Well, its been several days since the Anime Festival Asia 2009 has ended. Many people have posted their various experiences and encounters at the event. Now it’s my turn. What took me so long you say? Well I’ve had a few commitments impede my progress such as completely reworking the image hosting for the site. Instead of my blog using the standard image hosting that wordpress provides (which is slow, sluggish and inconvenient), I now use photobucket which makes uploading images and posting them on the site a lot easier as well as the images happen to load significantly faster. I also have been working on the site’s gallery and videos section which have been significantly updated with images from the AFA 2009 event, feel free to check them out. Now without any further delay I shall report my findings at this years Anime Festival Asia!

Early Arrival

For those that thought arriving early to avoid the hassle of the crowds was that simple, well you were wrong. The 4th level of the Suntec City building was full by 10am (which was the opening time). Thank god I had pre-ordered my tickets and didn’t have to stand in line for one as the queue for tickets was endless. Cosplayers could be seen standing around amongst the crowds.

The crowds on the second day were much lesser compared to the first day. Good thing for me, less people to accidentally bump into.

Danny Choo / Tokyo Figure Show

When the gates finally opened. I went straight to the Danny Choo/ Tokyo Figure Show booth, where I was surprised to find Danny Choo himself to be standing by himself (for the rest of the day people would be crowding around him). I managed to take a quick picture of him, swap name cards and shake his hand. That itself had already made my day. Later on in the day I managed to get him to sign my copy of The Otaku Encyclopedia by Patrick W. Galbraith. Another joyful moment.

The booth itself was amazing as it contained many discontinued figurines of all sorts which I never have been able to lay my hands on. This was a chance for me to see them up close. It also gave me a sneak preview of things to come such as the Black Rock Shooter figure that everyone has their eye on, plus the limited edition Mirai Figma which hopefully will be released soon. The ita-bike made by Kodomut was fantastic. I’ll only show a few pictures here as the rest can be viewed in the gallery.

Cosplay

For those of you who wondered the festival grounds might have noticed the various cosplayers showing off their costumes. I was able to take a few shots throughout the event. A few of my personal favourites are listed below. Once again there are many more pictures in the gallery.

Bandai / Gundam

For those take came, I doubt you would have missed the Bandai and Gundam exhibition that was close to the entrance. Some of them were seen earlier in the month at the BAKUC Exhibition in Orchard Road. Many of the ones seen earlier were placed on display here at the AFA. Looking them up close again allowed me to see the hard work and effort put into these masterpieces. Looking at them makes me feel like purchasing a gunpla kit and start building one. Perhaps I’ll leave that for another day.

Artwork

One of the exhibitions that I feel was underrated and less touched on was the artists corner where it displayed all the talented works of aspiring artists. Some artworks simply blew me away as the detail and colours were astounding. We truly have some talent people in Singapore. If only I could draw as half as good as them, I’d be happy already.

I personally found myself favouring the Saber picture as my she is one of my favourite characters. The picture shows her elegance and beauty in her normal combat attire as well as capturing an emotionless face that could be hiding sorrow and sadness of her past. Another favourite from me would be the Naruto Hearts picture which is a cross series parody of the Naruto and Kingdom Hearts series. Interesting combination that could work in the future. I found it interesting to see artworks from the Warhammer 40,000 series on display, but to me I was glad to see other genres of works there. I personally used to collect, assemble and battle with the model figures a long time ago. Anyway the two pictures below used a different style of painting which successfully captured the chaotic nature of the Marines locked into battle with the xenos.

I found the last two pictures to be very creative and amusing. It seems we have some members of Anonymous lurking around heh. I wonder who drew that Harley Danny Choo picture? Nonetheless it was very amusing. Excellent work.

Assorted Booths:

Moe Moe Kyun Cafe

The day 1 queue was so long I couldn’t even find where the queue ended. It would have been nice if me and my mates had gone inside but once again the queues were too long and I figured it would have been expensive to purchase food inside. I had run out of money by the time the queues had shortened. The queues on the second day were significantly shorter as there was less people at the festival. From the outside it seemed like a good place and sit down though,

Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise (KKnM)

The KKnM stalls was one of the earlier booths I visited at day 1. I figured all the good stuff would be gone at the end of the day, I decided to have a peek to see what exclusives I could bag. With a touch of luck, I was about to bring home a Figma Saber Lily as well as a Good Smile Company 1/8 Saber. The stall was packed all the way from morning to late afternoon. All the good stuff was gone by afternoon. I had managed to catch a glimpse of a Figma Product 01 Konata in a Haruhi Cosplay (for $150) early morning, however I was beaten to it by someone else. Lucky guy, oh well easy come easy go.

There were other figurine stalls also like RoboRobo and La Tendo but were just as full. Each shop had their own different set prices plus exclusives. I saw a discontinued Fate from the Nanoha series going for $500 and above. Jeez I wonder who would buy that.

Tactical Weapons

A small front was setup for these guys. They had their weapons on display. Cool looking weapons, movable and life-like. Pistol chambers would move if fired, foldable handgrips and so on. Of course all their weapons were replicas. Lots of their advertisements were people in an army uniform carrying their weapons, many of them could be seen around the place.

Cospa

Yup, even Cospa is setting up shop in Singapore now. About 1 week before the AFA, they already had started up their website which can be found here. They had all sorts of anime t-shirts, towels, mugs and other accessories. They even had a Jan-Ken-Pon (scissors paper rock) competition give away. The finalist would play against Danny Choo. I was somewhere behind the crowd at that point of time. The lucky guy eventually won a Black Mirai T-shirt. Congrats!

Credit goes to Mike Abundo for the video.

Besides clothing, they had HUGE Litter Buster’s towels at a whopping $150. Tempting but insanely expensive even for me. Adorable designs though.

Did I mention they had a wall scroll for the upcoming Nanoha movie? Well if not here’s the poster for it.

Too bad I ran out of funds to purchase one. Oh well I can still pick one up at the store or hopefully Sunshine Plaza.

