7/02/2012
2/16/2012
Xplorebangladesh
Welcome to 
Xplore Bangladesh is a bangladesh Based Travel & Tourism Company."Tourism
is just something we haven't really been paying attention to as
economic development and now it's really the world largest industry. We
have to get to serious about its ability to bring dollars into our
communities", said by Rich Harrill, Director of the Institute for
Tourism Research at the University of South Carolina. He emphasized it
in the moment when Tourism Industry is the first, second or third
largest employer in 29 states of the USA. What's about Bangladesh?www.xplorebangladesh.com
According
to UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization), inbound tourism
has become one of the world major trade categories. This industry is
expanding in an unprecedented motion and speed even in the world worst
economic downturn of last 60 years, and it is increasing every year in
its magnitude and altitude. In 2010, the states of the world reaped $
6,000 crores revenue from travel industry. So Rich Harrill concluded,
"Tourism is the world largest industry and it's going to continue be
very important as an economic development strategy..."
When
the world is exhorting its peak money, time and plan investment to
develop this industry and to reap its major profit share, Bangladesh,
our country, on the other hand, trudges even to attract the local
tourists and travelers, let alone to attract global tourists. XPLORE
BANGLADESH, a travel and tourism company, is enterprised and established
by few energetic and invincible explorers and business persons of the
country to make a revolution in the tourism industry creating a massive
flow in local tourism and making it one of the largest employers of
Bangladesh, the country which is bestowed with the world longest beach
Coxz Bazar and one of the wonders of the world nature Sundarban.
9/14/2011
Miss Universe
Miss Angola Leila Lopes is crowned Miss Universe
Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native Angola further escape its history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combatting HIV around the globe.
Lopes, 25, laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko, then felt a crown placed carefully on her head after dazzling a panel of judges with her beauty and impressing them with her brain.
Speaking in a timid voice early Tuesday shortly after taking the crown in South America's largest city, the 25-year-old Lopes said that "as Miss Angola I've already done a lot to help my people."
"I've worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs," she said. "I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more."
Responding to questions, the business student said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block even when it's not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition.
The first runner-up was the 23-year-old Stefanko and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth Miss China. Contestants spent the past three weeks in Sao Paulo, trying to learn samba dance steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for cameras as the Miss Universe pageant came to Brazil for the first time.
Andre Penner / AP
Despite battling against a home country favorite, Lopes won over the audience, speaking in the shared language of Portuguese. Angola, like Brazil, is a former Portuguese colony.
"She captivated the crowd and we were all behind her," said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the crowd inside Credicard Hall where the event took place. "It was great that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her the question about her looks."
Another fan in the audience, Carolina Rocha, said Lopes' win was "well deserved, we were cheering for her all along. Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart from the others. She also answered her question very well, that likely helped her a lot."
The panelists, who included race car driver Helio Castroneves to actress Vivica A. Fox and journalist Connie Chung, scored the women on each contest, narrowing from a group of 16 down to a final five.
'These women are not just objects' Speaking before the event, Chung said that she was taking the contest seriously.
"I know my job and I'll be tough, but fair," Chung said. "You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They're to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too."
The contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the competition year.
The pageant, hosted by TODAY anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network's Andy Cohen, was broadcast live on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.) The contest is co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves.
Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native Angola further escape its history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combatting HIV around the globe.
Lopes, 25, laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko, then felt a crown placed carefully on her head after dazzling a panel of judges with her beauty and impressing them with her brain.
Speaking in a timid voice early Tuesday shortly after taking the crown in South America's largest city, the 25-year-old Lopes said that "as Miss Angola I've already done a lot to help my people."
"I've worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs," she said. "I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more."
Responding to questions, the business student said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block even when it's not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition.
The first runner-up was the 23-year-old Stefanko and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth Miss China. Contestants spent the past three weeks in Sao Paulo, trying to learn samba dance steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for cameras as the Miss Universe pageant came to Brazil for the first time.
The sixteen finalists stand in line during the Miss Universe pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday.
"She captivated the crowd and we were all behind her," said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the crowd inside Credicard Hall where the event took place. "It was great that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her the question about her looks."
