ALEX ADAM'S

You'd usually think that there is no such thing as too sexy, but it turns out that Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic (who was ousted early from the Australian Open, and most majors as of late) is just a too sexy athlete.

The TennisReporters.net website has banned the Serbian stunner from its annual Sexiest Player Award readers poll. Ivanovic won it five straight times so the site owners decided it was time to let someone else in a short tennis dress and bloomers have a shot at the coveted title. But they decided to honour Ivanovic by naming the award the Ana Ivanovic Sexiest Player Award.

So, who succeeds Ana Ivanovic as the WTA's sexiest racket handler? Russian hottie Maria Kirilenko (right). The complete poll results were:

Maria Kirilenko Maria Sharapova Carolina Wozniacki Gisela Dulko Elena Vesnina Victoria Azarenka Julia Goerges Serena Williams Sania Mirza Jie Zheng

34.4 17.5 12.7 7.1 6.3 6.1 4.8 4.8 2.5 2.0

Some hotties, or at least cuties, received recognition for TennisReporters.net's readers in other categories as well. Here are the rest of the women's winners:
Player of the Year: Kim Clijsters
Youngster of the Year: Caroline Wozniacki
Most Improved: Vera Zvonareva
Tweeter of the Year: Andrea Petkovic (check out her victory dance)
Match of the Year: Sam Stosur vs. Serena Williams, French Open

source:Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America/zimbio.com

source:Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America/zimbio.com

Happy Birthday. God bless.

Happy Birthday Mr. Pres. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

1.Hereafter----------------$5,646,551

2.Le fils à Jo-------------$1,873,254

3.Season of the Witch------$1,770,775
---------------------------------------------

6.La chance de ma vie------$1,226,786

7.Tangled-----------------$752,008

8.Les émotifs anonymes----$614,223





source:boxofficemojo.com

1.No Strings Attached --------------------$19.7M

2.The Green Hornet -----------------------$17.7M

3.The Dilemma-----------------------------$9.11M

4.The King's Speech-----------------------$7.85M

5.True Grit ------------------------------$7.33M

6.Black Swan -----------------------------$5.87M------$83.3M

7.Little Fockers--------------------------$4.32M------$141M



source:imdb.com

Belated Happy Birthday. God bless.

Happy Birthday. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

THE government has been warned that cuts to the BBC World Service will "irreparably" damage Britain's reputation around the world.

Unions leaders threatened industrial action yesterday after it was announced 650 World Service jobs and five language services would go as part of a restructuring by the corporation.

The BBC blamed changes to the funding of the World Service - whi
ADVERTISEMENTch from 2014 will be paid for by the licence fee rather than the government - and made clear that the organisation had strongly opposed the cuts.

The changes include the loss of the Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Portuguese for Africa and English for the Caribbean services, which will reduce the 180 million global audience by 30 million.

In the Commons, Foreign Secretary William Hague was told by former Labour Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane that the coalition had succeeded where dictatorships had failed.

Mr MacShane said the changes would see "irreparable damage" done to Britain, adding: "You are doing in part what no dictator has ever achieved - silencing the voice of the BBC, the voice of Britain, the voice of democracy, the voice of balanced journalism at a time when it is more than ever needed."

There was discontent from the Tory back-benches, with senior figures questioning why there had been a 16 per cent cut to the World Service budget while the international aid budget had been increased.

Andrew Tyrie, the Tory chairman of the Treasury select committee, said he hoped the government would reconsider. He told Mr Hague: "There is very deep concern in this House about this decision.

"I hope you will reconsider it with your Cabinet colleagues and in particular take a look at the overseas aid budget, which is increasing 37 per cent in real terms at a time when you are intending to implement 16 per cent cuts in the World Service.

"I hope you will hear the message from this House that if there is a choice between those two, then we want to put the World Service first."

However, Mr Hague insisted the World Service could not be exempt from changes or having its budget reviewed and denied there would be lasting damage.

Mr Hague said handing the World Service back to the BBC would strengthen its independence, adding that it had a "viable and strong" future.


He added: "It is wrong to pretend there should never be any changes and never any reductions.

"We, of course, have to ensure we live within our means in this country, and this is part of doing that."

Earlier, Peter Horrocks, BBC global news dir
ADVERTISEMENTector, broke the news to staff and said they were "clearly very sad", stressing the importance of the World Service to Britain's reputation across the world.

Mr Horrocks revealed that the government had been asked to help World Service staff from other countries working in Britain on a visa who might not want to return because of concerns for their safety.

He said: "This is a painful day for BBC World Service and the 180 million people around the world who rely on the BBC's global news services every week. We are making cuts that we would rather not be making."

BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said it was a "difficult day" for the World Service, adding: "We have no choice other than to live within the reduced government grant."

Daya Thussu, professor of international communication and co-director of India Media Centre at the University of Westminster, said: "The decision … is an unwise move at a time when Britain's influence in the wider world is waning as new actors - China, India, Brazil - emerge."

Meanwhile, the unions threatened industrial action.

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said: "The NUJ will join with other unions in defending jobs and quality broadcasting at the World Service."

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of the broadcasting workers' union Bectu, warned: "The World Service will be much weakened and people will think less of the BBC and the UK as a result. These cuts are indeed a false economy."


source:scotsman.com

Police fought with thousands of Egyptians who defied a government ban on public gatherings yesterday to protest against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule, firing tear gas at the crowds and dragging away demonstrators.
Protesters burned tyres and hurled stones at police as groups gathered at different parts of the capital, Cairo.

The scenes were unprecedented in the country and follow the overthrow two weeks ago of another long-serving regional strongman, Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in a popular revolt.

Activists had called on people to rally again after Tuesday's "Day of Rage" - anti-government demonstrations across Egypt. Three protesters and one policeman were killed.

Security forces have arrested about 500 demonstrators over the two days, an interior ministry source said. Witnesses said officers, some in civilian clothes, hauled away people and bundled them into unmarked vans.

Police fired shots into the air near the central Cairo court complex, witnesses said. In another area, they drove riot trucks into a crowd of about 3,000 people to force them to disperse.

One protester said: "We turn up suddenly and quickly without a warning or an announcement. That way we gain ground."

Social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook have been a key means of communication for the protesters.

The co-ordinated demonstrations were unlike anything witnessed in Egypt since Mr Mubarak came to power in 1981 after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamists.

The protesters complain of poverty, unemployment, corruption and repression. Inspired by the Tunisian revolt, they demand Mr Mubarak steps down.

The United States said Egypt was still a "close and important ally". But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged the government to allow peaceful protests and not to block the social networking websites.

She said: "We believe strongly that the Egyptian government has an important opportunity at this moment in time to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people."

