Here comes another opportunity to tap the minefiled of potentials in the world of literature.

Two leading booksellers have added another brick in the wall of the industry’s unending search for budding talent by announcing literary competitions among aspiring writers.
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award has been anounced by the Amazon.com, Penguin Group (USA) and Hewlett-Packard Co. The award includes a contract with Penguin and a small advance, $25,000.

Meanwhile, Borders Group Inc., Court TV and Gather.com announced The Next Great Crime Novel competition, with the winner receiving $5,000 and a publishing deal through Borders, the superstore chain.

With an indefinite number of books being written every year and even greater number of books never been published, both these contests would be a stepping stone in the process of discovering a new and talented novelist. It would be serving as a platform for those writers who have been searching for an opportunity to start off with.

However, there are also certain lacunas in such contests. The popularity of the contests and the public attention derived is very unpredictable. There are certain examples where such contests could not generate much interest among the masses

Moreover, the success of the winning entries is not always guaranteed.

Better response is expected of The Amazon award. Authors with ‘an unpublished English-language novel manuscript’ can submit their work till November 5 for this contest and there is no entry fee.

Amazon’s leading customer reviewers will analyze the manuscripts and industry professionals are the judges for the contest.
The winner, to be announced April 7, 2008, who will also receive an additional gift 50-inch plasma TV and a PhotoSmart Digital camera from HP.

The Next Great Crime Novel competition too has no entry fee and the last date for submitting manuscripts is Nov. 11.Experts would judge the entries and the winner would be announced Feb. 4, 2008

Via: Yahoo

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American actress and pop music singer, Lindsay Lohan is back from the rehab. Lohan, who started her career as a child fashion model for magazine advertisement and television commercials admitted that she had sunk to the lowest point of her career after her arrest on July 24 in Santa Monica, California, for drunken driving and possession of cocaine. She pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to one day in jail, 10 hours of community work, and three years probation.

At age ten, Lohan began her acting career in a soap opera; at eleven, she made her motion picture debut by playing both twins in Disney’s 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. She rose to stardom with her leading roles in the films Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Her subsequent roles include appearances in Robert Altman’s final film, A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby. In 2004, Lohan launched a second career in pop music yielding the albums Speak (2004) and A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005).

In early August Lohan checked into the exclusive Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in the state of Utah for a two-month detoxification program. She was out of the rehab last Friday and is back to her life in Los Angeles for the shooting of her next Hollywood venture Dare To Love Me. The actress has a cameo in the film starting Oct. 15 - and will be accompanied by a chaperone during the entire two-week shoot.

For her, it was a ’sobering’ experience and it changed her way of viewing everything in and around life. She feels that it is very easy to get tempted by anything. Therefore, she plans to return to Utah so that she is not distracted from her changed lifestyle. Though Lohan blames her parents’ divorce to trigger her bad behavior, it is reported that her road to recovery also included re-establishing a relationship with her dad, Michael Lohan, after a three-year estrangement.
Lohan also apologized to her fans who look up to her for setting the examples that she didn’t mean to set and that is one of the reasons why she wants to change things.

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Via: AFP

Now this is what I would call some news!! A socialite to social worker.... It seems that U.S. socialite Paris Hilton, who has always hit the headlines for wrong reasons, is now turning over a new leaf with her new avatar as a social worker. But is it true or a hoax?

In the wake of her jail term for an alcohol-related reckless driving case, Hilton is seeking to remake her image from club-hopping party girl to world-traveling do-gooder. She announced plans to do charity work in Rwanda, but the trip was postponed until next year. With Rwanda off her charity calendar, Paris Hilton has turned her attention to the plight of ... drunken elephants in India.

Paris Hilton is taking on drunken elephants. The heiress, who’s always in news for one reason or the other, is said to have been “horrified” by the news that 40 pachyderms were electrocuted during a drunken binge fueled by barrels of beer they found in northeastern India.

Then opportunity for Hilton’s “global elephant campaign” knocked last month when six parched pachyderms broke into a farm in the state of Meghalaya and guzzled farmers’ homemade rice beer. The elephants went on a rampage, then uprooted an electricity pole and were jolted to death.

“There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn’t chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad,” Hilton was quoted as saying in last week in Tokyo, where she was judging a beauty contest.

However, the ironic twist in the story came on Nov. 13, when it was reported that ‘The Associated Press’ incorrectly mentioned that Paris Hilton was praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India. Lori Berk, a publicist for Hilton, said she never made any comments about helping drunken elephants in India.

Image Source: Popstarsplus
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Have you ever noticed your shadow minutely? It always follows you in the presence of light, but you never pay much attention to it. But now these shadows are becoming a medium of communication among people and making the world even smaller.

