Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Sports: Satire: What the heck is goin' on?

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Funnie or Die (November10,2k11)
— Reposted here by Satirikos



Reality TV Freakout - watch more funny videos      


— reposted here by Sportikos

Arts: Painting: Four young Haitians give works to international development org helping their society

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Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Arts: Christian portrayals of Christ: Painting genius performs a portrait of Christ

Vimeo



David Garibaldi: Jesus Painting from Thriving Churches on Vimeo.


Hat Tip to Abbess Eleanor Abbot of California

The style is Roualtian and the format is Seerveldian — "troubled cosmic"

— Vimeo video and my own style/format analysis, AudioVisiotor

Arts: Liturgical and Architecture: Architecture and Liturgical Practices within it, are beautiful and maximal

Andrew Cusack blog and YouTube via refWrite's partner, channel yUT2ube

Magadan, Siberia, September 1, 2011. 


Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill ranking churchman at the great consecration of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Magadan, and the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church. The Liturgy was held in the consecration of Archimandrite Nicholas (Dutki) as Bishop of Nakhodka and the Transfiguration.




— reposted here by Archibald, architecture critic for refWrite Backpage.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Sports: Major League Soccer: Galaxy (Los Angeles) bests 3-1 Real (Salt Lake City) yesterday on way to MLS Cup

CARSON, Calif. – Supporters’ Shield. CONCACAF Champions League. MLS Cup.
Those were the LA Galaxy’s major goals to accomplish before the season began, and after defeating Real Salt Lake 3-1 in Sunday’s Western Conference Championship, the club is now in position to go three-for-three.

Beckham, Donovan, Magee — one more to go!
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The  Galaxy will officially host Houston in MLS Cup 2011 on Nov. 20 at the Home Depot Center. And according to the coach, what transpired from March right on through Sunday night is now irrelevant.
“This is a competition that’s four or five games,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “The regular season doesn’t mean anything and we want to be the best team in this four-or-five-game tournament. And we have that opportunity.”
RSL did not go down without a fight though. The MLS Cup 2009 champs entered the match with lingering injury concerns as both Jámison Olave and Nat Borchers were in doubt. Only Olave made the starting lineup, while Chris Schuler filled in for Borchers.
That Olave played the way he did, lasting for 82 minutes and assisting on RSL’s only goal on the night, impressed Arena.
“Olave did well considering he’s playing with an injury,” Arena said. “We all know he wasn’t 100 percent, and for him to gut it out like that was pretty remarkable. He’s an outstanding defender. Unfortunately when playing three games in a week and at the end of a long season, teams are going to have injuries. Players are not 100 percent and unfortunately that was the case for Olave.”
Landon Donovan gave the Galaxy the lead after just 23 minutes as he converted a penalty kick but Álvaro Saborío quickly answered with a header off a corner kick.
Some frenetic play ensued but the Galaxy did not come out ahead until the second half when the match conditions began to favor the hosts.
“I told the guys, ‘When the game slows down it’s going to favor us.’ Some of the passing we had to get behind them and create some chances was terrific,” Arena said. “That was the difference. As the game settled down, slowed down a little bit, it favored us.”
David Beckham continued his masterful play with a picture-perfect cross in the 58th minute that Magee got his head to. While Magee did well to bury the header, Beckham’s cross was of the sort that made him an icon in world soccer.
“I’ve seen that before,” Arena said. “It was terrific and a great finish. David has been remarkable in these playoffs and this year, his experience and his desire have been incredible.”
Robbie Keane scored on a counterattack 10 minutes later and the Galaxy nearly added a few more, but were stymied by a committed RSL defense and their own subpar finishing.
Still, it was enough to see them through, and give them a chance to reach their ultimate goal.
“[The Galaxy] deserve to be in the final,” Arena said. “Now we know that we’ve got to bring it and play our best if we want to hold the trophy on the 20th.”
Related: 

Sports: Professional Football (American): NFL game Denver Broncos win 38-24 over Oakland Raiders

Clickup NFL.com video (Fox) to see fabulous scenes of the game.
Via USA Today.  Reposted here by Sportikos.


OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Tim Tebow took the snap, put the ball in Willis McGahee's belly and decided whether to hand it off or keep it for his own run. 
Those plays looked a lot like what he did so often in college — especially the results.
Tebow threw two TD passes and ran for 117 yards, McGahee added 163 yards rushing and two more scores and the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders 38-24 Sunday.  
[Imagine a football game with no first down until the third quarter.  This was that game!  — Sportikos]
  • Those plays looked a lot like what he did so often in college — especially the results.
    Tebow threw two TD passes and ran for 117 yards, McGahee added 163 yards rushing and two more scores and the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders 38-24 Sunday
    Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow slips past the Oakland Raiders for a first down in the third quarter on Sunday.
    By Ben Margot, AP
    Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow slips past the Oakland Raiders for a first down in the third quarter on Sunday.

