Jay-Z is quickly turning Roc Nation Sports into a powerhouse agency that’s already grabbed the attention of popular athletes, and now the hip-hop mogul can add Kevin Durant to the list. The 24-year-old superstar for the Oklahoma City Thunder is planning a move to Roc Nation in hopes of taking his brand to the next level.

Robinson Cano, a Major Leaguer for the New York Yankees, was the first to make the move to Roc Nation, and now athletes from other popular sports are joining in. Roc Nation became an instant hit after being announced in collaboration with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is already known as one of the premier sports agent groups in the United States.

After Cano’s jump, WNBA player Skylar Diggins followed suit and joined the group. For her graduation from Notre Dame, the popular rap artist gave her a shiny new Mercedes Benz.

Geno Smith, the recently drafted quarterback by the NFL’s New York Jets, was the next athlete to make waves by joining Jay-Z and Roc Nation. Since signing with the sports agency, the NFL has put together an investigation to see if any policies were broken through the deal.

According to a report by Yahoo! Sports, Kevin Durant is now planning to take his talents to Roc Nation, which will end his run with Landmark Sports and Rob Pelinka, who is also Kobe Bryant’s agent.

“KD doesn’t want a traditional NBA agent anymore,” an NBA source told Yahoo! Sports on Friday night. “He wants Jay-Z to handle his branding. …He had a chance to be with his idol and couldn’t say no.”

Bringing in Durant will be Roc Nation’s biggest signing yet, and with the way the agency is growing there are surely more superstars to come. According to ESPN, other athletes such as New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and Philadelphia Eagles wide out DeSean Jackson are also interested in joining Roc Nation and CAA.

Do you believe Kevin Durant is making the right decision by joining Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports?

[Image via Creative Commons | Mikamote]

Jay-Z : Kevin Durant Planning Move To Roc Nation Sports Agency is a post from: The Inquisitr

A delayed flight orchestra performance has this frequent flyer grabbing her noise-reducing earphones and just generally screaming, “Nooooooo.” I’ve posted a video below of the Philadelphia Orchestra quartet performing when their flight from Beijing to Macao, China was delayed for three hours on the tarmac.

Guys, no. I can’t print what actually went through my mind when I first watched (and heard!) this video, but no. It’s not acceptable.

When you’re stuck in a tin can in close quarters on a commercial aircraft with every kind of person, not just a few hoity toity orchestra buffs, then you have no business striking up a musical performance in that enclosed space. Especially not one that involves violins.

Ugh. There were actually two violins, a cello, and a viola, if you care. They performed an agonizingly long (five minutes!) rendition of Antonin Dvorak’s famous “American String Quartet No. 12 Finale.”

I have gone this many decades and never willingly listened to that piece, and I hope to go the rest of my life doing the same.

Unwanted music chosen by somebody else is just noise. If they’d been playing country, they would have been arrested.

And don’t worry. I hate country too.

I think everybody should be arrested who commits music in a public place. Especially if my nerves are already raw from being trapped on the tarmac for three hours because of a delayed flight in overcrowded China.

God bless America and the Philadelphia Orchestra, but don’t expect me to applaud if you perform on my delayed flight.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s just rude.

The Philadelphia Orchestra were traveling for their first 40th Anniversary Tour of China. Fine. I’m glad you guys made history.

But your freedom ends where my eardrums begin. Deal?

Here’s that video:

Don’t worry. I won’t tell your mom if you don’t listen to the whole thing. What’s your take on the Philadelphia Orchestra delayed flight performance?

[violin photo courtesy Matano via Wikimedia Commons]

Delayed Flight Orchestra Performance, Please Just Shoot Me Now [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The human face could look drastically different in 100,000 years as humans evolve to gain control over biology and evolution and begin to live on other planets, one artist and researcher believes.

Nickolay Lamm came up with depictions of the human face 20,000 years into the future, as well as 60,000 years and 100,000 years. Lamm said he took into account the physiological changes that might occur for humans as well as technological advances.

He paid special attention to zygotic genome engineering technology, which would give humans the ability to “control human biology and human evolution in much the same way we control electrons to power our world today,” Forbes notes.

Lamm said his depiction of the human face arose from conversations with Dr. Alan Kwan, who holds a PhD in computational genomics from Washington University. Kwan predicted that humans will develop a larger forehead to fit an ever-growing brain, a change that’s been taking place gradually over the last 600 years or so.