Japanese researchers are using shadows as an non-intrusive way for friends to stay in touch. Called Teleshadow, the system pipes video of what people are doing at home via the net to their friends’ houses!

It, however, seems that this mode of communication would come across as an intrusion into ones private space. But, instead of showing images in full motion and colour, Teleshadow turns them into shadow outlines projected on the inside of a small decorative lamp. Creator Shunpei Yasuda said the shadow presence system aims to fill the gap between live video and static images. Mr Yasuda, a post-graduate student in Media Design at Japan’s Keio University, said the inspiration for the system came from Japanese history.
For many years, he said, Japanese homes have had Shoji or paper walls that divide some rooms. The thin walls preserve some privacy but the shadows cast on the paper as people move about also act as a reminder of that person’s presence.

In a similar way Teleshadow preserves privacy while reinforcing presence between rooms that are far apart rather than next door. Also, said Mr Yasuda, the lamp, or andon that act as the projector is based on a well-known Japanese design.

Slotting the smart card in the base of the lamp starts it displaying that person’s shadow. The research was shown off at the Siggraph computer graphics convention being held in San Diego, US from 5-9 August.

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Via: Coolgadgets

I often fail to understand the term called ‘fashion’. You never know when the weirdest sounding thing might turn into the hottest of fashion statements among the fashionistas.

Now, instead of the cumbersome deal of rushing to the beauty salons every week to get shiny nails with regular pedicure and manicure, people are rushing to get nail tattoos done, which are getting more fashionable and popular in the world of beauty.

Make no mistake about it, the tattoo industry is hot property. There are an estimated over 20,000 parlors operating in the United States, according to a U.S. News & World Report article, which said, on the average, an establishment is being added in the country every day. The article ranked tattooing as the sixth fastest growing retail venture of the 1990s, right behind Internet, paging services, bagels, computer and cellular phone service.

I am sure body tattoos are a familiar trend today with its creasing prominence in the past decade but about nail tattoos, it’s only a recent rage among the fashion conscious generation.

Nail Art is growing immensely popular with women of all ages and cultures. Attention to detail is one asset that comes with class, and so nail art is gaining popularity with people who care to be in vogue and make a subtle style statement. People don’t have much time to spare on nails. So nail tattoos are the ideal option since it costs less as compared to the proper nail art kit. Using a super fine needle, the tattoo artist goes through the first few layers of your nail to create an extremely detailed image directly onto the nail. People love the intricate, as well as the thrill of doing something a little different that is not permanent—as the nail grows out, so does the tattoo.

A simple nail tattoo takes about five minutes, while more complicated images require up to 15. Single-needle tattoo machines are used to implant micro-pigmentation, etching the art onto the nail in a process varyingly described as painless or mildly irritating.

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Via: Buylivebetter

Duane Lee “Dog” Chapman, an American bounty hunter and bail bondsman who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii is in a big time mess for using racial comments in a recorded tape, while he was speaking to his son Tucker and urging him to break up with his black girlfriend, Monique Shinnery.

Chapman, who stars in Dog the Bounty Hunter, a weekly reality television program which is broadcast on the A&E Network and Bravo and Virgin 1 in the UK, and was heard calling his son’s girlfriend a ‘nigger’ in the tape.

The tape was obtained by the National Enquirer and published on its Web site on Wednesday. On the tape, an enraged Chapman uses profanities and a racial slur while talking about his son’s girlfriend, who is African American. The Enquirer did not say how it obtained the tape and though it was not clear whom Chapman was talking to, reports maintain that he was talking to his son.

After serving 18 months in prison for murder charges in 1977, he was released and became a bail bondsman and bounty hunter. This began when Chapman was in court disputing child support.

When he told the judge he did not have the money to pay, the judge offered him a deal to bring in fugitive in exchange for the judge to pay part of Chapman’s child support. He started his first bondsman business in his hometown of Denver, Colorado before moving to Hawaii with his wife, Beth, and their children.

Chapman’s business and family life are now the subject of his own TV show, titled Dog the Bounty Hunter, on the network A&E.

Production of the reality show has been suspended after the Chapman was accused for racial comments. The A&E television network said it stopped production while it investigates the comments by Chapman, who runs Da Kine Bail Bonds in downtown Honolulu and whose appeal as a folk hero has been heightened by the three-year-old show.

Tim Storey, an African-American, who is Chapman’s pastor told us that he spoke with Dog, who cried for 30 minutes, saying, “I’m shocked, I’m wrong I repent. Can you believe, Tim, that I’m going to be put in the same category as Imus.”

The pastor said he talked to Dog three times today and he apologized, saying he wasn’t angry with the girl, it was anger toward his son.

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Via: Blemish

Show me the way to make a start
Show me the road back to your heart
And I’ve found the only truth that I need to know
There’s a million places I can go
But without you it ain’t home
It ain’t home....

