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ponedjeljak, 28.02.2011.

Great acting and filmmaking the Academy ignored

As the 83rd Academy Awards approach, heralding rs power leveling the moment when critics will finally stop rehashing the year that was and start paying attention to new movies again, it's time for one last look at films that didn't get the love they deserved when they played in theaters during 2010. The goal of this survey isn't to denigrate the films and performances that received nominations, because pictures from The Social Network to True Grit earned every bit of praise they have received. Instead, the purpose of this article is to draw your attention to movies and performances you might enjoy as much as the ones that are competing for statuettes.
You'll notice, by the way, that I haven't proposed an alternate nominee for Best Picture. I'm ambivalent about the Academy's recent choice to include ten nominees in that category instead of five, so I feel peculiar about suggesting that eleven films deserved spots in the big race. If pressed for an answer on the subject, however, I would say that Fair Game, The Ghost Writer, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Solitary Man impressed me more than 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Kids Are All Right, and Winter's Bone, so if I were making the list of nominated movies, it would look a bit different. That said, here are my nominees for this year's Alternate Oscars.
Best Actor: Michael Douglas, for Solitary Man. Looking beyond the nostalgic interest in his reprise of the Gordon Gekko character for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Douglas' biggest onscreen accomplishment this year was delivering his most fully realized performance since his great turn in Wonder Boys, way back in sell runescape gold 2000. For the criminally under-seen Solitary Man, Douglas slyly revisited and updated the type of irresponsible lothario character he played so well in the '80s and '90s by portraying Ben Kalmen, a car salesman trying to bounce back from scandal. As arrogant, horny, and swaggering as a man half his age, Ben goes way too far by sleeping with his girlfriend's college-age daughter, only to discover how few true friends he really has after a lifetime of self-indulgence. Douglas hits notes ranging from ambitious to forlorn to pathetic, but by staying true to his characterization, he never makes a cheap play for audience sympathy; instead, he earns a kind of grudging respect as viewers discover why he's clinging to his lost youth so desperately. Mature and sophisticated, Douglas' performance was a triumphant demonstration of the craftsmanship he has developed over the course of four decades spent in front of the camera.
Runner-Up: George Clooney, for The American. Clooney didn't exactly break a sweat in this elegant thriller/character piece about a hit man on the run in Europe, because director Anton Corbijn's style is so minimalistic that Clooney mostly just moves through frames looking impressive and stoic. Yet beneath the film's slick surface, Clooney does some fascinating things, efficiently sketching the tortured soul of a man trying to break free from his steel-hard shell in order to find emotional connection. Performing double-duty on the picture as one of its producers, Clooney deserves praise not only for delivering a fine portrayal, but also for defying expectations by tackling material 180 degrees removed buying runescape gold from what one might reasonably expect of a likeable movie star. Anchored by Clooney's quietly impressive work, The American is like Solitary Man: A simple but beautifully realized film that didn't reach a wide enough audience.
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, for Fair Game. Impeccably personifying real-life CIA agent Valerie Plame, who was "outed" by vindictive operatives of the Bush administration, Watts reiterates that she's one of Hollywood's strongest leading ladies, a glamorous movie star capable of digging into challenging dramatic material in a way that blends artistic credibility and high-wattage charisma. Therefore it's a shame that so few people saw Doug Liman's excellent film, which also boasts a fiery co-starring performance by Sean Penn as Plame's hot-tempered husband, political consultant Joe Wilson. Comfortably occupying Plame's stylish garb of slick Armani suits and gleaming blonde hair, Watts displayed equal amounts of strength and vulnerability in a performance that could easily have slipped into empty grandstanding. Her restraint is as impressive as the sparks she strikes in the movie's many heated confrontations.
Runner-Up: Emma Stone, for Easy A. Borrowing a word from the film's title, it's easy to dismiss a charming lead performance in a light comedy by presuming that all the actor has to do is look pretty and smile. As rising star Stone demonstrated throughout every moment of Easy A, creating the correct light-comedy mood is a delicate balancing act. Playing cheap runescape money a whip-smart high-school student who lets a rumor about her alleged sexual activities grow out of control, Stone had to be ambitious, approachable, funny, intimidating, intelligent, likeable, nonthreatening, sexy, and threatening all at once, without ever teetering so far into melodrama that she killed the inherent comedy of her character's fraught situation. Does that sound easy? No, but Stone ruled the school from the beginning of the picture to the end. It remains to be seen whether the actress will be able to match this level of incandescence in subsequent performances, but she should be thrilled that her star-making turn allowed her to showcase so many different aspects of her talent, since few young actresses get famous without simultaneously getting typecast.
Best Supporting Actor: John C. Reilly, for Cyrus. Although Reilly's character is really the protagonist of this offbeat indie comedy, I'll use the fact that the movie is named after Jonah Hill's character to slide Reilly into the supporting category. A priceless actor with innumerable great performances under his belt, Reilly outdid himself in Cyrus, a heavily improvised character piece about a middle-aged slob (Reilly) who falls in love with a woman (Marisa Tomei) who is way too attached to her adult son, Cyrus (Hill). All three actors did amazing, vanity-free work, but Reilly commanded the movie with his painful portrayal of a self-destructive, self-loathing loser who freaks out when he realizes that his good fortune of landing in a relationship with Tomei's character will be complicated by Cyrus' creepy mother love. Reilly is believably sad and stupid as a man hard-wired to make bad decisions. Once it becomes buy rs gold clear that Cyrus is a maniac, we learn to appreciate and root for Reilly's doofus character because we all know what it's like to be stymied by a formidable opponent. Additionally, it was a relief to see Reilly escaping his rut of silly big-budget comedies, even though appearing in those comedies has probably been quite beneficial to his bank account.
Runner-Up (Tie): Kevin Costner, for The Company Men, and Oliver Platt, for Please Give. In John Wells' smart but schematic downsizing drama The Company Men, Costner gives a winning performance as an unpretentious contractor who hires his brother-in-law (Ben Affleck) when the brother-in-law's cushy corporate job is eliminated. Costner's Boston accent is a bit dodgy, but in every other respect he hits the right notes as the film's exemplar of working-class decency. In Nicole Holofcener's biting social satire Please Give, an exploration of guilt and self-loathing among the upper middle class, Platt is characteristically edgy and funny as an antiques dealer who falls into a disastrous affair with a cosmetologist (Amanda Peet). Always willing to humiliate himself for a role, Platt uses every imaginable color as he paints a portrait of middle-aged denial and desperation.
Best Supporting Actress: Juliette Lewis, for Conviction. Delivering one of those potent mini-performances that raises the level of an entire movie, '90s wild child Lewis did unexpectedly disciplined work in Conviction, the earnest but ordinary true-life story of a blue-collar woman (Hilary Swank) who becomes a lawyer in order to free her wrongfully imprisoned brother (Sam Rockwell). Even with dramatic powerhouses Minnie Driver, Rockwell, and Swank playing larger roles, Lewis stole the movie with her showy role as a skank with key information related to the brother's case. Wearing grotesque makeup on her teeth and spewing hilariously harebrained ad libs, Lewis was funny and real as a white-trash opportunist who seems trivial because she's constantly cheapest runescape gold distracted by television, then reveals surprising savvy by intuiting that she's about to ender a legal trap. That's a lot of narrative ground to cover in a handful of minutes, but Lewis did so with memorable inventiveness and vivacity.
Runner-Up: Catherine Keener, for Please Give. Complementing Platt's terrific performance, Keener soars as his equally befuddled wife and business partner, a well-off New Yorker wracked with guilt that she's not doing enough to help others, and oblivious to the fact that her marriage is in trouble. Working with frequent collaborator Holofcener, Kenner skewers all sorts of upper-middle-class foibles, from the ridiculous extremes of unchecked political correctness to the equally ridiculous extremes of unchecked narcissism. It's tricky to pull off vain and vulnerable at the same time, but Keener does that and so much more.
Best Director: Edgar Wright, for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Frenetic, inventive, and tuned into the postmodern DNA of the Information Age, Wright's exuberant filmmaking style turned this adaptation of an offbeat romantic comic book into a spectacular celebration of short attention spans. Taking viewers deep inside the mindset of contemporary kids who think in terms of 24/7 digital connectedness, Wright used clever visual devices, sly sound snippets, and whiz-bang editing to tell the story of Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a young indie rocker who falls for a sweet stranger (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), only to discover he must face her "evil exes" in over-the-top videogame-style duels. Unlike the year's other big "inventive" Hollywood feature, Christopher Nolan's Inception, Scott Pilgrim is a movie that could only have been conceived and executed in the current historical moment, because its narrative is inextricably linked to the way people act and think right now. Also unlike Inception, Wright's movie presents its story clearly and enjoyably, reveling in accessibility instead of opacity.
Runner-up: Roman Polanski, for The Ghost Writer. Returning to his roots as one of Europe's true masters of suspense, Polanski demonstrated ruthless efficiency in crafting this deft political thriller about a writer (Ewan McGregor) recruited to clean up the memoirs of a former U.K. prime minister (Pierce Brosnan); the buy cheap runescape gold writer discovers the ex-PM's darkest secret and becomes a target of international conspirators. Employing the same chilly cynicism and ingenuity he brought to '70s classics like Chinatown and The Tenant, Polanski puts viewers inside the skin of McGregor's character, who is desperately trying to discover not just who is after him, but what exactly is happening since his situation is cloaked in one layer of mystery after another. Nobody evokes the feeling of bewildered disorientation more effectively than Polanski, and the filmmaker draws fine performances from consistent performers (McGregor, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams) and inconsistent performers (Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, even Jim Belushi) alike.
Best Documentary: The Tillman Story. Now that we're more than two years into the Obama era, it may seem like old news to explore the misbehavior of the George W. Bush administration, but because it seems as if none of the biggest Bushies will face real prosecution for their crimes and misdemeanors, then the court of public opinion may be the forum in which runescape powerleveling those miscreants stand trial. Case in point: Fiction movies like Fair Game and nonfiction pictures like The Tillman Story, a scorching exposéof the manner in which Bush operatives knowingly misrepresented the circumstances surrounding the death of Pat Tillman Jr., the NFL player who quit football to serve in Afghanistan. Methodically detailing the unfortunate SNAFU that resulted in Tillman's death, probably by friendly fire, the picture then explains how the Bushies insidiously spun Tillman's demise into a "heroic" sacrifice that served their desired war narrative, even though doing so spat in the face of Tillman's stalwart character and the truth of his demise. Infuriating and provocative, The Tillman Story is a sobering reminder of how easily the truth is manipulated by those with influence over the world's media—and also a potent celebration of the Tillman family, unconventional patriots whose love of country put them at painful odds with unscrupulous government officials.
Writer/filmmaker Peter Hanson is the author of "Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel," "The Cinema of Generation X," and powerleveling rs "Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories."

