5 Amazing Moments From the London Olympics

Slideshows and Photos Across the Internet Are Commemorating the Event

Nielsen Ratings reported that nearly 220 million Americans tuned in to the Olympics — making it the most watched event in US TV history.

The photo that gold medal winner Jordan Burroughs tweeted on Saturday is being talked about as the image that is worth more than a thousand words — a picture of him and Sadegh Goudarzi, the Iranian wrestler Burroughs beat to take the gold, hugging each other.

Then there’s Michael Phelps, who has won a mind-boggling and record-setting 22 medals — 18 of which are gold. In fact, if he were a country, he would land in the top 60 countries with the most medals, while on the list of most gold medals he would be at #36!

Photo from “With One Last Gold, Phelps Caps Career That Inspired a Generation” The New York Times

London prides itself on its pomp and circumstance — and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics were no exception, as can be seen by the extraordinary fireworks display during the finale.

Photo from “Top Photos” on London2012.com

It’s been called “Morgan’s Miracle” — after the US womens soccer player Abby Wambach took the game against Canada into overtime, Alex Morgan scored the winning goal with just 30 seconds to spare. Three days later, the team defeated Japan and took the gold.

Photo from “Fresh Faces: U.S. Soccer Star Alex Morgan” on NBCOlympics.com

And of course, this year’s Olympics was also about watching the watchers — the newly minted Duke and Duchess of Cambridge most particularly.

Photo from “Where Are The Royals Today?” On NBCOlympics.com

For more fantastic images and stories, check out these sites:

• London 2012 Pictures of the Day on The New York Times
• Stunning Images From London Olympics Finale on Huffington Post
• Olympic Slideshows on NBCOlympics.com
• Photos and Galleries on London2012.com
• London 2012 on Olympic.org

Thought You'd be Interested

Thought You'd be Interested

5 Books Everyone Is Reading This Summer

If You Haven’t Heard of “Gone Girl” Yet, You Will

1. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

Possibly the hottest book of the summer, “Gone Girl” tells the tale of a missing wife in a disintegrating marriage. The Wall Street Journal called the book “compulsively readable” and Reese Witherspoon has already snapped up the rights to produce and star in the film version.

2. “Most Talkative: Stories from the front lines of pop culture” by Andy Cohen

Even for those who aren’t “Real Housewives” fans, this book from the franchise’s creator (and Bravo’s executive vice-president of development and talent) Andy Cohen is sure to offer a few chuckles. A meandering through the path Cohen has been on since his early days watching “Charlie’s Angels” and “All My Children,” “Most Talkative” is chock full of celebrity anecdotes, pop culture mishaps and even an underlying thread of what it takes to make it in showbiz.

3. “11/22/63: A Novel” by Stephen King

If you’re looking forward to the movie “Looper,” this book should be right up your alley. “One of the best time-travel stories since H. G. Wells” (The New York Times), Stephen King’s “11/22/63: A Novel” should also keep you busy for a while — it’s nearly 900 pages long.

4. “Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos

Set in the 1960s, “Dead End in Norvelt,” a young adult novel, won this year’s Newbery Medal for children’s literature. The American Library Assn., which awards the prize, called the book “an achingly funny romp through a dingy New Deal town.”

5. “The Uninvited Guests” by Sadie Jones

What happens when an upper class British family gathered for a birthday celebration must open its doors to the straggling third-class survivors of a nearby train wreck? When the story is set in 1912 and is told by the masterful Sadie Jones, the answer is “hang on to your hat” because who knows what’s going to happen next? “The Uninvited Guests” is the story of “an elegant dinner party that turns into a phantasmagorical mashup evoking Noel Coward, Agatha Christie, The Twilight Zone, Downton Abbey and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.” (NPR)

No Gold Medals For Social Skills

The Olympic spirit may be easier to uphold on the track than online. This week the second athlete was thrown out of the Olympics and sent home after posting disparaging remarks about other competitors to their Twitter account.

