Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural festivals that take place during August(Held From 7 - 31 August,2009) each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. These festivals are arranged by a number of formally unrelated organizations, meaning there is no single event officially termed the Edinburgh Festival.

Every evening from the seventh to the 29th of August, nearly 9,000 people will stream up
Edinburgh's Royal Mile to the castle esplanade, to witness the UK's biggest annual military show

Performers take part in the dress rehearsal for the Military Tattoo on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, Scotland

This year the Edinburgh Military Tattoo celebrates its 60th season, while paying tribute to the
250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns

The highlight of the evening is the display of massed pipe and drum bands, performed by British
Army regiments and regiments from around the world with Scottish connections The first Edinburgh Tattoo took place in 1950. There were eight items in the program

Worldwide, around 100 million people see the Edinburgh Tattoo on television

The 2009 Edinburgh Tattoo will take place from 7 - 29 August

...the Scottish capital is being swamped with the bizarre

Edinburgh is the world's Festival City. It’s where people come together from across the globe to
share their passion for arts, culture and ideas. This welcoming, inspiring and open-mided atmosphere is heightened by the approachable beauty of this breathtaking historial city. With 12
Festivals throughout the year, there’s an endless array of events, performances and spectacles to enjoy.

SHORT HISTORY :-

The Edinburgh Festival, which holds the world record for the largest arts festival, traces its
roots to 1947 when the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) was established in a post-war effort to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit".That same year, eight theatrical companies "gatecrashed" the festival by organizing their own event, outside the official auspices of the EIF; this started the movement which grew into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The EFF is also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe, or, incorrectly, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The EIF and the Fringe remain independent bodies and run separate programmes each year. Since the Edinburgh International Festival was organized in 1947, several other festivals have also been established in Edinburgh. Most of these take place in late summer each year, as well. There is, therefore, not one Edinburgh Festival, but a collection of independent festivals which happen to take place in the same city at about the same time.

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Obama's birthday treat

Barack Obama sings 'Happy Birthday' to reporter on own birthday

On his own 48th birthday, US President Barack Obama turned the spotlight on a reporter also celebrating her special day.

Mr Obama sang "Happy Birthday" and presented Helen Thomas, the doyenne of the White House press corps, with cupcakes and a single candle to celebrate her 89th birthday, before planting a kiss on her cheek.

The outspoken Thomas, who has covered every president since John F Kennedy, spoke quietly to Mr Obama, who ignored reporters' shouted questions about his own birthday and ex-president Bill Clinton's mercy mission to North Korea.

"Helen wished for world peace, (and) no prejudice, but she and I also had a common birthday wish," Mr Obama said.

"She said she wishes for a health care reform bill," Mr Obama said, referring to his signature domestic reform legislation, working its tortuous way through Congress.

Thomas, a former UPI wire service reporter who now works for Hearst Newspapers, has a place of honour in the front row of the White House briefing room, and first worked the White House beat in 1961.

Mr Obama celebrated his own birthday by largely avoiding reporters, and holding a lunchtime meeting with a 57 of the 60 Democratic senators and independents who largely control the fact of his domestic agenda in Congress.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Mr Obama celebrated his birthday at the weekend with a trip to the Camp David presidential retreat surrounded by family and friends.

The president indulged his passion for basketball, and even had a game of tenpin bowling – scoring a 144 – a much better showing than his widely ridiculed attempt to bowl during an embarrassing 2008 campaign photo-op.

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Oh! Calcutta was a totally different idea a blend of creativity, nudity and dance, backed up by excellent choreography by Margo Sappington. It was a landmark on sexual revolution.


As said by Broadway.com.

" It was actually an experimentation for the returning of the period of sexual freedom.

Oh! Calcuttas, runs successfully for a record 14 years (Debuting in 1970) challenging the social obstructions by representing the sexual revolution in a series of uproarious short comical dramatic performances, dance, and musical numbers written by popular figures including John Lennon, Sam Shepard, and Samuel Beckett.

" This adult musical video actually matches the magic of Broadway with the exhilaration of a peep show over a rock score performed by a live band.

Directed by Jacques Levy, OH! CALCUTTA! never took sex too seriously. In 1989, the musical “Oh! Calcutta!” closed on Broadway.

Here are some of the Music Video's of OH! CALCUTTA! Check this out ... and let us know what's your views..


Oh ! Calcutta Part-1



Oh ! Calcutta Part-2



Oh ! Calcutta Part-3



Oh ! Calcutta Part-4



Oh ! Calcutta Part-5

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This is the world's biggest train set which covers 1,150 square metres (12,380 square feet), features almost six miles of track and is still not complete .

The set covers six regions including America, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany and the Austrian Alps.

The American section features giant models of the Rocky Mountains, Everglades, Grand Canyon...

....and Mount Rushmore

The Swiss section has a mini-Matterhorn .

The Scandinavian part has a 4ft long passenger ship floating in a 'fjord'

It is expected to be finished in 2014, when the train set will cover more than 1,800 square metres (19, 376 sq ft) and feature almost 13 miles of track, by which time detailed models of parts of France, Italy and the UK will have been added .

It comprises 700 trains with more than 10,000 carriages and wagons .

The longest train is 46ft long .

The scenery includes 900 signals, 2,800 buildings, 4,000 cars - many with illuminated headlights...

...and 160,000 individually designed figures .

Thousands of kilograms of steel and wood was used to construct the scenery...

along with 700kg of artificial grass .

The 250,000 lights are rigged up to a system which mimics night and day by automatically turning them on and off .

The whole system is controlled from a massive high-tech nerve centre .

Twin brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun, 41, began work on the 'Miniatur Wunderland' in 2000 .

