NBC Fails at Olympic Coverage

I know that worldwide everyone is watching the Olympics, it's something we all love to do every two years. The games show off our respect for one another and show off the hard work of a few individuals. So when the games come around and a news team manages to screw-up you better believe there are a lot of individuals upset.

Opening Ceremonies
America is one of the leading nations in the world, if not the leading nation in the world. Top in technology and the current development place of most advance electronic research, and with more Americans having smartphones and flatscreen televisions daily, it is no surprise that we expect everything to work perfectly technically. So why was it that with all the technology in the world NBC News managed to fail at covering the opening ceremonies live?

That's right, the only news coverage in the world that failed to show off the opening ceremonies live was NBC news. Instead, they played them back to the public and called it live coverage almost exactly six hours late. Why six hours? Because that would be the approximate time that the central timezone in the United States would be seeing the same daylight outside. To say the least, it was disrespectful to those that wanted to watch the event live. More-so, it meant that anyone who wanted to see any other early-morning events the next day (such as the bike race) would be just barely able to get to sleep in time to really enjoy it. Overall this was annoying, especially since you know they are going to broadcast it a few times.

But wait, this is not considered the only reason that people are annoyed with the opening ceremonies. Since everyone had six hours of preparation time to make comments about the opening ceremonies, a lot of people are blaming NBC for the event ruining commentary that ensued. Before things would come on screen, the news crew would be talking about it. If there was something obvious that did not really need to be said, they were already talking about it. To put what they did simply, it is considered disrespectful to talk during a movie, so why would they think it respectful to speak during the main events of the Olympics?

By the way, the opening ceremonies that Great Britain provided for the 2012 Olympics was one of the best I've ever seen. So if you have not seen it, look it up and be astounded!

Website Facts
A lot of facts that are buzzing on the NBC News website are sadly incorrect. The most notorious, Australia being replaced with Austria in the description. Now, it is one thing if you made a small mistake about a country that no one has heard of, but everyone knows Australia and Austria. Don't believe that they got it incorrect? Check out this:

Click to Enlarge
[http://www.nbcolympics.com/nations/nation=australia/]

Just to be clear, I took that screen-capture myself on my computer right after I had heard about it from another website. I even clicked refresh a few times to see if they had fixed the mistake yet, considering how big it was. They had not. And if you still don't believe me, go check out twitter where a bunch of similar images are currently floating about.

What Happened?

This is really the tip of the iceberg as far as the mistakes go, some of the more notorious and large ones that people have been complaining about. Like I said, how is it that the top nation in the world has what seems like amateurs covering one of the biggest world events? Come on NBC, start playing professional.

Final note, I just want to personally wish best-of-luck to the American athletes that are there and bring us home some medals! I know you've trained hard for these events and will not fail to impress! And thank you Great Britain for putting on the most amazing ceremony opening I have ever seen, it was truly spectacular!

Batman Theater Shooting!

Before I can even think of beginning a post to tell my review for the new Batman movie, I first have to talk about the news happening in my neighborhood. At the Theater 9 of the Century 16 in Aurora, Colorado, 12 people have been reported shot dead and 59 more are injured as of right now. At the midnight showing of the new movie, a 24 year-old white male walked into the opening credits of the film and started firing upon the audience after releasing tear gas "gas bombs". He took in a gas mask and a bullet-proof vest, ready for the long-haul for what the police would do. For those curious, the youngest victim was a 6 year-old child.




Watch the view above, which was posted to youtube very quickly, of the people coming out of the theater. It shows some of the people with blood on their shirts along with a few of the wounded. It was shot from a camera on a phone from what I'm told.

[Update] I've also heard that the adjoining theaters, theater 8 and theater 16, heard the gun shots and a few of the shots went through the theater walls. When they got up to get out of the theater because of the emergency, everyone stopped at the door to the cineplex lobby because they were told that the shooter had moved into the lobby. From the sounds of it, inside the Century 16 cineplex it was chaos for a little while.

The people were forced to leave their cars and their possessions in the parking lot while the police searched each car with a robot for bombs. They found what they think is the shooters car, but they wanted to check the others to be sure. Everyone was escorted away from the theater in police vehicles. Similarly, the theater is going to be searched for explosives before it is re-opened. As far as everyone knows, there were no other shooters involved in this.

[Update 2] The police are searching the shooters living quarters, where they have found what looks like the making of bombs and other things he used to prepare for the shooting. The police believe he used a total of at least three different guns, one assault rifle close to the AK in type and two handguns.

They've also downed the number of dead to 12 with estimates that someone in the theater was no dead, but badly injured or severely effected by the effects of the gas bombs. Also, the youngest that has been admitted to the hospital is a 3 month-old! The 3 month-old was discharged to the parents shortly after being admitted. At the theater, the fire alarm can still be heard from when a Century 16 staff member pulled it to warn people to get out of the cineplex!

[Update 3] The name of the white male shooter was James Holmes. The news is finally getting to the white house and other government officials. I've looked to make sure that their statements are on here.

The following statement is from president of the United States, President Barack Obama:

Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come.

Mitt Romney, presidential candidate in the 2012 election, has released the following statement:

Ann and I are deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence that took the lives of 15 people in Colorado and injured dozens more,” said Romney. “We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice.

