News-Sot

Pride And Prejudice - 30 great opening lines in literature

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:10:00 +0000

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Picture: Alamy

'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina (1878)
Picture: Rex/Wordsworth

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."
Charles Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities (1859)

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Picture: AP

"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York."

Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar (1963)

Picture: AP

"You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by a Mr Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly.”

Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

Picture: Rex Feature

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

J.D Salinger: The Catcher In The Rye (1951)

Picture: AP

"They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did."

Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)

Picture: Teresa Chilton

"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticising any one, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby (1925)

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

L. P. Hartley: The Go-Between (1953)

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.”

Franz Kafka: Metamorphosis (1915)

Picture: Rex/Penguin

“Call me Ishmael.”

Herman Melville: Moby-Dick (1851)

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”

Samuel Beckett: Murphy (1938)

Picture: Rex/Picador

"It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him."

Joseph Heller: Catch-22 (1961)

Picture: Reuters

"It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him."

Joseph Heller: Catch-22 (1961)

Picture: Reuters

"All children, except one, grow up."

J.M. Barrie: Peter Pan (1911)

Picture: Sotheby's

"Under certain circumstance there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady (1880)

Picture: Alamy/Penguin

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (1955)

Picture: Alamy

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Love in the Time of Cholera (1985)

Picture: AP/Penguin

“They’re out there. Black boys in white suits up before me to commit sex acts in the hall and get it mopped up before I can catch them.”

Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962)

Picture: AP

"I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking."

Christopher Isherwood: Goodbye To Berlin (1939)

Picture: Rex Features/Panther

"Elmer Gantry was drunk. He was eloquently drunk, lovingly and pugnaciously drunk."

Sinclair Lewis: Elmer Gantry (1926)

Picture: AP

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of a fleshy balloon of a head."

John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces (1980)

“The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting."

Stephen Crane: The Red Badge Of Courage (1895)

Picture: Unknown

"It was the day my grandmother exploded."

Iain Banks: The Crow Road (1992)

"The schoolmaster was leaving the village, and everybody seemed sorry."

Thomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure (1895)

Picture: Rex Features/Penguin

"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day."

Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre (1847)

Picture: Alamy

"Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure."

Albert Camus: The Stranger (1946)

Picture: AFP/Getty/Knopf

"He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish."

Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man And The Sea (1952)

Picture: Rex Features

"All this happened, more or less."

Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five (1969)

Picture: Rex

Thierry Henry 'pushing me' to complete Arsenal buy-out, claims Alisher Usmanov who attacks club's owners

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:07:00 +0000

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov has said that former striker Thierry Henry is "pushing him" to complete a buy-out of the club.

The Uzbek-born billionaire, who owns a 30 per cent stake in the north London club also had a swipe at the club's transfer policy which has seen Arsene Wenger build two teams, one that now plays for the club's rivals and one trying to compete with the best in the Premier League.
During Wenger's tenure, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Ashley Cole are just three of the club's biggest assets to have joined Premier League rivals.
In an interview with L'Equipe, Usmanov says when he had the chance to become one of the main shareholders in the club he was prevented to do so by "certain people preferring to make a profit and create, using me, an outside enemy."
Growing frustrated by being portrayed as a "pirate" by Arsenal's current ownership with owner Stan Kroenke owning two thirds of the club's shares, he is glad to have an Arsenal legend backing him.
"I like many footballers, and I'm in contact with some of them. Perhaps my favourite of the last ten, 15 years is Thierry Henry. He's pushing me to buy all of Arsenal's shares, but I cannot predict the future.

"When I had the chance to buy some shares and become one of the main shareholders in the club, I didn't hesitate for a second. I was even ready to take total control. That wasn't possible because certain people preferred to make a profit and create, using me, an outside enemy. I remain portrayed as a pirate, an enemy. They have won that game."
Usmanov hailed Wenger as one of the best coaches in the world but claimed that the current owners are making life too difficult for him.
"I think he deserves that players are brought in at Arsenal when they're needed.
"The best players, and not being satisfied with selling our best players to our rivals. If that happens, we can ask everything of him. But, today, he's sacrificed. Because of the policy, and we're all to blame. Everything's in Mr Kroenke's hands, and I hope he succeeds, even if he doesn't go along with my ideas."
He added: "The greatest achievement of Arsene Wenger is to have created two teams: the one that now plays for our rivals, and the one that is trying to be among the best in the Premier League."
Usmanov also reiterated his stance that his interest in Arsenal is one dictated by the heart rather than his wallet.
"It wasn't a question of money or prestige. It's a choice [to invest in the club] dictated by my emotions, those provoked in me by the club. And Arsenal's current situation remains an interesting investment.
"I would like to be useful for the club, and I can be. I understand football well, and can prove it, but I'll never force myself on anyone. For the moment, Arsenal don't seem to need me. But I remain convinced that Arsenal should have only one aim in every competition: first place and winning."

Eurozone lending contracts for eighth month as cheap borrowing fail to revive spending

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Loans to companies and households in the eurozone contracted for the eighth month running in December, showing low official borrowing costs are having little success in reviving investment and spending.

Loans to the private sector fell 0.7pc from the same month a year ago, European Central Bank data showed.
The monthly flow of loans to non-financial firms fell €22bn in December after falling by €7bn in November. The monthly flow of loans to households showed a drop of €3bn after a rise of €6bn in the previous month.
The cheap funds the ECB is pumping through the monetary system are still not reaching households and businesses evenly across the euro zone as some countries struggle to get their stricken economies back on track, though progress has been made.
On a country-by-country basis, the data showed a €22bn drop in private-sector lending in Spain, the largest monthly fall since July. In Portugal, private-sector lending fell by €2.6bn, the biggest drop in a year.

Italy, however, posted a healthy rise of €12.6bn to €1.757 trillion in private-sector loans.
The central bank has taken some of the heat out of the euro zone crisis by announcing a new, as yet unused, bond-purchase programme, but the bloc's economy remains weak and is expected to have shrunk in the final months of 2012.
ECB President Mario Draghi noted in early January some economic indicators had stabilised at low levels and financial markets' confidence had improved, which along with the ECB's accommodative policy should lead to a recovery later this year.
Mr Draghi even spoke of "positive contagion" in financial markets, with Monday's data already pointing in that direction with consumers and firms' deposits in banks in troubled euro zone member states rising in December.
But it might still take some time before this filters through in better loan availability, analysts said.
"The much more positive sentiment about the euro zone future that has prevailed in financial markets so far this year will probably take some time to materialise in greater credit availability and economic growth," Oxford Economics' Marie Diron said.
Euro zone M3 money supply - a more general measure of cash in the economy - slowed to annual growth of 3.3pc in December from 3.8pc in November, just below the consensus of 3.9pc from analysts polled by Reuters.

