Junior's Reading And Viewing List: August 22 - 31, 2010

Last Update - September 14, 2010 at 3:11 AM EDT

Junior's 'Reading And Viewing List' for August 22 through August 31, 2010 contains links to some items posted during that time period, which I wanted to share.

Sorry for the delay in posting lately, but there have been many forces working against me, including a malfunctioning Blogger dashboard Reading List utility.

The topics covered below include films, music, hockey (Washington Capitals) and racing (Formula One and WRC).

A couple 2010 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Preview posts made it into this list.


August 30, 2010

Solberg still aiming high
Posted at WRC.com

Petter Solberg is convinced he has the pace to win a round of the World Rally Championship before the end of this season.

The Norwegian took a great deal of confidence from the recent Rallye Deutschland, where he finished fifth, but was regularly the fastest of the Citroen C4 WRCs. Solberg admitted he came close to withdrawing from the Trier-based event after a troubled opening day...

Paul Rodgers Confirms Being Approached To Front Aerosmith
Posted by Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock

In an interview with Spinner.com, legendary vocalist Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Company/The Firm/Queen +Paul Rodgers) confirmed being approached by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry to replace frontman Steven Tyler, and subsequently turned down that offer during the period when it appeared Steven Tyler might be leaving the band...


August 27, 2010

Friday analysis - Ferrari looking quietly confident
Posted at Formula1.com

Many teams were cautious in reading too much into their performance, since the rain in the morning disrupted things so significantly and with more bad weather possible, they wanted to preserve their three sets of full wet Bridgestone tyres and four sets of intermediates. And as expected, for once Red Bull were not among the pacesetters. We take a team-by-team look at Friday progress at Spa...

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes
Posted at Formula1.com

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took the honours in Belgium on Friday, topping both the rain-swept morning session and the much drier afternoon one. Alonso and his rivals reflect on their early progress at Spa...

Spa celebrations for Barrichello and Webber
Posted at Formula1.com

There was a nice little ceremony in a packed Williams hospitality area at Spa on Thursday, as Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 300th Grand Prix with all of his friends in the paddock. Everyone who was anyone was there, including most of his fellow drivers with the notable exception of Michael Schumacher… Bernie Ecclestone was there, and presented the Brazilian with a medal...

More big names to follow MINI?
Posted at WRC.com

If there's one thing that history has taught us over the years, it's that everything - from flared trousers to world wars - comes in cycles.

It wasn’t that long ago when the World Rally Championship boasted seven manufacturers, and that time will come again...

New Releases From Guitar Legend Rory Gallagher
Coming September 14
Posted by Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock

Eagle Rock has announced two releases from Irish blues rock guitar icon Rory Gallagher. The label will release Ghost Blues 2DVD and The Beat Club Sessions CD on September 14.

The 2DVD set, running 179 minutes in total, is the complete Rory Gallagher experience, both revealing his background as a musical artist and tapping into his dominating stage presence...

Rockin' The Kremlin : Russia's President Medvedev Tells U2's Bono That He's a Fan of Led Zeppelin, But Prefers Deep Purple
Posted by Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock

Medvedev, 44, has said previously that he likes to listen to classic rock. Russia’s president since May 2008, Medvedev became a fan of Deep Purple as a teenager living in a cramped two-room apartment on the outskirts of Leningrad in the 1970s.

Deep Purple, whose music was banned by Soviet authorities, were flown to Moscow in February of 2008 to be the guests of honor at a concert in the Kremlin and met Medvedev. In a 2007 interview with Itogi magazine, Medvedev said he had the entire vinyl collection of Deep Purple. At school, he also listened to Black Sabbath...

Volkswagen ‘more than interested’ in WRC entry
Posted at WRC.com


The head of Volkswagen's motorsport division says the manufacturer could be competing in the World Rally Championship as early as 2013 if plans are given the green light in the coming months...


Wilson confident for 2011
Posted at WRC.com

Matthew Wilson believes that the extended test mileage he is accumulating with the new Ford Fiesta WRC will put him in a strong position next year.

