The
'Reading And Viewing List' for July 1 through July 10, 2010 contains links to some interesting web items posted within the first ten days of the month.
The topics covered below include super hero comics movies, music, hockey (
Washington Capitals) and racing (
Formula One and
WRC).
For the automotive sports enthusiasts, a few
2010 WRC Rally Bulgaria Preview and
2010 F1 British Grand Prix Preview posts are available below.
July 10, 2010New Technology May Help Blind People DriveBy WJZ News reporter Gigi Barnett at
WJZ.comBALTIMORE (WJZ)― New technology developed at a college science competition could soon put blind people behind the wheel. As Gigi Barnett explains, it's years in the making but blind drivers are already test-driving the idea...
STOP STONING, SAVE SAKINEH!Posted at
BrianMay.comWe should all be signing this petition. It's brutal beyond belief!
Judi Hewitt
15 people are on death row awaiting death by stoning in Iran, but yesterday a woman was saved from this brutal killing by a massive international campaign. Global voices of condemnation saved her. Now I just signed an urgent petition to the Iranian government to put an end this sickening brutality once and for all and I thought you would want to join me.
Please check out the link below and join me in signing:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/96.phpJuly 9, 2010Friday analysis - more to come from McLaren?Posted at
Formula1.comEverybody focused on learning the new sections of Silverstone’s very green Arena circuit on Friday, and doing the usual tyre comparisons. It didn’t help that the track temperature rose from 28 degrees Celsius to 43 by the afternoon, as the ambient temperature rose from 21 to 27. McLaren did not show quite the pace many had expected with their newly-upgraded MP4-25, though many rivals suspect the championship leaders are yet to play their hand. We take a team-by-team look at Friday progress...
FIA Friday press conference - Great BritainPosted at
Formula1.comTeam principals: Ross Brawn (Mercedes), Tony Fernandes (Lotus), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren)
Q: First of all a little recap of how the day has gone for all of you. How have things gone for Lotus Racing?Tony Fernandes: Tough day today. We had three gearbox failures, two on Jarno’s (Trulli) car and one on Heikki’s (Kovalainen). One of those things. We had some good pace. Heikki managed to get some good pace and we still feel there is something left in the car...
San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Friday Schedule Arrives OnlineBy Rick Marshall at MTV's
Splash PageYesterday we got a look at the San Diego Comic-Con 2010 schedule for Wednesday and Thursday of the show, and today the Friday schedule has landed online...
Friday practice - selected team and driver quotesPosted at
Formula1.comRed Bull appeared to have enough pace to keep the upgraded McLarens at bay on Friday, with Sebastian Vettel taking the morning’s top spot and team mate Mark Webber the afternoon’s. The leading teams and their rivals reflect on their early progress at Silverstone...
Practice Two - Webber takes over for Red BullPosted at
Formula1.comRed Bull maintained their advantage at Silverstone courtesy of Mark Webber on Friday afternoon, in an hour and a half long second free practice session which saw some different faces in very different places...
Iron Maiden Visit NASABy mdome at
Classic Rock
Iron Maiden have got into the space age – by paying a visit to the NASA Space Centre in Houston, Texas.
The band were shown around the complex by astronaut Michael J. Massimino...
Practice One - first blood to VettelPosted at
Formula1.comSebastian Vettel pushed Red Bull to the fore as the opening practice for this weekend’s British Grand Prix got underway on Friday morning at the new Silverstone circuit. Proving that lap times in team simulators have not been overly optimistic at 1m 31s, Vettel lapped his RB6 in 1m 32.280s to head late-improving Lewis Hamilton by 0.334s after the 2008 world champion took his revised McLaren round in 1m 32.614s...
Webber fit and ready to take on McLaren challengePosted at
Formula1.comRed Bull’s Mark Webber says he is fit and well, and raring to go this weekend, less than 14 days after his horrendous back flip in the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
The Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix winner confirmed that there have been no ill effects. “I’m over it, let’s move on to Silverstone", he said. “I had a bit of whiplash. I knew straight away that I’d hit my big toe pretty hard. But I didn’t even know I was upside down, to be honest. It happened so quickly. I was very mindful that I should let go of the wheel, but I wanted to keep my arms in the car.”...
July 8, 2010FIA Thursday press conference - Great BritainPosted at
Formula1.comDrivers: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Mark Webber (Red Bull).
Q: Lots of things have been said about team-mates and the relationship between team-mates. How good is your relationship? Could it be better, could it be worse? Mark, would you like to start?Mark Webber: I think the press are bored. There is nothing else to talk about, so they want to talk about team-mates. That seems to have been the topic for the last 10 days or whatever...
