Hasta La Gadget!

Image credit – Xinhua

Back in May we reported that over in China, a new kind of bus was being considered. It was what was being referred to as a “straddling bus” where basically instead of the bus hogging up the entire lane, it would be wide enough and tall enough to allow cars to pass through underneath it, thus making it more convenient for both the bus and other drivers on the road.

Turns out that the local government was pretty serious about the idea because over in Qinhuangdao which is part of the Hebei province, the straddling bus was actually built for real and it underwent its inaugural test, according to reports from Xinhua (via Shanghaiist). However the test did not simulate real world conditions.

Instead it seemed like this was a very controlled test as the bus was placed on a track of its around that was around 300 meters in length, but we guess the idea is there. It is unclear how this bus will be implemented in real life, and whether or not it will require the government to retrofit its roads with special tracks designed specifically for the bus, or if it will have regular bus wheels.

There is also no telling when the government plans to rolling it out to the masses, but we have to say that we are very curious about it and wouldn’t mind taking a ride in it ourselves!

China’s Crazy Straddling Bus Is Now A Reality , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Earlier today we reported that it looked like Blizzard was planning on introducing some Olympic-themed items to its Overwatch game. It was even speculated that there could be a new game mode introduced to the game. For those who are wondering about the details, wonder no more as Blizzard has officially announced the Summer Games.

According to Blizzard’s announcement, “Crack your knuckles, stretch those hamstrings, and turn up the volume—the Summer Games have begun. For the next three weeks, we’re celebrating the spirit of competition in true Overwatch fashion. Earn special seasonal Loot Boxes, collect over 100 new cosmetic items, and hit the field with your friends in our latest brawl: Lúcioball!”

Blizzard describes the new game mode as being, “Teams will face-off in the beautiful Estádio das Rãs, located in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Equipped with jump pads and speed-boosting walls, this unique arena amplifies Lúcio’s abilities, allowing players to punch, glide, block, bounce, and boop and their way to victory. Each game of Lúcioball lasts four minutes, and the team that scores the most goals in that time…wins!”

Just like in our previous report, players will also be able to earn (or buy) Loot Boxes that will contain a variety of cosmetic items that are related to the Summer Games. Each Loot Box is guaranteed to contain at least one item from the Summer Games 2016 collection, but the items are only available until the 22nd of August. If you’d like to learn more, check out the Summer Games trailer in the video above.

Blizzard Officially Rolls Out The ‘Summer Games’ For Overwatch , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

The Huntington Theatre Company has been a tenant of Boston University for the first thirty-four years of its existence, occupying a landmark-style theater up the street from Boston’s Symphony Hall.

So what happens if you’re the Huntington and the landlord informs you that your lease is up?

Boston is in the midst of an epochal building boom, and even a landmark-style theater dating back to the 1920s can become an inviting target for a wrecking ball.

The operative word in that sentence is landmark-style. Although the theater where the Huntington performs much of its works has existed since the 1920s, somehow it never received landmark status.

So if you’re Michael Maso, managing director of the Huntington since its inception, who you gonna call?

How about Mayor Marty Walsh?

The Huntington serves 200,000 patrons a year, has educated more than a million Boston students in the mysteries of the theater, and partially subsidizes the rental costs for smaller Boston theatre companies at the Calderwood Pavilion in the South End to the tune of $400,000 a year.

Maso says that Mayor Walsh recognized from the start the unique value that the Huntington played in the life of the city.

The city itself let its feelings be known to the mayor as well.

Mayor Walsh and his team did what mayors do–they cut a deal.

Boston University will move its theater operations closer to its campus, a developer will create a new commercial building on the part of the property where the backstage construction areas are located, but the theater will remain intact.

The theater will end up better than intact, as Huntington plans to raise $60 million to $70 million for a renovation and modernization over the next few years, preserving the gold leaf chandeliers and other period grace notes that no one could ever afford to build into a theater today.

As the crow flies, it’s actually not that far from the theater to the B.U. campus, but crows don’t have to deal with Boston traffic.

So it made sense for BU to consolidate its theater facilities in a location closer to campus.
The remarkable thing is that a big city mayor stood up to developers to preserve a vital part of the city’s heritage.

“We simply cannot say enough good things about Mayor Walsh and his team,” Maso says.
“They recognized that the city of Boston would be poorer culturally if this gem of a theater were torn down and the Huntington was displaced.

“We’re a nonprofit. There are no big salaries here. People do what they do for the love of theatre. To have a mayor who ‘gets it’ is a wonderful thing.”

