For all those of you who missed the action oon TV.

Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton (born 9 January 1982) is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Their wedding is to take place on 29 April 2011. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, Berkshire, England,and after attending Marlborough College, studied at Scotland’s University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a relationship, which was marred by excessive media scrutiny, leading them to break it off for several months in 2007.

They continued to be friends and later in 2007 they reunited. Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous “best dressed” lists. Once their relationship became public, Middleton received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010, the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House announced their engagement, with details announced one week later.

Biography

Early life

Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith), a flight attendant, and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Middleton’s two siblings are a sister, Philippa Charlotte, known as “Pippa” (born 1983), and a brother, James William (born 1987). The family have complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Kate’s engagement.

Middleton’s paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer. Carole Middleton’s maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.

Middleton’s parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984 to September 1986, where Middleton went to an English language nursery school, before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St. Andrew’s School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent school in Wiltshire, followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, where she met William. She graduated with a (Hons) in the History of Art.

Career

In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. In September 2007, it was reported[citation needed] that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.

Fashion icon

Middleton has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the “Most Promising Newcomer” in its 2006 list of style winners and losers. Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007. She was featured in People magazine’s 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists. Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell’s ten “Fabulous Fashion Independents” of 2007. In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon. In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair’s international best-dressed list. In February 2011, Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.

Prince William

Middleton’s status as the undeclared girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity. In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fuelled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.

No engagement occurred and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Middleton’s 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Middleton’s lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times and The Sun, and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her. Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William’s Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In December 2007, it was reported that Middleton had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London. Clarence House later denied this.

On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of William’s cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend. On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke. In 2010, Middleton pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009. Middleton obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.

Breakup and reconciliation

On 14 April 2007, The Sun newspaper broke a “world exclusive” suggesting that Prince William and Middleton had split up. Other media outlets such as the BBC confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt. Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship’s end, according to The Times, stating, “We don’t comment on Prince William’s private life.” Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.

The original report in The Sun quoted a “close friend of the couple” as saying that Middleton felt William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that William had been spending time with other young women, and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry. A report in the Daily Mail blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to “hurry along” a marriage announcement, and William’s desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The Mail also suggested that William’s friend Guy Pelly encouraged the Prince to take a “careless approach” to relationships. The same article suggested that Middleton had “expected too much” in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.

In June 2007, Middleton and William insisted they were “just good friends” following reports of a reconciliation. Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart. The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions, and several news sources, including the BBC and the Daily Mail, stated that they had “rekindled their relationship.” Middleton also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral and attended the wedding of William’s cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Middleton accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. On 16 June 2008, Middleton attended William’s investiture into the Order of the Garter along with the Royal Family.

Engagement and wedding

Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William’s passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. The couple are to marry in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011, with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Title upon marriage

Unlike the majority of royal brides, and in contrast to every previous queen-in-waiting for over 350 years, Middleton does not come from a royal or aristocratic background. While she may inherit or acquire various titles bestowed on William and his family, she has no titles of her own. Similarly, William currently holds no titles other than the style of “Royal Highness”, as a British prince; the wife of a son or grandson of the Sovereign is entitled to the same style. Thus, upon marriage she will take the title of “Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales”, also taking her husband’s name.

It is customary for royal men to receive a dukedom when they marry, whereupon Middleton would assume the title of duchess. The British media have speculated extensively on possible dukedoms for the couple, including Clarence, Cambridge, Sussex, Kendal, Strathearn and Windsor; some of which have been vacant for centuries. In November 2010 The Daily Telegraph published a summary of the Royal Dukedoms – along with a reminder that the Queen is at liberty to create new titles anywhere in the UK or the Commonwealth Realms – and concluded that the dukedoms of Sussex or Cambridge were the most likely candidates for William to receive.

Other sources have suggested that William may prefer not to accept a dukedom at all, remaining simply Prince William. The BBC suggested that the Queen could simply grant Middleton the title of Princess of the United Kingdom, continuing a precedent first established in 1957, when she issued letters patent to accord her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh “the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom”. In this case Middleton would be known as “Her Royal Highness Princess Catherine”.

Public appearances

Middleton was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, North Wales. On 16 February 2011, Clarence House announced that Middleton’s and William’s first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.

