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Monday, March 28, 2011

Lacey Schwimmer and Mike Catherwood might've had the lowest-rated dance on Monday's season premiere of 'Dancing with the Stars,' but their sexual chemistry heated up TV screens so much that ABC is reportedly worried.

"The network [ABC] asked them to tone down the sexual undertones," a source told RadarOnline.com. "They know there is a spark there -- everyone is talking about their amazing chemistry."

"They basically told them to cool it with the sexual tension," the source continued. "But they both just laughed about it."

"Psycho" Mike, real name Michael Catherwood, has been paired with Schwimmer, who is the professional dancer among the two. Season 12 will be her fifth season on the hit show. She previously competed on 'So You Think You Can Dance.'

The couple scored the lowest points with their fox trot on the inaugural edition of the latest season of 'Dancing,' but this did not stop the couple from sharing their feelings for each other.

Mike reportedly joked that the best part about the routine was "grabbing her butt." And Schwimmer even said, "We would make a great couple," while admitting to having seen "every part of his body."

While Mike does have a girlfriend, the source told Radar that the relationship is "on the rocks."
Source : http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/03/27/lacey-schwimmer-psycho-mike-sexual-chemistry/

Is the Sexual Chemistry Between Lacey Schwimmer and 'Psycho' Mike Catherwood Too Hot for ABC?

The Daily Planet has its ace reporter, and Clark Kent has his love interest. Amy Adams has been cast as Lois Lane in Zack Snyder's upcoming 'Superman' reboot.

The director confirmed that Adams had the role to the Los Angeles Times, saying that he reached out to her by phone while in Paris on Sunday.

"There was a big, giant search for Lois," Snyder told the paper. "For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it."

Adams is certainly in demand in Hollywood; she's coming off her third Oscar nomination, for her role in "The Fighter," opposite Mark Wahlberg, and is headlining "The Muppets" movie later in 2011. She's also in talks to join the star-studded film adaptation of the musical "Rock of Ages," which already features Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin, among others.

Adams joins a cast that includes Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Diane Lane as Martha Kent and Kevin Costner as Pa Kent.

While he wouldn't comment on the plot, Snyder did imply that Lane would be important in the story:

"What’s important to us is making [Superman] relevant and real and making him empathetic to today’s audience so that we understand the decisions he makes. That applies to Lois as well. She has to be in the same universe as him [in tone and substance]," Snyder said.

Snyder did give some juicier details about the to the LA Times earlier in March, talking about his vision for the anticipated reboot.

"Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we're making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there's been no other Superman movies," Snyder told the paper. "If you look at 'Batman Begins,' there's that structure: there's the canon that we know about and respect, but on other hand there's this approach that pre-supposes that there haven't been any other movies. In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of 'Respect the canon but don't be a slave to the movies.'"

In the Christopher Reeve-led film adaptations of the comic book, Margot Kidder took on the role of Lois Lane, while Kate Bosworth assumed the mantle in the 2006 film, "Superman Returns."

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/27/amy-adams-lois-lane-in-superman_n_841169.html

The 1962 film the Manchurian Candidate is a certified classic. The political thriller was so good that it earned the best tribute it could get. A remake. In 2004, Denzel Washington took on the role originally played by Frank Sintra.

There was of course some updating in the remake, some new tweets, and lots of color. But the original black and white, still holds it own. So which one is better and what has been said in comparing the two films?Most film fans who were familiar with the original political thriller tend to side with the 1962 version. But under the direction of Johnathan Demme with a cast that included along side Denzel the likes of Meryl Streep and Liev Schreilber, they do a fabulous job. It’s a strong piece of cinema that comes as a fresher, bright version of the dark and foreboding original.

Which version do you prefer?

Source : http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2011/03/27/manchurian-candidate-which-version-is-better-frank-sinatra-or-denzel-washington/

Manchurian Candidate: Which Version is Better? Frank Sinatra or Denzel Washington?

Jones was born in London on 16 August 1934, the daughter of Marjorie (née Jackson) and Richard Aneurin Jones, both of whom were educators. When war was announced, shortly after her fifth birthday, she was evacuated to Wales, and thereafter moved several times, including periods in Coniston Water, York, and back in London. In 1943 her family finally settled in Thaxted, Essex, where her parents worked running an educational conference centre. There, Jones and her two younger sisters Isobel (later Professor Isobel Armstrong, the literary critic) and Ursula spent a neglected childhood in which they were left chiefly to their own devices. After attending the Friends School Saffron Walden, she studied English at St Anne's College in Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien before graduating in 1956. In the same year she married John Burrow, a scholar of medieval literature, with whom she had three sons, Richard, Michael and Colin. After a brief period in London, in 1957 the couple returned to Oxford, where they stayed until moving to Bristol in 1976.

Jones' books range from amusing slapstick situations to sharp social observation, to witty parody of literary forms. Foremost amongst the latter are her Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and its fictional companion-pieces Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998) and Year of the Griffin (2000), which provide a merciless (though not unaffectionate) critique of formulaic sword-and-sorcery epics.

The Harry Potter books are frequently compared to the works of Diana Wynne Jones. Many of her earlier children's books were out of print in recent years, but have now been re-issued for the young audience whose interest in fantasy and reading was spurred by Harry Potter.[1][2]

Jones' works are also compared to those of Robin McKinley and Neil Gaiman. She was friends with both McKinley[3] and Gaiman, and Jones and Gaiman are both fans of each others' work; she dedicated her novel Hexwood to him after something he said in a conversation that inspired a key part of the plot.[4] Gaiman had already dedicated his 1991 four-part comic book mini-series The Books of Magic to "four witches", of whom Jones was one.[5]

Charmed Life, the first book in the Chrestomanci series, won the 1977 Guardian Award for Children’s Books. Jones was runner-up for the Children’s Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 1999, she won two major fantasy awards: the children’s section of the Mythopoeic Awards in the USA, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award in the UK, which is awarded by the British Fantasy Society to individuals or organisations who have made a significant impact on fantasy.

Her book Howl's Moving Castle was adapted as a Japanese animated movie in 2004, by filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. A version dubbed into English was released in the United Kingdom and USA in 2005, with the voice of Howl performed by Christian Bale. Archer's Goon was adapted for television in 1992.

Her non-fiction work on clichés in fantasy fiction, The Tough Guide To Fantasyland, has a cult following as a reference among writers and critics, despite being difficult to find due to an erratic printing history. It was recently reissued in the UK, and has been reissued in the USA in 2006 by Firebird Books. The Firebird edition has additional material and a completely new design, including a new map.

In July 2006 she was awarded an honorary D.Litt from the University of Bristol.[6] She received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2007.[7]

According to her autobiography, Diana has been an atheist since she was ten.

Jones was diagnosed with lung cancer in the early summer of 2009.[8] She underwent surgery in July and reported to friends that the procedure had been successful.[9] However in June 2010 she announced that she would be discontinuing chemotherapy 'which is serving only to make her feel very ill indeed.' She stated at one point that she had regained her sense of taste and smell. Mid-2010, she was halfway through a new book, with plans for another to follow.[10]

Jones died on March 26, 2011 at the age of 76.

