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Thursday, May 3, 2012
'Cosmopolis' Clip: Robert Pattinson Is Not Quite The Charmer
Robert Pattinson's "Cosmopolis" character Eric Packer sure knows how to charm a lady. The first full clip from the movie has been released courtesy of Allocine, and in it we see Packer trying— albeit unsuccessfully— to seduce Sarah Gadon's character Elise Shifrin. The two had met before the snippet begins in a bookstore, and it's [...]
Gwen Stefani Rumored as X Factor Host
The X Factor carousel has stopped on Gwen Stefani.
One day after rumors surfaced that either Miley Cyrus or Demi Lovato would join Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid and Britney Spears on the season two panel, an insider tells The New York Post that this female singer is under consideration for a different role.
Host.
The singer would take over for Steve Jones, who was let go after a disappointing opening season.
A Fox insider says Stefani has been contacted, is interested and would seek compensation between $5-7 million.
“[Cowell] is feeling the pressure and knows only a big-time, well-respected name will do if he wants anyone to flip the channel from The Voice," the source claims, adding that the NBC hit may face off against The X Factor this fall.
Do you think Gwen would make a fun host?
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Jack White's Blunderbuss: The Spruce Goose Soars Again
With a solo debut set to debut at #1, Bigger Than the Sound wonders if ever-eccentric White has become his own worst enemy.
By James Montgomery
Jack White
Photo: WireImage
This week, Jack White will top the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. with his side-winding solo album Blunderbuss, a high-water mark for eccentric millionaires not matched since Kim Dotcom decided to become the world's #1 "Modern Warfare 3" player, shot an elaborate time-lapse video of him playing the game — with bonus techno soundtrack — then had a cake made to commemorate the achievement.
Of course, I do not know if White is actually a millionaire, though, in a recent New York Times Magazine piece about him, we learned he owns several taxidermied animals (including a Himalayan tahr), drives a black Mercedes and a 1960 Ford Thunderbird, hands out business cards that identify him as John A. White III, D.D.S. - Accidentist and Occidental Archaeologist, maintains a temperature-controlled vault with a biometric scanner, had microphones installed in the eaves of his mansion so he can listen to the rain while he sleeps, and smokes Al Capone cigarillos. But I do know he is most certainly eccentric, downright crazy even. It is what I love about him ... and unfortunately, it may also lead to his downfall.
Then again, it probably won't. All I'm suggesting is that, given everything you've just learned about him — and previous achievements in eccentricity like launching 1,000 helium balloons from his Nashville warehouse, touring every province in Canada merely for the sake of wearing a kilt, color-coordinating everything in his life and scoring the "Lone Ranger" movie — it's not exactly a stretch to call White the rock and roll Howard Hughes (he would definitely build a flying boat out of wood). And you're probably aware how things turned out for that guy.
I am not sure if it is possible for White to dial things back a touch. I'm not even sure I want him to. Music needs eccentric millionaires, after all, and Kanye can't shoulder the load alone. And I realize that the reverence with which White treats the most minute of details (and the endless array of odd projects he embarks on) only make him, well, him.
To his credit, he never lets these things interfere with his musical output — in fact, they only add to it — but I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps White is too eccentric? Not, like, "watching 'Ice Station Zebra' 150 times and stacking Kleenex boxes" eccentric (à la Hughes), but now that I think of it, that doesn't seem like much of a stretch. I could definitely see him withdrawing from the public eye one day, holing up in his Nashville estate and retiring from music to focus on welding. (Bob Dylan would bring his torches on by, of course.) That probably won't happen either, but it would definitely be a shame and, hey, you never know.
Mostly, though, I'm worried that perhaps White's various eccentricities will eventually detract from his music (and come to think of it, this column doesn't really help in that regard). I definitely don't want to see him turn into Axl Rose, a man whose, uh, foibles have become more noteworthy than the music he makes. White's not gonna put his hair in cornrows or anything, but he does run the risk of perhaps becoming better known for the crazy stuff he does on the side than for his full-time job as a totally kick-ass rock paragon. And that would be the biggest shame of all.
So, Jack, don't get me wrong; I'm not asking you to change — I'd never do that in a million years. I love Blunderbuss and am genuinely happy it'll be the #1 album in this country (because, really, there's only so much I can write about Adele or Lionel Richie). You are fantastic and unique and a genuine national treasure. But maybe just tone the crazy down a few notches? I don't want to see it overshadow your true talents and I definitely don't want to see you become a germ-obsessed recluse. Perhaps sell the stuffed tahr or donate the biometric scanner to a charity of your choice. Oh, and go outside every once in a while. You're beginning to look translucent.
You can still be you, of course. I want you to be nothing less ... OK, maybe a little less. But for your own good.
Should Jack White tone it down for his own good? Sound off on this week's Bigger Than the Sound in the comments below!
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Microsoft Sky Drive Changes ? 25GB Limit Now Reduced to 7GB, or is That 25GB?
Cloud storage abounds at the moment. We told you about Box and their free 50B and how to get the best out of using it.? And of course, there’s always Dropbox, Sugarsync, iCloud, and a plethora of other options.? Heck, even Google just released Google Drive. ?My 25GB SkyDrive account has always been like my [...]
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Rihanna "Where Have You Been" Video: Watch Now!
The video for Rihanna‘s latest single, "Where Have You Been," has just been released, and the Battleship star is stoked for her fans to take a look/listen.
“Call out to ALL of the Rihanna Navy!!” The 24-year-old pop star wrote on her Facebook page. “‘Where Have You Been’ video world premiere is now live!”
The latest hard-hitting Rihanna video, produced by Calvin Harris, Dr. Luke, and Cirkut, appears on her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk. See it here:
What do you think of Rihanna’s video for “Where Have You Been”?
