Pride & Prejudice

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"Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with is the one person you can't be without."

The glorious world of Jane Austen is at last brought back to the big screen in all its romance, wit and emotional force in Pride & Prejudice. The classic tale of love and misunderstanding unfolds in class-conscious England near the close of the 18th century. Faithful to the setting and period of the beloved novel and filmed entirely on location in the UK, this is the first movie version of the story in 65 years.

The five Bennet sisters - Lizzie (Keira Knightley), Jane (Rosamund Pike), Lydia (Jena Malone), Mary (Talulah Riley) and Kitty (Carey Mulligan) - have been raised well aware of their mother's fixation on finding them husbands and securing set futures. The spirited and intelligent Elizabeth, however, strives to live her life with a broader perspective, as encouraged by her doting father.

When wealthy bachelor Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of London friends and the influx of young militia officers, surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. Eldest daughter Jane, serene and beautiful, seems poised to win Mr Bingley's heart. For her part, Lizzie meets with the handsome and - it would seem - snobbish Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), and the battle of the sexes is joined. Their encounters are frequent and spirited yet far from encouraging. Lizzie finds herself even less inclined to accept a marriage proposal from a distant cousin, Mr Collins (Tom Hollander) and - supported by her father - stuns her mother and Mr Collins by declining.

When the heretofore good-natured Mr Bingley abruptly departs for London, devastating Jane, Lizzie holds Mr Darcy culpable for contributing to the heartbreak. But a crisis involving youngest sister Lydia soon opens Lizzie's eyes to the true nature of her relationship with Mr Darcy. The ensuing rush of feelings leaves no one unchanged, and inspires the Bennets and everyone around them to reaffirm what is most important in life.

Matthew MacFadyen plays Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy (left) and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet (right).

The Historian

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"To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history...."

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of—a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known—and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself—to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed—and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign—and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions—and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers—one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful—and utterly unforgettable.

Merry, Merry Christmas !!!

Just wanted to add this entry to great everyone a very

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas has always been a special holiday for me since I was little. And even though now I am all grown up, I still feel the spirit of Christmas each and every year. Hope everyone has a lovely and special Christmas this year.

Here are 2 Christmas albums that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for some holiday cheer.

Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas (1994)

All I Want For Christmas Is You, O Holy Night, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Joy To The World

Celine Dion - These Are Special Times (1998)

Another Year Has Gone By, The Christmas Song, Christmas Eve, These Are Special Times

Mariah Notches 17th Hot 100 Chart-Topper

Mariah Carey notches her 17th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 this week as "Don't Forget About Us" ascends one rung to the top of the chart. Carey and Elvis Presley are now tied for second place among artists with the most No. 1 hits in the rock era. Carey also becomes the only artist to post two No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 in 2005.

It was already Mariah Carey's most successful year on the charts, but she manages to pull off one final stunning achievement in the very last week of 2005 by moving into pole position on the Billboard Hot 100 with her 17th No. 1 song.

"Don't Forget About Us" becomes the No. 1 song that ties Presley's 17 chart-toppers, putting Carey and Presley into a tie for second place among artists with the most No. 1 hits in the rock era, behind the Beatles' 20.

Presley secured his 17th No. 1 the week of Nov. 1, 1969, when "Suspicious Minds" marched into first place. The Beatles collected their 20th No. 1 the week of June 13, 1970, when "The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue" reached the summit. The standings of the top two artists with the most No. 1 songs has not changed since then, so by tying Presley, Carey has altered a record that has stood for 35 years, six months and three weeks.

Presley first topped the Billboard pop singles tally the week of April 21, 1956, with his debut chart entry, "Heartbreak Hotel." It took him 13 years, six months and two weeks to rack up his 17 No. 1s. Carey first led the Hot 100 the week of Aug. 4, 1990, with her initial chart entry, "Vision of Love." It has taken her 15 years, four months and four weeks to amass her 17 No. 1 songs.

"Don't Forget About Us" is Carey's 16th No. 1 as a songwriter. She already held the title of the female songwriter with the most No. 1 hits in the rock era. With her 16th song to achieve pole position, she ties Barry Gibb for third place on the list of the songwriters with the most No. 1 hits. Only Paul McCartney with 32 and John Lennon with 26 have more.

"Don't Forget About Us" is the eighth No. 1 of 2005 on the Hot 100. That's the fewest amount of chart-topping titles in a calendar year since 2002, when seven songs moved to the head of the class. There were 11 No. 1 songs in 2003, and the same number in 2004.

