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I don’t care what people say about my dressing –Susan Peters

Susan Peters

She may not be a wonderful actress but Susan Peters is certainly as popular as all the A list actresses put together.

With one controversy or the other trailing her, Susan is one actress that doesn’t care whose ox is gored; she does what she wants to do, like her or hate her.

And in fact, the diva pulled another one last Saturday when she stepped out at an event in Lagos in an outfit that left most mouths agape. Those who couldn’t bear it just burst into laughter.

Shortly after she unveiled the look on her instagram page, her fans opined that the dress was not appropriate for the occasion.

A fan said, “I wonder if Susan used the mirror before leaving for the event,”

“This is a no no, you look like you are going for Halloween,” said another fan.

These were some of the mildest comments on her instagram page regarding the dress.

However, in her defence, the actress explained that as a celebrity, she ought to be a step ahead in the fashion world.

In a telephone interview with Saturday Beats, she said that there was nothing wrong with the dress she wore and while people were busy gossiping about it, she is laughing all the way to the bank because of the success of her new movie, Don’t Cry for Me.

“What was wrong with the dress? I don’t have anything to say about people’s opinion on what I wore to the event. I wore what I liked. I had a design that I liked and I wore it. I did not use anybody’s money to buy the dress, so what is their business? I believe that I stood out and that is why I am trending. While they are busy talking about me, I am laughing all the way to the bank over my new movie, Don’t Cry for Me. It is doing really well in the market and I am getting positive review over it,” she said.

‘Brymo still not with Chocolate City despite tweet’

   Brymo

 Virtually everybody knows there is no love lost between singer Brymo and his former label, Chocolate City.

It therefore came as a surprise to many when the singer, in a series of tweets, thanked his former record label earlier in the week.

It set tongues wagging as many readily assumed that it was a sign of reconciliatory moves.

When Saturday Beats reached out to the singer’s camp, his manager, Lanre Lawal, debunked such insinuations.

“There was nothing about Brymo’s tweet thanking Chocolate City. I think he was just in the mood to thank people that have contributed to his career right from the outset. It is a tweet that started from Joke, his first manager in his career. He was just in a grateful mood.

“The tweet was not only about Chocolate City and it does not mean that he misses them. He mentioned several other names but that does not mean that he misses them too. I am not allowed to say if Chocolate City is trying to get back to him but I know he is not trying to get back with Chocolate City. His case is still in court with the record label, I cannot discuss if they are settling anything but whatever happens, you would be the first to know,” Lawal said.

Eniola Badmus acquires heavy property

Eniola Badmus with her heavy property

She is an actress, but one whose presence easily gets people’s attention because of her A plus size. Described by her colleagues as friendly and jovial, Eniola Badmus, also known as ‘Gbogbo big girls’, has been in the Nigerian movie industry for some time.

Recently, Badmus bought a Honda Pilot, the picture of which she posted on her Instagram page, captioned, “May my new car take me to new places with new people and open up new opportunities in my life. #NiggaWeMadeIt #NewWhipOnDeck #ILoveHondaPilot #HondaPilot.”

The car costs about N9m in the auto market.

The big appeals about the 2014 Pilot are its space and its family-focused design and interior. There is plenty of room on the inside, and the third-row seats can accommodate adults, making it a true eight-passenger vehicle.

This sport utility vehicle offers a comfortable ride, a lovely interior, a standard third row, comfortable seats and lots of equipment.

Also, the 2014 Pilot is reasonably pleasant to drive with a cushy ride that readily soaks up ruts and bumps and the interior stays quiet on the highway, too. Notably, it pleases critics with its roomy interior.

Performance

The 2014 Honda Pilot is sold in four trim levels: LX, EX, EX-L and Touring. Regardless of trim level, all 2014 Honda Pilots are powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine, with 250 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque that runs through a five-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, but any Pilot can be ordered with an all-wheel-drive system that automatically shifts as much as 70 per cent of power to the rear wheels if the front tyres begin to slip. A driver-selectable ‘lock’ feature helps to free a stuck Pilot.

