British author J.K. Rowling , who a week ago published the final Harry Potter book, said in an interview out Thursday that she is already back at work.
The British author says she's sad the Harry Potter series has ended, but will not stop writing.
"I'm sort of writing two things at the moment," she told USA Today. "One is for children and the other is not for children.
"The weird thing is that this is exactly the way I started writing Harry. I was writing two things simultaneously for a year before Harry took over. So one will oust the other in due course, and I'll know that's my next thing," she told the national daily.
Rowling admitted to being angered that the last of the seven-novel series had been posted on a website prior to the official release.
"I was angry," she told USA Today, for her young fans, the "10-11-year-olds who really wanted not to know" how the book ended, until they had a chance to read it.
However, she was heartened that rumored endings included the death of the boy-wizard.
"I was very proud that people thought Harry's death was a genuine possibility. I wanted the reader to feel that anyone might die, as in life," she said.
The books themselves will live on, the 41-year-old billionaire said.
"Do I think they'll last? Honestly, yes."
"In 50 years' time, if people are still reading them, they deserve to be read, and if they're not, then that's OK."
" Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows " sold an estimated 8.3 million copies within 24 hours of its release, according to its US publisher.
Some 325 million copies of the first six volumes have been sold worldwide, and the books have been translated into 64 languages.
Experts: Lohan Could Get 180 Days in Jail
Lindsay Lohan's best bet for avoiding jail time is to go back into rehab yet again and remove herself from a high-flying party lifestyle, if not, she could be facing up to six months behind bars, legal observers said Wednesday.
Lohan, 21, was less than two weeks out of a recovery program and was voluntarily wearing an alcohol-monitoring device when she was arrested Tuesday in Santa Monica for investigation of misdemeanor driving both under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.
Her lawyer, Blair Berk, has said she had a "relapse" and was receiving medical care at an undisclosed location.
A call to Lohan's publicist was not returned Wednesday.
The actress completed more than six weeks in rehab less than two weeks ago, and had checked into another recovery clinic in January.
Over the weekend, she was photographed at a party in a pink bikini, with the monitoring device on her ankle.
That behavior won't cut it anymore and neither will spa-style clinics, said Barry Gerald Sands, a Century City defense attorney who's also a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
"Whatever you have done in the past, do a 360-degree turn and go the other way," Sands said Wednesday. "She has to change her alleged friends, people sharing or selling her drugs. She has to lead a clean and sober life.
"Silk-sheet recovery homes don't do the job."
If Lohan is charged with a crime, she could ask a judge to order her to remain in rehabilitation while she awaits trial, Sands said.
A "recovery team" should be in place that includes doctors and addiction specialists who can give the judge alternatives to jail.
And if she is convicted, the rehab time would count against whatever jail sentence is issued, Sands said.
Lohan has never been convicted of a drug or alcohol crime and judges routinely place first-time DUI offenders on probation rather than behind bars. However, Lohan's case could be complicated because she also was arrested for investigation of felony DUI in Beverly Hills on Memorial Day after her Mercedes-Benz crashed into a curb.
That case was submitted to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office last week and is being reviewed, spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
If she is convicted of two felonies in the two cases, she might be eligible for 18 months or more in state prison but such a sentence is unlikely, said Lawrence Taylor, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who runs one of the nation's top DUI defense law firms.
"Our prisons are packed already," he said. "We don't need some recreational (drug) users with a small amount of coke with a clean record."
On the other hand, Lohan probably will have to do some time in county jail simply because prosecutors and judges saw the backlash when Paris Hilton was briefly allowed to serve her DUI sentence at home instead of jail.
"They're going to see how sensitive everything was ... Everything was being looked at with a microscope and broadcast to the entire world, literally," Taylor said. "They saw what happened and judges do run for re-election, and deputy DAs are aware that their bosses run for re-election."
Both sides would be interested in stalling a court case until the media frenzy ebbs but that is unlikely if the continued scrutiny of Paris Hilton is any signpost, Taylor said.
"Entertainment has become more important than information and the media is looking ... for money. They're looking for audience, they're looking to give the public what they want," he said.
That scrutiny means that Lohan, if convicted, probably will get some jail time regardless of whether it is warranted in her case, Taylor said.
"I would say this woman's going to be doing at least 30 days" and perhaps as long as 180 days if she is convicted of two DUIs along with drug possession, Taylor said.
However, virtually all DUI cases are settled by plea agreements.
If he were running the defense, Taylor said, his team of experts would reconstruct the traffic accident; seek out witnesses, videotapes and audio of the traffic stops; examine repair and usage records for police breath analysis machines; and look into any blood tests Lohan was given to detect drugs and check the qualifications of the officers who stopped her. Medical experts also would check to see if Lohan had some medical condition, say, diabetes, that can affect the tests.
"After a few months of hard work, you can find where all the cracks are, and there will be some," Taylor said.
Then, "I would strongly suggest ... that perhaps this woman needs rehab rather than a long stretch in jail."
A prosecutor faced with possibly losing a case might agree, otherwise, Taylor said, "your much-cherished conviction rate is going to go down and your chances of promotion are going to go down."
Taylor concedes that the type of defense that celebrities can afford is off-limits to the average DUI defendant. and that affects the severity of their sentencing.
"Are you saying does justice have a price? Absolutely? But the same is true of heart surgery," Taylor said. "It's not going to be the same cost and it's not going to be the same result."
Lohan, 21, was less than two weeks out of a recovery program and was voluntarily wearing an alcohol-monitoring device when she was arrested Tuesday in Santa Monica for investigation of misdemeanor driving both under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.
Her lawyer, Blair Berk, has said she had a "relapse" and was receiving medical care at an undisclosed location.
A call to Lohan's publicist was not returned Wednesday.
The actress completed more than six weeks in rehab less than two weeks ago, and had checked into another recovery clinic in January.
Over the weekend, she was photographed at a party in a pink bikini, with the monitoring device on her ankle.
That behavior won't cut it anymore and neither will spa-style clinics, said Barry Gerald Sands, a Century City defense attorney who's also a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
"Whatever you have done in the past, do a 360-degree turn and go the other way," Sands said Wednesday. "She has to change her alleged friends, people sharing or selling her drugs. She has to lead a clean and sober life.
"Silk-sheet recovery homes don't do the job."
If Lohan is charged with a crime, she could ask a judge to order her to remain in rehabilitation while she awaits trial, Sands said.
A "recovery team" should be in place that includes doctors and addiction specialists who can give the judge alternatives to jail.
And if she is convicted, the rehab time would count against whatever jail sentence is issued, Sands said.
Lohan has never been convicted of a drug or alcohol crime and judges routinely place first-time DUI offenders on probation rather than behind bars. However, Lohan's case could be complicated because she also was arrested for investigation of felony DUI in Beverly Hills on Memorial Day after her Mercedes-Benz crashed into a curb.
That case was submitted to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office last week and is being reviewed, spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
If she is convicted of two felonies in the two cases, she might be eligible for 18 months or more in state prison but such a sentence is unlikely, said Lawrence Taylor, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who runs one of the nation's top DUI defense law firms.
"Our prisons are packed already," he said. "We don't need some recreational (drug) users with a small amount of coke with a clean record."
On the other hand, Lohan probably will have to do some time in county jail simply because prosecutors and judges saw the backlash when Paris Hilton was briefly allowed to serve her DUI sentence at home instead of jail.
"They're going to see how sensitive everything was ... Everything was being looked at with a microscope and broadcast to the entire world, literally," Taylor said. "They saw what happened and judges do run for re-election, and deputy DAs are aware that their bosses run for re-election."
Both sides would be interested in stalling a court case until the media frenzy ebbs but that is unlikely if the continued scrutiny of Paris Hilton is any signpost, Taylor said.
"Entertainment has become more important than information and the media is looking ... for money. They're looking for audience, they're looking to give the public what they want," he said.
That scrutiny means that Lohan, if convicted, probably will get some jail time regardless of whether it is warranted in her case, Taylor said.
"I would say this woman's going to be doing at least 30 days" and perhaps as long as 180 days if she is convicted of two DUIs along with drug possession, Taylor said.
However, virtually all DUI cases are settled by plea agreements.
