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On this day in 2023

On this day in 2022

• EVENTS
• American cellist Yo-Yo Ma is awarded the fifth $1 million Birgit Nilsson Prize.
• The Girl Scouts of the USA announces receipt of donations totaling $84.5 million from American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
• DEATHS
• Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 50km & 4×10km relay 1968; World C'ship gold 4×10km relay 1966), who died from cardiac arrest at 83.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 5
• Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed for PlayStation 5 is released. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is coming to a platform near you. As a Ghostbuster, join with other Ghostbusters to chase and trap ghosts in museums, prisons, hotels, and more, and capture the ghosts before they can fully haunt the areas. Or, as the Ghost, hide, sneak, surprise, scare, and of course, slime Ghostbusters and civilians until the everything has gone completely spooky. Use trickery, deception, and Ectoplasm to gain the upper hand and drive the Ghostbusters out.
• A Plague Tale: Requiem for PlayStation 5 is released. Embark on a heartrending journey into a brutal, breathtaking world twisted by supernatural forces. After escaping their devastated homeland, Amicia and Hugo travel far south, to new regions and vibrant cities. There, they attempt to start a new life and control Hugo's curse. But, when Hugo's powers reawaken, death and destruction return in a flood of devouring rats. Forced to flee once more, the siblings place their hopes in a prophesized island that may hold the key to saving Hugo.Discover the cost of saving those you love in a desperate struggle for survival. Strike from the shadows or unleash hell, overcoming foes and challenges with a variety of weapons, tools and unearthly powers.
• GAMING: XBOX SERIES X
• Them's Fightin' Herds for Xbox Series X is released. Overview:Them's Fightin' Herds is an indie fighting game featuring a cast of adorable animals designed by acclaimed cartoon producer Lauren Faust. Beneath the cute and cuddly surface, a mechanically-deep GGPO-powered fighter awaits!Combat Features:* 4-Button Fighting - A (Light), B (Medium), C (Heavy), D (Magic).* Magic System - Emphasize your character's special abilities through a dedicated button and a unique resource.* Enhanced Super Attack - Spend an additional bar of meter during your super for a bonus utility effect.* Juggle Decay - An infinite-prevention system that manages combo length without imposing hard limits.* Dynamic Music System - Rockin' character themes adapt in the heat of the battle to make every fight feel like a clash of champions.* GGPO Netcode - Battle across the globe with little to no input delay.Game Modes:* Local Versus and Online Matchmaking - Play at home or fight worthy opponents on-demand.* Tutorial and Training Modes - Learn the ropes with guided tutorials, or practice on your own with a fully-featured, data-rich training room.* Combo and Target Challenges - Test your skills in character-specific sets of combo trials and target-smashing obstacle courses.* Pixel Lobby - An online visual lobby system that sets players free to interact and explore in a top-down overworld with nostalgic style. Customize your avatar with cosmetic items collected through various single-player and multiplayer modes.* Salt Mines - A unique melding of fighting game and dungeon crawl that pits Pixel Lobby players against waves of predators and each other in a contest of glory... and hats!* Story Mode (currently in development) - An episodic adventure where players travel with each champion in their quest to recover a magical key that will save the world of Fnum from vicious predators. Chapter 1 will be available with the release of version 1.0. Subsequent chapters will be added in the months following, free of charge.

On this day in 2021

• EVENTS
• Flash foods and heavy rain in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand and Nepal kill over 100 people after 328mm falls in 24 hrs.
• Marvel film "Eternals" directed by Chloé Zhao, starring an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden and Angelina Jolie premieres in Los Angeles.
• DEATHS
• Franco Cerri, Guitarist.
• Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lankan cricket batsman (4 Tests; first SL Test captain; 12 ODIs; Bloomfield CC), who died at 68.
• Colin Powell, American General and 1st Black US Secretary of State (2001-05), who died from complications of COVID-19 pandemic, blood cancer, and Parkinson's disease at 84.
• Edita Gruberová, Slovak operatic soprano, who died at 74.
• Sean Wainui, Rugby Player.
• GAMING: PC
• Nuclear Blaze for PC is released. The world is burning.Well, not exactly, but the whole region is.As a trained firefighter, you're being air-dropped right in the middle of this hell blaze to investigate and look for survivors. But the unexpected presence of an unknown military facility might somewhat affect your plans.Nuclear Blaze is a unique 2D firefighting game from the creator of Dead Cells, with all the devastating backdrafts, exploding walls and sprinklers you could expect. Fight your way through a mysterious facility and try to keep the blaze under control.
• POLITICS
• Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso declares 60-day state of emergency in response to a violent crime wave caused by power struggle between drug cartels.

