May 25
Damon Lindelof wrote,
“Remember. Let go. Move on. I will miss it more than I can ever say.”
Apr 01
I note Google is offering “translation services between species”……. a touch of the Dr. Doolittles, it seems…….
http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/translateforanimals/
“Making the world’s information universally accessible is a key goal for Google. Language is one of our biggest challenges so we have targeted our efforts on removing language barriers between the species. We are excited to introduce Translate for Animals, an Android application which we hope will allow us to better understand our animal friends. We’ve always been a pet-friendly company at Google, and we hope that Translate for Animals encourages greater interaction and understanding between animal and human.”
This revolutionary technology will allow you to communicate with your pets and bridge the gap of cross-breed-communication.
To get the app on your Android phone, use a barcode scanning application to download directly from this QR code.
Or simply search for Translate for Animals on Android Market.
…Happy April 1st 
Mar 30
Ricky Martin’s confirmation via Twitter that he is “a fortunate homosexual man” has the microblogging site’s users buzzing with the news about the singer’s coming-out as gay.
Ricky Martin and his twin sons Matteo, left, and Valentino in Miami last year. Photograph: Pablo Alfaro/AP
After years of batting away rumours about his sexuality, the general consensus in the social networking sphere is summed up by a post from user Krissy_Recodo: “Ricky Martin has the courage to admit that he’s gay.. yeah!.. for those men hiding their true identity.. shame!!!”
“What an unnecessary fuss over Ricky Martin,” tweets an underwhelmed pforpapa. “Really why does it matter to anyone other than him?!”
“Ricky Martin is livin’ la vida open,” chips in ClaudiaOnIce about Puerto Rican Ricky, who had women swooning with his performances of Livin’ la Vida Loca at the height of his fame in the 90s.
He revealed on Twitter – in a message posted in both English and Spanish – that writing his autobiography had showed him the importance of being true to himself.
“I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside,” he explained.
Martin, who became the father of twin boys born via a surrogate mother in 2008, stayed in the closet because he thought coming out would damage his career.
Mar 19
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- Snow White
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- Sleeping Beauty
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- Little Red Riding Hood
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- Cinderella
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- Aladin
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- Beauty And The Beast
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- The little mermaid
Dec 09
A taster of Empire’s exclusive, star-studded shoots paying tribute to some of the most iconic moments in movies of the last 20 years.
Keira Knightley & James McAvoy
Atonement (2007)
Photographed by Adrian Green at Big Sky Media, London, UK, on March 12, 2009.
Mel Gibson
Braveheart (1995)
Photographed by Sarah Dunn at 5th And Sunset Studios, Los Angeles, USA, on March 27, 2009.
Matt Damon
The Bourne Series (from 2002)
Photographed by Keith Bernstein at the WP Rugby High Performance Centre, Cape Town, South Africa, on March 25, 2009.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson & Rupert Grint The Harry Potter series (from 2001)
Photographed by Matt Holyoak at Leavesden Studios,
Herfortshire, UK, on March 20, 2009
Michael Sheen
The Queen (2006)
Photographed by Sarah Dunn at Grovenor House, London, UK, March 29, 2009.
Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Photographed by Sarah Dunn at Foto Theme,
London, UK, February 17, 2009.
Christian Bale
American Psycho (2000)
Photographed by Sarah Dunn at 5th And Sunset Studios, Los Angeles, USA, on March 16, 2009
Tom Cruise
Minority Report (2002)
Photographed by Robert Gallagher at 5th And Sunset Studios, Los Angeles, USA, on March 28, 2009.
Jun 26
KING of pop MICHAEL JACKSON died last night after a massive heart attack.
He collapsed and stopped breathing after an injection of a powerful painkiller named Demerol.
Jacko, 50, was said to be addicted to the drug – similar to morphine – and it is feared he took an overdose.
Paramedics who raced to his Los Angeles home after an emergency call found he had no pulse. And frantic attempts to revive him failed.