subota, 26.02.2011.

Lady Gaga breaks iTunes records, says on "drunk diet"

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" has become cheap runescape money the fastest-selling single ever on Apple's iTunes store worldwide, racking up more than one million downloads in five days, Apple said on Friday.
Apple said the song -- a Madonna-influenced dance track that the 24 year-old singer performed after "hatching" from a giant egg at the Grammy Awards -- had hit the No. 1 spot on iTunes in 23 countries.
"Born This Way", the title track of a new album to be released in May, also went straight to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles charts earlier this week.
The flamboyant performance artist also revealed her secret for staying so thin, and how she gets her creative juices flowing.
"I am on the drunk diet," she told Sirius XM radio on Friday.
As preparations for next Sunday's Academy Awards move into high gear, the show's producers have booted a number of buy rs gold familiar elements.
Gone will be the movie montages -- like last year's salute to horror movies -- that often contribute to the broadcast's unwieldy running time. While there will be film clips from the ten best picture nominees and brief filmed introductions to different segments of the show, "Within the body of the show, we are not doing any film montage sequences," said Bruce Cohen, who will produce with Don Mischer.
Gone too will be the relatively new tradition, established just two years ago, of using five presenters to offer tribute testimonials about each of the best actor and actress nominees. "We're not going to do that this year," Cohen told the Hollywood Reporter. "What we did love about it was that it was a moment where each of the nominees really gets their due. (But) we found a version of that, without using the five people on stage, from the 1970 Oscars, and we stole it."
The producers also have enlisted the nominees' mothers to participate in cheapest runescape gold promotion and pre-show activities, and some of them will be in the audience for the telecast.
This year's producing team is restoring individual performances of the four nominated songs, which were eliminated last year. Producers were upset that Cher, a major audience draw, was not nominated for her Burlesque ballad, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me."
"We were surprised, and we were disappointed," Cohen says when of the song, which won its composer Diane Warren a Golden Globe but failed to earn an Academy nomination.
They have lined up most of the other names associated with the songs that were nominated, though: Oscar perennial Randy Newman will perform his "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"; Mandy Moore and Zachary Levy, who sang the duet "I See The Light" on the "Tangled" soundtrack will reteam with composer Alan Menken; and Gwyneth Paltrow, who buy cheap runescape gold sings "Coming Home" in "Country Strong" will reprise that tune on the broadcast.
Because English pop singer Dido, who was nominated along with Rollo Armstrong and A.R. Rahman for the song "If I Rise," from "127 Hours" was not available, the producers have drafted Florence Welch from Grammy-nominated act Florence + the Machine to appear with Rahman.
"We feel we really lucked out, and this is a good year to bring the best song performances back," Cohen says.
"I live my life as I want to, creatively. I like to drink whiskey runescape powerleveling and stuff while I am working. But the deal is I've got to work out every day, and I work out hung over if I am hung over. And it's about the cross-training and keeping yourself inspired. I have to say, I do a ton of yoga," she added.
The singer said in a television interview last weekend that she also smoked marijuana while writing her songs.
After headline-grabbing outfits, live performance stunts and a best-selling tour, Lady Gaga may be turning her thoughts to a possible new career -- in movies.
Asked if she saw herself becoming an actress, she told Sirius XM ; "I think at some point, yes. I think I'm sort of destined for that screen at some point."
But if there was a movie of her life, Lady Gaga said she would like to be played by Marisa Tomei -- the Oscar-winning actress from "My Cousin Vinny".
"I am such a Marisa Tomei fan. All my friends call me Marisa when I get angry. Because my New York accent just flies out of my powerleveling rs body and I start smacking my gum," she said.

petak, 25.02.2011.

Blockbuster gets US$290 million “stalking horse bid”

Movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc, which filed for runescape items for sale bankruptcy last year, said it has started the process to sell itself and has entered into an agreement with "stalking horse" bidder Cobalt Video Holdco for $290 million.
Cobalt is a limited liability company formed by funds managed by Monarch Alternative Capital LP, Owl Creek Asset Management LP, Stonehill Capital Management LLC and V?rde Partners Inc.
A "stalking horse" bid is used as a starting bid or minimally accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the company.
Cobalt has agreed to purchase substantially all of the assets of Blockbuster and its U.S. and international subsidiaries for $290 million, subject to adjustment.
Blockbuster also filed a motion seeking approval from U.S. bankruptcy court for Southern District of New York to conduct an auction for the company.
"The auction process is designed to achieve the highest and best offer for the company's assets and would be conducted under the Court's supervision," Blockbuster said in a statement.
The bidding procedures, if approved by the bankruptcy court, would require other interested parties to submit binding offers to acquire powerleveling rs Blockbuster within about 30 days following such approval. Assuming qualified bids are submitted, an auction would be held within about one week of the bid deadline.
A final sale approval hearing is anticipated to take place shortly after the auction with the closing anticipated to occur no later than April 20, 2011. Blockbuster and its domestic subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on September 23.
Blockbuster said expects that its U.S. operations, including a majority of its stores, DVD vending kiosks, by-mail and digital businesses, to continue to serve customers during the sale process.
The company's international operations in Canada, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, and the United Kingdom are also expected to conduct business as usual during the sale. Blockbuster said its franchise locations in both the U.S. and abroad are independently owned, operated and funded, and will also continue runescape powerleveling normal business operations.
Last week, four landlords asked a Manhattan bankruptcy judge to order immediate rental payment for 38 stores, including one in Blockbuster's hometown of Dallas, or allow them to evict the company.
Blockbuster is already facing demands from the film studio behind the hit "Twilight" vampire series that it pay its bills or liquidate.
Earlier this year, Blockbuster told Summit Distribution LLC that it would not pay $6.8 million it owed for DVDs, including "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," that were shipped since it filed for bankruptcy in September because it did not have the money, according to court documents.
The bankruptcy court previously allowed the company to borrow $125 million to pay for operations while it was under Chapter 11. The loan was provided by billionaire investor Carl Icahn and a group of hedge funds.
The company filed for bankruptcy with a plan to swap its senior secured bonds, which are owned by Icahn and the group of hedge funds, for ownership of the company.
Blockbuster has not met deadlines for providing details on its reorganization plan as originally planned when it filed buy cheap runescape gold for bankruptcy.

Blockbuster gets US$290 million "stalking horse bid"

Movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc, which filed for runescape items for sale bankruptcy last year, said it has started the process to sell itself and has entered into an agreement with "stalking horse" bidder Cobalt Video Holdco for $290 million.
Cobalt is a limited liability company formed by funds managed by Monarch Alternative Capital LP, Owl Creek Asset Management LP, Stonehill Capital Management LLC and V?rde Partners Inc.
A "stalking horse" bid is used as a starting bid or minimally accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the company.
Cobalt has agreed to purchase substantially all of the assets of Blockbuster and its U.S. and international subsidiaries for $290 million, subject to adjustment.
Blockbuster also filed a motion seeking approval from U.S. bankruptcy court for Southern District of New York to conduct an auction for the company.
"The auction process is designed to achieve the highest and best offer for the company's assets and would be conducted under the Court's supervision," Blockbuster said in a statement.
The bidding procedures, if approved by the bankruptcy court, would require other interested parties to submit binding offers to acquire powerleveling rs Blockbuster within about 30 days following such approval. Assuming qualified bids are submitted, an auction would be held within about one week of the bid deadline.
A final sale approval hearing is anticipated to take place shortly after the auction with the closing anticipated to occur no later than April 20, 2011. Blockbuster and its domestic subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on September 23.
Blockbuster said expects that its U.S. operations, including a majority of its stores, DVD vending kiosks, by-mail and digital businesses, to continue to serve customers during the sale process.
The company's international operations in Canada, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, and the United Kingdom are also expected to conduct business as usual during the sale. Blockbuster said its franchise locations in both the U.S. and abroad are independently owned, operated and funded, and will also continue runescape powerleveling normal business operations.
Last week, four landlords asked a Manhattan bankruptcy judge to order immediate rental payment for 38 stores, including one in Blockbuster's hometown of Dallas, or allow them to evict the company.
Blockbuster is already facing demands from the film studio behind the hit "Twilight" vampire series that it pay its bills or liquidate.
Earlier this year, Blockbuster told Summit Distribution LLC that it would not pay $6.8 million it owed for DVDs, including "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," that were shipped since it filed for bankruptcy in September because it did not have the money, according to court documents.
The bankruptcy court previously allowed the company to borrow $125 million to pay for operations while it was under Chapter 11. The loan was provided by billionaire investor Carl Icahn and a group of hedge funds.
The company filed for bankruptcy with a plan to swap its senior secured bonds, which are owned by Icahn and the group of hedge funds, for ownership of the company.
Blockbuster has not met deadlines for providing details on its reorganization plan as originally planned when it filed buy cheap runescape gold for bankruptcy.

četvrtak, 24.02.2011.

Hot or Not: The Effect of Hormones on Attraction

It’s said that women are prone to change their minds at runescape items the drop of a hat, which may have some truth to it, at least among many of the ladies in my life (myself included). But if men had the same surges of hormones month after month that women do, they’d be a little indecisive, too. Our monthly cycles introduce varying degrees of hormones into our systems that have an effect on mood, pain (hello, cramps and swollen body parts), and even attraction. We may have types we’re drawn toward regularly—tall, dark, and handsome, or intensely pensive artists, for example—but all that changes with the flip of an estrogen switch. Depending on our cycle stage, we might go for masculine over sensitive or “Mr. Take Charge” over “Mr. Nice Guy.”
Near Ovulation, Estrogen Likes Testosterone
During a woman’s monthly cycle, various hormones are released at certain times to prompt ovulation. These include luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (a steroid/sex hormone that’s part of the estrogen group), and progesterone (another steroid hormone). Throughout the years, studies have been somewhat contradictory runescape accounts as to what effects these hormones have on attraction, but as of late, consensus seems to be that they do affect how women see men, especially near ovulation.
A 2004 study published in the Journal of Sexual Research showed that women have stronger sexual desire and more sexual fantasies near an oncoming LH release, which happens around mid-cycle and triggers ovulation. Researchers believed that the large amount of estrogen in the female system that stimulates the LH surge also increased sexual thoughts. A study performed at University of California, Santa Barbara concluded similarly, linking estradiol with a preference for men with higher testosterone levels. It was actually the first of its kind to directly show that connection between sex hormones. Researchers asked seventy-five women to rate pictures of men by attractiveness. Both the women and photographed men gave samples of their saliva to test their hormone levels. The women with higher estradiol levels liked the faces of men with higher testosterone levels the best.
Macho Men vs. Sensitive Souls
Masculine personality traits also become more desirable for women around their ovulation runescape power leveling times. A 2004 study conducted at the University of New Mexico and published in Psychological Science found that ovulating women are attracted to men who display “social presence and direct competitiveness.” When female volunteers were shown videos of men competing for lunch dates, those in the highly fertile part of their cycles reported being more interested in the men who were aggressive and confident. However, that was only in short-term situations; when asked about attractiveness in terms of longer partnerships, they rated less positively.
Some scientists believe this is related to our natural instincts as a procreative species—when we’re most fertile, we look for members of the opposite sex who can provide the best genes (i.e., the strongest, the most symmetrical faces, etc.). But otherwise, supportive figures who nurture and help out become hotter commodities. British and Japanese researchers found that to be true in 1999; their findings, which were published in Nature, showed that right before, during, and after a woman has her period—which is also when she’s least likely to conceive—she’s more attracted to feminine faces than masculine ones. During ovulation, women tend to desire macho, robust men, but after that ship sails, women want men they’re compatible with personality-wise.
So what does all this mean if you’re already with someone? Are you as attracted to your mate if he doesn’t fall under the “man’s man” designation? According rs power leveling to one study, it depends. The aforementioned researchers at the University of Mexico held another study in 2004, this time to see if women lost interest in their partners during their cycles. Results showed that attraction levels only dipped during fertile days if their partners were less attractive (or as they so politely said, had “high fluctuating asymmetry”) in general. The women who were with conventionally attractive men (as in those with symmetrical features) were less likely to be more attracted to men outside of the relationship during ovulation. But overall, the women participating in the study on average just weren’t as attracted to their mates when at their most fertile. Again, this could be because our standards for settling down with someone are different than who we instinctually recognize as carrying good genetic material.
It’s important to note that all of these studies are based on women with regular menstrual cycles. If you’re on birth control, you don’t have the same influx of hormones, and therefore might not experience any differences in attraction levels. But if that’s not the case, see if you notice a surprisingly strong predilection for deep voices, manly smells, male bravado, and typically masculine features like strong chins and brows as you near ovulation. Studies have shown increased attraction to all of these characteristics among women in the later stages of their cycles. Clearly, our hormones like us to mix things up throughout the month and make life a little spicier. And if they say we should spend a few days fantasizing about super-masculine runescape coin guys who might be all wrong for us any other time of the month, who are we to argue?

srijeda, 23.02.2011.