On this day in 2020

• DEATHS
• Jill Paton Walsh, English writer (Peter Wimsey series, Knowledge of Angels), who died at 83.
• Sid Hartman, American sports journalist (Minneapolis Star Tribune; WCCO 830 AM), who died at 100.
• TV SERIES
• Roadkill: Season 1 is released. Despite scandalous revelations about his personal life, Conservative Party government minister Peter Laurence (Hugh Laurie) continues his path even as others plot to take him down in this thriller created by David Hare.
• POLITICS
• Bolivia elects Luis Arce President and his party, Movement for Socialism back into government.

On this day in 2019

• EVENTS
• Elbow went to No.1 on the UK chart with their eighth studio album Giants of All Sizes, becoming the band's third consecutive chart-topping studio album..
• 1st all-female spacewalk by NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir outside the International Space Station.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Tell Me Who I Am is released. What if every memory that haunts you could be erased? What if something truly horrific had happened to you and the person who loves you most could wipe that from your mind? Would you want them to? This is the ethical dilemma that 18-year-old Marcus Lewis faced when his identical twin Alex awakened after a motorcycle accident and Marcus was the only person Alex recognized. With no memories at all, Alex relied entirely on his brother as he tried to understand who he was. Working from an autobiography by the twins, Perkins and the Lewis brothers craft a powerfully cinematic adaptation that helps the audience explore their incredible story and remarkable 35-year post-accident journey. It's a profoundly moving examination of memory and trauma, personal responsibility and, ultimately, love.
• The Lighthouse is released. A hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
• Cyrano, My Love is released. December 1897, Paris. Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty but already has two children and too much anxiety. He has not written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great Constant Coquelin a new play, a heroic comedy, in verse, for the holidays. There’s one problem: it is not written yet. Ignoring the whims of actresses, the demands of his producers, the jealousy of his wife, the stories of his best friend's heart and the lack of enthusiasm of all those around him, Edmond must focus and put to pen to paper. For now, he has only the title: "Cyrano de Bergerac".
• By the Grace of God is released. Three adult men—Alexandre (Melvil Poupaud), François (Denis Ménochet), and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud)—band together to expose the code of silence that continues to enable a priest who abused them as boys. Their experiences powerfully illustrate the varying effects that the trauma of abuse causes on individuals and their families for years. The true story upon which the film is based is an ongoing scandal in France, with Philippe Barbarin, Cardinal of Lyon, convicted in March 2019 for concealing the conduct of Father Preynat.
• MOVIES: NR
• Greener Grass is released. In a day-glo-colored, bizarro version of suburbia where adults wear braces on their already-straight teeth, everyone drives golf carts, and children magically turn into golden retrievers, soccer moms and best friends Jill (Jocelyn DeBoer) and Lisa (Dawn Luebbe) are locked in a passive aggressive battle-of-the-wills that takes a turn into the sinister when Lisa begins systematically taking over every aspect of Jill’s life—starting with her newborn daughter. Meanwhile, a psycho yoga teacher killer is on the loose, Jill’s husband (Beck Bennett) has developed a curious taste for pool water, and Lisa is pregnant with a soccer ball. [IFC Midnight]
• MOVIES: PG
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is released. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil picks up several years after Maleficent, in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney’s most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora. The film continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen as they form new alliances and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the magical creatures that reside within. [Walt Disney Studios]
• The Elephant Queen is released. Athena is a mother who will do everything in her power to protect her herd when they are forced to leave their waterhole. This epic journey, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor, takes audiences across the African savannah, and into the heart of an elephant family. A tale of love, loss and coming home.
• MOVIES: PG13
• The Cave is released. The Cave tells the story of a hidden underground hospital in Syria and the unprecedented female-led team who risk their lives to provide medical care to the besieged local population.
• Jojo Rabbit is released. A lonely German boy's (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
• MOVIES: R
• Wounds is released. Disturbing and mysterious things begin to happen to a bartender in New Orleans after he picks up a phone left behind at his bar.
• Zombieland: Double Tap is released. Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.
• TV SERIES
• Living with Yourself: Season 1 is released. Miles (Paul Rudd) must convince the people in his life he the more worthy than the seemingly better version himself created after undertaking a spa treatment that promised to improve himself in this comedy created by Timothy Greenberg.
• Looking for Alaska: Season 1 is released. The eight-part adaptation of John Green's novel of the same name where high school junior Miles "Pudge"Halter (Charlie Plummer) transfers to a boarding school and becomes friends with Alaska (Kristine Froseth), Chip (Denny Love), Takumi (Jay Lee) and Lara (Sofia Vassiliev).
• ALBUMS
• Juice B Crypts was released by Battles. The fourth full-length release for the New York duo was produced and mixed by Chris Tabron with guest appearances from Jon Anderson, Sal Principato, Xenia Rubinos, Shabazz Palaces, Prairie WWWW, and Tune-Yards.
