Monthly Archives: June 2020

Patna, Jun 12 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday slammed the BJP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for "personal attacks" on him, asking them to focus instead on real issues like "unemployment, law & order and migration".

"Bihar will get nothing by personal attacks on me," the RJD leader said in a tweet.

"We are used to these derogatory attacks & inflammatory rhetorics from last 30 years from all of you. Why did you stop updating about corona cases, health management, unemployment, quarantine centres & poor migrants issues?"

His counterattack came a day after Bihar Information and Public Relations Department Minister Neeraj Kumar accused RJD supremo Lalu Prasad of getting land registered in the name of his son Tej Pratap Yadav, when he was a minor, by promising people government job.

"Even after being in power for 15 years, your political employment in my familys name says youve nothing to showcase. Your disastrous term will end very soon. Its about time to pull down the facades and let the people of Bihar know about your immortality & corruption," Tejashwi said in another tweet.

He went on to add, "Nitish Kumar & BJP must concentrate on real ground issues vis-a-vis unemployment, law & order, migration, labourers, corruption, communalism, governance, development, education and health infrastructure etc. This will help Bihar and therefore needs to be addressed urgently."

Neeraj Kumar had also alleged that Lalu''s "greed" for acquiring benami properties was evident from the fact that he got land registered in the name of "a third unknown son Tarun Kumar Yadav, whose whereabouts are not known to anyone".

Both RJD and Tejashwi''s elder sister and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti have said that Tarun Kumar Yadav is Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and that this fact has been mentioned in an affidavit too.

Bharti''s clarification on Tarun Prasad Yadav was made during a TV interview. Local TV news channels are also showing a video clip of a programme aired several years ago in which Lalu Prasad is seen with his family members.

In the programme, Tejashwi is seen introducing himself. "Hi, I am Tarun and studying in class VII".

RJD MLA Bhola Yadav, who is a close confidant of Lalu Prasad''s family, said that the affidavit furnished by Tejashwi during the 2015 assembly elections read "Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alias Tarun Kumar Yadav".

"He (Neeraj Kumar) is hurling allegations at (RJD) on what basis?" the MLA said in a video message on RJD''s WhatsApp group.

Condemning the minister''s statement, the RJD MLA demanded that he should apologise for spreading "lies".

Not a single property he mentioned is benami, the RJD leader claimed. In fact, all the properties have been mentioned since 1996 to the CBI, the Election Commission and Income Tax authorities, he added.

Neeraj Kumar, meanwhile, stood by his allegations and dared Tejashwi to file a defamation suit against him if his accusations were false and baseless.

He also questioned how Tejashwi could show the property in his election affidavit without first getting it registered in the name of Tarun Kumar Yadav.

Interestingly out of the two properties at Phulwaria village in Gopalganj district that were registered in 1993, Tejashwi had mentioned details of only one in his election affidavit.

Tej Pratap Yadav, too, did the same with regard to the two properties. PTI AR KK TIRTIR

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

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Bihar will get nothing from personal attack on me, focus on real issues: Tejashwi tells BJP, Nitish - Outlook India

The Wallflowers 1996 hit One Headlight wasnt just a song choice that set a mood for the trailer of The King of Staten Island. It appears in the film itself, in a quick but telling barroom scene that gets at how near-strangers can bond over music even if its music they dont quite remember well enough to proficiently sing along with.

It might seem as if any oldie could have sufficed for a comic singalong moment, but for both leading man Pete Davidson and director Judd Apatow, it had personal meaning that made it the song for Davidson and his new fireman friends to join in belting.

That song was very popular when Pete was young, and he would listen to it in the car with his dad all the time, Apatow tells Variety. It is a very special song to him.

(Indeed, in a Washington Post profile, Davidson described it as the shared favorite song of himself and his late firefighter father, whose death on duty is one of the real-life events thats mirrored in the autobiographically inspired film.)

But Apatow had an equally sentimental association with the Wallflowers track. We were both really surprised our songs were the same, the filmmaker says.

When Leslie and I drove to Ralphs to buy pregnancy kits when we discovered Maude was coming, Apatow explains, that was the song we heard on the radio. Pete and I realized it was an important song to both of us and decided it had to be the key song in the movie.

Apatow has put the song on blast on the other coast as well. Last year I did a benefit at Largo with Jakob Dylan, and I made him play it and it was the best night. He is a great guy. I loved his film Echo In The Canyon.'