HS2: Government faces immediate backlash over new high-speed rail link

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:51:00 +0000

The Government is facing an immediate backlash from Conservative MPs after it disclosed its plans for the northern section of the controversial HS2 high-speed rail link.

The 225mph trains will link London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds by 2033.
It emerged that plans to connect the £32 billion train line directly to Heathrow have been put on hold until the Davis Commission on airport capacity has reported.
The route will also pass through the Tatton constituency of George Osborne, the Chancellor, who today insisted the project will be an “engine for growth” in the north of the country.

Mr Osborne has been warned by local politicians that there will be “public outrage” over fears the train line will destroy countryside in the area.
Cheryl Gillan, the former Welsh Secretary, warned that thousands of people will have their lives “blighted” by the project.
Mrs Gillan, whose Buckinghamshire constituency lies on HS2’s proposed route, has said that commuters face years of soaring rail fares if the project goes ahead.

“Thousands of people will have woken up this morning to find their lives and businesses are blighted, not just in the short term, but for a very long period of time,” Mrs Gillan told the Daily Telegraph.
“My constituents have been going through this since 2009. There isn’t even a proper compensation scheme in place yet.”
The HS2 line will cut journey times between London and Manchester to one hour and eight minutes.
Under the plans a journey from London to Leeds will take an hour and 22 minutes - 50 minutes quicker than the current journey time.

R&B singers Chris Brown and Frank Ocean engage in brawl outside Westlake studio in LA: report

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:27:00 +0000

According to TMZ singer Frank Ocean was the victim, and he later took to Twitter to share that he had been 'jumped' by Brown.

The incident comes several months after Chris Brown's infamous June 14, 2012 dustup with members of rapper Drake's crew.

Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Monday.

Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear, but were told by witnesses that there had been a brief fight over a parking space.

"The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim," the department said in a statement released early Monday morning.

The "victim" wasn't identified but the celebrity website TMZ - which first reported the fight outside the Westlake Recording Studio - said it also involved Frank Ocean, one of the top nominees at Grammy Awards next month.

In a Twitter posting later, Ocean said he "got jumped by (Brown) and a couple guys" and suffered a finger cut.

It wasn't Brown's first problem in the run-up to the Grammys. His attack on singer Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 awards event overshadowed the show.

Email messages to Ocean's publicist and Brown's lawyer were not immediately returned. A man answering the phone at the recording studio declined to comment.

Jennifer Lawrence’s Dior malfunction: 'Silver Linings' star flashes a lot of leg at SAG Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:15:00 +0000

Lawrence appeared to have stumbled twice before making it to the stage, exposing the mesh underlining of her gown.

Jennifer Lawrence was the talk of the town yet again, but in addition to her award-winning performance in "Silver Linings Playbook," everyone was buzzing about what some would call a fashion faux pas at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.

As she made her way from the crowd, Lawrence's dress looked like it was unraveling. The Dior number exposed its mesh underlining, revealing Lawrence's legs before she quickly noticed and had to smooth it out with her hands.

Nicole Kidman reacts to Lawrence's wardrobe malfunction.

Marion Cotillard looks shocked as she notices Lawrence's dress difficulty.

SAG Awards 2013: Red carpet fashion highs & lows

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:41:00 +0000

Jessica Chastain
Awards season is in full swing, and Hollywood's A-list didn't disappoint on the red carpet for the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 27, 2013. See what all the stars wore on the big night ... Jessica Chastain, who was nominated for Best Actress for her role in "Zero Dark Thirty," stunned in a red Alexander McQueen gown on the red carpet.

Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence didn't let being sick with pneumonia stop her from turning heads on the SAG red carpet. The "Silver Linings Playbook" actress dazzled in a blue Dior Couture dress, and picked up the award for Best Actress.

Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway, who took home the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress, looked glam in an embroidered tulle Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown.

Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts definitely tops the best dressed list, evoking old Hollywood glamour in her embroidered Marchesa gown.

Nicole Kidman
Double nominee Nicole Kidman has some fun on the red carpet posing in her navy Vivienne Westwood gown. The actress finished off her elegant look with Fred Leighton jewels and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper's baby blues were on full display on the SAG red carpet. The "Silver Linings Playbook" lead, who was nominated for Best Actor, looked handsome in a Tom Ford tux.

Claire Danes
New mom Claire Danes, who could have picked a more flattering dress to show off her amazing post-baby bod, chose a black one-shouldered Givenchy dress to hit up the red carpet. The actress won the SAG Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for "Homeland."

Sofia Vergara

Looking every inch the Hollywood starlet, Sofia Vergara showed off her curves in a white Donna Karan Atelier dress. The actress picked up a SAG Award, along with the rest of her "Modern Family" cast, for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Amanda Seyfried

"Les Miserables" actress Amanda Seyfried looked on top of her game -- and very similar to fellow navy-clad Jennifer Lawrence -- with a fishtail Zac Posen gown at the 2013 SAG Awards.

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore bared her cleavage (though, perhaps a little too much for this particular dress) in a white Chanel Haute Couture gown with navy floral appliques. The actress won the SAG award for Best Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her role as Sarah Palin in "Game Change."

Tina Fey

"30 Rock" star Tina Fey, who looked elegant in an Oscar de la Renta frock, had reason to smile -- she picked up the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

Ben Affleck and Hugh Jackman

Bromance alert! Ben Affleck, who took home top honors at the SAGs for "Argo," posed with fellow nominee Hugh Jackman on the red carpet.

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington looked white-hot in a strapless white and silver Rodarte dress, complete with a small train

Nina Dobrev

The always flawless Nina Dobrev rocked a pink Elie Saab dress with Jimmy Choo heels on the SAG red carpet.

Busy Philipps

A pregnant Busy Phillips hit the red carpet in a bump showing all-black Gabriela Cadena ensemble.

