Phil Mickelson wins Masters

Monday, April 10, 2006

Yesterday in Augusta, Georgia at Augusta National Golf Club, American Phil Mickelson won the 70th Masters with a final round score of 69 and a four round total score of 281, seven under par and two strokes better than South African Tim Clark, the sole second place finisher. This was Mickelson’s second consecutive major as well as his second green jacket. In a five-way tie for third place at four under par were José María Olazábal, Retief Goosen, Tiger Woods, Chad Campbell, and Fred Couples. Rounding out the top ten were eighth place finishers Angel Cabrera and Vijay Singh followed by Stewart Cink in tenth place.

Although Mickelson had to fire up during the last few holes to take the ’04 Masters over Ernie Els, nothing of that sort was required during Sunday’s round. He parred the first six holes before making two straight birdies at 7 and 8, and then went on to make two more at 13 and 15 before finishing off with a bogey at 18. Last year, Mickelson put Tiger’s jacket on for him. This year, Tiger helped Phil into the jacket. “I certainly enjoyed having the jacket put on me,” Mickelson said. “I love the chance to compete against guys like Tiger, guys like Retief and Ernie and Vijay and Fred who are playing so well. It gives me an incredible feeling of accomplishment to be able to come out on top this week.” After 42 straight misses at majors, Mickelson is now on track with one major per year for the past three years.

Playing partner Fred Couples nearly got within one stroke of Mickelson but went on to miss the birdie putt and another par putt to sink out of contention. Putting was also Tiger Woods’s major hindrance. He made three three-putts and had an overall total of 33 putts with a final round of 70. Afterwards, Woods remarked, “It was frustrating. I felt in control of my golf swing from tee to green. Once I got on the green, I was a spaz. I didn’t have it all day – even this morning (in the third round) I didn’t putt well.” Clark capped off a great run and a final round 69 with a chip-in from the sand at 18 for a birdie. Clark moved to number 15 on the Official World Golf Rankings, Woods stayed at number 1, Couples moved to 21st, and Mickelson moved up to 2nd.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Japanese judoka Hitoshi Saito, winner of two Olympic gold medals, has died at the age of 54. The cause of death was announced as intrahepatic bile duct cancer. He died in Osaka on Tuesday. As well as a former Olympic and World champion, Saito was the All Japan Judo Federation training committee chairman at the time of his death.

He had been hospitalized since late 2014. In 2013 it was discovered he had a tumour on his gallbladder.

Saito won consecutive Olympic gold medals at the 1984 games in Los Angeles and the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea. He competed in the over 95-kg category. His victory in the Seoul games continued the record of Japan winning a gold in Judo in every Olympic games since the 1964 games, held in Toyko. He was also named World Champion at the 1983 World Judo Championships in the openweight class.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, a fellow Judoka who fought Saito in three consecutive All-Japan judo championship finals, and who also won gold at the 1984 games, commented on his death, “He was my lifetime rival. It is very unfortunate to hear this”. Yamashita won all three finals against Saito.

A tribute came from Tsunekazu Takeda, the President of the Japanese Olympic Committee. He said “It is all very sudden, so I don’t know what to say. […] As a player and coach he really gave it his all, and we had expectations for him so it is unfortunate. I had the impression he was a serious and conscientious person”.

Saito retired in 1989. He later went on to become the coach of the men’s national team leading them to three Olympic gold medals in Athens in 2004. He also took charge of the men’s team during the 2008 Games in Beijing. He became head of the Committee for Enhancement of the All Japan Judo Federation in November 2012.

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

Thursday, June 8, 2006

The international forces in East Timor have reached an agreement about the coordination of the military and police forces in the field. Representatives of the four countries reached the agreement during an urgent meeting after an incident between Australian and Portuguese soldiers yesterday.

In the agreement reached between Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Portugal and the Timorese government, operational autonomy is given to the international forces, which will operate in cooperation and coordination with each other.

The agreement also stated that in an initial phase Dili will be divided into sectors, and each area will be under the control of an international force. Outside of its area of responsibility, the military or police force will only be able to operate if other international forces request their actions. Also was agreed that the police forces will assume total control of the city after the military forces leave their current occupied positions. A situation that is expected after the arrival of the remaining equipment, mainly vehicles, for the Portuguese Republican National Guard (GNR) and the arrival of the remaining Malaysian police officers and their equipment.

In an official notice, the Timorese Foreign Minister, José Ramos Horta stated that “the objective on a long run is for the GNR to operate has a tactical intervention force in all the city of Dili”.

Ramos Horta explained that “in the next days, maybe already tomorrow morning, they [the Australian, Malaysian, New Zealand and Portuguese forces] will do some coordination training, in way to assure that the four forces know exactly what each one will do”. “Since some are from the Army and the others [Portuguese Republican National Guard] are a specialized police and that they never worked together, its useful to carry out some practical exercises”, he added.