Producer Barry Mendel says the number wasnt a 100% lock for the scene in question there were alternatives on backup, depending on the mood of the shooting day. Its a song Pete loved and Judd did and thats where it really started, and then we tried it on set, says Mendel. We had planned to try a few others that day too some great ones but when we did, it worked so well, we just said, Aw, to hell with the others, moved on and called it a day.

The comedy of the fleeting scene comes from just how little of a favorite song may stick in the collective brain over the years and how little that may matter, if popular music is a dont bore us, get to the chorus medium and even just a well-remembered title and hook can confer musical immortality.

To me its more just funny watching anyone try to bond, which we all do, says Mendel. When of course bonding either happens or doesnt, we never seem to learn that trying is beside the point and doesnt much help.

For Mendel, Its hard to put the songs purpose into words, frankly it just feels right there. Its believable that the firefighters, men and women, black, white and brown, in their 20s, 30s and 40s, would all be familiar with and enjoy bonding over it. Its a great dive bar song, and it speaks to the beauty of the journey, which after all is what its all about, right?

Things get just as personal at the beginning and end of the film, as it starts off and then goes out over the end credits with a bookending pair of tracks by Kid Cudi, including the closing Pursuit of Happiness. In a radio interview in 2016, Davidson said, I wouldve killed myself if I didnt have Kid Cudi. If youre 25 and under, I truly believe that Kid Cudi saved your life. I truly believe if Man on the Moon didnt come out, I wouldnt be here.

Says Mendel, Cudis music clicked with this film from day one. The way it works in the opening really brought the film home, and it seemed not just fitting but powerful for that song of his to end the film too, with hope, an awareness of the struggle, and a determination to at least try. Cudis openness about his struggle is something obviously Pete and all of us look up to and has been inspirational to us from the start. In fact, when Pete sent us his first song list, back in the early script stage, these and many other Cudi songs were on it, and we were all just like, Yeah, this feels so right.'

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Judd Apatow Tells How the Wallflowers One Headlight Came to Illuminate King of Staten Island: Its Personal - Variety

The TV adaptation of author Joe Hills NOS4A2 returns for a second season and will premiere via simulcast on both BBC America and AMC on Sunday, June 21 at 10/9c.

The series follows Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), a high school senior from a broken home in New England. She battles against Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto), a different kind of vampire, who kidnaps children and drains them of their innocence to maintain his immortality. McQueen isnt an ordinary teenager going up against an immortal, though she has supernatural abilities of her own.

1. The Origin of the Shows Name

At first glance, one might think the name of the show is pronounced the way it is written out with letters and numbers, N-O-S-Four-A-Two. But, thats not the case. It actually pays homage to the word Nosferatu, which is believed to be derived from the Romanian Nesuferit, meaning offensive or troublesome, which add up to vampire. The 1922 silent film Nosferatu introduced the term to the public, helping to kick off the vampire genre.

2. Where We Left Off with Season One

In season one, McQueen discovers she has a special supernatural power: riding on her motorcycle, she has the ability to find lost things. Meanwhile, Manx has his own power: when he lures children into his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith, he can suck out their energy and spirit them away to Christmasland, a magical place that exists on the fringes of reality, where its Christmas every day. The children become bloodthirsty demon-like husks of their former selves, and can never leave the gates of Christmasland.

When her young friend is lost to Manx, McQueen realizes she can use her power to try to get these children back. In a heated showdown at the end of season one, McQueen finally gets the upper hand: she sets Manxs beloved Wraith on fire, destroying the source of his power, and Manx rapidly ages and falls into a coma.

3. Where We Pick Up in Season Two

Season two begins eight years later. McQueen now has a young son named Wayne, and has stayed in Colorado to build a life with local biker, Lou Carmody (Jonathan Langdon), who helped her defeat Manx in season one. But she hasnt forgotten the trauma of her supernatural fight with Manx. And when circumstances cause the vampire to come back from the brink of death, hes more determined than ever to get his revenge on the one person who ever took him down.

Now that McQuen is a mother, shes more vulnerable than ever to the evils of Manx, as he becomes determined to kidnap Wayne and imprison him in Christmasland. But McQueen makes a promise in the first look trailer above, saying, Im gonna kill him once and for all.

4. Heres Who is Returning

We can look for both Zachary Quinto and Ashleigh Cummings to return in their lead roles. As well, Ashley Romans will return as police detective Tabitha Hutter. We can also look for Jahkara Smith as Maggie Leigh, another Strong Creative with the supernatural ability to answer any question when she pulls Scrabble tiles out of a magical bag.