If he were running the defense, Taylor said, his team of experts would reconstruct the traffic accident; seek out witnesses, videotapes and audio of the traffic stops; examine repair and usage records for police breath analysis machines; and look into any blood tests Lohan was given to detect drugs and check the qualifications of the officers who stopped her. Medical experts also would check to see if Lohan had some medical condition, say, diabetes, that can affect the tests.
"After a few months of hard work, you can find where all the cracks are, and there will be some," Taylor said.
Then, "I would strongly suggest ... that perhaps this woman needs rehab rather than a long stretch in jail."
A prosecutor faced with possibly losing a case might agree, otherwise, Taylor said, "your much-cherished conviction rate is going to go down and your chances of promotion are going to go down."
Taylor concedes that the type of defense that celebrities can afford is off-limits to the average DUI defendant. and that affects the severity of their sentencing.
"Are you saying does justice have a price? Absolutely? But the same is true of heart surgery," Taylor said. "It's not going to be the same cost and it's not going to be the same result."
Potter publisher sues over breach
 Publishers have placed a strict embargo on the book's publication |
Scholastic sued online retailer DeepDiscount.com for breaking the strict midnight Saturday embargo.
In court papers filed in Illinois, the publisher also named its distributor Levy Entertainment for failing to ensure books were not sent out.
It said that only a tiny fraction of its 12m copies had been distributed.
"The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one per cent," said Scholastic in a statement.
'Please ignore'
The company added that they had a list of customers who had ordered the book from DeepDiscount.com and were asking them to put it to one side if they have already received it by mistake.
A report in The Baltimore Sun newspaper about a customer who had already received his copy prompted Scholastic to take action.
They are seeking unspecified damages from the two companies in question.
A spokesman for Infinity Resources, who own DeepDiscount.com, said: "We take the situation very seriously and are conducting an internal investigation."
JK Rowling has called on fans to dismiss speculation
Levy Entertainment declined to comment.
Scholastic has also asked "everyone, especially in the media, to preserve the fun and excitement for fans everywhere".
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has also posted an appeal on her official website, stating: "Let's all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press.
"I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Harry Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day.
"In a very short time you will know everything!" the statement concluded.
Earlier this week, pictures of what appeared to be pages from the new novel were circulating on the internet.
Minna Fry, marketing director of the book's UK publisher Bloomsbury said: "There have been so many fake books going up on the internet over the past four to six weeks. We have no reason to believe that these are anything other than fake either."US critics pan Beckham TV show
Victoria Beckham's debut on US television as the subject of a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary has not been well received by critics.
The New York Post said the NBC show was "an orgy of self-indulgence".
As Beckham is shown setting up her new home in Los Angeles, she utters: "It's exhausting being fabulous."
Her husband David has had his first training session with his new team, LA Galaxy, but injury may force him out of a friendly against Chelsea on Saturday.
In the programme, Victoria Beckham Coming to America, she is shown dishing out orders to a new personal assistant, who she insists should not be too good-looking.
"It's got to be all about me," she says.
She is also shown tottering in high heels as she is taught how to pitch the first ball at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.
However, newspaper critics were not impressed with the programme, which "smacks of too much fame, too much money and too much time spent believing the hype for all concerned", according to the New York Post. 
Beckham's husband David is a LA Galaxy player
The New York Times described the Spice Girls singer as apparently "pleasant and not without a sense of humour".
But it said that this was not enough "to carry viewers through an hour of house-hunting, sunbathing and applying for a driver's licence".
Patt Morrison of the Los Angeles Times said that people in the United States had been "underwhelmed" by Beckham.
"If you're looking for a bad driver, we have Lindsay Lohan, who does it better," she told BBC One's Breakfast.
"If you're looking for rich, we've got Paris Hilton, and if you're looking for thin blondes, if you fire a cannon in Beverly Hills, you hit 100 of them.
"It's a very competitive market, even for a Beckham."
The programme is due to be broadcast on ITV1 at 2100 BST on Tuesday.
Victoria Beckham's US media blitz backfires
Victoria Beckham 's attempts to woo the US media since arriving in Los Angeles soccer star husband David appear to have backfired, with critics savaging a reality show to be broadcast Monday.
"Victoria Beckham: Coming to America," was originally intended as a mini-series, but trimmed to a one hour special by the NBC network.
Billed as a revealing special that "delves into Victoria's larger-than-life world to reveal, among other things, her wicked sense of humor and style," the show failed to impress the mainstream media.
The New York Post gave the show a damning zero-star review, slamming the pop-star turned fashion figure as "relentlessly self-promoting" with "vapid, condescending behavior" in a show described as "an orgy of self-indulgence."
"You'll sit there slack-jawed at the gall of these people who think we are that stupid," the Post's reviewer wrote in a scathing broadside, also laying into the couple's "nightmarishly overdone rococo mansion" in Beverly Hills .
"The 'special' which NBC calls an 'exclusive' inside look at Victoria's larger-than-life life smacks of too much fame, too much money and too much time spent believing the hype for all concerned," the paper wrote.
The New York Times was no more forgiving in its write-up, describing Victoria Beckham as being "somewhat famous for being sort of famous, and is photographed a lot in Britain ."
"She does appear to be pleasant and not without a sense of humor. But that isn't quite enough to carry viewers through an hour of house hunting, sunbathing and applying for a driver's license," the paper's reviewer said.
"There has to be something going on behind the scenes because there is no other way to explain so much time and videotape spent on the moving arrangements of Mr. Beckham's wife.
"If she can retain viewers past the first commercial break, then the results will be conclusive: either there is a vast, media-controlling conspiracy afoot, or there is no such thing as celebrity ditz-fatigue," the paper said.
The US media has been having a field day since the couple arrived in Los Angeles last week, when David began a new chapter at the LA Galaxy soccer club, with the pair appearing on magazine covers, chat shows and television specials.
"Victoria Beckham: Coming to America," was originally intended as a mini-series, but trimmed to a one hour special by the NBC network.
Billed as a revealing special that "delves into Victoria's larger-than-life world to reveal, among other things, her wicked sense of humor and style," the show failed to impress the mainstream media.
The New York Post gave the show a damning zero-star review, slamming the pop-star turned fashion figure as "relentlessly self-promoting" with "vapid, condescending behavior" in a show described as "an orgy of self-indulgence."
"You'll sit there slack-jawed at the gall of these people who think we are that stupid," the Post's reviewer wrote in a scathing broadside, also laying into the couple's "nightmarishly overdone rococo mansion" in Beverly Hills .
"The 'special' which NBC calls an 'exclusive' inside look at Victoria's larger-than-life life smacks of too much fame, too much money and too much time spent believing the hype for all concerned," the paper wrote.
The New York Times was no more forgiving in its write-up, describing Victoria Beckham as being "somewhat famous for being sort of famous, and is photographed a lot in Britain ."
"She does appear to be pleasant and not without a sense of humor. But that isn't quite enough to carry viewers through an hour of house hunting, sunbathing and applying for a driver's license," the paper's reviewer said.
"There has to be something going on behind the scenes because there is no other way to explain so much time and videotape spent on the moving arrangements of Mr. Beckham's wife.
"If she can retain viewers past the first commercial break, then the results will be conclusive: either there is a vast, media-controlling conspiracy afoot, or there is no such thing as celebrity ditz-fatigue," the paper said.
The US media has been having a field day since the couple arrived in Los Angeles last week, when David began a new chapter at the LA Galaxy soccer club, with the pair appearing on magazine covers, chat shows and television specials.
What Ever Happened to Momma Rose?
Marriages made in heaven don’t always translate to earth. If any actress of her generation seemed fated to play Momma Rose, the juggernaut of a stage mother in the musical “Gypsy,” it was Patti LuPone, the juggernaut of a Broadway star.
After all, Ms. LuPone became famous for her no-holds-barred portrayal of an actress of ravenous and ravening ambition in the title role of “Evita” three decades ago, and ambition is Momma Rose’s oxygen. What’s more, Ms. LuPone has lungs and larynx of brass to rival those of Ethel Merman, the rafter-shaking star of the original “Gypsy” in 1959, to whom Ms. LuPone has often been compared.
Yet in the enjoyable but unenthralling production of “Gypsy” that opened Saturday at City Center and runs through July 29, part of the new Encores! Summer Stars series, Ms. LuPone does not, for once, feel like an unstoppable force. As Rose, the child-flattening maternal steamroller with Broadway dreams, she seems to be still fiddling with the gears and looking over her shoulder when she needs to be plowing full speed ahead with blinders on.
