August 2007
Monthly Archive
Fri 31 Aug 2007
At the end of 2002, BBC News Online published its Sound of 2003 list - 10 new music artists who came top of a survey of critics and opinion-formers to find the hottest new stars.
Here, we revisit the list to see how the 10 acts fared over the last 12 months, ahead of the Sound of 2004 list being published next week.
Check the site from Monday, when we will reveal one artist from the top five every day until the winner and full top 10 are announced on Friday.
Sound of 2003 top 10
1. 50 Cent
The last 12 months belonged to 50 Cent in the US after his album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, became the fastest-selling debut ever. It went on to become the biggest-selling album of 2003 in the US, while his hit single In Da Club achieved the same feat in the singles market. His past as a drug dealer and shooting victim gained him notoriety and he is now rivalling his mentor Eminem as the top rapper in the US.
2. Electric Six
The Electric Six had two UK top five singles
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If you heard rock fans shouting “Danger! Danger!” or “I want to take you to a gay bar” in 2003, it was this Detroit group’s fault. Wild and silly but catchy and eminently danceable, their catchphrases and good-time attitude earned them two top five hit singles - although they were seen as a novelty band by some.
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
One of the leading groups to come out of New York since The Strokes, this trio enjoyed critical acclaim and some commercial success in 2003. Three singles reached the UK top 40, peaking with Date with the Night at 16 in April. They were also nominated for the Shortlist Prize - the US equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize - and got a Grammy nomination for best alternative album.
4. The Thrills
This Irish group found a large audience with their deliriously sunny Beach Boys-inspired tunes, although they did not break into rock’s premier league. Their debut album, So Much for the City, was one of the soundtracks to the summer and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Three singles reached the UK top 40, led by Big Sur, which hit number 17 in June.
5. Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal became the first rapper to win the Mercury Music Prize
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The UK urban breakthrough artist of 2003, Dizzee Rascal produced one of the freshest and most innovative sounds of the year. Armed with a distinctive quick-fire rapping style and harsh beats that mixed UK garage and hip-hop, his debut album, Boy in Da Corner, won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, beating the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay and The Darkness.
6. Interpol
New York art rockers Interpol were the only artists in the top 10 not to have a UK top 40 single in 2003. But their stylishly brooding debut album Turn on the Bright Lights turned many heads and earned a nomination for the Shortlist Prize.
7. Audio Bullys
With pumping bass, pounding beats and punky vocals, London “dirty house” duo lent some attitude to dance music. The year saw them break out of the club scene and into mainstream music, and their single We Don’t Care reached number 15 in January.
8. Mario
This teenage US singer failed to capture the hearts of the soul audience in 2003. The adolescent pop on his debut album was not enough to propel him to mainstream success in the US - but he did enjoy top 30 hits in the UK with Just A Friend and C’mon.
9. The Datsuns
New Zealand’s premier guitar grinders The Datsuns made a splash at the start of the year, gaining a reputation as an explosive live band. They were named best live act at the NME Awards but they struggled to transform their on-stage energy into sales.
10. Sean Paul
Sean Paul had hit duets with Blu Cantrell and Beyonce
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Jamaica’s latest idol was one of the year’s smash hit stars, taking dancehall reggae to the top of the charts around the world. He scored five UK top five singles in nine months, including a number one guest spot on Blu Cantrell’s Breathe. He also hooked up with Beyonce on Baby Boy while his solo track Get Busy was one of the biggest-selling singles of the year in the US.
The ones that got away
The Darkness
The Darkness shot to fame in the second half of 2003
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The spandex-clad rockers were the success story of the year in UK rock, bringing the fun back to a guitar scene that had been dominated by serious and stony-faced bands for a decade. They were known in the music industry before 2003 - but not one music expert tipped them in the Sound of 2003 survey because no-one thought they could make it.
Evanescence
June saw this US goth rock band burst to the top of the charts after their song Bring Me To Life appeared on the soundtrack to the Ben Affleck film Daredevil.
The Black Eyed Peas
One of the year’s biggest-selling singles came from this LA-based hip-hop group with Where Is the Love?, taken from their third album.
