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Here's Why The Best Way To Watch The Election Debates Is On The Xbox

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paul ryan biden

While you're watching the debates on cable and network television, there's another outlet making election coverage interactive, and it's not an app. 

Xbox Live is streaming the four presidential and vice-presidential debates to users combining election coverage with real-time interactive questions ranging from trending topics on Twitter to positions on policies. 

Those who watch are allowed to submit poll questions on Twitter with the hashtag #XboxPoll. 

Unfortunately, not anyone with an Xbox can watch. You have to be a Gold member which costs nearly $50 a year. 

Last night's debate presented 26 questions. According to Xbox, more than 30,000 responses were received to each question asked lived during the debates.

We tuned in last night, and it turns out to look, for the most part, better than the live stream on the main networks without the messy splitscreen.

While watching, we became more interested in the live interactive polls that popped up during the debates asking us which VP we would rather see take over as president, to grade moderator Martha Raddatz's performance, whether the VPs were lying, and more. 

About an hour into the debate, poll questions began popping up on screen. 

It was quite entertaining.

vp debate xbox

After selecting an option, we received real-time answers: 

vp debate xbox

And, so it continued this way for the rest of the debate.

xbox election

What may have been the best, was the reaction captured on screen by some of the candidates while questions and results appeared on screen.

Specifically, we found Paul Ryan's expressions priceless.

paul ryan debate

debate moderator 

paul ryan debates

Biden and Obama won every question in real-time as it popped up.

biden xbox debate

biden ryan debate

And, the winner according to Xbox Gold members?

....

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Not Ryan.

paul ryan debate

 

And, then there was this, which may be the best photo from the debate:

paul ryan vp debate

SEE ALSO: Is ABC's alien comedy "The Neighbors" the next show to get cancelled? >

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JOB OF THE WEEK: Director of Supply Chain Administrationi

Steven Tyler's Lawyer Is Being Sued For $8M Over Botched 'American Idol' Deal

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Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is at the center of a new lawsuit in which his former management company is suing his current lawyer

Management company Kovac Media Group claims attorney Dina LaPolt cost the music superstar a $6 million - $8 million deal to return to "American Idol" for a second season as judge after she botched contract negotiations.

The suit never mentions Tyler by name, but refers to him as “The Artist” throughout the filing and states he is a member in a band who had a judge role for two seasons on the popular Fox show.

According to the 19-page suit,

“In 2011, the Artist's contract on the popular television show "American Idol" was up for renegotiation. TSE and LaPolt were responsible for renegotiating the contract. At the time, the Artist's popularity and media appeal were at their peak. As a result of the Artist's stature, the show's ratings were soaring and the producers of the show wanted to do everything possible to make sure the Artists stayed on as a "judge." Knowing that the Artist was a hot commodity to the show, TSE wanted to employ an aggressive strategy in the renegotiations and leverage Artist's popularity to get a more lucrative contract for him. TSE wanted the new contract to be in line with what other personalities were earning on the show. TSE sought to obtain a contract that would have earned $6-$8 million more annually than the Artist's contract at the time."

Tyler's fellow judge Jennifer Lopez earned a reported $15 million to appear on the show, and left after being denied a $17 million paycheck to stay on another season.

The suit continues about the salary negotiations, saying, "LaPolt undercut [Kovac] TSE’s strategy to leverage the Artist’s popularity for a more lucrative deal. She told American Idol’s agent that Kovac 'overplayed his hand with his aggressive behavior' and that American Idol could get the Artist for cheap, thereby undermining and negating Kovac’s/the Artist’s position in the negotiations."

The suit also alleges that LaPolt then convinced Tyler to fire his former managers and cut Kovac/TSE out of their commission from an "Idol" severance payment.

In addition to the $8 million, Kovac/TSE are also seeking interest, punitive and exemplary damages, legal fees and other costs. The plaintiffs have requested a five-day jury trial.

Tyler and fellow former judge Jennifer Lopez were replaced by Mariah Carey, Nicki Manaj and Keith Urban for the upcoming season of "American Idol."

