Trans Studio Makassar World Theme Park

Makassar merupakan kota terbesar di Indonesia bagian timur dan gerbang menuju bagian timur Indonesia, akan menjadi lebih terkenal di dunia karena di Makassar telah membangun trans studio dan Disneyland.

Trans Studio Resort adalah kawasan wisata terpadu di Makassar, Indonesia. Trans Studio dibangun dari 12,7 hektare dengan investasi Rp 1 triliun lebih. Fasilitas yang dibangun di pusat perbelanjaan yang meliputi Trans Walk dan Rodeo Drive, kemudian Trans Studio, Trans Hotel, kantor Bank Mega. Gedung Trans Studio dibangun sekitar 22.000 m² dengan tinggi 20 meter yang merupakan taman hiburan terbesar di indoor dan taman hiburan indoor terbesar di dunia saat ini.

Trans Studio Theme Park Dunia untuk mengadopsi konsep Universal Studio di Amerika Serikat. Berisi ruang simulasi beberapa program stasiun televisi, Trans TV, atau peristiwa di Indonesia. Konsep tema taman di Studio Trans Dunia akan menyediakan pengalaman itu sendiri. Beberapa di antaranya adalah Tsunami dan gempa bumi, Magic Corner, Lost City, Terror Twister, Air Coaster, Magic Museum dan banyak lagi.
Selain taman, beberapa fasilitas lain yang dibangun hotel, supermarket, arena rekreasi pantai, fasilitas kantor, dan kafe. Beberapa proyek akan selesai pada tahun 2009 dan seluruh proyek selesai pada tahun 2010.

Lokasi proyek.
Trans World Studio yang terletak di Kawasan Wisata dan Global Business Tanjung Bunga, Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan. Hanya sekitar lima kilometer dari Pusat Kota Makassar.

Akses
Trans World Studio dapat diakses dengan angkutan kota, taksi, atau sarana transportasi umum

Investasi.
Investasi yang nilai proyek ini berasal dari 2 (dua) Perusahaan besar, its the Para Group milik dari 55% dan 45% milik Kalla Group.

Diambil dari: arya-pranata.com

Wisata Jatim Park Malang

Wisata paling dikunjungi di Kota Wisata Batu saat ini adalah Jawa Timur Park (Jatim Park). Maklum obyek wisata yang berada di lereng Gunung Panderman ini adalah yang termodern dan terbaik di Kota Wisata Batu. Wahana permainannya banyak dan pemandangannya juga indah. Selain itu hawa yang sejuk menjadikan tempat wisata yang berada di ketinggian 850 dpl itu sangat cocok untuk orang-orang yang datang dari daerah panas.

Konsep wisata yang menempati lahan 11 hektar itu memadukan secara serasi konsep pendidikan (education) dan konsep pariwisata (tourism) dalam satu ruang dan waktu. Obyek wisata terbesar di Batu ini mampu menjadi sarana penyebaran informasi tentang khazanah ilmu dan teknologi (iptek) yang dipresentasikan melalui hadirnya wahana seperti galeri belajar (seperti biologi, kimia, matematika, dan fisika). Di sana juga tersedia stadium galeri belajar yang mampu menampung 300 siswa.

Galeri belajar ini dilengkapi lembar panduan belajar siswa dan kelengkapan alat peraga ilmu terapan baik indoor maupun outdoor yang didukung oleh PLN, Telkom, Rimba Raya dan sejumlah universitas terkemuka negeri maupun swasta di Jawa Timur.

Untuk memperkaya khasanah kebudayaan bangsa, Jatim Park juga menyediakan galeri etnik nusantara dan anjungan Jawa Timur. Konsep galeri nusantara dan galeri Jawa Timur tersebut mirip dengan konsep Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) berskala kecil. Tidak hanya itu, di Jatim Park pula pengunjung bisa menyaksikan berbagai kekayaan flora dan fauna.

Dengan demikian, konsep wisata ini sangat cocok untuk wisata keluarga dan anak-anak sekolah. Mereka bisa belajar sepuasnya dengan sejumlah wahana pendidikan yang ada. Jatim Park juga sangat pas untuk anak-anak usia TK, karena di sana juga tersedia kolam renang yang luas dan jernih.


Bukan hanya itu, letaknya di ketinggian, panorama yang bisa disaksikan dari lokasi Jatim Park juga sangat menarik. Karena bisa memandang hamparan pemandangan indah Kota Wisata Batu dan Malang dari atas.

Pengunjung bisa sepuasnya menikmati segala permainan yang ada di dalamnya. Jika sudah lelah berjalan-jalan dan ingin menikmati makanan yang lezat pengunjung bisa makan sepuasnya di food court yang ada. Lokasinya yang luas dan bersih membikin pengunjung bisa nyaman beristirahat sambil makan-makan.

Diambil dari: wisatamalang.com

Menikmati Wisata Bahari Lamongan

Kini bila jalan - jalan ke pantai tanjung kodok Lamongan, nuansa hiburan dan rekreasi untuk keluarga telah hadir disana. Pantai tanjung kodok kini disulap menjadi primadona wisata bagi masyarakat Jatim, Wisata Bahari Lamongan ( disebut juga WBL ) merupakan tempat wisata bernuansa bahari yang berlokasi di jalan raya Paciran - Lamongan - Jawa Timur - Indonesia. WBL secara resmi dibuka pada tanggal 14 November 2004. Jika dari Surabaya bisa menggunakan kendaraan sendiri atau menggunakan jasa car rental Surabaya juga bisa.

Tanjung kodok kini memiliki trade mark baru yakni Wisata Bahari Lamongan dan dinamakan juga sebagai Jatim Park II ( Jatim Park I berada di Batu - Malang). Para pengunjung dimanja dengan aneka ragam wahana wisata, seperti rumah kucing rumah sakit hantu, go -kart, istana bawah laut, moto cross, galeri kapal & kerang, sarang bajak laut, goa insectarium, tagada, arena ketangkasan, planet kaca, space shuttle, permainan air, permainan bahari ( sepeda air, kano ), texas city, anjungan wali songo, kolam renang, dan wahana baru seperti arena pertunjukkan 3D.

Obyek wisata ini dikelola oleh PT Bumi Lamongan Sejati, sebuah perusahaan patungan Pemkab Lamongan dengan PT Bunga Wangsa Sejati.

WBL buka setiap hari pukul 08.30 hingga 17.00 wib. Harga tiket masuk dibagi dalam 2 kategori, terusan dengan harga Rp.40.000/orang dan biasa Rp. 25.000/orang.

Pengunjung tak perlu khawatir bila ingin menunaikan ibadah shalat, pihak manajemen WBL telah menyiapkan masjid di area parkir WBL dan musholla yang terletak di dalam WBL tepatnya di anjungan wali songo. Pasar hidangan juga telah disiapkan bagi pengunjung yang ingin makan siang.

Tunggu apalagi silahkan dating ke wisata bahari lamongan, Anda bisa menggunakan jasa car rental Surabaya maupun jenis kendaraan lain untuk menuju lokasi wisata.

Diambil dari: kamissore.com

Wisata Unggulan Ancol

Libur panjang lebaran biasanya dimanfaatkan warga untuk bersantai bersama keluarga. Caranya bisa dilakukan dengan mengunjungi objek wisata. Untuk ke lokasi bisa menggunakan kendaraan sendiri dan bisa juga mengendarai kendaraan dari jasa rental mobil/Jakarta rent car. Bagi mereka yang jauh dari laut, berwisata di kawasan pantai bisa jadi pilihan. Salah satunya di kawasan wisata Pantai Ancol, Jakarta Utara.

Di Pantai Ancol, pengunjung bisa bersantai sambil menikmati keindahan laut. Sementara anak-anak berenang, anggota keluarga lainnya duduk-duduk di tepi pantai seraya membuka kue lebaran atau menikmati nasi bungkus.

Selama ini Pantai Ancol memang masih menjadi tempat favorit untuk berlibur, terlebih pada saat lebaran seperti ini. Meski ongkos masuk dipatok Rp 13 ribu per kepala, pantai tetap dipenuhi pengunjung. Sisi jalan Pantai Ancol nyaris padat oleh kendaraan yang melintas dan parkir.

Pada Idul Fitri tahun ini, pengelola tempat wisata Ancol meraup limpahan rezeki. Hingga Senin (21/9), Taman Impian Jaya Ancol dikunjungi sekitar 128 ribu orang, belum termasuk pengunjung rombongan. Sedikitnya Rp 1 miliar lebih telah didapat pengelola dalam satu hari dari pendapatan tiket masuk.

