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☆ Opinion: Why Apple’s iPad ad hit such a nerve
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Opinion Bill Carter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Actors, directors, writers and academics expressed outrage at the Apple ad. I liked the sarcasm of screenwriter Ed Solomon’s post on X: “Who needs human life and everything in life that makes it worth living? Sincerely, Apple.”That was not the message Apple intended to convey, was it? Join us on Twitter and FacebookGiven that ongoing uncertainty and trepidation, the Apple ad is not merely tone deaf, it’s stone deaf. 1 hit (perhaps not the greatest example of human creativity, but still) that plays over images of paint cans exploding and musical instruments splintering to dust.

Persons: Bill Carter, Apple, Sonny, Cher, Bill Carter Bill Carter, Tor, “, “ We’ve, Tim Cook, Pete Townsend, Ed Solomon’s, creatives, … Organizations: The New York Times, CNN, HBO, Apple, Tech, Twitter, Facebook

☆ Review: Dance Theater of Harlem Is in New (and Capable) Hands
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And on Thursday, Garland showed that he was getting some things right: Dance Theater, now in its 55th season, has a vintage kind of glow. The company, along with its dancers, seems to be more sure of itself: It’s growing into a sense of style. Honoring Mitchell was a reminder of why Dance Theater, born after the assassination of the Rev. Along with showcasing the transformative power of ballet, Garland writes in the program, Mitchell used Dance Theater as a means for social justice in part by way of its repertoire: George Balanchine ballets were performed alongside works by Black choreographers like Geoffrey Holder. 2,” which braids social dance with classical ballet.

Persons: Robert Garland, “ Arthur Mitchell, ‘, Robert, ’, — Mitchell, Garland, Mitchell, Martin Luther King Jr, George Balanchine, Black, Geoffrey Holder, curation, —, ”, Marius Petipa Organizations: New York City Center, Dance Theater of Harlem, “ Locations: New

“Queen!”It was a Friday night in January, and Snoop Dogg had just rolled into a cocktail party hosted by Donna Langley, NBCUniversal’s chief content officer and studios chairwoman. His shouted greeting, paired with a jaunty deferential dance, seemed to leave her a bit embarrassed. “We’re here to celebrate filmmakers and films,” Langley told the room a few minutes later. Like it or not, this moment in Hollywood history is very much about her. Nolan started his acceptance speech for best director by saying, “Donna Langley — thank you for seeing the potential in this.”

Persons: Snoop Dogg, Donna Langley, “, ” Langley, Langley, Christopher Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, Nolan, “ Donna Langley —, ” Organizations: ”

☆ Juli Lynne Charlot, Creator of the Poodle Skirt, Dies at 101
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Margalit Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

What’s a nice Jewish viscountess to do when she has a title but no money, a party invitation but no clothes and a pair of scissors but no sewing skills? Invent the poodle skirt, of course. Ms. Charlot, a New York native who died at her home in Tepoztlán, Mexico, on Sunday at 101, had been a Hollywood singer before her marriage in the mid-1940s to a viscount, or British nobleman. The result, the embellished circle skirt, was ubiquitous throughout the 1950s, bought in droves by women and, in particular, adolescent girls. With its voluminous fabric that flared prettily when the wearer twirled, it was just the thing for a sock hop.

Persons: Juli Lynne Charlot, Charlot, jaunty Locations: New York, Tepoztlán, Mexico, Hollywood

☆ Kate Winslet is a blast in 'The Regime' — but critics say it's not the next 'Succession'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"The Regime'" is HBO's latest bet on Kate Winslet, who helped carry miniseries like "Mare of Easttown" to critical acclaim. But according to critics, the series doesn't entirely live up to Winslet's excellent performance. But while critics praised Winslet's acting, many noted that if you're looking for more "Succession," this isn't quite it. Matthias Schoenaerts and Kate Winslet in "The Regime." Miya Mizuno/HBOThe show's ensemble cast is underusedIn addition to Winslet and Schoenaerts, "The Regime" has an ensemble cast with several acclaimed actors.

