The latest entertainment update on the Oscars is here. Who took Oscar home? The Oscar for the best picture went to the crew of ‘The Hurt Locker’, a movie about a US Bomb Squad in war-stricken Iraq. Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, and Greg Shapiro gave moving acceptance speeches as they accepted the golden statuette. Bigelow went a step further in her speech and said, “I was just gonna reiterate that with Rob and Patrick, who took a very brave shot with this movie. And we owe them dearly. Perhaps one more dedication, to men and women all over the world who… Sorry to reiterate, but wear a uniform, but even not just the military – HazMat, emergency, firemen. They’re there for us and we’re there for them. Thank you. Thank you.” The Hurt Locker went on to dominate the Oscars that evening as it earned 5 other Academy Awards. Bigelow created history by becoming the first woman to win the Best Director Award. Mark Boal won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Duo Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett swept the award for Sound Mixing with Ottosson also grabbing the Best Sound Editing Oscar. Bob Murawski and Chris Innis won the Oscar for film editing. Jeff Bridges got the Oscar for Best Actor in leading role for his spectacular portrayal (Crazy Heart) of a faded country music musician who is forced to reanalyze his mundane life amidst an inspiring romance.  Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress award for her amazing performance in “The Blind Side”. Christoph Waltz won the Oscar for the best actor in a supporting role for his diabolical villain Cnl. Hans Landa.in ‘Inglourious Basterds’.  The best animated feature film was ‘Up’ which also won the award for Music (Original score). Phenomenal ‘Avatar’ won just 3 awards for Visual effects, Cinematography and Art Direction. The award for Best Costume design went to Sandy Powell for ‘The Young Victoria’.   Critically acclaimed ‘Precious’ won 2 awards-Best Actress in supporting role (Mo’Nique) and Adapted Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher). Probably the best acceptance speech that evening was by Mo’Nique: “I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics”. ‘Logorama’ and ‘The New Tenants’ were declared the Best Short film, Animated and Live Action, respectively. ‘Crazy Heart’ theme song, ‘The Weary Kind’ was the winner for Music (Original Song). ‘Star Trek’, ‘The Cove’ and ‘Music by Prudence’ were the Oscar winners for Makeup, Documentary Feature and Documentary Short film, respectively. Argentinian film ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) directed by Juan José Campanella won the Oscar for the best foreign language film. Follow us for more, latest entertainment updates.

John Paulson was a maverick, an outcast, a non-believer. Yet, he got away with it by making a fortune. The latest book on Wall Street’s ways by Gregory Zuckerman goes by the title “The Greatest Trade Ever: How John Paulson Bet Against the Markets and Made $20 Billion”. It is a true story about the manager of a small-time hedge fund who refused to believe in the so-called thriving world of US housing. All over the nation, when investors were frantically wild about the ‘booming’ housing market, Paulson was skeptical about it and even waged a bet against it. The result – as the nation plunged into recession that had universal consequences, Paulson managed to amass $20 billion. His fund did not go by mortgages. Rather he relied on “Credit Default Swaps”, which in layman terms means that Insurance policies rather than homeowners themselves should pay money in case of a default. This way, Paulson’s small fund made a swopping $15 billion in one year of which he took $4 billion home. The book also tells the story of other mavericks such as Jeffrey Greene, a west coast property developer who like Paulson refused to rely on the surging housing market. The book describes how they stood their ground when the entire world was going crazy. Difficult for a financial investor, who has to keep pace with trade but still they did it. Their foresight made them billionaires. The book does not make for a very gripping tale as the material presented might be a little boring for the Wall-Street illiterate as it is infused with a lot of financial details. It has a few interesting anecdotes about the traders themselves, though. One example is the fact that Paulson still travels by train although he is a billionaire. Another is Paulson’s wedding to his assistant Jenny. Paulson was a playboy till his 40’s after which he decided it was time to settle down. He made a list of qualities and expectations of a would-be wife. “Cheerful” topped the list and he didn’t have to go in search of the right woman. She was right there in his office. Similar anecdotes are interesting but it is a Wall Street book through and through, written by a Wall Street Journalist. The book tries to tell a story but ends up throwing light on yet another aspect of the recession.

