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2012-05-22T23:50:00.002-07:00

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2011-12-20T05:08:00.000-08:00

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2011-11-21T04:29:00.001-08:00

Huge Branding Mistakes

2011-10-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Lost in Translation

A number of major marketing blunders come from simple errors in translation. While it’s amazing to consider that ad campaigns, those silly little business ventures that cost millions and millions of dollars, could actually overlook something as central as, you know, the meaning of the words they print in their ads.

But it happens all the time. The Coors “Turn it loose” slogan translated into a Spanish idiom for diarrhea. Perdue Chicken’s slogan “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken” was translated in Spanish to “It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate,” and Mexican consumers read the translated “Got Milk?” as “Are you lactating?”

Microsoft Blue Screen of Death

It should be some comfort for Bill Gates to know that Microsoft wasn’t simply buried by Apple’s innovation and superior brand appeal. That might make him feel weak and out of control. Microsoft was also buried by Microsoft. Not only did they lose their ability to make their product seem comparatively hip, hot and oh-so-indispensable, but they made a crucial error during an equally crucial marketing opportunity.

Most of us are familiar with Apple’s signature “Wheel of Death”, a spinning rainbow pie that signifies the end of a computer’s functionality. Our parents might recall a similar phenomenon called the Blue Screen of Death, a Microsoft based harbinger of frustration and doom. When the Blue Screen of Death appears, you’re done for.

At a pre-release screening of Windows 98 for an audience of press members, stunned onlookers chortled as the Blue Screen appeared and Microsoft employees blushed as their new program crashed before their eyes.

Objects Are Larger Than They Appear

2011-10-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

That women will stop at nothing to artificially achieve the perfect silhouette is not breaking news. How they do it, however, is ever-changing. In the past, undergarments did the bulk of the work, from whale-bone corsets to Real Housewives–designed faux Spanx; women’s waists have been nipped, tucked, and cinched underneath their clothes in every which way. But now, thanks to a slew of optical-illusion dresses hitting red carpets and runways, the dresses are drawing the curves.

At the Venice Film Festival in early September, Kate Winslet pulled off a seemingly antithetical miracle: Wearing a clever skintight shift dress from Stella McCartney’s fall 2011 collection, the Oscar-winning actress appeared to be curvier and thinner. The secret to Winslet’s dress was ingenious color blocking—black side panels gave her a high, tiny waist that, when added to the white panel around her bust, gave her an hourglass figure that’d turn Jessica Rabbit green with envy.

Thailand Says 10 Provinces at ‘Critical’ Risk From Flooding

2011-10-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Oct. 15 Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said 10 provinces in the country are still at “critical risk” from flooding, and authorities are widening canals to protect Bangkok and the main international airport.

“The government has to protect strategic areas and the heart of the economy including industrial and business zones, provincial capitals, Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi airport and evacuation centers,” Yingluck said today in a nationwide television and radio address.

Bangkok authorities are rushing to widen canals and bolster flood barriers around the city of 9.7 million people to save the capital from floods that crippled manufacturing hubs in central provinces last week. Yingluck said the disaster, which has killed almost 300 people and displaced more than 2 million more, is the worst in the nation’s history.

“We are working on solving the crisis and will introduce long-term measures to prevent it from happening again,” Yingluck said. “This disaster has caused the greatest loss and is the most severe in Thailand’s history.”

At least 297 people have been killed since monsoon rains began lashing Thailand in late July, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Yingluck said the situation remains “critical” in 10 of the 26 provinces still affected by flooding.

Floodwaters last week swamped industrial estates in Ayutthaya province, 67 kilometers (42 miles) north of Bangkok, halting production at factories operated by Japanese manufacturers including Nikon Corp. and Pioneer Corp.

Factories Damaged

The cost of the disaster may rise to as much as 120 billion baht ($3.9 billion), and force the central bank to cut its forecast for economic growth this year, Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said yesterday. A total of 930 factories nationwide have been damaged, according to data from the Ministry of Industry.

“The flooding impact on the whole economy will depend on the rehabilitation process after this,” Prasarn said. “We need to monitor the situation closely.”

Yingluck’s two-month-old administration is balancing needs to protect Bangkok from inundation while evacuating people and delivering aid to areas outside the capital’s flood barriers that are already under as much as a meter of water.

“The government realizes that people have already suffered from this disaster for three months,” Yingluck said. “It’s our priority to solve the problem.”

U.S. Support

Thailand suffers from seasonal floods around the same time each year, though a southwest monsoon and five tropical storms in recent months have made this year’s deluge the most severe in terms of damage and loss of life, Yingluck said.

A U.S. C-130 transport plane carrying thousands of sandbags and 10 Marines landed at Don Muang airport this afternoon to help support the aid effort, U.S. embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler said.

The U.S. offered two helicopters to help with relief efforts, along with 10 marines and thousands of sandbags, said Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the flood-relief center. Japan and China both offered 30 million baht, he said.

Water levels in central Nakhon Sawan province have stabilized after dams reduced the amount of water released downstream, Yingluck said. Water levels rose in Ayutthaya yesterday, though authorities are working to improve drainage.

“The government will accelerate water drainage from the Chao Phraya river into the sea and through the eastern and western sides of Bangkok,” Yingluck said.

Drainage Efforts

Authorities have finished widening three canals to accelerate drainage and will widen another four near the capital, she said. Three flood barriers in the city have been extended over the past few days, Yingluck said.

Inner Bangkok is still unaffected by flooding, though authorities are concerned about areas in the city’s west, where defenses are weaker, the state-owned MCOT news agency reported, citing Bangkok’s Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

Four provinces in Thailand’s south are at risk from flash floods and landslides, the nation’s disaster agency said today on its website. Heavy rains are expected in central and eastern provinces and in Bangkok on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, it said. Train services to northern Thailand remain suspended, it said.

Hilary Swank expresses deep regret about Chechen event

2011-10-14T01:15:00.000-07:00

The Oscar winner’s rep e-mailed a lengthy explanation and comments from Swank that explained her reasons for showing up at the event alongside other celebrities like Jean Claude Van Damme. The statement says the actress attended primarily to celebrate the opening of a new residential and commercial complex in Grozny City, and that she wished the Chechen Republic president — who has faced allegations of torturing and causing the disappearances of numerous individuals — a happy birthday upon request.

“I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights,” Swank said in the statement. “I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment.”

The statement did not address claims by the Human Rights Foundation that a letter was sent to Swank prior to the event in an attempt to explain concerns about Kadyrov’s track record of human rights abuses.

Read the full explanation and statement from Swank after the jump.

“On Wednesday, October 5th, Hilary Swank attended the opening of a new residential and commercial complex in Grozny City, including the largest sports complex in southern Russia. There were various guests from all over the world in attendance at that event, including Chechnya’s president. Ms. Swank decided to attend the opening because the construction project was described to her as a symbol of hope for the people of Chechnya, a region that had been devastated by war.