SEE ALSO: Nicki Minaj curses out Mariah Carey behind-the-scenes on "American Idol" >

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Here's What Celebrities Had To Say About The Vice-Presidential Debate

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joe biden paul ryan debate

Last night, while Vice President Joe Biden debated with Republican candidate Paul Ryan, celebs again took to Twitter to weigh in on their performances.

Though there was less commentary, everyone seemed to have something to say about Biden's performance.

Eva Longoria was 100% "Team Joe," Joy Behar's timeline was overstuffed, and Samuel L. Jackson was surprisingly less vocal last night. 

However, when he made an appearance, we were pretty stumped by what he had to add to the conversation.

On moderator Martha:

bill maher tweet

eric stonestreet tweet

eva longoria tweet

On Biden:

eva longoria tweet

piers morgan tweet

piers morgan tweet

eric stonestreet twitter

damon lindelof tweet

bill maher debate

joy behar tweet

trump tweet

On Ryan:

piers morgan tweet

paul ryan joy behar

Maher especially had some advice for Ryan:

bill maher tweet

maher tweet

On Obama:

donald trump tweet

And, of course, Samuel L. Jackson:

samuel l jackson tweet

samuel l jackson tweet

SEE ALSO: Why the Xbox is the best place to watch the election debates > 

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CONFIRMED: Kate Upton And Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander Are Dating

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kate upton dating justin verlander

The rumors were true, SI swimsuit model Kate Upton and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander are an item, according to Celebuzz.

Celebuzz got the scoop from Verlander's grandfather, Richard Verlander. He told Celebuzz:

”I heard he has been on dates with a Sports Illustrated girl. I saw a photo — she’s beautiful. They make a good looking pair because he’s a good looking man too.”

Celebuzz, going to good old grandpas for the scoops, also talked to Upton's grandfather who seems pleased with the relationship and told the website, "She has all of our support."

Upton and Verlander's careers are both on fire right now. Upton recently posed for the cover of Cosmopolitan and Verlander just lead his team past the Oakland A's to continue on to the ALCS.

Upton and Verlander met on the set of an MLB2k12 ad.

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An Amazing Story From Kate Middleton's Bachelorette Party Last Year

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Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton pulled off an epic performance at her bachelorette party last year, UK singer Cheryl Cole claims. 

Sarah Karmali at Vogue UK reports about Kate's "hen night" (the British slang for bachelorette party): 

"The Duchess of Cambridge dressed up as Cheryl Cole on her hen do. According to the singer, Prince William told her of his wife's tribute at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert back in June.

"Kate confessed that she dressed up as me on her hen night, in a bodysuit and split trousers, and sang Fight For This Love," wrote Cole in her new autobiography, Cheryl: My Story. "She even learnt the dance routine and was step-perfect by all accounts, as her sister Pippa and brother James also came over and told me all about it."'

Other details about the party are that it had a "Dirty Dancing" theme and was held at her parents' estate. 

If Middleton really dressed up and pulled off a performance, we'd love to see a video.

DON'T MISS: Look What Happens When Kate Middleton Wears A Brand >

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New 'Gangster Squad' Trailer Released After Post-'Dark Knight' Shooting Edits

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Gangster Squad Emma Stone Ryan Gosling

A new trailer for "Gangster Squad," starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Josh Brolin, was released Thursday after edits were made to the original trailer.

The original trailer featured a scene eerily reminiscent of the Aurora theater shooting in July, where 12 movie-goers were killed during a midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises." The film scene in question showed four armed men shooting at a theater.

The movie, inspired by the true story of LAPD's struggle to keep out East Coast mafia types in the 1940s and 50s, was initially set to be released September 7. Warner Bros. pushed back the release date until Jan. 11, 2013 to allow time for the theater scene to be re-filmed.

Check out the new trailer here: 

Warner Bros. has removed the original trailer, but we first told you about the controversy, and what Nikki Finke has to do with it, HERE.

SEE ALSO: Anthony Hopkins is unrecognizable as Alfred Hitchcock >

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Snoop Dogg Is Selling Hot Pockets

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The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, turned Snoop Lion, is now shilling Hot Pockets.