5. Heres Who is New

In addition to the returning cast, we can look for some new faces like Jason David, who plays McQueens eight-year-old son. Wayne asks his mom, Who is Charlie Manx? Shes shocked to hear the villainous name come out of her sons mouth. He asks after seeing Manx on TV. 6. Is Manx Still in a Coma?

He is. But, not for long. When his Rolls-Royce Wraith is restored, Manx regains his own strength along with it. He ages backward, once again youthful. His assistant, Bing Partridge (lafur Darri lafsson) comes to his aid, saying, Mr. Manx. Are you awake? Rather than answering, all we hear is his disturbing giggle which is very foreboding. He is pissed, and McQueen is on the top of his hit list.

7. Does Christmasland Still Exist?

Yes and no. Its created by Manxs imagination, manifesting into something that is also very real. We can see why the children walk into the magical land without fear, as its very welcoming. The world itself is based in Manxs inscape, a place that exists in the world of thought on the edges of the physical realm, and can only be accessed by Manxs knife his beloved Wraith which helps cut through the fabric of reality. Despite being mystical, McQueen keeps getting phone calls from the children in Christmasland, leaving others to question her sanity.

8. What Author Joe Hill Thinks About the TV Adaptation

Author Joe Hill chatted with Den of Geek about his 2013 novel being made for screen, saying, (Season one is) a little less than the first half. When Jami (OBrien) read the book, she sort of correctly saw that there was a breakpoint where the story shifts into a different gear. Her feeling was, really, in some ways, NOS4A2 is two or maybe three stories that could be full seasons. She found one of these breakpoints and so yeah, season one is a totally self-contained, totally satisfying story. But it is not the full book. Fun fact: Hill is son to Stephen King, but wed like to think Hill can stand on his own (but for all you King fans, this might up your interest a tad?). Another fun fact: his second novel, 2010s Horns, was made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe.

9. What Showrunner Jami OBriens Plans Are for Season Two

Jami OBrien, who brought season one to the screen, is ready for season two, saying, I am so excited for the opportunity to bring the rest of Joe Hills amazing novel to television. Joes imagination is unparalleled, reports AMC.com. She goes on to say, I love the characters and the world, and our colleagues at AMC have been wonderful partners. Im grateful to be playing in the NOS4A2 sandbox. OBrien isnt new to the AMC family; she was a co-executive producer on both Fear the Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels.

10. How to go into Season Two

Wed suggest, make sure you have a blanket nearby so you can pull it over your eyes if needed! And, while you can watch season two on its own, you can also find full episodes of season one and behind the scenes clips over at BBC America and AMC online.

You can look for new episodes of NOS4A2 starting June 21.

Are you caught up on season one?

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NOS4A2 Viewing Guide: What You Need to Know Going into Season 2 - Anglophenia

The Castro conference.13-06-2020YouTube

Since 1993, the Kick it Out campaign has challenged discrimination in football. Yet, despite the continued racism, football just carries on. Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, sparked controversy in 2011 for saying that racist abuse on the pitch could be settled with a handshake. But even if his comments lead to every player going on strike; for fans to boycott stadiums and every club to go bankrupt, the sport- in which a round ball is kicked about until one team sticks it in the back of the net- would still live on in our minds and hearts. Kill all the institutions you like but the beautiful game will never die.

Only Im not here to talk about football. Im here to talk about the much younger, less well-defined sport of CrossFit. You might have never heard of the self-proclaimed sport of fitness, but an insensitive comment made by its owner and founder, Greg Glassman, has me questioning its immortality.

On June 7th, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation tweeted that Racism is a public health issue, with the words printed in bold upper case on a black background. Glassman, who founded CrossFit in 2000 as a tonic for the obesity epidemic, felt the need to weigh in on the IHMEs stance. Its FLOYD-19, he commented, a direct reference to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Fans, sponsors, affiliates and athletes found his comment short and distasteful. Reebok, CrossFits official sponsor, immediately cut ties with the brand. Among other athletes, last years runner up, Noah Olsen, announced that he would not compete in this years CrossFit Games.

Glassman immediately issued an apology, stating, I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday. My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.

