Public Readings - Marilyn, 50 years dead but more alive than ever!

Public Readings - Marilyn, 50 years dead but more alive than ever!

"WHAT DO you dream?"

"My dreams are too intimate to be revealed in public."

"What is your nightmare?"

"My nightmare is the H-bomb, what's yours?"

So it went between Marilyn Monroe and writer Alan Levy, in the very last interview Marilyn gave to Redbook magazine, which appeared after her death.

Over the weekend -- Saturday or Sunday -- it was the 50th anniversary of the death of Marilyn -- half a century! Because of the varying versions of when she died and when her body was discovered, it could be either date.

In the years since I've had this column, I've probably written as much about this young woman, so long gone, than other stars that were, or are, alive and thriving. Indeed, my column was the impetus for 20th Century Fox to dig out the many glorious hours of the unfinished film "Something's Got to Give," which gave the lie to the idea that Marilyn was performing in a drug- and drink-induced coma. In fact, it seemed that director George Cukor was playing the diva on this set. (And, by the way, there are plenty of Monroe's deleted scenes from "Niagara," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "The Seven Year Itch" and "Bus Stop," crammed into film vaults, still to be mined. Fox, are you listening?)

Marilyn's early passing, the scandals and speculations about her death and her life (especially her love life) have fueled interest in her. She remains a vital part of 2012 pop culture. But even during her lifetime, despite Hollywood's disdain, she was a star apart; there was something different, strange and endearing about her. It was a quality that could never quite be explained.

Natalie Wood said shortly before Monroe's death, "When you look at Marilyn on the screen, you just don't want anything bad to happen to her."

The New York Times in its obituary referred to Monroe in its first sentence as "One of the greatest stars in Hollywood history." An astounding compliment -- in her brief career Monroe had left only a handful of superior films.

No longer a legend, she is now a mythological figure, an historical charter. She's up there with Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Joan of Arc! When she was alive, a story went that a man ventured into the wilds of Borneo and encountered some natives. The adventurer announced he was from America. One native said: "America. Marilyn Monroe!" Probably apocryphal, but it gives you an idea.

I have no interest in the who/what/why of her final hours. We'll simply never know. But as her friend, the late Susan Strasberg said, "All this grimy gossip. They keep trying to drag her down, but she always rises above it. She had that peculiar quality. Like an orchid that grows in the mud."

P.S. Recently, a writer, who is old enough to know better, did a long newspaper article on Monroe, in which he referred to her as a "starlet." I have seen this word misused constantly in recent years, about major, legendary stars. Once even about Katharine Hepburn, for heaven's sake.

Let me try to settle this. A "starlet" is a young woman who is possibly on the cusp of fame. For a few years Marilyn was a starlet. Then she became a great star. But even in "The Asphalt Jungle" and "All About Eve," this girl had S-T-A-R written all over her.

WELL, ALL you need is a couple of good movies -- or at least a couple of impressive performances -- and suddenly you're working with the master himself, Martin Scorsese. That's what has happened to one-time beach boy Matthew McConaughey. Now that "Magic Mike" and "Killer Joe" seem to have changed Hollywood's perception of Matthew, he's been cast in "The Wolf of Wall Street." This will be directed by Scorsese and based on the best-selling book by Jordan Belfort. His co-star? Leonardo DiCaprio.

This is a pretty good life. You spend 20 years making silly movies and working on your tan, and then -- pow! Suddenly you're serious business.

I WAS attracted to the recent issue of The Hollywood Reporter because of the handsome black-and-white matinee idol photo of comic actor Steve Carell on the cover. (Turns out Steve is terrifyingly normal and nice and not at all dark and twisty like most comedians.)

But there was something kind of scary in the issue. There are two pages on all the latest "maintenance" procedures that women (and men!) go through to keep up appearances. Some of this stuff is as old as time -- like the hair-braiding facelift, which was credited back to the days of Marlene Dietrich. It sounds very painful and I've always wondered if it was just an urban myth. There are the tried and true mummy-like body wraps, soaked in minerals and the deep tissue facials that can literally re-sculpt the face, at least temporarily. (Marilyn often availed herself of this strenuous attack on her neck and cheekbones.) But we also have placenta treatments, nightingale droppings, bee venom masks (much better than Botox), earthworm complex, snail excretions, bull semen for the hair and black eel pedicures. Oh, and on the more normal side, an IV drip of vitamin C, D and Zinc. It's called "The Party Girl Drip."

Simon Cowell has availed himself of this. Well, what's good for the goose is great for the vain gander.

CORRECTION: Gaetano P. Cipriano who serves with E I Associates (architects, engineers constructors and realty property management) in New Jersey says I am incorrect in a statement here about the credentials of the GOP/tea party Texas candidate Ted Cruz.

He says Senator-to-be Cruz "has never advocated abolishing the IRS." Well, I am glad to learn that this is not true.

While I'm at it, let me quote exiting GOP Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: "He's got the pedigree; he's got all of it. In fact, we've joked that he's too smart for the Senate to fit in."

Source : http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201208031730--tms--lizsmittr--x-a20120806-20120806,0,1237575.story

Public Readings - NASA's rover Curiosity lands on Mars.

Public Readings - NASA's rover Curiosity lands on Mars. NASA's rover Curiosity successfully carried out a highly challenging landing on Mars early Monday, transmitting images back to Earth after traveling hundreds of millions of miles through space in order to explore the Red Planet.

The $2.6 billion Curiosity made its dramatic arrival on Martian terrain in a spectacle popularly known as the "seven minutes of terror."

This jaw-dropping landing process, involving a sky crane and the world's largest supersonic parachute, allowed the spacecraft carrying Curiosity to target the landing area that scientists had meticulously chosen.

The mission control in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California burst into cheers as the rover touched down. Team members hugged and high-fived one another as Curiosity beamed back the first pictures from the planet, some shed tears.

"The successful landing of Curiosity -- the most sophisticated roving laboratory ever to land on another planet -- marks an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future," President Barack Obama said in a statement congratulating the NASA employees who had worked on the project.

The scientific community reacted to the achievement with a mixture of elation and relief.

"Rationally I know it was supposed to work all along, but emotionally it always seemed completely crazy," said James Wray, assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, who is affiliated with the science team of Curiosity. "So to see all those steps being ticked off and actually working, it's a huge relief."

The initial images the SUV-sized rover sent back to Earth were black and white and grainy, but one showed its wheel resting on the stony ground and the vehicle's shadow appeared in another. Larger color images are expected later in the week, NASA said.

The spacecraft had been traveling away from Earth since November 26 on a journey of approximately 352 million miles (567 million kilometers), according to NASA.

Curiosity, which will be controlled from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has a full suite of sophisticated tools for exploring Mars. They include 17 cameras, a laser that can survey the composition of rocks from a distance and instruments that can analyze samples from soil or rocks.

The aim of its work is "to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms," NASA says.

Curiosity's first stop is Gale Crater, which may have once contained a lake. After at least a year, the rover will arrive at Mount Sharp, in the center of the crater. The rover will drive up the mountain examining layers of sediment. This process is like looking at a historical record because each layer represents an era of the planet's history, scientists say.

