Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

July 31, 2012: News of Note!

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Hey, when do the Olympics start?

Oh, really?  Well, don’t say anything.  I’m recording them so that I can sit down and watch them in one sitting whenever my schedule clears up.  Maybe later this year or early 2013.

I’ll spare you my biennial Olympic rant and leave you with a link that does a wonderful job of encapsulating why I hate the Olympics so much.  A South Korean fencers years of training are no match for technical glitches and suspect judging: An Olympic Fencer Refuses To Leave The Floor After Getting Screwed www.buzzfeed.comIn the match that would decide who would fence for the gold, Germany’s Britta Heidemann landed a match-clinching touch. But was it in time? South Korea’s Shin A Lam didn’t think so. So …

Ah, the pursuit of excellence.  And tasty, tasty flesh: Greek Olympian says competitor bit her in fight

Which brings to mind: Top 10 Summer Olympic Controversies Throughout History

Yep.  Nothing quite like the celebration of amateur sports…for those lucky enough to get tickets…and actually use them: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/9434744/London-2012-Olympics-Empty-seats-on-the-opening-day-prompts-investigation.html

I knew it!  http://en.mercopress.com/2012/07/27/veggie-diet-blamed-for-poor-performance-of-china-s-women-volleyball-team?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily

Start planning for the 2014 Games: The 7 Easiest Olympic Events to Win a Medal In

Hmmm.  Interesting: NIELSEN Sued for Allegedly Manipulating TV Ratings…

Upcoming Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Aren’t Remakes, Sequels or Prequels  Yes, apparently there ARE some.

Quick Meme: Which SciFi Shows Had the Best Endings?

I bet it smells like that crappy dinner I had in Kits last year: Company unveils first weight-loss fragrance ever

And they keep forgetting to rewind their videos after viewing: Who still uses AOL dial-up Internet service?

Take a moment to help save this dog: BC Provincial Court Kelowna, Regional District of Central Okanagan: Rule against euthanizing innocen www.change.orgThis dog is been kept in inhumane conditions in solitary confinement for 17 months. Diesel is being accused of being aggressive and dangerous….

And this dog and potentially many more: Case of Wicca raises serious concerns about … – SPCA Montréal

My mother’s favorite author, Maeve Binchy, passes: Maeve Binchy, Writer Who Evoked Ireland, Dies at 72.  Last year, blog regular Shirt’n’Tie was kind enough to arrange for my mother to receive a signed copy of one of her books.  Thanks, Paul.

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35 responses

  1. John D. Avatar
    John D.

    Thanks for the link love, Joe! 🙂

    Reply
  2. arnk2u Avatar
    arnk2u

    Are u sure u checked that dog’s pulse ???
    So yired of privileged athletes……..

    Reply
  3. Alisa Russell Avatar
    Alisa Russell

    Don’t get me started with the Olympics. We’re not fans here either. Hubby and boys prefer to watch baseball. And I am very tired tonight too. Was up most of last night because of the thunderstorms that moved very slowly through B’ham.

    I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I finally got my WordPress blog coordinated with the blogs I follow on WordPress. So, just in case you’re keeping track, my original moniker was Lisa R, but I now have everything under my full name.

    Have a great night!!!!!

    Reply
  4. DP Avatar
    DP

    I am quite aware of the injustice that a few referees who can’t be bothered to watch a short match can thwart the efforts of an athlete who trains for hours a day for years.

    Reply
  5. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    “I’m recording them so that I can sit down and watch them in one sitting whenever my schedule clears up.”

    Are ya crazy? You’d get hemorrhoids sitting for that long. Except for news breaks, they are on ’round the clock here. Dispite the fact that I am sometimes deathly ill when they are on (once I had a horrible flu bug, once I had a horrible tooth ache, once I broke my leg waiting for them to light the damn Olympic flame) I still really like the Olympics. I admire their dedication. The spoiled bums. Get a real job!

    I am thinking about getting another dog for my crazy beagle Maggie. I’m thinking a French Bulldog would be about her size and be able to keep up with her. That one in the picture is the cutest little thing…!

    Reply
  6. Maggiemayday Avatar
    Maggiemayday

    Ender’s Game! Odd Thomas! Whoohoo!

    Reply
  7. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    🙁 I didn’t hear about Maeve Binchy dying. She was not my fave author, but I certainly enjoyed her.

    So did the pug rescues adoption just fall apart?

