Friday, 8 December 2017
Simon Cowell insults a fan in New York City
- Simon Cowell politely writes an insulting message above his autograph at the request of a sarcastic fan. Visit our blog, we update daily! Follow us on Twitter! @stupidfamous Like us on Facebook! Twitter @stupidfamous ► Instagram @stupidfamouspeople ► Facebook ► Tumblr ► Google+ ► ------------------------------------------- Thanks for watching SFP! - Trending Celebrity Gossip & News
Halloween 2017: The reasons we celebrate today and why children trick-or-treat

What is Halloween?
Well, Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of All Hallows' Evening), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a spooky celebration observed every year in a number of countries on October 31 - the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day, also known as All Saints' Day. In 2017, Halloween falls on a Tuesday.The Americanised (Americanized?) Halloween that we experience today actually originated in the Celtic fringes of Britain, and was adapted over the decades by Christian traditions, immigrants' conventions and an insatiable desire for sweets. http://hulumagazine.com
What has Halloween got to do with dressing up?
Celts dressed up in white with blackened faces during the festival of Samhain to trick the evil spirits that they believed would be roaming the earth before All Saints' Day on November 1st. By the 11th century, this had been adapted by the Church into a tradition called 'souling', which is seen as being the origin of trick-or-treating. Children go door-to-door, asking for soul cakes in exchange for praying for the souls of friends and relatives. They went dressed up as angels, demons or saints. The soul cakes were sweet, with a cross marked on top and when eaten they represented a soul being freed from purgatory.Halloween trick-or-treating
The phrase trick-or-treat was first used in America in 1927, with the traditions brought over to America by immigrants. Guising gave way to threatening pranks in exchange for sweets. After a brief lull during the sugar rations in World War Two, Halloween became a widespread holiday that revolved around children, with newly built suburbs providing a safe place for children to roam free. Costumes became more adventurous - in Victorian ages, they were influenced by gothic themes in literature, and dressed as bats and ghosts or what seemed exotic, such as an Egyptian pharoah. Later, costumes became influenced by pop culture, and became more sexualised in the 1970s. Many of us have fallen victim to a scary Halloween prank, or even played the nasty trickster ourselves. From jumping out of bushes dressed as zombies or spooking people in their sleep as ghosts - the terrifying list of possibilities is endless.Why do we carve pumpkins?
The carving of pumpkins originates from the Samhain festival, when Gaels would carve turnips to ward off spirits and stop fairies from settling in houses.Six peculiar Halloween traditions
In Czech culture, chairs for deceased family members are placed by the fire on Halloween night alongside chairs for each living one. In Austria some people leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before going to bed. It is believed that this will welcome dead souls back to Earth. Meanwhile in Germany, people hide their knives to make sure none of the returning spirits are harmed – or seek to harm them! Barnbrack, a fruitcake, is used as part of a fortune telling game in Ireland. Muslin-wrapped treats are baked inside. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means a prosperous year is on its way; a pea means the person will not marry that year; a stick means an unhappy marriage or dispute; a coin represents good fortune.Thursday, 7 December 2017
Meghan Markle hairstyle – a DIY step-by-step guide
One of the many things 2017 will be known for is the engagement of the gorgeous Meghan Markle to Prince Harry. Their fairytale love story, the Prince’s proposal, their announcement of their marriage, their first interview together, their photo ops—everything about this couple is dreamy and magical. Among the many things that have fascinated us about this soon-to-be duchess, is her hair. Already her simple yet elegant loose curly hairstyle is becoming popular with women from across the world. So we got hairstylist Asgar Saboo to give us a step-by-step guide to get the Meghan Markle hair. Here it is:
1) Shampoo, condition and comb
Shampoo and conditioning correctly are key! Using a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner will help fight frizz, define the curls and keep them looking fresh and shiny for a prolonged period of time. A little goes a long way, so only apply a dime-sized amount of product to avoid drying out the hair. Allow the conditioner to sit for a few minutes in order to help detangle any knots. After you rinse out your conditioner, try gently brushing through your hair with a wide-toothed comb to get all of the tangles out. Brushing the hair when dry, especially for those with naturally curly hair can cause more frizz. http://hugomccloud.com
2) Towel drying
It’s important not to be too rough when drying your hair straight after washing it. Before you get out of the shower, ring all of the excess water from your hair and begin drying. Rubbing your hair excessively is going to cause damage, so instead put your hair up in a towel and simply leave it be for 10-15. Try to use a towel with gentler fabrics, or a cotton t-shirt. For tangles, first, apply a de-tangling or conditioning spray.