The phenomenon of sedimentary layers is remarkably similar to what is seen on Earth, in California's Death Valley or in Montana's Glacier National Park, says John Grotzinger, chief scientist of theMars Science Laboratory mission.

Rocks and minerals found on Earth are different than on Mars, but the idea of a mountain made of layers is familiar to scientists. Unlike on Earth, however, Mars has no plate tectonics, so the Martian layers are flat and not disrupted as they would be on Earth. That also means that Mount Sharp was formed in a different way than how mountains are created on Earth -- no one knows how.

In these layers, scientists are looking for organic molecules, which are necessary to create life. But even if Curiosity finds them, that's not proof that life existed -- after all, these molecules are found in bus exhaust and meteorites, too, says Steve Squyres, part of the Mars Science Laboratory science team.

If there aren't any organics, that may suggest there's something on the planet destroying these molecules, said Wray, of Georgia Tech. But if Curiosity detects them, Wray said, that might help scientists move from asking, "Was Mars ever habitable?" to "Did Mars actually host life?"

Curiosity's mission is also significant in an era when NASA's budgets are shrinking and China is becoming more ambitious in its space exploration program.

"I feel like it's a signal that we have the capability to do big and exciting things in the future." said Carol Paty, assistant professor at Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. "You can't not be excited."

Liquid water is not something scientists expect to be apparent on Mars because the planet is so cold and dry, Squyres said. If the planet does harbor liquid water today, it would have to be deep below the surface, perhaps peeking out in a few special places, but not likely to be seen by Curiosity, Squyres said.

It's hard to know how long ago liquid water would have been there because there's no mechanism to date the rocks that rovers find on Mars, Squyres said.

Evidence from the spacecraft NASA has sent to Mars so far suggests that the "warm and wet" period on Mars lasted for the first billion years of the planet's history.

"In order to create life, you need both the right environmental conditions -- which includes liquid water -- and you need the building blocks from which life is built, which includes organics," Squyres said. The Mars Science Laboratory is a precursor mission to sharper technology that could do life detection, Grotzinger said.

There aren't specific molecules that scientists are looking for with Curiosity. The attitude is: "Let's go to an interesting place with good tools and find out what's there," Squyres said.

Curiosity is supposed to last for two years on Mars, but it may operate longer -- after all, Spirit and Opportunity, which arrived on Mars in 2004, were each only supposed to last 90 Martian days. Spirit stopped communicating with NASA in 2010 after getting stuck in sand, and Opportunity is still going.

"You take what Mars gives you," said Squyres, also the lead scientist on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, which includes Spirit and Opportunity. "If we knew what we were going to find, it wouldn't be this much fun."

Source : http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/06/tech/mars-rover-curiosity/index.html

Public Readings - Facebook faces facial recognition fight in Norway

Public Readings - Facebook faces facial recognition fight in Norway.   "It's a very powerful tool Facebook has and it's not yet clear how it all really works," Norway's data protection commissioner says of a feature that can recognize your friends in newly posted photos. Facebook is being probed by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority over concerns regarding its facial recognition tool that automatically suggests people's names to tag in pictures. Facebook started rolling out the Tag Suggestions feature worldwide in June 2011, and ever since has faced backlash from privacy groups in Europe.

When you upload new photos, Facebook uses software similar to that found in many photo editing tools to match your new photos to other photos you're tagged in. Similar photos are grouped together and, whenever possible, Facebook suggests the names of your friends in the photos. In other words, the square that magically finds faces in a photo also suggests names of your Facebook friends to streamline the tagging process, which can be especially useful when you have the same friends in multiple uploaded shots.

"It's a very powerful tool Facebook has and it's not yet clear how it all really works," Bjorn Erik Thon, Norway's data protection commissioner, told Bloomberg. "They have pictures of hundreds of millions of people. What material Facebook has in its databases is something we need to discuss with them."

Facebook insists the tag-suggesting feature is fully compliant with European Union law and maintains that it has properly informed users about the technology, which they can turn off if they prefer. "We have given comprehensive notice and education to our users about tag suggest, and we provide very simple tools for people to opt out if they do not want to use this feature," a Facebook representative said in a statement. "We stop processing facial recognition data when someone chooses to opt out."

Data protection is currently policed by separate regulators in Europe. The EU wants to simplify the system so companies deal with only one data protection regulator in the 27-country bloc. Though Norway isn't in the EU, Facebook would of course still prefer to deal with just one privacy group.

The Norwegian investigation has thus been referred to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC). Facebook has more than 955 million monthly active users, but its U.S. headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., is not responsible for the majority of them. Facebook's international headquarters is in Dublin, meaning all users outside the U.S. and Canada are subject to Irish and European data protection laws. Facebook chose Dublin for the tax incentives: businesses are charged approximately 2 percent tax in Dublin compared with 35 percent tax in the U.S.

This past December, the ODPC completed a three-month privacy audit of Facebook's activities. A follow-up review was scheduled for July 2012 but has been pushed back to October 2012. The Norwegian authority plans to send a facial recognition questionnaire to Facebook once it has seen the Irish report.

Public Readings - Lollapalooza 2012: Founder Perry Farrell Promises To 'Make Popcorn'

Public Readings - Lollapalooza 2012: Founder Perry Farrell Promises To 'Make Popcorn'. On Thursday, the day before Lollapalooza 2012 officially got under way in Grant Park, co-founder and figurehead Perry Farrell wasalready acting very official indeed, surveying the grounds in his golf cart, making last-minute stops at each of the fest's eight stages and attempting something that, during Lolla's early years, would have been practically unthinkable for him.

"There's a lot going on this year, so I'm going to have to be sober the whole time," Farrell laughed. "I don't know — I'm going to try it."

And though it would seem that there's always a lot happening at Lollapalooza, this year they're taking things even further. Because in addition to the 150 acts that will play in the park this weekend, for the first time, Lolla has gotten into the after-party business too, branching out into the city itself and sponsoring late-night shows by the likes of Frank Ocean, M83, the Afghan Whigs and Farrell's own Jane's Addiction (to name just a few). So, yes, Perry's going to have to keep his wits about him because this is truly going to be one epic weekend.

"I kind of have this vision of an octopus, because the tentacles of Lollapalooza — now all of a sudden this octopus goes really out until 4 a.m. in the city of Chicago," he said. "It was great to have it here up until 10 o'clock, and I know we're all out in these incredible hotels, but now we're really raising the bar when it comes to these after-parties. ... It's really stretching."

Of course, back in the park, there's the matter of balancing the Lollapalooza lineup to reflect both its roots (rock and hip-hop) and the current tastes of the ticket-buying public, which has come to embrace dance music, too. Luckily, Farrell's had plenty of practice — after all, even since the early days of Lolla, he's been championing electronic music. And now he can reap the benefits of being ahead of the curve.

"Dance music, in this country anyway, in the early '90s, it was really exciting but very underground, and so we had acts like Prodigy and Orbital on Lollapalooza. But then I guess it grew up, and the bubble kind of burst around the millennium," he explained. "But I always had a love for it, so I said to my partners, 'Let's get an area for DJs.' And our first DJs were people like DJ AM, or Samantha Ronson, and they were party DJs, but the very following year, we had the Kaskades and the Wolfgang Gartners coming in, and the crowds just kept getting bigger. And this year, two of our headliners are dance artists, Justice and Avicii, and they're performing on the main stage, man."

