Adam Lambert Releases Music Video And Singles - Watch

All you Adam Lambert fans will be happy to know that the American Idol runner-up has released not only his first single, but also artwork for his album cover and a music video.

Lambert, who came in second place last year on American Idol, is scheduled to release "For Your Entertainment" on November 23. We listened to two tracks from Adam's official website and were actually impressed.

The first track, "For Your Entertainment" was somewhat traditional pop, and the second "Time For Miracles" was a well-written and smooth ballad similar to "Queen" style.

You can order the album directly from his official site for $24.99 - this includes a hard cover 16 page "Collectors Edition" book and additional bonus tracks.

You can click HERE to hear Adam Lambert's first two songs, and the following video is the official "Time For Miracles" music Video.

Watch Adam Lambert "Time For Miracles" Music Video


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Dennis Hopper Has Prostate Cancer

After briefly being hospitalized last month for dehydration, actor Dennis Hopper says he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Hopper has recently been seen on the series "Crash" on the Starz network, and several episodes are already in the can and will be seen through the end of the year.

His manager told reporters that the actor has cancelled all upcoming travel and entertainment projects to focus on his treatment.

Hopper, 73, will be treated through a special prostate cancer program at the University of Southern California (USC). His agent did not elaborate on his condition.

Hopper was forced to cancel his appearance at an exhibition of his artwork and photography at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Called "Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood," the show celebrates "the work and life of an extraordinary filmmaker, artist and key figure in the evolution of America's cultural scene from the 1950s to today."

Dennis Hopper, who was born in Dodge City Kansas, is best known for his role as Billy in the film "Easy Rider" in 1969, about two counterculture bikers who travel from L.A. to New Orleans in search of America.

Hoppers latest project, "Alpha and Omega", is in post production and scheduled for release in 2010 and also stars Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Justin Long and Danny Glover. The animated adventure follows two mismatched young wolves thrown are together by circumstance.
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Is Delhi ready for the Queen’s baton?

As London sets the stage for the Commonwealth Games baton relay where the Queen will pass on the torch to our First Lady, I cross my fingers.

Come October 2010, and Delhi will be the cynosure of world attention as it hosts the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Since its selection in 2003, Delhi has been gearing up for this mega event. With a sanctioned budget of more than 5000 Crores, we have seen infrastructural improvements in the capital city – neat flyovers, the blessed Metro, the beautiful Akshardham, the much talked about Commonwealth Games Village, commissioning of new buses, widening of roads – we might not be doing the best but we could have been much worse!

This time around, it is not the cynic in me but the proud Delhite that asks the question – Are we there yet? Are we ready? Are we all set? We better be. The last time I visited Delhi (that’s like a month back), the flyovers seemed okay, the residential complex near the Commonweallth Village looked a tad bit incomplete and the Metro project looked derailed from its planned schedule, by quite a measure!

As Pratibha Patil asserted Delhi’s readiness for the games on BBC, I sent out a silent prayer to the one above – “We might be behind schedules, we might be corrupt, we might have slacked off – but God please save the face of 1.2 billion people who are united by their national identity and pride. Let no shortcoming dampen the enthusiasm of the event, let no tragedy mar the spirit of the season, and most importantly, let every visitor and guest experience the spirit that is Delhi - the rich cultural heritage blended with modern amenities, the historical old world charm in the backdrop of a fast-paced urbane city. - Amen”

This is our moment – go Delhi go!

Top Ten Hollywood Celebrity Scientologists

Okay, so we have a few more than ten celebrities on our list, but there are so many nut jobs out there we were unable to pick just ten.

The following celebrities were selected for their influence and popularity, not solely because of their high-functioning and powerful connections with Xenu.

So put down your thetan meter, put your audit on hold, take a break from your gradient rehabilitation and your search for the way to happiness, and see how many of these celebrities you knew were Scientologists.

Let us know if we missed a big name and we'll add to our follow-up list.

Jason Lee:
Best known for the television karma comedy "My Name is Earl"

Leah Remini
Best known for starring with Kevin James in the sitcom "King of Queens"

Beck
Famous just for being Beck, along with being an uncombed and strange Musician

Greta Van Susteren
Best known for being a legal expert for CNN and FOX; covered the O.J. Simpson trial; host of "Burden of Proof" and "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

Danny Masterson
Best known for his stoner role of Hyde on "That '70s Show" with Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher. Danny is the older brother of Christopher Masterson who played the oldest brother on "Malcolm In The Middle"

Isaac Hayes
Hayes is 'the man' familiar to many for writing and performing the theme song to Shaft, and for providing the voice of "Chef" on South Park.

Sonny Bono
Best known for being Cher' ex-husband and being a Republican congressman, and father of Chastity Bono.

Jerry Seinfeld
Best known for his smash hit television comedy "Seinfeld", and making bad commercials with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Tom Cruise
Best known for being Tom Cruise, the King of all Scientologists and father of Xenu babies. Appeared in Risky Business, Top Gun, War of the Worlds, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Mission Impossible, Eyes Wide Shut, Jerry Maguire, Interview with the Vampire, The Firm, A few Good Men, Rain Man, Young Guns, Cocktail, and the list goes on.

John Travolta
A-list second in command behind Tom Cruise, and best known for his early role as Vinny Barbarino on "Welcome Back Kotter", and big budget films like Hairspray, Ladder 49, Austin Powers, Domestic Disturbance, The General's Daughter, Primary Colors, Michael, Phenomenon, and the list goes on.