Pets win prizes for beautician grad

Tang, 22, a broadcasting and hosting arts senior at cheapest runescape gold Wuhan Media and Communications College of Huazhong Normal University, has netted about 500,000 yuan ($75,850) since 2009 through his pet dog sup-ply business.
He now manages two online shops and two entity companies - one in Wuhan and the other in Hong Kong, selling imported pet supplies such as shampoo and combs, and even recently opened a beauty salon in Changsha, Hunan Province for both regular dogs and those who participate in dog contests.
Puppy fans
Tang has liked canines since childhood. But as a doctor who cares much for personal sanitation, his father did not allow him to raise one at home. It wasn't until Tang entered university and got his own living space that he spent his allowance of about 1,000 yuan ($149) to buy a Bichon Frise named Xiaoguai, and sent it to a buy cheap runescape gold friend's home to look after.
In Tang's opinion, this purchase changed his life.
"I love Xiaoguai so much and always use the best pet supplies for him," Tang told the Global Times. He feels strongly about topics such as animal cruelty and the fur trade.
"On the street, seeing those in expensive fur, I don't think they are fashionable or noble. They are ignorant because they don't know what the animals go through before their fur comes onto their bodies. They should feel guilty," he told the Global Times.
With domestic products not of top quality, Tang used to ask his friends from the US or Britain to bring some over when they returned home.
The first product his friend brought to him was a bottle of shampoo from the US runescape powerleveling costing $13. In China, similar ones cost about 340 yuan ($51). Tang also found a lack of any imported pet supplies in the domestic market. He invested about 10,000 yuan ($1 ,492) to buy more pet shampoo from the US and sold them for about 238 yuan ($36) in China.
"Instead of my expectation, the shampoos sold out in only few days, and I earned almost double the original cost," said Tang.
From then on, Tang worked as agent for various international brand pet supplies, such as the US's Crown Royale.
Dog beautician
Due to Tang's reputation in the business, he has now got a stable group of clients and made friends with them. Tang found that most of the clients who buy his international brand products are owners of dogs who participate in contests. These people are much concerned with the quality of products and the health and comfort of their pets.
With their help, Tang began to visit all kinds of contests and took the opportunity to promote his dog supplies. His passion has gained him lots runescape power leveling of social contacts in this field.
Tang has since switched his role from being an appreciator to a beautician but mainly focuses on the cosmetology of Bichon Frises. A proper cut and treatment lasts from one to two hours and costs 100-120 yuan, with contestant dogs costing 400 yuan.
Tang said that as a professional pet beautician, besides excellent skills and passion, patience is also needed.
"Dogs don't like others to touch their bodies with a pair of scissors. They rs gold struggle and resist," he told the Global Times.
Animal protector
Tang's road to start his business was not smooth. For a long time, he was thought to be fooling around, a playboy without ambitions. But Tang believed that doing what one is interested in is a kind of life experience as well as happiness.
"At the start, I was also worried my business would affect my study. But I found that there is actually a lot of spare time at university. As long as I arranged it properly, I could balance work and study," he told the Global Times.
Tang is now doing an internship at a TV station in Changsha. He admitted that although he loves his pet business, he could not break through traditional conceptions.
"Traditionally, a pet beautician seems improper for a university student's career. As my mum expected, I will treat it as my hobby. In the future, I still want to be an rs2 items TV anchorman," he told the Global Times.

petak, 18.02.2011.

He's ready to work on "Two and a Half Men"

Charlie Sheen is off work from "Two and runescape power leveling a Half Men" but still making jokes, including about when his top-rated sitcom might resume production.
The CBS series went on hiatus last month after Sheen was briefly hospitalized following an emergency call in which a neighbor said the actor was intoxicated and in pain.
In an interview on "The Dan Patrick Show," which airs in syndication on radio and on satellite TV provider DirecTV, Sheen said he was prepared to get back on the set but those in charge of the series weren't.
"They said, `You get ready and we'll get ready.' And I got ready and went back and nobody's there," he said. "I'm here and I'm ready. They're not. Bring it, you know?"
Sheen said he tends to "unravel pretty quickly," so suggested producers should runescape accounts put him to work now.
Asked about when shooting would resume, he joked, "I believe August of 2014 at this pace. I don't know, it's supposed to be like the 28th or the 29th. That's what it is! It's the 29th in a non-leap year."
A spokesman for Sheen said previously he hoped to return to work by the end of February.
CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television declined comment on when production might resume on the Monday night sitcom that has filmed only 16 of the season's planned 24 episodes. The network and studio have expressed concern for the actor's well-being.
In the interview with former ESPN anchor runescape items Patrick, Sheen acknowledged that he's had "some problems lately" and said staying away from crack cocaine is good advice unless a person can "manage it socially."
Asked if he could, Sheen replied, "Yeah, yeah, but that kinda blew up in my face ... like an exploding crack pipe."
He said he is sober now.
Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, initially cited the actor's history of hernia problems when Sheen was hospitalized. He later said his client went into rehab, but he did not say why.
Last week, a judge finalized Sheen's divorce from Brooke Mueller Sheen. The judgment followed several tumultuous months for the actor, including a New York hospitalization that came after he was taken by police from a room at a luxury New York hotel that was left in shambles.
Sheen signed a new two-year contract at the end of last season that makes him one of the rs2 items highest-paid actors on prime-time television.

četvrtak, 17.02.2011.

Scientists find genetic basis for sleepwalking

Scientists studying a large family rs power leveling with four generations of sleepwalkers have traced the condition to one section of a single chromosome: chromosome 20, and have found that carrying just one copy of this defective section of DNA will make its carrier a sleepwalker.
Around one in 10 children are sleepwalkers and one in 50 adults. The condition, known as somnambulism, is usually benign but can be frightening and even dangerous, with some adult sleepwalkers even being able to find their keys and drive off in their cars while asleep.
Somnambulism is poorly understood. It generally occurs shortly after the person falls asleep, and takes place during a deep, non-dreaming, non-rapid eye movement phase characterized by cheap runescape powerleveling slow brain waves. A sleepwalking episode usually lasts only a few minutes and it usually ends with the sleepwalker returning to bed, often without waking, and with no recollection the next day. Stress is a known trigger.
To learn more about the condition, scientists from the Washington University School of Medicine department of neurology, led by Dr Christina A. Gurnett, enlisted the aid of a family in which nine of the 22 members of the four generations were sleepwalkers, including Hanna, 12, who had been sleepwalking regularly, wandering outside the house during the night. One of Hannah’s uncles was also a rs2 gold sleepwalker, and regularly woke to discover he had donned eight pairs of socks while asleep. Some of the family had sustained injuries during sleepwalking.
The researchers carried out a genome-wide search to see if they could find a genetic basis for the condition. They found a section of the DNA on chromosome 20 was related to sleepwalking: those who had the faulty DNA section sleepwalked, and those who did not were not sleepwalkers. A person with the condition had a 50 percent chance of passing it on to their offspring.
Dr Gurnett and the team have not yet identified the specific genes or gene involved, but runescape gold think of the 28 or so likely candidates the most promising is the adenosine deaminase gene, which has been linked to the slow wave stage of sleep in which sleepwalking occurs. Since most people grow out of sleepwalking, Dr Gurnett said several genes are likely to be involved, and added that what the team had found was the “first genetic locus for sleepwalking.”
The paper was published in the journal Neurology. Future research will focus on identifying the exact gene or genes responsible for sleepwalking, since this may lead to ways of treating the condition. At present most cases are not treated because the drugs that are available have unwanted side rs2 items effects.

srijeda, 16.02.2011.

