Pavarotti, king of tenors passes on

Luciano Pavarotti, The world famous Italian opera singer who used his unforced tenor voice to become a 20th-century celebrity, died Thursday at his home in Modena, Italy, after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, according to The Associated Press. He was 71.

The maestro took opera outside the concert hall: performances before 150,000 people, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, in London's Hyde Park in 1991; 500,000 on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park in 1993; and 300,000 in 1994 at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Pavarotti shared the stage with rock and pop singers, including Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Bono of U2, to raise money for charities.

The portly bearded singer at times 300 pounds or more retired from staged opera in 2004, but was on a "farewell tour" of concerts when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.

Pavarotti was planning to resume his singing in 2007, but to the sad loss of millions of his fans around the world, his farewell tour has now turned out to be his swan song.

Indian film industry is evolving

Rakesh Roshan, a well-known independent film maker says independent producers will still be able to compete even if the Indian film industry moved towards a studio model.

While there is an increasing number of corporates entering the film industry, they face one disadvantage. They lack experience. Of course, as time goes by, it is something they can gain. Even after so many years in the industry, I am still learning. I still face dilemmas as to what will work and what will not, Rakesh said.

India is the largest producer of feature films in the world - about 1,000 films a year, most of them are made in India's main language Hindi. The term ‘Bollywood’ applies to the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India, but the foreign usage implies the overall film industry of India.

India’s media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, according to a latest study by P ricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting firm.

Content of the film industry is now aimed at different audience demographics. Now the success of a movie depends on - script and story, director’s vision, on screen talent, marketing and positioning and release date of the film - and only the star cast is dependent on studios.

Chocolate Christ: Is it art or a mockery?

Sculptor Cosimo Cavallaro, 45, well known for his large-scale installations, has created a 6ft representation of Jesus Christ out of chocolate. It failed to get resurrected because of pressure from religious groups - including Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist with a combined reach of millions.

This only demonstrates the insensitivity and the pervasive culture of mocking that exists in the United States.

Anything goes, if money can be made. That seems to be the mantra driven by greed for making money and by a lack of respect for religion.

Naomi Campbell-super model to super mopper

Naomi Campbell, the leggy beauty will change her glamourous outfits for a broom, gloves and safety vest when she begins mopping floors at New York's Sanitation Department on March 19, a court official confirmed on Tuesday. She has to clean up the mess she has brought on herself.

The British 36-year-old model was sentenced to community service as punishment for throwing her mobile phone at her housekeeper.

She is a recovering cocaine addict who is reputed to have a quick temper, with several tabloid stories involving violence against her staff as well as verbal abuse.

She is now included among the stars brought down to earth, like singer Boy George who attracted huge media attention when he swept streets in a court-ordered punishment in August last year.

She is estimated to have so far acquired a wealth of US$28 million from modelling.

Glamour, Money and a Sad Saga

Anna Nicole Smith, 39, was buried in the Bahamas yesterday after a gripping court drama that saw two men claim paternity of her 5-month baby and her estranged mother versus her legal partner boyfriend who wanted the court to decide her place of burial.

The emotional court 'circus' as described by some reporters ended when a crying judge declared that she be buried in Bahamas next to her son Daniel, 20, who died five months ago.

In life, Anna Nicole Smith was a Playboy model and reality TV star. Her marriage to a 89-old billionaire, 63 years her senior who died 14 months after her marriage and her still-continuing court battles claiming $500 million of his estate always made tabloid headlines.

She came from a humble beginning. She wanted to make it big in life. She earned money and achieved fame but her life was also a turbulent one when she was overcome by episodes of substance abuse. She craved media attention and their pursuit of her was relentless. Her life unfolded as a real life soap opera; it had beauty, money, drugs, scandals and a tragic end.

In life, everyone around her used her to make money. She became a marketing tool and the media was in a curious way fascinated with every bit of her out-of-control life. It appears this trend is still continuing after her death. Anna Nicole Smith's mother has accused Howard K. Stern, her attorney boyfriend of selling the TV rights to her funeral for $1 million.

