Saturday 7 May 2011
Is the colonization of Africa beneficient to we africans?
Is the colonization of Africa beneficial to the Africans????? this have been a question we africans do ask ourself and nobody seem to have a better answer for it.
Friday 6 May 2011
Oba Elegushi market under ambition and optimism.
AMBITIOUS AND OPTIMISTIC
This is Oba Elegushi market. And no, it’s not on a river, and there hasn’t just been a rainstorm. It’s pretty much like this all the time in the wet season. The market has no drainage or utilities of any sort.
And yet, it is a magical place, full or amazing amateur art and wonderful people. And each one of them would not trade it for the world.
The market pretty much represents Lagos and much of Nigeria. Despite crumbling or non-existent infastructure, people are doing amazing things. I think it is only a matter of time before a really powerful, amazing brand emerges from a corner like this.
Why? Because brands need a few raw ingredients:
Ambition - a belief that they can achieve great things
Optimism - an confidence that the world around you can and will get better
And Ambition and Optimism are the most important words to describe Lagos.
(Ije Nwokorie)
This is Oba Elegushi market. And no, it’s not on a river, and there hasn’t just been a rainstorm. It’s pretty much like this all the time in the wet season. The market has no drainage or utilities of any sort.
And yet, it is a magical place, full or amazing amateur art and wonderful people. And each one of them would not trade it for the world.
The market pretty much represents Lagos and much of Nigeria. Despite crumbling or non-existent infastructure, people are doing amazing things. I think it is only a matter of time before a really powerful, amazing brand emerges from a corner like this.
Why? Because brands need a few raw ingredients:
Ambition - a belief that they can achieve great things
Optimism - an confidence that the world around you can and will get better
And Ambition and Optimism are the most important words to describe Lagos.
(Ije Nwokorie)
World markets feel downturn!!!
Click to play
Inside Oba Elegushi market in Lagos.
By Nnenna Obibuaku BBC News, Lagos |
"The present economic crisis is affecting every aspect of life here," says Adamu Bima, 35, a trader at the Oba Elegushi arts and crafts market, who also holds a degree in economics.
"I struggle to make ends meet. I sometimes have to borrow to support my family."
The market is known for its colourful mix of paintings, beads, woodwork, bronze and tie-dye fabrics, produced in Nigeria, Kenya, Mali and others parts of Africa.
It's a tourist attraction, but fewer people are buying, and those that do buy are spending less, says Adamu Bima.
Job hunt
One of the problems is that the Naira has fallen from 118 to the dollar in November, to 145 today.
"I sell Nigerian and imported leather and wooden arts. It now costs more both for the goods that are imported and the locally made ones," says Adamu Bima.
A few months ago he could buy a leather case for N2000 ($14). Now it costs N3000 ($20).
The price of food, transport and clothing is also rising.
Adamu Bima says he has been in the business for 20 years but is now looking for an alternative.
Market traders are experiencing real hardship, he says.
He wants the government to import less, export more and put more emphasis on agriculture.
Nigerians Making Free Phone Calls
NewsRescue- Little surprise, people love free things. And with the telecommunications burst that is not such a burst on the pockets, Nigerians keep seeking ways to reduce their phone call costs.
As the Nigerian telephone company mogul, Mike Adenuga is purported to have said- ‘phone business is like ritual(voodoo) money’. It makes so much!
Nigerians calling each other in Nigeria for free
But Nigerians are always seeking ways out of this and actually getting two advantages for the price of one with a phenomenal gadget that has been a best winner in US markets for several years straight. This is the MagicJack
PC-phone jack. A simple device that once plugged into a computer with fast enough internet and then plugged to a regular phone box, allows users make phone calls to United States phone numbers as though they are in the United States themselves, for FREE!
But it even gets better. Trust Nigerians with their ingenuity; Those who use this MagicJack device have permanent US phone numbers for a year with the single purchase of the device. Hence they use this device to call not only friends and family in the US, but also friends and family in Nigeria and Ghana who also have MagicJack for free for the entire year, and on with annual low cost renewal of subscription.
