Authorities have released a statement saying that one of MTV’s Buckwild stars, Shain Gandee was found dead in his car along with his uncle and an unidentified third man. The three of them were last seen at a bar near Sissonville on March 31st around 3 a.m. Shain and his uncle had said that they are going on a spin in the family car. The Kanawha County Sheriff was soon informed about their disappearance. The Sheriff department soon received word that a 1984 Ford Bronco owned by the Gandee family was found in a ditch with people inside the vehicle. When the police rushed to the spot, they were only able to retrieve the bodies of the three men.

The officials have not released any statement about the conditions in which the bodies were found nor the reasons behind the three men’s death. However, they don’t suspect any foul play. It looks like the police are sure that it wasn’t a murder. It could be a cause of drunken driving.

Kent Carper, the President of Kanawha County Commission has said that the news is devastating in a small community like Charleston. He said everybody new every member of the Gandee family and it is sad that three of their community men have died so tragically.

Shain’s family is still reeling from the shock. He had been to the grand opening of his cousin’s new store just the previous evening. His cousin Ashley said that there was nothing out-of-ordinary with the behavior of Shain. He mingled with the crowd and was friendly with anyone who approached him.

In the meanwhile, MTV had planned to shoot a second season of Buckwild. The network was planning to air the reality show in 2012. However, it finally aired in January 2013. The show was aired back-to-back for more than two weeks. It was received quite well by the audience with the viewers aggregate crossing three million. Now, with the unexpected death of one of their crew, the network has stooped the shoot for the time being.

The nature of the star’s death is not revealed yet. All the information that is available is that the vehicle was submerged partially. However, the driver-side where Shain sat was not covered with mud. MTV released a statement in which they sent their support to the Gandee’s family. The fellow cast members took to various social media to express their grievance.

Will Smith’s interview to Entertainment Weekly about turning down a role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained only goes on to prove that Smith’s head is a wee bit bigger than last expected. It is not surprising that he is at the wrong end of fan backlash after the so-called reason behind the refusal to play the role of supporting actor in Django Unchained.

Will Smith, famous for his roles in movies like the Men in Black and Hitch, has recently turned down an Oscar nominated film, thanks to his misplaced sense of supremacy. It seems that Quentin Tarantino penned the role of Django keeping Smith in mind. Although Smith was a part of the original plan, he ended up giving up on his role. Earlier in 2012 in an interview to Empire, Smith had given a vague answer to why he hadn’t taken up the role. “I came really close, it was one of the most amazing screenplays I had ever seen,” Smith said. “I was in the middle of ‘Men in Black 3′ and [Tarantino] was ready to go, and I just couldn’t sit with him and get through the issues, so I didn’t want to hold him up. That thing’s going to be ridiculous. It is a genius screenplay.”

Now it seems that the actor was not interested in being cast in a supporting role. “Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like; I need to be the lead. The other character [Christoph Waltz's Oscar-winning King Schultz] was the lead!” Smith told Entertainment Weekly. “I was like ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!” The ‘other guy’ that Smith is referring to is King Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz. In fact Waltz went on to win Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the Bounty Hunter Schultz. Incidentally, many thought that the role of Waltz was in fact the lead role, including Men in Black lead actor Will Smith himself.

In the interview to Entertainment Weekly, the 44 year old actor said that he pleaded with Tarantino to let the Django have a more central role in the film, “I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!” Finally, however, Smith said that he thoroughly enjoyed the film, “I thought it was brilliant,” he said.”Just not for me.”

Whether the actor’s brutal honesty has to be praised or his misfiring calculations have to be lamented about, one thing is pretty clear- the fans are not too happy with his explanations. “I’ve always thought this guy was a pompous ass. This story doesn’t help prove me wrong,” one fan wrote.

Incidentally, Smith is not too shy playing the supporting role in the movie, “After Earth.” Well, he might be willing to play second fiddle to his son, Jaden Smith, who plays the lead role in the movie. Anyway, this is not the first time Smith has turned down a good movie, Smith had decided to pass on the role of Neo in the movie, “The Matrix” saying that it was too strange a concept and had chosen to star in “Wild Wild West.”

She was considered the World’s ugliest woman and was nicknamed the ‘bear woman’, ‘ape woman’ and ‘the bearded and hairy lady’. There was a time when people thought she was a hybrid of a human and orangutan. Many including doctor thought she was a distinct species, a deformed Mexican Indian woman and more. These were the contemplations Julia Pastrana who was born in Mexico in 1834. Throughout her life her husband exhibited her at various circus shows for her distinct looks.

She was born with two rear diseases known as gingival hyperplasia which thickened her jaw and hypertrichosis lanuginose which resulted in her facial hair went undiagnosed during her time. As a result, it looks like she was mocked and teased for her ‘bearish’ looks. History claims that her mother sold the young girl to Theodore Lent, a US impresario. He later married her to make sure the money she made came solely to him. The young girl fell in love with Lent who taught her to sing, dance and write so that he could parade her effectively at these shows.

Pastrana gave birth to a son who inherited the same diseases. However, the baby died in three days and Pastrana died five days after giving birth due to postpartum complications. Lent in a bid to earn more money and fame mummified the mother and son duo and continued to display them in all his shows.

Soon the bodies changed hands and had multiple owners. Though the son’s body got destroyed, her body finally ended up in s storage room at the University of Olso located in Norway.

Laura Anderson Barbata, a New-York based artists has been fighting for more than a decade to bring back the body of Pastrana to her hometown. Finally, with the help of the current governor of Sinaloa state, Mario Lopez, the body was brought back to her birth place.

Pastrana has been finally given a dignified burial after 153 years. A Roman Catholi mass took place at a local church and she was buried in a white coffin decorated with garlands. Now, she rests with dignity while life had treated her with little kindness!

