Apr 09

In the south of California, there is a territorial division of the country, a county known as the orange county. Santa Ana is the county seat of the orange county. On the basis of population, it ranks as the 2nd most populated county of California, running a little behind the Los Angeles County and on the basis of area, Orange County is the smallest county in the Southern California.

The orange county was initially called “the valley of Saint Anne” and was first inhabited by few groups of Native Americans. After some eventful decades, the California legislature decided to divide the Los Angeles County and form the orange county. Orange County was made as definite political entity. It is named as orange- the citrus fruit because it is considered as the most famous product of the area. On economical fundaments, the orange county makes the money transactions mainly by three ways namely tourism and business.

Tourism is the most prominent aspect of the economy of the orange county. The city of Anaheim in Orange County plays a vital role in boosting the tourism industry and is considered as the major tourist hub. Anaheim is the home of the world famous Disneyland resort and the Anaheim convention centre. As the county is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the south, the availability of beaches lead to the beach resorts which are the source of income due to the consistent incoming of tourists from all around the world. The beach cities also provide treats like golf, shopping, dining, biking paths and also hiking trails in mountains, thus boosting the adventure in the visits of tourists. Also, there are many shopping malls in Orange County. On a more commercial note, there are a number of companies established in the orange county such as fortune 500 companies, fortune 1000 companies and a large number of regional headquarters which are used for making business deals on an international scale.

Orange County is also known for its interest in literature, religion and the arts. There are a number of tourist destinations in the orange county which highlight the taste of arts of the county. Some instances are the tourist spots like Disneyland, Little Saigon, Ronald reagon federal and the Cart house in the Santa Ana are other prominent structures. On a religious pathway, Orange County is a home to many famous centers of religious worshiping. Some are the Crystal Cathedral, the Calvary Chapel, the Saddleback Church et cetera. There are a few Islamic societies, Buddhist monasteries also.

A number of novels, films and television shows have been set up in the Orange County. Novels like California girl and all the bells on earth are set in this county. The Orange County is also known for its indulgence in the field of sports. A number of sports are enjoyed in the county namely surfing, skate boarding, cycling, and hiking. Sailing and playing sand volley ball.

Orange County is also a host to a number of prominent teams of different sports. The Los Angeles angel of Anaheim is the major league baseball team who emerged out as the winner of the World Series in the year 2002. The county’s hockey team, titled the Anaheim Ducks were the winner of the Stanley Cup 2007.

Thus, Orange County proves to be a true attraction for tourists from all around the world.

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Mar 27

Roller Derby was never really a big deal in the US, but has been around forever and was a staple of the early days of television. It was similar in its promotional format to its better known “sports entertainment” cousin, professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad timeslots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the same loose confederation of promoters and businessmen that characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. That’s where the similarity to wrestling ends–it’s storylines made pro wrestling angles look like high drama. While there is a definite history to the sport–great teams like the LA T-Birds and Bay Bombers, and legendary skaters like Ann Calvello it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.

New era roller derby reached a national audience through the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While the show was oddly engaging, it was the first clue that many had that such a league existed in the first place. A sport that was never taken seriously to begin with and that was really living on borrowed time since the’60’s before fading into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed some of the nomenclature and competitive format–in lieu of regularly scheduled games they renamed the competitions “bouts” a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock “do it yourself” mentality.

Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they’re having a good time. Between teams there’s a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie.

This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a result of young women taking what essentially was TV time filler and made it into their own distaff ‘action sport’. The roller derby circa 2009 is a matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the money, as these local groups are typically run as non-profit organization. The women involved have recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete in it on their own terms.

The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports’ pioneers much in the same way that skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony Alva. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello–regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby–is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup.

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