February 1st, 2010
From the minute she stepped out of her convertible Rolls Royce decked out in a solar-system-inspired gown, Lady Gaga and her three distinct outfit changes grabbed all the attention–even though the singer herself only grabbed two awards for her five nominations.
After dazzling the red-carpet oglers with her otherworldly Armani getup, Gaga opened the awards with a duet with Elton John that was preceded by a shortened arrangement of her seemingly unstoppable hit, “Poker Face.” The performance was unforgettable, but her golden hairdo and pink frock was left behind in favor of high-cut, dazzling emerald leotard with platinum blonde, iron-straight extensions. Add to that sparkling fuschia triangles covering her eyes, it was almost enough to distract from what at best appeared to be a very uncomfortable wardrobe malfunction.
Lady Gaga
After being ceremoniously deposited into a giant cauldron of flames, Gaga reemerged onto the stage sans eye glitter and plus one very effervescent Elton John for a remix of his iconic number, “Your Song.” This time her shining locks had been dulled by smoke and ash and her eye make-up duly smudged.
And though Gaga wouldn’t step another foot onto the stage for the remainder of the evening, that didn’t prevent the sartorially adventurous star to indulge in one final metamorphosis. In typical Gaga fashion, the self-styled artist forwent pants for sheer and shimmering pantyhose topped with a cropped silver jacket and lightening bold headgear.
source: new.music.yahoo.com
tags: fun, information author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
January 17th, 2010
You pride yourself on your open, honest relationship. But that doesn’t mean you should blurt out any thought that comes to mind.
Sometimes, a comment that seems perfectly harmless to you might be hurtful, awkward or just plain irritating to your boyfriend.
1) “My ex did the exact same thing!”
Whether it’s a desirable resemblance (they both always hold the door open) or a less desirable one (neither one showers often enough), your boyfriend never wants to hear that he’s anything like your ex. Ever.
You don’t want him to feel like you’re always comparing the two of them, do you? Think about it: Do you really want him to imagine that he does other things just like your ex? Doubtful. Plus, he might think you’re still hung up on your former flame.
Either way, a comment like this won’t do much for his self-esteem. So the next time you experience boyfriend deja-vu, keep it to yourself.
2) “Helen’s pregnant … Shhhh”
Remember on Sex and the City when Carrie tells Aidan that Miranda’s pregnant but that he can’t tell Steve? Remember how upset Aidan was to hear the incriminating news? Your boyfriend doesn’t want to hear information that could get him into trouble. And even if he does want to hear it, he really shouldn’t.
Don’t burden him with someone else’s secret. And besides, if he does spill the beans, your friend is going to be mad at you, not him.
Along the same lines, he doesn’t want to hear about your friend’s yeast infections, her irregular periods or her IBS. It’s bad enough he has to hear about yours.
3) “When we’re married/have kids…”
It’s natural to fantasize about wedded bliss and the three kids you and your beau will one day spawn — you’re only human. And sometimes you might even entertain this fantasy very early on in a relationship. But unless you want to scare him away permanently, keep thoughts like these in your head where they belong.
Even if he himself has thought about your happily-ever-after future, he probably doesn’t want to hear it described out loud just yet. Wait until you’re sure you’re on the same page regarding marriage, kids, and the future of your relationship before you start prophesizing. A gut feeling probably isn’t good enough.
4) “Do You Think She’s Pretty?”
When you ask a question like this, your boyfriend knows he can’t win.
If he says “yes,” you’ll probably get jealous and upset. You might even follow up with “Is she prettier than me?” Talk about a loaded question!
Of course, if he says “no” (and she clearly is pretty), you’ll accuse him of being a liar. You’ll wonder what else he’s lying about, even as you assure him you don’t mind if he says “yes.” Pfff…as if you’re that insecure!
Has he managed to convince you that he genuinely doesn’t find her attractive at all? You’ll wonder what his bad taste says about you.
See?
5) “I’m fine” or “Never mind”
Your face says it all. So does the fact that you haven’t said a word in the past hour. And the way you snapped over the misplaced remote control isn’t hiding anything either. But when he asks if you’re okay, you say you’re fine. At this point, your boyfriend wants to tear his hair out.