Last Wednesday, Greek triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou was kicked off the team for tweeting negatively about African immigrants in Greece. Shortly after the announcement, the athlete posted an apology to her Facebook page, saying, “I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.” (via The New York Times)

Barely a week later, Michel Morganella, a Swiss soccer player was tossed off his team after tweeting insults about South Koreans the Swiss soccer team lost to South Korea 2-1 on Sunday. Morganella apologized shortly afterwards, as did the head of the Swiss Olympic delegation, who said the remarks “contradict the Olympic charter.”

The immediacy and accessibility of social media can be an instant emotional outlet for joy “We won!”, sadness “I can’t believe MJ is gone”, love “I love Mrs. A” and more — but it’s very immediacy and instant publication can transform one hot-headed, human reaction into an international insult. We have all had those moments of cursing and spewing and venting our frustration when things don’t go our way — until recently, those moments happened in our heads or under our breath. Social media is a powerful knife that can cut both ways — everyone, but especially public figures, might be well advised to count to 10, or maybe 100, before clicking “post.”

5 Infographics To Help You Eat Healthy

1. Eat breakfast and eat less all day

from DishinDietian

2. Shop smarter to eat better

from Supermarket News

3. Exercise this much to burn off that meal

from Nerd Graph

4. Forget the apple — eat these 10 nutrients every day

from Healthy Times Blog

5. What about all those diets?

from Greatist

Avoid these common mistakes when buying a home

Home buying can be a frustrating experience, but choosing a competent real estate agent to guide you through the process will likely save you time and money. Here are some tips to avoid costly mistakes.

1. Get pre-approved BEFORE you start your home search. Pre-approval will give you a realistic price point when viewing potential homes and puts you in a better position to make a serious offer.
2. Research the neighborhood. Learn about crime statistics, schools and amenities within your potential town.
3. Look beyond the décor. Focus on the structure itself, square footage and layout. Look beyond the taste of the current homeowner, and remember you are buying the actual house.
4. Never skip the inspection. Your home is likely the biggest investment you will ever make, a home inspection is necessary to ensure it is a sound structure or at the very least, make you aware of any defects.
5. Give yourself an out. Make sure there are contingencies (such as financing or inspection) in the contract so you can back out of the deal and recoup your deposit.
6. Don’t buy the most expensive house on the block. The lower home values around your property will negatively affect your property's value.
7. Keep resale value in mind. It may be difficult to envision selling a home that you have yet to live in, but remember to consider long-term property value, location and overall mass appeal, when viewing a potential home.

Call your local CENTURY 21® Office for knowledgeable sales professionals to guide you through your home buying experience.

Information acquired through C21 e-newletters.

7 Reasons To Love The Google Nexus 7 Tablet

1. Price

At $199 for a 7” tablet with 8GB of storage, the latest version of Android, and a gorgeous high resolution screen, Google’s Nexus 7 leaves the Kindle Fire ($199) and the Nook ($199) in the dust.

2. Size

With recent rumors swirling about Apple’s upcoming foray into the 7” tablet market (the “iPad mini”?), Clearly consumers like this size — at just over half the square inches of Apple’s iPad, the Nexus 7 is far easier to cart around.

3. Feel

Google got it right with this tablet — It’s light — at 12 oz., it weighs a little more than half the iPad 3 and it’s “grippy” — the back is covered in a friendly rubberized plastic.

4. Speed

Powered by an impressive 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM , the Nexus posted impressive speed test results, going frame-for-frame-per second in graphics performance with the iPad 3 and beating the iPad in web browser speed and multi-threaded process testing.

5. Performance

The very first tablet to ship with the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean, the Nexus 7 offers significantly improved responsiveness compared to earlier Android versions.

6. User Experience

In addition to streamlining performance, Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android, comes with a more robust notification design — a feature that has been the bane of many tablet makers (and users) and an improved interface, including auto-sizing of icons to fit available space.

7. Display

One word: gorgeous. Other than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (which is nearly three times the price of the Nexus 7 at $565 with16GB on Amazon), this is by far the best display available on a 7” tablet — a 1280x800 IPS touchscreen with a pixel density of 216ppi. The iPad 3 with Retina display offers 264 ppi, while the iPad 2 displays at merely 132 ppi.

 

There have been recent reports that the Google Nexus 7 is out of stock — but a quick look on the Google Play site this morning has Google showing that the 8GB tablets are “in stock,” although the 16GB version ($249) says it “ships soon.”