Rock fan convinces Billy Idol to perform at his birthday bash

Rock and roll: Billy Idol will play at a devoted fan’s birthday bash (Picture: Reuters)

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All rock fan Michael Henrichsen has ever wanted is a birthday party to end all parties.
His dream bash? Billy Idol rolls up in a limo and tells him to hop in. Later, when the rock icon takes the stage and rips into Rebel Yell, his friends go wild.
Sound far-fetched? Not anymore now Idol, 56, has agreed to perform at his fan’s 26th birthday.
Mr Henrichsen has been planning his dream birthday for two years.
He said he had nothing to look forward to in life and was struggling to make ends meet as he worked three jobs to pay off college loans.
Salvation came when Idol’s hit White Wedding blasted out of the radio during a shift and he joked to a work colleague: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if Billy Idol played at my birthday?’
They laughed, but it fired Mr Henrichsen’s imagination. He set up a website, playmybirthdaybillyidol.com to start the ball rolling.
It attracted hits from all over the world, but ‘no word’ from Idol’s people.
So, to promote his ambition, Mr Henrichsen staged concerts, dubbed Billy Idol Aid, to raise cash for charity and get the 80s rock star’s attention.
It worked, and at a gig in August a video message from Idol was played to fans, where he said: ‘The world has spoken... the dream will become reality.’
Idol will play for Mr Henrichsen and 1,800 friends in Seattle on Thursday.
‘It’s gonna be pretty much the coolest night ever,’ said Mr Henrichsen


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/world/915862-rock-fan-convinces-billy-idol-to-perform-at-his-birthday-bash#ixzz2AW5nvEz9

Australian "misogyny" speech prompts change to dictionary

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A fiery speech against sexism by Australia's first woman prime minister has prompted the textbook of Australian English to broaden the definition of "misogyny" to better fit the heated political debate raging downunder.

 

Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week used a parliamentary debate to launch a strong attack against conservative Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, accusing him of being a misogynist, and her speech has since become an Internet hit.

In response, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary, the authority on the English language in Australia, has decided to broaden the definition of "misogyny" to better match the way the word has been used over the past 30 years.
The dictionary currently defines misogyny as "hatred of women", but will now add a second definition to include "entrenched prejudice against women", suggesting Abbott discriminated against women with his sexist views.
"The language community is using the word in a slightly different way," dictionary editor Sue Butler told Reuters.

In her parliamentary speech, Gillard attacked Abbott, a conservative Catholic, for once suggesting men were better adapted to exercise authority, and for once saying that abortion was "the easy way out". He also stood in front of anti-Gillard protesters with posters saying "ditch the witch".

Abbott has labeled the attack as cheap and personal and part of a government smear campaign against him.

The fallout from Gillard's speech has followed her on an official visit to India, where it was raised during a panel discussion, but she told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that she would not give advice on word definitions.

"I have been left in no doubt that a lot of people have clicked on and watched that speech here in India," she said on Wednesday.

"I will leave editing dictionaries to those whose special expertise is language."

But the opposition has ridiculed the dictionary's move, with lawmaker Fiona Nash saying Gillard is the one who needed to be more careful with her words.

Abbott, a super-fit cyclist and swimmer, has been battling perceptions he has a problem with women voters, with his wife and three daughters making public appearances in recent weeks to soften his tough-guy image.

Lord Neil Gibson Updates

Lord Neil Gibson is a professional who has gained a reputation as a humanitarian. Through his service as an ambassador at large to West Africa, as well as his development efforts within the Kingdom of Lesotho, he has contributed positive change to many parts of the world. Most recently, Lord Neil Gibson has begun discussing the possibility of utilizing business ventures to contribute to the development of communities and infrastructure within the country of Belize.

By working closely with the members of the communities within Belize, Lord Neil Gibson will be able to create a development plan that accurately addresses the problems that the people of Belize face. Through his strategic approach, he will be able to rebuild roads and other important items.

In addition to physically rebuilding the landscape, Lord Neil Gibson hopes to help the economy of the country. He aims to help the government secure national debt, to finalize plans for the funding of a new international airport, and to create housing for homeless residents. This, he believes, can be achieved with the help of the financial entities with which he will work.

