05/11/18: Reenacting Ghost and Alec Baldwin's Parking Fun

Intro

Week 12. My week off was nice. I got a load of work done, saw some family, and, most importantly, had lots of late mornings. To be honest I'd quite like to stay, but uni calls.

Lifestyle

When I saw this story for the first time, I got weird images in my head of Patrick Swayze and a vase. A British woman has claimed to have slept with 20 spirits and is engaged to another.

Amethyst realm, while on 'This Morning', told the show's presenters that her ghostly partner  popped the question on a trip to Wookey Hole Cave. According to Miss Realm, she met the spectre on a work trip to Australia, and he apparently has no name.

She also said that her friends and family have embraced her choice and she wishes to conduct a Pagan ceremony for the wedding. Apparently, the couple haven't discussed any details about the wedding but it should be 'quite a big do'.

(Source: New York Post)

Crime



Candidate for the world's most serious man award, Alec Baldwin, has been arrested. He was apparently charged with assault on Friday after an altercation in New York.

According to police, Mr Baldwin and a New York man got into an argument over a parking space. In annoyance, the actor decided to settle things with a good old fashioned right hook. The man was then taken to hospital to have his injuries treated.

The Trump impersonator has since been charged with assault and harassment, but has stated on twitter that the 'Assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false'. He is set to appear in court on a later date.
(Source: CNN)


Some More Crime



Granted, this one is a few weeks old but it NEEDS to be in here. Apparently the hunt is on for a truly evil criminal: The Googly Eye Bandit.

This statue of Nathaniel Greene in Savannah was vandalised by persons unknown, with the terrible application of the dreaded googly eye. Gobsmacked by this, the City of Savannah Government took to twitter, expressing their dread and informing the public that this monstrous act is in fact a crime, as the eyes allegedly caused harm to the statue.

In truth, the culprit could face a charge of criminal trespassing and it is being treated as serious due to it being a statue of a deceased person who served in the military, and if the damage is in the excess of $500, they could be charged with a felony.
(Source: Mashable, Sky)



Music



Pharrell Williams has allegedly banned US President Donald Trump from using his music. This comes after one of the president's more cringeworthy blunders: playing Williams' 'Happy' just hours after the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting.

In response to the song's use at the event over the weekend, Williams' lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to the President, as not only was it poorly timed but, it is also a copyright infringement, and in violation of trademark rights, as no request was made to use the song.

This is not the first time Trump has used an artist's music without consent. REM, Queen and Aerosmith have all objected to the President's use of their songs in the past, when no consent was given.
(Source: the Independent)


TV



Joe Swash has revealed the I'm a celebrity line-up for this years competition. 

In one of the unluckiest turns of events, the former Jungle King leaked possible faces to appear in the jungle to his dear old Nan. She then got talking to a random man in a supermarket queue... who happened to work for the Norfolk Gazette... and she told him everything. 

He revealed his wonder blunder on 'This Morning', and while he couldn't have possibly guessed this would happen, the presenters will now have to wait to find out the line up just like everybody else. Rumored contestants include the likes of Danny Dyer, Jamie Laing and Brendan Cole.
(Source: HeatWorld)

15/10/18: BBC - Broadcasting Blunder Classic and Kanye's Double Whammy

Intro

Week 9. I don't really know what to put in this weeks intro, nothing amazing's happened. Imagine this is some kind of funny anecdote or something like that.

TV



Ever hear the term stop the presses? Well, it turns out the BBC really likes it. So much so, it thought it would give it a try.

On Wednesday, the broadcasting giant was forced to show pre-recorded footage due to 'technical issues', as stated by the BBC's PR team on twitter. It is thought the issue involves the software on which the BBC runs it's shows.

It is also believed that the BBC World service suffered similar issues but was able to broadcast as normal, as a backup system was in place.

For the most part the footage on show seemed to be normal if a little familiar, until one take a glance at the upper right of the screen where could be seen a little message that read 'recorded'. However, the footage was only an hour old so to many it would still be new.