Source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Wynne_Jones

Diana Wynne Jones - Biography

On this date in 1931 in Boston, the boy who would become the most famous pointy-eared scientist in the Federation was born. Yes, Leonard Nimoy, who no matter how many movies Zachary Quinto makes in the role will forever be the true Mr. Spock, turns 80 years old today.

One might be tempted to think that the fact that Leonard Nimoy was born a mere four days after William Shatner, and less than 400 miles away — Shatner was born in Montreal – was evidence of some sort of grand cosmic plan, but you just know that doing so would be illogical. It is certainly a wild coincidence, though.

Nimoy was at least somewhat responsible for creating some of the most enduring images from ST:TOS, including his trademark one-eyebrow raise and, of course, the Vulcan salute. His greatest contribution to Star Trek, though, was surely the nuanced performance he gave as Spock. It can’t be easy to play a character who is supposed to betray no emotion but stop short of making him seem robotic. Yet Nimoy always managed to find ways to make it clear how much Spock respected and genuinely liked his captain, and how Spock enjoyed his frequent repartee with Dr. McCoy despite the pretense of exasperation he was compelled to display. There’s no way to know for certain if the show would have become the phenomenon it eventually grew into had another actor been cast in the role, but I think it’s a safe bet that the core of what we know as Star Trek would be radically different.

Nimoy’s other acting roles were much less prominent and, honestly, much less memorable (though of course, put against Spock, how could they help but lose?). He was on Mission: Impossible for two seasons immediately following the cancellation of ST:TOS, but as he was replacing Martin Landau on the show he had huge shoes to fill. Over the years since — when not playing Spock, that is — he’s taken a number of guest-starring roles, most recently and memorably on the “parallel universe” TV show Fringe. He has become an artistic photographer as well, and one whose work has received a fair bit of acclaim. Over the years Nimoy wrote two autobiographies, titled (first) I Am Not Spock and then I Am Spock. It is perhaps ironic that the character himself would likely have raised an eyebrow at that dichotomy and declared it illogical.

So please join all of us at GeekDad, and wish Leonard Nimoy a very happy 80th birthday (you can even do so directly, via Twitter)! And remember, 80 isn’t even middle-aged for a Vulcan.

Source : http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/03/happy-80th-birthday-leonard-nimoy/

Happy 80th Birthday, Leonard Nimoy! - Star Trek

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Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Director: David Bowers

Starring: Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Peyton List, Steve Zahn, Laine MacNeil, Karan Brar

When Diary of a Wimpy Kid hit theaters last March, who’d have thought we’d have a sequel just a year later? Well, good thing producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson were on top of their stuff because Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is here and it packs just as much fun and charm as the original.

Summer’s over and it’s time for Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) to head back to school. Sure things are better with his upgraded seventh grader status and he isn’t getting picked on as much, but now Greg’s got other things to worry about. First off, there’s the new girl, Holly Hills (Peyton List). It takes just one look for her to steal Greg’s heart. The problem is, just about everything is working against him when it comes to impressing her from Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar) who doesn’t appreciate Greg getting the whole class to pretend Chirag’s invisible to a little candy bar incident that left an unpleasant stain on Greg’s pants.

But the thing that’s weighing on Greg the most isn’t his hope to impress Holly or even to be a “class favorite,” rather the trouble he’s having getting along with his family, specifically his older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick). His mother’s (Rachael Harris) as imposing as ever thanks to her new advice column in the local paper in which Greg typically winds up being the hot topic, his father (Steve Zahn) is still obsessed with his figurines and his little brother, Manny (Connor and Owen Fielding), can get away with anything, but it’s Rodrick’s mission to make Greg’s life miserable that’s giving him the hardest time. When their parents decide to head out of town to force the boys to settle their issues themselves, sure they wind up growing closer, but their newfound brotherly love comes with some pretty crazy consequences.

Is it possible for adult audiences to relate to the plight of a middle school kid? Not entirely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. Just like the original, the sequel boasts entertaining integration of the cartoon stick figures from Jeff Kinney’s book with the live action material. The black and white drawings pop up frequently throughout the film, but are seamlessly inserted so as not to create a distraction from the story, rather to enhance it. The same goes for the pacing of the film. The editing and music selection are both spot-on allowing for upbeat scene transitions that make you excited for what’s to come.

As for the direction, newcomer David Bowers has no trouble maintaining the tone Thor Freudenthal achieved in the first film. Not only does Bowers employ excellent staging in which every layer of the image holds some importance, but he simply knows how to work with kids. Mom and dad, Harris in particular, certainly get more screen time this time around, but it’s still Gordon’s movie and when it comes to getting an entirely believable performance out of such a young actor, Bowers hits it out of the park.

Then again, of course we can’t overlook the fact that Gordon is an all-around talented kid. In the first film he proved he could carry a movie and not only has he done it again in Rodrick Rules, but also proved he can carry a franchise. While his co-star, Capron, might not be in the driver’s seat, he does make for a great sidekick. Some of the slapstick gags are a little off and somewhat stagey, but that’s more of a blocking issue rather than a performance one.

The one who really stands out here is Bostick. Rodrick is present in the first film, but here he nearly takes center stage. He’s the brother you love to hate and Bostick certainly looks as though he’s having a blast in the role, but when it comes to the serious stuff, he’s got no problem switching gears to aim straight for the heart. In fact, at the close of the second act, he really nails a pivotal moment for the character, which is key not only in terms of the film’s heart, but also in establishing a connection with older audience members. While adults might not completely remember the time they didn’t get the desk they wanted in class, everyone can recall being told “no” when it comes to something really important. Even though Rodrick is one of the antagonists of the film, you really can’t help but to feel sorry for him here.

Wimpy Kid did it again. Yes, a number of the gags may be extremely childish and some of the plot points not entirely believable, but overall, it’s hard to keep from unleashing your inner child and enjoying this film. It’s quite easy to look past unconvincing story elements when the filmmaking techniques are of such a high quality and the performances are so honest. Looking for a movie you can take the kids to and still enjoy yourself? This is it. Then again, even if you’re sans youngsters you can still find quite a bit of enjoyment in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Movie Review

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Early Years and World War II
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Steve Rogers was a scrawny fine arts student growing up during the Great Depression. His alcoholic father died when Steve was a child, and his mother passed away from pneumonia after he graduated high school. In early 1940, appalled at Nazi Germany’s horrific atrocities, Steve attempted to enlist in the army. Failing to pass physical requirements, he was invited to volunteer for Operation: Rebirth, a project intended to enhance US soldiers to the height of physical perfection via the inventions and discoveries of Professor Abraham Erskine. Rogers eagerly accepted and became the first test subject. After injections and ingestion of the "Super Soldier Serum," Rogers was exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activated and stabilized the chemicals in his system. The process successfully altered his physiology from its frail state to the maximum of human efficiency, including greatly enhanced musculature and reflexes. Soon after, Professor Erskine was assassinated by a Nazi operative, leaving Steve the sole beneficiary of Erskine’s genius. Renamed “Project: Rebirth,” variations of the Super-Soldier serum were subsequently tested, under inhuman conditions, on African-American soldiers. The most successful of these was Isaiah Bradley, and Project: Rebirth’s resources were eventually absorbed into a multinational superhuman research project dubbed Weapon Plus.

