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Entertainment Sports (en)

UFC fighter wants to fight Vladimir Putin

Jan Blachowicz, a fighter with 37 fights in the UFC, wants to take on Russian President Vladimir Putin to make him pay for the invasion in Ukraine.

The 39-year-old Pole supports the Ukrainian resistance in its fight for freedom from Russia. Even though he fights the majority of the time in the United States, the athlete feels very concerned about the situation in his native country, the main host country for Ukrainians in exile.

“A whole bunch of people from Ukraine are escaping to Poland. We try to help them. They live in our houses. We help them as best we can. Every day we wake up, and the first thing we do is check the Internet to see what happened,” the fighter told the New York Post.

Jan Blachowicz tips his hat to his neighbors.

“Ukraine, they’re good, they do a good job. Nobody expected them to defend themselves so well. Russia, they are killing children, women there. They are not soldiers, they are murderers, what they are doing there. I hope this madness will stop.”

To the question, who would you like to face in the octagon, Jan Blachowicz answers bluntly.

“Vladimir Putin. I would show him what the whole world wants to show him, where he belongs.”

Jan Blachowicz picked up a win atUFC Apex in Las Vegas last Saturday. His record is now 28-9, 17 finishes.

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Entertainment

Pink Floyd is thinking of selling its music catalog

Like many artists in recent months, Pink Floyd could sell its impressive music catalog, certainly one of the most coveted in the industry, for millions of dollars.

The last few months have seen several artists get rich from the sale of their songs rights. Sting got $250 million, David Bowie‘s estate also got $250 million, Bob Dylan, Shakira and several others have done so as well.

But so far, no one has cashed in like Bruce Springsteen. The Boss has cashed in $500 million (US).

If there’s another artist who can think of blowing the cash register, it’s Pink Floyd.

According to Bloomberg, the British band is considering selling its catalog, which includes some of the world’s best-selling records such as Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall. According to its sources, representatives of the group have been contacting potential buyers since last May, but that it is too early to know what the outcome of negotiations will be.

It will be a story to follow.

Meanwhile, Pink Floyd has decided to protestRussia’s invasion of Ukraineby removing much of their music catalog from streaming properties in Russia and Belarus.

The group went even further by endorsing a new song, Hey Hey Rise Upto help Ukraine.

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Entertainment

Madonna launches NFT collection

Madonna has just launched a collection of NFTs that is quite strange and has caused a lot of buzz.

The singer unveiled her non-fungible tokens (NTF) in which she is represented naked in 3D.

The strangest thing is that Madonna ‘s avatar gives birth to trees, butterflies and robotic centipedes

The 63-year-old singer teamed up with digital artist, Beeple (real name Michael Joseph Winkelmann) to create the NFTs.

Collectively titled Mother of Creation, the three digital artworks attempt to convey the message that “You never know where you’ll find life.”

In one of the unveiled videos(Mother of Nature), a digitized, naked version of Madonna is shown sitting on an examination table in a lab, giving birth to a large tree.

The second clip, Mother of Evolution, shows a digitized version of Madonna sitting on the roof of an old truck with her legs spread. Butterflies can be seen emerging from her body as she recites the lyrics of her song Justify My Love.

The third and final video, entitled Mother of Technology, shows Madonna lying naked in the woods, while metal centipedes emerge from her body.

All proceeds from the sale of Madonna ‘s NFTs will be donated to three charities chosen by the pop star and the digital designer. The auction starts today.

Madonna is following the NFT trend as other stars have done before her. Golfer Bryson DeChambeau has already launched his own, filmmaker Quentin Tarantinoused the technology to revive his legendary film Pulp Fiction, and former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump launched a company that specializes in creating these products.

Categories
Éphémérides (anglais)

It happened on a… May 11

2015

Record price for a work of art at auction: Picasso’s The Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’) sells for US$179.3 million at Christies in New York.

1998

A French mint produced the first coins of Europe’s single currency. The coin is known as the euro.

1997

Garry Kasparov, world chess champion, lost his first ever multi-game match. He lost to IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue. It was the first time a computer had beaten a world-champion player.

1981

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats” (based on poetry by T. S. Eliot) directed by Trevor Nunn first premieres in the West End, London.

1947

The creation of the tubeless tire was announced by the B.F. Goodrich Company.

1924

Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.

1717

Founding of the Canadian commercial exchange; forerunner of the Montreal Stock Exchange.

0868

“The Diamond Sutra”, the world’s oldest surviving and dated printed book is printed in Chinese and made into a scroll.

Categories
Entertainment Sports (en)

Tom Brady signs with Fox

The post-career of Tom Brady seems to be taking shape more and more. The NFL’s star quarterback has signed a multi-season deal with the Fox Network.

Fox bossLachlan Murdochannounced today that his TV network has secured the services of the Super Bowl record holder for the next few years.

On February 1, Tom Brady announced his surprise retirement after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ended. A few weeks later, he reversed his decision to play another season in the NFL.