Still, I think it's pretty apt that in the age of fake news, the news isn't new.
(Source: The Independent)


Culture




Now, this is something that fits my remit of the weird and funny, but is close to me for once.
The annual Lincoln Sausage Festival was held on Saturday but with a notable absence.

Mr Sausage, the festival's beloved mascot has retired for a year and many were distraught at the news. One Mascot maniac tweeted (read this without laughing, I dare you) "This has left a deep, deep sausage sized pit in my stomach. Goodnight sweet prince". I was there on the day and a number of people said they felt "devastated" by the news.

There were calls to find a temporary replacement for the Mascot, but according to the organizers, "nobody has reached the high standard set by Mr Sausage". This comes after last year's festival when the famed banger was a apparently looking a little worse for wear. 

However, all is not lost. Mr Sausage is set to return for the 2019 festival, and he won't be alone. Apparently, He has taken the year off in order to get married to his long time girlfriend Miss Sausage, and there are talks that by 2020 there could be a little chipolata.

Hopefully she can make an honest snag out of him. Hot Dog!
(Source: LincolnshireLive, the Linconite)


Art



Remember last week, when that Banksy painting shredded itself mid auction and all the art buffs' faces were priceless? well it seems the woman who won the bid has decide to keep the prolific piece of art.

The details of this story are in last weeks post but as a quick recap: Banksy's famous Girl With Red Balloon was at auction in Sotheby's, when as the hammer went down, a shredder hidden within the frame was remotely activated, thus partially destroying the piece.

However, where many would have simply gone home and cried at the lost, the woman who placed the winning bid saw things from a different angle, saying "I began to realise I would end up with my own piece of art history".

The piece has now been given a new name, Love Is in the Bin, and art critics have been suggesting that Banksy tried to make a statement with this latest stunt about children growing up too fast, but personally I just think it's quite funny.
(Source: the Guardian)


Politics



Kanye West. One of the biggest names in music and in truth, politics as well. Recently, West has been all over the news sparking the ires of critics everywhere with the erratic nature of his actions.

In just the music infosphere, he made waves when he abruptly decided to change his stage name to just 'Ye', hour before his appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he was expected to debut his latest album 'Yhandi'. He announced the change on Twitter: "the being formerly known as Kanye West. I am Ye". the word is also the name of his 8th album and has been a nickname for a long time.

Meanwhile in the political world, Ye met with American President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, and proceeded on a ten minute rant about everything from prison reform, to planes, to superheros. And while he did make some interesting points about bringing back industry to America which is good for the country, he also made some rather scary suggestions besides it. Abolishing the 13th amendment, the one that outlawed slavery, for example. He also announced a possible run for thee 2024 election, and frankly I'm not sure how scared I should be at the idea.

With all the biblical imagery that he used to refer to the name change and the talks about alternate universes and running for president, it all feels like a man with an over-inflated ego and a lot of influence: a dangerous combination.
(Source: the Mail Online, BBC News)


More Culture



Another day another royal wedding. On Friday, Princess Eugenie and long-time partner Jack Brooksbank tied the knot at St George's chapel in Windsor Castle.

The day went how you'd expect any royal wedding to go with extravagant clothes and lots of hats, that the wind may or may not have had a lot of fun with.

One point to note was the blushing bride's dress. The Princess insisted on a low backed gown for her special day, to unapologeticlly bear the scar on her spine from a surgery that corrected her scoliosis. She chose to do this in a show of support for Royal national Orthopedic Hospital, in a bold yet humbling statement about body image.

However, I don't know if you heard the sound of thunder being stolen but apparently Harry and Meghan announced a pregnancy to the senior royals attending the wedding. This has since overshadowed the wedding with media outlets crawling all over the details, but it's likely just a happy coincidence that the two events occurred.
(Source: the Telegraph, Vogue, the Mail Online)