Rogers was assigned to serve as an who served both as a counter-intelligence agent and a symbolic US hero to counter Nazi Germany's propaganda successes head by the Red Skull (Johann Shmidt). Wearing a costume based on his own design modeled after the American flag, Steve was given a triangular bulletproof shield, a personal sidearm and the codename Captain America, the Sentinel of Liberty. He was also provided a cover identity as a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh in Virginia. His first opponents included the Red Skull himself and Nazi attempts to duplicate Erskine’s serum with their own super soldiers. During a mission to the African nation of Wakanda, “Cap” befriended the nation’s ruler T’Chaka and obtained a sample of the rare metal Vibranium. Subsequent experiments with this metal produced a uniquely indestructible Vibranium-steel alloy disc, which proved impossible to duplicate. The disc was given to Cap as his new shield.
Cap and Bucky
Barely out of his teens himself, Rogers made friends with the army’s camp mascot, teenager James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Barnes accidentally learned of Rogers' dual identity and offered to keep the secret if he could become Captain America's sidekick. Rogers agreed, and trained Barnes. Throughout 1941, Cap and Bucky shared many adventures stateside and throughout the world. When the US entered World War II, Cap and Bucky teamed with the android Human Torch, his mutant sidekick Toro, and Namor the ocean-dwelling Sub-Mariner as the Allied force the Invaders.

In the closing days of World War II in early 1945, Cap broke through Nazi troops for his final wartime confrontation with the Red Skull, who was seemingly slain by bombing debris (but lived on in suspended animation). Days later, Cap and Bucky arrived in England too late to prevent brilliant Nazi scientist Baron Zemo from obtaining and launching an experimental drone plane armed explosive device on it. Rogers and Barnes reached the plane, but when Bucky tried to defuse the bomb, it exploded in mid-air. Rogers was hurled into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. The US government presumed both were dead. However, Bucky was secretly retrieved by Soviet operatives, while Cap was recovered by Nazi agent Lyle Dekker, who hoped to exchange bodies with him. Cap escaped Dekker’s base by air, but was shot down and fell back into the ocean. Due to the Super-Soldier serum Captain America survived, entering a state of suspended animation and eventually freezing in solid ice.

The Awesome Thaw and the Mighty Thor

Years later, a team of super-heroes called the Avengers discovered Rogers' frozen body in the North Atlantic, where he had been preserved since 1945. Once revived, Rogers was devastated by Bucky’s supposed death and the loss of everything once familiar to him. The Avengers were attacked by Namor’s ally, the extraterrestrial Vuk the D’bari, who transformed the heroes into stone. Cap confronted the alien, making him their ally, and helped the restored Avengers defeat Cap’s former teammate from the Invaders, Namor. After that adventure, Captain America was invited to join the Avengers as their first recruit. Cap formed close friendships with his teammates Thor, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Giant-Man (Hank Pym), the Wasp, and the Avengers’ butler Edwin Jarvis.

Cap’s revival, reported worldwide, brought the long-retired Baron Zemo out of seclusion. Enraged that his enemy still lived, Zemo organized several superhuman criminals as the Masters of Evil and set them against the Avengers, the first of many such battles with various incarnations of the Masters. Soon afterward, Cap and the Avengers repelled an invasion by the time-traveling menace Kang the Conqueror, clashed with Kang’s alternate version of himself from the future, Immortus, and encountered the heroic team of mutants, the X-Men, during an investigation of the extraterrestrial Lucifer. Zemo had his Masters launch a final assault on the Avengers. While the other Avengers defeated the Masters, Cap stormed Zemo’s South American stronghold, where Zemo accidentally killed himself by triggering an avalanche in battle with Cap.

Returning to New York, Cap learned the other Avengers were taking leaves of absence from the team and had already recruited repentant outlaws including the archer Hawkeye (Clint Barton), mutant speedster Quicksilver and his sister the probability-altering Scarlet Witch as their replacements. Unperturbed by the new trio’s earlier crimes, Cap became fulltime Avengers leader as the only remaining senior member. His leadership helped quell public skepticism about the new roster, nicknamed “Cap’s Kooky Quartet.” Cap became a mentor to the trio, assisting Quicksilver and the Witch’s assimilation in the US and bearing the brunt of Hawkeye’s youthful rebellion.
Hearts and Skulls
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During Cap’s early solo adventures and as an Avenger, he persistently protected the world from global threats. In Germany he almost single-handedly saved the world from three monstrous Sleeper robots, created by the Red Skull. Soon afterward, he aided SHIELD agent Sharon Carter in retrieving the explosive “Inferno 42” stolen from the subversive group Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) by Batroc the Leaper, a flamboyant mercenary who came to regard Cap as his favorite adversary. Cap’s wartime friend Nick Fury, now SHIELD Director, recruited him in further anti- AIM operations and offered him SHIELD membership, which Cap declined, preferring to remain active with the Avengers and as a solo operative. During SHIELD’s continued conflicts with AIM, Cap learned the enemy organization had discovered and revived the Red Skull, who repaid their hospitality by stealing their near-omnipotent Cosmic Cube. Battling his oldest enemy for the first time since the war, Cap manipulated the Skull’s ego to force him into physical combat, and then struggled with him for the Cube itself. Lashing out with its power, the Skull caused an earthquake and again vanished beneath rubble. Following his recovery, the Skull lured his enemy into a trap via a robot duplicate of Bucky, but failed to extort Cap into supposed treason via a threat to New York.

After several shared adventures, Cap and Sharon fell in love, but when she rejected his marriage proposal, Cap decided to give up crimefighting and revealed his true identity to the public. He soon recanted his decision to retire and returned to action. Cap again clashed with the Red Skull, who had revived the Fourth Sleeper to wreak havoc. With Sharon’s help, Cap deactivated the robot, and forced the Skull to flee.
The Sidekick, the Secret, and the Switch

Meanwhile Rick Jones, the young friend of the Hulk, pursued Captain America to become his partner, and Cap allowed the youth to accompany him into battle against the terrorists of Hydra, then led by Madame Hydra. When Hydra later abducted Rick, Cap rescued his new sidekick. During that mission, regretting his decision to make his identity public, Cap made himself appear to be shot down, leaving a realistic Steve Rogers mask to convince the world the Rogers identity had been false to protect his privacy. In addition, Cap and Rick ran afoul of old Avengers foe the shape-changing Space Phantom, who as part of his own plot removed the world’s knowledge of Cap’s secret identity.