Jamie Cullum
This charismatic young pianist and singer became the most popular jazz artist the UK has seen for decades when his album Twentysomething was released.
The Sound of 2003 list was compiled from the recommendations of almost 40 music critics, DJs and playlisters, who were each asked to give three tips for the top. Artists who had UK top 20 singles before 1 January 2003, and those who found fame on TV talent shows, were not eligible.
Originaly from Source
Thu 30 Aug 2007
Ask the same question today and the answer may very well be “why wouldn’t he”.
Indeed, according to the Mirror’s reports of a leaked memo from New Labour’s chief strategist, Lord Gould, it is something Mr Brown is considering.
The memo, written before Mr Brown became prime minister, reveals much of the style and approach Mr Brown has brought to the job was mapped out long beforehand and he appears to have pretty much stuck to the plan.
The key section, which has added to early-election fever, states: “We have to have a strategy of audacious advance. The best way of achieving this is to hold an early election after a short period of intense and compelling activity. A kind of ’shock and awe strategy’ blasting through the opposition and blasting us to the mid-40 per-cents.”
It comes form the same man who wrote the memo saying Tony Blair should leave Downing Street with the crowds begging for more and it seems to accurately predict precisely what is now happening.
The Tories are distracting themselves with a bout of internal sniping and blood-letting as David Cameron’s opinion poll ratings slide.
Autumn poll risks
Meanwhile the “new” prime minister is enjoying a predicted bounce in the polls and is offering what appears to be a popular, more serious and less glitzy approach to leadership and just that period of “intense and
compelling activity”.
If Britain went to the polls today, a fourth Labour victory with around double the current majority is what the current opinion surveys suggest as the likely outcome.
So, after a good summer holiday during which, knowing Mr Brown, he will never stop calculating and planning, could he return in September and, shortly afterwards, spring a general election?
It may look enticing, but there are some real risks in going for an autumn poll.
There are historical examples of prime ministers either going early or waiting, and suffering as a result - Labour’s Clem Atlee in 1951 (early)
and Jim Callaghan in 1979 (late) and the Tories’ Ted Heath in 1974 (early).
But they probably don’t offer any real insights - other than how
unpredictable this game is - as conditions are always entirely different.
Begging bowls
So Mr Brown will be calculating from scratch. And one of the first
obstacles is the relatively mundane yet vital issue of cash.
Labour is currently some 26 million in the red and, thanks to the
cash-for-honours affair, donors have been reluctant to cough up.
That black cloud may be passing, and party officials are already out and
about with their begging bowls.
One way or another, should Gordon go for it, the money would be there.
And if the campaign was genuinely limited to three weeks, with fewer
hugely expensive stunts and more soap box campaigning, that may be a
welcome change from a party committed to getting back in touch with the
voters.
Similarly, there are problems getting the local and national party
machines, currently stripped back to the bone, in fighting shape.
That too is not an insurmountable problem but could give Mr Brown’s
party advisers reason to urge a delay until next spring - still seen as
the most likely time for an early election. The autumn would all be a
bit of a
scramble.
David Cameron had his own ‘bounce’ when he became Tory leader
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But then, putting the case for the autumn, there is the simple fact that
the bounce may just stop.
This sort of political honeymoon is pretty fragile and can be based
almost entirely on simply having a new face on the TV every night -
David Cameron experienced an almost identical bounce after his election
in 2005.
Mr Brown could take advantage of the bounce while being able to claim it
was only right and proper that the British people should have their say
on their new prime minister.
And, let’s face it, even if he “bounced” to victory that would not
lessen the five-year mandate he would have.
Either way, what Mr Brown almost certainly will not want to do is wait
until the last moment, by which time all room for manoeuvre is closed off.
Four year tradition
The actual deadline for the next election is summer 2010, although
recent tradition from both parties suggest the “normal” time for an
election would be May 2009.
But even that may be leaving it a bit late for Mr Brown, who might well
expect to have lost a bit of bounce by then.
If he is a worrier, Mr Brown might fear not just the Tories but that
“events” may have overwhelmed the government.