Another fan in the audience, Carolina Rocha, said Lopes' win was "well deserved, we were cheering for her all along. Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart from the others. She also answered her question very well, that likely helped her a lot."
The panelists, who included race car driver Helio Castroneves to actress Vivica A. Fox and journalist Connie Chung, scored the women on each contest, narrowing from a group of 16 down to a final five.
'These women are not just objects' Speaking before the event, Chung said that she was taking the contest seriously.
"I know my job and I'll be tough, but fair," Chung said. "You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They're to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too."
The contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the competition year.
The pageant, hosted by TODAY anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network's Andy Cohen, was broadcast live on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.) The contest is co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves.
8/21/2011
About Utoeya island
Utoeya massacre survivors return to island
Utoeya island is a very beautifulA survivor of the massacre on Norway's Utoeya island has joined several hundred people there a day before a national day of remembrance for the victims of Anders Behring Breivik.
Adrian Pracon, 21, is one of the 600-or-so survivors of the massacre at Utoeya island, where Breivik killed 69 people, most of them youngsters at a Labour Party youth camp.
At least 1,000 people are expected to travel to Utoeya today.
The relatives of those who were killed came to the island yesterday to mourn and hear from police where and how they died.
Mr Pracon came face-to-face several times with the killer on 22 July. During one encounter, he saw him coming out of the woods and shooting at people.
'He was shouting that he was going to kill us all,' he said. 'He turned towards me. You feel trapped, like you have no place to go or that there is nothing you can do. You just hope that he is going to shoot in the head, in the heart to make it go fast. All I could say was: 'Don't shoot'.'
'I remember him pointing the machine gun at me for quite a long time before he took it down, turned and walked away.'
Later, the young man lay still on the ground, pretending to be dead. 'I was shaking terribly, I was also breathing very fast but it all stopped at that moment because the body understands that it must be still,' he said.
'Suddenly I could hear him place his boots right in front of my face. I could feel the warmth of the gun barrel he was pointing at me. I thought: 'Now it is over. Now he's got me'.'
The killer aimed at the young man's and fired a shot. He missed and the bullet entered the left shoulder.
Lars Weisaeth, a professor of disaster psychiatry at the University of Oslo said returning to the massacre site will help survivors come to terms with the trauma they experienced.
'If you have survived a harrowing experience, you do not have a narrative, a continuous story to tell. What you remember is a series of fragmented, extremely strong impressions - visual and acoustic,' he said.
'(Going back will) link this together so that they can have a very exact picture of the physical circumstances.'
Several hundreds of Red Cross volunteers, health personnel, police and psychiatrists will be on hand to help the survivors through the day.
8/20/2011
ABOUT DON KING
ABOUT DON KING
Don King is a famous boxer in the world.It's a weird bit of coincidence that three of boxing's biggest power brokers over the last four decades were all born mere months apart in 1931.
It is unquestionable that the influence of World Boxing Council boss Jose Sulaiman and promoter Bob Arum remain undiminished as of this writing.
Don King, who turns 80 on Saturday, is no longer the towering figure he once was. While he has a decent stable of fighters, the most charitable view would see him as the fourth most powerful promotional entity in the sport, and possibly no higher than sixth.
It was telling that immediately after King's Joseph Abgeko was shafted last week by some of the most biased officiating seen in a major fight in years, it was left to the promoter's rep, Alan Hooper, to lobby from the fight site in Las Vegas. King was at his Florida home, unable to make the trip due to a bad back.
King used to own Las Vegas, and he controlled most of the fighters in the heavyweight division from the mid-1970s to just a few years ago. Lennox Lewis made a dent in that grip, but it was the shifting of the power base in the division to Europe and the Klitschko brothers that ended the fiefdom.
Outrageous, entertaining, contemptuous, overbearing, creative, criminal, a workaholic, Machiavellian, loquacious, blatant, shameless, shameful ... King hogs more adjectives than most public figures.
King's ability to hustle and convince two of the biggest sports stars, as well as representatives from an impoverished African nation, to come together for the Ali-Foreman fight is one of the legendary feats in sports promotion; and in the King vernacular, done using OPM — Other People's Money.