In life Anna Nicole Smith idolised another tragic celebrity, Marilyn Monroe. Ironically, they both shared a similar end after living their life in the public eye.

At last Martin Scorsese wins the oscar

A happy Martin Scorsese accepts his Oscar for best director for The Departed at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood. photo by Reuters.

It's payback time for Martin Scorsese who finally won Hollywood's greatest prize on his eighth nomination after 26 long years.

Righting an injustice that had swelled with each snub of his illustrious career, on Sunday the Academy honored him with the best-directing Oscar for "The Departed."

Scorsese, 64, took the stage to an outpouring of emotion and when he accepted the golden statue from presenter Steven Spielberg. He joked in disbelief: "Could you double-check the envelope?"

In Hollywood crime pays. The story of rival mob and police moles remade from the Hong Kong thriller "Infernal Affairs" was the most popular film at the box office making more than $131 million. The Departed was announced as the best picture. It also won for best adapted screenplay and best editing.

The filmmaker who had a childhood of ill health had an initial desire to be priest. But he developed a passion for cinema and has persued his dream. Today he has gained the highest recognition from his peers many of whom say it was long coming.

As "The Departed" arrived in theaters last year, he talked about the elusive honour that evaded him for so long, "I guess it's all right. I'm disappointed, of course. But you don't make pictures to win Oscars."

Lady Chatterley's lover wins French oscar

Lady Chatterley, a French film version of D.H. Lawrence's groundbreaking novel of sexual passion, beat the Oscar-nominated wartime drama "Days of Glory" to claim the award for best film at the Cesars, France's version of the Academy Awards.

Lady Chatterley, directed by Pascale Ferran, tells the story of the wife of a wealthy paralysed landowner who falls in love with a gamekeeper on her husband's estate.

The film took home five Cesars in all, also winning best adaptation, best costumes and best cinematography.

In 1959, the movie Lady Chatterley was the subject of attempted censorship in New York State on the grounds that it promoted adultery. The Supreme Court held that the law prohibiting its showing was a violation of the First Amendment's protection of Free Speech.

Havidol: The fake drug too real for some

New York artist Justine Cooper promoting a campaign for a fake drug to treat a fictitious illness is causing a stir because some people think the illness is real.

The magic blue pill treats Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit Anxiety Disorder. It's available in 20mg tablets and suppositories. Look up what this magic pill, Havidol can do by clicking their site here.

This is all done in the name of art. The exhibit at the Daneyal Mahmood Gallery in New York, which includes a Web site, mock television and print advertisements and billboards is so convincing people think it is authentic.

It seems this whole thing took off over the Internet. In the first few days after the Web site (www.havidol.com) went up, it had 5,000 hits. The last time he checked it had reached a quarter of a million.

This shows not only the power of internet, both on the positive and negative side but also the force of corporate marketing that influence public opinion.

Counterfeit drugs are already flooded in some international markets and it's the poor and the vulnerable who in their plight and desperation get caught to scams.

A survey conducted with the World Health Organisation found more than half the drugs on sale in Nigeria were fake or sub-standard.

Although the exhibit in New York is considered satire or parody, it also unfortunately adds to the existing problems in the countereit market.

Robbie Williams in rehab

The popular English singer Robbie Williams celebrated his 33rd birthday Tuesday by checking into a United States rehab center.

"Robbie Williams has today been admitted into a treatment center in America for his dependency on prescription drugs," spokeswoman Bryony Watts said. "There will be no further comment on this matter."

Williams, who has been living in the Los Angeles area the past few years. He has a history of drug addictions. He was treated for drug and alcohol addiction after his boy band Take That split up in 1995.

Williams spoke about his experience with depression and drugs in a BBC documentary on bipolar disorder last year. "My first drug of choice was probably fantasy," he said. "Fantasising about being an actor or being a singer, going to the moon, whatever. And I don't know if that was to escape a depression.

"Cocaine gave me a twitch and drink just made me ill. So all the props I had just had to be removed."

