Snoop Dogg evolves into Snoop Lion, claims he is Bob Marley reincarnated (VIDEO)

Rastafarian priests gave Snoop Dogg takes the new identity Snoop Lion during his spiritual awakening, as the music icon records first reggae album.

Snoop went to Jamaica a Dogg but returned a Lion after a religious and artistic awakening.

Rastafarian priests bestowed the new moniker Snoop Lion upon the music icon when he

visited Jamaica in search of "a new path."
"I didn't know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, 'Snoop Dogg.' And he looked me in my eyes and said, 'No more. You are the light; you are the lion.' From that moment on, it's like I had started to understand why I was there," he explained at a press conference.
Born Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., Lion has always felt a special connection with Jamaica's most celebrated music legend, according to news.com.au. "I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated," Lion said. "I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn't have my third eye open, but it's wide open right now."
This spiritual development has revived Lion's artistic energy. After years in the music industry, rap started to stale for the 40-year-old music icon. Ever since he appeared on the scene with "Doggystyle" in the early 1990s, Snoop has been a prominent player in west coast hip-hop. But Lion welcomes musical change and growth.

"I've been on the top ever since I've been in it," he explained. "I got rap songs that will never die. And that ain't with no disrespect but I'm tired of rap."
While in the studio, he distanced himself from his musical past by referring to Snoop Dogg in the third person. "F*** Snoop Dogg. Don't think about none of the s*** he rapped about: hustling and making money and drug-dealing and shooting. All that s***'ll be out of here," he said to his collaborators in the studio.

With reggae, Lion has the chance create music that all ages can enjoy - from children to his grandparents, who might not have been able to enjoy his harder-edged rap catalogue.

"I'm a wise man in the music industry," he said. "Not that I'll never do rap again because I'm always gonna do what I love, but right now I'm Snoop Lion and I'm having fun with this reggae movement so hopefully you guys will enjoy it as well."

Vice Films - in association with Snoopadelic Films - will release a documentary about the artist's transformation from Snoop Dogg to Snoop Lion at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.

Snoop Lion's first single is "La La La."

Source: nydailynews.com

Snoop Dogg changes name to Snoop Lion, says he is Bob Marley reincarnated

Snoop Dogg wants you to know that he's tired of hip-hop, is Bob Marley reincarnated and is embracing reggae instead of the culture of guns he once rapped about.

Also, he's got a new name: Snoop Lion.

The artist said at a news conference Monday in New York that he was "born again" during a visit to Jamaica in February and is ready to make music that his "kids and grandparents can listen to."

The former gangster rapper is releasing a reggae album called "Reincarnated" in the fall. He said that in Jamaica, he connected with Bob Marley's spirit and is now "Bob Marley reincarnated."

Bob Marley's son Rohan attended the conference and gave Snoop his blessing.

"I feel like I've always been Rastafarian," Snoop said of the spiritual Jamaican movement. While there, he said, he visited a temple, was renamed Snoop Lion and was also given the Ethiopian name Berhane, meaning "light of the world."

Snoop didn't explain why he was switching from "Dogg" to "Lion," but it's likely a reference to the Lion of Judah, a religious symbol popular in Rastafarian and Ethiopian culture.

Later, he played five songs for a small crowd, including one called "No Guns Allowed." It features his daughter and includes the lyrics, "No guns allowed in here tonight, we're going to have a free for all, no fights."

"It's so tragic that people are doing stupid things with guns," he said.

Snoop, best known for hits like "Gin and Juice" and "Drop It Like It's Hot," is an avid supporter of marijuana rights and has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount last month.

He said that in Jamaica, where he stayed for 35 days, he grew closer to his wife, who saw his transition. He added that he's excited to perform music that his family and children can listen to.

"As a 40-year-old man ... I've got to give them something," he said. "That's what you do when you're wise."

Snoop Dogg said he's not completely retiring from hip-hop but is "tired" of the genre because it is no longer challenging.

"Reggae was calling ... it's a breath of fresh air," he said. "Rap isn't challenging; it's not appealing."

The album was produced by Diplo and will feature Snoop singing. It will be released on Vice Records.

The album will be followed with a documentary of the same name, also produced by Vice. It features Snoop making music and will include some personal elements of his life, a producer of the film said. It will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

A coffee table book about Snoop's rebirth is also in the works.

"It feels like I'm 19 or 20 years old again," he said.

