In social media space

Tech titans Apple Inc announced that it could include LinkedIn on iOS 7 as an integrated app.

Canadian teen sensation Justin Bieber’s Cat Tuts has opened up its own Twitter account; follow the kitty on @Tuts_The_Cat.

 Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Samsung’s president Shin Jong Kyun to discuss matters of the information technology and digital industry.

Social media site Digg announced on its blog that Digg Reader will soon be a reality and hopes to be a replacement to Google Reader.

Twitter: @DaStitchBlog

Facebook: Da Stitch

‘GIRLFRIENDS’ GETAWAY’ PRESENTS THE ROMANTIC, STAR-STUDDED COMEDY THE BIG WEDDING

Gather the ladies… you are all cordially invited

This June, Ster-Kinekor’s ‘Girlfriends Getaway is delighted to bring you a star-studded title, The Big Wedding. This romantic comedy stars some of the biggest, Oscar-winning names in Hollywood including Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams and Topher Grace.

Ster-Kinekor invites you and your lady friends, sisters, aunts… even the mother of the bride, to join us as we watch a hilarious story unfold when a long divorced couple tries to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential of becoming a full-blown family disaster – sound familiar? Treat the girls to this special pre-screening that takes place at select Ster-Kinekor cinemas around the country on Wednesday, 26 June from 19:00.

In The Big Wedding, we follow what appears to be a charmingly modern family trying to survive a weekend wedding celebration. Much to the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don Griffin (Robert De Niro) and Ellie Griffin (Diane Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple at the wedding of their adopted son, Alejandro (Ben Barnes). All of this because his ultra conservative and Catholic biological mother (Marvina Vinique), who does not believe in divorce, decides unexpectedly to fly halfway across the world to attend her son’s nuptials.

With all the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are forced to confront their past, the present and the future with hilarious consequences, as they try to avoid humiliating each other in the process!

If you are looking to spend some quality time with your girlfriens, save the date and book your tickets now at one of the following Ster-Kinekor cinemas, for what promises to be an evening of fun, laughter and wonderful entertainment:

WESTERN CAPE:

Cape Gate/ Cavendish/ Somerset/ Tygervalley

EASTERN CAPE:

The Bridge – Port Elizabeth

GAUTENG:

The Zone/ Sandton/ Cresta/ Northgate/ Greenstone/ Brooklyn/ Irene

KWAZULU-NATAL:

Gateway – Durban

North West:

Waterfall Mall - Rustenburg

To make your  evening out with the girls on 26 June even more special, there will be lucky draws, hampers and goodie bags for all our ‘girlfriends’. *Expect a little treat courtesy of Cosmopolitan Magazine, Kraft Foods, Appletiser, Mangwanani African Day Spa, Satiskin, Rimmel, Yardley and Orthopedic Pillow & Mattress. (*Note: hampers and goodie bag contents may vary cinema to cinema.) Remember- no gents allowed!

The Big Wedding will be released at Ster-kinekor cinemas nationally on Friday, 12 July 2013.

To find out more, visit www.sterkinekor.com. Avoid the queues by booking online, by calling Ticketline on 082 16789 or you can book at the box office. You can also secure your seats by downloading the Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone and BlackBerry apps to book from your mobile. To find out what other exciting promotions Ster-Kinekor has on offer, follow @SKTheatres on Twitter or Facebook at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

Tech Bite: Samsung Announces Galaxy S 4 Zoom

After rolling out the Galaxy S 4, Samsung announced a new device the Galaxy S 4 Zoom. The device combines a fully featured Android 4.2.2 phone with a 16MP point-and-shoot that brings a 10x optical zoom lens, sports an optical image stabiliser and a Xenon flash along with a special “Zoom Ring”.  

The Galaxy S 4 Zoom also comes with a 4.3 inch qHD display, 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, 1.5 GB RAM, an 8GB internal storage which is expandable via a micro SD slot and a 1.9 MP front facing camera.

The device is manufactured for people who want to capture and share high quality images, but don’t want to carry two devices.

There is no word on when the device will reach the South African market and nor a hint on a consumer price, so for now we’ll have to patiently wait for this beauty to reach our shores.