3) Styling
With the hair still slightly damp and combed out in thicker strands, it’s now time to add some curling mousse. Add a generous amount of mousse, roughly the size of a golf ball, from the root to tip and scrunch with your fingers. Make sure to use a product with some hold to it to ensure your curls last longer. If you are going to use a gel, the trick is to rub it in your hands and then lightly scrunch it up into your hair Repeat this until you coat all of your hair with mousse, tip your hair upside down and blow-dry until nearly dry. Once the hair is scrunched and separated, avoid touching it and let it completely dry naturally. Once your hair is totally dry, it may need a little spray or pomade to finish off the look.
Which Celebs Do These Stars Want to Kiss Under the Mistletoe? - Becky G, Fifth Harmony, Lucy Hale
Which Celeb Had the Best Year? ►► More Celebrity News ►► If you had to be stuck under the mistletoe with one celebrity, who would it be? We asked stars like Becky G, Fifth Harmony, Lucy Hale, Bridgit Mendler, Rita Ora and more who would be their dream smooch. For More Clevver Visit: Website: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Keep up with us on Instagram: Add us to your circles on Google+: Tweet Me:
Why Marines Absolutely Love the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle
Marksmanship, the ability to shoot accurately and service targets with the minimum expenditure of ammunition, has always been part of the Marine Corps ethos. The adoption of the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle over the older M249 Squad Automatic Weapon marks a return to that ethos across the service at the small unit level. More accurate and capable of accomplishing its mission with fewer expended rounds, the M27 is now being considered as the front-line rifle not only for a handful of squad members but across the Corps’ front line units.
The Marine Corps, accustomed to heavy losses against strong enemy defenses and beach assaults, maintains robust, thirteen-man infantry squads. These squads further divide into three fire teams led by a single squad leader, each of which has two riflemen, a grenadier, and an automatic rifleman. Compared to a nine-man U.S. Army infantry squad, the Marine squad has four more personnel and a third rifle team. The result is increased flexibility and more tactical options for the squad leader. http://howiesmarine.com
Jail in Hong Kong for booing China's national anthem

Hong Kong, China - Mocking China's national anthem in this semi-autonomous territory will soon be punishable by three years imprisonment following new legislation drafted by Beijing.
While the law must still be finalised, football fans have made a stand at recent games where the anthem - March of the Volunteers - was played.
A number of Hong Kong people have booed, held banners, and chanted "We are Hong Kong" despite claims by China's adviser to the special autonomous region, Elsie Leung, that the law could be applied retroactively. http://hongkongeye.org
The football pitch is an unlikely spot for a political match to go down, but in Hong Kong this is where opposition to the so called "anthem law" has been heard most fiercely. Student Kin Wa Chung was one of the attendees who booed and brought a "Hong Kong is not China" flag to recent matches. He explained through an interpreter that - following the ousting of four pro-democracy lawmakers in July - he felt like protest was the only way to speak out. "Since these people have been disqualified, we don't have a channel to raise our voice and express our views," he told Al Jazeera. Chung said the government doesn't hear the voice of the people, or listen to the reasons why the anthem was booed. He called this "a kind of oppression".![]() |
| Kin Wa Chung was one of the people booing at recent matches [Jeremy Smart/Al Jazeera] |
Outlawing boos
Under the governing "one country, two systems" formula, Hong Kong's legal system is separate from that of mainland China. The anthem legislation has already been approved by the National People's Congress and brought into effect on the mainland. But in Hong Kong, it must be locally drafted before it can be enacted as law and ultimately enforced. Initially agreeing with Leung's threat to backdate the legislation, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam later clarified this was unlikely. Despite uncertainty around retroactive enforcement, the boos continue. Pro-establishment politician Holden Chow said while protesters and their message only make up a minority in Hong Kong, he considers the booing concerning. "Those sort of behaviours certainly show disrespect to the national anthem and also shows some sort of disrespect to our own country. I think that provoked many people – including myself," he told Al Jazeera from his office in the Legislative Council Complex. "These sort of incidents would trigger concern in the mainland, because from the central government's perspective, or even from a Chinese perspective, you wouldn't like to see that sort of thing happening. You don't want people to insult your own country."![]() |
| Pro-establishment politician Holden Chow says booing the anthem at football matches is disrespectful [Jeremy Smart/Al Jazeera] |
'Respect earned, not demanded'
Claudia Mo is a pro-democracy politician who believes the legislation is purposefully forceful and at odds with Hong Kong's identity. The territory was under British rule from 1841 until 1997 when it was returned to China. "In the last 20 years, Hong Kong people have woken up to the fact that communism is really incongruous with the way we've been living in Hong Kong," Mo said. "To the Chinese, it's a huge loss of face: 'How dare the Hong Kong people, especially the young, display such a disrespect to the national anthem.' They want to make sure that if you're disobedient, you know the price to pay and that is they can put you in jail." While incarceration may be an effective scare tactic, Mo said this will not generate respect among those who want political change. "In English we say respect is something earned, not demanded. They think that once the law becomes law, everything will settle, and that's just idiotic on their part. And I don't think they are actually that idiotic. "They knew they couldn't win Hong Kong people back, especially the young, so they can only do it the harsh way. It's this parental attitude: 'I'm your mother, I'm your father. I'm the provider, so you better listen to what I have to say.'"![]() |
| Pro-democracy politician Claudia Mo said the proposed law is 'just idiotic on their part' [Jeremy Smart/Al Jazeera] |
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN TOKYO
Vibrant, stylish, well-organized, ancient and futuristic at the same time. This is Tokyo, a metropolis of 13 million people with an unexpected traditional side that makes it one of the most charming cities in the world. Tokyo is constantly changing and there are so many things to see and do that one trip is not enough to experience all the faces of the city.