Neither Maso nor the Huntington’s Artistic Director, Peter DuBois, even made contingency plans in the unfortunate event that the company lost its home, always believing that a way would be found.

“We were so busy working on plan A that we never had time to formulate a plan B,” Maso says.

The Huntington, which in the past has championed the works of playwrights such as August Wilson and Tom Stoppard, is embarking on a long-term exploration of the entire oeuvre of Stephen Sondheim, the American musical comedy equivalent of William Shakespeare.

Not the kind of thing you do if you’re afraid you’re going to lose your lease.

In Boston, thanks to the leadership of a mayor who made a deal that benefited everyone — the developers, the Huntington, Boston University, and the city’s vibrant cultural life — the show indeed will go on.

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Finally!  The night has come (or the following afternoon for those of us who watch on Hulu) where viewers across American finally find out which guy Jojo will choose to date for the next six weeks, I mean, to marry.  We’re watching live and we get to see that Beneric is in the audience, and is still with the woman he chose over Jojo.  Good work Beneric.

Jojo’s family comes and meets her wherever she is, I think Thailand, and she says, “I’ve found myself in a bit of a predicament… I love both of them.”  Well shucks, this must be the first time that happened!  Jojo’s collagen injected mom seems genuine.  Out comes Jordan, and he brings hats for everyone in the family, because isn’t that cute.  Mom says she worries about Jordan’s playboy image.  Mom is pretty insightful, saying that she’s trying to talk openly to Jojo, but Jojo doesn’t want to hear anything bad about Jordan because she’s “all in love with him now.”  Jordan sits down with her dad, and doesn’t ask for her hand in marriage, because he’s a WUSSY.

Robbie’s turn, he brings flowers for her mom, and she asks what attracts him about Jojo, “what it is about my baby girl that he likes.”  Robbie answers nicely, without mentioning her slamming body once.  Mom seems to like Robbie and his “gentleman demeanor” better than she liked Jordan.

On another note, did Jojo’s brothers get a dual lobotomy?  They are so chillaxed now, compared to how awful they treated Beneric.  Mom quizzes Robbie about his trustworthiness, and he soothes her troubled mind, telling both her and his dad that “Joelle” will be his number one priority in life.  And then he asks for her hand in marriage. Mom tears up, because this is the proposal she always wanted for herself, but her husband looks like he has the creativity of a mollusk.  Dad grants the permission, and with the proviso of twenty cows for the dowry, Jojo’s ownership has officially been transferred.

The family analyzes the guys after they leave, and everyone agrees that Robbie is the better choice, more ready for marriage, and Jojo really doesn’t like this feedback.  Jojo finds out that Jordan didn’t ask for her hand in marriage, and she is “shocked” and obviously disappointed. Jojo starts crying about how “stressed out” and confused she feels, and she “can’t even imagine making a decision.”  She says that she would regret not going for Robbie if things didn’t work out with Jordan, and vice versa.  Welcome to adulthood, Jojo.  Regret for every path not taken, and you haven’t even lost your hot body to childbirth yet.

Date with Robbie.  She seems way more tepid about Robbie now that she’s ruminating about Jordan, who is now the challenge, the mountain to be scaled.  Robbie says that Jojo may love two guys now but she’ll only love one at the end, which is wrong.  They sit on the beach, and Robbie fantasizes about family life with Jojo, which is uproarious from the perspective of anyone who actually has kids, as it involves ditching the burned meatloaf for pizza and Sauvignon Blanc while the kids cheer.  Or puke or wet themselves or wait STOP BITING YOUR BROTHER!  And Jojo says how much she trusts Robbie, who seems to want to impregnate her yesterday, and basically she’s going to go for Jordan like an idiot.

Cuddle time on the couch.  Robbie urges Jojo to ask him any questions she has, so that he can reassure her of how committed he is.  Listen Robster, we understand, you’re committed.  Next to me, my five year old daughter pretends to text Robbie on an old cell phone.  Homewrecker.  Robbie brings out a selection of photos of their time together, which I guess he got from the producers.  Jojo says that she only realized what her true worth is from feeling Robbie’s love, which is a slight against Beneric and her crazy ex. Maybe Jojo is smart enough to choose Robbie.  We shall see, ducklings.

Date with Jordan on a boat. He doesn’t seem overly emotional, and Jojo says she has fears about him, related to him not asking for her hand in marriage.  She asks Jordan what he talked to her dad about, and he says he wanted to ask her dad for his permission, but he didn’t, because he wasn’t sure it was what she wanted.  And she says, “We talked about this on the overnight, how important my family was to me… and you said that moment was important for you too.”  Then she says she doubts that he’s really ready.  He explains that didn’t want to ask without knowing that SHE was sure about him, and she says, but you should know what you feel.  Which is true. He won’t put himself out there first, without knowing that she already chose him, which doesn’t make it a proposal. He wants her to say she would marry him before he asks her, which is typical of people with avoidant attachment, who don’t want to make themselves vulnerable, for fear of getting rejected.

