Musical

Archive for August, 2011

Hayden Panettiere is definitely the next favorite cheerleader character. Appearing on Heroes as Claire Bennet and on the movie Bring It On: All or Nothing as Britney Allen, she has another project where she will once again be sporting the short skirt with the pom-poms look.

Panattiere recently accepted the proposal to play lead role in the film I Love You, Beth Cooper. Beth Cooper is one naughty and sexy cheerleader who gives a nerdy schoolmate the most outrageous night of his life that he surely won’t forget.

I Love You Beth Cooper revolves around the story of a geeky high school valedictorian Dennis Cooverman who professed his love for the most beautiful and the most popular cheerleader, Betty Cooper, during his graduation speech. Leaving the entire class in astonishment, Dennis is also faced with the fury of Beth’s boyfriend. His best friend Rich, who is possibly gay, is appalled as well. Beth’s immediate reaction was disgust, but for some strange reasons Dennis can only be thankful for, she surprisingly showed up at Dennis’ graduation party. The night turned into one big adventure that he will remember for the rest of his life. The plot follows how Dennis’ life started to get interesting after his public confession of love to the one woman who holds his heart.

This coming of age comedy film is an adaptation of the book written by Larry Doyle with the same title. Doyle is famous for writing the screenplays of Looney Tunes: Back in Action and Duplex which starred Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller. She also wrote for several animated TV series namely The Simpsons, Daria and Beavis and Butt-Head.

It will be directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus’ previous works include Stepmom in 1998, Home Alone in 1990, Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993, Bicentennial Man in 1999, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 and Rent in 2005.

As of press time, there is still no news yet on who will be joining Panattiere in the film’s line-up of casts.

For more resources about Heroes or for the full story of ‘Heroes’ Star May Play a Different Sort of Cheerleader please review http://www.buddytv.com

WHEN a hero comes along, this phrase comes inspired from listening to a Mariah Carey classic performed by the X Factor competitors in the United Kingdom. The single was played during my regular weekly fellowship meeting to remember the hundreds of thousands of military men who had given their lives for many during past and present wars.

Today I hope we would never allow ourselves to be immune from the many factors, the numerous occurrences, moments, occasions and opportunities that allow narratives of inspiration to change the course of history. The election of Barack Obama as the first President of the United States of America and leader of the ‘free world’ is one of them and of course the yearly Armed Forces Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom I believe is another of such instances.

May I suggest that in the midst of global gloom, hopelessness and disasters even in the most trying of circumstances, the ingenuity endowed with the human spirit, the drive to overcome can shine through and there is the capacity that our maker has endowed us with to constantly inspire one another through small acts of remarkable individual and personal acts of sacrifice and bravery.

However, right there in our very own Nigeria, it strikes me as very ironic that whilst the United Kingdom is remembering its own unique brand of heroes and selfless acts of bravery by its military in various theatres of war, past and present, Nigeria faces a quite different story. We are instead faced with the unfolding brutality of some men in uniform who appear to be the military of the naval vocation. If the video recording circulating around the internet and reports are to be believed then rather than acts of heroism from our own, some of our military have made brutality the order of the day. A harmless and defenceless lady, in the full glare of sunshine is beaten and stripped of all her dignity under the flimsy excuse of a minor traffic infraction and refusal to obey an instruction to meet with the Rear Admiral.

While our government busies itself through its ‘secret’ agents arresting an unsuspecting internet journalist and interrogating his right to free speech some of its military men appear to be on the rampage trampling upon much ‘cherished’ ‘rule of law’.

But curiously this story is very familiar to me and many others. When I was 6 years old, whilst returning from school with my siblings, driven by my mother in her Volkswagen Beetle, on the excuse of a minor traffic infraction we were accosted by some military men, my Uncle, now deceased the late Professor ‘Biodun Adetugbo came out of his car to protect and defend us, for his act of gallantry and kindness he was brutalised and beaten senseless by a dozen soldiers under the direction of their Major. My uncle bravely stood up to them and prevented them from escaping. True to type the military in the fashion of Fela’s description behaved like zombies without any control.

