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This weekend was the third (of six) event in the 2013-2014 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating international competition: the Lexus Cup of China 2013. It was held at the Beijing Capital Gymnasium in Beijing China. I have already discussed the Season 2013-2014 Figure Skating Costumes of Skate America HERE and HERE, and Skate Canada HERE and HERE...so now, it's time for the Cup of China 2013. First up, it's the Ladies and Pairs...





The Ladies:


Hanako and a Watermelon: Japanese figure skater mugs to the photographers with a stuffed watermelon--not sure why someone even threw her a stuffed watermelon and why would she then pick it up and take pics with it but oh well...let's discuss the Costumes:




Kanako Murakami Japan, Short Program: Kanako skated her Short Program to "Catgroove," "Libella Swing" and "Swing Bop" and I really liked her costume. It was a lilac colored costume with bubblegum pink front, back and neckline panels, skin-colored illusion neck and sleeves, crystals throughout (naturally!) and a fringed "overskirt". I thought it was fun, colorful , yet still very well done. The fringe, especially, was very effective when it came time for her turns and jumps.




Free Skate:  For her FS to "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" from Yentl by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, Kanako wore a silver gray costume with blue and black sequined detail. The costume had nothing to do with the "Yentl" film, of course, but really, would you rather have Kanako come out as a Yeshiva Orthodox Jewish boy??? I didn't think so...so this was good enough!





Haruka Imai Japan, Short Program: Haruka skated her Short Program at Cup of China 2013 to "Song Without Words" by Felix Mendelssohn. This ombre dyed lilac costume had heavily appliqued silver crystal neckline and a handkerchief-hemmed skirt. I thought it was quite beautiful. Good job.




Free Skate: For her FS to Piano concerto by Saint-Preux, she wore this costume above. It was a one-shoulder-like costume consisting of nude illusion top, sequined applique torso detail and a "petal"-like multi-layered skirt. The top section was fine (although I'd like the illusion sleeves to be tighter), but it was the skirt that bothered me the most. It looked more "Wilma Flintstone" and less a Figure Skating Diva.




Anna Pogorilaya Russia, Free Skate: For her Free Skate to "Mermaids" from the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, this was THE MOST PERFECT Costume! I loved all the water/oceanic references--from the various shades of blue to the seashell bust detail; it was gorgeous and very right for the program.




Carolina Kostner Italy, Short Program: Carolina skated her SP to Humoresque by Antonin Dvorak in the red costume above. It had a skin-colored illusion neckline and sleeves, a red top and skirt section, sequined waistband and butterfly appliques on the shoulder/upper sleeve. I would have to say that I was 50/50 in terms of liking this. While I liked the butterfly appliques,  the gathered/blouson silhouette of the top section was odd and more odd was...




The clear strap across her back. Sometimes, you just gotta say YES! to nude illusion...because this looked cheap and "Costume-unfinished".




Free Skate: For Carolina's FS to "Scheherazade" by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov, she wore this costume above. Supposedly, Carolina "designs" all her costumes. I'm thinking she might want to actually seek professional advice for this Olympic season. This costume--at first--made me think of something one wears for a Russian Folk Dance, and then when I realized it was Scheherazade, I was like "Oh Dear!"; it was a bit of a mess to be honest. The fuchsia stretch velvet top with gold and crystal detail was semi-OK, but the multilayered jaggedy skirt looked like something a belly dancer had chopped off after realizing she had to perform at a cheesy Vegas Show.



Pairs:




Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim USA, Short Program: This above is what this American pair wore for their SP to "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" by Michel Legrand (yes, another "Yentl" skate!). I liked these gray/black with silver crystal looks and especially his. While she was classic and pretty, his was directional and modern.




Free Skate: For their FS to Music from the Ever After soundtrack by George Fenton, they wore these costumes. She wore a wine-colored costume with a "corset" like gold and silver applique detailed midriff, chiffon shoulder panels, and double-layered chiffon skirt. His costume consisted of a white shirt, wine-colored "vest" and black pants. These costumes were good especially when you remember that "Ever After" is about Cinderella; these two belonged together. Both their Short and Free Skate costumes were designed by Elena Pollack.




