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It is not surprising that 2012 has been an interesting year for Hollywood movies. Before the year started, most moviegoers where anticipating several titles that were scheduled to open within the year. As the year draws to a close, here are the Top 8 movies that so far rocked the box office in the Year of the Dragon.

The Dark Knight Rises

The movie failed to hit the mark set by Avatar, which is the highest grossing movie of all time. But it grossed more than $700 million worldwide. It shattered all opening weekend records. It reached the $500 million mark faster than any other motion picture. To date, people are still talking about it especially its unexpected ending.

The Amazing Spiderman

The movie, which earned $368 million in total, is a proof that moviegoers love familiar material. Andrew Garfield and his leading lady Emma Stone surprised the audience with their fresh take on their respective roles. So far, it is the second highest grossing film of 2012.

The Hobbit

Just when everyone thought The Lord of the Rings was over, The Hobbit was released. Its first part generated $356 million at the box office. Interestingly, the movie earned great reviews.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II

The Twilight Saga has come to its end. After making $316 million, this movie has lorded over the box office during its entire stint. Twilight fanatics worldwide did not fail showing support to their most loved motion picture.

Brave

Pixar was disappointed with its animated film Cars 2 in 2011, which only generated $191 million at the box office. The company’s Brave did better in 2012, having earned $302 million. The movie is an addition to Pixar’s list of box-office successes like Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2, and The Incredibles.

The Avengers

After making $260 million, this movie beat Thor and Captain America. Despite the unlikely reviews, it still did well at the box office, thanks to the interesting cast.

MIB 3

The movie was not a flop, after making $212 million. It became an indication that moviegoers still love Will Smith despite numerous reviewers’ assertion that this film is his worst since Wild Wild West. No one is expecting MIB 4 soon, though.

Hunger Games

Everyone agrees that $210 million does not sound impressive for a film that has been well hyped. But it should be noted that the film was not as big as Harry Potter before it opened in March but it succeeded in expanding its fan base to ensure the success of its sequel.

written by Chip Newell, an entertainment blogger and finance journalist whose guest columns regularly appear on entertainment blogs . He also covers subjects like Money Mutual & Montel Williams for finance and money management sites

Brittany Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia in November of 1977. She demonstrated talent and a personal magnetism and charm at an early age. She was also a talented singer. Her mother moved the two of them, her parents had divorced when Murphy was two, to Los Angeles in part so that the young performer could pursue her career there. The world is now aware of Brittany Murphy due to the unseemliness and tragic nature of her death and most people associate her with Los Angeles though residents of Atlanta known she was one of their own. Even the tourists who may have heard about her death in the lounge or lobby of an other wise quiet Atlanta hotel may have been surprised to discover she was from that city.

Murphy stared in several Hollywood films during her short but successful career. She first gained popular attention for her appearance in the film Clueless, though she had appeared on various television series prior to that role. Clueless was a comedy and was released in 1995. It was loosely based on the Jane Austin novel Emma, though the stress on this is loosely. Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash were two other stars of this comedy with lots of summer backyard play. The film was not a huge commercial or critical success though it did inspire a television spin off as well as a book series.

Girl, Interrupted was the first film in which Murphy was strongly recognized for her skill and performance. It was released in 1999 and starred Winona Rider and was directed by James Mangold. Angelina Jolie also gained enormous attention as the troubled Lisa Rowe who was a resident in the mental institution in which Rider was admitted. Murphy played another girl in the institution, Daisy Randone, who was a pathological liar. The film was based on a memoir by the same name written by Susanna Kaysen. In her book Kaysen tells the stories and experiences she encountered during her time in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s. Kaysen was diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder.

The idea of self-sufficiency is one that doesn’t come around often enough.  It seems to be a pattern that occurs every other generation, where young people decide that it’s time to start making things simpler, and this begins with learning some of the more elementary survival skills.  Of course, there are always going to be subcultures and hidden communities that try to live off the grid for one reason or another, and sometimes these communities have absolutely opposing political viewpoints.  On a more mainstream level, there are people who are exploring the idea of self-sufficiency in the way that Thoreau conceived of it.

