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Tag: england

  • Blackpool England Using AI to Help Fix Potholes

    Blackpool England Using AI to Help Fix Potholes

    According to the BBC, the English town of Blackpool is using artificial intelligence (AI) in an innovative way: to help fix potholes.

    In most cases, road departments must either wait for reports of potholes, or proactively inspect roads. In either case, it may be days before road crews become aware of a pothole, increasing the likelihood it will get worse.

    Blackpool, on the other hand, is using AI and satellite images to inspect roads in mere seconds. As a result, potholes are getting fixed much faster, before they have the opportunity to get worse. The end result is significant savings.

    The Blackpool Council “said 5,145 potholes had been fixed in North Shore at a cost of just under £450,000, which would have cost £1.5m using traditional methods,” according to the BBC. The Council plans to use the savings to improve even more roads.

    While fixing potholes may not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of AI, Blackpool’s example highlights the many unique ways the technology can help revolutionize a broad range of industries.

  • Lindsay Lohan Wants to Move to London Permanently

    Lindsay Lohan says that, after years of legal trouble here in the United States, she wants to live in England for good.

    Although in the middle of a run of David Mamet’s play “Speed-the-Plow,” Lohan had to run back to the U.S. briefly to fulfill the terms of a community service agreement she says she thought was done. The last-minute blitz of volunteer activity in the States fulfilled her probation terms, keeping her out of the slammer.

    But now Lindsay Lohan says she is strongly considering moving to London to stay.

    “I can definitely see myself settling in London permanently,” Lohan told the Daily Mail.

    “For me, I feel more comfortable working from London. And it is beautiful. The architecture is incredible and the parks are so nice. I also love exploring different cities and using London as a base means I can go to more places. That’s really important to me.”

    “I can go for a run here on my own,” Lohan said of living in London. “I do every morning, early. I needed to grow up and London is a better place for me to do that than anywhere else. In LA I didn’t know what to do, apart from go out every night.”

    But one of the best things about living in London is that Lohan’s own personal woes are not seen as fodder for public consumption.

    “You turn on the news in LA and it is all gossip about people. All the stuff that is going on in the world right now and this gossip is the news?” she said. “I love the BBC. I haven’t heard myself mentioned on TV since I have been here. That has been really weird for me, and great.”

    Not only does she not see her own name dragged through the headlines in London, she does not have to be subjugated to lurid news of others’ lives as much.

    “I don’t even know who got married and who got pregnant,” she says.

    Lindsay Lohan credits her life in london with helping her drop her old habits and grow up.

    “I’m in a really good place. I’m blessed to have been able to do a play in London and start a different way of life,” she says.

    “New York is very fast paced and it’s not like that over here for me. You grow up and change, and I’m really happy about that, as overall I feel a lot better. Moving here was a new start for me and my outlook on life is different now. Clean slate. Fresh start. Hard work pays off.”

  • Loch Ness Monster Reportedly Seen In England

    The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, has been a legend in Scotland for hundreds of years.

    There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of sightings of Nessie over the years, with pictures and videos as supposed evidence.

    The sea monster is said to call Scotland’s Loch Ness home, however it was recently spotted over a hundred miles away in England.

    24-year-old Ellie Williams of London recently set up a camera on a tripod at Windermere lake in hopes of capturing some of the park’s wildlife. It wasn’t until later, when Williams, looked through the photographs, that she noticed something strange in the water.

    Williams isn’t convinced that the figure was Nessie, and said it very well could have been a swan or a goose. “When I reviewed all the images I thought it might have been a swan or a goose, as I was looking at the image on my smartphone,” Williams told The Mirror.

    “I’m open to suggestions as to what the creature could be – I’m just glad I put the camera in the right place at the right time,” she added.

    This is not the first sighting of something in Windermere. There have been other sightings of a monster, dubbed Bownessie, throughout the years, with the first being in 2006. This monster is said to be a snake-like creature with humps that moves through the water.

    Do you think Williams captured a rare photo of the Loch Ness Monster? Leave your comments below.

  • Benedict Cumberbatch Sets Theater Sales Record

    I’ll admit it. I’m a Cumberbitch. Everything Benedict Cumberbatch touches these days seems to turn to pure gold; the man can seemingly do no wrong. Like every other Cumberbitch, I was terribly excited when I heard that the Christmas special of Sherlock will be a full, feature-length episode, even though said episode is not going to air until Christmas 2015. It is this, exact, anticipatory behavior which recently led to England experiencing its most furious theater ticket sales of all time.

