The Internet seems to be in a perpetual Wait-For-It mode with the number of bizarre online trends making the rounds in recent times. It’s like people are constantly lying in wait for something different to pop-up in the news, and then make videos or take pictures and go viral with it. Not to mention, making a spectacle of themselves in public.

Some of the ones we’ve witnessed till date would be,

• Planking
Lying face down in public in an apparent comatose state…or in other words, imitating a wooden plank.

• Milking
Pouring milk over you while fully clothed, in public places like a supermarket, train station, middle of the road, anywhere.

• Batmanning
Pretend to be a bat by hanging from your feet from a pole, or a branch or anything that can take your weight. No, they don’t turn into crime-fighting crusaders by night. Just land on their head a lot

• Horsemanning
Pretending to have been decapitated, with a picture showing the head separated from the body

• Owling
Imitating an owl by perching on a surface and staring off into space

• Baguetting
Baguetting simply involves using the long French bread in any unconventional manner that will invoke mirth among the viewers.

• Cone-ing
First, you have to drive into the drive-through of a fast food joint and order an ice cream cone. Then when the attendant hands it over to you, grab it by the ice cream and not the cone. The main goal here is to capture the attendant’s surprised reaction at the absurdity of your action.

• Frosting
In Frosting, one gets into their summer gear regardless of the freezing temperatures outside and pretends to engage in normal summer-time activities. The idea is to get really creative if you want to have the viewers in stitches…That and also the ability to withstand the chilly weather while sporting a pair of trunks or a swimsuit.

The acts get weirder by the day, with the latest one being Tildaing.

Tildaing is based upon actress Tilda Swinton’s latest art installation titled The Maybe, in the MoMA Museum in New York City. What is this new art piece, you ask?

It’s Tilda herself…sleeping…in a glass box.

Yup, that’s it. People from all over the nation are now flocking towards the MoMA Museum simply to watch her ‘pretend’ to be asleep.

While spectators may not have figured the point to such an exhibit just yet, alert online trending artists have found other users for it…to create a new fad, of course.

Tildaing is now all the rage with individuals laying flat on a surface in public and pretending to be asleep. While Tilda snoozing may not have created much of a buzz, Tildaing definitely did.

For most part of our lives we have been accusing the trains and the train stations of being an unavoidable part linking us from here to there. It makes us endure the difficulties of tasteless coffee, dirty waiting rooms, smelly restrooms and a multitude of moving humanity. Nevertheless we have continued to endure the assault on our delicate senses with the sheer intention of travelling from one place to another. But, this may be the right time to take a few minutes to ponder over the medium of train travel – the railway station. For most frequent travelers the railway station becomes, unfathomably, a part of their being. And, Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, celebrating its hundredth year, will certainly be a part of everyone who has ever stepped foot on to the station.

If it is not the century old iconic opal-faced grand clock or the spacious marble staircase modeled after the famous Paris Opera House. Or if it is not the brilliantly bright chandeliers fitted with 35,000 bulbs then it certainly is the magnitude of the mammoth structure that takes the breath away of most people.

Although Manhattan has seen trains running back and forth since 1870, it was not until 1931 that the Grand Central Terminal, as we know today, was completed and became one of the most famous and well loved landmarks. In 1903, Warren, Wetmore, Stem and Reed decided to act as associated architects of the Grand Central Terminal. It opened to a grand fanfare after 10 years at 12.01 am on Sunday, February 02, 1913. More than 150,000 people attended the opening day celebrations marking a turning point in the history of New York and the world in many ways.

The Grand Central Terminal boasts of many secrets and trivia that is so far been hidden from the public eye. In the deepest basements of the station, there is a hidden platform that has a presidential gateway train that connects to an area beneath the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This platform was used by President Franklin D Roosevelt during World War II. The rustic remains of the armored carriage still lie beneath the Grand Central – Why? It is simple; the carriage is too heavy to be moved to a museum.

Well, here is more recent news. The Grand Central Terminal needed a touch of paint as it lacked any trace of past glory. The painting job took 12 whole years to complete when it started in 1990. The reason for the delay and the astronomical cost is due to the fact that every single piece of the ceiling and the light bulbs adorning the chandeliers were removed and painstakingly cleaned to their prewar glory. And the marbles? Well, most original marble suppliers had closed business and had to be reopened and old masonries pulled out of retirement to help in the restoration work!

On February 01, 2013, the Grand Central Terminal celebrated its hundredth birthday. Concerts were planned, celebrities and commoners thronged the station and it truly was an occasion to celebrate a building that is a part of our history.

‘Spring Breakers’ star Selena Gomez seems to be inspired by her best friend Taylor Swift, the queen of breakup songs. Her first song ‘Rule the World’ has been leaked and is viral on the web, though the video has been removed from YouTube.

Though, she is yet to confirm whether the new song is linked to her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, the song lyrics (‘Our love was made to rule the world/You came and broke the perfect girl/Forget you ever knew my name’) suggest otherwise. The dance track described as peppy, shows that she is over him.

