Last Update - July 29, 2010 at 10:52 PM EDT
The 'Reading And Viewing List' for July 18 through July 24, 2010 contains links to some interesting web items posted within last week.
The topics covered below include super hero comics movies, music, hockey (Washington Capitals) and racing (Formula One and WRC).
For the automotive sports enthusiasts, I've loaded some 2010 F1 German Grand Prix Preview post links and a few 2010 WRC Rally Finland Preview posts in the mix below.
Some 2010 San Diego Comic-Con coverage, including super hero comics films cast and crew interview videos, also make it into the list.
July 24, 2010
High Voltage: The Rest Of Day One Reviewed
By mdome at Classic Rock
OK, time for the second part of the first day of High Voltage. Time to find out about Bigelf, Zappa Plays Zappa, Cathedral, Saxon, Foreigner, Heaven & Hell, Black Label Society, Asia, Transatlantic and ZZ Top...
The Extra Man Movie Premiere
By Monica Lo (a.k.a. Lobese) at LOBESE
The perks just keep coming!
Since we won "Best in Show" for our Fiesta Movement Short Film, Rolling Stone Magazine rewarded us with tickets to the red carpet movie premiere of The Extra Man...
...The crowd made its way over to Vapiano after the movie for the after-party/dinner. I'm pretty sure I'm still recovering from the glorious open bar. It was a ridiculously fun night filled with celebs, models and Michael Gambon knocked over my champagne (you probably know him as Professor Dumbledore!). What? Dumbledore spilt my shit!...
*Dan, Jr. / Junior's Eyes Note: Watch Monica's Fiesta Movement Short Film 'Double Take'.
Live From San Diego, It's The MTV/MySpace Comic-Con Show:
Day Three!
Posted by Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
It's Day Three of San Diego Comic-Con, and that means our final live show is kicking off!
This time around, it's the "Captain America" and "Thor" teams dropping by for a maximum Marvel blowout! And that's not all we have in store for you. Stay tuned to Splash Page for all the live Comic-Con news!...
'Green Lantern' Panel Report: Comic-Con Welcomes
Ryan Reynolds And The Green Lantern Corp!
Posted by Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
Warner Bros. brought the whole "Green Lantern" crew to Comic-Con this year, and a crowded hall got their first look at Ryan Reynolds in action as DC's ring-wielding hero Hal Jordan. Here's a moment-by-moment report of what happened:...
*Dan, Jr. / Junior's Eyes Note: Partial video of the panel here.
Final practice - Red Bull edge out Ferrari
Posted at Formula1.com
Heavy rain five minutes before the start of Saturday morning's final practice session for the German Grand Prix threw things into disarray for a while, but created a gripping final few minutes after the track had dried out.
A series of rapid-fire laps saw fastest time changing hands by the minute, but in the end it was Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who claimed the top slot with 1m 15.103s ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari on 1m 15.387s. Mark Webber thus lost his top place after...
July 23, 2010
Live From San Diego, It's The MTV/MySpace Comic-Con Show:
Day Two!
Posted by Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
It's Day Two of San Diego Comic-Con, and that means our second live show is kicking off!
This time around, it's the "Tron" team and the "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" crew dropping by, and that's not all we have in store for you! Keep it locked to Splash Page and tune in for all the live Comic-Con fun, you crazy kids...
Friday analysis - Ferrari back in the hunt?
Posted at Formula1.com
Friday morning’s rain at Hockenheim introduced complications, especially as parts of the track remained super-slippery for the rest of the day even though conditions improved towards the end of the opening session. Ferrari looked to be very much back in contention, leaving the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes with plenty to think about overnight. We take a team-by-team look at early progress in Germany...
FIA Friday press conference - Germany
Posted at Formula1.com
Drivers and team representatives: Norbert Haug (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Adam Parr (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).
Q: Adam, you have had a new job since the British Grand Prix. How has that changed things for you? How different is it?
Adam Parr: It doesn’t really change anything as it is pretty much reflecting what I have been doing for a little while now. But it is more of a formalization of that...
New 'Red' Trailer Debuts At Comic-Con!
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
..."Red" hits theaters October 15.
Along with Bruce Willis and Mary Louise Parker, the film boasts an all-star cast that includes John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, James Remar, Helen Mirren, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox...