Summer Wars

An upcoming anime movie, Summer Wars, had their own booth. I decided to snoop around to see what I could found up this anime. Apparently it was created by Madhouse who also created Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) which is one of my favourite anime movies of all time. Much hype of this movie is to be expected as the studio itself has earned a name for themselves. through their previous masterpieces. As I saw the preview, the artwork and animation seems extremely details and beautiful (like its previous movie), I’ll definitely be watching this movie when it is released. Hopefully I will have time to do a review on the movie when it comes out later on in the year.

Collateral Damage Studios

Mainly the K-ON and Ayanami Rei artwork caught my eye as I walked past it. I few things I managed to spot was a familiar piece of artwork I saw on figure.fm about 1 week before the AFA. I asked if the artist was there, however he was busy looking around the place. Damn I wanted to ask him for his name card. I saw a massive Mio Akiyama wall scroll which I wouldn’t have mind getting, but once again I was out of funds. Their website can be found here.

Takashimaya Store

As expected, they had their own store which was fairly huge compared to the rest. They were selling all kinds of thing, dakimakuras/body pillows, pillow cases, mugs, bags, wall scrolls, pretty much anything with an anime design on it. The place was a bit price but I still managed to pick up a Shakugan no Shana wall scroll for a good $40. Not bad considering the size. The place was packed like a can of tuna from morning to god knows when. Regardless there were people inside throughout the whole day. Something that caught my eyes was the Domo kun plushies they had out front. I couldn’t resist to take a picture as well as giving it a great big hug. Oh just so you know the biggest size of Domo kun costed $300. Big Domo costs big bucks.

Storm Lion Booth

They were advertising for a new movie coming out soon. Didn’t have time to look around there though. I saw a fantastic artist who used photoshop and a drawing tablet to draw a masterpiece throughout the whole day. He just ignored everyone and kept drawing. Absolutely amazing.

Animax Live Dubbing

Near the back of the exhibition was the Animax area which were promoting special deals for Starhub Cable television. Not bad deals but the contract for cable television is too long since I’ll only be here for a few more months. What was unique about the place was the live recording studio they had at the back. You could input your own voice as one of the main characters in the anime of your choice. Quite embarrassing however humourous for those watching like me. I was too shy to give it a try for myself.

Cosplay Weapons Stall

A small stall was setup by a bunch of mainland Chinese guys which sold weapons (mainly swords) from various anime. What I spotted was Uchiha Sasuke’s sword, Saber Alter and normal Saber, some sort of Final Fantasy sword which I think sold out fast, wooden bokkens, various swords from Bleach and many other Katanas. Each were about $40 and were mainly made of wood. Not bad but I’d prefer to make my own. If I had to buy one it would probably be the normal Saber or Saber Alter sword. Quite tempting to buy one though.

Dolfies Stalls

I’m not a Dolfie person but when I came across the stall, I was shock to see how elegant and beautiful these things were when I saw them up close. They truly are a masterpiece. I didn’t bother asking for the price as I already knew it was out of my range. Extremely beautiful dolls.

Weiss Schwarz Booth

Had a quick peek into their booths. They had all kinds of starter decks to choose from. I would have picked up a Fate/Stay Night starter deck but they didn’t have it in stock. The Nanoha deck was also quite tempting. Hopefully when it is released in the retail shops, I’ll be able to pick one up. Seems easy enough to learn. Anyway there were people playing the card game throughout the whole day. There was even a competition from what I was told.

Region Cosplay Championships

Since it was my first time being apart of an audience for a cosplay competition I had assumed the crowds wouldn’t have been so big. I was completely wrong when I had to make my way through the amount of people gathering for the on stage event. Due to the large crowds, awkward position and constant obstruction of view by the media and AFA crew, I was unable to get decent shots the whole time.

Anyway the finalists and anime skit chosen were:

ST Revolutions (Singapore) – Unknown Anime

00 Emotions (Singapore) – Gundam 00

Sekai no Gumi (Malaysia) – Code Geass

Endless Illusion (Indonesia) – Lineage II

Houshin Enqi (Thailand) – Unknown Anime

Witchblade (Philippines) – Witchblade

The skits for each team can be seen below (credit goes to Hexlord for taking these wonderful videos and Zh3us for finding them for his blog!):

Each contestant won a participating prize as well as a big hug from Kaname who was cosplaying as Kamina from Gurren Lagenn. The hug between the Gundam and Kaname was priceless.

Personally, I thought 00 Emotions and Endless Illusions had the best costumes and assume they took the longest to create. The Gundam costume doesn’t need any words to describe their costume. One look will explain everything. The costumes made for the Lineage II skit was simply beautiful especially under the stage lights where the armour and weapons truly shine (literally) with brilliance.

With the skit and their performance Sekai no Gumi have points from me for almost complete originality St Revolutions did provide a very emotional scene with outstanding acting.

Nonetheless congrats to 00 Emotions and their Gundam 00 skit for an excellent performance as well as taking home the Grand Prize for Go Singapore!

Moe Moe Kyun Girls Karoke Performance

On the second day of the festival the Moe Moe Kyun girls did a karoke session. Enjoyable to watch. Video captured below is done by other than yours truly.

Joysound Karoke Booth

Located near the Animax area, near the back of the hall was a karoke machine where people could chose and sing their favourite Japanese songs (not just anime openings and closings). Lots of people gathered waiting for others to try the machine. As for me, I’m generally a crap singer, plus I don’t know fluent Japanese. The more of a reason for me to completely avoid touching the microphone. Anyway a few people were courageous enough and delivered a wonderful performance whether their singing was good or bad. Either way I think they had fun, because I know I enjoyed watching them sing (or attempt to). A few of the singers can be viewed below, sorry for the crap sound quality.

K-ON Experience

Now here comes the highlight for the second day of the AFA. The K-ON stage live dubbing took place a few minutes after the karoke performance by the Moe Moe Kyun maids. I promised myself I’d get a seat just for this so I took the effort to come extra early. I managed to grab a seat near the front which I was content with. They decided to prohibit video and photography taking for the remaining of the onstage events so I was unable to take any photos or videos. I saw a few people get their gear confiscated eek.

For those who are unfamiliar with K-ON, you can find out all you need to know here.