The last time it happened on a more mass scale was over a generation ago, when the counter-cultures were at a peak level.  The generation of the 60s came of age in the early 70s, and publications like The Whole Earth Catalog became popular and prevalent.  Perhaps there really is no publication like that one, because it was one of the first and one of the last to try to encapsulate all the information on living a simple life in one place.  One can find very useful articles on things like gardening, home improvement, and auto repair.  The idea of learning these very basic skills has always appealed to people who take a more active role in their lives, and who are not afraid of hard work, even well after the workday is over.

For a generation who were born with computers already in the house, it’s a very different world.  It’s also one where some of the most hopeful dreams of the last generation can be realized.  Part of the idea behind the notion of self-sufficiency is that information is perhaps the most valuable resource.  If people have the information on how to do things, then they are free.  There is energy, momentum, and power in knowledge.  And today’s world has more free flow of information than ever before.

Twenty years ago, a car breakdown would mean one of three things:  one would have to wait by the side of the road for help, or one would have an education in auto repair already, or there would be a manual in the glovebox.  Today, there are those who are knowledgeable about cars, and some much more so than others, but anyone with access to an internet connection can get a gmc online repair manual, and this is essential.  A much higher percentage of the population now has access to information that was difficult to find before.  The dream of Thoreau may still be far off, but there are aspects of the dream that are being born for the very first time right now.

Heather Boone is a journalist and blogger who covers software, the internet, and how technology affects education and society. Her work can be found on blogs like blog.clickpointsoftware.com.

When Lauryn Hill shot to stardom with the Fugees in the early 1990s, there was no way of imagining she would serve jail time for tax evasion in 2013. Yet that’s exactly what the successful singer, songwriter, actress and producer faces after a court ruling handed down earlier this month.

Hill was sentenced on May 6th to serve three months at a federal prison camp. This will be followed by three months of home confinement to be monitored electronically and another nine months of monitored release. The rapper failed to pay taxes on $2.3 million in earnings and failed to file tax returns for several years.  She pled guilty to three counts of tax evasion in 2012, each count could have led to a year in jail, but the judge instead gave the minimal sentence.

Problems with the financial policies within the recording industry led Hill into seclusion and semi-retirement several times throughout her career.  The fact that the record labels and music conglomerates make hundreds of millions of dollars off her work while she receives a fraction of the profits was combined with a “climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism”  and led to her retreat.  Between 2005 and 2007, she lived what she described as “very modestly” with her children and during that time period she failed to file tax returns in an attempt to maintain her privacy from the media and the industry.

Nathan Hochman, Hill’s attorney, argued that the singer should not serve jail time for her transgressions.  He pointed out that many other celebrities have avoided jail time for tax evasion and that she has no previous legal problems and is the mother of six children.  Prior to sentencing Hill paid $970,000 in taxes for the period in question.

Whether Hill will actually serve those three months in jail has yet to be determined. The singer has signed a new deal with Sony Worldwide Entertainment which will allow her to create her own label and she recently released her first new single in over a decade, “Neurotic Society,” in what many believe is an attempt to end her money problems.

Even if you’re only casually into motorsports, it’s still important to know the big names.  You can fake your way through a conversation about football or the latest Seahawks loss, but do you really know what you’re talking about when the name Shumacher comes up?  If not, then here are a few of the most noteworthy drivers out there today:

Michael Shumacher

Michael Shumacher, though recently retired, is a former Formula 1 driver that is generally considered to be the best of all time.  He’s a seven time world champ, and still holds the record for the most points scored in one year.  On the car show Top Gear, Shumacher was revealed as The Stig, the show’s own anonymous race driver, who has motor oil instead of blood, and is afraid of stairs.

Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick is, hands down, the most successful woman in the history of American open wheel racing.  She got a start in karting, but moved up in the ranks quickly, eventually competing in NASCAR.  To date, she is the only woman to have won a race in the IndyCar series, and currently races full time for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Sprint Cup.  She also moonlights as a model and spokesperson for the domain and hosting website GoDaddy.

