three leagues, if we want to see some of the best players and teams in the world, a turnover of €2bn won't be enough in 2023," Seifert told Die Welt.
The hope is that all this unrealised potential in the league will eventually come to the fore with the help of a new TV deal (on average, €502m will be divided by the 18 top-flights teams each year) and a wave of very good young players. Better international marketing – by the league and the clubs – is also a must. Seifert: "No club, with the exception of FC Bayern in some years, has even remotely done as much as the English or Spanish clubs to become more popular in Asia, the US, or elsewhere."
Another key question is whether the league will be able to grow without upsetting its hardcore supporters. At Bayern, sadly, the answer seems to be no. "If the club are trying to get rid of us, they're on the right track," Wolfgang Martin told Münchner Merkur. Martin is the spokesman of Club Nr. 12, the association of the Reds' most loyal fans. The Club Nr. 12 members are unhappy that electronic gates will restrict the access to the two noisiest blocks in the Südkurve terrace to ticket-holders. Since many of the most committed supporters cannot get tickets for these sections, they used to get "smuggled" in. Bayern initially turned a blind eye. Now, they are pointing at safety concerns but Martin feels that this is just an excuse for the clamp down on the ultras.
After the repeated setting off of flares in away games, the club also cancelled 400 away season tickets in the Champions League and the DFB Cup. Worst of all, from the fans' view, 300 newly available tickets for the Südkurve have not been reserved for the loudest and most committed fans but will be made available in the online shop. There is talk of a singing boycott ahead of the first home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday night. "A boycott? It's no longer possible to make proper noise anymore anyway," Club Nr. 12 member Stefan Viehauser told Süddeutsche Zeitung. The Südkurve believes that Bayern are happy to follow the lead of Barcelona, who have not had a dedicated block of ultras for years.
Some Premier League fans would probably wish to encounter similar problems. The Südkurven controversy aside, Bundesliga season tickets for those standing still cost only €140 at Bayern (VfL Wolfsburg offer the cheapest season tickets, at €130). And the stadiums will be full, despite every single game from both top leagues being available live on German pay TV for less than €30 per month, and a terrestrial (studio pundit free) highlights show at 6.30pm on Saturdays.
Best of all, any lack of competitiveness at the very top will be offset by a mighty scrap in the Hinterland. Schalke (at Hamburg) and Leverkusen (at home to SC Freiburg) look good enough to get into the top four again but behind them, more than a dozen teams cannot be quite sure if they will be fighting for Europe or against relegation.
The two fallen northern giants, Hamburg and Bremen, will have particularly exciting seasons, even if it is not clear for what particular reason. Curiously, the new HSV sporting director, Oliver Kreuzer, seems to be convinced that the squad's penchant for Italian designer wear was responsible for a demoralising 4-0 defeat by (the Bundesliga 2 team) Dynamo Dresden. "All I see is Gucci here, Gucci there," said the former Bayern defender. "We are travelling by private jet, there's a five-course buffet. We are doing everything to give the team the best conditions. All we're asking is that they give a good account of themselves."
Hamburg's neighbours Werder had an even less auspicious start: they were dumped out of the DFB Cup by the third division side Saarbrücken. Their new coach, Robin Dutt, was forced to order extra training and video sessions that would have been worse than sitting through a sextuple-header of Saw. "It hurt but was necessary," said the striker Nils Petersen ahead of the opener away to Eintracht Braunschweig.
Torsten Lieberknecht's new boys are widely tipped for instant relegation, the services of Ermin Bicakcic notwithstanding. The Bosnian centre-back has been dubbed "Eisen-Ermin" (iron Ermin) by Lieberknecht, "because he can put a dent into railway tracks with his head", as the coach explained. Will the Bundesliga award points for such vandalism, though?
The most negative take on the new season, however, comes courtesy of Frankfurter Rundschau. "Bundesligastart mit viel Müll" (Bundesliga starts with a load of rubbish) was the headline to its preview piece for Mainz 05's opener with Stuttgart on Sunday. A harsh but not entirely unfounded appraisal perhaps, especially if the Swabians' dire showings in the Europa League play-offs against the Bulgarian champions PFC Botev Plovdiv (1-1, 0-0) are taken into account. It turns out, however, that Rundschau was referring to the new beer-serving arrangements in the Coface-Arena, not the expected performances on the pitch.
Due to security concerns, the reusable plastic cups are being replaced by lighter, one-off vessels. In environment-conscious Mainz (the club claim to be climate neutral), this has not gone down well. There is talk of supporters covering the playing field with the new cups in protest – even though they are made from biodegradable starch. What the Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia – who in the past complained of managers being the "dustbins of all people" – will make of all this is anyone's guess. You had better tune in to find out.