Before the girls came onto the stage, Reiko (one of the MC’s) asked Danny Choo (being the other MC) was asked “What do you like about K-ON?”. He responded with pretty much what 99% of the audience was thinking which was “That they are beautiful little girls” or something along the lines of that. Majority of the people there had a chuckle including myself as we understood what he meant.

As the girls were introduced on stage, a familiar opening song and video played as they came out one by one. Right on cue as their individual characters were displayed on-screen they walked onto the stage. I think I partially lost my hearing due to the crowd cheering.The crowd roars as each of the seiyu’s come on to the stage. They introduce themselves to the audience in English (which wasn’t too shabby).It seems that Mio’s seiyu didn’t show which was a downer however it was still good that the rest had made it to the festival. From what I could recollect, the group of girls were a happy, energetic and lively bunch.

After introducing themselves they proceeded with the live dubbing. They did 3 scenes in total each one being as humorous and well performed as the previous.

Thanks to SP LifeArts for saving me the trouble of going through each episode to find the specific scenes as well as the accurate pictures for each scene.

1st Scene – Episode 9:

Azusa still being new to the club as well as the K-ON scene, comes back to the club house to find the rest of the girls slacking. Yui successfully tempts her weakness, which happens to be cake.

 

Caaakeee!

2nd Scene – Episode 11:

Yui’s guitar (Gitah as Yui has named it) is being sent for a maintenance at their local instrument store. What Yui doesn’t realize is that this is not free, however the shopkeeper see Mugi and weavers off the fee since her family owns the store.

 

Gitah is being sent for repairs

3rd Scene – Episode 13:

The 4 girls as seen walking home in the snow as they discuss where to hold their next club training session.

Overall, it was a wonderful performance I was amazed at how they recited their own lines with utmost precision and timing to the corresponding episode. They did it while enjoy themselves as well as pulling funny faces and poses. It was truly brilliant.

Their Question & Answer session followed shortly after where Danny Choo would pick questions (submitted by fans on the AFA website).

Once again I thank SP LifeArt & j1m0ne, as I couldn’t remember the exact questions and answers from the day itself.

Question 1: How similar are you to your character you voice in K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): She is air-headed and prone to daydreaming

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Before she became a seiyu she mention that she was a shy and quiet girl. When she took the role of Ritsu she became more lively and energetic due to her character’s personality. Similiar to Ritsu she encourages her fellow friends and teammate.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): She enjoys bringing gifts of sweet things like cake for her friends and teammate to eat.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She is not as serious as her character but she does enjoy eating sweet things. Thanks to her role, she now likes taiyaki.

Question 2: What are the challenges you face when voicing your character?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Since Yui has a high-pitched voice, she tries to prevent straining her voice.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Ritsu is known for a tomboyish nature, she triess to balance her voice in sounding like a boy as well as being harsh for certain scenes.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): Mugi has a natural slow and peaceful speaking voice so when voicing her, she has to slow down when talking.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She often scolds her seniors, however she herself is still a junior in school, so she has to balance between how harsh she sounds.

Question 3: What is your favourite line from K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): “Un-tan Un-tan Un-tan”. Basically she made this sound.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): “Ano toki no yakusoku wa… uso datta no ka!?” – That promise we made…. was it all a lie!?

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): “Mo-ichido Moe” seen here in the first few seconds. Amusing video.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): “Nya” (Meow) When she puts on the Nekomimi cat ears seen here.

Question 4: What are the similarities of your own schooling life to your characters school life in K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Her clubs during her school days involved gathering and having fun rather than training or normal activities itself.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): She had a childhood friend, also if her friend befriended someone else or gave her less attention she would become jealous.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): If one of her friend in her group are sick, she is the one saying this can or cannot be done with that person.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She was a member of the ‘going home’ club during her school life, similar to K-ON as the group of girls walk home together.

Question 5: If you were not a seiyu (voice actress), what would you be?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Someone who uses their voice like a singer.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Yet again, someone who uses their voice, a storyteller at the library or pet shop owner or childcare worker. She would probably keep changing jobs.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): Her dream was to use her voice and become a seiyu, but if she didn’t it would have been something creative like a stylist or make-up artist.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): Someone that catches the bad guys, like a detective. Something like Detective Conan as she read the manga.

It was shortly after they announced that 4 lucky people would be walking away with signed boards of each of the seiyu’s autographs. 4 seats were called out. I-28, H-16, M-35, A-18 however no one was sitting there so C-31 was called again. When ‘H’ in H-16 was called I think I felt my heart stop beating for a few seconds. Sadly it was seat 16 in my row as I was sitting in seat 20. Close but no cigar.

After the Q & A, which proved to be very amusing as well as insightful, it ended off well with the seiyu’s saying their final words as they were all happy to be in Singapore and will be looking forward to coming back. They said their goodbyes and waved to the audience as they left the stage. Overall I found it to be very entertaining as I was very lucky to be there. I shall cherish this moment for the rest of my life.

I wish I knew Japanese so I could have done a better job of translation. I hopefully learn Japanese in the future.

Kaname Cosplay Panel Session – The Basics of Cosplay

The panel session was split into several parts consisting of introduction, character selection, costume selection, sewing and posing. He mainly gave his own tips and know-how on the topics at hand. His own personal life was included in some of the discussion, stuff like what he does when he is not cosplaying, what he does in his spare time, when did he start cosplaying and so on.

Conclusion

Overall, I had a fantastic time I had really enjoyed myself and di majority of the things I had wanted to do. There’s really much else to say other than I’ll be looking forward to next years Anime Festival Asia. There are still similar events remaining this year such as the Comic Fiesta in Sunway Pyramid, Malaysia (on the 19 to 20 December) as well as the End of Year 2009 (on the 26th December).

Now without further a due, I shall depart with none other than Danny Choo and his Tokyo Stormtrooper dance in Singapore to conclude this report. Enjoy.

Source:http://unlimitedotakuworks.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/late-anime-festival-asia-2009-report/

I watched the Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks and it got me thinking about Kevin Durant. Then I thought about LeBron James and how they will ultimately be judged at the end of their careers.

The part of their career’s that will be most scrutinized will be the number of championships they win, if any at all. Is that the fairest objective measure of greatness relative to another player?