Source: foxnews.com

Nadia Comaneci, 'Perfect 10' Queen, Hopes Gymnastics Brings Back 'Perfect 10' Scoring System [VIDEO]

Romanian Olympic gold medal gymnast Comaneci holds the "Legendary Champions" trophy in Bucharest (Photo: Reuters)

Nadia Comaneci, the original queen of the Olympic gymnastics 'Perfect 10,' is hoping that officials will turn back to the old school scoring style so that modern Olympian gymnasts can score the 'perfect 10' as well.

The famous Romanian gymnast Nadia Elena Comăneci made Olympic history books for being the first female gymnast to achieve the perfect score of 10. She was only 14 when she achieved the perfect score at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal for her performance on the uneven bars. Not only that, but she took home three gold medals during those games. She earned two more golds during her career which are among her nine medals.

At the time, the Olympic scoreboards couldn't even display a 10 because it was thought that no one would be able to earn an absolutely perfect score. The board showed a 1.00, which left Comaneci confused as she thought she had done much better.

"I didn't understand what that meant," Comaneci, 50, told The Associated Press. "That's all they could show. I was a little frustrated at the beginning because I thought I did better than one."

Comaneci did do better than a one. Her performance, by the judge's standards, was perfect.

Today, gymnasts don't even have a chance to score the perfect 10. It isn't because they're not good enough to try. It's because the scoring system changed six years ago, 30 years after Comaneci got the score.

The International Gymnastics Federation established the new scoring system in 2006,  before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A high score is considered to range in the 15's and 16's. So scoring a 10 today would be pretty bad.

Although the 2012 Olympic Games are underway in London, Comaneci still hopes they bring back the old perfect 10 scoring system.

"I think gymnastics was associated with a 10. I thought that belonged to the sport and somehow we gave it away," she said. "I think we lost a lot of fans.

"It's a little bit confusing for fans. I think probably they're going to find a way to bring back the 10."

In addition to her five gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze, Comaneci won two world titles during her 10-year international career.

At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Comaneci took home two golds and two silvers, which some didn't find impressive compared to her three gold medals won at the Montreal Games.

"Nobody talks too much about Moscow," Comaneci added. "It's funny because I get this all the time. 'You went to Moscow but didn't do too well.' And I say 'Two gold medals and two silvers I don't think is that bad."

Watch Comaneci's perfect performances on travellerstoday.com
Source: TravellersToday.Com

Bronx teen John Orozco helps USA men's gymnastics team to the top of the qualification round

Individually, Orazco advances to finals along with teammate Danell Leyva while team USA qualifies ahead of Russia and Great Britain

John Orozco, the teenager from the Bronx, helped lead the U.S. gymnastics team to the top of the rankings in a qualification round.

It was an impressive afternoon for the men, as Orozco and Danell Leyva also became two of four Americans to advance to the individual event finals. The U.S. posted a team total of 274.342, putting it ahead of Russia (272.595) and Great Britain (272.420), respectively.


Scores from the qualifying round do not carry forward to the finals, but are a strong indication of what may happen next.

Leyva and Orozco stood one-two in the standings.

SAUDIS THREATEN EXIT
IOC president Jacques Rogge faced his first major crisis, as Saudi Arabia threatened to withdraw its athletes from the Olympics after a Saudi female judoka was banned by the International Judo Federation from competing with a head scarf.

Negotiations continued as Rogge tried to avoid what would be a big blow to his presidency. He has been very public about his diplomatic triumph in getting the first Saudi woman into the Olympics.

The Saudis will not allow the woman, Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, to compete without the Muslim headwear, or hijab, or without a male chaperone.

The Judo Federation, however, has thus far banned the head scarf on safety grounds.

WEIGHTLIFTER BANNED
The IOC on Saturday expelled Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku, 20, from the Olympics after he tested positive for the synthetic anabolic steroid stanozolol. Pulaku tested positive on July 23, and his file will be sent to the International Weightlifting Federation for further review and potential punishment.

The drug, which mimics testosterone and builds muscle, is quickly becoming the scourge of these Games. Greek high jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis was also banished for the same offense.
SERENA, ISNER WIN
Americans Serena Williams and hard-serving John Isner advanced to the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament. Williams had an easy time against former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 6-1, knocking eight aces on Centre Court and beating the Serb in 61 minutes. Isner topped Olivier Rochus of Belgium, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
LET US IN!
Early preliminaries in a variety of non-ticketed “minor” sports have created a controversy at sites where spectators showed up and thought they’d be allowed in for free.

Thousands of spectators were turned away from the Lord’s cricket ground on Friday for the archery ranking round, in which legally blind Im Dong-hyun of South Korea set a world record for 72 arrows with a score of 699.