The latest update in the entertainment world is the Oscars. As every site is debating about the hot favorites for the awards, we bring you something more. Walking down the red carpet is a privilege for the stars. The red carpet moment showcases movie stars’ attitude, their persona and their charisma. It is also a moment for starry-eyed fans to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars. Here is a list of the top best-dressed female actors who choose the red carpet moment to make a subtle, yet strong fashion statement. Anne Hathaway is the ‘Princess’ here too as she figures top in the list with her remarkable dressing sense. She dresses rightly as if she was dressing for the part and owns the red carpet. Coming second is Michelle Williams. The Brokeback Mountain star is well known for her sartorial fashion sense. Angelina Jolie slides to third spot this year. For her, Oscars isn’t all about dazzling earrings and bright evening gowns. The hot diva prefers to tone down her colors, almost always turning up in black or neutral colors which surprisingly, bring the spotlight on her even more. Close on heels is Nicole Kidman who has long been considered the hottest star with admirable haute-couture. Her tall, elegant features complement her dresses. Two-time Oscar winner, Hilary Swank is number five in the list. She is an actor who steals the show both on-screen and off it. Sex and The City star Sarah Jessica Parker may draw a great deal of influence from her fashionista on-screen character Carrie Bradshaw but it bodes her well. Spanish diva Penelope Cruz is a show-stealer on the red carpet and she is number seven. Thesp Gwyneth Paltrow is number eight. She is one star who carries grace as an additional outfit. Popular star Reese Witherspoon may be short but she sure knows how to make up for it by dressing right and dressing in style. Last on the list, we have Charlize Theron, a diva with matchless charisma and stunning gowns. What do the Oscars bring us this year? Let us wait and watch. Look out for our next latest entertainment update soon.

Iraq is gearing up for its forthcoming parliamentary elections on Sunday. It is a test of the nation’s strength and unity as the US forces in the country are withdrawing day by day abiding Obama’s “No War” policy. Iraqis must overcome long-prevalent sectarianism and religious and ethnic divides and come together to set up a new democratic government for them. The new 325-seat legislature formed by ballot voting is considered as a major step forward for the blood-stained country. A number of political parties and rival factions have been formed since the 2005 US-dominated elections that spurred an insurgence of violence in the nation. The current government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will continue to wield power till the new legislature has been completely formed. The latest news update is that some of the current ministers are concerned about losing their jobs. Observers predict that it will be tough to form a stable government because there are a plethora of parties. None of them stand to get a sweeping majority because Iraqi politics has always been fragmented by ethnic and religious sectarianism. Any party that wins the most votes will need the aid and support of others in the form of a coalition. The oldest statesman of Iraqi politics, Adnan Pachachi, also running for the elections says “Sectarianism is cause for concern because there would be a kind of vacuum. It is in everyone’s interest to form a government very soon.” The political campaigning the last few months has been active with rallies, party meetings, posters and TV ads. More than 6200 candidates are contesting the elections. The general say is that the Sunnis, Shiites and the Kurds have to come together to form the new Government. The Iraqiya List, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is a general favorite for all Iraqis because of the party’s secular policy. Although the Kurds cannot form a majority owing to fewer numbers, they will have a major say in deciding the ruling party. Although the US troops will oversee the elections and provide surveillance, the Pentagon will not have any say in it. The US has lost around 4300 of its troops in the past seven years and soldiers are preparing to leave the country. Meanwhile, updated news is that rebellious Anti-American cleric in hiding, Muqtada al-Sadr made a surprise appearance from Iran and urged his countrymen to stay united and vote for ‘faithful’ Iraqis.

Popular reality show American idol is down to 16 contestants. This is the latest update in entertainment in the USA. The reality singing competition is immensely popular and has followers all over the world. The recent show had 20 contestants vying for the top spot. The event kick-started with the song “I Gotta Feeling” from Black Eyed Peas. Many of them weren’t expecting an elimination but the show had some nasty surprises. The group performance was good with the singers picking the right song. However, one of the judges, Simon Cowell had other ideas. He didn’t much appreciate the ladies’ singing. He mentioned that one of them was “so bad” that he turned off the TV. The male singers too didn’t put a good show together. John Park who sang “Gravity” was the first contestant to be shown the door this Thursday. Meanwhile, voters correctly decided to give Andrew Garcia another chance to prove his mettle. This meant that contestant Jermaine Sellers was forced to leave the show although the church choir-trained 27-year old’s rendering of “What’s Going On” was his best so far. The usually rude Jermaine said, “In God there is no failure…so I leave here happy. I appreciate y’all to the fullest. I really do”. He nodded for the last time in the show to a jam-packed audience “and everybody need to go out and get a onesie” was his parting shot. Danny Gokey was spared the trauma this time and made a comeback to the show. After this it was the ladies’ turn. Michelle Delamor’s “Arms Wide Open” was a bad effort and she was the first to go. This meant that Didi Benami made it to safety zone. Haeley Vaughn was the last contestant to be eliminated. She and Lacey Brown were given the cold Cowell stare for a long time. Cowell said Haeley was the “obvious” choice to be sent home. The 16-year old bore the brunt throughout with a never-fading smile. Thus, Idol is down to 16 contestants now. The latest update is that the 8 ladies will compete on Tuesday followed by the 8 gentlemen on Wednesday.

