Author: CircleMe

James Bond star confirms he is gay

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Ben Winshaw burst on the scene in the latest James Bond flick Skyfall as the incomparable Q and now the youthful-looking star has confirmed that not only is he gay, but he is also married.

Winshaw admitted that he has been married to his Australian lover Mark Bradshaw for the last year.

The actor’s representative issued a statement saying that Winshaw was gay and had never tried to conceal his sexuality but, as is the case with many other actors, chose not to speak about his personal life.

Winshaw and the Aussie composer met in 2009 when they both worked on the film Bright Star and got married in a secret civil ceremony in Sydney in 2012. They recently celebrated their first anniversary.

Thirty-two year old Winshaw has played television roles and starred in a few films including Brideshead Revisited and Cloud Atlas. He made his Bond debut in 2012’s Skyfall.

The English actor played a younger Q than previous actors such as John Cleese and Desmond Llewelyn.

Winshaw has won a 2013 BAFTA television Leading ActorAward for his role in Richard II and was also a favourite to play the iconic Doctor Who on the long-running BBCsci-fi series but took himself out of the running earlier this year.

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Simon Cowell the richest man on Tv

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Simon Cowell is about to become a father for the first time and he should be able to take good care of his new son or daughter after he was named the richest man on Americantelevision according to Forbes Magazine.

Cowell and radio jock Howard Stern tied at the top of the list earning £61 million in the 12 months leading up to June 2013.

Cowell was a judge on American Idol until 2010 and is still a judge on X-Factor. It is his ownership in the Got Talent and X-Factor franchises which earn him most of his dough.

X-Factor airs in 41 countries while Got Talent is the biggest selling television franchise in the world.

Cowell also makes money from his Syco music label which is behind acts such as One Direction, Il Divo, and Leona Lewis.

Stern makes some of his earnings from hosting the Cowell-produced America’s Got Talent. The rest of the top ten includes commentator Glenn Beck who came in third with $90 million, Oprah Winfrey who drew in $77 million, Dr. Phil McGraw who came in fifth with $72 million, political commentator Rush Limbaugh who made $66 million, Donald Trump with $63 million, Idol host Ryan Sea crest with $61 million, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres with $56 million and Judge Judy Sheindlin with $47 million.

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Thai shrimp, spicy exotic

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Spicy, tasty, exotic. Thai style shrimp is ideal for a quick dinner with spunk. It can be made in half an hour as shrimp is easy to prepare. Just add steamed broccoli and white basmati rice.

To prepare you need 1 cup basmati rice, 1/2 broccoli, 4 cloves of peeled garlic, 1 piece of fresh ginger, chili peppers, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, vegetable oil, 1 medium onion finely chopped, 1 stalk scallion, 1 pound medium shrimp – peeled and de-veined, 2 tomatoes, diced, 1 cup coconut milk, and 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves.

To prepare rice, place in a small pot and cook according to directions on the package. In a separate pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add broccoli. Steam for five minutes. For shrimp: In a blender, mix garlic, ginger, chili, salt, and turmeric to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and scallion and cook, stirring frequently. Add paste and stir. Add shrimp, and cook for a few minutes until they turn pink. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Cover, and simmer for a few minutes.

Stir in the basil in the last minute of cooking. Serve rice and top with shrimp.

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Madrid, flavour of Spain

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The capital of Spain, Madrid is the country’s largest city and is known as the greatest party location in Europe with fiestas and other events staged year- round.

Madrid is located on the Manzanares River and is the home of the monarch King Juan Carlos II.

Landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Prado Museum, the famous Picasso painting Guernica sits in the Reina Sofia gallery, and the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is Spain’s largest bull-fighting arena.

There are also a number of catholic churches while most of the city’s tourist attractions city in the old city and Ensanche.

The city’s nightlife is also a big drawing card with many tapas bars, cocktail bars, clubs, jazz lounges, and music venues and the all-important flamenco centres. Flamenco is the national dance of Spain.

The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate with cool to cold winters and warm to hot summers. Green areas are a highlight of the city which has the highest number of tree and green areas per inhabitant than any other city in Europe.

The city is served by the Madrid Barajas International Airport and there is also an international rail network and one of the largest metro networks in the world. 

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Tom Hanks takes London festival by storm

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Tom Hanks

He is one of the biggest stars in the world and the weight of Tom Hanks’ stardom will be on the 57th annual London Film Festival with two of his movies set to open and close this year’s event.

Hanks’ films are already getting Oscar buzz with the Paul Greengrass thriller Captain Phillips to open the ten day-event and the John Lee Hancock-directed Saving Mr. Banks set to close things off on October 20.

Captain Phillips tells the story of the 2009 hijacking of a US container by Somali pirates in which Hanks plays the title role while Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of how the studios attracted PL Travers who authored Mary Poppins.

Hanks will star alongside British actress Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks whileCatherine Kenner plays the wife of Captain Phillips.

Hanks has won the Academy Award for Best Actor on two occasions. He first won for 1993’s Philadelphia which he starred opposite fellow Best Actor winner, Denzel Washington, and again in 1994 for the film Forrest Gump in which he played the title character.

Captain Phillips will debut in the United States in mid-December.

Danny Boyle’s Best Picture Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire has closed the LFF in the past.

