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Thursday, June 30, 2011
16 instant recipes for July 4th
All of these delicious, easy recipes come together in no time—great to have on hand for a busy, lazy, long weekend with family and friends.
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Proudly Up
Proudly Up
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Post Experts Pick the Winners
Today's selections from .
DaSilva
Fountaine
Affrunti
1
African Knight
Avalanche Attack
Will Endure
African Knight
Fort Pyramid
Avalanche Attack
Avalanche Attack
African Knight
Will Endure
2
Jimmymac Bear
Grand Captain
Hot Minute
Grand Captain
Jimmymac Bear
Casa Doro
Hot Minute
Jimmymac Bear
Grand Captain
3
Oil Man
Lake Friends
Itineris
Oil Man
Summiting
Storm Wind
Lake Friends
Oil Man
Itineris
4
Flagged
Sortano
Revelator
Meow Gibson
Flagged
Running Runer Run
Flagged
Sortano
Revelator
5
Cortado
Research Report
Mr Bad Guy
Valuable Gem
Waterfall
Research Report
Research Report
Cortado
Mr Bad Guy
6
Liberty St Outlaw
Calculate
Moneymoneymoney
Liberty St Outlaw
Secret Infatuation
Ten Bells
Liberty St Outlaw
Calculate
Moneymoneymoney
7
Candy heart
Beacon Hall
Bosox Fan
Candy Heart
Joe The Dude
Asfatewouldhaveit
Beacon Hall
Candy Heart
Bosox Fan
8
Calamari
Comet Road
Lady Durlyn
Lady Durlyn
Serene Queen
Silver Kisses
Lady Durlyn
Calamari
Comet Road
9
Look At Me Dance
Lemony Fresh
Taking A Chance
Caribbean Lady
Maribels Graygirl
Look At Me Dance
Lemony Fresh
Look At Me Dance
Taking A Chance
10
Ravens Dancer
Feldberg
Favorite Ways
Adorable Jean
Ravens Dancer
Jjs Fallen Star
Ravens Dancer
Feldberg
Favorite Ways
Debbie L.
Vic C.
Consensus
1
African Knight
Fort Pyramid
Avalanche Attack
Fort Pyramid
African Knight
Avalanche Attack
African Knight 21
Avalanche Attack 11
Fort Pyramid 11
2
Casa Doro
Jimmymac Bear
Grand Captain
Jimmymac Bear
Casa Doro
Grand Captain
Jimmymac Bear 19
Grand Captain 11
Casa Doro 9
3
Lookintogetout
Summiting
Oil Man
Summiting
Oil Man
Storm Wind
Oil Man 17
Summiting 11
Lake Friends 8
4
Revelator
Meow Gibson
Flagged
Meow Gibson
Flagged
Running Runer Run
Flagged 17
Meow Gibson 13
Revelator 8
5
Tribute
Waterfall
Valuable Gem
Waterfall
Valuable Gem
Research Report
Waterfall 11
Research Report 10
Valuable Gem 9
6
El Dubai
Liberty St Outlaw
Secret Infatuation
Liberty St Outlaw
Secret Infatuation
Ten Bells
Liberty St Outlaw 24
Secret Infatuation 7
Calculate 6
7
Joe The Dude
Candy Heart
Asfatewouldhaveit
Joe The Dude
Candy Heart
Asfatewouldhaveit
Candy Heart 20
Joe The Dude 13
Beacon Hall 8
8
Third Time Lucky
Lady Durlyn
Serene Queen
Lady Durlyn
Serene Queen
Silver Kisses
Lady Durlyn 19
Calamari 8
Serene Queen 7
9
Amnesian
Maribels Graygirl
Caribbean Lady
Maribels Graygirl
Caribbean Lady
Look At Me Dance
Maribels Graygirl 11
Look At Me Dance 10
Caribbean Lady 9
10
Feldberg
Jjs Fallen Star
Adorable Jean
Ravens Dancer
Jjs Fallen Star
Adorable Jean
Ravens Dancer 20
Feldberg 11
Adorable Jean 7
Consensus is based on 5-3-1 point system. Extra point given for BEST BET.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Think green - Pensar en verde
Think green - Pensar en verde
To appreciate details I suggest to view on black and large size
Muchas veces tenemos muy cerca pequeos reductos de naturaleza, casi medio rodeados por asfalto y hormign que, quiz por eso, tendemos a ignorar hasta que un buen da, por el motivo menos pensado, los descubrimos con sorpresa.
Focal length: 12 mm
Aperture: f/20.0
Exposure: 2.5 Sec
ISO Speed:80
HDR 5 exposures, 2 stops (EV: 0, +1, -1, +2, -2)
Photomatix Pro 4.0.1 + Lightroom 3.4
To appreciate all details I suggest to view on black + large
FLUIDR I flickriver I Flickr Hive Mind
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Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunderland Corporation / Crossley DD42/3 / 13 / GR 9007
Sunday, June 26, 2011
America's Surprise Olympic Romp
(Please see Corrections & Amplifications item below.)
America is delivering an Olympics beating that nobody saw coming.