In 1986, he introduced a heavyweight unification tournament for the division he helped divide. He was clearly thinking six moves ahead, as it just so happened to come into fruition as Mike Tyson was coming into view as the next big thing.
A decade later, he helped convince about a million suckers to order Tyson's out-of-prison farce against Peter McNeeley.
As you'll see from the timeline below, though, King's accomplishments are fairly front loaded in his career.
He is also a central figure in the sport's ills. The charges levelled at King include: Blurring the lines between promoter and manager, using blank contracts, two versions of contracts, charging boxers for expenses, playing the race card to gain the confidence of black fighters, and working in cahoots with the sport's nefarious and self-serving sanctioning bodies.
Attempts to pin down the Teflon Don in court have proven mostly unsuccessful, however.
While he's not to blame for their individual foibles, an alarming percentage of King's heavyweight charges in the 1980s turned to drugs or crime. It's telling that many of Tyson's best moments came before King got his hooks fully into "Iron Mike."
Meanwhile, when you think of all the great welterweight and middleweight fights of the 1980s, King's involvement was very limited. He co-promoted the first two Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran bouts with Arum in 1980, but didn't have a role in subsequent superfights involving those fighters and Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.
To draw a link from King to boxing's decline in popularity in the U.S., and the rise of mixed martial arts is very simplistic, however. There have been greater forces at play, including a drop in the relative number of North American fighters.
Men of a certain age have no problems talking wistfully about the Friday Night Fights era, arguably when boxing was at its most corrupt, as the mob often controlled fighters, and sometimes, outcomes. Today, fans of MMA don't seem to mind much that the fighters there make a fraction of what the best in boxing do, despite very healthy pay-per-view revenues.
To put things more starkly: Joe Gans and Jack Johnson were the first black boxing champions, in the early 1900s. The first successful black promoter over a period of time was King, who came to prominence around 1973. During his time in the sport, corporate titans like Donald Trump and Steve Wynn tried to become forces in boxing, but were fairly quickly outfoxed or outlasted by King.
So, on the occasion of King's birthday, a look at the wild ride of a one-of-kind impresario.
Aug 20, 1931: Born in Cleveland, one of six children to Hattie and Clarence King.
Dec. 7, 1941: King's father is killed in an industrial accident.
Dec. 2, 1954: Shoots and kills a man who is allegedly robbing a residence he owns (purportedly a gambling den). The killing is ruled justifiable homicide by authorities.
April 20, 1966: In view of several witnesses, King beats and stomps Amos Garrett to death on a Cleveland sidewalk. Claims it was self-defence despite the fact the unarmed Garrett weighs about 100 pounds less.
Feb 23, 1967: Found guilty of second degree murder, which carries the possibility of life in prison. King is sent to Marion Correctional Institute, where he immerses himself in books. Over the years he would go on to quote, and misquote, writers and philosophers such as Shakespeare, Nietschze, Marx, etc.
March-July 1967: In a decision that would change sports history, the judge mysteriously and unilaterally changes the conviction to manslaughter.
March 1971: Famously listens to the Fight of the Century, Ali-Frazier I, in prison. Less than five years later, he would promote the third fight of the series, The Thrilla in Manila.
Sept. 30, 1971: Leaves prison.
1972-73: Starts to learn the fight game through local promoter Don Elbaum.
Aug. 28, 1972: Through mutual Ali friend, singer Lloyd Price, arranges to have Ali come to Cleveland for an exhibition to benefit a struggling black hospital.
Jan. 22, 1973: Through connections he’s made in the fight game, King ends up in Kingston, Jamaica, for George Foreman’s shocking second round KO of Joe Frazier. He arrives with the current champ and leaves with the new champ, working his way into the frame for Howard Cosell’s post-fight interview with Foreman.
June 1973: Registers in New York as the manager of heavyweight Jeff Merritt, his first official boxer.
June to Sept. 1973: Elbows out the existing management of both Earnie Shavers and Larry Holmes.
Feb.-March 1974: Meets with Muhammad Ali and Foreman separately, guaranteeing them each several million dollars — which he does not possess — for a proposed fight. Through a series of meetings with European financiers, is introduced to a representative of Zaire dictator Joseph Mobutu.
March 26, 1974: The fight that would become known as The Rumble in the Jungle is announced after Foreman drubs Ken Norton in Caracas.
Sometime in 1974: Begins to comb his hair up, insisting to anyone who'll listen that it occurred one night through divine intervention.
Oct 30, 1974: Despite a fight postponement, a lack of existing infrastructure and a myriad of crazy happenings in Zaire, the fight comes off, with Ali's upset of Foreman turning out to be one of the epochal boxing matches of all time.
1975-1976: While Ali is technically a free agent, King's feat in Zaire is a springboard to promote a number of the champ's bouts, including the epic with Frazier and an easy defence against journeyman Chuck Wepner (who was a partial influence for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa).
Dec. 1976: King announces a tournament involving U.S. fighters in conjunction with The Ring magazine, to be televised by ABC.
April 1977: The tournament is suspended after a series of outrageous decisions and manipulated rankings and fighter records. An investigation finds ethical breaches, but no criminal acts, on King's part.
Oct. 1977:In a strange event lost to the winds of history, is involved with Ali and a consortium of local businessmen in a bid to bring an North American Soccer League franchise to Montreal.
Feb. 78: Frequent partner-in-crime Jose Sulaiman strips Leon Spinks of the title he just won, ostenbily for the crime of giving the legend Ali a rematch. The vacant title is eventually contested by King-controlled fighters Ken Norton and Larry Holmes.
1978-1990: From Holmes-Norton until the Buster Douglas upset of Mike Tyson, King absolutely dominates the heavyweight picture.
Dec 5, 1981: King is beaten up while in Bahamas for Ali-Trevor Berbick fight. He alleges that the fight promoter James Cornelius and a group of Black Muslims did the damage.
June 9, 1982: Ali sues King for nearly $2 million US in alleged unpaid earnings.
July 1982: Ali, hurting for cash after some bad investments, is persuaded to take a cash settlement for far less than $2 million in order to drop the suit.
June 9, 1982: Larry Holmes defeats so-called "Great White Hope" Gerry Cooney in a heavyweight superfight promoted by King. Holmes complains bitterly that the challenger ends up with a bigger chunk of the take.
Jan. 3, 1983: Receives a pardon for his manslaughter conviction. Among those recommending the pardon were Jesse Jackson, Coretta Scott King, and Cleveland sports figures Art Modell and Gabe Paul.
Nov. 1983: Announces the Jackson reunion tour for the following year. The tour grosses 75 million US but is not a sellout, and King is replaced months in, reportedly at the behest of Michael Jackson. King later returns to the fold to help the floundering tour regain footing.
Dec 13, 1984: U.S. attorney Rudy Giuliani announces a 23-count indictment for tax fraud and against King and his assistant Constance Harper. He is accused of skimming funds from Don King Promotions, not paying taxes, not reporting income, etc.
Nov. 19, 1985: King is acquitted on all charges, Harper is found guilty, serving four months in prison.
Jan. 17, 1986: Along with Butch Lewis, announces plans for a heavyweight tournament to end with one champion. King promotes most of the fighters, and clearly has an eye on rising force Tyson.
July 19, 1986: Pays the tab for several of the jurors from his tax trial to attend the Tim Witherspoon-Frank Bruno title bout in London.
March 23, 1988: Tyson's co-manager Jim Jacobs dies. The distraught Tyson is influenced by King, with the help of wife Robin Givens and mother-in-law Ruth Roper, to pull away from his other co-manager, Bill Cayton.
Feb. 11, 1990: Tyson is stunned in one of the greatest sports upsets ever. King and Sulaiman conspire to drum up a long-count knockout controversy to taint Buster Douglas's moment in the sun, but a media outcry proves too strong.
June 22, 1990: King and Tyson are honoured guests of the recently released Nelson Mandela (a one-time boxer), as he addresses the UN.
Feb. 10, 1992: Tyson sentenced to prison in Indiana on a rape conviction. With the likes of Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer at the top of the heavyweight division, the next few years are a period of relatively little influence for King.
Sept. 10, 1993: King-promoted Julio Cesar Chavez, a friend of fellow Mexican Sulaiman, receives a gift draw decision against Pernell Whitaker, one of the worst judging displays in modern boxing history.
