January 15, 2010

Top Stories –
Anybody bring a torch? –
A solar eclipse plunges parts of Africa and Asia into semi-darkness. According to NASA this was the longest annular eclipse of the third Millennium.
solar_eclipse_Africa

Swooner –
Author Jackie Collins has revealed that screen legend Marlon Brando had sex with her at a party when she was only 15, days after she had been expelled from a school in England.
Jackie-CollinsJackie Collins
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March 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Jay Z promotes ‘artist-owned’ music streaming brand –
Some of the biggest names in entertainment have re-launched the music subscription service Tidal, which they are billing as the first artist-owned platform for music and video. At an event in New York on Monday, Madonna, Beyonce, Kanye West, and 13 other performers announced they had become co-owners of Tidal. The service launched last October, but was recently bought by rapper Jay Z. It is hoping to compete with the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Google Play. Jay Z recently bought Aspiro a Scandinavian music streaming company. #TIDALforALL topped the USA and UK Twitter trends charts (see Video of the day and Top Twitter Trends below) [BBC]
Jay-Z 2011Jay Z

Girl, 4, refuses to eat anything other than Petits Filous –
A four-year-old girl who has refused to eat anything other than Petits Filous fromage frais for her entire life has baffled doctors.
Emilie-Lea Hayward eats 30 pots every day and will only eat the raspberry and strawberry flavour. She refuses to eat any solid food and becomes hysterical every time mother Naomi, 32, offers her anything other than Petits Filous. The youngster won’t touch chocolate, sweets or ice cream and even bursts into tears if she is offered an alternative brand. Each 47g pot of Petits Filous contains around a teaspoon of sugar, meaning Emilie-Lea is consuming 30 teaspoons a day – more than twice the recommended adult intake. [Daily Telegraph]

Are these the most beautiful faces in the world? –
Scientists have used e-fits to create portraits of the most beautiful man and woman in the world – and say David Gandy and Natalie Portman are the closest real life examples. A computer programme usually used to draw up e-fits of wanted criminals has been used to create the faces of the most beautiful man and woman in the world. The pictures are the result of a two-month-long study led by Dr Chris Solomon, a world expert in facial mapping, that asked people to put together a composite of the perfect face using the EFIT-V PhotoFit software used by UK police. [Daily Telegraph]
The idealised faces (according to those living in the UK)

Video of the Day –

Launch of TIDAL

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September 8, 2015

Top News Stories –

Wayne Rooney breaks England goals record –
Wayne Rooney made history by breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time England goalscoring record in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley. England captain Rooney equalled Charlton’s tally of 49 with a penalty in the victory against San Marino on Saturday that ensured a place in France next summer. And he was on the spot again late on in Tuesday’s match against the Swiss for goal number 50 to erase a record that has stood for 45 years. [BBC] See List of the Day 2
Wayne_RooneyWayne Rooney

British Airways plane catches fire in Las Vegas –
A British Airways plane bound for London has caught fire at Las Vegas airport, forcing the evacuation of 172 people on board on emergency slides. Airport officials said at least 13 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the left engine of the Boeing 777-200 caught fire before take-off. The plane was seen engulfed in flames and smoke. The fire was later put out. Flight 2276 was bound for London’s Gatwick airport. There were 159 passengers and 13 crew members on board. [BBC]

Sam Smith blows his cover: Spectre theme song singer confirmed –
Sam Smith would make an excellent secret agent. After months of speculation, the singer has confirmed that he has recorded the theme song for the next James Bond film, Spectre. Smith has co-written the title song, Writing’s On The Wall, with Jimmy Napes. It is the first Bond theme to be recorded by a British male solo artist since 1965. Smith confirmed the news on Twitter, calling the opportunity “one of the highlights of my career”. The identity of the theme song’s singer had been an impressively well-kept secret. Smith, whose 2012 collaboration with Disclosure brought him to fame, gave particularly mixed messages: when pushed on the subject by Radio 2 last week, he flatly denied involvement with the film’s soundtrack. But yesterday he dropped a heavy hint to the contrary, tweeting a teaser picture of a ring imprinted with the Spectre logo.[Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day 1

Earlier this week Smith’s album In the Lonely Hour stayed in the UK top 10 for 67 weeks in a row – a new record.
Sam-Smith-2014Sam Smith

Video of the Day –

Justin Bieber – What do you mean? (acoustic)

List of the Day 1 –

James Bond Movie title themes [Wikipedia]