Jadi jika Anda berminat, tunggu apalagi. Manfaatkan hari libur Anda ke Ancol. Bingung transportasi? Bisa menggunakan jasa Jakarta rent car.

Diambil dari: kiwod.com

Berwisata ke Danau Toba

Danau Toba merupakan danau terbesar di Asia Tenggara. Danau terbentuk akibat erupsi Gunung Toba yang termasuk ke dalam salah satu erupsi terbesar sepanjang sejarah dunia. Danau Toba yang terletak di Pulau Sumatra ini tak hanya menjadi tujuan wisata lokal namun juga mancanegara.

Apa yang menarikPulau kecil di tengah-tengah Danau Toba yang dikenal dengan sebutan Pulau Samosir menjadi tempat yang tepat menikmati keindahan serta suasana alam yang indah. Bahkan Anda dapat menginap di cottage bergaya Batak dan merasakan kehidupan selayaknya mereka orang-orang Batak. Rumah tradisional yang terbuat dari kayu tentunya akan melengkapi pengalaman berlibur Anda.

Cara ke sana? Menuju Medan Anda dapat menggunakan pesawat terbang, banyak maskapai penerbangan yang menawarkan tujuan ke kota Medan. Sementara dari Medan ke Danau Toba Anda dapat melakukan rental mobil/sewa mobil atau men-carter taksi atau bis. Harga rental mobil Medan juga bervariasi, jadi rencanakan perjalanan Anda dengan matang.

Diambil dari: kamissore.com

Ketika Label Yudas Si Pengkhianat Masuk Lapangan Hijau

Agaknya cerita mengenai pengkhianatan Yudas Iskariot terhadap Tuhan Yesus menjadi label ataupun sebutan paling menyakitkan ketika hal itu disamakan dengan kehidupan seseorang saat ini melalui perilaku yang dianggap berkhianat. Pada tahun ini dunia lapangan hijau lah yang sekali lagi menyerukan label pengkhianat terhadap pemain atau pelatih yang “menyeberang” ke klub lain ataupun yang dianggap rival.

Memang menjadi hal biasa terjadi pada dua klub raksasa Spanyol sekaligus musuh abadi Real Madrid dan Barcelona dimana terjadi saling perpindahan pemain, yang membuat pemain tersebut akan mendapat caci maki dan label penghianat. Ketika pada transfer januari lalu Fernando Torres memutuskan pindah ke Chelsea, para pendukung Liverpool pun sontak menyebutnya dengan Yudas si pengkhianat. Namun yang paling parah mengalami hal ini adalah pelatih baru Inter Milan Leonardo, yang notabene mantan punggawa dan pelatih Milan musim sebelumnya.

Leo harus rela dicap pengkhianat oleh pendukung Milan atau Milanisti pada pertandingan yang berakhir dengan kemenangan Milan 3-0 tanpa balas. Siulan, ejekan, serangan sinar laser dari pendukung Milan pun datang bertubi-tubi mengganggu konsentrasi pelatih asal Brasil ini. Bahkan, suporter garis keras Milan membentangkan spanduk besar dengan maksud menyindir Leo. Dalam spanduk tersebut tergambar The Last Supper, Perjamuan Terakhir karya Leonardo da Vinci dengan tulisan "Guida Interista (Yudas Inter)".

Menanggapi hal tersebut Leo pun hanya berkomentar. "Saya menghormati pendukung Milan. Saya mengetahui yang saya alami bersama mereka. Saya bangga dengan segalanya. Tidak ada analisis untuk hal itu. Aku melihat dan mendengar ucapan selamat datang yang mereka berikan. Namun, saya menghormati siapa pun," ucap Leo. Dua gol Alexandre Pato dan satu penalti Cassano sukses melipat Nerazzuri dalam Derby Della Madonina tahun ini, setelah pada pertemuan pertama Milan juga membungkam Inter melalui gol tunggal mantan pemainnya Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Pesan tersirat dalam kejadian ini adalah bahwa kita harus siap menerima segala resiko dan tanggungjawab atas setiap pilihan kita. Karena setiap keputusan yang dipilih dapat menyebabkan reaksi dari pribadi disekeliling kita. satu pertanyaan motivasionalnya adalah apakah label penghianat itu membuat kita terjatuh ataukah semakin termotivasi untuk menjadi pribadi yang lebih baik lagi? Anda sendiri yang dapat menjawabnya.

Diambil dari: jawaban.com

Gambar Foto yang Diduga Wajah Tuhan Yesus Ditemukan

Departemen Purbakala Yordania mengatakan bahwa sebuah gambar foto yang ditemukan di sebuah gua dekat Laut Galilea, Yerusalem diduga adalah gambar wajah Tuhan Yesus. Didalam imaji yang diproyeksikan telah berumur tua tersebut seorang pria terlihat memakai mahkota berduri. Mahkota yang terpasang pada kepala Tuhan Yesus ketika proses penyaliban terjadi.

Gambar foto tersebut terdapat didalam sebuah buklet yang merupakan bagian dari 70 buku yang ditemukan. Rata-rata ketebalan buku tersebut mulai 5 sampai 15 halaman. Foto itu sendiri ukurannya sedikit lebih kecil ketimbang kartu kredit. Jika dapat dibenarkan bahwa itu gambar Tuhan Yesus, alhasil itu merupakan foto Tuhan Yesus pertama yang ditemukan dalam 2.000 tahun.

Beberapa pihak dan kalangan pun segera angkat bicara atas penemuan ini. Para ahli sejarah meyakini foto itu dibuat oleh pengikut Yesus beberapa dekade setelah penyaliban. Hal itu diyakini karena salah satu bab tulisan di dalam buklet Yesus itu berjudul “Penyelamat Bangsa Israel” yang tertulia dalam bahasa Ibrani kuno.

Direktur Departemen Purbakala Yordania Ziad al-Saad pun meyakini bahwa buklet-buklet itu merupakan penemuan penting dalam sejarah arkeologi yang dibuat oleh para pengikut Tuhan Yesus tidak lama setelah ia disalib. “Mungkin ini penemuan paling penting dalam sejarah arkeologi,” katanya.

Diambil dari: jawaban.com

Kristen Vietnam Tidak Takut Dengan Penganiayaan

Pintu-pintu penjara Hoa Lo di Hanoi, Vietnam, tetap terbuka lebar sampai hari ini. Tahanan perang Amerika dengan sinis menjuluki tempat tersebut dengan sebutan “Hanoi Hilton”.

Mereka disiksa secara brutal, diinterogasi dan dipaksa untuk membuat pengakuan. Semua kenyataan ini diekspos keluar melalui video dan catatan sejarah yang ada di museum Vietnam. Bahkan sebagai negara yang memiliki sejarah panjang akan perang dan penderitaan, hanya sedikit yang dapat ditunjukkan di permukaan.

Rakyat Vietnam berada di bawah cengkeraman kuat akan sistem dari sebuah partai yang mengontrol setiap area kehidupan mereka – termasuk soal iman.

Di tengah kritik, pemerintah Vietnam telah melakukan upaya untuk menaikkan reputasinya di dunia dengan membiarkan gereja-gereja Kristen untuk terdaftar di pemerintahan. Namun ketika hal ini terjadi, orang percaya justru kehilangan kendali untuk berapa kali mereka harus beribadah, bahkan sampai ke pemilihan pemimpin gereja.

Akibatnya, banyak orang Kristen yang menjadi gereja bawah tanah, beribadah secara diam-diam di wilayah pegunungan Vietnam.

Mereka berasal dari berbagai suku – beberapa di antaranya buta huruf, beberapa merupakan mantan pecandu, dan beberapa lainnya mantan penyihir yang suka menyembuhkan orang sakit. Namun mereka semua ingin belajar lebih banyak mengenai Tuhan.

Apa yang mereka ceritakan juga termasuk pengalaman akan penganiayaan dalam beribadah. CBN News telah menyamarkan identitas untuk melindungi mereka.

Salah seorang pria bernama Kahn masih mengingat dengan jelas bagaimana polisi lokal menangkapnya lalu kemudian menggantung dirinya hanya dengan ibu jari yang terikat.

“Mereka membawa saya ke stasiun dan menyiksa saya. Mereka menggunakan sesuatu untuk mengikat ibu jari saya dan salah satu jari kaki saya dan menggantung saya di dinding selama tiga jam,” ujarnya.

