Tag: Video

Latest Headlines

Now the real contest begins: Who wins Olympics star Biles’ pizza endorsement? (Odds favor Papa John’s, according to Slate); plus, KFC chicken supplier says off with their heads

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 11:15 a.m.

PAPA JOHN’S and PIZZA HUT: Slate magazine handicaps the race to sign Olympics gymnastics golden girl Simone Biles to an endorsement contract, given her love of pepperoni pizza: She eats some after every competition. The likely winner, at even money? Papa John’s, says the online publication’s Justin Peters.

Simone Biles.jpg
Biles

“The chain has a vast national advertising budget and a history of using famous athletes like Peyton Manning and J.J. Watt in its commercials,” Peters says. “The tag line writes itself: ‘Better ingredients, better pizza, better vaulting: Papa John’s!'”

Panting four spots back in the race, at 30-to-1 odds: Pizza Hut. “The Hut isn’t a front runner here,” he says, “and the only way it will stand a chance of signing Biles will be if it can present a compelling artistic vision for an ad campaign” (Slate).

Columbus native Biles, 19, is the the Rio games’ individual all-around gymnastics champ. “In doing so, she joined Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas as American all-around winners” (New York Times).

KFC: Tyson Foods has fired 10 employees caught on video by an animal rights group punching, kicking, flinging live birds, and even crushing the head of a live one under his boot. The Arkansas-based supplier to KFC and McDonald’s also said it will retrain workers who handle live poultry on animal welfare policies. The footage, recorded in May and June, was posted online by Compassion Over Killing, which fights for animal rights and encourages vegetarianism. Tyson, one of the world’s largest meat processors, said it was “disgusted by the actions of the individuals in the video” (Mirror). Posted two days ago, the video’s already been viewed more than 50,000 times:

In other bad news, the inevitable backlash has started against KFC’s newly unveiled U.K. gravy fountain:

Behold its wonderful awfulness:

Media and Marketing

CJ owner Gannett files suit to get court records on Donald Trump’s divorce from Ivana to see if she accused him of rape

Joined by The New York Times, Gannett Co. argues in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court today that the rape allegation — which Trump has denied — is of public interest in the GOP presidential campaign of the twice-divorced and thrice-married New York billionaire, according to the New York Daily News.

The filing notes that a 1993 biography of Trump reported that Ivana Trump — his first wife — told friends her husband had “raped” her in 1989 during a fit of rage. Trump and the former  Czech model Ivana Zelníčková married in 1977 and divorced 14 years later in 1991. By 1995, they’d patched things up enough to star in a Pizza Hut commercial where they joked about their divorce settlement:

Gannett bought The Courier-Journal from the Bingham family in July 1986 for $300 million. With the CJ and USA Today, Gannett now owns 110 dailies across the U.S. and the U.K. Adjusted for inflation, $300 million would be equivalent to $660 million in today’s dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.

Photo, top: While that photograph is undated, Ivana Trump’s hair screams 1980s; more hairstyles from that era.

Just Instagrams

A cowboy rides a horse into a Taco Bell in Texas …

. . . except this isn’t a joke:

 

Lathan Crump, 19, rode his horse Hollywood into the fast-Mexican restaurant in Commerce, 67 miles northeast of Dallas, on Saturday night while friends recorded the escapade on video. (“And yes,” the Dallas Morning News reported helpfully, “he was wearing a cowboy hat.”)

Crump posted the video to Instagram, saying: “Well ole Hollywood was a lil hungry after the rodeo so I road him in to grab a bite.”

Since then, the video has spread to YouTube, where it’s been viewed more than 6,600 times.

And it’s not the only video of its kind. There are four more on YouTube showing people riding horses to or through Taco Bell drive-thrus: here and here and here and here.

Latest Headlines

Walmart’s $3B Jet buy hurting Amazon? (Wall Street says nope); a Humana DOJ loss could be Louisville’s gain; and Baxter Avenue Theatres plans big upgrades

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:28 p.m.

Amazon vs. Walmart
Amazon’s stock (blue) rose and Walmart’s stock (red) fell today on the Jet deal.

AMAZON: Walmart’s $3 billion bet on discounter Jet may reinvigorate growth in its online shopping business, which has slowed in recent quarters even as Amazon’s overall sales have rocketed above $100 billion annually (CNN). Wall Street’s not holding its breath; Amazon’s stock rose a smidge and Walmart’s fell a bit by the time trading closed at 4 p.m. ET (Google Finance).

Jet logoEarlier today, news emerged that Amazon’s office has been searched by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission over its dealings with merchants who sell goods through the retailer, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. The antitrust agency is looking into whether Amazon sought deals with sellers that gave it more favorable conditions over other e-commerce companies in one of its biggest foreign markets. It wasn’t immediately clear when the JFTC inquiry took place (Bloomberg).

The retailer’s shipping costs are skyrocketing, underscoring why it just unveiled its first branded Prime Air cargo plane. Amazon’s shipping expenses soared 43% vs. a year ago during the first half of the year. In 2013-2015, those costs were rising 29% to 32% annually. This year, it’s already on track to spend nearly $6 billion on shipping.