The Red Skull continued to toy with Captain America’s life, using the Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with the hero. The Skull in Cap’s body alienated Rick into quitting his sidekick role, while Rogers in the Skull’s body was sent to Exile Island, where he was attacked (by those thinking he was the Skull) and befriended by adventurer Sam Wilson. Wilson, formerly criminal “Snap” Wilson, had undergone personality alteration by the Skull, and was planted so as to eventually become Cap’s partner, setting the stage for a potential future betrayal. As the costumed Falcon, accompanied by his trained bird Redwing, Wilson helped Cap confront the Skull, who returned his foe and himself to their rightful bodies so as to better savor a triumph. Before the Skull could destroy the pair, however, AIM avenged the Skull’s earlier betrayal by robbing the Cube of its power. The Skull escaped yet again.
Street Fights to Space Wars
In the adventures that followed, Cap encountered an android replica of Bucky planted by mutated AIM leader MODOK’s. The android replicated Bucky’s altruism and sacrificed itself, foiling MODOK’s schemes. In New York City, Cap and the Falcon became crimefighting partners, as the Red Skull had intended, and found a number of local villains. Beyond pedestrian-level threats, Captain America became involved with cosmic battles. With the Avengers team, and the alien Kree Captain Mar-Vell, Cap intervened in the millennia-old Kree-Skrull War after it threatened Earth.

Back home, with Earth safe from the Skrulls, Cap and the Falcon battled gangsters and the Red Skull’s Fifth Sleeper robot unleashed in Las Vegas. The surrogate Captain America and Bucky (Jack Monroe) of the 1950s were freed after being driven mad by faulty Super-Soldier treatments and placed in suspended animation for decades. Cap and Falcon defeated the madmen. The Viper (Jordan Dixon), teamed with Eel (Edward Lavell) and Cobra (Klaus Voorhees) to battle Cap and Falcon as the Serpent Squad, and variations on this serpent-themed group would plague Cap repeatedly. Baron Zemo’s son Helmut surfaced, heir to Heinrich’s barony, genius, and above all his hatred of Captain America. When Falcon intervened in a grudge match between Hemut and Cap, the younger Zemo seemingly perished in a vat of his father’s chemical “Adhesive X.”
The Secret Empire and Time-Traveling Turmoil

On the home front, Captain America was disheartened to discover the Secret Empire, an underground organization tied to a high-ranking US government official. Cap and other heroes protected the White House against the Empire’s assault, but Cap was left deeply shaken by the affair. Standing beside past and future versions of the Avengers, Cap battled to save humanity from the Time-Keepers, extraterrestrial beings from the “End of Time.” He returned from the battle victorious, but with no memories of his journey outside of the bounds of time. After he and the Avengers joined the powerful alien Kree soldier, Captain Mar-Vell, against the cosmic menace Thanos, Cap and Sharon accompanied the rocky hero, the Thing, to 31st century (a possible future designated Earth- 691). With the heroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, they helped battle against the Earth’s conquerors from the alien Badoon race.
Nomad
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Nomad
Back in the present day, Rogers felt disillusioned by the corruption of the US government by the Secret Empire, and abandoned his role as Captain America while adopting a new costumed identity as the Nomad. In his new guise, he and Namor confronted Viper, the former Madame Hydra, who had embarked on a campaign of terror as leader of the Serpent Squad. The two heroes prevented Viper and her Atlantean ally Krang from using the ancient and powerful Serpent Crown. Later, the savagery of the Red Skull prompted Steve to reclaim his Captain America identity.
A Partner’s Past Exposed

In a subsequent battle, the Red Skull revealed his role in Falcon’s origin, giving Cap’s partner his own identity crisis. Despite learning of his partner’s checkered past, Cap stayed by his side and accompanied Falcon to court, where his partner faced charges for the crimes of his earlier self. Though placed on parole, Falcon was able to continue fighting crime at Cap’s side.
Global Chaos

Captain America continued his incredible war against injustice across the globe. He partnered with Captain Britain (Brian Braddock in Great Britain against the Red Skull’s terrorism against London, prevented the Royalist Forces of America from driving the USA insane with their Madbomb, and formed an uncomfortable alliance with Doom against yet another of the Skull’s schemes; the Skull was revealed to be bankrolling worldwide chaos caused by the mutated creatures of former Nazi scientist Arnim Zola. During a period Captain America suffered from amnesia of his early memories, a new threat arose with hypnotist Dr. Faustus’ National Force, whose puppet leader, the Grand Director, was actually the 1950s Captain America Faustus had brainwashed. Sharon Carter infiltrated the Force but was seemingly brainwashed and burned to death. In fact, Sharon faked her death and went under deep cover for SHIELD.
Personal Life
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With his memories restored, Cap has an opportunity to run for president, but ultimately declined. He grew closer to fellow senior Avengers Iron Man and Thor when he learned their secret identities while they were all briefly imprisoned by the villainous Molecule Man. Meanwhile, In his private life, after the pain of losing Sharon had finally faded, Cap established a romance with new neighbor Bernadette “Bernie” Rosenthal. Cap faced a new Baron Zemo (Helmut, now hideously scarred after his earlier defeat), whose machinations led to Bernie discovering her boyfriend’s secret identity. While failing to stop Iron Man’s descent into alcoholism, Cap had a better influence on Jack Monroe, formerly the 1950s Bucky, who found new purpose as Cap’s sidekick wearing a version of Cap’s old Nomad costume. Upon returning from a bleak dystopian future world, recruited by the cyborg soldier Deathlok, to defeat the dictator Hellinger, Cap faced a brighter tomorrow as Bernie proposed marriage to him.
The Secret Wars

Before Rogers could settle down with Ms. Rosenthal, Cap, multiple Avengers and many other heroes were transported to an artificial planet called Battleworld and pitted against Dr. Doom’s super-villain army by the near-omnipotent being called the Beyonder. As loyalties changed throughout the conflict, Cap battled his wartime comrade Logan, now the X-Man Wolverine. Briefly seizing the Beyonder’s power, Doom wrought havoc, even breaking Cap’s shield, but Doom was defeated and Cap used Battleworld’s unique properties to re-form his beloved weapon through sheer will. The heroes and villains were returned back to Earth.
Death Dodged Again by the Red Skull

Meanwhile, the Red Skull began aging rapidly as the effects of his suspended animation faded, and was determined to die in battle with his oldest enemy. Though Cap was poisoned and tricked to belive Bernie and the Falcon were killed, overwhelming grief and pending death could force Cap to kill the Skull, who thus died of old age rather than in the battle he craved. Cap was soon restored by the Avengers, but none knew Zola had cloned Cap, and transferred the consciousness of the dying Skull into the new body. The Skull allowed Cap to believe he was dead while he remained behind the scenes for months. Later, Cap looked on with pride as his teammate Hawkeye became leader of a separate Avengers branch on the West Coast, and both teams joined Earth’s other heroes in repelling the alien Dire Wraiths’ long-planned all-out invasion. Following clashes with the teleporting criminal mercenary Sidewinder’s Serpent Society, and the radical anti-nationalist Flag-Smasher, Cap confronted the Beyonder, manifested on Earth in human form to gain an understanding of human desires. Cap was dealt a personal blow when Bernie left New York to attend law school, ending their relationship.
The Scourge