Helen Hunt

"The Sessions" Helen Hunt was a vision in silver in a sequined Romona Keveza gown on the Screen Actors Guild red carpet.

Justin Timberlake

A dapper Justin Timberlake, who presented at the big show, added some color to the SAGs in his wool Tom Ford suit.

Jennifer Garner

On hand to support hubby Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner glamed it up in a gold sequin embroidered Oscar de la Renta gown.

Naya Rivera

Naya Rivera amped up the sex appeal in a black Donna Karan Atelier strapless gown with a plunging sheer neckline.

Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard looked stunning in Dior Haute Couture, but she wasn't the only one who opted for a full-skirted style on the red carpet ...

Julianna Margulies

Julianna Margulies chose a similar style, going with a black-and-white Chado Ralph Rucci gown with a full wrap skirt. The actress completed her look with Christian Louboutin sandals.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis won big for his role in "Lincoln," picking up the Best Actor Award at the 2013 SAG Awards.

Lea Michele and Cory Monteith

"Glee" sweethearts! Lea Michele and beau Cory Monteith make for a cute pair at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Michelle Dockery

Michelle Dockery from "Downton Abbey" flashed some major sideboob in her vintage floor-length black Chado Ralph Rucci gown.

Sally Field

"Lincoln" actress Sally Field wore a youthful purple chiffon J. Mendel frock -- and accessorized with Martin Katz jewelry -- at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Ariel Winter

14-year-old Ariel Winter looked age appropriate in her Alex Perry ball gown dress.

January Jones

January Jones is usually flawless on the red carpet, but the "Mad Men" actress seemed to have missed the mark with her black-and-white Prabal Gurung dress. Props though for rocking a daring pompadour hairstyle.

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks showed off her svelte figure in a body-hugging draped gown on the SAG Awards red carpet.

Eddie Redmayne

"Les miserables" actor Eddie Redmayne looked dashing in a Hugo Boss suit on the SAG Awards red carpet.

Jayma Mays

"Glee" actress Jayma Mays looked radiant as she posed on the red carpet in her white beaded Georges Hobeika Atelier gown.

Julie Bowen

Julie Bowen is all smiles in her leather Johanna Johnson dress as she hits up the SAG red carpet.

Maria Menounos

Lady in red! Maria Menounos opted for a sexy, back baring red gown to match the SAG red carpet.

Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas

Cute couple alert! Hilaria Thomas can't take her eyes of husband Alec Baldwin -- and SAG winner for Best Actor in a comedy series -- on the red carpet.

Jaimie Alexander

Actress Jaimie Alexander, who is currently dating "Twilight" star Peter Facinelli, took the plunge in a sexy Marc Bouwer gown.

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto looks pretty in pink as she arrived on the arm of beau Dev Patel for the awards show.

Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler kept with the theme of the night -- a black dress! The comedian looked sleek in her Zuhair Murad gown with soft makeup and her hair in loose waves.

Giuliana Rancic

E! host Giuliana Rancic added a splash of color to the SAGs red carpet in a blue Max Azria Atelier gown.

Julia Stiles

Julia Stiles looked glowing -- and very mature -- in her Amen Couture dress on the SAG red carpet.

Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra looked very Hollywood glam at the 2013 SAG Awards as she donned a navy mermaid-style gown with her blonde tresses neatly in a side part.

Kelly Osbourne

"Fashion Police" host Kelly Osbourne was all smiles in her Jenny Packham gown. The E! host kept it on trend wearing the popular shade of the night ... black!

HORROR IN BRAZIL: Fire kills 232 at nightclub after flare sparks blaze, hundreds more injured

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:46:00 +0000

The Boate Kiss nightclub had only one working exit, and the majority of victims died trampled in an attempt to flee, police say. Fire started after someone either in band or with them set off a flare as part of show.

A victim of a fire in a club is carried by others who escaped the blaze at the Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil where at least 245 people were killed.

A fire in a nightclub killed at least 232 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits in the ensuing panic, officials said.
The blaze in the southern city of Santa Maria was started when a band member or someone from its production team ignited a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling, said Luiza Sousa, a civil police official. The fire spread "in seconds," she said.

The death toll climbed to as many as 245 dead, with hundreds more injured Sunday as firefighters searched the charred remains.

\

An estimated 500 people were in the Boate Kiss nightclub when the fire broke out early on Sunday, and many were unable to find the exits as dark smoke quickly filled the room. At least one exit was locked, trapping hundreds inside to die, many from asphyxiation as they inhaled smoke, police said.
"When I looked around, all I saw were dead bodies all around, lying on the floor. It was macabre," survivor Taynne Vendrusculo told GloboNews TV. "It all happened so fast. Both the panic and the fire spread rapidly, in seconds."

Alicia Keys - Obama's On Fire Live pleas see this video.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:33:00 +0000

Pleas see this Video.

The stories behind Juergen Teller's best shots

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:28:00 +0000

The Little Blighter: Björk and son

‘I had the pleasure of visiting Björk and her son in September 1993 in Iceland. As soon as I saw him, I was fascinated by how similar they looked. Björk was an excellent host, cooked at her home and showed me around. Of course we went to the Blue Lagoon where we made this picture. We were all in the water, and a second after I took this photo, the boy splashed my camera full of water. There’s tons of salt in those hot springs, so I wasn’t too happy about it. But I knew I had a good picture, and forgave him pretty quickly.’

