Holidays Vampire Sequel ‘New Moon’ at Box Office

LOS ANGELES, News update: The ‘Twilight’ vampire romance sequel ‘New Moon’ took a record-breaking bite out of the North American box office this weekend, final figures showed on Monday.

The second big-screen installment adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful books raked in an astounding 142.8 million dollars in three days, the third biggest opening of all time, Exhibitor Relations said.

Only Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” with 158.4 million dollars and “Spider-Man 3″ with 151.1 million dollars have scored bigger openings.

However, the “New Moon” earnings are considered remarkable because the film was released in November, outside of the traditional summer blockbuster season.

Although the movie was unable to dethrone “The Dark Knight” or “Spider-Man 3″ for highest opening weekend, it did set records for biggest midnight opening and opening day, figures showed.

The “Twilight” franchise follows the fortunes of high school teenager Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, and her vampire lover Edward Cullen, played by British heart-throb Robert Pattinson.

The success of “New Moon” left American football drama “The Blind Side” in second place.

The feel-good film, adapted from Michael Lewis’s 2006 book, is based on the real-life journey from rags to riches of Baltimore Ravens star Michael Oher.

Starring Sandra Bullock as the woman who helps Oher realize his dream, it earned a healthy 34.1 million dollars in its opening weekend.

In third place, end-of-the-world film “2012″ brought in 26.4 million dollars, more than double its next-runner-up, “Planet 51,” with 12.3 million.

“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” earned 12.2 million, trailed by acclaimed abuse saga “Precious” with 10.9 million dollars.

In seventh place was satire “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges as members of a military unit schooled in psychological warfare. The film took 2.8 million dollars.

Eighth spot was taken by comedy “Couples Retreat,” which earned 1.9 million dollars while extra-terrestrial drama “The Fourth Kind” was ninth with 1.7 million.

Michael Jackson concert movie “This Is It” completed the top 10 with 1.6 million dollars.

Gazprom strikes preliminary gas deal with China (AP)

AP – China and Russia signed a framework agreement Tuesday that could see a steady flow of natural gas to energy-hungry China from its resource-rich neighbor.

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Gazprom strikes preliminary gas deal with China (AP)

US wants bunker-buster fast, denies Iran is reason (AP)

AP – The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete.

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US wants bunker-buster fast, denies Iran is reason (AP)

Schwarzenegger signs ammo-regulation bill

People buying ammunition in California will soon have to be thumb-printed and dealers will have to keep records of sales, under legislation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law. After vetoing similar bills…

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Schwarzenegger signs ammo-regulation bill

Carol Stream man charged with puppy’s death

A Carol Stream man with apparent mental health issues remained in custody Monday after he was accused of killing his family’s new puppy.

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Carol Stream man charged with puppy’s death

3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize (AP)

AP – Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.

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3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize (AP)

National Poltroon

Two gals from down under POX cover.have managed to pull off an amazing feat: A pitch-perfect parody of vintage 1970s-era National Lampoon. POX is a comic book published “intermittently” by Susan Butcher and Carol Wood out of somewhere in the middle of Australia. It’s funny, clever, and quirky (and drawn by hand). Carol says she discovered the ‘Poon in the mid-1970s as a 16-year-old living in Perth, Western Australia. It was a mind-blowing experience and Lampoon magazine and books became her only contact with the outside world.

National Poltroon cover.Which explains the fabulous job she and Susan did on “National Poltroon,” a 16-page parody of National Lampoon featured in POX Number Six. Given their limited resources, it’s not as lavishly produced as the original (black and white on newsprint), but it perfectly captures the tone and style of the magazine at its peak.

In a jam-packed 16 pages they manage to have a little fun with practically every artist and writer of the era–P.J. O’Rourke, Chris Miller, Henry Beard, Vaughn Bodé, Michael Gross, Rick Meyerowitz, Bruce McCall(!), and more. Sam Gross parody.

There are spoofs of cartoons–Cheech Wizard, Politenessman, Verman, B. Kliban, Edward Gorey, Gahan Wilson, Charles Rodriguez, Roz Chast, Bob Mankoff, Sam Gross, Shary Flenniken, Ed Subitzky, M.K. Brown, Randy Enos, Jeff Jones, Bruce Cochrane, Foto Funnies, etc., etc. Some of these are very brief, but all of them lovingly mimick each cartoonist’s style to a T. Did I mention the subscription cards?

The Surprise Poster? The Son ‘o God comics parody? The contents page? The Off-Broadway show? The obligatory “hip” liquor/tobacco/hi-fi ad? It’s hard to believe how much they managed to squeeze into this little parody. It’s clearly a labor of love–as much a tribute as a spoof.

Unfortunately, POX is not distributed outside of Australia (yet). However, Susan and Carol are willing to send copies to readers in America for five US dollars each. Send well-concealed cash to: Butcher and Wood, 17 King St, Daylesford VIC 3460, Australia.

Why People Are Searching For Kevin Jonas Dead, Nick Jonas Dead

I am amazed why people are searching for something as wayward as Nick Jonas dead? This is the craziest things that I have witnessed in recent days. Nicholas Jonas is a talented singer, dancer, songwriter, actor, and performer. At the tender age of eleven he has already starred in four Broadway shows, numerous commercials, and a variety of recorded works.
He is a passionate performer. His vocal ability has been compared to a young Stevie Wonder and Donny Osmond. He wrote many of the songs he performs in concert.

His Broadway credits include performing in the role of Gavroche in Les Miserables. He was the last person to play the role of Gavroche in the Tony Award winning production. He also starred as Chip in Beauty and the Beast, Little Jake in Annie Get Your Gun with Reba McEntire and Crystal Bernard, and Tiny Tim and the Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol ? the Musical at Madison Square Garden.

His vocal and performing abilities have been highlighted in Broadway showcases, including yearly Easter Bonnets, Gypsy of the Year Events, outdoor performances, and a special Broadway Christmas recording, which included a song he wrote with his father. He is currently starring in the Papermill Playhouse version of The Sound of Music.

Sixteen year old Nicholas Jerry “Nick” Jonas is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band he formed with his brothers Joe and Kevin. The Jonas Brothers originally started with a solo singing career for Nick, but when his brothers Kevin and Joe sang backup for him, the record producer liked their sound and signed all three of them. He currently stars in the Disney channel original series JONAS as Nick Lucas, alongside his brothers.
In the meantime the young actor and singer has said that he wants to be the President of United States. “I’ve always had this dream of becoming president one day” he said when asked about his recent trip to white house and went on to add, it was “very cool” and “such an honor” to visit the White House earlier this year.

The three Jonas Brothers had made trip to Washington DC to see daughters of President Obama. Later Nick Jonas met Obama in June as part of his diabetes efforts.
Source: Khabrein.info