There’s a lot to recommend in Ms. LuPone’s performance and even more in the production itself, directed by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the show’s book. Ms. LuPone has endowed the thwarted Rose with charm, sensuality, a sense of humor, a startling lack of diva vanity and even a spark of bona fide mother love.
Contrary to what you might have anticipated, Ms. LuPone is less a Rose of billboard-size flair and ego than the sort of pushy but likable woman you might compete with at the supermarket for that last perfect sole fillet. (You’d lose, but you wouldn’t hate her.) Ms. LuPone has given us a human Rose, with doubts and a nagging tug of self-awareness. But once you introduce such traits into Momma Rose, the air starts to leak out of her.
I do believe there’s more than one way to make Rose flower. Though I didn’t see Merman, I did catch Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1989) and Bernadette Peters (2003), and could happily defend the wildly different approaches of each.
What they all projected, though, was Rose’s ferocious, unswerving single-mindedness. Ms. LuPone, in contrast, seems to slide in her purposeful focus, the way her voice — more trombone than trumpet — famously slides around on notes.
She can’t resist playing jokes for jokes’ sake, giving lines a Mae West-style spin that, however amusing, puts a distance between star and character. And in singing Jule Styne’s adrenaline-stirring melodies, she never pursues a straight line, so that the great Act 1 finale, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” has a feeling of distracting, internalized restlessness.
Without a tidal wave of a Momma Rose, this production lacks the emotional momentum to be a transporting “Gypsy.” Nonetheless, anyone seeing “Gypsy” for the first time should have no difficulty understanding why this adaptation of the memoirs of the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee is the great American musical.
Like two hit revivals currently on Broadway, “Chicago” and “A Chorus Line,” “Gypsy” is an anatomy of the obsessions that draw people into show business and keep them there, even when they’re drowning. Neither as cynical as “Chicago” nor as touchy-feely as “A Chorus Line,” “Gypsy,” set in the dying days of vaudeville, is both clear-eyed and celebratory about the energy and egotism that feed even marginal forms of theater.
This exciting, double-edged quality is evident in every aspect of the show, to which a young man named Stephen Sondheim contributed the lyrics. Mr. Styne’s score melds razzle-dazzle audacity with a breath of wistfulness for the unobtainable. And as might be expected from an Encores! production, the orchestra (overseen by Patrick Vaccariello) gives life to that score with a fullness that itself justifies the price of a ticket.
Unlike previous Encores! fare, this one is presented not as a concert but as a full-dress production, with cheerfully seedy sets (by James Youmans) and costumes (by Martin Pakledinaz) that emphasize the quality of showbiz fable. The ingenious, plot-propelling choreography by Jerome Robbins, who also directed the original, has been appealingly recreated here (by Bonnie Walker). And Mr. Laurents, who directed the Broadway revivals of 1974 and 1989, obviously knows the show’s impeccably assembled mechanics better than anyone alive.
Which is not to say this production is mechanical. As brilliantly structured and paced as it inherently is, “Gypsy” doesn’t play itself. There’s enough complexity for wide variation in character and emphasis. And Mr. Laurents, while occasionally overdoing the comic broad strokes, also elicits refreshing insights from the supporting performances.
True, the strippers who initiate Gypsy into their art are the usual set of endearing cartoons (with Marilyn Caskey’s nearly comatose Electra the most endearing of all).
But Boyd Gaines, as Rose’s long-suffering beau and business partner, Herbie, is affectingly credible, and he and Ms. LuPone generate a relaxed sexual chemistry that explains why he stays with her. And Rose’s younger daughter, June, has never been more completely drawn, both as a child (Sami Gayle) and a young woman (Leigh Ann Larkin). There’s steel beneath the frills of this June from the beginning, and a shrewd ambition that eclipses her mother’s.
I have never been more conscious of the ambivalence between June and her sister, Louise, the hang-dog tomboy who grows up to be Gypsy Rose Lee. Laura Benanti, late of “The Wedding Singer,” is delicious in the title role. (The appealingly watchful-faced Emma Rowley plays her younger self.) Ms. Benanti invests even her early scenes with a tincture of latent ambition that makes her apotheosis as burlesque queen seem inevitable.
But the show’s surprising high point is when Louise and June finally sit down to talk — or this being a musical, sing — about the problems of life with Mother, in a version of “If Momma Was Married” that becomes an eye-opening moment of rival sisters discovering what they have in common, too late.
This “Gypsy” is especially good on shining a light on family frictions, and Ms. LuPone contributes beautifully to this dynamic. The early scene in which she sends both her young daughters to bed, focusing the beam of her affection exclusively on June, tells you everything you need to know about this prickly parent-child triangle and the problems it’s bound to generate.
Ms. LuPone has other such moments throughout. Her scenes with Mr. Gaines are uniformly excellent. (I’ll never forget her Rose, suggesting an abandoned army tank, standing in a dressing room after Herbie walks out on her.) And she brings a harrowing psychological nakedness to the big nervous-breakdown number, “Rose’s Turn.”
Given such moments, combined with Ms. LuPone’s dazzling performance in Mr. Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” two seasons ago, I suspect there’s still a first-rate Momma Rose waiting to emerge. For the moment we only have the preliminary sketch. Any halfway decent “Gypsy” — and this one is more than that — is a fine summer night’s diversion. But it needs a Momma Rose in full control to carry its audiences away.
Zeta-Jones uses $400 shampoo
Catherine Zeta-Jones has a unique way to stay beautiful - she spends $400 (€290)-a-time on caviar shampoo.
The Beluga caviar treatment may carry a hair-raising price but it has been credited with giving the actress' hair an unbeatable shine. It is flown from Iran five days before her visit to a beauty salon in London, UK.
A source at the salon tells British newspaper the Daily Mail: "Catherine discovered the caviar treatment last summer and was astounded by the difference it made to her hair."
The Beluga caviar treatment may carry a hair-raising price but it has been credited with giving the actress' hair an unbeatable shine. It is flown from Iran five days before her visit to a beauty salon in London, UK.
A source at the salon tells British newspaper the Daily Mail: "Catherine discovered the caviar treatment last summer and was astounded by the difference it made to her hair."
CLIMATE CHANGE: Pop Stars Belt Out Global Wake-Up Call
One person may not be able to save the world, but former U.S. Vice President Al Gore won't give up his quest to do so without a fight -- make that a green revolution.
Saturday's 24-hour Live Earth concert series spanning seven continents and predicted to reach 2 billion people marked the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection to drive public action toward solving the climate crisis.
Hailed by organisers as the largest concert ever, the event stemmed from Gore's famed slideshow detailing the dangers and realities of "an inconvenient truth" otherwise known as global warming.
"Al Gore's slideshow reached thousands, [the subsequent documentary] 'An Inconvenient Truth' reached a few million, and Live Earth is all about engaging billions of people," Live Earth spokesperson Yusef Robb told IPS.
Precise figures regarding the concert's overall reach will take weeks to tabulate, according to Robb, but MSN has already reported that, with well over 10 million viewers in cyberspace tuning in for one of the 21 different languages broadcasted, Live Earth has become the most simultaneously viewed online concert ever.
With Live Earth founder and producer Kevin Wall working behind the scenes, the concert's success should come as no surprise to those familiar with his previous mega endeavours, which included Live 8 in 2005 and Live Aid in 1985.
Saturday's concert, with venues in New York, Washington DC, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamburg, drew a wide array of performers who volunteered their vocal cords to make a difference.
Performers around the world included Madonna, The Police, Shakira, Bon Jovi and 2007 Academy Award winning songstress Melissa Etheridge who wrote and performed "I Need to Wake Up" for "An Inconvenient Truth."
Nunatak, a band of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, even performed to a handful of employees on the frozen tundra.
"We really wanted to convey the global nature of the crisis," explained Robb referring to Nunatak's performance. "Not only do our actions here at home affect Antarctica, but the melting ice and climate shifts there will have profound effects thousands of miles away."
Awareness about the event was recently bolstered by several Live Earth partnerships ranging in scope from conservation organisations like the World Wildlife Fund to corporate sponsors including Philips Electronics.