Countdown to Neste Oil Rally Finland
Posted at WRC.com
In parts of Finland, the sun does not come up for 51 days in the winter. That’s 1,224 hours of darkness. That’s a lot of thinking time. And what are the Finns all thinking about? Next week, that’s what: the Jyvaskyla Grand Prix, the 1,000 Lakes Rally or - as it is now known - Neste Oil Rally Finland.
The moniker might have changed down the years, but the importance of this jewel in the World Rally Championship’s crown has only increased. This is the one all drivers want to win...
Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes
Posted at Formula1.com
The weather played a dominant role during the opening day of the German Grand Prix weekend. In the morning Force India’s Adrian Sutil led the way, whilst McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton ended up in the gravel with a damaged MP4-25. In the afternoon Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was the quickest runner, ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. The leading teams and their rivals reflect on their early progress...
Practice Two - Alonso ahead at Hockenheim
Posted at Formula1.com
A pattern finally began to emerge as the track dried out at Hockenheim on Friday afternoon, though conditions were still greasy and challenging.
Fernando Alonso pushed Ferrari to the fore with a lap of 1m 16.265s, but Sebastian Vettel was right on his tail for Red Bull with 1m 16.294s and their respective team mates Felipe Massa and Mark Webber were in touch with 1m 16.438s and 1m 16.585s. Just for good measure, the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were also in the zone, with 1m 16.827s and 1m 16.971s apiece...
High Voltage Exclusive: Heep’s Guide To Demons & Wizards
By mdome at Classic Rock
Uriah Heep will be playing their iconic 1972 album Demons And Wizards in its entirety at this weekend’s High Voltage festival.
It’s the first time the band have ever done this, and you can see events unfold on the Prog Stage on July 25 – Heep come on stage at 5pm, with guest Micky Moody on slide guitar.
To get us all in the mood, here’s guitarist Mick Box’s track by track guide to the album...
Finland: tried and tested
Posted at WRC.com
This week has been the traditional warm-up period for the leading competitors in next week’s Rally Finland - with Citroen Junior Team drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Dani Sordo first out of the box on Tuesday.
Testing is crucial for any event, but in Finland it’s probably more important than ever. In recent years, Finland has kick-started the second half of the season - which means drivers will have had some time out of the car...
High Voltage: Heep And Martin Turner’s Ash In Rehearsal
By Dave Ling at Classic Rock
...The prospect of a spot at High Voltage was enough to cause Mick Box, Heep’s ever-smiling guitarist, to interrupt a family holiday. The show’s concept, a festival for older-but-wiser-rock fans, is something that’s close to his heart.
“Only two words need to be said: ‘At last!’” he beams. “This is something that we’ve needed for a long, long time – the fact that thousands of fans have bought tickets is vindication of that.”
“Bands playing real music, without sequencers or tapes… imagine that,” says singer Bernie Shaw with mock astonishment...
Practice One - Sutil tops damp German session
Posted at Formula1.com
The only really conclusive thing about Friday morning’s opening practice session for the German Grand Prix was how heavily Lewis Hamilton trashed his McLaren after getting caught out in the slippery conditions at Turn Four and banging it hard enough into the tyre wall to rip off the front wing and damage the left-rear suspension.
Heavy rain from the start made for a tough morning’s work for everyone, though the track was getting better towards the end of the hour and a half as the rain eased...
Pre-Germany analysis - Vettel & Schumacher out for home glory
By David Tremayne at Formula1.com
Nobody ever tries to pretend other than that their home race is something they would love to win.
Michael Schumacher, of course, has done it four times. Sebastian Vettel has not yet managed it once. Of the two, however, the statistics say that he has the better chance of correcting that this weekend at Hockenheim, where he is the bookies’ favourite to win for Red Bull...
July 22, 2010
Comic-Con: Joss Whedon Talks 'Avengers' At EW Visionaries Panel
By Ryan J. Downey at MTV's Splash Page
It was a meeting of two of the most beloved minds in geekery Thursday as J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon sat down for a Comic-Con chat about, well... everything that came to mind...
*Dan, Jr. / Junior's Eyes Note: See video (of monitor) of the panel here.
'Red' Comic-Con Panel Report: Bruce Willis, Warren Ellis,
Helen Mirren, More!
By Ryan J. Downey at MTV's Splash Page
...- IGN Movies EIC introduces Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Karl Urban, Mary Louise Parker, Helen Mirren (whose "R.I.P. Harvey Pekar" shirt gets a huge cheer) and Bruce Willis.
