Movie flop to cost Walt Disney $200m

Walt Disney has said it expects to lose $200m (£126m) on its movie John Carter, This makes the movie one of the biggest flops in cinema history. 

 

The film deals with a military captain who is transported to Mars. The he discovers a wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.

The film is based on a series of books written by the author of Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The studio is now working on the second part of the trilogy, hoping that the next part will be more successful.

It is estimated that John Carter cost $250m to make and it is likely that Disney spent another $100m on marketing.

Mark Kermode, specialist who reviewed the film for bbc news said: "The story telling is incomprehensible, the characterisation is ludicrous, the story is two and a quarter hours long and it's a boring, boring, boring two and a quarter hours long."

The film's director, Pixar's Andrew Stanton, had previously had great success with films such as Finding Nemo and Wall-E.

Personally I haven't seen this latest Disney production, but as the reviews are quite bad, I am not sure, if it is worth watching it now. As I myself somehow grew up with all those well known Disney classics such as Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Beauty and the beast, Toy Story, Mulan, Mary Poppins and, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean, it is sad to hear, that the newest movie doesn't seem to match the high standard Disney movies usually held. 

Hopefully the next movie produced by Disney will be as great as some previous ones were!

r.s.

picture source: 

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/movies-toto/2012/mar/9/john-carter-review/ 

Who is the UK's best animated character of all time?

Paddington Bear has been elected to be the best animated character of all time in UK movie history.

Paddinton Bear

The cute bear was created by former BBC cameraman Michael Bond firstly for children books, and has now been announced to be the best animated character at the ninth British Animation Awards ceremony which took place in London.

The very first tale with Paddington was released in 1958 and until now the children books have been translated into 40 different languages and over 35 million copies have been sold all over the world. Only in 1978 it was, when the animated series of Paddintons adventures were first shown on TV.

And now in 2012 the cuddly bear  beat a shortlist of other distinguished characters including Super Ted, Aleksandr Meerkat and Wallace and Gromit to the title.

Wallace and Gromit

The Tale of the Three Brothers, part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, was awarded the best animated sequence in a film. 

The tale of the three brothers, part of a Harry Potter movie

Personally I am happy that the children story "The Gruffalo" has also won, as it is one of the favorite tales of my little sister. :)

The Gruffalo

 r.s.

picture sources:

http://www.kollewin.com/blog/read.php?3249&guid=0 

http://rebelescapades.blogspot.com/2011/04/adventure-5-there-like-paddington-bear.html 

http://sikufital.blogspot.com/2010/12/tale-of-three-brothers.html 

http://theoscarnominatedshortfilms.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-nominated-short-gruffalo.html 

source of information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17382333 

Skills for life - Math section :)

Skills for Life is the national strategy in England for improving adult literacy, language and numeracy skills. The strategy was launched by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in March 2001. The wider objective is to "tackle the adult skills gaps", by increasing the number of adults with the skills required for employability and progression to higher levels of training.

Now bbc has released some questions of the Skills for life Survey concerning the maths part. So, check how good your 'Math skills for Life' really are :D

sources : wikipedia.org

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9701000/9701303.stm

The test: How good are your arithmetic skills?

Q1. To clean a work surface, how much bleach is needed in half a litre of water?

CONCENTRATED BLEACH
Use diluted
- for work surfaces and basins (40ml bleach in five litres water)
- for bleaching whites (20ml bleach in five litres water)
- Soak for no longer than 45 minutes, rinse thoroughly

A) 2ml
B) 2.5ml
C) 4ml
D) 20ml

---

Q2. Four friends have joined a gym to lose weight and get fit. After one month they recorded their weight loss on a chart.

How much weight have they lost between them?

Weight loss after one month

Jo - 500g
Hasran - 1kg
Kevin - 1kg 200g
Cathy - 750g

A) 2kg
B) 2kg 450g
C) 3kg
D) 3kg 450g

---

Q3. How much bleach do I need to use in 2 litres of water to bleach whites?

CONCENTRATED BLEACH
Use diluted
- for work surfaces and basins (40ml bleach in five litres water)
- for bleaching whites (20ml bleach in five litres water)
- Soak for no longer than 45 minutes, rinse thoroughly

A) 5 litres
B) 20ml
C) 10ml
D) 8ml

---

Q4. The jacket potatoes and chicken joints have to be ready at 7.45 sharp.

When should Mick start to prepare them?

Chicken joints: five minutes to prepare, 35 minutes to cook.
Jacket potatoes: 15 minutes to prepare. One and a quarter hours to cook.

A) Potatoes at 6.15 and chicken at 7.05
B) Potatoes at 6.45 and chicken at 7.15
C) Potatoes at 6.30 and chicken at 7.05
D) Potatoes at 6.15 and chicken at 7.30

Answers:

Q1: C - 4ml

Q2: D - 3kg 450g

Q3: D - 8ml

Q4: A - Potatoes at 6.15 and chicken at 7.05

Children around the world

For everyone who is interested in photography, travelling and different cultures, bbc has published some very nice pictures of 'children around the world'. The travel journalist and photographer Peter Guttman (http://peterguttman.com/start.htm) tried to picture children from different parts of the world in their natural surrounding and shows how colorful and interesting our planet really is. The result is a very sensitive work of a great photographer.

Source: by Peter Guttman, bbc news:  http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20120228-children-around-the-world

Pictures from the opening of the American Corner

We volunteers with another volunteer from Italy and moderator Jolanta Vaitekuniene

US ambassador

Attending crowd

Mayor of the town

Official opening of the American Corner

We volunteers with the American Ambassador

Group Picture

Wishes for the American Corner

source:  http://www.savb.lt/amerikos-skaitykla/3134

r.s.