[Update 4] James Holmes used and unloaded four different guns full of ammunition. He bought a ticket to the showing, went into the theater and stood by the emergency exit door. When the show started, he walked out of the emergency exit door, propping it open on the way, and over to his car. He then drove his car back to the theater and walked back in through the propped door with his weapons.  He walked into the theater with a ballistic helmet, bullet-proof vest, bullet-proof leggings, a gas mask, and gloves.They say that this is the largest mass shooting in United States history.

Before this, he had a clean arrest record and was a college student heading for his PhD. After detonating the gas bombs he began firing. He was apprehended within minutes at his car behind the theater holding three of the four weapons, an AR-15 assault rifle, Remington 12 gauge shot gun, and a .40 Glock handgun. He then said he had booby-trapped his apartment. In his apartment there was a large amount of explosives and trip-wires, they do not yet know how to proceed.

In the News
I'm going to go and find some of the news coverings as they come in, so please stay here. I'll post links.

• ABC News - Mass shooting at Colo. movie theater, 14 people dead
• CBS News - Mass shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo...
• CNN - 14 dead, 50 wounded in shooting at Colorado theater, police chief says
• CNN - Witnesses recall chaos after gunman bursts into theater
• Denver Post - 12 Killed, 50 wounded at Aurora movie theater
• Denver Post - Photos: Shooting at Aurora Theater
• Fox 31 - LIVE BLOG: At least 12 killed, 50-plus injured...
• National Journal - Statement by President Obama at the shooting in Colorado
• New York Times - Live update on movie theater shooting in Colorado
• Yahoo! - Colorado Batman shooting suspect was PhD student
• 9 News - 1 in custody, 12 dead in Aurora movie theater shooting

To the Families
To the families of the victims of this event, to the individuals that were hurt, and to all the people that have suffered, I'm so sorry and I am sending my best wishes! As such, I've written this whole part just for you, a written memorial to what has happened. I hope that the entire movie will become a memorial for the suffering and pain that has happened.

Even now, I'm thinking that could have been my theater and that could have been where I was. It's terrifying, even just the idea. And it's horrific to think that all these people that were going to the movie, in good hopes and wishes for good times, are suddenly attacked. I mean, I can say from my experience that I was happy to be seeing the new movie and just to imagine something like this happening. I really do not know if I can express what I'm feeling, but I do hope the best for everyone!

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If you find out or have any more information about the shooting, please post a comment below! Or, if you want to leave a comment to the poor souls that had this happen to them, please do that as well! Send this out, tell your friends, just make sure everyone knows and know that something terrible has happened on several people's moments that were supposed to be fun.

Large Lizard Means Lots of Love

I don't understand why Mike Ensminger, the Teller County Sheriff, is currently out in the Woodland Park area telling some 400 homes that there is a large, killer lizard on the loose. The fact of the matter is that someone's home pet, very snuggly and gentle, got out of it's owner's backyard and is now running around the city on a small joy ride! So why tell all of the community to be on the lookout for a beast with two-inch claws and the ability to climb trees, that wants to attack your young children, and not to try and catch it with a net. What they should be telling the citizens to do is throw it some food, give it a pat on the head, and hug it like a kitten or a puppy! To quote:

Monitor lizards normally feed on smaller creatures like rodents, but local veterinarian Bradley Bundy told The Associated Press that they definitely could pose a threat to humans caught in their path.

If you ask me, this means don't get in it's way and it'll only kill small bunnies, mice, and other local Colorado animals to which we currently have a surplus population! So the lizard is actually doing some justice by killing off local animals that have ran around untamed and unwatched for years, reproducing and recreating like crazy because of the lack of natural enemies. To be honest, I think Colorado should invest in a whole bunch of Nile monitor lizards to help the cities clear out the huge bunny populations that are currently ravaging yards and eating away someone's hard work in a garden! Plus, it gives a warning to kids to not touch or play with the friendly wild animals!


And the worst part of the story is that they don't think it will live past this summer! With raging winters in Colorado and being so far into the mountainous area, they think one drop in temperature and the poor lizard will be dead. So why the hell is the sheriff being so damn scared of a cute and cuddly animal that he fears might tear his face off? Why not get out there, search for it, and bring it back home to an owner who loves his beast.


/Sort-of Satire

For the original yahoo story please click [HERE]!

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An Internet News Rant

There is really only one way that I get my news nowadays, the internet. I can log-on on my own time, check out the stories from a quick perspective and skip the ones that don't interest me, and of course get a quick read or video of what I was looking for. So it pains me to say that I'm slowly becoming more and more frustrated with how internet news is being done.

Now, my site of choice tends to be Yahoo. I know there are a ton of other sites such as MSN, CNN, Google, Fox, etc that I could choose from, but Yahoo has the layout I like the best. I like how it's just a jumble of random news stories in the top picks, not just entertainment or thrifty tips but a whole lot of random. So it pains me, and apparently a lot of other people, to say that I wish they would stop being so damn annoying. In the recent, they've started turning more to creating small videos of their news clips that quickly show off a few stories with some guy they think is funny. I hate it, and for a good few reasons.