Picture: Juergen Teller

‘Only God knows’: OJ Simpson
‘I had to think twice whether I wanted to photograph O J Simpson. But back then [in 2000], I was just too curious. A very intimidating man was standing in front of my hotel room. A giant, his first question was, “You’re a famous fashion photographer: how are the models?” A little nervous, I replied, “They’re good.” Then he said he had a woman upstairs in his room for an hour and a half, you know what I mean. Then he’d be hungry, and after that we’d be able to take pictures. Later the woman joined us on the terrace – pretty, young, blonde, very German, I thought. I started photographing him, two cameras, one in each hand, and suddenly out of nowhere he asked me, “Juergen, who do you think did it?” I couldn’t believe my ears, shaking, kept on taking photos, until the sound of my cameras, rewinding the film, stopped me from hiding behind them. I said, “O J, I’ve got no idea, I wasn’t there.” He screamed with laughter, put his hands on his head, raised them towards the sky and said, “Only God knows.” At that point I wanted to leave as soon as possible, felt scared and really awkward. But I still had to pick up his kids from school with him and buy school uniforms. OJ was determined to go out with me in the evening – he thought I had lots of cash. Luckily I was able to escape, sweating, until I reached the airport.’
Picture: Juergen Teller

The Strong Man and the Crocodile: Schwarzenegger
‘At six o’clock in the morning the hotel phone rang. Back in 2000, I didn’t have a mobile phone. You couldn’t imagine that today. “Servus, Juergen, Arnold here,” he said in broad Austrian. “Thought I’d give you a call and tell you my idea.” Completely groggy, I thought his ideas were good too. So, I had to get up at four o’clock the next morning to go up some mountain in Malibu. There I waited for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The sun rose, and he rode elegantly past me like a cowboy on his horse. It was sultry, dusty – I was totally wiped out. Picture taken. Then I had to climb back down on my own. Later in his office I said, “I’ve got an idea too now, Arnold, climb into the crocodile’s mouth.” “Juergen, for you I’d do anything.”’
Picture: Juergen Teller

Beaming Ed: My son
‘Straight after the funeral of my friend and agent Katy Baggott, who had died suddenly, I had to think what would come next in my column. I needed something positive and realised pretty quickly I’d use my son, smiling in the bathtub. It’s good to keep yourself occupied at times like this and continue working. I had a lot to do, a museum show in Madrid and two perfume campaigns – all of it organised by Katy. But above all, it’s good just to do normal things with the family. Only this morning I had to change the sheets because Ed had peed the bed. Normally that gets on my nerves, but today it was nice.’
Picture: Juergen Teller

Things in Common: William Eggleston
‘I took this picture in William Eggleston’s hometown of Memphis. We’ve been friends for a long time now. For me he’s a real artist, who really just does what he wants, whether it’s in life or in his work. Years ago, when I first met him in Memphis, he had the idea to go on a road trip with me in Bavaria. I couldn’t believe it, just meeting him having been an admirer for so long. Three weeks later, we found ourselves in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, both with cameras around our necks. We drank a lot, ate liver dumpling soup, and ended up not taking a single photograph. William said to me, “We have a few things in common – smoking, drinking and women. Photography just gets us out of the house.”’
Picture: Juergen Teller

“Last Stand”, The film who return back the Actor Shwarzenegger to the Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:16:00 +0000

British retailers recommend Samsung over Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:06:00 +0000

Samsung is recommended more often by British retailers than Apple, with BlackBerry and LG having almost no presence, according to new research.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII was the most recommended smartphone in a mystery shopper survey of eight leading retailers carried out by Informa Telecoms and Media.
While some retailers recommended Apple's iPhone 5, rival manufacturers such as ZTE, Motorola, LG, Huawei and BlackBerry-maker RIM had little or no presence.
"The mystery shop showed that the most recommended Samsung handsets were the Galaxy SIII and the Galaxy Note II, despite having been on the market longer than the latest handsets from Apple, Nokia and HTC," said Julian Jest of Informa.

The researchers visited John Lewis, Everything Everywhere, O2, 3, Maplins, PC World, Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. The mystery shoppers scored manufacturers based on whether they were advertised in the store window or in-store. They then asked a sales assistant to recommend three smartphones or tablets.

Apple and Samsung were just as likely to be promoted by advertising in the store or the shop window but sales assistants were far more likely to recommend Samsung.
In a press release, Informa said it was "likely that sales assistants see the Samsung devices as a safe bet to earn greater commissions".The company is expected to launch its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV, at an event in Monaco next month.
Apple, meanwhile, saw $50bn wiped off its value following weaker than expected iPhone sales. The company sold a record 47.8 million iPhones in the last quarter but Wall Street had expected sales to be higher.

The last Fashion of the Day with photo...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:54:00 +0000

The Hot List
27 January 2013
From leather totes to chic headphones; Stella magazine picks the week's must do,see, buy.

The cult Californian designer Raquel Allegra has brought her laid-back, bohemian aesthetic to London this season with an exclusive collection for Matches. We've got our eyes on the indigo linen trouser suit and this easy-peasy maxidress. Your springtime weekend dressing starts here. From £190,

Go behind the scenes with Philip Treacy in a new eponymous book, out this week. Treacy is the milliner to celebrities, fashion houses and royals, and this tribute by the photographer Kevin Davies includes plenty of famous faces and covetable creations. Phaidon, £39.95

Add a splash of colour to your wardrobe with this sky-blue leather tote by Smythson. Inspired by the Cornish coast, it's got us thinking about summer holidays already… £1,395;

By Terry's Or De Rose Blush Prestige is just the thing for spring skin. Rub the coppery-pink illuminator on cheeks for a healthy glow. £60, from

We love this chic gold bracelet by Kirsty Ward. It's striking yet great for everyday wear. £70;

Snazzy specs are just a click away, thanks to the new website My Optique. Stylists will help you choose frames from names such as Tom Ford, Miu Miu and our favourite, Harry Lary's. The glasses, with prescription lenses, are delivered to you at high-street-beating prices.

Think of Hyde Park on Hudson as the unofficial sequel to The King's Speech. Set two years later, Roger Michell's warm, light-hearted film sees the decidedly informal Franklin D Roosevelt (Bill Murray) host King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for a weekend. A culture clash ensues. Out 1 February.

These smart headphones are the result of a collaboration between the electronics brand Frends and Avenue 32. Rose-gold metal and white leather? It looks like total harmony. £120;

Diver frees dolphin snared by fishing line

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:41:00 +0000

An underwater video camera captures the moment a man diving off Hawaii comes to the rescue of a dolphin in distress.

Dolphins may be one of the planet's smartest creatures, but one thing they lack are opposable thumbs. However, they are clever enough to recognize that, in a pinch, they can approach humans to get help with those hard to reach spots.

In this video, a bottle nosed dolphin with limited mobility due to a hook and fishing line restricting a pectoral fin, approaches some divers for help. Diving instructor Keller Laros noticed that the dolphin was hanging around them, and that it wasn't able to move freely. Closer inspection revealed the ocean debris lodged in the fin.