    Reply
  8. JeffW Avatar
    JeffW

    @Joe:

    Which brings to mind: Top 10 Summer Olympic Controversies Throughout History

    I’m surprised they didn’t have the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice Skating Judging Scandal on that list:

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Olympic_Winter_Games_figure_skating_scandal

    The olympic committee response to this scandal? Make the voting secret so that no one can tell they’re cheating! If I want to watch rigged competitions, I could always watch the WWF on the SyWWFy SyFy channel.

    Reply
  9. sg1efc Avatar
    sg1efc

    “NIELSEN Sued for Allegedly Manipulating TV Ratings”

    Yep, I knew all along that it wasn’t Obama or Bush that had StarGate Universe canceled. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Mike A. Avatar
    Mike A.

    I always love these kinds of posts of yours. Always great links. From funny to informative, they’re always entertaining.

    That picture of the pooped pup reminds me of when we took my friend’s French Bulldogs out with us disc golfing. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but it was a long walk, for them. After about the 16th hole, we ended up carrying them around and back to the car when we were done. Frenchies weren’t quite made for long hikes…

    They were good sports about it. They loved us just the same as before, after a long night’s sleep, of course.

    -Mike A.

    Reply
  11. bailey Avatar
    bailey

    Hey, not sure if you were ready to announce this yet but just saw the news about Delete over at Gateworld! They linked to a story found at The Futon Critic:
    http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/07/30/production-commences-on-sonars-new-mini-series-ring-of-fire-eve-of-destruction-and-delete-293104/20120730sonar01/#4tKrwggUZorwy5qE.99

    Congrats!

    Reply
  12. cherluvya Avatar
    cherluvya

    Just tired….OMG cute. I truly am guilty of saving some of your photos…this will be one of them. *smiles*

    Reply
  13. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    Guess they heard your rant over the pond and will award a special medal to the Korean Fencer. They recognize the problems with their timing.
    yeah…

    http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fencing-fie-award-protesting-shin-medal-230241166–spt.html

    Foodies, unite….we can get into prime condition for the next Olympics!!

    puppy snap…..aawwwww.

    Reply
  14. Pardusian141 Avatar
    Pardusian141

    Ahh…the nielsen one. That is music to my ears……Personaly, I think the ratings are riged even in the US. Also, thousands supposedly have nielsen boxes at their homes, I don’t know anyone that has one. I don’t even know of a friend of a friend that has one.

    I am still waiting for news about a SGU soundtrack. I know for a fact that I would buy it if it was availible.

    Who is your most despised character in stargate? Personaly I would have to say Kevenov in Stargate Atlantis.

    Reply
  15. carol Avatar
    carol

    Well I was up at the Olympic Park in London on Monday and the atmsophere, people, weather and sport was wonderful…

    That’s all I have to say on the matter…

    Reply
  16. Tothwolf Avatar
    Tothwolf

    “NIELSEN Sued for Allegedly Manipulating TV Ratings”

    No surprise there. You’ll probably remember that I more or less called this back in May 2011 when I emailed you information about the irregularities and suspect data in the Nielsen numbers following the cancellation of SGU.

    Reply
  17. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    I feel just like that dog.

    Actually, I don’t mind the Olympics, even if I wind up only watching bits and pieces (especially this time when I’ve been particularly busy.) I guess it is what it is, show and spectacle and controversy, bad judging and technical problems. Kind of like a highly over-budget reality TV show.

    Reply
  18. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    Looked over that list of new sci fi/fantasy/horror flicks. I am sadly unimpressed. I don’t do horror, and most of the sci fi/fantasy films seem a bit…redundant. For one, like vampires, I really wish zombies would just go away. There were a couple that sounded promising, but some were killed for me by the cast selection: Brad Pitt’s face annoys me for some reason – he like a Pekingese!, and I just do not get the appeal of Jeremy Renner, at all. Whatever happened to the chiseled-faced actor with the high cheek bones and razor-sharp jaw??!! OH, riiiiight. They all play villains now.* 🙄 (*see Tom Hiddleston)

    I really just want a good space drama a la Star Trek/Star Wars, but I guess that’s not what everyone else wants.

    das

    Reply
  19. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    There aren’t many things cuter than a tired pug. I’ll read through the other links later.

    Reply
  20. Maggiemayday Avatar
    Maggiemayday

    I used to have a Nielsen box. Sssssh. They make you sign an agreement not to talk about it until two years after they take it out. I was dutiful as a Stargate fan, Sorry it didn’t help.

    Reply
  21. Sparrow_hawk Avatar
    Sparrow_hawk

    Sorry to hear about Maeve Binchy. I never read any of her books, but from the little blurbs on Amazon, they sound delightful. I may have to look for some at the library.