• Heavy Lifter was released by Hovvdy. The third full-length release for the Austin duo of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor was produced with Ben Littlejohn.
• No Holiday was released by The Muffs. This is the first new release in five years from the Los Angeles punk rock band led by Kim Shattuck (who passed away on 2 Oct 2019).
• Pang was released by Caroline Polachek. The debut full-length release for the former Chairlift singer under her own name features production from A.G. Cook, Danny L Harle, and Valley Girl.
• Crush was released by Floating Points. The first full-length in four years for Sam Shepherd as Floating Points features strings and woodwinds in additional to classic electronica synths.
• Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Pt. 2 was released by Foals. The second part to the British indie rock band's earlier this year released Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. 1 was produced by frontman Yannis Philippakis with assistance from engineer Brett Shaw.
• You Deserve Love was released by White Reaper. The third full-length release for the Kentucky rock band l; ed by Tony Esposito was produced by Jay Joyce.
• Vagabon was released by Vagabon. The second full-length release for the New York-based artist was self-produced.
• War Music was released by Refused. The fifth full-length studio release for the Swedish hardcore punk band was produced by Martin Ehrencrona.
• Wave was released by Patrick Watson. The sixth full-length studio release for the Canadian singer-songwriter was mixed with Rob Heaney.
• There Existed an Addiction to Blood was released by clipping.. The third full-length studio release for the Los Angeles experimental rap trio features guest appearances from Ed Balloon, Benny The Butcher, Sarah Bernat, Counterfeit Madison, Elcamino, Robyn Hood, La Chat, and pedestrain Deposit.
• Surviving was released by Jimmy Eat World. The 10th full-length studio release for the Arizona alt-rock/emo band was produced with Justin Meldal-Johnson.
• Somebody's Knocking was released by Mark Lanegan Band. The 11th full-length studio release was recorded over 11 days in Los Angeles with contributions from Martin Jenkins, Rob Marshall, and Sietse van Gorkom.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• Ring Fit Adventure for Switch is released. Traverse grass-swept plains by jogging in place, attack enemies with overhead shoulder presses, and refill your health meter by striking some yoga poses. Two new accessories, the Ring-Con™ and Leg Strap, measure your real-world actions and help turn them into in-game movements. With additional minigames and customizable workout routines, Ring Fit Adventure is great escape for players of all skill levels and schedules. In Adventure mode, defeat enemies with attacks based on real-world exercises as you traverse more than 100 levels in over 20 worlds. As you work through each level (and possibly work up a sweat), you’ll earn experience points. Between fights, you may encounter some unusual methods of transportation such as squat-powered launch pads. Then, pass around the Ring-Con and leg strap accessories and select from a few minigames: break boxes with gusts of air, craft pottery using squats, and more.
• StarBlox Inc. for Switch is released. Welcome to the team at StarBlox Incorporated – where sorting cargo is a contact sport. Load your rocket resource blocks quickly and efficiently to beat the competition. But watch out – the shipping world is fierce! Your opponent can sabotage your work by stealing blocks, delivering punches or throwing you in the incinerator. As you deliver cargo to the far corners of the solar system, each of the planets, moons and asteroids you visit will present new challenges – from black holes to gravity to waves of lava. Please try not to die - it tarnishes our safety track record. StarBlox Inc. is a unique mash up of a puzzler and a brawler made in partnership with Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation. Crafted by experts for scientific accuracy, the stunning planetary backdrops will make you feel like you’re really there.
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition for Switch is released. Become a cyber detective or powerful hacker to solve diabolical digi-mysteries. Embark on a thrilling adventure where the line between the real and digital worlds is blurred. Featuring more than 300 digital to collect, raise, and digivolve. Build an all-star Digimon team to take on opponents in classic turn-based battles.
• A Hat in Time for Switch is released. A Hat in Time is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer featuring a little girl with a lot of heart! Travel the universe with Hat Kid as you rival the evil Mustache Girl in order to save the world! Unlock new platforming abilities, more combat moves and spice up your attacks with badges attached to your hat!
• Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure for Switch is released. Join Scrat’s quest for the Crystal Nuts. Ice Age’s favorite sabre-tooth squirrel, Scrat, is at it again in an all-new adventure! A mysterious mechanism in an ancient Scratazon Temple, has locked away his prized possession – and the only way to get it back is an epic quest to find four legendary Crystal Nuts, scattered across the land. It’s up to you to guide Scrat through a hilarious 3D action-adventure, where you’ll face fierce prehistoric creatures, survive crazy calamities, and return the missing relics to their rightful home.
• GAMING: XBOX ONE
• Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville for Xbox One is released. Welcome to Neighborville, where all is well. Except that a crazy new coniferous conflict between brain-less and botanicals is brewing! What are you gonna do – call the crops? Soil your plants? It’s time to kick some grass in the wackiest shooter experience between plants and zombies yet: Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™.