Taste of the Danforth

Toronto Food Events: Awestruck, Roundhouse Beer Fest, Taste of the Danforth, Mods & Rockers Breakfast

Posted by Liora Ipsum / August 9, 2013

Toronto Food Events rounds up the most delicious events, festivals, pop-ups, winemaker dinners, supper clubs and other food related happenings in Toronto this week and next. You can find us here every Friday morning.
THIS WEEK

• Market 707 hosts Flavours of the City tonight, Friday, August 9h from 5pm to 9pm at 707 Dundas Street West. The outdoor art show and exhibit includes highlights like interactive art stations, food from Market 707 vendors and live entertainment.
• Pilaro's Taste of the Danforth street festival is on this weekend August 9th to 11 featuring the annual feeding frenzy from Broadview to Jones.
• The Roundhouse Park Craft Beer & Food Truck Fest takes place this weekend, August 10th and 11th from noon 'til 7pm. The two day event bills a stellar (and too long to list) line-up of food trucks and Ontario craft breweries Tickets are $15 at the door ($10 in advance).
• Tickets ($100) are still available for the six course Sweet and Savoury Chocolate Tasting Dinner happening Saturday, August 10th at Playful Grounds (605 College Street).
• Grillin' & Chillin returns to the Fuel House (53 Clinton Street) on Monday, August 12th at 6:30pm. The BBQ cooking class and pig roast presented by Pork Ninja, Jason Rees costs $95 to participate includes a whole hog feat with all the fixings and Ontario craft beer and wine pairings.

UPCOMING

• Awestruck is back for round two on Saturday, September 21at from 2pm to 8pm at Fort York, Garison Common. Tickets go on sale Tuesday for what is promising to be the largest food truck rally in Canada.
• Bristol Yard (146 Christie Street) has announced a Mods & Rockers Breakfastin celebration of Toronto's largest vintage motorcycle and scooter festival happening on Saturday, August 17th. See the bikes lined up on nearby Pendrith Street before they take off for a city wide ride.
• Bier Markt (58 The Esplanade) is hosting a Small Batch Bier Dinner on Tuesday, August 20th starting at 6:30pm. The four course dinner with beer pairings is $50 and tickets are available now.
• Diner en Blanc is secretly plotting its next soiree. The al fresco white party/pop-up picnic will be held Thursday, August 29th but as always the location won't be revealed until the day of.

OTHER NEWS

• Voodoo Child (388 College Street) is starting weekends early with brunch now being served Fridays too. The first 10 people to show up for brunch tomorrow, Friday, August 9th and say "I want to get lucky" will get a free coffee or cocktail of their choice.

CFL

 

Stampeders defensive back Jeff Hecht gives a flex for the camera during a Stamps walk-through practice on Thursday. Friday’s game versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be a heavyweight encounter.