Barbra Streisand: The Way She Is, Part Two

Barbra Streisand will be honored as rs power leveling the 2011 MusiCares Person of the Year on Feb. 11 at a special tribute performance and dinner in Los Angeles, recognizing her accomplishments as an artist and humanitarian. MusiCares' mission is to ensure that music people have a compassionate place to turn in times of need while focusing the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues that directly impact the health and welfare of the music community. Watch Person of the Year arrivals and other highlights Friday, Feb. 11 at GRAMMY Live.
Read Part One
Barbra Streisand has a history of making a big splash her first time out.
She received a Tony nomination for her first Broadway show, "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." She won two GRAMMYs, including Album Of The Year for her first LP, The Barbra Streisand Album. She won an Emmy for her first TV special, "My Name Is Barbra." She won an Academy Award for her first movie, Funny Girl.
And she did all that before her 27th birthday.
Fortunately for all of us, Streisand didn't rest on her laurels. She kept going, and kept adding to her list of firsts. She won another Oscar for the first song she composed for a movie, "Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen)." She won two Golden Globes for the first film she directed, Yentl.
At last count, Streisand has won eight GRAMMYs, four Emmys, two Oscars, and a special Tony. She has received (to name a few) the GRAMMY Legend Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and France's Legion d'honneur.
Streisand has made a big impact on both movies and music. She's one of only two artists to have received both a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute and a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. The other? Fred Astaire.
In both of these fields, Streisand runescape items has shown exceptional versatility. She has starred in musicals, comedies and dramas. Her hit songs range from the timeless "People" (one of the classiest signature songs associated with any performer) to the trendy disco romp "The Main Event/Fight." She has received GRAMMY nominations in the Pop, Traditional Pop and Classical Fields (the latter for her 1976 album Classical Barbra).
Streisand has been the first female to achieve many feats. With "Evergreen" in 1976, she became the first female composer to win an Academy Award for best song. With Yentl in 1983, she became the first woman to produce, direct, write, and star in a major motion picture.
Streisand has long been a GRAMMY record setter. She was just 22 when The Barbra Streisand Album was named Album Of The Year, which made her the youngest winner in that category (a distinction she held for more than three decades). Streisand has amassed six nominations for Album Of The Year and five for Record Of The Year. In both cases, that's more than any other female artist in history.
Streisand's philanthropic activities are just as impressive. She founded the Streisand Foundation in 1986 and has since gifted it with nearly $25 million. The foundation has made nearly 1,000 grants to nonprofit organizations that focus on protecting the environment, advocating for civil rights, promoting democratic values, advancing world peace, educating at-risk children, and providing funds for research and education in the field of women's health.
Recent gifts include $5 million to endow the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Program at Cedars-Sinai's Women's Heart Center, and the lead gift of $1 million to establish the William J. Clinton Foundation's Clinton Climate Initiative.
Streisand and actor James Brolin were married in July 1998. Streisand also has a son, Jason Gould, from her first marriage to Elliott Gould.
Streisand has been especially busy in the last couple of years. Her book, My Passion For Design, combining reflections on her life with her love of design and architecture, was published by Viking on Nov. 16, 2010. Her 18th movie as an actress, Little Fockers, was released cheap runescape powerleveling on Dec. 22.
And this year, her latest studio album, Love Is The Answer, is nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. It's her eighth nomination in that category, and her 41st overall.
In the '90s, there was talk in the media about Sen. Streisand.
Oh no. God.
I figured it was a media fantasy, but we've since seen Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Al Franken. Did you ever even consider running for office?
No. Every time I give a speech, they think I'm running for office. No, I'm not cut out to be a politician. Politicians have to be political in their actions and in what they say. I would never do that. I'd rather be free to say what I feel and not care about losing votes; not care about raising money.
You're a role model — the role model — for a couple of generations of female artists, from Celine Dion to Beyoncé. That must be very gratifying.
It's very nice. It's very flattering. Did you see the Kennedy Center Honors? Queen Latifah had a wonderful introduction about her childhood in Newark and how she looked up to me. It was really lovely. I'm glad to be a role model for these women.
You have never burned out or gone off the deep end. There are so many cases where stars were burned by fame, especially when they achieved fame at an early age. How were you able to steer clear of the excesses that have brought so many artists down?
Hmm. Maybe because I never liked alcohol and never liked drugs.
That's a big head start right there.
I just never liked to…I don't know. That's an interesting question. I was always kind of normal.
And I would say "centered." You have a life with husband James Brolin, you have a son, Jason Gould. You have a life apart from it. There are some artists who didn't. They lived and died by their chart numbers.
It's not about results for me, really. It's the journey, the process. And yet, when I was younger, I must have had results in mind. When I was younger, I wanted to be a star. I wanted to be famous. I wanted to have people know I existed, which I never felt as a child; that I counted or was thought of in a way. And when I achieved stardom, I didn't like it. I didn't care about stardom. As a matter of fact, I run away from it.
Have you made your peace with it, I hope?
I try to avoid things that have to do with stardom. I don't go to opening nights. I was always too lazy to do that. You've got to get a dress. You've got to do your hair. That wasn't my speed. And runescape accounts then be photographed. And then they pick the lousiest photograph. It never interested me to be in the public eye. I just thought that the work was enough, and that's the way I still feel.
Your performance with Neil Diamond of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" on the GRAMMYs in 1980 is one of the most memorable GRAMMY moments. The staging couldn't have been simpler. It proves that "less is more."
Do you know that I staged it?
No, I didn't know that.
Well, what happened was I came to the rehearsals and they wanted to have three stools there. The one in the middle would hold a bouquet of flowers. And then Neil and I would sing this song. I said, "Do you mind if I give you my opinion on how this should be staged?" I said Neil and I would come onstage from two different sides. There would be no announcement of our names. I made up a whole backstory about this couple. We've [been] married for 15 or 20 years and we're breaking up. We really are sad to do it, but we've had it. We don't give each other anything anymore and so we slowly walk together. To me, that's the way it should have been staged — very simply and coming together to say goodbye in a sense.
You were basically directing the performance, and this was three years before Yentl.
I always kind of functioned as a director. When I was 19 and I was sent up to see Arthur Laurents and David Merrick for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale," I said to them, "I have an idea for how this should be presented. I think it would be very funny to sing this song ['Miss Marmelstein'] while I'm sitting in a secretarial chair." So I was always thinking of the production; of the whole; of the staging.
In each of the three films you have directed, you directed another actor to an Oscar nomination, Amy Irving in Yentl, Nick Nolte in The Prince Of Tides, and Lauren Bacall in The Mirror Has Two Faces.
I like that. I'm proud of that.
Have you ever had the desire to produce an runescape gold album by another artist?
No.
In the cases where another artist produced you, did their being an artist make a difference?
Well, the easiest album I ever made was with Barry [1980's Guilty, which Barry Gibb co-produced with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson]. It was like three weeks. He just had me sing each song 10 times and he did it. It was just a delightful experience.
How about Guilty Pleasures, the 2005 sequel?
That was harder.
It's hard to recapture magic.
Yeah. I don't remember the songs on it, even.
You're not one to move around. You've been with Columbia since 1962. And you've been with manager Marty Erlichman even longer.
It will be 50 years [this] year since we started together. I'll tell you a great story. After I wrote "Evergreen," I played it for several people. When I played it for Marty on the phone, he said, "That will be a hit" and he even gave me the month. And it came true. He really was amazing. When I played it for certain other people, they thought it was nice, but Marty went nuts. That's what I love about him. He's very strong in his opinions. I like opinionated people. A lot of people don't. I do.
Never mind charts and GRAMMYs. What do you think are your best albums?
I would say The Broadway Album and Back To Broadway. It's where the material was so extraordinary. The record company didn't think I could have success with The Broadway Album. They wouldn't pay me until it sold 2.5 million copies. They wouldn't even let it count as an album on my contract. They wanted me to do a pop album and I said no.
We've seen Tony Bennett and Clint Eastwood remain active and vital well past the standard retirement age. Do you still want to be professionally active when you're their age?
It all depends on what I'm inspired by, what charges me up. I'd like to direct a movie that I'm not in. That would be fun. I might go sing in countries I haven't been to.
How was the experience of writing your book?
I like the process of writing because it's private again. But it's very hard to look back at your life. I don't like looking back. I like looking cheap runescape gold forward.

utorak, 15.02.2011.