Jeff Gordon

Mr. Gordon is another NASCAR star, racing full time for Hendricks Motorsports, alongside Danica Patrick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.  He has won the Daytona 500 three times, and has won the Sprint Cup series four times, so he definitely has some chops when it comes to stock cars.

Sebastian Vettel

It is said that Vettel is a genuinely friendly, decent person, but you would never know that if you only raced against him.  A perfectionist that drives for Red Bull, he is basically an expert on driving technique.  He managed 2^nd  overall in the 2012 Formula 1 US Grand Prix, and is a favorite for 2013 as well.  Sure, he’s on a smaller team, but he is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Jenson Button

A Brit driving for McLaren, Button managed 5^th overall in the US Grand Prix, but climbed his way to the #1 slot in the Brazilian Grand Prix.  Not too shabby for a racer who, at 33, is notably older than many of his peers.  Especially when you look at his record, which boasts 49 podium finishes, and two awards for Man of the Year from Top Gear magazine.

Yes, there are a ton of other exceptionally talented drivers out there, like Ana Beatriz and Scott Tucker, but this is a good primer on some of the most interesting ones.  Know of a driver they everyone else should follow?  We’d love to know!

Celebrities may seem to slide by with a lot of things in life and have many things that others struggle for simply handed to them. One thing that being famous doesn’t do for them, however, is allow them to escape from legal troubles. Celebrities face legal problems just like anyone else, and face struggles that others aren’t likely to contend with in their lives. Being a celebrity does not exempt anyone from having to follow the laws or cope with the same legal system as the rest of us—and may even make it more difficult to approach these problems. Celebrity legal problems can quickly escalate to tremendous scandal in the public eye, which will put additional pressure on already strained emotions.

Some of the common legal problems that celebrities cope with include:

• Hotly contended high profile divorce
• Emotionally-charged custody battles
• Breach of contract claims
• Complaints against or from managers
• Drug arrests
• Driving Under the Influence arrests
• Personal injury
• Tax issues

It seems that there is always a celebrity legal scandal on the news. Some of the legal battles that are currently underway include:

Lindsay Lohan

This is a name that no one should be surprised to hear included in a news broadcast. Lohan has been involved in multiple crimes and legal battles, but her most recent has seen her fire her lawyer mere moments before standing in front of a judge in a case of DUI and shoplifting.

Hulk Hogan

The former professional wrestler has seen his share of drama, but in recent years his name has become high-profile for much different reasons. After his extremely public divorce Hogan found himself involved in several legal situations. This most recent issue involves him suing a laser back surgery center for what he deems damaging and unnecessary surgeries. Hogan claims that these surgeries ended his career prematurely.

Josh Bryant

While some celebrity legal battles are funny, this one is heartbreaking. Josh Bryant, member of the Dallas Cowboys, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for the December death of his teammate Jerry Brown when Bryant drove intoxicated and flipped the vehicle they were in. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the crime.

Milton Bradley

It’s not all fun and games for this unfortunately –named ex-major league baseball player. Bradley has been charged with 13 criminal counts against his wife including assault and battery. Known for his aggressive nature on the field, Bradley is also facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and witness tampering. He could face 13 years in prison.

Chris Rainey

Another sports-related celebrity that is in hot water is Chris Rainey, former Steelers player. Rainey has been arrested for allegedly dragging his girlfriend out of a car, hitting her in the face and then chasing her and shoving her to the ground. This is not the first time Rainey has faced criminal charges related to a girlfriend. In 2010 he was arrested for stalking when he sent threatening text messages to an ex-girlfriend.

Lucy Watson is a blogger and Phoenix lawyer who writes about prominent legal cases and the legal problems of famous individuals and businesses for various blogs and websites.

