If you had never heard about Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko until the start of the 2014 Sochi Olympics then you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. You might be wondering why the crowd in Sochi was so absolutely stunned by his withdrawal from the Olympic men's short program and the subsequent announcement of his retirement on Thursday.

Rest assured, Plushenko is more than deserving of the attention. Not only did his early performances in Sochi help Russia win the inaugural gold medal in the Olympic team figure skating competition but they also earned him an unprecedented fourth Olympic medal in his fourth Olympic appearance.

That final gold medal capped off an incredible figure skating career that spanned 17 years -- pretty much unheard-of longevity in the sport.

In honor of the Russian legend's amazing run, we rounded up 11 of his most noteworthy moments on the ice.

1997: At the age of 14, Plushenko, already with a solid triple axel in his arsenal, won the Junior World Championships.

1998: Plushenko won the bronze medal at his first World Championships at the elite level at age 15. After winning a silver medal at his first European Championships, he was rightly heralded as a rising teen phenom. The following year at the Worlds, he climbed to second place, just behind his Russian rival Alexei Yagudin. He became the youngest male skater to earn a perfect 6.0 mark at the age of 16.

2000: Plushenko defeated Yagudin at the European Championships. Despite finishing out of the top three at the World Championships, he established himself as a major contender. Look at that sensational quad jump!
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"This isn't evolution. It's an abomination," Morgan Freeman informs Johnny Depp in the new trailer for "Transcendence." It looks like the velvet-voiced sage is going head-to-head with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star in the forthcoming artificial-intelligence thriller. Depp plays Dr. Will Caster, a researcher who's working to create a sentient machine that surpasses human intelligence. Naturally, he's up against a motherload of opposition. When Caster faces death and wants to become a part of that machinery, even his wife (Rebecca Hall) and best friend (Paul Bettany) think he's gone too far.

"Transcendence" opens April 18. It's directed by Wally Pfister, who is known for his cinematography work on Christopher Nolan's movies. Watch the new trailer below.

Well, here's the first teaser trailer to see how he did. Starring Johnny Depp, the actor takes the role of Dr. Will Caster, whose creation of sentient machine puts him at risk from anti-technology extremists who inadvertently set the researcher on a dangerous path towards, you guessed it, transcendence. It's a fascinating premise by Jack Paglen from his 2012 Black List script, and while Pfister is making his feature debut, he isn't too far away from his frequent collaborator Christopher Nolan who is executive producing this one.

Thoughts? Share 'em below. Co-starring Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy, "Transcendence" happens on April 18, 2014. Watch below plus two more teasers featuring more narration and less footage!

 Mumbai Police Commissioner, Satyapal Singh, tendered his resignation to the State Home Department on Thursday and plans to explore a career in politics.

Mr.Singh has sought Voluntary Retirement from service and wants to be relieved from his duties by the second week of February.

Sources told The Hindu that Mr. Singh has received offers from two major political parties - BJP and AAP. The BJP is keen to field Mr. Singh for a Lok Sabha seat from Meerut.

Speaking to the media, Mr. Singh confirmed the developments and said, " I have put my in papers and have requested the Government to accept the same. So far I have worked in the limited jurisdiction of Mumbai while serving in the force. Now I would like to expand my area of operation and I would like to devote my time and energy for social harmony, national reconstruction and world peace," Mr. Singh added

"I have received offers from various political parties and I am weighing my options," Mr. Singh added.

Mr Singh becomes the first police chief to quit the force. The 1980 batch officer was due for retirement in 2015.

His resignation will the pave the way for the appointment of the new Commissioner of Police(CP) that has been delayed by over eight months by the State Government. Sources say since no consensus was reached between Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and the State Home Minister RR Patil on who should be the next CP of Mumbai, the appointment has been delayed.

Two IPS officers, the present Anti Terrorism Squad(ATS) chief , Mr. Rakesh Maria and Maharashtra, Additional Director General (ADG), Law and Order, Mr. Ahmed Javed are the front runners for the post of the CP. Mr. Maria, though junior to Mr.Javed, is tipped to be the next chief.

"Mr. Maria enjoys proximity to the NCP which holds the Home portfolio in the state. Also in an election year , the state would like to appoint somebody who is seen as an officer accepted by all communities. Mr. Maria is seen as somebody who fits the bill," added sources.

Anna Kendrick talked about her Grammy experience on Conan the other night and spent what seemed like 5 whole minutes gushing over Beyonce. Then she casually mentioned Katy Perry fingerbanged her cleavage.

Dear god, woman. You’re supposed to lead with stuff like that. Not say it as some afterthought in an interview.

Kendrick said she was asking for it because of how she was dressed which I know is a joke but when I fingerbang her cleavage at the next event she’s at, that’s what my legal defense will be built on.

Quentin Tarantino is currently suing Gawker Media for perpetuating the leak of his "Hateful Eight" script, over which he is "very, very depressed."

Once the script began circulating, Tarantino announced he would no longer be making the film, at which point Defamer posted a link to the full, 146-page script. Now, "Gawker Media has made a business of predatory journalism, violating people's rights to make a buck," the director said in his formal complaint.

Except, is he making too big a deal out of the whole thing? This is not the first major script to leak. It's not even the first major Tarantino script to leak. In the past few years, many of the big-name scripts that have gotten preemptive glances by online masses have seen major success at the box office. We've rounded up six films that have dealt with pre-release leaks, all that seem to have been largely unharmed by their respective reveals, which may suggest Gawker's "violating" post might not be the real problem.

"Scream 2"

The Leak: Wes Craven and his crew suspected someone in the Xerox room of putting the first 40 pages of "Scream 2" online in 2006. "It totally ruined that version of the script, frankly," he told Vulture. "We had to go back and change everything, and it set us back about two months" -- which is a lot of time, when you consider there was less than a year turn around after the first film. Apparently, the original ending revealed four different characters as the ghost-faced killer, as opposed to only two.

The Leak: In July of 2008, various sites obtained a full copy of Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" script, complete with a handwritten cover. Although there were various misspellings throughout, the script was much closer to its final form than "Hateful Eight" appears to be now. There was not much blowback beyond various blogs taking it upon themselves to review the work.

