Gasikara Kolotora sy Kolontsaina

"Paranormal Activity" has just surpassed "The Blair Witch Project" to become the most profitable movie ever. The box office hit was made for less than $15,000 and as of Wednesday has grossed a whopping $65.1 million, TheWrap.com reported. VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebs In Halloween Costumes The movie's box office success has reaped a staggering 414,233 percent return on its initial investment. "Paranormal" has gradually expanded from 12 to 33 to 160 to 760 to this weekend's 1,945 theaters - a move that some criticized - but one that Executive VP of Distribution for Paramount, Don Harris, credits as a key to the horror film's success. VIEW THE PHOTOS: Access' Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies Of 2010 "Everybody else thought we should be going faster than we were," he told TheWrap. "But I thought we were doing a pretty good job of seeding the ground as we went. I don't know that we would have done a lot more last weekend if we would ...

TORONTO — Mona Lisa has something new to smile about. A portrait of a young woman thought to be created by a 19th century German artist and sold two years ago for about $19,000 is now being attributed by art experts to Leonardo da Vinci and valued at more than $150 million. The unsigned chalk, ink and pencil drawing, known as "La Bella Principessa," was matched to Leonardo via a technique more suited to a crime lab than an art studio — a fingerprint and palm print found on the 13 1/2-inch-by-10-inch work. Peter Paul Biro, a Montreal-based forensic art expert, said the print of an index or middle finger matched a fingerprint found on Leonardo's "St. Jerome" in the Vatican. Technical, stylistic and material composition evidence — including carbon dating — had art experts believing as early as last year that they had found another work by the creator of the "Mona Lisa." The discovery of the fingerprint has them convinced the work was by Leonardo, whose my...

LOS ANGELES - "Swingers" co-stars Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau buddied up for the weekend's top movie as "Couples Retreat" debuted with $35.3 million, while the micro-budgeted fright flick "Paranormal Activity" leaped into the top 10. Shot for a reported $15,000, "Paranormal Activity" came in at No. 5 with $7.1 million as distributor Paramount expanded it into daylong release after two weeks of midnight-only screenings. "Paranormal Activity" played in narrow release of just 160 cinemas, a fraction of the theater count for other top movies. It averaged a whopping $44,163 a theater, compared with $11,780 in 3,000 theaters for "Couples Retreat." "You almost do a double take when you look at that theater count for a movie in the top five," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's amazing. That's unprecedented." "Couples Retreat" exceeded expectations for distr...

LOS ANGELES — They have suffered pay cuts, layoffs and Hollywood’s urge to write them off every time a poorly reviewed movie makes good at the box office. But America’s film critics, an ornery lot, are not dead yet. In fact, their craft has shown flickering signs of new life lately — though not the kind that leaves ink-stained cinephiles entirely comfortable. The last few weeks have brought the debut of Moviereviewintelligence.com , a new Web site committed to monitoring, scoring and proliferating the work of critics at some 65 print and broadcast outlets. Started by David A. Gross, a former marketing executive with 20th Century Fox, the new site is replete with charts and graphs that track the good, the bad and the ugly of reviews. Those numbers assess matters as granular as the average time at which reviews appear after the movie’s release (1.4 hours after release for “Land of the Lost” ) and the productivity of individual critics (Leah Rozen at People is good for 2.6 reviews a week,...

Tell Me More, April 23, 2009 · South Africa is challenging traditional wine producers Italy and France for a slice of the world market. Wine maven Callie Crossley, author of the blog The Crushed Grape Report , tells why South Africa is gaining popularity among wine connoisseurs. Grapes: Chenin Blanc (White) Chenin Blanc is an important white grape variety planted in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley and the most widely planted varietal grape in South Africa. In the Loire it produces high quality dry wines in Savenniéres, and luscious sweet, dessert wines in Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. In Vouvray and Montlouis it can be dry, medium dry, or sweet, and still or sparkling. Whether dry or sweet, the best Loire Chenin Blancs possess marvellously concentrated rich, honeyed fruit toge ther with refreshingly vibrant acidity. It is Chenin Blanc`s high acidity that enable the wines to age so well. In South Africa Chenin Blanc is easier to grow and is...

My daughter Abena delighted me in December with multiple Christmas gifts from Madagascar, including this t-shirt emblazoned with "Ravitoto manioc conception," which apparently is a favorite Malagasy dish--a meat stew (especially pork) made with manioc (cassava) greens. Sorry, I've already eaten my fabulous dark chocolate (Robert Chocolat Noir Spécial) bar so I can't show that. It looks like it was made from chocolate from Madagascar in Antananarivo for "Chocolaterie Robert S. A." (South Africa?) She also collected 5 new cookbooks for the Africa Cookbook Project on her travels. Two of them are totally in Malagasy (Inona no masaka? vols. 1 and 2), one is both in French and "Malgache" (Cuisine Malgache/Cuisine Creole), another is in French (La Cuisine de Madagascar), and the final one, a book on tropical fruits published in France (okay, so maybe it doesn't technically qualify for the Africa Cookbook Project), is also in French (Les Fruits Tropica...