A strange night for the Grammys

Much like the music world itself, the runescape gold Grammy Awards is a colorful train wreck of a television show.
Inexplicable results and mesmerizing performances mixed with the mundane added up to a generally unsatisfying evening for CBS Sunday. Unless, of course, you're Lady Antebellum.
The Grammys are barely an awards show anymore. As the music business has splintered and sputtered in recent years, the Grammys have become a performance show, advertising musicians who need the attention. Show producers don't even bother with a host anymore. For the first hour of Sunday's show, only one trophy was given out — for a live version of a Train song done better in the studio.
In theory, it's a great idea. If you're unfamiliar with an artist's work, it's much better to watch him or her in action than to listen to speeches thanking managers, producers and hairstylists. Or, in Train's case, Howard Stern.
In practice, the show's success or failure is tied to whether the artists can bring the goods.
Whether they took trophies home with them or not, the night's winners included Janelle Monae, Eminem, Cee Lo and Rihanna. Among the losers were Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Rihanna.
Yes, you read that last part right. Rihanna was spellbinding for her part in runescape money Eminem's ominous "Love the Way You Lie." When she returned later to perform "What's My Name" with Drake, she curiously dropped her hand-held microphone to her waist a few times while the vocals continued on.
The opening Aretha Franklin tribute continued Aguilera's lousy month. Unlike her four collaborators, she seemed intent on making the moment more about her, losing the song in the process. Were she there, you can imagine the famously competitive Franklin hip-checking Aguilera — and that silly decorated microphone stand — out of the picture.
Let's pray that the ailing Franklin's taped message that she'll see us on next year's show comes true.
Lady Gaga emerged from an egg to lay one, debuting her new song, "Born This Way," which apparently refers to pointed shoulders. The song's uncanny resemblance to Madonna's "Express Yourself" distracted from the dance production. And when Gaga later received an runescape accounts award for "The Fame Monster," her bleeped expletive distracted from what became a touching tribute to Whitney Houston.
Maybe, on some nights, Justin Bieber can sing, but he sounded distressingly flat on Sunday. He was out-danced by Usher, of course, and Jaden Smith (loved watching dad Will Smith mouthing, "That's my baby," from the audience).
We'll give Bieber credit, though: He looked good.
The rock band Muse gave a strong performance of "Uprising," although we're still trying to figure out what those dancers were trying to do. It seemed a missed opportunity to explicitly tie the song's message to Egypt's revolution.
There were highlights, though. Bruno Mars sang "Grenade" in a soulful homage to James Brown, the screen even going black and white. Monae's "Cold War" was a star-making turn.
The acoustic set with Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers was terrific, too, sweeping and anthemic. Bob Dylan came out to croak "Maggie's Farm" with the two bands' backing him, his voice almost lost beneath the desperate strumming. But the fun was infectious. And did we actually see a dance step or two from the old master?
Cee Lo, who looked like a cross between Elton John and George Clinton with an outfit that used the blender at a paint factory, did the "Forget You" clean version of his big hit, with a backing band of puppets and vocals from Gyneth Paltrow, who deserves props for not tumbling over while standing on a piano in gigantic heels.
Arcade Fire's first performance had such an intense, flashing light show that the buy ffxiv gil band itself was barely visible. It was much better when they played again after winning album of the year, it what suspiciously seemed like killing time for a show that ran short.
Don't want to say Mick Jagger's Solomon Burke tribute went on too long, but we meant to go back and check. Is he still dancing?
Good thing for the Grammys that the awards continue to be de-emphasized, because it was a strange night even for a recording academy with a long history of head-scratching choices. Esperanza Spalding for best new artist? Song and record of the year "Need You Know" by Lady Antebellum? We doubt anyone will remember that song five years from now as they will, for example, "Empire State of Mind."
Without a host, the Grammys bring a variety of celebrities on for introduction. That's fine most of the time, but it misses a humorous touch. A Top 10 list put on to promote David Letterman's ffxiv power leveling show was the night's most intentional funny moment.

ponedjeljak, 14.02.2011.

Diamonds Aren’t a Girl’s Best Friend

Who am I to argue with the Madison Avenue ffxiv power leveling suits who coined the phrase “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”?
If only diamonds were all we believe them to be. The violence resulting from the diamond mining and trading industry is, in a word, tragic. And, as it turns out, diamonds aren’t even as valuable as we’ve been told.
First, a little primer
The U.S. happens to be the largest consumer of conflict diamonds, purchasing over $33.7 billion dollars’ worth of the rocks in 2005. Wondering what conflict diamonds are? I’m no fawning fan of DiCaprio, but the film Blood Diamond is nowhere near as fictional as we’d like it to be. Conflict diamonds involve abuse, corruption, and death. There goes that gorgeous, shimmery, sparkling stone set in platinum I’ve been dreaming about.
Here are several important reasons you should never, ever buy (or accept) a diamond:
We’ve been conditioned to want a diamond
Pavlov much? Who isn’t tired of the advertising and marketing ploys used to runescape gold brainwash us into believing our value as women rests on the size of our … gem? (Toss that in with measurements and marital status and we’ve got an endless supply of not-good-enough.) Marketers have thrown us a giant, glittering bone and watched the profits pile up as we’ve chased, fetched, and rolled over in order to conform to what we’ve been conditioned to believe is the only acceptable standard.
Diamond prices have been artificially inflated by the diamond cartel
The average diamond sold in the U.S. has been over-graded in quality by two grades, and the average U.S. couple pays twice what they should for an engagement ring. Do you really want to enter into a lifelong commitment with a man who’s willing to waste his hard-earned cash on a diamond, especially when said diamond is ridiculously overpriced? Okay, well, me too. Forget number two and let’s move on to runescape money the third reason to avoid diamonds.
Diamonds are anything but an “investment”
A 1-carat diamond will set him back about $5,000, which amounts to $710,000 per ounce. Worse even than a car once it’s driven off the sales lot, a diamond will never be worth what you’ve paid for it. Try to trade it or sell it or pawn it and you’ll be sorely disappointed. Do you know why? Because their “worth” has been artificially inflated! Diamonds aren’t scarce or rare.
Conflict diamonds
Any lover shallow enough to buy you a diamond to “make up” for misbehavin‘ ways is indeed dumb enough to think that the name “conflict diamonds” refers to relationship issues. Ditch that man and his diamonds … fast. Blood diamonds have resulted in over 4 million deaths in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast. One shiny rock, 4 million lives.
Diamonds with strings attached
Did you know that only 11 percent of U.S. jewelry stores practice a conflict diamonds policy and 67 percent won’t even discuss the topic when asked if they have one? Just because he bought you dinner, I mean runescape accounts a diamond, doesn’t mean you have to marry him. Presents aren’t promises, and kisses aren’t for keeps.
Diamond mines damage the environment
This is important, even though it’s true of all types of mining, not just diamond mining. Mines are dangerous for workers (including children) and threaten our planet, too. I wish there were a way to dig that deep without so much damage.
And last but definitely not least …
A diamond is not forever
Nothing is forever, my friends. Engagements, marriages, jobs, you name it. If they happen to last a long time, then you are indeed a very lucky person. Why do we kid ourselves into believing that a sparkling rock, delivered to us on the backs of the abused, purchased for more than it’s worth, marketed for more than it means, and obtained at the expense of our own dear planet will keep love alive?
And please tell me why I still melt, just a little, at the sight of a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring perched on runescape gold a shelf in a store window.

subota, 12.02.2011.

