Motor racing movies fit into nearly every movie category; animated, classic, action, sports, comedy.  So no matter your taste, there is a movie for everyone.

Cars, produced in 2006 by Disney and Pixar, is probably one of the most well-known and most viewed motor racing movies.  It features the story of Lightning McQueen, a hotshot race car, as he discovers the true meaning of friendship.  While it’s definitely kid-friendly, parents and race fans can appreciate the racing jokes and cameos by famous racing celebrities.

For the action/adventure set, The Fast and The Furious series has been a real hit.   The first in the series released in 2001 and has everything that those seeking adventure are looking far; fast cars, stunning effects, and exciting car chases.  The 6^th installment hit theaters this year and only time will tell if there will be more to come.

Those that enjoy a good laugh are sure to find a hit in Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights.  It features the story of Ricky Bobby, played by Ferrell, as he fights to stay the top NASCAR driver.  In true Will Ferrell fashion there is no end to the jokes and humor and you’re sure to find more with each consecutive viewing.

Motor racing movies are not just a modern fascination.  Elvis Presley starred in the 1968 movie Speedway, a motor musical about a race car driver in tax trouble.  It has cars, music, romance, and Elvis!  While not exactly true to life, The Love Bug is a classic racing movie that has been winning fans since its release in 1968. When race car driver Jim Douglas is reduced to racing in the demolition derby where he becomes the owner of VW Beetle named Herbie, who has a mind and will of his own.

A lot has changed over the years; the plots, the budgets, the special effects.  But what hasn’t changed is the love and fascination with auto racing as a sport and the enjoyment that both kids and adults, men and women have with watching it on the big screen.

Article by Alex Penman a business writer who writes for his own blogs and social sites as well as for individuals such as Scott Tucker and other racing drivers.

Ma is Chinese though he was born in Paris, France. His father was a music professor which is part of the reason he had such an early exposure to the cello, and great encouragement and support in learning it. They family moved to New York when Ma was four. Prior to playing the cello, which he began studying when he was four, the same year he moved to New York, he had studied violin and viola. By the time he was seven he had already begun public performances, and at that young age he performed for President John F. Kennedy. After high school Ma studied at the Julliard School of Music and Columbia University before finally reenrolling at Harvard, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1976. He would later receive an honorary doctorate by the same prestigious school. Ma has an enormous repertoire and has released many cd’s featuring a diverse collection of music. He has played with some of the world’s top orchestras and also performs solo shows.

Article provided by Starlight Investments

Rolling Stones concerts are often closer to being festivals and at the least are major spectacle events. They have played to sell out audiences around the world and back major stadiums and arenas. The merged onto the US scene in the 1960s as part of what is now considered to be the British invasion. Many London and other areas in Britain musicians and bands crossed the water during this time and found greater success in the United States that was previously considered to be possible. The also coincided with the emergence of rock ‘n roll as the major social force it has become.

The Beatles are the band that is most strongly associated with the invasion and they are also credited with reinventing rock as music genre. The Stones have created many albums and hit singles through the years and made a financial fortune. Every song on their concert play list is a crowd favorite, and they could play all of their hit songs in once concert, as there wouldn’t be enough time. Concert tickets sell out fast and fans often save their ticket stub as a souvenir of the event. Some of the Stones’ most popular songs include Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction, Jumpin Jack Flash, It’s Only Rock and Roll, Angie and Sympathy for the Devil. The list could go on and on, and represents only a fraction of their hits.

The band has led an interesting and complicated life together and apart. While the main personalities have remained associated with the band, it has seen great transformations and so have the relationships within it. It is interesting that most of them have not played on all albums or been involved with all tours, though their image as a single iconic unit remains strong. When people ask to name the members of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks is always first. Lindsey Buckingham, Mic Fleetwood and Christine McVie and John McVie are also usually included and have composed the main five throughout most of Fleetwood Mac’s history.

Hill first made a name for herself as lead singer with the 90s group The Fugee’s.  She later went solo with a multi-awarding winning album entitled The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  She continued to write and record music and branched out to producing albums for other singers. She even acted in a few movies. All that ended in the mid 2000′s when Hill went into semi-retirement and seclusion to escape the recording industry which she claims is rife with sexism, ageism, racism, manipulation and hostility.

That’s when the financial problems started.  Hill failed to file tax returns from 2005-2007.  During this time she earned a significant income, $1.8 million according to some reports; $2.3 million according to others.  The taxes on that amount totaled around $1 million.

Last summer Hill pleaded guilty to three counts of tax invasion in a New Jersey court.  Her lawyer, Nathan Hochman, asked the judge to consider probation as this is Ms. Hill’s first offense and has six minor children at home.  Hill reportedly paid over $970,000 in back taxes prior to the official sentencing.

The maximum penalty would have been three years in prison, but the judge gave Hill the minimum sentence. Hill is to serve three months in a federal prison camp (one month for each count). She will then have a year of supervised release with the first three months being home confinement with electronic monitoring. In addition to paying all overdue taxes and penalties, Hill will need to pay a $60,000 fine.

Coming out of professional retirement, Hill recently signed a new deal with Sony Worldwide Entertainment which will allow her to launch her own recording label which will feature her music and videos.  Her first single in over a decade, “Neurotic Society” was released a few days before her sentencing.  The new deal is expected to help cover Hill’s tax debt and legal fees.

Lauryn Hill is set to begin her prison sentence on July 8th.