Sampai 15 tahun yang lalu, kekristenan belum pernah terdengar di antara kaum sukunya Kahn. Saat ini, warga di wilayah kesukuan tempat Kahn tinggal membuat gereja Vietnam berkembang dengan sangat cepat.

Mengikut Kristus menimbulkan banyak kesulitan bagi Minh. Ia melakukan penyembahan berhala selama hidupnya, namun ketika ia jatuh sakit, ia tidak dapat menemukan bantuan.

“Pada bulan Maret tahun lalu, saya jatuh sakit dan tidak memiliki cukup uang untuk membeli korban bagi para dewa, jadi saya meminta salah satu orang Kristen untuk mendoakan saya dan Tuhan telah menyembuhkan saya,” jelasnya. “Sejak saat itu, orang-orang membenci saya karena saya tidak lagi memberikan persembahan bagi dewa-dewa. Saya coba untuk menjelaskan kepada mereka bahwa Tuhan adalah Tuhan yang penuh kasih dan Ia ingin menyelamatkan kita.”

Minh menghancurkan berhala yang dimilikinya sehingga menimbulkan kemarahan banyak orang di komunitasnya. Ia juga dipukuli oleh polisi secara brutal, tetapi ia tidak melawan. Sebaliknya, Minh malah memperlengkapi dirinya untuk mengajar dan memberitakan keselamatan dan kasih yang telah ia temukan.

Orang Kristen di Vietnam tahu bahwa mengalami penganiayaan karena mengikut Yesus bukanlah hal baru. Peter ditahan berulangkali karena memberitakan Injil, namun ia tidak berhenti.

“Pemerintah berkata mereka menjunjung kebebasan beragama, namun sebenarnya terjadi banyak penganiayaan di antara orang Kristen dan suku-suku lainnya,” ujarnya. “Tapi saya selalu memiliki kebebasan, karena tidak masalah apakah pemerintah mengizinkannya atau tidak. Saya akan melakukan apa yang telah menjadi panggilan untuk saya lakukan.”

CBN News bertanya kepada Peter kenapa mereka begitu dianiaya sedangkan gereja lain di dunia tidak mengalami hal itu.

“Saya pikir salah satu alasan mereka tidak dianiaya adalah karena gereja tidak mengutus orang untuk menginjili. Alasan kami dianaya adalah karena kami aktif mengutus orang untuk memberitakan Injil,” jawabnya.

Todd Nettleton mengatakan penganiayaan agama menjadi topik yang umum dari kisah-kisah yang ada di dokumen Voice of the Martyrs.

“Saat kami membicarakan mengenai penganiayaan kepada mereka, mereka cukup terkejut kenapa kami menanyakan hal itu kepada mereka, karena untuk mereka penganiayaan adalah suatu hal yang normal. Itulah arti sebenarnya dari mengikut Kristus,” jelasnya. Beberapa dari mereka mengeluarkan pernyataan, “Kristus sendiri telah menderita jadi jika kami mengikuti-Nya, maka kami akan menderita juga.”

Apa yang akan terjadi pada gereja di Vietnam belumlah pasti. Sebagaimana pemerintah terus menghadapi tekanan dari luar, kebebasan mungkin akan datang.

Namun orang Vietnam tidak menahan nafas mereka. Mereka berbicara tidak hanya untuk hak-hak mereka, tapi juga untuk iman yang mereka anut – dan Tuhan yang mereka kasihi bahkan jika harus membayarnya dengan hidup mereka sendiri.

Diambil dari: jawaban.com

Peringatan Paskah di Gedung Putih dengan Kontes Telur

Michelle Obama bersama keluarga kepresidenan Amerika Serikat mengumumkan bahwa tema untuk Paskah nanti, akan digelar permainan telur Paskah. Easter Egg Roll memang permainan yang biasanya dilakukan saat Hari Raya Paskah. Selain itu, Gedung Putih akan menyertakan kampanye untuk mempromosikan kesehatan yang merupakan bagian dari kampanye antiobesitas, Let’s Move.

Adapun tema dari Paskah kali ini adalah ‘Get Up and Go!’ yang akan berlangsung pada tanggal 25 April 2011. Event tersebut akan diramaikan dengan musik live, olahraga, masak-masak, membacakan cerita dan banyak lagi. Semua kegiatan akan mendorong anak-anak untuk hidup sehat dan aktif. Pada hari itu, Gedung Putih akan terbuka untuk anak berumur 12 tahun ke bawah di Lawn Selatan beserta keluarga mereka.

Michael Obama akan memilih pemenangnya, yang kemudian akan ikut bergabung dalam program White House 2011 Easter Egg Roll. Pemenangnya akan diundang untuk menghadiri acara yang diadakan Gedung Putih. Jika ingin mengikuti acara ini, bisa mulai mendaftar tanggal 4 April 2011 pukul 11.59 waktu setempat.

Selama acara Paskah ini, tentu banyak gereja yang mengadakannya. Apalagi memasuki bulan April ini, sepertinya setiap gereja dan anggotanya mempersiapkan diri masing-masing untuk memperingati kematian Tuhan Yesus, yang kita percayai akan bangkit tiga hari kemudian.

Diambil dari: jawaban.com

Kunjungi dan Rasakan Kemeriahan Paskah di Praha

Setiap negara mempunyai acara / kegiatan masing-masing dalam memperingati kematian Tuhan Yesus di bulan April ini. Contohnya seperti yang terdapat di Republik Ceko ini. April sudah datang dan itulah yang membuat perbedaan besar di Praha, Republik Ceko. Penduduk di sana tidak membuang-buang waktu untuk menyambut musim semi dengan berbagai hiasan pita pastel, ada pasangan muda-mudi yang berseliweran, dan puluhan telur Paskah yang dilukis tangan. Peringatan kematian Tuhan Yesus ini sangat terasa di sini.

Kota itu dihiasi dengan bilik-bilik dengan atap berwarna merah yang mengisi alun-alun akan menjajakan pernak-pernik seperti kaca Ceko, perhiasan, produk jerami buatan tangan, mainan kayu, lilin, dan sebagainya. Pengunjung juga mendapat kesempatan melukis telur Paskah dan tongkat willow di salah satu dari berbagai lokakarya yang muncul sepanjang bulan.

Entah dari mana asalnya, namun ada juga tradisi kuno laki-laki yang mencambuk perempuan, walaupun hanya sebagai permainan saja, dengan tongkat hias willow dan berbagai kegiatan berkenaan dengan tradisi lainnya. Ada juga berbagai permainan yang menyenangkan. Kegiatan-kegiatan itu berlangsung di pasar terbuka setiap hari mulai pukul 09.00 – 20.00 waktu setempat hingga 1 Mei mendatang.

Meskipun setiap lingkungan di sana mempunyai kegiatan masing-masing, namun kegiatan yang terbesar adalah yang terdapat di pasar Old Town Square. Pasar ini terletak di bawah Gereja Tyn yang berasal dari abad ke-14, Easter Village (Desa Paskah) terbesar di kota ini. Hal ini membuat kota tersebut nampak seperti lukisan hidup dan inilah kesemarakan, keceriaan, dan membuat keindahan di kota yang dibelah oleh Sungai Vitava ini.

Diambil dari: jawaban.com

The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to Mary Magdalene. The title of the novel refers to, among other things, the fact that the murder victim is found in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a pentacle drawn on his chest in his own blood.

The novel is part of the exploration of alternative religious history, whose central plot point that the Merovingian kings of France were descendants from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation and books by Margaret Starbird. Chapter 60 of the book also references 'another book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail though Dan Brown has stated that this was not used as research material.

The book has provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity. The book has been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church. It has also been criticized for its historical and scientific inaccuracies. The novel nonetheless became a worldwide bestseller that sold 80 million copies as of 2009 and has been translated into 44 languages. This makes it, as of 2010, the best selling English language novel of the 21st century and the 2nd biggest selling novel of the 21st century in any language. Combining the detective, thriller, and conspiracy fiction genres, it is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon, the first being his 2000 novel Angels & Demons. In November 2004, Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, a film adaptation was released by Sony's Columbia Pictures.

The book has been translated into over 40 languages, and adapted into a 2006 film of the same name.

Diambil dari: wikipedia.com

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during the Second World War. It is the second best selling novel ever written with over 150 million copies sold.