Just run from Sandler, Aniston's romance

The poster asks, "What if a little lie kept runescape money getting bigger?" More like, "What if the people telling the little lie kept getting dumber?"
Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's romantic comedy, idiotic even by their usually low big-screen standards, is stuffed with unpleasant narcissists saying and doing the stupidest, often cruelest things in hope of cheap laughs.
They fail. There's barely a titter's worth of humor in this bloated mess that drones on for nearly two hours.
Director Dennis Dugan, whose many collaborations with Sandler include "Big Daddy" and "Grown Ups," lets scene after unfunny scene linger painfully as the characters blather dreary nonsense for minutes on end.
Based on Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn's 1969 comedy "Cactus Flower," the movie casts Sandler as Danny Maccabee, an unmarried, well-off plastic surgeon and supposedly nice guy who has spent two decades pretending to be a mistreated husband so he can score with sympathetic women (yeah, real nice guy).
Then Danny falls for schoolteacher Palmer Dodge (Sports Illustrated swimsuit runescape accounts goddess Brooklyn Decker). Rather than doing something silly, like telling Palmer the simple truth that he's interested and available, Danny enlists his assistant and longtime platonic pal, Katherine (Aniston), to pose as the wife he's divorcing so he can woo his new woman.
And the lame-brained lies build from there. Single mom Katherine's kids (Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck) are drawn into the charade, along with Danny's randy cousin (Nick Swardson).
All three are annoying enough as their regular characters, but Madison and Swardson yammer in grating European accents much of the time as part of this shabby plot to con sweet and trusting Palmer into falling for a creep.
Sandler, also a producer on the movie, truly runescape gold does come off as a creep here. His characters usually are crass but good-hearted, and while Danny utters the occasional nicety, he's just a big, nasty jerk.
Compounding things, the 44-year-old Sandler's boyish looks are really starting to erode, so Danny seems a bit like a pathetic old lecher pursuing 23-year-old Decker's Palmer (Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling's screenplay also provides no clues why the impossibly hot Palmer might fall, almost at first sight, for a middle-aged liar).
As the fibs pile up, characters keep uttering "just go with it," and it feels like a plea from the actors and filmmakers, hoping the audience will play along no matter how dumb things get.
The filmmakers contrive to send the whole gang on a weird, extended-family trip to Hawaii so they can show off some exotic scenery and sneak in shots of Decker glistening as she steps out of the ocean in a skimpy ff14 gil bikini.
In Hawaii, Katherine also encounters old college rival Devlin (Nicole Kidman), a pompous windbag who happens to be vacationing there with her equally insufferable husband (musician Dave Matthews).
Among the movie's many clumsy gags is a hula smackdown between Aniston and Kidman that, even though it offers grand views of their taut midriffs in action, manages to be really, really boring.
Kevin Nealon also has a sad little cameo as a plastic-surgery addict, but his makeup's so heavy, he's almost unrecognizable, so he has plausible deniability that he was ever in the movie.
How Kidman got roped into this dreadful affair is a mystery, but don't you make the same mistake. Just run from it.
"Just Go With It," released by Sony's Columbia Pictures, is rated PG-13 for frequent crude and sexual content, partial nudity, brief drug references and language. Running time: 116 minutes. One buy ffxiv gil and a half stars out of four.

petak, 11.02.2011.

Charlie Sheen's image goes up among many fans

Reports of heavy drinking, drug runescape accounts use, porn stars. None of that should be good for a Hollywood celebrity -- unless that star is Charlie Sheen.
Sheen's drinking and drug problems may have caused a temporary shutdown on his "Two and A Half Men" TV comedy, but some of his fans think even more highly of him now than before, according to a survey released on Wednesday by show business newspaper, The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor's rabble-rousing has done nothing to harm "Two and A Half Men's standing as the most-watched comedy on U.S. television with some 15 million regular viewers.
In fact, 26 percent of those questioned for the Hollywood Reporter survey done by polling firm Penn Schoen Berland view Sheen "much more" or "somewhat more" favorably after his recent antics.
According to the poll of 700 Americans ages 13 to 59-years-old, 90 ffxiv power leveling percent of those describing themselves as "avid fans" don't think Sheen's drug and alcohol problems matter as long as he does a good job on the show.
Sheen, 45, went into rehab -- at his home -- in January after being hospitalized following a wild, 36-hour party at his home. It is the actor's third stint in rehab in 12 months and caused production on the show to be suspended.
The three times divorced actor, who plays a womanizing bachelor on the show and in real life has a penchant for porn stars, is expected to return to the set by the end of February, according to his spokesman.
Among all viewers, only 28 percent of men and 42 percent of women said broadcaster CBS and Warner Bros Television, which makes "Two and A Half Men", should runescape money remove Sheen.
Following are some of the other findings in the poll:
-- 56 percent think that a future episode of "Two and a Half Men" should address Sheen's personal issues.
-- 96 percent of "Two and a Half Men" viewers want Sheen to return to the show, with just 4 percent wanting him to quit permanently.
-- 50 percent say he should take time off to get better and return to the show; 34 percent say Sheen should work through his personal issues and stay on the show.
-- 82 percent of women say they will still watch "Two and a Half Men" despite Sheen's personal problems compared to 76 percent of men.
-- 59 percent of all viewers believe that Sheen isn't acting on the show but actually just playing himself.
-- 62 percent say the media should leave him alone.
The survey was conducted on Feb 6 and can be seen in detail in The Hollywood Reporter runescape accounts magazine in its Thursday issue.

četvrtak, 10.02.2011.

India brings private investigator to US film festival

Indian private investigator Rajesh Ji runescape gold, who dabbles in dancing on Sundays, is the main character of a memorable documentary that offers a glimpse into the life of India's middle class.
"The Bengali Detective," which was presented at the 27th festival of independent cinema here by British director Philip Cox, was popular among those attending the event, which could earn it an award on Saturday night.
Cox installed his camera in Calcutta, in the office of Rajesh, one of countless private investigators working in India.
"All classes use the detective, because all classes in India are not trusting the police," Cox told AFP.
"The rich can pay, pay bribes, but the people using the detectives, mostly are the middle class." he continued.
"That was also my interest to look at India through the middle class, and not poverty or children in the street or top rich."
The director described the film's setting as a space in society where he could "learn things or discover things" that people don't normally share.
"When people go to a detective, it's like a confessional, like a church," Cox noted. "You would reveal things."
If the film were a confessional, Rajesh would be a rather original priest. In addition his investigative activities, he is passionate about dance, to the point of including his entire squad of runescape money sleuths -- young, old and plump -- in a reality show.
"He's not a very good detective," admitted Cox. "But he's a man caught in the middle of a hurricane, who struggles in his personal life and the things around him. We love him as he is. He has this dream of being a dancer.
"But this is really an escape from all the things he has to deal with, from the harsh reality that he has to face."
He said that Rajesh saw himself as a hero in Indian society.
"The job was to reveal the other side," the director said. "Then you realize that there is a lot of things Rajesh is not in control of. He is a bit naive and innocent and not really able to control the things around him."
Rajesh may not have the talent of Sherlock Holmes but he has a large number of clients.
He helps a cosmetics company to track counterfeits of its products, a woman who suspects her husband of adultery, and a family that wants to shed light on a mysterious runescape accounts triple murder, which turns out to be the biggest criminal case in Calcutta in many years, according to the filmmaker.
"We didn't know day-to-day what would happen the next day, which is exciting but exhausting for a filmmaker because you don't know if you will be able to finish," said Cox.
The film's potential was not lost on Hollywood studios, whose representatives, in search of fresh talent, flock to Sundance each year.
Fox, which dreams of a new India hit after the success of its film "Slumdog Millionaire," has acquired the rights to make a feature film from the documentary.
Cox will be part of the project, but does not intend to play a leading role in it.
"I'm a documentary filmmaker," he said. "I've always loved what's happening in the reality. For me, if you combine the reality with a cinematic presence, you have buy ffxiv gil something great."

srijeda, 09.02.2011.