Kim Kardashian joined Kanye West in Paris this weekend where she shocked us, ditching her now-signature all-white look. On Friday (Jan. 17), the 33-year-old reality star donned a black leather peplum shirt paired with a black pencil skirt for dinner with her fiance and some of the biggest creative minds in the world, including designer Azzedine Alaïa, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani and designer Riccardo Tisci.

On Saturday, Kardashian hit the streets of Paris for some retail therapy dressed head to toe in designer threads, and she wanted everyone to know it. The reality star took to her own Instagram account to share that she was rocking a leather Givenchy skirt, Alexander Wang t-shirt, Céline coat and Tom Ford heels.

Hollywood's about to have a major headache over the fun and quirky show "New Girl."

Screenwriters Stephanie Counts and Shari Gold have filed a lawsuit claiming that they are the true creators of the hit Fox series. They are suing the show's creator Elizabeth Meriwether, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC, executive-producer Peter Chernin, executive-producer Jacob Kasdan and Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. for plagiarism, claiming that "New Girl" is a ripoff of their own original script.

The Hollywood Reporter has attained a copy of Counts and Gold's suit, which demands monetary compensation, credit for the show and an injunction to halt any further filming and distribution.

Counts and Gold claim that when they shopped their original pilot, titled "Square One," around town through William Morris Endeavor (WME), it was received with favorable reviews and interest, but they had not been able to make a deal to sell it.

Once "New Girl" was produced and aired to rave reviews in 2011, Counts and Gold retained a lawyer and informed the defendants that they were infringing upon the content of "Square One." Fox allegedly made the writers a $10,000 settlement offer, but they refused the money.

"Square One" is based on Counts' real-life experience of moving into a three-man bachelor pad after learning that her husband was having an affair. The suit claims that "New Girl" is all but identical to Counts and Gold's work, saying, "Any differences between the Square One scripts and New Girl are so small and insignificant that they cannot be afforded copyright protection, and are, in fact, nothing more than transparent attempts to hide Defendants’ blatant plagiarism."

Ke$ha closed out 2013 by releasing the video for "Dirty Love," a song from the 2012 album, "Warrior." Ke$ha, who wrote on Twitter that "Dirty Love" was her favorite track off "Warrior," added this note on the video's YouTube page:

    Death by glitter. hope u like it. heres my directorial debut for the Dirty Love music video from my warrior album...$

Great and good, but the video version of "Dirty Love" is much different from the one that appears on "Warrior." That "Dirty Love" is a duet between Ke$ha and Iggy Pop (Ke$ha actually name checks Iggy Pop in the song's first few seconds), and it includes a verse sung by the Stooges' frontman that goes like this:

    Cockroaches do it in the garbage cans / Rug merchants do it in Afghanistan / Santorum did it in a V-neck sweater / Pornos produce it / But a wild child can do it better

The video version of "Dirty Love" has no such verse, and makes no reference to Iggy Pop at all. It does, however, feature Ke$ha being doused in beer. Watch below:

 NASA officials say the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster "should never be trivialized" in response to a new song from Beyonce that features an audio sample recorded just after the craft exploded on takeoff in 1986, killing all seven crewmembers.

The space agency issued the statement late Tuesday after the pop star began to receive criticism from Challenger families and others for using the short sample that includes the words "major malfunction" as an allusion to a failed relationship.

"The Challenger accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized," said the statement from Lauren B. Worley, NASA's press secretary. "NASA works every day to honor the legacy of our fallen astronauts as we carry out our mission to reach for new heights and explore the universe."

NASA's response came after Beyonce explained the use of the short snippet in a statement to ABC News Tuesday that stopped short of an apology. The sample appears at the beginning of her song "XO" from her new self-titled album.

Among those critical of the sample was June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee. She told ABC in a statement that she was disappointed and described the use of the sample as "emotionally difficult."

"My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster," Beyonce's statement said. "The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you. The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten."

Beyonce released her new self-titled "visual album" earlier this month that included 14 songs and 17 videos. Much of the initial discussion about the album had to do with its surprise release and platinum sales until the reaction to the Challenger sample began to circulate.

Wardrobe malfunctions happen to the best of us, even Britney Spears. The pop star's "Piece of Me" concert almost got a little too risque when her costume flew open during Saturday night's show. Spears was performing "Circus" when her costume's zipper opened up, exposing her back.

Britney didn't miss a single beat though, as her backup dancers rushed to zip up her costume, and the piece carried on with hardly any interruption at all.

Spears has just begun a two-year Las Vegas residency with her "Piece of Me" show at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The show is receiving rave reviews and the opening night was attended by many stars, including Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Mario Lopez. She was recently criticized for lip-syncing during performances, but many reviewers say that all in all, the show is a success.

Casino executives say the residency may be extended past its two-year slot if it is successful.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday blamed the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for lack of development in mineral-rich Jharkhand.
BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is garlanded along with party president Rajnath Singh at the Vijay Sankalp rally in Ranchi. (PTI Photo)

Addressing a rally in state capital Ranchi, the Gujarat chief minister highlighted Jharkhand’s unemployment problem and said the central government had done nothing to bring about change.

“Chhattisgarh has developed a lot. Chief minister Raman Singh has scored a hat-trick (of assembly poll wins). Why are Jharkhand and Uttarakhand lagging behind?” Modi said at the rally, which saw a huge gathering.

The three states were created in 2000, when the BJP-led NDA government was in power at the Centre. While Chhattisgarh has been ruled by the BJP for the past 10 years, the other two have undergone regime changes. Maoist-hit Jharkhand has seen nine governments and three spells of President’s rule.

Modi, who has recently got a clean chit from an Ahmedabad court in a Gujarat riots case, also attacked the Centre over price rise.

A supporter of BJP at party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's Vijay Sankalp rally at Dhurwa in Ranchi. (PTI Photo)

The BJP’s PM nominee stressed the Congress had lost contact with the people of the country.

“Jharkhand’s people were heard only when (veteran BJP leader) Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power... a separate state was created,” he said.

