These are excerpts of the current news articles. For a full list and full stories click the News link above.
Denzel Washington – a commanding presence
Denzel Washington steals the show in Gladiator II in the supporting role of Macrinus, the villainous slave turned slave owner aiming for power and status. Glowing reviews hint he is at the top of his game, having been crowned recently as the best actor of the 21st century by The New York Times. He was … Read more
Anti-social media in for a wakeup call
In the tower of babel created by social media, complex thinking fell down a rabbit hole. Unhinged and threatening Twitter pile-ons ramp up extremist views. Fair-minded resolutions about not living in a comforting echo chamber of confirming views have been battered into extinction. One commentator writes; “The future of social media looks increasingly segregated … Read more
Trump goes full tonto with choices ++ Don Jnr & J.D. Vance
Caveat emptor (buyer beware) must be ringing through many Republican politicians’ heads. The electorate may be forgiven for their disinterest in anything beyond the dollar in their pocket. But senators and congresspersons don’t have that excuse for their wholehearted support for Trump, knowing full well his – ahem – idiosyncrasies and his mental deterioration from … Read more
Timothy West – destined to find a life partner
Timothy West, one of Britain’s most respected and versatile actors, has died at the age of 90. Renowned for his Shakespearean performances on stage as well as a wide range of television roles, in recent years he had success with his wife of six decades Prunella Scales filming Great Canal Journeys, despite her advancing Alzheimers. … Read more
Frank Auerbach – his art was his entire existence
Frank Auerbach, known for his encrusted canvases, a Holocaust orphan, who lived a monkish, solitary life in Camden, London has died aged 93. Seven days a week, 10 hours a day, for decades, he painted and said “I’ve certainly never been lonely by myself. I’m far more likely to be lonely in the company of … Read more
Conclave – money and power jostle for supremacy
Despite the drift away from institutionalised religion it continues to fascinate with Robert Harris’s spellbinding Conclave about the election of a new pope now out as a movie with Ralph Fiennes starring. Reviews are good – “A self-contained and intricate story that uses God’s representatives on Earth to show us at our most human, filled … Read more
Susan Sarandon – running into an astro storm
Actress Susan Sarandon, 35 years into a prolifically successful career, has found herself backlisted for remarks made last year at a pro-Palestinian rally. She later apologized but was dropped by her agent and reckons she’ll never be employed in a big budget Hollywood movie again. Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of what she said, … Read more
Henry V111 – leaving his mark on history
The momentous rift between England’s King Henry V111 and Rome in 1534 is an integral part of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, first televised a decade ago and now dramatising a much praised follow up – Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Focusing on his adviser Thomas Cromwell, a Putney blacksmith’s boy risen to high … Read more
Beckett, Frankl, Fromm – living with uncertainty
“To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now.” Samuel Beckett The panicky uncertainty of this time of celestial transition was in place before recent US election results with many/most stumbling through a fog of unknowing with rising levels of anxiety. How to cope when it is … Read more