Jojo subjects Jordan to another conversation later that evening, and he implies that he has decided that he will “take a leap of faith” and propose even though she didn’t tell him she’ll 100% accept.  So he is getting with the program, and he tells the camera that he’s really bummed that he let her down.  “Bummed” appears to be as serious as it gets.

It’s D-Day. Robbie gets out of the shower and his best angle is “unclothed.”  He goes to pick out an engagement ring, “the perfect ring for the perfect girl.”  Jordan goes to get a ring too… but first, as I suspected he might, calls her parents on the phone to ask for permission, which is granted.  He writes her a note, addressed to “Joelle,” telling her that he got the requisite permission, for the producers to bring to her.  What’s up with calling Jojo by her full name only when discussing proposing?

Jojo gets dressed and puts on her makeup.  She sits on the couch, and says that she had that moment of clarity, and knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that she has found the guy of her dreams.  And then she goes outside and gets Jordan’s note, left outside her door.  She starts crying, and it is implied that she had decided on Robbie and now is thrown into ambivalence.  Robbie also leaves her a note, and it’s way better written, but intelligence doesn’t matter on this show so that’s a nonstarter.  Jojo is thrown into a tumult.

Jojo walks out onto the beach, where she is distressed about having to hurt one of the dudes.  She stands there, in the breeze, looking as radiant as a flower that is about to break someone’s heart.  The limo pulls up with the guy who will be rejected, and we know who is is as soon as we see the socks, which have pink details.  It’s the Robster, walking like a preppy lamb to the slaughter.  This poor guy.  The only thing he did wrong was being too emotionally open, which it appears that Jo-“elle” really doesn’t like after all.

He starts his proposal, discussing how in love with her he is, he has “a love you only hear about in stories.”  Can she stop him before he continues more?  This is cruel.  Finally, she interrupts that she doesn’t want him to get down on one knee because she “doesn’t want to take that moment” from him.  She says she “wanted it to be him” but “for some reason, my heart is somewhere else.”  Bam.  As they say in my kids’ preschool, she’s making a “bad choice.”

She starts crying and he’s crying, and it seems like he’s going to take this rejection like a real gentleman, which ups his chances of being the next Bachelor, a role he’s born for.  She says she loves him, but she still lets him go.  He goes home in the limo, saying how hard this is, and she wanders around crying too.

But then Jordan shows up and all’s right in the world.  Her parents are going to be so disappointed.  He tells her she looks amazing, and he says, “I love you so much… I fell in love with just ‘us’… you continue to challenge me to be my best self… I’m so unbelievably in love with you… I’m going to wake up every morning and choose you, over and over again.”  Then she tells him how she feels.  “Jordan, I love you so much, I’ve been waiting to tell you that I love you.” And then they hug and then he gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him, and she says yes, and they cavort with happiness, and she gives him the final rose.  Fini.  And till we meet again, I remain, The Blogapist That Says, Robbie Will Crush It If They Make Him The Bachelor.

This post was originally published here on Dr. Psych Mom. Follow Dr. Rodman on Dr. Psych Mom, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Order her book, How to Talk to Your Kids about Your Divorce: Healthy, Effective Communication Techniques for Your Changing Family. Learn about Dr. Rodman’s private practice, including therapy, coaching, and consultation here. This blog is not intended as diagnosis, assessment, or treatment, and should not replace consultation with your medical provider.

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Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, whose mother-in-law is 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, on Tuesday joined the chorus of military veterans and families condemning GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s attacks on the parents of a slain Muslim-American Army officer.

Meyer on Twitter called on Trump to apologize to Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whom Trump has attacked since Thursday, when they appeared at the Democratic National Convention to criticize Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy proposals.

Meyer, while serving in the Marine Corps in 2009, risked his life to save 36 American and Afghan troops in a Taliban-controlled area in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Honor ― the highest military decoration ― in 2011.

Veterans, as well as prominent GOP lawmakers, have widely denounced Trump’s insults of the Khans. Palin’s 2008 running mate, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a prisoner of war in Vietnam, issued a lengthy statement on Monday criticizing Trump. However, both McCain and Palin continue to back Trump’s candidacy.

Meyer married Palin’s daughter Bristol in June. 

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.