The rapper adapted the classic "Drop It Like It's Hot" to "Pocket Like It's Hot" for the microwavable snack. There's an accompanying Facebook campaign as well. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

The winning excerpt has to be the line:

So don't change the dizzle, turn it up a lizzle / Got some cheesy drizzle dripping on my shizzle / Waiting on the brizzle's, the pizzle, the dizzle Gs, when da cheese hits your tongue it'll scream "Fo Sizzle"

But things could be worse.

Billy Johnson at Yahoo points out that the commercial is at least better than when MC Hammer starred in a KFC commercial.

Furthermore, even though the Hot Pocket spot shows scantily-clad video vixens dancing in a rain of pepperoni, Snoop's spot probably won't spark as much controversy as other rappers' recent food commercials.

Earlier this year, Burger King pulled a spot in which Mary J. Blige rhapsodized about "crispy chicken" after the company was slammed for playing up racial stereotypes (See the Mary J. Blige spot below). 

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The BBC Is Being Shaken To Its Core By An Enormous Sex Abuse Scandal

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Jimmy Saville UK

What's happening right now in the U.K. can probably be compared to the scandal that engulfed Penn State and Jerry Sandusky earlier this year.

If anything, however, it's even bigger.

The BBC has just announced that it will be holding two internal investigations into widespread allegations of sexual abuse by the late television star Sir Jimmy Savile.

Savile was one of the U.K.'s most famous and long-running television hosts, presenting the weekly music show "Top of the Pops" for 20 years, and later his own show, "Jim Will Fix It," where he helped children achieve their dreams. He was well-known for his charity work — one obituary estimated he had raised over £40 million ($64 million) for charity, and given away as much as 90 percent of his own considerable wealth.

Savile died last year at the age of 84 after almost five decades of fame, but it was only this month that allegations hit the press that he sexually abused both children and adults during the peak of his fame. British police now say that they have over 340 leads, with 12 allegations officially recorded, and that number is expected to grow.

Some of the new allegations are incredible — that Savile was given a room at a hospital for the criminally insane where he abused patients and that his trips to children's hospitals for charities were used as a chance to abuse sick children, for example.

Savile had long been known for his extremely unorthodox behavior, but most had cast off accusations of child abuse as simply Savile being "eccentric." British police had reportedly investigated Savile several times during his lifetime but never found enough evidence to charge him.

For the BBC, it's a disaster on a huge scale.

For one thing, the scandal came to light this year due to a documentary shown on rival TV channel ITV, which reported that at least 10 women said they had been molested by Savile — with some of the assaults taking place in BBC buildings. It later emerged that the BBC's own investigative news program, Newsnight, had been investigating allegations of abuse by Saville the previous year, but the show was cancelled, reportedly due to not meeting the editorial standards of the BBC. Many believe that Savile's association with the BBC led to institutional pressure to drop the story, despite denials from the show's producers.

Other reports support the idea of a cover-up. One former BBC producer has told UK newspaper The Sun that he had walked in on Savile abusing a girl who looked "very, very young" in the 1970s. When he told his superiors about the incident he claimed he was shrugged off. “Everyone knew what was going on. That includes senior BBC people — chiefs at the highest levels."

The scandal isn't limited to Savile either, and has prompted a wider look at the sexual culture of the organization in the 1960s and '70s. John Peel, a late radio DJ for the BBC who is one of the most revered people in British music history, has been posthumously accused of getting a 14 year old girl pregnant in the late 1960s. Peel is now being investigated, The Guardian reports. If the allegation is found true, the BBC says it will reconsider plans to name a building after Peel.

Of course, the fact that Savile and Peel are now dead means they will not be able to defend themselves in court, or the press. For Savile, in particular, his legacy is destroyed. Even Savile's elaborate tombstone, only recently laid to rest on his grave, has been destroyed at the request of his family. He now lies in an unmarked grave.

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'Friday Night Lights' Creator Accuses Mitt Romney Of Plagiarizing The Show's Signature Catchphrase

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Mitt Romney is using a  phrase from hit series "Friday Night Lights" to describe his campaign, and the creator, Peter Berg, is not enthused, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Hollywood Reporter exclusively obtained a letter Berg sent to Romney's campaign asking him to stop using the phrase he came up with for "Friday Night Lights": "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose."