On this day in 2018

• DEATHS
• Randolph Hokanson, American concert pianist and teacher (University of Washington,1949-84), who died at 103.
• GAMING: PC
• Return of the Obra Dinn for PC is released. Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person mystery adventure based on exploration and logical deduction.
• Project Warlock for PC is released. Project Warlock is a first person shooter that fans of Doom, Hexen and Wolfenstein cannot miss. It serves you an exploding cocktail of bullets, spells and monsters. In Project Warlock you battle through 60 levels of non stop action packed with bloodthirsty enemies and challenging bosses. The game offers not just firepower, but perk-based character development, weapon upgrades and unlockable spells system.
• SoulCalibur VI for PC is released. History Hides Away More Than One Truth... SOULCALIBUR VI represents the latest entry in the premier weapons-based, head-to-head fighting series and continues the epic struggle of warriors searching for the legendary Soul Swords. Taking place in the 16th century, revisit the events of the original SOULCALIBUR to uncover hidden truths. [Bandai Namco]
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption for PlayStation 4 is released. Emerge from the depths a crumbling kingdom and to the challenge of defeating increasingly difficult demonic bosses. Choose aspects of yourself to weaken before defeating the avatars of Sin.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• The Room for Switch is released. Following a trail of mysterious letters, you find yourself entangled in a journey shrouded with secrets and deception. Trapped in The Room with only an elaborate puzzle box, you must delve into the unknown using only your wits to unlock the answers you desperately seek.
• Zarvot for Switch is released. This is a game of cubes. Tiny, adorable cubes with hopes, dreams, unrequited loves… and unlimited destructive power. In Story Mode, you’ll follow the adventures of Charcoal and Mustard as they search for the ultimate birthday present to cheer up their best friend, Red--who is feeling quite blue. Take the subway to nine unique worlds where you’ll battle rogue bananas, evil milk cartons, and crayon box spiders--whatever it takes to make Red happy again.
• Black Bird for Switch is released. This is the tale of a young girl who dies one day on a street corner and is reborn as the ominous Black Bird. The bird is one of the great calamities, spoken of in the kingdom since ancient times.