That might have been the end of it, but two days later the news website BuzzFeed.com released audio recordings of Glassman on a private Zoom call. In the conversation- that happened just over an hour before his incendiary tweet- Glassman talked to gym owners and staff about conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd. Glassman says in the audio clips: I was asked by the Italians, what would you do, coach? And I said: I would agree to any restrictions put on me by the health authorities, and I would open my gym, and then 10 minutes later I would do whatever the fuck I wanted. Thats what I would do. He went on to say that Were not mourning for George Floyd I dont think me or any of my staff are.

Before Glassmans comments, CrossFit Inc. had over 15,000 affiliate gyms around the world, in 150 countries. Each pays a $3,000 annual affiliation fee. Now many are cutting ties with the company. According to Morning Chalkup- a CrossFit newsletter- hundreds of gyms have already cancelled their affiliation and over 1000 have stated their intention to end their relationship with CrossFit.

In an attempt to steady the ship, Glassman resigned as CEO of the company on June 10th, replaced by long-serving director of the CrossFit Games, Dave Castro. Many Twitter followers were unsatisfied with the change in leadership, complaining that Glassman still retains a 100 per cent stake in the company. Apart from a CEO title, not much has changed in the company hierarchy.

There are other warning signs that appointing Castro might not quell the storm. At a CrossFit Games press conference last year, a reporter asked Castro about plans for increasing diversity in the sport. Sitting next to a row of Caucasian athletes, Castro held the microphone to his face, smiled awkwardly at the reporter for about ten seconds, and then seemingly changed the subject. At least, that is how it is currently being reported.

What he actually said, after the question on diversity was posed, was that the first event for the competitors would be a water event. Was he changing the subject? Or was Castro making a subtle remark about black athletes and their natural handicap in the water? (The lack of competitive black swimmers is well documented. This isnt an issue of racial discrimination, but to do with differences in fat storage between Blacks and Caucasians and the associated buoyancy.) I might be reading too much into it, but Castro is known for being a cunning character, releasing cryptic photos on his social media that serve as clues for upcoming workouts and events. Such a sly riposte is not beyond him.

So, what happens if Dave Castro was not the leader-in-waiting that can appease the public? What if the dominoes continue to fall and CrossFit Inc. ceases to operate? Will the sport of fitness fade into a noughties fad like aerobics in the 80s? Or can it live on, independent of its institutional roots?

I think so. I see parallels between the sport of fitness and obstacle course racing. Many have complained about the arbitrary nature of CrossFit events, with this subjectivity preventing CrossFit from ever being a clearly defined sport.

But just as Dave Castro chooses which events comprise every CrossFit Games, Spartan Race Inc. (the global leader in the sport of OCR) organisers have carte blanche over which obstacles challenge competitors in their races. And, despite the arbitrary nature of the sport, obstacle course racing is scaling its way to inclusion in the Olympic Games.

Until now, the sport of fitness and its founding company have been inextricably tied. But if OCR can be considered a sport independent of institutions like Spartan Race Inc., then I have faith that the sport of fitness can survive the death of CrossFit Incorporated. After his careless remarks, Glassman might have to accept that the sport he spawned is finally fleeing the withering nest.

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How racism revealed the fragility of an entire sport - Majorca Daily Bulletin

Countdown 1945

Countdown 1945

Photo: Avid Reader, Handout

Countdown 1945

Countdown 1945

Book World: Those who built the bomb, those who used it and those who survived it

Countdown 1945

By Chris Wallace with Mitch Weiss

Avid Reader. 312 pp. $30

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In the 75 years since President Harry Truman ordered atomic bombs to be dropped on two Japanese cities, American attitudes toward that decision have gradually shifted. Immediately after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, polls showed that 85% of people in the United States approved of Truman's action. However, by 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the bombings, support for the decision had fallen to 57%, while 38% of Americans believed it either wrong or unnecessary.

Approaching the commemoration of the bombings this summer, two veteran journalists have tried to put that decision in context. The book by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, written with the Associated Press's Mitch Weiss, focuses on the 116 days between Truman's sudden ascent to the presidency, after Franklin Roosevelt's death in mid-April 1945, and the use of the first bomb, on Hiroshima, in early August. "Countdown 1945" contains no surprises and will quell no controversies. But it is a compelling and highly readable account of one of the most fateful decisions in American history.