Drug addiction has become popular as a movie theme. More and more these days, filmmakers produce movies that show how drugs can affect the lives of both addicts and the people around them. From the very early Reefer Madness, a propaganda piece to discourage the use of marijuana, to the recent Looper with Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt, which displays the use of future, as of yet undiscovered drugs.

Perhaps the most popular of recent drug addiction films is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a film produced in 1998. The movie initially flopped in theaters, but has since become a cult classic. The film was adapted from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name, Thompson wrote the novel based upon the life of his friend Oscar Zeta Acosta, an attorney who disappeared in 1974. The film portrays the various hijinks of Duke and Dr. Gonzo, its two main characters. Between the two a host of different types drugs are taken, including: cannabis (marijuana), mescaline, thorazine, LSD, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, ether, amyl nitrite, opium, hashish, hash oil, and adrenochrome. While a lot of mayhem does occur in the film, and the characters do experience fear; the overall drug usages seems to hold no consequences for any of the characters.

A film that deals more in the reality of drug addiction and its consequences is Requiem for a Dream, which hit theaters in 2000. This film centers around the lives of Sara, her son Harry and Harry’s girlfriend Marion. Widowed Sara no longer sees much of her son Harry, and becomes addicted to prescription weight-loss amphetamine pills and sedatives while trying to lose weight to appear on a game show, which she thinks will make her and her son closer again. Harry and Marion are addicted to using heroin and believe that by selling heroin, they will be able to save enough money to start a “normal” life with Marion. Through a series of events, Sara ends up in a psychiatric center, Harry ends up in prison, and Marion ends up a prostitute. This movie has a much more realistic ending, where each main character ends the movie in a fetal position, dreaming of what could have been.

Another movie that deals with drug addiction in an accurate fashion is Forrest Gump. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and LSD are all used in Forrest Gump by the character Jenny, who plays Forrest’s love interest. An abusive childhood forces Jenny to run away at a young age, and she gets involved in the hippie movement and uses and abuses a number of drugs. Eventually she has a son, gets clean, and moves back to marry Forrest, but eventually dies of an illness that the movie alleges to be related to her past drug addictions.

Drug addiction movies run the complete gambit in their portrayal of drug addiction and the consequences of drug use. There are hundreds of movies that use drug addiction as a theme or major character flaw. While an internet search will bring up lots of information, Wikipedia’s list of drug films may be one of the best places to start if you are looking for a specific film or drug topic.

Howard Kei is a filmographer and writer who guest blogs for movie and entertainment sites. He is also covers topics regarding addiction and recovery, including methadone treatment and 12-step programs.

Here are some of the top breakups of 2012 — so far.

#7 — Taylor Swift and Conor Kennedy

The 22 year old music star recently broke up with her boyfriend of 18 years, Connor Kennedy. The relationship lasted a whole three month, which is long for Swift. Conor is a high school senior. Many believe he just could not keep up with Swift, who recently released her new album entitled “Red.” The album is doing very well and rumor has it that one of the songs on the album is about their breakup.

#6 — Samantha Ronson and Erin Foster

The nine (9) month relationship between 35 year old disc jockey and song writer Samatha Ronson  and her 30 year old partner Erin Foster , also ended this year.  Foster is an actress, famous for her role in the TV drama ‘The O.C.’ Rosen was previously in a relationship with Lindsay Lohan.

#5 — John Cena and Elizabeth Huberdeau

John Cena decided to call it quits with his Elizabeth Huberdeau in May. As to what went wrong between the two, no one can truly know. The 35 year old wrestler and action movie start stated that the split, after three (3) year marriage, was irreparable.

His wife and former high school sweetheart was not pleased and challenged their prenuptial agreement on the grounds that Cena was cheating on her. They have reportedly settled their differences and the divorce will soon be finalized.

#4 — Dennis Quaid and Kimberly Buffington

Dennis Quaid’s wife has again filed for divorce. This is the second time this year. The 58 year old actor and his wife have been married for eight (8) years and have two children (4 year old twins). Quaid is 18 years older than his wife. Buffington, a graduate of the University of Texas, is believed to be fed up with Quaid’s cheating.