As humans begin to develop colonies far away from Earth, the human face will also develop larger eyes needed to see in different settings.

Finally, as humans gain more control over evolutionary changes, the human face will being to reflect societal ideals, Kwan said.

“This human face will be heavily biased towards features that humans find fundamentally appealing: strong, regal lines, straight nose, intense eyes, and placement of facial features that adhere to the golden ratio and left/right perfect symmetry,” he notes.

Lamm is an artist and researcher who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2011. On his website he tries to “bring attention to things that are being overlooked.” His site has other imaginative depictions, including what New York City might look like on different planets and an infographic of what it would cost to be the Great Gatsby.

For the human face project, which was sponsored by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, where he has a blog, Lamm created three different depictions of a man and woman.

A depiction from 20,000 years into the future, shows slight changes in the eyes and forehead as both are enlarged:

The changes in the human face become more pronounced in 60,000 years:

In 100,000 years the human face looks like something from a science fiction movie, as humans evolve to have giant eyes and foreheads and exaggerated features:

There are other changes to the human face in 100,000 years not easily seen in the photo. By this point humans will have larger nostrils to breathe on other planets and dense hair to stop heat loss from their giant heads, Lamm said.

(Human face picture via Nickolay Lamm)

Human Face Could Evolve To Have Giant Eyes, Forehead In 100,000 Years is a post from: The Inquisitr

Prescott Valley, AZ – A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his father in a friend’s home, according to law enforcement authorities.

The victim is 35-year-old Justin Stanfield Thomas, a military veteran who serves in the Army Special Forces. According to police, Thomas and his son, of Phoenix, were visiting a friend when the boy found a gun in the living room and accidentally fired it at his father.

A neighbor and friend to everyone involved said he didn’t hear the gunshot, but arrived for the aftermath.

“I really can’t believe this happened,” Jeremy Hartt said.  “It’s tragic, that poor little boy.”

The man Thomas was visiting is also a military vet, and keeps a loaded gun around for protection, said authorities.

“Apparently when Justin and his little boy showed up, within minutes, the little boy found the gun and said, ‘hey, daddy, what’s this?’ and it went off,” Hartt recalled.

“He didn’t know what was going on; he was just a happy little boy,” he said.

Police believe that Thomas’ visit was spontaneous, which might be why the gun was unsecured and ready to be claimed by the young boy.

“I don’t know that this individual had time to do so, but it certainly needs to be at the forefront of anybody’s mind if they have a firearm and a child comes in,” said Prescott Valley Police Sgt. Brandon Bonney.  “It needs to be priority number one to secure those weapons.”

Police are still investigating the scene, but thus far have simply called it a tragic accident. Hartt described Thomas as a great father and person.

“I know that he wouldn’t want us to be sad,” said Hartt. “He would always want us to remember the good times we had.”

You can watch a video report on the 4-year-old’s accidental killing of his own father below:

[Image via: Guy J. Sagi / Shutterstock]

4-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Father In ‘Tragic Accident’ [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins will be tried over accusations of baby rape and 22 other sex crime charges at the end of this year. The singer has roundly denied all accusations against him.

On November 25, Watkins will stand trial in Wales for two-dozen sex crime charges. The 35-year-old is currently detained in jail ahead of the trial, which includes extensive child pornography and the possession of animal pornography.

He appeared at a plea hearing Monday, where he denied each of the sex crime charges leveled against him. Also among the charges: Two counts of raping a baby, one of conspiracy to rape a child and one of conspiracy to sexually assault a child. He is also facing charges of aiding and abetting a woman to sexually assault a baby.

Two women, aged 20 and 24, will also be tried along with Watkins. One of the women admitted to the sexual touching of a baby, one count of taking indecent photographs and one of distributing photos of a child.

Watkins has maintained his innocence, and has denied all of the accusations against him.

“I want to thank my family, friends and all the fans for their continued support throughout this whole ordeal,” Watkins said in a statement. “Your support gives me strength, I deny all the allegations made against me and will continue to fight to the end to clear my name.”

With Lostprophets, Watkins has sold over 3.5 million albums. “Last Train Home” was lauded as an anthem for millennials the world over. The band’s last album was released last year in April 2012. It debuted at No. 9 on the U.K. charts.

The oldest of the allegations against him dates to 2007.

Are you a Lostprophets fan? Are you shocked by Ian Watkins’ potential involvement in heinous sex crimes? Sound off!

[Image via: Facebook]

Lostprophets Singer Denies Baby Rape Allegations is a post from: The Inquisitr

Get shoopin‘!