School league tables: 170,000 pupils in failing schools

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:36:00 +0000

Tens of thousands of children are being given a substandard education in poorly-performing secondary schools, official league tables show.

Almost 170,000 pupils are languishing in state secondaries where fewer than four-in-10 teenagers gain a string of good GCSE grades, according to Government data.
In all, 195 schools in England are falling below the Government’s basic floor target for 16-year-olds.
INTERACTIVE: Compare your school's GCSE performance
They face being closed or converted into independent academies under the leadership of a private sponsor as part of a Coalition plan to raise standards.
It was also revealed that around one-in-four schools and colleges – more than 600 – are failing to produce a single student with top A-level grades in subjects seen as a stepping stone to a leading university.
The disclosure – in data published by the Department for Education – sparked claims that pupils were being let down by a “culture of low aspirations” in too many schools.

But the Government defended the figures, insisting that significant improvements had been registered over the last 12 months.
More schools are responding to tougher targets by boosting results and entering more pupils in exams for key academic subjects, a spokesman said, adding that standards had increased five times as quick in sponsored academies.
The data also shows that:
– More than 100,000 children – six-in-10 – who were considered among the brightest pupils at the age of 11 failed to go on to gain GCSEs in a range of academic subjects five years later;
– The top performing school in the country was Colyton Grammar in Devon where pupils scored an average of 816 GCSE points – the equivalent of 14 A* grades each;

The Rushden Community College, Northamptonshire, was the worst performing school in the country, with just six per cent of pupils gaining five A* to C grades at the age of 16.
But Mark Lester, the head, said the college had entered pupils for the English language and English exams but not English literature, which he said is the one counted by the DfE.
"Because of the decision made by the DfE about which English specification counts, we fall foul of that particular loophole."
Mr Lester said that if his students' English exams had been counted, their pass rate including English and maths would have been 46 per cent.
Under Coalition reforms, all state schools in England have been told to ensure that at least 40 per cent of pupils gain five A* to C grades at GCSE, including the core subjects of English and maths. They must also satisfy separate targets relating to the amount of progress made by children in the three-Rs between the age of 11 and 16.
According to today’s league tables, 215 secondary schools fell below the floor target last summer, although 20 have since been closed and converted into academies led by a private sponsor.
In all, 167,000 children are being taught at the 195 remaining secondary schools stuck below the Government’s floor target.
The number of struggling schools is up on the 107 classed as failing in 2011, although this was down to an increase in the overall target that schools are supposed to meet.
In 2011, the basic standard was set at 35 per cent. If it had been as high as 40 per cent, some 251 would have failed, it emerged.
The DfE insisted the figures showed how “introducing tougher floor standards, giving greater freedom to heads and teachers, accelerating the academy programme, and encouraging take-up of key academic subjects is driving improvement in education”.
“These figures are further evidence of the great success of the academy programme in turning around our weakest schools – sponsored academies are improving their GCSE results five times faster than other schools." a spokesman added.
But Chris McGovern, a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “There is a culture of low aspirations at too many schools. Michael Gove [the Education Secretary] is trying to fix the problem by encouraging a greater focus on academic subjects, but the fact is that secondary schools are inheriting children with great potential and then failing to ensure they can realise it.
“It is a tragic waste of talent.”
For the first time this year, the Government has also published figures on the number of pupils at each school or college scoring good A-levels in core academic "facilitating" subjects.
Pupils are supposed to gain at least two A grades and a B in maths and further maths, English literature, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, history and modern and classical languages to meet the target.
These are subjects in demand among leading Russell Group universities and the indicator is intended to show which schools and colleges are fully preparing pupils for the most sought-after degree courses.
But the figures show that at around 600 schools and colleges - just over one in four - no A-level student scored AAB in facilitating subjects.
Private schools dominated the new measure, with 70 per cent of pupils at St Paul’s Girls’ School in west London and Magdalen College School in Oxford hitting the target.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence battling pneumonia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:27:00 +0000

'Silver Linings Playbook' star, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, is battling the sickness, according to co-star Jacki Weaver. It is unsure if she will be able to attend the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards or the Academy Awards.

Jennifer Lawrence attended the 18th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 10, 2013, but an apperance at the SAG Awards and the Oscars may be in jeopardy thanks to pneumonia.

LOS ANGELES — “Silver Linings Playbook” actress Jennifer Lawrence is battling pneumonia, the Daily News has learned.
The 22-year-old beauty was too sick to attend several awards ceremonies in Los Angeles in recent days.
On Saturday afternoon, Lawrence’s “Playbook” co-star shocked a packed audience at the Australian Academy Of Cinema and Television Arts Awards at Soho House, Hollywood, with news of Lawrence.
PHOTOS: MEET 'HUNGER GAMES' STAR JENNIFER LAWRENCE
Lawrence received the best actress award, but co-star and Australian native Jacki Weaver appeared for her.
“I am going to accept this award on behalf of Jennifer,” Weaver, an Oscar nominee in the supporting actress category, said. “She really wishes she could be here, but she is very ill.”
The comment drew a mixed reaction from the audience, which included “Playbook” director David O. Russell and actor Robert De Niro. But there was an overwhelming gush of “ahh” when Weaver clarified Lawrence has pneumonia.

When Weaver finished, the actress in absentia received a rousing round of applause from the whole room.
Lawrence’s health raises questions about whether she will recover in time to attend the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb 24.
The star is a front-runner in the best actress category.

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN AND SCOTT DISICK FIGHT OVER HIS FRIENDS

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:24:00 +0000

KOURTNEY Kardashian‘s baby daddy beau Scott Disick has got a new BFF — and it’s causing problems between the couple.
Kourtney, 33, is furious that Scott has fallen into a blossoming “bromance” with professional race car driver and Miami Beach businessman Chapman Ducote.

“Since the moment they met, Scott was instantly taken with Chapman,” a source said.

“They dress alike, they have the same hair, and all they do is constantly look at each other…it’s like they’re looking in a mirror!

“Scott is practically drooling all over Chapman.

“That’s one reason Kourtney is so upset about the friendship.

“Kourtney told Scott that if he continues to listen to Chapman instead of her, their relationship will be over. But Scott doesn’t seem to care. She’s given him ultimatums before. As far as he’s concerned, Chapman is his big pal and there’s nothing Kourtney can do or say about it.”