Romney has used the phrase as a slogan for his campaign on posters and on his Facebook Page:

mitt romney clear eyes full hearts can't lose

Here's the full letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Berg's biggest zinger: "The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and Friday Night Lights is in the character of Buddy Garrity — who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan."

mitt romney clear eyes full hearts can't lose

Buzz Bissinger, the author of the book that inspired the television show, came out in support for Romney this week in a much-publicized and widely panned piece for The Daily Beast. He went on a Twitter rant amid the backlash.

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'Superman' Creator's Family In 'David & Goliath' Court Battle With Warner Bros. Over Rights

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superman

Laura Siegel Larson and her family have been fighting Warner Bros. for years over the rights for the Man of Steel.

Larson's parents, Jerry Siegel and Joanne Siegel, who have both passed on, are the co-creators of "Superman," and according to Larson, her father's dying wish was to regain rights to the superhero he had a hand in making.

The task has been no easy feat, according to Larson. 

Warner Bros. attorneys filed a motion Wed. night on the basis Larson's family attorney "systematically supressed relevant evidence" which calls for an evidentiary hearing on November 12.

Larson has come out in response with a lengthy letter to fans discussing the struggle to return the proper copyright to her family's name. 

Among the claims in her note, Larson says Warner Bros. has spent some $35 million in corporate lawyers to fight her family's claim for rights.

Larson hopes her letter can set an example for any writers / artists interested in getting involved with the biz.

From Deadline:

"My family’s David and Goliath struggle against Warner Bros, the media conglomerate, goes back to April 1997, when my mom and I exercised our clear right under the Copyright Act to achieve my dad’s dream of recovering his copyrights. In April 1999, my dad’s half of the original Superman rights reverted to us, entitling our family to a significant share of Superman profits, which Warner/DC Comics refused to pay. For over thirteen years they have fought us at every turn, in and out of court, aiming to make recovery of the money they owe us so impossibly difficult that we would give up and settle for peanuts."

Read the full letter at Deadline >

SEE ALSO: Steven Tyler's lawyer is being sued for $8M over botched 'American Idol' deal >

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A Devastating Analysis Of Kim Kardashian's Private Equity Deals

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Kim Kardashian

In a recent article on The Trust Advisor, writer Scott Martin takes aim at the Kardashians in a piece titled, "Will Someone In Our Industry Please Tell Kim Kardashian How Private Placements Are Supposed To Work?"

Martin explains that while the Kardashian clan has amassed an estimated $80 million family fortune through TV deals, endorsements, sponsored tweets and seven-figure sex tape settlements, the E! reality-TV family is not "sophisticated" when it comes to the small-cap equity market. Or more likely, they're being ill-advised.

After the three Kardashian sisters did a deal with BOLD cosmetics company, called the Kardashian Khroma Beauty line, the stock’s performance has been dismal.

The publicly traded stock that the Kardashian women are involved with "started trading at 55 cents a share back in July and now it’s down at $0.21, taking 60 percent of investors’ capital with it," reports The Trust Advisor.

According to Martin, "Kim Kardashian’s antics are turning her into a poster child for redefining the rules governing private equity investments."

But the reality TV stars' foray into finance doesn't stop there.

"The sisters experimented with a branded debit card a few years ago, only to pull it off the market one step ahead of the regulators after signing barely 250 accounts," writes Martin. "They got out of the following $75 million breach of contract lawsuit with only incidental losses, but few would consider the venture anything but an embarrassment. Their nominally sophisticated partners went bust."

In their defense, the Kardashian sisters didn't even need to work for a living to begin with.

"High-powered entertainment lawyer Robert Kardashian left his wife and kids a rumored $100 million estate in trust when he died almost a decade ago, so it’s not like they had to build that entire fortune on their own," writes Martin.

The Trust Advisor also takes aim at how Kim's personal life has affected her finances, stating:

Kim’s failed 72-day-marriage to basketball star Kris Humphreys, for example, cost $10 million and attracted close to $18 million in endorsements.