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

In social media space

A Pakistani government warned to block search engine Google if Youtube doesn’t remove unsuitable material.

 

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled during a shareholders meeting by unhappy investors who are concern about the dropping of the company’s stock price.

 

Social magazine site Flipboard to now allow contributors to contribute content on users’ magazine’s using the platform.

 

Streaming site Netflix announced it will launch multiple user profiles for users sharing one account.

Beat Box: The sensational English indie band

 

In the 80’s a unique and mellow music genre Indie rock that originated from the United Kingdom and the United States started getting recognition. The genre is diverse with sub-genres that include indie pop and jangle pop. Like hip hop indie rock has a highly competitive underground scene with most bands scattered across England and Scotland. The turn of the new millennium saw a lot of indie groups emerge and enjoy commercial success, and having influence on a global scale.

Over the past two months my playlist has been ruled by indie rock music with bands such as R.E.M from the US, The Smiths and The XX both from Queen Elizabeth’s kingdom. Today we take a brief look at a band that’s taken over some portion of my music loving heart, The XX.

Since the bands inception in 2005 The XX has gone on to release superb and well-produced music by band member Jamie Smith under record label Young Turks. The band from Wandsworth, London, hugely gained recognition and success soon followed the band in a relatively competitive genre. The band’s debut album ‘XX’ was released in August of 2009 with hotte singles such as “Crystalised”, “islands” and “Basic Space” contesting on international charts and spending over 100 weeks on the UK Albums Chart and later reaching platinum status. The album was also acclaimed by critics and notable publications such as The Times, Rolling Stone and The Telegraph, and featured on television productions such as Suits, Mercy, Bedlam and the Greek version of Next Top Model to highlight a few.

After getting three nominations for Best British Album, Best British Breakthrough and Best British Band at the 2011 Brit Awards held at the O2 Arena in London which they did not win any category, the group went on to record and release their second album titled ‘Coexist’. The new album would build on the success of the first album and sold 58 000 copies on the opening week and also debuted number one on the UK Albums Chart.

With such success in a short space of time, the band has at least engraved their name on hearts of listeners and it should be expected that the group will emulate what the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, R.E.M and Florence and The Machine have proved possible.

www.thexx.info

 

Ashley Mokwena

Twitter: @ashfonik    

The interview

A week ago on a Thursday evening Da Stitch was gifted an opportunity by Ster-kinekor to have a chat with Springbok and Blue Bulls scram-half Francois Hougaard at the pre-screening of Hangover Part III at the refurbished Sterland cinema complex in Pretoria.

We exchanged pleasantries with the rugby star and Ster-Kinekor’s ‘Man-Size’ ambassador, having a chat on enjoying movies such as ‘Fast and Furious 6’ and ‘The Hangover Part III’ in the company of his fans at Ster-Kinekor’s cinema’s.

During the very short engagement, Hougaard showed excitement and enthusiasm that he reflects when his on rugby field.

Inside City: style and artistic Milan

Milan has to be viewed as one of Europe’s wonder cities, reason being the Italian city is full of beautiful buildings, art galleries, fashion houses and one of the world’s oldest shopping malls the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. 

 Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

With a population of 1.35 million, the beautiful city of fashion and designs name is derived from a Latin name Mediolanum and part of what the city is today should be credited to the early two Celtic groups the Bituriges and Aedui.  During World War II Milan suffered extensive damage from allied bombings, but after the horrible period which saw off German invasion the city enjoyed an economic boom. 

With the economic boom came the reconstruction of the city and buildings such as the Pirelli Towers and the Torre Velasca came to existence which later led to an influx of foreigners from all over the world seeking a better living in the refurbished city of Milan.

Inside the Pirelli Towers

Torre Velasca

What’s Milan without mentioning the Fashion Week that is held twice a year and which sees Italian fashion brands such as Dolce Gabbana, Versace and Armani, and international brandsshowcase their garments. Milan also boasts many cultural institutions, museums and art galleries such as Duomo, Piazza and the Maria Delle Grazie that hosts Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last supper’ painting.

Mayor GiulianoPisapia who took over office in 2011 is probably one delighted leader to be leading such a world class city…

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik