Shania Twainwho is an occasional resident of Queenstown, New Zealand (pictured below) and who has may-jah fans in Australia writes an email that’s uploaded to her blog for fans.
Seasons greetings to all!
I’ve spent much time over the course of this past year, learning about others who have suffered loss in their lives and taken inspiration from how they’ve managed to overcome it. I’m learning that grief and the suffering of loss, challenges me to be more sensitive and understanding of other’s and also more accepting of my own struggles. Challenge reminds me how important it is to let those who love me, care for me when I need it. The support of others has helped me to move forward less fearful of change, allowing me to embrace the beauty of life today and remain more open to whatever it brings tomorrow.
The people who make my life the most joyful are the ones I am able to lean on because of my own humanness. (more…)
Country music hottie, Shania Twain‘s just made a big commitment to Frederic Thiebaud. The couple are engaged. A cute story of moving forward after romantic tradegy and heartache.
Love is in the air! Second-chance love is as beautiful as first love. You know it! Wishing this past resident of Queenstown, New Zealand (pictured at night fall) all the best in her ongoing journey of romance and love.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.20.10~
Canadians can have whacky tastes at times when it comes to music. I mean, their range goes from Drake to Celine Dion (both strong artists in their genres of music). Sometimes Canadians’ music choices I’ve observed all hinges on what music is good to drink to in cold weather–just kidding. Not everyone’s like the Winter Olympics girls hockey team after the winning match. Lol!
I do like Taylor Blue‘s Canouk tastes though. I’ve been following her for a year now. She’s not bad at all. She blogs her heart out night and day and tweets a lot too on twitter.
Here’s her top ten music list of her favorite songs this year:
What do you think of Taylor Blue’s list. And if you’re from Canada feel free to comment with your top ten songs too, on this post if you’d like to share. Thanks Maple Staples and thanks Taylor Blue for being a groovy blogger, enjoyed in Hollywood too.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.20.10~
Two of the world’s most popular teens this year Justin Bieber and Selena Gomezwere snapped sharing a laugh in Miami. Along with Miley Cyrusand Taylor Lautnerthese teens ranked in Google’s top ten names in the world of people most searched for on a search engine in 2010. Bieber and Gomez in the top three.
Both Gomez and Cyrus were spun into stars from Disney perhaps indicating the strength of the Mouse House to generate global stars. Singing teens is a key of the world’s brightest stars today.
Facebook records these top ten trends as making the cut out of all other topics in 2010. They are:
1. HMU (shorthand for Hit Me Up) – 80,000 mentions per day.
2. World Cup
3. Movies
4. iPad and iPhone 4
5. Haiti
6. Justin Bieber
7. Games on Facebook (nice ad)
8. Mineros/ Miners
9. Airplanes
10. 2011
Justin Bieber appears to be the key across all social networking and search engine’s trending top ten lists, released to date. Maybe everyone wants to be 16 again. That’s insane.
Penn-Olson website notes: ‘The top 5 movies on Facebook were ‘Toy Story 3’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Inception’ (which is also on Twitter’s trend list), ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Iron Man 2’. Facebook also had an interesting finding about people and movies. By studying the time difference between mobile and web spike mentions, Facebook estimated that it took 30 minutes for people to get home.’ Wow–not so in Los Angeles. )
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.16.10~
Canada is so proud of Celine Dion and all she’s done in the world. Hello! Canada gave Dion a 20 page spread with husband Renee, son Rene-Charles and two month old twin boys Eddy and Nelsen. The HuffPo writes words about the singer’s expanding family:
“Dion, who with husband Rene Angelil has a nine-year old son named named Rene-Charles, spent years trying to get pregnant again, going through IVF treatments and suffering a miscarriage. So the couple wanted to give the twins meaningful names. We met with Nelson Mandela and spent some time with him at his house when we started Celine’s world tour,” Rene said. “Eddy is a homage to Eddy Marnay,” said Rene, referring to the songwriter that wrote Dion’s first five albums and died a few years ago.”
Nelsen is of course, Mandela’s namesake.
