When Katy Perry was a fourth grader, her teacher asked the class to make a “vision board” – a collage of images cut out from magazines that represents the dreams and aspirations you hope to manifest in life. The year was 1993 and Selena had just won a Grammy Award, so nine-year-old Katy chose a photo of the young Latin pop singer holding her golden statuette. Fifteen years later, Perry has been nominated for her first Grammy Award in the “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” category for her ubiquitous No. 1 single, “I Kissed a Girl,” from her platinum Top 10 album One of the Boys, and has been chosen as this year’s My GRAMMY® Moment artist.

Current sales check in at over 2 million albums and more than 13 million tracks, singles and mobile product globally. Perry’s willful determination, not to mention her songwriting and vocal talent and larger-than-life charisma, have led to an astonishing year for the saucer-eyed, raven-haired pop starlet, who, with her cheeky sense of humor and sexy pin-up girl style, was “the breakthrough star of 2008. On June 17, 2008, EMI Music released ‘One of the Boys’, a witty romp through Perry’s brightly colored world that showcases her sharp, candid lyrics, big voice, and feisty, girl-power swagger, as well as her appealing vulnerability on songs like her latest single, “Thinking Of You.” “I think people can appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides,” she says. “The whole angst thing is cool, but if that’s all you’ve got, it’s just boring. Everything I write, whether it’s happy or sad, has a sense of humor to it.” Case in point: the album’s spunky, high-voltage second single “Hot N Cold,” which became Perry’s second No. 1 single and international hit, selling nearly three million digital tracks since its release. The eye-popping video, with its hilarious wedding theme, became the No. 2 most-viewed premiere of all time on MySpace, proving to armchair critics and naysayers that the success of this irrepressible young woman in the satin onesie and fishnets was no fluke. When Saturday Night Live spoofed her, it was official: Katy Perry was a bonafide cultural phenomenon. It’s a long way from being broke to stealing the show at the MTV Latin America “Los Premios Awards” (where Perry face-planted into a large pink cake) and hosting and performing at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool, England, which she did in November 2008, picking up the award for “Best New Act” in the process.

About Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Perry rose to fame in 2007 with her internet hit “Ur So Gay“, and later scored in 2008 her breakthrough single “I Kissed a Girl”.

Perry was born and raised in Santa Barbara by Christian pastor parents and grew up listening only to gospel music. After earning a GED during her freshman year of high school, she began to pursue a music career.

As Katy Hudson, she released a self-titled gospel album in 2001. In 2004, she recorded an album with production team The Matrix, but it was never released. After signing on with Capitol Music Group in 2007, she took on stage name Katy Perry and released her first mainstream album, One of the Boys.

About Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde (born 1 January 1956) is the current Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment of France, appointed in June 2007. She was previously Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin. Lagarde is the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy.

In 2008, Lagarde was ranked the 14th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine. A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde made history as the first female chairman of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. She has been awarded France’s highest honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Biography

Lagarde was born in Paris as Christine Lallouette to academic parents. She attended secondary school in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) and at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda (USA) while a participant on an AFS Intercultural exchange program. She studied at the Law School of University of Paris X: Nanterre. She later lectured there after graduating. She also has a post-graduate diploma (DESS) in labour law, and a Master’s degree in English.

Lagarde worked as an intern at the United States Capitol, as William Cohen’s congressional assistant.

Lagarde is a champion synchronized swimmer.

Baker & McKenzie

Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie in 1981. She became president of the executive committee in 1999, and became president of the global strategic committee in 2004.

Of the law firm, Lagarde said Baker & McKenzie is “a very democratic environment, which values people in terms of their work and their contribution”.

Lagarde joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected Chairman in 1999. She implemented a “client first” mentality and saw a 30 percent rise in the firm’s profits during her tenure. She was reelected Chairman in 2002.

Her personal interest in European affairs led her to open the European Law Centre, an office of Baker and McKenzie in Brussels exclusively dedicated to the practice of EU Law. This interest in European affairs did not prevent her from causing great offence in Scottish political circles when,in an interview on BBC Radio 4 on 6th November 2009, she referred to the “Kingdom of England” and to “England” in the course of discussing the U.K.’s attitude to the European Union.This apparent ignorance of the constitution of the United Kingdom is thought to be worrying in such a powerful government minister.

Ministerial career

As France’s Trade Minister between 2005 and May 2007, Lagarde prioritized opening new markets for the country’s products, focusing on the technology sector. On 18 May 2007, she was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the government of François Fillon. The following month she joined François Fillon’s cabinet in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment to become the first woman to ever be in charge of economic policy in France.

