Emma Watson - Stylist Magazine Photoshoot

Emma Watson – Stylist Magazine Photoshoot, 13 more images after the break...

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Electronic Guitar without Strings

Typical owners Kitaro will be studio musicians, DJs and performers of electronic and psychedelic mood music, the usual players and musicians are just obsessed with the idea to the creation, retrieval and transmission to others is really a new experience. 06 more after the break...

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All Watches Oscar 2010

"Golden Arrow" In Switzerland, summed up the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve. Unlike Hollywood's Oscars, his hour-long version of the award in Switzerland. Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve, Geneva or Watchmaking Grand Prix, presented at the Geneva-hour festival, a panel of judges composed of journalists watch magazines. Some believe that it should not be, because these magazines publish advertisements of those who participate in the contest. Nevertheless, the competitors of this prize is still there. And every member of the jury, in addition to employment, has a name and reputation. This year the prize was awarded in eleven categories. More images after the break...

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Top 10 Richest Athletes of the World

10. Lorena Ochoa (Golf) 10: Lorena Ochoa (Golf)

Earnings: $ 5 million

More after the break...

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Boy Playing with Lizard — Video

1 Day Only: Fairy Tales Reimagined eBook for $2.99

Fairy Tales Reimagined: Essays on New Retellings is available as a Kindle ebook for only $2.99 today only.  Amazon has started offering several ebooks each day for $2.99.  This week has featured several titles published by McFarland. The paperback edition is $35.00 so this is a considerable savings. Remember that you don't have to have a Kindle to read a Kindle book, you can load the free software on your PC, Mac, smart phone and other devices. If you buy the book, it stays in your permanent library whether you download it to a device right away or not.

Here is the book description from the publisher.  My own review is also on the product page.  I gave away a copy of this book earlier this year thanks to receiving two from the publisher:

No mere escapist fantasies, the reimagined fairy tales of the late 20th-early 21st centuries reflect the social, political, and cultural truths of our age with insight, intelligence, and complexity. Sixteen essays consider fairy tales recreated through short stories, novels, poetry, and the graphic novel from both best-selling and lesser-known writers, applying a variety of theoretical perspectives, including postmodernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, structuralism, queer theory, and gender studies.

To conclude, here's the paperback link if you are interested in that instead although it is regular price.

A Fairytale Grows Up: Rossini's 'La Cenerentola'

    

Thank you for your SurLaLune birthday wishes!

World of Opera on NPR recently offered a great feature on La Cenerentola at A Fairytale Grows Up: Rossini's 'La Cenerentola'.

So it's not surprising that it was Gioachino Rossini, the master of bubbly comedies with poignant moments scattered among the laughs, who composed the most popular operatic take on Cinderella — La Cenerentola. It's one of Rossini's funniest operas, but with a serious side to remind us that the happy ending to Cinderella's story wasn't just a gift from some benevolent fairy. On her journey from servant's quarters to a princess' throne, she faces some real dangers. In overcoming them, she displays a gentle and tolerant spirit, some profoundly adult insights, and the pluck and courage to defy everyone who stands in her way.

On World of Opera, host Lisa Simeone presents La Cenerentola in a production from one of the world's foremost celebrations of Rossini's genius, the annual Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, the composer's hometown. The stars are soprano Kate Aldrich as Cinderella and tenor Lawrence Brownlee as her Prince Charming, Ramiro, with baritone Paolo Bordogna as Don Magnifico.

There is a synopsis of each act as well as shorts from the opera to listen to along with some images. It's a nice way to become familiar with the opera if you are interested. I was amused by the labeling of 'Non piu mesta' as the hit single from the opera.

In the opera's final scene, Cinderella (mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich) is left to decide the fate of her abusive family. She forgives them, then sings the spectacular aria 'Non piu mesta' — 'No longer sad' — with the chorus joining in to praise her generosity.

  

 

Shruthi Hassan in different Colours

Shruthi Hassan Stills from Anaganaga O Dheerudu (south movie), more images after the break...

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The Smallest Inhabited Island

Paradises, of which many dream since childhood.
Dunbar Rock, Honduras

If you plan to visit Cuba; in the near future, do not miss the Island Bay (Bay), located 70 km from the coast. The island itself is nothing special, but the rock Dunbar - it's something....More after the break...

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Ali Stephens Neiman Marcus Fashion Book

Ali Stephens  Neiman Marcus Fashion Book 2009, 09 more images after the break...

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America’s 24 Best Adventure Towns

01. Los Angeles, California

Here are top 24 adventure towns of the United States according to National Geographic. These  adventure towns offer something for everyone, whether you love hiking, skiing, biking, kayaking, climbing, snowboarding, or a little bit of everything. Stay for a long weekend or the rest of your life, after the the break...

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Parrot Crying Like A Baby — Video

Happy 12th Birthday, SurLaLune

Yes, twelve years ago today, having just received my M.I.S. and feeling rather at a loss for future employment, I decided that I wanted to further develop my student project of an HTML annotated Bluebeard as at least a temporary hobby by expanding into other tales and building several new pages over several days then launching them to a public server.  The rest is history, as they say. The jobs have come and gone but SurLaLune has hung with me as well as the husband I picked up much earlier that year.  1998 was a really good year for me despite all of the upheaval and changes or perhaps simply thanks to them.  I shared the story in more detail last year at Happy Birthday, SurLaLune!

This year I added the projects of several SurLaLune paper publications with several more planned for 2011.  Cindrella Tales From Around the World and Beauties and Beasts from Around the World will be arriving in the coming months as well as The Grateful Dead Tales From Around the World which is so nearly finished its laughable it hasn't gone to press yet. It's thanks to a severe illness this fall and other distractions it has been delayed, but it will arrive soon, although Cinderella might come first.  We'll see.  Stay tuned.

   

 

This blog has also flourished and along with the books has become my primary focus. The site is updated in bits and places, but not much is added to it in bulk at this point. I still have dreams of adding a fiftieth and final annotated tale, since I am an even number type, but that's not anytime soon.  The books get priority at this point.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their support and readership.  The blog has hosted visitors from 150 countries this year while the main site has hosted 213 countries. I never imagined a world audience when I started this but there is one many of whom who have shared that this information would be unavailable to them any other way due to limited resources.  In the end, SurLaLune wouldn't exist if I didn't have someone to share it with for I would just crawl away and read more for pleasure than sharing. This little project of mine has now existed for almost a third of my life.  Next year it will officially be a third, so do the math and learn my age....

This week is a horrible week for an anniversary/birthday celebration.  I feel sorry for anyone with real birthdays this week.  Unless you love it.  What do I know?  Anyway, I am traveling. Most of you are away or otherwise indisposed by holidays and/or weather.  So to make up for the slow internet traffic and other distractions, I will be having some giveaways in January--and I will finally send out the books I have already promised people, too--as well as launching the previously discussed SurLaLune Book Club. Remember to go check out or buy your copies of Sisters Red for January, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales for February and A Tale Dark and Grimm for March. (Covers below because those are some delicious covers.  You should also see the cover for Jackson Pearce's next release, Sweetly.

  

Not part of the book club (yet) but I had to share after seeing it for the first time today.  Can you guess the fairy tale?