In Edmunds performance test, the all-wheel-drive Pilot Touring moved from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in 8.9 seconds, while a front-wheel-drive model did it in 8.3 seconds. The Pilot’s estimated economy stands at 18 miles per gallon in the city, 25mpg on the highway and 21mpg in combined driving, while it is 17mpg/city, 24mpg/highway and 20mpg combined for front-drive models. A front-drive Pilot can tow 2,000 pounds, while the all-wheel-drive models are rated for 4,500 pounds when properly equipped.

Features

The 2014 Pilot’s base LX trim comes standard with 17-inch steel wheels, automatic headlights, cruise control, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, tri-zone automatic climate control and an 8-inch centre display screen.

Other features include Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, a rear-view camera and a seven-speaker sound system with a CD player. A USB/iPod interface and an auxiliary audio jack are also available.

The Pilot EX adds 18-inch alloy wheels, foglights, heated mirrors (AWD models) and an eight-way power driver seat (with two-way power lumbar adjustment).

The Pilot EX-L adds leather upholstery, a sunroof, auto-dimming rear-view mirror and satellite radio. Available as an option on the EX-L is one of rear-seat entertainment system or a voice-activated navigation system.

The Touring trim features both of those EX-L options, as well as roof rails, parking sensors (for the rear and front corners), driver seat memory functions, a 115-volt power outlet and a 10-speaker premium sound system as standard equipment.

Safety

The 2014 Honda Pilot’s standard safety features include antilock brakes, traction and stability control, front-seat side airbags, driver and passengers’ airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. A rear-view camera is also standard. In Edmunds brake testing, the Pilot came to a stop from 60 miles per hour in 130 feet.

In crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Pilot earned an overall rating of four stars out of five, four stars for frontal crash protection and five stars for side-impact crashes. In Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the Pilot earned the top ‘Good’ rating in the moderate-overlap frontal-offset, side-impact and roof strength tests. Its seat/head restraint design also earns a Good rating for whiplash protection in rear impacts.

The good: This SUV offers comfortable ride, roomy third-row seats, useful interior storage areas and good fuel economy. Unlike some other three-row crossovers, the Pilot’s third row provides genuinely acceptable room for adults.

The bad: Reviewers say the Pilot feels slow and cumbersome to drive, cheap interior materials, lacklustre handling and braking distance, lack of some convenience and upscale features like keyless ignition/entry.

Sources: www.edmunds.com and usnews.rankingsandreviews.com

Harrison Ford: tributes AS actor SURVIVES plane crash

Harrison Ford

Tributes have continued to pour in for American actor, Harrison Ford, after sustaining multiple injuries in a plane crash on Thursday, March 5, 2015.

The 72-year-old star of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films reported engine failure and crash-landed his vintage plane on a golf course in Los Angeles, California.

Ford’s son, Ben, has said that his father did not suffer life threatening injuries and was on his way to full recovery, but the social media have not stopped buzzing with tributes and messages of support from his fans since the incident.

“We want to thank you all for your concern. Dad has the best care possible, on the mend and of strong mind body and spirit,” Ben wrote two days after the crash.

A fan tweeted: “HarrisonFordLA is as tough as the characters he plays!”

Another fan, Richard de Crespigny said, “Best wishes to aeronautical icon @HarrisonFordLA for speedy recovery after challenging and successful forced landing.”

Scott Thorpe, tweeted, “A plane crash won’t slow Harrison down, over the years, he’s had 100’s of them, some not even on earth,” referring to the various roles Ford has played in his movies, some involving plane crashes.

Kelkadian tweeted: “@HarrisonFordLA Your fans are praying for you!”

Meanwhile, Ford’s family members and fans have been divided over his suitability to fly again following the crash.

The actor’s wife, Calista Flockhart, was recently spotted by reporters visiting her husband at the hospital where he was being treated for fractured pelvis, broken ankle and a lacerated scalp.

Ford may have survived the plane crash without life-threatening injuries, but the actor’s distraught wife has reportedly urged him to take the hint and stay grounded permanently after his lucky escape.

The actor has been a pilot for at least 20 years and owns about a dozen planes. He once said he loves “seeing the world from an airplane”.

So, Ford has a passion for flying his prized collection of planes, but his wife of five years, Flockhart, 50, and children are reportedly afraid he might not be so fortunate next time.