She has made the controversial statement that France is a country that thinks too much, and that such obsessive thinking prevents reforms from being implemented.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, in November 2008 Christine Lagarde stated her determination to make Paris an important center of Islamic finance.

About Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling hip hop album in history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project D12 to mainstream recognition.

The Marshall Mathers LP and his third album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, and in 2002, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for a song in the film 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004’s Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. Eminem has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide, and worldwide is the best selling music artist of the 2000s. Eminem is also ranked in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. He was also named the Best Rapper Ever By Vibe Magazine.

i hate politics but London mayor Boris is a real breath of fresh air to the ordinary man in the street. plz subscribe or leave a comment and you will get more funnies!! Peace.

About Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964), a British politician and journalist, is the current Mayor of London. He previously served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Henley-on-Thames and as editor of The Spectator magazine.

Johnson was educated at the European School of Brussels, the independent Ashdown House School, then at Eton College , and finally at Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Classics. He began his career in journalism with The Times, and later moved on to The Daily Telegraph where he was assistant editor. He was appointed editor of The Spectator in 1999. In the 2001 general election he was elected to the House of Commons and became one of the most high profile politicians in the country. He has also written several books.

Under Michael Howard, Johnson briefly served on the Conservative front bench as the Shadow Minister for the Arts from April 2004 until November 2004. When David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Johnson was re-appointed to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Higher Education and resigned as editor of The Spectator. In September 2007 he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the 2008 Mayor of London election. Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and was elected Mayor, after which he resigned as an MP.

About Anne Mulcahy

Anne M. Mulcahy (born October 21, 1952) is chairman and former chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation. She was named CEO of Xerox on August 1, 2001, and chairman on January 1, 2002. In addition to the Xerox board, she has been a member of the boards of directors of Catalyst, Citigroup Inc., Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. and Target Corporation.

The Wall Street Journal named Mulcahy one of 50 women to watch in 2005 and Forbes Magazine ranked her at the sixth position among the Most Powerful Women in America in 2005. In 2008, she was selected by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders.

She has been selected as ‘CEO of the Year 2008′ by Chief Executive magazine. She announced her retirement as CEO on 21 May 2009 prior to the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

Early life and education

Mulcahy was born October 21, 1952, in Rockville Centre, New York, USA. In 1974, she received her B.A. in English and Journalism from Marymount College, (a branch of Fordham University) in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Career at Xerox

Mulcahy joined Xerox as a field sales representative in 1976 and rose through the ranks. From 1992-1995, Mulcahy was vice president for human resources, responsible for compensation, benefits, human resource strategy, labor relations, management development and employee training. Mulcahy became chief staff officer in 1997 and corporate senior vice president in 1998. Prior to that, she served as vice president and staff officer for Customer Operations, covering South America and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and China.

Though never intent on running Xerox, Anne Mulcahy was selected by the board of directors in 2001. When she became CEO on Aug 1, 2001 the stock price was $8.25, and on Jan 1, 2002 when she became chairman the stock was $10.05. On May 21, 2009, the day she announced her retirement as CEO, the stock closed at $6.82. She claims that duty and loyalty from being with the company for so long compelled her to help the company.

Later in her tenure, Anne cut the workforce by 30% and eliminated the desktop portion of Xerox. Visiting offices all over the nation, she attempted to boost morale and help the rest of the organization see how hard she was working, hoping for a mirror effect.

Anne Mulcahy currently serves on four other Board of Directors besides Xerox. She also serves on Catalyst, Citigroup, Fuji Xerox and Target Corp. A letter sent to Citi shareholders on the 26th of March 2009 by American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees requested that shareholders vote against re-electing six of their directors. These where mainly the directors on the Audit & Risk Management Committee. Mulcahy is one of those directors being singled out for termination.

About Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has sold over 18 million albums worldwide, and currently resides in Toronto. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Furtado came to fame in 2000 with the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, which featured her breakthrough Grammy Award-winning single “I’m Like a Bird“. After becoming a mother and releasing the less commercially successful Folklore (2003), she returned to prominence in 2006 with the release of Loose and its hit singles “Promiscuous”, “Maneater,” “All Good Things (Come to an End)” and “Say It Right.”

In 2009, Furtado released her first full-length Spanish album “Mi Plan”, Which contains her first solo number 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, “Manos al Aire”,staying on the Top position for 4 consecutive weeks, She also made history by being the first North-American artist to achieve a number 1 with an original Spanish song on the Latin Tracks, the album also managed to debut within the Top 40 in the US.

Furtado is known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, vocal styles, and languages. This diversity has been influenced by her wide-ranging musical taste and her interest in different cultures.

