Articles by Lena Vazifdar
London Olympics 2012: Social Media Campaign Urges Viewers of Opening Ceremony Rehearsal to "Save the Surprise"
Monday night marked a technical dress rehearsal for the Olympic's opening ceremony, that will happen live on Friday and Danny Boyle is urging the audience to "save the surprise" for the Friday night extravaganza.
Olympics 2012 Schedule: Top Picks and Details
The 2012 Olympics begin this Friday with the highly anticipated opening ceremony, directed by Slumdog Millionare director, Danny Boyle and ends on August 12. As London is five hours ahead of Eastern time, NBC will stream important events live on their website. The network repackages events for its prime-time audience and generally shows at 7 or 8 at night until midnight. The seventeen day sports extravaganza is full of a number of daunting events.
Olympics Opening Ceremony 2012: Schedules and Events
The long awaited London Olympic opening ceremony will kick off this Friday with British director, Danny Boyle's ceremony titled, "Isles of Wonder."
Kristen Stewart Cheats on Robert Pattinson: Makes Public Apology
Kristen Stewart and her director of "Snow White and the Huntsman," Rupert Sanders had an affair, US Weekly scooped Wednesday.
Vietnam Airport Closes Because of Roaming Bull
A wandering bull was tranquilized on Tuesday afternoon and removed from Phu Bai Airport in Hue, Vietnam. The wandering bull forced the closure of the Vietnam airport and was captured after two days of roaming. The bull who later died, is said to have possibly killed an elderly villager.
Paula Deen Hosts a Caribbean Cruise
Butter-loving celebrity chef, Paula Deen, who won the heart of America with her Southern charm through popular Food Network shows like Paula's Best Dishes, is set to headline her third cruise in 2013. The chef will host her Royal Caribbean cruise on January 27 with a seven-night Caribbean trip departing from Galveston, Texas.
Tiger Tourism in India Banned
India's top court has band tourist from certain areas of it's tiger parks in an effort to boost the threatened population of tigers.
Voula Papachristou Expelled from London Olympics Due to Racist Tweet
Greece's Olympic athlete, Voula Papachristou has been expelled from the team because a racist Twitter comment she made mocking African Immigrants. Translated into English, her tweet read, (@papaxristoutj): "With so many Africans in Greece... At least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!!!"
London 2012 Olympics: For the First Time, Women Represent Every Country
For the first time in Olympic history, women are represented in all 205 countries that are competing in the games. Countries like Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are sending women for the first time. and The U.S. has 269 women at the Olympic games this year, more than their 261 male counterparts.
Barack Obama's Birthday: Enter to Win a Trip to His Chicago Birthday Celebration
President Barack Obama, who turns 51, on August 4 will celebrate his birthday with two lucky supporters in tow. The Obama campaign is offering supporters a chance to attend his birthday celebration next month in Chicago.
The Bachelorette: Inspired Travel Packages
The finale of The Bachelorette last Sunday was set in the stunning island of Curacoa in the Southern Caribbean. Blond beauty Emily Maynard, picked Jef Holm over race car driver Arie Lyuendyk Jr.all in the backdrop of the enchanting island. The vacation destination may be getting a boost with exposure like that from The Bachelorette which gave ABC its best summertime rating in two years.
Rihanna Breaks Toe on French Vacation
Our favorite pop-star party girl, Rihanna broke her toe while attempting to bartending in France. Rihanna tweeted, "Bartending last night, dropped a bottle, broke it, my foot is still bleeding!!!"
Breaking Bad Season 5: Albuquerque Cashes in on The Tourist Craze
The popular Albuquerque, New Mexico based AMC drama, Breaking Bad has helped stamp the city as a tourist destination. The modest commercial center of New Mexico, is not known for being a tourist draw but the popularity of the show Breaking Bad is helping to change that image.
iPhone 5 Release Date Reported in September
Rumors, as expected, for the iPhone 5's release date always surface before the company actually releases a report. Though Apple still hasn't made any official comments, industry insiders are reporting that Apple is planning to release a smaller version of the iPad tablet after the highly anticipated iPhone 5 this September.
Amelia Earhart: Search for Wreckage Comes up Empty Handed
An expedition that cost $2.2 million to further explore and find Amelia Earhart's plane wreckage has come back empty handed. Research shows that Earhart died 75 years ago, this month.