Elections are due to be held in September, but most people believed that Mr Mubarak, 82, would remain in control or bring in a successor in the shape of his son, Gamal.

Issandr El Amrani, a political analyst, said: "Mubarak never experienced this level of public anger and such a rejection of his legitimacy in 30 years of power. This looks quite bad for him."

Father and son both deny that Gamal is being groomed for the top job, but the Egyptian street does not believe them.

"Gamal, tell your father that Egyptians hate you," protesters yelled yesterday.

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered yesterday outside the morgue in Suez demanding the release of the body of one of the three people killed there.

"The government has killed my son," they chanted. "Oh Habib, tell your master, your hands are soiled with our blood," they said, referring to Interior Minister Habib al-Adli.

Of Egypt's population of 80 million, about 60 per cent - and 90 per cent of the unemployed - are under 30 years old and about 40 per cent live on the equivalent of less than £1.25 a day.

Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said reform was needed to address Arab citizens' demands for better lives.

"The Arab citizen is angry and we feel broken as citizens. Reform is the name of the game, and reform has to happen now all over the Arab world," Mr Moussa said at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland.




source:scotsman.com

Tommy Sheridan "brought the walls of the temple crashing down" around his life and political career by deliberately setting out to lie in court, he was told by a judge as he was jailed for three years.
However, an unapologetic Sheridan immediately launched a new legal battle with his enemies at the News of the World over alleged phone hacking, signalling he has no intention of disappearing from public life.

The former MSP and convicted perjurer was led in handcuffs from the dock of the High Court in Glasgow yesterday to begin his time behind bars, which could be as little as six to nine months under early release provisions. He reportedly commented he had got "a result".

The judge, Lord Bracadale, said Sheridan the politician would find a "place in Scottish history" due to his fight against the poll tax, but he had destroyed his career by suing over newspaper allegations, knowing he would have to lie to succeed.

Sheridan left the court to cheers of "Solidarity" from family and friends, and a short time later released a statement saying he had instructed proceedings against the News of the World over the alleged hacking of his phone.

His wife, Gail, assured supporters Sheridan would emerge from jail anything but a broken man. "Tommy has dedicated his life to helping others," she said. "The real reason why he has been imprisoned today is because he has fought injustice and inequality with every beat of his heart. But it won't be long before Tommy is back, stronger and continuing the fight."

Sheridan confirmed he would be appealing his conviction for perjury, but his solicitor, Aamer Anwar, said he would not be seeking an immediate release from custody pending the hearing of the appeal.

In his statement, read by Mr Anwar, Sheridan said: "For too long, the News of the World has scapegoated and destroyed lives with immunity. This multi-million-pound prosecution will separate me from my wife and child, and that will be heartbreaking. But I will continue to fight a system that protects the real criminals - the rich and powerful.




source:scotsman.com

WASHINGTON – Employers will hire more workers this year, and the economy will grow faster than envisioned three months ago, according to an Associated Press survey that found growing optimism among leading economists.

But unemployment will stay chronically high — nearly 9 percent by year's end, the latest quarterly AP Economy Survey shows. A majority of economists say it will be 2016 or later before unemployment drops to a historically normal rate of around 5 percent.

Economists have become more confident 19 months after the worst recession since the Great Depression ended. Lower Social Security taxes and higher stock prices will embolden Americans to spend more and help power the economy, they say.

"People will finally recognize that an economic recovery is under way," said Lynn Reaser, a board member of the National Association for Business Economics. "This won't be a recovery seen only by economists."

The gains this year will be enough to withstand the threats still clouding the economy, the AP survey found. A majority of the economists doubt, for example, that falling home prices and higher mortgage rates will pose a major risk to the economy in 2011.

The AP survey collected the views of 42 private, corporate and academic economists on a range of indicators. Among their forecasts:

• The economy will grow 3.2 percent this year, compared with the 2.7 percent they forecast in October. That would top last year's estimated growth of less than 3 percent.

• Employers will create a net total of 2.2 million jobs. Three months ago, the economists predicted 1.6 million jobs would be added in 2011. Last year, employers added roughly 1.1 million.

• Consumers will spend 3.2 percent more this year than last year. That's stronger than the 2.5 percent growth the economists had forecast in October. And it's nearly double the spending growth that's estimated for 2010.

• Inflation will be 1.8 percent this year, barely more than the 1.7 percent the economists forecast in the previous survey and up only slightly from 1.5 percent last year. The 1.8 percent forecast falls within the range of inflation the Federal Reserve thinks a healthy economy needs.

Among the reasons for the economists' growing optimism: an extension of income-tax cuts, a cut in Social Security taxes for workers, easier access to loans, higher stock prices and a government that seems more sympathetic to the priorities of businesses.

The brighter outlook is also evident among people responsible for hiring.

Jerry Huddleston, human resources manager of the Ozark Natural Foods grocery store in Fayetteville, Ark., said he plans to hire for busy weekend shifts because sales are improving.

The store is generally slow to add jobs. But Huddleston said business is picking up. Customers seem more willing to pay more for organic milk, vitamin supplements and pre-made vegetarian meals.

"I think people are starting to be more confident that the job they have is the job they will have tomorrow," he said.

As the economy gradually strengthens, the economists expect interest rates will tick up, as they already have begun to do. They think the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, now at 3.4 percent, will reach 3.6 percent by midyear and 3.9 percent by year's end. Those higher rates would force up mortgage rates, which tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield.

Yet when asked about a range of threats — from falling home prices and rising energy prices to state budget woes and Europe's debt crisis — the economists called each a minor risk rather than a major risk to the economy.

In the spring and summer, many analysts had feared the economy might slide back into a "double-dip" recession.

"Consumers and businesses are in a better mood," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. "They are spending a little more freely. Not a lot more freely, but a little more freely."

That helps explain why Behravesh has lifted his forecast for economic growth in 2011 to 3.2 percent, from 2.2 percent in October.

Still, the Fed said Wednesday that the economy isn't growing fast enough to lower unemployment and still needs help from the Fed's $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase program. The bond purchases are intended to lower rates on loans and boost stock prices, spurring more spending and invigorating the economy.

President Barack Obama still faces risks from voters skeptical of his economic stewardship, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. More than half disapprove of how he's handled the economy. Just 35 percent say it's improved on his watch; 40 percent had said so a year ago.

Yet public sentiment may brighten if the economists prove correct in their forecasts. Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center, has raised his estimate for growth this year to 2.7 percent, from 1.8 percent three months ago.

This year "will be better than 2010 in terms of hiring, spending and economic growth," Dhawan said. "Yet unemployment will decline only slowly. At least we're not going backward."





source:yahoo.com/AP Business Writer Christopher Leonard in St. Louis contributed to this report.