By Ben Margot, AP
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow slips past the Oakland Raiders for a first down in the third quarter on Sunday.


Even though he looked far from a prototypical NFLquarterback relying on his legs much more than his arm, Tebow still managed to win for the second time in three starts this season and put the Broncos (3-5) one game out of first place in the AFC West.
"Honestly it doesn't necessarily matter too much how you drew it up as long as you get this feeling at the end, because it was pretty special," he said.
It's quite a turnaround from a week ago, when Denver was dismantled 45-10 by Detroit and some of the Lions were questioning Tebow's ability to succeed in the NFL. Broncos coach John Fox was only willing to commit to Tebow for this week's game. But after the coaches made a few tweaks to the offense, Tebow earned himself another start.
He threw touchdown passes to Eric Decker and Eddie Royal early in the game and then expertly ran the option game that helped the Broncos gain 298 yards on the ground, their highest total since a 300-yard game against Seattle in 2000, and most ever against the Raiders (4-4).
"As long as it worked, that's all I care about," McGahee said. "He did a great job as far as reading the ends on what he had to do as far as keeping it or giving it. When I got the ball it was my job just to get some yards."
McGahee had a 60-yard touchdown run that tied the game on the first play after Carson Palmer threw his second interception for the Raiders, then added a 24-yarder to ice it in the closing minutes. Denver took the lead in between those big runs when Royal returned his first punt of the season 85 yards for a touchdown.
Tebow finished 10 for 21 for 124 yards, but took only one sack after taking 13 in his first two starts.
"I thought he improved throwing the ball," Fox said. "I think he's always run the ball pretty effectively. He's very competitive by nature. You see evidence of that. Now it's just learning how to be an NFL quarterback. In my opinion he's gotten better each time out."
Palmer looked much better in his first start with the Raiders than in his debut two weeks ago in a relief effort against Kansas City. Then, he threw three second-half interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in a 28-0 loss five days after he joined the team.
With a bye week and this past week to get acclimated to his new team, Palmer showed why Oakland dealt a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder to Cincinnati to acquire Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone.
Palmer was 18 for 34 for 312 yards with three touchdowns. But he threw three more interceptions, including one that provided a sudden change of momentum in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
"It's kind of a crash course the last couple weeks," Palmer said. "It's like you're jamming or cramming for a final or a test. But I just got to continue to work, continue to study, continue to have it down and learn from every opportunity I get."
With the Raiders in Denver territory, Palmer threw high to Denarius Moore and Chris Harris intercepted the deflected ball. McGahee then ran through a big hole up the middle and outraced the Oakland defense for a 60-yard score. It tied the game on his longest run since a 77-yarder in Oakland in the 2009 season finale for Baltimore.
Tebow did little in the first half besides two big plays on one drive. First he ran 32 yards on an option keeper when former teammate Jarvis Moss bit on a fake.
"We knew exactly what they were going to do and we just didn't stop it," Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. "We knew exactly what was going to happen, and they ran exactly what we thought they were going to run and we didn't get the job done. That's the disappointing part."
Tebow then hit Decker on a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-3. Tebow missed his share of open receivers but didn't miss Decker, who badly beat Michael Huff on a post route.
The Raiders capitalized on a botched punt to regain the lead. Britton Colquitt couldn't handle the low snap from Lonie Paxton and threw the ball away to avoid a sack in the end zone. That gave the Raiders a first down at the Denver 14 and Palmer found Michael Bush on an 11-yard score for his first TD with the Raiders.
Palmer bounced back from an interception later in the second quarter with his best pass as a Raider, threading a 40-yard touchdown pass to fullback Marcel Reece.
The Broncos missed a chance at three points at the end of the half when Fox too a field goal off the board to accept a roughing the kicker penalty on Taiwan Jones. Matt Praterthen missed a 43-yarder at the end of the half.
Notes: The only other Broncos QB to rush for at least 100 yards in a game was Norris Weese with 120 in 1976 against Chicago. … Denver DE Elvis Dumervil had his first sack since Dec. 27, 2009. He missed all last season with an injury. … Raiders MLB Rolando McClain dressed but did not play with a sprained left ankle. … Broncos S Rahim Moore left with a concussion after the first play from scrimmage.


Sunday, November 06, 2011

Sports: Marathon Foot Races: NYC course record shattered today

The Christian Post > International > Entertainment > Sports|Sun, Nov. 06 2011 04:54 PM EDT


New York Marathon 2011 Results: 

Course Record Shattered Sunday 

(PHOTOS)


by Emma Koonse

Geoffrey Mutai has broken the NYC Marathon record by more than two minutes. He finished in just two hours, five minutes, and six seconds. The previous record stood at two hours, seven minutes, and 14 seconds.

