“Gilbert#39;s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac,” says Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna. Gilbert Gottfried isn#39;t getting the last laugh this time. The comedian and actor, 56, who acted as the voice of the duck in Aflac insurance commercials, was fired on Monday after he Tweeted a series of jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. “Aflac Japan – and
Happy Monday! Now that we’ve all sprung forward, it’s time to address one of the weekend’s other primary cultural matters: Battle: Los Angeles . The number-one movie in America was also one of the most critically reviled of the year — from Movieline’s own Michelle Orange to Roger Ebert , opinions on this ranged from generally disapproving to bitterly angry. But that was before you saw it.
“A film distributor says it has decided to stop showing Clint Eastwood’s tsunami movie Hereafter in Japan following a catastrophic quake. Warner Entertainment Japan Inc. official Satoru Otani says theaters will no longer show the film. He said Monday the terrifying tsunami scenes in the movie were ‘not appropriate’ at this time.” Yeeaahhh , probably not. [ AP via Deadline ]
Potentially Worse Worst Person Ever of the Day: In her latest video, infamous Poe’s law invoker TamTamPamela has raised the bar for religious extremists and religious extremism spoofers alike by thanking God for shaking Japan awake from the slumber of secularism. Is she for real? The debate rages on . Either way: Not funny. [ thanks leah! ] Earlier: Worst Person Ever . Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 14/03/2011 19:04 Number of articles : 2
The young actor dishes to USA Today about his new musical, and living semi-anonymously in NYC with his girlfriend. By Eric Ditzian Daniel Radcliffe Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images Daniel Radcliffe hasn’t been living in New York City very long — the Broadway musical that brought him here, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” doesn’t even officially open for another two weeks — but he’s already quite comfortable within the Big Apple’s concrete confines. As he revealed in a new interview with USA Today , the 21-year-old star of the “Harry Potter” movies has been living in the West Village with his girlfriend and enjoying the anonymity that city life affords. “I’m very comfortable discussing my personal life, because it’s so boring,” he said, adding of his girlfriend, whose identity he routinely declines to disclose publically, “She’s here with me as much as she can be. She’s about to start a new job in not too long, though, so I won’t see her for a few months.” The couple has been living downtown since “How to Succeed” rehearsals began, a short subway ride away from the show’s home at the Al Hirschfeld Theater near Times Square. “I love it, because it’s possible to be kind of anonymous,” Radcliffe said. “I’m 5-foot-5, and I’ll wear a big parka and put the hood up, and nobody gives me a second glance.” He’s hoping, of course, that the entertainment industry continues to pay him heed after the conclusion of the “Harry Potter” franchise debuts in July. So far, so good. In addition to his stint on Broadway, Radcliffe has already shot a small-scale supernatural tale, “The Woman in Black,” and has lined up a handful of upcoming projects, from the indie comedy “The Amateur Photographer” to an adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front.” “I’ve always thought that as long as directors and casting directors don’t see me as just Harry Potter, I’ll be OK,” Radcliffe said. “People have shown a lot of faith in me, and I owe them a huge debt. They’re letting me prove that I’m serious about this.” None of these projects, of course, have the cultural cache of “Harry Potter,” whose end to production Radcliffe called sad, while also admitting, “[It] had to end. To have me doing it at 30 would be awful.” He’s moved on to Broadway, although his “Harry Potter” press duties will interrupt the show for three days in early July. Radcliffe’s greatest challenge onstage, he said, was learning to dance. “I have absolutely no aptitude for it,” he said. “It was a matter of putting in the time so I could develop the confidence. My dance teacher keeps telling me, ‘If you’re smiling, your feet could be doing pretty much anything and no one will care.’ But if you have that rigor mortis look of concentration, it doesn’t work.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos The Evolution Of: Daniel Radcliffe
Park’s Mike Shinoda has designed T-shirts to benefit the relief effort. By Gil Kaufman Lady Gaga Photo: Ian Gavan/ Getty Images As the situation in Japan continues to deteriorate in the wake of Friday’s massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the need for assistance has spurred a number of stars to reach out to fans to enlist their help. Just days after announcing the initial dates of his first tour, the My Violent Torpedo/ Defeat Is Not an Option Show , troubled actor Charlie Sheen announced that he will be donating $1 from each ticket sold to the Red Cross Japanese Earthquake Relief Fund. Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has also gotten into the game quickly, designing T-shirts to benefit his band’s Music for Relief charity . One shirt features the image of a paper crane-like white butterfly above the LP logo, and the other one reads “Not Alone” in a red, white and blue font. Donations of $10 can be made by texting “MFR” to 85944. After tweeting on Sunday morning, “Remember as you go about your day please #prayforjapan & if you are able, text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to Japan’s emergency relief,” Katy Perry followed up later in the day with the message , “Imagine … if we ALL texted REDCROSS to 90999 we’d have raised over 60 million dollars for #JAPAN RELIEF! BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! BE!” A growing collection of stars is urging fans to donate to Japanese earthquake relief. On Friday, Lady Gaga sprung into action and offered her fans a special wristband whose proceeds will go to help the victims. “I Designed a Japan Prayer Bracelet. Buy It/ Donate here and ALL proceeds will go to Tsunami Relief Efforts. Go Monsters,” Gaga wrote . She also urged fans to visit the Citizen Effect website, where contributions will be matched by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy. They’ve offered to match the first $100,000 donated to a special fund set up to help the Red Cross deliver emergency services to people in Japan. Other celebrities urging action include Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert, Diddy and many more who’ve sent their prayers to those affected via Twitter. Britney Spears encouraged fans to donate to relief organizations, tweeting , “So tragic. My heart is breaking for Japan.” Also making pleas were Conan O’Brien , Chris Brown and George Takei , each asking their followers to donate to the Red Cross. As the official death toll in the worst quake to hit the island nation mounted on Monday (March 14) to 1,833 — with thousands more believed to have perished — Japan was facing a growing threat from a number of hobbled nuclear power plants. A second explosion in two days occurred at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant on Monday morning, just hours before the plant’s #2 reactor lost its cooling abilities. While no significant release of radioactive materials is believed to have occurred yet, the race to cool down and secure the nation’s nuclear plants is as urgent as the search for survivors from the devastating natural disaster. New images and video continue to emerge that paint a partial picture of the destruction in towns such as the 20,000-resident Minami Sanriku, which CNN reported had been turned into a virtual pile of rubble by the quake and the ensuing tsunami. As gas and food stocks run low, Japanese citizens have been asked to ration their supplies while the United States and 69 other nations have pledged to help with search and rescue efforts. For more information on what you can do to help with earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan, head to MTV Act , or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Related Artists Lady Gaga Linkin Park
The Fukushima nuclear power plant in the town of Futaba. A new explosion at a nuclear plant has hit Japan as it raced to avert a reactor meltdown after a quake-tsunami disaster that is feared to have killed more than 10,000 people. The second hydrogen explosion in three days rocked a Japanese nuclear plant Monday, sending a massive cloud of smoke into the air and injuring 11 workers. The blast was felt 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, but the plant#39;s operator said the radiation levels at the a
Storeman Daniel Stani-Reginald, 19, who has been charged with raping and murdering Ms Tosha Thakkar, 24, last week, chose not to appear. About 20 friends and family of Ms Thakkar, who had been living in Australia to study accounting, turned up to court. Student Tosha Thakkar was murdered by a “predator” who waited until their housemate was away to s-exually assault and kill her, police will allege. The case was mentioned briefly in Burwood Local Court today. “We are very upset of course and
Sadly, as we expected, things have gone from bad to worse for the people of Japan. An explosion rocked another nuclear plant in northeastern Japan earlier today, causing authorities to issue another evacuation warning. Soldiers and officials along a stretch of Japan’s northeastern coast warned residents that the area could be hit by another tsunami Monday and ordered them to higher ground. But the Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of another deadly wave. The warning came as an explosion rocked the nearby Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The blast was felt 30 miles away by Associated Press journalists in the coastal town of Soma, where residents fled the town for safety after being herded quickly through muddy, debris-strewn streets. TV footage showed a massive column of smoke belching from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant’s No. 3 unit, about 125 miles north of Tokyo. Japanese officials said they believe it was a hydrogen explosion similar to an earlier one at a different unit in the facility. The problems at the plant stem from failed cooling systems caused by damage from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation. Before the power plant blast, sirens around Soma, which was battered by Friday’s tsunami, went off and public address systems ordered residents to safety. Farther south along the coast, helicopters flew over coastal communities warning residents to head to higher ground. In Sendai, the biggest city in the area, police announced warnings on a public address system. In Tokyo and elsewhere, authorities began rolling blackouts to conserve power as they tried desperately to stabilize the nuclear reactors at risk of meltdown in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The disasters sent Tokyo’s stock market plunging as it opened, raising fears of a steep economic toll on top of the already overwhelming human suffering. The planned blackouts of about three hours each in Tokyo and other cities are meant to help make up for the loss of power from key nuclear plants. Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said Sunday that the power utility expects a 25 percent shortfall. Some 1.9 million households were without electricity, but many people were without even more basic necessities. At least 1.4 million households had gone without water since the quake struck, and food aid was slow in reaching many areas. And the death toll keeps rising . And they’re expecting snow this week, which will make the situation even tougher for survivors and rescue workers… SMH.