I bring this up mainly because I am tired of players being judged solely on the basis of whether or not they won a championship. Well, I shouldn’t say that is always the case. What I am really tired of is having Robert Horry mentioned whenever someone mentions how many championships so-and-so has. Great, he won 7 championships as, at best, a role player next to some truly great players (Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, Olajuwon to name a few).

That is not meant to diminish his accomplishments, he was a critical cog to the teams that won the championships, but was not the unmoved mover of any of those teams. He was like, as are most role players, the second hand on a clock. Sure, it makes the clock easier to read and is a welcome addition, but without it the clock would still operate.

So, I would use championships to delineate the delicate differences between the truly great players in a generation. In that way, you can accurately compare the relative greatness of one player versus another great player. Michael Jordan is the obvious example, as he usually is regardless of topic.

Michael Jordan dominated the 90’s whenever he wasn’t preoccupied with fulfilling childhood fantasies on the baseball diamond. Jordan went against some great competition during his time, defeating them and proving his position as greatest of all time. Jordan won 6 championships during the decade against a Magic led Lakers team, a Clyde Drexler led Blazers team, a Barkley led Phoenix team, a great and in shape Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton Sonics team, and against Karl Malone and John Stockton Jazz team twice. Talk about great competition.

However, Jordan wasn’t the greatest only because he was the best player on a team that won 6 championships, although it was his drive to win those championships that indeed made him the greatest. To assume that his championships were the only judgmental factor is inherently wrong. If championships were the only judge of a great player then Charles Barkley was a failure, as were Malone and Stockton. Obviously, this is not the case. (Kemp is another matter)

So what role do championships play at the end of a career? I would say fairly confidently that they are used more to cement a legacy than create one. Of course, some greatness is spawned from Finals appearances and the career grows from there (Wade is the closest example I can conjure, although he was fantastic before the Finals).

I would put it this way: would Karl Malone be the greatest power forward ever over Tim Duncan had he won even one championship?

What happens to Allen Iverson if he truly is retired and he never won that illusive championship? His lack of a championship defines him as a player almost as much as his scoring average does. He will be seen as one of the greatest scorers of all time but was too concerned with his own scoring to win a championship. The validity of that thought is questionable, had he kept capable teammates like Stackhouse who knows what kind of passer he may have developed into. Still, he is widely viewed as a selfish player who would rather play 1-on-5 than a purely team game.

Had he won a championship, where would he rank among the greats of the game? He would be considerably higher than he is right now. He had his chance against the Lakers back in 2001, although he had no help (no disrespect to Eric Snow, Dikembe Mutumbo, or Aaron McKie). A championship would have meant he was so great as an individual that he carried his team to a stratosphere it had no business being in.

Back to the original topic: Kevin Durant and LeBron James. I have already discussed this topic previously when the idea that Kevin Durant could end up being better than LeBron when all is said and done.

The only way I could see Durant elevating himself above James would be for Durant to win more championships than James, a lot more. James has all the physical tools you could wish for, while Durant is somewhat physically deficient absent his height and length.

LeBron is in essence a bulldozer who uses his considerable strength to bully his way into the paint and muscles the basketball in. Durant plays the finesse game, relying on his innate ability to find the bottom of the basket with almost any shot to succeed.

However, since all-time greatness is determined more by the rings on your fingers than anything else, this matchup will be determined by how many championships they win. This is entirely speculative, but I can easily envision Durant winning multiple championships. The team that the Thunder has surrounded him with is young, athletic, and above all else, extremely talented.

For the next decade or so, they could have a lineup that already has its starting 1-4 set with tremendous talents. How many other teams can say that at this juncture?

LeBron’s future is cluttered by much more uncertainty. Without any word on his future destination, you can’t know whether he plans to stay in Cleveland or start out somewhere new beyond this season. Almost anywhere he goes, if he decides to leave Cleveland, will be a work in progress, unless he really likes the Clippers or decides to go to another team with a superstar in place (Lakers? Heat?). So, with unsteady terms regarding his future, his championship possibilities are not as clear-cut. Of course, he is on a team that can contend right now, and a championship on his end settles this debate for the foreseeable future. Still, it is an interesting discussion.

This time of year, we always end up back into the same old tired argument about a college football “playoff”.  It’s not my intention here to drum that up once again; I’m sure you’ll get your fill of it from other outlets.  I want to broaden our horizons a little bit, and talk about what it means to be a “true” champion.  That’s the term that’s always thrown out when someone makes an argument for a playoff, and I’m not sure that’s valid.

I would argue that playoff systems don’t necessarily determine a true champion.  Take a game like baseball, where teams grind through a long 162 game season, then, with the advent of the wild card, turn around to face their first playoff opponent in a 5 game series.  Is the team that comes out of that first series clearly the better team?  I would say you learn a lot more about a team over the course of a 162 game season than you do if they happen to lose 3 games to a team that gets hot.

In both baseball and the NFL, we’ve seen the “last team in” make huge runs towards championships several times in the last decade.  These wild card teams have been fighting for their playoff lives for weeks and have gotten hot in a “do or die” mode.  Is the hot team a true champion?  Sure, that team got it done when it counted, but were they the best team?

Think of it this way – how often can you objectively look back on a sports season and say the best team won the championship?  Sure, it happens sometimes – I would say that this past year we saw the best of MLB, NFL, and NBA win their titles.  But I would argue that happens much less frequently than you would hope.  Let’s stay here in Indianapolis, for example – how many times have the Colts had what could very persuasively be argued as the best team in football, only to falter in a win-or-go-home playoff?  The line is not as definite as it could be, since teams do not play identical schedules (as they once did in baseball).  Still – watching a team in the regular season gives us a pretty good idea of who they are and who is the best.

I’m not advocating ridding ourselves of playoff systems.  Figuring out who is the “true” champion is not the only priority of the postseason.  We’re all fans, and it really should be all about our entertainment.  That’s why the wild card system has worked so well in baseball – it’s made what otherwise might have been meaningless September games a lot more interesting and exciting for those of us who watch, and that’s as important as anything.  Just don’t tell me it determines who the “true” champion is.