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Adele makes cameo in new movie

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She conquered the music world and now she is about to take on the film world as Adele makes a cameo in the new film The Secret Service.

Adele, who won the Academy Award earlier this year for Best Original song for Skyfall from the James Bond film of the same name, will star alongside British actors Colin Firth and Michael Caine and the American Samuel L Jackson, in the spy-flick.

The movie will be directed by Matthew Vaughan who also directed Kick Ass.

Twenty-five year old Adele will reportedly play a villain in the film which is also expected to feature British icons David Beckham and Sir Elton John. She previously made her acting debut in the television series Ugly Betty back in 2009.

The singer/songwriter has been busy in the last year, having a baby and working on her new album.

Adele, who became a mom in October, has been back in studio working on her latest album since April with producers James Ford and Kid Harpoon.

The album will be a follow up to her last hit record 21. She has also won a Grammy and a Brit Award for Skyfall.

The album, which is reported to be ready to hit the shelves mid-2014, is said to be edgy .

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Taste the strawberry daquiri

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If a cool refreshing beverage is what you’re looking for then the Strawberry Daquiri may just be it. With or without alcohol, the strawberry daiquiri is a tasty treat that requires only a few ingredients and is easy to prepare.

The following recipe makes eight servings and is good to serve as light refreshment when entertaining.

It needs six cups of ice, ½ cup of white sugar, four ounces of frozen strawberries, 1/8 cup of lime juice, ½ cup of lemon juice, ¾ cups of white rum, and ¼ cup of lemon-lime flavoured carbonated beverage.

Combine the ice, sugar, and strawberries in a blender or shaker. Add the lime juice, lemon juice, rum, and lemon-lime carbonated beverage and blend until mixture is smooth.

This daiquiri can be made with a number of variations. Fresh strawberries can be substituted with strawberry-flavoured syrup. You can also make the mixture without rum for a virgin daiquiri.

The daiquiri can also be blended with a pina colada to make a Lava Flow.

To add the pina colada use 3 ounces of coconut cream, 6 ounces of pineapple juice, and 1½ ounces of white rum; blender or shaker with crushed ice. Blend or shake very well until smooth.

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Washington DC

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While it is true that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States, it is a nice place to visit for the average tourist in its own right.

The city is cool and with an easy road network is one of the nicest cities to walk around in with chic neighbourhoods, trendy restaurants, and an entire section dedicated to American history on the National Mall.

It is also walking or a metro rides distance from the nearby states of Maryland and Virginia which both donated land to help form the district, named in honour of President George Washington, in 1791.

The city is in a humid sub-tropical zone and has four seasons with hot summers and cold winters.

The city has a distinctly European feel which is not surprising since it was designed based on plans of the cities of Paris, Karlsruhe, Amsterdam, and Milan.

Six of the buildings listed in the top ten of the American Institute of Architects are in Washington D.C. These include the White House; the US Capitol; Thomas Jefferson Memorial; Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Historic buildings in the city have a varied style built in Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Romanesque, and Victorian styles.

Georgetown, the Smithsonian Institute with the National Air and Space Museum are also must sees. Across the Potomac River in Virginia is Arlington Memorial cemetery where former presidents including JFK are buried.

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Smurfs 2, tops in Uk

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The Smurfs have painted the UK blue topping the box office with the sequel to their firstanimated film. Smurfs 2 topped the box office with £3.2 million pounds in its first weekend beating, The Heat and The Conjuring.

The debut was £500,000 short of the first Smurfs film in 2011. Monsters University andDespicable Me 2 are the other animated films still being shown in cinemas. The 3D family comedy film is loosely based on the Belgian comic characters and is the second of a planned trilogy.

In this sequel Smurfette is kidnapped and taken to Paris by the evil Gargamel and the rest of the Smurfs have to rush to save her. The cast of the Sony Pictures Animation film includesShaquille Oneal, Katy Perry, Christina Ricci, JB Smoove, and Hank Azaria as Gargamel.

Pop star Britney Spears has contributed the song “Ooh la la” to the film’s soundtrack. Smurfs 2 was directed by Raja Gosnell as was the first Smurfs film. Gosnell is also on board to direct the third installation.

There is a Smurfs 2 game for Nintendo while Sony has teamed up with Build-A-Bear Workshop to release three customised limited edition stuffed animals of movie characters Vexy,Hackus, and Smurfette.

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British music taking on a South African flavour

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House music is being described as the biggest thing in South Africa for young people and now it is catching on in Britain and influencing musicians in the UK.

House music is as big as hip hop used to be in South Africa and is very commercial heard in shops, taxis, bars, parties, and on mobile phones. Some of the biggest names include Brothers of Peace, Oskido, Bruce Sebitlo, and Black Coffee.

House music first evolved from the Chicago club scene in the 1980′s, made popular in discotheques catering to black and latino communities before moving to Detroit, New York City, New Jersey, and Miami. It then made its way into Britain but now the music is taking on a different sound – the sound of South Africa.

Soul and funk are major elements but so are percussion, bass drum, synthesizer bassline,electronic drums, electronic effects, pop samples, and reverb.

In Britain the music was first influenced by black dancers doing a move known as “foot shuffling” or “cutting shapes”. It became part of mainstream pop and dance worldwide since the 1990s.

House music is very popular in the Midlands and north of England in Manchester,Birmingham, and Nottingham but has also gained a foothold in London clubs.

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