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Oscar TV audience rises to 40.3 million, show gets mauling

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sunday's Oscar ceremony scored the biggest TV audience in three years, and edgy new host Seth MacFarlane helped boost interest from young men, despite getting a mauling from TV critics.

Nielsen ratings data on Monday showed that 40.3 million Americans watched the Academy Awards ceremony on ABC television, up three percent from 2012. ABC said it was the largest Oscar audience in three years.

Boosted by a bumper box office crop of movies and intrigue over MacFarlane's debut as Oscar host, the show grew 11 percent in the 18-49 year-old audience most coveted by advertisers, and by 34 percent in 18-34 year-old men compared to 2012.

After a night of zingers about gays and Jews and risque jokes about female nudity, the man behind animated TV series "Family Guy" largely lived up to his own prophecy - at least judging by traditional media - that he could be deemed the worst host in Oscar history.

Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield said MacFarlane appeared like a "bumbling rookie" and "few ideas could have been stupider" than turning the Academy Awards into a "Seth MacFarlane variety special."

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which campaigns against anti-Semitism, said it was "sad and disheartening" that the Academy Awards show had "sought to use age-old anti-Jewish stereotypes for laughs."

The group pointed to a sketch in which MacFarlane's puppet bear Ted remarked to the A-list crowd at the Dolby Theatre that it's better to be Jewish if you want to work in Hollywood.

"When one considers the global audience of the Oscars of upwards of two billion people, including many who know little or nothing about Hollywood or the falsity of such Jewish stereotypes, there's a much higher potential for the ?Jews control Hollywood' myth to be accepted as fact," ADL national director Abraham H. Foxman said in a statement on Monday.

HIT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

MacFarlane, 39, fared better on Facebook, Twitter and blogs, where 13 percent declared him the "best host ever", according to conversations tracked by social media research firm Fizziology.

And MacFarlane didn't win over the online world just because of his wit. Seven percent said he was "the sexiest" host, Fizziology said on Monday.

Many TV critics were equally put off by the song and dance heavy Oscars telecast, which ran to three and 1/2 hours.

"Mr. MacFarlane didn't ruin the show. But the show almost ruined the Oscars," wrote Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times.

Los Angeles TV critic Mary McNamara seemed to agree, calling the Oscar telecast "long, self-indulgent and dull even by the show's time-honored dull-defining standards" despite the valiant efforts of performers Adele and Barbra Streisand and "a surprisingly witty" Daniel Day-Lewis in his Best Actor acceptance speech.

Hank Stuever of the Washington Post said that MacFarlane "did a fairly middle-of-the-road job as host on a fairly middle-of-the-road telecast."

ABC, a unit of Walt Disney, also reported growth to its online and social media platforms, saying that its Oscar.com website had attracted 15.8 million visitors since the Academy Award nominations were announced in early January - a 28 percent increase over 2012.

Last year, when Billy Crystal hosted for the ninth time, some 39.3 million people watched the Oscars ceremony on television.

"Argo," the Iran hostage thriller and box office hit, was the big winner at Sunday's ceremony, taking home Best Picture and two other Oscars.

(Additional reporting by Eric Kelsey and Piya Sinha-roy; editing by Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oscars-ceremony-draws-40-3-million-tv-viewers-222658761--finance.html

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FOR KIDS: Feeling the invisible

Sensor wired into a rat?s brain lets it detect light the animal can?t see

By Sid Perkins

Web edition: February 21, 2013

Enlarge

Researchers trained a rat with a sensor wired into its brain to find water at a door marked with an invisible light.

Credit: Thomson et al., Nature Communications (2013)

A sensor wired to a portion of the rat brain that normally processes the sense of touch enabled the animal to detect a form of light it cannot ordinarily see, scientists report. The new research underscores how adaptable the brain is. It also offers hope that someday people who have suffered severe brain damage or who have?gone blind can regain some lost function.

Researchers mounted infrared sensors onto the scalps of rats.?Using tiny wires, they connected the detectors to that part of the rat brain that normally interprets signals coming from the whiskers. The connection allowed the rats to sense the infrared light that was visible only to the scalp sensors.

Visit the new?Science News for Kids?website?and read the full story:?Feeling the invisible

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348516/title/FOR_KIDS_Feeling_the_invisible

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Iowa governor blasts Rove super PAC as meddling

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Turmoil deepened among leading Republicans over efforts to ward off controversial candidates in the next election, as Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad blasted a new candidate-steering plan by Karl Rove and warned him to stay out of state and congressional races.?

"I basically told Karl Rove that what he was doing is counter-productive and he needs to stay out of it," said Branstad, recounting a phone call to Rove, the leader of the new Conservative Victory Project.

