Saturday, February 11, 2012
Angelina Jolie Wears White For an Important Tea in Germany
Paul McCartney gets his star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
The former Beatle drew several hundred fans who packed a cordoned-off section of Vine Street outside Capitol Records for the ceremony.
He brought several Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member pals along for the ride, including Neil Young, who gave McCartney a cheery introduction, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh and pop music power couple Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. Jazz great Herbie Hancock was there as well as musician-producer Don Was and former Electric Light Orchestra leader/Traveling Wilburys member Jeff Lynne. McCartney's wife, Nancy, and son, James, also attended the ceremony.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Aston Martin debuts production V12 Zagato
Following in the tradition of the automaker's ultra exclusive One-77, the V12 Zagato will take more than 2,000 man-hours to manufacture thanks to hand-hewn body panels, including the hood, roof and doors. Not surprisingly, Aston Martin has committed to building just 150 examples. The V12 Zagato will also make extensive use of carbon fiber, with the front and rear fenders, trunk lid and door sills all constructed from the composite.
Aston Martin created four new colors especially for the V12 Zagato, and paint alone takes 100 hours to complete. Indoors, it takes a full seven hides to cover the cabin in hand-stitched, quilted leather.
The V12 Zagato effectively rides on the same underpinnings as the V12 Vantage, which means buyers can look forward to a 6.0-liter V12 engine with 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, while a six-speed manual transmission puts the power to the ground.
Mercedes G-Class to Live On Until 2020
Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has come to an agreement with Magna Steyr to extend the production of its G-Wagen in Graz, Austria and was able to get more favorable conditions along with a better price from Magna. Daimler went so far as to threaten Magna that the company would move production of the G-Class to Hungary but it appears that Magna conceded to Daimler’s wants and production will continue in Austria.
The G-Class was originally designed to be a rugged off-roader and a light military vehicle for the German Army. The plant in Graz began production of the SUV back in 1979 and is currently the longest produced Mercedes-Benz in Daimler’s history. Last year, 7,200 G-Class vehicles were made, and this year the number is set to 8,500. Mercedes hopes to hit an annual production of 10,000 for their G-Wagen.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Madonna Gives High Energy Super Bowl Halftime Show
She made quite an entrance, that's for sure, riding onto the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on a throne dressed in full-on Cleopatra mode pulled by dancers dressed like Roman warriors. Decked out in a gold cape and massive headpiece with banners flying behind her, Madonna took the stage to "Vogue" as the song's title flashed among the images on the high-tech LED stage and amazing digitized field below her.
Cirque du Soleil's theatrical presentation and acrobatic dancing were apparent throughout, but never more so than during "Vogue," when the lavish staging met with tight choreography and Madonna sounding and looking great for an inspired spectacle and perhaps one of the biggest and boldest live performances of its kind ever attempted.
She displayed none of the nerves she'd uncharacteristically been copping to in the lead-up to the event, tearing through her hits with plenty of superstar swagger and hitting all her dance moves just right. She had a good reason to be nervous though: Sunday night's (February 5) game in Indianapolis was expected to be the most-watched television event of the year. Last year's Super Bowl drew over 162 million viewers in the U.S. alone.
Next up, Madonna and a team of dancers, now a bunch of Adidas-wearing b-boys, met on some light-up bleachers for an athletic take on "Music" that segued straight into dance-heavy remixes of "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It" featuring guests LMFAO, proving that the 53-year-old pop legend can still keep up (and then some) on the dance floor.
The pom-poms Madonna promised surfaced when she lit into her new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin," along with a blonde Nicki Minaj and a, ahem, bird-flipping M.I.A.. That's right, the lone bit of controversy around the often provocative Madonna's Super Bowl show will most likely have to do with the Sri Lankan singer briefly flipping off the camera. The otherwise slickly produced show went off without a hitch.
The Queen of Pop gamely picked up some gold pom-poms to cheer alongside Minaj, M.I.A. and a team of cheering dancers during the track, giving off the look and feel of the recently released clip for the song. Minaj and M.I.A. both got a chance to shine too, rapping their parts on the track's breakdown.
As expected, she performed three vintage tunes ("Vogue," "Music" and "Like a Prayer") and one new one, "Give Me All Your Luvin," the lead single from her forthcoming 12th studio album, MDNA. She partnered with a creative team from Cirque du Soleil, her longtime choreographer/creative director Jamie King and multimedia artists from Moment Factory to plan the spectacular show.
For the finale, Cee Lo Green marched onstage as the drum major to a large marching band, starting briefly into small bites of "Open Your Heart" and "Express Yourself" before suiting up into sparkling robes for a full-voiced rendition of "Like a Prayer." Madonna and Cee Lo were joined for a choir for the performance, which saw Madonna falling to her knees as she sang her classic track.
She then stepped to the back of the stage and vanished into a cloud of smoke, disappearing beneath the stage and leaving the still-cheering stadium wanting more.
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