PerrySolution.com Nig LTD, also known as BuyDirectFromUSA.com on 23 Allen avenue, opposite Stop center, Ikeja, Lagos, 08035617436, the winners of the Institute for Direct Marketing “Best online shopping company” award due to their company ingenuity, as Nigerias main, goods and software import company for individuals and organizations, who officially market this product in Nigeria and advertised its many different usages, explained to us that their customers now purchase this for their family, friends and lovers locally and then utilize their own, with their US phone to call their family and friends within Nigeria, saving $1000s per year on phone bills.
With Main One broad band, we expect a greater usage of this amazingly cheap tool, authentic versions of which sell for under 15,000 Naira.
As the saying goes, ‘the White-man who made the pencil also made the eraser’, there is always a way for smart people to do things cheaper. Companies are also jumping on this bandwagon, giving their staff this amazing device and enabling them to make calls all over the world and to fellow Nigerian branches for free. Renewing the subscription annually is also made possible by international payment companies, like PerryMart.com who have renewed numbers for clients over the years.
As the Nigerian telephone company mogul, Mike Adenuga is purported to have said- ‘phone business is like ritual(voodoo) money’. It makes so much!
Countries like the United States, that do not predominantly use the GSM network offer their phone customers unlimited calling packages for as low rates as $100 per month. Landlines in the US operate at even lower costs, giving clients unlimited free calling to more than 100 countries for rates as great as $30/month. This is in great contrast to what is paid in Nigeria, Ghana and the like with individuals on average spending up to $10/day for little over an hour of phone talk time.
Nigerians calling each other in Nigeria for free
But Nigerians are always seeking ways out of this and actually getting two advantages for the price of one with a phenomenal gadget that has been a best winner in US markets for several years straight. This is the MagicJack
PC-phone jack. A simple device that once plugged into a computer with fast enough internet and then plugged to a regular phone box, allows users make phone calls to United States phone numbers as though they are in the United States themselves, for FREE!The easy 2 min Magicjack setup
device have permanent US phone numbers for a year with the single purchase of the device. Hence they use this device to call not only friends and family in the US, but also friends and family in Nigeria and Ghana who also have MagicJack for free for the entire year, and on with annual low cost renewal of subscription.PerrySolution.com
Nig LTD, also known as BuyDirectFromUSA.com on 23 Allen avenue, opposite Stop center, Ikeja, Lagos, 08035617436, the winners of the Institute for Direct Marketing “Best online shopping company” award due to their company ingenuity, as Nigerias main, goods and software import company for individuals and organizations, who officially market this product in Nigeria and advertised its many different usages, explained to us that their customers now purchase this for their family, friends and lovers locally and then utilize their own, with their US phone to call their family and friends within Nigeria, saving $1000s per year on phone bills.With Main One broad band, we expect a greater usage of this amazingly cheap tool, authentic versions of which sell for under 15,000 Naira.
As the saying goes, ‘the White-man who made the pencil also made the eraser’, there is always a way for smart people to do things cheaper. Companies are also jumping on this bandwagon, giving their staff this amazing device and enabling them to make calls all over the world and to fellow Nigerian branches for free. Renewing the subscription annually is also made possible by international payment companies, like PerryMart.com
who have renewed numbers for clients over the years.
Stephanie Okereke Goofs On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!!!
Read more: Nollywood stars, Stephanie Okereke, Nollywood actress, Who wants to be a millionaire, Entertainment news, Nollywood Actress Stephanie Okereke, Azuh Arinze, Sam Ibiam, 
Stephanie Okereke, top Nollywood actress and Azuh Arinze, a popular journalist and writer were the succour given Sam Ibiam, the very first goal-tender for the national team, to win some millions from the popular television quiz show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ With the wealth of experience and exposure between them you would thought MTN was in for some paying-up to do but the situation didn’t turn as such as the two celebrities goofed many times over.