Like John Hersey in his book "Hiroshima," Wallace and Weiss humanize events too often reduced to technical or diplomatic arcana by telling their story through the lives of individuals. Truman is, of course, a major player, but so is Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that bombed Hiroshima, and his crew. Also profiled are the scientists at Los Alamos, like Robert Oppenheimer and Don Hornig, who built the weapons dropped on Japan. Ruth Sisson, one of the "Calutron Girls" at Oak Ridge, Tenn., ran a machine enriching the uranium used in Little Boy, the Hiroshima bomb. A Navy demolitions expert, Draper Kauffman, would have been among the first to land on the beaches of Kyushu had an invasion of Japan's home islands been deemed necessary. One of the book's most affecting stories is that of Hideko Tamura, a 10-year-old girl who was in Hiroshima on the day the bomb fell. Hideko survived the attack; her mother, Kimiko, did not.

Presented as a countdown to the final event, the book moves along at a rapid clip, with colorful anecdotes enlivening the narrative. Navy frogmen like Kauffman are described as "half fish and half nuts." Sisson and her cohort were not told that the machines they operated were producing bomb-grade uranium, prompting a joke: "My job is so secret, even I don't know what I'm doing." The bleakness of the desert bombing range at Wendover, Utah, where Tibbets and his crew practiced for the Hiroshima mission, inspired one disgusted airman to observe: "If the United States ever needed an enema, this is where they would insert the tube."

The authors' breakneck prose sometimes breezes past moments in history deserving of a more thorough treatment. For example, a "demonstration" of the bomb as an alternative to its military use - an idea promoted by several of the atomic scientists - receives bare mention. Wallace and Weiss pay proper attention, however, to an option that, in retrospect, seems the best - and possibly the only - course of action that might have brought an end to the war without either the atomic bomb or a horribly costly seaborne invasion: a conditional surrender by Japan.

From intercepted and decrypted Japanese messages, the United States knew, by late July 1945, that Tokyo was seeking an end to the war and was even hopeful that Moscow might serve as an intermediary with Washington. The one nonnegotiable Japanese demand, however, was that Emperor Hirohito - who had divine status in that country - not be removed from the throne and treated as a war criminal in any postwar, Nuremberg-style trial.

Truman was made aware of these facts while he was meeting with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill at Potsdam in defeated Germany. Two of the president's close advisers even urged him to accept this sole condition and offer Japan a quick end to the war. Fatefully, however, only four days after becoming president, Truman, in his first address to Congress, had emphatically declared: "Our demand has been and it remains unconditional surrender" - pounding the lectern with his fists to emphasize each syllable of the last two words. Believing that he had inherited both the mantle and the policies of FDR, his much-admired predecessor, Truman concluded there was no way he could go back on that promise.

At the end, Wallace and Weiss offer no argument as to the ultimate morality or immortality of the atomic bomb decision. But it is hard to disagree with their conclusion that "it is unrealistic to think Harry Truman would make any other choice."

Perhaps unintentionally, "Countdown" also underscores just how much this country has changed in the past 75 years. Only two weeks after he became an "accidental president," Truman was briefed on the atomic bomb by Army Gen.Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project. Handed a 24-page report, Truman balked, telling Groves, "I don't like to read papers." But the general stuck to his guns. "We can't tell you this in any more concise language. This is a big project," Groves insisted. For the next 45 minutes, the president listened as Groves talked about the bomb, its likely effects and the fact that Soviet spies had, for the past two years, been trying to steal America's atomic secrets. It was probably the first that Truman, the country's inaugural Cold War president, learned of Stalin's treachery.

Since he had been on his way to Europe when the atomic bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert, Truman can perhaps be excused for not appreciating the revolutionary - and indiscriminate - nature of the new weapon. In his personal diary at Potsdam, the president wrote that the bomb would be used "so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children." In fact, the aiming point for the Hiroshima bomb was neither the city's port facilities nor the headquarters of Japan's Second General Army but a distinctive T-shaped bridge spanning the Ota River, near the urban center. "It's the most perfect AP [aiming point] I've seen in this whole damn war," exulted Tibbets's bombardier. Hiroshima was chosen as a primary target in part because of "adjacent hills which are likely to produce a focusing effect which would considerably increase the blast damage."

But subsequent events, not covered in the book, show that Truman grew in his understanding of the bomb. At a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 10 - the day after the bombing of Nagasaki, and as casualty reports from Hiroshima had begun to come in - Truman announced, according to Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace, that "he had given orders to stop atomic bombing. He said the thought of wiping out another 100,000 people was too horrible. He didn't like the idea of killing, as he said, 'all those kids.'"

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Herken is an emeritus professor of American diplomatic history at the University of California and the author of "Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller."