‘Rule the World’ also seems to be a direct hit at her ex-boyfriend who had also released his ‘breakup’ number this year in January (Lately I’ve been thinking, thinking about what we had/And I know it was hard, it was all that we knew, yeah/Have you been drinking, to take all the pain away? I gave you everything babe/Well, everything I had to give/Girl, why would you push me away?).

Earlier, in a recent interview about her upcoming album, slated to be released in April, Gomez skirted questions about the Bieber link to her tracks. The singer/actress seems to be excited about the new album and her comeback to music after nearly a year. She says the album is all about the turning point in her professional and personal life in the last one year. Apparently, Gomez wants her fans to know what she went through.

While she revealed that recording the album was a learning experience for her, she adds that she is inspired by Skrillex, who had sung a track for her movie ‘Spring Breakers.’ Gomez had observed him when the OST was being recorded for her film.

‘I think for me it was actually interesting to see that towards the middle of me recording my record, a big turn happened to me and it was incredible to see how I applied that to music because I’ve never done that before and it’s great. I think the older I’m getting the more I’m just kind of like I’m cool to share my side of the stories as much as I can, so I’m having a lot of fun. I got to record 20 or so great songs and work with a bunch of different producers and they’re all really fun, pop songs and a little Ellie Goulding-ish, a little island-y feel.’

Scary movie 5

The franchise is four installments old, but the jokes, the concepts and the parodies it manages to pull off always seems to be fresh. And this movie that specializes in parodying and ridiculing some of the highest grossing horror flicks in Hollywood is all set to hit the big screens again, this April. Titled as the Scary Movie 5, the movie will roll out as the fifth installment to the epic Scary Movie saga and as an official reboot of the same.

A concept developed by the Wayans brothers, the movie has been consistently mocking those scary movies by infusing a little dose of outrageousness and insanity. The first movie was all about spoofing the horror movies of 2000 like the I Know What You Did Last Year and Scream. The next installment rolled out the following year, 2001, and spoofed The Exorcist and the Haunting. The Ring and the Signs were parodied in the third iteration while the most recent flick came out ridiculing the War of the Worlds.

Scary Movie 5:
The fifth in the series that will release as the sequel to the fourth installment will be an out-and-out hilarious flick and will be based on the movie – Paranormal Activity. The plot is pretty simple, it revolves around the couple, Dan (ape researcher) and Jody (ballet dancer), who notice some bizarre activities on their newborn baby Aiden. Things turn odd when the couple realize their house is haunted and is continuously attacked by a demon, which spreads massacre into their professional life as well. Now the couple has to set out on a horrifying journey to learn the mystery behind the haunting and get rid of it as soon as possible. To do this, they seek a little assistance from some of the ghost hunting experts and surveillance cameras.

The movie apart from spoofing Paranormal Activity, will alongside mock some of the blockbusters like the Inception, 127 Hours, Rise of the Planet of Apes, Black Swan and Child’s Play.

So gear up guys, the epic comic-relief movie is all set to release this April, 2013.

There are only a few people in this planet earth who can maintain the style, charisma and attitude of an action-hero post 50. In an industry where a lot of action heroes pop up at the age of 20, and leave without a trace before they could even reach 30’s, one man firmly nailed his presence managed to prevail as one of the best action heroes of all times. His name being Carlos Ray Norris, aka, Chuck Norris! And today (March 10, 2013) he celebrates his 73rd birthday.

Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris:

Norris was born on March10, 1940, in Oklahoma to Wilma and Ray Norris. Before becoming a martial arts instructor and entering the acting industry, he has been a bus driver, mechanic and a truck driver and has also served in the United States Air Force. He first made his acting debut in the year 1969 in Dean Martin’s The Wrecking Crew. And from then, his career progressed slowly yet steadily until he became a full-fledged action hero in the 80’s. Some of his popular flicks include Breaker! Breaker! (his debut as a hero), Good Guys Wear Black, The Delta Force, Code of Silence, the most popular Way of the Dragon, where he shared screen space with the legendary Bruce Lee and finally the Expendables 2. Norris later opened up his own martial arts school where he taught several aspiring student the art of Chun Kuk Do, and every other martial form he knew.

The Spirit of Being Sportive:

Internet as we all know is crammed with criticisms, parodies and spoofs of movie, art forms and people (living and dead). This wave of criticism and parodying did not spare Chuck Norris as well. An array of jokes and parodies, ridiculing Chuck Norris hit the internet. While some were light in terms of their digs, some turned out to be outrageous. But when asked Norris about this, he said that he was not offended by these and confessed he even liked a few of the jokes. Respect!

At 73, Chuck Norris is still going strong and active as ever. With loads of respect, we wish him a Very Happy Birthday!

After ‘Skyfall’ became one of the highest grossing Bond movie, it is only natural that everyone is waiting to know who’s going to direct the next James Bond movie. We are not deviating from the publicly accepted truth that Sam Mendes actually did a pretty good job with Skyfall and he deserves all the praise for it. The movie received rave reviews from viewers, became one of the top grosser of the James Bond franchise, and even managed to satisfy the critics.