The Thriller star, who had been fighting skin cancer, was due to start a series of comeback concerts in London next month.
Instead, millions of shocked fans around the globe are today mourning a legend.
Emergency … paramedics’ monitor shows Jacko – a ’50 year old male’ – was ‘not breathing at all’ when the 911 call was received
May 31
HERE’S the first glimpse of the new Big Brother house – and it looks like bosses were inspired by the space cadets preparing to move in.
Big’s in space … all mod cons, including crates
Curved beams with fluorescent lights and futuristic wallpaper mirror designs from a 60s sci-fi movie.
But space is what’s missing this year – the producers have given the BB10 wannabes the smallest pad yet.
Astro turf … shrunken lawn and smoking shack
Gone are the comfy sofas, leaving housemates just a handful of wooden crates to perch on.
Uncomfortable
And the smoking area – last year a sit-in giant ashtray – has been replaced with what looks like a bus shelter.
The rest of the garden has also been pruned, leaving the contestants fighting it out for the �100,000 prize little room to sunbathe or exercise.
A show insider said: “This house is going to make housemates really uncomfortable as Big Brother plays more mind games than ever.
“Not only is there less space but there’s hardly any furniture and everything is painted stark white. It’s really minimalist and modern. There’s a kind of space-age feel.”
Big Brother 10 kicks off at 9pm this Thursday on Channel 4.
New BB logo’s a real dab hand
BIG Brother has revealed its logo for this summer’s series – featuring what looks like a thumbprint.
The iconic eye gets a makeover each year and has previously featured shattered glass and stars.
It is always seen by housemates as a clue to tasks the Channel 4 show’s bosses have in store.
Ha! brilliant! Bit of an eye sore though…
I have to say 70% of contestants are crazy, but this’ll send them bonkers!!!
May 17
Norway has emerged as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Russian capital, Moscow.
Singer and violinist Alexander Rybak, 23, smashed the record for the most points awarded during the competition.
Iceland came second in the vote, followed by Azerbaijan which took the third place.
The UK’s Jade Ewen, singing an Andrew Lloyd Webber song, ended in fifth position – a marked improvement on last year’s finish at the foot of the table.
For the first time, voting in the final was split between televoting and panels of musical experts, which was supposed to reduce the incidence of predictable and neighbourly votes.
A total of 42 countries voted on the 25 songs, with Norway scoring a record 387 points.
Alexander Rybak, who was born in the former Soviet Union, is a well-known musician in Norway.
A classically-trained violinist and pianist, he wrote his country’s winning entry, Fairytale.
The previous biggest points haul was scored by Finland’s Lordi with Hard Rock Hallelujah in Greece in 2006.
No country suffered the indignity of receiving “nul points” this year but Finland finished in last place.
Denmark’s entry – Brinck singing Believe Again – was written by Boyzone’s Ronan Keating and was performed in the Irish singer’s style.
Germany’s act featured US cabaret artist Dita von Teese, who used to be married to rock star Marilyn Manson.
Her costume was slightly more demure than her outfit at the dress rehearsal after she was reportedly told to cover up by the European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, because it was unsuitable for a family audience.
Graham Norton was making his debut as commentator for the BBC, replacing Sir Terry Wogan, who bowed out last year.
‘Greatest talents’
Speaking in the Russian capital, Norton revealed that he had spoken to his predecessor, who commentated on every Eurovision final from 1980.
“Terry rang me to wish me good luck,” said the TV presenter. “He advised me to resist having a drink until the fifth song,” he added.
Jade Ewen was chosen to represent the UK through a TV talent contest, with the winning song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Diane Warren.
Her fifth place was a highlight for the UK, which has had a dismal record in recent years, with 2008′s entry, Andy Abraham, finishing last with 14 points.
It was the second time in five years the UK had finished at the bottom, with Jemini’s 2003 effort famously scoring “nul points”.
Germany’s Alex Swings Oscar Sings! act was joined by burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, who was ordered to cover up for the family audience.
