Living Life, Loving It!

LONDON (Reuters) - Soul singer Amy Winehouse has developed the lung condition emphysema and has been warned by doctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, her father said in an interview on Sunday.

Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.

"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won’t just ruin her voice, it will kill her," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid — she wouldn’t have been able to breathe."

He added: "She’s got emphysema. It’s in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.

"With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She’s got 70 percent lung capacity."

He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicized drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.

"If she doesn’t go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life," he said. "We are praying that that’s what Amy really wants. She seems resolute."

He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.

There is no medical reason why she shouldn’t be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.

"If she hadn’t done recent shows in Moscow and Portugal she could have been dead by now," he said. "She abstains and regulates her drug use when she has to do a show."

Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in February and enjoyed commercial success with her album "Back to Black."

 

LONDON (AFP) - Maria Sharapova, who once wore diamond-encrusted shoes at Wimbledon, is keeping her style simple at this year’s championships - she’ll be wearing shorts.

“I’m going with the traditional shorts, believe it or not,” said Sharapova, the 2004 champion.

“I’ve never worn shorts at a Grand Slam. I’m gonna be debuting that. Call it menswear, obviously. It’s kind of like a tuxedo look, very simple lines, classic.”

Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, gets under way on Monday.

 

Got a copy of the soundtrack to the TV series House and I got to thinking of how other TV shows in the past affected the hit charts. I remember the opening lines of Johnny Yuma was a rebel, Henry Mancini’s theme from Peter Gun, Al Caiola playing Bonanza, the Ventures surfing with Hawaii 50 and even the unknown Vonda Shepard zooming to stardom because of her weekly closing songs on Ally McBeal.

So I next wondered how the current shows are doing as far as music is concerned. First off I checked out my favorites but I could not find any soundtrack CD to all three of the C.S.I. shows. That means C.S.I., C.S.I.: Miami and C.S.I.: New York. All three make clever use of music to set the tone of the series and even have hit-oriented theme songs but there are no soundtrack albums available. I did better with other award-winners Lost and Entourage.

House. The exasperating House is not your typical hospital doctor and the show is not like most TV dramas. The soundtrack is no different. It is every bit as quirky, as smart, and as hip as the series and its star Hugh Laurie. The award-winning actor is, in truth so closely intertwined with his character that it is a song performed by his real-life rock band, Band from TV that encapsulates the tone of the show for the CD. It sounds like an admonition for House, You Can’t Always Get What You Want and it is the closing track.

Now while there are several familiar names in the line-up, House is actually no hit-bound collection. It is too intelligent with songs that you feel should make the charts but are instead content to just bubble quietly under the magic circle. No matter. These are also the songs you can listen to over and over and make your own.

Teardrop, the House theme by Massive Attack, is the opener. Others included are Beautiful by Elvis Costello; Dear God by Sarah McLachlan; Feelin’ Alright by Joe Cocker; Waiting on an Angel by Ben Harper; Got to be More Careful by Joe Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen; God Please Let Me Go Back by Josh Rouse; and Are You Alright? by Lucinda Williams.

Lost. Although the show also uses popular songs as incidental music, the Lost soundtrack from the first season is nothing like House. It is instead made up of full-length versions of themes composed by Michael Giacchino and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra. This decision was probably reached because of the nearly epic feel of the series. There is just no way you can rely on a regular song to set the atmosphere when you have survivors from a downed jetliner trying to cope with their demons, others’ demons and life on a deserted island.

No need for listeners to worry though because Giacchino is good at what he does. His melodies and most importantly his arrangements can take you across an entire season of Lost anytime you want. Like those characters, you too can experience puzzlement, joy, or fear, (hear that heartbeat) that can send you running for your life. Opening cut is of course the now very popular Main Title composed by the series’ creator J.J. Abrams.

Entourage. In contrast to House and Lost, the credits in the soundtrack album from Entourage reads like a who’s who of Billboard’s Hot 100 list. And these tunes are actually what the series calls for. Entourage is about Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier, a young man who started out as a D-lister actor in the show but is now a hot movie star in Hollywood. Entourage refers to just that, Vincent’s entourage, his retinue, friends, hangers-on, assistants, etc., all those people who must be around to make life easy or bearable for the famous.

 

LOS ANGELES - A bigger, meaner "The Incredible Hulk" crushed the competition at North American weekend box office with a $54.5 million take, but still fell short of its predecessor, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
 
The action-oriented film revival starring the hulking green superhero is only the second self-financed production from Marvel Studios, which paid General Electric Co’s Universal Pictures a fee to market and distribute the film.

Marvel and Universal brought the first "Hulk" to theaters in 2003, but that more introspective version failed to follow through on its muscular $62 million debut after disappointing comic book fans. Its ticket sales fell quickly and the movie ended its run with $137 million at domestic box offices.

The new film stars Edward Norton as former scientist Bruce Banner, who morphs into the green beast when his attempts at anger management fail. Banner’s love interest is played by Liv Tyler. William Hurt and Tim Roth take turns as villains.