It would also mean that unlike most PMs he would have spent the first
two years in office preparing for an election rather than transforming
the country in his desired direction.
So spring next year looks on the face of it to be the best option - but
clearly there are arguments for and against all the different dates and
the PM knows the virtues of keeping your opponents guessing.
Originaly from Source
Wed 29 Aug 2007
Is primetime Priyanka too hot to handle? Forgive me for pondering the merits of Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood starlet and former winner of the Miss World beauty pageant.
But this is the burning question asked of us by the inaugural Indian edition of Maxim - the British “lad mag” which has just made its sub-continental debut with a pouting Priyanka plastered across its glossy front cover.
Readers are also promised information on “100 things you never knew about women”, a “how to” guide on professional begging, and a must-see article on the police inspector in Uttar Pradesh Panda, who fervently believes that he is the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Radha.
‘Sizzling editorial’
There are health and survival tips.
Two bikini-clad models helpfully demonstrate how to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre (handy if you have a piece of food stuck in your throat).
Other parts of the magazine are a masala-like blend of men, motors and models.
Readers back in Britain will recognize the recipe. For audiences in the subcontinent, it is sizzling editorial.
The publishers of Indian Maxim have clearly calculated that 20-something men in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are just as puerile and inane as their counterparts in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
India’s city boys want to lead a glamorous lifestyle
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More curiously, they believe they have identified a new demographic: the Indian Lad.
So who do they have in mind?
Apparently, a call centre employee who is earning more in his mid-20s than his father was being paid in his mid-40s; a young man with small-town roots but big-city ambitions.
A social climber keen to sample the best food, wine, clothes, movies and machines; an image-conscious trend-follower with enough disposable income to afford the latest gizmos and gadgets; a guy with his finger closely on the pulse and the latest mobile phone in his palm.
It is the personification of the new, metro-centric India.
Sex sells?
Of course, it is not the first time that Indians have been exposed to sex.
This after all is the land of the Kama Sutra - a country, as others have written, where the sculptures at its holy temples are often more explicit than its men’s magazines.
Figurines in ancient Indian temples depicted Kama Sutra
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What has changed is Indians’ willingness to talk and read about it openly.
It is no longer a matter of shame or embarrassment to have a magazine like this in the home.
If anything, it has become something of a glossy status symbol.
But the flesh quotient of the magazine - which, on its front cover at least, registers lower on the “bare skin scale” than the Indian version of Cosmopolitan - explains only part of its appeal.
In many ways, Maxim is less about beauties you can ogle than things you can buy.
It is about instant consumption and instant gratification.
Caste-less
Absent from its pages are articles on personal finance, offering tips on how best and cautiously to invest and save your money.
“Spend, spend, spend; enjoy, enjoy, enjoy” would appear to be its unofficial motto.
Also absent from its pages is any mention of caste.
Seemingly, it is a magazine for men who want to be defined by a lifestyle they are prepared to work and pay for rather than the privileges they have inherited or the caste-based grievances they have grown up nursing.
The publication of the magazine has sparked fairly predictable debates about the Westernisation of Indian culture and the permissiveness of its youth.
What it is has singularly failed to do is to generate much genuine outrage.
“Where are the VHP protesters burning copies in the streets?” asks Maxim editor Sunil Mehra, referring to the hard-line Hindu nationalists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who have long viewed themselves as the guardians of Indian morality.
By capturing the aspirational mood of the times, Maxim looks almost certain to be a commercial success. Its first print run of 80,000 copies sold out in 10 days.
Click here to return
Originaly from Source
Two former Daily Mirror “City Slickers” financial journalists have been convicted of a share tipping scam.
James Hipwell, 39, was found guilty of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act.
Southwark Crown Court heard Hipwell made 41,000 in six months by buying, tipping and then selling shares.
A private investor, Terry Shepherd, was convicted of a similar offence, while Hipwell’s colleague, Anil Bhoyrul, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Hipwell, from London, and Shepherd, from Surrey, denied the charges.
The men will be sentenced at a later date and could be jailed for up to seven years and face confiscation orders. They will remain on bail.