2011 a Starbucks gram coffee sees a higher cost

Starbucks Corp, the world's runescape gold largest coffee chain, expects rising coffee prices to hit profits more than it previously thought but stressed that it would not raise prices to cover the extra expense.
That news sent its shares down almost 3 percent, even as the company reported profits and U.S. sales that handily topped Wall Street's targets.
Rising prices for ingredients ranging from coffee and milk to beef and bread are squeezing restaurant operators.
Earlier this week Starbucks rival McDonald's Corp said it would hike prices "where it makes sense" to offset some, but not all, of the food cost increases.
Seattle-based Starbucks on Wednesday narrowed its earnings forecast to $1.44 to $1.47 a share for fiscal year 2011, compared with the average analyst expectation of $1.49 a share. The company expects commodity costs to cut earnings by about 20 cents this fiscal year, compared with its previous forecast of 8 cents to 10 cents a share in November.
"I think they're being conservative," said Oppenheimer analyst Matt DiFrisco, because of the unknowns facing the company.
While a strengthening U.S. economy could boost sales and give the company runescape money room to put through another price increase, he said, Starbucks does not yet know how much it will have to pay to oust Kraft Foods Inc as its supermarket packaged coffee distributor.
"They're going to have to pay Kraft some money this year," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Larry Miller. Starbucks wants to end its 12-year-old partnership with Kraft on March 1, and some analysts estimate that the fee for early termination could top $1 billion.
Starbucks removed one uncertainty from investors' minds by locking in coffee prices for 2011. Coffee represents 15 percent to 20 percent of Starbucks' cost of sales.
The benchmark "C" arabica coffee futures runescape accounts contract trading on ICE Futures U.S. remains around levels last seen 13-1/2-years ago, after surging nearly 80 percent in a rally that began in June 2010.
Late last year the company raised drink prices in the United States and China due to surging prices for coffee and other commodities.
Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead told Reuters that the company has bought all the coffee it will need for this year.
A Starbucks spokeswoman added that the company had already bought coffee for "a few months" of 2012.
"I don't think you'll see what I'll call a new round" of price increases, said Alstead, who noted that previously announced menu price increases due to the cost of coffee have not yet shown up in every market.
The CFO told Reuters there was no meaningful resistance to drink price hikes thus far.
Starbucks restarted profit growth in 2010 after a two-year restructuring that involved slashing costs and shuttering almost 1,000 cafes globally. Since then, investors have enjoyed quarterly profits that often topped analysts' views.
That could change, RBC analyst Larry Miller said.
"The ability for Starbucks to continue to beat is significantly hampered by 20 cents of ff14 gil commodity costs," he said. "There are a lot of headwinds this year."
Still, Miller sees a silver lining: "If they can hold margins and have coffee costs decline, it makes for a nice 2012 story."
PROFIT JUMPS
Starbucks' profit for the fiscal first quarter ended January 2 jumped almost 44 percent from the year-ago period to $346.6 million, or 45 cents a share. That easily topped analysts' average call for a profit of 39 cents per share for the latest quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Cost control and efficiency efforts helped operating margins improve 800 basis points to 17.3 percent in the United States and increase 620 basis points to 13.8 percent internationally.
Sales at Starbucks cafes open at least 13 months were up a better-than-expected 8 percent in the United States and up 5 percent internationally for the holiday quarter, which traditionally is Starbucks' biggest for revenue.
Starbucks has roughly 11,000 cafes in the United States and another 6,000 in other countries around the globe.
Its future growth plans include adding cafes in key international markets like China and India, while also expanding its selection of products -- like Via instant coffee -- for sale in grocery aisles.
Starbucks shares fell 2.8 percent to $32.16 in after-hours trading. The stock, which fell below $8 in November 2008 when Starbucks' overbuilding crashed into a U.S. slowing economy, hit a 52-week high of $33.78 on Tuesday.
Option traders were expecting bullish news from Starbucks buy ffxiv gil on Wednesday and were on the wrong side of that bet.

utorak, 08.02.2011.

Oscar's snubs and surprises: Nolan left out again

In handing out 120 nominations, the Oscars runescape gold inevitably spurn others. "Snub" is the word of choice for these oversights, and Christopher Nolan is well acquainted with its meaning.

Two years after seeing his "The Dark Knight" earn neither a best picture nomination nor a directing nod, Nolan was passed over for directing "Inception," another film both acclaimed and popular at the box office.

Composer Hans Zimmer, nominated for his original score for "Inception," said Nolan was robbed of the honor.

"I think he was held up at gunpoint," Zimmer said. "My instinct tells me that because it was a commercial success, suddenly they took the idea of artfulness away from him.

"I think if the Academy wants to stay current ... they need to go and look at these things very carefully. I've worked with a lot of directors. There are few directors that are in the class of a Chris Nolan. ... It's not right."

This time, at least, "Inception" was included among the best picture nominees, which now number 10, a change made last year partly because of the outcry over the rebuff of "The Dark Knight." And "Inception" still counted eight nominations, including a best original screenplay mention for Nolan, yet nothing for Lee Smith's bravo editing.

Though many of the nominations announced Tuesday by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences were as expected, the most glaring omission was that of "Waiting for `Superman'" in the best documentary category.

One of the most talked about documentaries of the year and a widely expected Oscar runescape money favorite, the education system examination was left out, perhaps because some experts deemed it an inaccurate exaggeration of charter schools.

Other surprises from this year's batch of Oscar nominees:

? BARDEM DISPLACES DUVALL: Earning an acting nomination for a performance in another language is never easy, but Javier Bardem managed to get into the best actor field with a nomination for the Spanish-language "Biutiful." Bardem's third nomination (he won for "No Country For Old Men" in 2008) likely took the spot pegged for Robert Duvall's bearded hermit in "Get Low."

? A KING'S DOZEN: "The King's Speech" was a heavy favorite going into Tuesday's announcement, but its leading 12 nominations is still a surprisingly high total. Though a performance-based film, it still earned nods for cinematography and sound editing. (With 10 nominations, "True Grit" also proved especially strong, further highlighting the Golden Globes' questionable judgment in snubbing it altogether.)

? THIS YEAR'S INDIE DARLING: The Ozark Mountains drama "Winter's Bone" had long been a cause celebre for those who root for the smaller movies. Rather than runescape accounts sneak into the awards, it garnered a commanding four nominations, including best picture and best supporting actor for John Hawkes. Its star, the 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence, is the fifth youngest best actress nominee.

? GOSLING, MANVILLE MISSING: Many would say the two best performances of 2010 were Ryan Gosling in "Blue Valentine" and Lesley Manville in "Another Year." Both were left out, though Gosling's co-star, Michelle Williams, was nominated for best actress. Some questioned why Manville wasn't pushed in the perhaps more fitting supporting actress category.

? OTHER SNUBS: Expected by some prognosticators to be nominated were Andrew Garfield in "The Social Network," Julianne Moore in "The Kids Are All Right" and Mila Kunis in "Black Swan." Ben Affleck's "The Town" didn't squeak into the best picture category, and Disney's "Tangled" was booted from the best animated film category by "The Illusionist."

? NEVER IN THE CONVERSATION: The Oscar race often arrives at favorites in a curious, buzz-reliant way. There were many who never caught on with the Academy, but nevertheless are among the snubbed: Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island," Tilda Swinton in "I Am Love," Pierce Brosnan in "The Ghost Writer," Greta Gerwig in "Greenberg," Rebecca Hall ffxiv power leveling in "Please Give" and surely many others.

Ovaj blog je ustupljen pod Creative Commons licencom Imenovanje-Dijeli pod istim uvjetima.

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