Here is our selection of top 10 things to see and do in Tokyo for first timers. Get ready to start dreaming your next adventure in the land of the rising sun!
Watch the Top 10 Things to Do in Tokyo:
1) Tokyo Metropolitan Government
The building was designed by Kenzo Tange, and has been used as headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since 1991. When it was built, it was the highest building in Japan with the height of 243m. http://harajukutokyo.net/
Especially the building No1 has panoramic observatories on the north and south wing at the height of 202 meters on the 45th floor. It’s free of charge and from the north wing, if you are lucky (the weather is fine), you’ll see Mt. Fuji. There is a souvenir shop and café on the same floor.
2) Shimbashi traditional izakaya-pub
Shimbashi is a town of Japanese salaried workers, as it’s near the business district. It features lots of izakaya, or Japanese traditional pubs, and after five o’clock, this town becomes lively with full of salaried workers who finished working and letting their stress out, complaining about their bosses or subordinates or even their companies, and then they go back to hard work tomorrow...
The izakayas here mainly feature traditional Japanese dishes rather than Western, so it would be a good opportunity to have some Japanese foods, in addition to see Japanese workers lives. Unfortunately most of the pubs don’t have English menus, but you might find the experience very local!
3) Harajuku (trends and crepes)
In Harajuku, you can find almost everything about Tokyo’s pop culture and especially Takeshita dori is one of the hustle-bustle and noisy street in Tokyo. Regardless of the day of the week, there are full of visitors who are trying to find something interesting.
One of the must-dos in Takeshita st. is to try Japanese crepe. It’s obviously from France originally, but Japanese crepes contain rich whipped creams, fruits, ice cream and even mochi-sticky rice cake as toppings. Since the first shop was open in 1977, Harajuku has been thought as a mecca for this Japanese crepes. Groups of people who are taking a big bite of crepe while walking in the street is a common sight here.
Also what you’ll see in Harajuku are unique souveniers, character shops, cheap accessory and clothing shops and kawaii cafes... you name it!
During the weekends, you can hardly move ahead with lots of tourists, but don’t rush, enjoy the noise too. What you are seeing is really Tokyo-ish.
4) Puri-Kura
Puri-kura is a shorten word for Print Club in Japanese, which means a small photo booth and also the photo stickers produced by the machine. During the early stage when the machine appeared about 20 years ago, the special devise was to choose the background of some sightseeing spots behind you, and some stamps like heart or stars to put on the photos, but it’s drastically changing, and now we can try funny effects like drawing graffiti or messages on the photo, or you can modify your image such as making your legs slimmer, your eyes bigger and your lip colour brighter. It takes some steps to get a photo sticker, just try and let’s see how much prettier you could be by the magic of technology!
5) Snake café (Tokyo snake center)
There are many themed cafes in Japan, for instance, cat café is one of the most famous ones, we also have another animal cafés such as rabbit café, owl café, hedgehog café, apart from animals, we have stationery café, maid café, butler’s café and knitting café. You name it! However, the most peculiar one should be a snake café. Since it opened this café is full of visitors from all over the world and got interviewed for TV many times.
The system of this café goes like this: The entrance fee is \1,000 and it comes with one drink. You can choose a glass case with a snake, (which is called an attendant here) out of about 40 cases per person, and the snake will be with you on your table during your stay.
You cannot touch one in your case, but if you are hoping to touch snakes, there is another chance for you. Once you decide you want to touch one, you’ll be led to a special seat and you can enjoy touching one of the snakes from different cases especially which are ready for welcoming you. You can have this touching snake session for 10 minutes, and it costs
540 yen per person. It’s surely unusual experience - touching snakes in Tokyo! Wanna try now?
