Chinese press and bloggers have been less than favorable about London’s contribution to Beijing’s Olympic closing ceremony – criticizing contributions from the London Mayor Boris Johnson and David Beckham.
As the torch was put out in the “Bird’s Nest” stadium, one blogger described Mr Johnson as “arrogant, rude and disrespectful” when he accepted the Olympic flag. There were mixed opinions too about the eight-minute cameo performance featuring a London bus, Beckham, the singer Leona Lewis, Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page, dancers and singers.
The Titan Sports Daily contrasted the “neatness” of the Chinese performers with the “outrageous outfits” worn by the Britons. Unlike the Chinese custom which tends not to reveal their weakness to the outsiders, “the British seem to like to laugh about their stupidity in a funny way”, it said.
“During the performance, when the London bus pulled over, all the passengers waiting for the bus rushed into the door at the same time, which truly damaged the British image,” it added.
In the run-up to the Games, Beijing officials had run a campaign to “civilize” the city’s inhabitants, teaching them of the importance of queuing in Western culture.
It also complained that Lewis and Page were not A-list celebrities. “Unfortunately, the singer and Jimmy Page are absolutely not famous enough to be known or recognized by millions of the Chinese audiences. As for David Beckham, he was supposed to kick the football towards the red circle in the center of the ‘Bird’s Nest’. In the end, just like any of his penalties at a football match, he totally missed it. He kicked the ball to the left and dropped in the crowd, then was picked up by a lucky Chinese volunteer who would not let go of the ball.”
The Daily First praised the use of a red London bus, but questioned whether the performance had anything to do with sport or the Olympic Games. Mr Johnson was also criticized for accepting the Olympic flag with one hand only.
source: Chinese ridicule London’s part in closing ceremony [independent]
Amanda Beard got naked, again, this time for a cause. But the dirty Commie Chinese tried to keep her down.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Amanda Beard had to launch her naked, anti-fur campaign poster outside the Athletes’ Village on Wednesday after Chinese authorities canceled a planned unveiling, citing safety concerns.
In a poster for the animal rights group PETA, the reigning 200-meter breaststroke champion appears naked in front of the U.S. flag and the slogan “Be comfortable in your own skin. Don’t wear fur.”
Jason Baker, an Asia-Pacific spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said the launch was “a bit more dramatic than we had planned” after Chinese security officials visited a hotel where an official news conference had been scheduled and shut it down. “From what I’ve been told from the hotel, the public security bureau showed up at midnight and told them our specific event had to be canceled for safety reasons, without going into any specifics,” Baker said. “When I arrived at 8 a.m., there were public security officials in the press conference room we had booked. “Amanda didn’t want her voice to be silenced, so we went ahead and arranged something else — we never knew if we were going to be stopped at any point.”
Baker said the protest was not against China and did not interfere with the Olympics. Police and security saw the launch going ahead outside the south gate of the Athletes’ Village but did not interfere.
“It was a sexy ad really designed for the U.S. market. It was positive and it was (supposed) to be done in a private function room,” Baker said. “I’m surprised they were so concerned, given we’ve done similar (things) with Asian celebrities in the past.”
Beard, 26, who has posed nude in men’s magazines, said she decided to participate in the PETA campaign because she loved animals and was horrified to see how fur was produced for fashion in some places.
She said the Olympics was the perfect forum to get out a positive message, but now she was concentrating entirely on competition. “It’s an important issue — I’m proud to be part of this,” she said. “The more I’ve heard about what happens to the animals … fur ripped off them when they’re still alive — it’s heart breaking.” “I have seen a lot of the videos, and (it) brings me to tears,” the four-time Olympian said in a PETA statement. “What (some people) think is pretty is actually something that’s very gruesome and gross.”
Amanda Beard, though, is awesome and not at all gross. PETA had this to say:
Swimmer Amanda Beard might be the sexiest and most compassionate U.S. Olympic athlete of all time. Need proof? Check out the anti-fur ad that she did—naked—for PETA.
Even with her busy and demanding training schedule, Amanda took the time to bare her skin to help save animals’ skins. With the tagline “Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin. Don’t Wear Fur,” Amanda posed nude to help raise awareness of the cruelty inherent in the fur industry.
There’s also a video interview with Amanda about the making of the poster.
Dara Torres is smokin’ hot for a 41-year-old chick.
The above photo of Torres showing her six pack and a whole lot more is from a New York Times Magazine profile from over the weekend that J.A. Adonde can’t stop talking about on PTI. I finally had to take a lot for myself and I have to admit that I’d hit it, even if she is old enough to be a grandma.
