Miley Cyrus to give singing advice to 'Idol' finalists

The mega star Miley Cyrus is currently busy in promoting her upcoming film ‘The Last Song’, which is set to be released later this month on March, 31. She stars with her rumored beau, the Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth, in the film based off of the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

Cyrus is the mentor for the top 11
Cyrus, otherwise known as Hannah Montana, will guest star on this week’s ‘Idol’ where she will mentor the 11 remaining ‘American Idol’ chicks as they will perform Tuesday night, live for their audience viewers.

On Tuesday night’s results show, based on a ‘Billboard Number One Hits’ theme, Cyrus will be joined by other fellow music stars- Joe Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers and the TV show Jonas, and Demi Lovato, of Disney’s Sonny with a Chance- as performers.

The 17-year-old pole-dancing star is going to be the first celebrity mentor on the TV singing contest this year, giving the women contestants on the show singing advice, reports Boston Herald.

Previously, Shania Twain
and Victoria Beckham have guest stared during the nationwide auditions rounds.

Cyrus to set stage on fire
In addition to mentoring the Top 11 finalists - Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Lee Dewyze, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Aaron Kelly, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Paige Miles, Katie Stevens and Tim Urban- Cyrus will also set the stage with her new song, ‘When I Look At You’.

On Tuesday night’s results show, based on a ‘Billboard Number One Hits’ theme, Cyrus will be joined by other fellow music stars- Joe Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers and the TV show Jonas, and Demi Lovato, of Disney’s Sonny with a Chance- as performers.

“This appearance is about showing Miley the young adult, not Miley the tween star,” MSNBC quoted a person from the Cyrus camp as saying. “She’s in a tough situation though, because it’s going to be hard for a lot of ‘Idol’ fans to not draw that comparison. A lot of kids who watch ‘Idol’ also loved ‘Hannah Montana.’ ”

Jonas and Cyrus both are no strangers to Idol. ‘Hanna Montana’ star performed her hit song, ‘The Climb’, last year, and Jonas served as a judge during some of the auditions in the current season.

Cyrus on upcoming film and Aussie beau
Meanwhile, Cyrus is eagerly waiting for her upcoming flick ‘The Last Song’, which is opening March 31.

Cyrus appeared as a guest on Monday morning's (March 22) episode of ‘The View’, where she discussed her new film, her life in music and her Aussie boyfriend Liam Hemsworth, according to MTV.

"Well, I like him very much ... I love him. He is a great person," Cyrus told the hosts of the show of Hemsworth, who is also her co-star in "The Last Song". "He's someone I'm holding onto because we very much connect and were both very ambitious and have some of the same goals. My mom loves him and thinks he's wonderful."

'Sex doesn't always sell'

Love him or hate him, but ignore him? Better luck with that. Because Dibakar Banerjee just loves to push the envelope.

His latest film after Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! -- the provocatively titled Love Sex Aur Dhokha -- is already getting a lot of reaction. The movie has earned a lot of praise from critics, who hail him as the country's innovative filmmaker.

So is he worth all the praise? Well, his fans and curious others got to know more during this scintillating chat last week. For those who missed the chat, here's what transpired.
Dibakar Banerjee says, Hi everybody, this is Dibakar. Let's have your questions.

kishor asked, hi sir how to made this story
Dibakar Banerjee answers, By seeing life around me, the MMSes, the sting scandals on TV and by seeing Bollywood films.

afsar asked, Jahan love hota hai waha sex jarroori to nahi?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Aadmi aur aurat ka pyaar ho toh sex ko aap daal mein chhoka maan sakte hai. Swaad badta hai. Lekin uske bina bhi agar sirf man ka pyaar ho toh bhi daal achhi hai.

sexy asked, are there any nude scenes in the movie?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Yes. Some of them have been blurred by the censors.

kris asked, Hi Dibakar, is it not a vulgar title
Dibakar Banerjee answers, No.

Harsha asked, Is this film focuses only on Sex & Dokha?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, No, also on love.

KLPD asked, Your movies have been quite different and yet conventional in a way. Is this intentional?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Not consciously different; I just make the films that I want to make and people define them the way they want to define.

KLPD asked, The censors deleting the scenes- Will it have the same impact now?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Yes, it will. I just saw it again with a hall full of other people who were not aware of the 10-12 second cuts that we had made and were affected by it. But it all depends on what impact you're looking for.

KLPD asked, KKG was fully entertaining, OLLO was arty. LSD is more real. What next?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, More angry.