The first hitch came their way when they were asked to named what instrument is used to spray paint. With four options, namely; spatula, airbrush, Scraper and palette, you would have thought that question was as good as nailed but that was not the case. While Stephanie was sure it must be spatula Azuh had no clue as to what it could be. They remained so perplexed that Frank Udoho, the presenter, had to suggest they asked the audience. It was the audience that bailed them out or else the poor old man would have gone home with N45,000.
They continued to hold their own until an embarrassing question was tossed their away. This time the question caught them short they didn’t even had inkling what the answer could be. The question is simply whose picture is on the N100 note. Believe me, Stephanie and Azuh, were like they have been caught with their pants down as they looked so spooked and clueless. That would have been the end of the road for them if not for the timely intervention of the Octogenarian himself who proffered the answer to save the day. Though at the end they got away, winning one million Naira for the old goalkeeper but men!
Stephanie Okereke, top Nollywood actress and Azuh Arinze, a popular journalist and writer were the succour given Sam Ibiam, the very first goal-tender for the national team, to win some millions from the popular television quiz show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ With the wealth of experience and exposure between them you would thought MTN was in for some paying-up to do but the situation didn’t turn as such as the two celebrities goofed many times over.
The first hitch came their way when they were asked to named what instrument is used to spray paint. With four options, namely; spatula, airbrush, Scraper and palette, you would have thought that question was as good as nailed but that was not the case. While Stephanie was sure it must be spatula Azuh had no clue as to what it could be. They remained so perplexed that Frank Udoho, the presenter, had to suggest they asked the audience. It was the audience that bailed them out or else the poor old man would have gone home with N45,000.
They continued to hold their own until an embarrassing question was tossed their away. This time the question caught them short they didn’t even had inkling what the answer could be. The question is simply whose picture is on the N100 note. Believe me, Stephanie and Azuh, were like they have been caught with their pants down as they looked so spooked and clueless. That would have been the end of the road for them if not for the timely intervention of the Octogenarian himself who proffered the answer to save the day. Though at the end they got away, winning one million Naira for the old goalkeeper but men!
Elizabeth Taylor Dead At 79.
Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress famed for her beauty, her jet-set lifestyle, her charitable endeavors and her many marriages, has died, her publicist told CNN Wednesday. She was 79.
Taylor died "peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles," said a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, "a condition with which she had struggled for many years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."
Did you meet Elizabeth Taylor? Share your photos, memories
Though a two-time Oscar winner -- for "Butterfield 8" (1960) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966) -- Taylor was more celebrated for simply being Elizabeth Taylor: sexy, glamorous, tempestuous, fragile, always trailing courtiers, media and fans. She wasn't above playing to that image -- she had a fragrance called "White Diamonds" -- or mocking it.
"I am a very committed wife," she once said. "And I should be committed too -- for being married so many times."
Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor dies 
King calls Liz Taylor 'a great pal' 
1997: Elizabeth Taylor remembered 
2001: Liz Taylor talks diamonds She was hailed, in her prime, as the world's most beautiful and desirable woman. Her affair with actor Richard Burton, which began on the set of the film "Cleopatra," fueled a paparazzi rush unrivaled in its time. The two later married -- twice -- providing gossip columns and movie magazines with a wealth of material.
But Taylor could also be an effective and arresting actress. Her harrowing performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966), opposite Burton, showed her as shrewish, plain, embittered -- the complete opposite of her real-life image.
She also gave sharp performances in "Giant" (1956), "Raintree County" (1957), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) -- three films that helped build her reputation as a worldwide sex symbol -- "The Sandpiper" (1965) and "Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967).
Taylor was a champion for a number of charitable causes, notably the fight against AIDS. She founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation after the death of her friend Rock Hudson, and plowed both her time and money into its work, especially as her acting career waned in the 1980s. The BBC once noted that her charity work had grossed as much as her film career.
Acting and romance
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born February 27, 1932, in London, the daughter of two wealthy American art dealers, Francis and Sara Taylor. Her mother was a former actress who had given up the career when she married, but encouraged her daughter in the pursuit. Indeed, Elizabeth Taylor and her mother were to remain extremely close until the latter's death in 1994, at age 99.