Heavy security arrangements were in place for the rally in the Jharkhand capital, which had grabbed the headlines two months ago for links with the October Patna blasts accused.

More than 2,500 security personnel were deployed at the venue. As many as 40 CCTVs kept an eye on the proceedings.

The Jharkhand Police were on toes to avoid a Patna-like incident. In the last week of October, serial blasts had rocked the Bihar capital ahead of a rally addressed by Modi, killing five people and leaving more than 90 injured. Probe led the investigators to Ranchi, the native place of the accused.

Earlier in the day, Modi reached the venue in a chopper after landing at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport. Senior BJP leaders such as former chief minister Arjun Munda, Yashwant Sinha and Ravindra Rai, welcomed Modi amid a gathering of around 2 lakh people from across Jharkhand. The saffron party booked five trains and 2,000 buses to ferry the supporters from different districts.

The stage was a replica of Parliament building. A message ‘Mission-2014: 272 +’ was displayed at the top.

“It’s a Modi wave and the benefit of the wave will be seen in the 2014 elections in Jharkhand,” said former chief minister Munda.

The state BJP is on the back foot, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) withdrew its support to the Munda government in January. The JMM has now formed a government in the state with the Congress' help.  Source

South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis on Sunday surpassed Rahul Dravid as the third highest run-getter in Test cricket after a 115-run knock against India in his farewell match in Durban.

Kallis, who would be retiring from Tests at the end of the match, now has 13,289 runs in the longest format.

That tally is one run more than Dravid, who retired last year after playing 164 Tests. Kallis, who is playing in his 166th Test, is now third behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) in the all-time list.

The South African, considered the best all-rounder in modern cricket, struck a fluent 115-run knock, which came off 316 balls and included nine fours, in his final Test.

Kallis goes past Dravid

“Hail King Kallis!Even his worst critic wudn’t begrudge JK farewell ton—truly fantastic feat V normally relate 2 dreams!!” tweeted former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi, paying tribute to the 38-year old.

“Handsome is that handsome does!Is thr any1 more handsome than Kallis in his final test?No 1 took so much workload as JK in last 3/4 decades!” he added.

Besides the mountain of runs he sits on, Kallis also has 292 wickets in Tests at an impressive average of 32.53, besides having 200 catches to his credit.

“100 for #Kallis in his last test. One of the greats,” wrote New Zealand captain Ross Taylor.

I have had the good fortune of being in several projects in which Farooq Sheikh was involved, so in the early hours when I heard of his passing away my first reaction was of disbelief. How can a man so full of life be snatched away like this from amongst our midst?

Steeped in Hindustani tehzeeb, an adaab and a smile from him was all it took to bewitch people. Everything about him suggested gentlemanliness and great upbringing. He came from a family of well-to-do zamindars of Amroli, but never once did one find him even raising his voice. You should see how much izzat and affection he would put into speaking either on the sets or at home. That for me is the real indication of how great a human being he was.

Farooq Sheikh

When he was cast in the lead as Yusuf Fakir Mohammed, for the low-budget Yashraj film Noorie in 1979, he’d already made a mark for himself with roles like Sikandar Mirza in Garm Hawa, Aquil in Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ghulam Hussain in Gaman. Both Poonam (Dhillon) and he were new and hardly known but the film became a hit with record-breaking collections. My compositions for the film were such a hit that they could be heard no matter where one went in the country.

Even in the 1981 Umrao Jaan, where the Rekha-Asha Bhosale combination walked away with all the acclaim, the song by Talat Aziz filmed on him — zindagi jab bhi tere bazm mein laati hai hamey — stood out. He would praise the silken soft feel of the song, which he really made his own in the film with his regal splendour.

Though I wasn’t associated with either Saath Saath or Chashme Buddoor, which came in quick succession after this, they will remain the films that come to mind immediately when one thinks of him. We were to again work together in Sagar Sarhadi’s Bazaar in 1982. This time, his Sarju came from a really poor background and the pain Farooq saab depicted with his eyes was amazing. Again, the number I composed drew a lot on his refined gentle persona. Even today, ‘Phir chhidi raat baat phoolon ki’ never fails to enthuse listeners and I will always give credit to Farooq and Supriya, who brought the sentiment of the song alive.

2:50 pm Modi concludes his rally by ensuring that the BJP will usher in a better and brighter future for Jharkhand. And the people (Congress) who just believe in doing 'Aakashwani', will be of no use.

2:50 pm This is a historic rally. When I was watching it from the chopper, I could see a sea of humanity queued up for this rally.

2:48 pm The country need development, and not division. People need employment and not political chaos. The elders need support and not struggle.

2:47 pm The Congress is cut off from the people. Their leaders can't hear the public's voice.

2:45 pm Jharkhand's electorate must support the BJP and we ensure it a bright future. Otherwise, its young can never be 'Bharat ke Bhagya Vidhata'.

2:40 pm People ask me what's your vision? Jharkhand has coal but no electricity stations. Where is the vision? If there were power stations here, then Jharkhand could create so much electricty as to illuminate the entire nation. But the Centre doesn't care.

2:32pm: Delhi government has been paralysed. The Centre has done nothing for Jharkhand since Independence.

2:30pm: In 2014, we have Lok Sabha Elections. Let all 14 Lok Sabha seats come to the BJP.

2:21pm: Jharkhand people would have not been poor if there was a BJP government in the state. People ar epoor here despite abundant resources.

Narendra Modi in Ranchi

2:14 pm: Three states were formed at the same time - Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh & Uttarakhand. Why is it that Ch'garh is on a development trajectory but other two are lagging way behind?

2:10 pm: It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji who had a vision for Jharkhand, that vision needs to be realised.

2:05 pm: Modi starts addressing the rally

1:30 pm: Modi reaches the venue

Narendra Modi landed near the venue in a chopper from Birsa Munda airport.

11:00 am: Crowd starts to gather at the venue

The people of Jharkhand began assembling for the Narendra Modi's speech. Modi will make the speech from the stage which is shaped like a Parliament House.