New Meme: Success Gorilla is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have shouldered most of the blame for the Miami Heat’s loss during game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. And that, according to D-Wade, is no fun.

Wade told reporters today that playing in the playoffs isn’t any fun, especially when your team is losing.

Wade said: “Playoffs ain’t fun, man. I’m sorry to bust anyone on the outside’s bubble. As a player in the playoffs, you have no joy until it’s over and you won … If you don’t win, you have no joy for a while. So for us it’s the grind every day as a team of trying to win the series, trying to win four games in the series.”

The Miami Heat were leading going into the fourth quarter in game 1 but they were outscored by the Spurs 19-12 in the final 8 minutes and lost 92-88.

Wade said that the Heat players were a little worn down from their 7-game series against the Pacers and that fatigue may have played a part in their fourth quarter collapse.

Wade said: “By no means, no stretch do I want anybody to think that’s a crutch, that we were tired. So what? We have to play. I said we looked like a team that came out of a seven-game series in the fourth quarter. We died down a little bit physically and mentally by making mistakes. So you have to fight through all that. It’s the Finals. There’s no other series after this. There’s no tomorrow after this, from the standpoint of basketball.”

Fatigue may have heart the Heat during game 1 but it isn’t the team’s only problem. LeBron James put up a triple double during the opening game of the NBA finals while the other members of the “Big 3″ failed to live up to their expectations. Wade has fared better than Bosh but both players aren’t doing much to help the Heat on their quest to win an NBA championship. And losing, according to Wade, just isn’t any fun.

Dwyane Wade Not Having Fun Playing In NBA Finals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Magpies think faster when people are looking at them. If you’re one of those folks who tend to freeze up when all eyes are upon you, then you might be surprised by a new study from researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea which was published Wednesday in open access journal PLOS One.

The leader of the magpie research team Dr. Sang-im Lee said that they got the idea for this study of predator/prey relationships from their experience with the intelligent Black-billed Magpie species, which is related to other birds highly regarded for their brainpower, including crows and ravens.

According to Lee: “For a long time we had this impression that somehow magpies know that we are watching them because they often fly away from us when we observe them. But when we don’t observe them, we can pass them pretty close-by but they don’t fly away!”

Many birders, hunters, and other outdoor animal hobbyists have noticed the same thing. If you don’t look directly at a bird, it will often allow you to approach much more closely than if you gaze directly at it. I myself have a sort of sideways walk that I use to approach birds, especially with a camera, which many species apparently can’t distinguish from a weapon.

Magpies and other birds seem to maintain a situational awareness of the human gaze, perhaps because the birds believe that if you’re looking at them hard, you might be thinking of preying on them.

Now animal watchers have new evidence from the South Korean magpie research team that the birds make faster decisions and take faster action when you look directly at them. It didn’t really change what decision the magpies made, with some choosing to fly and some choosing to continue to forage. However, the direct gaze did prompt the magpies to make the decision faster.

The researchers noted that Black-billed Magpies have lived near humans for at least several centuries, if not millennia. Apparently, the intelligent birds have developed the ability to read human faces and/or actions fast enough to make the snap decisions — and the birds are willing to put their skills to use when you’re staring right at them.

Many of us had already guessed that magpies are thinking about us. But are you surprised to find out that the magpies might think faster when people are looking?

[Photo of Gobi, one of the Black-billed Magpies in the experiment, by P.G.Jablonski via Eurekalert]
[top photo Black-billed Magpie by Alan Wilson and Nature's Pics Online via Wikimedia Commons]

Magpies Think Faster When People Are Looking At Them is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ian Clarkin, the New York Yankees first-round draft pick, apparently feels the same way about the Evil Empire that most of America does, or at least he used to. He has now issued an apology.

In a pre-draft interview on the MLB Network (see embed below) with former Arizona Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez, his “I cannot stand the Yankees” comments were featured prominently. Clarkin added that as a six-year-old, he was in tears of joy when Gonzalez blooped a single that won the World Series for The D’Backs over the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 Fall Classic.

When Gonzo reminded Clarkin about his previous anti-Yankees comments, Clarkin said succinctly “oh my gosh.”

Clarkin’s comments raised eyebrows to say the least. After being selected by the Bronx Bombers as the final pick (#33) of the MLB draft’s first round, however, Clarkin said he was sorry. “First and foremost, I want to apologize to all the Yankee fans for my comments.”

