Bea Arthur Dead

Bea Arthur Dead: Bea Arthur has died at the age of 86 from complications of cancer. Arthur, a Hollywood legend, was known to millions from her genre-busting role on Maude and — most famously — The Golden Girls.

Bea Arthur in a still from Golden GirlsArthur should be best known for raising woman’s profile in the entertainment-world consciousness as few had before her. She was the first character on television to have an abortion. It happened on Maude and struck a chord with millions. To this day, the episode remains an envelope-pusher.

It was the ‘70s, sure, but popular culture had failed to completely reflect the societal changes occurring on the ground. It was too risque to talk about the feminist movement. Although shows such as One Day at a Time illustrated that point, few talked about it the way Bea Arthur did as Maude.

To generations, she was the anchor of the hit Golden Girls. As the woman who moves with her mother and girlfriends into a Florida home, Arthur was the straight-laced foil for the impeccable comic timing of her co-stars. The actress often provided the heart of the show, and always, the mind.

Throughout her career, Arthur continued to show why she was an entertainment one-in-a-million.

She got her start on the stage and quickly became known as an actress capable of great arcs of emotion. Her voice was unique among actresses.

Golden Girls co-star Rue McClanahan issued a statement following Arthur’s passing:

“Thirty-seven years ago, she showed me how to be very brave in playing comedy,” McClanahan says. “I’ll miss that courage, and I’ll miss that voice.”

Johnny Maestro Dead

Johnny Maestro Dead, johnny maestro, johnny maestro heart attack, robert culp death, robert culp, mohegan sun entertainmen. Johnny Maestro Dead, Johnny Maestro has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 70. The singer, who is most well-known for the hit he recorded “Sixteen Candles” with his band The Crests, died late Wednesday night in Florida.After The Crests, Maestro attempted to go solo but found more success upon forming the Brooklyn Bridge. The group gained a number 3 hit in 1969 with “The Worst That Could Happen.”

Maestro began his singing career in the New York subways and became a distinct voice of early rock ‘n’ roll. He was diagnosed with an invasive cancer several months ago.

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen, Zach maynard, keenan allen penn state, keenan allen rivals, keenan allen announcement, keenan allen press conference ,Could Keenan Allen, the nation’s No. 5 high school player according to rivals.com, be a member of Penn State’s 2010 football squad? The Mobile Press-Register suggests it is a strong possibility. The highly touted North Carolina safety prospect committed to Alabama in November and was the Tide’s top-rated incoming recruit.  But BamaOnline.com suggested that Allen informed Nick Saban last night that he does not intend to wear the Crimson and White.

Reportedly, Allen will choose between California-Berkeley and Penn State on Wednesday, National Signing Day.

Speculation abounds as to why Allen decommitted from Alabama. The Bama Beat implies that the reason Allen changed his mind is because he wishes to play collegiately with his half-brother, Zach Maynard, a quarterback who recently left the University of Buffalo. Saban was unwilling to spend a scholarship on Maynard.

The news that Penn State has surprisingly entered the picture has given al.com posters reason to chirp about next season’s clash between the former rivals.

The bluntly-monikered kiffinsucks writes, “Please go to Penn State so we can make you realize what you missed out on next season.”

Whoa there. bass484 continues, “Bama will not be blackmaled (sic). Good luck mr allen. See you when we whip Penn state.”

ljones1985 then drives the stake into the proverbial Lion heart with his copious punctuation, “Not signing with Alabama, and considering Penn State – or Cal?!?!?!?!?! Wow.”

The comments make me wonder when exactly Alabama became the mecca of college football. Why is playing for the Tide so much better than Penn State or Cal? Where would you rather live and go to school: Happy Valley, Berkeley or Tuscaloosa? And why does every single al.com commenter assume the Tide will roll over the Lions next year?

Oh well, I suppose the unbridled haughtiness comes with a National Championship. Next year’s season can’t come soon enough.

Glitzy Oscars Going To Air Tonight

The glitzy 82nd annual Academy Awards ceremony would be held at Kodak Theatre tonight.
“Avatar” alone has earned more than $2.4 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film in history. For the first time in 67 years, 10 films are vying for Best Picture honors, double the usual number. Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said 5,777 voting members represent various branches of the film industry, who would decide the fate of the winners. Co-hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin (a two-time Oscar host) have been scribbling jokes, filming promos and perhaps thinking about which tux to wear. This year’s presenters include both seasoned and fresh talent. “Twilight’s” Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will be making their first appearance on the telecast. Last year’s Oscar winners Penelope Cruz, Sean Penn and Kate Winslet are also scheduled to present.

