Thursday, June 2, 2011
Stop Announcement Sytem in H-set (Oscar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-twSfSd3wM&hl=en
Sunday, May 22, 2011
My 2011 Academy Award Reel (Pre-Announcement!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq_c6YBnbmU&hl=en
Thursday, March 17, 2011
83rd Academy Awards Nominations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjcJcrrHOI&hl=en
Monday, February 7, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Golden Boy's Greatest Hits and Misses
Image : http://www.flickr.com
The top boxing news story this week was Oscar De La Hoya's retirement announcement. It's major news when the greatest ticket seller that the sport has ever seen calls it quits. His fans, often referred to as "golden boys and girls" shed tears, HBO's boxing brass continues its search for an heir apparent, and hungry contenders helplessly watch their dreams of fighting De La Hoya disappear. Simply put, De La Hoya will be missed.
However, what legacy has he left in the ring? At best, De La Hoya will be viewed as a man who competed at a high level in six different weight classes (capturing 10 titles, some of the alphabelt variety) and took on the best fighters of his generation. At worst, he will be viewed as a guy who rarely won his biggest fights and went out as a quitter (on his stool against Manny Pacquiao). I view him somewhere in between. Here's why.
The Hits. De La Hoya's best wins came against two all-time greats in Julio Cesar Chavez (2x) and Pernell "Sweat Pea" Whitaker, and two former champions, Ike Quartey and Fernando Vargas. On the plus side, Oscar can legitimately say that he defeated two Hall of Famer fighters during his career as well as two "at or near-their-prime" titlists in unification bouts. The downside is that both Chavez and Whitaker were "past-their-primes," some felt that "Sweet Pea" actually beat De La Hoya (present company included), Vargas was perceived by many to be a shot fighter after his loss to Felix "Tito" Trinidad, and many believed (present company not included) that he was edged by Quartey in their bout.
The Misses. Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley (2x), Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao represent the "what if" part of De La Hoya's career. If he had defeated them, we'd be talking about him as one of the top ten boxers of all time. Although he lost to them all, he must be credited for taking on such a challenging list of opponents. Two of these losses are debatable. His disappointing loss to Trinidad was a highly questionable decision. Despite his shameless running in the late rounds of that fight, he clearly out-boxed Trinidad for 2/3 of that fight. He also appeared to do enough in his second loss to Mosley.
Losing to Hopkins and Pacquiao is no shame. However, the manner in which he lost has greatly damaged his reputation. In the Hopkins fight, I felt that he succumbed to Hopkins's physical pressure and was more than content to let that liver shot close the show. In his weight-drained loss to the PacMan, he quit on his stool. This one cuts deepest.
Although contemporaries like Roy Jones, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Felix Trinidad accomplished more in the ring, no fighter since Mike Tyson was able to grab the attention of general sports fans the way that De La Hoya did. He took the pretty boy thing started by Sugar Ray Robinson, perfected by Muhammad Ali, and refined by Sugar Ray Leonard to the next level to become boxing's most bankable star ever. And oh yeah, he had one great left hook.
No matter what you think about Oscar De La Hoya, you can not deny that he has helped keep boxing relevant in an age dominated by football, baseball and other combat sports like mixed martial arts. Can boxing survive without its Golden Goose? Yes, as long as it does not try to find the next Golden Boy. To quote Yoda in the second installment of Star Wars, "There is (will be) another." There always is.
Get boxing predictions advice, bet on boxing, and buy boxing tickets at http://www.fightinsight.com
Thursday, January 13, 2011
DVD New Releases From Disney to Sherlock Holmes and More
Image : http://www.flickr.com
Each and every week there is a new collection of DVD new releases that come available. The new movies on DVD always have everybody exciting, and in many cases people eagerly anticipate the dates for a new DVD movie release far before it has actually come upon us!
One example of this is the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Of course we are all familiar with the classic story involving the English detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Watson. Well, now Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have immersed themselves into those roles, and they to have been born for the parts.
Directed by Guy Ritchie, the new version of Sherlock Holmes is at times edgy and darkly funny, at times quick paced action and at times classic mystery and suspense. It will be available for sale in March, so mark your calendars to take home this fun new DVD movie.
Another one of the fun new movies on DVD, although perhaps on the other side of the spectrum, is the Princess and the Frog from Disney. Some Disney movies have been let downs over the last handful of years, but this is a classic that harkens back to those Disney movies that were so popular in years past.
This is a fantastic, charming and lighthearted movie that will make both kids and adults fans. It's one of the best selling DVD new releases available right now and it adds a lot of luster back to the line of Disney movies that hopefully they can continue to add on and work with in the future. It's a formula that works, and has worked, for a very long time.