Nominees for the Golden Globe Awards announced Thursday in Beverly Hills, Calif.: MOTION PICTURES: PICTURE, DRAMA: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "The Reader," "Revolutionary Road," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Visitor." PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: "Burn After Reading," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "In Bruges," "Mamma Mia!," "Vicky Christina Barcelona." FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE: "Baader Meinhof Complex," "Everlasting Moments," "Gomorrah," "I've Loved You So Long," "Waltz With Bashir." DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road." DRAMATIC ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"; Frank Langella, "Frost...

Propelled by a fantastic showing from Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the Holiday season launched with slightly higher attendance than in 2007 and 2006, though it trailed the season's starts for 2001 through 2005. With the subsequent scheduling of another event picture, Quantum of Solace, Holiday business may not experience the second weekend lull of the past few years, when weaker titles were released. The Madagascar sequel grooved to $63.1 million on approximately 7,100 screens at 4,056 sites, handily swinging past the $47.2 million debut of its 2005 predecessor and ranking among the ten biggest animated starts of all time. Rendering Escape 2 Africa's opening even more impressive is that it had a non-holiday berth compared to the first movie's Memorial Day weekend, and its four-day attendance was still higher, reaching $68.3 million through Monday. The first Madagascar went on to gross $193.6 million by the end of its run, and the sequel's opening and timing portends a b...

CF Martin D-14 Fret Madagascar Rosewood w/ Adirondack Solid Spruce Top. The Martin I’d like to have, but the list price of $1899 puts it out of my league. As does my acoustic guitar playing.

Fiction: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books). Finalists: "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and "Shakespeare's Kitchen" by Lore Segal (The New Press). Drama: "August: Osage County," by Tracy Letts. Finalists: "Yellow Face" by David Henry Hwang; "Dying City" by Christopher Shinn. History: "What Hath God Wrought: the Transformation of America, 1815-1848," by Daniel Walker Howe (Oxford University Press). Finalists: "Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power" by Robert Dallek (HarperCollins); "The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War" by the late David Halberstam (Hyperion). Biography: "Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father," by John Matteson (W.W. Norton). Finalists: "The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein" by Martin Duberman (Alfred A. Knopf); "The Life of Kingsley Amis" by Zachar...

(Clin d'oeil à Daniel Caux) « Pour moi ne comptent que ceux qui sont fous de quelque chose, fous de vivre, fous de parler, fous d’être sauvés, ceux qui veulent tout en même temps, ceux qui ne bâillent jamais, qui ne disent pas de banalités, mais brûlent, brûlent, brûlent comme un feu d’artifice. » Disait le Jazz Poet. Selon Yves Buin, son biographe, Jack Kerouac a formalisé le souffle jazzé, inspiré du saxophone et le phrasé paroxystique de la « forme sauvage » dans les quelques principes de la prose spontanée. Écrivain psychiatre, également poète et passionné de jazz, Yves Buin a collaboré à Jazz Hot à la fin des années 60, avec Patrice Blanc Francart, Daniel Caux ou Philippe Constantin. Invités Yves Buin. Yves Buin est né en 1938. Il a publié une vingtaine d’ouvrages dont Maël (Bourgois), La Terre d’Arnhem (Plon), Bornéo, après la nuit (Grasset), (Seghers), Kerouac (Gallimard), Borggi (Rivages Noir) ou L'oiseau Garrincha. Il est le coauteur du Manifeste froid, avec Jean-Chris...

The Malagasy blogosphere is unanimous in saluting the passing of Rado, the renowned Malagasy poet. Jentilisa writes a detailed biography : “Zanaka mpitandrina ny tenany, teraka tamin'ny 1 oktobra 1923 (tapabolana sisa manko) ary Ankadivato ilay fonenana nahalehibe azy. Notezaina tanatin'ny fitiavana an'Andriamanitra sy ny tanindrazana tahaka ireo hafa novolavolaina tanaty lasitra protestanta nandritra ny fanjanahantany” “He was born, Georges Andriamanantena, on October 1, 1923, the son of a Protestant priest in Ankadivato (a neighborhood of Antananarivo). He was brought up in the respect and love of God and country, in the Protestant tradition that prevailed during the colonization times.” On his father's side, he descended from a long lineage of Protestant priests (fifth generation), and as tebokaefatra says, on his mother's side, he descended from the village of Amboanana, which was “…ilay vohitra kely ao atsimon'Arivonimamo, izay nisehoan'ireo Menalamba...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Hollywood is in a bleak mood this year, and the Oscar nominees announced Tuesday morning reflected that state of mind. “No Country For Old Men,” about the ruthless aftermath of a botched drug deal, and “There Will Be Blood,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a scheming oil man in an epic about American capitalism, took the lead in the Oscar race with eight nominations each, including best picture and best director. Meanwhile, “Michael Clayton,” a throwback thriller to the 1970s, starring George Clooney as a corporate fixer, received seven nominations, including nods for best picture, best actor (Mr. Clooney) and best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton). “Atonement,” the adaptation of Ian McEwan’s time-shifting, betrayal-filled novel, also captured seven nominations, including for best picture and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan). Unlike last year, when flashy mainstream hits like “The Departed,” “Dreamgirls” and “Little Miss Sunshine” dominated, the 2008 Oscar ...