Once the divorce was finalized and Kris got his share of that money — but nothing else, thanks to a Hollywood-tight prenup — the Kardashians’ mother/manager swears that at best Kim broke even on the event.

Now she’s buying new boyfriend Kanye West $750,000 Lamborghinis for his birthday, even though the rap star is reportedly worth more than her entire family combined.

But it could always be worse, as Martin reports, "The video game company that’s been trying to ride the fame of Snooki from Jersey Shore has seen its shares crater 90 percent since the start of the year."

“From reality TV stars to professional athletes to entertainers, many have tried and failed to recreate themselves as entrepreneurs,” adds April Rudin, who runs a high-net-worth marketing group. “Kim Kardashian isn’t Warren Buffett.”

Watch Kim Kardashian talk the economy on CNBC:

SEE ALSO: Here's what celebrities had to say about last night's vice-presidential debate >

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Wyclef's Haiti Charity Is Now Defunct After Mishandling $16M In Donations

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wyclef jean

Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti charity, once what the singer said was the country's "greatest asset and ally" is now defunct and in debt.

The charity's collapse comes after years of accusations of mishandled funds, which amounted to a reported $16 million following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

"Yéle was small before the earthquake, with only $37,000 in assets," reports The New York Times. "Immediately afterward, money started pouring in. Mr. Jean said he raised $1 million in 24 hours when he urged his Twitter followers to text donations."

Instead of funds going directly to the cause, The Times reports that the organization spent much of its money on "offices, salaries, consultants’ fees and travel," as well as pay for Jean's family, friends and defense attorneys.

“If I had depended on Yéle,” said Diaoly Estimé, whose orphanage features a wall painting of Mr. Jean and his wife, “these kids would all be dead by now.”

Between 2005-2009, the charity spent "$256,580 in illegitimate benefits to Mr. Jean and other Yéle board and staff members as well as improper or potentially improper transactions."

One "improper" use of funds included doling out $30,763 to fly Lindsay Lohan to a fundraiser that raised $66,000 and spending $57,927 on private jets to fly Matt Damon and other celebs to Haiti.

Following the earthquake in 2010, Yéle spent $9 million of their $16 million in donations on office space and salaries.

Jean himself took $100,000 to perform a charity concert and has given his relatives paychecks of over half a million dollars for unspecified work.

Not to mention, The Smoking Gun posted documents showing that the group made payments of over $100,000 to Jean's alleged mistress.

At the end of August, Derek Q. Johnson, Yéle’s chief executive, announced his resignation to supporters, saying “As the foundation’s sole remaining employee, my decision implies the closure of the organization as a whole.” (Jean disaffiliated with the charity to run for president of Haiti in 2010--which he was later disqualified from because he lives in New Jersey.)

According to The Times, Johnson, a former Time Warner exec, resigned "after Jean declined to accept a settlement proposed by the attorney general covering the charity’s pre-earthquake activities ...The settlement would have required Mr. Jean and the two other Yéle founders to pay $600,000 in restitution 'to remedy the waste of the foundation’s assets.'"

SEE ALSO: Steven Tyler's former manager is suing his current lawyer for $8M over botched 'American Idol' negotiations >

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The Surprising Last Words Of 11 Famous Men

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Alfred HitchcockWhat do actors, musicians, and writers say before they die?

From enlightenment to humor, see what these 11 famous men said before they passed away.

Our friends at mental_floss consulted the reference Last Words of Notable People by Bill Brahms to collect eleven examples.

Read on, and get a hanky ready.


Bob Hope (1903-2003)

Last words: “Surprise me.”

The story: “Bob” Hope’s full name was Leslie Townes Hope. As an actor and radio personality, he became best known in his later years for entertaining American troops stationed overseas. He died at Toluca Lake, California at the ripe old age of 100. His wife Dolores asked Bob where he wanted to be buried, prompting his last words.

Reports of Hope’s death were greatly exaggerated in 1998, when the Associated Press accidentally released a prepared obituary. The incorrect news spread so rapidly that it was announced on the floor of the US House. Representative Bob Stump, R-Arizona, Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, broke the “news.”



Glenn Miller (1904-1944)

Last words: “Where the hell are the parachutes?”