A new DVD movie that will be available in March is The Informant! starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. We have gotten used to Damon in action roles, but in this movie he's about as far from an action star as he could be. This movies is at time an expose and is at times a dark comedy, and it manages to be many other things in between as well.
These are a few of the more exciting and popular new DVD movie releases that people are talking about and buying up right now. The list is always changing, but you can be sure that staying on top of the latest DVD new releases is a fantastic way to always have some great entertainment at hand. When you're looking for new movies on DVD, there's no better place to turn than these weekly releases and big upcoming announcements.
At DVDsonSale.net you can find a huge selection of all of the DVD new releases at amazing, discount prices. You can find all of the best new movies on DVD so that you never get bored of your collection and you always have the latest and the greatest!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Luxury Reaches for the Sky in Airplane Hotels
Airplanes aren't known for their high levels of comfort. First-class passengers excluded, most people look forward to a long flight about as much as they look forward to a visit to the dentist. Without external aids, sleep is virtually impossible. But what if you could lie down and stretch out on an exquisite double or queen size bed? What if the bathroom was bigger than a broom cupboard and the fittings spotless? What if you didn't have to deal with other people's bratty children, or even other people at all? Wouldn't that be akin to heaven?
All of this is possible, but there is a catch: your plane has to stay grounded.
What's the point, you may ask? Well, novelty. You can count the number of planes that have been converted to five-star luxury hotels on one hand, and still have fingers to spare. Because of their limited size, room is usually limited to one couple or group, which means the number of people who have enjoyed the experience is still quite low. You'd be part of an elite group of travellers.
Visitors to Holland can try the Honecker Hotel, which used to be a four-engine Ilyushin 18 (circa 1960), an old Soviet Union model. Ben Thijssen grabbed the opportunity to create something new and exciting, and turn a tidy profit when he spotted the Ilyushin going for a measly €25,000 (R238 838). He bought it, renovated it and opened his five-star airplane hotel right on the edge of Amsterdam's Teage Airport.
There is only one long suite, but it contains every luxury item you could possibly desire, including a sauna, whirlpool, bar, flat screen TVs (plural), DVD and blu-ray player, wi-fi and a hostess who is on call 24 hours a day. Last year, a one-night stay set you back €350 (R3343), so it's probably a little more by now. Like most hotels these days, it also doubles as a conference facility and is capable of comfortably holding 15 people.
On the other side of the world, in Costa Rica, you can stay in a two bedroom suite in what used to be a 1965 Boeing 727. The airplane hotel is part of the Costa Verde Resort, located on the edge of the Manuel Antonio National Park, and overlooks a beach on one side and rain forest on the other. It's not as sleek and modern as the Honecker Hotel; instead of sparkling white furnishings you'll find the interior of the Boeing is done in a far homelier teak, but all the furniture is all hand carved.
It does, however, contain all the modern amenities, including a kitchen, dining room and flat-screen TVs (plural). Unlike the Honecker, this plane does not have its wheels firmly on the ground. It's balanced on a 50-foot high pedestal, to provide the best views.
Stockholm offers something slightly more affordable, albeit with less emphasis on luxury. Oscar Diös was an ordinary hotel owner when he heard about an unused 1976 Boeing 747-200. It was badly rundown but Diös wasn't going to let that stand in the way of adding an airplane hotel to his empire.
The Jumbo Hostel (or Jumbo Stay) is not a five-star hotel, but it's not a cheap backpackers' digs either. There are over 20 rooms that sleep two, three or four people. Like all hostels the bathrooms are communal, but there is a semi-luxury suite on the upper deck with an en suite bathroom and loo. Each room has a flat screen TV and the plane is in a wi-fi hotspot. No meals are served, but there are a couple of microwaves and a café that sells snacks and drinks.
Lastly, we have one of the greatest hoax's to hit the travel and aviation industry. Towards the end of March 2009, travellers and flying enthusiasts from around the world pricked up their ears at the news that the world's largest helicopter was also a hotel and that bookings would soon be open. The Hotelicopter, as it was named, was to contain 18 luxury soundproofed suites, each with a queen-sized bed and sheets of such fine cotton than even Jennifer Lopez would be satisfied.
The announcement was accompanied by a viral email clip of the Hotelicopter, a Russian Mil V-12, dominating the sky, as well as several images of the gorgeous interior. Some particularly bright people noticed that the images looked suspiciously as though they had been taken from the Yotel (an airport hotel chain) website. Others remarked that as only two Mil V-12s were ever built and that both were accounted for (one crashed in 1968, and the other is in a museum near Moscow), the appearance of a third was well-nigh miraculous.
It didn't take long for Yotel to admit that the whole thing was an "April Fool's joke" but that they continued to be hopeful for the future.
Phil writes about aeroplanes for the South Africa travel & adventure directory, Leeulekker.