Cute story.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.8.10~
Namaste. Special thanks to all of you who read Horiwood.Com in Hollywood. May your holiday season be a good one and 2011 be prosperous and abundantly blessed for you all. Most of all, may your smiles increase and your spirits rise.
According to Quantcast, here’s what we all look like. Pretty diverse. I love you all. As a fellow global citizen, thanks for being my daily teachers who share yourselves on a New Zealand Maori Kiwi’s blog. You’ve taught me so much. As caring is sharing. Many thanks for your open hearts and your limitless abilities to share. Peace.
United States
11,875
53.82
123
53.81
102
United Kingdom
1,635
7.41
147
7.24
157
Canada
1,115
5.05
128
5.00
134
Australia
765
3.47
220
3.37
230
New Zealand
515
2.33
848
3.07
1,116
Germany
450
2.04
55
2.03
81
France
345
1.56
42
1.54
47
India
315
1.43
59
1.41
84
Brazil
310
1.40
32
1.36
39
Philippines
265
1.20
108
1.19
103
Italy
250
1.13
41
1.10
52
Spain
210
0.95
39
0.93
46
Mexico
190
0.86
34
0.82
32
Indonesia
185
0.84
52
0.82
68
Malaysia
180
0.82
89
0.87
97
Netherlands
170
0.77
52
0.74
57
[Photographs:Train Rider by Amy Helene Johansson and Jump by Leann Arthur] (more…)
He’s the man. Justin Bieber‘s recent performance of Somebody to Love and Baby on the X-Factor talent show in the UK, was well recieved this weekend. The young Canadian is on fire. He is good for retail this Holiday season.
Click on image to watch JB’s world premiere of Pray Music Video.
“Wrote this song thinking of Michael Jackson‘s Man in the Mirror and we are donating a portion of the proceeds from every album sold to CHILDREN’s MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS.”
Justin Bieber premieres his new music video for the timely song, Pray. This performance from the American Music Awards recently here in California.
[Image: Candles of remembrance burning brightly at The Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Greymouth, New Zealand after a service remembering the 29 lost miners and providing solace for grieving precious families and friends of these lost lads. Photo Mark Mitchell].
Lyrics:
Ohh Ohh Ohh .. and I pray
I just cant sleep tonight
Knowing that things ain’t right
Its in the papers, its on the tv, its everywhere that I go
Children are crying
Soldiers are dying
Some people don’t have a home
But I know there’s sunshine behind that rain
I know there’s good times behind that pain, hey
Can you tell me how I can make a change
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I lose my appetite, knowing kids starve tonight
Am I a sinner, cause my dinner is still on my plate
Ooo I got a vision, to make a difference
And its starting today
Cause I know there’s sunshine behind that rain
I know there’s good times behind that pain, hey
Heaven tell me how I can make a change
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
For the broken-hearted
I pray for the life not started
I pray for all the ones not breathing
I pray for all the souls in need.
I pray. Can you give em one today.
I just cant sleep tonight
Can someone tell how to make a change?
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and I pray
[This image: Chanukah "Festival of Lights" ornaments and Christmas season lighting, Little Russia - West Hollywood California USA. Photographed 2 minutes ago from my place].
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.27.10~
Brian Glatiotis is the tattoo artist that actor Tom Hardy of Inception fame asked to ink a Union Jack flag on his chest. Hardy had seen Glatiotis’ artistry on the arm of a woman on the set of This Means War.
The film is currently being shot in Vancouver. Hardy’s assistant P-Nut also went out in sympathy with his bro and got inked at the same time too.
The sound of the bread slicer vibrates as I wait in line at the local Russian bakery in Little Russia, West Hollywood on Santa Monica & N Orange Grove. It’s a bakery that has served holocaust survivors that still have the original concentration camp ink, numbered on their forearms above their wrists; and their children and grandchildren for many years now.
A 70 year-old man and his son, work the machine. Two family members, putting whole loaves of wheat bread into a machine to feed their community. Daily they do this. A lady argues in Russian with Saskia at the til. With her black nail polish and Miley Cyrus Pocahontas braids, Saskia looks bored with the haggling. She’s still courteous.