KLPD asked, Ekta is known for her tear jerker joint family dramas. How come you chose her as a producer for LSD?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, She chose me.:)

KLPD asked, What is the secret of "putting" in entertainment in any story or How do you make a film entertaining, and yet retaining the fabric of the script
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Lovely question. Maybe it's got to do with respecting the characters, respecting the audience's time and drawing the correct balance between what you want to say and what is relevant to them. One golden rule: humour helps. Of which LSD has a lot!

pankaj asked, hi what is ur film all about
Dibakar Banerjee answers, It's about all of us and our society, and what's private and public and what's film and what's life.

rmm85 asked, Is it going to release internationally?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Not immediately. We'll take it to the festivals first and then release it internationally.

KLPD asked, Doesnt LSD release warrant a post by you on passionforcinema
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Would have loved to, but the last two months, I've been working insanely against deadlines and time.

rmm85 asked, What massege u want to give through this movie?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, See the film, see if you find one, then we'll talk! :)

kam asked, why censor has deuducted those scense which required for film after giving A certificate don't u think this is unfare with film y r u agree with this
Dibakar Banerjee answers, They agreed with the scene but they thought it was too explicit, and therefore wanted to reduce 10 seconds of it to avoid disturbing some parts of the audience.

Alirocksn asked, Tu nangi achi lagti hai...... Can this song be released somewhere instead of tu gandi achi lagti hai....please????????
Dibakar Banerjee answers, No, because it's been banned by the censors, and to flout that rule would be illegal.

AB asked, What's your next movie with IMRAN KHAN about ?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, No one told me about it -- maybe you know something I don't! :)

babu@123456 asked, why are u spoiling the young generation u bollywood people does not have shame as u have habbit of seeing such nonsense with u kids u don't have any culture
Dibakar Banerjee answers, See the film alone, se if anyone will be spoilt by it, and then let's talk!

soumyanayak asked, r u banking on the fact that, no matter what, sex always sells?
Dibakar Banerjee answers, Actually, it doesn't. What sells is a topical and relevant story. Otherwise our films would have been a string of disconnected sex scenes from beginning to end.

Jacqueline Fernandez is from Venus in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai

Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez will be seen having special powers in her next Bollywood venture Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. No, she doesn't play superwoman, she plays a woman from planet Venus!

Writer-director Milap Zaveri says his film is not a sci-fi action movie but a romantic comedy about Tara, a girl from Venus who comes to Earth in search of love. And that's why he didn't want his heroine to do daredevil stunts but she does have some super abilities - the Venus woman has the power to freeze time.

"Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is a love story rather than a superwoman story. So there was no point indulging in anything that would have made Jackie (as Jacqueline is fondly called) appear to be overtly larger than life. She is different in a lot of senses and hence there had to be something special attached to her. However, we didn't want anything too gimmicky about her behaviour or persona," Zaveri said.

Jumping from rooftops, dodging bullets, hopping across skyscrapers, taking on 200 baddies at a time and indulging in gravity-defying stunts were a complete no-no for the makers of the film. As they started exploring various options, the one that struck the right chord was the concept of 'time freeze'.

"We thought that this would be a nice touch to the character, especially so because it would work with kids as well as adults alike.

"Also, we could use this character trait in different moods and situations in the film, whether a funny sequence, a romantic moment or an emotional encounter. Once we decided to go ahead with 'time freeze', it was a matter of improvising on the script while incorporating this trait," said Zaveri, who has written either the script or dialogues of films like Masti, Kaante, Jhankaar Beats and Heyy Babyy.

Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai sees Jacqueline paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh, who had acted with the former Miss Sri Lanka in her debut film Aladin as well.

Also starring Ruslaan Mumtaz, Sonal Sehgal and Vishal Malhotra in principal roles, Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai boasts of a number of guest appearances - Farah Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan, Amrita Rao, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma and Vidya Balan.

With music by Sajid-Wajid, the film is set to release on April 9.

DOD official notes rise in sexual assault reporting

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 3,230 reports of sexual assault were filed.

An increase in reporting was a goal for the department, said Kaye Whitley, director of the Defense Department's sexual abuse prevention and response office.

"Research in the civilian community shows that sexual assault is widely underreported, and we believe that is the same in the military," she said. "As a result, increasing reporting has been one of our key goals. We want people who are victims of sexual assault to come forward so they can get the help that they need."

The department's goal is to create a "climate of confidence" so that people will come forward to report, she added.

One aspect of the program is a confidential reporting option called "restricted reporting," which lifts some of the barriers that can deter military personnel from reporting sexual assault. Unrestricted reporting means the victim's command is notified and an investigation initiated. Under the restricted reporting option, the command is not notified and an investigation does not follow. Still, the victim can receive medical, mental health and all other services without becoming involved in the military criminal justice process.

