2oceans Vibe

Dawn at The Safe House – 31 December 2010

Mickey Rourke To Play Gay Rugby Star – He’s not going to make a film about a gay rugby player. He’s going to make one about a rugby player who happens to be gay. That’s how Mickey Rourke put it this week when he revealed his intention to star in a biopic of the former Welsh captain, Gareth Thomas. The film’s script is still in development and finance has yet to be secured. That could be a challenge: movies about rugby, which in the US remains a minority sport, have a mixed commercial record. [independent]

The Most Famous Celebrity New Year’s Eve Parties – Want to ring in the New Year with your favorite stars? Well, celebs are hosting parties and headlining concerts across the country to ring in 2011 and guess what? You’re invited! From Jay-Z’s Las Vegas blowout to Kourtney Kardashian’s rooftop soiree, here are PopEater’s picks for the biggest New Year’s Eve parties. [popeater]

Black Eyed Peas For Abramovich NYE Party – Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is reportedly flying in the Black Eyed Peas to perform at his New Year’s Eve party in St Bart’s, the Telegraph reports. The Russian billionaire owns a $90 million, 70-acre estate on the Caribbean island and the hip hop band will perform for guests seeing in 2011 there. [luxuo]

Skype Launches Video Calling For iPhone – Skype’s official iOS client has finally sprouted the ability to make video calls, allowing iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch users to share real-time video amongst each other and users of Skype’s Windows, Mac, and Linux clients. Additionally, you’ll be able to receive video from others if you’re using an iPad or a third-generation iPod touch. The service is free and works over both WiFi and 3G. Who needs phone numbers? [engadget]

Period Of Grace For Cape Town Watering Holes – Cape Town clubs and bars are to be given several months grace to become “educated” on their reduced trading hours, the City said on Thursday. . In yet another confusing instalment in its crackdown on liquor sales, it said both that its new by-law would not be enforced at all until a later stage, and that it would not be “stringently” enforced until later.The by-law, which limits the trading hours of inner-city bars and clubs to 2am, comes into effect at midnight on December 31. [timeslive]

Boney M’s Bobby Farrell Dies – Bobby Farrell, singer and dancer with 1970′s disco group Boney M, died aged 61 in a hotel room on Thursday in Russia, where he had been performing, his agent in the Netherlands told AFP. John Seine says Farrell was found dead in his hotel room in St Petersburg on Thursday by hotel staff after he failed to respond to a wake-up call. [channel24]

Israel Ex-President Moshe Katsav Found Guilty Of Rape – Israel’s former President Moshe Katsav has been convicted of rape by a court in Tel Aviv and could go to jail. He was found guilty of raping an employee in the 1990s when he was tourism minister and of later sexual offences while he was president. The judges said they believed the evidence of the woman whose testimony had led to two charges of rape. [bbc]

Rand Keeps Its Strength – The rand remained strong in late afternoon trade on Thursday, just off its best levels of the day. On Thursday morning, the local unit hit a new three-year best level as it traded at R6.5975/$. In late afternoon trade, the rand was bid at R6.6098/$ from R6.6263/$ at its previous close. It was bid at R8.7965 to the euro from R8.7652 before and at R10.1995 against sterling from R10.2670 at its previous close. [fin24]

Former Playboy Playmates Tell Of Grubby World Within Mansion Walls – Unfortunately for Hefner, some of his former ‘girlfriends’ have become disenchanted with life in his harem over the years. According to them, it disguises a grubby world where some girls feel they are no better than prostitutes, paid pocket money by an octogenarian obsessive who funds plastic surgery to turn them into his physical ideal, and yet must still take huge amounts of Viagra. [dailymail]

Obama Bans Topless Photos – President Obama and his Hawaiian beach party — the first lady, Michelle Obama; their daughters, Malia and Sasha, and an assortment of friends — went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve here on Tuesday. Photographers were kept at a safe distance. The White House gave the press pool traveling with the president strict instructions that there would be no long lenses or other sneaky attempts to take pictures of a shirtless leader of the free world. [newyorktimes]

Queen Delighted With First Great-Grandchild – They sparked controversy when they sold the pictures of their wedding to Hello! magazine. But will Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn be appearing in a celebrity glossy again – with their new daughter? Autumn gave birth to the 8lbs 8oz baby on Wednesday with her husband – the son of Princess Anne – by her side. [dailymail]

New Year At HQ Special – I did it last year and will put my cock on a block and tell you it was awesome! That’s why we have managed to secure special pricing for the New Year’s Eve party at HQ this year – especially for you, the 2oceansvibers out there! Click to see the full flyer. [hqnyparty]

live – every day – 1-click to tune in.