    The Benedict Cumberbatch edition of Hamlet is set to hit the Barbican theater in England from August 5 to October 31 of next year. Despite the fact that the show doesn’t air for another year, the initial queue for tickets on Monday morning was simply astounding. As people logged in at the time the tickets became available – 10 am – they were promptly greeted with bad news. Most people learned just how many Cumberbitches there are in the world, as the queue was consistently reporting that there were 30,000+ people awaiting tickets as well.

    By 5:25 pm, all 100,000 available tickets had sold out, making Cumberbatch’s Hamlet the most sought theater tickets in British history, outpacing the current best A Streetcar Named Desire, starring former X-Files actress Gillian Anderson, by four-to-one in ticket sales and besting Jay-Z and Beyonce’s On the Run tour by 214 percent.

    For fans, the wait will most likely be worthwhile. Hamlet will not be Cumberbatch’s first foray into the British theater scene. Cumberbatch has won multiple awards for his roles in theater, including his roles in Hedda Gabler (Olivier Award nomination), After the Dance, and Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein (Olivier award winner), in which Cumberbatch portrayed both Dr. Frankenstein and his creation on opposite nights.

    If you can’t wait over a year for your next Cumberbatch fix, you’ll next be able to catch him starring in the Alan Turing biopic, The Imitation Game, which is set to hit theaters on November 21.

    Image via YouTube

  • Vanja Milinkovic Signs Deal with Manchester United

    Yesterday, Manchester United finished its tour in the United States with yet another victory, this time over rivals Liverpool. The victory sealed the International Champions Cup for the British team which went 4-0-1 in its five game stretch in the States. However, the tour victory was not the only good news to come to Man U yesterday.

    According to its official site, Manchester United finalized a deal to sign 6’7″ goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic yesterday. The deal has Milinkovic being loaned back to his former Serbian SuperLiga club, FK Vojvodina, until the end of the season, at which point Milinkovic will join the Red Devils.

    While one can be positive that FK Vojvodina is going to mourn the loss of Milinkovic, who made six appearances for Serbia in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (including a 1-1 draw with Germany), club president Zoran Scepanovic had nothing but positive words for both Milinkovic and Manchester United in his press conference statement:

    After lengthy talks that have taken place over the past month, we have finally completed negotiations on Monday and we can officially inform the public that our young and promising goalkeeper has joined Manchester United. He will remain in Vojvodina for the next year, where he will be under the supervision of our experts and coaches from the English football giants, while continuing to train and perform in the jersey of his home club. This is an opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the realisation of this transfer. Can I point out Manchester United’s very correct attitude.

    Once Milinkovic arrives at Old Trafford, though, his route to stardom will not be easy. Manchester United already has two stellar goalies between the posts – David De Gea (who is only 23 himself) and Anders Lindegaard. Some may question Man U’s decision to bring in another goalie when there is already much competition for the starting position, but the attitude of Lindegaard will prove invaluable toward helping Milinkovic develop his talents to the utmost level. When asked about his perceived frustrations backing-up Spanish international goalie De Gea, Lindegaard displayed a positive and healthy attitude:

    I have to try and be objective, and raise myself up above just myself and see it from the club’s perspective and how much pressure we have been under. Then it is easier for me to understand why things are the way they are. For me it is all about being a happy human being. I am that now at Manchester United. It is my club since I was a small kid. This is my dream.

    Manchester United hopes that the addition of Milinkovic, along with new manager Louis van Gaal’s announcement to name Wayne Rooney captain, will lead to much more success in the 2014/15 season, especially coming off of the bitter quarterfinal round knock-out in the 2014 UEFA Champions League tournament to Bayern Munich.

    Image via YouTube

  • Princess Diana Exposé to be Published by Former Aide

    July 29 marked the 33rd anniversary of Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles. Although the couple’s marriage would eventually crumble following the revelation of Charles’s affair with Camilla Bowles-Parker, the royal duo is perhaps one of the most famous couples of all time. And, despite his past actions, it is still quite apparent that Prince Charles never lost his love for Princess Diana, as exhibited by his latest fury concerning the upcoming release of an exposé by the Queen’s former Press Secretary, Dickie Arbiter.

    Arbiter joined the staff of the Royal Palace in 1988 and was a member until 2000. During his twelve years of service, Arbiter was privy to all the intimate and confidential details of the royal family. Arbiter became Prince Charles’s confidant while he was struggling with his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, and was close enough with the Queen that the two even did the dishes together at one point in time. It was this close relationship with the Queen which gave Arbiter access to such secret information such as the Queen’s opinions on other Prime Ministers and world leaders throughout her reign.