Specifically, she was advised that the project was instrumental in the creation of jobs and other opportunities for the people of Chechnya. Ms. Swank very much wanted to attend to be a proponent of those things and, most importantly, she wanted be an advocate for peace in Chechnya. When she arrived at the event, its organizers requested that she wish the President a happy birthday, which happened to coincide with the opening. Not wanting to be rude, she obliged. She was unaware, at the time, of the allegations against President Kadyrov that have been made by various human rights groups. She had never met Kadyrov before that evening, and has no personal or professional ties to him.

Ms. Swank commented, ‘I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights. I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights. If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone.’”

LINDSAY LOHAN The Women's Center People Were Mean Girls

2011-10-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Lohan is telling friends ... she was unfairly booted from the Downtown Women's Center ... insisting the staff was REALLY mean to her from the second she arrived.

Lohan has assured her inner circle ... she did everything she was asked to do while performing her court-ordered community service at the L.A. center over the past few months ... and NEVER showed up late.

TMZ broke the story ... the people in the Probation Dept. responsible for overseeing Lindsay's probation decided Lindsay could not go back to the Women's Center, because she repeatedly didn't show up, and when she did she would bail after an hour -- a violation of the judge's order that she serve 4 hours at a time.

Lindsay now says she loves her community service assignment at the American Red Cross ... saying her relationship with the staff is good.

Lindsay is due back in court next week -- and a judge will decide if she's really telling the truth.

Apple's IPhone 4S Sales May Reach 4 Million This Weekend

2011-10-14T01:04:00.000-07:00

Apple Inc. is poised to sell as many as 4 million units of its new iPhone 4S this weekend as customers around the world clamor for one of the last products developed under Steve Jobs.

The device, available today in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and U.K., is projected to outperform last year's introduction of the iPhone 4, which topped 1.7 million units in its introductory weekend. For the iPhone 4S, most estimates range from 2 million to 3 million, with Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe predicting sales of as much as 4 million.

The release represents the end of Apple's era under Jobs, who died this month after an eight-year battle with cancer. The iPhone 4S has received mostly positive reviews for its voice- recognition software, speedier processor and improved camera. The device also provides Apple with fresh ammunition in its fight against Google Inc.'s Android software, which will appear on a host of new smartphones in the year-end holiday season.

“It's going to easily outpace any previous launch,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York. It helps that the iPhone is available on the three largest U.S. carriers for the first time, which will bring in new buyers, he said.

Apple also has released an update to its iOS mobile operating system, which customers can download to their existing devices. The software comes with 200 new features and a Web storage service for synchronizing photos, documents, music and other files across different Apple gadgets.

Google Competition

While the iPhone is the best-selling single smartphone, all of the devices running Google's Android operating system account for more of the industry's sales. HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and other manufacturers have adopted the software. Google offers Android for free and then makes money on mobile advertising and services. That revenue now accounts for $2.5 billion a year, the company said yesterday when it released quarterly results.

Apple's shares have jumped more than 10 percent this week, boosted by speculation that the iPhone 4S will be a hit. The stock closed at $408.43 yesterday, making Apple the world's most valuable business. Its market capitalization now stands at $378.7 billion, compared with $371.3 billion for the second- ranking company, Exxon Mobil Corp.

‘Memory' of Steve

About 25 customers were lined up outside Apple's Midtown Manhattan store at lunch yesterday. In Australia, the first country where the product went on sale, Jackie Guo, 25, and his girlfriend, both students at Macquarie University, said they lined up as a tribute to Jobs.

“It's the iPhone for Steve, it's for the memory of Steve,” Guo said. “It was the last product he worked on. He pushed this company to become a viable company. His ideas are better than others. They make the market more hungry for the product.”

In Tokyo, about 80 people were lined up a day before the debut and there were more than 800 people by 8 a.m. at the Ginza district store.

Jobs's admirers have turned storefronts into makeshift memorials, adding a solemn tone to the frenzy that accompanies the company's product releases. Jobs co-founded Apple and returned to the company after a 12-year absence, rescuing it from near-bankruptcy.

Sell Out

“They are going to sell out,” said Yankee Group's Howe, who is based in Boston.

High demand for the new iOS 5 software contributed to glitches at Apple even before the iPhone 4S went on sale. Customers downloading it to their older phones overwhelmed the company's servers, making it harder to upgrade.

Apple hasn't said how many people were affected. The wait time to get a call back from an Apple support representative via the company's Express Lane service is much longer than usual. Typically, an Apple rep will call back within a few hours. Now, the earliest appointments aren't for days.

Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment.

The iPhone 4S will go on sale later this month in 22 additional countries, including Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Spain. Apple didn't say when it will be available in China, a country Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said will be critical for the company's future growth.

Rush of Preorders

Apple said earlier this week that it had received more than 1 million preorders for the iPhone 4S. The three U.S. carriers selling the device -- AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. -- sold out as well. The demand puts Apple on pace to sell a record number of iPhones in the quarter ending in December, according to the analysts' reports. Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray Cos., estimates that Apple could sell more than 25 million iPhones this quarter.

The iPhone, first introduced in 2007, has become Apple's top moneymaker, accounting for almost half its total revenue. Sales from the new model won't be part of the fourth-quarter financial results Apple is due to release on Oct. 18. Even so, profit rose about 60 percent in the period to $6.9 billion on sales of $29.5 billion, according to the average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The release of the iPhone 4S, along with new Android models, should mean that smartphone users account for the majority of U.S. mobile-phone customers for the first time, said Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics LLC in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Apple controlled 19.1 percent of the smartphone market in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC, ahead of Samsung, Nokia Oyj and Research In Motion Ltd.

Few companies can build excitement around a new product the way Apple can, Yankee Group's Howe said.

“This is what they are good at,” he said. “They know how to make a big launch weekend.”

Intelligent Use of Social Media for SEO

2011-10-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Social Media has been engaged with numerous benefits for the website marketers. Few benefits were tangible (like the number of likes, fans and followers) and few not (like enhanced customer service, brand recognition and developing lasting relationships). As a part of your marketing campaign you can’t regret the importance of social media. Social Media Websites are here to stay and it is up to us to make sure that we use it to their best advantages.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is another field of online marketing, which has its own advantage in marketing your companies online. With over millions of searches being conducted everyday via search engines; a website that is not found in the search result is purely meant to be invisible. SEO is not all about raking; it’s all about building your online brand. There are many factors that affect how a site ranks in the search engines and SEO is about optimizing your site as best as possible to help it succeed.

SEO and Social Media marketing is not separated by any means, there should be an element of SEO in all your online marketing activities. As social media marketing matures, it is becoming clearer and clearer that it has an impact on a site’s SEO.

Here are a few ways you can use your social media marketing activities to aid your SEO:

Social Networking Profiles
Literally, there are hundreds of Social Networking Websites are available besides the big three like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter which has its own presence in search engines intern helps in increasing your brand presence online. These smaller social networking sites will help to cover every kind of audiences on the process. Create Profiles in these sites where you have intent to be involved with and also make sure that your active profile is going to be worth much more in the long run. Social Networking sites are the best possible place to establish good and strong relationship with consumers and build a strong community.