In the aftermath of last fall's disappointing election outcome for the GOP, party leaders have been focusing on fielding more candidates with broad appeal - and fewer unpredictable ones - but have split bitterly over how to do it, worsening party tensions.

The push was prompted in part by the defeat of Republican Senate candidates Todd Akin in Missouri and Richard Mourdock in Indiana, who lost races the GOP expected to win. The two, who were backed by ultraconservative Tea Party groups, suffered after making controversial comments about rape, and their losses helped kill GOP chances of winning control of the Senate.

The Rove-backed group is planning to raise money and run ads in primary election campaigns to help candidates seen as more attractive to general election voters. The effort is intended to counterbalance fundraising groups that boosted strong conservatives in primary races.

But the targeted effort conflicts with a more diplomatic approach favored by Branstad and other mainstream Republicans wary of offending important officeholders and factions. Branstad, who is influential as the five-term governor of a political swing state that hosts the first nominating contest of each presidential campaign, was especially inflamed by indications the Rove organization would target Iowa arch-conservative Rep. Steve King if he tried to run for the state's open Senate seat in 2014.

There is similar tension about Republican candidates in West Virginia, where the GOP hopes to pick up a seat long held by Democrats, and in Georgia, where Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss' retirement has set off an internal fight between hard-right conservatives and the GOP establishment.

Branstad, in an interview with the Associated Press, said Rove's plan to use fundraising and negative advertising against suspect Republicans was "a mistake."

"If some outside group that has no connection to Iowa attacks somebody from Iowa, that is not smart," Branstad said.

In the weeks after Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin announced his retirement, Branstad has used private breakfasts with King and his House colleague Tom Latham to discuss who would be the strongest contender for seat, which has been held by Democrats for more than 30 years.

News of Rove's plans inflamed King, prompting him to issue an angry fundraising appeal in which he declared, "Nobody can bully me out of running."

Representatives of Conservative Victory Project did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in a New York Times story earlier this month, organization director Steven Law was quoted as saying, "We're concerned about Steve King's Todd Akin problem...All of the things he's said are going to be hung around his neck."

King has strong support among conservatives but also a reputation for provocative statements. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he said a victory by Democrat Barack Obama would be welcomed by terrorists. "If he is elected president, then the Islamist, the al-Qaida, the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets."

King's devout followers, among Iowa's most conservative, were incensed at the news of Rove's group. But so were traditional GOP stalwarts like Richard Schwarm.

"I think that was a total backfire on Rove's part," said Richard Schwarm, a former Iowa Republican Party chairman and longtime Rove friend.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iowa-governor-blasts-rove-super-pac-meddling-204907622.html

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Movie review: Love endures the worst in powerful 'Amour' | The Salt ...

This film image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Jean-Louis Trintignant in a scene from the Austrian film, "Amour." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, File)

Review ? Two French legends provide great performances.

In "Amour," the Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke ? infamous for the cruelty he inflicts on his characters in films such as "Funny Games," "Cache" and "The White Ribbon" ? finally meets a subject more brutal than he is: growing old.

The result is a haunting drama, precise in its chilling details, and showcasing powerfully painful performances by two legends of French film.

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?Amour?

Two legends of French film partner for director Michael Haneke?s tough portrait of an elderly couple facing their toughest moments together.

Where ? Broadway Centre Cinemas.

When ? Opens Friday, Feb. 15.

Rating ? PG-13 for mature thematic material including a disturbing act, and for brief language.

Running time ? 127 minutes; in French with subtitles.

It begins, as things like this usually do, with something small. Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), married music teachers in their 80s, are eating lunch together and talking about the usual stuff. Then, for a minute, Anne goes blank, unresponsive to Georges? voice or touch. She snaps out of it and tries to continue as normal.

But nothing will be normal from now on.

Visits to doctors reveal that Anne?s body is deteriorating. Gradually, she?s unable to walk, or talk normally, or do the little things she used to do easily. As Anne?s physical condition grows worse, it takes its toll on her emotional state ? and on Georges? ability to cope.

This is what Haneke means, in the film?s acidly ironic title, by love. It?s not the easy, carefree love of Georges and Anne?s early days, when they shared their music and love for their daughter (played as an adult living abroad by Isabelle Huppert). This is love when it?s the hardest, when one person is entirely at the mercy of the other?s care, when only love keeps either person from feeling resentment or anger at the situation into which they are locked.

With any other director, this material could easily sink into sentimental quicksand. But Haneke?s astringent script and direction, so meticulously focused on the harrowing details of Anne?s debilitation and Georges? frustration, keep sentimentality at arm?s length. As a result, the movie is a gut-punch, all the way to the end.