Great Britain preview quotes - Red Bull, Ferrari, Virgin, Lotus
& morePosted at
Formula1.comAfter the confines of the Valencian streets, the Formula One calendar moves to the wide open spaces of Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. With a new circuit layout that has drawn almost universal praise from those drivers lucky enough to have sampled it, the teams cannot wait to begin their on-track preparations at what is for many their home race...
WRC Rally Bulgaria 2010 - Pre Event Podcast - ThursdayPosted at
WRC.comListen to the pre-rally podcast from Bulgaria
San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Schedule: Thursday Panels Revealed!By Rick Marshall at MTV's
Splash PageThe first installment of 2010's Comic-Con International schedule has been released, and it's already shaping up to be as busy as usual in San Diego.
The first chapter of the massive Comic-Con 2010 schedule covers Preview Night on Wednesday, July 21, and the first full day of events on Thursday, July 22. And if the first day is any indication, it's going to be another crazy year...
Three Months...By The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator...Three months from today – 92 days, to be precise – the Caps will raise the curtain on their 2010-2011 season. At the moment the Caps have 17 players that I would consider locks to be on the opening night roster signed and ready to go. You, dear reader, might argue that Mathieu Perreault will be on that roster, or Marcus Johansson. I won’t go that far just yet. But the point is that the Caps (and a lot of other teams) still have work to do and 92 days in which to do it. They have 92 days to complete their “to-do” list...
The Who To Perform Songs From QuadropheniaBy mdome at
Classic RockThe Who will tour next year, and play songs from the
Quadrophenia album.
Roger Daltrey told
billboard.com: “We definitely don’t want to stop. We feel it’s the role of the artist to go all the way through life ’til you can’t do it anymore”...
Tony Iommi: Heaven & Hell Tribute To Dio At High Voltage
Is One-OffBy mdome at
Classic RockTony Iommi has told
Classic Rock that Heaven & Hell’s tribute set for Ronnie James Dio at High Voltage is a one-off.
“We thought it would be nice to do a final thing for Ronnie", says guitarist Iommi. "To be honest, we didn’t expect to be playing again. It’s certainly going to be a strange feeling.”...
Ogier considering Ford switch for 2011Posted at
WRC.com
Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier is considering an offer from Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson to switch manufacturers and drive a Ford Fiesta in next year's World Rally Championship.
Ogier, 26, is one of the brightest young stars of the series. He won the Junior World Championship with Citroen in 2008, and underlined his potential in a World Rally Car by taking his maiden WRC victory at Rally Portugal in May this year...
Great Britain Preview - fans hoping for British gloryPosted at
Formula1.comRed Bull will be very strong at a revised Silverstone this weekend, but many fans will want to see the two McLaren drivers - Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, currently first and second in drivers’ table - fight it out for home victory in the British Grand Prix...
Malcolm Wilson encouraged by Fiesta WRC progressPosted at
WRC.comFord team boss Malcolm Wilson says he's 'extremely encouraged' by the development of the squad's all-new challenger for the 2011 World Rally Championship, the Fiesta RS World Rally Car, which has completed more than 2000km of testing in the last two weeks.
Speaking in Borovets at the end of the recce for Rally Bulgaria, Wilson revealed that the car had been fitted for the first time with a prototype 1.6-litre turbocharged engine following the agreement of the power plant specification in March by the FIA...
July 7, 2010Boyd Gordon Signed; Another Look At How the 2010-2011
Caps Roster is Shaping UpBy Usually Frustrated Caps Fan at
Mark's MusingsYesterday, the Capitals signed 26 year old, RFA Center Boyd Gordon to a one yar, $800,000 contract. With the signing the Capitals now have a projected roster with 23 players, 13 Forwards, 7 Defensemen, and 3 Goaltenders that has a projected hit against the salary cap of $50.1M Million. That leaves them $9.1 M of space against the Salary Cap of $59.4M for the 2010-2011 season...
WRC part two: The Guru's viewPosted at
WRC.comWe're six rounds in, the summer break has come and gone, and in Bulgaria this week the curtain comes up on the second half of the 2010 World Rally Championship.
And after five weeks without a rally, one man especially glad to be back on tour again is WRC TV stage end reporter (and World Rally Radio star) Julian Porter, aka 'The Guru'...
Ozzy: I’d Never Have Removed Daisley And Kerslake From AlbumsBy mdome at
Classic RockOzzy Osbourne has said he was against the idea of replacing Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake’s work on his first two solo albums.
In 2002, bassist Daisley and drummer Kerslake were removed from the Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman albums, after they took legal action for unpaid royalties. Their parts were replaced by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin respectively...
Wilson reports from Bulgaria reccePosted at
WRC.comStobart Ford driver Matthew Wilson says that the Rally Bulgaria is one of the quickest asphalt events he has seen, following the opening day of the recce on the Borovets-based event.
