Author: CircleMe

Sir Ian McKellan to play Sherlock Holmes

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Aging English knight Sir Ian McKellan has signed on to play the world’s most famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

McKellan will play Holmes who has retired to a sleepy village in Sussex with his housekeeper and son who is an amateur sleuth.

McKellan, who has had recent renown in the “X-Men” franchise as well as “The Lord of the Rings”, will star as Holmes in the movie “A Slight Trick of the Mind” which will be directed by “Dreamgirls” and “Kinsey” director Bill Condon. The two worked together in the 1998 movie “Gods and Monsters”.

The plot sees Holmes haunted by a 50-year-old case and coming out of retirement to try to solve it.

Holmes has been played by numerous actors the most recent being AmericanRobert Downey Jr.Basil Hawthorne has also played the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

According to the press information: “He remembers only fragments: a confrontation with an angry husband, a secret bond with his beautiful but unstable wife.
“With his legendary mental powers on the wane, and without his old sidekick Watson, Holmes is faced with the toughest case of his life – a case that might finally reveal to him the mysteries of the human heart”.

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It’s been 25 years for DJT

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DJT is celebrating 25 years in the business in 2013 and according to the DJ it does feel like a long time.

 

The DJ sat down for an interview with Electronic Beats and said that because life and clubculture had gone through so many changes in the last two and half decades he feels like he has lived several lives since then.

 

DJT, who is releasing two albums to celebrate the milestone, went into the business after discovering his passion for music, dancing, and collecting vinyl records.

 

“I can remember when I did my first mix as if it was yesterday. We prepared the birthday-party of a friend and I had two pitchable turntables in my hands for the first time. There was one hour to go till the start of the party and I had nothing to do, so I instinctively started to play around with two records of Kool & The Gang”.

 

The albums, AGES, will feature one track from each of the 25 years in business. The first has already been released and a second is being worked on.

 

“The main aspect of the concept was to mainly get tracks that were never available digitally before and are timeless enough to be played in contemporary sets,” he said.

 

“When I started digging deep in my vinyl collection to select the tracklist, there were too many great tracks coming my way. I simply couldn’t resist making a second volume with the same concept”.

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Portuguese soup, ethnic warmth

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Soup isn’t always just soup. In Portugal it is a tradition that is passed on from generation to generation.

The traditional Portuguese soup recipe calls for 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 cups chopped onion, 2 bay leaves, 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced, 1 medium head cabbage, chopped, 6 potatoes, peeled and cubed, 2 cans kidney beans, 1 can beef consommé, 2 2/3 quarts water, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and diced, 3 tablespoons butter, and warm crusty bread.

To prepare, place a large pot over medium flame and cook onions and potatoes, until tender, then add sausage and cook for 5 minutes. Next add water, bay leaves, cabbage, beans, consommé, garlic, powder, pepper, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower flame and simmer for between 30 and 45 minutes.

Add vinegar and more continue to simmer for an hour. Serve soup with warm bread.

This recipe can be used with kale instead of cabbage, garbanzo beans or chick peas instead of kidney beans, and chourico instead of smoked sausage.

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Lisbon, charming town

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Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal nicknamed The City of Seven Hills. This city is unique in that it is the westernmost capital city inEurope and the only one on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and the oldest in Western Europe, and the Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery are Unesco World Heritage Sites.

Other places to visit include the Monsanto Forest Park, Castle of Sao Jorge, Luis de Camoes Square, Monument to the Discoveries, and Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos.

There are also a number of museums worth visiting including Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga,the National Azulejo Museum, the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, and the Museu Nacional do Traje e da Moda,Museum of the Orient, the Museu do Teatro Romano, and the Lisbon City Museum.

The city, which sits on the mouth of the Tagus River, has a Mediterraneanclimate with warm winters and summers

The city is served by the Lisbon Portela Airport. A high speed rail network connects the city with other parts of Portugal while a tram network operates in the city.

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Transformers 4 blowing up Chicago

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The producers of the new “Transformers” movie have been struggling to keep info about the new flick set for release on June 27, 2014 under wraps.

The title of the film was leaked last week. “Transformers 4: Age of Extinction” will be the title of the fourth in the series about the robotic automobiles with humanlike characteristics. Now some footage from the set of the new film has been leaked on line. It was captured in Chicago on August 26 and shows Optimus Prime and Bumblebee cruising on Columbus Drive.

Cincinnati Bengals footballer Terrence Newman, who was in Chicago last Sunday for the filming of the movie Tweeted that the film was being shot outside the team’s hotel.

“The cars out there are insane!!”

The Michael Bay-directed Paramount Pictures film is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and will feature Dinobots with a heavy portion of the movie being filmed in China.

Bonaventura says only one version of the film will be released worldwide.

“Transformer 4: Age of Extinction” will star Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing, and T.J. Miller. 