Clarkin, a lefty pitcher from San Diego, grew up in a household where his dad, a non-Yankees fan who rooted for the Pittsburgh Pirates, while his mom was a Yankees fan from New Jersey. Clarkin said that he was just teasing his mom. “It was more of a joke toward my mom; it was taken out of context completely. I told my mom that I would say that just to tease her a little bit. I didn’t mean anything by it and I’m extremely excited to be a part of this wonderful organization.”

Clarkin added: “Now I do love them, and my dad’s going to have to learn to love them, too.”

The pitcher who has already committed to the University of San Diego on a baseball scholarship has said he might change his mind about college if the Yankees offer him “life-changing money.”  Baseball America estimates that his position in the MLB Draft is worth a contract of about $1.6 million.

Do you think Clarkin’s original comments about the New York Yankees represents his true feelings?

Yankees Top Draft Pick Ian Clarkin Apologizes For Hating On The Yankees is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chicago, IL – Three cafeteria workers from a Chicago high school have been hospitalized, suffering an acute reaction following a hot sauce prank.

A male student at Highland Park High School will face five counts of misdemeanor battery for dousing spaghetti marinara with Da Bomb-brand hot sauce during a May 14 lunch period. Authorities intend to charge the teenager as a juvenile.

One student managed to taste the intolerably hot concoction before alerting school officials. But by then the three aforementioned staff members and several students had inhaled the fumes from the fiery sauce, which caused fits of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and skin rashes.

No serious injuries were reported, but the three employees were treated by the school nurse and taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Though investigators are uncertain as to exactly which type of the Da Bomb-brand sauce was used, the Final Answer Extract, one of their popular varieties – comprised of habanero peppers, pepper extract, apricot nectar, mustard flour, garlic, allspice and spices – weighs in around 1,500,000 Scoville units. Wow. Let’s just say it is very hot.

If you are not one to pass a Buffalo Wild Wing 12 Blazin’ wings in six minute challenge, than you are out of luck trying to consume  Da Bomb hot sauce, which is described as having “a level of heat approaching that of law enforcement-grade pepper spray.”

Just a note, the Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend, endemic to the district of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the world’s hottest chili pepper cultivated, and is in par with most law enforcement-grade pepper sprays, according to the Scoville scale of heat.

The Scoville scale is the measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers. BWW Blazin’ sauce weighs in at around 300,000 Scoville units, making it about 60 times hotter than a jalapeno pepper, or about in line with some of the hottest liquefied habanero peppers available.

In Scoville’s method, a measured amount of alcohol extract of the capsaicin oil of the dried pepper is produced, after which a solution of sugar and water is added incrementally until the heat profile is just barely detectable by a panel of tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville scale.

A sweet pepper, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat is detectable. Hotter chilies, such as habaneros and nagas, rate around 200,000, indicating their extract must be diluted over 200,000 times before the capsaicin present is deemed undetectable.

Here is an example of a soldier taking the Da Bomb hot sauce challenge, gulping down a generous spoonful. Warning there are bouts of blatant language intermingled with the laughter, spitting, snot, and suffering.

People who are typically unaccustomed to consuming hot sauce are especially sensitive to the painful burning, runny-nose, and tear-inducing effects from capsaicin – the active element of a chili pepper.

Water can actually make the burning seem worse, as condiments containing capsaicin are not water-soluble, therefore heat-enthusiasts recommend slugging down milk to ease the discomfort.

[Image via Wikicommons]

High School Hot Sauce Prank Results In Hospitalization is a post from: The Inquisitr

A fan-made New Super Mario Bros. Wii sequel has blown away expectations.

Few Nintendo titles are more famous than Super Mario Bros.. It helped sell the Nintendo Entertainment System and bring the video game industry back from an early extinction caused by the E. T. Atari game. It helped make the Nintendo 64 a must-own console in spite of a severe lack of quality titles.

Super Mario Bros. even spawned one of the worst video game based movies ever made, and no other Nintendo franchise has even been turned into a theatrical feature motion picture.

The mushroom-gobbling Italian plumber has even been joked about having more ethnical background than almost any human being on the planet. He’s an Italian plumber, made in Japan, who looks like a Mexican, speaks English … and you know the rest.

An unofficial sequel to the latest Super Mario title has been made for the Wii. It’s entirely fan-made and contains over 130 new levels, putting most of Nintendo’s own titles to shame. This is more than just a simple mod, according to Cubed3.com, as it was built from the ground up, incorporating a new map system, eight major worlds and 18 themed areas plus over 150 new tile-sets.