The story: Glenn Miller was a big band leader and US Army Major during WWII. Miller boarded a plane bound from England to Paris, where he planned to perform concerts for troops on leave in Europe. His last recorded words as he boarded the plane (above) were spoken to Colonel Don Baesell, who replied: “What’s the matter Miller, don’t you want to live forever?” The plane was lost over the English Channel.




Eugene O’Neill, Senior (1888-1953)

Last words: “I knew it! I knew it! Born in a hotel room and, goddamn it, dying in a hotel room.”

The story: O’Neill was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, best known for Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Iceman Cometh. He was born in a room at the Broadway hotel on what is now Times Square. He died at age 65 in a Boston hotel after suffering neurological disease. The hotel was later turned into the Shelton Hall dorm at Boston University.

O’Neill had an alcoholic son, Eugene O’Neill Jr., who committed suicide in 1950 at the age of 40. The Junior O’Neill wrote in his note, “Never let it be said of O’Neill that he failed to empty a bottle. Ave atque vale.” (The last phrase is Latin for “Hail and farewell.”)



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This Is One Of The Most Remarkable Survival Stories You Will Ever Read

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Touching The Void

In 1985, two young British climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, became the first to ascend the west face of Siula Grande, a 21,000-foot peak in the Peruvian Andes.

What happened next has become the stuff of mountaineering legend.

The saga of the five days that followed is one of the most remarkable and inspiring survival stories ever. It's also an extraordinary example of self-reliance, decision-making under extreme duress, and force of will.

One of the climbers, Joe Simpson, wrote a book about the experience called Touching The Void. In 2003, the story was made into a docu-drama directed by Kevin Macdonald. The movie was narrated by Simpson and Yates, with actors re-enacting the events in Peru and the Alps.

Both the book and movie are extraordinary.

Using still shots from the movie, I've told a very abridged version of the story below. If you don't like spoilers, you can buy the book or movie here, or watch the movie on Netflix.

The saga began with a two-day hike from the nearest road.



The climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, established a camp about 4-5 miles from Siula Grande.



DAY ONE: The route to the mountain passed a glacial lake, followed by a long hike up a valley and the glacier itself.



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The New 'Carrie' Remake Looks Creepy

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chloe-moretz

We've been at New York Comic Con (NYCC) for the past three days, and spent the majority of my time today inside the completely packed IGN theater (they began turning people away from the entrance near 2 p.m.). 

Among the panels we viewed was one for upcoming horror remake "Carrie" featuring Julianne Moore and Chloë Grace Moretz ("Kickass") where they not only revealed a creepy, bloodtastic embodiment of Stephen King's classic character, but also the premiere of its teaser trailer. 

We know what you're thinking: another remake?

(Sissy Spacek and John Travolta starred in the original 1976 classic of King's novel centered around a shy teen who discovers she has telekinetic powers.) 

While we originally shared this sentiment (Sissy Spacek and John Travolta starred in the 1976 classic embodiment of King's novel), Moore pointed out one way this film may have a leg up on the original. 

Moretz is an actual teenager (age 15) playing the role of a high school student, whereas Spacek was 26 when taking on the same part. 

We're unsure whether it will live up to the original, but the final image of Moretz as Carrie in the teaser trailer certainly looked terrifying. 

Filmmaker Kimberly Peirce estimated nearly 1,000 gallons of fake blood were used while filming the reimagining of the 1976 horror classic.

For now, here's the teaser poster for the film unveiled at NYCC earlier today (which doesn't do justice to the bloody scene we saw on the big screen):

carrie poster

SEE ALSO: How you can watch the Walking Dead season 3 premiere for free tonight >

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Andrew Lincoln Jumped Off The Stage To View A Woman's Tattoo At New York Comic Con

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Andrew Lincoln

"The Walking Dead" actor Andrew Lincoln made one fan very happy yesterday at New York Comic Con (NYCC).

During the panels, fans from the crowd are often allowed to ask questions of the panel.

One girl had a strange request during the evening event for AMC's hit zombie series.

She shared her mom had a "Walking Dead" tattoo encompassing her leg, and she wanted to know Lincoln's opinion.