Film Year Score composer Title song Composed by Performed by U.K. peak
position
U.S. peak
position
Dr. No
(soundtrack)
1962 Monty Norman James Bond Theme Monty Norman John Barry & Orchestra; Monty Norman
“Kingston Calypso” Byron Lee and the Dragonaires
From Russia with Love
(soundtrack)
1963 John Barry “Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme” John Barry, Lionel Bart, Monty Norman Matt Monro
Goldfinger
(soundtrack)
1964 Goldfinger Leslie Bricusse
Anthony Newley
John Barry
Shirley Bassey 21 8
Thunderball
(soundtrack)
1965 “Thunderball” John Barry
Don Black
Tom Jones 35 25
You Only Live Twice
(soundtrack)
1967 You Only Live Twice Leslie Bricusse
John Barry
Nancy Sinatra 11 44
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
(soundtrack)
1969 “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” John Barry
Hal David
The John Barry Orchestra
We Have All the Time in the World” – Secondary Theme Louis Armstrong
Diamonds Are Forever
(soundtrack)
1971 “Diamonds Are Forever” John Barry
Don Black
Shirley Bassey 38 57
Live and Let Die
(soundtrack)
1973 George Martin Live and Let Die Paul McCartney
Linda McCartney
Paul McCartney & Wings 7 2
The Man with the Golden Gun
(soundtrack)
1974 John Barry “The Man with the Golden Gun” John Barry
Don Black
Lulu
The Spy Who Loved Me
(soundtrack)
1977 Marvin Hamlisch Nobody Does It Better Marvin Hamlisch
Carole Bayer Sager
Carly Simon 7 2
Moonraker
(soundtrack)
1979 John Barry “Moonraker” John Barry
Hal David
Shirley Bassey
For Your Eyes Only
(soundtrack)
1981 Bill Conti For Your Eyes Only Bill Conti
Michael Leeson
Sheena Easton 8 4
Octopussy
(soundtrack)
1983 John Barry All Time High John Barry
Tim Rice
Stephen Short
Rita Coolidge 75 36
A View to a Kill
(soundtrack)
1985 A View to a Kill John Barry
Duran Duran
Duran Duran 2 1
The Living Daylights
(soundtrack)
1987 The Living Daylights John Barry
Pål Waaktaar
A-ha 5
Licence to Kill
(soundtrack)
1989 Michael Kamen “Licence to Kill” Narada Michael Walden
Jeffrey Cohen
Walter Afanasieff
Gladys Knight 6
GoldenEye
(soundtrack)
1995 Éric Serra GoldenEye Bono
The Edge
Tina Turner 10 102
Tomorrow Never Dies
(soundtrack)
1997 David Arnold Tomorrow Never Dies Sheryl Crow
Mitchell Froom
Sheryl Crow 12
The World Is Not Enough
(soundtrack)
1999 The World Is Not Enough David Arnold
Don Black
Garbage 11
Die Another Day
(soundtrack)
2002 Die Another Day Madonna
Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna 3 8
Casino Royale
(soundtrack)
2006 You Know My Name David Arnold
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell 7 79
Quantum of Solace
(soundtrack)
2008 Another Way to Die Jack White Jack White
Alicia Keys
9 81
Skyfall
(soundtrack)
2012 Thomas Newman Skyfall Adele
Paul Epworth
Adele 2 8
Spectre
(soundtrack)
2015 “Writing’s On The Wall” Sam Smith
Jimmy Napes
Sam Smith

List of the Day 2 –

Wayne Rooney International appearances for England by year [from Wikipedia]

England national team
Year Apps Goals
2003 9 3
2004 11 6
2005 8 2
2006 8 1
2007 4 2
2008 8 5
2009 9 6
2010 11 1
2011 5 2
2012 5 4
2013 10 6
2014 13 8
2015 6 4
Total 107 50

 

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1 #1YearSinceFireproof #InternationalLiteracyDay #InternationalLiteracyDay
2 Braxton Miller #21YearsOfDallas #1YearSinceFireproof
3 Ohio State #AnnoyMeIn5Words Rollins
4 #السعوديه_مالي… Eye of the Tiger #AskTroyeWILD
5 #OdioEternoAEsosQue Slim Jesus #charitytuesday
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7 UNIDOS PELO GURIZINHO #My5WordConfession Murray
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October 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Sam Smith’s James Bond theme makes UK chart history –
Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall has made history by becoming the first Bond theme to reach number one in the UK. The track achieved combined chart sales and streams of 70,000 copies – 13,000 ahead of its closest competitor, Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? The previous highest-charting Bond themes were Adele’s Skyfall and Duran Duran’s View To A Kill, which both reached number two. Smith said he was “so proud” of the song and being number one was “crazy”. He told BBC Radio 1: “Out of all the songs I’ve brought out in my life, I was not expecting this to even chart in the top 10, let alone number one. It’s unbelievable.” [BBC] See List of the Day
Sam-Smith-2014Sam Smith

Janet Jackson puts the breaks on her Unbreakable world tour –
Janet Jackson has postponed her upcoming concert in Las Vegas and this isn’t the first time the pop icon has hit a road block along the way on her Unbreakable World Tour. The 49-year-old singer and performer announced her comeback this past June but it has been a series of highs and lows for the pop icon since. She has planned to reschedule this stop for next May 2016 when the venue will move to a new arena that can accommodate 20,000 fans. [Daily Mail] Today also saw the release of her new album “Unbreakable”, the first studio album from Jackson in seven years. See Video of the Day
Janet_JacksonJanet Jackson