Persons: —, Kate Winslet, Winslet, Elena Vernham, she's, — Vernham, Herbert Zubak, Matthias Schoenaerts, Will Tracy, Winslet's, Daniel Fienberg, Beast's Coleman Spilde, Gregory Lawrence, Miya Mizuno, Judy Berman, Marina Fang, Carly Lane, Lawrence, elucidations, Alexandre Desplat's, Fienberg, Stephen Frears, Jessica Hobbs, Alexandre Desplat, Caryn James, Oscar, Spilde, HuffPost's Fang, Andrea Riseborough, Schoenaerts, Agnes, Hugh Grant, Martha Plimpton, Judith Holt, Guillaume Gallienne, Danny Webb, David Bamber, Henry Goodman, Paste's Elijah Gonzalez, Andrea Riseborough's Organizations: Service, The, French Dispatch, Budapest Hotel, Daily, HBO, State Locations: Austria

☆ A 30-Second Kennedy Ad Collides With a Decades-Long Family Legacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Adam Nagourney | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Super Bowl advertisement promoting the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a remake of a 1960 spot that helped put his uncle John F. Kennedy in the White House — has struck a nerve with Kennedy family members and friends, who worry that it exploits and potentially tarnishes the legacy of a storied political family. The 30-second advertisement is built on the foundation of one of the most famous political ads in American history, still memorable to many in politics 63 years after it was first shown. That historic ad presents John F. Kennedy — than a senator from Massachusetts — as a young, vibrant and experienced challenger to Richard M. Nixon, the Republican vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower. The slightly altered version of the original ad superimposes pictures of Robert Kennedy Jr. over John F. Kennedy’s image and keeps the jaunty jingle — Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy — that remains burned in some people’s memories to this day. In the process, it repurposes an advertisement created for John F. Kennedy into one for his 70-year-old nephew, an appropriation of a legacy that many Democrats have long argued Robert Kennedy should not be able to claim.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, John F, Kennedy, —, Kennedy —, Richard M, Nixon, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy Jr, — Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Raymond Buckley Organizations: Massachusetts —, Republican, New Hampshire Democratic Party, Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Locations: Massachusetts, Boston

☆ Joan Lader Keeps Broadway in Tune
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For 41 years, Joan Lader has rented a slender studio apartment just west of Union Square in Manhattan. But for two generations of Broadway stars, as well as dozens of opera singers and pop and rock luminaries, she remains an indispensable vocal therapist and vocal coach. She continues to work seven hours each day, seven days a week. For Lader, 77, the work is her calling, a synthesis of artistry, science and according to her clients and fans, something akin to magic. “I’ve called her a witch in front of people, many times,” the music director Rob Fisher said.

Persons: Joan Lader, Lader, ” Patti LuPone, I’ve, Rob Fisher, “ I’ve, ” Locations: Union, Manhattan

The artist Emily Weiner is drawn to the sort of instantly recognizable imagery that taps into the unconscious and communicates across time. Her new pieces, which will soon make up a solo show at Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville and feature in the inaugural group exhibition at König Galerie’s Mexico City outpost, continue in this vein while expanding her visual lexicon. On one canvas, Weiner has painted an all-encompassing aquamarine spiral that moves toward a tiny half-moon at the center; hung next to it at Red Arrow will be its fiery twin — a mirror-image spiral rendered in a rusty red. (A number of the other works are symmetrical all on their own and, fittingly, the name of the solo show, “Never Odd or Even,” is a palindrome.) “I was thinking about the notion that this is a tainted world that inevitably is going to be saved by a patriarchal god and trying to invert it,” says Weiner.

Persons: Emily Weiner, she’s, Weiner, “, Lucio Fontana, ” Organizations: Arrow, König Galerie Locations: Nashville, Mexico, König, Mexico City

☆ ‘Wish’ Review: The Sorcerer’s Disgruntled Apprentice
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Until Asha flubs a job interview with Magnifico and realizes his flaw. The solution is the same as in every Disney cartoon: our heroine runs up a hill, hair swinging, and belts a ballad about longing. Oddly — and rather fascinatingly — this is a film about a spiritual revolution. Can Asha, a humanist, convince the islanders to reject the man in the embroidered robe who preaches that he alone is a conduit for miracles? “You’d think they’d all be content.”WishRated PG for neon-green depictions of black magic.