JFK Airport Ranks Number One in Spreading Disease
A new study put out by MIT's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department ranked John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport as number one in spreading a contagious disease. The published paper revealed how its network theory computer model can predict which U.S. airports are the worst when it comes to spreading global pandemics such as SARS and the H1N1 flu virus.
Mariah Carey Joins the American Idol Ranks
Fox announced Monday that Mariah Carey will join "American Idol" season 12 as a judge next year.
Virgin Australia's Crew Takes Etiquette Classes
Virgin Australia's cabin crew, formerly known as Virgin Blue, has started to participate in a program called Elevate which includes an etiquette class. The program that covers everything from grooming, body language and wine-appreciate , stems from an effort to try and gain business customers from award-winning Qantas.
The Hipster Olympics 2012: A Berlin Event
Every PBR swigging, American Spirit smoking, ironic'd mustache sporting, flannel shirt wearing hipster's dream came true this past weekend at Berlin's Hipster Olympics.
Beijing Rain Storm Leaves 37 Dead
Beijing's largest storm in 60 years has caused widespread destruction and tragedy throughout China's capital, leaving 37 people dead. The rainstorm that started on July 21 created a record breaking 16 inches of rain and has caused 10 billion Yuan or $1.6 billion in flood damage. It has also stranded 80,000 travelers with flight delays on over 500 canceled flights and 56,933 people have been evacuated from their homes.
The World's Happiest Places: From San Luis Obispo to Singapore
Writer Dan Buettner explores four places in the world that have been identified as the happiest in the world, in the National Geographic book Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zone Way. Denmark, Singapore, Mexico and San Luis Obispo, California have all been identified by researches as being some of the happiest places in the world and in his book, Buettner investigates why.
Ramadan 2012: London Olympic Traffic will Increase due to Ramadan
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started on July 20, is predicted to add to London's already intense Olympic traffic issues. With thousands of Muslims making their way into non-game lanes to pray at the many mosques in East London, near the Olympic Park traffic will increase.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Enjoy a Puerto Rican Beach Day [VIDEO]
Justin Timberland and Jessica Biel has a relaxing beach day in Puerto Rico last week. The couple was spotted on July 15 playing paddleball. Biel, 30, looked fantastic in a white wetsuit top and tiny black bathing suit bottoms. Her fiancé, Timberlake, 31, looked great in boarshorts.
Kennedy Space Center Offers an Unprecedented Launchpad Tour
Kennedy Space Center will open to the public for the first time in its 50 year history. The public opening of the historic center will allow visitors to view up-close one of the pads from which the space shuttles were launch.
Mitt Romney to Travel to England, Israel and Poland
Mitt Romney will travel abroad next week in order to establish credibility as President. The Republican candidate will venture to England, Israel and Poland. Romney has little formal experience overseas and will hold meetings with leaders, visit historic sites and give speeches.
Ramadan 2012: Two Man Duo Covers 30 Mosques in 30 Days
For the past three years, Ali Aman, 27, has spent the Islamic holy month of fasting, Ramadan, at a different mosque everyday. Aman and his photographer friend Bassam Tariq have spent Ramadan which starts on July 20th covering all 50 states in their blog, www.30mosques.com.
Colorado Theater Shooting: New Updates About James Holmes
New information about 24-year-old James Holmes, the gunman who shot 71 people, killing 12, in the U.S's largest mass shooting in history is being revealed.
Anti Terrorism Shooting School in Israel an Unusual Tourist Attraction
The West Bank Settlement bloc of Gush Etzion in Southern Jerusalem is home to the Caliber 3 shooting school that was set up in 2002, providing weaons training to security professionals. These include soldiers and bodyguards, however in the past few years more and more tourists have been coming there for an off-the-beaten path vacation experience with a two-hour tourist course.
Airline Ticket Prices Decrease to Fall Prices Early
Starting August 20, many airlines will discount their fares and start to offer their cheapest domestic fairs by 10% to 20%. Carriers usually cut fares once children head back to school but this year they are starting early.
Tom Cruise takes Suri on a Hampton's Beach Day
Tom Cruise took his six-year-old daughter Suri on a mini-vacation July 19. The duo went to spend the day in East Hampton for a beach day. According to US Weekly Cruise and his daughter chartered a helicopter back to New York in the mid afternoon and later that night Holmes took Suri to her gymnastics class in New York's Chelsea Piers.