"Live Earth was set up to make people more aware of energy solutions," Harry Verhaar, senior director for Energy and Climate Change at Philips, told IPS. "We want to improve people's lives and to show them how simple it is to make the switch to more energy efficient solutions."
Organisers at Live Earth did just that, incorporating as many innovative energy-saving devices and recyclable materials into the concert's framework as feasibly possible.
Several earth-friendly measures included using energy efficient LED lights, powering generators with bio-fuel, serving up snacks with biodegradable cutlery, installing organic soap pumps in the restrooms and constructing stages from recycled materials. Several venues, including Hamburg and Sydney, even provided public transportation to the concert upon ticket purchase.
Despite the successful implementation of these environmental considerations to cut down on waste and consumption, critics of Live Earth, including Roger Daltrey of the Who, have ostracised the event for using excess energy to promote conservation.
Live Earth organisers responded to cries of hypocrisy by pledging to purchase carbon credits to offset the concert's environmental impacts, essentially creating a carbon neutral event.
Brand Neutral, a company devoted to helping clients reduce costs and maximise energy efficiency, lent its support and sustainability expertise to Saturday's event to ensure carbon neutrality.
"We deeply respect Al Gore and Kevin Wall and wanted very badly to roll up our sleeves, get to work and make a difference," Brand Neutral founder Tom Feegel told IPS.
As part of the Live Earth Call to Action, a series of commitments that concert organisers and the Alliance for Climate Protection are pushing on the public, the seven-point pledge was repeated several times by celebrities and activists at every major venue around the world.
In New Jersey, Al Gore urged concert goers to sign the pledge, committing themselves to becoming carbon neutral, increasing the energy efficiency of their homes and fighting for a moratorium on new coal-burning facilities that do not engage in carbon sequestration, among other environmentally progressive actions.
"The massive outpouring from the seven-point pledge will certainly be conveyed to leaders all over the world," Robb told IPS.
Although Saturday went smoothly for concertgoers and organisers, the weeks and months leading up to Live Earth were marked by scepticism and a great deal of the unknown at several venues.
A scheduled concert in Istanbul was recently cancelled due to general lack of interest, and one at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro nearly suffered a similar fate last week due to security concerns before a last-minute court order saved the free venue that would go on to draw the largest crowd of all, estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the Alliance for Climate Protection, but organisers prefer not to think of the event as a benefit concert.
"We want to stress that the fund-raising aspect of Live Earth is just the cherry on top," Robb told IPS. "What this is really about is engaging the global audience. This is about getting people to take action and to join the movement."
Millions of people joined the movement in their own ways by sponsoring or attending one of the more than 10,000 Friends of Live Earth events in 130 countries on Saturday.
Friends of Live Earth is an official Live Earth programme designed to build a worldwide community-level movement to combat the climate crisis. Robb told IPS that events ranged in scope from watching the concert at home with friends, to parties and smaller concerts attracting thousands of people.
Tom Lalley, director of media relations at the World Wildlife Fund, referred to his organisation's mascot when he told IPS, "The panda doesn't back down from a party."
"A lot of times, environmental issues are wrapped in gloom and doom. This is a way for us to come together, have a big party, enjoy ourselves, and hopefully something will come out of it in terms of substance," he added.
Saturday's 24-hour Live Earth concert series spanning seven continents and predicted to reach 2 billion people marked the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection to drive public action toward solving the climate crisis.
Hailed by organisers as the largest concert ever, the event stemmed from Gore's famed slideshow detailing the dangers and realities of "an inconvenient truth" otherwise known as global warming.
"Al Gore's slideshow reached thousands, [the subsequent documentary] 'An Inconvenient Truth' reached a few million, and Live Earth is all about engaging billions of people," Live Earth spokesperson Yusef Robb told IPS.
Precise figures regarding the concert's overall reach will take weeks to tabulate, according to Robb, but MSN has already reported that, with well over 10 million viewers in cyberspace tuning in for one of the 21 different languages broadcasted, Live Earth has become the most simultaneously viewed online concert ever.
With Live Earth founder and producer Kevin Wall working behind the scenes, the concert's success should come as no surprise to those familiar with his previous mega endeavours, which included Live 8 in 2005 and Live Aid in 1985.
Saturday's concert, with venues in New York, Washington DC, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamburg, drew a wide array of performers who volunteered their vocal cords to make a difference.
Performers around the world included Madonna, The Police, Shakira, Bon Jovi and 2007 Academy Award winning songstress Melissa Etheridge who wrote and performed "I Need to Wake Up" for "An Inconvenient Truth."
Nunatak, a band of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, even performed to a handful of employees on the frozen tundra.
"We really wanted to convey the global nature of the crisis," explained Robb referring to Nunatak's performance. "Not only do our actions here at home affect Antarctica, but the melting ice and climate shifts there will have profound effects thousands of miles away."
Awareness about the event was recently bolstered by several Live Earth partnerships ranging in scope from conservation organisations like the World Wildlife Fund to corporate sponsors including Philips Electronics.
"Live Earth was set up to make people more aware of energy solutions," Harry Verhaar, senior director for Energy and Climate Change at Philips, told IPS. "We want to improve people's lives and to show them how simple it is to make the switch to more energy efficient solutions."
Organisers at Live Earth did just that, incorporating as many innovative energy-saving devices and recyclable materials into the concert's framework as feasibly possible.
Several earth-friendly measures included using energy efficient LED lights, powering generators with bio-fuel, serving up snacks with biodegradable cutlery, installing organic soap pumps in the restrooms and constructing stages from recycled materials. Several venues, including Hamburg and Sydney, even provided public transportation to the concert upon ticket purchase.
Despite the successful implementation of these environmental considerations to cut down on waste and consumption, critics of Live Earth, including Roger Daltrey of the Who, have ostracised the event for using excess energy to promote conservation.
Live Earth organisers responded to cries of hypocrisy by pledging to purchase carbon credits to offset the concert's environmental impacts, essentially creating a carbon neutral event.
Brand Neutral, a company devoted to helping clients reduce costs and maximise energy efficiency, lent its support and sustainability expertise to Saturday's event to ensure carbon neutrality.
"We deeply respect Al Gore and Kevin Wall and wanted very badly to roll up our sleeves, get to work and make a difference," Brand Neutral founder Tom Feegel told IPS.
As part of the Live Earth Call to Action, a series of commitments that concert organisers and the Alliance for Climate Protection are pushing on the public, the seven-point pledge was repeated several times by celebrities and activists at every major venue around the world.
In New Jersey, Al Gore urged concert goers to sign the pledge, committing themselves to becoming carbon neutral, increasing the energy efficiency of their homes and fighting for a moratorium on new coal-burning facilities that do not engage in carbon sequestration, among other environmentally progressive actions.
"The massive outpouring from the seven-point pledge will certainly be conveyed to leaders all over the world," Robb told IPS.
Although Saturday went smoothly for concertgoers and organisers, the weeks and months leading up to Live Earth were marked by scepticism and a great deal of the unknown at several venues.
A scheduled concert in Istanbul was recently cancelled due to general lack of interest, and one at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro nearly suffered a similar fate last week due to security concerns before a last-minute court order saved the free venue that would go on to draw the largest crowd of all, estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the Alliance for Climate Protection, but organisers prefer not to think of the event as a benefit concert.
"We want to stress that the fund-raising aspect of Live Earth is just the cherry on top," Robb told IPS. "What this is really about is engaging the global audience. This is about getting people to take action and to join the movement."
Millions of people joined the movement in their own ways by sponsoring or attending one of the more than 10,000 Friends of Live Earth events in 130 countries on Saturday.
Friends of Live Earth is an official Live Earth programme designed to build a worldwide community-level movement to combat the climate crisis. Robb told IPS that events ranged in scope from watching the concert at home with friends, to parties and smaller concerts attracting thousands of people.
Tom Lalley, director of media relations at the World Wildlife Fund, referred to his organisation's mascot when he told IPS, "The panda doesn't back down from a party."
"A lot of times, environmental issues are wrapped in gloom and doom. This is a way for us to come together, have a big party, enjoy ourselves, and hopefully something will come out of it in terms of substance," he added.
10 jobs you missed out on
1. Filibuster
Long before the term "filibuster" came to be associated with elected officials, it was actually associated with violence and trickery. (Wait a second ...)
In the 1600s, pirates known to the Dutch as vrijbuiters pillaged the West Indies, and eventually, the word was assimilated into the English language as "filibusters."