TAYLOR SWIFT DOESN’T HAVE A TYPE

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:19:00 +0000

WHEN it comes to me, Taylor Swift insists she doesn’t have a specific type.

The singer — who has dated a host of celebrities including Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas, Harry Styles and John Mayer -- says she doesn’t know what attracts her to certain men.

“I think in 20s we’re just like, ‘Oh, I’ll try hanging out with him’ or ‘I’ll try being single.’

“You’re kind of all over the place. We’re crazy. We’re in our 20s.”

Taylor also revealed she wrote the song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together — which is widely believed to be about her relationship with Jake — to remind herself not to take him back.

“Once a relationship’s done, it’s done. I think that ['We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'] kinda says it,” she said.
“Maybe I wrote that song so I would never get back in that relationship. Because once you write that about it, there’s no way you’re getting back together.”

HITTING HOME: Victoria Soto, Sandy Hook Elementary School teacher’s sister talks of day her world changed

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:55:00 +0000

EXCLUSIVE: Jillian Soto, 24, in her first extensive interview, told the Daily News about the morning her sister was mercilessly murdered along with 25 other helpless victims inside the suburban school.

A emotional Jillian Soto speaks about her older sister Victoria, who was a hero teacher shot and killed protecting her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

The darkest day of Jillian Soto’s life began in the whiteness of a Vermont ski slope.
When her cell phone rang at 10 a.m., something in her gut told Jillian to answer. She recognized her mom’s voice as the words spilled out in numbing succession.
School. Shooting. Lockdown. And Vicki — Jillian’s big sister, a first-grade teacher in Newtown, Conn.
“Your heart stops,” Jillian recalled of the chilling Dec. 14 conversation. “You never think you’re going to hear something like this.”
Victoria Soto, 27, made the ultimate sacrifice inside her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month after madman Adam Lanza burst inside with an assault rifle.

Jillian Soto, 24, in her first extensive interview, told the Daily News about the morning her sister was mercilessly murdered along with 25 other helpless victims inside the suburban school.
It was a second phone call from mom Donna Soto, about 45 minutes later, that sent Jillian on an agonizing seven-hour ride back to her family’s home in Stratford, Conn.
Her mother said that school had been completely evacuated and “Vicki had not come out.”
“I said, ‘Does that mean Vicki is dead?’ ” Jillian said. “She said no.

Studio of (l) Victoria Soto and her younger sister Jillian Soto .Victoria, who was a hero teacher shot and killed protecting her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

“I just sat there, very confused and lost. My friends pretty much threw everything into the car and we drove toward home.”

“I . . . knew right then and there that my sister was dead, and it was the worst feeling in the world,” said Jillian.

Jillian Soto with bracelets she wears and a photo she carries in honor of her sister Victoria.

It’s a horrible feeling when you walk through the front door and your whole family is in front of you, staring, and the first thing you see is your mother crying,” Jillian said.
“It’s a feeling I’ll never forget, to know right then and there that your life will be changed forever.”

“They said, ‘We’re so sick of hearing about Victoria Soto,’” Jillian recalled. “I just ignored it. And then they said, ‘She wasn’t even a hero, she didn’t even save everyone in her class.’”

“ ‘This is Victoria’s hometown. Have a little respect because she is my sister.’ ”
The emotional exchange is part of Jillian’s new life as a tragic celebrity in Stratford, about 25 miles south of Newtown. “If you’re ever in Stratford or Shelton, everyone always knows who you are,” Jillian said. “You just learn to deal with it.”
Fortunately, much of the attention has been positive — even heartwarming, Jillian said.

A emotional Jillian Soto speaks about her older sister Victoria, who was a hero teacher shot and killed protecting her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

“Everyone wants to meet you,” Jillian told The News. “It makes you feel good that all of these people recognize who you are and recognize who your sister is.

The mass rampage convinced Jillian that a crackdown on guns in America is necessary.
“We don’t want to take anyone’s right to bear arms by any means, but we want to make this world safe,” Jillian said. “Having someone walk into the school with an assault rifle, with tons of magazines on him, is something that should never happen.”
Jillian was heartened by President Obama’s call for new gun-control measures.
“I want to know that when my brother goes to school that I don’t have to worry that what happened to my sister is going to happen to him,” Jillian said. “It’s nice to know that the President, someone so high up, recognizes that there’s something wrong here.”
The cruel comments, the political infighting and the searing pain of her loss won’t change the way that Jillian remembers Victoria.
“She was Superwoman to me,” the kid sister said. “She’s everything to me.”

Facebook Bed See this photo...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:31:00 +0000

The ape discomforted by the blouse! See all the photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:36:00 +0000

Waw see the photo of the Day..

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:18:00 +0000

The photo of the Day.

It's not just teenagers: adults are 'slut-shaming and sexting' too

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:51:00 +0000

Last week, we read the tragic story of 13-year-old Chevonea Kendall-Bryan. The teenager accidentally fell to her death in Battersea in March 2011, while pleading with a boy to delete a mobile phone video of her performing a sex act.
Such was her distress that she threatened to jump from her bedroom window, should the boy - stood on the pavement below - refuse. "How much more can I handle? HONESTLY. I beg you, delete that," she texted him.
Despite months of abuse – as reported to teachers by Chevonea’s mother – including being forced into the sex act by an older boy, nothing had been done to protect this young girl. The bullies felt free to pass the video around school. Desperate and unable to see a way out, she risked her life.
For many, it’s tempting to see this as little more than ‘kids being kids’ – albeit in a digital playground. I mean, there have always been bullies, right? Kids have long taunted one another. But, as Chevonea's case shows, it would be a mistake to be complacent

A friend recently confided that a workmate had been caught in a compromising situation. The woman had been filmed on a mobile phone, outside the office, performing a sex act on a male colleague. Said man had then shown the video to his fellow employees, during working hours and without her consent. Word spread and the woman was left humiliated.
But what if she’d had a more extreme reaction? What if - fearing for her job - she'd threatened to harm herself if he didn't delete the video? In this instance, the woman didn’t speak up and her bosses – aware the footage existed – failed to take any steps to protect her or discipline her colleagues. Like Chevonea’s bullies, they got away with it.