After a number of years on the European Championship, Bulgaria is new to the World Rally Championship this year, making it a level playing field for all the competitors. But Wilson says that the latest addition to the WRC calendar is sure to provide a formidable challenge once the action gets underway on Friday morning...
July 6, 2010Another Summer Week In The NHL's Off SeasonBy Usually Frustrated Caps Fan at
Mark's MusingsWell we have once again gone through another week of the NHL off season and with the opening of the free agent signing period, there has been some news around the league, though so far there haven't been too many surprises...
Renault on the changing face of SilverstonePosted at
Formula1.comWith a new track layout awaiting the drivers at Silverstone this weekend, there's been plenty of homework for all the teams to do, as Renault explain. The circuit is now 745 metres longer and lap times will be around the 90-second mark, some 10 seconds slower than last year. Over the past few months, the team's engineers have carried out hundreds of simulations to get to grips with the challenge ahead...
Formula One unites to raise over £500,000 for charityPosted at
Formula1.comAhead of the British Grand Prix Formula One racing’s great and good traditionally come together for an annual party held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. This year’s event took place at London’s Natural History Museum on Monday night, and with such a breathtaking venue and priceless charity auction lots on offer, the guests were more than willing to put their hands in their pockets for a worthy cause...
High Voltage Exclusive: Glenn Hughes On Heaven & HellBy mdome at
Classic Rock
Glenn Hughes has spoken exclusively to Classic Rock about his upcoming appearance at High Voltage with Heaven & Hell, in tribute to Ronnie James Dio.
“I had a great relationship with Ronnie – I was the guy who introduced him to curry. And he became the curry king. Whenever we got together, we’d always have this argument over who was the better singer. I’d be saying, ‘You’re the best’, and he’d reply, ‘No, you are’...
Q&A - Kimi RaikkonenPosted at
WRC.comHaving won 18 Grands Prix, claimed 62 podiums and scored 579 Formula One points, it's fair to say that Kimi Raikkonen knows a thing or two about driving quickly on sealed surfaces.
This week, after five rallies on snow and gravel, the Finn will finally get his first taste of WRC competition on tarmac - and we'll get to see how his deft touch in a Ferrari F1 car translates to the real world challenge of Rally Bulgaria and a four-wheel-drive Citroen...
Will the practice pay off for Citroen Juniors?Posted at
WRC.comCitroen Junior team drivers Sebastien Ogier and Kimi Raikkonen could be on course for their best team result of the year so far as they return to WRC competition this week with a rally which should suit them both down to the ground.
Rally Bulgaria (9 - 11 July) is the first of four asphalt rallies from the seven which remain this year. And in order to prepare for the strong asphalt bias in the second half of the season, the Citroën Junior Team has been testing in France and also took part in the Rally della Lanterna in Italy...
July 5, 2010Ford drivers pound the asphalt ahead of Rally BulgariaPosted at
WRC.comFord drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala are hoping an intensive course of asphalt testing will help them get the better of the Citroens when the World Rally Championship resumes after the six-week summer break.
This week's Rally Bulgaria (8 - 11 July) is the first of four sealed-surface rallies in the final seven events this year, and is the first asphalt WRC round since Rally de España last October. And with Citroen traditionally holding the upper-hand on tar, Hirvonen and Latvala have been working hard to settle the score...
Stars of the stages on show at GoodwoodPosted at
WRC.com...Block was joined in his Ford by five-time world rally winner Markko Martin, who was also busy driving an ex-Carlos Sainz Subaru Impreza 555. Martin hadn’t made the journey south alone, either, bringing his protégé Ott Tanak. “I had to show him what Goodwood was all about,” said Martin.
Tanak was blown away by a weekend he spent much on inside an MG Super 2000 car. “It’s been amazing,” said the Pirelli Star Driver. “I have never seen a Formula 1 car or a NASCAR driving before, so to see them at an event where I am also driving is just fantastic!”...
July 4, 2010The Who To Carry On After AllPosted by Nightwatcher at
Nightwatcher's House Of RockPlanet Rock is reporting that ever since the Who played their triumphant Quadrophenia show at the Royal Albert Hall back in March we've all been waiting to hear whether Pete Townshend's tinnitus problems had cost the band their future.
Well, it seems that the band WILL carry on after all...
Happy Independence Day!Posted by tj at
Alex Ovetjkin...A gala dinner was held in the evening after Baptism on the Lielupe (Jurmala) shore at the restaurant La Riva. The party guests presented gifts to Ignatius (jewelry, toys and souvenirs). The audience was particularly amused by the cartoon depicting a baby with his biological and godparents having a cup of tea. A popular Latvian band Romiros was playing during the dinner, after which the master of ceremonies invited everyone to take part in the games. One of the memorable moments of the evening was one hour concert by Timati, who arrived to Latvia to congratulate the young couple with the baptism of his son. Exactly at 23:00 the sky was lit up with flashes of Lielupe salute and the very celebration ended well after midnight...