Photograph by: Ted Rhodes , Calgary Herald

During the dog days of summer in the Canadian Football League, some games in August have little meaning to the season standings and even less implications on what happens in November come Grey Cup week.
But Friday night’s clash — the Calgary Stampeders (4-1) versus the undefeated Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-0) at McMahon Stadium — is not one of those games.
“As far as wins and losses are concerned, you’re playing a game where you’re in the business of winning,” Stampeders’ starting quarterback Kevin Glenn was saying Thursday, as the team completed last minute preparations for the upcoming invasion of the Green Army. “I don’t think it matters what the other teams wins and losses record. You just want to go out and win. It will be a good spoiler. To come into our house with an undefeated team in front of our home crowd and give them a loss. But most importantly, we need to get better as a football team and get another win under our belt. It’ll push us closer to them in the standings and help us with the head-to-head battle.
“Once it gets late in the season, those wins early in the season help.”
For both outfits, fresh off their bye week breaks, whatever happens in Week 7 is sure to go down as one of those defining games of the 2013 campaigns as the test and implications are big on both ends.
For the Roughriders, it could be their first loss of the CFL season, a blip in a year they’re hosting the 101st Grey Cup in their own backyard and extend their regular season losing streak at McMahon Stadium to 1,470 days. Or it could vault them even higher and stitch them closer together.
For the Stampeders, a victory would be continuing proof of their depth and response as a team to adversity (and injury). A loss could be a cause for concern and an entirely different game plan against a team that has handed two of two losses so far in 2013.
Whatever the outcome, purchase tickets if you haven’t already, set the PVR for TSN at 7 p.m. Mountain Time, or switch your satellite radio to QR77 instead — and enjoy.
“If I was on another team and this game was coming on, I’d be tuned in to watch this game,” Glenn said. “I would have to tell the wife and kids, ‘Daddy’s watching football tonight because the Riders and the Stamps are playing.’ I mean, this is what professional is about. You’ve got two teams, fighting in the standings. One team is undefeated. We have one loss, to this team. It’s played up very well. For writers, for media, for fans in general.
“We want to go out and give a good outing for the fans and for everybody else.”
Keon Raymond agrees.
“Oh, most definitely,” said the Stampeders linebacker, who is itching to play the Riders, having been injured during the Week 2 meeting of the teams. “I’m telling you. Any fan out there, if you love football, if you love competitiveness, a fight, this is the game you want to watch. This is the game you want to be at. This is a game you’re going to enjoy. Because, both teams, I think we’re going to give everybody a show. Everybody sees this as just a football game.

“But we’re in the business of entertaining. I think we’ll definitely give the fans and everybody watching this game a show.”
Raymond, having long been back in the lineup, is set to be joined be defensive end Charleston Hughes who is back in the lineup after missing playing time with a wrist injury and is key to stopping Saskatchewan’s potent and well-rounded attack.
He, for one, can’t wait to get a crack at shutting down the league’s hottest running back, Kory Sheets, who is a large part of the reason the Riders have been able to average a league-high 417.2 yards per game.
Sheets, alone, has had five straight 100-yard performances — a streak which Hughes could see ending Friday.
“I don’t think he’s going to be able to rush over 100 yards against us,” said Hughes who has registered 12 tackles, four sacks, and a forced fumble in three starts this season. “It’s going to feel good hitting him. I don’t think he’s been hit yet this year, so he needs to get hit . . . he needs to get hit for sure. I don’t think he can take a hit.”
Along with trying to flatten Sheets, the Calgary defence are also going to be interested in forcing turnovers — something which the Roughriders haven’t done on offence this year (as they remain plus-14 in giveaways/takeaways). To date, Saskatchewan has only committed one turnover on a kickoff return against the Toronto Argonauts.
It’s almost an eerily similar situation to 2012 when the Roughriders arrived at McMahon Stadium early in the season with a perfect 3-0 record and no turnovers.
Somehow, the Stampeders managed a stunning 41-38 overtime win after being down by 17 with six minutes left to play and the victory lifted them to 2-2. En route to the late comeback, they forced Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant to throw a turnover.
Calgary head coach and general manager John Hufnagel hadn’t forgotten.
“They had a very similar type of record,” he said Thursday. “Fortunately, we were in the right place at the right time and Malik Jackson came up with a big interception which gave us momentum to allow us to come back and win that football game.
“But (in 2013), they’re doing an outstanding job protecting the football with their ball security. You just play hard and hopefully you can force the other team to make a mistake or two.”

Lavabit

What's worse is that I can't tell you what that abuse was.