“This is a long-term agreement, Tom will not only be the analyst for our most important NFL games alongsideKevin Burkhardt, he will also become our ambassador, especially with our customers and during promotional initiatives,” Fox Sport said in a statement.

Tom Brady will eventually replace another great quarterback,Troy Aikman, who recently left Fox to join ESPN.

Tom Brady is the only soccer player in NFL history to have won seven career Super Bowls . The 44-year-old, 45 when the next season kicks off in the fall, will be the oldest player in the league again this year.

Categories
Lifestyle

Hyundai is working on a Star Wars-style ”walking vehicle”

South Korea’s Hyundai has opened a research center in the United States that will develop a vehicle directly inspired by the Star Wars universe.

The new research center called New Horizon Studio is located in Montana. Its objective is to create a UMV, or Ultimate Mobility Vehicles. This ultimate vehicle will have “legs” and wheels allowing it to face all types of terrain.

The first images of the prototype are reminiscent of the famous Walkers from the Star Wars film series created by George Lucas and used by theGalactic Empire.

LucasFilm

The idea of the car manufacturer Hyundai had been presented for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2019. This time, the brand actually wants to produce a working prototype.

It is hard to see where aUMV will be used on Earth, on the other hand, it could be interesting to carry this kind of vehicle on the Moon with the Artemis missions or even on future trips to Mars.

Hyundai has not indicated when and if the UMV will ever be produced, let alone what its price would be.

Categories
Éphémérides (anglais)

It happened on a… May 10

2021

NBC says it will not televise the 2022 Golden Globes because of criticism of its lack of diversity.

2019

Taxi service Uber becomes a public company opening on the New York Stock Exchange.

2018

Rafael Nadal breaks John McEnroe’s record for successive set wins on a single surface (49 on carpet) with 6-3, 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman at the Madrid Open (clay).

2014

59th Eurovision Song Contest: Conchita Wurst for Austria wins singing “Rise Like a Phoenix” in Copenhagen.

2013

The Freedom Tower becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

1973

Bruce Lee collapses in Golden Harvest studios in Hong Kong and is rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors diagnose him with cerebral edema.

1969

The National and American Football Leagues announced their plans to merge for the 1970-71 season.

1962

Marvel Comics published the first issue of “The Incredible Hulk.”

1940

Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister.

Germany invaded Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Categories
Éphémérides (anglais)

It happened on a… May 10

2021

NBC says it will not televise the 2022 Golden Globes because of criticism of its lack of diversity.

2019

Taxi service Uber becomes a public company opening on the New York Stock Exchange.

2018

Rafael Nadal breaks John McEnroe’s record for successive set wins on a single surface (49 on carpet) with 6-3, 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman at the Madrid Open (clay).

2014

59th Eurovision Song Contest: Conchita Wurst for Austria wins singing “Rise Like a Phoenix” in Copenhagen.

2013

The Freedom Tower becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

1973

Bruce Lee collapses in Golden Harvest studios in Hong Kong and is rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors diagnose him with cerebral edema.

1969

The National and American Football Leagues announced their plans to merge for the 1970-71 season.

1962

Marvel Comics published the first issue of “The Incredible Hulk.”

1940

Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister.

Germany invaded Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

1844

Capital of Canada moves from Montreal to Kingston after years of petitions; until Nov. 14, 1849.

Categories
Entertainment

U2 offers a surprise concert in Kyiv

Bono and The Edge helped Kyiv‘s people by offering a surprise performance yesterday (May 8) in the metro of the Ukrainian capital.

The two stars answered the call of the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

“President Zelensky invited us to perform in Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we came to do,” tweeted the group from its official account.

The choice of the place of the concert is not insignificant. When the Russians bombed the city, thousands of people took refuge in the Kyiv metro to protect themselves.

The Irish group performed some of its greatest hits like With or Without You or Angel of Harlem. He also invited theUkrainian group Antytilato joinhim to cover the songStand by Me by Ben E. King,taking care to change the lyrics to Stand by Ukraine.

Antytila‘s singerTaras Topoliajoined his country’s army to fight the Russians in the last weeks.

In addition to Bono and The Edge, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. First Lady Jill Biden have also made surprise visits to Ukraine in support of the country under siege by Russia since February 24.

Since the beginning of the conflict, several celebrities have participated in various initiatives to help Ukraine. The band Pink Floyd came out of retirement to record a new song. Actors Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have raised tens of millions of dollars for the cause.

Categories
Éphémérides (anglais)

It happened on a… May 9

2019

Pope Francis introduces new rules on reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, criticized for not going far enough.

2001

Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanaian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

1994

Nelson Mandela was chosen to be South Africa’s first black president.

1980

Slasher horror film “Friday the 13th” is released in cinemas.

1974

Watergate Scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

1962

The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone.

1960

US becomes the first country to legalize the birth control pill.

1958

Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock has world premiere in San Francisco.

1949

Prince Rainier III becomes monarch of Monaco.

1785

Joseph Bramah patented the beer-pump handle.