Category Archives: Culture

Callum Fox And The Mousehole Ghost By AC Hatter Book Review

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AC Hatter bookI do have to confess to a love for young adult fiction. When done well there are few things better in life than getting lost in a book which is written with a young imagination in mind.

I am pleased to say that Callum Fox And The Mousehole Ghost By AC Hatter is one such book. A gripping page turner that is the holy grail of young adult fiction: a book that is enjoyable to the young and old alike. Well-written, intelligent and well thought-out. The characters are highly likeable and well rounded. The historical parts, as we flip from the past and present of the Mousehole ghost named in the title, Jim A World War II evacuee, are very well written and researched. I was really drawn into the story and read the entire book in one day. We already included Callum Fox And The Mousehole Ghost in our Perfect Holiday Reading article.

This book is also funny with great observations from the characters. I really felt like I knew the characters and I found them loveable and amusing. Although the book is also about ghosts as well as real people I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief.

Callum is a great character. A very modern boy indeed, loving Facebook and listening to his iPod. He goes through a very interesting journey in this book, making Callum Fox And The Mousehole Ghost a truly wonderful coming-of-age book. Brilliant stuff and I cannot wait to see what AC Hatter does next.

Callum Fox’s summer holiday in Cornwall isn’t working out quite as he’d expected. His Grandad’s turned out to be a miserable old git and Sophie, the girl he met on the train to Penzance, seems to view him as more of a liability than anything else. However, his time in Mousehole starts to get a whole lot more interesting when he meets Jim, the ghost of a World War II evacuee. Seventy years separate Callum and Jim, but as their stories unfold Callum realises they have more in common than anyone could have imagined, and that some secrets last a lifetime… Callum is a fabulous, funny and feisty character who takes us on a roller-coaster of a ride around Cornwall.

Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost by AC Hatter is available here.

 

 

Angelina Jolie On Meeting Louis Zamperini & Unbroken Trailer

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One of the films we are most excited about is Angelina Jolie’s second directorial film, Unbroken. The film is about the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. Angelina told Australia’s TV Week Magazine about meeting Zamperini just before he died.

“I brought him the film on my laptop in the hospital and it was amazing seeing someone at the end of their life watching their life unfold again, at the same time their body was shutting down,

He wanted me to make the movie to show something hopeful about the strength of the human spirit that can pull us through. He reminded me to have my surgery in the year that I did and he reminded me to appreciate every day of my life.”

Watch the trailer and let us know what you think.

unbroken__2014_ Angelina Jolie

Cara Delevingne Wears Caslazur Gijima To Leonardo DiCaprio’s Birthday Party

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Cara Delevingne wears Caslazur Gijima jacket and chief shorts to Leonardo DiCaprio’s birthday party in St. Tropez

 

Who: Cara Delevingne

What: Caslazur Gijima jacket and Chief shorts

Where: Leonardo DiCaprio’s birthday party – St. Tropez, France

When: 23rd  July 2014

cara Cara Delevingne Cara Delevingne wears Caslazur Cara Delevingne wears Caslazur Gijima

Top 10 Books Most Commonly Left On Flights | Holiday Reads

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holidayreadssummerbooksA good read is one of the essential ingredients for a relaxing holiday, according to 80 per cent* of holidaymakers who always pack one for their travels. Despite this, around 600 books and 1,400 kindles are left on board British Airways flights every year.

 

The most common is The Holy Bible, accounting for six per cent of books left on board. Some of the more unusual books which have been found include notebooks, personal diaries, wedding sketchbooks and even a cheque book!

 

The British Airways survey found that books were still the most popular form of reading with three in five taking a book, compared to one in five taking an e-reader. Women are also more likely to own an e-reader (20 per cent) compared to men (15 per cent).

 

British Airways has compiled a list of the top 10 books most commonly left on flights over the past three months, as inspiration for good holidays reads this summer:

 

  1. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (Fiction, Thriller)
  2. King and Maxwell Series, David Baldacci (Thriller)
  3. The Fault in our Stars, John Green (Novel)
  4. Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty (Business/Economics)
  5. Alex Cross, Run – James Patterson (Thriller)
  6. The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton (Novel)
  7. Michael Lewis, Flash Boys (Non-fiction)
  8. Fifty Shades of Grey (Freed), EL James (Romance)
  9. Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Novel)
  10. The Racketeer, John Grisham (Thriller)

 

Novels are the most common type of book found on flights (22 per cent), followed by crime thrillers, study and learning books, travel books, non-fiction and business and economics. The least likely genre to be left behind are ‘chick flicks’.

 

Some of the most popular biographies found on board were by John Bishop, Muhammad Ali and, no surprise during the Wimbledon Championships – tennis player Rafa Nadal.

 

The survey also found that Scottish travellers were the most likely to own an e-reader (28 per cent) – the least likely were East Anglia (nine per cent). Nine out of ten people from the East Midlands were likely to take a book on holiday, compared to just a quarter from the North East. Those from the South East are the biggest readers, taking at least two or three books on holiday.

For those prone to losing books, British Airways has a selection of audio titles in its extensive library collection. It includes Jennifer Saunders biography ‘Bonkers; My life in laughs’, Virginia Woolf ‘The mark on the wall’, Roald Dahl ‘The Great Automatic Grammatizator’, Anton Chekhov ‘The Chorus Girl’ and Charles Dickens ‘Great Expectations’ among many others available on selected long-haul flights in July.