Wilson is due to take the wheel of the Fiesta again at a test between the upcoming World Championship rounds in France and Spain, which is when Ford factory drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala will also sample their 2011 car for the first time...

NHL discussing possibility of women's hockey league
By Katie Carrera at Capitals Insider

The New York Times reported Thursday that the NHL is involved in preliminary discussions about the possibility of setting up a women's hockey league as parity in the women's game continues to decrease internationally...


August 26, 2010

FIA Thursday press conference - Belgium
Posted at Formula1.com

Drivers: Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).

Q: Gentlemen, first of all, what did you do during the break? Pedro, with the family I guess?
Pedro de la Rosa: Yes, it has been a very good break. I was always with the family. We went to Majorca, on holiday, where we normally go. Great time I must say, very good...

Belgium Preview - break over, who’ll take Spa spoils?
Posted at Formula1.com

The world championship fight could not be better poised as it enters its final European stage after the summer break, with only 20 points - less than you get for a win - separating the top five drivers.

In Hungary Red Bull’s Mark Webber moved up to the lead with 161 points after becoming the only driver to win four times this season. He is chased by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on 157, Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel on 151, McLaren’s Jenson Button on 147, and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on 141...

Barrichello milestones - 300 Grands Prix and counting
Posted at Formula1.com

Aged 38, Rubens Barrichello’s passion for racing shows no sign of abating - as his wheel-to-wheel tussle with former team mate Michael Schumacher in Hungary proved. Winning out against the 41-year-old German, it was a battle born out of a different era. For Barrichello, who will celebrate his 300th Grand Prix in Belgium this weekend, it was all par for the course, but for his legion of fans it was further proof of the unswerving verve and vigour of the grid’s most experienced driver. We look back on some of the ever-cheerful Brazilian’s best (and worst) F1 moments...

Visit Jimi Hendrix’s London Flat
By gbarton at Classic Rock

For 11 days in September, Hendrix fans can tour the London flat where Jimi wrote some of his iconic songs, played and entertained.

The first-floor flat at 23 Brook Street (pictured below) will be open to the public from September 15-26. Tickets for visits to the flat (hurry, they’re selling fast) cost £8 and can be booked at www.seetickets.com ...

Raikkonen boosted by stage win
Posted at WRC.com

Kimi Raikkonen says that his first World Rally Championship stage win has given him additional motivation to continue in the sport next year.

The 2007 Formula One World Champion went quickest on the final stage of the Rallye Deutschland, Circus Maximus, to claim a fastest time on only his eighth-ever WRC event in a World Rally Car...

Flash Drive
By Mike Vogel at Dump 'N Chase

The upcoming 2010-11 campaign will be the sixth in a capitals’ uniform for 26-year-old forward Tomas Fleischmann. The left wing-turned-center arrived in the District earlier this week and he hit the ice with a few of his Washington teammates on Thursday morning in preparation for the upcoming season.

Although Fleischmann’s goal, point and ice time totals have risen in each of his five seasons with the Capitals, and although he totaled 23 goals and 51 points last season, and although he just inked a $2.6 million deal for 2009-10, the Czech Republic native has heard his name floated in recently rumored trades that would reportedly bring a defenseman back to D.C.


August 25, 2010

'Iron Fist' Movie Moving Forward With 'xXx' Screenwriter
By Josh Wigler at MTV's Splash Page


Even with "Thor," "Captain America" and "The Avengers" on the horizon, Marvel Studios is looking further into the future with plans for an "Iron Fist" adaptation.

Deadline reports that screenwriter Rich Wilkes has been tapped to write the script for "Iron Fist," based on the martial arts-inclined superhero of the same name...


New Hendrix Photo Book Is A Visual Feast
By gbarton at Classic Rock

The Experience, a new book from longtime Classic Rock favourite, photographer Gered Mankowitz, has just landed at the Classic Rock office – and it’s a corker.

The 128 pages are dominated by two historic sessions at Masons Yard Studio, which took place shortly after Jimi had taken London by the throat and changed the rock landscape forever...