Qing Pang and Jian Tong China, Short Program: Chinese pairs team Pang and Tong skated their Short Program to Music from the soundtrack of The Lady Caliph by Ennio Morricone. They both wore black with silver sequined and crystal detail costumes. These were very nice, elegant and quite classic.Nothing wrong with these.




Free Skate: For their FS, they skated to "I Dreamed a Dream" from the Les Misérables soundtrack by Claude-Michel Schönberg, which was very popular music choice with lots of the skaters this season (both Pairs and Ice Dance). I wonder if only after the film came out, did all these skaters become aware of this iconic music? Who knows. But back to the costumes...I thought hers, especially, was sublime! I loved the heavily jeweled silver crystal detail of her top section; it looked very expensive and well made.




Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay USA, Free Skate: Speaking of Les Miserables...Zhang and Bartholomay of the US also skated their Free Skate to Music from Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schonberg. I liked the French flag colors that were incorporated into their costumes and his peasant shirt, waist scarf and pant look, I thought hers could have been a lot better and more creative.




Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang China, Short Program: This Chinese Pair of Peng and Zhang teamed up last year--Zhang is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist with former partner Dan Zhang. For their Short Program to Music from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack by Tan Dun, these colorful costumes were quite fabulous. I especially love--how (in this photo), the line of the blue color of the costumes--just continues, from him to her. The crystal/sequin work was exquisite as well.






Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy Germany, Short Program: For their Short Program to "When Winter Comes" by Chris de Burgh, arranged by André Rieu, this German Pair wore these costumes above. I liked the degrade color and sequin effect of the blue and white of the costumes. I liked hers but actually had a bit of a problem with his--in particular, his pants: the fit was odd--all that pulling and "whiskers" radiating from the center front crotch means the pants are too tight at the crotch/rise--and at the same time, they seemed to be too loose.




Free Skate: For their Free Skate, they skated to Music from The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky. I have to tell you that after watching their performance/skate, all I kept thinking was that if--and when--they get this skate PERFECT, it will be SPECTACULAR Olympic Gold! Now, in terms of their costumes, they would qualify as "Bronze" for me. I liked hers; she was very "Sugar Plum Fairy" but once again, I had a problem with his; it just looked cheesy and cheap. He was a low-rent "Nutcracker Prince". With all this being said, I do miss the CRAY CRAY costumes of last season from this German Pairs team:












**UP NEXT: The Men and ICE DANCE Costumes Recap of Lexus Cup of China 2013

Miss Venezuela Gabriela Isler: Gabriela wore a bright lipstick red jersey gown with long sleeves and metallic waist "clip" accent. This was one of my favorite looks on the red carpet (it looks as if there was no red carpet but in fact, it was just a marble-like FLOOR!). She looked sleek, elegant, modern. I also liked her hair and makeup--both much better than in the Miss Universe website's Evening Gown Portrait.




Miss France Hinarani de Longeaux: Hinarani wore a pink applique embroidered gown with silver sequins delicately strewn throughout. This dress was a bit "old school" but it fit Hinarani beautifully and she accessorized it just right--only earrings and the silver clutch. I also liked her pulled-back hairstyle showing off that amazing face of hers!




Miss Korea Kim Yu-mi: I also loved this black jersey and nude illusion gown with one-sleeve detail. The dress featured black jeweled crystals on that nude illusion. The dress itself was VERY "Figure Skating Costume" but in a good way; I liked that she "went there" and it was directional yet still, had "modern pageant appeal".




Miss Indonesia Whulandary Herman: Elegant, decadent, expensive, beautiful. Those words describe Whularandary's choice of ensemble for the Miss Universe 2013 National Gift Auction. She looks like the "Crown Princess of Bali"--if there even was one! Her hair and makeup: flawless and perfect for the high neckline of the top. Someone has taught this girl well.




Miss India Manasi Mogue: A Sari is (at least in my eyes) one of the most elegant garments in the world. And Manasi wore a fabulous one to the National Gift Auction Wednesday night. The gold brocade/jacquard is exquisite, love the bubblegum pink color, and the juxtaposition of the off-white color. Oh and yes, I love her clutch and earrings. This look is 100% OUTSTANDING!