Passive-aggressive behavior doesn’t help anyone. First, you miss an opportunity to actually address what’s bothering you. You also bottle up your frustrations and create new problems. By the time you actually try to tackle what’s really bothering you, you’re both too upset about too many things to have a constructive discussion.
tags: fun author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
January 16th, 2010
Osama bin Laden
The U.S. State Department has updated its 1998 file photo of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, digitally altering it to account for a decade of age and possible changes in his facial hair.
There is a $25 million bounty on bin Laden’s head for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Bin Laden is now 52. And he is believed to be hiding in the lawless Pakistan frontier bordering Afghanistan, though his exact whereabouts have been unknown since late 2001, when he and a small contingent of body guards walked out of the Tora Bora mountains, evading air strikes and U.S. special forces and Afghan militias,
The photos and bounty on bin Laden and 41 others wanted for terrorism are on the State Department’s Web site, http://www.rewardsforjustice.net.
Osama bin Laden
tags: information, news author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
January 15th, 2010
Admit it: You experienced a jolt upon seeing that first billboard for “Edge of Darkness” right after New Year’s.
There was that name — Mel Gibson — and then the man himself, grim-set face and trenchcoated torso coming toward you in an advertisement for a major studio release. The pitch and the persona were familiar, but it still felt odd, like a good friend you had a falling-out with awhile back who suddenly reappears on your Facebook wall. How do you respond?
Warner Bros. is betting that audiences will respond with a cheery “Welcome back!” and solid opening-weekend attendance when “Darkness” opens January 29.
Gibson is returning to the big screen after a seven-year absence — a century in movie-star years — and studio marketing is aimed squarely at his old fan base. In TV and print ads, it’s Gibson alone — purposeful, vengeful, unstoppable — a good guy who will bloody the guilty with the righteous weapons of justice.
But how likely is renewed success for the embattled action star? Other than a brief appearance in September on NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show” to confirm that his Russian girlfriend was pregnant, Gibson’s only public exposure during the past few years has been in the tabloids.
Take away the self-destructive cocktail of Moonshadows, and the anti-Semitic taunts he publicly lobbed in July 2006, and you’re still looking at a 54-year-old actor who hasn’t been onscreen for the better part of a decade. (He most recently appeared in October 2003 in a heavily disguised supporting role when “The Singing Detective” opened.) That would be a challenge for anyone.
Mel Gibson
It’s easy to forget that for 15 years, Gibson had one of the most consistently successful careers of any modern movie star. From 1987-2002, he starred in 10 movies that grossed more than $100 million apiece domestically, putting him in the league of Will, Jim, Julia, Harrison, Eddie and the two Toms. Along the way, his peers gave him best director and best picture Oscars for “Braveheart” — distinctions none of the others has.
When Gibson walked away to focus on his directing career, he sparked controversy and collected hundreds of millions of dollars with his self-financed foreign-language epic “The Passion of the Christ.” Whatever people thought of his beliefs, he was an artistic force to be reckoned with.
But by the end of summer 2006, Gibson suddenly was toxic after that drunken, vocal run-in with sheriffs in Malibu. Despite immediate apologies and the beginning of a self-proclaimed “journey through recovery,” things unraveled. ABC quickly dropped plans for a Gibson-produced Holocaust-themed miniseries; his wife and mother of their seven children separated from him (they divorced last year); and several prominent industry figures, most notably Sony chief Amy Pascal and Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, publicly encouraged an industry boycott.
A few months later, Gibson appeared on a few talk shows to promote his latest super-violent writing-directing effort, “Apocalypto,” which opened that December to middling box office, raking in $51 million domestically.
Despite the disapprobation of certain Hollywood types, the effect of Gibson’s Jew-baiting tirade and other shenanigans on average moviegoers is likely much less significant. Middle America, which helped push “Christ” to a $370 million domestic cume, likely has shrugged off lingering concerns about his bad behavior or the end of his marriage — if they noted it at all. After all, isn’t that what Hollywood celebrities do?