The U.S. won as many medals on Wednesday—six—as it won during the entirety of the 1988 Games in Calgary, Alberta.
The 20 medals that America had won through Friday afternoon at the Vancouver Games represent far more than half of its greatest Winter Olympics haul ever—the 34 that it garnered during the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Once the poor sisters of the Winter Games, once pressed to explain why a country with so much money and the greatest snow on earth couldn't dominate the slipping-and-sliding sports, America is on the verge of turning Vancouver into a romp.
![[SPORTS_OLY]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vvSo10HxXRsekwP911UsDeCN2zCp-HVW51R8BTQCCvPj9VHGK_6NZ6WidvveewYmADDQ0fepAm3FY_wAm7I3GSyNLPvK-ircADp62f4f57ypN3CnTPrvpRGgu38VVi5QXPAWnCSJSwuUKWhaN9HpK03Zo=s0-d)
Bode Miller of the U.S. after competing in the men's alpine skiing Super-G on Friday.
To be sure, fortunes could change. Only seven of 16 days of competition have been completed. As of Friday afternoon, nearly 60% of medals at these Games remained to be won. But several events remain in which Americans are podium favorites, including six more in alpine skiing, three in bobsled, and nearly a dozen more in speedskating.
Leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee are already taking a victory lap. In a statement, released after the U.S. set a Winter Games record winning six medals in a single day, newly hired chief executive Scott Blackmun said he was "incredibly proud of the American Olympians participating in these magnificent Games, and I can't wait to see what happens next."
Perhaps most impressive is that America is winning medals in traditional sports often dominated by Europeans, such as alpine skiing, figure skating and long-course speedskating. Noting that the number of Winter Olympics events has risen to 86 from 46 in Calgary, Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said, "We're expected to do well in new events like freestyle skiing and snowboarding. But this week is not just a new-event phenomenon for the U.S."
Indeed, ground zero for the beat-down has been Whistler's Creekside ski area, site of the alpine skiing events. On Friday, the Americans continued to morph into the 21st-century versions of Swiss and Austrian skiers. Bode Miller took the silver and Andrew Weibrecht took the bronze in a Super-G race filled with high-speed crashes and skiers careening on and off the twisting course on the Dave Murray slope.
When it was over, the powerful Swiss and Austrian teams, led by veteran superstars Carlo Janka and Michael Walchhofer, still had just two alpine medals between them through four races, and only one in the men's competition, compared with six for the U.S., surpassing the team's previous record of five in Sarajevo in 1984.
Meanwhile, Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis, who was supposed to exploit his home-slope advantage in a discipline where familiarity with a course can make a huge difference, hit an unexpected jump in the upper portion of the course and skittered out of bounds.
Winning Faces
View Interactive
Mr. Weibrecht, competing in his first Winter Games and ranked just 18th in the world in Super-G, set the tone early, as the third skier down the mountain on a sun-splashed day that softened the snow just enough to allow the skiers to take chances. Mr. Weibrecht has never won on the World Cup circuit, but his run of 130.65 gave him a brief 0.65-of-a-second lead he held until his teammate Mr. Miller bolted through the gate eight starters later.
Skiing with a scary determination, Mr. Miller turned in one of his trademark chin-first runs, searing through the dangerous turns at the top of the course mostly on the edges of his skis. Dancing from side to side, Mr. Miller grazed many of the gates that mark the edge of the course, and looked as if he might fly out of his boots during his quick shifts in direction.
As he crossed the finish line, Mr. Miller looked at the timing board that put him in first place by three one-hundredths of a second, allowed a Cheshire-cat grin and beat his chest.
Only Aksel Lund Svindal, skiing a masterful run that balanced aggressiveness and control, topped Mr. Miller.
Mr. Miller said the team's success is due to a new commitment to skiing on the edge. He said he quit in 2007 because he thought the team was too timid.
"I didn't think this was the kind of skiing we should be doing," Mr Miller said. "I didn't think people were taking the risk or skiing with the heart that skiing needs. That's why I didn't want to be a part of it."
Now, Mr. Miller said, "the inspiration level is climbing. They see teammates on the podium and they want that, too. It's not necessarily the result, but they want to be smiling, they want to ski inspired. You're seeing a result you haven't seen from the U.S. in a long time, or ever."
Sasha Rearick, the head coach of the U.S. ski team, said that despite the victory and the weak showing of the Swiss and Austrians, those teams would be back. "The Austrians are a strong team," he said. "They didn't bring their best skiing today by any means."
The U.S. performance comes as a surprise in part because America has never won the medal count at a Winter Olympics Games. The closest it came was Salt Lake City, where it took second in total medals (behind Germany) and third in the gold-medal count (behind Germany and Norway).
But the performance is also a surprise because USOC officials had adamantly refused to speculate about America's performance in Vancouver. While Canadian officials boasted of their $120 million own-the-podium program and predicted a total medal count of 35, officials of the USOC remained silent. A year before the Games, the USOC targeted $16 million mainly toward events where the U.S. had the best chances for medals rather than equally across the board, said Alan Ashley, chief of sport performance for the USOC.
