Michelle Jenneke, Dancing Australian Hurdler, Wins World Junior Championship 100-Meter Heat

Ok..lol. In my defense I just wanted to say that this is the most confident and good natured person I have ever seen.  Not to mention that she's super hot, and btw..  She won.  

You won't see any articles about the movie theater shooting on here. Sorry but you can read that on every news website in the world, and it seems that the tv has an endless loop of it. I figured the net didn't need another article about it. Sorry for the families...  

       Michelle Jenneke, a young Australian hurdler, is                        taking the Internet by storm with her performance during the IAAF World Junior Championship last weekend in Barcelona.

But while she completely dominated her first women's 100-meter hurdle heat (and placed fifth in the final), it's Jenneke's warm up dance that's making her famous around the Web.

According to Bleacher Report, the sports blog With Leather originally posted raw, live-stream footage of the 19-year-old's pre-race routine, but it was taken down and replaced with an "overt celebration of Jenneke and her dancing and running presented in gratuitous slow motion, and with an awful song over it."

With Leather was rather unapologetic about sexualizing Jenneke's warm-up dance, releasing its own super slow-motion cut.

USA Today took a more sedate angle on what it called Jenneke's "unique way of stretching," writing, "You have to appreciate anyone who enjoys themselves this much."

Update: 
Jenneke's fame continues to spread, and the Australian media aren't holding back on her routine, calling the teenager's warm-up "sexy" and claiming that she's "set hearts ablaze."

"Fans are confident this is only the beginning, and expect to see the [Jenneke] wiggling -- and racing -- at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016," Sky Newsreported.

Australian news also added details about the track starlet's personal life. According to News.co.au, Jenneke is a Sydney-area native from the northwest suburb of Kenthurst. Apart from hurdling, her hobbies include Australian football, soccer, handball and taking care of her pet cats and dogs.

"As far back as she can remember, [Jenneke] has had a passion for hurdling, even lining up teddy bears for jumping practice at her parent’s home when she was very young," the News Limited wrote.

Jenneke will not compete in the London Olympics this year, but the sexualization of female athletes in the media has been a widely discussed topic surrounding the 2012 games. On the other hand, there has also been coverage that celebrates the power of female athletes.

Here's a link to the video.. lol

http://youtu.be/0cQIqinNYKw

Chekhov Library Finds New Niche on Facebook

This post on the Chekhov Library's Facebook page includes a photograph of Sophia Loren (lower left) visiting Anton Chekhov's grave at Novodevichy Monastery.

I have passed by it hundreds of times. I even went inside once. But I had no idea that the Chekhov Library located at 8 Strastnoi Bulvar was such a fascinating place.

That realization dawned on me slowly over the last few months. Increasingly so after I became a fan of the library's Facebook page, surely one of the most cultural on that social network.

The page was established in February 2011, but it emerged early this spring as a veritable smorgasbord of information and images from the world of art, theater, literature, architecture, music and cinema. It now provides links to videos of poets reciting their work, of excerpts from films created by featured directors, even of a flash mob playing Grieg's "Peer Gynt" in the Copenhagen metro. There are announcements of lectures, readings and signings at the library and postings of interesting historical information, including birthdays and other anniversaries of prominent or not-so-prominent artists.

But what has established the library's reputation on Facebook — it now has well over 2,000 fans — are the fascinating photographs that the library's director Vera Murzinova puts up in thematic blocks several days a week. In recent days she posted sketches of actresses who played Shakespearean characters in London in the mid-19th century, and a series of photos of sculptures in the gardens at Tuilleries in Paris.

Russian-born, France-based artist Marc Chagall and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo were both honored last week with postings of photos, art reproductions, videos and informational texts. The occasions were the 105th anniversary of Kahlo's birth on July 6 and the 125th anniversary of Chagall's on July 7.

But while Murzinova has catholic tastes and does a fine job of casting a sometimes eccentric eye on developments in world culture — see, for example, contemporary British artist Jonathan Wolstenhome's humorous "people books" posted in May — she usually focuses on Russian culture. In all she has posted approximately 1,500 photos — the vast number of them being unique, if not rare. Not surprisingly, many of the posts involve Chekhov, his plays and productions of them, but Russian culture in general is followed closely here.

"Some of the photos are from our holdings and some are from the Internet," Murzinova wrote me by Facebook mail. "My searches on the Web are made easier by our publications, catalogues and guidebooks."