Add Keywords into Media Posts
Sites like twitter, where it allows tweeting 140 characters, so keywords can be used in the hash tag, stylized as #keyword, which helps your tweet to get pulled in to a search results page by search engines. On other Social Networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, etc you have more room to target keywords in your posts. The title that you use while sharing a link is a great place to incorporate keywords. Also, writing a short description about the content of each post is another good spot to target keywords.

Drive Traffic to your Main Website
Always try to drive traffic to your company website or blog by just posting a snippet of the website content or a blog post. Include a snippet which acts as a call-to-action that drives visitors from social networking website in to your website or blog. There is no point in trying to post an entire content in to the social networking website which doesn’t give you any chance to lead them in to your website. Your social media profiles should serve as gateways to your main site, not the other way around.

Try to Reach Influential Social Media Personalities
There are many people who are regular to these social networking websites, and can be an industry leader that your target audience looks to for an advice. These influential people can help in better your brand in front of their huge audience. Establishing a connection between those people helps to brand your product faster and reach the targeted audience. Social Media marketing is a give and take technique where in which you can’t expect others to share your content if you don’t share theirs. Google has admitted that a link shared by an active user has more worth than the link shared by a spam account. Influence of these social media posts can be clearly seen in the search result pages. Quantity is great, but sometimes quality is worth more overall.

Maintain Reasonable Time Frame
A recent study found that Facebook post are getting 50% of their likes in first 80 Minutes and takes 22 Hours more for the same post to get 95% of likes. So need to publish the content more frequently for the better engagement among your community. Content marketing is a critical component of SEO, but it is a fine line between too much and too little content.

‘Social Sign-in’ can be used to login via Facebook and leave a comment which intern be posted in your Facebook wall. Depending on how much blog commenting you are doing as a part of your link building campaign, you could be flooding Facebook with your actions. Some of your network might feel like you are spamming them and un-Like your page.

You also have to look at your target audience to best determine when you should be posting content. Another study found that “companies that post content on their Facebook pages outside normal business hours see engagement rates that are 20% higher than average.”

10 Ways To Grow Your Blog’s Community

2011-10-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

As a small business owner, you love your blog. Your blog is where your community goes to hear your insight, it’s where they learn more about you, and it’s where they put a human face on your logo.

Or, it would be all of those things if anyone was actually reading your blog. Unfortunately, they’re not. And this is a problem.

Growing a small business blog can often be more difficult than we’d like. But you can conquer it and growing a thriving, engaged community to complement your business. Below are ten tactics to help generate more discussion and eye-balls on your blog. I suggest picking several and doing them in combination.

1. Let people know how to engage: It sounds silly, but not everyone knows how to leave a comment on a blog, or how to subscribe or what actions they’re supposed to take to become part of your community. It is your job to tell them. Have a tutorial for how to leave a comment. Let them know how they can respond directly to other users. Have a comment policy on your site. All of these things give readers the information they need to engage responsibly. No one wants to look dumb.

2. Promote your members: The folks who are active in your community aren’t just active there. They have blogs and Web sites and businesses of their very own – so promote them. Tell people about their cool business. Offer a LinkedIn recommendation. Pass their name to someone you think should know about them. By lifting up the people in your community, you show them how valued they are and that you see them.

3. Seed your blog conversation: In a perfect world people will differing opinions would come to your blog and have intelligent discussions on topics that are relevant to your industry. However, this isn’t a perfect world. This is the Internet. To help combat this, consider seeding your blog conversations to help them get started. Call in your blogging buddies and have them take different viewpoints in the comments section of your blog and have them debate your post passionately in the comments. Sure, maybe it will start out a little manipulated, but the real people will see the action and join in. Sometimes we all need someone to start the conversation for us and show it’s okay to hop in.

4. Go out and find new readers: Go to other blogs and discussion forums where people are talking about your industry, scout out the most active/respected commenters, and introduce yourself. Do not spam or market to them but say hello, let them know you’ve noticed their contributions, and thank them for making you a smarter individual. That is it. Without you ever asking them to, these people will do their homework to check you out and will stumble onto your blog. If they like what they’re seeing, they may join in.

5. Recruit new readers: Same as the above, but now offer an incentive for them to go check out your blog. Do not offer them money or a new television (this will change their motivation), but maybe invite them to be a beta tester for your new product or to act as a site moderator. Give them some non-monetary perks for getting involved.

6. Offer rewards for participation: You may have noticed that some blogs give users “points” for leaving comments or participating in the conversation. The goal of this is to provide an incentive for someone to get involved. If you’re going to do this, try not to reward people simply for quantity or you’ll wind up with people contributing nothing but low-quality content.

7. Create posts designed for community action: Sure, in blogging for your customers, you’ll want to create great resources on how to use your products and how to solve that common problem they’re facing, but also create content specifically geared toward getting interaction.

Maybe it means you posing a question and then asking your community to answer.
Perhaps it’s a Caption This Photo contest.
Maybe it’s a giveaway.
Maybe it’s asking users to create something and submit it.

These types of content pieces are written for your community and give them a reason to get involved.

8. Get people offline: I know it sounds weird, but one of the best ways to strengthen your online community is to encourage people to take it offline. Hold a meet up, have an in-store party, tweet you’ll be at X restaurant at 9pm and ask people to come join you. Get people away from their computers and talking in real life and they’ll from far stronger connections.

9. Eliminate bullying: As your community grows, you may find that some of your more established members don’t always react so kindly to new people. They may respond aggressively, question their knowledge or not allow them to enter insider discussions. It’s your job, as the blog owner, to nip this in the bud. Fostering an environment that has too much “insider baseball” and doesn’t do an adequate job making new people feel welcome will stifle your community’s growth. Don’t be afraid to reprimand members when necessary.

10. Have swag: What? People love *stuff* and they love showing off their stuff. Give people stickers and T-shirts with your blog URL when they make an in-store purchase or send out stickers to your most active on-site community members.

Time management: Tips to reduce stress and improve productivity

2011-10-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Effective time management is a primary means to a less stressful life. These practices can help you reduce your stress and reclaim your personal life.

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the number and complexity of projects you have that need to be completed at work each day? Do you often feel the day flies by without your devoting the necessary attention to each assignment because other tasks keep landing on your desk, co-workers interrupt you with questions or you can't get it all organized?

You probably know that effective time management will help you get more done each day. It has important health benefits, too. By managing your time more wisely, you can minimize stress and improve your quality of life.

But how do you get back on track when organizational skills don't come naturally? To get started, choose one of these strategies, try it for two to four weeks and see if it helps. If it does, consider adding another one. If not, try a different one.

Plan each day. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.
Prioritize your tasks. Time-consuming but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you spend your time and energy on those that are truly important to you.
Say no to nonessential tasks. Consider your goals and schedule before agreeing to take on additional work.
Delegate. Take a look at your to-do list and consider what you can pass on to someone else.
Take the time you need to do a quality job. Doing work right the first time may take more time upfront, but errors usually result in time spent making corrections, which takes more time overall.
Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks. Work on them a few minutes at a time until you get them all done.
Practice the 10-minute rule. Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it.
Evaluate how you're spending your time. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days to determine how you're spending your time. Look for time that can be used more wisely. For example, could you take a bus or train to work and use the commute to catch up on reading? If so, you could free up some time to exercise or spend with family or friends.
Limit distractions. Block out time on your calendar for big projects. During that time, close your door and turn off your phone, pager and e-mail.
Get plenty of sleep, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly.A healthy lifestyle can improve your focus and concentration, which will help improve your efficiency so that you can complete your work in less time.
Take a time management course. If your employer offers continuing education, take a time management class. If your workplace doesn't have one, find out if a local community college, university or community education program does.
Take a break when needed. Too much stress can derail your attempts at getting organized. When you need a break, take one. Take a walk. Do some quick stretches at your workstation. Take a day of vacation to rest and re-energize.