"Don't Forget About Us" is the fourth No. 1 song this year by a solo female artist, following Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," Carey's "We Belong Together" and Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven." Three of this year's chart-toppers were by male artists: "Let Me Love You" by Mario, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx and "Run It!" by Chris Brown. There was one co-ed No. 1, "Candy Shop," by 50 Cent featuring Olivia. Carey is the only artist to have two No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 in 2005.


Did You Know?

"Don't Forget About Us" is Mariah's 17th song to reach the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100. Mariah has more #1's than any other female artist and is only behind The Beatles (who have 20 #1's) in the overall tally.

This week will mark 76 cumulative weeks for Mariah at the #1 spot on the Hot 100. She is only 4 weeks behind Elvis Presley who holds the all-time record!

"Don't Forget About Us" debuted on the Hot 100 in the Billboard Issue of October 22nd. This is its 11th week on the Hot 100 chart and here is the chart run for the song so far:
81-56-36-26-20-17-11-12-07-02-01

Only two other songs ("Gold Digger" and "Run It") topped the Hot 100 Singles after "We Belong Together" ended its reign at #1. "Don't Forget About Us" is the third.

This week, "Don't Forget About Us" also becomes Mariah's 13th #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. It is Mariah's 3rd consecutive single (after "We Belong Together" and "Shake It Off") to reach the #1 spot on the Hot 100 Airplay. This is only the second Mariah album from which 3 songs hit #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay. The previous one was Mariah's debut album!

Source: Mariah Daily / Billboard - Chart Beat

Miss World 2005

Miss Iceland, Unnur Birna, became her country's 3rd Miss World after winning the 55th Miss World pageant in Sanya, China, December 10th.

Birna, a 21-year old student of Anthropology with hopes of becoming a Lawyer, won over 101 other contestants from all over the globe in what was one of the longest beauty pageants ever held -almost 5 weeks of activities-.

Miss Iceland was one of the big favorites to win among experts and bookmakers, along with delegates from Philippines, Italy and Canada. They all placed in the finals.

The 1st runner-up was Miss Mexico (Dafne Molina); and the 2nd runner-up was Miss Puerto Rico (Ingrid Rivera).

The "Beauty with a Purpose Award", given to the most charitable contestant, was won by Miss Korea (Eun Young Oh). The "Best Evening Gown Award" went to Miss Turkey (Hande Subasi).

The 102 delegates were distributed in six regional groups. This year, after the presentation of each group, the top 2 most voted delegates were called into the semifinals.

It was the job of nine former Miss World titleholders and Julia Morley, President of the pageant, to select the Continental Queens of Beauty and among them, the new Miss World 2005.

All six Continental Queens of Beauty will represent the Miss World Organization during the whole year, attending special events, fundraisers and national preliminaries.

Unnur's mother, a former Miss Iceland, was a finalist in the Miss World 1983 pageant.

>>> Miss Iceland is indeed one of the few delegates who were expected to do very well in Miss World 2005. However, basing from her reaction upon knowing that she is the new queen, it seems that she didn't even fathom that she would be the enthroned. This is Iceland's third (3rd) Miss World win. The first (1st) win was in 1985 when Hofi Karlsdottir won and again in 1988 when Linda Petursdottier captured the crown. Iceland has won a Miss International title when their delegate, Gudrun Bjarnadottir, was the judges choice. The country has not produced a winner for the Miss Universe or Miss Earth pageants.

>>> Extreme pre-pageant favourites Italy, Philippines & Canada were all in the semifinals (top 15) but Misses Philippines and Canada got the 'short-end' of the stick as they were both left out in the cold when the Continental Miss Worlds were announced. Miss Philippines (Carlene Aguilar) lost to Miss Korea (Eun Young Oh) for the Miss World Asia-Pacific crown and Miss Canada (Ramona Amiri) lost to Miss Mexico (Dafne Molina) for the Miss World America crown . In my opinion, both Philippines and Canada should have advanced to the top 6.

>>> Miss Dominican Republic Elisa Abreu has put an end to the winning streak of her country. The past 4 Misses Dominican Republic all ended in the top 3 with the most recent being Amell Santana in the recently concluded Miss Earth pageant in Manila.

>>> Beauty pageant powerhouse Venezuela has been left out of the semifinals for 2 straight years in a row. The last Miss Venezuela to be in the semifinals was the beautiful Valentina Patruno who placed 7th in the 2003 Miss World pageant.