    Royal Palace sources have commented on the publishing of the book, stating:

    Charles is furious. This man was a trusted friend…He is raking over the breakdown of the marriage and the Prince has been asking aides Why do we have to go through this all again? It is just a case of a man who he thought was a friend and who could be trusted cashing in on the misery of that time. It is disloyal… Arbiter has been told that he does not have official permission to write this book and a legal team has reviewed all his old contracts in a bid to try and find a way to stop it.

    While Palace sources state Arbiter is legally bound to not publish the book due to the Official Secrets Act he signed upon becoming an employee of the Royal Palace, Arbiter and his legal team believe that the publishing of On Duty With the Queen does not violate any contractual obligations Arbiter may have: “It is an autobiography – it is about my life. There aren’t any revelations… I left a note at the palace telling them I was doing it. I am not breaching anything.”

    On Duty With the Queen certainly promises to be insightful and entertaining due to Arbiter’s position within the Royal Family, but Prince Charles and the Queen cannot help feeling betrayed, especially due to comments once made by Arbiter himself: “Everyone who writes a book is just cashing in. Frankly there is nothing more to write on Diana.”

    With the publishing of his book, Arbiter can join the leagues of hypocrites everywhere, as he expects to cash-in a cool £250,000 for his memoirs. On Duty With the Queen is set to be released on October 1, 2014.

    Image via Twitter

  • “My Boobs Are More Important Than The Law” – Model

    Sophie Dalzell is a 20-year-old topless model from Manchester, England, whom in which skipped a court date where she was charged of drunkenly assaulting two female police officers when flying to Belgium to get breast augmentation surgery back in January.

    “My boobs and my appearance are more important than the law,” Dalzell, whose job it is to appear on late night, adult TV programs, told The Manchester Evening News.

     “My career depends on it.”

    Dalzell already has 11 convictions stacked up against her, charges concerning various assaults and vandalism.

    The self-proclaimed glamour model is protesting her court-ordered 400 hours of community service. Her reasons being that picking up trash is “too hard and tiring.”

    For Dalzell, her workload consists of two workdays per week, of which she is paid $850 per photo shoot, “and the rest of the time I just chill out.” “It’s not fair”, she said, in regards to the court forcing her to clean up trash and rake leaves for free.

    The weight of carrying out community service for Dalzell is too much; she says “I hate everything about it,” and “it’s a waste of a full day and it’s just too hard for me.”

    Picking up litter is a no go for Dalzell – she instead plans to spend her summer on the resort island of Ibiza, and “deal with the consequences when I get back.”

    Dalzell already completed half of the 400 hours she was ordered to perform in 2012 for that drunken assault pre-boob job. Now that she’s over the hump, the remaining 180 hours are chipping away at her tolerance for order.

    Despite her convictions, Sophie says “I haven’t done anything wrong,” and that the courts are “just jealous” because she escaped the rural county of Cumbria and has “done something with my life.”

    Image via Twitter

     

  • Luis Suarez Ends England’s World Cup Dreams

    They should have known better.

    Roughly half of the men on England’s squad play with Luis Suarez in the Barclay Premier League team Liverpool FC. The rest of them have played against him at some point.

    In fact, it’s fair to say that English players have more experience watching the Uruguayan magician at work than any other national team in the world. Aside from Uruguay.

    So it boggles the mind that he was left alone and unmarked.

    A moment of distraction was all the 27-year-old striker needed to dash past a flustered English defense and score his second goal of the night.

    Just like that it was 2-1.

    And just like that…England was finished.

    Suarez scored both of Uruguay’s goals, the first came in the 39th minute via a brilliant header.

    England struggled valiantly through the game, as they had against Italy, seeing moments of near brilliance that failed to come to fruition.

    England’s Wayne Rooney managed to score at the 75th minute, making it a 1-1 game.

    It was Rooney’s first World Cup goal. The goal probably flattered his performance over England’s two games more than he deserved. Prior to the tap-in, Rooney was found wanting in front of goal.

    Unfortunately for England, they didn’t stay level with Uruguay for long. A defensive lapse in concentration by Phil Jagielka allowed Luis Suarez to be perfectly situated for a one-on-one that Joe Hart had no hope of countering.

    Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Luis Suarez-inspired win is that he’s not 100% fit. Suarez suffered an injury that required surgery a month ahead of his trip to Brazil. He was rested against Costa Rica and perhaps Uruguay suffered the consequences.

    As for England, they desperately need Italy to defeat both Costa Rica and Uruguay. If England is able to beat Costa Rica, it could come down to goal difference. England will have to score quite a few goals. Their previous performances do not suggest that this is possible.