But wait, there’s more!

A total of 35 new tracks have been made for the unofficial Super Mario sequel for the Wii, including a few remixes. There are more than 15 new enemies, including new bosses for each world. That takes dedication. One does not simply make a sequel to a Super Mario game and add so much new content.

Video games are nothing to sneeze at these days. There is a lot of programming, voice acting, music composition, public relations, and several other aspects to the process. Those gorgeous graphics we take these for granted these days likely took at least a month to get right for just one stage, even with an engine driving it all. And even then you have to make sure it’s fun to play, doesn’t have too many glitches, and gamers are actually going to want it.

What do you think about the unofficial fan-made sequel to New Super Mario Bros. Wii?

‘Super Mario Bros.’ Fan-Made Sequel Blows Away Expectations is a post from: The Inquisitr

Steve Perry has opened up about his recent cancer scare, telling fans of his band Journey that shortly after losing his girlfriend to cancer he got his own diagnosis.

Perry wrote about falling in love with psychologist and breast cancer survivor Kellie Nash after he saw her on television. Steve was working on a cancer special for Lifetime when he caught a glimpse of Nash and knew he needed to meet her.

He recalled sitting in an editing room with Patty Jenkins when he saw Nash in the opening scenes of the special. He asked Patty if she would send Nash an email to tell her “your friend Steve would love to take her to coffee or lunch sometime.”

But Patty had some news about Nash — her cancer had come back, and she was now in Stage 4 fighting for her life.

Perry wrote:

“I was frozen……. I didn’t know what to do…….. I had lost my mom, dad, grandparents that raised me and I was an only child so my first thought was to maybe not send the email; then my heart said, Maybe we could be friends or maybe she could be my shrink. So I said, ‘Please send it.’ ”

So the two met and fell in love, Steve Perry recalled. He stayed by her side as she battled cancer and moved to New York City for an alternative treatment. Perry said they “had the most magical summer of our lives together.” But the treatment did not work, and Nash died in December. Steve said he has been grieving the last five months and recalling everything he learned from his short time with Kellie.”Though Kellie and I were only together for one-and-a-half years, it was a lifetime of love packed into every moment,” he wrote.

Now Steve Perry had had a cancer scare of his own. He recently had a mole removed from his face that doctors found was cancerous. The Journey frontman had two surgeries, but doctors said they believe they got all the cancer out without a need for further treatment.

Though his heart may be broken, Steve Perry is continuing on with his music. He and his Journey bandmates start their summer tour at the end of June.

Steve Perry: Journey Frontman Opens Up About Cancer Scare, Losing His Girlfriend is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sarah Jessica Parker will launch a new line of shoes and bags with partner George Malkemus, CEO of Manolo Blahnik. “In a silly way, I think it’s what people have expected of me most because of Carrie Bradshaw,” the 48-year-old Sex and the City actress confessed to a Vogue reporter.

In the hit HBO series, Carrie had something of a shoe addiction. One of the most-quoted lines from the show was, “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”

The SPJ collection will be exclusively sold at Nordstrom department stores, and it is expected to appear early next year.

However, it hasn’t been all glamor, all the time, when we’re talking about Sarah Jessica Parker’s choices in footwear.

In March, The Inquisitr reported on SJP’s claim that wearing high heels for too long has left her with deformed feet. While I don’t doubt that the actress believed what she was saying while she was saying it, I’m going to call bull on her statement that she’d grown an extra bone in her foot. But that’s what she reportedly said then:

“I went to a foot doctor and he said, ‘Your foot does things it shouldn’t be able to do. That bone there … you’ve created that bone. It doesn’t belong there.”

If true, ouch. Hey, ouch even if it isn’t true. But I don’t think humans usually grow new bones.

A few days ago, The Daily Mail posted a set of photos that showed the new comfort-lovin’ Sarah Jessica Parker wearing patterned socks with strappy sandals. Ugh. Not a good look for her or anybody else.

Their writer called it a new trend from SJP, but I’m fairly sure she was being cruel.

According to Vogue’s report, the new line of shoes, bags, and even trench coats won’t be nearly as pricey as the original Manolo Blahniks. Single sole pumps will run $300 or less. Bags will be less than $700.

Do you think you’ll be trying on the new shoes from Sarah Jessica Parker?