July 1994: Charged with filing fake insurance claims to Lloyds of London for alleged unpaid training expenses to Chavez and other fighters.
Aug. 19, 1995: Despite reports the recently-released Tyson will go another route, King is back with him to engineer a big pay-per-view event surrounding the fighter’s appalling comeback bout against McNeeley.
Nov. 1995: Mistrial is declared in King's trial because of a hung jury and allegations of juror misconduct.
June 1997: Inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.
July 15, 1997: The NAACP honours King with its President's Award, for his "quiet" philanthroy and for helping to enrich minority athletes.
Nov. 1997:Don King: Only inAmerica, based on Jack Newfield's book, premieres on HBO, with Ving Rhames nabbing an Emmy for his portrayal of the promoter.
March 1998: Tyson claims in a lawsuit that King took advantage of him to the tune of $100M.
July 9, 1998: King faces a second trial in the Lloyds case, but is acquitted personally on nine counts of wire fraud. The jury is hung on a verdict concerning Don King Productions, voting 11-1 to acquit according to one juror. The U.S. Attorney's office in New York declines to prosecute that charge again.
March 13, 1999: Lewis and Holyfield fight to a controversial draw, a result that displeases nearly all. King happily bellows for a rematch to settle things at the post-fight presser. Lewis wins the rematch.
June 1999: King's offices in Deerfield, Fla., are raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into boxing dealings.
Dec. 1999: International Boxing Federation chief Bob Lee is indicted a result of the probe and later sentenced to prison. King is found to be one of a number of promoters who gave money to Lee in exchange for favourable fighter rankings. King is suspended in New Jersey, the IBF's base.
Spring 2001: Successfully woos Hasim Rahman with a briefcase of cash (allegedly $500K) and a cheque for millions soon after the fighter's upset win over Lewis. The courts block the move, ruling that Rahman has a valid contract with Cedric Kushner.
June 2001: King reaches The Supreme Court. The court rules 9-0 to reinstate a racketeering lawsuit against King by Kushner. The case had been bogged down in wrangling over whether King could be individually sued as a separate entity based on the actions of his DKP company.
Sept. 29, 2001: Promotes a middleweight tournament that ends with one of the most criminally overlooked post-9/11 sports moments: American Bernard Hopkins upsets Felix Trinidad of Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden in front of hundreds of New York police and firefighters.
Dec. 2003: King is ordered to pay former charge Terry Norris $7.5M. In 1993, the fighter said: "King pays the most. He has been straight up with me so far. If he tries to screw me, he's gone."
July 2004: Tyson settles his suit with King for a reported total of $14 million.
Oct. 2005: The Don King Celebrity Roast takes place. Sample joke from Jackie Martling: "I know Mike Tyson is a little annoyed with Don King — he told me while parking my car last night."
March 21, 2007: Through an Italian fighter he promotes, King gets a front row pew at St. Peter’s Basilica and hands Pope Benedict a letter and a gift.
Dec. 2010: King's 87-year-old wife, Henrietta, dies from complications of stomach cancer. The couple were married more than 50 years. On the way to her Cleveland funeral he is stopped for having ammo in his carry-on luggage.
The preceding timeline relied in part on the work of boxing journalists Jack Newfield, Thomas Hauser and Phil Berger, as well as contemporary accounts from The New York Times, USA Today, and The Associated Press.
8/18/2011
8/10/2011
THE HISTORY OF MADINA
Madina is a greatest place of peace. It's a historical place in the world.
The second holiest site in Islam is Medina (or Medinah), the "City of the Prophet," is in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia. It was to Medina city that Muhammad fled when he was initially driven out of Mecca, and the place where he attracted his first followers. Medina currently has a population of about 600,000 people and is the home of "The Prophet's Mosque."
The long form of the Arabic name for Medina (Madinat Rasul Allah) means "City of the Prophet of Allah", while the short form (al-Madina) just means "the City". Muslims always add salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam ("peace be upon him") after mentioning the Prophet Muhammad, so the full form of the name is commonly given as "Madinat Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam."
The long form of the Arabic name for Medina (Madinat Rasul Allah) means "City of the Prophet of Allah", while the short form (al-Madina) just means "the City". Muslims always add salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam ("peace be upon him") after mentioning the Prophet Muhammad, so the full form of the name is commonly given as "Madinat Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam."