Okay, she’d have had to have her first kid at twenty and that kid would have had to follow suit, but she could be a grandma at 41.
As it is, she’s just a mother of a 2-year-old todder, Tess Grace. I guess that just makes her a MILF.
She gets what Elizabeth Weil terms “a breathtaking body” honestly.
She broke her first of three world records in 1982, at 14, and she has retired from swimming and come back three times, her latest effort built on an obsessive attention to her aging body.
Torres’s retinue includes a head coach, a sprint coach, a strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny, at the cost of at least $100,000 per year. At the Olympic trials, this week, in Omaha, Neb., she’s expected to swim fast enough to make her fifth Olympic team. If she does, she’ll be the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics (despite sitting out 1996 and 2004). She’ll also be oldest female swimmer in the history of the Olympic games.
I hope she makes it. And then retires to do a nude shoot for Playboy before it’s too late.
Tyson Homosexual ran 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials today, in what would have been world record time. I mean, Tyson Gay.
Leftie People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog reports that,
In addition to blocking traffic from websites they don’t like, it looks like the web-geniuses behind the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site have a few other tricks up their sleeves, such as automatically replacing any use of the word “gay” with the word “homosexual” in any of the AP stories they run … leading to instances in which proper names are reformatted to meet their ridiculous standard, such as this article about sprinter Tyson Gay winning the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in which he is renamed “Tyson Homosexual”
As Steve Benen observes, “auto-replace is not your friend.”
I checked and, apparently, someone tipped off OneNewsNow and they have rendered Gay’s name as Gay in updated stories such as “Gay runs 100 in windy 9.68 to make US Olympic team.” Which, in this context, is still a pretty funny headline.
The sports world has no doubt had its fair share of hot female athletes, here’s a list of the Top 10 of all time.
10. Peggy Fleming
Peggy Fleming was a figure skater in the 60’s, winning a gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. She parlayed her good looks into a job commentating on figure skating events that she held for over 20 years, including several Winter Olympic games. Fleming is now a breast cancer activist after successfully battling the disease in the late 90’s.
9. Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova is absolutely stunning, but she’s also a phenomenal athlete which makes her all the more attractive. While some women make this list almost primarily for their looks, Sharapova is just as noteworthy for her career achievements. Watching her play is always an enjoyable experience.
8. Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Reece was named by ELLE magazine as one of the five most beautiful Women in the World in 1989. Even though she was a very talented beach volleyball player, Reece was probably more well known for her modeling and television work. Most people who grew up watching MTV in the early 90’s will remember her as host of MTV Sports.
7. Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick is so hot she makes people care about IndyCar racing, at least for one weekend a year. That’s a hell of an achievement and pretty much enough said.
6. Biba Golic
I feel pretty comfortable saying that Biba Golic is the hottest table tennis player to ever live. She’s also the only table tennis player I’ve ever technically heard of, but I’m still willing to bet she’s the hottest.
5. Jennie Finch
Softball players don’t immediately come to mind when you think of hot female athletes, but Jennie Finch is definitely the exception. Probably for that reason, she’s the most famous softball player of all time. Finch has appeared in SI’s swimsuit issue and won an online ESPN.com poll naming her hottest female athlete.
4. Chris Evert
Chris Evert is one of the most popular women athletes the United States has ever had. Her nickname for quite awhile was actually “Chrissy America”. She was linked to damn near every high profile actor and athlete in the 70’s (including Burt Reynolds, Geraldo Rivera, Adam Faith, Vitas Gerulaitis, Pat Boone, and John Gardner “Jack” Ford, son of U.S. President Gerald Ford) and even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.
3. Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova would probably break the internet if she ever posed nude. She gets slammed unfairly for being a poor tennis player (she’s never won a singles tournament), but she was at times one of the best doubles players in the world, even reaching #1 at various times. And she has a poker named after her. Ace King. Looks good but hardly ever wins.
2. Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt appeared in Playboy in December of 1998. It was the second issue of Playboy to ever sell out, the first being the inaugural issue featuring Marilyn Monroe.
1. Natalie Gulbis
Possibly a controversial choice, but Natalie Gulbis is ridiculously, ridiculously hot. Female golfers have come a long way in perceived attractiveness in the past ten years, and Gulbis is leading the way, having sold a personal calendar as well as posing in magazines like FHM.
Katarina Witt NSFW photos after the jump!