The Dhurva Ground in Jharkhand's Ranchi is all set to be graced by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modion who will address the crowd in his 'Vijay Sankalp' rally today.

The remarkable point about this rally is that Modi will address the crowd from the stage with a model of the Parliament in the background.

The back side of the stage from where Modi will address the crowd, has been made in the form of a Parliament house to give an impression of the Parliament. Read More

BJP on Sunday criticised newly-appointed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for forming a government with the support of the "corrupt" Congress party, claiming that the latter would abandon it sooner or later.

Arvind Kejriwal

"It is really strange that Kejriwal has taken the support of the same Congress which he has been always been describing as a corrupt political party," BJP national vice president Prabhat Jha told PTI.

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal was yesterday sworn-in as as the seventh Chief Minster of Delhi.

ar term, Jha said, and claimed that "Congress would withdraw its support from the Kejriwal government sooner or later."

Kejriwal has been making tall claims about removing corruption, but it has no meaning if his government has the backing of a corrupt political party, he said.

"I feel that a time will come when Kejriwal will be exposed," Jha said.

Asked if the BJP would support Kejriwal in case Congress withdraws support from his government, he refused any such move saying, "There can be no question of it."

In the old days, filmmakers flocked to Hollywood for its abundant sunshine, beautiful people and sandy beaches. But today a new filmmaking diaspora is spreading across the globe to places like Vancouver, London and Wellington, New Zealand.

Fueled by politicians doling out generous tax breaks, filmmaking talent is migrating to where the money is. The result is an incentives arms race that pits California against governments around the world and allows powerful studios —with hundreds of millions of dollars at their disposal— to cherry-pick the best deals.

The most recent iteration of the phenomenon came earlier this month when James Cameron announced plans to shoot and produce the next three "Avatar" sequels largely in New Zealand. What Cameron gets out of the deal is a 25 percent rebate on production costs, as long as his company spends at least $413 million on the three films.

"There's no place in the world that we could make these sequels more cost effectively," says producer Jon Landau. It is neither the archipelago's volcanoes nor its glaciers that are attractive, because the "Avatar" movies will be shot indoors. Sure, Peter Jackson's award-winning special effects infrastructure is there, but the deciding factor was the money. "We looked at other places," says Landau. But in the end, "it was this rebate."

In exchange, the local economy will benefit hugely, Landau says, comparing the ripple effect to the boost that comes from new home construction. "We're doing lumber, we're catering for hundreds of people a day. We're housing people in hotels. We're going to a stationery store and tripling their business in a year."

The deal was "the best Christmas present we could have possibly hoped for," says Alex Lee, an Auckland, New Zealand-based entertainment lawyer. The news is especially welcome because the local screen industry is facing a potential drought: The Starz pay TV series "Spartacus" finished this year and Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy is set to wrap next year. Thanks to the "Avatar" sequels, the 1,100 workers at Weta Digital Ltd., the ground-breaking digital effects house Jackson co-founded in 1993, can keep plugging away through 2018.

"It would have been a real shame if we had lost any of that talent and they had to move to follow the films," says Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.

Renee Zellweger, that you, girl? The 44-year-old actress went super casual while dining with her parents Emil and Kjellfrid Zellweger in Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday (Dec. 26). (The half-up, half-down hairdo is an apparent fave, judging from the same hairstyle Zellweger wore back in November).

Zellweger has remained relatively out of the spotlight since starring in 2010's "My Own Love Song," though fans of the actress have been putting up her name for bid ever since Helen Fielding released a third Bridget Jones book, "Mad About A Boy," in October.

Meanwhile, Zellweger has been spotted hitting town with her new beau, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, whom she has been dating since at least last December.

The 46-year-old actress sat down with Amy Kaufman from the Los Angeles Times to talk about her transition into motherhood and how it reflects on her career. "I think people like to say that I'm super picky because of how much I l-oo-ve my kids. But as an actor, I sort of pride myself on the fact that I've always been picky," Roberts explained to the paper.

Roberts has been married to cinematographer Daniel Moder for 11 years, and the couple have three children together. At this point in her life, those kids have become her top priority. "We try to protect our kids. We just want to have our family life and not have that intruded upon," Roberts told USA Today in a separate interview.

Speaking to the Times, Roberts also explained how age plays a part in her decision making. "For one, I'm 46 years old, so falling out of chairs isn't as funny. I could break a hip," Roberts said. "Certain scenarios that worked 10 years ago aren't as appealing, as applicable, as believable, as original -- all those things." These factors have directed Roberts away from many of the big romantic comedies she became famous for, and have allowed her to focus on the roles that inspire her most, like "August: Osage County." The new film finds Roberts in unfamiliar territory, playing a depressed mother on the cusp of a divorce.

"Julia, when we first started talking about it, that was our question," director John Wells told HuffPost Entertainment when asked about the decision to cast Roberts in such an against-type role. "This is an embittered, angry woman in her mid-40s, and it's going to be a lot of time spent not being a very nice person. Julia has a screen persona that she has not exclusively done, but done often, where people sort of expect her to be a certain way. None of that was going to be what we're doing. She said, 'Yeah, that's exactly why I want to do it.'"

The actress credits her career's development and success to finding fame in a time when she was allowed to be herself. "Nobody expected me to be anybody but myself, really," she recalled.

Enough is enough. The new year is fast approaching and we'd like to look at it as an opportunity for a fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to start anew without many of the repetitive, lazy, worn out tropes and trends that pop culture wielded at us in 2013. From twerking to tired storylines -- we're just over it.