- "Every day was fun. It was a really ambitious project and the work that the actors did became easier each week," Willis said. "Because each week we got another big movie star that we were all excited about... It was like recess." Helen adds: "They had the Queen and then they had God."...
*Dan, Jr. / Junior's Eyes Note: nudiatv posted video of the panel to YouTube:
Live From San Diego Comic-Con, It's The MTV/MySpace Livestream!
Posted by Adam Rosenberg at MTV's Splash Page
The first of three one-hour-long MTV/MySpace livestreams from 2010 San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego is about to get underway and you can check it out right here!...
FIA Thursday press conference - Germany
Posted at Formula1.com
Drivers: Timo Glock (Virgin), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Mark Webber (Red Bull).
Q: For four of you it’s your home race. Just a quick word on what it means to you. Your hopes and expectations. How much you enjoy it or maybe you don’t enjoy it. Timo, your comments.
Timo Glock: Good to be back at Hockenheim again and I had a lot of good races here at Hockenheim, so really looking forward to it...
Loeb runs risk-free strategy in Finland
Posted at WRC.com
Sebastien Loeb says he will not risk everything in pursuit of a second Rally Finland win in three years on next week’s eighth round of the World Rally Championship.
Loeb led the 2008 event from start to finish, eventually beating Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen by nine seconds, but last season honours were reversed as Jyvaskyla’s favourite, Hirvonen came through to beat the Frenchman and his Citroen C4 WRC by 25 seconds...
Two Janis Joplin Movies Planned
By mdome at Classic Rock
There are two movies being planned on the life of Janis Joplin.
One, due to go into production next year, stars Amy Adams as the great singer and is to be titled Janis Joplin – Get It While You Can.
The other has been in development for a decade, and is to be called The Gospel According To Janis. Although no-one has yet been cast in the main role, the advantage the latter is that producer Peter Newman, together with his business partners, owns the rights to most of Joplin’s music.
Germany Preview - all to play for at Hockenheim?
Posted at Formula1.com
As the FIA Formula One World Championship returns to Hockenheim for the first time in two years, the battle for the drivers’ and constructors’ titles could not be more finely balanced. With nine races left, the four leading drivers are separated by only 24 points, while in the team chase McLaren lead Red Bull by 278 points to 249...
July 21, 2010
Ovechkin will prepare for the season with Kovalchuk
Posted at Alex Ovetjkin
On July 21 [2010] the Russia's national team and Washington's forward Alexander Ovechkin, who recently became an advisor to the President of unified Dynamo team, arrived to Novogorsk to take part in the evening friendly training game between the club members and the veterans of the MVD. Before the training started Alexander talked to the press service of the club...
Ovechkin: We must look forward
By Emily at Alex Ovetjkin
Alexander Ovechkin went out on the ice for the first time after that unfortunate for him last season. He appeared at his alumni training facility in Novogorsk in a new capacity as an adviser to the president of Dynamo United Mikhail Tyurkin. Ovechkin had a team Russia red helmet a new white jersey with the classic emblem of his alumni club, a letter "D" and number 10. This is what Dynamo United will be wearing in the upcoming season in KHL...
Be Part Of Dio Tribute Poster
By mdome at Classic Rock
Metal Hammer, Classic Rock’s sister title, is putting together a very special Ronnie James Dio tribute poster.
To be made available later in the year, the poster will feature loads of images of fans and friends...
Can You Identify Unknown Sandy Denny Recording?
By mdome at Classic Rock
The late Sandy Denny is to have a 19-CD box set released by Universal Music Catalogue in October – and in the process of putting this together, a never-before-heard home recording has been found...
Henning relishes asphalt challenge
Posted at WRC.com
Stobart driver Henning Solberg said his recent top-10 finish on Rally Bulgaria has vindicated his decision to step out of a Ford Focus RS WRC for the remaining asphalt rounds of this year’s World Rally Championship.
Solberg won the Group N category of the Borovets-based event by more than three minutes, beating the similar machine of Denis Kuipers and Solberg’s countryman Eyvind Brynildsen, who was driving a Skoda Fabia S2000...
July 20, 2010
Maryland Hard Rockers Clutch Reissue Deluxe Two Disc Version Of 'From Beale Street To Oblivion'
By Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock
Maryland hard rockers Clutch have released a deluxe two disc version of their 2007 album 'From Beale Street To Oblivion, out July 20 via the band's own Weathermaker label.