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Workers demand pay hikes in May Day marches
Protesters burn an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila to celebrate international Labor Day known as May Day Tuesday May 1, 2012 in the Philippines. Thousands of workers marched under a brutal sun in Manila to demand a wage increase amid an onslaught of oil price increases, but the Philippine President rejected a $3 daily pay hike which the workers have been demanding since 1999 and warned may worsen inflation, spark layoffs and turn away foreign investors. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Protesters burn an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila to celebrate international Labor Day known as May Day Tuesday May 1, 2012 in the Philippines. Thousands of workers marched under a brutal sun in Manila to demand a wage increase amid an onslaught of oil price increases, but the Philippine President rejected a $3 daily pay hike which the workers have been demanding since 1999 and warned may worsen inflation, spark layoffs and turn away foreign investors. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
A protester shouts slogans during a brief rally at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines Monday, April 30, 2012, to protest the upcoming bilateral talks in Washington D.C. between the top foreign affairs and national defense chiefs of the Philippines and the United States. The sign at right reads "Boot Out US Troops Now!" (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Protesters dance around the burning effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila to celebrate international Labor Day known as May Day Tuesday May 1, 2012 in the Philippines. Thousands of workers marched under a brutal sun in Manila to demand a wage increase amid an onslaught of oil price increases, but the Philippine President rejected a $3 daily pay hike which the workers have been demanding since 1999 and warned may worsen inflation, spark layoffs and turn away foreign investors. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Workers chant slogans during a May Day rally to call for a minimum wage law in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)
Workers march on a street during a May Day rally to call for a minimum wage law in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? May Day moved beyond its roots as an international workers' holiday to a day of international protest Tuesday, with rallies throughout Asia demanding wage increases and marches planned across Europe over government-imposed austerity measures.
Thousands of workers protested in the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and other Asian nations, with demands for wage hikes amid soaring oil prices a common theme. They said their take-home pay could not keep up with rising consumer prices, while also calling for lower school fees and expressing a variety of other complaints.
In debt-crippled Greece, more than 2,000 people marched through central Athens in subdued May Day protests centered on the country's harsh austerity program. Other Europeans also planned to take to the streets to protest measures to cut spending that are being blamed for a big jump in the number of unemployed, particularly in Spain, where one in four people is now out of work.
In the United States, demonstrations, strikes and acts of civil disobedience were planned, including what could be the country's most high-profile Occupy rallies since the anti-Wall Street encampments came down in the fall.
Around 100,000 people in Moscow ? including President Dmitry Medvedev and President-elect Vladimir Putin ? took part in the main May Day march through the city center.
Television images showed the two leaders happily chatting with participants on the clear-and-cool spring day.
Many banners and placards criticized the Russian opposition movement that has become more prominent in Moscow over the past half-year. One read "spring has come, the swamp has dried up," referring to Bolotnaya (Swampy) Square, the site of some of the largest opposition demonstrations in recent months.
In Asia, workers demanded wage increases in peaceful but noisy protests.
In the Philippine capital, Manila, more than 8,000 members of a huge labor alliance, many clad in red shirts and waving red streamers, marched under a brutal sun for 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to a heavily barricaded bridge near the Malacanang presidential palace, which teemed with thousands of riot police, Manila police chief Alex Gutierrez said.
Another group of left-wing workers later burned a huge effigy of President Benigno Aquino III, depicting him as a lackey of the United States and big business. A few hundred workers marched to the U.S. Embassy, but were stopped by riot police about a block away. The protesters burned a mock U.S. flag and went away.
Aquino rejected their calls for a $3 daily pay hike, which he warned could worsen inflation, spark layoffs and turn away foreign investors.
Aside from pay hikes, protest leader Josua Mata from the Alliance of Progressive Labor urged Aquino to back proposed legislation against the widespread practices by businesses of contracting out some operations to other companies to save on costs and prevent workers from organizing trade unions.
In Indonesia, thousands of protesters demanding higher wages paraded through traffic-clogged streets in the capital, Jakarta, where 16,000 police and soldiers were deployed at locations including the presidential palace and airports.
In Taiwan, several thousand anti-government protesters marched through downtown Taipei, demanding higher wages, lower school tuition and better conditions for foreign workers. Workers waving the Thai flag rallied in Bangkok for better pay.
"It is always the case that low-income groups across Asia feel a disproportionately larger impact of rising prices," said Wai Ho Leong, a Singapore-based economist with Barclays Capital. "Coupled with rising inflation expectations, the case is building to do more for lower income (workers). Minimum wages are one way."
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, some 500 people rallied, calling for a higher minimum wage than the one announced Monday by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Najib's plan for the country's first-ever minimum wage calls for minimum monthly pay of 900 ringgit ($297) for private-sector workers in peninsular Malaysia and 800 ringgit ($264) in two poor eastern states. The move is expected to benefit 3.2 million low-income workers, who account for about a third of the country's work force.
The protesters marched from a market to the headquarters of Maybank, the nation's largest bank, calling for a minimum monthly wage of 1,500 ringgit ($496) a month.
In Hong Kong, more than 1,000 joined a protest march to demand that the city's minimum wage, which was introduced exactly a year ago, be raised to 33 Hong Kong dollars ($4.25) per hour from HK$28 ($3.60), according to local broadcaster RTHK. They also want the government of the southern Chinese financial hub to implement a 44-hour work week.
In nearby Macau, about 500 people marched for workers' rights and full democracy in the legislature, the broadcaster said.
___
Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong, Peter Enav in Taipei, Taiwan, Jim Heintz in Moscow, Nicholas Paphitis in Athens and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.
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