The woman who inspired the Rosie The Riveter/”We Can Do It” WWII allied propaganda poster, Geraldine Doyle, has died at 86 years of age. After WWII, the poster became a feminist standard for independent womanhood. And girl mechanics.

2010 – The Year Facebook Dethroned Google As King Of The Web – Facebook was not only the most searched item of the year, but it passed Google as America’s most-visited website in 2010, according to a new report from Experian Hitwise.For the second year in a row, “facebook” was the top search term among U.S. Internet users. The search term accounted for 2.11% of all searches, according to Hitwise. [mashable]

Cape Winds Set To Continue – The South African Weather Service has forecast that the strong, gusting south-easterly winds currently being experienced will persist until the end of the week and are only expected to ease off late on Saturday, the City of Cape Town said on Wednesday. The Fire alert reading is in the red. So don’t make fires. Obviously. [news24]

Smith Pushes For Review System – The International Cricket Council should take responsibility for implementing the umpire review system itself and remove the right of Test teams to opt out, South Africa captain Graeme Smith said on Wednesday.Smith and his team were frustrated by a number of decisions the captain called unlucky as India beat them by 87 runs to square the three-match series 1-1. [iol]

Charlie Sheen Misses Family Christmas – Charlie Sheen is partying hard once again and missed THREE family Christmas events as he lived the high life. “He skipped going to his brother Emilio’s, didn’t show up at Denise Richards’ house and also skipped seeing his daughter Cassandra,” a source close to the family said. So where has Charlie been? “He’s back partying again – although it’s tough to say he’s back partying because he never really quit!” [radar]

Anti-Anorexia Campaign Model Dies – Isabelle Caro, a French actress and model whose emaciated image appeared in a shock Italian ad campaign and whose anorexia and career were followed by others suffering from eating disorders, has died at the age of 28. Her long-time friend, Dubreuil-Prevot, said she did not know the cause of death but that Caro “had been sick for a long time,” referring to her anorexia. [abcnews]

Paul Allen Tries To Sue Apple, Google And Facebook Again – Mercer Island billionaire Paul Allen today renewed his effort to sue Apple, Google, Facebook, eBay, AOL and other companies for patent infringement. Allen’s case was rejected on Dec. 10 by a federal judge in Seattle who said it was too vague. U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman told Allen he had until Dec. 28 to file an amended suit. [seattletimes]

George Clooney And Google Team Up To Monitor Sudan Border – A group founded by American actor George Clooney said Tuesday it has teamed up with Google, a U.N. agency and anti-genocide organizations to launch satellite surveillance of the border between north and south Sudan to try to prevent a new civil war after the south votes in a secession referendum next month.. [latimes]

Man Dies Playing Real-Life Frogger – A man was struck by an SUV in Clemson Monday evening after police say he was playing a real-life version of the video game “Frogger” on a highway. The victim and friends were discussing the video game “Frogger,” where the player makes a frog jump out in front of objects and avoid being struck by them. Investigators say the victim yelled “go” and darted across the highway into oncoming traffic. Clever. [cbsnews]

Five Arrested In Danish Terror Plot – A group of men arrested in Denmark on Wednesday were about to mount a “Mumbai style” attack on the Danish newspaper that ignited Muslim fury around the world by publishing satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005, the head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service said. Lars Barfoed, the Danish justice minister, called the plot “the most serious terror attempt in Denmark.” [nytimes]

Natalie Portman Thought She Would Die – It takes a tough artist to dive so deeply into character that the pain becomes real and you consider your own mortality. Conspiracy theorists have long believed Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ killed him. Portman recalls the emotional struggle to become Nina Sayers for director Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan.’”There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” she says. “It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.” [popeater]

Meet Almost The World’s First Nuclear Aircraft – The Valkyrie was a plane decades ahead of its time, pushing the aeronautical engineering of the early 1960s well beyond what had been thought possible. It was even slated to become the world’s first nuclear-powered bomber.The massive B-52 was the U.S.’s long-range strategic bomber in the 1950s, used to extend the range of nuclear weapons worldwide. The Pentagon sought an eventual replacement, a bomber that could cruise at ultra-high altitude, carry nuclear bombs, and stay aloft for extended periods. [wired]

live – every day – 1-click to tune in.