    All signs point to an early exit for the English national team, courtesy of Luis Suarez.

    Image via Fox Soccer, Twitter

  • Prince Harry: His South American Tour

    Prince Harry: His South American Tour

    Prince Harry is headed to South America in June for some fun and some official commitments, too. He will spend a total of seven days in both Chile and Brazil. Since England is competing in the World Cup campaign in Brazil, Harry will take part in the festivities–cheering the team on as they take on Costa Rica. And according to E!, he will also “be on hand as Brazil takes on Cameroon in Brasilia when he arrives June 23. The next day he’ll watch England play Costa Rica in the city of Belo Horizonte.”

    Among Prince Harry’s commitments are a stop at a rehab facility where he will visit patients with neurological problems. He will also visit the training base that Team Great Britain and Paralympics Great Britain will use during the 2016 Rio Olympics.

    Unrelated to his South American tour, Prince Harry was recently successful in enlisting the help of people like Daniel Craig, Will.i.am, Joss Stone and more for a promotional video for the Invictus Games. Harry founded these games–a multi-sport event for wounded soldiers. The games are scheduled for September 10th through 14th in London and will feature sports including wheelchair basketball, archery, and swimming. A few months ago Harry explained that the purpose of these games is to “inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and demonstrate life beyond disability.” The red-headed playboy–as he is often described–definitely has pull and connections. It’s exciting to see him using his clout for worthwhile purposes.

    Hopefully that same red-headed playboy behaves himself while in South America. Don’t forget he is recently single. He and Cressida Bonas have officially gone their separate ways. There are lots of lovely young women in that country who Prince Harry might find rather enticing. Give the lad a cocktail or two and who knows what tabloids that sweet little ginger might cover? Of course it has been a while since Prince Harry’s Las Vegas debacle. Let’s hope he has grown into his princely title and won’t disgrace his grandmother or his royal title again.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Penny Dreadful Series Premiere Shows Promise

    Penny Dreadful, Showtime’s entry into the supernatural category, had a relatively strong formal debut Sunday night.

    Going up against genre heavy weights such as AMC’s The Walking Dead and FX’s American Horror Story, Penny Dreadful attempts to set itself apart “with a combination of literary allusion, fine acting, patience and fearlessness” according to a review in The New York Times.

    The series was created by John Logan, who is known for his Oscar-nominated work on films such as The Aviator, Gladiator, and Hugo. Sam Mendes (American Beauty, The Kite Runner, Revolutionary Road) is executive producer. Logan and Mendes previously collaborated on Skyfall.

    Set in Victorian London, 1891 to be precise, Penny Dreadful stars Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett as a mishmash trio of explorers searching for Dalton’s character’s daughter. Classic horror characters such as Frankenstein, Dracula and Dorian Gray are woven into the story line.

    “Penny dreadful” was a term used to refer to dime novels and horror books in Victorian-era England.

    According to The Toronto Star, the series premiere “did a fantastic job at setting the series’ dark, gothic tone while making it accessible to both new and seasoned horror fans alike.”

    Penny Dreadful debuted in Showtime’s 10:00 pm time slot immediately after network strongman Californication and drew in 872,000 viewers. After accounting for multiple plays Sunday night, the total number of viewers came in at 1.443 million.

    Breaking down the stats even further, 895,000 – or 62% – of the 1.443 million were in the highly-sought-after 18-49 age demographic. This made Penny Dreadful’s premiere the best in that younger age group since Dexter’s in 2006, which set a network record of 65%.

    Impressively, Penny Dreadful topped the series premieres of Homeland and Masters of Sex by about 5%.

    Further evidence of the premiere’s success is the fact that the numbers above don’t include the 900,000 Showtime subscribers who watched online when the network made the premiere available two weeks prior to Sunday night’s formal debut.

    Image via Penny Dreadful, YouTube

  • London Underground Workers Go On 48-Hour Strike

    Workers of the London Underground (LU) went on a strike, which began at 9pm on April 28 and will last for 48 hours. The strike was done in protest of the plans to close the Tube’s ticket offices. The closure will cause hundreds of Tube workers to lose their jobs, as well as threaten the safety of commuters.

    According to the administrators of the London Underground, the staff would be better employed on station concourses instead of ticket offices, because according to their data, only 3% of tube tickets are obtained through the ticket offices anyway.

    The April 28 strike will be followed by another on the Heathrow Express on April 29 starting 3am in a separate conflict over worker compensation and job cuts. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is planning yet another strike, which will run for 72 hours starting 9 pm on Monday, May 5.