Without a word she points to the peroshky and gives me the “okay” sign. I hold up my wallet indicating, “How much?” She holds up two fingers in a peace sign. I nod.
While being haggled, Saskia writes on a white paper bag with a black sharpie and puts the peroshky in it. I slip her two bucks in the exchange. The older Russian lady, with immaculate blonde hair keeps haggling over the bag of raw pastry she wants to buy. Poor Saskia. You’d think she’d be used to it by now, but she never is.
Exiting the bakery, I almost knock a kid over with my clumsy hobbit feet. He’s 22. “So sorry,” I mutter apologetically.
“It’s okay. I’ve just arrived from Canada. It’s minus seven degrees there, so I can’t complain today,” the kid blurts out excusing me. I look at this kid and smile.
There’s always a brighter perspective, no matter which way you look at the world. “Give this bakery a try. It’s good. Saskia will look after you,” I tell the Canouk kid offering a sense of basic orientation to the hood of Little Russia. “Alright, thanks. I will,” he says smiling, light coming into his pale blue eyes. His experiences in Canada were not all that kind, I see. How can blue eyes have no light? It’s a Hollywood cinematic impossibility, yet these one’s barely have any. They’ve been stripped of light. Suppressing my anger, I smile and look at the positive.
I think the kid will like this bakery a lot. And so Saskia’s family’s peroshky pastries continue in Little Russia, West Hollywood. All peroshky are made by hand each day and sold–one peroshky at a time–irrespective of what the economy, politicians, hedge fund investors, the stock market and bankers are all claiming to be doing.
There’s a lesson in Saskia’s family’s peroshky. Although they never claim to be healthy, they’re honest, consistent, trustworthy and beauties in my American neighborhood community. I kinda like that.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.23.10~
Some Justin Bieber today. Here’s the new 3D trailer for Bieber’s Never Say Never 3D film, that drops Valentine’s Day 2011. Um, let’s just say that this is the way to do Christmas retail marketing. Cut straight to Valentine’s Day next year and Christmas anticipation retail is in the bag. So clever.
The suspense of teens worldwide waiting for the day this movie hits is out of this world!
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.22.10~
A cute magazine cover from Hello Canada has Kate Middleton‘s potential to bring light as a future Princess Diana for her beau, Crown Prince William Windsor smiling for all of Canada to see.
Love it! The Young Royals is the new reality TV show, the world’s about to watch. The big guns here in the USA are: Kim Kardashian, single, but still can hold her own even up against Will and Kate and Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson as well.
In Canada though, the world’s going the way of Will and Kate this week. Scandal free at this juncture, signifying a new trend? Perhaps.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.17.10~
Singer, Nelly Furtadohas her greatest hits album on the table. She’s halfway through righting a new album, working title Lifestyle that she says singing on her last album Mi Plan in Espanol is influencing. Being a latina hottie, whose also exotic to Canada, she’s a star of America’s future and Canada officially inducted this beauty onto the Canadian Walk of Fame’s cultural landscape in Canada, 2010 this week. She’s hot.
Courage to love, romance, sing and dance, live, touch, breathe and play rugby are all key themes of the hot topics rating today in Hollywood. Entertainment news we all love as voted by US worldwide here in the beautiful nation of America, is as follows in our top ten today.
Thanks People. With your power to vote, you all inspire here in Hollywood!
[This image of Eddie Fisher and Dame Elizabeth Taylor at The Governors Ball 1960, where Liz lucked out on winning an Oscar for her role in Suddenly, Last Summer. She would win the following year for Butterfield 8 the film she starred in with Fisher. Oscars Night, via Vanity Fair]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.16.10~
History looks like Tony Curtis & Barbara Rush sharing a table at Oscars big night in 1960, when Jack Lemmon lucked out that night for his Oscar-nominated performance in Some Like it Hot . Curtis comments can be read below, about how Oscars parties back in the day, would determine the next wave of A-List film stars.
Today though in America, these ten topics are trending across the land, as observed from Hollywood California USA.