Ms. Whitley said the number of sexual assaults in the military probably is comparable to the civilian community, but that direct comparisons are hard to make. The overall rate for the Defense Department was two reports of sexual assault per thousand servicemembers. In the Army, the rate was 2.6 per thousand. In the Navy it was 1.6 per thousand, in the Air Force 1.4 per thousand, and in the Marine Corps 1.3 per thousand. Service-specific data, including the total numbers of reports, is included in the annual report.

"Our total number includes both perpetrators and victims," Ms. Whitley said. The data covers eight categories of sexual assault ranging from the least-egregious wrongful sexual contact to rape.

"We need to keep in mind that these are reports where the victim or the perpetrator was a military member," Ms. Whitley said. The reports include sexual assaults reported that involved a military member against a military member, a military member against a civilian or a civilian against a military member, she explained.

Last year, Ms. Whitley said, 123 victims converted their restricted reports to the unrestricted category.

"What we find are those people who are victims of sexual assault, they feel a loss of control," Ms. Whitley said. "Then, when we meet with them and give them these reporting options, they get a little bit of that control back. So often, they will go home and if they feel supported and start feeling comfortable with reporting it, they will change it to an unrestricted report, in which case we can investigate and prosecute."

The restricted reporting option has been in place since 2005, and it fills a need, Ms. Whitley said. "We've had over 3,600 people use that option since then, so that tells me that over 3,600 people wouldn't have come forward otherwise," she said.

Ms. Whitley said she would like to think the rise in reported cases has resulted from the emphasis the department is putting on sexual abuse prevention and the department's efforts to tell people about the program.

Last year, the theme of the awareness and education campaign was "My Strength for Defending: Preventing Sexual Assault Part of My Duty." This year's theme -- "Hurts one. Affects all. Preventing sexual assault is everyone's duty" -- builds on that and concentrates on readiness, Ms. Whitley said.

Newspapers still relevant in online age: study

OTTAWA - We may be living in a digital age but a new national newspaper readership survey suggests that the majority of Canadians still like to get their news from a newspaper -- even if that paper is online.

The Newspaper Audience Databank (NADbank) study for 2009 suggests 77% of Canadians read a print or online edition of a newspaper at least once a week, numbers that remain fairly steady across all age groups.

The NADbank numbers provide readership results for 81 Canadian daily newspapers in 53 markets across the country, as well as for 60 community papers in 33 markets. The study gives a snapshot of the readership habits of 72% of Canadian adults, the group says.

Among other results, the study found that 47% of adults aged 18 and over read the print version of a daily newspaper most weekdays, while 73% of those polled had read a paper in the past week. Speaking strictly of online editions, 22% said they read a daily paper online in the past week, while 77% had read either a printed or online edition.

The demographics of newspaper readers defy the common wisdom that young people have no interest in newspapers, with 78% of respondents aged 18-24 saying they'd read either a print or online edition of a newspaper in the past week. The age group with the lowest percentage of newspaper readers is 25-34, but even there 72% read a newspaper at least once a week. People aged 50-64 were the most avid readers, at 81%.

Higher-paid and university-educated Canadians are the most likely to read a newspaper, but 78% of blue-collar respondents also said they read newspapers each week.

News is the first section all readers turn to, with 73% saying they usually read local news, and 59% reading national and international news as well. After that, the favourite sections break down by age, with those aged 18-49 accessing arts and entertainment next, followed by sports, health, business and editorial pages. Those aged 50 and up went to the editorial section after the news, and then entertainment, health news, food and business.

"This is great news for our advertisers," says Kirk Allen, senior vice-president of publishing sales at Canwest LP. The publisher of 10 of the daily newspapers in the study saw its weekly readership grow by 2.1% to four million, and weekly online readership was up 20% overall.

"Canadian marketers can continue to rely upon the strong readership and reach across the country they have come to expect from our dailies.

Relation between Loneliness and High Blood Pressure in Older People

According to a new study, loneliness might have negative effect on blood pressure in elder people.

The study conducted at the University of Chicago, has established a direct link between loneliness and high blood pressure. The relation is independent of age and other factors that can cause blood pressure to increase, including body-mass index, smoking, alcohol use and demographic variations like race and income.

The researchers also probed the probability that depression and stress might be responsible for the increase, but found that those factors did not entirely clarify the rise in blood pressure among lonely people 50 years and older.

Researcher Louise Hawkley wrote in an article, "Loneliness Predicts Increased Blood Pressure", that loneliness worked as if it is a distinctive health-risk factor in its own right. It came out in the current issue of the journal, Psychology and Aging.

During the five-year study on 229 people aged 50 to 68, Hawkley found a lucid relation between feelings of loneliness and increasing blood pressure.