Commenting on the case, competition minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: “Today’s verdict should send out a clear message that the government will take action against those who break the law for their own financial gain.
“The DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] is committed to establishing and maintaining fair markets.”
Defending himself against the allegations that he had created a false impression of the value of shares, Hipwell earlier told the court he stood by his tips.
Driving analogy
And he insisted former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan encouraged his City Slickers columnists to buy the shares they were tipping.
“[Morgan] said if we were in the business of tipping shares he was happy for us to trade and even used the analogy along the lines of, you would not learn to drive from somebody who had never been in a car. You would not learn from a manual.”
The court heard Mr Morgan had himself bought shares - said in court to be as much as 67,000 - in Sir Alan Sugar’s technology firm Viglen, a day before they were tipped in the City Slickers column.
It was this tip, at the beginning of 2000 in a column entitled “Sugar to Head Next Gold Rush”, that led to Hipwell and Bhoyrul being investigated.
Their former editor was cleared by a DTI inquiry of any wrongdoing and backed by executives at Trinity Mirror.
But Mr Morgan was criticised by the Press Complaints Commission and the court heard Viglen’s PR adviser, Nick Hewer, say he had been asked by the editor to lie about the timing of a conversation with a columnist.
Fired
Prosecutors said Hipwell and co-columnist Bhoyrul, of Sutton, Surrey, would first spend thousands of pounds on stock they planned to “ramp” - by highlighting it as “tip of the day” 24 hours later.
Then they would sell the holding at a profit as the price rose.
The “share-ramping” involved 44 separate incidents between 1 August 1999 and 29 February 2000, the court heard.
Shepherd was recruited by Hipwell and Bhoyrul - who now edits a magazine in Dubai - to take part in the scam, after contacting them through a message board.
The prosecution said Shepherd gained a profit of 17,000, and Bhoyrul 15,000 through the practice.
Hipwell and Bhoyrul were fired by the Mirror in 2000.
Originaly from Source
Fact Monster
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
This American site that is just full of information for people having fun doing their homework.
Fact Monster is a giant educational site aimed fair and square at the American school kid.
But do not let that put you off, because there is tons of stuff here for anyone, anywhere. I particularly liked the Atlas that gives you all the background information about a country you could need.
There are quizzes on just about every subject which you can try out when you get bored with the atlas.
But my favourite part was in the science area; an interactive periodic table that allows you to click on an element and it tells you all you need to know, everything from the element’s atomic weight to its discovery date.
And if you have trouble telling your inert gasses from your alkali metals it is all here too.
And because it is American it also has the uniquely American spelling of aluminium - aluminum.
World Wide Words
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Fact Monster started me thinking about words, and why there are two spellings for aluminium, so I went to my favourite words site.
We looked at World Wide Words a couple of years ago and it is well worth a revisit.
If there is anything in the English language you want to know you should try here first. And sure enough there is a piece on how the two spellings came about.
It is a pretty wordy site so for goodness sake don’t come here for the pictures.
All the same you can lose the afternoon just wandering around the site reading the various discussions like where the phrase Top Dog comes from and the fantastic “linguistic legacy of Star Trek”, which alone is worth a visit to the site.
Animal Doc Com
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Words and pictures now as we move on to a medical site - not for you or me, you understand, but for animals.
It has one of my favourite names for a site - Animal Doc Com!
The site has been put together by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia and is aimed at children who are interested in becoming vets.
It is well written and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the wellbeing of the animals as they pass through the Veterinary College.
The “How do they operate on a horse” section takes us through the different medical procedures from anaesthetizing the horse to apparently dangling it by its hooves.
And then there is the very engaging “A day in the life of a veterinarian”. Also a very interesting page about dog behaviour that should save us a few bites and nips.
The only disappointment about these pages is that it seems they aren’t being updated much - most of the links on the links page are out of date and the interactive section doesn’t work - but they’re still worth a visit for any budding vet.
And if you like it let them know!
The Kids section of the American Humane Association.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sticking with kids, animals and America, another terrific site is the Kids section of the American Humane Association.