Introducing - an early Black Sabbath associate
Posted at Home Of Metal

Meet Norman Hood. Norman first met Black Sabbath in 1968 when he booked them (as Earth) to play at a pub backroom venue he was running with some friends in Lichfield, Staffordshire about 15 miles north east of Birmingham...

...Norman would later work for Big Bear Music and run an agency called Tramp (named after the band) who had an early version of Judas Priest on their books, before teaming up with Tony Iommi as part of the IMA management agency.


Norman Hood describes Black Sabbath playing at The Pokey Hole blues club by Home of Metal.com
We visited Norman recently to record his recollections of the time and photograph some of his extensive collection of memorabilia...


Economic Woes Affect Hockey in Greece
By Chasta Piatakovas at Love the Game, Don't Like Puck Bunnies

The economic crisis in Greece has affected many facet of the society, including hockey.

The following is an email interview with Hellenic National Team captain Dimitris Kalyvas about the history of ice hockey in the southeastern European country and the lack of financial support for the Greek teams...

The Summer of Fat Albert Brings Bad News for the Hockey Beat
By pucksandbooks at On Frozen Blog

At the very top of the hockey media hierarchy here there have been ominous departures this summer — Tarik El Bashir is pursuing new beats within the Post’s sports department, ones which won’t require anywhere near the travel commitments the hockey beat does, while Lisa Hillary is bolting to cover the Flyers for Comcast in Philadelphia. Tarik’s departure came as a bit of a shock earlier this summer, and is disappointing given the volume and quality of product he brought to the beat, particularly in the past couple of seasons. For a lot of hockey fans in this town, Tarik’s commitment and work ethic arrived as a breath of fresh air on a beat that for a generation of editors on 15th St. seemed little more than a way station, a step barely above internship at Redskins Central. Hillary’s departure, however, is more discouraging...


August 24, 2010

Team input ‘invaluable’ to Indian circuit design
Posted at Formula1.com

Organisers of next year’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix are hoping that input from Formula One teams into the design of the new circuit will help make it one of the most challenging and exciting on the F1 calendar.

Hermann Tilke, the architect behind several recent new circuits including Turkey and Abu Dhabi, came up with the initial design for the Indian track, but several teams were also consulted before construction began in earnest...

A New Dawn - India prepares to welcome Formula One
Posted at Formula1.com

India loves sport and 2011 is set to be a big year for sport in the Asian country thanks to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. Mark Hughes, vice president of JPSK Sports, the Jaypee Group subsidiary charged with constructing the all-new circuit near Delhi, is determined the race will make a major impression on the calendar. With young fans aplenty, a growing Formula One interest courtesy of Karun Chandhok and Force India, a state-of-the-art track in the making, and a passionate promoter, he shouldn’t be disappointed...


August 23, 2010

Ford encouraged by asphalt pace
Posted at WRC.com

Despite a podium lock-out for Citroen in Germany, Ford is upbeat about the pace of its Focus WRC on asphalt, with two sealed-surface events remaining this year.

Jari-Matti Latvala, who generally feels more comfortable on gravel, put in his best asphalt performance yet, challenging for a podium throughout the rally before eventually finishing fourth, just 20 seconds behind Sebastien Ogier...


August 22, 2010

Making the Most of the "Southleast"
By The Peerless at The Peerless Prognosticator

...It is a label that has stuck hard and fast to the division since its current configuration was established in the 1999-2000 season.

The question is, does it fit? Well, let’s take a look at the five teams and their overall win-loss records outside the division...

Oh Shit
By Kameron at I May Have Been Born Yesterday
But I Stayed Up All Night

...I think it’s important to honor the inevitable “oh shit” moments we all have: you’re on the edge of disaster there’s no escape; you’ve stepped in a steaming pile and now you’ve got to clean up the mess.

And the poster reminded me of the song “Oh Shit” by Buzzcocks, which is (perhaps) the best post-breakup song ever recorded...