What hath "Marvel's The Avengers" wrought? Just a bunch of expensive and loud movies with shared universes that will keep multiplexes filled from now until forever. This past year saw Warner Bros. reboot Superman with a good standalone film ("Man of Steel"), and then immediately explode plans for its sequel by turing the continuation into the kitchen sink. (Why just have Superman when you can have Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and maybe even Joaquin Phoenix?) It's even worse for Spider-Man fans, as Sony announced in December that Peter Parker's friendly neighborhood opponents will get movies too. (Hope everyone loves the Sinister Six! Because that's a movie people will pay money to see somewhere around 2017.) It's all so exhausting; the tyranny of synergy writ large in an industry increasingly devoid of ideas. Lo for the simple days of part two. - Christopher Rosen

Jennifer Aniston is definitely not pregnant, guys. As much as we try to wish and pray and hope for a baby to start growing in her belly, it is not going to happen, because that is not science. I know, I know. We all just want Jen to be happy, but the incessant rumors are just making her run out of fun talk show anecdotes. Besides, now she has Justin Theroux, a $21 million mansion and chickens! Shouldn't that be enough? - Lauren Duca

Aamir Khan-starrer big-budget action thriller Dhoom: 3 has collected Rs 69.58 crore -- which includes earnings from Tamil and Telugu versions -- in two days of its release, an official statement said.

Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, the third instalment of Yash Raj Films' popular Dhoom franchise came out on Friday (December 20, 2013) and opened to mixed reviews. But it seems the box office collection is satisfactory.

On Friday, the well-packaged enrapturing drama clinched a total of Rs 36.22 crore at the box office, while on Saturday the earnings were recorded to be Rs 33.36 crore.

Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, who have been constant in the cast since Dhoom, reprised their roles of cop and sidekick, respectively. Katrina Kaif added glamour to the film and the actress was seen in beautifully designed sequences.

A crucial meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) began on Monday to discuss the results of the public referendum on whether or not to take Congress support in forming government in Delhi.

According to reports, meeting is being attended by all top AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Dr Kumar Viswas and all newly-elected MLA of the party.

After the meeting, the AAP chief is likely to hold a press conference to announce his party's decision on the issue of government formation in Delhi.

Kejriwal is also due to meet Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung in the afternoon to apprise him about his party's stand on ending the political stalemate in Delhi.

Kejriwal's meeting with the Lt Governor comes amid clear signs that his party is preparing to take power in Delhi with Congress support.

After five days of a virtual referendum on whether or not AAP should form a minority government, there were enough indications - but no announcement - that the one-year-old AAP was ready for the plunge.

Officially, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who could become a minister if Kejriwal forms a government, told that the final decision would be taken only Monday morning.

“I can't say now if we will indeed form a government,” he said late Sunday. “We still need to hold a few meetings. The final decision will be taken only on Monday.”

Kejriwal said earlier Sunday that “a major announcement” would be made Monday. The party said the activist-turned-politician would meet the media Monday before meeting Jung.

As the party's campaign to elicit a 'yes' or 'no' from people in the capital on government formation entered its final phase, the AAP said that most voters favoured an AAP government.

“Majority of the feedback we have received is 'yes',” spokesperson Ashwathi Muralidharan told reporters.

The party has got responses from over 6.5 lakh people through SMS, interactive voice response (IVR), Facebook and the AAP web site, she said.

Separately, AAP held public meetings in some 270 municipal wards across Delhi where too most people rooted for an AAP government by raising their hands, party leaders said.

A former Indian Revenue Service officer whose social activism won him the Ramon Magsaysay award, Kejriwal indicated that his party was readying to take power with Congress backing.

He denied that the promises made by his party – providing 700 litres of water daily to homes and sharply cutting power tariff among others – were utopian in nature.

“We will deliver whatever assurances we made in our manifesto. It (manifesto) was prepared after wide consultations, and a lot of thought went into it,” he told the media.

“Moreover, the people of Delhi are expecting much more from us, and we will perform.”

Later in the evening, Kejriwal told a public meeting in Sarojini Nagar in south Delhi that his party will keep “returning to the people” on major issues – even after forming a government.

“This is democracy, this is real democracy,” he said, denying criticism that the AAP decision to seek a referendum on whether or not to take power was “nautanki” (drama).

But AAP leaders made it clear that there would be no alliance with the Congress, which has only eight seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly but which, after being ousted from power, agreed to prop up a government of AAP (28 seats) in order to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) away.

The BJP, which finished as the largest group with 31 seats, decided not to form a government after falling short of the half-way mark by five.

The BJP's 'no' led the Lt. Governor to invite the AAP to try form a government. Kejriwal then said he was in a moral dilemma on whether or not to take power with Congress help.

So he decided to seek the views of the people in the capital, a move which again Sunday came under criticism from the BJP.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley said on Facebook: “The AAP had categorically stated that it represents alternative politics. It is guided by idealism. It will neither support nor accept support from either the Congress or BJP.

“Obviously, if the AAP stands by its publicly stated commitment, the Delhi assembly becomes a deadlocked assembly wherein after a reasonable time a fresh poll has to be ordered.

Ballerina Mary Helen Bowers is about to give birth to her first child, and has been dancing through pregnancy with unbelievable agility and breathtaking grace.

Bowers, the woman behind the Ballet Beautiful fitness company and the trainer who helps get Victoria's Secret models into runway form, has been documenting the stages of her pregnancy in a series of stunning photographs. She has been sharing these steps of her journey to motherhood on her Instagram account.

"I've found the entire process of being pregnant to be such a miraculous, beautiful time," she told The Huffington Post in an email Friday. "As a first-time mom I am so excited! My instinct has been not only to capture this special time, but [also] to share it with others, too. Pregnancy is magical, I've never felt more connected to my body. Looking back I'm so happy that I've taken so many photos and really documented the different stages."

The 33-year-old, who is most famous for working with Natalie Portman for her "Black Swan" role, is due to give birth next week, according to TODAYMoms. She has been dancing through the entirety of her pregnancy, with her doctor's approval.

"The changes that your body goes through during pregnancy are so radical, I've really tried to embrace and celebrate my new body and hopefully I can encourage other women to do the same," she told HuffPost. "I've also spent a lot of time over the last nine months developing a new prenatal series for Ballet Beautiful to help other moms-to-be stay healthy and active during pregnancy."

She previously told ELLE.com that ballet has helped her avoid back pain and swelling through her trimesters.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and a slew of other health problems have been found in water samples collected at and near hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," sites in Colorado, according to a new study published in the journal Endocrinology this week.