    Commuters are advised to seek alternative routes, such as walking, cycling, taking the buses, and riding the black cabs.

    Union leaders held a last-ditch negotiation meeting with the London Underground administrators in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the closure of the ticket offices; however, the gathering ended after only two hours without the issue getting resolved.

    RMT leaders stated that the union had given the company some proposals that could have stopped the strike from happening, if only LU responded positively to their ideas.

    According to Mick Cash, the union’s acting general secretary, the company leaders “have dug themselves into an entrenched position” and have expressed their refusal to reconsider their stance regarding the closure of the Tube ticket offices. He said that this breaches the agreement they reached before through the conciliation service known as Acas, which allowed them to suspend the round of action previously done.

    RMT believes that contrary to what the LU is proposing, the closure of the ticket offices have nothing to do with modernization, and is more about the substantial austerity cuts driven by the Prime Minister David Cameron and implemented by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

    London Underground: A Brief History

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Chelsea: Three Members Of Football Club Hit With Misconduct Charges

    The Chelsea Football Club is one of the oldest and most revered teams in all of England. Over the years, the club has seen massive success and is still the only British club to have ever won all three main UEFA club competitions. Now the team has found itself in some hot water thanks to the conduct of its management.

    The English Football Association announced on Wednesday that it has filed charges against a player and two managers on the Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea midfielder Ramires, assistant manager Rui Faria and manager Jose Mourinho were all called out due to conduct observed during the team’s match against the Sunderland Association Football Club on Saturday.

    First up, the UEFA says that it has charted Ramires with violent conduct following a video that appeared after the game showing Ramires striking Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson. Since the incident was not caught during the game, the UEFA had to assemble a three-man panel of former referees to determine if his actions were indeed violent. The panel affirmed unanimously that Ramires’ actions were violent and now he has until 6 p.m. Thursday to respond to the charge.

    While Ramires’ actions weren’t caught until after the game, the team’s management was caught red handed while the game was still in session. Faria has been charged with two counts of misconduct following his alleged use of “abusive and/or insulting words” towards the Fourth Official during the game. Faria was then asked to leave the technical area and his actions upon being asked to leave amounted to another charge of misconduct. Faria has until 6 p.m. April 28 to respond to the charges.

    For those curious, the moment when Faria gets thrown out of the game has been caught on video:

    Finally, Mourinho has been charged with one count of misconduct following comments he allegedly made about the game officials after the match was over. After losing the game against Sunderland, it’s alleged that Mourinho called the referee’s integrity into question.

    Here’s the interview in which Mourinho made the sarcastic comments about the referee:

    Even the team’s Twitter account was sour about the call that cost them the game:

    So, what could have caused this sudden outbreak of misconduct charges against the Chelsea Football Club’s management? Well, one possible theory is that its loss against Sunderland was the first home loss after 77 home wins against them. It’s more likely, however, that the team responded similarly to how most teams respond to what they perceive as a bad call – poorly.

    Finally, here are all the highlights from Saturday’s game:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Angela Lansbury Made A Dame By The Queen

    Angela Lansbury was recently made a Dame by the Queen of England for her career in acting and her work with charities. The lovely 88-year-old actress said she was honored to be recognized by her queen and country, according to the BBC.

    The actress is best known for playing Jessica Fletcher, mystery author and amateur gumshoe, on the long-running and exceedingly popular show Murder, She Wrote.

    However, her career has seen roles such as Miss Price in a favorite childhood movie of mine, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mrs. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate, and Elvis’ mother in his famous movie Blue Hawaii.

    She was born in England, but moved to the US during World War II after the death of her father. She has recently returned to the London stage after an absence of nearly 40 years. She returned to star in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre. She plays an eccentric medium named Madame Arcati, and her performance has been received with highest praise by critics.

    After she was made a dame at Windsor Castle she said of the experience, “To meet the Queen under these circumstances is a rare and lovely occasion.”

    While she has been honored before for her acting by being nominated for 3 Oscars including for her first film, 1944’s Gaslight, she said being given the title of Dame is different.

    She elaborated on the difference in stating “[The Oscar] is for my work in motion pictures and this is for the overall accomplishments of my life as an actress.” She then added, “It has afforded me the joy of working in America and also in England a great deal.”

    Dame Angela is now part of an exclusive group of actresses that have been given the honor by the Queen including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Penelope Keith.

    Congratulations to Angela Lansbury!