Montel Williams was born in San Antonio, TX. He was an athlete, a musician and a great student. Well loved by his peers and very caring, it is not hard to see why he makes such a great talk show host. His show lasted for twelve years in which time himself and the show he put on won awards. Although he has sometimes gotten in trouble for the things he has said, he has only ever stuck up for what he thought was right. This seems to best explain the things he has decided support with his money and fame. This includes the Montel Williams MS fund, and Money Mutual. He obviously made a point of only supporting the products that he feels will give people a better quality of life. This site has some more information on him.

Money Mutual for an example is a leading cash advance loans company, and one of the few out there to be trusted. Their goal is to match you with the best loan possible, to help you out when you fall on hard times. They don’t require a credit check, or a background check, and just trust you to pay back the loan. It is short term, and not intended to deal with situations where you have lost a job and need some income to live on for a few months, but is perfect for those times when something unexpected hits and you don’t have the money to take care of it until your next pay check. No one wants to have to take the bus to work longer than they have to, and when the car breaks down between pay checks, cash advance loans are proven to be the best way to get the money you need fast. All you need to do is be 18 or over and make a steady income of $800 a month or more. It seems super easy.

If you are interested in seeing him speak on this, there is more information here. I’m glad to be able to see Montel Williams on television and know that he is dedicated to helping people when they fall on hard times.

This is the first time that Scott Tucker has brought the play to Kansas City, Missouri.   It is hoped that War Horse plays part in the 100 year anniversary of World War 1 and in publicizing the local Liberty Memorial. There were over 16 million military and civilian deaths during the war with over 20 million injured. View further information here.

Singapore is known for the eclectic cultural mix, and evidence of that is every where, from the businesses, to the business hotels Singapore has become a melting pot. From Italian restaurants to French, from Vietnamese sculptors to Roman painters, the local residents and the tourists are from a variety of back-grounds. This is true as well, for the performers of Wayang. For the most part, traditional performances are involving Hokkien actors as well as Teochew and Hokkien . And as with the times of Shakespeare, there were traditionally, no female actresses. The roles being given to young boys, as was the way the first years of Ophelia. However that is not the case today. At one point there were real theaters built for the opera, at one time about six. These theaters were located in the same district on Smith Street. Various nicknames for the street were used over the years, as Wayang Street or Theater Street. However with the beginning of film and the popularity of movie house that began in the early 1930′s the permanent locations began to disappear. Many abandoned the craft and the tradition for years.

But just as fashion repeats history in the United States, the younger population has begun to appreciate the art form. And the older performers and audience members are there to teach and to help revive this culturally important art form. Many Wayang operas are performed on the streets of Singapore today, as well in Opera Halls.

The Swedish player made history, and for a few brief years, defined a new role for tennis players. At the height, between 1978-1980, he won the big titles in both French Open tennis as well as in Wimbledon tennis , and his face was everywhere. In that sense, then, he really set a pattern that made it possible for tennis players to enter into the culture as rock stars. This is where the line between talent and celebrity gets crossed, and it does take more than just years of practice on the courts. For those who are called to take this position at the center of the world stage, it takes a certain amount of ambition, enormous personal vision, and a very healthy dose of good luck.

There’s no question that Borg had talent, that special ability to dazzle fans with his double backhand on the court that helped make him such an unbeatable force. His blonde flowing locks and natural rugged looks didn’t hurt, either. But when it came to the rivalry of his career, the one that pitted him against another great, John McEnroe , this is where his personal charisma really came through.

Sometimes it takes great contrasts to reveal strengths, and this is where the luck was really working for him. His coolness on the court was always one of his strengths, but it took those moments of playing against the fiery McEnroe for it to be visible for everyone, even those who normally don’t pay attention to personality in the game. He was the king of cool, and still is, and McEnroe was the first big brat of the game, and both roles seemed to have been pre-ordained, like a comedy team who capture our imaginations through the strength of their oppositional chemistry. It will be interesting to see when history repeats itself again.

Take the situation with golf legend Tiger Woods . Due to his personal life becoming public knowledge, he has lost corporate sponsors and lost his credibility when it comes to speaking for companies services and products. It is not whether or not a person’s private life should be anyone else’s business. It is that regardless, Woods is in the public eye, and when that happens there is no long a life that is lived privately and discreetly.

The other side of the celebrity endorsed advertising campaign coin, is world renown cycling legend, Lance Armstrong . Here was not only and extraordinary world class athlete, perhaps the greatest cyclist of all time, but due to the strength and the courage he demonstrated during his long battle with what should have been terminal cancer, he gained not only the respect of the those in the world of biking, but the respect of all those struggling with fighting cancer themselves. The Nike advertising campaign is well known. It is the simple statement, Just Do It. Nike took a risk on Armstrong.  Due to the fact that Armstrong came back to win so many Tour de France titles following such an extreme medical situation, he was accused of taking drugs to enhance his performance. This kind of accusation made him a greater investment risk and could have the end endorsement gigs for him. But the man was tested more in one year than most other athletes got tested throughout their careers, and he always proved to be riding clean. And not only that, his strength and determination was even more emphasized, creating a more powerful spokesman for the the Nike Company. This high risk investment paid off, and their Armstrong campaign was one of the most successful campaigns of all time.  However, that all changed when the accusations proved true and now he lives his life in disgrace, and facing legal problems.

Information provided by the Leawood, Kansas Tucker group