Although known to most readers as a trilogy, the work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, with the other being The Silmarillion. However, when Tolkien submitted the first volume entitled The Lord of the Rings to his publisher, it was decided for economic reasons to publish the work as three separate volumes, each consisting of two books, over the course of a year in 1954–55, creating the now familiar Lord of the Rings trilogy. The three volumes were entitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Structurally, the volumes are divided internally into six books, two per volume; with several appendices of background material, much abbreviated from Tolkien's originals, included at the end of the third volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages, becoming one of the most popular and influential works in the field of 20th-century fantasy literature and the subject of several films.

The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who had in an earlier age created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a Hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across north-west Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, notably the Hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the Hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: Aragorn, a Human Ranger, Boromir, a Human soldier, Gimli, a Dwarf warrior, Legolas, an Elven prince, and Gandalf, a Wizard.

Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917, in a process he described as mythopoeia. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I. The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy; the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" has been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works, and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, and subsequent literature. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film.

Diambil dari: wikipedia.com

The Land of Painted Caves

Details
Series: Earth's Children
Author: Jean M. Auel
Language: English
Pages: 757
Publisher: Crown Pub


Size
Weight: 2.3 Pounds
Length: 9.5 Inches
Width: 6.5 Inches
Height: 2.3 Inches

Publisher Notes
The highly anticipated sixth book of Jean Auel's Earth's Children® series, THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES, is the culmination fans have been waiting for. Continuing the story of Ayla and Jondalar, Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived more than 25,000 years ago. THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES is an exquisite achievement by one of the world's most beloved authors.

Diambil dari: allbookstores.com

Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

Details
Author: Todd Burpo
Contributions by: Lynn Vincent
Language: English
Pages: 163
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc


Size
Weight: 0.5 Pounds
Length: 8 Inches
Width: 5 Inches
Height: 0.8 Inches

Publisher Notes

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

Diambil dari: allbookstores.com

Dealova

Latar belakang novel ini diawali dengan seorang cewek tomboy yang jago maen basket. Rambutnya nggak cepak seperti kebenyakan cewek tomboy. Tampangnya manis. Terus, anaknya nyantai banget. Tapi kalo udah marah, waaah.. bisa gawat. Beruntung deh jadi cewek seperti Karra (namanya). Selain punya kakak cowok yang sangat sayang banget sama dia-namanya Iraz-teman-teman Iraz juga care sama Karra! Terutama Ibel, cowok jago maen gitar yang seneng warna biru. Bahkan waktu harus kuliah ke luar negeri, Iraz malah menitipkan Karra pada Ibel.Selama ini Karra menganggap Ibel sebagai kakak, jadi dia cuek aja waktu Ibel menunjukkan perhatian. Karra malah ditaksir Dira, anak baru di sekolah yang juga jago maen basket. Tampang Dira yang sok cool tapi sengak bikin Karra sebel banget sama cowok itu. Tapi katanya batas antara cinta dan benci kan tipis banget.Sekilas jalan cerita serta latar belakang cewek tomboy yang bernama Karra dengan penjelasan latarnya juga cukup jelas sehingga dapat membayangkannya.Kemampuan pengarang memaparkan latar dengan sangat baik merupakan keunggulan novel ini. Latar yang dibawakan dalam novel ini sangatlah deskrptif, membuat para pembaca ikut terhanyut membayangkan bila si pembaca ada di samping tokoh yang memerankan.Penokohannya sangat jelas antara protagonis dan antagonis sangat jelas sehingga pembaca tidak pelu berpikir siapa yang jahat dan yang baik. Tokoh Stanie merupakan tokoh jahat yang selalu iri dan sombong yang membuat dia banyak musuh di sekolahnya. Tokoh Protagonist dibawakan oleh Karra dan temen-temannya yang baik.Sudut pandang di dalam novel ini mendukung keseluruhan cerita. Semuanya menggunakan sudut pandang ke-3.Novel ini memuat amanat yang sangat baik bagi kehidupan sekarang. Amanat yang jelas terlihat adalah kita harus tabah menghadapi segala cobaan dan kita harus mengambil hikmahnya.Pembawaan konflik dinovel ini dapat terlihat saat Karra pacaran dengan Dira tidak berjalan lama, Dira meninggal karena penyakit yang dideritanya. Karra terpukul saat Dira meninggalkan dirinya untuk selama-lamanya. Ibel menemani Karra saat dia menangis mengingat kejadian itu. Tetapi kesedihan itu tidak belangsung lama karena Ibel menghidupkan kembali perasaan cinta Karra dan merekapun akhirnya pacaran dengan kegembiraan yang membuat Karra kembali ceria.Jika anda mambaca novel ini, mungkin anda tidak bisa berhenti di tengahnya, karena novel ini mampu membuat pembacanya terus tertarik serta terhanyut hingga akhir cerita.

Diambil dari: shvoong.com

Meaghan Waller wins Canada’s Next Top Model

After starting Canada’s Next Top Model as the not-Heather blonde with braces, Winnipeg’s Meaghan Waller came into her own during a round of New York go-sees and made it quickly to the top. The very top. We chat with the Cycle 3 winner about her favourite moments and future plans.

What have you been up to since filming ended?
“I’ve actually gone back to my life, gone back to my friends, gone back to work. I’m trying to play it low key because going out is pretty hard.”

You must get recognized a lot. What’s the reaction been?
“Almost all of it has been very, very positive. Everyone in Winnipeg has been so supportive.”

Have you been able to tell anyone yet?
“Nope. My parents are having a big party tonight at their house.”

Have you been watching the show?
“I think it’s really awkward to see myself on TV. I don’t watch it unless my parents force me to come over. They always have my friends over every Tuesday. I’d go over and give them some behind the scenes.”
Was there as much drama as there seemed to be?
“We sat there for the whole month and half thinking, “I don’t know what they’re going to put on TV? It’s going to be such boring cycle–we all get along really well.” When you put 11 girls into a house obviously there’s going to be some drama, but there wasn’t as much as we thought.”

What inspired you to audition?
“I was picked up by a local agency while working in my retail job and they sent my pictures into the show and I got a call and went down to Toronto to audition.”

Did you have a favourite challenge?
“I loved the Bahamas shoot–the castaway bride–as well as the avant-garde beauty shoot. I just thought the whole creative for it was absolutely amazing.”

How long did you have to sit in makeup for that one?
“Too long. Hair alone took two hours maybe, putting the whole snow shoe metal coat hanger thing in my hair.”

Were there big surprises for you on the show?
“Every day was a surprise. We started off trying to guess what each day had in store for us, but we were always so off the charts, we decided, this is an experience, everything’s going be new and exciting, just take it as it comes.”

Did you ever get used to standing there in front of Jeanne Beker and the rest of the judges?
“I went in there shaking like a leaf and I came out of there shaking like a leaf every single judging day.”

Was it like a slumber party getting ready, or were there a lot nerves?
“It was usually like a slumber party–we’d share clothes, swap accessories, do each other’s hair and makeup.”

When you started on the show, did you think you could win it?
“I never got too far ahead of myself. I had to tell myself, this is an amazing experience, take it as it comes, day by day, because when you expect something that’s when it doesn’t happen. When you just try your hardest, that’s when good things come to you.”

Was there a moment, though, that was a turning point? Where you thought you could win it?
“I think the LG shoot was a huge boost in confidence. I was always a step behind Heather and when I finally was recognized for being Meaghan and not the other blonde, it was a huge turning point. But never once did I say to myself, okay you’ve got this in the bag, because that’s just not how I was raised.”

I want to talk about New York–you went down there, turned it on and came into your own. How did you do that?
“I was so nervous for that. It was a big scare for me but I knew that I couldn’t let my nerves get the best of me and to do what I had to do and give it my best. I’m glad it worked out in the end. I think some of the other girls let their nerves get the best of them. When you do that, everything’s a downwards spiral.”

Do you have any idea where you want to take your career?
“I’d love to go overseas and work on runways in Paris and Milan, as well as work with designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Hermès, shoot with people like Steven Meisel. Take it as it comes, take every opportunity that is thrown my way.”

What do you think the reaction’s going to be in Winnipeg tonight?
“I wish I could be there to see it. I think my mom will probably cry. My dad and me are really similar. He’s the one who would tell me, don’t get too far ahead of yourself, so he’s not expecting anything. I think when everything does happen, he’ll be very excited.”

Diambil dari: fashionmagazine.com

‘Suju’ Choi Siwon, attends AIDS fund donation ceremony “I want to be active and participate in it!”

