Little Things That Count - The Weekly Roundup January 10

Music: McFly feat. Taio Cruz - Shine A Light. As tempted as I might be to throw in some Pink Floyd at the moment, I'll try to get over the blah caused by the first days of the year and the dreary winter and go for a catchy little pop song. This is quite a radical change of sound for the British band McFly. Everybody wants a piece of Taio Cruz at the moment since he's one of the most successful UK exports in the recent years, so getting him to sing on your track is going to make it more popular. Start the year on a positive note....or something. Shine A Light, eh?

Movie: True Grit. The Coen brothers are back with another great movie. With great performances from Jeff Bridges, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon, True Grit is a charming, tasteful combination of adventure, humor and melancholy. Critics loved it, so did the audiences and I'm no exception. In a time when western movies are almost an extinct species, the Coen brothers made a western that earned over $100 million at the box office so far. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Perfume: Narciso Rodriguez - For Her. Hugely popular abroad, but almost nowhere to be found on the Romanian market - at least not the physical stores - this is truly a modern classic in its own right. Sexy - but not in that blunt, obvious way - and classy, NR For Her is an affordable fragrance that is perfectly suitable for everyday use. Why Romanian distributors failed to bring this little gem to the local stores is beyond my comprehension.

Food/Dessert: A little detox after all that Holiday binging can't hurt. So fruit salad it is. The nice thing about fruit salad is that you can always adjust it to your liking. If you love mango like I do, here's one for you. You can always add peaches/nectarines, pineapple and if you're not crazy about pomegranate, go with cranberries or blueberries instead.

Blast from the past: Actually this one isn't very old, but I loved it when it came out back in 2006, and I listened to it again the other day, so there you go: Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh).

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In the news since 2011 began:

Tom Ford finally released a video from his spring 2011 womenswear collection. Accompanied by model/singer Karen Elson's song "Pretty Babies" (she also walked in the show), the video puts together backstage shots, runway clips of the celebrities and models who got to wear all those gorgeous clothes.

Emmanuelle Alt was named French Vogue's new editor-in-chief. 

Lady Gaga announced that the her new album, entitled Born This Way, is due to be released on May 23, 2011, preceded by the single's release on February 13, 2011.

Natalie Portman confirmed she is pregnant and engaged.

Harper's Bazaar revealed their February cover star and it is Nicole Kidman, looking great in a lovely photo shoot. 

George Lucas has announced that the Star Wars films are coming to Blu-Ray this fall.

Britney Spears' new single, Hold It Against Me, was released to radio and online.

People's Choice Awards were dominated by Katy Perry, Eminem and Rihanna. Glad to see House M.D. winning for drama, actor (Hugh Laurie) and actress (Lisa Edelstein).

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