Store display matters a lot in fashion designing

2011-10-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

In fashion designing industry the store displays can create all the difference particularly when it comes to a fashion designer / retailer. Mainly when it comes to attract your customer to your shop. As a retailer, you must know the impact that clothing displays can have on shopper‘s interest. When clients are offered with an attractive display of products, they are more liable to purchase or return to your store at afterward. There are many things which enhance the quality of display.

Create an extra ordinary shop floor. It must be so attractive that customer feels magnetic power in it.
Use hangers to hang the clothing. If you are also selling purse and shoes so p-lace them with clothes in matching this will attract ladies very much.
Place some ornamental plants in shop it looks attractive.
Make a small area for kids to play so that parents’ contrite on shopping just.
Always buy beautiful but cheap hangers as some customers like to take hangers along with them.

Backstage At McQueen, “A Little Fantasy” Goes A Long Way

2011-10-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

If the lace masks at Sarah Burton’s show for Alexander McQueen looked familiar, it’s because anyone who made it to the wildly successful exhibition celebrating the house’s late namesake designer at the Met this summer has seen something like them before. “The idea came from the masks we created for the McQueen exhibit,” confirmed Guido Palau, who dreamt up another series of similar headgear with Burton for Spring. “People expect a little fantasy from this show,” Palau pointed out, which he delivered by weaving tight, half-inch-thick rings of braids all around models’ heads. “It’s like a wig wrap, but I wanted it to look more embellished,” he explained—which happened to be the complete opposite of Peter Philips’ M.O. “It’s almost like a sculpture,” the famed face painter said of the full-body muting technique he employed, applying a continuous wash of Chanel Pro Lumiere foundation on faces, limbs—anywhere skin was showing. “It’s all the same color; we wanted to make sure everything was covered,” he said, taking the season’s monochrome makeup trend to the next level. While Philips finger-pressed foundation into lips as well, there was one area of the face that he enhanced: the brows. “We tried bleaching them, but it looked too alien,” he said, opting instead to flatten arches, coating them in the same latex-based glue he used only a few hours earlier at Chanel. “It puts some life back inside those masks.”

The real embellishment was left to Minx co-founders Dawn Lynch-Goodwin and Janice Jordan. Back in London, manicurist Marian Newman told us that Burton had given the women four words to use for inspiration when conceiving a series of different nail overlays for her to choose from for the show; today came the big reveal. “Water, mother-of-pearl, shell, and sea foam,” she said, applying the six winning designs to models’ tips. Using three different bases of pink, beige, and ivory, Jordan and Lynch-Goodwin layered different combinations of Minx in holographic gold and silver on top to create “organic, random” layered patterns. “It took over 1,000 man hours,” Jordan proclaimed. If the crowd at Centquatre wanted fantasy, they no doubt left satisfied.

Michelle Does Marilyn Watch Here

2011-10-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

What's it like being Marilyn Monroe? For one thing, according to Michelle Williams, "You get a lot of attention." But Williams, who plays the superstar in My Week With Marilyn, knows as well as anyone that there's more to the American icon than meets the eye. "The breathy quality that she had in her voice was a device that she used to cover up a stutter," the actress explained last night at the Hudson Hotel's Private Park, at a Dior-sponsored party preceding a screening of the movie at the New York Film Festival.

Set in mid-fifties England and based on the true story of a production assistant's extended encounter with Monroe during the filming of Sir Laurence Olivier'sThe Prince and the Showgirl, the movie depicts the starlet's doomed bid to be taken seriously. There are three Marilyns in the film—the public one, the private one, and the character Monroe plays for Olivier's cameras—and Williams' layered personification has already earned some Oscar buzz. (Her pedigreed co-stars, including Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench, and the campaigning clout of executive producer Harvey Weinstein certainly won't hurt her cause.)

"Watching Michelle having to dip in and out of all these different facets was really wonderful," said Eddie Redmayne, who plays Monroe's starstruck young companion. Director Simon Curtis acknowledged that his star's performance transcends the fact that Williams isn't necessarily a dead ringer for Monroe. "It's like when you see Helen Mirren play the Queen. They don't look anything alike in the same room, but somehow if the acting is good enough you begin to believe it," he said. On camera, Williams even seems at points to possess Monroe's full figure. "There's some cinema magic in all of that," Curtis added, and he wasn't talking about CGI.

Working From Home Is Awesome-3 Things To Consider

2011-10-06T23:41:00.001-07:00

Working from home might seem like a dream -- and since many companies are going the virtual route, more employees are now expecting flexible work options -- such as telecommuting and working virtually or from home. According to a survey commissioned by Mom Corps, a national flexible staffing firm, 51 percent of working adults (ages 18 to 44) plan to look for a new job within the next three years with an employer that offers flexible work options.

While this dream of yours could very well become a reality in the next several years, you might want to consider a few things before becoming a full-timework-from-home employee.

Can you motivate yourself? No one will be around to remind you to get that project done or to tell you to stop playing online games. When working from home, your internal motivation must be strong enough to overcome your desire to sleep in, do laundry or talk to your friend on the phone for an hour.
Do you have the necessary tools to get work done? For most workers, this means a computer, reliable Internet access and a telephone. If something else is required to successfully complete your daily tasks, add that to the list as well. Companies often opt to allow workers to stay at home to save costs; so don't expect that these types of things will be provided to you as they normally are in an office setting.
Are there too many distractions in your home? Will your children be home while you're trying to work? Do you have roommates who are home during the day? Do you have a dedicated office space or area to use during "work hours?" Since you're mixing your work and home lives, you need to create a routine for yourself to ensure that you're accomplishing all of your tasks for the day.

Steve Jobs Dies: Apple Chief Innovated Personal Computer, Created iPad, iPod, iPhone

2011-10-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56.

Jobs died "peacefully," surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement.

Neither Jobs' family nor Apple revealed where he died or from what cause, though in recent years Jobs had fought a form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed awaytoday," read a statement by Apple's board of directors. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

As Jobs' death was announced, the homepage of Apple's website switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, "Steve Jobs 1955-2011."

Clicking on the image revealed additional text that was credited to current Apple CEO Tim Cook in a separate memo to Apple employees.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the text read. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Jobs' rivals in the development of personal computers, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, immediately reacted to his death and highlighted his importance to their industry.

Allen called him "a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products."

Gates extended his condolences and noted in a written statement that he and Jobs "have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives."

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates added. "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

A more recent contemporary in the tech world, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, also weighed in with a statement on Jobs.