Today, however, I am glad to hear about the responses of Governor Raji Fashola, SAN and the belated but necessary response of the Federal Government to redress and investigate such alleged conduct and barbaric actions. To Miss Uzoma Okere a victim of the alleged brutality I can only offer words to the effect that as the hero who comes along, standing up to and exposing the character and the militant vavolence of power that lies at the heart of our military, you are in my view worthy of the song, the lyrics which I set out below:

“There’s a hero if you look inside your heart. You don’t have to be afraid of what you are. There’s an answer If you reach into your soul and the sorrow that you know will melt away.

And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on and you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive. So when you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong and you’ll finally see the truth that a hero lies in you

It’s a long road when you face the world alone. No one reaches out a hand for you to hold. You can find love If you search within yourself and the emptiness you felt will disappear.

And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on and you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive. So when you feel like hope is gone look inside you and be strong and you’ll finally see the truth that a hero lies in you

Lord knows dreams are hard to follow but don’t let anyone tear them away. Hold on for there will be tomorrow and in time You’ll find the way.

And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on and you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive. So when you feel like hope is gone look inside you and be strong and you’ll finally see the truth that a hero lies in you”



Dr. Ojedokun, a lawyer, lives in the United Kingdom

In 2006 in the US, the clinical gold standard for insomnia was controlled-release Ambien. Millions of prescriptions a year were and are written. Moving across the Atlantic, the situation is no less “impressive”. According to the latest figures, there are around half a million people in England taking sleeping pills at any one time. The National Health Service records show 820,000 prescriptions are written every month. It is estimated that some 330,000 pills are taken every day. This would make insomnia the most common psychological condition in Britain.

Why is insomnia so common? One explanation is that we now live a 24/7 lifestyle. Television and cable transmit tempting programs into our homes round the clock. We can surf the net, talk or sms on our handphones. We drink too much coffee. We live in an overstimulated world. But why would that lead to what, in real terms, would have to be described as an epidemic? Perhaps it is an age thing. As we all get older, do we need less sleep?

A better explanation seems to be that we have changed our attitude towards sleep. The first step is to distinguish between insomnia as the inability to get to sleep when we want to and sleeplessness where something keeps us awake, e.g. a change in our biological clock after flying to a different time zone. This makes insomnia mainly a psychological condition with insomniacs significantly more likely to be depressed than ordinary sleepers. This means that the more anxious we get about “falling asleep” the more difficult it is likely to become.

Generations ago, people did not take sleep for granted. Indeed, they were often worried about appearing lazy if they slept too much — Leonardo da Vinci pronounced sleep a waste of valuable time, napping about fifteen minutes every four hours. Now we are indoctrinated with the idea that unless we sleep seven or eight hours a night, our worlds will end. Hence, the National Sleep Foundation in the US recommends eight hours, but it is a fact that 70% of the population get less than this. A range of between five-and-a-half and nine-and-a-half hours per night is probably normal. In The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia and Depression, Darian Leader suggests that insomnia is usually a symptom of anxiety. Rather than routinely prescribe ambien, he consistently seeks to identify and treat the cause of the inability to sleep.

We could enjoy the peace of the night-time world when everyone else is asleep. The phone does not ring. No-one disturbs us. But the sleep-deprived brain does not function well and, for the majority, nights cannot be used creatively or productively. People are simply too tired whatever time of the day or night it is. Go for long enough without sleep and madness waits for us. This creates a billion dollar/pound industry to produce medications to knock us out. We are not deterred even though there can be withdrawal symptoms to negotiate when we try to stop taking the pills. Ambien is better than no treatment. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a good alternative but often not available. Other than CBT, we are into the self-help world of relaxation techniques. Perhaps this last option recognises that insomniacs are often too busy thinking about “stuff” to get to sleep. If they were bored, they might just drop off. One thing is certain, if you are not going to rely on ambien, the worst thing is to try to make yourself sleep. Like most things, the harder you try to do what should come naturally, the more unnatural you make it and the harder it becomes.