Miss Switzerland Dominique Rinderknecht:  I cannot hold back my sentiments that Dominique is one of my favorite contestants for this year's Miss Universe 2013 crown; love her modern hair, fresh look and beautiful face. In terms of Wednesday night's National Gift Auction, her choice of gown was very good.  She wore a mint green bias-cut charmeuse satin gown with sequined shoulder accents. I loved how she mixed her edgy/modern look with a semi-pageant-y gown...it worked for me.





Miss Ecuador Constanza Baez: Constanza wore a black lace gown with nude colored lining. I thought she looked great, therefore, she is in my "Good" bunch. The dress fit her nicely and her hair style was clean, modern, fresh. I would only suggest to tone down the lipstick color and the purple nails.




Miss Namibia Paulina Malulu: Paulina looks amazing in red. I would advise Paulina that RED is her color. For sure! I am not normally a fan of wearing so much in terms of accessories: the statement-making necklace, chandelier earrings AND a brooch! But because the gown was so simple--in terms of its styling--it worked. Her side-swept updo hairstyle also worked.



Most Improved From The Evening Gown Portraits...


Miss Ethiopia Mhadere Tigabe: Mhadere wore a very "Pageant Betty" gown for her "Evening Gown Portrait" and I wasn't happy. But here, she is much improved in this gold sequin and ivory chiffon gown. I'm happy that the length is just right!




Miss Poland Paulina Krupinska: Paulina looked AMAZING at the Tony Ward Couture fashion show--the BEST Runway Walk of ALL of them! But she disappointed me with her "Evening Gown Portrait" Pic. But here, she's back in my "Good" bunch with what she wore and how she looked at the National Gift Auction. I absolutely LOVE her center-parted chignon hairstyle and her ivory applique and feathered sleeve gown is Palm Springs 1974 Fab! She so reminds me of a former "Miss Universe"...







The "Uh Oh" Red Carpet Bunch:


Miss Belgium Noemie Happart: File under "Real Housewives of Orange County". This bright printed halter dress is tacky-licious--and so was the hairstyle. The taste level of all of this was so not good.




Miss Chile Maria Jesus Metthei: Maria Jesus is one the tallest contestants (almost 6 feet tall) and a professional model. So, you would think that she would know what to wear on the red carpet. Not so mucheey. The photo on the left has her in a black fur-like cropped coat with three-quarter sleeves, red leather gloves and a white lace mini dress. Why? I have no idea; she looks like the mistress of a Russian arms dealer who cannot afford a stylist. In the right photo, she (thank God!) took the fur coat and gloves off. And yes, she looks much better. I approve of the look on the right but DEFINITELY not the one on the left.





Miss Panama Carolina Brid: Oh Carolina. I love me a turban. Especially when the FABULOUS Sheikha of Qatar wears it (as seen in the above photo with Queen Sofia of Spain). But this silver lame ensemble--and turban--is too "Aladdin" for me. And seriously, it was necessary to wear those earrings AND that dangling bracelet? #MuyMuch.




Miss Romania Roxana Andrei: What. In. The. World. Is Going. On? Roxana!! Don't do this. Please? This peach and multi-printed bustier dress looks as if a sophomore fashion college student designed it. No.




Miss Slovak Republic Jeanette Borhyova: Oh Jeanette! This one-shoulder black Lycra dress is so "Dancing With The Stars: the Eurovision Edition". It would be fine for that. But not for this red carpet National Gift Auction event. How do you say "Trashy" in Slovak?




Miss Lithuania Simona Burbaite: When I first saw the photos of Simona "Miss Lithuania" on the "red carpet" of Wednesday night's "Miss Universe 2013 National Gift Auction" event, I thought "WOW! She did Good!"...the center-parted chignon hairstyle, the runway-like makeup, the modern black sheath dress. But then, I saw THIS:




THE BACK: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Google+ notifications have a special interface for Halloween. Mr. Jingles looks scary and there's a funny animation that's displayed when you click the Google+ mascot. To see Jingles, you first need to mark as read all the notifications.