The performances are heartwrenching. Riva, who first tasted fame with Alain Resnais? 1959 classic "Hiroshima Mon Amour," earns her late-in-life Oscar nomination by unflinchingly portraying Anne?s physical decline and her fierce anger at her body?s betrayal.

Trintignant (whose career ranges from "A Man and a Woman" to Costa-Gavras? "Z" to "Three Colors: Red") matches Riva in intensity as Georges endures his wife?s growing pain and humiliation. Together, they create a portrait of love ? patient, kind and self-sacrificing ? worthy of the film?s title.

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Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55751223-223/anne-love-georges-amour.html.csp

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London Fashion Week 2013: Millie Mackintosh mixes high street and designer for LFW outing

Posted: Friday 15 Feb 2013

Above: Millie Mackintosh is making an appearance at the opening day of London Fashion Week 2013

Above: Millie Mackintosh was joined at LFW 2013 by Made In Chelsea co-star Rosie Forsecue

Above: Rochelle Humes and Mollie King have also been tweeting their excitement about LFW 2013

SHE'S definitely been preparing for this day for while.

Millie Mackintosh has donned her most stylish gear for her first appearance at London Fashion Week 2013.?The Made In Chelsea beauty hit Twitter this morning to share her excitement before uploading a snap of her LFW ensemble.?

Wearing a mixture of high street and designer attire and huge sunglasses, Professor Green's lady posed at Somerset House as she arrived for the Autumn/Winter Collection shows.?

She commented: "#todayimwearing Zara trousers, kurt geiger shoes, acne jacket and #charlottesimone stole #LFW."?

But Mills isn't the only celeb basking in the London Fashion Week excitement; The Saturdays' Mollie King and Rochelle Humes are also buzzing for the shows.?

This morning, Mollie tweeted: "Let #LFW commence?", while Rochelle wrote: "#lfw is my favourite time of year...so exciting #girlheaven :-)."?

Wish we were there!?

Source: http://new-magazine.co.uk//latestnews/view/48648/London-Fashion-Week-2013-Millie-Mackintosh-mixes-high-street-and-designer-for-LFW-outing/

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Francois Hollande in India to push for $12 bn fighter jet deal

NEW DELHI - Making India the first stop of his maiden official visit to Asia since taking over last year, French President Francois Hollande Thursday discussed the progress of two big ticket deals, including a $12-billion deal for 126 Rafale fighter jets.

The two countries inked four agreements, including on education.

During talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Hollande also discussed the contract for Areva to build a 9,900-megawatt nuclear power plant in the western coastal state of Maharashtra worth $9.4 billion.

Talks are hung on the commercial aspect of the deal as well as Indian nuclear liability laws, which entail higher compensation costs on the supplier in the case of a nuclear leak or disaster.

Hollande arrived here early Thursday at the head of a high-level delegation which includes six ministers, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Trade Minister Nicole Bricq, and a 50-member trade delegation.

Addressing a joint press conference with Manmohan Singh after delegation-level talks, Hollande said France has "confidence in India, which is a peaceful power and we must provide the best material and equipment to India It is a relation of confidence and trust between us."

On defence ties, Hollande said France and India have been cooperating for many years. "India trusts France for its equipment and France trusts India for its use India is a land of peace."

While negotiations for the contract for 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by Dassault Aviation for the Indian Air Force are on, the two sides concluded discussions on a deal for co-developing the short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) project.

Hollande said details of the Rafale deal were being discussed "and we do hope we can reach an early conclusion".

At a press conference later, he ruled out France ever compromising on defence trade rules amid corruption allegations clouding India's chopper deal with Italy's AgustaWestland.

Hollande said France would do "nothing contrary to the rules of trade" that were based on the principles of competitiveness and fairness, while pointing out the "excellence" of the Rafale jet.

Hollande said both countries also want to take forward their ties in space, education and culture.

The visit coincided with the announcement in Paris that the French economy shrank 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter after manufacturers cut thousands of jobs.

In the fields of transport, railways, trams, sanitation and water, he said "France has to prove that it is of service to the Indian economy".

On Mali, where France sent its troops to push out the Al Qaeda militants, Hollande welcomed India's pledge of $1 million to the United Nations-backed Mission in the north African country.

Hollande said India's support to France's move in Mali was part of the "element of credibility of our relationship".

The Jaitapur nuclear power project has run into stiff opposition from environmentalists who have voiced concern about seismic activity in the area and fears about the safety of nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Manmohan Singh reiterated India's commitment to its early implementation as soon as "the commercial and technical negotiations, which have made good progress, are completed."

France and India inked agreements in the railway sector, a cultural exchange programme, a letter of intent on intensification of cooperation in the fields of education, higher education and research and a statement of intent for long-term cooperation.

Source: http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/212580300/scat/3a8a80d6f705f8cc

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