"I'd rather shut down my service and my primary source of income than be complicit in crimes against the American people."
--Ladar Levison, founder of Lavabit

If you could write the legislation covering privacy and electronic communication, what would it say?
Levison: One of the things that would be nice to come out of this would be that the court shouldn't be able to make binding decisions that are secret. If there's going to be legislation from the bench, so to speak, it needs to be open to review from the American public.
Just the idea of secret laws, so to speak, bothers me tremendously. That should almost be a constitutional change.
We've shown that some of our most important freedoms can't be trusted to Congress, they need to be placed in the Constitution. Going beyond that, as an Internet service provider, there needs to be a more clear definition of our protections.
Right now, as a third-party litigation, we effectively have no rights. There's no legal framework that we can fight with or against anything that is unjust. They're abusing their secrecy to hide their surveillance methods.
I think that there's a lot more that will come out, and that needs to come out. I obviously can't tell you what was happening and what I know, and I was uncomfortable with it. I'd rather shut down my service and my primary source of income than be complicit in crimes against the American people.
In the current situation, are there any bright red lines that you wouldn't cross?
Levison: It's unfortunate that even our own lawmakers don't have a good understanding of what's going on.
Philosophically, I put myself in a position that I was comfortable turning over the information that I had. I built Lavabit in a reaction to the original Patriot Act. I didn't want to be in a position to turn [user data] over without judicial review.

A Facebook photo of Ladar Levison, founder of Lavabit, posing in 2011 with the National Basketball Association's Larry O'Brien Championship trophy.

(Credit: Ladar Levison)

Where the government would hypothetically cross the line is to violate the privacy of all of my users. This is not about protecting a single person or persons, it's about protecting all my users. What level of access to this nation does the government have?
How did the Patriot Act influence your e-mail service?
It played a big role in how I designed the custom platform. All I needed when somebody registers was a name and a password. I didn't need a real name, address, social security number, credit card number... Why should I collect that info if I didn't need it? [That philosophy] also governed what kind of information I logged.
Speaking philosophically, I think people who hold other people's private information and money have an obligation to be more open to the public. That principle of openness has become a key issue. It's definitely become an issue as it relates to some of the recent coverage in the media.
The current administration is not being transparent and open about what it is they're doing, even to members of Congress.
How have Lavabit's users reacted?
Levison: It's overwhelmingly positive. Some of them are understandably frustrated that I had to shut down without notice. I lost my one and only e-mail account over the past 10 years, as well. I feel my decision was the lesser of two evils.
What happens to your customer's e-mails and data?
Levison: I'm looking into setting up a site where users can download their data and set up a forwarding [e-mail] address, but that may take a week or two to set up. That's all I can do until I feel confident that I can resume the service without having to compromise its integrity.

"There's stuff that I can't share with my own lawyer. This is going to be a long fight."
--Ladar Levison, founder of Lavabit

I will make it clear that I don't plan to use any encryption for that site. [People] should only use it if they feel comfortable with the information being intercepted. And yes, I do plan to have that disclaimer on the site.
Unfortunately, what's become clear is that there's no protections in our current body of law to keep the government from compelling us to provide the information necessary to decrypt those communications in secret.
I'm still looking at seeing if that's even logistically feasible -- there's half a billion messages [sent in the 10 years Lavabit operated]. By shutting down the service, I will be losing the infrastructure that I used to support all those people.
There's stuff that I can't share with my own lawyer. This is going to be a long fight.
What made Lavabit successful?
Levison: Lavabit at the time of the shutdown had 410,000 users, with 40,000 weekly log-ins, 200,000 e-mails sent a day -- 1.4 million e-mails a week.
We were in a very narrow category of what I like to call medium-sized providers. Once you get over the 50,000 to 100,000 user threshold, e-mail becomes a very difficult problem of scale. It's why you see so many e-mail providers come and go.