Ancestry

Middleton shares many ancestors with Prince William. The closest relationship via William’s mother is a common descent from Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Agnes Gascoine. The closest relationship via William’s father is a common descent from Sir William Gascoine and his wife, née Lady Margaret Percy. The Daily Mail also contends they both are descended from Sir Thomas Leighton (ca. 1530–1610), Governor of Guernsey from 1570 to 1609, and his wife Elizabeth Knollys (1549–1605), who was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I.

Film

A Lifetime TV movie entitled William and Kate aired in the U.S. on 18 April 2011. Middleton is played by Camilla Luddington and William by Nico Evers-Swindell.

Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruit vendor who died after setting himself on fire, has become a symbol of defiance in Tunisia.

The revolution in Tunisia was born through a slap in the face of Mohamed Bouazizi by a honest but arrogant lady municipal inspector, Faida Hamdy, 45, in Sidi Bouzid, a police officer’s daughter. This revolution was not triggered by a political speech or by some provocative act of repression by the dictator. It was set in motion by an altercation between a honest but cruel municipal inspector and a honest and poor vegetable vendor.

Let us read this great story. Mohamed Bouazizi, the poor fruit vendor, spent his whole life on a dusty, narrow street here, in a tiny, three-room house with a concrete patio where his mother hung the laundry and the red chilis to dry. By the time Mr. Bouazizi was 26, his work as a fruit vendor had earned him just enough money to feed his mother, uncle and five brothers and sisters at home. He dreamed about owning a van.

Faida, the honest Municipal Inspector during the course of her duties inspected buildings, investigated noise complaints and fined vendors like Mr. Bouazizi. It was not known whether his business was legal or not.

Other vendors said that on the morning of Dec. 17, Faida tried to confiscate Mr. Bouazizi’s fruit, and then slapped him in the face for trying to yank back his apples. This act of bravado by the lady inspector humiliated a man who eked out his living by hard work.

Bouazizi, who became embarrassed and angry, wrestled with Ms. Faida. In the meantime, two of her colleagues started beating Bouazizi and confiscated his electronic scale. Then, the disheartened vegetable vendor walked a few blocks to the municipal building and demanded his property. But he was again beaten. Then he marched to the governor’s office, demanding an audience but he was refused.

Unable to bear with this humiliation, the frustrated man, sometime around noon, in the two-lane street in front of the governor’s high gate, drenched himself in paint thinner and then lit himself on fire. He was immediately hospitalized and the doctors treated this as a case of 90 percent burns. Ultimately, he died on Jan. 4. This incident immediately triggered street protests that started over Mr. Bouazizi’s treatment in Sidi Bouzid and then spread to cities throughout the country.

The blood of this martyr brought about a revolution in Tunisia and drove the dictator away from the nation.

via – Allvoices

 

In Armenia it was a custom that on New Year’s Eve, children gathered in-groups and went around their village, singing songs and greeting the New Year by singing to their neighbors.

The Hindus of Gujarat, in western India, celebrate the New Year at the end of October, at the same time as the Indian festival of Diwali.

When the New Year begins, the Japanese people begin to laugh, and this is supposed to bring them good luck in the New Year.

The Portuguese pick and eat twelve grapes from a bunch as the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve. This is done to ensure twelve happy months in the coming year.

The Taiwanese begin the New Year day by worshipping their ancestors, following which the streets become filled with people making New Year’s visits to friends and relatives and with the lively display of dragon dancing, lion dancing, and other folk activities.

The Thai New Year celebrations start by people chasing each other down the street with buckets of water.

and many more exciting traditions. For more click here

http://q8life.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=93

Marina Bay Sands is the world’s most expensive hotel, it’s boat-shaped ‘SkyPark’ perched atop the three 55 storey towers. This three towers are connected with a one hectare roof sky park offering 360-degree views of Singapore’s skyline and featuring beautifully sculptured gardens, restaurants and a swimming pool.

 

The SkyPark will be home to the world’s longest elevated swimming pool, with a 475-foot vanishing edge, perched 200 meters above the ground. While the water in the infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650ft up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at that height.