Source: nydailynews.com

'Jeffersons' star Sherman Hemsley dies in El Paso

Sherman Hemsley sang Zat You, Santa Claus? by Louis Armstrong and other... (Times file photo)

Television star Sherman Hemsley, who was part of a wave of African-American actors who made inroads on television in the 1970s, died Tuesday at his home in far East El Paso. He was 74.

Hemsley was best known for his exaggerated strut, wisecracks and boisterous attitude while playing the character George Jefferson on the popular sitcom "The Jeffersons" (1975-1985).

Neighbors said the Hemsley they knew was a regular guy who would wave hello and goodbye and who would walk to a nearby Albertsons grocery store because he didn't drive.

"I got a call from one of his staff members. It's very tragic, sad news. I lost a good friend and El Paso lost a good resident," said U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte, who befriended Hemsley when Almonte was with the El Paso Police Department.

"He was a great person," Almonte said. "He loved El Paso. He was living here full time. El Paso was his home."had lived in El Paso off and on for more than 10 years before moving to the city full time. Hemsley, who was involved in local charitable causes, said in a previous interview that he liked El Paso's "peacefulness" compared with Los Angeles.

For the past three to four years, Hemsley lived in a middle-class home with a Spanish-tile roof on Tom Ulozas Drive near George Dieter Drive. Neighbors said Hemsley lived alone.

Hemsley's death was first reported on the celebrity news website TMZ.com, which also said Hemsley's body was found by his nurse, who initially thought he was sleeping. Information on funeral services was not immediately available.

Neighbors reported seeing police at Hemsley's home at about 11 a.m. and seeing a body wheeled out.

"We found out it was Mr. Sherman," said Antonio Ceballos, 25, who lives across the street.

Police Department officials said Hemsley was found dead in his home. A ruling on the cause of death is pending an autopsy and no foul play is suspected, officials said.

A biography on the Internet Movie Database website stated Hemsley was born in Philadelphia in 1938. He served in the U.S. Air Force before joining the Negro Ensemble Company in New York.

In early 1970s, Hemsley was hired by Norman Lear for the role of Archie Bunker's neighbor George Jefferson in "All in the Family."

In 1975, the Jeffersons spun off to their own show when they moved on up to the East Side to a deluxe apartment in the sky.

Lear's shows touched on race relations, poverty and other social issues that had often gone unmentioned on TV.

After "The Jeffersons" ended, Hemsley played a deacon on the NBC sitcom "Amen" (1986-1991). He also had appearances on other TV shows.

"Being in show business is weird," Hemsley said while performing with the 62nd Army Show Band at an El Paso park in 2005.

"You never know what's going to make you popular. What made me popular? That stupid walk," Hemsley said before launching into a rendition of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."

Dave Eller, 62, remembered the day he met the celebrity next door. "I called him 'George.' He said, 'It happens all the time,' " Eller recalled.

Gregory Kennebrew, 52, was surprised the first time he spotted the former TV star walking in his neighborhood.

"I was riding my motorcycle and I saw him walking down the street," Kennebrew said. "I made a U-turn and asked him for a photo. We started talking after that. I was very surprised, shocked because I saw him on 'Amen,' on the Archie Bunker show and, of course, 'The Jeffersons.' "

After that meeting years ago, Kennebrew said he would often chat with Hemsley while giving him rides in a vehicle to the supermarket.

"He was one of the top icons," Kennebrew said. "He made everybody laugh."

source: elpasotimes.com

Christian Bale visits Colorado shooting victims

July 24, 2012: Actor Christian Bale, second right, and his wife Sibi Blazic, right, place flowers on a memorial to the victims of Friday's mass shooting in Aurora, Colo. (AP)

Batman star Christian Bale visited survivors of the Colorado theater shooting Tuesday, and thanked medical staff and police officers who responded to the attack that killed 12 people and injured 58 others.

Bale visited with little advance warning and also stopped by a makeshift memorial to victims near the movie theater that was showing "The Dark Knight Rises" when the gunfire erupted.

Carey Rottman, one of those injured in Friday's shooting, posted two photos of himself with Bale on his Facebook page.

Janie Bowman-Hayes, assistant vice president of surgical services at sister hospital Swedish Medical Center, said she and co-workers were attending a luncheon at The Medical Center of Aurora to thank staff who tended to victims. "When we got there, then we found out he was there," she said.

Bale, humble and dressed casually in a black T-shirt and jeans, thanked the staff, shook hands and agreed to have his photo taken with employees, Bowman-Hayes said.

"He just said he wanted to come to thank all of us because he has been thinking about this. He knows the whole world has been thinking about this," she said. "He took it upon himself to come and thank us."