Medina is the second holy city of Islam, after Mecca. Its importance as a religious site derives from the presence there of the Masjid al Nabawi, the Mosque of the Prophet, which was built on the site of Muhammad's home and is where he is buried. The first mosque of Islam is also located in Medinah and is known as Masjid al-Quba, the Quba Mosque.
In 622, Medina became the seat of Muhammad's growing movement after the Hijra. In 622 Muhammad was invited to come and live in Yathrib (the old name of Medina) and act as a sort of governor. Medina in those times was a divided city. Different clans and religions were eternally quarrelling and bickering and Muhammad brought unity to the city. All parties agreed to a pact drawn up by Muhammad and his followers. He invited all people in the city to follow the new religion of Islam. However, he had trouble convincing the Jewish population (which was actually quite large) that Islam was the true version of Judaism.
In the ten years following the Hijra, Medina formed the base from which Muhammad attacked and was attacked and it was from here that he marched on Makkah, becoming its ruler without battle. Even when Islamic rule was established Medina remained for some years the most important city of Islam and the de facto capital of the Caliphate.
Under the first four Caliphs, known as the Righteous Caliphs, the Islamic empire expanded rapidly and came to include centres of learning such as Jerusalem, Ctesiphon, and Damascus. After the death of Ali, the fourth caliph, Mu'awiyya transferred the capital to Damascus and the importance of Medina dwindled and became of a religious more than a political nature.
In 1924 the city, which had been in Ottoman hands for centuries, fell to Ibn Saud, whose empire later became Saudi Arabia.
SO WE SHOULD VISIT THIS PLACE.www.madina.com
7/28/2011
BMW
 |
| BMW |
World record holder and five-time Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Janet Evans, Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon Bryan Clay and 2010 USA Triathlon Elite Athlete of the Year Matt Chrabot gathered in New York on Wednesday to talk about how BMW is affecting their training methodology for the 2012 Olympics.
BMW is sponsoring the U.S. Olympic Team. These athletes make up three of the ten members of the BMW Performance Team. An eleventh athlete will be selected by fans. What these athletes share is a common goal -- they are training with hopes of coming home with gold from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
To enhance, what they are doing day in and day out, BMW engineers are contributing to a quantitative understanding of the athletes’ technique, using stereo-vision technologies to track and measure the velocity of an athlete’s motion with immediate analysis of data. What this means for athletes like Clay are less practice long jumps and more efficient use of precious training time.
I spoke to Chrabot, who was set to board a plane later that evening to contend at the Olympic Trials in London. He was particularly excited about the effect the technology would have on his training, including injury prevention, and the help of information about improving distance portions of his races. “We could actually use it in competition. A lot of other countries have cameras on the side and they’ll track our progress."
The idea of being physically deconstructed on a video screen was no cause for concern for Chrabot. “Once you reach the elite level, you’re poked and prodded on a fairly regular basis. It would be so helpful to know how to conserve more energy,” he said. “As human beings we can improve somewhere.”
BMW has been working with Phil Cheetham, a senior sport technologist for the United States Olympic Committee, based at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista just south of San Diego, Calif., where the athletes are incorporating the technology.
"We hope we get it to the point where they can be use it for immediate feedback,” said Darren Liccardo, Senior Advanced Technology Engineer, BMW Group Technology Office. "One thing we’re talking about is how best to take the results from this and show it to coach and athletes when they’re at the field. The default method would be a computer station, but imagine if they could just pull up on an iPad or other mobile device. It keeps them in their mobile training style."
Here’s the entire BMW Performance Team Roster:
Ricky Berens – Swimming, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, 800m freestyle relay
Matt Chrabot – Triathlon, 2010 USA Triathlon Elite Athlete of the Year
Bryan Clay – Track & Field, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, decathlon; 2010 World Indoor Champion, heptathlon
Natalie Coughlin – Swimming, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, backstroke – won six medals in Beijing 2008 Olympics
Janet Evans – Swimming, Five-time Olympic medalist; holds three World Records
April Holmes – Paralympic Track & Field, 2008 Paralympic gold medalist, 100m
Jonathan Horton – Gymnastics, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, team event
Clay Johnson – Sailing,nFirst place, 2011 North American Championship
Sanya Richards-Ross – Track & Field, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, 4x400 relay; 2009 World Outdoor Champion, 400m
Mallory Weggemann – Paralympic Swimming, 2009 USA Swimming Disabled Swimmer of the Year; currently holds 15 World Records.