    We lost Gore Vidal today, too.

    I’ve been unimpressed with some of the Olympic judging as well, but I still enjoy watching.

    Love the pooped pup pic. That’s kind of how I felt last night – but I did get my votes in for the Hugo awards! It’s kind of cool to have the opportunity to vote for the award this year. John Picacio was up for best artist and Lou Anders was on the list for editors. Guess who I voted for?

    Reply
  22. FargateOne Avatar
    FargateOne

    Bonjour,
    J’haïs moi aussi les Olympiques depuis la déconfiture de Ben Jonhson le canadien tricheur. Je crois qu’aucun athlète ne peut gagner une médaille à moins d’avoir pris des substances illicites. C’est la même chose pour cyclisme et son épreuve phare :le tour de France.
    Les sports qui se gagnent au chrono sont pratiqués par des tricheurs et ceux qui se gagnent aux points attribués par des jugess voient des résultats faussés par la partialité et les intrigues de coulisses.
    ET que dire des innombrables injustices.
    Qu’y a-t-il de glorieux à gagner l’or quand ce qui sépare le premier du quatrième sont quelques centièmes de seconde !! Et être quatrième ou cent-trentième c’est la même chose: tu n’es rien !!

    Reply
  23. Mellie Avatar
    Mellie

    I have just come home after spending 3 days in London, my son is an Olympic helper, getting the athletes on buses each day. Back to London on Sunday with golden tickets for the 100 m finals! London is brilliant at the moment, everyone smiling.

    Reply
  24. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Another cute food idea for Akemi: http://www.enjoyyourcooking.com/main-dish-recipes/fried-eggs-tomato-bellpepper-ring.html

    Some of those links you posted were booby-trapped. Once you click on them, they won’t let you out! I survived.

    Sadly, I missed the opening ceremony. I’ll try to catch it online. Did you see the Chinese swimmer that beat all the men’s times? Pretty interesting. Also, I heard on the radio that the police lost the key to a venue: http://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Police-lose-security-keys-at-Olympic-venue-3744991.php Or how about the mystery girl in the opening ceremony: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/whos-that-girl-olympics-abuzz-about-mystery-woman-with-indian-team-at-opening-ceremony/2012/07/29/gJQAbTxxHX_story.html

    Reply
  25. daithi82 Avatar
    daithi82

    As someone who fenced epee for a number of years in college I can certainly sympathise with that poor South Korean athlethe. I was fortunate enough to find a live stream of that match. Unfortunately this is the nature of the sport of fencing and it’s rules, not just at an olympic level. Noboby thinks to take account of how quickly these athlethes can move and that perhaps they need a better timing system. That athlethe will still get an opportunity to prove her skill in the team epee event later this week.

    Reply
  26. Randomness Avatar
    Randomness

    Joe, Nielsen in general just isn’t a very good system.

    Officially there are about 20,000 boxes in the United States. I think you’d agree that SGU not appealing to some of the 20,000 households, thus cancellation is ridiculus.

    Look at it from another point of view, SGU was a fantastic series, with fantastic people but because some of these tiny amount of households wernt fans, we lost a great show.

    Reply
  27. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    Just a quickie…

    I’m with you, Joe, RE: the Olympics. Back when the Olympics were for amateur athletes only I used to enjoy them, and saw them as a doorway for young athletes to advance to the professional level. But now when I see the likes of multimillion dollar NBA players competing against guys from poor third-world countries, it just ruins everything. Also, let’s face it – the Olympics were really only fun during the Cold War. I really miss those days when the Soviets were the greatest villains of all, even in sports. 🙂

    das

    Reply
  28. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Interesting about Nielsen. It may explain all the reality crap they’ve been showing.

    Took a look at the Sci-fi shows coming out. “Ender’s Game” might be a good one. I’ve read “Robopocalypse” and I think it will make a fun movie too. “Odd Thomas”…loved the book but I’m not sure it will translate well in film. “Frankenweenie” looks fun to me. I’m tired of Zombie/Vampire flicks. I’ll be glad when that trend passes.

    As for AOL dial-up, yes they still use it in my mom’s town. DSL doesn’t run cables out to the woods yet. The only alternative is Satellite and it can get expensive. Nothing makes you appreciate the fast internet at home than a trip to granny’s house. 😉

    There is a whole lot to your blog post today. Couldn’t sleep last night? I felt like that pug last night but still had a lot of trouble sleeping. You know, it looks like your pug melted. “Melty Sleepy”! 😀

    My son, Evan, is turning 17 years old tomorrow. I’m feeling old…..

