You’ve got to hand it to Sir Richard Branson. He’s not just a billionaire, he’s fun. He’s not stodgy or creepy or any of that sort. As the leader of the Virgin group of companies, Branson has taken risks time and again to give people something special.
This time, Virgin is about to do something out of this world — literally. He has established Virgin Galactic, a new company dedicated to the exploration of suborbital space flight with an eye toward opening the doors for private flights. The group has done several tests on spacecraft prototypes and the progress being made has been cited as encouraging. It has been projected that “space tourism,” once a buzz word for an industry that never fully materialized, may finally become a reality at last.
What makes this story interesting is that it opens the door for people who may never really cut the grade at NASA to get out there and explore the cosmos. After all, flying into outer space is a dream a lot of us have and no high-profile celebrity has been in pursuit of that dream like former N’SYNC member, Lance Bass.
Bass, like some of the other members of defunct boy band N’SYNC, has been busy leading a largely private life after the singing group disbanded. One of his major endeavors penciled in as early as 2002 was to take part in a documentary of a celebrity going out into space. He was chosen due to his affinity for space travel, as it has been his lifelong dream to fly into space.
What happened next, however, was no less than a dashing of dreams, as sponsors started backing out of the project. Bass had already gone through the paces of preparation, such as moving to Star City, Russia, having corrective heart surgery for his cardiac arrhythmia and learning to speak Russian as part of the job. Yet, for fear of possible accidents and the media backlash that would occur if something went wrong with Bass’s maiden space voyage, the proposed documentary fell through.
To this day, Bass maintains that he would love to try and travel that proverbial final frontier sometime in his life. That was years ago. Now, with Virgin Galactic, the technology may be the key to making Lance Bass’s hopes of space flight real.
Or will it? We asked the Predicto Mobile community and 64% say yes, Bass will visit outer space soon thanks to Virgin Galactic.
What about you? Visit Predicto.com and vote today!
Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine (114 MB download)
Join Department 42, a secret organization devoted to protecting the world from black magic. As your first assignment, you have to track down nine malevolent artifacts that disappeared during a mysterious fire at Grimstone Mansion! Explore strange locations and solve clever puzzles to protect mankind from a new nightmare and restore order before the sun rises on a dark new age!
Build-a-lot 3 (97 MB download)
Build-a-lot 3 is your passport to fun! Travel all over Europe as you restore rundown houses, develop friendly services and beautify neighborhoods with picturesque landmarks. The changing needs of the neighborhood will sure keep you busy—you may need to brave the rain and snow, deal with noisy neighbors, or even put out a small fire to get the job done on time! Pack your bags and let the fun take flight in this exciting sequel to the hit strategy game!
I know it is just bitterly cold in northern Europe and Germany these days and continuing to write about
Wintersports like i did last time wont get anybody in a better mood who isn´t into
the cold season and enjoys Winterholidays .
So i thought i might can lift your spirits and get a few of you a little bit into a summer feeling
by writing about , in my opinion , one of the best and sports at the beach !
Beach-Volleyball !
Beach-Volleyball is obviously a sport everybody knows and has played already sometime in his
or her life .
Whether it was with friends and family at vacations or or with just a single teammate ,like Competitive Beach-Volleyball is played with two teams consisting each of two players .
The game itself was originated in Southern California even though the first beach volleyball games
took place on the beaches of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawai’i .
Especially over the last couple of decades the sport became more and more popular
and due to this rise in attention the FIVB created the first World Beach Volleyball Championships,
played in Rio de Janiero, Brazil in 1987.
Beach-Volleyball tournaments nowadays are played worldwide,even in countries without traditional beaches like Switzerland and even cities like New York , Singapore or Berlin and the sport even had its Olympic debut in 1996.
At the time there is also a very successful German Team on the Tour,with Jonas Reckermann and Julius Brinck
who became World champions in 2009.
The Rules are actually quite common to the ones in indoor Volleyball but there are differences especially concerning
blocking because we just have 2 players on the field instead of 6.
And this is also why Beach-Volleyball players use a technique a lot of people might always wonder what it is about
These weird finger signs their use behind the back !
But i think this video definitely describes it better than me !
Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and ex-footie hardman Vinnie Jones are among those rumoured to be taking part.
Model Katie Price’s on-off boyfriend, cage fighter Alex Reid, and her ex, singer Dane Bowers, are also reported to be among the Celebrity Big Brother cast.
The two are said to have already come to blows before going in.
The theme of the series is “hell lies in others”, which has proved the case many times in previous programmes.
Executive producer Shirley Jones said the famous line from Dante’s Inferno “Abandon hope all ye who enter here” had inspired much of the house’s makeover.
Celebrity Big Brother chair will provide a few squeals
The Diary Room chair
The property – which is fitted with nearly 50 surveillance cameras and 25 microphones – is opulent but oppressive with plush velvet sofas, boudoir lighting, fake fur pelts and antique animal skulls.
The kitchen is designed to look like an “autopsy room” with clinical stainless steel fittings, Damien Hirst-style pickling jars, and walls painted in hospital scrubs green.
But the biggest shock for contestants could come in the Diary Room where the chair is modelled on a waltzer ride and sits in the middle of the fairground-themed room.
And for once the celebrities will be able to bring in an unlimited amount of luggage.
Celebrity Big Brother, which will raise money for Comic Relief, begins tonight at 9pm.
How do you define entertainment in the 21st century? Gone are the days when operas, theatrical plays, and circus events were the most popular forms of entertainment. With the evolution and rapid development of technology nowadays, entertainment is now on its interactive form.
