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Pinks and blues, bottles, booties and babies; are the stuff we relate with babies. Baby shower invitations set the mood for the party and you can get almost anything which is cute and stylish to suit your taste. If you are creative, then you go design your won invitation cards. You can have casual hand written cards or have printed ones to invite your guests. Baby showers are usually hosted by a friend of the mother-to-be and it should be clearly stated if the gifts are not desired. Also, the note should include if this party is a “surprise” for the mother-to-be. The baby shower invitations can also have themes if the party is going to have a theme.

Birthday invitations for kids are the most fun to receive and create. You can get a wide range of themes to plan and design invitation cards. So go for a Jungle theme, Disney theme, adventures of the sea, fairytale land and many more! If you want to get the cards printed from home, then you can even download theme cards from card sites on a good photographic paper. Name, date, venue and time with the RSVP number, name and date are a must for all party invitations. The invitations for any occasions should be sent at least a week or two in advance to let people plan accordingly.

A woman has been placed on three years of probation following her guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of stalking actress Sandra Bullock.

A felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon was dropped against Marcia Valentine, 47, after she entered her guilty plea to stalking on Nov. 5, according to the Orange County Superior Court Web site.

Bullock obtained a restraining order in May 2007 barring Valentine from contacting her or coming near her home, family or work for three years.

The actress testified in court that on five occasions Valentine left in her yard palm fronds adorned with “weird signs” and “pieces of animal fur.”

Bullock testified that after Valentine was spotted April 22, 2007, outside her home in Sunset Beach, her husband, Jesse James, went outside and tried to write down the woman’s license plate.

Bullock said Valentine screamed obscenities and twice tried to run over James with her silver Mercedes-Benz. James, host of TV’s “Monster Garage,” was not hurt.

In an interview actor Lindsay Lohan actually opens up about her sexual preferences. When asking about, whether she’s lesbian or not, she replied in the negative mode and said, “she’s not.”

Lindsay Lohan

The actor explained that she never wanted to classify herself. “First of all, you never know what’s going to happen — tomorrow, in a month, a year from now, five years from now. I appreciate people, and it doesn’t matter who they are, and I feel blessed to be able to feel comfortable enough with myself that I can say that.”

But has she been with a girl before Sam? “I don’t know. Maybe,” she said.

When asked, does she consider herself bisexual? “May be. Yeah!”

As for her sordid past that landed her in rehab for a bunch of months, Lindsay says that’s all behind her now — and she’s moving on.

Peter Molyneux is one of the video-game industry’s most enthusiastic promoters, always pushing the boundaries of what games can accomplish. He’s generally credited with inventing the “god game” with 1989’s “Populous” (to which this year’s “Spore” owes an incalculable debt), and his other successes include “Syndicate,” “Dungeon Keeper,” “Black & White” and “The Movies.”

Molyneux has also developed a reputation for biting off more than he can chew. Before the 2004 release of “Fable,” for example, he crowed, “It’s gonna be the best game ever.” A few months later, he famously apologized for promising features that the final product didn’t deliver.

Over the last few years, Molyneux’s been talking a lot about “Fable II” (Microsoft, for the Xbox 360, $59.99). But this time, he’s throttled back the hype and talked about features only when he was confident that they would appear in the game. “I hope you’re going to say, ‘This is a lot more than what I expected,’” he told one British gaming Web site.

As one of those players who found “Fable” somewhat disappointing, I’m happy to say “Fable II” is, indeed, a lot more than what I expected. It delivers on most of what Molyneux promised the first time around, presenting a living, breathing world filled with adventure. It’s not perfect — which Molyneux has already acknowledged — but it is one of the most absorbing experiences you can have on an Xbox 360.

Your first choice is simple: Do you want to play as a boy or a girl? Then you’re dumped on the snowy streets of a Dickensian town called Bowerstone, where you and your sister, Rose, scrounge for coins. After rescuing a puppy and cranking up a magic music box, you and Rose are summoned by the mysterious Lord Lucien — who promptly murders Rose and tries to kill you.

Ten years later, you’re a teenager with a mission: Avenge your sister. Your journey covers a vast, exquisitely detailed world filled with verdant fields, bustling cities and deadly dungeons, with dozens of missions leading up to your final confrontation with Lucien.

The setting, a planet called Albion, is the most immediately striking feature of “Fable II.” The landscape changes constantly, not just from night to day but from season to season. You can communicate with nearly everyone you meet, and you can enter every building in Albion.

As with any role-playing game, your character evolves as the game proceeds: Your attacks get stronger, you learn more powerful spells and you can afford better equipment. In “Fable II,” though, your moral choices are also reflected. Strangers react differently if you have a bad reputation, and real evildoers develop nasty skin problems. You can also get married, buy a house and have kids, or have affairs with as many villagers as you can seduce. (Beware, though: Venereal disease is a real threat.)