For more pictures of these lovely ladies, visit [popcrunch]
On his radio show yesterday (which opened with funeral music), Gibson called Ledger a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”
Making fun of the famous “I wish I knew how to quit you” line from “Brokeback Mountain,” Gibson said of his death, “Well, he found out how to quit you.” [hear audio]
This isn’t the first time John Gibson has been so insulting. Huffington Post reports,
In July 2005, just one day before the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London, Gibson said that “the International Olympic Committee missed a golden opportunity….If they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn’t worry about terrorism. They’d blow up Paris, and who cares?” The next day, after the London bombings, Gibson repeated the remarks.
If you would like to complain to Fox News, you can go HERE.
Colin Farrell is dad to four-year-old son James, and he recently spoke out about James’ disability, a rare form of cerebral palsy called Angelman’s Syndrome. The affliction affects his speech and motor skills.
Colin says James has shown “amazing courage” even as a toddler. He says,
“He took his first steps about six weeks ago and it was four years in the making. All the work is his, he worked his arse off for four years. And when he took the first steps it was incredibly emotional, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
“With my son the only time I’m reminded that there is something different about him – that he has some deviation of what is perceived to be normal – is when I see him with other four-year-olds. Then I go ‘oh yeah’ and it comes back to me. But from day one I felt that he’s the way he’s meant to be.”
Fortuitously, Farrell became involved in the Special Olympics prior to James’ birth.
“It’s mad the way the world works. It’s bizarre. I experienced the overwhelming effect of being around those athletes pretty much just before my son was born with special needs.” For Farrell, both experiences have been enriching. “[I am] incredibly blessed to have him in my life,” he says of James.
It’s so nice to see this side of Colin - who knew?
What others are saying:
dlisted says, “I was thinking to myself the other day ‘where has dirty Colin been?’ Looks like he’s cleaned up for his boy. He used to be a straight-up, dirty whore, skank licking slut and now he actually sounds like a good daddy. Who would’ve thought?!”
celebitchy says, “I have to say, I’ve never really thought of Colin Farrell as this super deep guy, but he’s done a lot of things recently that make me have a lot of respect for him. It sounds like he has an amazing attitude towards his son. …This on top of the helping homeless people makes me have a crush on him all over again.”
A Socialite’s Life says, “I’d like to thank Colin Farrell for making it impossible to snark in this post. Yeah, great. Wonderful. I’ve been rendered a snark eunuch with this one!”
After admitting on Friday to using steroids before, during, and after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones has returned all five medals she won.
“She has returned the medals,” her attorney Henry DePippo said Monday. “She’s not going to comment on the matter while it’s pending in court but the medals were returned today.”
Marion had this to say after court, where she plead guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice:
“I want you to know that I have been dishonest and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let (my family) down, I have let my country down and I have let myself down.”
Marion had won three gold medals and two bronze medals during the Sydney games. Two medals, one gold and one bronze, were won as part of four-woman relay teams. Marion is concerned about what will happen to the medals given to the other members of the relay teams.
“She deeply regrets any impact this may have on her former teammates and offers her sincere heartfelt apology to all of them,” a source said.
It’s great that it took seven years to figure this out. Stop taking the drugs, people - if you’re an athlete, the chances are good that you’re going to get busted.
Forbes Magazine has compiled a list of the 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces.
Forbes’ list of the 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces examined only divorces during the last 25 years. Reporters scoured press reports, interview transcripts and, whenever possible, court documents to verify settlements. Figures are not adjusted for inflation. Some celebrity divorces with allegedly high settlements were excluded when information was unavailable or unreliable.
#10. Mick Jagger & Jerry Hall
Estimated settlement: $15 to $25 million
The Rolling Stones rocker and Texas supermodel met in 1977 and had two children together before marrying in a traditional Hindi wedding ceremony in Bali, Indonesia, in 1990. Hall filed for divorce in 1999 after learning that Jagger had fathered another woman’s child. Jagger, worth an estimated $325 million at the time, successfully challenged the legality of the Balinese wedding and received an annulment. Hall walked away with between $15 and $25 million, a fraction of Jagger’s estate.
#9. Lionel & Diane Richie
Estimated settlement: $20 million
Richie, then 36 and married, met the 18-year-old backup dancer at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Richie, divorced from his first wife in 1993, married Diane by 1996. The Richies became tabloid favorites when Diane filed for divorce in 2004 and detailed their lavish lifestyle in her alimony petition. Among her claims: a monthly clothing allowance of $15,000; $50,000 a month for manicures, massages and other personal services; and a plastic surgery budget of $20,000 a year.