While he admitted to overcome the binge use of alcohol and cocaine that sent him into the Clouds rehab centre in Wiltshire after his band 'Take That' split, now anti-depressants appears to have resurfaced the familiar demons again.

While publicists refused to disclose his location, Williams is widely believed to be at the exclusive Meadows clinic in Arizona, a multidisorder facility, that serves individuals seeking treatment for and recovery from toxic and abusive living.

Dixie shines in Grammys

The Dixie Chicks comprising of the Texas trio completed a defiant comeback on Sunday night, winning five Grammy awards after being shunned by the country music establishment over the group's anti-Bush comments leading up to the Iraq invasion.

As they accepted the honours, the Dixie girls, Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Robinson did not use the stage this time as a platform for its well-known opposition to the war in Iraq.

But by the time the group accepted the evening-closing album-of-the-year award for Taking the Long Way, singer Natalie Maines who is the firebrand in the group said that members of the Recording Academy were clearly using their votes as a show of support, if not political expression, in favour of a band that has received death threats after its initial criticism of the U.S. President at a concert in Britain in early 2003.

Even amidst the bitter partisan political divide, freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, does seem to prevail.

Chaotic Iraq and a media frenzy

Millions of dollars were wasted by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that ran Iraq after the fall of Baghdad, a former official has said. Huge cash payments were made to Iraqi contractors out of the back of pick-up trucks, in scenes reminiscent of the "Wild West."

Paul Bremer the former head of the CPA summoned in front of a Congressional committee investigating allegations of waste and fraud told that he had done his best to kick-start Iraq's economy.

"Who in their right mind would send 360 tons of cash into a war zone? But that is exactly what our government did," Henry Waxman, the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said during the hearing last Tuesday.

The Democrats, who took control both houses of the US Congress last month, are overwhelmingly critical of the Bush administration's decision to go to war.

Indeed, $9bn in cash was flown in pallets from the US - and as revealed in the Senate hearings, some of this cash may have ended up in enemy hands. This is a pathetic situation and just shows what the lack of oversight on unbridled executive power can do with appalling consequences.

The week also saw the unravelling of a superstar, the tabloid’s dream come true - a diaper-clad, wig-sporting space shuttle astronaut travelling 900 miles by car to confront her perceived rival in a juicy NASA love triangle.

And at the center of it all was an attractive, 43-year-old married mother of three, a rocket scientist no less. Lisa Nowak had flown on the Discovery as recently as July.

She was the ultimate high achiever whose credentials were impeccable: a U.S. Naval Academy grad with master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering; a decorated Navy vet and test pilot, and an astronaut since 1996.

Before the authorities were able to determine the causes of Nowak's affection that seemingly turned into obsession, comes in another headline grabbing tragedy.

On Thursday, the entertainment industry mourned the sudden and shocking celebrity death of Anna Nicole Smith, the topless dancer who made the cover of Playboy magazine in 1992.

Even as the coroner continues to investigate the causes of her death, details coming from the bouncers, waiters and others at her hotel depict Smith as a hard partying, falling-down drunk who could barely walk herself back to her drug-filled hotel room.

Controversy followed her in life and even more controversy is following her in death. At 26 years-old she married J. Howard Marshall, the 89-year-old billionaire who died 14 months after marrying Anna Nicole Smith. Marshall has left an inheritance case that is wide open even after ten years.

Now that Smith has died, there are three men who have come forward to claim paternity on Smith's 5-month old daughter. Whoever will be proved to be the father of the child, will not only get the custody of the child but will eventually inherit a multimillion inheritance, after the legal battles run out in the courts.

Why do celebs kill on drugs?

The world of narcotics is in the US breaking news, this time for the shocking celebrity death of Anna Nicole Smith, the topless dancer who made the cover of Playboy magazine in 1992.

Anna Nicole Smith, the voluptuous blonde whose life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale _ jeans model, widow of an octogenarian oil tycoon, reality-TV show subject, tragic mother _ died after collapsing at a hotel.

She did not have any known medical problems and just five months ago, Smith's 20-year-old son died suddenly in the Bahamas in what was believed to be a drug-related death.