Cap next investigated the villain-killing vigilante, the Scourge of the Underworld. The Scourge that Cap captured was himself killed by another, for several Scourges were active in a vigilante program designed by the Angel (Thomas Halloway) but co-opted by the still supposedly dead Red Skull. Another Skull project, the extremist group ULTIMATUM, surfaced with Flag-Smasher as its apparent leader. While battling the terrorists, Cap was forced to shoot an ULTIMATUM agent in order to rescue hostages; despite his victory, he was sickened at having been forced to kill an opponent for the first time since World War II. He was also unsettled by his subsequent losing skirmish with super-strong, glory-hungry rival adventurer Super-Patriot (John Walker).
The Captain
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The Captain
Following an attack on Avengers Mansion by Helmut Zemo and his new Masters of Evil, and a conflict with Florida drug-lord the Slug, Cap became an ally of wrestler-turned-adventurer Demolition-Man (or D-Man). The Commission on Superhuman Activities (CSA), manipulated by the still hidden Red Skull, unfairly demanded Cap return to active government duty. Cap, in an echo of his earlier retirement following the Secret Empire debacle, surrendered his Captain America identity and shield rather than risk compromising his integrity via potential government misdeeds. The CSA appointed John Walker as a replacement Captain America, with his sidekick Battlestar (Lemar Hoskins). Rogers formed a mobile crimefighting team with Falcon, Nomad and D-Man and assumed a new costumed identity as the Captain. He adopted a new Adamantium shield provided by Iron Man, but Iron Man’s vigilante crusade to incapacitate armor wearers using his technology set him against the government’s Mandroids and Guardsmen, soldiers defending the nation Rogers still cherished. The Captain returned the shield during an attempt to apprehend Iron Man, the first serious break in their years of friendship.

With a Vibranium shield from the Black Panther, Rogers continued his adventures with his fellow travelers. Alongside the Avengers; while battling the Egyptian death god Seth’s forces, he briefly wielded Thor’s hammer, proving his worthiness among only a few privileged to lift the enchanted weapon. When the eastern Avengers roster disbanded soon afterward, Cap led a team of one-time members in halting the High Evolutionary’s worldwide experimentation, then joined D-Man and Battlestar in an assault on ULTIMATUM. D-Man seemingly perished at the organization’s Arctic base, but Cap had little time to grieve as demons overran New York during what was called the “Inferno Crisis”. Cap was allied with various heroes during the fray as a new team of Avengers, while the mutant X-Men ended the unholy invasion. After the Inferno Crisis ended, he and a maddened John Walker were manipulated into battle by the Red Skull, his survival finally revealed. With the Skull’s involvement exposed, the CSA offered Steve the return of his former identity; though Rogers initially declined. He was encouraged to accept by Walker, who subsequently wore a version of the Captain uniform as the USAgent and joined the West Coast Avengers, wielding Cap’s Vibranium shield.
Back in Uniform

While Cap led a reorganization of the Avengers, he became romantically involved with ex-Serpent Society member Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), although their relationship was strained by her continued loyalties to some of her former criminal cohorts.

Hostilities flared between the interstellar Kree and Shi’ar Empires, and their conflict destabilized Earth’s sun. Cap led the Avengers in protecting Earth’s interests and following a series of space adventures that set them against both the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and the Kree Starforce, the Avengers learned all parties had been manipulated by the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence in an effort to advance the Kree race’s evolution via the near-annihilation of the Kree empire. After allegedly 98% of the Kree Empire’s population were killed, Iron Man and other Avengers attempted to kill the Supreme Intelligence despite the protests of Cap, who felt the Earth team had no right to execute an extraterrestrial ruler; although the Intelligence secretly survived, Cap was disturbed by his teammates’ willingness to kill and he took another leave of absence from the team just as D-Man turned up alive.

Back on Earth, Cap’s adventures continued as he was turned into a werewolf for a time, and was attacked by an evil “doppelganger” version of himself, a harbinger of the cosmic “Infinity War” waged against Earth’s superhumans by the tyrannical Magus, an aspect of the artificially constructed man, Adam Warlock.
A Super-Soldier Fatigued

In the wake of his many crises, Cap received the hardest blow yet when he learned that, due to his long years of adrenaline-boosting action, his body had finally overtaxed the Super-Soldier serum’s ability to replenish his augmented physique, threatening paralysis. Knowing further exertion would worsen his condition but unwilling to retire, Cap slowed his deterioration by using various accessories in place of physical feats, eventually taking novice heroes Free Spirit and Jack Flag as apprentices. When his health finally collapsed, Cap used armor provided by Iron Man to overcome paralysis, but his condition continued to deteriorate. Cap, finally resigned to his fate, prepared to succumb to death; but he vanished, and his friends found only his armor.

Although the world believed him dead, Cap had been abducted and cured by Sharon Carter, finally learning she was still alive. She was reluctantly allied with the Red Skull, who believed Cap was the only person able to defeat their mutual enemy Hate-Monger, a Hitler clone who had assimilated the Cosmic Cube’s power and changed the world into one the Skull could never rule. Cap prevented both Hate-Monger and the Skull from using the Cube’s power, while Sharon’s romantic feelings for Cap returned.
Reborn after the Onslaught

When the psionic entity Onslaught threatened the world, Cap and several other heroes seemingly died defeating him. Cap was again reborn, however, as were his friends, on a new Earth in a pocket dimension subconsciously created by Franklin Richards, son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. Whether via his own subconscious or not, Cap received a new life with a wife and son, only for it to be exposed as a deception born from the imaginary history Franklin created for him. Counter-Earth also presented him with a readymade nemesis, a duplicate Red Skull, whom he fought with the help of teenage Rikki Barnes, dubbed Bucky. Eventually, Cap and the other Onslaught survivors regained their true memories and returned to Earth, leaving their legend to inspire the remaining heroes on Franklin’s world, which was preserved as Counter-Earth.
When Villains Pose as Heroes

Earth’s reality was not restored for long as Cap led nearly the entire Avengers roster against the ancient sorceress Morgan Le Fay, who changed reality into a medieval world where the Avengers were her warriors, but Cap broke her spell and helped his teammates do the same. They were quickly controlled again by Helmut Zemo, who in Cap’s absence had reorganized the Masters of Evil into a supposed team of heroes, the Thunderbolts. Fortunately, most of the Thunderbolts rebelled against Zemo’s scheme, freeing the Avengers, and eventually finding redemption under Hawkeye’s leadership. During a battle with Hydra, Cap’s indestructible shield was lost in the Atlantic Ocean, and he initially used a duplicate of his triangular wartime shield as a replacement. After defeating the shape-changing alien Skrull called the Sensational Hydra, who had impersonated him to incite panic in the public, Cap obtained a new energy shield. Cap and Iron Man were again at odds when Iron Man used telepathic technology to remove the world’s memories of his true identity, as the Space Phantom had done for Cap years ago, which Cap considered unconscionably intrusive.
Crisis of Kang the Conqueror

Following yet another bout with the Red Skull and his reacquired Cosmic Cube, Cap recovered his original shield. The Avengers and all of Earth faced a series of crises when Kang the Conqueror launched a global assault unequaled by any of his earlier efforts, causing worldwide chaos made worse by competing menaces such as the master of gravity, Graviton, and the giant creature Orrgo. Millions perished, but the Avengers and their allies ultimately routed Kang’s forces, and Cap himself struck down Kang in single combat.
The War on Terror

While fighting terrorists in the US, Cap was again forced to take a life to save others, killing terrorist leader al-Tariq. Hoping to discourage counterattacks on the USA, Cap unmasked before the world to give an individual face to al-Tariq’s death.