Just after World War II began, her parents moved back to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, where Francis Taylor catered to a high-level clientele. Young Elizabeth was noted early on for her looks: According to one perhaps apocryphal story, she was spotted by a talent scout who suggested her for Bonnie Blue Butler in "Gone With the Wind," but the idea was reportedly shot down by her father.
Nevertheless, she eventually made her debut for Universal, which placed her in 1942's "There's One Born Every Minute." Taylor was then signed by MGM, which was to be her home for almost two decades, and made "Lassie Come Home," opposite Roddy McDowall. The actor became a devoted friend.
But it was Taylor's next film, 1944's "National Velvet," that made her a star. The story of a girl in love with her horse earned her public adulation -- and her equine co-star, The Pie. (Her other co-star, Mickey Rooney, was taken.) For the rest of the 1940s, she was an MGM regular, some of her films winners -- the 1949 version of "Little Women" -- and others, quickly forgotten, such as "Julia Misbehaves."
In 1950, Taylor turned 18 and had her first hit as an adult, the classic "Father of the Bride," in which she played Spencer Tracy's soon-to-be-married daughter. Real life mirrored art when Taylor decided to marry hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr., but the marriage wasn't nearly as successful as the film: it lasted just eight months.
Critical acclaim arrived with Taylor's next film, "A Place in the Sun," based on the Theodore Dreiser novel "An American Tragedy." Taylor played the beautiful woman pursued by Montgomery Clift, who kills his pregnant girlfriend (Shelley Winters) while boating. The film received nine Academy Award nominations, but Taylor was shut out.
It wasn't until 1958 that Taylor received her first Oscar nomination, for 1957's "Raintree County." By then, she was an even bigger star than before, and known as much for her off-screen romances as her on-screen talent.
She married actor Michael Wilding -- 20 years her senior -- in 1952, a marriage that lasted five years and produced two children, and then Hollywood producer Mike Todd a week after her divorce from Wilding. And after some sluggish work in the early '50s, she was appearing in some renowned films, notably 1956's "Giant" opposite James Dean and Rock Hudson. Todd suggested her for the role of Maggie the Cat in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), and Taylor steamed up the screen, spending a good part of the movie slinking around in a slip.
Todd died in a plane crash in March 1958. Upon his death, Taylor was comforted by Todd's best friend, actor and singer Eddie Fisher. The comforting turned into an affair, complete with bold headlines, which broke apart Fisher's marriage to "America's sweetheart," actress Debbie Reynolds. Taylor was now "the other woman," scorned as a homewrecker -- and, based on box office returns, more popular than ever.
Fisher and Taylor married in 1959 and appeared opposite each other in the next year's "BUtterfield 8," with Taylor cast as a sexually carnivorous party girl. Though she disliked the film, her performance -- and a sudden case of pneumonia that threatened her life -- invited the sympathy of the Motion Picture Academy, and she finally won an Oscar. "I lost to a tracheotomy," fellow nominee Shirley MacLaine quipped.
Liz 'n' Dick
In 1960, now perhaps the most famous actress in the world, Taylor was offered the lead in 20th Century Fox's production of "Cleopatra." Taylor demanded $1 million -- the highest fee demanded by an actress up to that time. Producer Walter Wanger agreed, and the adventure of "Cleopatra" -- which would consume the showbiz world in ways unknown in the early '60s -- began. (Fisher's ex-wife, Reynolds, would become the second woman to make $1 million for a picture.)
The movie seemed gripped by a curse. Taylor's illnesses -- there were more than one -- caused delays, forced casting changes and prompting the production to move from London to Rome. The original director, old Hollywood hand Rouben Mamoulian, was forced out and replaced by Joseph Mankiewicz ("All About Eve"). Weather wiped out days of filming and labor unrest undid more, pushing the budget, which was originally about $5 million, to $44 million -- almost $300 million in 2010 dollars, more than "Avatar."
And then there was one of the new actors, Richard Burton, who was cast as Marc Antony when Stephen Boyd had to leave the production.