On this day in 2017

• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Liberation Day is released. Under the loving but firm guidance of an old fan turned director and cultural diplomat and to the surprise of a whole world, the ex-Yugoslavian cult band Laibach becomes the first foreign rock group ever to perform in the fortress state of North Korea. Confronting strict ideology and cultural differences, the band struggles to get their songs through the needle's eye of censorship before they can be unleashed on an audience never before exposed to alternative rock'n'roll. Meanwhile, propaganda loudspeakers are being set up at the border between the two Koreas and a countdown to war is announced. The hills are alive...with the sound of music.
• POLITICS
• US congresswoman Frederica Wilson says President Donald Trump said to bereaved army family of Sgt. La David Johnson "He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway".
• 19th Chinese Communist Party congress opens in Beijing with President Xi Jinping delivering 3hr 23min speech heralding “new era”.

On this day in 2016

• EVENTS
• US White Houses says it is "confident" Russia behind recent email hacking and attemps to influence US election.
• BIRTHS
• Marlow Wright, Family Member, born in Australia.
• Haven Garza, TikTok Star, born in Oklahoma City, OK.
• Koti Garza, TikTok Star, born in Oklahoma City, OK.
• DEATHS
• Anthony Addabbo, American actor (Jason-Generations), who died at 56.
• GAMING: PC
• Crazy Machines 3 for PC is released. How do you successfully punch an Egyptian statue in the face? How do you shoot a kettle from the head of a clumsycorn with a 'high precision crossbow'? How do you jumpstart the grey-matter-engine of that old junker of a space taxi?Find out in Crazy Machines 3!Prepare yourself for the ultimate playground of vast Rube Goldberg style possibilities!Use physical systems to your advantage, no matter if it's electricity, explosions, lasers, lightning, or wind. By tinkering with chips you can delve into even deeper detail and provide objects with individual properties. Nothing is impossible. If you don't like that wooden plank, take your pick from different materials like metal or stone and change the size, rotation and color. It is, after all, your own machine...
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Batman: Return to Arkham for PlayStation 4 is released. Return to Arkham and experience two critically acclaimed titles from the last generation - Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Batman: Return to Arkham includes the comprehensive versions of both games and includes all previously released additional content. Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them into the depths of Arkham Asylum -Gotham City's high security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Use Batman's legendary gadgetry, strike from the shadows, and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious super villains. Batman: Arkham City sends players soaring into Arkham City - a heavily fortified sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City. Batman Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that draws together an all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe.
• LEGO Harry Potter Collection for PlayStation 4 is released. The Lego Harry Potter Collection brings Years 1-4 and Years 5-7 to PS4 for the first time with both games remastered on one disc. This compilation unites the creative skills of Lego and the expansive world of Harry Potter, with a journey full of spell-casting, potion-making, puzzle-solving, lessons, dueling, and much more for players of all ages to enjoy. [Playstation.com]
• Mordheim: City of the Damned for PlayStation 4 is released. Set in the Warhammer world's decimated Empire city, Mordheim: City of the Damned is a turn-based tactical game where you lead warbands into bloody and lethal skirmishes. The game blends RPG elements, fast-paced tactical combat and intricate unit customization in a time wrought by chaos and rivalry where only the strongest survive.
• SportsBarVR for PlayStation 4 is released. At launch, the game features: Pool, Darts, Air Hockey, Skeeball, Shuffleboard, Chess and Checkers.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION VITA
• Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls for PlayStation Vita is released. Our story begins in the mysterious halls of an ancient library...The Grand Library holds the history of the world within its shelves. Legend says that if one was to tamper with the books kept there, the past itself could be completely rewritten... A daring adventurer known as IF discovered the location of this revered library and finally crossed its threshold. Little did she know, a disaster of historical proportions was about to occur before her very eyes. Books began to vanish from the library's shelves; the history of the world was disappearing before her and the reasons for this occurrence were shrouded in mystery.IF sets out on a journey across time to uncover the truth! Will she be able to work together with both the Sega Hard Girls and Goddesses to recover the lost history? Will they really be able to save the world?
• Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky for PlayStation Vita is released. An RPG in which Kanata and others have been imbued with pieces of the dark god Yamatoga’s soul, and are sent to Protolexa, for reasons unbeknownst to them. Battle enemies and the armies of Chasseur as you search out for your other teammates, complete quests and side events, and learn the truth of why you have been chosen. [Playstation.com]
• GAMING: XBOX ONE
• Battlefield 1 for Xbox One is released. Intuitive destruction and dynamic weather ensure that no battle is ever the same. For even more gameplay possibilities, carve a path through walls and buildings, take down your enemies in creative ways, and leave your mark on the terrain around you through intuitive destruction. Through your actions, the pristine world around you change into a battle-scarred landscape, changing the world forever. With dynamic weather you will need to adapt your tactics to weather changes as the elements play a part in the battle. Playing the same map on a bright day, in heavy fog, or rain will impact what you see and hear, forcing you to adapt your play style on an ever-changing battlefield. Operations introduces a new way to play multiplayer. In Battlefield 1 you play a series of interconnected battles across multiple fronts. Play a sequence of battles where your actions have consequences beyond a single match, as you try to conquer territory or push back your attackers. At those times when you feel all is lost, call in the Behemoths - the largest fully player-controlled vehicles ever seen in Battlefield. Roam the battlefield and rain fire on your enemy to break their defenses. All-out war never felt so epic. Take control of the Armored Train, Air Ship, or the Battleship to dominate the battlefield across land, air, and sea. [Electronic Arts]
• Rock Band Rivals for Xbox One is released. The Rock Band Rivals expansion brings new features to Rock Band 4. Perform your way through an epic rock documentary about your band in a new campaign mode, join Crews to prove your skill and crush your opponents through weekly online challenges, and get a free backstage pass to months of additional game updates, including Synchronous Online Multiplayer with your friends this holiday. [Harmonix]