Westlife, the Irish pop music band of Coast to Coast and The Love Album fame has seen the road back to the music lovers’ heart once again with their ninth studio album titles Back Home, slated to be released on November 5, 2007.

Formed in July 1998 and comprising of Shane, Kian, Nicky and Mark, they were signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. Westlife has had fourteen number one singles in the United Kingdom between the years 1999 and 2007, the third highest such total in UK history, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and tied with Cliff Richard.

Now, they have come out with a new video for its first single Home The song is originally sung by Michael Buble, a critically acclaimed Grammy-nominated, multiple Juno Award-winning Canadian crooner, big band singer and actor and is taken from their upcoming album Back Home. Apt to its title, the concept of the video is not far from ‘returning home’. It is taken in an airport where people generally go home to their loved ones, or even parted from them. It was shot partly in Los Angeles and in U.K.

The band’s creator, Simon Cowell, chose the song to be covered in their new album. It will be released as a single on October 29.

It is reported that Back Home will contain new and original music, plus one cover, as the band has spent recent weeks in the studio working with a whole host of top producers including Steve Mac, Quiz Larossi, Jorgen Elofsson and Maratone.

When Westlife announced a 5th November release date for the album, The Spice Girls immediately withdrew from the chart battle and delayed their Greatest Hits album release by a week to the 12th of November.

Westlife and the Spice Girls are then engaged in a war of worlds where each accused the other party of avoiding each other’s release. The Spice Girls claimed that their album was to be released on the 12th and that this has always been the case. However, music retailers have concurred that the Spice Girls’ album was initially marked with a 5th November release date.

Back in November 2000, both bands were caught in a chart battle in which Westlife sold 163 000 more records than the Spice Girls in the first week of release.
Speculations are beginning to surface that Westlife might consider changing the release date of their album back to the 12th to go head on with the Spice Girls. If the 5th November release date stays, Westlife will be up against Leona Lewis, Mcfly, Gorillaz and The Veronicas.
However, if the album releases on the 12th, the band will be up against artists such as Britney Spears and Celine Dion.

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Via:Aceshowbiz

On October 12, 2007 American actress Michelle Rodriguez, known for her tough chick roles, was sentenced to 180 days jail time after admitting to violating her probation, stemming from the charges of hit and run and drunken driving. The Judge in the case ordered that Rodriguez not be granted a work furlough, early release or home confinement and must remain in jail for the entire 180 days.

Michelle, who won her first role in the Girlfight (2000) surpassing 350 other applicants for the starring part of Diana Guzman, a troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer. Both critics and audiences recognized her performance. Though she has had notable roles in some successful movies, including S.W.A.T., The Fast and the Furious and Resident Evil, the list of her films is not as exhaustive as her list of criminal record.

In March 2002, Rodriguez was arrested for assault after getting into a fight with her roommate.
In November 2003, Rodriguez went to court to face eight misdemeanor charges based on two driving incidents including a hit and run and DUI.

In 2005, while filming Lost in Hawaii, Rodriguez was pulled over by Honolulu police multiple times for rash and drunk driving. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail, a 30-day alcohol rehabilitation program and another 30 days of community service, including work for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In September 2007 however, Rodriguez allegedly violated her probation by not completing her community service and not following an alcohol education program. It was reported that Rodriguez originally submitted a document stating she performed community service on September 25, 2006, but later admitted she was actually in New York City that day. Her lawyer claimed it was a clerical error. She was also found to have consumed alcohol on at least three occasions while wearing a monitoring bracelet around her ankle, in violation of a probation requirement she refrain from drinking for 90 days.

She must begin her sentence by Christmas Eve, with no prospect of early release or home confinement. She must also complete her 30 days of service for California’s transportation department.

The Lost star must report to a Los Angeles County jail by Dec. 24.

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Via: AFP

Whatever might be the reasons for it, it is official that Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor are not together anymore. It is also obvious now that Kareena’s closeness to Saif Ali Khan has been the catalyst for this split. But, how does Amrita Rao fit into the scene?

Of late, the rumour that is circulating in the gossip circuit is that this petite actress, more popular for her ‘girl next door image’, is the reason behind the Kareena-Shahid split.

Amrita, who entered the world of modeling quite by chance, when she auditioned for an advertising film for Fairever Face Cream, appeared in a number of television spots for several products. Making her cinematic debut in the 2002 film Ab Ke Baras, she gained recognition only after the success of her 2003 film, Ishq Vishk, in which her portrayal as Payal earned her present image.

Success followed for her in 2004 films like Masti and Main Hoon Na. However her following releases Deewaar (2004), Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005), Shikhar (2005), and Pyare Mohan (2006) did poorly at the box office. Next, she is doing Athidhi with Telugu movie star Mahesh Babu.