It looks like the World War 3 – Iran v/s Rest of the World has started at the UN conference.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad entered into a war of words, calling the other nation’s nuclear capability as the principal threat to international stability.

Ahmadinejad fired the first salvo at a special UN conference on the global nuclear non-proliferation regime Monday, accusing the US of leading a skewed international system that seeks to deny peaceful nuclear power to developing nations while allowing allies such as Israel to stockpile atomic arms.

Demanding that the world’s nuclear-weapons states agree to a clear timetable for the disbandment of their arsenals, Ahmadinejad said: “The possession of nuclear bombs isn’t a source of pride; it is disgusting and rather shameful.”

“And even more shameful is the threat to use or to use such weapons, which isn’t even comparable to any crime committed throughout the history.”

Sadly rather than confronting him with a suitable reply, the leaders walked out.

SHAME! SHAME!! SHAMEFULL!!!

What he said is a fact, that he made explicit to the UN & the world. US may be a superpower and maybe the other nations lookup to it for something. But the fact remains that the US has the largest stockpile of Nuclear War heads and is strategically supporting Israel (who has some nuclear warheads and is the main bone of contention in the Middle East peace process).

It is a great opportunity for brokering world peace, given the initiative taken by Ahmadinejad to come to the UN Nuke meet and clarify Iran’s stand on nuclear power vis-a-vis the world.

Rather than grabbing the opportunity to break the ice and arrive at a consensus on nuclear weapons and energy, it is very much shameful, that the world leader, walked out on him, rather than putting their defense.

It this opportunity is lost, the nuclear issue across the world will be pushed back into troubled waters, with Iran carrying back bitter memories of the UN meet.

Is it that the leaders are bribed by Arms Lobby into derailing the UN Nuke meet, so that their business does not suffer?

Well what ever the reasons, I think President Obama should attend the meet and shake hands with Ahmednijad & understand Iran’s stand negotiate peace. Afterall, he has always said that “Dialogues are better ice-breakers, rather than swords”.

The world is going to blame the world leaders for walking out rather than coming to a table to arrive at a consensus which can foster world peace.

Lord, GOD, Allah – give the world leaders sense to make the world a peaceful playground, as YOU had intended.

The eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland that has thrown up a six-km (3.7-mile) high plume of ash and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe shows no signs of abating after 40 hours of activity. Located under Iceland’s fifth largest glacier, the volcano has erupted five times since the area was settled in the 9th century. Eyjafjallajokull has a 2.5 km-wide volcanic crater, covered in ice. Fissure-fed lava flows occur on its eastern and western flanks of the so-called stratovolcano, which is built up from alternating layers of ash, lava and rocks ejected by earlier eruptions. When the volcano began erupting in late March it opened a 500-m fissure producing lava fountains along the vent. The ash cloud has been formed through a process called fragmentation which occurs in several stages. First, magma travelling under pressure through underground conduits is broken up into pieces by expanding gases. As pressure decreases closer to the surface, the magma turns into fine volcanic ash which breaks into even smaller particles when it makes contact with glacial ice on the surface of the crater. The fine dust melds with steam rising from the crater to to form a dark, billowing plume. “It’s like a soda bottle when you take the top off,” said Icelandic vulcanologist Armann Hoskuldsson, describing what happens to magma as it travels to the surface.

Economic impact

Full Wikipedia coverage

AP Photo

Warren Buffett

Omaha, Neb.
Net Worth: $47 billion
Rank: 3

The world’s third-richest man still resides in the 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom gray stucco home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. The home has everything the 79-year-old needs, including his very own handball court that he uses to keep fit. An intruder armed with a fake gun tried to break into the modest, ungated property in 2007 but was ultimately thwarted by security.

newscom

Bill Gates

Medina, Wash.
Net Worth: $53 billion
Rank: 2

Gates’ 66,000-square-foot compound is built into a hillside on the edge of Lake Washington, near Seattle. Its enviable amenities include: a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a 2,500-square-foot gym and a 1,000-square-foot dining room, which seats 24. For a personal touch, out-of-shape visitors can skip the 84-step hike to the ground floor and opt for an elevator ride instead.

