Australian free-to-air TV has recently premiered Safe Home and The Messenger, two rare local dramas that focus on delivering something new to viewers. Network producers have tended to prioritise reality television over dramas, with the latter considered too risky and expensive. Nevertheless, Australian productions like Love My Way and Offspring have gained international acclaim, while also keeping their popularity within domestic audiences. Safe Home, produced by Kindling Pictures, explores the issue of family violence, while The Messenger, adapted from a Markus Zusak novel, follows the story of a taxi driver given a mysterious mission to help strangers.
Australian TV series In Limbo, which focuses on men's mental health and relationships, has premiered on ABC in Australia. The six-episode series looks at men with a range of personal and difficult issues, including depression, addiction and domestic violence. The comedy-drama has been created and co-written by Lucas Taylor, who was behind hit Australian shows Harrow and Secrets & Lies. Critics have praised the series' "crisp wit" and actors Ryan Corr and Bob Morley for their performances as the core characters, two best friends dealing with their own personal issues. Georgina Naidu, Emma Harvie and Shabana Azeez have also been applauded for their roles as women not reduced to "props".
The cliffs of Bempton in Yorkshire have become a gathering site for gannets as they get ready to begin their courtship rituals and hopefully produce offspring. The area is home to around 500,000 birds, including razorbills, herring gulls, puffins, and guillemots. Although the location offers stunning views and resources, clashes do occur between the birds due to limited space. Nevertheless, the birds have nesting materials nearby and are prepared for a productive summer.
Diana Herbert, a Hollywood starlet best-known for working with Marilyn Monroe, died aged 94. She and Monroe became close friends when they were both at 20th Century Fox. The pair were set to feature in Monroe's debut feature Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! in 1948, directed by Diana Herbert's father F Hugh Herbert. However, the footage of them together in the film ended up on the cutting room floor. Although she didn't achieve the same level of fame as Monroe, Herbert worked until 2011.
A 77-year-old woman from Ohio, a retired mother of three and grandmother, has married herself in what was described as an emotional and symbolic ceremony at her retirement home attended by family and friends. Although previously married, that ended over 40 years ago, and as such, Fidel wanted to perform the ultimate “act of self-love” by marrying herself. Listening to an interview with a woman who did something similar on a talk show, Fidel decided to emulate this as a means of uplifting “down” residents at O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Home in Goshen, Ohio.
The first date of Beyoncé's UK tour saw thousands of fans gather at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, with some attendees travelling from as far as Gloucestershire to see the singer's first UK tour in seven years. Fans have described the atmosphere as "buzzing," with one attendee saying that Beyoncé was being played "in every bar". The highly anticipated tour comes after Beyoncé toured Europe, with explosive shows that included video projections, animations, and robotic devices. A Forbes estimate predicted that the tour could earn the star upwards of £1.6bn.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has claimed he and his ex-wife Maria Shriver should be awarded Oscars for how they managed their split, turning it into a drama-free process for their adult children. The pair divorced in 2011 after 25 years of marriage, which ended months after Schwarzenegger publicly revealed he had fathered a fourth child with housekeeper Mildred Baena. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the breakup, Schwarzenegger said he loves Shriver but does not miss being married.
Saint John man who killed toddler must serve 22 years before he can seek parole
CBC
23-05-17 19:38
Karrson Bennett has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 22 years for the second-degree murder of a two-year-old boy in Saint John, New Brunswick. Bennett was babysitting the boy when he deliberately forced an object, believed to be a ball, into his mouth, causing the boy to choke. The boy sustained brain damage and was airlifted to hospital the next day, where he later died. Bennett pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, with the Crown requesting parole eligibility after 22 years. The boy's identity is protected by a publication ban.
The divide between American and British English has taken on a new facet: when referencing travel bags, Americans use the noun “baggage” and the British use “luggage”. The difference is said to have emerged following the introduction of railways in the late 1820s, at which point North Americans settled upon “baggage” and Britons came down on “luggage”. That semantic split is reflected in the name given to storage compartments in passenger carriages on railways on either side, with Grand Central having a “baggage car” and Marylebone sporting a “luggage van”. The word “suitcase”, which began life as an item used to carry just that, evolved into a synonym for British luggage, and both terms are used in Australia.
Diana Herbert, a Hollywood starlet best-known for working with Marilyn Monroe, died aged 94. She and Monroe became close friends when they were both at 20th Century Fox. The pair were set to feature in Monroe's debut feature Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! in 1948, directed by Diana Herbert's father F Hugh Herbert. However, the footage of them together in the film ended up on the cutting room floor. Although she didn't achieve the same level of fame as Monroe, Herbert worked until 2011.