When the Avengers helped contain the toxic Red Zone disaster that killed hundreds of Americans, Cap traced the Zone’s creation to US Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk, actually the disguised Red Skull, having infiltrated the government once more. Although his imposture was exposed, another of the Skull’s projects lived on in a new government-backed team of proactive Invaders, with USAgent as field leader. Disgusted by the needless violence of the group’s international activities, Cap was all the more discouraged when Namor joined USAgent’s efforts.

Drawn into more government conspiracies while helping Falcon, Cap encountered his latest Super-Soldier imitator, the Anti-Cap, whom Cap tried but failed to save from further government manipulation. He also grew alienated from Sharon Carter over her involvement with the anti-mutant Project: Contingency. When Thor’s home dimension was threatened by Ragnarok, Cap and Iron Man accompanied him to battle Asgard’s enemies, but Thor ultimately returned them to Earth rather than risk their lives, and he seemingly perished soon afterward. Back on Earth, when a supposedly reformed and no longer disfigured Zemo regained leadership of the Thunderbolts, Cap’s distrust of Zemo helped spark a brutal Avengers-Thunderbolts clash during which Zemo was hideously scarred anew while shielding Captain America.
Disassembled

One of the Avengers’ darkest days arose when Scarlet Witch, insane after years of struggling with her powers, undermined various teammates via her powers, even drawing Cap into an apparent romantic interlude with her, then altered reality itself to send duplicates of the Avengers’ many enemies against them, ending in the apparent deaths of Hawkeye, Vision and others. Following a string of discouraging events for Cap, the apparent murders of both the Red Skull and Nomad were traced to the Winter Soldier, revealed as Bucky. Although Cap broke through Bucky’s brainwashing via the Cosmic Cube, his World War II partner fled. Cap felt more optimistic after he and several other super heroes helped contain a mass breakout of superhuman criminals at the Raft prison; Cap and Iron Man formalized this group as a new Avengers roster, partnering with new Avenger teammates Spider-Man and Wolverine, but the government and SHIELD (now run by the ruthless Maria Hill) distrusted their team.
Casualty of the Civil War
When the US government passed a Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA) requiring all super heroes to register for government service, Iron Man aggressively championed the new law. Cap’s requests for review of the legislation were ignored, and he went rogue rather than hunt down rebellious heroes. A “Civil War” divided the super-hero community as heroes sided either with Iron Man’s government-sanctioned forces or Cap’s underground resistance, the “Secret Avengers.” Zemo’s Thunderbolts worked for Iron Man, but Zemo secretly assisted Cap as well, finally convincing Cap that he had at least some potential to reform; Zemo even restored Cap’s personal mementos, the same ones he had destroyed long ago. During the civil war’s final battle, Cap’s forces were on the verge of victory when he noticed that ordinary emergency workers such as firefighters, paramedics and nurses were siding with Iron Man’s team. Horrified at the realization that the common people opposed his position, Cap opted to end the destructive conflict by surrendering to the authorities. Most of the anti-registration movement soon collapsed without his leadership. Following his arrest, a scheme orchestrated by the Red Skull, Arnim Zola, Dr. Faustus and others culminated with Cap’s assassination by a brainwashed Sharon Carter, who shot him at point-blank range.
Back in Time
While the world believed Captain America had been killed, the shot fired by Sharon actually flung him out of sync with time, causing him to http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrelive moments from his past. While Cap was believed dead, Bucky assumed the guise of Captain America. The Red Skull finally engineered his master plan to bring Cap back to the present, but with his mind controlling Cap’s body; however, Rogers defeated the Red Skull within his mind and drove him from his body. Finding Bucky had adjusted to his new role, Rogers encouraged him to continue as Captain America, though Rogers briefly resumed his role as Cap to lead the Avengers against Norman Osborn, the insane arch-criminal given charge of his own “Avengers” and the Initiative, the USA’s superhuman task force, after playing on public perception of himself. During Osborn’s siege against the Asgardians, Cap’s forces publicly defeated him and exposed him as a dangerous madman. Rogers accepted the president’s offer to replace Osborn as the new executive in charge of America’s super-heroes.

Source : http://marvel.com/universe/Captain_America_%28Steve_Rogers%29

Captain America (Steve Rogers)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Crysis 2 bears the weight of heavy expectations on its shoulders. PC gamers want a new system-crushing game to show off their hardware, and console players were promised the "best-looking game ever." In the wake of Modern Warfare's ascension, Crysis fans worried that the series' expansion to consoles would lead to a narrow, dumbed-down experience.

Thankfully, Crysis 2 sidesteps the excessive simplification of recent shooters with Nanosuited grace. It mixes destruction with beauty, and manages to deliver a more focused experience than its predecessor while retaining the building blocks of what made the original Crysis unique. Crysis 2 is the kind of game that speaks in superlatives -- and even when it stumbles, it's quick to recover, always pushing forward to another amazing moment.

Set in a 2024 that seems more like the day after tomorrow, Crysis 2 depicts New York City, under assault from all directions. A bizarre virus is devouring entire boroughs; the city is under uneasy martial law, brought about by a strained partnership between the military and private security conglomerate Crynet. Then the alien invasion begins, and things fall apart. As a marine named Alcatraz (Callsign? Codename? Rude parents? Crysis 2 never says), you arrive amidst devastation and chaos, sporting Crysis' trademark Nanosuit -- a semi-living suit of combat armor with advanced AI.

The Nanosuit is the lens through which you view Crysis 2, and it adds a great sense of cohesiveness to the game. Once you hit the Start button, everything you see and do -- save for load screens -- occurs in first-person view. Instead of wading through weapon- and power-selection menus, you're presented with in medias res overlays and subtle visual effects, which indicate the Nanosuit's status. The Nanosuit has three modes: Stealth imparts near-invisibility; strength grants more powerful melee attacks, greatly increased movement speed, and jump height; and armor makes you something of a walking tank. Each power drains your suit's energy to varying degrees -- and Crysis 2's foundation lies in juggling these powers, finding new ways to combine them, and using them in unexpected ways.

It's great, then, that Crytek presents such a varied playground in its torn and broken New York City. Crysis 2 shines most when you push the Nanosuit to the limits of what you think it can do, and the best moments come from points where you stop and ask "did I really just pull that off?" Crysis 2 is a collection of sandboxes, some enormous in size, all laid out to provide multiple options for tackling your objectives. Your suit's AI identifies strategic points of interest if you choose, allowing you to mark tactical points or elements, like weapon caches and enemy locations. After that, it's up to you: Will you crank up your armor, tear a mounted machine gun off its hinges, and walk through the front door? Or will you sneak in to flank an enemy position, silently murdering foe after foe?

