Legendary Sportscaster Bryant Gumbel turned heads Tuesday night during a televised editorial regarding the NBA’s labor union stalemate. Speaking on HBO’s “Real Talk,” he called NBA Commisioner David Stern a “plantation overseer.” Gumbel said the “egocentric” commissioner is focused on “demeaning the players” rather than solving the NBA lockout: “Stern’s version of what has been going on behind closed… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Blaze Discovery Date : 19/10/2011 08:01 Number of articles : 4
‘No Light, No Light’ is next off upcoming Ceremonials, Florence Welch tells MTV News. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Rya Backer Florence Welch Photo: MTV News On November 1 in the U.S. (October 31 in the U.K., which is a decidedly more fitting date, we must add) Florence and the Machine will return with Ceremonials, the bewitching, ethereal follow-up to their breakout Lungs album . And like that debut disc, the new one finds frontwoman/mastermind Florence Welch drawing from a grab bag of influences, both musical and lyrical, only pushed to the nth degree. To wit, the first two songs released from the album — “What the Water Gave Me” and “Shake It Off” — take their inspiration from the paintings of Frida Kahlo, the death of writer Virginia Woolf and a rather blistering hangover, to name just a few. In fact, this time around, it’s gotten so all-over-the-place that even Welch is having a difficult time keeping track, as she told MTV News. “Literally, a song can be about seven different things,” she sighed. “I do think of songs almost as collages of different images, and so the references will just come from all over the place, and I don’t really know how they’ll all fit together until the song is finished.” The same holds true for the album’s title, which was inspired by a 1970s art installation Welch had seen, and the eclectic, electric rave-ups of her live performances. But robes, pasta and balloons, too. “It was an art installation done in the ’70s, this video piece all done on Super 8, this big procession of kind of coquette-style hippies and all these different colored robes and masks, and it was all to do with color, really saturated, brightly colored pastas and balloons,” Welch explained. “I saw it a couple years ago, and it was called ‘Ceremonials’ and then, like, Roman numerals after it. And the word sort of stuck with me, and I think the whole idea of performance, and kind of putting on this outfit and going out almost to find some sort of exorcism or absolution, to kind of get outside yourself, there’s a sense of ceremony to it.” That same pastiche of influences holds true for the next single off the album, which, in a bit of an exclusive, Welch revealed during our interview (even though she probably wasn’t supposed to). “I do [know what it’s going to be] but I don’t think [I’m supposed to say],” she said. “I think it’s going to be ‘No Light, No Light.’ … It was the first song we wrote for this next record, actually. And the intro was written on my tour bus at four in the morning going to Amsterdam. We had gone out for [Machine member] Rob [Ackroyd]’s birthday to an all-night restaurant in Brussels called Midnights. We went to this funny restaurant and then got on the tour bus and everyone was a bit drunk and it was like, ‘Yeah, let’s write a song.’ “And we recorded the sound of the bus moving, a real drone-y bass sound, and that’s the intro, and then the tour bus arrived in Amsterdam [and we were saying], ‘Let’s go toast this song! We will find a bar that will serve us drinks at 7 in the morning! Come!’ ” she laughed. “So we trotted off into Amsterdam and managed to find a sports bar that would only serve us Midori. It was bright-green drinks and me and [Machine member] Isa [Summers] kind of looking like crazy old ladies.” Related Artists Florence + the Machine
Karina Smirnoff and Brad Penny have decided to wait on wedding planning. Rest assured, though, the DWTS pro and MLB pitcher are still together. Nearly a year after their engagement, “the wedding has been postponed ,” a source close to couple says. “They are still together, but have conflicting schedules.” With the Tigers out of the playoffs, what does Brad Penny have to do for the next four-plus months besides eat a few more salads and do sit-ups? Just asking. The couple, both 33, went public with their romance back in 2009, after she and fellow Dancing With the Stars stalwart Maksim Chmerkovskiy called it quits. “I believe a wedding is a celebration of a future together,” Karina Smirnoff mused. “It doesn’t matter how it’s going to be. Whatever we decide it’ll be great.” For the moment however, the couple simply “wants to spend more time with one another,” the source explains. “Especially while planning their wedding.” Here’s hoping Penny doesn’t strike out and lose this keeper. [Photo: WENN.com]
Dan Wheldon, a two-time winner of the most prestigious event in his sport, died yesterday in a multi-car wreck on lap 11 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was 33. The tragedy took place during the IndyCar Series season finale, as Wheldon was airlifted from his vehicle around 1:19 p.m. and taken University Medical Center. Soon thereafter, he was was announced as the first IndyCar driver to die on the track since rookie Paul Dana in 2006. “IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” said CEO Randy Bernard . “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor.” The accident started when two cars touched tires and others proceeded to crash into them, resulting in multiple explosions and holes in the asphalt. Wheldon’s car flipped over and sailed into a fence on the edge of the track. Two other drivers were injured/hospitalized in the wreck. Officials immediately canceled the rest of the race, though most remaining participants did a five-lap tribute in honor of their fallen friend. “There are no words for today,” Danica Patrick tweeted. “Myself and so many others are devastated. I pray for suzi [Wheldon’s wife] and the kids that god will give them strength.”