The set is on display to the public and is so big that they employ more than 160 people to show visitors around their creation .

In total the set has taken 500,000 hours and more than £8 million to put together, the vast majority of which has come from ticket sales .

Gerrit said: "Our idea was to build a world that men, woman, and children can be equally astonished and amazed in"

Frederik added: "Whether gambling in Las Vegas, hiking in the Alps or paddling in Norwegian fjords - in Wunderland everything is possible" .

It isn't just a model railway, but a world which invites the visitors in different ways to dream and discover" .

Eagle-eyed visitors may spot Herbie the Love Bug...

....or a couple on a blanket in a field of sunflowers .

The Miniatur Wunderland is located next to the River Elbe in the Speicherstadt area of Hamburg, Germany

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1. Christina Aguilera : When Christina Aguilera was young, she sang The Star Spangled Banner at Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Pittsburgh Pirates games. Shortly after that, she joined The New Mickey Mouse Club. Her co-Mouseketeers called her “the Diva.” In 1999 and 2000, Aguilera released 3 singles, “Genie in a Bottle,” “What a Girl Wants,” and “Come on Over Baby.” Later Aguilera created a sexually energetic album called “Stripped” and also went on tour with Justin Timberlake.

Aguilera most recently decided to mature and go for a Marilyn Monroe-look. Aguilera also supports charities such as PETA, Defenders of Wildlife, Missing Kids, Women’s Cancer Research Fund, etc.

2. Britney Spears : Britney Spears is a classic case of a Mouseketeer gone wild. After releasing a hit record, “…Baby One More Time,” she had established herself as a sex symbol. Spears broke the record for highest album sales in its debut week by a solo artist after releasing Oops!… I Did It Again. The album ended by selling 10 million copies in the U.S. Spears married her childhood friend, Jason Alexander for 55 hours and then married Keven Federline a couple of years later. Since Spears has had a couple of kids, divorced Federline, and is attempting to make a come-back. Spears’ latest single is called Womanizer and has a new album coming later this year.

3. Rhona : Rhona is a part of the group, En Vogue. Her fellow Mouseketeers often times called her “the queen of ballads.” Bennett also cameod in movies such as Malibu’s Most Wanted, No Vacancy, and Men Cry in the Dark. Rhona is currently releasing albums as a solo artist.

4. Nikki DeLoach : Nikki DeLoach has found herself acting on the FOX TV show, North Shore. Prior to that she was a Mouseketeer with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, and Christina Aguilera. Nikki was also in a pop group called Innosense. Nikki dated JC Chasez for a few years. Nikki made guest appearances in Walker: Texas Ranger and Grounded for Life. Nikki most recently starred in The Net 2.0, sequel to The Net (starring Sandra Bullock).

5. Keri Russell : After Keri Russell was a Mouseketeer, she became the lead role for the TV show, Felicity. Russell was also in the movies, We Were Soldiers, M:I 3, The Upside of Anger, and Waitress. Russell also starred in Honey, I Blew Up The Kid and played Mr. Feeny’s niece in Boy Meets World.

6. Julie Piekarski : Julie Piekarski also starred in The Facts of Life for 17 episodes. Piekarski also made cameos on Diff’rent Strokes, Three’s Company, and Best of Times.

7. Cheryl Holdridge : New Orleans, Louisiana born, Cheryl Holdridge performed in The Nutcracker in L.A. when she was age 9. Holdridge became a Mouseketeer in 1956, when she was 12 years old. In 1959, Holdridge did a cameo in Leave it to Beaver as the role of Wally Cleaver’s girlfriend. Holdridge, at the age of 56 made a cameo in the movie, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.

8. Annette J. Funicello : Italian-American Annette J. Funicello was the most popular Mouseketeer thus far. She was discovered by Disney when performing in the dance recital, Swan Lake. After Funicello left Disney, she starred in several “Beach Party” movies. Walt Disney did not want her to appear promiscuously in any of the movies though. Funicello did not fully comply with the request as she decided to wear some sexy swimsuit outfits in a couple of the “Beach Party” movies.

9. Lindsey Allen : Lindsey Allen started by playing the role of Annie at the Burt Reynold’s Dinner Theater. Allen attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and received a B.A. in Theater. Allen also starred in Ernest Saves Christmas, Roller Jam, and B.L. Stryker.

10. Lisa Whelchel : Lisa Whelchel is best known for being on The Facts of Life, but started as a Mouseketeer. Whelchel also created a Christian pop album called All Because of You. Lisa Whelchel has also started a Busy Mom’s Book Club via her Website.

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This was probably the biggest we've ever seen. It took 10 minutes for the thousands of students to make it through the Strathmore Ave. tunnel.


Last night's Undie Run was definitely different than years past. After UCLA administrators threatened to ban the event from occurring, the student body stepped in and found a compromise: change the route to end at a more secure and well-lit location. Whether that contributed to last night's lower turnout--around 1,000 students instead of the usual 2,000-3,000--or not, the tradition's flavor has definitely changed. However, for better or worse, those who ran had a blast.




Although the Undie Run has been around since 2002 (in lieu of the Midnight Yell), major media outlets really didn't start to catch on until a few years ago. Last night, ESPN, NBC, FOX News and four LA Times staffers were seen at the event.



One of the other reasons why campus officials wanted to change the route and ending location was because too much damage and repair costs incurred. Here's one part overlooked: everyone is hurdling over this brick fencing into landscaping.




This was probably the biggest we've ever seen. It took 10 minutes for the thousands of students to make it through the Strathmore Ave. tunnel.

UCLA Campus Police did not break out the tactical riot gear for the Fall Quarter.

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