Hawkley said, "Loneliness is characterized by a motivational impulse to connect with others but also a fear of negative evaluation, rejection and disappointment. We hypothesize that threats to one's sense of safety and security with others are toxic components of loneliness, and that hypervigilance for social threat may contribute to alterations in physiological functioning, including elevated blood pressure".

Love Sex Aur Dhokha gets adult certificate

Dibakar Banerjee’s much talked-about Love Sex Aur Dhokha went before the censor board recently. The controversial love scene showing a bare-backed girl on top of a man, making love, has been told to be blurred on screen.

Buzz up!
In other words, Dibakar’s couple will be seen by the audience making love as two blurred figures.

The director, already miffed and mired in what he sees as unnecessary controversy, refuses to be enraged even if so many recent Hindi films have had graphic love-making scenes. As for the female bare back during a love-making scene, the censors liberally allowed that in Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan just recently!

Says Dibakar, “We had submitted a DVD of the film to the Censor Board so they’d recommend cuts in advance and avoid delays. The censor preview recommendation suggests that we blur the sex scene. We were told this scene was too graphic and needed tempering. There’s no way the censors could allow the love-making scene. We’ve clearly been told that even before the film is submitted for censoring.”

When asked how bare-backed love-making scenes have been allowed by the censors recently and how the one in Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) has been asked to tone down even before the film is submitted to the censors, the director chooses to smile mysteriously.

“I’ve been, in principle, against the film being perceived as a voyeur’s delight. Love Sex Aur Dhokha is not about sex sex and sex. Those who expect that will turn away disappointed.”

However, in another more radical cut, all reference to caste in a love story between a low-caste boy and a high-caste girl has been removed by the Censor Board. This has infuriated Dibakar. Says the director, “This completely changes the perspective of my story since now the caste-challenged love story is turned into a poor-boy-rich-girl romance. This is not what I intended.”

Also, the song “Tu Nangi Acchhi Lagti Hai”, which was modified on the audio cd to “Tu Gandi Achchi Lagti Hai”, has now been similarly modified in the film also.

Says Dibakar, “But no complaints. Considering the controversial content, my film got away easily with little cuts and an ‘Adults’ certificate.”

Mentoring juveniles before they become adult criminals

In their first job out of law school, Whitney Louchheim and Penelope Spain worked, literally, in a closet. With neither windows nor air conditioning, “my wrists stuck to the keyboard when I typed,” Ms. Louchheim remembers. The two had borrowed the closet-cum-office from a nonprofit group in an unsavory neighborhood.

“We were right next to … the biggest open-air heroin market in D.C.,” Ms. Spain recalls. Their location was difficult for outsiders to comprehend. “Our parents would come to visit, and they were terrified,” Spain says. “My father just looked at me like, ‘This is what has become of my daughter and her law degree?’ ”

But from the moment they met on orientation day at American University, the two women had bonded over an unconventional vision: to help young men in jail leave Washington’s juvenile justice system and find their way to productive, fulfilling lives.

Louchheim and Spain cofounded Mentoring Today, a nonprofit that matches volunteer mentors with youths serving time at the district’s juvenile lockup, then called Oak Hills.

In 2004, when the women first began planning their project, roughly one-third of the young men who’d been imprisoned were sent back to Oak Hills within a year of being released. Louchheim and Spain knew some of them: They had started a tutoring program that brought classmates from American University into Oak Hills.

The women realized they were positioned to be more than teachers. “Legal issues, housing, family, friends, girlfriend,” Spain says. “All of those things we were involved in because we had earned their trust.”

Louchheim and Spain also found themselves serving as de facto advocates for the young men, following up with caseworkers, lawyers, or parents. Eventually, they realized this kind of support needed a full-time effort. So instead of taking the usual path for bright law school graduates – lucrative internships or prestigious clerkships – they started Mentoring Today with a couple of credit cards and a promise they made to each other at Spain’s kitchen table.

“We said, ‘I’ll hire you if you hire me,’ ” Spain says. “It was a deal.”

Flash-forward five years. Mentoring Today now has a solid track record. It has inspired mentors to donate more than 1,800 volunteer hours, which have helped more than 30 young men remake their lives. Last year, the nonprofit raised more than $350,000 from donors and grantmakers to fund its services.

The women defined “success” differently than do many at-risk youth programs. Although 92 percent of those they mentor have continued with their education, for example, those who end up behind bars again aren’t written off. When one of Spain’s early mentoring subjects returned to a lockup, she still saw progress: He’d learned to read and write and could write letters to her.

Mentoring To­day’s willingness to stand by its young people is “the biggest proof” of its success, says

Da­vid Muhammad, chief of committed services for the Department of Youth Rehab­il­itation Ser­­vices (DYRS) in the district.