Two passengers were killed and 14 others suffered minor injuries when monstrous waves struck a cruise liner off the North East coast of Spain. The liner Louis Majesty belonged to a Greek cruise enterprise Louis cruise Lines. The ship had 1350 passengers and 580 crew members in all. It was flying under the Maltese flag from Barcelona, Spain to Genoa, Italy. It became a victim to waves 33 feet ( 9 metres) high which are very common in the Mediterranean. The spokesman  for the cruise lines Michael Maratheftis said that the gigantic waves were caused by winds blowing at 45 mph. The waves hit the ship with such force that shards of glass and furniture hit the passengers, killing two people and injuring a few. The two victims were both male. One was a German and the other was an Italian. The 14 injured included a 62-year old lady who has fractures in both the legs. The unfortunate incident occurred 24 miles off the Cabo de San Sebastian coast near the Spanish town of palafrugell. Although such waves are not uncommon in the Mediterranean, they occur only about once or twice a year. The Louis Majesty had passengers from 27 nations. Maratheftis said that they are doing their best to assure shaken passengers. All of them are being flown home at the expense of Louis Cruise lines. The injured are being treated in a hospital in Barcelona. The ship has returned to Barcelona and will remain in Barcelona for further repairs. The latest updated news is that Louis cruise Lines have cancelled all cruises at present. The Majesty will resume cruise on the 14^th of March.

Gone are the days when businessmen and entrepreneurs handed out paper business cards. Gone are the days when stacks of cards were exchanged and lost and misplaced. Say hello to e-business cards. Professional networking sites like LinkedIn are the new ways to establish contacts and develop business circles. Business cards are so passe. If information is exchanged on the net, people can get the latest updated information regarding their professional contacts. This is not possible in paper cards. If people change their moblie numbers or addresses, its easier to update them online than go in search of new paper cards. Digital business cards are easier to make changes, and can also be stored in your mobile phones. Business card applications like DubMeNow are linked to a lot of mobile phones such as Blackberry and Iphone. Manoj Ramnani, founder of the 14-month old DUB, hopes to make it big in the mobile phone market as his application has a lot of scope in business and ecommerce. A lot of wireless carriers are also coming forward to encourage business card and address book applications. Such digital business cards resemble the actual cards but are a lot more interactive as they allow the user to add links and profiles and mail changes. They also provide links to a lot of social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter. They are also made compatible with Operating Systems like Windows Mobile, Google’s OS Android and Nokia’s Symbian OS. Entrepreneurs who develop and market these applications have struck gold. Mobile phone companies are also encouraging Universities to help students come up with newer applications like desktop widgets and office tools. LinkedIn currently has an application software that is compatible with iphone and palm. Some techno-wizards are also exchanging contacts in the form of 2D barcodes- a new type of barcode that encodes images and text in pictoral form. For those who do not have smartphones, scanning and camera technologies are available to scan actual business cards and store them in digital form. Switzerland’s Poken markets devices that exchange data with the help of infrared beam and wireless media. Stay connected the E-way!

The lastest update on business on the consumer front is a primer on password protection. The consumer in today’s world has the greatest of opportunities to have things easy. He can make transactions online, purchase online, bank online and have innumerable tasks made online thanks to the Internet and the growth of e-commerce. A factor that is crucial to online transactions and banking is security. Every site asks the customer or client to sign up for accounts and thus, he or she has to create passwords in order to be able to access the account. What more? They have to protect the password for posterity because the threat of hacking has grown multifold in the recent past. Studies made recently have revealed that most consumers are lethargic about password theft and are not aware of its repercussions. Many still use 123456 or abc123, words with six characters or less, and common slangs. They also don’t mix and match uppercase letters with small letters and symbols. This makes it all the more easier for hackers. Recent shocking business updates say that a hacker can crack a password in 17 minutes. Even security questions are not very helpful because answers to common questions like “Where did you do study?”  or “Your mother’s maiden name?” can be found online in a lot of social networking sites of which too, a consumer is a major part of. So information that was previously considered secure and private is available easily on the internet. Says Linda Criddle of Lookbothways Online Safety Consulting, “Lie when asked security questions. Your answers do not even have to be truthful or relevant to the security questions. Just coin a phrase or an answer that you can remember for ages. In this way, hackers will not be able to break into your accounts.”  It is better to coin mixed up words or letters from phrases, replace letters to make illogical non-words. Also, it makes sense to avoid common sequences like 123456, abcdef, proper names, birthdays, addresses etc. Have different passwords for different types of sites or atleast make subtle changes to some of them. Changes that only you can remember. Those involved in trade or business make it a good practice to change their password every 60 days. The most sacred of them all being the email password as anyone who breaks an email account has access to scores of other accounts held by the same consumer. Protect your password today!