And with Lollapalooza 2012, Farrell hopes he's struck the right balance, bringing in both established dance artists and up-and-coming dance acts like Nero and Porter Robinson and pairing them with rock heavyweights like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Black Keys. Like we said, he's had plenty of practice putting together this festival, though not necessarily in the ways you'd expect.

"I'll give you an example; I just got myself a new popcorn maker, aprofessional popcorn maker, like you could see my popcorn maker in a movie theater," Farrell said. "Now, every day, my family and I make popcorn, but we throw a twist on it; we've got lemon pepper and butter, and Himalayan pink salt, and that is such a delicious way to make popcorn, but it's still popcorn.

"So that's the same with Lollapalooza; you're choosing all these groups and you want to find a nice balance, and sometimes you're counter-programming things. Like if you're having a hard sound over here, you have to have a softer sound because not everybody wants that hard sound," he continued. "And it ends up we have 150 groups over three days ... and we don't stop there, because now we're programming the after-parties, too. They're going out into the clubs and the dancehalls all around the city, and I really love it."

Source : http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1691162/lollapalooza-2012-perry-farrell.jhtml

Public Readings - 10 Reasons Why Ryan Lochte Is America’s Sexiest Douchebag

Public Readings - 10 Reasons Why Ryan Lochte Is America’s Sexiest Douchebag. The first time I heard the voice, I chose to ignore it. Ryan Lochte is kind of a fratty idiot, Erin, the voice said. All the signs are right there. You're being willfully ignorant."Shut up, brain!" I replied. "You're not the boss of me! Come on, vagina! Let's get out of here, away from the party pooper trying to ruin our fun." And then we went out for appletinis. 

But as the Olympics progressed, as more and more montages of Ryan Lochte talking about his sneaker collection or donning a sparkling America grill in his gorgeous mouth filled my TV screen, I couldn't pretend that reality wasn't real anymore. Ryan Lochte, as drool-inducingly hot as he is both in and out of the water, is a raging, throbbing douchebag. And here's why.

10. He has a "signature exclamation."

It's not "VICTORY FOR THE FORCES OF DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM," which would walk the line between gratingly nerdy and amazing. It's not "Zoiks!" either. It's "Jeah!" Like "Yeah," but said in a way that indicates you may have difficulty pronouncing the "y" sound and could benefit from working with a professional speech therapist. The New York Times explains its origins,

He even has a catchphrase: the exhortation "jeah!" - adopted from the rapper Young Jeezy and pronounced like "yeah," but, in Mr. Lochte's case, with a surfer boy slope.

Not only is it totally lame, it's something totally lame that he didn't even make up. But that hasn't stopped Ryan from proliferating it as part of his brand as a dude who co-opts irritating things from rap videos and acts like he was just sitting in the middle of his cul de sac one day and it came to him like a neon pink lightning bolt from the sky. According to his website, he's splashed "Jeah!" over all sorts of stuff, like a pair of bright green rhinestone encrusted sneakershe designed for Speeedo.

It's only fitting that Ryan is well known for his kick, given that he designed his own pair of custom shoes for Speedo. Neon green, covered in rhinestones and complete with Ryan's signature exclamation "Jeah!", this footwear could have come from no one else.

Imagine him yelling that out when you're having sex with him. The thought is positively clit-shrinking.

9. He's fratty as fuck.

So several years ago now, Tom Wolfe wrote a book called I Am Charlotte Simmons, which was about a girl from a poor background who ends up attending college at a prominent private college that sounds a lot of like Duke University. Because she's pretty, she ends up catching the interest of an awful frat boy who wears doo rags and listens to rap with the bass turned way up and pops his collar. Basically, Ryan Lochte is that guy.

More dismaying supporting evidence from the Times,

"I just want to be done," he said on the drive to a nearby Hilton, steering his white Range Rover with his knee, sitting far down in the bucket seats, blasting Lil Wayne.

He lives in a condo with two other dudes, one of whom is in college, in the same town where he graduated from college — 5 years ago. He has a couple of kind of dumb tattoos, one of which is an homage to his alma mater. He told the Times that he's over the college dating scene, which would be something that was a sign of maturity if he wasn't twenty-seven years old and and several years beyond the age where dating people who are still in college starts becoming an expression of a stunted personality.

8. His art.

He enjoys drawing "surrealist nature art," which, uh, looks a lot like stuff the pothead next to you in psych 101 drew when he was super bored.

Lochte himself Tweeted that Bro-na Lisa,announcing, "My new picture I'm drawing, still in progress but its gonna be sick!!! Jeah!!!"

7. This was his contribution to the US Swim Team's Call Me Maybe parody video.

6. Giant fancy shoe collection

Ryan Lochte has 130 pairs of shoes that he keeps in a closet the size of some New York apartments. During an interview with John McEnroe that aired early in NBC's Olympics coverage, Lochte proudly showed his favorite pair of shoes — neon green monstrosities that say "Ryan" on one sole and "Lochte" on the other, so when he walks across the deck after it's been raining, you can see it was him. He also has a pair of America shoes with big wings stitched to the side, which he's bummed he couldn't wear in London because he's restrained to wearing the team uniform.

5. Least original style ever, but can't shut up about how original he is.

After the Olympics are done, he wants to steal P. Diddy's identity and move to Los Angeles. Mr. Lochte's dream is to eventually become a clothing designer. "I want to be different, and fashion gives me that outlet to do that," he said, lounging on a couch after a practice in loose basketball shorts, a T-shirt that read "Google Me" and black Dolce & Gabbana slippers.

Seriously, the only thing distinguishing Lochte's aspirations from P. Diddy's career is a lack of desire to sample entire tracks, then say "Uh huh. Yeah" over them, and sell them off as singles. His style is ganked from hip hop artists and other fratty dudes who fratted before him. The only thing original about Ryan Lochte is his superhuman swimming ability — but he "hates" talking about that. He'd rather talk about stuff other people made up. Ugh, Ryan. Take your pants off right now and stop that.

4. His taste in women is less nuanced and restrained than his taste in clothing.

If you like going out and having no-strings-attached sex just for fun and tension release, I ain't mad. Sometimes one night stands can be fun (I hear), and there's no reason to assume that every one night stand involves two insufferable douchebags trying to catch glimpses of themselves in a full length mirror, Patrick Bateman style. However, while not all one night stands involve douchebags, most of the douchebags I've had the pleasure of meeting in life really, really love one night stands. One night stands are such an important part of Ryan Lochte's dating life, apparently, that even his mom knows they're all he ever does. Yesterday, she told Today,

He goes out on one-night stands. He's not able to give fully to a relationship because he's always on the go.

But Lochte didn't used to be way too busy for forming an emotional bond with another human being — when he competed in Beijing, he had a girlfriend, which he now thinks was bad, as it interfered with his penis's activities. Earlier this summer, he told ESPN, My last Olympics, I had a girlfriend — big mistake. Now I'm single, so London should be really good. I'm excited.

A sick, sad part of me read about Ryan's gregarious genitalia and felt momentarily encouraged — MAYBE THAT MEANS THAT HE'LL SLEEP WITH ME — but then my hormone haze dissipated and I realized that 1- I'm engaged to marry a guy who I like an awful lot and 2- Gross.