On this day in 2015

• BIRTHS
• Levi Morales, YouTube Star, born in Montana.
• DEATHS
• Ken Klutzz, Race Car Driver.

On this day in 2014

• WEDDINGS
• " Glee" TV star Matthew Morrison at the age of 35 weds Renee Puente at a private home on the island of Maui.
• DEATHS
• Joanne Borgella, American plus-sized model and singer, who died of cancer at 32.
• POLITICS
• Edward Regan, American Republican politician and Comptroller of New York (1979-93), who died at 84.

On this day in 2013

• EVENTS
• Paul McCartney gave an impromptu gig in Covent Garden, London to a crowd of more than 2,000 fans during the lunchtime rush. McCartney's latest solo album 'New' was released in the same week..
• Saudi Arabia becomes the first country to turn down a seat on the UN Security Council in protest over Syria.
• BIRTHS
• Emily Tube, YouTube Star, born in England.
• DEATHS
• Allan Stanley, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (4-times Stanley Cup winner), who died at 87.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Blood Brother is released. Blood Brother is an intimate portrait of Rocky Braat, a young man who longed to find a family. He didn't know it, but this desire would lead him to an AIDS hostel in India, a place of unspeakable hardship, where he would find almost more love and need than he could bear.
• Enzo Avitabile Music Life is released. Director Jonathan Demme turns his camera on Enzo Avitabile, a renowned Neapolitan saxophonist and singer-songwriter.
• Birth of the Living Dead is released. In 1968 a young college drop-out named George A. Romero directed Night of the Living Dead, a low budget horror film that shocked the world, became an icon of the counterculture, and spawned a zombie industry worth billions of dollars that continues to this day. Birth of the Living Dead shows how Romero gathered an unlikely team of Pittsburghers -- policemen, iron workers, teachers, ad-men, housewives and a roller-rink owner -- to shoot a revolutionary guerrilla style film that went on to become a cinematic landmark, offering a profound insight into how our society worked in a singular time in American history. [First Run Features]
• 2 Jacks is released. Jack Hussar (Danny Huston) is a legendary Hollywood director, whose persona commands respect and adoration from his fans. Can Jack Jr. (Jack Huston) step out of his fatherâ
• Haunter is released. Lisa Johnson (Abigail Breslin) is one day shy of her sixteenth birthday. And she will be forever. She and her family are dead and doomed to repeat that fateful last day before they were all killed in 1985. Only Lisa has â
• Seduced and Abandoned is released. Seduced and Abandoned follows Alec Baldwin and director James Toback as they lead us on the troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamorous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business.
• The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers is released. The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers takes the audience inside the offices of Israel's Prime Ministers through the eyes of an insider, Yehuda Avner, who served as a chief aide, English language note-taker and speechwriter to Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres.
• The Human Scale is released. 50 % of the worldâ
• Torn is released. Two families bond when their teenage sons are killed in an explosion at a suburban mall only to discover one of their children is the prime suspect.
• MOVIES: PG