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Book World: Those who built the bomb, those who used it and those who survived it - Alton Telegraph

Former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.

MANILA, Philippines Former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has died at the age of 73, his wife confirmed Friday.

My husband, my partner, my best friend left us today at 7:26 a.m., Cecile Yasay said in a Facebook post.

Yasay died of pneumonia due to the recurrence of his cancer, not novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), his wife said.

Jun Yasay, you are loved. We will miss you lots, she added.

Current Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. also confirmed the news on his Twitter account.

Jun Yasay has donned the garment of immortality, the text said. More important it makes him finally impervious to pain, Locsin said.

The DFA chief also revealed that Yasay played a role in him getting a job in the United Nations.

He recommended me for my UN job. He hurt no one and helped everyone he could. He did what many fighting tyranny had to: shield themselves with US law, he added.

Yasay served was President Rodrigo Dutertes first foreign affairs chief when he came to power in 2016. He served until March 2017 after the Commission on Appointments refused to confirm his designation due to citizenship issues.

He also served as Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

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Bahrain king pardons 16 jailed OFWs; 11 deported to PH - UNTV News - UNTV News

In a sea of bad movies, Tommy Wiseau's 2003 romantic drama The Room stands apart as something unique. Widely considered the Citizen Kane of so-bad-they're-good movies, The Room has acquired cult status and pop culture immortality on the strength of its awfulness, even spawning the Oscar-nominated film The Disaster Artist. But its widespread notoriety was not enough to tempt Netflix into a streaming deal. The creator of the film, Tommy Wiseau, revealed this fact on Twitter in response to a fan asking if The Room could become available on Netflix someday.

The Room is the story of Johnny, a good-natured investment banker played by Tommy Wiseau, his duplicitous fiancee Lisa, and best friend Mark, and the love triangle that develops between the three over the course of the film. But really, the movie could have been about lion tamers trying to figure out how to fix a leaky faucet for all the difference the plot made to the film's reception.

What The Room is really known for is the bad acting of the cast members, the many technical and narrative flaws, and a bizarre screenplay, also written by Wiseau, featuring such gems as the staple amongst internet memes, "You're tearing me apart, Lisa!"

It says much about the film's quality that it was found wanting by Netflix's standards, a site which has frequently featured movies with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It might also have something to do with the movie's borderline pornographic sex scenes.

But then, the fact that The Room is considered so very terrible is what allowed for it to become popular in the first place. If it had been a run-of-the-mill bad movie, it would have long been forgotten. Instead, fascinated audiences watched the film again and again, and James Franco was so moved by Wiseau's work as the writer, director, producer, and star of The Room that he played him in The Disaster Artist.

Even if it is not on Netflix, The Room did make Wiseau a star of sorts, even if for the opposite reason that what he had hoped for when he first started out making the film. But Wiseau has embraced the notoriety that The Room gained him. He was a part of The Disaster Artist in a small cameo, and he was right there on the stage along with James Franco and the rest of the film's team receiving awards.

While The Room may not feature on Netflix any time soon, unless fans want to start a 'Release the Wiseau cut' campaign for Netflix, you can buy the film on Blu-ray and DVD through Wiseau's website, Amazon, and other outlets. Or you can play The Room Tribute, an unofficial video game adaption of the movie. Meanwhile, Wiseau has plans to make the broadway adaptation of The Room, and is currently working on Big Shark, a film that was supposed to release last year before filming got delayed.

Topics: The Room, Netflix

Neeraj Chand

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Netflix Said No to Streaming Tommy Wiseau's The Room - MovieWeb

Beyond the usual travel essentials, any keepsakes, charms and totems we take with us on our journeys say a lot about our inner worlds. The faithful may carry a crucifix, a rosary or the Quran; superstitious sailors still carry amulets to ensure a smooth voyage; soldiers treasure pictures of their sweethearts. Before photography they would carry a lock of their loved ones hair.

When the two crew members of the SpaceX Falcon 9 set off on their historic space journey last week, their totem was a toy dinosaur, taken on the behest of their sons.During the Apollo missions to the moon, the personal items astronauts could take were restricted: each had just a small personal allowance pouch.

Unsurprisingly, many chose to take family photographs, though uniquely, on the Apollo 16 mission in 1972, Charles Duke opted to leave his snaps behind on the moons surface with a handwritten message for posterity, unaware that solar radiation would eventually bleach him and his family out of existence.

