Craig Hill
Entertainment
Superheroes and Super Tyrants
It is always nice to receive an accolade from a fellow writer, and I thank Chan Kai Yee for his gracious words in his post today.
New Format For Facebook
A big change is coming to Facebook. Facebook users have been beta testing a new feature called “timeline.” It changes the format of your personal account page from a news feed list to a timeline based on photos and other posts. It allows you to peruse your Facebook activity in chronological order. Whether you love … Continue reading
The Apartment
The Apartment is the bittersweet, darkly comic tale of a mild-mannered office nebbish who sells little bits of his body and soul to climb the corporate ladder, falls in love on the way up and finds his way back down to redemption. Jack Lemmon will quite simply break your heart in this wry, cynical indictment … Continue reading
Some Like it Hot
One of the great screwball comedies, Some Like It Hot answers the burning question: will Jack Lemmon’s romantic life actually improve if he puts on a dress? You bet. In fact, just about everybody has a good time in this fun, silly movie, with Lemmon and Tony Curtis in drag, hiding out from the mob … Continue reading
Fiction Family by Fiction Family (2009)
Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins have set out to restore dude love’s lost notoriety with Fiction Family. The resultant self-titled record has plenty of charm despite lacking any “super band” qualities. Those who became enamored with Foreman’s folky acoustic solo project will eat Fiction Family right up. The record isn’t … Continue reading
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
In the crowded pantheon of comic-book-derived movie-franchise superheroes, Wolverine, as embodied by the muscular Australian song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman, always seemed kind of special. A grouchy, sensitive loner with retractable metal claws and apparently unretractable facial hair, Wolverine brooded and growled through the first three “X-Men” pictures, helping to supply them (or at least the … Continue reading
Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur was made back when going to an epic movie was an international event. Great spectaculars were made with real people, mind-boggling sets and casts of thousands, long before digital special effects made them all obsolete. Epics were shown on gigantic screens in palatial movie houses, often with overtures and intermissions, and a really big … Continue reading
Susan Boyle Has A Makeover
It looks like the Susan Boyle makeover has begun. In one recent report about the YouTube sensation from Scotland, Boyle is said to have visited with a hairdresser to help tame her curly flyaway locks. Earlier today, she was photographed at her home in Blackburn wearing a lightweight leather jacket and a purple printed frock … Continue reading
Lorne Michaels Stalker
The case against the man accused of stalking the Saturday Night Live mastermind was placed on hold at a hearing, and will be thrown out entirely if 32-year-old Evans Pidhajecky keeps out of trouble, and Michaels’ eyeline, for the next six months. “There was no crime,” Pidhajecky’s attorney, Jack Litman said. “He never stalked Lorne … Continue reading
Britney Spears Clown Care Donation
Britney Spears knows everybody loves a circus. The 27-year-old popstar, who’s currently on her Circus world tour, is donating $100,000 to the Miami Children’s Hospital’s Big Apple Circus Clown Care program. The mother of two made a surprise, 30-minute visit with 40 sick children at the hospital on Saturday before her show at the American … Continue reading
Monkees Peter Tork Battles Cancer
Peter Tork isn’t monkeying around with his health. The erstwhile Monkee has been diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of head and neck cancer, and underwent surgery to remove the growth on his tongue on Wednesday. “It’s a bad news, good news situation,” the “I’m a Believer” artist said. “It’s so rare a … Continue reading
Michael Jackson Announces London Concerts
It’s the news fans have been waiting for. Michael Jackson is looking to mount a thriller of a comeback, nearly four years since he was acquitted of child-molestation charges. The erstwhile King of Pop is aiming to reclaim his throne, announcing today at a press conference he plans to play 10 concerts in London’s O2 … Continue reading
Robin Williams Heart Surgery
Robin Williams is taking a time-out for “a little tune-up.” The madcap Oscar winner announced today that he is postponing the remaining dates of his one-man show, Weapons of Self-Destruction, to undergo heart surgery. The 57-year-old Williams announced Tuesday he was scuttling two shows in Florida this week after experiencing shortness of breath. Following a … Continue reading
Bruce Willis To Countersue
To put it in Bruce Willis terms, the last boy scout thinks a lawsuit filed against him for “walking off the set” of a movie he was supposed to direct is just a bunch of pulp fiction and he wants it to die hard. The A-lister is looking to get medieval on film company Foresight … Continue reading
Ed McMahon Intensive Care
Ed McMahon is in intensive care at a Los Angeles hospital. The 85-year-old former Johnny Carson sidekick has been hospitalized for several weeks with pneumonia, as well as other unspecified ailments, rep Howard Bragman said. The TV icon’s family is said to be at his side. McMahon has had his share of troubles in recent … Continue reading
Jerry Seinfeld Returning To TV
Jerry Seinfeld is teaming up with NBC once again to produce a reality series called The Marriage Ref. The show will feature “celebrities, comedians and athletes who will judge couples in the midst of marital disputes while recommending various strategies to resolve their problems.” The show is inspired by the star’s own experiences with married … Continue reading
Octomum or Octopussy?