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • ‘Kate Middleton Effect’ Boosts U.K. Clothing Sales

    The “Kate Middleton Effect” (or “Kate Effect” for short) is an oft used term by the media to describe the effect that Kate Middleton has on the world around her, most specifically the fashion industry. While the term may have seemed a bit hyperbolic at first, recently revealed data shows that the “Kate Effect” is more powerful than anyone could have imagined.

    The “Kate Effect” truly began on a quaint day in April 2011 when she married current Prince of England and Duke of Cambridge, William. Since that day, women across the world have been clamoring to get their hands on the latest fashion worn by the newly minted Princess of England and Duchess of Cambridge.

    Early speculation pegged the “Kate Effect” as a multi-billion dollar boon to the economy of the United Kingdom, with many news outlets reporting that the “Kate Effect” had boosted the U.K. economy by $1 billion, with other estimates going as high as $2 billion.

    After a recent financial report released by British maternity clothing line Seraphine, however, that contribution of the “Kate Effect” is no longer speculation.

    Profits for Seraphine quadrupled this past year after the Princess decided to release the first photographs of her newborn child while wearing one of the company’s fuchsia dresses.

    For 2013, Seraphine posted a £1.1m profit before taxes, up from a £0.25m profit in 2012. Seraphine also saw a 60 percent increase in turnover.

    Chelsey Oliver, the creative director of Seraphine, contributed the majority of the gain to the Princess, stating, “We were the only specialist maternity retailers that were seen to be dressing her during her pregnancy, which put us on the map. The fuchsia Jolene dress was the really big cherry on the cake but we benefited from the overall message about who we were to the Duchess of Cambridge.”

    Oliver went on to explain that the main reason Kate had such influence on Seraphine sales was due to her down-to-earth appeal: “She was wearing a maternity brand post pregnancy and she was saying to the world, ‘I’m a real woman, I’m not jumping back into tiny fitted clothes’. On top of her looking great, her message was such a good one.”

    While the “Kate Effect” has certainly spurred business in the United Kingdom, it has also had an adverse effect toward certain high-end businesses. In 2012, Kate Middleton knock-off products cost jewelers nearly $10 million.

    Image via YouTube

  • Sean Connery Champions Scottish Independence

    The original James Bond, Sean Connery, recently wrote an essay concerning the independence of his native Scotland, which was featured on the website of The New Statesman. While Connery presently resides in the Bahamas, he’s stated that if a referendum that is to take place in six months separates Scotland from the United Kingdom, he would return to his homeland.

    Connery, 83, wrote:

    “More than anything else, culture defines a country. It provides international visibility and stimulates global interest more than a nation’s politics, business or economy ever can. So, with our colorful history, strong identity, deep rooted traditions, a commitment to artistic innovation and diverse and beautiful landscapes, Scotland is truly blessed.”

    Referring to his essay, Connery added on Tuesday that “As a Scot and as someone with a lifelong love for both Scotland and the arts, I believe the opportunity of independence is too good to miss.”

    Sir Thomas Sean Connery is best known for his portrayal of James Bond in 7 films, and won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in The Untouchables. The actor has been voted as “The Greatest Living Scot” and “Scotland’s Greatest Living National Treasure.” In 1989, he was declared “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine and in 1999, at the age of 69, he was voted “Sexiest Man of the Century”.

    Here’s a clip of some of Connery’s best performances:

    Connery elaborates on his views in his essay, “Simply put – there is no more creative an act than creating a new nation. Scotland has an opportunity to make a step change. More than anything else, culture defines a country. It provides international visibility and stimulates global interest more than a nation’s politics, business or economy ever can. So, with our colourful history, strong identity, deep rooted traditions, a commitment to artistic innovation and diverse and beautiful landscapes, Scotland is truly blessed.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Sean Connery Encourages Independence for Scotland

    The name Sean Connery is one of the few names still synonymous with James Bond. Like the daring 007 character portrayed through the well-known films Sir Sean Connery brought to life, the actor has shown his own daring nature by voicing his desire for Scotland’s independence. Connery has recently expressed his wish that Scotland vote in favor of leaving the UK. According to the New Statesman, Connery claims that the decision should be made by “the people who choose to live and work there [Scotland]” however, the actor does not hold back his support for such a prospect. “Scotland has the chance to make a step change,” Connery shared.

    Though Connery does not presently reside in Scotland, he articulated his wishes for Scotland. “I fully respect the choice facing Scotland in September is a matter for the people who choose to work and live there — that’s only right, but as a Scot with a lifelong love of Scotland and the arts, I believe the opportunity of independence is too good to miss. Simply put there is no more creative an act than creating a new nation. A Yes vote will capture the world’s attention. There will be a renewed focus on our culture and politics, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to promote our heritage and creative excellence.”