Burton, who was already known as much for his philandering ways as his Shakespearean expertise, had initially thought little of Taylor beyond her beauty. But he was quickly smitten: "He tried to end it, but he kept turning around and coming back to her," Mankiewicz's son Tom told Taylor biographer William J. Mann. "He just couldn't help himself. He couldn't get enough of her."
The two were inseparable -- and very publicly so. Pictures of the couple finally prompted Burton's long-suffering wife, Sybil -- who had attempted suicide -- to file for divorce. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, both friend and foe to Taylor over the years, called her "sick." The Vatican released a message directed at her, saying she was guilty of "erotic vagrancy." A U.S. congresswoman even introduced a bill banning Taylor and Burton -- or "Liz 'n' Dick," as they were becoming known -- from the United States. In response, Taylor asserted, "I will never go back to America."
But America couldn't get enough of "Le Scandale." "Cleopatra" actually did well at the box office -- though not well enough to immediately escape its red ink: it took three years for 20th Century Fox to make its money back, and Taylor and Burton were now the "It" couple of the moment.
The two married in 1964, their every move a headline. Burton bought Taylor jewels, furs, baubles. The two caused near-riots when they appeared in public. Burton's tour of "Hamlet" sold out and their movies together -- "The V.I.P.s," "The Sandpiper," even the grim, groundbreaking "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" -- were hits, the latter also nominated for 10 Oscars. Taylor received a best actress trophy for her performance as the tempestuous Martha; Burton was nominated for his performance as the emasculated George.
Eventually, however, the moviegoing public tired of the double act. Taylor and Burton made four more films together -- "The Taming of the Shrew," "Doctor Faustus," "The Comedians" and the appropriately titled bomb "Boom!" -- but none had the success of their earlier work. At the same time, a new generation was latching on to a younger group of stars; Taylor, though still in her 30s, seemed part of another time.
Woman of charity
The actress' career continued to languish as she entered her 40s. Such films as "The Only Game in Town," "X, Y and Zee" and "Ash Wednesday" did nothing for her reputation. Her marriage to Burton also faltered; the two divorced in 1974, and though they remarried the next year, the second attempt ended nine months later.
Indeed, Taylor was starting to become a figure of mockery. During a fund-raising dinner for her sixth husband, U.S. Senator John Warner, R-Virginia, Taylor choked on a chicken bone. The incident, including a bulked-up Taylor, was viciously parodied on "Saturday Night Live," with John Belushi playing Taylor.
But the glamour of being Elizabeth Taylor never faded. She was a "guest" at the much-watched Luke-Laura "General Hospital" wedding in 1983 and launched several perfume lines, starting with Passion later in the decade.
Most notably, however, she devoted herself to charity. In 1985, she organized a benefit dinner to raise money for her friend Rock Hudson, who was dying of AIDS. The project eventually led to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR); in 1991, she began the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation.
Taylor did a handful of parts in the '90s and '00s -- most notably a 1992 spot on "The Simpsons" in which her voice spoke Maggie Simpson's first word -- but generally devoted herself to social and charitable causes. She married one more time in 1991, to a construction worker named Larry Fortensky, and defended her friend, pop king Michael Jackson. She had more health woes: a trip to the Betty Ford Clinic in the late '80s -- where she met Fortensky -- as well as a brain tumor and severe back problems. The latter put her in a wheelchair.
But through all of it -- the gossip, the ailments, the loves and losses -- she remained indomitable. She even joined Twitter to send regular updates on her life.
Why not? She was born to the spotlight, and no amount of tittle-tattle was going to take it away.
Taylor died "peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles," said a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, "a condition with which she had struggled for many years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."
Did you meet Elizabeth Taylor? Share your photos, memories
Though a two-time Oscar winner -- for "Butterfield 8" (1960) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966) -- Taylor was more celebrated for simply being Elizabeth Taylor: sexy, glamorous, tempestuous, fragile, always trailing courtiers, media and fans. She wasn't above playing to that image -- she had a fragrance called "White Diamonds" -- or mocking it.