Rex-usa

Lakshmi Mittal

London, England
Net Worth: $28.7 billion
Rank: 5

In 2004 Mittal paid $128 million for his 12-bedroom townhouse in London’s luxe Kensington district. Mittal’s mansion, tucked between Kensington Palace and the Sultan of Brunei’s spread, has an indoor pool, Turkish baths and garage space for 20 cars. The super-home is also embellished with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal.

Celebrityhomephotos.com

Larry Ellison

Woodside, Calif.
Net Worth: $28 billion
Rank: 6

Over the last few years the Oracle co-founder has dropped $200 million by some estimates on near a dozen properties in Malibu to create a custom compound. His 23-acre estate in Woodside, pictured here, is inspired by the Japanese city of Kyoto and is reminiscent of a 16th-century imperial Japanese palace. It reportedly cost upward of $200 million to build.

Getty Images

Michael Dell

Austin, Texas
Net Worth: $13.5 billion
Rank: 37

Built in 1997, Dell’s 33,000-square-foot hilltop manse sits on a 20-acre spread close to where he founded his eponymous computer company. The eight-bedroom house equipped with a conference room and both indoor and outdoor pools is known locally as “the castle” thanks to its high walls and tight security.

Article by Pritish Nandy in TOI - source

“Many of us knew of Arthur Andersen, the global consulting firm. But when it broke up and morphed into Accenture, not many made the exact connection. The connection was made on that fateful day when the media decided to out Tiger Woods for his sexual transgressions. Suddenly all the brands he had endorsed, from Accenture to Nike, made it to the headlines of every newspaper, with eager readers panting to find out who drops him first. A golfer worth a billion dollars is not the worlds most loved person, however much he may be admired. But this columns not about celebrity hunting.Its about controversy. The power of controversy.
Nothing builds a brand quicker than controversy. The uglier the controversy,the more profitable its outcome. You can ask me why this happens in a world where we are always taught to sidestep trouble,walk the straight and narrow. The reasons simple: Controversy polarises opinion. When public opinions polarised on any issue,be it Tiger Woods or MNIK, Raj Thackeray or Mayavati, Husain or Bt Brinjal, it immediately grabs headlines. You cant help but notice it. In fact,everyone notices it and then,thanks to the net,everyone reads up everything on it. No amount of paid publicity can ever achieve the phenomenal reach controversy delivers. A broken theatre and a few torn hoardings can give an unbearably boring film screaming front page coverage for days on end,and fans a righteous cause to fight for. Yes,it was the Sena that made MNIK such a success. There was little buzz about its promotions till Saamna attacked it and SRK cleverly turned the table on them.
This brings me to the smart art of conflict management. Take an issue,any issue. Instead of spending a fortune on putting out your point of view,its much easier to design an emotionally charged controversy around it so that people can take extreme positions. Make it a clear love/hate choice and,before you know it,everyones on one side or the other. The commercial objectives will be instantly realised. Funnily,no controversy ever goes to waste. The worms in Cadbury chocolates led to Amitabh Bachchan being brought in to repair the brands image. He not only repaired the image but brought the brand back into business, stronger.
Every time consumer activists attack soft drinks,they sell more,almost as if by consumer defiance. The more we rant about transfats,the more people flock to fast food counters. Its not only the young who refuse to have health concerns forced down their throat; everyone resents being told what not to do. Any pressure exerted, be it not to see MNIK or not to drink Coke or not to eat a burger at McDonalds only helps to increase their sales. Word of mouth, an old aphorism we used in the context of movies that people saw, liked and spread the word about, no longer works. People want to make their own choice these days. A tiny movie called Thanks Maa has got rave reviews this week. Will they sell one extra ticket. Unlikely. Will the film be around in theatres long enough to reap the benefit of word of mouth publicity. Unlikely. Quality and saleability walk on divergent tracks these days.
Actually good, clean entertainment is no longer in great demand. Good, healthy,nourishing food hasnt even taken off. Brain dead cinema rules. So does wicked food. The moment you talk about wholesomeness,you drive away consumers. Good is confused with bland. It works on the same principle that Sarat Chandra (author of Devdas and Parineeta) once espoused, that the more you denigrate a woman, the more you call her immoral, the more attractive she appears to everyone else. Simple question: Would you rather spend an hour with Mother Teresa, listening to her homilies, or with Angelina Jolie risking your perfect marriage.
So lets not kid ourselves. If you have something to sell,go make such a huge controversy around it that the world stops dead in its tracks. Husains fortunes were flagging when the saffronites went for him. Tyeb, Souza, Gaitonde, even young Subodh Gupta had hijacked his best selling tag. Auction after auction saw Husain’s prices tanking. Now,post this silly controversy,hes back–right on top. Raj Thackeray followed the same strategy in politics,instigating one controversy after another,to ensure that he created a space for himself in Maharashtra politics. Its not a unique strategy. Balasaheb Thackeray, Mayavati, Jayalalitha, Mamta Banerjee, and even Sonia Gandhi used every controversy to further their political cause. Each controversy helped consolidate their presence in politics,enhanced their play. Just as Sanjay became a bigger star after Khalnayak and his stint in jail. Salman has hit a purple patch with every controversy. Saif even got a Padma Shri for riling the Bishnois.
It all goes to prove the point: If success is what you seek,go get yourself a controversy. Or else,consign your dreams to oblivion.”