What caught my eye and made me a fan was a series of photos of old Moscow that were posted in April. Surely the saddest was taken in 1938 after the historic Strastnoi Monastery was razed to the ground to make way for what we now know as Pushkin Square. Alongside that shot is a gorgeous image from 1930 that shows the area as it was when the monastery and a nearby church were still in place. The Chekhov Library, known to its fans as Chekhovka, is located facing what used to be the back side of the monastery.

If this Facebook page is not enough, Murzinova has also created an informative website. Here you can follow all the library's events as well as read about the history of the building in which it is located. Originally built at the end of the 1880s, it was a film theater before the Revolution and then became the Latvian Club of Political Immigrants in 1919. The Latvian Club opened a theater called Skatuve and a library on its premises, all of which lasted until 1938, when all but the library fell victim to the Purges.

What do you want to watch online???

If anyone wants links to watch any tv shows, let me know. And let me say, RIP House MD, it's been a fun ride..  I'm also sad to see, "The Secret Circle"  get cancelled. 

"House MD" is Cancelled

It's official, the current eighth season of "House MD" will be the last season of the medicalTV drama series, starring Hugh Laurie. No word on how the producers are planning to end the show's run.

Here are a couple of words from the producers: "After much deliberation, the producers of 'House MD' have decided that this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last. By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004."

"Everyone at 'House' will bid farewell to the audience and to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to enjoy for the last eight years." 

Source: Fox

Renewed or canceled? Cheat sheet of TV shows' fates

There have been aplethora of TV network renewals and cancellations. And since it seemed to come all at once, it's completely understandable if you missed a piece of news.

But because we only want what's best for you guys, we've created a simple cheat sheet of all the network's shows and their current status: renewed, cancelled, TBD?

ABC

• "The Bachelor": Renewed
• "The Bachelorette": Renewed
• "Body of Proof": Renewed
• "Castle": Renewed
• "Cougar Town": Renewed and headed to TBS
• "Dancing With the Stars": Renewed
• "Desperate Housewives": Series finale airs this Sunday
• "GCB": Canceled
• "Grey's Anatomy": Renewed
• "Happy Endings": Renewed
• "Last Man Standing": TBD
• "Man Up": Canceled
• "The Middle": Renewed
• "Missing": Canceled
• "Modern Family": Renewed
• "Once Upon a Time": Renewed
• "Pan Am": Canceled
• "Private Practice": Renewed
• "Revenge": Renewed
• "The River": Canceled
• "Suburgatory": Renewed
• "Work It": Canceled

Follow @TODAY_Clicker

CBS

• "2 Broke Girls": Renewed
• "The Amazing Race": Renewed
• "The Big Bang Theory": Renewed
• "Blue Bloods": Renewed
• "Criminal Minds": Renewed
• "CSI": Renewed
• "CSI: Miami": Canceled
• "CSI: NY": TBD
• "A Gifted Man": Canceled
• "The Good Wife": Renewed
• "Hawaii Five-0": Renewed
• "How I Met Your Mother": Renewed
• "How to Be a Gentleman": Canceled
• "The Mentalist": Renewed
• "Mike & Molly": Renewed NCIS: Renewed
• "NCIS: Los Angeles": Renewed
• "Person of Interest": Renewed
• "Rob": Canceled
• "Rules of Engagement": TBD
• "Survivor": Renewed
• "Two and a Half Men": Renewed
• "Undercover Boss": Renewed
• "Unforgettable": Canceled

Fox

• "Alcatraz": Canceled
• "American Idol": Renewed
• "Bones": Renewed
• "Breaking In": Canceled
• "Family Guy": Renewed
• "The Finder": Canceled
• "Fringe": Renewed
• "Glee": Renewed
• "House": Series finale airs May 21
• "I Hate My Teenage Daughter": Canceled
• "New Girl": Renewed
• "Raising Hope" Renewed
• "The Simpsons": Renewed
• "Terra Nova": Canceled
• "Touch": Renewed
• "The X Factor": Renewed