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Sister Bliss goes “Faithless” again

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Sister Bliss has released her first solo album in a decade, more than two years after her former band Faithless retired. The album’s first single is Ain’t There and features vocals by rapper Fem El.

Faithless said adieu in 2011 with a farewell performance at London‘s Brixton Academy in April in a show that was beamed live around the world. The band was one of the biggest selling dance-music bands of all time.

Classically-trained musician Sister Bliss in the time since the band retired has relaunched the Junkdog label and hosts a syndicated radio show on Ministry of Sound Radio.

The DJ admits that moving away from the band has helped her find more time for things such as running her record label and collaborating with other artists.

And Sister Bliss says she uses the programme to showcase deeper underground house music including Psychemagik, Disclosure, and Visionquest as well as EDM music from Eric Prydz, EDX, and Jakwob.

Bliss and the Faithless crew reunited for a live set at Electric Brixton nightclub in London in May. The gig was in aid of Crystal Palace‘s youth club.

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Dutch doughnuts, sweet treat

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Doughnuts are a treat and can be something of a guilty pleasure but enjoyable nonetheless. The Dutch doughnuts add a little extra twist to the classic doughnut.

To prepare you will need 1 cake compressed fresh yeast, 1 cup lukewarm milk, 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 egg, 3/4 cup dried currants, 3/4 cup raisins,1 Granny Smith apple – peeled, cored and finely chopped,1 quart vegetable oil for deep-frying, and 1 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting.

First break up the yeast and stir into some warm milk. Allow to stand for a few minutes to dissolve. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and add the yeast mixture and egg and mix into a smooth batter. Add the currants, raisins, and apple, cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to rise until double in size.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer and use 2 metal spoons to shape scoops of dough into balls. Drop carefully into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown.

The doughnuts should be soft but greasy. Drain finished doughnuts on paper towels and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve on a dish.

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Amsterdam, European waterway

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Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands located in province of North Holland. The city enjoys an oceanic climate because of its proximity to the sea.

Among the main places to visit in Amsterdam are the Rijksmuseum which houses many of Rembrandt and Vermeer’s paintings; the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, the Anne Frank House, and the Amsterdam Museum. Other interesting sites include the city’s many canals, red light district and the cannabis coffee shops.

Amsterdam is famous for its cafes and one of the leading cafes is Getto. Getto is a burger bar which has each of its burgers named after a drag queen who performs there.

For restaurants that serve Dutch food there is Moeders. This restaurant serves classic Dutch food. The Haesje Claes offers pea soup, fish stew, and chicken livers while Loetje dishes up biefstek and friet.

Amsterdam is one of the most bike friendly cities in Europe and getting around on a bicycle is quite easy. It is possible to hire a bike using MacBike or City Bikes which both charge €10 per day. Getting around the city may also be done by tram.

The city is served by the Schipol International Airport with flights from other cities across Europe.

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“Diana” movie panned by critics

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The much-touted biopic of Britain’s Princess of Wales, “Diana”, starring Australian actress Naomi Watts has been panned by critics following its premiere in London.

The movie, which depicts the final two years of Diana’s life, was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Its trailers had suggested that it would not go down well with critics but the reviews are apparently worse than expected.

Most critics gave the film only one star.

The Times in Britain said that Watts was “doing her level best with a squirmingly embarrassing script” but that the film was ‘still atrocious and intrusive”.

Hirschbiegel also directed the film about the life of NaziGerman leader Adolf Hitler entitled “Downfall”.

The Guardian newspaper also had nothing positive to say. Its critic Peter Bradshaw wrote: “I hesitate to use the term ‘car crash cinema’. But the awful truth is that, 16 years after that terrible day in 1997, she has died another awful death”.

The Daily Telegraph gave it two stars and said “It’s hardly fascinating. It doesn’t offer new facts about the Princess’s life. And it certainly doesn’t explain her complexity or contradictions”.

Watts walked out of an interview about the film before its premiere. “Diana” is out in cinemas on September 20.

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America is still the place for Claude VonStroke

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For Claude VonStroke, America is still the place where his music is most accepted.

 

The DJ, who calls Detroit home, is based in San Francisco but despite playing his techno gigs all across the world especially in Europe he likes to return to his home base.

 

The owner of the dirtybird and Mothership labels admits that two years ago he wouldn’t have admitted that America is his major market and that he believes his homeland is ready for his dirtybird label music.

 

Most DJs do want to play their music closer to home he says.

 

While VonStroke admits that the myth of his home city is bit overblown he says that the city has one of the coolest vibes in the world and one which is different from anywhere else.

 

Detroit is also home of the soul music and the Motown labels as well as hip hop star Eminem.

 

The city recently filed for bankruptcy and is selling off just about everything from its parking metres to its art collection at the city’s Institute of Arts but VonStroke, who recently visited his home town, says most residents don’t even care about that.

 

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