Here's the GIF animation, now with infinite loop:

Speaking of iGoogle redirects, there's an easy way to use the non-HTTPS version of Google Search: just go to http://www.google.com/webhp?nord=1 or add "?nord=1" to a Google search URL after "www.google.com/", while replacing "https" with "http". It's obvious that "nord" comes from "no redirect" and the nice thing is that this parameter prevents all redirects, including the one that sends you to the local Google domain if you're not in the US.

Examples:
* from https://www.google.com/#q=test to http://www.google.com/?nord=1#q=test
* from https://www.google.com/search?q=test to http://www.google.com/search?q=test&nord=1


Why would you switch from the encrypted version of Google to the non-encrypted version? I can find a few reasons: maybe you want to use the highlighting feature of the Google Cache, maybe you want to send your query in Google referrals or you want to load search results pages a little bit faster.


"Google quietly made a change aimed at encrypting all search activity — except for clicks on ads. Google says this has been done to provide 'extra protection' for searchers, and the company may be aiming to block NSA spying activity," informs Search Engine Land.

As promised last year, iGoogle will no longer be available after November 1st. That's today. Google kept its promise and iGoogle now redirects to the Google homepage: http://www.google.com/webhp?nord=1.


iGoogle's original name was Google Personalized Homepage, back in 2005 when the service was launched. It was an extension of the Google homepage that allowed you to add gadgets, feeds and themes. The Google dashboard was a great way to keep up with the things that matter to you: news, weather, mail, calendar, bookmarks, to-do lists and more. These use cases are better served by mobile apps and browser extensions. In many ways, they replace iGoogle gadgets.

iGoogle in 2007:


iGoogle in 2012:


The last day of iGoogle:


The truth is that very few iGoogle gadgets were updated by their developers and many gadgets were broken or didn't work well. Google didn't create iGoogle gadgets for new services like Google+ or Google Keep. iGoogle tried to stay relevant by adding features like social gadgets and canvas view, but they were tied to projects like OpenSocial or Google Reader (discontinued).

Google Now is probably Google's replacement for iGoogle. While Google is the only one that can create cards, a Google Now API could change that. Google Now shows information that's likely to be relevant when you need it using various sources like: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google News, Web History, location services. Google also shows gadget-like cards for searches related to calculations, unit conversions, weather, your mail and much more.

If you still want to use a service like iGoogle, I recommend 2 personalized homepages: Netvibes and My Yahoo. They have fewer gadgets than iGoogle, but they're pretty good. My Yahoo even imports your iGoogle settings (the iGoogle settings page is still available).

Google's Knowledge Graph cards for searches like [zombie], [mummy], [skeleton], [witch], [vampire] or [ghost] include some Easter Eggs. For ghosts, Google informs users that the food source is "air, your fear, being remembered", you can avoid them by "burning sage; not building a pool on burial grounds; staying away from haunted places" and you can defeat them by "calling Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz" from Ghostbusters.


You can avoid skeletons by "staying away from catacombs and science classrooms" and skeletons have the following subgrouping "dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones".


To avoid zombies, "don't join a dance troupe led by a man in a red leather suit; stay out of graveyards".


Mummies use "the power of love (and curses)". Google's advice: "don't raid tombs; never read ancient scrolls" if you want to avoid them.


Vampires have only one food source: "your blood". To avoid them, "don't invite them in, keep garlic on stock, stay away from Transylvania".


Witches are easy to avoid: "don't eat red apples from strangers; hide if you see a flock of flying monkeys".


{ via Search Engine Land }

Android KitKat is the first new major Android release since Jelly Bean 4.1. There are so many changes and new features that it's hard to list all of them. It's a release focused on optimizations, immersive interfaces and support for new hardware. There's also a new device that showcases the new features: Nexus 5.


RAM is always an important issue when it comes to mobile devices, especially if they run Android. High-end phones and tablets now have 2GB or 3GB of RAM, but many low-end devices only have 512MB of RAM and they still need to provide a decent experience. One of the main KitKat goals is to run well on devices with 512 MB of RAM. "Changes across the system improve memory management and reduce memory footprint. Core system processes are trimmed to use less heap, and they now more aggressively protect system memory from apps consuming large amounts of RAM."