[Sarah Jessica Parker photo by vipflash / Shutterstock.com]

Sarah Jessica Parker To Launch Shoe Line With Manolo Blahnik CEO [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dan Stevens owes his international success to the insanely popular period drama Downton Abbey, although he was no stranger to the small screens in the UK prior to taking the role of Matthew Crawley.

But his success grew exponentially after he became part of the award winning series, and not only in his native United Kingdom. His name is now recognized all over the world, not only because of his handsome looks, but due to the quality in his acting and lovely personaltiy.

In an interview with the British publication The Telegraph he discusses his move to New York and his current and future projects.

Dan discusses the beginning of his interest in performing and drama. He says that when he was fourteen he attended an audition for Macbeth and to his surprise got the titular role.

The man responsible for casting him was his English teacher, Jonathan Smith who wrote novels. At that time he had just published his latest one, Summer in February, the story of Sir Alfred Munnings’s tangled love life during his time at a painters’ retreat on the south coast of Cornwall, England.

Stevens thought that it would make a good movie. Funny how things work out in life, seventeen years later he has been part of doing just that. Summer in February is one of Dan’s new films and is set to open in the UK next Friday, June 14.

Dan says he is just returning the favor since he credits Smith for nurturing his love of literature and drama while at Tonbridge School in Kent. He also encouraged him to apply for Cambridge University.

Cambridge led him to the Flashlights and during that time he caught the eye of legendary director Sir Peter Hall who brought him on board his theater company. This all led to stints on BBC period pieces, the most famous of which is the adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in 2008.

This ultimately opened the door to play working man Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey in 2010. There he remained for three seasons until the shocking end to his character in season three.

After this he came to Broadway to play opposite Jessica Chastain in The Heiress. He also has a part on A Walk Among The Tombstones with Liam Neeson, which is scheduled for sometime in 2014.

Dan also stars in The Fifth Estate in which he plays a journalist alongside another hot name in British TV and big screen, Benedict Cumberbatch. The film is about WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange.

For now the actor seems to be happy leaving a family life in Brooklyn together with his wife Susie and two young children Willow and Aubrey ages three and just one. “Brooklyn’s very family-friendly where we are,” he says, “but it’s strange to think that we’ve been out here for almost a year. We came last summer when I had the play and then I got a film straight after, so we decided to stick around.”

We don’t know what the future will bring for Dan Stevens, the only sure thing is that we haven’t heard the last from him.

[Image via lev radin / Shutterstock.com]

What Dan Stevens Is Up To After ‘Downton Abbey’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chewbacca recently got his cane back thanks to Twitter.

The actor known for his role as the Wookiee from Star Wars had his cane confiscated by airport security on his way back from a Sci-Fi convention. Seven-plus-foot-tall Peter Mayhew had his lightsaber cane seized when TSA thought it was an actual weapon, but thanks to some pictures posted to Twitter, they let the Wookiee win.

TSA agents had been looking the cane over when Peter Mayhew, who really needed the cane to walk, sat nearby looking none too pleased when he used the Force and had someone snap a picture of the situation.

He vented his frustration on the social media micro-blogging site with the first picture, “Won’t allow me through the airport with me cane! Giant man need giant cane. Small cane snap like toothpick. Besides, my lightsaber is just cool. I’d miss it.”

Can we get a Wookiee roar? Yup, he was more than disappointed with TSA’s initial decision.

Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew then added another picture from the back, with airport security still discussing the cane. The tweet added, “@AmericanAir won’t allow me through the airport with me cane! Can I get a retweet?”

Apparently, the utter humiliation from the outrage of thousands of Twitter‘s Chewbacca fans made the airport TSA give him back the cane to save face as he proceeded home to Boyd, Texas. Peter Mayhew tweeted his thanks to the fans after the fact, “Magic words to TSA are not ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.. It’s ‘Twitter‘.. cane released to go home.”

Magic words to TSA are not “please” or “thank you”.. It’s “Twitter”.. cane released to go home.. twitter.com/TheWookieeRoar…

— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) June 3, 2013

Twitter‘s Star Wars fans worldwide saw that once again, Han Solo’s furry sidekick still has the Wookiee rage. Never mess with Chewbacca, as See Threepio learned in the films. The TSA was lucky he didn’t rip their arms off. We kid, but that was a pretty impressive conclusion to Chewbacca’s latest adventure.

Astronomer Ray Sanders said: “TSA just learned Star Wars lesson #1: Let the [Wookiee] win.”

What do you think of Twitter helping Chewbacca get his cane back?