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EUROPEAN ARMWRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS, MOSCOW 2010

CAMPEONATO EUROPEO DE LUCHA DE BRAZOS, MOSCÚ 2010

Next European Armwrestling Championships in year 2010 will be hosted by Russian Armwrestling Federation. Place of this championships will be Moscow. Date of this championships is set from 31th of May 2010 to 6th of June 2010.

El próximo Campeonato Europeo de Lucha de Brazos en 2010 será organizado por la Federación Rusa de Lucha de Brazos. La ciudad del campeonato será Moscú. La fecha es del 31 de Mayo al 6 de Junio de 2010.

The place where the 20th Jubilee European Armwrestling Championships in 2010 will take place was determined. The President of Russian Armwrestling Association – Aleksander Filimonov and the director of «Arena «Mytiszczi» Aleksander Cemykin signed an arrangement for carry out the 20th Jubilee European Armwrestling Championships on the sports complex «Arena «Mytiszczi» area from the 2nd to the 5th of June 2010.

Ya se ha decidido el lugar del Campeonato Europeo de Lucha de Brazos. El Presidente de la Asociación Rusa de Lucha de Brazos, Aleksander Filimonov y el director de «Arena «Mytiszczi» Aleksander Cemykin firmaron un acuerdo para realizar el XX Campeonato Europeo de Lucha de Brazos en el complejo deportivo «Arena «Mytiszczi» del 2 al 5 de Junio de 2010

«Arena «Mytiszczi» is the modern sports & recreation high class complex of the 9000 people capacity. It was built according to an original project prepared by Finnish company «Skanska» and it comes up to the international standards. The architecture of the building is an interesting combination of metal lash of the elevation and large glass surfaces. The cornerstone was laid on the 19th of April 2002 and the building completion was made on the 15th of October 2005. There are two ice rinks of over 1 800 mkw area, 6 buffets, restaurants, bars, six banquet halls and 26 VIP lodge accessible for all of the guests.

«Arena «Mytiszczi» es el más moderno complejo de ocio y deportes de primera clase, con capacidad para 9000 personas. Fue construido de acuerdo a un original proyecto preparado por la compañía finlandesa «Skanska» y reúne todos los standards internacionales. La arquitectura del edificio es una interesante combinación de metal forjado y grandes superficies de cristal. La primera piedra fue colocada el 18 de abril de 2002 y el edificio se terminó de construir el 15 de octubre de 2005. Incluye dos pistas de patinaje, 6 buffets, restaurantes, bares, seis vestíbulos, y 26 alojamientos accesibles para todos los invitados.

In 2007 the Russian Ice Skating Championships and Hockey World Championships (2007 IIHF World Championship) took place there – the great event for all the hockey fans. The regular hockey matches of Russian Championships take place on the arena. The domestic matches of hockey «Atlant» (before «Chemik») team of the Russian Championships super league are always played at full tribunes accompaniment. Main fans are the young people, families and children. Because of its perfect acoustics and multimedia possibilities, the ice palace became the favourite place of the performances of Russian and foreign starts.

En 2007 el Campeonato Ruso de Patinaje y el Campeonanto Mundial de Hockey tuvieron lugar en este lugar- fue el evento más importante para todos los aficionados al hockey. Los partidos regulares de hockey del Campeonato Ruso tienen lugar en la arena. Los partidos locales del equipo de hockey “Atlant” de la superliga del Campeonato Ruso tienen lugar siempre con las gradas al completo. Los principales aficionados son jóvenes, familias y niños. Gracias a su perfecta acústica y posibilidades multimedia, el palacio de hielo ha llegado a ser el lugar favorito para estrenos de espectáculos rusos y extranjeros.

«Arena Mytiszczi» is the technically complicated building, clear planning, simple and severe interiors of the building, a lot of light, complicated equipment which fills the whole building enable the great variety of exploitation. The main complex arena is multifunctional and may be transformed to a place of ice skating tournaments, ball games (basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, badminton), gymnastics etc.

«Arena Mytiszczi» es el edificio técnicamente complejo, planificación clara,  interiores simples y severos, muy luminoso, complejo equipamiento que permite que todo el edificio sea útil para una gran variedad de actividades. El principal complejo Arena es multifuncional y puede ser transformado en lugar de torneos de patinaje sobre hielo, juegos de pelota (el baloncesto, el balonvolea, el balonmano, el tenis, el bádminton),  gimnasia etc.

Apart from sports events also the variety of concerts, exhibitions, meetings, dance evenings, circus performances, fashion shows and other cooperative ventures may be carried out in the palace. After main arena deice the horse riding competitions and motorcycle races may be organized.

Además de eventos deportivos se pueden realizar en el palacio una gran variedad de conciertos, exposiciones, reuniones, bailes nocturnos, espectáculos de circo, desfiles de moda y otras actividades empresariales.

The complex is equipped with the essential concert and other entertainment events equipment including stage, which may be used for different constructions and podiums for fashion shows arrangement. The arena is equipped with video facilities which may be used for simple transmission and recording of matches at high level.

El complete está equipado para conciertos y otros espectáculos incluyendo un escenario que puede ser utilizado con diferentes módulos y podiums para desfiles de moda. La arena está equipada con pantallas de video que pueden ser utilizadas para transmisiones y grabaciones de partidos de alto nivel.

The communication system of the ice palace enables the internet connections in the way enabling live internet broadcasts.

El sistema de comunicación del palacio de hielo incluye conexión a Internet para poder conectar en directo las emisiones en Internet.
Información extraída de la página de la European Armwrestling Federation:

http://www.eaf-armwrestling.com/index.php

Translated by

Pedro

For a great romantic comedy to work, you have to have four basic film elements work for you. One is that you need a story that encompasses the couple and eventually brings them together.

The second is that you need one of your primary characters to be unlucky in love or has given up on love. The third is that you need the audience to like the characters, get involved with them and eventually cheer for them to get together.

The fourth and sometimes most crucial is that you need good music to set the scene and to enhance the yearning between the two lovers. Wimbledon was very close to getting all these elements right.