The vision that Lord Neil Gibson has for this project is one of positive change. By providing the necessary resources through his unique ability to combine his business skills with his humanitarian efforts, Lord Neil Gibson is working to improve the quality of life experienced by the people living in the country of Belize. With the support and encouragement of the residents of the country, he hopes to embark upon this new venture and provide the rebuilding services that Belize needs to thrive.

Exploits Around the Globe!

 

Obviously, when you have a title like Ambassador at Large and a reputation for bringing humanitarian relief to nations as divergent as Hong Kong and Iraq, to say nothing of ravaged areas like New Orleans, it should come as no big surprise to learn that you’re plenty busy, and that you have different projects going on in many different nations. Certainly, this is the case with Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson, a man whose ability to bring humanitarian aid to a needy nation is the result of his pragmatic approach, his many powerful alliances, and, more than anything, his refusal to give up or settle for a sub-par solution.
We have already addressed some of the global endeavors of Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson. We talked about the amazing work he did as Ambassador at Large to West Africa, about his relief work in New Orleans, about his financial rebuilding in Lesotho, even his hospital construction in Iraq. But of course, we could go on and on. Here are just a few more of the many areas in which Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson has been involved:

• Currently, Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson is hard at work in Central America—specifically, in the nation of Belize. He is working alongside the government of Belize to build a road, one leading from the port in Belize into the nation of Guatemala, something much-needed in that area.
• Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson is currently aligned with the government of South Africa to bring special events—like boxing matches—to that nation, and to promote them, something that will stimulate the local economy in many different ways.
• Additionally, Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson is in talks with a California film studio to launch a production company in Belize!
• Finally, we might mention that Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson is seeking to purchase a diamond mine in South Africa, one he would surely manage and promote in such a way as to be immensely beneficial to the local economy.

Clearly, Lord Neil Benjamin Gibson is a busy man, and he’s busy doing truly important work—helping those in need and bringing economic relief to areas in dire need.

Hurricane Leslie dawdles as Bermuda braces

Officials in Bermuda urged residents to "prepare for the worst" as Hurricane Leslie headed toward the British territory, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain.

Meanwhile, the storm's effects were already being felt as far away as the U.S. East Coast, where forecasters issued warnings for life-threatening rip currents spawned by the distant storm.

In Bermuda, schools prepared to close Friday as residents got ready for the approaching storm.

"Leslie could be a historic storm for Bermuda as it is very large and forecast to intensify rapidly as it approaches," Bermuda's Emergency Measures Organization said in a statement. "The island could experience hurricane force winds for a sustained period of time, possibly up to two days."

The storm seemed to stall Thursday, moving just 10 miles (16 kilometers) since earlier in the day, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was about 430 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, moving at 2 mph (3 kph), the center said.

It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (121 kph), the hurricane center said.

The storm wasn't expected to move much or significantly strengthen until Friday, the center said. Forecasters say it could affect Bermuda this weekend.

The storm is already dishing out heavy swells and dangerous currents in coastal areas of Bermuda, the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the U.S. East Coast from Florida to New York, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

Forecasters warned of potentially deadly rip currents that can pull even the strongest of swimmers out to sea quickly. The agency warned beachgoers to stay out of the surf until the danger passes.

Warnings were up in Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

The U.S. Coast Guard also warned boaters to use "extreme caution" through the weekend along the East Coast.

Another hurricane, Michael, formed late Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic. By early Thursday, it had become the first major hurricane of the season as it strengthened to a Category 3, with winds of near 115 mph.

Michael is the seventh hurricane of the 2012 season but posed no immediate threat to land, the hurricane center said.

Diamond Jubilee: Pop royalty to play for Queen

Monday's A-list BBC concert starts at 19:30 BST

Continue reading the main story

The Diamond Jubilee

• Pomp and celebrations defy rain
• Guide to central weekend events
• Thousands cheer Queen in pageant
• Royal couple join street party

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee will be marked with a star-studded BBC concert in front of Buckingham Palace later.

Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John are among the artists, and Madness will perform on the roof.

The audience will comprise of people who got tickets in a public ballot and those from charities with royal links.

At the end of the show, the Queen will light one of the last of around 4,500 beacons across the globe - in celebration of her 60-year reign.

On Monday afternoon, prior to the Jubilee concert, 10,000 ballot winners and VIPs will have a picnic in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.

The concert follows Sunday's spectacular River Thames pageant which attracted more than tens of thousands of rain-soaked people to watch the flotilla of 1,000 boats.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis Peter Hunt News correspondent

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After a pageant on the Thames - where the elements weren't kind but the enthusiasm of the spectators was undimmed - a change of scene and tempo.
At the end of the Golden Jubilee concert, Sir Paul McCartney asked the Queen, "Are we doing this next year?" "Not in my garden" came the regal reply.
Ten years on, she's had her way. The BBC concert will be staged outside the palace gates. The official guests will reflect the changes in a decade. Camilla Parker Bowles is now the Duchess of Cornwall and a future queen. Rupert Murdoch was invited last time. Will any newspaper proprietors be invited this time?
At the end of the concert, the Queen - who at 86, probably won't sit through all of the performances and who may well come armed with ear plugs as she did in 2002 - will light one of the last of more than 4,000 beacons around the world.

• Read more from Peter

The Queen travelled in a barge alongside senior members of the Royal Family as street parties were held around the country.

Buckingham Palace has told the BBC the Royal Family were "touched" at the turnout, despite the weather.

Monday's A-list concert, which starts at 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT), will also star Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, JLS, Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones, Jessie J, Dame Shirley Bassey and Annie Lennox.

And it will feature a special song - sung by 200 people from around the Commonwealth - co-written for the occasion by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Motown legend Wonder has said: "It's an honour to celebrate The Queen. It's an honour to celebrate Great Britain. The time is overdue that I meet Her Majesty."

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will join the Queen at the concert.

An artist's impression of the stage, designed by architect Mark Fisher

Pop veterans Madness will play their hit Our House on the roof of Buckingham Palace - echoing Queen guitarist Brian May's performance of the National Anthem in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee.

After the musical tribute, the Queen will greet the crowds and set the national beacon ablaze.

At 22:30 BST (21:00 GMT), she is scheduled to place a crystal glass diamond into a special pod, triggering the lighting of the last beacon in The Mall.

Beacons will be lit throughout the evening in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, the Commonwealth and other overseas territories.

Bruno Peek, pageantmaster of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee beacons, said: "We set out to have 2,012 beacons, which would have been the most ever for this type of occasion.

"To have reached double that figure reflects the national and worldwide respect and affection for the Queen and the desire to celebrate her 60-year reign."

The network of beacons across the UK will be placed on historic landmarks, hill-top vantage points and famous mountains.

Continue reading the main story Diamond Jubilee beacons

• About 4,500 beacons will be lit in the UK, Commonwealth and overseas territories
• Beacons in the UK and British dependencies will be lit in stages between 22:00 and 22:30
• The Queen will light the National Beacon near Buckingham Palace at 22:30
• Overseas beacons will be lit at 22:00 local time in countries including Canada, Australia and Kenya
• Two types of Beacons are used: Bonfires and the church tower beacon fuelled by bottled gas
• Beacons were lit on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in and for 1977's Silver Jubilee

• Diamond Jubilee beacons interactive Map

Beacons will also be placed on the battlements of the Tower of London, and at St James's Palace, Lambeth Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Balmoral and Holyroodhouse.

Sixty will be lit in sequence on Hadrian's Wall - one for each year of the Monarch's reign.

And the highest peaks of the UK's four nations will be lit up by teams from four charities.

Help for Heroes will conquer Ben Nevis in Scotland, Walking With The Wounded will climb Snowdon in Wales, Cancer Research UK will scale England's Scafell Pike and in Northern Ireland, Field of Life will go up Slieve Donard in County Down.

The hotel in Kenya where the Queen was told in 1952 of her father George VI's death - which meant she would become the monarch - will also light a beacon.