Still, the most important relationship you’ll have in Albion is with that dog you rescued in Act I. He’s one of the most delightful creatures ever seen in a video game, a supporting character with more personality than most games’ lead characters. The animators at Molyneux’s Lionhead Studios have clearly spent a lot of time studying dog behavior, because this mutt acts like the real thing. And he’s an invaluable companion, sniffing out buried treasure, growling when enemies approach and lending a paw when battles get heated.

“Fable II” doesn’t have the most original plot. It often feels like a potpourri of elements from every fantasy epic you’ve ever read, from “The Odyssey” and “The Arabian Nights” to “The Lord of the Rings” and the Harry Potter series. But genre fans are just as likely to appreciate the references as to be annoyed by them; there’s even a clever shout-out to last year’s great science-fiction adventure “BioShock.”

More problematic, the combat is a bit simplistic: You press one button for melee attacks (swords, axes), one button for ranged attacks (guns, crossbows) and one button for magic. Likewise, most of the dungeons are a little too straightforward for battle-hardened role-playing fans. And as beautiful as Albion is, you’ll spend a lot of time simply roaming in search of your next quest.

Nonetheless, I really got sucked into the world of “Fable II.” It doesn’t reinvent the RPG, but it does make the genre accessible to newcomers while providing more than enough action to satisfy the most demanding aficionado. It’s nearly irresistible. Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

An unfinished portrait of Francis Bacon by Lucian Freud, one of only two he ever painted of his friend and the only one whose whereabouts is known, sold for 5.4 million pounds on Sunday, auction house Christie’s said.

The 85-year-old Freud’s only other picture of his fellow artist Bacon, painted in 1952, was stolen from a show in Berlin in 1988 and has never been seen since in public.

The two men, among the greatest post-war British artists, were firm friends. While Freud, who is regarded as one of the world’s greatest living artists, frequently sat for Bacon the latter, who died in 1992, returned the favour for only two portraits.

The unfinished portrait dates from 1956/7 and as with the missing painting it shows Bacon with downcast eyes.

The two men sat knee-to-knee for the painting before Bacon left abruptly, it is thought to pursue his lover Peter Lacy in Tangiers, Morocco.

“The present work offers a fascinating snapshot into the working methods of the artist at a critical point of his artistic development,” said Christie’s in a statement.

“Freud had begun to work in a more expansive way using thicker brushstrokes, liberating the paint and creating a more worked complexion, more seasoned and full of life.”

Estimated to sell for between five and seven million pounds, the picture has been the property of the current owner since 1972 and has only rarely been seen in public — in 2002/3 and 2005.

In May Bacon’s “Triptych, 1976″ sold for $86 million setting a record for postwar art, while the day before that sale Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” established a new mark for a living artist when it sold for $33.64 million.

Sting, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo and other stars of popular and classical music honoured late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti at a star-studded concert in Jordan over the weekend.

Ballads and beat echoed out from a camp overshadowed by the rose-coloured walls that tower over the ancient rock city of Petra to toast Pavarotti a year after the 71-year-old singer died from cancer.

“It was a very special night. I feel I am in another dimension… it was wonderful that the dream finally came true,” Pavarotti’s widow Nicoletta Mantovani told Reuters.

On Saturday friends and family were involved in a memorial ceremony outside Petra’s Al Khaznah or treasury as part of a concert series, exhibition and other events to mark the life of a man who helped make opera loveable among the modern masses.

The weekend concert was originally planned for the ancient city centre of Petra built nearly 2,000 years ago but was moved to a Bedouin camp nearby in deference to environmental and archaeological concerns to protect the ancient city.

Archaeologists have been worried about artists who seek to perform in spectacular locations from the Great Wall of China to ancient Greek and Roman and Egyptian structures.

Domingo and Jose Carreras, the two surviving members of the “three tenors” trio, said they were fulfilling the late maestro of Modena’s ambition to perform at one of the world’s great historical sites.

Others who appeared on stage included Angela Gheorghiu, Andrea Griminelli, and Cynthia Lawrence. The concert was conducted by Eugene Kohn of the Prague Philharmonia.

Princess Haya of Jordan, who is the wife of the billionaire ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, told the audience the concert was originally conceived by Pavarotti during his talks with her father, the late King Hussein.

Proceeds from the concert will generate funds for projects in Afghanistan by the U.N. refugee agency and the U.N. World Food Programme, as well as for the Petra archaeological site 180 km (120 miles) south of Amman.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres said they supported the concert because Pavarotti was a symbol of tolerance in “a world that was seeing growing conflict”.

“Pavarotti was a living legend who helped to highlight the plight of refugees and those in need. His spirit brings people together, even now,” Guterres said.