‘MAC Viva Glam AIDS fund donation ceremony’ adalah sebuah acara dimana MAC, merek make-up terkenal, akan mendonasikan uangnya dari penjualan Viva Glam lipsticks dan lipgloss, kepada UNICEF.

Di hari tersebut, anggota dari ‘Culture, Media, Entertainment Christian youth meet [MunMiEn]” dimana terdiri dari orang-orang yang berbagi harapan mereka dan selalu aktif melakukan kontribusi-kontribusi kepada masyarakat, ini termasuk anggota Super Junior Choi Siwon yan datang karena dia menjadi salah satu bagian dari UNICEF ’envoy’.



Grup populer se-Asia, Super Junior Choi Siwon datang ke acara ” MAC Viva Glam AIDS fund donation ceremony” yang diadakan oleh UNICEF.
Choi Siwon bilang, “Kami dengan anggota dari MunMiEn , biasanya membantu dan paling tidak sedikitnya memberikan harapan dan cinta kepadaorang-orang tertinggal dan ditinggalkan, dan juga bagaimana kami sangat tertarik dengan kegiatan publik seperti ini.”. “Melihat senior Ahn Sung Gi yang bekerja dengan UNICEF untuk waktu yang laman, membuat diriku juga ingin bekerja untuk UNICEF. Dia sudah banyak berpartisipasi di acara penggalangan dana MAC AIDS untuk UNICEF dimana itu adalah awal untuk memulai semuanya, dan jika aku akan mencoba untuk lebih aktif untuk ke depannya seperti untuk acara amal dan sosialisasi lainnya.”


Lebih dari 3 ribu juta won yang sudah diterima oleh UNICEF saat ini, dan sudah diberikan dari MAC melalui penjualan Viva Glam lipstick dan lip gloss. Donasi ini akan digunakan di Korea tapi juga akan diguankan di Afrika Selatan dan Cambodia untuk para pasien yang terkena AIDS dan keluarganya. Hal ini akan meningkatkan kesadaran mereka. Sampai sekarang, MAC sudah menjual Viva Glam lipstick dan lipgloss dan membantu menolong oran-orang dengan penyakit AIDS dalam 16 tahun ini. Untuk perkiraannya, mereka sudah mendonasikan sebesar 180 ribu juta won untuk para pasien AIDS di seluruh dunia untuk pengobatan mereka.

Diambil dari: dateforsuju.com

'Twilight' Stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart Turn Up The Heat To Prepare For Love Story

PORTLAND, Oregon — As this story goes live, Twilighters, you have 234 days, 15 hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds until the movie hits theaters. You've watched the new behind-the-scenes video, read about the set visit and even voted on Stephenie Meyer vs. J.K. Rowling.

But the main question remains: Do "Twilight" stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have the chemistry to pull off Edward and Bella's timeless romance?

After reading this article and watching the attached videos, you may very well have your answer. Below, the two stars speak exclusively to MTV News about running through treetops like spider monkeys, planning out their kissing scenes and bonding over Brando.

(Head over to the MTV Movies Blog for exciting news about Edward's lullaby for Bella, which Pattinson might compose himself.)

MTV: So last night, we saw you guys shooting a romantic scene that had Edward and Bella sitting in a meadow. Was that the same famous moment Stephenie Meyer dreamed five years ago?

Robert Pattinson: No, no, that wasn't it. That was the precursor to that scene. The big scene where she dreamed [the "Twilight" premise] is the one where I'm in a meadow, and I'm demonstrating my vampire powers to try to scare her off. But that's not for a while. That's the big key scene in the book. I think that's the last scene we're shooting.

MTV: So, what was going on in the meadow last night?

Pattinson: That was one of the scenes that's supposed to be me and Bella getting to know each other. It's when we're essentially dating, after she finds out I'm a vampire. I'm trying to figure out how far I can let this relationship go and how much I can tell her. There are a few times when it's safe for us to be around each other, where we're just seeing what the other person's like, like a normal relationship.

MTV: Edward and Bella are an iconic love story for a whole generation. How do two actors meet, and then begin building a chemistry that the whole film will depend on? Any favorite movies, authors, books that helped you bond?

Kristen Stewart: Yeah, "Last Tango in Paris."

Pattinson: That's kind of what we're basing the entire [Edward and Bella] relationship on, in a lot of ways.

MTV: So you guys get together and watch NC-17 Marlon Brando movies?

Stewart: Just that one. And what else did you give me? "Doomed Love."

Pattinson: Yeah, I gave her a book of Virgil.

Stewart: "Doomed Love" by Virgil. It was good.

Pattinson: [Laughs.] We don't really get on at all.

MTV: What's something each of you have noticed about the other's acting style that really impresses you?

Pattinson: Kristen's the best actress of our generation, and that's why I wanted to do this movie. I don't know why she is. She's just better than everybody else.

Stewart: I think he's really handsome. He can't lie. He's, like, incapable of lying.

Pattinson: What she means is acting. [Laughs.]

Stewart: Nope. That's so not what I mean.

Pattinson: [Teasing] "He doesn't really understand the concept of, like, reading somebody else's words out and pretending to be somebody else." [Laughs.] I've always found that about myself.

MTV: Some "Twilight" fans get angry if you compare the franchise to "Harry Potter," while others see the similarities. How do you guys feel?

Stewart: I think they're both big moneymakers. That's the only similarity. Two big ole machines, pumping out movies.

MTV: They both empower teenagers who'd dream of having superpowers.

Stewart: Well, they're both fantasies, but they're different ones. And they're about kids, so kids are going to be drawn to them.

MTV: And they're both somewhat tied to the real world.

Pattinson: It's an essential growing up-story. It's about gaining confidence as a human being.

Stewart: Which is what every story is about.

Pattinson: [The difference is that each are] using different metaphors for things. The strange thing about this is it's so deeply entwined with sexuality, much more so than "Harry Potter," as virtually all vampire things are — mainly because it's a love story. "Harry Potter" isn't really a love story, so a lot of the metaphorical stuff [in "Twilight"] is about teen lust. It's a very erotic movie.

MTV: Along those lines, I wanted to ask you ...

Stewart: Do vampires have sex?

MTV: Um, you can answer that one too. Do they?

Stewart: Oh no, what was your question?

MTV: Well, people want to know, Kristen: What's it like kissing Rob?

Pattinson: Whenever we kiss, I just try to kill her all the time.

Stewart: And I love that. [Bella] is a total sadomasochist, if you think about it.

MTV: So are all the kisses these intense, violent things, like something out of a Michael Douglas sex thriller?

Pattinson: No. It starts off very kiddie, very tame. It's supposed to be very sweet.

Stewart: They're testing each other's limits.

Pattinson: Then it turns into, like, hell. [Laughs.] Like all kisses do.

Stewart: What are you talking about?

MTV: When you plan out a kiss, do you say, "I'm gonna come in with my head tilted right, you stay left," so that you guys don't bang noses or something?

Pattinson: Kristen doesn't have any idea what she's doing at all. [Laughs.] So it's always going to be difficult no matter what the direction is. It was kind of difficult. All the kissing scenes are the key relationship scenes as well. They're not just kissing scenes.

Stewart: They can't just make out. They can't just kiss each other like normal people.

Pattinson: The whole thing about both of them is that they think they should be able to, but there's always the elephant in the room. I always want to kill her, like all the time.

MTV: Do you guys carry the book around the set, or just the script?

Pattinson: For the key dialogue scenes, it's always handy to have the script. We're just playing the core element of the story, I think.

Stewart: It's a semi-long book. It needed to be condensed.

Pattinson: A lot of the feel of the scenes is different to the book, I think, in a way.

Stewart: But overall, it's the same intention.

MTV: The filmmakers have expressed their desire to make "Twilight" into a film series. What is the one scene from "New Moon" or "Eclipse" you most want to shoot someday?

Stewart: The second book opens pretty cool. It opens with a birthday party, and I cut my finger, and the whole Cullen family goes into a frenzy. And then it's like, "OK, we need to figure out how to make this work, because this isn't." I think that's going to be a cool visual.

Pattinson: I want to do the killing myself scene in Italy. That'll be fun. I think that'll be quite exciting.

MTV: Stephenie has come to the set several times. What questions did you have for her?

Stewart: Me and Stephenie got along pretty well. She's a warm person. But I didn't speak to her about my character or the books. I asked her how she got to write them and what other kinds of books she likes and stuff like that, but I didn't talk about the story.

