The News Of …

Ben Affleck’s Iran rescue thriller “Argo” has won best picture from the Academy Awards.
It’s the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989′s “Driving Miss Daisy.” But despite the omission of Affleck – or perhaps buoyed by it – “Argo” emerged as the Oscar favorite, winning top honors from the directors, producers, screen actors and writers guilds.
From the White House, first lady Michelle Obama joined Jack Nicholson to help present the final prize.
“There are eight great films that have every right, as much a right to be up here as we do” – Affleck said of the other best-picture nominees.
In share-the-wealth mode, Oscar voters spread Sunday’s honors among a range of films, with “Argo” winning three trophies but “Life of Pi” leading with four.

Oscars 2013.

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Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas have already discussed a marriage. As they prepare to attend her half-sister’s wedding.
Cressida seen canoodling with the 28-year-old Prince on a Swiss ski slope this week, will jet to South Africa to see Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe wed Sir Richard Branson’s businessman son Sam.
Harry, a pal of Sam, is due in Lesotho and at a gala dinner in Johannesburg next week before enjoying “undisclosed private time”.
That has fuelled speculation he will be a guest of honour at the wedding with his 24-year-old new beau.
A pal said – “Harry and Cressie are at the exciting stage of a relationship where they just want to spend as much time together as possible.
“He has ties to the Branson family, so everyone’s incredibly excited at the prospect of seeing them together in South Africa.”

Cressida Bonas.

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Since Kurt Cobain committed suicide on Apr. 5, 1994, Hollywood studios have released rock biopics based on the lives of Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Ian Curtis, Notorious B.I.G. and Bobby Darin – and yet not Cobain. Save for “Last Days,” Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film about a singer not unlike Cobain (played by former “Boardwalk Empire” star Michael Pitt), the Nirvana frontman has been kept off the big screen. With ’90s nostalgia in bloom, however, thanks to multiple boy band reunions and addictive reminders of the decade from websites like BuzzFeed, is the time right for Kurt Cobain: The Movie?
Kurt Cobain would have turned 46 on Feb. 20, 2012. He was 27 when he shot himself in his Seattle home. That means a Kurt Cobain movie could provide Hollywood’s budding leading men with the type of opportunity usually only reserved for superhero films and sci-fi blockbusters – The chance at playing the role of a lifetime.
In the past, actors like Ryan Gosling, Robert Pattinson, Ewan McGregor and Jared Leto have been mentioned as possible onscreen incarnations of Cobain; Courtney Love, the singer’s former girlfriend, who had a child with Cobain, reportedly wanted Gosling for the role. The charismatic star is now 32, however, and with no Kurt Cobain movie on the horizon in the near future, he’ll be aged out of consideration by the time the project actually moves forward.

Kurt Cobain.

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Her hump, her hump, her lovely lady lump: Fergie is pregnant with her first child.
A representative for the Black Eyed Peas singer confirmed the news Monday. Fergie’s actor husband Josh Duhamel tweeted about the news with joy, saying – “Fergie and Me and BABY makes three.”
The 37-year-old Fergie and 40-year-old Duhamel married in 2009. She joined the Black Eyed Peas when the group released its third album, “Elephunk,” in 2003. The foursome is known for its pop-inspired hip-hop tunes like “My Humps,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow.”
Fergie launched her solo debut (“The Duchess”) to much success in 2006. It featured five Top 5 hits, including “Fergalicious” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
Duhamel has appeared in the “Transformer” films and most recently in “Safe Haven.”

Fergie and Josh Duhamel.

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Jerry Buss, who bought the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 and turned them into the N.B.A.’s glamour team, winners of 10 league championships and the cornerstone of his Southern California sports empire, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 80.
His death was announced by the Lakers. He had been hospitalized with cancer for much of the last 18 months.
A child of the Depression, Mr. Buss obtained a doctorate in physical chemistry and later prospered in real estate ventures, enabling him to pursue his love of sports.
He paid 67,5 million dollars to buy the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke in a deal that included the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, the Forum sports arena in Los Angeles and Mr. Cooke’s California ranch.
In January, his Lakers were valued at $1 billion by Forbes magazine, second in the National Basketball Association to the Knicks’ 1,1 billion dollars valuation.