"We'll let the chips fall where they fall," Mr. Ashley said in an interview ahead of the 2010 Games. Pressed to make a medal-count prediction, he said, "I think we have the potential to have a very experienced team that will go there with great performances."
The global recession also hurt U.S. Olympians more than those from countries where athletes rely almost entirely on government funding. When the U.S. speedskating team lost a primary sponsor to the recession, comedian Stephen Colbert managed to get his name on their uniforms while spending barely a dime of his own. In an episode that gave the U.S. Olympic team a bargain-basement image, Colbert Nation gained major-sponsor status on the roughly $350,000 that his viewers kicked in.
Yet this week, the joke has been on the competition. U.S. athletes have performed well even in events like Nordic combined, in which America traditionally has stunk. Johnny Spillane was a ski length away from the gold in Nordic combined when he settled for the silver, the first-ever medal for the U.S. in the sport.
But most encouraging is that America's dominance has been widespread. In figure skating Evan Lysacek put the hammer to Russia's defending gold medalist, Evgeni Plushenko. Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso made a mockery of the women's downhill, as Ms. Vonn finished an absurd 1.46 seconds ahead of the bronze medalist Elisabeth Görgl.
Not everyone is convinced that the success will last indefinitely. Wolfgang Maier, chief of the German ski team, said everything has come together for the Americans in a way that might be hard to duplicate in the future.
"They are almost as good as the Austrians once were," Mr. Maier said. "But you have generational talents in Vonn and Miller, and Miller is already getting old. It might not last."
Tim Cafe, a New Zealand skiier who spends five months a year in Austria training, said it's too early to write off the Austrians. "They'll be back for sure, but for the Americans to step in like this and fill that role, it shows they're doing something right."
Write to Matthew Futterman at matthew.futterman@wsj.com, Ian Johnson at ian.johnson@wsj.com and Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications:
The U.S. had the highest medal count at the 1932 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. This article about America's dominance at the Vancouver Games incorrectly said that the U.S. had never won the medal count at a Winter Olympics.
Online.wsj.com
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario.
To view my blog from the final day of my Toronto trip visit the link below.
ynysforganjack.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/toronto-trip-day-...
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toronto canada
toronto ontario
downtown toronto
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things to do in toronto
toronto things to do
things to do toronto
toronto atractions
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attractions in toronto
attractions toronto
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07/06/2011
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canadatoronto, tourismcanada, torontocity, toronto trip, torontocanada, largest city in canada, torontopictures, northwestern shore, trip visit, provincial capital, southern ontario, toronto ontario, lake ontario, wordpress, blog
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Mystery of Norway
![[SP_NORWAY]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tFjseYpTcNSFM4m8E8irlkjoTBGP_SS0h3sFOZUnSV03SFtRGyqMWilnFypmEeQv4kDHqfus0n5WKpFNBL4BfWE336Iiq5wPhW3gGxKvItdSKEuFERT8oeW57Pc5J3_sGGiHf_j8a_mvDoCsfKi7Nebg=s0-d)
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway competes during the men's giant slalom.
Vancouver, British Columbia -- By the end of these Olympic Games, the Norwegians will have pulled off what is, arguably, one of the finest performances in the modern history of sports.
The only problem is that nobody outside Norway seems to take them seriously.
Norway's Olympic team has won 17 medals in Vancouver so far, enough to place it third overall and only one gold medal behind the leaders. The country grabbed three medals Tuesday, including silver and bronze, respectively, for Kjeitil Jansrud and Aksel Svindal in the men's giant slalom. The haul is expected to continue throughout this final week.
Norway has won more Winter Games medals than any other nation. Last week it became the first country to win 100 Olympic gold medals, and Tuesday it hit the 300-medal milestone (the U.S. is second on the all-time list with dozens fewer.)
What makes its performance hard to fathom, however, is that Norway has only 4.7 million people to choose from. It's as if the American team finished third in Vancouver after limiting the athlete pool to people living in metropolitan Detroit.
To find a country smaller than Norway, you have to travel down the medals table to Latvia, which is tied for 18th with two medals.
After winning a bronze Tuesday, Mr. Svindal said expectations for victory in Norway can be a little out of control, especially in the Nordic sports. "People think you can just go to the Olympic Games and take the medals home with you," he said. "It's a little harder than that."
Nevertheless, most people are unaware of Norway's Winter Games dominance. Those who are can be quick to dismiss it with stereotypes. The Norwegians are born on skis, they'll say, because the whole country is one giant snowpack.
It doesn't help that Norwegians don't like to toot their own horns. Instead, the thousands who traveled across the world to Vancouver stand along ski trails banging cowbells so loudly that nobody can hear the announcer declaring yet another medal-finish for Norway.
At home, Norway's newspapers this month are touting the current Olympic medal rankings—and also past ones. "Let's see, this newspaper [the Aftenposten] says it's Norway 297 to 244 for the U.S.," Peggy Hager, a University of Wisconsin Norwegian lecturer, said this week in an interview from her office, where she was perusing Norwegian Web sites.