Nelly Furtado‘s song lyrics, “All good things must come to an end” feature strong today in the US. The Canadian-Portugese singer features here with her dancers at the Latin Grammys via UK’s Daily Mirror News.
Cathy Black’s selection by the New York Mayor for Education has NYC happy: Here’s Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn, on that: “I was pleased today to speak with Cathie Black, the schools chancellor designee appointed by the Mayor. The State Legislature of New York has given the Mayor the authority to select a schools chancellor, and he is accountable for his selection. Today, as she shared with me her eagerness and excitement about this opportunity, I was impressed with her enthusiastic willingness to take on a job that comes with lots of challenges in addition to its rewards-and I wished her well. Our kids’ future depends on her success.
Then and now news is so much fun. A reason I love blogging in California and America. Locations so rich in history and trend setting potential.
~Images of Oscars night via Vanity Fair. Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.16.10~
“Baby you’re a challenge, let’s explore your talents”–Rihanna makes spilt milk and a civil glass of white wine, look so sexy in her new video.
Rihannahas worked non stop in the last year. She’s still delivering as a pop princess who lives on the Hollywood Hills, when she’s in town.
A good girl. Here’s What’s My Name feat Drake – the world’s most favorite girl from Barbados and her Canadian collaborator’s latest music offering.
The music video, positions Rihanna in downtown USA. She’s a vibrant surreal girl, in the concrete jungle norms of Cosmopolitan City American life. Nice contrast. She says, if you’re anyone — you’ll stand the test of going Downtown. Love it! A good plug for the millions of peeps who live in cities.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.13.10~
Wellywood humor to Washington DC, mai Peremia (Prime Minister) is having fun playing a Middle Earth Knight today for a Damsel in Popular Stressful Demand:
This a post brought to US by TV3 News: (allegedly a Canadian independently owned TV station in New Zealand, whose news features Mrs Clinton, looking very Camelot Jackie O with a Sons of Anarchy advertisement that accompanies the independent news story. Don’t Canadians add so much to New Zealand News coverage. I think so anyway.
They give an independent worldview within NZ’s shores… sorta like the new tides of democracy crashing against free beach?, Middle Earth shores. Always a picture of democracy really.
Chess Board: Cheeky Monkey Politics by John Key.
HEADLINE: Key wraps Clinton’s Wellington visit with intimate BBQ - story by Charlotte Tonkin, LOLs! by me.
“Hillary Clinton is arguably the most powerful woman in the world – just four steps down from the presidency itself.
When she travels, she travels with an entourage befitting her status.
Today, in and around the Beehive there was no security measure too small to ensure the Secretary of State’s safety. LOL!
There was pacing, prodding, searching and sniffing.
“Middle Earth is a 3D film making environment of film making excellence, rich in imagination facilitating diverse culture’s vision (their tino rangatiratanga and unique cultural sovereignty of culture) and their vibrantly entertaining expression in 3D film. Middle Earth is rich in acceptance of others’ difference & a film making haven of World Peace”–Horiwood, 2020′s.
“In 3D, all nations are created equal, in Wellywood film making practices, imagination, execution and delivery of film production excellence.”–Abe Lincoln and Horiwood.
A film is not a film, unless it is made in the Spirit of the experimental filmmaker–Len Lye, filmic artist, Taranaki.
In New Zealand we collaborate and create the world’s next array of Super Heroes in 3D, with powerful messages of good that impact and change the global consciousness and future direction of the world, through Kiwi made pop culture in cinema, merchandising, music soundtracks and entertainment distribution–2020′s
A response: HORIWOOD – What a great idea Barry. The lifestyle that nature has to offer Americans, when not on set in New Zealand – is accessible to all – and would more than make up for any pay cuts.
Also, travel – let’s all people grow up and learn, outside their own cultural frames of reference.
It shows security within peoples own sense of identity, when Americans become a minority on distant shores and blend with the world too. Happily.
In New Zealand, people like dialogue, (not one-sided cultural monologue–so Americans will be more than fine in that switch and exchange). Exciting.