Switzerland ‘could house 50,000 refugees in Cold War bunkers’ –
Switzerland can accommodate up to 50,000 refugees in nuclear bunkers, the country’s defence minister has said. During the Cold War, Switzerland began a policy of building enough fallout shelters that the entire country could safely retreat underground if there was a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the West. Today, while theoretically still available in a doomsday scenario, many of the bunkers are put to other uses. One in the small town of Sevelen was run as a “zero-star hotel” for some years, while the city of Geneva has used its bunkers as homeless shelters. Mr Maurer said around one-third of Switzerland’s public bunkers were currently in a position to take in refugees, with space for 50,000. [Daily Telegraph]

American wingsuit flier Johnny Strange dies in Switzerland accident –
Johnny Strange, an American adventurer who was the youngest person to climb the world’s seven tallest summits, has died in a wing suit accident in the Alps, Swiss police confirmed on Friday. The 23-year-old, who crashed shortly after jumping from Mount Gitschen in central Switzerland, is the latest casualty in what is regarded as one of the world’s most deadly extreme sports. He died on impact with the ground, likely after losing control mid-jump, according to authorities in the Swiss canton of Uri. Mr Strange, from Malibu, California, became the youngest person to scale the tallest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents in 2009, when he was 17. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Janet Jackson – BURNITUP! Feat. Missy Elliott (Lyric Video)

List of the Day –

James Bond Movie title themes [Wikipedia]

Film Year Score composer Title song Composed by Performed by U.K. peak
position
U.S. peak
position
Dr. No
(soundtrack)
1962 Monty Norman James Bond Theme Monty Norman John Barry & Orchestra; Monty Norman
“Kingston Calypso” Byron Lee and the Dragonaires
From Russia with Love
(soundtrack)
1963 John Barry “Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme” John Barry, Lionel Bart, Monty Norman Matt Monro
Goldfinger
(soundtrack)
1964 Goldfinger Leslie Bricusse
Anthony Newley
John Barry
Shirley Bassey 21 8
Thunderball
(soundtrack)
1965 “Thunderball” John Barry
Don Black
Tom Jones 35 25
You Only Live Twice
(soundtrack)
1967 You Only Live Twice Leslie Bricusse
John Barry
Nancy Sinatra 11 44
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
(soundtrack)
1969 “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” John Barry
Hal David
The John Barry Orchestra
We Have All the Time in the World” – Secondary Theme Louis Armstrong
Diamonds Are Forever
(soundtrack)
1971 “Diamonds Are Forever” John Barry
Don Black
Shirley Bassey 38 57
Live and Let Die
(soundtrack)
1973 George Martin Live and Let Die Paul McCartney
Linda McCartney
Paul McCartney & Wings 7 2
The Man with the Golden Gun
(soundtrack)
1974 John Barry “The Man with the Golden Gun” John Barry
Don Black
Lulu
The Spy Who Loved Me
(soundtrack)
1977 Marvin Hamlisch Nobody Does It Better Marvin Hamlisch
Carole Bayer Sager
Carly Simon 7 2
Moonraker
(soundtrack)
1979 John Barry “Moonraker” John Barry
Hal David
Shirley Bassey
For Your Eyes Only
(soundtrack)
1981 Bill Conti For Your Eyes Only Bill Conti
Michael Leeson
Sheena Easton 8 4
Octopussy
(soundtrack)
1983 John Barry All Time High John Barry
Tim Rice
Stephen Short
Rita Coolidge 75 36
A View to a Kill
(soundtrack)
1985 A View to a Kill John Barry
Duran Duran
Duran Duran 2 1
The Living Daylights
(soundtrack)
1987 The Living Daylights John Barry
Pål Waaktaar
A-ha 5
Licence to Kill
(soundtrack)
1989 Michael Kamen “Licence to Kill” Narada Michael Walden
Jeffrey Cohen
Walter Afanasieff
Gladys Knight 6
GoldenEye
(soundtrack)
1995 Éric Serra GoldenEye Bono
The Edge
Tina Turner 10 102
Tomorrow Never Dies
(soundtrack)
1997 David Arnold Tomorrow Never Dies Sheryl Crow
Mitchell Froom
Sheryl Crow 12
The World Is Not Enough
(soundtrack)
1999 The World Is Not Enough David Arnold
Don Black
Garbage 11
Die Another Day
(soundtrack)
2002 Die Another Day Madonna
Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna 3 8
Casino Royale
(soundtrack)
2006 You Know My Name David Arnold
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell 7 79
Quantum of Solace
(soundtrack)
2008 Another Way to Die Jack White Jack White
Alicia Keys
9 81
Skyfall
(soundtrack)
2012 Thomas Newman Skyfall Adele
Paul Epworth
Adele 2 8
Spectre
(soundtrack)
2015 Writing’s on the Wall [[Sam Smith (singer)|Jade Thurbon]
Jimmy Napes
Sam Smith 1

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1 YAS BOOBOO #WorldSmileDay #FridayFeeling
2 Selamat Hari Batik Nasional Chris Mintz #WorldSmileDay
3 ハウル #stuffhappens Brian Friel
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5 #AlgoQueMeHaceFelizEs #Fridayreads Cassper
6 #YaEsOctubreY #4YearsOfAlwaysInMyHeart #Dust2Dust
7 #TheVoiceBrasil Will Smith Ballon D’Or
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