Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Ian McKellen Was Once Mistaken For A Homeless Man - News


1. Ian was taking a quick break while rehearsing for the play he was in…



Alex Coppel/Newspix / Rex/REX USA



2. When this lady mistook him for a homeless man:



Alex Coppel/Newspix / Rex/REX USA



From the 2010 article on the Telegraph:



During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat.





4. So he made a dollar.



Alex Coppel/Newspix / Rex/REX USA



5. And hopefully he spent that dollar well.



Alex Coppel/Newspix / Rex/REX USA



6. Also maybe this is the moment this lady realized she just gave a dollar to Gandalf.



Alex Coppel/Newspix / Rex/REX USA



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12 Animals Really Wish You Hadn’t Seen That - News


1.



“It was just one Pepsi Max, dad. Ugh.”




2.



“But I just bought a MacBook Pro! Who needs a better retina display, anyways?”




3.



“Oh, Bill. Bill, Bill, Bill. How could you wear white Crocs after Labor Day?!”




4.



“Champagne and Skype are my best friends and my worst enemies.”




5.



“Oh, guys, you shouldn’t have. I mean, I’m colorblind and gluten-free, so you really shouldn’t have. Thanks, though.”




6.



“Remain at least this far away from each other at all times, and nothing will ever be awkward ever again, okay?”




7.



“I know, I know. I pooped everywhere. Now pass me the catnip.”




8.



“Who are they to call me big-boned and lazy?! Well, I’ll show them! Right after this nap.”




9.



“Mom, it’s supposed to look like this! Yeesh.”




10.



“Wait, guys, why are you laughing? Put your phones away! I just said a little off the top.”




11.



“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just resting my legs. So, BK bacon sundaes?”




12.



“I can count past potato, I promise.”



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When I see a sports car in traffic.. - News

When I see a sports car in traffic..


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Monday, January 12, 2015

This Woman Took A Selfie In Front Of A Man Attempting Suicide - News



We’ve seen selfies at funerals, and selfies during school lockdowns, but this might be a new low.


A woman took this selfie in front of a suicidal man who seems to be receiving help from two officials on the Brooklyn Bridge.


It’s not clear if the woman was aware of the “suicide dude” in the background of her photograph, or if she is just an innocent tourist who thought she’d snap a photo of herself in front of the iconic Bridge. Either way, the Post saw her taking the selfie, snapped this cover photo, and asked for her name.


“I’d rather not,” she responded, according to New York Magazine .


Probably a good choice.



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Apple Hasn’t Killed Ethernet Yet - News


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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Darden To Sell Red Lobster For $2.1 Billion To Private Equity Firm - News

Golden Gate Capital will acquire the restaurant chain as Darden pursues restructuring while under pressure from activist hedge funds.


View this image ›


Keith Bedford / Reuters / Reuters


The Times Square Red Lobster restaurant in New York, June 23, 2010.


Darden Restaurants announced today that it will sell its Red Lobster chain for $2.1 billion to the private equity group Golden Gate Capital. The sale comes after years of lagging performance for one of the company’s large, signature restaurants (the other being Olive Garden) and agitation by activist hedge funds with their own plans for restructuring the restaurant giant.


The deal is in all cash and will net the company some $1.6 billion after tax, $1 billion of which will be used to pay down debt and the rest to be used to help fund a share repurchase program of “approximately $500 million to $600 million” for next year, the company said in a statement announcing the sale.


“The agreement announced today is the culmination of a robust process to maximize the value potential of a sale or spin-off of Red Lobster and its real estate assets,” the company said, “The all cash consideration provides Darden with immediate and certain value to reduce debt and support its capital return initiatives, including maintaining the Company’s dividend, which Darden shareholders have stated is a priority.”


Starboard Value, an activist hedge fund run by Jeffrey Smith that holds a 5.5% stake, for months has been promoting a different plan for Darden — keeping Olive Garden and Red Lobster together and spinning off the restaurant company’s younger, faster growing brands like Longhorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille. The company, however, has been adamant about getting rid off Red Lobster and said today in an investor presentation that the deal would raise “substantial immediate cash for the Red Lobster business and eliminates Darden’s exposure to future Red Lobster earnings risks and fluctuations.”


Instead of selling Olive Garden, Darden recently revamped its brand image, indicating its commitment to the restaurant chain. Red Lobster accounts for about a third of Darden’s over 2,100 hundred restaurants, but has declining same-store sales and three brand presidents since 2011.


“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a highly competitive process designed to maximize the value of the Red Lobster business and better position Darden for success,” Chuck Ledsinger, the lead director of Darden’s board of directors said in a statement, “The structure of the agreement enables us to capture the value of Red Lobster and establish a market validated valuation of its real estate, while also enabling us to avoid the risks associated with continuing to operate the business in the current challenging environment.”


