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The envelope finally opens up and names imprinted in the golden letters goes into the book of cinematic history. It came as no surprise to anyone when France's Michel Hazanavicius won the Oscar for best director for silent movie The Artist, at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, triumphing over veterans including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. Giving France more reasons to celebrate, this black and white homage to the silent film era also bagged the Best Picture of the year, while Jean Dujardin took home the Oscar for the lead actor. The film topped a field that included "The Descendants," "Hugo," "The Help," "Moneyball," "War Horse," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life". Hollywood veteran Meryl Streep, won the much awaited and well deserved Oscar for her tour de force portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, her third win third Oscar for lead actress, and her 17th

Eastern Fare Music Foundation in association with the North-East India community page on Facebook is organizing an online photo contest for the photographers of India - North-East Through My Eyes . The theme of the contest is North-East India. The motive behind this contest is to promote the culture and the flora and fauna of North-East India and the region's photographers. According to the source the contest is open for all and will be from Feb 17, 2012 to Mar 20, 2012. The judges for the contest are Tom Svensson from Sweden and Vikramjit Kakati from Assam, India. More info about the contest can be found here . - EFNI

Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston has died at age 48. Whitney Houston (1963-2012) Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, but the cause of her death was unknown. "Unfortunately it is true," the spokesman said. The time of death was called to be 3:55PM pacific standard time. The singer was troubled by drug use and her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown. Born on August 9, 1963, and inspired by soul singers in her New Jersey family, Houston became one of the most celebrated female singers of all time, taking multiple Emmy, Grammy and Billboard Music awards. Her popularity soared in the 1980s and 1990s with consecutive No. 1 hits including the smash single "I Will Always Love You," from the soundtrack of the feature film "The Bodyguard," in which she starred. The soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy

Google hasn't given up on creating its own consumer electronics gear. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is working on a home entertainment device that would "stream music wirelessly throughout the home" and be marketed under Google's name. A Google spokesman declined to comment. According to the Journal, this would mark Google's first "full-fledged effort to design and market consumer electronics devices" under its own brand. That may be, but Google has dabbled with creating consumer products before and has met with mixed results. Google TV was software intended to power smart TVs and other Web-connected devices and that effort has so far flopped. Then there was the Nexus One, the so-called Google Phone. The device was built by HTC and was also a commercial flop, but the Android operating system that powered the phone has been a huge hit for other carriers that offer the software in their handsets. With the Nexus One and Google TV, th

The 72nd convention of 'Asom Sahitya Sabha' begins at 'Ningrula Sammanay Khetra' in Lido, Tinsukia. Photo - Jim Ankan Deka The four days event starts on Feb 1 and ends on Feb 5, 2012. With many small and big events including the inauguration of ' Mamoni Raisom Goswami Tributary Book Fair Entrance ', ' Book Release ' events and discussions on literature with prominent litterateurs, the Sabha will emphasize on promoting culture and literature of Assam and its neighboring states. The event will be presided by noted litterateur Rong Bong Terang who is also the present president of 'Asam Sahitya Sabha'. Delegates from all over India, as well as, some of the neighboring countries like Nepal and China will participate in the event. Some of the prominent guests of the event are - Tarun Gogoi ( Chief Minister, Assam ), Dr Shurhozelie ( Minister for Urban Development, Nagaland ), Paban Singh Ghatowar ( Union Minister ), Sita Mademba ( poet, Nepal ), Goma