Celine Dion miscarries

By The Canadian Press MONTREAL - Celine Dion has lost her baby.

A spokeswoman for the pop star has confirmed that Dion's pregnancy - which she announced in August - has failed.

The couple had its first child with the help of fertility treatments, she became pregnant again with the help of the same technology, and the couple has kept trying despite the latest setback.

Dion tried fertility treatment last month, but that didn't work, and she will make another attempt at getting pregnant this weekend in New York.

Dion's husband Rene Angelil has told a newspaper that he and Dion are disappointed but determined, and that they take comfort in the fact they already have one child.

Dion, 41, and Angelil 67, have an eight-year-old son Rene-Charles.

Source: Yahoo News

My deepest condolences to Celine and her family.

A Day of Remembrance

"For the Fallen" ~Laurence Binyon

Martina Hingis Belgium Gucci Masters

Martina Hingis aux Ecuries d'Ecaussinnes
by revedor

Source: http://kawai-hingis.skyrock.com

If Martina keeps going and turns professional I may have to start watching horse competitions.

Who would have thunk it.

DWTS 9: Week 8 Ballroom & Latin Rounds

And then there were 5.

Hard to believe we're nearing the semi-finals already. This season the weeks seem to have flown by at break-neck speed!.

With the competition winding down, and 2 dances each the pressure was on big time.

Ballroom Round

Mya & Dmitry got the night started with a Quick step that the judges thought was perfection. It certainly looked good to me!.

Giving them a near perfect score of 29/30. And putting Mya back on the top of the leader board.

This may be a tad presumptuous of me, but I think she's headed for the finals (in fact I'll be shocked if she doesn't make it).

Aaron & Karina were next on the floor with the Foxtrot. Carrie Ann and Bruno thought it wasn't fluid/smooth enough. Len opted for some encouragement instead.

They got a 23/30 for their efforts (so a real drop from the high of last week)

I have to give huge credit to Karina for continuing to dance (instead of pawning Aaron on to someone else) despite fighting the flu that has been circulating around.

DWTS has become a petri dish of germs.

Germs that are getting to them all one by one. I think it's a real good thing we're nearing the end, so all these guys can go home and get some proper rest and nourishment.

Derek & Joanna's Quick step failed to impress the judges (and me).

It was her weakest performance (her first weak performance really), but thankfully she made up for it in the Latin Round.

Their scores were the same as Aaron's and Karina's.

Kelly & Louis danced the Foxtrot.

Kelly has finally learned to relax and enjoy the experience rather then stress out over perfecting the steps. It's nice to see her looking comfortable out there. It's really helped her dancing in the last couple of weeks.

Their score was one point higher then last week 25/30.

Donny & Kym ended the Ballroom Round with an elegant Viennese Waltz. Carrie Ann and Bruno really liked it (and thought his posture has really improved). I agree.

Len thought the whole thing was too arty farty (whatever that means *lol*). End result?. 26/30. Not bad.

Latin Round

Ok, can I just say the decade theme latin dances is exactly the reason I love this style of dance, and why I continue to watch this show. Absolute fun!. I hope they bring it back next year.

Mya & Dmitry's 70's Samba (complete with 70's wardrobe) made the judges jump for joy. Earning them the first perfect 30 of the season.

I agree with Carrie Ann after this dance Mya has finally proven she actually wants to win this whole thing. Well done!.

Aaron & Karina's 90's Samba allowed him to put all his extra energy to good use. And got him a better score of 27/30 in the process.

Though I really could have done without the "throw up" comment thank you very much.

We know you're sick Aaron no need to over share as Tom Bergeron so aptly put it.

Derek & Joanna redeemed themselves with a futuristic Paso Doble that was literally out of this world (in a good way).

Definitely one of the most unique pieces of choreography I've seen Derek do in all 9 years of the show.

To paraphrase Len and Bruno it was genius. Pure genius. Bravo Mr. Hough!.

Kelly & Louis' 60's Jive was right up their alley. As soon as I saw the doll prop I expected Len to have a conniption fit, but Carrie Ann beat him to it instead.

Well, ok it wasn't quite that bad she just thought the prop was part of the dance for bit longer then necessary.

I'm actually inclined to agree with her, it seemed to detract from the routine. Their scores were fairly good 26/30.

Donny & Kym finished off the evening with one of my favourite dacades the 80's. An 80's Paso Doble to be precise.

The futuristic Paso was unique, this one was creepy verging on scary *lol*. And yet there was still something weirdly enjoyable about it *lol*.

The costumes were spot on. The scores weren't impressive however 24/30.

Landed them on the bottom along with Aaron & Karina and Joanna & Derek.

I'm not going to predict who goes this week, because I like them all too much to choose. Whoever does get the boot I'll be sad to see them go.

Kim Clijsters slams 'harsh' bans for fellow Belgians

BRUSSELS — Belgian star Kim Clijsters on Saturday slammed the "extremely harsh" sanctions imposed on compatriots Xavier Malisse and Yanina Wickmayer for missing drug tests.

US Open semi-finalist Wickmayer and Malisse were on Thursday handed one-year bans by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) for falling foul of doping regulations.

Wickmayer, the world number 18, was suspended for failing to fulfill the controversial "whereabouts rule" while Malisse was also punished for missing a drug test.

"To receive a one-year ban because of this seems extremely harsh and is potentially career-ending for both of them," US Open champion Clijsters said on her Twitter message system.

"While they may not have followed correct administration, they did not register a positive doping offence either.

"I feel I have to write about this. Its very, very unfortunate what's happened to Yanina and Xavier this week."

"I hope the authorities and athletes can work together on finding better solutions to keep our sports clean."

Both players can appeal against their suspensions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Wickmayer was accused of failing on three occasions to fulfill the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System), under which athletes are obliged to tell national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour each day for a three-month period.

Malisse was punished for missing a dope test and for twice failing to fulfill the ADAMS.

The sanctions came as a surprise as only last month it was expected that the two players would escape with just a reprimand.

The suspensions on Malisse and Wickmayer run until November 4, 2010.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Saturday that it backed the decision taken by the Belgian authorities.

"The ITF recognises and respects the decision of VDT, and shall take all steps necessary to enforce and give effect to it," said a statement.

Source: AFP

I'm with Kim on this one there's gotta be a better way for the players and ITF to work together on the drug issue.

The year long punishments are getting ridiculous (especially for something like missing the drug tests, I've never been a fan of the "whereabouts rule" ). Not to mention career killing.

Look at what happened to Martina Hingis, she would have played for at least a few more years had it not been for the ban.

I'm all for keeping the sport clean, but there's gotta be a better method.

Be a grump, it's good for you!

In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you.

An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.

In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.



While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.

'Eeyore days'

The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies".

He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.

Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.

Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.

Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."

The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style".

His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us - wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Very insightful. Take that cheerful people! :P :D.

Song of the Moment: Hanson-Waiting For This

This song just makes me wanna get up and dance.

Can't wait for their new album!. Still a long way to go.