The Apprentice – You’re F/Hired

I’ve never watched a full series of UK TV programme The Apprentice before the 2011 series that has just ended, perhaps because previously the winner got a job but this year the prize was a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar into a business partnership. That made it more appealing to me because in my own small way I’m an entrepreneur and am interested in anything to do with entrepreneurship. I think that the change was a good move because we need entrepreneurs coming along with new products and business ideas to help get us out of recession.

Although I enjoyed watching the series I was disappointed with the shortage of real entrepreneurs amongst the competitors and felt that most of them would have been more suited to the old format where a job was on offer. Out of the 4 that got through to the final only 2 had run their own businesses Susan Ma and winner Tom Pellereau.

The business plans of all of the 4 finalists were disappointing to some extent, but at least third placed Susan stuck to what she knew and I’m sure will do really well in the future with her beauty business. Fourth place went to Irishman Jim Eastwood. He didn’t just kiss the blarney stone, he swallowed it! Non stop patter and cliches, maybe a great salesman but I doubt he’d sell to me. Second placed Helen Milligan was the favourite to win having led all the way through, but her Concierge idea was just an idea with no real substance behind it and trying to change to her second business plan of a bakery chain at the last minute wasn’t a good idea.

The winner Tom is an inventor, a nice guy who looks and acts like the stereotype mad professor. His idea was for a chair that helped with back problems. I’ll bet the appeal to Lord Sugar had a lot to do with the curved nailfile that Tom had invented and brought to market. Curved nailfile – I don’t get it. Anyway, like many who watched I wanted Tom to win and would love to see a fly on the wall programme of the partnership. At one point I half expected Lord Sugar to make Tom and Helen joint winners, Tom inventing and Helen doing what she’s best at organising.

Now that it’s all over I’m wondering what idea I would come up with if I had to produce a business plan to help win  £250,000 prize, that should keep the brain cells working for a while.

Who would have thought a few months back that this 18 year old fresh faced singer from South Shields would win the 2009 X Factor final? Not me anyway. After the auditions I sort of favoured Jamie Afro, that was based on his great performance of Sex on Fire. Problem was that Jamie never set the stage on fire again so my attention turned to Miss Frank. This girlband was 3 contestants who were encouraged to form a group after they failed to get through to bootcamp. They were great, original and interesting and I’m sure will have a good future if they stay together.

I always liked runner up Ollie Murs, he is a great performer though I didn’t think that his singing voice was the best. Up until the last 3 weeks I would have chosen Olly over Joe because his performances entertained me more. Then I saw that Joe had constantly improved and that his confidence was growing. Suddenly young Joe McElderry was beginning to look like a contender. His voice is probably the best of all of the contestants with perhaps the exception of Danyl Johnson who came fourth.

In third place was Stacy Solomon, the Dagenham girl with the big voice. She never really did it for me until the last show where she sang the Freddie Mercury classic ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and performed a duet with Michael Buble. That duet was something else and to me was better than the Ollie Murs/Robbie Williams duet and the Joe McElderry/George Michael duet – to be honest I was disappointed in George Michael and thought that Joe outsang him. 

The final was one of the most entertaining shows that I have ever seen and included a performance by Sir Paul McCartney, the most successful singer songwriter ever. When the X Factor finalists joined him on the stage it must have been massive for them – or epic as Olly says.

Congratulations to Joe, a very worthy winner. Congratulations to Cheryl Cole who mentored her second winner in a row. Congratulations to all of the other finalists who never failed to entertain during the best X Factor year yet.

For more info about musicians visit the mega music site or click on mega music talent

I didn’t realise that I had a Sudoku Strategy until I looked around the Internet. It’s surprising to think how such a simple game has built up such a huge following and is taken so seriously. Just a 9 square grid, where you place the numbers 1-9 without repeating them horizontally, vertically or in any of the 9 squares. It sounds easy but the puzzles come with varying difficulties.

Apparently I use more than one Sudoku Strategy. I start out by looking for the 3 x 3 grids or lines with the most numbers already entered and then find the missing numbers by a process of elimination across the grids or lines. That is called ‘scanning’ and works well for the easier Sudoku puzzles. When I reach a dead end with the more difficult games I use a strategy called ‘marking up’. If I have a choice of more than one number I pencil in the numbers in a corner and delete them as used. That works well for the easier and medium difficulty Sudoku puzzles. The hard ones I don’t attempt unless I’m feeling particularly masochistic.

Howard Gamms from the US who sold the rights to Dell Publishing in 1979 developed the modern Sudoku puzzle. Howard Gamms called the puzzle ‘Number Game’ and the ‘Sudoku’ title came about because it became popular in Japan before it’s rise in popularity worldwide. If you go back further into history you find that ‘Magical Squares’ were around in the eighth century and figured to be a strong medical talisman. As with modern day Sudoku diagonals, rows and columns all have to add up to the same amount and no single number can be repeated.