After Saturday’s massive earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, Chile suffered another tragedy as most of the coastal areas were hit by Tsunami. The quake had 723 victims, the worst-hit part being the wine-growing areas of Maule. After the quake, came the onslaught of the ocean. Although Maritime radios and the Navy issued sufficient warnings and alerted most of the coastal areas, the waves lashed some areas too soon. The three giant waves were 6 feet high and have left at least a 100000 people homeless. Around fifty of them are reported dead and an equal number missing. Rescue operations are still underway to evacuate quake victims from beneath the rubble. The city close to the epicenter of the quake, Concepcion, has lost several concrete buildings and apartments and firefighters are still rescuing survivors or pulling out bodies of victims. The cities are completely destroyed and the port has disappeared. Waters invaded the towns causing cars to pile up, some of them three or four high. An entire group of 40 retirees spending their holiday at a summer resort are reported missing. Timely warnings issued by port captains in coastal areas such as Pelluhue, managed to save thousands of lives.  The country’s copper industry was thankfully spared. Concha y Toro, Chile’s major winemaker and a big source of revenue, also has to halt production for at least a week. The country is seeking the support of the UNO. Several countries like the USA, Brazil and Argentina are providing temporary relief measures in the form of field hospitals, doctors, water-purification systems and fuel. In areas that are yet to get relief, there has been a lot of plundering of the local markets by looters and the poor who are in desperate need of food, water, gasoline and other essentials. In some areas, even law and order has gone hay-wire because of the double tragedy. Residents are forced to protect their homes day and night. Curfew has been imposed in some towns. World leaders extend their sympathy to the nation as it struggles to recover from the double disaster.

The Motion Picture Academy has announced the list of movies finalized as nominees for the most coveted award in filmdom – The Oscar Award for Best Motion Picture 2010. The movies vying for the golden statuette are “Avatar”, “The Blind Side”, “District 9”, “An Education”, “The Hurt Locker”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Precious: Based On the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”, “A Serious Man”, “Up”, and “Up In The Air”. Here is a quick look at them. A 20th Century Fox production, James Cameron’s epic Avatar is the strongest contender for the Oscars this year. Cameron had mind-mapped his movie 15 years ago but was waiting till he could capture his dream with the greatest visual effects technology. After the death of his scientist-twin, ex-marine Jake Sully becomes an Avatar (created with human DNA and Na’vi, the inhabitants of the verdant planet Pandora) to aid the US army to bring back a mineral that could rescue the despoiled Earth. This sci-fi film, also released in 3D, brings an imaginative world alive with breathtaking effects and animations. The Blind Side (Warner Bros.) is a real-life story about a poor Afro-American teenager Oher who is taken into the fold of a wealthy American family and lovingly nurtured and encouraged to become a football player. Sandra Bullock steals the show as the woman who defies boundaries, in stark contrast to the well-disguised racism exhibited by her friends. Third in line is Peter Jackson’s horrifying yet deeply engrossing Sci-fi fantasy District 9 where aliens are refugees in South Africa and are returned to their planet, escaping from the clutches of the evil MNU. They seek the help of a human Wikus (Sharlto Copley) who himself is undergoing an alien metamorphosis due to an unfortunate incident. Sony Pictures’ “An Education” is about the life of a 16 year old English girl in post-war 1962 London and her affair with a man twice her age. Carey Mulligan renders a brilliant portrayal as Jenny. The film which highlights a young woman’s trials and tribulations in a narrow minded yet impressionable society, sparkles in humor throughout. Summit Entertainment’s The Hurt Locker is based on the experiences of a US bomb Squad in war-inflicted Baghdad. “Inglourious Basterds” is a brilliant WW2 movie about a group of ruthless Jewish-American soldiers and a revenge-seeking French-Jewish woman in Nazi-occupied France. Precious is a courageous yet dire movie about the abuse of a young Afro-American by her own parents. Although the storyline is audacious, it portrays stark reality that is sometimes willfully ignored. The movie is critically much acclaimed. “A serious man” attacks US prejudice against Jews in 1962, with dark humor. Walt Disney 89-minute beautiful animation film “Up” is universal in appeal. It is a light-hearted tale of an adventure undertaken by a cantankerous old man and an 8 year old young explorer brought together by sheer coincidence. Up in the Air is a story of a millionaire’s life gone hay-wire by a tumultuous series of events, with convincing portrayals from George Clooney and Vera Farmiga.