Researchers say they found elevated levels of these chemicals -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- in surface water and groundwater samples collected in the state's Garfield County, a fracking hotspot with more than 10,000 natural gas wells.

Water samples taken from the Colorado River, a drainage basin for the region, were also found to have significantly higher-than-normal levels of EDCs, the researchers said.

EDCs, which have the ability to interfere with normal hormone action, have been linked to a number of health issues. Last year, the World Health Organization issued a report highlighting the health risks associated with the chemicals, including cancer, infertility and impaired neural and immune function. Previous studies have also suggested that EDCs may have adverse effects on the reproductive system in both women and men.

"With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure," Susan Nagel, a veteran endocrinologist at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times. Nagel was the lead author of the recent study on fracking and EDCs.

In 2010 and again in 2012, Nagel and a team of researchers collected several water samples at five natural gas sites in Garfield County, where fracking wastewater spills are known to have occurred in the last few years. The researchers then tested the samples for four different classes of EDCs. "Of the 39 unique water samples, 89 percent, 41 percent, 12 percent, and 46 percent exhibited estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-androgenic activities, respectively," the report says. The team also gathered water samples from the Colorado river, as well as from areas in Garfield County that are located a significant distance away from natural gas wells. Other samples came from an area in Missouri where there is no fracking.

The researchers said water samples collected from the spill sites and the Colorado river had significantly higher levels of EDCs than those gathered from the control sites in Garden County and Missouri.

Water can contain small amounts of estrogenic substances naturally. However, "Nagel said that although estrogenic substances can be found naturally occurring in water, she did not know of similar sources of anti-estrogenic or anti-androgenic chemicals," the Times reports.

 Undaunted hobbits trumped princess power at the multiplex.

Per studio estimates Sunday, Warner Bros. "Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" was No. 1 at the weekend box office with $73.7 million, besting last weekend's No. 1 film, Disney's animated fable "Frozen."

Melting down to the No. 2 position, "Frozen" earned $22.2 in its third weekend, bringing its impressive overall domestic ticket total to nearly $164.4 million.

Despite its first place position, "Hobbit" fell short of topping its prequel's debut. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which opened this same weekend last year, gained $84.6 million.

"'Hobbit' rules this date and Warner Bros. has linked this brand to this time of year very effectively," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak.

"We had an excellent weekend," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. "Of course, it could have been a little better, but the weather back East was really tough last night and probably took a couple million dollars out of my pocket. But our box office will survive. We are right on target to do very similar numbers to the last 'Hobbit,' which grossed a $1 billion worldwide (overall)."

Lionsgate's holiday-themed "Tyler Perry's a Madea Christmas" came in third place with $16.2 million.

"All of the Tyler Perry movies have done in that $20 million plus range, but the weather was a factor in some of the performances of these films," said Dergarabedian.

Another Lionsgate film, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," earned $13.2 million for the fourth place slot. To date "Catching Fire" has grossed $739.9 million, surpassing the worldwide box office total for "The Hunger Games," which brought in $691 million.

If you felt like Beyoncé's surprise album release was Christmas coming early, you're not alone. Celebrities have been expressing their excitement on Twitter and spreading the word about Queen Bey's latest triumph.

As the West Coast was tucking into bed Thursday night, the singer rolled out one of the best-kept secrets in recent music history: The album she had spent the last year teasing was now available for purchase on iTunes.

The self-titled set comes as a “visual album” featuring 14 new tracks and 17 music videos.

currently available as an iTunes exclusive. Manufacturing of physical albums begins Thursday and a double disc CD/DVD will be available before the holidays, according to her label.

Working with Jay Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Drake, the Dream, Sia, Ryan Tedder, Miguel, Frank Ocean and Hit Boy, the singer churned out her most ambitious project to date, without ever actually saying she was putting out an album any time soon.

"I didn't want to release my music the way I've done it. I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak..

Tension prevailed at Andhra Pradesh state secretariat Friday as the employees of Seemandhra and Telangana nearly came to blows over the bill sent by the centre for formation of separate Telangana state.

Employees of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) took out a rally when officials were transporting the bill to the state assembly amid tight security. After the convoy of vehicles left for the assembly, Seemandhra employees intensified their protest.

Raising slogans in support of the united state, the employees marched in the high security zone and even set afire an effigy of Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh to protest his visit to Hyderabad.

Employees from Telangana began a counter protest. The secretariat was rocked by the slogans from both the sides. The two groups even tried to push each other.

Police had a tough time in controlling the two groups, who almost clashed in front of 'C' block which houses the office of the chief minister.

Both sides blamed each other for the situation. Leaders of Seemandhra employees said they had been peacefully protesting against the centre's decision for bifurcation of the state. They alleged that the rival group created the trouble.

Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee (JAC) leader V. Srinivas Goud said they would not tolerate Seemandhra employees creating hurdles in formation of Telangana state. He said as a large number of people from Seemandhra are living in Hyderabad, the Seemandhra employees should not do anything which vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

Srinivas Goud also asked police to be impartial while handling the situation. He wondered how Seemandhra employees were allowed to use loudspeaker, take out rally and burn effigy in a restricted area.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday announced it will not form a government in Delhi and will reject the Lieutenant Governor's offer when party leaders meet him on Saturday.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Yogendra Yadav made the announcement after a party meeting. "We don't have majority (support) nor have we finished first," said Yadav. He said AAP founder leader Arvind Kejriwal would meet Jung Saturday in response to a formal invitation from the Lt. Governor regarding government formation in Delhi.

 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which got 32 seats as part of an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, has already told Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that it cannot form a government in Delhi as it lacked majority support in the 70-seat assembly.

AAP took the second spot with 28 seats in a dream electoral debut.

The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years, was crushed and ended up with only eight seats. With the two leading parties refusing to form a government, Delhi stares at re-elecions.

If you've ever said to yourself, My underwear is just covering TOO MUCH of my junk -- well, you're in luck.

Petit Q, a French brand, has released a line of underwear that is, honestly, barely there when it comes to covering your nether-regions. A line that seeks to "create a really sexy and edgy brand but still in a playful way," Petit Q is certainly playing up their appeal to the gay male consumer.