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Glitzy Oscars Going To Air Tonight

Boys Girls And Other Hazardous Materials

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman. GP Putnam’s Sons, January 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. Charlie couldn’t wait to be done with eighth grade. After discovering that her best friends were actually frenemies, mean girls of the highest order, and after what they did… well, Charlie’s ready for the fresh start that Harmony Falls High School offers. Starting her freshman year is exciting and nerve-wracking, but Charlie’s soon plunged into the thick of it. She meets cute boys, joins the newspaper staff, and makes some real girl friends. But when the athletic boys she’s crushing on start to behave badly, Charlie will find that it’s not only girls who can be mean.

I mean, this book was okay. I finished it. My main complaint is that I don’t see that it offers anything new to the YA shelves and it wasn’t compelling or enjoyable enough to get away with it.
I did like the interesting supporting cast of characters – namely Charlie’s best friends Sydney and Nidhi. But the dangerous thing about that is that Charlie seemed boring in comparison. I think either Sydney’s or Nidhi’s story would have been more interesting. I wanted to know more about them.
I also liked the angle of having Charlie and Nidhi on the newspaper staff and I think if that had been a bigger focus, the story might have been a little more unusual.

So, for me, this one was a miss. I’d skip it and recommend Elizabeth Scott’s Something Maybe (if you’re looking for boy-meets-girl) or Alyson Noel’s Cruel Summer (if you’re looking for queen bees).

But what do I know? Kelly over at Stacked loved it. And check out another review at Pirate Penguin’s Reads.

(And for the record, the picture at top is the ARC cover and the picture at bottom is the cover being published on the actual book. I prefer the ARC cover [which is why I included it]. Which one do you like??)

Miep Gies Died

Miep Gies, the last surviving member of the group who helped protect Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, has died in the Netherlands aged 100 She and other employees of Anne Frank’s father Otto supplied food to the family as they hid in a secret annex above the business premises in Amsterdam. Anne’s diary of their life in hiding, which ended in betrayal, is one of the most famous records of the Holocaust. It was rescued by Mrs Gies, who kept it safe until after the war. Miep Gies died in a nursing home after suffering a fall just before Christmas.

Speaking last year as she celebrated her 100th birthday, Mrs Gies played down her role, saying others had done far more to protect Jews in the Netherlands. She and her fellow employees kept Anne and the seven others supplied for two years, from 1942 to 1944. When the family were found by the authorities, they were deported, and Anne died of typhus in the German concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.

It was Mrs Gies who collected up Anne’s papers and locked them away, hoping that one day she would be able to give them back to the girl. In the event, she returned them to Otto Frank, who survived the war, and helped him compile them into a diary that was published in 1947. It went on to sell tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages.

Mrs Gies became a kind of ambassador for the diary, travelling to talk about Anne Frank and her experiences, campaigning against Holocaust denial and refuting allegations that the diary was a forgery. For her efforts to protect the Franks and to preserve their memory, Mrs Gies won many accolades.

In an interview from 1998, published on the annefrank website, Miep Gies says she thought it “perfectly natural” to help Anne and the seven others despite the penalties she could have suffered under the Nazi occupation.

“They were powerless, they didn’t know where to turn…” she says. “We did our duty as human beings: helping people in need.”

Her role was, she recalls, to fetch vegetables and meat while others supplied bread or books. Her memory of Anne is of having the feeling she was “speaking to an adult”.

“I’d say to myself, ‘My goodness, child, so young and talking like that already’,” she says in the interview. She believes that she once came across Anne writing the diary.

“It was a very uncomfortable situation,” she says. “I tried to decide what to do. Should I walk away or go to her? At that moment she glanced at me, with a look that I’ll never forget. This wasn’t the Anne I knew, that friendly, charming child. She looked at me with anger, rage. Then Anne stood up, slammed her diary shut and glared at me with great condescension. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I’m writing about you, too.’ I didn’t know what to say. The only thing I could manage was: ‘That ought to be interesting.’”

Mrs Gies also remembers the day the Franks were taken away and how she went up into the empty annex to find the pages of the diary lying on the floor. Removing the pages, she did not read them immediately, telling herself at the time: “These may belong to a child, but even children have a right to privacy.”