It doesn't stop there. This weekend, in her Mail on Sunday column, Rachel Johnson revealed that a businessman at a corporate function had photographed her cleavage (she thought the camera was pointing at her face) and circulated it over email. She discovered the truth after being contacted by strangers, telling her they'd seen the picture. Johnson shrugged it off and - in her jolly way - referred to herself as "a reasonably hard-bitten old trout."
She told me, “My face wasn’t shown, so it wasn’t too humiliating. I just think people are using this relatively new tool [smart phones] for sexual experimentation. They’re trying to redefine relations between the sexes.
“At least as an adult you know where you are with that. Minors have no emotional maturity and don’t understand that no-one is trying to ruin their lives.”
In her column Johnson, perfectly rightly, called for 'responsible adults' to deal with the issue of teen sexting. But this does miss a crucial point. How can we grown-ups set an example when the very same practices are part of our daily lives? Even if the majority of us are better equipped to deal with the fall out?
'Slut-shaming' goes viral
If you believe everything you read, kids have a monopoly on sexting and - the latest addition to the lexicon - slut-shaming; where girls are publicly chastised for appearing to enjoy sex. The site 'Hey Girl, Did You Know?' has attracted attention for its placards scrawled with slogans like; 'Hey girl, did you know you spread Nutella, not your legs?'
Social networking provides further opportunity for vitriol. Ask.fm – a particularly nasty site, favoured by younger girls - allows users to view each other’s personal images and leave anonymous, frequently abusive, comments.
Of course, online name-calling is nothing new. But things are taking a darker turn. In 2012, a study by the NSPCC found that 75 per cent of girls, who sent explicit pictures to boys on mobile phones, had them shared without their consent. A growing number were becoming distressed or even suicidal as a consequence.
Last month, a Channel 4 News investigation highlighted just how widespread the practice has become. One 15-year-old girl told producers, "I get asked for naked pictures…at least two or three times a week." Boys also admitted to bombarding girls with intimate images until they declared a lack of interest (although if the message didn't register, the images kept on coming).
This is the stuff that finds it way online and onto our permanent records. No wonder the victims are increasingly filled with panic.

What sort of example does this set to our teenagers? Why are we letting them think that female sexuality is something to be ashamed of or mocked?
And it’s not just men who are guilty.

Women need to hold the side up
A glance at website Mumsnet turned up this comment, in relation to a woman who found a video of her husband's female colleagues stripping, on his laptop. In response, one member wrote; “the girls are hopefully now sober and are hanging their heads in shame”.
While there's no denying these women behaved carelessly (although we can't know the exact circumstances), this attitude ignores the fact that their colleagues passed the video around, like some sort of prize - and assumes that the women should be the one’s hanging their heads.
I'm not trying to claim there's a conspiracy of female in-fighting, here. But, simply, how can we expect men to respect women's sexuality, when we're so ready to devalue one other?
It just adds fuel to the notion that female sexuality is something to be ashamed of; something to be pilloried and – most alarmingly of all - used as a weapon.

Fashion..See with photo.And Rita Ora...:)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Style Tips From The Week's Best Dressed: week 4, 2013
25 January 2013
Be it wrapping up from the cold like Rita Ora or taking a stand against terrible tailoring along with Natalia Vodianova, here's your stylish cue from this week's best dressed...

Wear your suit with a skinny leg
A trouser suit can look corporate if you're not careful, but to avoid the trap, wear with a skinny trouser leg, like Natalia Vodianova 's Dior two-piece. It will steer you away from the TfL uniform and into the realm of the tailoring gods.

Belt up
How do you make a boring LBD into something more eye-catching? Keep accessories simple, and throw on a statement belt, like Emily Blunt , turning bland into breathtaking at the flick of a switch (or tightening of a buckle in this case).

Wear the mundane (but still look great doing it)

Effortlessly tousled hair? Check. Simple layering? Check. Skinny jeans with ankle boots? Check. Jessica Biel has not pulled off any tricks here, but has instead shown that the boring can be beautiful. And when it comes to everyday dressing we more mortals should follow her lead.

P-p-p-pick up a parka
En route to Couture Fashion Week Rita Ora donned her oversized parka to keep out the cold. While her look might be a little more 'street' than we would normally go for, Ora is on to a winner here with an outfit that is both rational and rakish.
Trending: snow chic

Try out a new cut
No, we're not talking about the silhouette of the Jason Wu gown the FLOTUS wore for the Inauguration Ball but instead Michelle Obama 's new fringe. A risky decision getting it cut when you know you're going to be on show, but remember: fortune favours the brave.

Lift your look with luxe accessories
Even maximalist fashion editor Anna Dello Russo has the odd day off from wearing top-to-toe designer looks, but she keeps her credentials in check with a designer bag and statement collar. Just remember that next time you venture out to the gym...

On your 'ead!

A hat - be it a trilby à la Mollie King , a beanie or a cap - is one of the chicest ways to keep warm in the winter. Although you run the gauntlet with the risk of hat hair, the pay-off is saving your tresses from the wrath of the bitter wind.

Dare to bare with cut-outs
The plunging neckline is so last season. Give the idea of covering up with high-necklines, long sleeves and a full-length skirt, but just as you are encroaching on habit-territory, slash your skirt to the thigh and play a game of peekaboo with cut outs, beautifully demonstrated by Karolina Kurkova .
Plunging necklines: celebrities who turn necklines into waistlines

Play dress up
Diane Kruger 's full skirt, Peter Pan collar and oh-so-tiny handbag look a little like she's raided the dressing up box. But in a good way. With dungarees on their way back in, hark back to your childhood and play the dressing up game again.

Say it with accessories
J-Lo's classic trench shouts timeless style but the star zings it up with purple platforms, a leopard print clutch and cats-eyes sunnies. Ok OK, the sunglasses might have been a little excessive for January but the rest is a winner.

Go back to the old school
Little known actress Jaimie Alexander made big waves this week at the premier of 'The Last Stand' with old school Hollywood glamour. Who said demure was dull?

It's hip to be square
Yes, Louis Vuitton's spring/summer 13 collection makes our best dressed yet again, but it seems these geometric looks can do no wrong. We will even let Juno Temple's hideous flesh coloured tights slide

And what we're not wearing…
While the National Television Awards provided fruitful pickings for the worst dressed crowd that we have seen for many moons, this monstrosity still managed to stand out in a sea of shockers. While style may not come naturally to Cheyenne Pidgley of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding fame this mini, one-shoulder, flamenco-hemmed, synthetic number (along with matching hairpiece) takes the biscuit. Thelma would be ashamed.