3. He calls himself a "rock star"...

When asked to explain what The Atlantic calls his "hip hop tropical frat boy wardrobe," Lochte offered the following insight:

All the stuff that I do, like, the crazy shoes I wear — like the grills I wear on the podium, the crazy shoes, all that crazy stuff — like, rock star.

Read that while looking at this picture of him. Just do it. It will be your most sexually confusing moment of the day. This is the moment that Christina Aguilera was singing about in her late 90's debut Genie in a Bottle — "My body's saying 'let's go!' But my heart is saying 'no.'" Ugh, Ryan. You are rubbing me the wrong way.

But the self-congratulatory assertions that his derivative NBA rookie meets The Situation style is indicative of his creative awesomeness doesn't just occur in the first person. The first lines in Lochte's bio on his own website mention that he's a totally laid back, original bro.

It's no secret in the swimming community that Ryan Lochte is a bonafide free spirit. Between appearing at the Golden Goggle Awards in an all-white leisure suit and posing on the podium with a blinged-out grill, Lochte makes it clear that he's out to have a good time.

2. ... but even his teammates think he's a douche.

Rookies on the USA Swimming team perform skits as part of their initiation to the team, and when Connor Dwyer was assigned to play Lochte, he dressed the part. USA Today, with the hard news that matters, reported,

"Played my teammate @ryanlochte in our rookie skits last night," tweeted Conor Dwyer, who included a photo of himself as Ryan Lochte complete with lime-green kicks, camouflage shorts and chain around his neck.

In the accompanying picture, it's important to mention that Dwyer is making a sideways peace sign.

1. The America grill.

After winning gold in the 400 meter individual medley — an impressive physical feat, certainly — Lochte crowned himself Olympic Douche Champion, grabbing his $25,000 diamond and ruby grill custom designed by rapper Paul Wall to look like the American flag and attempting to wear it to the medal stand. He was forced to take it out, since it wasn't officially part of Team USA's uniforms, but according to MTV, that wasn't the first time Lochte ascended the podium with his mouth glittered up like Toby Keith's USB tour thong. Ryan Lochte has had that America bling for more than a fucking year. HOW has he not gotten punched squarely in that smirking, adorable, grill-sporting jaw at least once a week?

This isn't the end of Lochte's douchiness, though — just missing this list's cutoff is his forthcoming series of workout videos, the fact that he sells custom-designed sunglasses that say LOCHTE on one lens and have the American flag over the other, and his secondary signature exclamation, which is the nonsensical sentence starter "Ho!" as in "Ho, look over there at that gigantic sexy gold medal winning dbag."

Olympic Medal Count 2012 : USA's Best Weekend Chances to Gain Medal Lead

Public Readings - Olympic Medal Count 2012 : USA's Best Weekend Chances to Gain Medal Lead. The 2012 Olympics medal count is neck-and-neck after a week of the Games. Heading into the weekend, the United States has closed the distance but remains four medals behind China for the total medal lead.

Thanks to magnificent performances from the U.S. men’s and women’s swimming teams, the USA finds itself in a good position to make a run over the weekend.

If you remember correctly, it was the U.S. and China competing back and forth in the medal count at the 2008 Olympic Games. China won the most gold medals, but the U.S. racked up the biggest medal count.

The amount of gold medals the U.S. can haul in this weekend will be the decisive factor as to whether or not history will repeat itself in London. If the Americans, favored to win many medals, can translate some of those to gold instead of silver, they can go home with the both the gold medal and total medal leads when all is said and done.

American swimmers aren’t done yet, either.

Today, Michael Phelps (100-meter butterfly), Tyler McGill (100-meter butterfly), Anthony Ervin (50-meter free), Cullen Jones (50-meter free), Missy Franklin (200-meter backstroke), Elizabeth Beisel (200-meter backstroke), and Katie Ledecky (800-meter free) all have strong chances at taking home a medal for the U.S.

Swimming has been one of the biggest medal producers and distance-makers for the U.S. in these Olympics. A likely strong final push would be the final gesture of dominance for the remarkable American swimmers.

U.S. track and field dominates the Chinese

Like swimming, the United States is not only expected to perform excellently in the upcoming track and field events, but it's expected to be dominant. This is important for the medal count, because these are events that China is not likely to be very competitive in. If the U.S. can put up a strong showing, it will begin to close the gap and even take a lead over the Chinese in the medal count this weekend.

In Beijing, the U.S. track and field athletes took home seven gold medals and 23 total in an impressive routing of China. The Chinese only recorded two bronze medals in the walloping by the Americans.

This weekend’s track and field events will be turning point in the medal lead in these 2012 Olympics.

Men’s doubles tennis is a lock

Mike and Bob Bryan, U.S. doubles teammates and brothers, have reached the gold-medal game set to take place on Sunday, August 5. The two were the top-seeded pair and are guaranteed at least a silver medal for the U.S. this weekend.

In 2008, the pair brought home the bronze medal from Beijing. The brothers have played together their whole lives and won 11 Grand Slam titles, but they have yet to taste a gold-medal victory. This weekend, with no China in sight in the competition, the brothers will help the U.S. make things interesting.

Public Readings - Aly Raisman Looks Ahead to Her Remaining Olympic Events

Public Readings - Aly Raisman Looks Ahead to Her Remaining Olympic Events. Aly Raisman has long been known as a mentally tough, incredibly consistent gymnast. So it was quite a shock for fans to see Raisman, 18, make a major, uncharacteristic error in the women's gymnastics all-around final on Thursday, leaving her just shy of a medal. 

But Raisman's Olympic experience isn't over yet. She'll compete on the balance beam and floor individual finals on Tuesday. 

"I'm really excited about that," Raisman (who won team gold earlier in the week) told reporters after a tie-breaker left her off the podium Thursday. "I'm just going to keep working hard and move past it." 

"It is what it is, it's a learning experience," she added. "I'm only human – everyone makes mistakes." 

Her coach had a more detailed explanation. "When it is about the team, she's giving everything," says Mihai Brestyan. "When it's about herself, something gets wrong there. I don't know what. It's a shame. But being third [or] fourth in the world, in Olympic Games, still it's a good thing even if you don’t have the medal on your neck."

The Jordyn Wieber Factor?Brestyan says he also wonders whether the drama over Jordyn Wieber (who is blogging for People.com) being edged out of the all-around had something to do with Raisman's performance. (Each country can only send two athletes to the all-around, so despite high scores, Wieber was bumped by Raisman and Gabby Douglas's higher scores.) 

Before the all-around competition, "She was fine, she did her normal routine, her warm up was perfect – I don't know what happened," says Brestyan. "The big pressure was, you take Jordyn's place first and everybody feels bad because you take the World Champion's place. They are not happy for you, they are mad for Jordyn, and you feel really bad and you carry this with you."

"You come here to prove yourself ... and you are more under pressure than anybody else, and this is part of that. I try to encourage her. She's usually very calm and studied in her execution." 

Team coordinator Marta Karolyi weighed in as well, telling reporters, "Oh, I'm extremely disappointed for Aly. She is so calm and so solid. I honestly could not know what happened. Just hitting her normal routine, she would be categorically on [the podium]. It was a little bit of a mental break." 

