A smuggler carries food from Kentucky Fried Chicken to be delivered through an underground tunnel linking the Gaza Strip to Egypt
Finger lickin’ good it may be, but this is taking things a little too far.
Some residents of Gaza have taken to smuggling in fried chicken and all the fixin’s from neighboring Egypt through an elaborate process involving wire transfers and tunnels. I’m not even kidding, I read this on the internets.
The New York Times reported today that an enterprising young entrepreneur named Khalil Efrangi has made four of these runs totally about 100 meals, saying “it’s our right to enjoy that taste the other people all over the world enjoy.”
Border crossings are tightly controlled by Israel and Egypt by a so-called blockade that has been in place since 2007. Getting a bucket original recipe is hardly the most pressing issue for most Gazans, but as Egrangi puts it, “I accepted this challenge to prove that Gazans can be resilient despite the restrictions.”
The French are the most arrogant people on the planet, right? Just look at this totally non-fake example of an actual Parisian.
That’s the stereotype anyway, but now Pew Research has actually released polling data on stereotyping within the European Union — and it’s interesting.
According to Pew, the French even think they are the most arrogant. Italy, Spain and Greece, however, all think it’s the German’s. (They probably shouldn’t say this out loud since the German public pretty much owns Southern Europe through bailouts)
Other interesting findings:
Italy thinks that Italy is the least trustworthy, which would be obvious if you’ve ever hung out at my bocce club.
Half of Poland doesn’t trust Germany (maybe the other half was born after 1945).
Everybody else trusts the Germans most, except the Greeks, who think the Germans also the least compassionate.
When a song goes viral this time of year, you could take it as a sign it’s on track to become the hit of the summer.
Think of Carly Rae Jepsen’s (Carly Rae Who?!) “Call Me Maybe,” which spun into popularity last spring by a Justin Bieber tweet and subsequent YouTube parody. Or Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which inspired a deafening chorus of knock-offs in early 2007, which, in the dizzying hot-one-minute-gone-the-next YouTube age, already seems like ancient times.
Daft Punk’s suspenseful marketing build-up to the launch of their first album in eight years, “Random Access Memories,” created enough anticipation that it boiled over into a myriad of cover song tributes to the collection’s capstone tune, “Get Lucky.” Electronica-house faithfuls couldn’t wait to hear it, let alone reinterpret the latest from everyone’s favorite and oft-imitated robot-impersonating French techno-pop duo whose current hit tops the charts in 55 countries, including the United Kingdom. Here’s the official audio in all its polished retro-funkadelic glory:
Here’s an ambient remix of the bright, bouncy original, interpreted for BBC Radio One Live Lounge by three-member British indie folk group Daughter. There’s no video here, just a track laid over a lovely monochromatic still of the band’s lead songstress, Elena Tonra. Somehow they managed to take a funky dance hit and transform it into something sad, calm, yet still-recognizable.
George Barnett
This willowy high fashion model turned one-man band serves up one of the most faithful reinventions of the Daft Punk hit, staying true to the let-it-loose spirit of the catchy dancey inspiration. And he manages to do it all by his lonesome, cutting video from itty bitty keyboard to mic to drums to guitar to a cow bell he plays with a drum stick. The result already captured close to 2 million views on YouTube.
Forsythe
You could call this a cover of a cover. To prove the song’s danceability, avid YouTuber and hoofer extraordinaire “takeSomeCrime” gets funky with it in what appears to be a studio-slash-bedroom, choosing Barnett’s masterful remix to pop-and-lock to. Dude’s energy is infectious, with all his mesmerizing moves, alternately halting and fluid.
Tough to tell if this is truly sans soundtrack of any kind, but the guy who posted it did so claiming it’s an a capella cover. If the sounds here really do come from layered tracks of the same man’s voice and nothing else, then, well, nicely done, JB.
Pitbull
If you’re in the mood to hear the groovy original butchered into a mess of novice club-rap rhymes, then check out this version courtesy of “Mr. Worldwide,” who, as Idolator bluntly put it, “mindlessly rip[s] the life out of this thing as quickly as possible.”