"Philosophically, I put myself in a position that I was comfortable turning over the information that I had. I built Lavabit in a reaction to the original Patriot Act. I didn't want to be in a position to turn [user data] over without judicial review."
--Ladar Levison, founder of Lavabit

We managed to break through that barrier by building a custom platform to handle it. It's similar in architecture to some of the big guys [Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, which combined provide Web mail to more than 1 billion people].
How did Lavabit get started?
Levison: I've been a geek my entire life. I was with a group of college friends of mine, that was how an e-mail service by geeks, for geeks, came about. [It was called] Nerdshack, with an emphasis on security and privacy. It had POP and IMAP access. For a long time we were the only free POP service.
How do you identify yourself politically?
Levison: I'm a conservative Republican. I believe in small government and keeping our government out of our business. But I'm from California, and if there's one thing we love in California, it's being able to speak our mind. I love God and guns, too. Texans are big on freedom. I'm probably a blend of [California and Texas] at this point.

Michael Girgenti

More Kardashian family drama! Model Michael Girgenti has previously threatened to take Kourtney Kardashian to court for custody of Mason, but he has never followed through with it — until now! Or has he? HollywoodLife.com has EXCLUSIVE details from Kourtney’s attorney, who revealed the truth behind the reports.

Michael Girgenti allegedly filed legal documents in the L.A. County Superior Court on August 8, asking for joint custody of Kourtney Kardashian‘s son Mason Disick. HollywoodLife.com has spoken to Kourtney’s attorney who reveals EXCLUSIVE details about what’s behind this legal paperwork.

Michael Girgenti Files Lawsuit Against Kourtney Kardashian — Wants Custody Of Mason Disick

After meeting Kourtney, 34, during a 2008 photo shoot for 944 magazine, Michael says they began texting, according to TMZ. In the legal documents he says he has filed, he claims that Kourtney allegedly said she had Scott Disick, 30, were “on the outs” and “she wanted to hang.”
He explained in the paperwork the two had ”unprotected vaginal sex,” and that he “ejaculated inside [Kourtney's] vagina.” Another claim states that Kourtney and Scott’s second child, Penelope Scotland Disick, looks nothing like Mason.
After the birth of Mason on December 14, 2009, he saw the resemblance — since she did show the whole world the graphic birth — and tried reaching out to Kourtney. However, he never got any response.
By taking it to court, he is requesting joint custody of Mason, as well as DNA tests for Kourtney, Scott, Mason and him.

Chris Brown

After a scary report that Chris allegedly suffered a seizure, celebrities took to Twitter to pray for Breezy’s health. Read on to see what they had to say!

At around 1 a.m. on August 8, the LA City Fire Department received a 911 call claiming that Chris Brown, 24, had suffered a seizure at Record Planet recording studios. The rumor spread like wildfire, causing friends and fans of Chris to tweet their prayers for Chris’ recovery. Thankfully, Chris actually didn’t suffer a seizure and he’s “doing all right and he’s resting now,” a source close to the “Forever” singer EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife.com – but of course we’re all still concerned.

Celebrities Pray For Chris Brown After Seizure — Kevin Hart & More Tweet

For once, comedian Kevin Hart wasn’t laughing when he heard the news about Chris.
“It’s such a shame that y’all be making jokes about Chris Brown having a seizure,” he tweeted.
Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons, who has defended Chris’ bad behavior in the past, also took to Twitter to send his thoughts out to Chris.
“Prayers for Chris Brown,” Russell tweeted.
The day after the scary incident, Chris’ mom Joyce Hawkins tweeted about her son, saying, “GOD IS WITH YOU ANGEL, AND MOM IS TOO…” suggesting that she was flying to LA to be by her son’s side.
Chris’ on-again, off-again girlfriend Karrueche Tran also took to Twitter to speak about the incident. She tweeted, “Prayers all day,” followed by a picture of herself looking sad with the caption, “a lot on my mind today .. I need a hug.”