It is the first time Blair has visited Gaza since becoming the Middle East envoy to the so-called Quartet, which represents the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

About Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton “Tony” Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. On the day he resigned as Prime Minister, he was appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia.

Tony Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Under his leadership, the party adopted the term “New Labour“, abandoned policies it had held for decades, and moved towards the centre ground. Blair led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair handed over control of interest rates to the Bank of England; introduced the minimum wage; signed the Belfast Agreement; introduced tuition fees; and established the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. In his first six years, Blair ordered British troops into battle five times—more than any other prime minister in history.

Blair is the Labour Party’s longest-serving Prime Minister; the only person to have led the Labour Party to three consecutive general election victories; and the only Labour Prime Minister to serve consecutive terms, more than one of which was at least four years long. He was succeeded as Leader of the Labour Party on 24 June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 by Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

In May 2008 Blair launched his Tony Blair Faith Foundation.This was followed in July 2009 by the launching of the Faith and Globalisation Initiative with Yale University in the USA, Durham University in the UK and National University of Singapore in Asia to deliver a postgraduate programme in partnership with the Foundation.

About Drew Brees

Andrew Christopher “Drew” Brees ( born January 15, 1979, Dallas, Texas) is the American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.

Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, and 2009. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2004 and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008.

Professional career

2009

In the first game of the 2009 season against the Detroit Lions, Drew Brees set a career-high and franchise-tying record with six touchdowns, going 26 for 34 with 358 yards with a quarterback rating of 137.00. He also set a record for most passing touchdowns on opening weekend. The next week, Brees led the Saints to a 48-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing three touchdowns with a passer rating of 118.6. Brees also tied the record for most touchdowns by the end of week 2 with 9.

In week 7, Brees led a dramatic comeback victory on the road against the Miami Dolphins, 46-34. The Saints quickly faced a 24-3 deficit in the second quarter, trailing for the first time all season at that point, and failing to score on their first possession as they had in all of their previous contests. Brees had a poor outing, but provided two crucial rushing touchdowns, one just before the second half to narrow the deficit to 24-10, and one in the third quarter to give the Saints their first lead of the game, 37-34.

The next week, Brees threw for 308 yards on 25 of 33 passing along with two touchdowns and one interception in leading the Saints to a 35-27 victory and franchise tying best start at 7-0 against the rival Atlanta Falcons. In week 9, Brees helped guide the team to a 30-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Louisiana Superdome. This would be Drew’s first victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Superdome and allowed the Saints to take their best ever start in franchise history at 8-0.

In week 12, Brees led the Saints to an 11-0 record, defeating the New England Patriots 38-17 on Monday Night Football. Drew Brees totaled 371 yards passing, posting a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.

After close victories over the Washington Redskins and Falcons in successive weeks, Brees and the Saints succumbed to their first loss against the Dallas Cowboys in week 15. The team continued to slide in the coming weeks, losing in Week 16 and 17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, respectively. The Saints finished the year with a 13-3 overall record, tops in the NFC.

Brees’ individual statistics led to numerous accolades, including a Pro Bowl selection, the Maxwell Football Club’s Bert Bell Award, and runner-up in voting for the AP MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and All-Pro awards. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 70.62 which established a new NFL record.

In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Saints routed the Arizona Cardinals to advance to the NFC Championship, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28. Brees completed 17 of 31 passes for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 successful completions to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. It was the first championship in franchise history.

About Laura Linney

Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for the Academy Award three times and once for the BAFTA Award.

Career

Film

Linney at the Chicago International Film Festival, 2007

Linney appeared in minor roles in a few early 1990s films, including Dave in 1993, before coming to prominence in the public television mini-series Tales of the City. She was then cast in a series of high-profile thrillers, including Congo, Primal Fear and Absolute Power. She made her Hollywood breakthrough in 1998 when she played Jim Carrey’s wife in The Truman Show, for which she received critical acclaim.

In 2000, Linney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the lower-budget film You Can Count on Me. The same year, she also appeared in the role of an artist’s model in the low-budget, critically praised film Maze with Rob Morrow. In 2003, Linney appeared in several notable films, including Mystic River, Love Actually and The Life of David Gale. Her 2004 performance in Kinsey, as the title character’s wife, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2005, Linney starred in horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the comedy-drama The Squid and the Whale; for the latter role, she received a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy“. In 2006, Linney appeared in the political satire Man of the Year, the comedy Driving Lessons (starring Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame), and the Australian drama Jindabyne by Ray Lawrence. Jindabyne was based on Raymond Carver’s short novel So Much Water so Close to Home.

In 2007, Linney appeared in the spy thriller Breach, The Nanny Diaries, opposite Scarlett Johansson and based on the book by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, and The Savages, where Linney starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman She received her third Academy Award nomination for this film – this time as Best Actress. Columnist Liz Smith commented in the New York Post that Linney is “very hot, reputation wise”, due to her Oscar nomination for The Savages.