When Apollo 11s Eagle lunar module landed on the moon on 20 July 1969, devout Christian Buzz Aldrin had with him a miniature chalice, wine and bread. Shortly before Neil Armstrong stepped out on to the lunar landscape and unreported by Nasa Aldrin requested a moments silence and read from the book of John. The first time liquid was poured on the moon was in an act of communion.

On the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, Alan Shepard managed to persuade Nasa to let him take a golf club and balls. While he fluffed the first shot, the second may well have been the longest drive in history, thanks to the reduced gravity.

Most surprising, perhaps, is a tiny ceramic wafer (2cm by 1.3cm) containing six pieces of art transported illicitly on Apollo 12s lunar module. The work, called Moon Museum, was created by a New York artist, Forrest Myers, who bribed an engineer friend to secrete the item inside one of the lunar modules legs. It included work by himself and five others including Andy Warhol, whose image was a neatly doodled penis. As the module remained on the surface, so too does the moons first art gallery.

When Voyager 1 and 2 set off on their respective journeys deep into the cosmos in 1977, carefully chosen sounds, music and images were left inside. The objects, images and recordings on these twin spacecraft may one day inform other life forms about the ecology, history and culture of our planet.

While the totemic objects taken to the moon were deeply personal, their symbolism remains universal, speaking of our need for love, family, art, sex and faith and our drive for immortality. As for the golf club and dick doodle? Well, they were just men after all.

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Dinosaur toys and golf clubs: the strange things astronauts take to the moon - The Guardian

The one-year postponement of the Copa America gives Argentina time they must use wisely to avoid squandering probably the most precious asset ever granted to any international team in football history.

A yawning gap remains in Lionel Messi's glittering collection of honours. At club level, the Barcelona superstar has won it all, won it again and won it some more just for good measure. For Argentina, he is yet to lift a major honour.

A sixth Ballon d'Or and a host of typically imperious performances this season show Messi is going nowhere just yet, but he turns 33 this month. His own 'Last Dance' is nearing.

Realistically, the rearranged 2021 Copa America that they will co-host with Colombiaand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar represent his final shots at glory for La Albiceleste, with the nagging sense his best chance to emulate the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona with a defining triumph at the highest level might already have passed him by.

THE GOLDEN GENERATION

Over recent years, Messi has frequently appeared wearied as a man carrying the weight of his team on his shoulders for club and country.

Of course, this was not always the case. At Barcelona he was the shimmering jewel in Pep Guardiola's slick and sublime masterpiece before starring as part of Luis Enrique's turbo-charged MSN forward line.

Argentina's more forlorn efforts of late make it easy to forget what a defining generation of talent Messi once spearheaded.

Any heavyweight football nation collecting back-to-back Olympic gold medals, as Argentina did in 2004 and 2008, would reasonably expect the senior honours to follow with or without arguably the greatest of all time at their disposal.

Names from those podiums in Athens and Beijing trip off the tongue. Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez, Javier Saviola, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando Gago, Ever Banega, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero are all Olympic champions.

At the 2010 World Cup, the fairytale combination of Messi and the Messiah Maradona inimitably entertaining but evidently ill-cast as head coach fell to Germany in the quarter-finals.

Die Mannschaft also beat them in 2014 this time as Mario Gotze scored the only goal in the final during extra time. Alejandro Sabella's steadying hand brought them to the brink of sporting immortality and Messi was named player of the tournament, despite some underwhelming showings by his own standards.

NEAR MISSES, RETIREMENT AND SHAMBLES

Gerardo Martino managed not to win a major trophy when he led Barcelona in 2013-14 and, unfortunately for Messi, history repeated during his tenure with the national team.

Gonzalo Higuain missed a glorious chance in the World Cup final and he and Banega erred from the spot as Chile won the 2015 Copa America in a penalty shoot-out.

Against the same opponents at the Copa America Centenario 12 months later, Messi himself failed amid further heartache from 12 yards.

As emotions ran high in the aftermath, the number 10 announced his retirement from international football, with rumours other stars would follow suit due to disaffection with the Argentine Football Association.

By the time Messi returned for a 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Brazil that November, Edgardo Bauza's tenure as head coach was already on the rocks.

Jorge Sampaoli replaced him and Argentina needed an utterly majestic hat-trick from their talisman away to Ecuador to snatch a place at Russia 2018.

Perhaps they shouldn't have bothered.