Persons: Asha flubs, Magnifico, Natasha Rothwell, Victor Garber, —, cribbed, Alan Tudyk, Asha, I’m, Benjamin Rice, Julia Michaels, “ Organizations: Disney Locations: E.T

☆ ‘Make Noise Enough’: Excavating Shakespeare’s Songs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Musicians from the early-music ensemble Collectio Musicorum were practicing a 17th-century round on a recent afternoon in Manhattan. The tune was jaunty, full of the cantering rhythms and mimetic horn calls that fit a song about hunting. But sung in canon, some of the notes bumped roughly against one another in daring dissonance. Jeff Dailey, the group’s director, glanced up encouragingly from his music stand. Remember, you’re drunk at this point.”The performers were preparing a program of songs, ballads and rounds from Shakespeare plays that brings to life the tunes scholars think might have been part of the earliest productions.

Persons: Collectio Musicorum, Jeff Dailey, glanced, you’ve, Shakespeare, Shepherd, Robert Johnson, Thomas Morley, Dailey, ” Organizations: Faith Presbyterian Church, Globe Theater Locations: Manhattan, “

☆ Review: Young Bros and Maidens Harmonize in ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jesse Green | More About Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And this production, directed by Amanda Dehnert for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, intensifies the youth-crush factor with 10 emo songs. Let’s start with the charming: The catchy songs, by Dehnert and the Chicago-based composer André Pluess, tap the sappy heart of summer and are danceable to boot. That the songs don’t match the story structurally is probably an insuperable problem. “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” with or without the British “u,” is a very youthful, disjointed text, its thin thread of plot repeatedly cut by clowns, dullards, puns, pomposities and noodling that goes nowhere. By the time you get to the masque near the end, featuring impenetrable spoofs of the nine classical “worthies,” you may doubt young Shakespeare’s judgment of worthiness.

Persons: Shakespeare, callow, Amanda Dehnert, Hudson, Dehnert, André Pluess, ” Organizations: Shakespeare Locations: Chicago

CATANIA, Italy, July 26 (Reuters) - A fire early last week at Sicily's main airport is still causing massive disruption for visitors to the island, laying bare the disorganisation and poor infrastructure that challenge Italy's tourism ambitions. The fire broke out on July 17 at Catania airport, below Mount Etna, which acts as a hub for the east of Sicily and attracts more arrivals than the capital Palermo. Some disruption was inevitable, but visitors describe scenes of utter chaos that jar with the government's jaunty "Welcome to Wonder" advertising campaign, which aims to attract tourists using a computerised "influencer" version of Venus. "We are now told our flight won't leave before 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). "Airport people were shouting the names of the flights to be boarded, but what happens if you don't hear them?," she said.

Persons: Julie, Maria Grazia Salamone, Ugo Zinna, Guglielmino, Alberto Chiumento, Gavin Jones, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: CATANIA, Italy, Sicily's, Catania, Mount Etna, Sicily, Palermo, California, Taormina, Syracuse, Rome, Genoa, Catania's, Belpasso

☆ Morning Bid: Retail, housing and banks test jaunty July
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanThe benign July investment environment gets tested on Tuesday by updates on U.S. retail sales and housing while the corporate earnings season kicks back into gear with another sweep of bank reports. Consensus forecasts are for a modest rise in retail sales and industrial output last month, while the NAHB homebuilder index is expected to have ticked higher in July to underline the recent housing market recovery more broadly. U.S. stock futures were flat going into the open and 10-year Treasury yields ticked down to their lowest level of the month so far. Crude oil prices tried to find their footing after Monday's sharp drop and continue to sustain year-on-year losses of more than 25%. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Wall, HSI, Evergrande, Goldman Sachs, Janet Yellen, Morgan Stanley, Lockheed Martin, Charles Schwab, JB Hunt, Michael Barr, Christina Fincher Organizations: New York Federal, Bank of America, Bank of New, Mellon, Novartis, Sandoz, Bank of New York Mellon, Lockheed, PNC Financial, Synchrony, JB, Federal, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Hong Kong, Treasuries, Canada