Chris Brown Suffers Seizure At Recording Studio? Not Quite…

Although reports surfaced that Chris suffered a seizure, a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY that’s not exactly the case.
“It wasn’t a seizure,” the source reveals. “He just felt light-headed and dehydrated and fell on the ground. It scared us, but in seconds he was talking, saying he was all right. When we saw him falling, we didn’t know what was up so we called 911.”
The source adds that there’s nothing wrong with Chris’ health — he just had a difficult week. “He’s cool, but he is stressed and didn’t have a good week. He was in the studio for a lot of hours with like no sleep at all and a lot on his mind and whatnot. He just overdid it but now he’s doing all right and will be out this weekend like always.”
We’re so glad to hear Chris is OK, but it really sounds like he needs to relax! HollywoodLifers, are you worried about Chris’ health?

US PGA

US PGA Championship 2013: Scott and Furyk lead at Oak Hill

By Rob Hodgetts BBC Sport

US PGA Championship

• Venue: Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
• Dates: 8-11 August

Coverage: Updates on BBC Radio 5 live on Thursday & Friday; Live from 21:00 BST on 5 live sports extra on Saturday; Live from 21:00 BST on 5 Live on Sunday; daily live text commentary on the BBC Sport website

FIRST ROUND LEADBOARD

• -5: J Furyk (US), A Scott (Aus)
• -4: L Westwood (Eng), D Hearn (Can)
• -3: P Casey (Eng), R Garrigus (US), M Kuchar (US), S Piercy (US), M Fraser (Aus), J Day (Aus)
• Selected: -2: J Rose (Eng)
• -1: R McIlroy (NI)
• +1: T Woods (US), P Mickelson (US)

Masters champion Adam Scott and US veteran Jim Furyk edged into a one-shot lead after the first round of the 95th US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

The pair hit five-under 65s to head Lee Westwood and Canada's David Hearn in the year's final major.
England's Paul Casey ended three under with Americans Robert Garrigus, Matt Kuchar and Scott Piercy and Australians Marcus Fraser and Jason Day.

Eid Mubarak Wishes

Eid Mubarak Messages 2013 - Advance EID Wishes SMS A/S to All Muslims, we know that after Ramadan month Eid-ul-Fitar is coming on 10th or 11th August 2013 so here is a huge collection of Advance Eid Mubarak massages, new Eid Mubarak messages and a collection of 2013's Eid Mubarak messages. So u can wish other by these beautiful masseuse. And Eid Mubarak TO All Muslims specially to Our XCITEFUN Forum Members. Eid Mubarak New Messages EID MUBARAK Look Outside Its So Pleasant! Sun Smiling For You Trees Dancing For You Birds Singing For You Because I Requested Them All To Wish You **..*EID MUBARAK*.. _________________________________ Eid Mubarik May the blessings of Allah

Chennai Express

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sathyaraj, Nikitin Dheer
Director: Rohit Shetty
The Indian Express rating: **1/2
Wannakum, wannago? I went into Chennai Express dreading I would be doused, doused I tell you, with a staggering number of stereotypes, and that I would spend the film flinching and grimacing and counting the minutes.
But as Chennai Express began chugging along, I found myself guffawing in a place. Or two. The laughs came intermittently through the first half, and I was still sitting in my seat at the interval. And then it turned into the same old story : the plot, which was thinner than a self-respecting wafer to start with, just gives up and dies, and the lead pair, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone stop talking to each other (even as Padukone's thickly-accented "main aati, aur thum jaati" out-Mehmoods Mehmood at his most outre) and begin posturing. They have no competition from anything else : the trademark Shetty bang bang – car chases, jeeps blowing up, large groups of people charging at each other — is by now more eye glaze than ever.
In Pics: Shah Rukh Khan meets fans as Chennai Express hits theatres
This could have been a good caper, in which madcap characters race around the countryside with other madcap characters in hot pursuit. Especially when Shah Rukh Khan is so willingly sending himself up as only he can, with such a knowing nudge-and-wink that you smile despite yourself. "Rahul", he introduces himself to Meenamaa (Padukone): "naam toh nahin suna hoga". You know you are being set up, and yet you can't help being amused. The amusement lasts only momentarily, and you are left feeling sorry at the waste.
Rahul wants to head to Goa to party with his pals, but he gets on to the Chennal Express instead, to fulfil his late dadaji's dying wish. On that train hops the beauteous Meenakshi aka Meenamma, on the run from her appa (Sathyaraj) who is some kind of a don in a Tamil Nadu village, and who wants to marry her off. One thing leads to another, and the two reach said village. Towering hulk who is also would-be-groom (Dheer) arrives to growl and snarl. A phalanx of dark-complexioned fierce fellows shake sickles at Rahul, who is left to face a barrage of rapid-fire Tamilian yakkity yak, and a Meenamma who dimples prettily whenever she is given a chance, and a film that rapidly heads, ha ha, south.