7/27/2011
About Kat Von D
[edit] Early life
Kat Von D was born in Nuevo Leon, Mexico,.[1] Her parents are Argentinean-Mexican.[1] Her father, René Drachenberg, is of German descent and her mother, Sylvia Galeano, is of Italian and Spanish descent.[4][5] Von D has a sister named Karoline and a brother named Michael.[1] She moved with her family to the Los Angeles area at age 4 and grew up in Colton, California.[1] Von D was classically trained in piano beginning at age 6.[6] She particularly appreciates Ludwig van Beethoven.[6]
She credits the prominent Black culture of New York City as being a major influence drawing tattoos in her art and style.[7] She began listening to the Ramones, Misfits and other punk rock bands at the age of 12. She got her first tattoo at 14 and quit school at 16 to become a tattoo artist.[8][9]Career
Von D was asked to work at Miami Ink when Darren Brass broke his elbow,[10] preventing him from tattooing. She appeared in the first four seasons of the same-name reality TV show taped there. She had a falling out with Ami James which led to her being asked to leave the shop. Kat has said she has not spoken with members of Miami Ink since her departure.[11]
She later acquired her own series, LA Ink, following her work at her tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo, in Hollywood, California. On the show, she gained the Guinness World Record of most tattoos given by a single person in 24 hours, with a total of 400.[12] This was broken shortly after by her ex-husband Oliver Peck with 415,[citation needed] then Robbie "Coon" Koch with 577,[citation needed] then Derek Kastning with 726.[13]
Her first book High Voltage Tattoo, compiling her artworks and tattoos, with a foreword by Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, was released in January 2009 and reached #6 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[14] The book traces Von D's career as an artist, from early childhood influences to recent work, along with examples of inspirations, information about the show and her shop, sketches, and personal tattoos. Von D described the book as "not an autobiography, you know, 'cause I'm too young to do that. But this is just kind of like a picture-driven outline of my career as an artist. So, you see everything from my drawings when I was six to tattoos that have never before been seen."[15] Her second book, The Tattoo Chronicles, an illustrated diary following a year in her life, was released October 26, 2010, and reached #3 on The New York Times "Hardcover Advice & Misc." best-seller list.[16]
In 2008, Von D created and launched a make-up line for Sephora.[1] She has released new collections every year and has expanded her line to include fragrances. She is the creator of the MusInk Tattoo Convention and Music Festival,[17][18] which began in 2008.[19]
On September 2, 2010, Von D opened the art gallery and boutique Wonderland Gallery in the space next door to High Voltage Tattoo.[20]
Personal life
Von D was married to fellow tattoo artist Oliver Peck, but they were separated and preparing for divorce by August 2007.[21] She dated Nikki Sixx from 2008 to Jan 2010. She later began dating motorcycle customizer, West Coast Choppers CEO and reality-show star Jesse James.[21] On August 19, 2010, Von D confirmed media reports that she and James were dating, tweeting "I think it's pretty obvious that we're dating."[22] Von D and James announced their engagement on January 20, 2011.[23] Von D announced their split via Twitter on July 26, 2011.[24]
Von D has tattooed herself with the emblems of the bands Misfits, HIM, Turbonegro, ZZ Top, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Slayer, Mike Got Spiked and "Slutallica", a modified Metallica logo.[6] She appeared in the music video of Alkaline Trio's "Help Me", as well as HIM's Killing Loneliness. Other musical artists that Von D lists among her favorites include The Mars Volta and Selena.[25]
[edit] In other media
Von D was referred to in the Eagles of Death Metal song "High Voltage", which was named after her shop and is featured on their third album, Heart On. In an interview, Eagles of Death Metal's Jesse Hughes said, "I wrote that for Kat Von D, because that girl's bad ass."[26]
[edit] Television
As well as cameos and various chat show appearances, TV, film, and video game appearances include:
• Miami Ink, 2005–2006
• LA Ink, 2007–present
• MADtv, April 5, 2008
• The Bleeding as Vanya[27]
• Tony Hawk: Ride (video game) unlockable skater, November 17, 2009[citation needed]
[edit] References
1. ^ a b c d e f KatVonD.net (official site). Access date 2010-2-18
2. ^ "She gets under the skin (German)". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2008-03-20. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/taetowiererin-kat-von-d-sie-geht-unter-die-haut-1.523622. Retrieved 2011-01-12.. Translation: Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Kat, your surname is von Drachenberg. That is a German name..." Kat von D: "Yes, there is a castle 'von Drachenberg' somewhere in South Germany, which is owned by some of my relatives. I've got a postcard, but I was never there."