Wimbledon stars Paul Bettany of “Master and Commander” and “A Knight’s Tale” as Peter Colt, an aging tennis star shuffled down to the backside of the tour and Britain’s dark horse for bringing the Wimbledon crown home. Colt has problems at home and with his game.

His only salvation seems to come when he mistakenly walks in on female tennis phenom Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst). There is an immediate attraction between the two players and a romance develops much to the dismay of Lizzie’s father (Sam Neill).

This is Colt’s last Wimbledon and he could just go all the way if he could just get Lizzie out of his head. Lizzie also seems to be having problems with her game. Can the two lovebirds get their games back on track long enough to win their matches? And how is Peter going to do when he has the weight of a rabid country on his shoulders?

Wimbledon’s biggest flaw is that it really never makes the audience yearn to see these the characters fall in love. It starts off their romance as an affair to distract them from the pressures of the game. Then snowballs into a film more focused on the game with a little romance. By the time the third act rolls around, the film has forgotten what the score is in the bedroom and on the court.

The film’s saving grace is British actor Paul Bettany, whose performance as the aging tennis star is utterly flawless. The more precious moments are when the audience is allowed to get inside the athlete’s head and we hear his thoughts. I loved those moments.

I also really liked Bettany’s calm demeanor in the character even when he is doing outlandish things to see his lady love one more time. This is a brilliant performance and hopefully a recognizable one for people not familiar with the actor.

I did have a lot of problems with Kirsten Dunst. Her performance is all over the map and as a viewer it was hard to read the girl. When she does eventually confesses her feelings, you almost think she is about to break into laughter.

The film never lets us know what was going on in her head and think that reluctance distances the audience from Dunst’s character. I think the film should have explored both her character and Bettany’s in the same way. Maybe through that we could have liked Lizzie more.

I really liked the tennis moments and finally seeing tennis portrayed in such a way on the silver screen. I am not sure that North American audiences know what it is like for a British star to win Wimbledon. Poor British tennis star Tim Henman has been trying to make that a reality for eons.

As a sports film, Wimbledon does have a lot going for it but as a romantic comedy it is just plain hard to get into.

3 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

D’Jugendhaiser vun der Croix-Rouge hun den 31. Oktober zu Stroossen den schnellsten (Waasser)Rutscher vu Lëtzebuerg gesicht. “Endlech emol eng anstänneg Rutschbahn” haat den Andreas Tarrach, Responsabel firt Koordinatioun vun den Jugendhaiser, sëch geduecht hier “Les Thermes” hier Dieren opgemach haaten. Den Ustouss haat eng Reportage an der Infotaiment Emissioun “Galileo” op Prosieben gin. Wéi esou eng Compétitioun ausgesait, a wien schlussendlech d’Nues vir haat kënnt der am Artikel noliesen.

Waterslide Championships zu Stroossen

Midway through  my daughter’s gymnastics career I was waiting with the other moms for her practice to finish. One of the mothers asked me a question about the upcoming meet. Before I could answer, her 6 year old son piped up, “Mom, what are you asking her for? You said she never knows anything!” Gasp. The other moms stopped talking. Some were stiffling a giggle. But who could blame him? or her? It was true.

When my daughter was trying out for another team – a much more competitive team with coaches from Russia and practices 4 hours a day, 4-5 days a week in a gym one hour from our home – another mother at the try-out introduced herself to me. We chatted for a while and then she asked, “Does she have her kip?” I asked, “What’s a kip?” She smiled with satisfaction -  convinced my daughter would never make it. Then she asked me to point her out. I did. They were on the uneven bars and evidently, my daughter had her kip. I watched the mom’s face fall.

I used to be a competitive swimmer. And then I coached competitive swimming. I’ve dealt with many a pushy parent. Armchair coaches, we called them. The ones that saw a few races on television during the Olympics, but never swam a day in their life and thought they knew everything. I prayed that my daughter would chose a sport that wasn’t competitive swimming. I wanted her to choose a sport I knew absolutely nothing about.

And she did.

I was thrilled. And she turned out to be pretty good. Then, at the top of her game, she quit.

Off to another sport I knew nothing about. Rowing. I love the water but I knew absolutely nothing of this sport. And the kind of boats? I just had to look up on Wikipedia what kind she raced. K-1 and K-2. But it was so much fun to watch.

And then she discovered a sport I didn’t even know was a sport. Competitive Cheerleading. I had to do everything in my power to keep a poker face when she told me she wanted to try out for the squad. Cheerleading? A sport? Whoop-de-doo. Learn a few chants. Let someone stand on your shoulders. Do a few cartwheels. That’s hardly a sport.

Boy, was I in for an education!

Not only is it a sport, it’s a very dangerous sport. Sixty-five percent of all catastrophic injuries to young women in high school involves cheerleading. You better believe once I heard this statistic I educated myself about this sport. Back in my day doing a cartwheel or a round-off got you on the squad. Now? At my daughter’s school it’s required that you have a standing back tuck. On top of that you need: round off back handspring front layout, round off back handspring full, strength training, dance skills and the ability to stunt. I was thrilled that when she made the squad her position was a base. I did not want her to be a flyer (that’s the one that gets tossed 30 feet in the air.) When we went for her physical her doctor asked what position she was. When I expressed my relief that she wasn’t a flyer the doctor smiled and told me she sees more injuries from the other positions (broken noses, broken clavicles, dislocated elbows and shoulders). What has she gotten into?

Before I signed anything (and you better believe there are release forms for this sport!) I spoke with the coach. She’s a former gymnast and competitive cheerleader, certified, trained and educated. They go to another gym for tumbling where again, they are certified. I breathed a tiny sigh of relief. She’s in her third year and so far, so good.

But beyond me checking out the safety of her coaches, gym and squad I still know very little about the sport. We just returned from the state championships and they made it to finals. A couple of the moms and I were sitting with the coaches at lunch after sectionals. I asked a question. Evidently, a bit of a dumb question. I saw those knowing glances all over again between the moms as the head coach patiently answered me.

I will never be one of those moms that sits in the stands with her pen and schedule, making notes on the other squads, counting how many fell, how many stepped off the mat, how many didn’t complete a stunt. I have no idea how to rank them, how many points are deducted for a fall or what the judges are looking for. I had to ask my daughter a few moments ago to tell me the names of the things she does during her tumbling run. She gave me that look, too.

