Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. Rolling Stone magazine wrote: “One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century,” she “spearheaded the [...]]]> “Just because I look sexy on the cover of Rolling Stone doesn’t mean I’m naughty.”  -Britney Spears

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. Rolling Stone magazine wrote: “One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century,” she “spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop … Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank”.^[207] She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the “Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist” for her debut album …Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States.^[208] Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, “She’s also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide”.^[209] As of 2011, she has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[3] She was also ranked as the fourth VH1‘s “50 Greatest Women of the Video Era” show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and only behind veterans like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston.^[210] Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[5] In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Spears the 8th Artist of the 2000s decade in the United States.

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed “The Boss,” is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, [...]]]> “Success makes life easier. It doesn’t make living easier.”  -Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed “The Boss,” is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his nativeNew Jersey.^[1]

Springsteen’s recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide^[2] and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, twoGolden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.

Norah Jones[1] (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.

In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the [...]]]> “Without a piano I don’t know how to stand, don’t know what to do with my hands.”  -Norah Jones

Norah Jones^[1] (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.

In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies.^[2][3][4] The record earned Jones five Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year,Record of the Year, and Best New Artist.^[5] Her subsequent studio albums, Feels Like Home, released in 2004, Not Too Late, released in 2007, the same year she made her film debut in My Blueberry Nights, and her 2009 release The Fall all gained Platinum status after selling over a million copies^[3] and were generally well received by critics.^[2] Jones’ fifth studio album, …Little Broken Hearts will be released on May 1, 2012.

Jones has won nine Grammy Awards and was Billboard magazine’s 60th-best-selling music artist of the 2000–2009 decade.^[6] Throughout her career, Jones has won numerous awards and has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.^[7] Billboard magazine named her the top Jazz artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

William “Bill” Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, [...]]]> “Hi, I’m Bill. I’m a birth survivor”  - Bill Maher

William “Bill” Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO‘s Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally onComedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including: religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity of the electorate.^[1] He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA.^[2] He is also acritic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society.^[3] In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central‘s 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.^[4] Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.

Thomas Jacob ”Jack“ Black (born August 28, 1969)[1] is an American comedian, actor and musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and satirical rock duo Tenacious D. The group has two albums as well [...]]]> “You must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow.”  Jack Black

Thomas Jacob ”Jack“ Black (born August 28, 1969)^[1] is an American comedian, actor and musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and satirical rock duo Tenacious D. The group has two albums as well as a television series and a film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He was a member of the Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award. He has also won an MTV Movie Award, and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awardas well as hosting the 2006, 2008 and 2011 Kids Choice Awards.

Sir Afred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980)[2] was a British film director, producer[3] and cameo [...]]]> “Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.”   Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Afred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980)^[2] was a British film director, producer^[3] and cameo appearance actor. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. In 1956, he became an American citizen while remaining a British subject.

Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style.^[4] He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person’s gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism.^[5] He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing.^[5] His stories frequently feature fugitives on the run from the law alongside “icy blonde” female characters.^[6] Many of Hitchcock’s films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime, although many of the mysteries function as decoys or “MacGuffins” meant only to serve thematic elements in the film and the extremely complex psychological examinations of the characters. Hitchcock’s films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual undertones. Through his cameo appearances in his own films, interviews, film trailers, and the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he became a cultural icon.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades. Often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, which said: “Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else.”^[7][8] The magazine MovieMaker has described him as the most influential filmmaker of all-time,^[9] and he is widely regarded as one of cinema’s most significant artists.^[10]

Melanie Daniels: Alfred Hitchcocks, The Birds

Angry Birds is a strategy puzzle mobile game [...]]]>  It said ‘Dear Mister Brenner, I think you need these lovebirds after all. They may help your personality.’

Melanie Daniels: Alfred Hitchcocks, The Birds

Angry Birds is a strategy puzzle mobile game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first developed for Apple’s iOS in December 2009.^[3] Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple’s App Store,^[4] which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, such as those using the Android operating system, among others.

In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playing field. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player. Rovio Mobile has supported Angry Birds with numerous free updates that add additional game content, and the company has even released stand-alone holiday and promotional versions of the game.

Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of addictive gameplay, comical style, and low price. Its popularity led to versions of Angry Birds being created for personal computers and gaming consoles, a market for merchandise featuring its characters and even long-term plans for a feature film or television series. With a combined 500 million downloads across all platforms and including both regular and special editions,^[5] the game has been called “one of the most mainstream games out right now”,^[6] “one of the great runaway hits of 2010″,^[7] and “the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far”.^[8]