The news that the producers of James Bond movies wanted Sam Mendes to don the directors’ hat for the next Bond flick as well is hardly surprising to any. But what was surprising to many, including me, was Sam Mendes’s polite refusal to direct the next Bond flick stating, “It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael [G. Wilson] and Barbara [Broccoli]‘s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.”

With Mendes departing, it is time to ponder over the next logical question, so, who is going to direct the next James Bond movie? Well, if you ask us, we would suggest Christopher Nolan as our unanimous first choice. Nolan would probably be the right person to take the work of Mendes further. Mendes was able to resurrect the image of Bond from his near-death state. Nolan would perhaps do a bang-up on resurrecting James Bond as the class spy in designer clothes. He may in fact bring a darker shade to the villains as well.Remember Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva in Skyfall had a dark psychopathic streak just like The Joker in The Dark Knight. Maybe Nolan will add to the darkness a wee bit more.

Besides Nolan, the other directors who might take on the mantle from Sam Mendes are Katherine Bigelow, Brad Bird, and Ben Affleck. There haven’t been any woman directors in the long history of James Bond franchise, so the forthcoming 24th edition may be the right time to bring one on board. Then there is Ben Affleck who has recently risen to fame with his Oscar Winning Best Picture Argo.

So, who do you like to see as the director of James Bond’s next flick?

Do you remember Kim ranting about having fertility issues? In her latest reality show Kourtney and Kim take Miami, she went on about how she might have problems with getting pregnant. Now, there are reports that she might have exaggerated her issues with fertility. To quote her exact words, “I’m 31, and my egg levels came back as a woman that’s in her 50s. I’m concerned just hearing all this information of how every woman is born with a certain amount of eggs, and that number can never be increased. Maybe this just isn’t in the cards for me, and I’m freaking out a little bit.”

The exaggerated pregnancy tales:

It looked like she may never be able to get pregnant. But, in just a few months hers drastic claims were proved wrong when Kanye famously announced her pregnancy. A few sources are claiming that her pregnancy issues were not as problematic as she claimed them to be. They further added that her estrogen levels were low, but it was the result of being under birth control pills for a long time. However, the doctor had promised her that she wouldn’t have any problems conceiving once she is off the pills. Looks like Kim didn’t have any major trouble like Khloe.

An advantage to Kris Humphries:

If her claims are proved to be an exaggeration, Kris has a perfect leverage with his claims that the marriage and her reality show is fraud. There are rumors that she might be grilled with questions about her pregnancy claims by Kris’ attorney. The lawyer might try to prove that she is willing to go to any extent to bolster her career.

This news doesn’t seem to be bothering Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. The couple was seen baby mooning in hot spots and recently they shot steamy pictures for ‘L’Official Hommes’ magazine. Kim seems to embrace her pregnancy and it has been revealed lately that she is expecting a baby girl. In the meanwhile, her divorce case is going on trial in May. Will she be single when she gives birth to her first child? Let’s wait and see!

We did say that Seth MacFarlane had probably the most unenviable role to play –the host of Oscars 2013. Any Oscar host for that matter has to get rolling in time to get on with the show. But Seth had a giant boulder this time around and his incompetence, anxiety and sheer inexperience came through. He eventually had the boulder rolling, the show going, and he did so in a fairly nice fashion. His take on hosting the greatest Hollywood event of all time, the Oscars, was complete with below-the-belt remarks about women and their girly bits, their clothes, domestic violence, Hollywood’s Jewish connections (as he calls it) and much more. He didn’t spare anyone or anything for that matter.

To be fair to Seth MacFarlane, hosting the Oscars is a like walking on a tight-rope. On one hand, it requires flattering the already inflated egos of Hollywood bigwigs while on stage, and on the other hand jeer at the same biggies for the amusement of the crowd at home. His profane and crude jokes, songs about women and their body parts may have been jarring to the toned ears of the Oscar’s organizers and guests. But that’s what Seth MacFarlane is famous for, and he’s been paid handsomely for his low brow jokes and spare-nobody insults for the past 11 years. The Oscars hired him to do his job and he, well, did it. But the question remains, did he fare well as a host? That’s a big NO.

Seth MacFarlane opened the Oscars evening with a music and dance interjected monologue that included reference to Tommy Lee Jones Golden Globe faces, joke about Chris-Rihanna ‘s domestic violence and a dig at the leading ladies of Hollywood for taking off their tops on screen. This jibe ruffled the ‘straitjacketed’ feathers of most Hollywood glam girls, and his joke on Abraham Lincoln just went on to prove that nothing is beyond his realm of jokes.

On the whole, Seth MacFarlane was crude and sometimes crossing the fine limits of humor and straying in to the crass. While he did manage to bring in viewership, it is highly unlikely that Seth would be invited to host the Academy Awards next year around. If only he manages to bring his squeaky good looks, sing-song voice and sharp wit to the fore while shedding all the crude remarks and off-limit jokes, he might be able to bring glory back to the Oscars.