Her most recent release, Vivah opposite Shahid Kapoor was a universal success Her performance was well appreciated from critics. But this on-screen chemistry might have triggered all the rumours of her link up with Shahid.

A source claims ‘one day while shooting for Vivaah, Kareena dropped by the sets to surprise Shahid, unfortunately though she was not very happy when she saw Amrita Rao coming out from Shahid’s trailer van. Kareena began to have doubts at the time about Shahid and Amrita’s proximity, but she decided to let go of it and put on a brave front. However recently her doubts have been further fuelled by the fact that Amrita has bought a new home close to Shahid’s place. It seems that this is one of the reasons that drove Shahid and Kareena apart.

However, Amrita expresses her surprise towards this link up and calls it ‘weird’ and ‘baseless’. She reveals that there in none special in her life currently and her career is her prime focus right now. She also feels that it’s silly and funny that she has been paired with Shahid.

It was also rumored that Amrita also turned down a Yash Raj banner film opposite newcomer Ranbir, as she was not comfortable with doing a kissing scene in the film. But, Amrita maintains a diplomatic stand and says that she doesn’t mind an image makeover and is willing to turn over a new leaf as a sensuous actress. Exposure on screen and intimate scenes, for her, would be based on the demand of the script. Now, it seems Amrita is learning the trick of the trade!

After Madhuri Dixit, Amrita has become the muse of renowned painter M. F. Husain after her role in Vivah. He has made over 15 paintings of Amrita and is constantly in touch with her even though he is in exile. Amrita is quite elated to be his latest muse and is overjoyed by the painter’s attention.

Her career is also going steady as she doing Anil Kapoor’s film Shortcut. A comedy with Shyam Benegal, Mahadev is on the pipeline too.

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Via: Timesofindia

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Konkona Sen Sharma might not be considered as beautiful as her mother Aparna Sen but her acting skills have been greatly acclaimed by the public and critics equally.

The dusky Bong actress, who has made it big without following the usual traits of the Tinselville, Konkona Sen Sharma is all roaring with her next big banner film, Laga Chunari Mein Daag , slated to hit the theaters on October 12.

This National Award winning actress, who made her debut as a child artist in the film Indira became a known face when she starred in the film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, directed by her mother,Aparna Sen..

The film was a multiplex success and was a favorite with the critics. Konkona’s performance as a Tamil housewife got her the National Film Award for Best Actress.

This was followed by the critically acclaimed film, Page 3 (2005) Her role drew a lot of praise and she became a more familiar face to the movie going public. She won the Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for her first act in commercial cinema.

She followed it up with even more acclaimed performances in 15 Park Avenue (2005) and Omkara (2006). For the latter she received the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Her first release of 2007 Traffic Signal (2007), in which she essayed the role of a prostitute quite convincingly. The film performed poorly at the box office but she received good reviews for her performance.

Her next film, Life in a... Metro, was released to good reviews and has emerged as a hit in India.

Now she plays the second lead role , as Rani Mukherjee’s sister in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag . She is quite upbeat about her role as Chutki and feels that it was quite a challenging role as she is just the opposite of Chutki in her real life. Chutki is a sweet and energetic girl, naughty and full of life whereas she herself is very shy and introvert.

A major chunk of the fim was shot in Varanasi and therefore, the cast of the film had a unique experiece of life in the holy city besides the Ganges.

Konkona feels that there is an aura of mysticism in and around the city that draws people into it.

She also speaks quite highly about Pradeep Sarkar, the director of the film. She feels that he is a perfectionist and makes all the artists slog as hard as possible, just to attain a higher level of perfection.

About Jaya Bachan, Konkona says that they share a bond almost like a mother and daughter since they had been shooting for Rituparno Ghosh’s film Sunglasses just before we started LCMD.

She also praises Abhishek Bachan for his sense of humour.

One interesting aspect of the film is that the heroines, Konkona and Rani and also the director are Bengalis. Both the actresses shared a good off-screen vibe though the start off went awry due to an accident.

While shooting a song, Hum to bhai aise oh bhaiya, Konkona was nervous and the wooden toy she was whirling flew out of my hand and caught Rani straight on the nose and it started bleeding.

However, Konkona apologized profusely and they became good pals.

Konkona feels that LCMD has a strong script and the subject is very emotional and rooted in reality.

She has another film from the same banner Aaja Nachle, which is a highly anticipated film as it is the comeback venture for Madhuri Dixit.

Though Konkona claims that she is a clumsy dancer, she shared the screen with an accomplished dancer like Madhuri.

Due to her heavy schedules and clashing dates, Konkona could not be a part of The Japanese Wife, directed by her mother.

Though she missed the chance, she feels that anyone who gets to work with her mother is lucky, she considers Raima Sen a good choice.

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Via: Hindustantimes