Most US carriers block Google Wallet and Google wanted to address this. "Android 4.4 introduces new platform support for secure NFC-based transactions through Host Card Emulation (HCE), for payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes, and other custom services. With HCE, any app on an Android device can emulate an NFC smart card, letting users tap to initiate transactions with an app of their choice - no provisioned secure element (SE) in the device is needed." If this works properly, Google Wallet's adoption problems could be solved.

Android 4.4 introduces native support for printing. "Android apps can now print any type of content over Wi-Fi or cloud-hosted services such as Google Cloud Print. In print-enabled apps, users can discover available printers, change paper sizes, choose specific pages to print, and print almost any kind of document, image, or file."

There's also an API that does for file pickers what the sharing buttons do for sending data. When you want to select a file to open it in your favorite app, Android 4.4 can show an interface that lets you pick a file from both local sources and cloud storage services. "A new storage access framework makes it simple for users to browse and open documents, images, and other files across all of their their preferred document storage providers. A standard, easy-to-use UI lets users browse files and access recents in a consistent way across apps and providers."


Android KitKat focuses a lot on improving battery life. "With sensor batching, Android works with the device hardware to collect and deliver sensor events efficiently in batches, rather than individually as they are detected. This lets the device's application processor remain in a low-power idle state until batches are delivered." You can also listen to more music. "Audio tunneling can dramatically improve battery life for use-cases such as listening to music over a headset with the screen off. For example, with audio tunneling, Nexus 5 offers a total off-network audio playback time of up to 60 hours, an increase of over 50% over non-tunneled audio."

There's a completely new phone app that shows the people you call often. "You can also search for nearby places and businesses, your contacts, or people in your Google Apps domain. Whenever you get a call from a phone number not in your contacts, your phone will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps."


The features of the Messages app have been added to the Hangouts app, which now allows you to send SMS and MMS, while also displaying the messages you receive. The main goal of Hangouts was to provide a unified communication service and it's almost there. Google Voice integration will probably have to wait until next year.


Immersive mode, fullscreen apps. You can call them however you like. For those who found Chrome's fullscreen mode useful, they're in for a treat: there's an upgraded version in Android KitKat. "The book you're reading, the game you're playing, or the movie you're watching — now all of these take center stage with the new immersive mode, which automatically hides everything except what you really want to see. Just swipe the edge of the screen to bring back your status bar and navigation buttons."


Android has a new animation framework for transitions, which was inspired by Apple's Keynote app. For an almost-immersive experience, apps can use new window styles to request translucent system bars. Android's icons from the system bars are white, they're no longer blue.


When you're playing music, Android shows full-screen album art on the lockscreen. You can also say "ok Google" to use Google Voice Search directly from the lockscreen. Google Now cards are one swipe away from the homescreen: just swipe to the right.

The Chrome engine powers the embedded WebViews used by apps, there's a screen recording utility and there's native support for DASH (adaptive streaming).

Android 4.4 brings support for IR blasters and two new Bluetooth profiles. "Bluetooth HID over GATT (HOGP) gives apps a low-latency link with low-power peripheral devices such as mice, joysticks, and keyboards. Bluetooth MAP lets your apps exchange messages with a nearby device, for example an automotive terminal for handsfree use or another mobile device." There's also support for composite sensors: step detector and step counter.

The first Android device that runs KitKat is Nexus 5, a 5-inch phone manufactured by LG. It's lighter and thinner than Nexus 4, even though it has a bigger Full HD display. With a powerful SoC (Snapdragon 800), an improved 8MP camera with optical image stabilization, dual-band WiFI a/b/g/n/ac, LTE and a new look and feel inspired by the new Nexus 7, Google's new phone is one of the best devices you can buy. "Nexus 5 is available today, unlocked and without a contract, on Google Play in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea (and coming soon to India), starting at $349," informs Google. You can choose between 4 versions: 16GB/32GB, white/black. The 32GB versions cost $399.


Here's a hands-on video:


Android 4.4 updates for Nexus 4, 7, 10 will be available in the coming weeks. Galaxy Nexus won't get the update because it "falls outside of the 18-month update window when Google and others traditionally update devices."