July 3, 2010No Free Agency Fireworks for the CapitalsBy Hockey Mom at
Musings Of A Hockey MomThe free agency period officially kicked off at 12:01 p.m. July 1, and within ten minutes Pens' d-man Sergei Gonchar had inked a lucrative deal with the Ottawa Senators. While the Caps faithful waited to see if GM George McPhee would make a splash with a signing of a second line center or bruising, shot-blocking blueliner, the hours ticked by and the Caps saw no movement...
July 2, 2010Whitesnake Lose Hearing Law SuitBy mdome at
Classic Rock
A couple who claim a Whitesnake show in 2003 caused them significant hearing loss have been awarded $40,000...
Caps Sign SabourinBy Mike Vogel at
Dump 'N ChaseThe Capitals sat back and watched on Thursday as the NHL’s annual free agent feeding frenzy began. Plenty of teams spent plenty of of money on plenty of middling players while Washington wisely waited it out.
On Day 2, the Caps dipped a toe into the free agent waters. They signed veteran goaltender Dany Sabourin, a 29-year-old, 10-year pro with 57 games worth of NHL experience...
Countdown to Rally BulgariaPosted at
WRC.comThe excitement which accompanies a new round of the World Rally Championship is building; you can feel it, can’t you? We had the same feeling in Poland and Australia last season - and both delivered awesome rounds of the series - and now we’re heading to Europe’s south-east for Rally Bulgaria...
Formula One racing out in force for GoodwoodPosted at
Formula1.comThe UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed always attracts a plethora of Formula One drivers and machinery, and with an impressive 2010 line-up, this year will be no different. The annual event, which this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of the FIA Formula One World Championship, takes place in the grounds of Sussex’s Goodwood House...
Webber proves fitness with central London pit stopPosted at
Formula1.comAs London’s Big Ben struck 6am on Friday, Mark Webber showed he’s made a full recovery after last Sunday’s crash in Valencia by roaring up to the gates of the UK capital’s Houses of Parliament in his Red Bull, where his pit crew were waiting to practice a full Formula One pit stop.
With less than a week to go until the British Grand Prix meeting, Webber and the full Red Bull pit team stunned onlookers and commuters on Parliament Square as they warmed up for the Silverstone showdown with an impressive 3.2 second stop time...
The Secret Life of Mark WebberPosted at
Formula1.comThe way Red Bull’s Mark Webber casually shook off his dramatic high-speed crash at last weekend’s European Grand Prix probably told you all you need to know about the fearless Australian. But if you’re still hankering after more insight into ‘Webber, the man’ then look no further. We discover his love of motorbikes, his fear of dark oceans and his dream date in the latest instalment of our Secret Life series...
July 1, 2010FIA welcomes Formula One emissions programmePosted at
Formula1.comFormula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has welcomed a team initiative to reduce the carbon emissions produced by the sport.
The teams have committed to working closely with the FIA to develop new F1 engine and powertrain regulations that from 2013 will require all cars to incorporate technologies designed to enhance fuel efficiency. At the same time, revisions to Formula One’s sporting regulations are expected to enhance and incentivise the competitive benefit of further reducing fuel consumption...
Kinks Album To Become MovieBy mdome at
Classic RockThe Kinks’ 1976 concept album
Schoolboys In Disgrace is being turned into a movie.
Ray Davies is acting as executive producer on the project, which tells the story of a schoolboy’s ongoing battle with the educational establishment, which leads to him becoming Mr. Flash, the villain on the band’s rock operas
Preservation Act 1 (released in 1973) and
Preservation Act 2 (1974)...
Stars of the stage line up for FestivalPosted at
WRC.comThe annual mid-summer motorsport extravaganza is becoming a regular feature of the World Rally Championship calendar - and this week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed has again delivered a classic line-up of world-class rally drivers.
The current category of cars is catered for by Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block. The American will liven up the beautiful backdrop of the English countryside with the Ford Focus RS WRC he is campaigning in his first year at the sport’s highest level. And, as an extra treat for Block fans - of whom there are millions - he is also shipping the 600bhp Ford Fiesta he will use in his latest Gymkhana video to be launched later this season...
Jenson Button Q&A: We hope to give British fans reason to cheerPosted at
Formula1.comAlthough he finished behind his team mate - and standings leader - Lewis Hamilton, McLaren’s Jenson Button was pleased to convert his seventh-place grid slot into a third-place finish in Valencia last weekend, especially as it was his third successive podium. At the forthcoming British Grand Prix he’ll race for the first time on home soil as world champion and, as he explained to his official website, he can’t wait...