If you do puzzles on or offline it’s said to help with anti-aging. The theory is that games and puzzles exercise your brain and help to slow down the normal aging process of loss of memory and other age associated declines. The theory isn’t scientifically backed but I can see the reasoning behind it. I know that I’ve always felt sharper after doing any type of puzzle and as I’m now into middle age I would like to think that I can do something to help myself to stay sharp and it’s got to be a good thing if you enjoy doing it.

There is even lots of money to be made from Sudoku. Our newsagents now carry several different publications for Sudoku puzzlers, and unlike most magazines and newspapers they aren’t funded to any great extent by paid advertising. There are Sudoku products including electronic games and you can win money in contests on and offline.

Recently the first ever US National Sudoku championship was held in Philadelphia. The winner of the most difficult level Dr. Thomas Snyder from California won $10,000 and will represent the US in the 3rd annual world championship in India next year. $10,000 seems an awful lot to win for such a simple game but I doubt I’d have a chance. Dr. Snyder completed the advanced number puzzle in just 7 minutes 9 seconds. I think that I would have to practice an awful lot to get anywhere near that speed for an easy puzzle never mind an advanced one.

You can now get Sudoku games for your iphone, Palm Smartphones and handheld PDAs. Online games are plentiful, ranging from basic puzzles of ranging difficulty to flash games. I’ve come across different variations such as Top Hat Sudoku, Magic, Sumdoku, Addoku, Kakuro, Samurai, Wordoku and Killer. The last one was self explanatory and I doubt I’d be up to it.

My Sudoku Strategy techniques would be severely tested if I attempted all of the possible 5,472,730,538 uniquely different Sudoku puzzle grids mathematicians Frazer Jarvis and Ed Russell have counted. It doesn’t seem much but if you just do one puzzle a day it would take you just over 14,993,782 years to complete all of them. Not possible of course, but I wonder if the huge amount of variations has something to do with the growing popularity of Sudoku.

For a free online Sudoku puzzle visit http://www.gameskill.co.uk

Sometimes you read something on the internet and even though it’s posted on several “reputable” sites, by several different writers, you still don’t believe it’s true.

A month ago I experienced this phenomenon when I read that Sean Penn was cast in the new Three Stooges movie. I experienced it again in regards to the new Spider-man musical that’s heading to Broadway.

Surprisingly, I completely believe Spider-man would provide fodder for the musical stage. Like Hollywood, Broadway’s profit margins are so thin they can’t take many chances on new material. They have to use well-known source material in order to secure the financial backing necessary to produce a Broadway show.

Of course, I might have chosen a Disney movie or gone the route of a cheesy jukebox musical instead of having everyone’s favorite web slinger croon and prance around on stage.

Spider-man is probably the most sarcastic superhero around and musical theater is the one medium that eschews sarcasm. After all, it’s hard to be acerbic when you’re expressing your feelings in song.

What shocked me about “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” a musical directed by Julie Taymor, is the show’s composer. It’s none other than Messrs. Bono and Edge.

Taymor and Bono worked together on her Beatles musical, “Across the Universe.” For the project Bono covered two Beatles’ classics, “I Am the Walrus” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

Still, Taymor must have some incriminating pictures of the U2 duo, or maybe she’s has pull with the Malibu city council and can help the Edge build those houses. Either way, this project seems an odd undertaking for the coolest-half of the coolest rock band in the world.

Nationwide casting calls are currently underway although rumors had Rachel Evan Wood slated to play Mary Jane. However, Taymor dismissed the speculation stating she wants to go with unknown actors.

The casting process began April 9th in Orlando and ends May 27th in Austin, Texas. When it’s all said and done, casting directors will have visited six U.S. cities.

What are they looking for besides someone that tingles their Spidey senses? Well they’re looking for “performers with dynamic rock/pop voices including those with experience in bands and as solo performers.” Fortunately, that leaves out Tobey Maguire.

The musical, which begins previews in 2010 (but of course Spiderman tickets go on sale this June), caused a bit of stir on the internet over the announcement that it included a “lead female villain.”

It makes sense, Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, Venom, Carnage, Electro, the Sandman, the Vulture, the Hobgoblin and Sam Raimi would be too hard to recreate for the stage.

The casting call described the show’s villain as “Sinead O’Connor with a Middle Eastern/Bulgarian/Greek twist.” You have to love the way entertainment types mix and match characteristics; I have no idea what they are talking about.

Some speculated that the unnamed villainess is Dr. Victoria Von Doom while others claimed it’s Black Cat. Another thinks it’s Hillary Clinton. According to several sources the new bad girl, created specifically for the show, is Swiss Miss (the name doesn’t fit the description though).

The nerds at Aint It Cool News had an interesting post claiming the villainess is a new character called Arachne. She’s your typical time traveling beauty that turned herself into a “spider for her hubris.”