But Raisman isn't making any excuses as she reflects on the medal she missed – demonstrating an impressive display of sportsmanship in the process. 

"I was hoping they'd give [me and Aliya Mustafina] both the bronze medal, but obviously they didn't, so it's definitely upsetting, but I'm still happy for the girls who were on the podium," says the gymnast. "I'm happy for Gabby and really excited for her."

Source : http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20612225_20618022,00.html

Public Readings - iPhone 5 release date: Reasons a new iPhone 5 September release is very likely

Public Readings - iPhone 5 release date: Reasons a new iPhone 5 September release is very likely. The flood of rumors about the new iPhone 5 from Apple does not seem to be coming to a stop. Because Apple, as in the past, has not released any of the details about the new smartphone, the company contributes to some of these wild speculations. However, there is evidence that substantiates some of these rumors. At least as far as the release date, there are now hints that make a Sept. 12th iPhone 5 launch seem quite plausible.

Until recently, many still assumed that the new iPhone 5 could be presented on Aug 07, 2012 as part of an announcement by an Apple keynote. Meanwhile, more and more analysts claimed that the iPhone 5 would be presented on the 12th of September 2012. It is believed that Apple would like to present two devices at the said date- the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini.

Because of the great pressure due to competition, it could be that Apple will present the iPhone 5 in September rather than October. The Galaxy S3 from Samsung is already quite successful and it is time that Apple has revamped its own figures. The emergence of new smartphone sales numbers for Apple showed a descending trend in iPhone 4s sales.

It could very well be an announcement on the 12th of September, and then the launch on the 21st of September would follow. The Bloomberg news agency takes this data as very feasible.

It has long been an abundance of speculation surrounding the features of the iPhone 5. Recently, another video surfaced that possibly shows the new iPhone 5. The Japanese blog Macotakara presented a video that shows almost all the alleged changes. Items are presented that allegedly come from the Apple supplier, Foxconn. Whether it is possible to smuggle items out of this well-guarded manufacturing plant is questionable.

The rumor that the display of the new Apple smartphone will be significantly larger, actually seems pretty possible. Even if the deceased Apple founder Steve Jobs always spoke out against a larger screen, this new feature will probably be inevitable. Although the iPhone 5 will probably get a larger screen, however, it may be a bit heavier than its predecessor.

Recently, Apple had to secure new patents, and for this reason insiders believe that the new iPhone could be equipped with a 3-D camera. It has recently emerged, that there was the possibility of a 3-D-switchable prototype recording in the camera app. In the aforementioned patent, it was a novel technique for measuring the spatial depth.

It has been believed for quite some time now that production is under way of the iPhone 5. Therefore, the first units of the iPhone 5 could appear on the market on the 21st of September 2012- just in time for the full holiday season. Please make sure you subscribe to stay informed on all the latest iPhone 5 release date news.

Source : http://www.examiner.com/article/iphone-5-release-date-reasons-a-new-iphone-5-september-release-is-very-likely

Public Readings - Jordyn Wieber golden when it counts

Public Readings - Jordyn Wieber golden when it counts. They were emerging from the tunnel for the victory ceremony to the acoustic piano strains of “Chariots of Fire.” Jordyn Wieber was out front, leading the parade to the podium where the U.S. women’s gymnastics team soon would be receiving its Olympic gold medals.

Her family had worked their way down to get as close as they could, all the way to Section 103 at the North Greenwich Arena. Jordyn’s youngest sister, 12-year-old Kyra, was crying.

“Jordyn!” yelled David Wieber, Jordyn’s father.

“We love you, Jordyn!” screamed her mother, Rita.

Just then, 17-year-old Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt — whose family hadn’t seen her since she left the arena floor in tears Sunday after failing to advance to the individual all-around finals — glanced over her left shoulder to the direction of her family. They saw her smile.

Perhaps she couldn’t make them all out in darkness, but Wieber knew they were there.

Then the announcement, the final affirmation of what she already had known — how a team goal was far more important than an individual one.

“…Gold medalists and Olympic champions … the United States of America! Jordyn Wieber! Gabrielle Douglas! McKayla Maroney! Alexandra Raisman! Kyla Ross!” 

“Oh, my God,” Rita Wieber exclaimed. “I think I’m going to pass out.”

Yes, here are your Olympic champions, something that hasn’t happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games, when the Magnificent Seven became the first American women’s gymnastics team to claim the crown.

“To have this gold medal around my neck, it’s an incredible feeling,” Wieber said after the victory ceremony. “It’s not just one of us, it’s the five of us.”

She was asked how the medal felt.

Wieber looked down and smiled.

“It’s heavy,” she said.

A team for the ages

So there’s your answer.

For two days, the prevailing question in gymnastics wasn’t whether Gabby Douglas or Aly Raisman could win the Olympic all-around title Thursday, but rather whether Wieber — the defending world champion — could recover in time for Tuesday’s team final after Sunday’s setback, when she finished behind her U.S. teammates in qualifying. Only two gymnasts per country can advance in the all-around, and despite the fourth-best overall score, Wieber was destined to be a spectator, not a participant.

Wieber’s answer Tuesday came not with words, but by her performance.

On a team hailed by none other than Bela Karolyi as the best ever — and he was the architect of the 1996 squad — Wieber joined her teammates Tuesday in delivering clutch routines when they needed them most.

They were helped in the end by Russia, which had pulled to within 1.299 points of the Americans after the third of four rotations. Competing head-to-head on the same apparatus all afternoon, the Russians suffered a major meltdown on floor exercise. In a three-up, three-count scoring format, Aliya Mustafina, Anastasia Grishina and Kseniia Afanaseva could do no better than 14.800, 12.466 and 14.333.

And the three Americans on floor — in order, Douglas, Wieber and Raisman — nailed their routines: 15.066, 15.000 and 15.300.

That was the difference.

The final team totals: The U.S. amassed 183.596 points, followed by Russia (178.530) and Romania (176.414), which was just ahead of 2008 Olympic champion China (174.430).

“Kind of apropos — five points for the Fab Five,” said John Geddert, referring to the margin of victory between the Americans and the Russians and the nickname attached to this U.S. squad.

Geddert, the U.S. Olympic head coach, is also Wieber’s personal coach at Gedderts’ Twistars USA in Dimondale, 14 miles from her home in DeWitt. He echoed what Karolyi and his wife, Martha — the U.S. women’s national team coordinator — had said earlier, that the team could go down in history as the best ever.

“I was just adding up, between worlds and Olympics, this core team is 56-for-56 in hit routines when it counts, between prelims and finals,” Geddert said. “They have not made a mistake on the podium. That’s what gets you gold. That’s a machine.”

Geddert, who has coached Wieber since she was 8, said he knew she would bounce back after Sunday’s disappointment, when she was overtaken by Raisman after a committing a stream of tiny mistakes.

Off on the right foot

Wieber, nursing an injury to her right shin (her coach says it may be a stress fracture), opened the competition for her team Tuesday as the first up on the vault. She delivered a huge Amanar that scored 15.933 points and seemed to light a fire for Douglas (15.966) and Maroney (16.233). Those would be the top-three scores all day.