It’s interesting to learn that the unofficial king of Malagasy soul lives in an apartment building just off Roncesvalles Ave. and works for an elevator company. Then again, Toronto is filled with such royalty — both of the music and arts variety — who half the city doesn’t even know about. But those-in-the-know certainly know Donné Roberts. The Madagascar-born, Russian-raised singer/guitarist (his father was a diplomat at Moscow’s Madagascan embassy) has made a name for himself as the person responsible for bringing the music of his birthplace to Toronto. The music of Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar, is filled with reggae, funk, jazz and rock elements. Roberts, who also sings in Russian, English and French, says it’s a music that speaks to his soul, allowing him to truly express his feelings and experiences. The 38-year-old has pioneered Malagasy soul in Toronto, performing with a variety of bands, including the award-winning African Guitar Summit and with his own group, ...

“The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” an exhibition of the museum's complete Dutch collection of 228 paintings, stretches through 12 galleries. It's a lot to take in. Here are some highlights. Holland Cotter, art critic of The New York Times, narrates. A Guide to ‘ The Age of Rembrandt’

PARIS, Sept. 17 — On Monday President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who is increasingly faulted, even by his own government, for usurping the responsibilities of his top ministers, stepped into the role of culture minister. At a low-key ceremony he inaugurated La Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, (the City of Architecture and Heritage) in Paris, which reopened after an $114 million , decade-long makeover. “I commit myself fully to this mission, to give back the possibility of boldness to architecture,” he said in his speech. Mr. Sarkozy turned the occasion into a promotion of French architecture throughout the ages, inviting some of the world’s top architects to the museum (and to lunch at the Élysée Palace) and winning their endorsements along the way. President François Mitterrand built the glass pyramid at the Louvre, the Grande Arche de la Défense, the Bastille Opera and the François Mitterrand French National Library; Jacques Chirac created a museum devoted to African, Asian, ...

Kai Ryssdal: Five of the top 25 compact discs on Amazon.com today feature Luciano Pavarotti. He died early this morning in Italy, as you probably heard by now. Pavarotti was an opera star for 40 years. And later in his life, he helped changed the business of classical music. Fred Child hosts public radio's classical music program, "Performance Today." Hi, Fred. Child: Hello, Kai. Ryssdal: Clearly, Pavarotti was a great talent. But he was also greatly criticized, especially I guess later in life, for having kind of commercialized opera to a great extent. Do you think that's a fair charge? Does it stick? Child: You know, there was a real tough balance there. And you're right: in his prime, there was nobody better. That silky-smooth, rich sounding, incredible emotion that came through in his voice. But after about 1990, he became a mainstream superstar. And the fact is, he revelled in being a celebrity, and almost became a caricature of himself. And he sang with q...

ROME - Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71. His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August. "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said. Speaking from inside Pavarotti's home, which was guarded by police, Pavarotti's assistant Edwin Tinoco told Sky TG 24 television that Pavarotti's final days had been calm and spent at home. For serious fans, the unforced ...

A list of winners of 2007 Tony Awards (denoted with a *), with links to the original New York Times reviews. BEST MUSICAL Curtains Grey Gardens Mary Poppins * Spring Awakening BEST PLAY Frost/Nixon * The Coast of Utopia The Little Dog Laughed Radio Golf BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY Inherit the Wind * Journey's End Talk Radio Translations BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL 110 in the Shade A Chorus Line * Company The Apple Tree BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY Boyd Gaines, Journey's End * Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon Brian F. O'Byrne, The Coast of Utopia Christopher Plummer, Inherit the Wind Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten Swoosie Kurtz, Heartbreak House Angela Lansbury, Deuce Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking * Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Michael Cerveris, LoveMusik Raúl Esparza, Company Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening Gavin Lee...

The 61st annual Tony Awards last night showed a particular fondness for the 19th century with “Spring Awakening,” about sexually frustrated German teenagers from that era, winning the bulk of the early musical awards while “The Coast of Utopia,” Tom Stoppard’s epic period trilogy about Russian intellectuals, set a record for the most awards won by a play in Tony history. “Coast,” an eight-and-a-half-hour epic, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, won best play, best director, best featured actor and actress, and several design awards. “Spring Awakening” won best book, score, direction and choreography and best featured actor in a musical. And in the night’s highest-profile nail-biter, Julie White of “The Little Dog Laughed” won best leading actress in a play, beating out acting legends like Vanessa Redgrave (“The Year of Magical Thinking”) and Angela Lansbury (“Deuce”), as well as the actresses Swoosie Kurtz (“Heartbreak House”) and Eve Best (“A Moon for the Misbegotten”) whose performa...