Check out the sexy video of the above to check out all of the different styles -- would you wear these skimpy undies?

And if you're looking for some other underwear this season specifically marketed for gay men? Check out these "Identity Briefs," which let your sexual partner know your preferred sexual position before you're even completely naked!

'Kate had ‘Baby Boy Winslet’ on Saturday at an NHS Hospital,' the spokeswoman said.

A source close to Kate added the couple are 'thrilled to bits.'

The newborn is a third child for Kate, but a first for her husband. The baby joins Mia, 13, and Joe, nine, from Kate's first two marriages.

Winslet met Rocknroll while holidaying at his uncle Richard Branson's privately owned Necker Island, where they wed in secret last December after a whirlwind romance.

The 35-year-old works on the space-travel branch of the Virgin empire.

Rocknroll was born Ned Abel Smith, but changed his name to his unusual monkier by deed poll.

Winslet kept her last name on her marriage, telling Usmagazine: 'I was never going to change my name to Rocknroll. I've never changed my name to anything so I didn’t see a reason to start now.'

It is not known which surname the proud parents will give their newborn son, although by referring to 'Baby Boy Winslet' her spokeswoman implied it would be his mother's.

Speaking recently about her pregnancy, Kate told People magazine: 'I feel completely great. Being a parent turns you inside out.

A spokeswoman confirmed the news, saying: “Kate had ‘Baby Boy Winslet’ on Saturday in Sussex. Mother and baby are doing great.”

Kate already has two children - 13-year-old daughter, Mia, with first husband Jim Threapleton and nine-year-old son, Joe, with 'Bond' director, Sam Mendes.

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is quite possibly the least talked about sure-to-be-blockbuster movie of all time.

I do wonder what life would be like in a world where director Peter Jackson had stuck to the original plan and only released two "Hobbit" movies instead of three. Would the reaction to the first movie, “An Unexpected Journey,” have been better? Would we all be more excited for “The Desolation of Smaug”? Would I have heard at least one person say the words, “I cannot wait to see ‘The Desolation of Smaug’” by now?

It’s remarkable that a series that started out as popular as “The Lord of the Rings” has become something of an afterthought. (An afterthought that still makes a lot of money, I will add.) But I feel that “The Hobbit” is basically the “How I Met Your Mother” of movies right now; we all continue to watch because we’ve invested too many hours to give up now, even though we’d probably rather be doing something else. Actually, the difference between “The Desolation of Smaug” and this final season of “How I Met Your Mother” is that “The Desolation of Smaug” is serviceable entertainment.

It’s certainly an upgrade from last year’s “An Unexpected Journey,” in that there are no seemingly endless musical montages. So, yes, the journey of a group of dwarves to reclaim their homeland from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) continues. But the dwarves really are the biggest problem with the “Hobbit” movies compared to the “Lord of the Rings” movies. There are just so many of them that we don’t really know much about them as individuals, save for Thorin (Richard Armitage). I suspect this is why Jackson decided to bring back Legolas (Orlando Bloom) from “Lord of the Rings” and just completely make up a new character, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), to add at least the semblance of variety.

And it seems that the only thing the dwarves are good at doing is getting captured, then waiting around for Bilbo (Martin Freeman) to save them. This happens in the first movie, and the dwarves manage to get themselves captured an astounding three times during “The Desolation of Smaug.” (A case can be made that they actually get themselves captured four times.) Watching people go from place to place, getting captured each time along the way, doesn’t make for the most interesting of heroes.

But think if “The Hobbit” had been made into just two movies instead of three. Most of the bloat of the first movie would have had to be cut, giving the first movie a much more urgent pace. We’d be talking about the grand conclusion to a remarkable five-part movie series. All of this makes me a little sad because when “The Lord of the Rings” movies were released, each one was an event. “The Hobbit” movies feel more like a commitment we wish we hadn’t made, but it would be rude at this point not to show up.

It's that time of year when the weather gets a bit cooler and you've got to pull out your winter gear--big coat, gloves, hat and scarf--there's nothing out of the ordinary about that. But one artist is raising eyebrows with his choice of 'scarves' that aren't wool or even silk, they're white women.

Nate Hill, a New York-based performance artist, is grabbing a lot of attention with his latest work entitled "Trophy Scarves" in which the 36-year-old travels to the homes of different white women and drapes them over his shoulders. Some women are scantily clad and others completely naked.

According to the official website, Hill describes the project in one succinct sentence:

"I wear white women for status and power."

Take a quick glance at the "Trophy Scarves" Instagram page and you'll see Hill dressed in a tuxedo with various women, wearing barely anything, over his shoulders.

During an interview with Vice, Hill said the project is commenting on people's ideas of race and status.

"Well, there are people who see certain races as status symbols, and someone had to comment on that," he said. "I wanted to find another way to come at that. I guess it’s the same kind of satirical, tongue-in-cheek approach that I like to take with things. I like to talk about something serious but do it in a lighter, kind of a goofy way. "

Hill has a history of grabbing attention with his comments on race. In November 2011, he caused a stir on the Harlem streets when he donned whiteface and posed as "The White Ambassador."

Following her "stop acting like wh*res" Twitter rant, the Parks & Recreation star has penned an essay for Glamour detailing her frustrations with the "pornification of pop" these days, singling out the likes of Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj for saturating mainstream music with graphic sexual imagery.

"This fall I was hanging out with my sisters, catching up on pop-culture stuff. We watched some music videos, looked at a few Instagram accounts, and checked out blogs. And amid the usual duck-lipped selfies and staged paparazzi photos, a theme emerged: Stripper poles, G-strings, boobs, and a lot of tongue action were all now normal accessories for mainstream pop stars," she writes. "That was at the end of October, a month that had already brought us the Miley Cyrus cross-continental twerk-a-thon and Nicki Minaj's Halloween pasties."

"With the addition of Rihanna writhing on a pole in her 'Pour It Up' video, and Lady Gaga's butt-crack cover art for the song that goes 'Do what you want with my body,' I was just done. I'd had enough."
Adding that she's "not a prude" and "grew up on a healthy balance of sexuality in pop stars," Jones explains that sexy doesn't mean "having to take an ultrasound tour of some pop star's privates."

"Yes, we had Madonna testing the boundaries of appropriateness, but then we also had Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Cyndi Lauper, women who played with sexuality but didn't make it their calling card," she continues. "Twenty years later, all the images seem homogenous. Every star interprets "sexy" the same way: lots of skin, lots of licking of teeth, lots of bending over. I find this oddly...boring."

The actress also explains her use of the word "wh*re" in her previous rant, writing, "The fact that I was accused of 'slut-shaming,' being anti-woman, and judging women's sex lives crushed me. I consider myself a feminist. I would never point a finger at a woman for her actual sexual behavior, and I think all women have the right to express their desires. But I will look at women with influence—millionaire women who use their 'sexiness' to make money—and ask some questions. There is a difference, a key one, between 'shaming' and 'holding someone accountable.'"

Jen Arnold, the star of TLC's "The Little Couple," has revealed she is battling a rare form of cancer.

"I have recently been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and am currently undergoing treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy," Arnold, 39, said in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post. "I am very fortunate as the prognosis is good. While there is never a good time to get news like this, getting it just as we are building our new family is tough in many ways. ... But being surrounded by the love of my husband and our two beautiful children is actually in many ways giving me the strength to fight it even stronger."

The neonatologist and her husband, Bill Klein, have had their lives documented on TLC since the show premiered in 2009. The series has followed them living with skeletal dysplasia, settling down in Texas and trying to have a child. They now have two adopted children: Will, 3, and Zoey, 2.

TLC cameras will also capture Arnold's fight against cancer, according to People.

In October, Klein and Arnold told Glamour they would drop the series if it ever got "too cumbersome," but so far they have been able to manage their schedules. They've also gotten great joys out of doing the show, particularly when they've been able to share personal struggles with viewers.

"The biggest joy from the show is those moments where somebody sends a message or tells us that the show has helped them in some personal way, whether it’s going through the physical challenges or the medical challenges of being little people or the fertility changes and adoption challenges of starting a family," she said. "They share their own personal challenges and the fact that watching the show helps them keep moving forward, honestly that’s what makes the show worthwhile. It’s a really cool thing and makes me feel happy and proud when that happens."

In fact, she’s sending out positive thoughts to those who’ve openly criticized her Sound of Music Live! performance.

“Plain and simple: Mean people need Jesus,” she wrote on Twitter. “They will be in my prayers tonight…”

She even cited a Bible verse for the naysayers to study -- Peter 2:1-25, to be exact, which reads: “So rid yourselves of all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.”

Underwood very well may be directing those prayers to 55-year-old actress Kym Karath, who played Gretl von Trapp in the much-beloved 1965 movie musical, who wasn’t quite taken with the country pop star in the lead role of Maria von Trapp in NBC’s three-hour live performance Dec. 5.

And she didn’t hold back her disappointment.

“Mystified & disappointed so far by SOM special. So far only happy with Stephen Moyer,” tweeted Karath, who watched the special alongside her former on-screen siblings Charmian Carr (Liesl von Trapp) and Angela Cartwright (Brigitta von Trapp.)

(Karath with Chariman Carr. Photo: Twitter)

“Love Carrie Underwood but this role is just not right for her,” she said, adding that some scenes were “painful to watch.” “She is lovely her voice is beautiful but acting is wrong.”

But she tried to soften the blow: “To be clear I love Carrie Underwood. Just not as Maria,” Karath continued. “She was brave to take it on. And this doesn't lessen my respect for her talent.”

Even the TV critics’ reviews weren’t as scathing, most praising her unbelievable vocal talents, yet pointing out her acting chops just weren’t quite there.

But like a true performer, the only review that mattered to the 30-year-old superstar was her own:

What is "attractiveness"? Artist Gracie Hagen devised one way of addressing the question. In an effort to explore distance between media-propagated imagery -- the ones that star photoshopped men and women with impossibly pristine bodies -- and the genuine reality of our own flesh, she embarked on a project titled "Illusions of the Body."

Recruiting mostly women and a few men of various sizes and shapes, Hagen photographed her models in two separate poses. In the first frame, her subjects stand in conventionally sexy positions, usually accentuating the curves they themselves deem acceptable while covering up the "unattractive" sections they wish to hide. In the second frame, the same models were asked to strike an unflattering pose; to let their bodies fall into postures we don't usually see in the glossy pages of magazines, regardless of how unsexy it might seem.

"'Illusions of the Body' was made to tackle the supposed norms of what we think our bodies are supposed to look like," Hagen pointed out in an email exchange with The Huffington Post. "Most of us realize that the media displays only the prettiest photos of people, yet we compare ourselves to those images. We never get to see those photos juxtaposed against a picture of that same person looking unflattering."

The result of Hagen's experiment is a striking collection of visual contradictions. The male and female bodies on display go from one extreme to another, showing just how malleable our forms can be, while challenging the rigid beauty ideals we've constructed at the same time.

"The media shows us the most attractive photos of people," Hagen explained. "Don't compare yourselves to those images. They aren't realistic. Everyone is a different shape and size. There is no 'normal.' Celebrate your shapes, sizes and the odd contortions your body can get itself into. The human body is a weird and beautiful thing."

Beyonce posted a series of bikini shots from her recent holiday in Jamaica and brought some heat to this chilly December.

The superstar songstress recently went away with her family for some R&R on the Caribbean island. She posted snapshots of the picturesque scenery, the local cuisine and their paddle-boarding adventures. She also posted photos of herself in some bikinis.
In the photos, Beyonce can be seen wearing a purple printed bikini with high-waisted bottoms while lounging on the beach. In others, she rocks a metallic one-shouldered two-piece while she climbs a tree.

The 32-year-old stayed at the Trident Port Antonio Hotel, a luxury property featuring oceanfront villas, according to the Jamaica Observer. She was also spotted checking out the recording studios in Geejam.

It was just announced that she and husband Jay Z will be going vegan for 22 days. The rapper explained it's a spiritual and physical challenge.