On the next rotation, uneven bars, Wieber led off again. But this time, her routine wasn’t her strongest (14.666). That might have affected the next performer as well. Next up, Ross scored 14.933, but then Douglas — called the Flying Squirrel — came through with a big routine worth 15.200 points.

Wieber didn’t compete on the balance beam, the next event, but Ross, Douglas and Raisman delivered solid routines to set up Team USA’s dazzling performance on floor exercise after the Russians crumbled under the pressure.

When Raisman, as the last competitor, was on floor, Wieber cheered for her teammate as if she were at a football game. Raisman is Wieber’s roommate and best friend, and as the gymnast stuck tumbling pass after tumbling pass, Wieber raised her arms, clapped her hands and cheered.

Wieber was asked when she put Sunday’s disappointment behind her. Her coach said it took the gymnast 5 minutes, but Wieber acknowledged it took longer.

“At first I just kind of had to stay to myself and just be able to mentally turn it around and do it for the team,” she said. “We only had one day in between prelims and finals. I just had to stay in my little bubble and get refocused.

“Everything was fine the next day.”

Source : http://www.freep.com/article/20120731/SPORTS17/120731088/jordyn-wieber-london-olympics-u-s-women-s-gymnastics

Public Readings - Tony Sly

Public Readings - Tony Sly. guitarist and singer for the pop-punk band No Use for a Name, has died, his record label said Wednesday. He was 41.

No cause of death was given.

"It is with great sorrow that we must say goodbye to Tony Sly of No Use For A Name," the group's label, Fat Wreck Chords, said on its website.

"We received a call earlier today of his passing, and are devastated. We have lost an incredible talent, friend, and father -- one of the true greats."

The label's owner, NOFX frontman "Fat Mike" Burkett, added, "One of my dearest friends and favorite song writers has gone way too soon. Tony, you will be greatly missed."

Sly joined the San Jose, Calif.-based No Use for a Name in 1989. The group achieved minor mainstream success with the song "Soulmate," from their 1995 album Leche Con Carne. Band members came and went, and Sly focused more on his solo acoustic career in later years, but the group had been working on a new studio album since 2010.

Their last studio album, Feel Good Record of the Year, was released in 2008.

Public Readings - Alex Morgan leads US women's soccer team into match against Colombia

Public Readings - Alex Morgan leads US women's soccer team into match against Colombia. Sporting News soccer writer Brian Straus with a preview of the USWNT's next match in the London Olympics. 

The U.S. women's soccer team had the Olympic spotlight to itself Wednesday and made the most of the opportunity, coming from two goals down to defeat France, 4-2, in a wild tournament opener.

"Somehow, we always like to make things really dramatic for the fans, so you're welcome," Abby Wambach told NBC viewers from Glasgow's Hampden Park immediately following the game.

"I'm proud of us. This team, no matter what bumps we approach, we hop over them together. We had to finish this game off and we had to get three points out of it, and I'm proud of us for doing that," she said later.

The rest of the group stage isn't expected to be nearly as complicated or compelling. So go ahead and check in on the basketball or badminton Saturday as the U.S. meets Colombia (9 a.m. PDT, NBC Sports Network), because the drama is over for the time being. After that hour of dominance against France, there's little standing in the way of the Americans until the quarterfinals kick off on Aug. 3.

Since FIFA began ranking women's national teams in 2003, the U.S. has lost to a country outside the top 10 only once (Mexico in November 2010). The Colombian women, currently 28th and playing in their first Olympics, are in the U.K. to enjoy the experience and fill out the tournament bracket. At last summer's Women's World Cup in Germany, the Colombians' first, they failed to score a single goal and were dispatched with ease by the U.S., 3-0, in the group stage. They were shut out again on Wednesday, losing to North Korea, 2-0.

The most significant U.S. concern, a shaky back four that struggled against France before being bailed out by a high-octane attack sparked by Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, won't face much of a test on Saturday in Glasgow. The July 31 first-round finale against the North Koreans in Manchester likely won't present much of a challenge either (the U.S. is 3-0-1 all-time against eighth-ranked North Korea).

France was the primary first-round hurdle, and the U.S. negotiated it with speed, strength and spirit in equal proportion.

"It's a huge confidence boost," said Rapinoe, who had two assists Wednesday and was a constant threat with her creative dribbling and accuracy on long passes and free kicks.

"Obviously, France is such a quality side and being able to open up with them is a little bit nerve-wrecking, but coming back to get a 4-2 win is huge for us. It really sets the tone for the whole tournament," she said.

Coach Pia Sundhage has one injury concern—defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx will miss the Colombia match with a bad hamstring. But Carli Lloyd, who scored after replacing Boxx on Wednesday, is more effective in a withdrawn position than she was in the playmaking role she attempted to fill at the World Cup and should be fine. The back four will get a bit more practice, and Morgan will look to continue a tear that has brought 19 goals in 16 games this year.

Morgan's emergence represents the primary difference between this U.S. side and the one that took silver at last year's Women's World Cup. Sundhage wasn't ready to trust the then-22-year-old in Germany and didn't get much out of Amy Rodriguez.

But Morgan now has proven she's the perfect foil for Wambach. Fast, opportunistic and skillful, she runs smartly off the ball and can turn score from just about anywhere. That was evident in the 31st minute against France, when Morgan leveled the score with a stunning left-footed half-volley that Sundhage said was "world class."

The coach continued, "She's proven that she's not only fast, but she's strong. She has that balance. She's a good finisher and when she gets behind that back line, if she gets back and the team is putting her behind the back line, it looks really good and we get some goals."

Morgan's next goal will be her 20th, a milestone that's been hit only six times in U.S. women's history (Wambach has done it twice, Mia Hamm managed it just once). Watching the former University of California star continue her astonishing run might just be the best reason to tune in for the rest of the Olympic tournament's first round. The momentum established there will matter in the knockout stage.

"I think Alex will continue to grow, she's had a fantastic year, she's our leading goal scorer and I continue to support her and she will continue to support us because team accolades are what it's all about," Wambach said last week. "She is in her part of her career where it needs to be a little more goal focused. If she's focused on scoring goals, she's helping our team win championships."

Source : http://www.oregonlive.com/olympics/index.ssf/2012/07/alex_morgan_leads_us_womens_so.html

Olympic Games 2012: BBC apologises for 'appalling coverage' of men's cycling

Public Readings - Olympic Games 2012: BBC apologises for 'appalling coverage' of men's cycling. Poor audio and commentary mistakes cause enraged viewers to slam TV bosses on first day of the Games

The BBC had to apologise for its coverage of the Olympic cycling yesterday after it was savaged by viewers angry at repeated mistakes, poor audio and lack of graphics.

The BBC's team – Chris Boardman, Jill Douglas, Ed Leigh, Hugh Porter and Jamie Staff – repeatedly made mistakes, with some viewers claiming a low point came when they were told "bronze, fourth and fifth had gone to riders who actually came about 30th, 31st and 32nd".

It also appeared that the commentators believed Colombian Rigoberto Urán was winning the race, only for Kazakhstan's Alexandr Vinokourov to comfortably take the gold.

Presenter Jake Humphrey apologised for background noise during his links, claiming that the problem had been out of the corporation's control. Gary Lineker, who is presenting much of the Games, also apologised for the camera work, tweeting: "This is the Olympics. The coverage is from a pool of broadcasters from across the world. I'm afraid that's how it is regardless of who hosts."