NBC

• "30 Rock": Renewed
• "Are You There, Chelsea?": Canceled
• "Awake": Canceled
• "Bent": Canceled
• "Best Friends Forever": Canceled
• "The Biggest Loser": TBD
• "Celebrity Apprentice": TBD
• "Community": Renewed
• "Grimm": Renewed
• "Harry's Law": Canceled
• "Law & Order: SVU": Renewed
• "The Office": TBD
• "Parenthood": Renewed
• "Parks and Recreation": Renewed
• "Smash": Renewed
• "The Firm": Canceled
• "Up All Night": Renewed
• "The Voice": Renewed
• "Whitney": Renewed

THE CW

• "90210": Renewed
• "America's Next Top Model": Renewed
• "Gossip Girl": Renewed
• "Hart of Dixie": Renewed
• "Nikita": Renewed
• "Remodeled": Canceled
• "Ringer": Canceled
• "The Secret Circle": Canceled
• "Supernatural": Renewed
• "The Vampire Diaries": Renewed

'Fairy Circles' In Namibia Grasslands Remain A Mystery To Scientists

The smallest "fairy circles" are about 6.5 feet (2 meters) in diameter, while the largest can be almost 40 feet (12 m) across. Eventually, plants move back in, re-colonizing the circles and leaving only slightly indented "ghost circles" behind.

In the sandy desert grasslands of Namibia in southern Africa, mysterious bare spots known as "fairy circles" will form and then disappear years later for no reason anyone can determine. A new look at these strange patterns doesn't solve the wistful mystery but at least reveals that the largest of the circles can linger for a lifetime.

Small fairy circles stick around an average of 24 years, while larger ones can exist as long as 75 years, according to research detailed today (June 27) in the journal PLoS ONE. Still, the study sheds little light on why the circles form, persist and then vanish into the landscape after decades.

"The why question is very difficult," said study researcher Walter Tschinkel, a biologist at Florida State University. "There are a number of hypotheses on the table, and the evidence for none of them is convincing." [See Photos of Fairy Circles]

Circles of life (and death)

Tschinkel grew interested in fairy circles during a 2005 safari to NamibRand Nature Reserve in southwest Namibia, in the Namib Desert. It was his first experience with the round clearings, tens of thousands of which expose the red sandy soil in the area. A short time after the circles form, a tall ring of grass grows around the border, highlighting the bare area.

Mysterious bare spots called "fairy circles" dotting the sandy desert grasslands of Nambia have long stumped scientists who have no idea how the strange patterns form.

Few researchers have studied fairy circles, in part because of their remoteness, 111 miles (180 km) from the nearest village. It's an arid landscape where springbok, ostriches, leopards and other large animals roam, Tschinkel told LIveScience.

"It's like dying and going to heaven if you like remote, beautiful desert places," he said.

At first glance, Tschinkel assumed the circles marked underground nests of harvester termites. But digs have shown no evidence of termite nests under fairy circles. Other explanations, such as differences in soil nutrients or the death of seedlings by toxic vapors from the ground, have likewise failed to hold up to study.

In fact, little was known even about the life cycle of the circles, Tschinkel said. With the help of the nature reserve's staff, satellite images and aerial photos, he set out to change that. By comparing satellite images from 2004 and 2008, he found that circles are quite stable, popping up at nearly their full size, or growing quickly to full size once they get started. The smallest are about 6.5 feet (2 meters) in diameter, while the largest can be almost 40 feet (12 m) across. Winds scour the bare areas of soil, turning them into slight depressions. Eventually plants move back in, recolonizing the circles and leaving only slightly indented "ghost circles" behind. [Gallery: Aerial Photos Reveal Mysterious Stone Structures]

Assuming that the overall number of fairy circles on the landscape is fairly steady, Tschinkel used the satellite photos to look at how quickly the circles go from birth to maturity to revegetation. That yielded rough estimates of the circles' life spans. Most probably exist for 30 to 60 years, Tschinkel said. 

Persisting mystery

Tschinkel was able to bolster these estimates thanks to a fundraising effort by the Namib Rand Nature Reserve, which sells sponsorships to fairy circles. The sponsored circles are marked with a ceramic plate, and their GPS coordinates are recorded. Over the 10 years of the sponsorship program, staff members have checked on the status of the sold circles. Their data yielded similar age ranges for fairy circles as the satellite images did, Tschinkel found.

He also determined that the circles form only on sandy soil with minimal stoniness, and that they don't form on shifting dunes or alluvial fans, where sands are deposited by water. 

Some of Tschinkel's experiments are still ongoing, but so far, they've generated no leads on the circles' origins. Tschinkel suspects the circles are the product of some form of natural self-organization by plants.