Peter Banks

Legendary guitarist Peter Banks was found dead in his house in London. The 65-year-old singer had a recording session on the day he passed away. A pioneer of the progressive rock guitar genre, Banks was the first guitarist, who played for the legendary progressive British rock band ‘Yes’. He formed several bands and launched five solo albums in his entire career span. For many years, he was the most sought-after musician to perform on progressive rock music.

Birth of ‘Yes’

In 1965, much before forming ‘Yes,’ he had met bassist Chris Squire, performed with him in the band Syn. They released two singles with Syn. Subsequently Squire, singer Jon Anderson and Banks, with other members, officially formed the ‘Yes’ band in 1968. The band released their first two albums ‘Yes’ (1969) and ‘Time and a Word’ (1970). When Chris Squire and other band members were looking for a name for the band, Banks suggested the name ‘Yes’ and it stuck with the band till date. Banks also designed the first logo of the band. The band produced music compositions, which were an eclectic mix of jazz, classical, world music and other genres.

Disagreement & the split

Just like other bands, ‘Yes’ also had its share of member conflicts. After releasing ‘Time and a Word,’ Chris Squire and singer Jon Anderson decided to use orchestra music for their next albums. Peter Banks disagreed and was asked to leave the band. His final performance with the band was on April 18, 1970. Steve Howe was his successor in the band and they rocked the charts with their famous album ‘The Yes Album.’ After leaving ‘Yes,’ he formed a band called ‘Flash’ and launched three albums with them. Banks first solo album was launched in 1973 under the name ‘Two Sides of Peter Banks.’ Thereafter, he formed another band called ‘Empire.’

In a statement after his death, former band members of ‘Yes’ remarked, ‘We are deeply saddened to learn about the passing of fellow bandmate and founding Yes member, Peter Banks. He was a huge piece of the fabric that made Yes what it is, and our thoughts, sincere condolences and prayers are with him and his family. Peter, we shall miss you greatly.’

The English progressive rock band’s current members are Jon Davison, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Geoff Downes and Alan White. They are touring in Aspen, Colorado where they are performing on their three albums ‘Going for the One,’ ‘The Yes Album,’ and ‘Close to the Edge.’

‘Do anything to remain young’ is the catchphrase among celebrities these days. They are known to try myriad body treatments from head to toe, which can be ranked on a scale from weird to bizarre. But nobody can blame them for this since the industry demands they remain young eternally. Recently, reality TV star Kim Kardashian tried a ‘vampire facial’ on her own reality show ‘Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.’

Accompanied by her best friend, she went through the procedure sportingly. Right before the procedure began, a cream was applied to her face to reduce pain. A needle was injected into her arm to extract the platelet rich plasma (PRP) from the blood. The extracted blood was injected into her face using nine small acupuncture needles.

The nurse administering the injection warned that the injection would sting slightly. The injection triggers collagen production, increases tissue growth, and smoothes out wrinkles and fine lines. Once the procedure was over, Kim’s blood-covered face was covered with ice packs to recover. The vampire facelift technique is an updated version of its traditional version. Post the facial, Kim said, ‘I love trying anything that makes you look and feel youthful.’

An Oculoplastic surgeon says that ‘you see an immediate difference with a slight decrease initially in the next four days or so, then over three to four weeks you see the full plumping results; as the body’s platelets and growth factors stimulate the production of collagen and improve the volume and texture of the skin.’

Over a period of time, the face could gain a volume of nearly 10-15 per cent, which could last for a couple of years. It takes eight weeks to observe post-facial results. The procedure not only brings a glow, but also clears pores and blemishes. The result is a healthier looking skin. As compared to its other counterparts Juvederm and Restylane, this technique does not involve any surgery.

The controversial procedure became a hit with Hollywood stars after the Hollywood blockbuster Twilight. The vampire facelift procedure costs about $1,000. An esthetician says that after botox, this is the next upcoming and most common beauty treatment in Hollywood. Nominees and presenters at this year’s Oscars got $5,000 gift vouchers for a vampire facelift.

So are you game for a vampire facial?

The creators of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ game, Spooky Cool, a tech company in Chicago with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, recently announced that their game had registered more than a million players on the social networking site, Facebook. The licensed version of the ‘The Wizard of Oz’ game, which was recently launched, has become a hit among users.

Bob Holtzman, director of marketing at Spooky Cool Labs said, ‘We jumped into social games head first, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.‘ Warner Bros gave the license to Spooky Cool because its founders are famous game designers Joe Kaminkow and Larry DeMar who have also designed some of the most popular arcade, pinball, and slot games.

The game’s launch has been quite timely, coinciding with the release of the prequel. ‘It’s a great time for the Wizard of Oz,’ Holtzman said. Also the original movie is going to complete 75 years of its release this year.

Unlike the plot in the book and movie, Dorothy and her friends are in the virtual yellow brick world on Facebook. The Wizard of Oz is a city-building 3D game with a vocal narrative. In the game, the player has to build the yellow brick road to meet Dorothy and her friends while Glinda, the good witch tells the player how to build Munchkintown.
Till date, in virtual Oz, more than 3.4 million trees have been cut. Players have visited their neighbors more than 4.7 million times and played Munchkinland mini games more than 7 million times. Munchkinlands have been defended from more than 750,000 Wicked Witch attacks and nearly 110 million bricks created to help Dorothy on her way home.
Interestingly, the game has music from the film, video clips, and characters that resemble the ensemble cast in the movie. You can also have some fun spinning the world and viewing it from various angles, including a top-down view in 3D. The team has worked on the game for two years and it appears that their hard work has paid off, after all!