The 22-song, double-CD Beale Street set features new artwork, various versions of Electric Worry, live jams from Australia and five additional songs...
Ozzy And Iommi Issue Statement About Sabbath Trademark
By mdome at Classic Rock
...“Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi of the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath have amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the Black Sabbath name and court proceedings in New York have been discontinued. Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business.”
Whether this public smoothing-over of the problem is a prelude to a much-rumoured reunion of the original Black Sabbath line-up remains to be seen. Right now, nobody concerned is ruling it out...
What’s a Development Camp All About Anyway?
By pucksandbooks at On Frozen Blog
...Here’s how I view Development Camp: an exercise in identifying, perhaps just partially, what skills a player has in his toolbox. At a camp you can tell whether or not a player has an NHL shot, whether or not he can stickhandle in the proverbial phone booth. So three summers back, for instance, I was certain that Mathieu Perreault possessed NHL playmaker tools and hockey sense, but that he also needed a few seasons in professional development (the ‘A’) before we could plausibly posit whether or not he’d one day wear a Caps’ sweater. Some then who watched him at development camp merely looked at his small stature and wrote him off. George McPhee and Doug Yingst certainly didn’t...
Solberg can win this season, says team chief Rees
Posted at WRC.com
Petter Solberg’s team boss Ken Rees believes the 2003 world champion can be a winner again before the end of the season.
Solberg hasn’t climbed the top step of the podium since winning Rally GB in September 2005. But after claiming his fourth podium finish of the year in Bulgaria earlier this month, Rees believes it’s only a matter of time before the Norwegian lands his 14th WRC career victory...
July 19, 2010
Finland draws record number of rally entries
Posted at WRC.com
The number of entries for the forthcoming Neste Oil Rally Finland has set a 2010 season record - with 102 cars, including 15 World Rally Cars, on the seeded entry list.
The Jyvaskyla based rally, which gets underway on 29 July, also boasts a record-breaking number of 4-wheel-drive cars. This year’s figure of 78 is the highest number in the event’s 60-year history...
New 'Thor' Image: Loki's Horns, Asgard's Throne, And First Looks At Frigga, Hogun, And Fandral!
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
...The image debuted in The L.A. Times this week, and along with giving us the first look at several more gods from Thor's universe, it also provides us with the first shot of Loki with his iconic horned helmet!
For those who aren't up on their "Thor" characters, here's who we see for the first time in the image:...
Home Of Metal Website Celebrates Midlands Legends
By mdome at Classic Rock
The Home Of Metal, which celebrates the West Midlands contribution to the world of rock and metal, is to launch its digital archive later this month.
The website aims to showcase the importance of bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. They’re after fan contributions to the site – ‘everything from concert tickets to photographs, badges...
Martin cruises to victory on rally return
Posted at WRC.com
Markko Martin took part in his first rally for almost two years - and promptly claimed victory at the wheel of the car he describes as his favourite.
The 34-year-old, a winner of five world championship rallies, was competing on last weekend’s Mad-Croc Rally Estonia in a 2003-specification Ford Focus RS WRC...
The story so far - Mercedes GP’s mid-season report
Posted at Formula1.com
On paper it was a dream team - the clout of Mercedes backing, the technical and managerial genius of Ross Brawn, the young driving talent of Nico Rosberg and the living legend that is Michael Schumacher. With such expectation, anything less than perfection would have been disappointing, and the reality of Mercedes GP’s first season has been far from perfect. While fourth in the championship standings isn’t bad going for a ‘newcomer’, and there are still positives aplenty, they have less than half the points of leading team McLaren and have little hope of retaining their Brawn-won titles of 2009. Ouch! Here’s the story of their campaign so far...
July 18, 2010
'Doctor Who' Review: Episode 5.12, 'The Pandorica Opens'
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page
An ominous message for The Doctor winds its way through time and space courtesy of River Song and various other allies of the Time Lord, warning of a terrible disaster that occurs when a fabled prison cell is opened. As companions, unexpected friends, and sworn enemies of The Doctor converge on the mysterious prison, The Doctor is faced with questions he just can't answer, and a threat beyond his understanding.
What will happen when The Pandorica opens?...
Down the road a piece
By The Peerless at The Peerless Prognosticator
Going into the 2010-2011 season, the Capitals are likely (absent any further personnel moves) to have some serious issues at center. Nicklas Backstrom might be among the top five centers in the game today, but after that, it becomes something of a roll of the dice for the Caps. No serious option for second line center...