Noting that Norway gained its independence from Sweden only in 1905—and before that was dominated by Denmark—Ms. Hager says, "This is a new country with a lot of flag-waving nationalism."
That can put some special pressure on Norwegian athletes. At Whistler Tuesday, where Mr. Svindal was challenging for his third medal of the Games, some of his countrymen said the expectations back home had become unrealistic. "Now, the success is almost a given, so if we don't do well, then people get disappointed," said Anette Frolich, of Oslo, who was at Whistler cheering on Mr. Svindal.
Norwegians owe their success to many factors. There's a winter sports club in nearly every city and town and a government-funded program that identifies talented athletes in their early teens and nurtures them through development.
Its cities are relatively close to the wilderness, and there's a culture that encourages children to play outdoors even on the coldest days. Neighbor Sweden, by contrast, has its major population centers farther from the wilderness, and the Swedes are more inclined to play indoor sports in the winter, such as tennis or hockey, rather than bundle up and go skiing.
At the 2006 Olympics, Norway bombed by its usual standards—finishing sixth overall in medals and 13th in gold. Handwringing ensued from political leaders down to sports columnists.
Vancouver started off just as badly, with Norwegian gold-medal favorites slipping, misfiring and crashing their way out of contention. Four days into the Games, Norway hadn't won a single gold, and its total medal count ranked below South Korea's. "This is very sad," Rae Reidunn Starkeium, a fan who traveled from Norway, said as she watched Norway fail to win a medal in Tuesday's 12.5-kilometer biathlon.
"A fiasco was what the Norwegian press was calling it," says Halvor Lea, a spokesman for the Norwegian Olympic team.
The Norwegian obsession with the Winter Games is nearly unbridled. When biathlon aired in Norway during prime time one recent evening, 1.75 million households tuned in, according to Mr. Lea. "There's a lot of pressure on us," he says.
After those first four days, Norway roared back, winning medals of every color in the sports it cares about most—cross country, biathlon, ski jumping and alpine skiing.
Not that they've been bragging or anything. After crossing the finish line Tuesday, Mr. Jansrud didn't beat his chest or pump his fist or mug for the international TV feed—instead he took two deep bows to his applauding countrymen.
Write to Matthew Futterman at matthew.futterman@wsj.com and Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com
olympic gold medals, giant slalom, own horns, vancouver british columbia, olympic team, olympic games, svindal, history of sports, metropolitan detroit, norwegians, ski trails, winter games, gold medal, modern history, toot, slalom, skis, stereotypes, dominance, getty
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Incoming Tide: Cairns, Australia (photo 3)
Incoming Tide: Cairns, Australia (photo 3)
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2011 Kick 55
2011 Kick 55
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011
USA (New York City)
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Monday, June 20, 2011
P9188145
P9188145
Olympus E-620 with Olympus Zuiko OM f/1.8 50mm lens
Infrared IR760 Filter
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The Rural Montana
The Rural Montana
Quiet farming and ranching country....the Boulder Highway, Hwy 69 ( Boulder to Whitehall)
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Plush Deep Pink Petunia
Plush Deep Pink Petunia
Sam Bahr, photographer
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Sunday, June 19, 2011
two derby girls and a baby
The post bout adrenaline high for two Norfolk Brawds at their dbut bout Brawl At Sea against the also debuting Seaside Sirens.
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
Johnny Weir's Ice Capades
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—As fashion week moves into the spotlight in New York, the most flamboyant designs may be on the ice in Canada.
Next week, American figure skater and provocateur Johnny Weir will unveil a sparkly one-piece of his own design in Olympic competition. It's not often that a skating wardrobe change makes headlines, but that's what happened after Mr. Weir received threats for wearing white fox fur on his costume at last month's U.S. championships. (He has since switched costumes.)
Glitter on Ice
A look at some of Johnny Weir's skating outfits.
View Slideshow
![[SB10001424052748703382904575059683861298238]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ucAUvrXlcr3hOd_tdBNUwEXxF2qiK0PjQWaPN8glrTnBEjQuDVqZM0kwV7JPgCMN8SVv6iJ7e2A-NChbXgnUuRyrvc5Nzl6ia_RNdxpFTjA0JQZdzUMZVQZbvVY2rH5_we0Wscfa1BCH6cBSYSgEhn=s0-d)
It's all part of the package with Mr. Weir, who has made a name for himself as much for his off-ice drama—like wearing a Soviet team jacket to warm up at the 2006 Olympics—as for his skating. Mr. Weir, a contender to win a medal at his second Games, has shaken up the business of men's skating by blending it with high fashion and over-the-top personality. While other American male skaters have most commonly made post-Olympics names for themselves as coaches, TV commentators or professional stars in traveling skating tours, Mr. Weir has taken the unusual step of foraying into fashion during his competitive career.
He has walked (and skated) the runway at New York Fashion Week and this year started his own Be Unique label with a line of $95 black jackets. After appearing in a documentary called "Pop Star on Ice," he is now the star of the Sundance Channel's reality show "Be Good Johnny Weir," which shows him practicing for many hours as well as shopping with his best friend Paris. In a promo for the show, Mr. Weir participates in a photo shoot in which he, wearing nothing but women's high heels, gloves and gem-studded leggings, emerges from a giant gold Fabergé egg.