Crysis 2's enemy AI is smart, yet believable. Sure, you can set enemies up for ambushes, but carelessness often provokes massive coordinated responses that require quick thinking to deal with. Combat usually spirals out from the initial encounter randomly, and most fights unfold differently each time you play them. Thank Crysis 2's environments, which aren't just wide, but also tall -- you can always find a way up and over, a way to come crashing down. When you fight Crynet's paramilitary forces, the ability to strike from on high and disorient your opponents is empowering and predatory. During encounters with the alien Ceph, the balance shifts; your attention isn't just on where you can go, it's where your more mobile foes can cut you off and ambush you. While you're the cliched one-man army, the tools at your disposal are primed to enable clever play more than brute force. The free-wheeling weapon customization from the original Crysis has returned, which allowed you to modify weapons with scopes, silencers, undercarriage attachments and such, and it's been joined by Nanosuit upgrades. The suit upgrade menu is actually your hand - twitching each finger selects a different subset of upgrades, and only one of each subset can be active at once.

This adds to Crysis 2's replayability, since the abilities you earn and the weapon modifications you find are available in all previously completed chapters, on any difficulty level. It's a sort of new game plus situation, without explicitly naming it as such. This makes up for Crysis 2's smaller playground.

Source : http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/115/1156446p1.html

Crysis 2 xbox

After the delay caused by Peter Jackson’s perforated ulcer, production has begun on the two back-to-back 3D Lord of the Rings prequels in New Zealand. The cast had its first script read-through at Jackson’s Stone Studios on Thursday, sitting in a semi-circle inside the set of Bilbo Baggins’ house. Ian McKellen has blogged that having Jackson and co-screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens inviting comments on their script so far “is as close to bliss as an actor can get”. New Line and MGM are co-producing these two new Tolkien epics – rumoured to be titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – with Warner Bros financing. The two Hobbit films are due to be released late 2012 and 2013, respectively.

source :http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/%E2%80%98the-hobbit%E2%80%99-finally-begins-filming/

‘The Hobbit’ Finally Begins Filming

NEW YORK (By Michelle Nichols) - Bill Gates didn't lose his title as the world's richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say.

Forbes will release its 2011 billionaires list on Wednesday and Gates, investor Warren Buffett and last year's richest man, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, will almost certainly be in the top three. The trio have topped the list for the past five years.

But it would be no contest if Microsoft co-founder Gates had not already given away more than a third of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development and U.S. education.

"It wouldn't be a competition," said David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X. "(Gates) would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy."

Lincoln said Gates was currently worth about $49 billion, behind Slim, whose fortune he estimated at $60 billion. Buffett, also a philanthropist, is now worth some $47 billion.

But had Gates not given away any money, he would be worth $88 billion, Lincoln said.
Gates and his wife Melinda have so far given $28 billion to their foundation, the largest in the United States.

Forbes' 2010 billionaires list put Gates' fortune at $53 billion, but he was knocked into second spot by Slim's $53.5 billion, losing the crown for only the second time since 1995.
Slim has said businessmen do more good by creating jobs and wealth through investment, "not by being Santa

Claus," and while he has still pledged several billion dollars to charity, his efforts have been a fraction of Gates' philanthropy.

Buffett, who Forbes ranked as the third richest man in the world last year with $47 billion, has also pledged almost all of his fortune to the Gates Foundation and has given $8 billion to the organization since 2006.

But Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc has fared better than Gates' Microsoft. Microsoft shares now trade about where they were a decade ago, while Berkshire shares have roughly doubled. Since the end of 2009, Microsoft shares have fallen 16 percent, while Berkshire shares are up 29 percent. Slim's major companies, which include Mexico's former state telecoms monopoly Telmex, have also seen gains in their stock prices.

"DRAMATIC" PHILANTHROPIC INFLUENCE

Gates and Buffett have joined forces to encourage other billionaires to publicly pledge to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their death as part of a campaign called The Giving Pledge.
Glen Macdonald, president of the Wealth and Giving Forum, said Gates' philanthropy had influenced the way other rich people in the United States approach their own philanthropy.

"Encouraging people and leading by example -- there's no question that's going to have influence on people's giving patterns," said Macdonald. "They are going to give sooner and they are going to give in greater amounts."

But Macdonald, whose group has advised 600 wealthy U.S. families on their philanthropy, disagrees with the public nature of The Giving Pledge, which requires billionaires to release a letter explaining their intentions.

So far 59 billionaires have joined The Giving Pledge, publishing their letter at www.givingpledge.org. The campaign does not accept any money nor tell people how to give away their wealth, it just asks for a moral commitment.

Paul Schervish, director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, said Gates' influence had been "dramatic" and likened philanthropy to a gem, saying Gates was "changing the facets by learning and teaching others."

"He would be the first to admit that he is not the origin of the movement, of all the ideas in the movement, for which he is a leader," Schervish said.

"One of the things we're dramatically finding is (many more) people beginning foundations and endowing them at higher levels while they are still alive," he said.

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/07/bill-gates-no-longer-worl_n_832634.html

Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man After Giving Away Billions

"Born This Way" is Lady Gaga's minority and gay rights anthem, and as such, she's decided not to partner with a chain retailer known for its donations to anti-gay rights political candidates.

Metro Weekly reports, citing sources close to the deal, that Lady Gaga has nixed her deal for an exclusive special edition of her upcoming album; The Advocate then reported that a source close to Gaga said that the company's continued political activity -- specifically the main stumbling block.

"She and Target didn't see eye to eye on Target's policy of political donations and how they affect the LGBT community," the source told the magazine's website.

In July, it was revealed that Target's Political Action Committee had made donations to MN Forward, a PAC that supportered Minnesota State Rep. Tom Emmer's campaign for governor. Emmer is a hardline conservative who holds staunch anti-gay rights stances, and has been linked to a ministry that advocates killing gay people.

Following the revelation, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized and promised Target would more closely oversee its donations, but in December it was discovered that the company's PAC had donated over $30,000 to anti-gay rights politicians, 3/4 of its political spending in 2010. That included donations to MN Reps. Erik Paulsen and John Kline, both of whom are vehemently anti-gay rights.

When Gaga first struck the deal with the retailer in February, she noted the difficulty she had with Target's history, and said that it had become part of their negotiations.

"That discussion was one of the most intense conversations I've ever had in a business meeting," the singer told Billboard.com. "Part of my deal with Target is that they have to start affiliating themselves with LGBT charity groups and begin to reform and make amends for the mistakes they've made in the past...our relationship is hinged upon their reform in the company to support the gay community and to redeem the mistakes they've made supporting those groups."

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/08/lady-gaga-ends-target-lgbt_n_833209.html

Lady Gaga Ends Target Partnership, Reportedly Over LGBT Stance

Julianne Moore is getting fit for claws -- she's about to play Sarah Palin, the Mama Grizzly herself.

HBO Films announced on Wednesday that the actress will take on the role of Sarah Palin in its film adaptation of the 2008 election tell all book, "Game Change," written by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Moore is the first member of the cast, which will feature screen versions of the top players in the election, such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

The book spilled deep, sometimes damaging secrets and quotes from the high-tension campaign trail, including Obama and then-running mate Joe Biden's distant relationship, the Clintons' original distaste for Obama and the fallout from McCain's choice of Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.

In one such story, McCain adviser Steve Schmidt was quoted telling Palin's foreign policy advisers that, after testing the candidate before a debate, "You guys have a lot of work to do. She doesn't know anything."