☆ Air passenger gets plane all to himself after waiting out 18-hour delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But by the time his American Airlines plane from Oklahoma City to Charlotte took off, it was Monday morning. By the time the plane finally took off at 12 minutes past midnight, he was the only one to board. “I’m the only person on the plane and they have an entire flight crew, they don’t want to do this flight,” he laughed into the camera. A private plane ride doesn’t stop other travel glitches, however – and with lost bag rates up nearly 75%, the luggage curse struck him. A personal plane and a luggage tracker.

Persons: Phil Stringer, Stringer –, Greensboro –, – Stringer, “, ”, ’, he’d, Stringer Organizations: CNN, American Airlines Locations: Oklahoma, North Carolina, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Greensboro

☆ Dior's Kim Jones sends models rising up from the floor at Paris Fashion Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Models present creations by designer Kim Jones as part of his Menswear ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Dior Homme during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - Dior men's artistic director Kim Jones took to a sparse, futuristic setting at the Ecole Militaire in central Paris, kicking off his summer show with an army of models that rose up from a metallic catwalk. A whining blast of scratchy electronic sounds set the runway presentation in motion, and the catwalk lit up as floor panels rolled back. Models emerged slowly, filling the room in rows. Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Jones, Dior Homme, Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS, Dior, chunky loafers, Winnie Harlow, Demi Moore, Cha Eun, Gwendoline Christie, Delphine Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton, Jay, Helen Lasichanh, Williams, Mimosa Spencer, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Ecole Militaire, Louis, Thomson Locations: Paris, France

Shevtsova is one of thousands of Russians who have abandoned their homes and taken shelter in Belgorod, the nearest big Russian city to the border with Ukraine. Russia said it killed more than 70 of them and pushed the rest back across the border. Ukraine said it had nothing to do with the attack, which it cast as internal Russian strife. Alexandra Bespalova, another uprooted resident of Shebekino, said she still supported Moscow's actions in Ukraine, but that Russia needed to do something to protect its own territories. "I always believed that we were right, that our government is right taking Luhansk, the Donbas region, our Russian people under its wing," she said.

Persons: Irina Shevtsova, we’ve, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Lyudmila Rumyantseva, Ramzan Kadyrov, We’ll, Sergei, Shebekino, Prigozhin's Wagner, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Alexandra Bespalova, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool Organizations: Russian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shebekinsky, Russia's Belgorod, Russia, Ukraine, Belgorod, BELGOROD, Russian, Shebekino, Prigozhin, Russia's, Chechnya, Luhansk

☆ Paul Simon Confronts Death, Profoundly, on ‘Seven Psalms’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jon Pareles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Simon begins the album in his most casual tone. He’s thinking about time, love, culture, family, music, eternity and God, striving to balance skepticism and something like faith. “I have my reasons to doubt/A white light eases the pain,” Simon sings in “Your Forgiveness.” “Two billion heartbeats and out/Or does it all begin again?”Simon’s songwriting has never been particularly religious. Its refrains return to, and work variations on, the album’s opening song, “The Lord.” As in the psalms of the Bible — which, as Simon notes in “Sacred Harp,” were songs — Simon portrays the Lord in sweeping ways: wondrous and terrifying, both protector and destroyer, sometimes benign and sometimes wrathful. As his fingers sketch patterns, he latches onto melody phrases and then lets them go, teasing at pop structures but soon dissolving them.

☆ Swedish singer Loreen wins Eurovision Song Contest for 2nd time at event feting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her power ballad "Tattoo," at a colorful, eclectic music competition clouded for a second year running by the war in Ukraine. Loreen, 39, previously won Eurovision in 2012 and is only the second performer to take the prize twice, after Ireland's Johnny Logan in the 1980s. Under the slogan "united by music," Eurovision final fused the soul of the English port city that birthed The Beatles with the spirit of war-battered Ukraine. Now in its 67th year, Eurovision bills itself as the world's biggest music contest — an Olympiad of party-friendly pop. "Now, the music industry, the world, knows that if you appear at Eurovision, you could be in for a great thing," said Steve Holden, host of the official Eurovision Song Contest podcast.