Figure skater Johnny Weir chats with WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler about the weirdest thing a fan has ever thrown him on the ice and what's on his iPod.
Watch Weir Skate
Watch Johnny Weir skate to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" at New York Fashion Week in Feb. 2009, along with an interview with Lifeskate.com's editor Susan Chun on his fashion ambitions.
Mr. Weir, who has worked on costumes with the same seamstress since he was 13, calls one of his outfits "a Care Bear on acid. " He attributes his fifth-place performance at the 2006 Games to not feeling his "aura." Despite the negative attention for his fox fur choice, he doesn't apologize for loving fur. ("Pop Star on Ice" showed him moving numerous boxes of furs to a new apartment.) He even skates differently, spinning and jumping clockwise, unlike most of his counter-clockwise competitors. He spends lots of time with his fans, and enjoys particularly large followings in Japan, South Korea and Russia.
"Johnny Weir is the kind of creative talent that is pretty addictive for our viewers," says Sarah Barnett, the general manager of the Sundance Channel, which is owned by a unit of Cablevision Systems. "He is not afraid to show everything."
More
The Vancouver Medals Forecast
The Olympics Soap Opera Digest
All Coverage at the WSJ Olympics Page
![[weir1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t0PLcEvJ3FXktYZsH1sVRex-QVkwQ4EK13zrwojXzHNEcv77mWEaX2GdNZW0yngcr4Qj7OPw0xZUFpfM44Roj8fDcJ9Tu42pj9EzJvpqRsQzVAVbLduWplhKtNi-wWGv_qXkTC_pvPxFR--N0tLMZH=s0-d)
Johnny Weir at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, above, and in a warm-up jacket he designed, below.
![[weir3]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s6oa3HdvDkovzDDgAJl-ntvrVvQktRYwts_9oAzZ1NRViMDSL2HjJcE15F9Z4kdVPxyMrcW-wzDqKrc49zr0VJ0mR2pp5L5qMEatI0LiN4ULxD_hs47WZ6ZmftSglyApKT96BMUnKSEjwk26i6-ILv=s0-d)
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Vote: With 835 hours of programming, how much of the Olympics will you watch?
Headlines and fan loyalty haven't yet won Mr. Weir top-shelf sponsorships. His rival and fellow U.S. team member Evan Lysacek, the 2009 world champion who focuses on the sport's athletic jumps and spins, is backed by Coca-Cola and AT&T. Mr. Weir—whose performance since the 2006 games has sometimes disappointed—only gets money from his ice rink and skate manufacturer, as well as exhibitions and lectures. (He is in talks with "a very big furrier" but is nervous about moving forward "for obvious reasons," says his agent, Tara Modlin.) Skating has never lacked for male peacocks. But Mr. Weir's particularly public persona creates discomfiture at a moment when figure skating has been struggling to reassert itself as a legitimate sport in the aftermath of a 2002 judging scandal.
"Figure skating, with its roots in amateur sports, has created champions with an image of innocence and wholesomeness. Gender role ambiguity has been tolerated, but not promoted," says Susan Chun, the editor of the skating blog Lifeskate.com. While Mr. Weir has in the past said he didn't get sufficient support from U.S. Figure Skating officials, Ms. Modlin is quick to say that the organization's new president, Patricia St. Peter, is a fan of Mr. Weir's. Officials at U.S. Figure Skating didn't respond to a request for comment.
Nearing the end of his competitive skating career, Mr. Weir hopes there's a different sort of brand in his future. One of his favorite performers is Lady Gaga, the pop singer who has pushed cultural boundaries with out-of-this-world fashion but managed to sell her music to the mainstream. Mr. Weir, who performs to Lady Gaga's hit "Poker Face" at exhibitions, recently attended her concert at Radio City Music Hall and sat next to the singer's mother, who is a skating fan.
"When Gaga started, there were people who worried about her as well. But look at some of the brands associated with her now," like Polaroid, says Mark Zablow, the director of marketing for Platinum Rye Entertainment, a talent firm that is managing the careers of some 30 Olympic athletes. "Yes, your Cokes and Visa may stay away from Johnny. But if he wins, he could open the door for figure skating to a whole new category of brands."
Raised in Quarryville, Pa.—Amish country—Mr. Weir started figure skating relatively late in life, when he was 12, after watching Oksana Baiul win gold at the 1994 Olympics. His mother works for the U.S. Census Bureau, and his father is on disability. Mr. Weir won the world junior championship in 2001 and the adult U.S. championships three times in a row between 2004 and 2006. But since the 2006 Olympics, his performance at competitions has been uneven. In 2007 he switched from his long-time coach Priscilla Hill to Galina Zmievskaya, who had previously coached his idol, Ms. Baiul.
![[weir2]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uqxoT1FG-gT0Pt4RNHwJGPnhW6WduNQybvpVr7rcxSignQc3OrCX3uTlFbYBCbblc_dolVDugR2vVh-aMYg8zz1fQC7ZryzqJYqKttTvDAtO2UONwjHK1IluwuEEYvFuESENDje1q_uEvQcoOn8oA0XQ=s0-d)
Johnny Weir with his costume creator Stephanie Handler and coach Galina Zmievskaya.