"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend," it read. "Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

Reaction to Jobs' death came from far and wide -- even from the White House.

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs," President Obama said in a written statement. "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II.

Shortly after learning of Jobs' death, Wozniak told ABC News, "I'm shocked and disturbed."

Later, on ABC News' "Nightline," he said it was hard to imagine, in some ways, how the world would move forward without Jobs.

"You get shocked when people you know die," Wozniak said. "And this was closer to when John Lennon died, or JFK or Martin Luther King."

Industry watchers called Jobs a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications.

Jobs continued to innovate in recent years even as he battled severe health problems that prompted leaves of absence from Apple.

In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple's chief executive.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," Jobs wrote in his letter of resignation. "Unfortunately, that day has come."

Nevertheless, he remained as chairman of the corporation, a new position created just for him.

What Your Favorite Summer Song Says About Your Relationship Style

2011-10-05T23:48:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone has a song that reminds them of summer. Whether it’s a tune you jam to in the car, or a melody repeating on your iPod, summer anthems represent a piece of who you are and how you think, particularly when it comes to love. That’s why we’ve taken a look at this summer’s hottest hits and analyzed what we think they mean about your relationship style. Check out what we’ve come up with below:

1. “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry: If you crank up the volume when this song starts playing, then you’re probably a hopeless romantic. After all, what’s more heart-warming than lyrics like “send me away to the words of a love song,” or “I’ve never known the loving of a man, but it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand.” Even if you haven’t found that special someone this summer, liking this tune shows you still have hope for love, and that you’re ready to find the person who will make you feel special.

2. “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry: If this is your choice, then you’re a free-spirit. You spend the dog days living life, and you’re probably single and loving it! If you’re not single, you’re still super independent. Katy Perry is definitely a free spirit. With lyrics like, “Yeah we danced on tabletops, and we took too many shots. Think we kissed, but I forgot,” this song is the perfect summer girl tune.

3. “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele: If you can’t get this song out of your head, it could be that you’ve gone through a recent heartbreak. Adele sings about her deepest feelings, and the lyrics of this song say it all: “The scars of your love remind me of us. They keep me thinking that we almost had it all. The scars of your love, they leave me breathless.” Most of us have experienced heartache before and this song lets you know you’re not alone.

4. “Grenade” by Bruno Mars: If you’re in love with this song, it could mean that you’re in love with love. “I’d catch a grenade for ya, throw my hand on a blade for ya, I’d jump in front of a train for ya, you know I’d do anything for ya.” The song represents true love, although Bruno Mars wrote it after suffering through a heartbreak. The point is, when you love someone, you would do anything for them. We all hope for a relationship like that.

5. “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull: Obsessed with this song? If so, you’ve fully embraced love, and you’ve found your summer romance. With lyrics like, “Tonight I will love, love you tonight, give me everything tonight. For all we know, we might not get tomorrow. Let’s do it tonight,” it shows you’re happy with your current squeeze and want them to know you don’t take them for granted.

What do you think your favorite summer song says about your relationship style? Share your thoughts below

What Disney Princesses Really Taught Us About Love

2011-10-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

Our mothers’ wise words have had a big influence on our love lives, but not nearly as much as the love advice we received from those other wise women from childhood, the Disney princesses. Ariel taught us that guys dig long legs, Cinderella showed us how to get a guy to chase us (not to mention the importance of a pedicure), and Snow White made sure we knew it was okay to sleep in a house full of seven men as long as you didn’t actually do anything. Embark with us on a journey to a faraway land of fairytale love where we decode the love lessons from each princess and show just how sensible these love lessons are.

Cinderella Teaches Us the Right Way to Play Hard to Get

Playing hard to get is as easy as turning a pumpkin into a carriage. If that sounds challenging, just follow in Cinderella’s pedicured footsteps. First to give him a hint of where to find you, leave your Manolo Blahnik pump at the club. That way, he can look for you all over the city, and be heartbroken every time some girl’s foot doesn’t fit the slipper you left behind. Oh, and not to mention that it’s a sure way to verify his devotion to you; how can you refuse a guy who has touched hundreds of women’s dirty feet just to get to you? Then, you should probably marry the man who you just met since his committed search for you is proof alone that you will have a happy, long lasting, faithful marriage. As long as you don’t mind that your new husband has a raging foot fetish, you’ll truly live happily ever after.

Snow White Teaches Us How to Sleep Around And Still Get Prince Charming

Want to make a man fall head over heels in love with you? Use the jealousy card! Stumble upon a cottage that is inhabited with seven men and stay there while your boyfriend wanders around looking for you. When he finds out that you shared a home with seven other dudes, and didn’t take part in an orgy, he’ll just be dying to kiss you and sweep you off your feet.

Jasmine Teaches Us It’s Okay to Talk to Strangers (and Thieves)

If you are greeted by a man in shabby clothes covered in dirt, definitely allow him to lead you down all sorts of dark alleys and abandoned buildings. If he has a pet monkey, even better! Always trust a man whose best friend is a wild animal. It shows he has a nurturing side.

Killer Nail Art Adds A Touch Of Fun

2011-10-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

When models hit the runway at New York Fashion Week, we "oohed" and "ahhed" at their to-die-for ensembles, swoon-worthy hair, and impeccable shoes. But little did WE know, the best part of the Spring 2012 looks was on their fingertips! Designers all across the board stepped up their nail game SO HARD that we couldn't wait to get our hands (heh) on the runway images after the show to get a closer view. Some of our favorite looks included Nicole Miller's hot pink and purple checkered nails that reflect perfectly on the collection'sbright neon ensembles. We can think of endless color combos to try right when the weather gets warm! At Jen Kao, the nails were straight-up FIERCE. The black to red gradient on the almond-shaped tips scream, "Don't mess with me OR my nails!" We need these.

Ruffian did a double dose of nail art with different looks on EACH hand! Ballerrrr. On the left, they chose a nude polish for the half moons and paired it with a mustard yellow and black "X" detail. On the right, they also chose a nude polish for the half moons and picked a robin's egg blue with a single burgundy stripe across the top. We like how these nails give off a preppy yet edgy vibe, which we never thought would combine so well on our fingertips! Here's a quick tutorial on how to do a half-moon manicure to begin re-creating this look right this second, but you might need to grab a friend with a steady hand for those stripes.

We're OBSESSED with this dip-dyed French manicure look from the Parkchoonmoo Spring 2012 show. It's beautifully imperfect in a way that we love! They chose a light pink base with royal purple tips that they let run together. It gives off a soft watercolor effect that we want to try ASAP!

Johnny English Reborn (Movie)

2011-10-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film is the sequel to Johnny English (2003), and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker.

It was released in Australia, Hungary, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine on 15 September 2011, India, Pakistan, Romania on 23 September 2011, Hong Kong on 29 September 2011 and is scheduled to release in United Kingdom on 7 October 2011, and North America on 28 October 2011.