 

*1,000 people surveyed by OnePoll

 

 

Watch: Video of Orlando Bloom & Justin Bieber Fight

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Justin, actually getting along with someone.

Justin, actually getting along with someone.

 

The internet is abuzz with the news that Orlando Bloom threw a punch at Justin Bieber after he made a slight against Miranda Kerr, and now we have sourced the video.

The altercation happened on Wednesday at Cipriani in Ibiza and it seems the punch was blocked by one of Bieber’s guards.

What do you think?

 

 

Watch The Gentleman’s Wager: New Short Film Starring Jude Law

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Our wonderful writer, Corinne, went to the screening of The Gentleman’s Wager and had a ball. Now our readers can watch it too. It is directed by Jake Scott. Take a look and let us know what you think.

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL, the leading luxury Blended Scotch Whisky, as per IWSR 2013, today launches on global release a short film starring actors Jude Law and Giancarlo

Directed by British director Jake Scott, the film tells the story of a wager between two men striving for personal progress through the quest for a truly rare experience. ‘The Gentleman’s Wager’ sees Law in the role of a man who, despite having it all, challenges himself to strive for something he wants that money can’t buy.

the gentleman's wager

Shot in The British Virgin Islands, Caribbean and London respectively, the story begins with Law and Giannini sipping JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL whisky on a truly unique hand-crafted boat as they look out across a stunning ocean seascape. We hear Law’s character state that he wants to buy the boat, but it is not for sale and the only way he can get it, is by putting on a truly unique performance. The wager begins.

Commenting on his role and involvement in the film, Law says: “The film is about improvement and progress and this is something I try to do in my work and life. I had to learn new skills through the shooting of this film and that combined with the places we visited and shot in, alongside working with Jake and Giancarlo too, made it a truly rare experience.”

James Thompson, Managing Director, Diageo Reserve says: “We are delighted to be launching
‘The Gentleman’s Wager’ film today. To us, Jude embodies the progressive spirit that the JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL brand identifies with and celebrates, so we’re thrilled he has taken on the lead role of the film and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”

Leonino Naked Tunes | Music Profile

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Leonino "Naked Tunes" (Album) (Hueso Records)Band/Artist: Leonino (aka Jorge González)
Location: Berlin, Germany / Santiago, Chile
Styles: Pop
Similar to/RIYL: Scott Walker, Kate Bush, Dolly Parton, The Blue Nile, Serge Gainsbourg
CD: Naked Tunes
Release date: September 15, 2014

Accolades:
– Amnesty tour 1988 with Sting , Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman,
Bruce Springteen.
– Bogotá en Armonia festival 1988 with Jose Feliciano, Miguel
Mateos, Toreros Muertos .
– Estadio Nacional de Chile 2003 , 2 nights 80.000 people each one
as the only act. Estadio el Campin de Bogotá 2003 2 shows 70.000
people each night with no support. Same thing in Medellin,
Bucaramanga and Cali.
– Shows in 10 towns in Colombia, 11 in Peru, 4 in Bolivia, 10 in the
USA including a festival on Staples Center in L.A., 7 towns in
Ecuador and more than 30 in Chile.
-Albums: Records sold with Los Prisioneros and solo efforts,
around 2 million units sold.
– The Chilean society of songwriting rights , SCD gave to Jorge
Gonzalez in 1997 an award as the best pop songwriter of the
decade.
– Chile: winner “best song, best album, best act ” both in 1986 and
1990.

Production:
All songs are produced by Leonino at Krossener Studios, Berlin, mixed and mastered by Tobias Freund (except There Is a Light, mixed by Matthew Styles-Harris).

Bio:
As leader/vocalist of Los Prisioneros–the most iconic Chilean rock band ever and front-runners of a new musical resistance to Pinochet’s dictatorship that burst through in the mid 80’s – Jorge González became idol and voice for an entire generation of oppressed youth, reaching the pinnacle of fame not only in Chile but throughout Latin America. Never afraid of stating his opinions with sarcastic humor and raw talent, he guided the trio through a series of best-selling albums full of bile and discordance. It was a journey that began with the disenchantment of straight-forward punk-a-billy and meandered through different song structures, including an occasional excursion into ballads and other cross-genres, and the use of samples, keyboards and electronic sounds.

After the first four albums – and with them having conquered a transversal fan base–González ventured into a prolific and eclectic solo career, which once again consecrated him as an innovator and a genius composer, raising his signature tell-it-like-it-is lyrics and his particular crooning style to new levels of adoration. With an incipient electronic scene rapidly developing in Santiago in the early 90’s, he was involved in several releases progressively exploring into dance music (Gonzalo Martínez y Sus Congas Pensantes, Los Updates, Los Sampler…) and eventually moved to Germany in the 00’s, where he has continued working in close circle with a group of notorious musicians from Chile and abroad.

Jorge González is now back again as Leonino, with an intimate set of new songs accompanied guitar (in English) featuring collaborations by brothers Pier and Juan Pablo Bucci, Mariano Scopel, Argenis Brito, Martin Schopf, Tobias Freund and Miguel Toro. All songs are produced by Leonino at Krossener Studios, Berlin, mixed and mastered by Tobias Freund (except There Is a Light, mixed by Matthew Styles-Harris). This album is for Gia. Published by HR in an edition of 500 copies.