  • Geoffrey Mutai
    (Reuters/Mike Segar)
    Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the 2011 New York City Marathon in New York November 6, 2011.
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The runner is the 2011 Boston Marathon winner, and in April, he ran the fastest 26.2 miles in history with a time of 2:03:02. The feat is not considered a world recordthough, for the course was considered too straight and too downhill.
30-year-old Mutai broke the existing New York City Marathon record set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia from a decade earlier. Mutai is slated to sweep next summer’s Olympics with his incredible running skills.
The second place winner Sunday also broke an oldcourse record- Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai (no relation) finished 1:22 behind Mutai with a time of two hours and six minutes.
Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia finished third, also breaking the old record.
The women’s race saw Firehiwot Dado overtake frontrunner Mary Keitany during the last mile. Dado, a three-time Rome Marathon champion, made up a deficit of more than two minutes to win, earning a time of 2:23:15.
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The close race saw Buzunesh Deba finish four seconds behind Dado, and Keitany came in third with 2:23:39.

Toronto the Good: Toronto in Autumn 2k11, by photographer Bukharov


A brilliant photographer has captured the dizzying variety of colorations now inflaming our autumnal tree-foliage in Toronto the Good.  Photographer Bukharov has been selected in a competition along with 6 others for the photo of the week on locations in the city.  Posterjack sponsors the competition, and the post is by Tom Ryaboi.  Post of all seven of the selected photos may be found on the blogTO website.  There are some other dandy photo-images among them.

— Photographikos

Monday, October 03, 2011

Pisteutics: Movies: Competing mores

BREATHEcast »  Headlines  | Mon, Oct 03, 2011 @ 11:59 AM EST

Faith Based Films Toppling Hollywood's Top Names


By Jessica Brooks - BREATHEcast reporter
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movie320.jpg(photo:Reuters)





Characterized by scandal and elicit films, Hollywood is showing signs of change. For the past few weeks, moviegoers have made the top selling films those with faith based roots. 

Dolphin Tale” , “Courageous” and “The Lion King 3D” have toppled over some of Hollywood’s biggest names including Brad Pitt

Swimming in at number one this weekend was “Dolphin Tale”. The film brought in $14.2 million which was enough to take the number one spot over Brad Pitt’s “Moneyball”

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Although the film, starring Morgan Freeman that tells the story of a whale’s rehabilitation doesn’t have any overtly spiritual themes, it was widely marketed to Christian audiences and carries an embedded message of faith until the end which is echoed by the film's young co-stars, Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Nathan Gamble

In an interview, Zuehlsdorff recalled the ‘curve balls’ thrown at her during the filming of the movie which incited her to rely on her faith. 

“You know, you don’t know when something’s going to happen or like you find out the morning of that you’re doing a really tough seen or something like that and I think that I need[ed] to trust God a lot during that and I learned so much about how He can help and give you peace during that...” she said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. 

Echoing her sentiment, Gamble reflected about what he learned from the movie and how he connected his faith with the film. 

“There’s gonna be a lot of, like she (Zuehlsdorff) said, curve balls in your life but you just gotta see through it and know that God is putting you in the right place and He’s only doing that for the best for you.” 

The rise of Christian based films has certainly thrown a curve ball at Hollywood, showing that films that have a wholesome message are worthy contenders. 

This weekend, overtly Christian film “Courageous” also debuted, which was a follow-up to filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick’s 2008 “Fireproof”. "Courageous" centered around four police officers, depicts the officers experiencing a tragedy together and looking to God to help them fulfill their roles of fathers as God intended. 

Considering that the film opened in limited theaters and cost only $2 million to make, its opening weekend earnings of $8.58 million was a great success. 

The trend of faith based films may suggest to Hollywood that moviegoers are looking for less fantasy and something that speaks to a deeper reality.
Mon, Oct 03, 2011 @ 08:59 AM

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Arts: Literature: Paul Coelho, old and new

Paulo Coelho (Sept2k11)

I got the idea a year or so ago that Paulo Coelho was a practicing Christian.  I encountered the idea on a Blog Talk Radio program where the great novelist was interviewed.  I thawt Coelho was a Catholic Christian, having strayed at earlier stages in his life.  Now, he's got a new book out where he discusses the meaning of life, and records his turnabout.  A Brazilian friend asked me about this, and I had nothing with which to document my impression as true.  Now I've run across this ad for his newest, apparently the something of a testimonial.  Can anyone help me unravel this matter?

From the beloved author of The Alchemist and the new book Aleph comes a remarkable conversation about self-discovery that will change your life forever. #1 New York Times bestselling author Brendon Burchard asks Paulo Coelho why he wrote his new book, how he built his global fan base (6 million), and what it means to live a meaningful life.


— Coelho material posted here by LitCrit

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Egads! : Animals: EagleOwl swoops into the camera's eye

YouTubeServices, channel yUT2ube, online music-collections in partnership with refWrite



— Hat Tip