THE OSCAR WINNERS…

Best Picture: “ The Hurt Locker” bags its 6 ^th Oscar .

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow wins the best director Oscar for “The Hurt Locker”. Kathryn Bigelow has become the first woman ever to be named best director.

Best Actress: Sean Penn announces the winner of best actress. And it’s Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side”. Bullock says the film was about the “moms” who take care of children “no matter where they came from”

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges gets best actor Oscar for “Crazy Heart” . Bridges thanks his co-stars for their “heart and soul”, he says, “Thank you guys, my wonderful team, my wife for 33 years, 3 daughters… I woudnt be here without you”.

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Secret in their eyes” (Argentinean film) bags Oscar for the best foreign language film.

Best Film Editing: Fourth Oscar for ‘The Hurt Locker”.

Best Documentary Feature: And the Oscar goes to “ The Cove”, this is about the systematic slaughter of dolphins in Japan.

Best Visual Effects: Oscar goes to “Avatar”

Best Original Score: Oscar goes to Michael Giacchino for “‘Up”.

Best Cinematography: Mauro Fiore is the winner of ‘Best Cinematography’ for “Avatar” .

Best Sound Mixing: Ray Beckett and Ottosson bagged the golden statuette for “The Hurt Locker”

Best Sound Editing: ‘The Hurt Locker” bags the award for the best editing.

Best Costume Design: And the Oscar goes to Sandy Powell for “The Young Victoria”. This is her third Oscar earlier ones are ‘Aviator’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love’.

Best Art Direction: Oscar for best art direction goes to “Avatar”.

Best Supporting actress: Mo’Nique wins the best supporting actress Oscar for the role in ‘Precious”.

Best Adapted Screenplay : “Precious” bag the Oscar for best adapted screenplay. Precious is based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire.

Best Makeup: And Oscar goes to “Star Trek”

Best Short Film: Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson bag the Oscar for ‘The New Tenants’ (Live Action)

Best short Documentry Film: Award goes to ‘Music by Prudence’. “This is amazing. I had never imagined this. This is so exciting… We honour the band behind this film… ” said the winners.

Best Animated Short Film: And Oscar goes to “Logorama” . “It took six years to make this 16 minute film…” says Schmerkin.

Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal for ‘The Hurt Locker”. Mark Boal says, “Thank you Academy for this! I dedicate this to the troops who are fighting and even those who have not made it home.”

Best Original Song: And the Oscar goes to Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett for ‘The Weary Kind’ (Theme from Crazy Heart).

Best Animated Film: Pete Doctor collects the ‘Best Animated Film’ award for ‘Up’, from Cameroz Diaz and Steve Carell. Pete Doctor says, “It’s incredible being here… Please picture this entire stage filled with the entire team of ‘Up’. Thanks so much to Disney and Pixar… The heart of it came from home, my parents, my kids and wife… you guys are the greatest adventure.”

Best Supporting Actor : And the Oscar goes to Christoph Waltz for ‘Inglourious Basterds’ – his 1st nomination and win! “Brad Pitt helped me and the entire cast.. Quentin is a fearless explorer and that’s why I am here. Thank you, all!” he said.