There are questions being asked whether she died of a drug overdose? Autopsy and forensic studies will reveal answers to this tragic end of an American living soap opera.

Her strange life seemed to veer from one outsized struggle to another. She struggled famously with her weight and with her family.

"With Anna Nicole, she was pathetic but at the same time you thought, 'Gosh, if I could just scoop you up and fix things, it would be OK,'" said Jerry Herron, a professor of American culture at Wayne State University. "You wouldn't want to scoop up Paris Hilton.'"

"Anna Nicole was," Herron noted, "in both her actions and her physical being, such an over-exaggerated version of what we both lust for and loathe in our society. Bombshell blonde? Family feuds? Lots and lots of money? Weight troubles? Obscene self-revelations on TV? She had it all."

She came from humble origins and achieved celebrity and wealth, one way or another. She was a perfect pop culture icon.

The compelling mix of beauty and vulnerability is just one quality that has led to comparisons with Marilyn Monroe, another sexy, tragic blonde who Smith liked to compare herself to. The comparison is tempting, and ironically the ending is similar.

Although she fought a good fight in this life, Anna Nicole Smith's candle burned out at only 39. One can say that she was dealt a certain hand; in which she could always have played her cards to make her best contribution without giving in to self-destructive behaviour. .

The Unfaithful's star is accused of being unfaithful

After persistent rumours by the British tabloids about the infidelity of Olivier Martinez who had played the star of the 'Unfaithful", Kylie Minogue has finally dumped the French love rat.

Kylie Minogue, the 37-year-old Australian singer, who recently declared Martinez was the "most honourable man I have ever met", issued a joint statement with the heart-throb actor confirming they had split after four years together.

The British tabloids thrive on salacious stories and scandalous innuendos about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars.

When one earns a living as a celebrity or star, their private lives are dissected in the public eye with no regard to personal privacy.

Tabloids from Britain claim that Kylie's family and friends had long held reservations about Martinez.

"He is what they call a typical Frenchman -- too smooth for his own good as they say," an unnamed source close to Kylie said in The Sun newspaper.

The Frenchman, 41, has been accused of cheating on Kylie with, among others, Angelina Jolie, Celine Balitran and Salma Hayek.

Dirty Harry is a decent guy

The iconic 1970s film star Clint Eastwood who played the role of a tough-guy police detective in Dirty Harry is to receive an humanitarian award from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

MPAA chairman Dan Glickman said the Dirty Harry star had "for decades" exemplified "decency and goodness of spirit in his moviemaking".

Eastwood will be the first ever recipient of the prize, to be presented in Washington next week.

Eastwood recently won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film Iwo Jima.The movie is a Japanese-language companion piece to the director's other film of 2006, Flags of Our Fathers.

Both focus on the battle for the island of Iwo Jima in 1945, which left 21,000 Japanese and 6,800 US soldiers dead in a single month.

"These films exemplify the true power of movies to tell human stories and inspire national conversation," said Glickman.

These are accolades to the 76-year-old American star who has had a remarkable film career of acting, producing, composing and directing. He had a short stint in politics when he served as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (Carmel), California.

Racist bullying in Reality

Allegations of racial taunts against Bollywood filmstar Shilpa Shetty, 31, in the UK Channel 4 Reality show "Celebrity Big Brother" is casting a shadow over Chancellor Gordon Brown's visit to India.

Shetty broke down in tears on Monday after expressing concerns that Jade, a fellow participant had made racial comments about her skin colour, accent and cooking.

A fierce controversy against racism made headlines across the media in India, with thousands writing in to Channel 4 protesting the alleged insults hurled on the Indian star who is making $680,000 for her part in the show.

In an abrupt about turn Shilp Shetty has changed her story on Thursday. Here is what she said, ”I think it is clash of cultures and I don't feel there was any racial discrimination from Jade's end," Shilpa Shetty told the newsmen.

She also went on record to say that people say things in a fit of anger and I stand corrected so, I don't want people to think and feel that way and I continue to feel that way.

So while the viewership of the reality TV show saw an impressive jump in the UK, the incident has left the people back home a little puzzled. Cultural differences and racism are two different things.