But that’s ok. I will be my daughter’s cheerleader. I will watch diligently from the stands with eyes on her praying she doesn’t get hurt. I still know less than half of the girl’s names on her squad. I know she gets annoyed whenever I ask, “Now, who is Chelsea?” for the 50th time. But that’s ok. I’m there for her. I’m so proud of the hard work she puts into this sport. It’s a team sport that still showcases her amazing gymnastics ability. Her work ethic is fantastic. She performs in front of thousands of people. She is a consistent athlete. And she loves her teammates. I can’t ask for anything more.

 (Not our squad but an example of what a competitive squad does from last year’s championships)

Readers see our high school football predictions every week during the fall. Well, now that it’s championship weekend, it’s time for the Free Press staff to share some soccer predictions, too. Here are our title-game picks:

(Check back later as more of our staffers chime in. …)

Division I girls

No. 2 Champlain Valley (13-1-3) vs. No. 5 Burlington (9-2-6)

Kevin Commo: CVU 1, Burlington 0. The first goal is bound to decide this one and the Redhawks have more weapons.

John A. Fantino: Burlington 0, CVU 0. Seahorses win the title the same way they did a year ago — on PKs

Alex Abrami: CVU 1, BHS 0. The Seahorses have had the advantage over the Redhawks the last three seasons. However, CVU’s balanced effort is the difference.

Division I boys

No. 1  Champlain Valley (15-1) vs. No. 2 Burr and Burton (16-1)

Kevin Commo: CVU 2, Burr and Burton 0. Redhawks’ defense caps a perfect postseason with a seventh straight shutout.

John A. Fantino: CVU 3, Burr and Burton 1. BBA’s inaugural Division I tour comes to an end against a CVU program hungry for its seventh crown in eight years.

Alex Abrami: CVU 3, Burr and Burton 1. I picked CVU in my playoff predictions. If anything, the Redhawks have only strengthened their case with nearly flawless play, particularly in the semifinal win over BFA-St. Albans.

Division II girls

No. 2 Milton (14-3) vs. No. 4 Harwood (11-4-2)

Kevin Commo: Milton 1, Harwood 0. Championship experience provides the difference in matchup of Milton’s balanced offense and Harwood’s rugged defense.

John A. Fantino: Harwood 1, Milton 0. Highlanders’ 10th shutout of the season results in first title.

Alex Abrami: Milton 2, Harwood 0. Although Harwood knocked off top-seeded Montpelier, the defending champion Yellowjackets have that experience — and the talent — to repeat.

Division II boys

No. 1 Springfield (14-2) vs. No. 7 Missisquoi (10-6-1)

Kevin Commo: Springfield 2, Missisquoi 1, OT. Cosmos’ potent offense prevents Missisquoi from completing upset sweep of top three seeds.

John A. Fantino: Springfield 1, Missisquoi 0. Springfield cools off Thunderbirds with early goal and notches 11th shutout of season.

Alex Abrami: Springfield 3, Missisquoi 1. One of Springfield’s two losses? Division I finalist Burr and Burton. Yeah, I like the Cosmos.

Division III girls

No. 1 Mill River (17-0) vs. No. 3 Peoples (14-3)

Kevin Commo: Mill River 1, Peoples 1 (MR wins in PKs). It comes down to finishing skills as two battle-tested teams prove their mettle.

John A. Fantino: Peoples 2, Mill River 0. Veteran-laden roster + quick-strike offense = title defense.

Alex Abrami: Peoples 2, Mill River 1. An experienced Wolves squad is too much for Division III newbie Mill River.

Division III boys

No. 2 Stowe (12-2-2) vs. No. 4 Winooski (12-4)

Kevin Commo: Stowe 3, Winooski 2. Two years of finals experience serves the Raiders well in a tight game.

John A. Fantino: Winooski 3, Stowe 2: After overcoming three-goal deficit against No. 1 Lake Region, Spartans appear destined to claim first title.

Alex Abrami: Stowe 4, Winooski 2. Winooski has the feel-good story going for them. Stowe, however, owns this division and will show no sympathy.

Division IV girls

No. 1 Arlington (16-1) vs. No. 2 South Royalton (16-0-1)

Kevin Commo: Arlington 3, South Royalton 1. All those matchups with Division III opponents, both in this year’s regular season and past postseasons, give the Eagles an edge.

John A. Fantino: Arlington 3, South Royalton 2. When in doubt, go with the higher seed.

Alex Abrami: Arlington 2, South Royalton 1. I picked Arlington before the tournament started. No reason to jump now.

Division IV boys

No. 2 Sharon (17-0) vs. No. 4 Black River (13-3-1)

Kevin Commo: Sharon 2, Black River 1. The Phoenix cap perfect season by gaining revenge for last year’s finals defeat.

John A. Fantino: Sharon 1, Black River 0. Players on the only unbeaten, untied boys team in the state are smarting from last year’s title-game loss.

Alex Abrami: Black River 2, Sharon 1 (OT). Black River stays on top and beats Sharon again.

I have some very happy neighbors, not to mention fellow Ladies, this morning.  (And one not so happy Lady — my condolences, Maggie!)  The Yankees won their 27th World Series last night; Hideki Matsui won the series MVP after tying the record for RBIs in one World Series game (6).  But before we officially adjourn to the baseball off-season, let’s vote on some stuff!

How about the Series MVP?  (Hey Tim McCarver gets to vote for the actual one, why shouldn’t we award our own?)

There’s also an issue of pressing importance that has been nagging at us Ladies the entire postseason.

The Yankees fans among us may want to revel in this season a bit longer, but here’s one final poll for the rest of us.

Oops, that last poll got away from me a bit.  Um, congratulations Yankees!

Sure boise state is undefeated but are they really that good?

