LONDON (AP) – Prince William attended last night’s premiere of “The Hobbit” in London, but his wife Kate Middleton had to stay home because she’s still suffering from severe morning sickness. It was freezing on the green carpet. Cate Blanchett says she was impressed so many fans turned out considering the cold weather was “enough to drive anyone away.” The Hobbit opens in this country tomorrow.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The top trending search on Google in 2012 was a sad one: the death of Whitney Houston. Psy’s “Gangnam Style” video was second, with Superstorm Sandy in third. When it came to images, the top search was for One Direction, then Selena Gomez. On Yahoo, the top search for lyrics was Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” followed by “Gangnam Style” and Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Justin Bieber’s farewell to six-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died of brain cancer, was number two on the retweet list. He had written “RIP Avalanna. i love you.” The top retweet was President Obama’s “Four more years.”
NEW YORK (AP) – What Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band started, Paul McCartney finished, with some help from Alicia Keys. And in between some of music’s top stars rocked Madison Square Garden for a show that put out the call for aid to the New York City area in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The show was a mixture of a telethon and an act of defiance – with celebrities calling for donations to a fund for Sandy victims and celebrity hosts defiantly urging New Yorkers to bounce back. Springsteen launched the show with the tune “Land of Hope and Dreams” before teaming up with fellow New Jersey native Bon Jovi on “Born To Run.” McCartney closed out the proceedings nearly six hours later joined by Alicia Keys with “Empire State of Mind.” The show was sold out – and was televised, streamed online and aired on radio all over the world. Producers say up to 2 billion people were able to experience the show live, along with the thousands who saw it in person.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – Steven Spielberg is bringing new glory to Abraham Lincoln.
The Civil War epic “Lincoln” leads the Golden Globes with seven nominations, among them best drama, best director for Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
Tied for second-place Wednesday with five nominations, including best drama are the Iran hostage-crisis thriller “Argo” and the slave-turned-bounty-hunter tale “Django Unchained.”
Other best-drama nominees are the shipwreck story “Life of Pi” and the Osama bin Laden manhunt thriller “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Nominated for best musical or comedy were: the British retiree adventure “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”; the Victor Hugo musical “Les Miserables”; the first-love tale “Moonrise Kingdom”; the fishing romance “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”; and the lost-soul romance “Silver Linings Playbook.
AHS one act play members (l-r) Roger Bunnell, Everett Gerth, Collin Cox, and Ashtyn Shrewsbury hoist the Nebraska Class B one act play trophy skyward after being crowned state champions on Dec. 7 in Kearney.
The Alliance High School state champion one act play – “I’m Not Ebenezer Scrooge,” – will be presented to the public on Wednesday, December 19 at 8 pm at the Alliance Performing Arts Center.
This performance will cap Westco’s annual meeting.
“We are inviting the public to watch the state champion play with our employees and members,” said Westco CEO David Briggs. “We encourage folks to congregate in the commons area between 7:45 p.m. and 8 p.m, as the PAC doors will open at 8 pm, with the play to begin shortly thereafter.”
The play, which is a comic takeoff on Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol,” features AHS sophomore Collin Cox as Jacob Marley. Cox was named the outstanding Class B male performer during state competition held in Kearney on December 7. There are 42 AHS students that make up the cast and crew.
There is no charge to attend the play, as it is a gift to the community from Westco.
NEW YORK (AP) – Mick Jagger says we can only wonder how bad the effects of Superstorm Sandy would have been if there hadn’t been so much warning. The frontman of the Rolling Stones says if there hadn’t been a week to prepare for the storm which devastated much of the coastal New York metropolitan area, the results “would have been pretty dire.” Jagger will lead the Stones in tonight’s 12-12-12 concert at Madison Square Garden – along with dozens of other acts to raise money for victims of Sandy. He says it’s important to “support people who have been in harm’s way” – and he’s especially fond of New York because he is “very familiar” with the area.
Besides the Stones, the 12-12-12 concert features Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Who, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl, Chris Martin of Coldplay and Eddie Vedder.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Rush fans have gotten their wish: Rush is heading for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the first time, the Rock Hall let fans help decide who should be inducted, and Rush led the fan poll. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson says fans were more hurt about Rush being snubbed than Rush was. Deep Purple had been running second in the fan poll but that wasn’t enough to get them in this year. Donna Summer will be inducted after six years on the ballot, but it’s bittersweet — she died in May. Public Enemy makes induction the first time they appeared on the ballot. Randy Newman, Heart and bluesman Albert King will also be inducted. The ceremony is April 18 in Los Angeles.
BEVERLY HILLS (AP) – Adele could win an Oscar for her song “Skyfall.” It’s one of 75 songs competing for an Oscar nomination. Another possible nominee is “One Wing,” the song R. Kelly wrote for Jordin Sparks to sing in “Sparkle.” Katy Perry’s song “Wide Awake” from her movie “Part of Me” is eligible. None of the famous songs from “Les Miz” are in competition because they’re not new. But the song “Suddenly” that was written just for the movie is in the mix. The five songs with the most votes will be nominated.
Several holiday programs will be held at the Alliance Performing Arts Center Dec. 13 -20.
Thursday, Dec. 13 @ 7 p.m. — Alliance St. Agnes Christmas program; grades K-8.
Saturday, Dec. 15 @ 7 p.m. — WNCC presentation of “A Christmas Carol.” Free of charge.
Sunday, Dec 16 @ 4 p.m — Alliance Community Choir, St. John’s Brass and High Plains String Ensemble Christmas concert.
Monday, Dec. 17 — Alliance High Madrigal/with dinner. Tickets are $20.
Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.– Alliance High BAND Christmas concert.
Wed., Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. — AHS state champion one act play – “I’m Not Ebenezer Scrooge.” This performance is part of Westco’s annual meeting. Westco is inviting the public to the performance. PAC doors will open at 8 pm, with the performance shortly thereafter.
Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. — Alliance Middle School BAND Christmas concert.
It’s the second annual Happy Birthday Jesus party at the First United Methodist Church in Alliance.
Children, please bring a parent, grandparent, or a friend who is an adult, as this is a family oriented party.
The Happy Jesus Birthday Party will take place this Saturday morning, December 15, from nine until 11.
There is no charge to attend this event which offers crafts, snacks, music, and stories.
The feature will be the Friendship Company Puppets.
Help celebrate the Reason for the Season, the birth Christ, this Saturday morning at the First United Methodist Church in Alliance.