"I am a very committed wife," she once said. "And I should be committed too -- for being married so many times."
Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor dies King calls Liz Taylor 'a great pal' 1997: Elizabeth Taylor remembered 2001: Liz Taylor talks diamonds But Taylor could also be an effective and arresting actress. Her harrowing performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966), opposite Burton, showed her as shrewish, plain, embittered -- the complete opposite of her real-life image.
She also gave sharp performances in "Giant" (1956), "Raintree County" (1957), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) -- three films that helped build her reputation as a worldwide sex symbol -- "The Sandpiper" (1965) and "Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967).
Taylor was a champion for a number of charitable causes, notably the fight against AIDS. She founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation after the death of her friend Rock Hudson, and plowed both her time and money into its work, especially as her acting career waned in the 1980s. The BBC once noted that her charity work had grossed as much as her film career.
Acting and romance
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born February 27, 1932, in London, the daughter of two wealthy American art dealers, Francis and Sara Taylor. Her mother was a former actress who had given up the career when she married, but encouraged her daughter in the pursuit. Indeed, Elizabeth Taylor and her mother were to remain extremely close until the latter's death in 1994, at age 99.
Just after World War II began, her parents moved back to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, where Francis Taylor catered to a high-level clientele. Young Elizabeth was noted early on for her looks: According to one perhaps apocryphal story, she was spotted by a talent scout who suggested her for Bonnie Blue Butler in "Gone With the Wind," but the idea was reportedly shot down by her father.
Nevertheless, she eventually made her debut for Universal, which placed her in 1942's "There's One Born Every Minute." Taylor was then signed by MGM, which was to be her home for almost two decades, and made "Lassie Come Home," opposite Roddy McDowall. The actor became a devoted friend.
But it was Taylor's next film, 1944's "National Velvet," that made her a star. The story of a girl in love with her horse earned her public adulation -- and her equine co-star, The Pie. (Her other co-star, Mickey Rooney, was taken.) For the rest of the 1940s, she was an MGM regular, some of her films winners -- the 1949 version of "Little Women" -- and others, quickly forgotten, such as "Julia Misbehaves."
In 1950, Taylor turned 18 and had her first hit as an adult, the classic "Father of the Bride," in which she played Spencer Tracy's soon-to-be-married daughter. Real life mirrored art when Taylor decided to marry hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr., but the marriage wasn't nearly as successful as the film: it lasted just eight months.
Critical acclaim arrived with Taylor's next film, "A Place in the Sun," based on the Theodore Dreiser novel "An American Tragedy." Taylor played the beautiful woman pursued by Montgomery Clift, who kills his pregnant girlfriend (Shelley Winters) while boating. The film received nine Academy Award nominations, but Taylor was shut out.
It wasn't until 1958 that Taylor received her first Oscar nomination, for 1957's "Raintree County." By then, she was an even bigger star than before, and known as much for her off-screen romances as her on-screen talent.
She married actor Michael Wilding -- 20 years her senior -- in 1952, a marriage that lasted five years and produced two children, and then Hollywood producer Mike Todd a week after her divorce from Wilding. And after some sluggish work in the early '50s, she was appearing in some renowned films, notably 1956's "Giant" opposite James Dean and Rock Hudson. Todd suggested her for the role of Maggie the Cat in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), and Taylor steamed up the screen, spending a good part of the movie slinking around in a slip.
Todd died in a plane crash in March 1958. Upon his death, Taylor was comforted by Todd's best friend, actor and singer Eddie Fisher. The comforting turned into an affair, complete with bold headlines, which broke apart Fisher's marriage to "America's sweetheart," actress Debbie Reynolds. Taylor was now "the other woman," scorned as a homewrecker -- and, based on box office returns, more popular than ever.
Fisher and Taylor married in 1959 and appeared opposite each other in the next year's "BUtterfield 8," with Taylor cast as a sexually carnivorous party girl. Though she disliked the film, her performance -- and a sudden case of pneumonia that threatened her life -- invited the sympathy of the Motion Picture Academy, and she finally won an Oscar. "I lost to a tracheotomy," fellow nominee Shirley MacLaine quipped.