Octomom needs money, the world needs alternative movies. It’s a match made in heaven. Or so think the opportunistic peddlers at adult powerhouse Vivid Entertainment, who have made Nadya Suleman a halfway decent indecent proposal, offering the cash-strapped mother of 14 $1 million plus a year of health insurance in exchange for shaking her babymaker … Continue reading
Arnold Schwarzenegger In Sylvester Stallone Movie
Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to make a cameo as his state-ruling self in Sylvester Stallone’s latest testosterone fest, The Expendables. The flick is set to begin shooting March 28 in Brazil and then will then move to New Orleans for an additional two months of photography. Stallone, who wrote the script and will also star … Continue reading
Spider-man Musical From U2’s Bono and The Edge
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the hyped stage musical directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King) with music and lyrics courtesy of U2’s Bono and The Edge, will kick off what its producers hope will be an amazing run along the Great White Way beginning with previews on Jan. 16, 2010, and a Feb. 18, … Continue reading
Charles Barkley Jail For DUI
Charles Barkley’s run-in with the law has landed him in foul territory. The outspoken NBA analyst was sentenced to 10 days in jail Monday after pleading guilty to driving under the influence for his Dec. 31 arrest in Scottsdale, Ariz. He’ll only have to spend five days behind bars, however, if he completes an alcohol-education … Continue reading
Rupert Murdoch Apologises Personally For Chimp Cartoon
This time the apology from the New York Post’s controversial chimp cartoon is coming straight from the monkey’s uncle: Rupert Murdoch. The News Corp. chairman offered up a personal mea culpa this morning for last week’s editorial panel that sparked allegations of racism by linking the killing of a chimpanzee in Connecticut to D.C.’s recently … Continue reading
Oscars 2009 Red Carpet Quotes
“He doesn’t speak English. He isn’t saying anything.” They were the words of one of the little kids from Slumdog Millionaire, translating on behalf of another little kid from Slumdog Millionaire. Unfortunately, many better known people feel obliged to say as much as they can, so here are some more of the quotes from the … Continue reading
2009 Oscar Winners Complete List
2009 Oscar Winners Complete List Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn, Milk Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet, The Reader Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan) Original Song: “Jai Ho,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; Slumdog Millionaire Original Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire Film Editing: Slumdog … Continue reading
United Nations Put George Clooney In Danger
George Clooney’s freedom of speech may have cost him his safety. The United Nations announced that it was looking into allegations that the world body pulled the actor’s security detail while he was, and still is, travelling through a lawless region of Chad. The move was alleged to be a preemptive measure to prevent Clooney … Continue reading
Peter Falk’s Daughter Seeks Control Over Dad’s Finances
Columbo can take care of himself. That’s the word from the lawyer appointed by an LA judge to evaluate whether Peter Falk needed to be placed under a conservatorship controlled by his daughter, who has claimed the 81-year-old TV legend suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and is unable to manage his personal and financial affairs. In … Continue reading
Most Recent Posts Post on My Blog About China: China News
More Than 90 Countries Relied on Chinese Vaccines. Now They’re Battling Major Outbreaks.
More than 90 countries are using Covid shots from China. Experts say recent infections in those places should serve as a cautionary tale in the global effort to fight the disease. Mongolia promised its people a “Covid-free summer.” Bahrain said there would be a “return to normal life.” The tiny island nation of the Seychelles […]
US sanctions Chinese solar firms for Uighur human rights abuses
The United States on Wednesday restricted exports to five Chinese companies that it said were implicated in Chinese human rights violations, including large producers of polysilicon for the solar panel industry. The companies were listed over human rights violations and abuses of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, according to a US government filing on Wednesday. […]
China is the real winner of Western climate politics
Most of the Western media so desperately wants the dominant climate narrative – especially the bit where the West is the villain – to be true that they simply do not interrogate the facts. The G7 meeting was a genuine success for Scott Morrison and for the West generally. As Boris Johnson says, “the West […]
Australia: Overnight News Headlines – June 24, 2021
Originally posted on Craig Hill:
Australian News Overnight news headlines you may have missed Australia news LIVE: NSW COVID-19 cases surge; restrictions reimposed on Greater Sydney – Australia news LIVE: NSW COVID-19 cases surge; restrictions reimposed on Greater Sydney. For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here. By … Australian Cup Moth Caterpillars Produce…
China in the News: June 24, 2021
What the world is saying about China (past 24 hours) “Ridiculous Case”: Juror Criticizes DOJ for Charging Scientist With Hiding Ties to China – After an FBI agent led the university to believe that Hu had ties to the Chinese military, … She considered herself patriotic and had thought very little about China. US says […]
China Puts Economy First, Climate Last
China’s top economic planners have put the brakes on attempts by environmental officials to reduce carbon emissions as driving growth takes priority over meeting climate targets for now, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials at China’s main economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, have limited the initial scope of a […]
Australia: Overnight News Headlines – June 23, 2021
Originally posted on Craig Hill:
Australian News Overnight news headlines you may have missed Big spending in SA budget, but can the government survive an election fought on health? – Mr Lucas stressed South Australia was “not going to go down the Labor option” like the Victorian Government did in its most recent state budget.…
China in the News: June 23, 2021
What the world is saying about China (past 24 hours) China’s version of the Asian model, Opinion News & Top Stories – China’s version of the Asian model. Beijing has altered the geopolitical context that led to the rise of East Asia. Gideon Rachman. Bitcoin sinks below US$30000 for 1st time since January amid China […]
Shanghai Extravagance, Silicon Valley Stoics, and US-China Agony
Shanghai has just replaced Hong Kong as the ‘most expensive city’, according to Swiss private bank JuliusBär Group’s Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2021 (Juliusbaer.com 2021 Apr 8). By comparing Shanghai on the socialist mainland and HK as a champion of capitalism for decades, the high-net-worth-individuals in Shanghai seem to be much more willing and […]
Cadence Column: Asia, June 21, 2021
China is facing massive resentment against its own Communist Party from inside its own borders. Members of ordinary society stab Communist Party members and are regarded heroes. The party of self-importance on the world stage isn’t only hated by the rest of the world, but also by the people it oppresses at home. CCP does […]