Beyonce wowed fans in Cardiff with her electrifying performance on the first UK date of her Renaissance world tour, which saw the superstar perform tracks from her two-decade career. The show included extravagant outfit changes as well as robotic devices, silver moon rovers, and pyrotechnics. Fans said the atmosphere had been “buzzing” and described the event as “mind-blowing” and “memorable”. Beyoncé's tour is set to continue with performances at other UK venues including London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh, and Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remains a prominent figure in Kentucky politics, despite being hugely unpopular nationally. Republicans in Kentucky recently resoundingly backed former McConnell legal counsel Daniel Cameron, who is now their gubernatorial nominee. McConnell remains deeply concerned with the Kentucky governor’s race, where Cameron is in a close contest with Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear. Cameron is equally tipped to make an impact in national politics following this term. In terms of his own future, McConnell’s Senate term runs through 2026, at which point he would have to consider running for a six-year term that would end when he’s 90 years old. McConnell's continued success in Kentucky in many senses is comparable to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid's standing in his home state of Nevada. Reid's influence lives on today, giving hope to McConnell of an equally long-lasting impact in Kentucky.
Pedro Pascal has been praised for his acting by his co-star Ethan Hawke as the duo promoted their new film, the gay, Western short Strange Way of Life, at Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, the film sees Pascal's character Silva visit Hawke's Sheriff Jake after 20 years apart, sparking conflict over the idea of revisiting the past. The half-hour production was the second film in English for Almodóvar and premiered at Cannes this week. It is set for release on 26 May.
Beyoncé has been praised for an "effortlessly dazzling" performance in Cardiff at her Renaissance World Tour. The vocalist performed on a runway that stretched halfway down the Principality Stadium, instead of using a traditional stage, with the performance tailored to a mix of deep cuts from her catalogue and her 2018 album, Renaissance. The album has been described as a combination of house grooves and disco beats, with one track, "1+1," receiving particular acclaim during the Cardiff event. Beyoncé is set to perform next at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Blair Tindall, an oboe player-turned-author, has died at the age of 63. Her best-selling memoir, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music, discusses in detail the life of a jobbing musician and the nepotism that is a part of it in New York. The book led to a television series of the same name, which won two Golden Globes and two Emmys. While the show was dubbed “sex and the symphony", Tindall’s memoir was even more explicit, revealing a world where sleeping with people was a standard method of getting ahead. Despite playing for the New York Philharmonic and making her Carnegie Hall debut in 1991, Tindall became disillusioned with the profession as it only rewards a few, and pays the rest poorly. In the end, she took herself across the country to study journalism in San Francisco and found success in writing and creating the television series that was based on her memoir.
Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi's second album, Broken by Desire, lacks the charisma evident in his public persona, according to one review. The critic suggested the album showed a lack of variety and was more of a ballad cycle, with the tracks all seeking to replicate the success of Capaldi's hit Someone You Loved. However, reviewer Ruth Saxelby did praise the album's final track, "How I'm Feeling Now", which showed an authenticity and honesty over the Scottish artist's mental health struggles.
The rise of loud, action-packed superhero art has drowned out quieter works that can be both moving and profound, according to The Economist. "Quiet" work – often used to describe art with "humdrum" plots or a lack of exotic setting and gore – is less frequently celebrated or recognised than action-packed blockbusters. Such work can still have a profound effect on those who see it, however, as evidenced by exhibitions such as Magdalena Abakanowicz and Yayoi Kusama's installations, which bring silent but life-like art to the masses.
Leon Comber, who served as a Special Branch officer in colonial Malayan Police during the Emergency, has died aged 101. Comber and his colleagues outsmarted and won over some of the mostly Chinese communist insurgents in Malaya. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Comber was among the few non-Muslim Europeans allowed to acquire Malaysian citizenship in recognition of his contribution to the battle against militant communism. He also wrote Malaya’s Secret Police 1945-60: the role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency, which described how he drew on his experiences to write about the history of the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula and works of translation. In 1952, Comber married Rosalie Kuanghu Chou, a Eurasian doctor whom he had met at a hospital in Hong Kong. By the time they married, she was better known as Han Suyin, the author of the autobiographical novel A Many-Splendoured Thing, which would be adapted into the 1955 Hollywood weepie Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones.
Being a partner of an addict is an "exasperating and exhausting" experience, says Harry Shapiro in The Independent, who also suffered from addiction and now works for DrugWise, a charity that supports people with drug problems and their families. Addicts lose their sense of self-worth and those around them are drained emotionally. Supoort must show compassion and respect and not compound their negative feelings. Emma Willis has talked about why she failed to leave her husband Matt Willis when he was an addict. Addicts feel worthless and loved ones deserting them only reinforces their feelings of miserable isolation, Shapiro writes.
An office worker has written to The Guardian's Work Therapy clinic asking whether they should exclude a colleague from office conversations because they spoil plots of TV shows and films. Clinic psychologist Oliver Burkeman advises holding off on ostracising the colleague because they may not be aware they are ruining the group's enjoyment. Burkeman suggests setting ground rules for conversations to ensure plot points remain off the table, and said that if it was discovered the colleague was ruining the group's enjoyment on purpose, then "they may not deserve your accommodation."