Again it is aimed at children of all ages and offers hints and tips on caring for animals.
The American Humane association has been going since the late 1800s. It was formed to prevent cruelty to children and animals, and is at the forefront of lobbying on these issues.
This section for children is mostly aimed at looking after pets and helping wildlife in your garden.
If you want to know what kind of cat would be your best companion, or want suggestions on growing a mini lawn for your cat to nibble on, this is the place for you.
And lastly, for children looking to work with animals when they grow up there is a list of careers in the “ways to help” section.
Originaly from Source
Two-year-old conjoined twins who were born with the tips of their heads fused together have been successfully separated, doctors say.
Doctors said Carl and Clarence Aguirre, from the Philippines, were “strong and stable”.
The marathon operation took place at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, New York, on Wednesday.
It was the latest in a series of procedures carried out on the boys over the last 10 months.
Normally, doctors attempt to separate conjoined twins during one long procedure.
The US team chose to carry out several shorter procedures instead in an attempt to shorten the time the twins spent under anaesthetic, reducing the risk of bleeding and injury to the brain.
In previous operations, the boys’ skull was opened, their
separate-but-touching brains carefully pushed apart and
most of their shared blood vessels cut and divided.
Between surgery, the boys were given time to heal and to adapt to their rerouted circulation systems.
Originally, veins near Clarence’s brain were doing much of the circulation work for both twins but scans showed dormant veins on Carl’s side had “plumped up” and begun working in response to the surgery.
Reconstruction
During this latest operation, doctors completed an incision around their shared skull before teasing apart abutting portions of the boys’ brains
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You’re now the mother of two boys
Words of surgeon Dr David Staffenberg to the twins’ mother after the operation
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The twins’ head-to-head operating tables were then slightly pulled apart so that the remaining tissue could be separated.
Doctors had to cut and divide the major vein the boys still shared, and separate the remaining area - about an
inch and a half across - where the brains were touching -
The twins also shared a dura mater, the membrane that covers the brain, so doctors had to reconstruct membranes for both boys.
The boys skulls will be reconstructed in another operation at a later date.
A hospital spokeswoman explained how Dr David Staffenberg, the boys’ plastic surgeon, who led the surgery, broke the news to the twins’ mother, Arlene Aguirre, after the operation.
She said: “He got on his knees, took Aguirre’s hands and said ‘You’re now the mother of two boys’.”
Mrs Aguirre then burst into tears, she said.
Originaly from Source
Children who can chant their times tables are better at doing sums, according to research.
Students practise several memory techniques that might help them remember what they study.
Learning aims
Learn some of the following techniques:
- acrostics
- acronyms
- number pictures
- spelling memory tips
- name pictures
- grouping
- journey pegs
Teaching ideas
Icebreaker
Click here to read the story Chanting tables ‘improves maths’
Ask students:
Have you ever used chanting as a way of remembering something? Does it work? What other memory techniques do you use?
Main activity
Chants and other memory techniques are called mnemonics. They are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall.
Pick three of these memory techniques for students to try.
[A] Rhyme
Ask students:
- How many days are there in December, June, February?
- How did you remember this information?
Many students will have used the rhyme:
30 days have September, April, June and November.
All the rest have 31, except for February alone.
When leap year comes once in four, February then has one day more.
Rhymes and songs like this one stick in your memory.
Here is another example:
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
Ask students to create a rhyme which helps them remember the date of the Great Fire of London in 1666.
[B] Acrostic
One way to remember a list of words in order is to make up an acrostic using the first letter of each word in the list.
E.g. The colours of the rainbow in order, from the outside to inside are:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.
They can be remembered using this acrostic:
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.
Ask students to make up an acrostic to remember the order of the planets in the solar system, from the planet closest to the sun outwards.
The planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
[C] Acronyms
Acronyms are similar to acrostics but they are words (as opposed to sentences) created by the first letters of a series of words.
Many organisations use acronyms such as Action on Smoking and Health or ASH.
Ask students to write down a list of five things they need to remember to bring to school and to make an acronym of them.