The UK’s entry Jade Ewen was accompanied by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the song. She ended a dismal spell for the UK by finishing fifth.
Apr 30
This was pretty popular in Russian blogs lately, so we post it here.
So what you see is what to be said an entry level test leaked from Russian army. Here is the translation: “Six questions that help to identify any hidden psychological diseases young soldier might. If the soldier can’t see the number in one of the 6 circles on the test picture, the he likely might having:
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Can’t see circle 1: High agression, proneness to conflict, the recommendation is to add more physical excercise and cold showers.
Can’t see circle 2: Possible low than average intellectual abilities, can’t serve with sophisticated equipment.
Can’t see circle 3: Possible debauchery, soldier should get increased daily ration, should get more physical activity tasks, should not be connected to food supplies, etc.
Can’t see circle 4: Possible inclination to violence, can be assigend as a leader to his unit, as he can preserve discipline.
Can’t see circle 5: Possible latent homosexuality. Can be light uncontrolled accesses of attraction to the same sex.
Can’t see circle 6: Possible schizophreanic tendency. Required additional inspection.
Every soldier should be tested before assignment, according to the order #2299.”
Mar 10
YouTube is blocking all premium music videos to UK users after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with the Performing Right Society (PRS).
Premium music videos will not be accessible to UK YouTube users
Thousands of videos will be unavailable to YouTube users from later on Monday.
Patrick Walker, YouTube’s director of video partnerships, told BBC News that the move was “regrettable”.
Steve Porter, head of the PRS, said he was “outraged… shocked and disappointed” by YouTube’s decision.
In a statement, Mr Porter said the move “punishes British consumers and the songwriters whose interests we protect and represent”.
The PRS has asked YouTube to reconsider its decision as a “matter of urgency”.
The body, which represents music publishers, added: “Google has told us they are taking this step because they wish to pay significantly less than at present to the writers of the music on which their service relies, despite the massive increase in YouTube viewing.
“This action has been taken without any consultation with PRS for Music and in the middle of negotiations between the two parties.”
Mr Walker told BBC News the PRS was seeking a rise in fees “many, many factors” higher than the previous agreement.
He said: “We feel we are so far apart that we have to remove content while we continue to negotiate with the PRS.”
“We are making the message public because it will be noticeable to users on the site.”
Videos will begin to be blocked from 1800 GMT with the majority of them made inaccessible over the next two days.
YouTube pays a licence to the PRS which covers the streaming of music videos from three of the four major music labels and many independent labels.
Stream online
While deals with individual record labels cover the use of the visual element and sound recording in a music video, firms that want to stream online also have to have a separate deal with music publishers which covers the music and lyrics.
In the UK, the PRS acts as a collecting society on behalf of member publishers for licensing fees relating to use of music.
YouTube stressed that it continued to have “strong partnerships” with three of the four largest record labels in the world.
Mr Walker said the PRS was asking for a “prohibitive” rise in the cost of a new license.
While not specifying the rate the PRS was seeking, he said: “It has to be a rate than can drive a business model. We are in the business for the long run and we want to drive the use of online video.
“The rate they are applying would mean we would lose significant amounts of money on every stream of a music video. It is not a reasonable rate to ask.”
New deal
YouTube has also complained of a lack of transparency by the PRS, saying the organisation would not specify exactly which artists would be covered by any new deal.
“That’s like asking a consumer to buy a blank CD without knowing what musicians are on it,” a statement from YouTube UK says on its official blog.
YouTube is the world’s most popular online video site but has been under increased pressure to generate more revenue since its purchase by Google for $1.65 billion in 2006.
“We are not willing to do this [new licensing deal] at any cost,” said Mr Walker.
He said the issue was an industry-wide one and not just related to YouTube.
“By setting rates that don’t allow new business models to flourish, nobody wins.”
Services such as Pandora.com, MySpace UK and Imeem have also had issues securing licence deals in the UK in the last 12 months.
