eVirgin Blog


Beijing Paralympics on YouTube
The 2008 Paralympic Summer Games officially opened in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium yesterday, where over the next 11 days, 4000 athletes from 150 countries will compete in 20 sports for 472 gold medals. Be sure to check out Paralympic Sport TV's YouTube channel over the next two weeks for event footage, profiles, interviews and more.

A few athletes to watch for: world No. 1 wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer from the Netherlands, Canada's Chantal Petitclerc, German swimmer Kristen Bruhn and South African sprinter Oscar Pistorious, aka "The Blade Runner." Pistorious's recent attempt to qualify for the South African Olympic team electrified the sports world, but he'll be challenged by a highly-competitive field of sprinters. Here's a recent profile of Oscar:



Some interesting facts about the XIII Paralympic Games:

> The host country of China is looking to surpass the 63 gold medals they won in Athens in 2004. In preparation for the Games, the Beijing city government made subway stations wheelchair accessible and added 2000 wheelchair-accessible buses and taxis.

> Sixteen of the 213 athletes on the U.S. delegation are military veterans, including swimmer Melissa Stockwell, an Army veteran of the Iraq War, and discus and shot put thrower Scott Winkler, an Army veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan.

> Wheelchair rugby -- or "murderball" as it's known to most fans -- has its own welding shop in the Olympic Village to repair dents and busted chairs resulting from high-speed collisions.

In addition to watching all the action, you can upload your own Paralympic moment to YouTube and add it to Paralympic Sport TV's YouTube group.

Enjoy!
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports

Metallica's Favorite YouTube Shredders
Heavy metal rockers Metallica have inspired countless musicians on YouTube – think extreme guitar soloists, pounding drummers, violin trios, hard-edged vocalists and even animated kerrang-ing Lego musicians. Turns out the band itself has noted this phenomenon. Here's drummer Lars Ulrich revealing his favorite Metallica-inspired videos and wondering if some of these talented musicians might even out-play his own group:



The videos the band chose include an eight-year-old guitar phenom from Sweden, a Spanish violin trio performing "Nothing Else Matters," teenagers banging out "Master of Puppets" in their bedroom, and Canadian "Shred the Web" winner (and uber-fan) Francisco Meza. Lars shares the whole playlist on the MetallicaTV channel and today we are featuring them on YouTube's home page. Also featured is the new Metallica video, "The Day That Never Comes," an epic guitar-solo journey through the desert during wartime.



Happy Headbanging,
Michele K-Tel
YouTube Music

Hope on the Horizon
Over ten million people are currently living with cancer and millions more have been touched by the disease in a profound way. Dozens of these people are using YouTube to share their stories and to demand that funding for cancer research increase so that doctors can finally find a cure.

Stand Up To Cancer, a nonprofit organization who is leading the charge to raise funds for research, is shining the spotlight on these users by serving as today's homepage guest editor:



The videos Stand Up To Cancer has selected are a touching medley of narratives from those living with cancer, celebrities using humor to draw attention to this serious subject, nonprofits working hard to raise awareness, and individuals showing their support for a cure in creative ways.

In recent years, sizable breakthroughs in cancer research have created the opportunity to stop cancer in its tracks. However, for the first time in over three decades, federal funding for this research is decreasing. You can voice your support for increased federal funding or make a donation to support the next generation of cancer research by visiting http://www.standup2cancer.org.

Standing up,
Ramya R.
YouTube Nonprofits & Activism

A Proud GOP, Broadcast on YouTube
The Grand Old Party is having a big week as thousands of delegates, party leaders, celebrities, and honored guests are broadcasting themselves from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. At upload booths stationed in the Xcel Energy Center, and on a mobile camera roving through the convention hall, the party faithful are taking the opportunity to tell the world why Senator John McCain should be the next President of the United States.

Among those to upload from the Convention were Jon Voight, Tom Delay, and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Even former Virginia Senator George Allen, whose "macaca moment" arguably kick-started the era of politics on YouTube, stopped to say hello to the YouTube community. In addition, the GOP Convention staff has been studiously uploading all speeches to their YouTube Channel, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and videos from events around the Convention center.

Of course, the most anticipated speech of the week came from VP choice Sarah Palin, who addressed the crowd Wednesday night:



YouTube has been abuzz with Palin chatter and her selection has solicited viewpoints from all over the spectrum.

Stay tuned for the biggest speech of them all tonight, as the Senator himself takes center stage in St. Paul to accept the nomination. If you don't catch it live on TV, you know where you can find it.

Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics

Following Hurricane Gustav on YouTube
The country watched as Hurricane Gustav swept through the Caribbean and into the Gulf this weekend, making landfall in Louisiana on Monday. Memories of Hurricane Katrina, the powerful storm that devastated New Orleans exactly three years ago, remain fresh in the minds of area residents. To ensure that no one relived that experience, Louisiana leaders ordered a mandatory evacuation on Saturday that has pushed more than two million people to leave their homes and seek safer lodgings.

Those living in areas affected by Gustav have been uploading videos documenting the storm from their vantage points -- whether it be from inside their homes, braving the elements in their backyards, or even surveying empty streets while riding on a bike.

Check out this playlist of Hurricane Gustav videos:



Though thankfully Gustav's impact turned out to be less destructive than initially feared, many members of the YouTube community stood by with prayers and messages of support, including attendees of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.


Yours,
Olivia
YouTube News & Politics