It has received moderately better reviews and advance buzz on fan Web sites. Its $15,500 average ticket sales per theater from slightly more than 3,500 theaters also beat competitors.

The weekend’s other new entry, M. Night Shyamalan’s "The Happening," landed in the No. 3 spot with a weekend take of $30.5 million and a per theater average of $10,200 from just under 3000 theaters. It was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp..

GOOD SHOW FOR SHYAMALAN

"Happening" turned in the third-largest opening for the director who wowed audiences with "The Sixth Sense" in 1999 but disappointed with his 2006 film "Lady in the Water."

DreamWorks Animation’s "Kung Fu Panda," last week’s No. 1, remained a top performer fighting its way to a second place finish with a weekend tally of $34.3 million.

Still, the opening for the new "Hulk" was widely watched because of the disappointing overall run for the 2003 version, as well as Marvel’s decision to spend up to $150 million to restart the franchise so soon afterward.

"It seems like ‘Hulk’ has smashed those questions to pieces," said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Entertainment division Marvel Studios.

Maisel added that "Hulk" was the second-strongest Father’s Day weekend opening behind $58.1 million for last year’s "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," also based on Marvel superheroes.

Paul Dergarabedian of Los Angeles-based box office tracker Media By Numbers, said the movie industry overall is on a roll with year-over-year sales up three straight weeks.

This weekend’s top 12 movies grossed $174.3 million, up nearly 25 percent from a year ago.

Columbia Pictures’ "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan," starring Adam Sandler, fell two spots to No. 4 with $16.4 million. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," distributed by Paramount, was No. 5 after collecting $13.5 million to boost its domestic total to $275.3 million.

Viacom Inc-owned Paramount also distributes DreamWorks productions. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.

 

the unending tale of Ji-hae and Soo-kyoung has really got me. fate brought their children together to continue feeling the love they once shared. it’s a must-see.

this movie is in the list of my 10 Most Romantic Movies

 

to those who have seen it, i guess you’ll have to agree with me that it is really good. ayt? 

this is a movie that never ceased to make me cry.

 

As with most things in life, people always force their own opinions to be different so they can feel good about themselves. Titanic is another example. This is a great movie. It’s not boring, and the storyline might be cliché but it’s still beautiful and really sad, and almost got me crying.

Apparently, people are only allowed to like the second part of this movie, when everyone is dying. And even though that part is in my opinion one of the best moments in the history of movies, the first part is also really good, a gorgeous tale about a romance that couldn’t be. It might not add up to the historical facts, but that doesn’t matter. If you want to see what really happened, then go watch some documentary about it on the Discovery channel. This is not a historical movie, and the director is allowed to let things happen differently than they really could have happened.

This movie is an 8 at least, and one of the best movies of all time. It has great acting, great effects, and is really enjoyable to watch. Unfortunately, people love to comment negatively about something good, because they are unable to think for themselves and have a need to be accepted in their ‘clique’. I love this movie, and am not afraid to admit it.

 

LOS ANGELES - Heath Ledger was known for giving aspiring Australian actors a hand in Hollywood. Now, an Australian film organization has established a scholarship fund in the late actor’s name to continue those efforts.

"There’s an entire tribe of Australians who have all benefited from his generosity," said Susie Dobson, president of Australians in Film, or AiF. "This (scholarship) captures Heath’s spirit and serves our mission to help and celebrate Australian filmmakers."

Ledger — who died at 28 of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January — had served as an ambassador for the film organization and its board wanted to honor him after his death, Dobson said.

Director Gregor Jordan announced the establishment of the Heath Ledger Scholarship Fund last week at AiF’s annual Breakthrough Awards, where he read a statement from Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger.

"Although reluctant to lend his name to anything commercial, we know Heath would be proud of his attachment to this scholarship," Kim Ledger’s statement said. "This scholarship in part does what Heath has done personally during the last 10 years and supported financially or in kind many friends, Australian actors, singers, directors or writers seeking to ply their talents in the USA."

Jordan also said that Michelle Williams, mother of Ledger’s daughter, "would be very proud and happy to be the first benefactor" of the scholarship fund.

The first recipient will be announced next year, Dobson said.

 

 NEW YORK - Academy Award-winning actress and "Dancing With the Stars" sensation Marlee Matlin is working on a memoir, scheduled to come out in 2009 and tentatively titled "I’ll Scream Later."

"But today, as a mom of four, I’m no longer Marcia. I’ve morphed into Alice, the Maid. Goodbye, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia."

Her previous books include a novel, "Deaf Child Crossing," and the young people’s stories "Leading Ladies" and "Nobody’s Perfect."

have you done some blogging lately? it is one of the most "in" thing to do in an internet cafe. you can write everything you want, anything and everything under the sun. the good thing about it now is that you can make money through it. if you register under bloggerwave, you are sure to earning your very own money.