PLOT

English is learning martial arts in Tibet as penance for an earlier disastrous mission. MI-7 identifies him as the best agent for a new mission; stopping a group of international assassins before they kill the Chinese premier and cause global chaos. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English returns to his role with gusto. In Macau, his Chinese contact is murdered in a casino, but in Hong Kong he manages to obtain one of three metal "keys" that, when combined, can be used as an assassination weapon. While bragging to his sidekick (Daniel Kaluuya) about the success of his mission on a flight back to the United Kingdom, the key is stolen from its case. He arrives at headquarters and opens the case with a flourish in front of many dignified guests, only to show an empty interior. English then believes he has seen the Chinese assassin involved in a murder in Hong Kong. He attacks her twice, but both times the victim turns out to be his boss's mother.

English sets out again, this time meeting with a Russian agent who is critically wounded by an assassin in front of him on a golf course. English obtains the second key from the Russian and attempts to fly him to hospital in a helicopter, surviving various attacks by the assassins. He confides in a trusted colleague (Dominic West) that the Russian told him about a conspiracy that KGB, CIA and even MI-7. Unfortunately for English, his colleague is the MI-7 traitor, and he retrieves the key from English and tells MI-7 that English is the traitor. English escapes MI-7's clutches on Agent and inventor Quartermain's hi-tech wheelchair.

He goes to Kate Summer's (Rosamund Pike) house and convinces her that he is not the traitor and that the organisation Vortex is behind the assassination and that they were also in Mozambique (his disastrous mission that went wrong). Together they find out that Vortex is using a drug that allows people to be controlled for a brief time, before dying. After Kate goes on a date with Simon Ambrose (the traitor), an attempt is made on English's life yet again by the killer from Hong Kong. He escapes and he and his sidekick Tucker go to the conference where they believe the attempt is going to be made on the premier's life.

After a mishap involving an "Agent In Distress" signal, English is put in a gully-bag (a bag in which dead people are put)and Tucker pretends he is one of the MI-7 guards.English, still in the bag, manages to bounce to his head Pegasus' (Gillian Anderson) room and convince her that Ambrose is the traitor, just before she drinks the beverage in which the drug is put. English accidentally drinks it instead, and Pegasus is knocked unconscious by Ambrose and his men. English is made to obey Ambrose and tries to kill the premier, before remembering what his master, the monk, taught him and tries to resist it. He is successful but apparently dies due to the drug.

Kate then kisses him and in his head he remembers from the monk that if he opens his heart, he will be reborn. He opens his eyes revealing he is not dead and chases after Ambrose, first by parachute,then by bike,before catching up to his cable-car. He accidentally falls off the car but the snow outside breaks his fall. Ambrose stops the car and tries to shoot English and English thinking that his umbrella gadget is actually a bullet-proof shield,opens it, and finding that it does not reflect bullets,closes it again, which is actually the signal for it to shoot a rocket. The rocket hits the cable-car and it explodes with Ambrose. English is knighted, but, during the ceremony, he finds out that the Queen is the killer in disguise, and she tries to kill him yet again and run. He chases after her and violently hits her on the head with a tray, only to find out, when the guards bring the real killer inside, that he has attacked the real Queen.

Ra One (Movie)

2011-09-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ra.One (Hindi: रा.वन) is an upcoming 2011 Hindi Superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha, and starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. It also stars Shahana Goswami, Dilip Tahil and Chinese-American actor Tom Wu in supporting roles.

The film is jointly produced under Khan's production company Red Chillies Entertainment and Eros International,and was originally scheduled to release in the summer of 2011. However, due to extensive post-production work involving special effects and its 3D conversion, the film was pushed back and is now set to release worldwide during the Diwali weekend of October 26, 2011. Ra.One is currently India's most expensive film to date and will be released in both 2D and 3D formats across 3,200 screens in India, along with its dubbed versions in Tamil, Teluguand German.

Production

Development

According to director Anubhav Sinha, the idea of making Ra.One originated while he was watching television six years ago. Sinha wrote the script and gave it to Shahrukh Khan who then agreed to both produce and star in it. The film has been in the making for over four years. He explains, "We invested as many as two years into the pre-production of the film, the actual filming was spread through one full year and then the post-production has been a year-long process as well". To prepare for the film, Sinha spent months going through video clips, digital art portals and comic books, and also enrolled with a special effects class to learn the new techniques that would be used in the film.

The film's crew comprises of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy and the US. Special effects creator Robert Kurtzman was assigned to design the suits of Khan and Rampal's characters. Nicola Pecorini was roped in as the director of photography, with V. Manikandanproviding extra assistance, and Martin Walsh was responsible to edit the film. Sound designer Resul Pookutty was roped in to enhance the sound effects with the use of the Dolby Surround 7.1 system. In an interview, Pookutty explained, "You see, Ra.One is not just a movie experience... It requires a very unconventional sound and visual quality for which we are installing the required equipment."

Due to the revived interest in 3D technology in India, brought in by the success of Haunted – 3D (2011), the makers of the film announced that they were contemplating on turning portions of the movie into 3D. Khan revealed, "Some part of the film we are trying to do in 3D and Prime Focus is doing that for us. They have a technology with which after you have shot the film, it could be converted into 3D. But there are reservations on it because you know that we have to shoot that with different cameras...the same trailer, actually in a matter of fact, we are going to check out in few days and if it comes out well, then parts of the film I would like to do in 3D". In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D, a process that required the collaboration of several individuals.

There are close to 3,500 VFX shots in Ra.One, including 800 shots involving G.One's suit alone, which takes up 40 minutes of footage. While Khan shot the film wearing a simple suit for his character, a good deal of sparkle and polishing was added to it later to enhance its look. The film was also pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around 15 studios across the world, including in Mumbai, South India, London, Canada and Massachusetts. The idea of making a VFX-loaded film took root when Khan was working on his 2004 release, Main Hoon Na. "There is no software or technique in the industry that we have not used for this film. For 3D, we have used software like Maya, Houdini and Macs. For composites, we have used Nuke and Shake. We have even written our own programmes. We programmed certain things rather than doing them manually," explains Keitan Yadav, COO and VFX Producer at Red Chillies Entertainment.

Reports of similarities between Ra.One and the 2010 Tamil release Enthiran have been surfacing since the former entered principal photography. When asked about the comparisons, Khan noted "They [both] are different films. I will not like to talk about anyone else's film but Rajni sir is respectable to all of us."

Filming and casting

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, along with Yash Chopra, Khan and Kapoor (l-r) on the sets of the film.

As a way to make his character more believable, Khan decided that he would perform his own stunts in the film. In 2010, Kareena Kapoor was signed on to play the female lead whilst Arjun Rampal was later approached for his role of a villain. During an appearance on the chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Khan stated that Jackie Chan was "approached for a role in the film". Khan had reportedly sent Chan the detailed script of the film, along with the action sequences and a brief synopsis of his character; it was later confirmed that Chan would not be part of the project.In July 2010, Khan announced that Chinese-American actor Tom Wu would be part of the film. Actors Sanjay Duttand Priyanka Chopra were confirmed to make cameos.