In another subject, Ramos Horta explained that the Australian soldiers that are in Maubisse, next to a rebel group lead by major Reinado, and in Gleno, Ermera, next to another group of “military opponents”, are there “containing those elements”.

“Those groups are not comparable with other people that are here in Dili and that must be disarmed”, Ramos Horta said.

“The Australian presence in Maubisse and Gleno aims in containing those groups on their areas, until arrives the moment in which the President decides that is time for also mister Alfredo Reinado and the others to put down their weapons”, he said. “This is not urgent because they are not causing problems to anyone”, he justified.

The urgency of the resolution and clarification of the command and cooperation of the international forces was originated after an incident between Australian and Portuguese soldiers. When yesterday a Portuguese GNR patrol transported three people to a temporary detention center managed by Australian soldiers.

The detainees were arrested by a GNR Special Operations team, after being caught looting a governmental warehouse, in Balide, Dili.

The Australian soldiers then refused to receive the detained men, questioning the legitimacy of the Portuguese soldiers to make arrests. The Portuguese contingent transported the detainees to the Timorese prison services in Dili.

Friday, April 11, 2008

In the Opening Day of 2008 AutoTronics Taipei (April 9), the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) invited Jamie C. Hsu (Consultant of Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of the China and Former Management Executive Director of General Motors Global Technology) for a speech in the “Pavilion of Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC)” to forecast the future of automobile industry in Taiwan, which echoed the “Taiwan Automotive International Forum & Exhibition”, held at TWTC Nangang in conjunction with 2008 Taipei AMPA.

Before the main show, Department of Industrial Technology of Ministry of Economic Affairs supervised the establishment of TARC by ITRI, Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Metal Industries Research & Development Center, and the other academical and industrial units to improve the level of research and development including applications on security, artificial intelligence, and energy-saving.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Drag—dressing in the clothing atypical of your born gender—in recent years has found mainstream success. Films such as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar have prominently featured drag performers. But they have all focused on men in drag as women.

Murray Hill is a comedian, emcee and performer. He is also a drag king. Called “The Hardest Working Middle-aged Man in Show Business”, The New York Times christened him “the current reigning patriarch of the downtown performance community.” He is seemingly everywhere, emceeing a bingo night at the now closed, Jimmy Fallon-backed Mo Pitkins’ House of Satisfaction on Avenue A, or hosting the Polyamorous Pride Day in Central Park. Hill has become a legend in New York’s “anything goes” counterculture theater scene who is beginning to find mainstream success; which would be a first for a drag king.

David Shankbone’s examination of New York City‘s culture has brought him to the whip’s end of a BDSM dungeon, on the phone with RuPaul, matching wits with Michael Musto, grilling Gay Talese, eating dinner with Augusten Burroughs and quizzing the bands that play the Bowery Ballroom. In this segment he talks to downtown legend Murray Hill, former New York City mayoral candidate and comedian, on the last night of Mo Pitkins’ House of Satisfaction.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

London, England — Earlier today at the Greenwich Park, riding third in the Paralympic Dressage Individual Championship Test – Grade II, Grace Bowman withdrew mid-ride after a series of low scores during the event. Bowman was Australia’s only rider in this event.

Prior to entering the competition ring, Bowman’s horse Kirby Park Joy was in poor form, with Bowman unable to get control of her, showing little harmony between horse and rider. With a score of 70% or better expected for the best competitors, Bowman started with 48.0% on the halt salute, 44% on the half circle and 48.7% on the medium trot. Things did not get better as the ride continued, with Bowman earning a 45.8% in the reinback, 39.8% for the circle R 8m and 37.3% for the circle L 8m. Shortly after this, Bowman signaled to the judges her desire to withdraw from the ride. In the competition ring, she was frequently pulling on the reins as Kirby Park Joy was frequently tossing her head. According to a Dutch equestrian journalist, her horse was not agreeing with her from the start. Bowman left the field of play in tears.

Bowman had said this event was her favorite, telling the media Thursday following her ride in the team competition, “I enjoy the individual test best of all, but don’t like the freestyle — it’s my least favourite.”

Kirby Park Joy has had problems in London, with Bowman telling the media, “She was a bit tense and didn’t like the big scoreboard ahead of us, so our score was much lower than usual.” Australian Team Manager Sally Francis confirmed this, saying in a media release, “Grace’s horse has had some issues with the sight screen in the arena. […] Grace did well to control her during the team test and finish [Thursday]. We’ve been working very closely with her horse since to try to alleviate any stress it might be under.”

It isn’t the first time Bowman has had horse problems at the Paralympics; her horse at the 2008 Summer Paralympics had similar issues.

Bowman’s London Paralympic campaign has come to an end without a medal, after having finished 21st Thursday in the Team Test – Grade II event.