Instead of laughing it off, the actor got up from his seat and jumped off the stage ushering the mom forward.

He then went up to her, viewed the tat, and gave her a giant hug. 

Panel host Chris Hardwick responded to the incident saying he's never seen anything like this at Comic Con.

He's not alone.

This is what ensued:

andrew lincoln comic con the walking dead 

I apologize for the blurry image. It was pretty unexpected. What you're seeing is people circling around Lincoln and the woman with phones, cameras, and video cameras. Somehow we haven't managed to find the tattoo anywhere on Twitter or elsewhere, though. (For the record, there was very little, if any, phone service inside the theater.)

To compare, this is how the area looked before the pile up:

walking dead panel nycc 2012

SEE ALSO: How you can watch the season 3 premiere of "The Walking Dead" online tomorrow >

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Discrete EBooks Have Unlocked A Huge Erotic Fiction Market

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erotic fiction

Flush with the success of "Fifty Shades of Grey", erotic literature is increasingly finding ardent fans among women seduced by the discretion afforded by ebooks, publishers say.

"The Perfect Submissive", "Body Temperature And Rising" and "Dark Desires", the titles issued by British specialist publisher Xcite leave little room for doubt over their content.

The books were unashamedly on display in the bustling corridors of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's biggest publishing event due to close Sunday, and are enjoying a boost thanks to the advent of the electronic book.

The erotic book is "an ideal genre for ebooks", said Peter Ferris, non-executive director at Accent Press, whose imprint Xcite is the biggest British erotica publisher.

"Print book sales were starting to decline. Getting into the major book stores was difficult. Some stores are not happy to take them and the buyers are very hard to reach," he said.

And then "Fifty Shades of Grey" came along.

The 2011 erotic novel by British author E.L. James was the first part of a trilogy about a relationship between a college graduate and a young business magnate and has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.

Since "Fifty Shades of Grey" started to top the bestseller lists, ebook sales have undergone "a very large increase" and made erotic literature more publicly acceptable, Ferris said.

"It raised the attention level or people's awareness of erotica. It made it more mainstream, more acceptable. It's no longer something you don't talk about, it's in the bestsellers' charts," he said.

Xcite now expects its ebook sales to be three times higher than the printed book sales this year.

Germany's Jolanta Gatzanis, editor in charge of erotic literature at the publishing house that bears her name, said ebooks had been flying off the digital shelves, and without having to be promoted.

"We sold a lot of electronic books this year without doing much publicity. That really surprised us," she said.

In Germany, no fewer than 4,000 erotic reference books for adults are currently available on the Internet, albeit of varying quality, said Roman Jansen-Winkeln, of Satzweiss, a services' provider for publishers and authors.

"There are some of good quality but a huge number of books of very mediocre quality which would have never been printed. A bit like for thrillers. But if a bad thriller can still be quite amusing, there's nothing worse than bad erotic literature," he said.

This genre of books is predominantly read by women, the publishers agreed. Jansen-Winkeln said he believed more than 80 percent of readers of erotic literature were female.

"We don't actually see the gender of the customer but... the writing itself is aimed at women, and it's written mostly by female authors who are writing for women," said Ferris, of Accent Press which also publishes thrillers and cook books.

Discretion could be the key.

With no cover on display, an ereading device such as a Kindle makes the literature anonymous to the outside world, Giada Armani, who heads up erotic literature publishing house Giadas.

"I think that women have always wanted to read erotic literature. But what woman brandishes an erotic book in the underground or at work whose cover displays the silhouette of a naked man?" she said.

And, as Ferris pointed out, the reader can also retain their own anonymity by downloading ebooks without having to go into a shop.

"You can even erase it once you're finished so nobody knows what you've been reading," he said.

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Former Chinese Official Sheds Light On The Dark Side Of Power

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"Politics is an ugly business," says an official in Chinese author Wang Xiaofang's novel, The Civil Servant's Notebook. "You always need to keep a knife in reserve, even for your own boss."

Delving into the darkness of Chinese bureaucracy, Wang depicts a world of intrigue where those at the top lose sight of their principles in the race for political power.