#8. Michael & Diandra Douglas
Estimated settlement: $45 million
Douglas met 19-year-old Georgetown co-ed Diandra Luker in 1977 at a Jimmy Carter inauguration party. They married six weeks later. During the course of the marriage, Douglas became one of Hollywood’s top earning actors, starring in classics like Fatal Attraction, Wall Street and Basic Instinct. Amid rumors of the actor’s infidelities and alcohol abuse, the couple split in 1998. Diandra was awarded an estimated $45 million, plus homes in Beverly Hills and Majorca.
#7. James Cameron & Linda Hamilton
Estimated settlement: $50 million
The Titanic director married the Terminator actress in July 1997. They had one daughter together before the marriage tanked 18 months later. Cameron received some $100 million from Paramount for Titanic (which grossed $1.8 billion). Hamilton received half of that, an estimated $50 million, in the divorce settlement.
#6. Paul McCartney & Heather Mills
Settlement pending: Possibly more than $60 million
In 2002, the former Beatle wed Mills, a model-activist 30 years his junior. McCartney reportedly shunned Mills’ offer of a prenuptial agreement. By 2006, the pair, who have one child together, split acrimoniously. She accused him of assault; he locked her out of their London home. Rumors of a settlement suggest Mills may get in excess of $60 million–McCartney’s worth is an estimated $700 million.
#5. Kevin Costner & Cindy Silva
Estimated settlement: $80 million
The pair, who met at California State University, wed in 1978. During their 16-year marriage, Costner became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, scoring seven Oscars for Dances with Wolves and starring in iconic films like Bull Durham and Field of Dreams. Costner pocketed $50 million in 1991 alone. Because Silva was married to Costner during his peak earning years, she was awarded $80 million, a substantial piece of his net worth.
#4. Harrison Ford & Melissa Mathison
Estimated settlement: $85 million
The couple met in 1977 at a dinner with casting director Fred Roos (American Graffiti) and wed in 1983. Six years later, Ford became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors when he banked $7 million for Presumed Innocent. By 1995, he was making $20 million a film. The couple divorced in 2004. In addition to her divorce settlement, Mathison negotiated a piece of Ford’s future earnings from films he made while married, including DVD sales of the Indiana Jones trilogy and The Fugitive.
#3. Steven Spielberg & Amy Irving
Estimated settlement: $100 million
The couple met when Irving auditioned for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). They married in 1985, after Spielberg had already struck it big with his first Indiana Jones flick and ET. They divorced after nearly four years of marriage. Irving successfully contested their prenuptial agreement (reportedly scribbled on a napkin) because she did not have legal representation and was awarded $100 million, roughly half of Spielberg’s fortune at the time. Today, he is worth $3 billion.
#2. Neil Diamond & Marcia Murphey
Estimated settlement: $150 million
The crooner married Murphey, a television production assistant, in 1969, before he released his first gold record, Touching You, Touching Me. By the late ’70s, Diamond was one of the most successful musicians in showbiz, grossing upward of $14 million annually. After 25 years of marriage, Murphey filed for divorce in 1994, citing irreconcilable differences. She walked away with half of Diamond’s fortune–she’s “worth every penny,” he later said.
#1. Michael & Juanita Jordan
Settlement pending: Possibly more than $150 million
The legendary basketball star married Juanita Vanoy, a Chicago bank officer, in 1989. He had already signed an eight-year, $25 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. He also was earning another $30 million a year from Nike and other endorsement deals. She filed for divorce last year. Over the course of the marriage, Jordan earned more than $350 million. Should Juanita press for half of his assets, she could get more than $150 million in the settlement, making the Jordan divorce the most expensive in entertainment history.
Wowsers. At least they were married a long time. Getting $15 million for a few months of marriage is just ridiculous. And, frankly, if she didn’t even change her name, she probably wasn’t in it for the long haul anyway.
P.S.: If you’re worth several hundred million dollars more than your beloved, you simply must insist on a prenup. No, it’s not romantic. Too bad.
In the run-up to the Games, Beijing officials had run a campaign to “civilize” the city’s inhabitants, teaching them of the importance of queuing in Western culture.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Amanda Beard had to launch her naked, anti-fur campaign poster outside the Athletes’ Village on Wednesday after Chinese authorities canceled a planned unveiling, citing safety concerns.
On his radio show yesterday (which opened with funeral music), Gibson called Ledger a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.” 