>>> Surprise semifinalists this year, in my opinion, are the delegates from Tanzania, Northern Ireland, India and Korea. Miss Tanzania (Nancy Abraham Sumary) is a real beauty and she becomes the second (and last) delegate this year from her country to make it in the semifinals of one of the 4 big pageants. Miss Tanzania Earth (Rehema Sudi) was a semifinalist in Miss Earth 2005. Miss Northern Ireland (Lucy Avril Evangelista) was as surprised as I am when she was called into the semis. Miss India (Sindhura Gadde) has an okay body but I didn't really think she would go in the semis. Same goes to Miss Korea whose poor communication skills should really have left her out of the top 6.

>>> Miss World kinda repeats a top 3 resembling that of 2002 when 2 pageant-patty contestants from 2 pageant-patty countries became runners-up to a far from pageant-patty contestant. Miss World 2002 produced Misses Peru and Colombia as the runners-up to Miss Turkey and this year, Misses Puerto Rico and Mexico are the princesses of Miss Iceland.

>>> I really didn't think Miss Puerto Rico (Ingrid Rivera) deserved to be one of the continenetal Miss Worlds. Her semifinal placement was expected, as Puertoricans are so into beauty pageants that they would do anything to get their delegate in the semis. All I can say is that she better be thanking Puertorican judge Wilnelia Merced Forsythe when she gets home coz I think her placing this high is only because of her.

>>> Miss Mexico Dafne Molina is another surprise but I guess she deserves a semifinal placement at the minimum. A 1st Runner-Up placement is too much. Her gown was pathetic but her facial beauty was at its best in the finals.

(Bookies' ultimate favourite Miss Philippines, Carlene Aguilar, was a semifinalist. She, however, lost to Miss Korea for the Miss World Asia-Pacific crown)

Miss World 2005

WINNER: ICELAND, Unnur Birna
1st Runner-Up: Mexico
2nd Runner-Up: Puerto Rico

Finalists:
Korea
Italy
Tanzania

Semifinalists:
India, Philippines, Northern Ireland, Spain, Jamaica, Canada, South Africa, Russia, American Virgin Islands

Best Evening Gown: Turkey

8 Grammy Nominations for Mariah Carey !!!

Meet the new Mimi, same as the old . . . Mariah.

Pop diva Mariah Carey, whose once-flourishing career was left for dead after a series of artistic misfires and a very public meltdown, has returned -- officially and rather emphatically -- to full-on flourish mode. Carey's remarkable comeback reached a crescendo today when she grabbed eight Grammy nominations, including one for the biggest award of all: album of the year.

"The Emancipation of Mimi," Carey's best-selling release in years, will compete with Kanye West's ambitious rap opus, "Late Registration," Gwen Stefani's delightful if fluffy dance-pop cycle, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby," U2's soulful "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" and, following a longstanding recording academy tradition of including at least one aged artist every year, Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard." (It's Sir Paul's best work in a long, long time. But still.)

Carey's smash hit, "We Belong Together," is up for record and song of the year, plus the more specialized R&B songwriting and female R&B vocal performance awards. "It's Like That," the other big song from "The Emancipation of Mimi," got a nod in the female pop vocal category, and a third "Mimi" track -- "Mine Again" -- is up for best traditional R&B vocal performance.

"Mimi" is also up for best contemporary R&B album. Not to be confused with, simply, best R&B album.

>>> I've been a fan of Mariah since her early successes in the 90's and the most intriguing thing about her music career is that despite a boatload of platinum awards, she only has 2 Grammy Awards to her name.

In 1996, despite having 6 nominations, she ended up winning not even 1. This to me came in as a shock considering that "One Sweet Day" is such a terrific and moving song that it became the longest running #1 single in billboard Hot 100 history. Plus, I wanted her to win a Grammy for the song "Always Be My Baby".

This time around, I would really be pissed off with the Grammys should she not win at least 4 of these golden gramophones. The 4 awards I'm expecting her to win, effortlessly, are the awards for: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.

I was actually surprised that she was nominated for "It's Like That" since I figured that the critics never did like her simple lyrics for her catchy carrier singles. But I'm glad, she got this nomination. She can win this together with "Mine Again", which is another surprise for me. She sadly didn't get nomination(s) for "Shake It Off", my favourite track in her multi-platinum album.

Here's the list of all her nominations for the 2006 Grammy Awards

Album of the Year (The Emancipation of Mimi)
Record of the Year (We Belong Together)
Song of the Year (We Belong Together)
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (It's Like That)
Best Female R&B Vocal Performace (We Belong Together)
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (Mine Again)
Best R&B Song (We Belong Together)
Best Contemporary R&B Album (The Emancipation of Mimi)