    Reply
    1. Alisa Russell Avatar
      Alisa Russell

      @Tam Dixon: My older son turns 16 in December, and my younger one turns 13 in 23 days. When that happens, I will have two teenage boys. Hubby said he would need overtime for the grocery bill. LOL

      Reply
  29. Airelle Avatar
    Airelle

    Joe do you get your old office back?, congrats on the breaking news!! Happy dance!! 😎

    Reply
  30. Paul O'Dwyer (@ShirtnTie) Avatar
    Paul O’Dwyer (@ShirtnTie)

    Hi Mr M

    Apologies for not getting to the blog sooner.

    It was late Monday night when I heard about Maeve’s passing.

    Maeve started her career writing for the Irish Times. (You may recall that I too have a column with the same paper). She was appointed what was then called “Women’s Editor” (!) in 1965.

    She continued to write for the IT up to the 1980s when her first book “Light a Penny Candle” was published – and became an International Best seller – leading to another 16 titles – finishing with “Minding Frankie” (2010)

    However, Maeve’s impact on Irish life is far greater than this. Her many and frequent appearances on television and radio brought her into the homes a generation here in Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

    Her wicked wit, sense of fun and self-deprecating humour endeared her to all who listened to her wonderful stories.

    In a country steeped in literary tradition : Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, Beckett and with contemporary giants : Banville, Doyle, Heaney et al, it’s tough to stand out from the crowd. We Irish love to talk – and write.

    Maeve however, stood out. Her disarming honesty and unerring eye for the human condition touched a chord in her native Ireland which was felt around the world.

    The newspapers (and particularly her own Irish Times) are today filled with memories and tributes:

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0801/1224321236273.html

    and photos

    http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/2012/07/31/maeve-binchy-1940-2012/

    Our Taoiseach (Prime Minister) called her a “National Treasure”.

    It is fitting that a country that celebrates the spoken word should honour one of the greats.

    I was honoured to be able to get a book signed by Maeve for your mother. Maeve’s health had deteriorated in recent years and her public appearances were few. In fact, from what I understand that book was one of a handful that was signed in the last 2 years.

    Ireland is a small country – we are only 4.5 million. Over the course of time, I have found that if you really want to find someone or connect – it’s do-able! The person I asked about the book signing gave it to her husband – who works NEXT DOOR to where Maeve lived!!! **That’s how small the country is!!**

    You can tell your Mom that Ireland is a country in mourning for the loss of such a great talent. She is held in such high esteem here that it is as if we have lost our Literary Queen.

    Best wishes to all

    Paul

    (aka Shirt’n’Tie)

    Reply
  31. Deborah Rose Avatar
    Deborah Rose

    Dang, got so busy reading the links, I forgot to post. On the Olympic thing, have you seen the story of the Chinese diver? her mother had cancer, and her grandparents died over a year ago, but she wasn’t told until after winning the gold medal. With a mindset like that, I think we should all just pack up, let the Chinese claim total victory, and give up on the farce of sportsmanship.
    Meantime, did sign the petition. What is going on with this war on dogs? have the cat lovers conspired to do in our beloved buddies? Anyways, time to pack. Four wonderful joyous days to do what I want when I want, and maybe cadge LaVar Burton’s and Kate Mulgrew’s autographs. Alas, the guest representing Stargate had to back out, which was good for him, not so much for us. Still, always another day or another year.

    Reply
  32. JeffW Avatar
    JeffW

    @Airelle:

    Breaking news? Do you know something we don’t?

    The only thing new I knew of was the Stargate App for iOS:

    http://blogs.evtrib.com/nerdvana/gaming/ios-app-explores-stargate-command-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-for-stalled-franchise/76553/

    Speaking of golf, I was thinking that in SG-1’s Window of Opportunity a great 3-second guest spot (at the end of the credits) would have been to have someone looking curiously into the open worm-hole (on the world that the SGC’s stargate was connected to) and have Jack’s golf-ball bean them.

    Slapstick, sure…but wasn’t that the point of Daniel’s hallway knock-down? 😀

    Reply
  33. Airelle Avatar
    Airelle

    @JeffW, I was reading what bailey posted earlier in the blog…

    Reply
  34. JeffW Avatar
    JeffW

    @Airelle:

    Ohhhh. THAT old job!

    Thanks for the clarification. I read bailey’s comment earlier and then didn’t connect it to your comment.

    Reply

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