Which means those in the industry who might find Gibson’s beliefs and/or behavior repugnant recognize he likely still can make them money with a loyal, if older, fan base.
One industry player noted that his middle-aged, born-again-Christian mother-in-law saw a TV trailer for “Darkness” and said: “I can’t wait. I love Mel, and all my friends at the church love Mel.”
Still, even with a coterie of committed followers, the real marketing challenge might be more Gibson’s age than his antics.
“He’s got as good a chance to be as successful as any older actor,” one studio producer says. “With the same disadvantages. You look at the Pacinos and Hoffmans and Stallones and Willises — not a lot of them are movie stars right now. But the guy has as good a chance as anyone, if the movie works, to still be a star.”
While Gibson likely has no pressing need to step back in front of the camera, he perhaps recognizes that career longevity requires a campaign to re-humanize himself, to remind audiences of his talent and his familiarity.
Hollywood has obliged. The actor has, according to folks in his camp, been peppered with offers during the past two years: Roles in “The Book of Eli” (Warners), “The A-Team” (Fox), “Jonah Hex” (Warners), “The Low Dweller” (Relativity), “The 28th Amendment” (Warners), “Dan Mintner: Badass for Hire” (New Line), “By Any Means Necessary” (Paramount) and “The Men Who Stare at Goats” (Overture) were thrown in his path.
Among the major studios, Sony remains off the table — for both parties — but Warners, with which Gibson has a long working relationship (think “Lethal Weapon”), seems happy to produce and market a Mel Gibson movie.
Read more…
tags: Entertainment author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
January 15th, 2010
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and televangelist Pat Robertson are being scolded for their comments in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake in Haiti that has killed tens of thousands, according to early estimates.
Critics from both the left and right are denouncing their remarks as insensitive to the disaster and attempts to score political points off human tragedy.
Speaking on his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh said the earthquake has played into Obama’s hands, allowing the president to look “compassionate” and “humanitarian” while at the same time bolstering his standing in both the “light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.”
He added: “We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”
Limbaugh’s comments were, in part, a riff on Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) much publicized remark in a new book that Obama was able to win the election because he is “light-skinned” and lacks a “Negro dialect.”
But regardless of the intended context, Limbaugh’s comments have been widely panned.
“They are deeply insensitive,” said conservative commentator Pat Buchanan on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“The president speaks for the country when he says we’re going to go in there,” he said. “You want your whole nation, and it’s very positive. And I think Rush’s comments were cynical.”
Sitting next to Buchanan on set, host Joe Scarborough called Limbaugh’s comments “deplorable.”
“The insensitivity is stunning,” said the former Republican congressman.
Liberal commentators also quickly jumped on Limbaugh.
Rush Limbaugh
“Limbaugh did not know when to just shut up,” said liberal commentator Keith Olbermann on his MSNBC show “Countdown.” “Today he blamed communism for the poverty of Haiti, blamed President Obama for holding a news conference the day after this cataclysm when he did not hold one after the failed half-assed terror attempt in Detroit.”
John Amato from the left-leaning website Crooks and Liars added that “with thousands of people dead already and as the suffering continues in Haiti, Limbaugh and his ilk only care about one thing: destroying Obama.”
The conservative media watchdog site Newsbusters stepped up to defend Limbaugh, saying his comments were not put in proper context, but very few others are backing the conservative firebrand’s latest controversial remarks.
While Limbaugh received a modicum of support, nobody of note has stepped up to defend Robertson’s claim that Haiti got hit by an earthquake because it is “cursed.”
Speaking about the disaster during his program “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Robertson said that when Haiti was still a French colony its leaders “swore a pact to the devil” to get out from “under the heel of the French.”
“They said, ‘we will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal,’” Robertson claimed, as was recorded and sent around by the liberal group Media Matters.
“But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other,” he continued. “That island of Hispaniola is one island. It is cut down the middle on the one side is Haiti the other is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty.”