The quality of coverage triggered an avalanche of derision on Twitter. One viewer wrote: "BBC cycling commentary and coverage absolutely appalling … no time checks and misidentified riders!" Another wrote: "The #olympics2012 cycling road race coverage contained literally the worst commentary I have ever heard. Embarrassingly bad coverage."

However, the Paralympic pursuit and time trial world champion, Colin Lynch, from Ireland, pleaded with people new to the sport not to be "put off". He tweeted: "If you're watching cycling for the first time today on TV, I promise – it usually has much better coverage and commentary. Don't be put off."

A BBC spokesman said: "The pictures are provided by the host broadcaster OBS to all global rights holders, these are not BBC produced pictures. We have raised our concerns with OBS who have explained that there were GPS problems with the Locog supplied timing graphics, which resulted in a lack of information for the commentary teams.

"A number of tests were run by OBS this morning on parts of the course. "We've been assured that everything is being done to try and resolve this ahead of tomorrow's Women's Road Race."

Source :  http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/29/olympics-bbc-apology-cycling-coverage?newsfeed=true

Jordyn Wieber’s elimination upsets coaches, gymnast going for team title

Public Readings - Jordyn Wieber’s elimination upsets coaches, gymnast going for team title. The elimination from individual all-around final may have shattered the current world champion and leading star of the five member Team USA Jordyn Wieber’s London Olympics gold medal dreams. However, Jordyn Wieber’s elimination isn’t settling well with her coach John Geddert, or other former coaches from the Olympics circuit.

Although every team and their coaching staff is aware of the Olympics rule that allows only two member per team to progress to the next stage in individual all-around, Jordyn Wieber contested that the system was penalizing “strong countries,” who had a lot of depth.

Jordyn Wieber put up a less than flawless performance that cost her a shot at the individual all-around title. The 17-year-old gymnast Jordyn Wieber coming from DeWitt, Mich lost by a one-tenth of a point and ran in for the third place after she was outclassed by her own teammates Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman.

However, Jordyn Wieber may find some consolation knowing that her team finished at the top of the chart. Team USA going strong for their first team title since former gold medal gymnast Kerri Strug and the 1996 Olympics team won the title. Team USA summed up 181.863 points in the individual all-around while is Russia is not far behind at 180.429. However, Jordyn Wieber is a mutual disappointment shared by all familiar with the Olympics gymnastics.

“To penalize an athlete or country for being OUTSTANDING is not in the spirit of sport and certainly not the spirit of the Olympic Games,” wrote John Gedder on facebook regarding Jordyn Wieber’s elimination,. John Gedder, who is also coaching the women’s Team USA stated that it is “unfair” for the 4th best AA finisher, the former world champion” to be left behind in the competition due to a controversial Olympics rule.

The 1996 women’s gymnastics Team USA coach Bela Karolyi thought along similar lines.

“What a travesty!” Bela Karolyi recently stated. “To eliminate somebody because a teammate beat her (Jordyn Wieber). Still among the first four gymnasts in the world, and still you’re eliminated?”

Although, Jordyn Wieber was disappointed and found it “hard to explain these feelings,” she’s holding strong and aiming for the team title.

“Thank you all for your love and support,” Jordyn Wieber tweeted. “I am so proud of our team today and I can’t wait for team finals!!”

“She didn’t have the competition of her life in the prelims but she can come back in the team finals and show everyone how strong she is,” Kerri Strug, member of the 1996 gold medalist women’s Team USA made the observation about Jordyn Wieber’s bright opportunities.

The women’s Team USA have a big chance at the Olympics title thanks to their talented team. Apart from Jordyn Wieber, the team consists of,19-year-old Aly Raisman, who is leading the team into a strong direction while 16-year-old Gabby Douglas is renowned for her speed and flexibility. Kyla Ross is highly talented at 15, and 16-year-old McKayla Maroney is a reigning world champion on the vault.

“This women’s team is phenomenal,” continued Kerri Strug. “They’re mentally so tough. They’re physically fit. They have so much depth… We’re expecting great things from them.”

Source : http://www.faniq.com/blog/Jordyn-Wiebers-elimination-upsets-coaches-gymnast-going-for-team-title-Blog-52976

Badminton disqualifications : Players allegedly tempted by own rules

Public Readings - Badminton disqualifications : Players allegedly tempted by own rules. Until this week, badminton probably wasn’t one of the sports that Americans generally linked to cheating and international scandal. More like backyard cookouts and college fitness classes.

Even the college gym types, though, understand there’s an unspoken agreement between participants: Championship or practice, competition or graduation requirement, you will not intentionally lose to a worthy opponent.

Players might balk at this if they’re rewarded for shunning victory. That’s allegedly what was at play this week when four pairs of female badminton players were disqualified from the Olympics, accused of trying to lose their last qualifying-round matches to face easier opponents in the knockout stage.

The players appear to have denied paying spectators of the competitive matches they’d come to see. The London Olympic organizing committee’s chairman, Sebastian Coe, said the incident was depressing and unacceptable.

But it’s not the first time that this has happened in a tournament’s group stage. And it’s not even the only time in these very Games that a team tried not to win.

The coach of Japan women’s Olympic soccer team acknowledged that it intentionally avoided scoring in its third and final group game, a 0-0 draw with winless South Africa on Wednesday, according to The Independent.

Japan would have won its four-team group with a victory. But a draw put it in second, just enough to qualify for the knockout stage.

Japan’s coach says he did it to ensure the team didn’t travel across the United Kingdom. Second place meant it would start the knockout round in Cardiff, Wales, where the squad already was. The winner of Group F, in contrast, will play its first knockout game in Scotland.

“It was important not to move to Glasgow but to stay here and prepare for the next match,” Japanese coach Norio Sasaki said, according to The Independent.

Other teams throughout the years have been accused of manipulating their last group-stage games to ensure a desired knockout-round match. Suspicion about Sweden’s 2006 Olympic hockey team swirled, for example, after it avoided powerhouse Canada in the knockout round by losing to Slovakia in the final group game, suspicions fanned by Swedish star Peter Forsberg, who said nothing about any such plan but told Sweden’s SVT that he “saw no reason to win the (Slovakia) game” before walking those comments back, according to Philly.com.

It’s not entirely certain why the four badminton teams – one from China, two from South Korea and one from Indonesia – allegedly threw their last group-stage games. But the bracket illustrates why teams might be tempted to throw games in such a format.

The competition comprises four groups of four teams, with teams playing three games against its own group. Afterward, the top two teams from each group advance to a single-elimination tournament.

The world’s No. 1 team, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China, were in Group A. You’d think they’d want to win the group, so they could face Group C’s second-place team in the quarterfinals. Because if they finished second in A, they’d face Group C’s first-place squad.

But something happened in the other groups, the Bs and Ds, that might have made a potential semifinal match worrisome for A1. The world’s No. 2 team, China’s Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei – who are not accused of wrongdoing – had a so-so time in Group D and finished second there.

D2 and B1 are on A1’s side of the bracket for the semis. So, theoretically, if Wang and Yu were A1, they could meet D2 – their countrywomen and the world No. 2 squad, Tian and Zhao – in the semis.