One of the main reasons why the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off the win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday was because of an impressive performance by running back LeSean McCoy–who finished the game with 126 rushing yards to go along with one touchdown. In fact, McCoy was so fired up about the win–he gave head Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Red Zone Talk Discovery Date : 16/10/2011 22:13 Number of articles : 2
Happy birthday, Gummi Bear! Dressed in a white sport coat paired with khaki pants and violet shirt, Jason Davis sports what appears to be a pair of women’s sunglasses and celebrates a birthday lunch at trendy Robertson restaurant, The Ivy. Still no word on what kind of presents he got this year.
David Stern has been making his media rounds today and said that he’s doubtful about a the NBA coming back by Christmas. Damn, Damn, DAMN!!!! Commissioner David Stern said his “gut” tells him there will be no NBA basketball on Christmas without a labor agreement by Tuesday. That day, when owners and players are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator, is a “really big deal,” he added. Owners will then open two days of board meetings Wednesday, and without an agreement to bring them, Stern believes further cancellations are coming. “Right now, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday, just before my owners come into town, having brought in the labor relations committee and Billy (Hunter) having brought in his executive committee, it’s time to make the deal,” Stern said Thursday. “If we don’t make it on Tuesday, my gut — this is not in my official capacity of canceling games — but my gut is that we won’t be playing on Christmas Day.” Stern canceled the first two weeks of the regular season on Monday when the sides couldn’t reach a deal before a deadline he had set. Christmas is traditionally on of the first big days of the NBA season. This year’s three-game schedule features the NBA Finals rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. Look on the bright side: LeBron won’t blow a game on Christmas Day if the game is canceled! It’s like a Christmas miracle! Well, actually, it just really sucks. Source
Milton Bradley stands accused of doing a lot more than merely chasing his wife around with a baseball bat, the act that got him arrested on domestic violence charges last month. In documents obtained by TMZ, Monique Bradley has filed for a restraining order against her husband, following the aforementioned September 27 incident. She claims the former MLB outfielder picked up a photo of a weapon during the confrontation and said: This is the gun that I’m going to kill you with. He also allegedly referred to her as a “dumb bitch” who is “fat, ugly and lazy.” Monique says she has lived in fear for months, even taking the couple’s sons to a hotel in January after another altercation. She adds that Milton has been “emotionally and physically abusive” throughout the marriage. So, why did she stick around? “I genuinely believed that one day I could fix him,” she writes, but now “I am very fearful that he will … try to harm or even kill me.” A hearing is scheduled for October 25 regarding a permanent order of protection.
The things these NBA ballers are doin’ these days… With no NBA season in sight, and nothing but time on their hands, several NBA players are taking this time to invest in other ventures to pass the time. Some are playing in charity games, operating businesses, playing overseas, and spitting hot bars of fire on the mircrophone. Wait, what? Yes, Orlando Magic forward Brandon Bass has taken his talents into the booth and do his 1,2 thing with his new song “Billion Dollar Dream” Peep the video below: Hate It or Love It?!?!