Twitter: Chewbacca Gets His Cane Back is a post from: The Inquisitr

People living near Wawa, Ontario got a fireworks show earlier this week when a truck transporting explosives crashed into a moose along the Trans Canada Highway.

According to WaWa News, the truck crashed into the moose at about 1 am on Thursday morning. The truck caught fire and soon its cargo, made up of ammunition and fireworks, started shooting off into the sky.

The description on Youtube reads: “On June 6th at 1 a.m. this transport struck a moose, and became engulfed in flames. The trailer was carrying ammunition and fireworks. Here are some of the fireworks exploding while the vehicle is burning. The collision occurred 40 kilometres south of Wawa at Mijinemungshing Lake.”

Firefighters arrived quickly to the scene but they weren’t able to put out the fire until dawn the following morning. The firefighters haven’t said why it took so long to extinguish the fire but it’s possible that they were distracted by the firework show going on overhead.

And in case you were wondering, the truck drive and a passenger in the vehicle both escaped unharmed. It’s unclear what happened to the moose.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only moose related accident that was reported in Canada this week. According to WaWa News, there were two other moose accidents on Thursday night. Unfortunately, neither of those accidents resulted in fireworks.

Here’s a video of the fireworks show last night in Wawa, Ontario.

Firework Lights Up Sky After Truck Hits A Moose In Canada [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

BEIJING — A fire that blazed through a bus and killed 47 people in China was started deliberately by a suicidal man, according to reports on Saturday by state-run news agencies.

The bus explosion and resulting fire occurred at 18:20 pm on Friday during the evening commute in Xiamen, a port city in south-eastern China.

The official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that investigators said the fire appears to have been set deliberately, after finding traces of gasoline on the wreckage though the bus ran on diesel fuel.

“It’s a serious criminal case,” the ministry of public security, the national police agency said in a statement on its website.

In total, 47 people are confirmed as dead, 34 more have been hospitalized. Of these, seven are students. Eight students are still unaccounted for, said Xinhua.

State-run news organizations have identified the instigator of the fire as Chen Shuizong, who was about 60-years-old and is described as impoverished.

Shuizong, who is believed to have died in the explosion, had written a suicide note in which he expressed deep frustration, said reports based on details from the ongoing investigation released by officials in Xiamen.

Witnesses statements at Xiamen’s official news site said they heard explosions after the fire had been blazing for 10 minutes.

Southern Daily, the official newspaper of Guangdong Province, posted a photo of the man identified as Suizong who is seen in the picture pulling a bag behind him.

Xiamen is located on the southeast coast of China in the Fujian Province.

It is considered one of the most prosperous and habitable cities in a country full of polluted and overly dense urban centers. According to the latest census, its population is 3.5 million, with more than 265,000 traveling on the city’s bus system daily.

In recent years China has been hit by numerous bombings and arson of buses and public buildings, some carried out by people with personal grievances and others by individuals or groups with overtly political motives.

In 2009, another unemployed man set fire to a packed bus in the central city of Chengdu, killing himself and 26 others. In May 2011, at least two people were killed and six hurt in explosions at government office buildings in the city of Fuzhou, in Jiangxi Province.

Since Friday’s bus fire, Xiamen city officials immediately suspended service of the entire express bus system, known as Bus Rapid Transit.

The criminal investigation continues.

[Image via Huffington Post]

China Bus Fire Kills 47 Injures 34, Now Linked To Suicide Arsonist is a post from: The Inquisitr

The cast of Boy Meets World reunited this week at the ATX Television Festival.

It was the first official reunion for the Boy Meets World cast, which ended its run in 2000, and included some of the shows biggest stars.

Ben Savage (Cory), Ryder Strong (Shawn), Matthew Lawrence (Jack), Betsy Randle (mother Mathews), Trina McGee (Angela), Maitland Ward (Rachel), and Lily Nicksay (Morgan #1) were all in attendance. Danielle Fishel, who played Topanga, and Will Friedle (Eric Matthews) were not able to attend the event.

The cast answered some questions about the classic TGIF show and told the audience that the show’s finale felt like the end of their childhood.

Strong said about the final episode: “There was no filter between Shawn and Rider in that scene. It was the same person freaking out.”

Savage added: “It was like the end of the end of our childhood.”

The cast also talked a little about the new show Girl Meets World. Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel will be starring in the new show while the rest of the cast will appear sporadically throughout the season.

Randle joked: “Surely we’ll show up for a Thanksgiving episode!”

