Star Wars: The Force Awakens - fans wait will be over

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' is ready for release - it is due to be shown publicly for the first time in Los Angeles on Monday and will premiers in London on 16 December. Hectic preparations are in their closing stages for the premiere of one of the most-awaited sequels in cinema history. The film is the seventh in the series and the first which, apart from his role in creating some characters, does not involve George Lucas.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 14 December 2015.

The film's stars, including the original 1977 cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, are expected to join director and co-writer J J Abrams on the red carpet at one of the three cinemas showing it. There are a new generation of actors also in the cast - many of them British. They are Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Andy Serkis.
The precise venue of the premieres in the USA are being kept under wraps until the last minute, but they are expected to take place at LA's TCL Chinese Theatre, the Dolby Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre.
In order to keep up the suspense, dozens of workers are busy erecting a mammoth opaque tent lining four blocks of Hollywood Boulevard. Incidentally, the TCL Chinese Theatre, one of the cinemas on the Boulevard, had hosted the premiere of the first Star Wars movie in 1977.
Needless to say, fans have been camping outside for several days to ensure they do not miss out on getting the best seat in the theatre when the movie goes on general release on Friday.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Moody and the mystery of Didi in Delhi (satire)

Kartika wants to become a Bollywood hero (satire)

Momo and sushi gear up to dislodge jilebi and pedhas (satire)


Be careful of six things that can reduce your lifespan

Monkey business in Uttarakhand - Uttar Pradesh dumping its monkeys in Uttarakhand

Japan to give India her first Bullet Train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad


Quentin Tarantino wants to do 'Kill Bill 3'

Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila to perform in Kolkata to mark Vijay Diwas

Shah Rukh Khan to address alumni of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore


Two men of Syrian origin caught in Geneva with explosives

President Obama cautions Americans on new type of terror threat

USS Zumwalt, largest destroyer ever built, sets out for sea trials

'Conjuring 2' is about London in the 1970s and ghostly actvities

Some photos have been released from the set of “The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist” and it shows the recreation of London during 1970s. Official details of the story have not yet been revealed, but the film’s title indicated that the upcoming movie would include some ghostly activities in a council house in Enfield, England, in the late ’70s.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 26 November 2015.

Director James Wann has gone to the social media to share several photos from the movie’s set, one of which captures original stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in a London set. Everything appears to be hush-hush and the first picture, which features the director, Wilson and Farmiga, also provides a first look at co-star Simon McBurney.
The four of them are standing outside the Marylebone Station.
Other photos are of how James Wann recreated the set to make it look like ’70s London.
The production had started in Los Angeles this fall, but the shooting has now moved to London. Others in the cast are Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe and Abhi Sinha and this sequel to 2013’s “The Conjuring” is due to arrive in the US on June 10, 2016.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

The 'Pat & Jolie' instant noodles worry Lord Shiva (satire)

Make in India (satire)

Pat & Jolie and their biscuit making (satire)


Murder of Uzbek belly dancers in Hapur

Maggi instant noodles - 3.3-crore packets vanish within 10 days

Indians hate holidays - India is 4th most holiday-starved nation


Music venues in UK beef up their security in view of Paris terror attacks

Academy Award winner Kate Winslet and The Dressmaker

Sir Terry Wogan drops out of presenting Children In Need citing health reasons


The terror attacks in Paris bring Obama and Putin into a huddle

France joins Russia in joint airstrikes against ISIS in Raqqa

Suicide bombings by Boko Haram kill 49 in Nigeria

London theme park on the Thames to get £100m funding from China

London could soon boast of a theme park on the banks of the Thanes by 2021 - plans for this £3.2bn resort built by Paramount near London have moved a step closer to reality following the pledge by a Chinese company to invest £100m.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 20 October 2015.