Chris Brown

Is Chris Brown depressed? Or is he just missing his mama?
The Love More singer has been tweeting some sadness lately, including some talk of quitting music altogether! Recently he tweeted:

"Home don’t feel like home. Too many vacant rooms."

Aww! How lonely! So what brought on this homesickness? Maybe it was Mama Breezy's home cooking!
According to an inside source, Chris's mom Joyce Hawkins visited recently and stirred up a lot of chicken soup for the soul. The source says:

"He probably miss her. She was cooking some of that good food he used to eat in Virginia and you know, he probably just miss moms. He has a lot of the crew over and we all chill but you know, everybody has their own life … it’s not always a party all the time."

No one can ever take the place of Mama. And even the most expensive chefs in the world can't come close to home cooking.

Riley Cooper

The Philadelphia Eagles player, who was caught using the n-word in a video that went viral earlier this week, returned to practice on August 6 after a brief stint away from the team. Since his absence, Riley has spoken with each of his teammates individually and asked them not to judge him.

Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver, has asked his teammates not to forgive him for his actions, but to judge him by his future. On July 31, a video of Riley using the n-word at a Kenny Chesney concert surfaced and led the player to get fined by the Eagles.

Riley Cooper Returned To Practice After Racial Slur — Eagles Welcome Him Back

“I talked to everyone individually,” Riley said following the team’s joint practice with the New England Patriots on August 6. “I told them, ‘I don’t want you to forgive me, because that puts the burden on you. I want it all on me.’ I told them that and I told them I apologize. They could tell it was from the heart, they know I’m not that kind of person. It feels good to have support from the guys.”
While on the field, Riley said he felt the support of his teammates.
“It felt good to be out there with the guys and catching and running and making some plays and them coming up to you, supporting you, high-fiving you, chest-bumping you like Jason Avant did in the end zone when I had that TD,” Riley said. “It just felt good to be back out here with the guys.”

Riley Cooper Racial Slur — Eagles Player Apologizes For Racist Remark At Concert

Following the release of the video, Riley, 25, issued a statement of apology and then met with reporters outside the team’s practice facility, Fox News reports. He said:

This is the lowest of lows. This is not the type of person I want to be portrayed as. This isn’t the type of person I am. I’m extremely sorry.

Riley said he was drinking when he made the racist remark in June.

That’s no excuse for what I said. I don’t use that term. I was raised better than that. I have a great mom and dad and they’re disgusted with my actions. I’m willing to accept all consequences. I know no one in Philadelphia is happy with me right now. I accept that. I hope they see the true me and accept my apology. I know it will take a while.

Due to his behavior, Riley was reportedly fined by the Eagles.
Riley is a fifth-round pick out of Florida, entering his fourth season in the NFL. He has 46 catches and five touchdowns in three years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Are you satisfied with Riley’s apology? Should he have been welcomed back to the field?

Powerball winner: 'I don't want to work ... for the rest of my life'

Paul White’s family gave him grief for years when he said he’d win the lottery one day. On Thursday, he showed them — to the tune of $86 million.
White, a project engineer from suburban Minneapolis, came forward Thursday as one of three winners in the $448 million Powerball jackpot, one of the largest in American history.
White showed up at the Minnesota lottery headquarters to claim a replica check made out for $149 million. Because White picked the instant-cash option, he’ll get $86 million before taxes.
“It's crazy,” he said. “I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times. You almost feel like it’s coming true.”