With New Zealand’s potential to attract Bollywood and China to New Zealand landscapes to film musicals and action films in NZ too in 3D in the future, the Americans who do make early inroads into NZ 3D filmmaking NOW – will be set with work for life.
NZ is going to become busy. A globally sought after 3D filmmaking nation. How New Zealanders welcome warmly diverse cultures of the world and overseas actors and crew members too (including those from Hollywood, Bollywood, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Dubai, Russia, UK–every now and again–France), will determine the return rate of these nations to NZ as a filmmaking nation. As far as America is concerned (Avatar’s record breaking success as Hollywood’s leading film of all time box office history), New Zealand is a culturally friendly place for Americans to work and conquer from, with a Hollywood-Wellywood partnership.
Conclusion: Your blog Barry, is rocking, albeit as minimalist as it is, I enjoyed the guide to your twitter account. Thanks for commenting. Incidentally New Zealand has 5% more women than men in its total population, so there’s a few girls that wouldn’t mind marrying an American crew member and sharing citizenship and beach views like no other. A lot to look forward to, aye?!
Wellywood is the box office winning 3D Film Franchises Haven of the film making world. Those who find success with their franchises, will all own homes in New Zealand on beach fronts and live there for most of the year. Their kids will be raised there. It’s the new more-relaxed mecca of box office power players, that can deliver proven results. Well, in 2020, this will be so–Wellywood is the World’s 3D Mecca. It is Middle Earth. A meeting place in The Middle for all cultures to realize the cinematic visions, without culture being compromised in the film making process. New Zealand is a culturally rich haven, paradise nation for this to occur for 3D film makers across the globe. Good change ahead in Middle Earth.
I like your thinking Barry, where yes, film crew getting roughed around in Hollywood should move to NZ. Why not! NZ is a nation based on immigrants who joined the Indigenous Maori People, so as one of them, NZ can handle you bonding with us Maori-Kiwi lot. It’s how we came to be as a nation, just like America.
Incidentally how any nation has treated their Indigenous Peoples, is the barometer of all human rights relations in the world. It’s the gage of whether other cultures can be trusted dealing within our shores fairly as nations. So as a Maori-Kiwi if you want to move to NZ, I say… Go for it! Get on board brother. More studios other than WETA will spring up in New Zealand too, in order to handle the demand and keep a fair and competitive 3D filmmaking industry occurring in NZ. The economic possibilities are exciting.
Here in Los Angeles, you know that only actors who are viewed as authentic at their art, can get on the cover of Interview Magazine. The magazine specializes in A-Listed Oscar talent profiles, or the odd actor who they view as an artistic voice of a generation.
For November’s issue, the magazine casts Ryan Goslingas their leading lad.
Steve Carell (why?!) has written the verbage of an interview with Gosling.
This image in time for Halloween, Ryan is photographed in rain.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 10.30.10~
FACEBOOKS TOP TEN TRENDING TOPICS 2010
Facebook records these top ten trends as making the cut out of all other topics in 2010. They are:
1. HMU (shorthand for Hit Me Up) – 80,000 mentions per day.
2. World Cup
3. Movies
4. iPad and iPhone 4
5. Haiti
6. Justin Bieber
7. Games on Facebook (nice ad)
8. Mineros/ Miners
9. Airplanes
10. 2011
Justin Bieber appears to be the key across all social networking and search engine’s trending top ten lists, released to date. Maybe everyone wants to be 16 again. That’s insane.
Penn-Olson website notes: ‘The top 5 movies on Facebook were ‘Toy Story 3’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Inception’ (which is also on Twitter’s trend list), ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Iron Man 2’. Facebook also had an interesting finding about people and movies. By studying the time difference between mobile and web spike mentions, Facebook estimated that it took 30 minutes for people to get home.’ Wow–not so in Los Angeles. )
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.16.10~
December 17, 2010 | Categories: Canada, Dance, Movie News, Trends | Tags: Aviation, Canada, Dance, Facebook, Justin Bieber, Live Music Artists, Movie News, Performing Arts, Pop Culture Commentary, Trapped Miners, Trends | Leave A Comment »