Kirstie Alley
Best know for being fat, and her role on Cheers, Deconstructing Harry, Drop Dead Gorgeous and "Veronica's Closet".

Priscilla Presley
Best known for being the really young wife of rocker Elvis Presley, and appearing in almost 100 episodes of the prime time soap "Dallas".

Catherine Bell
Currently starring in the TV series "Army Wives", and appeared in 191 episodes of "JAG".

Corin Nemec
Not seen much since his days on "Stargate SG-1" and "Parker Lewis Can't Loose". Nemec's popularity is on the rise as he has three movies in the works, and one television project called "The Mars Shuttle Murders".

Jeffrey Tambor
Tambor played the head honcho of the Bluth Company in the hit TV show "Arrested Development". He will also appear in the movie version next year. Tambor has been involved in over 125 movie and television projects and is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood.


Jenna Elfman
Elfman is familiar to most for her role as Dharma on the long running TV sitcom "Dharma & Greg". She will also be seen as Ophelia in the comedy "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" early next year.


Nancy Cartwright
Best known for being the voice of Bart Simpson on the animated "The Simpsons" television show, and creating voices for virtually every animated show created over the last ten years.


Suspected Runner Ups:

Will Smith
While Smith has never talked publicly about being a Xenu lover, he was spotted handing out Scientology pamphlets last year on a movie set. Smith and his wife also funded a private school where concepts of Scientology (among other topics) are taught.
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We will be posting links of the Nightline expose that ran on October 23 soon.

Love Jehad

In an earlier post, I had talked about the complexity and heartache behind a girl changing her name after marriage. However, I realize this could be a much smaller issue, when compared to the ‘love jehad’ or ‘romeo jehad’ talked about in a news snippet here.

Apparently, some groups in Kerala are concertedly working on converting Hindu girls to Islam after they fall in love with Muslim boys.

I can’t even decipher the plethora of emotions that crossed my mind and heart as I read the article. It is not only to do with the status of women in our society even in this day and age; it also has not much to do with questions on will men convert instead; it is about introspecting on our own religion and our own god!

Ofcourse, this is no breaking news to any of us; we all have at some point or the other heard of such conversions in an inter-religion marriage – Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Christian, Christian-Muslim. However, each time I read a story of coerced transition in the name of love and religion, I cringe in fear.

Every religion says one God, every religion says respect the other – If there is one God, and each religion simply sees a different manifestation of the same super power, we are doing a great injustice to our concept of God or the Almighty by forcing one to change his or her religion.

It is unfortunate that how the history of human kind unravels the degenerative association of God with religion, religion with traditions and beliefs, traditions and beliefs with division, division with hatred, and hatred with bloodshed.

Light?

A nagging desire for light

The night has been black, evil almost
The fear of the unknown
Intensifying in the obscurity
Haunting shadows, now apparitions

The promise of the morning beacon
Offers little consolation
If it is not now
It doesn’t really matter when

The question of survival
Lasts only as long as
The darkest vertex
And once that is endured
The shimmer of the break of dawn
No longer warms the soul

The blinding blaze and the
Beaming glow, the piercing
Ebony and the deafening silence
Concatenates into a nebulous halo
Enveloping the consciousness
Of the being that once
Yearned for eternal illumination

The nagging desire for light
Replaced by the strength to
Bear nadirs and zeniths alike

SOS – Our hill stations need a savior!

A kumaoni by birth, I have been very proud of my “native” land – the hills of Uttarakhand (formerly, Uttaranchal, and before that a part of the state of Uttar Pradesh). Most of our vacations during my growing up years were spent visiting breathtaking valleys and mountainous ranges of Nainital, Bhimtal, Almora, Pithoragarh and Lohaghat – the lesser known but much more beautiful cousins of the more popular – Mussorie and Dehradun.

This time around I visited the hills after a gap of 5 years. The journey was as always arduous and my affinity to mountain sickness does not help matters. But forget that. Dad took a less-traveled route to Almora – our chosen destination - and it was undoubtedly one of the most scenic drives I have ever taken. The long winding roads wrapped around the mountains with royal pines spread out till as far as the eye can see, and the mist rising softly as if from below the mountains – heaven is here.

But before I could completely lose myself in the picturesque view that enveloped us, the driver screeched rudely at our first halt.

Rickety shops lined along the road serving food that has never known the word hygiene. Sanitation is at its worst. No, you don’t want a description of the restrooms.

We tried to drown the ugly reality in the beauty of nature and reached Almora - a town that has not changed with the passage of time. I do not know if I mean this as an appreciation. Almora still does not have a drainage and sewage system. The vehicles have increased but the roads have deteriorated.

Move to Nainital – all that is good about the place is what the colonial rule bequeathed on us. We have barely been able to maintain the infrastructure developed by the British more than 200 years ago. The number of people visiting these places has multiplied manifold, and the “mall” road has become a mess of smoke and noise.

What makes me so bitter at the state of affairs is that nothing is being done, nobody is bothered. What should not change – the weather, the majesty of nature, the peace and solitude of the place – is changing thanks to global warming, unchecked pollution and total disregard for our natural heritages; And what should change – the infrastructure, roads, education of the local population, sanitation – is not changing.

It is a frustrating experience seeing these places that offer hope for retreat and sanity in a world that’s maddeningly complicated, simply fade away their charm and glory.

However, I must mention that Bhimtal is a few notches better than the other two places. There is a serenity in the place that is intoxicating. So maybe next summer, you could plan a trip to Bhimtal to beat the heat. Leaving you with a picture of the calm and placid waters.