☆ How Gwyneth Paltrow Put Concussions On Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mireille Silcoff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In March, on Day 7 of the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, after the court spectacle had already been branded everything from a “meme machine” to “the whitest trial of all time,” the retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sat in the witness box, somewhat deflated already. By that point, he probably knew that his pursuit of Paltrow for damages connected to a ski collision he said was her fault was a pretty bad idea. “This is a picture of you and your girlfriend, smiling big, right?”“Smile, camera, yup,” Sanderson replied. At a ski resort? As far as controversies go, the trial was as Diamond Life as you can get.

☆ ‘Oliver!’ Returns, With Darker Twists Intact
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Sarah Bahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was 10 a.m. on a recent morning in a rehearsal room at New York City Center, and nine boys scurried around the space, clutching parasols of red and white lace, tin cups and jaunty pocket squares. “OK, everyone!” said Lorin Latarro, the choreographer of the show, a new staging of “Oliver!,” the Lionel Bart musical opening at City Center on Wednesday for a two-week run as part of the Encores! “Would you risk the ‘drop’?” he sang, his eyes bugging as he grabbed his scarf and mimed a noose tightening around his neck. (Translation: Are you willing to go out and commit robbery and possibly face the gallows if you’re caught?) All nine pickpockets in training nodded enthusiastically.

☆ This One-Piece Is the ‘Mom’ Swimsuit of My Dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

At my sister’s prompting, I tried a suit from Boden, but the fit was off. Unlike a lot of one-piece swimsuits I’ve worn, I never find myself tugging down the bottom or pulling up the straps. The Tulum suit also kept its elasticity and shape for far longer than my old bathing suits. I’m not the only one who loves The Tulum: I’ve received many compliments from other moms who I imagine admire not just the suit, but my obvious comfort in it. Its popularity is also reflected by the fact that I’ve noticed that The Tulum often sells out during peak swimsuit season.

☆ BBC engulfed in an impartiality storm of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules” on impartiality, former director-general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4 over the weekend. BBC Director General Tim Davie has made protecting impartiality one of his major priorities. Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesMore problematic still is that the same thorny questions about impartiality extend to the BBC’s leadership. “It’s a mess, isn’t it?” former BBC executive Peter Salmon told the cooperation’s flagship political presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. “He’s got views, he’s got passions … it may be that Gary has outgrown the job, and his role in the BBC.”

☆ Tech layoffs strip the facade of TikTok's 'day in the life' videos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Meta, Salesforce, Twitter, Snap and other tech companies have also announced layoffs in recent months. Others are using their platforms to raise awareness of labor rights in wake of recent layoffs. So yeah, I’m unemployed, but I have a hell of a lot of confidence in myself.”Educating viewers about their rights has also gained popularity after recent layoffs. TikTok user alberta.nyc, a Google software engineer and self-described “tech cynic," has made videos about the importance of unions in the tech industry. In a video, creator alejandra_n_h expressed solidarity with former Amazon employees who had been affected by recent layoffs.

☆ Christine McVie’s music: 5 songs to listen to in her honor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —There’s a reason why Christine McVie was considered the heart of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac is known for, in part, their tumultuous relationships, especially when it came to romantic ones. But it turns out Christine McVie had penned the love song in honor of the band’s lighting director with whom she had an affair. “I’m saddened by the passing of Christine McVie. “I’m grateful to Christine & Fleetwood Mac for entrusting us with such a meaningful song.

This time round, Charles III hosted the first state visit of his reign and welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the UK. The South African state visit was Charles’s first big diplomatic test. But this week, the prominence of the Prince and Princess of Wales during the state visit indicated that the couple have been elevated into crucial central roles. PHOTOS OF THE WEEKHere’s a few of our favorite shots from the first state visit King Charles hosted as monarch. Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty ImagesThe state visit also allowed UK PM Rishi Sunak the opportunity to welcome Ramaphosa to 10 Downing Street for a bilateral meeting.

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