Having brought Argentina to their knees while in charge of Chile, Sampaoli inadvertently did the same again during a shambling turn ended by eventual champions France in the last 16. There was a near revolt after a group-stage thrashing from Croatia and the coach left with his reputation in tatters.

LIONEL, LIONEL AND LAUTARO

Star names such as Martino and Sampaoli not working out probably help the cause of the unheralded Lionel Scaloni, who emerged from the rubble of Russia to take temporary and then full charge.

The 2019 Copa America got off to a similarly inauspicious start, but they scrambled out of the group and were arguably a little unlucky to lose 2-0 to hosts and eventual winners Brazil in the semis.

A feisty third-place match against Chile was won 2-1 thanks to goals form Aguero and Paulo Dybala, despite Messi bizarrely getting sent for being repeatedly butted by Gary Medel.

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An indignant post-match interview brought a four-game ban, although a more vocal Messi leading through words as well as deeds is a pleasing development. In his absence, 4-0 and 6-1 wins over Mexico and Ecuador suggested brighter times ahead with a younger core even if a diet of friendlies this season makes progress a little hard to judge.

At centre-forward, where Argentina's surplus of riches makes their lack of reward so embarrassing, Lautaro Martinez looks to have established himself as the new number one ahead of Messi's great friend Aguero.

Since Scaloni took charge, the Inter star has nine goals in 13 starts averaging one every 109.6 minutes and outstripping his expected goals (xG) figure of 6.4. Messi has five goals at 160.4 per minute from an xG of 6.3 over the same period.

European club form coming back home to the national team has not always been a given during the Messi years, so it is encouraging to see Martinez scoring at a faster rate under Scaloni than he has during an acclaimed campaign at San Siro (11 Serie A goals at one every 152 minutes). Aguero's 16 Manchester City goals have arrived every 87.6 Premier League minutes in 2019-20, but his strikes come every 201.7 minutes in the Scaloni era.

THE NEW GENERATION

Aguero still looks highly likely to have some role to play in trying to right a journey of heartache he has charted alongside Messi in blue and white. Others have not been spared as Scaloni quietly shapes a team in his own image. Moulding the ramshackle embarrassment of two years into a compact and hard-working unit necessitated high-profile casualties

Angel Di Maria has not added to his 102 caps since being dropped to the bench during the Copa. Argentina's all-action midfield creator is now Rodrigo de Paul.

One of Scaloni's dependable in a new-look engine room alongside Di Maria's Paris Saint-Germain colleague Leandro Paredes, De Paul's 81 dribbles completed for Udinese were the second most in Serie A last season and his eight assists put him joint fifth alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Staying in Serie A, German Pezzella's 60 interceptions, 155 clearances, 96 headed clearances and 30 blocks all see the Fiorentina man rank highly. A late bloomer on the international stage, the 28-year-old was named captain against Ecuador alongside Ajax's left-back dynamo Nicolas Tagliafico and he might have just enough about him to offset Nicolas Otamendi's frequent reversions to slapstick.

Scaloni still looks light on quality and cover behind an all-star attack, where Lucas Ocampos and Angel Correa are also thrillingly part of the equation. This is where the 12-month delay could really come in handy.

Paredes, De Paul and Pezzella will all be better with another year of their primes under their belts, while Giovani Lo Celso's development under Jose Mourinho at Tottenham will be watched with interest.

Leonardo Balerdi and Exequiel Palacios are each 21 and early in their Bundesliga careers at Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen two clubs with exceptional records when it comes to developing young talents.

If this more unheralded generation continue to grow in stature, Scaloni might just have a team to let Argentina dream again. After all, their captain isn't bad either.

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Copa America: Will 12-month delay enhance Messi and Argentina's chances of glory? - Yahoo! Voices

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Swami Vivekananda, who was a Hindu monk and the chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna, was inclined towards spirituality though born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta. He is said to have been a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. He is also credited with having raised awareness about interfaith and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. Also Read - World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2020: Why Spreading Awareness About This Day is Important

1. Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached. Also Read - World Blood Donor Day 2020: Know All About The Day And Why it is Important

2. If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practised, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.

3. All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.

4. The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

5. Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.

6. The Vedanta recognizes no sin, it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, you are a sinner, a miserable creature, who has no power and who can do nothing.

7. A man has attained immortality when he is no longer disturbed by anything material.

8. We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

9. All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

10. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

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10 Inspirational Quotes by Swami Vivekananda For a Life of Freedom And Tranquility - India.com