An online campaign had urged Bale to visit survivors of the shooting.

Bale, joined by his wife Sibi Blazic, also stopped by a growing memorial near the theater and walked among the 12 crosses erected for each of the slain victims. Many people there didn't realize who he was or chose to leave him alone.

A Warner Bros. spokeswoman told The Denver Post that Bale was representing himself, not the movie studio.

Bale, who stars as Batman in "The Dark Knight Rises," previously issued a written statement saying: "Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them."

President Barack Obama and members of the Denver Broncos also have made hospital visits to some of the survivors.

Bowman-Hayes and her staff cared for patients at both Swedish Medical Center and The Medical Center of Aurora after the shootings, whether it was in the operating room or intensive care unit, or by washing medical instruments.

She said the staff appreciated Bale's visit.

"He did this out of his heart, and you could really tell. It was so sincere," she said. "It was just, `Thank you."'

SOURCE: FOXNEWS.COM

Sherman Hemsley dead at 74

Image Credit: Everett Collection

Sherman Hemsley has died, his rep confirms to EW.

Police in El Paso, Texas found the 74-year-old actor in his home. No cause of death has been reported yet, although sources tell TMZ he died from natural causes.

Born in Philadelphia, Hemsley moved to New York to begin a career on the stage, where he starred in the Broadway play, Purlie. In 1973, he appeared  as George Jefferson in All in the Family, which lead to a spinoff in 1975 — The Jeffersons. The series, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 1984, was on the air until 1985.

Following The Jeffersons, he starred in Amen, as Deacon Earnest Frye, from 1986 to 1991. Hemsley also made memorable appearances The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters throughout his career.

Source: insidetv.ew.com

Read Also: Sherman Hemsley: A Tribute to the great George Jefferson, and more

Sherman Hemsley: A tribute to the great George Jefferson, and more

Sherman Hemsley, the man who brought George Jefferson to vivid life, has died at age 74. The accomplished stage actor achieved his widest fame in a role he raised to comic greatness: George Jefferson, the egotistical, strutting centerpiece of The Jeffersons.

Hemsley took a part that could have been clownish and exaggerated — George Jefferson, the braying entrepeneur striving to, as the show’s theme song said, “move on up”  — and made George a vital, three-dimensional character, and an important advance in the depiction of black characters in sitcoms. George’s ego and selfishness were often brought into line by his wife, Isabel Sanford’s Louise Jefferson (George’s beloved “Weezy”), but the force of the character derived from the tremendous ambition, frustration, and anger George felt toward the world.

You can credit producer Norman Lear for helping to conceive the character, first in All in the Family and then as a spin-off in The Jeffersons, but it was clearly Hemsley’s performance that fueled its power. Hemsley had come up through the theater, in straight dramas as well as musicals (he came to George Jefferson initially fresh from a run in the raucous, Ossie Davis-derived Broadway musical Purlie), and Jefferson brought a rhythmic musicality in the way George moved onscreen. His erect posture conveyed George’s pride, his perpetually affronted expression was a mask against the injustices, correctly perceived or imagined, by George; his harsh voice was the sound of a man who would not be denied his place in the world. Watching George Jefferson was to witness a man comfortable in his own skin — and that that skin was black was significant. From Hemsley’s performance, you could build an entire philosophy of the man he played. As a black man of his generation, George was as likely to have taken his civil rights cues from Malcolm X as from Martin Luther King, Jr. And while his business acumen placed him squarely in the capitalist tradition, George was a Black Panther-inspired figure of action, emboldened to make his opinions heard, his actions felt in the world around him.

The Jeffersons aired for a decade, 1975-85, and Hemsley’s performance embodied George’s move from the working-class to the middle-class as the owner of a chain of dry-cleaning businesses. George’s pride, his radar for any trace of racial exploitation, his ease at dismissing someone who’d offended or condescended to him as “honky” — these were all elements that could easily have put off mass America. Instead, because of Hemsley’s skill, charm, and energy, they became the elements that endeared the character to the country.

Hemsley went on to other roles. He was a rascal church deacon in the sitcom Amen; he provided the voice for an imperious character in the puppet sitcom Dinosaurs. These were, in a sense, variations on George Jefferson, who will live and rant and remain lovable and admirable forever.