Another hedge fund which owns a stake in the company, Barington Capital Group, has supported a plan for separating the older and slower growing lines from the younger ones and its chief, James Mitarotonda, said in March that Darden’s plan to separate off Red Lobster and its declining financial performance had “caused us to lose all confidence in the ability of (CEO) Clarence Otis to manage the company.”


The company’s third-quarter earnings dropped 18% thanks to higher shrimp costs, failed promotions, and lower traffic into the company’s restaurants.


The hedge funds had won a shareholder vote to hold a special meeting to vote on its Red Lobster plans. On Wednesday, Starboard said in a statement that it was worried ” that the company may now be seeking to hurry through a sale of Red Lobster before holding the special meeting,” due to comments it says Red Lobster’s head of investor relations made to investors about announcing a deal to sell off Red Lobster in June or July. The meeting is yet to be scheduled.


The company said today that it had given “considerable weight to the significant amount of shareholder feedback received” since announcing its plans to separate Red Lobster in December of last year.


The company said that the “closing of this transaction is not contingent on the results of a Special Meeting” it still intends to file a proxy statement connected to the meeting and to “convene a Special Meeting as promptly as practicable.” The company says it expects the deal to close in the first quarter of next year.


update


Jeffrey Smith of Starboard Value issued a statement Friday saying, “The announced sale woefully undervalues Red Lobster and its real estate assets. It is truly unbelievable that the current Board has the audacity to negotiate a transaction that does not require shareholder approval when a significant majority of Darden’s shareholders have formally demanded a special meeting on this very topic. If the company was intending to ignore the will of the shareholders and rush to do a transaction, you would have at least thought that it would have been a highly opportunistic transaction at a substantial premium to the underlying value of Red Lobster. However, that is clearly not the case and it appears that Darden has instead sold Red Lobster in a rushed transaction at a severe discount. We seriously question the decision to rush such a transaction rather than wait to hear the views and perspectives of shareholders on this critically important topic. Our suspicions all along have now unfortunately been confirmed — this sale is the wrong transaction, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. This Board’s value destructive and self-serving actions fly in the face of corporate democracy.”


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The 11 Hottest Hunks In Video Games As Ranked By A Straight Woman And A Gay Man - News


Men slobbering over female game characters has run its course. No one needs to read any more about Lara Croft’s chest or Chun Li’s thighs.


What we do need to read about are the granite-hard pecs, stubbled jaws, smooth skin, and bedroom eyes of the hunkiest studs in the world of video games. These ripped-up broncos have been saving the world and smoldering sexily for years, and it’s time to rank them once and for all.


BuzzFeed assembled a crack team consisting of one straight woman, one gay man, one gay woman, and one straight man to evaluate 11 of these testosterone-drenched slabs of man. Only the straight man had significant video game experience. We hope the results surprise and arouse you.




1. Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect 2)






Jess: Wait, wait. Do all video games have ripped, shirtless hunks in them? If so, I might have to move beyond Candy Crush.


Matt: DAMN, GIRL. Jacob is definitely a regulation hottie. Oh, yeah. He knows what effect that mass has.


Sarah: Oh! Wow. Damn. His skin looks super soft and his eyes are dreamy. Sorry, I’m actually a bit speechless.


Joe: This is the body I see for myself when I close my eyes. Is that weird? I’m a confident young man, is I guess what I’m saying.




2. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)






Jess: This is like, standard video game hunk, right? Rugged with lots of manly accessories. Mancessories. I guess I’m into it, except for that ’90s belt buckle.


Matt: Nathan looks like the kind of guy who could take me on a rugged hike, protect me from a charging bear, but also totally pull off a cute scarf. That kind of guy. He also has very nice stubble.


Sarah: Beautiful green eyes and a pretty face? Nothing to hate about that at all. Is it weird I think his name is also super hot? “Nathan.” *swoon*


Joe: I hope I one day meet a woman who thinks I am 1/100th as roguishly attractive as Drake is in these pictures. She will be my wife and I will try to make her happy every day.




3. Wei Shen (Sleeping Dogs)






Jess: Large clavicle tattoos aren’t really my jam, but I’ll give him 7/10 otherwise.


Matt: Wei Shen seems like the kind of guy who can defend me with his bare hands. Just like, beat the shit out of someone with his bare-ass hands. Hot.


Sarah: Tattoos are working for you, Wei, yes indeed.


Joe: Wei Shen dresses really well, and that’s very important in my book. He’s got the whole uptown-downtown thing going and then you throw in those cheekbones? Sold.




4. Snow (Final Fantasy XIII)






Jess: I didn’t know there was a video game starring the Olsen twins.


Matt: Snow can GET IT. I mean, he’s a total pretty boy. Probably gets his hair bleached. Cares a lot about jewelry selection. I feel like we’d have a lot to talk about.


Sarah: He has some very feminine features going on. Long blond hair, dreamy eyes, a beanie, and necklace!? [Plus a cool name.] Sign me up, Snow!


Joe: You see this long-hair/beanie combo a lot on the L train and I always curse my giant head and un-flowing locks, because it rules. Snow could probably do without the chin pubes, though. That’s where I guess I’ve got him beat.




5. Geralt (The Witcher)






Jess: Bradley Cooper with demon eyes and hair extensions. NOT FEELING IT.


Matt: Geralt is pretty hot, if you’re into the whole silver-fox vibe. But, not gonna lie, I would run my fingers through his silvery blond hair once or twice.


Sarah: This guy is straight-up scary, and also a bit past the “older hot guy” category. Maybe I would be into him, if only I weren’t so scared of him.


Joe: I have to say, he has really pretty eyes, despite their coloring. He seems wounded, you know, but in a way that I think women respond to?




6. Joel (The Last of Us)






Jess: He looks like George Clooney, and I like that.


Matt: Joel looks like he’s seen some things. He can probably tell me a good story. Keep me occupied over dinner. Ya know, just have a good chat.


Sarah: Ah, he looks like a kindly father-figure type. Hence, ZERO attraction happening with him.


Joe: Joel is the kind of guy who seems like he has earned his beard and his army shirt. I respect that, and I’d like to feel what it’s like to hug him.




7. John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)






Jess: He looks like he lives in Bushwick and the only thing he’s going to be shooting are Instagrams of the bacon Bloody Marys at Sweet Chick.


Matt: Not sure what happened to John’s face, but his attempt to grow facial hair over it is pathetic. But, he can handle a wild horse and wield a big gun, so I’ll give him a shot.


Sarah: COWBOY! Hooray! He is smoking hot. I bet he has a horse and if so…I’m sold. We can ride off into the sunset and all that cheesy stuff.


Joe: I know Americana is on its way out, but John Marston shaves those little stripes into his beard so he’s like 10% hip-hop. That’s a tricky balance but I think he nails it. Boyfriend material.




8. Lee (The Walking Dead)






Jess: He looks stressed. Look at his forehead. I want to make him a Bundt cake and put on some tea.


Matt: Lee seems like he would make a good dad. Plus, he’s a professor, which makes him pretty hot, if that’s your thing. But all the stress he’s under is making his face look like a leather couch. We’ll talk once he calms down and moisturizes.


Sarah: Does he always look so sad? The facial hair is throwing me off; really not feeling any hotness vibes from you, sir.


Joe: Lee has mastered the “good guy who has gotta do bad stuff” look, and I think responsibility can be a turn-on. We want men, not boys.




9. Dom Santiago (Gears of War)






Jess: OMG his neck is wider than my whole torso!


Matt: Not gonna lie, Dom scares me a little bit. And I don’t understand his facial hair. But he has nice muscles. So there’s that.


Sarah: Not feeling you at all, Dom, sorry. I can’t get past the facial hair to even consider his face. His armor looks entirely uncomfortable… Not sexy.


Joe: Not sure Dom is really my type, but he does remind me of a guy at my gym who screams “I cannot lose” in the mirror, and I’m weirdly fond of that guy.




10. Snake (Metal Gear Solid)






Jess: An eye patch and a robot arm? What other body parts are missing??


Matt: Snake can totally fill out his bodysuit, and he’s completely rockin’ that bandana. Not so crazy about the eye patch, but his name is Snake, and that is intriguing to me.


Sarah: I like his leather jacket, and I suppose I can look past the eye patch. I bet those scars have some great stories? I wouldn’t hate being on his arm.


Joe: If I was out with Snake and a group of dudes and we were trying to meet girls, I’d sort of keep him in the back to try to make me seem a little dangerous by association. He doesn’t look like a talker, and there’s such a thing as coming on too strong.




11. Kratos (God of War)






Jess: He’s so scary. Is he going to kill me? He’s going to kill me, right? I think I’ve gone out with this guy on an OkCupid date before.


Matt: Kratos is a little too swole for my taste. Sure, he’s a god and everything. But if I can see the veins popping out of your muscly thighs, you’ve been going to the gym too much. Sorry, Kratos.


Sarah: I can appreciate some muscle, but not when his face looks so cranky. Also…I’m still scared of him. His one thigh is larger than my entire body.


Joe: Man, if I had pecs like that, I would never, ever, ever, wear my armor. “Oh there’s a war on? Nah, I’m straight, bro.”



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