Between 1850 and 1860, the name was used to refer to the American mercenaries who attempted to revolutionize Central America and the Spanish West Indies. The most famous of these filibusters was William Walker, a U.S. citizen who succeeded in gaining control of Nicaragua in 1856 by overthrowing the nation's administration. Walker became president of Nicaragua, but only until May 1, 1857, when a coalition of Central American states ousted him.
Because filibusters of previous centuries strove to interfere with foreign regimes, the term evolved to refer to anyone who attempted to obstruct the government, as our legislators occasionally see fit to do when a particularly troublesome bill comes before them.
2. Ratoner
Ain't it grand to live in a world where the Black Death isn't a daily concern? Fortunately, when it was an issue, a ratoner was there to lend a helping hand. A ratoner was a rat catcher, who served a vital role in maintaining the health of the villagers.
Those of us accustomed to modern pest control techniques might be a bit surprised to learn about the disposal method employed by a typical Victorian-era ratoner, though. After capturing the rodents, he would set out for the town pub, where dogs made a sport of devouring the day's catch. This earned extra cash for the ratoner and was considered great entertainment by saloon regulars.
The most famous ratoner, Jack Black, was appointed Royal Rat Catcher in the mid-19th century and bred some of his more interesting and colorful finds as household pets. In fact, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers by Beatrix Potter is said to be dedicated to her personal rat, one of Jack Black's progeny.
3. Alnager
In merry olde England, an alnager was a sworn officer of the court who garnered much esteem. He was responsible for ensuring that woolen goods were of the highest quality and that no one was being cheated on the amount of fabric ordered. The job was important not only because the king earned taxes from wool sales, but also because goods approved by the alnager carried the town's seal of approval.
But, as the textile trade grew, it became nearly impossible to hold all wool to the same standards of size and density, so the king abolished the position. Today, you might know the alnager's modern incarnation best in sticker form, a.k.a., "Number 6."
4. Knocker-Up
In British towns of yore, particularly those with a mine or mill as the center of commercial activity, knocker-ups were responsible for going from house to house to wake workers in the mornings. The title, not surprisingly, came from the sound they made rapping on windows.
As for the evolution of the term "knocking," it also denoted a collision of sorts, and in the 17th century, it was used in reference to childbirth. Even poet John Keats wrote of "knocking out" children in some of his odes. It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that Americans began using the phrase as slang for getting a woman pregnant.
5. Lungs
Perhaps the cruelest case of naming irony in history, anyone employed to fan the fire in an alchemist's workshop was known as a "lungs." And because most alchemists were constantly trying to make gold out of lead and other such base metals, you can only imagine what kinds of dangerous materials were floating about in the labs. As a result, the actual lungs on a lungs gave out relatively quickly, leading to a profession with widespread early retirement.
6. Sin-Eater
No matter how much you loved Grandma and Grandpa, you can probably admit your forebears weren't perfect. So, if you ever had a loved one that passed on before his or her last chance at absolution, it makes sense that you might want to call in reinforcements. Fortunately for the fretful and grieving of yore, there was the town sin-eater.
For a small fee, the sin-eater would gladly scarf down a meal (usually bread and ale) that had been placed on the deceased's chest. By letting the food lie atop the dearly departed for a while, it was believed the vittles would absorb the last transgressions. And, once the food was gobbled up by the sin-eater, Grandma or Grandpa could get into heaven without any major roadblocks.
7. Badger
Odd as it may sound, badgers were part of the rat race in prior centuries, serving as intermediaries between the producers of goods and the consumer. Most often, they traded in corn and other foodstuffs, buying from farmers and reselling the goods at markets in town.
And if you think the salespeople at Macy's are tough, some historians think badgers were so persistent in pushing their products that the term came to be associated with an often annoying and forceful adamance -- i.e., "badgering" anyone in sight to buy from you instead of another vendor.
8. Gong Farmer
Not unlike "The Gong Show," a gong farmer was far from being the cream of the crop -- and even that might be the understatement of the year.
In Tudor England, a gong farmer's job was to empty the town toilets. But the job did have its perks. Typically, a gong farmer would "mine" the waste for any items of value that might be found amongst the city's excrement -- a penny here, a button there before it was used as manure or thrown into the river.
For a while, it was falsely believed that gong farmers were immune to the plague, but you can't help wonder if that was more of a pity belief, like the whole idea that being hit by bird droppings is good luck.
9. Fuller
Making textiles hasn't always been such a streamlined process. Once upon a time, there were spinners to spin the thread, weavers to weave the cloth, and fullers to finish the goods once they came off the loom.
Almost Lucy-and-Ethel style, fullers walked on the back side of the cloth to bind the fibers together and give cohesion to the newly woven fabric. But stomping alone wouldn't accomplish this feat. Instead, fullers soaked the cloth in a mixture of clay ("fuller's earth") and urine while it was being trampled.
In fact, medieval housewives often earned extra cash by saving the family's urine and selling it to the fuller, and some schools even had children use one bucket as a toilet for the same purpose.
10. Bullocky
It sounds like Lewis Carroll came up with this word around the same time he was writing "Jabberwocky", but a bullocky was actually a person who drove cattle to market. Yet, the bullocky and the Jabberwock might share something in common -- nonsense.
According to some historians, to say bullocks swore like sailors would be an insult to sailors. In fact, it was the bullocks' foul mouths that led the term to be associated with bastardized speech. That, combined with the fact that they worked with "bull" (which had the same connotations we know today), could have helped bullocky evolve into a term for ridiculous or dispensable speech.Spice Girls to Debut Two New Songs
Before launching their reunion tour, will have two new songs debuted at BBC documentary about their comeback. Not only that, the British troupe is also reported writing a charity song that will be performed for this year's Children In Need Campaign.
"We've got full involvement from all of them," BBC One's Peter Fincham said. "They are all keen to get involved with Children In Need. They are recording two new songs and one of them might be a single."
Meanwhile, Melanie C's statement on the possibility that the group extends their reunion tour is made true. A new show in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro is added to the schedule.
A source said, "The girls will make a big announcement next week. Everybody in the Spice camp has been bombarded by Brazilian fans demanding the band bring Girl Power to Brazil. Doing Buenos Aires and not Rio would be a massive faux pas. One of the dates is definitely going to be Brazil."
"We've got full involvement from all of them," BBC One's Peter Fincham said. "They are all keen to get involved with Children In Need. They are recording two new songs and one of them might be a single."
Meanwhile, Melanie C's statement on the possibility that the group extends their reunion tour is made true. A new show in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro is added to the schedule.
A source said, "The girls will make a big announcement next week. Everybody in the Spice camp has been bombarded by Brazilian fans demanding the band bring Girl Power to Brazil. Doing Buenos Aires and not Rio would be a massive faux pas. One of the dates is definitely going to be Brazil."
Potter's Grint a certifiable heartthrob
It's official: Rupert Grint is a certifiable heartthrob in the eyes of Canada's teenage girls.
The 18-year-old British actor was in Toronto Wednesday to walk the red carpet for the Canadian launch of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and he was greeted by dozens of screaming – and mostly female – fans who bounced about the excitable crowd trying to catch a glimpse of the young star.
There were a few Harry Potter costumes and a few people who were there to be able say they were first into the movie, but mostly it was all about the spectacle of seeing the real-life Ron Weasley.
“It's really crazy,” Grint said in between excited shrieks and screams coming from the boisterous crowd around him.
“It is really sort of hard to get used to, I don't know if I'll ever get used to it,” he admitted.
“But, it's really good…Everybody is really nice.”
Grint brought a shy smile and teenage charm for his legions of fans all of whom had their own personal reasons to see him.
Becca Ferguson, 16, and her friend Emily Wilken, 16, waited since 7 a.m. to catch get a front-of-the-line spot in hopes of getting a good look at Grint.
“It's Harry Potter and it's Rupert Grint,” Ferguson said of her reasons for staking out the first spot in line. “He's just such a good actor and such a good Ron.”
The two 16-year-olds were holding a sign proclaiming themselves as “Groupies for Rupie.”
And their hopes for when he made it down the red carpet?
“We want his autograph,” Ferguson said.
“We want him to smile at us,” Wilken added.
Forty-five minutes later when Grint finally made in through the throng of media along to where the two girls stood, he obliged the two with a photo and autographs.