Shania Twain is taking a bit of a turn career-wise. It looks like she’s really focusing on her new Oprah Winfrey Network series, Why Not?, and steering away from music for the time being. Between the pressures of superstardom and the break-up of her prior marriage to Mutt Lange, it caused Shania to lose interest in recording – not to mention losing her voice, according to All Access. Twain reveals, “I have lost my ability to express myself and my ability to sing… For some reason, I’m not comfortable singing in front of people anymore.” Shania’s show on OWN will debut in April.

Source: Dial Global/nashville.com/shaniaforums.com
Contact: jerry@nashville.com

BOSTON – The Northeast girded itself as a fast-moving storm moved full-force into the region overnight, bringing an icy mix of snow and rain, stranding hundreds of airplane passengers, leaving more than 300,000 customers in and around the nation's capital without power, and making roads treacherous for Thursday morning commuters.

Public schools remained closed for a second day Thursday and motorists were warned of dangerous road conditions. In New York City, the LIRR suspended passenger train service systemwide because of the storm. City bus service also was suspended.

In a region already contending with above-average snowfall this season, the storm that began Wednesday added several more inches. Meteorologists predicted up to 10 inches could fall in the Washington, D.C., area; 14 inches in New York City, and about 11 inches in Philadelphia and Boston before sunshine returns Thursday.

In Portsmouth, N.H., workers were nearly out of room to stash their plowed snow.

"We probably have a five-story snow dump right now," said Portsmouth public works director David Allen. "It's time to get a lift up on it and we could probably do a ski run."

Meteorologist Neil Strauss of the National Weather Service warned of traveling in the storm and said gusts in Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts could reach 40 mph to 50 mph. Parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were expected to get thunderstorms, "somewhat unusual" for this time of year, he said.

As the storm approached Wednesday, schools were closed, governments sent workers home early, and commutes were snarled. Cars and buses slipped and slid on highways. Pedestrians struggled across icy patches that were on their way to becoming deep drifts.

Massachusetts State Police blamed the storm on an accident that sent a state trooper to the hospital. The unidentified trooper suffered minor injuries when his vehicle crashed into a median barrier on Route 93 in Boston as he was on his way to work Wednesday night.

The New York area's three major airports, among the nation's busiest, saw more than 1,000 flights canceled. Philadelphia International Airport expected more than 1,000 passengers would be stranded because of cancellations. City bus service was suspended.

Rain drenched the nation's capital for most of the day and changed to sleet before it started snowing in earnest at mid-afternoon. The snow and icy roads created hazardous conditions for President Barack Obama as he returned to the White House after a post-State of the Union trip to Manitowoc, Wis.

The wintry weather grounded Marine One, the helicopter that typically transports Obama to and from the military base where Air Force One lands. Instead, the president was met at the plane by his motorcade, which spent an hour weaving through rush hour traffic already slowed by the storm. It normally takes the president's motorcade about 20 minutes to travel between the base and the White House.

Officials urged residents in Washington and Maryland to stay off the roads as snow, thunder and lightning pounded the Mid-Atlantic region. In D.C., Metro transit officials pulled buses off the roads as conditions deteriorated. Firefighters warned the heavy snow was bringing down power lines and causing outages.

In Pennsylvania, residents hunkered down as a one-two punch of the winter storm brought snow, sleet, and then more snow, which forecasters said could total a foot in some areas. Philadelphia declared a snow emergency as of Wednesday evening, ordering cars removed from emergency routes. When a commuter bus arrived more than an hour late Wednesday night in Philadelphia after a treacherous trip from New York, passengers applauded the driver.

Northwest, in Hatfield Township, Pa., residents were scared by thunder claps and blinding lightning in a rare thundersnow, a thunderstorm with heavy snow instead of rain.

Since Dec. 14, snow has fallen eight times on the New York region — or an average of about once every five days. That includes the blizzard that dropped 20 inches on New York City and paralyzed travel after Christmas. When the snows arrived Wednesday, the city had already seen 36 inches of snow this season in comparison with the full-winter average of 21 inches.

The city declared a weather emergency for the second time since the Dec. 26 storm, which trapped hundreds of buses and ambulances and caused a political crisis for the mayor. An emergency declaration means any car blocking roads or impeding snowplows can be towed at the owner's expense.

In the suburbs, a pickup truck plowing a snow-covered parking lot struck and killed a Long Island woman Wednesday afternoon, police said.

In New Jersey, state workers were sent home early and schools closed as the storm brought more snow than anticipated Wednesday morning. A second band of snow began falling in the evening. The NJ Transit agency allowed customers to use bus tickets for rail travel, and vice versa, to get home any way they could.

New Jersey also was looking at up to a foot of snow, and high winds were expected before the storm moves out early Thursday.

In suburban Silver Spring, Md., nurse Tiffany Horairy said as she waited for a bus that she was getting tired of the constant pecking of minor or moderate storms.

"I'd rather get something like last year, with all the snow at once," she said.

In Kentucky, where several inches of snow fell, a man who lost control of his pickup truck on an ice-covered road and got out of it was hit and killed by another truck that lost control on the same patch.

Through Tuesday, Boston had received 50.4 inches of snow, a nearly 270 percent increase over normal snowfalls of 18.8 inches at the same time in the season. The central Massachusetts city of Worcester had gotten 49.3 inches while the norm is 28.7 inches. Providence, R.I., had recorded 31.7 inches for the season, twice the norm of 15.7 inches. Bradley International Airport in Connecticut had gotten 59.1 inches of snow, more than double the normal 22.8 inches, the National Weather Service has said.





source:Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Garden City, N.Y.; Ula Ilnytzky in New York; Lynne Tuohy in Concord, N.H.; Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.; Angie Yack, Erin Vanderberg and Patrick Walters in Philadelphia; and Sarah Brumfeld in Silver Spring, Md./yahoo.com

source:thisislondon.co.uk

source:thisislondon.co.uk

Still reigning over French cinema ten years after she set sail for The Beach, Virginie Ledoyen grants Janine di Giovanni an audience...



Virginie Ledoyen is on time. She glides into La Rotonde, a café in Montparnasse not far from her home, on a rainy morning, looking like a little sunbeam in an electric-blue leather jacket. She sits on a red velvet chair, politely asks for a pot of tea and opens her handbag to take out her BlackBerry. I spot a pack of Marlboro Reds, and I think of the YouTube posting of Ledoyen sitting in a Parisian café, smoking, eating something delicious and laughing out loud: 'J'adore ça!' It made me like her before I met her: someone who still drinks and smokes and eats and looks like they enjoy it.