Liz 'n' Dick
In 1960, now perhaps the most famous actress in the world, Taylor was offered the lead in 20th Century Fox's production of "Cleopatra." Taylor demanded $1 million -- the highest fee demanded by an actress up to that time. Producer Walter Wanger agreed, and the adventure of "Cleopatra" -- which would consume the showbiz world in ways unknown in the early '60s -- began. (Fisher's ex-wife, Reynolds, would become the second woman to make $1 million for a picture.)
The movie seemed gripped by a curse. Taylor's illnesses -- there were more than one -- caused delays, forced casting changes and prompting the production to move from London to Rome. The original director, old Hollywood hand Rouben Mamoulian, was forced out and replaced by Joseph Mankiewicz ("All About Eve"). Weather wiped out days of filming and labor unrest undid more, pushing the budget, which was originally about $5 million, to $44 million -- almost $300 million in 2010 dollars, more than "Avatar."
And then there was one of the new actors, Richard Burton, who was cast as Marc Antony when Stephen Boyd had to leave the production.
Burton, who was already known as much for his philandering ways as his Shakespearean expertise, had initially thought little of Taylor beyond her beauty. But he was quickly smitten: "He tried to end it, but he kept turning around and coming back to her," Mankiewicz's son Tom told Taylor biographer William J. Mann. "He just couldn't help himself. He couldn't get enough of her."
The two were inseparable -- and very publicly so. Pictures of the couple finally prompted Burton's long-suffering wife, Sybil -- who had attempted suicide -- to file for divorce. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, both friend and foe to Taylor over the years, called her "sick." The Vatican released a message directed at her, saying she was guilty of "erotic vagrancy." A U.S. congresswoman even introduced a bill banning Taylor and Burton -- or "Liz 'n' Dick," as they were becoming known -- from the United States. In response, Taylor asserted, "I will never go back to America."
But America couldn't get enough of "Le Scandale." "Cleopatra" actually did well at the box office -- though not well enough to immediately escape its red ink: it took three years for 20th Century Fox to make its money back, and Taylor and Burton were now the "It" couple of the moment.
The two married in 1964, their every move a headline. Burton bought Taylor jewels, furs, baubles. The two caused near-riots when they appeared in public. Burton's tour of "Hamlet" sold out and their movies together -- "The V.I.P.s," "The Sandpiper," even the grim, groundbreaking "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" -- were hits, the latter also nominated for 10 Oscars. Taylor received a best actress trophy for her performance as the tempestuous Martha; Burton was nominated for his performance as the emasculated George.
Eventually, however, the moviegoing public tired of the double act. Taylor and Burton made four more films together -- "The Taming of the Shrew," "Doctor Faustus," "The Comedians" and the appropriately titled bomb "Boom!" -- but none had the success of their earlier work. At the same time, a new generation was latching on to a younger group of stars; Taylor, though still in her 30s, seemed part of another time.
Woman of charity
The actress' career continued to languish as she entered her 40s. Such films as "The Only Game in Town," "X, Y and Zee" and "Ash Wednesday" did nothing for her reputation. Her marriage to Burton also faltered; the two divorced in 1974, and though they remarried the next year, the second attempt ended nine months later.
Indeed, Taylor was starting to become a figure of mockery. During a fund-raising dinner for her sixth husband, U.S. Senator John Warner, R-Virginia, Taylor choked on a chicken bone. The incident, including a bulked-up Taylor, was viciously parodied on "Saturday Night Live," with John Belushi playing Taylor.
But the glamour of being Elizabeth Taylor never faded. She was a "guest" at the much-watched Luke-Laura "General Hospital" wedding in 1983 and launched several perfume lines, starting with Passion later in the decade.
Most notably, however, she devoted herself to charity. In 1985, she organized a benefit dinner to raise money for her friend Rock Hudson, who was dying of AIDS. The project eventually led to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR); in 1991, she began the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation.