“I don't know, oh my goodness,” Wilken said when asked to describe the meeting, moments after receiving an official Rupert Grint autograph. “He signed it!.”
Like a lot of the other fans at the premiere, who had screamed all the way through Grint's brief Canadian appearance, Ferguson was simply speechless.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix breaks record in US
The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has taken a record-breaking $12m (£6m) at midnight screenings in the US.
The figure is the most made at the box office for a Wednesday opening midnight run, according to Daily Variety.
The previous record-holder was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which returned around $8m (£3.9m) in midnight ticket sales in 2003.
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix opens in the UK on Thursday.
Its early takings were double that of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the previous film in the series, which took $6m (£2.9m) at US midnight screenings in 2005.
'Unique challenges'
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe told US TV show Larry King Live that acting in the new movie was "some of the hardest stuff I've had to do to date".
"Each film presents its own very unique challenges so it's sort of like playing a different part every time you come back and do it," he said.
He added he still had a "long way to go and to develop" as an actor and said: "Hopefully you'll see more of that over the next two films."
The actor said it was not until the third Harry Potter film, the Prisoner of Azkaban, that he knew that acting was something he would "love to do in the long term".
"Before that I was just a kid having fun on a film set, having the time of my life, but not really taking it as seriously as I do now, obviously."
The actor turns 18 on July 23 but he denied he is now too old to play Harry.
"Actors play younger and older than their age all the time so I don't think it should make too much of a difference," he said.
Asked about Harry's first kiss in the new movie, he said: "It's a really sweet, tender moment in the film but it wasn't as big a deal as perhaps everybody thought it might be."
He praised Harry Potter author JK Rowling's writing as "just great, purely fantastic story telling".
"I think the reason the films have been so successful is that we're fortunate to have some of the best source material around," he said.
"What Jo's done with these books is quite incredible, I think," added Radcliffe.Faulks pens new James Bond novel
Sebastian Faulks has emerged as the author chosen to write a new officially-endorsed James Bond novel.
The British writer - whose books include Birdsong and Charlotte Gray - was commissioned by the Fleming estate last year but his identity kept secret.
Devil May Care is set in "several of the world's most thrilling cities" during the Cold War.
The book will be published on 28 May next year to mark the centenary of Sir Ian Fleming's birth.
The Fleming estate announced last year that it had commissioned a "well known and highly respected" writer for the task. Faulks, 54, said his new book is "about 80% Fleming" and admitted being "surprised" that he was the estate's choice.
He said: "I was surprised but flattered to be asked by the Fleming estate last summer if I would write a one-off Bond book for the Ian Fleming Centenary.
"I told them that I hadn't read the books since the age of 13, but if, when I re-read them, I still enjoyed them and could see how I might be able to do something in the same vein, then I would be happy to consider it.
"On re-reading, I was surprised by how well the books stood up."
He added: "I put this down to three things - the sense of jeopardy Fleming creates about his solitary hero, a certain playfulness in the narrative details, and a crisp, journalistic style that hasn't dated."
Faulks said he attempted to "isolate the most essential and the most enjoyable aspects of the books". 
Ian Fleming died in 1964
He added: "I found writing this light-hearted book more thrilling than I had expected."
The last of Fleming's 14 books about the secret agent was Octopussy and the Living Daylights, which was published in 1966 - two years after his death.
The first was the 1953 book Casino Royale, made into a film last year with Daniel Craig.
It is not yet known if the new book will be turned into a Bond film.
Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, said: "The Fleming family were delighted with the typescript when we received it.
"Sebastian couldn't have written a better book to celebrate Ian's 100th birthday."
Actor and author Charlie Higson was licensed to write books about James Bond's school days. He has so far written four books under the Young Bond banner aimed at younger readers.
Monsters beat Live Earth on US TV
 Reunited group The Police played hits such as Message in a Bottle |
It attracted an average audience of 2.7 million viewers and was beaten by a re-run of animated film Monsters Inc.
However, 19 million people in the US saw some coverage of Live Earth during the day, Nielsen Media Research said.
And MSN said the online broadcast of the gigs set a new record for an entertainment event.
More than nine million "streams" were generated during the day, surpassing the previous peak for the Live 8 concerts to fight global poverty in 2005, the company added.
'Solve the crisis'
The global day of concerts, staged at nine locations including Tokyo, Hamburg and Rio de Janeiro, concluded with the event at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
Acts including The Police, Bon Jovi, Kanye West and KT Tunstall took to the stage. 
The average audience for Monsters Inc was 600,000 above Live Earth
Former US Vice-President Al Gore, who inspired the Live Earth project, also made an appearance, telling concert-goers: "Put all of this energy in your heart and help us solve the climate crisis."
Mr Gore and his fellow activists have attracted criticism from high-profile figures such as Live Aid and Live 8 organiser Bob Geldof, who accused Live Earth of lacking achievable goals.
And the musicians taking part - such as Madonna, who played at London's Wembley Stadium - were accused of setting bad examples with celebrity lifestyles that included world tours and excessive spending.
Grammy-winning guitarist John Mayer acknowledged after his set at Giants Stadium that rock stars were not necessarily good environmental role-models.
"If you want to peg me as not being entirely eco-friendly, you'll win," he said. 
Al Gore asked fans to "answer the call" and help to save the planet
"I also think it's very difficult to judge the success of a movement. You can't find out by nine o'clock this evening how much awareness was raised."
He added: "What you're really talking about is the placement of an idea at a rock show."
In the UK, TV coverage of Live Earth was watched by an average audience of 3.1 million viewers between 2000 and 2200 BST, less than a third of the figure for the previous weekend's Concert for Diana.Potter author says 'never say never' to Harry's return
LONDON - A campaign launched Monday to extend the Harry Potter series received a boost after author J.K. Rowling "never say never" about writing another book on the boy wizard.
Rowling has maintained that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" which will be published July 21, is the last in a seven-book series, but she is keeping the door open just a narrow gap.
She issued a statement through her publisher Bllomsbury, saying "never say never" in response to the "Save Harry" campaign after having made similar remarks during a BBC television interview on Friday.
"I think that Harry's story comes to quite a clear end, sadly," Rowling said.
"But I've always said that I wouldn't say never. I can't say I'll never write another book about that world just because I think, what do I know in 10 years' time...? But I think it's unlikely."
Rowling had previously disclosed that two characters will die, fuelling speculation that one of them will be Harry himself.
But fans are not deterred.
In a world of magic and wizardry, Harry could be brought back from the dead in an eighth book, they suggest.
Bookseller Waterstone's has launched the Save Harry campaign.
The petition at www.waterstones.com/saveharry launched Monday reads: "We, the undersigned, petition J.K. Rowling to write more new adventures for Harry Potter and his friends no matter what happens at the end of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'"
Waterstone's argued that there is a precedent for resurrecting a literary hero, pointing to the case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.
In 1893, weary of his work, Conan Doyle wrote "The Adventure of the Final Problem," in which Holmes apparently falls to his death during a violent struggle with his nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
The fictional detective turned out to have survived the fall after a public clamour persuaded Conan Doyle to resurrect him.
In presenting its petition, the Waterstone's website says: "Will July 21 mark the end of Harry Potter?
"J.K. Rowling says so, but history is full of magnificent returns from the dead, so there is no reason why, with your support, we can't persuade her to write more adventures for Harry and the Hogwarts gang.
"If Sherlock Holmes, Dennis Watts, Superman, and Bobby Ewing can all come back from the dead then surely reincarnation shouldn't be a problem for the world's most powerful boy wizard -- and that's presuming that he dies at the end of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'
"If he survives, then bringing him back should be even easier."
Dennis Watts and Bobby Ewing were soap opera characters in, respectively, Britain's "Eastenders" and the US's "Dallas", who were brought back to life after lengthy periods in which viewers had believed they were dead.
The forthcoming "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will cap a series that has sold 325 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 64 languages, as well as being converted into a successful film franchise.
The books have made Rowling an estimated one billion dollars (733 milion euros). The first Potter volume appeared in 1997.
Those involved in the printing of the new book have been asked to keep its plot a watertight secret until July 21, when the English version makes its debut.
Transformers conquer US cinemas
 The Transformers TV show and toys were hugely popular in the 1980s |
The film has registered the highest first-week box office returns for a non-sequel in US cinema history, beating 2002's Spider-Man.