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"I became a mother young. It was just obvious to me and I wanted that baby so much it wasn't even an issue"
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The morning we meet, Ledoyen is not wearing Chanel - which she adores - or anything glamorous for that matter. It is not yet lunchtime, and she is in standard French schoolgirl chic: jeans, a simple blue and white striped cotton shirt, no make-up. Underneath the V-neck of her blouse, her skin is the colour of caramel. She looks very young, younger than 32. She has a broad smile, expressive hands, and greenish-brown eyes. She laughs a lot. On one hand, she wears a simple silver ring, but she denies that she is married, even though the web is full of reports that she married a small-time film director called Iain Rogers in September 2007. Indeed she does not want to talk about any lovers, boyfriends, past or present, or even about the American father of her seven-yearold daughter Lilas, who goes to a local school.


But she is clearly proud of her daughter: she pulls out the BlackBerry again and shows a black and white photograph of mother and daughter, equally stunning, leaning against an old stone wall in Paris. In the photo, Ledoyen is wearing Chanel, which is the perfect Parisian trick: to look great in jeans and in couture.

When I mention how surprised I was to have seen Ledoyen pregnant, in a white dress at the Cannes Film Festival eight years ago, at the premiere of The Beach, her breakout film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, she laughs. 'Most actresses who just got discovered by Hollywood might have waited a little bit before having a baby,' I venture. She smiles broadly. 'Yes, I became a mother young. I was 24. But maybe because my mother had me young, I always wanted to have a baby. It was just obvious to me. And I wanted that baby so much, it was not even an issue.'


Ledoyen bounced back fast after the birth of Lilas, and returned to work with new energy. She either took Lilas with her on location, or managed to shoot in Paris. 'For the past year and a half, I have been lucky. I've been shooting here, which is great, as Lilas is in school now.' She does not find the strain of the two roles, mother and actress, schizophrenic. 'Life is interactive with your work,' she says wisely. 'They go together.'
Nearly a decade ago, Ledoyen was cast in The Beach as Françoise, the beautiful French girl who washes up in Thailand in a blue bikini. Everyone called her the new Bardot, a not very imaginative comparison. Aside from the dimples, they are very different. After the publicity of The Beach, Ledoyen might easily have been stuck in roles that required her to look great naked or nearly naked, but not to develop her skills as an actress. But Ledoyen is smarter than that. She is, to all who know her, tough, intelligent and thoughtful, and most importantly has made the difficult transition (like DiCaprio) from child star to sex bomb to serious actor.


French critics sometimes liken her to Isabelle Huppert, and see her as an actress who will be capable, as she gets older, of deep, intense characterisation. Ledoyen is flattered by that reference; she grew up watching Huppert, and 'actors like Marcello Mastroianni. Rather than taking lessons, I learned by watching.' Her models were Anna Karina, Gena Rowlands, Katharine Hepburn.

Ledoyen - born Virginie Fernandez; her paternal grandfather was Spanish - is the child of a 'modest' family who lived in the Paris suburbs. Her father sold cleaning products on a market stall, her mother worked in a restaurant, and she has a younger brother who works in film production. But working-class French families still go on skiing holidays and her childhood was not deprived. She once said, 'We did not live on bread and butter.'

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"After The Beach, Virginie was offered a lot of starlet roles but she chose a more intellectual path"
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She was two when she first went in front of a camera. 'My mother's friend had a child in photographs,' she says, sipping her tea. 'And one day they brought me along. It wasn't really a plan.' It was something she did not take seriously as a career. She worked in commercials and print before making her movie debut when she was ten in the French comedy Les Exploits d'un Jeune Don Juan. She attended the prestigious L'Ecole des Enfants du Spectacle, studying in the mornings, and singing, dancing and acting in the afternoons.

By the time she made Don Juan, she was beginning to get the acting bug. 'It's funny; I just did it like a hobby. Then I reached adolescence and people started asking: "What do you want to do with your life?" I thought maybe I wanted to be a lawyer. But I knew I could not do both. Both require a certain discipline. So I became an actress.'

At 16, she left home. She says she is someone who needs time alone. At 18, she made the Olivier Assayas film L'eau Froide, playing a troubled teenager. The film had a profound effect on her career: she was inspired by Assayas, with whom she went on to work again in Touts les Garçons et les Filles de Leur Age. Her first English language film was A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries with Merchant-Ivory, before Danny Boyle, director of Trainspotting and now Slumdog Millionaire, put out a call for a French actress.

That was for The Beach, one of the most hyped films of the time, based on the Alex Garland novel. Ledoyen was 22 when filming started in Thailand for four months 'under the sun on Phuket and Phi Phi Island'. The film was logistically tricky to make: ecologists were furious; fans of the book said Boyle did not stick to the plot. But it was fun to watch, there were great locations, and Virginie looked fantastic in a bikini.

Ten years on, she has nothing but praise for DiCaprio ('a real cinephile, a very talented actor'), with whom she had a solidly professional relationship. 'He is what I would call a great actor,' she says. 'Intense, emotional, intelligent.' She is grateful for the experience of working with Boyle, and points out that while the film was promoted as a Hollywood movie, it was really a British one. 'Danny is British and the crew was British. And Danny is great. He's a smart man, but he is more than that,' she says. 'He has an interesting universe around him.'

After The Beach, Virginie was offered a lot of starlet roles but she chose a more intellectual path. She worked with Claude Chabrol and Pierre Jolivet. She made a television film, with Gérard Depardieu and John Malkovich, of Les Misérables. She sang for the French director François Ozon in the camp but wonderful 8 Women (alongside Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart). And she appeared as one of the faces of L'Oréal, a role that, she says, 'gave me financial freedom'.

Her next film is L'armée du Crime, directed by Robert Guédiguian, about the French Resistance, a role Ledoyen researched by talking to Resistance fighters and reading books. 'The Resistance was a painful part of French history, and it is important to get it right,' she says gravely of her preparation. As for going deep into roles emotionally, she says, 'If the character calls for it, you just do it.'

Other than the fact that she is a film star and radiates beauty, Ledoyen seems pretty ordinary. She dresses like any other 14th-arrondissement mother about to pick up her child from school. She lives in a normal Parisian neighbourhood, she goes to the local cinemas, she reads a lot - in English. When she is not working, she likes to be in the rugged part of Atlantic France beloved by hippies and surfers. She walks on the deserted beaches and swims in the cold sea. Or else she just 'takes care of my daughter'. When that happens, she is not Virginie Ledoyen, starlet turned serious actress, she is just 'Maman'. 'We just hang around,' she says. 'Going to movies, exhibitions, the libraries.' She grins. 'Just fun stuff.'

Virginie wears dress, price on application, Chanel Paris-Moscow. Location: Hotel Sezz, 6 avenue Fermiet, Paris (00 33 1 56 75 26 26; hotelsezz.com)


Hair by Isabelle Luzet at B Agency. Make-up by Phophie Mathias at Airport Agency. Fashion assistant: Orsolya Szabo






source:thisislondon.co.uk

by Talia Soghomonian Posted:December 13,2010

French actress Virginie Ledoyen, whose claim to international fame was a starring role in The Beach alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, will appear in a movie inspired by Doors singer Jim Morrison.