"There are some mathematical models that are based on the idea that plants can withdraw resources toward themselves, which has a positive feedback on plant growth where they're located, but it has a negative effect on plants at a greater distance," he said.

Computer models based on this math can generate landscapes that look a bit like the fairy circle fields of Namibia, he said. But even if that hypothesis is on the right track, it doesn't explain how the plants are creating this pattern, not when hoarding soil nutrients and some other possible factors have already been ruled out.

With few people studying the circles — and no funding for chasing down themysteries of the landscape of southern Africa — Tschinkel said the fairy circles will likely remain an enigma.

"I'm not too worried that this mystery is going to be solved anytime soon," he said. And the persistence of the mystery makes it ever more intriguing.

"That's science, isn't it?" Tschinkel said. "If you knew the answer ahead of time, it wouldn't be much fun."

Dinosaurs Were Warm-Blooded? New 'Growth Line' Study Of Dino Bones Suggests Endothermy

Dinosaurs may not have been the slow, sunbathing reptiles researchers used to think. In fact, they may have been warm-blooded, new research suggests.

The researchers studied the "growth lines" on animal bones, which are similar to the growth rings in tree trunks. During slow-growing times like during the winter, they are darker and narrower, while in fast-growing times the bones have lighter, wider bands.

Figuring out if dinosaurs were warm-blooded endotherms (made their own body heat) or were "cold-blooded" ectotherms that relied on outside sources of warmth could illuminate a lot about how they lived, grew and evolved. How warm an animal is has an impact on its metabolism, and therefore how quickly they can grow and have babies.

Of bones and blood

Previously, scientists had thought that growth lines showed up only on the bones of cold-blooded animals, since these animals grow in fits and starts. Warm-blooded animals, like mammals and birds, are assumed to grow continuously, because they keep their temperatures up and have high metabolic rates, continually making energy to grow.

As such, researchers took the growth lines on dinosaur bones as evidence of their cold-bloodedness. Until now.

In this study, the researchers compared the bone lines from the leg bones of more than 100 wild ruminants (warm-blooded mammals like sheep and cows that have multiple stomachs) with seasonal rainfall and temperature cycles and with the animal's core body temperature and resting metabolic rate. The researchers showed that these warm-blooded animals also have bone growth lines indicating fast, yet interrupted yearly growth that depended on how long the "unfavorable" season lasted.

Researchers used the bones of ruminants, like this Gazella dorcas (a small, desert dwelling Gazelle from North Africa) to learn about the body temperature of dinosaurs.

Hot dinos

The growth lines they found on the ruminants were similar to those seen in previous studies of dinosaur bones — indicating that both ruminants and dinosaurs have periods of high growth punctuated by "unfavorable" seasons with limited resources and little growth. This means that dinosaurs were likely warm-blooded like the ruminants.

"The argument we are giving in our paper, rather in favor of endothermy in dinosaurs, is that between the growth and rest lines, there's always a big region of highly vascularized [infiltrated with blood vessels] tissue that indicates very high growth rates," study researcher Meike Köhler, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain, told LiveScience. "This is typical in dinosaurs and very different from reptiles, which have slow growth between the rest lines."

Sauropods were the only dinosaurs where researchers haven't seen growth lines similar to those of ruminants. Previous studies of their teeth indicate they would have had high body temperatures as well, though they might have been big enough for their mass to generate that heat — what researchers call a "gigantotherm." Researchers don't know what their growth lines would have looked like, since no animals alive today are gigantotherms.

Two large, light and blood vessel ridden areas of bone growth are seen here in the bone of a 14-year-old Alpine red deer. They are intersperced with small, dark lines called rest lines.

Fast growth?

This indicates that "dinosaursalso had very fast growth rates and needed to eat a lot and maintain high generation of heat internally," Kohler said, so they were most likely warm-blooded.

The theory that dinosaurs were warm has been gaining traction in the last few years in multiple fields, but the researchers admit that other, non-bone-based arguments for cold-bloodedness still stand. Endotherms should have the physical ability to move quickly, and lung volume to pump oxygen to muscles needed for running, which researchers can't be sure dinosaurs had.

"There are a lot of arguments in favor and against endothermy in dinosaurs," Kohler said. "It could be that they have some traits that are clearly endothermic," but others may be muddled.

The study was published today (June 27) in the journal Nature.