6) Omoide Yokocho old street in Shinjuku
The Japanese word “Yokocho” will be a key word to enjoy something local in Tokyo.
Yokocho is literally side street, meaning back street or alley in Japanese, and you can see many these alleys in the centre in Tokyo. Most of them are the synonym of drinking places, in which small Japanese pubs and bars are lined, and usually they are old and have histories.
Many yokochos date back in the postwar period, when Japan was very poor. There were many black markets which thrived at the time and many yokocho have the traces of the period, which makes the atmosphere unique. Omoide-Yokocho, Nonbei -Yokocho, Ebisu-Yokocho and Harmonica Yokocho are all in Tokyo.
More than eighty pubs are crammed in the area, and the food provided there are mostly traditional Japanese foods such as Yakitori, soba, ramen and sushi. Visiting here serves you a dual purposes:to feel the good old atmosphere of Japanese post-war, Showa period, and of course to have delicious foods!
7) Maid café/Izakaya (Japanese pub)
Akihabara is a mecca of electronic appliance stores, but also well known for geek culture such as anime, cosplay and Japanese idol(especially girls). The maid culture is one of them, which represents Akihabara, and there are many maid cafés and pubs where you can see maids who are serving foods and drinks. Some of the places have a performance of dancing and singing by the maids, and you can even take a photo with them. (Additional
fee is needed) The foods have mostly “kawaii” decorations on the plate or food itself. It will surely be an unforgettable unique experience in Tokyo!
8) Boat tour on the Sumida river from Asakusa to Odaiba.
You might’ve not thought about seeing a part of Tokyo from a river, but it’s actually one of the fun attractions, in that you can see Tokyo from different angles. There is a big river called Sumida River, which has been very important for transport for more than 400 years. There are some boat companies and destinations. The one I recommend is to take a boat called “Himiko or Hotaluna” which takes you to Odaiba from Asakusa (Vice versa is
possible). Himiko/Hotaluna are neo-futuristic shaped boats which were designed by Leiji Matsumoto. He is a great master of Japanese anime field, one of his great works is Galaxy Express 999. From this futuristic boat, you’ll see the both sides of Tokyo - something new and something old at a time, which is always appealing characteristic of Tokyo.
9) Shiodome and Ghibli clock
Shiodome is now a business district which bears main offices of leading companies, such as TV company, telecommunication company, and airline company, but the area was originally wet land and during the Edo period (1603-1867),and it was landfilled as a part of the infrastructure development. After the development this area was the residence of the feudal lords. About 150 years ago, the first railway started running from this area to
Yokohama.
As well as being a business district, Shiodome is becoming an entertainment area, which entices tourists from home and abroad. One of the features in this area is Ghibli automaton clock, which was designed by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s quite huge with the height of 12 meters and the width of 18 meters. The clock strikes four times a day (five times during the weekend) and draw many fans of Ghibli. It’s worth visiting and watching the motion of the
clock, which draws you into a fantasy world.
10) Tokyo Tower night view
Although Japan has a notable new tower called Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo Tower is still a landmark of Tokyo and loved by tourists and Japanese people as well. Tokyo Tower is a radio transmitter which started operating in 1958, and it has witnessed the dramatic changes of Tokyo since then. Also for Japanese people, it’s a symbol of post war reconstruction.
The role for radio transmitter has mostly been transferred to Tokyo Sky Tree now, but visiting Tokyo Tower is still one of the popular tourists sightseeing spot in Tokyo.
There are two panoramic observatories on the height of 150m and 250m above the sea level, where you can command the view of Tokyo. Especially night view from here is something you shouldn’t miss. Of course the illumination of Tokyo Tower itself is stunning. Basically it’s orange and white, but it varies depending on promotions or events happening in the world.
Now you know the Top 10 Things to do in Tokyo, so book your flight and enjoy this amazing City. Get Francesca from Hidden Italy Tours to help you to organize your Japanese trip.
Wedding and bridal shops in essex - Appreciation Moment
Do you like to have such thing that greatly able you to give as appreciation or gratitude to your guests on your wedding day? Then you...
-
Anyone with a camera can get into cheap diaper bag backpack , but this aspect of contemporary photography calls for more on the part of w...
-
Do you like to have such thing that greatly able you to give as appreciation or gratitude to your guests on your wedding day? Then you...
-
- Simon Cowell politely writes an insulting message above his autograph at the request of a sarcastic fan. Visit our blog, we update dail...


