Chinese citizens fight demolition of their homes - in pictures | World news

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  554 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Chinese citizens refuse demolition of their homes - in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email An elderly couple in Wenling, Zhejiang province, are the latest people in China to refuse to sign an agreement to allow their home to be demolished, resulting in the authorities building a planned road around the building. Dingzihu is the Chinese term for households that refuse to move out during demolition and literally means 'nail house' – ie they stick out Jo Blason [Read More]

Christian Thielemann picks up baton as director of Berlin State Opera from old rival | Classical mus

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  763 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Classical music This article is more than 3 months oldChristian Thielemann picks up baton as director of Berlin State Opera from old rivalThis article is more than 3 months oldThe German conductor will take over from Daniel Barenboim who announced his resignation in January The German conductor Christian Thielemann is to pick up the baton from the world renowned maestro and pianist Daniel Barenboim as general music director of Berlin’s State Opera. [Read More]

Donald Fisher obituary | Retail industry

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  709 words  |  Valentine Belue

Retail industryObituaryDonald Fisher obituaryFounder of the Gap clothing empireDonald Fisher, who has died of cancer, aged 81, was the co-founder of the US clothing retailer Gap. Starting out with one store in his home city of San Francisco in 1969, he went on to build an iconic clothing brand with more than 3,000 outlets worldwide – including 134 shops in the UK – and annual sales of nearly $15bn. It was almost an accidental achieve-ment for Fisher, who had started his professional life as a property developer with his father's company. [Read More]

If masterpiece means anything, it means Cats Cradle: the Kurt Vonnegut novels everyone shou

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1353 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

BooksOn his centenary, there are many glories to honour, not least Slaughterhouse-Five. But his best book is this pocket epic in which the world ends to the tune of the false religion of Bokononism, thinks John Self The books of Kurt Vonnegut, who was born 100 years ago this Friday, are funny, unflinching, soft-hearted, stark, imaginative and approachable – and just as relevant now as when he published his debut novel 70 years ago. [Read More]

Lover to lover: photographers most intimate images in pictures | Art and design

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  847 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Lover to lover: photographers’ most intimate images – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email A new exhibition features photographic love stories, from the first rush of an affair to the pain of separation Main image: ‘A love story turned to tragedy’ … Sentimental Journey, 1971. Photograph: Nobuyoshi Araki, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery Thu 20 Jul 2023 07. [Read More]

The Da Vinci Code review a decent crack at staging the bestseller

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  620 words  |  Kary Bruening

TheatreReviewTheatre Royal Plymouth Nigel Harman and Hannah Rose Caton star as Dan Brown’s adventurers in a show that sometimes feels as if it is on fast-forward Dan Brown’s compulsive, contentious story of Catholic conspiracy, misogyny and murderous Opus Dei monks was nothing if not knotty in book form, and no less so in Ron Howard’s film adaptation. Now comes Luke Sheppard’s theatre production, which manages to navigate those complicated plot turns as well as the story’s many changes in time and place. [Read More]

What does the 'H' stand for in 'Jesus H Christ'? | Notes and Queries

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  143 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Categories Nooks and crannies Yesteryear Semantic enigmas The body beautiful Red tape, white lies Speculative science This sceptred isle Root of all evil Ethical conundrums This sporting life Stage and screen Birds and the bees NOOKS AND CRANNIESWhat does the 'H' stand for in 'Jesus H Christ'? [Read More]

Corin Redgrave: He lost his memory of our life together | Family

 Posted on April 6, 2024  |  10 minutes  |  2080 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

FamilyInterviewCorin Redgrave: He lost his memory of our life togetherJoanna MoorheadKika Markham was married for more than 20 years to the actor Corin Redgrave, of the theatrical dynasty. But a heart attack left him with little awareness of their close relationshipIn 2009, the year before he died, the actor and playwright Corin Redgrave came up with what he thought was a brilliant plot idea. His new play would focus on a man who has brain damage as the result of a heart attack, and who later admits to his wife that he has no memories whatsoever of their 20-plus years of marriage. [Read More]

Keith Richards tells of snorting his dad's ashes with cocaine | UK news

 Posted on April 6, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  489 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

UK news This article is more than 16 years oldKeith Richards tells of snorting his dad's ashes with cocaineThis article is more than 16 years oldKeith Richards admits ingesting all manner of substances in his time. But none quite as bizarre as he reveals in his latest confession: he snorted his father's ashes. In a wide-ranging interview published today, the 63-year-old veteran of tequila breakfasts and drug marathons described how he once sampled his father's ashes mixed with cocaine. [Read More]

Michael Stipe: Who would I say sorry to? Everyone I slept with before the age of 27 | Life and

 Posted on April 6, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  566 words  |  Aldo Pusey

The Q&ALife and styleInterviewMichael Stipe: ‘Who would I say sorry to? Everyone I slept with before the age of 27’Rosanna GreenstreetThe REM frontman on smoking, Susan Sontag and how it feels to be in love Born in Georgia, Michael Stipe, 60, became REM’s frontman in 1980. The band became internationally famous in 1991 with the Grammy award-winning album Out Of Time. Last October, Stipe released his first solo song, Your Capricious Soul, with proceeds going to Extinction Rebellion; he has just released another, Drive To The Ocean, via his website. [Read More]