WSJ suggests you also take note of these covers by The Struts, Postmen and Peace and the Mystery Jets. Do you have a cover you’d like to share? Post a link in the comments.
If Angelina Jolie had chosen not to tell the world about her double mastectomy, the world would have been “none the wiser,” her husband, Brad Pitt, told USA Today in an an interview.
“But it was really important to her to share the story and that others would understand it doesn’t have to be a scary thing,” Pitt said in the interview. “In fact, it can be an empowering thing, and something that makes you stronger and us stronger.”
Pitt also added that the entire process was “emotional and beautifully inspiring,” and said he’s also enjoying a feeling of relief that Jolie’s high risk of contracting breast cancer is no longer hanging over their heads.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is talking about another potential surgery for Jolie, to remove her ovaries. The actress currently has a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, she said in an opinion piece in the New York Times.
Britney Spears has almost everything – a revitalized career, millions of fans and a happy family – but there’s just one more thing this pop star needs. She recently told Extra TV’s Mario Lopez that she really wants to have a daughter someday.
Spears currently has two sons, Sean, 7, and Jayden, 6.
Outraged fans have launched a petition against Disney’s makeover of Princess Merida from “Brave” for her induction into the Disney Princess pantheon.
In the movie, Merida resisted expectations for princesses to be docile and wear uncomfortable gowns, preferring to ride off on her horse with her bow and arrows.
The new-look Merida retains her trademark red hair, but the locks are notably less wild. She’s also skinnier, with a thinner face, poutier mouth and eye makeup.
“I think it’s atrocious what they have done to Merida,” Brenda Chapman, writer and co-director of “Brave,” said in an interview reported by Change.org.
When little girls say they like it because it’s more sparkly, that’s all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy ‘come hither’ look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It’s horrible! Merida was created to break that mold — to give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model, something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance.
The makeover of Princess Merida from 'Brave'
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Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of girl empowerment website A Mighty Girl, launched the petition against the makeover a week ago.
“Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for — a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready. She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the ‘imperfections’ that all people have,” it says.
The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls’ capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value — to be recognized as true princesses — they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty.
The petition has drawn more than 119,000 supporters.
“The tremendous reaction to our petition shows just how eager parents are for strong and courageous role models like Merida for their daughters,” Danckaert said in a news release.
Model Lily Cole, who inspired Merida’s look, signed the petition and tweeted her support, writing: “I need to personally defend Merida!”
Disney did not respond to a request for comment, but a company spokesperson told Yahoo! Shine: “Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate, and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world.”
UPDATE
After Disney removed the redesigned Merida from its website, Danckaert wrote:
While this is very exciting news, it’s still too early to declare victory in our effort to keep Merida brave and preserve her original image. Making changes to a website are easy and easily undone; the true test will be how Disney plans on depicting Merida on merchandise now that she is part of the official Disney Princess collection.
To know that Disney is truly committed to preserving the Merida we all know and love, we need to keep the pressure on until we receive an official statement from them promising to keep Merida brave! Given how quickly news stories fade, it’s easy for a company like Disney to wait until public attention shifts to roll out their planned design changes.
That’s why the grassroots pressure from you and our 198,000+ petition signers is so important. Thanks to everyone who signed and shared A Mighty Girl’s petition and helped spread the word about our effort to Keep Merida Brave! Let’s keep the momentum going!”
For the first time in the history of “Kitchen Nightmares,” cranky celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave up on a restaurant.
The popular series features Ramsay trying to help struggling restaurants right the ship. In Friday’s episode, his instruction to the owners of an Arizona eatery didn’t take, and Ramsay walked out. Eater has a full rundown and clips .
It’s not the first time a Ramsay makeover didn’t work out, however. Back in 2010, “Kitchen Nightmares” visited Black Rock’s Cafe Tavolini, which shut its doors before the episode even aired. Its closure sparked an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office .
Ramsay is scheduled to be in Connecticut through Tuesday to film a new show, “Hotel Hell,” at Woodbury’s Curtiss House Inn. Unless he left early.