Transformers, about two races of rival robots who bring their battle to Earth, is adapted from a 1980s TV series.
Robin Williams' new comedy License to Wed entered the chart at number four.
Last week's chart-topper Rataouille dipped to number two, with Bruce Willis' fourth outing in the Die Hard films dropping from number two to three.
Former box office leader Evan Almighty, psychological thriller 1408 and Michael Moore's Sicko, a documentary about the US healthcare system, all fell inside the top 10.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The World's End, which was released in May, broke the $300m (£149m) box office barrier, becoming the third film to make that amount this year after Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third.
But overall cinema takings fell 23% compared with the same weekend in 2006, which set a record of $135.6m (£67.4m).
Concerts promote climate message
 Duran Duran performed four songs at Wembley |
Concerts in London, Johannesburg and Hamburg are under way, while events in Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai have ended.
Among acts who have already played at London's Wembley Stadium are the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Genesis.
The day has been organised by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to try to "heal the planet".
Mr Gore appeared at a smaller event at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, giving a speech which was relayed to the concerts around the world, calling on the developed world to reduce carbon emissions by 90%.
Concerts in New Jersey and Rio get under way later.
Organisers say the gigs will reach an audience of two billion people via TV, radio and online broadcasts.
But critics have said it was hypocritical for performers who fly around the world on tours to push the message of cutting down on carbon emissions.
George Marshall of the Climate Outreach Information Network told the BBC: "Having the richest people in the world saying, 'Hey! We all need to cut back a bit!' is, let's face it, absurd."
Speaking from Wembley, Snow Patrol lead singer Gary Lightbody told BBC Radio 1: "We're here to learn how to make our tours cleaner. We already offset our travel on our touring, but our shows themselves are quite far behind.
"We're not the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who've been offsetting for years - and more power to them. It's a band like that and an event like this that you come here to learn [from]."
Reformed group Genesis, featuring Phil Collins, was among the first acts to perform at London's Wembley Stadium, starting their set with Turn it On Again.
Aboriginal welcome
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Blunt and the Beastie Boys are due on stage later.
Duran Duran, the only band to have also performed at last weekend's memorial Diana concert, opened their set with the perfect song for the occasion, Planet Earth.
"Everyone who did not arrive on a private jet put your hands in the air," said lead singer Simon Le Bon, who also raised his hand.
German concert-goers will be treated to performances by Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias and Yusaf Islam, while UB40 and Joss Stone are performing in Johannesburg.
The Sydney event began with a traditional aboriginal welcome before Australian politician and former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett made an appearance, saying it was up to citizens of developed nations to push for action to reduce pollution.
"Your voice matters, make it heard," he said.
Reformed New Zealand group Crowded House were joined by many of the other Sydney performers at the end of their set, for a rendition of the 1991 hit Weather with You.
Lead singer Neil Finn told fans they were "the groundswell" for action on the environment.
'Heal the planet'
The Tokyo event was opened by the band Genki Rockets at the Makuhari Messe hall, east of the Japanese capital.
Among the performers in Tokyo was US metal group Linkin Park.
"I don't have any delusions of grandeur that Linkin Park is saving the world," bassist Phoenix told BBC News.
"But it's our goal to do what we can to make it possible for our kids to have a place to live, and, at the same time, hopefully clean up where we live in the process."
Phil Collins and Genesis were among the first acts at Wembley
Japanese singer Ayaka urged people to do what they could. "We can start helping by doing something small," she said.
"I started to carry my own eco-bag so I don't have to use plastic grocery bags, and use my own chopsticks instead of disposable ones."
Responding to criticism that the event creates even more carbon emissions, organisers have insisted they were keeping the concerts as green as possible, with proceeds being spent on power-efficient light bulbs and other measures to offset the shows' emissions.
"We've booked this show with acts that were touring in the area at the time so we could keep the carbon imprint down," explained producer Kevin Wall.
Desperate Housewives star marries
 Longoria posed for photographers before entering the city hall |
The couple are thought to be holding a second ceremony at a Paris church - followed by a star-studded party at a 17th Century chateau - on Saturday.
Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe confirmed he had conducted the civil ceremony.
French law requires couples to exchange vows at a city hall, even if they have a church wedding as well.
Longoria, 32, showed up first in a white stretch limo, wearing a short pink Chanel dress. It is thought she changed into a white dress once inside the venue.
She smiled and waved for a crowd of waiting photographers and reporters who were kept well back behind two rows of police barriers.
Parker, the 25-year-old San Antonio Spurs star who was born in Belgium and grew up playing basketball in France, arrived about 10 minutes later in a grey mini van, wearing a dark suit.
They were joined by a handful of guests, including French footballer Thierry Henry, for the short ceremony.
The couple have secured a deal to sell their wedding photos to OK! magazine for a reported $2m (£994,319).
Author 'devastated' at Potter end
 The final Harry Potter book is released later this month |
Speaking on Jonathan Ross' chat show, she said: "When I finished one chapter near the end I absolutely howled."
She also revealed the character of Harry was "totally imaginary" and not based on anyone else, while Ron Weasley was a lot like her oldest friend Sean.
The interview will be broadcast on BBC One on Friday night.
'Sobbing'
She was in a hotel room alone as she finished writing the book.
"I was sobbing my heart out, I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face, that was really tough," she said.
When asked about whether "scar" was the last word in the book as had been reported, she said: "Scar? It was so for ages, and now it's not. Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word."
She also said it had been a "a hell of an achievement" to keep the cast of all the Potter films British.
Nearly 1.6 million copies of the final Harry Potter book have been pre-ordered online ahead of its release on 21 July.
The latest film in the series, The Order of the Phoenix, had its European premiere in London on Tuesday.
The film opens worldwide from 11 July.
Arrest under new NY piracy laws
 Transformers is based on the hugely popular toys |
Kalidou Diallo, 48, has been charged with unauthorised use of a video camera in a cinema.
Under upgraded legislation, he could face six months in jail and fines of up to $5,000 (£2,487) if found guilty.
Meanwhile, Transformers has broken 4 July US box office records with takings of $29.1m (£14.48m).
The movie - based on the popular toys that debuted in the 1980s - chronicles a war between two factions of giant shape-shifting robots that bring their battle to Earth.
The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Josh Duhamel and John Turturro.
Secretly taped
Mr Diallo was arrested after allegedly smuggling a video recorder, video player and remote control into a preview of the film in the Bronx.
He was later released without bail and ordered to return to court on 20 September.
"This is the first time someone has been arrested and charged with the new illegal camcording law," City Hall spokesman Jason Post said Thursday.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) says more than 40% of bootlegged films in the US are secretly taped in New York cinemas.
The copies are frequently sold for mass reproduction or posted on the internet, sometimes within hours of the film opening.
Pirated films cost major US film studios more than $6bn (£2.9bn) in 2005, according to the trade association.
US capital to host Live Earth gig
 Madonna has penned a song especially for the Live Earth concerts |
Country couple Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will be among the artists performing on The Mall in the US capital on Saturday.
Nine cities will stage gigs, including Sydney, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Hamburg, New Jersey and Rio de Janeiro.
Acts including Madonna, Duran Duran and the Beastie Boys will play in London.
And other stars lined up to play around the world include The Police, Lenny Kravitz, Kanye West and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Gore described Live Earth as a "global response" to a "global problem".
"By engaging individuals all over the world, Live Earth will drive corporations and governments to tackle the climate crisis," he said.
But there has also been scepticism about the value of the concerts from some quarters.
Critics say that flying rock stars in on aeroplanes and using a great deal of electricity to power several concerts sends out mixed messages about energy conservation.
"What would be great is if these pop stars - now they realise the damage we are all doing to the climate - look very carefully at their own actions and make some changes themselves," said John Buckley, managing director of the organisation Carbon Footprint.
Referring to Madonna, he told Reuters: "If she made a change then it would be picked up." 
Preparations are under way in nine cities, including Rio de Janeiro
He calculated that the singer and her entourage emitted 444 tonnes of carbon dioxide on flights during last year's Confessions tour, more than 40 times the annual output of the average Briton.
Bob Geldof, who organised the Live Aid and Live8 charity concerts, has described the event as lacking a "final goal" and claimed most people already knew about the hazards of global warming.