Ra.One's shooting was originally supposed to begin in Miami, USA, but due to budget concerns this was scrapped The first phase of filming began in India in March 2010 and continued till May in Mumbai's Film City and Goa. While filming, Khan admitted to finding difficulties with the rubber-made costume that was specially designed for his character, later commenting: "The costume was designed in a way that I had to take the help of girls to get into it and vice-versa. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink much in between the shoots [...] By the time, the shooting of the film was wrapped up; I ended up losing ten kilos." Production of the film's second and third phase occurred with the entire cast in London, and ended in August, which included a heavy duty action scene involving Khan and Kapoor. During this period, a picture of Kapoor's character was also revealed to the media. The film's final phase commenced at Filmistan Studio in December 2010 and was shot over seven days. The remaining portions were shot in Mumbai and completed in July 2011. While shooting for the film in Mumbai, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Yash Raj Studios, to watch Khan at work. In order to celebrate the film's completion, a wrap-up party was held at the end of the month in Mumbai.

X-Men First Class (Movie)

2011-09-28T04:28:00.000-07:00

X-Men: First Class is a 2011 American superhero action drama film by Matthew Vaughn and produced by Bryan Singer, based on the characters appearing in Marvel Comics. The fifth installment in the X-Men series was released on June 1, 2011, in the UK and on June 3 in the U.S., achieving positive reviews and box-office success.

The film acts as a prequel for the X-Men trilogy, set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (Magneto) and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and theBrotherhood of Mutants. The film stars James McAvoy as Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Other cast members include Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Zoë Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult andLucas Till.

Plot

At a German concentration camp in occupied Poland in 1944, scientist Dr. Schmidt observes young Erik Lensherrbend a metal gate with his mind when the child is separated from his parents.

At a mansion in Westchester County, New York, young telepath Charles Xavier meets homeless young shape-shifterRaven. Overjoyed to meet someone else "different" like him, he invites her to live with his family.

In Schmidt's office, Schmidt orders Lensherr to similarly move a Nazi coin on a desk, and kills his mother when the child cannot. In his grief and anger, Lensherr's magnetic power manifests, killing two guards and destroying the room, to Schmidt's delight.

In 1962 (18 years later), an adult Lensherr is tracking down Schmidt to take revenge. In England, Oxford Universitygraduate Xavier is publishing his thesis on mutation. Raven, now his foster sister, lives with him. In Las Vegas, CIAagent Moira MacTaggert follows U.S. Army Colonel Hendry into the Hellfire Club, where she sees Sebastian Shaw,Emma Frost, and Azazel. After Shaw threatens Hendry, Azazel disappears with the officer. Moments later, Hendry is in the War Room, advocating that the US install nuclear missiles in Turkey. Shaw later kills Hendry, revealing himself as Schmidt and demonstrating the energy-absorbing mutant power that has prevented his aging.

MacTaggert, seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, convinces him and Raven to join her at the CIA, where they convince Director McCone that mutants exist and Shaw is a threat. The unnamed "Man in Black Suit", another CIA executive, sponsors the mutants and invites them to the CIA's secret "Division X" facility. Xavier locates Shaw, arriving in time to stop Lensherr, who had attacked Shaw, from drowning as Shaw escapes. Xavier brings Lensherr to Division X where they meet young scientist Hank McCoy, a prehensile-footed mutant whom Xavier inadvertently outs as a mutant. McCoy, developing a bond with Raven, promises her he will find a way to normalize their appearance. Xavier uses a mutant-locating device, Cerebro, to find and recruit mutants for training to stop Shaw. He and Lensherr find stripper Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz, who takes the code name Darwin; Army prisoner Alex Summers, who calls himself Havok; and Sean Cassidy, who dubs himself Banshee. They try to recruit Wolverine, but he declines. Raven takes the name Mystique.

When Frost meets with a Soviet general in the USSR, Xavier and Lensherr capture her. Meanwhile, Azazel, Riptideand Shaw attack Division X, killing everyone but the young mutants and offering them the chance to join him which Angel accepts. When Darwin tries to fight back, Shaw kills him. With the facility destroyed, Xavier takes the mutants to train at his family mansion. McCoy devises protective uniforms and provides the team with a stealth jet. In Moscow, Shaw compels the general to have the Soviet Union install nuclear missiles in Cuba.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. President John F. Kennedy institutes a blockade to stop a Soviet freighter from moving the nuclear missiles to Cuba. Shaw, wearing a helmet that neutralizes Xavier's telepathy, accompanies the Soviet fleet to ensure the missiles arrive in an effort to trigger World War III and achieve mutant ascendency. McCoy offers Raven his cure for her appearance, but she refuses. Later, Raven goes to seduce Lensherr who convinces her to embrace her nature as a mutant. The cure backfires on McCoy, rendering him a leonine beast. Though ashamed of his new appearance, he pilots the mutants and MacTaggert to the blockade line. They find out that the freighter has been captured by Shaw and Azazel when it doesn't respond to a Soviet order to return. In a desperate final attempt, Xavier mind controls one of the officers on board a Soviet destroyer, and makes him fire a missile at the freighter, destroying it. Since the Soviets destroyed their own ship, WW3 is avoided. In an ensuing battle with Shaw, Lensherr takes the helmet for himself, allowing Xavier to immobilize Shaw. Despite Xavier's objections, Lensherr kills Shaw by forcing the Nazi coin through his brain.

Fearing the mutants, the fleets fire their missiles at them. In a struggle, Xavier keeps Lensherr from destroying the fleets with the missiles, but when MacTaggert fires at Lensherr, a deflected bullet hits Xavier in the spine. Lensherr, remorseful, leaves with Mystique, Angel, Riptide and Azazel. A wheelchair-bound Xavier and the mutants return to the mansion, where he intends to open a school. MacTaggert promises never to reveal his location and they kiss as Xavier erases her memory. At the CIA later, she says she has no clear memory of recent events. Lensherr, in a uniform with the helmet and calling himself Magneto, breaks Frost from confinement.

Sucker Punch Movie (Plot Summary)

2011-09-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

Sucker Punch is a 2011 action-fantasy thriller film about the fantasies of a young woman who is committed to a mental institution. It was written by Zack Snyder and Steve Shibuya and directed by Snyder.

The film was released in both conventional and IMAX theatres in the US at midnight on March 25, 2011. It was released to a generally negative reception from critics and significantly underperformed at the box office.

The film stars Emily Browning as the central character (Babydoll), Abbie Cornish (as Sweet Pea) and Oscar Isaac(as Blue).

Plot

In the 1960s, a 20-year-old girl nicknamed "Babydoll" (Emily Browning), is institutionalized by her sexually abusive stepfather (Gerard Plunkett) at the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane after she is blamed for the death of her younger sister. Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac), one of the asylum's orderlies, is bribed by Babydoll's stepfather into forging the signature of the asylum's psychiatrist, Dr. Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino), to have Babydoll lobotomized, so she cannot inform the authorities of the true circumstances leading to her sister's death. During her admission to the institution, Babydoll takes note of four items that would be integral if she were to attempt an escape.