Jessica Chastain's torturous assignment

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:24:00 +0000

Jessica Chastain's performance as a spy in Zero Dark Thirty has put her in line for an Oscar. Yet, she says, ‘it was the worst experience of my life’.

Of all the internet chatter on Zero Dark Thirty that appeared in the two years leading up to its release, only one piece of misinformation riled the film’s star, Jessica Chastain. “They were saying that Joel Edgerton was the lead in the movie and that I was his wife,” says the 31-year-old actress, whose performance has earned her both Oscar and Bafta nominations. “Because of course, Jessica must be the wife… Every time I read that, I wanted to punch somebody.”
Once Kathryn Bigelow’s film – the story of the pursuit and capture of Osama bin Laden – has been widely viewed, nobody will ever assume that Chastain is playing the wife again. Nominated for five Oscars – and already the winner of a Golden Globe for Chastain – it’s a landmark film for everyone involved, from Hurt Locker director, Bigelow, and screenwriter Mark Boal, to Chastain, Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Mark Strong and the rest of the cast. It’s also a deeply unpleasant film to watch, and, one assumes, a still more unpleasant one to have starred in.
They were filming the torture scenes that make up the first third of the film in a working Jordanian prison, she explains. “That was scary to begin with, because the prisoners weren’t used to seeing women – let alone women with red hair. But really it was because I wanted to get it right. It was because I felt so much responsibility towards this woman.”

The woman in question was the real-life young CIA agent – name unknown – who spent five years tracking down Bin Laden and whose single-minded determination has been credited by Navy Seals as being a key factor in the mission’s success. “Of course, I couldn’t meet the real ‘Maya’ because she’s still active, but I sometimes feel like she may have been in a room with me,” says Chastain, smiling, embarrassed by her own superstition. “Powerful women on screen are generally written up in two ways: manly and tough or sexy female spy who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants. Maya is neither: she’s a woman who uses her brain – and that’s what Kathryn [Bigelow] is too. She happens to be a woman, but she’s a great director.”
It’s by thwarting our expectations at every turn that Bigelow manages to keep a nearly three-hour long film – to which we all know the ending – compelling. When Maya witnesses waterboarding for the first time, we feel sure the director is about to make an anti-torture point; instead, Bigelow focuses on how Obama’s subsequent torture ban frustrated many in the field – prompting the American critic David Edelstein to write that the film “borders on the politically and morally reprehensible,” because it “makes a case for the efficacy of torture”.
“When Mark [Boal] was doing his research and talking to people in the field,” says Chastain, “many said to him: ‘we don’t know what to do now – how do we get the information?’”
Similarly, once Jennifer Ehle – as a veteran CIA co-analyst – appears, “everyone feels sure that we’re either going to fight over a man or a job,” says Chastain. “Because that’s what women do, isn’t it?” Instead the two become friends. And again, just as your heart sinks at the prospect of Chastain’s “inevitable” affair with Clarke, her co-worker, Bigelow swerves off, leaving Maya emotionally barren: a hardened young woman who, once the mission is over, is left feeling destitute.

Times must have changed. Over the past few years Chastain has played a succession of beautiful, complicated leading women, from the silent and wounded mother of Brad Pitt’s children in Terrence Malik’s Tree of Life, and Foote in The Help – unable either to bear children or integrate herself into small-town Mississippi society – to a traumatised former Mossad agent in The Debt.
“I see a lot of contradictions in myself,” she admits. “I see a lot of vulnerability but I also know that I can get through things. I’m very competitive with myself, and very critical – even in my personal life. Actually friends have said that I’m harder on myself than anyone else.”
Years of ballet as a young girl point to that underlying toughness. It’s also easy to forget that Chastain’s rise wasn’t as quick and struggle-free as it seems. She may have appeared in six films last year, but there was a period of four years, from 2003 when she graduated from Juilliard and moved to Los Angeles, when she “just couldn’t get an audition”. “I remember going in to ‘pre-screen’ for an audition for a guest spot on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and thinking it was just so humiliating,” she laughs.

Despite, and perhaps in part because of her distinctive looks, Chastain triumphed. Over the past three years she has gone from being a complete unknown to being in danger of saturating the market: in April last year, Time magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. “Crazytown!” she laughs. “But look: the thing I love most about acting is that it makes me feel connected to society. In The Debt and The Help I felt connected to a group of women that are now gone. It’s like there’s this invisible intimacy there. When I act, I become a servant to it,” she explains, earnest and unsmiling now. “I offer up my mind, my body and my soul.”
That generosity of spirit is likely to be tested over the next few years. The “body” part may be more of a perk than a chore: “I’m not going to lie – being given free clothes is fantastic,” she says.
“Last year I got really emotional with [royal wedding dress designer] Sarah Burton at my Oscar dress fitting. I never used to imagine my wedding dress as a little girl, but I’d always imagined my Oscar dress.”
But the reality of relinquishing one’s “soul” to the demands of celebrity is only just dawning on her. “Last night I was followed home from a screening of the film by paparazzi. They were posing as fans outside my house and now the pictures are online. Those things are starting to happen. It’s pretty freaky.”
Chastain never had a fear of fame, “But it was never about fame for me. If it had been, I would have taken the faster route: reality TV, an actor boyfriend or walked down tons of red carpets before a movie of mine even came out.”

What did she take away from playing Maya? “That it’s OK to say no and not have people like you,” she nods. “I don’t like confrontation – it makes me very uncomfortable – but Maya didn’t care. She wouldn’t have achieved what she did if she had.” She knows exactly what she’d say to the real-life “Maya” in the unlikely event that the two should one day meet. “I’d want to ask her if I did it OK,” she says softly. “And tell her that this is the most important role I’ve ever played.”
Once The Heiress – the Broadway adaptation of Henry James’s Washington Square – finishes its run next month, Chastain wants to take a break. “For so long I’ve wanted to shout about Zero Dark Thirty from the rooftops, but now I want to not talk for a while. I’d like to go somewhere and be silent. Go to Italy and take cooking classes or France and learn French. Either way – for a little while – I’d like to disappear.”