Pattinson: The main thing I asked her is why Edward has accepted Carlisle as he has. He sometimes treats him as his father and sometimes as a sort of partner. I was just wondering why this 108-year-old guy would pretend to be a 17-year-old boy to someone who knows that he's not 17. And she said that Edward has judged Carlisle to be a good enough person to deserve him acting like his son — which I thought was very interesting. It's a very, very strange thing to do, if you have absolutely no relation to someone, and [to keep up the charade], just because they've stolen your soul against your will. Edward has found it within himself to forgive him to such an extent. ... There aren't many scenes that show that, but I thought it was an interesting dynamic.

MTV: Kristen, people are always saying you're an old soul. I interviewed Jodie Foster recently, and she was saying you're wise beyond your 18 years. Are you looking forward to the day you're no longer the youngest person on a set?

Stewart: I feel like age is completely relative and irrelevant. I'll be fine being the oldest person. People's connections don't always have anything to do with how old they are, how long they've been here on this earth. So I don't mind.

MTV: We had a big controversy break out back in January, when you told me up at Sundance that you were running over treetops. So settle this once and for all: Are Bella and Edward running on top of trees or through them?

Stewart: Through treetops, but then ultimately on top of them. We go through the trees. He pushes me out his window, and he scurries up to the top of the trees, and we're sort of jumping on branches. And at the end of the scene, it becomes overwhelmingly beautiful when we go up on top, so we can actually see the sky and the sun, and he sparkles — so both.

Diambil dari: mtv.com

Tyra Banks

Everyone knows Tyra as supermodel, as host and producer of America's Next Top Model and her own talk show, and as whip-smart business mogul. She is all those things. But I also know her as a close friend. When I started as an "Angel" for Victoria's Secret, Tyra was already an established pro there. During lunch, I'd grill her about the business: whom she would recommend as an accountant, an attorney, a business manager. Not everyone was, let's say, superfriendly, but Tyra was always nice. She shared her experience and knowledge with me. In this industry there are a lot of people who don't want to help each other, but I guess Tyra was and is secure because she was always willing to share what she had learned—and, trust me, I asked a lot of questions.

That open, warm side of her was more apparent as we became friends and spent a lot of time together at shoots. Tyra and I could always be goofy together and remind each other that, hey, this is fashion, not life or death. On the flip side, when situations got too crazy, we could always turn to each other for a reality check.

I'm not surprised that Tyra, 32, has achieved such phenomenal success. She's one of the most hardworking people I know—I've seen her go straight from a late night of press to an early-morning shoot with no complaints. Even more important, she is passionate about her projects and compassionate toward the people involved in them. Her appeal is obvious to anyone who knows her, whether personally or professionally or just from her shows. She is dynamic, positive and real, and we are only at the beginning of her special brand of global domination.

Diambil dari: time.com

Gossip Boy Chace Crawford Goes Shirtless

As one of the leading male stars on the set of Gossip Girl, Chace takes on the part of Nate Archibald and as expected, perfectly portrays the character's complex role in the elite Manhattan Upper East Side. His charisma and strong presence on screen is irrefutable and fans all over the globe are raving about his every appearance in each episode. Shirtless of fully clothed, for fans, Chace Crawford is still worth the chase.

The 23-year-actor is not entirely new to exposing his body on screen. Having been a model himself, Chace has been experienced in taking his shirt off for shoots and being plunged into hunkdom also entails for him to go bare-chested most of the time. This is especially true for his role in the very racy and risqué show such as Gossip Girl. Among all the male actors in the show, he is almost always the one that zooms in on being shirtless 80% of the time. He is definitely one of the reasons why the teen-oriented show is such a hit among female viewers, teenagers and young professionals alike.

Knowing this, GG production has considered Chace Crawford as a valuable asset to raise the ratings of the show. On a more rhetoric note, his smooth chest, rippled abs and shapely biceps are the show's trump card to allure a higher ranking among female viewership. There was even an episode wherein Chace already refused to take his shirt off for a scene. In an interview, he said that he just didn't see the point of him going bare-chested when the scene doesn't require one.

His looks and rocking body got him into a lot of endorsement deals with fashion labels. In fact, Chace and the rest of the GG cast are already involved in a number of fashion ad campaigns with some of the biggest brands in the world. Recently, there have been rumors of a possible collaboration between him and a famous male fashion brand that once featured big Hollywood hunks such as Edward Furlong, Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Dempsey. However, the said fashion label hasn't confirmed or denied anything about the possible endorsement deal for the actor.

Chace Crawford has already proven himself as one of the hottest young actors of this generation. His stint in GG is a powerful factor that launched his Hollywood career into the stratosphere. However, his acting talents and appealing looks also gave away one and a many reasons to skyrocket his status. Along with this comes his booming popularity. From covers of high-end magazines to posters on the internet, the face of this handsome model/actor/teen idol is everywhere. He's seen frequenting publicized Hollywood red carpet events and gatherings. To top it all off, he has also been dating some of the most beautiful and famous female actresses like Michelle Trachtenberg and singer Carrie Underwood.

Chace Crawford shirtless is a dream, and coupled with the right roles and his seamless acting skills, he becomes a budding Hollywood superstar.

A Computer Engineering student and loves to travel. Reading current news in the internet is one of his past times. Taking pictures of the things around him fully satisfies him. He loves to play badminton and his favorite pets are cats.

Diambil dari:ezinearticles.com

'Twilight': Inside the First Stephenie Meyer Movie

On a March day in Oregon, the sun's as bright as a California morning. That's great news for the locals, but it sucks if you're a vampire. For two weeks, Twilight, the $37 million film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel, has been shooting outside Portland — a location chosen, in part, because the skies are often overcast. Vampires, in Meyer's universe, can go out during the day but have to stay out of direct sunlight. Hence, today's problem. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown) has had to scrap an exterior shoot, and, because tomorrow's weather looks annoyingly cheery too, she's been forced to rush into an intense romantic scene between her two young stars. ''We were building a bedroom in 24 hours,'' Hardwicke says later. ''We were just sweating it.''

Fans have been sweating it too. Not since Harry Potter has a book-to-film journey inspired so much enthusiasm — or so much anxiety. The movie will follow the novel closely: Pretty but awkward 17-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest and falls in love with Edward (Robert Pattinson), a heartbreakingly beautiful vampire. Edward also falls for Bella, but his desire for her barely controls his instinct to devour her. It's this combination of passion and danger, of course, that surrounds this teen romance with a halo of epic, doomed love. The girls who have gone crazy for the book have been vivisecting the film's development online. Two girls from the Make-A-Wish Foundation even requested roles as extras. ''You can't make this up,'' Hardwicke says. With a fan base like that, all of Hollywood should have been jousting for the film rights. In fact, the movie almost didn't happen.

In April 2004, Paramount's MTV Films optioned Twilight, but then developed a script that bore little resemblance to it. (It featured night-vision goggles and transformed Bella into a hip track star.) ''They could have put that movie out, called it something else, and no one would have known it was Twilight,'' Meyer says. Fortunately for devout fans of the book, Paramount put the project into turnaround. Then, in 2006, Erik Feig, president of production at Summit Entertainment, tried to make a deal with Meyer. The author had been burned before and resisted. Feig drew up a contract, guaranteeing the writer that the film would be true to her vision, including a promise that ''no vampire character will be depicted with canine or incisor teeth longer or more pronounced than may be found in human beings.'' That did the trick.

Twilight, which will hit theaters on Dec. 12, is no garlic-and-fangs monster tale. It's more Buffy than Nosferatu. Hardwicke, who made her directorial debut with the raw indie hit Thirteen, seemed an ideal match for the material. ''When I read the book, I could almost feel Bella breathing,'' Hardwicke says. She hammered out a script with screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up) in six weeks, then faced the daunting task of casting. The wrong choice would throw Twilighters into a tizzy. Hardwicke also wanted to cast an actual teenager to play Bella, which meant finding a teen who could convey Bella's emotional depth and carry an entire film.

Diambil dari:ew.com

Sex and the City 2

Because the first "Sex and the City" movie turned out to be a boxoffice bonanza two years ago, there are a lot of women panting for the sequel, already planning their wardrobe for a girls' night out.

So even if "Sex and the City 2" consisted of nothing but a two-and-a-half hour fashion show, it would draw crowds. But it also has the returning cast members in fine comic form, and it has more cutting-edge humor than the first movie. Critics will carp about the platitudes in the script and about the longueurs in the nearly 2 1/2-hour opus, but for the core audience, there will be no complaints about too much of a good thing. This picture is going to be a smash.