Boise State first game of the season beats Oregon … Sure Oregon was supposed to be one of the best teams in the league in the beginning Oregon played an awful game and Boise st barely squeaked out with the win

Anyways ESPN reporters are saying that If Boise st wins out they should be in the championship BCS game…
NO! Boise state wins one big game and wins out against their wimpy WAC conference team and always claims that they should be put up with the big boys ….
C’mon people Boise state is not good enough to be in the big game… they played one game against a good opponent. they clearly haven’t showed anything yet… they have no tests to prove that they are good so why should we put them in the title game to watch them get blown out by a florida team or alabama. no one wants to see that. except maybe Brett who will have florida win anyway he’ll be happy

I think i proved my point

While using Stumbleupon to careen wildly through cyberspace, I found this website. It is awesome.

Sir Charles has nothing to add when McHale and the Jet describe what it feels like to receive an NBA championship ring

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I wasn’t sure who I wanted to root for going into this World Series.  On the one hand, I’ve always been a National League girl.  On the other hand, I’ve been a New Yorker for seven years now and no New York team has won a World Series since I’ve been here (and the 2003 Yankees were the only team that won a pennant in that time).  Then there’s the fact that the Phillies gave my Cardinals fits all regular season and that if I had to root for a New York baseball team it would probably be the Mets.

I remained undecided during the first two scoreless innings.  Then Chase Utley hit his first home run, I gave a little “woo!” and discovered I’d picked a side after all.  So, with apologies to Lady Bee and Buffalita, I’m rooting for the Phillies.  National League alliances die hard.

It really can’t be understated how much it rained in New York City yesterday.  I walked into the subway in the morning to find water cascading down the walls as it leaked through from above,  and the rain continued at a steady pace until late in the afternoon.  Kudos to the grounds crew for having the field as well prepared as it seemed to be during the game — though I guess this is one advantage of playing in a new stadium with state of the art drainage.

Chase Utley hit not one, but two, home runs off C.C. Sabathia, providing the sole offense (well, until the Yankees bullpen got involved in the 8th inning).  This was great for two reasons: it got Joe Buck and the rest of the media to shut up about the ridiculous “what happened to all the homers in Yankee Stadium in the postseason” story for a bit, and it extended Utley’s postseason on base streak to a record 26 games.

This just in: Cliff Lee is really good.  His curveball is fighting Adam Wainwright’s for first place in my heart.  (Adam’s is winning because he’s a Cardinal, but the fact that there’s a question at all is an indication of how nasty Lee’s stuff is.) Sabathia, it should be noted, was pretty good, too, managing to get out of trouble with everyone except Utley.  Somehow the great offensive Series everyone was expecting yielded an old fashioned pitching duel in Game One (for 8 innings anyway), which is okay by me, especially since it meant we hit the 9th inning before 11 pm Eastern.

So, game one goes to the Phillies, and I now know who I’m rooting for.  What about you?

This years British Skydiving Championships were held in Lincolnshire between 5th and 17th August. It was a great event and one full of adventure.

The competition followed a record-breaking skydive which took place at Skydive Chicago, Illinois USA on 1^st August. Eight British athletes were part of a group of 108 skydivers who completed the largest ever head down formation skydive, reaching speeds of 180 mph.  The first event of the UK nationals is the popular 4-way formation skydiving category in which up to fifty teams are expected to enter, the national champions this year will also qualify to represent the UK at the next World Championships in 2010, British Team Storm, are the current female world Champions and Team GB also took bronze at the recent World Air Games in China, in the freefly artistic category.

Skydiving in the UK has grown in popularity in recent years, with 5,000 regular skydivers and up to 40,000 participating in their first jump each year. With the introduction of new styles and techniques to the sport, it has meant that it is easy to find a discipline that really inspires new skydivers. As an example, Vertical Formation Skydiving is a discipline that has only been recognised at national competition-level since 2008, but is already proving popular amongst competitors.

Meanwhile we have some cool photos for you from this year British Skydiving Championships. Feel free to visit the official website at www.skydivingchampionships.com and the British Parachute Association’s website at www.bpa.org.uk for more infos.

Really? Did the coach put up a disclaimer saying that during today’s game he would not be leading by example? How do we expect our kids to demonstrate good sportsmanship on and off the field when coaches and parents are setting horrifying examples. Blood Sweat and Cheers showcases the positive side of Pop Warner sports and the importance of good role models in the lives of young athletes. So coaches, athletic directors and parents out there, order a copy of Blood Sweat and Cheers so you can show your kids how the journey of good sportsmanship will always lead to victory.

Check out the link for the rest of the story.  http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/19/wilmington_parent_injured_after_spat_with_pop_warner_coach/

Hi to all our Kenpo friends and LTKKA Members.

This is also an open invitation to all Kenpoist’s.

Ireland will host the next Grand Master Larry Tatum international Kenpo Karate Championships / Seminars on the 17th to 21st November 2010.

For more information please email Mr. P. S. Kennedy at: kingswoodkenpo@yahoo.com

We wish all the Irish Kenpoist’s at the IKKA Gilbert Velez 2009 Las Vegas open the very best of luck and enjoy the championships.

Yours in Kenpo Friendships.

Patrick S Kennedy - Secretary LTKKA - Irish Chapter.

As noted in the Savannah based non-profit organization The Creative Coast, Coach Wayne is expanding his horizons with the grand opening of his first retail store and gymnastics/tumbling training center at the Savannah Mall Shopping Center in Savannah, GA.

The event will take place on Sunday, October 11, 2009 from 2-4pm, where on top of an open gym for all ages, Coach Wayne’s wife Zuzana Sekerova will be autographing Olympic postcards. Sekerova is a world famous athlete herself, being a two-time gymnast in the Olympics and a World Cup Gold medalist.

Coach Wayne Gymnastics Center will not only provide coaching to budding gymnasts and cheerleaders, but will sell exclusive apparel popular with world-class gymnastics teams as well as new merchandise, including gym wear, shoes, and equipment.

“This is a big step for us as we expand to a retail storefront in Savannah Mall from our Internet-based shop. In addition to serving over 200 inquiries daily in the tumbling, cheerleading & gymnastic communities online, we offer six ‘Coach Wayne 2 Go’ mobile training locations,” Coach Wayne has said of the endeavor.

Check out CoachWayne.com to find out more about the gymnastics and cheerleading tycoon and his new store!