E.g. games Kit, reading Book, packed Lunch, school Trip money, Calculator
gives you…
BLoCK iT!
A top tip is to use vowels (aeiou) in the acronym but only let the consonants stand for the words to be remembered.
[D] Numbers and rhyme
A way of remembering numbers is by picturing objects that rhyme with each digit from 1 to 10.
E.g. 1 rhymes with bun
8 rhymes with gate
6 rhymes with sticks
So to remember that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, you imagine a bun (1) going through a gate 
made of sticks (6) whilst being struck by a two bolts of lightening.
This strange visual image will help you remember the numbers one, eight, and six in order and associate that figure with ‘light’ (lightning) and ‘per second’ (two bolts; first and second).
Ask students to write down a list of objects which rhyme with numbers zero to ten.
Using their rhyming list, students create a visual image to remember the speed of sound which is 340 miles a second.
[E] Spelling techniques
Breaking words down into parts can help you remember how to spell them, e.g:
- A friend is always there when the end comes.
- I before e except after c. This helps you remember how to spell words like retrieve and receive.
But remember weird is spelt weird!
- Separate is a rat of a word to spell.
- You wear one collar and two socks. This is a reminder of how many cs and ss in necessary.
Students chose a word they find difficult to spell and break it down into component parts.
They devise a spelling memory tip to help them remember the correct spelling.
[F] Grouping
Show students this list of sports:
Skiing, basketball, netball, tennis, long jump, 100m sprint, hockey, rounders, ice-skating, discus, golf, high jump, volleyball , javelin, football, rugby, lacrosse, cricket, gymnastics, hurdles.
Give them a minute to try and remember as many of them as possible.
Cover the list and ask them to write down all the sports they can remember.
Who remembered the most? Did they use any mnemonics?
Now ask students to group the sports into categories, e.g. athletics, sports played on a pitch, racquet sports.
They write down the sports under each heading and count how many sports there are in each group.
Students cover their lists and write down all the sports they can remember.
Ask students:
- How many sports did you remember this time?
- Why do you think it’s easier to remember information which has been ordered?
[G] Names and pictures
Ask each student to create a new first name for themselves.
In pairs, students brainstorm words they associate with their partner’s new name.
E.g. Nina could be associated with ‘ambulance’ (siren sound ni-na), ‘knee’ (Ni-na) and ‘Hyena’ (rhymes with Nina).
Picture your classmate alongside one of these objects e.g. with a flashing siren on her head.
This strange visual image will make it easier to remember their new name.
Students team up with another pair and try to remember their new names in the same way.
Some students could test their memory power by trying to remember the new names of all their classmates.
[H] Journey and peg
Another way to remember a chain of information is to peg each bit on a landmark from a familiar journey.
Ask students to think of a journey they do quite regularly. This could be the route to school or the journey from their bedroom to the front door.
Ask students to write down all the landmarks they pass in order, putting each on a new line.
ask them to select some information from one of the subjects they need to learn. If they can’t think of anything, they can use this summary of the gunpowder plot:
- During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the government severely penalised Catholics.
- When King James came to the throne, he followed suit.
- In 1604, a group of English Catholics began planning to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James.
- Guido Fawkes planned to light the fuse leading to the gunpowder before fleeing to Spain.
- On November the 4th 1605, the storeroom below the House of Lords was searched and large quantities of gunpowder were found.
- In January 1606, Fawkes and the other surviving plotters were executed as traitors.
Students write down each bit of information next to a landmark.
They imagine themselves making the journey, passing the bit of information pegged to each landmark. This will help them recall the details more easily.
Extension activity
Another good way of retaining information is to teach someone else what you have learned.
This method can help you remember 90 per cent of the information.
Ask students:
- How would you teach the gunpowder plot summary to someone?
- Would you use diagrams, flow charts?
In pairs, one student teaches their partner about the gunpowder plot and they in turn tell them what they have remembered.
Plenary
Students share their rhymes, acrostics, acronyms, number pictures, spelling memory tips, name pictures and journey pegs with the class.
Ask students: Which techniques did you find most useful and why?