• I'm in Love with a Church Girl is released. Miles Montego (Ja Rule) has it all - cars, boats, good looks, mansion, money, women, but more importantly, he has a past. Miles is a retired high level drug trafficker who is now completely legitimate. Even though Miles has turned over a new leaf, the DEA can't seem to let him out of their sights. Miles' only downfall is that he is extremely loyal to his circle of friends and former colleagues who are not retired from the lucrative business. Struggling to keep on the right side of the law, Miles meets the one girl of his dreams but she's not the usual type of girl that he's used to dating. Vanessa (Adrienne Bailon) is a church girl in every sense of the word. They are tested to their last ounce of faith and strength in God and each other. God continues to chip away at Miles through struggles from his past, having to live up to his reputation, feelings of unworthiness, the death of his mother, federal charges, his friends being indicted, the strain on his relationship with Vanessa, almost losing her in a near fatal car accident, and finally the spiritual breakdown and one on one with God that brings Miles to his knees.
• MOVIES: PG13
• Paradise is released. Lamb Mannerheim's faith is shaken after a plane crash burns two-thirds of her body, and she shocks her small-town congregation when she publicly renounces God. As she sets out to experience the worldly pleasures of Las Vegas, she meets a bartender and a cynical lounge singer who help her check off as many dirty deeds as possible from her Napkin of Sin bucket list.
• All Is Lost is released. Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man wakes to find his 39-foot yacht taking on water after a collision with a shipping container left floating on the high seas. With his navigation equipment and radio disabled, the man sails unknowingly into the path of a violent storm. Despite his success in patching the breached hull, his marinerâ
• Big Ass Spider! is released. A giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampage the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.
• MOVIES: R
• Carrie is released. Carrie White, a sheltered high school girl, unleashes her newly developed telekinetic powers after she is pushed too far by her peers.
• Escape Plan is released. Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone), one of the world's foremost authorities on structural security, agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called The Tomb. Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built. [Summit Entertainment]
• 12 Years a Slave is released. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man living in upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
• The Fifth Estate is released. Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, The Fifth Estate reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st centuryâ
• TV SERIES
• The Birthday Boys: Season 1 is released. Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show) joins with Los Angeles-based comedy troupe The Birthday Boys for a new sketch comedy series. Odenkirk and Ben Stiller serve as producers.
• GAMING: XBOX 360
• Alien Rage for Xbox 360 is released. Alien Fear is an Unreal Engine 3-powered arcade FPS that is coming to XBLA and Sony Entertainment Network.
• FICTION
• Mary Carver [Carvellas], American actress (Simon & Simon, Star Trek: Enterprise), who died at 89.
• POLITICS
• Bill Young, American politician, who died from complications from a back injury at 82.
• Tom Foley, American politician (Rep-D,1965-1995) and speaker of the house (1989-95), who died from complications from a stroke at 84.
• SPORTS
• Bum Phillips, American football coach (Houston Oilers, New Orleans Saints), who died at 90.
• MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Los Angeles Dodgers,4 games to 2.