The Last Beat is loosely based on his last days in Paris, where he died in 1971. Ledoyen will play Clémence, a countess and one of the two love interests of Jay Douglas, the Morrison-inspired character played by Shawn Andrews. Hit the jump for the synopsis and more.


Its timing will somewhat coincide with the 40th anniversary of Morrison’s death 2011, although the release date has been announced for 2012. Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic The Doors was released in time for the 30th anniversary, but that’s where the comparison between the two films ends.

Stone based his movie on Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins’s biography of The Doors No One Here Gets Out Alive, and what bothers me is that he chose to portray mostly the negative aspects of Morrison’s life. Granted, there were many and it makes for good entertainment but the book depicted him as more than just a spoiled rock star and tortured soul.

While I have some reservations about The Last Beat — I’m not sure about the cliché love triangle — I am relieved that it will feature an original soundtrack and not a massacre of Doors songs.

The production company Bohemia Group revealed more details in a press release:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writer and Director Robert Saitzyk (Godspeed) dives deeply into the torrid world of rock and roll to craft the realm that is the last days of rock star Jay Douglas in the film The Last Beat. Leading the cast in this powerful drama as the famous and tortured Douglas is Shawn Andrews, whose screen credits include the award winning Fix opposite Olivia Wilde, Dazed and Confused and City of Ghosts, and now attached is the César-nominated French actress Virginie Ledoyen, who has been seen in films such as Tout ce qui brille, The Army of Crime and of course Danny Boyle’s The Beach. Ledoyen will play Clémence, a French Countess involved in a turbulent love triangle between Jay Douglas and his self-professed “soul mate” — the earthy, but fiery Valerie Eason.

The Last Beat explores the life of a world weary self exiled rock star searching for a more artistic existence as a poet and writer in Paris, with the hope of erasing his tarnished former stardom. The film’s rich storyline will be accompanied by a completely original soundtrack redolent with the influences of the early 70’s ranging from Rock n Roll to French Pop. The Last Beat will offer audiences a refreshing view of the turbulent end of the 60’s and early 70’s along with an insightful perspective into the melancholy lifestyle and unerring clarity of a rock star and poet coming to terms with his own end.

Production is set to commence in late spring 2011 and will be shot primarily on location in Paris, France.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m assuming Valerie Eason is based on Jim Morrison’s girlfriend Pamela Courson, who died in 1974. The actress for the role hasn’t been announced yet.

Ledoyen’s international career never really took off after 2000’s The Beach, not Marion Cotillard style anyway, although she has worked consistently ever since. She has made a slew of (often average) French films and starred this year in Géraldine Nakach’s Tout ce qui brille. But Ledoyen seems intent on making an international “comeback” and is set to appear on TV in XIII: The Series, based on the popular comic by Jean Van Hamme and William Vanc, and, as we previously reported, has been cast in L.D. Napier’s directorial debut, Mis-Fits.



source:collider.com

Caroline Wozniacki has impressed a lot of people during the Australian Open. Last night she came from behind to get by Francesca Schiavone. Francesca Schiavone hits the ball hard and plays a bit different than most other players on tour. Some call Francesca Schiavone a man but she sure can play.

However, Wozniacki - playing her I won't be beat myself style - defeated her - and looked super cute doing it.
She looks even better in these bikini shots - especially when doffs her top.

Last February, Canadian skating hottie Joannie Rochette captivated the world with the tragic story of losing her mother and then having to compete in the Olympics - as well as her skill and overall hotness. However, 2010 Vancouver and Whistler bronze medalist is not the only Canadian figure skating babe.

In 2004, Cynthia Phaneuf won a national title. She was expected to be a favourite to win more, but then there was Joannie Rochette. Rochette reeled off six straight titles with Phaneuf finished second three times and third once.

This past weekend, with Rochette concentrating on the pro ranks, claimed her second title at the BMO Skate Canada Nationals. When Phaneuf won her first title she was just a pretty teen. Now she has become a full-fledged hottie. Congrats!

Oh, to answer the obvious question, Phaneuf says she is not related to NHL star Dion Phaneuf of the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs.

While we think Diana Taurasi looks pretty great out of her Phoenix Mercury or Team USA basketball jersey, we know the former UConn standout loves to be in the gym. However, this hoops hottie (who posed nude for ESPN's Body Issue, above) might be forced to take a breather from the sport she loves.

Reportedly she has failed a drug test. The reports are that both samples tested positive for the banned stimulant modafinil. Taurasi has been dismissed from her Turkish club.

As reported by ESPN.com`s Mechelle Voepel, the positive tests could affect Taurasi`s future as a member of Team USA. She was expected to lead the U.S. squad in 2012 in London.
The WNBA has been quiet about the tests. We wonder if Taurasi bring her toned athletic bod back to the states to play this coming summer. Or maybe this hardwood hottie will have to stay home for a bit.

THE church where George Harrison was baptised is to close.

Three others also face closure as the Catholic Archdiocese struggles with soaring costs, dwindling congregations and a lack of clergy.

Our Lady of Good Help church in Wavertree was the venue for the Beatle's baptism in 1943, where he was named Georgius Harrison.

But it is due to close by Easter as are St Gregory the Great in Netherley and St Paschal Baylon in Childwall.

The fate of dozens more Liverpool churches is under review with more likely to close including one in Halewood or Hunts Cross.

Churchgoer Tracey Hassan said shutting Our Lady of Good Help, on Chestnut Grove, was “absolutely wrong”.

She said: “Every Sunday that church is full. Generations of my relatives have been married there. It’s a lovely welcoming church.”

Her daughter, Chloe, seven, attends the Our Lady of Good Help school, whose pupils visit the church regularly.

She said: “The kids are all upset.”

Fellow churchgoer Annette Minogue said: “It’s very sad.”



The church which opened in 1887 urgently needs £118,000 of structural work and a £16,000 sprinkler system. A spokesman for the Archdiocese said that these costs contributed to £220,000 needed in just one parish, Christ the King and Our Lady, in the next year alone.

St Paschal Baylon on Chelwood Avenue is also due to shut leaving the parish with only one church.

The spokesman said other parishes faced similar costs although he could not give figures.

But he said: "The need for change is not purely financial."

He said congregations had fallen with average weekly attendance for the Archdiocese of Liverpool dropping by 4,000 people last year.

The number of clergy had also fallen with 159 priests in the Archdiocese down from 600 in 1960.

The shortage is particularly bad in the Pastoral Area of St Therese of Lisieux, which includes St Paschal Baylon and Our Lady of Good Help.