    The legendary actor has a broad, global fan base, and his celebrity stature has the potential to carry significant influence even relating to political issues. The popular actor has a celebratory day designated in his honor where August 25th serves as the official Sean Connery Day.

    Will residents of Scotland be swayed by the charismatic performer’s words?

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons And Courtesy of Alan Light

  • Lizzy Yarnold’s Mental Toughness Helps Her Win Gold

    BBC Sport tells us of the England-born Lizzy Yarnold, who transforms into “The Yarnold” when she hits the ice, and how she used her patented brand of mental toughness, intricate sled engineering and deep house music to win the gold medal in the skeleton races in Sochi.

    Finalizing her combined runs with the fourth and final one yesterday, Yarnold came out on top with a deciding victory of three minutes 52.89 seconds that put her .97 seconds away from second-place finisher Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States. Her being almost a whole second away from her competitors is a big deal– usually first, second and third placers are small fractions away from each other in timing.

    True to her mental toughness m.o., Yarnold suffered a wobble near the top of the final run, but recovered to become just the fifth British athlete to win the gold at the Winter Olympics.

    Her victory speech reiterated her strong belief in the strength of mental toughness, by admonishing every one to “follow your dreams, never give up and never limit yourself to what you can achieve.” About her win she proudly stated, “I think I was bold enough to learn the Russian for I am champion. I believed in myself, I knew I could do it if I put in the hard work and dedication.”

    The 25-year-old British skeleton racer began competing in 2010, and won her first official race that year. Skeleton racing involves sliding face down on a small sled at over 80mph. A rider can experience forces up to 5 g wearing only a helmet for protection. Definitely a sport involving a high concentration of mental toughness.

    Image via Twitter

  • Kim Kallstrom Set to Play on Loan with Arsenal

    Swedish soccer star Kim Kallstrom is the talk of the UK as he prepares to play on loan with England’s Arsenal Football Club.

    Kallstrom, who has played for Spartak Moscow since July 2012 and for Olympique Lyonnais for the six years before that, will cover injured midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey was injured in training – the aggravation of a thigh injury sustained against West Ham on January 26 – and won’t be back in play for four to six weeks.

    Another Arsenal midfielder, Jack Wilshere, is sitting out at least one more game with an ankle injury. He won’t play in Arsenal’s Sunday match-up with Crystal Palace but team manager Arsene Wenger says he hopes Wilshere will be back in play the following weekend.

    “We have good news. For Sunday he will be short but he has a chance to be available for the week after at Liverpool.”

    Adding to Arsenal’s troubles is the fact that Mathieu Flamini is currently serving out a four game suspension after receiving a red card in Arsenal’s match against Southampton earlier this week.

    Of Flamini’s two-footed challenge on Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin and the associated red card, Wenger said: “To me it looked harsh … He got the ball. At some stage we all have all the feet off the ground. If you say every time a guy makes two-footed tackle its red, he deserved a red. If you say it was a violent tackle, I would say no.”

    Regardless of Wenger’s feelings about the red card and resulting suspension, he’s been forced into the transfer market and it looks like Kallstrom will be playing on loan until the end of the season.

    “Kim Kallstrom is a hugely-experienced player. He is a midfielder with proven quality at both club and international level. We welcome Kim to Arsenal,” Wenger said.

    Kallstrom shared his thoughts on the move: “Arsenal is an amazing club with a lot of great players and a coach who has done really well here for a long time. I am so pleased to come here to learn as much as possible. I’m here to do my best for Arsenal and to help out the team, so we can achieve good results for the last part of the season.”

    In a press conference on Friday, Wenger addressed speculation that Arsenal was seeking a transfer of Julian Draxler from Germany’s FC Schalke:

    “Draxler deal is not active. Anti-climax? I don’t know what a climax is. There is always hope. It is superficial and artificial. [The] Draxler situation has been created by the newspapers, not by me. Nothing is happening on that front. He will stay at Schalke.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Quenelle Salute Leads to Charges Against Nicolas Anelka

    On Tuesday, the English Football Association (FA) charged French soccer star Nicolas Anelka with allegedly making the “quenelle” salute during a December 28 match between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion.

    The FA issued the following statement on their website:

    It is alleged that, in the 40th minute of the fixture, Anelka made a gesture which was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, contrary to FA Rule E3[1].

    It is further alleged that this is an aggravated breach, as defined in FA Rule E3[2], in that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief.

    Anelka has until 6pm on 23 January 2014 to respond to the charge.

