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Sony Ericsson C902 Cyber-shot phone

2008-11-29T19:18:00.001-08:00

Kara DioGuardi

2008-08-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

American Idol announced the addition of a fourth judge — songwriter Kara Dioguardi — on Monday. Who is the woman who will be joining Simon, Randy, and Paula?

DioGuardi will join "Idol's" judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul as the new American Idol judge in the coming season, which begins in January. She gets her start today in New York as contestants who passed the early auditions face the big judges for the first time.

"I just know that I'm supposed to have my makeup done by 11 o'clock," said Kara DioGuardi, who couldn't comment on the seating arrangements or how tie votes will be broken.

Adding DioGuardi is the latest twist in the hit singing-contest show. It comes after a season that saw some audience erosion and barbs from critics that the format had grown stale.

Kara DioGuardi's Wikipedia page describes her as "an American songwriter, record producer, and singer who has contributed to a long list of internationally successful popular songs" — she grew up in Westchester, New York, attended Duke University, and worked in marketing and publishing at Billboard Magazine.

Closing Ceremony Update

2008-08-25T01:39:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony (see photos here) was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 8:00 pm on August 24, 2008 (the post-introductory main ceremony began at 8:08 pm). The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.

The 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony also included the handover of the games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and there was a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG)

Eye on Beijing

2008-08-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Beijing Olympics is winding down but the heat of competition is showing no sign of cooling off. China is still on top of the Olympic medal tallies with a distant USA team in second. I thought the USA could catch and overtake China in the medal tally once the athletics started but I was wrong. US bets started losing one by one is a sport they used to dominate.

China will definitely rule the medal tables this year. For updates on the latest results you can check it at the following sites.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Medal Count/Tally
Latest Medal Count/Tally of the 2008 Beijing Olympics