Recently, Linney starred in The Other Man, alongside Antonio Banderas and Liam Neeson, the latter whom she had acted alongside in Kinsey and Love Actually.

Television

Linney starred as Mary Ann Singleton in the television adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City books (1993, 1998, and 2001). She won her first Emmy Award in 2002 for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie” for Wild Iris. In 2004, she had won her second Emmy Award as “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series,” for her recurring role as the final love interest of Frasier Crane in the television series Frasier. In 2008, Linney won an Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her portrayal of Abigail Adams, wife of the second president of the United States, in the HBO mini-series John Adams. She also received a Golden Globe and SAG award for Best Performance by an Actress In a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2009 for this role.

Laura Linney will give series television a try in Showtime’s new half-hour series about cancer, Showtime announced on August 27, 2009. The series, tentatively titled The C Word, will also be executive produced by Linney, who stars as a suburban wife and mother who explores the emotional ups and downs of a cancer battle.

Theater/other

Linney’s extensive stage credits on Broadway and elsewhere include Hedda Gabler (for which she won a 1994 Joe A. Callaway Award), Holiday (based on the 1938 movie starring Katharine Hepburn), and her Best Actress Tony Award-nominated 2002 role in The Crucible (where she appeared alongside future The Exorcism Of Emily Rose co-star Jennifer Carpenter). She was nominated again in 2005 for Sight Unseen.

Linney also appeared on Sandra Boynton’s children’s CD, Philadelphia Chickens, on which she sings “Please Can I Keep It?”, and played La Marquise de Merteuil in a revival of Christopher Hampton’s play Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Life and career

Hanna was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He grew up on his father’s farm outside Knoxville, and volunteered for a veterinarian when he was 11. He attended The Kiski School, an all-boys boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, for high school, graduating in 1965. He majored in business and political science at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, where he got in trouble for keeping ducks in his dorm room and a donkey in a shed behind his fraternity house (The M.A.C.E. Club). His senior year, Hanna married Suzi, a cheerleader at Muskingum, and graduated in 1969. Though unable to secure zoning as a zoo for his father’s farm, the two opened a pet shop and petting zoo. In 1973, a three-year-old boy was mauled by a lion at Hanna’s farm and lost his arm.Hanna settled the subsequent lawsuit out of court, shut down the petting zoo, and moved his family to Florida[citation needed]. He then worked for a wildlife adventure company and directed the small Sanford Zoo and Central Florida Zoo from 1973 to 1975. When he was offered the position at the Columbus Zoo in 1978, one of the reasons he accepted was because he believed Children’s Hospital in Columbus had the best treatment available for his daughter Julie’s leukemia. She recovered by the age of six, though she needed to have a brain tumor removed later in life.

At the time he became the zoo’s director, the grounds of the zoo were unkept and the facilities run down. Hanna initially struck many as a “zealous” zoo director, often traveling around the zoo grounds after closing to personally pick up trash. He also realized the importance of increasing the profile of the Columbus Zoo in central Ohio to garner more public support and funding, and the “everyman”-seeming Hanna proved to be very well-suited to public relations for the zoo. From 1981 until 1983, Hanna hosted a television show called “Hanna’s Ark” that aired on the local CBS affiliate in Columbus, WBNS. Hanna’s live animal demonstrations on Good Morning America and both of David Letterman’s talk show incarnations brought national attention to the Columbus Zoo as well as to Hanna himself. Over the course of Hanna’s tenure as director, the zoo made the transition from cage-like enclosures to habitat environments, and the grounds were significantly expanded. The annual attendance of the Columbus Zoo increased by over 400% during this time.

Hanna has published an autobiography, Monkeys on the Interstate in 1989, as well as many other books for children. He has been the host of the syndicated television show “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures” since 1993. Hanna also occasionally contributes commentary as an animal expert on various local and national news programs, and has done guest spots on other shows such as Larry King Live, Nancy Grace, Maury, and Hollywood Squares. He was also named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People magazine. Hanna also appeared in Neal McCoy’s 2005 music video for “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On” with a Hyacinth Macaw, a sloth and an albino burmese python. Hanna, along with Emmy-award winning musician Mark Frye, released an album through Virgin Records in 1996 entitled Jack Hanna’s World.

Hanna and his wife, Suzi, have three daughters: Kathaleen, Suzanne, and Julie. He spends much of his time at his home in Montana, where he expects to retire soon. Hanna has been granted honorary Ph.D.s from Muskingum College, Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, and Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He currently attends New Hope Church worship services.