3. ^ "Some guys find me disgusting (German)". Der Spiegel. 2008-01-04. http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,525758,00.html. Retrieved 2011-01-12.. Translation: Der Spiegel: "Kat von D is the abbreviation of Katherine von Drachenberg..." Kat von D: "Yes, my father's mother is German. Somewhere in South Germany there is a castle with this name..."
4. ^ "Facts about Kat : LA Ink : TLC". Tlc.discovery.com. http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/la-ink/kat_corner/facts.html. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
5. ^ Loeffler, Shawn. "Interview: Kat Von D". AskMen.com. http://www.askmen.com/celebs/interview_250/288_kat_von_d_interview.html. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
6. ^ a b c Geist, Brandon. "Region of blood", Revolver, June 2008, p. 83.
7. ^ "Kat Von D Exclusive!". en.terra.com. http://en.terra.com/lifestyle/articles/html/hof1847.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
8. ^ Life at the sharp end, The Guardian, July 11, 2008
9. ^ LA Ink, American Way
10. ^ Sharer, Lisa. "Kat Von D: Hot Ink", Prick, October 2006
11. ^ Interview with Kat von D by Chris Nieratko
12. ^ More tattoos on "LA ink", Vitamin Angels
13. ^ "Most Tattoos in 24 Hours", Guinness World Records
14. ^ The New York Times Best Seller list, Sunday, February 22, 2009. This was the book's second week on the chart, and its highest chart position.
15. ^ "Kat Von D segment". Anytime with Bob Kushell. 2009-01-29. No. 7, season 1.
16. ^ [http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2010-11-14/overview.html The New York Times best-seller lists page, November 14, 2010.
17. ^ Jackson, Nate. "Live Review: Kat Von D's MusInk Tattoo and Music Festival on 02/23", OC Weekly, February 25, 2008. WebCitation archive.
18. ^ Spelled "MusInk" per official site.
19. ^ Reitz, Allison. "Motörhead, Social Distortion tour with Kat Von D's 2009 Musink Festival", TicketNews.com, November 4, 2008. WebCitation archive.
20. ^ WonderlandLA.com (official site)
21. ^ a b "'LA Ink' Star Sets the Record Straight About Her Relationship with Steve-O", BuddyTV.com, August 16, 2007
22. ^ "Kat Von D fréquente Jesse James". Canoe. http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/celebrites/nouvelles/2010/08/19/15074211-bum.html.
23. ^ Leonard, Elizabeth, and Jessica Herndon (January 20, 2011). "Jesse James & Kat Von D Are Engaged". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20459118,00.html. Retrieved January 20, 2011.. WebCitation archive.
24. ^ Leonard, Elizabeth (2011), "Jesse James and Kat Von D Split", People, http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20512929,00.html, retrieved 2011-07-26
25. ^ "TLC :: LA Ink :: Q&A with Kat". Tlc.discovery.com. http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/la-ink/qanda/kat.html. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
26. ^ Powers, Nicole (5 November 2008). "Eagles of Death Metal Part 2: Jesse Hughes". SuicideGirls.com. http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Eagles+of+Death+Metal+Part+2%3A+Jesse+Hughes/. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
27. ^ McNary, Dave (2008-03-23). "Five Cut Teeth on 'Bleeding'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982807.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=The+Bleeding. Retrieved 2008-10-09.. WebCitation ar
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