But A2 is on the other side. If both A2 and D2 won out, they wouldn’t meet until the final.

In Group A’s final match Tuesday, Wang/Yu faced South Korea’s Jung-Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na. Both already had qualified for the knockout round. They are accused of trying to lose to each other in that match, which would make them A2 instead of A1.

The crowd booed as it appeared the pairs were serving into the net on purpose, and the tournament referee interrupted the match to issue warnings. “Neither side seemed to be exerting themselves,” an official Olympic news release said.

Wang and Yu eventually lost, meaning they’d be on opposite sides of the No. 2 team.

Later, Group C’s top two teams – Indonesia’s Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii, and South Korea’s Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung – also seemed to be trying to lose to each other in an apparent bid to arrange easier knockout opponents, Olympics officials said.

Niels Nygaard, president of Denmark's National Olympic Committee, said that throwing matches has been "a problem" in other international competitions during qualifying rounds, according to USA Today.

China's Lin Dan, the No. 2 men's singles player, told reporters Tuesday that he hoped the accused would be disqualified, saying he thought the performances presented “a bad image for badminton." But he also blamed the group-stage format, which was a switch for Olympic badminton. Badminton in the 2008 Olympics was strictly a single-elimination affair.

"Whenever they set the rules, they should take that situation into consideration," Lin said, according to The Guardian. "I don't understand why there is a group situation (rather than a straight knockout competition)."

Group stages are designed to let the best teams rise to the top, but still give all squads a fair shot over a number of games before elimination. All participants in the Olympics badminton tournament got a minimum of three games, whereas a single-elimination tournament, or even a double-elimination, would have seen some teams go home sooner.

Mike Walker, who won 14 U.S. national badminton titles, and 2012 U.S. national men’s doubles champion Kowi Chandra told CNN that the format has its positives, but both prefer single-elimination.

“(Single-elimination) is a much cleaner event,” Walker, a California badminton supply business owner and 1992 USA Badminton Walk of Fame inductee, said by phone Wednesday. “You play and you lose, or you play and you win.”

But both said the format was no excuse for the eight disqualified Olympians.

“I was shocked,” Chandra said Wednesday. “It’s the Olympic Games, and you play like this and throw the match? It’s very disappointing. It’s not a good example for young players.”

Lindsay Lohan Is Acting All Demure Again

Public Readings - Lindsay Lohan Is Acting All Demure Again. Not a day goes by when Lindsay Lohan's saggy tit bags aren't playing patty cake with her knees during a topless photo shoot, but while shooting a scene for that low-budget, direct-to-Xtube movie The Canyons, she played the "ohmygawd I can't possibly show the chichis everyone on this planet has seen at least a dozen times" card.

TMZ says that before filming a scene where HoHan had to pull her freckled floor dusters out, she got a sudden case of the shies and told the crew that she'd only get topless if they stripped down to their boxers. Usually when HoHan makes a bunch of dudes take their pants off, the scene ends with her distracting them by giving them lazy handjobs while White Oprah sneakily crawls into the room to snatch all of their wallets from their pant pockets. Yeah, so if you're one of those crew members, now you know where your missing wallet went.

This obviously just a planted story to make LiLo looks like the epitome of modest and the crack industry's answer to Mother Teresa. Or maybe.... this story is made of truth and she only made those dudes get down to their chonies, because she's so used to making her johns strip as soon as they walk through the motel door to make sure they're not cops. Occupational hazard!

London 2012 Artistic Gymnastics Men's Rings: China Dominates to Win Gold; Google Doodle Changed

Public Readings - London 2012 Artistic Gymnastics Men's Rings: China Dominates to Win Gold; Google Doodle Changed. "Rings gymnastics is exclusively a men's competition and involves two rings, each with an internal diameter of 18 centimetre that are suspended 2.8 metres from the floor.

"Ring routines at the Olympics should include swings and handstands to emphasise muscle strength and the programme must end with an acrobatic dismount. Rings final is scheduled for August 6."

According to the Associated Press, the Chinese won their second straight Olympic title and third in four games. making anyone who wrote them off after a dismal performance in qualifying look silly. Their score of 275.997 points was more than four points better than Japan, which needed help from a DVR to finish second.

Britain was initially announced as the silver medalist, setting off raucous celebrations at the O2 Arena. The British don't have a proud history in gymnastics - they barely have any history - and this was their first men's team medal in a century. But Japan questioned the score of three-time world champion Kohei Uchimura on pommel horse, the team's very last routine.

China also won the last five world titles, and now has gone eight years without losing at a major competition.

The Americans, hoping for their first Olympic title since 1984 after finishing No. 1 in qualifying, lost all hopes for any medal with a dismal showing on pommel horse, their second event. They rallied to finish fifth.

"There is no hiding at all in the qualification," said Zou Kai, the triple gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, according to the Global Times. "Who would like to stay back in the Olympic qualifying? If we do so, we lose chance in individual finals."

Chinese Olympic debutant Zhang Chenglong said he had learned how to deal with stress.

"I did not feel a lot of pressure in the final in spite of our mistakes in the qualifying," he said. "We had beaten Japan before. We are just fighting the old opponents."

China ranked sixth in the qualifying and Japan fifth, making the two arch rivals in the same rotation in the final.

Uchimura, world all-around champion, was disappointed with his fault in the pommel.

"We know we need to avoid mistakes if we want to beat China, but it's so difficult," he added.

"We have been watching Chinese since the Beijing Olympics. They are strong despite the retirement of (the Olympic all-around winner) Yang Wei."

Source : http://www.booksnreview.com/articles/588/20120731/london-2012-artistic-gymnastics-mens-rings-china-dominates-to-win-gold-google-doodle-chnag.htm

Shawn Johnson: DWTS Called About All-Stars the Day I Retired From Gymnastics

Public Readings - Shawn Johnson announced her retirement from professional gymnastics back in early June. We immediately wondered if she would be free to sign on for Dancing With the Stars All-Stars Season 15. Yes, her knee injury was an issue in terms of an athletic career, but we figured it might actually put the the 20-year-old Season 8 champion on a more level playing field with the rest of the DWTS contestants. 

Apparently The Powers That Be at ABC were on the same wavelength because they didn’t waste any time in contacting Shawn about All-Stars.

"[DWTS producers] called the day I retired," Shawn told iVillage. "It was a really hard decision for me to make, I wanted to say yes right away but there was so much going on, I didn't know if it would be a right fit, if I was mentally ready for it and with everything going on.” 

Obviously she decided to go ahead and she’ll be back with the new cast when the season starts on Monday, September 24. “I thought it would be a fun way to transition into a new phase in my life and try to get away from all this [gymnastics] for a little bit," she said.

Shawn knows she faces stiff competition this time, from five other past champions and both of the finalists she beat back on Season 8: Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft. "It's going to be hard, and there are so many good dancers," Shawn said. "I'm so excited, I'm terrified, it's a whole new world."

We’re guessing the gold-medal Olympian won’t be paired with Mark Ballas again, so it will be interesting to see which pro partner she’s assigned. That news will come out on Monday, August 13. (We already have someone great in mind for her...)

Source : http://www.wetpaint.com/dancing-with-the-stars/articles/shawn-johnson-dwts-called-about-all-stars-the-day-i-retired-from-gymnastics