The project would be on the Thames in north Kent and will consist of a theme park, restaurants, event space and hotels. The investment would be done by SinoFortone, a real estate company – the investment of an initial amount of £100m would be in the London Paramount Entertainment Resort (London Paramount).
It is understood that London Paramount will have rides and attractions for families and will also showcase Paramount films and productions by its partners the BBC and Aardman which makes Shaun The Sheep.
The project is likely to create 27,000 jobs and attract over 15 million visitors a year.
Interestingly, it is the first major leisure scheme to be designated a "Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project" by the Government.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting links -

Fossils and eggshells of baby dinosaurs found in Gobi Desert

Parama Island flyover adds to traffic jams in Kolkata – made one-way

Future of street foods in Delhi bleak - Delhi bans cooking on roads


Arnold Schwarzenegger could play in Rajinikanth-starrer 'Enthiran 2'

Emma Roberts and her horror-comedy series "Scream Queens"

India is one of 81 countries vying for Best Foreign Film in the 88th Academy Awards


Despite US airstrikes, ISIS still makes £300-million a year from oil

Syrian gang caught trying to smuggle 20-tonnes of cannabis worth £150million into Europe

US airdrops 50-tons of ammunition for M-16s and AK-47 to Syrian fighters


Durga Puja in Kolkata housing complexes

Durga Puja and cultural programs

The pandal hoppers of Kolkata

Eric Underwood, a soloist at Royal Ballet in London, wants more children to get involved

Eric Underwood a soloist at the Royal Ballet in London wants ballet to attract more children from less affluent backgrounds take up the dance. In his opinion, the ballet world was too elitist and needed to be more mainstream and accessible.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 1 October 2015.

He has revealed that he was the only black dancer when he was training in America and he wants to inspire more children to get involved. It was a sort of culture shock to find that he was the only black dancer.
However, Royal Ballet director Kevin O'Hare feels that one can come to the Royal Opera House to see a show for as little as £5. And, at the Royal Ballet school, if one has the talent, he can join the school irrespective of the background he came from.
He has added that one of the greatest programs is 'Chance to Dance' where they go into schools and explain what it is like to be a ballet dancer.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Worsening quality of air forces shutdown of Singapore schools

Giant laddoo weighing 11,111Kg offered to Goddess Ambaji at Ambaji temple

Israeli armed Heron drones to be inducted into the Indian arsenal


Bay City Rollers, the Scottish band, to hold a reunion gig in Glasgow

Richa Chadha opens her mind – says, she wants to do ‘candy-floss’ roles

Chris Brown, the American singer, may be denied entry into Australia


Gunmen abduct foreigners from a Philippine island resort, an American and a Japanese jump to safety

Huge rat-size spiders invade Cheshire – residents in panic

Ukraine imposes sanctions on Moscow - bans Aeroflot and Transaero flights into the country


36-days for Durga Puja and the dhakis get ready

Durga Puja is the busiest time of the year for Kumortuli

Bengalis and the hawkers’ corners in Kolkata

‘The Martian’ starring Matt Damon premieres in London

Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain joined up with British director Ridley Scott at the premiere of their new film The Martian in London. The event in Leicester Square was also due to be attended by Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 24 September 2015.

The story of ‘The Martian’ is about an astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, who during a manned mission to Mars is presumed dead and left behind by his crew following a fierce storm. But Watney survives and discovers that he is stranded on the Red Planet. Therefore, making of all resources he can muster, he has to work out a way to survive – and, simultaneously, signal to Earth that he is alive.
The film is based on the best-selling science fiction novel by American author Andy Weir.
Ridley Scott is director of acclaimed films including Blade Runner and Gladiator and, earlier in the week, he had confirmed he plans to eventually link up his two films Alien and Prometheus.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

City of Jinan to eliminate all dogs even if they are registered pets and vaccinated

Two foreign tourists killed as Kalka-Shimla toy train derails

Molesters flee bleeding from the clutches of a karate girl in Barasat, West Bengal


Ringo Starr, Beatles drummer, bemoans the decline in the music industry

Lindsay Lohan fails to keep her date with Toronto Film Festival

Kangana Ranaut in Paris for ‘Queen’ hates actors endorsing fairness creams


This is the age of drone warfare - pick and eliminate the jihadists from miles away