#3 — Heidi Klum and Seal

Thirty-nine year old German business woman and former Victoria secret supermodel Heidi Klum and her husband Seal broke up after more than seven (7)years of marriage.  The 49 year old Nigerian born Seal was reportedly devastated by the divorce. Reports have been circulating that the reason behind the divorce is that Klum was and still is in a relationship with the couple’s bodyguard.  “Fornicating with the help” is what insiders say led to this split. The divorce papers were filed April 6, 2012.

#2 – Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis

Mega movie star Johnny Depp split with girlfriend of 14 years French model Vanessa Paradis, 39. The couple has two children.  It seemed that Paradis just could not handle being away from her home in France. Some fans think that maybe she just got tired of waiting for him to propose.

#1 –  Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

Superstar movie actor Tom Cruise, 49, was blind-sided by his wife Katie Holmes, 33, when he was served with divorce papers in early 2012.  It seems Katie is not a fan of Tom’s religion, Scientology. Cruise is perhaps most famous for his Mission Impossible movies while Holmes got her break on the popular TV series “Dawson’s Creek.” The marriage lasted five years and the couple has one child together.

There has been a growth in tools that help you keep track of what is being said about your brand or your products in the social space.  There can be a lot of information out there and also a lot of noise.  How do you determine the best tools to help you?  Here is a list of 10 tools that may do the job for you.

• Radian 6 – Social Monitoring Software used to gain insight into customers, competitors and influencers
• Sycara – An SEO tool incorporating Social Insights for social media reporting and monitoring
• Lithium – Social monitoring software incorporates social mentions from platforms including blogs and comments
• C3 Touch – Social customer management system used to monitor and collect customer complaints and comments
• Crimson Hexagon – This monitoring platform turns conversations into actionable data
• Collective Intellect – Intelligence gathering platform for mid-large companies
• Spredfast – A social media management, measurement and campaign tool
• dna13 – Easy to use system incorporating brand management, reputation monitoring, competitor analysis and more
• Cymfony – This is an expensive enterprise-wide monitoring platform
• Alterian SM2 – A platform which monitors blogs, forums, social, wikis, video and photo sites

These are a collection of some of the best social media mention tools out there.   They can help your business grow, protect your brand reputation and help you interact with your community.

Looking through any of the lists of the world’s sexiest men and one thing seems clear.  There are almost always a number of men who are older, well past their twenties, and considered to be very much in their prime.  While this is often seen as a circumstance of culture, where there seems to be certain gender disparities, there are other factors that can weigh in as well and tilt the equation in other unexpected directions.  Culture at large seems to be leaning toward healthier trends in general, where it’s much hipper to take care of yourself than it has been in the recent past.  Lifestyles and products that support healthy life choices are definitely in that elusive realm of coolness, and it’s been trending for long enough to suspect, or predict, that it won’t go away soon.

This suggests that although the ideal man may very well be older than the typical age for a rising Hollywood star, the older men on the lists are ones who have usually made the cut in their younger years as well.  This coincides with a larger trend toward healthy living.  It may have once been fashionable to live a reckless lifestyle, and the bad boys were always living more recklessly than the rest of the pack.  But these days, those bad boy types often seem to have a keen and active interest in information on mens health.  That suggests that the culture is taking an active role as well, supporting healthier life choices for everyone, including movie stars.  So the older men who continually make the lists are, in effect, being rewarded for taking good care of themselves.

It’s also telling to compare these lists with the lists for the world’s sexiest women.  There are more than just a couple who make the list that are well into their 30s, and often in their 40s.  Although there is still a long way to go toward shifting those cultural constructions that make the gender disparity still a force to reckon with, the numbers are actually quite positive toward older celebrities despite gender.  Although it would be welcome to see a few more women on the list who are past their 40s, it’s also looking more likely that this wouldn’t be very far away.  Sexy is sexy at any age, and it’s refreshing to see that our notions of sexiness are starting to have something in common with real and genuine physical health.