And speaking to a British newspaper recently, The Who's Roger Daltrey said: "The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert."
Safety fears
Organisers have insisted they were keeping the concerts as green as possible.
Proceeds from ticket sales are going to distribute power-efficient light bulbs and other measures which will offset the shows' greenhouse gas emissions. 
Rapper Kanye West is among the acts to pledge their support
Doubts had been cast over whether the Rio de Janeiro gig would go ahead after concerns about safety were raised.
Despite this, however, organisers persuaded a judge that adequate security measures were in place to ensure the gig, on Copacabana Beach, would go off safely.
But the Turkish event - in Istanbul - was shelved, owing to insufficient sponsorship and lack of time.Raphael painting sells for £18m
 The painting is one of only a few by Raphael to remain in private hands |
The portrait, of Florentine ruler Lorenzo de' Medici, had not been seen in public since 1968.
When it was last sold, the art world was divided over its origins and it sold for just $325.
But experts now agree it is genuine - Christie's auctioneers describing it as the most important Renaissance portrait to be sold at auction for a generation.
'Blind date'
The portrait was commissioned by Pope Leo X after he arranged a marriage between his nephew, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, a cousin of Francois I, King of France.
The couple had never met, and so Raphael's paintings were to serve as an introduction - in a Renaissance version of the blind date.
In his portrait, Lorenzo is seen dressed in a gold tunic and fur-lined cape, resplendent against a rich green background.
The Pope's introduction seems to have worked - the couple married in 1518 and had a daughter, Catherine de' Medici, who went on to marry King Henry II of France.
Record broken
Raphael started out as a competent master of provincial church decoration and became one of the greatest painters of his era.
The sale has broken the record for a price paid for a work by Raphael.
The previous highest price was £5.3m in 1996 for Study for the Head and Hand of an Apostle, a drawing in black crayon.
Richard Knight, international director of Christie's Old Master Department, said: "The importance of the artist and the sitter, together with the provenance and the historical context behind this painting's creation, make it one of the most significant old master pictures to be offered at auction for a generation."Rio's Live Earth 'given go-ahead'
 US star Lenny Kravitz is scheduled to play in Brazil on Saturday |
A spokesman for the global event said producers for the show indicated they were proceeding with the open-air concert on Copacabana Beach.
The Brazilian gig is the only free event in the series of eight worldwide concerts to highlight climate change.
The Rio line-up includes Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams.
Guarantee
Aside from the US acts, Rio will play host to a number of native performers, including singer Xuxa, reggae rock band O Rappa and rapper Marcelo D2.
A giant beach stage in front of Rio's Copacabana Palace hotel has already been erected, with organisers hoping to attract up to one million visitors.
Brazilian prosecutor Denise Tarin had requested a suspension of the concert saying security efforts by police would be concentrated on preparations for the Pan American Games, starting 13 July.
Local promotion company Mondo Entretenimento sought to allay fears, saying it had plans to use dozens of observation towers and platforms, as well as police cameras, as part of the security scheme for the event.
Concert organisers said they received guarantees of security and safety at the event from Rio police, but they are still asking the court to reconsider its decision.
The Istanbul leg of the Live Earth series of concerts was shelved last month due to a lack of interest and sponsorship.
Eight cities will be holding concerts across 24 hours on 7 July, including London, Tokyo, Sydney and Johannesburg.
Rio's Live Earth gig 'suspended'
| US star Lenny Kravitz is scheduled to play in Brazil on Saturday |
Police claim they do not have enough officers to guarantee crowd safety at the open-air gig on Copacabana beach.
Brazilian promoters of the event, the only free show in the series of global concerts highlighting climate change, are hoping to overturn the decision.
The Rio line-up includes Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams.
Aside from the US acts, Rio will play host to a number of native performers, including singer Xuxa, reggae rock band O Rappa and rapper Marcelo D2.
A giant beach stage in front of Rio's Copacabana Palace hotel has already been erected, with organisers hoping to attract up to one million visitors.
Second cancellation
However, Brazilian prosecutor Denise Tarin has requested a suspension of the concert saying security efforts by police would be concentrated on preparations for the Pan American Games, starting 13 July.
Eight cities will be holding concerts across 24 hours on 7 July, including London, Tokyo, Sydney and Johannesburg.
In a statement, Brazilian promotion company Mondo Entretenimento said it was "working to guarantee the realisation of this important international event".
It said it had plans to use dozens of observation towers and platforms, as well as police cameras, as part of the security scheme for the event.
If Tuesday's court injunction is not over-ruled, it could spell a second cancellation in the Live Earth series, following the scrapping of a concert in Istanbul because of a lack of sponsorship and interest.
Rio has one of the highest murder rates in the world. At least 1,800 people were killed in the first four months of 2007 in the metropolitan area, official figures show.
Last week, clashes between police and drug traffickers in a slum in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro left 19 people dead.
Cruise film banned from memorial
 Cruise is a passionate advocate of the Church of Scientology |
Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who was executed after plotting to assassinate Hitler in 1944.
Germany's finance ministry said the ban on Valkyrie's makers had nothing to do with the actor being a Scientologist.
Producers have already been barred from military sites because Germany believes Scientology is a money-making cult.
Scientology leaders strongly reject that view, while Cruise's co-producer has said his personal beliefs were not relevant to the film's subject matter.
A German government spokesman said the cast and crew had been refused permission to film on the so-called Bendlerblock site, which is part of the defence ministry, because it was a memorial site.
Meanwhile director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - who won this year's best foreign language film Oscar for The Lives of Others - has defended Cruise, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that having him play Stauffenberg "would promote Germany's image more than 10 football World Cups".
Valkyrie - named after Operation Valkyrie, the plot's codename - is directed by Bryan Singer and also stars Kenneth Branagh. It is due for release next year.
Fans brave rain for Potter stars
Hundreds of Harry Potter fans crammed into London's Leicester Square in torrential rain for the European premiere of the fifth film.
The film's star Daniel Radcliffe arrived clutching an umbrella as fans' chants of "Harry, Harry, Harry" drowned out the sound of thunder.
He was joined by author JK Rowling, who said that it was "fantastic" to see the crowds of fans.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens in the UK on 12 July.
Rowling spoke of finishing the final book in the series, which is published on 21 July.
"Finishing it was very, very emotional," she said. "It's been a hell of a month. I'll want to know what the people in my house think of it."
Asked what plans she had for the near future Rowling said: "I'm looking forward to going on holiday."
Darker film
Radcliffe, 17, who was joined by his co-stars Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), returns to the role of the student wizard, which he first played at the age of 10.
He admitted that the new film is darker than previous ones.
"Toward the end there's not many laughs to be had," he said. "While there's not actually direct comedy, there's some really heartfelt emotion."
Speaking of his first on-screen clinch with Katie Leung, who plays Cho Chang, he said: "She's a very good kisser."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix sees Harry bring together a group of apprentice wizards and witches at his Hogwarts school to battle a growing evil.
Advance orders
British director David Yates takes over the reins from Mike Newell, becoming the fourth director to be involved in the franchise.
Better known for gritty TV projects such as State of Play and Sex Traffic, Yates has already signed up for the sixth movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Nearly 1.6 million have already placed an order for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - the seventh and final instalment - ahead of its publication.
'Record demand for final Potter'
Nearly 1.6m copies of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, have been pre-ordered online ahead of its release on 21 July.
According to online retailer Amazon, JK Rowling's seventh Potter book has become its most pre-ordered product.
Demand has surpassed a previous record of 1.5 million copies ordered ahead of the release of The Half-Blood Prince.
The latest film in the series, The Order of the Phoenix, has its European premiere in London on Tuesday.
The film opens across the globe on 11 July.
It is believed that author Rowling will join the film's stars, including Daniel Radcliffe, Imelda Staunton and Robbie Coltrane, on the red carpet in Leicester Square.
Guests including Doctor Who star David Tennant, actor Pierce Brosnan and presenter Graham Norton are also expected to attend.
Speculation
The world premiere of the film took place in Tokyo, where Harry Potter has a huge fanbase.
Another highly-anticipated sequel, Spider-Man 3, opened in the Japanese capital in April and went on to break box office records.
Rowling has said two characters die in the final book, prompting worldwide speculation.
The Potter books have sold 325 million copies worldwide, have been translated into 64 languages and spawned five films.
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