The controversy raises the question of whether Big Brother is simply using provocative behaviour to rouse viewer curiosity? And whether Shetty is just playing along to boost the viewership ratings?

Shilpa Shetty knew what she was getting into, when she went on the show. Nothing good can come out of such mean tactics to improve ratings if in fact the whole controversy was caused for that purpose. What kind of entertainment value does such foul-mouthing provide?

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David Beckham heading for the land of dreams

After having a mediocre performance at Real Madrid, David Beckham's incredible career is taking a Hollywood twist.

The former England captain and Manchester United player says he is leaving Real Madrid to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy. The 31-year-old is the most famous player to sign up for Major League Soccer since it began in 1996.

Beckham is much more than the "Bend It Like Beckham" soccer player. Beckham has been awarded an OBE for services to football in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2003. He supports UNICEF and is a goodwill ambassador with a special focus on sports for development.

He is a marketing magnet marketing sports brands and fashion. Die-hard socceer fans in Europe, Asia and Africa can't see enough of Beckham's banana- curling free kicks that has made him hugely popular.

Now the Beckhamania is bound for LA, where he and his celebrity wife, the former "Posh" Spice Victoria Beckham are going to rub shoulders with Hollywood's rich and famous.

Tabloids are eager about their move, especially since they could fill the gap left by glamour couples like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, both of whom have shunned publicity in recent months to raise their young children.

'Freedom Writers' : changing the unteachables

Here's a true story, 'Freedom Writers' that has just been released as a film starring the two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank.

The story is about an idealistic young teacher determined to help some unteachable students who are involved in interracial gang warfare.

What emerges from a claustrophobic classroom setting is an uplifting and inspirational strory. When the teacher listens to the students it opens a giant pathway to understanding and confidence building with the unruly students.

Oratorical skills are stronger than brute force. Such skills broke down idelogical barriers and inspired street kids to become productive and useful.

The human spirit is undefeatable as demonstrated by the work of the 'Freedom Writers.'

Chairway to heaven

The Za-Ji Acrobatic Troupe was founded in 1956 in the Anhui Province of China, and have performed throughout China, winning many awards and titles in national acrobatic competitions.

In China, acrobats are revered much as prima ballerinas or opera singers are revered in the West, and it takes years of rigorous training to achieve the excellence demanded by this ancient art form. Children hoping to become acrobats begins their training as young as four or five years old.

The Ladies With Chairs act (seen in the photo)is an extraordinary feat. It involved seven young women building a strange and precarious free-standing chairway to heaven with wooden seats, and then doing handstands on it without either structure or acrobats toppling.

Chinese acrobatics is characterized by feats of strength and daring performed cleverly, precisely and accurately, and the ability of retaining balance in motion. They have to improve their bodies' strength and flexibility to achieve and maintain such high standards.

Miss USA 2006 not fired but has to go to rehab

Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner was given a second chance Tuesday by billionaire Donald Trump who who co-owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe contests and was widely expected to fire Conner.

Allegations of blond beauty queen Conner partying and underage drinking at bars and nightclubs in New York -- where the legal drinking age is 21 -- began surfacing last week. The former Miss Kentucky USA turned 21 on Monday.

A teary Conner told reporters "I wouldn't say that I am an alcoholic that would be pushing the envelope a little bit. I don't have a problem with anything like that."

Donald Trump said Conner would enter rehab although he failed to say for what.

If she doesn't believe she has a problem with drinking then why is she entering a rehab? From what she said, she hasn't even come clean.

More importantly what kind of a message does this send to other young girls who aspire to walk down the same path.

It is certainly gracious for Trump to forgive but whatever to happened to personal responsibility and accountability of actions.

This sets up a contradiction that is both confusing and dangerous to young people, particularly women.

Donald Trump said he believed she could be a "great example for troubled people."

It remains to be seen what kind of a role model she turns out to be, given the prevailing commercial culture which glorifies sexist poses of Paris Hilton and the increasing popularity of Britney Spears who is becoming increasingly unclothed.