    The referenced gesture, known as the “quenelle” salute, involves one straightened arm pointing downward while touching that arm’s shoulder with the opposite hand.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYWpnFU4DNM

    According to Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, the gesture is a lesser-known Nazi salute: “This salute was created by a well-known extreme anti-Semite who has displayed his hatred of Jews, mocked the Holocaust and Jewish suffering.”

    Anelka has denied that the gesture was anti-Semitic. Instead, he said it was simply “anti-establishment” and a tribute to his friend, controversial French comedian and political activist Dieudonne M’bala M’bala.

    Anelka responded to the FA charges on Twitter, posting a video and stating that he had nothing to add. In the video, Roger Cukierman, President of the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France) and Vice President of the World Jewish Congress, says that the “quenelle” gesture is not anti-Semitic when used on a soccer field.

    The controversy has already cost Anelka’s team, West Brom, one important sponsorship. On Monday, property market search engine Zoopla, announced that it will not renew its two-year deal with West Brom beyond the current season:

    “Zoopla has been reviewing its position over the past few weeks in light of the actions of striker, Nicolas Anelka, during the match against West Ham over the Christmas period and has decided to focus its attention on other marketing activities after this season,” the company said in a statement.

    West Brom reacted to the statement – which means they’ll have to find another source of funding for their shirts – rather nonchalantly, saying they were aware that the sponsorship deal could end after this season and have been planning accordingly.

    Image via YouTube

  • Two Million in UK Could Use Weight Loss Surgery

    It’s well-known that millions of Americans are overweight or obese. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has even classified obesity as an epidemic within the country and the American Medical Association now considers obesity a disease. Now it appears that obesity is becoming a larger problem in the UK as well.

    A new study recently published in JRSM Open has found that two million UK citizens are now eligible for bariatric weight loss surgery. The number has surprised the study’s authors, as it is much higher than previous estimates for eligibility. The new figure also puts current weight loss surgeries in perspective, showing that very few of those eligible for such procedures actually undergo them.

    “Despite clear guidelines outlining who can undergo such surgery with the NHS, and evidence that these procedures are cost-effective in the long run, less than one per cent of those eligible have weight loss surgery each year,” said Dr. Sonia Saxena, a co-author of the study and a researcher at Imperial College London. “This raises questions about why more procedures are not currently being carried out.”

    The study found that those who qualify for bariatric surgery are likely to be retired women with lower socioeconomic and education statuses. This could mean that those most in need of weight loss surgery are part of the same demographics that use medical services at a lower rate. Also, the study’s authors believe that cutbacks in required pre-surgery weight loss programs could be contributing to low surgery rates among those who qualify.

  • Prince Harry Trades Flight Suit for Business Suit

    Palace officials have confirmed that Prince Harry is, in fact, leaving his helicopter flying days behind him. Women worldwide mourned the loss as they realized that no more photos of the Prince looking hunky and debonair in his uniform would be forthcoming.

    However, Captain Wales is not entirely leaving his army duties in the dust. He has quite enjoyed his role in the Armed Services, stating that “I find it very easy to completely forget about who I am when I’m in the army. Everyone’s wearing the same uniform and doing the same thing. All the officers get called sir and it is great fun. I get on great with the lads and I enjoy my job. It really is as simple as that.” He is simply shifting his focus to internal affairs, at the request of his aging Grandmother, the Queen. According to a statement from Kensington Palace,

    ‘Prince Harry has completed his attachment to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps and will now take up a Staff Officer role in HQ London District. The Prince will take the position of SO3 (Defence Engagement). His responsibilities will include helping to co-ordinate significant projects and commemorative events involving the Army in London. Prince Harry will retain the rank of Captain and be based from Horse Guards, in Central London.

    The first “significant project” that the Prince is engaging in? Bringing the “Warrior Games” to London. After visiting the United States last year to support a British team competing in the Olympic like games for wounded soldiers, the Prince became keen on the idea of hosting the games in the Olympic stadium in London.

    (image)

    Thus far, he has the support of both his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his grandmother, the Queen. With such prominent supporters, it seems likely that the Warrior Games will be traveling to London within the year. However, the initiative has yet to be approved by the office of the Prime Minister or the Government.

    According to The Evening Standard, “Prince Harry is passionate about this project. He believes it will be an amazing event that will bring the focus of attention on the problems facing those injured on the frontline and will serve to inspire servicemen and women and the wider public.” As a serviceman himself, completing a five month deployment in Afghanistan, Prince Harry is particularly attuned to the needs of his fellow soldiers and seems committed to gaining them the recognition they deserve with his new post.

    Images Via Wikimedia Commons (1) (2)