Who knows, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Author Bio: Ryan Hogan writes for ClickitTicket.com, a website that sells affordable Broadway tickets to shows like Spider-Man the Musical.

Article Source: http://megamusictalent.com

‘The Simpsons’ is one of the most flourishing animation series in the United States and kids around the globe cannot even think of their day passing without watching the hilarious and ridiculous activities of Maggie, Lisa, Bart, Marge and Homer – all of the Simpsons family.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name.

The events are all set up in the imaginary town of Springfield. Homer Simpson, the head of the family is the main character of the show. However, he does not have the backbone of a hero. Bearing him in mind as the silliest guy of the town wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all. He is a member of staff at ‘Nuclear Power Plant’ plays the character of a crude, clumsy, overweight and lazy man. His wife is Marge Simpson, the mother in the show. She is obviously much better than her husband, Homer and plays the character of a sophisticated, smart, gorgeous lady. Even though Homer’s actions are not really loveable, Marge still has those sweet and loving feelings for her dearest husband, she stood by him at all times.

Lisa Simpson, the clever cookie of the Simpsons family always has the desire to do something but while doing that something at times she drives all the people in Springfield crazy. Bart Simpson, the son of the Simpsons family is completely opposite to Lisa. He often gets himself into unwanted troubles. Lastly, Maggie Simpson is a small kid who is not even able to talk but understands very well that he is a part of this crazy family.

The Simpsons besides being the most favorite TV show is also one of the longest running shows. Successfully running for almost twenty seasons is definitely not a child’s play, however ‘The Simpsons’ show did it and proved itself as a very entertaining and exciting animation series. The show made its TV debut on the 19th of April, 1987 on the ‘Tracey Ullman Show’ in the cartoon series titled ‘Good Night’.

All the people loved it thoroughly and The Simpsons was back as a thirty minute animated series on ‘Fox Network’ on the 17th of December, 1989. It was one among the top thirty best rated TV shows of the season. Almost all of the episodes received twenty million viewers and innumerable crossed around thirty million viewers.

The Simpsons is extremely popular and one of the most eagerly awaited shows on Sunday Nights. Presently, the series is said to be back with the 21st season and few of the forthcoming episodes are titled ‘Pranks and Greens’, ‘Tree house of Horror XX’ and The Devil Wears Nada’. ‘The Simpsons’ has received the most number of awards than any of the other America’s animated series. It is the one and only show to have received a Peabody Award, 26 Annie Awards and 24 Emmy Awards. ‘The Simpsons’ TV series is considered to be the example each time there is a question regarding the popularity and fame of animation!

Author Bio: Watch The Simpsons NES commercial

Everyone loves to win an award but sometimes you want to be careful of what you wish for because you may just get it. Winning an award is always fun and it is nice to be recognized.

Everyone loves to win an award but sometimes you want to be careful of what you wish for because you may just get it. Winning an award is always fun and it is nice to be recognized. Maybe you won employee of the month at work or perhaps your civic work caused your community to recognize you with an outstanding citizen award. But not every award is one you want to put on your mantle and show off to your family and friends. There is a company in Upstate New York that has a bowling tournament every year. First place is a lovely golden bowling pin for the winner to proudly display. Last prize, and there is a last prize, is an old bowling shoe referred to as the Smelly Shoe Award. An old smelly bowling shoe is not what you want sitting on the mantle at home. Of course it is all in fun but some awards and recognitions can be a little critical and sometimes downright mean.

Mr. Blackwell was a well-known fashion critic who released two lists every year that were highly anticipated. The first was the best-dressed celebrity list and to make it on that list meant a whole new level of recognition from the media and possible opportunities in show business. The other list was the top ten worst dressed celebrities and that was a list that usually meant you would find a rather unattractive picture of yourself in a national tabloid magazine. So Mr. Blackwell’s worst dressed celebrity is definitely not an award you want to win. But that pales in comparison to what the movie industry has to offer.

Few industries have as many awards as the movie industry. Between the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the People’s Choice Awards there are hundreds of award winners every year in Hollywood and that does not count things like the Kids Choice Movie Awards or the MTV Movie Awards either. But as good as Hollywood can be at patting itself on the back there are always Hollywood outsiders who are willing to let Hollywood know that not every movie is an award winner. The desire to keep Hollywood in its place has spawned some funny trophies and award shows and the top funny Hollywood award show of them all is the Razzies.

The Razzies is short for the Golden Raspberry Award and it is given every year for the worst actors and worst movies Hollywood put out for the previous year. The trophy is a large golden raspberry and, needless to say, very few Hollywood celebrities show up to the ceremony each year to collect their award. In recent years Hollywood has been continually accused of having no worthwhile movies coming out and that has caused an increase in the media exposure of the Razzies and its accompanying ceremony every year. Many Oscar winning movies are awarded Razzies and it looks like the Razzies will be around for a very long time.

Author Bio: For more information on funny trophies, visit http://www.gagtrophies.com.