Mr. Weir's interest in fashion predates his interest in skating. His mother, Patti Weir, says she remembers him demanding to pick his own clothes—a brightly colored high turtleneck—and doing his own hair at school for the annual photo day in fourth grade. "I would trust him to tell me what to buy," she says.
His future likely lies in fashion, says Ms. Modlin and other people who work with him. He has turned the guest room of his apartment into a walk-in-closet with two floor-to-ceiling "trees" with hooks. One is for his furs, and the other is for his Balenciaga. He has dozens of Balenciaga bags, almost all of which have been given to him by fans.
In his online journal last summer, Mr. Weir wrote about how he'd rather daydream about fashion than listen to lectures from U.S. Figure Skating, which runs a program for top athletes in Colorado Springs called "Champs Camp." "I have a hard time sitting through lectures while I'm doodling costumes in my binder or considering the autumn colors for the Balenciaga collection," he wrote. Mr. Weir says he has befriended designers like Richie Rich (a former figure skater), and wants to attend New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.
Stephanie Handler, a seamstress who has worked with Mr. Weir on his costumes since he was "a 13-year-old piece of spaghetti," says that he has an aesthetic that's all his own. They create his costumes together, starting with Mr. Weir's drawings and then translating them into fabrics. Last fall, she recalls gathering at her studio to choose a shade of pink used for lacing on his costume for the Olympic short program. "He was particular about it not being sissy pink or bubblegum pink. It had to be fuchsia electric—not quite day-glow pink," she says.
She calls Mr. Weir a fashion pioneer in skating. "Everyone is blurring the lines a lot more because of Johnny's influence. Remember back when skating was all pants and shirts? Now there are a lot more little onesies out there among the guys. There is a whole lot more expression going on than in Dick Button's time," she says, adding that already some female skaters have asked to buy Mr. Weir's costumes to turn them into dresses.
While he attracts detractors from the traditional figure skating world, Mr. Weir was also criticized by Mark Lund, the gay former editor of International Figure Skating magazine, for not more directly addressing whether he is gay. In interviews, Mr. Weir celebrates the fact that he is effeminate and likes "sparkly things" but deflects questions about his sexuality, saying he doesn't want to be put in a box.
Mr. Weir uses his TV show to respond to these pressures. In one episode he says that he takes "the best of masculinity and femininity and put it together in some kind of Johnny Weir mixture."
Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com
India.wsj.com
Friday, June 17, 2011
NewGuineaBismark5
NewGuineaBismark5
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Oceania
Pacific
Australia
New Guinea
Papua Niugini
Irian Jaya
Polynesia
Melanesia
Cook
Samoa
Tonga
Vanuatu
New Caledonia
Islands
travels
peoples
tribe
culture
religions
explorations
reportages
TravelGeo
Unknown Ghost
Large ghost sign seen in Bayonne NJ
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Bayonne
New Jersey
geotagged
ghost
neon
sign
United States
USA
Thursday, June 16, 2011
113473217PgNLFc_ph
113473217PgNLFc_ph
Markets of PNG
global-citizen-01.blogspot.com
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markets
png
papua
new
guinea
travel
highlands
melanesia
fruit
vegetable
chimbu
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
ISTANBUL by Wolfgang Wildner
ISTANBUL by Wolfgang Wildner
ISTANBUL, turkey,
by Wolfgang Wildner
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Istanbul
Trkei
Trkiye
Turkey
Trkiye Cumhuriyeti
Islam
Moschee
Konstantinopel
Byzanz
Mosque
Bosporus
Goldenes Horn
Stadt
City
Metropole
Megacity
Asien
Europa
Asia
Europe
Konglomerat
Schmelztiegel
Osmanen
Osmanisches Reich
Muster
Pattern
Ornament
Osman Empire
Moslems
Muslime
Kunst
Art
Architektur
Architecture
Umwelt
Weltkulturerbe
Cultural Heritage
Topkapi
Palast
Harem
Sultan
Wldner
Wolfgang Wildner
Mann
Bay
Mnner
WC
Haus
House
Galatabrcke
Galatabridge
wolfgang, istanbul, turkey
Trondheim
Trondheim
DO NOT use my pictures without my written permission, these images are under copyright. Contact me if you want to buy or use them. CarloAlessio77© All rights reserved
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Trondheim
Norvegia
Norway
Panoramica
Panoramic view
Porticciolo
Marina
Mare
Sunday, June 12, 2011
IMG_9872
IMG_9872
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america
street
united states
trip
semaforo
usa
New York
segnali
viaggio
sign
walk
brooklyn
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Ryan & Amy
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
20110515-IMG_2470.jpg
20110515-IMG_2470.jpg
EPCOT -Mexico
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WDW EPCOT
Orlando
Florida
United States
USA
img, disney
BIG WHEELS ROLLIN
BIG WHEELS ROLLIN
Atlantic Coast Line #1031: The locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive works in June, 1913. This 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler was nickname “Copperhead” because of the bright copper rings around the tops of the smokestacks.