Some of us who enjoyed the outrageous antics showcased in the HBO series created by Darren Star and executed in later years by Michael Patrick King (the writer-director of both films) found the first movie disappointingly bland. Instead of the bracing emphasis on sex, the focus shifted to less scintillating folderol about marriage. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was jilted at the altar by her true love, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), but snared him in the end. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) also faced a crisis in her marriage but ended up in a clinch with hubby Steve (David Eigenberg). The new movie begins two years later at a wedding -- a gay wedding (in Connecticut). But though the two grooms are pledging their devotion, the gals are learning that marital bliss is more elusive than the first movie implied.

Carrie and Big find themselves at odds over an issue that bedevils many couples: She loves to go out on the town, and he turns out to be a closet TV addict who wants to do nothing more than curl up on the couch watching old movies. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has achieved her dream life with two children, but the tots turn out to be maddening rather than adorable. Only Samantha (the consistently irresistible Kim Cattrall) remains defiantly single, waging her own personal war against menopause.

These wan domestic squabbles are merely prelude to the movie's major plot development. Samantha is approached by an Arab sheik to devise a PR campaign for his business enterprises, and he offers to fly her and her three gal pals on an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation to Abu Dhabi. (These scenes were filmed in Morocco.) Even in an escapist fantasy, the spectacle of women sinking into this billionaire's paradise at a time of widespread economic hardship initially seems creepy and off-putting. Soon, however, their Arab sojourn takes unexpected turns. First of all, Carrie encounters her old flame, Aidan (John Corbett), at the spice market, but even more importantly, she and her friends run up against the puritanical and misogynistic culture of the Middle East. The rather scathing portrayal of Muslim society no doubt will stir controversy, especially in a frothy summer entertainment, but there's something bracing about the film's saucy political incorrectness. Or is it politically correct? "SATC 2" is at once proudly feminist and blatantly anti-Muslim, which means that it might confound liberal viewers.

Indicative of the film's contradictory stance is a scene in which the ladies perform a karaoke version of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" in an Abu Dhabi nightclub. An equally outrageous moment comes when the interlopers are rescued by a bunch of Muslim women who strip off their black robes to reveal the stylish Western outfits they are concealing beneath their discreet garb. These endearingly loopy scenes exhibit the tasteless humor that enlivened the TV series on its best nights.

King's script isn't always well-balanced. Carrie's minor marital problems are given way too much attention, whereas the intriguing dilemmas of Miranda and Charlotte are downplayed. Nixon and Davis do, however, share one marvelous scene in which they vent their dissatisfactions with motherhood. It also is a pleasure to see Cattrall flaunt her sexual imperatives in front of her Arab hosts. Noth and Corbett are so appealing that we can sympathize with Carrie's romantic confusion. Liza Minnelli, Miley Cyrus and Penelope Cruz show up for amusing cameos.

Technical credits are first-rate. Cinematographer John Thomas and production designer Jeremy Conway make the most of the exotic locations. Costume designer Patricia Field's outlandish creations will send many viewers to hog heaven. But it's hard to know what King and editor Michael Berenbaum were smoking when they let the film drag on at least 40 minutes too long. Even with its excesses, Carrie and company's excellent Arabian adventure will leave viewers thinking and arguing as well as swooning over the digs and the rags.

Opens: Thursday, May 27 (Warner Bros.)

Production: New Line, HBO, Village Roadshow Pictures
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, John Corbett, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Willie Garson, Mario Cantone
Director-screenwriter: Michael Patrick King
Producers: Sarah Jessica Parker, Darren Star, John Melfi, Michael Patrick King
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Marcus Viscidi
Director of photography: John Thomas
Production designer: Jeremy Conway
Music: Aaron Zigman
Costume designer: Patricia Field
Editor: Michael Berenbaum
Rated R, 146 minutes

Diambil dari: hollywoodreporter.com

Black Swan

I used to think it’d be impossible to watch a movie about madness and that it’d be portrayed so well that I would nearly lose my own mind during the course of the film. That’s the beauty of Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN; the slow burn nature of the film lets the psychological breakdown of the main character sneak its way naturally into the brain until it begins to bend and twist reality until you can’t tell the difference and before you know it the credits are rolling. That’s exactly what happened to me and it took me quite some time to gather myself and leave the theater. Aronofsky’s vision of a ballet dancer’s fragile mind is exceedingly brilliant and incredibly haunting.

BLACK SWAN is the story of Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a quiet ballet dancer obsessed with perfection that is thrust into the lead role of her company’s production of Swan Lake. Her director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel) is confident in her ability to play the white swan because of her shy reclusive personality, but wants to push her into discovering her more seductive and sexy side to portray the role of the black swan. The pressure of the role starts to take its toll even when she tries to befriend her rival Lily (Mila Kunis); until she becomes convinced she wants to take the role from her. Nina’s mental health deteriorates rapidly and threatens to destroy her and everything she’s worked for.

Aronofsky has put together a mentally exhausting psychological nightmare that really tested my own ability to decipher what was real and what wasn’t and I couldn’t have been happier to take the stroll down that path. Through the first half of the film I was a little worried that the payoff in the last acts of the film wouldn’t justify the relatively slow pace at the beginning only to have those doubts be totally shattered. Aronofsky has carried over the look and feel from THE WRESTLER with the handheld camera work that follows the action very closely and has a very grainy looking picture.

We get to know Portman’s character very intimately so there’s very little mystery to her arc as a character, but what we learn about the other characters like Thomas and Lily is just enough to make assumptions but their intentions are always in question and mysterious because we too have to question their motives from the point of view of Nina’s mind. Her descent into madness is perfectly done due to Portman’s terrific performance; her portrayal of a dancer striving for perfection has made her movements on the dance floor so stiff and mechanical that her struggle to ‘let go’ feels strained and maddening. The script isn’t ground breaking but Portman, Kunis and Cassel take the relatively simple script and breath an incredible amount of life into the film. Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey both have limited roles but perform each of them admirably.

It’d be easy to talk for hours about all the subtle visuals used throughout the film designed to make you question your own mind and rather or not you actually saw something happen. So much of the film is masterfully crafted to make you experience Nina’s mental deterioration right along with her and it works astoundingly well. The music is beautiful and gives the film a very grand operatic feel and other times where it’s very sexy and tense but always rounding out the film perfectly.

I have very few problems with the film aside from not feeling like I fully connected with Nina’s emotional journey. There were times I felt for her character but just not as deeply as I’d of liked, but I did connect fully with her mental struggle which makes it possible to overlook the minor flaws I had with the beginning pacing and my emotional disconnect. Towards the end there were some minor CGI hiccups; all of them very brief but still effective in the way they were used.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think BLACK SWAN stood at the top of 2010′s elite group of films. The truth is that Aronofsky has put together a beautiful piece of cinema that is engaging, powerful and chilling. You’d be hard pressed to find a film that combines so many elements of drama, horror with the beauty of classical cinema wrapped in a psychological thriller. BLACK SWAN is a maddening journey through an exhausting psychological nightmare and it’s never been so delightful to endure.

Diambil dari: moviesonline.ca

Narnia's The Dawn Treader a Fun Family Adventure on the High Seas

Review in a Hurry: One of the best Narnia books arrives onscreen more significantly altered than its predecessors, and unfortunately, panders a little too much to its perceived audience. It's still a fun family adventure, but it could have (and should have) been better.

The Bigger Picture: C.S. Lewis' Narnia books are widely thought to be overt Christian allegories, which they are up to a point: Aslan the lion is Jesus, and The Last Battle is an overly preachy reworking of the Book of Revelation. But it's dismissive to think that that's all he and his books were; he drew heavily from many other mythologies as well (the Roman god Bacchus shows up at one point, and not as a dig at paganism either).

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as a book was far more patterned on Homer's Odyssey than on anything in the Bible, with returning Pevensie siblings Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)—and their annoying cousin Eustace (Will Poulter)—joining King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) on a sea journey through magical lands to find seven lost lords.

In the wake of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings becoming successful cinematic franchises by staying reasonably faithful to the text, one would have hoped for a similar outcome here. But after Prince Caspian disappointed (no surprise—the original book is the most disappointing read in the series), it seems Hollywood was granted a license to tinker anew.