Jerry Buss.

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Many folks will pamper very unconventional valentines today: their pooches. And their felines. And even their feathered friends.
One in five Americans will show their non-human companions some love, spending a collective 815 million dollars on Valentine’s Day goodies for their pets, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation.
In another survey, the American Pet Products Association says pet owners have treated even fish, horses and “small animals” to Valentine’s Day gifts.
It may sound strange to some, but to loving pet owners, these animals are invaluable companions and it makes those owners “feel good” to coddle them, says Kristen Levine, a pet expert and founder of pet-focused marketing firm Fetching Communications.
The physical interaction that comes with taking care of a pet is even more special – and novel – in an increasingly digital world, she says.
“You communicate digitally with most people in your life through text, e-mail and Facebook” – she says. “But you can’t do that with your pet.”

Valentine's Day.

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Authorities say the death of a businessman featured on A&E’s “Storage Wars” has been declared a suicide.
The Ventura County medical examiner’s office determined Mark Balelo died after inhaling carbon monoxide and car exhaust fumes. His body was found Monday morning in a business warehouse in Simi Valley, Calif.
“Storage Wars” followed Balelo as one of a group of buyers who bid on abandoned storage units searching for lucrative items to sell.
Balelo (who immigrated to Southern California from Portugal) had been featured on the show and stated in an online autobiography that he opened an auction business in 2011.
A&E Television Networks declined to comment on Balelo’s death.
There was no answer at a phone number registered to his company (Balelo Inc.) on Tuesday afternoon.

Mark Balelo.

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With a star-stuffed evening heavy on performances – it’s hard to know where to start when compiling the hottest Grammy Awards moments.
Was it the surprise rainstorm during Fun.’s “Carry On”? Jack White showing up with both of his solo bands? Or watching Drake score his first Grammy after a dozen nominations and celebrate by dropping his “Started From the Bottom” video?
As far as awards go, it was a big night for Fun., who scooped up Best New Artist as well as Song of the Year for “We Are Young” – not to mention Mumford & Sons, who snagged Album of the Year for Babel and Gotye, who snagged Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Somebody That I Used to Know” and Best Alternative Music Album for “Making Mirrors”.
The Black Keys did pretty well, too, with wins for Best Rock Album for El Camino, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Lonely Boy” and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for guitarist Dan Auerbach, while Skrillex once again ran the EDM categories, with three wins.

Grammys 2013.

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The former LAPD police officer who has gone on a killing spree and vowed to bring “warfare” to the police department has received a torrent of support on Facebook.
Christopher Dorner is believed to have killed three people – a police officer and a couple – after going on a rampage around California.
Dorner (33) began his killing spree after writing a manifesto online vowing to attack on and off-duty police officers in Los Angeles.
He was fired from the police department in 2008 for making false statements, having alleged that his field training officer sergeant Teresa Evens had kicked Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic suspect with severe dementia.
Gettler’s father (Richard) gave a testimony supporting Dorner’s claim but the police officer was discharged anyway.

Christopher Dorner.

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Today, February 6, 2013, would have been Bob Marley’s 68th birthday.
The beloved Jamaican singer died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36, but his legacy lives on through his music. Marley is credited with helping spread both reggae sounds and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience throughout his 18 years in the business.
According to Urban Islandz – “Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers,” which was released three years after his death, is reggae’s biggest selling album to date, with more than 10 million copies sold in the United States and an estimated 25 million worldwide. And that’s no surprise.
Despite his absence, Marley has continued to garner success, being honored with such awards as BBC’s song of the millenium for “One Love” and getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Also in 1999, Time Magazine named Bob Marley & The Wailers’ “Exodus” as the greatest album of the 20th century.

Bob Marley.

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