American singer Pink has toppled Kings of Leon from the peak of the British pop charts with her single “So What”, the Official UK Charts Company said.Taken from her upcoming album “Funhouse”, the single is the second British number one for the Pennsylvania 29-year-old, whose real name is Alecia Moore.

Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon slid to second place after a three-week reign with “Sex on Fire”, but had the consolation of seeing their “Only by the Night” top the album sales listings for a second week.

Manchester rock band Oasis were the highest new singles entry at number three with “The Shock of the Lightning”, taken from their album “Dig Out Your Soul”.

All-female trio the Sugababes were four places higher at number four with “Girls”.

Also new at number five was “Love You Anyway” from reformed Irish boy band Boyzone.

In the album charts Pop Idol winner Will Young was one of four new entries in the top 10 with “Let It Go” starting at number two.

English singer James Morrison’s “Songs For You, Truths For Me” debuted at number three, while Scottish soprano Andrew Johnston was new in fourth place with “One Voice”.

American blues singer Seasick Steve was the final new entry at number nine with his album “I Started Out With Nothin’ and I Still Got Most of it Left”.

Country singer Mindy McCready will surrender to Tennessee authorities on Tuesday to begin serving a 60-day jail sentence for violating probation on a previous drug-related charge, her lawyer said.”Once she’s done with that time, Mindy has met all of her obligations under her probation sentence,” Attorney Lee Ofman told Reuters on Monday. “We worked very hard to get her a deal, so we didn’t have to have a probation violation.”

McCready, whose albums include “Ten Thousand Angels” and If I Don’t Stay the Night,” was originally convicted of prescription drug fraud in 2004 and placed on parole.

In 2007, the 32-year-old singer also spent time in jail for parole violation, and in June this year she was charged again with violating her probation by falsifying community service records. She entered rehab in July this year.

“I am working very hard to put all of this behind me as quickly as possible so I can get back to what I like to do most: sing, write songs, and entertain,” McCready said in a statement.

Actor-turned-director Atul Agnihotri says he cast brother-in-law Salman Khan in his forthcoming film ‘Hello’ not to increase its commercial value, but because the character in the movie demanded a star like him.Salman plays himself, a superstar, in the film that is based on the acclaimed book ‘One Night At The Call Centre’ by Chetan Bhagat.

‘Salman plays Chetan Bhagat’s character in the film. But we have shown him as Salman - the film star - unlike the book which portrayed Chetan Bhagat (the narrator) as a writer,’ Atul told IANS.

‘I have not cast Salman because of commercial reasons or being a relative, but it was important for the role to have an actor who has a star status,’ said Atul.

‘Hello’ is Atul’s second film as director after ‘Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha’, which released in 2004. ‘Hello’ is slated to hit theatres Oct 10.

Though Salman does not play the lead role, he has an important role in the movie as the story begins and ends with him.

And Salman Khan fans will not be disappointed as they will get to see enough of their superstar. The two-hour movie features Salman for at least 25 minutes, said Atul.

Besides Salman, the film boasts of a large star cast including Katrina Kaif, Sharman Joshi, Sohail Khan, Isha Koppikar, Gul Panag, Amrita Arora and Arbaaz Khan.

Katrina plays a fellow traveller who narrates the whole story to Salman.

‘It is through them that the whole story unfolds and they play a pivotal part in the film,’ said Atul.

The director maintained that he had not deviated much from the novel, except for taking a few cinematic liberties.

He explained that while books need more time to introduce characters as it has only words to communicate, cinema is different, being an audio visual medium presentation.

The film revolves around a group of call centre workers who receive a call from god.

Atul said it took them nine days to film the scene where god appears as it needed special treatment.

‘It is always difficult to shoot at night, but the whole scene was shot in the night, which made things difficult for us.’

Extra efforts went into making the scene really special.

‘Lightning and thunder needed to be created. Besides, special effects were also used for the scene,’ said Atul, who debuted as an actor in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Sir’ in 1993.

Atul said he has no plans to return to the big screen as an actor.

‘I had always planned to be a director and had assisted Pankaj Parasher for five years. In between, I went into acting and had a bad experience. Now I want to concentrate on direction as this was always my first choice.’

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has married actor Ryan Reynolds in a quiet wedding ceremony in Canada.The 23-year-old actress tied the knot Saturday at a remote resort outside Vancouver, British Columbia, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Wedding guests included Johansson’s mother Melanie Sloan and her brother Adrian Johansson, her representative confirmed.

The couple began dating in the spring of last year shortly after Reynolds split from then fiancee, singer Alanis Morissette, and announced their engagement May 5 this year.

Johansson has earlier dated actors Josh Hartnett and Jared Leto.