So now we have a new villain in the story—a green mist that represents sin and temptation, demanding sacrifices and reanimating images of the White Witch just so Tilda Swinton can class up the joint with another cameo. And we have a new quest that involves collecting seven swords, linking together the disparate islands into a common cause. The best new addition involves some business with a wonderfully disgusting sea serpent, which may be contrived but still looks damn cool.

Yet in creating this coherent narrative, the screenwriters have made the movie into more of a caricature. Subtexts about sin and salvation have become blatant texts, which may please a faith-based audience but turn off the more casual fantasy fan.

There is nonetheless much to recommend the movie. Henley and Keynes are charming as ever, and Poulter's turn as Eustace injects a welcome note of comedic cynicism into the sea of sentimentality. Simon Pegg ably succeeds Eddie Izzard as mouse warrior Reepicheep, Bille Brown's sorcerer Coriakin has a fun performance and a sequence in which Lucy inadvertently wishes her life away is brilliantly disorienting and nightmarish.

If box-office returns are sufficient for The Silver Chair to be made, let's have more of that kind of thing. Less Acts of the Apostles, more Orpheus.

The 180—a Second Opinion: The post-conversion 3-D may be substantially better than Clash of the Titans or The Last Airbender, but it's still irrelevant.

Diambil dari: eonline.com

Rapunzel

The story begins with a couple who desperately wanted a child. When the wife finally became pregnant she spied just over the wall behind their home the most succulent rampion (an herb). She pined for it day and night to the point where she made herself sick. As all good husbands do when tending to their pregnant wives and their strange cravings he scaled the wall and tried to steal the rampion.

The property that he was trespassing on was that of a hermit witch, she of course caught the husband in the act. He pleaded for his life so hard that the witch gave him an ultimatum; either leave now with out the rampion or take it to his wife but when his child was born she would be taken from them and put into the custody of the witch. The husband more worried about his wife’s well being chose to take the rampion. When the child was born the witch appeared in the room and confiscated the child, placing her in a tower with no way in except for one lone window at the very top.


The actual story of Rapunzel told in full is not necessarily a story that would comfort a child before sleep, let alone pass the censorship rules for children’s stories.
The child was named Rapunzel and she grew very beautiful. Her hair was something that would make any woman jealous, it was long and the color of spun gold. Everyday the witch came to visit Rapunzel. She would come to the tower and call up “Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!” Rapunzel would do what as the witch requested. As luck would have it a prince was riding his horse through the forest and heard what had occurred and watched as the witch climbed up the mane of hair to a beautiful girl who resided at the top of the tower. After the witch had left the prince decided to try and climb up to see this beautiful girl.

After climbing up the two began to talk, building a friendship. The prince came to see her everyday after the witch had left. Rapunzel grew closer to the prince, eventually loosing her virginity to him. The witch knew nothing of these rendezvous until one day during her visit with Rapunzel she was asked very innocently “Why don’t my cloths fit me anymore?” it was then that the witch realized what Rapunzel had been doing so she cut off all of Rapunzel’s hair and sent her to a different tower in the dessert far from any civilization.


The prince not knowing the danger that was laid before him went to the tower to see his beloved but found the witch there waiting for him. After a struggle the prince fell out of the tower into a bed of thorns that gouged out his eyes so that he could no longer see. He wondered the forest for years blind.

In the meantime Rapunzel lived in the desert, her hair grew back and she gave birth to a set of twins. The prince eventually made his way out of the forest and into the desert. While there he heard Rapunzel singing and went towards the voice. When he found her she fell on him weeping tears of grief, these tears healed his eyes and allowed him to see again. He rescued his family and brought them back to his castle to live happily ever after.

Diambil dari: suite101.com

Justin Bieber on His Musical Inspirations, His Fans, and Trying to Be a Regular Kid

New York, N.Y.— “I’m crazy, I’m nuts,” Justin Bieber tells Vanity Fair contributing editor Lisa Robinson. “Just the way my brain works. I’m not normal. I think differently—my mind is always racing. I’m just … nuts. But I think the best [musicians] probably are.” Robinson reports that Bieber considers the “best” to be the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Tupac. “Music is music, and I’m definitely influenced by Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men and people who were black artists—that’s what I like. But I like their voices and I like how they entertain—it’s not about what color they are.”

“Michael [Jackson] was able to reach audiences from young to old; he never limited himself,” Bieber says of the King of Pop, of whom he has a sticker on his bedroom mirror in his tour bus. “He was so broad, everybody loved him, and that’s what my goal is—to basically make people happy, to inspire them, and to have everyone root for me.”

“It’s hard to really balance myself. A regular kid, if he catches the flu, he just gets to go home,” Bieber says of the challenges of trying to be a regular teenager. “But I can’t do that…. Everything is important. But, you know, my sanity is important, too. Even if I’m angry, I’ll just put a smile on my face and fake it. I don’t often fake it—what’s me is me….I know I have to give up a lot of myself, or a lot of a private life.”

Robinson talks to one person who has the most access to Bieber’s “private life” these days, his bodyguard Kenny Hamilton. “I feel like I’ve become an expert at covert operations,” says Hamilton about “friends” (girls) who sneak in to visit Justin on the mandatory one to three days off a week that he gets to just “be a kid.”

Robinson reports that Bieber says he wants to go to the moon, to outer space, but only when it’s 100 percent safe—or maybe just 90 percent—and that he hated school, is tutored on the road, doesn’t read much, but has the best-seller Rich Dad Poor Dad on his tour bus because Will Smith told him to read it. Robinson also reports that he sometimes suffers from insomnia, “I just turn over all night and think. My mind races,” he says. “I think about all the things I didn’t have time to think about during the day—like family and God and things that should be more important but you don’t have time to think about, because you just get caught up [in everything else] during the day.”

Such as the legions of screaming girls. Bieber tells Robinson that he knows girls scream for him because he’s Justin Bieber, but he thinks they might also scream for him because he’s cute. “Not trying to be arrogant, but if I walked down the street and a girl saw me, she might take a look back because maybe I’m good-looking, right?”


Bieber admits to Robinson that he’s O.K. with having a predominantly female fan base. “For younger guys, it’s like [they think] they’re not cool if they come to my concert. That’ll [change], I think; it’ll happen, maybe when I’m 18. But meanwhile all their girlfriends are coming to watch me.” Bieber is also aware that despite his success not everyone will be his biggest fan. “Of course, I think that people are just waiting for that time when I make a mistake and they’re gonna jump on it….There’s gonna be haters,” Bieber tells Robinson. “I know I’m not going to make a life-changing bad decision, as some people have. I’ve seen it happen too many times. I could be my own worst enemy, but I don’t want to mess this up.”

Robinson talks to Bieber’s mom, Pattie Mallette, about her son’s start as an Internet sensation. “I put up a little video on YouTube [under the name “kidrauhl”] for Grandma and some relatives to see, and the next thing we knew, all these strangers were clicking onto it, probably because they recognized the song.” Then, Mallette recalls, “it was ‘Oh look, honey, you have a hundred views.’ Then ‘Oh wow, a thousand views.’… Next thing we knew, thousands and thousands of views. But it never once occurred to me that there would be a music career out of this.”


Mallette also tells Robinson that, after a personal encounter with God, she believes that she and Justin have been put on earth to bring light and inspiration to the world. But Mallette is wary of show business and its potential consequences: “We don’t have yes-men around him. I don’t want him being a diva.”

Robinson also speaks with Bieber’s close friend and mentor, A-list musician Usher. “You could immediately tell that this [was] a kid who has style—he’s a hip kid,” Usher says of Bieber, who he says is like his “little brother.” “It was the antithesis of Disney and Nickelodeon.” A supporter from the beginning, Usher brought Bieber to Island/Def Jam executive L. A. Reid. “I knew what L.A. was gonna do—the same thing he did to me. Let’s bring in employees and we want to see how he reacts to women.”

“I see myself just growing. I didn’t know that any of this was really possible,” Bieber tells Robinson of his future. “I grew up in a really small town with not a lot of money, and I liked singing, but it was just something that was a hobby. As I get into it more, I want to grow as an artist, as an entertainer, and basically perfect my craft. I want to be the best that I can be.”

He’s not the only one who didn’t see his fame coming. When asked if he ever envisioned this level of fame for his grandson, Bieber’s grandfather Bruce Dale responds, “No. Never. He was supposed to be a hockey player.”

The February issue of Vanity Fair is available on newsstands in New York and L.A. on Thursday, January 6, and nationally and on the iPad on Tuesday, January 11.

Diambil dari: vanityfair.com