The area had nine priests in June 2010 but due to the death of Father Denis Cunningham in Speke and planned retirements and moves it expects to have only five priests by September.

The spokesman said the ratio of priests to churches was “unrealistic and not sustainable.”

St Gregory the Great, on Damson Road in Netherley is also set to close – leaving the St John Almond parish with only one church.



One of the two churches in St John Vianney parish, covering Halewood and Hunts Cross, is also likely to close. It is yet to be decided whether Holy Family on Mackets Lane, or St Mark on Penmann Crescent will be shut and the timescale for closure.

Consultations are being held with congregations, but the spokesman admitted prospects were grim: "If there is a viable alternative it will be looked at, but, so far there isn't."

He said: "The Archdiocese fully recognises and regrets the pain when practical reasons make necessary difficult decisions regarding church buildings."

He said elderly churchgoers would be given help with transport.

Reviews are being undertaken in most of the Archdiocese’s 24 Pastoral Areas with closures expected.

The fate of the closed churches is unknown but the spokesman said they would be used “appropriately” or could in cases be demolished.

Previous closures have proved controversial with campaigners calling the use of St Peter’s on Seel Street as a bar as “sacrilege”.








source:liverpoolecho.co.uk

Don Kirshner, the businessman and songwriter who helped create the Monkees and launch the careers of several iconic performers, died Monday in Florida. According to a press release, the 76-year-old passed away from heart failure.

Known as "The Man With the Golden Ear," Kirshner was born in 1934 in New York City. He entered the music business in the late '50s as a manager for singer Connie Francis, but soon transitioned into providing what he saw as the industry's most pressing need: connecting performers with songwriters.

In the early '60s Kirshner founded Aldon Music, a publishing company that worked with a number of then-unknown performers, including Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Carole King, connecting them with resources including studio musicians, producers and songwriters. Kirshner and his staff also cranked out a series of hit singles for groups ranging from the Drifters to the Ronettes. Aldon Music was the single most dominant force in pop music for several years, eventually being bought out by Columbia.

In 1966, in the wake of the Beatles' emergence, Kirshner switched directions. Combining the Beatles' template with his own knowledge of hit-making, Kirshner created a new model for music marketing that would serve as a reference point for countless musicians and labels in the ensuing decades, ranging from boy bands to image-conscious rock groups.

The project? The Monkees.

Filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, who created the Beatles-inspired group specifically for a television series, asked Kirshner to write the music. He was soon hired on as a full producer and helped pen several hits including 'I'm a Believer.' He also consulted in the Monkees' branding and distribution, and when he stepped away from the group the following year, their sales and popularity dropped significantly.

In the '70s, Kirshner produced the highly successful 'Don Kirshner's Rock Concert' on ABC, a live-performance revue that served as an answer to other shows' reliance on lip-syncing and other staged performances.

Kirshner is survived by his wife, Sheila, to whom he was married for 50 years, as well as two children and four grandchildren.



RIP



source:spinner.com

Violée dans sa jeunesse par une bande de brutes de la petite ville de San Paulo, l'artiste peintre Jennifer Spencer décide de retrouver chacun de ses agresseurs et de les tuer. Excédée par ses méthodes et soucieuse d'éviter les foudres de la presse, l'administration policière décide d'envoyer l'inspecteur Harry Callahan loin de San Fransisco. Chargé d'enquêter sur un meurtre à San Paulo, il va faire la connaissance de Jennifer...



AVEC Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Bradford Dillman


Réalisé par Clint Eastwood



source:allocine.fr

Everyone has a choice
When to or not to raise their voices
It's you that decides
Which way will you turn
While feeling that our love's not your concern
It's you that decides

No one around you
Will carry the blame for you
No one around you
Will love you today and throw it all away
Tomorrow when you rise
Another day for you to realize me
Or send me down again

As the days stand up on end
You've got me wondering how I lost your friendship
But I see it in your eyes

Though I'm beside you
I can't carry the lame for you
I may decide to
Get out with your blessing
Where I'll carry on guessing

How high will you leap
Will you make enough for you to reap it?
Only you'll arrive
At your own made end
With no one but yourself to be offended
It's you that decides



source:sing365.com

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

John Dye (1963–2011) Touched by an Angel (TV series)



RIP





source:imdb.com

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Love of my life - you've hurt me
You've broken my heart and now you leave me
Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me, because you don't know -
What it means to me

Love of my life don't leave me
You've taken my love and now desert me
Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me, because you don't know -
What it means to me


You will remember -
When this is blown over
And everything's all by the way -
When I grow older
I will be there at your side to remind you
How I still love you - I still love you

Back - hurry back
Please bring it back home to me
Because you don't know what it means to me -
Love of my life
Love of my life


source:elyrics.net

Mr. Jack LaLanne dies at 96

LOS ANGELES – Mr. Jack LaLanne was prodding Americans to get off their couches and into the gym decades before it was cool. And he was still pumping iron and pushing fruits and vegetables decades past most Americans' retirement age.

The fitness fanatic ate well and exercised — and made it his mission to make sure everyone did the same — right up to the end at age 96, friends and family said.

LaLanne died Sunday at his home in Morro Bay on California's central coast, longtime agent Rick Hersh said. The cause was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

"I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for," Elaine LaLanne, LaLanne's wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.

Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack LaLanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.

"He was amazing," said 87-year-old former "Price is Right" host Bob Barker, who credited LaLanne's encouragement with helping him to start exercising often.

"He never lost enthusiasm for life and physical fitness," Barker told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I saw him in about 2007 and he still looked remarkably good. He still looked like the same enthusiastic guy that he always was."

LaLanne credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others' lives, too.

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use it," LaLanne said. "Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it's never too late."

His workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to the '70s. LaLanne and his dog Happy encouraged kids to wake their mothers and drag them in front of the television set. He developed exercises that used no special equipment, just a chair and a towel.

He also founded a chain of fitness studios that bore his name and in recent years touted the value of raw fruit and vegetables as he helped market a machine called Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer.

When he turned 43 in 1957, he performed more than 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes on the "You Asked For It" television show. At 60, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco — handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat. Ten years later, he performed a similar feat in Long Beach harbor.

He maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that "I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image."

"I never think of my age, never," LaLanne said in 1990. "I could be 20 or 100. I never think about it, I'm just me. Look at Bob Hope, George Burns. They're more productive than they've ever been in their whole lives right now."

Fellow bodybuilder and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger credited LaLanne with taking exercise out of the gymnasium and into living rooms.

"He laid the groundwork for others to have exercise programs, and now it has bloomed from that black and white program into a very colorful enterprise," Schwarzenegger said in 1990.