Earth Project Plans To ‘Simulate Everything‘ – An international group of scientists are aiming to create a simulator that can replicate everything happening on Earth – from global weather patterns and the spread of diseases to international financial transactions or congestion on Milton Keynes’ roads. Nicknamed the Living Earth Simulator (LES), the project aims to advance the scientific understanding of what is taking place on the planet, encapsulating the human actions that shape societies and the environmental forces that define the physical world. [bbc]

England Crush Australia, To Retain Ashes – England wrapped up a crushing innings and 157-run victory over Australia in the fourth Test to retain the Ashes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday. It has been 24 years since England last won the Ashes Down Under when Mike Gatting’s team claimed the series 2-1. Australia’s humiliation was complete when Ben Hilfenhaus was the last man out before lunch on the fourth morning, caught behind off Tim Bresnan for a duck. [associated]

Clarity On Cape Liquor Law – City of Cape Town officials are seeking a legal opinion in a bid to clarify a liquor by-law that will come into operation on the stroke of New Year. The by-law sets the new “trading hours” for bars and clubs in business areas as 11am to 2am. However, there was some confusion at a city media briefing on Tuesday over whether this meant the clubs had to actually shut their doors at 2am, or merely stop selling liquor. Cheeky.. [timeslive]

Apple Gets Sued For Sending User Information To Advertisers – Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone and iPad, was accused in a lawsuit of allowing applications for those devices to transmit users’ personal information to advertising networks without customers’ consent. The suit claims Cupertino, California-based Apple’s iPhones and iPads are encoded with identifying devices that allow advertising networks to track what applications users download, how frequently they’re used and for how long. [bloomberg]

Notorious Soccer Prankster Nabbed After Facebook Update – Finally, the Falcon has been snared. For most of this year, a 23-year-old Italian soccer fan named Mario Ferri has been terrorizing stadium security and delighting fans on three continents with his antics (almost always involving Italian soccer) of running onto the field, either in the name of activism or for his own seemingly unending amusement. However, Ferri may have been grounded for good, thanks to his loose lips and flair for the dramatic. [wired]

No Staff For William And Kate – His father famously employs almost 150 staff to cater for his every need, but Prince William has insisted he and Kate Middleton have no intention of taking on butlers or household staff when they begin married life in April. The couple believe that sharing their home with servants would ruin the intimacy of their relationship. Although, either way, we do trust some things would be kept private. [telegraph]

Woman Fakes Kidnapping To Test Husband. Fails. – Spanish police have detained a woman who faked her own kidnapping to test whether her husband would pay ranson, sending him a photograph of herself with bound hands and feet. The man received the photo on his mobile phone from someone claiming to be one of the kidnappers along with a text message demanding a ransom of 20,000 euros for her release. The ransom request was repeated in later text messages, which he ignored. Beautiful! [associated]

Jay-Z Spends $350k At Hermes For Beyonce’s Christmas Gift – Beyonce and Jay-Z were the highest earning couple in show business last year, earning a combined £68 million. While Beyonce, 29, surprised her husband with a £1.3 million Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport for his birthday lately, the 99 Problems rapper is being reported to spend $350,000 on wife Beyonce’s Christmas gifts, which include several Birkin bags. [bornrich]

400 People Spend The Night On NY Train – It took hours for Christopher Mullen to get off a plane from sunny Cancun and on to a half-empty subway car, his only way home. It would be another eight hours and more – a night spent huddled under a thin blanket on the frigid, grungy car – before he could get off the A train.His feet soaked to the bone, with no foozzd, water and hardly any heat, Mullen and 400 others lived through a New York nightmare on an elevated subway track. [huffers]

Reese Witherspoon Is Engaged – Reese is engaged! The Oscar winner will marry boyfriend Jim Toth. “They are extremely happy,” her rep said. Toth — an agent in Hollywood — and Witherspoon have been dating for almost a year. This will be the second marriage for Reese, who has two children with her first husband, Ryan Phillippe. Witherspoon joins Shania Twain, Natalie Portman (aaarrrgh!!) , Lily Allen, Hugh Hefner and LeAnn Rimes in the club of recently engaged stars. [popeater]

live – every day – 1-click to tune in.