Source: watching-tv.ew.com

Teen Choice Awards 2012: ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Twilight’ and Justin Bieber Win Big

The casts of “The Hunger Games” and the “Twilight” saga were all winners at Sunday’s 14th annual Teen Choice Awards. The Teen Choice surfboard trophies were handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles hosted by “Glee” actor Kevin McHale and new “X Factor” judge Demi Lovato. The event was broadcast on Fox. Lovato announced that some 134 million votes were cast by fans for the awards.
“Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1″ took home awards for choice romance movie and choice movie actress for its star, Kristen Stewart. The “Twilight” saga also received the ultimate choice award to bring its total number of Teen Choice Awards to 41. Stewart and her “Twilight” co-stars, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, accepted the ultimate choice award on behalf of the film. Pattinson and Stewart handed their surfboard trophies to fans in the audience.
Josh Hutcherson was named choice movie actor sci-fi/fantasy his role in “The Hunger Games.” The film was also named choice book and choice movie: sci-fi/fantasy. Hutcherson and his “Hunger Games” co-star, Jennifer Lawrence, were honored with the Teen Choice Award for choice lip lock. Lawrence was also named choice actress in a sci-fi/fantasy. “Hunger Games” co-star Liam Hemsworth was named choice movie scene stealer. Alexander Ludwig was named choice movie villain for his role in “The Hunger Games.”
The TV series “The Vampire Diaries” picked up several awards, including choice TV show sci-fi fantasy and choice TV actor sci-fi/fantasy for its star, Ian Somerholder. The actor was also named choice hottie: male. Star Nina Dobrev was named choice TV actress, sci-fi/fantasy. “Vampire Diaries” actor Michael Treveno was named choice male TV scene stealer.
The TV series “Pretty Little Liars” won four awards, including choice TV drama.
Zac Effron was named choice movie actor: drama and choice movie actor: romance for “The Lucky One.” The movie also won the surfboard trophy for choice movie: drama.
Jonah Hill lost out to veteran actor Christopher Plummer in the best supporting actor category at the Academy Awards earlier this year, but Hill was a winner Sunday, taking home honors for choice movie: comedy for “21 Jump Street.” Hill told the audience, “I got nominated for an Oscar earlier this year, and I lost out to a guy named Christopher Plummer…And I’d just like to point out that he’s not nominated for anything tonight. So I’m better.”
Justin Bieber was named choice male artist and Taylor Swift choice female artist. Bieber was also named choice male music star of the summer and choice male fashion icon. His tune, “Boyfriend,” was named choice single by a male artist.
Swift also won awards for choice country artist, choice single by a female artist for “Eyes Open,” choice country song for “Sparks Fly” and choice movie voice for her work as Audrey in “Dr. Suess’ The Lorax.” Swift’s five wins Sunday gives her a total of 20 Teen Choice Awards.
The broadcast featured performances by Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, Flo Rida and No Doubt, which delivered the first TV performance of their new single, “Settle Down.”
Ellen DeGeneres received the choice comedian award, and asked the audience during her acceptance speech about those surfboard trophies. The comedian asked, “What does [the surfboard] have to do with anything?”
Here’s a rundown of winners in non-music categories:
Choice TV Show, Sci-Fi/Fantasy: “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Drama: “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice TV comedy: “Glee”
Choice TV Actress, Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Actor, Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice Male TV Scene Stealer: Michael Trevino, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Female Scene Stealer: Candice Accola, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice Female TV Breakout Star: Hannah Simone, “New Girl”
Choice Summer TV Star, Female: Troian Bellisario, “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice TV Actress, Drama: Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice TV Actor, Drama: Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice TV reality star: Pauly D
Choice TV Actor, Action: Adam Rodriguez, “CSI: Miami”
Choice Movie, Comedy: “21 Jump Street”
Choice Movie Actor, Drama: Zac Efron, “The Lucky One”
Choice Actress, Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games”
Choice Movie Scene Stealer, Male: Liam Hemsworth, “The Hunger Games”
Choice Movie Villain: Alexander Ludwig, “The Hunger Games”
Choice Comedy Actress: Emma Stone, “Crazy, Stupid, Love”
Choice Drama Actress: Emma Stone, “The Help”
Choice Movie Breakout: Rihanna, “Battleship”
Choice Movie of the Summer: “Katy Perry: Part of Me”
Choice Female Movie Star of the Summer: Kristen Stewart, “Snow White and the Huntsman”
Ultimate Choice Award: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner
Choice Movie, Romance: “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″
Choice Movie Actress, Romance: Kristen Stewart, “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″
Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games”
Choice Hissy Fit: Charlize Theron, “Snow White and the Huntsman”
Choice liplock: Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games”
Choice book: “The Hunger Games”
Choice Comedian: Ellen DeGeneres
Choice Web Stars: Sophia Grace and Rosie
Choice Twit: Demi Lovato
Choice male hottie: Ian Somerhalder
Choice female hottie: Miley Cyrus
Inspire Award: Miranda Cosgrove
Here’s a rundown of the music winners:
Choice Male Artist: Justin Bieber
Choice Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Choice Music Group: Selena Gomez & The Scene
Choice Summer Music Star: Female: Demi Lovato
Choice Summer Music Star: Male: Justin Bieber
Choice Summer Music Star: Group: One Direction
Choice Music: Breakout Artist: Carly Rae Jepsen
Choice Music: Breakout Group: One Direction
Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song: “Starships,” Nicki Minaj
Choice Rock Group: Fun
Choice Rock Song: “Paradise,” Coldplay
Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist: David Guetta
Choice Single by a Group: “We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Choice Single by a Female Artist: “Eyes Open,” Taylor Swift
Choice Single by a Male Artist: “Boyfriend,” Justin Bieber
Choice Male Country Artist: Hunter Hayes
Choice Female Country Artist: Taylor Swift
Choice Country Song: “Sparks Fly,” Taylor Swift
Choice Country Group: Lady Antebellum
Choice Summer Song: “Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen
Choice Love Song: “What Makes You Beautiful,” One Direction
Choice Break-Up Song: “Payphone,” Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa




Source: abcnews.go.com

Dark Knight Shooting: Suspect James Holmes Bought 6,000 Rounds of Ammunition

As night fell on Aurora, Colo., following a shooting rampage at a movie theater that left 12 people dead, police continue to investigate suspect James Holmes and provide assistance to the victims and their loved ones.

After reducing the number of casualties by one, from 71 to 70 (58 instead of 59 injured), Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates announced at a press conference tonight that the bodies of the 10 people who died at the Century 16 multiplex have been removed from the scene. Two others died at area hospitals earlier today.

Holmes was taken into custody roughly 10 minutes after allegedly opening fire with an assault rifle at around 12:30 a.m. Mountain Time, 25 minutes into a packed 12:05 a.m. screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Oates then shed light on how Holmes came to be in possession of the rifle, shotgun and two handguns, one of which was found in his vehicle after the shooting.

The 24-year-old, originally from Riverside, Calif., legally purchased four guns during the past 60 days from local shops, as well as multiple magazines—each one holding up to 100 rounds, for a total of 6,000 rounds of ammunition—off the Internet.

Neighbors say he lived alone and kept to himself, Oates said. Holmes, who had been a graduate student in the neurosciences department at the University of Colorado since June 2011, recently left the school via "voluntary separation."

Meanwhile, according to Oates, authorities are still trying to defuse a complicated incendiary device they discovered in Holmes' apartment, the likes of which, the police chief told reporters, he had never seen.

The bomb squad has suspended efforts for the night but will redouble their efforts tomorrow. Holmes' apartment building and four others have been evacuated in the meantime.

Holmes has obtained a lawyer and is due in court Monday at 8:30 a.m. Until then, Oates said, he remains locked up in Arapahoe County Jail and his mug shot is not being released at this time for investigative purposes.

The chief said that his department and other government agencies met with 70 people who have not yet accounted for loved ones who have been missing since the shooting; therefore, they are not releasing a full list of fatalities until after the families have been notified.

It turns out a few injuries were suffered in the chaos following the shooting, though most were gunshot wounds, Oates said. One person in an adjacent theater was also shot.

As of 3:30 p.m., 30 people remained hospitalized, 11 in critical condition.

Four theaters in Aurora are showing The Dark Knight Rises and there is an increased security presence at all of them, Oates concluded. A prayer vigil is planned for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Aurora Municipal Center.

As the shows go on, Warner Bros. also announced tonight that it will hold off on releasing data regarding The Dark Knight Rises' weekend box office, numbers that in a normal situation the studio—as well as analysts, the media and rival studios—would have been itching to process.

"Out of respect for the victims and their families, Warner Bros. Pictures will not be reporting box office numbers for The Dark Knight Rises throughout the weekend. Box office numbers will be released on Monday," the studio said in a statement to E! News.

Source: eonline.com

Fantasy, masks, and James Holmes, the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ killer

Don’t blame the movie.

Don’t blame director Christopher Nolan or star Christian Bale.

But maybe it’s worth having a discussion about an entertainment culture that excels at selling violent power fantasies to people who feel powerless.

