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demmiblue

demmiblue's Journal
demmiblue's Journal
August 16, 2016

TIFU Aly Raisman



August 13, 2016

Olympic spoilers, per Skinner (2014):

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I am not really watching the Olympics, however, I agree with Skinner that it is common courtesy to not post spoilers in the OP title.

I remember the dude that almost got the ban hammer for posting spoilers in 2012. It was an epic smack down by Skinner!
August 13, 2016

A 30,000-Square-Foot Olympics Mural May Just Be a Record

Source: Wired



Olympians aren’t the only ones competing in Rio this summer. Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra (aka Kobra) is also attempting to break a Guinness World Record with his latest mural.

The work, entitled Etnias, covers more than 30,000 square feet of a formerly abandoned warehouse in Rio’s newly reinvigorated port district. Using a wild quiltwork of brightly colored geometric shapes, it portrays the faces of five indigenous men and women from five continents. (The five Olympic rings inspired the number of subjects.) The portraits depict the wizened faces of members of the Mursi, from Ethiopia; the Kayin, from Thailand; the Supi, from Europe; the Huli from Papua New Guinea, and the Tapajos, from the Americas.

“I wanted to show that everyone is united, we are all connected,” says Kobra. A healthy sentiment in this time of chaos and tension, in Rio and beyond. The project is an extension of his series called “Peace Outlooks,” featuring figures like Malala, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.



More: http://www.wired.com/2016/08/epic-olympics-inspired-mural-named-worlds-biggest/
August 13, 2016

Check out the Rio accommodations for the U.S.A. basketball teams:

Source: New York Times/USA Today



<snip>

If the team’s lodging seems standoffish, that is by design. U.S.A. Basketball, the organization that oversees the national men’s and women’s teams, has shunned the athletes’ village since 1992. The team stayed on a ship at the 2004 Games in Athens, then used hotels in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

“The boat we’re staying on is very nice, very secluded,” said Angel McCoughtry, who is playing in her second Olympics. “Let’s be honest — how can our men’s and women’s teams stay in the village? They would get bombarded, especially the men’s team. They won’t have peace.”

The players, particularly the men, are exceedingly well paid as professionals. But other highly compensated athletes seemingly have no qualms about mixing with the other Olympians in the village. Bolt, probably the biggest star of these Games, checked into the village the other day. Michael Phelps, the world’s most famous swimmer, ran into Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, in the village and asked for a selfie.

The United States women’s gymnastics team, the showpiece of the American delegation, is also in the village. In fact, a majority of the 554 American athletes stay there.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/sports/olympics/rio-2016-basketball-united-states-cruise-ship.html?_r=0

August 4, 2016

'The Hubble Cantata' Weds Live Music with VR Views of the Cosmos

Source: Live Science



Thousands of stars are forming in the cloud of gas and dust known as the Orion Nebula, which is featured in the VR immersive installation, "The Hubble Cantata."

Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team


<snip>

As audience members don cardboard headsets and activate a free app, immersive VR animations created from actual Hubble photos will transform Prospect Park into a display of celestial objects. The 5-minute-long VR film, titled "Fistful of Stars," will offer viewers the perspective of actually traveling through space.

A concentric array of eight speakers surrounding the audience will enable the concert audio to travel around and through them in 3D space, according to the event's acoustics researcher and designer, Terence Caulkins.

The installation represents a collaboration among artists, engineers and scientists, developed at the New Museum in New York City as part of its art incubation program, New Inc.

The musical commission originated with the concept of accompanying Hubble imagery and collaborating with Mario Livio, an astrophysicist who worked with Hubble for 24 years, "Hubble Cantata" composer Paola Prestini told Live Science in an email.


Read more: http://www.livescience.com/55537-hubble-cantata-vr-performance.html

The marriage of science, technology and the arts... how exciting!
August 2, 2016

Rebel Rebel - Rockin'1000 That's Live Official




These are the same folks who brought us this:



August 1, 2016

Trump Lashes Out Again As Khan Family Gives New Interview

Source: TPM

Khizr and Ghazala Khan appeared on CNN's "New Day" Monday morning, prompting Donald Trump to attack the family again on Twitter while they were still on air.

Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016


Asked to respond to Trump's latest tweet, Khan told CNN that his comments about Trump have been "appropriate."

<snip>

Trump later followed up with another tweet trying to call attention to "radical Islam."

This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016


Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-khizr-khan-monday

Trump is imploding.
August 1, 2016

KHAN REACTION: Read The Letter The Families Of ELEVEN Fallen Soldiers Just Sent To Trump

Source: Addicting Info

The families of eleven American soldiers who lost their lives serving the United States have banded together and sent a letter to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, reacting to his attack on the family of deceased Army Captain Humayun Khan.

After his father Khizr Khan spoke to the Democratic Convention, Trump asked ABC News, “Did Hillary’s scriptwriters write it?” Minimizing the loss of Khan’s son, Trump also said:

“I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.”

Karen Meredith, who lost her son Ken Ballard in Iraq, organized a letter with the families of eleven other fallen soldiers to demand an apology from Trump. Here is the letter:


Read more: http://addictinginfo.org/2016/08/01/khan-reaction-read-the-letter-the-families-of-eleven-fallen-soldiers-just-sent-to-trump/

This is really blowing up.

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