‘Calista is devastated. Thank goodness Harrison is okay but it could have been much, much worse,’ a friend of the actress told The Mirror.

‘It is a worry for her and his children that he has this dangerous hobby.”

Ford took up flying when he was in his 50s and is also trained to fly helicopters.

In 1999, Ford crash-landed his helicopter during a training flight in Los Angeles but both he and the instructor were unhurt.

A year later a plane he was flying had to make an emergency landing in Nebraska. Again he and his passenger escaped unhurt.

In line with that, one of his fans wrote on social media: “Yes Harrison! Please stop flying. Your private jets are generating way too much global warming. What a hypocrite.”

Another fan named Poppy said, “Sometimes I wonder if he is just like a lot of other old guys who do crazy/risky things to try to look young.”

However, some of his fans did not share the view that Ford should quit flying at his age.

A fan who identified himself as PJW, said, “He enjoys flying. Leave him alone to enjoy the rest of his life. More chance of crashing a car!!!”

“Simply flying a plane would hardly be considered ‘daredevil.’ He crashed because his engine failed. It’s not like he crashed doing barrel rolls,” another fan said.

Another fan who came in Ford’s defence said, “Considering that he expertly put that plane down, by all news accounts, I don’t really see any issue with his age and flying.”

Who is Ford?

Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father had Irish and German ancestry, and his maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire.

He gained worldwide fame for his starring roles as Han Solo in the original Star Wars epic space opera trilogy and the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in the 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner; John Book in the 1985 thriller, Witness; and Jack Ryan in the 1992 action-suspense film, Patriot Games and the 1994 spy action thriller film, Clear and Present Danger.

Ford has an estimated net worth of $210m (approximately N40bn). Interestingly, he was once a carpenter, but he went on to star in some of Hollywood’s biggest films and become one of the industry’s most bankable stars.

His career has spanned six decades and includes roles in several Hollywood blockbusters. In 1997, Ford was ranked No. 1 in Empire ‘s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. As of July 2008, the US domestic box office grosses of Ford’s films total over US$3.5bn (N665bn), with worldwide grosses surpassing $6bn (N1.14tn), making Ford the 4th highest grossing US domestic box-office star.

Ford has been married three times. He is currently married to actress, Calista Flockhart, who is known for playing the title role in the comedy-drama series, Ally McBeal.

His love for flying

Ford is passionate about flying. The amazing part is that he has beautifully used his hobby to contribute to the society. His contributions include rescuing a struggling hiker from a mountainside, finding a missing boy-scout in the woods and lending a hand with airlifting volunteers in Haiti.

In 2010, Ford said about his love for flying in an interview, “I’m so passionate about flying I often fly up the coast for a cheeseburger. Flying is like good music: it elevates the spirit and it’s an exhilarating freedom.

“It’s not a thrill thing or an adrenaline rush; it’s engaging in a process that takes focus and commitment. I love the machines, I love the aviation community. I used to own airplanes and have pilots flying them for me, but I finally realised they were having more fun than I was. They were getting to play with my toys.

“I was 52 when I started flying – I’d been an actor for 25 years and I wanted to learn something new. Acting was my only identity. Learning to fly was a lot of work, but the net result was a sense of freedom and a pleasure in seeing to the safety of myself and the people who fly with me. All of my planes are great to fly, and that’s why I’ve got so many of them.”

Ford’s fleet of planes include a Citation Sovereign, a long-range jet; a Grand Caravan; a De Havilland; a 1929 Waco Taperwing open-top biplane; a 1942 PT-22 open-top monoplane trainer; an Aviat Husky; and a Bell 407 helicopter.

He also reportedly has about nine motorbikes, which include BMWs, a couple of Harleys, a couple of Hondas and a Triumph. One of his favourite cars is a 1966 Austin Heasley 3000, a British sports car.