RAF readies to strike ISIS in Syria to check flow of refugees into Europe

Russia’s game plan not clear – it sends Pantsir-S missile system to Syria


Bengalis are a politically conscious lot

Rasgulla, the juice-dripping sweet that Bengalis swear by

Bengalis are daydreamers tied to mothers’ apron strings

Benedict Cumberbatch in jeans, hoodie and T-shirt in Shakespeare's Hamlet

#BenedictCumberbatch #HamletBarbican #london Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the star of Sherlock, is on stage playing in the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet and has pleaded with his fans outside the Barbican theatre in London not to film his stage performance.
The production does not follow tradition - Cumberbatch is seen sporting jeans, hoodies and T-shirts in some scenes. And, the famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy is performed at the very beginning of the play rather than in act three.
Tickets are available on the day of the performance, but 100,000 advance tickets had been sold out in minutes when they were released in August last year. Some of the tickets are currently being offered for up to £650 on secondary-ticketing sites.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 9 August 2015.

The 39-year-old actor has told his assembled fans that they were free to take his pictures outside of the auditorium but, not while he was on stage because capturing videos on mobile phones would distract the actor when the mobile phone rings while the performance is on.
Incidentally, in 2013, James McAvoy had scolded an audience member whom he caught filming his performance of Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios. And, last year, during a performance of Clarence Darrow, Kevin Spacey was distracted by a ringing phone at London's Old Vic theatre.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Take care of the heart – a few dos and don’ts

Chinese research finds that spicy food is the secret to a long life

Swatchh Bharat campaign takes a beating in Delhi itself


Dame Julie Andrews to direct new ‘My Fair Lady’ in Sydney for 60th birthday of Opera Australia

There is a fight scene between Captain America and Spiderman in ‘Civil War’

Shah Rukh Khan’s fond wish - to see Ethan Hunt and James Bond in one movie


Parts of lost plane MH370 of Malaysia Airline washes up on Reunion Island

Niloy Neel, fourth blogger of Bangladesh, hacked to death in Dhaka

Suicide bombers attack Kabul –kill dozens of innocents


A street food named jhal muri

A tribute to Kishore Kumar, the legend, on his 86th birthday

The world of fuchka, golgappa and panipuri

Rapper Snoop Dogg in trouble at Lamezia Terme airport in Italy

Snoop Dogg, the 43-year-old American rapper, ran into trouble with the Italian police when they prevented him from boarding a plane with over $420,000 in undeclared cash. He was stopped at Lamezia Terme airport and the police have seized half the money and opened an investigation.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 2 August 2015.

As per information, the "Drop it like it`s hot" singer had performed two shows in the south of Italy and was going back to the UK, where he is scheduled to take to stage at the Kendal Calling Festival.
However, in the course of a security check before he boarded his private jet, police saw two bags full of cash – it totaled to $422,000 (384,000 euros).
Under the terms of the European Union, travelers are required to declare any amount over 10,000 euros in cash – this is to counter the threats of money laundering.
Snoop Dogg cooperated with the authorities and four lawyers have been assigned to the case. He will be able to reclaim the rest of his money after paying the necessary fine.
It may be noted that barely a week earlier he had been briefly arrested by police in Sweden on suspicion of using illegal drugs. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

CBSE to check cheating in AIPMT exams – examinees can wear only T-shirt and jeans

Mamata’s TMC received hate mail before her tour of UK to woo investors

Vallauris beach closed to tourists because Saudi King Salman will holiday there in private

Good news keep pouring in – major uranium reserve found in Srisailam

Uttar Pradesh repents and repeals ban on screening of films in luxury buses


Britain’s MI6 joins Turkey to fight ISIS

Gang of 80 suspected Boko Haram men attack village in Cameroon and kill 23

Father of two, living in Liverpool, tries to buy deadly ricin powder – then, a pet to test it on


Some live years after retirement, others do not

No escape from the jaws of death