In 1936 in his native Oakland, LaLanne opened a health studio that included weight-training for women and athletes. Those were revolutionary notions at the time, because of the theory that weight training made an athlete slow and "muscle bound" and made a woman look masculine.

"You have to understand that it was absolutely forbidden in those days for athletes to use weights," he once said. "It just wasn't done. We had athletes who used to sneak into the studio to work out.

"It was the same with women. Back then, women weren't supposed to use weights. I guess I was a pioneer," LaLanne said.

The son of poor French immigrants, he was born in 1914 and grew up to become a sugar addict, he said.

The turning point occurred one night when he heard a lecture by pioneering nutritionist Paul Bragg, who advocated the benefits of brown rice, whole wheat and a vegetarian diet.

"He got me so enthused," LaLanne said. "After the lecture I went to his dressing room and spent an hour and a half with him. He said, 'Jack, you're a walking garbage can.'"

Soon after, LaLanne constructed a makeshift gym in his back yard. "I had all these firemen and police working out there and I kind of used them as guinea pigs," he said.

He said his own daily routine usually consisted of two hours of weightlifting and an hour in the swimming pool.

"It's a lifestyle, it's something you do the rest of your life," LaLanne said. "How long are you going to keep breathing? How long do you keep eating? You just do it."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne.



RIP





source:ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press/Associated Press writer Polly Anderson contributed to this report/yahoo.com

WASHINGTON – Health care is Shannon Taylor's "big, big hot button" and no wonder. She is a nurse in Tennessee who examines hospital bills for a health insurance company, and a mother who saw President Barack Obama's health care law come just in time for her family.

In the State of the Union speech Tuesday night, she will be looking for Obama to stand firm against Republicans who want to take the law apart. Health insurance for her daughter, who has lifetime medical problems, could hang in the balance.

Many other Americans feel a personal stake in what Obama will say Tuesday and do later — and what Republicans do in response. The hunger for jobs and economic growth stood out in interviews with more than 1,000 people, part of an Associated Press-GfK poll asking Americans what one thing they most want the government to accomplish this year.

It is apparent, too, that health care is still very much on people's minds, that spending has reached frightening proportions for many and that a notable share of Americans wants nothing more than to see partisan bickering end.

In upstate New York, Donald Dixon puts his faith in Republicans to restrain Democratic spending and bring down a debt that he believes makes every economic problem worse — and robs his grandsons, each with a master's degree, of good jobs.

It's enough to make the retired Baptist preacher invoke the fire and brimstone rhetoric of the pulpit, even as he renders his judgment in a cheerful tone.

Obama "tells us we are going in the right direction," Dixon says, "which to me is over the precipice of hell."

It falls upon presidents to describe the state of the union when much of that union is in the depths of winter's gloom.

The polling revealed a season of discontent; also some stirrings of hope. More than half disapproved of Obama's handling of the economy and just more than one-third said it has improved in his first two years. Still, he's considered likable, strong and in touch.

Altogether, 38 percent cited the economy or an economic issue when asked what they would most like to see the government accomplish this year. Fully 31 percent said health care is the No. 1 issue to tackle — regardless of whether they favor or oppose the law — and 21 percent cited the budget. Among economic concerns, jobs topped the list.

Dixon believes the debt already weighs on job creation and economic growth and it will take a decade to turn that around. The Republicans, he says, are off to a good start on that front.

His grandsons have master's degrees in education and business, and neither is able to get a job in his discipline. The one with the MBA lives with relatives and recently welcomed a baby. "He's been painting houses," Dixon, 74, said from Little Falls, N.Y. "Wintertime up here, you don't do much painting."

Debt is also a concern of those young enough to inherit its growing weight down the road. It's what Eric Tolbert, 19, a Purdue University student from West Lafayette, Ind., most wants the government to fix. "I think it will be all talk at first," he says of the promises to cut spending. "But we may see more progress in a year or two."

Says James Lenoir, 41, an Aberdeen, Miss., car salesman: "The economy is in a bad fix. Job creation is one of the most important things the country needs. There has been progress but not enough, fast enough."

Can the parties work together? Lenoir glumly predicts not. "On most issues, it's going to be gridlock."

Health care plays out in public opinion in ways as complicated as the law itself. Angie Wyatt, 46, an Alexandria, Ky., middle school teacher and mother of six, calls for the law to be repealed because "I don't like government control." But she does like one of its principal elements: the government's prohibition on denying health insurance to people who have been sick.

In Chattanooga, Taylor, the 46-year-old nurse, says she is well aware of abuses in the medical system, as one who pores over itemized hospital bills to be paid by the health insurer she works for. And she figures Obama's law may not be good for health insurers.

She's willing to take that chance.

"I've seen the system abusers, but those are the people you hear about," she says. "You don't hear about the old ladies who are buying four pills at a time at Walmart because that's all they can afford."

Taylor's daughter, 22, has celiac disease, an autoimmune intestinal disorder that has required expensive treatments and will follow her through life.

"She was just about to age out of my insurance coverage," Taylor said. "We were starting to get on the panicky side. Without insurance, we would be bankrupt." Her husband, disabled in a car accident, is helped with medical bills by Medicare.

Now, the health care law entitles children to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26, three years longer than before and without the condition that they be full-time students.

And by 2014, insurers will need to accept all applicants regardless of medical history. Insurers will also be prohibited from charging higher premiums to those in poor health.

"If the House will quit being silly and trying to overturn it," she says of the law, "there will be something there for her."

Employment was the top single issue identified by those interviewed, mentioned by 23 percent. Only two other individual issues topped 10 percent: fixing or reforming health care at 15 percent, and fixing the economy at 14 percent.

Six percent set aside material worries to say they want bipartisan cooperation above all else.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Jan. 5-10 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.




source:yahoo.com/AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson, Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta, News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and writer Will Lester contributed to this report.

The highest scoring word in the English language game of Scrabble is 'Quartzy'. This will score 164 points if played across a red triple-word square with the Z on a light blue double-letter square. It will score 162 points if played across two pink double-word squares with the Q and the Y on those squares. 'Bezique' and 'Cazique' are next with a possible 161 points. All three words score an extra 50 points for having seven letters and therefore emptying the letter rack in one go.







source:ask.com

Tomorrow is your birthday. Happy Birthday Nastassja. God bless.

Un douanier belge francophobe se voit contraint de faire équipe avec un Français, au moment de la suppression des frontières franco-belges dans les années 90...



Benoît Poelvoorde

Chritel Pedrinelli

Julie Bernard

Karin Viard

Dany Boon

Joachim Ledeganck

Dany Boon, Réalisateur



source:allocine.fr

Celebrated Spanish tenor Placido Domingo on Friday said he hopes to keep singing for years to come, as international opera stars put on a gala show in Madrid to mark his 70th birthday.