Much like the conclusion of the Thames pageant, the evening will end with a firework display.

• The Diamond Jubilee Concert will be shown on BBC big screens in 22 towns and cities throughout the UK. Find your nearest screening here..

Queens and Lords on Jubilee

LONDON — Long known as the sport of kings, today horse racing is the Sport of the Queen, as the Diamond Jubilee got underway with a familiar annual ritual, the running of the Epsom Derby.

Horse-loving Queen Elizabeth II did not have a horse in the "dah-bee," as it's known here; instead it was the appropriately named Camelot, the favorite, that won the feature race today, in front of a crowd of 150,000 racing fans, with the No. 1 fan watching in the royal enclosure.

Along with her were members of her family, including her husband, Prince Philip; her two younger sons, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; and two of her grandchildren, Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The day was overcast, windy and cool but it was an especially colorful and cheerful derby, decorated with flags, flowers and jubilee bunting. It opened with military parachutists, bearing Union Jacks, floating down in their scarlet red jumpsuits, one of the reasons they're known as the Red Devils.

The crowds cheered and waved little flags (35,000 were handed out beforehand) as the queen and her husband arrived in a Rolls motorcade down the track. Smiling broadly, she exited the car and the Royal Marine Band struck up the familiar notes of the national anthem. Katherine Jenkins, the Welsh classical vocalist who finished second in Dancing With the Stars last month, sang God Save the Queen with gusto, although she looked slightly chilled in the cold while dressed in a creamy, strapless mermaid-tail gown, standing just a few feet away from the queen.

"This is definitely a day that I will never forget," she told the BBC later.

Unlike so many others, Jenkins was not wearing a hat for her performance but she didn't have to. By contrast, there's a strict dress code for those in the royal enclosure: Hats for women; top hats for men; and smart outfits for all. Elsewhere in the stands, fans are allowed to wear what they want and many of them apparently believe the wackier the better.

As per usual, the queen went down from the royal box to the paddock where she inspected some of the horses that competed in one of the races, the Coronation Cup, renamed the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup. She awarded the cup to the owner, trainer and jockey of winner St. Nicholas Abbey.

The big winner, Camelot, was trained and ridden by a father-son team, the first in derby history, adding to the historic character of this year's event.

Epsom is not just any horse-racing venue; the derby is way older than the Windsor dynasty, with the first was one in 1779. It's also one of the richest, at about $2 million. And it's free for fans.

The race also is the United Kingdom's only major one that the horsewoman-in-chief has not won. An expert in breeding, raising, training and racing horses, she has gone to the derby every year except one in her 60 years on the throne. She even attended just a few days after she was crowned in 1953, when her horse, Aureole, finished second, nearly giving the new queen a coronation victory.

Last year, her horse Carlton House, was the favorite but finished third, although it did win at another racetrack on Thursday.

Racing is one of the queen's real passions, so it's no coincidence that the derby opens the jubilee weekend. Brits are used to seeing her at the races, a standout in the royal box in her colorful hats and outfits, peering through binoculars, surrounded by family and friends. She typically visits the paddock and the winner's circle, loves talking to the trainers and jockeys, closely reads the daily racing press.

British commentators have repeatedly pointed out that no other event during jubilee weekend will be as much fun for the 86-year-old queen as the derby. Typically, she shows an enigmatic or neutral expression on her face during engagements, although lately she's been seen beaming for jubilee events. But it's at the races where she shows her excitement. One piece of video often shown features the queen at a race, grabbing her binoculars and rushing out of the royal box as one of her horses moved to the front of the pack.

Following the horses is the queen's hobby, one that provides a "relief from her daily duties," said her top-hatted (and rarely interviewed) racing manager, John Warren, interviewed by Sky News.

When the queen goes to the USA on rare private visits, she typically heads for Kentucky bluegrass country. There she visits Lane's End Farm, a top breeder owned by her friend William Farish, the former American ambassador to Britain.

And when she made her historic visit to Ireland last year, the first by a British monarch to its former colony, she made a point of spending hours at the Irish National Stud, talking horse bloodlines with people whose love of horses is as high as her own.