Initially, little was known about the Aurora, Colo., gunman who killed 12 at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” We knew his age (24) and his name (James Holmes); the latter fact is irrelevant, the former maybe less so. The audience that has been the most breathless in its anticipation of the third and final film in the “Dark Knight” series — the audience for whom it’s not just a movie but the pop culmination of their lives — is young. But motive is as yet unknown, despite unconfirmed reports at press time that Holmes told police he was “the Joker.” He could indeed be a fan who lost touch with reality. He could be political. Or maybe he just saw the release of “The Dark Knight Rises” as his best potential stage. Where was all of America (or all of America that mattered to him) at midnight on Thursday? At this movie. Where was the place for him to finally be seen, be heard, make an impact? Nowhere else.

The gunman planned his attack for the first local public screening of the film, and it is almost certain he had not seen it himself. Let’s be clear about this: James Holmes is not the poster child for anything but the sickness in his head. Yet it’s difficult, at this point, to fully separate the act of a single deranged man from the all-encompassing mania this series engenders in a surprising number of people. For millions, “The Dark Knight Rises” is just a movie (and, to this critic, a very good one). For a vocal contingent on the fringes, it’s much more — a film that has to be perfect for the world to make any sense at all.

Earlier in the week, the popular movie review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes suspended user comments for “The Dark Knight Rises” because fans were directing multiple death threats and rape threats at critics who had dared to give the film less than a perfect grade. Reviewers like the Associated Press’s Christy Lemire and movie blogger Marshall Fine were promised physical extinction for daring to not like a movie that those posting the threats hadn’t even seen.

There is something truly awful going on here: an entitled fanboy mentality, enabled by the anonymity of screen names, that moves and thinks as a mob and that reacts to any deviation from unanimous praise with the fury of a spoiled child. Of course there were plenty of level-headed responses on the Rotten Tomatoes boards and elsewhere; of course not all fanboys (and girls) are immature dolts. But enough of them are to dominate the discourse, and their assumptions are frightening to contemplate: If someone does not like this movie, he or she deserves to die. Oh, wait, you were kidding? They’re just words, pixels on a screen? How does that absolve you? When you threaten real human beings with violence while hiding behind the wall of DrkKnghtFan, what consequences does that have for the intended victim, for society, for your soul?

More pressingly, it needs to be asked, why does fantasy in general and this fantasy in particular mean so much to so many people? Why does a negative review for a movie strike some as an attack on their own identity? When the second film in Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy, “The Dark Knight,” came out in 2008, it was remarkable to see so many members of a generation that had no cultural focal point discovering theirs in this, the way previous generations had rallied around the Beatles or “Nevermind” or “Titanic.” Even more so; I recall (and wrote about at the time) a young man I met who likened the impact of “Dark Knight” to the Kennedy assassination and the Challenger disaster as events that unified young people and gave them their defining moment.

Really? A movie? (And I say this as someone who has devoted a lifetime to seeing, writing about, and thinking about movies.) That’s a sign of several things, one of which is that Nolan is extremely skilled at making films that seem to matter — that move with a beautiful bigness and that ask big questions about where the world is going while knocking us silly with action and explosions and agonized superhero drama. His movies don’t explain our confused world, but they mirror that confusion with cathartic skill, in a way that can feel absolutely right if you don’t know how to find the words for yourself. They’re hardly political, but they reflect a helplessness we feel about politics and society — about our lives — that resonates with force. Unsurprisingly, then, the online fan-mob seems more viciously protective of Nolan’s superhero films than “The Avengers” or “The Amazing Spider-Man” (although they can be loutish about them, too). And is it a coincidence that the Aurora gunman showed up at this movie rather than a different summer blockbuster? Maybe he wanted to mean as much to us as “The Dark Knight” means to him.

Or maybe not. He may be just another nutcase, with no ax to grind regarding this or any movie. But I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was responding, in his psychosis, to the tortured fantasy of power that this movie — and so much of the popular culture aimed at young men in particular — trades in. That fantasy is now everywhere. It is possible for any of us, of any age or gender, to avoid reality all day in America by keeping our eyes fixed on our screens. They’re on our walls at home and in restaurants, in our living rooms and bedrooms, toted around in our knapsacks, fitting neatly into our hands. The screens sell us many things: video games both benign and ultra-violent, empty “news” about celebrities, Facebook posts from our most intimate 2,864 friends, trailers for the latest Hollywood blockbuster in which men fly through the air and blow up everything bad in their lives. The screens tell us that we matter, each and every one of us. To look away from the screens is to confront a world that says, in most cases, no, you really don’t.