Lady Gaga And Elton John

Lady Gaga And Elton John Video, As previously reported, Lady Gaga and Elton John met onstage for a duet of ‘Speechless’ and ‘Your Song,’ ushering in the 2010 Grammy Awards. Never one to shy away from making a fashion statement, Gaga adorned a sparkly green leotard with shoulder pads that made her look like a heart. John and Gaga emerged together on a piano, with Gaga saying “take my picture Hollywood.”

John was adorning large, sparkly glasses with his face painted in what looked to be ash. The two traded off verses at times, while simultaneously playing the piano. “How wonderful life is with Gaga in the world,” John said at one point, altering the lyrics of ‘Your Song.’

Lady Gaga opened the show with a short but high energy version of ‘Poker Face,’ complete with elaborate stage dancers dressed in fatigues.

Earlier in the day, Lady Gaga picked up two Grammy awards in the dance category as ‘Poker Face’ won for Best Dance Recording and ‘The Fame’ won for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Gaga is also up for the big three Sunday night: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

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Lady Gaga And Elton John was first posted on February 1, 2010 at 10:14 am.

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Lady Gaga And Elton John

Spark Fun

Erik Gates Mythbusters Picture

Erik Gates Mythbusters Picture :- Erik Gates who was known on the hit t.v. show called Mythbusters died. He was walking on the roof of the Xirrus Inc. Building at 2101 Corporate Center Drive in Newburry Park with his friend when the accident happened. Both of them were working on it, Erik suddenly fall off the building and dropped 30 feet to his death. He died of blunt force injuries to the chest.

The fall occurred around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Afterward, Gates was alive and talking at the scene, Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt.. Ross Bonfiglio said. Gates was taken to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

He was the former director of the Rocketry Organization of California. Currently he was serving as director on the board of the Tripoli Rocketry Association. Xirrus’ CFO commented on the tragedy:
He owned Gateco Electric and he appeared on four episodes of “MythBusters” as the shows Amateur Rocket Expert.
“He was a good guy, he survived cancer, he jumps with parachutes, he base jumps. He’s an active guy who was used to taking precautions. This was a freak accident that should not have happened.

Basterds, Precious, 30 Rock lead SAG Awards

LOS ANGELES: Sag Awards 2010 Winners, Basterds, Precious, 30 Rock lead SAG Awards, Three is the lucky number at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — that’s how many nominations the leading contenders in film and television have coming into Saturday’s ceremony.

“Inglorious Basterds,” ”Precious” and “Up in the Air” lead film nominees, while “Dexter,” ”30 Rock” and “The Closer” are the top TV competitors.

“Basterds” earned nods for its cast and supporting stars Christoph Waltz and Diane Kruger. “Precious” was also nominated for outstanding performance by a film cast, along with nods for star Gabourey Sidibe and supporting actress Mo’Nique. “Up in the Air” collected nominations for star George Clooney and supporting actresses Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

Other films competing for best cast — SAG’s equivalent of a best-picture prize — include “The Hurt Locker,” ”An Education” and “Nine,” which also earned a nod for supporting actress Penelope Cruz.

“Dexter” and “The Closer” are up for best performance by a cast in a drama series, along with “Mad Men,” ”The Good Wife” and “True Blood.”

Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter, is nominated for best actor and the show’s stunt team is up for outstanding performance by a stunt ensemble on TV. “The Closer” earned nods for its stunt team and star Kyra Sedgwick.

“30 Rock” collected nominations for its cast and stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. Other comedies up for cast honors are “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” ”Modern Family,” ”Glee” and “The Office.”

The actors union will present 13 awards during the two-hour dinner-party ceremony: Eight in television, five in film and a lifetime achievement award to 88-year-old Betty White, who starred in the TV comedy series “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden Girls.”

“Our show is so special compared to other awards shows,” said SAG Awards executive producer and director Jeff Margolis. “The fact that it is a show for actors, and it’s actors voting for actors for doing good work. It’s just different from the other shows, so we take great pride in keeping it different and special.”

The Screen Actors Guild Awards often are an accurate predictor of success at the Academy Awards because actors constitute the largest voting bloc for the Oscars.

Last year the cast award went to “Slumdog Millionaire,” which went on to win the Best Picture Oscar. However, this year one strong Best Picture contender, James Cameron’s “Avatar,” was not nominated in any SAG category.

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Basterds, Precious, 30 Rock lead SAG Awards was first posted on January 24, 2010 at 7:43 pm.

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Basterds, Precious, 30 Rock lead SAG Awards

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