Robertson, who has a long history of making controversial remarks on his program, urged his followers to pray for the residents of Haiti and said that “out of this tragedy I’m optimistic something good may come.”
Speaking on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Thursday morning she was left “speechless” by Robertson’s remarks.
“That’s not the attitude that expresses the spirit of the president or the American people, so I thought it was a pretty stunning comment to make,” she said.
A statement from Robertson’s spokesman Chris Roslan tried to downplay the “cursed” remark.
“Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath,” the statement read. “If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them. His humanitarian arm has been working to help thousands of people in Haiti over the last year, and they are currently launching a major relief and recovery effort to help the victims of this disaster.”
via news.yahoo.com
tags: news author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
December 15th, 2009
It’s better to give than to receive, but shoppers counting on post-holiday bargains to buy for themselves may instead want to pick up a few things in the coming days.
Sales aren’t always the best on Dec. 26, says Dan de Grandpre, the chief executive of sale-tracking site DealNews.com. “At that point, they’re fishing for suckers,” he says. The real deals come a day or two later, as retailers assess foot traffic, gauge how items are (or aren’t) selling, and respond to competitors.
Preholiday prices have fluctuated wildly, with some online retailers going so far as to change them several times a day, says Robin Landy, the founder of InvisibleHand, a browser tool that offers real-time price comparisons. Over the course of a week, he spotted the Altec Lansing T612 Digital Speaker iPod and iPhone dock for as little as $90 and as much as $148 — at the same store. Prices on popular Xbox game titles swung within a 32 percent range. “Timing is everything,” says Landy. “If you see something that’s a fantastic deal, jump on it. It may be cheaper after the holidays, but there’s no guarantee.”
Worst-case scenario: Buy now and hang onto your receipt. A retailer may offer a price-adjustment to match a competitor’s price or its own sale if an item gets cheaper within two weeks of your initial purchase. All you need is your receipt and proof of the lower price.
Consider early deals on these three popular holiday items:
Game consoles
Consoles are gaining traction as a holiday gift this year, especially the Sony PlayStation 3, says Yung Trang, the general manager for electronics sale-tracking site TechBargains.com. The console’s built-in Blu-ray player and Netflix streaming capabilities provide value for gamers who might otherwise pay an extra $200 or more to purchase that technology in separate gadgets. “Effectively, they’re giving you a huge discount,” he says. Preholiday, you’ll find more package offers for consoles and games (and in the PS3’s case, Blu-ray titles).
* At Amazon, buy a 250GB PS3 and get one free game (choice of seven titles) and two free Blu-ray titles (choice of 13). Offer good through Dec. 17.
* Best Buy offers a $40 discount when you buy a $300 Xbox 360 Elite holiday bundle (console, “LEGO Batman” and “Pure”) and a $50 Xbox Live 12-month subscription card.
Video Games
Though there can be deals, watch out as retailers try to pitch popular titles as stocking stuffers. “Once people have their consoles for Christmas, stores know they’re going to want games,” says de Grandpre.
* Wal-Mart has an online-only sale of two-for-$30 game bundles for every system. Wii users can choose from 31 game options for the bundle, including “LEGO Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels.”
* During Amazon’s 18 Days, 18 Deals sale, save on different games each day through Dec. 18. On Friday, deals included “Call of Duty: World at War” for PS3 priced at $30 instead of $60.
Blu-ray discs
Blu-ray players have become a hotter gift item as consumers switch to high-definition TV sets, says Trang. “You really need one to make the most of your TV,” he says. Like videogames, stores are more apt to drop prices before the holidays to target would-be givers rather than recipients.
* Buy.com has dropped prices on select HBO DVDs and Blu-rays. Pay $53 for “John Adams” instead of $80. You’ll save 34 percent.
* At Amazon, save up to 60 percent on Blu-ray discs, including select new releases. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is $15 instead of $36, saving you 58 percent.
* Barnes & Noble offers select Blu-ray and DVD titles for up to 50 percent off. For example, “Enchanted” is $24.50 instead of $35, a savings of 30 percent.
source: shopping.yahoo.com
tags: information author: Robby Dream comments: No Comments
