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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 24, 2013
May 24, 2013
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The Indy 500:
The 101st running (!!!) of the Indianapolis 500 is this weekend. The race used to be held on Memorial Day, which, of course, was May 30 until all the holidays got moved to Monday. Now, it's on a Sunday, because of TV revenue, etc.
Also, although it'll be the 101st anniversary of the annual event, it's actually just the 97th race, since the race was suspended during the war years (as an example to people to save gas) in WWI (1917–18) and WWII (1942–45). So, therefore the actual 100th running of the event will not occur until 2016.
The festivities start at the Brickyard with the traditional singing of "Back Home in Indiana." Then, it's "Gentlemen, start your engines!"Lowering expectations:
An imaginative plumber in the U-K has converted a toilet into a moving vehicle.
Seriously, 33-year-old COLIN FURZE placed a fully-functioning toilet atop a platform that houses an engine which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 55 mph. It sort of looks like a go-cart with a toilet on it.
Instead of plumbing, a massive PVC pipe leads out behind the toilet, sort of like an afterburner exhaust, presumably leaving a trail of waste.
Furze says the drive is a little scary because he gets wet when he goes over bumps.
FYI: In German, "Furze" means fart.
Editor's note: Burrito powered!
--Seems like a record that could be easily broken by someone else with a lot of time on their hands. (Maiman)Grace notes:
CARRIE UNDERWOOD has whipped out her checkbook to help the victims of the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Yesterday, she announced that she has donated $1-million dollars to the Red Cross for disaster relief. Carrie is from Oklahoma, and her spokesperson said the money came from the proceeds of her most recent concert tour. (Marino)
Fashion Emergency:
The red carpet staircase at the Cannes Film Festival has caused a lot of wardrobe malfunctions this week --of the over-exposed variety. New York magazine says earlier this week, ROSARIO DAWSON exposed her fleshed-toned panties through the thigh-high slit of her Elie Saab gown while climbing the stairs. And EVA LONGORIA... well, she learned the hard way why you should always wear some kind of panties. She accidentally flashed the photographers going up the stairs in her Monique Lhuillier gown.
But JESSICA CHASTAIN --this is one smart lady. Yesterday, she managed to turn the same potential fashion tragedy into a fashion statement. When the slit up the front of her purple Givenchy gown exposed her skivvies, it revealed that (a) she was smart enough to wear some. And (b) she'd had her Spanx dyed to match the exact same shade of purple as her dress. That's how you make it work. (Bartha)Fast Food:
Change the lyrics to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"! The rebranded and remodeled caramel-coated popcorn treat generations of Americans have rotted their teeth on is now Cracker Jack'D, and it's looking to shed its family-friendly image.
The brand (part of Pepsi/Frito-Lay) has signed deals with hip-hop musicians MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS, uber-automotive design firm West Coast Customs and actress ASHLEY TISDALE. Ashley is also less family-friendly these days, as her sultry cover on the current Maxim magazine would indicate.
Read the label before you indulge as well. New flavors include Intense Mix Spicy Pizzeria and Buffalo Ranch, Power Bites Vanilla Mocha and Cocoa Java and, with a nod to health-oriented consumers, a line of granola and nut Hearty Mixes. (Kaye)Beer-drinking:
Fire up the pop-top and the belching sound effects: Memorial Day kicks off prime beer-drinking season. This year, the Nielsen Company predicts U-S adults will buy a whopping 21 million cases (worth $381 million retail) in major supermarkets alone during the two weeks surrounding the holiday. That makes Memorial Day second only to July Fourth in terms of the year's biggest suds sales. In fact, volume-wise, those two weeks account for fully five percent of total annual beer sales. (Kaye)
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