In the seconds prior to being lobotomized, Babydoll retreats into a fantasy world, as a substitute for the real world occurrences, in which she is newly arrived in a brothel owned by Blue, whom she envisions as a mobster. She befriends four other dancers — Amber (Jamie Chung), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Rocket (Jena Malone), and Rocket's sister, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish). Dr. Gorski is envisioned as the girls' dance instructor. Blue informs Babydoll that her virginity will be sold to a client known as "The High Roller" (Jon Hamm). The "High Roller" is actually the doctor scheduled to perform the lobotomy. Gorski encourages Babydoll to perform an erotic dance, during which Babydoll fantasizes she's in feudal Japan, meeting the Wise Man (Scott Glenn). After she expresses her desire to "escape", the Wise Man presents Babydoll with weapons. He tells her that she would need to collect five items in order to escape: a map, fire, a knife, a key, and a fifth, unrevealed item that would require "a deep sacrifice". Before parting ways, she is confronted by three demonic samurai giants, which she defeats. As her fantasy ends, she finds herself back in the brothel, her dance impressing Blue and other onlookers.

Inspired by her vision of the Wise Man, Babydoll convinces her friends to prepare an escape. She plots to use her dances as a distraction while the other girls obtain the necessary tools. During each of her dances, she imagines adventurous events that mirror the secretly ongoing efforts. These episodes include infiltrating a bunker protected by steam-powered World War I zombie German soldiers to gain the map (mirrored by Sweet Pea entering Blue's office and copying a map of the brothel-institution); storming an Orc-infested castle to cut two fire-producing crystals from the throat of a baby dragon (mirrored by Amber stealing a lighter from the breast-pocket of a client); and boarding a train and combating mechanized guards to disarm a bomb (mirrored by Rocket stealing a kitchen knife from the belt of the brothel's cook). During the last of these fantasies, Rocket sacrifices herself to save Sweet Pea and is killed when the bomb detonates, which is paralleled in a fight with the cook where he fatally stabs Rocket while she's trying to protect her sister.

Blue overhears Blondie relaying Babydoll's plan to Madam Gorski. After discovering the gruesome scene around the cook in the kitchen, he has the grieving Sweet Pea locked in a utility closet and confronts the remainder of the girls backstage, proceeding to "make examples" by shooting Amber and Blondie. He then attempts to rape Babydoll, but she stabs him with the kitchen knife and steals his master key. Babydoll frees Sweet Pea, and the two start a fire so that, as a result of the fire alarm, the institution's checkpoint doors unlock. The two manage to escape into the courtyard, where they find their way out blocked by a throng of gentlemen. Babydoll deduces that the fifth item needed for the escape is in fact herself. Despite Sweet Pea's protest, she insists on sacrificing herself by distracting the visitors, thus allowing her friend to slip away.

The scene cuts back to the asylum in which the surgeon (Hamm) has just performed Babydoll's lobotomy. The surgeon is confused by Babydoll's expression and starts to question Dr. Gorski as to why she authorized the procedure. It is also revealed that the happenings in her dream world also happened in the hospital (stabbing an orderly, starting a fire, and helping another girl escape). Gorski realizes that Blue has forged her signature, and summons the police, who apprehend Blue as he attempts to sexually assault a lobotomized Babydoll. While being lead away, Blue shouts that it's the stepfather they want, making it perfectly clear that he will testify against him for a reduced sentence. After being rescued from Blue, Babydoll slightly smiles and she imagines how Sweet Pea arrives at a bus station. At the bus station, Sweet Pea is stopped by police as she tries to get on a bus to Fort Wayne. She is rescued by the bus driver (the Wise Man), who misleads the police.

The Playboy Club Vs. Pan Am: Which Show Is Doing The 60's Better?

2011-09-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

Network TV is taking on the ’60’s! While NBC premiered The Playboy Club last Monday, ABC’s Pan Am took off last night, visiting the days when flying was a luxurious experience, as opposed to the borderline sky-high bus-ride it has become today. With two shows tackling the ’60’s, which one looks like it’s coming out on top? 

As AMC’s Mad Men has proven, the ’60’s are an era brimming with potential for great stories, with the country on the verge of huge social changes. Both Pan Amand The Playboy Club are set during the early ’60’s and focus largely on young, ambitious people looking to make something of themselves. While the women atThe Playboy Club are doing it dressed as bunnies, Pan Am’s crew of characters does it at 30,000 feet.

The Playboy Club’s focus is on the exclusive club, where wealthy men go to smoke, drink brandy and other dark liquors, listen to good music, and feast their eyes on the gorgeous women waiting on them. Meanwhile, Pan Am’s visual appeal is in the luxury of flying. The stewardesses are all under the age of 32, single and look like models. Amusingly, the bunnies at The Playboy Club are apparently allowed to marry (wearing a wedding band while dressed in bunny gear is discouraged), the flight attendants of Pan Am must remain single or expect to be grounded. The same applies if they don’t wear their girdle.

One place where Pan Am and The Playboy Club seem to match so far is the extreme lack of smoking. Perhaps Mad Men has set the standard there for what’s expected of the era, however there doesn’t seem to be nearly as much smoke in the air in either of these shows. Whether this is network TV’s way of rewriting history to leave out the now largely socially incorrect habit, or because none of the actors (and crew) wanted to risk lung-cancer for the sake of the show, who knows? But it’s noticeable, especially in The Playboy Club, where you’d expect the air to be a virtual cloud of cigar and cigarette smoke. People used to smoke on planes too, didn’t they? I don’t think I saw anyone light up on board the plane during last night’s series premiere. Is the non-smoking trend in either show a bad thing? Not really (especially for the sake of the casts’ health) but it does seem to strip a bit of the realism away from the setting.

One might assume that The Playboy Club will out-do Pan Am in the sexy department, and while the setting certainly offers the NBC series a built-in advantage there, Pan Am has already introduced a number of romantic (and physical) developments, including one stewardess who gets herself involved with a man she discovers is married. No one was going at it in the bathroom (as was shown in The Playboy Club premiere), but with so many pretty people working in such close quarters, romantic encounters seem like an inevitability.

It may be too early to say which series is doing the ’60’s better. Right now, both seem to be banking on the appeal of the costumes, hairstyles, music and setting, with classic cars and vintage decor filling up our screens. I especially loved the old magazines shown on stands during an earlier scene in Pan Am's premiere. It is worth noting that neither series seems to be putting any emphasis on anything other than the upperclass society of the day, with perhaps the exception of Christina Ricci’s character spending her ground-time in the Village among the more bohemian crowd of the day. Aside from exceptionally good-looking people, money is the biggest common denominator among these two shows and that thread offers both series the opportunity to celebrate all of the luxuries the era had to offer.

Whether it's because you weren’t around for the decade, or because you were, there’s a lot for viewers to look at in both dramas and there’s certainly a fair amount of novelty to that, which should carry both shows through their first few episodes. Which series (if not both, and if either) manages to survive beyond that will likely depend on what’s done with the story. Both Pan Am and The Playboy Club offered some intrigue in the way of sneaky behavior among their characters in the premiere episodes, with an accidental murder starting things off on TPC, andPan Am featuring one of the lead characters becoming a part-time spy. Whether either of these story arcs prove to keep viewers around remains to be seen. In the meantime, both shows are doing a fine job of creating something exciting and exceptionally pretty to look at.