Amazon logo“Bottom line,” says ZD Net, “Amazon has no choice but to become more efficient than UPS and FedEx. If Amazon can use its own air fleet to even come close to its shipping vendors, it’ll potentially save billions of dollars simply by cutting out the middleman.”

Here’s a time-lapse video showing the new Prime Air Boeing 767 being readied for its debut this weekend at the annual Seafair air show in its corporate hometown of Seattle; more news coverage about Prime Air.

Amazon and UPS are both big employers in the Louisville area; UPS has 22,000 workers at its Louisville International Airport hub, and Amazon employs 6,000 at distribution centers in Jeffersonville and Shephardsville.

KINDRED has just filed its detailed quarterly 10-Q report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The hospital and nursing giant reported strong earnings on Thursday (SEC document).

HUMANA could lose its Justice Department battle to win approval for the insurer’s proposed $37 billion merger with Aetna, but Louisville’s economy could wind up a winner — if the history of GE Appliances’ auction is a guide (WDRB).

In other news, the Baxter Avenue Theatres is adding powered reclining chairs and a full bar to the seven-screen Highlands complex at Mid-City Mall, an approximately $500,000 upgrade that will start in October (Insider Louisville).

Travel

Louisville to Provincetown, Mass., for a postcard-perfect $12,000 vacation of sun, sand — and surreal

An occasional look at premium travel from Louisville.

With the world’s attention focused on the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, what better time to jet off to Carnival — in Provincetown, Mass. Known to fans worldwide as P-town, the small, arty and very eclectic beach resort is perched on the tippy-tip of Cape Cod.

Provincetown aerial
At the tip of Cape Cod.

Held this year from Aug. 13 to 19, Carnival is one of the biggest annual outdoor celebrations in Massachusetts, attracting 90,000 revelers to an ultra-festive parade and parties from the east to west ends of lively Commercial Street along the waterfront. This year’s retro theme: “Back to the ’80s.” The Census Bureau says P-town is the gayest city in the world, which also means it’s all-inclusive.

The town’s year-round population is just 3,000, but swells to 60,000 during the summer, when seasonal residents and tourists from all around the world flock to its amazing seafood restaurants, art galleries, theaters, beaches and bike paths rolling through the dunes of the magnificent Cape Cod National Seashore Parks.

The itinerary

When: August 12-21. Airline: American and Cape Air. Route: Louisville to Chicago to Boston to Provincetown; total travel time is five hours and 30 minutes, excluding layovers. How much: $870; coach to Chicago, then first class to Boston. The Cape Air connecting flight is $318 aboard a nine-passenger prop. American reservations and Cape Air reservations.

If you don’t like the idea of small planes, two ferry companies offer frequent service from Boston to P-town: Boston Harbor Cruises and Bay State Cruise Co. Their fast-ferry service will get you there in about 90 minutes. By car from Boston’s Logan Airport, it’s about a 2½ drive.

Where to stay?

The Crowne Pointe Historic Inn and Spa hotel’s penthouse suite promises spectacular panoramic town views with two bedrooms; a chef’s kitchen with six-burner gas stove and double ovens, and two private decks. The rate: $749 a night, or $6,741 for our nine-day stay, excluding taxes.

Dina Martina
Martina

P-town’s theater scene is like nowhere else. Boulevard especially recommends the incomparable comedian Dina Martina: “tragic singer, horrible dancer, and surreal raconteur.” (Emphasis on the surreal.) When: through Sept. 17 at the Crown & Anchor Resort.

Don’t forget The New York Times’ 36 Hours in Provincetown; TripAdvisor’s Provincetown page, and Airbnb’s Provincetown rentals.

The bottom line

For two: airfare and hotel, plus $300 a day for meals and incidentals comes to just under $12,000.

Here’s a drone’s-eye view of what you’ll experience:

The Jennifer Lawrence Diary™

Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’ may cast Australian actor Edgerton

Jennifer LawrenceBoulevard reviews the latest media coverage of the Oscar-winning Louisville native in our exclusive Jennifer Lawrence Diary™. Today’s news, rated on a scale of 1-5 stars:

Three starsOne of Jennifer Lawrence‘s next projects — espionage thriller “Red Sparrow” — is inching forward with reports Australian actor Joel Edgerton is in talks to co-star. The film, scheduled for release November 2017, according to Variety, is based on 33-year CIA veteran Jason Matthews‘ 2013 novel of the same name.

Deadline, which reported Egerton’s negotiations today, describes the plot:

Red Sparrow“The book is set in contemporary Russia, and state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova (Lawrence) struggles to survive in the cast-iron bureaucracy of post-Soviet intelligence. Drafted against her will to become a “sparrow,” a trained seductress in the service, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash (possibly Edgerton), a first-tour CIA officer who handles the agency’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers collide in a charged atmosphere of trade craft, deception, and inevitably, a sexual attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow.”

The Red Sparrow script has a tenuous connection to one of Lawrence’s previous movies: It’s a rewritten version of one originally by the author of 2013’s “American Hustle.”

Lawrence, now juggling multiple projects, turns 26 on Aug. 15.

Edgerton, 42, played Tom Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby,” the 2013 remake based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel set partly in Louisville. Here’s a clip featuring Edgerton and co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan: