"Matrix" Director's Sex Change Is Complete

I really like the original Matrix movie, and remembered that, when its less-well-received sequels were released in 2003, there was a lot of tabloid speculation about Larry Wachowski, who had made the films with his brother Andy. 

Larry, who had divorced his wife in 2002, was reclusive and enigmatic in the run-up to the release of those much-ballyhooed sequels.  There were rumors he was cross-dressing, and photos appeared periodically in tabloids which seemed to confirm that. Then came rumors that Larry was actually transgender and was in the process of transitioning into a woman.

Since several of the Wachowski's subsequent films, including Speed Racer, have been commercial and critical disappointments, this hasn't been of as much interest to the tabloids in recent years.  I more-or-less forgot about it myself.

Until today.

Promoting their upcoming film, Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis have appeared in a new 2 minute video that you can watch at The Huffington Post HERE. "Larry" is now "Lana," and seems a lot more relaxed than in those tabloid photos 10 years ago.

Methamphetamine Smuggled In "Snickers" Bars

"Long Beach resident Rogelio Mauricio Harris, 34, was arrested by federal officials at Los Angeles International Airport Friday as he prepared to board a flight to Japan... Upon closer inspection, CBP officers discovered the 45 individually wrapped, full-sized bars contained a white substance that was subsequently determined to be methamphetamine.... According to the criminal complaint, each bar 'was coated in a chocolate-like substance to make the contents of the package appear to be a real candy bar.'” 

You can read more in the New York Daily News HERE.

American Overreaching: The Biggest House Ever

A self-made billionaire real estate developer (the "Time Share King") and his wife set out to build the biggest home in America ("because I could"), a 90,000 square foot colossus inspired by the palace at Versailles. 20 car garage.  Sushi bar. 10 kitchens.

But while the home was under construction the economy tanked and the couple nearly lost everything. The home, still under construction, faced foreclosure in May 2010. A new film profiles their rise and fall through the story of the construction of this monstrously large mansion, a tribute to success that was slipping through their fingers like sand as it was being erected.  In the process, this house became a metaphor for the tendency of ordinary Americans to 'overreach' in their own lives by maxing out their credit cards and buying homes they couldn't really afford.

MSNBC's Morning Joe did a segment on this new movie, including an interview with the director, that you can watch HERE.

Aging '70s Graffiti Artists Still Tagging

"A generation of urban kids who spray-painted their initials all over Manhattan in the 1970s and '80s and landed in the city's street art scene are coming of age - middle age, that is... For him, spray-painting other people's property with his nickname, or tag, is almost an addiction, and danger is part of the drug... When a pair of police officers smelled the fresh paint and nabbed Ortiz, they asked if he saw himself as too old to be doing graffiti."  You can read more at CBS News HERE.

Best Fast Food Franchise Deals

In its July issue, QSR Magazine has highlighted the fast food industry's best franchise deals.  You can read more HERE.  I only recognized a few of the names on the list.  Most appear to be regional chains.

The article enumerates the franchise fees and start-up costs for each.  Those for Subway were startlingly low, which probably explains why, as I wrote HERE previously, there are more Subway restaurants in the United States than McDonald's and Starbucks combined. "'Subway...offers low start-up costs, and requires minimal experience, equipment, and space,' Subway spokesman Les Winograd says when defining the brand’s most deal-worthy traits."

I was also surprised that a chain called  Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits topped the list ("Bojangles’ boasts a virtually unrivaled sales-to-investment ratio near 3:1"), and that, even with that name, "breakfast accounts for about 40 percent of business."

Bojangles' is apparently a regional chain in the South, with 500 restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  It reveals something unflattering about the residents of those states that a fast food chain specializing in 'Cajun fried chicken' does 40 percent of its business at breakfast.

American Flags On The Moon Are Still Standing

New photos taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have answered a long-standing question: the American flags planted on the Moon by Apollo astronauts in the late 1960s and early 1970s are indeed still standing.  All, that is, except the one placed by the Apollo 11 team, who were the first men to ever walk on the Moon back in 1969.  You can read more at Space.com HERE.

Olympics Betting Scandal

"An Irish Olympian is being investigated over an allegation that the athlete had bet on his opponent in an event in which they were both competing, according to multiple reports," according to ABC News HERE. 

The paltry size of the alleged bets caught my eye.

"According to Independent, the first bet won 533 euro ($656) and the second won 3,367 euro ($4,145)."