The event at the Teatro Real opera house in Domingo's native city, was just one of many tributes to the performer, well known to popular music audiences for his "Three Tenors" performances with Jose Carreras and the late Luciano Pavarotti.

Around 20 of the world's leading opera singers flew in to perform some 15 arias, sources at the Teatro Real said.

"I feel very happy, very lucky and very thankful for all the public has given me around the world, they gave so much encouragement," Domingo told reporters in the Spanish capital.

"To arrive at 70 singing is a great privilege for me and it is a great privilege to be able to make the public happy still," he added.

"I don't know how many more years I am going to be singing... but at the moment I still can do it," said Domingo, who underwent surgery last year to remove a cancerous polyp from his colon.

"Probably if I feel strong physically and I am believable on the stage, I would continue singing opera for a few years," he added, while stressing how tiring the preparation for operas can be, requiring "eight to ten hours a day."

However his many fans were assured that "to sing concerts is easier... I might do (that) longer than opera," said Domingo, who is also director of the Washington National and Los Angeles Operas.

Domingo, and the rest of the audience, were unaware until the last minute exactly who has traveled to Madrid to perform.

He himself was to watch the evening's entertainment from the balcony, with his family, before a much-anticipated turn in the spotlight with the other performers on stage at the end.

The gala, which Spain's Queen Sofia was also due to attend, was made more accessible thanks to a giant screen erected in the Plaza de Oriente outside and broadcasts in around 20 countries.

"To be in Madrid singing, with my family and friends, on such an important day for me is part of my birthday present," Domingo told a news conference earlier this month.

The tenor has been performing the role of Oreste in Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera "Iphigenie en Tauride" at the Teatro Real this month. The opera runs until January 27.

On Tuesday, he received the Spanish government's Order of Arts and Letters for "his extraordinary artistic career as a singer and orchestra conductor."

The Teatro Real has also offered people from around the world the chance to wish Domingo 'happy birthday' on its official web site.

Born in Madrid, he moved to Mexico as a child with his parents, who ran a company that performed zarzuela, the traditional Spanish operetta.

He made his operatic debut in a leading role as Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata" in Monterrery in Mexico nearly five decades ago.

The Grammy-winner's repertoire encompasses 130 stage roles -- a number unmatched by any other celebrated tenor in history.





source:msn.com/Agence France-Presse

Storyline
Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.




source:imdb.com

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Happy Birthday. God bless.

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

The economy’s rebounding, his approval ratings are ticking up, and the GOP field is a mess. Mark McKinnon and Myra Adams on the president’s odds of a return ticket to the White House.

President Obama’s poll ratings are climbing. And the online prediction market Intrade has Obama at a 58.9 percent chance of winning a second term. Though November 2012 is light years away in political time, as Team Obama regroups in Chicago, they should be optimistic about their reelection prospects. Here are 12 reasons why:

1. Power of Incumbency

In the last 56 U.S. presidential elections, 31 have involved incumbents; 21 of those candidates have won more than one term. Based on these historical odds, Obama has a better-than-67-percent chance of winning reelection. In 2004, voters were not happy with the economy, the Iraq War or President Bush generally, and still he was reelected.

2. Love Story Continues

Though the mainstream media is now sometimes critical of President Obama, he has never faced the extreme 24-hour-a-day derangement that has plagued other recent presidents and potential candidates-to-be. This gentle treatment is worth millions to a campaign.

3. Billion-Dollar Campaign

According to Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post, President Obama’s 2012 reelection effort could be the first campaign to raise $1 billion. Not an unreasonable assumption because he raised $750 million in 2008. Look for the coming campaign to break all fundraising and spending records on both sides.

4. Experienced Campaign Organization

In 2008, the junior senator from Illinois assembled a team of outsiders that defeated the Clinton machine and won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to Sen. John McCain’s 173. With the same Chicago campaign team in place, Obama will benefit from experience and memory; mistakes won’t be repeated.

5. Obama’s Charm Offensive

Let’s face it, Obama knows how to turn it on and win crowds with his oratory. He is personally likable, has an attractive family, and his favorables are climbing. His Real Clear Politics average is at 49.9 percent. That’s comfortably within the zone of the last three presidents to win reelection. At 752 days into the first term, according to Gallup, President Reagan’s approval rating fell to 37 percent. Clinton’s was at 47 percent, and George W. Bush’s was 61 percent. If history is any guide, Obama has nothing to fear at this point from Mr. Gallup.

6. Economy is Improving

As the economy goes, so goes Obama's reelection prospects. Yes, this is a potential weakness, but there are signs of hope. And what is most important is not what voters think about the economy at this hour, but rather whether they think it is improving. The stock market is rising, and unemployment is trending downward, albeit too slowly. Consumer spending is up, and 40 percent of Americans say the economy will improve over the next year. The campaign theme may be: He brought us back from the brink.

7. They’ll Be Back

The 2010 midterm voters that swept Republicans into control of the U.S. House, governorships and state legislatures were older, whiter, and more conservative than those who went to the polls in 2008. Despite this “white flight” from the Democratic Party, young voters, more minorities, more women, and generally more liberals will be back in 2012. Though some of the liberal base may hold their nose, they’re not likely to desert the Democratic incumbent in November. And there is no doubt that Obama’s billion-dollar campaign fund will find some way to get his core constituents to the polls.

8. Obama, “The Moderate”

Forty percent of Americans now see the president as a moderate. That’s up 10 percentage points from a year ago. More importantly, 44 percent of independents now call Obama a moderate, up from 28 percent a year ago. If congressional Republicans are viewed as strident and over-reaching, Obama will be well positioned as a moderating force—with or without any Clintonian triangulation.

9. Republican Sparring Match

With no obvious frontrunner at this point, the Republican primary season may drag on and could be very messy. Tea Party support may be torn. And while Republicans debate which candidate is more Reaganesque, Obama will stay above the fray, looking presidential.

10. Neverending Campaign

Organizing for America never stopped working since 2008 and continuously sends targeted emails to its 13 million members. Supporters are asked to volunteer for service projects or call Congress to object to the vote on repealing health care. It’s the presidential campaign that never ended.

11. Hispanic Vote Growing

Obama earned 67 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2008 compared to McCain’s 31 percent. The Five State Voter Project, sponsored by The Hispanic Institute, is under way to increase Hispanic voter participation in five states: New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Colorado. Winning all of these states could seal the deal for Obama.

12. Several Paths to 270

There were five key red states that Obama won in 2008—Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina. Obama could lose every one of them in 2012 and still win reelection with 272 electoral votes.

Forty percent of Americans now see the president as a moderate. That’s up 10 percentage points from a year ago.

While the election is eons away, the race at the moment is Obama’s to lose.





source:thedailybeast.com