Saturday, June 13, 2009

Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee, whose sonorous voice and burning black eyes made him a memorable arch-villain in films from "Dracula" to "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith," was given one of Britain's highest honors Saturday by Queen Elizabeth II. Golfer Nick Faldo, captain of Europe's 2008 Ryder Cup team, was also promoted to "sir." He can add the title to his six major championship wins.
Among the others receiving royal honors: Tony-award winning actor Alan Cumming, for his work in films such as "X2: X-Men United" and his gay rights advocacy; celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, who lent his name to a worldwide brand of shampoos and salons; and U.S. economist David Blanchflower, who accurately predicted Britain's recession during his tenure on the interest rate-setting committee at the Bank of England.
Poetry also got a boost, with Andrew Motion and Christopher Ricks both awarded knighthoods. Motion was Britain's Poet Laureate for a decade until he was replaced by Carol Ann Duffy earlier this year. Ricks steps down from his post of Oxford Professor of Poetry later this year. Celebrity chef Delia Smith, whose recipe books adorn kitchens around the world, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, for her help in teaching the country how to cook.

Susan Boyle Birmingham

The Susan Boyle Birmingham performance wowed the audience. The internationally known singer from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland and her presumably luminous future has been the subject of much speculation in the aftermath of the Scottish singer’s second-place finish on the 2009 Britain’s Got Talent. She was hospitalized at the Priory Clinic in Southgate, North London (a day after the BGT finale) and released a few days later.
According to the Birmingham Mail, the singer delivered a standout performance at the first concert of the highly anticipated BGT tour. She performed her two songs from the BGT competition, I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables and Memory from Cats at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.
The Times Online notes that organizers took care to not put the singer under undue pressure and that it is unknown whether the singer will complete the entire 19 performances of the tour. ITV2 Britain’s Got More Talent presenter Stephen Mulhern, in introducing her described her as being “famous all over the world”.

24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans 2009 - Warm Up As the clock showed 8:30am local time the green flag was waved and the two Corvettes were the first cars to get out. The start of the warm-up session also meant the start of problems for some of the teams. Soheil Ayari spun his Oreca 01 AIM almost immediately after coming on the track, while the KSM Lola Mazda didn’t even make it to the track after it stalled in the pitlane with smoke coming from the back.
Here's the rundown for you U.S.-based readers on where and when to find Le Mans coverage today. Sadly, the salad days of the old Speedvision are now a distant memory, and live 24-hour TV coverage is not happening for us. Without further ado The gap between Noon Eastern and 4:30 PM is filled with Sprint Cup practice and coverage of the hugely-impactful NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Team mate Tom Kristensen wasn’t a happy chap this session. The Dane went straight at the Dunlop chicane on his outlap and returned to the pit immediately after. Peugeot however did not have any issues and at one third of the session they top three was an all-French affair with Montagny having set the fastest lap time of them all. Halfway through the session Kristensen returned to the track after a long period of the mechanics working on the Audi R15 TDI. Team mate Marco Werner spun his car at the Ford Chicane trying to avoid the Advanced Engineering Team Seattle Ferrari F430, with Dempsey also spinning a couple of meters further in the chicane.
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