New American Corner in Šiauliai County Public Library

Today we 4 volunteers attended a ceremony in the Šiauliai County Public Library. The event took 

place because of the 20th anniversary of the Lithuanian-American diplomatic relations and due to that the library opened a temporary exhibition in the presence of the United States Ambassador, Anne E. Derse and Siauliai mare Justin Sartauskas. Moreover the library proudly showed there new "American Corner" a special section in the building which is devoted to American literature and media, which has its own study area and reading hall.

Exhibition 

US Ambassador Anne E. Derse

Manana and I are already used to be invited to such events, as we are one of the only non-Lithuanians staying in Siauliai for a longer period. The representatives of the American corner also asked us, to bring some students, so we arranged to meet a teacher with some students at 11.15 this day to go to the library together. 

So we all went to meet with this group at this time and left the gymnasium under the impression, that we now will all go to the library. Unfortunately this group was not going to the event at the library, but to visit another exhibition. We found out that we somehow followed the wrong crowd, when at one point they didn't walk to the right direction to get to the library anymore. So we left them walking somewhere else, and continued our way on our own. Luckily enough the correct group of students joined us in the library some minute later, a bit confused, that we were not there to meet them. 

During the event the US-Ambassador and the mayor of Siauliai opened the Exhibition and the American corner and Manana and I agree, that it is a really cool place to spend some time. Of course for us it is also very nice to have this kind of section in the library as our Lithuanian language skills are far not good enough to read novels, classics or even scientific text in this tongue. That's why we are happy to have this selection of English media in the library. 

Last but not least, the staff at the library is very friendly, helpful and always open for a nice chat, especially  Roma Baristaitė , the chief librarian in the American Corner. So, it is worth going there for sure!

r.s.

for more information visit the website of the library:http://www.savb.lt/titulinis?Itemid=50

Grammy Awards 2012

The Grammy Awards have been handed out at a ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

During the ceremony many artists also payed tribute to Whitney Housten, the world famous singer who was found dead in a hotel last Saturday. The reaction to Houston's death dominated the ceremony, which is the most high-profile event in the US music calendar.

Houston won 6 Grammys during her career

Bruno Mars told the crowd: "Tonight we're celebrating. Tonight we're celebrating the beautiful Miss Whitney Houston."

Stevie Wonder said: "To Whitney up in heaven, we all love you."

Melanie Fiona, who won best traditional R&B vocal performance and best R&B song, said: "Whitney Houston, I would not be standing up here if it were not for you, thank you so much."

Besides this tragic happening the focus was of course on the lucky artists who can add a new Grammy to their selection or start one. The most successful artist this year was without doubt Adele, who was awarded with more Grammys this year than any other artist.

Adele

Here are some of the main winners:

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17007636

Record of the Year

Winner: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Also nominated:

• Bon Iver - Holocene
• Bruno Mars - Grenade
• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• Katy Perry - Firework

Album of the year

Winner: Adele - 21

Also nominated:

• Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
• Lady Gaga - Born This Way
• Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
• Rihanna - Loud

Song of the year

Winner: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Also nominated:

• Kanye West - All of the Lights
• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• Bon Iver - Holocene
• Bruno Mars - Grenade

Best new artist

Winners: Bon Iver

Also nominated:

• The Band Perry
• J Cole
• Nicki Minaj
• Skrillex

Best pop solo performance

Winner: Adele - Someone Like You

Also nominated:

• Lady Gaga - You And I
• Bruno Mars - Grenade
• Katy Perry - Firework
• Pink - F***ing Perfect

Best pop duo/group performance

Winners: Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse - Body and Soul

Also nominated:

• The Black Keys - Dearest
• Coldplay - Paradise
• Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
• Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger

Best pop vocal album

Winner: Adele - 21

Also nominated:

• Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
• Lady Gaga - Born This Way
• Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
• Rihanna - Loud

Best dance recording

Winner: Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites

Also nominated:

• Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech - Raise Your Weapon
• Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand
• David Guetta & Avicii - Sunshine
• Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
• Swedish House Mafia - Save the World

Best dance/electronica album

Winner: Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites

Also nominated:

• Cut/Copy - Zonoscope
• Deadmau5 - 4x4=12
• David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat
• Robyn - Body Talk, Pt 3

Best traditional pop vocal album

Winners: Tony Bennett & Various Artists - Duets II

Also nominated:

• Susan Boyle - The Gift
• Harry Conncick Jr - In Concert On Broadway
• Seth MacFarlane - Music Is Better Than Words
• Barbra Streisand - What Matters Most - Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics Of Alan And Marilyn Bergman

Best rock song

Winners: Foo Fighters - Walk

Also nominated:

• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• The Decemberists - Down By The Water
• Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
• Radiohead - Lotus Flower

Best rock album

Winners: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Also nominated:

• Jeff Beck - Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
• Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
• Wilco - The Whole Love

Best alternative album

Winners: Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Also nominated:

• Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys
• Foster The People - Torches
• My Morning Jacket - Circuital
• Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Best R&B performance

Winner: Corinne Bailey Rae - Is This Love

Also nominated:

• Marsha Ambrosius - Far Away
• Ledisi - Pieces Of Me
• Kelly Price & Stokley - Not My Daddy
• Charlie Wilson - You Are

Best R&B album

Winner: Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.

Also nominated:

• El DeBarge - Second Chance
• R Kelly - Love Letter
• Ledisi - Pieces Of Me
• Kelly Price - Kelly

Best rap song

Winners: Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie - All Of The Lights

Also nominated:

• Wiz Khalifa - Black And Yellow
• Dr Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
• Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - Look At Me Now
• Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis
• Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

Best rap album

Winner: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Also nominated:

• Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
• Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV
• Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
• Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday

r.s.