ATX and a few members of the cast have been tweeting and sending photos out from the Boy Meets World reunion.

Boy Meets World reunion #ATXTVS2 vine.co/v/bLi2m6HbKpx

— ATX Television Fest (@ATXFestival) June 7, 2013

#BMW cast with our #ATXTVS2 marquee! twitter.com/ATXFestival/st…

— ATX Television Fest (@ATXFestival) June 7, 2013

Me and my girl @realtrinamcgee last night @atxfestival. Having a great time in Austin. #boymeetsworld … say.ly/zbC5ZvG

— Maitland Ward Baxter (@maitlandnyla) June 7, 2013

Pic of the girls… #boymeetworld #reunion #Austin @atxfestival @realtrinamcgee @betsrandle twitter.com/maitlandnyla/s…

— Maitland Ward Baxter (@maitlandnyla) June 6, 2013

‘Boy Meets World’ Cast Reunites In Austin is a post from: The Inquisitr

Man of Steel mania is in full force. Every day, some times more than once a day, there are new clips from Warner Bros., new cast interviews, new partnerships revealed, and television ads. The studio is pushing full force ahead on this last weekend before the much anticipated remake opens worldwide on June 14.

But what are the expectations at the box office? Forbes had an interesting article, about this element of film promotion. When a blockbuster such as Man of Steel is ready to hit theaters, there are expectations of how well it will do on opening weekend.

Big films usually open on Fridays, that way they have the weekend crowds to flock to the theaters and watch them. In this case the official word from Warner Bros. is that it expects the movie to make $75 million, which seems like a conservative figure compared to recent estimates for other blockbusters.

Iron Man 3 for example, had estimates of $160 million, but ended up making $175 million on opening weekend. The competition has a hand on the numbers that get floated around.

On the other hand, Universal can say that it expects Man of Steel to open at $100 million so if it does not, they can put it down saying it was a failure, even if the numbers approach the figure or it does very well.

A lot of politics are involved in box office expectations. Warner Bros. is in its final push before one of the most anticipated summer blockbusters opens next Friday. Everyone else is trying to up the numbers in case the movie does not do well. It’s a game of cat and mouse.

With a budget of around $225 million the expectations are high indeed and with relatively unknown British actor Henry Cavill in his first lead role, the studio has a lot riding on this first weekend.

The good news is that everyone from director Zack Snyder to the producers and writers, to the cast, which includes Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane is top notch. Will you be going to see the film when it opens next weekend?

The latest Man of Steel TV Spot can be seen here:

‘Man Of Steel’ Mania Continues As Box Office Expectations Grow is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jay Leno’s joke about Obama and “Big Brother” has prompted some questions on the internet about its appropriateness.

Perhaps because he is in the process of being kicked to the curb by NBC, Leno is seemingly the only late-night comedian that is willing to poke fun at the Obama administration or other liberal sacred cows. In 2014, as part of the network’s musical chairs, Jimmy Fallon will replace Leno as Tonight Show host while Seth Myers will take over Fallon’s gig.

Leno recently quipped that Obama should close the IRS rather than Gitmo and that the Associated Press stylebook should refer to illegal aliens as “undocumented Democrats.”

Ironically, despite the fact that he is on the way out, Leno is killing his chief competitors David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel in the ratings and seems to be experiencing a resurgence in viewership.

Some observers have raised questions about one of his jokes from his Thursday night opening monologue in connection with a possible racial component, however. See embed below.

In that monologue, Leno made reference to the latest spying scandals engulfing the Obama administration in which it was revealed that the National Security Agency is massively snooping on phone records and email messages. Leno said, “See, when I was growing up, we were always afraid of Big Brother watching us. And now with Obama, we actually have a brother watching us. See what I’m saying. We got a brother watching us. That’s right.”

Leno also joked about his own lame duck status with NBC: “And Attorney General Eric Holder said despite all these controversies, he has no intention of stepping down. Hey Eric — I didn’t either. Sometimes it just happens. Okay? Sometimes it just happens. Welcome to show business.”

“Big Brother” of course was a character in George Orwell’s classic 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty Four about an omnipresent, surveillance-oriented government dictatorship.

Do you think there is anything inappropriate at all about Jay Leno using the term “brother” in this joke? Watch the video below and decide for yourself.

[Top image credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]

WATCH: Jay Leno Obama ‘Big Brother’ Joke Raises Some Eyebrows is a post from: The Inquisitr