Children and adults find themselves enjoying the benefits of technology, especially in the entertainment industry. Animated and digital films as high-tech gadgets replace traditional forms of entertainment. The impact of technology to the entertainment industry is clearly such that it produced one of the most popular machines of all time, especially to the younger generations of our society, "the video game console.
Almost every ordinary American household owns at least one video game console . Since the Magnavox Odyssey era, video game consoles are worth as one of the most popular forms of entertainment, especially to the younger generations of our society. The interesting story behind each game and the animation features are regarded as one of the factors contributing to the success of the console in the entertainment industry.
This is not surprising that the game the seventh generation, which began in the last quarter of 2005 with the release of Microsoft Corporation's Xbox 360 consoles reached. The Big 3 of video gaming industry (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo), video game consoles are evolving quickly, with the production of advanced and powerful video game consoles.
Among the members of the seventh generation of video game consoles is Sony's PlayStation 3, which is scheduled to be released at different data in the main countries in the world. The first version was announced at November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17 of that year in Canada and the United States, and in March 2007 in Australia and Europe.
The third member of Sony's PlayStation series, PS3 was officially unveiled to the public during the E3 conference on May 16, 2005. The release will cover the shipment of two configurations, as in the Sony press release. The premium version of the PS3 contains an internal 60 GB hard drive , multiple flash memory card reader, wireless internet connectivity, and a brighter cosmetic silver-colored trim.
On the other hand, the alternative configuration of the console comes with an internal 20 GB hard drive (which is upgradeable), but without wireless internet connectivity, playstation 3 console, and a memory card reader.
According to information published on the PS3 press release, the video game console will be a series of title launches for its game, which read as follows: Madden NFL 2007, Full Auto 2: Battlelines, Genji: Days of the Blade , College Hoops 2007, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire, Need,
Still no sign of the little babe, who is due on Tuesday, just plenty of false alarm twinges, irritability and lack of sleep (not necessarily in that order). We seem to be living on a diet of baked potatoes and cold ham, turkey sandwiches, cheese and left over mince pies as most people probably are, but I’m starting to dread opening the fridge now. My husband has made a very good left-over sprouts soup. I’m trying to enjoy it.
In amongst all the turkey and ham I served up a game pie for my family this Christmas. The recipe comes from Sybil Kapoor’s ‘Simply British’ a beautifully written book divided into chapters by ingredients and filled with historical and literary references which make it a good read as well as a great recipe book. There are no pictures but don’t let this put you off. I’ve never been let down by her suggestions and she has a lightness of touch which means that even something like game pie, which could be just the sort of heavy stodge you don’t need at this time of year, is lightened by lemon zest, parsley and thyme. Wonderful. There are lots of traditional recipes in the book, such as potted brown shrimp and apple charlotte, but also exotic sounding ones like lavender pear ice cream or rabbit and cucumber fricassee. So if you don’t know her do seek her out.
I had lots of partridge in my freezer so just used that and skipped the pheasant but I’ve included both here as normally I’d have some of each to use up at this time of year. I served it with left over mash potato from Christmas and some much needed salad. The recipe is simplicity itself, just make sure you have a good pie dish and pie vent (looks like a little bird with its beak open wide) and you don’t roll the pastry too thin, which I think I did. You’ll feel like such a domestic goddess making this. If you don’t have game, there is also a wonderful recipe for chicken and leek pie in the book that I also loved.
Game pie
Serves 4
Prep: 25 mins Cooking: 1 hour
2 partridges, cleaned
4 skinned pheasant breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
10 thin slices back bacon
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inner sticks celery, finely sliced
2 carrots, cut into fine half moons
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
285ml/1/2 pint dry white wine
565ml/1 pint chicken stock
1 lemon, finely grated
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
3 sprigs parsley
225g/8oz chilled puff pastry
1/2 small egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7
Neatly remove the two breast fillets of each partridge by cutting along the breast bone and down the rib cage. Pull off any skin and cut into chunks. If you are confident about boning you can remove the legs and cut the meat away from the thigh bone, before skinning and dicing. The drumsticks are too small to worry about but can be use with the carcasses for a good game stock if you wish.
Cut the pheasant breasts into similar sized chunks, add to the partridge and season. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the cubes in batches until they are all lightly and evenly coloured. Remove and place in the pie dish.
Remove the fat from the bacon and cut into medium-sized dice. Fry briskly in the same oil until lightly coloured. Reduce the temperature, mix in the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute gently until they begin to soften. Sprinkle with the flour, cook for a further minute, then stir in the wine. Boil vigorously until the liquid has been reduced by two-thirds. Stir in the stock, lemon zest and herbs. Continue to boil until the sauce has reduced down a little and thickened. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Pour over the diced game and mix thoroughly. If possible allow the mixture to cool before covering with pastry. [I stopped at this point and froze the pie filling then defrosted and did the pastry the day I used it].
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface in roughly the same shape as your pie dish only larger. Cut a ribbon from the edge of the dough and press it firmly on to the rim of the pie dish. Brush this with a mixture of beaten egg and milk and place a pie vent in the centre of the filling. Using a fork, firmly press around the rim so that the two pastries are glued together. Cut off the excess. Prick the lid with a knife, ensuring that the vent has a hole, and paint the crust with some more egg and milk. It can be chilled until needed at this stage.
Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and become golden. When you are serving, remember to fish out the parsley sprigs.
Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine (114 MB download)
Build-a-lot 3 (97 MB download)