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COPPERHEAD
LOCOMOTIVE
TRAINS
RAILROAD
SPENCER SHOPS
TRANSPORTATION
MUSEUM
baldwin locomotive works, copper rings, bright copper, smokestacks, copperhead, nickname, wheels, tops
NATO Resumes Tripoli Bombardment
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization again stepped up pressure on Moammar Gadhafi's embattled government with a series of airstrikes on central Tripoli early Tuesday, a day after some of the regime's efforts to discredit the alliance bombing campaign appeared to be falling short and Col. Gadhafi's forces engaged in heavy fighting with rebels on the outskirts of the war-torn city of Misrata.
NATO warplanes targeted sites around 1000 GMT in Tripoli, appearing to strike near the center of the city. The increasing frequency of daytime attacks aims to squeeze a regime already shaken by a four-month rebellion, sanctions and a series of high-level defections. A NATO statement said the early strikes hit missile storage areas, command and control facilities and a radar system.
In Brussels Monday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance's operations had made significant progress, reiterating that Col. Gadhafi's departure was inevitable and echoing warnings that the rebel administration in Benghazi needed to plan for a post-Gadhafi Libya in order to avoid the mistakes of Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
"It is not a question if but when he'll have to leave power," Mr. Rasmussen told reporters, citing Col. Gadhafi's degraded security forces, high-level defections and advances by rebels seeking to topple him. Asked about stability in Libya if Col. Gadhafi were toppled, Mr. Rasmussen conceded; "naturally, there is a risk."
Libya's regime has repeatedly sought to show that NATO strikes are harming civilians in order to galvanize domestic and international support. But that strategy appeared to backfire somewhat late Sunday, when a hospital worker alleged in a note that a seven-month-old baby that government minders had claimed was wounded by an airstrike had actually been injured in a car crash.
The note, written in English and handed to a foreign reporter at Tripoli Central Hospital, appeared to suggest the government is seeking to exaggerate the number of civilian casualties from NATO strikes on targets critical to the Gadhafi regime. The foreign reporter showed the note to other journalists.
Libya's government says more than 700 civilians have been killed and more than 4,000 wounded in NATO airstrikes. But officials haven't shown foreign reporters in Tripoli evidence of large numbers of civilian casualties.
Deputy Prime Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters in Tripoli on Monday that it wasn't government policy to "fabricate the news" and insisted that if a mistake was made, it wasn't by government sources.
"It is from people who are enthusiastic and they want to show journalists that there is injustice and targeting of civilians," he said at a press briefing at a bombed-out building complex.
NATO has buttressed intensified aerial attacks with the deployment of British and French attack helicopters, in an effort to strike Col. Gadhafi's forces with greater precision. But the overall picture remains a stalemate, though rebel groups are hoping NATO's helicopter deployment will make a decisive impact.
On the outskirts of Misrata on Monday, there was evidence of the challenges that the rebels and NATO still face.
At dawn, forces loyal to Col. Gadhafi launched twin offensives against the rebels, pounding their positions in nearby Dafniya with rockets and mortar rounds. The fighting claimed the lives of at least five rebels and wounded 25, according to Khalid Abu-Falgha, a doctor with the opposition. Casualty numbers among pro-regime forces couldn't be obtained.
One rebel fighter, Salah Bash-Agha, a graduate law student, conceded that the inexperienced, ill-equipped rebel force faces bigger challenges in open combat compared with the street fighting at close quarters that they waged successfully against pro-Gadhafi forces for weeks in Misrata.
While Col. Gadhafi's forces retain strength around the enclave of Misrata, NATO strikes appear to be building pressure on the regime from the west of the country. Rebel fighters say they have driven government forces from four towns in the Nafusa mountain-range region, where government brigades had besieged and shelled opposition-held areas for months. The rebels' reports couldn't be independently verified. Col. Jumaa Ibrahim of the region's rebel military council has said rebel fighters won control of the towns of Yefren, Shakshuk, Qasr Al Haj and Al-Galaa, allowing them to secure a key road that would allow humanitarian and military supplies into the area for the first time in weeks. British warplanes destroyed two tanks and two armored personnel carriers in the vicinity of Yefren on June 2.
Humanitarian groups that withdrew from the region in May after heavy shelling from Col. Gadhafi's forces said they couldn't independently confirm that the rebels had advanced.
Asked about reports of rebel gains in the western mountain area, Mr. Kaim told reporters in Tripoli that government forces could retake rebel territory in the west "within hours," but were holding back in order to avoid civilian casualties.
The small rebel force in the western mountains is unlikely to threaten the government's hold on Tripoli, 43 miles to the northwest, but their advance contributes to the perceived momentum of anti-Gadhafi forces across Libya. Pressured by international sanctions and a NATO bombing campaign in its third month, Col. Gadhafi's military is now fighting rebel forces on three fronts—to the west in the Nafusa mountains, in the enclave around rebel-held Misrata, and against the main opposition forces in Brega and Ajdabiya in Libya's east.