That’s hard, especially if you’re still figuring out who you are and a beautiful, conflicted superhero (or supervillain) mirrors your self-image. Our entertainment culture’s dreams of power are a drug that keeps us rapt in a cloud of promises: that we can win and that winning is everything; that we’ll be seen and heard for who we are if we’re thin enough or strong enough or have the coolest toys or the biggest guns. The fantasies lie, because the people who make the fantasies know we’re desperate to be lied to and willing to pay for it. And every so often, when we’re sold a fantasy that is so well made, that seems to tap so deeply into our very real sense of imminent catastrophe, and that seems so self-aware about the fantasy itself, certain people respond to it as if it’s the Truth. “The Dark Knight” movies are such a fantasy, and if they matter to you as anything more than extremely well-made and provocative entertainment, you really need to interrogate yourself (and maybe your friends) as to why.

A final thought: The idea of the mask matters quite a bit in this. The superhero movies that dominate our box offices are all about mild-mannered secret identities and the power that comes with donning a facial covering. We live each day through digital masks: screen names, online personas, Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and on and on, each an attempt to show the world the face we want to be, rather than the face we fear we have. The gunman in Aurora wore a mask, too, to protect himself from his own tear gas, or to avoid being seen, or to play to the pathetic fantasy in his head that he was Doom personified instead of an angry 24-year-old.

In reality — real reality, maybe you’ve forgotten? — no one wears a mask. Someday a lot of people are going to have to face up to that.


Source: BOSTON.COM

Colorado theater shooting victims' families wait for news

Officials have not released names of those killed, but some relatives take to social media with their grief. Among the dead: an aspiring journalist who just escaped another shooting.

Eyewitness Jacob Stevens, 18, and his mother, Tammi Stevens, walk away after police interviewed Jacob about the Aurora, Colo., shootings. Other families waited for news. (R.J. Sangosti, Denver Post/ July 20, 2012)

AURORA, Colo. — Jessica Ghawi narrowly escaped a murderous rampage at a shopping center in Toronto last month, deciding to leave a food court where, moments later, a gunman killed two people and wounded six others.

The incident, and her narrow escape, deeply moved her.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday," Ghawi wrote on her blog. "I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."

In a wicked twist of fate, the aspiring sports journalist was killed Friday in an early morning massacre in a Colorado theater, along with at least 11 others, by a gunman wielding an assault-style rifle, a shotgun, a handgun and canisters of a noxious chemical. Police said 59 others were wounded.

Officials had not released names of the dead or wounded, but some relatives and friends stepped forward to identify a handful of victims, or used social media to convey their grief.

Ghawi — who went by the name Jessica Redfield professionally — had red hair and a gleam in her eye. She was in her early 20s, with a big heart and big plans, her friends said.

About a year ago, she moved to Denver from San Antonio to pursue her career, her brother, Jordan, told Denver TV station KUSA. She worked as an intern at 104.3 The Fan, a Denver sports radio station, which posted a tribute to her on its home page. She was also involved with the You Can Play Project, a gay-rights group that supports equality in the locker room.

Her friend Peter Burns, a sports radio host, told CNN that he recently met with Ghawi to discuss her idea to provide free sports equipment — especially hockey gear — to kids who had lost theirs in the Colorado wildfires.

"She wanted to help," said her brother. "That's the type of heart she had. That's the type of person she was."

On her blog, Ghawi's personality shone through. "I specialize in sports media and snark," she wrote. "Not your typical sarcastic feisty redhead attempting to perfect the trifecta of class, sass, and crass. Yankee born, Texas raised, Colorado blooming."

Hours before the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," Ghawi joked on Twitter that she'd had to "coerce" a guy into going with her. She was with her ex-boyfriend and good friend Brent Lowak, who was visiting from San Antonio, said Lowak's father, Larry. Brent Lowak was shot and underwent successful surgery, his father told a San Antonio TV station.

Jordan Ghawi, writing on his blog, gave an account of his sister's last moments after he spoke with Brent Lowak.

When shots rang out, Lowak and Jessica Ghawi immediately dropped to the floor, Jordan Ghawi wrote.

Lowak called 911, heard Ghawi scream and realized that she had been shot in the leg. He applied pressure to her wound but was soon shot himself.

"While still administering first aid, Brent noticed that Jessica was no longer screaming," Ghawi wrote. "He looked over to Jessica and saw what appeared to be an entry wound to her head."

Lowak made it outside and immediately called Ghawi's mother.

A short while later, Jordan Ghawi wrote, "I received an hysterical, and almost unintelligible, phone call from my mother stating that my sister, Jessica Ghawi, had been shot."

The wounded ranged from three months to 45 years old, according to hospitals. Most appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

A Navy sailor is believed to be among the dead.

source: latimes.com