It's a world that Wang is familiar with, having begun his own career in the civil service and risen through the ranks of officialdom to become private secretary to the deputy mayor of one of China's biggest cities.

But then scandal erupted, and Wang's boss -- Ma Xiangdong, the deputy mayor of the city of Shenyang -- was sentenced to death in 2001 for gambling away more than $3.6 million of embezzled funds in Macau casinos.

Other officials were embroiled in the scandal. Wang was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, quit his job and put pen to paper.

"That was an experience that rattled my entire life," Wang said in an interview last week following a reading at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

"After that, I didn't want to repeat the same life. I didn't want to become a spiritual eunuch. I realised that to be able to be yourself is real success," he said.

Since then Wang, who is 49, has published thirteen novels about corruption and politics in China, selling millions of copies in the process.

"The Civil Servant's Notebook" is his first novel to be translated into English and its September release was particularly timely as the world watches China deal with its biggest political scandal in decades, ahead of a pivotal leadership transition in November.

The book's portrayal of rumour, scandal and subterfuge as candidates scramble to replace a fallen mayor resonates strongly with the fall of Bo Xilai, a former star politician who China says will now "face justice" for a litany of crimes.

With its allegations of graft and other lurid details, the Bo Xilai scandal -- which has already seen Bo's wife convicted of murder -- has caused divisions within the secretive party ahead of the creation of a new power elite, analysts say.

Wang compares it to a moment in "The Civil Servant's Notebook", when a character realises just before his execution that he has been made what the author calls "a sacrificial lamb" for a system that is racing to replace him.

"Bo Xilai has fallen, but there are more who take will his place," said Wang. "If one man stumbles, a thousand will be in place behind him."

Wang tends to take a sympathetic view of officials who become ensnared by the evils of the system in which they work. "The system is what created the officials in the first place," he said.

"If there were a good system in place, these very same people would not go down the road of corruption."

One of the contenders in the novel mulls a report on a fallen mayor who "confused the gate of hell with the gate of heaven", and realises that "there's only one door I've been compelled to push open each day, and that's the door to my office.

"Every day when I open this door I am at my most smug and complacent."

Wang said the consequences of the rule of first emperor Qin Shi Huang more than 2,000 years ago -- in which he moved violently to restrict freedom of thought -- were still being felt.

In the book, he uses an official who has spent his life drinking his own urine as a symbol of "this several thousand years of evil.

"For Chinese people, the obsession with power is in the bones. The only way for China to improve its political system is to choose a democratic and statutory process -- that is how the world is developing."

Wang points out that of his 13 books, 11 have been critical of the officialdom system. He is prone to lofty statements about his work and his literary method but rejects the "absurdist" tag that some have given it (even the stationary talks in "The Civil Servant's Notebook").

"When this book was first published in China in 2009, the media suggested that I had distorted and uglified the image of civil servants, that I had used the absurdist method of writing. But what I've written here is derived completely from true life stories," he said.

Others have suggested that Wang's books serve as guides for advancement among official ranks, labelling him king of the "officialdom" genre. The Chinese version of "The Civil Servant's Notebook" carries quotes of approval from Premier Wen Jiabao.

"That's one way I can protect myself," Wang said with a laugh, stressing that they are not friends. "But officialdom fiction makes no contribution to art or literature," he said.

"I am deeply suspicious of writers who cannot talk about the evil that is surrounding them. The biggest problem with Chinese literature right now is that it's all the same -- everyone is just copying each other. I have created a new style and that is my contribution."

Wang's visit to Hong Kong came ahead of Chinese writer Mo Yan's Nobel literature prize victory on Thursday, a result that provoked some academics and dissidents to accuse the author -- known for exploring the brutality of China's tumultuous 20th century -- of being a stooge for officialdom.

Wang says he has four more books in the pipeline, but that the political environment is "too sensitive" for them at present.

One of them, he says, is called "Oil Painting", which he describes as being about victims of an injustice who go to Beijing to complain but then disappear.

"Perhaps it was God's intention that someone with the ability to write was immersed in this world of power and corruption," said Wang.

"To steal secrets from this hidden world and reveal it through the form of literature."

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