Write to Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@dowjones.com and Sam Dagher at sam.dagher@wsj.com
anders fogh rasmussen, moammar gadhafi, nato strikes, mr rasmussen, nato secretary general online, north atlantic treaty organization, atlantic treaty organization, month old baby, civilian casualties, radar system, storage areas, car crash, benghazi, strik, early tuesday, airstrike, airstrikes, minders, tripoli, outskirts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Chourio
Chourio
Chorizo can be a fresh sausage, in which case it must be cooked before eating. In Europe it is more frequently a fermented cured smoked sausage, in which case it is usually sliced and eaten without cooking. Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chourio get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried smoked red peppers (pimentn/pimento or colorau). Due to culinary tradition, and the expense of imported Spanish smoked paprika, Mexican chorizo (and chorizo throughout Latin America) is usually made with chili peppers, which are used abundantly in Mexican cuisine. In Latin America, vinegar also tends to be used instead of the white wine usually used in Spain. In Spain and Portugal the sausages are usually encased in intestines, in a traditional method that has been used since Roman times. In Latin America they are usually encased in artificial casings, have a smooth commercial appearance, and artificial colorings are often used.
Chorizo can be eaten as is (sliced or in a sandwich), barbecued, fried, or simmered in apple cider or other strong alcoholic beverage such as aguardiente. It also can be used as a partial replacement for ground beef or pork.
Spanish style tapas bars that serve traditional style chorizo have gained in popularity in recent years and now appear in many large cities throughout North America.
Portuguese chourio is made with pork, fat, wine, paprika and salt. It is then stuffed into natural or artificial casings and slowly dried over smoke. There are many different varieties, changing in color, shape, seasoning and taste. Many dishes of Portuguese cuisine and Brazilian cuisine make use of chourio - cozido portuguesa and feijoada are just two of them.
A popular way to prepare chourio is partially sliced and flame cooked over alcohol at the table. Special glazed earthenware dishes with a lattice top are used for this purpose.
In Portugal there is also a blood chourio (chourio de sangue) very similar to the Black Pudding, amongst many other types of Enchidos, such as Alheira, Linguia, Morcela, Farinheira, Chourio de Vinho, Chourio de ossos, Cacholeira, Paia, Paio, Paiola, Paiote, Salpico and Tripa enfarinhada.
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gettyimagesiberiaq2
oporto
porto
chorizo
chourio
enchido
linguia
portuguese
portugus
portugal
europa
europe
food
comida
restaurante
dona
alzira
spanish smoked paprika, earthenware dishes, artificial casings, spanish chorizo, portuguese cuisine, artificial colorings, commercial appearance, fresh sausage, brazilian cuisine, smoked sausage, many other types, mexican cuisine, chili peppers, black pudding, apple cider, white wine, pimento, spanish style, red peppers, roman times
May 31, 2011
May 31, 2011
@Oido Korea
Rolleiflex / Jenna Tessar / Ilford FP4+ 125 / d76
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rolleiflex
jenna tessar
ilford
FP4+ 125
oido
sea
ship
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Celebs Without Makeup
Normally we like to show you celeb photos with gorgeous makeup that you can copy. But for a little change of pace, we thought we'd show you some stars in their completely natural (read: makeup-free) state.
Now, I'll admit that some of them are wearing a little makeup, but way less than we've ever seen on the red carpet. And some of them still look completely stunning without a stitch of makeup, and others ... uh, not so much ...
Take a look at these celebs without makeup and be thankful that you don't have paparazzi following you around to take pics of you at your worst (or an editor that makes you post photos of yourself without makeup, whatever).
What do you think, should these stars stick with their natural look all the time? I think some of them could totally pull it off.
More from BeautyRiot.com:
What's worse than no makeup? This makeup, seriously.
Why go makeup free when you can try a different look for 30 days like this girl did?
See what guys have to say about the whole "no makeup" thing.
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Kristen Stewart without makeup
Kristen Stewart's skin is downright amazing, but it's somewhat comforting to see the dark circles around her eyes. Maybe one too many late nights with the "Twilight" vampires? Oh, come on, you were thinking it too.
celebs without makeup, kristen stewart, dark circles, change of pace, red carpet, vampires, twilight, photos, photo
Tom's #7 Cheeseburger
Tom's #7 Cheeseburger
Surprisingly disappointing. I've been going to Tom's #7 for many years, and until now I've always had chili added to the cheeseburger. But not this time. As a result it becomes clear the thin patty has been way overcooked, becoming something resembling leather. Even though I was craving a burger when I got there, I left most of the patty uneaten. Other than that, the bun and accompaniments were fresh, and the fries acceptable. Actually, the well-done fries were quite tasty. Maybe I'll limit myself to those next time.
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101_FUJI_DSCF5498
burger
cheeseburger
fries
toms
toms7
beef
bun
hamburger
restaurant
drivethru
food
eat
noho
northhollywood
sfv
sanfernandovalley
losangeles
LA
socal
california
unitedstates
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USA
uneaten, accompaniments, cheeseburger, bun, fries, fuji, chili
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