It will take quite an acting job for Moore to play the role -- she's an outspoken liberal, and backed Obama during the election.

The release follows:

HBO Films' GAME CHANGE follows John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Based on the bestselling book "Game Change," by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, the film is directed by Jay Roach and written by Danny Strong, whose previous collaboration was HBO's Emmy Award winning film, RECOUNT. The 2008 film also earned an Emmy and DGA Award for Roach and an Emmy nomination and WGA Award for Strong. Credits: Cast (to date): Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin Director/Executive Producer: Jay Roach Writer/Co-Executive Producer: Danny Strong Production companies: HBO Films in association with Everyman Pictures

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/09/julianne-moore-sarah-palin-game-change_n_833689.html

Julianne Moore: Sarah Palin In 'Game Change'

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Did you catch Miley Cyrus making her debut as a Saturday Night Live hostess this weekend? While you were busy inhaling shots of Tequila down at the local Watering Hole, the former Hannah Montana starlet was trying her hand at live comedy (The emphasis on “trying…”) on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy classic. And in case you’ve missed the memo, Ms. Cyrus has breaking news for you: She isn’t perfect!

Take a peek at Miles’ opening Saturday Night Live monologue…

Source : http://www.popcrunch.com/miley-cyrus-on-saturday-night-live/

Miley Cyrus “SNL” Monologue

The Big East Tournament 2011 schedule is arriving very soon for all the conference teams in search of an NCAA Tournament bid. Among the pack, the UCONN Huskies seem to be in search of some wins against . .

Source : http://www.buzzcrunch.net/2011/03/big-east-tournament-2011-schedule-kemba-walker-uconn-huskies-ready-to-dance/

Big East Tournament 2011 Schedule: Kemba Walker & UCONN Huskies Ready to Dance?

Watch the classic 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke on TCM TV channel tonight, March 5 at 8:00PM. The film is about a free-spirited convict who refuses to conform to chain-gang life.

Movie synopsis:
Luke Jackson is arrested for unscrewing the tops from a row of parking meters while on a drunken spree in a small Southern town. After the trial, he is sentenced to 2 years of labor on a chain gang.

A loner who maintains his aloofness even while working in the blazing sun, Luke soon antagonizes another prisoner, Dragline, the acknowledged leader of the chain gang. The tension between the two men mounts until they finally have a fight in which Dragline beats Luke but is unable to make him give up. Luke’s skill at poker, plus his refusal to break under pressure from the sadistic guards, win him the respect of Dragline and the admiration of the other inmates. A short time after Luke receives a farewell visit from his dying mother, a telegram arrives informing him that she is dead. Unable to bear his confinement, Luke saws a hole in the floor under his bunk and escapes; but he is captured, brutally beaten, and put in ankle chains. Undaunted, he breaks out again but is recaptured. Every effort is made to break his will, and he is bludgeoned and overworked until he begs the guards for mercy. Upon seeing Luke betray the myth of the indomitable hero, the other men treat him with contempt. Then, without warning, he escapes in a dump truck, followed by Dragline. Taking refuge in a church, Luke sends Dragline away and attempts to settle his score with God. Partly out of love for Luke, partly out of fear for his own safety, Dragline returns with the guards. Rather than surrender, Luke stands before a window and shouts his defiance until he is silenced by a bullet. The hysterical Dragline is beaten into submission and then returns to the chain gang where he perpetuates the legend of Cool Hand Luke.

Source: http://dailypostal.com/2011/03/05/cool-hand-luke-movie-on-tcm/

Cool Hand Luke Movie on TCM

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Emotional gentle giant Jacob Lusk took to the stage for the "American Idol" Top 12 men Tuesday night (March 1). The night was definitely split between ballads and up-tempo songs and Lusk completely owned the ballad side of things.

His song was "A House is Not a Home," originally a hit in 1964 by legend Dionne Warwick. The song was covered in 1981, however, by great R&B singer Luther Vandross, who tragically passed away in 2005 at the age of 54.

Interestingly, this was the fifth performance of the song in "Idol" history. Tamyra Gray, Ruben Studdard, Anwar Robinson and Elliot Yamin all performed it before. Funnily enough, we had only remembered Anwar doing it.

What did you think of Jacob Lusk?

'American Idol': Jacob Lusk channels Luther Vandross on 'A House is Not a Home'

The 'Dancing With the Stars' 2011 spring cast, announced Monday night during 'The Bachelor,' includes a talk show host, model, football star, '80s acting faves and Disney Channel starlet. So, all in all, it was a typical line-up for the popular ABC reality show.

The rumors we reported earlier came true: 'Cheers' star Kirstie Alley and former Hugh Hefner girlfriend Kendra Wilkinson were both on the official roster. And while Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell didn't end up joining 'DWTS' (and neither did Joy Behar, despite our wish list), pro wrestler Chris Jericho and talk show host Wendy Williams will be among the celebrities shaking their hips.

Two of the bigger names on the cast are actors who broke out in the '80s -- Kirstie Alley and Ralph Macchio. Can the 'Cheers' star and the 'Karate Kid' have a shot at following in the foosteps of Jennifer Grey, who starred in the classic 'Dirty Dancing'?

So why did Alley decide to go 'Dancing'? "Hmm, why?" Alley mused. "I don't know, pass that to someone else!"

When 'DWTS' alum and 'Good Morning America' correspondent Cameron Mathison asked her how she'd make herself more likable, Alley responded, "I think we're just here trying not to fall on our butts the first week!"

Source : http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/02/28/dancing-with-the-stars-season-12-cast/

'Dancing With the Stars' 2011: Season 12 Cast Announced

Sunday was a big night for NYC grad student Luke Matheny. The Delaware native not only got the chance to attend the Oscars but he went on to win one, quite a surprise and an honor for the young filmmaker. At the 2011 Oscars he won the award for the live action short with his “God of Love,” and he is still graduate student in New York University’s film program.

What is his film “God of Love”, a short that he also stars in? On his website he describes it as, “The story follows the adventures of lounge-singing darts champion Raymond Goodfellow, whose prayers are answered — literally — when he receives a package of passion-inducing darts.”

Source : http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2011/02/28/watch-oscar-winner-luke-matheny-his-god-of-love/

Luke Matheny & His God of Love : Oscar Winner

Randy Newman didn't expect to win an Oscar for Best Original Song at 'The 83rd Annual Academy Awards' (Sun., 8:30PM on ABC). "My percentages aren't great," he said. "I've been nominated 20 times and this is the second time I've won."

That win came in 2002 for the movie 'Monsters, Inc,' while this was another Pixar collaboration: 'Toy Story 3.' He performed the song 'We Belong Together' earlier in the show, and said it was indicative of his desire to be "good television."

Unfortunately, he was advised by the Academy that "it's not really good television to take a list out of your pocket and thank a lot of people."

In Newman's defense, he didn't pull out a list, but he did produce from his mind a list of people to thank. "I just have to thank these people," he said. "I don't want to. I want to be good television so badly."

We think in failing the Academy's suggestion, Newman was good television indeed.

Source : http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/02/28/randy-newman-wins-original-song-oscar-video/

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