Ford has homes in Los Angeles and Jackson, WY, US. His Brentwood estate in LA was acquired in 1983 for $1m.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk; tmz.com; bbc.com; en.wikipedia.org; forbes.com; and hellomagazine.com

Customers raise the alarm over dubious recharging error

A broken electricity pole at OPIC bus stop, along 

Lagos- Ibadan Expressway... on Thursday

In the face of complaints by power consumers over the exorbitant fee being paid as fixed charge for electricity supplied and unsupplied around the country, many consumers under Ikeja Electric have raised the alarm over a recurrent recharging error, which they say has been short-changing them.

Consumers who face this problem are those who use the prepaid meter.

According to a number of those affected who spoke with Power Talkback in Lagos, it has become common now for receipts issued to consumers to bear someone else’s name and to bear a clear difference to the amount of units they pay for.

A human rights activist, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, has even petitioned the police and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission over the issue.

Akinwande, who said he had been experiencing the problem since December 2014, explained that he realised that the last payment he made in 2014 and one he made in January 2015 were recorded in the name of another customer he did not know.

He said, “The address on the receipt even bears the address of the other customer, while the payment stated on the receipts did not reflect the actual unit/kwh that I paid for.

“When I first noticed it, I thought it was an error but a recurrence and the number of people who complained of the same problem in my presence made me believe it was a deliberate act by IE to short-change me.

“The question that comes to mind is, in whose advantage is this so-called ‘error’ on the part of IE? While we are losing, IE is benefitting robustly from this ‘error’.”

He called on the relevant authorities to investigate the problem which he said is now becoming widespread to determine “if IE has actually made an error or if it is a deliberate ploy to swindle unsuspecting customers; who are the people behind the problem and why IE has not made the error public if indeed the company does not have ‘a skeleton in its cupboard?”

Akinwande said he bought his three-phase meter for N55,000 and had up till December 2014 had not encounter any problem with either the meter or payment.

Power Talkback also spoke with consumers with similar problems, who stated that they had become frustrated with the inexplicable ‘error’ which seems to only cheat them.

Mr. Segun Asabi, a resident of Ifako Ijaye, said that for about two months, he had realised that he was getting far below the units he was paying for.

He said he had approached the IE officials at the Iju undertaking where he recharges but was shocked that none of those he met there could give a concrete answer when he asked about the official power tariff.

Asabi said, “There is a difference between the rates for commercial buildings and residential buildings, this was what I wanted to know when I went to lodge my complaints, the officials told me they did not know.

“To make it even more annoying, someone else who went to complain about the problem was quickly reimbursed with the units he had lost during the discrepancies. This means IE is aware of this problem but has refused to rectify it because is is giving them huge profit.”

Another consumer, Mr. Popoola Sulaiman, who also paid at one of the IE offices in his area, told our correspondent that about two weeks ago, he paid N10,000 to recharge and his receipt showed he paid N5,000.

According to him, to make matters worse, the receipt came out with a different name.

“I wanted to make a scene at the IE office because I did not know how I was expected to explain to the company I work with, which I was paying the bill for that I paid such an amount and came back with half of the value,” he said.

All IE officials told him was that it was a system error which he would have to exercise patience on.

“They rectified the name on their computer but not the wrong amount credited to me. Till now, all they tell me is that the card would have to be wiped first and they have not told me how they would do that,” Sulaiman told Power Talkback.

Another consumer, who identified himself simply as Mr. Emeka, explained that the problem had been going on as far as November.

He said when he recharged last in November 2014, he realised that he was paying a commercial rate as opposed to the residential rate for the house he lives in.

Emeka said, “I noticed that when I recharged N5,000 and they deducted the fixed charge of N750, what was credited to me was very low. It was then I noticed that the receipt even bore another person’s name and address.

“When I complained one of them indeed said something was wrong but explained that when I come for the next recharge, they would find a solution to it. My details were noted and I was promised that a complaint would be lodged at the Alausa office of IE to ensure they find a solution.

“Right now, I want them to ensure that they don’t just rectify the problem but also remit to me all the units I have lost over the months.”

However, the Head of Communication Strategy at IE, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, said a problem with payment platforms which the company encountered late in 2014 had been rectified.

“Right now, I will urge who ever encounters any other problem to come to the head office of IE at Alausa. I can assure you that nobody would come there without their issues being resolved,” he said.

He said customers with complaints should take along their receipts and their meter numbers.