Taylor did a handful of parts in the '90s and '00s -- most notably a 1992 spot on "The Simpsons" in which her voice spoke Maggie Simpson's first word -- but generally devoted herself to social and charitable causes. She married one more time in 1991, to a construction worker named Larry Fortensky, and defended her friend, pop king Michael Jackson. She had more health woes: a trip to the Betty Ford Clinic in the late '80s -- where she met Fortensky -- as well as a brain tumor and severe back problems. The latter put her in a wheelchair.
But through all of it -- the gossip, the ailments, the loves and losses -- she remained indomitable. She even joined Twitter to send regular updates on her life.
Why not? She was born to the spotlight, and no amount of tittle-tattle was going to take it away.
"Some audience out there, and don't ask me who they are, but there are millions, like scandal. They like filth," she told CNN's Larry King in 2006. "And if they want to hear that I'm dead, sorry, folks, I'm not. And I don't plan on it."
Browse Free on your phone with MTN
1. Go to Opera website and download Opera 6.5
2. Go to http://OperaMini.com and download Opera mini for your phone.
3. Install PC suite for your phone in your PC.
4. Configure your PC Suite with this setting: Username: web, Password: web, APN/Access Point: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net.
5. Configure your Opera Mini by going to Menu, Settings, Network, then scroll down to where you will see Opera IP, type: loaded.mtnonline.com@80.232.117.10:80. Uncheck server error and save.
6. For Opera 6.5 homepage, type: loaded.mtnonline.com@proxy1.info
7. Lunch Internet from PC Suite and use Opera 6.5 to browse. You can equally check other versions of Opera browser.
ANOTHER WAY TO BROWSE ON YOUR PHONE FREE
1. Go to your phone Setting and locate Configuration. Check on Personal Configuration. Select MTN (if it’s there) or create New Profile by clicking Option.
2. In the Account Name, type MTN WAP; Homepage, type http://loaded.mtnonline.com@www.google.com/gwt/n
3. After typing, click OK. Username is: web; Password: web.
4. In the User Preferred Access Point, select NO. Access Point: click OK. Proxy: select Enable. Proxy Address: type 10.199.212.2. Proxy Port: 8080.
5. Data Barrier: select Packet Data. Then Barrier Setting: select OK. Access Point: type web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net and click OK. Network Type: select IPV4. Authentication: select NORMAL. Username: web and Password: web.
Enjoy free browsing on your phone.
NB: If you have credit in your phone, the browsing will gradually deplete it. So, make sure that you don’t have credit in your phone before browsing.
THANK YOU
2. Go to http://OperaMini.com and download Opera mini for your phone.
3. Install PC suite for your phone in your PC.
4. Configure your PC Suite with this setting: Username: web, Password: web, APN/Access Point: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net.
5. Configure your Opera Mini by going to Menu, Settings, Network, then scroll down to where you will see Opera IP, type: loaded.mtnonline.com@80.232.117.10:80. Uncheck server error and save.
6. For Opera 6.5 homepage, type: loaded.mtnonline.com@proxy1.info
7. Lunch Internet from PC Suite and use Opera 6.5 to browse. You can equally check other versions of Opera browser.
ANOTHER WAY TO BROWSE ON YOUR PHONE FREE
1. Go to your phone Setting and locate Configuration. Check on Personal Configuration. Select MTN (if it’s there) or create New Profile by clicking Option.
2. In the Account Name, type MTN WAP; Homepage, type http://loaded.mtnonline.com@www.google.com/gwt/n
3. After typing, click OK. Username is: web; Password: web.
4. In the User Preferred Access Point, select NO. Access Point: click OK. Proxy: select Enable. Proxy Address: type 10.199.212.2. Proxy Port: 8080.
5. Data Barrier: select Packet Data. Then Barrier Setting: select OK. Access Point: type web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net and click OK. Network Type: select IPV4. Authentication: select NORMAL. Username: web and Password: web.
Enjoy free browsing on your phone.
NB: If you have credit in your phone, the browsing will gradually deplete it. So, make sure that you don’t have credit in your phone before browsing.
THANK YOU
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